Blueshift

Blueshift Chapter Forty Five
Disclaimers Apply


A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST WOMAN ALIVE ™, Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta… antihistamines are your friends. Your sleeeeeeeeeepy friends… InterNutter, TC, Maxwell Pink and Dracena are loverly and wondermous for archiving/hosting. :) ProPhile: More gold stars… Morgan: *giggles* That mental image is still in my head… Readers/Reviewers: The Killer Kitties ™ are sad because ReiMars has vanished… :( Thanks for reading and reviewing as you get the chance! *glomp *


“What do you mean, they’ll be home soon?”
“Just that, they’ll be home soon.” Sean tipped the skillet of scrambled eggs onto a serving platter and smiled tightly at Storm. “I got the message this morning that Amara and Lance would be home this evening.”
Storm blinked, shook her head as if trying to clear it, then tried to voice her disbelief in a way that did not sound bitchy. “That’s impossible. They’re in Columbia, they were arrested, Charles is having to pull all sorts of strings to simply get a lawyer to *touch* this case…” She closed her eyes and sighed. “I need green tea.”
Sean held out a cup wordlessly and waited until she had taken a long, burning sip before telling her the rest of the news. “Amara called from Dallas. She said they would be at JFK at six this evening.” He raised a brow. “You okay there?”
Storm nodded, choking on her tea. “Dandy,” she croaked. “That’s impossible!” She covered her mouth with a paper towel, hastily ripped from the roll, adding in a creaky voice, “How are they getting home? Have you spoken with Charles about this?”
“He’s been…busy,” Sean said carefully. In fact, he had stopped by the Professor’s private quarters an hour or so before.
“Yo, who’s doin’ all that thumpin’ and bumpin’ upstairs?” Todd yawned, ambling into the kitchen in clothes that had seen better days, followed closely by Rogue, looking a bit worse for wear herself. “Guy can’t sleep… I thought there was rules ‘bout knockin’ boots in this place.”
“First of all, the eighties called and they want their slang back,” Sean sighed, setting the platter of eggs on the table. “Secondly, mind your own business.” He handed Storm another paper towel to stem her second bout of choking as realization hit her. “Eat your breakfast and for the love of God, man, take a shower!”
“Eeeeeeew…” Paige opined, sitting down across from Todd. It was early enough that the younger students were not awake and the older ones liked to eat their breakfast together, in relative privacy. Late risers like Jubilee would be stuck in the dining hall with the herd of kids but most of the rest of the original students preferred the privacy of the kitchen this early. “Todd, you stink!”
“All part of my charm, baby,” he grinned around a mouthful of eggs.
Rogue sighed and thwaped him upside the head. “Todd, don’t be gross.” She tore a piece of toast into four pieces and began nibbling one corner. “Rising from the dead is no excuse for icky.”
“I’d think it’s the perfect excuse,” Todd replied quickly, reaching for a piece of bacon. “What’s with all the bangin’ upstairs anyway? I saw Kurt so I know it ain’t them…” He blinked, mid bite. “Unless Blue Boy’s got all sorts of mad skills he ain’t tellin’ us about. OW!”
“Sorry,” Rogue said sweetly, “it had to be done. Your head’s thick…it’ll heal.” She glanced sideways at Storm and Sean but they did not comment. She was still shaken by what she had seen, thinking Todd dead, but he had made it clear the previous evening that he felt fine and she was starting to smother him, something she despaired of doing because it meant she was, in her own mind, turning into one of those annoying girls who gets upset if her boyfriend does not remember the anniversary of the first time he handed her a tissue or something. “Paige, we’re up for the Danger Room this morning. Want to get an early start, before Logan shows up and runs us on some evil sim?”
Paige shook her head, swallowing a bite of apple. “No, we’re not…schedule’s changed. Didn’t you check?”
“Sorry, I guess I didn’t go out of my way to schlep down to the basement levels on my way to breakfast,” Rogue returned, rolling her eyes slightly at Paige’s Mary Sunshine demeanor.
“You didn’t have to, so ha,” Paige said brightly, flicking a poppy seed at the Goth girl. “Logan posted a big ol’ sign at the top of the stairs and outside the rec room. They’re usin’ the Danger Room to run some sim for the new folks who showed up yesterday. Hey,” she turned to Storm, making a face that said she really did not believe what she was about to ask, “they were kidding about the alien thing, right? I mean… they’re being ironic, like we’re all aliens in our own home and whatever?”
Storm cleared her throat and glanced at Sean, unsure of where to begin. “No.”
“No they’re not kidding or no they’re not aliens?” Rogue asked, leaning forward. She pressed her leg against Todd’s under the table and felt him stiffen momentarily, relaxing only when she did not reach for him any more invasively.
