X-Men 1st Redemptions

15: X-hibit

The day of the potluck rolled around.

Strangely, still no trouble for the X-men to attend to...things were really just too quiet.

Shine somehow talked Jean into coming with them, and Scott, of course, wouldn't let her go alone.

Shine told Wally that Jean just wanted to see if the church people liked her cooking...as it was, they still had left overs from the day before.

"But since I didn't mess with any of her work, she said I can use the kitchen any time I want," Shine said. 

"Still scary," Wally said.

"I'll have you know," Scott informed them, "that I think this is a bad idea, but if Jean is going to go, I'll make sure she's safe."

"And what do you think is going to happen?" Shine asked.

"I'm not sure, but if Nightcrawler makes an appearance in public, people could get restless," Scott said.

Shine rolled her eyes.

Jubilee was still determined to go...maybe she liked the idea of seeing other teenagers around.

Rogue was wavering, but she had nothing else to do thanks to the lack of a world crisis at the moment, so she gave in.

Logan sulkily did also.

Storm surprised them more by saying she'd go.

"But if there is trouble, it's mostly likely to happen around you," she said, with no irony at all. "So it would be prudent for plenty of us to be there."

"I'm moved that they are so concerned," Kurt told Shine and Wally.

Shine was still trying not to laugh. "I never knew going to a potluck would be so daring. At this point a fundraiser sounds like Death-Con 1."

"Are you going to tell Billings about the Morlocks?" Wally asked.

"I was," Shine said. "Though I can't promise they'll care to meet him, but if he wants to know the sort of circumstances mutants live in, I can tell him firsthand."

"That's fine," Wally said. "I just thought they wouldn't like it if we mention how to find them, but you'd know better."

"I won't either," Kurt promised. "We must respect their privacy. But I think he may be surprised. I had thought I was of humble means before I saw where they live. There are always people who are worse off."

"There are people worse off than them too," Shine said. "But we become used to our own problems, so if we take that view, we're never the worst off. Only miserable, bitter people think that."

"I don't know why you all so set on going," Gambit said to all of the X-men who were. "Dey just doing this to sell you on what dey think."

"I just thought it'd be nice to see what I was putting all this effort in for," Jean said. "And besides, if the Reverend wants to meet more mutants, shouldn't we encourage that? Few humans ever put effort into that."

"And dat don't strike you as suspicious?" Gambit said. "Last time we try dat, humans was enslaving mutants on Genosha. Or trying to 'cure' dem, by making dem tools for dat Apocalypse. This be no different."

"I might believe that, if I hadn't already seen the place, and no sign of any mutant mistreatment," Storm said. "Perhaps for once, it's as it seems."

"You know nothin' about what dey could do." Gambit said.

Shine and Wally walked up and heard this.

"But I do," Shine said, startling them. "I've been going to church my whole life. I've seen a lot of cults, and lot of weird teaching, and I know the genuine article when I see it. If they were doing something shady, I could tell. And if I may, that Genosha business was an obvious trap, and so was the 'cure' as you say. No such thing as a free lunch, as the saying goes. Not for the world. But we in the faith believe we should do things for free. If this does go wrong, Wally and I will handle it. So far, no one knows where you all live, or where we're from. We're being cautious about it, but the most that could happen is setting a trap at the church, and those people lack the knowledge to do anything but call the police. The police won't arrest you if you aren't doing anything so the most is a disturbance. We have thought about this a lot."