Part II
Chapter nine (finally!)
"I don't know, Lily." Xavier rubbed his chin. His face was scraggly with facial hair after days of doing nothing but pouring over his books researching Lily.
"It's worth a try, Professor."
"Yes, I suppose you're right. I'll discuss it with Rogue."
"No, don't!"
"Why not?"
"I don't want to raise her hopes up if it doesn't work. Let's just see if we can experiment first."
"You're probably right. I won't say a word till we have some results."
"Thank you."
"So," Scott drawled as he casually blew a hologram robot to smithereens. "Are you and Lily…is there a you and Lily I mean…?"
"Why do you ask?" Logan answered, pushing his claws into a smaller version of a sentinel.
"Well, its pretty obvious there's something going on."
"Is it." Logan avoided a robot and let it attack Scott.
"Yes and Jean and I are a bit worried."
"Jean?" A slow wave of familiar pain washed over him. Quickly he recovered his composure. "Why are you and Jean worried?"
"Because," Scott started. He switched off the training session. "Lily is so young, Logan. She's just a teenager. You've seen so much more, experienced so much more. We've been fighting this fight for years. She's new."
"So?"
"It just complicates things. There are things she couldn't understand, couldn't even imagine."
"Maybe that's what I like," Logan said. "She's unpolluted by all this mutant hatred. We spend all our time in peril. We can barely make a move without risking our lives. Maybe I like having someone who's just free and innocent."
"But that's just the point, Logan. She's innocent. We drag her into this and she never gets out. She'll be in peril all the time, she'll risk her life every time she moves. Professor Xavier shouldn't keep her here. He should find her a good home or another mutant facility."
"But they couldn't protect her."
"I'm sure the professor could find her somewhere where she could be free and safe."
"Then why hasn't he?"
"Because she wouldn't go." Logan shrugged.
"Well that's that then huh? She has the right to choose. If she doesn't want to go, she doesn't want to go."
"But you're the reason she doesn't want to go," Scott said quietly as Logan grabbed a towel to wipe his neck and stormed out.
"So we've had some bad luck," Drake sighed. "So what? We still have a whole mutant team ready to fight and a psychic at our beck and call."
"I didn't mean to sound pessimistic," Skylark replied quickly. "I just wondered what our next move would be considering…considering we didn't end up so good in the last battle."
"We may be taking the wrong angle."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, here we are trying to convince a silly teenager to join us. But she just wants a place to feel. She's already been drawn in. We can't force her to come in. We have to brainwash her."
"How? She doesn't trust any of us."
"Skylark, my dear boy, that's why we get a newcomer on the job."
"What newcomer?"
"You'll see."
The doorbell rang during dinner. Everyone was relaxed and laughing and at first no one even noticed. Then Jubilee piped up.
"Guys, are you totally oblivious? The bell's been ringing for ten minutes!" Xavier smiled sheepishly.
"I didn't notice," he said. "Storm, will you get it? You'll have to unlock all the security system, he's probably way at the front of the gate."
"It's been pretty quiet lately," Jean remarked. "No wonder we're all off guard."
"Now you've jinxed us," Logan said smiling. "Now expect an attack from Apocalypse, a return of the bubonic plague, and a takeover of the world by killer rats."
"Hey, don't ya joke about that!" Rogue laughed. "In this day and age, that could happen easily!"
"Who's Apocalypse?" Lily asked. There was an exchange of bemused glances around the table.
"He's probably our most…difficult enemy," Scott answered. There were murmurs of agreement.
"He's a little...just a little crazy." Jean smirked.
"There's so much I don't know!" Lily exclaimed. "I want to learn it all!"
"You will," Logan said looking down at her. "You probably can't avoid it."
"Professor?" Storm poked her head in. "There's a man who wants to talk to you."
"Show him in here," Xavier said. "Give him some dinner!" Storm led a tall dark-haired man in the room. Lily choked on her mouthful of shrimp.
"Michael!" She yelped once she'd swallowed. "What are you doing here?"
"Lily? Lily Romania? You're the last person I expected to find in a school for mutants."
"Yeah well, things change." She smiled nervously.
"You don't," he answered. "You look just the same as when I last saw you. Well, except for the silver hair."
"Yeah, I kinda got stuck with it," Lily said, fingering a long strand. It had gone from streaked to gleaming silver in a matter of months.
"Sorry to break up the reunion," Xavier interrupted politely. "But I assume you came for a reason? Can we talk here or would you prefer in private?"
"We can talk in here," Michael said, smiling down at Lily who looked too confused to react. "I have no secrets from Lily." He looked around. "And I don't know the rest of you well enough to hide things from you."
"Well, that's an interesting philosophy," Storm murmured, exchanging a questioning look with Scott. "Usually you hide from those you have no reason to trust."
"Well, Charles, Can I call you Charles? I feel like I know you, I've heard so much about you. I came on behalf of myself and my wife, whom Lily also knows. My wife isn't a mutant, by the way. Anyways, some group of mutants has been hounding us. Stalking, spying, tapping our phone lines, sneaking into our house. We came here for solid protection and to find out why they are after us."
"So-so…" Lily faltered and flickered her eyes about the room. "You're a mutant, Michael?" Michael laughed and stroked the side of her hair.
"Afraid so, my dear." His face grew serious. "So really, Lily, I must beg your forgivenesss for the way I treated you after I found out. I had no idea I was one too, and I was so prejudiced and stupid."
"So what kind of mutant are you?" Logan interrupted, casting steel eyes on Michael's boyishly handsome face.
"Shape-shifter," Michael answered. "And boy do I have fun with it." He nudged Lily, but she didn't join his chuckling.
