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Chapter Sixteen

Cyclops and Storm stood in the shuttle bay, watching as the forcefield was erected and the shuttle bearing Xavier and Forge departed into the dark vastness of space. The Prevail still warped slightly ahead of Victory. Both vessels had slightly lowered and matched their speed so that the shuttle transfer would be made easier. Cyclops looked at space’s blackness and again felt another twinge, thinking of HOW much distance now separated Jean from him. Anything could happen in the next few days or weeks “ or months. And this enormous gulf separated him from the ones he loved the most.

“I thought I was getting used to it, but it still hurts every day”.

After the words escaped his mouth, Cyclops visibly started. He hadn’t been aware that he was speaking aloud, but he wasn’t upset by Storm gently placing her hand on his shoulder.

“I can only imagine what you are experiencing,” she said quietly. “I dearly hope this mission will go well and we can return to Haven soon. I believe it will”.

Storm missed Jean too. And she didn’t add in some speculation that had been occurring as the X-men got closer to earth. If they were able to topple FOH, wouldn’t most X-men want to stay on earth and try to rebuilt mutant/human relations? Would Scott alone take Victory to return to Haven so he could be with Jean? Would some X-men want to go with Scott so they could remain on Haven, temporarily or permanently?

“I hope so too,” Scott murmured. He then added, sounding more like himself, “I hope the Professor’s discussion with Magneto goes well. Magneto might not agree to rescue the twins first”.

“His whole reason for traveling through space, finding us, and giving us dilithium was so we could defeat FOH. I agree that convincing him to take a detour will be a difficult task. I am worried, for Bobby’s sake”.

“Yeah,” Scott said, realizing how true his words were, “me too”.

***

Magneto sat facing Xavier. He looked at the other man, unable to decide whether he loved him, despised him, pitied him, or was mystified by him. Perhaps it truly was all of the above, he speculated.

“I was not aware that the X-men planned their battles and strategies to suit the needs of a homosexual romance,” Magneto commented. He had asked Xavier why they cared so much about Northstar and Aurora - above and beyond the fact that they were two powerful mutants - and Xavier’s answer had been honest.

“I truly believe that finding the twins “ and rescuing them “ will not require more than a day or two of our efforts,” Xavier insisted. “FOH has been in power for so long, does a day or two really matter?”

Magneto chuckled. “No. No, it does not”. He spread his hands. “I will not oppose your plans, Charles. Find and rescue the twins, and then we will get to work on defeating FOH. Do not look so surprised. I am consenting to this because we need every powerful mutant we can find and, as you say, this will not take the X-men long to do”.

“Thank you, Magnus,” Xavier said, still truly surprised.

Magneto shook his head. “You X-men. Always sopping over with love and compassion. It is your fatal weakness”.

“On the contrary,” the Professor replied, “it is a strength”.

***

Rogue nearly bumped into Hank as she walked down the corridor containing the personnel quarters.

“Didja just come from Bobby’s room?” she asked Hank. “How is he?”

“He appears worse, from my perspective,” Hank answered. “I brought him some ice cream hoping that it would cheer him up. He seems both depressed and anxious”.

Wolverine had been walking down the hallway as well and heard their exchange. “Session in the Danger Room’s what the boy needs. That’ll help him work it off”.

“I truly am not certain what will assist him in feeling better, other than us demonstrating that we care about him”.

“I can do that,” Rogue said, “Lemme talk to him now”.

With that, Rogue rapped gently on Bobby’s door. “It’s Rogue. Can I come in?”

Bobby mumbled his assent, and Rogue entered the room. Although she failed to coax him out to join the others for games in the rec room or for action in the Danger Room, she did sit with him for a long time. He said that he didn’t want to talk about Northstar, so Rogue just kept him talking about whatever subjects came to mind. He seemed to appreciate her presence, Rogue surmised, as he stirred a spoon around his half-eaten bowl of ice cream.

After a while, Professor Xavier knocked on the door and asked to be let in. Bobby nearly leapt to his feet.

“He’s back from Magneto’s ship,” Rogue said, though she was stating the obvious.

“Hello Bobby,” the Professor greeted as his wheelchair glided through the doorway. “I do have a bit of good news for you. Magneto agreed with our plan to search for the twins first. He didn’t resist that plan; he agreed with the idea of finding Northstar and Aurora first before we battle FOH”.

Bobby blinked and then went up to the Professor. “Thank you,” Bobby said. “Thank you very much. Whatever you said to Magneto must’ve convinced him”.

