Xxx Men Series

X-men Story Chapter Sixteen

Part One

It was official. Something was definitely up. It was past nightfall and John was still missing. Ororo was reprimanding us for the tenth time for not trying to physically stop John, as well for not informing her or Rogue about John's AWOL (Away WithOut Leave) status. We were currently on the shore of the Palace's waterfront area. With all four of us searching for John, the Palace security was in charge of the patrolling for the time being. Ororo was convinced that John's disappearance was rebel related. He couldn't have drowned in the water for two reasons. One, he was a surfer and an excellent swimmer. Secondly, the waters were exceptionally calm. He wouldn't have dared to ignore a summons from Ororo via communication link either. So he was probably being prevented from responding. And he couldn't have gotten lost. John knew his way around the grounds better than the rest of us put together. He was the one who discovered the waterfront in the first place. I for one was feeling the pressure. All three of them were looking at me with these expectant expressions on their faces.

I had tried to explain it to them over and over again. I was telepathic yes, but I wasn't very adept in utilising my telepathy. I had enough trouble communicating with all the ambient "psychic noise". And then if John's disappearance was really rebel related...he could be under Psionic shielding. The like of which even Professor Xavier couldn't pierce...with Cerebro too! And what if he was unconscious or...dead? I chose to not dwell on those thoughts and just opened my mind up to its maximum receptivity, hoping to make contact with his mind. It was taxing, but since I got no response after repeated efforts at contacting him, one thing was for certain. John was definitely in some sort of trouble. If he was anywhere near the grounds, he had to have heard my psychic cries, and since I was on the grounds as well, I would have been able to sense his response too. What if he wasn't on the grounds? He certainly wouldn't have left the Palace environs...of his own free will. We were here on a mission. He wasn't that much of a wildchild. That would be yet another problem. If he wasn't on the grounds or the immediate vicinity, my telepathic range wouldn't be able to locate him. We'd have to wait until Jake or the Professor returned from their mission, and by that time, God alone knows what could take place.

Ororo: "Well, Rick? Anything yet?"

"Ororo, I don't think he's going to respond if he hasn't already. If he is anywhere near the Palace Grounds, he had to have heard and I would know if he sensed the call. Unless, he's in some sort of trouble and can't hear or respond, like Psionic shielding or something."

Rogue: "I suppose if he's knocked out or asleep then he wouldn't be able to sense your call either huh?"

"Right."

Bobby: "We keep looking. We know the last place he went to before he vanished off of our radar was this beach. The three of you can fly, and I can sled. We can cover this ground in no time. The quicker we continue the search, the quicker we find him."

We then had a minor squabble on our hands. Rogue was all for splitting up, as we would cover more ground quicker, and time was of the essence. Ororo was distraught over losing one junior and didn't want to run the risk of losing another. If these rebel fighters were skulking around, invisible to our eyes and telepathy, the danger would be great. And I always thought the X-men were a smoothly running fighting force. Rogue had a rather rebellious nature, but eventually she relented and decided to follow Ororo's orders. The beach was rather extensive and it took some time before we had combed the entire area. We were lucky in that there was a full moon out so we didn't need to supply much light on our own. Eventually we decided to take a few minutes to cool our heads, so that we could continue the search without worrying that our emotions might frustrate our attempts. We were taking a breather, sitting on a large rock in a rather stony chasm. The moon had vanished behind a dense mass of nightime cloud, so I set the surrounding area on fire to light the place up. There wasn't any real risk of setting the entire grounds on fire. We were surrounded by rock all around, and the sand was mostly wet.

It was then that we heard it. A low hum, the kind you hear from electrical equipment about to overload. But we were on the beach, in a rocky chasm. What would electrical equipment be doing here? There were no floodlights or anything. That was why I had to set the area on fire in the first place. When I glanced at Ororo, about to ask her about it, I saw that she was in deep thought.

Ororo: "Rick, set the entire area on fire, ground, walls...everything. I have a hunch all is not as it seems with this place."

They cleared off and I went full on Pyrokinetic, spraying the entire area with fire. By the time I was done all the rocks were burnt black, so were the walls. The electrical hum had subsided. The others came back and surveyed the scene. The flames had almost burnt themselves out and I was about to light the area up again when the moonlight fought through the clouds. Rogue was staring at the rock wall to our far left. It was burnt black, or so it seemed. She flew over to it. We could see her approach the wall tentatively. I for one didn't get it. The wall was just burnt. Then we saw her motioning us over urgently. We then realised why she was so energetic all of a sudden. The wall had appeared to be burnt black from the distance, but on closer inspection... there was a gaping, black opening in the wall.

Ororo: "Of course. The electrical hum... Remember with the soldiers and what Hank said. The image inducers these rebels use have one weakness. They are susceptible to energetic instability...Rick's fire must have negated the field, like it did when we fought them in the courtyard."

Rogue: "What a place to hide...right under the Palace's nose! I guess we know where John disappeared to. He must have gotten too close to the truth..."

Bobby: "What do we do now? Should we call the Palace?"

Ororo tried making contact with the Palace but was having absolutely no luck. All she got was aggravating static.

Ororo: "They must have some sort of field in operation that's suppressing our signal."

"Should one of us go to the Palace and inform them?"

Rogue: "What's the use? Even if we do tell them, what can they do? Nearly all of their forces are scattered throughout the entire island, and the mission west. Besides, these are trained mutant hunting soldiers, and we're supposed to be the experts when it comes to this."

She was obviously itching for a good fight.

Bobby: "And John, who knows what kind of danger he could be in."

Ororo: "You're right. But we have to approach this carefully. We just go in, locate John, get him out, then go back and inform the Palace. We don't linger anymore than we have to. We have no idea how many of them are in there."

"But what if John's not there? I mean, we patrol the grounds' surface, but this thing is underground. What if they moved him out of the Palace grounds through underground tunnels or something?"

Bobby: "It could be possible. What I don't get is how the rebels could set up one of their operations here. It's smack dab in the middle of the Palace grounds."

Ororo: "Yes, very disturbing. If they took John, they must have taken him underground, and this tunnel goes underground into the hills. Let's go, keep your ears open for any stray sound. And stay as silent as possible. It's a damned pity we haven't given you any stealth training."

With that said, we headed in.

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It looked like any other cave would. We had to move along very slowly in case there were defenders skulking about. That and the stalactites and stalagmites were numerous. We were exploring around for two hours and had yet to discover anything out of the ordinary. Wherever the rebels were, they must have been deep within the cavern somewhere. All the illusion of a solid rock wall was meant to do was merely hide the entrance to the cavern. Even if someone discovered the entrance to the cavern, finding the rebel outpost was another matter entirely. We didn't even know if there were hidden cameras or anything. For all we knew, we could have been walking directly into a trap. But then again, if we weren't ambushed in the two hours that we'd spent lurking around in the cavern, it could have been possible that our presence had went unnoticed. The cavern had multiple, winding tunnels leading away from it, in a radial pattern. We had no way of knowing which one to take.

Ororo: "Dammit! There are five separate tunnels to choose from."

Bobby went up to the tunnels to have a closer look, and thank God that we finally had a bit of good luck for a change.

Bobby: "Guys, over here."

He was holding a badge, ornately engraved with a stylised "X"- The Symbol of the X-men. It must have been John's. Maybe it fell off as he was being taken away or something. He may have even dropped it on purpose to give us a sign if we made it that far.

Rogue: "Finally, we get a little break."

Ororo: "Be very stealthy now. It looks as if we have not been discovered so far, but if that tunnel leads to the rebels, their security may be concentrated there."

Rogue: "You know, it's darned weird. I'd think they'd have this place all rigged up with hidden cameras, heat sensors and boobie traps and stuff. I know I would if it were my little old hideout."

Bobby: "I think they're a little overconfident."

"Yeah. I mean, who would even think of searching here for them? John probably discovered this place by accident. They probably think that their holograms are enough to keep people off their trail."

Ororo: "But if there weren't any guards back at the entrance...then do you think that John was foolish enough to enter alone, and got caught somewhere in here?"

Rogue: "Probably. But I would have thought that he'd be smart enough to come fetch us."

Bobby: "Probably wanted to play hero. Let's just go rescue him and get out of here."

We started walking into the tunnel, it was a bit constricting. Rogue led the way, followed by Bobby. I was going to follow them, but I noticed that Ororo was looking a bit apprehensively at the tunnel's entrance. I thought back to our Sentinel attack back in the Canadian wilderness and I understood. She was afraid due to her extreme claustrophobia. When she saw me looking she glanced away quickly and composed herself.

"Ororo, will you be okay?"

Ororo: "I will be---because I must. Let's go."

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We had walked for about fifteen minutes into the tunnel when I noticed it. I was sensing people. Not from outside, but form further down the tunnels, quite some distance. Up to the point where we were at the tunnel's entrance, I was detecting the background psychic noise from the Palace environs. But now, it was as if a switch had been thrown. The thought patterns had changed. I wasn't sensing even the slightest hint of thoughts from outside, but now I was sensing thought forms from the inside. I reasoned... if these were rebels and they had a psionic shield active, then that would keep all the thoughts shielded from escaping from within the barrier, as well as keeping all outside thoughts out. We must have pierced the barrier! That would explain why I had ceased to sense thoughts from the Palace and started sensing these foreign impressions. We must have been close...or at least on the right path. I raised my hand to motion the others to stop and relayed the information to them telepathically. They were relieved, we had picked the right path after all. Before it was probable, now we knew it was certain. It also meant that we would have to be extra careful. Ororo and Rogue took to the air, to avoid the slight sound that footsteps created. I did the same and levitated Bobby along with me.

We hurried along and we were soon out of the tunnel and found ourselves in a small room. It wasn't anything fancy or futuristic. It looked as if it had merely been cut out of the solid rock. But there were lights though, strung up along the sides at regular intervals. We climbed out of the tunnel and walked to the double door at the end of the room. Ororo seemed relieved to finally get out of the confined space. There didn't seem to be any security cameras in action and if we intended to get John back, we would have to do it anyway. Unfortunately, none of us had the ability to turn invisible. To add to our disappointment, we found that in order to enter the door, we would need a keycode.

Ororo: "We have no choice. Rick, electrify the door panel and short circuit its electronic locks. Gently---the door opening unwarranted will no doubt attract attention, but maybe if we make it look like a mere glitch...who knows, we might get lucky."

I nodded and complied. The panel sparked, the digital display started reading "888888", flashing over and over again. Then the lights in the room switched from a steady white glow, to a flashing red while a wailing sound blared out to serve as an alarm. As if that were not enough, a mechanised voice kept announcing:-

[Warning, Perimeter Breach...Entrance 7B!]

Without wasting any time we rushed into the room. The entire base seemed to be constructed in the form of a helical spiral. Almost like a winding staircase descending down, with multiple tiers. By looking down from the top we could see various platform levels. Oddly though, there didn't seem to be any people about. But knowing them and their cloaking abilities...and the fact that they now knew that their base had been breached, they could have been cloaked.

Rogue: "Ororo, they could be all invisible... do you think we should just go ahead and search anyway?"

Ororo: "No choice. Rick, do you suppose you could encase each of us, well except for Rogue---her skin is impenetrable---in a telekinetic force shield...for protection? In case there are cloaked soldiers out and they shoot at us?"

I never had to maintain three separate shields before, it would take some concentration. I glanced at Bobby for the confidence boost, got it when he gave a thumbs up---Rogue glanced at both of us with her eyebrows raised---and I nodded yes to Ororo's question.

Ororo: "They obviously know that all is not right, so keep an eye out for any security cameras and knock them out as soon as you see them. Bobby, Rogue, since Rick will need to keep concentration to maintain the shields, it's up to us to protect him. He must not be overwhelmed and lose focus. Unlike you three, I don't have any means to block bullets, okay?"

Bobby: "I can just morph into my Ice Armor. That'll be one less person for him to focus on."

Ororo: "We might be in for a hell of a fight. Are you sure that you can maintain the armor, and still have enough energy to fight offensively?"

Bobby: "Yeah... I'll be fine."

Ororo: "Okay. We go down, destroying any surveillance equipment we see. Then we need to find a controlling computer or the like. We need info as to where they keep prisoners, like their brig. If we can shut down their power to frustrate them via a console, so much the better. Let's get moving people!"

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Xavier sighed in frustration. It appeared that the entire mission to the west was a major failure. Nova Roma was such a small island, he didn't see where a terrorist group as large as the Defenders could hide. He had been scanning for hours, boosting his range with both Cerebro as well as through the channelled power of Sonya and Jacob. He had found absolutely nothing via the telepathic scan. The few soldiers who had come with them had found nothing suspicious either. He didn't place much faith in their findings, they were just the leftovers from the rebellion the former army had carried out. But the fact that Logan had said that there was nothing there that didn't belong in a forest, made him realise that they were wasting their time. Logan's enhanced senses had never guided them wrong and his nose always knows. And perhaps leaving the Palace with only Ororo, Rogue and two juniors to defend it was a potential danger.

He was broken out of his musing by an incoming call from the Palace. Since they were on orders to maintain radio silence in case they were overheard, he knew it must have been urgent. The operatives on the mission were supposed to communicate telepathically through the link he had established. There was to be absolutely no radio transmissions except in dire need. With a deep sense of foreboding, he pushed the button.

Jerick: "I am sorry to break the radio silence. Is Professor Xavier there?"

Xavier: "Speaking, what is the matter your highness?"

Jerick: "I tried to hold off until I was sure that something was seriously wrong. Earler today, one of your juniors...er...the Pyrokinetic I believe, went missing. Your commander, Ororo assured me that he had a bit of a rebellious streak and they would locate him. They were of the opinion that he could have been somewhere at our waterfront. That was about six hours ago. I have not heard or seen from any of them since."

Xavier: "What, that is not like Ororo at all! Something must be wrong. I will notify the others at once. We have found absolutely nothing here, and I have it on good authority that we will not. I suspect that we have been looking in the wrong place all along..."

Jerick: "So, you are coming back then?"

Xavier: "Yes. I am calling off the search, with immediate effect."

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Ororo was blasting the entire area with lightning bolts. At that point, I had to maintain shields over not only myself, but Rogue and Bobby as well. When she was done, the entire room was reduced to burning rubble. Sure enough, the air grew a bit blurry and six, formerly cloaked defenders shimmered into view. I immediately surrounded Ororo within a shield, and not a moment too soon. The started to shower the area with bullets. Ororo dove for cover behind a console and I was able to stop shielding her and the others, and re-route the power to knocking them backwards with a seismic blast. Bobby looked out briefly from behind the console he was taking cover behind, and immediately we could hear the sound of bullets ricocheting.

Rogue: "I'll handle those boys!"

She ran directly at them. They didn't know exactly how thick skinned she was. The bullets actually bounced off her skin! She ran up to one of them, punched him unconscious, and began swinging him madly about like a baseball bat, knocking defenders from side to side. The three of us watched her in shock. Rogue actually seemed to be enjoying herself! And oddly, it was like some sort of dance, at least she was treating it like that, and I swear I saw her grin once. No wonder the professor thought that she had better remain at the Palace. This sort of thing really gets you attention, and they had a covert mission to perform. He did say that she went a "little" to the extreme.

"Uh...Ororo, is she always like that?"

Ororo: "Yeah...she goes to the extreme, she can be your worst nightmare if she wants to be."

Bobby: "I think we better go out there and do our part before she kills them or something."

"Right."

Before she could kill them, Bobby froze two of the soldiers to the ground, imprisoning them in a cage of ice. I lifted another two telekinetically and hurled them into the wall repeatedly until I was sure that they were unconscious. Just as Rogue was about to finish her sadistic ball game, Ororo used a whirlwind to snatch the guy out of her hand as well as the remaining soldier, whisking them into the air. She settled them with an electric bolt, and they slumped down motionless. The area was littered with debris, stained red with blood from Rogue's bashing and several of the men were twisted in awkward positions, as if they had broken bones or something. I walked forward a bit, heard and felt something crack beneath my feet. When I looked down, I saw that it was a tooth. I grimaced slightly. Okay, I really grimaced.

Ororo: "Rogue, do have to beat them down to a bloody pulp? You could have just knocked them out quickly and be done with it."

Rogue: "What is the problem? They wanted to do much worse to us. Besides, I was just warming up."

"Their armor is cracked. If they were still conscious I might have been able to scan them and see what they know about this place."

Rogue: "I got a better way hun."

She pulled off one of her gloves and walked up to one of the men.

Bobby: "I think she enjoys this part way too much."

"Huh? They aren't mutants. They don't have any powers for her to absorb or anything."

Bobby explained it to me. Apparently Rogue's power let her absorb other mutant powers through skin contact, but she could do other things as well. I had only seen her use it back in Canada, to absorb Ororo's power temporarily. It also allows her to absorb another person's thoughts, memories and emotions. And if she was not careful, enough of their life-force to put them into a coma...or worse. That wasn't all I learnt. Apparently, if she held on long enough, she could actually take a person's power from them indefinitely. It was how she got her invulnerability, her flight and her super strength.

"Whoa! So she held onto several people then?"

Bobby: "Uh..no those powers belonged to one person."

"Must have been a real baddie, so she taught him a thing or two, huh?"

Bobby tensed a little, Ororo looked away.

"What, what's wrong?"

Bobby: "I shouldn't have told you all of that. Don't mention anything about it to Rogue. She's real sensitive about it. Just forget that I said it."

"Um, okay."

Weird...

Rogue came back to us looking a bit excited and smirking slightly. I wondered what she saw when she touched him.

