Glimpses
Author's note – This story is set in the X-Men Movie Universe and not the Marvel Comic universe. Cannonball and Firestar are, therefore, both older (post college age) than in the comics. Firestar's back story is taken from the Firestar mini-series with two major changes, Frost never invited the New Mutants to the Academy, so Firestar did not met Cannonball there, and Firestar stays at the Academy a year longer than in the mini-series. Both Firestar's health issue and Cannonball's external status are also dropped here. In addition, Firestar never joined New Warriors and Cannonball never joined X-Force. Additional apologies for not getting Cannonball's accent correct, though in X-Force it seemed to go in and out. The story starts before X-Men I and ends just after X2. It is pretty much cannon until the end of X2, where I changed the ending.
Disclaimer- I don't own Firestar, Cannonball, or any other Marvel characters. I am not makeing any profit from the below.
Angelica looked up from her sketch and studied the tree. She had found it the other day during a walk. She could see it in one of her illustrations. Looking at it, she could understand how Tolkien had found the idea of the Old Forest. The day was overcast but warm enough for her to wear a t-shirt. She hadn't had to work, and she wanted to capture the tree before she forgot where it was. Digital photos never seemed to capture exactly what she wanted, so she preferred to sketch. She turned her attention to her drawing. Another touch would ruin it. She turned the page carefully and studied her surroundings, perhaps there was something else that she could use.
The crack of a twig startled her. Someone else was climbing up the slope.
Tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, she turned to the direction of the sound. By and large, Frost had kept her promise. There had been a couple attacks, the most difficult almost a year ago; however, only one of them felt like it could have been Frost. The other two had felt wrong. Too brash for Frost. However, Frost worked for the Hellfire club and who knew what they were up to. The TruthaboutHellfire website reported rumors about a power struggle in the Club, though she was unsure how much the site's writer actually knew about the Club. She had never seen the word mutant on the website for instance.
Because of her seat, she could glimpse the head of whoever it was. Blonde. For a moment she thought that it might be Beef. But, no. Though muscular, the body was too lean to have ever been Beef's. She relaxed slightly. It must be the older Guthrie. Samuel, she thought his name was. His sister Melody was in the art class she was covering.
Sam stared at the beautiful red head who looked warily, the only word he could think of, at him. He knew she was the substitute art instructor. Ma and Melody raved about her, and the girl had even gotten Melody, of all people, to read. While he caught glimpses of her when he ran the Melody to and from the class, enough to know that he liked what he saw, he hadn't actually been introduced. He almost kicked himself when the words left his mouth, "You must be Angelica Jones."
"You must be Samuel Guthrie," Angel responded.
For a minute, he seemed surprised, and then he tugged somewhat ruefully at his yellow hair. "Pleased to meet you," he held out his hand, and she shook it. "Ah didn't think anyone else would be out here."
"Well, I just wanted to get some sketches of some of the trees."
"Ah just came up here t'read."
They stared awkwardly at each other for a moment, and then together, almost as if they had planned it, he said, "Ah leave you peace" and, she said, "I don't want to disturb your reading."
They laughed.
"So what are you reading?"
He pulled a battered paperback from his pocket, "Ender's Game. It's about . . . "
"I know. I've read it."
"Did you like it?"
"Enough to read the rest of the series."
"How do you feel about Heinlein?" He sat down and saw the quick look that crossed her face. "Aw, come on. You can't actually think that Heinlein is a bad writer."
Heinlein, in general, I don't know. But my reaction to Stranger in Strange Land was that it was 60s sexist claptrap."
"Ouch! Bradbury, you have to like Ray."
"Who doesn't?"
"Well, at least you haven't gone totally over to the dark side."
She laughed, "Hardly. I'm one of those people who rereads Lord of the Rings every year."
"You too?" He smiled. It was a nice smile; it reached his eyes. "What are you reading now?"
"Paloma."
Before she could continue, he interrupted "The new Retrieval Artist book, right? You like the series?"
"Yes. It's a fresh idea. And the punishments that she comes up with are just spooky."
"I like Flint; he has nice shading. How is Paloma?"
"It's good. You find a lot of interesting things about Paloma. She's also taking Flint into a darker area. But it makes sense. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next one. Have you read her other series, The Fey?"
"Not yet. It's on my to read list."
"How long is yours?"
He laughed. "What do you think of the Pern novels?"
She didn't get any more sketching done, and he didn't get any reading done. Finally, Sam glanced at his watch. He couldn't believe what time it was. He stood, "I'm sorry, "he didn't want to give the wrong impression, "Ah wasn't on planning on being out so long, and Ah've got to get some chores done before it gets dark."
She rose, "It's okay. It was nice to meet you." She turned to go.
"Can Ah take you out to dinner?" the words were out before he could second guess himself.
The look of wariness briefly returned to her eyes, as if she were unsure if she could trust him, and he wondered what had happened to make her so skittish. But as if reaching some decision, she said, "That sounds nice."
Angel put down her bag and opened the fridge. She grabbed the juice and poured herself a glass. She hadn't gotten much sketching done, but it had been a pleasant afternoon.
She had spent the afternoon talking books with handsome man.
Jupiter would be so proud.
But the innermost part of her, that part of her that shy girl part, screamed at her, why had she agreed to meet him for dinner? What was she thinking? With her baggage? What if he found out she was a mutant? What if Frost decided to hunt her down? What if this was some weird plan of Frost's? If there was ever someone who believed in the long term investment it was that . . . woman.
