Disclaimer : The X-men are property of Marvel and this is a work of fiction.
Bobby walked around aimlessly at Rogue's party by the lakeside. He didn't feel like talking to anyone and replied politely to comments but didn't initiate anything himself. It had been over an hour since he'd had a fall out with Kevin, and his heart ached. It had been one of the hardest things which he'd ever had to do, but Kevin had it coming and he deserved it. He loved Kevin more than anything else in the world, and that was why he couldn't stand by and let the guy harm himself and turn into a monster. He looked at the drink which he held in his hand, a simple cocktail in a plastic cup. He looked at his hand and shook his head slightly. He couldn't believe he'd hit Kevin, and so hard. The drink froze instantly, and he sighed sadly at his lack of control. He thought he didn't have it in him to actually hit the guy he loved but when he saw Kevin losing an internal battle with his powers, he lashed out at those powers with everything in him. He hated them because they were tearing at such a wonderful guy, and forcing him to be something which he wasn't. He wanted to lash out at that dark face, at the demon which lurked behind those beautiful eyes, and before he knew it, Kevin was lying at his feet groaning. He wanted to hug Kevin and apologise and beg him to forget about his powers forever, but every time Kevin opened his mouth, he said something which made him even angrier, impossible as that seemed. He jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Angel and Rogue looking at him with concerned faces.
"Are you okay, Bobby?" Marie said. Her encounter with Kevin had left her with a miraculously altered view on his relationship. He was grateful for that, but also uncomfortable at their shared history.
"Yeah, you don't look so good, man," Angel said. He'd always been such a good friend, and seeing a man with wings always made him smile to himself. It seemed so weird, but it was also amazing.
"I'm not well guys," he said, and the look in his eyes or the threat of tears catapulted their concern for him. They closed in on him and put their hands on his shoulders.
"Let's go somewhere," Angel said, and Bobby nodded silently. They walked away from the party and for at least ten minutes before they were far from anyone else, and near to the edge of the forest, and on the other side of the lake. The party could be seen in the far distance, and laughter could be heard among her friends who were jumping around, talking, and swimming in the lake. The three of them sat down on the dry green grass, and Bobby started toying with a twig.
"What is wrong, Bobby?" Angel said with a sympathetic voice.
"I had a huge fight with Kevin. Huge."
Silence followed his words for several seconds. "About what?" Marie said.
"He's been acting strangely, Marie. His powers are controlling him, making him something he isn't. He isn't the same guy I fell in love with..." he stumbled over those words and looked at Rogue, but she smiled and put her hand on his, and edged him on.
"I love him so much it makes my chest hurt," he said, and he could feel the pain that he was speaking about. "It's just that he treats people so badly, and he lives in a whole other world. I can't speak to him about his problems. He acts tormented, distant... I don't know. You have to know someone as well as I know him to see that something is wrong. And he won't let me near. I can't take it anymore!" He realised he was shouting at the end and blushed.
"If you're worried about what he said to me earlier..." Angel said.
"No, it's not that. I mean, it is obviously, but that was just the final straw. See Warren, that is how he treats people now, and he never used to. He would never speak to anyone like that, and now he never stops. It's too much." He felt like he was losing control. He was filled with grief. He wanted to shake Kevin, and continue shaking him until that shadow inside of him picked up and left. He couldn't stand seeing such a wretched contrast in someone whom he cared for so deeply.
"Bobby," Marie said as she squeezed his hand again. "I touched him a few weeks ago and hurt him a lot, and now I have a part of him inside of me. I know Kevin. I know him as well as he knows himself, and I promise you, he's the most amazing guy. He's not like Magneto who makes me feel cold when I sense his presence, or Wolverine who is wild and untamed. He's like a gentle river, and I'm convinced he doesn't even have a capacity for evil."
Bobby nodded quietly. "I know, Marie. That is Kevin. He's kind and gentle, and caring and mischievous. But those powers of his. Those fucking powers! He's killed people with them, Marie. Deliberately."
