Chapter 40: Leaving for N.Salem Westchester

'Haa, finally, it's over.' Thought Pharaoh as he exited the house, closing the door behind him before sitting on one of the rocking chairs on the porch.

Thankfully, while Mom was a little mad at me for fighting the Brotherhood of Mutants in the neighborhood, she didn't ground me; instead, she just gave me a thirty-minute-long lecture about why and what I did. The lecture was utterly tedious and annoying, but I wasn't about to say that. I'm not trying to actually get grounded; I don't want that.

So, now that the lecture is over, I should probably pack a few things since I'm going to be gone for today and tomorrow, but after that long-ass lecture, I wasn't really in the mood anymore; I just patiently waited on the porch while occasionally glancing at Jean's house, waiting to see when Professor X would be done speaking with her parents. It took about another twenty minutes or so before I saw the X-Men exit the house alongside Jean, who was carrying a backpack full of clothes and other miscellaneous items.

"Is that a-yea? It's a tampon; well, she's around that age." Muttered Pharaoh with a raised eyebrow as he checked Jean's backpack, finding a few feminine items.

After their little goodbyes, the seven left the house and started walking down the sidewalk, and when they got parallel to my house, they stopped and gestured to me, causing me to stand up.

"Bye, Mom; love you!" Yelled Pharaoh as he cracked open the door and yelled into the house.

"Bye, Pharaoh, behave yourself and don't do anything crazy like you've been doing lately; love you too!" Yelled Hana as she peeked her head from behind a wall and smiled at Pharaoh, who nodded.

"I'll try my best." Remarked Pharaoh as he closed the door behind him and started walking toward the X-Men and Jean.

Crossing the street, I ensured no one in the vicinity was watching me before I entered the range of Beasts Image Inducer device.

"Is that all you're taking?" Asked Bobby curiously as he looked at Pharaoh with nothing but a hoodie, jeans, and a pair of Jordans.

"Yeah, I was going to pack some stuff, but I couldn't be bothered; anyways, we should leave. I can hear what sounds like police heading toward us." Replied Pharaoh with a shrug of his shoulders as he started walking, prompting everyone else to do the same.

"Are you positive it's cops, Pharaoh?" Asked Beast with a thoughtful expression as he looked at Pharaoh, who was at the front, walking beside Professor X.

"No, from the way they speak, they don't sound like you're average cops; if anything, they sound like government secret agents or something." Said Pharaoh with a shake of his head as he focused his hearing on the incoming secret agents.

"Tch must be that pesky Shield." Muttered Wolverine with a frown as he grabbed a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

"Shield? Now that you mention it, I think I heard a few of those people mention Shield; they probably are Shield agents or whatever." Remarked Pharaoh with a raised eyebrow while rubbing his chin, looking at the various people in the distance surrounding the destroyed park.

"That is fine; we knew they were going to come. We shall be long gone by the time they arrive." Said Professor X calmly as the group of eight neared the Blackbird, which hadn't moved since yesterday night.

"What is Shield anyway?" Asked Pharaoh as he looked at the six for answers, and unsurprisingly, Beast spoke first.

"They're an organization designed to deal with terrorism and global threats; that's what Shield was initially created for, though having watched their movements, I feel like lately they've somewhat skewed from their original purpose." Replied Beast with a slight frown as he pressed a button on his image inducer device, causing the ramp to the Blackbird to lower.

"Well, I'll tell you what; they're doing a very mediocre job at that." Remarked Pharaoh lightly with a shake of his head while waiting for the ramp to lower.

Once the ramp fully lowered, we walked up the ramp and into the Blackbird, as Beast calls it, and color me impressed; the level of technology I could see was, well, impressive. Everything looked so futuristic, like this plane was at least ten to fifteen years ahead of the world.

'Now, this is the life; I could live in here for the rest of my life.' Mused Pharaoh as he walked around the plane, observing the interior and picking up random objects before placing them back down.

"Try not to break anything, Pharaoh; the Blackbird isn't cheap." Said Beast with a slightly worried expression as he looked at Pharaoh messing around.

"No promises." Replied Pharaoh with a smirk as he set down a Rubix cube, which he had just solved in record time.

