The Long Flight Home

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men or Evolution.

This story takes place right after the events of the "Cajun Spice" episode - and before the X-23 episode. The reason for mentioning that will be apparent later.

I'm really bad at accents so forgive me in advance for not even trying.

I like many on the Animation Insider Boards was looking for some resolution to the last scene of Impact. Did Rogue commit murder? When I didn't get the level of resolution I wanted, I decided to take my attempt at it.

:used to indicate private thoughts:

^used to indicate telepathic communication^

Chapter Eight - Meeting and Planning

Ororo waited for the elevator door to close as she turned to the professor. "That was quite a tongue lashing you gave Scott," she said. Charles responded, "The boy was irresponsible and may have caused much more harm then good."

Ororo considered her mentor carefully. "You need to let up on him, Charles. He did the right thing. I think your pride is getting in the way of what your heart knows to be true. I know I am struggling with the fact he accomplished something I could not. Scott saw Kurt save Rogue during the mission and while that thought was still lingering in Kurt, Scott made them captives in the back of the Blackbird. I have to admire the boy's ingenuity and his timing."

"You may not know Scott did offer to help Logan and myself with the impasse, but Rogue disappeared before he had a chance to take his turn at getting them together." She paused as the elevator doors opened. "He's one of them, Charles. They trust him because he attends the same Danger Room sessions, walked the same high school hallways, endured the same bullies. He relates to their problems as a teen better then we do as adults. Trust him, Charles - we've trained him well. Trust Kurt and Rogue to sort this out with his help. Then as a team we can tackle Apocalypse."

Charles was rubbing his eyes - Ororo had noticed they were terribly bloodshot. The lack of sleep was catching up to him.

They arrived at the kitchen as Hank and Logan came in together. Logan went to the coffee machine and prepped a new pot. Hank gathered coffee cups and spoons, then placed them on the table. Ororo gathered the milk from the fridge and sweeteners from the cabinet.

As they waited for the coffee to brew, Charles started the meeting. "Let's start with Scott's medical status. How is he, Hank?" The doctor responded, "His rib cage is intact - no breaks or bruises. He might be up and around in the morning after a night's stay in the med lab." The young man's ego was another matter but Hank thought that was better discussed later.

"Then what about Rogue and Kurt?" Charles asked. He knew Scott's impression of what happened on the plane - hoping the teen leader was wrong about his conclusions. Logan spoke first, "Rogue will stay and she'll help us with the marital arts training. The details of what happened with Gambit will have to wait till I get a chance to speak with her in private. And assuming I get her permission to share that." Charles nodded - Logan was following Institute guidelines regarding personal matters. Students were allowed to restrict who knew what when it came to family squabbles.

Logan looked at Ororo to let her know he was done. Ororo said, "Kurt is now speaking with Scott. I believe his outburst about leaving was just that - said in the heat of the moment. As for his relationship, with Rogue - only time will tell. There may be several ups and downs before all this comes to a head." She indicated the newspapers scattered on the table - the headlines describing the end of the world care of strange domes around the globe.

Charles nodded his head at the news both students would remain - she was right - Scott had somehow pulled it off. Now they could turn most of their attention back to Apocalypse. Kurt and Rogue would still need help but the first step was getting them to talk now they returned.

Ororo spoke again, "I know I have brought this up before, but it seems more important now then ever." Hank didn't like the sound of Ororo's voice. "I'd like to have a discussion group with the students dealing with grief - over the death of someone close to them. Things are starting to happen around us and I think we would be best to prepare them for the possibility."

Hank interrupted, "I've said it before, I'll say it again. They're too young to be dealing with this. The pressure at school, the stress of being a mutant, new and more strenuous Danger Room sessions. Bringing just the possibility of this up will push many of them over the edge. They're kids for crying out loud."

Logan could tell Hank was upset - no quote from some famous dead guy. Logan held is hand up and interjected "Kids yes, but also soldiers on the front line. Hank, I'm with you about trying to shield them from this heavy stuff but King Tut has changed the rules on us. I speak as the only one here with military experience. The most successful missions begin with a thorough briefing. If they know what they are getting into, they are better prepared for the consequences. Look, I ain't big on the touchy feely stuff, but what Elf and Stripes just went through tells me we'd better get our act together. We waited till after it happened to try to get them to trust us - and it was too late then."

Logan knew that Hank meant well - he was trying to keep as much innocence in the kids' lives as possible. But Fate was short on dealing friendly cards to the residents of the mansion recently. Magneto exposed the group in the Sentinel attack, and now Apocalypse was stoking the fires of mutant hatred higher then they'd ever been in the short time normal humans were aware of the X gene.

Hank was avoiding this issue just like he had avoided the fact he was a mutant himself. Logan knew Hank was drawn to team sports where he could compete alongside friends - the blue mutant avoided one on one confrontations. Not that Hank was a bad influence - Logan thought just the opposite. Hank was the perfect midpoint to Ororo - the queen of the whole team maneuvers and Logan - the king of one on one battles. Hank's athletic background influenced his training exercises towards splitting the students in two teams - where they benefited from team exercises with each other while still learning combat skills against other mutants.

