Eye of the Beholder

Author’s notes: Thanks to blue_lioness, Namipulla (and thanks for the email too), Justta Watcher (that quite possibly was the longest review I’ve ever received), sunshyne2378 (for both of them and glad you like my Hellboy story) and onewing for your reviews. A bit of levity before things get…interesting. One quick note, if you’ve never heard of the Blue Man Group, just Google them.

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The smell of brimstone tells her she’s no longer alone and a moment later she can hear his quiet footsteps making their way across the roof of the mansion. She makes no move to acknowledge that he’s there but continues to stare out at the lake with the nearly full moon reflecting off of its glass like surface. A moment later the footsteps still and all falls silent again though she knows he hasn’t gone.

“Am I needed for something?” Storm finally asks.

“Nein,” Kurt tells her, watching her a bit shyly as a cold wind blows her hair around her head. “Are you not cold?”

“Cold and heat don’t bother me thanks to my mutation,” she replies, never taking her eyes off of the peaceful scene before her. “Have you been looking for me for long?”

“Nein,” he repeats, not moving to get closer to her despite how much he wants to. “I just vished to let you know that Zerena is in her new room now. I’m afraid I didn’t stay long after I put down her books, so I do not know how she’s taken to her new roommate.”

“Thank you for letting me know,” she says and for about a minute there is only the sound of the wind blowing through the nearby trees. “I’ll take the lack of anything blowing up as a good sign. Is there anything else?”

“Oh, um, nein,” he hesitantly replies and she finally looks over her shoulder at him, hearing him shift nervously behind her.

“Would you like to sit and talk?” she asks, noting with some mild amusement that he looks both relieved and terrified at the suggestion.

“Oh, uh, ja,” he stutters, covering the remaining distance between them in only a couple of steps and gaining his courage as he goes. “I vould be honored to sit and talk vith such a beautiful lady.”

She smiles and blushes, ducking her head down as he sits next to her. For the next several minutes they sit there in silence, simply enjoying the presence of the other. He sits politely with his hands neatly folded in his lap and his tail on the far side of his body from her as they do nothing more than stare at the rising moon and its reflection.

“I wish the professor was still alive,” she quietly sighs, her shoulders slumping with exhaustion. “We didn’t have half the problems that we do now when he was here.”

“Perhaps it only seems that vay since you vere not directly involved like you are now,” he suggests, turning to look at her, his yellow eyes glowing in the darkness.

“Maybe,” she slowly replies as she finally looks over at him. “It wouldn’t hurt to have a few more teachers here to help carry the load. Unfortunately, I need people I can trust but it seems harder and harder to find anyone who’s willing to make a stand. So many mutants can pass as normal humans, so they just blend in with the crowds instead of letting their voices be heard.”

“Not Herr Hank,” he reminds her.

“I know,” she sadly smiles. “I’ve asked him to come back, but he still thinks he can make a difference out there.”

“Perhaps he can,” he points out. “If he does not stand for mutant rights, then who vill?”

“I know you’re right,” she sighs, turning her head back towards the lake. “But my heart just wishes he’d come home.”

“You care for him, ja?” he questions, hoping his nervousness isn’t evident in his voice.

“As a friend now,” she assures him.

“But not always as a friend,” he gently presses.

“No, at one time we were more,” she tells him and he can see a deep sadness in her eyes. “But that was a long time ago.”

“If you do not mind my asking…,” he starts.

“What happened?” she finishes for him.

“Ja,” he replies quietly.

“We were involved before he became like he is now,” she states. “But then he changed…It upset him greatly and I tried to be there for him, but he just pushed me away. Eventually, he just ended it and I couldn’t understand why. Later the professor told me that Hank thought that the professor was mind controlling me to make me love him.”

“The professor vould never…,” he gasps in shock.

“No, he wouldn’t,” she confirms. “At first I was so mad at Hank of thinking so little of the professor and of me…and then one day I realized that it wasn’t us that he thought so little of. It was himself.”

“If he did come back, vould you try to start over vith him?” he asks in a voice barely above a whisper.

“No, we’re just good friends now,” she answers, a small smile pulling at her lips. “My interests lie elsewhere now.”

