Chapter 3-Recruiting Mission
Disclaimer: I do not own the X Men, although I do own Alex McAllister. While it is nice to own something, Alex isn't very useful. I suggested once that he go out and get a job so he could support me, but he pointed out that he is a fictitious character, and there seems to be a lot of workplace discrimination against people who don't actually exist.
*Scott, Rogue, please meet me by Cerebro. There is a new student I would like your help in recruiting.*
"Woohoo! I'm missing school today!"
All that greeted me was a table full of confused faces.
"Rogue and I are going on a recruiting mission, which means no school today."
Confused faces turned into laughs until Kitty finally spoke up in between giggles. "Uh, Scott? Today is, like, the first day of summer vacation."
I cursed under my breath as the laughing continued. It wasn't that funny. "Well at least I get out of breakfast dish duty. Have fun scraping scrambled eggs out of the frying pan." I walked out of the room, knowing that my fellow dish washers were glaring at me, and that I would most likely pay for it later.
I passed Rogue still in her pajamas stumbling out of her room on the way to Cerebro and gave her a smile. "Morning Rogue, are you excited about a new recruit?"
She gave me a typical scowl and said, "Ah don't know about you, but all this means to me is that Ah don't get to sleep in this morning." I gave her an annoyingly perky smile in return, and tried to make getting up early seem wonderful by declaring that a recruiting mission was for the greater good of the Institute until she couldn't take it any longer. "Oh just don't even try four-eyes," she said, slightly amused "Ah can sleep on the plane."
"Aah, Scott, Rogue, I'm glad to see you managed to get up this morning. I was beginning to wonder if I had caught you awake when I sent the message." The Professor was seated at Cerebro with Ms. Munroe by his side; I assumed she was coming too.
He displayed a few pictures of the boy on the computer screen and began explaining his history. His name was Alex, he was from DC, and he could see through solid objects and in the dark.
More interesting was the information on his family. His mother had died while he was young, and he was raised by his father, who happened to be none other than Rep. Zander McAllister of Washington state, the lead proponent of the MRA.
Rogue seemed to have noticed this tidbit of information, too. "Uh, Professor? How're we gonna convince his family to let him come if they're so anti-mutant?"
"I understand your concerns, Rogue, and Storm and I are working on what we're going to do with his father. I want you and Scott to focus on him. Just explain what we do and how we can help him."
The Professor dismissed us and all got up to get ready for the mission. Storm checked her watch and told us to be back in half an hour to leave. "I believe that gives Rogue enough time to get dressed, and you, Mr. Summers, can go help with the breakfast dishes."
I groaned. Just when I thought I was going to get out of something today, my brilliant maneuvering falls apart before my eyes. Time to go scrape the frying pan.
----------------------------------------------------
"Alex, you have some visitors today."
I looked up in surprise. Only yesterday had I been told that no visitors were allowed, and yet two complete strangers proceeded to enter the room.
They were both about my age. The first one was a guy who could have come straight from a Gap commercial, or any other generic picture of white, middle class preppy life for that matter. The second one was a girl wearing only a br-oh wait, never mind. I saw right through her shirt, which I realized, when I brought it back into focus, was black-much like the rest of her clothing. Had she been wearing sunglasses, she could have joined me in the people-who-belong-in-the-Matrix club.
Oddly enough, Gap boy was wearing sunglasses. Red ones to be exact. I wouldn't have cared normally, because I shouldn't talk, but I did have all the lights turned off in the room. I kept staring at them until Gap boy spoke.
"Hi Alex. I'm Scott and this is my friend Rogue and we just wanted to talk to you for a minute about your powers."
This seemed as weird as Dr. Eggers talking to me, but they didn't repel me quite so much. I listened quietly as they went on.
"Ya see, we both have powers like you, and we know what you're going through. We've been there before." The girl was speaking now. I would have kept silent, but I but I just couldn't swallow that comment, no matter how nice they seemed.
"You mean you, too, have to wear sunglasses or else you'll be blinded by everyone around you? I thought I was the only one!" The sarcasm shot through my voice as I kept going. "And, you know, I'm glad we've all hospitalized four people and totaled a car; it's one, big, shared experience."