Following everyone else, I headed up the stairs, leaving the cargo hold and arriving in the living area of the plane if you will; the place was nice, clean, and about as advanced as you could get. Bobby, Wolverine, and Colossus were already sitting down on the couch watching TV; Beast was in the cockpit, flying the plane, Storm was in the bathroom, Professor X was in his mini office, and Jean was silently sitting in the corner of the room with her head down.

Seeing her like that, I knew she was still depressed about Lily's death; now that she no longer had things to distract her, Lily was probably at the forefront of her mind. Walking over, I sat down next to Jean, though other than a slight glance, she hardly reacted; shifting my posture, I rested my head on Jean's lap, allowing me to look right at her sad green eyes.

"You good, Jean?" Asked Pharaoh as he reached forward and poked Jean's cheek, causing her to smile slightly, though it vanished just as quickly as it appeared.

"I-I don't know." Replied Jean softly as she looked down into Pharaoh's purple eyes.

"Well, unfortunately, other than being here for you, there isn't much I can do to help you. You'll have to get over Lily's death on your own; time heals all wounds, so I'm sure it'll continue to hurt in the near future, but you'll eventually get over it." Remarked Pharaoh lightly as he poked Jean's cheek once more, though before he could retract his arm, Jean grabbed his hand and lightly bit his finger.

"Stop poking my cheek, Tut, and Thanks." Said Jean as she let Tut's hand go before resting her hand atop his forehead.

"Heh, yeah, yeah, you're welcome." Replied Pharaoh with a smirk, causing Jean to roll her eyes as she looked down at him on her lap, though someone, of course, had to ruin this friendly atmosphere.

"Hmm, are you sure you two are just friends? You both look far more intimate than just friends." Asked Bobby curiously as he looked at Jean and Pharaoh, his words garnering the attention of Colossus and Wolverine.

"Young love, a beautiful sight." Said Colossus with a sweet smile as he gazed at Pharaoh and Jean's interaction.

"Looks more like he's starting a harem to me." Remarked Wolverine with a raised eyebrow, though there was a slight smirk on his face.

Hearing those fools talk, I was about to say something denying his claims, but before I could, I was suddenly pushed off Jean's lap, falling face first with the ground.

"Hmph, we're just friends, Bobby; stop trying to make things weird between Tut and I." Declared Jean with a slight blush as she huffed in annoyance and folded her arms before looking away while Pharaoh lay before her feet.

'Haa, a friend wouldn't have pushed me off their lap.' Thought Pharaoh in annoyance as he didn't even bother moving and just lay there.

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With the Blackbird currently on its way to Westchester, carrying the X-Men, along with two extra people, back down on the ground, the sight where everything occurred, the park, was currently sectioned off and being investigated by Shield's special agents.

'Damaged lamp posts, bent basketball hoops, uprooted trees, and a destroyed swingset. Magento and the Brotherhood of Mutants were definitely here, though things seemed to have been resolved rather quickly given the extent of the damages.' Thought Clint Barton, A.K.A, Hawkeye, as he observed the surrounding park with his unique eyes while other secret agents got a more detailed look.

"Agent Barton, Director Fury is calling." Said a woman with a phone in hand as she quickly walked over to Hawkeye, who was observing everything quite far away from the park.

"Thanks, Luara." Said Hawkeye as he took the phone from Luara, though not before giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Director Fury, you called?" Asked Hawkeye respectfully as he turned around, ignoring the annoyed glare he got from Luara, who eventually walked away.

"Have you found anything, Barton?" Asked Fury through the phone with a solemn voice.

"Nothing that you'd find that useful, Sir, no. The Brotherhood of Mutants was definitely here, though I've gotten nothing that suggests the X-Men were involved, at least not yet. Surprisingly, the damages around the neighborhood were kept to a minimum, so if there was indeed a battle, it was over exceedingly quickly, or a full-on battle never erupted." Replied Barton as he walked around the edge of the park, searching at various angles.

"Hmm, keep me updated on the search; if you find anything, call me immediately. The awakening of an Omega Mutant is no laughing matter." Said Fury seriously, and without waiting for Barton to respond, he directly hung up the phone.

"Haa, I should not be out here; I'm way out of my element." Muttered Barton with a sigh as he stored the phone in his pocket before shaking his head.

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Hehe, Jean and Pharaoh sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-NG! Also, for those curious why there was no second chapter, you know the reason why; don't make me get ignorant and run y'all punk ass pockets, cause I will if I need to, don't test me.