System Shock

Part 3

It seemed to Shockwave that after his altercation with the so-called

'Brotherhood', people had actually warmed up to him. Indeed, in each of his

afternoon classes, students who had not paid him a second look that morning

smiled and asked him to join their group. He took it in stride well enough--it

must be that popularity thing he'd heard about.

True to his word, after classes and as soon as he could shrug off the small

throng of people who were following him and asking him questions, he proceeded

directly back to the Institute, this time on foot. Professor Xavier met him once

again at the door.

"Well, good afternoon. How did you find school?"

He was unsure as how to reply. "Cool, I guess."

"Well, are you ready for a session in the Danger Room?"

"Danger Room?" There was a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Just a name, I assure you. A uniform will be waiting in your room. Change into

it and meet me in my office."

Shockwave nodded and proceeded towards his room. Xavier smiled and reached out

with his mind. 'Rogue, please report to the danger room in uniform immediately I

have need of you."

* * *

The uniform was laid out on Shockwave's bed. It was solid black, save for a

yellow X insignia on both shoulders. 'Serviceable.' Shockwave thought. 'And I

can't disagree with the color.' He changed into it quickly, laid his old outfit

in his dresser and walked to Xavier's office. The uniform was a bit tight in his

opinion, but did nothing to restrict his movements.

Xavier was sitting behind his desk glancing over Shockwave's file when he

entered. "Reporting, sir" He said, standing at rigid attention.

'Such discipline.' Xavier thought. "Is the uniform to your liking?"

"Yes sir. Is everything ready?"

Xavier slid the file into the top drawer of his desk. "Yes, but you don't have

to be so rigid. This isn't the army."

Shockwave relaxed. "Good."

"Before we proceed, I have a few questions to ask of you."

Shockwave nodded. He hated questions.

"First, what is the nature of your powers?"

"Gravity."

"Manipulation or generation?"

"I think generation, sir. I have a quantum singularity in my chest, or so I'm

told."

"And are you aware of any limits?"

Shockwave thought for a second. "I've never thought about that before."

"Good, that's what this test is to determine."

"Is it dangerous?" Shockwave asked.

"Not at all. Ready?"

Shockwave nodded. Xavier pressed a button under his desk and a bookcase slid

aside revealing an elevator. Shockwave stared at it for a second and asked

"What's the weight limit on that?"

Confused, Xavier flipped through his mental library. "Two tons, I believe.

Why?"

"Oh, nothing." Shockwave drew his field into his body, felt himself grow very

stiff. "Ready, sir."

As they rode the elevator down, Shockwave suddenly felt a twinge of anxiety

appear in his stomach. When the lift stopped and the doors opened, the twinge

exploded.

The underhalls of the Xavier Institute--clean, metallic and polished--reminded

Shockwave of a certain other installation that he had tried very hard to forget

for the past five months. He pressed his back into the elevator and shuddered.

"Shawn? What's the matter?" Xavier asked.

"I...I can't sir." The metallic gleam of the hall flashed with images of

mutates. In his mind's eye, he saw himself and Corona, years younger; he heard

the mad laugh of Mindbender, felt the intense pressure of the psychic torture.

Clutching his temples, Shockwave fell to his knees and let out a scream.

"Shawn! Shawn, listen to my voice. Focus on my voice, Shawn." Shockwave heard

Xavier's voice over the din of the machines and laughter. He focused on the

deep, firm words and the other sounds slowly became white noise which he easily

drove out.

His palms slapped the floor for support as he fell forward. Sweat coated his

face, his breath was shallow. He felt the strong grip of Professor Xavier's hand

on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Professor. Bad memories."

"Care to discuss..."

"No!" He snapped.

"Very well, Shawn. Can you proceed or should I reschedule for a later time?"

Shockwave took in several deep breaths. "No, I'm ready." He pushed himself to

his feet.

"I asked one of the other students to help with the test. Cerebro calibrates

and processes information better when we work in pairs."

"Fair enough." Shockwave hoped it wasn't Scott.

"Ah, Rogue. Have you met Shawn yet?"

