Chapter 25. Yesterday, everything was different.
"And dont get in any fights with Spyke!" Lance reminded as the speedster, to whom the statement was addressed, and the two other brothers of the Brotherhood left the room.
"Yeah yeah, dont worry," Pietro mumbled, waving a hand behind him as he closed the door.
"Arent you going with them?" Lance asked, turning to Tabitha, who had decided to take up the desk and chair, sitting with her feet up.
Tabitha shook her head. "Nah. Not hungry. Besides, having me around makes Pietro more defensive. Dont argue- he gets defensive when any one of us is around; we all know that. Better he only have Todd and Fred with him. Less to defend."
Not having expected the detailed and exceptionally frank explanation, Lance raised an eyebrow, studying the only sister of the Brotherhood. "Tabby?"
"Besides, I need to talk to you," Tabitha stated, continuing as if he hadnt spoken. Taking her feet off the desk, she turned, getting up.
"You have to tell me whats going on. Whats really going on."
"Tabby."
"Lance," arms crossed, Tabitha looked at him. "I mean it."
"You already know everything thats going on," Lance assured as he took a seat on his bed.
Narrowing her eyes, Tabitha stared into Lances eyes for a moment before abruptly turning, heading for the other bed in the room and sitting down.
"Im dropping out of school."
That took Lance off-guard. And immediately had him jumping up to his feet, staring at Tabitha with wide eyes.
"WHAT?! NO!"
"Why?" Tabitha demanded, crossing her arms once more.
"Because! Why the hell would you?"
"Face it Lance- its not going to do anything for me and Im wasting my time."
"Thats not true and you know it!"
"And you know that I know you too well for you to lie to me and get away with it!" Standing up, Tabitha stepped closer, her eyes furious- but also worried.
"Damn it Lance! Tell me whats going on!"
"I cant!" Lance snapped, losing control. Running a hand through his hair, he sighed angrily.
"Everything is fine."
"Lance! This is me youre talking to! I know everything about you! Dont lie to me! Dont tell me youre fine when youre obviously not!"
"Im fine Tabby! End of discussion!"
With the last shout, Lance turned around, heading for the door. But a surprisingly strong grasp grabbed him by the hand, jerking him back.
"No. Beginning of discussion," Tabitha stated, her tone dropping. She let go of his hand, knowing that he would not leave yet.
"Tell me whats going on."
Glaring, Lance clenched his fists.
"Dont do this, Tabby."
Tabithas eyes softened a little, but the determination did not decrease.
"I have to, Lance."
"Theres nothing to talk about!"
"Stop lying!"
"Leave me alone, Tabby!"
"I cant!"
"Damn it, Tabby! Leave me alone! Leave me the hell alone!"
Lance shouted, swerving around for the exit. Her hand caught him again, though it was more softly this time.
"I cant Lance. The last time I did... I cant let you do that to yourself."
"Im fine! Now let go!" Lance snapped, turning around. "Leave me alone!"
"I cant!"
"Tabby let go! Leave me alone! Leave me alone!"
"Lance! Tell me whats going on! Trust me!"
"DAMN IT, TABBY! IM DYING!"
Drawing in a sharp breath, eyes wide open, Tabitha stepped back, staring at Lance in shock and disbelief.
Realizing what he had said, Lances eyes widened, and he shook his head fervently.
"I didnt mean that. Tabby, I didnt mean that."
Unable to speak, unable to do anything, Tabitha simply collapsed, falling to her knees in stunned silence.
Lance was immediately by her side, putting his hands on her shoulders, searching her eyes for some sign of recognition. He received none- her eyes were blank, devoid of life itself.
"No, no; I didnt mean it Tabby. I didnt mean it," he drew her closer, hugging her gently, hoping for some response. Any response.
He received none.
"Please Tabby, say something, do something. Anything. Anything."
Powerless, he shook her in desperation, before falling back to an embrace, willing her to wake, wishing for a response, any response.
At last he got one.
Slowly pulling away, Tabitha stared at him, her eyes stunned into empty paralysis.
"...I have to go."
Pushing away from him, she got up.
