I'll Be Home: Airport Surprise x2

[x-wolfcub.livejournal.com]

Kurt accompanies Julian to the airport. But after an accident, they're in for an even bigger surprise.


Julian lugged his rather large piece of luggage onto the scale to be weighed by the rather pretty clerk who was working the ticket counter opposite him. In other circumstances he may have been tempted to flirt with her, but given the hour and the company, the urge was easily repressed. "I really don't need a baby-sitter, Mister Sefton." Keller turned to face Kurt, who was standing behind him silently as he cleared his ticket. "I mean, I appreciate the ride and all, but, did the Professor really tell you to walk me to the gate?"

"I am afraid his instructions were quite clear, Julian", Kurt told him. "I am not to let you out of my sight until I can legally go no further."

With a sigh, Julian signed the credit card receipt for the young woman and picked up his carry on. "So who is meeting me at LAX again?"

"Your father, I believe. It would have been one of us, but he very much wanted to, after recent events."

"That's a bit of a change from a year ago," Julian shook his head and headed for the security gate. "I haven't had a chance to ask you recently, but, how are you doing anyway?"

"Getting by", he said with a faint smile. "I have always been rather good at... accepting circumstances when I have no other choice, whether I like them or not."

Julian nodded, pretending to understand as his bag went through the X-Ray machine. Beyond the checkpoint the first bank of windows out onto the runways were busy with planes taxiing from gate to air. "You know, I really can't wait until Jean says I can start flying lessons," it was something Nathan had always told him no to.

That got a quick laugh. "Patience, young man. You will want to be absolutely sure you can safely lift your own weight, after all. But I must admit the closest I can come to it, on the trapeze, I would not give up."

The boy nodded as the security guard wanded him after not setting off the metal detector, which he suspected was because of the company he kept. "You know," his thought was cut short as a series of gasps made him turn his head toward the runways where a large number of people had stopped milling about and were starring out the windows.

Kurt was glaring at the security guard, but his attention quickly went the same way as Julian's, and he crossed himself as he saw what was happening outside.
A jet, small as planes went, had skidded and left the runway, heading for a sturdy concrete outbuilding.

'I'm going to miss my flight, Julian shook his head and lifted his hand toward the plane, reaching out to it through the glass trying to slow it's rate of descent across the snowy runway. After a moment he turned to Kurt, "I need to get closer."

"Not a problem", Kurt said quickly, already reaching for the boy's hand. The next moment, the two of them were standing on the runway, safely out of the plane's path. "Do what you can. I will try to evacuate the passengers."

Julian identified the points he'd need to apply pressure to stop the jet, which was now smoking from one of the engines, in a moment- as he'd been taught by his original mentor back when he'd first arrived at the mansion. Pushing out with all his strength, the young man grabbed onto the wings and pulled back, breaking them off and jerking the plane to the left and into a snow bank. The smoke was getting worse now and he had only a moment to send the engines skyward before something sparked and it exploded. It wasn't until he'd established an umbrella over the remaining parts of the jet that he realized he probably endangered more lives by throwing what amounted to a bomb into the sky over an airport.

Kurt had reappeared with two small children, holding them under his arms with no more difficulty than if they were shopping bags. He set them down on the tarmac, taking their hands, then stared up at the sky. "I hope that was not in anyone's path."

"I think we're okay, they're supposed to call air traffic away from the site of any crashes for just this reason," debris bounced off the green dome above them as Julian smiled at the awestruck children. "Just these two?" the sound of sirens in the distance faintly reached his ears.

"My power is so limited", he said regretfully. "These were the only children, and I thought they were a priority. At least the plane had something soft to hit, thanks to you."

The emergency hatch blew open and landed on a patch of cleared asphalt as an inflatable slide unrolled. People, obviously in shock, stumbled from the plane- aside from a few bleeding head wounds, everyone looked little more than worse for wear. "I think they'll be okay...think I can still make my flight?" He grinned cockily to the blue man, the air port would be shut down after this.

Kurt chuckled, amused. "I am sure you would, except that I think both of us will have some questions to answer."

Julian nodded, stripping his bag from his shoulder as the last of the wing debris tinkled off the dome. In the blink of an eye it was gone, "I'm going to have a wicked headache tomorrow," he joked as the first of the emergency vehicles pulled up.