But it most likely will not come to that, the calm, rational part of her mind replied. And if the Guthries were working for Frost, surely something would have already happened. She slumped onto the sofa. Purring, Pumpkin jumped onto her lap. Of course, the important question was what she was going to wear.
The restaurant was a nice coal oven pizzeria, and they had agreed to split a pizza. Suddenly, Angel realized that she was having a nice time.
Sam leaned back in his chair, "So what do you do when you're not filling in as a teacher?"
"Illustrate. Paint. After college, I taught. I sold a few sketches. And then I sent a few sketches in, to see if I could get a commission to do some illustrations for Il Pentamerone. And I made it into the final round. I have to present a couple new sketches in a few weeks."
"Pentamerone?" Sam asked as the waitress put the pizza down in front of them.
Angel took a slice, "It's a collection of fairy tales. Italian ones." She took a bite and chewed. "It has the earliest European version of Cinderella, which I am working on." She paused, "It is a weird version. She kills her first step-mother.'
"You're kidding."
"No. And then she is compared to a prostitute when she goes to the ball."
"I am not reading that version to my little sisters," Sam replied, taking a bite of his slice. "It might give them a few ideas."
"Melody said you teach," she said after a few minutes.
"Asking my sister about me?"
She blushed slightly. "Had to ask someone. You could be a mass murderer for all I know."
"And I stalk the woods for victims?"
"A girl can't be too careful. I don't have a big brother to protect me." She took another slice. "So what do you teach?"
"Would you believe English?"
"Don't tell me you force them to read Stranger in a Strange Land?" she teased.
"Just because you don't appreciate greatness, "he shot back with a smile.
The night was still warm when they left the restaurant, and Angel realized that she really didn't want the night to end. She didn't really know anyone here and when she wasn't teaching, she was working on the illustrations. It felt good just to get out for a change, and the company was pleasant. It was still early, and there was a movie theatre close by. "Feel like a movie?" she asked Sam.
He smiled, and offered her his arm. "Sure."
Disappointed that the evening was coming to an end, Sam parked the truck in front of her building. It was the first time he had been out without any member of his family since returning to Kentucky to help his mother over her illness and the move. The fear for her was receding; she was making a full recovery.
He had been thrilled when Angel suggested the movie after dinner. However, it was the first time that he been taken to a movie by a girl. Now at the end of a date, he always got nervous, for he was never quite sure if he was reading the signals correctly, and he also knew that he wanted to see her again.
He got out of the truck, but before he could get over and open her door, she was already half way out. "What is it with you big city girls not letting a man open the door for you?"
"Big city girl? I don't think I've ever lived in a big city," mentally, she went though the list for a few moments as they made their way to the house. No, she hadn't. "It's just that very few men do that any more."
"Up north maybe, here, we raise gentlemen." They had reached her door.
Angel unlocked the door, "Do you want to come in?" she asked before she could talk herself out of it.
"Ah want to, but it's late and . . ."
"And you worry about your mother," she finished. Melody had told her the story. She wasn't offended at his refusal. "I'm sorry it was thoughtless of me to . . ."
"No, it wasn't. She's doing well. Ah just don't feel comfortable yet being away for t' long."
A meow came from the other side of the door. Angel opened it a crack and an orange cat stuck his head out, looked at both of them and let a louder meow.
"What's he doing? Checking me out?" Sam asked as the cat came out and sniffed his pants with a rather disdainful air.
Angel sighed. "That's Pumpkin. Every time I come back, he wants to be fed. Even if I'm just taking out the garbage." She turned back to Sam, "Thank you for a wonderful evening."
"My pleasure. Do you want to do it again?" cursing himself for lacking Roberto's smoothness.
"Exactly again?" she teased.
He leaned closer, captivated by those dancing green eyes. Only half aware of what he was doing, he kissed her. For a moment he thought that she was going to pull away, but then she kissed him back. He pulled her close and deepened the kiss. Finally they broke a part, "Ah, see you tomorrow," he said before kissing her one last time, then after making sure that she had gotten in safely, he left.
Angel flopped down on her sofa and watched Pumpkin do his "I'm a poor staving cat" routine. Before she could even take off her shoes, her phone rang. "Hello Jupe," she said as she held it up to her ear.
"How was the date? What's he like? Are you going to see him again? And none this shy stuff. You don't get out half as much as you should. I'm almost offended that you decided to go on a date when I'm not around. What is with you?" Jupe took a breath. "Spill."
Angel waited.
"And don't you dare start by telling me what he looks like, Ang;" Jupiter added quickly, "You already did that."
"Can I talk now?" Angel asked as she removed her shoes and picked up a toy which she dangled in front of Pumpkin. The cat pounced for it, missed, and feigned an intense interest in a spot on the floor.
"Girl, I've been waiting. Can't you hear my foot tapping?"
"Well, now that you mention it . . . "
"ANG! SPILL! NOW!"
Angel spilled.
"Okay, he sounds nice. And he isn't a wet blanket, at least it's not likely considering. Don't worry about the whole mutant thing. Men like a mystery. I don't think Jimmy even knows my true hair color yet," Jupiter said as Angel finished.
Angel thought about that for a moment, "I thought . . . "
"You really don't want to hear the answer to that question, do you?" Jupiter interrupted. "You had to meet someone while I'm stuck up here, didn't you? I am not sure if I can get away."
"Aren't you the one jumping the gun now?"
"Its one thing if you do it; totally different if I do it. It would have to be the busy season."
"How's Jimmy?"
"Great. Maybe I should send him down . . . "
"Jupiter!"
"Joking, well only a little."
