Dust To Dust

"Remy always hated funerals," Remy grumbled under his breath.

"I ain't exactly crazy about churches either," Logan added.

"Hush now!" Rogue said. "We're here for Warren so keep it down!" In the back of the church were Rogue, Remy, Logan and Ororo. Warren sat with the rest of his family in the front of the church as the funeral went on.

"Too bad neither Xavier nor Cyclops are here," Remy grumbled.

"They are both tending to Jean and Sage back home," Rogue reminded him. "Now hush up!"

"Everybody's looking at us like we just set the casket on fire," Logan grunted.

"Why not?" Remy told him. "We just set a whole building on fire two days ago!"

"Remy…" Ororo sighed.

"He's got a point 'Ro," Logan told her. "What I can't believe is that Worthington's not hiding his wings."

Warren was sitting with his mother in the front of the church. His normally hidden wings were out for everyone to see. "Was that really a smart idea?" Rogue wondered aloud.

"Why not?" Remy asked. "Why should he be ashamed of what he is?"

"Yeah but I dunno if a funeral is the right time to make a Mutant Pride statement," Rogue told him.

"Considering where we are it's an appropriate time," Remy pointed out.

The service was soon over, but not before there were a lot of harsh scowls and dirty looks thrown their way. They followed to the family graveyard. After the burial service Warren brought his mother over to his friends.

"Mother, these are my friends and co workers from the Xavier Institute," Warren told her. Mrs. Worthington was a blonde older woman who looked quite frail.

"We're so sorry for your loss," Ororo said sympathetically.

"Funny, since you people were pretty much responsible for my brother's death," Burt stormed up and put his arm around his sister in law.

"Burt please…" Mrs. Worthington begged.

"Uncle Burt now isn't the time," Warren told him.

"I don't believe this," Burt sneered. "You lecturing me on how to behave! I knew you would show up and disrupt this funeral, but at least I thought you would have the decency to cover up those…wings of yours. Much less invite your freak friends!"

"At least I showed up which is more than I could say for your son!" Warren snapped.

"Buster couldn't make it," Burt bristled.

"Oh yeah that's right, he's scared of dead people," Warren said sarcastically. "Among other things!"

"He is not afraid of dead people," Burt snapped. "You know perfectly well that when he was young, Buster had a traumatic experience in a graveyard! He was nearly buried alive!"

"Under a pile of Styrofoam!" Warren said. "It wasn't even a real graveyard! It was a fake one the school made up for Halloween!"

"It was very realistic and he was at a very impressionable age," Burt told him.

"He was a senior in High School!" Warren exclaimed.

"This isn't about my son, it's about how lousy a son you've been!" Burt told him. "For once in your life think about this family and the company!"

"Once? All I have ever done is put this family first!" Warren retorted.

"Is that what you were doing flying around playing superhero?" Burt yelled.

"You have no idea…" Warren began.

"You killed your father just as if you put a bullet in his heart," Burt hissed.

"Burt, please!" Mrs. Worthington pleaded.

"It's the truth! Everyone knows it!" Burt shouted. "Your father worried about you every single minute and it ruined him! Look at your mother! This hasn't exactly been easy for her either!"

"Burt…" Mrs. Worthington shook her head weakly.

"Have you ever even thought for a second how all this makes her feel?" Burt pointed. "It's not just the press but the worry and the fear about you that's ruining her health the same way it killed your father!"

"Will you stop shouting!" An older man with glasses in a suit stormed up to them. "You know Mrs. Worthington is in no condition for this!"

"Dr. Lambert, please…" Mrs. Worthington waved. "I'm fine."

"You are not fine! Your health has been in serious decline before your husband's death!" Dr. Lambert told her.

"Is that true?" Warren looked at his mother. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"And when would she do that? You're never home!" Burt shouted. "Which come to think about it isn't such a bad idea!"

"Please…Burt! Warren…I…" Mrs. Worthington looked faint. "I need to lie down."

"Come with me my dear," Dr. Lambert said comfortingly to her. He glared at both men. "I thought the two of you knew better than this. Especially you Burt!" He took her away.

"See what you've done?" Burt whirled on Warren when she left. "See what your selfishness has cost her?"

"With all due respect, Warren…" Ororo began.

"Miss with all due respect, this is a family affair," Burt glared at her. "You may be his friends but you are not family. And as far as I'm concerned neither are you Warren! Do us all a favor and stay the hell away from us! We're all better off without you!" He stormed off. Warren looked hurt and flew off in the opposite direction.

"Warren…" Ororo began to fly after him.

