We had breakfast in Xavier's office. For me it consisted of a bagel and
coffee, while Kurt and the Professor had a bit of a heartier meal. "I
thought you would like to know why I'd sent Kurt out in the first place."
Xavier said over his plate of eggs.
Well, the thought had crossed my mind. "Yes, in fact, I was. I had assumed that it was because of the murders."
"Until Kurt was attacked, we had no knowledge that they might be mutant related." Xavier said. "Of course, we had to know otherwise. We are willing to help the police with their investigation, as well as help in the apprehension of the murderer." He sipped his coffee. "No, the reason we sent him down there was because of you, Ms Flannigan."
I paused in mid-bite of bagel, eyes wide. Me? What did they want from me? I removed the bagel from my mouth. "Ah, why?"
"We were aware of your work, specifically your 'charity cases.' We wanted to know if you'd be willing to do a job for us, from time to time."
"Why not just send me an email on it?" I asked. "That's what everyone else does."
"Because this was an offer I wanted to have made in person." Xavier said. "you could have disregarded the email as a prank."
Depending on the job, I could see that. "Okay, so what's the job?" I asked, and took a bite of bagel.
"We would simply like you to keep us abreast of any mutant you delete from those files, and of course we would like a few of our own people removed. We would of course offer you a substantial amount for this information."
I could agree with the latter part, but the former..."I'm sorry Professor, but I can not give you the names of the people I've removed from that list. How do I know I wouldn't be endangering them?"
"I understand your hesitation. However, I assure you that our intentions are good. We simply wish to make contact, and see if they would consider coming to school here. I believe that mutants and humans can co-exist peacefully, Ms. Flannigan, and it's the purpose of this school to show how."
That made sense. It added up with a few of the things I had witnessed myself. I still wasn't crazy about it, but at least now I had a reason to consider it. A lot of those kids had no one, no friend, family or parent they could turn to. If Xavier could help them, it might be worth it. "May I have some time to think about it?" I asked.
"Of course." Xavier said. "Take all the time you need. This is an open ended offer."
"Thank you." I said. I would consider it, but I wasn't sure how seriously. I had other things to worry about at the moment. "Ah, Professor Xavier, I was wondering-"
"Scott is already getting the Blackbird prepared, Ms. Flannigan." Xavier smiled. "I expect you'll want Kurt to go with you."
I nodded. "Yes please. It's not that I have anything against anyone personally, but-"
"You don't trust us." Xavier said it with a smile. "That will come with time. Don't let me keep you, your family is waiting."
I thanked him profusely as we left, and Kurt led me deeper into the house than I had ever gone. There was a small, wood paneled elevator that we took down to what I assumed was the basement. Only when the doors opened, I wasn't looking at dank stone walls but polished steel. The ceiling glowed with white light, and the floor was tiled in white as well. There were doors at regular intervals, and I wondered where they led.
"Well, I wasn't expecting this," I said softly, and Kurt chuckled.
"Most of the facilities of the school are hidden from the public eye. There's more to Xavier's than it's outward appearance." He said. He led me at a brisk pace down the length of the hall, where it forked. "We are a school, first and foremost," he explained as he led me through a maze of tunnels, "but there are other things that we do as well. Helping mutants, fighting the good fight, all of that."
"The good fight?" I asked, and he nodded.
"Ja. As you know, humans are of several different opinions about mutants. We have several different opinions about them. All of us here believe as the Professor believes. That is another reason why we are here."
"That would be very nice if it could happen." I said. Racism in any form wasn't pretty, but like anything else, I didn't see it going away any time soon. "I don't think it ever will, but hey, you can always hope."
"Ja." Kurt said. He opened a door and ushered me through it into a large hanger. It contained the jet that I hadn't had an opportunity to really look at yet.
It was pitch black and sleek, with it's wings swept back at a sharp angle. The nose of the plane was sharply pointed, then flared out, like someone had taken an ace of spades and blown it up into three dimensions. It was smoothly curved, there were no straight angles to be seen anywhere other than on the wings and the tail. The plane was a predator, intimidating, and I was extremely grateful that the pilot was on my side.
Kurt led me up the ramp, which was in the back of the plane. Scott was there, only he wasn't wearing those red sunglasses. Instead, he wore a strange black visor that seemed fit around his eyes rather well. Other than that, his mode of dress was rather normal. "We're just about ready to go," he said, "we were only waiting on you two."
