How did this turn into a fairly civil meeting? The X-men were shaking their heads.

At least, it was civil for the DJs and Magneto, who were now talking.

Not so civil for Rogue, who flew over to Mystique now that there was a lull, and shook her.

"What did you do?" she said.

Mystique couldn't exactly answer.

"Time out," Morph said. "I get it, Rogue, but the whole thing isn't how it looks. I don't know what I believe and what I don't, but Shine accepted it."

"Wait...I know," Rogue said. "I still have Psylocke's powers: Did you sell us out?"

Leave it to Rogue to use violence first when she still had borrowed telepathy.

Mystique brushed herself off. "No...not exactly."

"That don't help," Rogue said.

"I was made to," Mystique said.

"You always say that." Rogue frowned. "But is that really true, Momma?"

"How could I have avoided it? You have the power yourself, don't you?" Mystique said. "You can tell if I lie, can't you? I don't know how Psylocke discovered I was here or knew about the house... One of you must have let that slip--who else knew? Or Sabretooth...but then, he never mentioned that..."

"No, it wasn't him..." Rogue said, suddenly frowning. "Oh...maybe those guesses were right, then. Warren told her."

Mystique looked surprised only for a moment. "I see...but how did he know? Other than what he saw on the island...but that wasn't that much."

"I guess he heard from the MacTaggerts, and it just went on from there." Rogue bit her lip. "And he passed it on to her...so that's why. Here I kind of hoped it wasn't his fault after all... Sorry, Momma."

"Sorry?" Mystique said. "That fool. What was he even thinking would come of it? I can't help them..." She stared at the ground. "Not that it matters. That little witch went straight to Magneto and told him the whole story, both true and false, as I take it. I don't know exactly. So yes, I told them some of what I knew, but mostly I was just trying to stay out of it. I know you know I'm being honest."

"I do, but I can't figure why," Rogue said. "And why did ya run off without so much as a fare-thee-well, anyway? This couldn't have happened if ya didn't do that, y'know."

"I really don't see what would have changed, other than the timing," Mystique said flatly. "And let's not pretend, Rogue. You didn't want to see me anyway. I did you a favor."

"A favor?" Rogue said. "I--wait, do you actually believe that?" She got an odd look. "That's real strange. I almost can't tell."

Mystique couldn't tell either. She half convinced herself with her own reasoning, most of the time. "I might." She shrugged.

"So are you telling me, dat she actually didn't?" Gambit was puzzled. "Dat jus' don't add up."

"Believe it or not, I guess so." Rogue shrugged. "Who knew?"

"That's the biggest surprise in all this," Logan said. "What's the matter, did ya finally grow a conscience?"

Mystique cut her eyes at him. "I don't answer to you anymore."

"Why, you--" Logan stepped forward.

"Let's not do this," Storm cut in. "I think we should be happy if her actions were, for once, less reproachable. Perhaps there is something in Shine's optimism after all. At least no one was hurt."

"Yet," Mystique said.

"Ya know somethin' else?" Logan frowned at her.

"Only this, that if you let Likstar talk to Magneto long enough, he is going to try to kill her," Mystique said. "And us, of course. I don't want to be included in that when it happens."

"You've got some nerve, lady," Logan snarled. "It'd serve ya right, except that I don't think ya deserve to share our fate, whatever it happens to be. So ya just better hope that doesn't happen."

"Maybe you don't take into consideration how volatile these people are," Mystique said snidely. "But I do. She's got a big mouth. She got away with it before, because she shocked him, but he'll get over that soon enough. Not every villain can be intimidated as easily as Sabretooth or those Morlocks. A fanatic especially."

"She might not be wrong," Gambit said. "Jus' what I been sayin' dis whole time. We should break dat up."

"Shine would never allow you to take her chances," Storm said. "And Wally is always ready to give someone a chance to change their mind. If we try to stop them, we'll just have a three-way fight on our hands. Is that going to help?"

"You admire her too much to see things clearly," Mystique said. "Aren't they just humans like anyone else? Stop them."

"You don't get an opinion," Logan said.

Mystique rolled her eyes.

"Still, shouldn't we think of everyone's safety here?" Morph asked. "How long does that barrier last, do you think? What if they get mad again?"

"I'm going to let Warren know what is going on," Storm said. "I hope at least that he is still at his post."

She pressed her com-link.

* * *

Shine and Wally were careful with what they told Magneto. They were only telling him so far that they were staying at the mansion in order to help the many new students there.

