A time in the past

We were in the Danger room, or a simulation room. The room could create anything you could think of. The setting for our little fight was an abandoned small city. The Danger room was a practice room, for defense and offense with your powers.

As I looked around at the hologram with very real buildings I felt a chill. I was walking across snow and took in deep, cold breaths as ice surrounded me.

Smiling to myself I lifted my hands and lit the place on fire with my red flames. When everything started to melt I saw Bobby laughing at me from behind a building. We were acting like kids and we were naïve, messing around like always we did. When he came out of his hiding spot in the room he asked, "What is everything about this 'change'?"

I shrugged, as I stopped the red fire and took it back into my body as he did the same with the ice. "I don't know it's all over in the mutant community. It's like something big is going to happen. Why don't you think the professors will tell us?" I started to walk and pull up my long dirty blonde hair. The Danger room started to close itself. The hologram buildings faded into air and what was left of the room was metal and steal. It was a large round room and as I opened the door we both walked out into the metal covered hallway.

Walking, taking my time I went to the elevator and pushed the up button. There were three floors under ground and four floors above ground. This school, the size of nothing I had ever seen was home. It was an enormous mansion that extended itself on large grounds of trees, ponds and small rivers. We were in the enclosed area of Connecticut, close to New York. There were hundreds of grounds and yet, the teachers had been inside mostly. The staff at the school seemed to be on edge, especially Ororo. She was the goddess, or mutant, of storms, wind, and lightning; anything to do with weather. She was one of the oldest teachers after Xavier had departed...after he had died. Charles Xavier had made this school. He had been one of the strongest mutants ever.

Staring at Ororo Munroe, Strom, I saw why every man here thought she was untouchable. She had darker skin, being from Africa, yet she had brilliant white hair. She was not much older than I but her beauty exceeded mine. She was a thin figure, like me, yet she was taller than I but about half a foot. Smiling to myself as the elevator stopped I got out and walked down one of the many wooded, furnished hallways.

Walking down the hall I saw Logan, or Wolverine. He said nothing to me and I replied nothing back. He was larger than I, covering space that would intimidate anyone. He was taller, buff and had a bad ass reputation that I would never dare to mess with. He almost reminded me of Hugh Jackman in a way, and as I thought this, I smiled.

Back to reality…The teachers all seemed to be on some sort of project and all we could catch out of their talks was 'The Change'. What it was and when it was going to happen we did not know.

The funny thing about this was that Bobby, Rogue and I were teachers in the school. The elders trusted us enough to fight and teach but not to know the truth in some situations. I had been working here for a little over a year; even thought I had come here only a little while before then. The object of their school was to teach others like me, like Bobby.

We were what the humans called mutants. We were different only in the way that we had 'powers'. I had the gift to produce fire and command it. Red fire was apart of my body, even apart of my bloodstream. Fire was my life source and with it I could do anything my mind could imagine.

Bobby was the same, only with ice and anything made of it, like snow. Bobby, my brother, had been by my side when my mutant powers had erupted. We had always been close but when we were both labeled mutants, we had become closer. Bobby looked much like me, our faces were shaped the same way but he had blue eyes whereas I had hazel. His body was lanky but yet, for what he looked like he was very strong. He was my brother, how could I not love him?

My fire powers and his ice had always been ironic to us. Fire against ice, I had always wondered who would win…

Then there was the outcast, Rogue; Rogue had dark chestnut hair and piercing eyes. She was a lost beauty also that had two white streaks in the front of her hair made by the first war with Magneto. Rogue was not as skinny or as tall as me but she was perfect the way she was. Rogue had been with my brother for as long as I could remember. I knew that she loved him dearly; she loved him enough that she gave up her powers for him. Although she would never say it was for him, I knew that in some part of her, it had been.

