Zander was adjusting to living in the mansion quite well. It didn't take long for him to settle, as it had only been a week since they were saved from that underground lab.
He walked through the busy hallway full of students that were getting ready for school. He wanted to tell his sister good- bye and wish her luck for her first day of school.
Today he had his silver hair back in a ponytail, something he didn't normally do in front of the other students, and wore a dark purple long sleeved shirt under a light grey vest.
"Oh my gosh, Z!" Celine said, running up the stairs to greet him with a warm hug.
He squirmed out of her grip to get a good look at her. She was wearing a light purple blouse and tight black capris, her silver hair braided over her shoulder.
"You look great!" She yelled, hugging him again and curling a chunk of his hair between her fingers, grinning widely. "I can finally see your face!"
"Thanks." He shrugged, "Are you excited for school?"
"Yes! Professor Xavier made me an image inducer that hides my skin, but I otherwise look normal. It's so cool, I…" She frowned down at her little brother, who was obviously feigning his happiness. "Okay, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing." He said, while simultaneously saying, ~It's just that I think it would be cool to go to school,~ In her head.
~Zander,~ She thought back to him, ~Your wings aren't as easy to hide as my skin.~
~I know, but…~
~Not to mention that one other little fact.~
Zander blushed and looked at the floor, ~Oh yeah, that. Shit.~
"Don't worry, Z," She said aloud, "I'll help you after school today, and you'll be reading in no time. Or maybe I could ask the professor to help you."
He shrugged, suddenly interested in a loose string at the hem of his shirt, and hoping that nobody heard what Celine had said just seconds before.
"You don't need to be embarrassed. I'm sure that…" She was cut off by a voice shouting her name outside. "I'm sorry, but we can talk later." She kissed the top of his head and ran outside to her friend, pressing a hand to her bracelet as she walked.
Zander took a breath and started upstairs.
As he reached the door to the Professor's office, he heard the muffled voices of Aidyn and Xavier inside. They stopped as he lifted a hand to knock.
"Come in, Zander." Xavier said through the door. The boy opened it and quietly stepped inside, shutting it behind him. "Is there something you need?"
"Uh, yeah, um, well… Actually, um, I was wondering…" He looked down and added quietly, muttering under his breath, "Iwaswonderingifyouwouldteachmehowtoread."
"Speak up, please, Zander."
He took another deep breath, "I wanted to know if you would teach me how to… read."
Xavier's eyebrows shot up. He hadn't gotten much from Zander, being that he had strong walls placed in his mind, so it was quite a surprise when the boy admitted this need.
Aidyn spoke up, "You don't know how to read?"
Zander shook his head, "My parents died when I was four, and Celine had to take care of me. She was already ten, so she knew how to read and write, but she didn't have enough spare time to teach me. I at least know the alphabet."
"I'll teach you!" Airyn said suddenly. "I have a lot of patience and I've taught my little cousins how to read, too."
"Really?" Zander's eyes lit up.
"Sure." He turned to the old telepath sitting near them, "Thanks for the talk, Prof., but I'm going to go help Zander."
"Of course. Have fun, you two."
The boys nodded and Aidyn dragged Zander to the library. The halls were nearly empty, save for a few instructors, with the students off to school.
"Aidyn, how come you're not going to school?"
"Well, I have reasons."
"Um, okay… Should we get started?"
"I guess." Aidyn grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil. "We should start by learning the sounds of the letters… Unless you already know them?"
Zander shook his head, blushing a bright shade of red.
"Okay, the letter A…" They went on for hours, taking a break for lunch, and by the time school was just about over for everyone else, Zander was able to read a few small words. His handwriting was extremely sloppy, but it was at least legible… well, sort of. They had decided to stay in the dining room after a while of sitting in the library.
"Can I go to bed?" Zander whined, "I'm getting tired."
"You can go to bed as soon as you read this sentence." Aidyn handed him a slip of paper with the words, 'Your sister is coming home,' written on it.
"Y-yow-er, no, your. Your s-s…" He frowned in frustration, trying to make sense of the words, "s-sister. Your sister is…" Groaning, He slammed the paper down on the table, turning away and mumbling; "This is fucking stupid. I don't know any of these at all."
"That's why we're working on it." The older boy smiled, ignoring the twelve year old's foul language. "It says, 'your sister is coming home.'"
"Is it that time already?"
"Yes, it is. Hold on, I'll be right back." He got up to get a drink, and when he got back, Zander was asleep, with his head on the table and his arms dangling beside him.
The main door opened, and the whole mansion was hit with the sound of over twenty students talking about their day all at once. Aidyn sauntered to the entryway to the kitchen. He turned to the students and sighed.
"Hey, Aidyn." Celine shouted from across the room, walking over and turning off her hologram, "Where's Zander?"
The boy nodded towards the kitchen and put a finger to his lips, pushing the door back open.
"I'll take him up to his bed." Celine said, picking Zander up like he weighed nothing, and he only stirred slightly. She took him upstairs and laid him down on his bed, covering him with a soft blue blanket.
She met back up with Zander in the dining room, where he stood stacking paper.
"What's all this?" She asked, picking up one of the papers. Most of it was incoherent scribbles, but there were some wobbly letters in there, too.
"I was teaching him to read and write." Aidyn said.
"Oh, I can't thank you enough!" She pulled him into a sudden hug.
"It's not a big deal."
"Not a big deal? This is a huge deal to him, and to me."
"Yeah, well, It'll take a bit of work. He has the sounds down, but actually reading things confuses him."
"Still, thank you. I have some homework to do, so I'll see you later."
"See you." He smiled.
Zander's daily sessions with Aidyn continued for another week, and then Zander got a day just to himself.
It was a tuesday, and everyone was out of the house. Almost everyone, anyway. The kids were at school, and Aidyn was out for… well, he hadn't told Zander exactly why he was leaving, but Xavier had gone with. Ororo was out in her garden, and Logan was taking a ride on his bike.
Zander sighed as he stared at the ceiling. He knew what he needed, but he wasn't sure he would be allowed to go out.
Oh, fuck it. He thought, getting up. I'm way too mopey in here, anyway. I need to get out.
He found Ororo sitting outside on a bench by her flowers.
"Um, Mrs. Munroe, er, Storm?" He asked, "Would it be a problem if I flew down by the cliffside for a bit? I need to stretch my wings."
"So long as you be careful, Zander." The tall African woman smiled.
"Thanks. He lifted up off of the ground, enjoying the long forgotten feeling of the wind against his skin as he flew, his large wings flapping like a dragon's. He soared above the clouds, then plummeted downwards towards the cliff, rising back up just above the water.
Suddenly, something grabbed him, and he turned to see long, metal arms, like those in the danger room, coiling around his limbs. He thrashed wildly, attempting to get loose, but one of the aforementioned tentacle-things wrapped tightly around his throat. The arms pulled him upwards, tightening still.
As his vision began to darken, he caught sight of his kidnapper; an all-too-familiar face looming before him.
"It's a pleasure to see you once more…" A thickly accented voice said as the jet flew away, "Project 837."
