I am so, so, so, so sorry for how late this is. I had a lot happening at the moment and I just couldn't find the inspiration for this chapter, I know it's the first X2 chapter and it should have been easy, but I just couldn't.
i started writing it, then stopped, and finished all of it today. I hope this is worth the wait, and sorry if it isn't as there might be longer gaps at the moment.
However, i kinda got obsessed with the walking dead as I was FINALLY allowed to watch it, I've just devoured all four seasons and I'm eagerly awaiting season five.
Now i'm slightly anno...
SEASON NINE OF SUPERNATURAL WONT BE SHOWN IN THE UK!
Seriously, when I read sky living had cancelled it and wouldn't show anymore, I was so ANNOYED! It's my favourite show, I've been waiting so long and spoiled three things, hopefully someone else will pick it up, PLEASE?!
okay, anger moment over.
Thank you to ZoeysZone, Soulfert, Tiger Mutant and pyromaniacmuse for the reviews:
ZoeysZone ~ You do rock! XD I wasn't actually going to add the future part, but thought it would fit with the hints do DOFP as I wait for the DVD to come out, so that I can write this story in it too, that's a llllooooooonnnnnnnggg wait.
Soulfert ~ I always find family means someone you trust and cherish! not just blood, like I'd consider some of my friends family. And I think Isaac just didn't want to loose someone else he loves, after everything, and as people say 'forgive but never forget', but I'm glad it made the character more likeable.
Tiger Mutant ~ I know i already said it! but I love Jam XD I was having weird things like Jamnatha etc, but I didn't like any of them. I think my exams went okay, I need to know geography and science, but I really don't want to know science...I'm pretty sure I failed.
Pyromaniacmuse ~ thank you so much! I'm so glad you're loving this story!
honestly, thank you for being so patient with this. I promise I'll upload quicker in the future, but maybe not as soon as I would like.
also, please tell me if some of the characters seem OOC or there are a few Mary Sues or whatever they're called, then I can try and fix it because I really don't want to ruin the characters.
now breathe.
disclaimer:I only own OCs.
with that done, (drumroll), on with the chapter...
Did you try to live on your own?
When you burned down the house and home?
Did you stand too close to the fire?
Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone,
When it's time to live and let die,
And you can't get another try,
Something inside this heart has died, you're in ruins,
Green Day ~ 21Guns
Mutants.
Since the discovery of their existence, they have been regarded with fear, suspicion, often hatred.
Across the planet debate rages.
Are mutants the next link in the evolutionary chain? Or simply a new species of humanity fighting for their share of the world?
Either way, it is an historical fact...
Sharing the world has never been humanity's defining attribute.
"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break the bonds of our affection."
The woman clad in formal navy blue clothes addressed the tour group as such, the tour itself residing inside the most powerful and politically famous building in the world: The White House.
The group held different emotions, mostly boredom as the monotone voice even sent the guards standing stiffly at certain doors to sleep. While others, more happy-go-lucky tourists hung on every word, staring at the beautifully illustrated painting of Abraham Lincoln, the man sitting thoughtfully in a regal throne-like chair, the puffy red material sewn into the crafted wood.
"Lincoln said that in his first inaugural address as our nation's sixteenth president. It's one of my favourites. So, if you'll please have your tickets ready, we can begin the tour." She said, in a rather childish squeak as she faked a sweet smile at the group. The fake smile wasn't exactly unexpected, having to say the same things day in day out to hundreds of foreign and native tourists, was well, just as dull as her voice.
As the group dispersed and followed the blue-uniformed woman, one tourist obscured by a blue baseball cap and murky yellow tinged glasses, looked rather solemn, standing absolutely still as his group left without him.
The tourists piled through a large white structure, a metal detector to be exact, all of them showing their tickets to a guard who stood beside the metal detector. He stood obediently, trained to protect the President at all costs, he was trained to follow even the most controversial of orders.