I expected to see Logan at the helm, but instead there was a tall, regal- looking black woman. She had startlingly white hair, long and flowing, as touchable as a cloud. Clad in a stylish blue suit, she smiled when she saw Kurt and the two embraced warmly. I felt a sudden pang of jealousy, and was so startled by that my surprise overwhelmed it. "Kurt, it's so good to see you!" She said. There was a faint accent to her voice, but I couldn't quite place it. "We were very worried."
"Ororo! I was not expecting to see you!" His tail swished happily. "Are you coming with us?"
"Scott thought it would be easier, with me along. I can conceal the jet long enough for us to pick up the family." She turned her attention to me, and smiled. "Are you not going to introduce me to your new friend?"
"Ach! How rude of me! Of course," he blushed slight, and turned to me. "Morgan, this is my very dear friend Ororo. We also call her Storm. Ororo, this is Morgan."
She gave me a friendly smile, and extended a finely manicured hand. I expected her to have a weak grip, girly, but was pleasantly surprised when she gave me a firm handshake. "I understand we have you to thank for returning Kurt to us."
"Yes." I said. "Well, sort of. Ryan, my friend, he did all the work. All I did was pull him out of the trash." I laughed. "I wonder if they new how valuable he was when they threw him away?"
"Another man's trash, is another man's treasure." Kurt intoned.
I couldn't help myself. I smiled at him shyly and said "Or woman's." He flushed again, and despite myself I laughed.
"On that note," Scott said, "Where are we headed?"
"Back to my home town." I said. "Out on the edges, on route 42. There's an old motel there, and that's where my family is."
"Let's get going." Scott said. He took a seat in the cockpit, along with Ororo, leaving Kurt and I to fend for ourselves. I sat down in a chair behind Scott, so that I could see Ororo and maybe chat with her during the flight. There was a strange harness I was supposed to use to fasten myself in, but I couldn't figure it out. After fumbling with it for a few minutes, Kurt finally rescued me and helped me out.
"Here, there is a trick to it," he said, and took the straps out of my hands. "One arm here please," he said, and I slipped my arm into the loop of the strap. "The other here." I obliged him. They snapped together in the front, and the lap belt seemed to be in three pieces. "There. Now," he reached across me, and I felt his arm brush against mine. The velvety softness tingled against my skin. I could smell the shampoo he used this morning in his hair, and my fingers itched to run through it again.
His tail came around and stroked the inside of my thigh lightly, and my eyes widened. I was suddenly very glad that his body was blocking Ororo's view. He turned his face toward me slightly and there was an impish gleam in his eyes. "These two straps," he said softly, pulling them up from the side of my chair, "Come together like this." He snapped them together, and I wasn't even paying attention. Instead, I was focused on the line of his jaw, his neck, the delicate tip of his ear. I licked my lips in an unconscious gesture. "And this strap," he reached between my legs, and I shuddered. Slowly, he pulled up a third strap, pressing it into place enough that I squirmed in my seat. "Comes here, Ja?"
"Ja," I said distantly, and he chuckled. He fastened it into the bottom part, so that all of the straps came together in a five pointed star design. A five point harness, with one rather large buckle in the middle. "You press this button here," he pointed, "And all five straps come unlocked at once."
His face was just inches from mine, and I believe that we would have kissed, if Scott hadn't said "If the lesson's over, I'd like to get going."
"Ja, all done here." Kurt said, and slid back into his seat.
Ororo was looking at me speculatively, and I felt myself blush. Frustrated in quite a few ways, I slapped my illusion back into place for the first time in days to hide the color in my cheeks. Her eyes widened a bit. "You are a shapeshifter?" she asked.
Scott poked his head around the edge of his seat to look at me. I got the impression that he was raising his eyebrow at me, but with the visor taking up most of his face it was hard to tell. "I'm an illusionist." I said. "I thought you knew?"
"I have told them nothing, Liebe, other than your name, and that you rescued me. Your gift is yours to share."
That was the second time he had called me Liebe in the past twenty-four hours. I filed that away. I didn't want to ask what it meant in front of Ororo or Scott because I felt it might be a bit too intimate. "Oh." I said simply.
