Disclaimer: The X-Men aren't mine, they're Marvel's. Ashley Wolfe is a product of San child of the wolves, Julian Hans and Claire Darth would indeed be mine (with some clamboration from San again on Julian)
Author's note: Oh writer's block, how thee hate me.
It's okay, writer's block CONQUERED. If you check out my profile occasionally (and look at my lovely preview section) you would have seen that I scrapped my original "Flashes" idea because of emmense writer's block, instead merging the beginning and end of the Flashes chapters into the beginning of Healing Factor, this chapter.
Julian Hans is starting to make a more regular appearance now. Yay! And there's more hints on where and what happened to our D-Factor!
Oh, and this chapter is dedicated to my friend L. I forced her to start reading this, dragging her into the MARVELous chaos. Thanks bud. This is for you.
Enjoy. Read. Review
Returning from the explosion's site was… hard… for everyone.
Things had begun to look more positive within the last few days, but the event at the warehouse threw everything into question. Peace was seemingly farther away than ever expected. Despite the cooperation of the Brotherhood it was apparent lines had been drawn.
The X-Men had stared at the Dysons' vehicles for a while before Blob picked up the motorcycle with ease. Toad and Avalanche then hotwired Leo's truck and offered to drive it back to the Institute.
Even the Brotherhood knew when to lend a helping hand.
Especially when three of their kind were lost.
When they finally reached the Xavier Institute the students solemnly filed out of the vehicles. Rogue and Kitty walked together, the latter was completely silent and stony-faced. Rogue leaned on her friend, her eyes shut and her lips moving slightly as she hissed at the personas trapped in her mind. From time to time Kitty would glance at the girl next to her with a worried look in her eyes. Sometimes she thought she would overhear her arguing with one of them, and grew especially worried at the name 'Juggernaut'. No one wanted a visit from him.
Before anyone could leave the garage, the professor made an announcement.
"I know this is going to be tough, but we have to assume the worst. Leo, Tyler Dyson, and Benjamin Dents are missing, presumed dead. We'll do our best to prove otherwise using Cerebro… but…" He took a deep breath. "Get some rest, there's still school in the morning."
They shuffled through the door. Rogue leaned in and whispered in Kitty's ear. "Mind if Ah spend the night in yar room? Ah just don't think—"
"Of course you can Rogue." Kitty answered before she could finish.
Rogue smiled at the smaller girl and they walked off.
The adults stayed behind, looking at each other. The professor sighed.
"This was not how it was supposed to go tonight."
Storm wrapped her arms around herself and looked down at the floor, a few tears finally falling from her eyes now that the students were gone. Thunder rumbled outside and rain splattered against the roof.
Logan ran a hand through his blue-black hair and tugged at his gloves. "There any chance we could find 'em?"
"If they use their powers it'll be like them sending out a beacon to us." Xavier said softly. He wasn't sure whether to hope they were alive or not. Keeping hope would only encourage the others to do so too, which would only hurt them greatly if the brothers turned up dead. The other choice was to assume they were dead and accept it.
"If Leo's still breathin' he's got to be usin' his powers." Logan grunted.
Hank shook his head. "I hate to say it, but with that blood loss—"
"We don't know that!" Logan barked. "Until ya show me a body, we're gonna find hi-them."
"Enough." The professor interrupted. "We'll go down to Cerebro now and see if we can get a location. You're both right, Leo's healing factor would be in effect currently, but whether or not he'll survive is another story."
Charles Xavier lowered the Cerebro helmet onto his head and focused. The machine whirled, the giant screen flashing locations all over the United States.
"His healing factor kicked in around what I estimate to be when the metal beam fell on him." The professor explained, the screen flashing to the city of Bayville. "But then…"
The red dot on the screen that represented Leo vanished. Cerebro whirled, flashing more cities as the professor's mind searched before halting.
"Error. Location not found. Target does not exist." Cerebro's mechanical voice echoed.
Xavier frowned.
"What does that mean, Chuck?" Wolverine asked gruffly.
Reaching up slowly the telepath removed the Cerebral interface and set it down. "Cerebro couldn't find him." He whispered.
"Chuck."
Xavier turned slowly to face his friends. "He… he's dead."
"No… The kid… he can't…" Logan muttered.
"The others." Storm suggested, placing a hand on the gruff man's shoulder. Logan shrugged it off and leaned an arm against the wall.
