Introduction to the School

[notsogroovy]

1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, Westchester County, NY. Also known as Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters.

It was the site of hope for dozens of students built upon the bones of a lonely childhood. Two times the school had been opened. The first attempt had been destroyed by the war and by the patriotism (or recruitment) of students and teachers who felt they were doing what was right. The second attempt would prove to be more successful, run by a headmaster who had regained his own hope.

The school, the home, was no longer a place of loneliness. Instead, there were children almost always on the move, fluttering down from the top floor, walking through walls, or just appearing with a loud Bamf. There were darker things at the school, of course. Nightmares that could boil the walls of a room if left unchecked and homesickness, sometimes for homes that had rejected them. But there were also adults who mentored these children. Pain and heartache may have still been in the house, but so too were companionship and support.

It was an air that the teachers deliberately tried to invoke since many of them hadn’t had it in their own childhoods. They’d had to hide or were hidden or were even persecuted just for being who they were. It was the teachers who had all decided that they would try to make the lives of the children easier than their own.

But that didn’t come without a cost. There were layers beneath the school, layers where some of the students were trained to protect themselves and others and to fight. The world might have seen mutants in a different light after Mystique’s rescue ten years ago, but they’d also seen what Magneto could do. Mutants might have finally been in the light, but they still weren’t always safe and that was where the X-Men came in. Hoping for a better future, but also preparing for a worse one.

And that was really what Xavier’s was: a refuge and a place to forge the next generation of mutants, ones who wouldn’t have to live in the darkness their forefathers had. And it was up to their teachers to make sure they were ready for that future.

Comments

[shadowblends]

Raven's not the only restless one.

The blue boy has tried to be mostly discreet about his midnight visits to the kitchen and thankfully, it seemed like other people would sleep during this time of night. He'd been able to slink his way down from his room without disturbing anyone, absently clutching a blanket around his shoulders as he stood in front of the refrigerator door.

There were plenty of things to choose from, but nothing that really caught his attention; he knew he wasn't hungry, but it was something to distract his addled mind from wandering back to the nightmares that had frightened him awake. He leaned in to grab the jug of fruit juice, nudging the door shut with his foot while slithering his tail up to the nearby cabinet for a cup.

It was the sound of footsteps that caught his attention first, making his head lift and whip in the direction of the entrance to the kitchen. He inhaled sharply and waited ... only to be greeted by Raven coming into the room. "Oh," he commented offhandedly, glancing at the container still in his hand, the lid gripped in the other. "Hallo, miss Darkholme."

[notsogroovy]

Raven blinked when she heard the name. She hadn't gone by that name in too many years to contemplate and she wondered where he'd heard it. Charles, maybe, or Erik. Growing up, she'd simply been Raven or, if she had to, Raven Xavier. She had, after all, been Charles' sister. She supposed she couldn't blame him for checking into her. She had saved his life at the fights. She just hoped he didn't look too closely into her past.

"Just Raven, please. You'll make me feel as old as I am."

She lifted an eyebrow at him. She wasn't sure how she should feel when he relaxed when she came into the room. She certainly didn't feel like a teacher, at least not like Charles was, but she should at least be an authority figure to the students.

"Shouldn't you be back in bed?"

[shadowblends]

He couldn't remember exactly where he'd heard the name, but it stuck in the back of his mind and happened to slip out at the most random moment. Normally, Kurt would have referred to her as 'Mystique' to remain as professional as possible; he wasn't quite sure why that decided to happen right now.

"Raven, ja. I'm sure you aren't as old as you are making yourself out to be."

The lifted eyebrow earned a confused look, brilliantly colored eyes darting from right to left then focusing back on her. Had he done something wrong? Was he standing in her way? He shook his head, finished filling his glass then recapped the juice before returning it to the fridge and shuffling out of the way.

"Probably. I can't seem to sleep, though."

[notsogroovy]

A real smile curled onto her lips. "I remember when I used to hate looking like I was younger than I really was. Mostly because I was almost thirty and I still looked like I was sixteen." Not to mention that it always seemed to her that was how Charles always seemed to treat her. Not like she was a woman who was only a few years younger than he was, but that she was still that same fragile girl she'd been when they'd first met.

"But now? Well, I'm in my fifties if that gives any indication. I'm older than you think I'm making myself out to be."

She burrowed through the cupboards until she came up with a box. "Cocoa?" she suggested. "I can make us both a cup." She should be in bed herself, really.

[shadowblends]

"Many people would most likely enjoy being able to continue to look that young, but I can see how it would become irritating." Taking into account that he probably looks far younger than seventeen sometimes. His eyebrows lift in surprise when she mentions being in her fifties, the hand he'd lifted to bring the glass to his lips hesitating.

"I would never have guessed that. Not that I've thought about trying, of course."

