A Rogue's Tale

Escape Clause: Part 8

The next morning Bruno woke early. It was nice sleeping in a soft bed, which was something he hadn't the luxury of doing since he left Mississippi. His aunt put Tara in the room down the hall which was something he expected. They after all were not married and underage. He was the first to come down and decided to give his aunt a break and make breakfast. It was his way of thanking her for letting them stay the night before.

He got the eggs and bacon out and had the kitchen smelling sweet by the time Tara and Aunt Karen came down. Tara had on a sweatshirt and even though she was free to have her wings out she didn't know if other people could see through the cracks of the windows, and she didn't want to cause a stir. As of yet, she was not used to them.

"Wow! Breakfast smells great." Tara said and Bruno came out with platters of food to the large dining table. His aunt told him the night before that there would be six for breakfast, and that the Professor, as she called him, would be arriving this morning with two of his top students.

Just as Tara was helping set the breakfast table the doorbell rang. "I'll get that," Karen said, and Tara suddenly became nervous. Right now, she did not want to do this. Showing off her wings to Bruno's aunt was one thing, but to three strangers?

"Professor Xavier, it is so good to see you," Karen said and greeted her guests. Her porch had a concrete ramp on one side because she had quite a few disabled friends that came to visit her, and the ramp made things much easier. "Please, come in."

"Thank you, Karen," he said once he was inside. "These are two of my best students, Scott Summers and Jean Gray." Karen shook their hands and noticed how polite they were, and except for Scott's glasses they looked fairly normal.

"So, why don't we go to the dining room," Karen suggested. "Tara and Bruno are just setting the table."

Tara looked up when she saw the three strangers enter the room. She froze up and couldn't speak. She just stood there until the red-headed girl approached her. "Hey, my name is Jean."

"Oh, Tara," she said nervously. "Sorry, this is just a little..."

"I know," Jean said and gave her a sympathetic smile. She had an easy-going personality that made Tara feel more relaxed.

"So why don't we have some breakfast and we can discuss some things?" Karen suggested.

Bruno and Tara sat together on one side while Scott and Jean were on the other. The professor took the seat at the head of the table and Karen occupied the other end.

"So, can I ask a question?" Bruno asked as he picked at his food.

"Certainly," the Professor said and took a sip of his tea. There was something so trustworthy about this man, and Bruno didn't trust many people.

"How did you know to come here?" Bruno asked. He thought it was a bit strange that just a short time after they arrived at his aunt's house this guy calls. "I mean Tara and I have been on the road for a week."

"Yes, I know," the Professor said. "I have been tracking your movements with Cerebro."

"What is that?" Tara asked. She almost thought she had stepped into a science fiction movie.

"It is mutant detection and tracking system," the professor said which made Tara uneasy.

"There's nothing to worry about," Jean said, trying to ease Tara's mind. "We only use it to find mutants and help them."

Tara still looked skeptical. "Are you having any more pain?" The professor asked and she looked strangely at him.

"How did...?"

I know the pain you've been having in your back before your wings came out, the Professor's voice rang in her head. We are all just like you.

"So, what is your powers?" Scott asked looking over at Bruno. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Well, it's easier to show you then try to explain it," he said and put his hands on the table to show them. He moved his hands in sync and produced a water sculpture. It was of a star and he dissolved seconds after he shaped it.

"That's amazing," Jean said, "and what about you, Tara?"

"I can fly... well... sort of... I'm still getting the hang of it."

"Can you show us?" Scott asked.

The dark-haired girl had her hair in the ponytail and stood up and took off her sweatshirt. She turned around and unfolded her wings. The dining room wasn't a good place for flying and in the light of day she didn't want to go outside and freak out the neighbors, so she merely hovered a foot or so off the ground but quickly crashed down. She grabbed onto the chair to keep herself from falling.

"Wow!" Scott and Jean said at the same time. Her wings folded up and she out her sweatshirt back on.

"They kind have a mind of their own sometimes," she said and sat down. "It's so hard to control."

"That is why I would be honored if the two of you would agree to come to my school," the Professor said. "In time, you can learn to control your powers. Our main focus is to show the world that mutants and humans can live together in peace."

"If we agree to come can we leave at any time?" Bruno asked.

"Of course, Bruno," the Professor said. "You have the freedom to do as you wish, but being a part of our team there are rules. You must attend school, be on time for training, and abide by our curfew."

"Is that it?" Bruno asked. The Professor nodded. "It sounds like a good deal, so Tara, what do you think?"

"It would be nice to be in school again, and have a place to stay," she said and Jean looked excited that Tara would be coming back with them. "The truth is going home is out of the question, so I think we can try it for a little while." The professor smiled and welcomed his two new recruits.

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Tara and Bruno spent the rest of the morning getting to know Scott and Jean. Bruno thought Scott was a little stiff but had to admit he had a kick-ass power. Jean showed Tara how she could move things just by thinking about them and thought that power was pretty cool too.

At about noon something noisy caught the teenagers' attention. They looked up to see a large plane landing in the empty plot down the street.

"What was that?" Bruno asked.

"The Blackbird," Scott said proudly. "Come on, that's our ride."

"So, you guys have your own plane, sweet," Bruno said and took Tara's hand. They followed Scott and Jean to the plane and saw the Professor already there meeting a brown-haired man. He had on blue jeans a plaid shirt, jacket and heavy boots.

Bruno wasn't leaving without his bike but there was room on the plane to secure it, and they also brought their backpacks with a few possessions they left Mississippi with. They entered the plane and saw another passenger.

"Hey, who's this, Logan?" Scott asked.

"Calls himself Gambit," the man called Logan said and didn't say anything more. He looked like he was a man of very few words.

Bruno could see the one called Gambit was shuffling cards and wondered if he played poker. "This is Bruno Gallo and Tara Brimsby," Scott said, introducing his new friends to Logan.

"Welcome to the X-Men," Logan said and shook their hands.

"Cool name," Tara said and sat down in the empty seat next to Jean.

It would be nice to converse with another girl. She preferred that it had been Rogue, but as of now she had no idea where her friend was. She hoped she would see her again one day. Until then she was entering a new world, and she was just glad she didn't have to do it alone. She had Bruno with her, and she was happy about that.