Series: Seasons Change (vol.1)
Category: AU
Summary: Ororo’s & Charles’ talk leads to a walk down memory lane; Scott and ‘Ro talk; Ororo gets a bright idea that may lead her into trouble…
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of the X-Men or any other Marvel characters that may or may not pop up in the course of this fic. There are several original characters introduced for the sake of the story, which are of my own creation, whose identities will be obviously apparent from trademarked entities belonging to Marvel. No offense is intended by the use of Marvel properties, and no $$ gleaned from this story. Just havin' some fun.
Feedback: Please, and thank you. If you have a comment on the pace of the fic or any other aspect, please let me know. I think I’m doing alright, but then, I know how this all ends, so that hardly seems fair. Just let me know if I’m keeping your collective attentions:)
Dedication: To Jasmine33 and NemesisBecoming (You guys know why)
A Summer of Sunsets
Chapter #4, "First Impressions ", pt. 2
Southampton beach
Xavier Estate
7:40 a.m…
Charles twisted the caps back onto his Rx bottles, having already taken the dosages out of each. Inwardly he was glad to have to endure the painful shot only once a day, although lately his system seemed to be acclimating to the powerful narcotic…
Grimacing, he shook away that thought, and palmed the first 3 pills of a total of 9. Reaching for his glass of water, he popped the medication into his mouth, and chased them with a large gulp.
“Dad? Are you up yet?” Came the deep, slightly sleepy call through the bedroom door.
As Charles reached for the next series of pills, he glanced toward the door. *Come in, Henry.*
Slowly the door opened, and Hank’s blue-furred head popped in first, a grin on his face. “Ah, good. You’re already beginning the day’s regime. I’ll just be a moment or two to take your vitals.”
Charles crossed his arms over the thick comforter covering his body, managing to look years younger as he gave his son the closest thing he could manage to a pout. “Henry, I told you last night, I am fine. I simply cannot waiver on the designated times to take the medicine.”
As Hank opened the door wider, he ignored his father’s excuses as well as his surprised expression upon seeing the various medical instruments Hank had not-so-coyly crammed into his lab coat’s pockets. “All the same, dad, just humor me then, alright? Let me perform a few tests…”
“And just what do you think you are going to do with all of those??” Charles raised a skeptical brow at Hank’s fat pockets.
Henry reached the bed, and leaned over to help his father sit up. “Oh, nothing…”
“Nothing, indeed…” Charles scoffed (sort of) playfully, as his muscular son easily lifted him off the bed and into the wheelchair waiting by the bedside. “If you think for one moment to try testing some of those gadgets of yours on me, Henry Peter McCoy, we may have a problem.”
Dark blue eyes twinkled as the young doctor tried not to chuckle at the thinly-veiled ‘threat’. It was a very familiar song and dance he and Charles engaged in; since Hank had become his son Charles had done nothing but continually encourage the boy’s inquisitive mind and obsession with inventions. Charles just didn’t want to be the lab rat for Hank’s next “uniquely adventurous discovery”.
“Fair enough.” Hank patted his dad’s right arm, and Charles unbuttoned the end of his pajama sleeve, rolling it up above the elbow. “I shall have to be content with a BP check then, I suppose.”
“Thank you, Henry.”
“For now.”
Charles let that pass, as he knew sooner or later (probably later that day) he’d have to succumb to Hank’s prodding, and go in for more tests. Logically, rationally, the Professor knew that staying one step ahead of the disease was the best option available right then to give him more time…However, at that moment, Hank couldn’t blame him for wanting to continue to live on in ignorance for a little while longer.
Knock. Knock. “May I come in?”
Charles couldn’t see over Henry’s broad shoulder, but then, he didn’t really need to. “Of course, Ororo.”
As Hank finished taking their dad’s blood pressure, he stood and quietly excused himself, squeezing Ro’s shoulder in greeting and goodbye. Closing the door with him, he whispered, “I’ll be back later, dad.”
Charles nodded briefly, keeping his eyes fixed on Ororo. She stood a respectful distance from him, her hands clasped before her tightly as she struggled not to keep bowing her head.
The silence between them was palpable, and as Charles settled against the back of his chair, he said suddenly, “Good God, you are a mess.”
Initially she didn’t get it, and it was only after he allowed a slight grin that ‘Ro relaxed, a sort of crooked smile forming at the corners of her lips as well. “Thank you for noticing.”
Charles’ serious gaze returned however, and he sort of cocked his bald head to one side, asking (quite genuinely), “Do you feel better?”
‘Ro seemed to contemplate that for a long time, and finally, after several more seconds, stepped closer to him, coming down to her knees. They stared at one another intently for a long while. Charles saw the sometimes impetuous but always empathetic young girl he’d adopted more than 2 decades ago. ‘Ro couldn’t bear the thought of ever waking to the knowledge she’d never see her father again.
He saw her full bottom lip quiver slightly, and at the same time she leaned into him, Charles’ arms were already open for the embrace. She clung to him for dear support, and as her sobs became audible, Charles gently stroked her messy hair, and tried his best not to weep himself.
*I’m…I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…* Her thoughts seemed a jumble to him, but Charles concentrated a little harder, and reached out to mentally soothe her chaotic psyche.
*Ororo, it’s alright. It’ll be alright…* He looked up briefly, a little concerned, as a cluster of dark cumulus clouds drifted overhead outside the window.
She raised her head then, and smiled weakly. Even in these circumstances, and in his present condition, her father still knew how to comfort her fears.
*…Can my little Princess do something for me?* Charles tilted her chin up so their eyes met.
*Anything.*
He smiled. *I need you to be strong, Ororo. Maybe now, more than ever. Marie is going to need you, just like ‘Beth and Hank, and the others.*
She wavered for a moment, shifting beneath his intent gaze. *Dad, I…*
*You can do this, Ororo. Please, for me?*
Nodding, she willed her emotions back into check, the skies outside brightening immediately. With a deep sigh she laid her forehead just beneath his jaw line, and could feel his pulse strong there in the neck. Barely a whisper she repeated, “Anything.”
Hugging her tightly, Charles smiled somberly, as he recalled a time long ago that he asked her to do much the same thing, but for very different reasons…
24 Years Ago…
Salem Center, Westchester County, NY
4:03 a.m…
Shifting quietly in the oak wood rocking chair, Charles tried to get his left arm to “wake” up from its numb slumber without disturbing the sleeping child in his arms. Her wavy white head naturally fit into the crook of his elbow, her flawless cherubim features finally at rest.
He sighed with relief when she didn’t stir, as he rotated his wrist and pumped his fingers to get the feeling back. After the rough night they’d had, he was just glad she’d managed to sleep at all, and prayed that for once, the young girl would be able to sleep through the night.
He hadn’t had Ororo back in the States for a full seven months yet, following the tragic deaths of her birth parents, and still the little one found it increasingly difficult to adjust to her new life.
However, this was also brand new to Charles Xavier as well, who’d had no children, no wife”just a challenging job with the State Department assisting a U.N. Ambassador, and the will to give this his best shot. Looking down into her fitfully resting face, he still had to admit he was surprised how drastically his life had changed in the course of a few months. He was a father now. He was someone’s dad. And not just anyone, he mused, continuing to rock slowly back and forth in the chair his grandmother had rocked him to sleep in. He was the proud father of one of the most gifted, beautiful, brightest, challenging, mysterious and infuriating little five year olds he’d ever met.
Everyday with little Ororo had proven to be a challenge”some good, some not so good”but Charles knew with each passing day that he’d done the right thing. Not that the court system had made it any easier for him, initially blocking his adoption of the homeless orphan. And most of his friends and co-workers thought he was mad (except Erik), but that negative reinforcement only served, oddly enough, to push him harder.
Using some of the fortune his parents had bequeathed him, Xavier set out to bring the young girl back to the U.S. with him after his job in North Africa was finished; discovering her father had been a U.S. citizen was the biggest break Charles and his lawyers could have hoped for, and helped his case dramatically.
As the small child began to struggle in her sleep, Charles was momentarily distracted from his thoughts, and brought a hand up to her pouting cheek, caressing it slowly and shushing her back to sleep till she stilled once more.
His thoughts returned inward, and Charles chuckled softly, recalling the initial reaction to those around him once he stated his intent of adoption. The State officials and caseworkers in NY’s DCFS* were hesitant to allow this young, unmarried, fresh-faced white man to adopt the girl, but at the same time they were puzzled what to make of the little blue-eyed, white-haired African-American. Charles, on the other hand, had already suspected the young girl was more than special, and as he’d learn a few short years later was more than right…
“Mm…Mama…”
He was startled out of his thoughts again, as she began to struggle harder in her sleep. He tried to soothe her unconscious terror, but it only escalated. With their physical proximity he could easily feel the terror she was no doubt reliving, and would’ve given anything to take it away.
As he reached a hand up to her cheek, little Ororo’s eyes snapped open, bewilderment and panic on her face. She seemed unaware of where she was, and confused the darkened nursery and the embrace she was in as a different time, a different place.
Before he could calm her, she’d struggled out of his arms, rolling to the floor with a solid thmp and scrambled to the full-sized bed nearby, her eyes wide as she muttered unintelligible things in Swahili and English.
“Ororo? Ororo, it’s okay, it was just a dream.” He tried to reason with her, stepping cautiously over to the bed. When he neared her, though, she whimpered as if she’d been struck, raising one small arm above her face as if to block a blow.
‘Or falling debris…’ Charles stopped in his tracks, surmising that she was still evidently caught in some kind of night-terror, between her nightmare’s world and this still unfamiliar reality.
Ororo’s audible distress intensified, as her bulging eyes quickly bounced around the room, and she kept looking up at the bed’s frilly canopy as if she expected it to fall in upon her at any moment. Realizing she was paralyzed with the claustrophobic fear, Charles tried a different approach, kneeling beside the bed so his eye level was no longer above hers.
Hoping she would be able to understand him, he tested out his rusty Swahili. [Ororo…wake up, little one. You are safe…]
Her gaze darted from the canopy to him, and he could clearly tell she doubted that. [It hurts…] Her raspy little voice trembled.
[What hurts?] He slid forward slowly.
[…The Dark. It hurts.]
“Shhhh…” He chose then to reach a hand out to her, as a tear finally broke through to slide down her cheeks. When his fingers came in contact with her feverish skin, the flood of images that rushed forth nearly knocked Charles on his ass. He could ‘see’ and ‘feel’ the torment that kept pressing down upon her, as flashes of her nightmare”no doubt stemming from the actual event”replayed again and again.
Grasping her trembling hand, he tentatively pressed against the chaotic aura that was her fragile young mind, until she could ‘feel’ his presence beside her, within her head. Carefully so as not to further confuse her, he picked her up within the nightmare, holding her close in comfort. The debris and destruction of the desert apartment-home faded into obscurity slowly, as his mind whispered soothing words to hers.
It was quite a gamble on his part, for Charles had--up to this point--used this strange yet powerful aspect of his ‘gift’ like this only rarely, and never on a child’s mind, but it was a gamble he felt needed to be taken, lest her nightmares push the girl back into that catatonic state the soldiers had found her in, buried beneath the rubble of her parents’ house.
“Tego…bwana?”
He slowly withdrew from her mind, as she twisted her hand from within his to raise her delicate, tiny fingers to his face. Ororo’s eyes searched his, and she seemed to recognize him now.
Charles smiled at the nickname she’d given him after once having caught him using his telekinetic powers. “It’s okay, Ororo. The ‘magic man’ is here. Nothing’s going to hurt you.”
She allowed him to come up onto the mattress, sitting beside her as she answered matter-of-factly, “The Dark can. The Dark hurts…all the time.”
He gathered her up into his arms, and slowly rocked her. “I won’t let The Dark hurt you anymore, Ororo.”
“You promise?”
He stopped, and leaned away from her to stare straight into her lovely, troubled eyes. “I do. If you promise me something.”
She looked at him a little skeptically, but said, “What?”
“I promise The Dark won’t hurt you anymore, if you promise me to be strong.”
“’Be Strong’?”
“Hm-hmm…” He nodded, continuing, “Together, you and I can beat The Dark. But only if It sees you are strong. When you feel It around you, you can’t be afraid. Tell The Dark ‘You can’t hurt me, anymore.’ Can you say that?”
She gazed up at him, unsure, but repeated timidly, “You can’t hurt me anymore.”
He shook his head, “You have to shout it, Ororo. Say it, ‘The Dark can’t hurt me’!”
“The Dark Can’t Hurt Me!” She smiled sheepishly, and he could feel some of her anxiety diminish. Charles realized it was only a band-aid, and that even some intense therapy may not fully erase the damage of what had happened, but for now, he’d take whatever worked…
Present Day…
Ororo leaned into his chest, hugging him tightly. “I’ll be strong, “Tego-bwana”. I promise.”
Charles smiled somberly but proudly, hugging her back and kissing the top of her disheveled head. “That’s my girl.”
After going upstairs to clean herself up, Ororo took a detour by the kitchen, where a couple of the full-time chefs were already in the middle of preparing what smelled to be a lovely breakfast. Pilfering a strawberry from the large colander of freshly washed fruit by the counter, she asked, “Have either of you seen Marie?”
As the chefs looked up, shaking their heads, a deep voice behind her said, “She’s gone out.”
‘Ro turned on her heel to see Scott standing there in the doorway, dressed in a Xavier Institute sweatshirt and matching jogging pants, holding the morning paper in one hand. She came up to him, crossing her arms. “Out? Where?”
He shrugged, turning to go, and knew she’d follow him”which she did. “For a walk, she said. She passed me out on the back patio earlier. Of course, I think she only deemed me worthy because she knew you’d ask.”
‘Ro followed him out there, where he resumed his place on one of the reclining patio chairs, and continued reading. For a long while she just stood there, looking out at the quiet surf and deep in thought. She needed to talk to Marie, make sure she was alright (as much as she could be, any way). By their father’s request ‘Ro could only assume the youngest Xavier kid had also found out the truth of his condition. And while Marie was sometimes impulsive, at least they didn’t have to worry about her pummeling the entire Eastern seaboard with hurricanes…
“I guess you’re feeling better.”
‘Ro was dragged out of her thoughts as Scott addressed her. She grimaced at his tone; even though her father had asked the same question, the 2 men’s intentions were world’s apart. Instead of retorting with some angry gesture, she replied simply, “Why would you say that?”
He read for a few seconds more, then laid the paper aside. Turning to look up at her Scott lifted one shoulder. “That was a helluva storm last night. Now it’s clear skies and sunshine. I dunno, I just put two and two together.”
“Well, the next time you feel like attempting complicated math, Scott, do us all a favor”don’t.” She couldn’t help that one; the man always knew how to push her buttons.
He stifled a laugh, folding his arms behind his head as he watched her through his crimson glasses. ‘Ro walked out onto the patio, stopping at the railing far from him. With a sudden thought she turned her head, eyeing him suspiciously. “And just how did you find out?”
He bypassed asking her how she knew he knew; instead he got up from the chair, coming over to stand at the rail beside her. “Last Summer”“
--‘Ro ‘tsk’ed but he went on,
“”at the reunion. Charles pulled me and the old man aside. Can’t say I was totally surprised”“
“What??” She balked at him, physically leaning farther away.
Scott kept his eyes on the surf for a moment. “Before you zap my head off, just listen. You know as well as anyone the busy, demanding, stressful lifestyle your dad has. A guy his age, he’s bound to have a weaker immune system because of it.”
“Scott, I really don’t s”“
“Hear me out. I’ve talked to Hank about this, and your bro’ seems to think I’m dead on the money.”
“With what?”
“Your dad got TLV from That Island.”
She raised startled eyes to him, and after a few tense moments he returned her stare. “Wha..? How can you be so sure?”
“Isn’t it rather obvious, ‘Ro? He’s spent more than a decade going back and forth to that place and…I uh…happen to be privy to some information about the rate of new cases of TLV in Genosha…”
“And?”
“…let’s just say ‘epidemic’ is putting it nicely.”
“Oh my God…” She looked at him worriedly, wondering why”and how”this hadn’t been released to the press yet.
As if reading her thoughts, he went on, “Of course, what I just told you is beyond “confidential” info. Hell, I’m not even supposed to know. But there are those in the U.N. who don’t want a full blown panic over this. Genosha’s bid to become a member pretty much hangs on this information staying off the public’s radar. Billions in relief aid would dry up quicker than a spilled canteen on the Sahara.”
She balked at that. “They’d actually leave millions of people to fend for themselves like that? The U.N.??”
Scott’s sarcastic laugh spoke volumes. “You forget, ‘Ro? Genosha’s ‘Mutie Country’. When they established themselves as a sovereign nation and spit in the face of the rest of the world to do it, they burned some pretty big and powerful bridges. But they’re not unlike a lot of other struggling young countries, in that respect. It’s the X-Factor in the genes that makes them so different.”
His odd tone escaping her attention, Ro was shaking her head, half in disbelief and half in anger. Living a mostly privileged life, she’d had few experiences with the very real prejudice and out-right racism that many other mutants faced. After all, her own father’s identity as a mutant was not public knowledge. Charles Xavier was considered a “mutant sympathizer” and humanitarian, who’d gone so far as to adopt mutant children in his belief that homo sapiens and homo “superiors” (as the press had sometimes labeled them) should coexist as one People: Human.
He’d used it to his advantage, when others assumed he was homo sapien; it’d proven a wise decision, giving him access that he feared otherwise would not have been granted had others known he was not only a mutant, but a powerfully telepathic one at that.
“No wonder Genosha’s all he’s talked about for years. Every time we spoke”over the phone, in letters, whatever”he mentioned his work there. I didn’t realize the problems were so serious, I guess.” Ororo thought out loud.
Scott shifted his weight to his other foot and continued, “Yeah, but it’s probably all that time there that’s the cause of his TLV. I mean, you know it just seems to pick one person over another sometimes, but I’ve talked with Moira and Hank. They seem agreed that Charles’ prolonged exposure to so many infected people at once is probably what increased his chances, at least 10-fold.”
Ororo was silent, thinking of her father’s humanitarian efforts, and what it had gotten him. Deep down there was a part of her that had often times resented other people, like those of Genosha; it was an emotion she tried time and again to dispel over the years. ‘Ro realized it was completely irrational, but that possessive, frightened little girl in her wouldn’t let it go so easily.
“I suppose there is a bright side, though…” Scott’s voice brought her around.
“That being?”
“There’ve been some promising preliminary reports from Moira’s team at the Muir Island Research Institute. They think they’re close to a breakthrough”“
She turned hopeful, wide eyes to him, but he raised a hand quickly.
“”a vaccine, ‘Ro. If they’re right, it could save millions.”
“Hm.” She smiled appropriately at that, holding her tongue.
“Well, ain’t ya’ll the perfect couple…”
They looked down, catching sight of Marie below on the beach as she jogged in place. ‘Ro watched as she came up the patio and asked, “Hey. Can we talk for a minute?”
With a sidelong glance at Scott, Marie continued her rhythmic breathing. “Later, sis. Ah smell breakfast an’ ah’m starvin…”
“Marie…” ‘Ro began, but let her go. More to herself than to Scott, ‘Ro murmured, “That can’t be good…”
He started past her, grabbing his paper from the chair and shook his head. “God, you two are so alike.”
“What the hell are you getting at?” She retorted, but he only glanced back briefly before heading toward the kitchen behind Marie.
Ororo sighed heavily, leaning against the rail as she looked out over the water. The information Scott had given her was a bit much to take in at once, but her thoughts kept returning to the sacrifices her father had made for the causes he believed in. ‘You know, you could stand to follow his example a little more…’
As she spied pieces of debris still on the beach below, ‘Ro suddenly got a bright idea. ‘It’s not quite on a global scale, but still…’ With a glance back toward the house, Ororo hurried down the stairs, and down the beach at a jog.
About an hour or so later, she slowed to a walk as she approached the beach house, smiling tentatively as she spotted the man from earlier that morning. He was standing on the back porch now, and appeared to be cleaning up heavier pieces of debris, some of which blocked the rear entrance of the home.
She was about to call out to him to announce her presence, but when he roughly chucked a large piece of fiberglass over the porch railing, she hesitated. Quietly, Ororo watched him as he stared hard at the exterior of the house. His shoulders rose and fell beneath the t-shirt like he was out of breath, his wild dark hair in disarray as he seemed to stare straight through the wall. Unsure what to do next, she took a step closer, but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw what happened next.
The man’s right hand clenched suddenly, the tendons and veins of his forearm contracting and visible to her even at that distance. He started shaking his head, slowly at first, as if he were disagreeing with something being said. Again and again his fist clenched, faster and faster. Finally his back muscles bunched convulsively beneath the tattered shirt, and his fist stiffened”SNIKT.
Ororo jumped at the sound and sight of the 3 metal blades as he reared his arm back, and struck the side of the house. Her legs felt like jell-O, and she stumbled backwards in the sand as the wind blew past her.
Before she could move, however, she saw his body stiffen, and his head came up slightly, as he turned and glared at her over his shoulder.
Logan cursed at himself bitterly, having been so preoccupied that he hadn’t noticed he had an ‘audience’ until the breeze brought a whiff of jasmine and vanilla past his nose. Now he stared at her hard, and slowly withdrew his fist from the wall, the light abrasions on his knuckles stinging as they already began to heal. His claws came out of the wall slowly, and he lowered his arm, turning to face her fully.
Ororo felt like a deer in headlights as he came to the edge of the porch, those bright metallic extensions catching the early morning rays with a dangerous gleam just before he flexed his wrist and they disappeared. Several tense moments passed, as Ororo’s pulse seemed to pound from within her throat. Some part of her mind screamed at her to flee, to call up a big-ass gust of wind and get the fuck outta Dodge…‘Why the hell aren’t you moving..?!’
Logan watched her intently, unsure if she was just crazy or had more balls than half the people he’d had the displeasure of crossing paths with in the last six months. When he caught another whiff of her scent with the next breeze, he could tell for sure.
‘Nope. Just Scared Stupid.’
(*) Department of Children and Family Services
TBC in Chapter 5, “First Impressions, pt.3”
Spoiler: Wouldn’t you like to know??
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