He tossed back the juice and set the cup aside, licking away any excess liquid then glancing over at her from beneath his bangs. "With milk, right?" Because really, that's the only way to have it.

[notsogroovy]

"According to Hank, I have the most incredible cellular structure he's ever seen. Or did a long time ago. Probably that's changed." Or maybe not. She couldn't imagine that he'd be performing experiments on the students, although he might check them out for their own safety. Some mutations had side effects that weren't immediately obvious.

By the time he mentioned milk, she'd already grabbed a pot and the cocoa. She hesitated when he spoke and frowned at him. "Why wouldn't the cocoa have milk?"

It wasn't like they were poor and had to have water. In that case, they wouldn't have had the cocoa either.

[shadowblends]

"Being a shapeshifter, that seems like an entirely logical statement. You can become literally anyone you want. It's ... an extraordinary ability." Hank hadn't inquired about any experiments on him, but if he were to ask, Kurt probably wouldn't hesitate to let the doctor work. Discovering side effects that might hinder his powers would be better than to just let them sort themselves out.

He absently shrugged his shoulders, moved to set the empty glass on the counter near the sink and returned to the cupboards to get out a couple of mugs for the cocoa.

"Some people make it with water when they don't have milk or if they want the drink to be less rich in chocolate flavor. An odd substitute for something that's supposed to be sweet."

[notsogroovy]

"I can look like anyone I want," she corrected. "Underneath, I'm still me. And I'll always know that if they knew what I really was, they'd be afraid." Maybe she should sugarcoat it for him. Charles certainly would. But she wasn't Charles and she didn't like lying to people when she didn't have a good reason to. Protecting his delicate feelings wasn't a good enough reason.

She made a face. "I only had it with milk or not at all." Which she then grabbed from the fridge. She poured enough for two cups and started to heat it.

[shadowblends]

He's never asked for things to be sugarcoated for him, yet most people still deem is necessary to do so - something about sparing him pain. Many of them hadn't heard much about his past, but if they took a moment to examine all the scars on his face, it might be somewhat obvious that Kurt's used to that sort of thing.

The fact that Raven was straightforward with him was a surprise, though he averted his gaze to his feet, trying to seem nonchalant about the whole situation. "At least you can hide your true form."

Fidgeting with one of the cups, he circled the bottom of it along the counter, sparing a glance from his peripheral at Raven then looking right back at his feet, the length of his tail faintly twitching.

[notsogroovy]

"Hiding has its own costs, though," Raven murmured. For a long time, she'd used the blonde form as her primary one. She'd grown up knowing that most people would be afraid of what she looked like. But she'd always wanted to be loved for who she was, what she was. Eventually, even Charles came to see the blonde as her natural form and he'd been more and more surprised to see her as she was.

"I've been on almost every side of the argument." She shook her head. "Except maybe that we should hide. That we had to? Yes. That we should fight back? Of course." And now she was teaching them something different. A way to fight back that didn't include starting a war. Something that was, hopefully, more peace than battle. She'd grown tired of the war but was willing to fight individual battles when it was needed.

"But maybe your generation or at least the one after you won't have to hide."

[shadowblends]

That comment caused him to pause the twisting motion of his hand, an eyebrow raising in curiosity as he turned to face his fellow blue mutant once more. To hear that Raven had experience with both sides of the fight surprised him a little more than it should, but he could understand why. Mutants like himself and her - they would never appear normal to humans, but why should they have to?

They were perfect the way they are and there was no reason to change that.

He picked up both of the mugs and strode over to stand next to her, setting them down on the counter to be filled whenever the milk was heated. "If there ever comes a time when we're able to walk down the street without worry of threat, I hope you are there to witness it for yourself."

[notsogroovy]

She had to be optimistic, so she offered him a smile. "Well, I'm older than I look and younger than I should be, so maybe I will." She didn't put a lot of hope in it. The best she could hope for, she thought, was a truce. And that was with the public as a whole. She wasn't going to sugarcoat it for these kids like Charles would but neither would she tell them a stark future that would only leave them without hope. She might talk that way to Charles, but the kids deserved better.

She stirred the cocoa into the milk and carefully poured out two cups, offering him one and turning off the heat before pouring herself out the other.

"So is there a reason you can't sleep?"

[shadowblends]

He hadn't been ridiculously convinced by her statement, but Kurt smiled and nodded his head in agreement anyway; it wasn't that he didn't believe they would be able to do as he'd said, yet there was always this tiny voice in the back of his head, niggling away at his optimism. For now, it felt best to simply carry on with the conversation as smoothly as possible.

