Disclaimer: To say that I own X-Men would be like saying I took over the world. It's impossible. Well, in reality. Mwahahaha…
Ali was led into Xavier's office, closely followed by the rest of the X-Men. She sat down in the red-leather chair in front of his mahogany desk, not sparing a glance to any of the other mutants that entered. Her green eyes remained cold as she waited for the professor to take his seat. Rogue, Kitty, John, and Kurt all leaned against the wall in the back of the room. All desperately wanted to hug Ali and cry for joy that she was back, but knew that they couldn't. She didn't even remember any of them. Except John. But even he felt distant at the moment.
Rain pounded on the window behind Xavier as he wheeled into position, resting his arms on the desk. Maroon eyes studied Ali carefully, looking for any flaw that might reveal as to why she had run away from her parents. But her face seemed to be a hard mask, and divulged no information. "Ali, why exactly did you come to me?" he asked.
Anger flickered in Ali's eyes for a moment before quickly disappearing into the murky green pools. "I want to know the truth about what's going on," she replied. "I've been lied to by my parents. And though I was told that you want to kill me, I believe that you hold the answers to the questions in my head."
Xavier nodded, understanding her answer and thanking God silently that she wasn't there to kill anyone. Well, not yet, anyway. "What questions do you have, Ali?" he asked calmly and softly, so as not to seem like he was pressuring the youngster before him.
Her eyes suddenly became fixed on the floor as she tried to sort through the jumbled thoughts that made up her mind. "I don't remember anything before two days ago," she began. "Why is that?"
Xavier sighed. "Your memory was either erased or repressed," he explained. He then took on a thoughtful look as he contemplated the options that swirled around in his mind. "I could look to find out which is true," he offered. He didn't know whether or not Ali would be mad at the suggestion, or happy. He couldn't predict what this girl would do any more; she was so different from how she had left.
Ali's eyes leapt from the floor to his eyes. She looked at him warily for a moment, battling with her gut instinct and the rules that her mother and father had drilled into her for the past forty-eight hours. "All right," she replied slowly.
Xavier nodded and wheeled himself around the desk, stopping in front of Ali. He reached up his hands and touched his temples, concentrating and telling Ali to relax. The teenager closed her eyes and tried her best to relax. Then she felt the penetrating presence of Xavier's mind and instinctively blocked him from entering. Xavier sighed and explained that he wouldn't hurt her. "Trust me," he said. Ali nodded and finally allowed him to enter.
The young teenager's mind was orderly set up. But it was dull. There was nothing in there but hatred and anger. He dug around and finally found her repressed memories. It was then that Xavier felt himself thrown back into his own body as Ali gasped, feeling the overwhelming wave of memories sweeping into her mind. Her head pounded and threatened to split in half. John suddenly appeared by her side, as well as Kurt, Kitty, and Rogue. Ali finally groaned and fainted from the pressure in her head, unable to stand it anymore.
Xavier sighed. "Let's get her down to the med lab," he said. "She needs to rest. Any other person would have reacted exactly the same way."
Logan nodded and carried Ali bridal-style to the med lab where he set her in an empty bed and left. John and Rogue chose to stay in the medical room and wait for Ali to wake up, despite the warnings that she might not awaken until morning.
John sighed and rubbed his sleepy eyes. "You tired, Roguey?" he asked, ignoring the death glare he received for the nickname he used.
Rogue nodded. "Ah'm going to bed," she said, standing up. "You should, too," she added as she left, pausing to give Ali's sleeping form one last look. Rogue silently prayed that when Ali woke up, she would be back to normal and not the vengeful killer that she had been transformed into.
John watched Rogue leave and then turned back to Ali. "Wake up, Ali," he whispered. He suddenly yawned, feeling a wave of sleepiness hit his mind again. Maybe he should go to bed. It couldn't hurt. Ali would still be there. But he would just close his eyes for a minute…
*
"Ali?" called Magneto through the metal door. Upon hearing no response, Magneto assumed that Ali was asleep. Her parents stood behind him, ready to oversee the procedure that was about to take place. Mastermind stood beside Magneto, his small bent figure stooped over the control pad for the room. He typed in the code to open the door, which promptly swooshed open. Everyone stepped inside.
