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xme-reboot · 6 years

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XME Reboot

Chapter 47: Grounded

Nothing is as it seems.

The night was still. There was no distant sound of cars on the road, or chirping of birds, or even rustling of leaves.

And then, suddenly, light- a blinding, yellow flash that burst from the Institute and enveloped it.

As quickly as it came, it went, and there was stillness once again.

Sunlight would filter into the room, the early morning rays tinted a soft green as they came through the curtains. Jean sat up, took a good stretch, a waggled a hand for her brush as she left the bed. She would start changing, pausing.

Her brush had remained unmoved from it's spot on the nightstand. She waggled her hand again, frowning sharply.

It didn't move so much as an inch. And she was suddenly aware of the quiet. "...What....?"

There was a THUNK a few doors down. "OUCH!"

She would exist her room, hair still disorderly, slightly dazed and half dressed. "Wha...?"

Kitty was pressed against the bathroom door. She was utterly flummoxed, and kept trying to get her hands through, but couldn't seem to.

Jean picked up pretty fast, brow knitting together when she realized she couldn't just... KNOW what was wrong. "Y-You too?"

"I..I don't--"

CLUNK-THUMP

"OW! WHAT?!"

Todd had attempted to wall jump.

He had failed. This was horrifying to him.

"Wh-What is HAPPENING!?" Jean asked, moving quickly to him. "N-none of our powers are...?"

"Where's the professor?" Todd asked quickly, shakily standing up.

"I... I don't know." She replied. "I... Guess we have to track him down?"

This was so... weird.

Kitty started down the stairs. "Professor?!"

"I'm down here!" He called, in the lobby.

Jean moved down quickly. "Wh-What is going ON? None of our powers are working!"

"Yeah man!" Todd said, "I-I was tryin' to jump around and I just...I couldn't stick!"

Things would only get more OFF as Pietro joined the scene.

Slowing from a run.

Out of breath.

Todd gestured wildly to him, utterly aghast.

"Right, we're calling a meeting." Xavier said, hand moving to his temple. He would pause mid reach, suddenly realizing. "Ah... I'm going to need all of you to gather everyone..."

"O-of course..." Jean replied, shaken.

Most everyone started to file downstairs quickly, after realizing themselves that their powers weren't working. Fred had tried to lift the couch. He was horrified when he could not. Lance was on said couch, stunned by this and the fact that his frustration hadn't even triggered a SLIGHT rumble.

"So why are we having a meeting?" Kurt would ask from the second floor, climbing onto the banister.

"KURT NO--" Jean told him, Kurt hopping off.

He would very, VERY quickly realize he couldn't port to a solid landing, flailing suddenly. "WEH!"

Fred dove forward. He caught Kurt in his arms, grunting slightly with the effort required. It still wasn't much effort, but now Fred could actually feel the effects of lifting something so light, and it was, again, horrifying.

Kurt hadn't needed to be caught since he was tiny, first learning to climb and balance. It was... off. Sobering? He couldn't place the emotion. "..O-Oh. That's why."

"WHAT IS GOING ON," Kitty asked loudly in exasperation.

"Mph." Rogue would approach, still in a sleepy daze. "So noisy this mornin'..."

Pietro paused for a moment, longer than he'd ever paused before. He would then stroll over, suddenly cupping her face.

There was a pause, Rogue's eyes widening when Pietro DIDN'T keel over. "... HOLY SHIT."

"PROFESSOR?!"

“All of you, just relax! We can't figure this out if we panic!"

"Guys-- GUYS!" Scott called from atop the stairs. "What is going ON? You know it's Saturday, don't you?"

Rogue looked to him, pull away from Pietro and stroll to Scott. "...Scott. Don't freak out." She would then steal his shades.

His eyes were closed and covered immediately. "Rogue, what are you doing?!"

"Just open your eyes." She said, tugging off her glove and gently, hesitantly, taking his arm. "It'll be okay."

The touch startled him. Scott paled considerably when he realized Rogue was...

He took a deep breath, lowered his hands, and opened his eyes.

It was normal. Everything was normal.

He looked shell-shocked.

