Rebuilding Ties

Twenty five years after the destruction of Xavier's Institute-

Charles Xavier lay on the floor of the cave where he and the rest of the mutant race had taken refuge. Tossing and turning in his sleep. He was having that strange dream again. The dream where he had a different life. One before the near extinction of the world and everyone in it. Before the loss of his legs, before the Xavier Institute for gifted children...

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He was sitting in a lawn chair reading the latest about long lost tribes and civilizations in National Geographic while he kept a careful eye on a little girl- no- his young daughter, five year old Misty Christopher Gale Xavier, as she ran around in the mid day sun. Chasing butterflies again? He asked in a bemused tone, using the mental pathway he reserved only for those closest to him.

She stopped running and turned her head and looked over her little shoulder at him, noting that he was peeking over the top of his magazine at her while trying to act like he wasn't watching her.

Yeah. So? Spying again? The small child's voice shot back making him smile.

It isn't spying love. It's taking an active interest in what you do. It's called good parenting. Xavier said as he turned the page of his magazine and let his eyes scan the words on the page before he glanced up again. His eyes once again going to his daughter. She was the spitting image of her mother with her turquoise colored eyes and mid back length black hair. It was March, he thought to himself, meaning it had been just under a year since his wife had died in a car wreck.

Leaving him to raise the child alone.

In all honesty Misty was a most peculiar child. Nothing at all like he had expected from a union between two mutants. For starters his precious little darling was purely human. Yet at times she seemed to know things that even he with his mutant powers didn't know.

Like she had known about her mother- He thought with a small frown as he watched Misty resume her chase of a pretty black and blue butterfly. Her little arms reaching out as the insect fluttered around in circles trying to evade being caught by the child's tiny little hands as she spun, made a grab for it- missed then growled in irritation and ran faster. Obviously not willing to give up the chase just yet despite the fact that she had been chasing the butterfly for almost two in a half hours without a breather and was starting to wear down.

You're tiring. He said gently, distracting her for a moment as she leapt for the butterfly as it landed on a daisy- causing the insect to escape it's near capture easily as Misty went sprawling to the ground stomach first, taking out some of the flowers in the flower bed as he inwardly cringed at what he had done and quickly hid his face behind his magazine.

Stop. Distracting. Me. Misty's voice coiled through his head violently. Sensing an impending temper tantrum, he withdrew from her mind for the moment so that he could allow her a few minutes to calm her seething temper. Those were mom's flowers, Misty thought in irritation as she got up and dusted herself off and decided to check out the damage to the flower bed.

Glancing back over her shoulder again she made a huffing sound as she took stock of the damage's and almost fell to her knees in tears. The flowers! Oh the horror! It was a good thing her mom was dead otherwise she'd kill her for ruining her prize winning flowers.

Charles looked up again from his magazine just in time to see Misty trying to replant the flowers that had been ripped out of the ground. Her expression solemn. His poor little darling, seeing her like this broke his heart. Laying the magazine aside, he got up from his chair and walked down the three steps of the porch, leading to the yard and knelt down next to Misty and placed his hand on top of her little head and ruffled her dark hair.

She tipped her head back and looked up at him, her expression curious as he picked up a flower and shortened the stem then placed it behind her left ear and smiled at her and said. "There. You're as pretty as a picture."

Reaching up, Misty carefully felt for the flower then looked at him and said, "I remember mom used to put flowers behind my ear and say that whenever I'd get sad and start to cry."

"Yes. She always wanted to do whatever she could to make you smile. But you're a mite peculiar for a child. You never want toys. Or puppies or kittens. Why I don't believe you've ever even asked for a pony. Which is strange since when I was you're age I at least asked for a helicopter once or twice. But you- You just seemed to like the flowers your mother gave you the best..." He said as he looked at her and paused at the look on her face.

It wasn't exactly a friendly look. Nor was it an angry one.

It was the type of look you got from someone about to shiv you in the kidney without bothering to warn you first.

Uh-oh. Perhaps I said too much. Xavier thought as Misty said, "Ya know it isn't smart to tell your kid that you think she's weird, right." It wasn't a question. Merely an undeniable statement of fact that made him realize...

He'd just started world war three with his little imp.

And when going up against someone as intelligent as his daughter, one needed to know only two things. One) She was ruthless in her desire to destroy you. And two) She held absolutely nothing back.

He remembered how she had beaten him after declaring war on him twice before. One had been a food fight (cause she had been two in a half and loved throwing things with deadly accuracy) and the second time had been when he had caught her cutting the breaks on his new car and he had bowed to her in defeat while mentally making a note to take her for a drive in said car to teach her a lesson.

They'd wound up swimming once the car had gone off road but at least she no longer bothered touching his cars.

She had however switched over to using laxatives in his food and drinks, disabling the parental controls on the TV and ordering nothing but porn channels, and stealing his new credit cards and buying things that he didn't even know about until he got the bill.