Disclaimer: The X-Men aren't mine. But the characters of the Haven, as well as Leo, Benj, and Ty are mine (or an OC of my reviewers)
Author's note: I LIVE!
Now bringing you: Chapter 12! Yes! Took long enough, I know. There's a lot of info in this chapter so bare with me. It skips around a lot. "Present" story time moments are inclosed within borders that look like this: X*X*X, (basically if it has Rogue in it, because that's when she shows up in the chapter) while "flashbacks" are just with lines.
I finally come out and say what Leo's past was so be happy.
Read, review, enjoy.
X*X*X
Rogue was engulfed in another nightmare.
She'd been having similar ones over the past two weeks, but this was the clearest it had been.
Her consciousness slipped into whosever's memories it was and she saw it through their eyes.
Rogue turned the corner in a haste, running toward her house. She was hoping to see its white siding and tiled roof intact, but what she saw caused anger and fear to flow through her blood.
The house was a blazing furnace. Flames spiraled up the walls and burst through the windows.
"No!" She roared in a gruff voice that wasn't her own, stopping her charge. She fell to her knees and clutched her head in her hands. The rage and loss was so deafening she was unable to place the familiar voice that called her name.
She lifted her head and gazed at the stars.
"What did I do to deserve this!" She called.
Her ears twitched as she heard laughter behind the house. Even though it was nearly pitch-black, the house served as a lantern, plus oddly enough she had sufficient night-vision, and she saw three teenagers standing in the dark tree line. An entire forest sat directly behind her house. Rogue recognized them from school (not Bayville, but the school of the memories' owners); the three were guys who didn't make the soccer team because of her.
They cackled in the darkness, causing more rage to course through her veins.
Rogue felt the presence of intense animal instincts that she'd only experienced once before. The animal tore its way to the surface and took over.
The familiar voice called out again, but she wasn't listening. She couldn't hear them, the crackling fire, or the fire trucks and hoses; all she could hear was the malicious laughter.
She growled and charged toward them. They turned and saw her, then fled into the woods.
The teens were fast, but she was faster and more agile. Predator and prey crashed through the underbrush until the teens reached a large clearing. The teens, out of breath, stopped. One with ginger hair and a long arching nose turned to the other two with brown hair.
"I… think… we lost 'im." He gasped, hands on his knees.
"What the Hell was that?" The slightly taller brown-haired teenager asked.
Rogue felt her body tense, it would be a perfect time to spring from the shadows, but something told her not to. The animal receded half-way in question, then backed away from her mind as it realized it and she had the same motive: revenge.
With a swift bound, Rogue landed on a large tree branch silently. She extended her claws and dug them into the bark as an anchor.
The teenagers below continued talking.
"It was some-sorta were-lion or something!" The other teen with brown hard said. He also had freckles that barely showed in the low light. "Was it a mutie?"
"Probably." The ginger one sneered. "No wonder we lost it, it had a mutie's intelligence!" The three laughed.
"Man that should teach the mutant to mess with us though!" The freckled kid said, punching the air.
The orange one turned with a wicked smile on his face. "Told ya, a couple of fireworks and homemade flamethrowers never fail." He gestured to the item strapped to his back. "Just doin' our job as humans, we have to make sure the muties are eradicated. Looks like we took at least one out today!"
Anger swelled in Rogue's chest. She'd heard enough. With a wild roar she leapt to the ground, landing with a muffled thump.
In a whirl she slashed the two brown-haired teens with her claws, leaving their sides bloody, their faces bewildered, and tossed each into a tree with tremendous force. There was a sickening crash when each hit their target.
The last teen turned to run, but with cat-like agility Rogue blocked his path. She kicked out his legs, causing him to fall backwards. Before he could get up or scramble away she brought her foot down at full force on his left leg and was rewarded with a spine-chilling crunch. The teen cried out in pain and grabbed his calf.
A grotesque smile inched its way across Rogue's face.
