ax_main | JM and Billy backdated

Billy takes JM out to try Indian food, where they talk about the X-men, the Brotherhood and angry brothers.

"What is a mango lassi?" Jeanne-Marie whispered over her menu. The restaurant smelled divine, like spices she couldn't name, and the music was danceable and in Hindi. But Jeanne-Marie had never had Indian food before. She and Billy were having an adventure--and it was sorely needed after last night.

Billy grinned at her over his own menu and scooted his chair a little closer, so they could talk quietly. "Mango lassi is like....I was about to say smoothie, but it's really not. Its yogurt mixed with water, spices and mango. I like it. I could order one and you could taste it, then order one if you like it?"

He looked back at the menu and grinned. "Also, almost everything with paneer is one hundred percent guaranteed to be delicious."

Jeanne-Marie shook her head, "No, I'll want my own! Mango lassi it is. And I was just thinking paneer butter masala sounds delicious. You've made up my mind!

"I want to order everything..."

"Oh, trust me, I know. We should come before one next time, so they still have the buffet style going. Then you can just pick and choose." Billy stared at his menu again and was having a hard time figuring out what exactly he wanted to pick. "Okay, so either chicken tikka masala or Malai Kofta. Are you willing to share your butter masala if I get the Malai Kofta?"

He would order them samosas too.

She nodded eagerly. "That also looks really good. I don't think I understand what it is, but I can't resist the description. Delicate tomato gravy it sounds so nice. Mmm, my stomach."

"Okay. You get the Panner Butter Masala, I'll get the Malai Kofta and some samosas. Is there anything else you wanted to try? I think they bring naan to the table, so we don't have to worry about that." Billy grinned, he had specifically not eaten breakfast because he had known he would to going to lunch with JM. He must have talked Teddy's ear off about all the Indian food he would be stuffing his face with and now it was finally happening.

"Oh god. How could I forget about tandoori chicken?"

"I don't know what that is but I want it," Jeanne-Marie decided, closing her menu with finality. She nodded when the server looked their way to see if they were ready. "Let's eat until we can't walk."

She needed a little cheering up. She deserved it, dammit.

Billy smiled and waited until their orders were taken, watching the waiter walk away before turning towards JM with a curious look. "So...yesterday was kind of crazy."

Suddenly Jeanne-Marie's smile was a little forced. The puffiness under her eyes had gone down, though, so no one would ever know how she'd spent last night. She sighed. "It really was. I... went for a long flight after that meeting. I was surprised and sad that the professor waited so long to tell us all his plans."

Billy nodded in understanding. "Yeah. I'm not really sure how I feel about it. Like, on one hand I get what is happening and what he's talking about since things are kind of escalating, but also he never brought any of this up when all of us were coming to the school which was kind of a lie of omission."

He sighed and picked at a ragged hangnail. "Tommy doesn't like it, but my roommate Teddy is all for it."

"I don't blame Tommy for not trusting adults who collect mutant teenagers," Jeanne-Marie admitted. She'd never spoken to him about it, but she knew what her brother had seen. Back when they'd been on speaking terms. (Shake it off. Ignore it.) "But I'm glad to hear Teddy is keen.

"I agree, though. His lie of omission is the main problem. But I think we can rely on each other instead of him--and keep things honest. I believe we're capable."

Billy flinched a little when she brought up about why Tommy wouldn't trust people like that and not for the first time he had the fleeting thought of wishing he could have traded with Tommy. His brother deserved a good family that loved him and deserved to be in a safe place.

He nodded at her words. "Yeah, I like what you’re thinking. Honestly, besides that Brotherhood group, this is the only place I know of that is helping mutants with their lives and it's like not full of completely crazy people."

There were tons of people in the school Billy could and would trust, even if it wasn't Xavier.

"That's the thing; where could we go to be together? It may be true that Xavier wants to exploit that, but... I think in spite of that lie, he's done enough to earn a chance to prove his intention," she said.

"I guess you're right. I mean, he is bringing in mutants who would have no other place to go or even those who can't afford it are brought in because they need to be here." Here was where Billy needed to get over it, he needed to see that Xavier wasn't a perfect almighty do-gooder like he had originally thought and that was okay. People were human and had faults, didn't make them bad.

Billy poked at his fork. "So, are you going to join his team?"

Jeanne-Marie nodded, sitting a little straighter. "I decided almost immediately that I should--and even after sleeping on it" --and fighting viciously with my brother-- "I feel good about it. I want to be where I can do the most good--and I don't want to wait for other people to make decisions and take action that affect my life."

