Full Of Life Now

by Rose235b

Summary:

Sequel to These Broken And Misguided Things - After the end of the world that didn't come, everyone needs to figure out what they're gonna do with their lives. With graduation looming over her head, Violette needs to think about her future. Jamie finds himself no longer being the center of her attention and makes an effort to keep their relationship strong. Both new and old faces come to live at the Mansion, prompting major changes. Pietro has to grow up faster than he can run, and try to build bridges he's already burned. At the same time, a new threat emerges from the shadows, mudding up the fragile status quo the mutants have achieved.

Chapter 1: Congratulations, You Already Are Meeting Someone New

Jin slowly munched on his breakfast, looking around the unusually crowded table. He himself stayed over at the Institute although the Brotherhood retreated to the Boarding House pretty quickly. Sitting in front of him was his ex-teammate, Piotr, and a few seats down Gambit was scarfing down eggs and bacon. More so, the blonde kid who was introduced to him as Havok was sitting in between an Asian girl he didn’t recognize at all and a tortoise someone called Spyke.

They were a weird bunch, he knew, but somehow they all fit in with the usual crowd.

Amara squeezed his knee under the table and gave him a bright smile, before asking him to pass the bread.

He could really get used to that.

---

 

Evan took the bag of food his aunt was handing to him with a grateful smile.

“You don’t have to go, Evan” She put her hand on his cheek, sighing. He could see her eyes glaze over. “There is a place for you at the Institute.”

“I know, Auntie O” He covered her hand with his own. “But right now, I’m needed elsewhere.”

She nodded, taking her hand off and hugging him tightly.

“Just, come back every once in a while, alright?” She pulled away, a lonely tear running down her face. “And maybe try to call your parents now and again.”

“I promise I’ll try” Trying didn’t mean he had to do it. He still wasn’t sure whether he’d stomach hearing his mom’s voice over the phone. “Goodbye, Auntie O.”

“See you soon, Evan.”

He had one more stop before he returned to the sewers.

The road to the Boarding House seemed surprisingly familiar, although he was at the place only one time before. He knocked on the door before his sense could talk him out of it. Come to think of it, he was really lucky that the exact person he was looking for opened it.

“Evan?”

She looked completely different than when they last talked to each other. Less panicky, more stable. He took a deep breath, choosing his words carefully.

“I wanted to say goodbye” He wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to say, but he went with it. “Since I’m not sure if we’ll see each other again.”

“Oh.”

Both of them stayed silent, Evan staring at her shoes and Wanda staring at him. He cleared his throat, finding the courage to look her in the eye.

“Goodbye, Wanda” His voice was full of emotion which he tried to hide. It wouldn’t do him any good. “I hope you’ll be happy. You deserve it.”

She sucked in the air harshly, her hand tightening on the doorknob.

“You too, Evan” She swallowed, her eyes dropping down to his hands. “If anyone does, it’s you.”

He grabbed his bag and turned around, walking off. The only sounds that followed him to the main road were the beating of his heart and gravel crunching beneath his feet.

---

 

For the first time in forever, Violette felt as if everything was falling into place.

Apocalypse was gone. She somehow reconciled with the Brotherhood. She had friends in the New Mutants. Her relationship with Kurt was going great. Jamie was safe and happy. She had a roof over her head and food in her belly and life was good.

She was so thankful that the Professor allowed them to take a week off of school following the battle. Kurt’s leg hurt as hell so she dutifully kept him company when the worst pains hit.

“I hate life” He groaned, swallowing down painkillers. “Why do I have a high metabolism? I’m going through these pills like a junkie.”

“You weren’t complaining about your metabolism when you were stuffing your face with ten Gut Bombs one after the other” She brushed his hair back, smiling. “My poor baby.”

He pouted exaggeratedly, wiping fake tears from his cheeks. Violette giggled, leaning down and kissing him slowly.

“On the other hand” Kurt brushed her cheeks with his thumbs, wincing when he adjusted his leg. “The medical care is pretty amazing.”

She buried her face in his neck, more giggles escaping her lips.

“You’re unbelievable.”

“You love it.”

She leaned back, staring right into his eyes.

“That I do.”

---

 

Piotr looked at the spot he planned on knocking on before exhaling audibly. It wasn’t as if the man didn’t already know that he was in front of his door.

He knocked three times and walked in as soon as he heard a gentle invitation.

“What can I do for you, Piotr?”

“I wanted to thank you for convincing Magneto to tell me the whereabouts of my sister” He tried very hard to say every word as clearly as he could, hyper-aware of his accent. When he spent most of his time in the company of Pyro and Gambit he didn’t feel nearly as self-conscious about it as now that he was surrounded by a bunch of Americans.

“It was nothing, really” The Professor gave him a reassuring smile, motioning for Piotr to sit in front of his desk. “Actually, I was wondering whether you’d be interested in joining the X-Men.”

“Don’t you think I’m a bit too… Old?” He was twenty-one after all, while most of the kids were… Well, still kids. “Besides, although I’m very honored, I need to pay for my sister’s hospital bills.”

“You could help out Logan with training the younger kids for now” The man folded his hands into a triangle, leaning back in his wheelchair. “And I pay a pretty reasonable amount of money.”

“I-I couldn’t possibly-”

“Piotr, let us help you.”

That’s how Piotr found himself moving into the Institute at about the same time Pyro and Gambit did.

“Since when are you welcome here, mate?” Pyro chuckled, punching Gambit’s shoulder.

“I could ask you the same question, mon ami” Piotr rolled his eyes as he watched the two of them bicker and decided to focus instead on carrying his stuff upstairs. “And for your information, Remy had a long and uncomfortable talk with Wolvie about boundaries and it seems like you’re the next in line.”

“Shit.”

---

 

Out of all the possible visitors Kurt could have, he really didn’t expect Jamie to show up in his room.

“Um, hi?” He scratched the back of his neck, feeling kind of uneasy in the presence of his girlfriend’s younger brother. He thought Jamie was a nice kid, really, but it wasn’t like they were very close friends and him being in Kurt’s room couldn’t mean anything good.

“Kurt, we need to talk” Jamie sat down in his chair and gestured towards the bed.

Kurt obediently sat down, happy to stop putting weight on his leg. He was maybe being ordered by a fourteen-year-old in his own room, but he didn’t really feel like picking fights in his state.

“Is this about Violette?” It was a stupid question because of course, it was about this one person who had a huge part in both of their lives.

“I’m just worried” Jamie folded his hands into a triangle, doing a great impression of the Professor. “Your relationship with my sister seems to have become pretty… Serious.”

“Well, we both are pretty serious about it” Kurt punctuated the word, raising his brow. “Where are you going with this?”

“And as we both know, once a relationship gets serious, serious things happen” Jamie completely ignored the question, continuing to stare straight at Kurt’s face. He felt a bit uncomfortable under his gaze. “Very serious things.”

“Yeah, and those serious things are seriously not your business” Kurt folded his arms in front of his chest, feeling his cheeks color.

“She’s my sister, dude!” Jamie’s mask fell apart as he threw his hands in the air. “It’s gross! She’s, like, twelve!”

“Jamie, Violette’s three years older than you.”

“Maybe, but she’s fragile and not nearly as careful about her heart as she should be when it comes to you” He huffed, standing up. “If you were Lance or hell, even Pietro, I know she’d be fine, she knows how to deal with guys like them. But she thinks you’re some freaking harmless marshmallow!” Jamie buried his hands in his hair. “She can’t say no to you!”

Kurt sighed, his hands running over his face.

“I know it very well” He swallowed, looking up at Jamie. “Don’t worry, okay? I really, really love her and I have no plans to take advantage of her in any way, alright?”

Jamie nodded, still not entirely convinced, and walked over to the door. Kurt was just happy that he let it slide for now.

---

 

“Well hello there, cherie.”

Rogue jumped in her armchair, throwing the book she had in her hands at the source of the voice.

Was she pissed at him? Very. Have she deliberately avoided him through the whole battle with the Apocalypse? Oh yes. Was it one hundred percent because he was a sleazy scum bag? Well no, but the fact that he made her nervous and vulnerable wasn’t the point right now. Right now, she needed to avoid him at all costs before something once again fucking blew up in her face.

“Stay. Away. From. Me.”

“But that’s no fun!” He smirked, folding the book he, of course, caught and putting it down on a nearby table.

She didn’t move an inch and finally, he sighed, running his hand down his face. She could see his ring glimmer in the light.

‘You don’t really know a thing about him, Rogue’ She watched as he carefully made his way onto the couch and scooted as far from him as her armchair allowed her to. ‘Not a single thing.’

“I’m sorry, Rogue” He put his hand on the armrest of her chair. She could see a corner of the card she knew he had in his hands, the same card he always gave her. “Please, don’t shut me out.”

She jumped over the other armrest and walked over to the table to get her book before making her way to her room, forcefully shutting the door.

---

 

For the first time since he was adopted, Alex felt like everything was turning to shit.

Apocalypse was gone, so he lost this one purpose he had in the X-Men. He was fighting with his parents. He had a fallout with his friends back home. His last girlfriend broke it off with him as soon as she found out that he was a mutant. He rarely saw Scott face to face. He wasn’t sure if he even wanted to go back to Hawaii and life was awful.

‘Maybe I can stay here for a while’ Alex paced in front of Scott’s room, weighing the pros and cons in his head. He already felt like he overstayed his welcome since he’s stayed at the Mansion for a week after the battle. ‘Well, a longer while.’

“Is everything alright?”

Alex stumbled forward, catching himself on the nearby table and knocking over the vase which sat on it. It fell down onto the floor and shattered into a million pieces.

“Fuck” He hid his face in his hands, not wanting to look at his brother’s amused expression. “There’s no way they’re gonna let me stay here now.”

“Wait, you want to stay?”

Alex looked from between his fingers, before letting his hands fall to his sides.

“Well, yeah.”

Scott’s face lit up like a Christmas tree and before he knew it, Alex was being pulled in the direction of the Professor’s office.

“You’ll probably have to share a room with someone – hell, if it comes to it, I can share with you. We’re gonna have so much fun together, Alex! Oh man, I just can’t wait!”

Alex smiled at his brother’s back suddenly feeling like maybe everything was going to be alright after all.

---

 

Sam couldn’t sit still as they waited for Storm to return from the airport with Rahne.

“Woah, take a chill pill, dude” Ray took a step back, rubbing his arm which collided with Sam’s

“Sorry” He mumbled, trying to keep his powers at bay. They didn’t really need holes in any of their walls. “I’m just-”

“Excited” Roberto didn’t look up from his drama, popping a jelly bean into his mouth.

“We get it” Jubilee rolled her eyes, before going back to her book.

“You’ve said that at least twenty times already” Bobby tossed a jelly bean at Jubilee and chuckled when she caught it with her mouth.

“You know that no matter how fast you pace, she still won’t arrive faster?” Jamie threw his dice and sighed when they both landed on one. “I hate Monopoly.”

“Hey, stop it, guys” Violette looked up from the board, grinning. “It’s not Sam’s fault he’s in love.”

“Sammy and Rahne, sitting in a tree-” Amara slapped John upside the head before he could finish singing. “That’s violence, young lady!”

“I hate, like, at least all of my friends” Sam pouted, finally sitting down on the couch.

His leg started to bounce up and down at such a rapid speed that the whole sofa started to vibrate.

“I’ve changed my mind, get off and resume pacing” Roberto kicked his thigh, effectively pushing him off.

“Life update: I officially resign from the New Mutants” Sam mumbled with his face buried in the carpet.

“Too bad, since I’ve only gotten here.”

His eyes couldn’t possibly move to the doorway faster. There she stood, still as petite as he remembered, with the same dark red hair and forest green eyes. Her accent was as thick as ever and he stumbled while getting off the ground, the fact that he missed the sound of her voice so much hitting him full force.

“Hi” He breathed out, feeling his heart beating at incredible speed.

The corners of her lips twitched and before he knew it she lunged at him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him with the same passion she did during their goodbye. He instinctively grabbed her waist with his hands, closing his eyes. His thoughts seemed to blur and he could feel his face color because Rahne was kissing him of all people and just when he thought that he was going to die she broke their kiss, burying her face in his neck.

“I’ve missed you” She laughed, her hair tickling the underside of his jaw. She smelt of forest and rain and Sam was in love, truly in love.

“I’ve missed you too.”

---

 

Lance awkwardly shifted from one foot to the other, feeling the skin on his fingers breaking under the thorns. But it was worth it because girls liked this shit, right? Romantic guys who gave them roses and cut their hair regularly. And he wasn’t about to give up his hair, so roses it was.

As soon as Kitty ran through the gates and saw the ridiculous bouquet in his hands she started to laugh and okay, that wasn’t alright at all. Lance felt his ego deflate as the little voice in his head told him that he was pathetic.

“You didn’t have to” She walked up to him and accepted the flowers. “Seriously, you didn’t have to. Like, I know it’s not your thing and I don’t expect you to do this sort of stuff.”

“KitKat, I really want to try though” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, feeling his face heat up as she buried her nose in the roses and sniffed, smiling widely. “You know, to make you happy.”

“It’s not the roses that make me happy, Lance” She set the bouquet down on the hood of his jeep, before taking his hands in hers. “It’s you. Yes, they’re nice, but they’re unnecessary. I couldn’t care less about flowers when I’m with you.”

“Thanks, Kitty” He leaned down, leaving a tiny kiss on her forehead. “I really needed that.”

“It was nothing” She giggled, moving closer until her toes were on his. She stood on her tiptoes and tugged him downwards, just so she could kiss him. “Now, where are we going?”

“So, there’s this carnival just outside the city and I remember you’ve said that you love carnivals, so I thought that maybe we could go” He shrugged. “Unless you think it’s lame. Then we can do something else entirely.”

“The carnival does sound great” She smiled, stepping aside to get in his car. He quickly opened the passenger’s side door for her. “Thanks. I can’t believe you listen to all the shit I’m talking about.”

“I just love to hear your voice, no matter what you’re talking about” He felt like biting off his tongue as he walked over to his side. “Sorry, that was horrible.”

“If that’s your ‘horrible’, I can’t wait to see what your ‘awesome’ looks like.”

---

 

“I’m going to try to find our mother.”

Rogue knew he was going to say that. She could see it in his eyes as soon as he stepped into her room. She sighed, patting her bed right in front of her. Kurt sat there, folding his hands in his lap.

“Why would you, sugah?” She brushed his knee with her hand. “We’re free of her for once in our lives, Kurt. Why would ya try to bring her back to them?”

“Because you still haven’t forgiven her” He took her hand in his and she felt disappointed that he still felt the need to use his watch in front of her. “And come to think of it, neither have I. It’s not healthy, Rogue. We can’t stay bitter over her our whole lives.”

“Kurt, the last time ya’ve tried getting me to forgive her, Ah pushed her off a cliff” She slipped her hand out of his grip, retreating it back to her book. She raised it up, finding cover behind it. “It doesn’t seem like a very good idea to me.”

Kurt sighed, slipping off her bed and slowly walking towards her door.

“Just consider it, Rogue” His voice was soft and seemed to belong to a much younger boy. “For me.”

She pushed her nose into her book, not wanting to see Kurt close the door behind himself.

---

 

Tabitha has been gradually packing her bags over the course of the two weeks she spent at the Institute. When finally the only things left on her side of the room – the other still being used by Amara – were her pajamas, she figured it was time to run off, as always.

It was around two. Amara was asleep, snoring in a very unladylike manner she’d be disgusted by if she knew. Tabby picked up her duffel bag and slowly opened the door, wincing quietly when it’s creaking ripped through the silence of the night. She sneaked out on her tiptoes, checking over her shoulder every few seconds to make sure no one was making a quick bathroom break in the middle of the night.

She was almost at the top of the stairs when a giant came out of nowhere, her face colliding with a huge, firm chest.

“Exactly how tall a person can be?” She whispered, rubbing her forehead.

“I’m 199 centimeters if that’s what you’re asking” It was Colossus, with a cup of tea in one hand and a half-eaten banana in the other. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, you know, just walking around.”

“At two in the morning? With a bag on your shoulder?”

“I like to exercise and I’m too poor for dumbbells.”

“That’s a very bad lie.”

Tabitha sighed, letting her bag fall to the ground.

“Okay, you’ve got me, sweetie. How about I go back to my room, you go back to yours and we both forget about this?”

“Why are you trying to run away?”

“You see, you’re quite new here, so I’m going to fill you in. It’s this thing I do” She patted his bare shoulder, smiling widely. “I stay for a week or so, then run off and come back in a month or two. You should try it, it’s very refreshing. Keeps you on your toes.”

They stood there in silence for a minute, Tabitha staring at the cup of tea and Piotr staring at her face.

“Do you maybe want to talk about it?”

You could hear how awkward he felt in the tone of his voice and he shifted his weight from one foot to the other constantly, as if he was getting ready to run himself.

“Actually, I kind of do.”

That’s how Tabitha found herself sitting with pretty much a total stranger in the kitchen, sipping tea and talking about the mess her life was and her feelings and pretty much everything you shouldn’t talk to a total stranger about. But although Piotr had this air of stiffness and awkwardness around him, he was a very good listener and somehow something told her that it was okay to share this with him.

Chapter 2: I Seem Like an Adult But I'm Actually a Child That is Really Tall

Pietro was in shackles, feeling as if his whole world was about to fall apart.

He somehow managed to talk the Brotherhood into letting him bring his daughter to Bayville.

So, at the beginning of December Pietro ran to Norway. He couldn't look Crystal's sister in the eyes as she handed him Luna and instead, focused on the small human being in his arms.

She was beautiful, with short and so very soft blonde hair and blue eyes and he couldn't help but fall in love with her a bit more.

She didn't seem to like him just as much, though.

She cried during the whole trip back to Bayville. Hell, she cried during the whole first day he had her. He was sure Lance was going to bury them all alive. He himself almost started to cry in the middle of the day, but Freddy – oh, Freddy – took her out of his arms for a second and just sat down with her, talking to her in a calming manner. She was asleep after a minute.

"H-How?"

"You're panicking" He explained, transferring her into Pietro's arms. "She can see that. You're scared and so is she."

Of course, Pietro was panicking. The word she uttered the most between painful to hear cries was 'mama' and that broke his already shredded heart.

He nodded to Fred, thanking him and slowly making his way upstairs. For once in his life, he felt like going slow, the weight of Luna in his arms keeping him grounded.

He needed to get a job. Or something at least resembling a job. Lance couldn't possibly provide money for a kid that wasn't even fucking his and five almost adults with his job at a garage. They weren't ever really rich (except for that one glorious week or so) and a child couldn't possibly help with that.

But how was he supposed to get a job when he had Luna to take care of? It was Lance's only condition, that he took care of her himself, with the guys and Wanda helping only a tiny bit when it was necessary. And he didn't feel like giving up the time he had with her – he already missed so much, how was he supposed to willingly sacrifice more? What if something happened to her and he wasn't there? He hugged Luna closer to his chest, the sudden feeling of dread washing over him.

He had to focus solely on her for a while. He wasn't ready to part with her, even for a second.

---

Lance didn't really like kids at all.

Back in the orphanage he didn't have many friends and he wasn't overly fond of the younger kids – they used to follow him around, as if he was a freaking duck and they were his ducklings, copying his every move. He hated that, he preferred being alone with his thoughts than having a cult following.

Plus, kids were horrible. They just ate, shat, slept and cried. And Lance was never a very patient person, so he got incredibly sick of them very quickly.

And that's exactly why he insisted on Kitty rescuing him by taking her out almost every day since the kid's arrival.

He respected that Pietro wanted to take care of her and be a real father. Hell, he thought that it was incredible that he even thought about taking responsibility for his kid. Great. Awesome.

The thing was, between work and bills and life Lance wasn't really all for living with a child. But it's not like he could kick Pietro out. They were a team, a family. There was no way he was leaving anyone behind.

And so Lance was waiting for Kitty – who told him specifically not to pick her up because Logan wasn't very friendly to anyone since Pyro and Gambit moved in – to arrive so they could go out for a movie when he saw something squirm on the couch. He sighed, putting down his glass of water to inspect the scene and sure enough, there was Pietro, sleeping on the couch with Luna shifting in his arms. He watched as the girl's face twisted to that of discomfort as she started to become more alert. She was surely about to cry.

Normally, Lance would ignore her, knowing that in a second Pietro would be awake and take care of that, but he looked at Pietro's face and winced. The guy's skin became almost grey, his hair was a mess and the circles under his eyes were almost black. So Lance took pity on him and delicately lifted the girl into his arms, walking out of the living room and to her room. He sat her down on the carpet, thinking that she'd probably walk over to some toys or something, but she just stood up and started to tug on his jeans.

"What do you want?" He furrowed his brows, confused as to why she would suddenly start to giggle. "Are you possessed or something?"

"Doll" She pointed to the two stuffed dolls on the floor and looked up at him with a smile, before tugging at her ear.

"No way."

Twenty minutes later Kitty walked into the Boarding House and found him on the floor of Luna's room, holding a doll and saying the stupidest shit about tea and castles and whatnot, since the next word Luna said to him was 'Cess' and pointed toward the crown sewn onto the dolls head.

"It's not what it looks like" Lance felt his cheeks flush as he stood up and tossed the doll aside. Luna immediately started to whine and he reached for the doll, trying to calm her down. "Shit. It's okay sweetie, nothing to worry about, see? Princess is alright, everything's fine."

Luna sniffed a bit and reached her small arms for him and he complied, hugging the girl.

"Aww."

"Not a word, KitKat."

Luna snuggled into him and after a few seconds wormed her way out of his arms and walked over to Kitty, curiosity written on her face.

"Hi" Kitty waved to her and leaned in, a bright smile appearing on her face and Lance felt something inside him shift as she laughed when Luna latched onto her pink sweater. "She's adorable" Luna played with the fabric for a second before sitting down, tugging Kitty with her. Kitty's laugh got louder as the girl reached for her doll, stuffing it into Kitty's hands. "Do you think we could like, maybe just stay in? Since she clearly wants to play?"

"Her name's Luna" He couldn't believe that he never mentioned it to Kitty. Sure, she knew that Pietro brought his daughter into their house, but she never asked questions about it. "And sure."

---

Pietro woke up and started to panic, knowing that there should be Luna in his arms. He ran around the house – no Luna, but Freddy's cooking, Todd's taking a shower, so she's not here, Wanda would never let anyone into her room. Half a second later he was in the doorway of Luna's bedroom, letting out a huge sigh when he saw her sitting on the floor with Lance.

"You've got quite the timing" Lance stood up and stretched, yawning. "Kitty just went back home a minute ago."

"Kitty was here?" What if she told someone? Well, surely Lance already told her about Luna, but he didn't want the X-geeks to know. It was already bad that he babbled it out to Violette. What if Daniels found out? What if Tabby found out?

"Yeah" Lance patted his shoulder, walking to his room. "You're welcome and no, it wasn't a problem to look after Luna."

"Sorry" He had to stop panicking. Freddy already told him it would get him nowhere. "Thanks."

Lance was about to turn around, surely to tease Pietro about something like they usually did when they heard the door slam open. They exchanged a look and Pietro was immediately by Luna's side, gathering her into his arms and running over to the window, ready to get the hell out-

They were surrounded. He could see the cars around their house and a few jets in the air. He felt his heart beating out of his chest and squeezed Luna tighter.

'They can't take her away.'

"Hello, boys" He could hear a booming voice come from downstairs. Wanda walked out of her room, her hands in front of her, ready to strike. Pietro could hear Todd yell as he slipped out of the bathtub. "And girl. I'm only here to talk. Don't worry, we won't harm anyone."

Todd stumbled out of the bathroom, tugging his jeans on. Lance started to calmly come down the stairs, with Wanda not far behind. Todd looked at Pietro and when the older boy gave him a nod, followed after them.

"Mr. Maximoff, don't worry, we aren't here to harm your child."

"Then what's with the agents in our backyard?" Of course, they knew about Luna.

"Just a precaution" The man smiled when Pietro slowly walked down with Luna in his arms. She didn't look too happy, but Pietro wouldn't risk leaving her alone. "Great. I have an offer for you lot."

Pietro refused to sit on the couch, opting to stand near the kitchen door if he needed a quick escape route. Wanda stood on the other side of the room, her eyes never leaving Pietro's. Todd sat on the armrest of the couch, only a meter away from him. Lance sat in his armchair, while Freddy moved to the couch.

Nick Fury was left with standing in the corner of the room, surrounded by the strategically placed Brotherhood members. Pietro shifted Luna to his left side, bouncing her. She looked disoriented for a second before starting to tug on his hair.

"Let's cut to the chase. I was wondering if you'd be interested in working for S.H.I.E.L.D." The man didn't look surprised with being cornered, which only made Pietro wearier. "You guys don't seem to have a lot to do these days, maybe except for Mr. Maximoff" He pointedly looked at Luna, who began to fuss under the man's gaze. Pietro started to whisper sweet nothings into her temple, trying to calm her down. "There's not many places that give opportunities to mutants as you may already know. You're all high school dropouts. And we pay a pretty good salary."

"And what if we say no?" Wanda shifted her weight to her left leg, ready to attack if it came to that.

"Then I'll retreat with my troops and we could all forget about this offer" Fury smiled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Give us some time" Lance stood up, walking over to the man. "We'll consider."

"Great" Fury extended his hand and Lance shook it, before looking at the card the man left in his palm. "Contact me when you've made your decision."

---

Pietro went back to panicking right after Fury had closed the front door. Luna was sensing his distress but somehow she didn't start crying, only poked at his face every now and then before tugging at her ear. He tried to focus on playing with her and watching her eat and then making sure she wouldn't drown while taking a bath. He laid her down in her crib and told her a story in Romani, brushing back her hair and wishing that maybe if he spoke it to her enough she'd learn it. The language was maybe the only thing he had left of his mother, this ghost-like figure he mostly created in his own mind. It's not like his own father ever thought much of family values and heritage.

Maybe he should tell his father about Luna?

Pietro shook his head, resuming his tale of princesses and dragons and tried very hard to forget about the man.

Yeah, sure, they were a bit better than before. The whole Apocalypse ordeal made Magneto actually apologize for some things. But Pietro wasn't sure whether he wanted to introduce that kind of people into his daughter's life. It was bad enough that Pietro was the one taking care of her.

After Luna started to lightly snore he turned on the baby monitor and went back to his room, stripped and went to sleep.

Two hours later he was woken up by incredibly loud wails coming from the device next to his bed. He tugged on his sweats and ran into Luna's room, picking her up and trying to calm her down. He did everything he could think of. Changed her diaper, tried to feed her, rubbed her belly, hugged her close to his body and tried to get her back to sleep. By the end of it all, the whole Boarding House was awake and giving their own suggestions as to what could possibly be wrong, excluding Wanda who magically soundproofed her door.

Sometimes he really hated his sister.

After over an hour of constant wailing Pietro was close to crying himself. He weighed his options and stared pointedly at the phone.

Maybe he should call his father?

Pietro immediately chased the thought away, seeing how it could go from bad to worse if Magneto got involved. He tried to think of anyone else who could possibly know what to do before he gave up and dialed the number, Luna still crying into his shoulder.

"'Ello?"

"Can you wake up Violette?" Pietro started to bounce Luna up and down, but it didn't help at all. "And send her over to the Boarding House? Please, it's urgent."

It had to be one of the younger mutants since no further questions were asked before he heard a firm confirmation. Pietro put down the phone and once again went over every trick he got from his book, hoping that she'd come.

Twenty minutes later Violette burst in through the door, her eyes bloodshot and panic evident on her face.

"Whas goin n?" She mumbled, looking around the hall.

Pietro was next to her after a second, giving her a pleading look.

"V, please help" His voice croaked and Luna still hasn't stopped crying. "I don't know what to do."

The child in his arms seemed to sober her up immediately. She looked back and forth from Luna to Pietro before reaching her arms over to hold her. Pietro handed his daughter to her, but the lack of close contact with her only seemed to worsen his state.

"Pietro, I haven't taken care of a child this young since I was five" Violette looked over the baby before her eyes focused on something. "She's tugging on her ear."

"Well, yeah" He didn't think much of it, she's been doing that the whole day.

"It might be an ear infection or something" Violette yawned. "You need to take her to a doctor."

Three seconds later they were in front of a hospital, all three of them still in pajamas.

"What is wrong with you?" Violette sighed, pulling Luna closer to her and walking in.

Something dawned on Pietro.

"I don't have the money for it."

"What?"

Pietro looked at the phone bolted to the outer wall of the hospital, the numbers burning through his mind.

Maybe he should call his father?

He ignored the thought, focusing on the other set of numbers, full of promise and future perspectives.

"V" Pietro turned to her and fuck she was as confused as ever, probably still half asleep but he needed advice. "Should I take the offer or not?"

"What offer?" She blinked. "Dude, I can totally rob the Prof of enough money for a fucking doctor's appointment, he won't mind. What are you even talking about?"

"Future" Maybe he was still half asleep himself, cause somehow he didn't care how it affected anyone except for Luna. "Should I take a risk if it will be better for her or just play it safe?"

He needed advice because he was pretty inconsistent when it came to decisions like that. He tended to jump into things without much consideration but also almost never take any risks at all, too afraid for things to change or to actually confront people. But Violette? For him, she somehow always ended up on top, even though she did the riskiest things she could.

Or maybe she always chose the safe route? Who knows, the fact was, somehow Violette seemed like someone who knew what she was doing, even when she didn't. And Pietro really needed her opinion.

"Pietro" She stepped up to him, Luna still crying in her arms. "You know what you should do."

And that was the only thing he needed to call up Nick Fury.

---

The guys were pissed when they found out. They didn't hit him, although they were very close. Because he made a decision that affected them all on a whim in the middle of the night with fucking Violette as his only consultant.

"You know what? Fuck. You" Pietro snapped in the middle of Lance's talk. "Luna was sick. She needed a doctor. And we had no money what so ever to cover that. I know we are a team. I know that we are a family. But she's the most important person in my life" He stood up and fisted Lance's shirt, pulling him forward. "You want to hit me? Fine. But don't think that even for a second I'll regret that."

Because he couldn't. Not even five minutes passed before S.H.I.E.L.D. picked them up from the hospital, took care of Luna's ear infection, gave him the right medication for it and dropped Violette off at the Mansion. He read through the contract, signed it and was given a cell phone, his schedule, a new costume and a quick debriefing. He was back home within an hour, Luna sleeping in his arms, safe and on her way to being perfectly healthy and how could he possibly regret that? Being able to provide anything his daughter might ever need?

Lance took a hold of his hands and pried them off his shirt, huffing. They stared at each other for a second, not saying a word, before Lance sighed and turned to the guys.

"We should contact Fury then."

Pietro let a small smile make its way onto his face. And when Luna woke up after the eventful night he called Violette to thank her.

"No problem" She said and he could hear her smile. His heart clenched, knowing that if things had gone differently, he wouldn't even need to call her since she'd be right there with him since the start. That she'd be a part of their family. That even though they all wanted it, they could never go back to how things were before she joined the X-Men.

After she hung up Pietro stared down at his new phone for a while, mulling over the pros and cons of what he was about to do.

He dialed the number, half of him praying that he wouldn't pick up.

"Hello?"

Pietro swallowed the bile that rose in his throat.

"Father?" He cleared his throat, looking down at Luna playing with her dolls near his feet. "I'd like you to meet someone."

Chapter 3: Don't Be Sorry, That Makes Me More Pitiful

Violette somehow stopped spending as much time with him as she used to. She was focused on Kurt and Jamie was focused on… Nothing in particular. She was just busy with her relationship and he sat on the couch and read comics between homework and dinner.

He got it. She was almost an adult now and he… Well, he liked being the kid of the Institute. People let him off easy and Miss Munroe always packed him an extra cookie for lunch, even though recently he outgrew Kitty and Rahne. Mister McCoy always ruffled his hair when he passed him in the hallway and even Mister Logan almost smiled at him at least twice a month. He played video games with the guys, got pampered by the girls and life was beautiful.

Except for the fact that his sister seemed to be moving on from her 'let's-coddle-Jamie' phase into 'Jamie's-grown-let's-bang-Kurt' phase, and while he could understand everything, the thought of his sister even thinking about doing anything simultaneously scared and grossed him out.

And so, Jamie thought of the perfect plan to not only bond with his sister, but also maybe… Postpone some of her plans.

There were very few things he and Violette had in common, to be honest. She was rubbish at video games, he didn't understand the appeal of reading books. She liked to relax and listen to music, while he preferred doing something, anything, even if it meant bruises and consequences.

He never understood how she and Kurt got each other so well. Kurt was pretty similar to Jamie in that they both didn't like to stay still for too long. Or maybe Jamie knew nothing about Kurt or Violette at all and in actuality, they were both sappy romantic bores.

Who knew by now? Certainly not Jamie.

But the most prominent thing that came to his mind was their mother. There was nothing more undeniably theirs and theirs alone. There was not another soul on Earth that loved that woman as fiercely as they did. He knew Violette hated to even think about her, but there was something that he could mention without sending his sister into a spiral of self-loathing.

And that was their roots.

Violette tried to teach him French, but she didn't have the patience. They baked Buche de Nol last Christmas, but that was about it when it came to French cuisine. He knew close to nothing about anything else, since his father forbid anything French after Violette ran off. He felt a pang of guilt when he thought about what it would mean to his mother if he knew those things.

He thought of the perfect conversation starter, and that was him actually speaking French to her. So, he did the only thing he could – asked Mister Logan for help.

"No way, kiddo" The man sighed, turning another page in his newspaper. "My French is rusty at best. And it's Canadian. Not the kind you want to learn."

Jamie doubted there was that much difference between the two, but he wasn't crazy to argue with the Wolverine, so he did the next best thing.

"Non."

"Please" He put his hands together and shook them in front of Gambit's face. "I know you have the time. And you speak not the kind of French I need but the next best thing."

"Why?"

"Because I need to speak French and connect with my roots" Jamie sighed. "Otherwise my sister won't love me anymore."

"From what I've gathered, your mother was a Cajun like me, while the kid's father was French, mon ami" He patted Jamie's head. "You're not French."

"How do you know?"

"I found out" Gambit shrugged. "It's crucial to know these kinds of things. It was my job to break in and get things – and sometimes information – for other people."

"Even better" Jamie did his best puppy-eyed stare, knowing that if it failed, he had nothing else. "Please, I'll be the best student you could imagine, I promise!"

Gambit looked him over for a second, sighed, then shook his head.

"Alright."

---

Jubilee felt a bit bad about the decisions she made in her life that led her to this point.

Here he was, kneeling on the floor, a bouquet of roses in his hands, smiling beautifully up at her.

"Come on, Jubes" He pushed the flowers into her hands, looking so hopeful. "One date."

She tried to imagine what it would be like. She's heard about love from the girls, about the butterflies and fireworks and that simmering heat they felt when they were near their boyfriends, but she's never felt that. She's never felt the need to feel that. There was never a person who made her feel like that and she doubted there would ever be.

And she couldn't lie to her best friend.

"I'm so sorry, Bobby" She gave him back the flowers, not really knowing if hugging him was okay. "But I don't think it's a good idea."

The way his smile gave way to a look of despair almost made her deny what she just said and accept.

Almost.

"You did the right thing."

Jubilee looked up from the flowers he left on the floor and narrowed her eyes.

