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Chapter Eight

***


Nearly 48 hours had passed since the initial detection of the other vessel. Storm and Cyclops’s sensors both sounded at the same time, and they rushed to Victory’s bridge.

A handful of other X-men had been around when the sensors beeped; they followed their leaders to the bridge.

“Anyt’in?” Gambit asked.

“Yes!” Storm hissed eagerly. She and Cyclops hunched over computers as the other X-men stood back. “Several details about the other ship are loading in”.

“It’s old,” Cyclops said. “An old ship, or one containing lots of scrap metal. It almost appears as if it were patched together. And it’s small. Much smaller than Victory”.

“Less than half its size, if that” Storm added. “From what I can tell, the ship is not in great condition. Many of its readings are weak. Its cloaking device must be weak as well if we can detect all of this”.

Gambit and Nightcrawler, standing next to each other, exchanged a look. “Perhaps that means it’s not an FOH ship,” Nightcrawler said. “From what we knew, their fleet contained newer, sleek ships like Victory”.

“Look at this,” Cyclops said. “It appears that this ship doesn’t have any weapons. No phasers or photon torpedoes”.

“No weapons?” Gambit echoed. It was another sign that this was unlikely to be an FOH vessel.

“This reading shows the number of life forms on board the ship,” Storm began, excited. “It looks like a total of 10 people are on board”.

“Yes,” Cyclops said, peering at his monitor. “That’s what I’m picking up as well”.

“Only 10 people? Forge asked. “That has to be another good sign. I don’t know if FOH would send just 10 people on an old, unarmed starship out after us”.

“Could always be a trick dough,” Gambit added.

“Can you sense anything else?” Nightcrawler asked.

“Trying,” Cyclops responded, still focused on the readouts appearing on his screen.

The Professor and Jean entered the bridge, responding to the calls they received on their communicators. Forge filled them in.

“Can you sense anything?” Forge asked the telepaths.

Xavier shook his head. “They are still so far away”.

“According to this reading, they should arrive here in about 4 days. Or 102 hours, to be precise,” Storm said.

“They haven’t changed their course at all since we first detected them,” Cyclops added.

Eventually all of the X-men made their way onto Victory’s bridge. They shared what they had learned, and Hank asked, “Are we close enough that we can attempt to communicate with them?”

“No,” Cyclops said. “We’ll need more time before we’re within subspace range”.

***

A lot of us ended up spending a lot of time on Victory’s bridge. I think everyone was hoping we could learn more about the other ship, though our sensors weren’t picking up anything else useful since Storm and Cyclops’s last report to the group.

During our camp-outs on the bridge, I sometimes discreetly played a few computer games in the background. Since the bridge was powered up, I had to take advantage of that. The others checked and re-checked sensors like 200 times a minute, hoping to learn more.

Storm once asked me if I had been practicing my powers lately but I shrugged her question off.

The next morning, I was on the bridge with Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Gambit, and Forge. We heard footsteps and saw the Professor, Jean, and Cyclops enter the bridge just as Cyke used his communicator to tell the rest of the team to get to the bridge. Pretty soon, the rest of the group eagerly joined us.

“What is it?” Storm asked, rising to her feet.

“We can sense the minds of the people on board the other ship,” the Professor said. “It’s Alpha Flight”.

“Alpha Flight??” Rogue asked. “So the FOH bastards were wrong when they said they’d killed ‘em?”

“Are you certain?” Storm asked.

“Beyond a shadow of a doubt,” Jean answered.

I looked around the room and everyone looked mostly happy and relieved. Except Wolverine.

“Don’t mean to doubt you,” he began. “But what if it’s some sort of trap? Like the FOH bastards want to get us all disarmed and relaxed, and then they overwhelm us”.

The Professor said, “It is true, Wolverine, that it is not completely outside of the realm of possibility that FOH might be working with a telepath who has the ability to deceive Jean and me. But I highly doubt that is happening now. I communicated briefly with James Hudson, Guardian, right before I entered the bridge. I am certain it is him”.

“Still, it is wise to be cautious,” Storm said. “FOH overwhelmed us at the mansion using weaponry we were unprepared for. Could this be a trick of theirs, especially given that they had told us that they had captured Alpha Flight? Perhaps they have brainwashed the entire team”.

I looked at everyone else’s facial expressions, and I gotta say something. Wolverine and Storm were the only ones who looked skeptical and afraid to let their guard down. Even as Wolverine and Storm spoke, I could tell from other people’s scrunched eyebrows and the like that they weren’t doubting that it really was Alpha Flight. Maybe it’s just because that was what we all really wanted to believe. Or maybe it was that the chances of the Professor and Jean being bamboozled telepathically were just so remote. Even a powerful telepath like the Shadow King hadn’t been able to do it, so how could FOH?

And then I heard Gambit sum it up best: “Any mutant strong enough to fool the Professor and Jean ain’t gonna team up wit’ FOH”.

“And if FOH is indeed sending troops after us, I simply cannot believe that they would opt to send them in an unarmed vessel,” Hank added.

The Professor said, “When I communicated briefly with James, I did not wish to be too invasive. And, indeed, he does not like having his mind probed, which is understandable; most people do not. However, I can certainly scan his mind again and specifically look for any evidence of tampering or brainwashing”.

“It could not hurt,” Storm said.

So the Professor did as he said and again told us he was confident that it really was Alpha Flight on its way, un-brainwashed and all. Most all of us were satisfied with that, I thought. The X-men continued to train in the Danger Room like always but I could almost see a dark cloud dissolve and feel everyone’s sign of relief.