The flight back to town took a little bit longer than I'd expected, and we were a half an hour late to the rendezvous. If we hadn't had breakfast with the professor, we probably would have been right on time. We parked the jet in a fallow field a short walk from the motel, touching down in a dense fog bank that Storm had produced. Not to be outdone, I cloaked the blackbird in an illusion, so that it resembled just so much empty field. Hopefully we wouldn't be here long enough to discover that wasn't the truth.
"I will stay here." Kurt said. "I don't think your family would-"
"I don't think so." I said. "You're going with me, because if I know my father, he's going to be there. And he's going to want to meet you. So let me just slap an illusion on you, and we can all go." Kurt blinked at me through the illusion I'd put on him, and nodded.
"We will remain then." Ororo said. "Please, try to hurry."
I took Kurt's hand, and we stepped out into the fog that Storm had produced. It didn't take long for the summer sun to burn it off, and we found ourselves within sight of the motel. I stepped carefully, because I didn't want to turn an ankle in a hole. It took us ten minutes to make it out of the field and onto level ground. We jogged the short distance to the motel, and I went into the lobby.
A stooped old man sat behind the counter. I skipped up to him, still hand in hand with Kurt. "Hello! I have some family staying here, and I was wondering if you could-"
"Back outside, four doors down on your right." The little old man said crisply. "And mind your volume. If you're staying, you'll have to get another room."
"Oh we aren't staying. We just wanted to stop and say hello. Thank you!" I said, and dragged Kurt out before the man could say something again.
I went down the four doors, and had barely raised my hand to knock before someone barreled out of it. My older brother Deacon scooped me up into his arms and crushed me in a bear hug. "Morrigan!" he rumbled. "Thank God you're alright!"
"Where is she? Where's my little girl?" I could hear my mom's frantic voice.
I bonked Deacon on the head. "Put me down, brute, and let me see my mother."
He laughed and set me down on my feet. "This him?" With a jerk of his head, he indicated Kurt. I slipped my hand into Kurt's, and drew him a bit closer to me.
"Introductions inside, Brutus, or else!" I threatened. Deacon shrugged and stood to the side, allowing us entry into the room.
I was shocked to see that my parents, my uncle, and all of my siblings were there. Even Ryan was there, tucked unobtrusively into the corner near the door. It was a damn good thing none of us had managed to marry, or we wouldn't have all fit in the room. There were two double beds, one of which had my two youngest siblings, Deena and Riley, lounging upon it. They were twins, and it was clear just by looking at them that they weren't quite normal. Not because they were mutants, oh no, but because one had a shock of bright blue hair, and the other was sporting a bright neon green. Thankfully, those weren't natural colors.
On the other double bed rested Gaelin and Daelin, another set of twins. Neither of them were mutants. They were older than me by two years, and were identical. Well, Daelin had a goatee, but other than you couldn't really tell them apart. Both had the same athletic build, which betrayed their profession. Cops. Along with Deacon and my uncle, they were a force to be reckoned with.
Theresa was there, one of the few non-mutants. Still, she had the looks I'd always wanted; fiery red hair, bright green eyes, and a figure good enough to stop traffic. She sat on the dresser, legs dangling, and was already eyeing Kurt with a predatory look. Moirah had apparently been buried in a book, for now it dangled forgotten from her fingers. Absently, she pushed the glasses from the end of her nose back into place, and ran a hand over her frizzled black hair. She was slight, frail, and no one would have ever suspected she packed the most punch as a metamorph.
Braden was leaning against the far wall. Dark, brooding, and every inch the artist. Braden was a dancer, and had a dancer's body. He'd been in several productions in New York, and I had it on good authority that he was in the process of choreographing his very first show. That he'd come down from that showed how much my disappearance had affected the family. He was younger than me by a whole year, and was my closest sibling.
There was a gap of three years before Oliver and Olivia were born. Yet another set of twins. They had been sitting on the floor, on either side of the chair my mother had been occupying. She was dark, he was light, and one couldn't function without the other. They were so close, they even finished each others sentences.
My father had been leaning on the wall next to the bathroom door, and had pushed himself away from it when I came in. He was tall, dark, and I suppose at one time handsome, though the years had worn on him. It was from him that many of us got our dark looks. My mother was tiny, pale, with now graying hair that was once a vibrant red. Her hazel eyes were full of concern as she raised herself out of her chair and held her arms out to me. "Morrigan! Oh, my little girl,"
I went to her, and hugged her tight. "Child, what have you gotten yourself into?" She asked, and I laughed. I was surprised to feel my eyes fill with tears, and when I pulled back I saw hers had done the same.