“There is no need to thank me”. The Professor then turned towards the door. “I will let you know as soon as we are close enough to earth to make telepathic contact with people on our planet”.

Rogue looked at Bobby. She guessed that the Professor must have noticed Bobby getting choked up and perhaps timed his exit so he would leave quickly in case Bobby did not want the older man to see him crying. She did notice a tear forming in one of his eyes and reached to give Bobby a spontaneous hug. Rogue realized that she couldn’t remember ever seeing Bobby cry. He was certainly more in touch with his emotions than a lot of people she knew, but he tended to have a happy-go-lucky, joking persona at most times.

“I’m okay,” Bobby muttered unconvincingly.

“It’s okay to cry if you wanna,” Rogue said. She continued to embrace him until he slowly pulled away.

Bobby wiped at the moistness in the corner of one of his eyes. “I’m okay,” he repeated, sounding more sure of himself this time. “I’m so relieved that Magneto agreed to it. And I’m so worried about Jean Paul. If something happened to him…Rogue, I don’t know what I’d do. I really don’t”.

Rogue spontaneously hugged Bobby again. She felt something click inside her head; perhaps an emotional wall fell as well. She wasn’t sure if it was the look on Bobby’s face, the quavering of his voice, or the certainty she had that Bobby truly would suffer immensely if harm befell Northstar.

The two sat together for a while after that. They again resumed talking about whatever subjects came to mind. At one point Jubilee knocked on the door and delivered more ice cream to Bobby, which he ate with relish despite his earlier consumption of the dessert.

“Poor guy,” Rogue said, a few hours later as she lay in bed next to Gambit. Gambit reached over and turned the light off. “He’s really hurtin’”.

“’Course he’s hurtin’, chere,” Gambit said gently. “Bad enough when he jus’ missed Northstar. Now he knows dat we don’t know where he is, dat somet’in’ couldda happen to him. It’d drive Gambit crazy if you were in Northstar’s place”.

Rogue turned towards Gambit. “Yes,” she said slowly, her mind at last coming to a realization. “Yes, I can see that! It really would be the same, it would hurt just as much”. She flung her arms around Gambit. “Thank you, Remy. I get it now”.

Gambit returned the embrace, knowing that Rogue truly did understand at last.

***

Our ship met up with Alpha Flight’s. The Maple Leaf was not able to keep up with the warp speed of Victory or the Prevail, so we ended up tugging them in our tractor beam after Cyclops and James talked over subspace and figured out that would be the best way. We sent two of our shuttles to the Maple Leaf so we could meet face to face with Alpha Flight. Alpha Flight’s members used the shuttles to board Victory, and we met inside Victory’s largest conference room.

I sat there with a neutral expression on my face. I was really mad at James, mad at all of them for leaving Northstar and Aurora. But I’d cried and pounded the walls so much the past few days that I was a bit drained inside too, and not up for any confrontation.

Puck went up to where I sat and slapped my back. “I’m sorry, pal,” he said, sounding sincere. “I gotta think that Xavier can find the twins soon. If I could’ve done anything to prevent taking off without them, I would’ve but we honestly had no choice if we didn’t want to get captured ourselves”.

I quietly thanked him, my anger - at him anyway “ fading away. Puck then added that he’d be glad to talk with me more, later. I think I nodded and said I’d like that.

Angel and Psylocke were greeted with hearty handshakes and hugs by the X-men. I don’t remember if I said anything to them but I didn’t think that I went up to them or anything like that. During the meeting, I just had to look at their body language and it was clear that they were “an item” again. Man, that Angel, he sure doesn’t waste any time. He obviously had determined that he wanted a woman (I had heard a more crude term used by someone else to describe what he wanted) and did whatever it took to get one, even if it meant leaving his team and hopping on board a creaky old starship for a journey lasting months. He and Psylocke looked happy enough, which filled me with resentment. Puck later told me that during Alpha Flight’s trip to earth, when Aurora was the only female on board the ship, Angel had hit on her. Northstar had told him to stay away from his sister, Puck said, but Aurora might have thought she could make Walter jealous and return to her, so she had slept with Angel a few times. Whatever the case, now Angel was obviously with Psylocke.

We sat down in the conference room with Alpha Flight, and each team filled the other in on what it had missed. Alpha Flight was obviously upset that their mission hadn’t gone too well. They lost the twins, and they learned that three more team members had died while they were away. Their only successes were reuniting with Heather’s parents “ who were eager to join their daughter and grandchild on Haven “ and Walter’s son. They also said that FOH was “everywhere” and more powerful than before. They had spent all their time on earth on the run, using the cloaked ship to hide.