"Our powers...None of them are working.." She explained, slightly shocked herself. She couldn't help but smile though. This whole thing was scary but.. somehow liberating?

Jean turned to Xavier, whose brow was creased in worry. "We need to find the root cause of this, how many of us were affected..."

"By the looks of it, all of us," Logan was coming into the room to join them.

He had a small band-aid on his face. This elicited a sharp gasp of shock from the students.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING!? WHY THIS!?"

Ororo shook her head. "I can't even summon a breeze." She confirmed, Xavier's eyes narrowed. "... We need to find the root cause of this. All of you..." He looked to the gathered X-men. "... Just... live as normally as you can, for now."

They all looked around, exchanging uncertain glances.

Normally?

"I'm gonna call S.H.I.E.L.D," Logan was the first to start away, "I don't like this at all."

And so they began to disperse, Jean taking a deep breath. "Alright, well! They'll.. they'll figure it out soon, you'll see." She said, trying to keep positive. "And until then we... make the best of it."

Pietro scoffed, sulking off. "Easy for you to say..." He grumbled. Everything had been dragging all morning. His feet, his thoughts. In frustration, he picked up the pace, starting into a trot, then a run, then a sprint.

He growled when his lungs started to ache.

NONE of this was okay.

Pietro's mind was racing, but even then it was too slow. Thoughts took an eternity to form, it seemed. He scowled, turning and deciding to look for Evan. He hoped it didn't take too long to find him.

"And you just woke up like that?" Evan was talking with Augustus, standing in the doorway of Auggie's dorm.

The younger mutant was sitting on his bed, looking utterly exhausted. "Yeah, it's like...I dunno. Like someone punched me in the head."

"Evan!" Pietro slowed his run, glancing in. "... What's with him?"

"He had a rough night." Alex was with Auggie, too, frowning slightly, his eyes narrowed in concern behind his bangs. He'd been attempting to tell him about the 'meeting' but, well. He'd gotten distracted.

"I think it might be a side effect of what's going on,' Evan hypothesized. He gave Auggie a sympathetic look, then moved out with Pietro, "We'll let the Professor know, alright? Take it easy."

"Y-Yeah. Thanks…”

"Yeah. Just tell me if you need something!" Alex told him, Pietro watching a moment longer before keeping after Evan. "... So. How are you taking this?"

"I mean, it's...weird," The understatement of the day, "But probably a lot better than other people. What about you?"

"I...." Pietro scowled, reaching and grabbing his hand. "I hate this."

Evan nodded, "I figured."

"I'm slow! I-I'm tired! It takes so long to even form a thought!" He flailed his free hand. "It took ten minutes to find you-- do you know how LONG that is!?"

Evan chuckled a little, "Welcome to my world, dude."

"How do you DO this?!" He asked. "I-I feel... God I don't even know! Slow and clumsy and stupid and!" Pietro's free hand would grab his scalp, nails digging in.

Evan squeezed his hand, "Stop that. Pietro, it's gonna be okay."

He took a deep breath, shuddering on the exhale. He knew finding Evan was a good idea. "... What... What if our powers don't come back?"

"...Then," Evan pulled him close, "We'll get through it. Together."