Yet only a short while ago, only at odd moments when she concentrated or was very emotional did her powers come back. You see, there is some history that needs to be told. When the mutants had the last war called, The Last Stand, there had been a cure. The cure had been made by humans for whatever mutant wanted it. Yet, some people, mutants and humans alike were against it. They liked their powers, liked who they were born to be. Others had sought out the cure, like Rogue. Her power had been lethal, until she got the cure.

When she had her powers she could touch someone's skin, just a brush of the hand, and if they were human, they could be in Acoma or possibly die. What she did when she touched mutant skin was far superior. She could, if she touched a mutant, only for a moment, get some of their thoughts and their powers for a short time. Yet again though, if you were not strong enough, she could kill you. She wore gloves at all times and covered every inch of skin, making sure she touched no one. Yet as we passed her in the hallway, as she took my brothers hand, there were no consequences to speak of. Now Rogue was no more and her name was now Marie, the name she was born with. Yet I would always call her Rogue.

Marie smiled at Bobby as I took a deep breath. They were so very much in love and it only reminded me of the man I loved. William, yes, he was the one and he was perfect in everyway. His gift was a transformer but in this safe school there were many other different gifts ranging from shape shifter to mind reader. People that had gifts were of every age and they were all over the world. The mansion was here to keep them, and ourselves, safe. This was a teaching area; we protected the younger ones and in turn our wisdom would soon be theirs…

As the three of us walked our minds all on the same issue, I rapidly turned the corner of the hallway into another corridor. What was going on lately? Maybe the place I was walking to would answer the question. Walking faster I found the mood of the mansion had become stiff and constricted. There was something…and I wanted to know what it was.

With Bobby and Rogue by my side I went to the library. Gasping Rogue had caught on to my thoughts, as Bobby stared at us both with confusion. Opening the doors to the library I heard Bobby whispered, "What are you doing, I thought we were going somewhere…oh I don't know, productive." He gave me a look that indicated that his little sister was mad along with his girlfriend. Rolling my eyes I ran to the oldest section. Running my hands up and down the books searching for a title; I sighed when I could not find it. Rogue looked curiously at me then shrugged, I returned the gesture. Bobby's eyes went from me to Rogue in little under a second. "Okay, what was that all about?" He asked both of us as we started to leave the Library. Walking up the tower back to our rooms I whispered, "I was looking for a book…it's entitled, The Change. It wasn't there."

While teaching the class I felt a hand wrap itself around my shoulders as someone came from behind. "Hey Honey, how is everything going?" I smiled as William came and kissed my cheek. The class smiled at me as some coughed back with a huge grin. I was blushing now, trying to pretend it never happened. There was a difference between us. William was taller, stronger, and much more patient then I. How I scored him I could not fathom. William had black hair that was long, but short enough for me to handle. He had a face that showed everything he felt and left nothing to chance. His personality was much like mine, fun and humorous but cunning also. Yet I in our appearance was shorter, had a smaller face and big hazel eyes that shinned in the light.

We were a perfect pair, him and I.

"So what are we learning today?" William asked everyone. My eyes looked around and I saw the girls smiling trying to impress William but then one of my prized students, Wither, said, "We were just on the subject about war."

I smiled then whispered to Will, "We are doing something productive."

Will smiled as he took my hand, "I'm sure you are." He said it with a cunning smile that teased me.

Wither looked at me as I stared at the poor child. Wither had the ability to wither, or kill anything he touched; including people, animals and everything else. I had always thought he would go well with Rogue…if they touched anything for long enough, it would die. Shaking my head at the cruel thought I smiled, "We were on World War I…now were on nothing in particular."

William shifted slightly as we stood before the class; it was then that Renee asked her question, "What do you think about all of this, Alt?" She was unfortunately one of my least prized students. In fact, there were moments that I wished her not to be here. One of those moments was now, as she stared at my fiancé. The thing that bothered me the most was the name she had called him.

