Chapter 79- Observing History

  Citadel- Portal Room- Nov 4, 2008 (Evening)

  Anna Marie Hopewell- (Rogue)

  Her sister and Rahne were in the middle of a giggle fit, as they finished their second gss of the glowing bright yellow wine. Anna just shook her head at their silliness, as she reached for her gss of valleyberry juice, but paused to drink when she saw that Wanda hadn't taken more than two bites of her food with her face all but buried into the thick magic tome beside her. "I swear you and ma brother are something, Wands this is a feast, a party, you should rex sugar." The southern teen compined.

  Wanda’s red hair shifted when she turned to look at her. “Then why aren’t you?” the older teen asked pointing at her gss, filled with juice instead of something stronger.

  "Gonna admit that after that one time, I bumped into Kaz'ar and got his powers for an hour by accident, I ain't risking another incident," Anna admitted, before taking a mouthful of the uniquely tasting berry juice.

  “Not to mention that his powers made you sober.” Arlette had to remind her in between her fit of ughs. Anna gave her sister a rude gesture, which only made her ugh even harder.

  A commotion in the middle of the chamber drew her and Wanda's attention. It looked like the magic users were forming into lines, while the five 'Masters' waited at the far end of the gathering. Anna's eyes were drawn to Nath'aniel waiting at the other end of the gathering, Psylocke and She-Devil standing guard in front of him.

  They weren’t alone, behind the three of them, lingered Copycat and Magneto both staring at the gathered magic users as if daring them to try something. Anna felt a little bad for the lone Leaper standing to the rear of the masters looking around at everything like it was something amazing.

  “It seems that they figured out what they are going to say.” She heard Wands mutter.

  Not seeing the other 'Servants' made her look for them, when she swept over the entire room the second time, Anna guessed that they must be in their spirit form, since she could make out one of them. A guess that was proven true, as while she was looking the ceremony started and each Servant materialized a step behind their Master once they reached halfway through the gathered lines.

  First was the bding tan man, Ortani she thought his name was, knelt within an arm’s reach from Psylocke. His Servant, a younger version of the magic user, crossed his arms but nodded at the purple-haired woman. The came Keacilius who knelt within an arm’s reach of She-Devil. His servant a smiling young woman, rubbed her master’s back reassuringly.

  The mage held a foot-long rod out to She-Devil, who took it without turning to him and then held it out to the greying magic user. Keacilius took it and held it to his chest before clearing his throat and then he spoke loudly but firmly. "I Keacilius Anker, do swear with a clear mind and an open heart to heed the call and requests of the Magi. I swear to lead the Order of Masters members into battle with bravery and tactics, and I also swear to punish those members who act beneath their position, from now until I am relieved of my position of Arch-Master.”

  While he spoke, Anna could see that the rod pulsed with mystical energy, and when he finished it fshed a wave of light over the man. Once the energy vanished, the older man held the rod out towards the bding one. The other master magic user nodded slightly before taking the rod and also pcing it against his chest.

  "I, Laxman Ortani, do swear with a clear mind and open heart to further the understanding of Servants, the magic surrounding them, and aid the Order in developing new methods or devices to aid them and their Masters. I also swear to aid the Magi in their emergencies, as well as come to their aid when under attack, from now until I no longer hold the position of Senior-Schor." Despite the man looking more nervous than the first one, the former professor was louder and clearer than Keacilius had been.

  Again there was a fsh and a wave of light that bathed the man, just like the first.

  With a wide toothy smile Rahne asked them. “You think people are going to ask us about witnessing this moment ter in our lives?”

  "Only if they make a name for themselves," Wanda answered beside her.

  “You mean like you and the other members of the Brotherhood did?” Anna asked just before lightly jabbing her friend in the shoulder.

  "Hey, that was mostly the first Brotherhood's members making a bad reputation for us. We’ve only went after bad guys since." The mage's disciple said in her defense.

  They then watched as the three other Masters, stepped forward one at a time, swearing lesser oaths to Nath’aniel and without the glow inducing rod. When the Leaper elder swore hers, she did it twice, first in her own tongue, and then again in her broken form of English.

  Then something unexpected happened, Anna heard a voice directly in her mind. "Sorry to bother you Anna, but Nath'aniel wants to talk to you in private. Are you willing to meet him by door two?" The voice was clearly Psylocke’s, so it made her look first at the door that the other woman indicated, and then again at the gathering.

