The X-Men arrived just as the officials began to retreat, searching for more suitable weapons. The blackbird landed on the roof of a nearby building and its occupants piled out. Storm floated neatly to the ground, arms lifted high as she called to the winds for aid. Rogue carried Gambit to the ground as Bobby slid along an ice wall.
Storm called instructions in the absence of Cyclops: "X-Men! Do not harm them if you can help it! Our objectiveis merelyto apprehend these criminals to discover their plans!"
Running into the midst of the confusion, however, the four X-Men soon discovered that the 'criminals' were little more than children. Standing nearest them was a young woman with raven black hair that fell nearly to her knees. Her dark, piercing eyes darted watchfully around, spotting them at once. Behind her, two others stood, their postures defensive. The girl had her hypnotic blue eyes locked with those of a police officer, and she spoke to him in a low, enchanting voice. She bid him come closer and he obeyed without question. The boy stood, panting, his face cut and bloody. His fingers on both hands were a full six inches longer than they should have been, and tapered into razor claws.
The one in the front hesitated, then yelled, "Go on, go!" Startled, the boy awkwardly wrapped his entire arm around the other girl, succeeding in attracting her attention without cutting her. "Come on!" he shouted, breaking her concentration as the policeman turned and fled. The two turned and ran, bolting down an alley as the leader stood her ground.
Storm floated again, hovering gracefully in the air. "Iceman and I will capture the other two," she instructed. "Rouge, Gambit, do not allow this one to escape." With that, she rose higher into the air, followed by Bobby on his ice slide.
The two that they followed gave them a chase harder than they'd expected. Ducking and turning, the two of them nearly lost the trailing X-Men more than once. Each time, however, they were spotted from the vantage point of the sky. Storm decended and nodded to Bobby, who slid quickly in and grabbed the boy from behind. Startled, he gave a sharp cry and attempted to turn around.
Storm summoned forth the wind to do her bidding, having them lift the girl from the ground. Her eyeswide, it took the young woman several moments to realize what had happened. At that point she began speaking to Storm in a low, irresistable voice. In response, the weather goddess flew nearer, grasping ahold of the girl and clamping a hand firmly over her mouth.
Below, Bobby didn't have as much luck. With only one arm fre, the boy had hacked savagely at Bobby's shoulder and nearly taken his arm off. In human form, it would have been nearly fatal. In his ice form, it allowed the young man to escape.
After several long minutes, during which Bobby reattached his arm, they returned to the initial spot, the girl still held tightly in Storm's arms. Rogue knelt by Gambit, who lay on the ground, bullet wounds in his stomach and chest. "C'mon, sugah," Rogue was saying to the fallen man, "You're gonna be just fine..." She looked up sharply as Storm approached, and picked him up with her approval. Returning quickly to the blackbird, they left in a hurry to get Gambit medical help, taking the blue-eyed girl with them.
