A New Generation:

Departure

Alexander Grey couldn't wait to go off to Alkali Lake, he was sure the rest and relaxation would help him get better acquainted himself and maybe find a solution to the problem he had with Scott, his dad. Something inside him told him that if he didn't he would regret it for the rest of his days. He had slept fitfully the night before and couldn't wait to get a full night's sleep.

: Alex before you leave, please make sure to have one more training session in the Danger Room, after all you are going to Alkali Lake. We both know what may happen there, don't be angry if Storm gives you orders to keep your eyes open.:

Alex grunted and shook the covers off of him. He slowly got out of bed, and headed for the bathroom. He took a quick shower, dressed in old sweats and headed for the Danger Room. He would run a quick exercise, maybe the one with the Sentinels.

It was early enough that he didn't see anyone in the hallways. Most of the student body wouldn't get up today. He still didn't envy them, they would still be stuck here for the rest of the week whereas he was on his way out to a nice little cabin in the woods, for more than three weeks.

As he got to the Danger Room, he headed for the showers. If he was going to have to train he would do it in his uniform after all he was going to take it with him. He took off his sweats and slipped on his black leather uniform. He walked back out into the hallway, and headed for the big double doors that lead into the control room.

As the doors slid open, Alex saw that Logan a.k.a. Wolverine was already using the Danger Room, Alex looked at the controls and noticed that the level was on eight, Wolverine was getting pounded out there but Alex was sure that he wouldn't like any help. We wanted to leave so badly though, that he used the speaker.

"Logan, this is Alex. Will you be long? I need to be out of here by 8, or Storm might change her mind about my little vacation… would you mind if I cut in?" Alex waited for Wolverine to answer.

"Listen here kid, I gots some frustration I need to get out of me. If Chuck told you to train, well it ain't my fault."

Alex couldn't believe how stubborn Wolverine was being. Just one more Logan trait. Alex was fuming, but he had learned that picking an argument with Logan was as fruitless as trying to outplay the Professor at a game of chess, still Logan wouldn't get in the way of Alex's trip, not as long as Imperium was there. Alex knew perfectly well that he couldn't take Logan head on, but if he irked him enough, Logan might just give up the Danger Room.

"Wolverine if you're going to be hardheaded, then we're just gonna have to fight it out. I'll go in as your enemy, and if you can land a single punch, no claws, I'll wait until you're finished. If I land one first though; you run the Sentinel exercise with me…under my command." Alex knew he was pushing it, but he needed to bait Logan just enough to get him to say yes, after that he would technically have trained and could be off.

"You got some nerve kid…I'll go for it." Logan's voice cut through Alex like knives. A part of him had hoped Logan would just back down, but he wasn't. Alex drew a deep breath and walked out of the control room and into the Danger Room.

"Computer, re-start current exercise. Modify as follows: new enemy, Imperium. New objective: hit enemy once. Run program vice-versa for user Imperium. Start…NOW"

The program reset. Alex was standing by a large oak, surrounded by rosebushes on all sides. He crouched down and cast out his mind. He searched for Logan's mind, and found it. Logan was directly above him, his thoughts set on making no noise. Alex stayed still, making faces that made it look as if he found it difficult to locate Logan.

:You're toast kid: Logan launched himself at Alex, free-falling from the branches, still Alex remained still. He could pause Wolverine's fall and immobilize him then punch him, but then he wouldn't have trained, and the Professor was probably right.

Alex side-stepped Wolverine's fall, and using his telekinetic powers vaulted over the rosebushes. He ran South by South-west hoping to reach the bridge next to the gazebo. Alex had run this exercise so many times that hiding spots were almost too easy to remember, but he knew Wolverine had probably run it just as many times (if not more) as he had. He checked Wolverine's position, apparently he had decided to run in the opposite direction.

:Of Course!!! That's where that field is…no hiding spots, and he wants to lure me there…damn, I'll have to bite the bait.:

Alex halted mid-step, his mind was sure this was the wrong thing, but his pride kept telling him how he would look like a wuss if all he ever did was hide from his enemies. He took a deep breath, and caught the scent of aftershave, sweat and cigars.

:He knows I'm in his head…I must've broadcast by mistake. He's not far, not if I can catch his scent…shit!!:

He began running again, this time casting out his mind not for Wolverine's mind, but for his heart-beat. He might not get an exact position that way, but it still gave him an idea of the distance between them. He found Wolverine a little less than eight feet to this right, and closing in fast.

