FDoE: Walking through Walls, Part 1
TITLE: Walking Through Walls, Part 1/4
SERIES: Fundamental Difference of Experience
AUTHOR: Kuria Dalmatia
CODES: X1, Bobby/John, Jubilee
SUMMARY: When Senator Kelly outs Kitty at the subcommittee hearings, relationships between Bobby, John, and Jubilee are put to the test.
RATING: NC-17, adult content, profanity, sexual situations. So going to hell for religious references, BTW.
ARCHIVING: Onomatopoetry, dry_ice.... anyone else? Let me know.
Feedback always welcome.
DISCLAIMER: Marvel owns the X-Men, 20th Century Fox owns the movie. Salut! I just took them out to play and I promise put them back when I'm done. I'm not making any profit just trying to get these images out of my head.
SERIES: This is the fourteenth story in the Fundamental Difference of Experience series. The previous installments are archived at the Fundamental Difference of Experience Website
COMMENTS:
This, of course, is my interpretation of the timeline and unseen events surrounding Jean's appearance before the Senate Subcommittee and Rogue and Logan's arrival at the Mansion.
In the FDoE universe, X3 doesn't necessarily exist although I'm sure I will incorporate some of the events in later installments. For FDoE, Warren Worthington III is one of Xavier's original students (along with Jean, Scott, and Ro) while Jamie Maddrox is a current student, Bobby's contemporary.
Kitty Conundrum Clarification: For FDoE, I based Kitty's age and appearance (which is about 16-17, Rogue's contemporary) on the actress from X1, Sumela Kay, not from X2's decidedly younger-looking Katie Stuart. Of course, for X3, Ellen Page was cast for the role. In that movie, her relationship with Bobby is more what I had in mind but… well… this version of Kitty wouldn't necessarily use the word "dickhead", at least for right now.
THANKS TO… talktooloose who carved out time for quite a few versions of this story and really pushed me to make it more streamlined. Your critiques helped pull together this final version. mikhale for an honest assessment of the two versions and how to combine them. taral for also putting up with two different versions, despite a busy schedule. Onomatopoetry, as always, for giving FDoE a home.
Finally… to those who have waited so long for this installment.
***/// Walking through Walls///***
Bobby woke suddenly as the body next to him slid out of bed. Inexplicable panic caused him to lightly frost the sheets. He reached out blindly, brushing his fingertips down a very warm forearm. "Johnny?"
"Go back to sleep," Johnny said in the he tone used when he didn't want to explain.
His vision adjusted as he noted the time-almost two a.m.-and the outline of Johnny putting on his jeans sans underwear. Next came the t-shirt, followed by sneakers without socks. The ensemble was complete when Johnny slid the Zippo into his front pocket.
Bobby sat up and swung his legs over the side, pulling the sheet to cover his lap. Modesty strikes at the weirdest times, he mused. He wondered if he sounded whiny as he said, "Johnny-"
"Everything's fine," Johnny interrupted in his 'stop being such a spaz' tone. "You didn't fuck up. Shit, you pouncing me? That was fucking hot, okay? Repeat performance? Hell, yes. So we're cool. Just…" he paused and then, with a bit more gentleness urged, "Go back to sleep."
No explanation of where he was going fully dressed. No transparent lie of "Gotta take a piss" because, if that were the case, Johnny would have simply pulled on a pair of shorts to go down the hallway. But Bobby was desperate to hear some excuse, because at least then he could rationalize it, contort it into something with which he could comfort himself rather than be left with the truth: he was going to meet her.
Even now, as anger washed through him, Bobby would have accepted the excuse: "Jean's Senate speech is fucking tomorrow. If we're gonna do that whole united-front crap, we gotta know what the girls are thinking." It would have been bullshit, but it would have been something to work with.
Johnny's dismissive attitude wasn't about being caught off-guard tonight, Bobby pinning him to the bed and then stripping his clothes off. It wasn't about teasing him to the brink of orgasm at least three times before Johnny had finally grabbed his hand and refused to let go until Bobby had gotten him off. The only reason why Sam and Neal next door hadn't heard Johnny's wail had been because Bobby was kissing him.
But now, Jubilee was waiting for him in the gazebo. Bobby wanted to say, "If we're so cool, then why are you going to her?" Bobby didn't quite buy the "completely platonic" spin; he'd seen the smudges of lip gloss and smelled the sickly sweet honeysuckle perfume and cigarettes permeating John's clothes when he had returned from a rendezvous. And during the day? She clung to John every chance she got.
But he didn't challenge. Didn't demand. He didn't want a fight at 2 a.m. or to give John even more reason to leave. So, he obeyed John's directive by rolling back into bed and pulling the slowly defrosting sheet up to his shoulder. Christ, he hated wet bed linens, but he was damned if he was going to get up now and swap them with John standing there. Anyway, he did have about an hour before John returned.