Charles nodded and returned to the computer, this time searching for Tyler and Benj.
"There!" Beast called out as a red dot popped up on screen. It disappeared nearly as soon as he spoke.
Xavier looked up. The screen showed the continental United States, but wasn't zoomed in on any city.
"Where did you see it?"
Beast pointed. "Right about there."
"North Dakota?" Storm raised an eyebrow. "Who were you searching for?"
"Tyler… Why would he be in North Dakota? How would he get there so fast?"
"Is it possible it was only a glitch?"
"There it is again!" Beast cried out, but this time the 'blip' appeared in New York. The light blinked a few times and then faded out.
"Lost him!" Xavier swore.
"At least we know he's alive." Storm suggested, trying to improve the quickly diminishing spirits in the room. She didn't want to get her hopes too high, they had already been dashed when Leo…
Leo.
The professor sat in front of his students and staff, the announcement he was going to make on the tip of his tongue. They knew what was coming.
"After… after searching with Cerebro last night… I have some grave news to make. Leo… could not be found. It would seem that he died during the rescue."
The students remained silent and grave. The news was expected, even if they had hoped it wasn't.
"We were unable to locate Benj, due to the fact he would have to be using his powers and he was not at any point after we returned. Tyler was last somewhere in New York, but he stopped using his powers soon after we got a brief reading and we lost him. We won't stop trying to find them but—"
"But we need to keep moving on." Scott finished. The professor looked surprised at him. "Prof, we know. We talked about it while you guys were in Cerebro."
"Even though we lost our friends…" Kurt began.
"Doesn't mean we, like, can stop being the X-Men." Kitty finished.
Jean nodded. "The world will need us more than ever now that they've seen this."
"We're still gonna need some… time ta heal… but—" Rogue added.
"We're here. Because we're needed." Scott said, standing up a little straighter. "I think Leo would've wanted us to keep moving forward. He wouldn't want us to dwell."
Thanksgiving.
What a joke.
What was there to be thankful for?
The fact they were alive? The fact Tyler could still be found for sure?
Despite the gloom, life was moving forward. The X-Men's Thanksgiving came slowly to them as the teens tried to come to terms with all the chaos that had happened to them. It was really only three days after the explosion.
But they couldn't deny that they weren't happy for the interruption. Most students hadn't seen their parents in months, and the familiar and loving faces were refreshing.
Kurt's parents were the first to arrive, the blue boy excitedly giving them a tour of the mansion. Kitty's were next, followed by Jean's, and then the whole place exploded into chaos. The younger students' parents arrived almost all at once and the teens were occupied in giving them all tours.
Rogue was sitting at the base of the stairs by the front doors to the mansion, watching as parents and kids entered and walked off. She did her best not to scowl. It was hard not to feel jealous; she didn't have anyone like that.
"Rogue?"
The girl looked up to see the metal giant before her. Of course he wasn't in his all-out metal form, but even still he was a huge force.
"Hey Pete, what's up?"
He sat next to her, the wooden stairs groaned a little under his weight. "Are you… okay?"
Rogue raised an eyebrow. Colossus was a shy guy, and didn't really talk to her, or anyone, that much. She had seen he and Tyler have quite a few conversations, but she never really talked to him much before. So him talking to her was… weird.
"Uh… Ah guess so."
"You are not… unhappy?" He asked timidly.
She frowned. "Of course Ah'm unhappy. Mah family ain't here, they ain't gonna be here, and recently mah boyfriend disappeared. What do ya expect?"
Colossus frowned slightly as he looked at her. "I know we have not talked much… but how close were you to Benj?"
"He… we were… He cared about me. He was willin' ta be with me even with…" She gestured at her gloves. "…this."
"Did you love him?"
Rogue shook her head. "Ah don't know. But Ah think he loved me."
The man nodded. "I understand." He looked up at the door. "Please do not be mad at me for having done this."
"What?" Rogue asked, completely confused.
He pointed, and she followed his gaze.
Approaching the door was a woman with slightly graying brown hair, dark glasses, and a walking cane. It was Rogue's foster mother Irene.
"YA WHAT?!" Rogue yelled. Colossus held up his hands and opened the door.
"Thank you, young man." The woman said. Colossus nodded and raised an eyebrow at Rogue.