"Not too bad for a stupid mutie, huh?" She growled gruffly. Rogue suddenly recognized whose voice was hers and felt a great need to back out of the dream.
No she whispered to herself, but there was no stopping what was happening. Her consciousness slipped out of the body and she watched the horror before her.
The light from the dim moon and the blazing house fire slightly illuminated the features of the mutant. He stood menacingly over the boy on the ground, the dim light glinting off his canines. There was no mistaking the golden fur, shark-tooth necklace, nor the firey mane; it was Leo.
"Please, whoever you are, have mercy!" The boy groveled.
Leo laughed. "You don't recognize me, slime?" He shifted back to human. "How bout now?" He growled, lifting the other teen off the ground. The poor light flickered dangerously across Leo's face.
"HAVE MERCY?" Leo roared, shifting back to lion. "Did you have mercy on my parents?" The ginger boy whined. "Did you care if THEY burned?"
"Y-you can't be alive! You-you were in that house!" The teen sobbed.
Leo grabbed him by the throat with his right hand and shoved him against a tree. Pressing his face close he whispered, "You may have failed to kill me, but I will not fail to kill you." With his left hand he ran his pointer finger's claw along the kid's jawline.
"Mercy?" Leo scoffed. "You don't deserve it." The kid's eyes were wide in terror, and sweat beaded off his forehead. "You deserve to roast slowly like my parents, but I'll give you the best I can. The best I can do is a swift death." Leo growled.
Rogue watched as his eyes grew stony, the ice cold animal rage returned and sprung at the teen. He sliced the kid's right arm with his claws then pulled him into a Bane-type move. Leo threw the kid in the air, caught him, and snapped his spine over his knee like a twig. The teen fell to the ground limply, his face dark.
Blood dripped from his claws. With a start Leo glanced down at himself and noticed the blood all over his shirt.
He shifted back to human and stumbled back. He let out an anguished cry full of pain and anger.
Rogue snapped up in bed also screaming and covered in sweat. Two other voices cried out in unison from elsewhere in the mansion.
X*X*X
"You wanted to see me, Professor Xavier?" Leo said, walking into the professor's large study. His voice was raspy and hoarse, and there were dark bags under his eyes. His long night was to account for his exhaustion, but he had also had a long second day of school.
"Why, yes Leo. Please come in, take a seat." The professor remained behind his desk, framed against the huge windows.
Leo sat in one of the chairs across from him and looked expectantly at the professor. Long moments of silence followed as Leo waited for the professor to speak.
"Look, professor, before we start with this can I ask you something?" Leo asked.
"Of course."
"See, I'm taking jazz band, and I was wondering if the Institute could supply me with a trumpet. Mine got destroyed in the house fire." Leo said excitedly.
The professor looked up at the young mutant. "I wasn't aware you could play the trumpet."
A grin crossed Leo's face, "Yeah, I'm pretty good at it."
Charles chuckled. "Then of course we can buy you a trumpet."
The silence extended again as the conversation ended.
Finally the professor spoke. "You haven't been yourself lately, have you Leo?"
"No, sir."
"And Magneto?" Leo took a deep breath and braced himself for the question. "He pushed your limits of control, caused you to act irrationally," Xavier said, finally looking up at Leo. "What did he say?"
He sighed. "You know, I think I let us get off on the wrong foot professor."
"What?" Professor X asked confused.
"I haven't been trusting you fully with the truth since you tried to pry into my mind on my first day here. Now I realize you were just tryin' to help me out. I've been reacting immaturely. I'm sorry."
The professor's eyebrows rose inches into his forehead. "There's no need to apologize Leo, but I'm glad you're finally opening up. Now, about Magneto…"
"Uh, yeah." Leo mumbled. He sucked in a deep breath. "I've had my powers for as long as I can remember, so I'd always be experimenting with what I could do. By the time the mutant incident came into light I was fully able to use my shift. Earlier this year, March to be exact, I revealed that I was a mutant to the entire student body of my last school." He smiled regretfully. "I'd call it an arrogant mistake now. That was the real start of the bullying, but several groups knew before that. I initially made the soccer team, over several humans. Three of them took it upon themselves to make me pay for taking their slots. They torched my house. That's what Magneto was asking me."