An hour to watch the numbers change on the clock. To let the sheets defrost. To allow his stomach to settle. To convince himself that it was okay to share Johnny with Jubilee because... well, because. To tell himself that Johnny was only doing this to keep up appearances, because he wanted to keep what they had secret like Bobby because God knew, the rest of Bobby's life at the Mansion was public anyway.
This was John's way of "making things work" with Jubilee.
Manners, of all things, forced Bobby to say, "Good night," although his mother would certainly not approve of him being naked in his bed, bidding farewell to a guy who was, just hours earlier thrashing beneath his touch.
John sighed again, but this time it had a new pitch to it. Resigned? Apologetic even? "'Nite."
///***///
Jean Grey was on C-SPAN, which was not normally the viewing choice for a bunch of teenagers, but she was theirs. St. John found himself unusually nervous for her, a definite first for him when it came to adults. He wasn't alone in feeling that way, but he did a better job at hiding it. After all, he hadn't suffered an embarrassing loss of control and fried something with his powers.
The Professor, Scott and Jean had only been gone a day and already the toaster, a microwave, two toilets and a sink had been inadvertently trashed. St. John didn't want to think about the damage done outside. He wondered if Bobby and Ms. Munroe ever got sick of playing firefighters.
Still, Jean's appearance on C-SPAN meant the Mansion kids were crammed into the Rec Room with the volume cranked on the 36" screen TV. Munroe stood in the back and the kids were either tangled up on the couches else sprawled on the floor.
He was wedged between Bobby and Kitty with Jubilee on his lap and Piotr using his legs as a backrest. One of Bobby's arms was casually across his shoulders while the other curled protectively around Jubilee's legs, which she had propped up on Bobby's lap. The seating arrangement surprised St. John, because things between Jubilee and Bobby had been more than a little dicey as of late.
His attention returned to the TV.
Over the past two months, they had heard variations of Jean's carefully crafted speech as she perfected it. She had even encouraged the students to play devil's advocate, and once Dani had broken the ice, the kids were bolder with their questions. However, none compared to the ruthlessness of Bobby.
Bobby had constantly referred to Jean as "Ms. Grey" despite her doctorate and she had favored him with an amused smile. When she had finally chosen to correct him, Bobby's comeback had stunned everyone: "Just how many minds did you read in order to get your degree? Or did you just tweak a few thoughts here and there to allow you to pass?"
The room had gone absolutely silent. Jean had grown pale, floundering for an answer, a way to get back on track, as Bobby had stared her down, defiant and unapologetic. St. John had seriously wondered if Bobby had received telepathic encouragement because it had been so un-Bobby-like, especially towards someone he considered family. Afterwards, Bobby outright refused to talk about the incident.
On screen, Jean sounded confident as she stated, "... mutations manifest at puberty, and are often triggered by periods of heightened emotional stress."
There were a few snickers from the Mansion audience. Jean made it sound like manifestations were no big deal; the kids here knew that it wasn't the case. Jubilee had nearly blown up an alley. Kitty had phased through six stories of a Chicago high-rise. Then there was Piotr vs. the tractor, which never failed to elicit a round of 'oohs' from the newbies. As for St. John? The wastebasket bursting into flames when he was thirteen stood out.
Bobby, however, had never fully disclosed how his powers had manifested. There was his standard "Christmas in July" joke, complete with a wink and a smile. This was sometimes followed by stale lines about Frosted Flakes. However the real story-the one whispered between best friends at oh-godawful-in-the-morning-remained a mystery.
St. John wondered if Bobby would ever share that with him.
"No one's interrupted her yet," Sharra suddenly declared as he pointed to the screen. That had also been one of Bobby's tactics, cutting Jean off in mid-sentence. No one else in the Mansion had the guts to do it; it seemed no one else in the Senate did either.
"Good, good," Piotr murmured. And as Jean continued, St. John could feel the excitement building in the room. She was elegant, scholarly, smooth, and polished. Perhaps they all felt pride in that they contributed to her presentation.
Jubilee suddenly squirmed because she couldn't keep still for more than thirty seconds and Bobby gave her a sharp look that she ignored.
Christ, just what he needed. Another argument between those two. Just last week, Scott had not-so-politely hinted that it was more than just an amusing nuisance, but St. John doggedly refused the take sides.
The camera panned to the Senate gallery. A majority looked genuinely interested with some even taking notes. It seemed to be going well, Kelly throwing out minor questions, which were far inferior than Bobby's scathing ones. The Mansion kids were quiet up until Kelly referred to Jean as, "Ms. Grey."
"She has an M.D., jerk!" Jubilee sneered and saluted the screen with her middle finger. The Mansion audience began booing and pelting the TV with popcorn.
"Children," Munroe warned.
