Author: Lucinda
rating Pg
no pairing for Willow yet
distribution: Charity's site, all others please ask
disclaimer: If you recognize them, they probably aren't mine.
set in AU summer after season 1 buffy, post X-Men the movie
Willow's parents had returned from the convention, full of interesting stories of what happened. Some were of interest only to those with some understanding of psychology, others, like the cow that had somehow ended up wandering loose through the third day's lunch buffet were of much wider interest. They had enjoyed their trip.
Towards the end of the second week, there had been a big, property damaging fight between a trio of blond mutants in green that could shoot energy from their hands and a group of mutants in black leather. The ones in black had won, and stayed just long enough to see the police would take the green clad mutants away before disappearing.
Among the souvenirs of New York, Sheila Rosenberg had brought pictures. She had a picture of the cow standing in the wreckage of the lunch, eating a chocolate cake. She had pictures of some of the famous landmarks. She had a few pictures of the mutants fighting each other. She had also brought Willow a New York tee shirt. She also had a box of papers and notes from the conference.
Willow was glad that they had enjoyed their trip. She felt a bit less alone. Xander still wasn't talking to her. Buffy and Amy were still gone for the summer, although they had called. She was also fairly certain that something was bothering Erik, but he hadn't mentioned any problems in his letters. Giles had been giving her lessons on fighting, but it wasn't the same. She pondered her small circle of people while her parents looked at their collected mail.
Willow's mother paused at one of the envelopes she had received. Frowning slightly, she opened it and pulled out a pale green card. She read it and sat down, and expression of pleased surprise on her face.
"Oh, my this is interesting. Bernice is getting married and wants all of us to attend. She mentioned that you would be good company for Em's girls, Willow, as they are about your age. We will have to pack your things so that we can leave in a few days. It looks like we will be in San Diego for a wedding." Sheila's voice was cheerful.
Willow looked at her mother, slightly startled. Her mother's mother had died in some sort of accident while she was young, and her father had remarried when Sheila was ten. Bernice was her sister from her father's second marriage. Em was Emily, Sheila's older sister. She had a son named Kevin that was nineteen and in collage, and twin daughters that were a year older than Willow named Crystal and Lillian. Willow had been able to finally get everything straightened out when she did her family tree project. Willow was less certain that Lillian and Crystal would welcome her company.
It looked like they would be going to San Diego. In a car trip because her parents had just flown to New York, and had been unhappy with the air travel. Willow was certain it would be a long trip.
Outside, Sabertooth frowned. San Diego? How many relatives did Willow have? At least they wouldn't be flying, the changing pressure always made his head hurt. He began planning his trip. At least he didn't have to pack.
end part 1.
Erik sat in his plastic chair feeling empty and sad. Cancer. Had he survived the hells of a concentration camp, the troubles of war ravaged Europe, and the death of his wife and child, followed by the thwarting of his plan to force the world's leaders to view mutants as people, not a problem to die to cancer? To die from his own body turning against him? It was a horribly demeaning way to die and so common.
He hadn't told Willow. He mentioned the twinges in his letters to Opa, but he hadn't told Willow. He wasn't certain how to tell her about this. He had letters to read, perhaps he could come up with an answer of how to tell her if he didn't focus on it for now. Opa had wrote to him, and he learned about Charlie down the hall cheating at poker again. He had won a nice oak cane from the poker game, and the wrath of the nurses for being up so late. He got to read about the weather in California, which was mostly sunny, and hot. There was concern about drought and grass fires.
Willow had also sent him a letter. Her parents had returned from a two week convention in New York, and had some very interesting stories about their trip. A cow in the lunch, with a taste for chocolate? Tipsy psychologists trying to do the can-can in one of the lecture halls? He had laughed, especially since Willow had included copies of some of the pictures her parents had brought back. There had also been a fight between two groups of mutants. She had included some pictures from that, and he recognized on group as Charles' X-Men. The other group was unknown to him.
Willow had also included that her mother thought they had to have serious emotional problems to be out doing things like that. Willow had wrote that it had sounded to her like the ones in black had been trying to stop the ones in green. Did mutants with strong abilities have the obligation to keep other mutants with strong abilities from using their powers to hurt others or commit theft? She wanted to know his opinions on that whole matter. He was aware that Willow knew the reasons behind his imprisonment, she had mentioned watching much of his trial on C-Span. Few people actually wanted him to talk about his views on mutants place in society. Willow might get a bit more of his views than she had wanted if he wasn't careful. He had started to smile as he read Willow's letter. His mood was much better, even with the thoughts of politics, and mutant abilities.
