The first chapter of Full Disclosure, the prequel series to We Might Be Strangers! This fic will be a series of non-chronological chapters focusing on the pasts of the characters from the main fic. As this is a side project, I will not be updating it as much as WMBS, but I feel my readers deserve a little treat for all the angst I put them through.
Thanks to cartoonanimegirl again for beta'ing one last time!
2004
Anna Marie stared out of the window, brows furrowed and hands curled as she watched the Mississippi countryside fly past in a blur. The glass and steel frame rattled constantly, giving Anna a headache whenever she rested against the window. She wiped at her nose with her sleeve and pouted again, glaring at the trees and crop fields.
Footsteps alerted Anna to company. She closed her eyes and growled.
"Careful, lil' bug. You'll turn into a monster if you growl like that."
"Good." Anna grumbled, curling up on her seat. A sigh, and then a hand on her back.
"Anna…" Logan glanced over at Laura sleeping in the chair opposite Anna's, and he sat down next to his eldest. "I know you're not happy moving to Bayville, but it's for the best."
"No it ain't." She sniffed, which only upset her more (she promised herself that she wouldn't cry about this). "We didn' have ta move."
"It's for the best, darlin'." He repeated, leaning against his knees and running his hands through hair that was all too greasy and grey. "You'll like it at Xavier's, promise."
"No Ah won't."
"You can't say that-"
"Yes Ah can, 'cause it ain't home!" Anna shrieked. Eyes turned to their corner of the train car, and Logan rubbed at his eyes. Laura, shaken awake and blinking the sand out of her eyes, sat up in her seat to yawn.
A figure then stood by their seats and Logan groaned.
"Wade, not now." He grumbled. Wade just grinned and leaned against the seats, pushing his sunglasses up onto his red beanie hat.
"Looks like trouble in paradise." Wade chuckled and pulled off his red and black motorcycle jacket to tie around his waist, contrasting greatly with his pale tatty jeans and stained white polo shirt.
"Wade Wilson…"
"Daddy, Ah need to go…" Laura said, crossing her legs and biting down on her lip. Logan nodded and sat up, pulling Laura up with him.
"I'll watch over the stinker then." Wade stepped aside to let the two pass and then sat down in Laura's seat, propping up his feet next to Anna. "Not feeling good, kiddo?"
"Dad says Ah shouldn' talk to ya." Anna crossed her arms. "You're insane."
"Of course he'd say that." Wade rolled his eyes, mirroring Anna's crossed arms. "A guy tries to stab a dude after being diagnosed with head-space cancer and suddenly he's not emotionally stable for the army."
Wade huffed and shook his head, giving Anna a glimpse of the surgical scars up his neck and jaw line. He then raised an eyebrow at the curious girl.
"Wanna tell Uncle Wade why you're being so hard on your Pops?"
"...It's his fault." She answered, looking away. His fault they had to pack up and leave. Just to go to some East coast town where she knew no one, and they'd all just make fun of her accent or her face, so why bother making friends? They'd all be jerks…
"What? That two women he loved left you all in dust?" Wade asked, leaning back.
"No, that we're leavin' home." Anna turned onto her side, glaring at nothing. It would never be the same again.
"He's doing it for you and Laura, y'know." Wade said. Anna snorted and curled up tightly. The war vet sighed and sat up, looking down at the pre-teen.
"Kiddo, you're too young to really understand what happened with Raven and Deb." Wade leaned in, lowering his voice some. "But you can understand that your Pop is really suffering, and trying damn hard for you."
"As if." Anna scoffed. If he cared so much, he would have left things the way they were. The way they KNEW.
"Look… you ever had a pet?" Anna nodded. She had a hamster a few years ago called Ratters, all brown and grey with teeth that kept making holes in all of his cages. "Okay, you love this pet more than anything in the world and you treat them like royalty. You get a scratch here or there, but it's nothing big. Now, imagine that pet you love decides it doesn't like you anymore and goes off to find a brand new owner."
