Thunderbird || X-Men

Chapter 30 ~ Friendly Visit

1978

I made my way into the school that afternoon, knowing none of the students would recognize me. Being in there for only a moment and I had already seen so many mutants wandering the halls. I walked down some steps into the main area. I saw an adult, I assumed a teacher, standing in the middle, watching the students go by with their textbooks in hand.

"Hi, I'm here to see the professor?" I said to him. He turned around, and I saw it was the one and only Alex Summers.

At first, he didn't say anything, neither did I. I only stared in awe at the fact that we both were here. Then his expression changed and his eyes gleamed.

"Is that really you?!" He yelped, grabbing onto my shoulders happily.

"Your hair got long, kid. You teaching here now?" I joked. Instead of laughing, he pulled me into a tight hug. I embraced him just as tightly.
It felt like so long ago that we last saw each other, because it was. That was close to 20 years ago.

Eventually, after some time, we parted.

"No, I don't teach here. I was just leaving." He finally answered. "And your hair got short, Kay. Looks pretty edgy."

"Does it?"

"Yea, but it looks good, it suits you. Never would've pictured you with a pixie." He ran a playful hand through my hair, messing it up a bit.

"How's your brother?" I asked him.

"Oh, Scott? He's alright. Mom thinks he's a mutant too. She says any day now we might have to bring him to weirdo school." He teased.

"Well, this is the best weirdo school I know." I responded, sharing a small laugh with him. "Where's Charles?"

"Probably in his afternoon classes, you can go wait in his office down that way." He pointed down a long corridor. "Two lefts and a right, it's got a sign on it. If you see the math classrooms you've gone too far."

"Thanks, I wish I could talk more." I pulled Alex in for another quick hug.

"Oh and Kayla! Keep in touch this time!" He called as we went our seperate ways.

~

When I entered the office, I was hit with nostalgia. Charles had made his office in the library I would always hang out in all those years ago. I recognized the window sill I used to sit in, still empty. The urge to sit in it again came back, but that wouldn't be very professional. I took a seat in the singular chair in front of his desk, waiting for him to arrive.

The wooden doors behind me swung open. Charles wheeled himself in but stopped in his tracks when he saw me.

"Kayla? Is that you?" He wonders almost in a whisper. I turn, giving him a nod. "I haven't seen you in so long... if I'm honest I didn't think I'd ever see you again. At least, not in Erik's clothes. I always see you on TV in that suit he wore."

I sighed, taking in the nostalgic atmosphere.

"It does feel good to be back. Looks exactly how I remember it." I gazed at the walls of the library, all lined with shelves full of books. "You even kept the window clear."

"Yes, I did." He chuckled a bit, turning his head to look at the bay window. "I kept it clear for you, love... just in case you wanted to come home again."

I took a moment to backtrack on what Charles had said.

"They're not his clothes, they're my own. I don't normally take hand-me-downs, especially from him." I told him, crossing my legs.

"I'm surprised you didn't bring your helmet." He said.

"I trust you enough not to need it, Charles." I teased. He circled me before wheeling his way behind his desk.

"So, just dropping by for tea?"

"I guess you could say that."

Charles looked like he was taking better care of himself since the last I saw of him. He cut his hair shorter, shaved, and wore his nice button-ups again. It had been 5 years or so since Erik's disappearance. Charles was the only soul who knew that I was the one that took on Erik's mantle, but he didn't know why, or the fact that Erik didn't pass it to me knowingly.

"Your school looks lovely, I'm proud of you." I told him.

"Yea it does, doesn't it? All that work really paid off in the end."

"Certainly. You've done a hell of a lot for mutants."

"So have you." He began with a smile.
"As much as I've never agreed with Erik's methods, I can't deny you both have done a lot for mutants."

"I certainly try my best."

"I'm surprised you decided to live like this, following where Erik's footsteps would've led him. It's a dangerous path, love, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about you." Charles admitted, his loving smile fading. I adjusted in my seat.

"Sometimes the most dangerous path is the only path worth taking. Being a professor isn't my style."

"Well, what is your style? Metal helmets and capes? The whole superhero gig?"

An uncomfortable pause.

"I just... you know how I worry for you. I remember our first flight as the X-Men, do you remember?" Charles wondered aloud, his smile returning. I took a moment.

"Yes, I remember."

"You were absolutely terrified that day. The whole experience scared you." He began. "You had to hold Erik's hand so tightly during liftoff. You were shaking so much, I thought you were going to pass out."

"Yea, well-"

"Has your anxiety gotten any more manageable since then?" I didn't want to respond at first.

"To an extent."

"To what extent?" He questioned, smile fading away again.

"Enough."

"Is it though? Is it enough?" Just Charles questioning me was setting me on edge. "You're going down a violent path, Kayla. If your anxiety gets in the way of controlling your powers-"

"I can control my powers just fine." I told him, sounding harsher than intended. As I did, the lamp on his desk flickered. Charles noticed.

"Yes of course. Obviously I was mistaken." He said with a cheeky smirk. I couldn't stay mad at him. I knew Charles was just worried and only trying to help.

He and I had everything to talk about, but it seemed they weren't the right things. It seemed, honestly, that we both avoided discussing Erik and his disappearance. I didn't discuss it because I was afraid to hurt Charles or myself, and I believed he was doing it for the same reason.

But we had come so far from those old days now, and as much as I missed them (I couldn't speak for Charles) I didn't think about them often. I considered Erik and me completely separate, although we operated under the same alias and a similar moral compass.

Before I had noticed at all, Charles told me that it was getting late. The students should be in bed soon and he suggested I should too. I dare not argue. I said a last final goodbye to him as I left, the heavy wooden doors shutting firmly behind me. The cold November air hit my skin. I stepped past where I parked my car to see the whole mansion, or as it was now school.

It was nostalgic, considering I spent a good decade inside its dusty halls. I could see a few young faces from the windows, all gazing at me. I stepped up to my car, getting in and slamming the door behind me. I felt the students' eyes on me as I drove down the thin dirt road in the crisp moonlight.