t h e . u n e x p e c t e d . s t o r m

The Unexpected Storm
[by victoria p.]

Rating: G

Summary: Tigers and lightning don't mix very well.

Notes: Thanks to Jen, Pete/Melissa, Dot, and Meg. Written for Katla for Project Ficlet. She gave me this opening line: "Tigers and lightning don't mix very well."

Date: October 27, 2003

Tigers and lightning don't mix very well.

Ororo grew up in Kenya, so she's pretty sure she knew this already. But her first trip to the Bronx Zoo with Professor Xavier, Jean, Scott and Hank, soon after her arrival in Westchester, is still an adventure.

She's used to seeing animals wild and free; thinking of them as predators, dangerous to her family, her village, herself. It seems wrong to see regal silverback gorillas fenced in, majestic lions reduced to ruling a small patch of real estate in the Bronx.

She is unnerved in the Reptile House, the hissing snakes sending shivers down her spine. The air is close and fetid, and in her anxiety, her control begins to slip.

When they walk back out into the open, thick black clouds roil overhead, and heavy drops of rain splat on their skin.

Chaos reigns, as everyone darts for cover from the unexpected storm.

Professor Xavier herds them toward the car, which is not quite the ten miles away that Scott's grumbling places it, but far enough that they are soaked to the skin less than halfway there.

Ororo tries to regain control, but there are too many people rushing about, jostling into her, disturbing her concentration. She can feel the ozone in the air, crackling against her skin, making the hair on her arms stand on end.

The tigers roar somewhere off to her left, and she jumps, startled. Lightning splits the sky, strikes the parking lot in sizzling, white-hot bolts. Hank rushes them behind a large luxury coach, where they crouch, low to the ground, and watch in safety as cars explode into fireballs.

Professor Xavier puts a gentle hand on Ororo's shoulder.

"You must gain control," he says. "Shall I help you?"

She nods, lower lip trembling at the destruction she's caused, and his presence fills her mind, calms her.

She can feel the wind and rain beneath her skin, aching to burst free, feel the wild joy of untrammeled power, of lightning unleashed at her command. She breathes deep and clamps down, using every ounce of will she can summon.

The lightning fades, surly in its dismissal; the rain slows to a sullen summer drizzle and the wind trails off, sighing in disappointment.

Firefighters arrive on the scene, sirens screaming in counterpoint to the lions and tigers roaring in rage at the scent of smoke.

Ororo doesn't let the noise rattle her this time, thanks to Xavier's steady influence.

They reach their own vehicle safely, and even the drizzle has stopped; the clouds are clearing.

Xavier keeps what feels to Ororo like a mental hand on her shoulder the whole ride home, willing her to breathe in time with him, to slow her still-racing heart and master her emotions.

They arrive back at the mansion, and Xavier lifts his mind from hers. Her shoulders slump, shamed at her lack of control, at the damage she's inflicted, but he shakes his head and smiles.

"There's no reason to be ashamed," he says, his eyes and voice kind. She vows to make him proud, to show him how a goddess behaves. She won't lose control again.

End

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