Sentinel X

By KateR

abelard950@aol.com

Note: My first shared fanific

Fandom: Sentinel/XMen

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters . The Sentinel characters belong to pet Fly Productions. The characters from The X-Men who belong to marvel Entertainment Group. This story was written in fun. No money is being made from this story and No insult is intended. Please don't sue me as I have no money.



Sentinel X
By KateR


Prologue: How To Annoy The Modern Day Sentinel

Blair Sandburg got out of the cab in front of Charles Xavier's School for the Gifted. He carried two bags and his ever-present backpack. Blair rang the doorbell and waited. He was here to visit a friend from Cascade. The door opened and Blair found himself looking at a woman with brown skin and white hair with blue eyes.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

Blair smiled at her and answered, "Yeah, I'm here to visit Darryl Banks. I'm a friend of his from Cascade."

"Can I have your name?" The woman asked as she led him inside the school.

"Oh, yeah," Blair said, "I'm Blair Sandburg."

The woman led him through the halls and up to a library. Blair watched all the kids who walked past them. Several of them set off his Shaman Sense. Every fiber of his being seemed to be telling him to be careful.

Blair was impressed by the sheer volume of books in the library; he saw books of every size, thickness, binding, color and subject. The woman led him up to the top level where he saw several books on Criminology and Anthropology. Sitting at table looking at an article that Blair had just written was the young man Blair had traveled across the country to see.

"Darryl" the woman said, "You have a visitor."

Darryl looked up and saw Blair standing behind her. "BLAIR!" He shouted and jumped into Blair's arms that were open for a hug.

"It's good to see you my friend," Blair told him. "We miss you in Cascade."

Darryl settled against Blair's shoulder in the hug. He returned Blair's hug fiercely. "What are you doing here man?" Darryl finally asked.

Blair just grinned at him and took the seat opposite of where Darryl had been sitting. "I came to see you kiddo," Blair said as he looked at the books Darryl was looking through. "Working on a paper?"

"Oh yeah," Darryl said. "It's for my social studies class."

"Cool," Blair said. "When you're done, would you like to show me around? I have never been to a private school with a campus like this one before."

"Oh, I'm done for right now. You want to come to the cafeteria and get some lunch before I give you the grand tour?" Darryl asked.

Blair grinned and nodded after remembering that he had avoided the airplane food. "Oh, Yeah, I could eat." He said to Darryl.

The two of them left the library. Ororo watched the go with a certain detachment. Darryl had been very happy to see the young man with the long hair pulled into a ponytail.

She was glad to see the young man smile as wide as he had.

//Ororo// Came the professor Xavier's mind call, //Come to my study at once. There is something about that young man that the team needs to discuss//

//On my way professor, // She thought back and headed immediately to the professor's study.

Ororo arrived at the door to the professor's study less than five minutes later. She knocked and when bidden to enter, she went in and found the rest of the team already assembled. Jean and Scott stood by the desk looking at a print out from Cerebro. Logan stood quietly watching them with an odd look on his face. Warren and Hank were playing with Cerebro to make certain that whatever was on the sheet of paper was accurate. Bobby was making snowballs and the un-making them. Rouge and Bishop were watching the goings on in the study with curiosity and Sam Guthrie look just plain confused. Still it was Logan's look that attracted her the most.

"Professor," she said, "what is going on? Why is the whole of the entire team currently in residence here present?"

All the assembled X-Men looked at Logan. He gave a growl of uncertainty as he tried to get his thoughts together. "I was close to a berserker rage right before our guest knocked on the door. I was this close to putting fist through the wall of the Gym. Then, the exact second that that guy entered the school, the rage just went away. Weirdest thing is just before it happened I heard a wolf howl and an echo of a big cat screaming." Logan told them as he paced. It was obvious to everyone that whatever had happened had if not unnerved him then at least surprised him.

"Well, It appears that while Mr. Sandburg is not a mutant something in him caused a reaction from Cerebro," Professor Xavier told them. "We must find away to find out what he is. Something about him is causing Cerebro to respond and we must find out what and tag it for study."

"He may not let us Chuck," Logan said. "If, he don't want to submit to the testing what do we do? I don't think he's goin' ta let us just hook him up to the scanners to find out what makes him tick."

Professor Xavier looked at the faces of his X-Men and sighed. "We may have to resort trickery to keep him here. And I may have to invade his mind to find out what we need to know. I hate having to do it but the readings say he is very strong and such strength cannot be left wild and untrained. Or unprotected," Xavier said at last.