Logan grabbed onto her before she could fly away. "Let him go Ororo, kid needs time to think."

"Man that was rough…" Rogue shuddered.

"Makes my family back in New Orleans seem downright civil," Remy glared at Burt. "Even Thieves treat family better than that."

"I've seen cage matches with less blood," Logan agreed.

Warren flew around to clear his head then back to the family mansion to retrieve his things. He had intended to stay a few days but decided that it was out of the question. He wouldn't have been welcomed. He went into his room via the window and started to pack before the rest of the family returned. He could hear some people come in downstairs. There had been a brunch planned at the home after the funeral. He decided it was best to leave quietly while the others were eating. It took him only a few minutes to get his things and just as he closed up his suitcase, a voice stopped him.

"You're not leaving already are you?"

Warren turned to look at who spoke to him. It was an attractive woman in black with short blonde hair. "I mean I know I'm not really family or anything but still it might be worth to hang around for a bit."

"Do I know you?" Warren asked.

"Only for about four years in high school," She gave him a look. "I mean I knew most people would rather forget about those years but really…"

"Candy?" Warren asked. "Candy Southern? Is that you? You're…?"

"Blonde? And short? Yeah you know me," She ran her hand through her hair. "Career move. It's for a film I'm doing."

"That's right you're an actress," Warren remembered.

"Not a very well known one, but enough to pay the bills," Candy smirked. "I'm sorry about your father."

"Yeah well…" Warren sighed as he leaned back.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who's changed," Candy pointed to the wings. "So when did you…?"

"I had 'em since Sophomore year," Warren sighed. "Let's just say the coach owed my family some favors."

"So that's how you got out of gym class," Candy snapped her fingers. "I should have known."

"You're not…?" Warren was hesitant.

"Freaked out by a pair of wings? Hell no," Cindy shook her head. "You should have seen my last movie. Headbanging Zombie Queens. I was one of the Zombie Queens."

"I think I saw that," Warren thought. "Or part of it, one of the kids back at the Institute was watching it. Wait, were you the green one that bit that guy's…"

"Yes," Cindy admitted. "That was me. Although truth be told from what I've heard from the co-star who dated him, that was an unnecessary move."

"I thought you looked familiar," Warren remembered. "So you're an actress?"

"Yes, we've established that," Candy grinned. "And you are…"

"A complete and total failure," Warren groaned.

"Okay…" Candy blinked. "I know I'm a bit slow on the uptake but…You're a millionaire mutant super hero. How exactly is that a failure?"

"I should have been home," Warren said. "If I had been there instead of running around playing super hero, maybe my father would still be alive."

"From what I've heard trying to save the world all the time is a pretty demanding job," Candy pointed out. "And your Dad's always been strong as an ox. There was no way you could have known this was going to happen."

"But his health was failing," Warren told her. "I should have…"

"From what I've been hearing in the papers this time when you blew up a building it was for a good cause," Candy told him. "Otherwise there would have been Stryker Sunday Two the Sequel."

"How did you know about that?" Warren asked.

"It's been in the news since this whole thing began," Candy told him. "There was a huge press release from Valerie Cooper explaining it all. You didn't hear about…? Oh wait, of course you didn't. How stupid of me. I mean with your father dead and everything…"

"No, no, it's not your fault. But thanks for telling me. At least some good came out of that crazy night."

"I get the feeling that it was a lot crazier than the press let on."

"You're right, it was."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not right now," Warren sighed.

"Well if you ever do feel like talking about it," Candy slipped him a card. "Here's my number. We can chat and complain about how lousy our lives are."

"I'd like that," Warren said. Just then Warren felt better than he had been in days. And he knew it had a lot to do with Candy.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Back at the mansion Xavier was visiting Sage in the infirmary. "Are you feeling any better?" He asked.

"Satisfactory," Sage sighed as she lay back on the bed.

"Tessa…" Xavier's eyes were downcast. "I never stopped looking for you."

"I know," Sage told him. "Sometimes Shaw would brag about how close you came to finding me but his cloaking technology…He developed it with Magneto you know?"

"It's still my fault," Xavier said. "All those years…Everything you went through. If I hadn't asked you to spy on the Hellfire club…"

"Perhaps…" Sage nodded. "But I must take responsibility for my actions as well. I thought I knew the risks back then and was willing to make the sacrifice. I was arrogant. I thought I couldn't be caught. I was wrong. It seems we are both responsible for the choices we have made. There is no point in recriminations. What matters now is what we do with our lives. What you are doing Charles…You're doing what you can to make sure mutants are not enslaved or exterminated. Or that humans do not meet with the same fate. That humans and mutants can live in peace. It is a dream worth fighting for. Even if you are sometimes narrow minded about how to go about it."