After a while, Alpha Flight’s ship was close enough that we could communicate with them over subspace. That meant we could exchange written messages only.

Alpha Flight asked us how long we’d been on the planet and who all was there. We responded to them with the information and asked them who was on board their ship and if they had any injured people who required medical attention.

They provided their roster. I tried to read the names but everyone was hunched over the screen. So Storm read the names out loud.

“Guardian, Vindicator, Sasquatch, Northstar, Aurora, Puck, Shaman, Flex, Radius, and Feedback”.

I heard the others mention the fact that Snowbird wasn’t listed, which was odd since this place belonged to her people. They wondered where she was. But I wasn’t so interested in that subject, I must admit. I was trying to digest the fact that Northstar was on board that ship and I would finally, for the first time ever, get to meet another gay mutant. My heart started speeding at the thought even though I still had a few days to wait.

“Look at this,” Jean said. “They are telling us that Heather “ Vindicator “ is eight months pregnant!”

That tidbit of news certainly provoked lots of interested looks. There were even a few comments along the lines of ‘A playmate for Jean and Scott’s son’.

“However, they state here that none of their team needs immediate medical attention,” Hank said, studying the read out. “I am glad to hear of that”.

We would find that during the next few days “ the time it took for them to get here “ Alpha Flight didn’t want to share much more than that over subspace. They suggested that we talk in person once they got here. It certainly made sense to all of us. Our last communication to them said that we looked forward to seeing them and taking with them in person. They said the same in their response and that they looked forward to landing on “their planet”.

***

That evening, most of the X-men sat together in the gathering room which contained the fireplace. As they sipped various beverages and enjoyed the warmth from the fireplace, they discussed the day’s events.

“I wonder if Alpha Flight will be allowed to use the power source that’s on this planet,” Cyclops speculated. “Since this place belongs to Snowbird’s people, they might be given the power”.

“I wonder if they might share some with us,” Jean said.

“We will need to think carefully about how to best broach this sort of discussion with them,” Storm began. She sat next to Wolverine, holding hands. Out of the corner of her eye, she could glance outside the window and see bright stars lighting the dark night. After having been alone on the planet for so long, she pondered the arrival of more people. “Perhaps we might want to consider teaming up with them. Our combined forces might be able to overtake FOH”.

“Maybe dey know somethin’ ‘bout FOH’s weapon, the one dat beat us so easily,” Gambit said.

“Of course with Heather eight months pregnant, they might not be considering a return to earth “ let alone battle “ anytime soon,” Jean added.

“I wish we knew some answers!” Rogue said. “I hate havin’ to wait. We got no choice though”.

Jubilee looked down at her soda and began to stir it with a finger. Wolverine was sitting next to her, and he had noticed that she had not been her usual effervescent self for most of the day.

“Somethin’ botherin’ you?” he asked, somehow making the terse three-word sentence convey deep caring.

“I dunno,” she muttered.

“Out with it. What’s on your mind?”

“It’s just that I’m confused,” Jubilee admitted. “FOH told us that they killed Alpha Flight. So we don’t know what happened “ heck, we don’t even know if FOH had ever even captured Alpha Flight in the first place or if they did but they escaped from FOH or what. I hate to think of any mutant being captured by FOH. But what if….what if FOH did to Alpha Flight what they told us they did?”

The room fell silent at Jubilee’s question. Although she didn’t specifically say the word, everyone knew she referred to FOH’s threats stating that they had raped the women in Alpha Flight. Jubilee vocalized something that everyone had wondered at least once since it had been revealed that Alpha Flight was on its way.

“Indeed, it is horrifying to think about,” Storm admitted.

“We do need to be prepared that this is a possibility though,” the Professor said. “If it did happen, then we should be aware that the members of that group are likely feeling a range of emotions right now and are probably traumatized to different extents. We should be prepared for anything”.

“Isn’t the fact that Heather is eight months pregnant a good sign though?” Jean asked. “I mean…god, this is terrible to talk about, but if FOH had…raped her repeatedly then I think there is a good chance that she would have miscarried”.

Hank nodded. “I agree. However, there is also a chance that she would not miscarry in such a circumstance”.

“FOH is fulla shit, I think,” Rogue piped out. “Hell, they told us that they’d killed Alpha Flight and here they are! So maybe they didn’t do the other thing either”.

“I dearly hope that is the case,” Nightcrawler spoke. “I do agree with the Professor that we should be at least mentally prepared for anything”.

An awkward silence descended. Jean then asked, “Should we do anything special to prepare for their arrival? Perhaps we could try to create a festive atmosphere, put up some decorations, play some music when they get here”.

“It couldn’t hurt,” the Professor said. “We do want to get on good terms with them. They might not be in a festive mood when they arrive here, but if that is the case we can always calm the celebration down”.

“They might want to celebrate a bit though,” Angel said. “Getting off the starship after weeks or months is cause for celebration, especially given how great this place is. And I agree that we want to get on good terms with them”.

“Yeah and besides there’s another case for wanting to be on good terms with them,” Bobby began. “Doesn’t this planet belong to them? If it belongs to Snowbird’s people, then is the planet considered Alpha Flight’s? If it is, I sure hope they don’t like kick us out”.

“They wouldn’t do that,” Jubilee said. “Um…would they?”

Storm and Cyclops looked at each other. “I think we should also be prepared for the fact that this is not out of the realm of possibility”.

“But where would we go? We don’t have enough dilithium to get back to earth,” Angel said.

“Let’s do what we can to get a good relationship with them and hope it doesn’t come to that,” Cyclops said.