"I will be sure to tell Nico you were a hero and she should take care of you", was the solemn response, as Kurt looked around for someone to take his little charges from him, and spotted their walking wounded parents.

Julian chuckled and shook his head, "Actually I haven't seen much of her lately. She's not quite over the whole, 'I suck peoples life forces from them when I lose control,' and whatever." More emergency vehicles arrived, one of which, an airport police cruiser, nearly ran into the pair of mutants, the officers getting out and drawing their pistols before ordering them onto the snowy ground. "No good deed..." he let the comment hang.

"Just doing their jobs", Kurt said calmly, lying obediently down and putting his hands on his head. "We should not be out here, strictly speaking."

The X-Man-in-Training sighed and put his hands on his head before kneeling down and finally laying himself prone across the ground. The officers rushed forward and placed the icy cold steel against their mutant wrists before bringing them up to a standing position again. Without so much as a question, the pair found themselves in the back of a cruiser while the officers rushed off to help passengers.

"The passengers and anyone else who saw it will tell them we were there to help", Kurt reassured the younger man. "They will have no justification to hold us, even trespassing."

"I hope you-" his thoughts were again cut short as he caught sight of something that couldn't possibly be. One of the paramedics looked very familiar to him, so much so that he was either a twin or a doppleganger. "Kurt...are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

Kurt blinked at him, confused, then peered through the window the way Julian was looking. "...Nick?!"

Julian reacted without thinking, quickly picking the latch of the steel cuffs on their wrists and opening the door from the outside before bolting toward his long lost friend.

"Julian!" Kurt called after him, then followed. "We are unarmed, please do not shoot us", he said to the surrounding security officers, then all his focus was on his son. "Nick, is it you?"

The paramedic had his back turned now, but he'd just finished with one of the children who was in good shape thanks to Kurt's timely intervention. "Gleason!" he exclaimed, again without giving it a thought as he bear hugged the man.

The emergency medical responders at the back of the line quickly pulled his bag in front of him, raising an eyebrow at the pair. "Um... I'm sorry you must be mistaking me for someone else." He quickly patted Julian on the arm as he quickly rushed towards the rest of his crew.


"Do you think I would confuse my own son for anyone else?" Kurt asked quietly, blocking his path as best he could. "We have been searching for you for six months."

The boy raised his eyebrow at the blue man for a second, before politely touching his shoulder and moving with his bag to the side. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but really, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." There had been a lot of strange occurances to the boy in the past six months, but he's pretty sure a blue father would sound at least a little familiar to him.

"Dude, what the hell?" Julian blocked off the paramedic's only way to extradite himself from the situation, putting up a shield behind Kurt and knocking the officers who were sneaking up on him to their butts. "Why are you acting like this?" he leaned forward, "are the Purifiers watching you?"

"Purifiers..." The boy continued to squint his eyes as he struggled to get around the odd pairing. "Look..." His eyes lingered onto both of them. "I'm sorry to disappoint both of you. I really am. But I really have no idea what you're talking about." He took a large gulp before continuing. "But if you'll let me get back to my work..."

"It is good work", Kurt agreed, glancing warily at the officers behind them. "And for doing such work, I think my friend and I would like to buy you a meal. If you will come to dinner on us, we will leave you alone now."

The boy was a bit creeped out a first. But these guys seemed like they were set on knowing him, and the food at the shelter was pretty awful. Plus there was something familiar pulling at the back of his mind when he looked at the other boy about his size next to him. He squinted his eyes. "Just a meal?" It was a chance that they were some weirdos, but he had been putting his faith in strangers a lot recently.

"You can even pick where," Julian chimed in, holding the officers back from re-arresting them.

The boy looked back and forth between them. "Alright. If you guys really think I'm this Nick, or whoever you say I am. I'll give you a chance." He was already turning his back towards the plane. "There's a Deli about half a mile North of the airport. I'll meet you there in an hour." He shook his head from side to side. "But I've gotta warn you, I think you're gonna be disappointed."

"We shall see." Kurt stood aside, pulling Julian with him, to let Nick pass. "Now, officers, let us get this cleared up..."