Pietro gripped Evan tight, huffing sharply. "Yeah... Guess we will, huh?"

~~~

"Could it be a bio-weapon?"

Fury and Logan were talking on the phone.

"We dunno, Fury. Everything looks normal so far, but..."

"I see..."

Coulson was furiously searching through the base's records, eyes narrowed. "Do we have any record of anything LIKE this...?" He muttered.

Xavier, with Logan, was rubbing his temple. "What... what did he offer?" He asked, not used to having to ask the question.

"They dunno yet," Logan muttered a reply to him.

"Have you felt any negative side-effects?" Fury asked.

"One kid got a little sick, but nothin' deadly."

"Ask them if anyone's changed to something more human? Like their blue folks." Coulson offered. He had no idea if that information would help, but it would be SOMETHING.

"Has anyone's appearance changed?"

"McCoy’s did. That’s about it. Nothin’s working."

Xavier shook his head. "Not even the slightest, side powers... Bobby commented on it being cold." He told Logan. It had been a moment of shock for the lad.

"What I'm tryin' to say, bub, is that it's like we're...'

'Human." Fury finished, "Hm...Well. I'll send a team over to investigate. You all hold tight."

Coulson shook his head, gathering files. "Quite..." He said, poking his head out and searching the hall for a free agent.

One woman passed him, her nose buried in a clipboard.

"Ah! Excuse me!" He called, waving her down.

"Oh! Yes, Agent Coulson?"

"Can you take these things to my office Miss..." He would glance to her name tag. "Romijn?"

The woman nodded quickly, "Yes, sir."

"Thank you. Just leave them on my desk."

"Don't leave the school,' Fury was saying, "Keep yourselves safe."

"Can't imagine they WOULD sir." Coulson offered as he ducked his head back in. "Without their powers well... It would be too dangerous. They wouldn't stand a chance."

Fury nodded gravely.

This didn't bode well.

"So." Jean started, looking over the duo. "I... Guess this must be nice?"

Rogue smirked slightly, jacket tied around her waist and arms bare. "I mean. You could say that, yeah."

Scott was still looking around. He hadn't seen colors aside from various shades of red since...well. "This is...wow." That was all he could say, really.

Jean sat across from them, smiling slightly. "Well... at least one good thing came from this?"

"No kiddin." Rogue nudged him. "Wait til ya see what outside looks like."

"Oh man!" Scott paused, "Do...Do you think we should? I'm not sure if it's safe."

"Not safe HOW? We'd still be at the Institute."

Scott knew that still wasn't enough. They had to be cautious.

But...it had been so long since he'd seen a blue sky.

"...Maybe if we just step out on the porch for a little while."

"Of course!" Rogue gave Jean a slide glance.

Jean just offered a smile. "I can't see much going wrong on the back porch."

Scott smiled at them. "Well, alright. Just for a little bit."

"Great!" Rogue stood, offering her hand. On instinct, Scott hesitated. But he didn't hesitate long. He took her hand gently, standing.

"Man..." They started out, Jean smiling softly. "Been YEARS since I could do this."

At least SOMETHING good was coming out of this mess.

"I know," Scott said, "It's... I forgot how much I missed this."

"I know. It's so... Wow." She'd forgotten how different skin to skin could feel. "This is just... Incredible. And man, it must be nuts for you."

Scott chuckled, "It's just...yeah." When they stepped outside, Scott's breath caught. He was speechless.

"Heh." Rogue watched him. "Nice?"

"Beautiful..."

"Heh... Yeah." She replied, giving his hand a squeeze.

He was able to tear his eyes from the world and looked to her. His eyes softened. "...You know," He smirked playfully, "There are other colors besides black and purple."

She perked, sputtering a laugh before managing a scoff. "ARE there?" She asked.

Scott couldn't play along for long, breaking out in a laugh, "Y-Yeah!"

"I can't believe you became a color expert so fast."

"Hey now," He ruffled her hair, "I used to see like everybody else, you know!"

"HAH~" She waved him off. "Yeah yeah. What colors would YOU suggest, huh~?"

Scott thought about it for a moment. He reached and stroked a bit of Rogue's hair, "Maybe...Blue?"

