Post by ReadingTrance on Jan 19, 2014 21:50:50 GMT -5
UNCANNY X-MEN #3
Stormy Nights
Stormy Nights
Storm softly knocked on the door to Xavier’s office.
“Come on in.” He sounded from the other side.
After pushing the door open, Storm calmly walked towards the Professor. He was sitting at his desk, looking over some paperwork before turning his attention to his visitor.
“Storm.” He showed a warm smile. “What brings about this unexpected visit?”
She took a seat and then crossed her legs, placing her hands on top of her knees.
“I want to join the X-Men again. I’m ready. I can handle my abilities.”
“I never doubted your ability to keep your powers in check, but the collateral damage is too high of a risk. You do remember what happened last time you were in the field?”
Storm’s head lowered in shame as she slowly nodded.
Professor X exhaled. “If it were any other person, they would have died, Storm. We were lucky it was Logan that your abilities had injured. There will come a day that we need you again, but for now I think your biggest contributions can be made by molding the young minds at this institution.”
“I understand.” Storm said as she got up and walked out of the room.
His answer didn’t make her happy. Storm understood that she had made a mistake, but she wasn’t going to make it again. She could use her powers to help people.
---X---
“You must be happy that Cyclops and Colossus are coming back today.”
Rogue moved a pawn of her own before answering Bobby. “Yep, I am. Feels like they’ve been gone forever and a day.”
After several more moves by each player, Bobby looked up at Rogue.
“Rogue, I just wanted to thank you. You’ve been my closest friend since joining the X-Men and it’s been great. It was an easy transition to the team and I mostly owe that to you.”
Rogue lightly blushed as she locked eyes with Bobby. “Of course, hun. It’s what I’m here for.”
Then, without thinking, Bobby blurted out what had been on his mind for days.
“Is it ever difficult to not be able to touch people?”
Her eyes sadly wandered away to stare at the glove she wore on both hands. “Yes, it’s extremely hard. The slightest touch from me could drain the life from a person. That’s a difficult thing to live with.”
Bobby reached out and pulled off one of her gloves.
“What are you doing?” Rogue was shocked, quickly pulling her hand away. Why would he take off one of her gloves?
“Give me your hand.” Bobby stuck his hand out over the table.
“It’ll kill you, Bobby!”
“Trust me.” He smiled.
Rogue slowly stuck her hand back out flat on the table. So, Bobby put his plan into effect. He formed a thin layer of ice to cover his entire hand and gently placed it on top of Rogue’s.
Nothing happened.
Her eyes and smile both widened in delight. Sure, his hand was a bit cold, but she was making human contact without the penalty of killing someone.
“Bobby! You can touch me.”
He warmly smirked. He had really hoped that this would work.
After another slightly awkward moment of locking eyes, Bobby retracted his hand and returned his attention to the game.
---X---
Later that day, the X-Men had gathered around the foyer of the X-Mansion, awaiting Cyclops and Colossus’s return. The large mansion doors were wide open, welcoming sunshine and a warm summer breeze. The members of the X-Men had split up into groups, making small talk while waiting for the two X-Men to arrive.
Out of nowhere, a puff of purple smoke filled the air. Nightcrawler had just teleported into the room.
“They are coming.”
Everyone’s attention turned to the open doors as Scott Summers and Piotr Rasputin walked into the mansion. Certain members of the X-Men, such as Jean and Rogue, were ecstatic to see their return. Other members kept their distance, simply saying hello with a smile and a wave to welcome them home.
After a short reunion, Professor X pulled Cyclops aside.
“I know you just got back and probably need to rest, but I need to see you in my office as soon as you’re done here.”
Cyclops nodded before feeling Jean pull him away for a kiss.
After their quick kiss, Scott noticed an unfamiliar face sitting on the stairs. “Who’s that?”
“That’s Bobby Drake. The newest member of the team.” Jean answered with her arm wrapped around Cyclops.
Scott gave her another quick kiss before walking towards Iceman. Bobby glanced up at his incoming leader. His nerves quickly went out of control.
Cyclops was quite intimidating. His red visor covered his eyes, so you could never make eye contact with him. This made it difficult to read his facial expressions. Not only that, but the man was a revered mutant war hero. He was arguably the most important member of the X-Men team.
“Hi there. I’m Scott. I hear you’re our newest member?”
“Yes, I am.” Bobby stood up to shake his hand. “Bobby Drake.”
Cyclops noticed Bobby’s hand slightly shaking. He reached out and shook his hand. “And what is your mutant ability?”
