Summary: FOH has risen to power and the X-men must fight against them or perish. The X-men must also battle their own demons.
Categories: General Characters: None
Genres: Romance
Warnings: None
Challenges: Series: None
Chapters: 18
Completed: Yes
Word count: 157772
Read: 21134
Published: 04-17-08
Updated: 10-08-08
Chapter One by Stormkpr
Additional Notes and Disclaimers â“
I donât own these characters and no copyright infringement is intended here.
Please note that I have tried to keep the X-men in character based on how they appear in the animated series of the 90âs. However, I have made Bobbyâs character a bit more like a blend of how he appears in the movies, the comics, and a bit of my own thoughts instead (and so obviously, his background here doesnât follow TV canon). I ask Alpha Flight fans to forgive me; Iâve taken much more liberties with this team and their backgrounds.
The story will alternate between being told in first person by Bobby and being told by an omniscient narrator.
This fic is somewhat similar to an X-men fic I wrote years ago, but I donât intend this to be a re-write. Rather, itâs a different take on what might have happened. And just so you know, I tend to write long fics and I do complete them. I canât provide you a âquick hitâ but if you donât mind spending time with a story, I hope you might like this one.
***
âEverything is the same and everything is differentâ -- unknown
Professor Xavier turned over again, trying to steady his mind and determine whether he was dreaming or conscious. His mind was receiving a jumble of messages and his sheets were slightly damp with perspiration. At some level, he knew that his discordant slumber had nothing to do with the Friends of Humanityâs rise to power and their overarching control, though that fact haunted his waking life. But it was two in the morning and the messages continued to assault his brain.
One of the messengers was Magneto but his words were indecipherable. Xavier knew that his old enemy had left earth on a starship, determined to regroup and amass the resources needed to battle FOH from space. Erik called out to Xavier, but his words were nonsensical and Xavier couldnât determine whether the message was a call for help or a warning.
The second communication was even less tangible and Xavier wasnât sure if the messenger was even human. A string of repeating numbers comprised most of the communication â“ Xavier thought they might be coordinates of some sort and had written them down last time he had received a similar message from the same mysterious source. By now he had the coordinates committed to memory. The only word Xavier could decipher from this communication was âhealingâ. It echoed again and again. When he dwelled on the word and the coordinates, a restorative feeling overcame him -- but it did not last.
Several hours later, Xavier rose from the bed and began to prepare for the day. He knew that further sleep wasnât going to be a possibility and he had much work to do. He soon sat down to breakfast with Cyclops and Jean Grey inside his spacious room. He shared his messages with them.
âThey do sound like coordinates,â Cyclops agreed, as he wrote the numbers down and decided that he, too, would commit them to memory just to be safe. âAre you sure this second message isnât from Magneto? If he left earth to form some sort of battalion against FOH, wouldnât it make some sort of sense for him to be giving you his location in space?â
âI cannot say why,â Xavier said, dipping his spoon into his oatmeal, âbut Iâm certain that this second message is not from Erikâ. He added, âBesides, Iâm sure that at this point, Erik wouldnât want me to find him as he knows Iâm certain to try and stop himâ.
Scott and Jean exchanged a look. If Magneto were trying to take out FOH, neither of them would have been all that eager to dissuade him or his followers right now. Perhaps a few years ago their attitudes would have been different. But a few years ago FOH didnât control the governments and media of every super-power on the planet. A few years ago mutants werenât barred from attending schools or speaking in public. Jean shuddered slightly; Scott noticed her fear and gently touched her arm.
After a bit of silence, Cyclops spoke. âStorm and I met last evening to prepare for todayâs briefing,â he said, of the X-menâs co-leader. âWe should be ready to go at 10:30â. Scott would have liked to start the briefing earlier, but he grudgingly had to be accommodating of the fact that so many members of the group were not âmorning peopleâ.
Xavier nodded. He saw expectant looks on the faces of two of his favorite pupils, and suddenly a question popped into his mind. He had been far too preoccupied with FOHâs dominance and his mysterious messages lately to notice that something had been brewing. In the space of an instant, he suddenly suspected the news. âDo youâŚhave something to tell me?â he asked.
Jean and Scott again exchanged a look and smiled. âWeâre pregnant!â Jean announced and failed to contain a wide grin. She and her husband reached over Xavierâs hoverchair for their hugs. Xavier offered his sincere congratulations.