Sam peered in though the classroom window. He could see his sister's head bent over her sketch. Shifting his stance slightly, he was able to see Angel looking over the shoulder of another student. She said something to the boy, who asked a question in response. She squatted down so she was level with the boy and drew something quickly on his pad, once gesturing at something he couldn't see. The boy nodded and after a few quick looks at her sketch went back to work on his own. Since their first meeting, Sam had found himself arriving to pick up Melody early just so that he could spend a few moments watching Angel teach. He didn't think she knew he was there; most days she seemed to be that zone a teacher could get in when the class was good and the time flew. However, he found himself enjoying just watching her.
In the weeks following their first date, Sam had seen Angel several times. Sometimes for dinner, a movie; sometimes just for a coffee. With his mother doing much better, he felt more at ease leaving the house for longer periods of time, and he enjoyed spending the time with Angel. A few times, she had simply come out to the house and sketched or played soccer with Melody and Louis while he had worked on the place. He was content to let things go slowly for he sensed a hesitation to trust on her part. Truth be told, after what happened with Tabitha, he wasn't too interested in running head along into another relationship. Though it was getting harder to hold back on the more physical side of the relationship, who knows how far they would have gone the other day if Joelle hadn't shown up.
As it as it sounded, he was going to miss her when she went up to New York to show her sketches and see if she got the illustration job. She had been nervous and tense for most of the week, constantly evaluating which ones to submit. He thought all the sketches were wonderful, and upon voicing that opinion received an exasperated snort in reply.
The door to the classroom opened, and the students started to file out. Melody came up, "Sammie look!" She held up her pad which was open to a passing good sketch of Pumpkin. "He was hard to do because he wouldn't keep still." She looked over her shoulder to a few friends who were at the door to the building. "Can I talk to Rachel before we go?" she asked with a knowing look at her brother.
"Sure, Ah'll meet you at the truck in fifteen minutes."
When the last student left, he walked into the classroom. "Hey."
She looked up from the desk where she had been gathering her materials together, "Hi."
He kissed her lightly on the lips. "What are you doing tonight?"
"Why are you asking?" She bent down and picked the cat carrier up and put it on the desk.
"The Warriors are playing at the Wheel. They're good, and I thought you could use a fun night before you go. What do you say?"
"I say, if you help me catch Pumpkin and get him in the carrier, I'll even go to a Paris Hilton concert with you."
"I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy," he laughed.
"Just so you know, Pumpkin bites. Like a pit bull."
It took ten minutes to catch the cat and wrestle him into the carrier, but he didn't bit anyone. She walked out with him. "Where is that girl?" he said scanning the street looking for Melody.
"There," Angel pointed across the street where Melody was standing with her friend Rachel. As if sensing her brother, Melody said a few quick words to her friends and then started crossing the street.
Sam turned to Angel, "I'll pick you up at six."
Angel looked out the window, though every now and then she shot glances at Sam. He seemed off. As if something was wrong. It wasn't that he was mad at her, just mad at something. The excitement that had possessed him earlier in the day had fled, and now he seemed down. Uneasy. Very tense according to his grip on the steering wheel. She hadn't seen his hands clutch anything that hard before, usually they were strong, sure, and gentle.
"Sam," she finally said after they had been driving in silence for twenty minutes, "Is your mother okay?"
He shot her quick glance, "She's doing great. Why do you ask?" He stopped at the light.
"You seem upset," She hadn't seen him like this before; it contrasted sharply with his standard even temper. It worried her. "We don't have to go to the Wheel, if you don't want to."
Some of the tension seemed to leave him. "You sure?"
"Positive. If you're not in the mood; you're not in the mood." She understood that mood. When she was in that mood, people were just too much to handle.
He turned the car at the light and drove for a few miles more. She didn't say anything, though she did watch him, noting that the tension in his hands had eased. Finally he stopped the car at a park. Turning to face her, he asked, "Walk with me?"
They walked though the park; his arm around her waist, holding her against him. Her arm around him a warm comforting presence. Finally after a few minutes, he said, "Ah'm sorry. It's just that a few friends were having some problems." He needed to talk about what had happened to the others, even if he couldn't tell her anything specific. Not yet, anyway.
"Are they okay?" she looked up.
"Yeah, it worked out. They work at the same school I do" the arm around her tightened, "Its just Ah wasn't there. Ah feel Ah let them down in some way. And then Ah feel. . ." he paused.
"Selfish?" she supplied.
He nodded, "It's not about me, so how dare Ah feel guilty. Then Ah feel worse. And then it's back to feeling torn apart"
Angel knew that feeling; she had felt that along with rage when Jupiter had been raped. The whole blame self then feel guilty about it syndrome. She leaned her head against his shoulder. She wished there were some magic words to make him feel better, but she knew from experience that there weren't any. The platitudes never worked. "You're allowed to feel that way," she said finally. "In fact, if you didn't feel that way, you wouldn't be the good man that you are."
He smiled slightly to himself at those words, "Aren't you suppose to say, 'it's not your fault' or wake up or something."
"Maybe, but it wouldn't make you feel better. I could also point out that you can't be in two places at once. I could bring up all the religious based points. But those won't make you feel any better either. You're a good man, so you are going to feel this way."
"Speaking from experience?"
She nodded, choosing her next words carefully, "Yes. The feeling doesn't really go a way. It ebbs. It will disappear for a while but sometimes it pops back up. If they're your friends, they wouldn't begrudge you helping you mother."
He kissed the top of her head and they continued to walk. "So you think ah'm a good man, then?" he finally asked.
"Yes.". And somehow that opinion made him feel better.
