Disclaimer: I own only Laura (aka Blaze) and Jessica (aka Raven). Marvel
retains all rights to the X-Men. Ilehana Xavier (aka Vixen) belongs to
Corrinth.
Chapter Three- Somewhere In New York State
I land the jet as the sun rises, on a grassy plain I remember distinctly from Xavier's map. It is a strange feeling, walking through countryside I have never been through before, but recognising every tree, every swell of the land. I move quietly, both through awe and need of stealth. I do not know what awaits me, what trick this may have been, and suddenly I am afraid for my unborn child.
The fear passes like a brief summer squall when the GPS unit in my hand bleeps to suggest I am close. I switch it off, having no further need of it. Instead I look about, searching and not quite knowing what sign I am searching for. All is deathly hushed, not even the birds have begun their morning chorus, as if the whole world waits with bated breath for something powerful to happen.
Slowly, a throbbing of the air begins to build up. Gradually I come to recognise the flow of power not unlike the way the way Remy would charge a card for a fight. Not unlike the power throbbing in the seconds before the Guardians were reborn in us X-Men. I follow my senses, the sensation of hairs standing up on the back of my neck. And so I find her more easily than I would have thought possible. Ilehana.
She lies in a hollow, on the brink between sleep and wakefulness. As she comes to, she stretches lethargically, raising her arms above her head, rubbing the sleep from her eyes with her fists. She stands slowly, stretching again. And then it hits her. She is human.
I watch for a few moments, unwilling to disturb her thoughts as she brushes the collar of her X-Man uniform, runs a finger through her long blonde ponytail, ponders her new form and how little it has changed since last she wore it. At length, I can keep quiet no longer. I am too glad to see her, too swept away by it all to contain my excitable tongue.
"Done thinking yet?" I ask, straining to keep my face as serious as the situation befits. Ilehana's head snaps towards me, and I am pierced by those predatory blue eyes, those Xavier eyes. She hardly seems surprised to see me, pondering how to manage the technicalities of human speech after five years of wolf-song.
"I think so." She manages a chuckle, making me grin. It is too good to see her again! She crosses the distance between us, taking her first upright steps hesitantly, to hug me warmly. "But how did you know where to find me?"
"Ah, now there's a story!" I reply, firmly tucking my through Ilehana's in a gesture of companionship. The Falcon is not far away, and I see no reason to linger here when home is only a short flight away. "I was dreaming. The Professor and I were looking at a map when he points certainly to a particular point on the map and says - with that look of certainty in his eye, that look that pierces, you know the one I mean?"
"I do." Ilehana answers with the wry knowledge of someone who has both given and received that very same look. Laughter at that dances unspoken between us, and the birds begin to sing as I continue.
"So he says 'That's where you'll find her.' And I'm thinking, me? Not us? But he just keeps on repeating the same statement." I tap my head, a gesture that Ilehana finds obviously comical. "Photographic memory - I'm not likely to forget the reference." Suddenly something tremendously important springs to mind, and my worries darken. "One other thing I do know, Gambit's gonna kill me when I get back."
"Married life suiting you both then?" Ilehana asks, smiling. I'm shocked that she could know, but not overly so. There is very little I would put past the Vixen these days.
"How........." I stop walking and look hard at her. "It *was* you, wasn't it? That day I was meditating; it was you in the bushes! I was thinking of you......... And that day when we fought Venu, when we were trying to save Jessie and the Prices......... I asked you for help......... you were *there*, weren't you?" The last words came as a direct challenge, though I didn't mean them to sound harsh, feeling a little ashamed as Ilehana hung her head.
"It was me." She confirms quietly. "I've been watching over you all since I lost Ori. It's all that has kept me going for so long now........." Her voice trails off, just can't find the words. But I think I understand, simply hug her fiercely, using my power to evaporate a tear or two in that moment.
I can feel her pride as she looks on the Falcon, her project, and all I can think is that Scott will have a run for his money now if he wants to hog the jet all the time. I look forward to that battle of wills, knowing exactly who will win. The future victor hesitates before boarding the plane, and before I can stop myself I offer her the pilot seat.
"I think I'll sit this one out." Ilehana confesses reluctantly. "I'm more than a little rusty, don't want to endanger our precious cargo........."
I smile but say nothing, taking the said seat and beginning to flick on dials and switches. I can feel Ilehana watching me like a hawk; pride in her little pack sister almost an aura. I shouldn't be so smug, but it's hard not to be these days.........
"Be smug all you want, Laura." My telepathic friend laughs. "You've earned it. So, when is the baby due?"
The conversation is deliberately light and friendly all the way home, though as the jet begins its descent back to the hanger, both of us fall silent, wondering what awaits below. I don't need to be a telepath to know that Ilehana is thinking of her love left behind, of Logan. But my mind drifts to my own partner, he is not going to be impressed with me at all.........
As soon as we disembark I make my muttered excuses and leave Vixen to a moment by herself. A moment only, as almost as soon as I enter the lower levels Logan rushes past me back the way I have come. We share one glance, the Wolverine and I, and I nod slowly. It is all he needs to know, bursting into a run. Ilehana has come home to him.........