"Senator Kelly's just doing that to unnerve her," Alison Blair confidently declared. Murmurs of agreement echoed in the room. She then smiled warmly in their direction, winking as if she had been part of the whole "doctor versus miss" exchange between Bobby and Jean.
In front of the Senate Subcommittee, however, Jean hadn't missed a beat. St. John glanced over, expecting to see his roommate smile-maybe even grin-because a potential landmine had been avoided thanks to him. Instead, Bobby's expression was blank.
"Good call, Drake!" Jubilee cheered and raised her hand for a high-five. His roommate arched an eyebrow and gave a half-hearted tap against her palm before focusing on the TV again.
Odd, because a compliment from Jubilee should have meant something to Bobby, even it was as simple as "I told you so" about predicting the senator's snipe. It made St. John's palms itch.
"You're evading the real question," Kelly demanded. "Are mutants dangerous?"
It was one of Bobby's accusations from the Mansion debate, and St. John started to wonder if his roommate had an advance copy of the senator's speech. Jubilee grabbed Bobby's shoulder and shook it, grinning wildly as she did. "You totally rock, babe."
Because Jean answered passionately, "That's an unfair question, Senator, since the wrong person behind the wheel of a car can be dangerous."
"That's why we license people to drive."
Jean fired back, "But not to live."
"Take that, Senator Jackass!" one of the kids shouted.
"Jean sc-o-o-o-res!" Sharra crowed and held his hands up to indicate a touchdown.
"Totally knew she could take him on!" Jubilee laughed wildly, rocking precariously in St. John's lap as she kissed Bobby sloppily on the cheek. However, of the five of them, she was the only one excited, bouncing off St. John's lap and exchanging high-fives with Dani, Sharra, and Guthrie.
"Don't mess with the best!" Guthrie declared and the other kids cheered.
Bobby didn't react to Jean's eloquent comeback, neither did Piotr or Kitty, which made St. John panicky. A quick check over to Munroe revealed she wasn't thrilled the outcome of Jean's exchange with Kelly either.
The realization hit St. John quickly followed by sharp nausea. Bobby, Kitty and Piotr had always been closer to The Powers That Be than the rest of the students. Nowadays, St. John believed that that particular favoritism-such as the heads up on big events like this one-extended to himself and Jubilee.
After all, the five of them had been treated to the ultimate honor at the Mansion: a private dinner with the Professor four nights ago. During the meal, the Professor had discussed Jean's presentation and been frank about his expectations in his absence. Although he had expressed his concerns about Kelly's speech, nothing had been specific. He had ended the evening with an innocuous discussion of advanced training.
But obviously, there was something else lurking out there, and Bobby, Kitty and Piotr hadn't bothered to forward the memo to St. John or Jubilee.
The other kids were busy dancing around, congratulating each other; clearly, they thought the debate was over. Jubilee even high-fived Alison and draped an arm around Tabby's shoulders. The other girl beamed, "That's what we're talking about, girlfriend!" as she and Jubilee did a little dance step.
Bobby and Kitty were watching screen intently and St. John saw the senator accept a manila folder from his aid. A shot of cold hit St. John across his shoulders. Kitty grabbed Bobby's hand and St. John could feel the fluctuations of her tangibility. Piotr's slight shift in weight almost crushed his legs.
Senator Kelly then dropped his bomb: "I have here a list of names of identified mutants living right here in the United States."
The room fell silent. Cold raced through St. John again; he wasn't sure if it was due to Bobby or his own nerves. It was one of their worst fears-the government having a who's who of mutants-but they had convinced themselves that the bureaucracy could never quite get it together. The intangibility along his side stopped and the hard pressure on his legs eased considerably. St. John could, however, feel how tense they were.
Jean tried to interrupt, "Senator-"
The camera cut back to Kelly, who opened the folder and announced, "Here's a girl in Illinois who can walk through walls." Gasps echoed in the Rec Room. "Now what's to stop her from walking into a bank vault, or the White House, or-" and the son of a bitch pointed to the gallery, "into their houses?"
All Mansion attention swung to Kitty, who said nothing, and St. John suddenly felt light-headed as he looked over at her. She stared at the screen with her chin jutted out, determined and defiant. The only thing betraying her nerves was how tightly her jaw was clenched.
Still…
Kitty had been outed on fucking C-SPAN.
St. John glanced at Jubilee because judging by Kitty's stoic reaction, his best friend had to have known that this was going to happen. He was going to give her all kinds of hell later for not sharing, but Jubilee's mouth was gaping, shocked just as much as the other kids. And then her look of surprise changed to indignant.
She hadn't been told either.
The humiliation was sharp.
He heard Jean valiantly try to regain control. "Senator, please-"
But Senator Kelly had gotten his opening and continued with zeal. "-And there are even rumors, Miss Grey, of mutants so powerful that they can enter our minds and control our thoughts, taking away our God-given free will-"
"Ohmygawd! The Professor!" one of the girls shrieked.