Once we updated them on our plans for what we wanted to do earth, Storm then asked, “Which of you would like to join us and which of you will be returning to Haven?”

Alpha Flight must have been discussing that very question ever since the Professor had made contact with them. Those who wanted to join us in our fight against FOH “ in addition to Angel and Psylocke, of course -- were Puck, Shaman, Flex, and Radius. That was it. All the others wanted to return to Haven.

I tuned back in to hear James say, “Of course the Maple Leaf was damaged by that FOH ship when we left earth. We think we can make it back to Haven but we would really appreciate it if Forge and Beast would take some time to look at our engines. My team is smart but we don’t have anyone quite as good with technology as the two of you. I think if some repairs could be made, we would have no problem making it all the way back to Haven”.

And then Rogue shocked me. She nearly burst out of her seat and said, “No way “ we gotta get to earth to rescue the twins and we ain’t got no time to fix your blasted ship! Our first priority’s to get the twins back - Bobby’s gotta be with his partner!”

I was surprised “ or really shocked --- to hear her say that, and so passionately too. A few times in the past, I’d had the tiniest feeling that she hadn’t been comfortable with the idea of me being gay ever since I’d had a boyfriend, but wow “ I must’ve been totally wrong on that one.

I noticed that her outburst may have raised a few eyebrows, but not that many. I actually saw a few people nodding agreement. That surprised me too.

Puck said, “She’s got a point. Every minute we delay getting back to earth isn’t good in terms of us finding Northstar and Aurora. I don’t think FOH has them, but if they do, we don’t have time to waste”.

The issue was not debated much, as it turned out. After talking through several options, it was decided that Hank and Forge would board the Maple Leaf and assess the engine damage. If they could repair it quickly, then they would do so. If it would require more time, then Victory would tow the Maple Leaf back towards earth in our tractor beam, and those who didn’t want to fight FOH would remain on board the cloaked Maple Leaf while the X-men and Magneto’s team took out FOH. If the battle took a long time, it would obviously delay those on the Maple Leaf who wanted to return home but it might be better for them in the long run anyway given how long the trip to Haven would take with their ship weakened.

The group discussed the matter quickly, which I was glad for. Puck’s words kept rolling around in my head. He didn’t think FOH had Northstar and Aurora…but what if they did? We just had no time to lose.

***

Cyclops rode in one of the shuttles, along with Hank and Forge, to the Maple Leaf.

Part of his reason for accompanying them was pure curiosity. He had never been inside the Maple Leaf “ no X-man other than Angel had “ and wanted to see how bad it was.

The ship was small, much smaller than Victory. From the inside, it appeared even tinier, as if the insides were folding in on the ship and most of its bulk was comprised of ship equipment. Apparently the inside of the ship was one large cylindrical shape with only one large corridor connecting the different rooms. The bridge was at one end of the cylinder, the engine room at the opposite end. In between were personnel quarters and a few other rooms. As James led the X-men to the engines, they walked right through the mess hall; there was no other way to get from the loading dock to the engines. The mess hall consisted of little more than a large rectangular table, alongside a food replicator and several cabinets. Adjacent to it was Maple Leaf’s version of a rec room, which consisted of nothing more than a sofa and a few chairs around a table. They also passed an infirmary, which contained a large window allowing Scott a glimpse inside. It was no bigger than one of the personnel quarters on Victory and contained only two beds.

Cyclops watched Beast and Forge as they surveyed the engine’s damage. He wanted to learn more about this function himself and struggled to follow their dialog and diagnostics.

“Well?” James asked, after a while.

“There are a few parts we need to replicate from Victory,” Forge said, “Once we have them, we should be able to get this fixed in a matter of hours”.

“I estimate three to five hours,” Hank added.

The two men worked quickly once they had the parts needed.

“Would you like something to eat or drink?” James asked Cyclops. “Feel free to make yourself at home in our mess hall while you wait”.

“Thank you,” Cyclops replied. “I wouldn’t mind some coffee”. He had been drinking more of it than he knew was prudent, but the feeling of his stomach being irritated didn’t bother him as much anymore “ not when the rest of him constantly hurt so much.

Cyclops sat opposite James at the table. The seat creaked a bit, and Scott noticed that the mug containing his coffee was slightly chipped. Looking at James’ face, though, he had a sudden insight that James loved this ship, flaws and all. Perhaps he loved it more due to its flaws. James had touched one of the walls in the engine room with what could only be described as affection.

