I Hate Mondays

Chapter 6: Explanations

By

Anything but ordinary3

And

The Uncanny R-Man

Disclaimer- We don't own anything, all familiar characters belong to Marvel.


Shout Outs-

Showstopper- There will be a triangle, not with Synthia though.

Fuzzybluelogic- You may not have said much but your point was understood.

Agent-G- As I said before, there will be a love triangle, but Synthia will not be involved. All will be made clear soon enough.


The rec room-

Hank stared at those gathered around him.

"I would explain..." Hank began "...but I don't really know the semantics of the situation myself. So if you would kindly excuse me. Synthia, would you care for a stroll?"

Synthia nodded and followed Hank's lead out of the room.

Once they were on the grounds of the Xavier institute, Helia began to explore and marvel at the various flowers and plants secreted around them.

"She hasn't seen flowers in a long time." Synthia explained "Our world has become inhospitable, the darkness you aided me in fighting before has come back with force. She's not safe there."

Hank nodded, understanding in part, but didn't interrupt her in fear of cutting short her explanation.

"I brought her back here because I knew you would keep her safe." Synthia smiled as Helia sniffed some particularly flagrant roses.

"Why now? You could have come back as soon as you found out you was pregnant." Hank asked evenly.

"She was safe before, besides the opportunity to cross over between our plains of existence was never there before this morning." Synthia sighed "She is a gift, a present of the highest order. The day we met you saved my life, my world and in return I was duty bound to give you what your heart desired most in the world and at that time it was the family and children you thought you would never get."

Hank frowned slightly "It was thoughtful but such a gift isn't..." Hank floundered for the right words "...ethical. To give a child as a present..."

"It was what I wanted too." Synthia interrupted "It was what my people wanted; the women of our race are mainly barren. Helia is a symbol of hope to them and that is why she must be saved and protected."

They stood in silence for a moment as Helia brought a caterpillar over to her mother.

"Look at this! It's funny..." Helia said with a smile "What is it?"

Hank knelt down next to her "Why that's a caterpillar they grow into the most beautiful creatures in the garden."

"It looks ugly to me." Helia said with a grim face.

"Why don't you go back and put it where you found it. Then you can see how many others you can find." Hank challenged, getting back up from his knees.

"Okay!" Helia beamed before skipping back to the geranium where she had found it earlier.

"You will look after her won't you? Protect her with your life?" There was a tinge of desperation in Synthia's tone and expression at that question.

"Naturally." He said it softly but with concern lacing his voice. "What about you?"

"Three days from now I must return."

"Whatever for?"

"It is my place to fight beside my people and die to protect our freedom."

As an X-man Hank knew he had no right to dissuade her from her chosen path, nor could he if he tried. He knew what loyalty to a just cause was like.

"I will come back if, by the grace of all that is light, I should survive."

"You are a very brave woman. But please let me and my friends help." Hank pleaded with his eyes.

Synthia shook her head stubbornly "No, for one thing you would not make the journey there for you aren't a being of light."

"The offer remains if ever there is a way."

"Thank you." Synthia put her hand on Hanks arm gently "For the gift of Helia's life, for supporting me last time I was here and mostly for accepting my scant explanation."

Hank placed his paw on top of Synthia's hand "I could not live with myself if I had done anything less."


Later-

It wasn't that Hank didn't believe Synthia because he did, Helia's resemblance to him around her eyes was proof enough for him. But he was finding it difficult to soak all the information in; after all most fathers get a good nine months to prepare he was just thrown into the mix, so to speak. As a man who's job was to be ready for the unexpected; Hank had wanted a little warning when it came to personal matters on such a scale. But Henry McCoy was also grown up enough to realise what you want and what you get are two completely different subject matters. After all if he had been given a choice he would not look like a reject from a cereal package as he did currently.

Hank sighed heavily. He had secured Helia and Synthia in a room on the same landing as him. It was a room that once belonged to the mutant named Colossus, not that you would be able to tell from it's decoration, or rather it's lack there of. All of the ornaments, paintings and sketches that had once adorned the room had been removed and shared out among Piotr's friends, now all that was left was a husk of a room in beige. However, it had served as a reminder to Hank of just how ill suited his life was to raising a child; each day posed a new threat to the stability of the mansion and its occupants and the threat of death hung thick in the air as they prepared for each mission.

He got up from where he had been laid on his bed, flinching as he caught sight of himself in the mirror. Now he was facing a dilemma; albeit a small one. Brood in silence and do his usual 'I'm okay, see I'm still joking' gig or find someone to talk this through with. Unfortunately, as the mansions resident agony uncle, he had no one idea who to talk to. Jean would be his first port of call but he'd just seen her go out with Charles. Thus, his options narrowed somewhat, he decided on Bobby.

He descended the stairs slowly, devoid of his usual bounce as he became aware of eyes following him, be it students or teachers, each set of eyes hoping to snatch a slither of information regarding his predicament. Hank just settled for giving them an amiable smile as he made his way to the study.

"Henry." Emma greeted with a nod of her head.

Hank smiled relieved to find Emma and not someone more prying. "Greetings Emma. I don't suppose you know the whereabouts of Robert?"

Emma looked up from her magazine "He's down in the med bay gossiping with Tigra."

"Many thanks, Miss Frost." He said bowing out of the room.

Hank went off in pursuit of his best friend waving at a student who smiled in his direction. When he reached the lower levels he strode into the med bay cautiously.

"Bobby?"

"No just me." Tigra called out

"Oh..." Hank said slightly deflated "Any idea where he is."

"He's gone shopping for Twinkies and Crayola. Don't ask." Tigra didn't miss his down cast look "Everything alright?"

"Yes...ah...I just wanted to talk to him."

"Anything I can help with?" She asked propping herself up on one arm.

"Well..." He scratched the back of his neck self consciously "A past love has returned with my child. They have come from a barren war torn land where things are categorized as either light or dark. I don't even know if it is a real planet or a pocket dimension. All I know is that Synthia has thought it wise to return here and entrust Helia, that's my daughter, into my care...."

Once Hank started he couldn't stop pouring his heart out to her. Tigra for her part listened attentively, reassuring and soothing him when necessary. Once he had exhausted himself on that subject they moved on to other subjects from the initial awkward chat about the weather to a more intense discussion on the politics and hierarchy of the modern police force.

The ease the pair had in conversation marvelled Hank who didn't notice as the hours zoomed by in the space of what felt like half an hour. It wasn't until Emma came down to check that Hank wasn't pulling an all-nighter that the pair said their goodbyes.

TBC...


Next: Hell Hath No Fury Like a Telepath Scorned

I can't tell you what I meant by that; it'll give too much away.