You can't die now! Our life just got started.
I love you so much,
Now fate had us parted.

I miss you, love.
I want to be by your side.
I want to hear your voice again;
To Heaven I so want to ride.

You can't leave me here,
Where I'm left in sorrow.
I want you here holding
Me till tomorrow.

I miss you so much.
I just want to be by your side.
I'm going so crazy;
With your body I want to collide.

No, don't go away!
I scream in the night.
But you left without me,
Now I'm lost in fright.

I miss you so much, darling.
I just want to stay at your side.
Assuming that my voice you're hearing,
Hear this: I want to be at your side.

Jonothon "Chamber" Starsmore couldn't sleep. Surprisingly fine-tuned intuition wouldn't let him drift to dreamland that night; it kept insisting something was wrong. His brain wouldn't be quiet either.

Nothing felt right. Restlessly, Jono got up from the rumpled bed and pulled on some clothing, his usual attire: black jeans, black boots, and his black leather jacket. He glided with his usual graceful silence up the basement stairs and out the door, pacing the halls in the hopes that exercise would shut his mind up.

His mind had other ideas.

For a reason Jonothon could not figure out, he chose to exit the dorm and take a stroll around the campus.

A heavy rain was being dumped from the sky, turning everything into an dripping icy chill -the kind of chill that could give someone the sniffles- but Jonothon didn't mind that much. He couldn't get the sniffles, so he just turned up the collar of his jacket, shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and kept walking, covering the ground in long strides.

His walk ended at the front gate. Jono rested his long-fingered musician's hands on the wrought-iron bars and peered through the hazy water droplets, not knowing why he cared about what was beyond the gate. Suddenly he realized someone was slinking up the driveway. He squinted, trying to make the person out.

An abrupt bolt of lightning cracked the air and for a split second, the person was fully illuminated. A split second was all Chamber needed to identify him.

Omega Red!

Apparently, Omega Red saw him, too. A carbonadium tentacle snaked from his wrist and lashed out, whipping through the bars of the gate and entangling Jonothon's lean form. "You cannot imagine how long I have waited for this moment, boy," Omega snarled in his thick Russian accent, tightening his grip and lifting. The tentacle fell into several pieces, however, when Chamber shot off a narrow, concentrated bio-blast that sliced through the metal like a searingly hot knife through melting wax. Omega Red howled in outrage as Chamber hit the wet soil.

If I can just keep him on the other side of the wall and focused on fighting me, the rest of Generation X will be safe, Chamber thought quickly. *You'll have to do better than that!* he taunted, ripping off the rest of the bandages covering the gap in his body.

Omega Red snorted. "Huh. Perhaps. But if you were a real fighter, you would not be cowering like a coward on the other side of the gate," he snapped tauntingly.

*Really?* Chamber backed up several steps. *So how's this for "real"?* He broke into a sprint, vaulted over the gate and crash-landed feet-first on Omega Red's pasty chest. Omega hit the ground and Chamber flipped off (wondering if he had broken any ribs), landing perfectly on the rain-slicked tarmac. He turned as fast as he could without ending up on the ground and expertly kicked out, catching Omega on the side of the head with his foot. There was a dull THUD and Omega yowled from the sudden hurt. Growling in rage, he rolled over and jumped to his feet, stretching out his damaged tentacle as he charged. Chamber grabbed the metal thing and used it to his advantage. That is, using it and his advisary's momentum to hurl Omega Red over his shoulder. Omega hit the rough asphalt and slid several feet. Chamber winced, wondering how much skin had gotten scraped off. *That had to hurt,* he commented.

Omega swore in Russian and picked himself up. "Child," he spat.

*So what if I'm a child? You, on the other hand, are still a loser, and worse: a parasite,* Chamber retorted as they circled each other, looking for openings.

"You are a freak," Omega countered.

Chamber lost his temper and blasted. Omega would have become a smoking hole in the ground if he hadn't seen it coming and moved extremely fast. Chamber seethed with anger and blasted several more times, each blast coming closer to frying Omega Red.

In a surprise maneuver, Omega dove, rolled, came up on Chamber's blind side, grabbed Chamber's legs with his good tentacle and yanked hard. Chamber felt his feet shoot out from beneath him and fell before he could compensate, the back of his head cracked against the pavement. An explosion of colorful stars rippled across his field of vision and a wave of severe pain pounded through his skull and down his neck. Stunned, Chamber reached a hand back to assess his injury. His sensitive fingertips discerned that the skin of his skull had split open from the impact. Thankfully, he had lost all his blood in the emergence of his bio-kinetic power or there would have been a real mess to worry about.

Omega Red gloated over Chamber. "Not so tough now, eh boy?" he jeered.

*I'm still.... tougher than you.... you bloody sod,* Chamber gasped, struggling to get up and get his concentration together.

Omega Red let him get up halfway, then shook him like a dog would a snake. Chamber slipped and hit his head again. *Ahh-uhhhhh!* he cried as fresh pain assailed him.

"Call your comrades for 'assistance'," Omega suggested with a half-crazed smile. "I do not want them to miss a moment of my revenge."

*Revenge? For what? Something that happened four ruddy years ago?* Chamber spluttered incredulously. *Get over it, Red!*

"Mmmmm.... Nyet," Omega decided. Then he lifted Chamber and flung him down the driveway.

Chamber hit and rolled, his shoulder dislocating from the force of the landing. *Aaaaaggghhh!* he screamed, coming to a grinding stop. Shuddering from the trauma, he sat up and slapped himself on the back. His shoulder popped back into place and his arm went numb.

Omega didn't wait for his enemy to recover. Both coils shot out and wrapped around Chamber. Grinning maniacally, he advanced and lifted Chamber again, tightening his hold. "Call your team, Chamber," he commanded.

