***Disclaimer*** Marvel still owns the X-Men the only things I own are the thoughts and words that have built this story
The tension in the mansion had been thick for days. The adults all seemed on edge and the kids all felt left out of the loop. Clearly there was something going on but no one was saying a word to them, which was really starting to bug the hell out of Alexandria. She watched her mother closely as she sat on the edge of the desk giving her lesson on some old dead thing from the past. The normally smooth and graceful leader of the X-Men now seemed stiff, yet ready to pounce at a moment's notice. Alexandria had tried to eavesdrop on her parents hoping to hear something, but that's easier said then done when one of your parents is a telepath. Alexandria's mind drifted even further away from the room she was sitting in as she stared blankly at the fern on her mother's desk. Maybe it's the Brotherhood, she thought to herself, or maybe Sinister, or Magneto. There had to be some kind of great evil, massive trouble, or life threatening plot to do battle with to have all the adults in the house in such a mood.
Soft mummers and a firm hand on her shoulder brought Alexandria out of her fantasies and back to the classroom. It was empty now, she hadn't even heard the bell. She shook her head a little to clear it and then looked up into the soft face of her mother. "Huh?"
Ororo smiled, "Don't say huh, Dear." The tall white haired woman said as she sat on the edge of the table in front of her daughter. "I was asking if the lesson was really that boring. You seemed to zone out particularly early today."
Alexandria's face flushed. "Sorry." She said softly. She smiled a little when her mother reached out and caressed her cheek. Her skin was always warm and soft and smelled of honey and flowers.
"What's on your mind, Child? You seem troubled." Ororo asked as she titled her daughter's face up to look at her beautiful blue eyes.
I seemed troubled? Alexandria thought to herself before chucking a little on the inside. She sighed a bit and then asked, "What's going on?"
The expression on Ororo's face changed. It was still soft and warm but now also concerned and a little surprised. "With what, Dear?" She asked in return. She knew what Alexandria had meant but didn't feel like talking about it, and she didn't feel that her young daughter needed to be troubled with it.
Alexandria rolled her eyes. "We're not blind or dumb, Mom. We know there's something big happening. You and Aunt Jean and the other's are all up tight and weird. So what are we facing?"
"We're," Ororo started, making sure that Alexandria understood what she was saying, "facing Rogue's gumbo for dinner. The adults," again Ororo paused to make sure her daughter was understanding clearly, "are facing what the X-Men were formed to face. So don't fret about it, just let us handle what we need to. You worry about your mid-terms."
Alexandria sulked for the rest of the day. She hated being brushed off and she hated being treated like a child. She was fifteen already but her mother still treated her like she was five. She bet her father wouldn't have blown her off. He would have told her everything. At the mere thought of her father Alexandria smiled. She'd only been five when he'd been killed but she could still remember a lot about him. The way he would toss her into the air and catch her. The way her mother would yell at him for doing that. The way he could hug her and her mother at the same time. The way he smelled like pine trees, cigars, and motor oil. Most of all she remembered his voice and the way he would tell her stories at night.
It hit Alexandria like a brick. The adults all started acting weird the night of the anniversary of her father's death. Could that have something to do with all of this? Alexandria kicked at a pebble on the path that wound around the school, thought the woods and up to the back of the mansion. She didn't know much about how her father was killed. Her mother and Aunt Jean never talked about it. Though one time Scott had almost let something slip. He'd come back to the mansion for a meeting and had gotten drunk. She and Rachel had found him on the back patio and he kept going on and on about how sorry he was for the things he'd done. At first it was all about how he'd cheated on Jean but then he started talking about Logan and kept telling Alexandria he was sorry and that he'd only done what he had had to do. Alexandria was ready to get Scott to say more but Jean had come out and stopped him. She then shooed the girls back into the house. Alexandria huffed, her mother had given her the brush off that night too.
Alexandria entered the house with out a word. She was still grounded so after grabbing an apple from the kitchen she headed up stairs to her room. She'd barely made it to the first landing of the main stair case when a familiar voice called out to her from down the hall.
"So little sister, your just going to breeze past me without a word? Ok I see how it is. I'm no longer loved."
Alexandria turned on her heel and then squealed. "Kitty!" Within seconds Alexandra had bounded down the stairs and threw herself at the slender brown haired woman standing in the hallway. Kitty Pride, like Rachel, was the closest thing to a sister that Alexandria had, and Alexandria simply adored her. "When did you get here? Does Mom know your here? Why are you here? I thought you were in London putting Scott in his place."
Kitty laughed as she wrapped an arm around her little sister's shoulder. "This morning. Yes she does. Meeting with the Professor. Normally I would be cause some has too, but I'm needed here more so here I am." Kitty answered all of Alexandria's questions as she walked her towards the rec room.
