[Not trying that beginning-everything-with-X again for another 50-100 chapters, so I'll get a new theme.]

Location: X-Mansion, New York

Month of October, Decade of the 80s

* * *

Wally got up to do his usual morning warm-up run, just to burn some of those calories.

He buzzed through the levels of the mansion he'd been living in for about 4 months now, checking to make sure everyone was doing all right.

His wife, Shine, was already up, reading, since she hardly got any time during the day now to study. She waved at him as he checked in that room.

Then he buzzed past the kids' doors.

There were about 12 of them at the mansion. Nine of them were from the sewers, now living up top, the Morlocks. They all looked inhuman and spoke like they'd not been educated at all...though that had been changing. But they were the same as other kids in any other measurable way...and sometimes were bickering first thing in the morning.

The older kids, Ryan Flemmings, Kevin MacTaggert, and Jubilee--he'd never heard her last name--didn't really fight, but they were slow to get up, as teens usually were.

The two boys had only been there for a couple months, but already it felt like forever.

Satisfied, Wally also noticed that the door to Warren Worthington's (or Angel's) room was open, meaning he'd probably gone for a morning fly. Those wings got cramped after all night.

Heading down, Wally found the actual permanent residents of the house, mostly eating breakfast or, in Jean's case, cooking it.

But Hank was in his lab and the Professor in his study.

"Mornin', Wally," Rogue said, as he buzzed in to grab his coffee. Jean just left it out for him now. She'd gotten used to it.

"Morning," Wally said, waving.

Boy, it was hard to believe it had been two months since all these visitors had moved in and just four since he'd arrived with Shine.

It had been ups and downs for those first two months, but they'd plateaued after that. Nothing much had happened during September and all of October up till this week, which was the last week in it.

But that was okay. Wally had had enough death-defying experiences already in this world to last him a while, he thought. Things were a little monotonous, at times, for a superhero like him, but also it was good for everyone to get a break.

Shine would say that the danger was not over yet. She could sense it, like electricity in the air.

Storm tended to agree with her, but they enjoyed the respite nonetheless.

At least things settling down for a while had helped Gambit finally get used to them, Wally thought. It might have to do with him and Rogue finally having a little chat that they wouldn't give in detail to anyone but had obviously cleared the air. Gambit had been much less on edge since then, and, while he was distant from the two DJs still, he had stopped being rude to them.

And even Scott had given up on trying to make them act like X-men and had mostly left them alone to do their thing. They hadn't been going on missions with the team much. Wally would help with the odd recovery and disaster relief here and there, but, as usual, he avoided the spotlight while off his superhero job.

Shine's teaching had been taking up all her time that she wasn't using to rest or revisit books. Or to hang with the X-men themselves.

She said the students were making excellent progress, getting it.

The other X-men had had to step up and do some teaching also, at least Xavier and Hank had. Storm did her best to help when she could.

Right now the biggest excitement on the horizon was the conference for mutants that their current church, The Way, was putting on with the help of a bunch of other congregations across the country, some even in other countries. It was next month... Talk about terrifying...so many people. They were already getting heat for it from people who heard about it or saw the website they'd set up for it...and even in some small newspapers.

But at least no one from the house had been attacked for it so far. They were very careful. The police were on standby for The Way, since it had been burned down once already, and no attempt on it had gotten very far... By now, the congregation was getting used to it.

Some had left because they were scared for their kids, but at least Jubilee's new best friend Trinity and her family had stuck around. It would have been rough on the kid otherwise.

Trinity came over twice a week at least to hang out, and often she was coaching the younger kids on how to play soccer. They'd become obsessed with the game after she'd showed them some maneuvers one time, and wanted to know how to actually play. Trinity was quite good at it herself, and her old skills had come back to her with practice. The Professor had even got them some nets and more official equipment to make it easier.

Wally thought about it, and he figured things were going pretty well--a little too well to last, he knew, but he was grateful. This place felt like home now.

Even Morph, who'd been going through a rough time, was starting to do better. He was hard to keep down. His alter ego was not bothering him much anymore, and he seemed to have also forgot that unfortunate...well...incident with Mystique when she'd been staying with them.