"You always were more perceptive than I was, with or without telepathy," Xavier managed a wry smile. "What about you? What do you want to do with your life now that you are free from the Hellfire Club?"

"To be honest, I haven't thought about it yet," Sage said. "I need…time to analyze my situation and figure out what I really want and how best to use the skills I've learned over the years."

"Tessa…If you need anything…Anything at all…"

"You have enough problems with Jean," Sage told him. "She needs your full attention what with that power of hers. Muir Island is a better place for me to recover, for now."

"I feel like I'm doing this again to you," Xavier hung his head. "Pushing you to the side…Trying to go on without you…"

"You had to do that Xavier," Sage explained. "You would not have been able to create the Institute if you didn't. Just as I had to forget about you in order to survive. To be honest it was not all…Unpleasant. In many ways Shaw was…kinder to me than you believe he was. Compared to some of the other members of the Hellfire Club he ousted."

"You always were a very understanding person Tessa."

"That's the essence of logic, to understand," Sage told him. "At the very least my time in the Hellfire Club was not wasted. I know exactly all the locations where the Hellfire Club has hidden evidence. Hopefully they haven't destroyed or moved them all yet."

"We did manage to show the authorities evidence that the Bio Pulse was being manufactured by the Hellfire Club," Xavier told her. "That's put a huge dent in their operations. They're already started an investigation into the Inner Circle's holdings, including the Massachusetts Academy."

"Funny thing about that," Nick Fury walked into the room. "As soon as the FBI showed up with a warrant, the school was already closed down."

"What?" Xavier asked.

"The Hellions and their friends all packed up and fled in a hurry," Fury grumbled. "And all the other students are hiding or conveniently on a field trip to Switzerland. They're probably lying low until their lawyers manage to get 'em out of it. All except for your friend Warpath. He's talking, but he doesn't know nearly enough as we hoped."

"You're not going to arrest him are you?" Xavier asked.

"You mean for his involvement in those tussles with the FOH?" Fury asked. "We had our own psychic check him out. He never killed anyone but technically he's still an accomplice to those FOH the Hellions wiped out. Then again the FOH isn't exactly on SHIELD'S nice list so we're willing to call it even. Besides he turned against the Hellions when the chips were down, that still means something in my book."

"By psychic you mean Karma?" Sage asked.

"That's her," Fury shrugged. "We put her in X-Factor to make sure things didn't get out of control. Anyway he's pretty much free to go now that we've got his statement. We made a deal. He's told us everything he knows and quite frankly it wasn't much, but enough to keep him out of a detention facility. "

"Not as much as what I know," Sage said.

"You do have all the information on Shaw and the rest of the Hellfire Club we really need," Fury admitted. "You were there in the middle of everything for years. Warpath's small potatoes. Besides it's not like we won't be able to find him if we need him. So I'm afraid SHEILD will be escorting you to Muir Island and keeping an eye on you there."

"It's quite logical," Sage told him. "I understand."

"Pretty sloppy of Daniels to drop the ball like that," Fury nodded.

"He was trying to rescue his teacher," Xavier pointed out.

"From what you've described sounds like she'll be in a coma a long time," Fury pointed out. "The Inner Circle won't be too happy about that. This is the break we've been waiting years for. It's just a matter of finding them. I hate to say this Xavier but it looks like you won't be able to get Daniels out of this one. He's in it up to his neck."

"I know…" Xavier sighed.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Back at Misfit Manor…

"Xi are you okay?" Todd asked. Althea was with him. Xi was looking outside the window.

"Physically I am fine," Xi told them.

"But your insides ain't doing so good," Todd caught on. "It's about your brother ain't it?"

"I thought One…Solitaire was lost forever," Xi sighed. "And then just as I found him…I lost him again. I don't know where he is or even if he is alive."

"I'm sorry Xi," Althea sighed as she put her arm around him.

Xi looked at them. "Am I a traitor?"

"What? Xi how can you even ask that?" Todd was shocked. "You're the most loyal guy I know!"

"Solitaire said I was a traitor," Xi told them. "After everything we went through with Cobra and…"

"Xi no, that's not how it is," Althea stopped him. "You were willing to give humans a second chance. That's how it is. I can see Solitaire's point but you're not…"

"What Al's saying is that there's a lot of gray area about this you know?" Todd interrupted. "Not all humans are bad just like not all mutants are good. We know that now."

"I know…" Xi sighed. "I just wish I knew where he went."