I shook in pain and tried to listen for any signs of a struggle. I couldn't hear anything over my heavy breathing and thunderous heartbeat. Finally I gave up and shut my eyes again. I concentrated on allowing my pain to pass out of my body.

Then I heard the door open. I pulled my eyes open to see Mystique. She held a syringe in one hand and a bottle of liquid painkiller in the other. She came up to me and injected the substance into a vein in my arm. I allowed her to do so effortlessly. She pulled the needle out, covered it, and set it on the nightstand. The pain immediately began to subside. I silently thanked the professor for getting fast-acting painkillers.

I looked up at Mystique as my spasms slowed visibly. She sat on the edge of the bed and watched me closely. I gave her a grateful look and she nodded. Mystique reached out and stroked my hair. I didn't like the feeling, but I let her do what she wanted to.

"Mystique?" I asked. My voice was barely above a whisper. "What's going to happen to me? I mean, what do you have planned for me?"

She sighed and looked me in the eyes. "It depends."

"On what?" I asked, fearing the answer.

Mystique ran a blue finger down the side of my face. "If you decide to be a rebellious leader or an obedient follower. Think of your brother's safety before you make your decision."

Then she stood up and headed to the door. I felt myself begin to panic. I was still in too much pain to move, so I had to come up with something to say to get her to stop. A moan of pain escaped my lips, unknown to me. Mystique turned to look at me.

Suddenly Kurt appeared above her and fell on top of her. Mystique fell flat on the floor as more X-men ran into the room. They tried to overcome her, but I wouldn't know whether they had succeeded or not until later. I passed out in pain.

"'I'll be right there when you wake up' he promises," a voice scoffed in my ringing head.

"Hi, Alex," I forced the words out. I opened my eyes to see him standing right next to me.

"Oh, Scott," Jean said from my other side. "You're okay."

I smiled and looked around the room. I was in the infirmary. Alex and Jean stood over me. I was hooked up to a ton of machines. I moaned and looked up at my loved ones' concerned faces.

"Are you guys okay?" I asked.

Jean nodded, "We're fine, Scott. Everyone is. We were all just really worried about you."

"Even Logan?" I pressed with a smile.

Alex laughed, "Yes, especially Logan. He's still amazed at what you did for us all."

"Does that mean we succeeded?" I asked, suddenly excited.

Jean touched the side of my face, "Yes, baby. Because of your leadership, we've retaken the Institute. They've escaped, but we're free from their grasp."

That's when Hank entered in his white lab coat. "Hello, Scott. How are you feeling today?"

"I'm... okay now. Everything is exploding with pain, but I'm okay."

Alex and Jean left the room, so Hank could run a few more tests. He checked all of my injuries to see how they were healing. I was going to be all better in a few days or so. Now there was just one more question:

"Where's the professor?" I asked.

Hank hesitated for a few moments, "Well... Scott, you see... we don't know."

THE END

Author's Note: First of all, yes, I am planning a sequel, but knowing me as well as I do, it'll probably take a long time for me to get it started. Please review.