Wally frowned. That was the one failure here that still bugged him and Shine. The woman clearly needed help, but she'd gone, two months ago, and they had heard absolutely nothing from her or about her.

And perhaps, coincidentally, Sabretooth had never come back, as he was supposed to do, in search of answers.

Shine said she thought it was connected. Wally hoped not. That seemed like a bad match up.

After he finished his run, he came in for breakfast, and by now Shine was there and so was just about everyone else who hadn't eaten already.

Logan was still hanging around, drinking his coffee...and, for a wonder, actually studying like he was supposed to be doing every day.

"Mr. Wally!" the kids called. "Pick us up!"

This happened every day. They wanted him to run them around.

"After breakfast," Wally said.

"No, then it makes us sick," they said.

"Yeah, so we wait till way after," Wally said.

"Then you'll forget about it," they protested.

"Just remind me." Wally sat down.

"How is the horizon today?" Storm asked, humorously, since she attributed Wally's patrol to somehow looking out for bad weather...or maybe it was a village expression of hers.

"Clear skies," Wally said. "Things are almost too quiet, aren't they?"

"Don't say that. You'll jinx it," Shine said.

"No such thing," Wally said.

"Yeah, well, God has way of proving us wrong when we get too complacent," she said.

"Not very cheerful today, are ya?" Logan said flatly.

"I'm sorry," Shine said, looking up. "I had a dream...something about trouble... Perhaps it's just from all the counseling and teaching, but I always wonder a little afterwards."

"My culture takes dreams very seriously," Storm remarked. "But I am no good at discerning them."

"You know, it's been great just living day to day the same," Shine said, "minus the minor mishaps here and there...but I am sure our mission cannot run so smoothly for long. I never thought a break this long would happen... Makes me wonder how much the heat will crank up when it does."

"Didn't you teach us just the other day not to worry?" Storm said. "We'll face it when it happens."

"I know," Shine said. "You see how much I still need my own teaching? Good thing I have mature students like you to remind me."

"And me," Wally said.

"Yes, when you're not eating," Shine joked.

Wally wolfed down some more food. "Well, I multi-task...but I've been thinking about it too.... Still, there's the conference. That'll shake things up, won't it?"

"It is a little strange that more trouble hasn't started because of that?" Logan said. "A few incidents here and there is nothin'."

"Should we really complain?" Morph said.

"Makes me feel like somethin' big is comin'," Logan sniffed.

"Don't scare the children, Logan," Jean scowled.

Some of them were looking at him nervously.

Logan was silent.

"If Trinity gets permission to come to that conference, can she stay with us?" Jubilee spoke up. "Hotels are expensive, so..."

"I suppose if we decide to do that, she can," Shine said. "We could just portal there and back to save money, but if it goes late, and they often do, we might not be able to just disappear without people noticing, so perhaps.... We might get rooms provided anyway, but I don't think we can bring this many guests."

"We'll managed if we have to," Storm said. "I am still not sure about speaking, however... I know the public knows us already, as the X-men, but will they like knowing us as even more than that?"

"Mike said it was optional," Shine reminded her. "You can back out if you're not sure. It would just mean so much more if actual mutants were willing to put themselves out there. And not just Kurt...though he's great, but ones from all kinds of backgrounds and walks of life. You guys don't realize how amazing your stories are, yet, but people will love them."

Logan sniffed. He'd said no already.

Only Storm and Rogue were even considering it, other than Kurt, but both of them were nervous about it.

"I know," Storm said. "But it is so contrary to what we all do."

"How many mutants do you think will come?" Ryan asked. "I mean...ones like us?"

"Could be hundreds, if they can get there," Scott said. "Which will be a problem if there's trouble."

He frowned.

"Which is why it's so nice of you to volunteer to be there to do damage control," Wally said cheerfully. 

"I knew you all wouldn't do it, so someone has to be responsible," Scott said.

They rolled their eyes. Same old Scott.

"Why are we rehashin' all this now?" Rogue asked, sipping some orange juice. "We all know this already."

"We're doing exposition," Wally said, joking.

"Meta, Wally, Meta," Shine said. "I guess going over it again just feels productive...even if it's not."