"I-I, uh...I'll give it a shot~" She said, running her thumb over his hand.

"Cool...cool." He realized the uncertainty- would he get to see that? How long was this going to last? His smile faded.

Rogue perked, free hand clenching slightly before she stroked his cheek. "Hey. I... know this could end at any time. But... We can enjoy it for now, right? And... Maybe work towards somethin' like this when it goes away?"

"Like...like this?"

"Ya know, this whole...control angle Prof's always talkin' about. Cause, not gonna lie? I wouldn't argue bein' able to do this more often."

"Well...I'm sure you could. I know you could," Scott said, "But, uh...not me." He ran a hand through his hair, and when his fingertips brush the familiar scar at the back of his head, he shivered a little. “What happened to me is permanent.”

"Mm..." She would take his other hand. ".. We'll figure somethin' out. For now.. Let's just enjoy this?"

"Yeah..." He squeezed her hands. "Let's."

Jean was back inside, stirring tea for herself, TV on low in the background. It was so... odd. Not having other's thoughts and feelings at the edge of her mind.

"Heeey," Kitty sat beside her, "How ya feelin'?"

"Oh! Kitty, you uh. You startled me."

"...Oh my god, that's weird."

Jean managed a laugh. "I guess it must be, huh?"

"Eeyeah," Kitty chuckled. "So...What's it like with all the quiet?"

"It's... It's odd. I know I'm not home alone but.. It feels like I AM."

"Whoa."

"Mmhm... How about you? What's it like having to find the door?"

"Eh," Kitty shrugged, snickering, "It's not all bad. Sometimes I forget, but...It actually wasn't that long ago that I was a 'human', y'know?"

"Mm... That's true, isn't it? We've all grown so accustomed to them but, save for a couple cases, we were all 'human' once.."

"Heh...Yeah." Kitty got quiet.

That was so weird to think about.

"... Do you think we'll go back? To having powers again? Being 'mutants'?" Though she supposed that, technically, they were still mutants. They just... lacked powers.

It was odd.

Kitty shrugged, "I...dunno. I hope so."

"Do you?" Jean smirked slightly. "I remember a time you weren't keen on this whole mutant business."

"Well," Kitty grinned, "I think I got the hang of it."

"You did! As your senior x-man, I am glowing with pride~"

Kitty bowed dramatically. "I am honored."

"As you should be! Now." Jean would chuckle. "How about we have some tea, and put something on. A little distraction won't hurt anything."

"Oh!"

Ororo was sitting inside, staring out the window and the light snowfall.

She waved a hand; the snow continued to fall. "I don't know WHAT I expected..."

"Habits die hard," Hank told her.

She chuckled, patting the spot beside her. "I'd forgotten what it was like to have the elements not bend to my wills."

"Ha! What a transition that must be!" Hank sat beside her, "...I don't like this. I mean, I'm...I'm grateful to look like this again, for however long. But there's something seriously wrong."

"There is. Something caused this. And I can't stand that we don't know what...or even who."

"Well...I suppose we have options to pick from," Hank sighed quietly.

"We do, don't we... and to think, all of this started out so simple." As simple as it could, she supposed.

"And now here we are."

"Quite... What do you make of all this, Hank? Losing our powers, what makes us Mutants?"

Hank looked out at the snow. He thought for a while. "...Honestly, I...don't quite know what to make of it. Whether this was some sort of-of weapon attack or..."

"No matter WHAT the cause, it's troubling." Ororo offered him a slight smile. "And I hate to say I've no idea how to handle this in the long term."

"Hoo...Me neither."

"Mmm. Well." Ororo gave him a slight smile. "At least we have each other?"

He returned it. "Quite right! We'll get through this all together, I should think!"

She chuckled, appreciating the enthusiasm. "Don't we always?"

"Well, uh, usually!"

"Often enough. ... You know. We don't usually have quiet moments like this. How about you show me some of the basics of knitting?"

Hank's face lit up. "I'll go get my yarn!"

"I'll be here. Perhaps brew some more tea while you get it."

"What an excellent idea-- Ooh! How about we start a whole knitting circle! Let's get some of the kids in on this!" Hank was far too excited.

