A/N: TGIF!! A weekend treat for all of y'all (including me, I actually look forwards to getting to work on this ;) just a lil fyi) another fyi is that alan moore is teh shit- pick up some of his work if you've never read him! I've read Watchmen and V for Vendetta, and am now working on the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol 1. Man is a genius XD
Chapter 10: revelations
"Laura! I swear, it wasn't what it looked like! You have to believe me!" Julian was panicking, more than ever before.
Even battle hadn't made him feel like this. He knew how fragile Laura's trust was, and once broken, it could never be
entirely regained. Oh, he had just broken it, he had just fucked up like never before.
"Stop!" He ran as fast as he could after her, entirely forgetting he was a mutant.
Laura did not speak. The time for words was over. She did not even desire what was left in her room. She ran for the
garage, her eyes filled with the same liquid that had blinded her when she'd killed her mother. Get out, some part of her
brain demanded. She popped a claw, jammed it into the lock on the garage door, and hurried through, searching for
something she wasn't sure of. She could hear Julian running outside, still yelling her name. Her hand hit the
button for the electronic garage door.
There—Logan's bike. She grabbed the helmet on top of the seat and jammed it on, then swung a leg over the saddle and
inserted a claw into the engine panel. Her fingers scrabbled through the wires, found the right ones, and with a small zttt
noise the engine roared to life. She kicked the stand off and revved the engine, taking off just as Julian reached the door.
"No!" he shouted, trying to stop the garage door from lifting entirely. Laura didn't pause to think; she drove the bike right
through the door without flinching, and subsequently through the gates.
"What the hell?! Where's my bike?!" Wolverine roared, reaching the garage. He looked livid. "Uhh—sir—I have to go," Julian
said, his eyes lighting up.
"Don't you dare fly! We've fucked up enough with ONE as it is! KELLER!"
Julian took off, leaving a smoking crater in the cement. The sentinels popped into view almost immediately, dropping their
stealth shields, and two followed after him, their departure knocking over several trees. The other X-men were starting to
trickle out; Emma, Scott; and students were leaning out of their windows to watch. "Fuckin' kids!" Logan yelled at Scott as
he approached, a question in his expression. "We should kill the whole fuckin' lot of them! I've had it!"
"Calm down, Logan," Scott said, obviously annoyed as well. "Emma said it was Laura. Julian did something to set her off."
"I'm gonna kill him," Logan snarled, looking around. "Takin' your bike."
"No! Logan! It's not done! I'm still restoring it!" Scott cried. He'd bought a classic Harley, an antique, and was working on
bringing it to its original factory-mint condition. He knew—just knew—that if Logan touched the thing, it would be
damaged irreversibly.
"You're lucky I even told you, Slim," Logan said, holding his hand out for the keys. "'Course, I can't count on two hands
how many times you've taken my bike without askin'." Scott made a face and passed the keys over.
"Thanks," Logan growled.
"Don't mention it, just leave me and Emma to deal with the big angry robots," Scott sighed, turning to go deal.
…
Julian easily caught up with Laura on the highway, but found she was too agile for him to pick up. "STOP! Listen to me!"
he shouted, trying to fly beside her. She turned right into the woods, attempting to lose him. This turned out to be a
strategical flaw. She had, unfortunately, underestimated the level of his determination; as he simply followed her in.
In the woods he was faster, blowing foliage out of his way while she had to maneuver around. They had just
reached a clearing at the same moment when he spoke again. "Laura, stop."
Suddenly the bike was in the air, its wheels locking in place and the engine making an overloading sound.
Laura span around on the seat and found herself separated from the bike as something exploded inside it.
She wrestled with her helmet and pulled it off, revealing her tear-streaked face.
"GO!" she yelled, so forcefully that she used both her vocal chords. It came out as a strangled, terrible sound that
made several birds that had resisted the earlier ruckus finally leave the trees.
"No. Laura, you need to hear me out! It wasn't what it looked like! She kissed me first—I was just pushing her away when—"
Laura was breathing fast, her eyes noticeably bloodshot. "Release me," she said, her voice calm suddenly.
"There is nothing more for you to say. It is better this way. Safer. Go, I do not want to kill you."
Julian stopped, a little afraid. Normally he'd brush it off, but Laura really did look and sound quite creepy at the moment.
"Please," he asked her, landing on the ground. "I—I don't know what I'll do if you don't listen. I already probably
got myself expelled by following you. There's two ONE sentinels on my trail, they're probably halfway here by now."
Laura tilted her head. "Why would you take such an unnecessary risk?"
"It's necessary," he answered, walking towards her slowly. "I don't want to be with Sofia anymore, Laura. I
want to be with you. Sofia didn't get that—I tried to tell her—she wasn't listening. She cornered me—"
"You had your arms around her," Laura said, raising an eyebrow. "You did not seem to be resisting. Your
eyes were closed, your ventilation rate and pulse increased; your body heat went up by .003 degrees Celsius…"
"Isn't that kind of normal when someone's kissing you?" he interrupted. "Try it. Kiss someone else, see what
happens. You can't help it. I'm sure even you can't control the temperature of you body."
