Once Upon a Breakfast...
Posted on Mon Aug 2nd, 2021 @ 12:15pm by Charles Xavier & Scott Summers & Connor Bruin & Iris Walker & Cameron Hood & Jade Farwynd & Gabe Spicer & Sonya Cross & Kai Akana & Elias Buckley
4,527 words; about a 23 minute read
Mission:
Episode 1: X-Odus
Location: Mansion - Dining Room
Timeline: June 30th, 1990 Morning
Breakfast. That particular time of the day when most people were still coming to terms with morning and their place within it. The smell of coffee, toast, bacon and shower gel permeated the mansion's main dining room and sound was perhaps a little lower volume than it might be later on.
In the centre of the long table with no more ceremony than if he'd walked in through the door, there was suddenly a boy. A boy in shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt sitting on the back of an honest to goodness griffin. They were both briefly surrounded by a pale blue light that instantly faded into nothingness and a scattering of sand, which didn't.
A lion's body, golden fur and an overt sense of quiet power, an eagle's head with inquisitive bright eyes and an impertinent beak that tested the air of this new place. Scruffy dark hair above the youth's olive face, features that wore a casually disinterested expression and a muscle tone in his bare arms and legs that complimented those of the lion below him. As he stepped from the creature's back with a lazy grace, the boy took a slow, sweeping look around the room to gauge his audience.
"Whatcha looking at?" the boy said, regardless of whether he had their attention or not. His accent mixed and mongrel, his face scowl.
“Your totally awesome steed,” replied Iris, who stood directly in front of where he had landed when he dismounted. She didn’t usually reveal herself so quickly, but when someone dropped themselves almost on her lap, she couldn’t resist. “I mean, you can’t just arrive on a mythical creature and expect nobody to stare.”
There was a brief slip in the boy's moody demeanor as he did a classic double take. The tiny little girl had appeared from literally nowhere to stand right in front of him. Teleporter, maybe? "Whatever," he said, with more attitude than was really necessary. "Get outta my face."
Iris just rolled her eyes and continued on her way to get some breakfast. He was just angry that she was absolutely 100% correct and she didn't have the time nor the energy to spend dealing with him anymore. Until she had some coffee, that is.
Sonya was sitting near one end of the table and watching people with a bit of boredom on her face. She was dressed in a light purple sleeveless shirt with Purple Rain logo and a denim overall shorts. On the plate in front of her was a lot of greenery mixed with some egg and chicken, though by now she only took a few bites. Despite boredom on her face, her mind was analyzing, observing, noting and positioning everyone. Visible or not. Until the new arrival appeared. "New cuteness." She commented toward Katy and nodded at the newcomer. She wondered if the griffin was real or just a manifestation of his powers. "Hey! Newbie! Come seat with us." She patted the empty chair next to her.
"I ain't a newbie, and I ain't your puppy," the boy bit back. "I'm just passing through." His gaze tripped up and down the slender bombshell with the healthy looking plate of food and the slinky form.
The doors parted and in walked Kai in a red v-neck shirt which hugged his muscular torso tightly, a pair of faded blue jeans, and his leather jacket. He didn’t spend time looking around the room for a seat, but simply made his way for the center of the table with his eyes cast around the room. When he spotted the boy on top of the lion-like creature, his mouth fell wide.
“The hell is this?” He asked with enough volume for everyone to hear him. He pulled himself into a seat next to Sonya and Katy, his eyes still on the beast. “I assume this is what passes for normal around here.”
Katy wore a white shirt with a yellow smiley face on it and a pair of black shorts as she moved to sit by Sonya. She blinked and looked at the creature and scowling boy on top of it, then blinked again. "Well, good morning," she said as she sat down. "I'm afraid we don't have any seats big enough for your....whatever."
Jade stepped in a few seconds behind Katy, wearing a dark pair of pants and a t-shirt, her ginger hair tousled from sleep, her eyes slightly bloodshot. Headache introduced itself nearly immediately as she stepped in. Teen and loud and full of one self permeated the room.
"Well d'uh! This is a school for young twits. Twits be present." she thought quietly to herself as she followed her nose as it honed in on the smell of coffee, not talking to anyone.
The newest arrival firmly patted the griffin's shoulder, then made a soft grunting sound that caused the creature to slope off the table and lie down on the floor. The boy took stock and then followed his 'awesome steed' down to floor level. As he passed Iris, she could hear his stomach rumble, then he looked to Katy, frowned darkly and added. "Griffin," he said, as if that was blindingly obvious. "He's a griffin." There was a heavy pause before he added. "He likes pancakes."