“Iceman can create and control ice.” Jean stepped into the conversation with an attractive smirk. “Bobby was a big help during his first mission yesterday.”
“That’s great to hear.” Scott smiled. “Welcome to the team.”
It wasn’t long before another interruption took place.
“Scott!” Beast called over to the X-Men’s leader as he approached. “I just wanted to let you know that the new outfits are almost complete. They will be much more protective than the current ones. My experimentation with Spider-Man’s web was a success.”
“That’s great news, Hank.” Scott nodded in approval. “Just hope they’re a bit more fashionable than the current ones.”
Both men laughed.
“I’ll see what I can do.” Hank moved on to mingle with someone else.
Jean kissed Scott’s cheek. “You’re far too important. It keeps you too busy.”
Cyclops looked over to her. “I know and I’m sorry. I’ll meet you back in our room shortly. Xavier said he needed to talk to me.”
“Don’t take too long. I’ve missed you.” Jean gently slid her hand along his lower back as she walked away.
---X---
“Welcome back, Scott. I hope you had a nice trip.”
Xavier and Cyclops were alone in Professor X’s office, seated across from each other.
“Yes, it was a nice little vacation. I just hope my speech didn’t put too many people to sleep.”
Professor X chuckled. “No, it was perfect.”
“So, what was it that you needed to talk to me about?”
Xavier’s mood quickly changed to a more serious tone. “The Brotherhood.”
Scott took a moment. That wasn’t what he expected to hear.
“The Brotherhood? What about them?”
“They’re back, Scott. Jean ran into them last night. They launched an attack at a nightclub,” Professor X worriedly ran his hand over his bald head, “and I’m not sure what Magneto has planned this time.”
“Are you sure it’s Magneto? It could just be an off-shoot of the former Brotherhood.”
“His daughter was there, Scott. It has to be him.”
Scott leaned back and lightly stroked his chin in thought. “What are we going to do?”
“There isn’t much we can do right now but be on guard. I need you to get the X-Men ready, just in case something happens.”
Scott agreed. “We’ll get started first thing in the morning.”
He then proceeded to stand up and walk towards the door.
“Scott.” Xavier called after him. “One last thing. Can you please check on Storm? I’m afraid something is troubling her related to the accident. We had a brief conversation this morning.”
“Will do.” He answered before leaving the room.
---X---
“I missed you, darling.” Rogue smiled at Colossus as they sat on the brown leather couch.
“And I missed you too.” Colossus responded in his deep, strong Russian accent.
Currently, Piotr was enveloped in his organic steel, allowing Rogue to lay her head on his shoulder. It was uncomfortable for him to constantly remain in this state, but it was the only safe way to make physical contact with Rogue.
“Have you ever thought about how odd of a pair we make?”
Colossus let out a single laugh. “No, not really.”
In fact, he did. Quite often. Rogue was great and he loved spending time with her. However, he knew this relationship wasn’t going to last.
He wasn’t in love with this girl. He just felt alone. He always has. Except for when he was with Rogue. He was so different from everyone else and socially awkward, but for some reason Rogue saw past that. Normally that would be enough to make a man fall in love with you; but for whatever reason, those feelings weren’t swelling around inside of Piotr. It simply felt good to not be alone.
Regardless, he still wrapped his arm around this girl and held her close. She wasn’t alone either. He’d still take care of her no matter what.
---X---
Storm zipped up a duffle bag that was sitting on her bed as a knock came at her door. Quickly, she slid the bag under the bed.
“Yes?” She called.
“It’s Scott.”
She walked over to the door and opened it while wearing a fake smile.
“Scott, welcome back.”
“Thanks.” He stepped into the room. “I noticed you weren’t with the others to welcome us back. I just wanted to check in and make sure everything was alright.”
Cyclops surveyed the room to see if anything seemed out of place, but everything appeared to be in order.
“Oh, yes. I’m sorry. I was caught up in something else. You know, the responsibilities of being a teacher and all.”
Scott grinned. “I understand. If something is wrong or you need anything, feel free to let me know. I’m always here to talk.”
“I know that, Scott. We’ve been through a lot together.”
“Alright.” He smiled, trying to lighten up the mood. “Sleep well.”
“You too.” She returned the smile, again faking it as she walked him out of the room.
After Scott walked out of the room, she promptly closed the door. Storm grabbed the duffle bag from under the bed and began packing clothes again. She wouldn’t take this political bullshit anymore.