Anna's eyes went wide and she sat up high. Wade did so as well, smiling softly.
"Something like that would hurt you a lot, huh? That's sorta like what your Pops has been through recently - twice! And he's trying to be strong so you 'n' Laura can get away from that pain."
Anna sniffed and pursed her lips, looking away from Wade. Her dad hadn't been taking care of himself lately; hardly eating, washing or sleeping. She and Laura had been getting by on microwaved meals for the past month, snacking on vending machine chips at any other time. Deborah wasn't there to make desserts, and Dad wasn't cooking…
Because Deborah had hurt Dad. Mom- Raven had hurt Dad. He was in pain.
And so was she.
"Ah'm still upset." Anna said quietly.
"Nothin' wrong with that," Wade replied. "If you don't get sad, you can't be happy. Your Pop doesn't understand that yet, so you gotta let him know that he doesn't have to bottle up every emotion for you girls."
Anna blinked and stared at Wade with her confused green eyes, brushing a bang out of her face. Wade just smiled again as Logan and Laura came back to the seats. Logan glared at Wade and the scarred man lifted his feet up. Laura pulled herself into the seat next to him while Logan slumped down next to Anna.
The young girl looked up at her weary father, her lips thinning. Logan propped his elbow on the armrest and ran his hand through his hair again. Anna watched him, eyes watering, and then wrapped her arms around his bicep, burrowing her face into his sleeve.
Logan glanced down at her tiredly, watching his daughter before gently patting her hair. She pulled herself closer to him, sniffing and taking in the smell of father. Home. Family.
All of that would be changing to soon. Or maybe not at all, as long as she kept herself buried here forever.
"Love ya, lil' bug." Logan muttered under his breath. Anna nodded, closing her eyes.
She loved him too, more than any mother of her's ever would.
0XX0
When Anna had heard about their new housing arrangements, she had imagined something akin to the apartment buildings in Mississippi, or one of those houses college students lived in on the edge of her hometown. Nothing like what was currently standing in front of her.
The Xavier home was large. Like, mansion sized large. Windows were all over the front of the building, going up three stories (four in one or two places). Anna had seen houses like this in books about Victorian England; she didn't think they still existed.
Wait, if this was a Victorian house, were they going to live with the Amish?
Oh gosh, she couldn't give up her Gameboy Advanced!
Logan dumped his bags onto the front steps of the house, sizing up their landlord for the unforeseeable future.
Charles Xavier, dressed in a sharp suit with a plain green blanket draped over his legs, sat in his wheelchair on the top step. A boy barely older than Anna stood beside him. He stood tall, hands on hips, auburn hair slicked back to stick to his scalp…
… and a pair of red-tinted sunglasses perched on his nose.
Weird kid.
Logan climbed up the stairs, Laura shadowing him and clinging to his jeans once he stopped. He held out a hand to Charles.
"Thanks for havin' us 'ere, Professor." He said, shaking hands firmly.
"Call me Charles, or a variation of." The older bald man chuckled. "Except for Charlie. That will not do."
"Fine by me, Chuckles." Logan glanced down at Laura, who was staring into the building through the open front doors. "These are my girls, Laura and Anna Marie."
"Jus' Anna is fine!" Said girl hopped up the stairs to stand next to her father. Logan chucked; that name calling always got her attention.
"It's lovely to meet you," Charles said, smiling and interlacing his fingers under his chin. "I'm Charles Xavier, and this is my adopted son, Scott."
The boy finally broke his pose and waved to Anna, smiling sheepishly. The Southern girl blinked and pointed to Scott's glasses.
"Ah thought yall were gon' be Amish folk, but ya can' be when yer a Blues Brother!"
Scott gaped while Logan buried his face in his hand and Charles' expression tightened, as if holding in whatever initial reaction he had. Laura snorted and giggled at the boys' faces.
"Sick burn!" Wade shouted from the rental van.
"Go home, Wade!"