"…" Laura paused, considering. "No."
"Come on, let's go back to the mansion, and forget this stupid misunderstanding," Julian said, extending his
hand to her. "I…I can't imagine my life without you in it, Laura. Please come home with me."
"Home." Laura had never used that word before.
"Home," he repeated.
After an agonizing moment (for him), Laura took his hand; and Logan's bike in tow, they made
their way back to face the music at the mansion.
…
"You're suspended! Both of you!" Cyclops yelled, shaking his finger at the two seated students. "Why—I can't
understand why—either of you would do this! You know the rules, Keller—it fits that you need to break them—but Laura?"
"Technically, I did not break the flying policy." Laura's voice was small but serious.
"You broke the policy regarding 'damage to school grounds', and you stole a teacher's bike," Emma said coolly.
She arched her eyebrows, and both Julian and Laura glanced at each other helplessly. The secret was out;
and who worse to know than Frost?
I'm disappointed in you, Julian, Emma said, speaking only to the boy. Why would you pick Laura? I'm sure you don't
know about her terrible past. I think I should enlighten you. Laura made a face, and pictures flashed in front of Julian's
eyes. He suddenly tensed in his seat. Terrible pictures. Pictures from Laura's mind, of her looking down at her dead
mother, of her claws severing heads, slicing through helmets and exposing brains, bones. Cutting off fingers in
interrogations. Torturing people, innocent men with children. Torturing women.
"Nngn," Julian said, relaxing as the room cleared. Scott looked at him oddly. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"
"You had no right to do that!" Julian said angrily, standing up and glaring at Emma. "How could you? You just effectively raped her mind!"
"I—" Emma looked astounded. She hadn't expected Julian to be upset.
Laura was still seated, looking at the ground. She was ashamed—she could feel what Frost had done, entering
her mind and transferring pictures to the boy sitting beside her.
"Really, Frost, she's been through enough already, without you adding to her mental trauma! Don't fuck with our heads, okay?"
"Watch your language," Scott said. "Children, please go sit outside. Emma, a word. Now." Julian leapt up and stomped
to the door, blowing it open with a bolt. Laura tailed behind, feeling strangely depressed rather than just angry
and violated. He knew now.
"We should leave this place," Julian said angrily. "I'm not learning anything anymore. All I do is sit around in the
danger room and blow craters in the floor trying to pick up paperclips. Everything else is a joke!"
"You would not be safe anywhere else with me," Laura said in a small voice.
"No where's safe, Laura," Julian said angrily. "I can't believe Ms. Frost did that. I've always been one of her favorites.
Why would she try to manipulate us?"
"She does not like me," Laura replied. "She has informed me many times that I should leave the school. This is
not the first time she has intruded me mentally."
"What?!" Julian grabbed Laura's wrist. "What else has she done? Have you told anyone? She's basically breaching
Xavier's code…have you told Logan? He'd know what to do."
"Yes. I just told you." Laura looked down at his hand. "You are hurting me."
"Sorry," he said, releasing it and wrapping his arms around her. "I'm sorry for everything. Fuck, I want to go to bed and
pretend this day never happened. I nearly lost you and now this—" he stopped. "Laura, will you move into my room?
Please? I want to sleep with you every night."
"Move?" Laura asked.
"Your things. Live with me."
"You have a roommate," Laura pointed out.
"Fine—can I move into yours?" he asked.
Laura stared. "…" she said, her mind racing. She would not be able to be alone anymore. She could not continue
her window side vigil. Then again, she had shared a room with people before; her cousin, Megan. It was Julian…
he was waiting for a response. "Yes," she said.
…
"What're you guys doing? What's happening?" Cessily asked, staring at Julian and Laura. Their arms were filled with
boxes—Julian's possessions—and Laura had an expression like a deer caught in a set of headlights.
"We are just…" Laura said. She could not come up with a logical, viable explanation for why she was holding an
uncovered box full of men's underwear, a flute, and a tangle of computer cables.
"I'm moving in with her," Julian said bluntly. Laura closed her eyes. "Yes," she confirmed, feeling—as illogical as it was—
as though the moment she admitted to it, the facility would invade with ten newly hatched Kimuras.
"OHMIGOD! Really? Wow! This is so great!" Cessily bounced up and down, a wide grin on her face.
"Can I help? I'm so happy for you guys!"
"Sure," Julian said. "This would go so much faster if my powers weren't under surveillance. Fucking ONE."
"You cannot tell anyone," Laura said, staring hard at Cessily. "No one must know. If information spreads, the facility could learn and capture Julian."
"…" Cessily said. She was afraid of the facility; she had nightmares every night. "I promise, I won't tell anyone. I swear."
"You make me sound like you're babysitting me," Julian said under his breath. "I'm an X-man, not a five-year-old child
you're getting ten dollars an hour to watch." Cessily grinned. "You guys are so cute together!" she exclaimed shrilly,
reminding them both of her cheerleader past.
"…" Laura said.