Rogue's jaw dropped, her eyes open windows of shock. She stammered something,

she wasn't quite sure what exactly.

"Nice to meet you." Shockwave said.

"Ah...Ah..." She jabbered. Something about her stirred in Shockwave, something

more than recognition. Something about her deep red hair with the white shock.

Something about her face. Something about her eyes. She had done something for

him...

"Well, time is of the essence. I recommend that you warm up while I set the

program." Xavier wheeled away.

"So, Rogue. What's your power?" That sounded stupid to him.

"Ah...how did you do it?" She said.

"Do what?"

"Last night. Ah touched you and didn't absorb your powers? How did you block

out mah powers."

The realization hit him like a freight train. "You...you're the one..."

The lights in the danger room darkened. Shockwave glanced around him and Rogue.

"We talk later."

* * *

Xavier set the program, double checked that the internal sensors were

functioning properly and engaged the safety subroutines. The lights dimmed, then

extinguished entirely in the chamber. A flash of light and lasers began to fire,

expelling bolts of non-damaging green energy at a fairly regular intervals. The

sensors picked up on Rogue tumbling through the hail, but Shockwave took the

blasts head on, standing stationary in the crossfire.

Xavier checked the sensor readings. The boy was quite a find, for each blast

was registering as harmless. Each cannon port winked out and the lasers ceased

firing. Xavier booted up stage 2.

* * *

Mist flooded the Danger Room, slicking up Rogue's hair and gathering around

Shockwave so his field was visible.

"Is that how yah do it?" Rogue said, pointing to the orb of moisture.

"Look, we can talk later. I have a lot to ask you too. Right now we need to

concentrate on the sims."

"Look yahself. I touched yah and nothing happened. Nobody's ever done that. I

wanna know how."

Shockwave was about to reply, but cut off and threw himself to the ground as a

whip tendril passed over his head. He reached out and swept Rogue off her feet

before the limb could strike her.

"We talk later. Think, focus, act, now!" A second tendril shot at Shockwave's

face and he barely rolled out of its way. Snapping to his feet, Shockwave drew

in his field and snatched the vine out of the air. With a single tug, it broke

away from the wall with a snap and a hiss of energy.

"Shawn, duck!" Rogue shouted, but a moment too late. A pair of tendrils wrapped

themselves around his arms, a third encircled his waist and the ground fell away

from him.

He pulled his arms together as he twisted his body around. Though one of the

tendrils loosened, the other two held fast as they began to twist around each

other. Shockwave concentrated a Demi and shoved it into the vine that was now

around his chest. The metal appendage sputtered, relinquished its grip, and

Shockwave used the sudden freefall to swing over to the side wall, kick off and

somersault the remaining vines off his arms.

One vine slipped free, but the other constricted tightly around his wrist.

Shockwave felt himself fly through the air, saw the control booth loom closer

and he swiveled, allowing his back to impact the reinforced glass. He felt it

crack beneath his spine, but still he pressed his foot against the metal rail

below the booth viewscreen, reversed the polarity of his field and shoved off.

The tendril whined and let him go. He smashed into the ground feet first,

denting it and sending a clang reverberating through the chamber.

The mist faded, the lights extinguished yet again. Shockwave rotated his

shoulder, flexed his muscles, and waited for more.

* * *

Xavier was shocked. Never before had anything cracked the control room's

viewport. In fact, nothing was supposed to be able to do that. And yet there was

now a foot long spiderweb from where Shockwave had hit.

The simulation ended. Xavier reviewed the data that spread across the

terminal's screen. He read over it several times, unable to believe what he was

seeing. According to the data, Shockwave was...

The Chamber entered another sim, but Xavier had not specified a third

challenge. His fingers flew over the keypad, then he paled and fell back in his

wheelchair. "Good Lord."

[OVERLOAD...SAFETY COMMANDS OVERRIDDEN...ENTERING AUTOMATIC DEFENSE SCENARIO

X33649 'TOMBSTONE...] The screen read.