They let me rant, exchanging knowing looks as I vented. Matrix Girl looked like she was going to laugh, but Gap boy was glaring at her from behind his glasses. Scott covered her snort by responding to my rant.
"Actually, before I started wearing these glasses for protection, I consistently damaged anything in view when I opened my eyes. I knocked a hole in my bedroom, once." I began to see why Rogue was laughing; apparently I hadn't had it so bad after all.
"Ah actually sent more people than I can count to the hospital before Ah figured out what was going on. Life sucks when ya can't control your powers, but once ya get the hang of it, it's almost as normal as before, and usually more interesting."
They exchanged looks again, but I cut them off as I struggled to remove my foot from my mouth. "Ok, I get your drift on the whole my-life-isn't-shit thing, but what're you talking about now?"
They turned back to me and Scott began explaining. "We both go to the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youth. Officially, it's an elite boarding school and tutoring program for talented kids."
"Which is what it actually is," Interrupted Rogue. "It's just that most people don't know that those talents are all gifts from the X gene. We go to the local high school during the day and get special combat training and tutoring with our powers after school."
"Combat training?" I said. "So, you're all what, normal high school students by day and a secret crime-fighting force at night?"
"Pretty much," said Rogue.
"Well, a lot of our missions are during the day, but otherwise, yes." Added Scott.
I would've said they were joking, but they weren't. Scott kept going.
"We're not just here to tell you about ourselves. We want to offer you a place at the Institute." They handed me a folder with some official looking brochures on the school, including some that explained what the school really was about.
"You're asking me to join a teen mutant crime-fighting squad?"
"We're askin' if ya want to be in a place where ya can have a normal life and not live in constant fear of being discovered. A place where ya can learn to control and develop your powers. A place where ya can be with others like you."
"And besides," added Scott, "you'd train for awhile before you went on missions."
I looked at them both as I pondered their offer. I still had no idea how my friends were going to take the whole mutant thing. In fact, I had no idea if I would ever be safe if anyone heard about the whole mutant thing. My school was unfortunately not exactly a warm and welcoming place for non preppy, upper middle class, white good old boys, and my father couldn't accept me for who I was because I essentially went against his entire philosophical and political platform. The more I thought about it, the more inviting the Xavier Institute seemed. All I had to do was convince my father.
I brought my mind back to give my answer.
"I'd like to come to the Institute-it sounds like it'll be better than staying at home." The two smiled. "I'm just worried about how my father will take it. It's slightly more than a moral opposition to mutants in his case-he's sort of leading the crusade against mutantkind."
"We know," said Scott. "It isn't going to be a fun conversation, but we'll figure out a way to convince him when we visit him today." They got up to go, leaving the folder with me so I could read more about the school I'd just agreed to go to. As they headed for the door, I thought of one more thing to ask them.
"Hey, if you're going to my house, could you tell my little sister that even though I'm not getting a license, I'll still take her out for ice cream? Her name's Nora."
"No problem" Scott replied. They went into the hallway, leaving me with my brochures, and hoping my father wouldn't have them shot before they convinced him to let me go.
-------------------------------------------------
I answered the door and four strangers were there: a bald guy in a wheelchair, a tall black woman with white hair, and two teenagers, a boy and a girl.
"Good evening," the wheelchair guy said, "You must be Alex's sister, Nora. "May we speak with your father?"
"How do you know Alex?" I asked, "and why do you want to talk to my dad?" I'd never seen these people before, so I was naturally a bit skeptical.
"I met him earlier today" the tall boy said, "with Rogue." He pointed to the girl next to him, who nodded shyly. "I'm Scott Summers, by the way."
"And I'm-" The bald man would've kept going, but my father cut him off from inside the house.
"Honey, if they're Jehovah's Witnesses, just tell them we're late for a meeting with Beelzebub or something and shut the door."
"They're not Witnesses, Dad. They want to talk about Alex."
This got him to the door. Nobody had mentioned Alex in our household in the four days since the accident. All Dad would tell anyone was that he wasn't in mortal danger, but with no other news, I was beginning to worry.