The three of them sat in silence once more.
"He's dangerous," Angel said, and Bobby wondered where that came from.
"He is," Bobby found himself agreeing. "But I love him like I love no one else. These past two weeks have been the best of my life."
"You did the right thing, Bobby," Angel said.
"Yeah, you can't live in fear of him, and it's important to let those you love know that you don't like their behaviour. He knows you were right. He'll look into himself and react to it," Marie said.
Bobby looked past her and his eyes widened. "He's reacted all right," Bobby said, and got up and started running towards the lake where the party was taking place. He noticed someone walking out of the front entrance of the mansion towards the lake. Stumbling rather. He could spot Kevin from a mile away with his tall and lithe physique. He wondered what Kevin had done now. He could hear Marie and Angel running after him calling his name, but he had to see what Kevin was up to. Kevin was shouting something to the members of the party, who had finally stopped to peer at the source of the tirade. He neared the party.
"All of you back off," Bobby shouted urgently, and they ran off in separate directions when the saw the look in his eyes.
"Bobby!" he heard Kevin shout at the top of his lungs, and he turned to see the guy he loved staggering slowly towards the lake, and he looked to be totally drunk. Where had he got hold of alcohol? A bottle hung down from his right hand, and it occurred to Bobby that he'd made his own alcohol. He mentally slapped Kevin for his immature way of dealing with things, but walked towards him slowly.
"There you are!" Kevin shouted with a slur. "Am I good enough for you, my amazing lover? Do you see that my pretty face is normal and that I'm like a normal, non- threatening human?" Kevin gestured with each word and his voice was acid with sarcasm.
"You're drunk," Bobby said flatly, and he heard Marie and Warren stop short of him.
"A new Charles Xavier is among us!" Kevin said, while throwing up his arms and laughing. "See, I can laugh Bobby. Do you see that I have a soul? That I also feel pain and happiness?"
"Kevin, stop this," Bobby said sternly, but inside he felt pain and desperation for him.
"Sure!" Kevin said with a psychotic shout. "I obey! Just to prove that I am not a god and care about what you think! Do you love me now?"
Bobby sighed but he also felt angry. Kevin was manipulating him for self-pity and acting like a child. This was not the way to approach a situation, and he wouldn't be diverted by pathetic attempts to draw pity upon himself. "I've always loved you, and I still do, but you don't know how to behave, and it looks like you still don't."
"Still not good enough for Iceman?" Kevin said with a quizzical look. "What a surprise!" He drew a long drink from his bottle. Some of it messed down the corner of his mouth. He really was out of it.
"What do you want, Kevin?" Bobby said cruelly.
"Some love would be nice," he said with a fake kiss and a drunk smile.
"So you're not here to destroy me and my friends. Hey guys... you're safe!" Bobby shouted into the distance sarcastically. He hated to do this, but Kevin was being an idiot.
"Fuck you!" Kevin shouted, and the bottle exploded into nothing. "Fuck you, you cruel motherfucker!" He was furious, and he wiped away the tears which fell down his cheeks. He was walking on such a fine line. Why did he have to get drunk? Why didn't he just talk to him civilly or apologise?
"You think you can treat people badly and getting drunk will make it all better? Sorry Kevin, you need to go back to whatever level five universe you live in and think about how adults behave in the real world."
Kevin's lips trembled and he put his hand over his eyes. Bobby thought he was on the verge of running up to him to hug him or beg him to forget all this shit, when he lowered his hand and his eyes flared to anger. "Fuck you. I don't need this," he said, and he leaped a hundred feet high before exploding into a comet which shot off into the distance. Bobby watched him fly away sadly. He knew he would come back, but he was directionless and desperate, and dangerous. He turned to his friends.
"We need to find him. Let's go to Xavier. He can help us," he said softly.
"Okay," Angel said walking up to him with concern. "It's going to be okay, buddy."
