Author's Note: FAIR WARNING: I have no real idea what's going to happen in
this story. This is the most making-it-up-as-I-go-along story I have EVER
written. All I know is that there's going to be Kurt/Stormness and some
point, and the X-Men and a new character or two kicking ass at some other
point. Aside from that, I promise nothing.
Everything's Made To Be Broken
Chapter 1
Slightly more than a month had passed since what had been labeled "The Alkali Lake Incident". To say that life at Xavier's Institute was returning to normal would have been an exaggeration-after all, things were never really "normal" there in the best of times. The losses the X-Men had suffered were still acutely felt-most prominently the loss of Jean, but also Pyro's decision to go with Magneto and the inability of Bobby's family to accept him as a mutant. Physically or emotionally, every member of the team had suffered somewhat, and it would take time for those wounds to heal. But life went on.
With the losses and wounds, there had been gains as well. Nightcrawler seemed to be settling into life at the Institute well. While many of the children had seemed afraid when they first saw him, it had not taken long for most of them to accept him, especially once they got to know him. Among the X-Men, he was forming solid friendships with most of them. Cyclops hadn't spoken to him much, but then Cyclops was mostly keeping to himself since losing Jean. Rogue, while not going out of her way to get to know him, was always friendly when they encountered each other. Wolverine, despite the display of his typical charm when they first met, was coming to be a good friend. But so far, Kurt had undoubtedly gotten closest to Storm.
Unfortunately, they hadn't had much time to talk in the past few weeks. For the time being, Storm, Cyclops, and the Professor were temporarily taking Jean's teaching duties on themselves. They had discussed seeing if Rogue, Iceman, and some other of the older students could take on teaching some of the younger children in addition to their own studies, but hadn't yet put that plan into action. So, Storm had been busier than usual lately, but the time she had to herself, she often spent with Kurt.
One day, late in the afternoon when classes were over, they had run into each other in the garden and were talking. After a few minutes, the conversation had inevitably turned to what had been on everyone's minds whether they talked about it or not.
"I'm worried about Scott." Ororo confessed as they sat there. "I think he still blames himself for Jean's death, even though there was nothing he could have done."
"There was nothing anyone could have done." Kurt replied softly. "I didn't know her as well as the rest of you, but I knew...when I tried to teleport to her and she stopped me, I knew, she'd made a choice. None of us could have saved her without risking our own lives, and she would not allow us that."
"That's what I've been telling myself, and what everyone's been telling Scott. But...he's still hurting, more than any of the rest of us, I think. We all loved Jean, but no one had the bond with her he did. Sometimes...I wonder if he's going to be alright."
Nodding sympathetically, Kurt reached out and laid a hand on her arm. "And...what about you?"
Ororo touched his hand and smiled, but it was halfhearted at best. "I'm doing alright, Kurt."
"Are you?" He paused, trying to find words to express the concern he'd been feeling. "I haven't been sure how to say this, Ororo, but I've been watching you, and you don't seem alright."
Before she could deny it, Ororo felt her grief welling up from deep inside and tried to pull her emotions under control, but a few tears spilled from her eyes before she could stop them. She shut her eyes and started to wipe them away, but Kurt gently caught hold of her hand with one of his, reaching out to brush the tears away with the other.
"Don't hold it in." he whispered. "It can only get worse that way."
She shook her head. "I have to."
"Why?"
She gestured for him to look upwards. Doing so, Kurt saw that the clouds had begun to gather and darken. The wind had picked up. But as Ororo took a slightly shaky breath, regaining her composure, the sky was already starting to clear.
"When I experience strong emotions, it affects the weather." she explained. "If I ever seem cold or distant-that's why. If I were to truly let out what I feel over Jean's death..."
"Ah...I understand. I'm sorry."
Ororo shook her head again. "Don't be. I know you were trying to help, and I appreciate it." Searching for a way to change the subject, she looked down at his hand, still holding hers, and traced one of the symbols on the back of it. "These symbols...do they mean anything?"
He nodded with a slight smile. "Ja...they are the names of angels. This-" he laid his own fingers over the symbol she had touched. "Is Gabriel...it was the first."
"And this one?" she raised her hand to his face, her fingertips brushing against a large symbol on his cheek. He reached up and closed his hand over hers.
"The Archangel Michael." As he spoke, their eyes met. Kurt felt his breath catch in hiss throat and silently hoped she wouldn't ask the meaning of any others, because he wasn't sure he would be able to call them to mind or speak coherently if she did.
Letting her other hand come to rest on his shoulder, Ororo leaned in slightly, unsure what she was doing. She was half afraid he would pull back...half afraid of what would happen between them if he didn't. Then she felt Kurt's free hand on her neck, slipping up into her hair as he also moved closer. Both of them had closed their eyes now, but they didn't need to see each other. As their lips brushed, Kurt felt it like an electric shock through his entire body. He moved back slightly, still hesitating, then forgot anything that might have held him back and leaned in, feeling their lips meet again...