0XX0
Hours later, once the Howletts had been shown their living space and taken their things up to it, Logan had collapsed onto his claimed bed and fallen into a deep sleep. This left Laura and Anna to either join him or get acquainted with their new home.
Laura was in no shape to sleep anymore, and Anna couldn't leave her by herself, so the sisters found their way to the common kitchen (why was this here when everyone had their own little kitchen of their own? This place made no sense). The kitchen itself was quite simple; an orange and white room with a large dining table in the middle, chairs all around. A line of counter tops were on one wall, along with a pair of fridges, ovens and other small appliances. They were all mismatched, probably replaced often, and scattered around in a mess.
There was also someone sitting at the far end of the table, head buried deep into a hardback copy of The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew. Whoa! She'd never heard of that one!
Anna must have said that out loud as the reader poked her head up and peered at the newcomers with her cold blue eyes.
"You wouldn't have." She said, voice laden with a light accent Anna couldn't place. Maybe Russian? German? "No one knows about prequel book."
"What's it 'bout?" Anna asked, pulling Laura up to the end of the table to sit next to the bookworm.
The girl - the same age as her, Anna realised upon closer inspection - put the book down, still frowning and studying the sisters. Her gaze stayed on Anna's face, pushing back her dark curls over her shoulder at the same time. There was a tanned hinge to her skin, which only made her eyes colder.
"It's about how Aslan created Narnia, and how White Witch got there." The girl smiled a bit and Anna returned it. Laura swung her feet off the chair, looking around the room.
"What else?" Anna asked, scooting closer.
"Stuff about boy called Digory, a girl called Polly, and boy's stupid uncle, but the rest is spoilers." The girl laughed, holding her book close.
"Aww, c'mon!" Anna whined, pouting her lip. Laura giggled. "Shaddup, munchkin."
She just giggled more and the girl laughed softly.
"I'm Wanda." She held out her hand, smiling. Anna shook it hard.
"Ah'm Anna Marie. Mah sister 'ere is Laura." The younger brunette turned away shy and hid below the table top. "She ain't a people pleaser."
"I see." Wanda giggled softly and then picked up her book again. Anna took the opportunity to peek inside it.
"That ain't English!" She exclaimed. Wanda flinched violently and slammed the book shut, looking around in a mad dash. Anna and Laura pulled themselves back in their seats.
"Shh!" Wanda held a finger to her lips and kept her book close to her chest. "My father does not know I read Transian. He does not like it."
"Oh, sorry." Anna said quietly, ducking her head. Laura nodded in agreement, mirroring her sister. Neither of them had ever heard of Transia, but it sounded very far away. "Why wouldn' he like it? It looks nice."
Wanda blinked, smiling sadly. "It remind him of Mamtka."
Mamtka… That sounded like mother; she was gone too.
"Ah know that feelin'," Anna said, looking away. "Our Dad doesn' like thinkin' 'bout Raven or Deb either."
Laura bowed her head down further, fiddling with her thumbs and chewing on her lip. Wanda looked over them, taking in their differences and similarities.
A group of voices erupted from the hallway and all three girls turned their attentions to the doorway, spotting a pair of kids - one boy carrying a younger girl on his back - rush past, then another boy chase them, quickly followed by an extremely disgruntled Scott.
"Get back here, Pietro!"
"Gotta catch me!"
"Na na na-na nah!"
Wanda and Anna glanced at each other, one curious and the other furious. Laura slipped out of her seat and went to the door, peeking out. The voices were getting distant now, so she strained herself to better listen. The older girls quickly followed suit.
"I will punch Pietro so hard!" Wanda gripped the doorframe with her nails, dragging them down the soft wood and scowling hard. Anna was about to ask who that was, when the voices yelped loudly.
"Whoa, what happened?" Laura asked.
"Miss Munroe happen." Wanda answered, smirking like a smug Cheshire Cat. The three looked down to the end of the corner, holding in giggles when the boys and girl sulked back from where they had come from.
