Scott waited by the steel doors as he watched the small aircraft land in the hangar. He couldn't deny that he was relieved to see that the Professor had returned from Muir Island. Jean had not gotten much sleep in the last 24 hours. That fact could by attributed to the uproar that the new "arrivals" had created.
Andromeda was still lying unconscious in the lab and, to his knowledge, Orion was in the same state of unconscious in his room. Bishop had been standing guard outside Orion's room after the incident the night before. Wolverine has also parked himself outside the door during the wee hours of morning to wait for the occupant to awaken. Because of the number of people watching Orion, Gambit was relieved and had promptly gone to his room to collapse. Henry decided to stay up to watch Andromeda and sent Ororo to bed around 3:00.
Jean had spoken briefly to Dana before going to bed. She discovered what she had already assumed. Dana had sensed all of Andromeda's shields were fully operational when she healed her. Scott managed to convince an exhausted but reluctant Jean to go to bed and sleep for a couple of hours. Now that Professor Xavier had returned Scott hoped that the burden of Jean having to monitor Andromeda's telepathic abilities would be taken over by the Professor.
The hatch lowered smoothly and the Professor disembarked the plane in his hover chair. He wore his usual calm demeanor as his wandering eyes locked with Scott's and he made his way to his anxious looking pupil. Cyclops was surprised to see Kitty foolow the Professor off as well. The Professor's eyes took on an inquiring look as he started to speak with Scott, "Henry told me about Andromeda and Orion when he called. Are they being made comfortable?"
Scott weighed his words carefully before explaining the fiasco that had taken place after their initial call to Xavier, "There was a small incident. We are investigating the circumstances around it so we can find out what happened exactly. Andromeda is in the medical lab unconscious."
"Is she going to be alright?" Xavier looked concerned.
"Henry is monitoring her until some change occurs." came the reply, "He is unsure if she has suffered some severe mental damage."
"Why didn't he have Jean scan her for brain activity if he is having difficulties?"
"He did. Jean wasn't able to read anything. We believe that Andromeda is a telepath and has built for herself some sort of extensive psi-shielding."
The Professor halted his chair and looked directly up at Scott, "Jean couldn't get past the shielding?"
Scott shook his head slowly. Kitty, who had been following silently at this point, whistled faintly, "I think I'd better go find Dana and see how she is."
"She may still be in her room. It was a long night for everyone last night." Scott offered before Kitty took off.
Kitty gave him a meaningful look over her shoulder saying, "I can imagine." while making her way toward the upper level to the dormitory. Scott and the Professor watched her disappear behind the closing, gray elevator doors before they continued down the hall, "She missed Dana and Logan so she came back with me to visit. In the meantime, what about Orion?"
"He's unconscious as well. We think that Andromeda caused him to pass out under psionic suggestion. She did the same to Wolverine too but he woke up almost a half an hour later."
"That would make sense. Wolverine is able to recover faster from psionic suggestion because of his healing factor. Anyway, this would lead me to conclude that not only do we have a possible telepath on our hands but she also has a handle on her abilities."
"From what Jean says I would be inclined to agree with your observation. Jean thinks that she is a very powerful telepath at that. She could be beta or maybe alpha class but we won't know for sure until we have run some tests. We do not know anything about Orion yet either."
The Professor covered his mouth with his folded hands and decided to continue their conversation in the study.
The groan from the next room brought the two individuals waiting outside the door to life. Bishop's first move was to side-step infront of the door. Wolverine got to his feet and deliberately placed himself infront of Bishop. His featured were rigid and his eyes held an icy stare. The look Bishop received from his actions would have been enough to turn him into a grim looking ice sculpture but he wasn't swayed by Wolverine's threatening countenance.
"Move outta my way!"
"I'm to let no one enter until Beast examines him first. This is my post." Bishop explained in slow, concise words, not moving an inch.
Wolverine growled menacingly. Unlike Rogue who would avoid a conflict and just let him go, Bishop would fight Wolverine to the death rather than compromise orders. The two of them stood there in the hallway, facing off. Neither wanted to budge an inch. If someone didn't step in the contractors services would be needed again.
"You're going to have to learn to pick your battles Logan." came a familiar voice, not far away.
Wolverine broke off his staring and turned to see Kitty not far away. She was leaning against the banister with a grin that said, "Some things never change."
