Some time later, the Grey sisters and Liz Phillips were sitting in the Dayroom on the second floor of the Xavier Institute's main building, the old mansion that'd been in the headmaster's family for centuries. There were the makings of sundaes, fresh fruit, yogurt and other snacks in a small fridge beside the wet bar, and four women gossiping about things as if they were perfectly ordinary women- -which they were, for the most part, save the genetic quirks that set them apart from others... Three mutants and one alien, all psychic. The fourth woman who entered the room was as uniquely gifted as her peers in matters of beauty, brains and money... The ordinarily peerless Emma Frost found comfort in knowing that she wasn't the "only" one of her kind in the room, and voluntarily lowered the psi-screens around her "public" mind, so that she could join in the telepathic conversation that was occasionally punctuated by giggles and gasps... There had been a dare among the Grey sisters and Liz Phillips to relate their most daring intimate encounters, and Madelyne was relating how her twin sister had spent her wedding night on the wing with her new husband, Warren Worthington III... [You wanna know about Warren and I? That night was... well, this Name may have been Angel, but what we did that night was the stuff of the Devil.] Jean said laughing, [The other guests complained that the new fountain was Pornographic.] Jean had moved the old fountain, then Warren and herself replaced it with their wedding "Dance". Looking back she had no idea how or why they picked a fountain to have sex, but in a weird sort of way, it was fun. Sarah's pewter gray eyes were dancing as she thought of how shocked her late ex had been with her "woman on top" assertiveness--but that hadn't stopped him from cheating on her with some woman who'd "known her place" and later been cause for their divorce... During that bitter experience she'd become involved with someone who loved her unquestioningly and didn't hold her mutant psi-talents against her, as that lover was also a mutant psi-talent as well. Sarah blushed slightly as she looked at her younger twin sisters, [I don't know how much you know about my private life, but I've got one for ya... After Joe and I divorced, I found myself falling in love with my best friend... Someone who *knew* how I felt, and didn't hold being a mutant against me...] Madelyne's eyes widened, and then narrowed as she looked at her nice, "normal" big sister. She turned to Jean, looking for confirmation of whom she suspected as the "secret lover"... Jean nodded, she knew what her Twin was thinking, jean herself had the same Suspicion [You and Pam?] Madelyne exclaimed with a burst of giggles, [I would've never thought that the "aggressive journalist" and the "prim, proper educator" would've gone "there"!!!] [They say it takes all sorts to make the world turn, But i never thought of you as "That Way inclined".] Emma merely raised an ice blonde brow, [And this is problem how?] Liz looked up at the elegant blonde and shrugged, [I don't see an issue, do ye?] [I suppose not,] Emma replied as she used her own modest 'kinetic abilities to scoop some vanilla ice-cream and add fresh strawberries, all while taking a seat on the couch with the other women, [I do believe that love, in whatever form, is much preferable to hate...] Sarah was relieved at the support from the two Englishwomen, and had been somewhat stressed about having to conceal it from her younger sisters, while living and teaching at the same school with them... [I suppose we'll find out how Charles takes it when Pam shows up for that interview thing,] she said, hoping that he wouldn't be too put out over one of *his* twins falling for her best friend. Liz shrugged, [Indeed.... I suppose it's yer turn, Maddie!] The Reserves officer shrugged, [Not much to say, Scott wasn't exactly the type to indulge in uninhibited passion... Strictly missionary... and man on top... Nothing to write home about!] Sarah snorted, [I still don't see what you saw in that guy... he's probably getting off on the stick up his butt!] Maddie laughed, but it still hurt somewhat.... [Yeah, you're probably right... I did meet this rather interesting fellow from the Canadian RAF, a Major Jack Logan, who also works with SHIELD... Maybe you've heard of him, Liz?] She chuckled, her violet braid falling over her shoulder, [A lanky, almost scruffy fellow, all of about 6'? Black hair, hazel eyes?] [Yeah.. that's him, a little rough around the edges, but a very decent, honest person,] Maddie agreed, [Sarcastic sense of humor, but oddly gentle to some folks--he nearly took Stick-in- the-mud's head off when he found out that he and the ex-M-i-L were