“I know it’s very hard for you,” James said, “being apart from your wife. For what it’s worth, though, I’m glad she’s there to keep Heather company”.

“I am as well,” Scott admitted. “I would have had a very hard time with the idea of leaving Jean alone with the baby on Haven. I think it must be much easier for both women that there is another adult there with them”.

“They seemed to get along well. I know that Jean was a big support to Heather before and after she gave birth to Brianna”.

“They spent a lot of time together before we left as well. Comparing notes, that sort of thing”.

“I take it your son is doing well?” James asked.

“Yes,” Scott replied. “He was very well and healthy when we left. He always woke up at least once during the night though. I wonder if he still does that,” he added, and his heart ached anew.

James got an idea. He stood up and opened a drawer, retrieving pen and paper. “Since it looks like your people will be able to repair our engines, we’ll be heading back towards Haven then. Would you like to write a note for Jean? I will take it to her. Of course I hope the X-men will succeed on their mission “ and if all goes well, you might get to Haven only days after we do, given how much faster your ship is. But…”

“But we don’t know what will happen,” Scott finished. “Thank you for the offer. I would love to write a letter to Jean. Thank you,” he said, reaching for the pen and paper.

“I think I have some envelopes in my room. I’ll bring one to you so you can seal your message”.

***

So we were lucky, I guess. Forge and Beast got Alpha Flight’s ship fixed fast. So the Maple Leaf headed for Haven, and the other two ships continued on to earth. Puck, Shaman, Flex, and Radius had gathered their few belongings and actually boarded Magneto’s ship, not ours, for the rest of the trip to earth. We were out of empty personnel quarters on Victory, but I suspect that the real reason they elected to ride with Magneto’s team may have been because word got out about Emma offering freebies. Heck, some people speculated that Flex and Radius’s main reason for choosing to fight FOH instead of return to Haven had to do with Emma. There were also whispers that Cannonball and Forge might not have been too thrilled about getting to see less of Emma. When certain people were not in the room, this topic in general was the subject of some bawdy remarks.

I tried to be happy that things were going about as well as they could be. We had more people with us going off to fight FOH. When I counted everyone on board the two ships, I came up with a total of twenty-seven fighters, plus Moira and Siryn. So we had a small, well-trained army. And we had all agreed to find Northstar and Aurora before doing anything else. The rest of the group took good care of me, checking in on me often. Even Storm, Wolverine, and Nightcrawler made time to talk with me, in addition to the people I was closest to. Rogue had always been a sweetheart to me but she seemed even warmer now.

I still had butterflies in my stomach most of the time, I still had trouble eating much, I didn’t sleep too well either “ but maybe things would turn out to be alright. I would repeat that to myself, anyway, each night before I’d fall asleep for a few hours.

***

“How bad’s it on earth?” Wolverine asked.

“It’s bad,” Angel replied. “Worse than when we left. FOH really does run everything. People hate us more than before”. He paused and added, “And FOH crashed every one of my accounts except for the one that I took the most pain to hide, a Swiss bank account. Everything else I owned is gone”.

Storm, Wolverine, Bobby, Angel, and Psylocke were sitting in the dining hall. They had lingered over their dinner; everyone else had dispersed for the evening.

Storm tried to muster some words of sympathy for Angel. She had never known the wealth he had been born into; she knew that she didn’t realize what this loss meant to Angel.

“I am sorry to hear this,” she said. “I imagine it also means that most of the Professor’s accounts are likely compromised. Still, I am certain that we X-men as a team will always find a way to get by “ once FOH is defeated”.

“Maybe there are enough of us here that we can defeat them,” Psylocke said. She turned to Bobby. “You didn’t used to be a fighter but I heard that you’re back in the Danger Room. Congratulations. What made you decide to do it?”

“Oh,” Bobby said, and then smiled, “My boyfriend made me”.

Psylocke returned his smile at the comment.

Wolverine then said, “Back to that part about defeating FOH. What do you think, Psylocke, from your time on earth “ got any tips?”

Psylocke and Angel had made a full report to the X-men shortly after they boarded the ship. Psylocke had been in hiding for the last several months and had been part of a loose band of mutants who had attempted to fight back against FOH.

“Just that I hope Xavier is about ten times more powerful than I,” she replied. “I tried to use my powers on them but I could never influence more than a few of them at one time. I spent most of my time on the run, trying to figure out what I could find food and weapons. I never had much time to think about how to beat them. I was so glad when I sensed Warren”.