Rogue: "Kinky bastard... Okay y'all. We struck some luck with him. I feel like I know this place inside out, and yes, they definitely have John, he is alive. And he is in here, in their brig. The security is tight, but there aren't as many human soldiers here as you might think. I don't exactly know why. He guarded that part of his mind really well, and I ain't no psychic. The brig is guarded by an automated defense system...robots. Just follow me y'all."

Robots... I had only dealt with two kinds of robots. The ones in the Danger Room---I doubted that the guard bots would take it as easy on us as those though. And Sentinels, I sure as hell hoped that we wouldn't have to deal with bots as bad as those. They couldn't be as big, where the hell would they keep them? We just let Rogue do the leading and we continued our search.

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Xavier was discussing the current state of affairs in the council room when he got an urgent message. One of the aides ran in with a phone asking for Professor Xavier, saying that it was an urgent international call. He excused himself and took the phone, not having an idea as to what it was about. He had barely said hello, when he heard the panicking voice of Jean on the other end.

Jean: "Oh my God! Professor, it's horrible! Amara is gone! They came, the soldiers...like the ones you described that turned invisible, and they somehow knocked out all our systems and then David was shot, but thank heavens none of the students were injured, but then Emma's strippers saw us use our powers and then we had to midwipe them, and I know you never liked the idea of memory erasal and stuff, but we had to, but the most important thing is that Amara is missing!-"

Amara gone?! David shot?! Systems disabled?! Good God.. at least none of the other students were hurt, he reasoned. But Emma's strippers...what the hell were strippers doing in his mansion?! Wait...David shot.

Xavier: "Is David alright?"

Jean: "He's at a hospital. Kurt teleported him, even though his holographic inducer was out. He just made sure he left him where everyone could see him. Later, after the drama, Emma went to the hospital and mind controlled the staff. They think that she's his mother and she says that he's resting comfortably."

Xavier: "That's a relief. Now, Amara was taken, by these soldiers. How long ago was that?"

Jean: "About six hours ago."

Xavier: "Hmm...plenty of time for them to have transported her here to Nova Roma. Every system is out?"

Jean: "Yes. I'm calling you from a payphone right now, on collect. The students are at the mansion. We've gotten some emergency generators, but all they are providing is light. Aside from that, everything's out and without Hank here, we're hopeless. So, you think these people have kidnapped Amara for more leverage, and probably took her back to Nova Roma?"

Xavier: "Yes, Jean. Remain calm. Hold down the fort. I will get back to you as soon as I can. We have a situation here as well. I left Ororo and Rogue with John, Bobby and Rick. They are all currently missing in action."

Jean: "Missing?! It sounds like you could use some help, but we can't fly over there without the Hawk working."

Xavier: "I admit it would be welcomed to have additional help, but I don't want you commandeering anyone's private aircraft or anything. No matter how much Betsy and Remy say that it's for the greater good. We almost had hell to pay a couple of years ago when we needed a space shuttle, remember?"

Jean: "Alright Professor, but if we can find a way to get there, we will."

Xavier: "Just be sure that the students are taken care of first. I'll speak to you later."

He ended the call. The others could plainly see the increased stress manifesting on his face.

Scott: "Who was it Professor?"

Xavier: "It was Jean. We have a problem."

Jerick: "What kind of problem?"

Xavier: "Your daughter is missing. Jean reported that the school was sabotaged, one of our juniors, David, was shot, and they kidnapped your daughter. She said that they fitted the description of Defenders. With cloaking devices and all."

Jerick: "Dear God! I can't do this anymore. I am going to abdicate, I can't let them harm my only child!"

The situation was tense. The king must have been close to the breaking point.

Xavier: "Your majesty, I believe that they may have brought her back here, to Nova Roma. To wherever their base is. I believe it may be much nearer than we think. The X-men I left behind would not have left the environs. They must have discovered something...and were caught. What better place to hide than in plain sight, where you would never think to look."

Jerick: "W-what?"

Xavier: "I find it hard to understand how for such a small island, these defenders can leave unnoticed in the first place. You have all the ports under constant surveillance not so? Air and sea? Any unauthorised ship or flight would surely go noticed, isn't that right?"

Jerick: "Well, yes."

Logan: "I smell a rat."

Xavier: "So do I. I think we have a traitor in your ranks. We scoured the entire west segment and found nothing. Then, while we are all away, rather conveniently from the Palace, this perfectly coordinated attack on the mansion takes place, and your daughter is abducted. Strange don't you think? And these defenders had to have left the island, I would think that they would have gone noticed if they did so in an unauthorised ship or plane. So the possibility exists that they could be using authorised means of transport. Which means that someone must be authorising them...someone in your ranks is a traitor."

The room fell silent and then hushed whisperings filled the air. Uneasy glances abounded and eventually everyone's eyes shifted to defence Minister Sonya. She sensed the growing suspicion directed at her and spoke out.

Sonya: "Surely you don't think that I-"

Scott: "I don't know, Minister. You were the one who suggested that foray into the West so vehemently. And while we were gone, it became apparent that we might have been wasting our time and looking in the wrong place all along."

Logan: "And she is a mind reader, mind controller too...perfect for a spy, saboteur and kidnapper."

Hank: "And with her high level authorisation as Defence Minister...she could have been sneaking Defenders onto ships or planes as well."

Sonya: "Your Majesty, surely you will not allow them to speak to me in this irreverent manner! Why would I aid mutant haters? I am a mutant! Slander!"

Jerick: "Defence Minister Sonya, I am afraid that until further notice, I am going to have to place you under house arrest, effective immediately."

Sonya: "What? No! What ever happened to ^Innocent Until Proven Guilty?^ "

Jerick: "I am sorry, but this is a direct order...guards escort her to her quarters."

They took her out of the room struggling. The thought that they could have had a possible traitor among them all along was unnerving to everyone. What was even more unnerving was the possibility that she could not be the only possible traitor.

Jerick: "If Sonya is a traitor, it would make sense how the defenders managed to breach the Palace security the night of your arrival. It would take a high official's access codes to bypass the security systems. And as defence minister, she has them all."

Corroborating evidence it seemed.

Xavier: "Alright, your Majesty, announce to the public that you are preparing to abdicate. Give a deadline for it in the range of three days. Jake, you and I will have to...interogate Sonya. I want you to understand what we're doing here. We as telepaths are never, ever to enter the mind of another without express permission unless it is a matter of life and death. On the battlefield, it's a matter of life and death, it is alright to render a foe unconscious, you do it quickly and get it over with. Do you understand?"

Jake shifted uneasily. Due to the fact that he had broken that command on more than one occasion and was now paying a heavy price. Rick was extremely hesitant to mind merge with him fully.

Jake: "So we're going to try and get the truth out of Sonya?"

Xavier: "Yes. You have telepathic potential the like of which I have not seen before in one so young. I want you to probe her mind with me. She's quite gifted too. So in case she tries influencing one of us, the other can defend against her. Alright...but we must be careful. She must not be harmed whilst there is the possibility, no matter how remote, that she could be innocent."

Jake: "I understand, sir."

Xavier: "Scott, Hank, Logan, whilst we are busy....."

Xavier stopped in mid-sentence, placing his hands towards his temples. A second later so did Jacob. Their faces twisted in pain, and they seemed to be impervious everything else. Then they both fell to the floor unconscious, causing everyone in the room to rush to their sides.

Scott: "Professor! Someone, get a doctor, now!"

No one moved, they were all in obvious shock, it was so abrupt.

Logan: "What the hell?! You heard the man!"

Logan was already in an extremely pissed off mood, dealing with Ororo and the others' disappearances, and now these idiots... He knew it had to be something of a telepathic nature, as that was the only thing that Xavier and Jacob had in common, and everyone else was unaffected by whatever it was that knocked them out. This mission just kept getting better and better...

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Ororo: "Rogue!"

She dodged behind the doorway, just in time as two energy blasts from the droid security came searing into the room.

Ororo: "Are you sure that was the Psionic Dampener we just destroyed?!"

Rogue: "Yeah, I have one of them soldiers' thoughts in my head, remember?"

Bobby: "Rick, we need you to shield us from the---shit! Ororo, he's out cold!"

Ororo: "Was he hit by a blast?!"

Bobby: "I don't think so! But he's breathing, and....his uniform isn't seared. It's almost like he's...asleep."

Rogue had had enough of the hiding. She flew outside the door and started swooping down in wide circles to attract the attention of the droids. Whilst they were firing at her and occupied, Ororo blew the humanoid robots into the opposite wall and held them in place with all the forceful winds she could muster. Bobby took his mind off Rick for a minute and added his freezing energy to Ororo's wind, together they froze the three blaster wielding robots to the wall. Ororo was about to shock them to pieces when an electrical burst originating from behind them did the job. They glanced behind them quickly to see Rick all aglow and sparking in his Electrical form. He returned to his normal outward appearance shortly after. Bobby ran up to him and did a quick hug thing before he realised that Ororo and Rogue were staring a little. He knew that Ororo knew about Rick, and now Rogue knew about him, and he realised that he had just about outted himself to Ororo as well. But they were smiling a little. To hell with it, was the only thought in his head. They were obviously not homophobic and were very understanding.

Bobby: "You're okay?"

Rick: "Yeah...I just felt weird after you guys wrecked that machine and blacked out."

Ororo: "It was responsible for all the Psychic jamming going on. It was probably responsible for it."

Rick: "Oh...huh?"

Rick's eyes went blank for a few moments.

Rick: "Guys! It's the professor. He's back at the mansion, with everyone else. He can sense us, we can get help!"

The others grew expectant and watched on as Rick communiated telepathically with Professor Xavier.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Xavier: "I know where they are!"

Things were really getting tense in the Palace. Not only was the heir apparent missing, but when Professor Xavier and Jacob mysteriously fell unconscious, it seriously demoralised the remaining members of the X-men. Word had come from the guards that Minister Sonya had also taken leave of her senses. There were reports of other telepaths within the Palace suffering the same predicament. Doctor Linn could find no physical reason for it. Just as suddenly as the episode occurred, they all regained consciousness. What was even more welcome, was the news that Professor Xavier was now in direct telepathic contact with the missing members of the team. He relayed what he had learnt to them via mindlink, to save time. Apparently, there was a rebel outpost right on the Palace grounds! Or under it rather... Hidden underground with an entrance via the waterfront. John had stumbled upon it while he was AWOL and had been taken prisoner. Ororo and her team had went in to rescue him, thinking that the rest of them had their hands full in the west and would be of no assistance.

Jacob: "Professor, I'm sensing Rick, but I not anyone else. I thought that they destroyed the Psionic Shield Generator."

Xavier: "I'm only detecting Rick as well. He's the only telepath with them. The Psionic shield is still there, but weaker now. There must be more in operation than the one they destroyed. The field remaining is strong enough to block out ordinary thoughts, but not telepathic impressions. When they destroyed that one, the sudden fluctuation-"

Hank: "-in the shield's frequency must have projected a wave that was specific to the telepathic bandwidth, temporarily disabling all those whose minds function at the telepathic level."

They all looked at him semi-understandingly, semi-confused.

Logan: "I get it...I think. But did you really hafta say it like that?"

Scott: "But if the generator's destruction caused the wave and it knocked out all the telepaths, it's gotta be damned close. What are we waiting for, we have a job to do!"

Xavier: "Indeed. Jacob, you're coming with me to Cerebro. We'll recomence scanning for the royal family immediately. Now that the shield is down and we have some clue as to where we should look... I have a feeling that the results will be more gratifying this time around."

Jerick: "This is most excellent. But you must hurry. If what you tell us is true and your team has infiltrated and destroyed a generator, the rebels will become desperate. Who knows what they may do in their haste. Please, if they threaten my family and make demands, follow through with them though. I will not lose them for a mere title."

Scott: "Yes, sir. Alright team, let's move out. Remember, we're looking for a-"

Logan: "A rocky area, burnt black by the seaside. Yeah, yeah.."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Amara woke up, feeling dazed and confused. But that wasn't really as bad as it might have seemed. After all, Jean had been keeping her sedated telepathically for quite some time. Everytime she woke up and asked for news...it was the same. Goodnight Jean would say and Amara would be put into a dreamless sleep. They didn't want her trying to return home to Nova Roma where she was needed. They claimed it was for her own good. More like they were afraid that she'd make the volcano erupt again. But she was different now. She had more control. All she could remember was screaming, and seeing some vaguely militaristic men come into the Sub-basment dormitory where she was being kept for safe-keeping, and then it all went black. She knew she must have been kidnapped. In light of recent events, she knew exactly who must have been responsible too. Rebels...

She shook her head violently to clear it of the cobwebs. She glanced around her surroundings and took it all in. It didn't seem right. It looked as if she was being kept in a five-star, luxurious hotel suite. Well, it was only fitting for a princess, and heir apparent of Nova Roma to boot. But she had the feeling that the rebels really would not have had her comfort in mind. Could she be in the States... or back home in Nova Roma? Where did they take her? She shut her mind off and focussed on the link that she shared with the volcano. Promptly she felt a slight shuddering of the ground. Ever since she was a baby, she had the ability to affect it. And due to the tremor she had just felt when she called out to it...she knew that she must have been home. Shortly thereafter the door burst open and a middle aged woman ran into the plush room, jubilation on her face. Not just any woman, her mother!

Her mother... wait, was she kidnapped and brought to Nova Roma, and then the X-men caught the bad guys and returned both her and her mother to the Palace. It would explain the exquisite surroundings... she had no idea how long exactly she had been under and for all she knew, it could have been days since she was kidnapped. The X-men could have already saved the day, and could be having a bitchin' party somewhere in the Palace without her!

Amara: "Mother! Thank heavens you're alright! I knew the X-men would come through. Did they hurt you?"

Her mother's expression altered a little and then she saw her uncle enter the room. She must have been home after all. Now all she needed was her father and everything would be perfect. They'd be a family again.

Amara: "Where's Father?"

They were both glancing at each other a little awkwardly and Amara didn't like the way they were looking at each other one bit. She had the distinct feeling that something was very, very wrong. It was compounded when her uncle started crying and hugging her. Her mother started tearing up too and couldn't look her straight in the eye. She'd seen stuff like this happen before. In movies and soap operas when they were trying to build drama and suspense and nobody could just come out and say that someone had been hurt or... The worst possible thoughts kept running through her mind. Had he been injured? Did they have a battle in the Palace...had he been killed?! She spoke out more vehemently,

Amara: "Where's father?!"

Her mother just got up and left the room, leaving her with her uncle. Well, okay...so she and her mother had their ups and downs before, but this was a strange way to behave in a family reunion after a kidnapping by terrorists! And even stranger to leave her obviously distressed daughter with her uncle to comfort her while she needed the love and support of a parent most. She never could have imagined what would happen next. In a choked and strained voice Uncle Derrick answered,

Derrick: "I'm right here..."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We were making our way deeper into the rebel core and it was there that we started to run into some problems. We were being swamped by the defence droids and soldiers. It seemed as if they had concentrated their forces in their hub, and we were only able to defend ourselves, not being given the opportunity to fight offensively. Whenever we peered around the corner we were ducking behind, myriad blasts, some from guns carried by the soldiers, and some robotic in origin, would be aimed at us. I had to end up maintaining a shield around us all, as every now and again a droid would round the bend and fire a projectile at us before either Ororo or Bobby could incapacitate it. We knew that help was on the way, we'd just have to stick it out.

Ororo: "Rick, maintain that shield around us, when I say go, run to the other side. We can close the double doors down that way and use the room in there for cover!"

At her signal we ran in the direction she had indicated while she strafed the area with lightning. With all the metal they were carrying, and the fact the the droid bodies were metallic, they were just virtual lightning rods. Bobby took the opportunity to create a wall of ice while they were stunned. Ororo added to it with a freezing wind, while Rogue went to action, ripping out steel beams from the walls and forming bars with them. We went into the room, shut the door and stood at the ready in case they breached the barrier. Then we felt the ground start to shake, gently at first, then becoming progressively more powerful.

Ororo: "Rick, stop that! We're underground, you could collapse the entire cave upon us. Please...."

Her claustrophobia must have been getting to her.

Bobby: "Yeah, cut it out dude. That barrier is strong enough out there. We don't need rock walls."

"But it's not me."

Rogue: "Maybe it's just natural y'all. We do have a volcano on this island, and it's been acting up since Amara heard that her momma's been snatched."

Ororo: "No someone is actively doing it...I can feel the elemental energy."

Bobby: "Me too...Don't you feel it Rick?"

"I do feel it, yes. But it isn't me that's doing it."

Ororo: "You don't think that...it could be Amara?"

Rogue: "Well the Professor did say that he thought the men who took her brought her back here, did he not?"

"Yes... So do you think she could be here, in this base? I mean, it could be that she's here, somewhere on the island and it's the volcano doing it, not her directly.."

Rogue: "They got that brig barricaded down good. We can't bust John out of there without help. We'll have to hold out until the others get here. I hope they get here quick. None of them can fly or anything and it took us a few hours to get here, with flying. If it is Amara that's doing it, let's hope it's not because she's in danger."

Ororo: "Well, if Scott's careful, he could blow their way through with those optic beams of his, without bringing the place down, that should shorten their expected time of arrival---Oh Mother Goddess! There it goes again!"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Amara was angry, hurt, sorrowful, ashamed and confused all at the same time. She never had felt so much emotion in her life. She was aware of the effect it was having on the volcano, but she didn't care. She didn't ask for any of this and it wasn't her fault that she had to cope with shit like that. The ground was rumbling and she wasn't doing much to stop it. It wasn't like she could just forget what her "Uncle" had just told her or pass it off, and trick her mind to compose itself. Her mother was back in the room trying to calm her down. That woman had the nerve to lie to her for seventeen years!