She looked crossly at him and then got up. "Irene…"
Irene smiled and extended her arms, grabbing Rogue's hands. "Child, I have been so worried about you."
Struggling to respond, finally Rogue croaked out, "Ya were?"
"Despite how Raven has treated you, I have been hoping you would forgive me."
Still at a loss for words the goth just stared at her.
"Perhaps we should take a look around?" Irene suggested.
Rogue ignored her using the words that suggested sight, the woman was completely blind, but she had gotten used to her doing that long ago.
"Ah… Ah…" Rogue sputtered. She glared at Colossus. "This was yar idea?"
"Actually…"
Rogue spun around to see Scott, Jean, Kurt, and Kitty standing there.
"It was all of ours idea." Scott shrugged. He looked over his shoulder to where his brother Alex and his foster parents were talking to the professor. "We figured since the rest of us had our families here, you shouldn't be left out."
She glared at him, but oddly felt fine about it. She hadn't spoken to Irene since she left home, and there was some need for closure.
"You're friends are very nice." Irene said softly, stepping forward so she was side-by-side with Rogue. She inhaled deeply. "Hmmm, I think I smell turkey cooking already."
Rogue nodded dumbly and guided her down the hall.
Kurt grinned. "That was a good idea, ja?"
"We'll see if we're still living in the morning." Scott joked.
Kitty giggled. "Oh Rogue's not that bad!"
"She'll find a way to get us back Kitty, count on it."
"Well I, like, guess so." Kitty shrugged. She walked up to Colossus and gave him a high-five. "I think this is the start of a beautiful, evil, friendship."
The metal giant laughed, and walked off.
Jean glanced around at her friends. "So was anyone able to find Evan?"
The team exchanged glances, before Scott shrugged. "Ray went to see if he could find the Morlocks, but…"
"You know how they are, like, always moving around to stay hidden and stuff." Kitty sighed. "I don't think he found them."
"Or…!" Kurt pointed at the door. A bulky shape took form behind the glass, and the door opened cautiously.
"Evan!"
The teen winced at his name and looked over at his old friends. "Hey guys, you seen my aunt?"
"Kitchen." Scott answered, jerking his thumb behind him.
Evan raised an eyebrow as he walked closer. "Aren't you gonna ask where I've been, or what I've been doin'?"
Scott shook his head. "Not today. I think Ororo wants to see you much more than we do. We're not going to decrease the time she gets to."
The spiked mutant nodded and continued on his way, trying his best to remember the layout. Not that he really had to remember, the Xavier Mansion was like a second home to him. It was ingrained into him.
"It's weird seeing him again, you know?" Kitty muttered.
"Yeah, yeah it is."
Goodbyes were quick, because many would be seeing them again shortly, but for some they were longer.
Storm tried again to persuade Evan to come back, but it was very half-hearted. She knew he was in the place he undoubtedly belonged, but she couldn't let him go without trying.
"I'll be fine Aunttie O! Honest, the Morlocks are great." Evan groaned as Storm tried to kiss his head. "Come on! I'm nearly grown up."
"No ya're not." Rogue teased from across the room. "Ya can't even drive."
"That, doesn't matter." Evan responded, pointing a finger at her.
"Yeah, sure… whatevah." Rogue smirked, waving him off.
"So are you thinking about joining us soon Alex?" Beast asked of Scott's younger brother.
The boy shrugged and looked back at his parents. "Don't know yet, maybe after I graduate. I'm not really lookin' forward to movin' to the mainland, you know?"
Xavier chuckled. "Whenever you're ready, our doors are always open."
"Thanks, well I guess we better take off. You know how airports are." Alex shrugged, clapping his brother on the back. "Don't be afraid to visit some time and catch some waves."
"I'll take you up on that." Scott laughed.
As the crowd filtered out the students were left looking at each other. Everyone had a smile on their faces, something rarely seen the last few days.
Julian Hans stood at her locker, nervously tapping her foot. She glanced around, leaning back into the hallway while holding her locker door before rocking forward again on her toes. Something was wrong, she could just feel it.
She had been watching the news when the explosion happened and continued to cling to the story as the news broke. The Xavier Institute produced a statement declaring Leo Dyson dead and two others, Benjamin Dents and Tyler Dyson, missing. The school had been abuzz the day after, and still was on that Monday. Leo had been a star player on the soccer team, leading it to the championship. Spring soccer had seemed to promise the same result if he kept playing, but now some of the players were a little unsure.
