All disclaimers and warnings from the last stories are in effect.
I could barely sleep last night as the anticipation and excitement over my first mission completely overwhelmed me. I couldn't believe that, after being here for so short a time, I was not only being sent on a mission for Erik, but I was also the team leader. Not that I was nervous about being in charge of other people, I mean, that's what I did for a living, it's just that I was still learning how this new world I was a part of worked, yet, Erik felt secure in the knowledge and skills I had to entrust me with the task at hand. Needless to say, I was very grateful for the cup of coffee Liz had waiting for me when I met the team downstairs.
"Thanks, Liz," I murmured a bit sleepily.
"No problem, Ryan," she said shyly, "You let down your mental guard a bit, and I could tell you needed something to get you going."
I laughed, embarrassed, "I hope that won't make Erik change his mind."
Liz' face got very serious as she said, "OH NO! NOT AT ALL! I was just saying ... I mean ..."
"What is going on?" Erik asked as he entered the room.
"Oh nothing!" Liz said, "I was just saying Ryan looked tired and needed some caffeine."
"Well, it is the beginning of a big day for him, and us all, so I would say that a boost to the morning is good for all of us!" Erik agreed, as he poured himself a tall cup before sitting down next to me. "And how are you doing today? Ready to face the world and keep mutants safe?"
I gulped down some more coffee, nervously, before replying, "Getting there. A few more cups and I'll be ready to face the day!" I joked.
Erik smiled, took a long sip, and said, "Good, we have a bit more time after breakfast to focus on our plan for the day, but after that, you must be ready to help those of us in the face of danger."
I smiled grimly and said, "I'll be ready, you can have faith in me."
"I know I can, which is why I picked you."
We finished breakfast in silence before heading upstairs into the main 'war room' one might call it. The room was filled with computers and monitors filled with data, statistics, images and video from around the world. When you first saw it, it felt like walking into a CNN news room.
Erik entered first, followed by Mystique, me, and the mutants known as Firefly, Toad, Liz and Quicksilver. We all faced a long table, almost boardroom type, and as Erik sat at the head of the table, we all sat around it, with Mystique taking the place to his right. Liz stood slightly behind Erik to his right.
"Now," Erik began, "We have all viewed the blueprints and weakpoints to this wedding, thanks to Liz, so we all should be familiar with the positions we have to protect, correct?"
All of us, in unison, nodded, before Erik continued, "Good! The wedding is set to begin in 2 hours, and we will all be at our posts with time to spare shortly."
Erik paused, "I must confess to misleading some of you, and I do apologize for that. I had to keep the true destination of our mission a secret, as I fear that there may be one amoung us who may leak this information to humans who wish us harm!"
All of us gapsed together before the man named Quicksilver asked, "WHO?! Was it one of us?!"
Erik laughed softly and replied, "Of course not! Why would I give you, my trusted friends, this information if I thought any of YOU were the ones who were secretly against us? No, I am quite sure of who this person is, which is why I said the wedding we are going to protect is in Utah. All I have to do is keep an eye on the false situation I have created there to find the traitor amoung us. YOU all, however, are bound for Alaska to the wedding I told you about. The schematics I showed you before are for your true destination, so you should be more than prepared for the task ahead of you. Liz?" Erik asked, as he turned to face her, "Are you ready for your part in this, my dear?"
Liz smiled, wanly, and then nodded.
"Good!" Erik smiled, as he turned back to us, "Now as you all know, Mystique is gifted with the ability to fit in and change with any crowd, however, the rest of you are not, so, with Liz' help, we shall make sure the people who look to stop our benevolent mission, despite the fact we have misled them SO far, will be unable to spot you, just in case my plans at misdirection have not been as successful as I had hoped. So now, Liz, if you please."
Liz stepped towards us, closed her eyes, and seemed to be in the utmost concentration. When she finally opened her eyes, she looked around, smiled, and laughed nervously.
"That should do it perfectly," said Erik, "Don't you all agree?"
As he said that, we looked around at each other and where aghast! We all looked like completely different people! It was if were imbued with Mystique's powers
"This is only a mental costume'" murmured Erik, "Only Mystique's sklls will stand up to a true telepathic's scrutiny. However, we have the guest list and know no mutants in attendance, nor the humans looking to disrupt the ceremony, have the ability to look through our ruse. Now! Go forth, and protect those of our own!"