Amara: "Don't touch me mother! If that's what you really are to me! Anything else you feel like telling me? Huh?"

Derrick: "Amara, please..."

Amara: "Shut up! When I want to hear from you, you'll know it!"

Alicia: "Amara, please don't speak to your father that way...we didn't know how to tell you-"

Amara: "He's not my father. He can't be...please...mommy...he can't..."

Alicia broke down into tears and Derrick had to hold her in case she fell. Amara took in the sight before her and decided that she couldn't hold it in anymore.

Amara: "I can't believe that you cheated on him---with his own brother! How could you do that to your husband?!"

She then turned her eyes accusingly to Derrick.

Amara: "How could you do that to your own brother?!"

Alicia: "I was forced to marry him. It was a royal matchmaking but I didn't love him Amara. I loved Derrick... but our parents wouldn't hear of it..he was the heir...they made me wed him."

Amara: "So you couldn't at least tell him how you felt? You know what kind of a man he is. He wouldn't have held you to anything."

She decided that she couldn't deal with it alone anymore. She needed her friends and her father. She didn't care if Derrick was telling the truth. She knew who she loved as her father. Learning how he had broken his own brother's trust...she'd never think of him as her father. She would go look for her friends. They'd be able to give her some advice. Ororo and Rogue could provide whatever motherly comfort she'd need, because she sure as hell couldn't stand to be in the same room with Alicia right then and there. Regardless of the ordeal of the kidnapping they'd both just been through. Besides, the longer she stayed all hyper like that, the greater the instability of the volcano. She was walking out of the room.

Derrick: "No, you can't go!"

Amara: "You can't tell me the hell where I can and cannot go in MY Palace, got that?"

Alicia: "We aren't in the Palace..."

Amara: "Well then...where are we?"

They didn't answer her. They just kept looking at her in the same manner they had before. It seemed that whenever they had anything difficult to tell her, that was the look they wore.

Amara: "Look, I'm just going to find my friends, since I can't seem to trust my own family."

She had her hand on the door knob when it opened suddenly and a man in a very familiar uniform entered. A rebel uniform. Before Amara could react, he ran straight up to Derrick, bowed and began a hasty speech.

Man: "Sir, they've breached the perimeter. They're inside, near the brig, and so far we have them barricaded. They seem to want that mutant boy back, the one we caught spying at the entrance. We don't have nearly as much manpower now that our troops have learnt that the girl has returned. Most of them have fled the island on ships, using the access codes you granted us before. They were apparently afraid that her presence here could spark off the volcano beyond what we planned. With all the tremors.... We barely have twenty of us remaining on the base, and the majority of the fighting is being done by the droids. Sir, I think it was a mistake bringing her here to blackmail her stubborn father. We should have struck when we had the manpower...now all our plans have been for nothing. You said that we could use her to destabilise the volcano and hold the entire island to ransom, and that he'd surely abdicate...it was a mistake..."

Amara slammed the door shut. When the man barged in she was forced behind it, and out of his sight. She had listened and heard it all. Realisation was dawning upon her. They were traitors, plotting against the king! And they wanted to use her to destabilise the volcano. She took solace, maybe they had lied to her about Derrick being her father! So that she would grow out of control emotionally and it would cause the volcano to act up like they had planned. To hold the entire island at ransom. Her own mother and uncle! Her rage increased tenfold and the tremors intensified. With the slamming of the door the man turned around and had a look of pure fear on his face.

Amara: "Here's what's going to happen. First, you are going to help me free that mutant boy you got held up here. Then you're going to shut down those security droids and take me to where you got my friends barricaded..."

She transformed herself into her Magma form and it further terrified the man.

Man: "Please, I'll do anything, just don't hurt me...I have a wife and children."

Amara turned towards Derrick and Alicia and something clenched painfully in her chest. It made her choke up all of a sudden. Her tone softened.

Amara: "Just do it and you'll have nothing to fear from me."

She marched him out of the room, she looked at them one last time.

Amara: "I'll deal with you two later. Father will know what to do."

Derrick: "Amara, wait!"

Alicia: "Don't go-"

She cut them off and sealed the door shut by welding it tight. Then she marched the man on his way.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We had been spending the last forty-five minutes multi-tasking. We had to keep an eye out to make sure that the soldiers and droids didn't make it past our barrier, whilst trying to keep Ororo calm. The room we were in was a bit confining and the thought of all the tons of rock just above us, weighing down upon us must have been a bit overwhelming for her. She was sitting with her eyes closed trying to focus on keeping her cool. Abrubtly though the noise stopped. Before, we could here a constant bombardment on our barrier, but at that point, it just ceased. We were immediately suspicious. They could be up to something. Trying to sneak up on us when we least expected it.

Rogue: "I'm gonna go take a look see."

Bobby: "Me too. Rick, stay with Ororo."

And they left. A couple minutes later, I heard loud, painful screams and both Ororo and I got up to go check on them, in case Rogue was losing her control again. We met up with Bobby and Rogue in the hallway next to the barrier. So it wasn't them... then the barrier started glowing and we realised that it was burning. The ice and steel had started to warp and melt. All four of us stepped back in shock. Had they went and gotten some bigger, badder robot...maybe one that they couldn't control and had turned on them? I encased us in a shield for protection. Ororo's eyes clouded over and her fists began to crackle with Electricity. Rogue assumed fighting stance and Bobby morphed into Ice Armor, ready for a fight. The ice from the barrier had formed water and it was boiling away, forming steam. It was clouding our vision. With a gesture from Ororo, the air grew turbulent and the steam cleared, revealing two regular sized, humanoid forms. Well, they didn't look like robots. Upon closer inspection...

"John...? Wait is that.."

Rogue: "Amara, John...! Honey, y'all are okay!"

John: "What took you guys so long?"

Rogue ran up to them both and started hugging them, albeit rather carefully. In joy and in wrath, she seemed to be a rather forceful power to behold. John seemed relieved but Amara looked distant. When the rest of us ran up to them, I caught her emotions telepathically. I never felt anything like it from her before. It was a curious mix alright.

"Amara...is everything alright?"

She sighed deeply and couldn't look at any of us directly.

Amara: "No... Everything's all fucked up."

Given the circumstances, bad language was the least of out worries.

Ororo: "Okay, firstly, you escaped. Do you know if you're mother is being held here? Or your uncle...you don't know this but he was kidnapped the night we arrived. We thought it best that you not be informed to worry you further."

Amara: "They're both here and they're just fine."

Rogue: "Amara, what's wrong honey...? They're okay, but...I get the feelin' that there's somethin' you're not telling us."

Amara burst into tears and I could tell from the emotions radiating out of her that they were genuine...

John and Bobby rolled their eyes. It was puzzling. Her mother and uncle were okay...so what was her deal?"

Bobby: "Amara, why are you being so goddamned melodramatic?"

John: "Um...yeah. You said your folks were fine, and you don't look like you have a scratch on you..."

They earned warning glances from both X-women. Ororo and Rogue did their womanly duty of comforting, and held her while she sobbed, and then Amara started rattling off. It took some time before we could understand what she was trying to say.

Amara: "Mom and Uncle Derrick. They've been working with the rebels and plotting against dad and they wanted to use my link with the volcano to hold the entire island to ransom, so that dad would abdicate. They've been using this entire anti-mutant thing to cover up their plotting. And they said that...I'm Derrick's daughter. I think that they were having an affair. They said so. But I don't know for sure, they could have just told me that to get me all worked up..."

While she rattled off her story, the tremors increased in their intensity. I couldn't believe it myself. This thing was like a real life soap opera! Lies, deceit, conspiracy, infidelity...all mixed in with a healthy dose of "Who's your daddy?". The increasing tremors snapped all of us out of our musing. Especially Ororo, with her claustrophobia.

Ororo: "Okay, this place is probably swarming with Defenders by now...we better go."

Amara: "I heard them talking. There's barely twenty here. They all took off the island when they learnt I came back. They think that the volcano might blow and stuff."

Bobby: "It just might. Try to calm down Amara."

Amara: "I'm staying as calm as I can, Bobby!"

The ground shook violently again.

I tried to summon my Earth power, to try and stabilise the seismic waves and had no luck whatsoever. Apparently the only one that volcano was going to heed was Amara.

Rogue: "Where are your...family and the rest of the Defenders?"

Amara: "I sealed them in two separate rooms, back that way."

She motioned vaguely behind her, in the direction of the brig. The tremors kept on becoming more forceful and then, after we heard a sharp crack, we realised that the ceiling was falling down upon us. A coloumn fell directly over us, and if it wasn't for Rogue's super strength, we'd be crushed flat. It didn't take any more pursuading for us to just bolt down the corridor towards where Amara pointed. If the place was all coming down we couldn't just leave them to die. It turns out that she had sealed the soldiers in their own brig.

John: "Where's your fam?"

She pointed down the hall, and said that she'd go get them. She returned shortly, with them... They had the look of guilt all over them, and I know that we were all looking at them with piercing glances. What kind of people were they, to try and hold and entire nation under ransom for power? Wasn't being the queen and chief minister enough. But then Amara said that they told her that she was their daughter. And their alleged love affair... Ororo took charge.

Ororo: "Alright...everbody out! And don't dare try anything."

I then remembered something.

"Ororo! What about the men that we fought in the higher levels! The ones Rogue beat up?!"

Rogue: "We'll grab them as we head out. Come on, back the way we came!"

With the surroundings starting to buckle, there was no need for repetition. To our dismay however, the passageway by which we had entered was blocked by fallen debris. I tied blasting it aside with telekinesis, but it was ineffective, it merely forced the debris further into the tunnel. Rogue could not move it all either. Just when we were about to sink into despair however, a rock shattering blast blew a hole clear through the wall and the room grew dusty. A coughing Scott peered out, saw us and motioned us quickly. Ororo grabbed Amara, Rogue pulled Alicia and Derrick (We sure as hell were taking no chances with them), and I lifted John, Bobby and myself into the tunnel. Let the soldiers foot it! Whilst we followed Scott, it became apparent that we were taking a route different than that which we used to enter. This tunnel wasn't straight at all and there were many side paths that branched into it. I saw Logan and Hank run out of one of the side tunnels. He and Ororo did a little glance thing, and even in the midst of the turmoil, I couldn't help but notice how cute it was.

Presently we found ourselves back in the cavern, except we came out of the central tunnel that time.

"Guys, what about the people on the upper level?"

Ororo: "We can't help them, Rick."

John: "Serves them right."

Bobby: "John! That ain't your call to make!"

John: "They were more than ready to kill us in a heartbeat! And you want me to feel sorry for them?"

Scott: "Let's just get these prisoners out of here and back at the palace, so we can sort this whole mess out. Amara, try to calm down. You were affecting the volcano when you were all the way across the globe. If you can't contain your emotions now...we may have an eruption on our hands."

Bobby: "Cut her some slack, she's trying."

Scott noticed the manner in which Bobby spoke to him and realised that there was something that he was in the dark about. They'd talk as soon as we all were out.

Derrick and Alicia were silent all along and were squirming uncomfortably in Rogue's tight grasp.

Logan: "Rogue, could you hold those folks a little more.."

Rogue: "These two have some explaining to do! They're traitors and were in cahuts with the Defenders!"

Scott, Logan and Hank were flabbergasted. I could tell that we'd be having a very interesting de-briefing alright.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The first thing we did on entering the Palace was to notify security and have them take the soldiers away. Then we marched Derrick and Alicia upstairs, straight to the Defence Council's chamber. Everyone in there greeted us with cheers and stood up as a gesture of respect. All except Professor Xavier and Jake. Whilst we were walking up to the Palace I was in contact with them, explaining the situation fully. It was obvious that they wanted to wait until Amara herself made the accusations, for fear that they would not be taken seriously. It was soon apparent to everyone in the room however that something was amiss. For one thing, Alicia and Derrick wore blank, expresionless faces, and Amara looked a wreck. The first thing she did was run to her father and collapse crying. He took her arm and went leading her to her mother and uncle. The whole thing looked to be leading up to a big old family group hug. Until Amara stopped him by holding his arm.

Amara: "Father, don't. I have something to tell you..."

She took him aside and we could see him start breaking down and shaking his head side to side in disbelief. Presently he returned and looked them gravely in the face.

Jerick: "Is this true? Have you two been plotting against my throne?"

The room, formerly quiet as a tomb grew thick with hushed whispers. The councilors were all watching the scene with shifty eyes and their tongues wagged constantly. I thought that they would have better breeding.

Jerick: "Silence!"

They fell quiet like dogs at a command from their master.

Jerick: "Why won't you answer me? Derrick, please...tell me it's not true, and I'll believe you."

Derrick avoided his gaze and glued his eyes to the ground. The sure sign of guilt, the inability to look one's accuser dead in the eye. Jerick sighed heavily, then walked towards Alicia and knelt...

Jerick: "Alicia...please, say that it's not true."

She was silent as well.

His mood changed. Before he was pleading. Now, he was damned angry.

Jerick: "I take it by your refusal to answer, that every word Amara has told me has merit then. How could you do this to me?! Derrick, if you felt this way, why didn't you say something about it? I don't understand why you'd-"

Derrick: "Because you have done the most damage to the Novarian people in the entire period of our recorded history! How many of our people are away from their homes, families and friends because you had them exiled?!"

Jerick: "They were violent anti-mutant terrorists."

Derrick: "You could have found a better way!"

Jerick: "Don't try and cover up your ambition for power with the pretence of patriotism! I had an inkling that you might have been a little jealous of me being the crown prince growing up...but that was all I thought it was...just a little sibling jealousy. What I don't understand is why you would help him in his madness Alicia. To join with him with mutant hating rebels...our own daughter is a mutant!"

Derrick: "Well here's news for you brother, she's not your daughter! She's mine!"

There was a sound that made me think that everyone had gasped at the exact same time and then the room got so quiet that you were afraid to make a sound in case you would be the one to break the silence first. I started sensing a lot of emotion then. By the looks on Jake and the Professor's faces, I knew that they must have been reading Derrick too.

Jerick: "Ministers...out. Just go..."

We thought that he was going to send us all out as well, but when we turned to leave he motioned for us to stay behind.

Jerick: "Alicia...is this true? Were you having an affair with my brother?"

Derrick: "Oh, it was a lot more than an affair."

Jerick: "Shut up! I'm speaking to my wife!"

Alicia: "I was never your wife, Jerick. Not truly...only in namesake. You know that our marriage was an arranged one. I loved him..."

We heard a crash then, and the tremors that had subsided to near non-existance flared up again. A vase had fallen. Just as suddenly as it had begun, the shaking stopped. Amara ran out of the room with Ororo and Rogue at her heels.

Jerick: "So all this time, you felt nothing for me and didn't have the decency to---forget it. But Amara...she is my daughter. No matter what you say."

Derrick: "Think it'd stand up in a court of law...care to go for a paternity test?"

Jerick: "Where you're going, I don't think you'll stand much of a chance at custody."

Jerick: "Guards, take them to a holding cell. And keep them together...let the lovebirds enjoy each other's company. I doubt they'll be seeing much of each other for some time."

And the Royal Guard marched both Alicia and Derrick out of the door.

Jerick: "X-men, we'll have a de-briefing right after I speak with my daughter. Please, remain in this room until I return."

And he left.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Amara was sitting nervously on her bed. Her room was the only place that she felt any real privacy growing up, it was her refuge. Being sole heir to the throne meant that she was constantly in the public spotlight. She couldn't even be sure what exactly she was feeling. She hated Derrick, that much was certain. At least she told herself that. She tried to shake away any pity that she felt for her mother, but couldn't do so. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't just bring herself to hate her for hurting both her and her dad... No, he wasn't really her father. Her father was a power hungry madman, who wouldn't stop at trying to use even his own daughter to further his scheming. She didn't know how her Uncle Jerick would feel towards her now. She just saw him go livid when he learnt that his wife had cheated on him and that she wasn't his own child...and she ran.

If she were in his position, could she love the child of such a person the same way before she found out the truth? Just then the doorbell rang and she tensed. As she suspected it was Jerick. She could tell by the way he kept ringing the bell in the playful little tune he used to when she was just a little girl. Unconsciously, she smiled a little, before she caught herself.

Jerick: "Amara...can I come in?"

She hesitated slightly before she realised that as the daughter of a traitor, she had no rights over his palace. She went over to the door and cautiously opened it. When she saw him she just started crying again and he had to guide her to a seat. Both of them looked tense and unsure of where to begin.

Jerick: "Amara, you were always my daughter, and you always will be. Nothing is going to change that."

Amara: "But, I think they're telling the truth... I thought that maybe they could have been lying to me. So that I'd wake up Mount Nova like they planned. But they're caught now, so they have no reason to lie. How can you still love me, after what they did..."

Jerick: "Because that's what parents do."

Amara: "But-"

Jerick had a peculiar expression on his face. Amara instantly recognized what it meant. He had something to tell her. He had seen the same expression only a couple of hours ago on her mother and...Derrick's face. And she sure as hell didn't like what she heard then. She prepared herself for the worst.

Jerick: "You're afraid that I might treat you different? Because of what they said?"

Amara: "Yeah...I mean, I'm not really your daughter, and for you to find out like that..."

Jerick: "So, what if I were to tell you that the very day you were born, I knew that I couldn't be your biological father? Hell, I knew it from the moment Alicia said she was pregnant."