"The question is how do we keep him here without him getting suspicious? Why is here in the first place?" Scott asked Ororo and the professor.

"He came to see Darryl Banks," Ororo answered. "Darryl said once that Blair is an anthropologist and a teacher. Maybe we could ask him to give a lecture or some such thing."

"That is probably our best course of action," Xavier said. "However I think the best course of action may not be the way to go this time. I'll cause him to pass out and then we can keep him sedated while we figure it out. I don't like to do this either students but we have no choice. If we let him go without gaining knowledge as to why he could set Cerebro off simply by entering the school without being a mutant."

"We understand professor," Scott said. "We just don't like it."

"Understood," Xavier said. "However we have no choice. Jean, go and set up the infirmary. Hank, go down and watch Mr. Sandburg and Darryl. The moment he collapses I want you to bring him to infirmary. Logan, you will be the guard to keep anyone from coming down see him. We will let Mr. Banks see his friend twice a day so he sees that Mr. Sandburg is receiving the best care. Lets go students."

After his students went to get into position, Xavier prepared to strike Blair Sandburg down with a telepathic mind bolt. He prayed that the young man would forgive him this. It was in the best interest of humanity but Xavier did not think that would be much comfort to any of the X-Men if anything went wrong. He received the all ready from his team and reached with his mind into Blair's. He struck at his conscious mind. He received two shocks: As Blair fell to the ground Xavier was kicked out his mind by a large black Jaguar.

A wolf howled in pain as Blair Sandburg fell into a coma and yet he sent a desperate thought to a person named: ((JIM!!!" ))> Xavier realized in that
moment that Blair was aware of what he had done.

"Oh My GOD!" Xavier said when he felt the raw power that suddenly surged along the link to the Jim person. Xavier sensed pure unadulterated Rage from wherever Jim was. A rage that Xavier realized would be directed at him when Jim got there. Xavier had no doubt that Jim was on his way even as he thought about the man and what he'd just sensed from him.

//X-MEN!// he sent to his students, //We are going to have a very angry man arrive soon. Apparently, Mr. Sandburg is connected to this man. Be alert for him, his name is Jim


Chapter1: Sentinel At The School

James Ellison sat on the plane fuming. It had been less than 4 hours since he'd felt Blair call out to him along the Sentinel/Guide Bond. Jim had felt nothing since. He was angry. He sensed through Blair that the attack was deliberate. The attack was intended to put his Guide out of action for some unknown purpose. Jim was filled with rage at the thought of his Guide being so assaulted. Jim felt the attack on Blair's mind from his desk in the major Crimes bullpen of the Cascade Police Department where he worked. Clear across the country. Jim had left work immediately. He'd gone home and packed a bag and made a plane reservation. Now he was on his way to New York and the closer he got to his destination, the angrier he became. In less than hour he'd be there. Then he would drive to the school Darryl attended up in one of the counties. Then, he would make those who had hurt his Guide pay dearly.

Jim looked up as the fasten seatbelts sign came on. He was almost there. An hour or two more and he would be at his Guide's side. Jim felt the plane land, but he ignored it. His hyper active senses were focused on one thing and only one thing: Getting to his Guide.

He disembarked from the plane and went to the car rental counter. He rented a truck and drove out to the freeway that would take him to where
his Guide was. He had gotten a vague image the man who had assaulted his Guide. Before his own Spirit Guide had removed the man from Blair's mind. The black jaguar that was Jim's Spirit Guide had been with Blair so Jim could make sure he was safe. The jag had screamed with a rage that matched his own when Blair was struck down.

Jim drove along the highway thinking of what he would do to the people who hurt the Guide. He knew he was going more towards the primal part of his brain because the word MAIM kept coming into his thoughts. He got a rein on it but not much of one. Jim prayed that Blair would be safe until he got to him. He'd been on his feet for several hours now. It was dark here now although it was only evening in Cascade. In a silent fury he drove towards his destination.


xxxxxxxxxx

At Xavier's School for The Gifted, Logan sat by Blair's bedside in the infirmary. He was standing guard over the young man like he'd been told to but he really didn't like what they'd done. The professor had attacked this young man for his secrets. Secrets that Logan suspected would cause the X-Men a lot of trouble. His thought on Mr. Sandburg's secret was that it should have been left alone.

Of course, the professor's worry about the man Mr. Sandburg had called out for had them all concerned. The question on their minds was what had the professor sensed from him? He had told them anger but Logan suspected it was something more. The professor did not usually worry about anger. No, Wolverine was certain that Professor X had sensed something more than just anger from the mysterious Jim. Whatever that something it had scared him.