Julian herself hadn't been great friends with the boy, but she remembered him helping her out during one of the Xavier meetings, now dubbed the Mutant Society. He was funny and charming, and had she been into guys she would have become flustered with his flirtatious nature. The news of his death shocked her. From what she understood he was nearly as indestructible as the instructor named Logan.
To add to all that the attack had scared her. Someone was willing to go to great lengths to try and kill people. And she didn't have to be a genius to realize their target had mostly been mutants. Everyone in the city knew where the mutant "hotspots" were, and the warehouse's neighborhood was one of them.
When Julian came to school the day following she was hoping to talk to Ashley, thinking that might calm her down. She was startled to find that the girl wasn't there, and when she didn't return for the rest of the week she grew worried.
Now on Monday she was really hoping to find the small girl. She hadn't been able to contact her at all over the weekend, and desperately wanted to talk to her.
Julian shut her locker carefully and walked down the hall toward where Ashley's locker was. As she was she saw Enrique at the drinking fountain. She paused, figuring she could ask him where she was since they were close friends.
"Hey Enrique, have you seen Ashley today?"
Enrique straightened up and looked at her. There was a dark circle over his right eye, and a long scratch along his jawline.
"Oh my gosh! What happened to you?!" Julian cried out in a hushed voice.
Enrique held out his hands and motioned for her to lower her voice more. "Shh, I am fine. Really. I just picked a fight I probably should not have."
Julian walked closer and squinted at him. "I don't believe you, really."
He sighed. "It is none of your concern. Yes, Ash is here. I think she is at her locker now, but Julian—"
"Thanks!" She said hurriedly, taking off down the hall.
"SHE IS NOT IN A GOOD MOOD!" He yelled after her, but it was too late, she had already turned the corner. Enrique shook his head and grimaced, holding his side before walking outside.
Ash was ambushed.
She was just at her locker, minding her own business when out of nowhere someone hugged her.
She let out a startled cry before the person put her down. Slowly turning she relaxed her suddenly tense muscles. It was just Julian.
"You scared me." She stated simply, before grabbing the last of her books and closing her locker door.
Julian smiled innocently. "I'm sorry. It's just… I haven't seen you in a while and I was worried." She dropped her gaze to the ground. "And I really needed to talk to someone."
When Ashley didn't respond the taller girl looked up slightly. For the first time she noticed the sling on Ash's arm, and the exhausted look on her face. The small girl was biting the inside of her cheek and looked oddly at Julian.
The black-haired girl frowned and pulled Ash outside so they could sit at one of the tables. Ash didn't fight back as she followed the girl into the sunlight.
"What is going on?" Julian asked bluntly. She was tired of having no clue what was happening with her girlfriend. She saw her in, and occasionally out of school on dates, but the rest of the time she heard and saw nothing of her.
Ash glared down at the ground and traced a circle with her shoe.
"Ash, I'm sick of this. I never know what's going on with you!"
The girl flinched a little at her raised voice but still didn't respond.
Julian frowned and flicked her long hair out of her face. She grabbed Ash's chin and forced her to look at her. Pale blue and two-toned eyes met for a second before Ash tried to pull away.
"No, look at me." She said softly. Ash turned slightly and looked back at the pale girl. "Ash… I've trusted you with a lot. Can't you return the favor? I just want to be able to be there for you."
Ash took a deep breath. "You promise you can handle it?"
Julian lowered her eyebrows at the question but nodded, removing her hand from the girl's chin.
"I live at a place called the Haven." Ash whispered. Julian had to strain her ears to hear her as she continued. "That's why you can't get a hold of me when I'm not at school. The location is undisclosed, but I can tell you it's not exactly close to Bayville. The Haven is a place for troubled mutants who've committed a crime, at least that's how it started. It's a safe haven, somewhere mutants can live and train in peace."
The girl nodded, not quite sure she was following. "So… it's not just you, is it. Those others… the ones at Seth's apartment…"
"All of them are Haven. Enrique, Portia, Sionnach, Xander, Zendi… all of them."
"And something happened at the Haven recently. That's why you and Enrique are hurt." Julian muttered, closing her fingers around Ash's hand.