Oh God! When will these shocking revelations end?! Amara was now even more confused and upset.

Amara: "I don't understand what you're saying."

Jerick: "It's hard for a man to say this, especially to his teenaged daughter, but maybe you'll see sense when I explain it all. You see, when your mother and I were married, the first thing we needed was an heir. But no matter how much we tried, we just couldn't concieve at all. She never suspected, and she still doesn't know this. Anyhow, I went and had myself tested, to the only doctor I could trust here, Linn. The tests showed that I was sterile. I held onto that secret for a while. I didn't know how to tell Alicia...and a part of me didn't want to tell her. Anyhow, we had been trying a lot. Before I ever got the chance to tell her...she told me one night that she was pregnant, finally. And I knew that she had to have cheated on me. I sure as hell didn't think that it would be with Derrick though. But I felt that I couldn't hold it against her. The way we were married...and then, I knew that I was partially to blame. I negelected her a lot. It's difficult to balance family and state duties. I was all new at it. So I didn't say anything. And we both wanted a family so bad and I knew that if I wanted kids, they'd have to be someone else's birth child anyway. And it would have to kept hush hush if I adopted one. So I went along with it, and I've never regretted it. I thought that maybe if I started paying more attention to her, she'd stop whatever affair she had going on."

Amara: "You, mean...you knew all along that I couldn't be your daughter and you still-"

Jerick: "Birth daughter no... But so what? People adopt children all the time and love them just fine. If you hadn't found out from them...well, have I ever treated you in a way that you'd ever suspect that you weren't?"

Amara: "Of course not. But what about the scandal? All the ministers heard what Derrick said. They'll figure everything out eventually and-"

Jerick: "So let them. I don't think that they're malicious or anything. They were just a little shocked, that's all. I will make sure that not a word of this leaves the council."

She had to ask the inevitable.

Amara: "What are you going to do with them?"

Jerick: "I don't know. They should be jailed for life. These Defenders have done a lot of damage to our land and its people, and Derrick thinks that he can preach to me about patriotism..."

Amara: "Good, I hate them. For what they did to you...to all of us, and the our people."

Jerick: "You don't have to hate them on my behalf. She's still your mother, and it's alright to care for her. And, if you want to see Derrick, I-I'll understand. You were close when you thought that he was just your uncle...and now that you found out that he's your birth father-"

Amara: "I don't want to see him. I already have father."

There was a part of him that was only too glad to hear her say that. But it wouldn't be right to make her decisions for her.

Jerick: "But what about your mother?"

Amara: "What about her? I can't believe she would go through with it. She had to have known what her "kidnapping" would do to me. She's just as power hungry as he is, she wants to be queen, but wants him up there on the throne with her. How they thought that they were going to pull it off, I don't know. After all, they were with the defenders and I'm a mutant. What would they have done? Hidden me away, or just banish me from the island when they were done? I don't think their anti-mutant supporters would like it if I were around. Regardless if they knew that I was their leader's daughter or not. They couldn't really think that I'd help them..."

Jerick: "Alicia said she loved him...he said it was more than an affair. People do crazy things when they're in love...or think they're in love."

Amara: "If she had told you that she loved him, before all this happened, would you have let them be together?"

Jerick: "We'd have to hush it up somehow, but yes. Anything to avoid finding out like this and having to deal with it in this manner."

Amara: "And if they wanted to take me away with them?"

Jerick: "I wouldn't have allowed that, and no judge in their right mind would grant custody to schemers like them. And as you're almost an adult...you'd have been able to stay with me I suppose. I've been your father all along, they'd see that."

Amara felt a little foolish. She should have seen that Jerick would still treat her just the same. She knew the kind of person he was. She thought guiltily about the façade she had been living. She was a virtual saint to her father and slut at the institute. To think of it, her mother sort of had some similarity to it. She became resolute. She was never going to be like that again. She was going to make herself a worthy daughter and successor, and live up to her father's expectations. She was going to turn her life around, effective immediately. It would take some doing, and it would be rough...she could already imagine the withdrawal symptoms, but she'd go through with it.

Amara: "I don't know what the hell I was thinking."

He smiled.

Jerick: "Me neither."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We had to sit through several hours worth of debriefing. It was seriously tiring, and no one made any effort to hide the yawns that came out of our mouths. It had become generally accepted that Defence Minister Sonya was innocent. Through the debriefing we learnt that she was under suspicion of being the traitor helping the rebels. Upon the Professor's mental scan of Derrick to reveal the entire fiasco in its entirety, she had been freed and was now sitting with us at the debriefing. I could see the semi-embarrassed expressions on Hank's, Logan's and Scott's faces, and I guessed that they all went along with the idea that she was indeed a spy. Thankfully, she didn't seem to be upset and was treating the entire episode as a precaution that was absolutely necessary at the time. She was actually smiling at them in a slightly superior, womanish way. It made them look even more sheepish.

Amara had come back for the de-briefing after all. But I could sense a change in her. Obviously, with all the drama she had been put through, the ordeal would have some effect. But oddly in her case, I had the feeling that it was a good thing. She was radiating some impression that I couldn't quite place my finger on, but I knew it was encouraging. Derrick had been sent to Alicia in a holding cell after he was scanned by the Professor and we now had the story in its completely unabridged version. Here's the killer...there was no such thing as Defenders of Humanity! It was all a hoax that was being used to hide the true intentions of the scheming couple. When Amara was born and woke Mount Nova and the people found out about it, a lot of them did riot, yes... and they were exiled true. But they were all snobbish bigots who had no real balls for battle. It turns out, Derrick was plotting for the throne for quite some time, and was as corrupt as the former council. With him as their leader, they would have even more leeway to plunder Nova Roma's riches. So they needed a plan to get rid of Jerick. Not kill him, but just get him off the throne.

Amara's birth was perfect. Derrick had the council raise an uproar, that for the safety of the island, mutants who were labelled as dangerous, had to be gotten rid off. While the council pushed their anti-mutant sentiment, and whipped sectors of the islands populace into a frezied mob, Derrick was to play the role of trusted confidant and adviser to the king. And then the council would demand that if the king would not do something to return stability to Nova Roma, then he should abdicate and pass over leadership to Derrick, right according to plan. He could have kept on having his secret love affair...perhaps even falsely have Jerick arrested for crimes against the state. Then he could have "taken in" Alicia and while he may not have revealed who he was to Amara, perhaps raise her like his daughter. I kinda felt sorry for him, just a little mind you. It seemed from the way Professor Xavier talked, he really wanted to have a relationship and get to know her as a daughter, not a niece. And I was sure that it was the furthest thing from Amara's mind, judging by the vicious scowl on her face. But things got right complicated. They never thought that the ordinarily peace loving people of Nova Roma could grow so violent. They were damaging the island's reputation. And they never thought that the normally merciful Jerick could be so strict. They thought that he wouldn't be able to take sides between his beloved people to restore peace, forcing Derrick and the council to take over. Derrick would pretend that it was the furthest thing he wanted, and that he was only doing it for the nation's good. But they were wrong. He did take a side. With the mutant sympathizers, and the council realising that they would have to alter their plans, revolted and many of the rogue army officials and soldiers did so too. Derrick, the mastermind would remain as a Palace spy. So they formed up a fake anti-mutant group, the Defenders of Humanity... they didn't really have anything against mutants...just against anyone, human or mutant, that stood in their way.

So for years they carried on their campaign to destabilise Nova Roma and perhaps force Jerick to abdicate, all for the good of the islanders, who had to be protected from---a seemingly non-existant---mutant threat. Then they added cries for democracy to their efforts and were rewarded when the international community took up the cry and tried to...advise Jerick to think of his people first. Derrick later faked his own kidnapping to add fuel to the fire, and when Jerick was still being stubborn...had Amara snatched. As Chief Minister, he had all security and access codes at his disposal, it was a simple matter for him to authorise the departure of "Trading Vessels". We took it all in, such a complex machination brought down to nought. Mostly due to the cowardly nature of the Defenders who had fled once they thought Amara's presence could result in the destruction of the island.

Jerick: "Sonya, I am terribly sorry for my accusations. I humbly beg your forgiveness. My judgement was shaken, I had just learnt that Amara was snatched."

Sonya: "It's quite alright your majesty. I wasn't treated like a prisoner of war or anything, and you were just following protocol."

Xavier: "I too must apologise on behalf of myself and the X-men...we're not often proven wrong...but wrong we were."

Sonya: "All is forgiven, Professor."

The one question running through everyone's mind was,

Sonya: "What do we do with them?"

Jerick: "I didn't want to decide on my own. I want the council's...and the X-men's input."

Sonya: "Professor, you said that Derrick never intended to plot against the king's life, right?"

Xavier: "No, the worst thought I got from Derrick was falsely house arresting him."

It seemed that Derrick was simply a man who had done terrible things by acting solely on his greed and ambition. He must have made fantastic promises to his followers. But in the end, ran off to save their own skins. It sort of reminded me of Macbeth. I could tell that this was news to the king. He seemed to have changed his demeanour now. He sure looked uncertain.

Sonya: "Remember, you also have a child involved your highness."

Amara flared up a little.

Amara: "Give them what they deserve. I'm not a helpless, fragile little girl."

Everyone looked at her with sympathetic eyes.

Jerick: "Well, I suppose if they were not plotting against my life-"

Minister#1: "Your majesty, they have done immense damage to Nova Roma, even if not to your life directly. What about the citizens who were harmed, killed or lost property, or suffered in some way? With all due respect, they must face the consequences."

Jerick: "What do you suggest?"

Sonya: "We haven't had to deal with a case of high treason in decades. But the penalty for it is...execution."

Everyone's breath drew to a halt.

Amara: "E-execution?! But, is there...couldn't you jail them with a life sentence or something?"

The king echoed her sentiment. I could sense that the other X-men were a bit unsettled as well. This was far beyond anything we had expected. We thought all we were here to do was fight anti-mutant fanatics. Now it was all shaping up like this... And I knew that since we had captured the traitors, we felt some degree of responsibilty for them. Had we captured them simply to hand them over to be executed. Were we nothing more than a death squad? I myself was no big believer in capital punishment, and I could tell they all felt the same way. Yes, they had done terrible things, but putting them to death was not going to make everything alright. I for one didn't want to feel like I had their blood on my hands.

Jerick: "I can't...I won't allow it."

Sonya: "To overrule it would require a majority vote, taken from the Council of Ministers."

Amara turned towards the councillors. It was obvious that she was going to beg on her mother's behalf, maybe even on her father's, Derrick that is. I knew that it would do no good. Jake, Sonya and the Professor had knowing expressions on their faces as well. I could sense how serious the other Ministers were. It was true that the defenders did a lot of damage to Nova Roma, and lives had been lost throughout multiple years of struggle. They had a point. What about all the families who had lost their loved ones. No amount of compensation from the state was ever going to bring them back. A point that the Ministers did not fail to mention.

Minister#2: "No one is above the law, your majesty. Not even the members of the Royal Family."

It was a pitiful sight to see the ordinarily vivacious Amara reduced to a sobbing heap on the ground. No amount of consoling from the king or from Sonya, Rogue and Ororo was going to make it all better. Even king Jerick didn't want to go through with an execution when he learnt that all they wanted was his throne. I suppose the thought that Amara would resent him for if he did also had something to do with it.

Amara: "Father, do something. You're the king, you're in charge... you can't let them go through with it!"

He was a broken man, it was plain to see.

Jerick: "There's nothing I can do without the majority vote from the council..."

Sonya: "You have my vote, child. All the way."

The other eleven members of the council seemed unshakened by the show of sentiment.

Amara: "Whether you execute them or not, won't return the people that the defenders killed from the grave! What is wrong with you?"

Minister#3: "It isn't just that. Keeping them alive would be a security threat. They could serve as rallying points and sources of inspiration to others seeking to disrupt our government."

Jerick: "You're asking me to execute my family...to make a...a statement, a public example?!"

Minister#1: "As king, you have an obligation to your people. It's not that we're cold hearted and callous."

Logan: "Sure as hell could have fooled me."

Xavier: "Logan!"

Minister#3: "Stay out of this outsider."

Logan got up, enraged.

Logan: "Outsider! I didn't see any of you pencil pushers facin' down with-"

Ororo had to go over and calm him down. He had a very valid point. While they were all safe and sound in the Palace, we were in the line of fire. Is that the way they were going to talk to their deliverers? After all, it was because of us that the perpetrators were caught in the first place.

Minister#2: "We wouldn't have trouble from only power seekers and anti-mutant sympathizers, but we could have trouble from mutant civilians themselves. Imagine if it becomes known that we have in our possession the leaders of the Defenders, and didn't punish them to the fullest extent of the law. The mutants are not going to like that I can assure you. They'll think that it's just because they're your family. They'll cry out for vengeance, and we'll have another civil uprising. We can't have that. Remember, many mutants have suffered at their hands. They were using a faux mutant hating group as their cover."

Jerick: "But after all I have done for them?"

Minister#3: "Can you restore their dead?"

Dammit! We had reached the stage of rhetorical questions. Since no one could answer that question, the room grew quiet again. But then an idea dawned upon Amara. It would involve deceit and a bit of acting on the part of the officials...it figures that she would be the one to suggest it.

Amara: "But what if we tell them the truth, the people that is...and they 'thought' that an execution took place?"

Everyone caught on. Fake an execution to make satisfy the population.

Minister#2: "Are you suggesting a cover up?"

Jerick: "Killing them will not bring anyone back from the dead. They'll just feel vindicated, that's all. But if we were to jail them for life...and the populace thinks that they're dead, then we have a compromise."

The ministers drew close together and had a discussion. I could sense how hesitant they were. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I'd one day be witness to a high profile government cover up!

Minister#1: "Agreed, the death penalty is merely strict, not effective. But we have a condition. If word of this ever comes out, we'd all be in peril. We will keep silent on this issue. But if it is ever discovered, you must be the one held accountable. It must be portrayed as your sole plot. Not ours. Understood?"

Jerick: "Yes, of course. Thank you..."

The Council gathered together and whispered amongst themselves again.

Minister#1: "We're also giving you permission, so that you may arrange to have our minds telepathically erased of this plot, just in case we ever are in a postion where we may be tempted to divulge."

Amara visibly teared up at this unexpected show of compassion.

Amara: "Thank you."

Jerick: "I could not ask for anything more. But are you certain that you want your memories erased?"

Apparently they were. It was a bittersweet end to the whole fiasco. Amara wouldn't have to deal with her family's execution, but it would never be the same ever again. No amount of pampering would make me consider trading places with her... I wished her mother and...birth father had thought about what would be best for her before they started their plotting. The king expressed his gratitude and welcomed us to stay as long as we liked. Which we didn't get to do because,

Xavier: "I'm sorry sir, but we have a situation to deal with at the mansion. And it cannot wait. These...defenders left quite a mess and at the institute and we have to sort things out. Amara, you of course, may stay as long as you like."

I could tell that she was torn between staying, for the king's sake. But I knew if it was me, I'd want to leave and have some time for myself for a bit.

Jerick: "It's alright Amara. I'll cope just fine."

Amara: "I don't want you to think that I'm running away from this and leaving you to deal with it alone."

Jerick: "Don't worry about me. It's my job to lookout for you. It would probably be best if you have the support of your friends as well. Wait a while until things have settled down here."

She gave in after that. That and the fact that in her emotional state, it wouldn't be too good for the volcano if she were to remain on the island itself. And the king did say that the international media would flock to the island once word got out, drama and scandal seeking. The fact that the queen was in on the plotting would lead many to suspect an affair. He wanted her away from all that. So she saw sense. We were dismissed and began making our preparations to leave for home immediately.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Part Two - The Xavier Institute

It was a relief to be waking up in my own room after that mission in Nova Roma. I was grateful that we didn't have to deal with an erupting volcano after all. But it wasn't like the mission was a walk in the park otherwise. And I knew that my personal drama was only just about to begin. I had to talk to Jake, and soon. There was very little time left. I barely had three days until my birthday, and I had to talk to him before then. I surely could not mention Bobby at all. That would mean outting him before he was ready, and that was absolutely to be avoided at all costs. It's up to you and you alone as to if and when you come out. But I knew Jake well enough to know that it might do no good. He was always highly suspicious of Bobby. What I wouldn't do for gaydar like that.

I guess it's just that I don't think it anything weird to be gay. It's just the way I am, and I've made peace with it. It's a completely normal facet of my life. So the fact the Bobby may have been acting a little gayish didn't seem all that strange to me. So I didn't pick up on it. That was the only reasonable theory that my limited psychoanalytical skills could provide anyway. Of course there was the possibility of what Bobby said being true. I could have been just...dumb. Obviously though, I preferred the former theory. It wasn't a very comforting thought that I could be a classic dumb blond. We had arrived at one in the morning, and had all decided to just sleep in. I glanced at my watch, it was nine-thirty now, and I was famished. There was no way that I could think of a solution to my dilemma on an empty stomach. The first thing I needed would be some food. And then Bobby had suggested during the flight that we all go see David. We knew that he was stable and recuperating. The Professor had said that they could bring him home by today and with Jake here, he'd be fine.