Then, he read that she was going to go with her parents to San Diego to see her aunt get married. She promised that she would try to send him a postcard from there at the very least, but she probably wouldn't be able to get any new letters from him until after they got back. They were leaving on the seventeenth, and planned to be home on the twenty sixth.
Alone with his thoughts and letters, Erik looked back to the picture in his hand, with a cow draped with lettuce and paper streamers eating a chocolate cake, and smiled.
End part 2
They had finally arrived. They had reached San Diego, and after only a few missed turns, had made it to the house of Emily Stenner, sister to Sheila Rosenberg. It was a large, pretty house with pretty furnishings. They would be staying with her while they were here. Ira and Sheila would have the guest room, and Willow was supposed to stay in the girls room with Crystal and Lillian. As they brought their luggage into the house, Willow found herself hoping that she'd get along with her cousins.
As Sheila and Ira were following Emily to the guest room, Willow looked at the photographs lining the top of a piano. She could see the resemblance to her mother in Emily' face and body shape, but the pictures showed her a woman with an interest in her children's lives that was very different than her own mother. She saw Emily smiling at a tall sandy haired boy receiving a high school diploma. There were ballet pictures of a girl with blond hair, who latter seemed to have acquired red streaks in her hair. Another blond girl seemed to have an interest in motorcycles, as she was in several pictures, beaming at different motorcycles, occasionally smudged with grease and dirt.
Willow was still looking at the pictures when the door burst open and the house was filled with laughter and the sound of fragments of sentences, bits like: did you see, I can't believe..., how could he...
Suddenly, the cheerful noise stopped as the girls spotted Willow by the piano. Crystal and Lillian were looking at Willow. One of them had short blond hair, and was wearing baggy denim shorts and a Harley Davidson crop shirt. The other had red streaked blond hair halfway down her back, and was wearing a light yellow tank top on over an orange and yellow swirled skirt. Willow had no idea which was Lillian and which was Crystal.
"Hi. I'm Willow." She smiled nervously, uncertain of their reaction to her. Did they know she was supposed to share their room? Were they angry about the idea? At least she would have no trouble keeping track of which one she was talking to, as soon as she got the names straight.
"I'm Cris. Nobody calls me Crystal except Mom or people who don't know me." The one with the short hair spoke up. "Lillian and I are supposed to make sure you aren't bored to tears by aunt Berni's wedding. We'll help you take your stuff upstairs to our room." She smiled cheerfully at Willow.
"I hope you brought some comfortable things, we'll have to show you around. There are some cool places to hang out, and the beach is great. We can introduce you to a few people, and make sure you have fun here." The other girl, Lillian spoke as they each grabbed a bag of Willow's. She was left with only her smallest bag to carry as she followed them up the stairs.
The next day, Willow learned that her cousins were morning people. They had her out of bed, and down for breakfast before the parents were even moving. Over breakfast, it was concluded that they had to go shopping and find Willow some things that she could go have fun in, the idea of shopping having come from Willow's confession of not having brought a swim suit.
They attacked the mall as soon as it opened. Willow felt like she was being carried along a powerful water currant, swept along with Cris and Lillian. She was pleasantly surprised by that fact that it was kind of fun to shop with them. They didn't just look for Willow things, and they had no notions of what type of things were her style. They looked at things and debated if they were good colors or not, if the style was good for the face. They looked at things for Willow, and things for themselves. Willow ended up with an armload of new clothing, including a new swimsuit by the time they went back to Emily's house.
Their parents were engaged in a big debate over the merits of having dancing at the wedding reception, not that they could do anything about it anyhow. The girls very quietly took the bags upstairs, and changed to go back out. They didn't want to get caught by the discussion of who could dance, and who would be embarrassed by the dancing at the reception. They slipped back out to meet some of Lillian's friends at a park. Willow was feeling better than she had for well over a month.
There was a group of teens waiting by the time they got to the park. Willow was introduced as their cousin, and she tried to keep all the names straight. One boy was very memorable. Zack had silver piercings in his eyebrows, nose and ears. His hair was blue, as were his eyebrows. His eyes were solid dark blue, with no iris or pupil. Willow tried not to stare. The rest of the group were discussing what type of pizzas to get.