Bobby hugged him and started to cry... really cry. All the grief he'd been holding back he released. He hated himself for being mean to Kevin, for doing what he was obliged to do, and finally he had a shoulder to cry on and to care for him. He leaned into Warren's strong embrace, and he wept for a considerable time until he'd recovered. He loved Kevin so much, but he didn't know how to fix this catastrophe. He wished for Kevin's safety until he got to him. He prayed for it.
David walked around in the forest a mile outside the X-mansion. This place was forbidden to students for safety reasons, but he couldn't care less for rules. He'd stepped here on the first day of his tuition at the school, and he'd been here a thousand times or more. It was a decent place to smoke, be alone and think about things. It was probably a decent place to get laid too, but he hadn't experienced that yet. Growling in his throat, he passed a tree and pulled a small branch off and started toying with it.
He hated everything about his life. He hated what his parents had done to him. He'd been an ordinary boy until the age of thirteen, when suddenly and unwittingly he'd discovered his powers and caused immense destruction. Before that he'd been a surpassingly promising academic and a internationally reputable swimming champion for his age group, and yet his parents had disowned him and thrown him out when he'd needed them the most. His whole life built up to that moment had counted for nothing, and the mountain of success he'd stood upon had only provided him with a higher pinnacle to fall from. He used to think about the gold medals and honours which he'd left behind, but it had been many years since he'd cried about them, or anything for that matter. He remembered his father physically tossing him out onto the sidewalk, and how the blood from his split lip ran back into his mouth and reminded him of the grim reality he'd faced. He remembered how his father continued to kick him in the stomach and continued despite his pleas for mercy, and how he cried out to defend himself and how his powers listened. He remembered the silence which followed - the deathly silence followed by the approach of the police. He remembered how the guards would taunt him and remind him that two years in juvenile incarceration was getting off lightly for murdering his whole family. He remembered the endless abuses of prison and quickly cleared his mind before they consumed him. Those long days were the most terrible of his life. He could have lashed out with his powers and reduced the prison to nothing, but somewhere along the line he would have been recaptured and placed back in that hell. With those smug prisoners holding him down and laughing in his face, he had to use all his willpower to stop himself from seizing his gift, which would have certainly freed him from those endless nightmares. He remembered that day eighteen months later when Xavier had freed him on a deal made with the governor, a deal which sealed him to the X-men for many years to come if he was to avoid going back to prison. That old man had smiled at him as he approached him in the prison exit passage. He could feel the warmth radiating from the man, and he could sense his power, but at the same time he knew that even those fires could never warm his cold heart, and could never rekindle what was lost.
And so he had come to Xavier's school for mutants, where he'd learned to embrace his powers from the outset. He hated humanity like he hated a plague. He hated normal people so much he thought he could probably kill them with his gaze. His hatred had made the nightmares easier, and on long summer nights he would lie on his bed and dream about the moment of his revenge when he could unleash his powers on the unsuspecting world. As his powers grew, so did his hatred. He hated the world so much that he struggled to make friends, and struggled to find someone to love him. He desperately wanted to find a guy to love him, but his yearning grew to resent, and he despised those who looked down on him. If they knew what he was...
Xavier was the only one who knew what he was truly capable of. The simplistic imbeciles in his class and all around him thought that his only gift was reading mutant powers, but that was merely a by-product of his real gift, psionic energy. He could project images into people's minds, or read them freely. His father wouldn't relent so he'd sent a wave of energy out which had crushed every mind for thirty feet. Without the mind, the body cannot live, and thus his family had died. He could manipulate scenarios in human minds, and even animal minds, and he could control human behaviour through them. It was an awesome power, and a dangerous one. His dreams took place within one another - dreams within dreams with dreams, and reality meant very little to him. Walking past a mutant or human would be like walking past a sponge, which would soak up or yield anything he wanted it to. The Professor had stressed the responsibility associated with his gift, and he'd heeded his warning to his own purposes. He'd listen to the Professor and obey as necessary, but only so that he could reach his full power and thus exact his revenge when he walked out of the school one day. He hated what he'd become, but he was a product of a hateful society, and they needed to be reminded of the disease which they had spawned. As Dementia he would teach people to fear what they hated, and eventually learn to accept their fear, and then love it.