"An excellent idea! I'm sure a couple of them could use something else to do today." She chuckled. His enthusiasm was contagious.

"-- so then I started thinking," Augustus was feeling a bit better it seemed, though he was still exhausted, "What kind of parents could hate their kid for something they can't control? So I left."

"Man... " Alex replied, having been listening with rapt attention. "That sounds like it was rough dude."

"Yeah, well..." Auggie chuckled, shrugging, "That's how it is.'

"I'm sorry dude." He said, pausing a moment before taking his shoulder. "You didn't deserve any of that."

Augustus gave him a small smile. "No one does...But. That's why I'm here, isn't it?"

"Yeah.. Guess so. H-hey. If you ever need me for anything like, ya know, to talk. I-I'm around, haha..."

"Hey, man, I appreciate--" The phone on the nightstand buzzed. Auggie grabbed it quickly. As he read the messages, his face grew distant, and he paled a little.

Alex's stomach clenched. "Auggie? Are you okay?"

Augustus pocketed his phone, and he was quiet for a moment. He put a hand on Alex's shoulder, "We're friends, aren't we?"

"Y-yeah! Of course we are!" He replied, perhaps a bit too quickly.

"Good. I need you to trust me," He squeezed his shoulder, "Alright?"

Alex perked, nodding slowly. "Y-You got it."

"I need you to help me get out of here."

He had to pause. "... W-Wait. Why do you wanna LEAVE?"

Auggie grunted. "I...I'm..." He swallowed hard. "I've been playing two sides."

Alex had to swallow the sudden lump in his throat. "Y.. you WHAT?"

"Alex, listen!" He pleaded quietly, grabbing both his shoulders, "I-I didn't want to! She's...she's gonna..." Auggie's hands shook.

Alex bit his lip, looking over him.

He couldn't handle him looking like that. "Okay, okay." He replied, taking his hands. "Tell me from the top. What happened?"

Auggie sighed in relief. "I was supposed to be feeding intel to...her," He shuddered a little, "But I can't-- I can't do this anymore."

"Her WHO?" He asked. "A-And of course you can't, you're a good guy!"

"I can't say, okay! She'll...she'll hurt me," He muttered, leaning closer, "I need to leave so I can break clean with her. I don't want you or anyone else here getting hurt."

Alex frowned sharply. "... Y-You could stay. I'm sure Prof would understand..."

"If I stay, she's going to destroy you." Augustus's tone was firm. "Please, Alex. I need you to trust me. I'll come back."

"I..." He squeezed his hand. "... Okay. I... I'll help you." Alex gave him a slight grin. "But you BETTER come back, okay? Or I'll have to find you." He couldn't voice his fears. This was hard enough for Auggie already.

Auggie smiled. "I promise."

"Okay... I'll... I'll help you sneak out tonight."

"I knew I could count on my Alex."

Alex couldn't help but flush. "H-haha.. W-well. Ya know~"

Auggie released him, "I need to take care of a few things. Can we just...keep this between us? Until things are resolved."

"You got it. It'll be okay Auggie, okay? We'll get through this."

"Heh...I believe that."

Miles away, Wasp was gearing up. Her suit was in place, gauntlets tested.

If something was depowering mutants, then by God she was going to figure out what it was.

"Wasp," Fury greeted her as he entered, "You don't need to do this, you know. We have plenty of capable soldiers along if things get dicey."

"Don't worry Sir, I'm well aware." She gave her wings a test buzz.

Fury's mouth twitched, and a small line formed between his brows. "I'm not sure I want to put you at such a risk, Wasp."

"I'd argue I'm always at risk. Besides! Gauntlets have a back up sting, and we'll know how big the impact zone of whatever made them use their powers was, yeah?"

"...I suppose you're right. Just be careful."

"Aren't I always?" She asked, smirking slightly. "... Maybe don't answer that."

He held in a chuckle. "Good luck, Agent. Wish I could be there myself, but..."

Since Trask had disappeared, Fury had been very, very busy.

"Don't worry sir!" Wasp stood straight, giving him a salute. "I'll represent us well, AND get to the bottom of this!"

"I know you will."

"And if it makes you feel better, I'll check in every fifteen minutes." She half teased.

"On the dot." Fury insisted.

"Hah. Understood, sir."