"Something wrong, red?" Zack had caught her looking at him, and was a bit worried. He had known that Cris and Lillian had a cousin coming to visit for their aunts wedding, and had figured they had probably not remembered to tell her she'd be meeting a mutant. It would be best to learn if she had a problem with mutants sooner, rather than later.
Willow blushed crimson at his words. She had been staring, and he had caught her. Now, she was certain everyone was looking at her. It made her a bit nervous. "Ummmm ... Did it hurt to get your eyebrow pierced? Or the ones at the top of your ears because I heard that if you got the cartilage pierced it was painful and could get infected very easily. I didn't mean to stare and does the world look bluish to you with your eyes like that? and I'm babbling now so I'm going to be quiet now." She was certain she had just embarrassed herself in front of everyone.
Zack blinked at her. Everyone else was listening, surprised that she had gotten all that in one breath. They hadn't expected that stream of words, just the normal mumbled apology of someone caught staring at Zack.
"It didn't really hurt to get the eyebrow piercing. It just stung a bit. The ears... it hurt a bit more, but if you go to a good place and keep the piercings clean, there isn't an infection risk. Things do look a bit more blue, and I can see ultraviolet. It's kinda cool. Does it bother you?" Zack wasn't sure what to think about Willow.
"Not really, I mean, it's a bit different, but don't think it's a big deal." Willow was thoughtful. "I don't have a problem with mutants as a whole, just with the one that was in my class and went invisible and then started beating up everyone that ever picked on her. She put several people in the hospital and she could have killed someone... and I'm babbling again. I do that sometimes, like when I talk to people." Willow was blushing again.
It was decided that Willow was welcome to hang out with them, and they teased her a bit about blushing so easily. They got several different pizzas, and made plans to show Willow around the next day. The discussion then turned to dance, and some play that was being rehearsed at a little theatre that several of them were in.
end part 3.
The next day, Willow went with her cousins to meet up with the group and see San Diego. They arrived during a debate over a new computer game, and the fact that it wasn't running right on Brian's computer. Willow smiled, that was something she could contribute on. She jumped in with a question about the games system requirements, and she talked about computers with Brian, Zack, Frank and Charlotta as they walked along the street. Cris and some of the others were debating a few bands, arguing over who had the cutest but out of the current groups. Lillian and two of the others were arguing over exactly what the words were to the chorus of another song, Willow hadn't caught the title of it.
There was a large gathering of people in front of a building that Willow couldn't quite see. They had signs, and some of them were milling around chanting something. Willow got a nervous feeling in her stomach, she had been more nervous of crowds ever since the nightmares had become real in Sunnydale. The group of teens went closer, trying to figure out what was going on.
It was an anti mutant rally. There were signs with things like Die Mutant and Protect the Humans written on them. There were people with signs advocating mutant registry or that they be sent somewhere else. Willow was caught between being terrified, appalled and furious. Then she saw the signs urging the execution of Magneto. She wasn't quite certain what would have happened next, but whatever could have been was averted when one of the crowd caught a good look at Zack.
Some of the crowd broke of and started towards the teens. Willow could see that they were going from a protest group to an angry mob as they approached. Cris grabbed her arm as the group tried to flee, making certain Willow was going with them.
They ran, not quite certain where to go that they would be safe. Most of the group were trying to convince their selves that this was crazy, and the people wouldn't do anything bad. The shouts and threats from the pursuing mob changed their mind. They ended up in a parking lot, with no easy way out. There were hubcaps and scraps of metal by a dumpster. Glass bottles and newspapers were along the walls of the buildings that made two sides of the parking lot. There were several cars parked in the lot.
The only way out appeared to either be over the fence, or back the way they had come from. The mob was approaching. Willow refused to be helplessly terrified again. She was still terrified, but she was going to try to fight. There was a metal pole leaning by the dumpster. It looked like a reinforcement bar of the sort often put into concrete. The bar was slightly heavy, but just about the same length as the quarterstaff she had been using to practice with. Some of the others grabbed a few things also, muttering things about hope we don't get killed, and doctor bills. Cris muttered something about how would she cover up the bruises for the wedding?
As the mob was beginning to come into the parking lot, the back half separated, apparently having found another mutant from the sounds of their shouts. They were going to go after the other person while the first part, now about two dozen, went after Willow and the other teens.