"Storm! Kurt! You guys out here?" Startled and flustered, they pulled away from each other a split second before Logan came out into the garden. He glanced back and forth between them, sniffed slightly, and raised one eyebrow, but if he could guess the situation they'd just been in, he spared them any comments on it. "C'mon-there's something on the news I think you're both gonna want to see."
The rest of the X-Men and several children were already gathered around the TV when they got there. On the screen, group of people that looked mostly college age or slightly older seemed to be having some sort of rally, accompanied by a voice-over.
"The group calls themselves Humans For A Peaceful Coexistence with Mutants, or HPCM. Begun just last year among a small group of friends, their membership has been steadily growing as mutants and situations involving them continue to garner attention. Most recently, HPCM has dedicated itself to fighting the proposed Mutant Registration Act through a series of rallies and nonviolent protests."
As the voiceover continued, the footage switched from wide shots of the group to a closeup on one woman who seemed to be giving a speech. As it did so, Kurt suddenly reached out to grip the back off the sofa, leaning forward. "Mein Gott..." he whispered. "Kaela?"
The others shot curious glances at him and then looked back at the woman onscreen. She was a tall, slim woman who looked to be in her late twenties, with black hair in a short bob and pale blue-gray eyes that gave her a somewhat cold look.
"Arguably HPCM's strongest asset," the newscaster continued, "is its leader, Kaela O'Connell. Energetic, educated, and devoted, O'Connell brings to her speeches and debates a mixture of calm, practiced debating skills and passion for her cause that makes her a formidable opponent." As the voiceover ended, the sound picked up on the woman's speech.
"The most important thing for us to realize here is that mutation occurs naturally." She was saying. "It's not a problem to be solved or a disease to be cured. No matter how rare or unorthodox they may seem, mutants are a product of natural human evolution. We have scientific proof of this. So why do so many people insist on treating mutants like freaks, when all our evidence suggests that they are simply a more advanced form of humanity? The next step in the evolutionary chain that brought us from single celled organisms to primates to what we are now? Whether we choose to accept it or not, mutants are our future, and no amount of anti-mutant sentiment will change this!"
As the newscaster was making a few closing statements, Professor Xavier turned to Kurt. "Kurt, do you know this woman?"
"Ja..." Kurt replied distractedly, half lost in memories. "I know her..."
A.N.: Yay?
I have more written already, but I'm going to wait and see what kind of feedback I get for the first chapter before I upload it. Which is where you guys come in...
Everything's Made To Be Broken
Chapter 1
Slightly more than a month had passed since what had been labeled "The Alkali Lake Incident". To say that life at Xavier's Institute was returning to normal would have been an exaggeration-after all, things were never really "normal" there in the best of times. The losses the X-Men had suffered were still acutely felt-most prominently the loss of Jean, but also Pyro's decision to go with Magneto and the inability of Bobby's family to accept him as a mutant. Physically or emotionally, every member of the team had suffered somewhat, and it would take time for those wounds to heal. But life went on.
With the losses and wounds, there had been gains as well. Nightcrawler seemed to be settling into life at the Institute well. While many of the children had seemed afraid when they first saw him, it had not taken long for most of them to accept him, especially once they got to know him. Among the X-Men, he was forming solid friendships with most of them. Cyclops hadn't spoken to him much, but then Cyclops was mostly keeping to himself since losing Jean. Rogue, while not going out of her way to get to know him, was always friendly when they encountered each other. Wolverine, despite the display of his typical charm when they first met, was coming to be a good friend. But so far, Kurt had undoubtedly gotten closest to Storm.
Unfortunately, they hadn't had much time to talk in the past few weeks. For the time being, Storm, Cyclops, and the Professor were temporarily taking Jean's teaching duties on themselves. They had discussed seeing if Rogue, Iceman, and some other of the older students could take on teaching some of the younger children in addition to their own studies, but hadn't yet put that plan into action. So, Storm had been busier than usual lately, but the time she had to herself, she often spent with Kurt.
One day, late in the afternoon when classes were over, they had run into each other in the garden and were talking. After a few minutes, the conversation had inevitably turned to what had been on everyone's minds whether they talked about it or not.
"I'm worried about Scott." Ororo confessed as they sat there. "I think he still blames himself for Jean's death, even though there was nothing he could have done."
"There was nothing anyone could have done." Kurt replied softly. "I didn't know her as well as the rest of you, but I knew...when I tried to teleport to her and she stopped me, I knew, she'd made a choice. None of us could have saved her without risking our own lives, and she would not allow us that."
"That's what I've been telling myself, and what everyone's been telling Scott. But...he's still hurting, more than any of the rest of us, I think. We all loved Jean, but no one had the bond with her he did. Sometimes...I wonder if he's going to be alright."