“Oh? Vhere?” he nervously inquires and she quirks an eye brow at her, her smile growing and realization dawns on him. “Oh.”

She slowly leans towards him, nerves clutching at her stomach in fear that she’s over stepped her bounds. He doesn’t move at first, fear gripping him and holding him immobile. Then he takes a look into her eyes and all of his convictions pretty much blow away with the breeze and he meets her half way.

The kiss is soft and slow with no need to rush and they both bring up a hand to caress the other’s cheek. They finally pull apart and smile at each other as they look into one another’s eyes. Eventually, he sits back and puts an arm around her shoulders, gently pulling her towards him. With a contented sigh, she lays her head on his shoulder and closes her eyes.

“I guess I just have a thing for guys that are blue,” she quietly sighs.

“Please don’t ever go zee ze Blue Man Group,” he nearly begs. “I don’t zink I could handle ze competition.”

She laughs as he pulls her closer and chuckles along with her.

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“Before ya'll turn me into a red smear on the rug, Ah would like to state for the record that this wasn’t my idea,” Rogue nervously states and Serena just glares at her for several seconds before letting out a frustrated puff of air.

“No, I suppose it wasn’t,” Serena sighs, slumping back into her pillow. “I doubt anyone wants to be my roommate after yesterday.”

“Ah wouldn’t say that,” Rogue replies as she steps all the way into the room and closes the door behind her. “Some are pretty miffed that they had to spend their Saturday looking for ya, but Jubilee and Kitty were really upset that you took off.”

“Kitty was upset?” Serena scoffs. “Please, she couldn’t get out of our room fast enough after you came back.”

“Kitty’s a sweet girl, but she can have a bit of a one track mind,” Rogue tells her as she walks over to her own bed and sits down on it. “Especially when she thinks a friend needs her. If ya’d just given her a bit of time, she’d have stopped walking out on ya.”

“Yeah, well, in my experience, once someone walks out on you, they don’t tend to come back,” Serena grumbles scooting down further under the blankets.

“Like who?” Rogue asks.

“Pretty much everyone,” Serena answers. “My dad before I was born, my step-dad never wanted me around and kicked me out the instant he found out I was a mutant, Mom pretty much left me emotionally when my little brother was born and I just found out my grandparents don’t even want me.”

“That’s the way it is for a lot of us,” Rogue points out. “There’s a lot of kids here who don’t have any place else to go. It seems that now a days parents rather their kids tell them that they’re gay than that they’re a mutant. It sucks, but that’s the way it is.”

“I feel pretty sorry for any gay mutants out there,” Serena mumbles.

“Yeah, me too,” Rogue chuckles as she gets more comfortable on her bed. “So, can we just start out fresh? You don’t hate me because Ah threw everything into chaos around here and took your new best friend away and Ah don’t hate you for making me spend my Saturday tromping around the grounds with some thirteen year old twerp that was trying to put the moves on me.”

“You’re kidding,” Serena gasps in disbelief. “Some kid was hitting on you?”

“Yeah and he wasn’t getting a hint either,” Rogue replies with a smirk. “Ah spent my entire day trying to keep the kid from touching me. Ah finally got sick of it and let him kiss me on the cheek.”

“So what does kissing you on the cheek do?” Serena asks.

“Didn’t anyone tell you what my power is?” Rogue counter questions and Serena shakes her head ‘no’. “Ah absorb people’s energy, memories and personalities just by touching them skin to skin and if they’re a mutant, Ah absorb their power too. The longer Ah touch them, the more Ah absorb. It’s not fun for me or them. The first time it happened Ah put my boyfriend in a coma for three weeks.”

“So that’s why you took the Cure,” Serena states.

“Yeah,” Rogue sighs. “Ah should have known it would be too good to be true.”

“How’d you find out it didn’t work?” Serena inquires.

“Ah’ve been going to a private school in Boston,” Rogue answers. “Storm thought it best that Ah go to school with other humans.”

“Amanda says we’re all humans,” Serena states. “We’re either mutants or non-mutants, but we’re all still humans.”

“Who’s Amanda?” Rogue asks.

“My lawyer,” Serena answers.