Storm listened to Psylocke’s words. Years ago, during a meeting with the Professor and Cyclops, the Professor had said that he sensed Psylocke had potential to be nearly as powerful as Jean. But Psylocke had never cared much for hard work, or for some of the restrictions life as an X-man could entail.

Storm then took another look at Psylocke and then one at Wolverine. `Does he find her attractive?’ Storm wondered. She had a momentary flash of intuition telling her that he did, and she found the notion alarming. Storm forced herself to calm down. `Why am I so jealous? If he does find her attractive, then so be it. It does not mean that he will be unfaithful to me. Besides, Psylocke does not “ as far as I know “ comport herself the way Emma does. I don’t think she intends to sleep with anyone other than Angel’. Storm again took a breath and quelled the storm inside of her.

She wished Jean were here. Storm momentarily found the idea of pouring her emotions out to Jean appealing. She could ask Jean how she could stand opening her heart the way she did, knowing that it could be trampled any day. She could ask Jean if she ever faced these insecurities, if she ever disliked the way love made her feel. Jean would say that it is better to be open to the possibility of hurt, no matter how uncomfortable it made you, Storm told herself.

“What’s on your mind?” Logan asked, as they walked towards the personnel quarters. The two had agreed to share a room so that Angel and Psylocke would have a room “ otherwise Angel and Psylocke would have no other quarters other than the barracks, which Moonstar and Marrow had already taken over.

“I, um, I was wondering how you would fare now that we have to share a room,” Storm said, as the door to the room slid open. Storm had moved her belongings into what had previously been solely Wolverine’s room. “I know that you value time alone”.

“You do too. But we all gotta make sacrifices”.

Storm looked at his face and detected a playful tone in his voice.

“Sacrifices?” she queried.

“Yep. Like I gotta wake up next to a gorgeous lady every mornin’. That’s gonna be rough,” he said, as he reached for her.

“Oh, Logan, surely you have seen me enough times early in the morning to realize that I am not quite gorgeous then,” Ororo smiled.

“There’ll be other sacrifices too,” Logan went on. “We might haveta shower together sometimes. To save time, if we’re both runnin’ late”.

Ororo had wanted to begin a serious discussion of how they would balance both of their needs for alone time with the fact that they now had to share a room. But she realized that perhaps Logan’s attitude was the better one. There was nothing they could do about it, so why not have a laugh over it? Victory was a large ship; if one of them absolutely had to get away, there were places they could go.

“That is very true,” she said, as Logan nuzzled her neck with his lips. “In fact, I could test the shower right now. I could ensure that it functions as well as the one inside my former room”.

“I could watch you,” he offered, as his hands roamed her body. “Could do some things to you when you get outta it too”.

Storm moaned. Sharing a room would have some upsides, she realized.

***

Hank and I were in the gym. He was making sure I stayed on track with the weight regimen I’d been on.

“Try to focus, Bobby. The aphorism is ‘mind in the muscle’, and I do believe there is truth to it,” he said.

“Okay, okay,” I grumbled. “What, are you Cyclops in the old days, thinking that lecturing me is gonna make me work harder?” I then realized that I likely came off as more harsh than sarcastic. I set the barbell down. “Sorry, Hank. I didn’t mean to sound like a jerk”.

“There is no need to apologize; I did not take offense. I understand that you have been preoccupied as of late”.

“I have. We keep getting closer and closer to earth but Professor Xavier hasn’t been able to make contact with anyone there yet. I know he’ll tell me as soon as he can. But I keep wanting to go up to him every minute and ask him if he’s trying”.

“I understand, Bobby. I am certain that the Professor views your need to know Northstar’s whereabouts as an important priority. He demonstrated that he views it as important by traveling to Magneto’s ship and insisting that we be allowed to find the Northstar and Aurora before we undertake anything else on earth. Thus you can rest assured that he will inform you the minute he has more information”.

“You’re right. I need to chill out a bit”.

We got back to weight lifting. I tried to focus and do all the reps slowly and with the right form. After all, it still wasn’t like there was much else to do so I had plenty of time. But I was still happy when I’d finished the last one.

“What do you want to do now?” I asked Hank once I’d finished stretching. “Neither of us has bridge duty till tomorrow. Hey “ you want me to brush you?”

“I thank you for the offer, but I believe that my coat is sufficiently maintained right now. Would you care to join me in the rec room? I would enjoy a game or two before resuming my lab work”.

“Sure,” I said. I think that was the first time Hank turned down an offer of coat-brushing.


***

Cannonball walked down Victory’s corridor towards the shuttle bay. He had some time scheduled with Emma today. He was surprised when he heard footsteps behind him, and he turned to see Jubilee, carrying a tote bag.

“Hi, Sam,” she said. “I’m going to the shuttle bay too. I thought I’d share a ride to the Prevail with you”.

“Really?” he asked, confused. “What are you going over there for?”

“Radius. He and I have been talking over subspace and are going to spend some time together”.

“Oh”.

Sam made a concerted effort to not look at Jubilee. He avoided eye contact with her as they boarded the shuttle. He sat in the pilot’s seat and punched in the familiar coordinates, not taking his eyes from the console.

“You don’t have to treat me like I got the plague,” Jubilee finally said.

Sam looked at his fingers on the control panel and idly began to play with the band on his watch. “So what does Colossus think about all this?” he finally asked.

“I don’t know,” Jubilee said simply. “I didn’t really think about it when he made a visit to see Emma that one time. Peter and I are just friends who sleep together but we don’t own each other”. Her dialog with Sam today was already the longest exchange she had had with him for weeks.

Sam took a breath and tapped his hand against the panel. “Okay, Jubilee. I don’t get it. You’re a sweet, warm, *nice* girl. You’re not like Emma at all, and I mean that as a compliment. I would’ve loved to have still been your boyfriend. What’s with all this…playing the field?”

“I already told you, Sam,” she responded, keeping her tone light. “I thought about it a lot and I’m just not into being in a relationship now. I don’t want to be someone’s girlfriend now, but I don’t want to be celibate either. So this is what works for me. Radius invited me to spend some time with him and I thought I’d give it a try”. She paused, “Maybe later on someday I’ll wanna settle down and be someone’s girlfriend or wife, but I’m just not ready to do that now “ and maybe I won’t ever want it, I dunno”.

“It seems like it makes Jean, Rogue, and Storm happy “ to settle down with one man”.

“But I’m not Jean, Storm, or Rogue!”

Sam finally looked at her. “It’s your life and you can do what you want with it. But I really care about you, Jubilee. Emma might be…a hottie, or whatever you call it, but shuttling back and forth to have meaningless sex with someone who I don’t got much to talk about with “ it ain’t doing it for me. It ain’t doing anything other than relieving a physical need, anyway. Jubilee, if you ever want more than…more than an itch scratched, if you ever get tired of sampling the field and you do want a relationship again “ I’d be honored to be your boyfriend”.

“You are such a sweetie, Sam. But like I said, that’s just not where I’m at now”. She paused and then boldly put a hand on his shoulder. “You were really good though…if you ever want to go back to being ‘friends with benefits’…” She let her voice trail off.

Sam shrugged her hand off. “No, thanks. It just doesn’t feel right to me. Guess I’m too old-fashioned to have that sort of relationship with a girl I actually care about”.

“Suit yourself”.

There was silence for several more moments. And then Jubilee asked a question she had been wondering about. She knew how much Sam loved his biological family. “Has the Professor made contact with your parents and sister yet? Do you know how they’re doing?”

At first Jubilee thought that Sam wasn’t going to answer, because he was quiet for a bit. He finally said, “He hasn’t reached anyone on earth yet. He said he’ll tell me as soon as he can reach them. I really hope they’re okay”.

“Me too”.

The shuttle soon began docking procedures as it reached the Prevail. Jubilee didn’t know what Radius would be like in bed and looked forward to finding out.

***

Jubilee found it natural that she went to Bobby to talk about her experiences. He was really the only person she felt comfortable confiding in when it came to this type of thing. Storm and Wolverine were too much like an Aunt and Uncle. Other than Rogue, Jubilee wasn’t close to the other women on the ship, and even she and Rogue had never been the best of friends; Jubilee sensed that the older woman was perhaps even a bit judgmental regarding the way Jubilee conducted her personal life. But Bobby was never judgmental and very curious. Additionally, Jubilee was glad for anything that would distract Bobby from his worry over Northstar.

“So…how did it go?” Bobby asked. The two sat inside his room for privacy.

“It’s was good,” Jubilee said. “Pretty good, I mean. I guess it’s usually awkward when it’s your first time with someone new. He definitely knew what he was doing though”.

“How did he compare with the others? If I may be so bold”.

Jubilee thought. “Ummm…not as good as Sam, but better than Peter. But even if I wanted a boyfriend, I definitely wouldn’t want Radius as my boyfriend. The guy’s kinda arrogant and I think some of that came through when we were together. Even though we didn’t talk that much,” she added.

