Before we left, Angelo and Kris did speak for a while. Amazingly enough Kris apologized to him for acting the way he did. I think it did a lot of good, Kris seemed to dissolve the barriers he had put up toward Ange. He congratulated us and sent us of to class, half teasing as he reminded us to not be late for training.

As we left for class, Angelo wrapped his arm around my waist.

"He really is a nice guy," he commented. "Once you get to know him."

"Yeah, he is. I love him like I love my own father, so--"

"So what went on in there really meant a lot to you."

"Speaking of my own father, Ange, you've met my surrogate father, now you have to see my actual father. I'm gonna call Momma when classes end and tell her I'll be commin' for a visit and to fix up the guest room.

"I'm positive Emma and Sean will give us plenty of time off. It'll be nice to take a break."

"Tell me something, Summer, compared to Kris, how will your parents react?"

I laughed, "They couldn't react worse than Kris. But still, I dunno. I mean, even though they haven't met you, I've told them all about you. They would have had to seen this coming, ya know? It's obvious, I mean, look at it harshly from a non-mutant perspective. Where could I, their mutant daughter, find a husband, also a mutant, or at least a un-prejudiced human? Because of Xavier's, I haven't had the typical high-school dating experience. I've been put in a place with only a limited chance of meeting anyone outside this circle. I think they saw it coming."

"Well, gee, when you put it like that, it sounds so romantic."

"Oh, hush. We're here. I'm gonna get mobbed again. This ring is like a big 'oh please come stare at me' sign."

He responded with, "Don't worry, I will protect you!"

But his boast proved hollow as we were both group ganged by the entire class.

"Oh! Let me see the ring again!"

"Congratulations, guys. It's wonderful."

"Hey, man. Good job!"

"I'm telling you, it's bigger than my doorknob..."

"...it's beautiful..."

Jonothan walked up to me, arms spread, palms up.

("So,") he began. ("Do yer think I could have my 'Pearl Jam' CD back?")

("You're awful, Jono. 'Hail, hail, you're the only one'.")

I imagined he would have laughed if he could. Instead, he sent a feeling of amusement allong with an, ("It's about time the two of yer got together. I'm happy for you, Sunshine.")

I grinned at him and walked out of the room to get a drink from the water fountain. As I sipped the water, I heard someone walking down the hall and looked up.

"Morning, Sean," I said cheerfully as I walked back to class.

"G'Mornin' lass. Now, it's only," he glanced at his watch, "seven. And I've been hearin' a lot o' rumors already." He smiled in a sort of patronly way, then asked, "Now my source was a wee bit less than reliable, so I cannae be sure, but...." He trailed off.

"And they're all true!" I laughed.

"Even th' one about the boxer shorts?"

"Uh," I stammered, "not all of them."

"I thought per'aps Jubilee was exaggerating things just a lil'."

"Probably just a little."

"Can I see th' ring?" he asked, seeming genuinely happy.

I extended my hand to him and he held it up to examine the ring better. He whistled under his breath. "That's absolutely beautiful Summer, congratulations."

"Thanks. Um- where's Emma?"

"In the Biosphere, I believe, wi' Kris, helpin' him figure th' place out."

I paled, I didn't want to imagine Emma and Kris having a leisurely walk through the grotto. Too many outcomes were possible. "Um, okay."

I made my way back to class and slid in my seat as Sean began instructions for the day. After a while, Sean and Emma gave up the direct teaching approach, now we all just came into the same class in the morning and then went to the computer lab. All of our classes now came from a series of disks some of the old Xavier-Braniacs had put together. It made enough sense, but it was kinda weird compared to my former schooling.

When would the bell finally ring?...

We stood in a loose semi-circle in the 'Sphere around Sean, who had dressed out in full uniform. I hadn't spotted Emma yet, she probably stayed in the control room to monitor everything. Kris stood behind Sean and a little to the right with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Alright," said Sean. "Today, yuir training' session will be a little different. We're fortunate enough to have a martial arts expert and undercover spy-of-sorts with us as a guest, and he has so generously agreed to lead the training today. For those of you who haven't met him, yet, this is Kris Alder."

With that, Sean gave a cut nod and stepped back. At the same time Kris stepped forward and looked over us with an assessing eye. "Okay," he said cooly, "This might be a little different from how you normally do things, but it shouldn't be too difficult." He paused momentarily before continuing. "Now here is what I we'll do: I'm going to pair you all of into four groups of two. Three of the groups will be out in the Biosphere looking for my daughter, Beth. Groups can not work together or exchange information to aid other groups for this exercise. Beth is resting in a coma-like trance in a well hidden location, the only help you will receive from her is bits of information she might tell you by appearing to you in her astral form.

"From what I have been told, being kidnapped or taken hostage isn't too out of the ordinary for you guys, so this exercise will assist in strengthening your search and rescue abilities. Beth will act as though she does not know where she is, her hints will be very vague. When one group finds Beth, she will give you further instructions.

"Now, one group will remain with me, and I will work with them one-on-one to help them develop their powers, or perhaps learn more about their powers. My own mutant ability will let me see into you and understand you powers. I will not be reading your mind, or digging around in your sub-conscious, and out of concern for all of you, Miss Frost will be psionically monitoring all of this. But still, if any of you feel uncomfortable about this, let me know and I will try to help you in a different way. Alright? Any questions?"

At that point, Monet informed him she did not wish for him to assist her in learning about her powers. Kris simply nodded and then paired us off. I was surprised when he paired me off with Angelo; I had figured he wouldn't. Kris matched Jonothan with Mondo (I knew Jono wasn't happy about that, he couldn't stand Mondo's cheerfulness), Jubilee with Monet (it seemed as though he was trying to match people off with the people they liked the least, and Paige with Everett (well, they worked well enough together). He chose Jonothan and Mondo to work with first.

As Angelo and I started out to leave, he came up to us.

"Now if you two pip-squeaks are going to get married, you have learn how to take care of each other when you're out against some psycho." He looked at Angelo, "and you better know how to take care of her." With that, he turned and went back to Chamber and Mondo.

I bit back a laugh. "I think that's Kris' way of accepting this whole marriage thing."

"Good, I feel warm and cozy all over," Angelo said, shaking his head. "Of course I'll take care of you, what does he expect?"

I patted his arm sympathetically. "Don't worry about Kris, he's just in 'Daddy' mode," I told him.

Ange looked behind us then gave me a mischievous look. "What do you say we take an "F" for this session and play our own version of Sleeping Beauty?" He wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Ange!" I giggled. "Shhh, didn't I tell you Kris is a telepath, too?"

("MOVE IT, you two!")

("So much for not reading our minds, Kris!") I retorted.

("I didn't need to read your minds, I can read body language very well!")

"Shades of Gray" 11/? By Me, monet@uky.campus.mci.net and my secret-psychic-sister Krista kjscjs@ix.netcom.com. Tell us what you think!

If someone invented instant water, what would they mix it with?