~~~

Xavier sat in the front room, staring out the front room. It was odd, to wait on someone and have no idea when they would arrive. Logan and Hank were by his side. "When do you, uh, think they'll arrive?" Hank asked.

"I don't know."

"Surely they won't take too long?" Storm asked, behind him.

"Mm.."

"Perhaps we should round the children up," Hank suggested.

"Probably... Ah." A ship would land on their lawn, the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo emblazoned on it's side.

Grunting, Logan went to open the door for them. Hank started upstairs to round everyone up. "Everyone! Let's get down to the living room!"

Wasp would approach, taking them in. "Professor Xavier!" She greeted, stopping before the porch.

A small team trailed behind her, already scanning the property, some with a type of reader. A few moved inside. Logan side-eyed them, and out of habit gave a sniff.

"Smell anything?" Wasp asked, frowning slightly. "Or are your powers still down?"

"The latter. At least in my case." Xavier told her.

Logan shook his head slightly. "Nothin'." He grumbled.

Augustus peeked his head around the corner. He wasn't seen, at least not yet. It came close when a S.H.I.E.L.D agent moved past him, scanner in hand. He went white.

Time for a change of plans.

"Alright. They'll be checking around, and know better then to try anything." Wasp assured. "And if they DO try anything, well." Her wings buzzed to life. "They won't again. Now, I'm going to do an overview on your roof." And with that, she excused herself to do just that.

Augustus quickly darted away.

Wasp would land on the roof, surveying the property and calling in. "There. Fifteen, just as promised."

"What's your status?"

"No trouble, so far. Everyone's still down. I'm-" She paused, suddenly.

Wasp had done a test 'sting', to see how damp her powers were.

But her sting had been full power. "... I'm... not affected?"

"...Hm." That was unusual.

"Either I'm some sort of anomaly, or we're not barking up the right tree."

"Could it be something in their food?" Fury suggested, "I can't imagine any sort of disruptor would be able to be THAT specific..."

Another thought occurred to him.

"...Maybe a mutant could, though."

She perked. "Sir?" She asked, suddenly on edge.

"I want you to be on alert. Make sure all Institute residents are in sight."

"I'll have them gathered and keep personal watch." She told him, eyes narrowed. "I won't let anyone leave."

"Kids!' Hank opened the back door. Scott, having heard the ship land, had already risen to come in, but he still jumped a little in surprise at the sudden appearance of his teacher. "We're all gathering in the living room."

"Right," Scott turned, "I'll go round up the others."

Rogue nodded, bumping his shoulder. "Me too. Meet you there?"

He smiled. "You bet."

"Good." She started up the stairs, deciding top to bottom would be best.

Alex was the first she found, in a corridor's doorway. "Alex! Downstairs, we're meeting in the living room."

"Oh! You got it!"

Augustus grimaced. He tried to, silently and as quickly as he could muster, move down the hallway before Rogue could see him.

"Auggie!" Too late. "Having a meeting, living room!'

For a second, he was rigid. Then, slowly, he turned. It was Rogue.

He decided to work with this.

"So. What's it like?"

".. I'm sorry?"

"Being in control." He smiled. "Nice, right?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "What are you talking about?"

He sauntered up to her. Augustus took her chin. "What's it like being able to touch people again?"

She jerked back away from him. "What is- what are you doing?!"

"Can't you see that you're so much better off this way?" Augustus asked, "Wouldn't it be fantastic to remain this way? Forever?" His smile widened. "I can do that for you."

Rogue paused. ".... Augustus. What are you playing at?" She asked, fists clenching.

"I'm not playing," He told her. He stepped closer, "What I'm offering you is a chance to feel normal again."

"Augustus." She replied, sharper. "How could you-" She jerked, suddenly, realization dawning. ".. You... you didn't. You didn't do all this."

He chuckled. "I can shut down all kinds of systems- electronic, muscular, vascular, respiratory...And, as a matter of fact, mutations."

She took a deep breath. "Be willin' to bet you've known 'bout yerself the whole time."

"I know a lot more, too. Like...that your mother really misses you."

Rogue stiffened. "You keep away from Irene, you hear me?!" She shot back, not even realizing her feet had slid into stance.

Augustus laughed. "I'm not talking about her! I'm talking about...Well." He offered his hand. "Maybe if you come with me, I can just introduce you, Anna Marie."

She stared at the hand a moment. Then, coldly. "I ain't going anywhere with you."

A little shrug. "You'll come around. We're practically made for each other, you know."

Rogue's reply was to quickly turn down the hall. "PROF!" She called, running down to the living room.

She didn't notice Alex pressed in the doorway, fists clenched tight, biting his lip hard.

Logan was the first to meet her. "Kiddo?!"

