"Rogue," Jean said, reaching out a hand for her arm, then pulling away before Rogue could do her any damage. "can I talk to you?" The girl nodded sullenly. She'd been in a funny mood today. Jean had examined her own memories and – with his permission – Scott's, and she thought she'd found the root of it.
In training this morning, Kitty had protected Bobby from a missile by holding him close and transferring her power to him so it passed straight through the both of them. Jean hadn't caught the expression on Rogue's face at the time, she'd been firing the missiles. But Scott had. Scott had seen that look of sadness, anger and envy. Unmistakable envy. Which, when Jean had thought about it, made sense. Rogue was an eighteen year old girl, so legal in New York state, who felt herself in love, but utterly unable to do anything with that. She barely dared hold Bobby, let alone kiss him. Of course she was wound up about it. Of course she was jealous of any other girl Bobby so much as laid a hand to.
Rogue followed her away from the others, towards the end of the south corridor. When she thought they'd gone far enough that they weren't likely to be overheard, she turned back to face Rogue.
"I've never looked in to Scott's eyes." Rogue looked at her uncertainly. "Has that ever occurred to you? I've been with him ten years, and I've never made eye contact with him. And I know I never will."
Rogue said nothing, so Jean carried on.
"Have you ever thought about how important eye contact, exactly how you look at someone, is to telling someone you like them?"
"You read minds though." Rogue said slowly.
"Mixed blessing." Jean said, truthfully. "The Professor and I don't eavesdrop, we don't listen unless we think we can avoid danger by doing it or we're invited to. And what people think of doing doesn't always line up with what they actually do." And early in their relationship, when she'd read Scott's mind by accident it hadn't been a comfortable experience. "Look, all I'm saying is that you're not the first person to try to deal with a mutation that affects how you can be intimate with someone."
Rogue reddened slightly. "I think not being able to touch anyone is a bigger problem than-" She broke off, colouring more deeply.
"Yeah, yours is difficult. But it shouldn't be insurmountable. It just might take a bit of figuring out."
The class bell went. Rogue mumbled an apology and nearly bolted. Poor girl. Some things weren't talked about if you lived in Mississippi.
,
"Jubilee, stay back a moment." Storm said as her class started to file out. Jubilee obediently stopped and turned, but she didn't look happy about it. Storm waited until the rest of the group had left, then walked over to Jubilee and half-sat on the nearest desk.
"This about my grade?" Jubilee asked.
Storm nodded. "It's… It's not like you, Jubilee." Jubilee had been a street kid for eighteen months. It had taken her a long time to settle back in to schooling, so this eighteen-year-old girl was only a sophomore. And Storm knew it galled her. But she'd been doing so much better lately. She was a bright kid, her extra years showed against her classmates in discussions, but she'd slipped the past week. "It was superficial, it was really superficial. You can do so much better. You've been doing so much better. You didn't… You barely touched on economic factors and that's half the title, that's what held you back at a C grade."
Jubilee shrugged. "I… Am I not allowed to have a bad day?"
Storm nodded. "Of course. It happens to everyone, but… I want to be sure that's all it is. There's not…"
Jubilee shook her head. "I'm fine."
Storm sighed and nodded. "Okay. You can go." Jubilee hurried out. That was what worried Storm. Most students had a staff member they'd talk to willingly if something was bothering them. Jubilee didn't really. Storm wasn't sure-
"X-men."
Storm jumped. That was unmistakably The Professor in her head.
"Logan and Peter, get all the students downstairs. Everyone else, to the main gate. We gather in the atrium. "
What's happening? That was Jean. Jean could communicate with everyone like that across The Professor's network. Storm couldn't have done. She wasn't a telepath.
"Erik
Magneto"
The two words came to Storm simultaneously. She bit back a swear word – she was always telling kids off for it – and started moving.
"Get below." She said to students as she passed them. "We might be in trouble. Get below."
It had been four days since Mystique and John had turned up to ask for help. Was Magneto really going to pick a fight with them now? Well, the last time they'd met, Magneto had tried to use The Professor to kill all humans on the planet and left them all to drown.
The Professor was already in the atrium, with Kitty, Jean and Scott.
"How did you know?" Kitty was asking.
"He intended me to." The Professor said. "He stood outside the main gate, removed the helmet that blinds me to him and shouted for me."
"So what does he want?" Scott asked.
"I'm not sure." The Professor said. "He was singing The Cat in the Snow in his head, then he put the helmet back on." Bobby and Rogue were coming down now. "By the way, if any of you ever need it, that's a fairly effective way of discouraging a telepath: sing a short and irritating snatch of music in your head. It's not absolute protection from anything, it just makes you an unappealing target."