"What would a group of mutant terrorists want with a shape shifter?" Xavier mused, stroking his chin. "Why not just get another? A more cooperative one? Michael, I need to speak with you, and show you some pictures and files and see if we can find out what group we're talking about."
"Sure thing, Charles. But first-" He gestured to the door. "I have to introduce my wife."
"I didn't know you married, Michael," Lily said, her voice tight.
"Oh, but you should know, you'd be pleased I think at who I married." Michael grinned. "Let me go get her. She's in the car."
"I'll go," Storm said protectively, patting the professor's back. "I can't just turn off all the security systems."
"Right."
"How do you two know each other?" Logan asked loudly.
"Oh," Lily glanced over at Michael with an odd expression on her face. "We went to school together. Dated actually, for a year. He's a few years older than me, though. "
"Can he be trusted?" Scott asked, suspiciously.
"Scott!" Jean scolded. "She obviously didn't know he was coming or what he's here for."
"I have a bad feeling about that one," Logan declared.
"Maybe your other…feelings on da matter might be influencing you a bit, no?" Gambit slurred.
"I tell you, I have a bad feeling."
"I don't know if he can be trusted," Lily spoke up. "I really don't. I knew him very well, but it was an entirely different world for me then. I haven't seen him since. He was pretty horrible to me when he discovered I was a mutant, which I can't completely blame him for, considering the place we lived and the general opinions of the area. It's easy to fall into prejudices when they are all around you. But I don't know what he's here for. I don't know who he is now."
"Do you want him here? Do you want us to trust him?" Scott asked, more gently. Lily shrugged.
"You trusted me. Just give him the same chance, but only tell him what he needs to know…just like with me."
"You're right, Lily," Xavier mused. "He requested our help and there's no good reason I should refuse. Forgive our concern, but these are dangerous times." Michael came back in, an attractive blonde woman attached to his arm, smiling proudly.
"Shannon!" Lily yelped. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm Michael's wife!" she exclaimed. "Are you surprised?"
"Of course I am…What…how…"
"Nice of ya to introduce us all," Rogue smirked good-naturedly.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Lily said, flustered. "This is my sister, Shannon."
"Sister?" Logan's voice grew a little softer, but still concerned.
"Yes, my older sister." Lily's voice was shocked, but flat and obviously not thrilled to see her sister.
"This getting' a little confusin'," Remy whispered to Rogue. "Now we have da whole family?"
"I suppose we should go in the war room and talk," Xavier said, and gestured to the two newcomers. They followed him faithfully, with bright smiles, promising to speak to Lily later.
"What's wrong, gal?" Rogue asked. "You look like ya seen a ghost. What are ya all worked up over? Just ya sister." Lily shook her head.
"I'm not worked up," she denied. "Just a little shaky. It's been awhile." But Logan could tell there was more she wasn't telling.
While Xavier was talking to Michael and Shannon, Lily decided to tell Rogue about her plan after all. She was too excited to keep it secret for long, especially since out of all the X-Men, she liked Rogue best, second only to Logan.
"Rogue," she started breathlessly, pulling her in a vacant hallway. "I have an idea."
"What kind of idea?" Rogue asked warily.
"An idea to help you and Gambit."
"Aw, honey. That's a lost cause. We've been down that coaster too many times and I can't touch him and that's that."
"But what if you could? Not all the time, but at certain times, let's say an hour or so each night. Would it be able to work then? I know it's not perfect, but better than what you have now."
"What in tarnation are ya talking about, gal?"
"I'm talking about putting energy into Gambit. I can't take away your power, but I can charge Gambit with so much energy, it won't matter if you touch him. If I give him enough energy, then you could have a whole hour without worrying about hurting him."
'Lily, I…" Oddly enough the plan made sense to Rogue, but that's what frightened her. To be able to touch? To not be restrained? How would she even manage? She hadn't had pure, unrestrained touch since she was a teenager. Would she even know how to react?
"I don't know," she finished. "What does the professor think?"
"He loves it!" Lily exclaimed. "He's just worried. But we can test it out. If it doesn't work, you can't hurt Gambit too much right?"
"Well, yeah, I could," Rogue said dryly, sensing that the innocent girl still really didn't understand much about mutant powers.
"It's worth a try," Lily urged. "And I bet Gambit thinks so too."
"Of course he would. He takes any risk."
"Let's try right now!" Lily cried out. "Just for a moment."
"Thing are really weird between Remy and I, how can I just-"
"Remy!" Lily shouted, grinning deviously. "Hey Gambit, get your butt in here?"
"What is dis about?" Remy looked around, his eyes raising at the newest X-member speaking to him so bluntly.
"I have an idea I want to try," Lily said.
"Gal, you barely can control one blast of your power, how do ya know ya aren't gonna hurt Remy?"
"Whoa, what is going on?" Remy asked, but Lily responded by grabbing his hand and squeezing.
"Hey, little girl, I thought you were Wolverine's." Then Remy's face contorted and he gasped in surprise.
"What's happening?" He called out, as his figure started to outline itself in transparent blue energy. "Lily, what are you doing?"
"Hold on, it's okay," she reassured. "You won't be hurt." A few moments passed and she finally let go.
"There you go!" she exclaimed. "Now this is all new so I would estimate the time at an hour. But you better stay at a half hour just to be safe…at least this time." She grinned again.
"I'll leave you two alone," Lily said, grinning again and making her way out of the hallway. "Have fun!" Rogue touched Remy tentatively and saw he was unharmed. Then she touched him longer and longer, and finally throwing caution to the wind, jumped in his arms and kissed him.