She almost ran into him, grabbing his arm and yanking. "A-Augustus was a mole! He did this!"

"What!" Hank was just making it to them.

"WHERE IS HE?" Logan demanded quickly.

"Back down the hall, this way!"

Logan took off at a run, but stopped suddenly, curled in on himself and cried out. "AAAUGH!"

"Logan!"

Six metal claws tore their way through his knuckles.

Rogue's eyes went wide, and she scrambled back, suddenly grabbing for the jacket tied around her waist. "No... Oooh nonono..." She muttered, quickly turning tail to the living room. "GUYS!!"

Hank ran after her, but soon he, too, was halted as the tendons in his limbs flexed, and a guttural roar escaped him. There came a loud blasting noise from the living room, and shouts.

Alex had wandered into the living room, eyes blurred with tears.

He was now staring at Scott, shell shocked as he realized he'd taken a blast from his brother.

Jean would have been of some help, but she had suddenly stumbled back against the wall. Emotions and thoughts assaulted her, almost too fast to keep up with.

Scott couldn't stop. He had managed to direct his blasts into the wall and ceiling, but he couldn't turn them OFF.

"Scott-- AAH!" Kitty now found herself falling through the floor. Lance jerked for Kitty, and suddenly a rumble shook the Institute, Lance unable to stop it. Nearby there was another scream, and suddenly smoke and fire. Ice quickly crawled down the hallway, coating half of it behind a thick block.

Wasp was on the comm. "I NEED ALL UNITS MAKING A PERIMETER!" She barked, followed by about ten other orders.

The Institute was in absolute chaos, as everyone's powers jump-started and spiraled out of control at once. Thunder cracked, the wind howled, and a torrential downpour of rain and ice buffeted the old mansion and rocked the S.H.I.E.L.D ship outside. Furniture and walls and ceilings were ruined as bone spikes impaled them. Then, everything started to float.

Professor Xavier could feel every mind at once. It was almost too much, too much information to contain. Amid the chaos, Xavier felt someone he didn't know. He checked quickly, finding Augustus.

And then, just as suddenly, nothing. "H... he's gone..."

Just as quickly as the chaos had started, it stopped. Everything fell back down into place, then there was silence. Everyone was exhausted; it had felt like they'd all suddenly gotten the mother of all sugar-highs, then crashed thirty seconds later. Poor Kitty managed to crawl her way out of the floor before collapsing in a heap.

Needless to say, the poor Institute was looking a little worse for wear.

"Wh-what was THAT?!" Kurt managed, Pietro slumping onto the couch.

"That!" Wasp started, heaving a sigh and running a hand through her hair. "Was likely a 'restart' on your powers coming back."

Hank picked himself up, blue and furry once again. Luckily his glasses had survived the transformation. "I-Is everyone okay?" He called. He got many groans in response, plus a, "The carpet's ruined," "My whole body just had a cramp," and a couple, "Jesus H Christ's."

"I think a couple of me got lost." Poor Jamie meekly responded amidst a pile of himself.

Storm shook her head, Wasp groaning and calling in. "Agent Wasp here."

"Report."

"It was a mutant. The X-men had a spy in their ranks." She grunted, rubbing an arm. "He escaped in the chaos of everyone's powers returning."

Fury grunted. "Great. Secure the area, make sure everyone is accounted for."

"I'll get info on anyone who ISN'T to you as soon as possible."

"Good. I want you to interview the witnesses. Figure out who he was working for."

"Understood. I'll..." Wasp looked over the group. "... I'll get to it soon as they get themselves together."

Augustus had run, far and fast, and hadn't stopped running until he reached the city. He had to brace himself on a wall- he had already been entirely spent from the previous night, and combine that with half an hour of sprinting and he was sure his body was going to give up.

He had wanted to steal one of their vehicles, but it would have taken too much energy, too much time.

Mercifully, he was able to wave a taxi down.

"Where ya headed?" Asked the driver.

"Take me home," Augustus wheezed.

The car pulled back into traffic. There was a flash of yellow eyes in the rear-view mirror. "As you wish."

#XMEReboot Chapters #x-men fanfiction #marvel fanfiction

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