Disclaimer:  I don't own X-men: Evolution.  Never have, and most likely, never will.  I sure as heck don't own the new blockbuster movie _Pirates of the Caribbean_.  Bleagh.  And, really, I don't even own the plot.  I had written myself into a corner, and my boyfriend rescued me with this incredibly clichéd and beautiful chapter.  Thank you.  I love you, honey.

Alex

I guess I'm in shock.  That must be the only reason why I actually stopped when Lorna called.  The rational side of me, what I call "Scott", was screaming at me to run.  If I don't get out now, I know the undertow of all these whacked out emotions will drag me down.

But I stop.  Scott, and my brain with him, is turning the corner out of sight.  I'm all on my own now.  All on my own...  On...my...own.  Help!

"Alex," Lorna puffs, breathing hard.  Her face looks sort of red, maybe from running, maybe from emotion.  "I think I said something wrong.  I just..." She looks kind of confused.  Guess I can't blame her.  "I just don't know what it is."

"Honestly?  Me neither."  How come they never cover this sort of conversation in seventh grade?  They tell us all about our "changing bodies", but nothing about talking to girls.  "Um."  How did we get to this point?  Well, there was her running out of the door, me walking by...  really, I don't think either of us would have been on this side of the coast if I hadn't taught her surfing.  But why had she gone along with me to begin with?  "Lorna, want to see a movie with me?"  Why did I say that?  What in the world led to that?  I am so stupid.  Well, I guess it's better than nothing.

She has this completely unreadable look on her face.  That's something else I want to do.  I want to be able to know what girls are thinking.  Especially what Lorna's thinking.  "Uh, sure."  Then, she says something to herself, "I've already got the who, so what, when, where, why, how?"

Whoa!  All those questions...the horror!  Okay, here we go.  "What: um, ­_Pirates of the Caribbean_?"  When she nodded a little, I went on.  "When: I'll...get back to you on that.  Where: the closest movie theater, why: I... I'll get back to you on that, too.  And how: I guess Scott can drive us.  Did I answer them all?"  She nodded again, I guess a little dumbstruck.

"Well, um, I'll see you," Lorna says over her shoulders as she practically runs to her room, probably to get her backpack set for school.  I head to my own room, a little happier.  Well, at least I had asked her out, right?  That's what I'd been asking Scott about, and I got it done.

But this doesn't feel like it should.  I didn't get any of my questions solved, much less asked.  At least I'm going to my room.  I can think better there.  Well, and I can get my backpack packed, too.

I get into my room and dig out my backpack from under all of my clothes.  I hadn't quite gotten everything put into all my drawers, and some of the clothes still had sand in the pockets.  Seeing as my backpack is just one big pocket, I've got to clean it out before I fill it up.

I'm still dumping half of Oahu's sand onto the floor in my room, guaranteeing a fun time for the next clean-up crew, when I look out of my wide-open window.  Just the usual early-afternoon sight, Bobby making snowmen and Sam crashing into stuff.  Yeah, there's just something about guys that makes them more fun, more outdoorsy, heck, more destructive!  Just compare them to all of the girls holed up inside watching chick flicks.

But there's one more person in the front yard today.  What's Lorna doing, going out the front gate?  Yeah, I'd say that's exactly what she's doing.  I don't have enough time to call anyone.  I really don't have any reason, either.  She just looks so distracted as she's walking through that gate.

I toss my backpack aside and jump out of my window, ruining the screen as I go.  Bill me later.  I'm running on hormones, here.  You're wondering why, right?  Well, to be honest, so am I.

Point is, I don't know where she could go on foot.  This place is out in the boonies, which is great for security, but lousy for teenagers with no transportation.  So, put all this together, and now, well, I just have to know if she's okay.  That's all there is to it.

Every so often, she stops and cocks her head, like she's listening for something.  It's kind of weird.  I can't hear anything.

She moves out of view for just a minute, until I can catch up with her.  When I do, I realize what she had been doing.  She wasn't listening.  I think she was feeling the pull of one enormous magnet.

She had found Magneto.

Well, Magneto and about five or six guys.  Both Lorna and I are staked out in different areas, but Magneto turns immediately towards her hiding place and said, "Come out, child.  I can feel your effect on magnetism just as you can feel mine."  Lorna floats out on about a foot of air, I guess figuring that stealth was useless now.

One of Magneto's lackeys, a small, fairly old guy turns and looks straight at me.  Oh sh-...  "Magneto," he mutters.  "I must tell you-"

Magneto silences him with a wave of his hand.  Thank you, ignorant leader!  "I'm glad that you saw how much more I could teach you.  Charles can teach you nothing when he doesn't understand your potential for great power.  Welcome, my heir."