"Don't read my mind, Jean" She sighed, brushing her hands over her face.

"I thought you-" The woman shook her head, walking out of the room. "Never mind."

---

Rogue hated that he butted into everything she had established during her time at the Institute. Somehow he managed to ruin all of her meals, workouts at the gym and quiet, secluded moments at the library.

But now, here he was, sitting at the table with Ray, Roberto, Bobby and Sam, shuffling cards.

"No."

"Oh come on, Rogue" Roberto sighed, gesturing towards the tricks Gambit was doing with the deck. "He's an actual threat to you! Don't you like a challenge?"

'I've already played with him' Rogue bit her tongue before the words slipped out.

She sat in between Ray and Sam, knowing that Bobby always tried to be sneaky with freezing the table in just two spots so that he could see the reflections of the cards of people next to him. Gambit was either blind to it or had something up his sleeve since he scooted over towards the boy.

Since real gambling was prohibited, they had to buy Monopoly and just keep the fake money, swearing not to ever tell anyone that they'll be exchanging it for real cash later.

"Who starts the bidding?"

"He does" She nodded towards Remy, who just finished passing out cards. "Since he decided to butt in."

"It's good to know that you love me so much, cherie" He winked, scanning his cards before exchanging them.

Bobby's lower lip started to quiver.

"Is everything okay with him?" Gambit raised his brow, brushing his hair back. "It's just cards, mon ami. I get that you love 'em, but…"

"She doesn't love me!" Bobby collapsed face first onto the table, staining the cards with tears. "She doesn't love me!"

Sam and Roberto looked at each other with wide eyes.

"Bobby, come on, it's going to be alright" Ray reached over the table and tapped Bobby's head.

"It won't be!"

"Shit, he's such a drama queen" Rogue murmured into her cards, shaking her head.

"Who are we even talking about?" Gambit looked to Sam for help.

"Jubilee, for sure" Sam rubbed Bobby's shoulder. "Dude, maybe you're just not meant to be."

"How dare you?!" Bobby's head shot up, tears running down his cheeks. "We're perfect for each other! We're best friends! We have the same birthday! She likes my jokes!"

Roberto mouthed 'good job' and took over from him, shushing Bobby.

"Don't shush me, you hot Latino prick!" Bobby slapped his hand away. "You're probably, like, eighty percent of the reasons why I'm like this! How can I compete with a Portuguese male who's literally on fire!"

Rogue rolled her eyes at Roberto's nervous chuckle.

"Bobby, it's not the end of the world" She sighed, checking her cards before exchanging one. "A girl can actually not be into you, you know?"

Bobby started to sniff.

"What if… What if she has someone and never told me?" Bobby's eyes got wide and his mouth formed into an 'o' shape. "Of course!"

"He's so dumb" Rogue looked over at Gambit. "Okay, bid."

---

Remy fished his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, cursing when he took out the last one. It was just after nine and there was no way he'd be able to get a pack and return before the security system switched to the night mode. He could always sneak in, but that would mean leaving his baby outside the gates for the night. Or walking all the way to the nearest gas station. And he wasn't up for either.

He rested his head against the pillar, staring at the calm water before him. It was cold, incredibly so, but it was nearing Christmas, so what did Remy expect? He wrapped his coat tightly around himself and took a drag, welcoming the taste of nicotine on his tongue.

He almost laughed at the kid's misery when she told him sternly that smoking was prohibited inside the Institute and directed him outside on the snow. She was still a child so they forced her to quit and that seemed like such a funny concept to Remy, quitting because you're too young. You're not too young to fight with super-powered villains or sacrifice your life for the greater good of humanity, but you're too young to fucking smoke.

He started to play with his ring. It always weighted him down, as if he was carrying an additional ton on his right hand, instead of a small silver band.

'Too young to buy cigarettes, but not too young to get married.'

"I knew you'd steal every ounce of privacy I could possibly have."

He looked up at Rogue, taking the cig out of his mouth and blowing out the smoke.

She looked angry, as per usual when he was within ten feet radius. Her purple hat was covered with a thin layer of snow. He didn't even notice when it started to fall down again.

"I can get back inside if you'd prefer that."

She seemed surprised to hear this. Remy wasn't the best at keeping his distance from people and he was always the one seeking her out all the time.

"No" Sighed Rogue, sitting next to him. "You can stay."

They stayed in silence, him looking at the sea and her looking at him. Her stare made the cold weight of his ring feel as if it was tightening around his finger.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He looked up at her, her eyes warm and open. He hasn't seen that look since they parted in New Orleans.

"No" He shook his head. "But you want to."

She averted her gaze and he could feel his heart skip a bit. He finally had her, she was once again opening up, he couldn't possibly screw this up, but-

'She wants to know, she deserves to know.'

"I didn't quit the Thieves Guild" Remy dropped his cigarette onto the snow, waiting for the hunger to come back and nag him. He deserved it tiring him to no end for the rest of his life. "They kicked me out. If not for the fact that I was the boss' son, they'd get rid of me."

"What did you do?"

"I married their enemy's daughter."

"You're married?"

"Well-"

He felt slightly impressed that he had no idea she was going to slap him up until he felt her hand on his cheek.

"You're married?" Rogue stood up and started to slowly back away. "B-but we… You're…"

"I was" He sighed, rubbing his cheek. She could pack a punch. "For a very short period of time. Close to two months."

"And then you left her?" She chuckled, but it was devoid of any humor. "Of course. Of fucking course."

"I didn't" Remy sighed, patting the space next to him. "If you could maybe calm down and sit next to me, cherie, then you'd be able to find out what actually happened, instead of this jumping to conclusions you so love."

She didn't look half as convinced as Remy hoped.

"Come on, it's time for my sappy backstory, this time the full version, even more tragic than before. I guarantee you'll shed about twenty more tears, cherie."

She sat back down but shuffled as far from him as possible, her back against a pillar. Remy chose to pretend that it didn't affect him.

"Her name was Belladonna and she was two years older than me. We knew each other since we were kids and when we grew into teenagers, we fell in love" It sounded so childish in the grand scheme of things. Two kids in their twisted rendition of Romeo and Juliet. "She was a part of the rival gang, the Assassins. And as you can probably guess, no one was too happy when we got together, but at first, my father just wrote it off as something he could maybe gain an advantage from in the future. But Bella and I, we were… Pretty serious about each other" They were children, how could they be serious about each other? "When I was old enough, we had a quiet wedding. Only my brother Etienne and Bella's friend, since we needed witnesses. But the news got around either way" He kicked his legs back and forth, suddenly feeling small and much younger than he was. He must seem like a stupid kid to her, getting married on a whim just because he thought of forever every time he looked at her. "I got kicked out from the Guild. We both though the Assassins still knew nothing, until…" Remy brushed a hand over his face, the picture he was about to describe flashing before his eyes. "I was living with Etienne, but I used to sneak into her flat every night. I climbed in and… The Assassins were never ones to be sentimental. Once you broke their rules, you were dead, no matter if you're the boss's daughter or not."

He wanted the splash of waves to drown out the thoughts running through his mind, but it was hard to pretend that he didn't hear his mind screaming at him.

'It's all your fault!'

"I'm… Sorry."

Remy stood up, wondering why he even told her about Bella.

"I'll go back" He turned around and started to walk towards the mansion, making sure not to look at Rogue at all.

---

"Bobby?"

He looked up from his tub of ice cream, the blanket he wrapped around himself falling down from his head.

"Jubes?"

She smiled sadly and slowly walked over to the couch to sit next to him. He muted 'You've Got Mail', staring at her with wide eyes.

"Oh, Bobby."

"You've got somebody, right?" His voice cracked and it was awful, horrible, he felt ready to fling himself out of the window. Because they were perfect for each other. They loved the same things and thought the same thoughts and wasn't that what love was all about?

Jubes shook her head, wrapping the blanket tighter around his shoulders.

"Then why?" He felt his eyes turn moist and he felt even more pathetic than before.

"Because I can't" She pushed his hair back and he chased her hand with his head. "I don't… Feel like that. About anyone. Ever" Jubes' eyes hardened. "I can't… Lie to you like that Bobby. I'm just… I don't want anything like that. And I don't think I ever will."

He swallowed, slowly nodding.

"Thanks" Bobby looked down at the strawberry ice cream in his hands. "For being honest with me" He bit the inside of his cheek, before brushing away his tears and smiling at her. "Wanna share?"

Chapter 4: A Girl By Any Other Name Would Be as Fierce

Suddenly Logan disappeared. No one had any idea where he was or even why he was away, but in the end they all just shrugged, saying how it was just his usual thing. Violette took advantage of that and the fact that their caretaker for the week was Scott while the rest of the adults were in Washington DC doing some mutant related PR and slept in Kurt's room, fully clothed, feeling safe and calm in his embrace. The fun time as always had to be cut short, because Logan came back just four days later, with a teenage girl at his side.

The same teenage girl that helped Violette get a hang of her powers by electrocuting the living shit out of her.

Violette might have been wary of the girl at first, but she just seemed lost and uncertain herself, like a wounded animal trapped in a cage, which kind of made sense to Violette. The Institute might be a golden, diamond-studded cage, but a cage none the less.

Logan looked around the hall and seeing that Violette was the only one out, growled at her not to lose the girl before walking off in the direction of the Professor's office. Violette looked at her and noticed that she had grown a bit since their last meeting, but then again, she was Jamie's age, and Jamie has managed to grow five inches in the last year alone.

Violette wasn't really sure what she was exactly supposed to do, and calling for Kurt might not be the best idea. The girl looked as if she'd spent the last few months in the woods, her hair messy and full of dry leaves while her face was covered in dirt.

"Maybe you want to take a shower?" Violette cleared her throat, looking down at the girl's boots. The tips were torn apart and Violette was reminded of the fact that the girl could kill her with only her toes. "I could lend you some clothes."

Clothes that wouldn't fit her at all and were probably going to be too loose on the hips and bust but too tight on the sleeves and shoulders.

The girl nodded and Violette guided her upstairs. She opened the doors to her room, took the first pair of jeans she could find and a clean shirt and showed the girl the way to the bathroom. She still didn't say anything, only nodded in gratitude.

Violette was waiting outside the bathroom when Wolverine came back, handing her an armful of sheets and blankets.

"What's that?"

"She's rooming with you, Caspar."

"Wait, what?" Violette didn't have to share a room with anyone since she ran away from home. "I don't even know her name!"

"Well, neither does she" He growled, furrowing his brows. "You're going to take care of her, alright, bub?"

She swallowed audibly, nodding. For what it was worth, she was still scared of him.

"I'll get the boys to move another bed to your room" He walked off, leaving Violette to awkwardly shift the sheets in her arms.

Just a few minutes later the girl walked out of the bathroom, wordlessly taking some of the things in Violette's hands.

"I guess you heard that, huh" Violette chuckled as the girl followed her to her – now their – room. "I have to warn you, the room's a bit messy."

Violette opened the door and immediately cursed when she heard the familiar sound of Kurt's teleportation. The girl next to her dropped the sheets and the claws hidden underneath her skin shot out, making Kurt yelp and fall from Violette's desk down onto the floor.

"Don't worry" Violette slowly put down the sheets and made her way to the girl, feeling her courage leave her with every step. "That's just my boyfriend. A very handsome but idiotic boyfriend, to be exact. I'm shallow like that."

"Maybe I'll…" Kurt started to gesticulate at the door wildly. "You know."

"Nonsense!" She understood that the girl was maybe not used to other people, but she wasn't going to kick Kurt out just because she might not like him being there. Violette never insisted that she wasn't a bit bitchy. "It's okay, right?"

The girl nodded and retracted her claws. The silence started to slowly get on Violette's nerves.

'Patience or Wolvie will kill you.'

"So…" Kurt scratched the back of his neck, chuckling nervously. "I'm Kurt. What's your name?"

Violette felt like she could free Logan of the burden of killing a teenage girl, by just jumping out of the window.

The girl looked down at her feet with a crestfallen expression.

"I don't really… Have one."

No, maybe she'll just kill Kurt.

"Oh."

'Yeah, definitely kill Kurt.'

"Well, you know, that can be easily resolved" She delicately put her hand on the girl's shoulder, smiling reassuringly. She channeled everything she had into the nicest tone she could muster. "You can just come up with one."

She nodded but didn't seem convinced. Violette felt like she should have expected her almost unwavering silence. She recognized it in a way.

'I've read that one book' She looked at the bookshelf next to her desk, scanning it for the title. 'About a silent girl.'

It was overall a sad story, but she felt like it helped her. She had it since her Brotherhood years, back when she still struggled with her own demons. Violette walked over to the bookshelf and took the book out scanning it for the girl's name.

'There it is.'

She put down No Language But a Cry with a small smile, turning to the two.

"How about Laura?"

---

Just when Violette thought that that would be the last female joining them at the Institute for a while, Storm and the Professor came back with a green haired sophomore.

"Hi, I'm Lorna" She gave them all a friendly smile and a small wave and damn, did the introductions at the mansion always go like this? Violette remembered that in the Brotherhood they always kicked it off with a weird meeting.

"Went to the pool after bleaching?" Kitty gave her a sympathetic smile, offering her hand. "I'm Kitty."

"Oh, no, it just always was that way" Lorna reached out for a lock of her hair and somehow shrunk.

"Shit" Rahne mumbled under her breath and materialized next to the new girl. "Hey I'm Rahne, do you want to be my roommate?"

"Well, yes I guess…"

"That's awesome" Rahne motioned for Sam to come over before turning back to Lorna. "So, except for the fact that you have this incredible hair colour, could you tell us a bit about yourself?"

And they were back on the wrong track.

---

While apart from the first awkward encounter Lorna seemed to do great, Laura spent the first week of her new life in the mansion slowly trying to get familiar with living with other people. There were accidents which ended with her claws out, most of them thanks to either Bobby suddenly crashing onto furniture in a fit of tears or Pyro jumping from around the corner surrounded by tiny fireballs.

While the Professor wanted Violette to help Laura slowly get the hang of things, Laura herself was frustrated over how little she knew about stuff.

"I want to go to school" She said softly one morning, watching Violette pack her backpack. She turned around to face Laura, her eyes wide. "What?"

"No one ever wants to go to school" Violette rolled her eyes. "Especially not high school. It's boring, people are awful and you're not even allowed to go to the bathroom whenever you want."

That answer didn't seem to satisfy Laura, though. She started to pester Logan about letting her out.

Violette thought that it would be the worst idea ever since Laura almost sliced her up when Violette accidentally rolled off the bed in her sleep. The Prof seemed to think that it was great that Laura wanted to adjust on her own accord and deemed Jamie her caretaker since they were the same age.

Violette wasn't keen on leaving her brother alone for extended amounts of time with a psychotic teenage girl made out of the hardest metal on Earth, but no one asked about her opinion on the matter.

So, she took to quietly brooding while stuffing her things into her backpack.

"You're overreacting" Tabby chuckled, tossing Violette's notebook at her head. "She won't freak out in the middle of the hallway."

"Yeah, but she might freak out when it's just the two of them" Violette picked the notebook up from the ground and put it down on her desk. "I don't want Jamie to have stab wounds in his stomach, you know?"

"You let him near the Brotherhood. He survived Apocalypse" Tabitha walked over to her and put her hand on Violette's shoulder. "He's going to be fine."

Violette sighed, putting her face in her hands.

"I hope so."

---

Jamie usually kept his distance when it came to girls his age. He mostly hung out with the girls from the Institute and had to live with the questions his classmates had when it came to them – and God, that one time a guy asked him if he was going out with Violette would never leave his mind, ever.

It wasn't just that he stayed glued to their sides, they liked to come over and talk for a while. They were all mutants, they had to stick together.

But this-this was something else. He had a long conversation with the Professor in the morning and the only thing he got out of it was 'stick to her' and 'make sure she's alright'. And hell, if that didn't boost his ego. He, a scrawny, barely over five feet Jamie, had to take care of a master assassin.

A pretty, female master assassin, but Jamie seemed to be the only one to take it into account.

So he smiled at her as charmingly as he could, opened the doors for her and made sure to be within a three feet radius of her. Which seemed to annoy her a bit and make his friends fall out of their desks in laughter.

When they came back home, Laura threw her backpack at Logan and ran to her room, growling at everyone.

"What happened, bub?" Logan turned to Jamie, raising his brow.

"I don't know, I made sure everything was going great" He shrugged, taking the backpack from Logan. "I'll take it back to her room."

He passed Mr. McCoy on his way up and gave him a thumbs up.

"We shouldn't have let him get close to her" Logan crossed his arms over his chest, furrowing his brows.

"It's usual for fathers to not want any boys around their daughters" Hank put his hand on his shoulder, smiling. "Don't worry, Jamie means well."

"Oh, I know that" Logan chuckled, shaking his head. "If he keeps it up, Laura's going to tear him apart."

---

"And, what do you think you're doing?"

Alex jumped away from his hideout – a bush? Really? – and started to laugh nervously.

"Uhm, nothing?"

Ray rolled his eyes, smiling. It wasn't coincidental that he started to spot Alex whenever the New Mutants were having their training sessions since Lorna's arrival.

"You're not subtle at all, dude" He pulled Alex up, clapping him on the back. "You should just go talk to her."

"You really think so?"

"What's the worst that can happen?"

That. That was the worst that could happen.

Alex took Ray's advice to the heart. The next day, he sat down next to Lorna at the breakfast table.

"Hi."

"Oh, hi" She gave him a small wave and reached over for a jug of orange juice.

Alex decided that the best first impression would be to take care of her most basic needs, so his hand shot out for that same jug, flipping it over and spilling it all over the table and Lorna's dress.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" He wanted to scoot away from the table to go get paper towels but instead fell out of his chair.

He desperately reached for the edge of the table, but his hand closed around the tablecloth instead and tugged it off. The silverware and plates fell down on him, the small pile of food and china hiding him from the eyes of his crush. He could hear everyone's laughter and Scott's questions about his well being and it was officially the worst first impression he could have left on Lorna. There was really no reason for her to immediately know that he was a walking human disaster.

"At least you tried, buddy" He heard Ray whisper to him as he tried to get out of the tangled tablecloth. "At least you tried."

---

Hank was checking over the power signatures picked up by Cerebro in the last couple of weeks and frowned, noticing a rather large gathering of mutants all in one place. He printed the maps and stood up, ready to go and tell Charles to focus on it during a session, but the thought altogether left his head, the only thing he could focus on being going to the kitchen to have a snack.

He walked by the printer, the papers laying there, long forgotten.

Chapter 5: I Have So Many Damn Things to Do but I Have Nothing That I Want to Do

Violette didn't really like being called over to the Professor's office. It always made her feel as if she was at Bayville High, getting ready for another lecture. She knocked on the doors and opened them, surprised to see not only the Prof but also Alex in there, both of them giving her inviting smiles.

'Weird.'

She sat down in the vacant chair, waiting for them to start.

"So, Violette, I've been thinking about forming a new team, since so many of new, more experienced mutants joined our ranks" The Professor folded his hands into a triangle, something that always made her feel even more uncomfortable. "The team in question would be led by Alex with a little help from you, since you have more field experience than the rest of the New Mutants."

"Wait" She was too slow to stop herself from saying something about the very real issue she saw there. "No offense, but Alex couldn't be greener if his name was Kermit the frog."

"Hey, dude!"

"So, why exactly is he the leader? And why am I even considered for a second in command? They are all more experienced than the both of us combined" She folded her hands over her chest. "Why aren't you promoting Ray? He's got his head on straight and he's already second in command in the Newbies, he knows how things work."

The Professor sighed, leaning back in his chair. His eyes turned more serious and his hands dropped back onto his lap.

"Yes, most of the newcomers are already after basic training, but there is one problem that keeps me from promoting any of them to the status of a leader anytime soon."

"Which is?" Alex slumped down into his chair, adjusting his hair. Violette couldn't help but notice that his tan was slowly coming off.

"Almost none of the students fully trust any of them, and the key to being a leader of a smaller team during a mass operation is-"

"Other leaders trusting your decisions" Violette shook her head. "Okay, that explains that. Still, why us?"

"Well, since Alex came to the institute at around the same time it might help them form bonds" He turned to Violette, his eyes piercing her soul. "You Violette, on the other hand, seem to have already bonded with… Some of them."

"I accidentally know them" She narrowed her brows, frowning. "You mean I'm just as trusted as they are?"

"Some students still have second thoughts about you joining the X-Men out of the blue."

"It wasn't out of the blue and we both know it" She stood up, ignoring the intensive way Alex was staring at her. "Fine, I accept. But Shark-bait over there has to be the one to tell the trained assassin that he's in charge."

---

"So, how do you feel?"

"I didn't want a promotion, Kurt" Violette brushed his hair back, sighing. "I want time to not do anything and not to be tied down to a job at the Institute."

"Oh" Kurt shifted, his tail tightening its grip on her calf.

She knew him well enough to know that it wasn't about her promotion anymore.

"What is it?" She sat up, kicking the blanket off her legs and turning her whole body so that she was facing him completely.

"Nothing."

"It's not nothing if it's bothering you."

Kurt started to slowly twist his body so that none of them fell off his bed while he mirrored her pose.

"Why don't you want to be tied down to the Institute?"

The question took her aback, quite literally since she almost fell off the bed thanks to it.

"Are you okay?" Kurt pulled her upright, rubbing her arm afterwards.

"Yeah, yeah, sure, I'm fine" She giggled, feeling a knot starting to form in her stomach.

"You don't look fine" He raised his brow, putting his other hand on her knee. "Come on, tell me."

"I just…" She sighed, rubbing her hands over her eyes. "Remember back when the mansion blew up?"

"Of course."

It wasn't the best time for their relationship. He couldn't trust her and she couldn't trust herself. The biggest mess she got in during her whole life.

"I wanted to quit" She looked up, clasping her hands in her lap. " Immediately. I thought that since Jamie was gone I had no reason to stay in the mutant world" Violette ran her fingers through his hair. "What if he wants to go somewhere else? What if he finds out that this whole superhero thing isn't for him? I need to be ready to leave as soon as he decides so, not have to wait for you to find a replacement."

"So" His fists clenched around the sheets and his tail wrapped around his waist. "There's nothing holding you back right now?"

"Kurt-"

"Exactly. Not to sound rude, but what about me?" His shoulders sagged a bit, making him appear smaller.

"You know I love you."

"But?"

"There's no buts. Yes, if Jamie wanted to leave, I'd leave with him, but while I'd drop the Institute, I wouldn't drop you."

---

"So, yeah."

St. John smirked, watching the blonde surfer squirm uncomfortably. John forgot his name once again – he should pay more attention, the guy is their leader after all – but at least he knew Violette a tiny bit.

Piotr took being bossed around by a bunch of kids far better than Gambit did. The humongous Russian went over and exchanged a few words with them, giving both Violette and the surfer his kindest smile. Gambit started to throw a tantrum, saying how he worked best on his own and how it was ridiculous that le enfant would be giving him orders. The crazy girl who almost pierced him with her claws thrice now just huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

John just shrugged, went over to the teens, patted Violette on the back so hard she almost fell over and set the surfer's shoes on fire.

He was more aggressive than passive, unlike the crazy slicer over there. And he didn't really have the time for fits of anger. He asked Amara to come to his room and read the email he got from a publisher. He didn't have the courage to open it when it arrived, since for the first time in forever, he felt like what he wrote was very good. He decided to forget about the cheesy romance novels he only ever got to sell and focused on a sci-fi criminal he's been thinking about for years. Once he finished the first draft he wouldn't even let Amara take a look and instead slaved over it for weeks. And now, after finishing it and sending it out to an actual publishing company, he was panicking.

What if they thought it was garbage? How was he supposed to be a writer if he couldn't write, for fuck's sake?

John opened the door to his room and immediately got the wind knocked out of him when Amara launched herself at his neck.

"You did it, John!" She was laughing, squeezing him mercilessly. "They liked it!"

His eyes widened as he rested his hands on her waist, what Amara meant finally getting to him.

He was going to have his book published. The one he was actually proud of. Published.

A wide smile spread across his face as he started to twirl her around, laughing along.

---

Violette sat on the floor of the gym, watching the New Mutants practice combat. Jamie was doing much better than when she first joined, but he's also grown quite a bit. She tended to forget about it, but now that Rahne was back, she could clearly see it.

Ray sat down next to her, panting. She passed him a water bottle, still having no idea why he wasn't in her place right now.

"Are you mad at me?"

He choked on the liquid and she started to slap his back.

"Now that's ridiculous" He started to laugh. "Why would I be?"

"I stole your job, basically."

Ray shrugged, watching as Bobby tripped Roberto and smirked.

"Not really" He turned to Violette, playing with his fingers. "I'm leaving in August."

"What?" Violette's hands fell down and she felt her head getting swarmed with a bunch of very different but equally terrifying ideas. "Why?"

"I'm going to college" He smiled. "Biochemistry major in UCLA. Minor in Society and Genetics."

"California?"

"It's warm and just far away enough for me not to be dragged into every minor mutant conflict" Ray put his hand on her shoulder. "You'll be great."

"You're leaving."

"Yes, and you have more friends than just me" Ray waved Sam over, tapping his shoulder and running over to train with Tabby. "Besides, you'll be good at the job!"

---

Laura took a deep breath and corrected her stance, before lunging at the punching bag, giving it her all. She already spent the last three hours at the gym, training mercilessly.

She wasn't sure why. She didn't have to anymore. She had a training schedule, just like everyone else at the Institute, and it didn't consist of as many hours as her HYDRA schedule did. She always waited for the scheduled meals. She didn't have to anymore. She could go to the kitchen and have a snack any time she wanted, but she didn't. She wasn't at the HYDRA training center anymore, but she still acted just like they wanted her to.

It was ridiculous. No one would punish her if she took a longer shower or drank an additional cup of water, but she still stuck to the five minutes she always got and the two liters a day she was always allowed.

The fact that she started school helped her a bit. It was a place with a clear set of rules, which collided with the HYDRA schedule. It gave her something she was comfortable with and helped her break out of her habits a bit. Still, the middle of the night training sessions were there to force her back into her previous mindset.

She'd go to sleep around eight, wake up at midnight, train for four hours, shower for five minutes and then go back to sleep at four, only to wake up around seven.

The Professor told her not to try to stop immediately. To maybe start cutting the time slowly, because it can not only mess up her mind but also her sleep schedule completely.

She planned on getting to the bathroom at three thirty. She had half an hour left.

She tended to switch off during fights to, as the Professor said, detach herself from the bloodshed. Now the only thing she could think about during training is that she would have killed anyone who stood in her way just a few months earlier.

When the clock on the wall showed three thirty, she rushed to the elevator. Her throat was parched. Maybe she should try taking a sip of water. Or a full glass.

No.

A sip, then.

Laura slowly walked to the kitchen, feeling a dull ache in her wrist. She must have overworked it. She knew the pain will be gone completely by the time she went to bed, so she ignored it for the time being.

She turned the tap and put her hand under the thin trickle of water, before sipping the small amount.

"You know you can just take a glass out of the cabinet, right?"

Her instinct took over. She turned around, claws ready to strike when she felt something wet hit her back.

"Shit, sorry!"

Jamie ran past her, turning the knobs and she realized that while turning around she must have sliced the faucet off and now a steady stream of water was hitting her back.

Her claws retracted and she closed her eyes, steadying her breath.

She shouldn't have started ignoring her senses. Yes, living with a bunch of people who all smelled differently and whose hearts were beating in different rhythms made her headache from sensory overload, but it was better than one day accidentally hurting someone.

"Sorry" Laura opened her eyes, sighing.

What was he doing up in the middle of the night? Of course, it had to be him. The door is fourteen feet away from you, the window is two feet away, but the attacker is right next to it. Stop.

"Why are you up?" He asked once he turned off the water.

"Training" Jamie's only redeeming quality was that once he got a simple answer, he didn't force you to elaborate. "You?"

"Couldn't sleep" One of his drawbacks was that while you didn't have to talk, he concluded that someone had to and babbled on. "You know, Violette left the New Mutants to join you guys and it's weird, to know that I won't see her as much. Since I started High School we haven't really spent much time together. I started to learn French with Gambit to maybe have something to talk about but I'm a pretty slow learner" Not only was he talking, his voice cracked at random and his heartbeat was crazy and it was all a cacophony to her ears. "Do you think that maybe I should just give up?"

Laura didn't understand what she had to do with the issue. She looked at the clock – three forty-five, so much for going to bed before four – and then finally faced Jamie.

"I don't know" She wasn't sure what he expected from her. "Why are you asking me?"

"I feel like we're kind of friends by now, you know" He chuckled, scratching the back of his head and Laura felt something twist inside her stomach. Friends. "And you're kind of rooming with her, so I guess you kind of also know her a bit but not too much? Cause I need an opinion but not from someone who has no idea what is going on."

Laura had no idea what was going on, but for some reason, Jamie thought that once she stepped into Violette's room she became a psychic.

"I guess you shouldn't give up" She shrugged. "The worst thing that happens, you learn a new language."

"Thanks, Laura" He walked over to a cupboard and took out a bar of chocolate. "Want S'mores?"

"What?"

"I'll show you."

And once Laura was holding a fork with a huge marshmallow at the end over the kitchen burner, while Jamie already put his between biscuits and chocolate – he huffed when he discovered that they ran out of Graham crackers – she thought that maybe he had more redeeming qualities.

Like the fact that instead of making her feel bad about not knowing things, he showed them to her.

---

"I don't want to be bossed around by kids" Remy threw down his cards, swearing as Rogue's turned out to be better.

"Language" Sam handed her the Monopoly currency, waving his finger at him.

"It could have been worse" Ray shuffled the cards, smirking. "Bobby could have been your leader."

"Oh, funny aren't we, Crisp?" Bobby narrowed his eyes. "You better watch out, wire-brain."

"See" Roberto nudged Bobby with his shoulder. "Alex at least can take a joke."

"Yeah, and he's four years younger than me" Remy grabbed his cards, sensing a theme in today's game. He exchanged four of them, leaving behind only Judith. He hoped she'd bring him luck.

"Touché" Rogue exchanged two cards, before raising the bid.

Remy passed, folding his cards and watched as once again, she took the prize.

It was his turn to shuffle. Remy lets his fingers linger on Judith and blew on the cards before dividing the deck into two.

"You should give them a chance" Rogue's foot knocked into his under the table. Remy looked at his cards and cheered mentally, seeing four Dames in his hands. He exchanged the lone two and got back an Ace of clubs. "They might surprise you."

Bobby, Sam and Ray passed. When they revealed their hands, Remy's four of a kind beat Rogue's flush and Roberto's straight. Remy's foot nudged Rogue's and she smiled, giving him a stack of Monopoly cash.

Chapter 6: Valentine's Day

February smacked Kurt in the face with paper hearts and white teddy bears. Along with it came their first anniversary and he felt as if he was about to have a heart attack.

Kitty made fun of him mercilessly, wrapping up a gift for Lance – a bunch of guitar picks and a maxi bottle of aspirin and somehow her gift was supposed to be good – instead of giving him advice, like he asked her to.

"You're the worst best friend I have ever seen" Kurt pouted, throwing scotch tape at her. Kitty effortlessly phased through it. "I hate you."

"It's not my fault you have no idea what to do" She chuckled, setting the gift aside. "Like, have you ever thought about whether she wants something big or not?"

"She's a girl, girls love grand gestures" Kurt rolled his eyes, but in the back of his mind knew that Violette wouldn't like him to make a huge deal out of it. "Okay, maybe Violette doesn't."

"Exactly" Kitty smiled, walking over to him and patting his head. "You think my gift for Lance is dumb, but actually it's exactly what he needs. Tell me, what would you give a nineteen-year-old guitarist with chronic headaches trying very hard to convince everyone that he's a tough bad boy?"

She collected the gift and walked out of his room, leaving behind a mess of wrapping paper, ribbons, and tape.

"You're the worst!" Kurt yelled over his shoulder, standing up to clean it up.

"You've already said that!" Kitty yelled back.

He smiled, shaking his head.

---

Bobby put down his controller, whooping when a 'You Are The Party Star' appeared over Princess Daisy's head.

"I hate Mario Party 4" Sam tossed his controller aside, frowning.

"You're just pissed that even the AI beat you at a GameCube game" Bobby chuckled. "Told you Daisy's better than Mario."

"It doesn't even count" Sam huffed, walking over to the console and putting in Super Smash Bros Melee. "Dibs on Luigi."

"Fuck you" Bobby sighed, deciding to settle on Donkey Kong. "So, Sammy boy, you up for a guys' night on the fourteenth?"

"Uhm, not really, dude" Sam scratched the back of his neck and smiled nervously. "Rahne and I are going out to this new Mexican place near the school."

"Oh" Bobby nodded, sighing. "Good for you, I guess."

"Oh, don't be like that, Bobby" Sam nudged him with his elbow. "You can just go out with one of the girls from our year."

"I don't know" He shrugged, focusing on the screen. "I mean, I've never really noticed a girl my type before."

"Except for Jubes."

"I guess" Bobby readied himself, twisting his head every each way during the countdown. "Maybe Roberto will be up for some bro time."

"Nah, he's going out with Juliana Sandoval, you know her right?"

"The blonde with the white Gucci bag?"

"…I guess? I dunno, I don't really look at girls' bags, you know?"

---

"Remy, I need your help."

"I'm already teaching you French, I'm not a charity" Remy wiped his face with a towel, sighing. He stood up and started to put back the weights and Jamie joined in after a second. "What is it?"

"How do you ask out a girl like Rogue?"

Remy almost dropped the ten-pound weight on his foot.

"You want to ask out Rogue?" He felt his stomach drop because although Jamie was way younger than her and Remy was pretty great, thank you very much, there was still a minuscule chance that Rogue would prefer a good guy over him.

"What?!" Jamie himself almost dropped five pounds on his toes. "Of course not! I just mean, the Rogue type. Tough. Could easily kill you. And by the way, ew. Isn't Rogue, like, dating you or something?"

"Or something" A huge weight fell off Remy's shoulders, something he'd take over crushed toes any day. "You have to woo her, little cupidon. Romance the shit out of her" He blinked, staring at the boy. "Merde, am I even allowed to swear in front of you?"

"I'm fourteen, I've heard worse" Jamie shrugged, putting down the last of the weights. "So, you mean flowers and opening doors, that kind of stuff?"

"Oui" Remy took the towel off the bench, leaving the gym. "Just maybe start off small, alright? Don't scare her off, mon ami."

"Sure thing, mec."

"Don't 'mec' me, you petit-maître."

"Sorry."

---

Violette sighed, stretching her whole body after their new team's training session. They worked surprisingly well together and she wasn't even the clumsiest one, only thanks to the fact that Alex and Piotr collided with each other mid-air and both collapsed on the ground, Piotr with a smoking arm and Alex practically in tears.

She called dibs on the bathroom and ran into the shower, groaning when the hot water hit her sore muscles.

She loved Valentine's Day when she was a child. The crowds of people in New Orleans gave her an opportunity to secure the next few months during one evening of pickpocketing. Besides, it was just a fun holiday. Full of warmth and celebrating love. She never had anyone she could celebrate it with in the original sense, but the older girls used to bring boxes of chocolates and give out one to each kid on the streets. Her mother back when Violette still lived with her used to give her and Jamie small valentines and tiny sweets, kissing their heads and smiling brightly.