Magneto, rather impertinently, Shine thought, asked them what exactly they did and why they were qualified to do this.

Shine shot back with a: "Why are you qualified to do what you do?"

Wally wasn't sure her being so combative was helping their case.

But then he thought...why did they owe an explanation to this guy? He wasn't actually in the government, and he had already tried to have them assassinated... When you looked at it that way...

He was almost tempted to be more rude than Shine.

"I merely ask because I've never known Xavier to bring on that kind of help," Magneto said. "And...what you can do...is unusual. Anyone would be curious."

"Why should we explain to you?" Wally said, a little warmly. "You already made up your mind. You're lucky you're getting this much."

Shine gave him a look that said she was surprised he was getting mad now.

"I...see," Magneto said slowly. "Well, if you've already decided we're enemies, then why are we having this conversation at all?"

"That's rich," Shine said. "We decided we're enemies. I like how you pushed the blame back onto us after you started this whole mess. I've yet to hear any sort of remorse."

"I won't apologize for doing what I thought was necessary," Magneto said.

Shine stood up to pace a little.

"Every dictator in all of history has said some form of those words," she said. "Do you really think you can use logic like that and still consider yourself helping mutantkind? Helping or ruling, Magnus, which is it?"

"Magneto," Magneto corrected. "And someone must make the difficult decisions...but, I see, Charles has won you over."

"Oh, not even close," Wally said. "I'm not even sure he agrees with us." He chuckled wryly. "Go figure."

"Actually we rarely agree with the philosophic types like him," Shine said. "Philosophy is man's wisdom, and that is what it means. Theology is the knowledge of God. Revelation is direct knowledge from God. And doctrine is the application of such knowledge in everyday life. Philosophy is rarely provable or applicable to everyday life, and that is why it's mostly useless to us. Intellectuals like Xavier, they are content to always be asking what is possible and never actually finding out what is possible."

Magneto considered her.

"That is a good description of Charles," he said. "He believes humans and mutants can live together in harmony. He's a fool."

"Oh, sure," Shine said. "It's a fool's wish to think any creatures like us can live in harmony even with ourselves. But he is an honest fool, at least. He works for what he says. You, on the other hand, are a dishonest fool."

"Excuse me?" Magneto said.

"You say one thing, you do another," Shine said. With scorn. "I have no patience for men like you. You look down on everyone who has hope, because you cannot have it yourself. That makes you none the wiser than anyone else. If anything, you are just sadder. And you wish to take over and crush humanity under the boot of mutants."

"So you have a problem with this," Magneto said. "You have already insulted my idea of mutant supremacy...but that is just being in denial. Just like Charles. What are we if not greater than them?"

"So power is what makes you greater?" Shine said. "Someone who can spit acid is inherently greater than someone who can only spit tobacco...? Though I think that is an acid, actually. But the point is: genetically, superior."

Magneto nodded.

"I thought Eugenics was a Nazi Germany idea," Shine said.

Wally didn't get it for a second, but the change in Magneto was instantaneous.

"Do you dare insinuate what I think you just did?" He stood up.

Shine tilted her head at him. "What is the difference between mutants claiming evolutionary superiority and Aryans doing it?"

"There's a clear difference. We are as gods among insects," Magneto said. "And they fear us for that reason."

"A god wouldn't really need to worry about insects fearing and hating him," Shine said flatly. "But a man might. The fear of man is deadly, after all. I know of no god that fears men, but I know of men who claim to be gods who fear other men."

Magneto scowled again. "This is treading on dangerous ground, Mrs. West."

"Oh, what you gonna do about it?" Shine taunted him. "Kill me? I don't think you can, at the moment. And I'm sure killing anyone who disagrees with you is the thing a free-thinking man would do. And not an oppressor trying to impose a regime."

Magneto blinked at her.

"This is what I cannot understand," Shine said. "You honestly seem to think you are virtuous, even noble, for these ideas. But the people under you are rough and bullies--that is all they are. And you are a tyrant. Charles and his group stand in the way of you fulfilling your goals, thank goodness, but what baffles me is that they take you seriously at all. The place for people with your ideas used to be the madhouse. Anyone who has this notion that their special powers give them the right to rule is insane."

"And you would have us under the bottom of the humans instead?" Magneto said. "I do not know what planet you are from, but here, we prefer not to be slaves."

