Hello again! This is the last chapter I have typed in full, so expect a bit longer between updates from now on, especially as I have three exams next monday that I need to prepare for (tis bad, but I only have four more exams then I'm free! woo!)
Love to all reviewers as always, and hope you enjoy the chapter!
Jack wasn't particularly hungry so, on arriving in the lunch hall, she just grabbed an apple and wandered straight outside. It was a gloriously sunny day and it seemed a shame to waste it sat inside. She hadn't had much chance to explore the gardens to the mansion and took full advantage of her hour of freedom having a good look.
At first she thought she was the only one outside, but as she turned a corner into a secluded little garden she was pleasantly surprised to see someone else.
Warren was sat perched on the back of a bench, his feet where you would normally sit, his wings spread wide, acting as a balance.
"Nice to see someone else out enjoying the sun," she said.
Warren turned his head to look at her. She stood where she was, munching on her apple, smiling briefly between bites.
"I prefer it outside," he said.
"I can't imagine why…" Jack said with a grin, "Must get a bit cramped indoors for you, huh?"
"You're actually going to volunteer conversation today then?" Warren said, "I was under the impression you didn't much like talking."
"I don't mind talking, as long as I'm the one asking the questions," Jack said, sitting down opposite him on another bench.
"I'd noticed," Warren said with the beginnings of a smile.
"I'll shut up if you like."
"No, I don't mind," Warren said, "It's nice to have some company out here."
"You know, you still haven't asked me my name," Jack said, "It's normally the first question that people ask around here."
"I thought you didn't like questions," Warren said.
"It's one I'm prepared to answer," Jack said.
"Ok then," Warren said with a slight laugh, "What's your name?"
"Jack," Jack said simply.
"Aren't you going to ask me mine?" Warren asked as they fell into silence.
"I already know it," Jack said, "You're Warren, right?"
"That's Professor Worthington to you," Warren said jokingly.
"I prefer Warren."
"I thought you might."
They fell into another companionable silence, Jack picking at her nails absentmindedly, Warren staring out into space as he had been before she arrived in the garden.
"So, you settling in ok?" Warren asked when he had had enough of the silence. He hoped it was a safe enough question.
"Yup," she said, "Rogue and Kitty dragged me shopping this morning, then I had my first lesson before lunch."
"What did you have?"
"Double history."
"That must have been really nice to start with…"
Jack apparently didn't pick up on his sarcasm, as she said quite merrily that it had been a good lesson and she'd really enjoyed it.
Before he could say anything in reply, the bell rung, signalling the end of lunch and the beginning of the afternoon's lessons.
"Well, you've got my class now, I hope you enjoy that as much as your history class."
"I'm sure I will," Jack said, throwing her apple core to the birds and heading back towards the mansion.
Before she could get too caught up teaching, Hank pulled Storm to one side.
"Ororo, my dear, when is the best time for you to take a day out from working?" he asked.
"Well, there isn't really a good day, but I suppose Sunday is probably the best, why?"
"The President wishes to speak to you," Hank said, "regarding some security matters."
"He wants to speak to me?" Storm asked.
"Well, he spoke to me, and I said that you were the one to talk to," Hank said.
"Well, I can certainly take time out for the President," Storm said, "Will you sort it all out for me?"
"From an appointment to a chauffeur," Hank said, bowing slightly, "Thank you, he'll really appreciate your time."
Jack took a seat next to Kitty, who looked very indignant that she had walked in with Warren, but soon resumed staring dreamily forwards at the young Professor.
"Today we are going to begin studying the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee," Warren began.
Jack thought he looked very uneasy. She made a mental note to point out to him next time they spoke that he needn't worry – all the girls fancied him and the boys were too busy trying to appear cool and unconcerned about the fact that they were all reading that they didn't really notice him much.
As he spoke, telling them of the background to the story, Jack found herself falling into a similar pose to Kitty's, though not for the same reasons. Warren had a very nice voice, she decided, and it was easy to listen too. As he read the opening chapters, she became captivated by the story. She had always liked a good story.
The hour passed very quickly and Jack was almost sorry when it came to an end.
"That was a good lesson," she said as Warren packed up his things and everyone else left around her, "Better than History, I would say."
"You thought so?" he asked, looking up at her.
"You were nervous," she stated.
"Wouldn't you be? Stood in front of a class like that?"
"Wouldn't bother me," Jack said, "Not if I knew what I was talking about, and you seem to."
"Well, thanks anyway," Warren said, turning back to his things.
"No, thank you," Jack said, then wandered over to the door, "See you later, Warren."
"Professor Worthington," Warren corrected absentmindedly, but she had already gone.
Once done tidying his classroom, Warren made his way to Storm's office, where the staff gathered at the end of the day to discuss students and anything the day might have brought to light. As he walked in they were busy discussing plans for a birthday party for one of the students.
"Warren!" Storm smiled in greeting as he walked in the room. She left the others to their conversation and walked over to join him, "Just finished teaching the older students? What did you make of Jack?"
"She's… strange," was all Warren really had to say.