But then Mystique happened and she started to live with a bunch of guys and the only one willing to celebrate Valentine's Day was Pietro, but for him, the only proper celebration was a lot of sex and none of them were into that.

But now, here she was. Living in the X-Men mansion, with a boyfriend of close to a year, with their first Valentine's Day upon them.

A ridiculously attractive boyfriend with whom she already agreed that they were both willing to have sex sometime in the foreseeable future.

Violette would be lying if she said that she never thought about it. Of course, she did, she was seventeen and in a relationship. She had some burning questions about… Stuff. His stuff, mainly.

Anyway, she thought that it would be fitting. Valentine's Day, close to their first anniversary, both of them consenting semi-adults. She felt like the fact that they both almost died three months prior only gave them more reasons to do things they wanted to whenever they got the chance.

And so, Violette walked out of the bathroom with a plan forming in her head.

---

Laura had no idea why Jamie was even more annoying than usual.

First thing in the morning he gave her a bowl of marshmallow hearts from Lucky Charms and a glass of pink grapefruit juice. Food was food though, so she ate it despite feeling a bit nauseous after clearing the bowl of milk-soaked sugar. The bitter juice helped her keep it down.

On their way to school, he insisted on carrying her backpack, although they only walked from the front door to the garage. After they buckled in and Ray started the car, Jamie gave up his turn of choosing the music, asking her what she'd want to listen too. And since she had generally close to no idea what music even was, she chose something that made Bobby and Amara cheer and Roberto cringe. As soon as the CD started to play, Bobby and Amara started to reenact an elaborate choreography.

"All you people look at me like I'm a little girl!" Bobby started to sing throwing his arms up in the air. Amara joined in and Roberto just sunk into the seat.

"I didn't know you like Britney Spears" Jamie gave her a smile.

"I don't know who she is" Laura shrugged. "I just liked the color of the cover."

It was a nice blue. Jamie reached for the box and turned it over in his hands, reading through the track list. Laura couldn't help but notice that the cover matched his eyes perfectly.

"It is nice" He agreed, putting it down with the rest.

"What do you like?" Because unless it was Britney Spears, this whole thing made no sense. Why would he give up his turn? He always battled with everyone when it came to music choices.

He pointed towards an album with a man's face and bold white Radiohead written over a red band.

"Radiohead's The Bends is incredible" Jamie gave her a small smile. "It's a bit older than most of the stuff here. It played the first time Miss Munroe drove me to school, cause Ray left it in the day before."

"Maybe we can play it on the way back" She proposed quietly, looking out of the window.

She could hear Jamie's heartbeat pick up, but it also made no sense at all.

"I'd like that."

The whole day Jamie kept on bugging her even more than usual. At lunch, he wanted to carry her tray and she could hear most of their classmates snicker when they saw it. They surely thought she was incapable of doing things herself now. Her instinct kicked in and she practically ripped the tray out of Jamie's hands, growling. His smile fell a bit. She grumbled and handed the tray back to him.

On their way back she passed Ray the Radiohead CD and closed her eyes, listening. By the time they were back at the mansion, she had four songs memorized, the lyrics of one of them bouncing around her head.

She looks like the real thing. She tastes like the real thing. My fake plastic love.

She almost asked Ray to replay the song. Almost. But they were already at the gates so she didn't bother to.

---

Tabitha sat on the ledge of her room's balcony, swinging her legs back and forth. There was a small heap of snow covering her thighs, but she ignored the chill crawling its way under her skin, watching the mansion's front door.

Soon enough, Alex opened the door and let Lorna walk out first. Tabby smiled and took a hold of the bucket next to her, dumping its contents onto the couple. Alex screamed as the snow got under his scarf, unused to the chill after years spent in Hawaii. Lorna was mostly okay, but she still glared at Tabitha and the metal railing of the balcony creaked ominously. Just to be safe, Tabby got back to her room, setting the bucket down next to Amara's bed.

They were going out, Tabitha, Jubilee, Ray and the two oblivious idiots that were her best friend and her best friend's almost boyfriend.

Tabby checked herself out in the mirror and smiled at her own reflection, before walking over to her door and opening it wide, smacking someone with it.

"Sorry" She walked over to Piotr, prepared to see a bloody nose or something in similar fashion, but she was pleasantly surprised to see him in his steel form. "Nice."

"Thank you?" He changed back, her compliment clearly confusing him.

Tabby could swear that an actual light bulb appeared over her head.

"Hey, Pete" She tried to run her fingers through his hair, but he was too tall for her to do it without climbing on her toes. She settled on putting her hand on his shoulder. "Wanna hang out with us?"

"You?"

"Just some mutants" She patted his chest, noting just how firm it was even without the steel coverage. "We're going bowling and stuff. Come on" Tabby gave him no opportunity to say no and grabbed his hand, running down the stairs.

Somehow, no one was really that surprised to see her dragging an over 260 lbs Russian behind her. They pilled into the X-Van and Tabby had to stop herself from laughing at how ridiculous Piotr looked crammed into the passenger seat. As soon as Ray parked in front of the bowling alley Pyro and Amara disappeared, leaving the four them behind.

"And they're clearly not dating" Jubilee rolled her eyes and walked into the building, with a snickering Ray behind her.

"Come on, tin-man" Tabby grabbed his elbow and started to pull him inside. "We have to kick their asses."

---

The minute Kurt stepped through the front doors of the Institute Violette grabbed him and started to pull him towards the backyard.

"Well, hi to you too, Liebchen" He chuckled, dropping his bag near the stairs.

"Shut up and just follow me, okay?" She turned to him with a serious look on her face. "I really don't want anyone to get the stupid idea to follow us."

"You could just tell me where we're going" For some reason he had this dumb smile on his face that infuriated Violette to no end whenever it was directed at her. His 'Gotcha' smile reserved mostly for people he was messing with. "And I could just port us there."

"Nice try" She huffed, smiling back. "But your room is right next to Scott's and Laura is doing her homework."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"That's pretty sad, cause I thought we've thought of the same thing today."

Kurt's eyes widened and his mouth formed into a circle. Violette had to bite the inside of her cheek to not laugh.

"Oh."

"Oh indeed."

Kurt obediently followed her into the backyard, around the pool and into the edge of the woods surrounding the grounds before saying another word.

"Don't you want to be somewhere… With a roof, heating, and stuff?" He cleared his throat, before brushing his hair back with his free hand.

"Like what? The mansion with Jean who's slowly starting to read people's minds without permission? Some fancy-schmancy hotel? Kurt, we're broke."

"True" He nodded and she knew perfectly well that beneath the holo-watch he was blushing.

They reached the place she chose for that occasion, a small clearing with a blanket tossed over the grass and a small bag next to it. Violette dropped Kurt's hand and straightened up the blanket, before facing him and smiling nervously.

"So…"

Kurt leaned in and kissed her, his hands slowly grabbing at her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, giving him the go-to lower them onto the ground. Kurt complied, slowly laying her down on the blanket but keeping his weight on his forearms as if not to crush her. Violette wrapped her leg around his hips and forcefully pushed down, giggling when Kurt let out a small moan as soon as their hips collided.

It was going great. Up until she remembered that it was the middle of February and snow started to fall around them.

"I fucking hate the world" She complained as they walked into the mansion.

"We'll try again later, liebchen" Kurt wrapped his arm around her waist.

---

Alex cleared his throat and offered his arm to Lorna, staring deep into her eyes. She giggled, taking it and let him lead her into the mall.

"So" Lorna suddenly turned around and stepped in front of him, her hand grasping his while she walked backwards. "What are we doing here?"

"We're getting some Chinese, cause I know you love it" He pointed towards the food court, smiling. "And then we're going to the arcade so you can beat my ass in Dance Dance Revolution."

"Alex Summers" She abruptly stopped and he almost fell over trying not to crash into her. "You've just described the perfect date in a sentence. Keep that up and I don't even know what I'm going to do with you."

"Keep, I hope" He winked, before turning her around and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

---

Once they've come back, Jubilee and Ray with angry frowns on their faces while Tabitha sat on Piotr's shoulders victorious, Amara tugged John aside, giggling. She waited until their friends walked through the front doors before turning to him and smiling widely.

"I've had so much fun" She grabbed his hands, squeezing them. "Thank you for tonight."

"It was all Jubes' idea" He smiled back. "But I'm glad ye had fun."

'This is it' Thought Amara. 'If I just lean in, we'll kiss.'

She licked her lips and her hands slowly traveled up to his shoulders. She was about to stand on her tiptoes and lean in when he took a hold of her forearms and delicately pried her hands away from his body.

"Amara" He looked deep into her eyes, sighing. "We can't."

She tried to swallow down her hurt pride and nodded, feeling her eyes sting with unshed tears.

"I really care about you, sheila" He brushed back her hair and kissed her forehead. "Maybe in a few years, aye?"

She nodded, hiding her face in his neck and wrapping her arms around his waist.

---

It was almost time for her to sleep when she heard the knock on her door. Laura sniffed the air, before telling Jamie to come in.

Yes, he was annoying. But they were also kind of friends. And maybe he was looking for his sister.

"So, I don't know if you noticed, but it's Valentine's Day" He shrugged, scratching the back of his neck. "And it's kind of a big deal, but not really. It's, like, a holiday when u give stuff to people you like to show them that you like them and… Yeah, I should have probably told you in the morning, but never mind. Anyway, I have something for you."

He gave her a pink piece of paper cut into the shape of a heart, with a smaller, red heart drawn in the middle. Laura turned it around and took off the small candy taped to the back before reading the message written beneath it.

'You're awesome. Jamie.'

"I don't have anything to give to you" It's not like she knew she was supposed to.

"It's okay" He smiled. "Can we hug though? Because I feel like this moment needs a hug."

Laura nodded, taking a tentative step towards him. Jamie wrapped his arms around her and pressed his cheek against her temple. Laura let her body relax a bit, returning the hug.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Laura."

His body was warm against hers, and the only person she has ever had that much physical contact with excluding fighting was Logan. It felt very different though, but she decided to ignore it for now.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Jamie" She repeated, tucking the information away along with the date.

'Next year, I'll have something for him.'

Chapter 7: You Won't Be Able To Sleep Because Of Your Fluttering Heart

"Since when do they send out newbies on important missions?" Laura still wasn't fond of the interior of the lower levels, saying that they reminded her too much of the H.Y.D.R.A. base.

"Since the so-called newbies consist of a trained assassin, three ex evil-henchmen, a veteran of good versus evil fights and one actual newbie" Violette adjusted her top – 'It feels so good to be back in the old costume' – and started to lead her to the planning room. The rest of their team was already there. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"

"You better get serious and fast, Spectre" Wolvie didn't look nearly as sure about this as she'd prefer. "You're going to break into Magneto's base."

"What?" John almost fell out of his chair, his lighter falling to the ground.

"Why?" Piotr leaned forward, resting his huge hands on the table.

"We're still unsure of where he stands after Apocalypse" Logan casually took a sip from his cup of coffee and Violette could feel her stomach churn. She knew what Magneto was really capable of after she fought him in Mexico. "There's also a huge chance Mystique's there with him, planning to take over the Brotherhood once again or possibly building a new team."

"And we wouldn't want that because…" Violette seriously considered throwing something at Gambit.

"Truce with the Brotherhood is something Charles has been working on for quite a while" Wolvie crossed his arms over his chest, raising a brow. "And do you really want to fight an organized group of villains on a weekly basis?"

"Touché."

---

"Be careful, okay?"

"Kurt, you don't even know where we're going. We could be raiding an ice-cream shop for all you know" Violette giggled, standing on her tip-toes to give him a reassuring kiss. "I will be."

"And you better not go down in the first three minutes" Kurt pointed an accusing finger at Alex as if it was all his fault that she had to go. "She needs someone to watch her back."

"Don't worry, mon ami" Remy smirked, shuffling his cards. "I'll bring her back in one piece."

"Be careful around him" Kurt leaned towards her ear, whispering. "If he gets too friendly, just go ahead and kick him in the balls. Nobody even likes him that much, liebchen."

"Kurt!" She gasped, slapping his arm.

"What? It's the truth!"

"Alright, lovebirds, it's time to go" Alex tugged her away from her boyfriend and lead his team to the Velocity.

"Alright, so, Havok, Pyro, you'll be team Alpha" They could hear Wolvie's voice coming from the speakers as Laura and Piotr sat behind the controls.

"Team Alpha, cool" John quickly looked down at his palm, where Violette could see a very crude redrawing of the plans they were showed earlier with a huge arrow pointing towards where the entrance should be.

"The other team will consist of the Louisianans."

"Well, it's obvious who the favorites are" Remy leaned in towards her, chuckling.

"Colossus, X, you're staying back for obvious reasons. If it gets too hot in there, you join in, but only if it's really, really necessary. You know what you're supposed to do?"

They all shouted various affirmatives.

"Good luck."

---

The first twenty minutes of their mission went great. Gambit took a quick look at the sealed door on the base's roof and blew off its handle, before spraying the opening with something. Faint red lasers became visible, in a shape of a simple 'x' across the whole door. Gambit took off his coat before grabbing her hand and slipping through one of the triangles between the edge of the opening and the lasers. Spectre focused on turning him invisible and shivered once his whole body disappeared. Once Gambit was safely on the other side and standing on a ladder leading up to the opening, he blew hot air onto the touchpad next to his hand and mimicked the greasy lines. The lasers disappeared and Spectre grabbed his coat with her right hand and flew down, careful not to let go of him. She could see a camera right in front of the ladder and took out the Polaroid camera Wolvie gave to her during the debrief. They walked towards the bottom of the cam, looking around for another.

"The end of the corridor, right" Gambit whispered, reaching blindly for her ear and landing his mouth underneath her eye.

"Bit to the left, ami" Spectre rose into the air and Gambit's hand ran down her body and stopped at her ankle. She took a picture and winced at the loud shutter, quickly taking it and shaking her hand, while feeling Gambit press something into her calf. She took the tape and carefully taped the picture to the lens, counting to three soundlessly before letting the picture become visible.

Nothing happened. They were still unnoticed.

"One down, at least thirty more to go" She sighed, slowly lowering herself so that they'd maintain physical contact. Even when he was invisible, she could still tell he was wearing his shit-eating grin. "We take care of that one and you stay behind in the secured hallways, got it?"
"I do know the plan, Spectre" She had to mentally restrain herself from punching him in the face at the way he said her alias.

Once they did the exact same thing to the second cam, Spectre started to fly through the hallways alone, giving Gambit the green light once she was sure they were secure. He informed the team on their progress, watching her back and making sure they weren't being followed.

Once they've reached the place where they assumed the control room would be, Gambit repeated his previous lock picking technique and opened the door. The guard behind the panel was chewing a burrito, his eyes not even looking up from the screen as he waved them in.

"Jackson" He swallowed the bite, before wiping his hands on his uniform. "I bet you twenty on Mets tonight, alright?"

"I'm not that big on baseball, mon ami" Before the guard could respond, Spectre grabbed the back of his head and hit his face on the desk in front of him. "I'm more of a football man myself."

"The more you know" Spectre sighed, shaking her head. "Team Alpha, we're in."

"Since when does Maggy use guards?" Gambit pushed the man down from his chair and sat in it, resting his feet on the control panel. "And human ones at that."

"Good question" She reached down, putting the man in a position where it would be easier for him to breathe. "Since when do the X-Men attack random humans?"

"Touché" He saluted, watching as the rest of their team walked in safely through the west entrance.

Spectre's hand reached to adjust her mask, halfway through realizing that she didn't have it on. The only part of her costume that she didn't want back when presented with the option to. She was over hiding her face.

She sat down in the chair next to Gambit's, brushing her hair back and freezing.

"Didn't the guy say something about a Jackson?"

Gambit's eyes widened and as if hearing his name, a man opened the door and pushed a humongous red button next to it as soon as he saw them.

Alarms went off and a flash of common sense prompted Spectre to smash the screens displaying security footage before a bunch of guards seized her. Gambit was trying to fight off the ones who tried to capture him, but in an enclosed space and with a literal crowd blocking the way to the exit, a bunch of them eventually piled up on him. Spectre tried to kick the men off her, but one of them caught her ankles.

Violette caught Remy's gaze before eyeing the smashed monitors. He glanced at them before looking back, nodding as his hands stopped glowing pink.

---

It was a bit cliché, what with her and Remy being tied together back to back, waiting for Magneto to show up and no doubt start a long, overly detailed speech about his plans for world domination or something.

The only difference was that instead of ropes, they use metal cuffs that covered most of Violette's forearms.

"I think I can open them the traditional way" Remy started to move his fingers around, trying to reach his back pocket and brushing against Violette's butt more often than she felt comfortable with. "Sorry."

"Just do what you have to" She rolled her eyes, before staring straight at the metal doors in front of her, waiting for Magneto to swoop in with his long red cape and the ridiculous helmet.

Instead of that, she was greeted with the sight of a normal guy in khakis and a polo shirt, carrying a baby in his arms and looking annoyed as heck.

"For heaven's sake" He sighed, rubbing his face with his free hand. The baby tugged at his shirt and the man sighed, putting it down. The baby stood up and started to walk towards them before he stopped it. "No, Luna, stay back. Pietro leaves her with me for one day, one day and you just have to show up."

Only then did Violette put two and two together and realized that this guy and Magneto were one and the same.

"Dziadziuś" Luna sighed with as much resignation as a toddler could muster and turned to face the man. "Cookie, please."

"I know I promised cookies skarbie, but dziadziuś is a bit busy now. I'll get you a cookie as soon as I'm done with these two" He patted her blonde hair and turned to the intruders. "These two are from Xavier's, you buffoons. They pose as much threat as a fly. Release them."

Violette and Remy watched in silence as the guards let them out of their restrains, before slowly getting up and massaging their sore wrists.

"Now, why are you breaking into my home?" Magneto stood in front of them in his Birkenstocks and honestly he somehow still looked intimidating.

"W-We-" Violette tried very hard to come up with something. "Well, it's suspicious when you have a large base with hundreds of guards and stuff."

"Since when do you have a toddler?" Remy crouched down, looking at Luna with fascination.

"She's Pietro's" Violette hit the back of his head to get him to focus on the problem at hand. "So yeah, we just thought you might be planning to take over the world or something."

"So you're a grandpa!" Remy started to laugh.

"The reason why I'm heavily guarded is that there arose a new threat" Magneto picked up Luna, walking out of the room. Violette and Remy looked at each other before following him. "I have to take care of my family, for once."

"What is that threat that you mentioned?" Violette looked around the kitchen they were lead into.

Magneto set Luna down on a chair and gave her a cookie from a porcelain cookie jar. It was bizarre.

"A team of mutants, unsurprisingly" He offered them both a cookie and Violette took one, while Remy refused. "They call themselves the Hellfire Club. They've been around for longer than any of us and finally decided to do something about the do-gooders that have been meddling with their plans for a while."

"You mean us" Remy leaned back in his chair before setting his feet on the table. Magneto smacked him with a rolled-up newspaper. "Okay, merde, I'm taking them off."

"Not only you, but also the people associated with you" Magneto brushed the crumbs off Luna's face. "That's why I'm living in a large base with hundreds of guards."

"Oh."

"Exactly" He sighed before standing up and handing them their communicators. "Now, could you tell your teammates to get the hell out of my home? You all are not as subtle as you'd like to believe."

---

Needless to say, they failed their mission.

"But we did find out a few things, mon ami" Remy threw himself into a chair, shedding his coat on the way.

"We did too" Alex put down a floppy disc, before taking a seat next to the Cajun.

"I'm all ears" Wolvie stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed over his chest. Violette was pretty sure he had to restrain himself from choking them all.

"An organization of upper-class mutants is basically trying to kill us all off" She stood behind Remy, leaning against the cool, metal wall to clear her head. "And I think Magneto retired from being a supervillain. He offered us cookies and just let us go" She asked Remy not to mention Luna. Pietro didn't exactly ask her to never tell anyone, but she wasn't one to advertise the fact that one of their ex-enemies had a child. He had enough on his mind.

"We might know why actually" John took the disc and inserted it into the main computer. A bunch of files appeared before he clicked on the one titled 'LD'. A school picture of Lorna pulled up on the screen, her age, name and home address all appearing on the screen. John started to scroll down. Alex suddenly became very interested in his own shoes. "Here's her birth certificate."

There didn't seem to be anything out of order with it. Her full name – seriously, who named their child Lorna Sally – date of birth, place of birth, names of her mother and father.

"What are we looking at, exactly?" Laura walked over to the computer, trying to find anything out of order.

"Her parents are Susanna Dane and Max Eisenhardt" Wolvie walked up next to John, his jaw set. "Going by aliases Eric Lensherr and Magneto."

They agreed to leave the issue of talking about it with Lorna to the Professor and swore not to tell anyone. Still, Violette felt as if she needed to tell Pietro. She had to stop herself from calling the Brotherhood as soon as she stepped out of the room and just made her way upstairs, planning on sleeping the bizarre mission off.

---

Kurt spent the day worrying about Violette and doing his homework. It was his senior year and he needed his grades to be as good as they were gonna get, after all.

He was in the middle of another session of worrying when something knocked on his window. He ported onto the balcony, surprised to see a raven pecking on his window.

A raven with eerily yellow eyes.

He stepped back and watched as it turned into his mother, ready to bolt at any moment.

"Kurt" She breathed out, something resembling a sad smile appearing on her face. "How are you?"

It was definitely the weirdest Kurt has ever felt.

"G-good" He nodded, swallowing. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to check up on you" She reached over to touch his cheek, retreating before her hand even brushed his skin. "And your sister?"

"Rouge's fine" She was better than fine, happier than Kurt has ever seen her but Mystique didn't need to know that. "Why-"

"Do you think we could see each other next week?" She looked scared and uncertain and Kurt has never seen the woman like that. She was always ready to strike, oozing power and confidence. Something inside him shifted. "I… I know you said you didn't want to have any contact with me, but… I just want to know what is going on in your lives."

He looked out onto the grounds, seeing the thin layer of snow slowly melt away. America looked so much different in winter than his homeland. Dirtier but also more welcoming. The winters he remembered were harsh but left the town looking innocent and straight out of a fairytale.

"Okay."

She nodded, smiling shyly. She left a card on the railing before turning back into a raven and flying away. Kurt took it into his hands, brushing his thumb over the phone number.

There was a knock on his door a second later and Kurt ported back in, yelling come in. Violette walked in and he immediately wrapped his arms around her, burying his nose in her hair.

"How did it go?" He asked, still hugging her as close to his body as possible.

"Got some info, nobody's injured, pretty good" Her nails scratched his back delicately, sending shivers down his spine. "Thought about seeing you before hitting the hay."

"I was so worried, but I'm glad you're okay liebchen" Kurt took a step back, looking her over, giving her a chance to notice the card still in his hand.

"What's that?" Before he had the chance to dismiss it she yanked it out of his grasp and looked it over. "Kurt, we're so talking about this after I've gotten some sleep."

Chapter 8: What Being Human Is All About

"No."

"Violette, could you just-"

"There's no way in hell I'm supporting you in this, Kurt Wagner" She should probably swallow her pride and tell him it was okay to want to reconnect with his mother, but she had a hard week and this was giving her a headache. "She's a psychotic bitch."

"She's my mother."

"Hardly and only through biology" The words were harsh but true and they both knew it. Still, they seemed to fall on deaf ears. Violette sighed, feeling defeated. "Rogue won't agree."

"I know" He sat on her bed, his whole posture deflating. "But still, I need to try. I want to try."

"You're crazy" She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his forehead, before resting her chin on the crown of his head. "I love you, you know?"

"I love you too" Kurt's arms wrapped around her middle, tugging her closer towards him, his nose bumping into her collarbone. "So please, just let me do it."

"I'm not your mother" And neither is she. "You don't need my permission."

---

"No."

"Rogue-"

"I said no."

Kurt sighed, sitting next to her on her bed. He bumped her knee with his, but she just scooted away.

"Please, Anna-"

"Don't you dare guilt trip me with my given name" But he already saw her shoulders slump.

"It's because I love you. I don't want you to regret not doing it later on in your life" He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her towards him. "We're siblings and I want you to be happy."

"The only thing that woman can bring me is misery, Kurt" The conversation was visibly over. Kurt stood up, his hand lingering on her shoulder. He slowly made his way out. "And I love you too, little brother."

He felt a small smile make its way onto his face. Maybe not all was lost.

---

The worst part about her problems with Kurt was that the closest thing among X-Men that she could call her best friend was Ray, and he was taking the whole UCLA and Senior Year thing incredibly seriously. Violette found him in the Institute's library, head first in a book about evolution.

She was about to open her mouth when Ray told her that he was sorry but he was way too busy for anything. She pouted and went off to find her next victim.

It's weird what an afternoon in a super villain's kitchen can do. For example, help form a weird friendship.

"He's an idiot."

"I know."

"Have you told him though, Violette?"

"Stop it with the overly-French pronunciation of my name, Remy" She rolled her eyes, landing another punch to the bag Remy was holding tightly. "He's going to get hurt and so will your girlfriend."

"Merde, she's not my girlfriend!" He pushed the bag away from his body and Violette jumped out of the way at the last minute as it swung widely. "Je suis désolé."

"It's okay" She began to take off her gloves, trying not to show how much it scared her. "Do you want to talk about it, or…?"

"Rogue isn't up for it" Remy sighed, scratching his head. "Said somethin' 'bout touchin' and my Cajun hands not bein' able to stop themselves and how it was better off this way."

"Ouch" Violette sat down on the bench, patting the space next to her. "And you actually like her."

"Oui" Remy sat beside her, leaning his head on her shoulder. "What should I do, Violette?"

"First, you stop mopping" She pushed his head away. "Especially on another girl's shoulder. Second of all, you talk some sense into her. She's into you, you're into her, skin-on-skin contact isn't everything. And third, are you really still smoking?"

"I'm sorry you can't, Violette."

"No, stop it, I'm supposed to be happy about not getting cancer."

"Remy'll try to air out from now on."

"See, you can be sweet when you put your mind into it" Violette stood up, picking up her bottle of water and taking a sip. "You just need to show her that."

"I did, many times" He took advantage of the empty bench and laid down on it, his hands covering his face. "The worst part, mon ami? It's not like she didn't flirt back."

"The only advice I can give you is to stay strong, Remy" She patted his shoulder and headed for the showers.

'Speaking of the devil' She thought as Rogue walked out of the elevator and jogged over

"Whatever he did, I didn't have anything to do with it."

"What?" The goth blinked a couple of times, stopping dead in her tracks.

"Sorry, thought you were about to blame me for something Gambit did."

"Why would Ah?"

"We're kind of friends I think" She shrugged, taking another sip from her bottle. "And he's not above blaming shit on others."

"Whatever" Rogue shook her head as if to clear her mind. "Ah need your help."

---

"Are you sure stalking is the best idea?"

"It's always the best idea" Rogue huffed, looking at the device in her hand. The small dot representing Kurt was moving steadily west.

"Yeah, no wonder Remy's into you" Violette said to herself, feeling weird behind the X-van's steering wheel. "Well, the bad news is that the road's ending."

They were basically in the middle of the woods.

"Good, cause he stopped moving" Rogue got out of the car and Violette followed her suit, running after her. "We'll keep tracking him on foot."

"Where did you even get that?"

"Ah looted through mission equipment" Keeping up with Rouge was a struggle. Violette had no idea how she walked so fast, maybe X Men training was just that much superior to New Mutants'. "Come on Violette, who knows what she might have set up!"

"A humble but sincere opportunity to reconnect with her child?" While she hated Mystique, Violette wasn't going to immediately assume the wors when it came to her intentions with Kurt. After all, it was her and the Brotherhood who ruined her efforts the last time.

"You can't possibly believe that!" Rogue walked towards the nearest clearing and froze. Violette trotted over and sighed.

In the middle of the clearing stood a humble lake house with a black SUV parked next to it. Violette peaked at the monitor of the tracking device and sure enough, it seemed like Kurt was inside.

"Somehow, I do."

---

It was the weekend. There was no way she was doing anything that important - he knew first hand that she liked to do her homework right after it was assigned, which freed up her weekends. So she was free. On a weekend.

'Seriously Jamie, there's no reason to overthink this so much.'

Except that maybe there was. Because it's not like she gave him any signals after Valentine's Day or something.

'She had no idea what the date meant.'

So maybe he was overthinking it.

She was sitting on the sofa with Tabby and Piotr, the older girl explaining Big Brother to them as they watched season 3 reruns.

"And Americans just watch it?" Piotr seemed clearly confused why they would do that.

"Not only them, big guy" Tabby smirked, putting her hand on his thigh. Laura seemed a bit uncomfortable, so Jamie didn't feel that bad about taking her aside. "A big chunk of the world does."

"Laura?" The girl snapped her head in his direction, but he got used to that by now. She just reacted very fast compared to other people. She wasn't pissed. At least he hoped so. "Uhm, can we talk for a second?"

Tabby smirked knowingly and even Piotr gave him an encouraging smile.

"Okay" Laura didn't move from her seat, just raised her eyebrow in waiting.

"Uhm, alone?"

She looked at the remaining two on the couch and when they didn't protest, she got off the couch and followed him to the kitchen.

"Do you maybe want to go see a movie today?" He said it way too fast. That's not how it was supposed to go.

"In an actual theater?" Her eyes lit up and he was reminded how cool those things had to seem to someone who wasn't used to them. "Yeah."

"Great" His voice cracked. Oh no, his voice cracked. "The only thing I remember they're playing is a rom-com though, we can see if there's anything-"

"What's a rom-com?"

---

Kurt shifted uncomfortably in the chair, wiping his hands on his pants. He thought that the beginning would be awkward, but actually sitting down with his mother and her girlfriend - something he didn't expect to find out today - to eat dinner was worse.

"I hope you like curry, Kurt" His mother walked in from the kitchen with a heaping bowl of rice in one hand and a tureen in the other. She placed both of them in the middle of the table and started filling up his plate.

"Uhm, sure, thank you" He smiled unsurely at the woman, taking his plate back from her.

They were about to start eating when somebody knocked on the door.

His mother quickly turned into her Principal Darkholme disguise and motioned for Kurt to do the same as she walked over to open it. Irene smiled warmly and as soon as Mystique opened the door, Kurt's jaw hit the floor.

"Uhm, hello Mystique" Violette uncertainly waved her hand. He could clearly see Rogue standing behind her, looking sheepish. "Kurt. A lady I don't know. Would you all believe us if we told you that we just randomly got lost in these woods or not?"

---

Jamie wasn't sure why Laura chose to see the rom-com after he explained what it was. And it wasn't like How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days sounded like an amazing movie with an incredible premise.

"So" He kicked a small rock that happened to be in his way. "What did you think?"

"It was enjoyable, I guess" She munched on the remaining popcorn. Somehow Jamie couldn't stomach anything during the movie, so their purchase of an extra large seemed a bit silly in hindsight. "Not my kind of a thing, I think. You?"

"Same here" He scrambled for anything that could save their outing. "Uhm, wanna check out the swings in this park?"

Laura seemed to be thinking about something very hard before she gave him a tentative yes. He wasn't really one to push people, so he just lead her to the playground. They sat next to each other and softly swung, watching people pass them by.

"Thank you" Jamie almost fell off his swing when he heard her break the silence. "For taking me out of the mansion. No one else tries to."

"Thanks for agreeing to hang out with me" Now's your chance dude. "Uhm, I really like you, Laura."

She seemed to contemplate what his words meant for a very long time. He had no idea that he could feel this warm in this chilly March air.

"I like you too."

Maybe it wasn't what he meant. It didn't matter. Because her smile at that moment was worth her not getting just how deeply he felt about her.

---

Logan lit up his cigar, looking through the files Fury sent him concerning the Hellfire Club. They were few and mostly empty, with as little as three confirmed names and no aliases.

Two of them, Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost didn't ring any bells. The blonde woman wearing all white looked like any generic Los Angeles beauty he's ever seen. There were no pictures connected to the man.

The third name however complicated things. Very much so.

In black, bold letters, 'Emmanuel DaCosta' drew his eyes back to the page.

Except for the pictures of Frost, everything else in the files concerns DaCosta, down to the last sentence on page 4.

His youngest son, Roberto DaCosta (alias: SUNSPOT), is currently enrolled in Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. (Suspected member).

Logan sighed, knowing that sooner rather than later he had to bring these to Chuck's office and talk to him about it. That he should encourage Charles to dig through the boy's mind, despite not believing that he had anything to do with the club.

He grabbed the papers and started to make his way to the elevator, dreading what was about to take place.

---

After that fiasco, Jamie turned to the only person he knew could help him.

"Give me a break, garçon."

"Remy, this time it's not French."

"I know."

The man was lying face down on his bed, his voice muffled by the pillow his face was buried in. Gambit's room was impeccable and appeared completely untouched as if a trace of him being in his own room would somehow stain his reputation. Jamie let himself in and refused to move from his spot on the carpet.

"She had no idea that I really like her and now I don't know how to explain it to her."

"What really liking means or that she had no idea?"

"Oh ha, ha, very funny."

Remy sighed and sat up, patting the space next to him. Jamie sat on the covers and waited for Remy to tell him something helpful.

"Give her some time, mon ami" He put his hand on Jamie's shoulder, squeezing. "Also, you've got any idea how to make Rogue change her mind?"

"Impossible" Jamie shook his head. "She'll either change her opinion on her own or never."

"Merde" Remy turned his back to Jamie and went back to suffocating himself among the covers. "Wake me up if she ever does."

---

Kurt didn't buy it.

"Why would you do that?" He insisted on driving the van with the girls both seating in the back seat. Maybe he learned that trick from Ororo, cause nothing made her feel more stupid than his eyes boring into her from the rearview mirror. "You don't want to contact her and I respect that, Rogue. I don't understand why you can't respect my decision to stay in touch with our mother. And you" His eyes moved back to Violette. "You're unbelievable. It doesn't concern you at all."

"If it concerns you, then it does" She tried to make herself smaller, hoping it would make her disappear from the mirror's range. "I can't let you get hurt."

"Same here" Rogue chimed in, resting her forehead on the surface of the cool window.

"Why won't you two treat me like an equal!" The van screeched to a holt and Kur turned to face them. "I'm not Jamie, stop treating me like I'm a child!"

That outburst completely shut Violette up. She closed her mouth and sat back, feeling as if he just punched her in the gut.

The remainder of the car drive was in complete silence, with Kurt slamming the door as soon as he got out of the car and porting to his room.

"Damn his flair for dramatics, he's going to wreck this car one day" Violette tried to lighten the mood, but Rogue didn't move an inch.

"Do you think he's gonna go back to hatin' me?"

"No" Violette put what she hoped to be a reassuring hand on the goth girl's shoulder. "He's probably mostly mad at me."

Rogue nodded and squeezed her hand with her own gloved one before exiting the van, leaving Violette alone in the garage. As soon as she walked out, Violette felt hot tears fall down her cheeks.

---

"Mon amour?" It was terrible, hearing these words leave his lips and knowing they could never truly have that. Not in the way both of them wanted. "Are you okay?"

"Ah'm not sure" She was standing in his doorway, her feet dragging her to his room without her conscious decision to do so.

"Rogue, did something happen?" He got off the bed and walked towards her, his height towering over her frame per usual.