That was all it took for chaos to break out in the Rec Room. The student populace began shouting incoherently and Jubilee had that glint in her eyes. St. John found himself fervently praying that she didn't join in the fray.
Surely she had better political savvy than that.
"Children!" Munroe called out. The pandemonium didn't stop; a few of the girls were wailing 'ohmygods' and one of the youngest ones-rescued only two weeks ago-burst into tears. A technicolor lightshow illuminated the room, which meant more than one kid had lost control. Alison looked completely horrified as her signature 'dazzlers' briefly twinkled above.
The TV fizzled loudly before shorting out.
"Everyone, please!" Kitty demanded as she got up off the couch. Piotr stood to her left and St. John found himself hauled to his feet by Bobby and shoved to stand behind Kitty while Bobby was on her right. "This is exactly what Senator Kelly wants!"
The silence was immediate. The kids paused in mid-whatever and stared at her.
"Our powers are not some great dark secret!" Kitty continued, a spark of passion in her voice St. John had never heard from her before. "There is news of us all the time about what we can do, what our powers have done. Pick up any paper, any single one, and you'll find a story about us.
"Of course there are people who know who I am, what I am. But I'm not afraid. I'm not going to let that man-or any one else-make me ashamed of my ability. The Professor would never put us in danger. But he also knew we needed someone stand up for us at those Senate hearings. We needed a voice! And Doctor Gray put everything on the line so that we could be heard! Those 'rumors' about the telepath that the senator was talking about? Well, there've been rumors about mind-control powers long before anyone was ever called a mutant!
"Senator Kelly just wants everyone to be afraid. He wants to frighten people with our abilities by telling them only how bad our powers can be instead of the good that we know we can do. If you let Senator Kelly scare you, you'll be giving him what he wants. He'll have that power over you.
"I'm not scared of him. You shouldn't be either." Stunned silence followed for a few moments before Kitty held out her hand to Piotr. "Come on. We have the finish those banners for the welcome-home party. If you all want to join us, we'll be in the dining room." Piotr accepted her hand, pride radiating from him as he escorted her out of the room.
Bobby suddenly grinned as he joked louder than necessary, "Remind me not to run against her for class president. She'd totally kick my butt in a debate."
St. John felt the nudge against his foot, the cue for the Fire vs. Ice shtick. He wondered when he had become the straight man in their comedy act.
"Dude, you could debate a rock and still lose." Stupid stupid stupid, but it was what the kiddies needed to hear-that taste of normalcy. If Miss Mayor and the Mascot weren't spazzing about her and the Professor being outed, then the rest of the students shouldn't either.
"Hey, Lee!" Bobby waved her towards them. "Are we still gonna work on that banner for Mister Summers' office? You know, 'gotta share the love' like you said unless..." he smiled broadly and waggled his eyebrows, "you trust my handwriting."
"Your penmanship is crap, Drake," she snapped as she broke away from the pack, yet instead of approaching, she stormed out of the room, a trail of sparks behind her.
Not a fucking temper tantrum now, St. John thought. With the majority of the Powers that Be away, they were expect to act like leaders. He felt the anger well up in him, because Christ! couldn't she just move beyond that?
And he hated fucking Star Trek and especially Mr. Spock for that "needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one" because that particular phraseology was running through his head. And goddamn it, he realized he believed it, lame as it sounded.
Bobby knew. Bobby understood it. He had hard time with coping with shit that happened outside of the Mansion proper, but here, standing the Rec Room, St. John was positive Bobby knew all about survival. The survival of their community and their need to get through this mess or at least steady the ship until the Professor, Jean and Scott returned and the family was whole again. The one bright, shining moment in which Jubilee and St. John could repay the kindness of The Powers That Be's-the Professor's generosity in particular-was happening right fucking now.
Bobby's grin didn't waver for a second, but St. John could have sworn he saw genuine hurt in his eyes. His roommate was counting on Jubilee's uncanny instinct of catching on to a situation.
But St. John knew it was a lost cause. As much as he was totally, completely pissed about being blind-sided, another thought hit him: Why hadn't Kitty, Piotr and Bobby shared the information? What happened to all that "team work" bullshit?
He found himself glaring at Bobby.
Bobby did not offer a sympathetic shrug. No wink of understanding or remorse. Just cool assessment focused on the doorway that Jubilee had sparked through and a slightly raised eyebrow, which conveyed Bobby's disappointment like a neon sign.
St. John wanted to say something-anything really-that would let Bobby know he understood what was going on. Nothing came out except an embarrassing, "Gah" as he turned and chased after her.
Strength in numbers, after all, and St. John had pledged his loyalty to Jubilee long before Bobby had become anything significant to him.