"Yeah, well, ya can't keep rethinkin' it all," Rogue said. "What'll happen'll happen, Sugar. And at least we ain't got any wars or rallies or evil maniacs on the scene right now. Things could be a lot worse."

"It's the lack of that that make me feel like it's just waiting," Scott said. "When was the last time we went 2 months without some kind of crisis? I think only before the team went public. For example, not hearing anything from Sinister in all this time. He usually is plotting revenge."

"Are we sure he's still around?" Wally said.

"He's immortal," Scott said.

"Is he though?" Shine said carelessly, taking a bite of pancakes.

"And no aliens," Scott said, "other than the two of you, that is. And nothing from the anti-human mutant groups or the FOH. It's too good to last."

"Maybe we get this paranoia from you," Shine said dryly.

"Who started this conversation?" Scott shot back.

"I've been listening to you for four months," Shine said. "It's probably rubbed off on me."

"Please, don't start with that," Jean said, sitting down finally. "By the way, we're low on eggs...and everything else...again. Does anyone want to volunteer to go shopping?"

"I told you if you'd get it delivered right here, it'd be easier," Wally said. "A lot of schools do that."

"The less people who know about us the better," Scott said. "We can tote it here ourselves. We have a minivan."

A new purchase, since they had all these kids here now.

"We need a bread truck," Wally said dryly.

"I can go," Rogue said. "Ain't got nothin' else to do. Anyone anxious ta help?"

"I'd go, but we have a lot to cover today," Shine said.

"I can help," Wally said. "And I bet my buddy Logan will too. You know, since he doesn't do lessons or housework."

"I ain't a maid or a babysitter," Logan snapped.

"Thanks for being such a good sport about it," Shine said. "Knew we could count on you."

Logan huffed but didn't argue.

Storm smiled. "We may have a few non-edible items we need also. We should take inventory."

"I need shoes," Billy said.

"Could we come and visit the comic book store?" Ryan asked. "I'll do my assignments later, okay?"

"As a home-schooler, I am fine with this," Shine said, "but you'll have to get Hank and the Professor to let you switch it up also."

But they were okay with it, so the motley mix of adults and teens went on their merry way.

* * *

Jubilee called Trinity using the car phone Hank had installed, like in all their vehicles, and asked her if she wanted to meet them there.

"Isn't your school off right now?" she asked.

"Only for this week," Trinity said. "They said they'd be able to fix the roof by then... I have homework to keep up with though...but I guess I can ask if I can do it later... Hold on..."

She called back later. "This is for charity, right?"

"Uh...technically since we're shopping for the Morlocks, it is," Jubilee said.

"It's for charity," Trinity called, to her mom probably. "All right...she says I can for a few hours."

"Charity's the magic word for Mrs. Grayson," Ryan said glibly.

"That and educational," Jubilee muttered.

"I'll meet you guys outside the mall," Trinity said.

"Oh, no, we can pick you up," Wally said. "You're on our way."

So they did.

"Hey..." the boys said to Trinity nervously.

Ryan was just nervous in general, and Kevin kept acting shy around her.

Trinity never seemed uncomfortable with them though.

[Trinity Grayson--design by Onerose]

"I brought a little spending money too," she said. "Maybe we can get ice cream."

"Heck yeah," Jubilee said.

* * *

"Man, this takes me back," Wally said to Rogue and Logan, once the kids were splitting off from them at the mall.

"To your first week here?" Rogue said. "It wasn't that long ago, Sugar."

"Oh, no, I mean to taking our UA kids to the mall," Wally said, "and our ninja kids to the market...market is more fun, by the way. People get more in your face about it, and you have to haggle...which is really intimidating, actually. But fun."

"I didn't get any of what ya just said," Rogue said.

"It's annoyin'," Logan said. "Just buy what ya want to buy. Don't argue about it."

"That's so American, pal," Wally said.

"These kids sound interestin'," Rogue commented. "D'ya miss bein' there?"

"Uh...no," Wally said. "I mean...I miss the kids, sure. They were great. Sometimes I can still hear them yelling at me and all that...but the worlds were crazy. Total madhouse."

"This one ain't no cakewalk," Logan said.

"Well, you've only been to one, so..." Wally said. "Unless we count other planets...not the same thing."