Angel put down her bags, picked up Pumpkin and swung him around the room. "I got it," she said to the cat before placing a kiss on his forehead and depositing him on the table. Melody, no doubt with help from Sam, had taken great care of him. Speaking of Sam. . . . She picked up her phone and called.
He picked up after the second ring, "Did you get it?"
"What no welcome home? No how was the trip?" She picked up a can of cat food and opened it.
"Welcome home. How was the trip? Did you get it?"
"I got it.," she replied rubbing Pumpkin's ears as he chowed down.
"Congratulations! Tell you what; I'll be finished here in another hour. How about on my way over, I'll stop and get some champagne and we could celebrate?" This last was said suggestively.
She smiled; she had reached a few conclusions during the trip. In fact, Jupiter's words were still echoing around her head- "Are you going to ignore life simply because of Frost? You're allowed to have some fun! It would do you good to be more selfish!"
"You know that sounds like a wonderful idea," She said into the phone.
"The cat's not going to bite me?" he joked
"I'll tire him out."
"See you around five then," he paused, and then softly, "I missed you."
"Missed you too."
They lay side by side in her bed, pressed against each other, enjoying the feel of each other. His arm holding her against him, her head resting on his chest, listening to his heart beat. "Is this how you gentlemen welcome all your ladies home?"
He stroked her hair, "Only the important ones." He pulled the blankets around them. "You saying, you my lady?" He kissed the top of her head.
"Perhaps." She lazily traced the contours of his chest. "I head back up to Croton in three weeks."
"Xavier's is not too far from there," he replied. He knew what she was thinking, everything would change then. Putting his hand under her chin, he gently raised her head so he could kiss her. He deepened the kiss, only breaking away when her hand, which had moved further down his body, distracted him.
There it was. Sam picked up Twilight Watch. He looked down the shelf to see if there was anything else he wanted. He already had the David Weber paperback and the latest Star Wars novel, though he was still furious over the fact that Lucas had allowed Chewbacca's death. One of the good things about working for the professor was he got paid well enough to indulge in book buying.
He looked up, his eyes scanning the book store for Angel. She stood a few yards a way, her head bent over a book. She had been on the phone with her father when he had arrived to pick up her for lunch and had been tense every since. She hadn't said anything about it, but the set in her shoulders that she had when she hung up the phone hadn't left. He wondered why she hadn't opened up it him after the phone call. Undoubtedly, it had to do with the fact that she watched him sometimes, like she couldn't believe that he existed, that he was about to vanish.
However, he knew that he sometimes looked at her the same way, fearful that she would realize that he was nothing but a Kentucky back woods man. He feared a repeat of what happened with Tabitha. Additionally, he had not told Angel that he was a mutant yet. He hated hiding a part of himself like this. But it wasn't just his secret. Until they both returned to New York; he wanted to be selfish. He wanted the idyll to last a bit longer.
He walked over to her, slipped an arm around her waist, and leaned over her shoulder to look at the book. In turn, she leaned into him.
"Dahl. I like the one about the brain," he said referring to Tales of the Unexpected which she had brought out to the house last night. His mother had loved them.
"I always loved "Lamb to the Slaughter"."
"What else are you getting?"
"Kushiel's Scion"
"That one, I think, you should read to me," he whispered into her ear, pulling her yet closer, watching the blush color her cheeks.
As they were leaving the store, Sam noticed Paige across the street, with a group of her friends. "Ang, you know that boy Paige is talking to?"
Angel looked over to where Paige and a dark haired boy were sitting outside of a coffee shop. "No." She looked at Sam's face. "Do you want go over there and do the protective big brother act?"
He considered for a moment, then, holding her hand began walking to truck, "No. The last time I did that in front of her friends, she put six frogs in my underwear drawer." He was forced to stop because Angel was laughing too hard to move.
"Poor Paige," she said they continued walking back to his truck.
"Poor Paige? I was the one who had to do all the laundry. And get the frogs out of the house. I suppose, I am lucky. You don't have any older brothers."
"My father use to clean his old service revolver," she smiled at the memory.
"Now that's an idea," he mused. "What else did he do?"
"Mostly the revolver. Though he does have a talent for making the most innocent date seem deviant."
"Ah got to learn how to do that. What's he like, your father?"
She thought for a moment. "He's . . . traditional. I guess you could say. Ex-drill sergeant went into construction. We moved around a lot when I was younger."
"Does he know about me?" He knew Jupiter knew about him; in fact, he would probably be able to pick Jupiter out of crowd. But he was old fashioned enough to want know her father and for her father to know him.
The conversation this morning had in fact been about Sam, she nodded. He could feel the tension build in her shoulders, "We didn't talk for a while. We got into this huge fight when I was in college. Over stupid things really," well not really, but she didn't want to tell Sam about the mutant issue yet. "I accused him of not caring enough, which was unfair. He, well, my mother died when I was born, and he . . . "she shrugged, and Sam pulled her closer as they reached the truck. He took the bags from her and placed them in the back of the track. "We started speaking again, but sometimes. . . It's like we're always watching what we say. It'll get easier I'll suppose." He pulled her into a hug. They stood there for a few moments.
"Come on, I want to show you something before we go back for the cook out," he said
They had to hike part of the way. But soon they reached a spot, near the end of the Guthrie property. "Quiet, now, "Sam said as they got closer. He pulled her down, so the two of them knelt in the long grass.
"You got your sketch book?" he whispered to her, pointing as a fox moved slowly out of a den, and looked around. A few cubs came out of the den, playing around the feet of their mother. Angel pulled out her sketch book and began to sketch them. Sam brushed a strand of her hair away, tucking it behind her ear. He settled down next to her, sometimes watching the foxes, sometimes watching the drawings that seemed to flow effortlessly from her pencil.
