Lorna stared at herself in the mirror with a sinking feeling of dread. She pulled a lock of green hair forward and twisted it around her finger.
"It's okay Lorna," she said, "You look beautiful. You look like you know what you're doing; like you're smart. He'll like you."
Her eyes strayed to the outfit she had laid on her bed. It was a yellow scoop-necked blouse with long sleeves. There were a pair of burgundy slacks with it that she'd always found flattering in the past. Together she'd always thought that she looked good in it; colorful and bright. Now she could only gnaw on her lip.
Turning back to the mirror she tugged on her hair again. Tears formed in her eyes. She began to think about the scarves she'd used in the past to cover her hair. They had lain forgotten for months. Lorna still remembered how to use them though. It would be very easy to just cover up the green mass that was on the top of her head.
There was a knock on the door. Startled Lorna's heart leapt into her throat. With a swallow she opened it to see Hank standing in the doorway.
"Hey," he said, "I was just coming to return that book you leant me…"
His voice trailed off.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
"Oh, no," she said, "Nothing's wrong. What made you think that?"
"It's just, you sort of look like you're going to cry," Hank said, "And…why are you wearing all black?"
She looked down. She'd paired a black turtleneck with a matching knee-length skirt.
"It's not that odd for me," said Lorna.
"I've never seen you wear all black before," said Hank, frowning, "Is something happening that I don't know about?"
Lorna bit her lip.
"I…maybe you should come inside," she said.
Hank's eyes widened and then narrowed as he came in.
"If Alex hasn't been writing you then I can call and knock some sense into him," he offered, "He's been a great friend but he can be a real asshole sometimes."
"No, it's not Alex," she said.
Lorna took a deep breath.
"The Professor found my father."
His eyes widened again. He set the book down on her dresser and sat on the edge of her bed.
"That's great?" he ventured.
"Yeah, I know," said Lorna, "But, it sounds like he dropped everything and got here real fast. He…he's downstairs now apparently."
"That is fast."
"Yeah," agreed Lorna, "I didn't even know the Professor had found him until about an hour ago. So now I'm going to go downstairs and meet him in the study."
She saw Hank raise a clawed digit to his chin thoughtfully.
"Okay. What does this have to do with you all in black? I haven't seen you in a dress or skirt since Prom," he said.
His eyes lit up with understanding. Hank got up and shook his head.
"Oh Lorna," he said.
"I don't know what he expects," said Lorna defensively, holding back tears, "What if I'm not the daughter he wanted? I mean, think about how I dress. I know a lot of people have problems with women in pants and I dress like I'm a rainbow. And my hair…"
Everything screamed at her to shut up. How dare she harp on her hair to Hank? Lorna stumbled over her words.
"I know I have no right to complain," she said, "But…I…"
"Lorna," interrupted Hank, "don't hold things back. I asked you what was wrong and you told me."
He strode over so that he stood in front of her.
"Lorna, I didn't always look this way," he said.
She shook her head.
"You don't have to-"
"No, I do," he said, "You see, I used to have all these powers but I looked like anyone else. Except for my feet; they were something else. Like Bigfoot on steroids."
His lips turned up but Lorna failed to see the humor in his words.
"But I thought that it wasn't enough," continued Hank, "I needed to look exactly like everyone else. I made what I thought would change my image."
Hank made a gesture to his blue furry body.
"This happened instead," he said.
Clasping her hands Lorna looked at the ground.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"Don't be. I'm not happy with how I look, but I know what I did wrong. And I'm not talking about the formula," he said, "I tried to be like everyone else when I should have been happy with what I had."
Stepping forward he took her hands in his.
"I think your father wants to meet you," he said.
"I know-"
"No, I think he wants to meet you, not some image of yourself you put up so he'd like you. He hasn't met you at all if you do that," said Hank, "Don't make my mistake, okay?"
Something painful flickered across his face.
"Mutant and proud," he said.
