A few seconds earlier....
“Wait, I need my-”
A few seconds later...
Unceremoniously Aaliyah felt her body being pulled through the time portal, Forge grasping her hand, but her mind clearly being left behind. In a few seconds they arrived on the ‘other’ side. There waiting for the pair is several of her supposed teammates, the legendary and fabled X men:
Sarah Drake, the comedian and popular girl about school. Her jazz fingers were nearly as famous as her boisterous laugh.
Best friends Chase Summers and Kieako Howlett, two boys who also happened to be like brothers to her and each other. They were both in the hip hop focused program. Chase was also music focused while Kieako didn’t know exactly what he was doing with his life. For now he’d prefer to focus on learning how to stop dancing and playing quarterback for his football team.
Nathain Lebaux, her godbrother and favourite partner in crime. He didn’t go to Xavier’s Academy but he was well known still among the ladies. Aaliyah and he could be found often planning another art heist or cracking jokes at some fool’s expense.
Magdalene “Maggie” Summers, Scott’s younger sister and her nemesis. She was in the ballet program. She was a social climber of the worst order who didn’t appreciate having to suck up to Aaliyah, who knew better than to enjoy every second of it.
Hank McCoy, her lab partner. He was a surprisingly good artist, amateur scientist, and tap dancer.
And the Worthington twins, Warren and Jason, who are both only at Xavier for the prestige but have no direct talents of their own. However Warren discovered the joys of ballet at thirteen. Jason has also made discoveries of his own: he may not have a single talent to call his own but he is an amazing facilitator. Most of them dressed in jeans and t-shirts and prepared for a week stay in another dimension while their home timeline is safeguarded by Forge’s team.
Surrounding them is the actual X men- the real renegades who work, live and die for Xavier dream- an older version of her teenaged friends.
In Aaliyah’s dimension Xavier’s dream has been more than accomplished and the school is a place not only for those with mutant powers to be trained but also been compared as the newest Juillard.
But these X men are adults- hard and chiselled by danger and fighting for their mere survival. However, for a week, they are willing to care for these strange youths while being guaranteed a week of peace from attack from their many enemies.
And there was Aaliyah, Ororo’s only child from a French Duke, in her duck pyjamas. When the pull of the portal forces finally seized, Aaliyah felt the vertigo of standing still set in. Stumbling she flung her arms in front of her eyes in the bright, cheerful office.
“God, fuck!” she squealed. “It burns! GOD IT BUUURRRNNNSS”
Forge stepped back in shock. The Aaliyah he knew was active and stubborn, unlikely to complain about pain. At first everyone was frozen with shock.
“Lili!” Kieako whispered in concern. Immediately he grabbed Forge by the lapels, despite being a pacifist, and demanded what he’d done to her. Forge voice showed the truth of his bewilderment.
“She just packed her stuff and got out of bed and, and, and hell, she was fine two seconds ago. Look I can’t wait here. I have to make sure you lot have a perfect world to go back to.” With that Forge stepped back into the time portal.
“Bastard,” Warren called after him.
Nathain and Chase shared a glance as Aaliyah fell to the ground, her body contorting in seizure like moves, before rolling their eyes. They knew only one thing would cure Aaliyah of her sudden affliction, and that she was relatively safe, but they couldn’t understand why she was acting like this. Languidly, Nathain rested his elbow on Chase’s shoulder and covered a yawn behind the back of his hand. No one else saw this because they were too busy crowding around the young girl, who was kicking and screaming, to help.
Older McCoy delicately leaped to the girl’s side and tried to restrain her from hurting herself while shouting instructions. She pushed her palm deep into the fur at his chin as she resisted him.
Ororo cried out in fear and Betsy restrained her from pushing forward any further. They could be no help to the child.
“Red,” he shouted and two heads looked in his direction. One was nonchalant and slightly bored by the scene. The other was sharply prepared to follow her friend’s instructions to the tee. “Uh, our Jean, please. Get the medical room prepared. Logan, help me get her there.”
On the floor, Aaliyah screamed, “Fuckery! Hellions! Heifers! YOU WILL ALL BURN FOR THIS!!! I neeeeeeddsssss it, weak, so weak…”
Older Logan and Jean nodded sharply, ready to bust into action.
Worriedly, McCoy tried to hold on to the vigorously shaking girl who was losing strength every second that was wasted. Scott and Remy cleared the desk, chairs, and luggage away so she couldn’t hurt herself on them. Xavier frowned as he mentally tried to scan the girl. She had a thicker mental shield than Fort Knox and Batman’s cave combined.
“What is the matter?” McCoy asked her, hoping she might be able to verbalise her pain.
“Koff, koff,” Aaliyah tried to say through clenched teeth, her fingers twitching as if reaching for some familiar object. “KOFF!!!”
“Does this girl take any regular medications?” McCoy demanded and a light went off in Kieako’s head. Jean burst back into the room and sent McCoy a telepathic message that the room was ready.
However before anyone could do anything further to move Aaliyah to the medical room, Kieako spoke up.
“Wait!” Kieako shouted. “Just wait. What time is it in Africa?”
Understanding dawned on Chase and Nathain.
“Crap,” Nathain muttered. “O’ course!”
“It all makes sense,” Chase said aloud to himself.
Kieako nodded, “That’s what I thought.”
Sarah looked on in worry, instinctually holding on to Maggie’s shoulders for comfort. The look Maggie gave her for the crime of touching was one of murder. She had already read Aaliyah’s mind aura and knew exactly what was the matter with her. She rolled her eyes and yawned. Sarah ignored the dirty look.
“Whatsa matter with her? Is she going to be okay?” Sarah asked finally as everyone looked at and waited for Kieako to explain.
“Yup, I’ve got the cure right here.”
McCoy’s eyebrows drew together as he nodded. “Then please young man. Hurry!!!”
Kieako pulled a small package out of his back pocket. Logan sniffed the air and screwed up his face.
“That ain’t medicine.”
“Please,” Ororo moaned. She’d barely been able to see her child before witnessing her pain. Ororo grabbed at Logan’s arm and he relented in letting the young man who shared his DNA and hair style (Rolled out of bed hair, very popular with the ladies) do what was necessary. Logan placed his hand on Ororo’s and she relaxed slightly as she watched the scene unfold.
Kieako shook his head, “For Aaliyah it is. She isn’t alive without it. She’s been taking it since she was nine. We now know how she’ll react without it for so long. I’ve always wondered.”
“It’s unhealthy,” Nathain commented. “Seriously, she’s addicted.”
“KOOOOOOOFFFFFF, so close!!!! Can tas-taste it!!!!!” Revived by the possibility of her drug of choice, Aaliyah gathered together her strength. There was little left and she immediately collapsed back into McCoy’s arms.
“Somebody get me a boiling cup of water!” Kieako demanded.
Scott ran to the side table that ran along Xavier’s office wall where an electric teapot (shaped like a shoe and given as a Christmas present from Jubilee) was still hot. Carefully the mug was brought over.
“I keep this for every dimension,” Kieako explained as he dropped the dry ingredients into the water. “In case the smells are too strong and I need a neutralizer.”
The powder quickly dissolved and, after kneeling and taking Aaliyah from the torso up into his arms, slowly let the lifeline fluid into her mouth. After a teaspoon of the stuff made it down her throat Aaliyah jumped up and swiped the cup from Kieako’s hand, gulping it down.
“Withdrawal much?” Maggie said snarkily.
“AAAAAAHHHHHH, YESSSSSSS,” she growled in satisfaction and raised the cup above her head. “I’m ALLLLIIVVEEEE.”
“All hail instant coffee,” Chase joked.
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