The professor tapped his head. "Do you mind?"
Leo shook his head, "No, the welcome mat is out."
Charles chuckled. "Just think of last night when you fought Magneto. I'd like to see it through your eyes."
Leo shut his eyes and pictured the scene. The professor slipped into his mind and gently walked through his memories.
"There's so much more you can do with your powers, Leo." Magneto said soothingly. "You don't have to serve a human lover. We as mutants should be above that." Charles wasn't surprised to see Magneto to refer to him as a human lover. Since Magneto was only about mutant supremacy, anyone who treated humans as equals were scum.
Leo snarled and leapt at Magneto. "Who the hell are you?"
"Think of me as kin." Magneto said, sidestepping Leo. "Since all of your family is dead."
Leo spun around and slashed his claws at the magnetic mutant. Renewed anger pulsed through his veins. "How do you know about my family?" He said, stopping.
Magneto brushed some dust off his shoulder armor. "Oh I know a lot about you Leo Dyson. Your brother Tyler has been trapped in your house in shame for two years because of his mutation. Your adopted brother Benjamin Dents caused his parents' car accident. Then there's you Leo." He said softly, coming very close to the lion. "You have your own dark side, don't you? What exactly happened to those teenagers who set your house on fire? Where are they now?"
"Stop it. STOP IT! You don't know ANYTHING about me!" Leo roared.
Charles snapped his head back as Leo's emotions got the better of him. Leo sniffed. He rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Sorry, I just… let's try again." He said.
The professor shook his head, "No, I've seen all I needed to. But I have to ask, what did happen? You don't have to tell me now."
"No, I-I will." Leo took a deep breath. "I lost control… they're dead."
Logan walked to the professor's office to talk about Leo's "excursion". When he got there, Leo exited the office and smiled at Logan.
"How goes it Logan?" He asked.
"Fine, kid." Logan replied in his typical gruff demeanor. Leo nodded and walked down the hall.
Logan opened the door and greeted the professor. "Hey, Chuck. Got a minute?"
"Of course Logan."
"We may need to go to Cerebro for this one."
Charles raised an eyebrow, but rolled out from behind his desk anyways.
When they reached Cerebro, Logan closed the doors behind them and folded his arms over his chest.
"Remember nine or ten years ago, the failed recruitment of a mutant who called herself 'Clay Dune'?" Wolverine asked bluntly.
Xavier creased his forehead then nodded. "Ah, yes… Clay Dune." He turned to the computer's controls. "Cerebro: access File Number 0571, codename Dune." He commanded.
Cerebro responded with a whirl and a mechanical female voice that said: "File accessed. Authorization required."
This time Logan spoke to Cerebro. "Authorization code oh-nine, voice command Wolverine." He snarled.
The computer answered with a 'bing' and a picture and text were pulled up on the gigantic screen
The picture was of a stony-faced little girl, maybe seven years old, with blonde hair tied back in a low ponytail, neon green eyes, gray-tinged skin, a tan T-shirt, and jeans. There was a Swiss army knife strapped to her thigh and sneakers on her feet.
The file was ten years old and contained little information on the girl.
"Name: Unknown
Mutant name: Clay Dune
Last location: Outside Loop City, Nebraska
Abilities: Cellular metamorphous. Non X-Gene related seer." Cerebro stated.
Professor Xavier sighed. "You brining this file back up can't be good."
" 'Fraid not Chuck." Logan sighed. "That girl has a unique scent I'll never forget. Hard not to when they pound your face with it…" He grumbled. "When we finally caught up with Leo last night, someone had just left his company. It was her. I have no doubt 'bout it."
Professor Xavier folded his hands under his chin. "This is worrying. The girl vanished for ten years, then shows up to talk to Leo? It makes no sense."