"Logan?" Jean Grey said softly as she came into the room. "Has he showed any sign of waking yet?"

Logan looked up her coolly. "No Jean, he hasn't shown any sign o' wakin' up yet." Logan told her, "What did Chuck do? No one has ever been out this long from a telepathic bolt before."

"I don't know Logan," she confided. "I've never known the effects of a telepathic bolt to last this long before either. Whatever he did, it's shaken him badly."

"He should never have done it, Jean," Logan said to her. "He should have left this kid alone."

Jean sat down and studied Logan from her chair. That he was very upset about this was obvious, but why? He didn't know this young man from Adam and yet he was protecting him from all further harm. Jean Grey was a telepath and a telekinetic. Those were her mutant powers, but something about this young man who was not a mutant had forced the professor out of his mind and called for help from some unknown friend who was even now on his way. Even she, who was not as powerful as professor X had a strong sense of foreboding whenever her thoughts turned to the mysterious Jim. Another odd thing was the black jaguar that had been standing by the bed since Blair had been placed in it. It would let no one with the intent of reading Blair Sandburg's thoughts get within three feet of the bed. No one could read his thoughts from a distance either.

It was if the jaguar was a shield of some kind.

Why that animal and something else, Jean wondered. Why not an animal indigenous to North America? Just then, the jaguar looked up at her and bared his teeth. Jean realized that she had drifted closer to the bed than the animal would allow.

"He don't like you, Jean," Logan told her. "He perceives you to be a threat to his charge."

Jean gave Logan an odd look and stepped back.

The jaguar, after staring at her for a minute or so dismissed her and lay back down. This time he lay on the bed at Mr. Sandburg's feet.

Jean picked up one thought from Blair before she was blocked from his mind by the jaguar or whatever kept them from touching Blair's thoughts. The thought was one word: (Jim)

Jean got to her feet hurriedly and looked at Logan. "His mind is awake," she told her teammate. "He is deliberately staying unconscious to keep us out."

"Maybe that's the way it should be jean," Logan told her. "If he wanted our help or anything, I'm sure he woulda told us by now."

Jean watched as Logan went back to watching the jaguar that it suddenly hit Jean he could see. "That thing isn't in the physical world Logan," she said.

"How can you see it?" Logan just looked at her. "I been seein' it since he was hit by Chuck's mind bolt. It ain't left his side once since he fell on the lawn."

Jean watched as the jaguar looked directly at her and yawned showing off all it's teeth.

She looked at Logan again. "Anyway, the reason I came down is because dinner is ready. Warren is going to watch over him while you eat."

Logan looked up at her again and this time there was a gleam in his eyes. "You make sure he knows where the boundary is. I think that kitty cat could and would do something if any of us cross it." Logan told her warningly.

Only because the jaguar nodded at him did he leave. That struck Jean as odd. The big cat acknowledged Logan but unless they went to close to the bed or the young man lying on it, it ignored everyone else. Jean followed Logan upstairs to the dining room passing Warren on the way. He went into the room and sat down by Blair's bed and watched. He respected the invisible boundary that the professor had told him about and sat five feet away from the bed.

xxxxxxxxxxx

There, Jim thought as he listened for his Guide's heartbeat from just outside the school. The Guide is in there. Being kept prisoner. All that was human in James Ellison felt a rage at the way his Guide was restrained in the bed they had put him in. He used piggybacking of sight and hearing to locate his lost Guide in the sprawling mansion. He heard all but one person at dinner and listened a little harder. The leader was speaking to his students about what they were going to have to do if Blair didn't let them in willingly. Jim growled low in his throat as his piggybacked senses identified the man who had struck his Guide down. You will NOT hurt the Guide again, Jim thought with primal ferocity. I WONT allow it.

Some part of Jim that was more savage big cat than man began to make it's way to the front of his mind and Jim allowed it to happen. Jim was aware of the fact that if they forced their way into Blair's mind that it would be very painful for him and that Jim would not allow. Purposefully, Jim walked up to the door and banged hard. He completely ignored the doorbell. Jim was aware through his hearing that he had startled them.

Good, he thought. Let them worry about who is knocking on their door. Jim laughed at the nursery rhyme that ran through his head. He looked up as the door was opened.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Charles Xavier had expected many things in the Jim man. What he did not expect was the man who stood before him now. Jim was a big man. Much bigger than Xavier was expecting and not at all the sort of man he'd pictured being a friend of Mr. Sandburg. The man stared down at the professor with a look in his eyes that was as cold as Logan's home in Canada. The man's voice was as arctic as the look in his eyes when he spoke.