"Oh, you know, the usual." I said. I sniffed and gave another shaky laugh, then beckoned to Kurt. "Let me get this out of the way. Kurt, this is everybody," I went around the room and told him all the names of my siblings. Some looked suspicious, others curious, others simply disinterested. "Everyone, this is Kurt Wagner. He saved my life."
"Kurt." My father nodded.
"In truth, Herr Flannigan, Morgan saved my life first." Kurt said softly. "I was simply returning the favor."
"You didn't feel the need to call us and tell us she was okay?" Daelin demanded. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"I would have, ja, but I did not know how to contact her family." Kurt replied.
"You could have called Ryan." Deacon rumbled.
"I did not have his number either. We had to leave so suddenly, there was a tremendous amount of danger. I myself had been near death just the day before. It was only through Morgan's reactions, and her and Ryan's generosity that I managed to survive. I owe her a great deal, still."
"You don't owe me anything." I said. "Any one of us would have done the same for you." I looked around. "Deac, do me a favor and clothes those drapes. I'm starting to get a headache form holding so many illusions." I could already feel a dull ache developing right behind my eyes. If I didn't do something soon, it would come into a massive migraine. I could create room size illusions with no problem, but splitting my attention between illusions that had to move with a persons movements, or change with the position of the sun was taxing.
"How many are you holding right now dear?" my Mother asked me.
I sighed. "Well, I've got one big one over our transportation, which we'll se in a moment. Then I have mine and-" my eyes flickered to Kurt, "his."
Deacon closed the curtains, and I breathed a sigh of relief. My illusion poured off of me to pool at me my feet in a smoky haze before dissapating completely. I felt it was only fair to give my family a warning about Kurt. "Um, I don't want anyone to freak out about this." I said. "Kurt's a mutant, just like most of us, and his mutation is a lot like mine as far as affecting his outward appearance. He's a good man, and a good friend, and we have to remember not to judge by outward appearances."
Braden snorted. "Since when has that ever been a problem with this bunch sis?"
I nodded, and dismissed Kurt's illusion with a wave of my hand. I smiled at the face that I cared about so much, and he smiled back, exposing those elongated canines. I heard my mother's sharp intake of breath, and turned to look back at her.
She was clutching her rosary close to her breast, a look of fear and surprise mingled in her expression. I knew she'd be the toughest one to convince. Kurt stood a little bit straighter, and flourished a bow at her. Much to my surprise, he took her shaking hand, and she let him. He stayed bent at the waist, and placed a gentle kiss on the back of her knuckles. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Flannigan." He said genteelly. "I can see that Morgan comes by her beauty quite honestly, for surely you are beautiful enough to dim the sun."
Mother hesitated for a moment, before stammering "Thank you, ah,"
"Kurt." He supplied patiently.
"Kurt. Yes. Thank you." I could tell she wasn't sold on him yet. After all, the devil could quote scripture, and was well known as a false flatterer. I sighed again. It would be problematic, but it was going to have to wait.
"Dad, we really need to get going. My friends have provided safe transportation for us, but we need to hurry. The sooner I get everyone tucked away safe, the better I'll feel." I shifted, and without thinking about it reached for Kurt's hand. I felt his warm, callused hand slip into mine and a bit of my tension ebbed.
"Tell me everything." Pat said. It was the first time he'd spoken. "I need to know exactly what happened." Between Kurt and I we gave him all the details, and I was surprised when he handed me the folder I'd be perusing with Kurt and Logan. "That's what I was expecting you'd say. I can't guarantee that we'll be able to do anything-"
"You don't have to." Kurt said, and there was an edge to his voice. "It would be better if we dealt with this. I fear that the local police won't be able to handle her, and we have a bit more oomph at our disposal than, ah"
"Normal humans?" Ryan supplied. There was a gym bag slung over his shoulder. "It's fair enough."
My dad caught me in a fierce hug, which made me let go of Kurt's hand. He whispered to me "if he hurts you, I'll kill him." I felt both annoyed and happy that he'd said that, for it revealed clear as day that he was well aware of our feelings for each other.
"Daddy, if he hurts me, I'll kill him myself." I whispered back, and there was a round of chuckles in the room. Kurt gave me an inquiring look, and I simply shook my head. Sometimes it paid to have siblings with heightened hearing.