Fortunately, the mob wasn't carrying guns. They had picket signs, and a few of them had picked up some bottles. They were still grown adults, stronger and bigger than the teens they had cornered. It was not going to be pretty.
The teens did far better than they had expected. Lillian was very limber from her dance training, and managed to avoid most of her attacker's blows. Some of them had fought with older siblings, or school bullies. Willow's training with the staff seemed to have stuck quite well, as she not only was able to block the blows of her attackers, but take two of them down entirely. The piece of metal felt light and responsive in her hands. Some of the attackers had decided to stay back and lob bits of trash at the teens, but there wasn't much to throw that would do damage other than some hubcaps.
Not a single bit of thrown metal hit Willow.
Eventually, they managed to drive their attackers away. Lillian was positive that some of the hubcaps had thrown themselves at the mob. With excellent aim, as it turned out. The teens were all shaking, as well as bruised and in a few cases bleeding by the time they made their exit from the parking lot. They went quietly, without fanfare.
Nobody noticed the observer, looking at them from the roof of the northern building. He had finished with his group, some would even live. He had gone to check on Willow and her friends. Sabertooth smiled, the kids had fought well. He did wonder which of them had been responsible for the hubcaps flying at the attackers.
end part 4.
The group of teens were quietly going down the street. It had been decided that downtown was not good today, to they would go to the park and hang out. It sounded safer than a repeat of the mob. There had been a few questions, and it was determined that nobody was seriously injured - or at least, not admitting to it if they were. Willow had told them that she had started taking self defense lessons because her hometown of Sunnydale wasn't particularly safe. Willow still felt like she was being followed, her protector watching over her.
They arrived at the park, and took over a group of tables. They settled on the tables and benches, and tried to relax. Injuries were examined more closely, and clothing inspected to tears, slashes, and permanent stains. Bits of glass were removed from knees and hands. Bruises were compared, and there was a bit of good natured my bruises are bigger than yours debate. Willow glanced over to her left, prompted by some strange feeling.
There was a huge man standing by the oak tree. He had to be over seven feet tall, and he had amazing amounts of rippling muscle. He had long tawny blond hair that hung loose well past his shoulders. Battered, torn jeans and a faded grey shirt along with big dark boots stretched over him. He was definitely intimidating. He wouldn't blend in to any normal crowd, he was to big, and had this air of wildness about him. Oddly, Willow wasn't the least bit afraid of him.
Eventually, the teens separated and returned to their separate homes. There was now concern over how their parents would react to their injuries, and what would they tell them had happened? Willow figured her mother wouldn't even notice her injuries. She had to wonder if aunt Em would.
On the way back to aunt Em's house, Cris noticed the big blond man was walking down the street behind them. She pointed him out to Lillian, who was definitely nervous. Willow heard them whispering about a big scary blond guy, and glanced to see who had them nervous. It was the man from under the oak tree at the park. Nothing happened to them on the trip home.
Charles Xavier had gone to visit Erik. He was politely scanned with a metal detector to make certain he hadn't forgotten to remove any small metal items, and assisted into the plastic wheelchair he had to use while visiting Erik's quarters. He was then told to please follow that guard. To his surprise, the guard was carrying a pair on envelopes.
Charles knew he shouldn't do it. It was wrong, and an invasion of the guards privacy... Very carefully, Charles Xavier touched the guard's mind. He was curious about the envelopes. One came from someone named Oris Rosenberg in a nursing home in California, those came almost one a week, sometimes stretching a bit longer between letters. The other was from a Willow Rosenberg, also in California, those came every week, sometime two a week. Erik Lenscherr had been less depressed since the letters had started arriving, and the people had also sent holiday cards...
Charles Xavier withdrew his mental touch. Who were these people, Oris and Willow Rosenberg? Why did they write to Erik? Why hadn't his old friend and rival ever mentioned them to him? How could he find out without alerting either Erik or this polite guard to his mental snooping?
The retractable hallway, which would connect him to Erik's quarters, extended, distracting Charles from his thoughts. He moved the chair forward, absently thinking that there had to be a better way to make these blasted things.
When he arrived, the first thing he noticed was the picture of a cow eating a cake standing in the remains of some sort of buffet. He was smiling after seeing that. Then he saw Erik, and was shocked at his friend's appearance.
"Erik, you look terrible." The words tumbled out before he could stop them. Internally, Charles winced. His words had been tactless.
