feathers ↣ w. worthington iii

(15) "I don't want to unleash the beast!" *proceeds to unleash the beast*

"Uh oh. This room is big but not big enough to share with angry, smoking dragons." Eunice Korczak

It had been a week since Lilli had came back to the Institute, and it had been a very busy one at that. The X-Men had spent the whole week working on the logistics of getting Warren and Kurt into Kezing, and Hank had worked on making two Cerebro devices that could allow the other X-Men to track Kurt and Warren. They were both interesting devices— the first was stationed inside of Cerebro and allowed the other X-Men using it to see the location and general surroundings of Warren and Kurt. The second was handheld and portable, and it allowed Kurt and Warren to transmit a message back to the first device. They were both extremely advanced devices, and Lilli was impressed that Hank had been able to make them so quickly.

Today was the day that Kurt and Warren were leaving. It was nerve wracking for Lilli, so she could only imagine how scared Warren and Kurt were. She remembered how terrified she'd been when she first went to Kezing, but she'd been so charged on adrenaline and focused on finding Peter that she'd forgotten her fear. She could only hope that Warren and Kurt could forget theirs too.

Lilli threw on a flannel overtop of her white hoodie and headed down to the X-Men lounge; where they'd be having their last meeting before Warren and Kurt left. Ororo had already left, so Lilli had the luxury of being able to walk alone. The past week her old classmates had flocked to her like moths to a flame, so she definitely was in need of some alone time.

Lilli had only made it a few steps before she felt a breeze and Peter appeared. Lilli sighed to herself as she gave Peter a look. "Peter, I wanted to walk alone!" Lilli whined.

"Sorry, sorry, Princess," Peter laughed, putting his hands up in mock surrender. Lilli couldn't stop the grin that graced her face.

"I'll let you walk with me just this time," Lilli said, trying to look serious.

"Oh, you'll let me?" Peter asked, feigning shock. "Wow, your Highness, thank you so much for allowing me to walk with you."

"Shut up," Lilli rolled her eyes. She laughed as she punched his shoulder playfully.

A silence fell between the two. It was broken after a minute by Peter, who asked, "Are you nervous?"

Lilli turned to Peter with a questioning look on her face. "About Kurt and Warren?" Peter nodded and Lilli looked back ahead. "Of course I am. I remember how terrifying and dangerous that place was. Are you nervous?"

"Hell yes. I was there longer; I know how they treat their prisoners," Peter said in a bitter tone. "Those two better pray to God that they don't get caught."

"I'm sure they'll be fine..." Lilli said in a meek voice. She wasn't sure. At all. That place was crawling with dangerous Kezing agents. Kurt and Warren would be right in enemy territory and one mistake could cost them their lives. No matter how smart, trained, or powerful Warren and Kurt were, they would be outmatched. It was worrying, but Lilli wanted to seem positive. The team needed it.

"Yeah, let's hope so," Peter replied. They'd arrived at the X-Men lounge where the final meeting was being held. Peter and Lilli exchanged a glance before Peter opened the door for Lilli. The only other person in the room was Warren, and he was laying on the couch with a beanie pulled down over his eyes. Lilli took a deep breath and walked in, sitting down on the loveseat that was perpendicular to the couch. Peter sat next to her, giving Lilli a look.

"What?" She whispered.

"Wake him up," Peter whispered back, nodding towards Warren. Lilli looked back at Warren, who was laying calmly and peacefully. His breaths were long and slow, making Lilli herself feel calm. His wings were spread out so gracefully over the edge of the couch that he looked like some sort of heavenly angel.