"Who the hell are you and what do you know about my son?"
My father had appeared at the door, pushing me out of the way.
"Mr. McAllister, I am Professor Charles Xavier," he said calmly. "This is my colleague, Ororo Munroe, and two of my students, Rogue and Scott." I looked at all of them as they nodded politely to my father when they were introduced. Ms. Munroe even extended a hand, but my father simply stared straight ahead. Mr. Xavier didn't seem to notice this and kept going. "I am the headmaster of the Xavier Institute for Talented Youth, and I believe that young Alex's gifts are ideally suited for my school."
At the mention of my brother's "gifts," my father looked like he was going to slam the door in their faces, but he decided against it and ushered them into the living room instead. He completely forgot about me, so I followed the last stranger into the room and sat down in the corner to watch.
Once they were all settled, Mr. Xavier started talking.
"As I said earlier, I run the Xavier Institute," he began to explain. "We are an exclusive academy that to the outside world is for gifted students. Not know to the public, however, is that we cater to the specific needs of mutants."
He kept going, but I stopped listening. Mutants? Since when was my brother a mutant? Honestly, I didn't know a whole lot about them, except that they could do things I couldn't and my dad thought they were dangerous. This would explain why he never talked about Alex; he was afraid.
I looked at the two teenagers. Were they mutants? They must be, since they went to Mr. Xavier's school. They didn't look threatening, though. In fact, the guy, Scott, was kind of cute. I brought my mind back to the conversation between my father and Mr. Xavier.
"You're asking me to send my son to a school for mutants where he can develop his 'gifts'? You're not just psychotic, you're stupid. You've done your research; you know who I am. I should call the FBI right now."
"But I know you won't," Said the Professor. "As much as you don't want to admit it, you have a stake in this too. As the leading legislator of the Mutant Registration Act, and as a politician with a viable opposition in an election year, you care very much about your public image. Having your son exposed in your current situation would be highly damaging to your career and your effectiveness as a politician. I know you want to do what's best for your son. You still love him, even though he is what you would call abnormal. Sending him to the Institute would provide a chance for him to understand and control his abilities, and our secrecy would allow you to maintain your current image."
I watched my father weigh the arguments in his head. He knew Mr. Xavier had a point, and no matter how much he wanted to completely ignore my brother now that he was a mutant, he wasn't going away.
While Dad struggled with this decision, I noticed that Scott had moved closer to me. He caught my attention and leaned toward me to say something. I eyed him cautiously, not sure why he was talking to me.
"Alex told me to tell you that even though he won't be getting his license, he'll still find a way to take you out for ice cream when he gets home."
"Why won't he have his license?" I asked.
"I think it's because his powers affect his vision, and until he gets control of that, it's not a good idea to drive."
"Oh." I said. I looked at him again. He seemed nice enough, so I figured I'd keep on asking questions. I have a problem with keeping my mouth shut- it doesn't happen very often.
"What are his powers?"
"He's really sensitive to light, and he can see through things." This would explain why he shouldn't be driving.
"Are you a mutant too?" It was a question I had been wanting to ask for awhile. I knew what the answer would be, but I wanted to ask anyway. There was a pause before he answered.
"Yes," he said, "that's why I'm a student at the Institute."
"What do you do?" I kept going; as long as he was answering them, I figured why not. Besides, the more I talked to him, the less afraid I was of him.
"I shoot force beams from my eyes-it's why I wear these all the time." He pointed to his sunglasses. That would explain why he was wearing them inside.
"I suppose it would be for the best if Alex went to your school for.mutants." I heard my father spit the word out as if it were a blasphemous. I also heard the sigh of relief from the others in the room. The three adults proceeded to discuss boring stuff like cost and transportation in the kitchen, leaving the two highschoolers and me in the living room. They talked with each other while my mind wandered back to my brother.
For as long as I could remember, my brother has been the coolest person I know. Even when I'm particularly annoying, he's always put up with his little sister. I remember once, when I was seven, we went to Disneyland, and he waited in line with me for two hours so we could go on It's a Small World, because our father refused. Looking back, it was quite impressive-a ten-year-old boy would never be caught dead on It's a Small World if he had any say in the matter.
