A/N: Okay, if you can't tell that I hate doing author's notes, let me just tell you. I HATE doing author's notes (I love writing, though). I guess all of you can tell that I don't own X-men in any way, shape, or form, and am not getting any benefit for doing this (other than your much-appreciated review); however, Athena is my own character. However, the name Lupin, the character Lestat, and Akasha aren't mine (if you read, you'll know where they came from). I just wanted to give credit to Evanescence for the song used in this chapter—let's just say it won't be the only time I use this song. Enjoy:)
"Athena?" Logan whispered as the first rays of light awoke him. The night had seemed so short; he was still tired, and he guessed that poor Athena was even more tired than he was. Rubbing his eyes, he carefully nudged Athena, peacefully sleeping next to him.
"Wake up, Athena. It's morning already." Logan yawned, shaking Athena gently. She moaned, and shifted so that she faced him, her sleeping face blissful and calm. Logan smiled, and rose from the bed, going to open the window so that all of the sounds of nature would hopefully rouse Athena from her sleep. A lark sang, and a chorus of birds chimed in with their early morning songs.
"Uwaaaa . . .. Mm." Logan saw Athena sit up in bed and stretch her arms. She blinked, and he felt bad when he saw how red the whitest parts of her eyes were. Logan wished he could let the girl sleep a few more hours, but Professor Xavier was always very clear: he didn't like his students or X-men lazing around in bed. "Good morning, Athena."
"Morning, Logan." Athena smiled, running her hands through her disheveled hair before she slipped off the bed. "Gods, I need a comb more badly than the lark needs an original song." Athena padded barefoot over to her closet and shuffled through her bag. She got a beautiful hairbrush, beautifully designed, but not to the point of being ornate. The brush easily slipped through her black and brown tresses, and she placed the brush on her nightstand for future use. Logan was curious when he saw her brush her long hair out, and picked up the brush she had just used. The moment he looked at it closely, he knew that the design was a combination of werewolf and vampire elements. The brush was made of a cool black obsidian stone, and on the back of the brush, there was a scene, etched in silver, of a wolf howling at the moon. On the handle of the brush, there was another picture etched in silver; it was of a rose. Putting it back on the nightstand, Athena saw that Logan had been looking at her hairbrush. Playfully, she said, her British accent painfully obvious, "Fixing to use my hairbrush, love? Sorry, but I want to keep it clean—I have other brushes that I use for my animals, you know." Logan smiled, knowing that the girl was joking and meant no harm. Turning to look at her as she made their bed, he said, "So you probably don't use this brush? I've never seen an animal like you . . . and one that walks on two legs!" Athena smiled, as she finished making their bed.
Athena noticed the stereo that had mysteriously appeared in their room—a gift from Xavier, most likely. Turning to Logan as she carefully walked towards it, she said cautiously, "You don't mind if I turn on the stereo and practice my singing, do you?" Logan nodded no, and Athena smiled as she carefully turned on the radio, found music that she liked, and went about getting ready for the day ahead. Soon, he heard her beautiful voice as she walked over to the bathroom.
"I'm so tired of being here . . . Suppressed by all my childish fears. And if you have to leave, I wish that you would just leave. Because your presence still lingers here . . . and it won't leave me alone. These wounds won't seem to heal . . .This pain is just too real. . There's just too much that time cannot erase. When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears, when you screamed I'd fight away all of your fears. I've held your hand through all of these years . . . But you still have all of me."
Logan had been going about his own daily business, but he couldn't help but stop and listen as she kept singing.
"You used to captivate me . . . by your resonating light. Now I'm bound by the life you left behind. Your face it haunts. . my once pleasant dreams. Your voice it chased away . . .all of the sanity in me. These wounds won't seem to heal . . .This pain is just too real. . There's just too much that time cannot erase. When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears, when you screamed I'd fight away all of your fears. I've held your hand through all of these years . . . But you still have all of me. Though I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone . . . but though you're still with me, I've been alone all along . . . When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears, when you screamed I'd fight away all of your fears. I've held your hand through all of these years . . . But you still have all of me."
