Life Goes On
In the middle of the Alaskan wilderness, the bar was the only one in almost twenty miles and, from all the trucks parked around it, it seemed that it was making good business that night. Inside there was a roaring trade of beer and other alcoholic drinks as the patrons cheered on their favorite fighters from outside the steel link cage. The reigning champion was standing in his corner drinking something from a glass while, behind the crowd, an exceptionally beautiful women was watching him intently with bright purple eyes. She sat casually with her feet up on the table, wearing a very interesting red dress that looked more like a small blanket covering her middle then something she should wear in public. Her long legs were accented by tightly laced, black leather, high heeled boots that stopped just above her knee and her hair fell in long black gold waves that almost brushed the floor when she leaned her head back.
"Hey, honey. How much for a date?" asked a very inebriated man as he staggered to stand in front of her. She slowly looked him up and down as she brought her feet to the floor.
"You couldn't afford it, mister." She said in a sultry voice that would make any man shiver.
"How much?" the man asked again, rocking on his feet.
"Ten thousand." the women said putting her feet back up on the table and smiling.
"Ten thousand?" he said rubbing his nose and spitting on the floor. "I'll give you ten bucks."
"No deal." She said turning her attention back to the man in the cage currently beating the crap out of some poor soul who'd been foolish enough to challenge him.
"Shit, you ain't worth ten cents." The man said walking away towards the bar. The women ran a hand through her long hair and sighed as another man was dragged out of the cage unconscious.
"Really, Whitefire? A prostitute? Why don't you just kill me now?" Cyclops said into the small ear piece she was wearing.
"Really, Cyclops, where's your sense of humor?" Whitefire whispered with a smile.
"I left it with the rest of your clothes in the back of the jet. The professor's going to kill me when he finds out."
"Then don't tell him."
"Lily…" Storm said gently.
"Hey, we're on the clock here." Lily said dropping her feet to the ground as the crowd started to thin after the last fight. "No names."
"Just do what we came here to do." Cyclops said sternly.
"Is that an order?" Lily said amusingly as she made her way to the bar, causing several mouths, male and female, to drop. She glanced sideways at the young girl wearing a green coat and drinking a large glass of water before sitting and waving the bartender over.
"What'll it be miss?" He asked rubbing a glass with a towel.
"Scotch, no ice." She said leaning her elbows on the surface of the bar.
"Coming right up."
"Whitefire, like you said we're on the clock…" Cyclops said into her ear.
"Scott, shut up." Lily whispered softly before taking out her ear piece and pocketing it. The bartender gave her the drink and left her alone. She looked at the girl again and noticed that she was eyeing the tip jar with obvious interest.
"If you keep looking at it like that, it might do a trick." Lily said staring at the various bottles behind the bar.
"Huh?" the girl said turning to her.
"I said if you keep looking at the jar like that it might do a trick." She replied looking over at the girl. "What's your name?"
"Uhh…"
"I'm not a prostitute. I just happen to like this dress. What's the name?" Lily said tapping the bar for another drink. The girl looked to the door apprehensively and the older women couldn't help but smile.
"I'm not holding you here or anything…if you want to leave then go." Lily said smiling at the bartender in thanks as he placed another drink in front of her.
"Why are you talking to me?" The girl asked turning back to Lily.
"Because you look lonely. Because you look lost. And because I know what you are." Lily said taking a drink and smiling at the frightened looking girl. "Relax…I'm one too."
"Who are you?" The girl asked.
"Ah! I asked first." Lily said turning her full attention to the young girl.
"Rogue."
"Rogue…a good name…what's your real one?"
"I told you mine, you tell me yours." Rogue said with false confidence. Lily simply stared at her until she lowered her eyes to the floor.
"Whitefire."
Rogue snapped her eyes back up to Lily who was watching as the man who dominated the cage fights began walking over to the bar.
"What kind of name is Whitefire?" Rogue asked finally.
"I don't know…What kind of name is Rogue?" Lily replied raising an eyebrow at the girl.
"Marie." She said smiling a little.
"Lily. Ok! I'm going to have to leave you now. Just… Trust yourself, alright?"
"Wait! What do you mean?" Rogue asked as Lily stood up to leave.
"Exactly what I said. Good luck." Lily said walking out the door. She watched the scene unfold for a few minutes before walking out into the cold and snow. She walked a good ways into the forest before coming to the clearing where a large jet sat waiting. Lily put her ear piece back in and adjusted it.
"Cy? You there?" She said into it.
"Oh, are you ready to grace us with your presence?" Scott said sounding petulant.
"Cy, I'm sorry, ok? Please put the stairs down…it's freezing out here." Lily said wrapping her arms around her waist.
"You had to wear that dress." Came the reply as the stairs descended to allow her access into the jet.
"I look good." Lily said running up to the warmth as she took off the ear piece.
"Suffering for fashion?" Storm asked handing a towel and blanket to the younger mutant.
"You bet your ass. Have I mentioned recently that you are a wonderful, beautiful..." "Yeah, yeah, put some clothes on before you catch your death." Storm interrupted with a smile as Lily walked over to Cyclops rubbing her hair with the towel.
"Well? Where's the girl?" Cyclops asked looking around from the pilot's seat.
"With an old friend." Lily said looking out the windows carefully.
"An old…who?" Storm asked looking confused.
"His name's Logan, calls himself Wolverine too. She'll be safe with him for now." Lily said.
"And why not just bring both of them with you when you came back?" Scott asked shaking his head and rolling his eyes.
"Because that would make your life too easy…there!" Lily said pointing to something outside. "He's here."
