One Friend

You've always been

With no apology

Garth Brooks 'A friend to me'

"Betsy? Are you okay?" the voice shattered her silence her mind led to believe that existed. A hand held hers, not filling that she could take it out of his grasp, and she let him hold it. It felt horrible, Sarah agreed to this arrangement. Betsy's mental ability were at an all time high, Sarah couldn't control it. If she couldn't even open her eyes, how could she dream of closing a mind? Like it or not she picked up Warren's thoughts, mostly of worries, Hanks filled to the brim with of medical gibberish. But one she couldn't identify clearly

*Who...who are you? * She let the thought slip through her mental lips. No answer, the presence was so close. Like the shadows in her nightmares, they could touch her but they were untouchable.

*You know Sarah, violation of the mind is the worse kind there possibly could be. * Sarah's muscles tensed up at the sound of the strange voice. *Look down, girl* And she tried to lift her head, but it seemed to have gained weight over the past two days.

She closed her eyes and like before was lead by hand to her destination. The vision was a dim blur between yellow, blue, and purple. The sounds she heard were only a distant beeping, and the light breathing of the man whose mind she had just invaded.

*Do you see her? *

*That's the new me...so what? *

*No that's the new me Sarah, not you. I've been taking bits and pieces of your memory for the time I've been trapped in here. I know about what Storm did to you, and I know about how Remy saved you that night, oh God Sarah, I know. And I'm sorry for you. *

The side of Sarah's conversation fell quite, what could she say to the person? No she knew who it was; it was Braddock, The mind of the body the angel granted her. As she was fast learning, the gift was turning out to be more of a curse.

*Let me have my body back Sarah, I don't know how you got in me. But I promise I will set it straight if you let me have control again. *

* I can't, I don't want to and I don't know how. *

*I can help you with one, but please let me have the chance to explain to him, let me get rid of the headaches. I can't do it without you, when I separate us, I swear Storm will suffer *

That was all it took to convince Sarah, though she Betsy knew which buttons to push to make her agree, a victory over the weather woman was to tempting to give away. *All right, How do I support your mind? *

"Logan?"Rouge said as calmly as she could manage, he was still mad at her. Having absorbed Gambits full empathy ability in Antarctica, the feeling of a sharp distrust made her ears ring.

"Yeah? What you want?" Logan said trying to bury his face in the newspaper from three days ago.

"Wha ...what happened?" His attention was on full alert, he could only guess what she stole from him, now she had the nerve, the nerve to ask him such a question? Oh no she didn't! Older buried memories had been coming up since she 'sucked' the newer ones away. Right now he could turn, was so tempted to turn and reflect the hurt the betrayal.

"What you talkin' about Rouge?" he half growled flipping the paper in a way that made a loud crinkling sound to block out her answer. Sure there was no one else in the living room at the moment but you never know when a newspaper protesting to being flipped through came in handy.

"Your little girl, C'vanna. Ah saw her with her momma that night, through your eyes. Logan please, please tell me what happened to them. How exactly didja kill them?"

Logan's head raced with memories of the blue-black hair, blue eyed, three-year-old daughter that use to be his. Then her mother took place in his heart, what Anna had given up to be with him, her singing, parents, and everything else. Now here stood this woman right behind him in the doorway begging him for answers? How he...killed them? Kill? Kill! He never killed them; he couldn't even so much as lay a finger on them in a cruel way.

Logan leapt out of his chair and over the back throwing himself on Rouge that didn't realize what he was doing until her back slammed onto the hallway floor. The familiar 'Shink' of Logan letting his claws out from the back of his hand. Rouge tried to push Logan off of her but he had one of his arms blocking her air supply. She was losing consciousness.

"Where do you get off barkin' commands at the person you sucked dry! I'm lucky I can even remember her! Don't you ever friggin' forget it neither 'darlin'".

"please...ah didn't mean ta make ya forget her, ah wanna, Ah need ta know."

He put more weight on her neck, putting his claws mere inches from her bare face.

"You need to know nothin'! Those are my memories in yere head! You think I should try to pluck them out?" She gave no reply, she couldn't she was 'out cold'.

"Sarah?" Joseph meandered down to the basement, after hearing Logan's speech to Rouge. Sarah and he shared a very different conversation yesterday, as if she was someone else, completely. He shifted his way in to the black prison; not caring about how many 'talks' he and the others went through. The candle was nothing but wax and cinders; its life had gone out long ago. But no sigh of the rooms occupant.

"hel...help me...please." The weak pleads barely could be heard from the blaring stereo that Bobby had gotten from an old friend.