* * *

Lights began to flash and Shockwave was momentarily blinded. Shielding his

eyes, he glanced at Rogue. She was much paler than before.

"Talk to me, Rogue. What's happening?"

"Ah, ah don't know. This is the Tombstone, but it's only used for defense. The

Professor would never use this for a test."

Shockwave's instincts spoke for him. "Rogue, stay close to me. This doesn't

feel right."

"Ah'll say it doesn't."

A laser impacted the floor next to Shockwave, leaving a black scorch along the

polished metal. Shockwave bolted as more flew past him, grabbing Rogue around

the waist as he ran.

"What are yah doing?" She screamed.

"Trust me." He said as a bolt slid in between their heads.

"Yeah, ah'm real comforted now!"

Shockwave leapt into a tuck and roll, shielding Rogue with his body. A bolt hit

him in the lower back, burning through his suit and scarring him. The blast felt

like fire, but Shockwave forced the pain from his mind, snapped to his feet and

ran under an archway.

Rogue slid out of his grip. "What now?"

"Thinking." Shockwave traced the bolts back to their origin, a hovering ball

bristling with lasers that was circling the center of the chamber slowly.

"There." He pointed to the orb. "The lasers are firing from that thing, but it

appears to have a regular flight path--it only orbits the center of the room in

an ellipse at a 30 second revolution. I think that if we keep to the edge of the

room in direct aphelion to the probe while matching tilt and speed, it won't

detect us and we can evade."

Rogue stared wide eyed at Shockwave. "What did yah just say, and in English

this time."

"Stay as far away from that thing as possible."

Rogue nodded. Shockwave waited until it's orbit took it towards the far end of

the room. "Now!" He yelled and ran, directly parallel to the orb, maintaining

distance and speed. Rogue followed close behind. "Nice plan, but now what? We

run til the power goes out?" She said through heaving breaths.

"Funny. " Shockwave said. He saw a section of torn up metal not far ahead of

him. "There. Try to get behind it."

As he ran forward, forcing his legs to pump harder, a laser blast struck him on

the shoulder and spun him around. His outstretched arm hit Rogue on the chin and

she tumbled down with him. A hail of laser fire erupted on them, and Shockwave

rushed to form his force field.

The probe had changed track and now proceeded towards them at a straight line.

"Yo, Rogue, gotta go." He said, shaking her shoulder. She didn't move. Laser

fire poured over the force field and it wavered. "Rogue, c'mon, get up."

Nothing. Shockwave felt his blood chill and he pushed her off him. There was a

black burn along her stomach and her suit had been burnt away.

"No! Rogue!" He said. Another volley of laser fire impacted his shield and he

felt his powers waver. "Rogue, wake up. I can't hold this for very long!" He

shook her shoulders. She was limp, but Shockwave saw her chest rise and fall

slowly. "Rogue!"

A third pummeling and Shockwave could no longer maintain the force field. It

dropped and the orb stopped firing. It was now hovering directly over Shockwave,

bobbing up and down. Dozens of red lights flickered on and he heard the lasers

begin to hum.

* * *

Xavier wheeled down the corridor parallel to the control room as fast as his

chair could go. He had to disconnect the main power, or else his two students

would surely die. What he didn't understand was why the computer had suddenly

overloaded. Over half the memory had been erased, including backup systems and

safety subroutines. It was like the entire core had come in contact with a

powerful magnet.

Or something similar...like a sudden jolt of gravity.

Xavier groaned. Of course, Shockwave's gravity field. That was why the intercom

had shorted out the previous night, why Shockwave had asked him about the weight

limit on the elevator. He knew what his field was capable of. Why hadn't Xavier

realized it?

The power generator was in sight. Xavier wished he could make his chair move

faster. He had to reach it in time...he had to.

"No. I won't let you hurt her." Shockwave said. The orb bobbed and circled

slowly, as if it were playing some sick game.

Shockwave's mind raced. He had to save Rogue, like she had saved him the

previous night, but how? The orb was powerful, accurate and ruthless beyond

possibility. Leave it to a machine to be both efficient and lethal.