She got so used to him being there when she was sad. When she felt like she screwed up and hurt Kurt. When the world seemed to be collapsing and closing in on her. She took a step forward and buried her face in his black T-shirt, her arms wrapping around his fully covered waist. She was awfully aware of her uncovered shoulders when he let his own arms circle around her, his hands touching the fabric on the small of her back.

"Oh, cherie" He sighed when she started to delicately shake with silent sobs. "You're really confusing this ol' Cajun heart of mine."

Chapter 9: You Won't Be Seventeen Forever

Violette woke up on April twelfth, two-thousand-and-three, eighteen and full of existential dread. She felt as if she should have it all figured out by now. Ray seemed to know what he was doing. She knew Jean and Scott surely had their futures planned out since kindergarten. Kurt wanted to take a gap year. Hell, Bobby knew what he wanted to study and he was a year below her. Most of them would be getting into colleges, but what about her?

She laid in bed for another twenty minutes, staring at the ceiling. Something seemed to be choking her, four words she didn't want to admit to herself.

Jean studied at NYU School of Medicine. Scott was studying Adult Learning & Leadership at Columbia, and what she was going to do after high school?

"I don't know" She whispered, getting that sudden, cold feeling in her chest. She looked at her alarm clock and sighed, knowing she had twenty minutes before she had to get ready for the morning training session. She decided to use that time to maybe be the first in line for the bathroom for once.

Her mother never did anything with herself and ended up dependent on an abuser.

The hot water pounding against her skin pushed the thoughts away, relaxing her aching muscles. The training she did with X-Force was three times harder than the one she got used to while in the New Mutants. She still felt like it was the two weakest links leading pros when it came to Alex and her. Wolvie could try as hard as he wanted to make it all feel organic, but they were still stuck with figuring out how to stop Pyro, Gambit, and Laura from trying to complete the simulations on their own.

"How's being eighteen?" Laura asked her as soon as she stepped back into their room.

Violette started to brush her hair and looked herself over in the mirror, willing to see any kind of change at all. She always imagined herself to be a bit more… grown up by the time she would be eighteen.

"Not that different from when I was fifteen" Her brush got stuck in a knot at the back of her head. She cursed under her breath and started to tug it out. "Have you ever thought about what you're going to do once you're an adult."

"There was only one option until recently."

Violette cursed herself for talking about the future with someone who never imagined they'd have one.

They stayed silent until they ran into St. John in the elevator.

"Feelin' ol' yet?" He smirked, bumping his shoulder into Violette's.

"A bit."

He tried to talk their ears off, but she opted to look straight ahead. When the elevator door opened her eyes immediately met Remy's.

"Bonne fête" He nodded, poking her side with his bo staff.

"What is it with men and inflicting bodily harm on someone's birthday?" She rolled her eyes, adjusting her top. "Merci."

Piotr gave her a birthday hug and Alex wished her less training sessions.

"No way, Casper" Of course Logan decided to walk in at that moment. Alex turned red and turned to face the wall. "But it is your eighteenth, so you choose the mode."

---

Jamie cornered Laura right after her training session.

"I need your help" He tried to focus on the problem at hand and ignore the part of him that wanted to focus solely on her. "I wanted to do something for Violet's birthday. Ray and Tabby are driving me to the mall after school, I need you to keep an eye on her at all times. I know you can do it and not be found out and that would mean a lot to me."

"Okay" Laura nodded and gave him a small smile upon seeing his huge grin.

"You're the best" He couldn't stop himself from hugging her and shivered when her arms wrapped around his waist. "I owe you one!"

Jamie untangled himself from her and waved, tripping over his own feet as he was rounding the corner and splitting in two.

---

Things between her and Kurt were still tense, so she certainly didn't expect him to barge into her room completely unannounced. Laura's crawls were at the ready and Violette shot energy out of the tips of her fingers faster than she could process the image of her boyfriend.

"Fuck!" She yelled as Kurt hissed, rubbing his arm. "Jesus, Kurt, it's a burn you're only making it worse!"

"Don't worry, fur got the most of it" He sighed. "Probably should've thought this through, ja?"

"With us being straight out of training? Definitely" She wanted to wrap her arms around him, bury her face in his chest and forget about any and all problems they had. She longed for the closeness she jeopardized by not trusting him to make his own decisions. It was stupid. It was childish. Of course, it was something she did. "Hi, by the way."

"Happy birthday" He leaned in and kissed her cheek, but there was underlying stiffness in the gesture. Violette locked eyes with Laura, whose brows furrowed as she grabbed her bag and walked to the door.

Great, bet he also reeks of misery.

"You promised you'd celebrate this one properly" Kurt's fingers on her shoulder kept creeping up as if to avoid accidentally touching the exposed skin on her arm. She knew that move. He used it before. "So, how do you feel about going out after school?"

She wanted to think of it as him extending a hand to her to mend things back together, but it wasn't like that. This was a duty, he felt as if he had to do it.

"I don't think I'm up for it" She gave him a sad smile. "'m not feeling well."

Something shone in his eyes before he nodded and turned on his image inducer. He gave her a smile and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Low blow.

She hoped Ray had a free spot in the van.

---

He didn't.

Violette opted to fly instead of taking the seat Rahne offered to her. It wasn't an awfully long journey, but just enough to make her tired. Ray and Jamie both sent her worried looks, but she turned invisible and flew off.

The wind against her face made her eyes water and she suddenly missed her old mask. It helped keep her eyes from drying out. It certainly didn't help with how she was feeling.

She noticed a newsstand right below her. Before she knew it, for the first time in her life she was buying cigarettes legally.

She welcomed the familiar taste, letting the motions of smoking calm her down.

When did my life turn back to shit?

The remaining walk to Bayville High was spent going through the pack and making sure to look around before she lit the cigarettes with small zaps.

She smoked four before stepping on campus and putting the pack safely in her pocket.

---

Laura was the first one to find her at school during the first recess between classes.

"You smoke?"

"I used to" The pack suddenly felt heavy in her pocket. "Don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Logan will know."

"I'm prepared for that" She sighed, stopping and turning to look at her roommate. "Did you want something?"
"You're feeling awful. And look like it."

"Thanks, you don't need to be this kind on my birthday" Violette raised her eyebrow. "Since when do you care that much about me?"

Laura's cheeks flushed and her mouth tensed. There was something there alright.
"Just talk to someone. I don't want our room to reek of misery."

Violette watched Laura disappear into the crowd of students before shaking her head and walking towards the girl's locker room.

She thanked God for the fact that Kurt has been excused from gym class indefinitely thanks to an imagined injury. The last thing she wanted to do was spend an hour looking at him while he worked out when things between them were this tense.

As soon as the next recess started, Violette flew to the bleachers while invisible, hoping that would be enough to keep away from her housemates.

As if to mock her, the universe placed Lorna in Violette's favorite spot underneath them.

"What are you doing here?" She asked the green-haired mutant, the grip she had on her pack tightening.

"Alex said he had no idea where you'd be, so I asked Kitty and she told me Kurt wouldn't know either and that I should ask Tabitha, she also had no idea but she mentioned that you used to be a smoker and that I should try the school's smoking spots."

"Fuck" Well, no need to hide it then. She took a cig out and lit it up, sighing. "Just don't tell them I'm doing this. And why would you be looking for me?"

"Sure" Lorna's eyes moved to Violette's sneakers. "I heard that you used to work for Magneto."

"No" Violette blew the smoke out, flicking the ashes off. "I worked for Mystique, who worked for Magneto, get your facts straight. Remy, Piotr, and St. John worked for Magneto. They know him way better than I do."

"You lived with my siblings."

Violette's hand froze on its way to put the cigarette back in her mouth.

"I used to room with Pietro" It was like a knife to the heart, the thought of her days in the Boarding House. The bond she formed with the boys, sullied by the woman who brought them together. "I've lived with Wanda for maybe two weeks. I'm not gonna talk about their lives, you can ask them yourself. Or go to Rogue, she can tell you about Pietro."

"I just want to know one thing" Lorna finally met her eyes and to her, the kid looked lost and way younger than she actually was. Violette could see the resemblance now – Pietro tried to keep his feelings bottled up inside, but his eyes always gave him away. Lorna was maybe more open with her feelings, but looking into her eyes felt like staring straight into her soul. Violette diverted her gaze. "Are they really… Evil?"

Something inside Violette broke and the question felt like a slap to her face. It was as if she was suddenly aware of where she was and how much time had passed. Why would she think that?

"You're scared of turning into your father" Violette answered her own question and didn't need to wait for Lorna's confirmation. Who gave her the idea that they're evil? Did someone talk about them behind my back? After all this time, after Apocalypse? "They're not. Never were. Don't worry, lack of both conscience and a soul isn't hereditary. Besides, they've got a more important thing on their plates than plotting the end of the world."

She didn't plan on saying more about them but chose to disclose something else.

"Jamie's father killed our mother" She never really acknowledged that. Everyone who was there at the Institute during her recovery knew that through the grapevine, including the Brotherhood. She didn't bother telling it to anyone since it was none of their business. She tried to think as little about her mother as possible and maybe that was finally catching u to her. She let go of the cig and stomped it out. "He is a fucking monster. And there's no way Jamie will grow up to be him."

Violette patted the girl's shoulder and made her way back to the school, leaving the pack behind.

---

Taking German as a foreign language seemed like the worst idea at the times when she wanted to forget about Kurt. Thank God none of her fellow students had even a hint of a god accent, otherwise, she'd surely be bawling by now. What was worse though, was having Home Economics with Kurt as her desk partner. Passive-aggressive cupcake baking resulted in Kitty-quality baked goods at best.

He was already standing next to the table when she arrived and gave her a tense smile. She refused to give one back, instead, ripping the textbook he was hiding behind out of his hands, not letting him protest before spilling what was running through her mind for the past week.

"I'm sorry, okay?" She sighed, setting the book next to her. "And I've told you I'm sorry numerous times. If that's not enough then tell me, but don't try to fake normalcy. I'm not an idiot."

He closed his mouth, his hands closing around the space where the book used to be as if he needed a crutch. Violette raised her brow, waiting.

"I don't need a mother" He finally said, looking her straight in the eye. "I've got plenty as we both know."

"And I'm sorry for that, but I can't help but constantly be worried about people I love" Although they both already said it before, the word somehow felt foreign after the week. "It's not that I think you're incapable of taking care of yourself, it's that I don't trust Mystique because I've known her for years. Hell, I've known her way longer than you do. I've been on the receiving end of her 'care', and when it came to it, we were alone, with nothing to fall back on. You weren't in Bayville when we had to come to the Institute because Todd was dying and there was no other place for us to turn. Although there was no way we'd have felt safe there. And I don't want that for you. Cause I feel like she's going to disappoint, hurt and leave you."

It was too much for a classroom. It was too personal, too raw. Before Kurt could say something, the teacher burst into the class, apologizing for being late.

The second the bell rang Kurt grabbed her arm to prevent her from fleeing. She didn't even notice the fact that that's what she was readying herself to do. Sharing her feelings felt like oversharing with every passing second of silence, and she was after an hour without a response. He knew her too well.

"Okay."

It's enough to lift the weight off her shoulders and make her relax.

"Maybe I'm feeling alright after all. Wanna go to Gut Bomb for lunch?"

He gave her a smile, this time a real one, and she felt as if she could breathe again.

---

Jamie felt anxious as he sat in the backseat of the X-Van. Tabitha was playing with the radio, still unsure whether she wanted to pick something from the stack of CDs stashed in the glove compartment. Ray looked ready to snap and just choose himself.

"So, Jamie" Ray glanced at him through the rear-view mirror for a second. "You have any idea what you want to get for her?"

Jamie's hand closed around his backpack, suddenly feeling shy and unsure about his idea.

"Y-Yeah" He nodded, doubt filling his guts. He needed to change the subject. "Tabby, what about A Flock of Seagulls?"
"Y'all are closeted New-wave lovers, you can hide behind your Radiohead but I know you boys secretly listen to Duran Duran" She giggled, taking the CD out of its casing and putting it in. "But I'm skipping to Space Age Love Song."

Ray sighed and rolled his eyes, but Jamie could clearly see the smile that was forming on his face.

---

Bobby watched as Violette tried to hide the enormous grin that appeared on her face when they all yelled surprise. They all knew the detached, cold demeanor was just an act, but she still put it up every once in while for some reason. He watched as she turned around to face Kurt and how his eyes lit up when they met hers. The pure adoration visible on his face. He could see the same look on Sam's face whenever he looked at Rahne, hell, he could see it on Scott's face whenever Jean was around. He turned to look at Jubes, really look at her, and found nothing. She was his best friend of course, but the longer he looked at her, the more he realized there was never a time when he wanted to do anything with her they already weren't doing. Never even thought of kissing her. He did love her, but it was the same love he had for his brother – unconditional, but platonic.

So why was I so bent on dating her?

He didn't feel ready to answer that, so he just cheered when his ex-teammate blew out the candles.

---

"I got you something" Jamie let out a huge breath, before shoving the album into her hands. "I may have stolen some of your private photos but it was all for a good cause I swear!"

Violette swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, caressing the cover. It was cheesy to give her something that was purple in color, but it was from Jamie so she loved it even more, knowing it came from a place of love. She was stalling, knowing that what was inside could bring back the same thoughts she had in the morning. What was worse, it could make her think about her parents. Since Jamie was suddenly thrust back into her life, she rarely thought about them. She knew they were gone, so it seemed pointless to think about them, there was nothing she could do to save them now. That train of thought seemed heartless, but she did what she had to do in order to keep her heart intact. She never even gave it a passing thought that she was officially an orphan.

She knew her mother would understand, cause that's the type of woman she was – understanding, full of unconditional love. She didn't bat an eye when her daughter started to float above the ceiling. She didn't even look surprised. Maybe there was a history of mutants in her family, but Violette had no way of knowing it now.

She had no idea what her father would think of it all. She barely remembered him, the hazy image of a man, surely influenced by the photo she had of him, talking to her being her only memory.

And sure enough, the first picture that greeted her was the one she had with her father. It looked beaten and ancient against the stark white page of a new photo album. She let her pointer finger brush against the face of a man she never had the chance to really know.

"There are some newer ones too" Jamie stepped closer to her and skipped a few pages, but her eyes still found the photograph she also kept with her through the years. She used to look at it every night, quietly apologizing. But now Jamie was no longer five and stood as tall as her, ready to grow even more.

He stopped on a page with a photo of her previous team unwinding at the pool. She stood next to Ray, both of them standing with their arms crossed over their chests and giving Roberto judging looks as he flexed. The sentence written below was the thing that grabbed her attention first, though.

'Sometimes it seems like Ray is her actual long-lost brother. May 2002'

It was written in French.

Her eyes were immediately wet and any words of thanks she had disappeared.

"How?"

"Remy's been helping me" Jamie pointed at the man standing next to them, no doubt eavesdropping on their conversation. "Wait, let me think… We became friends."

Violette wrapped her arms around her brother, a huge smile on her face. Remy helpfully took the album out of her hands, so she could give Jamie a better hug.

"You're the best brother I could ever hope to have."

"I mean I know a bit, but that was way too fast."

She laughed, squeezing him once more before taking a step back and lunging herself into Remy's unsuspecting arms.

"Merde!" He instinctively caught her, chuckling. "No need t'jump me, Violette. Doubt your boyfriend will appreciate that, hm?" 

---

"Is this not bothering you at all?"

Rogue glanced up from the cup of soda she was nursing to see Violette and Remy hug and chuckle about something with Jamie right next to them.

"No" She shook her head and looked at her brother. "Should it?"

"Come on, he's a total flirt!" Kurt huffed and sat next to her on the couch.

"Yeah" There was no going around that, she knew it. It was Remy's natural state, for God's sake some of the aspects of his mutations were light subliminal suggestions and strong empathy, he was born a great flirt. But she also knew there was more bark than bite behind his words. "But it's Violette. He's not into your girlfriend if that's what you're worried about."

They could both hear them exchange some words in French.

"Are you worried he's got more in common with her than you?"

She hit the nail right on the head. Kurt averted his gaze.

"Well, they do" She shrugged. "Both part Cajun, French-speaking, knew each other briefly when they were kids, villainous past, now are a part of the same team. Thing is, that's a bit too much for anything beyond a platonic relationship in my opinion. Plus they'd drive each other crazy."

"You can't know that."

"Oh, I'm positive" Rogue drank the remaining contents of her cup in one go and turned towards him. "She loves you a lot, Kurt."

"This past week made me wonder whether it's enough" He sighed, running his hand over his face. "She just runs blindly after me. What if I was actually in danger? I know it was actually your idea, but you're not her."

"I think you two are way too worried about each other right now" She patted his shoulder. "And you still haven't told me why I should be bothered by Remy being a flirt."

"Oh come on, Rogue" Kurt rolled his eyes. "I'm foreign, not stupid." 

---

"Violette" Sam's head popped out from behind the corner. "A call for ya."

Her eyebrow rose as she excused herself from the conversation. She took the phone out of Sam's hands and pressed it to her ear.

"Yeah?"

"Happy birthday, V" She could feel her throat close up. "Bet you didn't see that coming."

"No" She chuckled. "How's Luna?"

"Oh, she's great" She could hear Pietro saying something away from the phone. "Heard you two ran into each other."

"Yeah, she probably wouldn't remember."

"Nah, she does" She could hear his smirk. "Actually, she's got something to say to you, don't you, Luna?"

"'Appy birday!" Violette could feel tears well up in her eyes. Could it possibly mean that she was forgiven for leaving them? At least a bit?

"Thank you, sweetheart" She smiled, looking at Kurt, who was currently talking to Rogue about something.

"So, Violette" Pietro was back on the phone and suddenly there was obvious restraint in his voice. "I've been talking to the guys and maybe… You'd like to come by sometime? Meet Luna properly and all that. Maybe next week?"

"Yeah, I'd love that. And thanks."

"No problem, see ya, V."

Chapter 10: It'll Take a Village to Make a Man of Me, So Why Couldn't You Love Me?

Notes:

I'm a failure when it comes to uploading but oh well, I never forgot about this story and I still want to finish it. Also go listen to Raleigh Ritchie's new song Time in a Tree, it's divine.

"I should go with you just to fuck with 'em" St. John chuckled and earned himself a slap on the arm from Amara. "Ouch, what's that for?"

"Being an asshole" The younger girl furrowed her brows before turning to Violette. "Why are you all suddenly okay with each other again?"

Violette bit her tongue before saying that she couldn't lose her closest friend's daughter's childhood. Pietro never said whether it was okay for the others to know, so she never mentioned it.

In the back of her head, the voice present there since the beginning of the Apocalypse fiasco whispered that the less people knew the safer she was.

There was a sudden sharp pain in her head, replacing her thoughts with suffering. She closed her eyes, her fingers closing around the roots of her hair, her knees buckling. Tears sprung to her eyes and spilled down her cheeks in hot streams and two seconds later she collapsed to the floor, the pain in her head completely gone.

She shifted her eyes to Jin, whose fingers were gripping Amara's shoulder after he tried to stop her from falling. They too were on the floor looking worse for wear.

"What was that?" Amara chocked out, rubbing the center of her forehead in slow circles.

As if he heard her, the Professor sent them all a telepathic message.

It's Jean, nothing to worry about.

"Nothing to worry about, yeah right" Violette rolled her shoulders a couple of times, already feeling exhausted after only three hours out of bed. "I'm glad I'm getting away from here for the day, let me tell you."

---

It felt a bit weird to walk to the Boarding House's porch with Violette next to her. Kitty got so used to doing this alone, being the only one really interacting with them, but this felt as if Violette was imposing on something that was Kitty's. Even though Kitty thought she should feel the opposite.

The smile that lit up Fred's face when he opened the door only proved that to her.

"Violette!" He hugged her and Kitty just stood there, watching. Something in her stomach churned. "Oh, hi Kitty. Lance's upstairs."

Fred lead them to the living room, where Todd was watching Oprah and sketching her face while she talked with a cancer survivor. He immediately abandoned the drawing to instead great Violette. And then Kitty.

Wanda walked into the room with Luna in her arms and finally Kitty felt welcome in the house. Luna twisted out of her aunt's grip to run over to her and give her a quick hug.

"Tat!" She had a trouble with Cs and Ks that sounded similar to the one in Kitty's name and substituted them with Ts. Pietro and Lance decided to dodge a bullet by teaching Luna to call her Cat. Todd huffed about them ruining all of the fun in his life but agreed that Luna calling her 'Titty' would get old pretty fast.

"Hi, pumpkin" Kitty smiled, knowing if it was going to get worse she would ad least have the Brotherhood girls. "How's it going, Wanda?"

"It's alright" She shrugged, before nodding to Violette in greeting. She sat down next to Kitty and whispered quietly into her ear. "They're all freaking out."

As if to punctuate her words, Lance fell down the stairs, quickly dusted himself off and gave them all a chuckle.

Fucking dork.

Kitty knew it would be ridiculous to get jealous over the way Lance looked at Violette. They all looked at her this way and it had everything to do with being a family way back when. It wasn't the least bit romantic in nature.

But it was full of emotion and that's what scared her.

The only time Lance would express his emotions would be accidental. The sudden kick of honesty Apocalypse gave him disappeared within a week and prompted him to build even bigger walls up. She knew it wasn't really all her fault – his childhood, Mystique, hell Violette all had a bigger hand in building them, but Kitty herself helped him keep his guard up.

You're nothing but a hood.

She looked down at the child in her hands, babbling away and using the few words she knew to tell Kitty about what she did that week.

Pietro was still nowhere to be found, but Kitty didn't want to ask about it. She hated the fact that she was happy that Violette at least wasn't getting attention from him at the moment.

---

Pietro cursed Nick Fury silently, praying that it wouldn't finally be the day that he was found out. The news of his new mission came around four am but as always he was already up and getting ready for his morning practice after checking up on Luna. By five am he was waiting for the chopper at the meet up point, the black leather suit still feeling like a Wolverine costume on his body, even after the four months of using it.

It was a solo mission, which happened every now and again – usually it was him, Wanda and surprisingly Todd, since Freddy and Lance weren't really useful in stealthy recons. And to be honest Pietro liked it that way, that almost always there was a B-hood member watching over his daughter, keeping her safe. Fury even scheduled training sessions as a rotation of threes.

This week on Monday it was going to be Quicksilver, Blob and Avalanche, on Tuesday Blob, Avalanche and Toad, Wednesday Avalanche, Toad, and Scarlet Witch, Thursday Toad, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver, and on Friday Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Blob. Next week it will be completely different. Weekends mostly off, two week days completely off from official training, two weeks between training sessions in an identical squad, only once a month a training session for the entire Brotherhood. It kept them on their toes and helped them get more in tune with each other by being forced to work without some of the powers they would otherwise rely on. Pietro honestly never really tried to work together with anyone besides Wanda on the battlefield and now here he was, forced to rely on the pure brute forces of Freddy's muscles and Lance's earthquakes.

The chopper stopped a foot above the ground and Pietro climbed in with the help of Nick Fury's extended hand.

"Quicksilver" The man had half of a burning cigarette in his hand and flicked of the ash carelessly. "A quick recon. I want you in and out immediately. Map out the place. Most importantly" Fury reached in the bag next to him, taking out something that looked incredibly familiar to Pietro. "You have to wear this."

It was a helmet, similar to the one his father had.

"Telepaths?" He took the helmet and turned it over in his hands. "I hope I'm not breaking into Xavier's."
"No" Fury took a drag. Pietro's nose wrinkled at the smoke taking up the space of the closed chopper. "Actually, the info you're retrieving now will go to Xavier's after HQ's edit. This in an elitist mutant organization, targeting their own kind first and foremost."

Pietro didn't ask for more information, knowing he wouldn't be given any. Working for SHIELD meant not asking too many questions.

---

Lance felt incredibly tense watching Violette play with Luna. It was as if two different parts of his life collided. The last time Violette was a major part of his life they were all low-level criminals but they all had to change for the small human – probably mutant, but Luna didn't appear to have any powers for now – who still put everything in her mouth.

Todd grabbed a doll out of Violette's hand with his tongue, causing Luna to break into a fit of giggles.

Violette was still a picture of his past. Despite living in the fancy mansion she stayed the same – wearing thrift shop clothes, silently observing the B-hood before striking with a snappy comment. Luna on the other hand was a pristine dream in pastel, dotted on by everyone in the room because of her bright, bubbly self.

He used to think that Violette was destined to stay with them. The more he thought about it now, the more he couldn't believe how naive he was. They were a dead end for the girl, too angry and hurt to let her evolve. If it wasn't for Luna they'd still be giving Violette the silent treatment or worse, let her, Kitty and the X-geeks take on Apocalypse on their own.

Todd barely missed a small blue energy strike. Luna stared in awe at Violette's glowing fingertip.

He shuddered, his hand automatically closing tighter around his girlfriend's hip.

He wasn't going to lose Kitty again. He only just got her back.

---

It was already past four when he got back home. The recon itself was short, but the debriefing after took hours. He just wanted to take a shower and hug his daughter before collapsing on the floor.

He completely forgot that Violette would be there.

"Hi" She stood in the middle of their living room, delicately bouncing a napping Luna in her arms. "Lance and Kitty went to pick up some food. Are chicken nuggets okay with you?"

It like being transported into a bizarre alternate universe, one where nothing ever went to shit between them. He was at a loss for words, so he just nodded.

---

"Do you want her to come back?"

He quickly glanced at her before pulling into the Gut Bomb parking lot.

"What kind of a question is that?"

Kitty sighed, adjusting her ponytail.

"I mean, are you considering asking her to come back?"

"Of course not" Lance shrugged, picking a spot nearest the entrance. As soon as the brake was secure and the engine off he shifted to face her. "Besides, it's not like she'd want to."

Her gaze must have given her away, because Lance seemed to get that it wasn't the point.

"We all miss her sometimes, but I guess it must be the same thing you feel about your parents" He brushed her hair away, tucking it behind her ear. "We wouldn't want to go back to living with her. We've all gotten our lives together without each other. It's just nice to have her around every once in a while."

She could relate to that. She could understand that. Kitty took a deep breath and released it slowly.

"I hope their salads have gotten better."

"Me too Kitten, if only for your sake."

---

The moment Violette stepped back inside the mansion she was cornered by Tabitha.

"How is he doing?"

The younger girl seemed a bit remorseful about the way she treated Pietro. They both knew he was an asshole but being an asshole back never resolved any issues.

"Great, actually" She didn't mention Luna. It wasn't her business, after all. "They found a job with S.H.I.E.L.D. and are making a decent living now."

"I don't want to go back to how it was" Tabitha crossed her arms over her chest, sighing. "But I do still care, you know?"

Violette nodded, squeezing her shoulder before going upstairs.

"So, how was it?"

She expected him to be there when she opened the door to her room.

"Like any meeting involving a two year old. Full of saliva, toys and chicken nuggets" She shrugged, her arms looping around Kurt's neck. There was this weird feeling inside her chest, like a balance she didn't remember lacking was restored. "But I'll be back there soon so it couldn't have been that bad, right?"

Chapter 11: And I'm Seeing Four Of Us, But We Came In With Five

Notes:

Title from Raleigh Ritchie's The Greatest, because I'm very obsessed with his music.

"Jean?"
She blinked a couple of times, her vision clouded as if she's just gotten out of a dark room and into sunlight. Her ears popped and she could suddenly hear the blaring alarms, see her teammates rushing around.
"Jean, are you alright?" Scott brushed her cheek with his hand and she caught it, leaving a small kiss on his palm.
"Yeah, I'm okay" She stood up, almost immediately stumbling.
"You don't seem okay" Scott caught her around the middle, supporting her weight. "Maybe you should sit this one out?"
"Nonsense" Jean pushed his hand away, following Rogue out of the room. "Don't worry about me, Scott. It's nothing."

---

The New Mutants were rushing to the lower levels to safely wait for the situation to escalate. For now only the original team were readying for battle, as X-Force were taking advantage of the weekend on an out of state training session with Logan. Mr. McCoy briefed them on the incident, a group of unknown mutants involved in an art gallery heist. All of them connected to an individual known as Emma Frost. The Professor sat next to him, intensely looking at the table in front of him before raising his hand.

"Emma Frost is part of an organization known as the Hellfire Club" He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "If anything happens, we don't want the New Mutants to get involved. They have an immediate connection to the group."

"We have a mole?" Everyone turned to Kitty, who just shrugged. "What, it sounds cool."

"We doubt any of them really work for the Hellfire Club" The Beast looked at the Professor, who just nodded. "It's a familial connection. We think they're an unwilling informant."

The news seemed to dampen the X-Men's enthusiasm. They went over their battle plan with Storm and went on their way. Nobody said a word as they sat in the Blackbird, all of them lost in their own thoughts.

---

Violette sighed, crawling out of the tent she shared with Laura.

"Was the horn really necessary?" St. John stuck his head out of his and Remy's tent.

"Get out of the tent, candlewick" Logan stood in the middle of the meadow they were camping on. Unsurprisingly, Laura stood right next to him. "And take card-boy with you."

"Funny" Remy yelled from the tent as Violette made her way to Logan. "Let Remy put on his boxers before he laughs, though."

Alex stumbled out of his tent and stood next to her, Piotr right behind him. St. John yawned and stretched out before joining them, scratching his chin.

Remy finally joined them, clad only in boxers and socks.

"Okay, X-Force" At least they weren't "the Other Team" anymore. "Twenty push ups, right away."

They all – except for Laura and Piotr of course – groaned, slowly getting on the ground. Violette finished last, cursing her P.E. teachers for never expecting girls to actually do any excersizes.

"Put on your shoes, we're going on a run."

"What?" Alex turned onto his back. "I hate this trip already."

After putting on their shoes they obediently ran after Logan, cursing under their breaths.

"Do you think we're gonna get any free time at all?" She leaned back towards Piotr, who was closing their column.

"Maybe after lunch" He shrugged but didn't seem confident at all.

---

The second they stepped through the door of the gallery they were surrounded. Scott was prepared for that, fighting off goons in plain masks. The blonde woman they identified as Emma Frost was stood at the top of the steps leading to upper levels, her demeanor matching her last name perfectly. He could see Nightcrawler porting around, helping other X-Men with Shadowcat hot on his heels, using her powers to throw the goons off. Rogue was mostly using her hand-to-hand combat skills, using their surroundings to her advantage, climbing onto platforms used to display installations to gain leverage against their attackers.

He lost Jean.

As soon as he realized that she wasn't there with them, all of his senses shut down. He was surrounded by darkness, his ears ringing. He could swear he was standing on the floor just seconds ago, but now he was floating in the darkness. He had no idea how long it lasted, but it felt like hours and seconds at the same time.

The moment his sight came back he sat up, glad to feel the floor beneath him. The rest of the team seemed to be in the same state of shock as Scott, all of them visibly shaken up.

"Where's Jean?" Kitty turned to him, because he was the leader, he should have this under wraps.

He should know that.

---

They did get half an hour of free time after lunch that Violette spent napping with St. John and Alex. She dreamed about a romantic camping trip with Kurt. Things were getting heated in their tent, until sharp claws ripped through the sides and Logan shoved his air horn in between them. She was woken up by Piotr delicately shaking her arm.

"Trouble back home" He explained, helping her get off the sleeping mat she put on the grass.

"Something happened to the mansion?" She was awake within seconds, flashes of the ruin she thought Jamie was buried under already making her panic.

"No, the X-Men need help with their mission" Logan picked up his tent and just threw it into Velocity. "Red was captured by a hostile pro-mutant group, they need back-up. Just throw your things in and sort through them on the way back."

Violette nodded, taking her mat and getting on board as Laura picked up their tent. She crawled inside when Laura sat it down and took out her sleeping bag, rolling it up. Logan already turned on the engines before John got onboard, pulling his shoe on.

"At least this hell is over."

"For now" Logan threw behind his shoulder, taking off.

When they finally touched down back in Bayville there was no time to unpack, so they just threw their things into the hallway, already suited up. John left his tanks outside of the planning room under Logan's death glare.

"'S not like you give us printed out scripts of the missions, mate" He shrugged and stepped behind Laura, leaning towards the girl. "Your da's a mongrel."

"Sure" Laura rolled her eyes, but kept her military style stance. Violette chuckled, patting him on the back.

"Not the right person to bother during briefings, mate."

"Yeah, sheila's a stick in the mud" He sighed, leaning against Piotr. "Thank God I've got you lot."

Remy and Alex chuckled as the X-Men – sans Jean – walked into the room.

---

It was a pretty standard rescue mission – get in, get out, come back with one more than you left with. What wasn't expected were two things. The source of their knowledge of the enemy base, and Violette's role in it.

The base layout they had was a gift from S.H.I.E.L.D., a map made by the one and only Quicksilver. She shuddered at the thought of Pietro not coming back to his daughter, something that was still an option as long as he worked for the government.

They had to take both the Blackbird and Velocity. Problem was, Velocity didn't have the same camouflage mechanisms that Blackbird had. Mainly, the cloaking technology.

Because of that, Spectre had to stay on board during the whole mission to preserve energy.

Cause she had to fly them in. Invisible.

Violette thought it was crazy. Kurt thought it was crazy. Hell, Pyro thought it was crazy, and the guy was insane. But Logan still insisted, and that's how Violette found herself standing in the middle of the Velocity, shaking out her wrists and trying to calm down.

"We're approaching enemy territory" She heard Scott's voice over the com and took a deep breath. She knealed down, bracing her hands against the floor of the jet. "Spectre, wait for my mark."

She channeled all of her focus into the tips of her fingers, ready to encapsulate the jet and everyone around her in her powers. She hoped she could keep it up long enough.

"Now!"

The second she did it she felt faint, but pushed through the strain. It didn't seem like anything happened, until the interior of the jet started to fade away along with her teammates.

"Velocity, you're gone."

Steering them was the only person they trusted with remembering the exact layout of the controls, Laura. Violette didn't even feel a tremor of uncertainty as they followed the coordinates given to them by Scott. Her whole arms were starting to tremble.

"Hate to be that guy, but are we there yet?" She heard Alex to her right, felt his presence through her powers. He was a good leader, probably worried about her spreading herself too thin.

"Just a few hundred miles left" Laura's voice came from what she knew was the front. She could feel her hand movements. It was fascinating.

"Hang on, Violette" Piotr's deep voice acted like a blanket, draping her in comfort. She bit her lower lip, steadying her form.

---

They were all paired up. All of them except for Rogue.

She was used to that, she told herself as she slipped through the corridors, looking for any sign of Jean. Nothing new, as she took a sharp left turn and examined a small control room.
She heard approaching steps and moved to stand next to the door-frame. She slowly took off her glove, pale finger after pale finger exposed to the air. She closed and opened her fist a few times, seeing the shadow of the person on the floor. As soon as she saw the tip of a combat boot she turned to the enemy, her hand inches away from an exposed neck covered in stubble.

"Cherie."

She gasped, her eyes meeting Remy's. His mouth was twisted in his usual smirk, despite his throat being still inches away from the tips of her exposed fingers.

"Jesus" Rogue moved her hand away, putting her glove back on. "You're supposed to be in the west wing of the building."

"X's got it covered" His brows furrowed. "You shouldn't be the only one without a partner, Rogue."

Well my powers kinda do that to people.

"If anyone asks, it wasn't mah idea" She knew fighting with him would be pointless. If he wanted to tag along, he would no matter what she thought about it. "Come on."

With every step she took she felt more and more lost, while the steel walls around her started to resemble floral wallpapers.

