Disclaimer: Not our characters, used for fun and not profit. Random Fact: The voice actor for Scott was on an episode of First Wave; he played a football jock guy, much like Duncan. Weird yes? Author Notes: Part of the whole Mutatis Mutandis timeline, if you were smart you would have already read all the other parts, if you haven't yet, do it now.
NOW!
www.originofspecies.cjb.net

Fallout - Part 2
By starched_undergarments (aka 'kitten')

There were no goodbyes.

Clarice Ferguson stood on the cold cement stairs, looking up at the towering apartment building, her eyes wet. Her bag and heart were heavy.

She hated leaving them, hated that she couldn't have hugged them all one last time, hated that she couldn't even say farewell. But she couldn't - if she had then Magneto would find out that she was leaving, and that was a confrontation that she didn't want to face.

He was still dear to her. Erik had helped her, but she no longer believed it was he that had saved her, had rescued her like some sort of prince on a white horse. She had saved herself from the torments of her father by opening her eyes, metaphorically and literally.

And now those crystal eyes closed and tears slipped down her cheeks as she began to walk towards her future.

***

The hallway was bright in comparison to the darkness she had been sitting in for over an hour, making her squint as she walked down towards the Coke machine at the end of the hall. She barely noticed when a hand gently touched her shoulder; she jumped and whirled around, half expecting it to be Mystique or one of Magneto's little soldiers.

"Whoa whoa! Hold up, I aint gonna hurt you, yo."

Rogue held back a smile when she realized that is was only Toad. She relaxed and put a hand to her head.

"Sorry, Ah just…."

"S'okay, just, you nearly clocked me one." He grinned, his teeth yellowed and in dire need of an orthodontist. He walked with her to the Coke machine and punched in a few bucks. "So what are you doing out here, yo?"

"Ah needed a drink. Me and Wanda have been discussing music for about three hours now," she said as he opened his can and leaned against the machine. Todd nodded and took a sip.

"You two becoming friends?"

"Ah guess so," she said, pushing the button for a Sprite.

"That's cool, yo." He paused, obviously uncomfortable about what he was going to ask next, "Urmmm, does she like, ever mention me?"

She sipped her Sprite and looked at him. "Maybe…" she said, wording it carefully. "Are you sure you wanna know though? It's pretty bad."

He shrugged and leaned further against the machine. "It's okay, I'm tough."

Rogue winced and then proceeded to tell Todd just what Wanda thought of him. Truthfully. With each sentence she could see the poor boys heart and pride drop another notch. When she finished, she almost felt bad for him.

They stood in silence, awkward silence, until he cleared his throat and stood up tall.

"Well, like my momma always used to say, if at first you don't succeed, try and try again." He grinned stupidly up at Rogue's shocked face. "Sides yo, I wouldn't love her if she didn't put up some sort of a fight."

And with that he strode back to his room, head held high, whistling.

***

It was cold outside.

Scott Summers shivered and rubbed his hands over his arms again. He was standing on the small patio that was connected to his room; through the glass he could see Kurt snoozing, curled up on the bed.

He returned his gaze to the night's sky, wondering what the stars really looked like. He couldn't quite remember. Every sky, sunset, sunrise, flower he had ever seen was lost to him now, the bright vivacious colors of life were now muted, foggy.

They were all red now.

Red.

It almost seemed funny in a sick sort of way that red was the only color he could see now. He had once loved the color, loved the rich passionate feel to it, how amongst all the other colors red always seemed to be the most vivid.

His hand wandered absently to his face, remembering that when his mutant powers had first manifested all he had seen was a flash of red, intense and powerful.

And then nothing.

Nothing until the Professor had come along, his voice so gentle and calm, soothing. He had cried, naturally, trying to explain to this man how scared he was, how grateful he was to have someone talking to him, being in the same room as him.

"My eyes, I can't open them. " He had wept, his hands shaking against his face. ""I can't see, every time I open them….oh god…there's blood."

Scott felt a small tremor go through his body, the powerful scent of crimson memories drifting up to meet him.

"My eyes….."

"Hey there, handsome," a voice said from behind him. He turned and saw Jean, closing the patio door behind her, her hair whirling about her face dramatically.

"What are you looking at?"

He chuckled and she came over to him. "Funny you should ask that…" he mused and she looked up at him, confused.

"Why?"

"No reason. How are you doing?"

She sighed and leaned against him. "Honestly? I don't know, I feel…."

"Useless?" He offered and she nodded. He wrapped an arm around her and hugged her.

"Me too."

"I hate waiting," she pouted and he laughed.

"Used to getting what you want, when you want it huh?"

She giggled and looked up at him. "Always," she stated, and then kissed him.

He pulled back after a few moments, his face flushed. "Jean? What…I mean…do you…I…" He stammered and she put a finger to his lips.

"Shhhhh…" She tapped his forehead gently. "You don't have to say a word - your thoughts are deafening."

He blushed and she hugged him tightly, as the stars above twinkled endlessly.

***

The road was lonely and dark. Clarice sighed and pulled the hood of her coat up further against the chill. She had phoned the number on the small card that Xavier had given her at Senator Hull's place and had talked to the Professor, who had offered to come out and get her but she had refused. She feared that if Xavier got anywhere near Magneto's base he would instantly know and the result would be another fight. Besides, she needed time to think and collect her thoughts and feelings.

