A/N: Ok. Just a warning…there is like a month time jump after the first section of this chapter. And it'll happen again next chapter. Just a warning. Also, the Danger Room in this chapter is modeled after the Danger Room in the X-Men movies- it's more of a simulator than a bunch of robots. Makes life more interesting. And honestly, I like Remy the way I write him so much better than the way he is in the show. They just don't give him enough credit for his cheeky attitude. So. Here it is.
Ororo walked calmly down the path that led to the cliff's edge. Part of her was screaming that she should not be here; the other softly pushing her to find answers. She searched the few people who were leaning against the railing, but none of them resembled the man in question. Finally her eyes rested on a bench set away from the others. A lone man was sitting facing away from the beaten path.
"Erik?" The older man on the bench turned at the sound of her unsure voice. Magneto moved over to make room for her.
"I can't say I am surprised, Ms. Munroe." He leaned back comfortably as she sat poised for danger. "You have never been known to back down."
"I have to admit, you intrigued me." Storm looked away from him, still clearly uncomfortable with the situation. "But I must ask: why did you extend the helping hand?"
"The X-Men don't seem to see me as human; however, I am merely a man." Erik studied her carefully. Never once had he underestimated her; she was one of the few mutants whom he saw complete potential in, along with Charles Xavier and Wolverine. "No one understands what we went through, Ms. Munroe. The pain, the anger, the helplessness- it was all happening at once and we watched it unfold. We were-"
"Trapped," whispered Ororo. "Trapped. We were trapped. Apocalypse used us for something we didn't believe in." Her body slowly relaxed.
"If I remember correctly that feeling isn't welcoming for you," he replied. Her glare caused him to throw up his hands in defense. "I didn't intend to jab. Just a comment. Your fears are nothing to be belittled."
"And yours?" Storm's question took him by surprise. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, studying the ground.
"Mortality." She didn't seem surprised.
"That's it?" There was a look in his eyes that led her to believe there was something more to it. The grey was clouding over the blue. Actually it was the first time she really looked him in the eye. It was eerie, yet there was something else there she had never noticed before.
"Yes," came the stubborn answer. "There is much to mortality- something Apocalypse didn't understand."
"But he is immortal," she commented. Erik nodded and waved his hand airily.
"Never-the-less, we are mortal. One life to live." He stood up and walked slowly before her. "I can't live with the memory, but I will not let it take my life."
"I asked Charles to remove the memory." Erik stopped his pacing, clearly surprised. Storm only shrugged, paying more attention to her skirt than his imposing gaze. "He, of course, refused. Told me I would have to figure it out on my own. So here I am."
"So here you are," he repeated, his head tilted a bit to the left, watching her intently.
"You think I'm weak to ask for the memory to be removed," she stated. For a moment, Magneto thought he had offended her again, but this time it was she that was curious.
"Not at all. Forgetting is a coping mechanism."
"And how is that working out for you?" Her sharp tongue made him chuckle. He returned to his seat next to her, only this time a bit closer. Again, he was in for another surprise when she didn't immediately back away.
"My mind doesn't have room for any more repressed memories." There was a calm silence, one both of them welcomed. All of the hesitation of earlier had drifted away and it was now that Ororo checked her watch.
"I should be getting back." Standing, she reached out to shake his hand. Erik grasped it firmly before standing up himself. "Maybe next week…around this time?"
"Next week sounds great."
As did the next week and the week after that. Almost a month went by as they met two or three times a week in secret. They talked about Apocalypse, the X-Men, his children, and their youth, anything they could think up at the moment. Their lives began to become normal and the line between them began to blur.
Logan had assembled the team for a search and rescue Danger Room session. The younger students weren't present; only Jean, Scott, Rogue, Kitty, and Kurt, along with Ororo, Hank, and Logan, were suited up. Rogue had volunteered to be the victim so the older adults were positioning her underneath the "explosive" rubble. About the time she was sufficiently buried, two more people arrived in the Danger Room.
"Oi. Sorry we be late, but tin man over here had to find something to wear." Remy and Piotr calmly walked over to the others, taking in the scene of a demolished building in front of them. It was to be their first time working out with the X-Men as members.
"The Professor said it is okay that I wear Dr. McCoy's first uniform." Originally, Hank had been fitted with a full body suit, but in the end it had been decided that it was too constricting for the acrobatic beast. However, it seemed to fit the larger Russian very well.
"It looks really great on you," piped Kitty. Piotr seemed to blush, but it was Remy who bowed deeply in appreciation.
"Why, thank you." He blew her a kiss, winking at the same time. Kitty didn't seem to know whether to blush or disregard the action; so she attempted to do both, making Remy laugh at her foolish response.
"She wasn't talking to you, Gumbo." Wolverine grabbed Remy by the back of his coat (which seemed to serve as a uniform) and throw him towards the group that was preparing to begin the operation. "Quit harassing the kids, kid."
"The only chere you''ll have to worry about seems to be MIA." He placed his hand above his eyes as if searching for someone off in the distance.
"Oh, we're supposed to be rescuing her," Kitty grinned. "You might be able to give her mouth to mouth."
