Date: Friday, May 21, 2011, 10:55 pm
Location: Cactus City, Texas
Julius's arms slowly rose, wrapping around Laura, holding her with a desperate strength. He squeezed her tightly, burying his face in her shoulder as the emotions he had kept locked down for two years—the dread of his identity being exposed, the fear of being rejected by his friends and family, the profound loneliness—finally spilled out. Tears poured from his eyes, no longer glowing, as the wind that had been a part of him finally began to settle. The last faint ember of light in his gaze died away completely, leaving them their normal, tear-soaked hazel, as the violent churning of wind and dust faded into a gentle, quiet breeze.
Julius and Laura hugged in the middle of the clearing, the only spot not wrecked by Julius's tremendous power, until they were interrupted by both Jean and Logan.
"As much as I want to gut you right now, kid..." Logan growled, his voice a low, gravelly rumble as his adamantium claws snikted out with a menacing flash. "...we're on the clock. Move."
Jean, on the other hand, spoke directly to Julius, her voice echoing calmly in his mind. Julius... I can feel everything you're feeling. All that pain, the shock, the betrayal... I've been there myself, though maybe not like this. But Logan's right. The authorities will be here any minute.
Julius and Laura separated, and he looked at the two of them in shock and disbelief. "You're both mutants, too! Your claws are like Laura's," Julius declared, staring at Logan's claws. He then quickly looked at Jean and said, "And I heard your voice in my mind!"
"Yeah, bub. Now stop gawking and let's go!" Wolverine snapped, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed the wind. "I'm smelling a familiar scent on the wind, and it ain't good."
Julius rose unsteadily to his feet. "Where are we going?" he asked, his voice still hoarse with emotion.
"Back to our place, bub," Logan grunted, already walking away. "Gotta hurry and grab our stuff before we leave."
Julius wasn't satisfied with the vague answer. "Okay, but leave where? What's our final destination?" he demanded, rushing to keep up.
Logan stopped and turned, his irritation palpable. "Enough of your questions! We're on a clock, now move!"
Julius was about to retort when a gentle voice entered his mind, cutting through the anger. It was Jean. Julius, I'm sorry. Logan gets impatient. We're going to Salem Center, New York. We have a place there—a safe haven for mutants. A place where you can learn to control all this, she communicated, her gaze sweeping over the wreckage. Now I apologize, but he's right. The authorities will be here any minute. We have to go.
"I just met you all! I ain't going anywhere with you guys, not until I at least see my parents!" Julius argued, his voice a desperate plea.
He knew he was being stubborn, maybe even a little childish, but the thought of leaving his family behind without a proper goodbye filled him with a profound sense of dread. He couldn't just vanish, not after everything that had happened. He needed to see them one last time.
Logan's face tensed, a flicker of pure rage flashing in his eyes. His fists clenched and his claws twitched beneath his skin, looking as though he was about to smash his fist into Julius's face. All of a sudden, the wail of police sirens cut through the quiet night in the distance.
"Fuck!" Logan snarled, his anger giving way to pragmatic urgency. "Fine! Laura, you and the kid go to his parents' house. Do whatever you need to do there. Me and Jean will get the X-jet loaded and ready." He shot Julius a hard glare. "Be back at our place by one, or else."
Julius nodded, his mind a whirlwind of confusion and grief. He took Laura's hand and tugged her toward his beat-up pickup truck, but he stopped short. The sword. He had left it plunged into the ground, a silent trophy of his fight. He remembered the crazed, skull-faced man's parting words, calling it his "treasure" and warning him to take care of it until they met again. Julius hesitated for only a moment. He was no swordsman, but in this new, terrifying world, having something to defend himself with felt like a necessity. He pulled the blade from the earth, the sound of metal scraping stone. He examined the weapon, and to his best guess, he thought it was a long sword. He held it up, and the moonlight glinted off its polished surface, and for a fleeting second, he couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship of the deadly weapon.
"Julius, I know the sword is impressive and all, but we've got to go. The police are getting closer," Laura chided, grabbing his arm.
"My bad, you're right, let's go," Julius said, snapping back to reality. He quickly placed the long sword on the floor of his beat-up pickup truck, and they both got in.
The drive was silent. Julius's mind raced, a chaotic mix of fear, grief, and adrenaline. He reached for his phone to call his parents out of habit, only to realize that it was gone, lost somewhere in the shattered barn after the fight and his... elemental outburst.
When they finally arrived at his house, the street was quiet and still. A single porch light was on, and the house was dark, just as it always was when his parents were sleeping. The familiar sight filled him with a bittersweet ache. He hopped out of his truck and, with a trembling hand, punched in the code on the electric keypad, opening the door as quietly as he could.