A machine. Something clicked in the back of Shockwave's mind. The probe was a

machine, composed of circuitry and power cells. In fact, the entire room he was

standing in was just a large pile of circuit boards and power lines. And

machines always shorted out if he poured enough of his field into them.

He forced his mind to clear of everything--the probe, Rogue, even the beat of

his own heart. He felt his power, felt it infusing his every cell, felt it

course through his veins in rivers of strength. He was his power and his power

was him.

The orb hissed a jet of steam. Shockwave focused every ounce of energy in his

body, pictured it flowing out to fill the chamber. The orb beeped as it prepared

to fire. Shockwave opened his eyes and stared directly at it.

"Check...Mate!"

Shockwave released all his stored energy, fully engulfing the danger room in

seconds. Shockwave saw the probe wobble, begin to throw sparks and then fall to

the ground. The lights around him winked out.

* * *

Xavier had his hands on the generator's power cell when the entire mechanism

shuddered and died. The red 'overload' signal began to blink. Xavier breathed a

sigh of relief, then began to wonder just how did the power die?

* * *

Logan raked his claws across the armored door, the fell back, allowing Cyclops

to blow the doors open with an optic blast. They buckled and fell inward,

clanging on the floor.

Light from the hallway shone directly into the pitch black chamber. It fell

upon Shockwave, who sat in the center of the room, head bowed, eyes closed,

cradling Rogue's head in his lap.

Xavier, flanked by Logan and Cyclops, wheeled slowly towards Shockwave. His

eyes opened and he looked at them, his hazel eyes wide and pained. His lower lip

was trembling slowly and he breathed in shallow and wispy breaths.

"Shawn, how is she?" Xavier asked calmly. He heard Logan growl behind him and

felt fear and anger flowing off Cyclops. Though he didn't blame them for how

they felt, he feared more for the vulnerable young mutant that sat before him.

"Alive. Resting. I don't really know anymore." His head bowed again and he

shuddered violently.

Xavier laid his hand on Shockwave's shoulder. "You saved her life, Shawn."

"No. I almost killed her. I knew what my powers could do. It's my fault."

"No, Shawn, the fault is mine." Xavier said.

"Professor!" Cyclops protested.

"No, Scott, it's true. It remains my responsibility to be aware of my students'

powers and their side affects."

Shockwave gently set Rogue's head down on a pile of cloth and stood. He began

to walk out of the chamber, and Logan moved to intercept. Shockwave spun around

and lashed out, sending him flying. Cyclops reached for his visor, but Shockwave

was quicker and swept his legs out.

"I take all responsibility for all I do. I always have and always will. This

entire incident falls squarely on my shoulders. I am sorry, Professor, that this

didn't work out, but as you see, I'm too dangerous to be associated with. Convey

my apologies to Rogue when she awakens."

He turned and walked from the room.

* * *

Shockwave shoved his clothes, books and cd into his duffel bag. His mind raced,

thinking of the options laid out before him. He would have to return to the

road, maybe he would head for South America like he had originally planned. He

could meet up with ShadowKnight and Blowtorch, then look for Corona. he could

start a new life, with a new name, a new identity--or was he just returning to

his old one.

A part of him didn't want to go. A part of him wanted to stay where it felt

safe, here at the Institute. The thought of once again being out, constantly on

flight, paranoid about everything, frightened him.

"No." He said softly. "I'm too dangerous. I've proven that." He slung his bag

over his shoulder. The photo of himself and ShadowKnight stared up at him from

the dresser. He looked at it for a few seconds, then turned and walked out onto

the balcony. Safer for him not to have it.

The foyer below was relatively empty, he saw only a few students walking down

the outer halls. Taking a deep breath, he leapt off and landed feet first,

cracking the cobblestones beneath him. Several of the students stared at him,

shocked, but he bolted off, through the main gate. Glancing back once, he hushed

the voices in his head and began to run again.

* * *

Rogue didn't want to open her eyes. Her head hurt, her belly was sore and she

felt totally drained. She tried to remember what had happened to her, but her

mind was blurry and all she felt was a sharp, burning sensation.