Reaching to take the offered cup, the blue boy clasped it between his hands and brought it close to his chest to inhale the sweet aroma. He brought the beverage up to blow away the steam, taking a tentative sip so as not to burn his mouth. "Nightmares," he murmured around the rim of the mug, honey-tinted irises flashing with anxiety at his own blunt response.

"... what about you?"

[notsogroovy]

"I'm not used to staying in one place," she admitted, blowing at her own cup softly. "Especially not here. This used to be...home." Well, not quite. As she'd told Charles, this had never been her home. But he had. He'd made this place seem like more than another lie. She was almost glad that this place looked so different than it used to. There weren't nearly as many places she could walk into and be thrust into the past.

"And I'm used to keeping my own hours. Being on this kind of a strict schedule isn't something I've done for a while.

What she didn't say is that she liked having a little bit of time to herself. She always felt surrounded when the kids were awake. It wasn't their fault, really, but there were times when she needed a breather.

[shadowblends]

"I'm assuming you wander a lot, then." He takes another sip, lowering the cup to continue and before he can stop himself: "If this isn't home, what is it to you now?" As soon as it comes out, Kurt wants to take it back, but it's a bit late for that now. Honestly, he's not trying to pry - he only wants to understand why she can't call this place 'home.'

"You don't necessarily have to follow that rule, though. Being a teacher gives you more leniency."

Raven's not the only one that feels suffocated at times. He won't say anything about it, but having a room with a window that opens gives him easy access to climb out and scale his way to the roof, where it's far more quiet.

[notsogroovy]

She glanced away for a moment, trying not to see the ghost of herself meeting Charles for the first time. Trying not to see the first time she'd ever defied him, really took him to task. It was a reminder of the past. Even if things weren't the same, the ghosts remained.

She shook her head and looked back at Kurt.

"Hope for the future." That's what she wanted to believe. Isn't that what any parent wanted for their children? They wanted them to be better than they'd been. They wanted a better world than the one they'd been forced to inhabit.

She smiled at him. "And maybe I'm a teacher and don't have to follow the rules, but I still have to keep the same hours as the rest of you. Longer, in some cases. I can only be awake late nights for so long." At least she was used to long nights and little sleep.

[shadowblends]

He swallows hard around another mouthful of hot chocolate, ignoring the slight burn on his tongue for favor of keeping his attention focused on Raven. Had his question been out of line or was it simply that she didn't know what to call the institute anymore? Either way, the fact she wasn't looking at him was making him more and more anxious by the second.

But she does turn back.

Kurt breathes a sigh of relief, smiles then shuts his eyes and nods his head in agreement. "We can hope and pray all we want, but we all must put forth some actual effort if we want to see things actually change." Optimism, with a side of realism, for once.

"True, ja. I know it's none of my business, but how often do you struggle with getting to sleep? It could have something to do with stress or ... maybe not. It might be something different altogether."

[notsogroovy]

Raven hid her smile. There was something about him... Well, no. Not something. She knew exactly what it was that was so appealing in him. But that was a part of her life she'd put behind her. He was family, but in the way that all of the students at the school were part of her family. In the way that Charles and Erik and Hank were family. People she cared about, people she'd die to protect, but not ones who expected her to stay put. Not ones who expected her to do all the things typical families did.

"This? This isn't stressful. It's the opposite of stressful." Boring might be the word. What she'd set out to do here was important, but some days it felt like she was running in place. Maybe strolling in place. And this after she'd been used to sprinting.

But then, it was possible he hadn't been talking about her.

"Do you think you have something to be worried about here?"

[shadowblends]

Those wild eyes blink curiously, his head tipping to the side in the same manner. He's not sure why she's hiding her smile, but it's kind of endearing, like she's pretending she has to be tough around him all the time; it makes his own grin widen, a laugh following soon after at her observation.

"No, it's definitely not stressful at all." Which is comforting for him, considering how he'd been living his life before coming to Xavier's. He'll take 'boring' over 'fight club' any day, though, to be fair, he doesn't know many people that wouldn't choose the former option.

There's only a few things he worries about nowadays and one of them can be easily kept under wraps. The other one - the nightmares - are less subtle when you have to live with a roommate and in a mansion full of other mutants, some of whom are telepaths.

"Not at all," he answers, probably a little too quickly, but he's hoping it won't be glaringly obvious.

[notsogroovy]

Raven closed her eyes for a moment. She'd never been made to be a parent. Now Charles, here he was practically raising an entire school full of children. She was the one who was turning them into soldiers. But how could she sit by and watch a child - this child - be worried about his safety.

"Let's see if I've got this right," she said quietly, opening her eyes and fixing him with a steady gaze. "You can't sleep or you're not sleeping because you have nightmares. You say this place isn't stressful, but you're also not saying very loudly that whatever the nightmares are have something to do with worrying about something. Something here."

