It has been a long time since Charles Xavier's first band of merry mutants have sat down and really hung out again. So, it was Jean's decision to invite them over to the Summer Home. Think of it as their second housewarming party if they hadn't already spent it with Corsair the Starjammers first.
Granted, most of them had jobs to do like how Jean worked for the Quiet Council or how Scott had his place as one of the Great Leaders. Others such as Bobby Drake better known as Iceman traveled around as a Marauder, and Hank McCoy (Beast) as part of data analysis. Whatever that means. Warren Worthington on the other hand didn't really have a specific place as of yet but he wasn't going to let on how he hasn't contributed to the greater good of Krakoa. He just hid it with his charming smile and charisma and his friends overlooked it.
It was nice to be together once more, and for a numerous amount of reasons, Charles wasn't invited. Not only because he was swamped with work, but who really wants to drink with an imposing mentor figure around? Vulcan was definitely thankful for that.
Speaking of Gabriel Summers, he felt uneasy trying to socialize with the First Class, mutants who he had vast respect for, but respect that had diminished at one point in his life. Even living in the Summer Home, Gabe found it hard to be around Jean by the least, so being around the other three was immensely difficult.
Alex on the other hand spent a lot of time with these mutants and shared in their endeavor of being trapped on Krakoa initially before the Second Class (really the third if you count Gabriel and his friends) came to save them. Lorna Dane or Polaris also shared in this experience and was even invited to come over all well but she politely refused as she always did. Must have something to do with Alex.
No matter. The five of them and the rest of the Summers clan congregated around the dining area, swapping stories from the last time they saw each other while lightly commenting how nice the view from space was.
Cyclops did pick one helluva view.
At some point during the night, Nathan and Rachel joined in on telling stories. And while out of the two, Rachel had spent more time with the original five, that didn't stop Nathan from oversharing.
As a matter of fact, they did have a vague memory of this Cable sending their time displaced teenage selves back where they belong but that's quite it. Bobby, Hank, and Warren weren't quite used to the idea of old man Cable being dead and having this wet behind the ears Cable being around. Especially since this kid killed the older one.
God, it seemed everything surrounding Nathan Summers had to be overly complicated.
Nonetheless, it didn't change their view that Nathan wasn't nothing more than "Kid Cable." Didn't help that when he was retelling the story of how he found his sword that he had a voice crack.
By the look on their faces, Nathan could tell they wanted to laugh. In Rachel's case, she actually snorted, eliciting some chuckles from Bobby Drake.
This caused Jean to come to her son's aid, saving him some of the embarrassment.
"That was nice Nathan, how about you step off the soapbox for a moment hm?" she offers.
Nathan frowned and did exactly that, taking his seat next to his sister. They exchanged some swats at each other before settling down.
Warren stirred and rested his elbow on his knees, nursing his beer in his hand. "A sword you say. Wasn't old Cable all about guns?"
"Yeah," Bobby chimes in. "Aren't you from the future? Wouldn't a sword be a little too archaic?"
Nathan sharply inhaled and turned toward the two with an expression between a strange smile and wide dilated eyes. "It wouldn't matter anyway when I stab the two of you with my sword." he said ominously.
Warren and Bobby exchange nervous glances because one could never be sure with somebody named Cable.
Scott decides to intervene and alleviate the tension. "Ookay… Nathan, how about you bring us some chips from the kitchen alright?"
"Get it yourself." Nathan mumbled.
Now it was Scott's turn to give the death glare. You didn't need to see his eyes to know it, his looks could actually kill. One step farther and Scott might've blasted Nathan where he sat.
Quickly, Nathan sprang up from his seat. "Right of course father, right away." he said and he departed toward the kitchen.
Then Scott turned back toward the others and changed the subject. "So Bobby," he says. "How are things with being on the Marauders?"
Bobby's eyes went vacant. "Kitty's dead."
"Oh."
"She can't be resurrected."
Scott then quickly turned to Hank before things could get too awkward, "So how is data analysis?"
"As you would imagine it to be." Hank replies curtly. Seems that Alex wasn't the only one with a growing attitude problem. More so than ever, Hank has been growing increasingly distant and strayed farther than his initial pacifist disposition. It was very worrisome but no one made light of it.
"Learn anything new about Krakoa?" Scott asked as a follow up question.
"Only that there seem to be telepathic dead zones."
Their gazes shift toward Jean and Rachel out of curiosity.
Rachel blinked. She clearly hasn't been paying attention after Nathan left but she caught up fairly quickly. "Don't look at me," she says, somewhat defensive. "People need their privacy. Sometimes telepaths can't help but read thoughts. If you ask me, that's a good thing."
Truthfully, Rachel wasn't as good at blocking out other's thoughts as Jean was simply due to Jean's experience and work with Charles Xavier. This didn't stop Jean from catching stray musings either, so she was rather indifferent to the topic.
Once Nathan returned with a bowl of chips, Bobby's cheery disposition had returned and he was smiling once more.
"Okay, but real talk, now that we're a country and all, does that make Professor X our king?" The Iceman asked.
"He isn't our sole leader." Scott points out, being one of the Great Leaders himself. "Besides, he's on the Quiet Council."
"That would make Krakoa an oligarchy, being ruled by the few." Hank chimes in.
Bobby mulls over this information as Warren gives in his two cents.
"But he and good ole Magneto were the ones who started all this." he says. "What does that make them?"
"Founding Fathers?" Jean questions.
Bobby smacked his teeth. "Man, how long have we been here? I'm already confused now. I think we need a history book, not that I'll ever read it… but still."
Hank seemed delighted to step up to the plate. "I'll do it. We need to record our culture for future generations anyway. Why not start now?"
Warren scoffed lightly, "We just need a history book for the X-Men in general."
"Word."
Nathan furrowed his brows as he listened to the adults. He caught onto something strange.
"Wait… if we're going through all this now, how come I've never learned of this in the future?" The boy questioned, rapidly becoming filled with existential dread.
He was met with silence and questioning stares.
"Nathan," Rachel finally says, "have you been drinking beer? Are you drunk?"
"What? No! Listen to me— if I had nothing to do with Krakoa, I didn't change time. Krakoa as a country never existed where I'm from." Nathan states carefully.
"Well you said it yourself, time is changing. Perhaps your very presence has altered it." Hank replied critically. He would know too. Goddamned time displaced First Class.
Nathan grit his teeth with annoyance, very close to giving up on the subject altogether. "But," he reinstates, "if I'm not changing time, then maybe someone else is. Think about it."
"Krakoa never happened in the future where I'm from either, or maybe time altered to accommodate for it and all of it's history has been wiped." Rachel debunks carefully. Thinking about the timeline hurt all of their brains and it was indeed time to stop.
"Either way, sounds like something bad will happen to Krakoa." Warren says, taking a swig of his drink. He hadn't been thinking when he said that, but once out of his mouth it felt all too real.
Hank deflects the statement. "Krakoa is meant to withstand. That is why we have our laws in safety protocols in place."
"Yeah, but ever heard of the Titanic?" Warren inquired.
Everyone was getting all hot and bothered for their liking and for a distraction, Jean proposed that Nathan get back up there on his soapbox and tell another story banking that he'll have another voice crack to ease up the tension with some laughter. It might have been a devious thing for a mother to do, but Jean read the room.
After all they've been through, they needed this break. The X-Men have been through a stupid amount of melodrama and they didn't need to dwell on it right now.
They were having a second house party after all, you don't get to have the First Class all in one room often.
Even if they've changed for better or for worse, they let the pain inducing subject go and continued to exchange light banter in spite of themselves.
They really needed to do this again sometime.