He was already remarkably powerful, though it was tough to test his limits with Xavier in the same house. The man sometimes looked in his direction with his mind, and he had no choice but to back down. He knew how to handle Xavier. He was no match for him, but he was also not foolish enough to challenge him. He liked Xavier, if he could be said to like anybody with his chilled soul.
It had changed a few days ago. He was sitting in another tedious class when he sensed the approach of a level five mutant, and he'd wanted to run out of the class and see who'd arrived. He felt terror in his bones, because only he could see the potentially limitless ability within the mutant. The jet had landed underground and he'd cursed himself that he couldn't see whoever had arrived. That whole night he hadn't slept, and only a few steps down the passage he could feel the wild tempests of energy flying around this mysterious mutant. The next day in class he'd almost gasped when the mutant had entered his classroom and started to teach him. His power was awesome. Nature seemed to resonate around him, and his ability allowed him to see flows of all energies sweeping through Kevin, even though he was unaware of it in his normal state. Yet the guy was so... nice. And modest. How could such a powerful man lower himself and tell his class that he was so much weaker than he really was? Who in their right mind would want to seem like less?
There was something about Kevin which intrigued him in that lesson. He felt as if his skin had burst into flames. He felt as if some heat had hit his heart for the first time in memory. Something about the guy was so likeable and sexy. Kevin's smile had floated across his visions and put an irritating haze on his mind control. He wanted to be near to him, to hug him and kiss him and tear his shirt off. It just didn't make sense! He wanted to strangle Kevin for what he was doing to his heart. No matter how much he tried to put him out of his mind, his flew back in and brought him to his knees. He'd never wanted anything in his life as much as he wanted Kevin, and he couldn't stand the prospect of their future proximity. In those long hours while lying awake in his bed he'd pondered many things, but mostly he'd finally accepted that Kevin was the one chance he had to salvage something good from his life. He needed him, needed him so badly, but he didn't even know how to begin. Merely talking to him in class was too much. He was unable to even make eye contact. Mind reading was out of the question - looking at Kevin's mind was like running into an adamantium wall, and he had a recurrent suspicion that something nasty waited for those who kept charging. And of course, there was a difference - he didn't want to violate Kevin's mind. He respected him, liked him.... loved him.
There was only one problem. Kevin was in love with Iceman. He pretended to hide it, but when the girls mentioned Iceman, Kevin's energy had changed from a breeze to a hurricane. That was love, and he'd seen it in people before (though not with such magnitude). Iceman was a powerful mutant, a legend, and a nice guy, but he was probably the only obstacle in his search for a glimpse of happiness. That meant Iceman had to go. It was unfortunate, but he'd already started to plan it.
Kevin had woken up in a dark alley after the majority of his drink had worn off. It had been hours since he'd left the mansion, and he'd fallen asleep almost as soon as he'd arrived at his destination. It had been daylight when he'd arrived - he remembered that much, but now it was dark and he could hear the distant jovial roars of partygoers. The alcohol he'd drunk had worn off, but left him with a throbbing headache which seemed to persist. Standing, he flicked his clothes with his powers and turned them into something decent and acceptable for night life. Suddenly he was standing there in dark pants with a black leather jacket and a light shirt. He exited the alley and walked towards the sounds of entertainment. He needed company, and he would find it here.
His eyes roamed the street as he walked down it. It was a decent part of town, filled with hundreds of crazy people trying to enjoy their Friday evening. His eyes scanned the bars and clubs, but he decided to find the nearest gay place and enter. It only took a few minutes before he'd hooked onto a place and walked in. The place was busy and filled with conversation, music and occasional laughter. He moved through the horde to the bar. He had a hangover, but he was also thirsty and irritable. He sat down at the bar and beckoned for a beer which arrived quickly. He sensed eyes on him. He could feel some of the guys lusting after him. None of them were mutants. He sneered before taking a rough gulp from his beer. On putting his glass down, he glanced to his right and saw a guy sitting next to him smiling at him.