*No way,* Chamber snapped as his head spun.

Omega shook him and squeezed a little. "Call them!" he ordered.

*Uhhh! N-no! This is between.... you and me,* Chamber choked out.

"One last chance, boy," Omega said slowly, putting more pressure on the telepath.

Chamber glared at him through the glossy auburn bangs that had become matted to his cracked face. His emerald eyes burned with a rage that caught Omega off guard for a second. Chamber's answer did not surprise him, though: It was a low, defiant, *No.*

"Then, boy, you will die," Omega Red proclaimed, and started squishing Chamber like an overripe orange.

In mere seconds the pressure became unbearable. But Chamber stubbornly clung to consciousness, vowing not to pass out, vowing not to put his friends in danger, vowing not to give Omega the satisfaction of hearing him bellow from the torture-

The last vow fell apart as something snapped and Chamber's agony swept over the campus, tearing apart the peace of the night.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

This was a very strange dream.

"AAAAAAHHHHH! NO!" Paige shrieked, bolting awake as pain filled her. No, only her mind. But she wasn't hurting; whose pain was it?

Suddenly she knew. She knew! "Jonothon!" she cried, and leaped out of bed and raced into the hallway. Jubilee and Monet weren't far behind.

They met up with the boys -Everett and Angelo- on their way out the front door, and their teacher Sean soared overhead with Emma in his arms as the team charged to the front gate.

Sean got there first and landed, eyes growing wide when he saw Chamber dangling limply in the coils of Omega Red. "OMEGA RED! Put the boy down or I'll yell so loud yuir head explodes !" he roared.

"Or I'll fry your mind first!" Emma shouted, the air around her crackling with deadly psionic energies.

"But of course, Agent Cassidy; Miss Frost," Omega Red replied courteously, temptingly holding Chamber out. He didn't notice Paige had caught up to her teachers and was now circling around to his back, "shucking" as quietly as possible. "Come and get him. I have exacted my revenge," Omega stated.

"And now, it's my turn!" A large fist collided with the back of Omega Red's head with power enough to break a fifty-pound concrete brick in two.

Omega Red went flying forward and Chamber was thrown into the air as Omega lost his grip. A huge monster bounded upward and caught him, then landed with a solid WHUD on Omega's back, knocking him out.

Sean, Emma and the rest of Generation X stared in shock at the nondescript beast that so judiciously cradled Chamber in its arms. The monster stepped off Omega and gingerly laid Jonothon on the ground, then lifted its large hands, grabbed the back of its neck and pulled off its skin with a blaring SHRRIIIPPPP! Suddenly Paige stood naked in front of her team, but for once she didn't mind. She threw the skin aside and knelt at Chamber's side. "Jono?" she whispered, taking his hand and smoothing his hair away from his face.

Jono weakly turned his half-face to her. *Nice.... nice catch, Paige,* he murmured in a voice unusual to him. Normally his voice was steely and controlled, but those words were spoken in a tone barely more than a "breath".

"What's broken?" Paige asked.

*Shattered,* Jonothon corrected softly. *My back.*

"Just hang on," Paige encouraged. "We'll get you to the infirmary and-"

Jonothon abruptly convulsed, his hand almost crushing Paige's. When the tremors subsided, he lay limp. *No,* he gasped. *Too late. I'm.... I'm dying.*

Tears started welling up in Paige's eyes. "No, you're not," she said firmly. "We'll take care of you." Her fingers caressed his face. "I'll take care of you."

*If only you could,* Jonothon sighed hopelessly, then nearly broke Paige's hand again as a new convulsion gripped him. His pain was hers, for an instant. *I wish.... I wish I could have told you sooner.....* he panted when his body settled again.

"Told me what?" Paige inquired gently.

It was sad how easily this came. The confession he was about to make slipped out as smoothly as the telepathic speech. *Exactly how much I love you,* Jonothon answered.

"Dammit, Jono! You can't tell me this and then die!" Paige yelled. "I love you!"

*I'm s-sorry, Sunshine,* Jonothon responded with surprising tenderness. *B-but.... please.... do me a favor,* he said as he trembled weakly, too far gone to convulse.

"Anything," Paige murmured, her anger melting away.

*K-k.... kiss me.*

Tears scalding her face, Paige closed her eyes, bent over Jonothon and pressed her lips where his used to be. Jonothon's mind touched hers, sharing his bliss with her. Suddenly information filled Paige; information about Jonothon, his life, his family, and his last request: bury him on the school grounds, so he could be with his friends -and true love- forever.

Paige's eyes snapped open and looked into Jonothon's for the last time. His mind brushed hers.... and vanished. Slowly, Jonothon's brilliant eyes slid shut. His body stilled completely, and the flickering bio-kinetic power that kept him alive dwindled and disappeared, leaving nothing but a hollow shell.

"Jono?" Paige whispered.

He didn't respond.

"Jono," Paige said, with more urgency.

Jonothon lay motionless.

"Jonothon!" Paige screeched, shaking him.

"Paige," Emma said, kneeling beside the distraught girl as her throat closed up. "Paige, he's gone. I felt.... I felt him die." She forced Paige to face her. "He's dead."

"No," Paige hissed, her eyes wild with anguish. "No, he can't be!"

Emma didn't let her stare waver. Paige frantically threw glances at her teammates, silently asking for proof she was right. Angelo avoided her gaze as his turned away, his face scrunched up as he fought not to cry. Jubilee was huddled against Everett, the both of them trembling as they attempted to suppress their own sadness and comfort each other. Monet had pressed against Sean, hiding her tears in his shirt.

Sobbing hysterically, Paige collapsed on Jonothon's body, gripping his jacket collar as she was wracked with inescapable, agonized sorrow.

Generation X stood back in silence and let Paige's tears speak of everyone's grief.