"Well Kurt, do you think you can port people to the jet?" I asked, and he nodded.
"Yes. Let's get going."
I nodded. I only hoped none of my family got air sick..
Well, the thought had crossed my mind. "Yes, in fact, I was. I had assumed that it was because of the murders."
"Until Kurt was attacked, we had no knowledge that they might be mutant related." Xavier said. "Of course, we had to know otherwise. We are willing to help the police with their investigation, as well as help in the apprehension of the murderer." He sipped his coffee. "No, the reason we sent him down there was because of you, Ms Flannigan."
I paused in mid-bite of bagel, eyes wide. Me? What did they want from me? I removed the bagel from my mouth. "Ah, why?"
"We were aware of your work, specifically your 'charity cases.' We wanted to know if you'd be willing to do a job for us, from time to time."
"Why not just send me an email on it?" I asked. "That's what everyone else does."
"Because this was an offer I wanted to have made in person." Xavier said. "you could have disregarded the email as a prank."
Depending on the job, I could see that. "Okay, so what's the job?" I asked, and took a bite of bagel.
"We would simply like you to keep us abreast of any mutant you delete from those files, and of course we would like a few of our own people removed. We would of course offer you a substantial amount for this information."
I could agree with the latter part, but the former..."I'm sorry Professor, but I can not give you the names of the people I've removed from that list. How do I know I wouldn't be endangering them?"
"I understand your hesitation. However, I assure you that our intentions are good. We simply wish to make contact, and see if they would consider coming to school here. I believe that mutants and humans can co-exist peacefully, Ms. Flannigan, and it's the purpose of this school to show how."
That made sense. It added up with a few of the things I had witnessed myself. I still wasn't crazy about it, but at least now I had a reason to consider it. A lot of those kids had no one, no friend, family or parent they could turn to. If Xavier could help them, it might be worth it. "May I have some time to think about it?" I asked.
"Of course." Xavier said. "Take all the time you need. This is an open ended offer."
"Thank you." I said. I would consider it, but I wasn't sure how seriously. I had other things to worry about at the moment. "Ah, Professor Xavier, I was wondering-"
"Scott is already getting the Blackbird prepared, Ms. Flannigan." Xavier smiled. "I expect you'll want Kurt to go with you."
I nodded. "Yes please. It's not that I have anything against anyone personally, but-"
"You don't trust us." Xavier said it with a smile. "That will come with time. Don't let me keep you, your family is waiting."
I thanked him profusely as we left, and Kurt led me deeper into the house than I had ever gone. There was a small, wood paneled elevator that we took down to what I assumed was the basement. Only when the doors opened, I wasn't looking at dank stone walls but polished steel. The ceiling glowed with white light, and the floor was tiled in white as well. There were doors at regular intervals, and I wondered where they led.
"Well, I wasn't expecting this," I said softly, and Kurt chuckled.
"Most of the facilities of the school are hidden from the public eye. There's more to Xavier's than it's outward appearance." He said. He led me at a brisk pace down the length of the hall, where it forked. "We are a school, first and foremost," he explained as he led me through a maze of tunnels, "but there are other things that we do as well. Helping mutants, fighting the good fight, all of that."
"The good fight?" I asked, and he nodded.
"Ja. As you know, humans are of several different opinions about mutants. We have several different opinions about them. All of us here believe as the Professor believes. That is another reason why we are here."
"That would be very nice if it could happen." I said. Racism in any form wasn't pretty, but like anything else, I didn't see it going away any time soon. "I don't think it ever will, but hey, you can always hope."
"Ja." Kurt said. He opened a door and ushered me through it into a large hanger. It contained the jet that I hadn't had an opportunity to really look at yet.
It was pitch black and sleek, with it's wings swept back at a sharp angle. The nose of the plane was sharply pointed, then flared out, like someone had taken an ace of spades and blown it up into three dimensions. It was smoothly curved, there were no straight angles to be seen anywhere other than on the wings and the tail. The plane was a predator, intimidating, and I was extremely grateful that the pilot was on my side.
Kurt led me up the ramp, which was in the back of the plane. Scott was there, only he wasn't wearing those red sunglasses. Instead, he wore a strange black visor that seemed fit around his eyes rather well. Other than that, his mode of dress was rather normal. "We're just about ready to go," he said, "we were only waiting on you two."