His mind was never really in the job though, it focused on home, or more importantly his hyperactive five year old son who was waiting for him. He smiled at this, only for a second, before he became unreadable again. He loved his little cheeky monkey, how he would always try and stay up late to meet him, only to be sound asleep on the couch when he did get back.
Bamf
The whooshing noise confused the guard, never hearing such a noise before. His eyes snapping in the general direction of the noise, moving forward gingerly but professionally.
Bamf
He heard it again, but couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from as it seemed to be in a different section.
Bamf
Again, the same noise, and again in a different area.
A different guard with the clear earpieces shoved into his ear stood stiffly by another oil painting, but found a figure stood in the corner of his right eye. He turned, simply believing it was a lost tourist as they mostly turned up from time to time.
He wore the blue baseball cap that obscured his face, most of his thin body hidden under a beige trenchcoat that was unbuttoned, but still managed to cover most of his lanky frame.
"Excuse me, sir. Are you lost? The guard asked, stepping forward to face the tourist directly. Only, when the tourist looked up, the guard paralysed in shock.
Deep cuts marked his skin, but that wasn't the most abnormal variation. A huge devil-pointed blue tale appeared behind the tourist, connected to his body which the guard couldn't see.
After the briefest moment of shock, the guard pulled out his hand gun, only to have the tourist pounce on him with a snarl. He catapulted over him, knocking the guard to the ground, however, he rolled over just in time to see the mutant sprint away with his gun clutched in his tail.
In quick succession the guard barked information.
"Perimeter breach at visitor's checkpoint."
The mutant flicked the gun away with his tale, sprinting fast, too fast as another guard was down a corridor connected to the main one. He pulled out his own gun, but the whooshing noise of the mutant made him disorientedly rush down every corridor. Only, the guard believed there was more than one.
"Multiple subjects." He called in simply, guards hastily entering the President's office to remove him from the building, him being the main target for such an abnormal attack.
The mutant teleported multiple times in flashes of blue vapour, knocking over another guard and clambering onto the frame of a door, only to kick another skilfully trained guard to the floor, unconscious. Panic was the most calm word to describe the chaos residing inside the building, guards either chattering and clicking their guns as they protected the President, or they ran to apprehend the threat, only to fail miserably.
A good example, would be a guard who rather idiotically spoke into his speaker.
"Both sides secure."
Which was proved false as the blue mutant materialised a metre or so above the ground, impacting his feet into the guard so that he spun and landed on his feet, the guard groaning as he landed face first onto the red carpeted floor, jaw cracking. The mutant wouldn't stop, hastily jumping over the other guard, using his back as a trampoline as he leapt to bounce of the wall, using all fours to canter like an animal, dodging the many shots fired by a grey-haired guard.
He managed to get two metres in front of the guard before he disappeared in an already irritating bamf. Only to appear a split second later above the ground again, and then, slamming his feet into the guard...again. The guard smashed through the glass door, the mutant using the human as a cushion as gravity was never kind, eyes dilated, though there seemed to be more behind the eyes.
He peaked through a crack in a white door, barely panting as he spotted two more guards. He snarled, then slammed it open, the guards opening fire. It was clear the mutant had a set fighting pattern: teleport, appear, kick/snatch/flick. It was more an animalistic fighting than combat and skilled. However, it did the job as the mutant left the two guards unarmed on the floor again.
Two more guards, always pairs as they radioed in more information on the intruder.
"It's outside the Oval Office."
One of them said, rather calmly as he pointed his gun in front of him, spinning around to see the opened door. The guards were either not trained or they had no clue how to defend against a teleporter, said teleporter materialising low on the ground as he kicked the guards' feet from under him, catapulting him into the air in a spinning frenzy.
Flashes and blurs were all that could be seen of the mutant as he pounded through the other guard.
He cartwheeled towards another, again, teleporting before the guard could fire. He slammed the guard into the door, this door much different to the others, as this one held the many armed guards in the room outside the Oval Office. All of them flinched, about fifteen of them, guns trained on the fallen guard who raised his hands defensively.