"Where is my Blair Sandburg?" Jim asked with a hint of a threat when he spoke.

Xavier decided to try for deception and see what happened. "I'm sorry," he said to the big man, "I don't know who you are speaking of. There is no one here by that name."

The look the man gave him was enough to kill. "Don't lie to me mister," Jim growled. "I know he's here so either take me to him or I'll report you for kidnapping and false imprisonment."

Xavier could tell the man was serious so he decided to try telepathic control once he had him in the house. "Please come in and let me see if I missed his name as being down as visitor."

Very slowly, Professor Xavier slipped into Jim's mind. He began to try to control the rational part of the mind while never noticing the other, more animalistic part that was waiting to pounce on him the moment he turned his back on it.

"What are you doing?" Jim asked when he became aware of the intrusion in his mind.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ellison," He said. "But I can't let you have Mr. Sandburg until we have learned what makes him different." With that, Xavier shut off
Jim's rational mind. The result of his actions was something he never expected to see outside of Wolverine.

Professor Xavier watched in awed terror as the once rational Jim Ellison turned into a snarling berserker who matched Wolverine. The man roared in rage and pushed past the professor in a blind fury. His only vocalizations were snarls and growls. One word eventually came from the primitive sounds
"GUIDE!" He roared in anger. Xavier backed away from Jim in startled amazement and fear.

//X-Men! // He called. //Subdue this man. Do not harm him until all avenues of approach have been tried. //

The X-Men came in and tried to restrain the raging sentinel. All but Wolverine and Storm joined the fray. Wolverine because he knew that he could not defeat the man and Storm because she began to have a feeling she knew What if not Who the man was. He continued to flatten all of the X-Men as his screams of primal fury became louder and more feral then when he started.

"I. Want. My. Guide. NOW!!!" He roared as he sent Bobby Drake flying across the room into the couch. Scott Summers, known as Cyclops was knocked into a wall. Jean Grey was slapped aside and Hank McCoy was given knocked unconscious by a blow to the head. After they were all out of his way, Jim roared in rage and fury as he headed purposefully towards the steps that led down to where he could hear Blair's heartbeat. The only thing the primal sentinel was aware of was that his Guide was here and that his Guide had been hurt.

"Guardian?" Storm called out.

The feral Sentinel whirled around and found himself staring at a woman with long, white hair, blue eyes and brown skin.

Jim stared at her in shock. She had called him by his title and the Sentinel could not ignore her. "Is it your companion you seek?" She asked him.

The Sentinel/Jim nodded feeling some of his primitive fury fade. "Guide," he growled out longingly.

"Come this way," she said to him. "I will take you to him."

The enraged Sentinel followed the woman because both his instinct and his hyperactive senses told him she was being truthful. She would take him to his Guide if he followed her.

The woman led him down to the infirmary where Blair still lay in a self-induced coma.

Jim walked over to the bed slowly and sat down. "Guide," he said again. He sat by the bed and lay his head down next to Blair on the mattress. "Guide," he purred in contentment.

Storm watched as Jim petted Mr. Sandburg's hair and took his hand. "My Guide. My friend. Blair," Jim said as he began to come back to himself.

Jim felt exhausted and closed his eyes after making sure there was no immediate threat to either of them.

Storm watched for a few minutes and then turned and went back upstairs. The others were just getting to there feet.

"How did you do that Storm?" Cyclops asked as she settled gracefully in a chair and picked up her discarded tea.

"It was merely a matter of understanding what they are." Storm told them all gently. "That man is what my ancestors would have referred to as a Guardian. I suspect Mr. Sandburg is his Companion or a better word is Guide. He perceived us to be a threat to the Companion and he reacted accordingly. When the professor turned off his rational mind, he reverted to his most primitive nature. The one where only the Companion matters."

Professor Xavier was stunned into silence by Storm's words. He knew now why Jim Ellison had turned into a berserker. He had turned off the man's rational mind making all the bumps and bruises his students had suffered his own fault. "What did I almost do?" He asked himself aloud.

"You nearly got yerself an' all o' us killed is what ya did Chuck," Logan said. "I knew we shoulda left well enough alone with that kid." Logan turned around and walked down to the infirmary to watch over the two sleeping men.

Jim Ellison had pulled himself up onto the bed and now had Mr. Sandburg where he was protected by the bulk of Jim's body. The Guardian was still
protecting his Companion. Wolverine sat down in the corner and watched. He would protect them both that night while they slept. Tomorrow they would all talk this out like reasonable human beings.



