Chapter Text
“—and Kurt will teleport us to Muir Island.”
Was? Kurt blinked. Did he hear Scott right? Teleport to Muir Island? The Muir Island in Scotland? From New York?
Scott glanced in his direction, an eyebrow slightly perked. Kurt quickly nodded to confirm. Confirm what though he wasn’t sure. He never attempted anything close to this in his life—the farthest he’d gone in one teleport was about 2 miles, maybe three at most. Over a thousand miles, at his current strength, was unthinkable.
As he looked beyond Scott to a world gone quiet, shrouded in pale morning fog, he did his best to swallow his hesitation.
What was the American phrase? Desperate times call for desperate measures?
Well, the times were certainly desperate, Kurt reasoned as he flicked his tail nervously. Nausea built up in the back of his throat as Scott pushed off the desk he was leaning on with a “Let’s move out, team.”
“Not so fast,” a gruff voice growled to Kurt’s left.
Kurt glanced to the side at Logan glaring at Scott with narrowed eyes, arms folded across his chest. “I ain’t doing another teleport.”
“Logan, this is not the time—” Scott started, clearly vexed.
“I ain’t doing another teleport,” Logan repeated more firmly. He nodded towards Kurt, frowning. “You ever tagged along on one of his, slim? Being jerked around by a Sentinel is a more pleasant experience.”
His teleports are not that bad. Disorienting for those not used to it, sure. But Logan, of all people, should be used to it by now.
“You can’t be serious,” Scott snapped as he stepped towards Logan, throwing his arms down in exasperation.
“As death itself, four eyes,” snarled Logan, his fingers twitching slightly. “Unless you want to deal with the worst motion sickness of yer life, I’d consider other options.”
“I’m with Wolvie on this one,” piped up a softer voice, Jubilee. She wrinkled her nose as she considered the idea. “Besides, his teleports, like, stink. No offense, Nightie,” Jubilee quickly tacked on.
“How can I take offense to what is the truth?” Kurt chuckled warmly. He quietly turned his attention to Scott. “What Logan speaks of is true. Those who are not used to teleporting may find the experience unpleasant at best, debilitating at worst.” And the strain of porting so many people over such a distance may end up killing me, he silently added on.
“And just what do you suggest, then?” Scott huffed, all his annoyance clearly directed at Logan.
Logan’s eyes narrowed. “Well, if someone didn’t get the Blackbird blown up, I’d suggest that.”
“That was a tactical decision—”
“Idiotic, more like it.”
“—and even if it were an option, it would take us 6 hours at best to get there!” Scott finished, raising his voice to drown out Logan’s comments.
“Boys! That’s enough!” Jean cut in, tone sharp and glare cutting through both men. Her glare immediately softened as it flicked towards Kurt. “Kurt, you’re the one taking the brunt of this. Are you okay doing this?”
“I can do whatever you need me to,” Kurt murmured, though he was mostly trying to assure himself. Desperate times, he reminded himself.
Another nervous flick of the tail. Logan huffed quietly beside him.
“I…might have a solution…” Roberto spoke up hesitantly. All eyes in the room turned to him, and he flinched slightly under the sudden attention. He scratched the back of his neck as a nervous smile broke out on his face. “Parents have a private plane, in a hangar maybe an hour south of here. Rather deal with jet lag than uh…any side effects of blipping in and out of existence.”
“The plane’s navigation’s systems are most likely damaged due to Magneto’s EMP, assuming it’s electrical systems haven’t been fried already,” Beast murmured. “But assuming damage was limited to its navigation, it’s certainly an option.”
“Even if we can use the plane, the time it would take to get there is—” Scott started again.
“Hardly a concern. I shall have the gales aid us.” Ororo jumped in, her voice booming like thunder over Scott. The tone of her voice warmed as she smiled at Kurt. “It may not be instant like a teleport, but it will shave off an hour or two of the usual flight time.”
“Flying is something we’re all used to. Teleporting, not so much. We don’t want to add too many new factors that might throw us off,” Jean murmured as she stepped towards Scott. She placed a hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed his arm.
Scott stifled a sigh as he glanced towards Kurt. “30 minutes. You have 30 minutes to assess the viability of Roberto’s plane. Take him, Logan, and Cable. I’d have Forge or Beast go with you, but I need them on Bastion’s dampener. If the plane isn’t wings up in 30 minutes, we are going with the original plan.”
“Verstehe.” Kurt nodded, this time sure of what he was confirming. What Scott was asking him to do now, that he could do.
Kurt moved towards Roberto, ushering him closer. Hesitation flickered in Roberto’s eyes, but he leaned down regardless to hear Kurt better.
“Show me on a map. I need to know the direction and distance.”
“Oh, right,” Roberto blinked, as though he was supposed to know that already. “Uh…anyone have a map?”
“Here,” Logan’s gruff voice grumbled, as he shoved a topographical map towards them that he dug out from one of the many strewn drawers.
Kurt plucked it from his hands and ported over to an empty corner of the room. Behind him, he heard Roberto coughing.
Kurt spread out the map it its entirety, scanning its contents. Xavier’s institute’s location was already marked off. He waved Roberto over.
“Can you pinpoint your parent’s hanger?” Kurt asked as Roberto leaned over him.
“It’s not exactly my parent’s hanger. Other people use it,” Roberto murmured as he scanned the map. “I’m not exactly used to maps like these, but I think it’s about here.”
His finger punched a dip into the map, about 25 miles south of the institute, according to the map’s scale.
“It’ll take a few ports, but we should be there in less than five minutes,” murmured Kurt. He straightened as he called back behind him. “Ready to go?”
Logan was already beside him while Cable traversed shortly behind. They circled around Kurt, Cable and Roberto placing a hand on his shoulder, while Logan placed a hand against his back.
Kurt glanced at Cable and Roberto, flashing a fanged smile. “You might feel a bit of motion sickness. Let me know if you need a moment between ports.”
Roberto looked queasy at the suggestion. “Are we sure I need to go along?” He stopped, eyeing Logan. “And wait, didn’t you just say you didn’t want to teleport anymore?”
Logan snorted. “I don’t remember anything like that.”
“Huh?! What do you mean—”
“Hey, wait for me!” a softer voice cried.
A body slammed into Roberto as the stench of brimstone filled the air. In a flash of light, the group was gone.