Alt…his X-Men name was Alter or Transformer. Yet it was the way she had said it. I was the only one who normally called him by William and I was the only one, the only one who shortened his mutant name to Alt. It had been our thing, my name to call him. Alt was not a name that I said loudly so how she heard it was beyond me. I glared at the girl, my mind racing, he's mine, Alt is my nickname. Shove it up your little- Suddenly I felt our rings touched and all thoughts of pure anger were gone.

William held me and I felt his soft, caring smile. I knew what he was thinking but I was very protective of what I declared mine; and he was mine! Renee smiled at me, her perfect figure, much like mine, declared itself to everyone who looked. She was wearing little clothes and a red lipped smile that went past me and directed itself to Will. William squeezed me so light that I was sure it never happened but he put his head on my shoulder and nudged me quietly. To this I put on a big grin, it was his way of presenting himself as mine and only mine. There was a flash in Renee's eyes that sunk to a low frown. Her glass making powers would not help her here.

Will then said his answer when the conflict was done, "I think war is…" He thought before he spoke as he often did, "is a way to only kill something or someone to help you. I think that all wars slowly, over time, loose their purposes and people forget the real reason they started it. War is a battle over something, that by the end of it, you loose sight of. War starts as a reason or aggression, and it never ends the way you predict it will." I had known that William hated wars and hated conflict but his speech was more than I could have taught the class. The students were taking notes and writing segments down as some smiled and others looked away.

It was my student, Hellion, who spoke next. He was a proud man with just about as many years as I, he was less then two years younger than I. Hellion had the power of Telekinesis; he could fly at subsonic speeds, create telekinetic barriers, unleash powerful blasts of telekinetic force and manipulate objects from a distance. Hellion was arrogant yet gentle to me, and only me. When he spoke I felt Will stand protectively over me, shifting his weight ever so slightly.

"What do you think Lexi?" No one ever called my by that name. Not anyone in the world but Hellion, who always said it proudly. I could feel William sigh as I knew the thoughts going in his head. He thought Hellion was a juvenile young kid, but yet, aren't we all still growing and learning? The class had gotten used to the name but at times, they all laughed at him. Hellion was the way he was, and never cared what others thought, not for a moment.

I took a slow minute to answer what I thought to be right, "How come we always are on the subject of war?" I asked him instead.

He gave me a lopsided grin that looked darling, then said, "Because, no other teacher wants to talk about it."

I stared at Hellion, trying to find the answer, "When wars begin they always, to almost everyone, seem justified. They start with a real reason to fight for something but I think it's always years past that we realize how young and reckless the country was for starting it. I really think that it depends on which war; the mutant wars have so many sides and in some cases, there is a real, good side." As I said this I knew what my students were thinking, we all thought it. Our side, the X-men side, we were the justified side and we spoke the truth. I thought back to the last war, it had been the Last Stand. It was a war with Magneto and Mystique, two of the most powerful mutants gathering fellow mutants to kill the humans in cold blood. Magneto, a metal controller, had always been against humans. Magneto was an older man with a firm face and glazed over eyes that filled with hate. He was very old fashioned and yet he tried to control the world.

He thought that all humans hated mutants, which only some did, and some deserved to die. Mystique had always followed Magneto around. She could morph into other people without hesitation. She would look exactly like you and anyone else she wanted to personate. Mystique's change back from, or the form that she wore the most was red hair, yellow eyes and a blue but otherwise, naked body. She was highly dangerous and skilled in fighting…

They, together, had started the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood had been a human hating cult. The Brotherhood had no problems with the X-Men if they stayed out of the their way. The X-Men were mutants also who were for peace. They didn't mind humans as long as they tried to keep the peace. The Last Stand was where the X-Men choose to side with the homo-sapiens (humans) and tried to fight off the Brotherhood. Why the Brotherhood had attacked the humans and killed so many was the humans were pressing a cure on the world. Although the cure was an option for mutants, not mandatory. If a mutant took this cure then they would loose their powers forever. Yet, as we saw with Rogue, the mutants who took the cure were gaining their powers back. Magneto and Mystique had both been shot, unwillingly, with the cure. That had ended the war…