"I don't really see a huge difference between another planet and another world that's basically just this planet but different," Rogue remarked.

"Well...hmm...Shine would have some scientific explanation, probably," Wally said. "But let me see if I can put it my way..."

He looked around, then he pointed. "You see those two shoe stores along the same wing here?"

"Yeah," Rogue said.

"They both sell shoes," Wally said. "Does that mean they're as much like each other as a shoe store is like a hat store?"

"I'd say they're more alike," Rogue said.

"You'd think so," Wally said. "But what if I told you that the one on the left organizes shoes by color instead of size? And the other one organizes by size and brand?"

"So they're still shoes?" Logan said.

"And what if the hat store, that's not here, also organized by color?" Wally pressed.

"I don't see your point, Wally," Rogue said.

"Suppose you spend your whole life going to a shoe store that's organized by color," Wally said, "and you walked into a hat store that did the same. You'd know what to do, right? Even though it's hats. You could navigate it."

"Sure," Rogue said.

"But if you walked into the other shoe store that organized by size and brand, you'd be lost, trying to find your blue running shoes in the high heels section or whatever," Wally said. "Finally you'd figure it out, right? Maybe if the clerk helped you. But at first it'd be totally different, and wouldn't you just be more frustrated because you thought you knew shoes...but that hat thing, you were ready for it to be different, so you were surprised when it wasn't that different?"

"Okay..." Rogue said. "What does that have to do with other worlds and planets?"

"Another planet is like a hat store," Wally said. "Everyone might look way different from shoes, but the rules of the universe are the same. Gravity, and stuff, for one example. But if you hopped into another dimension, gravity might not even exist, or it might work the opposite, or you could have powers and abilities that don't even exist in your universe, even if the people looked like humans still. So, even though it looks more the same, the rules are so different, you're more lost than if you'd just gone to another planet."

Rogue blinked. "Oh...wow...that actually makes perfect sense after all.... You had me--I didn't think it was goin' to come together at the end there."

"I get it," Logan said. "So, question...how do ya deal with that?"

"That's why everyone can't do this job," Wally admitted. "You have to be really ready to accept new rules and realities. I guess I was always just chill with going along with that kind of thing. Up is down, down is up? I don't care, as long as I'm running on something. I think Shine adjusts because she likes learning so much, and that helps her not think about the differences. Mutations cause super powers? No problem, as long as you think about how cool it is, not how weird it is when that doesn't happen where you live. But you know how people here can't get past it? People in other worlds couldn't either, lots of the time."

"Oh..." Rogue slapped her forehead. "That's why you two ain't bigots. Ya couldn't be."

"Bingo, Rogue. A bigot can't be a World Walker," Wally said. "They'd lose their mind after one day. It was kind of funny--at first you all thought we would be." He chuckled.

They didn't think it was funny--more embarrassing.

"Of course, it's better when people want to compromise," Wally mused. "At first I thought we were just supposed to blend into the world we were in and make tiny changes, but Shine would go right for the jugular, you know? Call out the big stuff and then stomp on it, if she got half a chance. At first, I thought it was kind of intense. But then I realized that we don't have an endless amount of time. If you can't go big, you might as well go home. If you stand out as not belonging, people might believe you when you say you have a different approach. I mean, you guys all felt it the first day, didn't you? I could tell by the looks on your faces. We just weren't from your reality--you could tell."

"Now that ya mention it, I did," Rogue said. "It weren't like anythin' I'd ever felt before. But I didn't think that was the reason, not at first. Another planet, sure, but another universe? We weren't sure that was a thing...at least not like how ya put it. And not one with humans like us.... So it was that transparent, huh?"

"No, I just know by now. All our friends tell us that," Wally said. "Sometimes right off the bat, actually...you can just kind of tell. It's the same for us with you."

"Funny, I stopped noticin' some time ago," Rogue mused. "Now I don't think about it. What does that mean?"

"Either you're just used to us, or we're acclimating," Wally said. "I bet it's both, since I don't notice anymore either. Usually happens after a few weeks or months."