âI am quite awestruck,â Xavier murmured. âYouâll be the first of my students to have children of your ownâ.
âWe know this isnât the best timeâŚâ Scott began.
ââŚbut thereâs never going to be a ârightâ time, not for us mutants anyway,â Jean finished. âIf we wait until peace and harmony is achieved between humans and mutants, weâll be far too old to have kids. We canât postpone the things we want to do with our lives forever. And besides, we should be able to protect our child, here with all the X-menâ.
âI still hope we might soon see the day when peace is achieved,â Xavier said quietly.
Cyclops and Jean had their doubts but they did not verbalize them.
***
âMorninâ Jubes,â I said, running into Jubilee in the kitchen.
âI told you not to call me that!â she exclaimed, swatting me on the back with the cereal box. Sheâs told me a million times, but I still say the nicknameâs kinda cute. Jubilee then rummaged around the refrigerator. âDonât tell me weâre out of milk,â she grumbled.
âYou know I wouldnât let that happen. Itâs right there, behind the orange juice,â I answered. Soon she and I were sitting down together, hurriedly polishing off our sugary cereal before bounding into the war room in time for the briefing. Hank waved at me when I entered the room.
I looked around the circular table and saw that everyone was present. In addition to our leaders, Cyclops, Storm, and the Professor, sitting around the table were Jean, Rogue, Gambit, Colossus, Wolverine, Hank, Nightcrawler, Angel, Cannonball, Forge, and Jubilee.
Our numbers were a bit lower than weâd have liked. We were still reeling from the loss of Shadowcat in battle against FOH ten months ago. Plenty others had run off and gone underground; some might have joined Magneto. I gotta say this was not the best time to be a mutant, and with Shadowcatâs loss, some of our fighting spirit has evaporated.
Oh, and then thereâs me, Bobby Drake. I used to be called Iceman, but you donât hear that name used much now. I live and work at the Institute with the others, but I donât train in the Danger Room and I donât go into battle. Iâm a non-combatant, I guess youâd say. I used to train and fight with the others, but I sucked in battle. I was a liability on missions, and years ago Shadowcat once got seriously hurt due to one of my screw-ups. So I stay here with the X-men even though Iâm basically on desk duty now.
I started with the X-men when I was 19 and Iâm 25 now â“ I stopped fighting a few years ago. Even though I donât fight, I do earn my room, board, and stipend. I was always good with numbers; Iâve taken several Accounting classes over the years and I do the books for the Professor each month on time. I also do what I guess youâd call Office Manager work for the Institute. If Xavier or Cyclops tells me to re-organize our files or to research and install new software, I get it done. When Xavier used to go to conferences and speak on mutant rights (nothing like that happens now), Iâd research the city and the venue. When we used to have students, I functioned as registrar. We do also have a part-time cook, but when sheâs not here, I do the grocery shopping (easy for me since I donât âlook like a mutantâ) and cook. Iâve also made the arrangements for every birthday and anniversary party weâve had, and when we used to be allowed to eat in fancy restaurants for special occasions, Iâd make the arrangements too. I make sure I earn my keep, donât want to get kicked out since I donât know where Iâd go. I guess I could try living on my own but I donât want to. Ever since my parents kicked me out, the X-men have been my security blanket
Though yeah, I am embarrassed that an 18 year old girl - Jubilee - trains and fights, and I donât.
So anyway, back to the briefing. First, we got an update on the FOH situation. Storm gave us an estimate of how many starships they had and how many outposts in space they ran. I guess if you could see a silver lining to every cloud, you could notice that we donât deal much with Sinister or Apocalypse or any of our traditional enemies now. Theyâve all more or less disappeared. Storm continued to update us on FOH â“ how powerful they are, how surveys show most of the public agreed with them, how they run everything. Itâs a miracle we donât all have ulcers now. And it ticks me off that the X-men spent the last several years protecting humans from your Sabertooths and your Mr Sinisters -- meanwhile FOH rose up and took over when our backs were turned and we were helping humanity.
âIt is apparent to me,â Storm was saying, âthat we need to increase our numbers if we are to defend ourselves against FOHâ.
âYes,â Hank added. âThere are only 15 people in this room, and there is a limit to what we can accomplish with only 15 fighters â“ pardon me, I mean 14 -- no matter how robust our powers may beâ.