"Don't shoot!" He pleaded, the guns hastily pointed away from him as they snapped to a corner of the room, incidentally, where the mutant had been for the briefest second.
They all opened fire, many, many gunshots being fired at thin air as the whooshing sound and screaming echoed into the Oval Office were more guards and the President of the United States Of America sat crouched in his chair, hidden behind a crowd of guards. Watching the door intently.
Whooshing continued for a good while, guns trained on the door, tension growing out of proportion as the guards shifted on the balls of their feet. They were waiting, for the intruder, which wasn't exactly the best course of action but they had little choice against such a mutant that could teleport in less than a second.
The gunshots and whooshing died down, and for the tiniest second, there was only silence except for the timed clicking of the Oval Office's grandfather clock. A few footsteps echoed above, many of the guards flicking their heads upwards, that is, until a thud pounded from the obscured white door, guns clicking as they trained on it once again.
A few men walked towards it, but were brutally catapulted backwards as it flung open, dark blue mist collecting like smoke as it crawled inside the room.
A guard cried out as it got dragged into the darkness, the sounds of a flicking tail as it latched onto the guard's neck, disappearing without a trace. Only for a guard to fall from the ceiling with a pained grunt, the mist letting him go.
"My god." The President exclaimed, as he was nudged further into the circle of guards around him. The next few moments were like in slow motion, only, it was a chaotic flash at the same time.
The mutant made quick work of every guard in the powerful room, teleporting from one place to another, guns and guards hitting the floor hard as he finally flicked the two final guards onto the floor.
The mutant leapt onto the oak desk with many filed reports on classified projects, none all that interesting or indeed curious for the mutant whose only thought was on The President who was paralysed under him. However, one report, with simply the word Trask written in bold typewriter letters, would be the most important report within the decade.
The mutant breathed, revealing its sharp-pointed teeth as his devil-tail reached for a large glinting knife. A red ribbon wrapped securely around it, the mutant gripped it in his hand, raising it above his head as he witnessed The President's petrified expression. But no-one could see the mutant behind the eyes, how it kept shouting nein over and over.
One gunshot echoed through the room, the mutant gasping in shock as the bullet plunged into him, disappearing in a final puff of smoke as the knife fell with a loud clunk into the wooden desk, right next to The President's right. The guard who fired slowly lowered the gun in his trembling hand, eyes latched onto The President.
However, The President simply heaved as he turned his head to the knife. It was a crafted make, a gold painted joint which held the stainless steel and the hilt together, the steel reflecting The President's sweat dripping face.
The red ribbon, held only three bold words:
Mutant Freedom Now
I found myself blushing red as two girls whispered to each other and then giggled when they looked at me. I hastily snapped my face away, embarrassment red on my cheeks seeing as puberty meant I was changing, likely a lot more than most thirteen year olds.
I began to relax again, or tried to, returning back to what Professor Monroe (or I better know her as Storm) continued to explain the exhibit which held two early Neanderthals fighting against a white wolf, the wolf snarling with wax blood dripping from its mouth. I found myself pulling my bag further onto my shoulder, it slipping as the new clothes were a couple of sizes larger so I could grow into them.
Sporting a denim jacket and a cheap Nirvana yellow smiley t-shirt and baggy black trousers, I looked like a punk teen, especially since I'd left my black hair to grow, having it cut making me feel slightly bare, for a reason I didn't have an answer to.
Either way, it perplexed me how I got attention from it, the two girls not being the first, but seeing as they couldn't see my mutation, they clearly knew no better, and thought I was an average kid.
Average, I never liked the term in the first place.
In the end I focused only on Storm as she paced the glass-protected exhibit, her white flowing hair matching the wolf's fur.
"Neanderthals. We once believed that they were wiped out by years of conflict with the much more advanced branch of humanity called Cro-Magnon man, but recent research into our DNA suggests that these two species may have interbred, evolving into modern humans. In other words, into what?" She asked, seeming to actually be intrigued in the rather boring history. I had to admit it was interesting to know history, or certain aspects anyway, but it made no difference as the outcome would always be the same.
