Stumbling Along the Path
"Does it ever wake you in the middle of the night?" Erik asked, "The feeling that one day, they'll come for you? And your children?"
Xavier wheeled around, "I feel a great swell of pity for the poor soul who comes to my school looking for trouble."
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or universe. They belong to Marvel and FOX Studio.
Xavier wheeled towards Cerebro, his thoughts scattered about on what Peter had told him. He knew Erik well, or so he thought. Erik had been through so much, he understood why he did what he did, he just wished there was something he could do to help Erik.
"Welcome, Charles Xavier." Cerebro's automated voice said after it scanned his eyes.
He wheeled forward, Cerebro had taken a while to fix but thanks to the help of Hank, things tended to get done quickly around the Institute. He placed on the headpiece and focused on Genosha. Visions appeared like constellations soon taking full form. Genosha was a small island located off of Madagascar.
He soon found the island was filled with mutants, previously enslaved and now free. That was how the city was built. He wondered if this was Erik's doing.
He turned his thoughts to Erik and soon found him, sitting at his new home.
"Charles, you should know better to go poking around in my mind by now." Erik thought loudly.
"Erik, I know about Genosha. What are you doing with the mutants there? Why didn't you come to me? You could have worked with me at the institute and reached your goals through better means." Charles insisted, thoughts of the mutants on Genosha plagued his thoughts, and now Erik's as well.
"Certainly you know me better than that by now, Charles. I did not enslave those mutants. I liberated them. They chose to stay. The humans have been removed, now it can be a mutant haven. It's everything we could have dreamed of, Charles."
"No, Erik. I dreamed of peace."
"Just come and visit. You will see there is peace. And any mutants who wish to leave, they can leave with you. This is the only way there will ever be peace." Erik insisted.
"Erik…" Charles sighed, he wished Erik could see things through his eyes the way he could see through his.
"See for yourself. There is no threat here. Only peace for mutants. That is all I want for my people." Erik said, he sounded honest and desperate in his plea.
"Fine Erik. We will come. Please, do not give me a reason to regret this…" Charles thought, taking a deep breath, his brows furrowed.
Charles whispered a farewell and took off the headset. It was decided, the X-Men would be going to Genosha.
Jean and Ororo were sitting outside, flicking their new nails. Jean was not a fan, it felt weird to not feel the tips of her fingers. Ororo on the other hand was shockingly thrilled with having long nails.
"Peter and Wanda are never around anymore it seems, no?" Ororo commented, as she got up and started to create small rain clouds over the garden.
"Wanda feels conflicted by things. In the same way you did with Apocalypse. Nobody is really good or bad in this world, it's all just a grey area. Wanda sees the good in Magneto. Which there is some good in him. If there wasn't he wouldn't have helped us stop Apocalypse. He cares about mutants; he just doesn't always go about it the right way. Wanda knows that, but it's also her father and the first person in her life to really seem to care about her. I think it's going to make things hard on her if we ever have to go toe to toe with Magneto." Jean commented.
"Read her thoughts much?" Ororo teased her friend.
"I can't help that some people think really loudly. She's got a LOT on her mind." Jean stated, rubbing her temples gently as a headache started.
"Speaking of people who's got a lot on their mind. Scott, I don't think he can keep his mind off you for a second." Ororo sat back down and rested her head on Jean's shoulder and gave her a teasing puppy dog look.
"You would be surprised at what people think about. Scott's an anxious mess between me and the X-Men. Peter's mind goes so fast I can't make out his thoughts even. Kurt mostly mutters prayers to himself in German. I only ever make out "mein God." Jubilee always has some song stuck in her head or is trying to remember something she thinks she has forgotten but typically is out in plain sight." Jean rambled as she thought over the thoughts she's heard in the last twenty-four hours.
"And what about me?" Ororo asked, lifting her head off Jean's shoulder.
"Oh you are just oogling Peter all the time." Jean teased, giving Ororo a light elbow jab.
"Suuuuure." Ororo laughed as she stood up and pointed a finger at Jean about to say something back when Scott opened the double doors and stuck his head out.
"Oh. Hey, Scott." Jean smiled, moving her bangs out of her face.
"The Professor wants to see all of us. It's pretty important, I guess." He gave a bit of a shrug and pushed his glasses back up onto his face before going back inside.
"See, anxious mess." Jean pointed out to Ororo as she stood up and linked arms with Ororo.
They walked back inside. It was oddly quiet. The halls that were often filled with students were now empty. Xavier must have had everyone go to their rooms, Jean thought to herself. They walked around and Scott was waiting in the common room for them with Peter and Wanda.