"GOTCHA!!!" yelled Wolverine as he jumped out to Imperium's right, he was sure he would get the kid this time, he'd trained hard on learning to control his thought pattern so he could confuse psionics. He lurched forward, knowing he would catch him, but he didn't, he grabbed nothing but air. He looked up and saw Imperium speeding away in the air. "You're good kid…but you ain't better than me!!!"

Wolverine moved back into the trees, he knew Imperium could find him by other means, but he was gonna make himself as hard to spot as possible.

:I can run, but not forever…if I take the offensive though…that may be my best bet.:

Alex cast out for Wolverine's mind again, this time not to sense but to befuddle. He felt it, not caring about the distance. He began to launch bolt after bolt of kinetic energy, not at an object, but at the mind. Kinetic Spikes. He launched one after another, pounding into Wolverine's mind, though still holding back, weakening his opponent. He sensed Wolverine's heartbeat somewhere off to his left and began moving that way, never letting up on the barrage.

He found Wolverine against a Pine, his head in his hands, one knee on the ground. He moved as quietly as possible. He approached from the top, and hit Wolverine on his arm. The computer registered the cue and quit the program, Alex quit his attack.

"Well Logan. I gotta go, but remember you owe me a Sentinel session." Alex infused every bit of good-natured humbleness into his voice that he could, after all it was still Wolverine.

"You got lucky kid…enjoy it." Logan didn't sound too angry, but nonetheless Alex hurried his steps from the Danger Room.

He took a quick shower in the locker rooms and put on his sweats, picked up the uniform and made his way to the upper levels. It was time to hit the road, otherwise he would arrive too late at Alkali to see the sun set behind the mountains. He was almost to his room when he felt a spike of ice hit his thigh.

"What are you gonna do now that mommy and daddy ain't here to protect you huh?" Bobby's voice dripped with malice "bet you didn't even think to keep alert did you? NO, you're too busy gloating for that"

Alex's leg felt utterly destroyed, the pain was clouding his every thought, he couldn't put together anything except pain and anger.

"You're a fucking loser Bobby…but just wait and see…" Alex launched his entire mind at Bobby, not holding back a single edge of pain or anger, he felt his attack smash against Bobby's mind "you ambush a psionic, and don't even put up a barrier…you're pathetic." Alex felt the spike disappear and rounded on Bobby, hurling wave after wave of psionics lashes at him "I thought you could handle me, but I guess I was wrong…"

Bobby shot a spike of hardened ice right at middle of Alex's chest, the surprise of the attack made him reel back, there wasn't enough time to stop it.

SNIIICK!!! Adamantium claws cut the spike into pieces, Logan's snarling face came into focus and Alex exhaled heavily, his anger rose in him in sickening waves. He never thought himself capable of loathing another living being, his mom and dad had taught him that every life (even the ones of bigots) was priceless. But Robert Drake had achieved it, he'd achieved Alex's loath, and Alex knew that if given the chance, he'd slaughter Robert without any regard.

"From this day on, guard your mind…if ever I sense a lapse, you'll never end that day." Alex turned and walked the ten feet to his room in three strides. Everything began flying about him as he closed his door. His suitcase was being filled at record speed, Alex walked onto his balcony and looked up, he needed to get away. His body rose into the air, there was enough cloud cover that no one would notice him too easily. He rose until he was right inside a thunder-head.

:Alex, please come in. I know I'm not the person you want to speak to, but Charles is giving Bobby a dressing down, and since I'm your team-leader…please come to your balcony:

:Storm…aunt Ororo, what did I ever do to him? To any of them? I feel like a stranger in my own home…this is supposed to be safe, and yet one of our own just tried to kill me.:

:I know Beshala*, you'll be glad to know he's not denying anything, he admits to attacking you, he even admitted to goading you in the Danger Room three months ago, come down Beshala, we need to talk…god-mother to god-son:

Alex made his way back down to his balcony, his anger had subsided somewhat, but his feeling towards Robert hadn't changed, and that scared him. He had never felt emotions as perverted and twisted as this, he hadn't even known someone had the capacity to feel this. It went against everything he believed in to feel this, but Robert had afforded him no grounds, and Alex had reached the end of his rope, there was no going back.

He landed noiselessly behind Ororo.

