Alex and Angelica entered the Control Room. Dome-like windows gave a clear view of the Danger Room below and the running program. Ororo was at the console. "How much longer is the program?" Alex asked.
With a glance back, Ororo answered, "She still has fifteen minutes reserved. If you want to start your session early, it will take another few minutes to reset the program."
Alex came forward and looked out the window. The Danger Room mimicked the incident on Liberty Island, a program Alex had tried with Angelica and Hank. The three faired about as well as the original team, except they had not managed to save Rogue. Instead of a whole team, he only saw Lorna in the Danger Room.
"Is anyone else in there?" Angelica asked. A glance at the monitors showed Lorna really was alone. "That takes away half the challenge. She doesn't have to worry about identifying Mystique."
Before Alex could answer, he saw something that made his mouth drop open. Lorna was using the Statue of Liberty itself as a weapon against the Brotherhood. Her Mutation was the same as Magneto, the self-proclaimed Master of Magnetism. She controlled the metal around her and used it to bind the Brotherhood members.
When she reached Magneto and Sabretooth at the top of Lady Liberty, the fight became very different. The Danger Room could not react to the similarity of their abilities. The holographic image flickered and started to fade out. Ororo worked the controls frantically, but she was unable to stop the Danger Room from shutting down. "Do you want to try again?" Ororo asked into a microphone.
Through the Control Room speakers, they heard Lorna's answer. "No. I've had enough."
Ororo turned to let Alex and Angelica know that they could enter in a few minutes, but Alex had already left the room. He did not bother to consider what compelled him. It was almost self-explanatory.
Lorna left the Danger Room, covered in a thin layer of sweat. Her session had been longer than the few minutes Alex had witnessed, and she clearly needed a shower. The timing was probably poor.
"Lorna! Can you wait up a moment?"
She was not quite startled by Alex's sudden arrival, but she was certainly surprised. Lorna pulled sticky hair out of her face in an unconscious pruning gesture. "What is it?" she shyly asked in return. Lorna had no difficulty with confidence when it came to her abilities, but she had never grown comfortable with social situations. Alex wanted to ask her why her confidence suddenly dropped, though he was sure his recent brush offs had something to do with it.
"What are your plans for lunch?" was his question, instead. One thing at a time.
Lorna's first response was anger. The look in her eyes almost made Alex change his mind. She finally decided he was not teasing her. "Jean invited me to join her and Scott." She clearly wanted to say more, but nothing came out.
It was Alex's turn to be upset. The last thing he wanted was to spend a meal with his brother. He just knew "I told you so" was going to come up in the conversation. Or, if not, then a reason why Scott had no trouble dealing with his handicap, so why should Alex? On the other hand, perhaps Lorna's presence would force Scott into his best behavior. He hoped for the latter possibility. "What a coincidence. Scott invited me this morning," Alex lied. "If I'm not there yet when you meet up, just tell them I'm finishing up in the Danger Room."
Lorna hesitantly agreed. "Then I'll see you at one."
"One." Alex grinned – partly in relief – and excused himself.
He entered the Danger Room with Angelica a minute later. She noted the extra bounce in his step, but she had arrived after the conversation with Lorna. Misunderstanding, her own cheer improved on the way in.
Xxxxx
Scott was always easy to find. He folded his underwear in a fashion that no Air Force training instructor could ever find fault with, a clear sign of his preference for order. That meant his lunch locations were somewhat predictable.
"Alex?" Scott's surprise could not have been more pronounced. "Did you change your mind?"
It was strange. Alex only liked being around his brother when he did not have any problems. The rest of the time he resented Scott's presence. His brother was too perfect. At least Alex no longer resented Scott's perfect girlfriend. In light of his plans, Alex decided to be honest. "Sort of. I needed an excuse to meet Lorna."
Scott immediately broke into a grin. "Congratulations, Alex," Scott said with a slap on his brother's shoulder. "It's about time you took an interest in girls."
"Yeah, yeah." Alex refrained from mentioning his first reaction to receiving the armbands. The suit had been an obstacle to dating, and he might have over-reacted at first. "I must be a late bloomer."
There was a silly grin plastered to Scott's face. "Come on, we have a couple of ladies to meet." Alex pictured a wink beneath Scott's red sunglasses. With a hand on his brother's shoulder, Scott led Alex to a picnic table in the thick woods of the Institute grounds.
Lorna and Jean were involved in a conversation that had a light blush on the green haired woman's cheeks, though Alex was oblivious. Jean looked up from the table and watched their approach. "Scott. It's not like you to be late," she gently chided with a tap to her left wrist, where a watch would normally rest.
"You're just early," he joked back.
Alex noticed the love that passed between their gaze, even though Scott's eyes were covered. Not long ago he would have rolled his eyes and though up a stupid quip. "Hello, Jean. When was the last time we ate together?"
"Too long," she answered with the most genuine grin. "Somehow I don't think it's me you came here to see."
He did his best not to fluster. Alex became very aware of Lorna's amused gaze. It was almost like she took delight in his sudden discomfort, despite his lack of confidence. He sat down across from the woman in question to cover up for his sudden inability to speak. This was not the time to become nervous.
"How did your Danger Room session go?" Lorna asked, purely for the sake of getting a conversation started.
Alex opened his mouth to speak when the voice of Charles Xavier entered his mind. «"X-Men, report to the War Room. I have received information you will want to hear."» He was about to answer anyway, but Jean and Scott decided that the call was more important.
"I'm sorry, Lorna, but Professor Xavier needs us in the War Room," Scott told her. "We will have to reschedule." Alex left with his brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law, disappointed that he did not have a chance to say a single word to Lorna.