"That was just about as much as I could make of her," Storm admitted, "You know, I'm worried she may be in a little out of her depth in the top class, could you keep an eye on her for me?"
"Of course," Warren said, "I was planning to anyway."
The music room in Xavier's institute was as grand and regal as the rest of the mansion. Kitty loved it, especially the old grand piano that sat in the middle of the room. She came to it quite a lot, when she was feeling a bit down or sometimes just for a bit of peace and quiet.
She had a little classical training, enough to play the pieces that she found on the shelves and in the piano stool. She was nowhere near concert standard, but it was listenable, not that she ever played for anybody.
She was halfway through a jolly minuet when she became aware that she wasn't alone in the room. She stopped quite abruptly.
"Don't stop," Jack said, "That was nice."
"Sorry," Kitty said, "I'm not used to having an audience… you surprised me."
Nervously she began to pick out a tune again, but with Jack stood watching her she couldn't pick up the confidence to play properly.
"Do you play?" she asked.
"No," Jack said.
"But you like the classical music?"
"It's beautiful," Jack wandered over and stood next to where Kitty was sitting, inspecting the piano closely.
"It's a beautiful instrument, isn't it?" Kitty said, "I had an upright piano at home, nice enough, but nothing compared to this."
She ran her hands over the surface of the piano admiringly.
"Plays nice too," she added with a small shrug, "You know, if you want, you can borrow one of my CDs of the classics, I've got loads. I use them sometimes, to help me sleep, when I'm missing home."
"I'd like that," Jack said.
"Do you miss home?" Kitty asked after a moment's silence.
"Sometimes," Jack said, sitting beside her on the stool.
She held out her hand, running it over the keys. As they settled on them, her fingers finding their place, she pressed down slightly. The sound made by the piano was mellow and rich.
Experimentally she pressed another, enjoying how the sounds ran into one another to make a tune. Feeling adventurous she pressed a few more notes, playing the basic tune to a song she had heard in the shopping centre while with Kitty and Rogue. Both girls had mentioned that they liked the song.
"Wow," Kitty said, "Are you sure you don't play?"
"I'm sure," Jack said, "I just like music."
"Me too," Kitty said with a smile.
Meanwhile, back in Magneto's forest hideout, Callisto was gloating.
"I told you," she said, "I couldn't sense her, I knew that made her bad news."
"I will certainly trust your opinion next time," Magneto said.
"You better," she said icily, "Now what are we going to do? We still don't have Mystique and there's no way we can take her by force."
"No way, you say?" Magneto raised an eyebrow at her, "My dear I may have made a mistake, but don't underestimate me. Mystique wasn't the only friend taken from us during that incident at Alcatraz… We should take a trip to the prison they are being held at and see who else has been fortunate enough to make a full recovery."
"Most of our 'friends' died at the hands of the Phoenix," Callisto said, "She was another mistake you made – maybe you're losing your touch!"
"Hey," Pyro said, flicking his hands on fire, "You ought to shut your mouth, if it weren't for him you'd still be discussing with those other losers who were all talk and no action."
"I'm not any better off here than I was back there," Callisto said.
"Do you really believe that?" Magneto asked, standing up. Callisto gazed at him stonily.
"We've had our loses, but we are in a powerful position to strike," Magneto said, "You both know there is a World Summit coming up, in which the powers that be are likely to decide on the fate of such mutant outlaws as ourselves. Who knows, they may have discovered that the cure is only temporary, which will strengthen their case to use it as a weapon. Perhaps they will even commission those at Worthington Labs to develop a permanent cure, so that once caught by the temporary cure we may be permanently decommissioned."
"We're not sounding in a good position at all," Callisto said, "everything is against us!"
"We need to start a campaign," Magneto marched towards her, "We have to strike while they are still docile. They don't know about the cure being temporary publicly yet, otherwise it would have been all over the news. Lets beat the reporters too it and cause some disruption, spread the seeds of fear and chaos!"
"Won't that just make them all the more resolved to make ways of dealing with us?"
"Yes, which is why we have to be clever," Magneto said with a smile, "Firstly, we show the X-men that they haven't beaten us just yet. We will need the help of all our friends for that task, so we need to do some jail breaking. Once that is done we find out the dates of the summit and lay low for a while. The X-men will be constantly on guard while at the same time distracted by the upcoming Summit. They will be so eager to get it all done and dusted as quickly as possible, so that proper systems, rules, might be put in place to deal with us, and so will not notice us until we strike right at the heart of it."
"You are saying sneak attack right under their noses?" Pyro asked.
"That's right, strike during the Summit so that they may never reach those agreements and make those rules!" Magneto became impassioned as he spoke, waving his clenched fist in a subtle display of fervour and determination, "And in the chaos that follows, we will take the world by force and form our own democracy, one that does not rely on the rambling discussions of old men to decide everything, one that favours Mutantkind as the superior race, just as it should be!"
"When do we start?" Callisto asked, all doubt in his ability gone.
"Right now, Callisto my dear, I have even thought of a special task specifically for you…"
Please review! xXx