I expected to see Logan at the helm, but instead there was a tall, regal- looking black woman. She had startlingly white hair, long and flowing, as touchable as a cloud. Clad in a stylish blue suit, she smiled when she saw Kurt and the two embraced warmly. I felt a sudden pang of jealousy, and was so startled by that my surprise overwhelmed it. "Kurt, it's so good to see you!" She said. There was a faint accent to her voice, but I couldn't quite place it. "We were very worried."
"Ororo! I was not expecting to see you!" His tail swished happily. "Are you coming with us?"
"Scott thought it would be easier, with me along. I can conceal the jet long enough for us to pick up the family." She turned her attention to me, and smiled. "Are you not going to introduce me to your new friend?"
"Ach! How rude of me! Of course," he blushed slight, and turned to me. "Morgan, this is my very dear friend Ororo. We also call her Storm. Ororo, this is Morgan."
She gave me a friendly smile, and extended a finely manicured hand. I expected her to have a weak grip, girly, but was pleasantly surprised when she gave me a firm handshake. "I understand we have you to thank for returning Kurt to us."
"Yes." I said. "Well, sort of. Ryan, my friend, he did all the work. All I did was pull him out of the trash." I laughed. "I wonder if they new how valuable he was when they threw him away?"
"Another man's trash, is another man's treasure." Kurt intoned.
I couldn't help myself. I smiled at him shyly and said "Or woman's." He flushed again, and despite myself I laughed.
"On that note," Scott said, "Where are we headed?"
"Back to my home town." I said. "Out on the edges, on route 42. There's an old motel there, and that's where my family is."
"Let's get going." Scott said. He took a seat in the cockpit, along with Ororo, leaving Kurt and I to fend for ourselves. I sat down in a chair behind Scott, so that I could see Ororo and maybe chat with her during the flight. There was a strange harness I was supposed to use to fasten myself in, but I couldn't figure it out. After fumbling with it for a few minutes, Kurt finally rescued me and helped me out.
"Here, there is a trick to it," he said, and took the straps out of my hands. "One arm here please," he said, and I slipped my arm into the loop of the strap. "The other here." I obliged him. They snapped together in the front, and the lap belt seemed to be in three pieces. "There. Now," he reached across me, and I felt his arm brush against mine. The velvety softness tingled against my skin. I could smell the shampoo he used this morning in his hair, and my fingers itched to run through it again.
His tail came around and stroked the inside of my thigh lightly, and my eyes widened. I was suddenly very glad that his body was blocking Ororo's view. He turned his face toward me slightly and there was an impish gleam in his eyes. "These two straps," he said softly, pulling them up from the side of my chair, "Come together like this." He snapped them together, and I wasn't even paying attention. Instead, I was focused on the line of his jaw, his neck, the delicate tip of his ear. I licked my lips in an unconscious gesture. "And this strap," he reached between my legs, and I shuddered. Slowly, he pulled up a third strap, pressing it into place enough that I squirmed in my seat. "Comes here, Ja?"
"Ja," I said distantly, and he chuckled. He fastened it into the bottom part, so that all of the straps came together in a five pointed star design. A five point harness, with one rather large buckle in the middle. "You press this button here," he pointed, "And all five straps come unlocked at once."
His face was just inches from mine, and I believe that we would have kissed, if Scott hadn't said "If the lesson's over, I'd like to get going."
"Ja, all done here." Kurt said, and slid back into his seat.
Ororo was looking at me speculatively, and I felt myself blush. Frustrated in quite a few ways, I slapped my illusion back into place for the first time in days to hide the color in my cheeks. Her eyes widened a bit. "You are a shapeshifter?" she asked.
Scott poked his head around the edge of his seat to look at me. I got the impression that he was raising his eyebrow at me, but with the visor taking up most of his face it was hard to tell. "I'm an illusionist." I said. "I thought you knew?"
"I have told them nothing, Liebe, other than your name, and that you rescued me. Your gift is yours to share."
That was the second time he had called me Liebe in the past twenty-four hours. I filed that away. I didn't want to ask what it meant in front of Ororo or Scott because I felt it might be a bit too intimate. "Oh." I said simply.
The flight back to town took a little bit longer than I'd expected, and we were a half an hour late to the rendezvous. If we hadn't had breakfast with the professor, we probably would have been right on time. We parked the jet in a fallow field a short walk from the motel, touching down in a dense fog bank that Storm had produced. Not to be outdone, I cloaked the blackbird in an illusion, so that it resembled just so much empty field. Hopefully we wouldn't be here long enough to discover that wasn't the truth.