"Sabretooth?" Storm said coming over and looking out the window with Lily.
"Mm-hmm…I don't know why though…"
"You're the only telepath I know, who won't use their powers to do reconnaissance." Scott said looking over at her with a frown.
"That's cheating ." Lily said with a raised eyebrow. "Besides if I used my power like that what's to stop me from running around in your minds and telling Magneto everything I found out?"
"It's not the same thing…"Scott said exasperatedly. "You made your choice when you turned eighteen just like the rest of us."
"Yep…and I never said I was completely happy with it now did I? We should follow him." Lily said as Sabretooth began tailing Wolverine's trailer.
"We have to now. The girl we came after is in the back of the trailer." Cyclops said preparing the jet for take- off. "And what do you mean you're not happy?"
"Nothing…you're right I made my choice." She said turning from the window as she walked to the back of the jet, pulling off her dress as she went.
"Lily…" Storm said from the co-pilot's seat.
"It's nothing…drop it." She said pulling on sweatpants and a tank top. "God, I'm tired."
"What's up? Why have they stopped?" Scott asked looking down at the unmoving vehicle in the middle of the road. They watched Logan pull Rogue out of the trailer and leave her on the side of the road.
"I'm going down." Scott said.
"Wait." Lily said watching as he stopped the car a few yards down the road. She smiled as Rogue ran to catch up and get in. "Told ya."
"Told me what?" Scott asked confused.
"Just drive Cy." She said going to sit in one of the chairs. "Would you mind awfully if I napped until you needed me? "
"Go ahead, I'll wake you up." Storm said looking back at the young woman.
"Thanks Storm, I was up until midnight grading papers."
"It's ok, we'll be fine."
" 'Night then."
" 'Night." The other two said as Lily closed her eyes.
Darkness all around, pitch blackness that no eye could ever pierce and an ever present terror of an unknown enemy.
'It's a dream…just a dream.' Lily thought turning around in circles trying to find a way out of the pressing darkness.
'It's just a dream! A dream…A DREAM! HELP! MUMMY! VATI! I CAN'T SEE!' Lily screamed in her mind as she curled into a ball trying to block the darkness out. Suddenly strong arms wrapped themselves around her form and gently picked her up.
'Haben Sie keine Angst, Liebe.' Don't be afraid, love. A male voice said softly into her ear. Lily clung to him tightly as he held her in his arms.
'Aber es ist erschreckend…' But it's so terrifying… She whispered pressing her face into his shoulder.
'Nur wenn Sie es haben wollen…' Only if you want it to be… he said pulling her face up revealing kind, amber eyes shining through the darkness.
'Wir bist du?' Who are you? Lily asked reaching a hand up to the man's cheek. She could feel raised bumps on his face like…scars?
'Ich bin ein Dämon.' I am a demon. He said blinking his eyes. Lily traced one of the raised marks and narrowed her eyes in confusion.
'Aber diese meinst, du bist ein Engel…'But these mean you're an angel… Lily said as she recognized the markings.
'Nicht…tzey just mean I haff a long vey to go…' The man said with a long sigh. Lily frowned for a moment before she heard Storm's voice cut through the blackness.
'Lily? Lily, wake up!'
'Nien! Where are you? Who are you? Are you real?' She said reaching out towards him. He simply faded away into the darkness as Lily felt a hand on her shoulder…
"Lily! Get up! We have Rogue and Logan!" Storm said shaking Lily's shoulder gently.
"Wha-? Was up?" Lily said groggily as she sat up in the seat she had fallen asleep in. She stared blearily at Storm and Rogue before remembering where she was.
"Oh! Rogue…sorry, I'm…nevermind. It's good to see you again. How was the trip?" She asked rubbing her eyes with one hand and holding out the other. Rogue took it hesitantly, still looking like a deer in headlights, as Storm showed her to a seat. Lily stood up to go look at Logan, who was laying in the back unconscious.
'Ihopetheycanhelpme…What are they going to do?...Storm said something about a school…' Lily picked up what Rogue was thinking as she checked Logan over for worse injuries. She smiled as the young girl worried over whether she was going to have to pay for anything.
"Don't worry, Rogue. We have a bed for you back home, ok? And no you won't have to pay for anything." She said turning away from Logan to sit back in her seat.
"How did you…"
"Know what you were worried about? I'm a telepath and a telekinetic. Don't worry." Lily said holding up a hand as Rogue shrank back in her seat. "I don't invade other people's privacy, it's rude."
Rogue nodded warily as she sat back up and examined her surroundings. While she was doing it, Lily took a quick peek into her mind to see what had brought the girl to the bar in the first place. She saw highways and hitchhikers, diners and fending off men who tried to touch her. She saw the loneliness of a mutant and the pain of a young girl with nowhere to go.
"So what do you think?" Cyclops said as Lily walked over to the controls, watching as the mansion came into view.
"I think…that I have a music class to teach tomorrow. Pop-quiz on Dominant sevenths and chord structures." She replied.
"I can hear the groans already…what about the girl?" Cyclops asked as he landed the jet in the hanger.
"She'll be fine once she gets something proper to eat and the Professor tells her she can stay…she's a little jumpy on that subject."
"What's going on?" Rogue asked as they bumped to a halt.
"We've just landed, honey." Storm said unstrapping and helping Rogue.
"We're home." Lily said with a smile as she felt the familiar feeling of the Professor's mind probing in hers. "Welcome Rogue, to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters!"
HI! Lily all grown up! sassy thing isn't she? By the way, if you haven't read my previous story What if? you really should...you don't have to but i would make me smile! more shall follow, please review!