He rubbed his head. "It can be trippy. You wake up, and things just look a little off. Shine told me she used to not be able to handle it for whole weeks and months on end, so she'd go back and forth every few days between worlds till she's adjusted. But once we started going together, we stayed the whole time, usually. I think having another person you're used to makes you able to not focus on the difference. And then, after a while, you adjust and you could do it anyway. Perfectly balanced and planned, right? Isn't it cool?"

"It is," Rogue agreed.

Logan thought it sounded stressful...and that was coming from him.

"I think I'd just stick to my own digs," he said.

"Yeah, you don't really seem like you'd be cut out for it." Wally had no thought of that being insulting. "But it's not like a lot of people are. That's why it drives a bunch of people crazy who mess with it on their own. Ran into a couple of those... Most scary people you'll ever meet, and they're over the edge of sanity every time."

"Y'know, Apocalypse kinda does that," Rogue said.

"And you'd describe him as sane?" Wally said.

"No, I see your point, Sugar," Rogue said wryly. "Well, ya can bet we won't be messin' with it on our own. I got enough trouble here without goin' somewhere else I don't even know."

"Not to change the subject," Logan said, "but are we sure lettin' that Proteus kid go off alone was a good idea?"

"He wasn't alone," Wally said.

"Without us," Logan amended. "He's barely been out of the house at all."

"But he's been doing great," Wally said. "No orange energy rampages at all."

"Yeah, so he's overdue," Logan said.

"Fine, we can go follow them at a distance," Wally said. "As long as Rogue is okay with picking up most of the stuff."

"I'll pick it up, but I ain't carryin' it all," Rogue said. "Y'all better just meet me back here. And take it easy on the kid, Logan. He ain't meanin' any harm."

"It ain't him I'm worried about," Logan sniffed.

* * *

In fact, Logan's concern was not entirely unfounded.

Kevin had agreed to come because he was curious, but the other teens hadn't really thought through how risky it could be for him to be around so many people.

At first he did okay...but sensing so many people's feelings began to bother him.

He was more used to the mansion's by now and kept away from people he didn't like, but here he had little choice.

"Are you doing all right?" Ryan finally asked him. "You look nervous."

"I...uh...just noticed people are feeling...irritated," Kevin said.

"Yeah, because they're probably not good at shopping," Jubilee said. "The arcade is the best place to go to at the mall."

"I still want to go to the comic book store," Ryan said.

"Okay, okay, we can do that first and get it out of the way," Jubilee said.

"If I know you guys, that'll take at least an hour," Trinity said, amused. 

"No it won't," Ryan said.

He always said this, and it always did.

They'd gone to the store while summer break was still in place, though without Kevin that time, and it had taken a long time to get both him and Jubilee to leave their favorite stores.

Trinity wasn't allowed to spend that much, so she saved her cash for ice-cream and maybe a few clothes.

The comic book store, thankfully, had fewer people.

The were looking around when suddenly Ryan gave a yelp that drew other customers' attention.

"I do na think they like him," Kevin said.

"They'll forget about it," Trinity said. "It's fine... Maybe we should just be looking at comics."

She picked up one innocent looking one and opened it. "My dad doesn't let me read comics because of the violence and how they dress, but my older brother has some. I've seen them."

"Should you really read that?" Kevin asked.

"This one doesn't look bad," Trinity said.

[Since it's the 80s, I'm sure she's looking at a classic, which is laughably tame compared to what we have now, but I think parents probably said the same things about them anyway.]

Trinity started reading it. It was a Wonder Woman comic.

"Why does this lady sound vaguely familiar...?" she muttered.

Probably because Wally had mentioned Diana a few times.

Kevin looked around. "I don't understand their feelings," he said.

[The ones in a comic book store might be somewhat concerning, gotta admit.]

But Ryan was waving Jubilee over to what he'd been looking at.

"Jewel, doesn't this look kind of like Mr. West to you?"

Jubilee stared at the Flash comics.

"Kind of, but this is a comic book," she said. "The Flash..."

"Yeah, didn't he say his name was The Flash at home?" Ryan said.

"Did he?" Jubilee said. "That's kind of a stupid name, isn't it? The Flash. I mean, come on."

"Uh...is it worse than Storm?" Ryan said.