I drifted again, usually able to focus, but it became gradually harder as my mutation amplified. Dr Grey had already stated that mutation was more likely to unlock during adolescence, something about the hormone levels, either way it simply meant that both mutations I had discovered were becoming harder and harder to control. Professor X knew now, of the persuasion, seeing as I accidentally latched onto his mind when he used Cerebro.
It was an honest accident, but a dangerous one, meaning Professor X had a long discussion with me about when and why we enter people's minds, and how I could cause immense psychological problems for not only the person but me too.
I understood why he was being so upfront, he knew I wasn't a child anymore, I had grown up, helping the X-men around the X-mansion earned me an honorary place in the lower levels of the school for the gifted.
Still, the extra attention was overwhelming, I didn't want it, but I had signed up for it, and thus had to put up with the consequences.
I never heard the answer, but sure it would be along the lines of us as mutants were supposedly derived from the interbred theory. I was distracted as a fellow classmate stood beside me, he had turned around to smile at a younger looking girl, happily licking an ice cream as the two caught eyes.
I found myself smirking as the girl poked her tongue at him, which would have been humorous enough, only, the boy countered as he poked out his forked tongue at her, forcing her to turn around with a slightly grossed out expression.
"Artie!" Storm called, both me and Artie turning our heads back to Storm who shook her own.
"Not here." She said a little softer, Artie flicking his tongue back into his mouth as everyone else turned around to look at us. I didn't mind, it wasn't me who had done something, but the many pairs of eyes landed on me anyway as Artie was one of my closest friends.
When Storm carried on talking, I nudged Artie's shoulder, only to have him turn to me with a little annoyed face.
"You know you're not allowed to do that in a public place." I whispered boredly, this not being the first time he had been caught. He rolled his eyes, not much of a talker, even to me, but managed to say something to counter.
"She started it." He grumbled childishly, crossing his arms over his chest as his eyes trained on Storm again. I smirked and shook my head.
Connor was definitely more of a troublemaker, but Artie wasn't far behind, the little things always being his weapon of mass destruction. I of course got into trouble, sometimes, but as I was always pegged as the mature boy I was given more disappointment than punishment.
"You can go around on your own now, but at least stay with one other person. If you get lost, find your way back to the main entrance and a teacher will meet you there. Go on everyone!" Storm ushered, and no sooner as she rang the bell that everyone rushed into groups of pairs and threes, me, Artie and Connor sticking together as always.
We were about to go off into the dinosaur exhibit, when a tap on my shoulder stopped me. I turned around to have Storm smile at me, meaning that I had better not run off and that she had to talk to me about something.
"You boys run along, I need to talk to Isaac for a minute." She said, Artie and Connor leaving me immediately, some friends they were. But it was only Storm, which wasn't exactly the most fitting sentence, however it was sort of appropriate.
When the others were out of sight, Storm's face shifted into sad sympathy as she looked down at me, but only as a tilt as I was catching up a lot more than the X-men were realising.
"How was it? Seeing her?" She asked tentatively, clearly knowing that my reaction would be a stone dropping into the pit of my stomach. I sighed depressively, hiding behind my black hair as I looked momentarily at her white high heels.
"Hard." I answered simply, but looked up with a little smile on my face. "I had to see her, even if she doesn't know who I am, at least I know she's getting better." I croaked, only to be pulled into a light hug by Storm. It was suffocating but comforting, and one that even though would be embarrassing for me later, right now it was the comfort I needed.
"The doctors said Mom would be out in a few months. I thought, maybe...maybe I could tell her its me and she could come to New York, live close so I can see her." I said tearfully, because I knew it was just a dream. A childish dream.
My mom could never know I was still alive, not after the lake, not after Sammy.
"As much as I want that for you too, she needs to recover and New York won't help. She needs to let you go, as you need to let her go." Storm sniffed, knowing how hard it was for me to stand in front of my mom as a complete stranger, even if I was alone with her in her room in the psychiatric hospital.