She finally cracked open her eyes a tiny bit and moaned as bright white light

flooded in. She reached up slowly to shield her eyes and felt a hand softly take

hers and lay it across her chest.

"Wha." She practically whispered.

"Lie still." Xavier's voice echoed in her head. "You've had quite a day."

"Professah, what happened?"

"You were injured in the Danger Room, but you're safe now."

Rogue was confused. Why had she been in the Danger Room?

"I must say, if Mr. Waverly had not been there..."

"Shawn!" She yelled, and the soreness in her throat stung. The memories flooded

back to her--the mist, the lasers, she felt the intense burning in her abdomen

and gritted her teeth. "Ah, Ah have to see him."

Xavier was suddenly very quiet.

"Professah?"

"He's gone, Rogue. He ran away."

Rogue shot up in her bed. "Wha?" She suddenly felt very dizzy.

"No, Rogue. You need your rest."

"No!" She threw off the sheets and swung her legs off the bed. "Ah hafta find

him. Ah need tah talk with him."

Rogue took two steps and collapsed to her knees. Pain exploded in her stomach,

drawing her breath in gasps. Xavier wheeled over to her. Grunting, she forced

herself up. "No, Professah, I need tah find him."

"Is it worth your health, Rogue?"

She nodded. "He...he can touch me."

Xavier was taken aback. "Touch you? Are you sure?"

"Positive. I need to know how."

Xavier thought for a moment. "Very well, Rogue. But take Scott and Logan with

you. You're in no shape to go alone."

* * *

Shockwave felt a strange sensation pass over him, like he was being watched,

followed. He had felt it so much, he normally ignored it, but something about

this time declared it with emergency. He stopped running and looked around him.

The blank windows of closed buildings and empty streets were all he saw. He

didn't like how he felt one bit, but he kept moving.

The sound of a car appeared off far in the distance, coming closer. Already

tense, Shockwave ducked into an alley and ran off into darkness. He didn't see

the shadow that followed him in.

* * *

Rogue's head was still swimming, but with both Cyclops and Wolverine watching

for her, she didn't have to keep that sharp an eye out for Shawn. Add to that

Wolverine's fantastic sense of smell, and she could have slept for the entire

trip. That's what her body wanted most right now anyway.

Her emotions were all a blur. Should she be angry, worried, anxious? Maybe a

mix off all three? Maybe she should feel elated, though that was doubtful. All

she was sure of was she wanted to find Shawn and finally find out how he was

able to touch her.

Wolverine sniffed the air and emitted a low rumble. "I think I've got his

scent."

"Where?" Cyclops said.

Wolverine growled. "Stop the car." Cyclops hit the brakes and Wolverine leapt

out. "I can smell him...and something else close by. Something dead."

Rogue shakily got out of the car. "Dead?"

"Not good." Cyclops added.

Wolverine sniffed the air again and followed the smell towards an alleyway,

snarling and extending his claws. Rogue steadied herself on a trash can,

everything she saw was double. Cyclops' hand drifted to his visor. "Shawn?"

Rogue called out.

A low growl, not coming from Wolverine, echoed down the alley. Rogue saw one,

no two, no...three sets of glowing red eyes open in the darkness. An incredibly

rancid smell of rotting meat wafted over them. Rogue's nausea felt a thousand

times worse and Cyclops wrinkled his nose.

Three dark blurs shot at them. Wolverine growled and pounced, landing on one of

them. Cyclops took aim and fired, missing by a hairsbreadth. Rogue screamed and

dropped behind the trashcan, the blur flying over her head. A wave of dizzyness

turned her entire world into a spinning slide.

Wolverine slashed with his claws, felt them slightly drag as they passed

through something. A howl came from the creature and he felt its teeth sink into

his arm. He shook his arm violently, but the jaw remained tightly clamped on. He

swiped with his claws, cleaving the creature in two, but the bite only

tightened.

The flash of light from Cyclops' blast illumined the creature for a second and

Wolverine saw green flesh, blackened bone protruding from it's spine and reddish

slime slicking over it's piecemeal fur coat. He snarled and tried to rip the

thing off him, but a sudden tightness in his lungs brought his world to a haze.

