Whisperings - 'Denial' is Not a River in Egypt
By kiragecko

The author begs forgiveness for the bad joke in the title and the Iceman is told to shut up yet again. The author begs for his forgiveness, as well.

I blast the woman in front of me, hurling her towards the ground. Right now Mom would be telling me to control myself and that thought enrages me. I was going to let this woman soften her landing with the elements she controls but I have changed my mind. We fought so much about control, my mother and I. I will not control myself now. She has realized she cannot outfight me and now the Windrider is trying to outmaneuver me. She's in for a bumpy ride on the wind because I control it now. I'm almost crying but not quite. Still, it's probably the blurring of my eyes that allows her to right herself at the last moment and utilize a cross-current I hadn't even noticed. Storm lands unharmed and among friends. She thinks they can protect her. Maybe Rachel or Kurt could, but they're not here. None of the others have a chance.

Mrs. Lebeau catches me by surprise. I've never seen her fight before and Rogue doesn't have her mother's invulnerability. It doesn't matter. I can knock down steel walls easily. I may not be able to hurt her but there's no way she can get near me if I don't want her to.

"Get away from Storm. She wanted to talk to me. Let's talk!"

Again it's a cross between a laugh and a cry. I always fought with my mom. That's just the way things were.

They crowd in closer, of course. I knock them all away semi-gently. No broken bones at least. I hope. Then I concentrate on my target. She's flying again and she doesn't want to.

"You want to know about my parents, don't you? It doesn't matter to you that it's none of your business! Okay, I'll tell you."

Oops, she's hit a tree. Got a bit distracted there. Not much blood, no doubling over from internal injuries - she only glanced off of it. Good.

"My mother left my father when I was three. I'm not sure if he noticed. She lost her job when I was seven. Never been the same since. She likes being in charge of stuff, in control. I learnt from her example, I guess. Decided I never wanted to be like her. It doesn't always have to be calm and sunny!"

We're over the water now - less things to hit. My mother is fighting with me in my head and this woman is fighting with me outside of it. All sides are going to lose. You know you're doomed when you start monologuing.

"You aren't her. Yes, she was Storm, but you aren't my mother! Never will be. You think you're so smart, figuring out who I am, but it doesn't change things. I'm not related to you, don't care about you, don't want to get to know you and start again. You won't replace my stupid, idiotic, broken, unyielding, stupid mother!"

I didn't really drop her. It was more an assisted dive. The wind was going the same direction as her at high speed. I'm not sure what I was trying to do, but Rogue got her before she drowned. I watch them head to shore. The cyclone is small, and it just gives me some room to breath. Even X-Men don't travel through cyclones easily.

Oh no. Rachel's here. She can travel through cyclones just fine. She's going to talk to me. I'm doomed.

"Remember, dealing with emotions is good, but try not to send people through trees while doing it."

"That was an accident."

"And throwing Storm at the lake?"

"… That was on purpose."

"Now talk to Ororo."

"You gonna kick me off the X-Men if I don't? I'm not even a member and I don't want to be!"

"Talk to Ororo."

"I'm only doing this because we all grew up worshiping you."

"… Actually worshiping?"

"That look was priceless! No, not actual worship. You were there while we were young, and then you got lost in the time stream and we all lived for your brief reappearances. The big sister who never grew up."

"I should have known I wouldn't get a happy story."

"It was fine for you. You got to watch your brothers and sister grow up in like a year."

"That's happy? Don't answer, go talk to Ororo."

"Rachel? Thanks for talking to me."

"No problem. Anytime."

She stands uncomfortably in front of the woman who looks like her mother. After 'sorry' what is there to say?

"I know I am not your mother, child. I would like to get to know you, however. Could we not talk?"

"What's to talk about? We'll fight. We always fight."

"I am not the woman you knew. Perhaps we do not have to argue. I will not be telling you how to behave, or disciplining you."

"It just hurts, you know, looking at you. I mean, I never got along with my mother, and she never really got over the X-Men disbanding, but I loved her. I loved her so much and she's gone and I feel angry looking at you 'cause you're not her. It's not fair and you shouldn't act like her and it's even worse 'cause usually you act…better then she would. And you still garden."

She turned away then, because the last line had started her crying. They were silent for a while.

"Why did she stop gardening?"

"Okay, I'm only telling this once. Is everyone here? This is why the United States of America are an evil place no sane individual should live. By the way, this is how my best friend Aaron taught it to me. I don't talk like this.

"There were sentinels, but they didn't work. There were secret government programs but they got stopped by decent people who somehow got into power. This obviously had to be rectified. So some fascist dictator took over the country and the Stupid Americans cheered because that meant the Mutant Menace would at last be dealt with. Reasonable people left. Mutants fled. Other governments started getting upset. The idiot dictator declared war, effectively them against the rest of the world. The rest of the world having almost all the superhumans by this point, of course. Mexico and Canada cut huge swaths out of their neighbour. All the rest of the mutants fled. The States was left alone in the Stone Age (maybe more like the Medieval Ages, but you get the point).

"Mutants were happy but humans were still scared. It was decided that mutants would be tried for their crimes, to make sure they didn't think they were above the law. Many of the X-Men got long sentences (they were mostly former criminals, remember). Vigilante action was now harmful to human/mutant relationships so the X-Men disbanded.

"Now, in my words, what happened after. Don't interrupt.

"We all relocated to France. Created our own English speaking village. Happy, happy, joy, joy until Jean killed Mr. Summers and herself. Everyone says how brave she was. Ugh.

"Things are invented, people get out of jail as fear dies down, kids grow up. Miss Lee wanders the countryside with Brit, visits every once in a while. I hang out with Brit and Aaron. People try to forget the past. Some do better then others. A lot of the X-Men have trouble finding jobs. Some don't know what to do now that their reason for existing is gone. Families, children can't compete with saving the world. Can't compete with leading your team into battle, making life or death decisions.

"…."

"Something happens, nasty explosion, I'm here. Any questions?"

"Who're Aaron's parents?"

"I have been told not to mention them on fear of death."

"Did he say 'bloody' a lot?"

"Bobby, shut up!"

"Hate you, Drake."

"I'm leaving."

"See, Kitty's gonna kill me now! And I didn't even mention them! After she finishes with me you are so dead, Drake…"