fandomhigh | Library, Sunday 08/05

Well, last he'd heard from home, the Avengers had kind of kidnapped the mutant messiah, so maybe Evan was a little on the fence about them. Kind of.

"I haven't heard of any of those people," he admitted, tilting his head a little. "But they do sound like they're kind of the same idea, at least. Our worlds sound actually pretty similar, for all that's different between them, don't they?"

Edited 2012-08-05 18:02 (UTC)

"I have not spent much time in my mother's world," Raven said, "but in ways they do seem very similar." Except in her Earth those born with extraordinary gifts weren't singled out to be reviled, something she'd always hate about Jono's world and those like it.

"My world also has the Teen Titans, which I am told I am part of in some dimensions," she said. "That is not to be my path, but it pleases me to know that other Ravens are heroes."

"That must be nice, yeah." Evan was smiling again, though it seemed a little wan. He was happy for her. He was.

But he'd never heard of any realities where he'd been anything but a psychotic mass-murderer with a god complex.

"I wonder if the Teen Titans are anything like the Young Avengers."

"The Titans seem to be made up of many protegees of older heroes, so yes, if that is what the Young Avengers are," Raven said.

She gave Evan a look, picking up on his feelings. "There are as many realities where...I am not a hero," she said softly. "I am anything but. But in the end, none of them, good or bad, matter. The decisions we make and the actions we take here are what is important."

"I know it's what we do that really matters," Evan murmured. "There are realities out there where some of my biggest heroes are the worst supervillains that ever lived, so it isn't like it's anything new."

But nobody hunted, say, Wolverine or Iceman in Evan's reality because of the things done by alternate versions of them in another.

"Everybody did some pretty terrible things in the other timeline," he added. "People on both sides hurt people, and even people who didn't fight were just sitting back and... and accepting that evil as normal and not doing anything about it. And then it was over and now we're all back to normal, and when I listen to the radio it's all apologies and forgiveness. People are forgiving each other for all of that, people who were hurt or worse, and they're understanding that it wasn't anybody's fault but that villain's and the summer is almost over and I want to stay here."

Breathe, Evan.

Raven went for another hug then, feeling like he needed it.

"Will it be your Uncle Cluster's decision if you can stay?" she said when she eased back. "We can convince him. Principal Winchester can speak to him, or perhaps Professor Skywalker. He is Dean of Students now and very persuasive. If you want to stay here, Evan, we will find a way."

"If Uncle Cluster finds out about last week, he'd probably want me taken out of here early," Evan mumbled. "I talked to him yesterday but I made sure it was really short. He wanted to know why I didn't check in with him last week, and I just told him that I got really wrapped up in studying, so he told me to go outside and socialize or something."

Actually, he'd told Evan to go and meet some girls and lose his virginity or something productive, but Evan had learned how to paraphrase, over the years.

"I didn't like lying to him like that."

"I do not like lying, either," Raven said. She was awfully good at leaving out details, though, but it did make her feel guilty when she did that.

"You truly think he will react badly if he were to learn what happened, even if it were clear it was a one time incident that will not happen again?" she said. "In general I believe honesty is best, but...if you think he will make a rash decision, born out his concern for you, and seek to remove you from the island, perhaps it is best he not know for now. You can tell him at some future time when he sees how well you are doing here."

"I guess he'd probably think that a school where everyone hates me and none of the teachers there will tell me why is a lesser evil than a school where I could spend a week brainwashed with no warning at all," Evan sighed, giving her another squeeze. She was a good hugger, there was no doubt about that. "If it was just a one-time thing, maybe it would be okay. But Natalie told me yesterday that big scary things like that do happen. And... I mean, it all turns out okay in the end, but what if next time it doesn't?"

Considering some of the things that Evan was capable of, at least physically, and what he was capable of growing into, he could kind of respect why Uncle Cluster left him under the care of the X-Men in the first place.

"Events so extreme are not common," Raven said. "There are outside forces that seek to invade Fandom from time to time, and things that may cause our classmates to not be in entire control of their own minds, but to have everyone so drastically changed -- that is rare. But Fandom has always prevailed."

She worried at her lip, wishing she knew a solution that would make everyone happy. She didn't want Evan to go back to a school where he could be bullied. "As I said, Principal Winchester and Professor Skywalker must have had dealings with this type of situation before," she said. "It is part of their jobs to deal with worried parents and guardians. It might be wise to approach them for advice. If you tell them you wish to stay, they will help you with your uncle."

Evan nodded a little, leaning back again with a small sigh.

"Maybe I can get one of them to... to write him a letter, or something, and hopefully he'll have time to read it."

That was a good solution, right? It was better than anything else he'd come up with so far, at least. Especially since Evan could screen a letter before sending it to his uncle. He knew Uncle Cluster pretty well, after all. The Principal and the Dean, on the other hand? He'd never met either of them.

"I guess so long as things are still hectic at the Jean Grey School, at least the teachers there won't be in any hurry to bring me back."

"Talk to them," Raven encouraged. "I am sure they have dealt with this kind of situation before, and as I said, counseling students in such matters is part of their jobs."