Cyclops saw Wolverine go down, whatever had attacked him still holding on to

his arm. He fired twice at it, but missed for fear of hitting Wolverine.

A howl brought him around as a heavy, foul smelling thing slammed into his

chest. Cyclops' breath fled him in a whoosh and he became very dizzy. A stab of

pain awoke in his leg as the thing bit him, followed quickly by a warm numbness.

He felt darkness call and he succumbed to it.

Rogue tried to stand up, but her legs wouldn't allow it. Even as she gritted

her teeth and attempted to steady herself on the trashcan, the jelly of her

lower body buckled. Two snarling, very grotesque doglike beasts greeted her,

looks of bloodlust in their glowing eyes. Rogue gasped, her heart accelerating.

"Shawn, eh? Is that what he calls himself now?" Rogue saw a man step out from

the shadows of the alley and she gasped. He was about her height, mostly bald

save for a few spots of long, white stringy hair and clad in a worn gray trench

coat. His face was noseless, and whole sections of skin were a nauseating green

and black. He flashed Rogue a smile full of chipped teeth.

"Who the he** ah you?"

"Someone on the same quest you are, but for markedly different reasons."

Rogue scowled at him. "You want Shawn."

"If by Shawn, you mean Shockwave, then the answer is yes. And now it just might

be a little easier to get his attention." He clicked his tongue and the two

dogbeasts circled her. "Watch out. Their bites could just KILL your day."

Rogue pushed up against the alley wall.

* * *

There was a definite familiarity in the anxiety Shockwave now felt. He knew

that something had gone horribly wrong, but what? He stopped walking and gazed

at his surroundings.

There was an ill wind blowing, it smelled of death. 'How unusual, that's the

last thing...' he thought. The scent was familiar, the sickly sweet aroma of

rotting meat and toxic drool. He knew he had smelt it before.

A scream broke his thoughts. It was close, panicked, and followed by ghostly

baying.

"No! It can't be!"

* * *

One of the hounds approached Rogue, running its slimy tongue over its

half-missing lips. She cringed and tried to look away.

"Hah, don't be scared. He seems to like you. Why not give him a kiss?"

"Ah'd rather eat worms."

"You just might get the chance." He laughed again. "You know, Shockwave may be

the reason I'm out here, but you seem to be quite a find too. Maybe if I bring

you back, Master would be inclined to grant me a small boon. I mean, we're

always looking for new mutants to fill our ranks.

"Why? What do you want with Shawn? Why is he so important to you?"

"You've seen his power. That's why we took him in the first place and that's

why Master is making us hunt him now."

"Hunt?"

"Oh, yes...if you only knew the glory I serve..."

"Like you're ever going to tell her, Cadaver!"

Rogue and Cadaver saw a shadow fall over the already dark alley, felt the

ground shudder. Shockwave threw his bag aside and rolled up the sleeves of his

jacket. "Long time, thought you'd given up."

Cadaver whistled and the two hounds ran to his side. "Never, Shockwave. You're

too valuable to us."

"I'm not going back." He said, folding his arms over his chest.

"You don't have a choice." Cadaver hissed and the two hounds leapt at

Shockwave. He swept his arm in a arc and the beasts smashed into the alley wall.

"No minions. Just you and me to the end."

Cadaver cracked his knuckles. "They specified live capture."

"Never in a million years."

"I hoped so!" Bone spikes broke through Cadaver's gloves, Shockwave drew his

field in. They stared at each other for a second, feeling the tension build.

Then, unable to contain their emotions anymore, they snapped and flew at each

other. The dead mutant struck first, a punch that Shockwave easily batted aside

and he used the forward momentum to grab and throw Cadaver past him headfirst

into the side of a dumpster. Cadaver snarled and smashed the obstacle aside,

hurling small bone discs as he whirled about to face Shockwave. The discs hit,

opening a slight cut along Shockwave's cheek, but Shockwave drove through them,

bowling Cadaver over. The dead mutant hit him twice and howled as his bone

enhancements snapped.