I had been avoiding Jake since he came back from that west mission back in Nova Roma. He had said that we were going to have a little talk when he returned, and I knew that with us back at the mansion, he'd try to spring it on me. I wasn't ready to face him yet. I wasn't planning on pretending that everything was just fine any longer and then drop the bomb on him. It'd be worse that way. He'd think that everything was just peachy and then that had to happen. I would avoid him until I knew what to do, then I'd explain it to him straight. He knew that something was up with me in Nova Roma, so it wasn't as if my avoidance would make him suddenly suspicious. But I had to be quick, this couldn't be dragged out. I snuck out of my room, trying my best to sense his presence. When I was sure that he was somewhere outside on the lawn, I went down to the kitchen. It was hard enough sensing regular non-telepathic humans, but sensing telepaths was even harder. I felt drained and I had just woken up from sleep too. When I entered the kitchen, I saw Betsy there, eating and chatting with some guy. From the way they were carrying on, I surmised that it had to be her love interest. They were behaving like lovesick teenagers, sipping from one milkshake with two straws. Semi-cute, semi-sickening. I cleared my throat before I entered to announce my presence. I knew that if I had walked in on anything, it wouldn't have been my fault. This kitchen was public access, their lookout.

Betsy: "Hey, Rick! How was your stay on Nova Roma love?"

"Well, no doubt the Professor filled you guys in on everything...how do you think?"

Betsy: "Well, at least you got some action. We were pretty much helpless here. They took us all by surprise and before we could retaliate, they were off. My psionics were useless against them too. We didn't even know that they had blasted their way down to the subbasement until it was too late. Now we have all the mess to clean up. Rubble all down there, Hank will be busy for a while. And so will we. We could really use some of your telekinesis to help clear it all. Jean alone can't manage. She's feeling a bit unwell. Or so she says anyway."

"Huh, Jean's sick?"

Betsy: "Yeah, or so she says. But I wouldn't be too worried. She never did like cleaning up. Used to fake it when we were growing up all the time, to get out of it. I can still remember Hank having to-"

The man cleared his throat.

Betsy: "Oh...sorry, where are my manners? Rick, this is Warren. The guy I told you about..."

"Oh...the Angel guy?"

He probably noticed the way I was staring. Okay, he was hot, but that wasn't the reason why...not really. I expected him to have wings. She did say he had wings. He saw me, and I cut it out.

"Oh, sorry. It's just that Betsy said that you had angel wings...so I was just looking to see if-"

Warren: "Haha..Oh, no problem kid. I can withdraw them now at will. I just keep them withdrawn until I need to fly. They have a way of ripping my clothes to shreds when I do unfurl them."

That would sure be great to see...uh the wings I mean.

Betsy: "Warren, this is the boy I told you about. You met his parents once or twice, remember. His father left the team just after you made your debut. Joshua...Element?"

Warren: "Oh! You mean you're...him and Julie's kid?"

Judging from his hesitation, I guess it was from the fact that mom got pregnant with me at fifteen. It did make me feel a little embarrassed at times to be a teenage pregnancy baby. I mean, sometimes I felt that people thought I was an accident, the result of fooling around or just the result of two horny teenagers who only cared about short-term pleasure.

"Um...yeah."

Warren: "So kid, what can you do?"

"Well, I got both my parents' powers. I'm multi-elemental, with psionic abilities."

Warren: "Don't take this the wrong way, but...do you have the same control issues your dad had?"

Betsy: "Warren, how can you ask him a question like that?"

Warren: "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I mean, he left shortly after I joined, but I saw what he did to the Danger Room once and.."

"It's fine Betsy. Yeah, I do. But I'm getting better at controlling it. Ororo is the best in the business, and I have...great friends who have been pulling me through."

Warren: "That's good. You're dad didn't seem much like the social type. If anything, he seemed a little...uh..."

"Anti-social and problematic?"

He and Betsy reddened slightly.

Warren: "Yeah... I mean, I could be wrong. I barely knew him."

Betsy: "Well, I suppose it was different with him. I mean, maybe he was afraid of getting too close. I had the feeling that it had something to do with his powers. He may have felt that he was a walking time bomb ready to go off at any moment."

Warren: "That would make sense. Well, it's good to meet you, Rick. So, what's your codename anyway?"

"Element. I figured I'd just take his. It's not like he's using it."

Betsy: "So, I heard all about the drama that went down over there. How is Amara coping?"

"She seems to be trying to keep strong. I haven't seen her since we came back. Maybe she's still in her room. As soon as we touched down I just rushed in and went to bed. I have to catch up with the others too. And then, I want to go see Jean. Do you know exactly what's wrong with her?"

Betsy: "Vague as ever. She says that she's all dizzy and nauseous."

"Hmm... I'll just grab something and go see her then. See you guys around."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I was walking down the halls heading towards Jean's room. I figured if she were sick, she'd lay up in there. I eventually found myself confronted with her door. It was labelled with her name. Which was a good thing as I didn't know my way around. I had never been to that part of the mansion before. It was where the dorms for the senior X-team members were located. I had the feeling that it was really supposed to be off limits to me as a student. I didn't think that even the junior members were supposed to be in there without permission. But I was also aware that because of my parent's relationship with Jean, Scott and Betsy, I had a little more license with them. I was there just about a month, but while most other students referred to them by their last names, I normally addressed them by their first. I knocked once and got no reply. I tried a telepathic scan and before I could ascertain whether she was in or not, the door opened.

It was Jean, but she looked like hell. I had to hide the slight shock on my face at seeing her. Nevertheless, she mustered up a smile and greeted me, pulling me inside.

Jean: "Hey, Rick. Nice to have you back."

"Nice to be back."

Jean: "So what brings you all the way up here? You miss me that much huh? What did you bring me back from Nova Roma?"

What did she think I was, one of those gay men who no woman could outshop?

"Um...nothing...we left as soon as the mission was completed. But I really came to see you because Betsy said that you weren't feeling very well, and I wanted to check in on you."

Her expression changed into something that I just couldn't read. It was like a cocktail mix of sadness, fear and uncertainty.

Jean: "Oh...well. It's nothing, I'm fine."

Call me crazy, but judging by her tone I didn't believe her. That and she must have been nervous, because I sensed that she was lying to me. I immediately started to panic. What if she were hiding the fact that she was really ill or something? I mean, Betsy said that she could have been faking it to get away from the cleaning. But this sure as hell didn't look or feel like a façade to me. And why would she fake illness. She was a grown up and very responsible...right?

"Jean, are you okay? Really, are you sick? Is that it? Oh my God! Is it anything bad...like really terminal or-"

She smiled a bit. Then it all changed and I could tell for sure that she was confused and saddened by something. I took a seat on a chair, expecting the worst.

"Jean, I'm a big boy. I can handle it. I won't tell anybody either. I know it might not be anything as serious as what you might be going through, but I trusted you to be there for me. Not that I might be much help at whatever it is, but it seems serious and...well, just know that I'm always here, willing to help in anyway that I can."

Jean: "It's nice to know, Rick."

"So what's wrong?"

Jean: "Well, remember that guy I told you about. The one I'm seeing, Jonathan?"

I immediately recounted how she said that they had a relationship, and that she saw him as often as she could. And how he was in the dark about her being a mutant. Did she tell him that she was a mutant and he turned out to be a bigoted scumbag? Had her heart been broken? She must have seen the look on my face and guess what I was thinking.

Jean: "No, he still doesn't know...but, I may have to tell him everything soon. I don't know for sure yet."

"Why?"

Jean: "Well, a little over a month ago, he was in town for a conference and of course I wanted to spend all the time I could with him. And we were... well, what I'm trying to say is...I've missed my period-"

"P-period?! Okay, so not something for a guy to hear!"

She smiled a little wickedly, a glimmer of her normal self shining through.

Jean: "Is this how you're going to be there for me?"

"Oh...you're right."

Jean: "I've missed my period this month. How much do you know about the female reproductive system?"

"It was never a topic of any real interest to me."

She should have known better than to ask me that. Hello...gay!

Jean: "Don't you do Biology?"

"I was always more of a Physics and Chemistry student."

Jean: "When a woman misses her period...it means she could be...pregnant."

"Pregnant!"

Jean: "Shhhh!! Not so loud. Yeah. I mean, I'm not sure, it could be stress related. I know that it sometimes messes up the menstrual cycle. And then my periods have always been a bit irregular and..."

She paused after seeing the horrified expression on my face, which I struggled to keep under control. It was shocking enough to learn that she could be pregnant without hearing all the gory details. But I got the emotional roller coaster that she must have been going through, and I knew that I would have to be a man and be strong. Or as strong as a man could be under the circumstances.

"Okay, well first thing's first. Go get yourself tested. And not one of those drug-store pregnancy-testing kits either. They're wrong a lot of the time. I mean on the soap operas, I can't count the times I've seen women think that they're carrying and it all turns out to be fake. Come to think of it, on the comdey shows too. Like on "The Parkers" once, Nicky thought that she was Pregnant and tried to get Professor Oglevee to marry her and...never mind. Go to a doctor...say, can you trust Hank?"

Jean: "Yeah. But I'm just a little scared. I hadn't planned on this, I mean, it's just a shock. I've been late before, but never this late. And then the morning sickness thing I'm feeling a little of now."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Jean. But, Jake and me had sex and neither of us can get pregnant, but you were all hyped about protection. Why didn't you-"

Jean: "We were just so out of control. And it was before you got here. I thought I had gotten away, that I just had a close call. And I resolved to never have sex without protection again. And I guess a little of that carried through to your situation. I was afraid that you could be at risk."

"Well, get tested, as soon as you muster up your courage. But don't be afraid. You could just be stressed out like you said."

Jean: "But what if I am pregnant?"

She was acting like a scared, pregnant teenager. I wondered if mom felt like that when she found out that she was having me.

"How do you feel about being a mother, Jean?"

She smiled, and it was sunny this time around. I could just picture her playing the part. She got all starry eyed and sentimental.

Jean: "I've always wanted to be a mother. I mean, when Julie had you and the pitter patter of little feet...well crawling feet, could be heard...oh, I think my maternal instincts were awakened all the way back then."

"Well, what's so scary? I mean you're what, thirty one or so? You aren't getting any younger."

Jean: "But the X-men, and the-"

"Does the concept of Maternity Leave mean nothing to you? So, you're an X-man...but you have a life of your own beyond the team. You can still help out if it turns out to be true. Just teach and take a leave of absence from the team. So you fight for the X-men's dreams, but you have dreams of your own."

Jean: "You know, it's almost like you can read my mind and pick out exactly what I would be telling you, if you were a teenaged girl pregnant with her first child."

"Well, you are behaving as if you invented the idea of getting pregnant. And besides, I learnt from the best."

Jean: "Hey! It's just that if I am pregnant, I'll have to tell Jonathan, and with his reputation... I don't know how he'll take it. But what really scares me is that I can't not tell him that I'm a mutant. Especially as this potential child runs the possibility of being a mutant."

"If he's man enough to make you pregnant...he better be man enough to do the right thing."

Jean: "You mean marry me? I don't know if I'm ready for marriage... I mean, if he's understanding, then yes. But, I don't want him to push marriage just because of this baby and public reputation."

"Well, like you always tell me, talk to him."

Jean: "I will. There's no choice. I can't just fly off to see him, so I'll have to do it over the phone. I'm not keeping this in; he might think that I was trying to hide it from him. And I will get Hank to test me. You know what, today."

"Good. And you know everyone here will be understanding. Obviously, no one will hear anything from me."

Jean: "You know something? I feel a lot better now. I'm glad you came looking for me. I can't believe how foolish I was being all this time."

"Me neither. It sure explains why you were so snappy when you thought that I was some wrong dialer when I called here. You almost cussed me out!"

Jean: "Come to think of it...you might have a point."

Back to the business at hand.

"Now, if it's a boy, you are going to name him after me. Doesn't have to be 'Rick', we could think of an appropriate derivative. Hmmm...Richard. Yeah that sounds good!"

Jean: "Richard? Hmm...Little Richie, hahaha!"

"Nice to see your sense of humor is back."

We did get off on that a little. It was nice how the mood was lightening. I didn't like seeing her upset.

"Or if you want something a little latin and exotic, how about Ricardo...ooh, that sounds even better! Got that?"

Jean: "We don't even know if there is a baby in the works yet, and you're already making demands?"

"And if it's a girl...hmm...how about-"

Jean: "You know, I'd think Jonathan would want to have an input."

"Oh alright. But at least put me down for the middle name."

Jean: "Okay, if I'm pregnant and it's a boy...you got it."

"Oh...I can just hear the pitter patter of little feet! Wait...if Jonathan's okay with this then...you might be moving away from here...huh?"

Jean: "Well, he does work at Virginia State...so, I guess. But you can always come visit. And we'll come visit, and then there's video phone. And you never know, what if he's cool with this and we can find him a job somewhere near."

I didn't relish the idea of my resident fag hag moving across country one bit.

"Yeah, I guess so. Whatever's best for little Ricardo right? I mean he's going to need his daddy and his mommy."

Jean: "Yes. Little Richie is going to have it all if I can help it."

"I think I'm beginning to see what having a baby could mean. But if this is what you really want and would make you happy, then go for it."

I left her then, and I could tell that she was feeling a lot better. She promised to go and get a reliable pregnancy test via Hank that very day, as well as not hold off on calling Jonathan any longer. I never expected to hear that Jean could be pregnant, but I was sincere. But it sure was an experience for me. It got me thinking a whole lot of deep thoughts. Disturbing stuff. Like I knew that I liked kids, no questions there. But I was all torn whether or not I wanted any of my own one day. But as I was gay...uncomfortable thoughts. I dropped the thought; I had enough drama on my plate without worrying about ten or more years into the future. One day at a time...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I knew that I couldn't avoid Jake completely forever. So I reasoned, keep company with everyone else and I'd be okay for the time being. He couldn't just up and drag me off with him. That would be too suspicious and he knew better than turning everyone's heads. So I was sticking around with Jubilee, Jamie and Roberto. The others had gone down to the subbasement to help with re-establishing order there, and I was in the auditorium lending a hand with them. My plan was working. Almost as soon as I had made my appearance on the ground floor, Jake had ambushed me and tried to take me outside where it was quiet. No doubt for that talk of ours. I had evaded him and went to help out with the clearing away.

Jubilee: "This is sucking major ass having to do all of this ourselves. We can't hire anyone to do it, cuz then it would raise suspicion on the school."

Jamie: "I don't see what the hell you're complaining about. I'm doing all the work."

Ten clones of him were currently running to and fro pushing aside warped metallic objects. They looked so melted that I couldn't even make out what they were originally. I guessed the Defenders of Humanity must have really worked a number on the mansion.

Jubilee: "Yeah... Well unlike the rest of you, my power ain't doing a damned thing to make this any easier. There are ten of you, Rick can levitate stuff and Roberto is super strong."

Roberto: "Hey! Don't be dragging me into this chica."

Jubilee: "Goddammit! I've already chipped two finger nails."

It figures she'd go all girly on us. She didn't quit though. And it was some time before I caught her staring at me with a knowing smile. Once our eyes locked, she broke the connection immediately. I knew exactly what was up. She was scoping me out, no doubt Bobby had talked to her about what happened between us in Nova Roma. She was his one and only fag hag after all. I didn't mind. Jubilee seemed to me to be the perfect confidant and adviser. So I just smiled back at her and eventually we both started laughing a little. Roberto and Jamie were looking at us like we had gone insane.

Jamie: "What's so funny?"

Jubilee: "Oh...just a...private joke, so mind your own beeswax."

Eventually, when Roberto and Jamie had cleared out she sidled over close to me. I couldn't help it. Her smile was downright infectious. She dropped her voice to a mysterious pitch.

Jubilee: "So Rick, how was your trip to Nova Roma?"

"We weren't exactly there for a pleasure vacation, Jubilee."

Jubilee: "But surely you must have some great experiences over there. Island Paradise, hmmm..."

I described the atmosphere of the island, where mutants were free to be themselves and weren't victimised. About the beautiful forests and hills. About the excitement of the mission, about the pampering treatment we received. Anything but what she obviously wanted to hear. It was fun to watch her grow impatient. In the short time that I knew Jubilee, one thing I learnt about her, is her chronic lack of patience.

Jubilee: "Enough with the games. You know what I'm talking about."

"But I've told you everything of interest that went down in Nova Roma."

Jubilee: "Do I have to beat it out of you? Hmm..."

"Beat what out of me? I'm sure that I know not of which you speak."

Jubilee: "You know, if you don't talk to me...I'll hound you like a bitch until you do."

I wanted her to just come right out and ask it plain.

"Talk to you about what?"

Jubilee: "About you...and Bobby."

"What about me and Bobby?"

Jubilee: "About what happened with you and Bobby at Nova Roma."

"Hmm...a lot happened there. You'll have to be more specific."

Jubilee: "Okay...well, about the romantic moonlight talk you two had by the pool...or about how Rogue found you two practically sleeping on each other."

Sleeping on each other?! It only looked that way! I guess Bobby really did tell her everything. Or so I thought. I did start talking to her, nothing too deep. I mean, it was a little tough talking to a girl about this stuff. And she was real cool about it all. But it eventually dawned upon me that Bobby had left certain parts of our encounter out. From the starry-eyed expression on her face, it became evident that she thought that we were already practically a couple. It didn't seem like she knew a thing about there being another person involved to form our own little love triangle.

"Uh, Jubilee...Bobby didn't tell you that I'm with someone did he?"

Jubilee: "Huh?! What...no he didn't."

"Oh...okay. Well I am...we're just waiting until I figure out a way to explain it to him. I don't want him to be hurt any more than he has to be."

Jubilee: "Oh...I see. I'm going to wring his ears when I see him. The way he talked...it sounded like he was a gay Cassanova or something. Like he just about staked you out as his and claimed you...real smoothe and player like."

