The next day, Ian and Noriko woke up together.
" Whoa, it's twelve... We overslept." Ian looked at the clock and spoke.
" We should probably get dressed. We both need a shower." Noriko told the boy. " Ughm!" Noriko stumbled and nearly fell to the ground. Her legs and crotch area weren't sore anymore. They were numb. Thankfully Ian caught the girl by her waist before she hit the ground.
" Are you, okay?" Ian asked the girl.
Noriko groaned and nodded her head.
" I'm fine. My legs just went a little numb. Ugh. It feels like you're still inside me. " Noriko told the boy.
" Sorry, beautiful." Ian replied. He let Noriko go and the woman stood up in front of him. Her naked form only grew more beautiful as the sun shined through the window; its rays bathed her body in a wonder luminescent glow.
Noriko looked back at Ian and blushed. She bent over and grabbed her bra.
" Can you help me with this?" Noriko asked the boy.
Ian nodded and got up from the bed, naked himself. Ian walked up behind Noriko and ran his hands up her up and down her hips. He let his head rest gently on her shoulders and nestled into her hair.
" God, you're beautiful."
" So, you keep telling me. Now help me get this on, lover boy." Noriko told the boy. She turned around and handed him her bra, while also giving him a kiss on the cheek. She then turned around, allowing Ian to wrap her bra around her breasts and clamp the back hooks on. Once he did, he then placed a kiss on the side of Noriko's cheek and a playful smack on the ass.
" Get dressed and get out of here. Hurry." Noriko told the boy. She threw him his boxers and watched as he slid them on. " You'll still get in trouble if Frost or Pryde catch you in here." Noriko stated.
" Oh, what are they going to do ground me? It'll be fine. Besides, they're probably going over our interviews from yesterday. I'm sure we'll be fine." Ian replied with confidence. He didn't care about being caught. It wouldn't be the worst thing to happen to him.
" Well... You still need to shower and be ready for training." Noriko told the boy. She dropped her playful attitude and then turned to Ian. " Are you still... You know. Are you sure about this?" She asked.
" Hey, I've never been sure of much. Not even this." Ian told the girl. He started laughing and Noriko punched him on the arm.
" Ass."
Ian continued laughing much to the girl's annoyance.
Noriko pulled her panties on and then scowled at Ian.
" Hey, I'm just kidding. Seriously. I didn't mean." Ian told the girl. He pulled her into a hug and Noriko just stood there. " If you want the truth, I'm still not sure. But that's the whole point of this, is to see if it does go anywhere. So, how about we try actually getting to know each other? I know we like similar music for one. I know you're strong, I know you're smart, I know you're a good leader, I know you're a smart-ass. But I don't know much of anything else. How does a day sound? Just you and me. We could even ask Summers to let us go into town. I'm sure Luna misses you at the grindstone." Ian spoke.
Noriko, still hesitant about everything, waited a moment before nodding.
" Okay... But don't get your hopes up. Summers hasn't let anyone leave the school grounds since. I doubt he'd make an exception now." Noriko replied.
" Well, even if he doesn't, it doesn't mean we can't find a way to entertain ourselves." Ian argued. He slid on the remaining pieces of clothing he had, while Nori grabbed herself a change of clothes and a towel to shower. " I'll see you later?"
" Of course, you will. We live in the same building." Noriko joked.
Ian rolled his eyes and sighed.
" You know what I meant." He told the girl. He opened the door and gave Noriko one last kiss before walking out of her room.
As he made his way back to his room, Ian bumped into Ruth once again.
" Pardon? Yes, Hello, Ian." Ruth said to the boy.
" Hey, Ruth. It's nice to see you. How's your day?" Ian asked
Ruth didn't answer, instead she approached Ian and placed her hands on his head.
" What was once, will be again. But not for a while. A new face appears. Yes, New but yet familiar." Ruth spoke. Her cryptic message confused Ian.
" Ruth, what are you talking about?" Ian asked the girl.
" Pardon? Yes, Excuse me." Ruth said to the boy. She then walked past him and walked straight to the stairs.
Ian was a bit jilted by Ruth's sudden message. He knew she had the ability to see futures. But this was the first time, she brought him one of his own and he didn't know how to handle it.