Erik looked at him and gave a half smile. He had lost some weight, and his eyes looked bloodshot. He was holding himself stiffly, as if his whole body was either stiff or sore. His complexion wasn't the pale skin of someone that didn't go out, it was pale, with a bit of a greyish cast. He looked terrible.
"I just got back from the last round of medical testing. It's a bit hard on me, considering that I am not as young as I used to be. They have to determine the extent of the cancer, and how much damage it has done. After that, they might be able to determine the chance of my survival." Erik's voice was quiet. He sounded tired.
The guard handed him the envelopes, and received a murmured 'thank you' before leaving. Erik looked old, Charles realized. For the first time, he really looked old.
"Are the tests very tiring?" Xavier wasn't quite certain what he could say. What did you say to your oldest friend and rival when you learned that he was probably dying, and would do so alone in a box, shut away from the world?
"I have suffered worse for less cause. But, I was younger then, and recovered faster. The tests ... are necessary. Unpleasant, but necessary. They have done their best to take proper care of me here." Erik's voice was still calm, a tired calm that made Xavier worry about whether or not his old friend would even try to fight to stay alive, or if he would simply give in to his illness and slip away.
Charles was feeling rather uncomfortable with his thoughts of illness, and possible death. He wanted to change the subject. "Where did you get the picture of a cow eating cake?"
Erik blinked, and smiled. " I suppose that is a story you might want to hear."
end part 5.
In Sunnydale, Xander Harris was looking for Willow. He wanted to talk to her about Tracie, and ask if Willow thought that Tracie would like to go to a carnival with him, since she was a girl and could offer a girl's opinion on the matter. Even if she had yelled at him about Tracie and Buffy, and crushes and slammed his door when she left. It had been wedged so tightly shut it had taken him an hour to get it open again. Xander had no idea how Willow had done that. He'd been avoiding her lately, but he really wanted to talk to her now.
He couldn't find her anywhere. She wasn't at the library, or the computer store, or in the park. School was out for the summer, so she wouldn't be there. Xander decided to go check the Rosenberg house. It was locked, and the car was gone.
He had to talk to Giles. Giles would know where Willow was.
Charles Xavier had returned to his home in a very thoughtful mood. His students and X-Men were used to him being thoughtful after his visits to Magneto. Most of them didn't understand why he went to visit Erik, especially not Marie, the victim of his plot. Surprisingly, Logan seemed to understand his reasoning. It was Logan that asked what was bothering him.
Xavier explained that Erik had cancer. He shared his worries about Erik giving up and allowing himself to die, and his opinion of the total incompetence of the court ordered psychiatrist that was supposed to be visiting Erik. The one that had been to see him only once since his incarceration. He then mentioned that Erik was receiving letters while in prison. Letters from two people in California, a man named Oris Rosenberg that wrote from a nursing home called Rustling Pines, and a person named Willow Rosenberg.
Scott was worried that these people could be dangerous -perhaps the next insidious danger the X-Men would have to face. Jean wondered why these people were writing Magneto - did he have some sort of hold over them? She had been to the town in California that the letters had come from, she reported that the place had 'a strong negative energy,' and that being there had made her head ache and given her this itchy feeling like she was being watched by something bad. Jean had gone to this small town of Sunnydale once. She had hoped to never return there.
It was decided to try some more remote methods of learning who these people were before sending anyone to look into matters first hand. They were also trying to discover the current locations of Magneto's former associates, Toad, Sabertooth, and Mystique. None of them had been captured after the incident at the Statue of Liberty, although they had been positive that Mystique was masquerading as Senator Kelly. Senator Kelley was reported to be considering a presidential campaign. Toad and Sabertooth had disappeared. This sort of loose end was not a good thing.
In Sunnydale, the vampire known as Angel heard the stories of the dangerous being that had claimed a part of Sunnydale. Tall, very muscular, with dark eyes and long blond hair. Killed anything that annoyed him with sharp claws. He felt an ominous chill creep along his spine.
Surely he couldn't still be alive? He had known such a creature long ago, when he had been Angelus. But, that had been over a century ago, surely the mercenary Victor Creed would be long dead.
end part 6.
Cris, Lillian and Willow returned to Aunt Emily's house. Their fathers were in he study, discussing something quietly. It appeared that they had decided not to sit in on the discussion in the kitchen. Emily, Sheila, and their Aunt Diane, the youngest sibling of Sheila and Emily's mother's family, were sitting in the kitchen discussion their relatives. They were talking about where their brothers and sisters lives had gone, what their children were doing. What collages their children were in or planning to attend, and what they were studying, or what their parent thought they should be studying. Stories about past family gatherings were brought out again.