"I don't understand it either, Chuck." Logan grumbled. "But whatever her reasons, they couldn't have been good."
"I imagine not."
X*X*X
"Rogue!" Kitty's worried voice burst through the wall as she phased into the Goth's room.
Rogue sat on her bed, a hand on her head, shaking, and drenched in sweat.
Kitty ran up to her and laid a hand on Rogue's shoulder. This was possibly the worst Kitty had ever seen her. The closest was when Rogue had the dream about Mystique and Kurt, but even that was light-years away.
"What happened?"
Rogue lifted her head a little. "Ah-ah can't say."
"Like, what do you mean, you can't say?" Kitty asked.
"It ain't mah thing ta share." Rogue muttered, rubbing her head.
X*X*X
The school bell rang and a swarm of teenagers filled the halls. Kitty emerged from her class room and caught a glance of a mullet making its way through the crowd.
"Lance!" She called.
He cringed and turned around at his locker. Lance had been successfully avoiding Kitty for the past five periods, a skill that was more difficult that it sounded.
"Oh… hey Kitty." Lance said half-heartedly.
"You've been, like, avoiding me all day!" Kitty shouted accusingly.
"And yesterday…" he muttered.
"Yeah! What's up with that? What's wrong?" Kitty asked.
Lance opened his locker and grabbed a book. "Nothing."
Kitty blocked his locker with her arm. "Lance. Then why are you avoiding me?"
Lance looked up to the ceiling like he was asking it for help. "I was just afraid-"
"That I'd ask about what the Brotherhood is up to?" Kitty finished. "Come on Lance!"
Lance looked at Kitty dumbfounded, "You weren't gonna ask what we're doin'?"
Kitty looked off into the hall. "No… I never said I wasn't. But I won't if you don't want me to, you know?"
He smirked. "That's the Kitty I know!" He glanced around. "Listen, we can talk about this later. Somewhere else. With what Magneto has planned things are about to get harsh."
"Alright." Kitty said, leaning in and kissing him. She smiled as she walked down the hall.
Leo grabbed his books for his locker, preparing for a late night of studying. He groaned as he shoved them into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.
The hallways were mostly empty (seriously who would want to hang around school when they didn't have to?), but a few jocks were in a circle at the end of the hall.
Not wanting to get involved with them, Leo began walking the other way. Then he heard a soft female voice from within the circle. The jocks were laughing, Leo halted and turned around.
"Come on, you're a pretty girl, why don't you want to go out with me?" One jock asked; Leo recognized him as Keith Lerry, one of the jocks from the zoo.
Leo approached slowly, listening in on the conversation.
The small girl answered, "Not interested." Leo stopped as he took in her appearance. The girl was barely five foot, and had dirty blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, she wasn't the prettiest girl but her plain features were appealing. There was something interesting about her he got from just looking at her.
Keith, the jock with black hair, reached at the girl and grabbed her shoulder. "Why not?" He growled.
The girl avoided her eyes from the imposing guy and responded with "Guys aren't really my thing."
The jock recoiled like she was on fire. Repugnance struck his face, "Now you need to go out with me. You lesbian need someone to straighten you out!" He grabbed her harshly this time and a gasp escaped her lips.
"Hey!" Leo shouted, running into the jumble. The other jocks backed up from him, but Keith stood and glared with a hand on the girl. "Let go of her." He commanded.
Keith laughed. "And what are you going to do about it if I don't?"
Leo held up his fist. "I'll make you."
"Yeah, right!" Keith turned to his buddies and they all laughed. "Listen to this guy! 'Or I'll make you.' Please! You couldn't beat a girl scout." He mocked.
The blood pressure in Leo rose a tad, but he kept things under control by allowing a snarl to escape his mouth. The jocks took a few more steps back. Keith looked at Leo's "belt" then back at him.
