Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution or any of the characters you recognise!

Chapter Nine – Betrayal

January 2000

Alex watched in numb disbelief as the gate closed behind her and she disappeared from sight. "But …"

Kitty slipped her hand into his. "I'm so sorry, Alex. I thought …"

"Yeah … so did I …" Alex tried to smile but failed miserably. "It's not your fault. I guess that's it."

Kitty wanted to tell him not to give up that easily, but she couldn't help feeling responsible for his current mood. She had been so certain that Lorna felt the same way. "It might have been shock." She said quietly, gently guiding him out of the airport, mouthing a 'thank you' to the security guard who had let them through without a pass.

Alex shook his head miserably. "No, it's over."

"It's not over!" Kitty protested, ignoring the slight guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach. "She'll call."

Alex didn't look convinced, but didn't argue. "Alright, but if she doesn't, then it's over."

The drive back to the Institute was quiet, for obvious reasons. When they walked back in without Lorna and without smiles, no one pushed for an explanation, much to Kitty's relief.

Scott took one look at his brother's face and dragged him outside again to talk.

"What happened?" Lance asked quietly, as Kitty passed him.

Kitty just shook her head and made her way to the nursery, knowing he would follow her.

Liam was lying awake in his crib, his gaze focused on the cot next to him, where Cindy was sleeping.

A small smile crept onto Kitty's face at the sight, growing when her son caught sight of her and broke into a smile himself.

Unable to resist, she lifted Liam into her arms, kissing his forehead as he cuddled into her chest. "Watching her sleep already, Liam? It's a bit early for that, young man."

"It's never too early for love at first sight." Lance disagreed from the doorway. "I was twelve."

Kitty blushed, but rolled her eyes. "Lance, you can't marry him off already. I'm not ready to let him go yet."

Lance chuckled. "I'm kidding, Kitten. Except the love at first sight bit." He kissed her softly.

Kitty smiled. "You're a sap, you know that, right?"

"Ssh." Lance grinned. "You'll ruin my reputation."

"What reputation?" Kitty quipped, as they left the nursery.

"Oh, you're a funny one." Lance grumbled with a mock-frown. "What happened at the airport? Did he tell her?"

"Uh huh." Kitty sighed. "And she got on the plane."

"What the …?" Lance stopped dead. "But … But you're never wrong!"

Kitty raised an eyebrow. "Is this you trying to make me feel better? Because if it is, you're doing a really bad job."

"Sorry, sweetheart." Lance wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It's just … How's Alex taking it?"

Kitty grimaced. "I'm hoping she was in shock and that she's going to call and tell him … or Alex may never forgive me."

"Hey, you're allowed to be wrong." Lance pointed out, kissing her forehead. "And at least now he knows and can start trying to move on."

"Yeah." Kitty sighed. "I guess you're right."

But Alex didn't move on.

He wallowed for the next three days, waiting for the phone to ring, praying with each text that it was Lorna.

It never was.

Finally, he emerged from his room, his body wrought with determination, ignoring all calls of his name in favour of storming out of the mansion and heading straight for the airport.

If Lorna didn't feel the same way, he would accept that, but he deserved more than a half-hearted excuse and an apology.

Lorna Dane, a.k.a Polaris, was not having a good day. Guilt over how she had left things with Alex was weighing her down, making her movements seem sluggish and sending a jolt of pain through her heart every time she thought of him.

The night before she'd left had been the best of her life and the memory of his touch and his kiss still ghosted over her skin – but the fear of hearing him say that it meant nothing more than a goodbye had prompted her to attempt to see it the same way, jumping before she was pushed.

"I know you love me. I can feel it."

She did love him.

And she hadn't told him.

"They're waiting for me, Alex. I'm so sorry."

She could explain her reaction at the airport – shock, combined with disbelief. It wasn't until she was on the plane and somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean that her mind caught up with her and she realised what he'd said and how she'd reacted.

What she couldn't explain was why she hadn't yet called him to explain all that.

"Coward." She muttered, kicking the coffee table of her rented apartment as she passed it. She regretted it immediately and hopped over to sink onto the couch, rubbing her foot.

At that point, there was a knock on the door, which broke through her thoughts and forced her to get up to answer the door, only to find …

"Alex?" Lorna gasped.

Alex didn't flinch at her shock, folding his arms over his chest. "We need to talk."

Lorna nodded wordlessly, stepping back to let him into the apartment. "Do you want some coffee?"

"No, thank you." Alex answered, coolly.

"I'm glad you're here." Lorna whispered, sinking back onto the couch. "That is not how I wanted to leave things between us, Alex, but I wasn't expecting you there and … You took me by surprise, alright? And I know I should have said something and I know I should have called, but …"

"Why didn't you?" Alex interrupted, staring at something over her head.

"I was scared." Lorna admitted. "Scared you'd hate me for walking away like that."

Alex sighed and his shoulders slumped. "I could never hate you, Lorna. You're my best friend."

"I thought that's how you saw it." Lorna sighed.

Alex frowned in confusion. "What?"