"I know...I just...I just want my mom." I choked pathetically, because it was, I had to be strong, not weak, weak got you hurt or killed. Storm hugged me tighter, the embrace probably humorous to passers-by, but I couldn't have cared less as it was the most secure I had felt in a while.
"I know, we all know." She consoled, hugging me a while longer before I gently pulled away. I wiped my eyes with a sleeve, sniffed a few times, then forced a smile onto my face.
"I better catch up with Artie and Connor, who knows what they'll do without me." I said sarcastically, mainly because I was the only one who could stop them from getting into too much trouble. Storm smiled too, even chuckled a little but didn't counter as she tried to ruffle my hair, forcing me to let out a childish whine.
"You need to do something with that hair." She huffed jokily as I used my hands to fix it again, pushing some of it behind my ear so I could see her amused facial expression.
"My hair's fine." I argued with a smile, rushing off when she gave the nod that I could. But I wasn't going to Connor and Artie, there were three other older students that I had made friends with, though one seemed to have become more of a jerk.
Three guesses who that was...
Down in the food court of the museum, Bobby, Rogue and John sat at a table away from the other visitors, enjoying the time away from the teachers and in the real world.
Trips were rare, so being able to be out in New York was way too sweet to pass up, ever since the attack at the UN were assessed periodically and buses into New York were stopped until everything died down properly.
So the three friends stuck together like glue as they shared a box of sizzling chips, John gulping down the most while Rogue and Bobby watched in amusement and astonishment. John only looked up briefly during his intense chewing to raise his hands with an innocent stance.
"What?" He asked if irritated, not knowing what was wrong with the two as they giggled and snickered.
"You're hogging the food." Bobby said, raising his hand as if he was enlightening a child. John shrugged his shoulders as he shoved two more into his mouth.
"I paid for them." John countered, only to have Bobby answer back.
"Actually I did."
"Well, you lost the bet, so technically you paid for them because I won...and because I have no cash." He added after a pause to swallow the chips. The bet being a race down three flights of stairs, and it had been close, but John had just won, which was good as he said he had no money.
He looked to Rogue, who was obviously not impressed with his stealing, he sighed, then pushed the box over to the two love birds.
"Okay, okay. I'm not that hungry anyway." He grumbled, but smirked as Rogue and Bobby both tucked back into the chips. He leaned back in the uncomfortable metal chair and resumed to clicking his shark lighter, the flame appearing for a few seconds before he released his finger off the clasp.
"Isaac!" Rogue exclaimed happily with her southern accent, the two boys turning their heads to where she was looking. The younger boy, Isaac, rushed towards them with his hands in his pockets, managing to dodge through the crowd effortlessly even though he had a veil of black hair covering his eyes.
"That kid seriously needs a haircut." John muttered, but was actually content with Isaac joining them. Isaac trotted over and gave Rogue a quick hug, careful not to let their skin touch due to Rogue's absorbing mutation, but the two had grown a lot closer in the last month.
"Where did you disappear off to last week? I heard Elijah went with you." Rogue asked as Isaac whipped around to grab a chair and slump in it next to Rogue. He paused before he answered, clearly wondering whether to lie, speak a bit of the truth, or just to blurt it out.
"I went to see my mom." He answered hollowly, but wasn't as fazed as he had been with Storm, managing to keep relatively calm as Rogue pounded on him.
"How is she? I know about what happened...you two got separated." Rogue asked, slowly as prying wasn't what she wanted Isaac to believe. But he smiled and nodded his head, even with the intrigued but uncaring gaze John was giving him.
"She'll be able to leave in a few months, but it doesn't matter as she thinks I'm dead." He huffed in what the others believed was mild humour mixed with sadness. Because her hands were gloved, Rogue comforted him by squeezing his shoulder, which in turn made him look at her behind the mass of hair.
"But you know she's okay, and she will be once she's out. You still have us, we're family too." Rogue added with a teeth-revealing smile, so hypnotising that Isaac couldn't help but copy.