Hank mayâve corrected himself quickly on his mistake, but still a few heads turned and looked my way. I was the only non-fighter in the room; even the Professor had taken part in several missions when necessary.
The conversation flowed on. The Professor added, âWeâve tried to make contact with Excalibur but I cannot reach them,â he said, sounding bewildered. The poor guy, he really looked stressed out to me. Over the years, Iâve seen a lot of X-men very successfully mask fear and pressure as they go into battle but I think all this FOH garbage really is taking its toll.
âMagneto and his group are gone â“ not that weâd want to work them anyway,â Cyclops added. I looked over at Wolverine. Obviously, given that we think Sabertooth is still with Magnetoâs group, Wolverine would never agree to team up with them.
The Professor shook his head. âThe number of mutants who are trained fighters, who do not suffer from emotional problems, and who will fight for the cause of good instead of evilâŚis very lowâ.
âAnd Alpha Flight hasnât responded to our attempts to reach them,â Storm said. âItâs really a shame that they havenât. They are the next largest group of well-trained mutant fighters. I think we are going to need to make an alliance with them if we stand a chance against FOHâ.
âSo thenâŚdo we know why they donât get back to us?â Cannonball asked.
I glanced around the room and saw a few looks being exchanged.
âThereâs a rumor that theyâre going to follow Magnetoâs lead,â Jean spoke up. âGet a starship of their own and leave, though they might not return and fight FOH. If you have enough dilithium, you can last for quite a while in spaceâ.
Someone muttered the word âcowardsâ under their breath. But can you really blame âem?
âBut soâŚthereâs gotta be more to it than that,â Cannonball insisted. Heâs either brave or stupid to be pursuing this line of questioning, I thought â“ but then again, he is the newest member of the team.
âMe and their leader donât get along,â Wolverine said bluntly, speaking up for the first time at the briefing. Iâll never forget the time that Guardian, Alpha Flightâs leader, tried to use force to get Wolverine to rejoin his team. And of course rumor had it that Wolverine had a total crush on Guardianâs wife, a crush that was not unreciprocated. Since Guardian and his wife, Vindicator, are still members of Alpha Flight, it would sure make for an awkward situation if we did team up.
âThere is also the sense,â the Professor began diplomatically, âthat Alpha Flightâs leader prefers to work on his own. He likes to command his own group and believes that if we were to team up, heâd lose some element of controlâ.
âGambit tâink dere be some competitiveness too,â the Cajun spoke. âLike he donât wanna admit that his team ainât as strong or powerful as we areâ.
âI think he sounds like a jerk!â Jubilee piped up. You can always count on her to speak her mind.
âJubilee,â Storm cautioned softly.
âWell, I mean really. We mutants are getting hunted like weâre criminals,â Jubilee flailed her hands, âand it doesnât seem like this is a good time to be playing control-freak gamesâ.
âThere are two sides to every story,â Storm countered. âWho knows what the real reasons are? Perhaps we X-men also could have done a better job over the past few years trying to build a bridge with Alpha Flightâ.
âYeah, well we had our hands full fightinâ Magneto and Apocalypse the past few years â“ donât remember them helpinâ us out much then,â Wolverine grumbled.
I looked at him and at Storm and saw their eyes meet.
âI am still bewildered at their lack of interest in at least communicating with us,â Hank said. âI believe that the Canadian government has already reduced or eliminated their funding now that FOH has risen to power in that country as well. I do not believe Alpha Flight has any millionaires among its ranks, so how will they maintain the resources necessary to train and live together?â
âUnless the rumor that theyâre heading for space is true,â Storm responded. âI believe that one of their members is not of this worldâ.
Cyclops added, a note of finality in his voice, âLetâs continue to attempt contact with Alpha Flight. They might change their minds and at the very least, it canât hurt to keep the door of communication openâ.
âWe have a few other pieces of business to discuss,â the Professor said, changing topic. âI spoke with Moira and Banshee today. Since their facility has been closed, they are finishing up some business in Scotland and will be joining us, along with their childrenâ.
A few muted cheers were heard at that announcement. I think that everyone likes Moira, and Banshee is pretty cool too. But her son Proteus is way powerful and really did a number on us in the past, especially Wolverine. We have to hope that his powers are under control.
âHow old is Bansheeâs daughter, I wonder?â Angel asked.