Billy listened to her explanation, pulling his napkin through his fingers in a nervous sort of habit. Seemed like everyone he liked was planning on joining this...club? Team? Team was probably the best word to use there.

"And you aren't worried about being used?" He thought about what Tamara and Tommy had said, an army, building an army of children with powers. And who were they going to fight? People? The Brotherhood? Billy thought of Wanda and immediately started to feel not so hungry anymore.

"I am always worried about being used. And I'm sorry if it sounds dramatic, but it's true." Jeanne-Marie smiled slightly, sadly. And perhaps the wound was still too fresh, because she also admitted, "Jean-Paul and I had a fight about it. He doesn't think I listen to his worries enough. But it is always in my mind."

At her sad smile, Billy reached over to loop his pointer finger around her thumb and gave it a gentle tug. "It doesn't sound dramatic at all, don't worry. I'm sorry you fought with JP."

He kept his finger around hers. "I have no clue what to do, JM."

She curled her thumb around his finger tightly and squeezed. "It's hard to tell without knowing more. All we have is what he said to everyone. And I think we should know more about this Brotherhood, too."

Billy bit his lip at that and nodded. "About the brotherhood, can I tell you something that I haven't really told anyone except Tommy?

Jeanne-Marie nodded and then took his entire hand in hers. "Of course. Always." Whatever it was, it obviously weighed heavily on him.

"Okay. So, a lot of this is going to sound really dumb and crazy, but you really just have to bear with me on this." He’d only told Tommy and Kitty this, mainly because Tommy was a part of it and he had needed to talk to someone about it or he was going to go insane. "You know Simon and his power, right? The whole touching and seeing genetics or whatever?"

Jeanne-Marie nodded. Apart from Simon's post, Jean-Paul had told her a little. "Yes, I've heard some. Simon's a friend of mine."

"Okay, so Simon, awhile back, touched me and...well, I kind of broke him or at least my genetics did." Billy frowned, not sure he was telling this right, but he had to try. "And then when he woke up- oh, side note, so touching me made him pass out- he started talking about how me and Tommy are related. Like for sure twins....reincarnated...from the future...but also our mom was...a girl from the brotherhood."

He let his head rest on the table with a soft groan.

Jeanne-Marie's mouth had fallen slightly open at this explanation. She suddenly wondered if Billy had a fever or some other hallucination-inducing illness. But after just a second of that, she realized that no, he was quite serious, and that... something very strange indeed must be happening.

She didn't know much about reincarnation, only that Shen believed in it, as a Buddhist. But she was fairly certain, "Shouldn't reincarnation work in the future, not the past? And how--how old are the Brotherhood?" Jeanne-Marie had been under the impression they were their age.

"Right?!" Billy popped his head up quickly, then cringed when he realized how loud he had been there. "I'm sorry," He said a little bit quieter. "But I know, that why it seemed so weird cause normally you don't go back in time when reincarnated, but also...the girl is like...seventeen. So, she's only two years older than us."

Billy sighed, but gave JM a weak smile. "Sorry. I know this is batshit crazy, but thanks for listening."

Jeanne-Marie shook her head in wonder. "I don't understand a bit of it, but--there must be some explanation that could at least make it less batshit crazy. Somewhere.

"Have you talked to this girl?"

"No, and I'm honest to god scared to. She's in the brotherhood, JM, and her dad is the leader, what if she's like...not evil, but...ya know?"

Or what if she's fantastic and amazing, then what do you do? Billy watched their linked hands for a moment before shrugging. "She has magic like me; her powers are almost identical to mine like her brother's are to Tommy's. She might be the only one, besides Yana, who knows how to teach me about my powers."

Just one more reason to try and make things right with Pyro, for Jeanne-Marie. If Billy and Tommy were going to be caught in the middle of a conflict with the Brotherhood--well, not that Jeanne-Marie needed more of a reason to hope things would come out right there... "Whatever she is, your friends will be here to help you," was all she could think to say, giving his hand another squeeze. "And Tommy, too. Even if he wants to pretend he's not sweet."

That brought a smile to his face and he laughed a little. "If he ever heard you describe him like that I think he would do everything in his power to make you think otherwise....I'd get a kick if I called him sweet."