Wolverine snorted. “We can kick their asses if we haveta”.

The Professor said, firmly, “Let’s not allow the situation to get that bad”.

***

After the discussion ended, Angel sat on the porch. He was usually in bed by this hour but, like many of the team, felt more stirred up than usual. Colossus and Cannonball moved their backgammon game to the deck and sat near Angel.

“I love this view,” Colossus said. “I am working on painting of the lake, but I like this too. All stars in the sky”. He had shown Beast, who deeply appreciated art, his in-progress painting. Beast had noticed that the passion Colossus poured into the painting belied his quiet and steady appearance.

“We’re not bugging you, are we?” Cannonball asked Angel.

“Not at all,” Angel replied.

As he and Colossus played their game, Cannonball said, glumly, “So there ain’t a lot of women on board Alpha Flight’s ship, it seems”.

“Just Heather and Aurora,” Warren answered, equally sullen. “Heather’s married and pregnant. Last I heard Aurora has an on-again, off-again thing with Sasquatch”.

Sam shook his head. “Even if they are off-again right now, what are the chances she’s single? There’s a lot of other guys on that ship “ what’s the likelihood she’s not with one of them?”

Sam silently added to himself, ‘And what’s the likelihood that one of the other guys won’t go after Jubilee?’ He cursed himself for his shyness and his fear of Wolverine; he should have approached Jubilee weeks ago. He desperately missed the touch of a woman, of wrapping his arms around a girl and kissing her. Being without a girlfriend “ or even without just a woman to sleep with “ was causing him to feel an acute loneliness. Of course he knew that he wasn’t the only X-man feeling that way, but took little consolation in that fact.

“Is pretty sad situation for us,” Colossus muttered.

***

Jean and Storm literally collided with each other in the hallway outside the bedrooms. Both women giggled as they held onto each other making sure the other was unharmed.

“I’m a telepath, I take full responsibility for this,” Jean smiled. “I should know when another person is coming down the hallway”.

Storm matched Jean’s levity. “But surely you do not have your telepathic sensors switched on every minute?”

“No, you’re right “ I can’t. It would give me a headache”. Jean smiled and looked around at the empty hall. “Do you want to go somewhere to talk for a bit? It just seems like forever since we had a chat, just the two of us”.

“I would love to”.

The two women acquired beverages in the kitchen. They sought out the porch but saw that it was occupied by Colossus, Angel, and Cannonball so they instead walked outside and sat by the lake. Now that the sun had set, the moonlight reflected against the rich waters, enhancing the allure of the lake.

“You know, I just wanted to say that I’m so glad you and Logan are together now,” Jean said, after taking a quick scan to ensure they were alone. “You both seem very content. Happy”.

Storm nodded. “Thank you. I cannot speak for Logan, but I definitely am happy. Our relationship is…different than yours and Scott’s but it works for us”.

“I know this is a bit awkward to say “ but I’ve wanted to talk about this with you for a while. I’m glad that he’s finally over me,” Jean finally let out.

“I’m glad you brought that up,” Storm smiled. “It certainly did have the potential to be a difficult situation, especially given that our friendship means a lot to me. But yes, it seems to me that he has long since accepted that you will never be his. I’m sure he still finds you very attractive, Jean. What man would not? He and I have not discussed the situation ourselves. Perhaps the passage of time was what helped him…get over you, so to speak”.

“Time heals all wounds. Maybe it also makes men look up and realize that they have something beautiful and amazing right in front of them “ you”.

Storm took Jean’s hand and held it for a bit. “Thank you,” she said, appreciating the compliment and knowing it was sincere.

“And of course I am long since over my attraction to him. I always did find him very attractive, but never once did I ever consider betraying Scott. What we have is so special that I would never have dreamed of risking it”.

“I know. A love like that is very rare and precious”.

The two women remained talking and sipping their drinks until they agreed to turn in for the night.

***

Gambit sighed contentedly as he leisurely stroked Rogue. Normally he would fall off to sleep after their lovemaking but this night he knew it wouldn’t happen.

“Dat was so good, chere,” he murmured.

“I got me a good teacher,” Rogue responded. “Just like you said you’d be”. Rogue turned and looked at him through half-lidded eyes. She mused that Remy had always come through on anything he had promised her. “Funny how that all was a couple years ago, when we were first gettin’ together, but I remember it like it was yesterday”.

“Me too. An’ I only love you more an’ find you even more beautiful each year, Rogue”. His hands gently stroked one of her arms.

Rogue buried her head against Gambit’s chest. “I wanna sleep now but I’m all stirred up,” she said.

“Not jus’ stirred up ‘cause of Remy?”

“No, Cajun,” Rogue smiled back at him. “It’s so weird to think soon there’ll be other people here. We had it all to ourselves for two months”.

“Remy was jus’ startin’ to feel bored and like we had enough of a vacation,” Gambit admitted. “Now I t’ink dat maybe dey lend us some dilithium and we gonna get outta here…and I’m wishin’ we had more time here”.

“’Course we don’t know if they’re gonna give us anything. Maybe they got business here, they do it, and then they hightail it outta here. I jus’ hope they wanna cooperate with us and not do anything dumb like try to kick us out”.

“Is all jus’ guessing now. We not gonna know till dey here”. He took a breath. “Gambit ain’t gonna worry ‘bout it till we know what the score is”.

Rogue smiled as his hands traced a playful pattern down her back. “Remy, stop that. You’re gonna turn me on again”.

“You complain’ ‘bout dat?” he teased.

