To Be A Hero - Colossus and Angel

7. Mutant Safe Haven

"Morning Piotr," Kath said upon entering the kitchen the next morning and finding the metal man already there.

"Good Morning, Kath." Piotr turned away from the TV to smile at her.  Shouting erupted from the program he was watching, the news by the looks of it, and he grumbled something in Russian before flicking off the screen.

"Was that another protest?" Kath asked.

He sighed.  "Da, more anti-mutant talk." 

"Worthington again?" 

"Da.  He sure knows how to gather a crowd."

"Some people will never stop hating us. He's just one of them." She came over with her cereal and sat down next to him.  

Warren Worthington II, or 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named' as Peter had dubbed him, was a wealthy man in the city who had continued in the footsteps of his father with anti-mutant campaigns.  He had a lot of followers and was only gaining more power.  Sometimes, it seemed like the mansion was the only safe-haven for mutants. 

Kath hated hearing news like this, and the current events seemed to be constantly flooded with it, but flicked on the TV again. A mass protest was shown marching down the streets of New York, people holding signs and shouting.  Some of the signs read: 'Dirty Mutants!' 'No More Mutants!' 'Let's Rid New York of Mutants For Good!'

Dad actively worked against people like Worthington, leading anti-anti-Mutant protests. And, it seemed, Lorna was doing similar work. A day in the life of a mutant, a constant struggle for rights. 

"Yesterday another mass protest took to the streets of New York, once again protesting the inclusion of mutants in the city," the news reporter was saying. "The protest certainly drew a crowd, however, it also received some backlash.  The sound system at the podium, which had been sound-tested the day before, turned out to not be working, much to the embarrassment of the speakers, and some protesters said their signs had been tampered with-"

The camera then showed some of the marked-up signs, with spray paint all over them.  One, baring a big, bold, F-You, was blurred out.

At this, Piotr sighed and buried his face in his hands. 

Kath turned to him, grinning.  "Deadpool again?"

"Every time I tell him, and every time he doesn't listen."

"Well, I'm not the biggest fan of the guy, but I don't mind when he does stuff like this.  Serves them right."

"Don't encourage him, please." Piotr, being the sweet soul he was, had tried time and time again, and failed over and over again just as many times in trying to bring Deadpool over to the 'good side', to join the X-Men.  However, the mouthy merc had refused each and every time, instead preferring to go rogue.  Sometimes Kath thought Piotr was wasting his time with Deadpool, but she found it sweet how hard he tried. Despite the frustration, his constant efforts showed how much he cared. 

Kath and Piotr were early risers, but slowly but surely, more and more students filed into the kitchen for breakfast, including the twins.

"I wish Lorna would stay," Wanda said.

Kath had been thinking a lot about their eldest sister too in the wake of being briefly reunited with her.  "So do I. But she made up her mind a long time ago, so if we couldn't change it then, we can't change it now."

That was the thing about the Lehnsherr family: they were extremely stubborn.  Once they had made up their minds, there was no going back.

--------------------------------

Telling the Professor about Warren didn't turn out to be as bad as Daniela had feared.  Yes, he was a bit angry that she had blatantly disobeyed the rules, yet again,  defied their sign-out rule, but he was glad that both she and Warren were safe back at the mansion.

Hank checked Warren's injuries over to make sure he was alright, and said that Daniela had done a good job of cleaning him up. 

"So, Mr.-" the Professor said.

"Just Warren," Warren told him.

"Warren.  We'll get you started on classes right away.  We've also got a dorm room for you.  One of us can take you to collect your belongings-"

"This is it, really." Warren shrugged.

"Alright then.  Kurt?"

"Ja?"

"Will you please escort your new roommate to your shared dormitory."

Kurt looked a little startled upon laying eyes on Warren.  "Uh, ja, Professor."

"Thank you."

"You didn't tell me your boyfriend was scary!" Kurt hissed to Daniela.

"He's not!" she protested.

Warren was looking unsure as he glanced around the room.  

The Professor gave him a reassuring smile.  "Welcome to the School for the Gifted."

(Hello and welcome back! :) I have so much planned for this story, I'm just struggling a little to get to that point! But I'll keep working at it, I promise!

I seem to be on a role with updating (finally!) so keep checking back soon!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :))