Gwen stood in front of her closet with her arms crossed over her chest. She had no idea what to wear for her date with Tony. Was this a date? Was it just two friends having dinner? He had text her an hour before telling her to wear something nice, something formal. She tied her robe tighter around her waist and peaked out into the hall. Seeing no one there, she walked quietly down the hallway and knocked on Raven’s door. The blue woman opened the door and raised an eyebrow at Gwen. “I need help,” the blond said with a frown.

“You came to the right woman,” Raven boasted, pulling Gwen into her room.

“You and I are the only women in this place, Ray,” Gwen chuckled. “Where else was I gonna go?”

“Good point,” Raven agreed, before getting to work on the blond’s make-up. She put a light dusting of blush on her cheeks and then did her eye make-up. “You aren’t allowed to look at your reflection until I’m completely done,” Raven commanded when Gwen was attempting to turn to see her make-up.

“But you are done.” Raven rolled her yellow eyes.

“I meant with everything; make-up, hair, and outfit.”

“Oh.”

---

Thirty minutes later, Gwen was standing in front of a mirror, admiring her outfit. She took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly. “Nervous?” Raven questioned, watching as the blond slipped her phone into the white clutch in her hand.

“Of course,” Gwen replied with a chuckle. “I’m going on a date with Tony Stark.” There was a knock on the door and a little redhead popped in.

“You look beautiful,” Jean grinned, running towards Gwen.

“Thanks, sweetheart.”

“Oh, Professor says that someone is here for you.” Gwen’s breath hitched slightly.

“God, he’s here.”

“Go,” Raven urged, pushing Gwen out the door. “Before Charles and Erik scare the poor man off.”

“Fuck, you’re right,” Gwen agreed before hurrying down the steps. She saw Tony standing there in a suit, talking calmly to Erik and Charles. He turned towards her, and his brown eyes widened.

“You look beautiful,” he commented.

“You don’t look too bad yourself,” she stated with a small smile.

“Do you wear any other color other than white?” He questioned with a smirk.

“I wore all black for the battle,” she defended. “Besides, white is a shade, not a color.”

“As is black,” he pointed out.

“Touché,” Gwen laughed, linking her arm with is. “Bye, Erik, bye Charles. Don’t wait up.” Erik raised an eyebrow at that, and Charles smirked slightly.

“Have fun, Gwen,” Erik said, wrapping an arm around Charles’ shoulder. Gwen smiled and led Tony out of the mansion and towards the man’s Ferrari.

“I don’t think they like me very much,” Tony stated as he held open the passenger door for Gwen.

“They don’t like anyone that dates their kids,” she laughed.

“I’m surprised I didn’t see any of your brothers.”

“They’ll wait to see if this is serious until they interrogate you,” Gwen smiled.

“Interesting,” Tony muttered before starting the car and fumbling with the radio. An AC/DC song came on, Back in Black, and the two sang along to it, terribly. “So, have you talked to anyone since the battle?” He inquired. She shook her head.

“Nope, only you. Have you?”

“Bruce came back to the tower with me.” Gwen raised an eyebrow at that. “I was supposed to be giving him a ride to the airport, but I took him back to the tower instead. He wasn’t very happy with me until I showed him the R & D labs. He agreed; Candyland.” Gwen laughed.

“Can’t believe you tricked the poor man,” she tsked. “No, I lied. I can totally see that.” Tony laughed.

“You wound me,” he said dramatically. Gwen looked around and saw them heading towards the city. Wow, we got here fast, she thought before looking over at Tony.

“Where are we going, anyway?” She questioned.

“Arabelle.” If Gwen would have had just taken a drink, she’d be doing a spit shot at that second.

“Arabelle?” She echoed. Tony nodded.

“That place is so expensive, though.” Gwen worried her bottom lip in between her teeth.

“I have plenty money, Ice Princess,” Tony assured, and Gwen could practically hear the eye roll that she was sure he just did. He reached across and took her pale, chilly hand in his much warmer, larger one, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Besides, you’re worth all the money the world.” Gwen felt a blush rise to her cheeks at that and she looked down in embarrassment.

“Thank you.”

It took her a couple minutes to realize that his hand never left hers.

---

Three hours later, the two were back in front of Xavier mansion. Gwen was leaning against the Ferrari wearing Tony’s jacket, and he was in front of her. “I had fun tonight,” she grinned.

“Good. I did, too.” A smirk took over his features. “I think we should do it again this weekend.”

“Agreed. How about this time a movie? Maybe a drive-inn?” Tony pretended to think.

“I think that sound do-able.” He reached towards her, cupping her cheek with his hand, and leaned forward, his lips pressing gently against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him flush against her, and tangled her fingers in his hair. Their lips moved in sync, and Gwen reveled in the feel of his slightly chapped, warm lips against hers.

They pulled away from each other slowly, and just stared at each other for a couple minutes. “So, I’ll see you this weekend?” She questioned.

“Definitely,” he promised, kissing her again, before pulling away from her fully. She pulled off his jacket, handing it to him. He thanked her by kissing her on the forehead, and walked her to the front door. “Bye, Ice Princess,” he said softly, kissing her one last time.

