Subject: [OTL]: [X-kids] When the lights go out...
Date: Sat, 29 May 1999 20:54:06 EDT
From: Trumpetlee@aol.com

Disclaimer:  The kids are mine, except Rachel. Anyone else is Marvel's no
money made.

When the Lights Go Out
Lee Tybird

        It was a dark and stormy night. Lightning struck the power lines
and the lights flickered and went out.
        "I hope Dave wasn't surfing when it hit," said Maggie.
        "He knows not ta surf during storms," Connie replied. She turned on
her hotknives, and began to light the candles that Serena had placed around
the rec. room.
        The door swung open, and Jacen, Charlie, Jesse and Joey came in. They
were covered in mud and soaked from the rain. "I love playing football out in
the rain," said Charlie, slicking his hair back.
        "It has to be a guy thing," said Angela, who had just entered the
room. Her wings were wrapped around herself for warmth, and she was holding
another candle.
        At that moment, Dave banged against the door frame. His now blue and
black hair sticking straight up, his body seemed to be fried, like something
you saw in a cartoon. "Did anyone catch that telephone number? I thinks it's
illegal ta have a three-way conversation during a storm..." he said in a daze.
Dave fell backwards on top of Lydia.
        "Help me," she uttered.
        Connie rushed over and got Dave to stand upright. "You okay?" she asked.
        "Wha?" Dave said, still a little dazed, but coming back to his senses.
        "Were you in the power lines just now?" asked Maggie.
        "I... I think so..." Dave was now trying to hold his own. He shook his
head. "What a rush."
        "You said he knew better," said Maggie told Connie.
        "I was wrong," Connie shrugged.
        Justin leaned in the room and saw Jacen, Joey and Charlie. "Wot...?"
        Jacen turned around. "Hey, Justin," he said. "Think you could give us
a quick shower?"
        Justin sighed with a nod. He liquefied and splashed himself onto the
four other boys. The water droplets gathered, and turned back into Justin.
        "Great," said Joey. "We're still wet."
        "And when did you first make your conclusion?"
        "Beep-beep, Lydia," said Joey.
        ~That's not a problem~ said a voice from the door. They looked over
to see Rachel in Phoenix form. She lifted her arms, and her firebird engulfed
her four wet teammates. She called it back, and the boys were completely dry.
        "Thanks, Raye," said Jacen.
        She smiled as her eyes went from a yellow glow to their normal green.
"No problem."
        "What about Dave?" asked Maggie.
        "That's simple," said Serena, who had just walked in with two more
candles. She set one down, and lifted her hands. Blue energy left them, and
encircled Dave. In a matter of minutes, he was back to a somewhat normal state.
        "You couldn't fix the hair?" he asked.
        Serena shrugged. "You're feeling better, aren't you?"
        Justin tossed him a comb. "Use mine."
        "Thanks."
        "I'm surprised none of the adults have shown up yet," said Angela.
        "Yeah," said Charlie. "I wonder where all of them are."
        "This is probably some sort of teamwork thing," said Maggie.
        Rachel shrugged. "I guess we just make the best of it."
        Five minutes later, they were all sitting in different places around
the room. "So," said Jacen. "What do we talk about?"
        "I wanna play truth or dare," said Joey.
        "If you think you're getting me nude," said Angela, "dream on."
        "Aw, Nut-bunnies."
        "Seriously, guys," said Charlie. "What do we talk about?"
        They stayed silent for a few moments.
        "I've been wondering for a while, Serena," said Dave. "What happened
to your parents?"
        Serena sighed. "Mom... couldn't stop her stealing habits. It all came
to a head when Dad finally caught up with her. She landed back in Arkham, and
she's been in and out of there ever since."
        "Did they get divorced?" Joey asked.
        "After a long time," Serena replied, looking into a candle. "Dad felt
there was nothing else he could do for her. She kept getting or breaking out
of Arkham, and she'd get caught after six months or more. It was hard for him
to do it. He'd loved her, once, but after he realized nothing was going to
make her better, he decided it was time to end it. That's when Mom stopped
trying to break out, stopped everything. Talking, sleeping, she even stopped
eating for a while. That was before I got here. I begged her to eat something, 
and she finally did."
        "That's rough," Lydia replied. "I don't remember my mother."
        "What happened to her?" asked Charlie.
        "She got thrown off a bridge by the Green Goblin a month after I was
born," Lydia replied. "From what Aunt May tells me, Dad's never been the same."
        "Well," said Dave. "My parents won't speak to each other anymore."
        "Why not?" asked Rachel.
        Dave sighed. "Mom did a story on Legacy a while back. She found some
stuff of Dad's that wasn't supposed to get out to the press yet. Dad told her
as much. She didn't listen. She decided it was time people knew, so she did
the story. I was three. I can still remember them screaming at each other. I
remember turning on all the electronic things in my room to try and drown out
all the yelling and fighting."
        "Did it work?" asked Lydia.
        "No," Dave replied. "They didn't get divorced until two years later,
when they thought I was old enough to understand. I didn't." He smirked at
the memory. "I threw a huge fit. I even went into Dad's lab and screwed with
his chemicals for a bit. They were angry at me, but I remembered the night
before. They were fighting about me. I hated it when they did that. I never
wanted to be part of their stupid arguments, but my name always managed to
come up. I told them so, and they apologized, but they wouldn't call off the
divorce."
        "I remember when my parents got divorced," Joey said. "Man, that was
rough. I remember all the other adults on Muir yelling at them when they
fought. I remember Uncle Pete getting really mad at them. Saying that kids