"I will stay here." Kurt said. "I don't think your family would-"
"I don't think so." I said. "You're going with me, because if I know my father, he's going to be there. And he's going to want to meet you. So let me just slap an illusion on you, and we can all go." Kurt blinked at me through the illusion I'd put on him, and nodded.
"We will remain then." Ororo said. "Please, try to hurry."
I took Kurt's hand, and we stepped out into the fog that Storm had produced. It didn't take long for the summer sun to burn it off, and we found ourselves within sight of the motel. I stepped carefully, because I didn't want to turn an ankle in a hole. It took us ten minutes to make it out of the field and onto level ground. We jogged the short distance to the motel, and I went into the lobby.
A stooped old man sat behind the counter. I skipped up to him, still hand in hand with Kurt. "Hello! I have some family staying here, and I was wondering if you could-"
"Back outside, four doors down on your right." The little old man said crisply. "And mind your volume. If you're staying, you'll have to get another room."
"Oh we aren't staying. We just wanted to stop and say hello. Thank you!" I said, and dragged Kurt out before the man could say something again.
I went down the four doors, and had barely raised my hand to knock before someone barreled out of it. My older brother Deacon scooped me up into his arms and crushed me in a bear hug. "Morrigan!" he rumbled. "Thank God you're alright!"
"Where is she? Where's my little girl?" I could hear my mom's frantic voice.
I bonked Deacon on the head. "Put me down, brute, and let me see my mother."
He laughed and set me down on my feet. "This him?" With a jerk of his head, he indicated Kurt. I slipped my hand into Kurt's, and drew him a bit closer to me.
"Introductions inside, Brutus, or else!" I threatened. Deacon shrugged and stood to the side, allowing us entry into the room.
I was shocked to see that my parents, my uncle, and all of my siblings were there. Even Ryan was there, tucked unobtrusively into the corner near the door. It was a damn good thing none of us had managed to marry, or we wouldn't have all fit in the room. There were two double beds, one of which had my two youngest siblings, Deena and Riley, lounging upon it. They were twins, and it was clear just by looking at them that they weren't quite normal. Not because they were mutants, oh no, but because one had a shock of bright blue hair, and the other was sporting a bright neon green. Thankfully, those weren't natural colors.
On the other double bed rested Gaelin and Daelin, another set of twins. Neither of them were mutants. They were older than me by two years, and were identical. Well, Daelin had a goatee, but other than you couldn't really tell them apart. Both had the same athletic build, which betrayed their profession. Cops. Along with Deacon and my uncle, they were a force to be reckoned with.
Theresa was there, one of the few non-mutants. Still, she had the looks I'd always wanted; fiery red hair, bright green eyes, and a figure good enough to stop traffic. She sat on the dresser, legs dangling, and was already eyeing Kurt with a predatory look. Moirah had apparently been buried in a book, for now it dangled forgotten from her fingers. Absently, she pushed the glasses from the end of her nose back into place, and ran a hand over her frizzled black hair. She was slight, frail, and no one would have ever suspected she packed the most punch as a metamorph.
Braden was leaning against the far wall. Dark, brooding, and every inch the artist. Braden was a dancer, and had a dancer's body. He'd been in several productions in New York, and I had it on good authority that he was in the process of choreographing his very first show. That he'd come down from that showed how much my disappearance had affected the family. He was younger than me by a whole year, and was my closest sibling.
There was a gap of three years before Oliver and Olivia were born. Yet another set of twins. They had been sitting on the floor, on either side of the chair my mother had been occupying. She was dark, he was light, and one couldn't function without the other. They were so close, they even finished each others sentences.
My father had been leaning on the wall next to the bathroom door, and had pushed himself away from it when I came in. He was tall, dark, and I suppose at one time handsome, though the years had worn on him. It was from him that many of us got our dark looks. My mother was tiny, pale, with now graying hair that was once a vibrant red. Her hazel eyes were full of concern as she raised herself out of her chair and held her arms out to me. "Morrigan! Oh, my little girl,"
I went to her, and hugged her tight. "Child, what have you gotten yourself into?" She asked, and I laughed. I was surprised to feel my eyes fill with tears, and when I pulled back I saw hers had done the same.