And now he was going away. We'd never actually gone to the same school, since my father was a fan of single-sex education, but now, instead of being across the street, he'd be five hours away. And he wasn't exactly going to come home very often-Dad was so afraid word would get out that he couldn't come home from the hospital.
But what exactly was my father afraid of? Alex was the same person he'd always been-I mean, you just didn't become a mutant overnight, it's in your genes-so if he'd always been so "dangerous," as Dad put it, why was he suddenly a risk?
And what was he at risk of doing? Seeing through things may be weird, but it's not like that can kill people. Dad had always talked about mutants as if they were homicidal maniacs, bent on using their powers to persecute normal people. I knew Alex wasn't a homicidal maniac, and even if he was, how could X-Ray vision make him more dangerous?
Alex has and always will be my big brother-the one who protected me from bullies in the park, who taught me how to roller blade and play the piano, who even went as my date to the 8th grade dance because the boy I asked turned me down at the last minute-and no matter how people see him, my view of him will never change.
Dad may suddenly fear his son, but I couldn't. I couldn't even bring myself to fear the two other mutants sitting in the room. They hadn't threatened me, and every time I felt afraid, I just had to remind myself that they were like Alex, and how bad could that be?
.....................................
So we end with an epiphany from Alex's little sister. I rather like her. The X-Men have entered (see, there is a reason the story was posted under this category) and the Brotherhood will eventually make an appearance as well. I'm afraid I still haven't gotten much into the actual plot, but hey, it's only chapter three, and some books don't take off until halfway through, so I've got time before people start complaining.
I'm sorry I suck at writing accents-when I try to write Rogue, she either ends up sounding like Scarlett O'Hara or Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel, and she really doesn't fit into either of those categories.
Random thought of the day: I love reviews, don't you? How 'bout posting one?
Shameless plug for other story: I just posted a random one-shot fic about Kurt. Take a look.
~ciao, HNH
Disclaimer: I do not own the X Men, although I do own Alex McAllister. While it is nice to own something, Alex isn't very useful. I suggested once that he go out and get a job so he could support me, but he pointed out that he is a fictitious character, and there seems to be a lot of workplace discrimination against people who don't actually exist.
*Scott, Rogue, please meet me by Cerebro. There is a new student I would like your help in recruiting.*
"Woohoo! I'm missing school today!"
All that greeted me was a table full of confused faces.
"Rogue and I are going on a recruiting mission, which means no school today."
Confused faces turned into laughs until Kitty finally spoke up in between giggles. "Uh, Scott? Today is, like, the first day of summer vacation."
I cursed under my breath as the laughing continued. It wasn't that funny. "Well at least I get out of breakfast dish duty. Have fun scraping scrambled eggs out of the frying pan." I walked out of the room, knowing that my fellow dish washers were glaring at me, and that I would most likely pay for it later.
I passed Rogue still in her pajamas stumbling out of her room on the way to Cerebro and gave her a smile. "Morning Rogue, are you excited about a new recruit?"
She gave me a typical scowl and said, "Ah don't know about you, but all this means to me is that Ah don't get to sleep in this morning." I gave her an annoyingly perky smile in return, and tried to make getting up early seem wonderful by declaring that a recruiting mission was for the greater good of the Institute until she couldn't take it any longer. "Oh just don't even try four-eyes," she said, slightly amused "Ah can sleep on the plane."
"Aah, Scott, Rogue, I'm glad to see you managed to get up this morning. I was beginning to wonder if I had caught you awake when I sent the message." The Professor was seated at Cerebro with Ms. Munroe by his side; I assumed she was coming too.
He displayed a few pictures of the boy on the computer screen and began explaining his history. His name was Alex, he was from DC, and he could see through solid objects and in the dark.
More interesting was the information on his family. His mother had died while he was young, and he was raised by his father, who happened to be none other than Rep. Zander McAllister of Washington state, the lead proponent of the MRA.
