X-23 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cutting_edgex23) wrote2008-10-18 10:19 pm
cutting_edgex23) wrote2008-10-18 10:19 pm
(no subject)
There's nothing left of the Institute but rubble. X knew that before she came back. But she came back anyway. Not to look for her things, but to see who else has come back. To know who is still here.
To know who's around to hear her say goodbye. There are a few--none of her friends, but some of the teacher's scents are still strong. Hank, for one. Miss Frost.
Cyclops.
She turns toward the ruined garden with its broken monument, head tilting as she studies the leader of the--
The former leader of the X-men. After a few moments of silence--
"Laura. You're still here." He does not sound surprised. "Do you have a minute? There's something I wanted to talk to you about. Come on, there's this diner in town I've always liked, and it's been a while."
He thinks she is hungry. Interesting.
X shrugs, re-shoulders her duffel bag, and follows him. She does not have any other plans. Yet.
***
She can see Cyclops' eyebrows go up when she orders a root beer float, but the waitress does not behave as if something strange is happening. That is good. Nobody wants to draw attention to mutants right now. Not after--
X stays silent, studying Scott while they wait for their order to arrive. He tries for small talk, but she does not respond until they have an audience.
She is not sure what he wants.
He doesn't bring up any business while they eat, either. But after, when they've gotten back into the rental car--
That's when he delivers his pitch. He talks to her seriously, about mutants, and how few there are now, and how dangerous it still is for them. He tells her about the Purifiers, as if to make sure she knows how much damage they caused.
X will never forget.
And he says they still need to be stopped. Even without the X-men, someone still needs to keep mutants safe from the ones who want to kill them. The government won't help. The Initiative won't help, and Cyclops will not ask them.
But she could. If she wanted to. It's what she's trained for, after all. And she'd be doing good work. She would get a stipend, and supplies, and access to any files Scott has access to. It would have to be quiet, and she could not contact her former teammates, but--
X stays silent through all of this, listening very carefully. And at the end of his speech, when Scott asks her to think about it, to take this phone and call him later--
X shakes her head.
"I do not need to think."
Her expression is perfectly composed, voice level and calm. It is very deliberate.
"I do not want to kill because people tell me to. Not any more."
There is a pause while she studies Scott's face.
"But I will keep the phone."
She takes it from his hand, slipping it into her pocket.
"It is safer."
And if X were better with people, or if Scott's ruby quartz glasses didn't hide his expression so well, maybe she'd even notice that behind the disappointment and the first stirrings of desperation and annoyance--not too far behind any of those, either--
There is a great deal of pride.
But she isn't. Not yet.
As it is, when Scott drops her off at the bus station, making sure she has enough money for her ticket to California, the last thing she says to him is 'I am sorry'.
He doesn't bother telling her she doesn't need to be.
It's not relevant.
She'll figure that out for herself someday. Maybe even someday soon.
It's a start.
With the way things have been going lately, Scott will take that as a sign.
A good one.
And maybe X-23 will never need to answer that phone.
To know who's around to hear her say goodbye. There are a few--none of her friends, but some of the teacher's scents are still strong. Hank, for one. Miss Frost.
Cyclops.
She turns toward the ruined garden with its broken monument, head tilting as she studies the leader of the--
The former leader of the X-men. After a few moments of silence--
"Laura. You're still here." He does not sound surprised. "Do you have a minute? There's something I wanted to talk to you about. Come on, there's this diner in town I've always liked, and it's been a while."
He thinks she is hungry. Interesting.
X shrugs, re-shoulders her duffel bag, and follows him. She does not have any other plans. Yet.
***
She can see Cyclops' eyebrows go up when she orders a root beer float, but the waitress does not behave as if something strange is happening. That is good. Nobody wants to draw attention to mutants right now. Not after--
X stays silent, studying Scott while they wait for their order to arrive. He tries for small talk, but she does not respond until they have an audience.
She is not sure what he wants.
He doesn't bring up any business while they eat, either. But after, when they've gotten back into the rental car--
That's when he delivers his pitch. He talks to her seriously, about mutants, and how few there are now, and how dangerous it still is for them. He tells her about the Purifiers, as if to make sure she knows how much damage they caused.
X will never forget.
And he says they still need to be stopped. Even without the X-men, someone still needs to keep mutants safe from the ones who want to kill them. The government won't help. The Initiative won't help, and Cyclops will not ask them.
But she could. If she wanted to. It's what she's trained for, after all. And she'd be doing good work. She would get a stipend, and supplies, and access to any files Scott has access to. It would have to be quiet, and she could not contact her former teammates, but--
X stays silent through all of this, listening very carefully. And at the end of his speech, when Scott asks her to think about it, to take this phone and call him later--
X shakes her head.
"I do not need to think."
Her expression is perfectly composed, voice level and calm. It is very deliberate.
"I do not want to kill because people tell me to. Not any more."
There is a pause while she studies Scott's face.
"But I will keep the phone."
She takes it from his hand, slipping it into her pocket.
"It is safer."
And if X were better with people, or if Scott's ruby quartz glasses didn't hide his expression so well, maybe she'd even notice that behind the disappointment and the first stirrings of desperation and annoyance--not too far behind any of those, either--
There is a great deal of pride.
But she isn't. Not yet.
As it is, when Scott drops her off at the bus station, making sure she has enough money for her ticket to California, the last thing she says to him is 'I am sorry'.
He doesn't bother telling her she doesn't need to be.
It's not relevant.
She'll figure that out for herself someday. Maybe even someday soon.
It's a start.
With the way things have been going lately, Scott will take that as a sign.
A good one.
And maybe X-23 will never need to answer that phone.