When she was done, Athena went about her own business of washing up for breakfast. Logan could hear the sound of running water in the bathroom, and saw Athena though the crack of the bathroom door flossing meticulously. "You have a beautiful voice," Logan called to Athena over the roar the water. She wished she could've said thank you, but Athena wanted to floss well—when she wore her wolf form for a night and woke up the morning after in her natural one, she often had food in her teeth, even if she hadn't hunted. The wolf's dirty teeth, unfortunately, it seemed, carried some of its dirt into Athena. So she was sure to get rid of all of it when she flossed, and use some lavender water as well as some mouthwash after brushing her teeth, in addition to showering like normal. Despite having more than the usual amount of hygiene to manage in the morning, Athena was out of the bathroom quickly, wearing a towel securely around her thin form. "Thank you for the compliment," Athena smiled as she went to her closet to figure out what to wear for the day. Logan could feel her presence as she neared him; her skin and breath smelled of lavender. He wanted to tell her how nice she smelled, but felt that would be too awkward after last night's understanding between them. "You're welcome, Athena. You deserve it. Have you been singing long?" Logan stood, padding over to the now vacant bathroom for his own shower and brushing.
"Yeah, all my life. Even when I was alive, I would sing every chance I had . . . Egyptian songs, Greek songs, Roman ones . . . anything I could manage. I actually sing nowadays too, and teach. Apparently, I was born part muse as well, so that explains my voice—I'm sorry to say that my parents never had a knack for song or playing instruments. So I teach voice students, sometimes play concerts with musicians with their own record deal, and produce for good friends." Athena shuffled through her closet as she rambled on, and she heard Logan call from the bathroom, "Interesting." She heard the water turn on again, and tried to think of what would be good to wear today. Knowing that today would be a day of work and study, she chose to wear something relatively comfortable. She carefully chose a black t-shirt and some leather pants that weren't extremely tight, but not very loose either. Slipping off her towel in front of her closet, knowing that Logan was in the bathroom, she slipped on her clothes, along with some new underclothes that flattened the features of her body. Sometimes she felt good showing off her body, but Athena always preferred to hide them a bit when she was doing a good deal of work or business. It always made the other people who she might be working with able to concentrate on the work at hand. Athena felt ready for the day as she carefully gave herself one last look in the mirror of her closet, and shut her closet, putting her dirty clothes in the hamper. Athena carefully walked over to her nightstand and got her cell phone, which she slipped into her pocket. Looking down at her feet, Athena realized that she needed to wear some shoes that weren't heels. Digging deep into her bags, she managed to retrieve her one pair of casual shoes. They were black leather, and more like sneakers than anything else was. Athena sat on the floor as she slipped on some new white socks and then her shoes. It felt good to her to be wearing something comfortable on her feet for a change. Athena was dressed by the time Logan came out from the bathroom, clean and shaved. She couldn't help but notice that he smelled so manly—of musk, sandalwood, and aftershave. Athena stole a glance at him out of the corner of her eyes, and she carefully tidied up her own things and end of the closet. While he was getting dressed, Athena did the morning exercises that she normally did at home.
Logan almost froze when he saw her doing what looked like morning exercises— but they even looked painful. Her legs were in the air, and she was supporting the weight of her whole body with only one hand. She wasn't a heavy girl, but he doubted that most girls who were even lighter than Athena could do the same. Logan watched her as he got dressed, wearing the normal black shirt and pants, along with the leather jacket that Rogue had given him a while ago. Logan started breathing again when Athena was on her feet again, her body apparently stretched out—more than anyone he had ever seen. "Ready?" Athena said, since Logan was dressed; she was eager to get something to eat for breakfast. By this time, they could both smell the delicious breakfast that one of the X-men downstairs was cooking. "Yeah," Logan said casually, and he followed the girl down the stairs, able to feel her presence by the sweet lavender scent of her skin. He was full of thoughts about what he would do today; he wanted to spend some time with Athena—who he considered a good friend that he had feelings for—as well as stay in shape. Today, so far, would be an uneventful day. Logan saw that it would be quite the opposite as she opened up her cell phone before she even sat down to eat. He was hungrier than usual when he saw that breakfast, made by Jean, consisted of eggs, hash browns, and some pancakes and bacon. Jean smiled, seeing that Athena and Logan were sitting at the table. "Hope you guys are hungry," she said, handing them each a plate of eggs and hash browns. "How do you like your pancakes and