Angel was aware of Sam's body next to hers, a slight pressure, nothing suggestive, just a quiet acknowledgement of presence, that quality of his to lend strength; an everything is going to be fine feeling. As she drew ears, trying to capture the extant shapes as the kits played, she thought about whatever this relationship was. She relished being with him, there was no other way to describe it. He didn't push and granted her experience with men wasn't very board, he seemed content to just let her sketch without making her feel that she had to rush. The other night, when they had made love (she doubted that Sam ever simply had sex) it had been about the both of them as opposed to the feeling that she had to please the man. More importantly, when they kissed, she didn't hear Frost's voice in her head, screaming at her or relive that disastrous night of her first kiss.
She finished drawing the last kit just in time, for something, mostly like them, had spooked the foxes and back into the den they went. She shared a smile with Sam. "Can Ah see?" he said, gesturing to her sketch book which she had been about to close. She passed it over.
He turned though the pages. He saw sketches of Melody, the twins, Josh, and Paige. There was a beautiful sketch of his mother and Paige in the kitchen. Several from the day they had spent at the Horse Park; she had captured Joelle's wide grin as she rode a pony and the orneriness of John Henry. Several of the sketches were of him; she had even done a study of his hands. He fingered a space where a page had been carefully torn out. This must be the sketch she had given his mother. It was of the whole clan sitting down. He hadn't realized that she done it until he had come into the house and saw it proudly displayed in frame. She had simply handed it to her mother one day. That simple, giving act had endeared to him.
"I was wondering," He whispered close to her ear "since Paige and Melody are both having sleep overs, if you wouldn't mind a guest for tonight."
"You mean your mother?" she teased. "Are you comfortable leaving your mother for the night?" He hadn't spent the night last time; something she could understand.
He nodded.
Sam woke up, feeling slightly confused. When he had fallen asleep, his arms had been wrapped around Angel, but now they were empty. Where. . . He raised his hand slightly and saw her sitting at the end of the foot of the bed, wearing his shirt and sketching.
"Do you do this with all your lovers?" he quipped as he moved slightly so he could look at her.
She winked at him, "Just about."
"Some people just take pictures."
"Is that what you do?"
"Maybe".
She kicked him lightly before looking back at the sketch, shooting quick glances at him as she worked.
He reached out and gently grasped her ankle, running his thumb lightly over her warm skin. "I might have to charge you for using me as a model."
She smiled at him, the mischievous glint in her eyes matching his, "I am starving artist. I can't afford to pay you."
"I was thinking more of an exchange of services."
"What did you have in mind?"
"Quite a few things actually."
A few more strokes with the pencil and then she put the pad aside, tucking the pencil inside of it so Pumpkin would not play with it. She moved up the bed and leaned over him. Gently she pushed his hair back from his face, "What things exactly?" she whispered before kissing him.
He wrapped his arms around her and rolled her over. With one finger, he traced the line of her jaw. He thought about her father, the image of her just now, sitting at the edge of the bed, sketching him, and the sense of loneliness that she sometimes had. "I'm not going anywhere," he said softly, kissing her. His hands began to unbutton the shirt. His lips moved down her neck, lower.
"Sam," she murmured, arching into him. "I'm supposed to be paying you."
"Who says you aren't?" he replied.
Angel sat on her couch watching CNN. A mutant had attacked the president. All the news pundits were talking about revisiting the mutant registration act. With this attempt, would it be rejected again? She doubted it. She threw the sheepskin mouse for Pumpkin who went scampering after it. She wondered if the attack had been a reaction to the failed bill, though it seemed stupid to do such a thing. She got off the couch and went into the kitchen. The uncooked Gratin Dauphinois she had prepared for Mrs. Guthrie's dinner stood on the table. She flashed it quickly with her powers. Watching the steam rise from it, she thought about how comfortable with her powers she had become.
Then it hit her.
She couldn't sit passively by and be treated like a thing as opposed to a citizen. Though exactly what she should do was unclear. Perhaps, she should contact that mutant official, Hank McCoy, who appeared on TV even now. She would be damned if the government was going to make her ashamed of what she was after finally overcoming the years of Frost's abuse.
It meant telling Sam. It was too much to hope that he would be as accepting as Jupiter, whose reaction had been "Great, so we don't need to get a microwave for the room". But if she was going to do so, she shouldn't do it by halves, and he was a good man.
She was terrified about what his reaction would be.
She fed Pumpkin and left.
The mood at the Guthrie's was subdued, at least on the part of the older two siblings. Paige was too quiet. The younger siblings seemed unaffected; after all as Joelle said, the president had not been killed. Josh didn't seem to know which behavior would be more appropriate for his age..
Because of the news, dinner was going to be late. After a quick game of soccer with the twins, Angel took a seat beside a pensive Sam. He handed her a glass of ice tea and put an arm around her shoulders. They sat quietly for a couple minutes until he said, "Paige and Ah are going to be leaving a bit earlier than excepted."
"Is it your friends?" She asked, concerned.
"No. Not really. There is some school business, and Professor is going to be short staffed for a while. So Paige and Ah are leaving tomorrow, "he kissed the top of her head. "Don't be surprised, if Ah'm waiting at you door to help you unpack when you get back up there."
"You should know that once Jupiter finds out she is probably going to stop by and give the third degree. She'll probably bring Jimmy with her." She could just see Jupiter showing up at the school to interrogate Sam. It would be like her.
"Who's Jimmy?"