“No. Jus’ that I….I guess I’m still hung up on this whole Alpha Flight thing. I mean, what if FOH *did* torture them?”

Gambit accepted that his distraction techniques had failed. “Well, chere, I guess it’s possible,” he said, his voice serious. “But you said it yourself around the fireplace earlier dat FOH lied ‘bout havin’ killed ‘em. So maybe dey lie ‘bout everythin’”.

“But you know, I been thinkin’ ‘bout it and I really do think that FOH was gonna do what they threatened to do to us. I didn’t get the idea that they were bluffin’”.

“Me neither,” he admitted. The warmth of the room had vanished and Gambit felt a distinct chill. “And Remy’s never been a coward, but in a way I wish dat we stay away from FOH and never see dem again so dat we don’t gotta risk gettin’ captured again”.

Rogue paused. “I feel the same way. And I sure never thought of myself as scared of much of anythin’ before FOH captured us”. She took a breath. “But we haveta defeat ‘em. We gotta find a way to beat ‘em otherwise they’re just gonna hurt mutants all over the place”.

Thinking about the subject made Remy’s head hurt. There was nothing the X-men could do right now to get at FOH. “Maybe Alpha Flight’s got some ideas or some resources,” Gambit said, though he wasn’t too optimistic.

“Maybe. You ever met any of ‘em?”

“No. When Storm and Jubilee and me were on Genosha, the twins were there too “ Northstar and Aurora. But we didn’t get to talk. Dat Northstar is gay dough. I wonder if he and Bobby gonna get together”.

“Hmmm. I wonder,” Rogue said. She suddenly realized that had never really thought of Bobby having a relationship or having any sort of amorous hookups. Her mental image of him had been nearly asexual. “Bobby’s a sweet guy; I hope he could be as happy as you and me”.

***

Something dawned on Storm. She noticed that Wolverine didn’t care to talk about his Alpha Flight days, or at least he didn’t care to talk about a few members of Alpha Flight. Since the impending arrival of the other team was the subject of nearly every discussion lately, many X-men asked Wolverine to tell them about his time as a member of the Canadian group. Sometimes Wolverine obliged, other times he remained tight-lipped. The team was used to a taciturn Wolverine.

Storm noticed that when Wolverine was asked about specific members of Alpha Flight, there were two in particular who he never brought up on his own: James and Heather. Storm knew little of the team members herself; her main source of information was what she had read back at the Institute from Xavier’s files. However, she had seen pictures of James and Heather, and had at least learned a bit about them. Her talk with Jean the other day also brought the general subject of Wolverine’s previous loves to the forefront of Storm’s mind.

She made the decision to ask her lover about it. It would not be long before Alpha Flight would be landing their ship next to Victory.

Ororo and Logan were spending the morning, before their Danger Room sessions, taking a canoe ride together on the water. There was no dock in the lake and getting in and out of the canoe could sometimes be a wet experience. During their ride that day, they alternated between Wolverine rowing and Storm summoning breezes to propel the canoe.

Ororo mused about how comfortable she felt with Logan and that she enjoyed the fact that neither felt obligated to make small talk. In fact, both were happy to take turns rowing and just enjoy the scenery.

Still, she also knew that she would need to break the silence to discuss what was on her mind. “Are you tired of everyone asking you about Alpha Flight?” she queried.

“No,” Logan answered. He left it at that for several moments before adding, “Been a long time since I was on that team”.

“Yes”. Storm also remained quiet for a moment, and then asked, “Did anything bad happen between you and anyone on that team?”

“Well, James and me never got along well. The time he dragged me back and they wanted to cut me open didn’t help much either”.

Storm nodded. The incident Logan referred to occurred after he had joined the X-men, so Storm had heard of it.

“I can certainly see why you would be angry”.

There was silence for a bit. Storm observed a bird dart towards the water. A few bushes near the shoreline rustled gently in the breeze.

“Did you have a girlfriend when you were on the team? If you don’t mind my asking,” she added.

The words felt awkward on her tongue, but Storm had to ask what she had been wondering about and it was obvious that Wolverine wasn’t going to volunteer the information. She questioned why she would feel odd bringing the subject up. Neither liked to discuss their pasts, though Wolverine more so than Storm. Neither discussed their previous relationships, though Storm wryly admitted to herself that she didn’t have much in the way of previous relationships to talk about. Lovers, several; long-term relationships, not really.

“No girlfriend. Not anyone steady”.

“Did you find any of the women in Alpha Flight attractive?”

If Logan was angered by her questions, he did not display it. He simply answered, after several seconds, “Yes”.

Ororo thought that perhaps that would be the end of it, but then Logan spoke again. “Heather. I really liked her. But she was married”.

“Did she like you?”

“I think so. A bit. She never cheated though, and I never asked her to. It was better that I left”.

Ororo knew that it was unlikely that this was the sole reason Logan left Alpha Flight, but she sensed that it was a big part of the reason. Which suggested to her that his feelings for Heather had been deep. She also had to bite her tongue to keep from pointing out the obvious similarities to Wolverine’s relationship with Jean and Cyclops.

And then Logan did something unexpected. He set the oars in their holders and reached across to hold Storm’s hand. “That was a long time ago. I want you. No one but you. You ain’t worried, are you?”

“No,” Storm answered. She then hesitated and said, “Well, perhaps a little, but I suppose it’s simply because I care about you so much. I really like you”. She looked down as she caressed the side of his leg with her foot. She desperately hoped her words did not sound like those of a school girl.

She reminded herself that love had a way of making everyone sound like a blithering idiot. If it was indeed love that she felt for Logan, and vice versa. They had never told each other that they loved each other.