bacon?" Athena closed her cell phone and said, "I don't take bacon; I like my pancakes light and fluffy, please." Jean smiled, and brought her pan over to Athena's plate. "Then you better take these pancakes. They're just become fluffy and hot." Athena carefully positioned her plate so that when Jean put her food on Athena's plate, the pancakes sat nicely next to the eggs and hash browns. "Logan?" Jean said, returning to the stove and preparing some bacon and pancakes, knowing that he usually had both of them. "Pancakes and bacon, please. Fry the crap out of the bacon, if you would. I like it tough." Jean smiled and cooked Logan's breakfast as he asked her. Athena went looking for the maple syrup, and brought to the table where she and Logan were sitting just as he got his pancakes and bacon. She opened the bottle and poured an ample amount on top of the pancakes, without asking Logan if he liked it or not. Smiling, she poured even more on top of her pancakes. Athena liked her food sweet; back home at Xaphania, it was a running joke that Athena was so sweet that she didn't need any more sweet food in her life. She remembered the joke, and dug into her food, very hungry but daintily so. Neatly cutting up her pancakes, she let the sweet maple syrup spread on her tongue as she chewed and swallowed. The pancakes were just right; Athena liked the eggs (which was strange since she hated eggs at home) and the hash browns were delicious. "Nice breakfast, Jean," Athena said, talking and swallowing, "but I wish you would let me cook with you. I feel so bad . . . I used to cook for my brothers and father at Xaphania, and I wish I could repay all of your kindness with some cooking." Jean smiled as she finished making all of the eggs it would take to feed everyone, and finished making pancakes with the rest of the batter. Helping herself to a big portion of eggs, hash browns, and bacon; Jean didn't quite like pancakes so much. Sitting down next to Athena, she smiled and started to eat. "Maybe you could help with dinner. Breakfast food is good for me; I'm afraid I'm a total mess with dinner, though." Athena smiled, having just swallowed some eggs. "That'll be fun."
Athena's phone then rang, so she put down her fork, cleaned her lips, and excused herself, though she stayed at the breakfast table. Picking up her cell phone, she saw that it was her father calling. Yawning as she said hello, her father's voice was mixed with fatherly love and an air of business.
"I heard about Siete coming to Xavier's Academy and I think . . . "
"Dad, I'm eating breakfast, and believe me, Siete is on my mind. Please, let me finish; I've thought about everything you've said and all that's happened. You know I have to talk to the X-men about this, but I think that very soon it'll be time to make the transition. First, above all, I have to fix the little portkey problem. That'll probably take the morning, if not sooner. Then I'll have to talk to them. Lupin," she said to him, her voice changing from that of a daughter to that of a businessperson, "I've already told them about who and what I am. They expect to hear everything from me that's going to go on here. You can't very well do what you want in this Academy without telling them."
"You TOLD them! I can't believe it. I thought we'd agreed that you'd tell them about yourself later . . ."
"Yeah, well, Kurt's here, he already knew. Jean Grey, the other telepathic mutant, found out when I was talking to the Professor. And you know, when I kinda almost killed myself, what I was was as obvious as the day. Didn't you talk to Keanu?" Athena managed to eat the last of her hash browns and eggs while listening to her father. She knew that her brother'd been at the Academy; after she'd been hurt, Athena had even then sensed his aura.
"Yes, I did. But I didn't quite believe it, to be perfectly honest with you, my dear." She could hear him sighing over the phone. "Athena, I'm sorry about everything that's happened. I really am, sincerely. You're my daughter, as far as I'm concerned. What your life is . . . I just want to help you through it.
Athena adjusted the phone in her hands so that they were more comfortable while she talked. "You do help me through it. But I'm not a little girl, despite what I look like, and what I may even act like, sometimes. I have to do some things, and make some decisions, on my own. I believe that the situation at the Academy is just right at present—sure, I have to deal with Siete's hold on Xavier's mutants, and I have to tell them my strategy, but not before I know what exactly has to be done. I love you, dad, but I have to act the part of the adult. I'm old enough to be eaten by flies and maggots; I hope I'm old enough to make some decisions."
Athena smiled, feeling her father's warm smile over the phone at his adopted daughter's wit. "I understand. Just call me, and have me there when you tell them. And come here with the portkey solution, when you have it, okay? I want to see and help with the changes there. I think Xavier has a Spyderphone there, if I remember correctly."
"Will do. Oh, and I got all the books on Siete, too. I have to sift through them soon; gods know there's a good deal of material on the bloke. I just have to finish my breakfast and start studying." Athena smiled when her father said, "That's something you enjoy and are good at. Well, then, happy studying. Talk to you soon, Athena."