"Anna?"

She turned around, the bustle of her dress weighing her down and back. She fidgeted with her gloves as she looked at Remy, finding his skewed ascot tie somewhat charming. She knew her father didn't think much of her match, but he could give her the kind of future she wanted. He took off his top hat, gripping it tightly in his hands.

They had a lovely morning stroll through the park. She was still getting used to the bustle of New York, so much different to her quiet life at the plantation. He was also getting used to the north, only recently having moved with the new branch of his father's business.

"It may be a bit foolish of me" He took a tentative step towards her as she pulled of her gloves, putting them down on the hall table. She invited him for tea, a pretty forward gesture, but she didn't seem to care about propriety around him. "But I've been thinking about making our relationship legitimate."

"Oh" Anna looked deep into his warm, brown eyes and tried hard to contain her excitement. She felt her cheeks turning warmer. "I don't think it's foolish of you, Remy."

"I'll ask your father's permission, of course" He cleared his throat and put his hat down next to her gloves. It made such a domestic sight. Anna's heart beat faster as the man approached her slowly. "But I wanted to know about your feelings beforehand."

She couldn't seem to pry her eyes off the accessories as his body heat entered her space. His hand – calloused fingers, a testament to his upbringing as a field hand – slowly grabbed her chin and turned her head, letting him catch her gaze.

Remy's eyes seemed to be searching for approval, which they apparently found as his lips moved towards hers.

Rogue's eyes snapped wide open, her vision tinted a slight red. She pushed Gambit away, his body going limp as soon as his thankfully gloved hand left her chin.

There was too much energy in her hands, it was building up and she had no idea what to do with it, so she grabbed the first loose thing she could find and charged it, throwing it in front of her. She grabbed Gambit's coat and started to drag him behind a doorway but it was too late. The pack of cigarettes that must have slipped from his pocket blew up, the energy throwing Rogue against the wall. Her head collided with the metal and she groaned, her vision blurrying. She started to reach for her gloves and collapsed next to Remy, her fingers brushing against the worn leather.

---

Laura's back fit snugly against the hall wall as she held her breath, watching the masked goons run by. When the methodical thumps of their steps quieted down, she turned the corner.

He found her.

"Daaad!" She groaned as he grabbed her into a tight hug, laughing. She couldn't believe she lost again.

"Told you I was a hide and seek champion" He put her down and kneeled to face her. His black hair stuck out in different directions, so different from its usually sculpted look. She couldn't wait to grow as tall as him, but she was still only eight. She had long ways to go. "I think it's time for you to go to bed, Princess."

She yawned and rubbed her eyes sleepily, letting her dad pick her up and carry her to her room.

"Will you leave the light on?" She snuggled into his chest, breathing in the scent of his cologne. It was comforting, to be surrounded by the scent of family.

"Of course" He laid her down and covered her with a blanket, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "I love you, Laura."

She sighed, smiling widely into her pillow, murmuring into it as she drifted off.

"Love you too, dad."

---

"Why did they bench us?"

Roberto kicked at the wall of the panic room, groaning as he hit his toe a bit too hard. Bobby was slowly going crazy, circling around the room. Jamie was laying upside down on the couch, reading one of the comics Sam took with him. Ray was studying for finals, groaning every now and again. Jubilee, Rahne, Sam and Tabitha were playing cards in the corner, Sam sighing occasionally as he lost to the girls. Amara and Lorna were sitting off to the side, braiding each other's hair.

"Most importantly, why did they lock us away?" Bobby flicked an icicle at the door, the ice melting before it hit the handle. "The fuck? They've never done that before."

"Maybe the finally realized just how annoying we all are" Jubilee showed her royal flush and chuckled at Tabby's shocked face. "Gotcha."

"I seriously thought you were just bluffing" Rahne shook her head, throwing her two of a kind at Sam. "They don't lock us up for the weekends though."

"Is that legal?" Amara wondered aloud, brushing out Lorna's green locks. "I mean, not like I'm gonna sue them or anything."

"I doubt it" Jamie chimed in, putting the comic book in his lap. "Maybe they think the mansion's gonna blow up again?"

"And that's why they put us in a metal box right below it?" Ray looked up from his books, scoffing.

"Hey, I was just guessing" Jamie rolled his eyes and went back to his comic. "Kill joy."

"I don't think imagining the mansion blowing up should bring you joy" Sam collected the scattered cards and gave them to Tabitha.

"It does to me on some level" The blonde started to shuffle the deck. "Lorna, Mara, you joining us?"

"I think it's just your love of destruction" Lorna shook her head before taking a deep breath. "Maybe it involves Magneto."

They all fell silent, not really sure how to react.

"You think he'd come for you?" Ray asked before wincing. "Not that you're not worth… Oh, you know what I mean."

"Maybe they think I'd want to join him" Lorna looked down at her fingers and the staples in Sam's comic books started to vibrate.

"First of all, we all trust you" Bobby crouched next to the newest addition to their team and put his hand on her shoulder. "That involves the staff. I mean, Storm adores you, for one. Second of all, they put as in a metal room" He pointed to the doors that also started to delicately vibrate. "So that rules out Magneto."

Lorna blushed as if she completely forgot that her father's powers worked the same way hers did.

"Okay, so that's one villain ruled out" Sam stretched his arms out. "Anyone else have any suggestions?"

---

Kurt quietly crawled around the ceiling, hanging onto exposed pipes and beams. Alex walked a few feet behind him, waiting for 'go ahead's at every turn.

Kurt heard steps coming from his right and motioned for Alex to hide. He tightened his grip on the beam before swinging to his right and landing on the lone goon, porting him to the ground and covering his mouth.

Or, as it turned out, putting down Colossus.

"Scheisse, sorry Piotr" He rubbed the back of his head. Alex ran over and chuckled at the sight.

"Damn it, Kurt" Kitty rolled her eyes as she emerged from one of the walls. "Like seriously, what if there was another bad guy like six feet behind the one you planned on attacking?"

"And that's why I'm nominating Kitty for field leader if Scott ever retires" Alex offered his hand to Piotr who took it only for posterity as he stood up.

"You think Prof's gonna ask the leaders of different teams instead of the team in question?" Kitty fully stepped onto the dock, dusting off her trousers.

"Touche."

Captain Blue Tail looked at the two soldiers in front of him, his hand aching to reach for his sable.

"Miss Pryde" His eyes locked with those of his first mate, her brown orbs lighting up with mirth. "What a lovely surprise meeting these gentlemen on dry soil, don't you think?"

They seemed to be at a disadvantage, their ship and crew waiting for them further down the dock.

"Terrific" She agreed with him, her hand reaching for his waist in a mock embrace. He did the same to her, his fingers brushing against her pistol. "How is your leg, commander Summers?"

The blond man reached for his sable and let the tip of its blade rest under Miss Pryde's chin. Blue Tail grabbed the handle of her pistol as lieutenant Rasputin did the same to him.

"In the name of the crown, you are under arrest" Summers spat towards them, leaning in a bit. "And it healed perfectly, Pryde."

Blue Tail grabbed the pistol as Pryde unsheathed his sable. He shot at the commander's leg and ducked, Pryde slicing the lieutenant's hand open. Rasputin yelled and dropped his weapon as Blue Tail caught it with his tail, Pryde vaulting over the fallen soldier and raising her sable to Summers' neck. Blue Tail did the same, cocking the pistol and putting it against Rasputin's head.

Summers growled, still clutching his sable with one hand, the other putting pressure on his wounded thigh.

"You have a choice, Summers" Miss Pryde leaned in towards his ear, chuckling. "You can either die here with Rasputin, or let us go and find yourself a medic."

"If I am to die today, I'll die fighting for the crown" The commander lunged at Blue Tail, his blade sinking into the captain's gut. The shock made Blue Tail miss his shot, the bullet embedding into Rasputin's shoulder. Miss Pryde's quick hand sliced Summers' throat before Rasputin's working left fist connected with her thigh. She fell into the ocean, disappearing in the murky waters. Blue Tail tried to catch her, but the slightest movement seemed impossible with the blade stuck inside him.

"Kitty!" Kurt's right hand grabbed at the floor, as his left one held onto the burn on his stomach. The pain from the torn leg muscles made Alex's screams drown out Kurt's pleading. Piotr struggled against the steel wall, his arm phased into its structure. "Kitty!"

---

Pyro walked closely behind Cyclops, trying to even out his breath. The gas tanks on his back weighed him down after the exhausting day he had. Wolverine's work outs took a lot out of him since St. John's powers let his fights play out over a long distance. He was twenty now and there was never gonna be a better time for him to train his ass to become a fucking ninja. He was getting old.

Amara wasn't.

It made him feel dirty at times, being that close to a sixteen year old. They were only friends – just friends – but he would be kidding himself if he denied that she wanted more.

He did want more at one point. Before he knew how old she was.

He was a grown man, an ex-felon, a nobody. And she didn't see that, because she was just a kid.

His eyes glazed over as he fell deeper and deeper into self wallowing. He could no longer see the corridor or even Scott, just the images his mind conjured up as he thought about his relationship with Amara.

Soon enough, his mind wandered to his still unpolished first draft, the deadlines and pressure making his heart beat harder and harder. Soon the familiar controlled chaos of flames inside his mind pushed to the forefront, burning through his mind-

Something zapped the inside of his ear.

Jin shook his head, focusing on the straight lines of Scott's back.

"Summers" He choked out, his legs dragging behind him. "There's something fishy going on here, mate."

Cyclops turned around and swung at him, his fist barely missing Jin's cheek.

"Fuck" Pyro dropped to the ground and turned on his flame thrower, circling himself with fire. "Okay, okay, don't panic Jin."

Cyclops threw himself into the fire and Pyro called it back, not wanting to hurt him. Scott reached for his visor but Pyro sent a small flame to lick at his fingers. The other mutant groaned, shaking his gloved hand.

"Okay, time to figure something out" Pyro said to himself, kicking off and running back to where he knew they came across a vent. He let a wall of fire separate him from the X-Men's leader, sensing the placement of his blasts from the places they pierced it. He picked up speed and scaled the corridor walls, letting himself hang onto the vent.

"How did that fuckin' frenchie do it?" He tried to recall one of their training sessions as Violette smoothly broke into the simulated ventilation system. The blasts from Cyclops were getting more frequent and just barely missed the aussie's feet. Pyro thought about just melting the crate off, but that would leave him exposed.

He finally loosened it enough with his weight to just rip it off. He fell to the floor, breaking it with a roll to not make as much sound. He took a running start and jumped, hanging onto the edge of the vent while conjuring a pack of fiery wolves in front of the flaming wall, the crate still firmly in his hand. He pulled himself in and covered the opening up with that same crate, melting its edges and crawling backwards. As soon as he completely lost sight of the fire it disappeared and he could hear Scott's steps echo in the empty corridor.

Cyclops went by his hiding place not even looking back, apparently convinced Pyro took off.

'Sucker.'

He let out a sigh, resting his forehead on the back of his hand.

'Now what?'

---

"Cyclops, Pyro, do you copy?" Violette groaned, hitting her head on the controls. "Gambit, X? Rogue? Shadowcat and Colossus?" She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "Havok and Nightcrawler, do you copy?"

After a minute of radio silence she changed the communicator's channel.

"They're not answering" She tried to keep her voice from wavering. "Not even a crack. Nothing."

"Their comms must have gotten interfered with" Wolverine's voice cracked over the radio. "Stay in your position, Spectre."

"I can't just sit here as they get killed!" She knew she shouldn't yell but she couldn't seem to stop.

"They'll need you once they get out of there" Wolvie's voice was surprisingly soft. "Trust me, there's nothing you can do tat will make this situation better right now."

She switched back before kicking the seat next to her, screaming.

---

"Okay, so basically we've run out of villains" Ray blew air at the orange strand of hair that got into his eyes. He looked up from his spot, still laying on the couch with just his head raised to face his friends. "Maybe it's someone new?"

"It's been a while since Apocalypse" Sam stretched as he got up from the floor to walk to the crate of water bottles. "About time someone else showed up."

---

Scott blinked a couple of times, suddenly back in his own clothes. He touched the top of his head and let out a sigh as he couldn't find the weird pirate hat he was wearing just a second ago.

He looked at Pyro in front of him, holding one of his tanks tightly in his hands.

"W-what?" He groaned out, rubbing his suddenly aching head.

"Had to whack ye well, Cyke" The man offered him a hand and pulled him up. "It must be the telepath."

"How did you get out of it?" He vaguely remembered running after St. John who set his house on fire. He could still hear his wife's – Jean's, they were actually Jean's - screams, as she burned alive.

Pyro just knocked on his head a couple of times.

"Maybe it won't touch crazy" He shrugged, placing his tank back on his back. "Also, I have a metal plate in my head. Maybe that kinda fucks with it" He pulled out a fried remnant of his comm. "Would certainly explain why this zapped me in the ear."

"You have a metal plate inside your head?" Scott coughed a bit, despite knowing he was no longer surrounded by smoke.

"Now that's a story for another time."

"Doesn't it heat up when you-"

"I said, another time!" Pyro rolled his eyes, but still continued. "Mags had access to some very fancy metal from Africa. I kinda fucked up my life in Australia. Dude saved my life, so I worked for him."

Scott followed St. John with a new found understanding for the guy.

"Back to the mission" Jin stopped and motioned for Scott to rest against the wall. "I think we're nearing the big bad. Mostly because it has gotten dead quiet and we've already been here for like an hour."

Scott nodded, trying out his comm.

"Thank God!" He heard Violette breathing a sigh of relief. "Cyclops, what's your status?"

"We're fine, Pyro's sure he's located Jean."

"Well, half-sure" St. John wiggled his and around, chuckling.

"Half-sure" He repeated to the comm, rubbing his face.

"Do you need backup?"

Scott and St. John looked at each other in silent agreement.

"Something fishy is going on here" Scott licked his lips and closed his eyes. "We're pretty sure the rest is incapacitated. We need someone out there if we stop responding."

He was answered with a deafening silence, followed by repeated thumps.

"You want me to sit here while you all die?"

Cyclops opened his eyes, straightening his back.

"Spectre, stay in the jet. That's an order. Over and out."

"She's gonna hate us all" Pyro's shoulders slumped as he ran his gloved hand through his hair.

"She knew what the mission was, and what her role in it is" Cyclops pushed off the wall and started to take lead. "Pyro, get ready."

Cyclops turned the last corner before facing huge metal doors. He touched the side of his visor, ready to blast-

He was held prisoner, being lead to Lady Frost. The guard behind him pushed him forward and against the wall.

'Scott.'

He saw the tapestry melt with a ruby-tinted control pad. He knew he was blasting something and could feel that his visor was gone, but also was so sure of it just being a pot of flowers he's smashed while trashing against the guard. Someone put his visor back on. The guard spit in his face. He could see Jean strapped to a vertical table next to Emma Frost. Lady Frost and Lady Grey stood up, abandoning their afternoon tea. The rest of X-Men and X-Force were propped against the walls, clearly unconscious. His crewmates thrashed around in their shackles, beaten but not letting themselves be defeated.

"I'm so done with you fucks."

Lady Grey stayed silent as the world around them started to burn. Frost's skin turned into diamond.

Scott gasped for air, his ears ringing. St. John was shooting flames straight at the woman, while she took slow steps towards him, shielding her face. He shot at her from the side, pushing her away from the Aussie.

"Try waking the others!" He yelled to Pyro, adjusting his visor to the highest setting before blasting her with a continuous stream of energy.

"No matter what you do now, Scott" Frost groaned under the strain of staying upright. "I've already released her."

He could hear her goons rush into the room before backing out as the temperature around them rose unbearably high. Scott didn't stop, not until she collapsed and her skin turned back into a regular shade. He quickly crouched down and cuffed her as his breathing got faster and louder.

He nearly had a heart attack when Kurt appeared next to him, handing him the helmet Mr. McCoy fashioned after Magneto's.

"Everyone alright?" He asked, trying to calm his racing heart.

'Was I really about to…? About to k-'

"Alex's leg is messed up" Kurt offered  him a hand. He held onto the three blue digits as if his life depended on it. Kurt pulled him up. "Gambit's got a headache. That's about it."

Scott looked around the – still surrounded by fire – room and finally saw her. His heart momentarily stopped as Piotr helped her get off the table and back on the ground.

"Jean."

It was like breathing again after drowning almost to death. He was so scared they would never see each other again, that she, that she…

'Scott.'

He ran over, taking her into is arms and holding on.

"Jean" His voice cracked as he hugged her closer to him, her arms clinging to the back of his suit.

"I'm sorry y'all, but we've gotta go" Rogue helped Kitty up before nodding to the still open doors. They could clearly hear the troops running towards them.

"Okay, I'll take Alex straight to the Velocity" Kurt replaced Pyro at Alex's side. Scott felt a pang of guilt that he focused solely on Jean when he knew that his brother got hurt. "Should I come back for anyone?"

"No" Scott adjusted his visor settings before nodding to Kitty and Piotr. "We'll find our way out."

Shadowcat walked over to the wall opposite to the door, the slowly dimming ring of fire opening for her to pass. She stuck her head through before giving them the okay sign and disappearing behind it.

Colossus backed away before running at the wall full force, leaving a human shaped hole in his wake.

When they finally got through the base and back on their respective jets, Scott and Jean rushed to the pilot seats. As they got ready for take off, their radar started to beep.

"Is that-?"

"Missiles" Jean took off without closing the hatch, Scott rushing through their last preparations.

"Velocity, scatter" He said through the radio, enabling the cloaking mechanism. Only, they weren't disappearing. "Shit. We've got missiles on our tail and the cloaking doesn't work."

"Don't worry, they're going after heat signatures" X-23's voice came through, clearly irritated. "Cause we can't seem to lose the-"

Static. They were too far away for the jet to jet radio.

Scott switched with Jean, taking over the flying. He started to pivot, one of the missiles hitting the tree line. As soon as they got off the island and over water he flew higher before going back down almost vertically, pulling up sharply. Another missile sunk into the ocean.

"How many?" He focused on the air before them, thinking of new ways to throw them off.

"Five" Jean put her hand on his forearm, squeezing.

---

"I think we've lost them" Scott breathed a sigh of relief as the last of the missiles sunk into the ocean.

Kurt couldn't wait to come back home and wrap his arms around Violette, to know that they also came out unscathed. Coming face to face with a deadly threat seemed to be a theme repeated every few months in his life and if there was one person who he needed to hold to remind himself that he was still alive, it was his girlfriend.

And then they were hit.

Kurt looked to his left and saw the wing smoking before it completely fell off, sending them spiraling down into the ocean.

Chapter 12: Affection Is My Way Out Of The Danger Zone

Notes:

Raleigh Ritchie strikes again, with StraitJacket. Seriously, check out what this man has to offer, you won't be disappointed I swear! Also it's only been a bit over a month since I last updated, so see? I didn't abandon ship! Also the chapter's kinda heavy with a few lighthearted interludes.

WARNING! Mentions of sex and murder. So you know, the good stuff.

They were falling. Kurt was holding the cross he wore on his neck, saying prayers in German. Kitty was gripping his arm for dear life, tears streaming down her face. Rogue seemed to curl into herself, her head buried in her knees. Scott reached over from his copilot seat, holding her hand and Jean, Jean heard a voice speak to her, calling her to action. She saw flames engulf her vision and before she knew it they stopped, it all stopped and they were suspended in time, the Blackbird's nose touching the surface of the ocean. She felt the flames surround her and let go of Scott's hand instinctively, rooted to her seat.

The jet seemed to right itself up and delicately sit on the water.

She passed out.

---

Kitty felt her stomach jerk and she turned to the side, vomit spilling out of her mouth. Her head was aching and she slowly opened her eyes, ready to see water surrounding her in a cockpit full of her injured friends.

There was no water. They were still on the surface, she could clearly see the sky through the windows. She looked around and both Kurt and Rogue seemed a bit worse for wear but still very alive and uninjured. She let go of Kurt's arm and he rubbed the place her nails bit into his skin absentmindedly.

"What, what happened?" Rogue slowly straightened out her legs, checking herself over with hesitant hands.

"Jean?" Scott shook his copilot delicately, trying to wake her up but weary of a head injury. "Kurt, get the brace! Jean?!"

Kurt teleported out of his seat and a second later appeared in between Scott and Jean, delicately putting her in a neck brace and started to cut her seat-belt. Scott began to do the same for himself. Kitty phased out of hers, walking over to Rogue on wobbly legs and phasing her through the material.

Scott checked Jean over for possible injuries while Kurt sent a distress signal to the Institute.

"Blackbird, do you copy?" Kitty could hear Ororo's voice through the radio. "I repeat, do you copy?"

"Storm, we need a pick up, X-Force should be nearby" Kurt looked through the data displayed on the cockpit. "Jean has a possible spinal and brain injury, she's unconscious at the moment. Our coordinates-"

Kitty sat down on the floor, her thoughts mixed in with possible scenarios. Everything started to shake uncontrollably.

"Panic attack" She heard Rogue's voice through a wall of water, muted and warped. "Don't worry Kurt, she just needs air and a bottle of water afterwards."

Her heart was beating straight out of her chest and she felt like she was dying, her lungs constricting and not letting her breathe. She heard Rogues calm breaths and tried to match them. After what felt like eternity her lungs went back to normal, but she seemed to have passed through the seat behind her, cramped between it and the wall of the jet.

"I'm fine" She breathed out and reached for the bottle Rogue was passing to her.

"I was scared we'd have to look for you in the water for a second there, sugar" Rogue brushed her hair back.

Kitty suddenly remembered that she was sitting right in the puddle of her own vomit and cringed, feeling the wetness seep through her suit.

"That's disgusting" She stood up shakily and carelessly poured the water over the back of her suit. "Better. How's Jean?"

"Still unconscious, but breathing" Rogue helped her into a clean seat, seemingly unfazed by it all. "Scott is keeping tabs on her. Kurt is on the lookout for our rescue party."

"How did we survive?"

Rogue stayed silent for a second before sighing.

"Jean's seat was scorched, however her uniform and skin were untouched" She rested against the seat behind her, looking out the window. Kurt was porting from nose through wing to tail, leaving behind his usual puffs of smoke. "We think it's another power surge."

Kitty knew half the institute thought Jean was slowly going insane and losing control of her powers. Hell, most of them remembered how she tore apart the danger room the last time her mutation went nuts.

Kitty glanced at her teammate's unresponsive body and could swear that for a split second it got engulfed in flames.

---

Pietro groaned as he heard his work phone ring in the living room. He was in the middle of putting Luna down for the night and the ringing just woke her right back up.

"Laaaanceee!" He yelled, trying o calm the sleepily confused toddler. "Pick it up, alright?"

He barely managed to shush his daughter and convince her to lay back down when Lance barged into her room, tossing him the phone.

"Suit up, Fred's staying with Luna" Lance walked further into the room to brush her blonde hair off her face and leave a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

"Night, 'ncle" She murmured into her pillow, yawning. "Night, daddy."

"Night, baby" Pietro squeezed her hand, sighing. "Be nice to Fred."

"Mmm kay" She nodded and hugged the stuffed dragon she got from Kitty closer to her chest.

His heart always broke when he had to leave her to go on a mission, knowing he might not come back.

---

Violette flew down with Piotr in her arms while the rest of their team dropped ropes out of the Velocity's hatch. She watched as he gently laid Jean down on a stretcher and helped him attach it to the ropes. She stabilized it while Laura, Remy and St. John pulled Jean up. She could hear the rapid bamfs of Kurt's teleportation and wasn't shocked to see Scott, Piotr and Rogue already on board.

"Could you help Kitty get on? She's not feeling well" Rogue put her gloved hand on Violette's shoulder while Scott leaned over Jean, brushing back her hair. "Kurt's staying behind to start the repairs before we get Logan and Mr. McCoy here."

"Sure" She nodded, squeezing it before flying back and wrapping her arms around Kitty's waist. The girl started loudly protesting that she was fine but Kurt just shook his head and told her she was acting like a toddler.

"Huh?" Kitty looked ready to phase his heart out of his chest so Violette silently took off, chuckling.

When she put the girl down Violette quickly thought about her options.

"I'm going to stay with Kurt" She said, stopping Rogue from closing the hatch. "Brain injuries can come out way later."

Nobody dared to say a word about it, not after living through one of their jets almost crashing. Well, Remy still winked at her knowingly, which got him a middle finger as Violette flew down to the Blackbird's undamaged wing. She walked through the emergency door and leaned against the first row of seats, watching Kurt check the controls for damage.

"Scheisse" He groaned when one of them started to emit sparks and quickly shut it off, turning around. "I shouldn't be surprised you stayed behind."

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you suddenly collapsed from internal bleeding in the middle of the ocean."

"I'm sure that's the only reason" He smirked, the light pouring from the cockpit windows lighting his silhouette in a way that made Violette's insides coil.

"Well, maybe being completely alone away form everyone else for at least an hour had something to do with it" She took slow steps towards him, her arms looping around his neck. "It seems like exactly what we've been looking for the past few months."

"It does" He nodded, his own arms circling her waist. "But before we do anything, do you have anything against open spaces?"

"Of course not" She leaned in, kissing him passionately, one of her hands lifting up and burying into his hair. They continued until she really thought about what he was saying. "Wait, what's wrong with the cockpit?"
"You really don't want to know" He shook his head, porting them to the wing. "Wait a second."

He disappeared and reappeared in the exact same place, the amount of smoke around them blocking her view of the ocean for a few seconds.

"Stille Wasser sind tief" She chuckled, seeing the strip of condom packets in his hand.

Kurt's eyes shone with mischief as he dropped them next to her and forcibly pulled her towards him.

"Halt den Mund" He growled against her mouth, one of his hands undoing her ponytail while the other traveled down from it's innocent placement on her back to her ass.

Violette shivered and once again kissed him, for once thrilled to be compliant.

---

Lance sighed, looking through the fire damaged files. Thankfully, not every page burned down.

"Their system's fried, yo" Todd sighed, trying to get anything on what exactly went down between the X-Men and the Hellfire Club. "There's maybe ten minutes of footage left."

"Pull it up, then" Wanda closed a file cabinet, before opening another's drawer with her powers. "Better that then trying to figure it out through paper trails."

He obliged and Lance stepped closer, leaning against the panel. The blonde woman – Emma Frost, as he learned during the briefing – was leaning over Grey, who appeared to be out cold on a metal table. Red's eyes flew open as flames surrounded the women before the footage turned to static. Todd clicked on another file, this one labeled as a few weeks old. Frost was surrounded by a group of cloaked people, standing in lingerie.

"We sure we wanna watch this, yo?" The younger boy cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable.

Thankfully the weirdness went in the other direction as Frost's arms rose into the air, surrounded by faint flames.

"What. The fuck" Lance leaned closer to the screen. "Get this on a disc."

"Guys" Pietro appeared behind him, his face white. "You might wanna see something. I think they set fire to an entire room of people."

---

It took Logan and Mr McCoy literal hours to get to them, with Kitty for tech support and Jamie for manpower.

Kurt and Violette went through every nook and cranny the jet had to offer, digging through piles of junk to find anything remotely entertaining.

They found a dozen bubblegum wrappers in the compartment next to Kitty's seat, but sadly no gum. Rogue's was mostly filled with gloves, but they managed to find a worn paperback.

"I can't believe this" Kurt chuckled, showing her the cover. "Is that Fabio?"

"Jesus Christ" Violette grabbed the book, the model's shirt and hair blown back by the wind. "It's even titled Gentle Rogue" She opened it and giggled, seeing the inscription. "The guy has massive balls."

"Is it from Gambit?" Kurt chuckled, leaning over. "Seemed like fate? He's delusional."

"Or has a sense of humor."

They put the book back where it came from before combing through Scott's.

"Seriously?" Violette took out the Blackbird manual and sighed. "Not even mints?"

Kurt walked over to Jean's seat and opened her compartment before yelling triumphantly.

"We've got an iPod!" Kurt turned it over in his hands, whistling. "She's got the one with Madonna's signature on the back."

"No way" Violette traced the letters with her finger. "I always knew she was well off but damn. Those cost like fifty bucks extra."
They spent the next two hours listening to Jean's music, but the blend of Kelly Clarkson, Justin Timberlake and surprisingly Usher quickly started to get on her nerves. She had no idea how many times they listened to Rock Your Body before Kurt finally snapped and turned the iPod off.

"Okay, time to do something else" Violette sighed, laying down on the jet's floor. "Wanna read the Fabio novel?"

They took turns reading it aloud, getting more and more into the novel with each page. By the time their rescue arrived, they were dying to finish it on their way back.

Logan walked into the cockpit and sniffed. Mr. McCoy chuckled.

"You're grounded until I feel otherwise" Wolvie brushed past them to open the hatch in the floor before disappearing below them.

Violette felt her checks grow warm. Kitty giggled as she followed Beast to the main computer. Jamie looked confused for a few seconds before he put two and two together.

"Oh, ew!" He groaned, clapping to create a dupe. They both shuddered before disappearing after Logan.

---

Roberto stared down at the case file in front of him as if it would set on fire from his stare alone.

"We didn't want you to worry about the mission" Miss Monroe put her hand on his, but he pulled it towards himself after a second.

"I-I don't know what to think" He shook his head, shoving the file aside. "I-I… I need some air."

He walked towards the window and opened it, the sun warming up his skin. Before making a fully conscious decision he was already flying. He landed in the gazebo, his hands gripping the edge until is knuckles turned white.

"What.. the fuck."

His father was in a cult worshiping a fiery deity called the Phoenix. A weirdly pro-mutant cult. Or club. Whatever.

His father was one of the bad guys.

'Fuck, who knows about this?'

Everyone apparently, since he saw a flash of green walk out of the mansion.

It took her a while to reach him. She sat on the ledge, her legs swinging back and forth over the cliff.

"This seems like a huge hazard" She furrowed her brows, suddenly stopping. "Did anyone ever fall out?"

"Rogue pushed her adoptive mother out when she was a statue" He looked her up and down, wondering how she was able to rock head-to-toe green. "What do you want, Lorna?"

The younger girl sighed, twirling her hair nervously.

"Bobby told us what happened" She finally faced him, her green eyes determined. "I'm sorry. I know how it feels."

Roberto bit his tongue before he could say that no, she didn't. Because she never met her father, and Roberto knew his very well. She never met her siblings. He loved Mariana, Julia, Gabriela, Fernanda and Camila with all of his heart, even if they got on his nerves most of the time.

He just nodded and turned back to the cliff side. They stayed silent for a minute.

"Everything they said to me applies to you too" She went back to her fidgeting and it started to get on his nerves. "It doesn't change the fact that we trust you."

"Maybe it should" He snapped, momentarily losing control of his powers. He lit up, the power he derived from the sun enabling him to break off a chunk of the stone fencing's ledge. "What if it comes to you or my family? Am I supposed to completely abandon them? They've been there for e my whole life!"

Lorna nodded, standing up and walking closer to him. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and he immediately collapsed into her like a deflated balloon.

"It's gonna be okay" She started to brush his back as his powers shut off. "We'll figure this out."

---

St. John sighed, throwing himself on the bed.

His lower back ached, as did his left arm. He was exhausted, the mission and then the rescue taking a toll on his body.

He stared at his computer, the black screen mocking him.

He missed all of his personal deadlines. His official one was in a month.

He remembered the darkness that surrounded him when he was at the base, the disappointment, the shame.

He rolled off the bed and loudly sat down in his desk chair, cracking his knuckles.

"Time to get to work, Jin" He said beneath his breath, turning on his PC.

He looked at the bulletin board above his desk, the picture Tabitha took of Amara and him immediately grabbing his attention. He looked okay – perhaps a bit aloof, leaning back in the plastic chair. The Bayville Mall's food court clashed with his hair horribly, a weird mix of oranges and reds. Amara however had only eyes for him, her eyes and smile clearly showing that she was smitten with him.

The sudden and oh so loud startup sound of Windows XP made him flinch.

"Time to get to work."

Chapter 13: Our Ashes Will Fly From The Aeroplane Over The Sea

Notes:

The title's from Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. Also trigger warning for some graphic depictions of violence.

The weird vision he had involving Rogue – he didn’t call her Rogue, but he couldn’t remember the name he had given her (or was it her real name?) at all – was bouncing around his mind since he woke up. The puffy sleeves of her emerald dress, the white gloves that adorned her fingers – it was all so periodical and specific. He remembered the feel of the hat he wore – but there was no hat, no cane. It was all made up in his own mind by either Frost or Jean.

During the flight he walked over to Alex and tried to distract him by talking about his vision.

The guy was a bit dopey after being stuffed with painkillers, but he described himself battling against pirates. Piotr confirmed the story, while Kitty rolled her eyes.

“It was, like, totally tailored to Kurt. The dork loves pirates.”

Okay, theirs was also periodical, but even stranger than his. And meant that since the four shared their hallucination, Rogue shared his.

He shuffled next to Laura and quietly asked her what she saw.

She looked at his face with a raised eyebrow, her arms crossing over her chest.

“Something I’ve always wished for, Remy.”

Cryptic, but very revealing.

Alex’s, Piotr’s and Kitty’s were all connected to Kurt’s wants. Laura’s was to her own.

Did that mean he was the one controlling the vision he apparently shared with Rogue?

But that made no sense, with it being a period piece about marriage and stability-

Wait.

She loved period pieces about all that. Behind that thick make up there was a romantic softie, something he always knew about. She pretended she was above all that, but she quietly enjoyed it.

He settled down next to her for the remainder of the flight. Rogue turned to him, her cheek resting on her curled up knees.

“Don’t tell ‘em, but Ah’m terrified” She whispered, glancing at Scott and Kitty.

He didn’t want to tell her that he already knew she was pretending to be okay when he saw her. That beneath that calm demeanor she was trembling, because she was an eighteen year old girl who almost died in a jet crash. She seemed to fool her teammates, probably due to their own trauma.

“Don’t worry about it, cherie” He put his hand on her boot, squeezing. “Your secret’s safe with moi.”

“Thanks” She nodded, closing her eyes.

She fell asleep after a few minutes, her head slowly falling off her knees. He moved a bit closer, pushing her head with the back of his hand until it rested comfortably. He moved his shoulder, so that it kept Rogue in that almost-not-spine-altering position. He must have also fallen asleep, since he was woken up by a rough shove.

“Get Stripes up, Velocity’s leaving in ten minutes” Logan gave him a hard to read look before moving to the pilot seat.

Remy blinked a couple of times and squeezed Rogue’s leg – wait, did she move? She was slightly draped over him, the top of her hair tickling his chin. She stirred to life and quickly moved away, looking over him.

“Ah’m sorry” She breathed out, brushing her hair back. “Are you okay after the… After I touched you?”

She glanced worriedly behind his shoulder, no doubt catching Wolvie staring at them.

“Just a bit of a headache” He stood up, offering his hand to pull her up. Surprisingly, she accepted it and held on as they got out.

“Remy?” Her voice turned a bit airy and his worry skyrocketed. Was she about to pass out? Was that why she still held onto him. “Can we- Can we talk?”

“Oui, of course” He let her tug him to the elevator, where she finally let go of his hand. His fingers buzzed with energy, something he stopped feeling years earlier. He put them in his pocket, playing around with the loose deck. He’ll have to throw one out of the window in a controlled explosion to get rid of this tension.

As they walked through the hallways he quickly charged a simple two and sent it flying, the card exploding in the air before even touching the ground.