trying to "oops" me by sabatoging my birth control... Needless to say, I've had a tubal litigation.. I do *not* want kids!] [He's always been a pain] Jean noted. He wanted Kids but he went the wrong way about it. But then anyone who stayed with him long enough to have kids need their heads looking at.] [Bloody toerag,] Liz snarled along the link, [He darkens the doorstep here, I be teaching him a lesson or three... But ye pegged Logan right, luv. He's a good man, fer all his lack of social graces. He knows the Game, and ye can trust him t'watch yer back if yer working him. He decides he likes ye, and somebody else tries to screw around with ye, Logan'll make 'me regret they ever did... and fer that matter, so will I.... Just because I'm blind, it doesn't follow that I can't see better than the sighted!] Maddie felt comforted by that knowledge, and that her two sisters were here, but she had yet to reveal her "secret". [Well, I guess you'd call Logan the first "real" affair I've had,] Maddie continued with a grin, [I think we did it in just about every place one could out at Area 51... even in a "UFO".... I can't tell you gals the rest, or I'd have to "kill" ya... But suffice to say that if we weren't both career officers, he'd be a keeper! So, we're settling for the "friends with benefits" thing... and believe-you-me, he is damn good at what he does... in and outta bed!] [I think we'd all like to know a little about this tall handsome stranger that has his eye on my sister.] Jean said, looking at Maddie. Liz looked knowingly at Maddie, [Suffice to say, I shall vouch for Maddie's veracity. I've been there, but not done that... ] Emma chuckled as their eyes came to rest upon her, and she did her best to look innocent, [Who? Moi? Perish the thought that the 'paragon' before you should sully herself in such a manner.... but since we're having a tête-à- tête here on the topic, I suppose I could share a bit of my experience with you ladies... but one of you has already shared a bit of it, am I correct, Liz?] The Otherworlder shaded a delicate blue-gray and then grinned mischievously, [Quite....I could only wish Wisdom were still around to share. The three of us were in Paris, and the Eiffel Tower was quite the view, wasn't it, Em?] [Indeed, m'dear,] Emma replied, licking her lips at the memory, [That East Ender lad was quite the thing... I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the funeral, Liz... I know he meant a great deal to you-- being your partner and all.] Liz nodded, [S'okay, Em... He didn't make it out--Bea and I were lucky. He and I had parted ways some time back. but we were both professionals.] A single tear slid down the blind psychic's cheek as she thought of her former lover, who had broken her heart and then died on her... It seemed to be her fate... to love someone and then watch them die. [If you want to talk about it, we'd all like to hear about him] Jean said softly. Liz, for all her strength, had lost too many loved ones, it seemed... and that was why she'd retired from SHIELD.... the emotional toll was too great on her--she'd become apathic and that had concerned not only her sister, but the others who had known the woman she was capable of being. Liz's sightless eyes were a darker, more somber shade as she sat, reflecting on Pete Wisdom, whom she'd been rather taken with, despite their radically different origins... ...she appeared to be a daughter of the upper classes, if not the nobility... she certianly was of the gentry. Pete had been a cynical son of London's East End, working class stiffs for parents...but his cunning and his mutant "hotknives" had earned him a spot amongst the elite of MI6. Their passionate affair had been a true case of opposites attracting--and the sparks had been explosive at times! Liz shook her head and "looked" in the general direction of the other women, [I've tired to live without regrets, but.... things between Pete and myself were unresolved at best when he died, and I feel that I'll never really have any closure.... Part of me misses him a great deal, y'see.] [And what about the other part?] Jean asked [...and the other part?] she asked rhetorically, [Would have found a great deal of satisfaction in wringing his bloody, rotten neck myself!] [Sort of like Maddie and Scott.] Jean chuckled. [Warren and i were like that from time to time. It comes with a relationship.] [Sometimes, I want to scream.... or break something....] she revealed, [It just seems like everything I love dies... and I could deal with it if it was old age or something "normal". But it's not.] [It comes with our line of work. SHEILD and other groups like that run dangerous missions all the time. I know from experiance how