Logan chuckled. “Well I like you too, ‘Ro, so no need to stew over the past”.

Ororo smiled. A very small part of her also wanted to remind herself that if Heather was eight months pregnant that meant she would be cumbersome and achy all over, but Ororo put that type of catty thought aside.


***

You could really feel the excitement in the air as the hours leading to Alpha Flight’s arrival were counted down. Hey, after nine weeks of doing nothing, this was an event, so you can’t blame us. It was the main subject people talked about at meals, in the rec room, while swimming in the lake or at any of our hang out places. No one knew if it meant we might be teaming up with them, leaving soon, or what.

When Alpha Flight’s ship was a few hours away, we got serious about preparations. I helped with decorations. We decided to use the large room outside our dining hall “ the room that was normally our rec room “ as the main indoor party space. We’d also have the porch outside plus the dining hall to use. We planned to put food out in both the dining hall and the rec room. Replicating a few streamers and balloons didn’t use up much power, so we were okay there and the place looked good.

Alpha Flight was scheduled to land a few hours before sundown. They told us via subspace that “ by luck, we guess “ that time of day corresponded pretty decently with the time of day they had been keeping on their ship too. So they wouldn’t be jet lagged, which would be good.

We X-men assembled outside in the large field where Alpha Flight’s ship would land next to Victory. I held my breath as it came into my field of vision, slowly grew bigger and bigger, and made its landing. Their ship had a smooth landing from what I could tell. My hair got ruffled by the winds the ship kicked up.

After getting the okay from the Professor, I had replicated a new outfit for myself the day before. Believe it or not, I’m not all that into clothes. Not too long after we left earth on Victory, I did what the others did “ replicated a few changes of clothing for me, nothing fancy. But it was getting old wearing the same few shirts and pants, and I wanted to look good for the party.

Okay, part of my motivation was that I wanted to look good when I met Northstar. I had a few expectations for how it would go. I thought that he and I would meet and talk a bit at the party, and then maybe slowly get to know each other over the next few days or weeks. Maybe nothing would happen, or maybe we’d become friends, or maybe we’d have a “friends with benefits” sexual relationship if we were compatible and found each other attractive (or hell, maybe even if not since presumably it had been a long time for him too). But things don’t always turn out the way you expect them.


***

Alpha Flight’s ship landed alongside Victory. Wolverine stood towards the front of the assembled X-men as they watched the members of Alpha Flight descend from their ship’s ramp. He inhaled deeply as they got closer. There was no mistaking the perception of his nose; these people *were* indeed Alpha Flight. Their presence here was no diabolical illusion or trick, he decided.

James and Heather led the way. The Professor, Storm, and Cyclops greeted them, shaking their hands and welcoming their team. Wolverine bit back a smirk; it almost came to look like the receiving line at a wedding, with the two groups pretty much having lined up and going down the line, making introductions and shaking hands.

Wolverine rather enjoyed seeing his former teammates though, with the obvious exception of James who slapped him on the back and commented that “it had been a while”. Wolverine fought his instinct and complied with the Professor’s request to play nice, so he choked back the words, ‘Not long enough’ in favor of shaking James’ hand. He then shook Heather’s hand while noting the size of her abdomen. Definitely very pregnant.

He had always liked Puck and Shaman, and they looked the same as always. Aurora was no less beautiful than she had always been as well; Wolverine wondered if her mental illness was under control or if she still suffered from multiple personality disorder. He had to admit that he knew little about the subject though he did see in her eyes the occasional wild and unbalanced glint that suggested she was still struggling. He greeted Northstar and Sasquatch. Wolverine had never met Flex, Radius, or Feedback before, and he shook their hands.

Alpha Flight didn’t look as if they had been tortured, Wolverine decided. His gut told him that whatever had happened to them, rape and other forms of agony at FOH’s hands had not been part of it. His instincts indicated that the team was tired, eager for a vacation, but not traumatized. He exchanged a look with Storm and felt that she understood his thoughts as well.

He heard Jean and Scott telling Alpha Flight about the party they had prepared. James said that his team would first like to select their rooms and would then enjoy socializing with the X-men. So the two groups headed towards the building’s wing that contained bedrooms. Although Wolverine happened to be walking several paces behind Cyclops and James, he heard them talking.

“We’d be interested in hearing your team’s story “ how you got here, when you left earth,” James said.

“Us too, for your team,” Cyclops replied.

“Let’s talk about it tomorrow,” Heather suggested.”We’ve had a lot happen and there were some grim moments in there. For you too, I bet. Let’s celebrate today and spare each other the details until tomorrow”.

Wolverine saw that people seemed to like Heather’s idea. He watched the members of Alpha Flight behaving much the same way as the X-men had when they first walked outside on this planet. As they walked through the field, they observed the setting sun, breathed the fresh air, and looked enchanted to be outdoors. He heard a few X-men telling them about the lake, and the Alpha Flight members expressed eagerness to see it.

“Been a while for you, since you been outside?” he asked Puck, who happened to be the Alpha Flight member walking closest to him.

“Been way too long,” Puck responded. “This place is as gorgeous as Snowbird said it would be”.

Wolverine was never one to pry; he respected those who didn’t want to reveal everything. But since Puck said her name, he felt it wouldn’t hurt to ask. “Where is she?”

Puck looked down. “She’s dead”. He shook his head and said, “We’ll talk more about it later. I don’t want to think about it right now”.

“Fair enough. And “ my sympathies”.