Joseph balled his fist tight, to control the steal that the room was made of, the metal let out a high pitched whine but obeyed. Charging the electrons in the atoms made the walls glow a beautiful blue-gray color. Then he saw the huddled, near naked mass of a human, in the farthest corner from the door

"SARAH!" he admittedly went over to the shivering morlock, picking he up was not an easy task. He had to miss the protruding bones and the lose dead skin that barley hung over the exposed muscles covered with her blood. Joseph could hardly hear her raged in take of breath, after Sarah was secured in his arms he levitated towards the door, only to find someone waiting for him.

"Put her down Joseph. Now."

"Never she's part of this team now, and she needs medical treatment as soon as possible. And you are not going to stop me Storm." He continued to float towards the door only to be blasted by a hurricane like wind. Sarah was thrusted out of his arms slamming with a painful crunch against the furthest wall.

"You are in no position to be making demands," Storm created a small funnel cloud in front of her, and pushed it forward towards the unconscious girl. "Those weeds must die so the roses can grow"

*Sarah support my mind the way I showed you! Your body's in trouble! * Sarah concentrated for what seemed a long time, and in her mind a small slicker shown. Shrinking her presence and letting Psylocke's in, a sort of passing the torch. When Betsy had a firm grip on the glowing sphere her mental form grew, still weaker than usual but operative.

The slow tingle filled Betsy's body as she, for the first time in three days could fell the joy of movement. Warren held her hand, the heart monitor softly beeping in the back ground of Hank's snores.

"Have...to...help..." Betsy rolled over and as if tipping a water pitcher the memories she viewed from Sarah poured out to the present. A few doors down Sarah's body was getting a betting that could kill her and Joseph was powerless against the fighting Storm. Betsy knew she should jump off the med.-bed and protect her new friend but her body said no!

'Joseph can protect him and Marrow from most of her advances but...but Sarah's slipping' groggily Betsy through her legs over the side of the bed, avoiding Angel at all costs. Quietly and painfully made her way towards the doorway.

" Storm! How can you?! Kill me if it'll make you feel better but let the girl be! Please Storm!" The thunder cracked its mind numbing sounds as reply for the dying request.

"As long as I prevent you from coming out of there is nothing that you can do!"

"The calvary just arrived you heartless little tramp!" Storm whipped her head towards the voice finding Betsy Braddock with her psychic knifes wielded and ready to strike. Though she was out of costume, Betsy still had the breathe catching shudder that she gave all her opponents.

"I was just coming to see how you were to Elisabeth, I guess that will not be necessary anymore." Ororo reached out her hand towards her new challenge throwing lighting out of the elegant finger tips, it would have been a dead center hit, if not Betsy was blocked by a magnetic field

"Cut the crap Monroe! You've hurt her long enough!" Betsy lunged after Storm, when her knives were just about to cut into flesh, something made her go in reverse. A white something, a feathery white something. The massive wing pulled her close to the owner of the wings enclosing her to Angel. Using the other wing Warren was able to knock Storm off balance, then using the tip dragged her along the wall until she was pinned by her perfect throat.

" Answers now! What are you doing Storm! Trying to kill all three of them!"

"I'm sorry you had to see this Warren, it was nothing more than a friendly misunderstanding." Warren dropped his wing to the ground freeing Storm.

"See what? What kind of misunderstanding was it t o try to kill each other?!" He tightened his grip on Psylocke. Betsy could barley move.

"No." Joseph's figure appeared, he and Marrow were both surrounded by his magnetic force field the same kind that protected Betsy from Storm's attack. "Storm was only trying to kill Sarah."

" Oh! Good God in Heaven!" Elisabeth struggled out of Angel's iron grip, to rush to the half dead girl's side.

Ororo tried to make her escape, and nearly did so, hadn't Joseph thrown her against the wall with a magnetic ball.

"The only thing that's keeping her alive now is my powers! I'm controlling her blood flow and breathing!" Betsy picked the limp mound from Joseph's arms and made her way towards the med.-lab.

"Joseph you have to have it wrong Storm would never do anything like that. Would you?" He turned around to see Storm passed out against the wall her arm painfully around her body legs sprawled almost in a 'splits' fashion. "My God Joe whatayado?!"

" Exactly what she did to the child, killed her."

" NO! She's still breathing she's not dead! No way am I believing that!"

"Fine then I tortured her." Warren kneeled beside his unconscious teammate, taking what little medical things he knew and tried to help Storm.

" She deserved no less I assure you."

" And what about you?! You're still the same guy you were when I first saw you! You're still Magneto! Stone cold, emotionless sorry excuse for a self made man as there ever was!"

"And this leaves you room to talk!? You sold your--" Joseph's words were cut short when a butterfly like creature washed over him, beckoning him to sleep. Just before his mind gave way to a sleep state six words he heard

* Some thing's are better left unsaid* and then dark.