Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2009 13:03:02 +1000
From: thothboi@hotmail.com
Subject: Weaver X: Chapter 11

Xmen is the trademarked property of Marvel, all Marvel Characters are
copyrighted to Marvel, their characters are borrowed, for the purposes of
the story.

This is a work of Gay fiction, containing adult situations between
consenting males.  If you are under the legal age in your country, DO NOT
CONTINUE, otherwise, I hope you enjoy.


Weaver X:  Chapter 11


Alex sighed and stepped through the final gateway, back
onto the grounds at Xavier's institute.  He'd travelled
all over the world, using his gateways, laying as long
and misleading a trail as he could before coming here.

Alex inhaled gently, taking in the scent of the
surrounding forest and the sense of isolation.  He knew
it wouldn't be long before Wolverine or someone else
found him, but just for now, he took his time, revelling
in the silence of the moment.

"Do I want to ask if you're in trouble?"  Wolverine
asked, stepping out from behind a tree.  "Or is this just
a social visit?"

Alex smile, he'd only been in the forest for 10 minutes
or so.  "I don't know exactly."  He responded honestly.
"I do need to see the Professor though."

Wolverine snorted and lit his omnipresent cigar.  "Most
people do."  He took a deep draw of his cigar.  "You
stirred up a bee's nest leaving the way you did, don't be
looking for the warmest welcome."

Alex sighed.  "I figured it would be something like
that."  Seizing control of his abilities, he wove a net
of air and gathered up his belongings.  "Thanks for
letting me know."

As he stepped forwards and began to weave a gateway,
Wolverine grabbed his arm.  "I didn't say you weren't
welcome, I just said that you might want to be careful
with a few people, you hurt them, leaving with no
warning."  Abruptly he sniffed the air and his face took
on a feral cast.  "Sabretooth."  He snarled, and grabbed
Alex by his arms, and hauled him up close.  "When did you
come into contact with that animal?"

Alex lost control of his powers and his cases fell to the
ground.  "I.I.uh."  Abruptly he burst into tears.

Wolverine loosened his grip on Alex's arms and stared at
him blankly.  "You really do need to see the Professor."
He said, his voice remote.  "Weave your powers kid, take
us to the mansion.  Then we'll have a talk to the
Professor, you and me, alright?"

Alex nodded, too shocked by his display to do anything
but agree, it had been years since he'd cried.  He had to
be more on edge than he'd thought to loose control that
way.  Wearily he re-wove the net of air, and opened a
gateway into the hangars.  It was time to deal with the
Professor's dire predictions coming true.

***

"You say that he approached you with Sabretooth and
Mezmero?"  The Professor frowned.

"Yes."  Alex replied simply.  "He knew my last name, I
haven't told anyone my last name, not even here."  He
swallowed convulsively, the only person he could think of
who knew his last name in America was Dimitri, and he was
supposed to have left for Russia shortly before Alex left
himself.

"I fear that you are in more danger than you know.
Magneto has vast resources at his disposal, among them
telepaths he uses to force cooperation."  The Professor
looked up at Alex from behind his desk.  "It is crucial
that we discover what he wants with you."

Alex shrugged tiredly.  Fleeing from Paris and arriving
back at the mansion had taken their emotional toll, he
was utterly exhausted.  "All I know is that he said he
wanted me to join his brotherhood, whatever the hell that
means, and that he wasn't interested in harming me.  The
thing is, he only said that after I flamed some iron
railings he was trying to throw at me."

The Professor looked sharply at Alex.  "What does he know
of your abilities, from the fight?"

"Well, I was holding a personal shield, and had a few
wards on myself, to warn me if someone got too close, and
flaming the railing till it was ash.and I guess he knows
that I was making my sculptures with my powers."  Alex
admitted.

"Sculptures?"  The Professor sounded surprised.  "Well,
we must assume that he is also aware of your healing
abilities as well."  He examined Alex's face carefully.
"You should go upstairs and rest, Beast, Logan and I will
look into this, but until we discover what it is Magneto
wants with you, I ask that you please remain in the
mansion."

"You mean I'm grounded?"  Alex asked disbelievingly, he'd
only been back for a matter of hours.

The Professor chuckled.  "Hardly that.  I just believe
that, for your safety, it's the best choice for now."