"Beshala, how did this get this far? Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because Mela^ I'm an X-Man, I can't come running to my TEAMMATES whenever one of my peers picks on me…I have no one but you and mom to turn to, you know how dad gets, and Charles is fine and dandy, but he can drive me up the wall with his cryptic thing…besides I didn't think it would get to attempted homicide…if it hadn't been for Logan…Mela it shakes me to the core, to think he hates me enough to do that…to risk being thrown out of the academy" the realization hit Alex like a ton of bricks. Even if he and Robert were bitter enemies Xavier's Institute was home for them both. Robert had no one to turn to. "Mela, can you make sure he doesn't get kicked out? I couldn't even think of that…there's not many options for people like us…he'd turn to Magneto…or the Morlocks, no…he has to stay here."

Ororo had never seen Alex go through so many emotions in such a short amount of time, his ability to think a situation through so thoroughly was exactly what had led her to choose him over Bobby. This little episode was nothing more than the latest in a long string of stupidity that had Bobby's file almost as big as the Rules and Regulations Book that Charles had made up for the Institute.

"Beshala…come here" she opened her arms and swept Alex into them, she knew he hated it, but it was her responsibility "you have to know that Bobby is just being…well he's being Bobby. He doesn't mean half the…"

"It's not him Mela, it's all of them…it's like I'm in limbo…the X-Men see me as a kid, and people my age see me as some type of intruder or something…I have no one I can call a friend, only mentors and family. I just wanna fit in, and I can't."

Ororo had never been interrupted by Alex, the fact that he had done so only confirmed what she feared most; he was on the brink of explosion, bad as it was for humans, and for other mutants, psionics had an even thougher time. He had reached a point where he felt utterly alone, and nothing they could say would make it better, knowing that made her job as team-leader a bit harder, especially since she had a sort of mission for him.

"Beshala, I know you probably are going to hurl me into the Adriatic for telling you this but.."

"You want me to…do something relating to the X-Men…as long as I don't have to infiltrate, bring down, or evade anything I think I'm OK to do it. Just keep it light, please."

"I need you to help me train Jubilee…her powers are somewhat unreliable and I think she's a little afraid to use them…your powers, like hers, are mostly deffensice, but you've found ways of making them offensive and I need you to help her find that for herself…think you're up to that?"

"Am I doing this as Alex or as Imperium Mela?"

"Alex. I want you guys to be peers, equals. You're not her teacher, just a friend giving advice. Treat her as such."

Alex shrugged out of Ororo's embrace. He knew what Jubilee was going through, it was annoying training with Bobby, and Amara, and Logan, and the rest of them when your powers seemed to do nothing more than stop things, or shield people. His mom was ok with her role as a shield, as a lifter and as a communicator, but Alex wanted more. He wanted top be able to fend for himself, and now he could. He had turned defensive into offensive, and was making great strides in that department. Hopefully, he could find a way to explain to Jubilee how she could do that too.

"I'm all packed up, so I'll head off to Alkali, is she coming with or is this something I have to do once I return…I am still going off right?"

"You are. Colossus, Jubilee, and you are all headed to Alkali, Piotr is going to keep watch over the activities at the Alkali Base so you guys can practice without having to worry about it, and he can serve as a target. Better him than you right?"

Alex grabbed hold of his suitcase and his jacket, gave one last look at Ororo and decided his Mela deserved a hug, even if he was innately "allergic" to them. He closed his arms around her and gave a quick(almost imperceptible) peck to her cheek.

"I'm taking the H3, and hauling my Ducati, tell Piotr and Jubilee to meet me at the East garage. I'm leaving in 30. Im Meleth Ley."

Ororo was surprised, but knew better than to try and stretch out this seldom seen moment of tenderness. She nodded once as he left out the door, then turned her attention to the outside sky and with a thought sent the clouds scurrying away. Things would get interesting around here, especially if Charles approved of what she was going to suggest. She sent a silent prayer into the ether and turned back inside, her mind racing through a million scenarios.

Alex finished setting up the hitch to the H3 and hooking up his 2006 Ducati Supersport 800 to it, he looked it over and tested all the straps one last time. It was safe. He loved his bike more than any other thing, it was his pride and joy.

"You know, if you pull those straps any more, you might just end up loosening them. Is it yours or your dad's?" Jubilee's voice had a certain ring to it that rang deep in Alex, he found it almost hypnotizing.