Chapter 2: Discussions after a Free For All

Jim Ellison woke up with a headache. He found himself curled around Blair protectively in what looked and smelled like a hospital room. Jim felt a stinging in his hands and looked down. His knuckles were bruised and scraped like he'd been in a fight. Suddenly, it came back to him. The fight between himself and the people here who tried to keep him away from his Guide and what had happened afterward. I hope I didn't kill anyone, Jim thought to himself. He sensed Blair begin to wake up so he got up and off of the cot. Jim looked around for the first time and noticed that what he thought was a hospital was actually closer to being an infirmary. Jim spotted a bathroom and went in to use it. He came back out and found Blair sitting up on the cot they'd been sharing earlier looking at him confused.

"Uh, Jim," Blair began in confusion. "Why are you here?"

Jim smiled at Blair and sat down next to him. "You called for me, remember?" Jim asked. "Your mind was attacked and you cried out my name. Weird as it sounds, I heard you in Cascade."

Blair sensed his discomfort with the subject and let the why of Jim's presence drop. He looked down and noticed the bruises and scrapes on Jim's knuckles. "What happened to your hand man?" He asked in concern.

"Hands Chief," Jim told him displaying the other hand that was just as bad. "I got into a fight with the people here when they tried to keep us apart. I think I went primal because I remember a lot of growling. The last thing that's clear in my mind before the growling is some old, bald guy in my head trying to do something to me, uh my mind. I remember asking what he was doing and then I guess I went 'Cave Man' because I don't remember much after that except a black lady with white hair and blue eyes calling me Guardian and leading me down here."

Blair looked up at Jim confused. "You went 'Cave Man' cause they tried to keep us apart?" He asked in shock.

Jim shook his head and stood. He paced back and forth while trying to find the words to explain. "No, Chief," he said. "I think I went 'Cave Man' because of whatever the old, bald guy tried to do to my head. I was pushing primal when I got off the plane. This was something else. I actually remember hitting the people but not what I said besides the growls. It's almost like the guy turned off my modern brain and probably un-intentionally released the primitive Sentinel." Jim chuckled at Blair's look of surprise at his explanation. Jim let him off the hook because he could tell that Blair was still a little out of it. Blair in the morning was not at his sharpest. "I've been practicing talking like you Chief," he teased, "I've been trying to figure out explanations in the way you would phrase them."

Blair looked at him and they both dissolved into laughter. They spent five minutes getting themselves under control and then Blair went into the bathroom to get cleaned up. He came out and found Jim toying with his gun. "Did the primitive Sentinel not bother to draw it?" Blair asked.

Jim looked up at him and shook his head. "It hasn't been fired Chief. I guess he, uh I mean I didn't bother with it. I completely forgot about it until just now," Jim told him.

"Neat," Blair said. "Hey Jim, how do we explain your being here to Darryl?"

Jim looked at him for a minute lost in thought. "I guess we tell him that whoever is in charge here called me when you collapsed. It's about the only thing I can figure to explain why I'm here," Jim told him.

Just then, both of their stomachs growled. They looked at each other and began laughing again.

"Guess we should see what they have to eat in this place," Jim said. He stood and pulled Blair to the door. It slid open and the found themselves next to an elevator. "I used stairs last night but I guess an elevator works just as well," Jim muttered to himself.

Blair laughed and they got in. The elevator let them out in a hallway Blair remembered walking with Darryl just before he was struck down outside. Jim used his hyper active senses to lead them to the kitchen. The black woman Jim remembered from the night before was standing by the stove. She turned and looked at them as they came in.

"Good morning," she said to them. "I'm glad to see you both awake and I know that Professor Xavier will be too."

Jim looked at her blankly. "Professor Xavier?" He asked uncertainly.

Blair smirked and looked up at Jim. "The old, bald guy, man." He told Jim.

Jim looked at Blair sheepishly and then walked over to the fridge.

"You wouldn't happen to have eggs here would you?" Blair asked the woman whose name he remembered was Ororo Munroe.

She looked at him and nodded. "Top shelf to the left," she said to Jim who had his head stuck in the fridge.

A muffled "thanks" came from Jim's direction and Ororo got out the frying pan for them.

"Your friend likes eggs?" She asked Blair.

Blair shrugged and looked over at the cabinets. "He likes eggs and they happen to be one of the foods you have here that I know is safe for him. Jim has a lot of allergies to a lot of things." Blair told her and took the eggs Jim handed him.

