Chapter 4

The perfume of the flowers, their beauty and their array of colors were the theme around every single one of the mansion's gardens. They were allowed to grow freely and in turn they accentuated the beauty of the stylish mansion. They were yet another gift from Mother Nature. One of the simplest and most beautiful. To her, they were like a welcome mat inviting her to take her rightful place as Mother Nature's preferred daughter. And today, she really needed to be one with nature and with the elements. Storm had been sitting in the soft grass most of the morning, complementing the serene scenery. Inside her however, said serenity had been hard to obtain. In her mind her chants had finally taken the place of what earlier that very morning had been a compact version of what she had created a few days ago with the almost total manifestation of her powers. It had taken her a lot of meditation and deep concentration to settle down the remaining effects that were the consequence of her letting go to the degree she had. Physically, she knew she needed to gain total control over her weather manipulation since it was so intimately attached to her emotions, and that was the problem. Her emotions were unstable. More than a mutant, Storm was first and foremost a human being. It was her humanity, her love for life, her courage, the way she found enjoyment in the simplest of things, what had gained her the admiration and respect of all that knew her. Even though she was a member of a team, she had her own rules to follow, and strong beliefs around which she had molded her life. More often than not, she has found herself in situations in which those rules and those beliefs have been threatened. She has had to make decisions on the spot. Hard decisions that involved helping, saving, pleasing others while at the same time trying not to betray herself, and it was taking its toll on her. It was not like she needed to decide whether to go or stay. Her place was here with Charles Xavier and the X-Men. This mansion that was a haven for unique and special beings was her home. What she needed was to come to terms with what it meant to be an x man; that the life she had chosen for herself was always going to be full of danger and was always going to ask of her to give her best. This she understood and was willing to do. But she was not willing to pay the ultimate price and in the past days, she had come too close. It was one of those hard decisions: to save the world and take a life, however disturbed the young man was, or to go by her beliefs and doom the world. If the young man had not let go of the Professor, how far would she have gone? Fortunately, it didn't come to that. Fortunately, she had made the right decision. But being an x man, there's always a next time. She needed to find her balance and the strength to continue fighting for a better tomorrow. She only hoped that Charles Xavier's dream, now hers as well, was worth it.

Storm felt the calm she was longing for wash over her. The elements around her were responding to her well-improved mood. Her emotions were calmer with the renewed determination to continue the fight for what she thought was right for all mutants and humans alike. And she found strength in the faith she had in her goddess that she would not abandon her in her times of struggle.

A sudden change in the air behind her let her know that she was not going to be alone much longer. She could tell there were two figures behind her. Their silence was a sign of respect and she knew it was up to her to start the conversation. "Come closer. You may sit by my side." Rogue and Bobby were rather relieved to hear her invitation and did as told. But instead of siting by her they chose to sit facing her. Storm kept her eyes closed a while longer and this made them a little nervous. Then they jumped at the sound of her voice. "What can I do for you?" She said finally opening her eyes. Bobby elbowed Rogue softly, prompting her to speak first.

"We wanted t' talk t' you 'bout somethin'." Rogue looked at Bobby hoping he would continue, but he remained silent. They looked at each other for a while and then back at Storm. Their little meeting became a stare contest until Storm broke the silence.

"Perhaps you only planned this far. You may come back tomorrow and see how much further along you can get." Storm looked at them seriously and saw a hint of panic on their faces. She let out a laugh and saw them relax a little. "Children, whatever it is you need to talk about, if you now feel I cannot help, maybe Charles…"

"No." Bobby finally said interrupting her. "We need to talk to you."

"Very well. You know I am here for you and I will try to help you as best I can." It was a simple statement, but for Rogue and Bobby, it was much more than that. It was a testament to the veracity of Jean's earlier proclamations about Storm. They looked at each other again, knowing without speaking that they were thinking the same thing. Whatever fear was left was now forgotten. There was only one thing they felt they needed to do. Storm saw the silent exchange and wondered what could they possibly needed to talk to her about that was so difficult for them to begin. She remembered what Scott had said to her earlier about the kids being afraid because of what she did. 'Some saw', he had said. Bobby and Rogue had been there. Was it that? And if it was, what could she say to ease their minds?

"Storm?" She came back to the present at the sound of her code name.

"You may call me Ororo." Rogue said nothing, just lowered her head thinking how could she be so informal with someone she considered to be above everybody else. Instead she decided to tackle the impending issue.

"We owe you an apology." Storm was taken aback by the statement. It was not what she was expecting them to say.

"What is it that you need to apologize for?" She asked intrigued.