"Some family: Iceman, Pyro and Rogue...couldn't ask for a better one." He had to add the last bit as both Bobby and John looked up as if they were about to protest, more so John who had continued to flick his lighter open and closed.
Rogue pulled him in for another light hug with them giggling, the two boys watching on with smirks. It was true, they all had gotten closer in the last month, even if Isaac remained on the sideline for the most part, he still sat by them in the canteen or in-between lessons if he wasn't in the library.
John didn't smirk for long, too immersed in the flame from his lighter as his mind drifted. He liked Isaac, he had taken a few pointers from him (he skipped class sometimes, but John knew he was a golden boy at heart) and so found he wasn't as dull and depressive as before. But he just couldn't be around him as long as he would with Bobby and Rogue, and there would only ever be one reason why.
The joyfulness was short lived as two boys sauntered up to their table, both looking relatively alike, especially with the same cocky aura as the one stared at John's zippo.
"You got a reason for annoying us?" John huffed, not even trying to hide the irritation that radiated from the boys just walking up to them.
"Can I have a light?" The boy who was gazing at the lighter asked, cocking his head to say that the answer better be a yes. John snorted, feeling in the mood for some fun as he twisted the lighter in his hand.
"No." He stated simply, wearing a clear sneering smirk, Bobby and Rogue kind of smiling thinking it was relatively appropriate as the boys looked and talked like jerks, more so than John even in his worst moods. Isaac on the other hand, didn't see the funny side, lips a perfect straight line as his eyes never left John.
"My brother asked you a simple question." The boy next to his brother asked, the one asking for the light chiming in respectively.
"Why are you being a dick?"
"Yeah, why are you being a dick?"
They both spoke a little after the other, like a badly timed duet, John enjoying this way more than he should have. True, he wasn't being reasonable, but he had every right to be as they had been the ones to interrupt their perfectly good time.
He repeatedly clicked his lighter, never faltering the smirk even though he could see in his peripheral vision that Isaac wasn't all too thrilled with his action on the situation.
"Because I can." He chuckled, leaning forward so that his elbows rested on the table but the one holding the lighter wavered in front of his face.
"Can I have a light?" The guy asked again, only more slowly and with more desperation as the two became increasingly annoyed. John faked consideration, flicked the flame on so that the two guys could see it, but also to make his contemplation more real. That was until he firmly shut it with the clasp and shifted a little.
"Sorry can't help you out pal." He said, with the little enthusiasm as he snickered.
"John knock it off." Rogue ordered, the funny moment passed as she saw Isaac's reaction to the situation, head bowed so that he was nearly completely invisible to everyone, but her.
"Why don't you stop showing off?" Bobby stepped in, clearly only to please Rogue who wasn't finding it enjoyable anymore.
"Oh, for her? I can't help it if your girl's getting excited." He countered with more malice than he meant to. But it only worsened the situation as Bobby shot him a cold stare.
"She isn't." He confirmed.
Not noticing how the one guy was checking Rogue out, though Rogue shot him down straight away with a clear uninterested expression as she looked away. Isaac noticed under his veil, hands clenched in his lap as he tried to muffle everything out, but couldn't quite do it as Bobby and John continued to argue.
"We're trying to have a good time."
"You're the only one having a good time."
"Will you two just stop?" Isaac finally snapped, lifting his head up to glare at John, whom the sentence was more aimed at.
"Just because Sam's gone and you got pissed, doesn't mean you have to be a jerk now." He seethed, even though it had slipped out before he could think. However, John actually froze, staring at Isaac long enough so that the one asking for the light could snatch it out of his hand.
"Hey!" He protested, standing up to snatch it back, only for the other brother to step in front of him and push him back, the other already having a lit cigarette in his mouth.
"That's real cute, man." He said, getting increasingly angry as the brother holding him back dared him.
"What are you gonna do?"
John watched as the guy puffed up a billowing cloud of smoke and shook his head with a chuckle at the dare.
