Extremes #10: Goodbye "Well, Drew, this past week sure has flown by," says Paige walking with Drew, carrying luggage with his telekinetic control over each of them, out the back door of the Massachusetts Academy. They look in bewilderment at the gigantic size of the X-Men's private plane, called the Blackbird, sits upon the grounds of the Academy, being ready to carry six young mutants to Muir Island, a division of the Xavier Research Faculty. "Yeah, it sure has, but it is after all for the best. So many of us are out there and we don't even know it. We've just got to find them. For their safety and everyone else's safety who are near them. Mr. Cassidy and Ms. Frost need to concentrate on Generation X. And since Excalibur is in the field of finding mutants know, they need a psi to operate the Cerebro." "I know, but why do all of you have to go? Can't you go by yourself? We definitely need more members . . ." "Paige, listen, Alex, Gareth, and I intend on constructing our own ‘junior league' there. Since Excalibur will be off fighting somewhere, what about other disasters and the X-Men can't handle it or none of the other teams? Excalibur, again, might be gone, and we would have to stay behind to find other mutants. Get my point?" "Yes." "Good," Drew says, loading his luggage onto the Blackbird. "How's Jubilee, anyway?" "Oh, she's recovering very rapidly. She'll probably start making insults in less than a day," she laughs, as Drew soon joins her merriment. "Hey, Drew!" yells Alex from the door of the plane. "Mr. C is waiting for you! Just don't stand there, com'on!" "All right, be right up! Well, guess this is goodbye, huh?" "Yeah. I wish the others had come here to wish you off, but I guess they were busy.' "It's okay, Paige. I'm just glad you came. Anyway, I don't think they really liked us, but that's their problem. I'll E-mail you when we get there okay?" "Okay." Drew lifts from the ground as his telekinetic flame surrounds him, going into the door of the airplane. "Bye!" he waves down at her. "Bye! I'll miss you." Sensing Paige's dismal manner, Drew sends down his astral image in front of her. "Cheer up, Paige!" "What?!" she yelps, falling down. "Here," he says, touching out with two fingers together to her forehead, as his blue-shaded psionic flame disperse from them. "I've made us a telepathic link, Paige. Whenever you want to talk, just concentrate and I'll hear you. Then I'll project my astral self over here. Then we'll talk. See ya!" he says, fading away into nothingness and regaining consciousness in his own body on the Blackbird, right before it lifts from the ground. "See ya," whispers Paige as she lets the soothing wind caresses her hair and physique. "So what did she say to you?" asks Alex as he sees his friend looking down through one of the Blackbird's die windows with an expression of depression seemingly stained upon his face when he left Paige. "Nothing much," Drew turns around gleefully, smiling at his friend. "We just said by to one another, but we'll still be able to talk. I'm just excited to be going to Muir Island. It'll be a blast." Drew reaches a science fantasy book he had packed along. "All right, Alex, fine. You know man, you won't be able to keep that mask on for long. Soon enough you'll go berserk if you keep everything shut up within that big psionic mind of yours. You may hide yourself under that book, Drew, but I'm your friend and it's not fooling me," Alex says to himself as he walks away, opening the onboard Danger Room door. "I'll be in the Danger Room training, Drew. If you need me, you know where to find me." "All right, Alex. You are right of course. I just hide myself under anything I have. I don't know what it is with me. Is it because I'm a teenager or because I'm a psionic?" Drew sighs. "I just don't know what to do. I've come all this way, too. When I was little, I though that it would be totally cool to have superpowers and to become a superhero. Now I'm not so sure . . . but those young mutants out there, like Alex and me once was. They need us, and I"m not going to let them down." He makes a fist, standing up. Suddenly, a bright light emerges out from the nearby window. "What is that?!" he screams, bending over to see a brilliant flash, cascading onto the Atlantic Ocean. "Ahhhhhh!!!!!!" comes a shriek from the Danger Room. "Alex?!" Drew yells, running and with his telekinesis, he blasts a titanic hole in the wall separating the two rooms. "Alex? Are you okay? Alex!" Standing upon the Danger Room's simulated ground, Alex Davidson surrounds himself with his majestic scarlet energy. "I can't take it! The strain . . . too harsh! Ahhhh!!" Alex releases an electromagnetic pulse throughout the plane, causing everyone to be disoriented and the electronics within to be inactive. The lights dimmed and still hearing the screams of his friend, Drew uses his psionic energy to provide a low source of light. Alex, not recognizing Drew, throws a magnetic blast at him, but because of the disoriented state that Alex has been left in, the magnetic blast dissolves before touching Drew Ebon. Sensing the possible danger, Drew telekinetically holds the plane in one piece and gently lets it down onto the waters. The strain from this action is heavy and is causing Drew much pain. Soon enough though, his vitality returns to him. "Sorry, Alex, but this is for your own good!" Drew yells, his knees laying on the ground. Drew jumps up and runs, with a psionic dagger within his hand, toward Alex, then