"You're a mutant!" He said with distaste. He shoved the girl to Leo. "Take her, I don't need to get involved with another one of Darth's pets. Watch yourself, if we meet outside school…" Keith pounded his fist into his hand and stalked off with his buddies.
Leo watched him leave then looked down at the girl he now held in his arms. Awkwardly he separated himself from her and spoke, "Uh, hi! I'm Leo." He braced himself for some sorta mutant comment.
None came.
Instead the girl solemnly looked at him and said, "Ashley Wolfe. Thank you."
"No problem. Full name: Leo C. Dyson. You don't have a problem with mutants?" She shook her head. Leo grinned. "Great! And I don't have a problem with lesbians, looks like we're gonna get along swimmingly!"
He expected Ashley to smile, but was surprised when she didn't. A smile-like glow reached her eyes, but went no farther. Leo shrugged it off; maybe that was just how the girl was.
"Allow me the pleasure of escorting you out, Miss Wolfe." Leo said with overly obvious charm.
He led her out past an adjacent hallway where a group of mismatch teens stood. He didn't notice them, but as he passed, they emerged from the shadows.
One was Claire Darth, and another was Enrique Oculto. Standing beside them was a tan-skinned girl with dark brown messy hair and pointed ears, as well as a remarkably skinny boy with black hair and pale pasty skin.
The look on Claire's face was unreadable, some sort of mix of arrogant pride, admiration, and anger.
"Well that was… unexpected." Claire said in a dull and tired monotone.
A smile flashed across Enrique's face, hiding the dark bags under his eyes. "Would be a nice addition to the team."
"Squad." Claire corrected. Her brilliant green eyes seemed duller, and there was an obvious air of exhaustion. "Xander, you wanna just keep an eye on them? We'll get your body home."
The dark-haired teen nodded. He took a stance with his legs spread out, when the girl with messy brown hair put a hand on his shoulder.
"Come on, Clay." She said, turning to Claire. "Anyone else can do the same job without putting them in danger. Why not you or Enrique, or even me?"
Claire's left eye twitched, then she smiled. "You're right Zen. That was an ignorant call on my part. I'll keep an eye on them." She turned to the black-haired teen. "Sorry Xander."
Xander shrugged, "No prob Clay."
"Alright, Portia got called in to do some work for Jaller's squad, so find something to do for an hour or two. Catch ya later." Claire said, backing up and spinning around. She strutted out the doors with utter confidence.
Xander looked at the other two. "Wanna hit the arcade?"
"Sure."
"¡Vamonos!"
X*X*X
"What do you mean, it's not your to, like, tell? It was your dream!" Kitty argued softly.
"Yeah, but they aren't mah memories…" There was a long pause. "…they were Leo's."
"What happened?"
Rogue took a shaky breath. "Ah won't reveal 'em, ya'll hafta ask Leo."
Just then there was a tentative knock on the door.
"Rogue?" A sweet voice asked. It was Jean.
Rogue's face soured like curdled milk. "Lord help me, why did she hafta be the first?" She picked herself up a bit more and called out. "Go away!"
"Yeah, like that's gonna help." Kitty muttered.
There was another knock, but this time the voice was Storm's. "Are you all right, child?"
Rogue grimaced; she didn't want to have to lie to Storm. Before she could answer a pain in her head split her skull. More of Leo's memories flooded in.
"Kitty, get the professor, now." Rogue groaned.
X*X*X
Tyler loved going to work. The two years he spent locked in his house had made him forget that. At the office building there were people to talk to, just feet away, and there were girls. Not a lot, but there were some, and Tyler had forgotten how much he loved to see them too.
There was a block of cubicles, with his in the middle. He leaned back in the ergonomic, cushy chair and smiled, another luxury he missed. The image inducer masked his shark teeth as perfectly normal human teeth.
"Hey Ty, how's it goin'? Not taking a break already are we?" A blonde haired coworker asked from above the cubicle wall. The coworker rolled his chair over to continue conversing.
