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.

Peter followed Magneto and Lorna. He wondered where Wanda was but figured she was handling things herself. He found himself chewing on the edge of his bottom lip as they were led to a large dining room.

Magneto whispered something to one of the large green staff members before leaving and making a motion to them to sit at one of the tables.

"Wanda will be joining us for dinner, but she was feeling unwell and is resting. In the meantime, I wanted to let you all know what the agenda was and how things work on here. I will inform Xavier's students at dinner, but wanted a moment alone." He started as the man brought back some glasses of water for all of them.

"Fair enough." Peter shrugged, it felt odd that his father didn't consider him one of Xavier's students. He felt a bit like a double agent, he didn't like it.

"Genosha once was built by mutant slaves. We have liberated them. We have given them jobs with salaries, houses, a place where they can be themselves without fear of prejudice. We are working on setting up a way to govern and control those who get out of hand and threaten that peace among ourselves. Hence why I have brought you all. It will take us about a week to reach the Island. There we will be there for two days, convincing those who were once kidnapped that they have reason to stay. Keeping people in line while everything gets sorted. Those who wish to stay can do so, they will be given shelter. And those who wish to leave, can come back with Xavier's students, as I assume they will." He continued.

"When you say keep people in line?" Peter asked.

"It's no different than the laws in New York, those who break the rules have to have some sort of punishment." Lorna chimed in.

"Yeah well in New York cops just shoot mutants on spot, so it's a little hard for me to feel confident in that comparison." Peter's eyes narrowed.

"Of course it won't be like that, we will simply be detaining til they learn better." She argued.

"So like the MRD?" Peter asked angrily.

"You are twisting my words to fit some agenda you have against us and Genosha." Lorna argued back.

"Polaris. Pietro." Magneto interrupted, "We have a lot of quirks to still work out. Nothing is settled, which is why I need all of you by my side. To help build and restore Genosha to what it was always intended to be."

Peter quickly murmured something under his breath and tilted his head back, "I just don't see how this is going to work. Most of these mutants can't control their powers, I don't understand how we will be able to do any better without becoming the same thing the MRD is."

"The difference is the MRD will detain anyone, whether there is a threat or not, they will murder innocents to deplete the mutant population. We are not like them. We are mutants who have faced these injustices, we will be just to them in a way that humanity never will be." Magneto said, before finishing his glass of water.

Lorna nodded in agreement. Peter found himself biting his lip again.

"Well we will be departing soon. Please give it time to think on. I want my family to be safe from humanity, and by my side, nobody will live to hurt you."

Peter knew Magneto meant those words, he would kill for his family. He had no doubt in that, which made him anxious.

Ororo had went back to her room and changed into a yellow and green bathing suit and grabbed a towel. She could at least enjoy the sun while Kurt swam. She flung the door open getting ready to leave as heard the door hit someone. She gasped as she saw that she had hit Peter in the nose with the door.

He grabbed his nose, "I did NOT see that coming." He winced.

"Oh no. I am so sorry, Peter." Ororo blurted out as she went and gave him her towel for his nose that was starting to bleed a bit.

"It's fine. I would say no blood, no foul, but clearly that's not the case." He let out a chuckle before wincing again.

Ororo pursed her lips and didn't know what to say.

"It's fine, really. I was just coming to find you guys. Dadneto and I had a talk about Genosha and stuff. Nothing really new. He just keeps reassuring us that he's doing the right thing. And I want to believe him, but I mean…his track record ain't the best." He said, as he ran off and grabbed a clean towel to give to Ororo.

"Here. I'm going to go lay down a bit before dinner. Gotta nap off this anxiety, it's a killer on my shoulders." He said, handing her the unbloodied towel and taking off.

Ororo felt bad as she headed back outside. Kurt was having a blast playing water polo with a bunch of people. They were all using their powers, which made it far more interesting to watch. Ororo wondered if all sports would be more interesting if they were allowed to use their powers during games.

She spread her towel out on a chain and sat down. She put on a bit of sunscreen, a pair of sunglasses, and laid back. She knew this wasn't a vacation, but that didn't mean they couldn't relax a little. They had dealt with so much over the last few weeks that they all needed a break.

Jean put on a nice blue dress with little starfishes on it, she may be an X-Men but she figured there was no harm in making herself look presentable for dinner with Erik. She had known him for a long time, even longer than Peter. Every since that day when Erik and Xavier had come to visit her in her house after Annie died.

She knew he was a fickle man, but definitely not an evil one. It was like Wanda kept reminding herself in her head, "Not good. Not bad. Just one of those grey areas." Jean wished she could tune out all of the voices. It was like being constantly in a stadium where everyone was talking at once and you could make out a couple sentences every once in a while, but for the most part it was just incomprehensible noise. She took a deep breath and thought of the exercises Xavier had taught her. She imagined a wall in between her thoughts and everyone else's. A wall that was sound proof and would block out the noise.