"Why'd you send Logan and Peter down?" Bobby asked. "They can take more hits than the rest of us together."
"They're metal." Rogue said. "Magneto can throw Logan about like a doll." Bobby looked slightly embarrassed.
,
Charles started forwards, they followed him. When he reached the top of the stairs, Scott and Bobby lifted him out of his chair and carried him down the steps. Scott was very used to helping him, he'd done it for years now. Bobby just copied Scott: one arm wrapped around Charles's shoulders, the other under his knees. Jean and Storm took the chair down, then Scott and Bobby set him back in it. He hadn't even asked them to.
And, of course, Erik was waiting for them, the gate forced open. Only Mystique was with him, and she was wearing her own skin for once. Charles reached out with his mind. He could feel all six of the X-men around him: Storm and Jean wary but calm, both welling with power, Bobby and Kitty nervous, but set, steady. Rogue hated Erik and Mystique vehemently, and Charles did not blame her, he could feel her pulling her gloves off as she walked. She felt she owed both of them harm. Scott was burning with cold, terrifying anger. Charles pulled away from him quickly. He needed to be level headed. Scott might be fully in control of his own anger, Charles might not be able to separate feelings from actions so effectively. Scott seemed to have come to blame Erik for Jean's… 'death', having first blamed John, himself…
"We will not strike first." Charles said firmly. None of the X-men protested. And beyond them, he could feel only one mutant, Mystique, closer than the retreating students. Of course, he could also see Erik. So if Erik had come to fight, he'd somehow concealed the rest of his forces.
Erik smiled as they came. "Charles Xavier. It's good to see you looking so well."
I will speak for us. Charles ordered his side.
"Now, why the minions?" Erik asked. "I only called to you."
"Erik, the last time we met, you left all of us, with six children, under a collapsing dam-"
"And sabotaged the jet." Scott cut in, in spite of Charles's instruction.
"So forgive me if I'm a little wary." Charles continued, as though Scott hadn't spoken. "What do you want?"
"Want? Why should I want anything more than to thank you for returning Mystique and Pyro unharmed?" Erik, it seemed, safe behind his helmet, was inclined to play games. And Charles could feel how hard Scott was working to stay silent. Charles waited, hoping everyone else on his side would follow his lead. "And, of course, to discuss this very present threat to mutants with one of the most… influential mutants in the country." Charles caught the implication of that. He did not use his powers to make people subservient to him, whatever Erik thought.
"What do you know?"
"More than you do, I suspect." Erik said. "Are you going to invite me in, Charles?"
Charles hesitated. If Erik had come to fight, he was making himself strangely vulnerable. A single blast from Scott and it would all be over, and Charles still could read Mystique. She didn't seem to be expecting to fight, she was more bored than anything else.
"Call off your dogs, Charles, let us talk as old friends."
None of the X-men responded to the jibe. Charles sighed.
"Do come in, Erik." He turned and started to move back up towards the school. He'd take the long way round, up the ramp. He would not let Erik see him carried. Scott fell in on his right, so Erik changed course and walked on Charles's left. That, of course, had been Scott's intent.
"I must say, it's rather quiet for a school." Erik said.
"We sent the children away." Charles said.
"Afraid they'd see the futility of asking mankind to accept something different to itself?"
"More afraid you'd use them as living shields." Scott said.
What happened next happened very fast. Scott gasped in shock and threw his head down, arm across his eyes, Charles felt his spike of panic, and almost at once, he felt Jean's power flare. Erik turned slowly to look at Jean.
"Goodness me." He said. Jean was standing facing him, one hand outstretched towards Scott, her jaw was set. Then everything clicked in Charles's head. Erik had tried to pull Scott's glasses off (metal screws in the hinges, of course, he'd missed that), Jean had blocked him, kept him from doing it. "Aren't you powerful now?" Erik said to Jean. She didn't reply. Something in her clothing shifted, as though Erik had pulled at metal in a fastening somewhere, and he felt her power spike again. Erik was testing her. "Charles, are you still trying to keep this magnificent creature in a box?" Behind Erik, Scott straightened and turned to look directly at his assailant. Charles heard other X-men scuttling out of Scott's line of fire. Erik glanced at him. Charles saw him run the risk through his head.
"I let you in under a truce flag." Charles said. "If you uphold it, we will not harm you."
Erik lowered his hand. Charles sensed, rather than saw, Jean let go, but she was still wary.