***/// End Part 1 ///***
SERIES: Fundamental Difference of Experience
AUTHOR: Kuria Dalmatia
CODES: X1, Bobby/John, Jubilee
SUMMARY: When Senator Kelly outs Kitty at the subcommittee hearings, relationships between Bobby, John, and Jubilee are put to the test.
RATING: NC-17, adult content, profanity, sexual situations. So going to hell for religious references, BTW.
ARCHIVING: Onomatopoetry, dry_ice.... anyone else? Let me know.
Feedback always welcome.
DISCLAIMER: Marvel owns the X-Men, 20th Century Fox owns the movie. Salut! I just took them out to play and I promise put them back when I'm done. I'm not making any profit just trying to get these images out of my head.
SERIES: This is the fourteenth story in the Fundamental Difference of Experience series. The previous installments are archived at the Fundamental Difference of Experience Website
COMMENTS:
This, of course, is my interpretation of the timeline and unseen events surrounding Jean's appearance before the Senate Subcommittee and Rogue and Logan's arrival at the Mansion.
In the FDoE universe, X3 doesn't necessarily exist although I'm sure I will incorporate some of the events in later installments. For FDoE, Warren Worthington III is one of Xavier's original students (along with Jean, Scott, and Ro) while Jamie Maddrox is a current student, Bobby's contemporary.
Kitty Conundrum Clarification: For FDoE, I based Kitty's age and appearance (which is about 16-17, Rogue's contemporary) on the actress from X1, Sumela Kay, not from X2's decidedly younger-looking Katie Stuart. Of course, for X3, Ellen Page was cast for the role. In that movie, her relationship with Bobby is more what I had in mind but… well… this version of Kitty wouldn't necessarily use the word "dickhead", at least for right now.
THANKS TO… talktooloose who carved out time for quite a few versions of this story and really pushed me to make it more streamlined. Your critiques helped pull together this final version. mikhale for an honest assessment of the two versions and how to combine them. taral for also putting up with two different versions, despite a busy schedule. Onomatopoetry, as always, for giving FDoE a home.
Finally… to those who have waited so long for this installment.
***/// Walking through Walls///***
Bobby woke suddenly as the body next to him slid out of bed. Inexplicable panic caused him to lightly frost the sheets. He reached out blindly, brushing his fingertips down a very warm forearm. "Johnny?"
"Go back to sleep," Johnny said in the he tone used when he didn't want to explain.
His vision adjusted as he noted the time-almost two a.m.-and the outline of Johnny putting on his jeans sans underwear. Next came the t-shirt, followed by sneakers without socks. The ensemble was complete when Johnny slid the Zippo into his front pocket.
Bobby sat up and swung his legs over the side, pulling the sheet to cover his lap. Modesty strikes at the weirdest times, he mused. He wondered if he sounded whiny as he said, "Johnny-"
"Everything's fine," Johnny interrupted in his 'stop being such a spaz' tone. "You didn't fuck up. Shit, you pouncing me? That was fucking hot, okay? Repeat performance? Hell, yes. So we're cool. Just…" he paused and then, with a bit more gentleness urged, "Go back to sleep."
No explanation of where he was going fully dressed. No transparent lie of "Gotta take a piss" because, if that were the case, Johnny would have simply pulled on a pair of shorts to go down the hallway. But Bobby was desperate to hear some excuse, because at least then he could rationalize it, contort it into something with which he could comfort himself rather than be left with the truth: he was going to meet her.
Even now, as anger washed through him, Bobby would have accepted the excuse: "Jean's Senate speech is fucking tomorrow. If we're gonna do that whole united-front crap, we gotta know what the girls are thinking." It would have been bullshit, but it would have been something to work with.
Johnny's dismissive attitude wasn't about being caught off-guard tonight, Bobby pinning him to the bed and then stripping his clothes off. It wasn't about teasing him to the brink of orgasm at least three times before Johnny had finally grabbed his hand and refused to let go until Bobby had gotten him off. The only reason why Sam and Neal next door hadn't heard Johnny's wail had been because Bobby was kissing him.
But now, Jubilee was waiting for him in the gazebo. Bobby wanted to say, "If we're so cool, then why are you going to her?" Bobby didn't quite buy the "completely platonic" spin; he'd seen the smudges of lip gloss and smelled the sickly sweet honeysuckle perfume and cigarettes permeating John's clothes when he had returned from a rendezvous. And during the day? She clung to John every chance she got.
But he didn't challenge. Didn't demand. He didn't want a fight at 2 a.m. or to give John even more reason to leave. So, he obeyed John's directive by rolling back into bed and pulling the slowly defrosting sheet up to his shoulder. Christ, he hated wet bed linens, but he was damned if he was going to get up now and swap them with John standing there. Anyway, he did have about an hour before John returned.