It worked a little. She laid back on the bed. She wanted to go talk to Ororo but all the thoughts were overwhelming. The further away from them, the quieter they were. So she figured it best to just stay in her room whenever she could manage.

Scott was sitting on his bed with a notebook out, making note of the experience so far, what he knew, questions he had for Magneto, things he wanted to keep an eye out for, so forth. He didn't want to let the Professor down; their first mission went well but it was simple. This seemed simple, but he was afraid it was all just a façade that Magneto was using to further his own ambitions. He didn't know Magneto very well, just what he had seen in Africa and on the news. Both were a bit confusing and complex. He knew that the media often twisted things. Like if Magneto was so hated by the government, why would they supply him with ships and an island filled with mutants. It all just seemed a bit odd to him.

He finished jotting down his thoughts and tucked his notebook away. He wanted to say something to Jean, but she looked overwhelmed with it all. Sometimes it felt weird to him, the realization would shock him, that despite all of this, they were just a bunch of young adults. It felt like they had just walked out of school and been thrown into a world that was at war with each other.

He looked down at his watch, it was almost time for dinner. He decided that it would be good to take a note from Jean and try to look professional or respectful. He dug through his bag of clothes, stopping to feel the x-suits they had brought with them in case things turned sour. He let out a sigh and hoped for the best as he grabbed a pair of Khakis and a nice button up shirt and went to the bathroom to change.

The bathroom made him feel a bit claustrophobic. He sat on the closed toilet as he changed his pants and buttoned up his shirt. He looked in the mirror and contemplated if he needed to shave, he rubbed the side of his face and decided it was just fine.

He came back out to notice Jean had fallen asleep on top of the bed. In that moment he couldn't tell if was her making it feel like the room was moving, on being on the boat. He went over and gently touched her as she bolted up.

"I wanted to let you know we have to leave for dinner. Sorry to wake you." He said, realizing she wasn't the one making things move slightly.

"It's okay, Scott. Just startled me." She yawned as she felt the rocking of the boat which made her stomach do flips.

"Food sounds good, might take care of this nausea." She admitted, getting up and sliding on a pair of shoes and running a hand through her bed hair.

"Yeah, I actually thought for a second it was you moving things, but then I remembered we were moving. Feels really weird. I mean, I've flown before, but never have been on a boat. Totally different feelings." He said.

Walking made them feel dizzy, like the room was spinning on them, even though they weren't, it was just the motion of the ocean. Going into the hallway, they saw Kurt and Ororo, who had also both dressed up nicely. Kurt had a different shade of blue shirt and a nice pair of jeans. Ororo had on a button up grey blouse with a pair of black slacks. It was the most dressed up Scott had ever seen them, they looked uncomfortable to be dressed up.

"You guys look great!" Jean chimed, admiring Ororo's nice shirt.

"Thanks!" They said in unison.

"Well let's head towards the dining hall. I don't want us to be late. I feel like that would definitely be a step in the wrong direction with Magneto." Scott said, looking at his watch again.

Jean took Scott's hand as they headed across the ship. There were lots of rooms that look abandoned from where it had once been a cruise ship. Jean wondered what this place looked like before it had become run down and retired. When people flooded onto it to have fun, not to escape a world of people who hates them. The feeling sunk into her and made her feel heavy with sorrow.

They finally made their way to a dining room. Peter and Wanda were waiting for them. Peter looked no different than he normally did, but Wanda looked stunning in a scarlet strapless dress that touched the floor. Kurt had to practically hold his jaw to keep it from dropping to the floor.

"Dadneto wanted us to help you find our table. That way you wouldn't get lost, since this place holds so many people." Peter said, his voice sounding annoyed.

They made their way to a long table by a window overlooking the moving sea. The window was dirty but nobody paid much attention to it. On one side of the table was Lorna, Wanda, Erik and Peter. Across Jean sat in front of Erik, Scott and Ororo taking seats beside Jean and Kurt taking the seat across from Wanda.

As they all sat down, a mutant who resembled a lizard came by and poured them water, giving Erik a cup of tea instead. Erik thanked the mutant who walked away with a nod of thanks.

"I provide mutants jobs here and on Genosha that would have a harder time getting a job due to their appearance. Everyone deserves equal chances, but no homo-sapien wants to walk into their grocery store and get their groceries bagged by someone like him, or any of us. It puts a lot of mutants on the street, with no jobs to pay for housing, healthcare, etc. Not to mention disabled mutants who cannot get insurance or disability because of their appearance or genetics. This will all change on Genosha." Erik said, stirring his tea with a spoon using his abilities.

"That's… really nice of you." Jean nodded with a smile, bringing her water glass up to her lips to take a sip.