As Erik said this, we all stood and as we did, the room wavered and changed as the floor dropped from underneath us.
We spun, for a moment, before all landing hard on the floor in a random bathroom.
As we stood, the beautiful woman in white, who I remembered was Mystique, asked, "What do we do now, Ryan?"
Shaken for a moment, as the responsibility of my mission hit me, I stammered, then said, "You all know where to go to position yourselves for the possible human threat. Go there now, and wait for my signal. If you notice something out of the ordinary, let me know, and we'll respond. You got that?"
My team nodded, and all but Mystique scurried from the room to follow my orders. She slowly turned back to me and looked me in the eye, "You know, I think Erik was right about you," she began softly, "I think you've got what it takes."
Before I could ask what she meant, she drifted out of the bathroom, leaving me to look in the mirror and focus on fixing my somewhat rumpled look earned from the strange transportation we had all just endured.
Satisfied I looked like a wedding party guest, and still unnerved that the person who stared back at me from the mirror WASN"T me, I exited the room and looked around the foyer. My teammates were stationed at the windows and other vulnerable places we had learned about, so I turned right, and headed toward the main reception area of the church.
Apparently, this was a Catholic wedding ... not that I was knowledgeable about the Catholic religion, as my mom wasn't very religious herself, but enough of my relatives were Catholic, and I had been to enough weddings and funerals to know the layout of such a church.
The somewhat familiar sights, sounds and smells of a mass floated though the open door in front of me, and as I glanced through the door to my left, I was hit by a disturbing wave of nostalgia. The last time I was in a church was for Tim's funeral. His parents were Catholic, and the last time I entered a place of worship was on that day.
What the hell?! THAT voice?! I hadn't heard it in what seemed like forever!
And when it reverbrated through my head, I leaned back against the wall and started breathing deeply.
"Nervous?" a strange voice asked me.
I opened my eyes to see an old priest standing before me with a very kind look on his face.
Embarrassed to lie to a man of God, I still managed to compose one, "Yes, the groom is my good friend, and I am have phantom wedding pains for him, if that makes sense."
The priest smiled, "Are you sure it's not because you're losing a drinking buddy?"
"No, what ... what do you mean?"
"Do not worry, my child," the priest laughed softly, "Today is the blessed union of two souls and not confession. You would not be the first to mourn the 'loss' of their friend to the grind of married life!" The priest winked at me and continued his way into the main chamber and down the aisle to perform the marraige ceremony.
Standing there, I felt stupid since it seemed I almost gave up our cover. Before I had a chance to dwell on that, I heard the voice of the priest who talked to me begin, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today, to witness ..."
I drowned out his words as my adrenaline kicked in since I assumed this would be the best time for any assailant to make their move, so I motioned, silently, to the rest of my disguised team to keep their eyes out as to what may happen.
As we fanned out, aware of all possible threats, I vaguely heard the priest mention a name.
"And do you, Scott Summers, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife .."
That name struck me to the core and made me stop on the spot. I KNEW that name! Without a will of my own, I turned and stumbled back to the entry to the sanctuary.
I reached it, just before the groom's vows were finished.
I looked, astonished, at the sight before me.
There, was Scott, the X-Man who met me at the airport, standing at the altar dressed in a tux and holding hands with a beautiful, red-haired woman in a wedding dress, with whom he was finishing his vows.
The red haired woman blushed and tears welled in her eyes as she looked away to blot them out, and while she did this, she happened to glance straight at me, and I was slammed with recognition! It's ... it's the Phoenix ... it's Jean Grey ... the woman in my dreams! She's here! She's NOT dead!
I don't believe it, and gaped in wonder. Jean didn't die! Or the Phoenix saved her! She must have the answers to what's going on ... or at least she can help!
It seemed she saw and smiled at me, so I smiled back, but as she turned back, she nodded to the priest to continue.
"I ..." the priest began.
"I ..." she repeated.
"Madelyne Pryor," he said.
"Madelyne Pryor," she continued ...
That's it for part 13 ... hope you liked it, but feel free to give me comments and criticisms ... oh, and for those who have followed, I have finished the last chapter of this story. I FINALLY know how it all ends, so now I only have to find a way for it to get there! lol ... anyway, hit me up at ender2155@gmail.com as always!
P.S. "Liz" is "Ez" ... sorry for the mixup, it had just been so long since I had written the story, I made a mistake. Please forgive me for this oversight