An hour to watch the numbers change on the clock. To let the sheets defrost. To allow his stomach to settle. To convince himself that it was okay to share Johnny with Jubilee because... well, because. To tell himself that Johnny was only doing this to keep up appearances, because he wanted to keep what they had secret like Bobby because God knew, the rest of Bobby's life at the Mansion was public anyway.
This was John's way of "making things work" with Jubilee.
Manners, of all things, forced Bobby to say, "Good night," although his mother would certainly not approve of him being naked in his bed, bidding farewell to a guy who was, just hours earlier thrashing beneath his touch.
John sighed again, but this time it had a new pitch to it. Resigned? Apologetic even? "'Nite."
///***///
Jean Grey was on C-SPAN, which was not normally the viewing choice for a bunch of teenagers, but she was theirs. St. John found himself unusually nervous for her, a definite first for him when it came to adults. He wasn't alone in feeling that way, but he did a better job at hiding it. After all, he hadn't suffered an embarrassing loss of control and fried something with his powers.
The Professor, Scott and Jean had only been gone a day and already the toaster, a microwave, two toilets and a sink had been inadvertently trashed. St. John didn't want to think about the damage done outside. He wondered if Bobby and Ms. Munroe ever got sick of playing firefighters.
Still, Jean's appearance on C-SPAN meant the Mansion kids were crammed into the Rec Room with the volume cranked on the 36" screen TV. Munroe stood in the back and the kids were either tangled up on the couches else sprawled on the floor.
He was wedged between Bobby and Kitty with Jubilee on his lap and Piotr using his legs as a backrest. One of Bobby's arms was casually across his shoulders while the other curled protectively around Jubilee's legs, which she had propped up on Bobby's lap. The seating arrangement surprised St. John, because things between Jubilee and Bobby had been more than a little dicey as of late.
His attention returned to the TV.
Over the past two months, they had heard variations of Jean's carefully crafted speech as she perfected it. She had even encouraged the students to play devil's advocate, and once Dani had broken the ice, the kids were bolder with their questions. However, none compared to the ruthlessness of Bobby.
Bobby had constantly referred to Jean as "Ms. Grey" despite her doctorate and she had favored him with an amused smile. When she had finally chosen to correct him, Bobby's comeback had stunned everyone: "Just how many minds did you read in order to get your degree? Or did you just tweak a few thoughts here and there to allow you to pass?"
The room had gone absolutely silent. Jean had grown pale, floundering for an answer, a way to get back on track, as Bobby had stared her down, defiant and unapologetic. St. John had seriously wondered if Bobby had received telepathic encouragement because it had been so un-Bobby-like, especially towards someone he considered family. Afterwards, Bobby outright refused to talk about the incident.
On screen, Jean sounded confident as she stated, "... mutations manifest at puberty, and are often triggered by periods of heightened emotional stress."
There were a few snickers from the Mansion audience. Jean made it sound like manifestations were no big deal; the kids here knew that it wasn't the case. Jubilee had nearly blown up an alley. Kitty had phased through six stories of a Chicago high-rise. Then there was Piotr vs. the tractor, which never failed to elicit a round of 'oohs' from the newbies. As for St. John? The wastebasket bursting into flames when he was thirteen stood out.
Bobby, however, had never fully disclosed how his powers had manifested. There was his standard "Christmas in July" joke, complete with a wink and a smile. This was sometimes followed by stale lines about Frosted Flakes. However the real story-the one whispered between best friends at oh-godawful-in-the-morning-remained a mystery.
St. John wondered if Bobby would ever share that with him.
"No one's interrupted her yet," Sharra suddenly declared as he pointed to the screen. That had also been one of Bobby's tactics, cutting Jean off in mid-sentence. No one else in the Mansion had the guts to do it; it seemed no one else in the Senate did either.
"Good, good," Piotr murmured. And as Jean continued, St. John could feel the excitement building in the room. She was elegant, scholarly, smooth, and polished. Perhaps they all felt pride in that they contributed to her presentation.
Jubilee suddenly squirmed because she couldn't keep still for more than thirty seconds and Bobby gave her a sharp look that she ignored.
Christ, just what he needed. Another argument between those two. Just last week, Scott had not-so-politely hinted that it was more than just an amusing nuisance, but St. John doggedly refused the take sides.
The camera panned to the Senate gallery. A majority looked genuinely interested with some even taking notes. It seemed to be going well, Kelly throwing out minor questions, which were far inferior than Bobby's scathing ones. The Mansion kids were quiet up until Kelly referred to Jean as, "Ms. Grey."
"She has an M.D., jerk!" Jubilee sneered and saluted the screen with her middle finger. The Mansion audience began booing and pelting the TV with popcorn.
"Children," Munroe warned.