Puck nodded at the words of his former teammate. Wolverine then found Northstar falling into step next to him.

“Nice place here,” Northstar murmured.

Wolverine nodded and subtly gestured at Bobby, who was walking several paces ahead of them. “He’s gay,” he said, quietly.

“Merci,” Northstar responded. He then added, with a smile, “I did not know that you enjoyed playing matchmaker”.

Wolverine gave him a dirty look, and soon the large group of people reached the building.

***

The members of Alpha Flight slowly began to filter into the porch, rec room, and dining hall after each had selected a bedroom and placed a few belongings inside. Jean Grey had gone first to the rec room and cued up the music selection that had been prepared. It was a potpourri of different artists and styles, but all musical artists played were Canadian. She hoped the other team would notice that touch, along with the red and white color scheme of the balloons, streamers, and sign.

One of the first Alpha Fight members to enter the rec room was Heather. Jean smiled and approached her. Heather rubbed her lower back, best as she could reach it, before settling into a chair.

“Can I bring you anything?” Jean asked.

Heather returned the smile. “Why, thank you, Jean. I’d love a glass of water”.

“You need more than that; you have to eat for two. I’ll just put a plate together for you”.

“Great! Just please, nothing with too much sugar “ I need to watch my sugar intake, whether it’s replicated sugar or not”

When Jean returned with the food, she sat next to Heather. “I’m pregnant too,” Jean offered.

“Are you?” Heather asked, looking at Jean’s midsection. “I kind of wondered but of course I didn’t want to say anything. When are you due?”

“About four more months”.

“Do you know what you’re having?” Heather asked.

“A boy,” Jean answered. “What about you?”

“A girl,” Heather said. “James is disappointed that it’s not a boy. I didn’t care one way or the other. I’ll be glad with a healthy baby”.

“That is the most important thing,” Jean responded. “Do you have all the supplies you need?”

“We have the basics. We, uh, left earth rather quickly and we don’t have a ton of dilithium on board the ship, so we were just able to replicate the most necessary items. I do look forward to having the baby here. It’s so peaceful and beautiful”.

Jean made a mental note of that; whatever Alpha Flight’s long-term plans were, they would at least be here for a month or so.

“It’s very healing too,” Jean said. “The Professor was shot by FOH and put in a coma. He didn’t heal until he came here”. Jean saw the look on Heather’s face. “But I know you said you wanted to focus on happy things today, so enough about that. Are you excited about becoming a mother?”

“I have wanted this for a long time,” Heather said, a smile on her face.

“Me too,” Jean admitted.

Storm entered the rec room, with Wolverine and Shaman on her heels. The two were engaged in a discussion, so Storm walked over to the kitchen to get herself something to eat. On her way there, she passed Jean and Heather and noted that they appeared to be getting along well. She caught a snippet of their conversation and was unsurprised that it had to do with the topic of babies.

As she replicated a drink for herself, Storm was nearly shocked to notice herself experiencing a twinge of jealousy. `Is that what Logan likes?’ she asked herself. `Pale-skinned red-heads? Both of them *are* very beautiful. I am not like that’. She shook her head and questioned what was the matter with herself. `I’m a goddess. And I don’t need to be someone else. My brown skin is beautiful just as my unusual hair is. Logan likes me “ and more importantly, I like myself “ as I am’.

Storm again blanched inwardly, this time at her feelings instead of her thoughts. `He makes me feel like a schoolgirl. All the petty emotions that come up like jealousy and insecurity. Is this what falling in love feels like?’ Storm was forced to admit that for once, she didn’t like the impact that being with Wolverine had on her feelings.

The subject of her thoughts came up behind her. “How you doin’, ‘Ro?” Logan asked. He rested a hand on her back.

“Very well,” she answered. “Can I get you a beer?”

“Love one”.

Storm and Wolverine drifted towards the porch where they sat together. Alpha Flight members continued to gradually filter in from the other wing of the building, and most spent a bit of time sitting near Wolverine and catching up with their former teammate.

Storm also noticed a few of the Alpha Flight members “ particularly Radius and Feedback “ making eyes at her and attempting to talk with her. She would be happy to get to know them, of course, but had no desire to lead them on or give them the impression that she was available. She reached for Wolverine’s hand and held it, noting out of the corner of her eye the disappointed looks on the men’s faces.

***

Eventually the party came into full swing. Jubilee looked around and guessed that people were enjoying themselves. They often darted into the dining room for food and took it to the porch to experience the cool breeze. A few others clustered together in chairs in the rec room, but most seemed to prefer the porch.

Jubilee recognized one of the songs that came on, a faster-paced tune, and unselfconsciously sprang up and started to dance. One of the Alpha Flight men approached her and fell into step with her.

“I’m Radius,” he said. “My real name’s Jared”.

“Jubilee,” she smiled. Then added, “It’s both my code name and my real name. Well, it’s really Jubilation but everyone calls me Jubilee”.

The song eventually ended and another young man brought Jubilee a glass of water, saying that she must be thirsty. He introduced himself as Flex “ nee Adrian “ and said that he was Jared’s half-brother. They struck up a conversation, though it flowed awkwardly; Flex appeared shy. Soon another Alpha Flight man, Feedback, stepped in.

“You keep looking over your shoulder,” Storm murmured to Wolverine when the two had a rare moment alone.

“Jus’ seein’ how popular Jubilee is”.

“And not liking it,” Storm stated.

Wolverine looked at her. “Jus’ wanna make sure the guys behave themselves with her”.

“I don’t think that anyone is going to take her in their arms and ravish her. Relax, Logan. It’s not a crime for them to talk to her”.