The guy standing off to the side runs at an incredible speed to face Magneto.  Is it possible to actually run at the speed of light?  How about at the speed of sound?  Oh yeah, I remember him.  Quicksilver.  "Your HEIR?  But I'm your own son!  That freak didn't do anything for you!"

"She will."  Magneto leered at her from under his helmet.

Lorna glares at the impressive figure in front of her.  "You self-righteous bastard.  You presume too much to think that I will ever work for you."

Magneto smirks a little bit.  What's he up to?  "I'd wished it wouldn't come to this."  Without warning, Lorna is thrown backwards into a nearby tree and Magneto orders, "Whatever you do, don't kill her."

His lackeys all stand there, in as much shock as I am.  But Quicksilver rushes forward (as if he can do anything else) and suddenly, Lorna's covered with bruises and recoiling from the intense blows he's dealing her. That's enough!  I've got one good shot before Magneto realizes I'm here.

I power up halfway, just in case I have to keep defending myself.  Without thinking more, I blast Magneto directly in his side.  It's worked before.

Well, it doesn't work quite as well now.  Quicksilver stops for a moment, and I seize the opportunity to run to Lorna.  She's passed out.  I hope.

"Please be alive.  Please don't die.  Come on," I find myself muttering as I check for a pulse.  There!  It's slow, but it's there.

I get this feeling that someone's behind me, and I really don't want to know who.  I turn around anyway and see four leering faces in front of me.  Worst part is, I only know one of 'em, Quicksilver.  I mutter to Lorna, "It's okay, I'm here," and move so my body is between her and them.

The one with the black eyes holds up a playing card for just a moment, before throwing it at me.  It hurts, but I don't care about my own body right now.  Lorna's more important.  I check her again.  It's a miracle that she's survived to this point, and is still alive.  "You could have killed her!"  I scream, as I blast him full in the chest.

Magneto echoes me, and adds, "Don't hurt the girl!  Gambit- I did not expect to have to tell you that!"

I'll file his name away for later.  Right now, I'm too busy blasting anyone who comes anywhere close to Lorna.  Sure, they're taking their potshots at me, and I'm bleeding because of them.  But I can ignore a few bruises, gashes, and gaping holes for now.  Problem is...these blasts.  They take so much...energy.  If I could just get into the sun for a few minutes...  But that metal guy...he's standing right...over me.

One more blast might move him...but it'd also knock me out.  I wouldn't be any use to Lorna if I was out cold.

I reach my foot out feebly and try to trip him up as he peels me off of Lorna.  In the corner of my eye, a pile of large silver eggs gleam.  That's what he wanted to take her away in before!  No!  They won't ever take her.  Not as long as I have...strength...

I summon up the last vestiges of energy in my body for one more blast.  I know that she'll be left defenseless, but maybe I can buy her a few more seconds to wake up.

What happens next seems like a slow-motion scene in a movie.  My hands are glowing and filled with energy that I'm going to force away from my body.  It doesn't happen, though, because a bright red beam lances by and knocks him away.

The energy I had forced to my hands gladly spreads itself through my body, while more energy flows in directly from the sun.  I feel someone's hands drag me out of the way, and lay me flat on my back.  Looking to my side, I see that Jubilee is laying Lorna flat too.

"How-?"  I croak. 

Jean, still arranging me into a safer position, replies, "Lorna called the Professor when she was sure it was Magneto."  She pauses for a minute, and in that relative silence, I hear Lorna groan.  She's awake!  "I only wish we could have gotten here sooner."

Around us, the battle is starting to build.  Debris falls toward us every so often, but it either gets blasted away or falls on an invisible dome above our heads.  Both Jubilee and Jean had stayed to protect us while we were recovering.

I keep seeing flashes of different battles going on around me.  To one side, Logan and Sabertooth are attacking each other, dodging blows and duking it out for all they're worth.  I guess Wolverine does have an equal when it comes to fighting.  I mean, I must be delirious, because I could swear he was smiling.  And I though he was sort of weird before.  Don't tell him I thought that, Jean.

iOkay./i

Is she listening in to what I say?  Oh, never mind.

Then, to another side, there's Bobby fighting off a crazy kid with flaming orange hair.  This kid makes fire act...very orderly, for fire.  But, either way, he's taking everything Bobby could give him by melting the icicles hurled at him, and Bobby is freezing any fire coming near him.  That fight can probably go on as long as the kid had fuel.