"Senator Kelly's just doing that to unnerve her," Alison Blair confidently declared. Murmurs of agreement echoed in the room. She then smiled warmly in their direction, winking as if she had been part of the whole "doctor versus miss" exchange between Bobby and Jean.
In front of the Senate Subcommittee, however, Jean hadn't missed a beat. St. John glanced over, expecting to see his roommate smile-maybe even grin-because a potential landmine had been avoided thanks to him. Instead, Bobby's expression was blank.
"Good call, Drake!" Jubilee cheered and raised her hand for a high-five. His roommate arched an eyebrow and gave a half-hearted tap against her palm before focusing on the TV again.
Odd, because a compliment from Jubilee should have meant something to Bobby, even it was as simple as "I told you so" about predicting the senator's snipe. It made St. John's palms itch.
"You're evading the real question," Kelly demanded. "Are mutants dangerous?"
It was one of Bobby's accusations from the Mansion debate, and St. John started to wonder if his roommate had an advance copy of the senator's speech. Jubilee grabbed Bobby's shoulder and shook it, grinning wildly as she did. "You totally rock, babe."
Because Jean answered passionately, "That's an unfair question, Senator, since the wrong person behind the wheel of a car can be dangerous."
"That's why we license people to drive."
Jean fired back, "But not to live."
"Take that, Senator Jackass!" one of the kids shouted.
"Jean sc-o-o-o-res!" Sharra crowed and held his hands up to indicate a touchdown.
"Totally knew she could take him on!" Jubilee laughed wildly, rocking precariously in St. John's lap as she kissed Bobby sloppily on the cheek. However, of the five of them, she was the only one excited, bouncing off St. John's lap and exchanging high-fives with Dani, Sharra, and Guthrie.
"Don't mess with the best!" Guthrie declared and the other kids cheered.
Bobby didn't react to Jean's eloquent comeback, neither did Piotr or Kitty, which made St. John panicky. A quick check over to Munroe revealed she wasn't thrilled the outcome of Jean's exchange with Kelly either.
The realization hit St. John quickly followed by sharp nausea. Bobby, Kitty and Piotr had always been closer to The Powers That Be than the rest of the students. Nowadays, St. John believed that that particular favoritism-such as the heads up on big events like this one-extended to himself and Jubilee.
After all, the five of them had been treated to the ultimate honor at the Mansion: a private dinner with the Professor four nights ago. During the meal, the Professor had discussed Jean's presentation and been frank about his expectations in his absence. Although he had expressed his concerns about Kelly's speech, nothing had been specific. He had ended the evening with an innocuous discussion of advanced training.
But obviously, there was something else lurking out there, and Bobby, Kitty and Piotr hadn't bothered to forward the memo to St. John or Jubilee.
The other kids were busy dancing around, congratulating each other; clearly, they thought the debate was over. Jubilee even high-fived Alison and draped an arm around Tabby's shoulders. The other girl beamed, "That's what we're talking about, girlfriend!" as she and Jubilee did a little dance step.
Bobby and Kitty were watching screen intently and St. John saw the senator accept a manila folder from his aid. A shot of cold hit St. John across his shoulders. Kitty grabbed Bobby's hand and St. John could feel the fluctuations of her tangibility. Piotr's slight shift in weight almost crushed his legs.
Senator Kelly then dropped his bomb: "I have here a list of names of identified mutants living right here in the United States."
The room fell silent. Cold raced through St. John again; he wasn't sure if it was due to Bobby or his own nerves. It was one of their worst fears-the government having a who's who of mutants-but they had convinced themselves that the bureaucracy could never quite get it together. The intangibility along his side stopped and the hard pressure on his legs eased considerably. St. John could, however, feel how tense they were.
Jean tried to interrupt, "Senator-"
The camera cut back to Kelly, who opened the folder and announced, "Here's a girl in Illinois who can walk through walls." Gasps echoed in the Rec Room. "Now what's to stop her from walking into a bank vault, or the White House, or-" and the son of a bitch pointed to the gallery, "into their houses?"
All Mansion attention swung to Kitty, who said nothing, and St. John suddenly felt light-headed as he looked over at her. She stared at the screen with her chin jutted out, determined and defiant. The only thing betraying her nerves was how tightly her jaw was clenched.
Still…
Kitty had been outed on fucking C-SPAN.
St. John glanced at Jubilee because judging by Kitty's stoic reaction, his best friend had to have known that this was going to happen. He was going to give her all kinds of hell later for not sharing, but Jubilee's mouth was gaping, shocked just as much as the other kids. And then her look of surprise changed to indignant.
She hadn't been told either.
The humiliation was sharp.
He heard Jean valiantly try to regain control. "Senator, please-"
But Senator Kelly had gotten his opening and continued with zeal. "-And there are even rumors, Miss Grey, of mutants so powerful that they can enter our minds and control our thoughts, taking away our God-given free will-"
"Ohmygawd! The Professor!" one of the girls shrieked.