"Suddenly you're not so tough." The brother spoke again, but only sparked an idea in John's head.
You want to see what I can do?
He mocked internally, watching as the brother breathed in the cigarette, the end alive in a mixture of orange, red, and grey ash. With a wink, the cigarette burst into a full blown flame, the guy yelling out as he fell backwards, his jacket catching on fire all up the one shoulder. John laughed behind his hand as Isaac, Rogue, Bobby all stood up and watched the guy in horror.
Isaac twisted his head around to see that everyone had either jumped in shock or were looking at them in terrified or hateful expressions. Luckily Bobby acted quickly, raising a hand so crystallised fog escaped and dowsed the flame, partially covering the guy's face in glistening frost.
As if instantly, the guy stopped heaving, as if frozen. Slowly, the four noticed that the chatter had died down at almost the same time, all of them looking around as everyone else, was in fact, frozen. Isaac moved forward and stepped in front of the still standing brother, his expression also horrified as he stared down at his brother. It was amusing, but also confusing as he hadn't seen anything like it before.
"Bobby, what did you do?" Rogue asked as she also whipped herself around to see everyone was perfectly still.
"I didn't do this." Bobby whispered, John walking up to the guy Isaac had been studying, waving a hand in front of his face as a clichéd thing to do. Isaac had stepped forwards, hearing a familiar whirl as a familiar voice spoke evenly but wisely.
"No. I did."
With it said, Professor Charles Xavier whizzed towards them in his wheelchair, Isaac gulping a little as he hadn't seen the wise mutant as much the last few weeks, even though he had been the one to allow the trip to Illinois so he could see his Mom.
All of them stood stiffly, except John, who placed his hands on his waist, which was a little difficult as his brown jacket had become tighter since a year ago, but luckily the buttoned shirt fitted better.
"And the next time you feel like showing off, don't." He said, not in a commanding way, but it was definitely a tone you obeyed. John tightened his jaw but said nothing, even he knew better than to answer back to Professor X. Especially as he noticed that Cyclops, Dr Grey and Storm were in a line a few metres behind him.
"Breaking news."
The TV sounded louder now the chatter of tourists was silenced, every person who wasn't frozen (all mutants) looked towards the TV screen curiously.
"We're live from Washington, where there's been an attack in the Oval Office of the White House. We have been informed that the president and Vice President were not harmed. Sources say the attack involved one or more mutants..."
That report was a blow for everyone, especially Professor X as he knew (like the X-men) that there would be repercussions later. Isaac also knew, as he had been listening intently with his mouth slightly open, an attack, that was bad enough but on the president, that was suicidal.
"I think its time to leave, Professor." Scott voiced his opinion, one in which nearly everyone shared.
"I think you're right." Professor X answered, but his eyes had rested on Isaac, who was intentionally avoiding his powerful gaze, pretending to be immersed in the shocking news report.
"All students follow the professors outside!" Professor X commanded, to which everyone obeyed in a flash. Bobby and Rogue were the first to step around the frozen people, Rogue twisting her head around to tell Isaac to come, but he shook his head, Bobby leading Rogue away.
"Not everything I do is about her, none of it." John hissed to Isaac before storming after Bobby and Rogue, Professor X obviously hearing it but not wanting to start an argument with the flaming student. Instead, he watched as Isaac pulled his bag further onto his back, their eyes meeting, even behind Isaac's hair.
"Everything alright Isaac?" Professor X asked rather informally, even for him. True he never used Mr King anymore, except for occasions when he thought it was needed, other times, it was normally Isaac.
"Just...tired." Isaac replied simply, though there were many reasons for this exhaustion. Professor X knew them. Classes, homework, helping the X-men, future-seeing, searching for Sam, trying to find Wade Wilson. Professor X only recently knew the last reason, because Elijah had voiced his concerns that Isaac was becoming increasingly obsessive over it, however, seeing his mother had distracted him.
"As long as that is the only reason."
Isaac paused, but knew the answer.
"It is, Professor." He said firmly.