Anna, however, fell silent when a fifth person came up behind them. The black woman, dressed modestly in a long green cardigan, brown shirt and pencil skirt; with a yellow and red cloth holding her long, smooth hair away from her face… she was, simply put, a goddess.
Anna kept staring as the group came towards the kitchen. Scott - sans sunglasses - stopped by the door and waved to her.
"Hey, Anna Marie." He smiled. Anna shook herself out of her stupor and frowned at him.
"It's just Anna t' ya, Elwood." Scott blinked and Anna kicked herself mentally. He was actually really cute without those dumb shades on. Hopefully she wasn't blushing.
Wanda raised an eyebrow and Laura just shrugged. Anna had a thing about her name. No one knew why. It just was.
"What's an Elwood anyway…?" Scott muttered as he scurried away.
The two forerunners then came up to Wanda at the door, the boy grinning. Anna took a quick glance at them; The boy had the same blue eyes and face shape as Wanda, but his hair was lighter, blown back from his face and his skin was paler, matching that of the younger girl he was carrying before. This led Anna to only one conclusion: twins.
And the green-eyed blonde sticking to the boy must be their sister? Anna wasn't sure. She didn't have their face, hair or eyes, but their noses curved the same way, and her ears stuck out at the same angle too. Maybe a cousin?
"Hey, Wands. You missed a great chase." The boy laughed. Anna cocked her head; he didn't have the same accent as Wanda. "But you made friends. About time."
"I will punch you in soul, Pietro." Wanda growled, which made her twin falter back. She turned to Anna. "This is Pietro, my twin. And runt is-"
"Lorna here is our sister." Pietro grinned, ruffling his little sister's hair. Lorna giggled and pushed him away from her.
"Half-sister." Wanda said darkly, glaring at the younger girl. Laura gasped and smiled up at Anna, tugging her shirt.
"Jus' like us, Anna!"
Anna chuckled and pulled Laura close. "Yeah, jus' like us, Frodo."
Wanda stared at the two with wide eyes, her mouth gaping and utterly speechless until the tall woman stepped in with the last boy at her side. She smiled warmly at the new sisters.
"Wanda, could you take your siblings to your father?" She asked. Anna almost gasped; even her voice was angelic! Anna had never been one to really believe in a God or Heaven, but this woman could easily convince her otherwise.
Wanda shied away and held onto her book.
"I'll look after your book for you." The woman held out her hand, to which Wanda eventually handed her, her prized possession. The three siblings left with quick waves to Anna and Laura, and not another word.
"So you must be the Howlett girls." The woman said warmly, holding the book as she knelt down to the children's eye level. Anna looked away to hide her flush. "I've heard a lot about you two. I'm Ororo Munroe, I teach biology at the local junior high school."
"Hi." Laura waved shyly, pursing her smiling lips. "Ah'm Laura."
"A-Ah'm Marie- A-Anna Marie!" Anna squeaked, face turning bright red when Ororo chuckled softly at the bumble.
"It's nice to meet you both." Ororo said. She then perked up. "Oh! And this is my nephew, Evan. He's from the city."
The black boy with brown eyes and cropped blonde hair stepped out from his hiding place behind his aunt, and smiled with a great pride.
"That's right! I'm too cool for school, ya'll." He said, crossing his arms and trying to pose like a gangster. If only he wasn't wearing a Fresh Prince t-shirt… Anna wasn't sure if she should laugh or cringe.
Ororo just laughed sweetly and ruffled her nephew's hair playfully. She then stood back up to her full height (she was so tall, oh my god!) "If you need anything, just call for me."
Anna nodded and Laura did a quick curtsy to them before Ororo and Evan left them to themselves. The sisters looked around the empty hallway, processing the day's new events and wondering what to do now.
At least they wouldn't get bored here.
And that's the first chapter for you all! Leave a review, favourite and follow if you enjoyed it. They keep me writing every week.
Next chapter: Kitty's first few days in Bayville, NY. Shenanigans happen.