Pancakes, indeed, thought Iris, watching the scene unfold from the next table where she had settled with toast and scrambled eggs. Once people stopped focusing on her, she had melted back into the anonymity with which she had become so accustomed.
“No one cares what he eats, dude, we care why he’s here.” Kai stated groggily as he gathered food onto his plate. He had taken note of the woman who had just arrived with the red hair. She looked older than the rest of them and he hadn’t met her yet. “Is your special power riding Griffins or being oblivious?”
"If you are not a newbie and neither a puppy, go then... fetch some pancakes for it if that is what it likes, nameless griffin friend." Sonya added sarcastically. If he didn't want to play nice, she wasn't going to bend backward for the guy just because he was handsome.
Katy had to laugh at Sonya's quip and gave her a thumbs up. "Does he do tricks?"
Attention fixated for a moment on Blondie's suggestion and Red-Shirt's acquisition of multiple food items, the newbie decided - screw it - picked up a plate and followed suit. No one stopped him, which was interesting. Once the plate was stacked as high as he could realistically achieve with the usual laws of physics, the boy clicked his tongue and the griffin sat upright, beak open. Two pancakes flipped across the space between them in quick succession and were swiftly consumed.
"Elias," said Elias, abruptly in response to Blondie's sarcasm. He shoved bacon strips into his maw with an obvious need for calories, chewed, swallowed and then glared at the deliciously curvy brunette. "Do you?" He asked.
Katy helped herself to some eggs and bacon. "Nah, but I heard ya Mom does some mean ones."
He just rolled his eyes and kept eating. Time was of the essence in this regard, Elias suspected.
“Hey, don’t be an asshole.” Kai furrowed his brow with apparent irritation. Then he loosened as he forked some eggs into his mouth. “That’s my job.”
Sonya snickered and gave Katy a wink. "You need do better, Kai." She commented. The griffin as much as it was an unusual beast, it was a bit of cliché especially if you add to it appearing on the table. "Come on show us you true mastery at being an asshole."
Perched upside down like a spider-monkey near the pantry door, Connor had himself wedged into the corner of the ceiling while munching on a box of dry cereal. Now that it was emptied, he threw it on the floor without regard for cleanliness and pressed a button on his talking device.
"WHO. IS. THAT?"
Before he could answer, Cyclops burst through the kitchen door in full uniform and raised his hand to his crimson visor. "Everybody down!" he ordered.
Connor flipped down from the ceiling and hid himself in the pantry.
First, it was the caveman hanging on the ceiling, then it was Summer's Eve bursting in screaming at everyone to get down. It was more than enough for her and she grabbed her bacon and hauled ass from the breakfast table.
Gabe was never more glad to be late for breakfast. He dove underneath the nearest table. "Just don't hurt the pancakes," the scared Texan said as he hunkered down.
Jade gave a sigh of relief as her path to the coffee machine was cleared and she poured herself a cup of black, no sugar, and turned around. There was the 'one guy left' screaming at the youngins. Good someone else screamed too. The griffin though, he looked like he was toast, poor bugger. So, Farwynd stayed in her corned, calmly sipping her coffee, waiting.
"Down here!" Iris called from under the table to a couple of terrified teenagers. They scrambled under with her at once, looking surprised to see her or even the table under which she hid. "Don't worry- Mr. Summers has it under control. He'll make sure we're all safe," she assured them, but even she wasn't fully sure about that herself.
"I won't tell you again, teleporter," Cyclops said to Elias, his visor beginning to glow red, "get down and don't move."
Elias stopped, mid-bacon consumption and, with the bravado it seemed most of those around him possessed, flipped Cyclops off with one middle digit while raising a perfect sphere of protection about himself and the griffin.
The sudden commotion threw Sonya off. Her instincts were in the direct opposition to the demanding pose Cyclops presented that had so many dive under the table. X-Men all right. More like Scared-Men. Sonya slowly picked her plate and a fork and stepped back under the wall, deciding to remove herself from a potential line of conflict. "Do you need help Mister Summers?"
"His name's Elias, apparently." Jade spoke for the first time. "She'll be right," the Aussie continued and took another sip. "He went for bacon, not the kids. She'll be right."
Cyclops scanned the room, took two steps to the side to ensure a clear trajectory and backstop, and then unleashed a controlled optic beam at Elias. It struck his forcefield with a peal of thunder, throwing the young man against the wall like a hamster in a ball.