He turned to Laura, a desperate look on his face. "Laura, please keep a lookout. I'm... I'm just going to grab a few clothes. I don't want to wake them up. I promise I'll be fast."
"Okay. I'll wait outside, but hurry," Laura said, her tone a mix of understanding and urgency.
Julius gave a quick nod and slipped inside, the hum of the air conditioner the only sound in the quiet house. He moved with a frantic, desperate efficiency, grabbing a large black trash bag from under the sink and stuffing it with as many clothes as he could shove inside. He then snatched his backpack from his room and quickly filled it with essentials: his wallet, a hygiene kit, a laptop, and his pistol, a black, sleek Glock 19 with a few rounds. This was Texas after all
Once he was done, he stood in the hallway, the heavy bags a stark reminder of his new reality. He took a nervous, shaky breath and slowly walked toward his parents' room. The door was slightly ajar, and with a silent tremor, he pushed it open a little further. Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the peaceful scene within. He saw both his parents, safe and sound, fast asleep in their bed, oblivious to the world that had just been turned upside down.
He walked up to the side of the bed, his movements as quiet as a ghost. The moonlight cast a soft glow on his parents' faces. He took a shaky breath and whispered, his voice cracking on the first word, "Hey, Dad, Mom, wake up. I'm home."
His father, ever the heavy sleeper, was the first to stir. He blinked his eyes open slowly, squinting at the faint light. "Son? What time is it? Are you okay?"
Julius swallowed hard, forcing a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah, Dad, everything is fine. Just... wanted to say I love you both, that's all."
His dad's brow furrowed, a flicker of concern replacing his sleepiness. "You're being weird, and it's late. Is everything okay? How was your date?"
"I just wanted you to know I got home safe," Julius insisted, the lie feeling heavy on his tongue. "What's wrong with a kid saying they love their parents? The date went great actually. Going to hang out with her soon."
His mom, hearing the low conversation, began to stir as well. "Hmm, baby, are you okay?" she asked, turning on the bedside lamp and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Yeah," Julius replied, his voice a little steadier now but still thin. He looked from his mom's concerned face to his dad's, trying to memorize every line, every detail. "Just wanted to let you guys know I got home and that I love you both. I'm going to bed now." His voice cracked just as he said the last word. He burned their faces into his mind—the softness in his mother's eyes, the worried line on his father's forehead. He quickly got up, his emotions threatening to break through, and turned away before they could see the tears forming in his eyes.
"Okay, baby, we love you too," his mom said sleepily, the soft words feeling like a final, devastating blow.
"Get some sleep, it's late now. Wait, what time is it? It's one. Yeah, get some sleep. We love you."
Julius left the room and closed the door. He then heard the bedside lamp turn off and stood outside his parents' room for a few minutes. He then took a breath and accepted his new fate. He then walked down the stairs.
Julius quietly left his parents' room and closed the door behind him. The sound of the bedside lamp clicking off was the final note in his quiet, painful goodbye. He stood there for a few moments, letting the finality of it all sink in. He took a long, shaky breath and accepted his new, terrifying fate.
He then walked down the stairs, his bags of clothes and essentials slung over his shoulder. At the front entrance, his eyes caught on a family photo—a picture of them smiling at the beach just before he started high school. He quickly grabbed the photo, carefully tucking it into his backpack, a small, tangible piece of his old life.
He exited the house to find Laura waiting by the truck, her body language coiled and tense. She was scanning the street, her head on a swivel.
"You got everything you need, Julius?" she asked, her eyes briefly meeting his before darting away.
"Yeah, got everything I need," he replied, quickly putting his bags in the back of the pickup. He then pulled out a gun holster and clipped it to his belt, sliding a Glock into it. The weight of the firearm felt cold and foreign, a stark reminder of his new reality.
Noticing her nervousness, Julius asked, "You seem jumpy. What's wrong? You're dangerous mutants, but you act like you're worried about law enforcement."
Laura turned to face him, her expression grim. "I know I haven't been honest with you at all, Julius. I'll tell you more later on, but to be honest, you're in a lot more danger than you think. Logan and I noticed a certain smell in the air back at the barn. That's why he was acting more of an ass than usual."
"We just faced a deadly assassin and I beat his ass," Julius said, his voice a mix of confusion and bravado. "What could possibly be more dangerous than that?"
"The Brotherhood of Mutants," Laura said, the words a cold statement of fact. "Logan's brother—the man they call Sabretooth—is here. He's my uncle, and his boss, Magneto, is here in this city with a few other mutants. We think they are all here for you."