Rogue seemed to have noticed this tidbit of information, too. "Uh, Professor? How're we gonna convince his family to let him come if they're so anti-mutant?"
"I understand your concerns, Rogue, and Storm and I are working on what we're going to do with his father. I want you and Scott to focus on him. Just explain what we do and how we can help him."
The Professor dismissed us and all got up to get ready for the mission. Storm checked her watch and told us to be back in half an hour to leave. "I believe that gives Rogue enough time to get dressed, and you, Mr. Summers, can go help with the breakfast dishes."
I groaned. Just when I thought I was going to get out of something today, my brilliant maneuvering falls apart before my eyes. Time to go scrape the frying pan.
----------------------------------------------------
"Alex, you have some visitors today."
I looked up in surprise. Only yesterday had I been told that no visitors were allowed, and yet two complete strangers proceeded to enter the room.
They were both about my age. The first one was a guy who could have come straight from a Gap commercial, or any other generic picture of white, middle class preppy life for that matter. The second one was a girl wearing only a br-oh wait, never mind. I saw right through her shirt, which I realized, when I brought it back into focus, was black-much like the rest of her clothing. Had she been wearing sunglasses, she could have joined me in the people-who-belong-in-the-Matrix club.
Oddly enough, Gap boy was wearing sunglasses. Red ones to be exact. I wouldn't have cared normally, because I shouldn't talk, but I did have all the lights turned off in the room. I kept staring at them until Gap boy spoke.
"Hi Alex. I'm Scott and this is my friend Rogue and we just wanted to talk to you for a minute about your powers."
This seemed as weird as Dr. Eggers talking to me, but they didn't repel me quite so much. I listened quietly as they went on.
"Ya see, we both have powers like you, and we know what you're going through. We've been there before." The girl was speaking now. I would have kept silent, but I but I just couldn't swallow that comment, no matter how nice they seemed.
"You mean you, too, have to wear sunglasses or else you'll be blinded by everyone around you? I thought I was the only one!" The sarcasm shot through my voice as I kept going. "And, you know, I'm glad we've all hospitalized four people and totaled a car; it's one, big, shared experience."
They let me rant, exchanging knowing looks as I vented. Matrix Girl looked like she was going to laugh, but Gap boy was glaring at her from behind his glasses. Scott covered her snort by responding to my rant.
"Actually, before I started wearing these glasses for protection, I consistently damaged anything in view when I opened my eyes. I knocked a hole in my bedroom, once." I began to see why Rogue was laughing; apparently I hadn't had it so bad after all.
"Ah actually sent more people than I can count to the hospital before Ah figured out what was going on. Life sucks when ya can't control your powers, but once ya get the hang of it, it's almost as normal as before, and usually more interesting."
They exchanged looks again, but I cut them off as I struggled to remove my foot from my mouth. "Ok, I get your drift on the whole my-life-isn't-shit thing, but what're you talking about now?"
They turned back to me and Scott began explaining. "We both go to the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youth. Officially, it's an elite boarding school and tutoring program for talented kids."
"Which is what it actually is," Interrupted Rogue. "It's just that most people don't know that those talents are all gifts from the X gene. We go to the local high school during the day and get special combat training and tutoring with our powers after school."
"Combat training?" I said. "So, you're all what, normal high school students by day and a secret crime-fighting force at night?"
"Pretty much," said Rogue.
"Well, a lot of our missions are during the day, but otherwise, yes." Added Scott.
I would've said they were joking, but they weren't. Scott kept going.
"We're not just here to tell you about ourselves. We want to offer you a place at the Institute." They handed me a folder with some official looking brochures on the school, including some that explained what the school really was about.
"You're asking me to join a teen mutant crime-fighting squad?"
"We're askin' if ya want to be in a place where ya can have a normal life and not live in constant fear of being discovered. A place where ya can learn to control and develop your powers. A place where ya can be with others like you."
"And besides," added Scott, "you'd train for awhile before you went on missions."