" Guess, it didn't sound so bad. What was once, will be again. A new face, yes. New but familiar. Maybe someone I used to know?" Ian asked himself. He spent a few minutes trying to piece it together, but with Ruth's warnings there was never a clear and concise answer. " I'll just have to figure it out when the time comes." Ian said to himself. He then turned around and continued walking to his room.
Once there, Ian showered and quickly changed his clothing. He was now wearing his suit. The very first one Logan gave him. He took a look at it in the mirror and noticed how it seemed to be a little tight on him now.
" Perhaps it's time to get a new one." Ian stated. " Yeah. Yeah, definitely time to get a new one." Once he was dressed, Ian left his room to search for Hank. He wanted to make sure to get a new suit tailored for him immediately.
He walked down the stairs of the institute, looking for anyone. Yet he didn't find anyone of the teachers. It wasn't until he walked into the break room that he found the other students sitting around in their uniforms, like they were waiting on something.
When he walked in, Ian immediately noticed a few strange looks from the people in the room. Most notably from Cessily, Josh, and Megan. And even more so the look of sadness on Laura's face, that one hurt.
Understandable.
" Yo, what's up man. You're up late. You doing alright?" Julian asked Ian as he walked into the room.
" Yeah, I'm alright. Have any of you seen McCoy?" Ian asked.
" Ah, man. You missed it. He and the rest of the teachers got a call earlier to help Rogue and the others in the field. The only X-men here right now are Pryde and Colossus." Julian explained to the boy.
" Ah that sucks! I needed to get a new uniform made." Ian stated.
" Yeah.... You do." Santo told Ian. He looked at him a little funny and this confused Ian.
" What? Is something wrong?" Ian asked. Unaware of what could be wrong with what he was wearing.
Ian looked around the room, the girl's seemed to be avoiding his eyes the most. It wasn't until Victor, the only gay male in the room at the time, pointed downwards, did Ian get why the others looked at him so funny.
Everything was tight, extremely tight in fact. And a still alive member, was extremely happy at the time.
Now, Ian wasn't the type to get embarrassed easily, but this was one of the moments when he was feeling more than embarrassed.
" I am really, sorry. I apologize ladies. I will go fix it." Ian told the girls.
However, as he turned around, he bumped into Ruth again.
" Oh, Ruth! It's good to see you again. Hey, can I ask you about your." Ian was speaking, but Ruth walked right past him. " Okay, Ignore me. That's fine." Ian stated.
" Joshua." Ruth spoke.
" Oh, hey Blindfold. Don't see you here very often... Uhhh... Er.... I mean." Joshu stumbled. He tried to rephrase himself, but Ruth ignored him.
" There is a light, yes. But the darkness is better to see by. It has much to do with seeds. He knows our minds and means us harm. What intervenes is GOLD, inlaid with Jet." Ruth explained.
" Well, y'know, this is going about the same way as every single one of our other conversations.... So, is it okay if we just skip to the part where you pass out and I go get Mr. McCoy?" Josh asked the girl.
" Can we maybe do this after Grey's Anatomy?" Santo asked the two of them.
" What Intervenes is GOLD!" Ruth exclaimed. She grabbed one of Josh's hands and squeezed it.
" Ow! Hey!" Josh complained
" Ruth, what are you doing?" Ian asked the girl. " Knock it off.
" Thank you, says the patient." Ruth continued.
Josh's hand suddenly turned black activating his death touch.
" Blindfold, don't touch me!" Josh told the girl. But she didn't listen. Ruth grabbed Josh's hand and in an instant, she dropped to the floor, dead.
" RUTH!!! What the hell, Josh?!" Ian yelled. He dropped to the ground and lifted Ruth into his arms
" I didn't mean to do it! She grabbed my death hand! I told her not too!" Josh yelled back.
He and everyone else in the room began freaking out over the girl.
" Hang on, maybe she's not dead. Josh touch her with your other hand." Santo told the boy.
" No.... I already did. She touched both my hands, oh God!" Josh exclaimed.
" What are you all just standing around for?!" Ian asked. " Pixie snap out of it and go get one of the teachers! Josh, keep trying to revive her!" Ian told the boy.