Succès.

She walked into her room and immediately sat down on her bed, hugging her legs to her body.

Still closed off.

He shut the door behind himself, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. He’s never been inside her room with her – he’s been here alone before, just to drop off stupid gifts he thought she’d like – and wasn’t sure exactly where she wanted him to sit. He settled for grabbing her desk chair and rotating it, sitting in front of her with the added barrier of the backrest. It seemingly helped, he could see Rogue’s shoulders relax and her hands loosen their deadly grip on her own knees.

“Es-tu sûr tu vas bien, Rogue?” He rested his crossed arms on the back of the chair and leaned in, observing her face.

He couldn’t see panic or pain, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t suffering.

“Ah’m fine, really” She nodded, sighing. “Ah wanted to talk about what happened.”

“One of the telepaths made us see things that weren’t there” He shrugged, ready to take the blow. “It doesn’t need to be anything you don’t want it to be, cherie.”

He will be alright if she agrees. He’s gonna finally just get over it and leave her alone.

“Remy… I know how you feel about me” He doubted it for a second, before he saw her fingers twitch. Oh, right, we kissed. “I just have no idea how it would work, with my powers. I’m not able to… Have a relationship that you’d want.”

“Right now, cherie” He stood up and walked over to her, putting his gloved knuckle beneath her chin. “I just want you.”

She started to blink rapidly and he started to slowly move back, unsure if it was really the right move. Her hand grabbed his arm before he could completely lose contact with her skin.

He wanted to kiss her. Of course he did.

Remy settled for resting his forehead against hers, the material of his suit allowing for that bit of intimacy.

She moved her hand up his arm, past his shoulder and neck to finally rest on his lips. She kissed the back of her gloved palm before hugging him, her warm cheek resting against his shoulder, her breath now tickling his neck through the thin material of his suit.

It was more than enough for him.

---

The ride back was a nightmare. Logan decided that both Violette and Kurt were to fly back with him in the Blackbird, while Jamie and Kitty got to have a nice flight back with Mr McCoy.

She considered just walking off the wing and sinking to the bottom of the ocean instead, but Kurt’s tight grip on her shoulder and panicked stare stopped her. She couldn’t just leave him to suffer alone.

The atmosphere was thick enough you could cut it with Wolvie’s claw. Both Violette and Kurt stared straight ahead in their front row seats, trying to put as much space between them as they could. Logan seemed to enjoy the fear he could no doubt smell off them.

“Were you at least smart about it?” Logan looked at them over his shoulder, switching on the autopilot.

Violette was suddenly happy they let the evidence get swallowed by the depth of the cold ocean water.

“J-Ja” Kurt’s cheeks turned a violent shade of purple. Violette glanced at her boyfriend, thinking they agreed to just stay silent no matter what.

“Cause Casper, I don’t want to have to take care of a little elf while you two go off to college.”

“We’re not… We’re taking a year off” Was the only thing that managed to go past her trembling lips. She sometimes forgot how scary Logan could be.

“You are?” His eyes shifted between the two teens. “Both of you?”
“I have no idea what I want to do” She answered truthfully, feeling as if the air around her suddenly went back to not being toxic. “Apocalypse kind of took over all of last year and I missed most of the deadlines before I could figure out where to go.”

“And you, Elf?”

“I thought about it and I decided to just wait and go to Cornell with Kitty next year” Kurt’s tail whooshed around him, as if all of his panic transferred to it. “I didn’t want to go alone.”

“What about your sister?”

“I think Rogue had too much on her plate last year to think about it” Kurt shrugged, looking at Violette. “Or she just didn’t say anything to me.”

“No, I haven’t heard anything from Remy” Violette shook her head, looking at Logan. “He’d be the first to know, probably even before her.”

“Yeah” Logan huffed, turning back to the console. “At least with them I can be sure they’re not gonna be idiots like you two.”

Violette and Kurt exchanged looks before relaxing. They weren’t going to die yet.

---

Scott sat next to Jean’s bed, his elbows resting on his knees, his mouth pressed to his folded hands.

She looked so fragile, pale and immobile, her hair mimicking red flames licking at the white med-bay sheets.

Mr McCoy checked everything he could before going off to get back the Blackbird and found nothing. Her spine was untouched, her bones unbroken, her vital organs in a tip top shape. Her body was perfectly fine and there was nothing they could do, except maybe hook her to an IV to hydrate her.

The Professor came in just as Beast left and talked to Scott for a minute before putting the tips of his fingers against Jean’s temples. Scott could clearly see his eyes widening, his mouth pressing together in a tense line.

He said everything was fine.

Scott took a shaky breath, letting one of his hands rest on the coarse sheet.

Why was he lying? What did he see?

His hand inched towards her pale fingers, her skin almost blending into the material under the harsh fluorescent lights.

Was Jean ever going to wake up?

Her hand was slightly warmer than his. He grasped it delicately, afraid she might break under the slightest touch. He knew the thought was ridiculous, that Jean was strong and capable and powerful. However, the girl laying still on the hospital bed seemed far from the Jean he knew.

He could feel the nails of his other hand biting into his palm. He bit down on is knuckles, trying to keep his tears at bay.

She was going to be fine. She had to be.

---

Lance started calling HQ as soon as they got on the chopper back home. The abandoned Hellfire base was wiped clean by both the Brotherhood and regular SHIELD agents. Todd rested the back of his head against the cool metal, glancing at Wanda every once in a while. The sight of the room full of burned bodies made her retreat into herself. They all agreed to just let her be for now.

By now his feelings for the girl mellowed out. He still found her beautiful and wished for her to pay him any positive attention, but he no longer forced his presence onto her. Taking care of Luna and all of their SHIELD training kinda hijacked his life, which left him with almost no free time to harass her.

Which, to be honest, as the years went by got kinda… Embarrassing.

He’ll have to apologize to her one of these days.

Lance’s face paled as he listened to Fury. Todd exchanged a look with Pietro.

“We’re flying to the Institute” Lance hung up, his knuckles whitening as he squeezed the life out of his own knee. “To talk over the occult shit.”

That didn’t sound like enough of a reason to join the X-geeks for a chat. They usually just let Fury send back whatever he thought appropriate directly to the Prof. Pietro raised one of his eyebrows, clearly thinking the exact same thing.

“The main team crashed in the middle of the ocean” Todd was incredibly happy they were far away from the ground, which would no doubt be shaking by now. “I want… I need to… And Fury’s sure we need to work together to figure out Hellfire’s next move. And he’s stuck in Europe.”

“I’ll call Freddy then” Pietro was already dialing their teammate when Todd turned to him. “And father.”

Todd once again glanced at Wanda, who slightly twitched at the mention of her father. He pressed the side of his boot against hers. She didn’t look up, but pressed back.

---

As soon as they touched down, Jamie was ready to take a bath in bleach. Too much information didn’t even cover it.

Laura stood right outside the hangar in her typical military stance, the tips of her shoes pointing in different directions.

“At ease, soldier” He mock saluted, giggling.

“I already am” He hands unclasped from behind her back, one of them brushing back her hair. He followed the movement of her fingers with his eyes, observing the way they parted the brown strands. “Where’s Logan?”

It felt kind of weird to hear her call him that. On the other hand, he didn’t speak of his own father at all, let alone mentioned him in casual conversation.

“He’s probably killing my sister and Kurt” Jamie shook his head, trying to get rid of the thoughts Logan’s growl put into his mind. “They deserve it as far as I’m concerned.”

Laura delicately raised her right brow, the corners of her lips twitching.

“Did they blow up the jet?”

“I wish” Kitty passed through them, making Jamie shiver. Laura stayed motionless. “I hope they didn’t, like, do it on my seat. Damn, now I’m thinking about it.”

“Did what?” Laura turned to the girl, her face adorably scrunched up in confusion.

“You know, it” Kitty shrugged, before freezing with her eyes wide open. “Oh, you don’t know.”

“Jamie?” Laura turned to him and he felt the tips of his ears burning. “What did they do?”

“Oh just, you know, the typical teenager stuff” He rubbed the back of his neck, asking whatever higher power was at work to open up the earth and swallow him whole. Or maybe Kitty could just phase him straight to the center of the Earth. He hoped Logan was too busy with Violette and Kurt to suddenly come in and rip his head cleanly off his body. And that Mr McCoy decided to choose the stairs instead of the lift. “That people do… Together.”

“Would you show me?”

Jamie started to choke on air. Kitty giggled and stepped into the lift.

“Oh, this is precious.”

The doors closed behind her before he managed to catch his breath.

“I-I don’t think you’d be alright with it” Jamie decided that this was the response he was going with. “You should ask Boom Boom about it. Or Storm.”

Logan decided to take this as his cue to show up. He stopped right next to them, looked from Laura to Jamie and growled.

“I hope you’re not gonna take after Casper, Monkey King.”

“No, of course not, I would never, please don’t kill me Logan!” Jamie pleaded for his life, looking probably all of twelve years old despite managing to outgrow Logan this year. Violette guessed he’ll be around 5’10 in a year or two.

“What did Violette and Kurt do?” Laura took the opportunity and Jamie’s never been as mortified.

“They had sex” Logan huffed, rubbing his face. “I’d feel bad about telling you this, but Half-pint knows, so it’s not gonna be a secret for long. Also, I sent her back to your room so there’s no hiding that from you.”

“Oh” Laura’s face and body completely relaxed, while she nodded her head. “No wonder Jamie told me you were killing them.”

“Yeah” Logan eyed him suspiciously for a second, before pushing the button to call down a lift. “You wanted to talk, Laura?”

“Later” She sent Logan a look Jamie couldn’t read. It seemed to suffice for Logan, since he just stepped in. As soon as the doors behind him closed, Laura turned to Jamie with a glare. “Why wouldn’t you just tell me?”

“I wasn’t sure you knew what it was!” He exclaimed, a bit defensive. After all, there was a lot of mundane things Laura had no idea about. How was he supposed to know she got sex-ed while imprisoned in a secret Nazi base.

“I still don’t know why you insisted on using a weird code” She pushed an accusatory finger against his chest. “I had basic biology since I was five years old.”

It was weird to think about Laura getting a general education while being trained to become a super-weapon, but it made some kind of a twisted sense inside Jamie’s mind.

“People are just generally uncomfortable around the subject” Which was true, especially while talking to a girl he liked.

Laura apparently decided she could understand that, since she removed her finger from his chest.

“Okay” She nodded, taking a deep breath through her nose. “I believe you.”

Jamie’s shoulders relaxed and he could suddenly breathe properly again.

“Could we hang out?” Laura moved back to the elevator, pushing the button. It was nearing four am. “I want to wait for Violette to take a shower before going back to my room.”

“Jesus, both you and Logan are screwed” Jamie shuddered as the thought of smelling anything passed his mind. “I’m so sorry for you. And yeah, sure. Mario Kart?”

“Dibs on Peach” He could see the corners of her lips slowly lifting in a smile. “And don’t go easy on me this time. I’ll never learn that way.”

His heartbeat no doubt sped up as he tried to pretend he had no idea what she was talking about. It sped up even more once they reached ground floor and Laura pulled him towards the lounge by the hand.

---

When they touched down Freddy was already waiting for them in front of the main entrance. Todd hopped over to him as quickly as he could, to no doubt share everything they found at the base. Lance also raced over, to ask if he knew anything about how Kitty was feeling. Pietro stayed back, waiting for Wanda to unbuckle and stand up.

“Are you okay?” He put his hand on her bicep, the red leather of her coat cool to the touch.

“I think so” She nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. “There was just… A lot of weird energy in that room.”

He didn’t pretend to get Wanda’s powers. They were layered and complicated while his just worked without him needing to even think about them. So he just nodded and forced himself to walk over to Freddy at a regular, human pace. He wanted to be close to Wanda, just in case.

“How’s Luna?” He asked as soon as they were within earshot.

“Fine, a bit sleepy” Freddy shrugged, smiling. “She asked about you when I woke her up.”

Pietro’s heart both broke and grew at the same time. His daughter missed him.

When they stepped inside the mansion most of the mutants were waiting on them, despite it being only six in the morning. Rogue, a limping Summers Junior and Icicle shook their hands in what was supposed to be an official greeting, before leading them to the lower levels. Pietro’s eyes shifted around the room to look for Violette, but she was nowhere to be found. Maybe the Elf got hurt and she stayed with him. They passed by the youngest team while heading to the elevators. Jamie, the cowboy, Tabby hiding behind Amara, the sunshine one, Wanda with green hair, the wolf-girl-

Pietro took a step back and turned to the baby mutants, his eyes wide. Wanda crashed into him, cursing him for stopping so suddenly.

“What’s wrong with you, Pietro?” She followed his line of sight and gasped.

The girl stared right at them, curious but not surprised.

Pietro circled her in a second and stopped right in front of her, their faces inches apart.

He could clearly see that she wasn’t exactly a carbon copy of his sister, but the similarities were uncanny. The shape of their faces, their ears, their eyes – they were basically the same. What was more, he could see some of his own daughter in the girl – their hair had the same slight wave to them and there was a subtle hump on the ridge of their noses. There were differences to her face – her lips were completely unfamiliar to him, her eyes were an intense, but not unnatural green, the folds that showed up next to her nose. All things he couldn’t pin down to anyone he could be related to. He glanced around at the rest of the X-geeks. None of them seemed surprised.

“Who are you?” His voice was more icy than he intended, but something inside his stomach turned because she wasn’t young enough.

“Step away from her” Summers junior put his hand on Pietro’s shoulder but he pushed it away, his eyes never leaving hers.

“I-I… I’m Lorna” It sounded more like a question than a statement, her voice going up at the last syllable. Her name didn’t ring any bells.

“You know what he means” Wanda stepped forward to his side, her brows narrowed. “You know who we are. Who are you?”

“Guys-”

“You all know what this is about” Pietro interrupted Tabby as his hands started to shake. “You know. So just tell us.”

Lorna licked her lips and looked around the room before her eyes returned to Pietro’s. He already knew what she was about to say before the words left her mouth.

“My name is Lorna Dane, and my father’s Magneto.”

Pietro blinked and realized he just punched the wall right next to the girl. She looked about Jamie’s age. Way too old. Way too old.

Wanda slightly shook.

“You- Father would never” Wanda turned to him, her lip trembling.
“Pietro” Lance put his hands on both of their backs, leading them delicately away. “We need to take care of the club. Whatever happened, it’s not her fault. We can all talk about Magneto later.”

He knew Lance was right, that Luna needed him home asap, that he should fight with his father later. That his hand hurt already, pulsating to the same rhythm his brain did.

Lorna looked positively terrified. Pietro felt bad for scaring her, she was just a kid after all. She called father Magneto. She probably didn’t know him at all.

Luna. He had to finish this shit-show and go back to Luna. Then scream at his father after putting her back to her own bed.

Pietro put his hand on Wanda’s forearm. She continued to tremble, her hand covering his.

---

Scott blinked his eyes open, feeling something warm – way too warm – in his vicinity. His hand instinctively grabbed for Jean’s and he yelled in surprise, his and scorched. He looked at Jean’s face, her hair slowly floating up from the pillow. He pushed on the alarm button to call for Mr McCoy, the machinery around him starting to shake. The EKG started to go crazy, Jean’s entire body stiffening and raising off the cot.

“Jean” Scott tried to talk her down, the same way he did hen she had her power surge. “Jean, you’re home. You’re safe, you saved us all-”

Her eyes opened, a glowing orange in place of her usual green orbs.

---

"We need to plan for any future strikes" Logan sighed, pushing his hair out of his eyes. What a mess these past two days have been. Kids lost, almost dying, a fucking cult. He was exhausted and he spent most of his time behind the scenes now, they were out there, fighting.

Alex was shaking in his seat, hand squeezing his thigh. The kid was pale, but insisted that he was alright. Logan was ready to bench him immediately, but he was just like his brother. Always thinking about others.

The crash visibly left a mark on Rogue. With Jean incapacitated and Scott not leaving her side, she stepped in for this debrief. Another on the list of kids he'd bench.

Only kid that looked actually okay to have this conversation was Bobby, but he seemed to eye the twins, no doubt out of protectiveness over Lorna.

The Brotherhood refused to separate for the meeting, not that Logan blamed them. After watching the footage they captured in the base he was amazed that only Wanda looked worse for wear.

The lights around them flickered before shutting down. He could hear Wanda's heartbeat quicken.

"Don't worry, the back-up generator will kick in any minute now" He said to calm her down, but her breathing and heart never slowed.

"Something's wrong" Her voice cracked. Logan's eyes adjusted to the dark by now and he could see her hands gripping the edge of the table.

The lights flickered back on, significantly dimmed. Logan told the kids to stay and moved to open the door, but something pulled it back and activated the magnetic lock.

"Hell" He turned to he Brotherhood. "Dukes, go through the wall right next to it."

The kid nodded and took a running start, the metal giving under the force. Logan moved to the front, sniffing around. Nothing unusual.

The rest poured out of the room, following him to the staircase. Every few steps they heard either the pipes bursting through the walls, the lights exploding or the metal walls around them moaning under stress. Wanda's hands started to glow with her powers, lighting the way. Alex followed suit, closing their group with Bobby. Pietro ran ahead, coming back as they finally reached the stairs up.

"Summer's down at the med bay, patched him up, need someone to keep him company."

"What about Jean?"

"What about her?"

The stairs started to moan and shake, twisting and breaking.

"Iceman, boost us then move to the med bay with Toad. Huddle, try not to get hit."

The kids didn't question him. Alex and Wanda blasted away any hunks of metal floating too close for their comfort, while Bobby seemed to curl into himself, nine people (two considerably heavier than others) and three stories up testing his limits. They stopped eight feet below the ledge, Bobby panting.

"I-I can't" He shook his head, his arms buckling beneath the weight of his own torso.

Lance jumped grabbing the ledge and pulled himself up, offering his hand to help others. Rogue was the first to accept it and once she was safely over, she also offered her hand. Fred hoisted up Bobby, who just limply rolled to safety once he was over. Fred helped Alex next, the boy protesting the he was perfectly fine. Toad launched himself into the air and landed safely without any issues. Pietro let Lance pull him up while Wanda levitated to safety. They both joined Rogue and Lance while Logan crouched down, hoisting Fred up as the four of them pulled him up. Once Fred's hands safely latched onto the edge the others moved to give him space to pull himself up. Logan took a running start, his claws sinking into the concrete ledge. Toad hoisted Bobby up and nodded to them, turning to the med bay.

"I'll join them, Bobby's in no shape to fight" Alex moved to the boys, draping Bobby's other arm over his shoulders.

The rest of the kids followed Logan to the emergency ladder leading to the ground floor. He climbed up the six foot passageway and pushed against the hatch, not really surprised that against the backup power source protocol they were closed. He sliced through the door, catching it with his hand and slowly pushing it up.

The soundproofing of the lower levels played to their detriment. The mansion was in chaos. Logan threw the hatch door to the side and dove towards Kitty, the girl shielding an unconscious Ray.

"What's happening?" He asked, furniture flying past the fallen bookcase they were behind.

"Jean's on fire" She watched the rest crawl out, lifting her hand and catching the couch, letting its momentum pull her towards them. She phased it through them, letting it go once she was pulled past the hole. "And not really herself."

"Kitty!" Lance barely got his torso out as he threw himself towards her, his hand lifting along with a wall of floorboards and rocks. The couch turned back and hit it, embedding into the rock. However, the shaking made Fred lose his footing on the ladder, only Pietro's quick senses helping them avoid disaster as he pulled Rogue and Wanda down and away from the falling giant.

Logan took a few deep breaths before jumping over the bookcase, running towards the main hall. He jumped onto the wall, his claws sinking in the wooden panelling, as a dresser flew past him. Once he got to the kitchen he saw Lorna struggling to keep the silverware and pots away from Sam as he tried to break through the wall, the window closed off with the lock-down protocol. Roberto was pushing against the metal, the warmth of his powers only slightly bending the exterior of the covers.

"Where are the others?" He hid behind the door frame, the pulses of Jean's powers rhythmically hitting the hallway.

"Jamie, Jubilee and Rahne got out before she locked us in" Lorna nodded her thanks as he dove onto one of the cabinets as it flew off the wall, breaking it before it had the chance to hit her. "The rest was upstairs. I have no idea about other teams, though."

Roberto yelled out, his hands bending the non-magnetic blend of silver and aluminum. Sam switched from the wall and waited for Roberto to give him the go ahead, before pushing through the remaining thin layer of metal. Logan ushered them all out, before telling Lorna to seal him in with the stainless steel.

"And get as far away as you can" He finished, slicing through the oncoming cabinets.

Lorna nodded, closing off the window. He could see a faint glow coming from Roberto melting the silverware into one. Once he was sure the barrier was secure, he took a running start, jumped on it and bounced off forward, bursting through the oncoming counter top. He was back in the corridor, crawling flat against the carpet, his claws holding him through the pulses. He could see flames, but didn't hear the usual cackling Pyro let out while fighting. He was surprised however when he found the man and Boom Boom launching a long rage offensive from behind archways leading to the dining hall and the sitting room.

He was a few steps from the main hall, the pulses becoming harder to fight against. In the middle of where once stood the main staircase levitated Jean, Her head and arms thrown back, a smile on her face. She was surrounded by flames, her hospital gown scorched at the ends. He could see Violette, Amara and Gambit trying to take her down with long range attacks from the first floor, ducked behind the railings. Piotr and Laura covered the three, pushing away or breaking any oncoming furniture. Kurt ported from one thing to another, taking them with him, destroying them by collision. Ororo flew right in front of Jean, battling one on one with a wall of flames trying to destroy her, Charles and Hank. Charles sat bellow her, clearly trying to get to Jean. Hank covered his back, breaking through table and potted plant after table and potted plant. Logan cried out, slowly climbing up the archway and letting the pulses flatten him against the wall as he climbed up, his fingers finally brushing against the railing on the first floor. He pulled himself up and cut a hole big enough to get through. When he finally got to Piotr he was almost out of breath.

"Throw me at her" The man blinked a few times, clearly not understanding what Logan expected from him. "Just fucking throw me!"

Piotr grabbed the back of his shirt, turned a few times and let go and Logan was suddenly in the air above Jean's position, the pulses no longer getting to him. He was about to take her down from above as her eyes flew open, the same flames as the ones around her lighting her eyes.

Logan felt as if his entire body was engulfed in flames, the heat not only encircling him, but also pushing him back, back through the walls of the next three adjacent rooms. Once the heat lets go he's gasping for air – something went through his back and one of his lungs, Jesus that hurt. He coughed up blood but slowly turned over, glaring at the fucking chair leg that stabbed him, thankfully shallow enough for him to just get off it.

As he waited for his healing factor to kick in he heard more commotion, however running around with a hole the size of a chocolate coin in his lung was impossible. He tried it before. Apparently a working respiratory system was crucial for running.

Once he was back in working order he ran back. Violette, Amara and Piotr were already down, Kurt was barely keeping up, Laura now a floor below and helping Hank, while Gambit waited for any window to join them down.

Logan was about to take a running start to get down when Jean laughed, her voice cutting through the cracking of the flames.

"Pathetic" With a flick of her finger Kurt was sent flying and Gambit barely caught him by the material of his suit. Another move of Jean's finger, Laura and Hank were sent through the windows. Storm tried to get through the fire, but Jean just wrapped it around her and sent her through the roof. Logan helped Gambit pull the unconscious Kurt up before bouncing off the railing. He aimed to just scratch her leg – not very deep, enough to distract her, maybe weaken her mental barriers to help Charles – but she was faster, her powers pushing him down, through the hardwood floor and into the ground. Charles was still fighting her, he could see it as Gambit ran around her back, throwing card after card. Before he could reach for his second deck, Jean twisted his hand back, a horrific crack filling the main hall. She pushed him away into the darkness of one of the corridors. Logan could see her lowering herself to the floor, taking steps towards Charles. His friend's forehead glistened from sweat, one he broke out into both from the heat and the strain. Logan yelled at her to get away from him.

Jean stopped in front of Charles and with a delicate brush of her fingers wiped the sweat away. She chuckled, her voice seeming deeper than usual.

"Is that the best you can do, old man?" She bent over to be at his eye level. Charles opened his eyes, staring straight into hers. "There's nothing you can do to stop the Phoenix."

And with a light tap to his temple, Charles slumped in his chair.

Jean – or apparently the Phoenix – looked around the mess she created before her eyes lit up with the flames once again. The ceiling right above her cracked and caved in, leaving behind a small opening. She flew through it, closing it behind her retreating form.

Logan wasn't sure how far away she was when her powers stopped affecting him. He got up and ran to Charles, checking him over.

He was still breathing.

Logan let his forehead rest against the armrest of Charles' wheelchair.

What were they supposed to do now?

Chapter 14: Tell Me Where I Came From, What I Will Always Be

Notes:

Title from Lincoln's Saint Bernard

"We need a strong offensive" Rogue looked from Logan's tense form to the rest of the room. It was decided that they needed as much people for the debrief as possible. The Professor and Scott were down for the count, Violette and Ray went to find Evan and Pietro was constantly on his phone. Remy sat opposite from her, his right hand crudely bandaged up. He was looking right at her, his fingers twitching. "What's more important, we have to move fast. God knows where she is at the moment and without a telepath Cerebro's out."

"What we need is to figure out a way to take her down first" Lance sneered, twirling his helmet around his finger. "She ran this place down to the ground, despite being outnumbered what, thirty to one?"

"Lance is right, we can't just send ourselves to the slaughter" Ororo sat down next to Logan, her finger moving swiftly over a keyboard. A holographic picture of Jean appeared, alongside a block of text.

"What's that?" Asked Roberto, pushing himself off the wall he was leaning against. His arms uncrossed as he rested the palms of his hands against the table.

"Last few month's notes on Jean, written by the staff" Explained Mr. McCoy, adjusting his glasses as he leaned in next to Ororo. "Some medical notes from post-mission checkups. We have to write those down, just in case we miss something at first viewing."

"Like one of us being possessed?" Everyone turned to Tabby, who just raised her hands apologetically. "Got it, not the time."

"Something interesting?" Asked Todd, cocking his head. "Seems mostly like gibberish."

"Well it is just highlighting chosen keywords" Ororo scrolled further down. "would help if someone remembered an incident."

"Jean randomly read my thoughts back in February!" Jubilee chimed in. Bobby visibly tensed from his position standing next to her. "Maybe that will help?"

"Not really" Sighed Mr. McCoy. "Just chronic headaches. Seems like it's been evolving for a while."

"A powerful telepath has headaches for a number of months and no one bothers to check what's up with that?" Huffed Pyro. Amara slapped his shoulder in response.

"Every mutant experiences chronic pains from their mutations at different stages" Said Ororo, clearly not paying Pyro's comments too much of her mind. "Some never stop. Telepaths usually struggle with that."

"Great" Kurt sighed, his tail nervously wrapping around Rogue's ankle.

"It's gonna be, like, Apocalypse 2.0" Kitty leaned in towards them from her seat on Rogue's other side.

Rogue let her mind drift, no longer wanting to listen to bad news and banter. Her eyes shifted towards the right side of the table, occupied mostly by the New Mutants. Jamie sat quietly, staring at the table in front of him, seemingly calculating something. Rahne and Sam stood right behind him, their hands clasped together. Bobby chewed on his fingernails, his eyes shifting from one tea member to another, mostly focusing on Lorna. The girl was focused on Wanda, who kept herself mostly hidden in the planning room's corner, partly obscured by Fred. Rogue's eyes moved back to the opposite side of the table. Remy's gaze shifted to the remaining staff, so she allowed herself to look at him closely.

While his entire body seemed to be set in stone, the muscle of his jaw twitched methodically, as if he kept flexing it.

Never seen him so... visibly nervous.

She glanced at the remaining X-Force. Laura stood still just next to Logan, clearly taking in every piece of information said by the grownups. Pyro was on the outskirts, him and Amara standing right between their respective teams. Piotr stood over a worried Alex, his huge hand resting on the backrest of the boy's chair.

Rogue took a deep breath and tried to focus.

---

Pietro swallowed down the want to yell as he saw the metal ball descending from the sky.

The ball landed in front of him and his father stepped out, his cape flapping behind him.

What a dumb fucking outfit.

"Luna's under the protection of SHIELD" He said, moving his helmet to his other hands. "I'm not going to pretend I know why you'd trust them."

"What other choice do I have?" He pretended the jab didn't bother him.

She's too old.

They quietly walked towards the mansion, the setting sun casting an orange glow on the surrounding greenery. It all clashed horribly with Pietro's silver and blue suit, while complementing the reds and purples of his father's. He walked with purpose, unbothered by being on 'enemy land'.

"Do you know about Lorna?"

Of course he knew. His father was always very aware of any family either of them had. Some cousins thrice removed that were still in the old country. His mother's family on the west coast. He kept tabs on all of them, told them about the importance of that before giving Wanda away.

He didn't answer. The freshly watered grass squeaked beneath his shoes, filling the silence.

"How could you?" Pietro didn't remember much about his mother, but she was warm. Loving. Never deserved the hand she was dealt in life. "Did mother know?"

"No" His father's shoulders fell, the lines on his face deepening. Pietro sometimes forgot his father was in his seventies. "She… She didn't deserve that."

"Why didn't you ever tell us?" Pietro's hands clenched into fists, which started to visibly vibrate. "I-I-I deserve to know. Wanda deserves to know. My mother deserved to know what a piece of shit you are!"

His father was on the ground. Pietro blinked, his hand started pulsating.

"Are you done?" His father grabbed the bridge of his nose and sniffed a couple of times. Seemingly happy with it not being broken, he reached out for Pietro's hand.

He grabbed it and helped his father up.

"No" He shook his head, letting go. "But we have more important things to do."

No one welcomed them into the mansion. He knew the Brotherhood was sitting in the kitchen, drinking hot chocolate courtesy of Ororo. Violette probably stood over them, chatting. Evan was probably in there with them, making eyes at his sister.

He could feel the stare before they stepped into the elevator. His eyes caught a pair of green ones as the doors closed.

---

Rouge groaned, trying to ignore the oncoming headache.

There was a way to get a telepath. They all knew it. But there was no way any of them wanted the possible consequences.

She stared at her own hands, her gloves discarded to the side. Despite her skin being almost pale white, her hands were even lighter. She couldn't remember the last time they casually touched anything outside her room.

She sat upright when she heard the knock. Her hands immediately reached for the gloves. She checked if they were secure before letting the person in.

Remy stood before her in a simple t-shirt and sweats.

"Maggy's still talkin' with Wolvie, so no evenin' trainin' for moi" He stepped around her as if it wasn't completely unusual for him to just pop in. "Thought you might appreciate my company more, cherie."

He settled on laying across her bed, his hands beneath his head.

"Ah know what we have to do."

"Can we pretend to jus' be regular nobodies fo' an hour?" His head turned towards her. His red on black eyes focused on her gloves. "We have at least a forty percent chance of the world not endin' for the next few of them. Remy calculated. D'you always wear them in your room?"

She followed his gaze, fidgeting with the worn leather.

"Only when Ah have company."

"Should Remy be jealous?"

She started laughing, but the longer she did, the more it turned into crying. Her body seemed to catch up with the past twenty four hours and her knees buckled.

"'M sorry, Rogue" He kneeled next to her and rubbed her shoulders, careful not to touch her exposed biceps or collarbones. "Maybe you should sleep for a bit, non? Ça a été une journée intense."

"No" She shook her head, slapping his hands away and standing up. "We need to go after her. Ah know how to stop her."

"Rogue-"

"What if Ah'm the only one who can?"

He looked up, his eyes searching her face for something. He silently took her hand into his and tenderly kissed her gloved knuckles.

"Of course you are, cherie" He sighed, getting up. "'M gonna talk to them. You get ready however you need to. Remy and luck will be on your side."

She turned her hand around, looking at the card he slipped into her fist. She heard the soft click of her door closing. The Queen of Hearts gazed off to the side.

Judith, as Remy once called her. Off to slay Holofernes and save Israel.

She pocketed the card and took a deep breath, the weight of it surprisingly heavy on her thigh.

---

"You only need enough to last you around ten minutes" Mr. McCoy put his hand on her shoulder, delicately squeezing. "Don't worry, I'll be monitoring his brain activity."

"You don't have to do this, Stripes" Logan walked over, standing next to her. They both stared at his unmoving form. "We'll figure something else out."

"We don't have the time" She sighed, slowly peeling off her glove. She looked at Ororo. "You'll stop me as soon as you can, right?"

"Of course" She reached for her gloved hand, across the hospital bed. "We'll be right here."

She waited for Mr. McCoy to walk over to the monitor before closing her eyes and calming her breathing. Once her eyes opened again, they focused on the Professor's face. She nodded, reaching for his cheek.

---

Lance suited up, before tidying up the bed he napped in. Todd adjusted his shoes, before stretching.

"Yo, forgot how soft the mattresses here are" He scratched his back, turning to Fred. "Naps are the shit, yo."

"Yeah" Fred put on his vest, yawning. Lucky bastard got one of the two beds just for himself due to his size. Lance and Pietro had to get by with Todd squeezed in between them on the other. Kitty offered to house Wanda for the evening, clearly not against sharing a space with someone else after the crash. "Hard to do with a kid around, though."

Pietro twirled his phone around in his hands, pushing buttons and clearing the screen every now and again. Lance gulped before sitting down next to him.

"She's gonna be fine" He put his hand on Pietro's shoulder, patting it a few times.

"I'm more worried about not coming back" The phone stilled in his hands. Pietro blinked a few times, before shaking his head. "Stupid, I know."

"We all do" Lance let his hand fall down, cursing himself for what he was about to do. He reached for his pocket, taking out the folded piece of paper. "We all care about her, Tro. And we all want to see her grow up."

He handed it to Pietro. The picture was worn around the crease, but otherwise pristine and noticeably recent.

Kitty with Luna in her arms, smiling and pointing at the camera. Luna seemed completely unbothered, talking about something or the other – taking after her dad in the way she never seemed to shut up – and playing with a doll in her hands.

"Embarrassing, I know, don't let Todd see that" He snatched the picture back, putting it into the safety of his pocket. "So yeah."

Pietro nodded and pocketed the phone, before standing up and offering his hand to Lance. The older boy smirked and took it, letting Pietro pull him up.

"So, Brotherhood" Lance clasped his hands together. "Ready to rock and roll?"

His teammates groaned.

"I'm gonna get Wanda to hex those stupid jokes out of you" Fred walked over to the door. "Blueberry pancakes should do it."

---

"Solid strategy, kiddos" Logan laid down a bunch of different colored blocks they used during strategy training. "We come at her in two waves, lets us recover in case we need to regroup. Our strength is in long range attacks – we have yet to figure out her limits, the further away you are the safer. Quicksilver" Pietro looked up, clearly a bit shocked at being called out. "You're out for the entirety."

"What?"

"We need to set up medical aid. Don't want a repeat of Apocalypse, with a third of you almost bleeding out. Hank offered to stitch you all up, but we need someone to recover the injured. That's your job" Logan's intense stare moved back to the table. "Yellows are the staff, red's main team, blue's the Newbies, purple X-Force, green's Brotherhood" He picked up four yellow pieces. "Each wave's divided into offense and defense" He put the pieces upright on the table, in clear groups of two despite leaving space in between all of them. "I'll lead offense one, Magneto defense one. I'll be checking the range. Newbies, pay attention, most of you are with me" Logan picked up six blue pieces and stood them next to his piece. "Jubilee, Cannonball, Sunspot, Boom-Boom, Wolfsbane, Multiple" Violette's brows furrowed as she looked at her brother. Offense? "Jubilee, Cannonball and Sunspot – your job is distraction. I want a lot and intense. Don't give her time to think. You'll be joined by" He picked up a sole red piece. "Spyke."

