Hey! I was wondering if you guys wanted another chapter from Alex's P.O.V? There's an upcoming chapter I'm thinking of writing a section in Alex's P.O.V. Did you guys like the last? Want another? Let me know!
Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Depressing, right?
Reader-Insert Key: Y/N= Your Name.
We were all sitting on the stone benches in front of the building when the Professor, Eric, and Moira showed up.
"Raven!" Professor Xavier called. Raven quickly stood and embraced him. After they let go, the Professor turned to us. "We've made arrangements for all of you to be taken home immediately."
I stiffen next to Alex. I didn't want to go. Yes, I had the small apartment and library job to go back to, but I felt like this was my one shot at a safe place to stay. At the very least, it was the one shot I had at a place I was accepted.
"We're not going home." Sean spoke up.
"What?" The Professor sounded confused.
"He's not going back to prison." Sean added, nodding his head to Alex.
I forgot for a moment that Alex had just gotten out of prison.
"He killed Darwin!" Alex exclaims.
"All the more reason for you to leave." The Professor replied. "This is over."
Raven meets his eyes. "Darwin's dead, Charles.. And we can't even bury him."
It's silent for a moment, each of us still grieving.
"We can avenge him." Eric speaks up. We all whip our heads to look at him.
"Eric. A word, please?" Professor Xavier asks, leading Eric a ways from us.
Alex and I exchange glances. Avenge Darwin? I like the sound of that.
After a few moments, the Professor and Eric look back at us.
"We'll have to train.. All of us. Yes?" The Professor asks.
"Yes." Alex, agrees excitedly.
I nod with a smile.
"Well we can't stay here." Hank says. "Even if they reopen the department, it's not safe. We've got nowhere to go."
"Yes we do." Professor Xavier assures.
"This is yours?" Sean asks.
"No.. It's ours." The Professor corrects.
We all look up at the huge, castle-like mansion in front of us. It was stunning.
"Honestly, Charles. I don't know how you survived, living in such hardship." Eric says, sarcastically.
"Well," Raven says, walking up to the Professor, who wraps an arm around her. "It was a hardship softened by me." She grins as Professor Xavier presses a kiss to the side of her head. "C'mon! Time for the tour." She and the Professor lead the way inside the mansion.
"This is sweet." I mumble to myself.
Alex chuckles.
I blush, realizing he had heard me.
Either Professor Xavier read my mind, or God has a sense of humor. It turns out Alex's room was right next to mine on the left. Sean's was directly across from me. That left Hank on Alex's left, and Raven across from Hank. Eric and Professor Xavier were staying in another hall. The rooms were spacious, and each one had its own bathroom, not to mention a lovely window seat.
The first day at the mansion, everyone was settling in and unpacking their meager (if any) belongings. I only had my backpack that I packed from my apartment. Alex didn't have much else either, having just come from prison. But the Professor told us not to worry, and provided us with extra clothes. Where he got them from, no one knew. Possibly from one of the many rooms here. I spent the next day exploring. I walked through one door to find a massive library. I gasped in delight.
"Magnificent, isn't it?" Someone asked, making me jump.
I turn around to see Professor Xavier standing in the doorway behind me.
"I'm sorry for intruding. I was curious." I apologize.
"No need to worry." The Professor assures. "Do you enjoy reading?"
"Yes. I love it." I reply, eagerly.
"Ah. Explains why you worked in a library." He says with a smile. "Feel free to borrow any books you want. As long as you return them when you're done." He tapped his temple as if to say, 'I'll know if you don't.'
"Thank you! And I promise." I say, gratefully.
He smiles before taking his leave. I eagerly search the shelves, finding a few books to take back to my room. When I reach my door, I see Alex returning to his.
"Hi." I say, shyly. After what went down at the CIA department, we hadn't really gotten a chance to talk. I realized I didn't really know a lot about Alex. Other than he comforted me when I really needed it.
"Hey." He replied.
"Have you gotten a chance to check this place out yet?" I ask.
"Just came back, actually. The Professor has an awesome equipment room. Might use that for some training. What about you?"
"I found the Professor's library. He let me borrow some books." I glance up at his face briefly, wondering how much I should share. But I really wanted to get close to someone, and for some reason, I felt a connection with Alex. "It may sound silly... But having books around.. It makes me feel more at home. Even though I've never really had one. I'm not even sure if I know what home means to be honest." I shift uncomfortably. Maybe I shared too much. "It's probably ridiculous."
