Never On Your Own

Posted on Thu Feb 29th, 2024 @ 10:47am by Bobby Drake & Iris Walker

1,971 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 4: The Savage ConneXion
Location: X-Mansion
Timeline: August 28, 1990

Iris had put this call off for far too long. She knew that. And yet as she listened to the phone at the other end ring, she wanted to hang up. Part of her hoped that they wouldn’t answer, but the other part hoped they would so she could just get it over with.

“Hello?”

It was her mother. Iris smiled. Even if she didn’t want to tell them what was up, it was good to hear her voice. “Hi, mum,” she said.

“Iris!” exclaimed her mother. “Anthony! It’s Iris! Pick up the other phone!”

She heard her father shout in the background, then another click and his voice came through the line. “Iris, my baby girl!” he said.

“Hi, daddy!” she said with a giggle.

“We’ve been worried,” said her mother. “Your brother swears he saw you on the news the other night- that nonsense in Niagara Falls- and we haven’t heard from you in weeks!”

“Where have you been?” asked her father.

She took a deep breath. “Well…” she started. “I’ve got a job at a school. It’s… it’s a school for mutants.”

There was a stunned silence. “Mutants?” said her father.

“Yeah,” she said. “Because… well, I’m a mutant.”

“That’s absurd!” her mother insisted. “How can you be a mutant?”

“I hide in plain sight,” Iris told them. “Nobody can see me unless I want to be seen. Remember how I was always disappearing and as soon as you’d say ‘where’s Iris’ I’d say ‘I’m right here’ and then you could suddenly see me? It’s not because I’m small. It’s because that’s my ability. Your eyes just sort of slide right over me.”

There was another silence as her parents took this in. “Well, what do you do at this school?” her father asked, trying his best to be supportive.

“A lot of things,” she answered. “I’m learning to fly a jet. “

“A jet!” gasped her mother.

“Yeah,” replied Iris. “And I helped expose a criminal. And I even saved lives.”

“Iris, were you in Niagara Falls?” asked her father sternly.

Iris hesitated a little too long.

“No,” said her mother sternly. “Absolutely not. You are coming home immediately! You can’t get all mixed up in this!”

“Your mother is right,” her father replied. “Flying a jet? No, Iris, this is too dangerous. We’ll wire you some money and you get on the first bus back to Michigan.”

Something snapped in Iris. She had always sought her parents’ approval, but something was different here. She had become a part of something bigger, something important. As soon as she figured out how to get rid of the president, she was going to stay and continue fighting for truth and justice.

“No.”

She had said it before she even realized what she was saying.

A shocked silence followed. Then her mother said, “excuse me?”

“I said no,” said Iris.

“Iris, don’t you talk to your mother that way!” her father replied. “Now you will come home at once.”

“With all due respect, I am 19 years old,” said Iris. “I am legally an adult. You can’t make me do anything any more.”

“No, but we can stop sending you money!”

“When was the last time I asked for money?” she pointed out. “This job is paid! I’ve got my own money. I just opened my own checking account. I have friends and a place to live and I’m happy. I’m not coming home because I already am home!”

There was another stunned silence. This one dragged on way too long. Iris was worried that maybe they had hung up and was just contemplating asking if they were still there when her mother spoke in an icy tone.

“Well, then. If that’s how you feel.”

There was a click followed quickly by a second click. They had both hung up.

Iris dropped the phone in its cradle as her eyes filled with tears. She just sat there for a long time, letting the tears fall down her cheeks. She was well and truly on her own now.

But then her brain reminded her that she had friends. She wasn’t on her own! She had Connor and Bobby and even Bliss and Aurora. And what she really needed now was to talk to one of them. So, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand, she stood from her place on the floor and set off to find someone.

She hadn’t gone far when she heard footsteps just around the corner. She hurried to see who it was and nearly ran into Bobby. “Bobby!” she cried, bursting into tears again.

"Hey, Iris," he started to say but then he saw the tears. "Whoa! What's wrong?" He instinctively took her into an embrace that was half hug, half protective covering.

She just sobbed incoherently for a minute before she was able to get ahold of herself long enough to choke out, “I just t-talked to m-my parents. Th-they- they d-d-don’t approve. Of m-me b-being here. Th-they hung up on m-me!” And she was lost in tears again.

"That sucks..." Bobby rubbed the back of her shoulders, unsure of what to do in that moment. His mom was just glad to be rid of him. Jean always knew what to say in moments like these. What would she say? "You're doing so good here though. So many people care about you."

“I know,” she said into his chest. “I t-told them I’m g-going to stay. That’s when they g-got mad at me.”

Bobby felt conflicted. All he knew was to tell the truth while he cradled her head. "If they love you then they'll get over themselves. Otherwise... you have a new family right here."