"Hello," the guy said simply. He was tall with dark hair and fierce green eyes. He looked about as young as Kevin was, and he had a naughty smile.
Kevin sighed. "Hi," he said blithely, and took another sip.
"I'm Justin," he said.
"Hi Justin," Kevin said politely, and he stared forward at the empty beer glasses on the opposite wall.
"Do you have a name?" the guy said optimistically. The guy must have infinite patience, or perhaps he couldn't take a hint.
"Yeah," Kevin said leadenly, but he suddenly asked himself why he came to a bar looking for company, only to dwell in self-pity and be rude to those who showed interest. "I'm Kevin," he added.
The guy smiled and looked him up and down. Could he be any more obvious? "Nice to meet you, man," he said with a mock punch to Kevin's shoulder which made him smile despite himself.
"I have a boyfriend," Kevin said out of nowhere, and disappointment appeared instantly on Justin's face. He didn't know why he said it, but he thought later it was his fierce desire to remember who he really loved, and who he was really loyal to.
"Oh... I uh..." Justin said, and started to get up.
Kevin put a hand on his arm. "But I could use a friend," he said quietly, and within moments he felt like he was on the verge of an emotional collapse.
The guy's eyes filled with pity and he sat again. "Sure Kevin. I'd love to be your friend. What's troubling you?"
"I had a fight with my boyfriend. I don't appreciate him like I should and he told me to get lost. I got drunk instead, and now I'm here. I'm such an asshole," he said, and he rubbed his eyes, and tried to rub the headache away.
"You're only human," Justin said reassuringly, but Kevin knew what he meant despite the glaring error. "Everyone makes mistakes. Just make it right."
"Yeah, I know. You're right," Kevin said monotonously. He knew it was the right thing to do, but he felt he'd disgraced himself so severely, he couldn't easily apologise without looking like a real idiot.
"You come here often?" Justin said, and Kevin wanted to hug him for his expert deflection of a bad situation. This was just what he needed.
"No, first time."
"Damn, well I saw when you entered, and you seemed to know the place as if you'd been here before. I thought you were a regular."
"Well, that's my pow..." he started, but quickly changed the topic. "What I mean is, that most of these places look quite similar, so I knew where to go."
"Okay," Justin said, and Kevin saw that he'd accepted the answer. "You see that..?" Justin said while pointing at the TV.
Kevin looked at the TV which was showing CNN. CNN in a bar! Cairo harbour in ruins. Kevin shuddered when he realised what he was watching. "Uh yeah," he said tentatively.
"Apparently a mutant did that. Look at that fucking devastation. One guy, or girl, who had a fight with their sailor boyfriend levelled four square miles and sank thirty-eight ships."
"What do you think of that?" Kevin said out of the corner of his eye. He took a drink to hide the betrayal on his face.
"I think it's hot," Justin said with a smile, and Kevin couldn't help but laugh. "If I had powers I would be a real bad ass. I'd be real bad."
"I bet you would," Kevin laughed and winked at Justin, who smiled back.
"Seriously, I would threaten to destroy Cairo unless every hot guy in the city lined up to make out with me. And then I'd move on to Paris, then New York. The burden of my powers would be very great."
"You have no idea," Kevin said with a smile, but his heart shouted at the danger of the situation and how uncomfortable its proximity made him.
"You ever seen a mutant?" Justin said curiously.
"Yeah, once or twice," Kevin lied.
"Really?!" Justin shouted. "Hey Pete, this guy's seen a mutant." The barman came over, and Kevin suddenly felt wary.
"Tell us mate," the barman said.
"Well I've seen a guy who can make ice with his hands," Kevin said warily.
"Fucking freaks. They should shoot those guys as soon as they see them," the barman said aggressively.
