Gone For Good, open

[Frost]

A young man stood on the driveway, a backpack on his back, and taking care of his bike. He was checking the fuel, and making sure his tires had enough air in them. Sitting on his bike, he went to start up his bike, but came to a halt, slowly getting off. Turning around, he stared at the very mansion he had called home for so many years. Hell, he practically grew up here, but that wasn't important now. What was important, making the choice that would allow him to be himself. He had many memories here, several that were good, and several that were bad. The humans hated them, even though they tried to save and protect them.

Now that I think about it, I'm not going to miss this place.

Even though he was determined to leave, something kept him there, something he knew would get to him anyways. He waited, wondering what would happen, wondering if he could go through with what he wanted. He had experience walking out on people, and this was no different. Jean would probably come to stop him, and Jubilee would probably be even angrier at him, and then there was Kitty. He had friends here, though within a matter of moments, they were all going to turn into his enemies. Closing his eyes, Frost began to think, imagining what it would be like to fight the people he once called his family.

[Jubilee]

Jubilee charged out of the mansion, having been in the library and hearing a motorcycle outside. Usually, only Remy or Logan had bikes, so hearing one that she didn't quite recognize grabbed her attention. She had the school copy of The Art of War with her. Seeing that it was Frost, she steeled herself. Sun Tzu's wisdom wasn't dead yet. And it wasn't just in a real battle either. A battle of the heart was just as potent.

Of course, she wanted to show him, to prove to him that the Phoenix would be the least of his worries. It wouldn't take much either. One finger, pointed the right way, could puncture the gas tank and blow up the bike. Or using both her hands, she could literally blow the wheels away, never mind what she could do to those tires. She stood in the doorway as a breeze caught, pulling her hair and jacket to the side. She stared at him, as coldly as she could manage.

"Exactly what do you think you're doing, Tom?"

[Frost]

"Why don't you come with me, we both know this mansion is only holding you back Jubilee. You were overlooked as a Potential, and the people here treat you like a kid." He spoke quietly, more like he was pleading her to come with him.

Sure, he had broken up with her, but his reasoning wasn't becasue he didn't like her. Hell, he still had feelings for her, he just had to put them to the side, especially with where he was going. He got off his bike, getting the funny feeling he wouldn't have it much longer. He could tell she was angry, and he couldn't really blame her. He just closed his eyes, refusing to just walk away from her a second time. Something needed to happen, something that either made or broke them, and Frost got the feeling it would be the latter of the two. He just stood there, staring at her, his stare gentle against her cold one.

He knew Jubilee couldn't know where he was going, he hadn't told anyone. Well, that wasn't entirely true, but that wasn't important right now. He had something he needed to do, and that was join where he belonged. Sure, the people there were all rough and for mutant superiority, but that was part of the reason he was leaving. He was tired of being pushed around by the humans, and he had snapped, for lack of better terms, and wanted nothing more than to force their acceptance. He just stood there, his gaze never leaving Jubilation, though he rather hoped someone would come and distract her.

[Jubilee]

"Not even Blue spoke to me like that, Tom. No one here is holding me back from being who I want to be. Yes, I felt that I deserved to be a Potential. But I don't need it. I'm better off as part of the team rather than leading. I don't like leading and I'm not good at it, so I don't have to do it. It's that simple. No one is holding anyone back here, Frost. The only thing that holds you back is the fact that you just won't TELL me what's wrong, for pete's sake! Just talk to me, Thomas. Please. I need you, okay? I... I wasn't wrong when I called you Neo, in your office. For me, you are The One. Are you really going to abandon me?"

She looked at him with tears in her eyes. She wanted to follow him. But she'd give up a boyfriend rather than a family and a home. She could find another boyfriend. Would it be easy? No. But she'd lost people before. She could do it again. He wasn't going to make her snap. Not here, not now, not today.

Her gloved hand wrapped around the banister hard enough to stretch the glove over her knuckles. She wanted to walk up and punch him.

"Where are you going, anyway? Canada, like Logan? New Orleans like Remy? What answers do you want to find, Frost?"

Her eyes stared out at him, wide and wet and full to the brim of pain.

[Prophet]

"I see this time I wasn't wrong." The voice that spoke from the driveway was soft, and only just audible in the silent tension that had stretched between the two. Dasha said nothing to Jubilee... it wasn't her place. And she'd leave them alone if they wanted her to. But like the night that Tom had been in the med lab, she would never have forgiven herself if she'd just stayed in her room as he made the prophecy come true.

Hazel eyes gazed at Tom in silence... her only real friend she'd had in years. There was no denying the pain he'd see in them, the piercing accusation she couldn't hide. Dariyah was tired of watching people she cared about walk away from her. Disappearing from her life, without a care or thought. Even worse... when they gave her some bullshit about needing to do what they needed to do. As if they didn't have a choice. Prophet knew better. "You have a choice, Tom." She continued, her sharp gaze digging deep into his. "You always have a choice." Maybe he felt he had no future here. Dasha could touch his arm and tell him otherwise. It would all depend on the choice he made. No, he didn't have to stay. But he sure as hell didn't have to leave.

[Frost]

"You know what, you're right Jubes. As for where I'm going, no one place in particular." He didn't want her to know until he was gone, but that wasn't looking like an option.

Suddenly a voice cut through the silence that now existed. It was Dariyah, and it would seem that she saw this. She spoke about choices, though Tom felt he didn't have one. He had killed an entire bar, though it was to live, it was still wrong. He knew going to the Brotherhood would involve more killing, but there, the guilt wouldn't exist, would it? He just looked down at the ground, his bike helmet falling from his hands.

"I killed an entire bar because Cain told them I was a mutant. I had to survive, and that was the only way that ensured I left alive. I can't stay, not after that." His voice conveyed pain, though it lacked true sorow for what happened.

He didn't enjoy the fact that he killed, but he did what he had to. It was either their lives, or it was his own that was destined to fade that day. He had forgotten Wolverine's past, how he had killed, but here he was. Heck, even Remy was once a thief, though now he seemed to be alright. Frost wasn't thinking, and it started to show.

[Jean Grey]

Jean still hadn't spoken to Tom since everything happened; though whether that was a conscious decision or not, even she didn't know. Maybe she was embarrassed, or perhaps ashamed, maybe both. The events of that Danger Room session was now included in the nightmares that constantly plagued her, but that wasn't something she would readily admit.

Then there was that conversation with Jubilee only recently. Jean took in a deep breath of fresh air as she walked out onto the balcony, allowing a small sigh to escape as green hues looked up into the sun. It relaxed her so much that she didn't even hear Frost's motorcycle in the driveway, yet something else managed to pierce through her thoughts.

Now that I think about it, I'm not going to miss this place.

"Tom?" The telepath looked down towards the driveway to see not only Tom, but Jubilee and Dariyah were there as well and she could sense the mix of emotions; the most conflicted coming from Tom. She usually wasn't one to invade the privacy of one's mind, but given the circumstances she didn't feel there was really any other choice. Being too far away to actually hear what he was saying to his friend and former girlfriend; she instead witnessed what happened in the bar.

Immediately Logan came to mind, having entered his mind briefly once before, and from that experience she knew that one never truly got past killing someone. But there was something else that experience proved true- something she already knew.

"Running away from your family and from those who love you...is the worst thing you can do." The telepathic message ended when Jean landed a few steps behind Jubilee, obviously hesitant to be too close to Tom after their last encounter. Finally able to at least meet his eyes, the sadness was clear. "I almost killed you Tom...I lost control for one second...and I almost killed you. I know what you're feeling...We all do." She told him that knowing that they all probably did things that caused them to reconsider their place at the institute at one point or the other. Though the latter was probably more true for Jean because of her abilities.

[Jubilee]

Jubilation Lee had heard a lot of stupid things around here. She'd also heard a lot of crazy things. And yet, that which was emerging from her lover's mouth was now beginning to take the cake. She dropped the book on the ground, her eyebrows both raised in shock at what he said. With Jean behind her and Dasha in front of her, she strode up to Tom and spoke as softly as she could, her voice harder than it had ever been. It wasn't a comforting softness, but one that often heralded an explosion of fireworks.

She wasn't exactly thinking clearly and it came out in what she said to him. But she said what she was thinking, maybe a little bit more crudely than what would have happened if she engaged the whole 'brain/mouth filter' thing.

"You want to run away because you killed someone? And you did it to save your life?! You have a home here. You accepted that I killed! It was the only thing on my mind, when the Purifiers attacked Muir Island. Kitty saved my life. But you saved my heart. Dammit, shit happens! You're a fighter. You're an X-Man. Like it or not, you are an X-Man, Tom. And that means occasionally we have to do things we hate. Maybe, maybe there was something else you could have done. You were manipulated by the Juggernaut, of all people. This is your home. And we are your family. And... and I love you! I forgive you. And I know that everyone here will forgive you. This will always be your home. Everyone here will always be your family."

It was a powerful statement from the one who'd always been worried about what home meant. If she could say that to him, then she believed it with every fiber of her being. As much as she believed she loved him, she knew he belonged here and that this was his home. She didn't even think of Wolverine or any of the others right now.

[Prophet]

Jean joined them... which Dariyah found to be somewhat fitting. Of course... Tom was most likely feeling rather ganged up on at the moment... which was why Dasha held back as Jean and Jubilee talked to him. They were right... both of them. And for a moment Dasha was content to remain silent, letting those who knew him best do the talking. But then she remembered... and she couldn't stay silent any more. "Tom... You were attacked. You were set up... and you were attacked. You did what you had to in order to survive. And you're going to join the very people that almost got you killed in the first place? The one who put you in that position needlessly?"

She paused as she stepped forward, her hand reaching out to lightly touch his arm. "I'm not going to lie Tom. It never goes away. The moment you take another life will haunt you until the moment that someone takes yours. Going to the Brotherhood is not the answer to your question. Killing more is not the way to forget the people that you've killed." There was something else... something he wasn't telling them. She stood there in renewed silence, allowing him a chance to respond to them. Her hazel eyes searched his imploringly, her palm resting on the bare skin of his arm. There was something more...

She barely managed to conceal the small intake of air, the widening of her eyes. And it took a moment of sheer will power to lower her hand away from him slowly, rather than jerking it back in the shock of the answer she'd been looking for. "I'll be right back. Don't go yet." She told him quietly, not really caring if the others heard or not. Turning, she went back inside, very nearly running as she frantically searched the nearest rooms. Where the hell was a pen and paper when you needed them? She'd been about to give up and go up to her rooms to find it when she opened the last drawer in the parlor. Finally! Now, how should she say this...?

[Frost]

"You think I don't realize I was set-up? I know you almost killed me Jean, and I know you killed people Jubes, but it's easier to accept someone else than yourself. I just, I can't face the professor or the X-Men, I just can't." Desperation was in his voice, and his thoughts were racing.

If Jean got the notion to eavesdrop, she'd find his mind was in a chaotic mess. Nothing mad sense, and nothing was clear, and it would probably sound like a buzz more than actual thoughts. He wasn't thinking, nor could he think, his mind was scrambled. Several things played out in the past week or two. First, he slept with Jubes, then he got in a sparring session with Jean, which almost resulted in losing his life. Then he broke up with Jubes and went to Texas, for God knows what reason, where he meet Cain Marko. He got in a fight and almost died there, and barely got out alive. Then he met Kitty Pryde, and a semi-friendship had been formed. Now he was leaving the mansion, and his heart was just, locked away.

Dasha left, and deciding he'd listen, he just stayed there until she came back. His attention now rested on both Jean and Jubilee, and he began to imagine what would happen next. None of them seemed to want him to leave, most of all Jubilee. He knew it was probably harder on her, considering no more than two weeks ago, they had slept together. Sighing, he just stood there, wondering if the Professory would even come and try to stop him. Part of him wanted to just sprout wings and fly off, the other part wanting to just stay here and remain in his room. Even if the X-Men extended an invite to him, he would decline them, finding himself not worthy of the team.

[Jean Grey]

Jean didn't move from where she was even as Jubilee and Dasha advanced. The last thing anyone needed when they were confused was to be ambushed, and although that was probably what this felt like at the moment, for all of them to be surrounding him would probably cause him to shift into his Dragoon form and fly off somewhere. She didn't want that.

The buzz of his thoughts seemed to flow into her mind without the conscious decision on her part to read his thoughts, only to reveal what she could already tell. "You're scared...and confused; welcome to the club...But running away to the...." She couldn't even finish her telepathic message because of the sheer thought of him actually joining Magneto's side. Was it his way of punishing himself?

"In the infirmary, you said that you forgave me. Was that true?" Her eyes were on Tom as the question was asked, hoping that wherever Dasha went she'd be back soon to help keep Frost with the X-Men. Sure she could keep him there herself by using her powers, but really the last thing this situation needed was force. He would have to want stay, or there would be nothing preventing him from attempting to leave again.

[Jubilee]

Jubilee looked at him, her lips narrow as she removed her gloves, very slowly, and swallowed hard. She began to wring her hands slowly, staring into his eyes. He couldn't see the sweat on her palms, but probably just from her body language he could tell it was there. She glanced down at her nails every so often, chewed into the middle of next week with worry for him.