"You'd better not let her hear you say that," Jubilee said, shuddering. "Anyway, I bet it's just a coincidence. Look, this guy's name is Barry Allen." She held up another issue.

"Well, that's the thing," Ryan said. He'd been going through a few more issues. "There is a person named Wally West in here...but he's a kid--at least he is here. But look, red hair... He looks kind of like him, doesn't he?"

"Like Wally Jr. maybe," Jubilee laughed. But then she squinted. "Huh...he does kind of... How much are these comics?"

"Same as the others," Ryan said. "40 cents, maybe more on the longer ones."

[Yes, pause to cry in inflation... I looked at some issues myself nowadays. They cost $10 at the lowest usually... You know why? Because comics used to be cheap, just to give kids to entertain them while you shopped or whatever, but now adults read them too, so those suckers at the companies charge more because they know we'll pay for it. At least that's my college student level theory.]

"Maybe we should invest..." Jubilee said. "Hey!" She waved at Trinity. "Put the Wonder Woman stuff down. You gotta see this."

"But it was just getting good," Trinity said. "This is about Greek mythology. Did you know that?"

"Fine, bring it, but come on," Jubilee said.

Trinity and Kevin joined them.

"Who does this look like?" Jubilee said.

"I think the owner doesn't like us..." Kevin whimpered.

"Who cares? Look."

"It looks like Mr. West," Trinity said.

"Right?" Ryan said. "He's the Kid Flash, totally. Which means the real Flash is his uncle!"

"Okay, but it's just a coincidence," Trinity said. "I know it's funny that he looks like him and has the same name, but this is a comic book. Bet Wally was just named after it or something."

"Actually, Trinity," Ryan said in a bit of a know-it-all, nerd voice, "Wally is too old to have been named after Kid Flash, so that theory doesn't hold up."

Trinity gave him a weird look. "Okay, so it's just a coincidence, then. Funny though."

"Uh, Ryan," Jubilee said, "Trinity doesn't...uh...you know, really have all the details about what we do." She was trying to say "doesn't know that Wally is not from our world" but couldn't say it.

But Ryan didn't get it. "What does that have to do with it? She should be smart enough to see that this isn't a coincidence. This is a different reality."

"Smart enough?" Trinity said. That was the one thing she didn't like, being told she wasn't smart.

"Ryan..." Kevin could sense her ire.

"I mean, it's pretty dense to say that, isn't it?" Ryan said. "Unless it just scares you to think about it, but I think it's cool. We know a real live Flash."

"Ryan--" Jubilee hissed, "shut up!"

"Why? You know I'm right," Ryan said.

[This is just too real.]

"You kids are disturbing the other customers." The owner suddenly appeared behind them, making them jump. "I get you're excited and all, but take your argument outside and then order."

"No...uh, it's cool," Ryan said nervously, now seeing half the store was staring at them.

"They hate us..." Kevin looked ready to melt into a literal puddle. "I can na do this!"

He dashed out of the room.

"Kevin!" Trinity called. "Oh no.... Nice work!" She glared at Ryan. "You shouldn't have caused such a scene."

Ryan looked ready to die.

"It's fine. Uh, we'll just take these and get out of your hair," Jubilee said quickly, holding up the comics in question. "Sorry, our friend's just...jumpy... He panics easily, you know."

"I'm going to go after him. You do what you want," Trinity said, rushing out of the shop.

"Kevin, I'll be fine," Ryan said.

The owner shook his head. "I've seen plenty of kids fighting over comics, but never like that. Jumpy little guy, isn't he? By the way, what character are you supposed to be?" He was looking at Jubilee. "I've been trying to figure it out ever since you walked in."

Jubilee saw Ryan trying not to laugh.

"I...uh... No, this is just what I wear..." she said.

"Oh," the owner said. "Well...it...makes a statement."

Jubilee glared at him.

"How about I give you one bonus issue on the house?" the owner said weakly, because he knew the chances of her coming back again were dwindling to the single digits.

"Can it be a Batman one?" Ryan asked hopefully.

[Lol.

Okay, so I'm not throwing us all into the fire in the first chapter. We need time to get used to it again, right? But don't worry, the drama is coming.

Also the logistics of doing every day activities with mutants is a never-ending minefield, isn't it?]