She let a small smile play across her face. "It is not the same situation, but Professor Skywalker has stood up to my father. I am certain he can handle your uncle. Perhaps he will suggest your uncle visit ahead of Parent's Weekend, just to see how well you are doing here. If it is soon, maybe I can even meet him and tell him of my experiences to persuade him."

She'd leave out turning evil and dying.

"Maybe," Evan mused. "I don't really want to bother anybody, either."

A beat.

"So they do have days where parents or guardians get to visit? Maybe I could convince Uncle Cluster to let me stay at least that long, so that he can see the island for himself?"

And if Fantomex could make it to the island around all the being put on trial for murdering an innocent child in cold blood, and having his face ripped off by a man with no skin, that would be great! Oh, the things it was better for Evan to never learn.

Edited 2012-08-05 22:09 (UTC)

If Raven knew that about Uncle Cluster she'd be busy arranging to kidnap Evan and keep him on the island whether Fantomex agreed or not.

"I visit Professor Skywalker to speak of my troubles all the time," she said. "You will not be bothering him." It might even be refreshing to have someone who wasn't a teenage girl coming to him for help for a change!

"And yes, it is usually in the fall when families are invited to come to the island for a weekend," she said. "I do not know the exact date, but the school will send out a notice when the time is near."

Well, Evan was cloned from the blood of the tiny Apocalypse that Fantomex shot...

"I might have to stop in to talk to him," Evan decided. "I mean, this isn't even the first time you've mentioned him. I'm starting to get the impression that he's a pretty great guy."

Call it a hunch.

"Especially since so much of what happened last week was because he wasn't around, right?"

Raven's expression darkened for a moment. "Yes," she said. "I believe he was killed before I arrived on the island. So he was not there to guide me and teach me how to shield myself from emotions, and it seems once I was put in detention, I went mad from all the pain and suffering around me." Those memories were very hazy, and she preferred it that way.

She found a smile again. "He is a wonderful teacher, and has helped me so much during my time here."

Evan tried to think about how he might have turned out if his uncle hadn't been around to train him with his powers when he found out he had them at all of eleven years of age. Eye beams and energy blasts and shapeshifting... It was a lot for a little kid to handle, all in one go without any experienced direction. If it had been something like Raven's empathy, when surrounded by the crazy people down in detention, he probably wouldn't have made it, either.

He nodded a little.

"Then I'll definitely make time to talk to him," he decided. "If he's done this much good for you, then he has to be a good person."

"Good," Raven said, leaning back against the desk.

"Aside from last week, how have you been?" she asked. "It has been awhile since we have spoken. I hope all has been going well."

"I've been kind of keeping my head down," Evan admitted, scuffing a toe against the floor. "I met Loki a while back, though. It sounds like he was bullied out of his home, too. So... I guess here seems like a popular place to be if you have a history you don't want to live up to, or... something."

"I suppose I cannot argue with that," Raven said. She hadn't exactly been bullied in Azarath, but she had hardly been loved, either.

"I do not know Loki, but he is a good friend of my friend Cassidy," she said. "I think I told you that before. Cassidy is from the same world as Karla and will be a Queen like her. She works in the library on Saturdays. I think you two would be good friends." Don't play matchmaker, Raven.

"Anybody who likes books is okay in my... uh... book." Well, that statement kind of fell short. Evan blushed a little, a pink flush coloring his cheeks quite obviously. "Maybe I will stop by to visit her, too. My uncle keeps telling me to get out and meet," girls, "people while I'm here, after all."

Raven managed not to giggle at how flustered Evan seemed. Barely.

"You should," she said. "She would welcome the company as much as I do. She is also often in the gardens."

"There are gardens?"

HE WAS A VERY SHELTERED BOY, OKAY? There was important studying to be done! Studying!

"Um... I mean, oh! The gardens! Those are... I'll..." Yeah, more blushing. "Maybe I'll just come into the library on Saturday."

Now Raven couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Why are you blushing?" she teased.

"I'm not," protested Evan. Feebly. While blushing a little more. "I'm just..."

Pink. Very pink.

"I need to get out of my room more."

The pink was adorable.

"This is true," Raven said. "I spent much of my time my first few weeks here in my room, but once I began to venture out, I began to make some very dear friends. I hope you will do the same."

"I'll try," Evan replied, his blush fading a little as he smiled up at her. "People here have been really nice. I'm not entirely sure what I'm hiding from, any more."

Well, except for maybe Jono, in town, like Raven had warned him away from. Everyone else seemed to be taking his presence here pretty well.

"I hid my heritage from all but a few for a very long time," Raven said with a nod. "And when I finally stopped doing so...it did not matter. There are some who have had bad experiences with demons in their worlds who may regard me with suspicion at first, but they soon learn I mean them no harm. Despite its own dangers, Fandom really is a safe place for those like us to grow and learn."

"I don't really get the option of hiding," Evan noted, tilting his head a little, "but I don't really want to hide anyhow. My parents raised me to be a good person, no matter who I might look like. That's what I want to show people. And I think people here are actually going to give me the chance to."

That meant the world to him. After all, it had only been just a few months since he'd been ripped away from his home and thrown into something that looked fairly reminiscent of the mouth of Hell itself, before being shuttled off to school.

Library, Sunday 08/05

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