She was speaking slowly, each word almost having a pause between itself and the next. "Tom, I want you to understand, I'm not going to do this because I want to hurt you. I'm doing this because you're acting like a total dork. The Professor is the last person in the world you should be afraid of facing - because you're here, and that means he already knows what happened. If he had that much of a problem with what you had to do...he'd be sitting on the steps there telling you to leave. I will go with you, and hold your hand, if you need me to. Because I will never stop caring about you. And I don't plan to stop loving you. So, understand, I'm doing this out of love."

With that, she lowered her hands with a certain inevitability and sighed, a single ball of plasma escaping both of her middle fingers, punching through the sidewalls of his bike tires. When she was done, she gently extended a hand towards him, for him to take. She'd been careful not to fry any of the electrical systems on it - yet.

"When this is over, we'll laugh. And you'll get to see me in a tank top and daisy dukes replacing your bike tire. Now come on, let's get inside, huh?"

[Prophet]

It took her a bit longer than she would have liked to write the note - which turned out to be a letter of good size. But once she started writing, one word came after another, followed by another, until she wasn't even aware of where all this was coming from. When at last she finished, she folded it quickly on her way back outside, and was grateful to see that he hadn't left yet. She made it to the doorway just in time to see Jubilee blow out the tires on his bike, and she couldn't help but feel a sharp pang of frustration. Of course Dasha wanted him to stay. But he had to want to stay as well. Forcing him wouldn't do a damn thing. And of all people... Jubilee should know that taking away his bike wouldn't keep him here.

Moving past the younger girl, Dariyah moved up to Tom once more, her hand slipping into his and transferring the piece of paper. "Read it when you're alone, wherever that may be... and promise that you'll trust me." Her gaze locked onto his, waiting for an acknowledgement or response from him before releasing his hand, leaving him with the letter. A small step back, to give him room, and there she stood. Watching him in renewed silence, praying that he would be alright. Whatever path he chose...

[Frost]

"Yes Jean, I meant it. I really do forgive you." He spoke quietly, his attention moving over to Jubes as she spoke.

He knew this wouldn't end well, and he knew she was right. He already knew the Professor understood that he regretted the lives he had taken, but he also was too frustrated with himself to live here. He needed to get out and away, and suddenly Jubes did something to piss him off even further. His tires were destroyed, and he did everything he could to prevent his anger from taking over. He looked at her, and choose to not reply at all. True, she deserved a response, but he was too angry to give one.

Suddenly Dasha returned, and she took his hand. At first he thought she'd plead with him to return, but he felt something in his hand. Wrapping his hand around the piece of paper, he put it in his pocket, and then simply nodded to her in reply. He'd read her note, she deserved that much. She had been there for him, and even now, she was here for him. He felt bad leaving, but he couldn't stay any longer, at least not until he was over this anger that flowed over him. He turned his back to the women, and headed out of the mansion grounds, though come to a halt and turned his head around.

"Trust me, that's all I ask, trust me." He spoke quietly, continuing his trip afterwards.

Suddenly his wings spread, and he flew off. His destination was unknown, but he knew of only 2 people in the mansion that could easily find him. The Professor could track him with Cerebro, and Jean could easily find him. With her advanced psychic control, she could probably find him, considering his new home wasn't that far away from the mansion. Before this departure, he had set-up his own apartment, so that he had a place to crash when he wasn't working for the Brotherhood, but things had changed now. He knew the Juggernaut would probably kill him, but he had to sort things out first, before making up his mind. He had 'joined' based off of a whim, and that was never a tolerable thing to do.

[Exit Frost]

(Don't end it at this, I'd love to see their reactions, please?)

[Jean Grey]

An uncertain Jean stood where she was looking at Jubilee as she interacted with Frost. Though something told her that they weren't going to get their happy ending; not today. A part of her wanted Dasha to take her time getting back, knowing that it was probably the only thing keeping Tom with them, but there was also another part of he that felt that maybe he needed to do this.

Many of them, even she, had left the mansion to put things into perspective, but in the end always returned. Though she questioned him choosing the brotherhood as the place to do that, it was ultimately his choice. His quiet words caused her to look at him in silence, choosing to respond telepathically instead.

"For you to do something like that...it just proves how big your heart is. You need to forgive yourself."

The sound of his tires blowing out was what caused her to look away and towards his bike, knowing that it probably wasn't the best thing Jubes could have done. Then Dasha returned and gave him a note? She wasn't sure, but as expected he turned to leave. She turned away seconds after he did, pausing when he spoke. When he flew off, Jean used her powers to levitate up to her balcony. And as she did, she telepathically said, "Just don't forget who you are, Tom. Be safe," knowing he'd be able to hear her.

Jean could feel that her eyes were heavy, so it was no surprise that once she was in her room, the doors closed behind her.

[Exit Jean]