  The mage in question was giving a closing speech about his hopes for the good that will come from their Order, as well as the chances for growth that each member will get working with him and the other Magi, as well as the very seasoned magic users of the Savage Land's.

  “Something wrong?” Wanda asked her, a look of concern on her friend's face.

  “I don’t think so. Psylocke just told me that Nath wants to speak with me. It’s probably about my scores in our studies. I don’t know what it is, but with combat training and the knowing that fighting is in our future, none of the normal css work really gets me as motivated.” The southern teen expined.

  Her redheaded friend smiled and took a sip of her drink before saying. “I can understand that, my brother was the same, and then he started cheating by using his speed to cram before a test. But the world requires a basic education, I mean there will come a day when the fighting will be over, right?”

  Anna didn’t have the heart to answer. She felt deep down, that peace wouldn’t make it in their lifetimes, and it would be their children or grandchildren that would find acceptance by the world. Instead she finished off her juice, before getting up and heading towards the door that she was supposed to meet the mage at.

  She didn't have to wait long, a couple of minutes of the, she guessed, graduates talked with Nath'aniel, before he pulled away and headed towards her. She smiled and tapped her earbud, as she watched him walk towards her.

  “Suppression is on; you have no stored powers at this time.”

  Anna knew why she was attracted to him, his looks were passing. She knew he wouldn't win any beauty contests, but he wasn't ugly either. And while his confident stride gave him bonus points, the truth of it was, it was his concern and kindness to others that won her over. He armed her brother and sister since their powers were more for movement or utility, he gave a totem to Basilisk so she could blend in more with normal people, he healed Psylocke and She-Devil, and he, he gave the world to her. And now he wanted to talk to her privately.

  Yet before he could get to her, Copycat jogged over and intercepted him, grabbing his shoulder and keeping Nath'aniel from getting to her. "For the st time Vanessa, we will not go to the next step while you still maintain that form. I will not make a child with the form of my mother." Anna heard him softly but sternly tells the woman.

  The gene-morph holds up her hands in surrender, saying. “That’s not… look I have a question about Mage Sight and you’re the only other mage.” Copycat quickly expins, also low enough Anna doubted anyone else heard her.

  ‘Maybe Rahne.’ The leach thought but didn’t interrupt them.

  Nath’aniel nodded at her to continue, so the gene-morph stood next to him, and pointed at what looked to Anna as members of the Brotherhood, but given that they could see other realms and dimensions, it could be anything the woman wanted to ask about.

  “That there, what is that?” Copycat asked, still pointing.

  “That is Alfheim, the home pne of the light elves.” The mage said ftly.

  The gene-morph pointed again and in a slightly stronger voice asked. "No, not the pne, I could tell they were elves by their ears. It's kind of creepy how accurately fantasy writers got their descriptions right. No, here in our pne, just below Bass' navel, what's that?"

  “Oh, that is an incipient soul," Nath'aniel says again rather ftly, but with a slight smirk.

  “Incipient?” Anna asked unfamiliar with the word.

  The two turned to look at her before he answers. “Early formed, incomplete, initial stage.”

  “An initial stage soul, as in a baby?” Copycat asked for confirmation.

  That silenced both of them, but didn't still the rest of the people in the room, as Anna watched Basilisk raise a mug of ale to her mouth. However, before she could take a drink of it, Psylocke materialized inside the woman's guard and stabbed her elbow with a psychic dagger, paralyzing her hand.

  "What the…" The rge four-armed woman blurted out in surprise, while the Servant ninja pulled the mug out of Bass' hand and drained it onto the floor between them. Before she dismisses the dagger with a wave of her hand, its psychic energy returns to Psylocke's palm.

  "That's it!" Basilisk yelled, before throwing a punch at the smaller slimmer woman. The rge mutant clearly didn't hold back, as Psylocke was pushed back a handful of feet from where she had been standing. "First you mind control me mum, and stepbrother when we met for the first time. You act all prim and proper towards me like I am beneath you, and then you go and steal my man from me before I could even really try.'

  “I have tried to py nice with you, but now I am done!”

  “Well excuse me, I was only trying to protect you baby!” The telepath shouted back at her, which that did cause everyone in the room to stop what they were doing or saying.