I was stunned. Bobby had tried to act tough for Jubilee. Then I felt a warm blush when I realised how like him it was to act like the tough guy. I filled her in on how it really went down. She was laughing it up when I told her exactly how he acted when he saw my hickies. Then I told her about our "romantic" moonlit talk by the pool. About how melodramatic we both were acting. About how we were both crying like a pair of sissies halfway through. She really got a kick out of that one. Apparently, she never saw that side of Bobby. When I thought about how much cuter it was now that I learnt that he wasn't really a softy...I blushed even more. She actually looked shocked.

"So, when he was playing straight...and dating you...he never acted like tha-"

Jubilee: "He told you about that?"

"Um...yeah. He actually told me about how y'all used to mess around and stuff."

I was baiting her. She reddened. It was fun to see Jubilee nervous and blushing for a change. She was usually the one who made everyone else behave that way.

Jubilee: "Uh...what exactly did he tell you? I mean...we never did anything serious. But now that I see how much of a player he likes to think he is...who knows what he could have told you."

"Oh relax. He just said it was a little kissing and fondling. I was just toying with you. Besides, he told me that it meant nothing to him. So don't think I was trying to see if he was lying to me or anything."

Jubilee: "Yeah, that seems about right. I can't tell you how pleased I am that it meant nothing to him."

"I'm sorry. I just meant that I'm not holding anything aga-"

Jubilee: "No, I guess I should have seen it myself. I mean, all the while we were...you know...I never even saw him throw wood once. I always thought that I had found a guy who was enlightened enough to know the difference between love and sex. But I've gotten smarter since then..."

"Really... Well I feel like an idiot for not seeing it myself, so join the club."

Jubilee: "Once I took a close enough look at what was going on...it was easy enough to see. I mean he was acting like an old softy with you one minute, then whenever Ray was being a jerk and saying stuff about you...all badass the next. The way he treated Amara...how he shrugged off that accident in the Danger Room. The Sentinel thing... How he just seemed to be always rushing off to find you when you weren't around...yeah, there were a lot of signs. And a girl notices things. Like how he would always be staring at you...with longing."

"Really?"

Jubilee: "Oh yes. One time, I thought it was a girl behind you he was so enthralled with. But when she walked off and he was still glancing a half hour later...yeah, it was plain to see what was going on. He was lovestruck."

Blush, blush!

"So, Jubilee...can I ask you a question?"

Jubilee: "Yeah, sure."

Phrase it carefully.

"Why is Ray such a bigoted, homophobic jackass?"

Jubilee: "He's not a bad person. Not really. I don't know why he behaves that way. But I guess we've all got our faults, and that's his."

"You know, Bobby has made himself a promise to come out to his family and friends by the time he turns eighteen. And he's worried how Ray might take it."

Jubilee: "It might take him a while. But they've been friends since Ray came to the institute. But eventually, I think Ray will be able to accept it... in time."

"I hope so."

Jubilee: "So, when do you plan on coming out?"

"Uh...not to friends anytime soon. But my birthday is on Wednesday and my parents will be paying a visit, and I'm going to talk with them when they get here."

Jubilee: "Oh...yeah. Bobby did say that your birthday was on Wednesday."

"Yeah. And I got to talk to my...boyfriend before then."

Jubilee: "Rick, is this guy anyone from the school?"

She was starting to do that hounding like a bitch thing she mentioned.

"Uh...yeah. But that's all I can say."

There was an awkward pause, then she shocked me yet again.

Jubilee: "Is it Jake?"

"Huh?! How did you...I mean, what makes you say that?"

Jubilee: "I had an inkling."

"I didn't say he was."

Jubilee: "You didn't say he wasn't."

There was no point in denying it further. She obviously was a very smart and perceptive girl. Okay, a bit redundant. She was a girl. And since I knew that she was one to be trusted, I didn't see any harm.

"How did you figure it out?"

Jubilee: "Well, all I had was a hunch. And when I asked you just now and saw the way you reacted...I was convinced."

"You may be a little too smart for your own good, Jubilee."

Jubilee: "I'll take that as a compliment. So, have you decided on how you're going to explain this to him yet?"

"Not yet. But the crazy thing is...I think he knew about Bobby all along. If only subconsciously."

Jubilee: "Really...well, he is psychic. Or maybe he's just got super gaydar."

"We...actually had a falling out over it. And I tried to convince him that he was spazzing for nothing. And I know the first person he'll think of when I tell him...will be Bobby."

Jubilee: "Tough. So I take it you've felt stuff for Bobby for a while huh? Otherwise you wouldn't just up and end this relationship."

"I felt the attraction since I met him. Well, attraction is an understatement. It's so much more. I feel for Jake, but I can't lie to myself. I feel for Bobby more. I just thought that I didn't stand a chance. But I've been enlightened. Just because Jake is the first doesn't mean that he's the one."

Jubilee: "Good. No offence to Jake, but you know I'm rooting for Bobby all the way."

"Yeah...well. I don't want anyone to get hurt."

Jubilee: "I know what you mean. I saw the way he freaked out when he thought that feral Logan had killed you."

"I heard about that. I can sense how afraid he was about losing me. I mean, not just to death or anything, but to someone else too."

I told her about when Lance and the other Brotherhood goons attacked the mansion. And how he had tried to force himself on me and how Jake reacted to it.

Jubilee: "Well, I wish you all the best. Good luck."

"Thanks."

I decided to switch the topic.

"So, have you been to see Amara yet?"

Jubilee: "Yeah, first thing this morning. She seems all shook up. But she told me all about the drama that went down there. Lord...if it was me...I don't know how I would have taken it."

"I sense a change in her. I can't tell what exactly...but I feel that it's a good thing."

Jubilee: "Well, at least something good has come out of all this crap."

"So, you're going to see David?"

Jubilee: "No. They're bringing him back here, and he's stable, and with Jake here to do the healing... I want to stay here and help out with the clearing."

"Oh. Well, if he's coming back here anyway...I guess it's no biggie."

Jubilee: "Yeah. Kurt will just teleport him back. Poof!"

"I thought they were going to go like drive or something."

Jubilee: "Me too. But when I heard their plan, I figured that it would be okay if I stayed."

Just then the door opened and I thought it was Roberto and Jamie coming back again. But it wasn't. Jake strolled right in. I thought that I would be safe from him with Jubilee there with me. But when I saw the determined look on his face, I knew that I was mistaken. I had to get out of there and fast, before he caught up with me. If I left fast enough, I might be able to say that I didn't see him enter. The auditorium was very big, it could work with a bit of acting.

"Uh...I'll catch you later Jubilee."

She sensed my haste and glanced at the door. She saw Jake and instantly caught my drift.

Jubilee: "Here, use the side entrance. I'll stall him, ask him for a hand or something, scoot. But I hope you know that you can't run from your problems."

"Okay, thanks. And I'm not running away, I'm just waiting until I'm ready."

Jubilee: "Don't wait too long."

And I rushed out of the door. Hopefully Jubilee could stall for time. I knew it couldn't go on like that much longer.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

And I was right. It didn't go on much longer at all. I was ambushed. Didn't even expect either. I was at the end of the hall, and I swore I saw Jake walk down the stairs. As soon as the way was clear I dashed into my room, breathing a sigh of relief. It was only when I felt an arm wrap around me, had my eyes covered, and heard a,

"Guess who?"

that I realised that I had been played for a fool. Well, it was only until I heard the voice really. At first I thought it was Bobby, and I was a little upset that he'd do something like sneaking into my room when he knew that I wanted to have a talk with Jake first. I was about to turn around and give him a piece of my mind. Damned good thing Jake decided to ask, "Guess who?". I was shocked and spun around confused. Until I realised that he must have been determined to talk with me, and since I was being stubborn, fooled me with a telepathic illusion.

"J-Jake?!"

Jake: "Hey, no fair. You watched. You were supposed to guess."

"What are you doing here?"

Jake: "Well, we did say we were going to have a little alone time when I got back from that mission. And we left as soon as I did. Anyway, it's even better now that we're home."

"I'm a little busy. I'm...supposed to go help in the subbasement. With the clearing...there's a lot of rubble."

Jake: "Aw, c'mon. I wanna talk with you a little."

"What if I don't want to right now?"

Jake: "What is up with you, Rick? I swear I just don't get these mood swings of yours. Why won't you let me in?"

As usual, I don't think well when I'm panicking, and I was panicking alright.

"I-I don't want to mind link."

Jake: "Huh? I meant let me be there for you. Help me understand why it is that you're mad with me alla sudden."

"I'm not mad at you."

Jake: "Really, cuz that's the way it seems. You've been avoiding me. I mean, on the jet I made sure there was an empty seat next to mine, and you didn't even sit next to me. And I've been searching for you all morning and when I finally find you in the auditorium...you run off."

"What do you mean you've been searching for me all morning? You could have easily sensed me."

His voice softened.

Jake: "I didn't want to. I wanted you to see that I had more telepathic control now. I thought that maybe you'd see how serious I was if I looked the old fashioned way."

"You tricked me with an illusion just now. That's control?"

Jake: "I saw you skulking around the hall, and you were avoiding me. I had to talk to you."

I didn't know what to say just then, so I remained silent while I pondered the situation. He took the time to get closer and touchy feely. When I felt him stroking my neck, I realised that he was running his fingers over, my now healing, hickies. I recoiled a little, until I figured that it might be wise to have them healed. If I were walking around with hickies visible, people could start asking who the mystery girl was. It would be prudent to avoid any and all possible drama. The tingling that I'd come to associate with healing stopped, but his fingers didn't. They continued to trail across my neck, until I eased his hand off of me.

Jake: "Were you trying to tell me something, back in Nova Roma? After we had sex...you got all emotional."

"Oh?"

Jake: "You said that you loved me and no matter how crazy you might act, that I should never forget it."

I thought back and vaguely remembered saying something like that.

Jake: "And now that I think about what you told me, and how you're acting... Wait have you been avoiding me because of the mental link thing? Just now you seemed freaked about it. I'm not rushing you, honest. I don't expect an answer now. Ever since I brought it up you've been edgy."

I decided that it was now or never. I barely had any time left. And this was something that Jean said I was in my rights to do. Relationships should be built on honesty. Granted this relationship was going to be broken, but broken honestly. It wasn't anything nearly as serious as what Jean was going through, and she was being more of a man than I was about that. Time for me to grow a pair. I went over to the door and locked it. I could sense his exhilaration. He probably thought that we were going to have a heart to heart and maybe some messing around afterwards. I almost changed my mind, but steeled myself. I was going to be as calm about it as I could. When I turned around, he was already sitting on the bed, waiting. I went over and took a seat. As I anticipated, he his arm wrapped around me. I eased him off yet again and he sighed, frustrated.

Jake: "Why won't you let me touch you?"

"I want to have that talk now. The one you said we were going to have?"

He nodded, a little confused. But he kept his hands to himself at least.

Jake: "Yeah, sure."

Oh boy, here goes...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Bobby was writhing at the hands of Jubilee's vise like grip. The moment she got him alone, she strolled right on over and started pestering him about what really went down in Nova Roma. She had apparently spoken to Rick, and now she knew the real deal.

Jubilee: "Bobby, why the hell didn't you tell me that he was seeing someone already?"

Bobby: "Well it's not like he'll be with him much longer anyway."

That wasn't the real reason. He didn't like to admit to himself that Jake could have gotten to Rick first. So it stands to reason that he wasn't too keen on telling anyone else. When he told Jubilee his version-which wasn't too far from the truth-about what happened in Roma, he knew that she'd question Rick the first chance she got. He didn't see any harm. After all, Rick knew that Jubilee was his official fag hag, and all he had was Jean. It could be good for him to have someone to talk to more his level. And he was right, because Jubilee had gotten the identity of his boyfriend out of him. Rick still hadn't said a word about Jake to Bobby. The only reason he knew was because he spied on them. Jubilee must have gotten it out of him by craft. He thought that she knew something about Jake that she wasn't letting on. After all, she had stopped herself when she said that Jake had almost killed feral Logan back in Canada...when he thought that Rick was dead. But she didn't know that he knew about them being a couple though.

Jubilee: "So him and Jake huh?"

Bobby: "Did he tell you to keep that secret from me? When he confessed that is?"

Jubilee: "Um...no."

Bobby: "Dude must be so worked up with worry, it must have plain slipped his mind. He didn't want to tell me it was Jake back in Roma."

Jubilee was eyeing him piercingly.

Jubilee: "He didn't tell you it was Jake? But I thought if he confessed to me, he'd at least have told you. I mean, it's not like he's selling out Jake to a straight. You're gay too, you aren't gonna tell anybody."

Bobby: "Well he didn't, okay."

Jubilee: "You don't look too surprised though."

Bobby: "Well, maybe I suspected him all along."

Jubilee: "Well, Rick told me he thinks that Jake suspected you all along. But you? Bobby don't take this the wrong way, you're a bit dim. You didn't even know that Rick was gay. The most you probably felt then was jealousy at having your best friend spending time with his new best friend."

Bobby felt a little embarrassed...she knew what she was talking about alright. It was a hell of a jealousy too. He always thought that all he could have with Rick was friendship, so he wanted to be Rick's one and only best friend. And when Jake started stealing him away...jealous.

Bobby: "Hey, he was never a new best friend. He was just a new friend."

Jubilee: "Okay, so we can scratch you suspecting all along off the list. You knew without Rick telling you. How?"

Bobby: "I sorta did something a little...low."

Jubilee: "Hmm... does Rick keep some sort of diary or journal or something? Bobby, you didn't!"

Already jumping to conclusions.

Bobby: "Jubilee, that's just too...gay! Only girls do that shit."

She giggled.

Jubilee: "Too gay?"

Bobby: "You know what I mean."

Jubilee: "So how do you know?"

Bobby: "Well, it was after we had that talk out by the pool. It was the middle of the night...and they left our room and I kinda, followed them."

Jubilee: "You were spying on them?!"

Bobby: "I couldn't help it, I was curious."

Jubilee: "Yeah, well curiosity killed the cat. I know finding out something like that would get me upset. You better hope Rick doesn't find out."

Bobby: "Who's gonna tell him? You?"

He realised that what he did was wrong. And he didn't need someone stating the obvious to him, least of all his confidant Jubilee. He didn't mean to sound so defensive though.

Bobby: "Sorry...I just get a little freaked at the thought of him finding out."

Jubilee: "He won't hear it from me. So, if all goes well, you too could be a couple by next weekend huh?"

Bobby: "Yeah! Hey, we could all get permission and go out and do something."

Jubilee: "Hmm...you wanna show off your new boyfriend!"

Bobby smiled, it was the closest they could come to a public date. Yes, hopefully...if everything went well. Fingers crossed, fingers crossed!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Okay, this wasn't going as smoothly as I would have liked. I was trying to keep calm. Jake was pacing and mad, and he kept raising his voice no matter how much I begged him not to. The way he was shouting, if someone outside was passing close enough they could hear. I didn't know if they could hear what was actually being said, but they'd hear raised voices for sure.

"Jake, please calm down. Someone could hear you."

Jake: "You tell me that you wanna break up with me and expect me to stay calm about it?!"

"I can't do this anymore."

Jake: "Why the hell not?"

"Because...I think might be in love with someone else. I mean, I know I have feelings for him. And until I work through them and know for sure, it wouldn't be fair to either of us."

Jake: "What! You tell me that you needed some time away, fine. I could deal with that. But you promised me that you'd wait for me!"

"I know that. And I'm sorry, but that isn't a promise that I should have made. I can't keep it."

Jake: "But you said you think you might be in love with someone else. Why are you just dumping me when he might not even feel for you like that?"

"Because he does. He says he does."

Jake: "Oh, he says he does. I thought we were going strong. You came back to me and now you're just going to leave again? This guy, who is he?"

"You know better than to ask me that, Jake."

Jake: "You know what? I don't even need you to tell me. It's Drake isn't it?!"

"Don't-"

Jake: "Go ahead. Tell me I'm wrong!"

His tone altered from belligerent to pleading.

Jake: "Come on man, we can work through this, please. I know I've been pushing you...but I'll stop. You don't have to link with me anymore."

"It's not that."

Jake: "How can you do this to me? You know what I went through back in Canada when we all thought you were dead? Do you even care?"

"Of course I care. Please don't make this harder than it has to be."

Jake: "You didn't answer my question. Is it him? What's the harm in telling me who it is?"

"It wouldn't be right."

Jake: "Don't give me that! I want an explanation. And it better be good. Who is this guy?"

I reasoned. He was gay too. This wasn't like telling a straight who might have the temptation to spread it around. That and I felt that if I was going to get him accept it, he had to know and understand it all. I felt a little guilty about it. Jake would know for sure about Bobby, whilst Bobby had no clue about Jake. But I compromised, it wasn't as if it would be such a shocking new piece of news to Jake. He already had his suspicions. The first person he had thought of was Bobby. I figured that as soon as I was done with Jake, I'd have a talk with Bobby, tell him what Jake was to me, and they'd be even.

"It's Bobby."

I thought that he was settling down a little. That he was willing to listen. But when he had his suspicions confirmed, he regressed into his former rage.

Jake: "I knew it! I fucking knew it!"

"Jake, not so loud."

Jake: "I told you he was stakin' you out. You said I was being a jerk. Who's the jerk now?"

"I didn't know, I swear."

Jake: "Didn't know, or just pretended not to?"

"I said I didn't know! If I'd known then-"

Jake: "You'd have what? Run off with him before and save yourself the trouble of explaining it to me now?"