Ororo watched the two men work around each other and her. They seemed to be perfectly in synch. She knew what they were for certain now. A Guardian and his Companion. Jim turned to her while they ate the omelets that Blair had made for them.

"You called me Guardian last night," he said to her. "Why?"

Ororo looked at him for a few minutes in silence. "It is what you are," she said at last. "I suspected as much when you snarled the word "Guide". Why would you do that if you weren't a Guardian?"

Jim looked at her in surprise. Blair's jaw was doing an imitation of an open flytrap. Jim leaned over and closed his mouth.

"Normally, I'd want to know how you know about Guardians and Companions," Jim said to her. "However, since you helped me last night I won't push
right now."

Ororo watched as the two men finished their breakfast and washed their dishes.

Blair turned to her then. "Is Darryl alright?" He asked her. He remembered Darryl was standing next to him when he collapsed and he vaguely remembered Darryl calling his name worriedly. Ororo looked at him for a space before she answered.

"Darryl is fine. He was very worried about you. He said you've only ever collapsed from exhaustion before and that you didn't look tired at all when
you got here."

"I've also been known to collapse when somebody turns off my conscious mind." He told her acerbically.

Jim winced and reached for his friend. "Down Chief," Jim said. "We can't blame the lady for what the other people did. She did help me get to you."

Blair nodded and looked at Ororo apologetically. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just don't like having my brain invaded by strangers."

Ororo looked at him understandingly. She knew how it felt to have one's mind invaded. "We are the ones who should be sorry," she told him. "Entering your mind without permission is something that we all usually abhor. It's just that the professor was surprised by your mental power. You set off a machine that usually only registers people of the mutant persuasion."

"He could have just asked," Jim said pointedly.

His head cocked in what Blair called his classic listening pose and suddenly he growled low in his throat. Blair reached for him in a gesture of calming. Jim looked at him and subsided but he was still keeping himself between Blair and the door.

A few minutes later, a group of people came into the kitchen. They all looked as if they'd been through the ringer. Blair looked up and noticed the satisfied, feral gleam in his eyes. Blair shook his head and sighed.

"Good morning professor," Ororo said.

Jim watched as the old, bald man in the wheel chair (which he hasn't noticed last night) smiled at her.

"Good morning Ororo," he said in reply. "I see our guests have eaten."

Ororo looked at where Jim and Blair were sipping coffee and watching the rest of the X-Men file in to the kitchen. She then looked at the professor. "Yes, they have," she told him and the others. "They also did their dishes. Including the frying pan they used to cook the omelets they ate."

The rest of the team looked at Jim and Blair curiously but backed off at Jim's glare. He still did not trust them. They had dared to come between him and his Guide. In primitive times, that was an offence punishable by death.

"Let me say welcome to my school." The professor said to them. "I also wish to extend my sincerest apologies for what happened last night."

Blair felt Jim tensing to pounce on the man who had knocked him out and enraged a full Sentinel so badly he'd gone beyond Primal to Primitive. Jim shot his iciest glare at the professor and the man noticed it because he kept his distance. A huge, black man who was only a few inches shorter than Simon Banks noticed it too.

"The man apologized,"he said to Jim.

Blair figured he'd better jump in before there was a repeat of last night, whatever had happened. "Jim won't calm down until he's sure there is no more threat to either of us. What you guys did to me put him in full Protector mode, he will stay that way until he's absolutely certain that no more harm will come to us."

The big, black man backed off remembering what had happened to him last night when he'd gotten in Jim's face. Blair watched as he unconsciously rubbed his jaw and his right wrist. Blair figured this man had stood in Jim's way and actually touched him last night. Jim continued to glare at them until they left him and Blair a space of Five feet. Only then did Jim relax even the slightest bit.

"Chill Big Guy," Blair said to him. "I don't think we're in any danger. I think you took care of that last night."

Jim looked at him as if to say 'I'm only looking out for you'.

Blair nodded at him and took another sip of his coffee.

Jim regarded their hosts for a long, silent minute before he spoke to them. "Blair wants me to give you a chance to explain what you did and why. I want to know what you did to him and what you tried to do to me. I'd like to know now but I have to tell Darryl that I'm here and we decided to tell him that you called me," Jim told them in a reasonable tone.

The professor nodded his acceptance of their plan for explaining Jim's presence at the school. "We can talk now. Most of the students are in class at this time. I'm very interested in how you knew exactly where Mr. Sandburg was. That room is well out of a normal hearing range."