"Alright then," said Scott rather loudly, as Remy got a wicked smile on his face. "Here's the plan…"
The leader laid out the elaborate scheme to find and rescue the Rogue. Everything might have gone as planned if the group listened to him. Everything might have worked out just fine. But of course, they were the X-Men.
Storm! Incoming on your left! Jean practically screamed into the other woman's mind. Ororo visibly jumped in fright, though it seemed to be more at the sound of someone's voice inside her head than the flying chunk of concrete that came whizzing towards her seconds later. Throwing up her hands in defense, a strong wind knocked the rubble off course, but something else had turned off a switch in her brain. The wind that should have died down immediately after doing its job suddenly raged the room.
"Storm!" someone yelled as Ororo tried to grasp control of her mind. The room was spinning around her and she shocked the person who reached out to grab her.
"Watch it!" That was unmistakably Scott. "Where is Rogue?"
The structure above where Kitty, Remy, and Piotr were digging out the teenager suddenly gave out as the wicked wind rocked it. Kitty screamed, trying to grab hold of her roommate to phase them through the building. Only Rogue's hand was a little too far away. Piotr grabbed a hold of the petite girl just in time as concrete ran through him. An explosion rocketed everyone within a twenty foot radius onto their backs.
"Rogue!" Kitty was clearly in a panic, but she wasn't the only one. Storm had managed to stop the wind and was shaking on her knees.
"Ah'm 'k," came a muffled voice. Beast leapt over to the brown mound of trench coat in front of them. Remy slowly stood up, revealing a shaken Rogue beneath him. Apparently he had caused the explosion to destroy the rubble that threatened their lives. "Ah'm all good, Ah think."
"Told ya Remy would save ya," Gambit said with a grin.
"What the hell happened?" Wolverine was helping Kurt to his feet. "Storm?" For a moment the wind rider looked at him bewildered; the fuming expression on his face quickly angered her, however.
"I am not sure," she faltered. Jean rushed over to help her up.
"You're not sure?!"
"Leave it be Logan."
"I think we deserve an answer!" Storm looked around at her teammates and back at him with a wretched look.
"Not today." Ororo stormed past Logan, slamming the door to the Danger Room behind her. With an irritated and undeniable growl, the Wolverine took off after her. The teenagers stood in shocked silence as both voices' shouting tones could be heard.
The wind blew open Charles Xavier's door when the weather witch reached her destination. Her eyes were cloudy and it didn't take a physic to know something was wrong. Logan returned the door to its closed position rather roughly when he stepped into the room seconds behind the mistress.
"I cannot do it anymore, Charles! I just cannot!" Storm's cheeks were flushed with excitement and frustration; her normally calm demeanor had flown out the window with the wind.
"So you lost control for a second," yelled Wolverine. "We handled it!"
"No, you do not understand...I cannot lose control," she shouted right back, "not even for a second!"
"Slow down both of you," responded Charles calmly. Both of their minds were spinning, and static in Ororo's case, and he was having trouble picking up what actually went wrong. "What happened?"
"I nearly killed Rogue," said Ororo, exasperated. By this time, her eyes were welling up with tears. "I just..."
"She freaked out- it was no big deal. The Cajun got her out just fine. No harm, no foul."
"I cannot do it anymore..." she whispered, shaking her head back in forth frantically. "I resign. I quit. I am leaving the X-Men."
"What!?!" Logan nearly injured himself trying to get around the chairs between the two of them. "You've lost it...I thought where ever you were going all those nights were helping with whatever issues you've got, 'cause you were makin' a turn around...Clearly something isn't goin' all right."
"Where I go is none of your business!"
"Logan, Ororo, calm down." Charles wheeled himself out from behind his desk. "Ororo, I don't see a reason for you to leave the X-Men. However, I agree that your private life is just that- private."
"I am a danger to the children, Charles." Ororo made her case to her mentor; ignoring Logan now completely. "I could have killed Rogue today...I have to sort things out with my powers and my mind."
"But you've gotten better," insisted Wolverine. He grabbed her forearm, trying to physically shake some sense into her. "Like I said, where ever or whatever you've been doin' lately has finally been doin' some good for you. Hell, the kids have even noticed! You're gettin' back to the Storm we used to know...not that shell you've been wearin' since Apocalypse." Ororo only shook her head and pulled away from him.
"I have to do this on my own, away from anyone I can hurt."
"You'll hurt them by walkin' away, Ororo," bit Logan. "If you can't get through whatever the hell you're goin' through, what are they gonna do with their problems? Run away?"
"I am not running away!" Her eyes flashed dangerously. "You have no idea what I went through."
"Chuck does. And if you'd let someone in, we might know too."
"Maybe if you didn't ignore what was really going on in the world, you might understand." Storm was shaking visibly now. "No one really wants to help…Sometimes words just are not enough." Then, before Charles or Logan could stop her, she exited the room, made her way down the stairs, and out the front door.
It was only a fifteen minute ride before she reached her destination. Pulling a scarf over her distracting white hair, she left the car, walked calmly into the building, and into the elevator. Without hesitation she pressed the button with a silver twenty-three on it. The elevator doors opened to reveal a small entryway and a door. She rapped on it three times and patiently waited for a reply. About fifteen seconds later the door opened to reveal Erik Lensherr.
"Now isn't this a pleasant surprise."