"Love you, Dad." Athena waited for her father to hang up, and then hung up on the phone. Smirking a bit, she turned to Jean and Logan, saying, "I swear that by lunch, everything'll be clear. I know that that conversation sounded really . . . shifty. But I promise, it'll be a good change. With everything that's happened, we need it around here, anyway. But before I say anything, I have to go study a bit."
Logan and Jean were a bit taken aback by the business demeanor of Athena on the phone with her father. However, knowing that she had an honest tendency—eventually, anyway—they decided to leave her be. Jean went upstairs to wake Scott, Kurt, Storm, Rogue, and Bobby up for breakfast. The cooks would wake up later and make breakfast for the vast number of students that were with them for the semester—the end of which was quickly approaching. Though Athena was eager to talk to Storm about her date with Kurt, she knew that the present task was more important. She carefully walked up the stairs to her room, and cautiously came down carrying all of the books that the house-elf had given her on her darker half-brother, Siete.
"D'you need help with that?" Logan saw the young girl struggling a bit with the heavy and numerous books as he went to start his training in the morning. "No, but thanks. I'm almost down the steps, anyway." Athena ran down the last few steps, skipping them in bunches. Sighing, she sat down at a table, and started to go through the books. She seemed to smile to herself, and then clutched the second of the two necklaces that hung around her neck. A light briefly shone, then he saw Athena sipping an apparently warm drink. Logan blinked, then ventured to say, "Hey, could I ask you a couple questions?" Athena nodded yes, as she carefully sipped her warm apple cider coffee. It was her favorite type of coffee, and relatively easy to conjure. It always helped her wake up in the morning. Logan then continued. "What's up with those necklaces on your neck? I meant to ask you when I first found you, but I guess I never had the chance."
Athena smiled, and then rose from her chair, putting her coffee on the table. "The golden necklace was a gift from my father—he was a mage, and loved me desperately even though I wasn't a legitimate daughter. It's a source of Egyptian magic that I draw from my ancestors, and which makes my own craft stronger." Holding up the pendant so that Logan could see, she continued, "The symbol on the necklace is an Egyptian ankh, a symbol of the old gods. I like to call it 'a bit of home away from home.'" Athena then held up the first necklace, which Logan had already seen in detail. "This . . . " she ran her fingers over the beautifully done piece, ".. this necklace will always be with me. You see, I'm not just one person. I don't have multiple personalities, but there're different sides to me—in the same way that people have gentle and loving sides, as well as dark sides." Holding up the first of the three pendants, Logan recognized the white wolf with red ruby eyes in her hands. "This pendant represents the wolf in me that Lupin awakened, and the form of a Parisian wolf that he gave to me." She then held the black iron rose, and continued. "This represents the vampire in me—the black rose is the symbol of the vampires, and as their Queen, I wear it to remind myself of the years." Then Logan's eyes glanced at the third and last pendant, the tiny toy violin that he'd been amused at such a long time ago—or so it seemed. "This violin represents the muse in me; I've always loved music—I sing, and play the piano and violin as well. Song has always been important to me." Athena let the third pendant fall back on her neck. "This necklace was made so that my three sides could be controlled, and I could manipulate them easily. If it's ever broken . . . then you'd see four of me, and such power would be released that I might, just might, be able to restrain. I've broken it once before . . . during another war . . . but it took my own might, along with Keanu's, to repair it." Athena's face was painted with a saddened expression. "But I might have to break it again during this war. That's what my vampire cousins have been saying—Siete's going all out this time." She turned away from Logan and sat back down, eager to start diving into her studies.
Logan decided to leave the girl alone, and went into the Danger Room for a good and hard training session. He had a plan about what to do for Athena; Logan just wanted to think about it for a long while, and see if it was appropriate, considering their situation.
In his mind, he could still see the beautiful stars that had been twinkling above them as he and Athena had run as wolves, confiding in each other, and playing as if they'd known each other forever. Though they weren't lovers, Logan had felt that he'd seen Athena's pure aura in the moment that he'd held her under the moon—even though he'd been a wolf at the time.
He didn't want to lose that possibility.