Jim looked at the professor and laughed. He looked at Blair and then at Ms. Munroe and decided that these people probably already knew something was up. Of course after what he had done last night he would have been surprised if they hadn't figured out that something was strange about him. "How much free time do you all have?" Jim asked the assembled people around him. He knew what he was opening himself up for but he really didn't seem to have a choice in the matter.

Professor Xavier looked at him and then at watch. "Well, we have a few hours before we have to watch the kids in the D.R." He said to Jim.

Jim looked at him measuringly. "If I tell you our secret then you had better reciprocate." He said in a voice that brooked no arguments.

The professor nodded that he accepted Jim's terms for the explanation. He had figured after last night's altercation that it would take compromise to get to the bottom of this mystery. "I agree Mr. Ellison," he said. "I will meet you in my study in a few hours. Meanwhile would you care to explore the school?"

"I'd just as soon get this over with." Jim said to him. "Could we do it now?"

"I don't see why not. Shall we adjourn to the what the....?" Xavier said as the school was suddenly rocked by something. Jim coked his head and listened.

He suddenly turned to Xavier and asked "Who do you know with a really heavy foot step?"

Xavier looked askance at Jim and started to ask another question before the rumble came again.

"Xavier!" A loud, sneering voice called. "I've come for the natural psi. Give him to me or face the consequences!"

"Up and at them troops," A gruff voice said. "Seems like Mr. Pierce wants Mr. Sandburg fer his very own."

Jim looked at the X-Men hard. "I still want a full explanation when this is all done," he said. "However, No One threatens my guide and gets away with it." Jim stalked out of the room gun at ready and headed for where the voice was coming from.

Blair could feel his anger building as he approached it. "Jeez," Blair muttered, "Don't they ever shut up?"



Chapter3: Cyborg Waltz

Jim stalked through the school towards where the shouting was coming from. He heard Blair's comment and laughed to himself. No, Chief, he thought. I don't think psychos and bad guys ever do shut up. Jim neared the front room and noticed that the door was off its hinges. He found a blond man standing in the center of the room.

"Can I help you?" Jim asked the man.

He turned his frigid brown eyes on Jim and smiled predatorily. "Where is the psi who doesn't register as a mutant?" The man demanded to know in an arrogant tone. "I want him."

Jim felt himself growling at yet another threat to his guide.

The third one if he was honest with himself and faced why Blair had come to New York in the first place. I swear Chief you are never going anywhere without me again. Jim thought angrily. He wasn't angry with Blair he was just fed up with psychos who wanted his Guide for whatever reason. Jim resolved to deal with this threat to his guide in no uncertain terms. Jim became aware of someone else walking next to him. A short, hairy man who he vaguely remembered from the night before was walking with him. The man was if not hairier than Blair then definitely as hairy. Jim took a deep breath so he could track the man by scent. He nearly choked when his senses registered the scent. If Jim didn't know better he'd swear it was Blair he was smelling but that was impossible unless...

Jim put all thought behind him for the moment and focused on the fight at hand. The blond man stared at Jim and the hairy man disdainfully. He had a sneer on his face that neither man thought was particularly bothersome. It was Jim who spoke first again.

"The young man you demanded to see has no interest in going with you and it would not be wise of you to try and force him." Jim warned as his voice
lowered a pitch.

The blond man stared at him in surprise. "You are going to stop me," he said incredulously. "You a man with no powers to protect you from my cybernetic speed and agility?"

Jim stared at him for a moment and smiled his coldest and most frightening smile. It did not bode well for the recipient. "You shouldn't rely so heavily on technology," he warned. "As the professor has already learned, I take the safety of my partner very seriously."

Jim was aware of the short man snorting in amusement. The blond man noticed too.

He walked over to the two men and invaded their personal space. Jim looked at him coldly as the man's close proximity began to trigger his Sentinel Fight Instinct. Jim noticed the short man having the same response and thought he should point it out to Blair. See if his partner would run some tests on the guy before they left.

"If you know what's good for you Pierce," the short man said menacingly. "You will turn around and leave right now. This man took out everyone who tried to get in his way last night and he was tired then. He's rested now and in a mood to put your face through the wall closest to him."

"Did he take you out to Wolverine?" The blond man named Pierce asked snidely.

Wolverine, the short hairy guy snorted again. "I had better sense then to get in his way Pierce. Me an' Storm both stayed clear o' that fight. 'specially after Ice Man went flying and Cyclops met the wall. This ain't a man who you want for an enemy."

Some how Jim just knew that Pierce would not listen so he prepared himself for a fight. His Ranger, Covert Ops and Chopec training all came to the fore his conscious mind. Jim shifted into a defensive position and prepared to face the man in combat.