"We'll continue this later," he mumbled to Bishop before trudging over to her. Logan's demeanor visibly softened. He wrapped her into a short embrace before pulling away.
"I just came for a small visit." Kitty volunteered, "I heard that there was alot going on here."
"Yup." Logan replied, looking more somber.
Kitty's brow furrowed, "You okay?"
"Yeah darlin'." he nodded resolutely as he tried to shake some of the gloom off, "Just alot on my mind."
Kitty knew better but decided to wait until later to pursue the subject, "You look like you could use some coffee. C'mon to the kitchen and I'll make you a cup."
Logan allowed Kitty to coax him downstairs. Maybe he could get his mind off some of the chaos going on around him. The stairs moaned slightly as Kitty led him to the kitchen.
Hank was sitting at a desk not far away from his patient's bed. There had been no visible changes in her condition since last night but she had not slipped into a coma either which was a good sign. The only thing he could do now was wait while the lonely sound of her heart monitor kept him company.
"Beast?" came a static edged voice over his wrist communicator.
Henry brought the communicator closer to his lips before answering, "Yes Bishop."
"Orion is awake. Do you want me to escort him down to the lab?"
"NO, I don't want him moved at all. I'll be there in just a moment to examine him. Just make sure he remains still until I get there."
Henry pushed his chair back from the desk creating a light scraping sound against the white tile of the floor. He stood and stretched a moment before making his way to the exit to go see Orion. He was just outside the door when his ears detected stirring from the bed. Andromeda rustled the bed clothes slightly as she turned over and started to regain consciousness. Henry saw her deep violet eyes flutter open and she took a sharp breath just as he returned to her bedside.
"Thank my stars and garters. You had us worried." Henry breathed a sigh of relief.
"Orion?"
"He's fine. Apparently he just woke up and I was about to go see him" Henry reassured his patient.
"What about...about..." she grew frustrated trying to grasp the name that eluded her.
"Logan? He woke up thirty minutes after the incident. He was not harmed in any way."
She became distressed and tension laced her voice, "He was going to hurt Orion. I saw him. The claws..."
"Calm down." Henry ordered quietly. He didn't want her going into hysterics and hurting herself in the process or passing out again. "No one is going to harm you or Orion. I promise. Please keep still until you get your bearings."
Andromeda took deep breaths. She had to get herself back under emotional control before her shields collapsed under the strain. Henry called Jean on his communicator and requested that she report to the lab immediately. When he was finished, he turned to find a completely compsed and stoic Andromeda. Her eyes were empty of the fear he had seen only moments before.
Jean entered the lab not long afterwards. Her every movement displayed the relief she felt. The smile she directed at Andromeda was warm and she took her hand, squeezing it gently. "It's good to have you back with us."
"Thank-you." came the formal tone of voice. Andromeda didn't trust the kindness and concern this woman was showing her. She had to be careful.
"Are you feeling well?" Jean asked, hoping to put the other woman at ease.
Andromeda thought a moment before answering. Yes, she did feel fine except for a small headache. That shouldn't be possible though because she knew Orion had injured her badly. Still, she couldn't feel any pain. Even the burns on her legs weren't bothering her. Exactly how long had she been out for? "I'm fine."
"I'll leave you ladies alone while I go examine Orion." Henry offered before leaving the lab.
"My name is Jean." she offered once Beast had left. "We weren't formally introduced last night."
*So I was only unconscious for the night. How odd.*
Andromeda said nothing but continued to watch this stranger's every move. Jean pulled a chair up next to the bed and sat down. The X-Man uniform accentuated Jean's shapely figure and her red hair was like a swinging, braided pendulum down the center of her back. Every move was graceful and exhibited calm.
Andromeda sat straight up in bed. Her head throbbed unmercifully for it but she refused to give this woman an advantage by keeping herself in a position that required her to look up. Sitting up Andromeda could look straight into Jean's eyes and read her every expression. She didn't want to risk discovery by reading Jean's mind. The trick in the bedroom had probably been too much already, but there was nothing else she could have done. Andromeda simply couldn't have allowed that man to kill Orion.
*The doctor said his name was Logan.*
"How did you learn to use your telepathic abilities?" Jean's question startled Andromeda from her thoughts. The room remained quiet.
When Andromeda didn't answer Jean persisted, "You're a telepath?"
"No!" came the firm reply that almost knocked Jean from her seat.
End of Chapter Seven