The other girl nodded, but didn't clarify.
They sat in silence for a little while before Ash spoke up.
"Why did you want to talk to me?"
Julian sighed. "That attack at the warehouse really freaked me out. I just needed someone to talk to about it."
"What about your dad?"
She shook her head. "He wouldn't understand. He still doesn't know I'm a mutant, or that I'm gay. I'm not exactly comfortable talkin' to him right now."
"I'm sure he'd understand."
Julian closed her eyes. "You think so?"
Ash nodded, squeezing Julian's hand and resting her head on the other girl's shoulder. Julian pulled away slightly and Ash looked up at her. Ducking her head a little, Julian kissed her. The smaller girl was surprised by the action and kind of just sat there frozen. It was odd having someone like her again.
Julian rested her forehead against her girlfriend's for a second and murmured. "I'm gonna tell him tonight, I'll let you know how it goes."
Ash nodded and brought her lips back to the other girl's.
I hope he takes it well.
"Did anyone else notice that the Haven mutants were all injured in some way?" Kurt asked as he, Kitty, and Rogue drove back to the Institute.
"Like, yeah! That girl Portia had a brace on her ankle and she could barely stay awake during Spanish class." Kitty answered.
Rogue shrugged. She didn't take her eyes off the road but thought about it herself. "Ah don't really have classes with many of them, well Sionnach's in mah English class… He just seemed to be in a worst mood than usual."
"Well, none of them were here last week, you notice that?" Kitty asked, prodding her friend.
"Kit, Ah'm drivin'. Ya really think pokin' me is a great idea?"
Kitty scowled and folded her arms. "I was just asking, you know."
"And that announcement Darth made?" Kurt said. "I thought it was pretty nice."
"Yeah." Rogue grunted, shuddering slightly.
Principal Darth had made an announcement about both Leo and Benj, applauding the X-Men, Brotherhood, and police in their efforts to save them.
It didn't really make the X-Men feel better though, despite Darth's effort.
"So what was up with Claire?" Kitty asked, changing the subject.
As Rogue's Jeep pulled through the Institute's gates she shook her head.
"Ah don't really know."
Earlier that day.
Rogue didn't bother sitting down at her desk when she came into chemistry. That day was a busy lab day and she wanted to get started right away to avoid having homework.
It was hard to focus at the Institute at the moment.
"Make way for the cripple!"
Rogue looked up from the lab station to see Claire hobbling through the door on crutches. With some difficulty the girl made her way over to Rogue.
"Hey, how are you doing?" Claire asked softly.
Rogue frowned. Claire was gone the last part of the week before, did it have to do with her crutches?
"Uh… Ah'm alive, Ah guess… what did ya do? Not playin' in an alley again, were ya?" Rogue asked. She was trying not to let her mind drift back to the explosion, which was what undoubtedly Claire was asking about.
This time it was Claire's turn to frown. "No, I'm just a clutz. I had a crazy weekend and my legs are a little tired."
"Tripped up some stairs?"
"Down actually." The girl said, resting her crutches against the counter, and grabbing onto the lab station to keep from falling over.
"Is that all?" Rogue asked suspiciously. The girl looked to be light headed, swaying a little as she stood on her own, and her normally bright eyes were much dimmer than usual.
Claire looked down at the counter like she was going to be sick. "No, but you don't need to worry about it, Rogue."
There was something in her tone that set Rogue off, mini alarm bells going off in her head. Before she could figure anything out though the teacher came in and reminded them that they needed to start now, or forever suffer at home.
Not much of a choice.
"Uh, Claire was also gone last week?" Kurt questioned, leaning forward from his spot in the back to look at Rogue's face. "And the Haven mutants were gone last week. And she's injured. And they're injured."
"Stop. Ah…"
"She's Haven, Rogue. She's got to be." Kurt stated.
Rogue frowned as she parked her Jeep in the garage. "Ah got homework ta do. See ya'll at dinnah."
Kurt and Kitty exchanged glances before shrugging. There would be no talking with the Rogue for a few hours.
Xavier was back down in Cerebro, doing another scan for the two missing mutants.
Nothing.
He sighed, removing the helmet and rolling back from the controls. He programmed Cerebro to scan on its own and to have an alert go off if either of them were located.
The two mutants, where ever they were, were not using their powers. Searching for them eased his mind a bit, and he knew it made the other students feel better too.