  The rge woman’s face scrunched up in confusion, as she muttered. “Baby?”

  “That’s kind of what happens after months of unprotected sex.” Exodus throws in from his lonely corner of the hall. Then he asks. “Did we even get any of those condom things from the mercs?”

  "We did, I already used them all," Quicksilver answered from his spot at the beast-people table.

  Then many of the leaders and members of the Brotherhood looked at Nath’aniel, their gazes asking their unspoken questions. Another thing Anna liked about the mage was his intellect, as he answers most of these unspoken questions. “Mage Sight allows us to see mortal and immortal souls of beings… even unborn ones.”

  Basilisk gasped as her upper arms covered her mouth, while her lower arms covered and protected her belly. Magneto pced a hand on one of her shoulders and whispered something in the rge woman's ear.

  Frey jumped up and shouted. “Now we really got something to celebrate!” His words caused the magic users to give him a stare.

  Anna had to smile at hearing the good news, even if deep down she was a little jealous over the bustier woman’s success. Especially when the four-armed woman blew the mage a kiss, and while he was clearly confused by the action, still he did the same back at her.

  Still, like her time alone in the southern swamps, before her mommas convinced her to go home with them, Anna quickly policed her face to her original fake smile so her true feelings wouldn't be noticed. Nor did she let Nath'aniel see her heart beat faster as he approached her and gestured for them to leave the hall.

  Her fake smile quickly turned into a real one as she followed him towards one of the smaller conference rooms. However, said simile faltered a bit when didn't take a seat or gesture to her to take one either.

  While Anna didn't know what he wanted to talk to her about, she didn't have long to wait before the mage started speaking. "Earlier, before the council meeting with chieftains and shamans, I had started to thank you for the push you gave my disciple. And while she may not have gotten the answer that she desired I have seen a stronger interest in Wanda and her studies, which pleases me. So thank you for both the push and the support you gave her after our encounter.'

  “That said, that is not the only reason that I wished to speak with you. My own work coming up with a curriculum for teaching you tribesmen how to learn sorcery is far enough along, and given that you are the only child of Mystique with talent enough to learn, I wanted to offer to you a chance to become…”

  “No.” The southern teen quickly answered him.

  Despite the interruption and given his surprised look, Nath’aniel still quickly recovered and asked. “Might I know the reason why you do not want to learn?”

  "If I agreed, like Wanda, I wouldn't be able to have a physical retionship with you right?" Anna asked him for crification.

  He nodded that it was the case, as he started to expin. “That is true, the study of magic is a difficult enough that a disciple shouldn’t need to question…”

  “Then that’s why, unlike Wands, I don’t want to wait.” She told him ft out, then Anna waited a moment for him to process, before leaping and hugging him like she had so many times before. However, unlike those other times, she pnted a very not chaste kiss on his mouth this time. It was sloppy and she knew it, but still she was taking full advantage of the moment.

  Yet her need to breathe eventually made her end it.

  Nath’aniel coughed and cleared his throat, before arguing. “What you feel is gratitude, not true affection.”

  "Duh, I may suck at math, but even I have seen enough shows and movies to know what I have for you won't st forever, but darling aren't you the one that says change is both natural and expected," Anna argued back and added. "And before you argue that you're already in a retionship ship, I will argue that you're already in three, including your future kids with Copycat. So adding a fourth is going to cause many to bat an eye at it.'

  ”Besides, aren’t you trying to repopute a whole species? That means you’re going to need more than one baby momma.”

  The mage sighed in defeat, as the young woman had several valid points, still he stated. “I will need Betsy’s and Sam’s approval before we go anywhere past hugging and kissing.”

  Anna blushed at his blunt agreement.

  "Oh, I am totally ok with it. So that just leaves the current bliss-filled Bass." Psylocke's voice made the southern belle jump in surprise. Of course, the teasing didn't stop there as she added. "So long as the young Rogue here knows that I will be in the back of her head every time you are bedding him."

  Yet before she could turn around another voice joined the telepath’s. "Ah, to be seventeen again," She-Devil muttered.

  Then Anna peered over her shoulders, to see the two Servants with their weapons drawn, but not aimed at her. Then the blond looked over at the purple-haired woman and asked. “Does this remind you of anything?”

  "That time Bass picked Nathy up and carried him up to her nap room," Psylocke answered with a faint smile.

  DLRhanna