He was silent for a few moments and took several more glances in Jubilee’s direction. “Don’t like the way they look at her. They’re hungry. I’m goin’ over there”.

“Logan,” Storm said, fighting to keep from raising her voice. She wanted to add in that she didn’t think it was quite necessary or appropriate, but he had already risen and headed over to Jubilee. She saw Wolverine put a protective arm around Jubilee and lead her to the area of the porch where he had been sitting with Storm.

***

Once Alpha Flight’s ship landed, we led them to the wing of the building that contained the bedrooms since they’d said they wanted to get settled. Most of the X-men came along though a few went over to the rec room to wait for the party to start. It was a bit unwieldy with a couple dozen people walking up and down the stairs as the newcomers picked out rooms. Keeping track of who claimed which room seemed like the kind of task that normally would be mine but Cyclops had a tricorder into which he punched that information and I saw him give a device to James as well.

So I went over to the rec room. When I got there, Jean was talking to Heather. It’s a stereotype to say that pregnant women are radiant, but they both did look lovely, I gotta say. Storm was passing our beers to Wolverine and then to Shaman and the three walked out towards the porch. Forge and Hank were having a discussion that looked intense. Usually if the two of them are talking, it’s about a subject I can’t begin to grasp so I didn’t want to interrupt it.

I went to the kitchen to get a drink so I’d have something to hold, and then sat down on one of the chairs in the rec room, really hoping that I didn’t look like a dork sitting there alone. I never knew what to do in these situations. I was just considering going over to Hank and Forge and trying to wheedle into their genius-level conversation (not sure exactly what I’d contribute but I could try, Hank put up with a lot from me) when out of the corner of my eye, I saw Northstar walking towards me.

I had been wondering when or how to go up to him. During our “receiving line” right after Alpha Flight landed, we had shook hands and introduced ourselves, I’d given him my best smile, but that was it. It sure hadn’t seemed right to tell him that I was gay them. I did want to meet him though, and I’d thought that I could always ask Wolverine “ he’s so sociable, you know “ to introduce us later. But in the rec room, Northstar really did go right up to me.

“Hello, mon pote. May I sit here?” he asked.

“Of course,” I said.

I was nervous. Damn, he was *good-looking*. He wasn’t wearing particularly tight or revealing clothes, but I could tell that he was really built. Muscular arms and shoulders. He had a beautiful face too, if a face can be described as both beautiful and masculine at the same time. Maybe it was that his jaw was really distinct and masculine, yet he had these narrow eyebrows over his eyes. Great cheekbones, intense and wide eyes, jet-black hair, and elfish ears that had points at the top. His accent was thick and sexy. Oh dear. I didn’t know if he’d find me attractive or interesting, but I already knew how I was finding him and I wonder if I was blushing already.

“Um, can I get you anything to drink?” I managed.

“What do you have there?” he asked. As he asked the question, he gently touched a few of his fingers to both my glass and my hand.

“Oh, its, um, just water. I’m actually not all that into booze”.

“Really? What do you like to drink then?”

I shrugged. “I’m not much of a drinker at all. I like food. I like to eat and I even like to cook. When it comes to drinking, I’d just rather use up the calories on food instead, you know?” I hoped I wasn’t rambling and then asked, “What about you? What do you like to drink?”

“I miss a good wine. The replicated stuff isn’t quite as good”.

“I know what you mean”.

“I very much like to eat too but don’t care to cook”.

“Back when we lived at the mansion, I could whip up a few dishes pretty well”.

“Really? What did you specialize in?”

Was it just me or did he totally have a twinkle in his eye? He was looking right at me and really had a fetching look on his face. I was so thrilled that he looked interested in me that I was thrown off-kilter too.

And I’m not sure how exactly I answered his question. I rambled on about some of the dishes I made, though of course none of them were that fancy and there really wasn’t much to the omelets or special pasta sauces I whipped up. But he listened intently to my words.

When I figured I’d rambled on enough, I asked him if he liked Chinese food and I have no idea how I came to that.

“I don’t like sweet and sour. I like stir fry,” he said, “if it has a more salty and sour taste instead of sweet and sour taste”.

“Ah. I can make a good stir fry too,” I bragged, realizing how ridiculous I probably sounded. “I mean, I used to. Here we don’t really cook. You just punch a few buttons on a replicator. Takes some of the fun out of it but it’s sure nice and convenient”. I paused and asked, “So, do you want me to bring you something to eat? And some wine, even though it’s not as good as the real stuff?”

“I’d love that. I’ll go with you though”.

We walked over to the dining room and he filled up his plate. I tried to notice which dishes he was selecting and which ones he skipped over. He got the food on his plate quickly but he didn’t use his hyper-speed. Sometimes it seemed that a lot of mutants didn’t use their powers except when they had to. Colossus was in the dining room and we said hello before we went back to our seats in the rec room.

“You’re not having anything?” Northstar asked me.

“Not right now. I had a late lunch”. And I was too nervous to eat.

As he dug into his food “ and he definitely ate with gusto “ I decided to be a bit more forward than usual. I gathered that he had either guessed I was gay or perhaps someone had mentioned it sometime between when Alpha Flight landed and when he entered the rec room. But I wanted to make sure he knew. So I said, “I always wanted to thank you for coming out publically. I remember reading about it when you came out. It was really great “ you showed a lot of people that a gay guy can be strong and powerful”. I stopped there, wondering if I was laying it on a bit thick.

But he seemed to like the praise. He seemed to puff up a bit. “You are gay too?” he asked.