“Ah remember watching your case on TV,” Rogue says. “She was the lady with the black hair and green eyes right? Really tall?”

“Yeah, that’s her,” Serena replies. “So, anyways, you were going to school in Boston.”

“So the other day, it was such a nice day Ah decided to wear short sleeves and on my way to class Ah bumped into a guy also wearing short sleeves,” Rogue responds, shifting around uncomfortably. “We only touched for a couple of seconds, but suddenly Ah knew he was on his way to his chemistry mid-term and he was worried that he’d fail because he and his girlfriend went out the night before and fooled around instead of him studying. Ah knew he had a dog named Sparky as a kid and his favorite team is the New York Giants. Hell, Ah even knew what he had for breakfast that morning. As Ah was getting over the shock of having all of these memories in my head, the guy went down on his hands and knees. He was shaking and panting like he’d run a hundred miles and when people came running up to help him Ah panicked that someone else would touch me. Ah got out of there as fast as Ah could and then Ah called here. It was shear dumb luck that Logan answered the phone.”

“So that explains why when Bobby tried to hug you, you ran away,” Serena whispers.

“Yeah, just when Ah need human contact the most, Ah can’t have it any more,” Rogue quietly states.

“LIGHTS OUT IN TEN MINUTES, GIRLS!” Logan’s voice bellows from down the hall.

“Oops, Ah better go get changed,” Rogue announces as she hops off her bed, goes to her dresser and pulls out some clothes. “We’ll talk some more when Ah get back, if you like.”

“Ok,” Serena agrees with a yawn.

Rogue goes off to get ready for bed and goes through her nightly routine as fast as she can, but by the time she gets back Serena is sound asleep.
Logan stands on the landing just below the girl’s wing listening for arguing voices coming from Rogue and Serena’s room. With a sigh of relief, he only hears voices talking at a normal level coming from that floor. He checks his watch and makes the announcement for lights out just as Kitty comes up the stairs.

“Hey, Wolvie,” she smiles tiredly, stopping when she comes level with him. “Everything ok?”

“You mean have they killed each other yet?” he asks, ignoring the hated nickname the girls have given him.

“Yeah,” she whispers.

“Nah, they seem to be getting along fine,” he replies. “I can’t hear what they’re sayin', but there’s no screamin’ or yellin’ and nothin’s gone ‘boom’.”

“That’s good,” she sighs in relief and starts to go up the steps again.

“So, Kitten, I was wonderin'…,” he smirks as he leans against a wall, knowing he’s going to enjoy this.
<>

“Wondering what?” Kitty asks, stopping her ascent to turn and look at him.

“What were you doin’ stealin’ elf-boy’s undies?” he finishes.

“Eep!” she squeaks as her eyes get really big, her face turns bright red and she dematerializes right through the floor.

With a satisfied chuckle, Logan saunters back down the stairs and towards his room where a beer and a cigar with his name on them are waiting.

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Hank returns to his apartment happily humming to himself, quickly kicking off his shoes and striping off his socks as soon as the door is shut. If polite society didn’t demand that he wear the blasted things, he’d gladly go without. But instead of lamenting the troubles of custom made footwear, he heads for the kitchen where he tosses his torn socks out.

He randomly whistles as he pulls out a Twinkie and eats it as soon as it’s out of its wrapper, going back to humming as he does so. Once he’s done, he heads over to the kitchen phone, slips a piece of paper out of his pocket with a new number on it and starts dialing. He continues humming as the other end rings, stopping only when he hears the person at the other end pick up.

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After digging through her bags for a bit, Amanda finds the food she knew her mother would pack for the trip. The woman can be annoyingly self righteous at times, but Amanda knows she does it out of love and she always takes care of her family. Happily finding some left over chicken, fruit salad and a roll with a brownie for dessert tucked away in her bags, she begins to consume her dinner.

Amanda knows she’s partially to blame for the whole cell phone thing. If she just had the phone number she needed written down on a piece of paper, she wouldn’t have needed to try and get the cell phone back so desperately. Oh well, live and learn.