Evan seemed a bit chocked up at still being considered a part of the main team.

"Wolfsbane and Multiple" Logan turned to the younger members of the team. "I want you near enough to see where I am, far enough to tail out of there. Try blocking and reversing anything you can. Engage if needed. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir" Jamie saluted, before elbowing Rahne. "Hah, tail it."

"Defense under Magneto" Logan clearly disliked the taste of these three words in his mouth. "Nightcrawler, Colossus, Iceman, Toad" He pushed pieces of every color towards the yellow piece. "Protect the offense. Block and counter. Things will be flying – redirect them. Try not to engage with the target in any way, we need you to keep these guys" he waved his hand over the offense "Safe."

Todd and Piotr quietly shuffled towards Bobby and Kurt. Todd looked back at the Brotherhood longingly.

"Everyone else – you're wave two" Logan moved towards the other end of the table. "The rest of X-Force, you're in offense. So are Avalanche, Blob, Berzerker and Magma" The remaining purple pieces along with two greens and two blues were pushed towards a yellow one. "Storm's the leader. X23" His eyes quickly glanced at Laura, before going back to the pieces. "Your job is to finish whatever I started. Watch where I fail and do better. Try getting to her and neutralizing."

Laura nodded, her body straightening up at being addressed by her codename. Violette wondered if she was ever going to get rid of her military style behavior during missions, or if that was just something she was always gonna do.

"Blob, you keep close to her. Counter, protect. She's gonna do fine on her own, but I need someone to make sure of that" Logan squeezed the purple piece for a second, before moving on. "The rest – same as the previous offense. Is that clear?"

Lance grumbled 'yes' under his breath, while the rest nodded.

"Defense two, you're gonna be lead by Beast" Logan moved the rest of the pieces to the remaining yellow one. "He's gonna probably be busy with the injured – that's what you Rogue and Shadowcat are for. Keep in charge of the situation. Make sure the least people possible are harmed. Scarlet Witch and Polaris" He nodded to the remaining girls. "Try anything to keep the offense safe. We'll need as many of them as possible. We have no idea how short or long this one will last. If it comes to wave two, it means we've already lost too many people. Try. Anything" Finally Logan looked around the room, filled to the brim with mutants ready to fight one of their own. "I want Jean back as unharmed as possible. We don't know what possible means right now. I know it's hard, but this is what we do. We stop anyone from harming humans and mutants alike" Logan's eyes shifted towards Laura for the last time. "Be careful."

---

Alex fixed his seatbelt, trying to calm down his stomach. He felt distinctly like cannon fodder. Just slapped onto the battlefield with hope he wasn't gonna get hit while taking down the enemy.

He looked at Lorna, who sat towards the front of the jet. Blackbird went first, filled with the first wave.

Jesus, it all sounds ridiculous.

She seemed nervous, it was her first mission after all. Straight into life and death battle.

Just like him.

She turned her head slightly, catching his gaze. She gave him a small, reassuring smile, adjusting her plain costume.

He looked down at his own, accented with a yellow x crossed over his chest, a target sewn in the middle of it. Almost the same as his brother's.

He hoped Scott was gonna be fine. Logan called up a blonde guy with wings to stay in charge of both him and the Professor. Scott seemed outwardly perfectly fine, which somehow made Alex even more worried.

He smiled back, before looking back at his own team. They were missing Piotr and Alex told himself he was gonna be fine. Pyro sat directly opposite him, chatting with Amara. He played with his lighter, recounting what happened in the Hellfire Club base with little flaming people. Violette sat next to him, trying to playfully blow out some of the figures.

He had Gambit next to him, hunched over, methodically working his wrist and shuffling cards. His eyes didn't move from Rogue. On Gambit's right Laura sat impossibly straight, almost unblinking. Alex worried about her during these moments, when her previous and current lives seemed to similar for comfort.

He sighed, looking down at his boots. He knew they were nearing Jean's home town, Rochester. Upstate New York wasn't that far from Long Island once you had a jet.

Alex clenched his fists, evening out his breath. He was ready. The Velocity's blades started slowing down as they got ready to touch down. He was ready. Everyone started unbuckling their seatbelts and stretching. He was ready. The hatch door opened.

He had to be.

---

Rahne shook her hands out, looking to the right at Jamie. He smiled nervously at her, giving her a thumbs up. She looked around, weirded out by the silent, residential area they landed in. There was a half empty kiddy pool a few feet away from the blackbird's front wheel. It was nearing three am, but the streetlights gave everything a light orange hue.

Logan stepped to a lightly coloured two story house. He motioned for her and Jamie to stay back, as he passed the 'FOR SALE' sign.

Rahne nervously morphed, opting to stay upright for the time. She felt her fangs sharpen and grow, the top ones slipping past her lips.

The house was silent. She hoped it meant Logan talked her down.

The ground floor window shattered, Logan flying out of it onto the cracked concrete. Jean emerged, her hair standing on ends. Logan flipped and lunged straight at her, while Jamie rolled to his other flank. Cars and furniture started flying around, along with multiple attacks from their offense team. Rahne grabbed the flying armchair and turned, using the momentum to send it flying back towards Jean.

Time stopped. Or at least it seemed like it did, because everything stalled. Rahne couldn't move, even her eyes locked in place.

"I am unmatched" The voice was distorted, deeper, but still distinctly Jean. "I am eternal. I am Phoenix."

She floated closer to them, but Rahne wasn't sure if she was looking at her or not. She seemed… Hazy. Everywhere at the same time.

All over the place.

"I could take your breaths away."

Her lungs physically constricted, expelling air out. She started panicking, but still couldn't move. She could feel herself choking.

"But I won't."

She was let go and collapsed onto the ground, gasping. Her body morphed back to her human form.

Someone moved, she could hear it. A second later she heard a yell that sounded a lot like Toad, and a loud thud – he must have hit the house.

"Amphibians can breathe through their skin" It was just Jean. The voice sounded a lot weaker, panicked. It quickly morphed back into the distorted sound of Phoenix. "Pathetic either way."

Rahne morphed into her wolf form, growling at her. As she glanced to the sides, most of them were back upright.

The metal gutters creaked and flew towards Phoenix, enveloping her. Magneto Flew up, his helmet firmly placed on his head. The metal slowly turned bright orange, before flying in red hot shards towards them, with Phoenix surrounded in a coating of flames.

Rahne caught Sam's eye, while Phoenix focused on getting rid of Magneto's helmet. Sam charged at her, while Rahne used the furniture and cars to climb closer to her. The helmet came off and hit Sam, pushing him off course. Rahne turned her eyes towards him for just a second, but it was enough – the car came out of nowhere.

---

"Fuck, fuck, fuck" Pietro scooped up Todd's limp body and tried to position him in a way that wouldn't damage him further. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

He stopped in front of the Beast before the man noticed he was gone. He laid Todd down on the stretcher delicately.
"Jesus" Pietro knew he didn't want him to hear that. The Beast immediately checked his breathing and pupillary response. "Breathing's fine, brain's working. Definite break" Todd's left shin started swelling already. "Pietro, go."

He nodded, forcing himself to look away from Todd. He ran back, quickly looking around. The cowboy was down, about to hit the ground with all of his momentum. The only thing Pietro could do to not hurt either of them further was push the mattress that lied on the grass towards the spot he was gonna hit. He heard something metallic. He turned and – that's a car crash in the air. That's a dog.

Okay, that's his life today.

He ran over and climbed on the nearby couch, leaping to push the werewolf girl down, so the car won't pin her down when it lands. He turned in the air, hugging her to his body and – fuck that hurt his back. He took half a second to breathe before rolling her off of him and getting up. He picked the dog up and ran back towards velocity, the girl morphing in his arms. As soon as she was safe and next to Beast he ran back for the cowboy.

Pietro winced as soon as he saw that the mattress dig a sizeable hole in someone's front yard. He ran up to the small heap of earth and grass, pushed most of it away and picked up the cowboy. As he was standing up his eye caught a mass of red and purple on the ground.

Fuck, fuck ,fuck.

He was back a second later, there was half a house over his father and he was visibly fighting with Phoenix, both of them trying to pin the other with it.

He looked around. There was a cloud of smoke somewhere, meaning Kurt was on the move. Evan was in the middle of shooting a spear at her. Colossus just caught a car, Tabby and sun-boy behind him. Three Jamies flanked the asian girl, who started shooting fireworks at Phoenix. The ice-guy was making an ice platform beneath Wolvie's feet. Pietro looked back at his father, trying to calculate when to intervene.

He took a running start and moved to slip beneath the falling house, grabbing his father's shoulders and bringing him along. He sat his father up delicately once they were safe.

He felt eyes on himself.

Phoenix was looking straight at him. He wasn't there a second ago. She knew to look there.

He moved away from his father, running past the slowly rising Wolverine and around the block, thinking about extremely stupid and loud things, hoping it would get her out of his head. Just America's Funniest Home Videos on repeat with the laugh track.

Fuck, he was in trouble.

---

It was unnerving to watch just more and more of his teammates come back injured. The moment Rahne went down it was just New Mutant after New Mutant. Sam, Jubilee, Bobby. When Jamie appeared on the stretcher, his upper body covered in shards of the glass window he went through he was sure Violette was gonna lose it. He grabbed her upper arm, trying to both provide comfort and keep her from throwing herself at him.

"Ray?"

He shook his head, his gaze breaking away from Jubilee. She insisted she was fine and a dislocated shoulder wasn't going to stop her.

"I'm fine."

Mr. McCoy had to give her meds to basically knock her out to stop her from going back.

"Come on" Amara grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the Velocity and back to where they were huddled, getting ready.

"The moment Wolverine retreats, we're on" Storm reminded them, adjusting her cloak. "We have to give our all. There have been moments Phoenix wavered – we have to take advantage of them. I'll try luring her out to the Genesee Park, less property damage and civilians."

They mostly quietly evacuated the nearby houses, the Brotherhood's SHIELD badges coming in handy. Jean's parents were in the middle of selling her childhood home after her older sister moved out, lucking out to not be present for this tragedy.

Ray looked back at the foldable cots set up in the Velocity, with Mr. McCoy meticulously monitoring everyone. Bobby started to stir, probably about to wake up.

Pietro appeared, Magneto limply hanging off his shoulder.

"Let's go" Miss Munroe flew up and directly past the Phoenix, before trying to push her pack with powerful winds.

Ray ran after Lance, watching as Kurt ported back with Roberto and Tabitha, all of them slumping down to their knees, exhausted.

---

They were getting their asses kicked.

Invisibility was out of the question for her, Phoenix could tell where she was no problem. She blocked most of her attacks, the ones getting through barely leaving a scratch.

Spectre was trying to keep up, despite her confidence taking a hit when Phoenix took down Gambit. Her eyes kept wandering to the building Phoenix sent him through, the skyscraper's windows broken by the explosion.

Jesus, she hoped Remy's mutation had something to do with being immune to his own powers.

Lorna stopped the trash can three feet away from her face. Violette shook her head, nodding to the girl and trying to get back into the right mindset.

She did another lap around Phoenix, trying to find a vulnerable spot by methodically sending zaps at her. Ray sent lightings to any spot that seemed to not be closely guarded. Storm kept most of the Phoenix's attention on herself, never slowing down.

Spectre caught a glint of metallic claws, Laura was trying to find an opening. She wasn't the only one who noticed. Wanda used her powers to throw one of the overturned city benches at Phoenix, the side opposite to where Laura was hiding.

Phoenix's head snapped towards Wanda, her hand following suit. The concrete bench stalled in the air, before flying back at a faster pace, pinning Wanda to the ground. Spectre tried to tell herself that the crack didn't sound like an awfully broken bone. Before Phoenix could go back to Storm and no doubt notice Laura pouncing on her, Spectre shot straight at her face. The flames around her grew slightly bigger, as Spectre saw the nearest car shake. She dove down once it started flying and watched as Laura sliced the Phoenix's shin open. She grabbed her foot, using her weight to bring her lower towards the ground. Fred ran up and jumped, grabbing her other foot. Phoenix struggled against their grips, as Fred used his other hand to grab the curb. Lorna lifted the car Phoenix sent flying at Spectre and flattened it out as much as she could and when Laura let go and Fred swung Phoenix towards the ground, she laid it over her like a blanket, the metal bending to fit her shape. Rogue ran over, peeling off her glove, about to touch Phoenix's cheek when she opened her eyes and exploded into flames. Lance threw his hands forward, creating a circular wall around her, trying to keep the flames away from them. St. John contained he flames spilling out, creating a flaming dome on top. Amara walked over next to Lance, using her powers to pull lava up through the cracks in the concrete. She covered the entire structure in it, before extinguishing it.

Storm flew down to help Rogue get up, checking the girl over.

"Huh" Lorna walked a bit closer to the dome. "Well that was-"

The dome heated up momentarily, before exploding. Fred caught one of the bigger rocks before it hit Amara and Lance, while Kitty grabbed the one flying at Storm and Rogue, phasing it through them. Violette watched as Alex flattened himself against the ground, before running to a badly hit Lorna. She herself tried to catch a flying Ray before he hit the concrete, barely managing to do it. Pietro appeared right next to her immediately and took the badly burned Ray from her arms. She blinked, before turning back to the Phoenix.

She was pissed, surrounded by a halo of fire.

Spectre decided what she needed to do.

Buy them time.

She sped right next to the Phoenix, zapping her as she passed. It did exactly what she wanted – Phoenix started following her.

She had a running start to figure out what to do now.

Spectre looked around in panic, trying to find a way out, any way out at all.

She could feel the heat of the Phoenix warming up her legs, the woman zooming closer and closer.

She noticed a row of parked cars in the distance.

'Now that's a stupid idea.'

She still needed to buy the others time.

Spectre flew at top speed, searching for a lone car. She spotted one at the end of the block.

'Come on.'

Spectre didn't dare look behind her as the heat started to crawl up her calves.

'It's way too stupid.'

She flew lower, her eyes trained on the driver's side window. She tucked her chin towards her chest, her hair falling forward as an additional layer of protection. She closed her eyes.

'Stupid enough it might work.'

Her outstretched fists collided with the glass first. They were definitely bleeding. She held her breath as they hit the passenger's side window. Half a second later the heat at her feet grew as the Phoenix flew in behind her. The fire surrounding her engulfed the car, making the engine combust.

The force of the explosion pushed Spectre forward, her body landing on the asphalt.

She hoped it was enough as she blacked out.

---

Pyro watched as the car Violette disappeared into exploded. A limp, flesh colored lump landed a few feet away, and St. John tried really hard to disassociate it with his teammate. He could see it disappear in a blur and convinced himself that she was gonna be okay, that Pietro was going to take care of her.

He lifted some of the flames off the car and crouched down, creating a ring of fire around himself. The wreck started to move and he held his breath, ready for the attack.

As soon as he felt the familiar warmth of fire get closer, he raised the flames up, enclosing himself in a fiery dome.

The Phoenix flew through it, her singed clothes and a small gash on her forehead the only indications of the previous fight.

St. John lunged to his side and pushed his body off the ground back, his feet colliding with her side. He landed back into a crouch as her body slid to the edge of the dome.

'Caught her off guard, that's good.'

He didn't kid himself with the idea of putting her down in hand-to-hand combat. But roughing her up would help.

He felt his body being pushed back and held onto the curb, throwing his left hand forward, a wave of flames rushing towards her.

He could picture fear in Jean's eyes and tried to disassociate further, because that wasn't Jean, that wasn't fear, it was rage and those eyes looked nothing like Red's did.

She was no longer there when the wave passed, but he felt the fingers of his right hand being pushed back, away from the curb. One by one they bent at an unnatural angle and Jin was blinded by pain. His body was lifted into the air, his chin pulled up and his eyelids forced open.

"Pathetic."

In a single blow he collided with the stairs leading to an apartment building.

The heat around him grew, but the flames were more welcoming and caring than those of Phoenix. He opened his eyes to see Amara in front of him, countering Phoenix's blows with blasts of red hot lava coming from the cracks in the asphalt.

'That's my girl.'

It was beautiful, how the flames and heat danced around them and St. John's broken hand itched to join them. He could see the blur of Pietro getting closer and shook his head, standing up. He still had some fire left in him.

He used his left hand to create a chariot and stepped on, urging the flaming horses forward. He chucked fireballs at Phoenix, distracting her every now and again and letting Amara deal a blow. They singed more of her clothes but mostly just seemed to piss her off.

With a flick of her wrist Amara flew back and she must have known what that would do to him. He couldn't help but watch her back hit the sidewalk, turning his carriage around and opening his chest to an attack. Phoenix flew forward and hit him in the ribs, knocking his breath out of him. She grabbed his suit and flung him towards Amara and he tried to break his fall in a way not to crush her, ending up landing on his broken hand.

Laura took over as he crawled towards Amara, sighing with relief when he felt her breath on his cheek.

Now he was done.

Chapter 15: Just a Spoiled Little Kid Who Went To Catholic School

Notes:

Title from Lincoln's Saint Bernard

Laura kicked one of her legs forward, the momentum mid flight turning her back to face Phoenix as she landed in a crouch. Blob ran towards the burning figure, currently mostly sticking to the ground after Laura left a few marks on her – nothing serious. She didn't want her bleeding out or having permanent damage. Jean's body was still hers. Laura did calculated slices, ones away from major arteries and ligaments, mostly surface level. Placed strategically, spots which pulled whenever she moved.

She knew that agony. Did multiple training sessions with deep cuts like that – deep enough it took a while to heal them all. To make sure they wouldn't slow her down.

She took off, running after Blob and launching herself off his back, attacking from higher up as he swung. They didn't do much – Phoenix was faster than him, even while injured. But it was a great distraction, allowed her a bit of time to do more.

"So you really are a soulless machine after all, X23" Laura refused to let the words stop her. Blob got pushed away, his feet leaving wells in the concrete as he braced against the force field. Phoenix cocked her head as she leaned to the side, Laura's left fist missing her face by an inch. She quickly withdrew her hand, turning her body, her foot colliding with Phoenix's waist, pushing her over. She levitated herself back upright before she hit the ground. "Everyone else hesitates to hurt me. Even the Brotherhood" Her voice slowly melted back to Jean's. The flames moved closer to her, burning at Laura's back. She launched another attack, her right foot's claw managed to cut a bit around the Phoenix's ankle. She cried out, grabbing Laura's right hand and bending it back at full force. The claw of her left hand sliced above her knee. "But not you. We've lived together for months now. We're friends, aren't we? Then why are you hurting me?"

Her voice wavered at the end. Laura flinched.

Phoenix immediately went for her core, exposed by her shoulders relaxing momentarily, her hands falling slightly to her sides. The full force of the blow wasn't much – but the flames licking at her flesh hurt. Phoenix's other hand grabbed at her chin as she curled inward to shield her hurt chest. Laura moved her hands forward, ready for her claws to cut Phoenix's sides – but it was Jean, it was Jean's eyes that widened as she hurt her and Laura retracted her claws, gasping.

The uppercut swept her off her feet. She landed on her right hand, dislocating her wrist. She set it back immediately. The burn the hit left on her jaw stung even as it healed.

She hurt Jean. She hurt her.

"It's so easy for you" Laura took a deep breath, still facing the concrete. Phoenix's steps made her ears twitch. "To not have feelings. To just hurt people. It's what you were made to do, X23."

Laura pushed herself back into a roll, her feet hitting Phoenix's hips. She flew back, smashing into a nearby car. Laura turned to face her as soon as she landed, but she was already gone. She sniffed, but the flames around her dimmed her senses.

'You'll always be like this.'

The assault on her mind distracted her further. Images of Logan, Jamie and her teammates pulled to the forefront, all of them twisted, filled with doubt, awkwardness, fear.

'They'll never see you as anything other than what you were born as.'

Her eyes stung, the smoke and heat getting to her head. She couldn't breathe, everything was closing in on her – her thoughts, the flames, the smoke filling her lungs.

The ground started to shake around her, She felt an arm on her shoulder, grabbing her suit – a huge arm, definitely Blob. She got pulled away, the flames dimming under an assault of rain.

The earth stood still just moments earlier, during their retreat. Avalanche's yell rung through her ears.

---

Remy woke up right before they retreated, at least that's what Mr. McCoy told her. He was groaning when she approached the stretcher.

His skin was covered in miniature cuts from the shattered glass, but thankfully the energy he produced didn't hurt him – a miracle really, considering how much damage was made by the explosion.

"Remy?" She leaned over, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Ro'?"His head turned slightly. "La chienne fait un gâchis de moi."

She understood the sentiment. Her covered fingertips brushed against his forehead as she adjusted his hair.

"Ah'm doin' it."

He sighed, closing his eyes. She left a kiss on his bandaged shoulder as she walked away.

---

Miss Munroe and Evan kept Phoenix busy as Mr. Logan tried to form a coherent plan. Kitty tried to listen as her eyes wandered to the Velocity, where SHIELD agents moved the injured towards their helicopters. She felt uneasy with any government organization, shivering when she remembered the last time any of them touched their bodies. Recovering her friends from a military base.

Lance's entire left arm was badly burned. She had to phase the upper half of his suit off him, the reinforced material SHIELD provided for him slightly melting into his wounds. She stared at the visible handprint left among the burns, before she got pulled away by Mr. Logan.

She hoped it wouldn't still be visible on his bicep after the burns healed. That it would melt into the other scars.

That she wouldn't have to look at it again.

Wanda stood next to her, her left arm tightly bandaged after she refused to be benched. Pietro fussed about it for a few seconds, but even he had to admit they needed her on the field. They were already halved, the remaining ones already exhausted.

The plan changed drastically. They were supposed to keep Rogue safe, as she went on a suicide mission. Again.

Kitty almost refused to let her. That was her ex-roommate, her friend, her sister. She already risked her life for all of them once.

But Rogue's powers were what they needed. So she kept her mouth shut, agreed to do what she was told, and just squeezed her hand as she moved to her position with Alex.

---

"Hey, Pete."

Piotr looked down at Tabitha as she cracked her knuckles and shook out her hands. She gave him a tired smile.

They were assigned the left flank, Rogue surrounded by all of them with Kurt and Roberto right next to her. Blob and Scarlet Witch took the rear, Alex and Kitty the right, while Laura and Logan decided to tear their way through at the front.

"You know, if we don't survive this" She stood on her tiptoes and brushed her lips against his cheek. "You're pretty fine. Would totally like get a coffee or something with you."

He felt his cheeks heat up, but thankfully his blush wouldn't be visible in his metal form. He cleared his throat.

"Спасибо. Ugh, thank you" He cleared his throat. "Sounds nice."

"Better live through this then" She nodded, facing straight ahead.

---

Wanda took a deep breath, raised her hands and bent the surrounding lampposts, their bulbs cracking. Her fingers danced in the air as they moved around Phoenix at faster and faster pace, while Sunspot used his energy blasts to melt the top together resembling a moving cage. Havok timed his blasts, most of them landing between the posts, pushing the injured Phoenix lower and lower to the ground. Evan sent a series of spears out of his hands, embedding them into the concrete around her. Wanda slowed the posts down a bit to let Boom Boom release handfuls of bombs, piling them into the bottom. They all stepped back as Wanda went back to circling them faster and faster around Phoenix.

The explosion shook the earth beneath their feet. Wanda stumbled a bit, Fred catching her with his right hand before she fell. Chunks of metal went flying in every direction. Fred caught the one coming at them with his other hand, throwing it to the side. She could see Kitty phasing her and Alex, and heard Kurt porting near them. She could feel the heat from their spot at the back and hoped that Wolverine and X23 were a bit fireproof on top of their healing factor. Storm seemed to extinguish the surroundings of the Phoenix's flames, no doubt to make it easier for them to exist in her vicinity.

Wanda righted herself up, planning her next move as a flood opened in her brain, something breaking down walls she was unaware were there.

Her happy memories of childhood with father melting into pictures of loneliness, sadness and so much anger. Five years of living without human touch and connection, just an odd visit from Charles Xavier every few months.

"Wanda?" A gust of warm air brushed over the top of her head as a huge man leaned over her.

She knew that was Fred talking to her, the same guy that made her breakfast for over a year now, that sang along to the radio while doing so to make her niece giggle. But when she looked up her first instinct was to push him as far away from her as she could.

"Get away" Her voice wavered as she used her powers to leave herself surrounded by nothing but the safe ground beneath her knees. She could feel her blood rushing through her body, her heart beating wildly in her constricting chest. "Get away! Get away!"

She must have hurt somebody, the energy swimming around her changed. She felt someone moving towards her and lashed out, screaming.

"Wanda!" She knew that voice so well, it used to be almost the same as hers when they were kids. "Sora, hey, listen to me, I'm gonna take you home."

Pietro.

Her hands shook in rage, as she finally had a target.

He left her to rot.

Her right hand flew forward, grasping at the air and pulling him towards her with her magic.

---

"New plan, we need a new plan!" Kitty tried to grasp at Wanda to phase her away, but was being stopped by a spell protecting Wanda's back.

Rogue eyed the remaining mutants, trying to calculate the best course of action.

"Evan, Fred and Kitty, try to talk her down, take her out if it won't work" She waved her hand towards Phoenix, a gesture meant to rush the others into action. "Everyone else, we try again."

She fought hard with herself not to look back at Wanda, her tear stained, broken face already imprinted in her mind.

---

When Ray tracked him down, he didn't feel ready to resurface.

Callisto already eyed him suspiciously after Apocalypse, waiting for him to go back to the surface for good. Instead, he asked her to be the one to try grocery shopping at night, as he guarded the rest. Because the surface exhausted him. Especially after seeing the way his friends – ex-friends – looked at him.

The manhole covers around him started shaking, before flying past him and straight at Pietro. Kitty tackled him, phasing them. Evan pinned a few down with spears, as Blob destroyed the rest.

The way he left things with Wanda especially pained him.

When they used to be kids, back in Brooklyn, the three of them were inseparable. Wanda and Pietro stuck to each other like glue, going everywhere together even when Evan wasn't a fan of playing with a girl at first.

But then when he was about ten he got awkward around her. Because he wasn't old enough to really go after her in any meaningful way, but old enough to know he liked her. So he just mumbled around her every now and again, blushing when she bullied them into playing house with her.

Blob tried talking to her about something, Luna and taking care of her - probably a dog or something. Evan worked his way towards her and exchanged looks with him.

Wanda was still in hysterics, ignoring everything around them. Evan barely managed to duck as a hood of a nearby car flew at him, or rather at Pietro, still being held back by Kitty.

He knew he had to do something.

When she used to scrape her knees during their – very childish attempts at – basketball games, he would help her pick gravel out of the wound. Pietro never had the patience for that, and there were spots she couldn't see that well, with her cheek pressed into her leg. She never cried over it, just hissed if he dug into a particularly tender spot. She'd thank him afterwards. Both of the twins used to have tiny gaps between their front teeth back then.

He managed to make his way a few feet to her left, waiting for an opening.

She cried once, it was when Pietro broke his arm falling off the monkey bars at school. Her father had to come pick them both up, since she wouldn't budge from her spot next to her brother. They took turns carrying Pietro's backpack for the entire month his arm was in the cast.

Evan leapt towards her as she threw her arms back, forming a long, blunt piece of bone in his left hand. His right hand forced her arms to stay back as he hit her with it, praying that he wouldn't cause her any permanent damage.

The first time he saw her as a teenager, in that cursed mall, she was equally as guarded as when she was a kid. But she didn't remind him of the way she was when she played with him, or when she dusted off her scratches. She seemed like the Wanda he saw that one day on the elementary school playground, and never again after that. And that seemed to be her new status quo.

As the flat end made contact with her temple her eyes widened for a second before closing. As she went limp in his arms, her wet cheek brushed against the exposed skin on the inside of his elbow.

---

Rogue mentally prepared herself to jump into the fire, tossing her gloves to the side. She knew the longer she stalled, the more casualties would weigh on her conscience.

They should have just dropped her on top of Phoenix immediately. She could have probably talked Violette into it, using the remnants of the girl's misplaced sense of guilt. Maybe Magneto, he always prided himself over knowing sacrifices need to be made.

They were losing badly, have been for hours. And Rogue could have solved that.

Piotr and Roberto tore their way through with fire and brute force, leaving Rogue to trail behind them. Alex continued to blast Phoenix off to the side, as Logan and Laura kept engaging in hand-to-hand combat. Laura landed right in front of Piotr after particularly hard blow, catching Rogue's eyes.

The younger girl seemed to calculate something, before telling Roberto to move aside.

They were just a few feet away from Phoenix. The fire seemed to dull each time she was dealt a blow by Logan, from around six feet to waist high.

"Throw me the moment Wolverine's out" Laura turned to Piotr. "Right at her. Rogue, the second I hit her, move in."

Rogue allowed herself to glance at Logan, before nodding. She'd probably chuckle at the sight of Laura curled up into a ball, her feet resting on Piotr's palm under any other circumstance.

Logan got thrown at a nearby building. Before he even made contact, Laura was in the air, claws extended. Phoenix turned to face her, gasping when one of the claws sunk into her hip. Rogue took a running start, crossing the flames, now barely knee high. Phoenix's eyes lit up with violent, orange flames as she grabbed at Laura, her force unleashing in a powerful wave. Rogue held onto the ground as hard as she could, her feet dragging back despite her digging them in. Laura screamed, retracting her claws and flying back, through the once again raging wall of fire.

She was alone.

Phoenix turned to her, lowering herself to the ground, her face twisting into a grimace as her injured leg touched the ground. She didn't seem to be bleeding terribly, despite the deep puncture wounds. Rogue stood up, feeling the ring around them tighten, the heat warming her back uncomfortably.

"Why would you waste your time on these insects, when you hold such power?"

Rogue shivered as the flames licked at her bare fingers, the red figure in front of her smiling enticingly. She started to use Jean's voice again, another layer to her manipulation.

She picked the wrong target.

Rogue refused to close her eyes, staring straight into the entity's face.

"You have potential, Rogue."

The tips of her fingers started to ache. She fixed her fighting stance, not breaking the eye contact.

"Fuck off."

Phoenix flew towards her but she held her ground, ready. She let her hand burn as she touched the entity's cheek, the pull of her powers barely strong enough to stop her from falling over under the Phoenix's force. Rogue felt her mind burn and let go as soon as she absorbed all of the flames. Jean's limp body collapsed onto the asphalt as Rogue could already feel her own self being pushed to the back of her mind as flames surrounded her body.

"Imagine all of the things we could do, Anna."

Her own name echoed through her mind. She was trapped, surrounded by fire as she watched cities burn down, could feel the power over life and death feed the flames further.

"I could give you what you want."

She could see herself hugging Kitty, the girl's hands touching her bare shoulders. Logan mussing up her hair like he did with the other students. Kurt touching her arm as he told another one of his corny jokes.

Rogue could see herself touching Remy's cheek, her bare fingers heating up from his warmth. Kissing him, slowly, passionately. His fingers digging into her body.

"Just join me, Anna."

She felt a hand on her shoulder and shivered, turning.

It was Jean, the one she kept inside her mind after absorbing her powers. She kept all the people locked in the back of her mind after her meltdown, but now she must have landed back there with them.

A calming wave of water extinguished some of the flames as Jean stood next to her, facing the invader. Her hand moved down from Rogue's shoulder to grab her bare hand.

"You always help me with my mind when I need it" The redhead smiled, tightening her grip on Rogue's fingers. "It's about time I helped you with yours."

Something inside her mind started to crack and Rogue pushed forward, urged on by Jean. With every step more of the flames disappeared and she could feel more and more control return to her. It seemed like forever until she was back at the forefront of her own mind, the Phoenix still fighting for total control.

"You'll never have that without me, Anna" The entity seemed almost desperate. "I'm the things you fear about yourselves, the secrets you keep in the dark. And you can't get rid of me."

The cracks deepened and something akin to a wall collapsed, and Rogue felt more in control over her own self than she ever did.

"That's where you're wrong."

She forced all of her energy into a mental wave, extinguishing the last wisp of Phoenix into nothing.

Rogue gasped, her eyes suddenly snapping open.

Remy was kneeling on the sidewalk still bandaged up, her body pulled into his lap, his own eyes wide.

"Rogue? Are you okay, cherie? Did it work?"

"Anna" She blurted out, her chest constricting slightly. She couldn't be the last person to use her name.

"What?"

She raised her hand, slowly brushing his hair away from his face. The edges of her vision started to blur.

"My name."

That took the last bit of her energy out of her. She closed her eyes as her arm fell down, her bare hand brushing against the concrete.

Chapter 16: What's So Simple In The Moonlight By The Morning Never Is

Notes:

Title from Bright Eyes' Lua. Slight warning for descriptions of pretty severe injuries. As far as this story is concerned, after this chapter there's just an epilogue left - I'd love to promise it will come early, but I know myself and I won't lie to yall.

Evan emerged from the fiery wreck of the city center with Wanda delicately cradled to his chest. Pietro swallowed the bile that rose to his throat and ran over, taking his sister from his… Ex-best friend? Ex-nemesis? Who was Evan Daniels to him right now?

In between running back and forth with the injured he didn’t allow himself to worry about her, knowing what it would do to him. But when Phoenix decided to fuck with her head further, unlock whatever father pushed back – don’t think about it.

“Thank you” He nodded, looking straight into his eyes to try and avoid casting his eyes on the overgrown bone. “Will you stay?”

“No” Evan shook his head, his hand reaching for Wanda’s, before retreating to his side. “Not now. Maybe… Maybe someday.”

Pietro put Wanda down on the nearest stretcher and walked over to him, hugging the man. It was awkward and physically uncomfortable with Daniels’ spikes, but his arms still circled around Pietro’s back.

“You can always come up and hang out with the Hood” He patted the bone over Evan’s shoulder-blade before stepping back. “I-I’ve got a kid now.”

“Whoa” Evan started to blink rapidly. “Wait, how old-”

“She just turned two” Pietro patted his suit pockets until he found a picture. “Luna.”

“Cute name” Evan was clearly still shocked, because it took him a while to take the offered paper. “She looks like you.”

“Yeah” He hoped she would turn out to be completely different with everything else. But even at two, Luna still showed some Pietro-esque behaviors. Like being awfully impatient, even with her speedster of a father. “She’d probably love to meet you. She already loves the Ninja Turtles.”

“Good to know you’re still an asshole” Evan gave him back his picture, chuckling. “At least that didn’t change.”

“I’m serious, Daniels” Pietro made an effort to look the guy straight in the eyes. “Stay for a few days. She’ll probably feel better.”

He wondered if his sister would ever even speak to him without trying to hurt him.

He deserved that.

---

Violette’s legs were covered in burns, which paired terribly with her bandaged fists. Laura’s roommate however waved off her concern, asking if the explosion looked cool. Pyro said it did look beautiful, but her limp noodle body blown back by it ruined his experience. His right hand was left to rest for now, to be set after a series of X-rays. Piotr fussed over the blankets covering each of them, murmuring to himself in Russian. She caught a few curses, but actively refused to listen closely, knowing it was his way to cope. Alex walked around the SHIELD medical tent, touching the tops of their heads while counting to six over and over again, clearly as a way to calm himself. Gambit looked all of them over once before going back to Rogue’s cot, raising her gloved hand to rest his forehead on.