"No, I was just sitting back and admiring the graphics." Ty joked, gesturing to his screen. The character on it ran in place them seemingly exploded, his arms and legs detaching from his body.
"That's… disturbing." The coworker said with a laugh.
"Yeah, I don't know, it works for a while then BLAM! You have detachable limb-man." Ty answered.
The coworker shrugged and looked at Ty's image inducer/watch in amazement. "Woah, where'd you get that spiffy thing?"
Ty frowned, trying to think of a reasonable lie. When he did he flung his arm back by accident and crashed the image inducer into the desk. Sparks flew and a tiny electric current ran down Ty's arm.
It was a strange sensation of absorbing the power, but this time something was different, and Ty hated when that happened.
The air around him appeared to sizzle as the hologram melted away. Where average-Joe Ty with short brown hair, pale skin, and human teeth was now demonic in appearance Spades. His gray polo and black slacks caused his red skin to appear even brighter.
The coworker stumbled back and toppled his chair over in an effort to get away.
"Y-you're a mutant!" He screamed.
Spades reached out his hand to help his coworker to get up, but fire seemingly unraveled from his fingertips and ignited the air around them. The coworker screamed again, and Spades yanked his hand back to his chest.
Other programmers had taken notice. One threw a stapler at Spades. He ducked and glanced around scared.
"Get out mutie!"
"Haul that mutated ass of yours out of here!"
"Mr. Dyson." A stern voice said. It was Ty's boss, a carefree looking man with dark curly hair. "Your services here are no longer required."
Spades gulped and shoved his things into a backpack and ran out the doors.
Faster than he'd run on a regular basis, he fled to his motorcycle. With a roar it started up and he flew down the streets at a speed that was anything but street-legal.
The late morning sun beat down on Spades, heating his skin even more.
When he reached the Institute the gates opened and he sped inside. He carelessly parked the bike in the garage and threw his half-melted helmet across the lawn.
Standing in his work clothes on the lawn, Spades reached his arms up and felt the release of power. A magnificent fireball tore from his outstretched hands into the sky.
Tyler sank to his knees and gazed at the scorched ground.
"Tyler? What are you doing back so early?" The professor asked as he wheeled out onto the top of the mansion's steps. He looked up and witnessed the retreating fireball into the atmosphere. "Oh, Tyler… What happened?"
"I got fired." Ty choked. He stood and pointed to the fried remains of his image inducer. "I bumped this and it failed. Just when I thought things would get better!" Ty shouted. He turned from the professor and glared at the ground. "Just as I started to think humans weren't all that bad. My faith was almost restored in them… but now? No sé." (I don't know)
Professor Xavier frowned, then extended his hand. "No matter what they say or do, you will always have the X-Men here to fall back on." Ty smiled a small toothless smile and took his hand. "Come, let's continue this inside."
X*X*X
"Runt!" Logan roared at the closed door of the two brothers' room.
The door flew open and a worried looking Benj stood in the gap. His blonde hair was flopped around his face.
Wordlessly he gestured for Logan to come inside and closed the door behind him.
"What was with the screaming?" Logan asked gruffly. Then he noticed Leo.
Leo sat on his own bed on the right in a similar position to how Rogue had looked when Kitty came in. His head was in his hands; he was shaking and covered in sweat. His red hair was plastered to the top of his head.
"Logan…" Benj said, trying to diffuse the situation. He had shared Leo's dream with him through the empathy link they had, and was startled by the sudden awakening. Somehow, Benj just knew that Rogue had been sharing the dream as well.
More like a nightmare. Benj thought to himself.
"Rogue…!" Leo moaned. He looked up at the man he held so much respect for. "I'm so sorry, Logan. You're gonna hate me."
Logan frowned and faced the young mutant with his arms crossed. "Hate ya? Nah, it'd take a lot more than waking me from my beauty sleep to hate you."
The teen shook his head. "It wasn't that, it's what I DID. I-" He took a deep breath, shaking more now. "-I killed somebody Logan. I killed three somebodies."