Shockwave pressed Cadaver and hurled him headfirst into the brick wall opposite

him. A Demi condensed around his right hand. Cadaver stumbled to his feet and,

with a roar, a pair of long blades shredded through his coat sleeve, surrounding

his hand. Shockwave unleashed the Demi and it engulfed Cadaver's newly armored

fist. Hand and enhancements dissolved, drawing a long hiss out of Cadaver.

The two downed hounds rose up and immediately jumped Shockwave. He fell face

first to the ground and both beasts sank their fangs into him. "Game over,

Shockwave." Cadaver laughed.

An orb of gravity flared outward from Shockwave and the hounds were blasted out

the alley's entrance. He pushed himself up to a knee. "It's never over."

Cadaver threw off his glove, revealing a hand coated in green, foul smelling

slime. As he reached for Shockwave, drops fell, burning holes in the ground and

liquefying pavement. "It will be!"

"Shockwave began to collect a Demi in his hand. He could feel the hound's

poison already beginning to affect him, his world was fuzzy and rocking wildly.

"Feeling well, boy? At least take some solace in the fact that your girlfriend

over there won't suffer it. But she will learn firsthand the things you refuse

to tell her!"

Rage boiled through Shockwave's blood. His Demi swelled...and winked out, as he

fell backwards, nausea consuming him. Cadaver's hand hovered over his face. "You

shall make a fine servant for me."

"Shockwave closed his eyes and gave himself over to his powers. He felt a swell

of gravitic energy pass through his chest and out his body. Cadaver screamed as

the concealed Demi broke over him and swallowed his body. The sensation of being

compressed and stretched simultaneously was the last thing he felt before

greeting the darkness.

Shockwave rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up. The nausea was eating

at his consciousness and everything he saw was a swirl of colors. His legs felt

like gel and he was vaguely aware of a pair of arms grabbing him. A voice echoed

in his mind. He tried to smile and blacked out.

* * *

"Mr. Waverly, wake up." Shockwave was ripped from a blissful dream, one of the

few he ever had. "Shawn, it's time to get up."

He rubbed his eyes and a soft, bright glow greeted him. A blurry faced

Professor Xavier sat over him with a smile across his lips. "Good morning Shawn.

I hope your rest was well.

"I could have used more." he groaned.

"You've had two days."

Shockwave propped himself up on his pillow. "Two days?"

"Yes, and I'm must say I'm glad you woke up. When Rogue brought you back here,

the poison had almost gotten you."

"Poison...oh, yeah, Cadaver." He shook his head. "How is she?"

"Fine, and almost fully recovered from her injuries. Indeed, Logan and Scott

will both make a full recovery."

"Well, I guess two out of three isn't bad."

Xavier laughed. "I would recommend that you and Mr. Summers bury the hatchet if

you're going to stay here. I must say that feuds are not healthy for this

environment."

"You're assuming I'm staying, Professor."

"Aren't you? The students wouldn't like it if you were to all of a sudden leave

after you got here." Xavier spread his hand in a wide arc around Shockwave's

room.

He had to blink his eyes before what he saw registered fully. Piles of flowers

were laid out upon his dresser. A stack of books lay next to the door. The

closet was open and hanging inside were shirts, pants, coats, even a formal

suit. There were wrapped packages on his table and unopened cards on the

nightstand next to his bed.

"What's this for?"

"For you, Shawn. When the students found out you had no real things of your

own, Kitty took it upon herself to get you some welcoming presents, along with a

new wardrobe. All the kids pitched in, giving up their own free time to make you

feel comfortable when you finally woke up."

Shockwave smiled. "Nobody...nobody's ever done this for me. This must be what

it's like to have friends."

"Friends who care about you and would hate to see you leave. Think about it

before you make any more rash decisions." Xavier wheeled his chair towards the

door. "It's almost lunchtime and I think Kurt and Kitty were going to prepare

something. Shall I save a seat for you?"

Shockwave though a moment. "Yeah, Professor. I'll be right down."