Untouchable

Chapter 4: Mysteries

"Cori…." Rogue said cautiously. "I know that your mother didn't really give you a great childhood, but if my mom came to find me, I would really be excited…."

"My mother was never there for me…. It wasn't even like she was my mother. And she is always working some angle. The only reason she even came here was probably because she needed something."

"Oh…. What could she possibly want, though?"

Cori shrugged. "Who knows…? It could be anything from money to a new boyfriend…."

"Well, you could always ask Professor Xavier what she was thinking…."

"Hm…. Yeah, I think that's a good idea…."

The next morning, Cori, Quip, Rogue, and Bobby went to Xavier's office.

"Excuse me," Quip said seriously. "But we wanted to know why Cori's mom is here…."

"Well," Xavier smiled kindly. "I'm sorry, but I don't like to reveal people's inner thoughts to others."

"Cori's mom isn't really that great of a parent."

"Yes, I am aware of that. And seeing as this is a rather sensitive issue with Cori and yourself, Quip, I must say that there was something unsettling about her…."

"What?"

"I could not read her mind."

"I knew it." Quip clenched his fists.

"This could simply be a part of her mutation."

"No, it isn't," Cori muttered. "Because Bill knows that she only has one mutation…."

"Wait a second!" Rogue smiled. "Hey, Professor, I know this is a little off topic, but could you find a certain mutant for us?"

"Well, I can try." Xavier smiled. "Cori, I will try to find your brother Bill. I'm sure that he misses you very much."

"How can you find him?" Quip asked.

"I have been able to construct a machine that helps me locate mutants. It helped us find Rogue when Magneto took her."

"It saved my life that you had that machine…." Rogue said.

"Would you really be able to find Bill?" Cori asked skeptically.

"Of course. Why don't you come with me?"

They followed Xavier down to Cerebro, but waited outside while he hooked up to the machine.

"Have you made contact?" Ninja asked Zerocat over the phone. She glanced around to make sure that no one was near her.

"Yes," Zerocat smirked, keeping her voice low. "But, as we expected, they are very suspicious of us."

"Can't you just sneak around with them?"

"Not with Quip there…. Even if I am invisible, since he as seen me before, he will see my death date. If he had never set eyes on me before, I would be able to go wherever they went."

"Damn that brat…."

"But, I know that they can't read my mind…."

"Perfect. You know what to do. Keep me updated."

"I will." Zerocat hung up. Cyclops turned down the hall she was in, and watched her carefully.

"Who were you on the phone with?" He asked suspiciously.

"A friend of mine," Zerocat smiled. "He is helping me look for my son. He has an amazing power, my boy."

"Really…? What might that be?"

"He has the ability to know everything about anything that he makes physical contact with. It's quite a useful power, don't you think?"

"It could be. But it could also be very dangerous."

"Like yours?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your power is useful when fighting your enemies, but isn't it dangerous, as well?"

"If you are going to say that, then I suppose everyone's abilities are dangerous."

"Not Quip. He has a rather bland power, doesn't he? All he can do is tell someone when they are going to die. But the boy won't let anyone know because he feels it isn't his place to say. You know, I think he's always been a little bit jealous of my children, having such powerful mutations while his is so…. Useless, I guess…."

"Useless? How can you even say that about him? I thought you raised him."

"I did, which is how I know that he feels that way."

"You don't understand him. How can you even think that he feels that way about them? Have you ever looked at his power from his point of view? How stressful it must be, knowing when the people he cares about will die. And knowing, but not being able to do anything about it. It must be horrible for him. Because he sees the final date of their death, which will not change. And he can't warn them, because if he did, it wouldn't have been that day that they died on anyway, so there is nothing he can do about it."

"Yes, but…. He can't exactly do anything with his mutation, can he?"

"That is a horrible thing to say."

"Well, it is true, isn't it?"

"What about your son, then? What can he do with his power?"

"He is a super genius because of his power, so he can do whatever he wants."

"Maybe Cori was right to be suspicious of you. I will be keeping an eye on you…."

Zerocat smirked as he walked past her.

Xavier emerged from Cerebro.

"Well?" Quip asked.

"I have found him."

"Where is he?" Cori asked excitedly.

"He's in Cleveland. I will have Ororo take you there in the morning."

"Thank you, Professor…." Cori smiled sincerely. He smiled kindly, leading them back up stairs.

"Professor Xavier," Bobby said. "Can we go, too?"

"Yeah, I mean, Cori's the best friend I've ever had," Rogue said. "I want to be able to help her find her brother."

"Yes, I understand. And I think it would be a wonderful idea for you to accompany Cori and Quip."

So, the next day, Storm, Cori, Quip, Rogue, and Bobby boarded a commercial jet, setting off for Cleveland.

"I can't wait to see him," Cori told Quip, who smiled gently, brushing her cheek carefully with his gloved hand.

"Maybe he can figure out a way to make you touchable…."

Cori looked away, her gaze going out the window. "You know that isn't possible. In order to do that, he'd have to touch me. And if he touched me…."

"I know. I'm sorry…."

"No, don't be."

"Why would you brother be in Cleveland?" Bobby asked. Cori looked at him blankly. Quip patted her arm gently.

"We don't know," Quip said. "His power kind of makes him a little radical and spontaneous. It's always been a concern of ours that his brain will go into over load and crash."

"Yeah," Rogue said quietly. "Because your brain can only hold so much information, and everything he touches, he automatically knows everything about, so that's almost a constant flow of new information."

"His mutation is almost like ours," Cori muttered. "A curse…."

"Don't you ever say that!" Storm and Quip said at the same time.

"You're mutation is beautiful," Storm continued. "Even though you may not see it that way, it is."

"She's right, Cori." Quip put his arm around her shoulders. "Your powers are amazing. I wouldn't have you any other way…."

Cori didn't say anything. Rogue sent her an understanding look.

After a while, it was announced that they would be landing soon. When they did land, the five mutants made their way into the city.

"What does your brother look like?" Storm asked, looking around.

"He's a large person. He's over 6 feet. His skin tends to have a reddish hue about it. He likes wearing this gray coat. He has steel blue eyes and a curly black mini afro. He has glasses, too," Cori said thoughtfully.

"Alright, everyone," Storm looked at Quip, Rogue, and Bobby. "I'm going to go this north, and you can go south. I want you all to stick together. We will meet back here in two hours."

They nodded, and Storm left.

"Where would he be?" Bobby asked.

"Well, he likes computers…." Cori said quietly.

"Maybe an internet café?" Rogue suggested.

"That's a great place to start." Quip nodded. The four looked around, finding three internet cafes, none of them with Bill in them.

"Quip?" A sort of deep voice said from behind them. The four young mutants turned.

"Bill!" Cori said, running up to him, but not hugging him. She just stared, a slight smile on her face.

"Hey, sis." Bill smiled.

"Where have you been?" Quip asked seriously.

"Around. You know how it goes."

"These are our friends," Cori gestured to Rogue and Bobby. "Rogue and Bobby. They go to our school."

"You are going to school?" Bill raised a suspicious eyebrow at Quip.

"Mutant school," Rogue said. "Hi, it's nice to meet you. I'm a lot like Cori. I can't touch people, either."

"And I'm Bobby. Or, you can call me Iceman." Bobby smiled. Bill nodded.

"You can call me Bill, since that is my name."

"Will you come back to the school with us?" Cori pleaded. Bill looked around at all four of the young mutants, considering this offer.

"Sure, why not!" Bill said. Cori smiled happily.