I noticed that Colossus leaned forward in his seat at hearing Angelâs question, and I had to suppress a smirk. Angel tried to make the question sound casual but I knew that it wasnât. I knew he was hoping she was at least 18. We have a problem here â“ we have more men than women. Weâve only got four women here â“ and, well, Jeanâs married and Rogue and Remy are more solid and happy together than ever (especially since she has a supply of inhibitor collars now â“ and so she can suppress her powers just by slipping one on). Jubileeâs an adult now but I think no matter how desperate the guys might get, they wouldnât go for her since they all think of her as their kid sister. And as for Storm â“ either the guys are intimidated by her or intimidated by whatever is going on between her and Wolverine.
And itâs not like the old days where there just more options outside the Institute. Weâve gotten so isolated, and there are laws prohibiting mutants and non-mutants from marrying or having sexual relations anyway. So I guess you can see why the guys practically salivate upon hearing that an unattached female will be joining us. Iâm sure that cancels out any fears of Proteus, in fact.
The Professorâs face was blank as he answered, âI believe sheâs about 17â.
I saw Angel try to cover up disappointment. Iâm surprised no one asked when was Sirynâs birthday.
Cyclops then said, âLetâs dispatch a small team to locate the Morlocks. We might not be able to work with them â“ but you never know. We should at least check in with themâ.
âIâll lead the team,â Storm offered.
Gambit and Nightcrawler volunteered to join her. I mused that we must be getting pretty desperate if we were even considering teaming up with them.
The Professor then smiled and the tension on his face seemed to relax for a moment. He said, âWe have business of another sort to discuss now. Scott and Jean have an announcementâ.
âWeâre going to have a baby,â Jean smiled, beaming.
The room erupted with cheers and congratulations. I was thrilled too. A law was passed last year barring mutants from âknowingly reproducingâ, so this was kind of a nice âf youâ at the government. Seriously, I know Jean and Scott have wanted this for years and I was really happy for them. This was kind of a neat thing; none of us had kids. It stirred up a bit of excitement for the increasingly abysmal-looking future.
âI will read up on childbirth,â Hank declared.
âDr. McCoy, I would be so honored if you would deliver this baby,â Jean smiled.
For the rest of the meeting, the team was reminded to maintain their training schedule and Forge spoke briefly about some enhancements to the Danger Room he was making.
As a final note, the Professor then added, âOne other item. I do need to also mention that Veronica will no longer be with usâ. She was our part-time cook. âFrankly, she has been harassed for working with mutants. However, Bobby has agreed to take over her duties. Thank you, Bobbyâ.
I smiled and then spoke for the first, and last, time during this meeting, âBut if the cleaning service quits, forget it â“ I draw the line there!â People laughed, which made me happy.
***
Not long after the meeting, Rogue and Gambit finished up a game of pool in the rec room with Bobby.
âYou guys know Storm a lot better than I do,â Bobby said. âWhat is going on with her and Wolverine. Did you see those looks going on between them at the meeting?â
âSure did. Iâm gonna talk to that girl!â Rogue resolved. âWhatever kinda cat nâ mouse game theyâre playinâ has to end soonâ.
The three found gossiping about their teammates much more satisfying than contemplating FOHâs dominion, and soon the conversation drifted towards Cyclops and Jean.
âGotta wonder why dey doinâ dis now,â Gambit speculated, after checking to ensure that the three were indeed still alone in the large room. âWe wanted dead by FOH and by half the public â“ not a good time to bring a mutant baby into the worldâ.
âSugar, we wait for everyone to love us before we do what we want with our lives, weâre gonna be waitinâ a long time,â Rogue responded.
âI agree,â Bobby added. âYou canât lead your life worried about what the jerks are going to doâ.
âDonât hurt to be practical dough,â Gambit replied. âMaybe dis pregnancy was a surprise,â he added.
Rogue shot him a look. âI donât think so. They are a bit older than us, Swamp Rat. Maybe theyâre thinking itâs now or neverâ.
âWell Iâm happy for them regardless,â Bobby declared as Gambit shot one of the balls into the side pocket, effectively ending the game.
âGood job, sugar,â Rogue purred, and placed a gloved hand over Remyâs mouth to give him a congratulatory kiss. Her collars were in their room so this type of contact would have to do for now. Gambit grinned unabashedly at Rogueâs expression of affection and his win.
Heavy footsteps were heard descending the stairs, and Colossus entered the room. âItâs time for our baseball game â“ you two are still coming, yes?â he asked.