" Yeah- Right. You're right! I'll go get Ms. Pryde." Megan shouted as she flew out of the room.
However, before Pixie could get any further, an explosion rocked the entire mansion. And unknown to everyone at the time, the time inside the mansion slowed down, until finally it was nearly stopped completely. And strolling in, from the hole in the mansion was the brotherhood of mutants, Frenzy, Tempo, Random, Unuscione, and their leader Bennet Du Paris.
" Maintain the time differential at this level, tempo." Bennet told the woman.
" I'll hold it as long as I can. But it's kind of a strain." Tempo replied.
" Then let's waste no time. The first target is this way." Bennet told his brotherhood.
The group ignored the time frozen Shadowcat and Colossus, and instead made a straight B-line for the break room, where their target was. However, when they arrived, they were greeted by an unexpected sight.
" Uhh, Chief? Isn't that our first target on the floor right there?" Random asked Bennet.
" Yes, it is." He replied.
" Then it looks like someone, did our job for us." Random stated.
Bennet approached Ruth and the young man holding her and placed his hand on her neck. to check her pulse.
" Ruth Aldine. Blindfold. She's dead." Bennet explained.
" How?" Frenzy asked the man.
" I'm examining the minds of these others to ascertain that, Frenzy.... Wait a minute." Bennet suddenly spoke.
" What is it?" Frenzy again asked.
" Nothing. Don't worry about it." The previous worry from, Bennet subsided, but not completely. He instead chose to focus on reading the minds in the room. " Apparently, she touched this one. The healer. But she touched the dark place of his skin that kills on contact." Bennet explained. " He has no idea why. Well, it's for the best. It would have given me no pleasure to kill her. The target is dealt with, Frenzy" With the death confirmed, Bennet moved on to his next goal. " Frenzy."
" Bennet watch your arm!" Frenzy yelled to the man.
Bennet looked down and jumped away from Ruth and the boy, just in time to narrowly avoid the rays shooting out of the boy's eyes.
" He's faster than the others. The timetable just moved up. Frenzy, Random, bring me those books." Bennet told the two mutants. He then turned his attention back to the boy.
" What is it, Boss?" Tempo asked the man.
" I can't read his thoughts." Bennet stated. " Only four telepaths on the planet can keep me from breaking into their minds without some sort of device. And none of them are present." Bennet explained. " So, who is he?"
Bennet stood there and watched the boy, still trying to get into his head. But to no avail. Eventually however, Frenzy and Random returned with the books they came for, only they warned Bennet to hold his expectations.
" Well, it seems that blood must be spilled after all." Bennet stated. Bennet closed the book in his hand and walked behind the boy. " Tempo, return us to normal time." Bennet told the woman.
" What, all the way?" Tempo asked the man.
" Do not worry. These are children... Mostly. They will not be able to harm us, and neither will the obscene automata massing outside." Bennet told the woman.
" All right, you're the boss. But this is going to be messy." Tempo told the man.
She returned time to normal, and in the instant it did, two straight lines of heat vision shot up towards where Bennet had been standing before.
With time returned to Normal, Ian's perception sped back up, he jumped to his feet and was immediately slammed in his back by a large and powerful telekinetic wave, sending him flying through the wall in front of him.
" What the hell? Ian!" Julian cursed. He and everyone looked upon the people in the room. " That was a big mistake."
" I am not here for you child, I seek Kitty Pryde, the last owner of these books." Bennet told the boy.
" The current owner!" Kitty told the man. She phased through Random and grabbed the book from Exodus. " Don't panic, guys. The X-men are here." Kitty told the kids. " And note the plural."
Bennet was suddenly hit in his chin, by Colossus.
" Well, you heard her! Let's give these guys what they came looking for!" Julian yelled to the others in the room.
Julian, Hisako, Pixie, Victor, Josh, Santo, Cessily, Sooraya, and Laura all attacked Bennet and the brotherhood along with Shadowcat and Colossus and the Sentinels protecting the mansion. And while the young and veteran X-men certainly had the advantage, they were however far outclassed by Bennet's raw power.
" Halt! On authority of the One, cease and desist. Or you will be fired upon." The sentinel pilot commanded.
Bennet looked up at the giant's and scoffed.