"My planet, as you say, is the same as yours," Shine said. "Only there they don't have mutations to make things even more terrifying...but we're close enough. Who knows? One of these days, someone may discover how to make the Ubermenz a reality...and their doom will probably be complete when they do. But that is, really, of no consequence to me. We do what is right, and that is what is demanded of us by God. You turned your back on Him, I see. A shame."

"You want to bring God into this?" Magneto said. "I heard that you had some sort of religion.... Well, where was God when my people were slaughtered?"

"They were my people too," Shine said steadily.

Magneto paused. "Well...then, even more. Where?"

"The same place He was every time it happened before in history," Shine said. "It always is amusing to me. We have little problem accepting God is real while we only know of past tragedies. Sometimes, we even say those people brought it on themselves...but once it's us, God is suddenly not real for allowing it. But evil has happened since the first man, and it will happen up until the last is either dead or reborn, and if God has been showing Himself to men in all this time, I do not think another tragedy will stop Him. The answers are the same, from then to now, but all of us must ask Him for ourselves and wait till He gives them."

She rubbed her arm. "God has given me many answers for the suffering in the world, over time. But each only when I was ready, and they aren't ones I can just tell to people who have no understanding. They only make since when you are ready. And no one who is bitter at God is ready to here the truth. Same as with any one you're bitter at. Angry people do not want to hear a defense from who they are angry at, they want to blame them."

"I'll admit, I've never heard anyone give an answer like that," Magneto said. "But it is a glib answer. It evades the question--and responsibility."

He thought he'd make her mad by that, but it never seemed to bother her at all.

She just looked at him, entirely unmoved.

"I suppose it sounds glib to someone who has no ears to hear it," she said. "Skeptics say that that is the easy way out. But they do not take into account that there are many things you do not understand in life if you do not want to. No one learns anything in school if they are determined not to. Same with God. He only promises to reward those who seek him diligently, in truth. He is not hard to find, then. Millions of people have found him. If you yourself have not, do you think the fault is with God, or with you? Who is the minority there? Most of the world is religious in some form. Majority rule says God can be found. It is skeptics who are the anomaly."

"You are a better debater than Charles," Magneto said, "I admit. But all this is just words, not facts.... You have insulted me. And you're claiming God is somehow both real, and, I take it, with you in your endeavors. But I find that claim presumptuous at best."

"Well, we did get this far," Wally said. "Odds were against that.... And how did you think we pulled it off?"

"Powers that you think are Divine, but really are not," Magneto said.

"I love it when they claim to know our own powers better than we do," Shine said to Wally. "Sort of like someone telling you they know what you put into your cake recipe better than you do yourself."

"Sure," Wally said.

"You know, God did not punish you," Shine said to Magneto, suddenly. "Nor did He will all the evil. But for life to continue at all on this planet, evil must go with it. Jesus once told a parable, where there was a field of wheat, and someone sowed tares into it. The owner is asked what to do, and he said not to pull out the tares yet, because it would pull out the wheat with it. But to leave it, till harvest time, and then he will sort it out. Same with the evil in the world. It happens, alongside the good. Even these great tragedies make room for great acts of courage and compassion. Cut out the evil, and you cut out the good, and then we have nothing... It is, perhaps, small comfort for those in pain at the moment. But pain itself is not a reason, it's just an experience. What's behind it, and what comes out of it, that is a reason."

She shrugged. "Not many people seem to like this answer. But things must be as they are until the end of time. And then it will all be new. Good thing for us. You would be doomed otherwise. Unless you think you are good."

Her tone implied vicious mockery would follow that assertion.

"I suppose you think you are," Magneto said. He was not taking her very seriously, it was clear.

"No." Shine shrugged. "But I live well, thanks to Christ. He carries me. I would not be here otherwise. Believe me, I have no wish in myself to talk to someone like you about God's mercy. But God is merciful to all of us, even you, and so here we are."

"She's right," Wally spoke up. "It's not up to us to decide who gets mercy and who doesn't, so we're still talking about it with you. Maybe, in the long run, this was meant to happen... I mean, we've met people weird ways."

"Oh, yes, remember Touya?" Shine said.

"Or Sasuke, or the team Taka kids, or most of the people along the road," Wally reflected.

"Heck, even Logan." Shine looked back at him.

He frowned.

"I had forgotten how inauspicious your first encounter was." Storm was amused. "We have come a long way."

"Don't remind me," Rogue said. "It's embarrassin' to think about back then."

"It couldn't have been so bad," Mystique said.