After a few seconds of waiting, Pierce took the first swing that Jim had been expecting. Jim ducked it easily and trapped his arm feeling the grind of the arrested motors in the cybernetic arm. Jim did not let go. He was more than strong enough to deal with the cyborg. His senses had identified the sounds of motors and gears in the arm and he had used the knowledge of where they were to plan both his attack and defense. Jim had also detected more cybernetics in Pierce's body and he used that knowledge to help him deal with the man/machine in a way that no one ever thought to try. Jim held the arm until the motor shorted. He caught the leg that Pierce kicked out at him with and did the same to it. He became aware then that Wolverine was beside him with sharp, metal claws sticking out of the back of his hands. He slashed at Pierce with them and removed the arm Jim had shorted. Pierce howled in pain as Jim continued to work on each and every cybernetic part that his senses told him was there.

In the course of the fight however, they managed to trash the room and part of the hallway. Pierce's burned out cybernetics had the tendency to spin like crazy for a few seconds so Jim let him pin wheel around the room like some crazed marionette being used by an equally crazed puppeteer. Pierce shouted and cursed at Jim and Wolverine as he did a psychotic dance around the room.

As he finally fell after a few more spasms, Wolverine and Jim looked at each other.

"I hope he got the point," Jim said coldly. "My partner is off limits."

"Gee, what should we call that little dance number he did at the end there eh Bub?" Wolverine asked Jim.

Jim laughed and looked down at the burned out cyborg just before he was teleported away.

Jim ignored the teleportation thing because he figured it must be the norm around here. "Well, it looked like a waltz on a speed ball. What do you think we should call it?" Jim replied smiling.

The two men had come to a mutual respect and understanding of each other during the brief fight. They walked back to the kitchen together and found the others waiting. Blair looked at Jim in relief when he saw the Sentinel looked no worse for wear. Jim grinned back at him and then sat back down next to him.

He looked at their hosts for a few minutes and smiled coolly. "Now," he said. "About that explanation?"

To Blair it was obvious that Jim was still uncomfortable with their hosts. The familiar twitching of Jim's cheek told Blair he was far from ready to forgive the people in front of him for dragging them into this world.

"Well," Professor Xavier said. "We are the X-Men; A group of mutants sworn to protect the world from evil mutants. This school is our base as well as a place to train young mutants to use their powers. I am truly sorry for what I did to you Mr. Sandburg but usually, only mutants can set off a reading from Cerebro. I was very surprised when your very presence did that and yet I know that you are not a mutant. I wanted to know exactly what you are."

Blair looked at Jim before he spoke. Jim knew that if they didn't speak, the woman Wolverine had called Storm would. Jim looked at the assembled mutants and then again at his partner and Guide. "You might as well tell them Chief. I don't think Storm would withhold the information from her leader and I know as my Guide you'll get it right," Jim said to him.

Blair looked from Jim to the assembled people and back. He nodded took a deep breath and began.


Two hours later, the X-Men were still confused. Jim was a man with heightened senses but he was not a mutant. Blair was a Shaman, an empath, and a specifically linked telepath. He also was not a mutant. According to Blair, Jim was a throw back to pre-civilized man. His job was to protect his tribe. He was a watchman but unlike his predecessors, Jim's tribe or protectorate was huge. It also encompassed one Blair Sandburg wherever he happened to be. Jim was a cop, a protector of people. A job a Sentinel was well suited for. The fact that he was a throwback to pre-civilized man was evidenced by the bruises that most of the X-Men were sporting because they had gotten between him and his Guide.

"Well," Xavier said, "At least now I understand why you reacted as you did. Please accept my apologies for my behavior."

"Just so it doesn't happen again." Jim told him in a deadly serious tone. He looked at Blair and grinned. "Whatta ya say Chief? Wanna give these guys
a second chance?"

Blair grinned back at him in amusement. "Sure Jim," he said. "Just so long as the next time they have a question they ask like decent people."

Jim laughed and nodded. He stood and looked at Blair. "Darryl's coming Chief," Jim said. "What say we get him to give us a tour and then just hang for the rest of the week?"

Blair nodded and bounced literally out of the chair he was sitting in. He and Jim went out to meet Darryl and let him show them around. Professor X watched the trio from a distance and smiled.

He'd found some truly remarkable people in those two men. He looked back at Storm and smiled. "Tell me about Guardians and Companions," he said to her.

Storm smiled and nodded at him they sat at the table and he told her stories of what she had heard from the villagers of the tribe she had lived with.


The End. (For Now)