"I didn't say that. What I'm trying to say is that we're both real young and we shouldn't just assume that the first relationship to come our way is going to be the right one. The fact that I have feelings for him proves it. We could only end up condemning ourselves to a sham of a relationship that wouldn't be fulfilling to either of us in the long term."

Jake: "Where'd you get the complex psychobabble?"

"Why can't you-"

Jake: "Why can't you see sense? Maybe they're not really feelings, it could just be that you're attracted to him. I mean I get turned on by other guys too, but you don't see me-"

"No, it's more than that. You know I've felt stuff for him. You were the one who asked me that way back when, remember?"

Jake: "Yeah...I just thought I could trust you when you said you were over it. It's obvious you never got over your horniness over him."

"What do you think I'd do? Run off with someone because I'm horny. People don't usually do that, Jake. They might cheat behind their lover's back, but not leave him just for the sake of horniness."

That was the wrong thing to say. But oh so very true. I mean, take a look at the soaps. The cheater can only cheat if there is an outside woman or man in addition to the established lover. After all he or she has to have a person to cheat on. Usually the cheater has a fling but still maintains the relationship with the established lover...sometimes no matter how frustrating. He was suggesting that I merely felt lust over Bobby. And that was just so far off target. We were both getting worked up. And we had dropped our voices to a whisper, and it seemed that to compensate for the lack of volume, our words became fierce to show our frustration. I hadn't even meant to convey the interpretation that he picked up on.

Jake: "Behind their lover's back huh? Somethin' else you want to tell me?"

"I didn't cheat on you, Jake."

Jake: "You swore that there was nothing but friendship between you and Bobby. Look at how that turned out. You said that you'd wait for me. Again, a no go. How do I know if to trust what you're telling me?"

"Because you should know me better than that."

Jake: "I doubt I ever really knew you at all."

Fuel for the fire.

"Well, that's just one more reason for us to extend our boundaries then isn't it? But believe me when I say that I didn't cheat on you."

He went on as if he didn't hear a word I said to ascertain my fidelity.

Jake: "Now it makes sense. God, how long has this been going on?"

"Nothing went on. We just talked-"

Jake: "Talked... So how long has this 'talking' been going on? Wait... what about that time I caught both of you under that tree in the grove?"

His ability to jump to conclusions almost rivalled my own. Here's the rundown. He was under the impression that we had had a heart to heart then. That he had caught us...a fight ensued. I stopped him and shortly afterwards decided to slow things down with him, that I was contemplating breaking up with him even then. Then I went through a little guilt trip after getting lost with Bobby and decided to renew our relationship. I didn't even get to explain exactly when we had our talk right then because Jake started bombarding me with questions and it was all I could do to keep up.

Jake: "So what happened when you and Bobby got lost in that cave to make you feel so guilty? If you really were lost."

"Nothing went on! We were lost, looking for you!"

Jake: "Oh, and he was only to happy to help you with the search huh? Why didn't anyone else come along, why did only the two of you decide to search?"

"Cause Jubilee said that we could handle it."

Jake: "Jubilee? The same Jubilee who practically tried to tie me down to keep me from talking to you in the auditorium?"

"What? How did-"

Jake: "She radiated it out in her excitement. I didn't know why she was trying to slow me down. But I knew it had something to do with you rushing out. So, how much does she know?"

"Everything...she figured most of it out herself."

Jake: "Wait, she doesn't know about me does she?"

Oh dear...

"Uh, yeah. She does."

Jake: "What! You told her that!"

"She already had strong suspicions. The way you reacted after...what Logan did, kinda tipped her off."

Jake: "Does Bobby know?"

"No, he doesn't. I didn't tell him that you and I were together. I told him that I wanted to wait until I could have a talk with you first."

Jake: "Nice to see that you had my best interest on your mind when you two had your little talk."

I was sitting on the bed, staring at the ground, he was pacing a hole on the floor.

Jake: "What happened in Nova Roma? It's obvious something happened there. You just changed again."

"That's where we found out about each other."

Jake: "So that time we had sex...what was it? Breakup sex...one last time for the road?"

I suppose my telling him that I wasn't the boyfriend of the year...and that no matter how crazy I might act , to never doubt that I loved him...could have been interpreted that way.

"It wasn't that...but it did have something to do with it."

Jake: "How?"

"I was feeling weird after I woke up. I thought it had something to do with pushing myself so hard. Long story short...I went to the doctor. He went with me-"

Jake: "He must have been real concerned."

"He was. I didn't want to go, but he insisted."

He snorted.

"The first thing he suggested was that I go see if you'd be able help, but I knew that you were busy with the Professor, so don't start. Anyhow, I had to take my shirt off and both he and the doctor saw the...hickies."

Jake: "Hickies? You mean hickies caused all of this?!"

"No, they just brought out the underlying feelings. He started acting mad at me. That I'd mess around with some girl when we were on a critical mission...and we had a slight face off and then he disappeared and when I found him...talk."

Jake: "No wonder you wouldn't let me touch you...or link with you."

"I didn't know how to tell you. I knew you'd be mad if you found out about it, especially if you learnt it was him."

Jake: "I knew it. They way he acted...he was like a leech, like you were joined at the hip. And that time I told you I sensed something weird from him..."

"I told you we were going too far, too fast."

Jake: "We can slow down. We still have time."

"I have to explore these feelings, Jake. I can't ignore them, pretend they don't exist. I'd only end up getting us both hurt."

Jake: "Who's been giving you advice? Jubilee? Cuz I know she'd side with Drake."

"Actually, it was Jean. And she's right. I knew I always had feelings for Bobby, I just thought he was straight and I couldn't have a chance with him."

Jake: "So all this time, what was I to you? A distraction? Someone you just settled for because you couldn't have Bobby, and the moment you found out that you could-"

"No, it wasn't like that. I knew I loved you when we were together."

Jake: "Past tense already, sounds like your mind's made up. You loved me, but not more than him?"

What could I say? He was right and I knew it. I never wanted to think about it, but he was right. I could be truly happy if I stayed with him and kept hankering after Bobby, especially knowing that we might have a shot. That unhappiness would be transferred unto him. It would end up with us both being unhappy. At least if we realised that Jean was right, we might both have a shot at happiness...eventually.

Jake: "So I guess I know why you never wanted to link with me again. You were afraid that I'd find out."

"Yeah."

Jake: "But it was more than that wasn't it? You were afraid of me."

That was also a little true. He hurt me before telepathically, and that was when he didn't know anything for sure, and he didn't even intend to. But I still got hurt. And I saw how he attacked Bobby after the tree incident. And I knew that I was no match for him telepathically. I was afraid that he might try and probe my mind to find everything out, that he wouldn't trust me when I told him that nothing happened between me and Bobby. He stopped the pacing and sat down beside me. I didn't feel that it would be right for me to stop him from holding me that time.

Jake: "I meant it when I said it. I won't ever hurt you like that again. No matter how mad I might be."

"I just want you to understand that I'm not doing this cuz I'm just lusting over a guy or anything."

Jake: "Is this what you really want? It'd make you happy?"

"Yeah...I can't help how I feel about him. I think...he could be have been the first guy I ever really loved."

Jake: "And I was-"

"Guy number two. But you'll always be the first guy I ever...um..."

Jake: "Did it with?"

I nodded, he smiled sadly.

Jake: "I can't stop you from doing this, and I won't try to. I'm mad that you kept this from me for so long, but I'm glad you cared enough to talk to me first before you did anything."

"So, you're okay with this?"

Jake: "I wouldn't say that I'm okay with it. But I'll try to understand."

"Thank you. And I wasn't just using you to get my mind off him. I'll love you just as much now, just in a different way is all. You're a great guy, and you'll find someone without all these complications I've got."

Jake: "I just want you to know, if there's anything...if he ever hurts you-"

"He won't-"

Jake: "But if he does, I'm always here."

"I don't want you just hanging around waiting. Go out there and find the right guy for you."

Jake: "What if I'm still available and it happens?"

"Then your door's the first one I'll be knocking on."

Jake: "Can I...kiss you? Just one last time?"

There was no way that I could deny him a last request, and he knew it. At least we had sorted it all out. Thank you for the psychobabble, Jean!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hank: "So what can I do for you today, Jean?"

Jean had finally awakened her dormant courage and decided to just go down to the infirmary and speak with Hank. Two hours worth of Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach" had worked their magic. Since he had been almost like a father to her growing up, she felt a little weird. She didn't want him to be disappointed in her, and for a moment she felt like the pregnant teenaged girl in the song. And she was a grown ass woman! She paused a moment to reflect on how Julie must have felt when she learnt that she was a pregnant teen. No, Julie was strong, she could be too. But then again, Julie had a man to back her up all the way. Jean had yet to even call Jonathan and broach the mere possibility that she could be pregnant...and a mutant to him.

Hank: "Jean? What's wrong?"

Jean cleared her mind and started.

Jean: "Okay, I know how you had that talk with us when we were teens and all, and I know you said we had to be careful and use protection, but it was one time and...God, I think I could be pregnant."

He got startled and his bushy blue eyebrows did the signature twitchy motion when he was shocked. Jean immediately looked down in shame. She knew all about Hank's stance on 'promiscuity", and even though she was an adult, his upbringing had a profound impact on her life.

Jean: "I'm sorry. I couldn't help it...please don't think any less of me."

Hank: "What, of course not! But the first thing I want to do is have you tested for STDs. Of course I'm not mad if you're pregnant. I know how you feel about having children. But the way you were talking...that it was one time...you didn't have intercourse with a...well...one of Emma's male strippers or anything did you? I heard she threw a party."

Jean: "What?! Hell no! It was Jonny."

Hank: "Oh, Jonathan. Good, what a relief!"

Jean: "I don't think he has anything."

He was drawing her blood into a syringe.

Hank: "One can never be certain these days. I'll run the STD tests and the pregnancy test. So, how are you feeling about the possibility that you could be a mother?"

Jean: "Excited...and a little scared. I still haven't told Jonathan that I'm a mutant...and this possible child runs the probability of being born a mutant."

Hank: "Oh, I see. Well, these test results do not take a great deal of time to analyze. You'll have them in within the next four hours. So go think about what you'll tell him."

Jean: "This has just opened my eyes. I can't keep it hidden from him forever. This could be a sign. I'm just scared that he'll turn out to be one of those bigots."

Hank: "Has he ever given you the impression that he could be biased?"

Jean: "I can't even be sure. I never heard him express his views on mutants or anything."

Hank: "If he loves you, he'll be able to see past it. And if he can't, well you're better off and free to go manhunting for Mr. Right."

Jean: "You're right, you're so right."

Hank: "Since when have I ever been wrong?"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

David: "Whoa! Whose idea was it to remodel the place?"

David had returned by afternoon thanks to Kurt's speedy transportation, and was feeling just chipper after Jake got rid of the residual wound that remained. It was our first official grouping after the Nova Roma Incident. Everyone except Amara was present. She was still in her room.

Ray: "So I could actually feel their tech's electricity. Since there was no other electrical equipment working in the entire area...I could tell exactly where they were. I was the hero of the hour."

David: "Uh huh? You were just as stumped as everyone else. I was the one who smelled them and discovered that there were human soldiers in the trees. So I'm the hero of the hour."

Jamie: "None of you are. They got what they came for, remember..."

Roberto: "Shhh! Look, Amara's comin'!"

But man! What a difference. She had dropped her usual ostentatious air and was dressed pretty...normal for a change. She looked decent and for the first time ever, she was being looked at not because she was dressed skanky, but decently. And yes, she definitely looked hot when she was decent. I wondered why she never did so before. But I could tell the Nova Roma thing really changed her. She probably thought of her mother being a slut and didn't want to be "like mother, like daughter". She spotted us at our table and walked a little timidly up to us. I hoped she wasn't embarassed or anything, because there was no reason for her to be. She was nothing more than the innocent in the entire fiasco.

Amara: "Hey guys.. Nice to see you're okay Dave."

Ray: "Hey! About time you got yourself out of that room."

We decided that it would be wise to just avoid anything to do with Nova Roma, or the abduction. And Jubilee knew just the way to do it to.

Jubilee: "So Rick, what do you wanna do for you birthday on Wednesday, hmmm?"

It was news to most of them, welcome news. Any excuse to party hearty.

Ray: "Birthday?!"

Bobby: "Yeah, turnin' seventeen!"

He punched me playfully and I saw Jake look away, and I made a mental note to talk to Bobby as soon as time allowed.

"Yeah, seventeen."

Ray: "Arriiight! We are gonna have a party!"

"Party?"

John: "Oh yeah! Pull out all the stops!"

"And just where will this party be? This isn't a private home, this is a school. There are hundreds of students here."

Roberto: "So, they could all be invited. It'll be a rave!"

"I think you all are going raving mad. What will the Professor say? Have you ever had one before?"

David: "Well, yeah. But never anything big. But hey, first time for everything."

Didn't he hear me bring up the Professor?

Ray: "Hey, we could get like strippers! We went and missed Emma's party too.We gotta catch up!"

Jubilee: "Ray, we have just decided on those pornos of yours. Don't let us have to decide on strippers!"

John: "Strippers! Now there's an idea. Of course, we'll have to restrict the young'uns."

They all started staring at the fifteen year old Jamie. He promptly started protesting.

Jamie: "Hey, I'm old enough!"

Roberto: "You're not much of a man yet."

Jamie: "I'm ten times more of a man than you'll ever be."

Well, he was the multiple man.

John: "Haha! He has a good point."

Jake: "Nuh uh. More like ten little ones."

It went on far enough.

"Well, I'll simplify things. If there's going to be a party, people are going to keep all their clothes on."

John: "Aww..."

"No aww...my parents will be coming here on Wednesday."

Ray: "We could hide them."

Jubilee: "Ray...don't make me-"

Jamie: "Hide 'em...where?"

Amara: "Well in the movies, they always pop out of an oversized cake!"

She finally decided to speak.

"I mean it. No strippers! I can't let my parents think that-"

Ray: "What kind of excuse is that? Hey they gotta accept that they don't have a little boy anymore. You're a grown man."

I realised that with the exception of Jamie, Amara, Bobby and me, no one else in our group had active parents. I mean sure Jake had parents, but they aren't aware that they have a son anymore. So he's a virtual orphan. They could do whatever they wanted and not have to worry about disappointing their parents, or what their parents might think. I didn't have that (dubious) privilege. Of course, I didn't want to explain it like that. It would be cruel and heartless to do so.

Bobby: "Ray, it's his party. Here's a novel concept. How about we do what he wants to do?"

They looked at him like he'd grown a third arm.

John: "The birthday boy has the obligation to ensure that his guests are entertained."

"Who says?"

Ray: "Oldest rule in the book."

Roberto: "If he wants to get any presents worth a dime or more he does."

"So you're gonna stiff me on the gifts. Well I ain't a material boy, so no 'hos!"

Amara: "Yes, it's disgusting. Women having to parade their bodies wantonly for a dollar."

Jamie: "Hey, here's an idea. Amara, you could do it for free!"

Wrong thing to say.

Jubilee: "Jamie, I'm going to cut your little ass!"

Jamie: "Um sorry, Amara. I was just-"

Amara: "Oh it's okay, Jubilee. He was just being a typical annoying little boy."

Roberto: "But seriously though, about the strippers..."

Jake: "I don't think Xavier is going to let a ton of outsiders in here, far less for strippers."

Ray: "I guess we'll have to do the DJ thing ourselves too huh?"

They were really serious about having a party.

"But it's a school night. What about the noise?"

Amara: "We could have it out in the courtyard. Hey, it could be an outdoors thing!"

"Alright, no strippers, no alcohol, no-"

Ray: "No fun?"

They started laughing.

John: "Oooh, I wonder...pin the tail on the donkey anyone? Twister?"

More laughter.

Jamie: "Strip twister anyone?"

"Hey, we could have fun without alcohol and strippers."

Jamie: "How? Hey wait...we could all play spin the bottle and stuff."

The thought of possibly having to lock lips with a girl was not exactly appealing. The guys were all hyped though. Spin the bottle, what was it, a sleepover?

"What if I don't want a party?"

David: "You gotta be kidding. Why not?"

"Well, firstly I don't like the idea of a rave. Secondly, you guys are the only people I really know here. And thirdly, I may not have the time. My parents will be coming here and I want to spend as much time as I can with them."

Ray: "Stop being such a wet towel."

Amara: "Well, we could just have something small."

Jubilee: "Like an intimate gathering of friends."

John: "Okay, I'm really feeling the intimate thing. But not the small gathering of friends bit. First off, Jubilee's already taken and Amara's the only other girl in our group...so hell no. Rick, this is the perfect opportunity for you to score some pussy. I'm sure the girls would just love to blow out your candle!"

Ugh...ickie.

Amara: "God John! Is sex all you ever think about?"

At this point we all looked at her a little oddly. I knew she was a changed girl but... She glanced down a little sheepish, and I couldn't help but smile a little at how different she seemed. I never thought I'd see the day. John looked about ready with a comeback, but Jubilee pinched him and he was silent.

Jubilee: "So what about gifts? Anything you want in particular?"

"Nothing really comes to mind."

Jamie: "A Playstation 3?"

Amara: "Hello...Xbox 360."

Ray: "Hmm...money's always good."

Jubilee: "Well, if it were me...I'd go with jewelry all the time."

Ray: "Jubilee, we ain't shopping for a girl. This is a guy were dealing with here."

Lord, I'm so gay...the jewelry thing sounded - passable. Couldn't say that though...

"I don't really want anything. I've never really had a birthday party before."

They looked at me in utter shock.