"Sit down. I will begin the mission debriefing in a moment." Scott said awkwardly with a gulp, his hand reaching for the back of his neck.
"Alright, Officer Four Eyes." Peter teased, giving a sarcastic salute as he and the rest of the X-Men sat down.
"Xavier wanted me to be the ones to tell you guys. He'll be in here soon, but um… Xavier is sending us with Magneto. And before anyone protests. It's not optional. We are going to a small island off Madagascar, now a mutant sanctuary but once home to mutant slaves who built the city. It's called Genosha." Scott stated, looking down at some notes he had wrote down on the place.
"The last time I was with Magneto he tried to aid in the destruction of the world." Kurt mentioned as he stepped out of the corner of the room.
"Well so did Storm, but ya have no problem being around her." Peter said, his eyes narrowed.
"Hey now." Scott said, stopping that conversation.
"We are just checking the place out, and bringing home any mutants who do not wish to stay or were brought there against their will." Scott continued, shooting a glare at Peter.
"Wait, mutants who were kidnapped? Who was kidnapping mutants?" Jean asked, a concerned look crossed her face.
"We don't know. They may still be on the island, but apparently the UN removed him from power and gave the island over to Magneto in hopes of getting Magneto to back off the government here about the MRD. A sort of "if you don't want to deal with our laws, get out of here." Sort of. It's not exactly the best idea, but it could be worse." Scott stated, he wished he could have consoled her somehow but had to stick to this façade of being a good leader.
"So they just want to keep us out of their hair, basically, is what Cyke is saying." Peter inserted.
"And Magneto went along with it? No fuss or fight?" Jean asked, her brows furrowed as she looked to Peter for an answer this time.
"Dadneto just wants some peace and quiet and to get away from humans. He's not out looking for a war with humans. He just knows we aren't going to get any peace with them, and instead of waiting around to be lynched, he's getting the heck out of doge and taking those who want to go with him." Peter said with a shrug.
"He wants us to be safe and free. He doesn't want us to be forced to hide or be locked away." Wanda insisted, making Jean more nervous about it all.
"And how would we all be getting to Genosha?" Jean asked, she had a lot more questions too but she wanted to ask Xavier or Scott alone.
"A boat." Xavier said as he wheeled into the common room and looking at everyone.
"Erik has a large boat he can transport almost 2,000 people at a time. It will take a week or so to get there but it is safer than the blackbird for now. Hank still has some repairs to make to it." He explained.
"Ooo! Vacation!" Jubilee chimed but then covered her mouth.
"Jubilee, you were supposed to go to your rooms. You are too young to go on a mission like this just yet." Xavier scolded.
"But Kurt gets to go and he's only a year older than me." Jubilee pouted.
"He also already has a passport and should something happen, he will be able to get people to safety the quickest. I will not argue this; we do not need the entire institute to go. Plus, we need someone to stay behind to help Hank with the smaller children. He doesn't do good with small children, but you do. It's for the best." Xavier insisted as he moved towards Jubilee and led her out of the room before he shut the door behind him.
"You will leave tomorrow. I would pack for a few weeks; I am not sure how long it will take. You will go, see if the place is really a safe place, and bring home any mutants who were kidnapped by the previous owner: David Moreau. He used mutants to build the city. Starting with the citizens of Genosha and soon seeking out more resources in the UK, Canada and the Americas. If you have any questions, I've given some more information to Scott so he can answer further questions. I'm going to meet with Erik before you leave." Xavier continued his debriefing before abruptly turning and leaving the room.
The X-Men sat in silence for a while. It was an awkward silence, Peter and Wanda were the first to get up and leave the room. Kurt looked around the room before he too disappeared in a blue smoke. Ororo, Scott, and Jean left. Ororo began to feel like a third wheel and nodded to Jean before she quietly left the room.
Jean was about to get up and leave, when Scott opened his mouth and a small breath of air escaped his lungs. She turned around and raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to say something, when he didn't she turned back around.
"You can read my mind." He said with a sigh, letting his façade drop and his anxieties return.
"I don't want to read your mind, Scott. Just tell me what's on it." Jean said, still not turning around.
"I wanted to ask you something, I just can't bring the words to make it past my lips. My palms get all clammy, and I feel like I'm in front of the class room in the 6th grade all over again with Gideon laughing at me when I can't remember my speech on the Roman Coliseum." Scott rambled as he made his way over to the seat next to the window.
"You are such a dork." Jean laughed, turning around with her head cocked to the side, "Ask me." She insisted.