plunging the dagger into his comrade's forehead. He jumps away for fear of a deadly reaction. "It's a low intensity dagger," Drew thinks, looking at Alex reacting to the scourge from the dagger by holding the sides of his head, "so he probably won't pass out from it. Com'on, Alex, come out of it!" Surprisingly, Alex rises with an appearance that nothing had happened at all. Starting to collapse, Drew catches his friend by putting his arm underneath Alex's and holding him steady, "You all right?" "Yeah, but . . ." "Hey, you two," the voice of Sean Cassidy comes is audible to them. "What's goin' on?" "Oh yeah, that's right!" yelps Drew. "Computer." BREEEPPPPPPPP!! "In ten seconds, start auto-repair on Blackbird." Affirmative! Drew points upward as telekinetic energies emit from them, leaving a gaping hole on the top of their plane. He then flies off through it to explore what engendered Alex's outlandish behavior. Above the waters, Drew lifts his hand to his forehead and the other hand pointing with an open hand to the ocean, scanning the waters. "I sense . . . -gasp-! Someone's down there!" He motions in a manner that soon the waters obey huis telekinetic call. The beautiful shining water rises to reveal a young girl not at a total descent. Gareth Williams soars out of the plane and hovers behind him, gazing at the mastery Drew has taken over his powers. Drew's telekinesis pulls the girl from her death and rests her into his arms. Flying hastily, Drew, with Gareth still behind, brings the youth inside of the plane and eventually the medical lab. "Where are the children?" Drew asks, noticing everyone's gone except for him, Gareth, and the girl, as he tends to the fallen girl telekinetically, on the medical table, releasing the waters that were quickly filling the girl's lungs. "There with Mr.C in the back. He didn't want them to see this," Gareth replies, "and Charlie's with them as well." "Well, she should be okay, but medical attention will be required to an extent we cannot offer, he says laying her onto a medical bed. "Mr. Cassidy," Drew telepathically calls his soon to be former teacher, "she's okay for now, but we really need to get to Muir. It's to late to go back home. It won't take long . . ." "But, Drew, how are we supposed to do that when we don't have power?" "Charlie and I will take care of that. Send him to the front." "So what do you have in mind?" Alex asks as he meets Drew, walking out of the medical lab. "We both know that separately our powers can't lift this boat and keep it going to reach Muir. I suggest that I being a psionic and all, to amplify your own powers. This way, you would have enough strength to carry the plane there and I can telekinetically steer the Blackbird. I -laugh- ‘downloaded' information from Mr. Cassidy about the way there so we won't have any problems getting there. Okay?" "Yeah, but didn't you, after I went ballistic, lower the plane with your telekinesis?" Drew looks at Alex is puzzlement, and then remarks, "I did? I don't remember that. You must still have been delusional." Drew turns around. "No way, man!" Alex yells, grabbing Drew's arm and tuning him around. "I remember it fine, Drew. You did lower the plane. Even Mr. Cassidy said you did. Do you think he's delusional? Huh?" "Can we talk about this later? That poor girl needs to get to Muir Island!" "No, Drew, it's time to tell me what's up with you. Like I said a few days ago, one minute you seem like the happiest guy, and then the next you're just depressed or you want to ignore everything and everyone that confronts you. So, Drew, what is it? You can trust me, Drew. We're best friends." "I guess you're right," Drew says as Alex let's go of his arm. "If you really want to know, I really can't give you an honest answer." "What?! Why not?" "Well, the truth is, Alex, I don't really know what's up with me. I know I've been acting strange lately, but I think it all has to do with me being a psionic. I did tell you the truth when I said I didn't remember about it. I know that you were telling the truth by a simple mind scan, but I really don't remember. It's like psionic black outs, but I promise you that after we get everything settled at Muir, I'll let Dr. MacTaggert see what she can do, all right?" "Okay." "Now let's get this plane movin'!" Drew reaches for Alex's forehead with his hands. His psionic energy leaps from his mind and into Alex's. Once again, with the amplification of Drew's psionic stimulate, the magnetic energies of Alex Davidson cover the entire Blackbird. It gently rises from the water and takes off for their destination, Muir Island . . . "Well," says Drew to himself, sitting by the fallen girl, "since I've got a telekinetic shield over Alex, he shouldn't be able to cause any harm with his E/M pulses. Who are you, anyway?" he turns to the girl. Now talking aloud, "Are you a friend, or something far worse. The beauty that is yours radiates from you, sleeping angel. Oh gosh, what am I saying? I can't say that. This girl almost died and I'm complimenting on her beauty. What kinds a sick weirdo am I?" "Don't worry, Drew," says Gareth behind him, "she is quite beautiful. There's nothing wrong with admiring beauty." "Gareth, oh, hi. You're right of course. I wonder if I should do a mind scan on her." "I don't know why not." Drew places his hand on her forehead and his other on his own, as he has done many times before. "Strange, it's like that her mind is blocking my mind probe. Oh, well. Are the kids still in