“Are you gonna go to him again?”

“I’d like to, I guess. Yeah, I guess I would since he’s better at it than Peter “ who has improved, by the way. But I kinda want to wait for Radius to invite me rather than asking him. I dunno why”.

“Maybe you don’t want to appear too desperate,” Bobby suggested. “There’s something to that”.

“Plus, it does kinda feel *weird* to be taking a shuttle to go to another ship to go and have sex. I’m not embarrassed about it but it just feels funny when everyone knows what you’re doing”.

“Yeah, I could see that. I bet Sam and Forge feel awkward about all their trips to see Emma. But you know, I guess at some point you can’t care too much about other people’s gossip, you know? I’m sure some people gossip about me and I really don’t care that much”.

Someone knocked on the door to Bobby’s room. “Come in,” Bobby called.

His heart skipped a beat or two when the Professor entered the room. There could be only one reason why the Professor was paying him a visit.

“I have made contact with Northstar,” the Professor went directly to the information Bobby wanted. “He is alive and relatively well”.

“Oh thank god!” Bobby said, practically leaping out of his seat. “What did he say? Where is he?”

“He and his sister are hiding out from FOH. He thought it wise not to divulge their exact location until we X-men were in a position to rescue them, an idea with which I agree”. Xavier paused and added, “They are both tired “ being constantly on the run, trying to get enough food and enough rest is difficult. He also said that Aurora has injured her arm and needs medical attention”.

“How far are we from earth?” Jubilee asked.

“Three days and about, oh, seven hours,” Bobby answered. He regularly checked in with the bridge for the latest ETA and had just gotten one before Jubilee entered his room.

“So I guess it’s good news then,” Jubilee said. “They’re alive and okay”.

“What do they think about their chances to stay away from FOH?” Bobby asked. “Like, is he worried that they might get caught?’

“He is always worried,” the Professor responded. “He is always vigilant, which I think is the only reasonable mindset. He hopes they will continue to evade FOH but knows that one can never be too cautious”. He paused and added, “He told me to tell you that he misses you and loves you, and hopes to see you soon”.

***

Rogue entered the equipment room, adjacent to the Danger Room. During her practice session today, she wanted to get familiar once more with firing a gun. The X-men frequently trained in combat skills that didn’t use their powers; Rogue wanted to be even more prepared to use a weapon and fight back in the event that FOH could somehow again nullify her powers.

As she examined the gun to ensure the appropriate safety measure were on, Storm entered the equipment room.

“It appears that you are doing exactly what I had planned as well,” Storm said.

“You said it! Gotta be ready for anythin’,” Rogue commented. “Don’t wanna forget what to do with one of these”.

“I could use a refresher myself”.

As Storm searched through the rack where the guns were stored, Rogue took on a more solemn tone and asked, “You talked to Jubilee lately?”

“I talk to her all the time, Rogue. She seems quite well to me. Is there something you are concerned about?”

Rogue rolled her eyes, “Oh Storm, quit beatin’ ‘round the bush! What’s with Jubilee goin’ over to the other ship so she can sleep with Radius? Bad enough all that business with her droppin’ Sam as her boyfriend but keepin’ him in her bedroom, and then her startin’ up with Colossus this way”.

“Now, Rogue…” Storm began.

“What? I’m just worried ‘bout her. I really don’t get it. I never slept with anyone but Remy and never wanted to”.

“It is not our place to judge her,” Storm said calmly. “And people are all different in what they need and want. What works well for you might not work for someone else”.

“So you really ain’t the least bit worried? You’re not thinkin’ that there is something wrong with her?”

Storm loved Rogue as a sister but she failed to see the point of this line of questioning. Part of her suspected that Rogue herself was not truly concerned with Jubilee but rather wanting to call Jubilee’s motives into question. She also had to bite her tongue to keep from pointing out that Jubilee certainly had not had anywhere near the number of bedroom partners that Gambit had surely had before he met Rogue.

“Jubilee seems well and healthy, in every interaction we have had lately. I would be concerned if that were not the case or if she were not practicing safe sex, but she assures me that she is”. Storm paused. “I know that Jubilee conducts her personal life differently than you conduct yours, but that is alright”.

“I guess so. It just seems real weird to me, especially when Sam’s so nice and he’s so sweet on her still”.