shouldn't have to be subject to that kinda bull shit. Saying he was disgusted
at their behavior. Well, they thought he was right and, to stop the fights,
they got divorced. I hated both of them for it. It was about that time that
Mom started working to exhaustion. Dad went back to Gen-X, dated Emma, and
married her. I did something really mean to Emma on their wedding day."
        "What's that?" asked Jacen.
        Joey laughed. "I put a huge lizard on her veil. It stayed there until
they got in the car and drove off to their honeymoon. As the car pulled away,
I could hear this incredible shriek, like something out of Scream. I laughed
myself to my knees that day. But I remember that inside, I was shredding."
        "I remember my parents' name calling," Jesse said. "God, that was
hell. Dad started calling Mom a selfish goddess, and Mom called him a
workaholic. It wasn't pretty."
        "You don't seem close to either of your parents," Serena commented.
        "I'm not," Jesse replied. "I'm close to Uncle Alex, and Aunt Lorna,
and Jamie and Guido. I'm close to most everybody. But I don't like being near
the two of them."
        "Did you do anything to Raven?" Joey asked.
        "I made it rain on she and my dad's wedding day. Lightning struck the
altar."
        "Inside?" asked Maggie.
        Jesse nodded.
        "You're evil," Dave said.
        Jesse nodded again.
        "Well," said Justin. "My parents never had problems with each other,
but we all sure as hell had our problems with me granddad."
        "What's that?" asked Jesse.
        "Even though he were dead, he just wouldn't go away."
        "How so?" asked Rachel.
        "Long line o' mystics in the family," Justin replied. "My sister an'
I got pulled down ta hell fer visits every now an' then. He gave us a lot o'
shit. Dad would always come down and take us home. Never understood my
granddad. He hates my dad."
        "We have problems with me dad's dad too," Connie said. "He don't like
my dad too much. Used ta think Dad murdered my grandmum. Dad didn't do it. It
wasn't really his fault."
        "Well," said Charlie. "My mom's dad is a bastard. Blames everything
on my old man. Thinks everything's his fault."
        "Gee," said Angela. "I feel a bit spoiled."
        "Me too," said Maggie.
        "Me three," said Jacen.
        "My granddad is on and off of Earth," Rachel said. "No one really
knows anymore."
        Everyone gave her an odd stare.
        "What?"
        "How do you feel about your dad, Rachel?" asked Jacen.
        Rachel sighed. "He wants me to be perfect. I have no idea what the
other Rachel was like, but I'm not her. Nate knows that, Mom knows that,
Kitty knows that, but I'm not sure my Dad can get that through his head yet."
        "That sucks," said Joey. "Man, if my parents tried to make me perfect-"
        "Don't worry, Joe," said Dave. "They'd die trying."
        Joey rolled his eyes. "Ha, ha, very funny, Circuit-Boy."
        "Hmm. Maybe that should have been my code name."
        "Dave, I can always fry you again," said Serena. "Just keep that in
mind."
        "So, wot do ya do ta get yer dad of yer back, Raye?" Justin asked.
        Rachel shrugged. "I don't talk to him all that much. That usually
keeps him off my case."
        "Y'know what blows?" said Jesse.
        Connie raised an eyebrow. "Wot?"
        "That we have to live abnormal lives," Jesse finished. "I mean, I'd
like to see our parents try and live normal lives for once. We could go to
public school, they could go to work, we could have human friends. I think
we'd fit in."
        "You think the X-Men would fit in with the normal working class?"
asked Dave.
        "Half of them already do," said Angela. "Think about it. Connie's
parents used to work for Brit Intel, and they fit in there. My parents have
been respectable business people for years, as has my uncle Brian. Dave's dad
is a freakin' Doctor. Joey's parents have been fitting in for years as well.
Charlie, Serena, Lydia, Maggie and Justin's parents have been hellblazers,
and supermen, and batmen, and hulks and spider-men, I mean, they get along.
All except for Justin's dad, they have jobs that any human could get. Jesse's
dad could definitely make it."
        "What about me mothers?" Jesse asked.
        "I think Raven would do fine. The people we really have to worry
about are Ororo, Jean and Scott. Jacen, your parents are actual normal humans
with no revenge against crime, or superpowers, so they don't count."
        Jacen sighed. "Thank god."
        "I think yer wrong, Angie," said Connie. "Maybe my parents could make
it. Maybe yer parents, but no one else. They'd be dead after the first day."
        Dave shook his head. "I'd love to be in a normal kid's shoes. Just
for maybe a week. Would that be tight or what?"
        "Would be pretty cool," said Rachel. "To forget all the Summers
family nonsense that gets in the way, and forgetting about the mutant power
and the responsibility for a while. I'd love that."
        "Why should we have to deal with it anyway?" asked Joey. "We're
barely even teenagers yet."
        "I think we should talk to them about that whole normal life thing,"
said Charlie.
        Angela shook her head. "They'd never go for it."
        "You never know," said Jacen. "They just might."
        It was midnight when they all fell asleep in the rec. room. Some of
the candles had gone out. The rain kept coming, but no one woke up. The door
slowly opened, and Professor Xavier wheeled in with Erik Lenshirr behind him.
        "I don't understand what Scott was so worried about," said Erik.
"Like I said, they're perfectly fine."
        "You know Scott," said Charles. "He's the paranoid one."
        "How does poor Rachel put up with it?"
        "Erik, I've been putting up with it for years," Xavier laughed. "I've
been putting up with most of the proud parents for years. They can all be
very paranoid at times."
        "You begin to wonder what they talk about behind our backs," Erik
said. The two men left the room, and each kid smiled in their sleep.