Alex nodded slowly.  "So where am I staying?"

***

Alex lay on the guest room bed.  It was so strange to be
back.  When he'd left, he'd never thought, not even for a
moment, that he'd come back.  The distance and loneliness
he'd felt when he'd left, none of it had changed.  Paris
had been good.  At least there he'd managed to make his
own way, to interact with people as though he was normal,
not a thing to be used, not a freak, not a ticking time
bomb, just another artist in Paris.  Making glass
sculptures may not have been the best paying occupation
in the world, but it was something that was his alone,
something that didn't require others to touch him, his
body, his soul.

Alex sighed and rolled over on his stomach.  Now, now, he
was back at Xavier's.  No more normality, just another
freak in the crowd of them.  He sighed again, and
yelping, slid off the bed in surprise as the door burst
open, revealing the grinning, tear streaked face of
Rogue.

"You're back!"  She pulled Alex up off the ground and
into a hug.  "I missed you."  She muttered, squeezing him
tightly.

"Me too."  Alex replied, and was surprised to find that
he actually meant what he'd said.  Rogue had been a
friend from the moment he'd first set foot in the
Mansion.  He squeezed her back gently and let go.

Rogue took a step back and half-examined, half-glared at
him.  "Where did you go?"

Alex sank down onto the bed.  "Paris."  He grinned up at
her.  "I travelled in Europe for a month and then settled
down in Paris, selling sculpture."

Rogue's eyes became dreamy.  "Paris."  She half-sighed in
envy.  "I always wanted to go there."  She took a deep
breath and her eyes narrowed sharply.  "Did you bring me
anything?"

Alex frowned slightly, if there was any response he'd
expected from Rogue of all people, it was a teary demand
on why he'd gone away, not this radiation of relief and
pleasure.  "I can't say that I was expecting to come
back."  He paused for a moment.  "But I do think I've got
something for you."

Rogue tilted her head in a questioning manner.  "Oh?"
She smiled.  "Where is it then?"

Alex laughed and opened his specially built case for
carrying the fragile sculpture.  "No peeking."  He warned
her as he flicked the case open and lifted out one of the
miniature statues out of the case.  Instinct told him
that this was the perfect one.  "Now you can look."  He
held out the sculpture.

Rogue's lustrous green eyes filled with expressive tears
as she beheld an exquisite foot high glass sculpture of
herself, clear, save for the two snowy white locks of
hair that wrapped and moulded themselves to the contours
of 'her' skin.  She stared at it, speechless for a long
moment, then reached out and traced the contours of the
statue with gentle fingers.  She took a deep shaky
breath.  "I don't.I've never seen anything so beautiful
in my life."

Alex shrugged uncomfortably.  He wasn't used to
compliments, never had been and it still felt strange to
get them.  "You're my best friend.  I wanted to make
something that wasn't just, you know, a pretty picture."

Rogue smiled and wiped her tears away.  "You're all
thumbs telling someone that you love them, but I know
what you meant."  She surprised Alex by leaning forward
and kissing him gently on the cheek.  "Thankyou."

Alex shook his head, this certainly wasn't the response
he expected from his best friend after just disappearing,
but he was grateful for it nonetheless.  "You're
welcome."  He replied, a smile hovering on his lips.  "I
just don't know what to do now."

Rogue sat down on the bed next to Alex, and sobered up
straight away.  "You want to tell me what happened?"  She
asked, glancing at him sideways.

Alex recounted his encounter with Magneto and Professor
Xavier's reactions.

"Well, I guess that means you'll be sticking around  for
a while, won't you?"  The plea on Rogue's face was clear,
even if she wasn't asking questions about his
disappearance, she'd missed Alex and been hurt by his
absence.

Alex smiled at his friend.  "I'm not going anywhere."

***

"Alex,"  Scott's voice rang out down the hall, "I'd like
to speak with you for a moment please."  Alex halted and
turned around.  Ever since the first moment they'd met,
there had been tension between them.  Admittedly their
first meeting was Scott almost breaking down Alex's door
to chew him out for smoking, the first impression had
stuck, with both of them.

"How can I help you Mister Summers?"  Alex asked him
politely, he didn't like the man, but he didn't see any
reason to antagonise him more than necessary.  Necessary
meaning breathing.

