Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from X-Men Evolution; they are property of Marvel and I am borrowing them without permission. I heard that if you use Marvel characters for profit Stan Lee shows up at your house and opens up a can of whup ass.
Note: This story takes place during the Mutatis Mutandis timeline. What that means is that it is Post Day of Reckoning and falls after the stories 'Left Behind' (by starched_undergarments) and 'Bloodstained Machinations' (by N) at probably around the same time as 'Awakening' (also by starched_undergarments). If you missed these stories and are way too lazy to dig through ff.net (I don't blame you) then the stories have been archived at www.originofspecies.cjb.net
A special thank-you to those of you who've stuck with us this far; I know at least DarkFire has been keeping up with the fics. ^__^ Comments and constructive criticism are appreciated.
Home Sweet Home
By N
The house was one-story high with faded yellow siding and a low brown roof that looked in need of repair. There were two tool sheds in the backyard underneath the shade of a diseased elm tree and a chin-link fence surrounded the entire place. The windows were boarded up on the side of the house that faced the road, as was the front door.
"We go in through the back door," Tabitha explained as she navigated the jeep into the backyard. "I pulled the boards off the windows too; it was too dark in there."
Bobby nodded, his stomach twisting. Despite his brave words back at the Institute he had secretly been hoping that Storm or Scott would tell him that he was insane and that they were calling their parents and sending them all home right NOW.
Get it together, he scolded himself. This is just a temporary situation. You'll be home before you know it.
The New Recruits followed Tabitha across the yellowing lawn to the back door, which she opened cautiously. "I'm always afraid somebody else is gonna be crashin' in here," she explained. "Like I'll open the door one day and find some hobo sleeping on the floor." The back door opened up on a long kitchen with discolored linoleum and a surprising amount of shelf space above the counters. A table was set up at the end of the room with a few mismatched chairs gathered around it. There were two entryways to the room, one leading to a hallway and the other that opened up into the living room, which was dark and brown.
"Whoa," Jubilee said. "Retro."
Tabitha grinned. "Yeah, the whole place has sort of a trashy 1970s feel. There are some pillows in the living room and if you guys go down this hallway there's three bedrooms and a bathroom. The bathroom's the first one on the left but, uh, of course it doesn't WORK. So. The one after that's the biggest bedroom and the one across the hall is another. The room at the end of the hall is the smallest; somebody started painting it red too, but I guess they split before it was done. Of course, there's no furniture. Well, unless you count a cardboard box in bedroom #2."
Bobby nodded. "Okay. Uhm, do we have blankets?"
"Yeah. And there's some food in the cupboards. All non-cook of course. If you guys wanna get clean or get hot food, there's a seven-eleven just down the road."
Ray laughed. "Bathing in the washroom of the seven-eleven… my mom would be SO proud of me."
"You bathe?" Roberto asked. Ray swatted him.
"Besides, this is all temporary, right?" Jubilee asked.
Bobby nodded. "Yeah, We just need to lie low for a little bit, then we can contact our parents." He smiled, hoping he looked more self-assured than he felt. "I just want to say… I'm glad we stuck together, guys."
Amara placed a hand on his shoulder. "Bobby, what sort of team would we be if we didn't? I'm sure everything is going to work out okay in the end."
* * *
Bobby twisted the cool black plastic of the phone cord between his fingers nervously; beads of sweat forming at his temples. "Come on, Mom," he whispered into the claustrophobic heat of the phone booth. "Pick up. Pick up."
Jubilee had been the first to try and contact her parents, three days after they had moved into Tabitha's 'headquarters.' Instead of her mother or father, an unfamiliar man had answered the phone with a curt "Lee residence." Jubilee had hung up immediately and told Bobby that she'd had an awful feeling when she heard that voice. Worried, Ray had then tried to call his mother. There had been no answer that time, or the second, or third…
Things were getting decidedly creepy.
"Pick up…"
There was a funny click on the line. "Mom?" Bobby asked excitedly. Silence, then another click.