“No, they’re not kidding,” Sean sighed. “They seem to be…they are…from outer space.”
“Check, please!” Todd said, standing. “This is just insane… If they’re aliens, I’m the Pope!”
“Your Eminence,” Sean murmured into his coffee, making a vague Sign of the Cross in Todd’s direction.
“Did I miss a Bull1?” Mark yawned, wandering in a bit blearily. “Please tell me that’s coffee… even if it isn’t, I’d like a cup.”
Storm set to pouring the hung over librarian a cup of the strong black coffee. “We were just about to explain, again, that our new guests are…unusual.”
“Oh, the aliens,” he muttered, making antennaes of his fingers. “I was rather hoping that was some gin induced bad dream, that bit.” He accepted the cup of hot coffee gratefully and took a long sip, wincing as it burned his throat. “Look, the thing is,” he said to the students, “they’re aliens. Get over it.”
“Get over it?” Todd nearly shrieked his disbelief. “I didn’t rise from the dead for this!”
“Yeah, you know, that’s only gonna work for so long,” Paige replied tartly. “I suppose… it could be true, couldn’t it? I mean… a lot of people don’t believe in mutants and we exist… and the Universe is a huge place…” She chewed a piece of bacon thoughtfully. “So... why did they come then? What do they want?”
“The only thing I know,” Storm sighed, cradling her still-warm mug, “is that they seem to think there is some sort of danger coming. They do not think highly of us but…” she trailed off thoughtfully. “They seem to appreciate the fact we are not like other people from here.”
“Primitives,” Paige said. “They called us primitives. But they really like Rahne… I saw that tall one talking to her in the hall yesterday and she seemed to really like her…” She paused and frowned. “Or maybe she was sizing her up for a stew pot.”
“I don’t think they’re going to eat us,” Sean sighed.
“No, we’re…what is the word you use? We’re vegetarians…” Lilandra stood in the doorway to the rec room, smiling slightly. She was clad in a loose garment reminiscent of Storm’s caftans and seemed to shimmer just slightly in the bright kitchen light. “There is danger coming. His name is D’ken and he is my brother. Your planet,” she paused to smile a little more obviously at the shifting tension in the room, “is not useful to him. You are in the way.”
“Is he going to build some sort of space superhighway or something?” Rogue snorted.2
“No,” Lilandra said slowly, confusion flickering slightly over her features. “We have been called here, from our exile, because some of your…advanced sort…can help us. They called to us, part of them recognizing us, knowing we needed help…” She paused, then smiled a bit less. “You needn’t worry yourself. We mean you no harm. What is the phrase they are so fond of on those odd transmissions? We come in peace?”
Sean nodded, his expression somewhere between incredulous and amused. “Yeah, that would be it.”
“We are running a simulation of our craft in your Danger Room,” Lilandra continued. “We have determined that a few of you are capable of understanding the complexities of our technology and have abilities which would prove most useful in the coming troubles. The rest of you will be safe from harm.”
There was a long silence before Storm spoke. “No, that is unacceptable. I will not have any one put in harm’s way, especially students.”
“You seem to be failing to understand the enormity of the situation,” Lilandra said softly, her eyes narrowing. “You are all in harm’s way, whether you are chosen or not. Those of you who are not actively aiding our defense will be just as at risk as those who are. In fact, your Professor Xavier has decided to train all of you on our systems, despite my protests, though you will not receive as thorough an education as those selected by myself and M’kon.”
Sean set his mug of coffee down on the table and leaned back in his chair. “Lady, you’ve been pussyfooting around the truth since last night. While I can appreciate your need for urgency and secrecy, if you want us to put our asses on the line for you and your friends, we need details.”
“Fine,” Lilandra said tersely. “My brother is insane. He has MY throne and is planning on an action that will not only destroy Aerie but everything in his reach. He craves power, he craves notoriety and with this, he will get both.” She was across the room so fast Sean’s head spun as she leaned down, her face close to his, and added in a dangerous tone, “And you are facing danger from your own, as well. Our arrival was not unnoticed. There are those which seek to capture our advancements. Be warned, little man.”
She was gone in a flurry of silken fabric and tangible anger. Mark let out a long, slow breath and smiled tiredly. “Anyone else notice she can speak damned well when she wants to?”

A/N The Danger Room, the gods… stuff… Oh, and a hint of smut…
1 A Papal bull is an official declaration, basically law. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03052b.htm
2 Random reference to the Hitchhiker’s Guide series