"I wish Charles could have come to see it for himself. It is everything we used to dream of. And if it weren't for him and Alex I never would have found my daughter, Lorna." He motioned to the girl with green hair.

"You knew Alex? My brother?" Scott jumped into the conversation.

"He was one of the first mutants that Charles and I found when we first started what he now calls his X-Men. He was quite fond of Lorna, brought her to the professor when she started showing a mutation herself. Turns out she takes after me. And of course Charles also introduced me to Pietro…"

"Peter." Peter corrected.

"Peter and Wanda. Now I have all my children. And we can all be safe and do what is right for mutants all over the world."

Jean looked at Scott and sent him a telepathic message.

"I think he is serious. I don't think there's anything bad behind this… I think we would have been more useful rescuing mutants from the MRD." She sent.

"I have to agree." Scott thought back.

Soon the same lizard mutant brought out menus with various types of vegetarian dishes and fish dishes.

"Our selection may not be the best, but I assure you that the meals here are wonderfully done by some extremely talented mutants." Lorna said with a smile, her voice was filled with confidence and grace.

"I am not a picky eater." Kurt joked as he looked over the menu. He had tasted worse food as a prisoner in Germany where he cage fought.

Everyone ordered, and sipped on their water quietly.

"How has your training been going, Jean? Has Charles been able to help with…" He tapped his temple with his pointer finger.

"It has gotten a little better. Xavier helped me put up some blocks to my powers once we got back from Africa. So not as many incidents have occurred." Jean gave a half hearted smile.

"And still wearing those sunglasses, I see, Scott. Xavier helping you control that any?" He asked, turning his head to look at Scott in the eyes.

"No such luck. He doesn't know what's preventing me from controlling it though." He admitted awkwardly.

"That's a shame. But be proud of who you are, Alex would be proud of you and what you have accomplished." Erik stated.

"Thanks." Scott shrugged.

Soon the food came out and people started eating. It was mostly silent during dinner. The occasional small talk was made, talking about how Erik hadn't seen Ororo or Kurt since Africa. They talked a bit about school, how Charles was, what they were learning, etc. The night progressed, Erik bringing out a bottle of wine for everyone.

"This can be our secret. A glass of wine to celebrate. To Genosha and Mutant Liberty." He said, as he poured a glass for everyone at the table.

They all cheered and sipped on the wine, which was not as delightful as they imagined it would be. They continued to talk about everything that had happened while Erik was in Poland, and after Apocalypse. It was like a family dinner, if only Xavier had been there. It didn't feel like a mission in those moments, just a group of friends and family sitting down for dinner after not seeing each other for a long time. It felt peaceful.

Once dinner was over, most of the wine was gone, though some still sat in the glasses of those who were not a fan. Erik bid them all a good night and got up and left. Everyone sat for a while in silence not sure what to say. They all made murmurs and small talk about how tired they were and one by one they all started to get up and leave.

Jean wrapped her arm in Scott's, "That wasn't nearly as bad as anticipated."

"Yeah, I mean I understand why the Professor was worried but honestly, I think this is just what people need right now. Until the MRD is gone, this might be the safer option." Scott admitted.

"For some. We can't stay, Xavier needs us, mutant kind needs us." She reminded him.

"I know. I know. It's just that, I'm so afraid of bad things happening. Between getting assaulted on the streets, getting detained for no reason or cops just shooting mutants for something they can't control. I mean… if we could get away from all that, it'd be better for all of us." He continued.

"It wouldn't be better for those who don't have a choice in escaping to Genosha. I understand what you mean, but we're doing what is best for everyone." Jean said with conviction.

"I know we are, Jean. I just… I don't want anything bad to happen to you." He admitted, taking her hand in his as they made it back to their room.

"You saw what I did to the last person who tried to harm us. I will never let anyone hurt us, any of us. Not you, not Ororo, not Kurt, not Jubilee, not Peter… nobody. Between your eyes and my powers, we could take on the world together." Jean said, unlocking the door and turning on the lights.

"You're right. I worry too much. You don't need me to protect you." He said with a bit of a smirk.

"Maybe not, but you are good company to have around." She gave him a kiss on the cheek, as she grabbed some PJs from her bag and ducked into the bathroom.

Scott took off his button up shirt and threw on some sweatpants and a Star Wars shirt before falling onto the bed. Jean came out in a long green night gown that matched the colour of her eyes. Scott could only think about how beautiful she looked. She flicked her wrist and the lights went out.

"Good night, Scott. I really like you." She said, crawling into her bed and curling up in a ball.

"Night, Jean. I really like you too." He smiled.

The rocking of the boat was finally put to good use as it rocked the X-Men into a peaceful sleep. Day one was over, only 6 more days til they would reach Genosha and bring those who wanted to come home back home. Mutant liberty meant giving them the choice to stay in Genosha or return to their homes and be reunited with their families.