Jobs like that can end in the death of a loved one.] Jean trailed off, a mental picture of Warren and Jean together, only days before their mission to the morlock tunnels. Liz nodded, [Doesn't mean I have to like it, don't ye think? I be more than human, m'ladies Grey and Frost. Ye'd think that with what I know and the potential I carry, I could protect 'em...] The Otherworlder arose and began pacing the length and breadth of the room, sparks of dark violet energies, not unlike a blacklight's glow... fluttering around her like little butterflies. [I know it doesn't make things any easier, But you can't blame yourself for their deaths. More then human or not, not even you can be in more then one place at once.] Jean added. The Otherworlder arose and began pacing the length and breadth of the room, sparks of dark violet energies, not unlike a blacklight's glow... fluttering around her like little butterflies. [Are you alright Liz?] Jean asked, worried about the Purple haired English women. Jean knew what it was like to lose comeone that close. [*I* can take that kind of work, so can Bea and Vanna...] she continued, her eyes glowing faintly, [But ye don't quite understand what being Otherworlder means, I guess... but now t'is no the time to tell that tale. People like ye can die, can be injured so badly ye might as well be dead...no matter the sort of power ye have.] [True. It's one of the chances we take when we gear up and go out into the field. Doesn't mean we have to like it or get used to it, it just happens. You hope it never does but it happens. But if we didn't do it, then "the Other side" would win. If the X Men had just stayed home 11 years ago, Magneto would have destroyed half the planet. We know the risks when we sign up.] Jean noted. The Otherworlder's healing factor might be fighting the subtle effects of the Kalhua and vodka in the alcholic milkshakes she'd had, but it was just enough to drop her guard a little... o/`It starts with one thing I don't know why It doesn't even matter how hard you try keep that in mind I designed this rhyme To explain in due time All I know Time is a valuable thing Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings Watch it count down to the end of the day The clock ticks life away It's so unreal Didn't look out below Watch the time go right out the window Trying to hold on, but didn't even know Wasted it all just to watch you go I kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when o/` [Do ye not get tired of fighting an endless war, skirmishing here and there, winning some battles, loosing others?] Liz asked, the wearied look on her face belying her seeming youth. She looked far older than the early 20-something she "should" be, [Do ye not get tired of feeling like, no matter what ye do, in the end, nothing ye've done really matters?] [If I thought like that i'd be sat in an office at Worthington Industries and not here. Yes a lot of the time things Don't matter, at least not in the small picture. We have to look at the bigger picture. A picture where for once Humans, Mutants, Aliens everyone gets around without trying to whip each other off the face of the planet.] Jean said o/`I tried so hard And got so far But in the end It doesn't even matter I had to fall To lose it all But in the end It doesn't even matter o/` Sara and Madelyne looked at each other, and Emma's icey blue-grey eyes grew contemplative... There were facets to this woman, who paced restlessly before them, facets of gem that had been through too much, and now there were occlusions and chips to what must have once been a very flawless cut... [No matter what I've done, no matter what Bea, or those fool brothers of mine did... Nothing we've done matters... The bloody, stupid humans still fight over the most trivial things.] she ground out, [They got themselves killed... Our parents were killed because of thier connections to us... My SHIELD unit paid with their lives... Peter Wisdom, Thom Lennox, Dai Thomasi, Allisen Double, Vicki Carstairs, Whitney Frost, All dead... Cassandra Webb, who's blind and in a wheelchair fer the rest of her life... They were good people... and we put our trust in our info officer, Roxie Danvers, but she was a double agent of the Hand... She set us up.] [In the end, none of us mattered...] Liz said quietly, her face a mask of cold anger that had been building for some time, [I will tell ye that the Hand will never be a threat again... Bea and I saw to that. Personally. But, it still doesn't matter... Because somebody else'll take their place.. Ye cut one head off the "hydra" and another grows back in it's place...] o/`One thing, I don't know why It doesn't even matter how hard you try keep that in mind I