Cold Shoulder

Posted on Sun Jun 23rd, 2024 @ 12:51am by Connor Bruin & Bobby Drake & Aurora Summers

Mission: Episode 4: The Savage ConneXion
Location: Skull Mountain | Savage Land
Timeline: September 9th, 1990

The interior of Skull Mountain utilized a Karst system of caves created by the dissolution of limestone, creating a natural aquifer that flow between cracks in the bedrock and allowed for easy installation of plumbing that provided running water to most sections of Magneto's bunker. Outside the main bunker, in any area that was more granite than polished steal, Bobby was messing with a short waterfall that was no taller than he was. He kept freezing images of random people he was angry with. And then he smashed them.

Magneto. Cyclops. Zaladane. Himself. Rinse and repeat. He had just smashed an image of Cyclops and allowed the falling water to cascade into the small pool when he heard someone coming. Turning around, he saw it was Aurora.

"Hey..." Bobby's voice was glum and frustrated, too upset to be sad but too weary to be angry. "What's up?"

“I was about to ask you the same thing.” Aurora offered a smile. “I was just wondering what to do with myself to be honest, I don’t feel comfortable hanging around here.”

"Why not?" Bobby asked. "We might have a humongous bullseye on our backs but at least we're safe under the mountain. Nothing chasing us through the trees or making us eat cave fungus." Turning back to the waterfall, Bobby made an image of the First Class team and then shattered it too, letting its shards melt back into the cascading water. "Might as well make yourself comfortable."

“I suppose” Aurora nodded. “I have to admit the mists that our group walked through on our rescue mission made me feel...” She paused. “Stronger I guess, like I could do anything I put my mind to, but it’s worn off now I don’t feel it anymore. So...” she motioned to the waterfall, “What’s with smashing all the faces? Someone annoy you?”

Bobby looked at her incredulously. "Yeah, you could say I'm annoyed! Why wouldn't I be? Magneto dragged us down here and almost got everyone killed, some psycho witch got upgraded and wants to kill us, none of my old team is here to help except for my ex girlfriend who is some kind of prisoner in the one place we can't get into, and we're taking our sweet ass time going to get her!"

Scott's face formed again in the waterfall. Not Cyclops with the clamshell visor and stoic disposition, but Scott with his thick ruby glasses and a tight bit effervescent smirk.

"Why do I have to do this alone?! Why aren't they here with me?! Why does everyone always have to leave?!" The ice shattered enough to blow shards against Bobby's skin which turned to ice form on reflex alone.

“Bobby...” Aurora reached out to touch, gently touching his arm but only briefly whilst he was in ice form. “You’re not alone, we’re all here with you, I’m with you.” She offered a warm smile. “I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

At her warm touch, Bobby's body returned to flesh, starting at his arm and spreading throughout the rest of him. "Yeah, you've always been there for me," he said softly. ~Just like Lorna~ She'd never yelled at him or made him feel low or bad about himself. ~Just like Lorna~ "And I've been a dick." ~Just like with Lorna~ "You deserve better." He looked down at her womb which had the smallest bump despite being less than a month along. His anger flared again. "A lot better." Looking back up at her eyes, Bobby said, "I guess I wasn't the only one he left behind, was I?"

Aurora shook her head. “No, you weren’t. To be honest as much as I love Scott, I think he sees more of his lost love in me than he sees the true me.” She sighed. “I haven’t heard from him much since he left the Mansion.” She shook off feeling sorry for herself. “Anyway I’ve got my friends, like you and Connor, I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”

Narrowing his eyes, Bobby gave Aurora a hard look. "Yeah, you do look kind of like Jean." He shrugged the thought away. "Jean is gone. Just like the rest of them. I came back just in time for Scott to leave like an asshole. So what if the Professor said he had to go? It's not like we haven't argued with him before! He should've fought! He should've... should've..." Bobby stooped down to a crouch, then lowered his chin into his chest and started to cry. "He left me behind just like he did on the island!"

“Bobby...” Aurora crouched down in-front of her friend. “I’m sorry, you were part of the original team with Scott. I never stopped to look past my own problems with Scott. You’ve lost him too.” She gently took hold of his hand in a gesture of support.

The fire that burned within Bobby at Aurora poking the wound inside him cooled off at the touch of her hand. "He lost himself," he said angrily. "Now he's gone. Me and Hank are the only ones left and he hasn't said two words to me either. He sure as hell isn't here. That makes me ranking X-Man and I don't know what to do!"