Then their food was being placed on the table and Billy gave JM's hand one more squeeze before he let go to check out the spread. They were given two small plates and a basket of naan, so Billy scooped some of his meal onto JM's plate and scooted it towards her. He took a bite and waited for her to as well before bringing up a new subject. "So, what does JP think about the group?"

Jeanne-Marie paused halfway through sharing her own food with Billy, spoon poised in the air. Then she carried on, a determined expression appearing. "He finds it incredibly suspicious--and I don't disagree." Which is why she still couldn't understand what had happened. "Apparently nothing but total agreement is good enough, however. I acknowledged his concerns and explained why I still wanted to do it..." She shrugged, badly feigning a nonchalance she didn't feel.

Billy watched her and bit at his lip for a moment while he waited for her to finish. When she didn't he frowned down at his plate and took a shot in the dark about what happened between the siblings. "Did he get mad?"

He had hung out with JP a handful of times, but the speedster had always seemed carefree which reminded him of his own speedy twin and Billy knew first hand that carefree attitude was only so real.

At first, Jeanne-Marie just swallowed hard, pressed her lips together nervously, and nodded. She thought for a moment, tried to make herself speak. Then finally managed, "He was furious. I think he wanted me to leave. I don't know for sure. I tried to explain..." She shook her head. "He was more than mad. It was awful."

Billy furrowed his eyebrows, laying his fork down gently before asking quietly. "Leave? You mean, like leave the school? Or leave him?"

“I think his first reaction to Xavier’s message was to get as far from the school as possible,” she clarified. “Apparently, he’s changed his mind since—or he’s still planning to go, I don’t know. I doubt I’ll find out any time soon.”

Billy frowned. "I doubt he'd make any concrete plans without you, JM. JP may be mad, but he wouldn't do that to you, you're his sister."

She shook her head. "You didn't see his eyes..." She tried to get a hold on herself. She'd cried herself out last night on Shen's shoulder. She didn't need to do it again here. She took a bite of her food. It was delicious, so there was that. "I don't think I'll be part of his plans any time soon."

Billy hated how sad she looked and he wanted to help, but didn't know how. Didn't matter how many times you said something if people didn't believe it and right now JM really believed her brother was done with her. He reached over and took her hand, giving it a light squeeze before offering her a smile.

"You don't know that. I know he's mad, but he won't stay that way forever, it's too much work. Trust me, coming from someone else who has a twin brother who can be an ass when he's mad, it won't stay that way. Give him space and then try to talk to him again.

That... actually meant a lot to Jeanne-Marie, because Billy, of all people, understood her position best. He and Tommy had a newish relationship too, unused to the ups and downs of family life with each other. Maybe... he was right? "I... maybe," she admitted. She'd wanted to say she hoped he was right, but she couldn't. It would break her heart all over again to admit it out loud and have it never come true. "I don't know if I can, though. He--he's a little bit scary when he's angry." Which was an understatement.

Billy had never seen JP mad, in fact he'd never seen the guy as anything other than happy or playful, but if JM said he was scary then he believed her. "Some people get...a little too worked up when they get mad. I know I can get kind of mean and petty when I get mad or hurt, but I usually never mean most of the stuff I say."

He was quiet for a second before asking quietly. "You aren't like...physically scared of him, right? Cause that's a different matter."

"I... Jean-Paul and I are both quick to feel fear and anger when it comes to..." Jeanne-Marie looked away and licked at her lips. "I held his arm to keep him from walking away. He turned on me and... I know he wouldn't have hurt me, but he looked like he hated me. I can't get it out of my mind." Her eyes were burning again. No, no, not here...

"Hey." Billy saw the look in her eyes and knew what was about to happen, so he leaned over and tugged gently on a piece of her hair. " Did during World War II, the crew of the British submarine HMS Trident kept a fully grown reindeer called Pollyanna aboard their vessel for six weeks? It was a gift from the Russians."

Caught entirely off guard, Jeanne-Marie looked into Billy's eyes--her own threatening to overflow... and laughed. It felt amazing. "What?!"

At her laugh Billy felt his panic ease and he grinned with a nod. "It's true! I read that she liked to drink condensed milk and slept under the captain's bed."

Jeanne-Marie laughed some more, and then, when she could finally speak again, said, "Thanks, Billy," softly.

"Of course." He replied, giving her wrist a gentle squeeze before pushing her plate a little closer. "Now, come on. Enough talk, we need to gorge ourselves on this beautiful feast!"

With a determined expression, Jeanne-Marie nodded and tucked into her food--and changed the subject to something far more entertaining.