designed this rhyme, to remind myself how I tried so hard In spite of the way you were mocking me Acting like I was part of your property Remembering all the times you fought with me I'm surprised it got so (far) Things aren't the way they were before You wouldn't even recognize me anymore Not that you knew me back then But it all comes back to me (in the end) You kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when I... (tried so hard) o/` [Do ye know what it's like to watch some one die?] she asked as non- chalantly as if she were discussing stocks or the weather, [And to *feel* someone die? And ye know there's not a bloody damned thing you can do to save them?] [Actually yes. I was there when my husband killed himself. But for weeks before that i could fel him slipping away. Everyday he took another step closer to his own grave. I tried to talk him around, so did Charles and Scott but we couldn't stop him. So don't talk to me about losing someone close, you're not the only one.] Jean replied, a little Madder then she would have liked [All ye can do is promise them that ye'll make the bastages responsible pay.... in kind and with interest...] Liz continued, her mindvoice dull and flat, yet her sightless eyes glowed with a faint inhuman light. Emma was chilled by the cold, detatched state of mind coming from the Otherworldly telepath. It was as though Liz had, literally, shut off her emotions... She shot a look at Jean, and a tendril of heavily shielded thought, [Good God, Jean--can you "feel" her? They call me cold, ruthless and aloof... How long do you think it'll be before she "blows"? And more importantly, how do we "reach" her before she does?] [I have no idea Emma. The past can sometimes take over. I'm not sure if we can reach her.] Jean noted. Maddie shivered as well. Her military experience told her that soemthing was *very* wrong, but she knew the Englishwoman was a telepath on par with Jean--and her best way of communicating with her sister was via the deep link they'd shared since birth... [Jean? Emma?] she asked, feeling Emma's presence in her twin's mind as well, [Does the term "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" ring any bells?] [Yeah. Plus it's been brewing for a while by the sounds of it. We've got to do something and fast.] Emma "nodded" along the tightly shielded link, watching Liz go to the bar and pour herself an hefty shot of Stoli and toss it back, [Aye, it does, Madelyne. Liz almost reminds me of my mentor when I last saw her...alot of anger and frustration bottled up, like a batch of tri-nitro-toluene left to sit in the sun for far too long...] [Liz, Can you hear me? If you can you been to calm down.. This isn't good for you. The past in just that, it's in the past. We can't let it control our lives now. People have died, People will die, it's an imperfect world. We do what we can, no more. We can't let the past control us, because it can destroy us if we do.] Jean said. [I understand what yer saying, Jean,] she said as she slowly turned around, the full weight of who and what she was showing in her face, [But ye still don't get it... *Humans* die. *Mutants* die. Otherworlders don't. We *can't*. We don't age. We don't get sick. We get to watch those things happen to the people we love... the people we hate...and it's always the same.] [We are blessed and cursed with being "more than mortal"...] she said, her sightless eyes flickering as the swirl of butterflies faded, [Otherworld is eternal, as are it's people.] I never knew... Ok that changes things. But not much. Yes You'll outlive everyone. But their never truley dead if you remember them. What they lived for, what they stood for. Sometimes memories are all we have and they can be powerful.] [That's why Bea, Cass and I made it out..] Liz explained slowly, almost as if she were talking to children, [My sister and I are full Otherworlder, though we're a mix of races native to that place, Cassandra is half-human-- half-mortal. She will recover, but more slowly than Bea and I...] [But she'll live. She survived. Dispite what you think, you didn't kill your team.] Jean commented [Had *I* had a better grip on this Sight-gift of mine, we might have stood a snowball's chance in Hades of avoiding that setup, ladies.] she said sternly, though the effect was directed solely at herself, [I expect better of myself...and my best wasn't good enough, so half a dozen good people paid the price for my mistake....and that is ... unacceptable.] [It happened, Sight gift or not we can't always do what needs to be done to save people's lives. Fate is like that. We can't change it no matter how much we wish we could.] Jean said. [Perhaps,] Liz acceeded, [But that still doesn't