I looked at them both as I pondered their offer. I still had no idea how my friends were going to take the whole mutant thing. In fact, I had no idea if I would ever be safe if anyone heard about the whole mutant thing. My school was unfortunately not exactly a warm and welcoming place for non preppy, upper middle class, white good old boys, and my father couldn't accept me for who I was because I essentially went against his entire philosophical and political platform. The more I thought about it, the more inviting the Xavier Institute seemed. All I had to do was convince my father.
I brought my mind back to give my answer.
"I'd like to come to the Institute-it sounds like it'll be better than staying at home." The two smiled. "I'm just worried about how my father will take it. It's slightly more than a moral opposition to mutants in his case-he's sort of leading the crusade against mutantkind."
"We know," said Scott. "It isn't going to be a fun conversation, but we'll figure out a way to convince him when we visit him today." They got up to go, leaving the folder with me so I could read more about the school I'd just agreed to go to. As they headed for the door, I thought of one more thing to ask them.
"Hey, if you're going to my house, could you tell my little sister that even though I'm not getting a license, I'll still take her out for ice cream? Her name's Nora."
"No problem" Scott replied. They went into the hallway, leaving me with my brochures, and hoping my father wouldn't have them shot before they convinced him to let me go.
-------------------------------------------------
I answered the door and four strangers were there: a bald guy in a wheelchair, a tall black woman with white hair, and two teenagers, a boy and a girl.
"Good evening," the wheelchair guy said, "You must be Alex's sister, Nora. "May we speak with your father?"
"How do you know Alex?" I asked, "and why do you want to talk to my dad?" I'd never seen these people before, so I was naturally a bit skeptical.
"I met him earlier today" the tall boy said, "with Rogue." He pointed to the girl next to him, who nodded shyly. "I'm Scott Summers, by the way."
"And I'm-" The bald man would've kept going, but my father cut him off from inside the house.
"Honey, if they're Jehovah's Witnesses, just tell them we're late for a meeting with Beelzebub or something and shut the door."
"They're not Witnesses, Dad. They want to talk about Alex."
This got him to the door. Nobody had mentioned Alex in our household in the four days since the accident. All Dad would tell anyone was that he wasn't in mortal danger, but with no other news, I was beginning to worry.
"Who the hell are you and what do you know about my son?"
My father had appeared at the door, pushing me out of the way.
"Mr. McAllister, I am Professor Charles Xavier," he said calmly. "This is my colleague, Ororo Munroe, and two of my students, Rogue and Scott." I looked at all of them as they nodded politely to my father when they were introduced. Ms. Munroe even extended a hand, but my father simply stared straight ahead. Mr. Xavier didn't seem to notice this and kept going. "I am the headmaster of the Xavier Institute for Talented Youth, and I believe that young Alex's gifts are ideally suited for my school."
At the mention of my brother's "gifts," my father looked like he was going to slam the door in their faces, but he decided against it and ushered them into the living room instead. He completely forgot about me, so I followed the last stranger into the room and sat down in the corner to watch.
Once they were all settled, Mr. Xavier started talking.
"As I said earlier, I run the Xavier Institute," he began to explain. "We are an exclusive academy that to the outside world is for gifted students. Not know to the public, however, is that we cater to the specific needs of mutants."
He kept going, but I stopped listening. Mutants? Since when was my brother a mutant? Honestly, I didn't know a whole lot about them, except that they could do things I couldn't and my dad thought they were dangerous. This would explain why he never talked about Alex; he was afraid.
I looked at the two teenagers. Were they mutants? They must be, since they went to Mr. Xavier's school. They didn't look threatening, though. In fact, the guy, Scott, was kind of cute. I brought my mind back to the conversation between my father and Mr. Xavier.
"You're asking me to send my son to a school for mutants where he can develop his 'gifts'? You're not just psychotic, you're stupid. You've done your research; you know who I am. I should call the FBI right now."
"But I know you won't," Said the Professor. "As much as you don't want to admit it, you have a stake in this too. As the leading legislator of the Mutant Registration Act, and as a politician with a viable opposition in an election year, you care very much about your public image. Having your son exposed in your current situation would be highly damaging to your career and your effectiveness as a politician. I know you want to do what's best for your son. You still love him, even though he is what you would call abnormal. Sending him to the Institute would provide a chance for him to understand and control his abilities, and our secrecy would allow you to maintain your current image."