"Will you go out with me again? On a date. As my girlfriend?" He stumbled and choked on words, his knew she couldn't see his eyes and in that moment he was grateful because he was terrified to look her in the eyes in case she said no.
"See, now was that so hard?" She laughed as she started to walk away.
"Wait was that a yes or a no?" Scott asked, standing up to follow her.
"Yes. Where do you want to go? I'm not gonna read your mind for that one either, slim." She said as she grabbed her jacket off the coat rack.
"Why don't we go somewhere alone, that way you don't have to worry about the noise. We could do like a picnic?" He suggested, feeling that might be more awkward.
"That's fine. Do you wanna just pick up food or make sandwiches? We have to make sure we have time to pack as well." Jean asked, as she put on her jacket and then headed to the kitchen.
Scott followed her a few feet behind, "I can make sandwiches. What do you like? Peanut butter and jelly?" He asked, she was already gathering stuff to put into a basket.
"That sounds good, but I hate grape jelly." She stuck her tongue out.
"Fair enough." Scott laughed as he grabbed the bread and began to work on sandwiches while Jean was grabbing bottles of water.
"Do you like wine?" Jean giggled, as she was digging through cabinets.
"No clue. Never have tried it. Probably shouldn't though." He suggested nervously.
"No worries I just found some sparkling apple juice." She sat a bottle of what looked like champagne but clearly had "apple juice" on the label.
Scott put the sandwiches into baggies and put them in the basket, Jean had already put in some apples, glasses, napkins, and the apple juice and water.
"I will go get a blanket or two in case it gets a bit chilly later." Scott noted as he took off upstairs to grab some.
Jean still giggled over their found apple juice. She wondered what Scott would be like tipsy, maybe less anxious, maybe more anxious. It was hard to tell. They still had a few years to find out though, or at least she had a few years. Scott had even cut the sandwiches perfect, she noted. He was something. She didn't feel so scared around him after their last date, there was something about him, a connection she had made with him that she had never made with anyone else before. She thought it might be love, but it was far too soon to tell.
Scott was grabbing blankets as he thought of Jean, he loved her but he was afraid to get close and hurt her. He couldn't control his powers, at all, and while she was sometimes out of control, she was extremely powerful and controlled, something he would never know. All he knew was that he believed every person had a special someone out there in the world waiting for them, and he felt like he had found that in Jean. If only his fears could be pushed aside and locked in a tiny black box in his mind and never be heard from again. He wanted to be the stoic leader of the X-Men for her, but he could barely make it a full sentence without saying "but, um…"
He was hoping tonight would give them the chance to be alone, to ask more questions, to find out what she wanted in her future, for her to get away from all the voices for a little while before she would be crammed into a boat with nearly 2000 people and their thoughts, all find with anxieties of their own on their way to Genosha.
He was just as anxious. All his life people had proven to him that they didn't believe peace was an option. Xavier had made him believe there was. He wondered sometimes if Magneto was right, but he pushed those thoughts away quickly and replaced them with the thoughts of Jean's long red hair and her eyes. He felt calmer already. Her thoughts reached out to him.
"Scott, are you ready? The sun will be setting soon." Jean communicated telepathically to him.
"Absolutely. Heading back down now." He thought back. His thoughts were calm the rest of the night, her voice silencing all of his anxieties away.
Jean and Scott sat on a blanket, on a hill overlooking the institute.
"Do you ever think the world will really accept us?" Scott asked Jean, laying back and looking up at the evening sky.
"No, but fighting hate with hate doesn't solve anything. Besides, we only need to learn to accept ourselves." She replied, reaching a hand out and holding his tightly.
For a moment the world felt still, he had almost forgotten about the X-Men, about Genosha, or packing. For just that moment it was just Jean and him, there was no hate, no riots, no MRD. He wished the feeling would never end, that all the fear in the world would subside and his anxieties with them. He wished for the moment to last forever, for his worries to go away. But he knew that come tomorrow morning, he would have a lot more to worry about, and lives to be responsible for. He couldn't help but feel his anxiety creep up on him as he thought about all the things he was missing out on, things that normal 20-year-olds were doing, how at 20 you shouldn't be responsible for the lives of thousands.
Jean sensed his anxieties, she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He blushed.
"You're really something, Scott." She smiled, resting her head on his chest and looking up at the sky turning purple, the first star had appeared.
"Make a wish." Jean stated, pointing up at the star.
Scott closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he wished for so much but in that moment all he could think was, "I wish this moment could last forever."