“No one is asking you to jump up and be the leader Bobby, you just do your best.” Aurora offered a caring smile. “Have you talked to the Professor about how you feel? Though knowing the Professor he probably knows already. We’re a team, I trust you.”

Bobby kicked the water at his feet. "The Professor knows I'm no leader. He knew that from the beginning. Sometimes I don't even know what I'm doing here! I can't do anything right!"

“You’ve done pretty well so far!” Aurora offered. “We’ve rescued Bliss, admittedly our job here isn’t done yet.” She paused. “I wish I knew how to make you feel better Bobby.” She paused before leaning in and kissing him on the cheek hoping it would somehow help.

The kiss on his cheek made the wind catch in Bobby's breath. She had... she had... It was just platonic, he told himself. This was Scott's wife. It would be wrong to act on any sudden feelings. As wrong as it was for Scott to hook up with her in the first place. As wrong as it was for Scott to turn his back on Jean. As wrong as it was to leave Bobby for dead. As wrong as—

Bobby returned Aurora's kiss. It missed her cheek by a mile, instead landing straight on her soft, warm, red lips. Once contact was made, the anger Bobby felt for Scott faded away. Instead the electrical connection that lit up between their lips erased all thought of Scott or anyone else. The moment turned him upside down, leaving him dazed and confused with nothing other than the presence of the beautiful girl in front of him.

Aurora hadn’t been expecting that, she blushed as she stepped back just a little. She couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt too, she could just imagine what Scott would have said or done. “Sorry Bobby, I didn’t mean...” she offered a smile.

"Shit!" Bobby turned around and gave Aurora his back. "See what I mean? I'm always fucking everything up!" He began shifting to ice form, though not his usual slick and sleek version. Instead it was bulky, the surfaces of his body turning jagged with spikes and coarse knots like a frozen oak tree. "Death take me!" he shouted, his voice turning deep and monstrous. "It's the only thing that ever will!"

“Bobby, stop!” Aurora wanted to reach out but the jagged edges of the ice on Bobby’s body stopped her from touching him. “Please! That was my fault not yours!” She was worried for him, scared of what he might do.

Her plea made the jagged edges melt off, but Bobby still hid his flesh inside his veil of ice. "No way. You didn't want that. I'm just a lonely pathetic moron. You should go away before I somehow do something even stupider."

“I don’t want to.” Aurora gave Bobby a stubborn look. “What happened just then wasn’t your fault it was mine, so I don’t want you to punish yourself about it. We have a lot at stake here and I don’t want to lose you, Bobby. Promise me you won’t go doing anything stupid?”

"I already did!" Bobby whirled around and lightly shook Aurora by the shoulders. "Don't you get it? I destroy every relationship I have! You should get as far away from me as you can before I ruin you too!"

Aurora shook her head. “I refuse to believe that, Bobby! We’re friends and I’m not running out on you!”

"But you will!" The jagged ice giant was back again, this time in force. Bobby's face became obscured by a horned helmet like a frosty Jotun straight out of a Scandinavian edda. His voice distorted into something inhuman. "All do in the end!"

“Bobby, please...” Aurora gave him a scared and worried look. “I don’t like seeing you like this, it’s not you!”

"Bobby died!" he screamed. "Don't you see? Everybody leaves because everybody dies!"

“Bobby, stop it!!” Aurora held up her hand, her abilities moulding his ice & helmet covered features back into the Bobby she knew. “This is you! Not that...thing! You’re not a monster Bobby...” her voice softened, “you never could be.” She gave him one last look before turning to leave.

The hollering drew the attention of someone else who was just returning from an expedition that was more wandering than anything else. Connor had snuck his way through the back using an emergency hatch so as not to be caught. His stealthy actions landed him right between Aurora and Bobby.

~Aurora, what is the matter?~ It wasn't the first telepathic contact Connor had ever initiated, whether with Aurora or any other mind reader. He stared at her with the full confidence that she had heard him. ~The both of you appear distressed and Bobby ridiculous to boot~

Aurora looked towards Connor. ~I suggest you ask Bobby!~ with that she gave Bobby one last look before she headed away.

"BOBBY, WHY ARE YOU BOTH SO DISTRESSED? AND WHY DO YOU LOOK LIKE A MONSTER?"

"Go away, Connor!" Bobby had not restored the infernal ice helm that Aurora had removed, but the contorted look on his face was far from his usual self.