Once her dinner is done, she carefully returns the empty containers to her bag and then looks for something else to do to occupy her time. Writing and drawing aren’t impossible with the swaying of the train car, but they sure aren’t as neat as she likes. So, instead of pulling out her new journal, she takes out the CD that Paul made for her.

After booting up her computer, she slips the disk in and sits back to watch. Pictures starting from her and Annie’s birth start off the show and continue through their childhood as some of her favorite songs from those years, plays quietly in the background. A strange sadness grips her when she starts seeing the pictures of Annie always wearing her dark sunglasses, even on indoor shots. Before she can start getting melancholy about the sudden changes her life went through at that time, her phone rings. She pauses the slideshow, glances at the display and doesn’t recognize the phone number, but she answers it anyways.

“Hello?” she greets.

“Amanda Simon?” a man’s voice asks in a rich velvety voice.

“Yes?” she responds.

“This is Ambassador Henry McCoy,” Hank announces.

“Really, Brian, don’t you ever give up?” she asks in exasperation. “Is it really necessary to keep tormenting me this way? Especially on my birthday of all days. Now please just stop it.”

“Do I still sound too snooty?” Hank questions, spitting out the first thing that comes to mind, trying to keep her on the line.

“Yes!” she snaps. “In fact, you sound even snootier than last time!”

With that, she disconnects, turns the phone off and stuffs it in the bottom of her suitcase. Deciding that it would be enjoyable if she was in a better mood before taking a trip down memory lane, she turns off her computer and pulls out her book. Soon, she’s lost in its pages and the rest of the world becomes a blur.

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Hank stands there holding the phone for a good thirty seconds before finally returning the handset to the cradle. As soon as he lets go of it, he starts laughing and he can’t seem to stop even if he wants too. By the time he’s finally calmed down to an occasional snicker he finds himself sitting on the floor with tears of mirth on his face.

“I have got to meet this woman,” he chuckles as he gets up off the floor and dusts himself off before turning back towards the phone. “So, today is your birthday, my dear. Congratulations, I will most definitely have to convey my birthday wishes to you. But for now, it’s time for a certain big blue simian mutant to be headed for bed. An especially good idea since I’m standing here talking to my phone instead of on it.”

With that, Hank heads for his bedroom and his bed where he lies staring at the ceiling, planning.

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The next day, Hank walks into the office a bit late, an unbidden smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

“Good morning, Ambassador,” Mary greets when he walks in, unable to stop her own smile at his obvious good mood.

“Good morning, Mary,” Hank replies before handing her a card in an envelope. “Would you please see that this gets mailed?”

“Yes, sir,” she responds as she takes the item handed to her.

“Thank you,” he says as he steps into his office and prepares to start his work day.

She turns the card over and sees that it’s already stamped and addressed to Amanda Simon. She’s curious as to why he’s sending the woman a card after already sending her a letter, but she just shrugs as she gets out of her seat. She drops the card into the outgoing mail pile on her way to the break room to get the Ambassador his morning cup of coffee. She never sees it slide off the top and fall behind the cabinet the basket is on, disappearing between the wall and the cabinet.

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“You’ve got a delivery,” Sarah announces when she sticks her head in Amanda’s office.

“Unless it’s a pillow, I’m not interested,” Amanda replies, never looking up from her computer.

“I think you might want this delivery,” Sarah snickers.

“Can I cuddle up with it?” Amanda asks, tired eyes finally turning towards the secretary.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Sarah laughs as disappears for a moment before returning with a large bouquet of flowers.

“Where’d that come from?” Amanda questions as she stares at the thing in wonder.

“Off hand, I’d say the florist,” Sarah chuckles as she puts it down on the lawyer’s desk. “What time did you get to bed last night?”

“My train didn’t get to Penn Station until nearly two this morning,” Amanda answers with a stifled yawn. “I think I finally crawled into bed around 2:30 or so. I wonder who they’re from.”

“There’s a card,” Sarah says as she plucks it out of the flowers and hands it to Amanda who opens it and reads. “So who are they from?”

“I don’t know,” Amanda replies in confusion. “All the card says is “Not from Brian’.”

“‘Not from Brian’?” Sarah asks, equally befuddled. “What the heck is that supposed to mean?”

“I haven’t the foggiest.”

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Nein – German, no