Nodding sympathetically, Kurt reached out and laid a hand on her arm. "And...what about you?"
Ororo touched his hand and smiled, but it was halfhearted at best. "I'm doing alright, Kurt."
"Are you?" He paused, trying to find words to express the concern he'd been feeling. "I haven't been sure how to say this, Ororo, but I've been watching you, and you don't seem alright."
Before she could deny it, Ororo felt her grief welling up from deep inside and tried to pull her emotions under control, but a few tears spilled from her eyes before she could stop them. She shut her eyes and started to wipe them away, but Kurt gently caught hold of her hand with one of his, reaching out to brush the tears away with the other.
"Don't hold it in." he whispered. "It can only get worse that way."
She shook her head. "I have to."
"Why?"
She gestured for him to look upwards. Doing so, Kurt saw that the clouds had begun to gather and darken. The wind had picked up. But as Ororo took a slightly shaky breath, regaining her composure, the sky was already starting to clear.
"When I experience strong emotions, it affects the weather." she explained. "If I ever seem cold or distant-that's why. If I were to truly let out what I feel over Jean's death..."
"Ah...I understand. I'm sorry."
Ororo shook her head again. "Don't be. I know you were trying to help, and I appreciate it." Searching for a way to change the subject, she looked down at his hand, still holding hers, and traced one of the symbols on the back of it. "These symbols...do they mean anything?"
He nodded with a slight smile. "Ja...they are the names of angels. This-" he laid his own fingers over the symbol she had touched. "Is Gabriel...it was the first."
"And this one?" she raised her hand to his face, her fingertips brushing against a large symbol on his cheek. He reached up and closed his hand over hers.
"The Archangel Michael." As he spoke, their eyes met. Kurt felt his breath catch in hiss throat and silently hoped she wouldn't ask the meaning of any others, because he wasn't sure he would be able to call them to mind or speak coherently if she did.
Letting her other hand come to rest on his shoulder, Ororo leaned in slightly, unsure what she was doing. She was half afraid he would pull back...half afraid of what would happen between them if he didn't. Then she felt Kurt's free hand on her neck, slipping up into her hair as he also moved closer. Both of them had closed their eyes now, but they didn't need to see each other. As their lips brushed, Kurt felt it like an electric shock through his entire body. He moved back slightly, still hesitating, then forgot anything that might have held him back and leaned in, feeling their lips meet again...
"Storm! Kurt! You guys out here?" Startled and flustered, they pulled away from each other a split second before Logan came out into the garden. He glanced back and forth between them, sniffed slightly, and raised one eyebrow, but if he could guess the situation they'd just been in, he spared them any comments on it. "C'mon-there's something on the news I think you're both gonna want to see."
The rest of the X-Men and several children were already gathered around the TV when they got there. On the screen, group of people that looked mostly college age or slightly older seemed to be having some sort of rally, accompanied by a voice-over.
"The group calls themselves Humans For A Peaceful Coexistence with Mutants, or HPCM. Begun just last year among a small group of friends, their membership has been steadily growing as mutants and situations involving them continue to garner attention. Most recently, HPCM has dedicated itself to fighting the proposed Mutant Registration Act through a series of rallies and nonviolent protests."
As the voiceover continued, the footage switched from wide shots of the group to a closeup on one woman who seemed to be giving a speech. As it did so, Kurt suddenly reached out to grip the back off the sofa, leaning forward. "Mein Gott..." he whispered. "Kaela?"
The others shot curious glances at him and then looked back at the woman onscreen. She was a tall, slim woman who looked to be in her late twenties, with black hair in a short bob and pale blue-gray eyes that gave her a somewhat cold look.
"Arguably HPCM's strongest asset," the newscaster continued, "is its leader, Kaela O'Connell. Energetic, educated, and devoted, O'Connell brings to her speeches and debates a mixture of calm, practiced debating skills and passion for her cause that makes her a formidable opponent." As the voiceover ended, the sound picked up on the woman's speech.
"The most important thing for us to realize here is that mutation occurs naturally." She was saying. "It's not a problem to be solved or a disease to be cured. No matter how rare or unorthodox they may seem, mutants are a product of natural human evolution. We have scientific proof of this. So why do so many people insist on treating mutants like freaks, when all our evidence suggests that they are simply a more advanced form of humanity? The next step in the evolutionary chain that brought us from single celled organisms to primates to what we are now? Whether we choose to accept it or not, mutants are our future, and no amount of anti-mutant sentiment will change this!"
As the newscaster was making a few closing statements, Professor Xavier turned to Kurt. "Kurt, do you know this woman?"
"Ja..." Kurt replied distractedly, half lost in memories. "I know her..."
A.N.: Yay?
I have more written already, but I'm going to wait and see what kind of feedback I get for the first chapter before I upload it. Which is where you guys come in...