I nodded.

And then I nearly keeled over at his next words. “Handsome man like you must have a boyfriend back on earth. Or here,” he added, looking around the room and not at me for practically the first time since we’d seen each other in here.

“Me? No. No boyfriend. What about you?”

“No”.

At this point I was trying to not grin from ear to ear. He was interested in me. Both of us were in “very deep like” with each other, I could tell. My heart was still racing. I wanted to spend time with him and forget about everyone else. I vaguely knew that others were chatting on the porch and even spotted some dancing out of the corner of my eye.

“How old are you?” he asked.

“Twenty-five. You?”

“Aurora and I turned thirty earlier this year”.

“Did you have a big double celebration?”

“Indeed we did. It was…was a very good party”. His tone had changed drastically from flirty to reflective. He tilted his head upwards. “Very good. It got me to thinking a lot about my life”.

“Really?” I leaned forward in my seat. “Like about what?”

“I, eh, had a lot of things happen in the past few years. I do not want to bore you by spilling out my life story. I will tell you more of it later if you would like. But I did resolve to be a better person, to be better in all areas of my life. You ““

He was cut off when two people approached us. I looked up and saw his sister and the guy who was named Walter and sometimes went by Sasquatch. They had their arms around each other and definitely looked like an item.

“How are you liking this new place, my brother?” Aurora asked.

“It is a nice place,” he said, sounding a bit irritated at the interruption. Then his tone changed completely and he added, “With very nice people,” as he took a glance at me.

We made small talk with them for a while before Walter found a way to politely excuse himself and his girlfriend. Aurora looked like she wanted to hang with her brother a bit more but his body language sure showed he felt otherwise. I asked Northstar about them and he said that they were making an attempt to be together though they had broken up more than once before in the past. He told me a bit about his sister’s struggle with mental illness and said that her current condition was as up-and-down as usual. And we continued to sit there and talk; I was fairly oblivious to the other activity around us and I think Northstar was too.

***

Gambit and Rogue stood in a circle, with a handful of others, talking together on the porch. Gambit took another sip of his drink and enjoyed the pleasant buzz. The Alpha Flight members they had met seemed just fine, though he hadn’t spoken much with their leader. The others that Gambit and Rogue had been chatting with began to drift away.

Gambit gently nudged his partner on the arm. “Look over dere,” he gestured subtly towards where Bobby and Northstar sat in the rec room.

“They’ve been there a while,” Rogue observed.

“Yes. And deir body language sayin’ only one t’ing”.

“Really?”

Gambit nodded.

“I guess I should be happy for Bobby then,” Rogue said quietly, puzzled as to why she wasn’t feeling that at all right then.

Gambit said nothing more. He was not physically attracted to other men but he did love sexuality in general, in all its forms, and was happy for what he saw developing.

***

I don’t want to bore you so I won’t share every bit about what Northstar (or Jean Paul, as he asked me to call him) and I talked about. Only that we sat there for what seemed like minutes but surely was more than two hours and we talked a lot. He wasn’t arrogant at all; at least he didn’t seem that way to me. He did brag a bit when he got to talking about his days as an Olympic athlete, but he never monopolized the conversation or failed to ask me about myself. He listened and seemed interested when I talked about myself.

“I don’t know if I’ve had as interesting a life as you,” I admitted. “I haven’t done much with the X-men or been an Olympic competitor.

Suddenly Gambit and Rogue were standing behind us. “You did do somethin’ pretty amazin’ and heroic dough,” Gambit said.

I turned around and reintroduced Rogue and Gambit to Jean Paul.

“I am not surprised,” Jean Paul said. “What did Bobby do?”

“Maybe you should tell him all ‘bout our escape from FOH. How we owe it all to you”.

Remy and Jean Paul then exchanged something in French that I couldn’t understand, and Jean Paul reached to hold my hand. “Perhaps we discuss it tomorrow morning. I am so happy to be off that ship that I do want to celebrate tonight”.

“I totally understand,” I said, not wanting to revisit that bleak time either. And the touch of his hand was making it hard for me to think. “There’s a lot of dark moments to that story”.

“But it does end wit’ you bein’ the hero. We won’t keep you from your celebration anymore dough,” Gambit said smoothly. He and Rogue drifted away, and I fleetingly wondered why Gambit looked so interested and Rogue looked just a bit weirded out.

By the way, Jean Paul did seem fine. I sensed that this wasn’t the best time to ask him, ‘Hey did FOH gang rape your sister?’ so I didn’t, but from looking at Alpha Flight, I guessed that they were basically okay. I didn’t want to broach the subject of how they escaped or even if they had been captured in the first place. It was such a sad topic in general and Jean Paul said he wanted to keep this day happy. I wasn’t about to argue. I was about as happy as I’d been in a long time.

I realized at one point that my stomach was rumbling, and that I hadn’t eaten. I looked up and saw that we were nearly alone in the rec room. It was pitch dark outside and only two members of Alpha Flight plus Colossus were left, playing cards on the porch. Everyone else must have turned in for the night.

“It is late,” Jean Paul said.

“Yes,” I said.

His eyes shifted around the room and back at me. His eyes were beautiful. “I am dying to kiss you. Come to my room and let me do that, mon chou”.

“Let’s go!” I said, not even thinking about the fact that I had no idea what “mon chou” meant.

And next thing I knew, we were in his room. I won’t tell you all the details about the night we spent together, just that we didn’t leave the room, we didn’t sleep much, and I had never before been with anyone who was so affectionate and loving.

***

TO BE CONTINUED

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