"The perfect way to say goodbye." Lorna repeated. "I thought that's how you saw it, but I was too scared to hear you say it so I …"

"Said it first." Alex finished, with dawning clarity on his face.

Lorna nodded. "I love you, Alex."

Alex stared at her for a second, before breaking into a grin. "You mean that?"

Lorna smiled. "Yes, of course I mean that."

Alex let out a loud whoop, pulling her to her feet and spinning her round the apartment. Her laughter rang through her living room until he set her on her feet again and kissed her, still grinning against her lips.

When they pulled away, Lorna was in his lap, both of them curled up on the couch.

"I love you so much, Lorna." Alex whispered, kissing her forehead. Then, all at once, he seemed to deflate against her. "And you're still thousands of miles away."

Lorna smiled slightly. "Well, I've been thinking about that …"

By the time Alex walked back through the door of the Institute the next day, Abigail had arrived in New York. She was pacing across the Entrance Hall, watched by her husband and youngest son, who was smirking slightly. "She does realise that Alex is an adult now, right?"

"Ssh." Alex Sr. hushed him. "Not a good time to point that out."

"Where do you think you've been?" Abby demanded. "I've been worried sick!"

"Well, I thought I was in Paris." Alex answered slowly. "But I might've been wrong."

Immediately, Abby's demeanour changed. "Oh, sweetheart … Did you go to talk to Lorna?"

"Yeah, I did." Alex said quietly.

"And?" Kitty asked quietly from the doorway to the rec room. "What happened?"

Alex walked over to her and hugged her. "I'm sorry if it seemed like I was blaming you. I know you were just trying to help."

Kitty relaxed slightly. "It didn't. Not that much anyway."

"What happened?" Scott pressed.

Alex released Kitty, his gaze falling to the floor. "Well …"

"I'm back!" Lorna sung, walking through the front door.

Several jaws dropped and, with a rush of wind, Pietro was standing in front of her. "Lorna? You didn't quit, did you?"

"No, I went to my boss and begged and she transferred me to their office in Manhattan." Lorna chuckled. "It didn't even occur to me until after I got to Paris that I could have done that."

"We all seem to have logic problems for some reason." Kitty commented, as everyone swarmed to welcome her back.

"So you're back for good this time then?" Scott checked.

"Yeah." Lorna answered as Alex returned to her side and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Definitely."

And so, although the millennium had a rocky start, the X-Men were finally moving on from all the prejudice they had encountered.

No one believed it was over – history told them that no form of racism vanished that fast – but they could stop letting it run their lives.

As their lives slowly began to get back to normal – well, as normal as their lives could get anyway – only a few people were aware of the other new couple to have formed in the Institute.

Everyone knew about Alex and Lorna (it was difficult not to) but Roberto and Carole had started dating just before Christmas and somehow kept it under the radar.

Only a few people noticed the shared glances between the two, the brief touches in the rec room and at the dinner table.

The observant smiled knowingly and said nothing, including Kitty, who had long since abandoned her suspicions of Carole and had happily welcomed her with open arms.

One cold day, during the last week of January, the two were curled up in Carole's room, listening to the wind howling outside the window.

Carole's head rested on his chest and he rubbed a hand up and down her back lazily. As he gazed down at her, he couldn't help the little jump his heart gave as he reassured himself, once again, that this beautiful woman was his.

A beeping noise broke the silence and Roberto glanced over to the desk, where Carole's laptop sat. "You've got mail, babe."

"Hmm?" Carole lifted her head sleepily and followed his gaze. "I wonder who that's from." Reluctantly, she disentangled herself from his arms and sat up, reaching over to open the message.

"The eagle has landed." Roberto read over her shoulder. "What the hell's that supposed to mean? Carole?" He caught sight of his girlfriend's face, suddenly pale and scared. "What's wrong?"

"No, no, no …" Carole pulled herself from his embrace and hurried to the window, peering out towards the gates. "We don't have much time."

"Time for what?" Roberto asked in bewilderment.

Carole turned to him, her eyes brimming with tears. "The story I told you all about how I got here is only half-true. My aunt kicked me out a year ago and … I wasn't on the streets …" She took a deep breath. "I was with Magneto … I came here when he teamed up with the Marauders …"

"Magneto teamed up with the Marauders?" Roberto repeated, moving to her side. He could see Magneto now, outside the gates with his new Acolytes. "That's not …" He broke off, staring in horror as the gates opened to allow them access. "Why haven't the alarms gone off?"

"He's disabled them." Carole answered, almost calmly now.

"How?" Roberto demanded. "The security's too good! He'd need the security code and the only people who know that are …" He trailed off, a horrible thought striking him. "That message … it was from him, wasn't it?"

Carole nodded, avoiding his gaze.

"You …" Roberto's head was spinning. "You didn't … Carole?"

Carole swallowed hard. "I'm so sorry."

AN: I know, I know! I got incredibly distracted by Harry Potter and I apologise for the ridiculously long wait, but I still couldn't get Lorna's return to the mansion right in my head (still haven't actually - I don't like that bit). Just be aware that you may be in for another one *ducks* although reviews do tend to speed up the process! (Hint, hint)