Athena had been studying for a good four hours, and the pile of books that she'd found useful with regard to Siete and her conflict with him comprised less than half of the books that the house-elf had found. She was glad for the large amount of books she'd been able to eliminate from the large stack she'd carried down in the morning. I'll have to ask someone to bring those books back to Xavier's study, or bring them back myself. Most of those books that hadn't been useful had been about the history of Siete, and what people thought about his background. Athena had only kept one book about Siete's background—a first hand account in Russian about Siete's childhood under the strange care of Rasputin, the advisor to the Czar who had, arguably, caused the fall of Russian royalty. Athena was, in fact, fluent in quite a few languages. Over the years, she'd found that the best way to pass the endless eternity was by picking up a book and learning a few new languages. She'd even lost track of the number of languages she recognized, and how many lands she'd visited to practiced those languages. Lingual skills were like riding a bike for her; once she picked up a language, she would always recognize it. So as she flipped through text in Russian, Latin, and even the vampiric distortion of Japanese—she found no problem reading all of it and sifting through the information, finding about ten books that were of use to her. She hadn't damaged the books in any way, but managed to tab off interesting and useful passages and spells using a large amount of sticky notes. Athena decided to study until her coffee ran out—and her coffee was magic, of course. It was enchanted such that it was almost a never-ending drink. However, when the clock struck eleven, she found that the magicked cup was finally out of coffee, and it was time to stop studying Siete and finally solve the problem of the fireplace that she'd been shuffling in her mind all morning.
Using her father's well of magic, she teleported the unusable books to Xavier's study, where the Professor would have been frightened by a hovering stack of books that settled with a thud on his desk. However, he wasn't in his study. He was downstairs, reading in the same study where Athena had been studying for some time. When she abruptly shut the last book she would tab for its useful information, Athena turned to her friend and said, "Professor, is there some way that I could get all of the X-men together, and use your conference telephone? I think it's called . . . the Spyderphone?"
Xavier smiled and nodded. "Why do you need it, if I may ask?" Athena smiled, and began to walk to the room equipped with the special telephone. "That, my friend, is something that you'll find out soon enough. Just gather everyone in that room as soon as you can." Xavier nodded, and went to do what his favorite English niece asked of him.
Athena smiled as she quickly called her father, Lupin Solcannis, on the Spyderphone. She was happy to see the X-men come in and sit down in the office-type room where the conference phone was. Jean, Rogue, and Bobby were the first to enter, led by the Professor. Storm and Kurt entered together, which warmed Athena's heart; she could tell that last night's date had gone well by their demeanor and the way they held hands. Athena knew that she would definitely talk to Storm about their date, and find out about how well exactly it had gone. Scott then entered, but Athena was curious as to the absence of Logan. Athena sat at the head of a long table where the Spyderphone sat in the center, and turned to the Professor, saying, "Have you seen Logan today? I thought he wasn't going to be going out." Just then, when the Professor and other X-men were saying that they had no idea where Logan was, Logan rushed in. "Sorry I kept you all waiting," He made eye contact with Athena, and she had the direct impression that he'd done something secret just before entering the "meeting" that would eventually be between Lupin Solcannis, herself, and all of the X-men.
However, she got down to business, as it was her nature to do. "Friends, I would like you all to meet my father, the great werewolf Lupin Solcannis."
"Where is he?" Scott asked, polite but questioning. Suddenly, a voice came from the Spyderphone. "It is nice to meet all of you; I thank you for taking such good care of my daughter. She is the diamond in my life, and I am proud of her. She's changed her world for the better, and I trust she's told you all about the recent war against the rogue vampire Siete."
"Yes, she has," Scott answered. "Is there a new development? Most of us saw Siete a day or so ago when he came in masquerading as your younger son, Kris. Athena handled the situation, and we're all fine."
"No, you're not," Lupin answered curtly. They could all feel Lupin's serious side emerge, even though he was on the telephone. "Siete, though not as powerful as my daughter, is a dangerous vampire. Paired with Loki, he's a great danger to you. Siete has a hold on your household, whether you like it or not."
Athena chimed in with her father's remarks. "Jean's behavior yesterday demonstrated that. If Jean weren't in Loki and Siete's grasp, I wouldn't have come here. I could feel Siete's presence here. That's what compelled my father to send me here, and what compelled me to listen."
"Siete and Loki's hold must be gone from your house," Lupin began to speak again. "And for this to happen permanently, a drastic change must happen at the Academy. Athena and I have spoken about this, and we think that the best plan of action is to bring a large part of the supernatural army to your Academy. We would have our own house, of course, but we would often take meals with you, and integrate our army with your defense and offense weapons."
"What do you mean, we?" Logan said, a snarl hiding under his lips.
"You must realize; what I am suggesting involves having over 90 of powerful supernaturals and supernatural warriors have free reign from Xavier's Academy to Xaphania. Of course, you would have free reign over Xaphania. I think the problem, on our end of the spectrum, is that really anybody who is powerful enough can use magic to come to our academies through the fireplace, as you saw my son do when Athena was . . . injured. I don't have a solution, but I know my daughter does."