Connor frowned in confusion. That wasn't an answer to his question. "DO YOU FEEL SICK? WE PASSED THROUGH THE MYSTIC MISTS AND EVERYONE FELT WRONG BUT ME."

"Fuck mists and fuck you too!" Bobby shouted. "Just leave me alone!"

"DID I DO SOMETHING WRONG?" Connor was signing with deeper concern. "DID AURORA?"

"Nobody cares! Not you, not anybody, not really!" Bobby was all but beside himself, frosty tears forming in his eyes and all. "So just stop asking!"

"THERE ARE MANY THINGS I DO NOT CARE FOR," Connor signed with growing concern. "YOU ARE ONE OF THE OLDEST FRIENDS I HAVE IN THE WORLD, NEXT TO SCOTT AND JEAN AND THE OTHERS. WHY DO YOU THINK I DO NOT CARE?"

At the mention of Scott and Jean, whatever grip Bobby had on his emotions was gone. The ice helmet was back, horned and ridged like a nightmare on ice. "They're gone! Everyone's gone! Everyone will leave and die and there is nothing we can do about it!"

Connor shook his head. "PEOPLE COME BACK. YOU CAME BACK."

"You goddamned idiot! I never came back! Isn't it obvious?" His icy voice turned to a pitched growl. "You cannot even see that your girlfriend is a whore! She will leave you, too, first chance she gets! She will grab any dick she can find!"

These were terrible things coming from Bobby. Why was he saying them? Maybe he was crazy. As angry as Connor was, he still asked, "YOU ARE NOT YOURSELF. I WILL FORGIVE YOU FOR WHAT YOU SAID, BUT FUCK OFF ANYWAY."

Turning around, Connor walked back the way Aurora had just left, leaving Bobby to curse and shout at his back in unintelligible snarling.

~Aurora... are you still here?~ Telepathy was always Connor's favored form of communication. For years, it had been the primary way he remotely communicated with the Professor who had kept in touch with Cerebro. It was nice having another telepath around just in general. In times like these when he had big feelings to process, it was downright desirable.

~ I’m here, Connor ~ Aurora stood a little way off giving Connor a brief wave.

~Do you have any notion of what has gotten into Bobby?~ Connor trotted over to Aurora while glancing back over his shoulder. At least Bobby had calmed down enough to stop shouting expletives after them. ~I have never seen him behave so. I cannot imagine what must be the matter with him~

~He kissed me!~ Aurora looked at Connor. ~It was an honest mistake, I kissed him on the cheek as a friend would, he caught me at the wrong moment and now he’s blaming himself for kissing a married woman. That, and he feels that Scott has abandoned him!~

Connor nodded as he listened. ~Scott's departure was under ignominious circumstances indeed. There is no rational reason for any of us to feel abandoned by him, however, so perhaps Bobby is blaming Scott for his pain just as he did with Bliss~ The ire that Connor felt at Bobby's accusations against Bliss shot weaves of anger through his mind that might've felt like heatwaves to Aurora's telepathic awareness. ~That unusual armor is new, as is the guttural growl. Perhaps we should bring all of this to Professor Xavier's attention once we return to the Mansion. By all accounts, Bobby needs professional help~

Aurora nodded. ~I agree, he’s my friend just as you are, I don’t want anything to happen to Bobby.~ She paused. ~Scott wouldn’t abandon his friends, what happened was my fault he’d be here now if I’d have kept my distance.~ She sighed and shook her head. ~Maybe I should go too, just leave and be with Scott.~

~Would that not be confirming Bobby's worst fear?~ Connor frowned at Aurora's suggestion. ~I never had many friends. You are among my first outside of the First Class. We are stronger together. If Scott's absence tells us anything, it is that~

~You’re right, as always~ Aurora offered her friend a warm smile. ~Besides it’s not just my welfare at stake it’s my son’s as well. Anyway, we should get back.~

A small, frozen orb rolled its way to their feet. Connor stooped down to retrieve it. Holding it up, a frowning face featured on one side with the lone word "sorry" etched all the way around.

"APOLOGY ACCEPTED," Connor signed, never knowing whether Bobby could hear. He nodded at Aurora, already knowing he spoke for her as well.

Running further down the cave system in hopes of losing himself to his grief, Bobby finally let his unshed tears begin to flow. "I won't abandon you, Lorna," he vowed to the dark cave walls as he passed them by in a blind sprint. "You're coming home if I have to rescue you all by myself. I promise!"