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Krakoa
Second Annual Hellfire Gala
"I can't believe that I'm the only one without a date," TJ groused, "I can't believe Tommy ditched us to hang out with David and his mutant friends."
The second annual (and TJ's first) Hellfire Gala was in full swing, glittering masses of mutants, celebrities, Avengers, and world politicians dressed up to the nines to dance and schmooze and spy. There was definitely some spying going on. Mostly by Krakoa's own telepaths. It was one hell of a party, no pun intended.
"At least you're not here with your dad," Luna pointed out, "I don't know what's more embarrassing, his dancing or his outfit."
It had been a month since TJ was resurrected on Krakoa, and since then she'd been introduced to her extended family on Earth 616, which was pretty wild. She'd never had siblings before, or real cousins, but she liked the Maximoffs a lot. And since she was stuck here again, at least she had people to hang out with.
Billy shook his head, looking amused. "You didn't ask anyone; maybe if you had you'd be out there dancing instead of complaining."
"Says the guy with a happy marriage and perfect husband. I never thought having little brothers would be so annoying." TJ resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him. "Mister 'I've had the same date for like, ever'. I'm sure you've forgotten what it's like to be single."
Teddy did his best to mediate, "Maybe it's a good thing. You're open to all the options. You can go dance with Timothée Chalamet."
"Who?"
"The actor?" Teddy frowned. "I guess you don't have the same celebrities where you're from."
*
Elsewhere during the Hellfire Gala...
"This is different," Lorna said, after Wanda introduced the new X-Men team and they left the spotlight to get drinks.
Wanda raised an eyebrow, watching the dazzling gala guests more than drinking. "My attending the biggest mutant function of the year, or...?"
"It's more than that." Lorna pursed her lips. "I guess it's everything. Life is still crazy but it's better than it ever was before. We're not constantly being blown up, or facing bigoted protestors in our backyard, or fighting our dad every other week. It finally feels like we're making real progress, instead of just barely surviving."
"I know the feeling." Was it strange to think that she was almost used to the feeling now? She was finally free, without Chthon's darkness hanging over her head, without her past always nipping at her heels. "Though even after all these years life still finds a way to surprise me."
Lorna's eyes lit with bemusement as her gaze tracked Wanda's to where TJ had one arm slung around Billy's shoulders while he looked long-suffering. "Don't take this the wrong way but I'm really glad I didn't pull the 'kid from another universe shows up' card in the fucked up Go Fish game of our lives. It would be too weird for me, I'd just have to give up."
"Don't take this the wrong way, but I can't imagine you having kids in any universe."
"That makes two of us."
"I know it's strange to have TJ here now, but it's not like our family has ever been normal - " they both laughed - "and as odd as it may seem, TJ is by far one the best surprises to be thrown at me. She's extremely bright and independent, she knows her own mind, and she's also very keen on getting everyone to spend more time together; in a way she really brings us together. I mean, she's the one who insisted that everyone should come to the Hellfire Gala this year." Wanda paused, thoughtfully. "It's been such a long time since we were anything like a normal, happy family, but she reminds me how to do it."
*
Wherever TJ is...
"Are you sure you never met alternate versions of us before?" Tommy asked, after he and David tired of hanging out with their friends. "I know there's a version of me out there that's Captain America."
"I saw so much shit I don't remember half of it, so I guess it's possible." TJ was pretty sure she remembered every version of Captain America that she'd ever met, though. She was also pretty sure no one would make Tommy Captain America. "There was this one world where everyone was a Hulk, and another where the Avengers were vampires. I also saw like, five hundred different versions of Wolverine."
Tommy wasn't discouraged. "That actually sounds awesome. I want to be an Exile."
"It wasn't usually awesome. Most of the time it sucked." Sometimes being an Exile had been fun - she'd always wanted to see the world - but most of the time it had been mortal peril and exploding solar systems. "People died - sometimes whole worlds burned. And we had no control over our lives."
David shrugged one shoulder. "Welcome to being a superhero."
It was sort of true - on pretty much every world she'd ever been to, superheroics often resulted in horrible sacrifices, dramatics losses, and tragedy. But she'd also seen worlds without superheroes to save them, and those scenarios were infinitely worse...She had been raised by superheroes, to be a superhero if she wanted, but the necessity of heroes never really sank in until she became an Exile.
And now she was here, in a world where the X-Men's superheroics seemed to finally pay off. Which was surprising, considering the last time she'd been in this universe. Everything was so different now. Even the people seemed different. She almost couldn't believe it was the same place.
Speaking of people who seemed different, TJ found her dad in the crowd...standing next to his mother, of all people.
"Is Mystique talking to my dad? Not on my watch." TJ had said precisely two words to Mystique since resurrecting on Krakoa, and neither of them had been very polite. "Hold my drink for me."
"Whoa, hold your horses a sec," David grabbed her by the arm before she could go do something regrettable. "You can't just go attack your grandmother. She's working with the X-Men now; they're on the council together. They have to talk every day."
"I'm sure she's not going to try and murder anyone," Tommy said, then quickly reconsidered. "Scratch that; I'm sure she's not going to try and murder Nightcrawler. They would just bring him back."
As if that made any difference to Raven.
TJ shook her head. "She threw him off a cliff as a baby, do you really think she's going to stop now?"
Tommy conceded enough to take TJ's piña colada from her, yelling after her as she bulldozed through crowds of dancing mutants. "I'm going to drink this!"
*
Over by Raven and Kurt...
"It's completely out of the question," Kurt told Mystique, shaking his head. "I don't care what Destiny saw, there's no way TJ is going to agree to do anything with you. She has a very...complicated relationship with her real grandmother."