"It's not." He says, firmly. His comment surprises me. "Wanting to feel at home, when all you've done is run and hide... It's not ridiculous."
I find myself getting lost in his deep blue eyes. I search their depths, not knowing what I was looking to discover. He opens his mouth, as if to say something else. My eyes drop to his lips and I-
"Dude! Have you seen the kitchen? It's got everything!" Sean walks up with an armload of soda and potato chips.
I sigh quietly, while Alex rolls his eyes. "I'm gonna go take a shower." Alex grumbles.
I swallow at his comment, watching his retreating back. Nope. Stop that train of thought right there. I mentally scold myself.
"What's his problem?" Sean asks.
I shrug. "No clue." I grab one of the bags of potato chips. "Thanks for the food, Banshee." With that, I waltz into my room, closing the door.
A muffled, "You're welcome!" comes from the other side. I could hear Sean grumbling as he went into his own room.
I chuckled.
Day three, the Professor asks us if we're ready to start training. We all agree. First order of business, the Professor distributes workout clothes to everyone. He hands me a slim-fit tank top, track pants, and a simple pair of converse. I throw them on in my room and put my curly hair in a loose braid. When we're all dressed, we meet back in the sitting room. I sat on the couch.
Alex walked in wearing sweat pants and a sleeveless hoodie that showed off his arms. I didn't realize how built Alex actually was. Until now. I quickly looked away, hoping no one caught me staring. But when the Professor met my eyes, I knew I was, indeed, caught. I blushed furiously. He was a telepath, after all. I looked down, so the blush wasn't obvious. Someone sat next to me on the couch.
"You okay?" Raven asks. She was in her natural blue form.
"Y-Yeah. Fine." I smile awkwardly. I was trying not to steal glances at Alex, but it was hard not to.
"Oh, I get it." Raven says, a smile in her voice.
I quickly turn my head to look at her. "What?" I ask.
She nods her head at Alex, then winks at me.
My cheeks started burning again. I knew there was no use lying. "Don't say anything." I moan. I made sure to keep my voice down, so the others didn't hear.
"I don't know.. It's a pretty juicy secret." She smirks.
"Tell anyone about this and I'll tell Charles you have a thing for Hank." I threaten.
She bumps my shoulder playfully. "Alright, alright. I won't say anything. You have my word. Pinky swear?"
I grin and lock pinkies with her.
The first one up for training was Eric. Next was Alex. Oddly enough, it was only twenty minutes after Professor Xavier and Alex left, that the Professor came back covered in soot and carrying a bucket full of water.
"Y/N, I have your first exercise." He said, a little anxiously.
"Now? What about Alex?" I asked, confused.
"Think of it as multitasking." Then he was out the door. I quickly followed behind him.
He led me outside and down a set of stone steps to a bunker. Inside stood Alex, surrounded by fire.
"Oh." I breathe, looking around. While Alex looked slightly embarrassed by the destruction around him, I thought he looked magnificent. The flames licking the walls and floor brought out the golden blonde of his hair, and the deep blue of his eyes. His skin was slightly damp with perspiration from the heat of the flames. His breathing was a little heavy, no doubt from the power he had to exert to cause this. He was amazing.
"Right!" The Professor claps his hands together. "So, first exercise for you, Y/N; douse the flames. It seems the simple fire-extinguisher won't do the job."
I try not to chuckle at Alex's expense. "Okay." I say, getting in my stance. I take a deep breath, before moving my arms in upward movements, pulling the water out of the bucket. I manipulate the water into one smooth stream again. Swirling it around my body, I go about dousing the flames. Because the fire is everywhere, I know a simple rain won't cut it. So I manipulate the stream around the bunker, running it over the flames, dousing them. Soon, all the fires are extinguished. I manipulate the water back into the bucket.
The Professor claps. "Very good, Y/N!"
I smile.
"Tell me, have you ever tried to manipulate a bigger body of water? Or seen if you had any other abilities like breathing underwater?" He asks.
I shift uncomfortably. "No to the first. And I know I can't breathe underwater." I avoid looking at the Professor and Alex before making my next statement. "I almost drowned when I was little. It's not an experience I want to relive."
Professor Xavier nods sympathetically. "Alright. We'll work on controlling a bigger body of water, and see just how powerful you really are. Now as far as the movements you make when you control the water, it's very reminiscent of the martial art form of Tai Chi. Ever heard of it?"