“Th-thank you,” she sobbed. “What would I do without you?”

Bobby didn't know what to say to that either. "Uh... I dunno." But she wasn't letting go, so he renewed the squeeze in his arms. To his knowledge, he'd never held anyone for this long before. "You're welcome though."

She gave a watery sort of laugh and finally pulled away. “Th-thanks,” she said. “I’ve always got on really well with them, so it’s kinda hard to have them be so disappointed.”

"That's rough..." Bobby was a little disappointed himself that she pulled away. Something started awakening in him during the embrace. And it wasn't just in the pants. It was more in the chest region. "They're gonna do what they're gonna do though. You can't lose sleep over that or it'll eat you all up inside."

“Yeah,” she agreed miserably. “Maybe I’ll give them a few weeks to cool off and try calling them again.”

The glowing, infectious grin that Iris usually flashed was replaced by that miserable frown. Bobby wanted to see her smile again.

"Come on!" he said, grabbing her hand. "I got an idea."

Leading her into the day room, he turned on the stereo and cranked the volume to obscenely obnoxious levels.

Pump up the jam
Pump it up
While your feet are stomping
And the jam is pumping
Look ahead, the crowd is jumpin'

Bobby started jumping around and flailing his arms and legs. After a few seconds, he waved for Iris to join him.

Pump it up a little more
Get the party goin' on the dance floor
See, 'cause that's where the party's at
And you'd find out if you do that

His actions had the desired effect. Iris soon found herself laughing and jumping around with him. It felt good to just be goofy and not worry about anything. Soon, she found herself actually singing along while they danced.

They jumped around the room together with reckless abandon, no rhyme or reason to their movements. Bobby let out the tension of the past week and just let himself be free. Although he wasn't looking, he had the feeling that Iris was doing the same.

After the chorus and another verse played, the chorus started up again... just in time for Iris and Bobby to collide together. Bobby did everything he could to stop on his heels, but his momentum was just too great. He grabbed for Iris, to keep her from falling. All he got for his efforts was getting pulled down with her. They landed on their sides, face to face with a hard thud.

Get your booty on the floor tonight
Make my day

Make my day
Make my, make my day
Make my day
Make my day
Make my, make my make my day

Bobby's face turned beet red. Those lyrics were a cruel twist of fate if there ever was one.

Iris, however, just laughed. The whole situation was ridiculous, but at least she felt a little better. “Thanks, Bobby,” she said, pulling herself into a sitting position. “I needed that.”

"WHAT?!" Bobby couldn't hear her over the thumping bass or his own pulse pounding in his ears.

“I said thank you!” Iris said louder, enunciating the words so he could hopefully read her lips if nothing else.

Bobby turned the music down so they could hear each other. "WHAT?!" That was entirely too loud. He started giggling. "Sorry! What did you say before?"

Iris also laughed, her nose scrunching adorably. “I said thank you,” she said. “I needed this.”

"Me too," Bobby said, happy to see her smile again. "Been a hell of a week, hasn't it?"

“You ain’t kiddin’,” she said with a sigh. “It’s been… long. And strange. But hey!” she added, perking up. “We got Hank back!”

"Yeah, can you believe it?" Bobby actually grinned at that. He had taken Scott's leaving and all the reasons behind it pretty hard. "Those bastards did a number on him though. I hope he'll be okay." Looking down at his feet, Bobby said, "I... I know that I'm not."

“Well,” said Iris slowly. “At least you know it. Now you can do something about it. I don’t suppose there’s a school counselor, is there?”

"Just the Prof," Bobby replied. "And I've been talking to him."

“Well, that’s a start,” said Iris approvingly. “And you’ve got me now, too. I can’t promise I’ll have any advice, but I’m real good at listening.”

Bobby looked skeptical and a little unsure. There were things inside him that were best kept under wraps. Even though he and Iris were becoming fast friends, he didn't think she could handle the full weight of whatever as going on with him.

“I’m serious, Bobby,” she said, noticing his sidelong glance. “I may not know what to do, but if you just want to vent about things- about anything- I’ll listen.”

"Thanks, but I'm fine." Bobby forced a mirthless smile. "You're a cool chick for offering though."

He wasn’t ready to talk about it. That was okay. She understood the need to be ready to talk better than most. “Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me,” she said. “Any time- day or night.”

Or night. Bobby gulped at that. Of course she didn't mean that. Did she? No. No. He decided she definitely had not. But maybe. One couldn't help but wonder. "Uh... thanks?" Who turned up the heat? Bobby pulled at his collar. Air felt thick and turgid. Breathing was hard. Or was he just breathing hard? "Um... I'll see ya later!"

“Wait! Bobby!” Iris called after him. But too late; he was gone. Oh well, she supposed that when he was ready to talk, he would.

 

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