"Her boyfriend. Big guy, muscles, board shoulders."
He laughed, "So you don't have any protective older brothers, just a protective friend with a muscular boyfriend."
"Sam," she said after a few moments, "After dinner . . ."
"Sure," he interrupted, "It's a nice night for star watching."
"That's not exactly," she started to say but this time Ma Guthrie interrupted calling everyone in for dinner.
When dinner was over, the kitchen cleaned and Ma Guthrie getting her young children ready for bed, Sam and Angel returned to the porch swing. Sam sat with his back against on end, Angel between his legs. She leaned back into him, and he rested his head on the top of hers, staring out onto the property. She took one of his hands in hers, turned it palm up, and with a slight smile that he couldn't see, traced the "M".
"What are you doing?" he asked, more bemused than anything, simply enjoying her touch.
"Tracing your M."
"My what?" he peered over her head.
"This." She showed him.
"Never noticed that before," he replied before laying his head back on hers.
"Sam?"
"Hm?"
"Do you . . . "she stopped for his whole body had tensed up.
Before she had time to ask anything, Sam pushed her down onto the porch. She looked up and saw something hitting something. Some kind of shield. At the edge of the property, she could see human shapes moving, shooting. She looked at Sam's face.
Oh. Apparently she didn't have to worry about telling him she was a mutant.
"Sam," she said, unsure of exactly how his power worked, whatever it was. "Can you lower the shield?"
He shot her a very confused look, "WHAT?!"
"You think you're the only mutant in the world? I can take out their weapons." Angel wondered if they were Frost's, but she had always sent, well, less armed people. And why would she attack now? She looked back at Sam. "Trust me."
He lowered the shield.
She had never stopped using her powers. Realizing that Frost would at some point break her promise, Angel practiced every day. Finding out of the way places, sometimes if she couldn't get away simply manipulating the powers around the house. It was hard, but she did it. And Frost had been a ruthless task mistress. You never forgot the skills she taught you. So it was second nature for Angel, once she didn't have to worry about the shield, to take off and fly at the men. Her heat shield melting the bullets long before they reached her. Her bursts melting the guns.
She was dimly aware of Sam flying behind, coming in behind the bursts, to take out the men. "I got these. Check the back of the house, "he shouted.
She flew around the house. There were, in fact, a few men behind. But apparently Sam was not the only mutant in the family. A few men surrounded what looked to be Paige who seemed to be to change her skin. She flew in to a few yards of Paige. Desperately, the men tried to talk though their gear and she was thankful that her powers could quite easily scramble any communications. Her bursts sliced though the air, taking out weapons, sometimes knocking someone back. Once the weapons were melted, Paige easily used her metal form to knock the men out.
They weren't Frost's men; Frost's men would have been prepared for her abilities. Angel walked over to one and yanked his comm. gear off, melting it, she turned to Paige, who looked like quite please with herself. "They have cuffs."
Paige shot her a look, a combination of surprise and pleasure, "I didn't know you were a mutant," she said as she began to gather cuffs from the five men and used them. She removed the gear and tossed it to Angel who quickly melted it.
"Looks like we both full of surprises."
Once all the men were cuffed, Angel flew Paige to the other side of the house. The other men were sprawled across the yard, and Paige started to repeat the process. Sam held one man against a tree. Angel landed behind him. "Who sent you?" Sam growled at the man.
The solider, there was not better word to describe him, was clearly frightened, but he refused to speak.
"Look, you've seen what we can do! Who sent you?"
Ma Guthrie was striding toward them, carrying a rifle. "Who is he?" she shouted.
Paige came up and handed the gear to Angel, who melted it. The solider stared, his eyes getting wider. He realized why his radio was not working. "You weren't on the list," he said to Angel.
"What list?" Sam asked. The solider looked at him. To prove his point, Sam slammed his fist into the tree; the wood splintered.
The man decided to talk, "We were to get you and your sister."
"Why?" this came from Ma Guthrie.
The man looked like she had asked the most stupid question in the world, "Because you're mutants. You're connected to that school."
"Xavier's? This is about Xavier's?"
The man nodded. "All the mutants from the school. But she wasn't on the list."
"The school? Tonight?"
The man nodded. Sam slammed his fist into the man, and he slumped down. Paige yanked the gear off and tossed it to Angel before handcuffing the man. Paige was clearly enjoying this.
"We gotta call the school, "Sam said.
In the kitchen, Sam paced back and forth, holding the land line to his ear. No one had picked up on the cell. Angel leaned against the wall. She wasn't sure what they were going to do about the men. If they had been sent by the government, what could they do with them? Sam hung up the land line. Paige came into the kitchen and handed Sam another phone. He resumed his pacing as he tried this one.
"Paige, go check on the others," a Guthrie said as she came back into the kitchen. Paige looked like she was about to rebel, but then thought better about it as she saw the look on her mother's face. Ma Guthrie turned to Angel, "You didn't go to Xavier's, did you? Sam would have known you."
"No ma'am. I didn't go to Xavier's," Angel replied. Inside, she felt nervous. Another school for mutants. Surely it couldn't be like the Massachusetts Academy. She forced those memories back in the box. Someone like Frost would not be able to produce someone like Sam. Ma Guthrie won't even have sent one child, let alone two, to such a place.
"So where did you learn how to use your powers? Is there another school?"
"There is another school, though I haven't heard of Xavier's, at least before meeting Sam. But don't send your children there," she finished meeting Ma Guthrie's eyes.
The older woman seemed to understand, for she reached out a hand and grasped Angel's. "Thank you."