So she had gotten their location and had set out on the road. It was a full 24 hours after she'd left the Acolytes, and now she found herself on a deserted highway. She walked steadily alongside the road, her bag weighing comfortably against her back.

*An' Xavier's a fool.*

Jonothon's words echoed in her mind, and she stuffed her hands deeper into her coat pockets and clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. Jonothon was her best friend, her first real friend really, and she loved him to death, but sometimes he could be so damn trying.

He was hurting - she knew that. She also knew what he thought of himself, that he was some kind of monster, a walking Frankenstein's creation, alone and unloved.

Clarice, of course, thought this was a load of crap.

To her, he wasn't a monster, he wasn't ugly, and she wished that one day he would see that. Yes, the lower portion of his face was gone, as was his chest, but he still had his eyes, those beautiful brown eyes that held so much emotion and personality. And his actual body was still intact; he still had hands, legs, and his manhood. In fact, St. John had made a comment on that very subject one night, proclaiming that it was better to loose one's 'mug' than one's 'equipment.'

Clarice chuckled to herself. Out of all the Acolytes St. John was the most chipper; his good-natured teasing and brass nature made him a delight to be around. He never took anything too seriously and his motto in life was to eat, drink, screw and be merry.

And speaking of screwing….

Remy Le Beau was without a doubt, a ladies man. Smooth, suave, and sexy to boot, there had been more than one occasion on which he had returned home late, or early in the morning. On one of these said instances she had been up and in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for the boys when they awoke. Remy had breezed through the door, and she had raised an eyebrow at him.

"Busy night Remy? " she had asked, and he grinned, leaning lazily in the doorframe.

"You could say that, chere…..."

Yet like anything else, not all of it had been fun.

"Piotr?"

It had been cold outside, even in her sweater she had felt it. He sat on one of the white patio chairs with his head hanging down and his massive shoulders slumped.

She had knelt down in front of him and gently took on of his hands, her own small and delicate in comparison, his strong and callused from years of hard labor.

"What's wrong?"

He didn't say anything at first, but that wasn't unusual: Piotr was the epitome of the 'strong and silent' type.

"Is it your family?" She had asked and he nodded.

"Illyana is sick."

Clarice knew how much Piotr's little sister meant to him. He had shown her many pictures, his eyes sparkling with love and pride. Her being sick and so far away was hurting him immensely. She had hugged him tightly, and he returned it gratefully, their forms illuminated by the cold street lamps below.

Now, walking alone in the darkness she could feel a great welt of sadness grow in her heart. She missed them terribly already, and the temptation to go back was growing, but she had made her decision and she had to stick with it.

"Besides," she said to the cold road, "I'll see them again. I know it."

***

It had been five days since they had checked in at the hotel, and at present time it was roughly four thirty in the morning. Evan Daniels lay awake, listening to his roommate, Fred Dukes, snore.

"I can't take much more of this," he muttered to himself and got up, quietly put on pants and left the room. He wandered down the hall and found Kurt stationed at the vending machine, his butt pushed against the glass and his tail inside the machine.

"Urmm Kurt? Do I even want to know?" He questioned and the blue mutant grinned sheepishly.

"It bogarted my candy," he explained, his tail hooking around a few Snicker bars, "and Kitty isn't awake to phase through it, so I thought I'd improvise!"

Evan laughed and watched as Kurt's prehensile tail knocked out an array of chocolate bars and sugary snacks. Kurt grinned as he removed his tail, and the two sat on the floor, munching away.

"Any idea how long we're gonna hold up here?" Evan asked, figuring that if anyone knew Kurt would - he was rooming with Scott, after all.

"No idea, but at least zis place is better than that other hole we stayed at."

Evan chuckled. "Yeah, that place was right out of a bad porno movie or something. Plastic Wrap on everything!"

The sound of approaching footsteps silenced their muffled laughter; Evan peered around the vending machine and saw Logan walking towards them, with someone in tow.

"Chill," he said to Kurt, who was getting ready to bamf out of sight. "Its just Logan."

The two stepped out, brushing off chocolate crumbs and litter.

"Hey Logan, what's up?" Evan asked, noticing that Logan was fully dressed and had a cup of coffee in one hand.

"Do me a favor Porcupine, go wake the Professor. Tell him his guest has arrived."

Evan nodded and sauntered down the hall, Kurt turned and gave a Logan an inquisitive look, "Guest?" he asked.

Logan nodded and stepped aside for Kurt to see. "You might remember her from Senator Hull's place. Elf this is…"

"Ze Engel…." He mused and then blushed furiously when she giggled.

"I'm Clarice," she said softly, her eyes warm. Logan groaned as Kurt stumbled his way through a half German introduction.

A door opened and the Professor came out into the hallway, smiling.

"Ah Clarice, wonderful to see you, child. Come, you must be tired from your trip, we'll let you rest and then in the morning you can meet everyone else."

It was a time for greetings.

***

End Part 2

Quick Notes: Did you catch the line from the X-men Evolution comics? If you did you get a cookie! I tried very hard in this chapter to include X-men and Brotherhood people who weren't previously used, as well as give you a little peek into how Clarice sees each Acolyte member. I also got the whole Scott/Jean romance thing started, I unlike the show am not going to sit around and take five freaking years! It might seem a bit sudden but let's face it, Jean's a girl who knows what she wants and goes for it, that and I need them together for I have plans………plans I say! Mwahahaha.