the back?" "Yeah, they're taking their naps." "And Mr. Cassidy?" "Watching over them." The girl laying on the bed shakes convulsively. "Drew, what's happening to her?" "I think she's having some sort of seizure! We've got to get to Muir Island! I'll stabilize her body with my telekinesis. Gareth, watch over her, I've got to get to Alex!" he yells running to where he left his friend. "All right, Alex, it's time for me to play a little." Drew reaches into the far depths of his soul to bring about wondrous psionic energy. Telekinetic powers entwine with those of magnetism around the Blackbird. With this jointed effort, the Blackbird accelerates up to high speed. Upon their arrival, Drew, with the girl in his arms, flies out of the plane. He does a simple scan to find where the Muir Island's medical lab is located. Drew transmutes his body and the girl's, so that they will become intangible to pass through the roof. Stabilizing their physical forms once inside, he lays her on one of the beds. Dr. MacTaggert, luckily is passing the M.L. when this is happening. "Ach, who are you?" "Please excuse this untimely incident, Dr. MacTaggert. I'm Drew Ebon from the Massachusetts Academy," he says walking over to her. "Coming here, this girl landed in the ocean and we saved her. She needs your medical attention at once." "All right, lad," she calls, rushing to her newfound patient. "I don't know the specifics, Doctor, but she recently had a seizure like attack. I telekinetically, and telepathically helped her through that, although she did try to resist much of my power. By the time we got here, she had calmed down/" "I can't get any readings either," she says after she hooks the young girl with the necessary equipment. Turning around to him, she starts once again, "Tell me, Drew, what happened when you found her." "All right. Well, we . . ." "Moira?" a voice comes from outside the lab. "Sean?" MacTaggert gets up and walks to the door. "Moira!" They embrace each other as if they were forgotten lovers, which destiny has pulled together once more. Together they look into one another's eyes. "Oh. Dean," she sobs, holdnig to his hacket, her head resting on his chest< "it's been so confusing lately. With Charlies, onslaught . . ." "Shush, Moira," he holds up her chin. "We'll discuss this later. Here's the others . . ." Gareth, Alex, and the rest enter the mundane room. " . . . This is Gareth Williams, the neewest installation to the group, Alec Davidson, another time raveller from the future, who also came with us alond with his friend, Drew Ebon, who you apparently have already met, Franklin Richards, the son of Read and Susan Richards, and Artie and Leech, who were Morlocks that later were rescued by the original X-Factor. B the way, Moira, where's Excalibur?" "They should'a be back soo, Sean. They just wernt out to the coast to thier favorite gathering place." "Yes," Drew says, as everyone turns to him, "I sense that they are now ariving." They all leacve the room, for certain that the girl will be all right, and evventually out the building to see Excalibur's own private jet, named the Midnight Runner, land near the group. The side door opens, revealking a stair way. Cominf sown the flight of stairs is Excalibur, proclaimed the ‘British X_Men.' eparaetly they are Nightcrawler, Kurt Waggner, their leader and former X-Man; kathrine Pryde, also a former X-Men as well as Colossus, Peter Rasputin' Wolfsbane, a former member of the New Mutants and the second generation X-Factor' Pete Wisdom, former investegator (?) Of a now dismanded group called Black Air; Chaptina Britain, Brian Braddock, former leader of Excalibur and now wished to close the costume so he can pursue his career as a scinetist; Neggan, Brain's lover and fiancee; Douglock, a mystery in all cases and former paft of the so called' collective intelligence, the Phalanx. Impulsivily, Drew sees within all of thiweer minds. One memory of most of the group startles Drew for unknow reason . . . Memories from their recent past flood the mind of Andrew Blake Ebon. These images are of Excalibur's dearest friend, Rachel Summers, the Phoenix! Rachel Summers was the daughter of Scott and Jean Summers of a different reality where hope was something of the past. She traveled to this reality, and then gaining the Phoenix force that had been originally her mother's, or so she thought as everyone else. The first Phoenix was the body and essence of Jean Grey, but yet was not. The Phoenix force saved Jean Grey during reentering the earth's atmosphere. Later, after she had become the Dark Phoenix, she killed herself because she knew she was too powerful to live . . . Rachel Summers once was an X-Men, but then moved onto Excalibur, along with her most precious friends, Kathrine Pryde and Kurt Waggner. She recently sacrificed herself for her friend, but she was not lost. She was sent into the future and formed a clan called Askani. Drew Ebon feels very close to this woman he sees in all of their minds, overwhelming him. He screams both in the physical nature and the metal. Collapsing to the floor, unconsciousness shrouds his mind. "Drew!" yells Alex. "Take him to the infirmary!" says MacTaggert. Alex runs hastily, carrying Drew in his magnetic shied to the Medical Lab. Before reaching the room, the door flies open as perilous winds emit from the room, knocking down Alex and Drew. Kathrine Pryde helps Drew as Sean helps Alex. Standing in the middle is the young girl with hatred blazing in her eyes.