"Maybe I should ask her myself," Mystique noted as Kurt looked over and found TJ heading their way. "Let the girl decide for herself."
TJ plowed straight through the crowd and, ignoring Mystique entirely, said: "No one will dance with me. I though this thing was supposed to be fun?"
"I will dance with you, Liebling, if you don't mind putting up with an old man." Kurt tipped his head to Mystique. "If you will excuse me."
The Hellfire Gala, being put together by Emma Frost, was a classy affair, which meant classy music played by a mutant orchestra. They were playing a waltz, all the beautiful, tropical flowers Krakoa was famous for changing color in tempo with the melody. It took a whole minute of dancing for Kurt to realize TJ had rescued him from his mother. Which he was actually pretty grateful for.
"I'm not sure I get having villains on the Quiet Council thing," TJ said, frowning, "I mean, I know Grandma Raven tends to play both sides of the chess board like Grampa Magneto, but Mister Sinister? There shouldn't be any place for eugenics on a mutant homeland. That kinda defeats the purpose."
She was so smart, so eager to speak her mind and stand up for what she believed in. Stubborn too - he knew she wouldn't back down for anything. And despite all the hardships she'd already faced in her young life, she was still so full of hope and light. He really was proud of her.
But he didn't say any of that. Instead he said, "We need mutants like Sinister and Shaw just as much as we need the X-Men. When you're running a government you must make certain concessions. People like Sinister and Shaw are a necessary evil if we want to keep Krakoa running. Unfortunately countries aren't built on ideals or trust, they're built on power."
TJ's lips pursed. Her eyes narrowed a little.
"I know that look," Kurt said, "you have something more to say. Don't hold back, I'm listening."
"It's just that what you said doesn't really sound like you. It sounds like..." She looked away, something in her expression closing off. "Nevermind."
"What? You know you can tell me anything, Liebling."
TJ hesitated a moment, still looking pensively at the sparkling crowd. Then she met his gaze again. "Are you...okay?"
Her answer wasn't what he expected. He was baffled. "Of course I'm okay. I've never been better. Krakoa is thriving, we bring more mutants back every day, and of course you're here now."
For some reason she didn't look convinced. She still had that shadow in her eyes, which he desperately wished he could help. Was she okay? Had something happened since her resurrection? Was she unhappy here? Or was she just worried that his mother was going to try and kill him, like she was supposed to do in TJ's home world...
He didn't get the chance to ask, however, because Wanda appeared out of the crowd just as the song ended. "Mind if I cut in?"
TJ brightened immediately, stepping away and not even bothering to hide the way she looked at them both, together. "Knock yourself out, I'll go bother Tommy again. He owes me a drink."
Kurt took Wanda's hand and she let him lead her into the first steps of a waltz. She looked stunning all dressed up for the gala, though of course she always looked beautiful. Not that he noticed...or thought about her...
He shook his head. "I don't think we should tease TJ like this. She might think it really means something."
"It's not going to do any harm." Wanda smiled, clearly having a good time. "And it might prevent her from trying to set us up."
"She's just homesick." Kurt blew out a sigh. "I suppose it could be nice for her to see us spending time together. I think that in every world where we're not together it's like her parents split up. She misses them, and the stability she had in her home universe. That's all she's looking for."
They did a turn around the dance floor, brushing shoulders with the likes of Beyoncé and Tony Stark, the orchestral music barely audible above the murmuring crowd. There had been a kerfuffle with Spiderman, but this year's Hellfire Gala was turning out to be far more benign than the first. Shockingly. As far as Kurt knew there was a universal law that any time a bunch of mutants and humans gathered in one place something had to blow up.
"Marveling at how peaceful the night has been?" One of Wanda's eyebrows quirked up. "Me too."
"After last year I expected Emma to fit time into the itinerary for mayhem." Kurt blew out a breath. "Though in all honesty, I don't even remember last year's gala."
The corner of Wanda's mouth curved up. "Me neither."
"I was drunk."
"I was dead."
Kurt shook his head as the waltz drew to an end. "You win." He offered her a bow and kissed her hand, "Until next time, Miss Maximoff."
Wanda rolled her eyes, though she seemed to appreciate the gesture all the same. "I'll see you at TJ's birthday party in two weeks. How old is she going to be anyways?"
"Twenty-five." Kurt tsked. "They grow up so fast."
*
A diner in New York City...
"You were right Luna, this is way better than staying at that big stuffy party. Not that I don't love a good party," TJ said, pouring a puddle of blueberry maple syrup onto her plate. "These might be the best waffles I've ever had."
She, Billy, Tommy, Teddy, David, and Luna were at a diner in NYC, sitting at a big booth and eating a very late dinner - or maybe a very early breakfast. It was quintessential Americana, all red vinyl and checkered floors, plus overly friendly waitresses and a jukebox.
Teddy sat with his arm around Billy's shoulders. The two of them were sharing a pancake platter, which was way more disgusting than it was cute. "Too bad we couldn't convince Timothée Chalamet to come along, though."
Billy nudged him with his elbow. "Hey."
"I'm kidding."
"I do feel kinda bad abandoning my dad, though." Luna tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear. "But he and Aunt Lorna were about to get into one of their debates, which could go on all night."
"I can get you back before he even notices you're gone," Tommy boasted, "If I run fast enough I can get you back before we even left."
"Oh no, you are not getting me this time," TJ said, "I know you can't run backwards through time. You're not fast enough."
"Not yet."
David held up his fork. "It is hypothetically possible though."
TJ finished her stack of blueberry waffles and leaned back; maybe it was the sugar rush, or being back in a world that had waffles, but she was feeling...happy.