[color=#7393B3][b]"Ahh!"[/b][/color]
The pavement scraped through the clothing of his elbow as it collided.

[color=#0096FF][b]"Aghrh!!"[/b][/color]
He lay breathing a moment as the impact caused pain to flare in his previous injuries.
Of all the things the girl could've done as a final "keep away" gesture, however, sending out a telekinetic wave and knocking them down came off, to Cyclops, as merciful; progress made.

He rolled over onto his good side to push up from there.

Xavier managed to right his wheelchair and was in the process of getting back into it.

Two of the locals who had come at Xavier and Cyclops before, now seemed to be having an inner debate with themselves on taking advantage of these two muties while they were down, especially the older one, or if they should chance it; the one with the ray gun eyes still seemed to have their number.

In the end, they chose a different tact: informing others who [i]hadn't[/i] witnessed the event that there were mutants in their town again. Right there. 

The cop had made his way back to his car.

Cyclops, now standing, and crossing the short distance to Xavier, let out a breath; he didn't like how this was shaping up.

But Xavier, reseated, was concentrating.

Voice Over Police Radio: "This is dispatch. Go head."

The officer looked blank. "Uh...disregard, dispatch." He scratched his head.

The other locals who hadn't already fled the scene, seemed to share his sudden confusion; at all the car debris around.
They couldn't say what happened to others just now coming upon the scene.


[color=#7393B3]"That will buy is some time,"[/color] Xavier said as he and Cyclops made their own getaway, [color=#7393B3]"but I don't doubt those who already ran will have alerted others to our presence. I'll do what I can with what minds we come across, however.."[/color]

[color=#0096FF]"-You can't stop a wildfire."[/color] He had no doubt of how fast word would spread of foreign mutants in a town who, it could be guessed now, had ran out any of their own. Or worse. Cyclops already had his head on a swivel. 

[color=#7393B3]"Quite so."[/color]


A few minutes later, they were in a vacant building - one that was currently between businesses and had the windows covered over. If anyone was looking for them they'd certainly turn over every rock, but it afforded them a reprieve for the moment to discuss another game plan.

Xavier was troubled. [color=#7393B3]"Every moment now that girl is away from us could be one closer to her last. I can't see anyone here aiding even a non-volatile mutant, and she is now a wounded tiger."[/color]

[color=#0096FF]"Did you see which way she went?"[/color]

[color=#7393B3]"No. But I felt her use her own means of travel again. She may well be out of town."[/color] 

[color=#0096FF]"She'll have to find herself treatment somewhere..."[/color] Cyclops felt responsible. The cut to his arm, shallow enough it was already clotting beneath the tight hold of his hand, felt like further evidence of how he'd failed to see enough; from the moment he first encountered the girl outside the facility. Her injuries were on him.

Without even having to probe his mind, Xavier knew this was what he was thinking. It was something the X-Men's leader had had to overcome before -he couldn't hold everything in his hands- yet the feeling had a way of recurring. [color=#7393B3]"We must hope we can use that fact to our advantage."[/color]


And so they came to a plan that involved waiting some distance from the pharmacy. What little they knew of the girl they knew this: she had a strong survival instinct. They had also seen her collect whatever she had taken from the electronics store before leaving. True to what she'd told Cyclops back on facility grounds, she wasn't just rabbitting. She had gotten supplies for something, and had the piece of mind not to leave them behind. They felt sure she would come back for what other supplies she would now need.

After all, she had won that showdown back there. And she exuded anger, will; not apprehension. It didn't seem likely she'd be too afraid to come back into town.

[i]So....[/i]
In the pharmacy, the cashier was chatting with a colleague. Customers were milling about. Then suddenly, everyone froze, as though becoming living statues.

Xavier wheeled in, with Cyclops behind him. They went about collecting the needed supplies. A reusable bag was slung over Xavier's chair, looking like it had something in it when they came in. An indication they had done this trick in another store, already. They weren't in the habit of stealing but had no manner by which to pay at the moment. Use of the barcode scanner ensured no more alarms going off today.

As soon as they exited, the people inside came back to life; resuming where they'd left off as though nothing had transpired. 


Police cars went up and down the street, their radios making it obvious what they were on the lookout for, and at an area that makes passersby think 'they should put more streetlights up here', the two mutants took advantage of the darkness to remain concealed while they waited.

It was decided Xavier would attempt to speak to the girl in her mind once she was in the vicinity.

Cyclops was undecided if such a deeper invasion to her personal space would go over well, or if it [i]was[/i] a feasible way to start a productive talk; they at least would be keeping away from her physically. [color=00ffff][i]"I mean it. Don't [u]ever[/u] come near me again,"[/i][/color] her words rang in his head. [color=00ffff][i]"You don't know me, you don't know them."[/i][/color] That last bit had stood out to him. It was as good as saying "you don't know what I'm running away from." and he felt like he didn't want to find out what he knew he had to.