Chapter Three- Somewhere In New York State
I land the jet as the sun rises, on a grassy plain I remember distinctly from Xavier's map. It is a strange feeling, walking through countryside I have never been through before, but recognising every tree, every swell of the land. I move quietly, both through awe and need of stealth. I do not know what awaits me, what trick this may have been, and suddenly I am afraid for my unborn child.
The fear passes like a brief summer squall when the GPS unit in my hand bleeps to suggest I am close. I switch it off, having no further need of it. Instead I look about, searching and not quite knowing what sign I am searching for. All is deathly hushed, not even the birds have begun their morning chorus, as if the whole world waits with bated breath for something powerful to happen.
Slowly, a throbbing of the air begins to build up. Gradually I come to recognise the flow of power not unlike the way the way Remy would charge a card for a fight. Not unlike the power throbbing in the seconds before the Guardians were reborn in us X-Men. I follow my senses, the sensation of hairs standing up on the back of my neck. And so I find her more easily than I would have thought possible. Ilehana.
She lies in a hollow, on the brink between sleep and wakefulness. As she comes to, she stretches lethargically, raising her arms above her head, rubbing the sleep from her eyes with her fists. She stands slowly, stretching again. And then it hits her. She is human.
I watch for a few moments, unwilling to disturb her thoughts as she brushes the collar of her X-Man uniform, runs a finger through her long blonde ponytail, ponders her new form and how little it has changed since last she wore it. At length, I can keep quiet no longer. I am too glad to see her, too swept away by it all to contain my excitable tongue.
"Done thinking yet?" I ask, straining to keep my face as serious as the situation befits. Ilehana's head snaps towards me, and I am pierced by those predatory blue eyes, those Xavier eyes. She hardly seems surprised to see me, pondering how to manage the technicalities of human speech after five years of wolf-song.
"I think so." She manages a chuckle, making me grin. It is too good to see her again! She crosses the distance between us, taking her first upright steps hesitantly, to hug me warmly. "But how did you know where to find me?"
"Ah, now there's a story!" I reply, firmly tucking my through Ilehana's in a gesture of companionship. The Falcon is not far away, and I see no reason to linger here when home is only a short flight away. "I was dreaming. The Professor and I were looking at a map when he points certainly to a particular point on the map and says - with that look of certainty in his eye, that look that pierces, you know the one I mean?"
"I do." Ilehana answers with the wry knowledge of someone who has both given and received that very same look. Laughter at that dances unspoken between us, and the birds begin to sing as I continue.
"So he says 'That's where you'll find her.' And I'm thinking, me? Not us? But he just keeps on repeating the same statement." I tap my head, a gesture that Ilehana finds obviously comical. "Photographic memory - I'm not likely to forget the reference." Suddenly something tremendously important springs to mind, and my worries darken. "One other thing I do know, Gambit's gonna kill me when I get back."
"Married life suiting you both then?" Ilehana asks, smiling. I'm shocked that she could know, but not overly so. There is very little I would put past the Vixen these days.
"How........." I stop walking and look hard at her. "It *was* you, wasn't it? That day I was meditating; it was you in the bushes! I was thinking of you......... And that day when we fought Venu, when we were trying to save Jessie and the Prices......... I asked you for help......... you were *there*, weren't you?" The last words came as a direct challenge, though I didn't mean them to sound harsh, feeling a little ashamed as Ilehana hung her head.
"It was me." She confirms quietly. "I've been watching over you all since I lost Ori. It's all that has kept me going for so long now........." Her voice trails off, just can't find the words. But I think I understand, simply hug her fiercely, using my power to evaporate a tear or two in that moment.
I can feel her pride as she looks on the Falcon, her project, and all I can think is that Scott will have a run for his money now if he wants to hog the jet all the time. I look forward to that battle of wills, knowing exactly who will win. The future victor hesitates before boarding the plane, and before I can stop myself I offer her the pilot seat.
"I think I'll sit this one out." Ilehana confesses reluctantly. "I'm more than a little rusty, don't want to endanger our precious cargo........."
I smile but say nothing, taking the said seat and beginning to flick on dials and switches. I can feel Ilehana watching me like a hawk; pride in her little pack sister almost an aura. I shouldn't be so smug, but it's hard not to be these days.........
"Be smug all you want, Laura." My telepathic friend laughs. "You've earned it. So, when is the baby due?"
The conversation is deliberately light and friendly all the way home, though as the jet begins its descent back to the hanger, both of us fall silent, wondering what awaits below. I don't need to be a telepath to know that Ilehana is thinking of her love left behind, of Logan. But my mind drifts to my own partner, he is not going to be impressed with me at all.........
As soon as we disembark I make my muttered excuses and leave Vixen to a moment by herself. A moment only, as almost as soon as I enter the lower levels Logan rushes past me back the way I have come. We share one glance, the Wolverine and I, and I nod slowly. It is all he needs to know, bursting into a run. Ilehana has come home to him.........