Having their families over for the weekend greatly improved their spirits, but now that they were gone things were starting to get gloomy again. On Wednesday many of the students would be leaving to go home and celebrate with the rest of their family, but there would still be some left at the Institute. Charles was trying to see if he could find some hope for them while they were stuck at the Institute over the holiday.
Suddenly red lights flashed all around the room, and the professor looked up confused. It wasn't the alert he programmed for having located Benj or Tyler, but the intruder alert.
"Cerebro, bring up surveillance!" He shouted over the ringing.
Logan jogged into the room and skidded to a halt. "Are those the intruder alarms?"
"It appears so…" Xavier responded.
The screen finally brought up the surveillance videos. The Institute's defenses were already warming up. The video showed two cannons firing laser blasts at a dark form. Smoke rose in front of them before two long rope-like extensions whipped out and strangled the cannons, crushing them.
"Logan, get out there, I'll alert the rest of the team."
Wolverine nodded. "I'll hold 'im off."
'X-Men, we have an intruder. Fight to immobilize. We don't have a lock on their identity yet, so be careful.' Xavier commanded mentally.
'Got it Professor! X-Men, move out!' Scott replied.
Logan didn't bother suiting up, he didn't have time for it. Instead he ran out the front doors and extended his claws. Coming to a halt he sniffed, trying to get their scent.
The scent seemed familiar, but he couldn't place it. He squinted against the darkness and the smoke now billowing everywhere and moved toward where he smelled the intruder.
"Alright, whoever you are, you'll wanna give up now. You don't gotta get hurt." He warned.
"Turn off those cannons!" A girl's voice cried out.
Logan frowned, they sounded like a teenager. "What are you doin' here, kid?"
There was another cannon blast and the girl shrieked. She summersaulted into view as the smoke cleared slightly. Her dark black hair was whipped around her pale face, and she looked beat up. She was wearing a black T-shirt, skinny jeans, and green jacket. The grass tugged at Wolverine's boots when she looked up at him.
"Mr. Logan!"
He blinked. The girl was from the Mutant Society, the kid able to control plants. Her eyes were oddly tinged green around the edges, similar to if she had been crying. Her cheek was bruised and she looked scared out of her mind.
"Computer, Override Code: 3-9-2-7." Logan shouted. The cannons made a whirling noise as they powered down and sunk back into the ground.
Logan extended his hand down to the girl. Wearily she took it and he pulled her up.
"J-Julian Hans." She stuttered. "I'm sorry, I should have called, I didn't know—"
"Don't worry kid, are you okay?" The man asked, looking over her bruised form. Now that she was closer he could tell she had been crying, but unlike normal people her eyes weren't red from it, but green. There was a shallow gash on the side of her head where a thin line of blood trickled down her face, and a burnt hole in her jacket where she must have taken a cannon blast to the arm. She was having trouble standing.
"N-n-no." She stammered, falling a little. Logan caught her swiftly and put his arm under her left arm for support.
"Woah, careful there Hans." He said softly. "Let's get ya inside to see the professor."
She nodded and limped next to him as they went. As they reached the front doors Cyclops, Jean, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and Rogue burst out.
"Logan—!" Rogue yelled in surprise.
Nightcrawler muttered something in German before porting back inside.
"I hope the elf is gettin' the medical bay ready." Logan grumbled as he and the girl stumbled in.
Cyclops looked down at the girl. "You're Julian Hans, right?"
She nodded weakly.
Wolverine snorted. "Ask yer questions as we walk Summers."
"Uh… right." He responded, keeping pace with them.
The others followed quietly as the younger students started emerging from their rooms. It was pretty late, but that didn't dampen their curiosity.
Tabitha exchanged a look with Amara before calling out to the girl. "Julian? What are you doing here?!"
The black-haired girl looked back at Tabitha who was quickly jogging up behind her. "Tabitha?"
"I didn't know breaking and entering was your thing."
Julian shook her head. "I need to talk to Professor Xavier."
"Well then today is yer lucky day." Logan muttered, nodding toward where the man himself was sitting in his wheelchair outside the medical bay. "Alright, if you ain't the professor stay out here, the kid needs some space!" Logan barked at the gathering crowd.
The students stopped outside the infirmary and talked amongst themselves.