Ali was gone. Her bed was untouched, as was everything else in the room. But she had been here; they all knew that. Where had she gone?
Magneto narrowed his eyes. "I'll bet that she's gone to Charles," he said. "Her remembering John must have triggered something in her mind. She's going to find out what happened."
Alice's eyes narrowed into slits. Xavier would pay for this. He had lured Ali out of her new home, away from her parents. He would pay dearly for this, for taking away her baby.
Rick clenched his fists furiously. His eyes burned with anger. Ali had defied him. There was no turning back, now. She was not the little girl he had left behind against his will. And for being disobedient to her father, she would pay, as would Xavier and John for poisoning her mind.
*
John awoke the next morning to find Ali stretching on her bed. She smiled slightly, something John hadn't seen for a few days and had greatly desired. "Hey," she said softly. Her eyes were no longer hard, but back to the fun-loving green they had been before. His own eyes widened and he jumped up from his chair and flung his arms around her. "God, Ali! It's so good to have you back!" he yelled. "Everybody! Ali's back to normal! She's really back!"
The X-Men came rushing into the room. Upon seeing Ali, Kurt and Kitty threw themselves onto her, holding the girl in death-grips. The rest of the X-Men flew forward, wrapping Ali in their loving arms once again. She laughed and tried to pry Kurt and Kitty off her neck like a mother would to her child. She noticed Rogue standing against the wall, watching the group with sad eyes. It was too risky to try and hug Ali in the midst of the mob surrounding her. She might actually touch someone.
Ali weaved her way through the throng of people and over to Rogue. The girl hugged Rogue, ignoring the protests that rushed from the Goth's mouth. Rogue finally gave up on trying to get Ali away and hugged her back. Ali pulled away and smiled. "It's good to be back," she said with a sigh of content.
Rogue smiled too, inwardly acknowledging how painful it had been not having her best friend by her side. Her green eyes, despite the fact that she tried to hide it, showed all her emotions.
John grinned. "It's good to have you back," he replied.
"So what are we standing around here for? Let's celebrate!" Kitty yelled.
Ali smiled but then her eyes hardened. "I've got to deal with something first," she replied. "Then we can have a party."
Kurt and Kitty exchanged confused looks. Rogue and John nodded knowingly, understanding what Ali was planning to do.
Unfortunately, so did the rest of the adults. Logan immediately stepped up. "You're not going alone, Spark," he replied.
Ali shook her head. "This is my fight," she explained. "I don't want you guys to be in any danger."
John laughed. "Sheila, just because we're mutants, we're in danger all the time. Don't worry about it," he said. "We're always in danger of people finding out our secret."
Ali sighed. "True," she admitted reluctantly. "But I just don't want you guys to get hurt."
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Al, we're coming with ya. Ah don't care what you say, but Ah'm coming," she said firmly, leaving no room for argument.
Ali sighed and hung her head in defeat. "Fine," she muttered. And though she didn't know it, she would need all the help available to her in the coming fight. It would turn out to be one of the most difficult she would ever face.
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I want to apologize for a few things:
1) How longs it's been since I updated. But I do have a few reasons! First off, track just started at school. And even though its been every other day, I have also had a TON of homework, and I don't understand my math at school, so I need my mom to help me because she taught it, and my older brother hasn't let me on in ages!!
2) How short this chapter is. This is a LOT shorter than usual, and I want to apologize for that. But I wanted to save the fight for next chapter, because it's going to be LONG (hopefully).
Just so you all know, I'm already started (almost done) with the next chapter. Be happy.
What color are John's eyes??? Tell me!!
Well, I think that's it. Reviews:
damien455: glad you liked this one. Hope you think this one is just as good or better.
Karakin: ya, its doing stuff to her mind…hope this chapter answers some of the questions.
R&R!
~Jojo~