The gruff man stared at him for a long moment. "Was it anyone I know?" Leo looked puzzled but shook his head. "Then I don't care." Logan said roughly.
"You don't?"
Logan chuckled. "You think I never killed somebody, runt? It happens."
Leo continued to stare at his mentor in disbelief. This wasn't something anyone would expect to hear out of an X-Man's mouth.
Benj stepped forward into the midst of the two mutants. "Uh… Logan? We might want to check on Rogue."
Whirling around Logan came inches away from Benj's face. "And why is that?"
The blonde teen gulped and answered. "'Cause she just saw what Leo did. I doubt she's handling it well."
"Three screams, three people." Leo muttered.
The three tore out of the room and through a confused and groggy crowd of X-Men.
Scott rubbed his eyes and called after them. "Hey! Where are you going? What happened?" He followed after them.
They reached Rogue's door, which was in the girls' wing (a long ways by the way), out of breath. Jean and Storm stood outside the door.
"What's goin' on?" Logan asked hastily.
Storm shook her head. "I don't know, Kitty just phased out the door to get the professor. Rogue's refusing to let anyone in."
Benj walked up to the door and knocked. "Rogue? It's Benj… what's going on?"
Silence.
He began to turn away then he felt an urgent prick in his mind. He opened it and Rogue's thoughts invaded his. She was making mental contact through the haze.
'Benj… dream… Leo's memories… the professor… where is-?'
'Coming, hold on. We're coming in.' Benj answered back and closed mental contact. He nodded to Logan, who threw himself heavily at the door. The wood stood no chance against his intense strength, and cracked inward.
The professor appeared that second. Logan cleared the way and led Xavier in. Rogue was still sitting on her bed, but she clutched her head again and seemed to be fighting unseen enemies.
He placed his hand by her head and focused. Xavier stopped the stream of memories and helped close Rogue's mind to Leo's. She slumped back on her pillow exhausted.
Professor X turned to Benj and Leo. "It's like there was some type of empathy link. I believe those are your specialty, Benj."
Benj frowned and closed his eyes. When he reopened them they glowed pink. He saw the empathy link cord that stretched between Rogue, Leo, and himself. Carefully maneuvering his hands he grasped the purple tinged cord and the gold cord it was intertwined with. With a swift movement he severed the cords and watched as they dissolved into mist. He shut his eyes again and nodded at the professor.
"Fixed. I don't know how it happened." Benj muttered gazing at Rogue's still form.
Leo sighed. "I don't think I can keep this in the dark any more, sir. I can't ask Rogue to keep the secret for me."
Charles nodded. "Of course, whatever you feel like you have to do. Would you like to make an announcement tomorrow?"
"Yeah…" Leo sighed. Luckily it was a Friday, mornings could be more flexible.
'Students, and teachers, Leo has an announcement to make tomorrow morning. Everyone be in the common room by nine.' Xavier said mentally to everyone in the mansion.
"Cat's out of the bag." Benj said solemnly, as he turned back to the hallway.
"…I hadn't quite realized what I did til then. But it was too late to change it, they were dead." Leo said with a serious tone. He looked at several of the X-Men gathered in the common room, but they all turned away. He sighed. In or out of the bag, his secret destroyed things.
The bombshell had been dropped. Professor Xavier excused everyone to leave and turned to the adults left in the room.
"Well, Chuck. The bomb's been dropped. The worst has come." Logan grunted.
Charles rubbed his chin. "One would think so, but in my experience? More damage is done from the shrapnel."
Who's ready for part two: Shrapnel?
Now for Haven count: There's two more OCs to appear, and have no fear they will. Oh, and Portia is Portal's name, yes she was named after Brutus' wife.
Claire is Clay, as many have figured out, and she has a complicated past. Her past is possibly more important than Leo's, and she'll be popping up more and more.
I could say more in this author's note but I really wanted to get this out to you, so stay tuned to see just how painful the shrapnel can be.