Logan helped the girl over to one of the three beds and then stepped back as she sat on the edge of the white sheets. She still looked frightened and she was crying again.
"Julian, why are you here?" The professor asked softly.
She sniffed and looked at him. "I-I need a place to stay f-f-for a while."
Xavier nodded. "You're always welcome here. Your father didn't take it well, did he?"
Julian shook her head.
"Her father, Chuck?" The gruff man asked as he pulled a chair around.
"Julian and I have had several conversations about letting her father know she is a mutant." Xavier clarified. He frowned slightly as he read her mind again. "But that's not all you told him tonight, was it?"
She shook her head again. Mutely she rolled up her sleeves on the green jacket, revealing a set of bruises on both wrists. "I told him I was a mutant, and about my girlfriend." She took a shaky breath. "He didn't take it well."
Logan snarled. "Yer own father did this to you?!"
She nodded carefully, staring at her wrists. "I-I told him… an-and then he grabbed my wrists and told me no daughter of his was going to be a homosexual mutie. That his only daughter… I know he didn't mean it… he was just… shocked… that's all."
He shook his head. "Kid, you've had it rough tonight." Logan pointed at her cheek. "He do that too?"
Julian nodded, wrapping her arms around her torso and squeezing her eyes shut. "He didn't mean it…" She whispered.
Xavier rolled his chair closer and placed a hand on her arm. "You're welcome to call the Institute your home as long as you like, Julian." He spoke softly. "After Dr. McCoy takes a look at your injuries I'll have one of the students escort you to one of our spare rooms."
She nodded. "Thanks. I-if I like it here can I stay?"
Logan smirked a little. "You wanna be an X-Man, Hans?"
She met his eyes. "Maybe."
"Well, be prepared to earn it." He responded grinning. Julian smiled a little at his comment.
"So this will be your room." Tabitha said, opening the door for the other girl. "It's not much, but it's definitely better than anywhere I've stayed."
Julian's eyes widened as she took in the room. It might not be much for some people, but it was a lot for her. Her single father had always struggled with money; they never had much in the way of things or space. The room Tabitha opened was twice the size of her old bedroom, with two full sized beds against opposite walls, a dresser, and two nightstands.
"Wow, Tabitha… this is awesome." Julian muttered. She turned back, her few possessions in a bag over her shoulder. "Thanks, really."
Tabitha nodded. "Now I don't know if you'll need to talk or anything, but Amara and I are across the hall, with Jean next to us, and Kitty and Rogue just a few doors down. We probably won't be sleepin' much anyways…"
Julian noticed the grim look on the girl's face. "You were good friends with him, weren't you?"
Tabitha nodded, looking around. "Yeah, we're all takin' it rough right now."
"I'm sorry."
"Nah, it's okay." Tabitha shrugged. "We just gotta wait for our emotional healing factors to kick in."
Yes, I am pretty bad at emotional reactions, but I figured that the X-Men would seem okay at school because I'm used to when something's hit me hard having to suck it up and get on with school life. Grieving! That's what it's called, sorry couldn't think of the word.
Anyways this chapter was more focused on Julian, I'd loved to hear what you guys think.
Next chapter: With the new addition of Julian Hans to the X-Men, Magneto decides it may be time for Brotherhood expansion. Meet new character S.Q.!
(**Sidenote: I'm introducing some new OCs for the new expansion of the Brotherhood and I'm wondering if some of you are interested in submitting an OC. Now don't send me one, I'm just wondering if anyone's interested [on that note I'm perfectly fine if you're not]. I'm not making any promises that I'll actually open up submissions either so wait until I say something. Currently there are 8 members [classics from show & 3 OCs] and that only leaves 4 more I'm looking for, all girls. I'll explain more next chapter, but if you're interested send me a PM and we'll talk about it.)
And here's a list of everyone I would love to thank for following, commenting, and favoriting D-Factor: AvengedVeralin, Cylar44, Eliannabby019, HMMaster, magicrazy101, Mercy-Jane, necro7, QueenPersephoneofHades, the true dark knight, TheAdversaryWithin, CamCabbit, OHMYPRYDE, pianoflute, San child of the wolves, TheWritingGirl23, and Tigereye13. If I missed your name, I'm sorry, I thank you too. And I also thank all those mystery guests/random viewers who never leave any sort of trail behind. :D