"Sure it could have," Rogue said. "But then, you'd know. Remember how you met them?"

Mystique shuddered. "Officially...I don't like to think about it."

"I thought they were very nice about it," Morph said. "Made me feel twice as guilty, actually."

"Yeah, well, Magneto isn't goin' to listen to them," Logan said. "The Professor has been tryin' for years... Doesn't matter how many times we help 'im--he still hates humans."

"Perhaps, but a human has not been the one to help him," Storm said. "I still don't know if they should reveal it, but...there is something poetic about it...or perhaps symbolic. I did not think he would listen for this long."

"Guess ya were wrong," Rogue said to Mystique.

"If they tell him they are human, you will see how right I was," Mystique insisted.

In fact, just at this time, Shine and Wally were thinking they had better end this.

"How do I know your intentions are really pure?" Magneto said.

"You know, if you don't buy it, it's not like you don't know where the mansion is. Pay us a visit," Shine said. "Meet the kids.... But that would be unlikely, wouldn't it? So what can we tell you? Even Sabretooth has nothing bad to say about us, from what I understand. Which is quite an accomplishment, considering that we're human and all."

Wally looked at Shine nervously.

"What did you just say?" Magneto's whole expression changed.

Shine hadn't even noticed.

But now she did.

However, rather than looking embarrassed, she threw her shoulders back. "I was saying that it's more impressive because we are human, given how he feels about humans in general."

"I was told...you were aliens," Magneto said.

"Sure, alien humans." Wally took Shine by the arm.

Shine gave Magneto a triumphant look. "Well, it's come out after all, even on accident... Maybe it's a sign. I knew concealing it was a bad idea. Why does it matter? We are who we are. Being humans didn't change that."

"I'm a fool," Magneto thundered, making all his followers look back up. "I should have seen it before. Only humans would preach such nonsense, trying to get us to turn our backs on the idea of conquering. Now it all makes sense."

"If you think for one second that having powers would make one bit of difference--" Shine began.

"Did he forget that I have speed?" Wally was saying at the same moment.

But they were drowned out. There was a roar of outrage from the Mutates at humans daring to come into their camp.

"Finish them!" Magneto said.

He raised metal.

The X-men supposed the barrier would keep holding.

But it had been up for 10 minutes at least, and Shine could rarely keep them up longer than five at most, under duress, so even while they had not been attacked, her time wasn't that long.

The others broke through the line in a few seconds flat.

Shine also suddenly was very tired from that kind of effort and sank to her knees.

Magneto raised metal over them.

The X-men reacted with all the reflexes of highly trained professionals, thank goodness.

Storm at once made wind cover to block Magneto's attack.

The others jumped into action.

Morph turned into a dino again to sweep people aside.

"Pathetic, really," Rogue heard Mystique saying. "Finds out they're human and goes mad... I told you."

"Shut up!" Logan said, swatting some aside. "Either help us or get out of our way, lady."

Mystique supposed it was too late to join Magneto's side again. He'd seen her standing with them already.

And her best chance at getting out of here was with them.

Still she didn't like these odds and would have preferred to just hide until the fight was over.

It was utter chaos already.

Things didn't look good, but then Angel appeared, shooting feathers and blocking off several of the Mutates in doing so.

This gave them a bit more of an edge, enough to start gaining some traction in clearing the army out of their way.

Storm was burying some in snow who had weaknesses to cold, and she struck another with lightning, carefully.

Wally was shoving people aside and towards the pond, which was a water source for the camp.

But of course there were always more. And they had stronger powers, some of them.

Sonic blasts or super strength, or something else equally dangerous.

Mystique climbed onto the rock and slid down the other side to get out of plain sight.

She should just get out while she had the chance. She thought.

She poked her head back around to see if anyone was watching her.

Kurt swung down and kicked one person. But he was still tired... He'd definitely used way too much teleportation for one day.

Dizzily, he kind of slumped to the ground.

Someone else picked him up by his tail.

Mystique frowned and, taking aim, she shot the Mutate in question.

They dropped Kurt and fell over.

No one saw that, but Kurt sat up, confused.

"This mad house isn't worth it," Mystique told herself. "I can find a safer place to work..."

"Kurt!" Rogue plucked him up before someone else could grab him. "Maybe you'd better sit the rest of this one out, Sugar. Ya done a lot already."

"But ve need all of us," Kurt said weakly. "I cannot afford to. I'll be all vright... Just a moment."