" Back in my day, a man didn't put his armor on until he'd prayed and fasted. Until he was sure that his heart was pure." Bennet explained. " Learn humility, little warrior. Or dress in sackcloth." Bennet told the man. He ripped the cockpit of the Sentinel apart and pulled the man from his seat. " And now!" Bennet waved his hand and put everyone in the room to sleep, with the exception of Kitty herself. Bennet grabbed Kitty and lifted her against a wall. " You feel my presence in your mind Katherine Pryde. My hand is on the tiller of your consciousness. You can't resist my will." He commanded Kitty to phase half-way through the wall. " Remain like that. Half ghost, half solid, until I decide whether or not you live or die." Bennet told the woman. " Now, where are the destiny diaries?" Bennet asked the woman.
" You're! Nuuuuh! You're holding them." Kitty told the man. She tried to free herself from his control, but his grip was just too strong on her mind.
" Tell me the truth! Because lies will only go hard with you. These books are forgeries, no, not even that. These are decoys." Bennet told the woman. He held the book open and revealed the pages to be blank." He exclaimed.
And indeed, the pages were blank... To him. But to Kitty, they looked just like the real thing. And Bennet realized this.
" But no. You see this as real. Incredible. Someone has altered your mind, seamlessly. Perfectly." Bennet exclaimed. " We'll find no more answers here. This battle is over." Bennet declared.
However, a scoff from the hole in the wall would suggest quite the opposite.
" You have no idea how wrong you are." The boy from before had returned and was now glaring at the brotherhood. His eyes burned red with power, nearly as powerful as Bennet's.
The brotherhood prepared for another assault, but the boy suddenly stopped when his eyes landed on Bennet himself.
This confused, Bennet. As it had seemed the boy was ready to fight.
Bennet met the boy's shocked gaze with question.
" Exodus.... Bennet is that you?" The boy asked him. Suddenly the boy grabbed his head and grunted, as if a searing pain suddenly shot through his brain. Exodus was caught off-guard momentarily. He had never met the boy before, and yet he called out to him with such familiarity. It intrigued him, on how he knew who he was. Perhaps it could just be that the X-men had his file available for the students. A likely possibility. But Exodus still found the need to ask.
" How do you know me, boy?" Exodus asked the young man.
" A new face, yet familiar. What was once, will be again. I get it now." The boy spoke mysteriously.
" What are you saying, child? Out with it." Exodus demanded.
The boy's gaze eventually softened, just a little, and the block Exodus, felt before suddenly vanished.
Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Exodus entered the boy's mind and saw but just a small glimpse of his memories, before being forced back out.
It was only a tiny glimpse, but enough.
" You knew me before.... I cannot say or even begin to understand how this is to be. Are you a telepath?" Exodus asked the boy.
The boy smirked and then gave a slight chuckle.
" Someday.... You and I are gonna be good friends, Bennet. Until then." Ian raised his hands and blasted the brotherhood members with as much energy as he could, sending them flying from the mansion. Though Exodus was able to fend off most of the energy without getting even slightly injured.
" What was that boss?" Frenzy asked Exodus.
" I'm not sure. But it doesn't matter. We didn't find what we were looking for. The books.... They're empty." Exodus explained. " There are only five telepaths on the entire planet that can alter someone's mind so seamlessly, that they would believe this is real. I can vouch for Sinister and myself. Phoenix is dead. And Xavier is stripped of his powers, at least he was the last time I saw him. By my count that leaves only one person left, Emma Frost. Let's go!" Exodus exclaimed.
He and his brotherhood, quickly left the area, before more reinforcements arrived.
Meanwhile, back at the Institute, the young X-men along with Kitty and Peter were recovering from their sudden attack.
" Are you okay?" Ian asked Noriko.
" Am I okay? I missed it all. I hear an explosion and then I'm suddenly put to sleep." Noriko replied. She seemed disappointed in herself. She rubbed her arms together and hugged herself.
" Hey don't be upset. These things happen." Ian told the girl.
" Yeah, at least you weren't here to get your butt kicked." Julian spoke up. " Man, we blew it. Look at this place. We got our butts handed to us on our home turf." Julian exclaimed out of frustration.