"Hello?" It was his mother's voice. But the line… it sounded almost like it was humming. Bad connection? Maybe.
Maybe not.
"Hi, Mom." Bobby's heart was racing. He was probably just being paranoid but… "I just wanted to call and let you know I'm okay." He shifted, his throat suddenly tight. "I love you, Mom."
"Bobby, we saw on the news-"
"I have to go, Mom. I'll be in touch." Somehow.
"Bobby-"
He hung up. Bobby stood there in the suffocating glass cage of the booth, his head bowed and throat working convulsively; suddenly wishing he had never heard of Xaviers' School.
* * *
"That is SO paranoid-conspiracy-theory!" Ray shouted. "Give it UP, Drake! Do you really think that there's black helicopters parked out in front of our houses and our parents have all been replaced with robots programmed to look just like them? Oh no wait… aliens! I bet its aliens! Why in fact-"
"Shut up, Ray," Rahne interrupted. The young Scottish girl hadn't said a thing since Bobby had tentatively announced his theory and Ray paused, looking at her with surprise.
"Don't tell me to shut up, you furry-"
"Stop it!" Amara shouted. Bobby noted with some concern that she looked like she was going to cry. "Everyone just stop it! Things are bad enough without us f-fighting…" She broke down sobbing and Tabitha pulled her into a comforting embrace.
Bobby cleared his throat, trying not to look at Amara; he HATED it when girls cried. "Look, I know it sounds a little extreme, but let's look at this logically." Like Cyclops would, he thought to himself. "Some weird guy answers at Jubilee's house, nobody answers at yours, Ray, and I get this bizarre idea that my line is tapped like in some sort of movie."
Jubilee nodded. "Yeah, the line always clicks in the movies. And there is no way that somebody with perfect English is answerin' at my place." She shook her head. "It just all feels so… wrong."
"Exactly," Bobby said. "Look, we know just from the newspapers at the 7-Eleven that the X-men kinda went public…"
"And what the hell was that big robot thing?" Roberto asked. "What HAPPENED that day?"
Bobby shrugged. "I don't know. What we do know is that the Professor is gone, Mystique tried to kill us… So is it so far out to think that maybe somehow somebody figured out that all the kids at Xavier's were mutants? And what if they're trying to… I dunno, sick more robots on us, or something? What would be the logical way to trap us? We're kids! With the Institute trashed of course we're going to try and go home." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "And we can't."
"Bobby… there's got to be someone you guys can call," Tabitha said. "What about… Rahne's dad! Or Roberto's family, or Amara's! People who aren't in the United States."
"Bet there's lots of phone son Nova Roma too," Ray muttered. Tabitha snarled at him.
"At least I'm trying to help, you jerk!"
"Tabby," Amara whispered, tugging at the other girl's arm. "Come on. Everyone's stressed."
"But even if we do get a'hold of our families, what do we expect them t'DO?" Rahne asked. "My Da' may be able t'afford a plane ticket home for me, but what about the rest of ye?"
"Ditto here," Roberto said. "And I don't know if my parents can even afford to ship ME home."
"It's hopeless," Jamie muttered. He looked like he might be joining Amara in a crying jag real soon.
"Hey! No it isn't!" Bobby exclaimed. "Fine, so we can't go home… yet. Have you guys forgotten about the X-Men? They're working right now to find the Professor and I KNOW that once he turns up everything is gonna work out. Got it?"
Jamie smiled. "Yeah! Wolverine will probably bust in here any day now and tell us 'follow me, bubs.'" He tried and failed miserably to duplicate Wolverine's gruff voice, which made Jubilee giggle behind her hand.
Bobby grinned. "Right. So let's just stay positive, alright?"
"Right!" Most of the kids agreed.
Right, Bobby thought. Now let's see if I can follow my own advice.
* * *
More to come, naturally. And here's a useless fact for you guys... the house in this story is completely based on one of the houses my good friend Darla had taken up residence in in the past year. She did indeed paint her bedroom red. Darla, if you ever read this, I salute you and your rat-infested dwelling!