Hank drummed hid fingers on the kitchen table deep in thought. "Well if I'm out voted on this, I'd like to see the meeting be voluntary - not mandatory." He was quiet again then said, "Maybe it is time for them to learn."

Ororo reached out her hand and place it in Hank's. She gently squeezed it as she said, "Believe me, I wish as much as you do that this was not needed, but it's not up to us anymore."

Charles waited to see if there was any further discussion but all eyes were on the newspapers. He suggested, "Let's sleep on this for the night and make a decision after breakfast." All seemed to agree and headed towards their rooms for the night.

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While getting ready for a short nap in his room, Charles watched the latest news reports about the domes. :Was there any hope for the dream of coexistence? Just what was Apocalypse up to?: Protests against mutants were cropping up in major cities around the world. Further scientific speculation about the domes filled the airways - from biodomes for the rich to time travel portals for an insect army.

The news press was desperate for information on mutants and unfortunately there where many people providing plenty of it - all false of course but in the race for ratings in a crisis, fact checking suffered greatly. Even some of the most preposterous ideas were getting through. It was a prank caller's dream - all calls were getting through and the anchors were not challenging the 'experts' at all.

Charles entered the items from the conference tonight into an email meant as meeting minutes to review next time the group gathered together. It never ceased to amaze Charles how well the three of them worked with each other. They worked as a team over everything = even the simple act of making coffee. No tantrums about whose turn it was or who had more seniority. There were conflicts like Ororo's proposed meeting but the issues were resolved in an orderly fashion - surprising given the explosive nature of the two male instructors, not the Storm couldn't give them a run for the money in the temper department.

At the university where he earned his graduate degree, he had seen the ugly side of higher education. Staff meetings conducted like high school popularity contests. Knock down drag out fights over offices with better views, which brand of PC to purchase, who gets what parking spots, coffee pots never full when you needed a cup. The list of conflicts was endless.

Charles' thoughts returned to his students. He was surprised at how the news both Rogue and Kurt would stay had hit him emotionally. The tension of them leaving had his nervous system on overdrive but when he learned they were not leaving, he allowed himself to relax and his fatigue had caught up with him.

As he turned off the television, he sensed emotional turmoil in the direction of the garage. It turned out to be Jean - returning from a drive after hours. He opened a telepathic channel with her to see why she was out.

^Jean, you're out late. Care to explain?^

^Yes, Professor, I was. I tried to someone help out but failed. I'll accept whatever punishment you deem necessary for my being out passed curfew.^

^We can discuss it in the morning. Please return to your room.^

Charles had picked up the same emotions from Jean just now like he did earlier from Scott. They were not exactly sure of their status as junior instructors. It was merely an oversight on his part with the dome distraction - they were the first students to be promoted to instructors and no formal procedure existed yet on what as instructors they should learn and how soon. Since it had not been handled well he would have them draft a better process for training.

They had additional responsibilities but began to feel they were left out of the loop on purpose - Magneto's rejuvenation, the real reason for the rift between Kurt and Rogue, even tonight's instructor meeting. This had been a source of conflict between himself and Scott on many an occasion. Charles had stuck by the 'you only know what you need to know' policy for some time now and it had worked up to a point.

With others like Magneto and Apocalypse driving a wedge between humans and mutants, this policy was beginning to have an adverse effect on his staff. If any senior staff was lost, the others would need to be prepared to carry on and knowledge would be a great ally. He rolled towards his PC and brought up his network administrative login and email program.

He reviewed the file folders that Scott and Jean had access to - intelligence on Cerebro findings, mission reviews dating back before the junior instructors joined and other intelligence he had kept from them. He gave them full privileges to the information and sent an email.

Dear Scott and Jean

Please review your file access in the Institute directory of the shared server drive. You will find some additional information you will need for the near future. Please read it at your leisure.

Also please plan on attending the next instructor meeting Wed night at 7pm. I'd be delighted to hear some new ideas from the two of you.

Charles

They both had proven themselves tonight - willing to go the extra mile for their friends. There were ready for that next step in their training as instructors.

And also in their personal lives. It was funny how Mystique's own family issues were so poorly handled and yet she had a hand in getting Scott and Jean to take the huge step forward in their relationship. It was a shame she was no longer around to witness her handiwork - despite the fact her assistance was unintentional.

Kurt and Rogue were another matter - they had been growing closer making tremendous progress till that night at the gazebo. They were in the middle of a family crisis that was testing how strong the bond was between them. Had he let Kurt down thinking just because his telepathic powers could not sense anything that Mystique was truly gone - when she might not have been? He deeply regretted handing the statue over to the Brotherhood now after hearing about their antics from Kurt. They had seemed loyal to her during the skirmishes with his X-Men, he had underestimated their feelings of betrayal and abandonment. He had not thought about what could happen to the statue in their hands.

His eyelids continued to droop and Charles was struggling to stay in his wheelchair. Maybe just a short nap as he wheeled toward his bed.

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Author's note - at the end of X-23, Logan allows the Newbies to play dodgeball - allowing them to be 'kids' because of what happened to X-23 during her training to eliminate emotions.

I would think Logan would treat it as a possible 'one last time for fun' event before the showdown with Apocalypse.

Please read and review/flame.