"You'd better learn some manners," Cyclops said to Elias, "or the wall won't stop the next one."
Crashing into his own shield as he impacted the wall, the boy was reminded that some mutants, especially those around here, were a lot tougher than he was. He felt his body protest the collision as he dropped the forcefield, untangled himself from his companion and sat for a second beside a somewhat disorientated griffin.
"The wall won't stop me now," muttered Elias, as he slowly reached behind him, flat palm against the upright surface.
Sonya raised her hand. "I saw that coming!" She said with a giggle and looked around for the snackhole, but she wasn't around. "I hope she won't forget for a pizza for me." She murmured guessing that Katy was gone for the Lombardi's. She stepped back against the wall giving Cyclops extra space to deal with Elias.
Jade rolled her eyes and stepped forward so that she was just in between Cyclops and Elias. "Knock it off the both o' yas!" She extended one hand towards each, the one extended towards Cyclops holding her coffee cup. "Pull your heads in and talk! Now!" She used her most annoyed and commanding tone as she could, preparing to resort to more drastic measure if the two didn't cease.
As the redhead faced off with Red-Eyes, Elias and the griffin used said distraction to roll sideways, apparently straight through the wall, but definitely out of immediate sight.
"Oh... come on. The newbie had it coming showing up like that, on the table in the middle of a breakfast, unannounced, and still being an asshole." Sonya commented with a wave of her hand armed with a fork. She dug it into the plate and put some food in her mouth.
"You lot are supposed to be better than that..." Jade clipped back. "Now guns down, lads and let's talk ey?"
Sonya clearly disappointed just raised her hand with the fork in surrendering gesture chewing on the food and for now decided to wait for things to develop.
"WILL. SOMEONE. TELL. ME. WHO. THAT. WAS?" Connor asked with his device as he came out of the pantry.
"His name is Elias Buckley," said Professor Xavier who slid through the door with one hand on his chair controls and the other pressed against his temple. "I sense that his arrival here was... unplanned. At least so far as the dining room table is concerned." Opening his eyes, Xavier reached out with his mind to add telepathic emphasis to his words. "It's all right, Elias. You can come out. Nobody will harm you."
Cyclops didn't say anything, but his hand dropped from his visor.
Katy stopped at the gate leading out and realized she was running away again, and she had left Sonya on her own as well. Cyclops scared her, but she'd never admit it. He had nearly killed her and seemed to have no regard for who or what he blasted. She turned in time to see a reddish glow from the dining room window and gritted her teeth as she finished her turn and took off, gaining speed with every footfall.
Jade meanwhile took a deep breath and exhaled, shaking her head at Cyclops before she took another sip of the coffee and found an empty corner. Part of her wanted to leave and find some peace, but the other part felt she should stick around and be the voice/fist of reason if needed.
There was no audible response to Professor Xavier's words aimed in Elias' direction. The boy, now sans griffin, stood in the middle of the floorspace of what looked like somebody important's bedroom. Boring... considered Elias, but this was trial and error, complicated space didn't always comply with curiosity or intent.
A yawn and a stretch accompanied Cameron's appearance in the kitchen. The man was clad in sweats and an old t-shirt and stopped halfway to the counter. He surveyed the tense scene with a questioning look. His eyes searched for Jade's with a quirked eyebrow before glancing at the coffeemug in her hand, as if asking if there was any left.
Jade nodded slowly, nodding to her right in the rough direction of the coffee.
"Cyclops," the Professor said, referring to Scott by his codename while in uniform, "secure the War Room should our friend travel there. I will speak to him anon."
An image of the professor appeared in front of Elias, semi-transparent and standing. "Hello, Elias. You seem to be hungry. Why not return to the dining hall and resume your breakfast?"
In that bedroom, Elias felt the rising sense of inevitability. He didn't time to outrun them all, and the Professor could locate him quickly. "Not keen to get shot at again," he stated, and stepped out of Xavier's immediate sight again.
Katy appeared back in the room at speed but stopped when the Professor showed him, which saved Summer's Eve from a high speed kidney punch. "Hey, Prof....ghost thing."
~We have some sort of teleporter on the grounds, Katy~ Xavier spoke to Katy's mind. ~Please help locate him before he jumps again~
"Dontcha have something to like, stop that?" Katy asked when she heard his voice in her head before she shrugged and took off. She headed for the closest rooms, opening and closing doors like a series of gun shots as she went in and out of them before she headed for the second floor.
