( Volume: 4 Arc: "Life and Death" Issue: 1/4 )

Chapter 154 : party at a funeral

"Seriously…you want me to take them to the mall?" Julian asked.

Across from him sat Emma Frost, the sunlight streaming through her blinds causing her diamond-skin to glitter softly. She had a hard expression as she clasped her fingers, the nails
biting into the wood of her desk.

"It will be an excellent bonding exercise," Emma said. "As well as a stress-relieving activity. These children have heard enough bad news this term to last them a lifetime." She was, of course,
referring to the constant war-atmosphere that cloaked the mansion, to each day's casualty report that almost seemed like a news reel.

Just that morning, a teacher—Karma—had been a victim. The school had reeled from the loss. Another teacher had been injured seriously and was in the infirmary, unconscious.

"I guess," Julian said. "Laura's coming with me—I don't want to leave her alone right now."

"Of course not," Emma said, her eyes sympathetic. "I understand. And—Julian—the funeral will be today. At three. You can take them tomorrow, at twelve o' clock."

Down the hallway in the library, Daken flicked a page in the magazine his eyes were trained on—but it was hardly the object of his concentration. A few minutes before Ms. Frost had walked Julian to
her office, he had passed by the headmistress and whispered in her ear: "If I were you, I wouldn't walk around in such a vulnerable, fleshy state." A whiff of pheromones had shot through the air like
a dart, and Emma had nodded imperceptibly, her skin slowly starting to glitter. More importantly, she was withdrawing herself from the psychic network.

"What a good idea. Thank you, Daken," she'd said, her voice distant.

He listened as Emma gave Julian instructions for the next day.

...

"The mall?" Laura asked, wrinkling her nose as she examined a black dress on a hanger in a critical manner. They were preparing for the funeral; Julian had his suit laid out on the bed, and Laura was dressed in a slip, choosing an outfit.

"Yeah. Frost figured it'd take their mind off things." He picked up his shirt. "I want you to come. I don't…don't want you alone now, especially after…"

"Sure. Need more soap anyway," Laura said. She turned to him, holding the dress up against her slightly bulging figure; at four months along, she was beginning to show telltale signs.

"Think this'll fit anymore?"

"Give it here," Julian said. She passed the dress over; he touched it, and it stretched slightly across the waist.

"Oh, awesome. You're kind of like a swiss army knife, y'know?"

"Yep," Julian said, pulling his shirt on. "You sure the Shrimps will behave? Wouldn't want to cause a—"

"They don't understand what's going on, but they do know it's serious time," Laura said confidently. "And I don't want to be separate from them. Period."

"Wasn't suggesting that," Julian said.

...

"Xi'an Coy Manh—or "Shan" as she was known to her friends—was a kind and loving soul. What she has given to us will live on; her legacy is her children, and her siblings…" Kurt Wagner's voice echoed through the small
cemetery, his face drawn and tight, as was his voice. In his three-fingered hands sat a bible, held open to a passage he had picked to read for his friend.

Julian and Laura now sat closer to the front than they had before, being faculty; although Karma's squad was first in the arrangement (having known her better than most of the others). Beside them sat his teammates, and
other faculty members (Logan had sat beside Laura, and halfway through the service took Nate on his lap).

After the service, some of the attendees gathered in the mansion's parlor for a luncheon, and the air was somber—not only for the loss of a mentor, but for the fear that each individual harbored.

Who would be next?

Some of Julian's teammates were quite affected by Karma's passing, as their old mentor, Dani Moonstar, could be seen in the corner brooding. Nori, Josh and Sofia had gone to her, trying to offer what comfort they could.

"I feel so bad for them," Cessily murmured to Julian.

"This is stupid," Julian said angrily. "I've lost so many people already. Brian. Nori. Laura. What do these people want? What—oops," he'd gestured with his hand and spilled his glass of wine on Laura's front.

"Watch it—I hear you can't get alcohol on babies!" she said, brushing her slightly-bulging stomach off. "It's like getting Gremlins wet. And what do you mean, you lost me? I'm standing right here, you even spilled something on me."

"Okay, I almost lost you. Close enough. My point is, what do they want from us?"

"To stop living," Cessily said quietly. "They won't stop till we're dead. All of us."

Silence.

"Well, guess I won't bother changing outfits then…that's going to be a lot of funerals," Laura grumbled, kicking the carpet with her toe. Rachel tugged at her pantyhose, murmuring something to her mother.