That was all it took for chaos to break out in the Rec Room. The student populace began shouting incoherently and Jubilee had that glint in her eyes. St. John found himself fervently praying that she didn't join in the fray.
Surely she had better political savvy than that.
"Children!" Munroe called out. The pandemonium didn't stop; a few of the girls were wailing 'ohmygods' and one of the youngest ones-rescued only two weeks ago-burst into tears. A technicolor lightshow illuminated the room, which meant more than one kid had lost control. Alison looked completely horrified as her signature 'dazzlers' briefly twinkled above.
The TV fizzled loudly before shorting out.
"Everyone, please!" Kitty demanded as she got up off the couch. Piotr stood to her left and St. John found himself hauled to his feet by Bobby and shoved to stand behind Kitty while Bobby was on her right. "This is exactly what Senator Kelly wants!"
The silence was immediate. The kids paused in mid-whatever and stared at her.
"Our powers are not some great dark secret!" Kitty continued, a spark of passion in her voice St. John had never heard from her before. "There is news of us all the time about what we can do, what our powers have done. Pick up any paper, any single one, and you'll find a story about us.
"Of course there are people who know who I am, what I am. But I'm not afraid. I'm not going to let that man-or any one else-make me ashamed of my ability. The Professor would never put us in danger. But he also knew we needed someone stand up for us at those Senate hearings. We needed a voice! And Doctor Gray put everything on the line so that we could be heard! Those 'rumors' about the telepath that the senator was talking about? Well, there've been rumors about mind-control powers long before anyone was ever called a mutant!
"Senator Kelly just wants everyone to be afraid. He wants to frighten people with our abilities by telling them only how bad our powers can be instead of the good that we know we can do. If you let Senator Kelly scare you, you'll be giving him what he wants. He'll have that power over you.
"I'm not scared of him. You shouldn't be either." Stunned silence followed for a few moments before Kitty held out her hand to Piotr. "Come on. We have the finish those banners for the welcome-home party. If you all want to join us, we'll be in the dining room." Piotr accepted her hand, pride radiating from him as he escorted her out of the room.
Bobby suddenly grinned as he joked louder than necessary, "Remind me not to run against her for class president. She'd totally kick my butt in a debate."
St. John felt the nudge against his foot, the cue for the Fire vs. Ice shtick. He wondered when he had become the straight man in their comedy act.
"Dude, you could debate a rock and still lose." Stupid stupid stupid, but it was what the kiddies needed to hear-that taste of normalcy. If Miss Mayor and the Mascot weren't spazzing about her and the Professor being outed, then the rest of the students shouldn't either.
"Hey, Lee!" Bobby waved her towards them. "Are we still gonna work on that banner for Mister Summers' office? You know, 'gotta share the love' like you said unless..." he smiled broadly and waggled his eyebrows, "you trust my handwriting."
"Your penmanship is crap, Drake," she snapped as she broke away from the pack, yet instead of approaching, she stormed out of the room, a trail of sparks behind her.
Not a fucking temper tantrum now, St. John thought. With the majority of the Powers that Be away, they were expect to act like leaders. He felt the anger well up in him, because Christ! couldn't she just move beyond that?
And he hated fucking Star Trek and especially Mr. Spock for that "needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one" because that particular phraseology was running through his head. And goddamn it, he realized he believed it, lame as it sounded.
Bobby knew. Bobby understood it. He had hard time with coping with shit that happened outside of the Mansion proper, but here, standing the Rec Room, St. John was positive Bobby knew all about survival. The survival of their community and their need to get through this mess or at least steady the ship until the Professor, Jean and Scott returned and the family was whole again. The one bright, shining moment in which Jubilee and St. John could repay the kindness of The Powers That Be's-the Professor's generosity in particular-was happening right fucking now.
Bobby's grin didn't waver for a second, but St. John could have sworn he saw genuine hurt in his eyes. His roommate was counting on Jubilee's uncanny instinct of catching on to a situation.
But St. John knew it was a lost cause. As much as he was totally, completely pissed about being blind-sided, another thought hit him: Why hadn't Kitty, Piotr and Bobby shared the information? What happened to all that "team work" bullshit?
He found himself glaring at Bobby.
Bobby did not offer a sympathetic shrug. No wink of understanding or remorse. Just cool assessment focused on the doorway that Jubilee had sparked through and a slightly raised eyebrow, which conveyed Bobby's disappointment like a neon sign.
St. John wanted to say something-anything really-that would let Bobby know he understood what was going on. Nothing came out except an embarrassing, "Gah" as he turned and chased after her.
Strength in numbers, after all, and St. John had pledged his loyalty to Jubilee long before Bobby had become anything significant to him.
***/// End Part 1 ///***