"Mutant and proud?" she repeated.
"Something an...an old friend told me," said Hank, "Mutant and proud."
Lorna looked back to where her other set of clothes were. She stood up straighter.
"Thanks Hank."
Erik found his fingers tapping the arm rest of his chair. Where was she? Admittedly this had been sprung on her rather suddenly. She probably wanted to take some time and calm down before she came downstairs. He told himself that it couldn't be because she had changed her mind; she had orchestrated the whole thing in the first place.
He glanced at the clock. To his surprise he found that it hadn't been that long. His fingers began to tap the armrest a little faster.
"Now I'll make sure you aren't disturbed," Charles' voice echoed from the corridor outside, "I know this is scary for you, but he's just as eager to meet you as you are to meet him."
There was no response. Erik swallowed and sat up straighter.
"Alright," Charles said, "Best of luck Lorna."
The wheels of his friend's wheelchair clacked down the hallway, growing further and further away. How considerate of him. For a few seconds there was only silence. He waited with bated breath to see what she did next. Then he heard the doorknob start to turn. Something stopped inside of him.
In one movement his head turned. Standing in the doorway was a teenage girl. Large green eyes stared at him, matching her hip-length hair. She was a burst of color in a room full of traditional brown and red tones. There was a sort of glow around her, just like the first thing he'd noticed about her mother.
She shut the door behind her and walked until she was a few feet away from him. At the last moment he remembered that he should be standing. Erik got to his feet and he saw Lorna take a step back. It was an instinctive movement, but one that made him wince. He didn't want his daughter to be scared of him; even if it was just nerves causing it.
"Hi," she said, her voice low, "I'm Lorna Dane."
"I know," he said.
Almost immediately he winced again. What the hell was he saying? He coughed and scratched the back of his neck. Why couldn't he find something to say that didn't make him sound like an idiot or a jerk? How could he be uncomfortable with this after everything else he'd been through?
It was then that he noticed Lorna was staring at the ground. Erik coughed again. It was probably best to say what he knew he had to now.
"I didn't know you existed until a little while ago," he said, "But I swear if I had even an inkling that I had a daughter then I would have found you."
Lorna swallowed. He wondered what she would make of such a declaration. He certainly meant it, but he knew it was coming too late. His daughter had spent the first seventeen years of her life without him. Why she had even wanted to meet him at this point was puzzling to him. She didn't need him; she'd shown that by her continued existence.
"But I don't blame you if you're about to tell me off for not being there," said Erik, "Because I should have been."
There was a pause in which Lorna sighed.
"Thank you," she said at last, "But I don't hate you. And…there's really no need to apologize. You didn't know. I didn't even know until a few days ago."
"Yes, but-"
"No, don't worry," Lorna said, still looking at the ground, "You didn't know. And Mother never held a grudge either. I think she understood."
His mouth felt incredibly dry. What was he supposed to say next? She wasn't making eye contact with him, which made him feel like he'd done something wrong. Had his attempt to apologize sounded wrong somehow? Looking closer he could see that in one of her hands a few strands of green hair were clenched.
Almost unconsciously he reached out and took a few strands in his hand. They were very unmistakenably green; perhaps her mutation had made it as a form of camouflage. Her eyes widened in what looked like fear, although he didn't understand what it was she was afraid of. Slowly he turned the strands over in his hand.
"Is this part of your mutation?" he asked.
"Yeah…" said Lorna.
His smile softened.
"Beautiful."
Lorna's eyes widened and she looked up at him. It was the first time he had managed to achieve eye contact with her. Her eyes really were the most startling shade of green. She smiled a little. Erik was surprised by her reaction. He wasn't sure what he had said or done to earn it, but it was certainly a start.
A/N: From what I've read, as a villain, Erik wasn't such a bad father. Probably made it in the top ten best Marvel villain parents. Wow that was a weird sentence. Of course, he is sitll a Marvel villain.