Sam put the phone down with a curse. It must be bad, Angel thought, she had never heard him curse before. "No answer," he said. He ran his hand though his hair. "Ah gotta go up there and see what's what. If they came to get Paige and me, who knows what they did at the school." He looked at Angel, "I could use your help."
"You don't need to ask," she replied.
He nodded, "We should drive part of the way. It will take longer, but we won't be as tired. We'll also attract less attention that way."
"I'm going too," Paige said from the stairs.
"Definitely not, "Ma Guthrie said at the same time Sam voiced a strong, "No!".
"But . . . "Paige began, marshalling her arguments to the fore.
"You need to take of the others, Ma and the rest," Sam said cutting off both his sister and his mother. "I know you're worried about your friends. But they should be at the safe house. You got to take of the others here."
Paige looked rebellious, but she nodded, "Call me when you find out anything."
Angel tossed her keys to Paige, "Can you feed Pumpkin? It also might be better if you guys stay at my place until this blows over."
Ma Guthrie gathered up food from the fridge, and poured some quickly made cold coffee in a thermos, "You should be able to heat this up," she said handing it to Angel and hugging her then Sam. She clung to her son for as long as she could, before shoving him out the door.
It was quiet in the cab of the truck for the first hour. Sam focused on the road, driving as fast as he dared, but wary of speeding. He didn't want to draw too much attention. Finally, Angel broke the silence, "What is the list the man kept talking about?"
His eyes still on the road, "I'm not sure. It mostly likely is a list of the mutants at the school; at least I hope that's what it is." It now occurred to him that Berto, Ric, and Tabitha might be at risk as well. He was reaching for his phone when he realized that Berto was out of the country, and, well he had not kept track of Tabitha and Ric, not after that day. "So who taught you to use your powers? That must be why you weren't on the list, not being at Xavier's."
She looked out the window. She couldn't see much of anything just vague shapes of trees, rocks, and houses in the darkness, "The Massachusetts Academy. Frost passed it off as just a fancy prep school, but it was also a secret school for mutants."
"Frost?"
"She," Angel began. She hated talking about this. She tried to keep those memories of those years buried deep. The feelings of inadequately, Randall's death, the realization of the abuse. She had only really talked to her father and Jupiter about it. It wasn't something you could bring to a therapist. "She was, still is I think, the headmistress of the school."
"Why that school?"
She shrugged, "I discovered I was a mutant the day my grandmother died. I told my father the day we buried her. Frost showed up later that day. She was kind, offered a sense of normality. She said she could teach me to use my powers and offer my dad a full scholarship. We didn't have much money, so it sounded like a great deal. I don't really know how she found me. I always figured it was because she was telepath. Especially after I found out what she was doing." It was easier to talk about now that she started, "She kept me separate from the others, told me that there always a chance I could lose control and accidentally hurt somebody. That she was the only one to help me control my powers. She manipulated me for four years using her powers. At the same time she taught me how to use them, so she could use me as her pet assassin. She was my only friend there, besides Randall. She was almost like my mother.
"And then Randall found out what she was going to do. He didn't like it. She tried to have him killed, but he got away, at least long enough to tell me what happened. I didn't know who to believe, but I knew where she kept her files. And than, I confronted her, which was actually a good thing because I realized that I knew how to control my powers. I got her to promise to leave me alone."
Sam's hand reached out to find hers, "Xavier's isn't like that. Ah promise." He story explained a lot. And it was worrisome. Xavier's school was about learning how to use your powers. From what Angel had said, this Academy sounded different, training mutants to gain power. How many had been brain washed and hadn't found the strength to break away, like Angel had? How many hadn't wanted to?
She squeezed back, "Anyway, after Jupiter found out what I could do, she stole the keys to her father's gym, and we would go there. It was there that I lost most of my fear of what my powers could do." She paused. "How exactly did you go to Xavier's?"
"I used my powers to get out of a mine cave-in. Professor came to visit my mother soon after. He taught me, made me one of his X-Men, sort of a mutant team, offered me a job. When we found out Paige was mutant, it was no problem. Can you get me some coffee?"
Angel reached down and picked up the flask; she flashed it, earning a look from Sam, who hadn't really seen her powers up close, "Heat?" he asked.
"Microwaves, to be more exact. I absorb them and then can let them out. So what are your powers? It's some kind of a shield?"
"Blast field. It functions as shield, but I can use it other ways. Like how you can melt things and ruin communication."
When they crossed the border into New York, they left the truck and flew the rest of the way. By the time they reached the school, it was 24 hours after the attack. They arrived on the grounds cautiously. The place looked deserted. Together they explored the grounds and then entered the building. Windows had been shot out, the kitchen was a mess, and one hall was dripping wet. Despite the destruction, there was a feeling of warmth that the Academy had entirely lacked. By the time they had finished searching the house, Sam was tense. There was blood on some of the floors; it looked like some people had been hurt badly. On the bright side, if there was one, the darts that men at the Guthrie house had used were also in use here. It didn't seem as if they wanted to kill mutants, just catch them.
When they searched the last one room, Sam looked worried but not entirely without hope. "C'mon," he said before flying down the hallway. She followed. He stopped at a section near the main stairway. He pushed at it, reveling an elevator. After a quick ride, the doors opened to reveal a series of corridors that looked too much like Frost's underground bunker. Sam flew down one direction where there was an opened door at the end of the hallway. When she landed beside him, he said, "They've broken into Cerebro."
"Cerebro?" she asked
"How Professor found me. He can track mutants with it."
"He's a telepath?"