"Oh, you know, the usual." I said. I sniffed and gave another shaky laugh, then beckoned to Kurt. "Let me get this out of the way. Kurt, this is everybody," I went around the room and told him all the names of my siblings. Some looked suspicious, others curious, others simply disinterested. "Everyone, this is Kurt Wagner. He saved my life."
"Kurt." My father nodded.
"In truth, Herr Flannigan, Morgan saved my life first." Kurt said softly. "I was simply returning the favor."
"You didn't feel the need to call us and tell us she was okay?" Daelin demanded. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"I would have, ja, but I did not know how to contact her family." Kurt replied.
"You could have called Ryan." Deacon rumbled.
"I did not have his number either. We had to leave so suddenly, there was a tremendous amount of danger. I myself had been near death just the day before. It was only through Morgan's reactions, and her and Ryan's generosity that I managed to survive. I owe her a great deal, still."
"You don't owe me anything." I said. "Any one of us would have done the same for you." I looked around. "Deac, do me a favor and clothes those drapes. I'm starting to get a headache form holding so many illusions." I could already feel a dull ache developing right behind my eyes. If I didn't do something soon, it would come into a massive migraine. I could create room size illusions with no problem, but splitting my attention between illusions that had to move with a persons movements, or change with the position of the sun was taxing.
"How many are you holding right now dear?" my Mother asked me.
I sighed. "Well, I've got one big one over our transportation, which we'll se in a moment. Then I have mine and-" my eyes flickered to Kurt, "his."
Deacon closed the curtains, and I breathed a sigh of relief. My illusion poured off of me to pool at me my feet in a smoky haze before dissapating completely. I felt it was only fair to give my family a warning about Kurt. "Um, I don't want anyone to freak out about this." I said. "Kurt's a mutant, just like most of us, and his mutation is a lot like mine as far as affecting his outward appearance. He's a good man, and a good friend, and we have to remember not to judge by outward appearances."
Braden snorted. "Since when has that ever been a problem with this bunch sis?"
I nodded, and dismissed Kurt's illusion with a wave of my hand. I smiled at the face that I cared about so much, and he smiled back, exposing those elongated canines. I heard my mother's sharp intake of breath, and turned to look back at her.
She was clutching her rosary close to her breast, a look of fear and surprise mingled in her expression. I knew she'd be the toughest one to convince. Kurt stood a little bit straighter, and flourished a bow at her. Much to my surprise, he took her shaking hand, and she let him. He stayed bent at the waist, and placed a gentle kiss on the back of her knuckles. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Flannigan." He said genteelly. "I can see that Morgan comes by her beauty quite honestly, for surely you are beautiful enough to dim the sun."
Mother hesitated for a moment, before stammering "Thank you, ah,"
"Kurt." He supplied patiently.
"Kurt. Yes. Thank you." I could tell she wasn't sold on him yet. After all, the devil could quote scripture, and was well known as a false flatterer. I sighed again. It would be problematic, but it was going to have to wait.
"Dad, we really need to get going. My friends have provided safe transportation for us, but we need to hurry. The sooner I get everyone tucked away safe, the better I'll feel." I shifted, and without thinking about it reached for Kurt's hand. I felt his warm, callused hand slip into mine and a bit of my tension ebbed.
"Tell me everything." Pat said. It was the first time he'd spoken. "I need to know exactly what happened." Between Kurt and I we gave him all the details, and I was surprised when he handed me the folder I'd be perusing with Kurt and Logan. "That's what I was expecting you'd say. I can't guarantee that we'll be able to do anything-"
"You don't have to." Kurt said, and there was an edge to his voice. "It would be better if we dealt with this. I fear that the local police won't be able to handle her, and we have a bit more oomph at our disposal than, ah"
"Normal humans?" Ryan supplied. There was a gym bag slung over his shoulder. "It's fair enough."
My dad caught me in a fierce hug, which made me let go of Kurt's hand. He whispered to me "if he hurts you, I'll kill him." I felt both annoyed and happy that he'd said that, for it revealed clear as day that he was well aware of our feelings for each other.
"Daddy, if he hurts me, I'll kill him myself." I whispered back, and there was a round of chuckles in the room. Kurt gave me an inquiring look, and I simply shook my head. Sometimes it paid to have siblings with heightened hearing.
"Well Kurt, do you think you can port people to the jet?" I asked, and he nodded.
"Yes. Let's get going."
I nodded. I only hoped none of my family got air sick..