"It's true."

Jamie: "Why not? I mean, we've only had small stuff here, but they could count for something."

"Well, I never really took an interest in making friends, so who'd I invite?"

I didn't like the direction this conversation was heading. I'd never ever brought up any aspect of my former life with them. The only people who knew anything there were Jake and Bobby. And they were a lot closer to me than any of them.

John: "Really? No friends? I don't believe it."

"Believe it. I was never quite the social butterfly."

Amara: "But why? You're a great dude. I bet you could have had a ton of friends."

"Well, people did try. But I just never really bothered much with them."

Roberto: "Why not?"

"It's complicated. But with my control problem, it was just best to stay low key. I mean if I became noticeable, all it could take would be a standoff with a run of the mill bully, and boom! Problem...see what I mean?"

Ray: "Um...yeah."

I shifted the topic away from my past.

"So, it's going to be small right?"

Jubilee: "Yup. It's your birthday. You call the shots."

"Good. But, are the adults going to mind?"

Jamie: "They never tried to stop us before. Besides, this is you we're talking about here. They're cool with you."

Roberto: "You get to talk to them on a first name basis."

David: "You are such a teacher's pet!"

"Yeah, whatever. This coming from the guy who can change into animals?"

I noticed that Jake and Bobby were being strangely quiet during our entire conversation, and when I watched them they were busy eyeing each other. Jake knew about Bobby and kept staring him down. Bobby was probably wondering why and staring right back. I didn't get any more time to analyze the situation because at that moment I saw Jean enter the room looking very distraught. She picked up a load of junk...I mean "comfort" food, and just left. Comfort food? I knew that something must have been very wrong judging by the look on her face, and the sheer amount of comfort food she took. Considering what we talked about earlier, I decided to go check in on her.

"Guys, I'll be back later."

Amara: "Where are you going?"

"Just...to deal with something."

Jubilee: "Hmmm...man of mystery."

"Haha. See you all around."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jean: "Where the hell is that chocolate fudge sundae?!"

She had dumped the cakes, puddings and doughnuts on the kitchen table and was tearing apart the freezer. I never thought that Jean was a woman into the comfort food thing. Although I knew all about teenaged girls and the cookie dough obsession. I reasoned, she must not get upset very often. If she did and ate comfort food like that...she'd be fat.

"Uh, I think I saw it to the back, just behind the ice-cream sandwiches."

Jean: "Rick? What are you-"

"Checking in on you. That's quite a stash of comfort food. You're going to blow up."

Jean: "Getting fat is the least of my worries, Rick."

"What happened?"

Jean: "I got Hank's results a couple hours ago. The pregnancy and STD tests."

STD TEST?!

Jean: "Don't be scared, I'm clean. And I'm going to be a mother after all."

"Jean, that's wonderful!"

We heard footsteps walk into the kitchen and Scott just appeared from nowhere. Where do they get off on doing that?

Scott: "What's wonderful?"

I just shut my mouth and looked away. Jean grabbed her chocolate fudge sundae and sat down with a spoon. Scott looked slightly pissed at getting no response from either of us and sat down at the table with a determined look on his face.

Scott: "Hey, I asked a question. What's so wonderful?"

I didn't know what to say. Lying to him when he was pissed didn't seem like a smart thing to do.

Scott: "Rick?"

{Jean, help...}

Jean: "Oh, what the hell? I'm going to be a mom, Scott."

The weirdest thing happened. Scott looked totally overjoyed and started congratulating her. Okay...since she was an ex...I'd think that maybe he'd be a little jealous. Especially how it seemed that he was begging her forgiveness for something the other day. I mean, she did say that Scott did not run off with Emma. But that didn't mean that he wasn't begging her to take him back. She said that it wasn't that, but come on. Every girl has her secrets and since he was the one to leave her...she could be playing stubborn. But Scott was acting all excited like he was going to be the daddy. But Jean didn't look to happy. She had more to tell.

Jean: "Yeah, and it looks like I'm going to be a single mom too."

"Huh? What are you saying?"

Scott: "Single mom? Jean...is the father that professor guy you go out with?"

Jean: "Yeah it's him."

{Jean, what happened?}

{Jean: I told him that I was a mutant first and he was okay with it. He said that no one had to know and he loved me just the same.}

{Cool. So why the long face?}

{Jean: He's not ready to be a father. He has a reputation to maintain. He can't have anyone knowing that he has a kid out of wedlock, and if he marries me and eight months later I give birth...everyone would know. The bastard even tried to get me to consider an abortion.}

"He did what?!"

I accidentally switched from telepathy to voice and Scott jumped slightly. He was watching us intently for a while and had no doubt realised that we were conversing telepathically.

Scott: "What's wrong? Jean come on, tell me."

She sighed and filled him in on the situation.

Scott: "Jean, you know that if you need anything, I'm right here for you, always.."

Jean: "What are you saying, Scott?"

"Oh hell, Jean. He's saying that he'll be your baby's daddy."

Scott: "What I'm saying is, you don't have to deal with this...you don't have to raise this kid alone."

Jean started tearing up.

Jean: "It means a lot to me. That I can count on you."

Uh huh. Real smooth...

Scott: "Now, if it's a boy-"

"Hold it right there, Scott. I already asked, he's gonna be named after me."

Scott: "Haha...what? Another Rick?"

"Hey there can be only one me. I was thinking either Richard or Ricardo."

Scott: "Ricardo? Hmm..."

Jean: "Well, I was planning to have a derivative of Jonathan's name. I was thinking of Nathan...but I guess I'm not going to go with that anymore."

Scott: "So, you're going to call it quits with him?"

Jean: "He can accept that I'm a mutant, but not bearing his child? Like I'm some dirty little secret?"

"Well, in a few months, you'll be a dirty, Big Secret. You'll start showing."

She was fighting back a smile. So was Scott. I rather have her laugh it off than pack on the pounds with the junk food. Or crying her heart out for that matter. Scott made to grab a cake and got a resounding smack on the hand.

Jean: "Drop it!"

"Cravings already?"

Jean: "Hey, don't be mean."

Scott: "So Jean, if it's a girl, what are you gonna name her?"

Jean: "Annie...after my friend."

Scott: "You mean the one that...from the accident?"

Jean: "Yeah, her."

Judging by the sombre looks, I knew better than to ask.

Scott: "Hmm...Annie. And if it's a boy...Richard Grey."

"Acutally, I kinda liked the sound of Ricardo."

Scott: "But her last name doesn't suit it."

"I suppose Ricardo Summers would sound better?"

Scott: "W-what?! Uh...I mean..."

Jean: "I am not getting married anytime soon, Rick."

"Um, sorry. I was just rambling."

Okay, what a way to make a fool of myself.

Scott: "Jean, you're not planning on keeping this kid in the dark about it's father are you. When he or she comes of age that it?"

Jean: "I have every right to. Jonathan won't claim it, and I won't have my child feeling unwanted."

Scott: "Well, we'll deal with it when the time comes. So, how long has it been...since you...concieved?"

Jean: "I'm about a month a half pregnant."

Scott: "You better apply for maternity leave."

Jean: "I can still carry out my duties for now, Scott. Just because a woman's pregnant doesn't mean that she's helpless."

Scott: "So when are you going to let the others know about this?"

Jean: "Hank testes me. And I guess I might as well tell everyone now. Good timing too, Julie and Joshua are coming on Wednesday."

Scott: "Oh, yes. Seventeen is it, huh Rick?"

"Yeah."

Jean: "But I'm not waiting that long. After all, I don't want to take away attention from the birthday boy. I'll start today and give them a call."

{Good, cuz you know how I love the spotlight. Can't have you stealing my thunder.}

{Jean: Okay Drama Queen!}

{Drama Queen!}

Scott: "So, have you decided on godparents yet?"

Jean: "Actually, I was thinking of Logan and Ororo. They're practically a couple now."

I started giggling uncontrollably then and didn't even notice the way they were staring at me at first. Jean and Scott had confused looks on their faces. I was remembering how me, Bobby and Jake had went out and caught them skinny dipping in the pool at Nova Roma. I couldn't help it. I could make Scott and Jean swear to secrecy.

Scott: "What the hell is up with you. I mean, sure it's entertaining but jeez."

Jean: "Oh, I get the feeling there's something he knows that we don't."

"Okay, promise what I'm about to tell you never leaves this room."

Jean: "Promise. Oh, this sounds so sleazy, I'm game."

Scott: "Well, I could use a good laugh, me too, spill."

Pretty soon we were all laughing it up like insane people in the kitchen.

Scott: "You mean...Ororo was...said alla those things?! You were spying on them in Nova Roma? Why the heck couldn't you let me in on it?"

"You're not a teenaged boy. And if Ororo had caught you...she mighta taken you for another spin through the air."

Jean: "Skinny dipping? At midnight in a pool? Hmm...I wonder how much those Defenders saw?"

More laughter.

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed that so much. Here's more...Logan cut us some slack. He reminded her that they used to spy on you guys when you came back home from your dates."

Laughter stopped.

Scott: "What?! The nerve of them."

Jean: "I knew it! There were times when I felt that someone was watching us."

"Oooh...more sleaze. So did Logan and Ororo see you two doing anything you shouldn't...hmm?"

The both started blushing.

Jean: "That's not-"

Scott: "For your virgin ears to hear."

I decided to be a little facetious.

"Who says I'm a virgin?"

Scott: "What the hell?! Rick, you haven't um...continued the Joshua Mckenzie tradition here at the mansion have you? I mean, if you've been...doing stuff...you're using protection right? No unexpected teenaged pregnancies...right?"

"Relax...Dad. I was just-having a little joke with you."

Scott: "So you're haven't-"

"No."

Not really a lie. I hadn't so much as looked upon a girl with lust ;) . Still, I steered far away from that topic for the rest of our conversation. It was uncomfortable enough when Logan brought up girls in our conversation. I didn't need Scott doing it. Although I was kind glad of the interest he took in my life. He seemed real nervous when the thought that I could have been having unprotected sex, and running the risk of getting some girl pregnant hit him. I was glad that he never ever brought up the topic of girls before either. I mean, Jean had asked me about girls when I first came. Logan had asked me if I wanted pointers on how to pick up. Ray had tried to hook me up with the teenaged sluts that were eyeing me when we went out. Amara had tried staking claim. Mom kept pestering me about if I found any nice girls at the mansion. And most recently, John had been trying to get me some pussy. I wondered if I could keep being gay a secret for long from the general populace. I mean, I had shown absolutely no interest in girls, not even faked. Ray, John and Jamie went on and on about porn. Ray and John boasted about their sexcapades... Roberto and David were scoping out girls too. Even Bobby had went through his playing straight phase to ward off attention. What if people started asking questions?

Scott: "Rick, your fly's open."

"Huh, wha-hey!"

Jean: "Haha! You were seriously out there. What's on your mind?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

Scott: "So, what do you want for your birthday?"

"Nothing really. Everyone's been asking, but I don't really want anything."

Jean: "Oh, come on. There has to be ^something^."

"No, there's nothing. Ray even tried to get strippers and-"

Jean: "Nuh uh. No strippers! We had enough to deal with after Emma hired her personal Chippendale crew."

Scott: "Hey, I know something you'd like for sure."

"And that would be?"

Scott: "How about I take you for a ride in the Blackbird?"

"What? I don't-"

Scott: "You didn't let me finish. How'd you like to fly it?"

Okay, so cool!

"Damn! You mean it? For real? But what if I crash it?! I uh...(blushing) don't even know how to drive a car."

Scott: "You know there are the trainee controls and the master controls. You won't crash it."

"Oh my God! Scott, you're the coolest!"

Scott: "Don't I know it."

Jean: "Yeah Scott. That has to be the most original one you came up with yet."

"Will the professor be okay with it?"

Scott: "I don't think he'll be a problem."

"Hmm...maybe I could get my parents to come along for the ride?"

Scott: "Yeah...sure. Why not?"

"Great! Who knows, there could be a pilot in the family."

Jean: "Maybe it's not such a hot idea. I mean, what if something comes up and we need the Blackbird?"

Scott: "So, we'll come right back."

Jean: "Scott, that plane doesn't exactly belong to us."

Scott: "No one can complain if we use it to train a junior how to fly."

Jean: "I don't think it's a good idea."

Scott: "Nothing bad is going to come out of it."

Jean: "Are you sure about that?"

Their tone had changed and it seemed like they were...well not arguing. But I felt as if they were keeping their voices down merely because I was in the room. Jean didn't seem like she liked the idea of me flying the Blackbird. And then she said that it didn't belong to them. Which I didn't get. I mean I asked if Professor Xavier would be okay with it, and Scott said he'd be cool. So what was the deal?

"Um...Jean?"

Jean: "Hmm?"

"What do you mean that the jet doesn't belong to you guys. Scott said that Professor Xavier would be cool with it."

Scott: "Well, I can't tell you the specifics, but the X-men are funded by some pretty high up people, and the jet belongs to them."

Jean: "Which is why I don't think it would be wise for you to put it to such a use. If anything went wrong-"

I was a little disappointed. I mean, I couldn't think of anything I wanted. And then Scott came up with what had to be the coolest idea ever and Jean was putting a dampener on things.

"Don't you think I could learn to fly it, Jean?"

Jean: "Rick...I don't think you're ready."

Scott: "That's a load of bull and you know it. He'll be seventeen."

Jean: "Yeah, Scott. And he said he doesn't even know how to drive a car."

Scott: "I'll be right there, at the master controls."

Jean: "I don't think his parents would like the idea."

I hadn't thought of that. I had forgotten about the feud that dad and him had going on. And I had asked him if my parents could come with us. What if they didn't like the idea of being in the jet with me at the helm? I knew they wouldn't let me go alone, that's why I asked if they could come. Maybe it could wait a while. I'd learn later if need be. Then they wouldn't have to know and no one could object.

"Maybe you're right. I mean, I forgot about my parents...dad."

Jean: "Good. There'll be other times. Hey, if it's anything, I'll take you myself."

"I know there'll be other times. Like say this weekend! I'll just wait until they go. That way, dad can't get upset."

Jean was eyeing me a little accusingly.

"Oh come on, Jean. It's not lying. Not really. Besides, dad don't know squat. He warned me about Logan. And turned out to be a good enough guy. he warned me about Scott, and he's not so bad."

Scott: "He's too...paranoid."

Jean: "He has a lot of bad memories, Scott."

"Well, I don't. I talked to Betsy and her fiancee Warren today. They said he struck them as a bit anti-social and problematic. I'm not going to be like that. They thought his control issues made him that way, and it makes sense. I'm not going to stay away from people he had problems with just because he thinks I might have problems with them and cause...goodness knows what. I'm not letting my powers drive me into a self-imposed exile."

Scott: "This weekend will be fine. Do you want to come along for the ride, Jean?"

Jean didn't answer at first. I hoped she didn't think I was going to crash us all to kingdom come. I mean, Scott did say that there was a master control that could override the trainee flight controls I'd be using. Then again, she was an expectant mother now. It was probably the maternal instinct to avoid any and all possible threats to her baby's life...no matter how remote or unlikely.

"Yeah, Jean. You wanna come along? I won't kill us all or anything."

Jean: "Yeah...I think I will. I'm a better flier than Scott anyway."

"Really?"

Jean: "Uh huh. I passed the flight simulator on my first attempt. He failed it three times before he got it right."

Scott: "That was ten years ago, Jean. I've learnt a lot since then."

Jean: "Nevertheless... I think I'll show you a thing or two, Rick."

"Wow, cool! You can do stunts and stuff?"

Jean: "We'll start small. But we'll have to avoid attention."

Scott: "The Blackbird has supersonic engines. How about we take a flight to Muir Island and back?"

"Where's Muir Island?"

Jean: "It's a Mutant Research Island run by a friend of ours. It's off the coast of Scotland."

"Scotland?! Haha...Scott-Land, okay so I'm no comedian. Oh my gosh...we could go to Loch Ness."

Scott: "Uh, this was supposed to be a flight training thing...not a vacation."

"You're right. Muir Island it is then."

I was hyped! I was getting to fly the Blackbird to Muir Island and back. Scott would teach me the basics and if I was lucky, Jean might show me a trick or two. Hell, I grew up on the Air Warrior Series of simulation games. Those focussed on World War Two fossils! I never could have imagined that I'd ever have the opportunity to fly a plane that was probably more advanced than most of what the military had to offer. I didn't really want anything before but Scott was right. This would definitely be something I would enjoy.

"How did you come up with the idea Scott?"

Scott: "Oh, well I remembered how your dad reacted when Logan offered to teach him to fly. It wasn't the Blackbird though. Back then, we had the Eagle."

"Oh, I guess I'm more like him than I realised."

Jean: "You do have similarities, but you're your own person, Rick."

"Uh...yeah. I just meant that I never realised how much I'm like him is all. Oh hey, look at the time! Gotta run, I told everyone I'd catch up with them later."

And I left. Now all I needed was to come out to my parents, get their love and support and it would be the best birthday ever!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Phoenix here. So sorry for the lateness! Happy New Year to everyone. This was supposed to come out earlier, but life's a bitch. Thank you to all the emailers and the posters! Feel free to comment on either:

phoenix_587@yahoo.com

Or

birdofflame_587@yahoo.com

And thank you to all those who sent me those encouraging emails. The idiot should be gone by the twenty-first of this month. I've also been working on a short. I plan on making it Final Fantasy VIII related. I'll be warping the storyline there too. I'll have SYLM (hopefully) out by Sunday. Bye everyone, and remember-stay safe!