Lance looked at her, following her with swiftness only granted by necessity.
"Please Tabby- let me explain."
"Youre dying. Whats so hard to understand about that?" Tabitha replied without emotion, striding towards the door.
"No, its not like that. Theres more to it, just let me explain. It sounds horrible, but-"
"It doesnt matter Lance!" Tabitha swerved around.
"It doesnt matter," she stated, her voice emotionless once more.
Turning back to the door, she opened it. "I have to go for a walk."
"Tabby, wait! Tabby!"
Lance slammed his fists onto the wall in a mixture desolate anger and despair as the door closed.
"Pietro, do you have a minute?"
A little surprised at the unexpected request, Pietro turned to the weather witch with a scowl.
"What?"
"I would like to talk to you."
Glancing at Fred and Todd with a I dont know what its about either shrug, he nodded for them to go ahead to the kitchen before turning his attention on Ororo once more.
"About what?"
"You."
"Im gone."
"Pietro, wait."
Something about her voice made him stop.
"What do you want?"
"Just to talk to you," Ororo assured. "All of this cant be easy on you."
Pietro shrugged indifferently.
"Same for me as anyone else- Todd, Fred, and Tabby can handle it, and so can I."
"But no one else has connections like you do," Ororo pointed out gently. "What happened between you and Evan, two years ago?"
"That has nothing to do with you. Look, you might be his aunt and everything, but that doesnt give you the right to intrude on what happened between us."
"You used to be such close friends, Pietro."
"Yeah? Well were enemies now, arent we? Lay off," with that Pietro turned, heading for the kitchen.
Watching the white-haired boy storm off, Ororo sighed.
After Logans talk with Lance, the four adults of the Institute had held a brief discussion on the mental welfare of the Brotherhood members. For Lance wasnt the only one to be worried about, though he was by far one requiring most caution out of them all at the present, taking into consideration the circumstances and situation.
Logan had decisively agreed to be in charge of looking out for Lance; and Ororo had wanted to try to help Pietro, having a little history with him as well as the connection he had with Evan. Hank would be approaching Todd and Fred- it seemed useless to split up the two when they were usually together. Charles had concerns over Tabithas willingness to open up to anyone, as she was actually quite reserved, despite all appearances, but knowledge of this only made him more determined to try.
It wasnt that they would ignore the rest of the Brotherhood, with the exception of their focuses. But with such a delicate case, it seemed wise to make sure each of the teens were looked after at all times.
Watching the teen walk off, Ororo sighed once more.
It was going to be difficult, trying to reach them. The Brotherhood still saw them as the enemy. And on top of that, Ororo had a feeling that they had a lot more concerns and problems than they let on, and their troubled pasts would only hinder the process of gaining trust.
"I lost her. I cant believe I lost her."
Dejected, Lance sighed and leaned heavily against the wall to his side.
"Lance?"
The one voice that had the power to make him feel like things would be all right. That things could get better.
Lance turned, pushing away from the wall. "Hey Kitty."
"Lance? Are you okay? You look really tired."
"I am kind of tired. Listen, Kitty, have you seen Tabby anywhere?"
"No- why? Whats the matter?"
"Nothing," Lance sighed.
"Lance?" Walking over, Kitty gently took his hand in hers. "Whats wrong?"
How can I answer that question... one of my only four best friends is off by herself somewhere, and before she left, she looked at me like she was going to... like she was going to...
Lance shook his head, trying to rid his mind of his thoughts. Starting to walk, he answered without meeting her eyes.
"Nothings wrong. Im fine."
Looking at him, concern vivid in her eyes, Kitty walked beside him. "Lance, youre making me worried..."
"Im sorry," Lance sighed. "Im fine. Really."
"Do you want to talk?"
"Thats all right."
"Lance... you dont have to be the strong one all the time you know."
At those words, Lance stopped, turning to her. "What?"
Kitty smiled softly. "You dont. And its okay to want to talk to someone else."
"...Kitty..."
"Hey kid."
Tabitha didnt even turn around, and did not bother to reply, sitting silently on the edge of the cliff. Her knees pulled close against her, she merely wrapped her arms around herself more tightly.