"But we just went…oh, alright, here," Laura knelt and picked the little girl up. Julian and Cessily watched as she carried her daughter towards the restroom in a brisk, no-nonsense manner.

"You're lucky you got her back, Julian," Cessily said softly. "You came so close to losing her…"

"I know," Julian said. "I'll never let anything hurt them again." He held his glass tightly, and Cessily looked at him, getting the sense that he had taken care of whatever had been responsible for hurting Laura the first time.

Over his shoulder, her eyes settled on Sofia, whose gaze was on Julian. The girl suddenly saw Cessily's questioning face and looked away quickly.

"That's good," she said vaguely, in response to Julian. "You know, you should probably go make sure your squad is okay. The kids haven't seen a lot of death before…I'm sure this is hard on them."

"They'll be fine…they have to grow up sometime," Julian said.

"Julian!" Emma Frost was approaching them, still in diamond form. They turned.

"I want you to go speak with your students, and ensure they are coping with this tragedy correctly. No ifs, ands or buts, do it."

"…" Julian rolled his eyes and went to look for the kids, while Cessily half-smiled.

…

Julian went in search of his students, and happened upon his brother first.

James was standing with a glass of wine in the corner, talking to Mindee Cuckoo.

He decided to start there; approaching, he cleared his throat.

"Why are you drinking?" he demanded.

"Look at the pot calling the kettle black," James grunted, not bothering to look at him, but trading smiles with Mindee.

"You're underage," Julian argued.

"Oh—come, Julian, it's a difficult time for him," Mindee said suddenly. Julian hadn't heard her speak without her sisters in almost perfect unison, and found it quite unusual. He raised his eyebrow.

"Where are the other Cuckoos?" he asked.

"Elsewhere," Mindee said mysteriously. She placed her hand on James's shoulder. "I should be returning to them. Remember what I said—keep your chin up, and—"

"Mmindee!" Came the other Cuckoo's voices, as they suddenly appeared from between two funeral goers. They appeared to be distressed. "Hhow could you separate from us at a time like this?"

Mindee turned to them. "It doesn't matter. Let's go see Ms. Frost now."

Julian watched the Cuckoos link arms and disappear into the crowd, then turned to his brother again.

"So….you and Mindee Cuckoo, huh?" he asked.

"No! Well, maybe." James looked embarrassed. "I kind of like her…but…I don't think I'm ready to be close to anyone, with my powers…no telling what could go wrong."

Julian sighed. "I'm going to give you a piece of advice—don't wait. If you think she's right, don't wait to tell her. Follow your heart and not what you think is going to go wrong. With things the way they are now…you might not have time."

"I guess," James said. He frowned. "I don't want to be special anymore. Can't I…can't I just go back to what I was?"

"Nope," Julian said. "And you know you wouldn't anyways."

"No," James admitted.

Julian patted his shoulder, then brightened. "Hey—I have an idea. I need some help with your teammates...Frost said I have to cheer them up. Maybe you can amplify what I'm feeling?"

"You'd have to be happy yourself for that to work," James said pointedly. "Besides, I'm nowhere in control enough to try something like that in public."

Julian paused, then grinned, having another idea.

…

"Mr. Keller…s" Emma Frost said, her voice as icy as her glare.

Julian sat beside James; in his lap was Nate, sucking his thumb innocently.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?" Scott asked from the corner.

"It…seemed like a good idea at the time?" Julian tried.

"You sure got yourself a catch there," Logan mumbled to Laura, who was holding Rachel and looking quite annoyed herself. And frazzled. "A true genius."

"Good lord, what on earth would make you think that having your untrained, volatilely powerful brother project the unrestrained happiness that your son feels when given candy?" Emma asked, her eyes popping.

Julian looked down. "Okay, so maybe it wasn't the best idea ever…but I meant well. I was just trying to cheer everyone up!"

"I think you did that," Scott said dryly. He was referring to the effect of Julian's 'great idea'.

This idea had consisted of giving Nate—the little boy that experienced a crazy sugar high when given candy—a Pixy Stix straw, and having James amplify the emotion of pure joy to Julian's students.

It hadn't stopped there. Dr. McCoy had murmured that the effects were similar to a strange hybrid of LSD and Ecstasy; the entire after-funeral lunch had suddenly become a crazed, euphoric party
that had destroyed the mansion's parlor.

"Wish candy made me feel like that," Laura grumbled.

"…" Emma sighed, rubbed her head, then pointed at the door. "Go. I am entirely too tired to deal with this now. Take your students for an outing tomorrow…and please, think before pulling little exercises like this."