With a rapid exchange of worried looks, the girls managed to go upstairs with out the gossiping women noticing them. Sheila might have missed them, possibly Emily, but nothing gossip-worthy escaped the notice of great aunt Diane. If she had seen the girls, she would have noticed the bruises and cuts, and the interrogation would begin. They would rather not have everyone in the family hearing about how they were cornered by an angry mob. Somehow, it would end up a story about the perils of letting your children out alone, and why kids today need more discipline.
Instead, they went upstairs and quietly began to talk about the boys in their lives, and their possible boyfriends. In Willow's case, that didn't take long. They also painted each other's fingernails, and asked questions about why boys just didn't get it about girls and what they wanted. She had told them about her long time crush on Xander, which she was finally getting over. How he had practiced with her methods of asking Buffy out. How he never realized her feelings, or that she was even a girl except when he wanted to ask her about how to try to pick up other girls. Cris mentioned her own crush on Richard, someone in her history class. She wasn't certain he even knew she was alive, let alone available. She had also had problems about just being one of the guys until none of her friends thought of her as a girl, let alone a possible girlfriend.
Lillian was the only one with happy news, as she was dating Brian, one of their friends that Willow had met. They were happy, and hoped to go to the same local college. They were thinking they might get married and have a family 'with a boy named Trevor and a girl named Brittany, and a golden retriever'. Willow was envious of her happiness, and hoped that she could have her happily after with Brian. She would like to know someone that had a happy ending in their life.
Tomorrow was the wedding, and their Aunt Berni would soon be married. She and her fiancé had planned to take an extended honeymoon in Hawaii. Everyone was hoping that she would be very happy this time, and that her fiancé, Donald, would treat her with care, and build a life with her. Hopefully, they could live happily after, or something like it. He seemed like a fairly nice, normal guy.
Berni's last attempt at dating had been with someone that had not worked out well. She'd met Doctor Nathaniel Essex while on vacation in Atlanta, and they had tried a relationship. He had accompanied her to a family trip when Willow was ten. He'd given her the creeps, along with Cris and Lillian. Bernie was well rid of Nathaniel Essex, his career had always come before everything else with him.
end part 7.
Two days later they were all agreed that it had been a lovely wedding, and the reception had been nice, There had been dancing. Nobody had been injured, although some people had been embarrassed. The chance to dress up had been welcome, and everyone had had a nice time.
Now, Cris, Lillian and Willow were having the frustration of being at the mall with their mothers. The trip was supposed to be a mother daughters bonding experience. Willow privately thought the wedding had reminded her mother that she had a daughter, and the psychiatrist in her had brought forth the rest.
They had looked at things, trying to keep their mother from getting things they would hate. They had had to hold things while their mother's tried on things, and debated over the professionalism of some of the colors. There had been ugly shoes. So far, it had been three hours of misery.
Em and Sheila had finally decided that it was time for lunch. They had bought trays of assorted food, and were converging on the last open table in the mall. Stomachs were growling, and tempers were short. A man in a business suit with a briefcase and cell phone sat down at the last table. He didn't even have a cup of coffee to drink.
Willow was hungry, frustrated, and tired of trying to escape ugly clothing. She wanted to sit down and have something to eat and now this jerk had taken the table so he could open his briefcase and talk on his cell phone! She gave him the glare of immediate death and dismemberment.
With a crackle and hiss, the cell phone died.
The man in his suit looked at it in annoyance. He pushed a few buttons, swearing about it being a stupid piece of junk. He gave up on the phone, packed his papers back in is briefcase, and left.
They swooped down on the table like a conquering army. Or at the least, five hungry females that had spent the morning shopping. Lunch was delicious. The rest of the day went much better, except for Willow's headache. Lillian said that was what she got for giving the glare of death.
There was more shopping, but it didn't seem nearly as painful. They spent money, gathered many bags, and finally went home. There were shoes, and blouses, and pants, and music, and jewelry. Sheila had picked up a few neckties for her husband.
It wasn't until Willow was getting ready for bed that she discover her watch had stopped. It still read 12:34 when it was almost eleven at night.