Laundry room. Outdoor pool. Too far apart. Try again. Elias was starting to get tired, but he pushed on through. He needed to be sure. Some kind of lab? Sauna. Dark tunnel. Wine cellar. Ah... War Room. Now here was the sweet spot he'd been looking for...
Katy went in and out of the rooms faster and faster, then came skidding to a half when she got a glimpse of him through a doorway. She backed up and opened it, seeing him fully now and in the War Room. "Hey....Elias?"
The speedster. Elias turned to regard her, his left fist automatically raising to that side, a shimmer of red energy manifesting about both hand and forearm. "Sup?" He asked, the tiny question somehow managing to be both non-committal and tense.
"It's cool to come back to breakfast," Katy said. "Summer's Eve just being himself and the Prof got him to cool his jets."
He was hungry, but still Elias hestitated to trust the word of this fellow teen. The internal debate stalled on the second part of her approach though. "Summer's Eve?" He asked, canting his head to the side and frowning darkly. Seriously? Wasn't that a brand of... "He always blast first and ask questions later?" The boy grumbled.
"Yeah. The douchebag," Katy clarified. "Prof's thug boy."
That raised an eyebrow. He'd assumed these folks were all besties up until now. Elias looked the slender vixen up and down without moving his head, then without any real emotion in his question, asked. "He hurt you?"
"He nearly tried to kill me with his high beams when I wouldn't open my door to a mystery man in a tacky blue suit," she said.
"So you're a prisoner here?" Elias asked, taking a step backwards and making ready to leave.
"Prisoner?" Katy asked with a laugh. "They couldn't catch me if they tried. You seem to have a talent for getting around even faster than I do, though. I was looking all over the mansion for you."
There followed a self-confident smirk. In the wake of that brief glimpse of internal happiness, Elias relaxed a notch. He wasn't though. Faster.
"It's not speed," he admitted. "You're faster by a long shot. I just kinda... sorta cut out the distance." A pause. "I cheat," he reconciled. There followed a longer pause, in which the boy considered his current options and his grumbling belly. "You serious about breakfast?" He asked cautiously. He could leave at any point, right?
"Traditionally," said an authoritative voice from the War Room elevator. "Somebody knocks before entering." Stepping forward, hand raised to his visor, Cyclops presented himself but did not fire. "If you're hungry, we can offer food. In exchange, you need to leave your livestock at the door and keep out of restricted areas. Agreed?"
Elias met that visored gaze with defiance (and a minor flinch), though he fronted up rather than backing down any. There followed a weighty pause and a loaded look, neither of which amounted to anything before the speedster spoke.
"If knocking is traditional, I suggest you knock," Katy said as she looked towards Cyclops. "In fact, I suggest that you turn around and leave, then try it out." She looked at Elias. "And yeah, the creature thing? Bad form here, I guess. It looked cool, though."
The boy who stepped in from nowhere grinned as Katy's response allowed him to dodge Cyclops' demanding question. She didn't seem to be subject to the whole - laser-guided shove across the ground - thing. "Thanks," he told her. "I'll let him know you think that." He had zero intention of abiding by any rules, but Elias wasn't quite dumb enough to state that out loud. "You should see the dragon," he said, with a blasé, matter of fact nuance to his words. This mission was kinda fun. He hadn't expected it to be.
"Can we go back to breakfast now, One Eye?" Katy asked Cyclops.
"Hey! maybe show a little respect!"
Iris, who had tagged along unseen with Mr. Summers, was suddenly visible to all present. She stood to her full height- all four feet and eleven inches- hands on her hips and feet planted firmly slightly more than shoulder-width apart. If she had been dressed in green tights, she would have resembled Peter Pan. Except for her face, of course. Her face was disapproving and serious, a look that had never cross Peter Pan's face in his entire life.
"Who's the grumpy elf, your protégé in thuggery?" Katy asked, not having seen the midget around the mansion before.
"Katy is just upset because she did not come willingly at first," Cyclops said with a smirk on his face. "After I knocked politely and everything." He placed a hand on Iris' shoulder so as not to lose sight of her. "Let's go, Iris. Hopefully there's plenty of breakfast left."
"Gently? Politely? You need a dictionary," Katy hissed. "You blew my door off, then tried to kill me and others." She looked at the girl. "Who're you?"
"Someone who doesn't run around the school like a runaway freight train," Scott said, his smirk persisting through the exchange. "You can't see it through my visor, but I'm winking right now."