absolve me of responsibility, Jean...]

The Otherworlder's dark head snapped toward the door seconds before the faint creak of the hinges announced the arrival of Sarah's daughter, Gailyn.

[Mom? There's an old lady really nearby who's in alotta pain...] the young healer explained, [I can't sleep...]

Sarah arose from her seat and went to her daughter, [S'alright, sweetie. You want some warm milk?]

[Not really...] the teenager admitted, [I just wanna see if I can make the pain go away...]

Mother embraced daughter gently, [Remember what Auntie Jean and I said about shielding before you go to bed?

It's just like brushing your teeth: it's something you have to make a habit!]

Maddie winked at the girl, [Gotta keep everybody outta your head just like you would keep 'em outta your diary, right, kiddo?]

Emma suppressed a giggle at the thought of what might be in the more daring Grey twin's diary, but quickly censored the thoughts in front of a 14 year old girl!

Galyn looked around, [You guys are doing a "slumber party" for psychics and I wasn't invited?]

Then her eyes fell onto the tall, dark form of Liz--her eyes widened as her healer's senses were flooded with information about a whole different biochemistry and physiology...

[Who...what *are* you?] she blurted out, without really thinking, [And why can't I "feel" you?]

Liz turned slowly in the shadowed area of the lamp-lit Dayroom, her face hauntingly, yet terrifyingly beautiful to the would-be healer, [Something out of yer not-so-average faerie-tale, m'dear child... And don't concern yerself about the affairs of "old ladies"... ye might not like what ye discover!]

Galyn stared at her, wide grey eyes taking in the sight of the first true alien she'd ever seen, [You.. you're not human... a real... a real alien?]

[Aye, lass,] Liz replied, cocking her head to one side as she regarded the girl, stopping in a pool of light from a lamp so that the girl got a good look at her, [From the Otherworld... though there be a trace of human in my mum's side of the family.]

Emma and Madelyne watched the interaction between the powerful, battle- weary ex-SHIELD agent and a naive teenager who was optimistic enough to think she could heal the world if she tried hard enough...

Galyn slowly realised that the Otherworlder was blind, and during a brief moment, she felt the flood of decades of pain, loss and bitterness before Liz locked it down behind shields that even Emma wouldn't tackle lightly.

[How do you live with it?] the youngest Grey psychic asked, her curiousity outwieghing her fear for the moment, [So much pain? And the loss? Are you some kind of "faerie"?]

[I don't have a choice, lass...] Liz replied, a flicker of power shifting as her iron will reasserted itself, [...after a while, you become accustomed to it. And wheather I be a good or bad "faerie"...]

The ghost of a smile that flickered across her face, as she enjoyed the effect she had on the girl, was a touch dangerous, [As I said, Galyn Guinevere: Don't meddle in the affairs of "old ladies"... and I'll give ye a piece of advice, t'boot. Always remember that old age and treachery will forever triumph over youth and idealism...]

Sarah touched Liz's shoulder gently, [That's enough for now... Don't need to give her nightmares, now...]

Liz shot a look over her shoulder at the educator, [Fair enough... But that's not t'say that I can't give her a dream, eh?]

Sarah looked between her daughter and the Otherworlder, unsure of what to make of the offer just tendered.

She put an arm around Galyn, [Come on, sweetie... I'll tuck you in and Liz can give you a dream...]

With that, mother and daughter left the Dayroom, while Liz looked at the twins and Emma, [Ah, the naivity of youth... I suppose I'll indulge her passion for Camelot with a look at the place... albiet suitable for her age.]

Emma and Maddie both breathed a sigh of relief when Liz's mind seemed to loose the "shadows" and bleakness

for the time being.

[I think that Galyn may have just aborted..whatever..Liz was feeling,] Maddie mentioned through the deep rapport she shared with her twin, [That kid just got really, really lucky... and she doesn't even know it!]

Jean smiled and looked at her sister. Liz seemed to have calmed down after little Galyn had left. She was returning to the mindset Jean had noted when they first met. [You're telling me, i thought for a minute then she was going to snap. Lets not tell Galyn what could have happened.]

[No shit, sis,] Maddie replied, her eyes glittering a bit, [I'm glad this is over!]

Jean stood up, Her legs ached from being crossed so long.

[Maybe you should get some sleep Liz, The last few hours have been a trail for all of us.]

She watched the Otherworlder's face as Liz thought about the idea.

[I think yer right..] she said softly, [I'll have a hot toddy... and head up...] [That sounds like a good idea, I like i'll do the same, Goodnight ladies.] Jean nodded to Maddie and Emma and left the room.