Erik was reading Opa's latest letter. Things were going fairly well for him, although he missed Willow's weekly visit. She had to go away for her aunt's wedding in San Diego. Willow's parents were trying to convince her to go to law school, but he was fairly certain that Willow didn't want to be a lawyer. She had mentioned maybe something with computers, or something in medicine. Opa hoped that Erik was feeling well, and that he had found out what had been causing those twinges in his legs.
He sighed, feeling a bit guilty. He would have to write his Opa a letter and tell him that he had been diagnosed with cancer. It had been figured that without a bone marrow donor, his chance of survival was very slim, and that was probably only because mutants didn't die as easily that they gave him that slim chance. The harsh fact was that he could probably count his future in months, without a donor. As a further complication, who would be willing to donate something to help Magneto, the mutant terrorist to live?
With a sigh, Erik decided that he'd best ask for a lawyer, so that he could make an official will and have his affairs in order when the time came.
end part 8.
Xander had found Giles, arriving just as Giles and Jenny Calendar were returning from their lunch picnic. He was momentarily stunned by the idea that Giles the librarian had a life outside of books. He made a few confused noises before asking if either of them knew where Willow was. Xander continued by saying that he'd looked all over town for her, and she was gone.
Giles looked at the boy with exasperation. " You have been avoiding Willow for nearly two weeks, for reasons nobody understands. You have left the building if she comes in. You haven't answered or returned her telephone calls. Now, you want to talk to her and you are upset that she isn't waiting for you? Really Xander, sometimes you astound me." Shaking his head, Giles turned to go into his house.
Jenny took a small measure of pity on Xander. "She went with her parents to San Diego for the wedding of one of her relatives. They left about five days ago. What did you want to talk to Willow about anyhow?"
Xander blinked in surprise. Willow had left five days ago? She hadn't told him? Guilt reminded him that he hadn't given her that chance to tell him anything. He had been avoiding her, and hadn't even listened to her messages on the Harris answering machine. He was feeling even more guilty when he realized that he had only wanted to talk to her about Tracie.
"Oh. I guess maybe I have been ignoring her. I really should apologize, huh? Ummm, do either of you ..." Xander's voice trailed of as he remembered who he was talking to. A librarian and a computer teacher. Neither one were in a position to know the mind of a teenage girl. "Never mind. Let me know when Willow gets back, I need to grovel before her in apology for a bit."
Xander slouched slightly as he walked away. He realized that he missed talking to Willow. Hearing her willowy opinions on everything. She had way to many thoughts in her head for Xander to keep track of sometimes. That's why she was getting A's in all her classes and tutoring half the class. Life would be pretty miserable without his best bud to talk to about things.
In a mansion in New York, Charles Xavier was feeling somewhat confused. His people had managed to find some information on the names Oris Rosenberg and Willow Rosenberg. He just wasn't certain what it meant. Oris Rosenberg was a very old man in a nursing home. He could barely walk, was loosing his sight, and had no known mutation or political power. He wasn't a gifted scientist. He could think of no reason why he would be writing letters to Magneto.
Willow Rosenberg was even more of a puzzle to him. From what they had been able to learn, she was the great grand daughter of Oris. She would be starting her junior year of high school in the fall. She was the top of her class academically, and had no criminal record. Not even a late library book. Her medical history was very blandly normal. She wasn't a registered member of any particular political club or organization that would give an explanation why she would be writing letters to Magneto either. She was expected to attend a top university somewhere and do something brilliant with her life. Willow was a nice, quiet Jewish girl.
There had to be something they had missed. There was no explanation for the letter in anything that he or his students had found. People didn't just randomly write letters to prisoners of federal prisons. The only thing he could think of would be to send somebody to California to see if they could find answers there.
end part 9.
Willow's family had finally returned to Sunnydale. She was certain that the air felt different here. She thought the air in Sunnydale felt heavier, burdened by secrets and death. It was familiar. It was home. This was where she was born and had been all her life.
It didn't have to be her future.
She had a feeling, as if she had changed in San Diego. She still could call the Hellmouth home, but it was as if an entire realm of new possibilities had opened before her. She didn't have to live the rest of her life in Sunnydale. She didn't need Sunnydale to be Willow, or to be happy.
She supposed it would be considered growing up.
With a smile, Willow began taking her luggage into the Rosenberg family house. Life was full of possibilities, and all she had to do was decide what she wanted. Well, she would still have to work for it, of course. But she didn't have to live and die in Sunnydale.
