"You mean you wouldn’t mind? Really?" Andre asked.
"Nope, not at all," Kitty beamed. "I would love to take you and Neophyte back to your home. Anytime!"
"Well, I can’t thank you enough," Andre said.
"Andre, it’s not a problem," Meggan explained. "Really, we don’t mind. Besides, we’ll get to meet your friends, and get off this rock for awhile."
"So, you’re coming, too?" Neophyte checked.
"Of course! I wouldn’t miss it for the world!" Meggan grinned.
"Well, thank you, too, then, Meggan," Andre said.
For a moment, they were all happily silent, until a voice spoke up from the doorway.
"Can I come, too?" the voice, which belonged to Illyana, asked.
"Of course, Illyana," Kitty gushed. "We’d love to have you, and I’m sure you’d enjoy seeing more of our world."
"I would," Illyana shyly agreed.
"Well, it looks like we’re going to have some fun!" Meggan enthused.
And Meggan, Kitty thought, could certainly use some fun. We all could, with what’s happened lately. My own recent capture, Brian’s "break-up" with Meggan. But in the end, I guess, it’s only made us stronger, and one day, the scars we have will heal. For now, though, they’re not just scars, they’re more like festering sores.
"And this is okay with Kurt?" Andre checked.
"I’m sure it will be!" Kitty said. "The rest of Excalibur will still be here in case anything happens, and we can always easily be contacted."
***
Kitty was right. Nightcrawler was ecstatic to let his friends go, especially Kitty and Meggan, on what seemed like it would be a perfectly harmless and fun trip.
After a long night of resting, packing, showering, and preparation, everyone woke up in the morning and got ready for their holiday. Eventually, they all met at the jet, and got ready for take-off.
"Ready guys? Everyone buckled in?" Kitty asked.
"You know it, Kitty!" Meggan bubbled. "This is gonna be such fun! Shopping and maybe a little sightseeing! I love Boston!"
"I thought you’d never been to Boston," Andre said.
"She hasn’t," Kitty explained. "But she still loves it. What about you, Illyana? You excited about seeing one of our major cities?"
"Well, I guess," Illyana said. "It’ll be nice to see more of this world. Everything’s so pretty here." Illyana was sitting next to a large window and had her hand to it. The sight was enchanting her and she was in rapture just watching this brave new world fly by.
"And you, Neophyte?" Kitty inquired. "You excited about seeing some of Andre’s old haunts?"
"I-I guess," Neophyte stammered.
Meggan turned to the two men sitting behind her. "I have a question to ask, that I’ve been dieing to ask, but it’s pretty personal. Do you guys mind?"
"No, Meggan," Andre replied. "Not at all. We’re all friends here, and hopefully we’ll soon become better ones."
"Okay," Meggan said. "Are you two, are you, um, are you dating?"
Neophyte’s eyes opened wide. His heart stopped. He, himself, was barely comfortable with the idea of him being gay. He was nowhere near coming to terms with it like Andre was. He could not even begin to imagine what it would be like to tell someone else. He was lucky so far. He’d just gotten off with an explanation that Andre was an old, good friend visiting when the Acolytes attacked, and since every was so busy with everything, no one asked another question.
"Yes, we are," Andre answered, without even blinking. Kitty’s eyes opened with surprise, as did Illyana’s. They hadn’t even guessed. "But how’d you know?"
Meggan grinned. "Oh, well that’s easy. I’m an empath, sort of, and I can tell how people are feeling. I can always sense a great love between you two," Meggan explained.
And with that, Neophyte grinned. No one cared, so far, that he was gay. But what had made him even happier, was what Meggan had said.
"You-you mean, both ways?" Neophyte asked.
"Yes, of course," Meggan said.
That meant Andre loved him! Neophyte’s heart leapt. He was so happy. He turned to Andre, who was also pleasantly surprised, and grinned. In a moment of complete affection, they kissed.
"Aw!" Kitty gushed. "That’s so sweet!"
"It is," Illyana, who had not seen much of real love on her world, agreed.
"I’m glad I asked," Meggan announced.
And she left it at that.
***
Moira finally sat in her lab and relaxed. Well, she thought, now that things are finally back to normal, I can see what’s going on in the world. It’s been days since I last checked. I hope World War III. has not started yet.
Of course, she was joking, but when she dropped her coffee mug in surprise at what she saw next, she found nothing funny with the situation.
"-then the X-Men’s jet was sanctioned by Operation Zero Tolerance operatives. The fight was finished, and the X-Men were taken into custody by Operation Zero Tolerance," a government-associated looking figure said on TV.
"So, you’re saying that, basically, America’s government has just declared open season on mutants?" the TV news reported asked.
"America’s government is defending itself from the mutant menace. Call it what you like, but it’s humanity fighting back," the figure argued.
"It sounds a bit like, well, what Hitler did in World War II.," the news reported insisted.
"Perhaps, then, you need to ask yourself. How much longer do you want to live in this world?"
"Well, as long as I can. But I do not see how mutant have anything to do with how long I live!"
"They have everything to do with it! Their existence is a dire threat to humanity! Every moment they’re given free reign is a moment less we have to live as humans on this planet!"
"Well, that’s all we have time for now," the reported ended. "Back to you, Bob."
Moira turned the TV off.
She walked through the glass and coffee and over to the intercom.
"Kurt?" she said, speaking to the intercom after she pushed a button. "I think you’d better come down here. I have something of extreme importance to show you, and to all of us."
To Be Continued
Next: How will Operation Zero Tolerance affect Kitty, Meggan, Andre, Neophyte, and Illyana?
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