"Why are you meeting with the Professor?" Alexandria asked as she sat next to Kitty on an over stuffed leather couch. Kitty got the same look in her eyes that her mother had gotten that morning in her classroom, but Kitty never lied to her and she never brushed her off. Alexandria knew that Kitty would answer her questions the best she could. Even if it meant she'd be in hot water with the woman she considered a mother.
Kitty took a deep breath and twisted on the couch to look at Alexandria. "Ro hasn't told you anything?" She sighed again when Alexandria shook her head. "Well she has her reasons, Lexie, so don't be to mad with her." Kitty paused for a moment and then the tone in her voice changed. "There's some big time trouble going down all over the place. I'm here to help take care of it." Kitty moved some of Alexandria's hair from her shoulders and then leaned back into the couch.
Alexandria stared at the floor for a few minutes. So she was right, there was something bad lurking out there. She fought the urge to shiver, knowing that Kitty would ask her what was wrong. How could she admit to anyone that her greatest fear was losing someone else she loved in the name of duty, of humanity, for the dream.
"Is it Magneto?" Alexandria asked. "Or the Hellfires?"
Kitty shook her head. "No, it's not someone we deal with on a regular basis. We've only faced something close to this once before, and that was years ago. I was still a kid and you where only a little tatter tot."
"Is," Alexandria paused, "Was my dad involved?" her voice broke a little.
"Yes Alexandria, he was." Came a voice from the doorway. Both Alexandria and Kitty looked up and over at the same time. Ororo stood against the door frame with her arms folded. Kitty's face flushed and Alexandria just stared at her mother. "It's alright, Kitten, I should have told her but I, I was afraid too." Ororo walked over and sat across from the girls and then took a moment to think. "There's been reports of events that match events that happened ten years ago. Events that lead us to believe that the mutant," Ororo's normally clam and steady voice cracked a bit. "that the mutant that we battled when,"
"The mutant that killed Daddy is back." Alexandria said as all the color drained from her face. Ororo nodded. "Why?" She asked as her body began to tremble. Ororo moved from the chair she'd been in to her daughter's side. She wrapped Alexandria in her arms tightly.
"We don't know yet." Kitty said softly as she answered Alexandria's question. "but we'll find out and we'll stop him. Permanently this time." Kitty was looking at Ororo as she said this. She knew that her mother needed to be reassured just as much, if not more, then her little sister. Alexandria was still young enough and innocent enough to believe that the X-Men never fail. Ororo on the other hand new the truth.
The tension in the mansion had been thick for days. The adults all seemed on edge and the kids all felt left out of the loop. Clearly there was something going on but no one was saying a word to them, which was really starting to bug the hell out of Alexandria. She watched her mother closely as she sat on the edge of the desk giving her lesson on some old dead thing from the past. The normally smooth and graceful leader of the X-Men now seemed stiff, yet ready to pounce at a moment's notice. Alexandria had tried to eavesdrop on her parents hoping to hear something, but that's easier said then done when one of your parents is a telepath. Alexandria's mind drifted even further away from the room she was sitting in as she stared blankly at the fern on her mother's desk. Maybe it's the Brotherhood, she thought to herself, or maybe Sinister, or Magneto. There had to be some kind of great evil, massive trouble, or life threatening plot to do battle with to have all the adults in the house in such a mood.
Soft mummers and a firm hand on her shoulder brought Alexandria out of her fantasies and back to the classroom. It was empty now, she hadn't even heard the bell. She shook her head a little to clear it and then looked up into the soft face of her mother. "Huh?"
Ororo smiled, "Don't say huh, Dear." The tall white haired woman said as she sat on the edge of the table in front of her daughter. "I was asking if the lesson was really that boring. You seemed to zone out particularly early today."
Alexandria's face flushed. "Sorry." She said softly. She smiled a little when her mother reached out and caressed her cheek. Her skin was always warm and soft and smelled of honey and flowers.
"What's on your mind, Child? You seem troubled." Ororo asked as she titled her daughter's face up to look at her beautiful blue eyes.
I seemed troubled? Alexandria thought to herself before chucking a little on the inside. She sighed a bit and then asked, "What's going on?"
The expression on Ororo's face changed. It was still soft and warm but now also concerned and a little surprised. "With what, Dear?" She asked in return. She knew what Alexandria had meant but didn't feel like talking about it, and she didn't feel that her young daughter needed to be troubled with it.
Alexandria rolled her eyes. "We're not blind or dumb, Mom. We know there's something big happening. You and Aunt Jean and the other's are all up tight and weird. So what are we facing?"
"We're," Ororo started, making sure that Alexandria understood what she was saying, "facing Rogue's gumbo for dinner. The adults," again Ororo paused to make sure her daughter was understanding clearly, "are facing what the X-Men were formed to face. So don't fret about it, just let us handle what we need to. You worry about your mid-terms."