Erik Lenscherr watched as the lawyer crossed the tubing into his cell. He wondered what was going through the young man's mind. He looked rather nervous.
"You can relax. I simply wanted to have a lawyer assist me with the making of a will. You might want to have a seat. I have no idea how long this will take."
His voice was apparently surprising to the lawyer, as the younger man jumped. The lawyer did take a seat, and opened a briefcase. He looked slightly ruffled from the security checks any visitors had to go through.
Erik waited for the lawyer to settle himself before he continued. "I have been diagnosed with cancer. My doctor has insisted that if a compatible donor is found, my chances of survival are rather good. Practically speaking, I have few living relatives, and most of them are entirely unaware of any actual relationship. I also know that simply being related doesn't guarantee that a person can be a tissue donor. My reputation as Magneto is such that I am rather unlikely to have somebody wish to donate bone marrow to me anyhow."
The lawyer fidgeted slightly at Erik's words. He looked unhappy with the idea that this man would just sit there, calmly stating that he was dying, and nobody would want to save him. Claiming that even if someone could save his life, they wouldn't want to.
He didn't protest Mr. Lenscherr's reasoning at all.
"It appears likely that I will die. I didn't bring you here to discuss my health. I wanted to make a will. That way, when I die, the only confusion will be what shall happen to my remains, not what will happen to my possessions." Erik sighed, and poured a glass of water for himself. He offered the lawyer one, but he refused.
" I have certain information files. They contain information on scientific research in the fields of genetics and electronics. Upon my death, I want these released to the scientific community. There are other files that are about the activities, past and current of assorted political leaders. Those are to go to the press." Erik paused to smile slightly. " There are some secrets that aren't as secret as they would like."
"I also have some material assets. Bank accounts, property holdings. I wish to leave these to a relative of mine, currently a minor. You are to write this up so that they will go to her, and remain in her possession until such time as she chooses to part with them. Her name is Willow Rosenberg."
Erik's voice continued as he listed the locations of properties and accounts. He listed methods of contacting the keepers of the information files. As he spoke, the lawyer wrote upon a piece of paper, listing things for a long time.
end part 10
There had been two surges of mutant activity in San Diego. They had registered on the Cerebro unit of Professor Charles Xavier. This told him that the mutant that had caused the two incidents would be fairly powerful. Whoever it was, they had best be found before they could get into trouble.
He decided to send some of his people to San Diego to find this new mutant, and try to persuade him or her to return with them to his school. He would also send some people to Sunnydale, to try to learn more about this Willow Rosenberg that wrote to Magneto. It would be best to send some of the older students with his X-Men, in case a teenager would be better able to approach someone than one of his X-Men.
Marie refused to have anything to do with trying to find someone that wrote to Magneto. She seemed to think that if he was dying, good. She had felt violated and used by his plan to use her to power his device. Xavier decided it would be better to send her to San Diego, along with Scott and Jean. They could try to find the powerful new mutant. It would just be easier if the unit had managed to get information on what sort of ability this new mutant possessed.
Ororo and Logan would go to Sunnydale. Jubilee and bobby would go with them, mainly to keep the two pranksters safely away from the mansion for a while. He decided to send Kitty Pryde there as well. Like Erik, Kitty was Jewish, as Willow Rosenberg happened to be. It was possible that whatever connection existed would be discovered by such common ground.
They should be able to keep out of trouble, and defend themselves if it became necessary. Perhaps, if Willow was a mutant, she might be in danger in Sunnydale. If that were so, they would offer their assistance to her.
They would also be prepared to react if Willow turned out to be dangerous.
end part 11.
end Family Tree 7: Views into the Future.
as a note to everyone that might not be entirely familiar with the X-Men: the interesting helmet that the Professor puts on in the movie to search for Marie is called a Cerebro Unit. That is a bit of X-men lore taken from the comics - it even looked fairly close. The device was designed to both amplify telepathic range while in use, and to locate the use of mutant abilities. It was connected to a big computer so it could monitor even when not being actively used.
This was the explanation for how the X-Men could just go find someone to ask to join the team. It was titled that way back in the depths of comic history, before the second team of X-Men were brought forth. The second team was the introduction of Storm, Banshee, Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Sunfire. This was sometime in the seventies to judge by the original costumes.
I have no idea why Stan Lee and the other writers of the X-Men decided to give it that name.