Rogue took a swig of water before she and Gambit got ready to follow Colossus outside. âSure you donât wanna join us?â Gambit asked Bobby, knowing what the answer would be.
âNo thanks,â Bobby said breezily. âIâm a gay guy, remember?â
âWhatâs dat gotta do witâ it?â Gambit responded.
Bobby shrugged and wished them a good game.
***
You know, I actually have it pretty good here. I donât have any complaints with how people treat me, especially considering that Iâm so different from everyone else. Theyâre all fighters, and Iâm not. Theyâre all straight and Iâm not.
Occasionally some of the others â“ Storm, Gambit, Hank and especially the Professor â“ would encourage me to go back to training, to try again to use my powers âfor the good of humanityâ. Theyâd tell me I should hit the Danger Room, my mutation could be a really powerful weapon, and on and on. I always shrugged them off.
Cyclops never asked me to train after I stopped doing so but hey, who can blame him? He led the missions that I screwed up on in the early years.
One year for my birthday, Hank got me this book about this guy whoâd been a decorated war vet but was gay â“ I kinda wonder if he was trying to give me a subtle message there. I didnât even read it, Iâm such a slacker.
But like I said, Iâm so different than everyone else but they treat me just fine here. In the non-mutant world, the social circle for most gay guys consists of other gay guys and straight women. I live as an X-man though, so my social circle is different. I mean, I live with a dozen straight guys and a few women (who are also all straight, not that that matters when it comes to girls). The women are, unsurprisingly, totally cool with me. Iâm friends with them pretty much all of them, closest to Jubilee and Rogue, but Jean and Storm are great too. As for the straight guys here, theyâre okay. None of them are openly rude to me and all are at least polite on the surface, though there are some I know who arenât totally comfortable with homosexuality in general (*cough* Cyclops, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Angel *cough*) â“ but even those are still fine to interact with. There are a few guys here who I donât think have a homophobic bone in their bodies so, needless to say, Iâm closer to them. Hank, Gambit.
After I came out, the Professor checked in with me a few times and asked how the others were treating me. I had nothing to complain about. I donât join them when they play sports, but when small groups go out to the movies or a museum I get asked along and I usually go. Before mutants got banned from seeing Broadway shows, I went with the others to a few. The guys have all even gone out for beers a few times -- usually done when the women are at a mall or the salon together â“ and when Wolverine, Gambit, and Cyclops arenât trying to kill each other -- and they invite me along too.
Actually one time Cyclops, Wolverine, and Gambit did practically try to kill each other during our beer night, but Iâll tell that story some other time. I actually rescued that scenario with my sense of humor, and when youâre a wimp no one beats you up if you âaccidentallyâ spill a pitcher of beer on others. Theyâre all used to my screw-ups anyway.
So anyway, you could take the most militant gay activist, show them a video of my life surrounded by straight people at the mansion, and the activist would agree thereâs no mistreatment going on. There was once when Colossus misused a term and said something that could be considered offensive, but Storm corrected him and he said he was sorry. English isnât his first language.
I should add too that I donât lead the life of a celibate monk. Thereâs a gay bar in town and I go there about once a week or so. Iâve seen the inside of lots of guysâ vans and apartments, and thereâs one guy I hook up with regularly, just for sex. None of them know Iâm a mutant; the guy I hook up with is actually married with kids. We always play safe. I try to be very discreet and I hope the other X-men donât know that Iâm going out and having meaningless sex with guys I donât know. Iâd be mortified if they knew what I like in bed, if they knew I was a bottom â“ though I guess if any of them have dwelled on it they could probably figure it out.
So with the bars, Iâm having fun and all but itâs not really what I want. Once I even stopped going for a while and was celibate for about 6 months. Physical needs made me go back but I tell you, emotionally Iâm not getting what I want. I donât go as often anyway now; if one of them figures out that Iâm a mutant (sometimes you can lose control of your powers a bit when youâre experiencing something intense), I could get in a lot of trouble.
One last thing, since Iâm baring my soul to you on my sexuality. During the briefing today, my ears perked up when Alpha Flight was mentioned because I knew they had a gay member. A few years ago, Wolverine was in a friendly mood and was telling us a bit about his adventures in Alpha Flight, and he looked at me and mentioned that Northstar was âa gay guyâ. I really really wanted to meet another gay mutant. I shouldâve extended myself and found a reason to contact him, but lazy and shy dork that I am, I didnât.
