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Cyclops made the first move, flinging open the tunnel door. Stubborn bastard was outside, just like Logan figured. And his fiery beam would have taken off Magneto's head, too, except the man bent down just then, frantically beating at the rat galloping up his leg. Naturally, when the ray of fire splattered on the ceiling the sprinklers turned on. Logan grimaced and shook the water out of his eyes.
Right on the heels of Cyclops, rushed Storm, crackling with anger and little lightning bolts. A small tornado caught up Toad, whirled him round and round as he ricocheted off the walls. Logan grinned. Wasn't there some joke about a frog in a blender?
Jean was holding her own with Mystique, rather, holding Mystique hostage in mid-air. Meanwhile, the wolves and the lynx were having the time of their lives, cavorting about and chasing the rats, which were humping over each other to escape and climbing up anything vertical. Magneto was doing the Irish jig, kicking, prancing, shouting, waving his arms. The bastard was in damn good shape. Logan approved.
Fawn was running from wolf to lynx to wolf, trying to get them under control, but it was a matter of too many cooks in the kitchen--or in this case, too many rats in the lab--that unraveled the rescue.
Cyclops was zapping little flame darts at the scurrying floor around his feet and it was pure luck the guy didn't burn off a toe. Two rat armies chose the same moment to scale both Storm and Jean and the women shrieked, dropping Toad and Mystique respectively as they batted off rodents.
Toad was out of it, Logan judged. The little creep was sprawled nearby looking greener than ever. Logan leaned toward him. "You alright?"
"Gurk . . . "
Logan hastily jerked away and stared with all his concentration in the opposite direction in time to see Mystique gather herself off the floor and head for Jean, tongue flicking and gold eyes flashing. He was awkwardly clambering to his feet to go to the woman's aid when Rogue, already at Jean's side, stretched out a fingertip, touched a clenched blue fist.
"'Scuse me, Ah wouldn't do that if Ah were you."
Mystique started, shuddered, slumped, curled into a pool of bright blue water.
Logan looked around. Only Magneto was left, but he was crouched in a corner, quivering, whimpering, held at bay by a plague of rats. Logan went over to him, gingerly sweeping aside vermin with his bare feet.
The all-powerful Magneto shrunken into a frightened, sniveling huddle! Logan had expected to gloat, instead he felt a surge of pity. Before him was a broken, weeping old man. But wait a goddam minute-- This was the bastard who had imprisoned him! Tortured him! Manipulated him for his own crazy, fanatic reasons! He lifted a hand to strike--noticed with surprise and pleasure that it did lift, painlessly, surely--then hesitated, lowered it, gently squeezed the man's shoulder.
"Hey. Hey, it's okay."
"Get them off! Get them off me! Please!"
"Sure. You just take it easy. I'll get rid of 'em."
Logan spun around, shot out his claws, snarled, stamped, growled. The tide of rats turned with frantic squeaks. "I'm the biggest damn cat you'll ever see!" he shouted after the fleeing rats.
The wolves and the lynx had finally understood that they were rat wranglers and were joyfully herding the rodents out of the lab followed by a harried Fawn. Storm and Jean were clinging to each other in a tremulous hug while Cyclops stood around looking shame-faced. Toad was still being sick by the wall, Mystique was in for a long night's sleep, and Rogue--
"Hey, y'all, look at me! Elvis lives!"
The Blackbird was packed. Fawn waved them off. She was really sorry about Dr. Lehnsherr. She only knew he didn't like rats for some reason, but rats are so smart! Well, anyway she'd come down to the school later when Scott returned to the base for his motorcycle. She planned to finish her studies. She was definitely going to be a vet. Or maybe a zoologist. But first she had to say goodbye to her animal friends here.
Cyclops consulted copilot Storm and the heavy load lifted with a wobble. Behind the pilot was a shattered Magneto with Jean kneeling beside him in the aisle, attempting to soften his childhood memories of the concentration camp--rats attacking the weak and sick, rats feeding on the living. On the floor at the back of the cabin was the lump that was Toad and the curl that was Mystique. And in the last seat was Logan with a facsimile of himself perched on his lap.
"Now Ah got claws, too," Wolvie Jr. was saying. "Ah'm big. Ah'm bad. Ah'm mean. Ah'm WolveREEEEEEN!"
"Quiet!" Cyclops snapped.
Logan grinned. "Better not bug the pilot, kid."
"Sure thing, honey." And Marilyn Monroe gave him a hug.
Thank God it wasn't Elvis! he thought. A light struck him in the eyes and he squinted, looked out the window. The sun was coming up. Logan suddenly realized that he hadn't seen the sun for more than two months. He watched the dawn's bright rays chase away the mist, chase away the dark. Renewed life flooded the earth in a brilliant, golden wave. Logan took a deep breath. It had been a long night.
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