"Not really." I shrug.
"I have a few books on the art that might help you have more precise control over the water. Not only is it about movement, but it's also about calming you body and breathing. It aught to be very beneficial for you. As for you, Alex, we'll work on helping you control your energy blasts. You're both dismissed for the day."
Alex and I nod, both of us taking our leave.
"It's a lot cooler out here." Alex comments, once we are in the fresh air.
I felt a burst of boldness. "Are you trying to tell me you're hot?" I tease.
I could've sworn his cheeks turned pink. "No. But if you're saying I'm hot, I won't argue with you." He smirks.
I laugh, bumping my shoulder against him. "In your dreams."
We're both still chuckling when we reach the sitting room. The others look at us curiously. Sean raises an eyebrow.
"How'd training go?" Raven asks, once again in her human-looking form.
"Fine." Alex and I say in unison.
"We're done for the day." I added.
"What? How much work could you possibly have done to already be finished?" Sean asks incredulously.
"I blew something up." Alex replies, nonchalantly.
"I put out a fire inside of a nuclear war bunker." I say in a bored tone, looking at my nails.
"Daaang." Sean whistles.
"Sean, you're up!" The Professor calls.
Eric, Raven, Alex, and I were looking out of a window. I was leaning over Alex's back in order to see. Having Alex so close to me made it a little hard to focus. He still smelled like smoke and sulfur from his training exercise earlier, like fireworks on the Fourth of July and New Years. A scent that was specifically Alex.
Professor Xavier's voice brought me out of my thoughts. "Now remember, scream as hard as you can." He instructed.
Sean sat on the edge of the window next to ours, wearing his wing-like gliders. The Professor and Hank stood on either side of him.
"You need the sound waves to be supersonic. Catch them at the right angle, and they should carry you." Hank tries to assure Sean.
Sean gives Hank a look. "They should carry me. That's reassuring." He says, sarcastically.
The Professor and Hank back away from the window. Sean looks down, before crossing himself nervously.
"And don't forget to scream!" The Professor reminds.
Alex glances at Eric, smirking.
Sean raises his arms, extending the gliders. After taking another quick glance back at Hank and Professor Xavier, Sean pushes off-
And let's out a pathetic scream, falling in the bushes.
I couldn't hold in the laugh that bubbled up in my throat. Soon, I was laughing hysterically. I heard Raven join in, and so did Alex. Even Eric chuckled. I instantly loved Alex's laugh. It was deep and infectious. We both ended up laughing so hard we were in tears on the floor.
"Oh my gosh, that was the funniest thing I've ever seen." I gasp, trying to regain composure.
"He didn't really live up the the name 'Banshee' now did he?" Alex chuckles.
"Oh, that was sad!" I giggle.
Sean's attempt at flying ended his training for the day.
Next was Hank. We stood at the front entrance, watching as the Professor and Hank took a lap around the mansion. When they finished, the Professor had Hank take off his shoes and socks. As soon as they started running again, Hank darted around the mansion. By the time the Professor was halfway to the finish line, Hank had already made a complete lap, tapping the Professor on the shoulder and startling him.
Alex started walking towards them. I followed, curious to what he was doing. I knew if Alex was going to make a comment to Hank, it wouldn't be good.
"Impressive, Hank." Alex says. Hank smiles shyly at the compliment. "With feet like those, all you need is a red nose. Right, Bozo?" Alex pats Hank on the arm.
Hank's smile drops. "I'm done here." He says, effectively ending his training, and stalks away.
"Thank you, Alex." The Professor dead pans. "But completely unnecessary."
As the Professor walks away, Alex turns back to the mansion, looking pleased with himself. He notices me watching him. I sigh and roll my eyes, before heading back to the the mansion.
Alex jogs to catch up with me. "What?" He asks.
"Alex.. We get put down by humans enough as it is. We don't need mutants putting each other down."
"It was just harmless teasing. Like we did when Sean blew his test run." Alex says defensively.
I stop in my tracks, staring into his eyes. "No. You're making hurtful comments. Yes, Sean failed. Yes, we laughed. But Hank did good. His self-esteem is low enough as it is. Try some encouragement for once. You didn't see me calling you hurtful names when you blew up the bunker!" With that, I stalked back to the mansion, leaving Alex alone.
Hope you guys enjoyed! Review! And seriously, let me know about Alex's P.O.V!
~Kate