The Element of Change {Xmen first class}

Ch. 11 "The Future Days"

A/N: This is just a little dribble that I thought to add for this story. There will not be a sequel to "The Element of Change" but I thought I would add this in for a future explanation on what happened after X-men: First Class.

There is a picture and two videos on this chapter!

            It had been three years since the events on the beach of Cuba; almost a year since the opening of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. Lei had helped set up the school with Hank, Charles, Alex, and Sean and things went well... at first. But then the war in Vietnam began to worsen and many of the students and teachers were drafted. This included Sean and Alex. 

            With the dwindling numbers of people at the mansion, Charles began to fall into a pit of depression. Lei continued to remind him that things were going to improve and he just had to be patient.  Hank and she were still there for him, but it was hard to realize what you still had when you'd lost so much.

            "Charles?" She asked, peaking her head in when he didn't respond. The man was lying in his bed, a glass of whiskey in his hand and his eyes staring blankly into the wall ahead of him. "My aunt's sick. I don't think it's serious, but I'm going to have to take off a few days and go see her; make sure she's alright." Lei hated to leave at this critical time, but her aunt was all she had left of her birth family. She had to make sure that she was alright.

            Lei's hand remained on the door, waiting for the telepath to respond. His brown hair was tussled and whiskers were starting to grow on his jaw. "I'll have one of the other teachers take over your classes for the time being," was all he said, not bothering to look at her and offer any kind words or assurances. The young woman sighed before shutting the door lightly.

            The trip took longer than expected, and before Lei knew it, it had been weeks. And during those weeks, her aunt's health had gotten progressively worse and, eventually, it had overwhelmed her. Since Lei's aunt hadn't been married or had any children, the funeral had been small, only consisting of Lei, a few work friends of her aunt, and the preacher. Needless to say, the waterbender was happy to return to the mansion. That is, until she saw the state it was in when she returned.

            The gate was thrown open and the water in the fountain had ceased flowing. Lei shut the door to her car, her feet crunching against the gravel of the drive as she made her way to the front door. It seemed like a ghost town here. Even the birds had stopped singing in the trees. "Charles? Hank?" She called out, looking around the corridor of the mansion. Her voice echoed through the oak paneled walls. "Where is everyone?" She wondered, taking a hesitant step inside before making her way towards Charles' room.

            "Oh, Charles! Thank goodness you're here. I was beginning to wonder what had happened. Where are all the students?"

            "The school is closed, Lei." He said simply, not bothering to look at her.

            "What?" she asked puzzled, furrowing her brows in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

A long silence followed her words. "I closed the mansion down the week after you left."

"What? Why would you do that?" She screeched, but despite her anger, Charles remained neutral faced.

"Barely anyone was left after you'd gone. Parents started pulling their children out of the school. I- I had no other choice," he said flatly.

"Charles, there's always a choice. You could have..." Her voice was starting to give him a headache, and with the buzz of the alcohol, he was having trouble focusing.