"My solution is to put a block on our two houses." Pulling something deftly out of her pocket, Athena held up a small necklace. "For those of you who don't know, my brother and Siete used magic to come here through your fireplace. That magic is the magic of floo powder. If a user of floo powder takes some, stands in a fireplace, and merely says the name of a place they want to go while throwing the powder inside the fireplace, they will be sent to a fireplace in the place they desired to go. However, if we make a sort of amulet that blocks people from coming in to Xavier's Academy or Xaphania, if they will indeed be linked, then no average person will be able to enter. The perfect stone to make the amulets from is Phoenix's Tears. This is a special stone with properties unlike any other—supernatural or natural. It can sense the life force of the person, and would be able to sense the spirit of its wearer in an amulet. However, if the amulet is taken by force by another person, the Phoenix's Tears will grow dormant. This could be done by simple magic, and can be manufactured quite easily."
Lupin chimed in. "Excellent idea. Athena, we could ask that jeweler's you like so much—what are they called? –Winston's, to help with the amulets. You always like giving them business."
Athena smiled. "That's very well, father, but first we must decide whether integration is our next step in preparing for the war. Otherwise . . . well, I'd literally have to go back to the drawing board to figure out what would happen next." Athena looked up at the X-men. "What do you think about linking our two households?"
Jean was the first to pipe up. "If we can get rid of Siete from this household, and if that's the only way, then what do we have to lose? The only thing I imagine we'd ask is that while you would be here, you would respect us, as we have respected you and will continue to." Scott agreed, as they both privately remembered the frightening control Siete had over Jean.
"War is terrible," Storm said, her voice demanding attention from everyone at the meeting. "and there is much bloodshed, as is common with the event. What I ask is: will there be bloodshed here? We can't risk it— not now." Storm turned to talk to Lupin on the Spyderphone. "This is an Academy, just like Xaphania. Students are here, who have no idea what's happening. Is there a possibility that they will be involved?"
Lupin cleared his throat, "War cannot be predicted. When my daughter told me that Siete had come to the Academy, I literally had to throw out my entire 'plan' for the war and learn how to think with the changing times, like my daughter. We don't know if Siete will endanger your students—but in everything I've read about him, and everything my daughter's told me about him, he just wants supernaturals that've bloomed. You X-men, while you are incapable of using magic, are capable of amazing things. Your youth are just learning, and should, by all experience, be all right. I cannot give you any other assurance without lying."
Rogue spoke, afraid at first of Lupin, but slowly gaining confidence in herself. "Mr. Solcannis, sir, my name is Rogue, and I'm a student here. If you would stop the progress of your plan, then you would just be prolonging the war. War is a nasty, bitter thing; isn't it best to stop it as soon as possible? If we're helped by this joining of the Academy and Athena's school, if it makes things go faster, isn't it better? I know that any student I know that isn't part of the X-men would love to have a chance to see something bigger than their world happen right in front of them. It would be a part of history, and make the outside world see that we're willing to cooperate with others for a better world."
Xavier cleared his throat, and said, "I agree with Rogue. War is terrible. However, Siete is a headstrong creature; he cannot be stopped through niceties and diplomacy, to say the least. We have to act, and act as one. Otherwise . . . who knows? Siete could possibly claim our Academy first, and then use it as a tool against the entire supernatural world. Then . . . humans would never grow to accept our kind, which would be then a tool of Siete. " All started to agree with Xavier, but Logan said something that sounded very strange and rang in Athena's ears even after the meeting had ended.
"Possibility is something that we cannot control. We can control our own fortunes, yes, but to control the choices that are open to us? I agree, this is a crappy situation. We just have to pick the best option and dive in."
Athena had never thought Logan to be a deep thinker, but before long, all of the X-men had agreed on the integration. Lupin agreed to hurry Winston's into production; they would all be here in about three days or so to join houses. The meeting ended, and they all went up to their rooms, thinking of dinner, which would be in about four hours or so.
However, when Athena went up to her and Logan's room, she found something very strange. With Logan nowhere in sight, she found a silver vase full of black roses, and a silver box. Inside the silver box, there was a dress more beautiful than Athena had seen in a long while.
On top of the silver box, there was a note.
Meet me downstairs before dinner. Let's explore our possibilities.