"Mine, saved up for it for like five years, just got it a while ago. It's a--"

"Ducati Supersport 800 2006, I didn't know they came in stark white though, very nice"

"Wow, you know about bikes? And you're right it's actually black, but I bribed one of the older students to use their power and make it white; what can I say, black's just not my color"

"Yea I see…I sorta love bikes, keep up with what I can through the internet. Must admit I never seen a Duc up close though, they are beauts right?"

Alex was impressed, most of the girls in the Institute weren't interested in bikes, and he doubted that more than a third of them would even know what a Ducati was, and here was Jubilee, the most unassuming of the bunch talking about them like they were second-nature to her. He gained a new appreciation for his would-be teammate.

"I'm calling shotgun." Piotr's voice boomed in the space.

"Let's think about this carefully Pete, you're going to squish yourself into the front seat, where there's barely any room rather than sprawling in the back seat? I mean look at Alex and I, we're like a third your size…see what I mean?" she pointed at both their bodies, then at Piotr's.

"Hmmm…you might just be right…lemme see the back seat" Piotr made his way over to the back seat and examined the amount of space, his face wrinkled with concentration.

"The chair's not set up for my style, lemme get at it." Alex climbed in and set the chair to the right length and height, arranged his mirrors and made sure that the entire console was within arm's reach. The space in the back-seat increased. Alex may have been 6 foot 2, but he drove close to the wheel, at least in the vehicles that doubled as war machines like this specific H3 did. He never went to Alkali Lake without expecting trouble.

"Jubes is right, I'll take the back seat." and with that Piotr unceremoniously dumped his 6 foot 6 frame into the car.

Alex wondered if Jubilee had any training with these types of vehicles. He knew Piotr did, but if Jubilee hadn't then they'd have to change seats all over again. "Hey, Jubilee, did you take offensive and defensive driving with Scott yet?"

"Yes, and I had an extra lesson with Logan about two weeks ago." She gestured to the open door on the landing of the hangar to the Blackbird "and just finished my course on evasive maneuvers with Storm."

Alex nodded at Ororo. If she had taught Jubilee, then they had somewhat the same training, though he had to admit that her having taken lesson from Logan scared him a bit. If there was anything Alex knew was that no-one drove like Logan, whether that was a good or bad thing, Alex wasn't quite sure.

"Well then, let's be on our way. I wanna get to Alkali before sunset if at all possible." Alex got into the car and revved the engine. Jubilee jumped into the passenger's side and donned the earphone that would connect her, the car, and its passengers to head-quarters. Alex already had his own "network" set up.

:Take care of each other. We hope to see all of you, unharmed, soon.:

They were off.

Jubilee's hands flew over the dashboard, entering passwords, inputting settings, and logging the necessary data into the system. Alex did the only thing she had forgotten, turning on the radio.

The station played a worn out pop hit, Alex hit the command button and spoke at the on-board computer.

"Log on. Alexander Grey. Playlist Number 17. Input driving directions to 1795 E Phoenix Dr. Alkali Lake."

"Command Entered. Playlist 17 will begin. Directions Corrupted. Loading satellite images. Directions Found."

Alex felt weirded out, how could the directions be corrupted? They had been logged since forever, how could they become corrupted after all this time? It didn't make sense, and that sat wrong with him.

"Computer, disregard driving directions."

"Command not recognized."

"Computer, override driving directions."

"Command not recognized"

"Jubilee, try and bypass the computer. Put us into manual entry."

"All systems Automatic. System Locked."

"Computer Emergency shut DOWN"

"Command not recognized. Intruders recognized, main cabin. Releasing Anesthetic."

The cabin began to fill with the gas that Alex knew would paralyze them, they only had enough time to send a message to Charles or to Ororo. He tried to reach out with his mind, but he was muddled and already his limbs were like lead. He looked at Jubilee, she was slumped down in the chair, he knew Piotr would be in almost the same pose, his eyes drifted closed. Alexander Grey was knocked out.

"Engaging Auto-pilot. New Destination."

________________________________________________________________________

Author's Note:

Here's the meaning to the words:

*Beshala- Beloved (Valdemar Universe by Mercedes Lackey)

^Mela- Love (Elvish)

Im Meleth Ley- I Love You (Elvish)

Please R&R. Feedback is greatly appreciated.