Alexandria sulked for the rest of the day. She hated being brushed off and she hated being treated like a child. She was fifteen already but her mother still treated her like she was five. She bet her father wouldn't have blown her off. He would have told her everything. At the mere thought of her father Alexandria smiled. She'd only been five when he'd been killed but she could still remember a lot about him. The way he would toss her into the air and catch her. The way her mother would yell at him for doing that. The way he could hug her and her mother at the same time. The way he smelled like pine trees, cigars, and motor oil. Most of all she remembered his voice and the way he would tell her stories at night.
It hit Alexandria like a brick. The adults all started acting weird the night of the anniversary of her father's death. Could that have something to do with all of this? Alexandria kicked at a pebble on the path that wound around the school, thought the woods and up to the back of the mansion. She didn't know much about how her father was killed. Her mother and Aunt Jean never talked about it. Though one time Scott had almost let something slip. He'd come back to the mansion for a meeting and had gotten drunk. She and Rachel had found him on the back patio and he kept going on and on about how sorry he was for the things he'd done. At first it was all about how he'd cheated on Jean but then he started talking about Logan and kept telling Alexandria he was sorry and that he'd only done what he had had to do. Alexandria was ready to get Scott to say more but Jean had come out and stopped him. She then shooed the girls back into the house. Alexandria huffed, her mother had given her the brush off that night too.
Alexandria entered the house with out a word. She was still grounded so after grabbing an apple from the kitchen she headed up stairs to her room. She'd barely made it to the first landing of the main stair case when a familiar voice called out to her from down the hall.
"So little sister, your just going to breeze past me without a word? Ok I see how it is. I'm no longer loved."
Alexandria turned on her heel and then squealed. "Kitty!" Within seconds Alexandra had bounded down the stairs and threw herself at the slender brown haired woman standing in the hallway. Kitty Pride, like Rachel, was the closest thing to a sister that Alexandria had, and Alexandria simply adored her. "When did you get here? Does Mom know your here? Why are you here? I thought you were in London putting Scott in his place."
Kitty laughed as she wrapped an arm around her little sister's shoulder. "This morning. Yes she does. Meeting with the Professor. Normally I would be cause some has too, but I'm needed here more so here I am." Kitty answered all of Alexandria's questions as she walked her towards the rec room.
"Why are you meeting with the Professor?" Alexandria asked as she sat next to Kitty on an over stuffed leather couch. Kitty got the same look in her eyes that her mother had gotten that morning in her classroom, but Kitty never lied to her and she never brushed her off. Alexandria knew that Kitty would answer her questions the best she could. Even if it meant she'd be in hot water with the woman she considered a mother.
Kitty took a deep breath and twisted on the couch to look at Alexandria. "Ro hasn't told you anything?" She sighed again when Alexandria shook her head. "Well she has her reasons, Lexie, so don't be to mad with her." Kitty paused for a moment and then the tone in her voice changed. "There's some big time trouble going down all over the place. I'm here to help take care of it." Kitty moved some of Alexandria's hair from her shoulders and then leaned back into the couch.
Alexandria stared at the floor for a few minutes. So she was right, there was something bad lurking out there. She fought the urge to shiver, knowing that Kitty would ask her what was wrong. How could she admit to anyone that her greatest fear was losing someone else she loved in the name of duty, of humanity, for the dream.
"Is it Magneto?" Alexandria asked. "Or the Hellfires?"
Kitty shook her head. "No, it's not someone we deal with on a regular basis. We've only faced something close to this once before, and that was years ago. I was still a kid and you where only a little tatter tot."
"Is," Alexandria paused, "Was my dad involved?" her voice broke a little.
"Yes Alexandria, he was." Came a voice from the doorway. Both Alexandria and Kitty looked up and over at the same time. Ororo stood against the door frame with her arms folded. Kitty's face flushed and Alexandria just stared at her mother. "It's alright, Kitten, I should have told her but I, I was afraid too." Ororo walked over and sat across from the girls and then took a moment to think. "There's been reports of events that match events that happened ten years ago. Events that lead us to believe that the mutant," Ororo's normally clam and steady voice cracked a bit. "that the mutant that we battled when,"
"The mutant that killed Daddy is back." Alexandria said as all the color drained from her face. Ororo nodded. "Why?" She asked as her body began to tremble. Ororo moved from the chair she'd been in to her daughter's side. She wrapped Alexandria in her arms tightly.
"We don't know yet." Kitty said softly as she answered Alexandria's question. "but we'll find out and we'll stop him. Permanently this time." Kitty was looking at Ororo as she said this. She knew that her mother needed to be reassured just as much, if not more, then her little sister. Alexandria was still young enough and innocent enough to believe that the X-Men never fail. Ororo on the other hand new the truth.