I watched my father weigh the arguments in his head. He knew Mr. Xavier had a point, and no matter how much he wanted to completely ignore my brother now that he was a mutant, he wasn't going away.
While Dad struggled with this decision, I noticed that Scott had moved closer to me. He caught my attention and leaned toward me to say something. I eyed him cautiously, not sure why he was talking to me.
"Alex told me to tell you that even though he won't be getting his license, he'll still find a way to take you out for ice cream when he gets home."
"Why won't he have his license?" I asked.
"I think it's because his powers affect his vision, and until he gets control of that, it's not a good idea to drive."
"Oh." I said. I looked at him again. He seemed nice enough, so I figured I'd keep on asking questions. I have a problem with keeping my mouth shut- it doesn't happen very often.
"What are his powers?"
"He's really sensitive to light, and he can see through things." This would explain why he shouldn't be driving.
"Are you a mutant too?" It was a question I had been wanting to ask for awhile. I knew what the answer would be, but I wanted to ask anyway. There was a pause before he answered.
"Yes," he said, "that's why I'm a student at the Institute."
"What do you do?" I kept going; as long as he was answering them, I figured why not. Besides, the more I talked to him, the less afraid I was of him.
"I shoot force beams from my eyes-it's why I wear these all the time." He pointed to his sunglasses. That would explain why he was wearing them inside.
"I suppose it would be for the best if Alex went to your school for.mutants." I heard my father spit the word out as if it were a blasphemous. I also heard the sigh of relief from the others in the room. The three adults proceeded to discuss boring stuff like cost and transportation in the kitchen, leaving the two highschoolers and me in the living room. They talked with each other while my mind wandered back to my brother.
For as long as I could remember, my brother has been the coolest person I know. Even when I'm particularly annoying, he's always put up with his little sister. I remember once, when I was seven, we went to Disneyland, and he waited in line with me for two hours so we could go on It's a Small World, because our father refused. Looking back, it was quite impressive-a ten-year-old boy would never be caught dead on It's a Small World if he had any say in the matter.
And now he was going away. We'd never actually gone to the same school, since my father was a fan of single-sex education, but now, instead of being across the street, he'd be five hours away. And he wasn't exactly going to come home very often-Dad was so afraid word would get out that he couldn't come home from the hospital.
But what exactly was my father afraid of? Alex was the same person he'd always been-I mean, you just didn't become a mutant overnight, it's in your genes-so if he'd always been so "dangerous," as Dad put it, why was he suddenly a risk?
And what was he at risk of doing? Seeing through things may be weird, but it's not like that can kill people. Dad had always talked about mutants as if they were homicidal maniacs, bent on using their powers to persecute normal people. I knew Alex wasn't a homicidal maniac, and even if he was, how could X-Ray vision make him more dangerous?
Alex has and always will be my big brother-the one who protected me from bullies in the park, who taught me how to roller blade and play the piano, who even went as my date to the 8th grade dance because the boy I asked turned me down at the last minute-and no matter how people see him, my view of him will never change.
Dad may suddenly fear his son, but I couldn't. I couldn't even bring myself to fear the two other mutants sitting in the room. They hadn't threatened me, and every time I felt afraid, I just had to remind myself that they were like Alex, and how bad could that be?
.....................................
So we end with an epiphany from Alex's little sister. I rather like her. The X-Men have entered (see, there is a reason the story was posted under this category) and the Brotherhood will eventually make an appearance as well. I'm afraid I still haven't gotten much into the actual plot, but hey, it's only chapter three, and some books don't take off until halfway through, so I've got time before people start complaining.
I'm sorry I suck at writing accents-when I try to write Rogue, she either ends up sounding like Scarlett O'Hara or Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel, and she really doesn't fit into either of those categories.
Random thought of the day: I love reviews, don't you? How 'bout posting one?
Shameless plug for other story: I just posted a random one-shot fic about Kurt. Take a look.
~ciao, HNH