[color=#7393B3]"What would help is knowing more about her, at the very least her name. Jean must not be having much luck with those who know, or she's been kept otherwise occupied."[/color]

[color=#0096FF]"And there were no stray thoughts to piece together from when you spoke to the director?"[/color]

[color=#7393B3]"No. His mind, and at least that of the two researchers with whom he'd spoken, are unusually murky. I could readily grab only surface thoughts, not anything really beyond what was being spoken."[/color]

Cyclops' brow came down in a furrow. [color=#0096FF]"Psi-defenses?"[/color]

[color=#7393B3]"Possibly."[/color]

It wasn't common to come across people who had that.

Suddenly- [color=#7393B3]"She's here."[/color]

Xavier's mind sensed her in the vicinity far sooner than eyes. They began to move carefully in the direction he knew her to be coming; not wanting to incense her, yet not wanting to delay her treatment any longer than necessary. 

Pausing, Xavier began the telepathic attempt at communication. However, his face soon reflected consternation. [color=#7393B3]"I can't establish a connection. I felt her channel closed before but thought her earlier rage was the cause. Now...I believe it's something with her mind itself."[/color]

She still wasn't in view yet and Cyclops had been keeping his eyes trained on the street, but he now looked at the Professor. A thought running through Cyclops' mind alone: [color=#0096FF][i]'Everything we learn about this girl feels like with every new piece of the puzzle we realize it's larger than we'd thought.'[/i][/color]

She came into view.
And soon fell.

They didn't wait a second more.


[color=#0096FF]"Oh my God."[/color] Cyclops had discreetly pushed up her shirt to get proper access to the gunshot wound and by the look of it, he could tell the girl had removed the bullet, likely by her telekinesis. Jean, expert telekinetic that she was, had opted to leave the bullets in Scott's body; the present recommendation so as to avoid further damage by extraction. Telekinesis held a much lower chance for that than surgery, yet Jean still wasn't about to attempt it without some guiding image scan and a follow-up to make sure. Only if they were likely to run into Magneto would she have chanced it.

The knife probably could've stood to be left in, as well.

Xavier remained vigilant while Cyclops quickly went to work. They had supplies for cleaning, sterilizing, packing and wrapping. He was able to complete three of those things before Xavier alerted: [color=#7393B3]"That must do. We have to leave."[/color]

The unused supplies were replaced in the bag, then Cyclops -emitting a pained sound- lifted the girl into a fireman's carry.

They managed to get out of city limits without incurring another fray.

* * *

A little while later, they were secluded beneath a grassy outcrop in the forest. 
The girl -now properly bandaged- was still unconscious. They hadn't been able to grab anything in way of something to rest on, besides what the forest could provide, but when the girl woke she would find Cyclops' trench coat around her.

He made a routine check of her pulse to ensure it wasn't weakening, or increasing with bodily distress. [color=#0096FF]"Pulse is holding. She's doing alright..."[/color] Relatively speaking. 
He settled back away from her. 

Something had triggered a change in his disposition, and Xavier's attention shifted to Scott's own condition. [color=#7393B3]"And yourself?"[/color]

[color=#0096FF]"I'm fine."[/color]

There was a slight emphasize on the 'I'm'. Xavier responded to that: [color=#7393B3]"I had certainly expected Jean to have something for us by now. My attempts at contacting her are being met with static, though I don't think it's anything more severe than the interference. I take it you're experiencing something of the same?"[/color]

[color=#0096FF]"Our link doesn't work that way on my end, I can't reach her on a whim. But something has me uneasy."[/color] There was an odd, possessive quality to it. One moment his mind was on [i]their[/i] circumstance, then suddenly he found his thoughts on Jean; an air of anxiety around them.

[color=#7393B3]"You've perceived a time before when she's been hurt?"[/color]

[color=#0096FF]"I realized after I [i]found[/i] her hurt that I'd gotten a perception of it."[/color]

[color=#7393B3]"Does this feel like then?"[/color]

Scott considered. [color=#0096FF]"No."[/color]

[color=#7393B3]"Perhaps, then, it's residual from what we witnessed outside the electronics store. Strong feelings stirred up from the past."[/color] Scott didn't seem sure on that answer. Xavier had another thought: [color=#7393B3]"I sensed something in Jean before we left. She's being challenged?"[/color]

Scott was quiet a moment, considering this time how freely to talk about this. [color=#0096FF]"She hasn't found the new limitation easy. This job had afforded her some space before she'd have to officially become inactive on the team."[/color]

[color=#7393B3]"I imagine she's found other things have changed as well, perhaps how it feels seeing you off into the familiar unknown. What you're feeling now could by something sympathetic."[/color]

This had the opposite effect to reassuring Scott. If Jean did have him on her mind like that, he would've expected to feel an opening in their channel; one he could speak to her through.

[color=#7393B3]"Or perhaps those changed feelings are your own. [i]Do[/i] you find it different? Facing danger now."[/color]

Again, a considering quiet. [color=#0096FF]"Yes. I want as much of it gone as I can make it before they have to face this world."[/color]