Scott gestured to an open door.  It was an empty
classroom.  Alex followed him inside and watched as he
closed the door behind them.

"I just wanted to let you know that if you ever need to
talk to someone about things, I'd be glad to listen, any
time, day or night."  Scott said, sitting on the edge of
a desk and smiling at Alex.

Alex blinked in surprise.  This was the last thing he'd
expected from the authoritarian X - team leader.  It must
have shown on his face, because Scott cleared his throat
uncomfortably.

"I know things can be difficult.  Finding out you're a
mutant, let alone dealing with the pressure of learning
how to control your powers, it can really mess you up."
He seemed to look at Alex expectantly, it was hard to
tell though, with his eyes hidden behind his visor.

"Thankyou, Scott."  Alex answered awkwardly.  He didn't
know what to do or say.  They'd been cordial when Alex
was in training, but there wasn't anything more to the
relationship than that.

Scott cleared his throat again.  "I just wanted you to
know."  He said awkwardly, standing.

Alex nodded and opened the door.  "Thankyou, I, I um,
appreciate it."  He said hurriedly and walked back out
into the hall.

Thoughts whirled through his head, mostly the shock of a
positive encounter with Scott.  Simply put, Alex wasn't
used to dealing with males being nice without an ulterior
motive, and Scott had never been nice to him before.  He
wandered through the halls and outside, not really
knowing where he was going until he suddenly found
himself standing outside the greenhouse Storm had claimed
for her own.

***

Alex walked along the carefully designed path, revelling
in the warm, moist air.  The smell of fresh dirt,
fertiliser and growing green things surrounded him and
assailed his senses, reminded him of the rainforests of
home...

"What are you doing in here?"  Storm's voice broke
through his reverie.

Alex spun, looking for the mutant he possibly had the
most respect for in all of Xavier's mansion.  Finally he
spotted her, half concealed behind a screen of fern
fronds.  "Storm, I was just."

Storm cut him off with one hand.  "I don't recall
inviting you here."  She replied coldly, not even turning
her head from her examination of the ferns.

A knot of ice formed around Alex's heart at the hard,
harsh tones of the woman he most respected.  "I.I was
just looking for a place to be alone."  His voice came
out dull and flat, nearly unrecognisable even to him.

"For what?"  Storm demanded, releasing the fern and
turning icy blue eyes on him.  Tension crackled in the
air as she took a step closer to Alex.  "You left, you
wanted to be alone and you were.  If you want to be alone
again.  Leave."

Alex staggered backwards with the force of hatred behind
Storm's words.  "I. I'm sorry."  He stammered, unable to
tear his eyes from Storm's eyes, now crackling with
sparks of electricity.

"Get out."

Alex blinked at the force behind the command and fled the
greenhouse as wind began to lash plants back and forth,
the leaves cutting his face and arms with the force
behind them.

***

Alex flung the door closed behind him and sank onto his
mattress, tears streaming down his face.  Of all the
people in the world to reject him, Storm was the last
he'd expected to have that reaction, she'd always been so
kind and gentle with him.  Angrily he dashed the tears
from his eyes and stared at his hands in shock, mingled
with tears was blood.

Shaking his head angrily, he stalked into the bathroom
and stared at his face in the mirror.  Dark blue eyes
stared back at him out of a face most models would have
envied, with dark red luscious lips and pure white skin
framed by lanky black hair, an image now marred by long,
angry red scratches, the legacy of Storm's rage at him.

Hands gripping the basin, Alex stared at his reflection
as tears of heartbreak and sorrow welled up in his eyes
and broke loose.  Anguish welled up inside of him as
floodgates long closed opened up in response to Storm's
unexpected reaction, his fear and the biting loneliness
deep within.  Slowly, he half-slid down the wall, blinded
by all the pain, as wracking sob after wracking sob
escaped his shaking form.

Time became a blur as the anguish of his life escaped his
control, emotional pain translated to a dull physical
ache as the acid of his tears etched deep marks on his
face and through it all he saw nothing, felt nothing
until he slipped into blissful darkness.



Author's Note:

Well, I hope you all had a great holiday season and New Years!  As always,
I look forward to feedback, it's always a privilege to hear from you.  I
hope the New Years brings you all you could want it to!