Not that she could really blame him. She'd brought him here and one of the first things that had happened was the entire thing had blown up. If that wasn't something to set young minds to have nightmares, she wasn't sure what was. But if that was the only thing on his mind, half of the school would be down here with him.

"What else am I missing?"

She doubted anyone would be able to say she had a maternal bone in her body, but this was as close as she was able to get.

[shadowblends]

It's close enough to maternal instincts, apparently.

Kurt holds his breath, turns away then shuts his eyes and wilts, shoulders slumping beneath the weight of what he's been hoping hasn't been obvious. Regardless, though, he figures he's got no reason to continue acting as if he's completely unconcerned by what could happen, even with the removal of Apocalypse.

"The fight club," he admits abruptly, thunking the bottom of his cup down onto the counter a bit harder than he intends. "It's ... it's the fight club that I keep having nightmares about."

And for once, the boy suddenly feels far younger than he ever has, slumping over the counter onto his elbows, face clutched in his hands. "What if there are more of them? We can't just let other mutants be treated that way." He raises his head and meets Raven's gaze with a bleary stare, fingers curling against his mouth. "... nobody deserves to suffer like that."

Case in point, little Blue here, but he'd never say his own name; he's nowhere near that vain and there might be the tiniest part of him that believes he deserved it for allowing himself to be caught.

[notsogroovy]

Raven walked over to him and put a firm hand on his shoulder. "They don't and that's why I was there in the first place." Her voice didn't tremble although her fingers tightened just a touch. She'd been there because of him. She'd planned on placing him in hands that she trusted, someone who could get him somewhere he'd be taken care of. Maybe here. Plans had changed, but the destination hadn't. He was somewhere safe. Even if she was planning on teaching him to do dangerous things.

"That's why we're creating the X-Men. To serve as a force to protect those people who can't protect themselves. And as for how we know who needs the help, well, I have my information sources and Charles has Cerebro. Put the two together and we can progress from a needle in a haystack to a book in a library, categorized with its location known. He can determine whether the lead is a good one or just rumors. Saves us a lot of the legwork."

There was a question she wasn't asking. How he'd gotten there in the first place. Some things she wasn't sure she was ready to here, yet, and that story was one of them.

[shadowblends]

Her sudden approach and the hand at his shoulder earned a surprised noise, his eyebrows knitting together as he raised himself up from the countertop. He stared for a long moment, trying to comprehend exactly what she was telling him, although it took longer than he'd expected for it to click. "You ... knew of the club or knew that I was there?" Because he's not sure which one she'd meant.

Kurt averted his gaze to his nearby cup, lips pursing together before parting in a sigh. Perhaps he had been overthinking a lot of this; they were being taught to work together, to one day go places where they were needed and help those in trouble. Fight clubs were included in this, though? "So, together, you and Charles should be able to know exactly where we need to be and how fast we should get there."

There was something else lingering - something he couldn't quite put his finger on, but the notion that Raven has other questions continued to niggle away at the back of his mind.

[notsogroovy]

"Better put that I found out about the club." Because she'd found out he was there. She was never sure where Caliban got his information from although she supposed it was no secret that she had an interest in Erik. Kurt, though, she'd never told him about the boy. And yet he'd seemed to know that she'd seek him out if told he'd been kidnapped and dragged into an underground fight club.

"You're not the only one who needs our help. And I can only be in one place. But you and the rest of the students? You can be everywhere you need to be." And maybe that was an exaggeration, but they could certainly be in more places than she could alone.

"Although I don't think an entire team needs to go and rescue one person from one fight club," she said, picking up on his confusion. "Maybe two." She'd managed to free Kurt, but she hadn't been able to get to the other one, the one with wings. And hadn't that come back to bite her.

But maybe his confusion wasn't about logistics. "Are you sure you want to be a part of the team? Are you having second thoughts?"

[shadowblends]

"The man we visited," he concluded, remembering the underground hideout like it was yesterday. He could also vaguely recall asking her where they were going before they'd headed down the steps and into something he'd never knew existed. Which, in turn, reminds him that he hadn't gotten the chance to ask about why she'd changed her mind and directed them here instead. One day, he'll gather courage enough to ask.

"If I continue to practice, the distance of my teleportation might be able to take multiple groups to different areas." Possibly faster than that jet they had taken to Egypt. Overexerting himself a couple of times to further his training wasn't seeming like the worst plan.

Kurt had played a part in that, too. His eventual submission to the 'fight' decision ended with Warren's wing being burnt up and that'd been part of the reason the other fight club member joined with Apocalypse. "Two seems like enough." One for distraction and another for extraction.

Whereas most individuals might have reacted with instant denial, he withdrew into himself, sparing Raven a glance then turning away once more. "I'm not exactly having second thoughts. I want to be part of the team, but what if I'm not what the team needs?"