The short girl from the breakfast room either had some ninja skills or the ability to teleport? Elias let the two young women trade verbal blows and paid more attention to the X-Men adult in the room. Cyclops. Kidnapper or rescuer? Interesting combination of both? Or were these two students overreacting? It didn't really matter, Elias was learning a little more with every passing second and he'd oriented himself geographically now.
"You're a bully," Elias said. "Cowards are bullies." From the space above the tall man's head fell a swift mess of birds and bugs, squawking, screeching and buzzing as they all attempted to occupy the same air as Cyclops' face.
Cyclops swatted at the air and gave Elias a quizzical look. "Careful there, sport. If I had been a bully, I might have used my powers to antagonize somebody I didn't have the justification or courage to attack outright." His crimson visor stared at Elias as his mouth fell into a flat, unimpressed expression that clearly regarded Elias with contempt. "Stay or go, but that is the last time you abuse your powers without consequences."
Head canted to the side, Elias wrapped his brain around the words and considered the older man's offer. Or was it an ultimatum? Either way, right now, the decision was an easy one to make. "See you around then," followed the half-hearted response.
Katy still watched the short kid. "Do you talk for yourself, or can a thug in training not talk?"
“I’m used to being ignored,” answered Iris cheerfully. But she offered no other information.
It was then that Katy looked up and saw the birds and bugs and shook her head. "I didn't get up this early for this," she said and with a burst of speed, she was out of the room and heading back to breakfast.
In the wake of that dusty exodus, the flying pests whirled once in a silent circle and vanished along with their summoner. Where Elias had stood, there was no sign he ever had been.
"Well, then," Cyclops said, blinking behind his visor.
Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Jade stepped over to Cameron. "D'ya think they need help? Cyke and the Prof I mean, with the popper kid?"
"Mate, I haven't had my coffee yet. Plus the kid hasn't hurt or damaged anything except Monocle Man's ego. If the Professor wants our help he'll tell us." He poured himself a large mug of black coffee and smelled it. "I reckon he's scared out his wits and two more adults pounding after him won't offset that fear."
Jade nodded, "Strewth. Oh well, there's some eggs an' bacon as well." She pointed around the kitchen. Probably best if we get some energy in us to deal with the possible fallout." Then she conspiratorially leaned closer to Cam, "I might actually need to do some actual work 'n crap."
Cameron filled his plate with said bacon and eggs, as well as a few slices of bread. "Let's hope not. It means Summers lost his patience with the youngsters."
Gabe went up to the food. "At least the food is safe." he laughed as he loaded up a plate. "Glad I was late though. Hey yall. Hey new guy." he said. He put his plate down and extended his hand. "Hey, I'm Gabe." he smiled.
"It looks like our guest has taken his leave to... other parts of the Mansion," Professor Xavier said cryptically. He projected the phrase War Room to the minds of both Cameron and Jade, along with a snippet of Cyclops and Katy talking to their guest. "Gabe, can I count on you to save him a plate? I suspect he may be joining us presently."
Gabe nodded "You can count on me, professor," the boy said.
Jade shook her head, still so very much unused to other people's voices in her head, even if they were 'a friend'.
Sonya shrugged finishing her plate of greens and walked toward the sink to drop empty plate there. So far, what seemed like an interesting encounter turned out into something quite boring and leading nowhere. “I’ll be elsewhere if anyone asks," she said as she moved toward the exit from the room.
Kai was sat back down in his spot sloppily finishing his breakfast and then helping himself to another portion. He was embarrassed at the display that had been put on and was, admittedly, starting to have his doubts about this place. How could these people teach him to harness his power if they couldn't even keep the people around him under control. He watched the people around him chat and consume their food and shook his head.
"We have had quite a morning," Professor Xavier said as everyone returned to the formal dining room. "I think it's time we put our best foot forward and lay out a welcome for our guest."
Cameron raised his coffee cup in greeting to the newest youngster, then took another piece of bacon.
"Elias Buckley," Xavier said, having pulled the man's name from his mind but not his identity, "may I ask what brings you to our hearth? We may discuss it at length in private if you wish."
As if the professor's words had summoned him, Elias stepped back into the here and now of the dining room, seemingly from nowhere. It had taken a couple of attempts to relocate the exact space again. He stood now, within reach of the table with his arms crossed at his chest and no sign of any companion animal this time.
"You can ask," he stated, with a polite-ish gruffness. "Can I eat first?"
The Professor smiled. "Yes, and as much as you want."
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