" We? Our? Us? What about the X-men who were left in charge of us?" Santo asked Julian. " We held up better than they did. At least we drew blood." Santo proudly stated.
" Not fair, Santo." Julian told the boy.
" Not fair? It was uncalled for, completely. Dick move, Santo." Ian told the boy.
" Yeah, says the guy nailing David's ex." Santo replied.
The room went quiet. And all eyes were now on the two boys.
" You get that one for free." Ian told the boy. " Say what you want, right now we have something more important to worry about." Ian explained. He looked over to Ruth's body on the ground and shook his head. " Who's gonna tell her family?" He asked.
" I'll do it. They deserve to know." Kitty spoke up. She was visibly disappointed as was Colossus. Getting beaten so easily, while being in charge would definitely be an embarrassment to any of the X-men.
However, before Kitty could even make the call, David stepped forward
" I'd hold off on that if I were you. Because I don't think she is dead." David explained.
" What???" Josh asked the boy.
" I've been thinking it through, Josh. Ruth isn't Suicidal. She isn't even crazy. She only speaks the way she does because she sees the world from a different angle. Pretty much the last thing she said to you was Thank you and she called herself your patient. Think about it." David told the boy.
" You think about it. That's pretty much your whole schtick." Santo told David. He was being even more aggressive than usual.
" Okay, she touched both of Josh's hands at the same time. She got a double dose, golden Josh and dark Josh. You think that was a coincidence?" David asked again. " She sees the future; she saw one of the most powerful telepaths in the world coming to kill her. You ask me, she found the only place to hide, deep stasis. So close to death that nobody would be able to tell the difference."
" Well, it's a nice idea. But she's not breathing. What do you think, Laura?" Ian asked the girl.
Laura looked at Ian, silently before nodding.
" She's not dead. She doesn't smell dead." Laura stated.
There was a collective breath of relief spreading throughout the room.
" Julian, Santo, get a gurney up from the med-lab stat!" Kitty demanded.
" I'm a little shorthanded right now." Santo told the woman. During the fight, Exodus had smashed both of Santo's arms
" No, that'll take too long. I'll carry her down." Ian told the woman. He picked Ruth up off the ground and, along with the others, carried her down to Hank's lab.
After a bit of confusing video logs left behind by Hank in case he was away, and some arguing over which was what, the group led by Kitty finally found what they were looking for. Kitty injected Ruth Pyridine and then Josh took over
" Okay Josh, don't break contact with Ruth's skin. Clear!" Kitty then hit Ruth with the paddles, to try and jumpstart her heart once more. " Anything?"
" Nothing. There's no response." Julian replied.
" Then we try again." Kitty exclaimed.
" We can't try again. We could damage her brain, Ms. Pryde." Sooraya told the woman.
" And that's what Josh is for, Sooraya. He heals whatever damage we do along the way. I'm going to keep doing this until we wake her back up." Kitty explained to the girl. Kitty lowered the panels back down on Ruth's chest and stomach and prepared to shock her again. However, Ruth's hand shot up and grabbed Kitty, freaking the woman out for just a moment.
Thankfully, Ruth Sat up shortly after and started coughing.
" Ruth! Haha! You're alive." Ian exclaimed. He bulldozed over Kitty and Sooraya both and hugged Ruth tightly.
" Must we? I suppose, we must. Ring the bells. Sound the alarms. He's coming! Oh, he's coming! Somebody has to warn them! The light fades, Ms. Pryde. But we're still blind. The battle eats the soldiers. The road maps hide the road. Johnny coming home, but he's not marching. I don't see how he could march after being blessed like that. And the mother will cry. And the machine will sing. And we'll all go running to our places. If we can find our places... In the dark." Ruth shouted aloud.
The students and the X-men listened closely to Ruth's cryptic but dark warning.
" What the hell does that mean?" Julian asked.
" I don't know.... But I gotta feeling we're gonna find out sooner or later." Ian told the boy.
Somewhere in the vast complexity of Ireland.
" There's something I need you to do. A place I need you to go." A disembodied dark and mechanical voice said to the machine in front of it.
The machine was the size of human man, with pink skin and white hair.
" Bastion-01, online." The machine was the very first iteration of Bastion ever built and now it had its eyes set solely on a target.