I black out for an instant and open my eyes to Rogue dodging little blasts.  It's that black-eyed guy!  Those cards don't seem to be putting out the same type of blast that he used on me.  Either way, Rogue seems to have that patented death glare in her eye, and starts to tug at the fingers of her glove.  She rushes at Gambit, and he runs off into some nearby cover.

Good for you, Rogue.  Beat that jerk to a pulp.  He deserves it for what almost happened to Lorna.

The sun is starting to take over, slowly replenishing all my energy reserves.  I bet Roberto would get a kick out of that.  The sun not only fuels my blasts, but it kind of helps me heal, too.  It doesn't do anything about the blood or bruises, though.  Jean did a good job tying up the gashes, but the pain they cause...  It's the only thing really keeping me awake.

There's that sun blocker, the metal guy.  I wish I knew names.  You'd think people would brief us on this!  He seems to have his hands full, trying to catch Kitty and Kurt, who are phasing through him and teleporting wherever they can be the most annoying.  Doesn't look like they're actually hurting him.  Damn.

Scott is standing next to Xavier, acting as his protector.  He's just blasting left and right, making sure the Professor isn't touched by all of the crossfire.  Where's Magneto?  I scan the busy battlefield.

There he is, standing behind all of the different battles, with Quicksilver right beside him.  I gauge their distance and the amount of force needed, and immediately strike them in the most strategic area.

Or I would, if I could move my pinkie.  Either of 'em.  Instead, Scott shoots his red eye-lasers at Magneto and knocks the man's helmet off, showing a man who looks almost exactly like how Quicksilver will when he's older.  I guess Xavier had told him to do this, because the old man suddenly seems like someone you wouldn't want to mess with on your worst day.  Not really the benevolent father-type.

Magneto clutches at his head, screaming wordlessly.  His lackeys begin to move to him, partly to assist, and partly because they have to.  Xavier can do a lot if the mood strikes him.  I hope it never strikes him around me.


Magneto and his acolytes back off, into those crazy looking silver ball things.  As he seats himself in the largest one, he looks directly at Lorna and announces, "I'll be back for you, child.  I do not desert my own."  That bastard!

I guess Xavier shares my opinion, because he mutters cryptically, "Is that so, Erik?"

There's a lot about him that I guess I don't know.  But, maybe... I can wait to find out.  Lorna's moves over on her elbows to face me.  "You risked your life for me."

My brain's all fuzzy, but I don't really think that's an excuse for what I say next.  "Yeah.  Go out with me?"  Then, I black out.

What the hell happened?  Oh, wait.  I remember.  So why am I in the med bay?  And why is Lorna waiting by me?  How long have I been out?

"Lorna?"  I croak.  Man, my voice sounds like a tractor running out of gas.  Whatever that means...

"Alex!"  She leans over me, and I can smell the shampoo in her hair.  Mmm...  Focus!  "What can I do to repay you?"

"Go to the movies with me?"

I didn't know I could make her mad.  But, that's what happens...  "Go to the movies?  My God, Alex!  You just risked your life against MAGNETO, and all you say is 'do you want to go to the movies'?"  She throws her hands in the air.  "You're an idiot!"

"Okay, then, movie, dinner, and I teach you to be a pro surfer."

She pauses for a while, trying to digest what I suggested.  "You're insane."  She pauses again, and I'm pretty sure she is going to say something like, "forget you".  "And I think that's why I love you."

I can't think!  I can't think!  What do I say?  "I love you, too."  That'll work.

~(^)~

Okay, as a bit of amazing trivia, I am a complete Disney freak.  And it doesn't hurt that I go to the Disney theme parks on an average of once every 1.3 years.  Now, I must protest this little phenomenon I call E-ticket B-movies.  That is, turning the best Disneyland rides into awful movies.  Yes, Pirates looks good.  Yes, go see it.  I own Disney stock.  That's good for my pocketbook.  However, remember Country Bears?  Yuck.  The next E-ticket B-movie is the Haunted Mansion starring Eddie Murphy.  Yes.  The star of Pluto Nash and Daddy Day Care.  I'd just like to ask you a favor.  Pretend to be as disgusted as I am.  Now, if they continue on this road, no one will have to pretend.  I predict the next E-ticket B-movie to be "It's a Small World".  For two hours.  Think about it.  Scary, neh?

My rant is done; I thank you all.  Sorry for that.  Just getting on my nerves, that's all.

Flyby: Nite, you gotta admit though, "You like pain? Try wearing a corset," is a good line. :P :)

Nite: Yes it is.  And no one is going to let me live this down: I saw Pirates, and it was very good.  *cowers*  I still fear for my sanity.  They're making another Freaky Friday!