Kevin felt anger coursing in his veins, but he remained polite. "Why do you say that? He was a really nice guy."
"It doesn't matter. Mr Snowball decides he's had a bad day and all of us here are preserved in an ice age before someone takes him out. Too dangerous."
"Jeez, I thought a gay guy would understand what it's like to have to deal with something you have no control over, and still be hated for it," Kevin said matter-of- factly.
The barman lowered his eyes. "Just saying what I think," the guy said bashfully, but Kevin couldn't read whether he was angry or ashamed, and he walked off to serve other hailing customers.
"I think it's funky," Justin said. "I'd love to meet a mutant. That freeze guy could keep my drinks cold, make it snow. Anything. It would be awesome. And that's just the extra. We could be friends, boyfriends..." Justin was visibly drawn off into his fantasy. Kevin coughed, and Justin blushed and smiled. A moment later the barman returned and gave them a beer each.
"On the house," the guy said with a wink and smile.
"Guess he wants to make up," Justin said, and Kevin smiled. They downed a healthy portion of their drinks.
"You're a nice guy, Justin. I hope we can keep contact after this," Kevin said.
"I would like that," he replied. The two looked at one another for a long moment before Kevin's eyes fell and he took another swig.
"You might get a shock..." Kevin begun, but suddenly his speech seemed to slur and the world started to spin.
"I can feel it too," Justin said anxiously.
Kevin looked at his beer and froze in terror. He looked at the barman who was nodding and walking slowly towards them, with five completely overmuscled guys flanking him. The dizziness became worse, and his vision started to blur. He felt Justin latch on to him, and nearly fall off the bar stool. He needed to see, but he couldn't. He couldn't focus. He tried to stand but he stumbled, and Justin's weight pulled him down.
"Help me, Kevin," Justin said drowsily.
Kevin pulled himself to his feet with all his might. They had spiked their drinks. Why!?
"Let's teach these mutant lovers a lesson, guys," the barman said, and his friends laughed and rubbed their fists. He felt them pick him and Justin up and start dragging them outside.
He felt panic, and near hysteria. He felt the safety barriers on his abilities slowly dissolving along with his mind. He could feel random bursts of energy emanating from him, and he wanted to cry out in fear. He was trying to cover up all the holes in the dam wall, but the water was leaking through at an accelerated rate and the wall was creaking on the verge of collapse. The thugs threw him down in the back alley outside the bar and they started circling him and Justin. Their faces were malicious, and two guys had baseball bats in their hands. Kevin suddenly felt terror, not for himself - for them. Justin groaned next to him. He was almost unconscious from the drug in the beer. The guys moved in closer and Kevin felt a punch crack across his cheek and the instant taste of blood in his mouth. It was that single physical assault which unsettled the snow and released the avalanche. Down it came, and these bigots weren't even aware of the magnitude of their peril. Kevin felt his powers crack and release themselves, as if his instinct had overridden his consciousness and decided to defend him from them, no matter what he wanted.
The ground started to shake, and cracks started to emanate in the tar around him. Sheets of fire rose up the faces of the buildings in the alley. His head was spinning, and all he could see was the liquid appearance of the fire as it swam up the walls. His limbs were heavy and his breathing came with difficulty. The thugs were shouting but were too scared to move, and Justin seemed to be unconscious. The earth groaned and started to shake severely. The guys in the alley fell over and started screaming, and crawling away. Kevin took one deep breath. "Bobby, help me!" he shouted, and the psychic pulse which he released covered the earth. Kevin fell into unconsciousness, but even as his head fell in slow motion to lie next to Justin's, he sensed his powers roar and rage, and he could see whole buildings falling around him. He could hear screaming, screaming everywhere! His vision faded in waves, and he wanted to weep.
End of Chapter 11
Thanks for all the comments I got. Many readers loved the previous chapter, and I hope to bring certain issues to a head soon. Thanks again for any comments I receive, I always appreciate them. rahvin747@yahoo.com