Friday the 13th:Surviving Ironback
"And that's the last thing I remember before I passed out, yo", he finished with an exasperated sigh. Todd's eyes circled the room, attempting to gauge the reactions of his fellow X-Men.
Ororo was crying softly in a rocking-chair in the corner at the reminder of her nephew's death, and the sky outside reflected the weather witch's mood; Todd's fellow survivors had grim looks like those of war veterans plastered on their faces, matching Logan's own bleak expression; Professor Xavier could only shake his head in disappointment, for he still blamed himself.
The new recruits- Ray, Bobby, Sam, Roberto, Jamie, Amara, Tabitha, Jubilation, Rahne, and Wanda- and Mr. McCoy were in shock; the explanation of the previous year's horrors had come completely out of left field for them. The students had been enjoying a seemingly normal day, swimming in the backyard, when young Jamie asked Todd about a nasty scar across his collar bone. Todd brushed it off, not wanting to share, and went inside. But Jamie followed him in and pressed the matter, so Todd finally took a seat in the library and told the story as he remembered it. Soon, the rest of the students and faculty had joined and they made an afternoon of listening to the grisly tale of lost friends.
It had been almost a year since the 'Incident', as they now referred to it. After the rescue, the remaining members of the Brotherhood had willingly been absorbed into the X-Men. They hadn't put up as much of a fight as was expected; Todd was comatose in the infirmary, and if they didn't join, Freddy and Lance thought they might stop taking care of their amphibious little brother. Their fears, of course, were completely unfounded and Todd soon made a full recovery. The boys had enjoyed the excellent treatment and were well fed so they never left.
Mystique was enraged when Lance called her at the boardinghouse to give her the news, but when he said that Pietro had been killed, she nervously feigned sorrow, hung up and skipped town.
Magneto became so deeply depressed at the news of his son's death that he immediately took his daughter Wanda out of the asylum she'd been staying in for the past eight years. He begged for forgiveness, but much to his dismay she resented him (to say the least) and went to the Xavier institute. Professor Xavier had been working with Wanda for quite some time to try and get her released, so she trusted him.
Alex Masters, Scott's long lost brother, was filled with anguish after he learned of Scott's true fate. He couldn't bear to have lost his brother twice, so two weeks after he found out, Alex committed suicide.
Duncan Matthews, distraught over the death of his girlfriend, swore off women in an attempt to keep his heart from breaking. He soon admitted his love and guilt to Todd, who rejected him; Todd was flattered, but straight. Duncan never bullied again.
Tabitha had been a little reluctant to stay after her father's arrest, but she had nowhere else to go and a good relationship with Freddy, so she stayed.
Hank McCoy's welcome into the X-Men was a bittersweet one; with his blue fur and friendly nature, he reminded the others quite a bit of the constantly mourned Kurt, and Ororo cried over this very often. Nonetheless, the two became so close that Logan sometimes got jealous over how much time they spent together. He didn't harbor any ill will towards the Beast, though, and they also became friends.
Lance and Kitty started dating, and were regarded as 'that on-again, off-again couple', as they constantly fought and made up (and out).
Todd had a bit of a crush on Wanda, but had yet to act on it; after all that had happened, he saw himself as damaged goods and thought she deserved better. Wanda herself thought he was a nice guy, but funny looking. She still felt a tad guilty about resenting Pietro all these years.
Lanc, Todd, Kitty, Rogue and Freddy still occasionally had nightmares.
Finally, the silence was broken by none other than the one who started the whole precession:
"Whoa", Jamie said with a dark feeling in his heart. "Todd, I'm sorry; I didn't know."
Todd gave a weak smile and ruffled the younger mutant's hair. "It's ok, yo. I gotta move on some time, right?" Jamie smiled back at him apologetically, then Todd addressed the room.
"We lost ten people that night that we know of; enemies, allies, friends, acquaintances, probably even some we don't know about… It was a real shame, yo, but the fact a the matter is we lived. They're all missed in our day to day lives, but we have to get on with it or there's just no point. You can't live in your memories, yo; you gotta let go, no matter how painful it is, and live for today." Todd nodded matter-o-factly to signify the end of a gruesome tale he hoped to put behind him. Professor Xavier spoke in his usual calm demeanor, as if it were group therapy.
"Thank you for sharing that with us, Todd. I know that must have been difficult to relive", he said. There was another, long awkward silence in the room. He glanced at his watch. "Well, it's getting late, kids; I think you'd all better get to sleep. Tomorrow's Monday and you've all got school."
There was a collective groan and mutterings as the young X-men went off to their rooms for the night. Boys and girls went their separate ways down different halls. After he was sure he was out of range of any adults, Sam Guthrie could be heard to complain.
"Yeah, lahk he expects us to sleep after that", he said in his thick Kentucky accent. "Ah neva heard a story lahk that back home. All our legends involve some sorta' creature…"
"You really think he'd make that up?", Roberto asked. The two entered the room they shared.
"Who knows? Everyplace has it's own tall tales, I 'spose. G'night, 'Berto"
"Night, Sam"
'No one ever believes until it's too late, huh, Jason?', she asked him.
He nodded in agreement with machete in hand
Chh-ch-ch, Ahh-ah-ah… Chh-ch-ch, Ahh-ah-ah…
THE END?
A/N:DUN DUN DUN! How was that, folks? I'll be looking for feedback! The sequel will be released on Friday, October 13th 2006 if my demands are met…If you would like to read the sequel, review or send me a message direct through my account saying so. I will be back…