"The day of the missile attack," Bobby started. "…we really thought we were done. I mean, it seemed like we wouldn't loose those planes and the radar constant beeping indicating we were locked and then they fired the missiles. What you did with the x jet to trick the missiles just saved us momentarily and when they came at us again I was thinking that there was no way we can pull that one again. But then I could see your eyes turning white and I wondered what you could possibly do to save us, hoping that you could do something to save us. I just never…" Bobby trailed off, the memories overwhelming him.

"We never thought that you not only could do somethin' t' help us but that that somethin' was goin' t' be so impressive." Rogue finished for him.

"I hope you don't misunderstand us like Logan did." Bobby spoke again after calming down.

"Logan? What did he say?" Storm inquired.

"Nothin'." Rogue answered giving Bobby an exasperated look. "He has a bad temper. Ah think he just didn't want t' talk t' us. Probably didn't even hear what we said. Anyway," She said in a rush to take Storm away from the Wolverine thread of conversation. "…we wanted to apologize because, after that day, we sort o' pondered too much 'bout…Ah mean we felt intimidated by you and even…" Rogue suddenly stopped, her nerve rapidly fading.

"What?" Storm asked. Even though this was part of the things she had had to sort through during her meditation, she was very calm. Her calmness came from understanding. When Rogue didn't answer she asked again. "Even what, Rogue?"

"Ah just wondered…"

"We wondered how things would be like if Magneto had gotten to you before the Professor did." Bobby's voice was barely over a whisper as if the volume of his voice would make the words any less offensive, and he really felt like he may be doing exactly that.

"Ah don't think it's wrong of us t' be a little intimidated by what you can do. What was wrong of us was t' have ever considered that you could be on any other side but ours. The way you are, the things you teach us, your respect for all livin' things... You helped save our lives not because it was your duty, not because you could. You are not here because you have t' or have no other choice. You do all those things simply because you are you. You are Storm. We know that now and we promise you t' never forget." Rogue felt Bobby's hand on her shoulder and understood he was showing his approval. There was nothing else they could say. Nothing else for them to do but wait for a response that would relieve them of the burden they had brought upon themselves. Storm seemed to be lost in her thoughts. She had taken in every single one of their words that strangely had taken her to a moment of her past that she rarely thought of anymore. Suddenly aware of the silence she focused her gaze on them and offered her hands for them to hold. Bobby took one of her hands immediately, but almost regretted it when he saw Rogue struggling with hesitation. Storm noticed this too and smiled at her, not a simple smile but one that gave Rogue reassurance. Finally Rogue took her other hand in her gloved one and Storm squeezed it gently. Then she spoke.

"I can see you have given this a lot of thought and I appreciate your sincere apology. But I must also say that there is no need for one. I remember, though it is not often, when I first discovered I had the ability to manipulate weather conditions. I was even more afraid then than you are now. I did not understand what was happening to me but in time I came to accept this blessing. I never saw it as a curse. From the moment I started to gain control over the elements, I used them for good. I was in Africa then, trying to get back to my roots, doing some very needed soul searching, and I can assure you, I found myself. A few years later Charles Xavier came to me and asked me to join the X-Men. He helped me understand what I was, but he never had to tell me or make me understand what I should do with this awesome power I command. I already knew. Here with the X-Men I have grown as a person, but when the Professor found me I was already on the right path." Storm paused seeing the looks on both their faces. They seemed to be fascinated with her openness, grateful because she was sharing this part of her life with them. Still she was not done. "You are correct about one thing though. It would be foolish of an enemy not to fear the power that is Storm." Storm felt their tension through their hands and smiled inwardly. She spoke again on a more friendly voice. "It is also foolish of a friend to fear Ororo Munroe. Magneto would not have had a chance then. He still does not. I am an x man till the end." She squeezed their hands and searched their eyes looking for any sign that they had understood and was rewarded by wide smiles.

"Thank you." They said at the same time.

Cyclops was looking for Storm and saw the trio from a short distance. He hoped they were not aggravating Storm's state of mind but relaxed when he saw them all smiling. He called after them. "Come on people. Time to get to work. We have a mansion to repair." The three of them stood up and walked up to him. "Jean has some instructions for you." Cyclops said to Rogue and Bobby who went to look for Jean immediately, but Cyclops lightly touched Storm's arm keeping her from leaving. "Feeling better?" He asked her as worried as he had been before. Storm saw that he was not kidding about that.

"Much. Thank you." This time her smile was a full one and he felt relieved.

"Good." He put his hand in the small of her back guiding her towards the mansion. Wolverine was coming out the door when he saw Cyclops talking with Storm in yet another private moment and once again he frowned. Like feeling eyes on her, Storm looked at him and waved her hand hello. Wolverine changed his expression to a softer one and waved back. The three of them joined Jean and started talking. Wolverine thought that between how he was feeling about Storm, how mad he was at Cyclops and Jean keeping an eye on him that that was going to be a very long day.

To Be Continued….