Someone grabbed Rogue by one foot. They yanked at her.

"Ah!" Rogue kicked at them. "Let go of me!"

Kurt tried to swing at them, but he was out of range.

Gambit tossed a card up, and they were stunned by the explosion.

So far so good.

But two more Mutates attacked Gambit from behind.

"Remy!" Rogue put Kurt down hastily and rushed to help, but someone else got in her way.

This was no good, Mystique thought. Never going to work...

Shine was trying to avoid getting killed and using her sword to parry and dodge attacks, but she was clearly tired, and she just wasn't fast enough.

Wally tried to get to her but got blocked and stuck in some kind of goop by someone else.

"Uh, guys!" he called. "A little help!"

Wolverine tried to get to him, but the Mutates were actively trying to separate them all now. They must have figured out their advantage.

Storm strained to freeze over the goo and make it brittle, but it was taking too long to do this.

Someone hit her with some sort of sonic attack, and she fell out of the air, dazed.

Magneto threw sheets of metal over her, sealing her in.

"No!" Storm started to panic. "Let me out! Let me out!"

"Storm!" Logan called. "Hang on."

"Oh, I don't think so." Magneto shoved him into a tree with metal. "I've had enough of this. I am sorry for Charles, but this has gone too far."

He'll kill them all and then find me and kill me too, Mystique thought to herself. Perhaps it was better just to commit to this.

Angel flew at Magneto and tried to stop him, but Magneto turned his metal wings back on him and smacked him into the ground, hard.

He was dazed.

Mystique shrugged. She had a clear shot at least.

She fired at Magneto.

Since it was not metal, he did not sense it coming, and it hit him directly. He fell to the ground, stunned, but not that hurt. Not close enough for that.

Oh well, at least it bought a little time.

Mystique hoped no one saw that.

Unfortunately, someone had.

Psylocke suddenly landed behind her.

"Why am I not surprised to see you, turncoat?" she said, holding out her sword. "But I don't understand. Why?"

Mystique turned towards her, and she knocked the gun out of her hands with her sword.

"Any last words?" Psylocke asked, lengthening her sword.

Mystique smiled slyly. "You now how I can be anyone?"

"Yes, but it doesn't affect me," Psylocke said smugly.

"That is true," Mystique said. "But it affects everyone else."

Psylocke didn't understand.

Mystique suddenly turned into a wild cat and jumped over the rock before the woman could run her through.

Psylocke was caught off guard. She could sense Mystique's intention to deceive, sure, but not the exact way she would have done it. It happened too fast.

She leapt after her, tossing her lash out.

But here she played right into her hands.

Mystique shifted into Magneto himself and cried, "Help me! Friends! Psylocke has turned!"

"What? Why, you--" Psylocke said, before at least half a dozen people turned to look at her murderously.

"Traitor!" they yelled.

"That is not Magneto, you fools!" she cried. "It's Mystique--"

But since the actual Magneto was out of their line of sight, at the moment, since there were so many people and debris lying around, no one believed her.

Then they charged her.

Mystique managed to pull out of the lash while she was running and rubbed her ankle.

She reverted back to herself. No one noticed now.

She had better get that gun back.

A different Mutate spotted her suddenly.

"Mystique!"

Just her luck.

She glared up at them. She wasn't sure she had a form that would be of use here.... This one was huge...

Dino-Morph suddenly ploughed into said Mutate, and he went flying.

Morph then turned back to normal, looking tired. "Man, this is harder than it looks.... Much as it pains me to admit this, that was a pretty good hustle with Psylocke."

"Most of these people are idiots." Mystique stood up. "In fact...it just occurred to me, we could end this fight if Magneto was not here."

"What do...? Oh..." Morph understood.

Magneto was up by now.

"But only The Professor could take him on..." Morph said.

"Hmm..." Mystique said. "Interesting idea."

"I really hate that that's a good idea," Morph said. "But which--?"

"Go, I have an idea," Mystique said. "And for the record, I am only doing this to get of of here, so none of your crap about trust. Just get it done."

She scurried away.

"And you're welcome. Don't mention it," Morph muttered. "This better work after that..."

He shifted into Xavier and a wheelchair.

Hopefully Magneto would not notice it wasn't floating.

[Funny, though. If Morph was as OP as his comic self, he could float also and make this perfectly convincing.... It's pretty scary.]

He went up to Magneto before he could get his bearings.

"Magnus!" he called. "Stop this."