"Then off you go." He replied softly, Isaac blank as he walked past the elderly mutant.
"Isaac...I wish to include you in the discussions about this attack on the president, if you have no objections." He called as he twisted his wheelchair around to follow Isaac, who didn't turn around as he spoke his crude answer.
"Why would I object? I'd love to join in the discussions in which nobody does anything." He grumbled, walking past the X-men, catching Storm's worrisome glance as he sped after Bobby, Rogue and John.
"He's losing hope." Professor X stated sadly, the two women empathetic in this sadness while Scott only held mild interest on the subject.
"He's been quiet, seclusive, he spends nearly every hour in the library." Storm spoke, indeed one of the few people Isaac had shown the most emotions, which was a perfect example of earlier.
"Which is why I have told Elijah to keep a closer eye on him. Right now he needs to know we are trying to help, he can't loose hope, not after everything." Professor X tried to comfort, knowing how much Storm cared for the young boy, much more than most students.
He had become an active member of the X-men, even though he wasn't technically classed as one and never left the X-mansion except for trips and the visit to his mother.
"He wants Samantha back." Storm concluded, to which the air turned a lot more frosty.
"You gave her a chance Storm, she didn't take it, she's as much to blame for Liberty Island as Magneto is." Cyclops spoke without emotion, not since the mentioned battle at Liberty Island.
"Don't say that! She was alone, he took her in, brainwashed her, she's still a good person no matter what happened." Storm snapped back, but she couldn't defend Samantha King, she tried, but the sympathy just wasn't there anymore.
"Isaac has let her take her own path. He needs her, but he knows that she has to make her own choices. We must go, we will discuss this when we return to the mansion." Professor X finished, leading the X-men away as he released the thousands of people from their statue state. The guy heaving once more, only to be confused as the mutants were gone.
So was the lighter...
"Son o' a bitch!"
The slightly high-pitched female voice resounded inside a dingy apartment in the bad side of New York, the said woman glaring loathinly at the dampened ceiling of the apartment, where a green humanoid mutant flicked his long disgusting tongue at her mockingly. The woman snarled frustratingly, her blue tinged skin barely covered with white lingerie, which didn't leave much to the imagination of the mutant sat cross-legged on the ceiling.
"Green piece o' crap." She spat, which only earned for the mutants to tilt his head with a sneering smirk.
"You usually like this with your clients?" He jeered further, only to have the bare-footed woman stomp over to a coffee table and pick up a (surprisingly) empty glass ashtray. However, before she could throw it at the chuckling mutant's head, the front door creaked open to reveal a mass of blue-shaded hair.
All eyes were on the front door as the blank-faced teenager stepped into the argument, dressed in what they call street clothing, black leather jacket open to reveal a slightly low cut black top with a black under shirt on top. Dark grey skinny jeans and combat boots made her feet pad loudly on the creaky floorboards.
The clothes were haggard and frayed, and mud flaked her boots. The multi-blue hair was tied in a side braid and was mostly hidden by a tattered grey and blue Captain America cap. Though the two mutants didn't know the star emblem (saying that, nor did the teenager), the merchandise wouldn't light up even though Captain America was the nineteen forties show monkey during the Second World War. Either way, the cap was shamefully grey with age.
The two pairs of eyes didn't alarm her or make her sheepish, she remained expressionless, as she had trained herself since the failure of Liberty Island.
"So..." She began, unhooking a back pack that was on her shoulder before she dumped it onto the double bed beside the wall next to the front door. It clunked loudly, as if there were a lot of unknown objects inside it. However, her eyes skimmed between the woman, Vanessa, whom she had befriended since she saved her a month ago, and Toad, an old brotherhood member like herself. Neither were all that happy to see her, especially Toad, but the teen held all the authority just by entering the room.
"What'd I miss?"
TA DA! That's the first chapter of X2, hopefully it was worth the wait. i wanted to keep Toad in because I loved the character in the first X-men, though I don't know how long he will stay for...
anyway, please review!
~Gothgirlstrikesagain