Sam nodded, and then quickly added, sensing her discomfort, "He's not like Frost." He turned back to look at the room and swore under his breath. "Hopefully, they didn't get to the control logs."
They hadn't. Together they watched the students escape though passages, which lighten Sam's mood considerably. They also saw a man; Sam said he was Logan- a recent addition- with three students leave in a car. "At least most of the students got out. Logan was the only adult in the house," Sam said. He drew up another computer screen, punched some keys on the key board. "Professor said Jean and Storm were going to track down the mutant who attacked the president. I was hoping to hear . . . "a global positioning system appeared on the screen. Sam zoomed in, "Well, the Blackbird's there."
"Blackbird?" she asked.
"The jet."
"Do you have a bat mobile too?"
That drew a wan smile. "Let me try calling them again." He had tried several times on the drive up but hadn't been able to reach them.
His luck had apparently changed.
"Storm!" the relief was evident in his voice. Angel sat down in a chair and listened. "Yea. They tried to pick up Paige and me. I am at the mansion now. Yeah. Okay. You sure, you can't wait? It's just that," he glanced over at Angel, "I've got some help. That girl," Angel shot him a look, girl? "I've been seeing. She's a mutant. She's good. Okay. We'll try to get there as soon as we can."
Before they left, Sam made her change into one of the uniforms, more comfortable than her Hellion costume. They flew to Alkali Lake and on the way there Sam was able to fill her in on what had happened. When they were almost there, something, she could never find the right words to describe it, hit them. Sam felt it first. He was just flying along and then all of sudden let out this yelp and started to fall. She was able to check his fall before she felt it. Thankfully, at that point they only fell a short way. It felt like someone was trying to tear her brain in half, as if someone were trying to wrest what was mutant about her away. And that made her angry. They were her powers, and once long ago she might have given them up, but now? No. She fought against it.
Then as suddenly it had started; it stopped. She could hear her own breathing. She could hear Sam's breathing. Finally she found her voice, "You okay?"
"Yea. They must have stopped Stryker. Can you fly?"
They rose unsteadily to their feet, but yes, they were able to fly.
When they arrived at Alkali Lake, the first thing Angel saw was the huge wall of the water. The second was the plane rising from the ground like a small bird trying to out run the wall. Lastly, there was a small figure standing in between the water and the plane. She and Sam hovered above the tableau.
"Can you deal with the water?" Sam shouted to her.
"Only if you want me to take out the plane and the person below. I have the power, but there is no way to funnel it that way. It'll have to be a powerful blast."
"I can shield the plane." Sam said.
I can shield myself long enough. a voice said in her mind. Angel almost jumped out of her skin.
"It's Jean. It's okay." Sam said quickly, moving to hover just above the plane.
She waited. When she saw that Sam had extended his shield, she swept down. The power that was always there, that was always closely contained, she began to let slowly pour out of her.
Don't worry. I can handle it. Jean said in her mind.
She let go. No longer trying to keep the power in check. Her microwaves slammed into the water, turning it to steam. It was never a question of if the power was there, but a question of how much damage was she comfortable doing? Even at Frost's that had been the question, and looking at Frost's files had confirmed that. While it felt wonderful to let the power out, she couldn't see. Where was the woman? She could hear anything except the hiss of the steam. She couldn't see anything except for the steam. She could be about to slam into the ground.
A yard in front of you the voice said.
She reached with her hands, and felt someone grab them. It was the woman. Angel pulled out of her dive, rushing towards the sky that she knew was above. A few seconds more and than they were clear of the steam. She drew in back to her.
"The plane?" Angel asked Jean. It was impossible to see anything with all the steam still around.
Jean smiled tiredly, "Everyone is fine. My name is Jean Grey."
"I'm Angelica Jones."
"Pleased to meet you."
While Sam's room had not been shot up, it had been damaged. The door had been kicked in, and the room itself had been torn asunder. Keeping busy allowed himself to keep his mind off of uncertainties. Jean would recover, though the Professor was worried that she had damaged herself somehow, all that power she had to wield to hold the water at bay, to raise the Blackbird, and to shield herself from Angel's power, which had been an impressive display. There was Logan. He wasn't sure what to make of that man yet. There was Angel and Kurt, both of whom were closeted with the Professor. No doubt, Professor had questions about that school. He knew that both Angel and Kurt would be asked to stay.
He positioned the new door; he was trying to attach to the door jam. He was relatively sure that Kurt was going to hang around for a while, if the glances he had been exchanging with Storm were any indication. He hoped that Angel would stay. But he had seen the look in her eyes when they had explored the mansion and the start when Jean had reached out telepathically to them. This place reminder her of the Massachusetts Academy.
If he ever saw that Frost woman . . .
He hoped that Angel would stay. But if she decided not to, he hoped that they would still see each other.
"Darn," the door had slipped banging into his hand.
"Here, let me."
He almost banged his head against the wall. How had she managed to sneak up on him?
"If you could hold it just there," he said gesturing.
"Okay."
He screwed in the bottom section. Stood and began to do the top plate, "I'm heading back to pick up Paige, if you want to ride down with me," he said.
"That would be great."
He met her eyes and allowed himself a slight smile.
"I said yes to the Professor's offer, just so you know," Angel said.
He dropped the screw driver and pulled her to him. She laughed Just before he kissed her a thought crossed his mind, "You sure? You're not doing this because of me? It's fine if you don't. . . "
She stopped his words with a light kiss. "I'm sure. It's not you, really. I don't want to hide any more. But I can't promise anything. Except if I deicide to leave, it's not . . ."
"Me, "he finished for her. "I know." He kissed her, pulling her into the room, closing the door behind them.