“Laura!”

The girl turned away from her hurt teammates to face her surprisingly emotional father. She could clearly see his lip tremble as he walked over and hesitantly reached out his hand. She nodded her head and immediately was pressed into his chest. His suit was ripped to shreds, causing his rough chest hair to tickle her cheek in a bizarre way.

She tried to wrap her arms around him, but her hands still couldn’t reach all the way.

“I know I can get through anything, not a thing people haven't tried” He said into her hair, his hand clutching the back of her suit. She could smell the saltiness of tears, sharply contrasting with the usual tabacco and musk. “But with you... Well, guess I doubt our powers.”

“I’m okay” She could hear his heart beating rhythmically right by her ear. Her throat dried up, something constricting her windpipe. The vision Phoenix showed her back at the Hellfire base flashed in her mind, making her own eyes sting with unshed tears.

She heard her teammates awkwardly whisper to each other, their voices making her relax enough to let a few of them escape. This was her family, became so in only six months, when the first fifteen years of her life were spent alone. She brushed away her tears with Logan’s shredded shirt. When he tried to pull away after a minute she shook her head, tightening her grip on his uniform, despite her spine starting to ache from hunching over.

“Laura?”

She opened her eyes, watching Jamie stumble in, almost tripping over a set of cables running towards the occupied cots.

“Why are you out of your tent, Monkey King?” Logan’s voice lacked its usual gruff, but Jamie still shivered under his scrutiny.

“I-I just wanted t-to check up on Laura” The top half of his uniform was off, his chest covered in bandages, small patches of seeped through blood highlighted by the stark white.

“I’m just old trash apparently” She heard Violette whisper to their teammates, Piotr chuckling warmly in the background.

Logan grumbled something and let go of her, ruffling her hair. She could see him raise a finger to his nose and knew he sent Jamie a look, because the boy swallowed audibly.

Laura walked over to him, raising an eyebrow in question.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine-”

“I mean, with the fighting Jean part.”

She immediately shut her mouth, her teeth clinking against each other. She let herself glance at the cot she knew was occupied by her, surrounded by privacy screens. Her heartbeat was back to normal, strong but no longer fast like a hummingbirds the way it was while she was still Phoenix. She could clearly smell Jean’s blood, not only on the girls cuts but lingering on the spot where Laura wiped her claws off it on her own suit. The boy’s blue eyes raked over her face, waiting for a tell on her thoughts.

“It was awful” She finally said, the silence around them making her face heat up. They were far enough from her team so that their hushed voices wouldn’t be heard and she felt grateful for that. No need for more people than Jamie to know about it. “And I hope I never have to relive that.”

“I’m sorry” He took her hand, the chunky glove she was wearing making hers almost as big as his. He towered over her, his brand new 5’7 starting to dwarf her 5’2, making her even more annoyed about the fact that the adamantium covering her bones stunted her already unimpressive growth. Although with her father sporting a whooping 5’5, she probably didn’t have much growing left in her either way.

He sounded genuine, unafraid. She was sure most of the Institute kids still feared her. They probably didn’t have a chance not to, only being around her during missions and training. She felt her chest swell, thinking about how he insisted on being near her since the beginning, despite her finding him annoying at first, so she could have a friend.

She nodded, her fingers tightening around his.

“Do you feel okay with hugging?” He asked her, sounding hopeful.

Laura let herself wrap her arms low around his hips, still keeping a minuscule distance to not agitate his cuts. Jamie’s hands felt warm against her back, his breath brushing the top of her head in a surprisingly pleasant way.

When they stepped back she decided to think about her feelings at a later date. Because the way he whispered that he cared about her against her forehead made her heart skip a bit.

---

Lorna looked up as she heard the flap of the med tent she was stationed in open. New Mutants shared it with the Brotherhood, which caused her to ask Mr McCoy to put up privacy curtains all around her cot. She couldn’t look at the twins any longer – or rather, look at Pietro. Wanda peacefully laid on her own cot, the slight bruising on her temple and a bandaged arm seeming incredibly slight in comparison to Toad next to her, the skinny boy covered in casts, gauzes and bandages, hooked to machines she had no idea about. Her med training was supposed to start yesterday, but she guessed she’d have to learn on the job at the institute, if anyone let her move at all. She was scheduled for an X-ray after they finished with Bobby, to check whether any of her ribs were broken.

The tiny gap in between her privacy curtains just let her catch a glimpse of purple, but she already knew who it was. Her spine straightened immediately.

She saw him without his helmet a few hours ago and had to admit, she could see the similarities between them. Pietro stood right next to him, but the more she looked between the two of them the less she was convinced he looked like a carbon copy of his father. Their shared coloring did most of the trick, but she could see both her and Wanda took after him more.

What a weird thought. To compare herself this much to complete strangers. Strangers who shared her DNA.

She jumped a bit as she heard a metallic clank – someone was knocking on the frames of the curtain right in front of her.

“Yes?” Her voiced sounded wheezy and weak. She probably did break a rib.

The curtain moved and Magneto – her father – stood before her, his face neutral, although his ripped cape exposed a bandaged thigh. He limped slightly as he walked over to her cot, resting his hand on the frame.

“How are you feeling, Miss Dane?” He didn’t look at her, instead grabbing the chart on the foot of her bed. If not for the costume, he’d look as if he were her doctor.

She had no idea how to answer. Miss Dane? He surely knew who she was. The picture in the file X-Force recovered was a bit old, but there was no mistaking her hair.

Magneto sighed and finally let his gaze meet hers. She froze as he half-sat by her feet, suddenly seeming much older. Or maybe his age.

“I’m sorry” He said quietly, as if afraid anyone would hear him apologize. “For not contacting you sooner. I’m afraid I’ve only learned about your existence a few months before, while you were already at the Institute. Despite my retirement, I doubted it would be a welcome surprise.”

She always knew her dad wasn’ther biological father. She suspected he knew that too, from the way he looked at her until the divorce. Her thoughts were confirmed after her parents officially split and he never tried contacting her at all. Her mom thought she had her fooled and pretended he was just a regular asshole who didn’t care about his kid. Lorna didn’t have the heart to come clean to her.

But yeah, finding out her father was a mutant terrorist, that was a bit of a shock. Maybe finding out from a file was the better option. Let her have some distance.

“It’s fine” Because it was. He didn’t really owe her anything then, if he had no idea. She should probably be pissed at her mother for keeping her from knowing him, but it was probably for the best. And from the whispers she heard about him and his other kids, she was lucky they met after his retirement.

“I would like to get to know you properly, Miss Dane” Did he think she wouldn’t want him to use her name? Was he this formal to let her keep her distance? To cushion his feelings if she refused? She didn’t know him well enough to read him, and his guarded expression didn’t help. “If you’d be okay with that, of course.”

She glanced behind him at the space he exposed while opening her curtain. She could see Pietro sitting next to Wanda’s bed. He looked up for a second and their eyes met.

“I-I” They weren’t mad anymore. “I need to think about it.”

Magneto nodded and stood up, his hand hesitating before landing on her forearm.

“Even if you refuse my offer, you should talk to Pietro and Wanda” He said, the guard behind his eyes cracking. She could see the gray orbs glisten under the fluorescents. “While I may not ever be a part of your family in your eyes, they should be. Believe me, they’re amazing and you shouldn’t miss a chance to have them in your life.”

He looked chocked up as he spoke about them. Something in Lorna cracked. No one ever spoke about her like that, like she was their treasure, like it pained them to think about life without her.

She nodded. Magneto took his hand away and wished her health before limping away, leaving the curtain open.

---

He finally left his team just to walk into the other tent. She got hurt, but only enough to have to sit out the last few minutes. He was too far away to help her. It was his fault.

She sat at Amara’s side, the injured girl breathing slowly but strongly. He looked at her for a second, to tell St. John how she was.

“Tabita” Piotr cleared his throat and pointed towards her shoulder when she looked up. “What did the doctor say?”

“Eh, probably broken collarbone and a giant cast for a while, but I’m towards the end of the X-ray queue” She shrugged with her left one. Her right arm was resting on a sling, tied to her chest with a bandage. “They kinda don’t trust me not to move it around. Can’t blame them.”

They both chuckled. She cocked her head to the side, smirking.

“If you want to cash in that coffee now, I’m afraid we don’t really have that many options around.”

Piotr felt his cheeks heat up. He rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand, as his right one rested on her uninjured shoulder.

“How about one when we’re back home?” He smiled at her, his cheeks surely red by now. “Or maybe чай. Uhm, tea. You’ll need your sleep.”

“Damn, what a caring guy you are” Her smirk turned into a grin. “Sure. Oh, could you come a bit closer? I think you have something on your face.”

He felt mortified, imagining some horrendous blobs of dirt on his face while he talked to her. He obliged and leaned towards her.

Tabitha grabbed the back of his neck with her left hand and closed the gap between them, kissing him. His eyes fluttered shut.

He ignored the whistling somewhere to the side when they moved apart, his face already flaming hot without thinking about having an audience.

“I think we’ll have a lot of fun, Pete” She patted his cheek before yawning. “Damn, maybe you were right about taking a nap. Think you could help me stand up, big guy? I’m kinda wobbly and don’t want to break a fall with my last good hand.”

Instead of that he picked her up delicately, smiling as her own cheeks turned a dusty pink. He put her down on an unoccupied cot, leaving a tender kiss on her forehead before leaving.

---

Remy decided to let Wolverine battle it out with SHIELD when the organization wanted to move them to their base instead of the Institute. He knew the man would do anything to keep their hands away from both Jean and Rogue.

She wanted him to know her name. He wasn’t sure if only him, so he kept it to himself, mouthing it along her covered knuckles to test it out.

Anna.

He knew it already, could feel it the second he heard her say it. Just before she touched him.

Remy’s eyes traveled to her other hand, pale and exposed to the chilly early morning air. He didn’t know if the touch was a fluke or a thing to stay. He’d love to say he didn’t care about it, but knew it would influence her thoughts about them being together, as if her powers were the thing stopping them before. She finally let him in despite them, after months of convincing and a realization of her own mortality. Would that fleeting touch, a quick brush of fingers against his cheek, make her retreat?

He felt a heavy hand clap his shoulder.

“We’re going home, Gumbo” Logan’s gruff voice sounded weird, the underlying exhaustion seeming out of place. He sounded like all of them felt. “Keep an eye on her until we’re rid of them.”

Any samples they craved were probably already picked out from the bins overflowing with used gauze and bandages. But Remy still nodded, the man’s grasp on his shoulder tightening for a second before disappearing.

Apparently he just earned his X-Men stripes.

Traveling back to the Institute with so many of them injured was a hard, but thankfully quick process. With the abundance of SHIELD helicopters and jets on the scene doing ‘clean up’ he was in the med bay still by Rogue’s side in two hours.

“She’ll probably be up soon” Beast checked her vitals for the last time, sighing. “Please tell her the Professor’s already awake. She’ll feel better knowing that.”

He didn’t mention Jean.

---

He looked around the tiny kitchen, feeling a bit uncomfortable in the unfamiliar space. Wanda was lying upstairs, still unconscious after he took her down. Todd got moved along with all of the machinery into his room, but he was set to wake up in a few hours as the drugs wore off. Fred stood by the stove, refusing Evan’s offer of help as he made piles of different favorites, comforting himself while making the Brotherhood’s comfort foods. Lance sat with his chair scooted as close to Kitty’s as possible, his right arm pulling the surprisingly unharmed girl even closer, his left one covered in antibiotic cream. Evan was glad to at least have Kitty here with him, even if she was ten times more at ease.

His eyes kept drifting to the toddler Pietro bounced on his knees. Luna stared right back, her hands moving as if to poke the bone covering his forearm.

Maybe this was a mistake.

“Do you wanna hold her, Daniels?” Pietro’s tone barely resembled what he sounded like all those years ago. Only a sliver of the mocking remained, covered by warmth and joy that sounded incredibly unusual for Evan.

“Sure” He delicately put his hands on Luna’s sides, transferring her to his knees. The girl poked at the bone covering his peck. “Hi there. I’m Evan.”

She cocked her head to the side.

“Hi, I’m Luna” She smiled, showing a perfect set of tiny teeth. She pointed towards the bones on the top of his head. “Turtle?”

Evan sighed as everyone started chuckling. He couldn’t help but join in, his previously tense shoulders sagging.

---

The moment he woke up, he needed to be near her.

Warren – what is he doing here? - had to stop him from going after the teams, at times with logic, other times with brute force. Because he couldn’t stay behind. He couldn’t leave them to fight alone. He couldn’t leave her alone. Not when she needed him.

When they came back, Scott could once again feel her. The connection they forged way back when he helped her during her first power surge, the one he thought they lost a few weeks ago, when her mind started to betray her.

Jean was back to the way she was before the headaches, levitating things at random and accidentally reading minds. Back to normal.

Her breathing was even, stable. He could see the way her chest rose and lowered in fluid movements. The steady beating of her heart rang through the room.

Up - and down. Up - and down.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

There were a few scratches on her face and he caught a glimpse of a bandage around her thigh before Mr McCoy covered her with the sheet. But she looked miles better than most of the other residents of the Institute. Gambit and Jamie had to be looked over for any stray pieces of glass embedded into their bodies. Tabitha was put in a cast that basically covered her entire chest. Sam and Rahne were covered head to toe in bruises, to the point where they couldn’t even lay down without hurting something further, but dubiously lucky to not have broken anything major. The casualties seemed even worse than after Apocalypse – hell, he heard Alvers would probably have a burned imprint of Jean’s hand for the rest of his life, that they had to figure out how to properly set Tolansky’s leg because of his joints and operate him on site.

If he just waited long enough, she’d wake up. She’d be back and he could finally rest.

---

Her eyelashes fluttered for a few seconds before her eyes finally opened, closing almost immediately after being assaulted by the fluorescent lights.

She should probably be used to them by now, ending up here as much as she did. Soon enough Rogue was bound to get her own room down in the med-bay.

There was an ache deep inside her bones she had to chalk up to Phoenix. She didn’t know what her body did after absorbing her, but nothing seemed broken or newly hurt – she probably stayed in one spot.

There was a weight next to her. She turned her head to the side, not surprised to see Remy. His previously exposed (although heavily bandaged) torso was covered with a pristine white T-shirt, looking a bit ridiculous with the lower half of his suit covered in dirt and blood. His forehead rested against her gloved knuckles, some of his bronze hair tickling her forearm.

“Remy?”

His head immediately shot up, his red on black eyes taking a second to focus on her face.

“Cherie” His voice was tinted with the shallow sleep she woke him up from. “L-Let me just-”

He pressed the button next to her bed, yawning.

“H-How is-”

“The Prof’s up” He brushed his hair back with his right hand while his left never strayed from covering her gloved fingers. “And fine. Red’s still asleep. Kitty’s with the Hood, in great health. Elf’s a bit singed and sleeping it off. Don’t worry, cherie.”

His words slurred together and she could see his head fall a bit when he closed his eyes. He suddenly jerked up.

"Merde. Mon amour, j'ai l'impression de mourir” He sighed, blinking slowly. “Pardonne-moi, je vais juste...”

His head fell back to rest on her bed, a minute before Mr McCoy arrived into the room.

“Rogue, I’m overjoyed you decided to join us” He looked fondly at Remy for a second before walking over to her. “I’m afraid Mr LeBeau refused to properly rest while you were sleeping.”

“Did I hurt anyone?” She swallowed, her mouth uncomfortably dry. Mr McCoy passed her a cup of water.

“Little sips” He nodded, writing something down on her chart. “We have yet to see what absorbing Phoenix might have done to your mind and body. Other than that, no one sustained any injuries resulting from your actions.”

She mulled something over. The last few moments of her being in possession of that power.

“Mr McCoy, could you… Tell me exactly what happened?”

He nodded, pulling up a chair next to her bed.

“I believe that the flames around you two subsided after you touched Jean. Jean collapsed and was immediately moved to the med tent. You levitated for w few minutes, surrounded by the Phoenix flames. Phoenix said her last threat before you defeated her. That was it – Mr LeBeau brought you back to the tent.”

She blinked a few times before looking back at Remy. She could swear…

The glove on the hand next to him was new. A black, SHIELD uniform one. She glanced at her other hand. Bare.

“I believe he asked for one to hold your hand” The teacher’s raised eyebrows and smirk caused her to blush. “A SHIELD medic found a pair. I’m afraid your old ones burned down during the fight.”

The memory hit her like a bus. Brushing Remy’s cheek – she didn’t expect it to be that soft, his stubble long enough not to prickle her fingers. It wasn’t as warm as she imagined, the evening breeze turning his skin cold to the touch, especially after her close encounter with the flames.

She moved her hands immediately to her lap, grasping the sheet.

---

The second Kurt was up he ported to the med-bay. It was a stupid idea – the whole reason he was knocked out was the overuse of his powers during the whole fight – and he paid for it by face-planting on the floor, his head swimming.

“Kurt! Shit, I can’t get up.”

He raised his head a tiny bit, his chin resting on the cool tile. Violette looked at him from the comfort of her cot, her face twisted with worry.

“Christus, ich liebe dich“ He mumbled, a smile slowly spreading over his face.

“Yeah, yeah, it would be better if you didn’t try to get yourself hurt cause of that” She sighed, but her own lips also curled up. “I guess we’ll have a bit of a down time this summer, eh?”

“You tell it to the next big bad, liebe” He hoisted himself up, a low groan leaving his mouth. “The truly awful ones seem to be more and more frequent.”

“Maybe the bad guys will retire for a while though” Her bandaged palm patted the space next to her injured legs, smirking. “We did already get Maggie to do it. And Frost is behind bars.”

“Ja, wouldn’t want to deal with the weird sex cult now” He chuckled, plopping himself down. His hand raised to her cheek, his thumb drawing tiny circles on her skin. “I love you.”

“I love you too” Violette’s green eyes glistened, suddenly moist. “Jesus Kurt, please let’s take a vacation.”

They both laughed and Kurt couldn’t help but kiss her, feeling happy and so, so lucky to be here.

---

His leg bounced as if his life depended on it, a cup of coffee and a pack of Advil in front of him.

He shouldn’t have insisted that he was fine, maybe they would have given him something fun.

Kitty’s delicate hand rested on his knee, stilling him.

“They’ll be fine” She whispered into his bare shoulder, leaving a kiss on his tan skin.

Usually it would make him shiver. Right now it reminded him about the marks on his other arm, the way Phoenix looked at him, like he was some kind of vermin.

He reflexively flexed his hands, the movement of muscles aggravating his burns. He winced, a flash of white hot pain clouding his vision.

“Stop being a dumbass, Alvers” Pietro put a cup of coffee before a surprising addition to their kitchen table, a smiling Daniels holding their favorite B-Hood member. “Flexing only works if they didn’t already see you naked.”

He growled, the house lightly trembling. Kitty tucked her face into his arm, her cheeks warming his bare skin.

Neither Freddy nor Pietro seemed alarmed at all, giggling at him like two middle schoolers. Daniels looked a bit shaken – hah – but Luna just clapped her hands, laughing.

He definitely lost his power to make these idiots tremble.

He thought back to when he first moved into the house, how Todd latched onto him as if he were his cool older brother, annoying and always there, while Violette just treated him like a girl-friend, joking with him, whining to him and playfully putting him down a peg.

Maybe he never had that power.

He looked around the little table, feeling pangs in his heart at the lack of Todd, Wanda and Violette.

He had to get his family back, all of them.

They all jumped at the three methodical thumps coming from above. Todd was up and undoubtedly saw the ‘stomp three times’ sign next to the broom, now stationed next to his bed.

“I’ll check on him” Freddy wiped is hands on a kitchen towel and walked off, a cup of tea with honey in his hands.

“Thank God we have the big guy” Pietro sighed, brushing his hair back before taking his daughter back from Daniels.

“I think I’ll go now” The guy murmured after a minute of silence, waving off all of their protests. “Nah, I don’t want to be a burden. Besides, they probably miss me by now.”

“Miss you? An angsty boulder?” Pietro earned a punch to the arm from Kitty. “Ouch, I’m just teasing Pryde. Seriously Daniels, stay. Maybe Wanda won’t break your face once she wakes up.”

“I don’t know, I was a pretty dumb kid back then, complained a lot about the games she wanted to play and stuff” He stood up, still hunched over despite stretching. Lance imagined the kind of lower back pain he must suffer from. “And it’s almost light. Wouldn’t want to scare any young kids dropping off newspapers.”

“Seeing what just happened I doubt you’re gonna be that exciting” Kitty winked at him, her smile turning a bit sad. “Evan, like, don’t be a stranger, okay?”

“I’ll try” He nodded at the two of them before leaning over towards Luna and ruffling her blonde waves. “Bye bye, Luna.”

“Bye bye” The girl yawned as she waved, nestling her face in Pietro’s shirt.

“Take care” Pietro patted his arm, the other hand rubbing soothing circles on Luna’s back. “And come back to the surface every once in a while, Donatello.”

Lance chuckled as Kitty once again leaned over the table to punch his teammate.

---

Her mind was silent.

She opened her eyes, the unfamiliar quiet seemingly squeezing her from all sides. If not for the steady beating of a heart monitor she’d think she were dead.

She was alone, the room lit up by a soft, yellowish lamp in the corner. The fluorescents above were turned off. She always disliked them, even while she was at the hospital only for her classes. They seemed too sterile and from her experience both as a patient and a med student, didn’t help with recovery at all.

Her eyes shifted to the other side of the room, an abandoned chair with her favorite book, The Great Gatsby.

Scott.

The fog clouding her mind started to dissipate, her memories coming back. There was so much pain, both hers and not, and the flames…

‘Jean.’

She normally felt comforted by the Professor’s voice, how it reminded her that she wasn’t alone with her mind, the thoughts swimming around it. But now it made her stiffen, the memory of hurting him coming to the forefront.

She had to get out.

‘Jean, please. We can help you recover from this.’

She hurt so many of them. Her hands punched and broke and burned them. Her words cut deep into them as she violated whatever trust they had, reaching for their insecurities, their trauma, their fears.

‘No one blames you.’

But their minds all screamed Jean as they fought. Their eyes all saw her.

She tried to reach for the book with her hand, but the chair was too far from her bed. She tried again with the use of her powers, but the paperback twitched and stayed in place. She concentrated all her power into this single thing, light as a feather, but it wouldn’t budge.

‘Jean?’

She stopped, wiping away the sweat from her brow. Tears of frustration spilled onto her cheeks. She sat up and turned off the heart monitor before detaching it from her finger.

She tried to block her mind from him. It was just a simple implantation of words, she learned how to do it when she was thirteen.

‘I’m so sorry.’

The silence wasn’t due to her regular blocks, the ones that deteriorated for the past few months. She just simply couldn’t hear their thoughts.

Isn’t this what she wanted when she was younger? For the voices to stop?

Her breath quickened.

I have to get out.

She grabbed the clothes Scott left on the bedside table. He knew she hated the gowns, that she’d rather sit there in regular clothes. She changed into them and slipped her feet into the infirmary flip-flops by her bed.

‘Jean.’

The loose sleep T-shirt hung off her even more than usual and she looked at herself closely for the first time in forever. The stress ate away at her body. She poked a new hole in her belt to keep the pants from slipping. She closed the door behind her, the well read book easily fitting into her cargo pants’ pocket.

She slowly walked through the underground corridors, thinking about why no one was stopping her.

‘This is you home, Jean, but no one will keep you here against you will.’

The picture of the apartment in New York she and Scott stayed in when they had classes was shown to her. She agreed, knowing it was the only place untouched by her she had left.

The car keys were in the same place she always left them, in a bowl by the main entrance. Ororo always fussed that the chunky metal took away from her decorative pieces and that she didn’t place it there for Jean to leave stuff inside it. They laid among various receipts and half full packages of peppermint gum, untouched by the hurricane that went through the halls. The giant hole in the ceiling was covered with a blue tarp, the early morning light slipping through the cracks made by the wind. The air smelled of dust and ashes.

She closed the broken door behind herself, a few more pieces of glass chipping away as it shut. She looked up at the mansion before turning towards the garage.

---

Bobby loudly insisted that they all stay in the same room in the infirmary. Everyone knew better than to refuse him, knowing he wanted all of them together under his watchful eye to make sure they were as fine as possible.

Amara was awake but still stuck in her cot cause of a concussion, Bobby’s powers didn’t jive well with Phoenix and he was ordered to lay still as he got hooked to an IV after IV, while Sam and Lorna were stuck due to broken ribs. Rahne was lucky to end up with a broken leg and a lot of bruising. The worst symptom that plagued all of them was exhaustion, from Jubilee yawning by Bobby’s bed to Tabby napping while cuddled to Amara. Jamie slowly dozed off in his chair in between Lorna and Sam’s beds and even Ray and Roberto didn’t have the energy to bicker as they played cards with Bobby and Jubes. Lorna and Amara talked abut the latest Bayville High gossip and what Junior year probably had in store.

Rahne shifted into a more comfortable position, trying hard not to aggravate Sam’s ribs. Her elbow rested on his pillow, letting her nuzzle her nose in his long blonde hair as he slept, his left hand resting on her thigh.

Her inner wolf hummed at her pack being all back together, injured but safe. She let her eyes close, their hushed voices and soft snores lulling her into sleep.

---

Walking around wasn’t as dumb of an idea as he thought according to Mr. McCoy. Walking through pain though – that was a very terrible idea and Alex shouldn’t ever do that.

So of course he did that.

After circling his teammates like a weird vulture, counting them to make his mind stop racing – we’re all here, we’re all here – he ignored the pulling kind of pain in his thigh and wobbled towards the room the New Mutants stayed in. Most of the team was asleep in all kinds of furniture, aside from Amara and Lorna.

“Shouldn’t you two also rest?” He slowly made his way to them, grabbing the edge of Lorna’s cot and resting his weight on it.

“You wouldn’t sleep either if you spent a good three hours knocked out” Amara nodded towards his leg. “How worried should you be?”

“Depends on how much more I damaged it during” He waved his other hand around, before clearing his throat. “Um, Lorna, are you good for ummm...” The girls face slightly fell as she slowly shook her head no.

“You know what, I think I am actually sleepy, thank God Tabby brought her incredibly loud cassette player” Amara fished around in her sheets before pulling out the device and shoving the headphones onto her head. “Alex, could you please put up this screen? I’m kinda light sensitive while falling asleep, wouldn’t want you two to have to sit in the dark.”

“Totally” Amara was a genius and he liked her more and more with every second. He stumbled a bit while unfolding the privacy screen and after Amara’s loud ‘goodnight’ he turned back towards Lorna.

“Hi” She smiled widely, her green eyes sparkling in the dim light. The lamp on her bedside table set off a warm glow, making her pale skin appear tan. “Are you sure you should be walking around?”

“Probably shouldn’t, but” He sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed. “Kinda really wanted to check up on you. You know, with everything.”

Lorna bit her lower lip, looking down at her lap.

“He wants us to get to know each other” She didn’t name who, but who else could it be? Alex put his hand on her shin, squeezing. “I don’t know about that. Maybe after everything calms down I’ll think about it.”

“Good” He smiled warmly, tidying up his thoughts to form a few coherent sentences. “I know it’s different, but I wish I had gotten to meet my parents when I was older. I barely remember anything about them. And I love my mom and dad a lot, but I am a bit curious about them. I’m so happy I got to meet Scott though. Not only cause of the mutant stuff, of course.”

“I am thinking about talking to Wanda and Pietro” She nodded, before smiling. “I mean I know we’ll never be that close, but it would be fun to have siblings” Lorna looked up at him, her hand moving to cover his. “Thanks, Alex.”

“No problem” He turned his hand, their palms touching, before leaning in and softly kissing her.

---

Scott sat in silence, staring at Jean’s empty bed, his hands trembling. The sweater he had in his hands still smelled of her, the her he knew – without the underlying scent of smoke and death and fear that surrounded her for the past few weeks. The curtains in her bedroom were meticulously drawn not to let a sliver of light through.

He could understand the need to run. He felt it a number of times himself. When he woke up to the news of his parent’s death, of how his brother was presumed dead. When his powers first emerged, back when he was still stuck in the system. All those times when he felt lonely and hated himself for destruction being the only thing he could bring to the world. One false move and he could kill someone.

What he couldn’t understand was the need to run from him, not when he thought he was going to lose her forever just hours earlier.

He squeezed the soft material in his hands and let himself cry, the ruby-colored world around him becoming blurry.

 

Chapter 17: Epilogue: Let Me Get What I Want This Time

Summary:

Title from The Smith's Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want

Rogue stayed in the med-bay longer than was necessary. She felt as if she were to leave this bubble of I touched someone and go back to her regular room, her regular life, it would turn out to be a lie.

It felt like a lie. If not for the fact that she couldn’t really remember how skin felt without the pull of her powers, she would talk herself into thinking her fucked up mind came up with the whole thing on its own.

After Remy woke up, his hand came back to her gloved one immediately.

“We touched” She whispered to him. If it was all a prank of her touch starved mind, he could bring her back down to earth. “Fo’ real.”

“Cherie, we’re touchin’ right now” He kissed the palm of her glove before smiling delicately. “Oui. Skin to skin.”

Well that made her insides coil. Heat rushed to her face and she cursed the lack of her usual make up. That seemed to make him smile wider.

“Ah’m… Not really…”

“Remy’s tryin to say – we don’t have to, Rogue” He sighed, his thumb brushing against her knuckles. “You make me feel enough through these, mon amour” He sat next to her on the bed, his thigh pressing against her hip and warming her up through the layers of clothes and sheets. “You’ve also told me your name.”

And wasn’t that a revelation? Her face turned even warmer.

“Ah like that yah know it” The truth of it rushed through her insides. “But Ah don’t like the name itself. Ah chose Rogue fo’ a reason.”

“A secret shall it be” He stopped, thinking about something before leaning in a bit. His breath hit her ear aa he whispered. “Remy’s good at those.”

A very uncharacteristic giggle ripped through her. Jesus, what have Ah become?

Remy’s eyes sparkled in the sharp fluorescents and he seemed to glow at the sound that left her.

“Ah want to try though” She said after a while, her curiosity and fear battling inside her mind. “But with something small. And quick.”

She slapped his arm as he clearly thought back against the obvious joke in there.

“If you let me, Remy’s got une idée” He delicately brushed back her fringe, cautious not to brush her forehead or the tip of her ear.

He breath caught in her throat as he leaned in even closer, their lips an inch apart. Remy’s eyes looked straight at her lips, his own curving into a smirk.

“À ton tour” His breath smelled like mint with a hint of cigarettes under it. It should have been unappetizing.

It called to her.

Her eyes closed as she slowly closed the gap.

Kissing a guy you liked was a completely different kind of pull.

 

Jamie groaned and finally untangled himself from Violette’s arms.

“Don’t think I’ll forgive you for ditching me for Laura.”

“As if you didn’t ditch me for Kurt.”

“Touché.”

They were sitting in her room. He could some of the photos that used to be in her album have migrated to small frames on her bedside table.

“I love you. I don’t know how we did it, but I’m so happy we found each other again.”

His sister’s eyes sparkled as if she didn’t already know that.

“You’re turning into a sap, Jamie.”

“See if I’m ever nice to you again, you asshat.”

They playfully hit each other in the chest with the back of their hands. It made him laugh to think how dumb they were.

Maybe this time, they could just be dumb teenagers for a while.

 

Wanda opened her eyes to darkness. There were sounds coming from beneath her – downstairs, the kitchen supplied her mind – someone was talking. As her eyes adjusted to the low light, she could see she was laying on a bed. There was a vanity in the corner, opposite a chest of drawers. She was wearing a skintight suit.

Battle gear. This is my room. I live here.

She stumbled off the bed, walking towards the vanity. The light outside was just enough to let her see that her face was a mess of make up and grime. Her arm was covered in a bright white cast, at odds with the rest of her attire. There was a purple bruise on the side of her head. She took off the corset top, thankful that the zipper was under the injured arm, so that she could reach it without an issue. The tight pants were more of a struggle, they were plastered to her with sweat and more grime. She opened one of the drawers and dug through it, pulling out a big shirt and soft looking shorts. There was a fluffy robe hanging on the back of her door. She put it on and walked out, new clothes in hand.

Her subconscious thankfully knew where the bathroom was. She took a hot shower, mindful not to get her cast wet. Washing her hair was a bit of a nightmare with just one hand. The water flowing past her feet turned from a muddy brown through greyish to – finally – clear. She dressed into the soft clothes she chose and decided to go back to her room.

There was a knock on her door after a while – Was it minutes? Hours? Days? – and it opened a crack, a big hand holding out a plate of food.

“Can I come in?”

Fred.

“Yeah” Her voice was raspy.

He walked in, a plate filled with pancakes and a cup of tea in his hands.

“Do you know where we are?”

She nodded, curling her legs up towards her chest to let him sit on the end of her bed. She accepted the cup, the warm liquid doing wonders for her throat.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Freddy” She answered easily, before grabbing the pancake with her bare hand and folding it in half to dip in the pool of syrup on the side of the plate. “Thank you.”

He smiled slightly, watching her eat.

“Do you remember what happened, Wanda?”

Fire. Pain. Being alone.

She nodded, trying to focus entirely on the food. Mmm, blueberries.

“Pietro’s really worried about-”

“No” She shook her head, her eyes screwing shut. She tried to bat away the memories flooding her mind. “No, I don’t want to talk about it.”

Freddy nodded, hesitating before his large finger brushed her wet hair off her forehead. She shivered at the touch.

“I think we should” He said, sighing. “Soon. Shield has therapists, you know? I won’t let you be alone with any of them though. We could all go, together.”

Wanda had no idea how to feel about it. But the look on Freddy’s face said that it was a promise of something better. Something real, that they could build together.

Because the memories of her early teenage years – the real ones, but the fake ones too, now that she knew they weren’t true – they were sad. But she had a good childhood. She had a good present. Filled with the boys and Luna and blueberry pancakes on the days she felt bad.

So she nodded. Because if that made her mind a bit better – not quiet, not like she was trying to forget who she was, not lonely – it was worth the struggle.

 

Bobby finally let himself rest, his aching body sprawled over the mattress of his bed. He stared at the ceiling, thinking about what Phoenix said to them in her final moments occupying Rogue’s body.

‘I’m the things you fear about yourselves, the secrets you keep in the dark. And you can’t get rid of me.’

He could feel something buried deeply in the back of his mind slowly creep to the surface. He knew the explanation for every issue he had with himself and his relationships, he knew it. But was he ready to face it? Was it another box he was going to put himself into, imprisoning him for the rest of his life? Branding him as an even bigger freak than he already was?

‘You can’t get rid of me.’

The dark shadows of the trees wobbling in the wind outside his window painted his walls, drifting, ever-changing.

Bobby took a deep breath, testing the words out on his tongue.

“I’m gay.”

Notes:

Thank you so much for reading this story. It took me a while to finish this series from conception to now - *cough* 8,5 years *cough* - but I loved it every excruciating step of the way. I still have a one shot or two in me, but this is the last of multi chaptered works for it.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 2 of Barely Getting By