“Jubilee is young. Perhaps with youth there’s a desire to experiment and to not want a sense of being tied down. Truthfully, Rogue, when I was her age I did not want to settle down with one man either”. Storm paused. “Being in a relationship requires some degree of work, and a big degree of emotional investment. You can see how being separated from Jean is hurting Cyclops. I can understand that not everyone would like that type of emotional investment”.

Rogue was silent for a moment or two. “But you got it now. You and Logan”.

“Yes,” Storm said. She was unable to suppress a small smile. She put a hand on Rogue’s shoulder. “Becoming emotionally attached to someone can open one up for heartbreak. And yet I am happier than I ever dreamed possible”.

Rogue’s heart warmed. It was refreshing, and indeed surprising, to hear Storm open up and to see the obvious joy on her face. “That so, girl? I’m happy for you”.

“I am happy for Logan,” Storm said. “Perhaps it is boastful of me to think so, but I believe he is happier than he has been before, and I do hope that our relationship is part of that”.

“You can bet it is,” Rogue said. She thought of Gambit and wrapped her arms around herself. “Nothin’ like cuddlin’ with the man you love, fallin’ asleep in his arms, feelin’ that security. It’s worth every bit of the uncomfortable feelin’ you get from havin’ to open your heart up. That girl Jubilee don’t know what she’s missin’!”


***

The Professor’s communicator sounded. “Professor, it’s Nightcrawler. You have a subspace message from Moira MacTaggert”.

The Professor raced to the bridge. He imaged that Moira had used subspace to reach him because she could not initiate telepathic contact.

“Is the offer to get together still available?” her message read. “If it is, perhaps we could have breakfast together someday”.

Soon, Moira was on board a shuttle heading from the Prevail to Victory. The Professor met her in the shuttle bay and they went to his room together. Moira had said that she would prefer a private meal, and so Xavier had made arrangements.

As the two headed through the corridors to his room, the Professor told Moira about his progress with Dani Moonstar, sensing that she had always liked the young woman. “She has such potential and she is learning well”. He paused and asked, “How is Siryn?”

“The same, mostly. She comes out of her room about once a day. But she is not interested in anything,” Moira answered. “As far as I can tell, she spends all day either sleeping or in the bathtub. I think her skin has turned pink from all the bathing - though I rarely see any of her skin”.

“Do you think she would be interested in talking with me? Or with anyone?”

“I asked her again but she said no. She barely even talks to me. I canna imagine how she isn’t bored out of her mind. But the poor dear’s mind is so destroyed now…”

They reached the Professor’s room. A table and two chairs had already been set up, and Xavier pressed a few buttons on his communicator. Shortly afterwards, Bobby arrived at his door holding a tray full of food.

“How sweet,” Moira smiled thinly. “Room service”.

Xavier looked at her as she spoke. He heard remnants of the old Moira. Her voice still sounded so weak though, so distant. But the smile warned Xavier, even if it had been a small one.

“I moonlight as a waiter; the Professor said he’d give me a tip when we get back to earth,” Bobby grinned. He set the tray down and arranged the breakfast on the table. “Any news, Professor?” he asked.

“No updates. I will contact you immediately after my next check-in with Northstar”.

After Bobby left, the Professor explained, “I telepathically check in with Northstar every two hours. Bobby likes getting a regular update”.

Moira was silent. Xavier again saw the very far-away look in Moira’s eyes. He was unsure what to say and almost wished to probe her mind though he would never do so. “We are just under 48 hours from earth now,” Xavier said.

“Charles. Will you be going into combat? I mean, will you be in danger?”

“I believe that all of us will be in one form of danger or another. Based on our initial discussions with Magneto and with the X-men, I will likely remain on board the ship though. I can use my powers from a distance, and we do need to have people remaining on board the ships”.

Moira was silent. The Professor gently began, “You look as if you have something to say. Please, Moira, I am always listening to you”.

Moira looked at her tea instead of meeting Charles’ gaze. She then said, “But you will be in some danger, Charles. We dona know what might happen”.

“That is true,” he admitted. “There is always some risk. We must ““

Moira stood up. Her voice was calm and steady, almost robotic. “I am sorry, Charles. I should never have come here. I want to be as numb as Siryn. I dona want to care about another living soul “ not for the rest of my life”.

With that, Moira turned and left the room, nearly colliding with Cyclops who had been walking down the hall. The Professor followed Moira, asking her to stay and talk or at least stay and finish the breakfast. Moira did not speak again, entered the shuttle bay, and began preparations to depart Victory in the shuttle.

***

TO BE CONTINUED

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