"Tabitha, are you all right?"
Getting no response, the two X-Men looked at each other for a moment before stepping closer. Leaving Hank and Ororo inside, Logan and Charles had made their way outside, to find Tabitha and talk to her. Charles had picked up extreme emotions around Lance and Tabitha, but especially the latter, to his surprise- Tabitha had always been unusually good at covering up her feelings and hiding her thoughts.
"Do you want to know how I got my powers?"
Sitting on the balcony over looking the rocky shore end of the institute grounds, Kitty was more than thrilled to have Lance talking to her like this; it wasn't often he talked about himself, preferring to talk about her or listen to her talk instead. And now, with him offering to share his past, she was both surprised and grateful- but at the same time worried, wondering what could have been so bad for Lance to finally need her, and to let her in.
"Of course! You never told me before."
"I dont like to think about it, but its been on my mind lately, with everything thats been going on. Its not a pretty story, Kitty."
"I want to hear it. I want to know more about you."
"Okay," Lance sighed. "Well I was on the streets when my powers emerged; I was eight then. Well, eight and a few months. Before you ask- I ran away before that happened, so I was alone. My powers showed up at a weird stage in my life, but when I think about it, that probably saved me. Anyhow, I didnt know what was happening at first- and I didnt realize for a while, even after that, that I created earthquakes. It took a while for me to get used to it. And I got headaches from that too- a lot in the beginning. It got better as I got better with my powers," another sigh escaped him. "Of course, that was all before Bayville. I didnt even know there were others like me until I met you. I thought I was just some weird freak, you know?"
"Lance," taking his hand, she held it in hers. "Dont feel that way."
"Well yeah, I dont anymore. Now Im just one freak out of many- and if you think about it, thats kind of a contradiction right there. Kind of ironic too."
"Tell me what happened with your foster parents," Kitty suggested, attempting to change the subject.
"Them?" Lance paused, looking at her. "I dont think I should," he concluded after a moment of consideration.
Confused, Kitty cocked her head. "Why not?"
Lance shrugged. "Its even less prettier than the story about my powers. Itll only make you depressed."
"Lance, I want to know everything about you- your present and your past."
"Well... all right. But only for you, Pretty Kitty," Lance smiled a little, but it faded as he continued to talk. "My real parents- and I dont consider them that, by the way- left me when I was five. I ended up in an orphanage in Chicago, but since I was young and all, I got adopted pretty quickly. I was five and a half when... these people took me. At first I thought it was going to be all right; I was five, but I didnt think my parents were coming back for me, so I was happy to get someone, anyone, you know?" here he paused, looking at her again.
"You really want to hear this? It doesnt matter, really."
"Lance," moving his hand, she sat closer to him, leaning slightly on him. "Your past is a part of you."
Putting his arm around her, Lance nodded a little. "If you say so," he sighed.
"Well the couple that took me... lets just say they shouldnt be allowed to take any kid, ever. I learned to spend as much time outside my home as possible. It wasnt till I was eight that Social Services found out what was going on, and took me back to the orphanage. By then I was already known as a troublemaker- I was stealing stuff and getting into a few fights on the streets. Plus theres some prejudice against foster kids, and people didnt like dirty little kids like me- I wasnt exactly the most hygienic kid around back then."
Leaning closer to him, Kitty took his free hand in hers once more. Lance didnt seem to take notice of this, staring out across the ocean.
"But then I found out that my so-called foster parents were going to actually sue for the right to keep me. And... well, I wasnt exactly the most well liked kid either. People didnt think I was worth the trouble to save. So I ran away. Thats when my powers manifested. It wasnt too bad, living on the streets. But I guess I dont know too well, because I was caught a few months later. They sent me back to the orphanage. Around my ninth year, the state turned me over to those people again. So I was right after all. Weird isnt it? Im never right. I was their property until a little after my sixteenth birthday. Social Services and my parole officer got together and pulled me out. They sent me to another foster home, and that one was all right, I guess. But I was only there for a few months, because there was another new arrival, and no room for me. I stayed in juvie for a while, because there was nowhere else to go. Then I went to Northbrook. And from there you know."