"Charles?" Magneto was caught off guard. "What are you doing here?"

* * *

Shine somehow had gotten pinned between a tree and the people she was fighting. She kept trying to get past them and get to Wally--or Storm, who was still yelling for help--but she couldn't.

Rogue was getting set upon by too many people to help. It was all she could do to fend them off.

Gambit was doing his best, but he also had too many opponents.

Logan was ploughing through his, but getting slowed down by their tricks.

Group fights could be hard to follow. Even all her practice on other missions hadn't made Shine perfect at it, and she wasn't sure who needed the most help.

"God..." she prayed, "get us out of this...somehow."

No immediate answer.

Where had Mystique gone? Had she ditched them? It would be like her. To think it was enough just not to make it worse deliberately.

"Getting tired, little mouse?" said one of the unpleasant-looking Mutates.

Shine was fairly sure they didn't have to look that way. Their costume made it worse. One of the things she disliked about Magneto's crew, they embraced monstrosity. You could see it in their eyes.

She looked them in the eye. "Do not attack me," she said with calm, hoping her voice sounded sure of itself.

The Mutate stared at her and laughed.

But she held that look, and they started to look nervous.

"You're a dirty human!" they said.

Shine's eyes glowed, though she didn't know it. "Well, if God Himself was not ashamed to put on human from, than neither am I," she said, with a burst of clarity.

Whatever it sounded like to the Mutate, it must have spooked them. They backed up and ran for it.

Shine laughed in pure delight. Leave it to God to surprise her...

She darted around the crowd, yanking Kurt out of the reach of someone else.

Kurt was sluggish.

Shine just ran, pulling him after her, while they were pursued by more Mutates.

But then there seemed to be some kind of confusion, and the Mutates began to turn, as if they'd lost sight of them.

"Vhat is happening?" Kurt wondered. "Do they not see us?"

"Confusion..." Shine said slowly. "Classic. Kurt, watch my back for a moment."

She leaned on the cage over Storm.

"Storm? Can you hear me?"

A low moan from inside, then a faint, "Shine...get me out..."

Shine put her sword to the metal and started to slice it.

"You!" Psylocke suddenly was on top of it.

She had shaken the others, using her own powers, and was now anxious for revenge.

Shine looked up in time to just barely block as the other woman jumped down at her.

"Fraulein!" Kurt cried.

"Never mind me!" Shine called, rolling out of the way. "I'll deal with her. Get Storm."

Kurt turned back to the metal and tugged at it.

"I vill try to teleport you out," he said. "But...oh...dear Lord, give me the strength... I am not sure I can do this."

"Kurt, I cannot stand it!" Storm cried. "The others out there...need help... I cannot be trapped..."

"Fraulein," Kurt said, steady, "vith Gott all things are possible. Surely you can remove this yourself. Trust in Him. All of us have veakness...but the saint Paul wrote that vhen I am veak, then I am strong."

"What if I am simply too weak...?" Storm said in a small voice.

Kurt ducked as something flew over his head.

"Then ask for more strength," he said. "I vill pray for you...and for myself..."

He thought he might have to try after all...though it was doubtful if such an effort would not make him pass out finally.

Logan finally got over there.

"Is Storm all right?" he said.

"Ve are asking Gott," Kurt said.

"I got this," Logan said.

Kurt grabbed his arm. "Vait, Brother Logan.... Perhaps, but if she is able to do this herself, vith Gott's help, she vill be able to do it again. If ve save her, then it is us.... This is not bad...but vhat if ve cannot be there?"

"Do we have time to risk it?" Logan said.

"Ve may never have more time than this," Kurt said. "Please...you must believe.... Besides, if you cut into that, it may collapse..."

"Logan..." Storm heard them. "Help!"

Logan hesitated, then he said, "You can do it, Storm. Just try."

"I..." Storm said faintly. "It's.... I may not be able to do this. Not without losing control..."

"Preacher and I are right here if that happens, but you've gotta give it a shot," Logan insisted. "Don't think about it, just do it."

Kurt thought that was good advice. He'd have to remember that.

There was silence for a moment, then suddenly there was a sound of effort, and winds and lightning seemed to blast the metal back from the top down.

Logan and Kurt ducked.

Storm appeared, looking slightly disheveled, but otherwise intact.

She had her arms up, panting...

"Oh..." she said, "...it worked..."

She sank to the ground.

[Yay!

Wow, first Rogue, then Storm. Everyone's having breakthroughs today.]