***
Storm took a deep breath and inhaled the fresh air. She had no need to use her powers today â“ the sun was shining, a cool breeze flowed, and the grounds of the Institute still boasted flowers and scenery worthy of a painting. A nagging voice in the back of her mind questioned, âWhy are we playing baseball when thereâs so much to do now?â but she silenced it with a retort: âBecause we need to relax every now and then or we wonât be productive. Thereâs not a lot we can do right now anywayâ.
The game wound down, and Storm began to make her way back to the mansion, trailing the others. She soon turned, though, feeling a tug from inside. She spun around and walked towards the flower garden, the place of tranquility where she had spent so many hours cultivating flowers and greenery. She walked towards it, savoring the beauty of the flowers and their multitudes of colors and shapes.
âYou do a nice job on thisâ.
Storm tried to mask the emotions that streamed through her insides at hearing Wolverineâs voice. No, it was not the Canadianâs voice that caused a reaction but rather the subtle shift in *tone* that had been occurring lately, Storm noticed, whenever he spoke to her. It was the almost gentle tone that he had previously used only when speaking to Jean Grey.
âWell, thank you, Logan,â Storm responded, turning to look at him. She added, musing, âThis world is such a troubled place, but beauty such as this,â she gestured to the rose bush, âstill exists and even thrivesâ.
âYou got a poetic streak in you, darlinâ,â Wolverine teased, a slight smile on his face. âGuess Beast ainât the only oneâ.
Storm observed that Logan, too, clearly took pleasure in natureâs splendor. Fleetingly she considered asking whether he would like to go camping with her one day, but the words to form the question werenât presenting themselves.
Before Storm could say anything, Wolverine abruptly changed topic. âYou need help on the Morlock mission?â
âI appreciate the offer, but I think that for this one, a small team will be more than adequate. Nightcrawler, Gambit, and I will do wellâ.
âWhat about your claustrophobia?â he asked, again his voice sounding so unusual because a certain gentleness eased the bluntness of the question.
âWell, Logan, I strongly feel that I need to face my fears straight on if I am ever to conquer them. I struggled the last few times we had to search the tunnels, I wonât deny it, but I feel that I am up to the challengeâ.
Storm noticed a glint of admiration in Wolverineâs eyes. The excitement coursing through her insides picked up in intensity. There was so much she wanted to ask Wolverine. Did the news of Jeanâs pregnancy impact him, was he accepting the fact that Jean would never be his? Or had he reached that decision a few years ago, at the wedding? Her eyes then narrowed slightly, wondering why Wolverine had brought up her claustrophobia. Was it concern for her or did he need to feel protect and be stronger than any woman in whom he was interested? Inwardly, Storm shook her head. She still was not certain that he *was* interested in her, though she know her own feelings on the subject.
âWell lemme know if you change your mind. Good luck,â Wolverine offered and then took his leave of her.
Storm remained in the garden, in contemplation. Thoughts of Logan were not the only ones swirling around her mind. She meant it when she had remarked on both the beauty and the strife of the world. âThe earth could be such a paradise but we make it into such a hell. Am I foolish for feeling safe here? Can I blame the mutants who have gone underground or left for space?â
Dimly, Storm heard footsteps.
âSo does he finally got his damn fool head outta his butt??â
Storm laughed and shook her head. âRogue, I hardly feel that question is phrased appropriatelyâ.
Rogue shrugged. âJust wonderinâ whatâs goinâ on with you two. Everyone can see the way you look at each otherâ.
Storm placed a hand on her friendâs shoulder. Rogue wondered if Storm was truly at a loss for words, as a few moments went by in silence.
Storm finally said, âYou know that when I have something to share with you, Iâll share it.â
Rogue actually doubted her friendâs words; Storm kept her emotions in such a lockbox. Rogue briefly marveled at the control it would take to keep oneâs emotions under wraps at all times. She could never do it.
âBut for now,â the Wind Rider continued, âthe only exciting romantic gossip taking place here is watching the men get excited over Sirynâs impending arrivalâ.
âAnd them wonderinâ if sheâs of legal age,â Rogue rolled her eyes, though she did have some empathy for her male teammatesâ frustration at the difficulty in finding female companionship.
âThe other men are simply not as lucky as Remy,â Storm stated.
âAnâ I wonât let him forgit it!â
***
TO BE CONTINUED
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