“Bye, Shell Head,” she grinned against his lips making him chuckle and walk back towards his car. She watched him drive away until he was completely out of sight, and then leaned against the door with a large sigh. That date went perfectly. The one thing Gwen really liked about Tony is that he didn’t try so hard with her. They had fun; they laughed.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear the front door unlock. She let out a startled yelp when the door opened and she went flying back into a pair of arms. She looked up and stared into Erik’s amused steely blue eyes. “Hey, papa.”

---

Knoxville, Tennessee; Five Days Previous

Patrick and Fiona Falcon were watching TV, flipping through channels when they saw something on the news; Aliens? Attacking Manhattan? “Oh, honey, look! It’s Tony Stark,” Fiona said excitedly.

“That dude looks like Captain America,” Patrick said offhandedly about the person in patriotic colors. “Who are the others?”

“Holy crap, is that the Hulk? The thing that destroyed Harlem a few years ago?” They continued to watch until the cameraman did a close up on the blond. “Oh my God,” Fiona breathed, covering her mouth with her hand. “Patrick, it’s Gwen.”

“Why is she fighting aliens?” He questioned, leaning forward in his recliner to watch his daughter fight on the TV. They watched as she turned an alien to ice and then smashed her fist into it’s head, shattering it. “I see she’s still a mutant.”

“Patrick, I don’t think that can change,” Fiona sighed with disappointment. She missed her daughter, but Gwen was a disgrace. She wasn’t human. It was the best decision for their family to send her away.

A few days after what was dubbed the Battle of New York, there were reports on the people that fought against the aliens; the Avengers. Patrick and Fiona went around the entire town, spouting about how proud they were that their daughter was an Avenger. One of the seven people that saved the world. Fiona’s mother had frowned at her, saying, “Lyn ran away, Fiona.” Fiona’s mother was the only person that ever called Gwen, Lyn. She didn’t think Gwen was a flattering nickname. “Don’t you remember? She probably died of starvation or a drug overdose years ago.” Patrick and Fiona had told their family members that Gwen had run away, and they found drugs in room. They couldn’t tell them that she was a [i]mutant[/i]. How would that look on them?

“I’m telling you, momma,” Fiona gushed. “It was her! I’d know my little girl anywhere.”

“I saw that battle,” Patrick’s sister, Mary, sneered. “Gwen looked just like you, Fiona. There was no girl that looked like you in that fight.” Her sharp green eyes looked at her with a new awareness. “Unless she was that blond. The one with ice powers.” Mary’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Gwen didn’t run away, did she?” Patrick and Fiona shared a look, deciding to come clean. Their family would understand, right? They wouldn’t have wanted a mutant in the family anyway.

Right?

“We found out Gwen was a mutant,” Patrick admitted first. “We came home from picking up dinner one night, and Gwen appeared in the living room, looking upset. We thought that she had colored her hair because it was suddenly a pale blond, no longer the brown color she’d always had. Her skin was so pale, and her eyes were this icy blue color. She picked up a magazine and froze the corner of it.”

“We told her to leave; she was dangerous and she wasn’t our daughter anymore,” Fiona defended, seeing the look Mary was giving them.

“You turned your daughter, my niece, away because she was a mutant?” A disgusted sneer traveled across her face. “You’re terrible people.”

“No, we aren’t!” Fiona cried, close to tears. “Mutants are the terrible people! They aren’t even people. Not really.”

“Well, your daughter, a mutant, a terrible thing saved the lives of billions of people last week. Still think they’re bad?” Patrick stared his older sister down.

“Gwen might not be, but that doesn’t mean that most of them aren’t,” he stated, raising his chin in a defiant manner. “Besides, we’ve decided to go look for her; bring her home.” Mary snorted.

“What makes you think she’s going to want to come back home? She probably hates you two.” Fiona shook her head.

“No,” she stated firmly. “Gwen still loves us. She understands why we did what we did. She didn’t mean it when she said she hated us before she left.” Fiona had told herself that many times after Gwen had walked out when she was fourteen. Fiona’s mother rolled her eyes.
“And how do you expect to find her, Fiona? A carrier pigeon?” Fiona hated her mother’s smart
mouth sometimes. It reminded her too much of Gwen.

“I hacked into the FBI’s database. They have some information of mutants; one of them is a Charles Xavier. He has a school in Westchester County, New York. They don’t information on the kids personal lives, but they do have information on their abilities. One of them controls ice; a twenty-two year old woman.”

“We think that’s Gwen,” Fiona grinned excitedly.

“Good luck with that,” Mary spoke, her voice dripping in sarcasm. “Bye, Bianca,” she said with a wave to Fiona’s mother.

“Goodbye, my dear,” the elder said cheerfully before standing carefully out of the booth the four of them were seated at in a twenty-four hour diner. “This is going to blow up in your face, Fiona.” Bianca leaned closer to her daughter. “She’s not going to want to speak to you.” She patted her daughter’s cheek, and then walked out the door.

“So much for family support,” Patrick huffed. Fiona had to agree. Weren’t families supposed to be there for each other? No matter what?

---

Gwen was sitting on the couch with her feet in Alex’s lap as she was reading a book and he was watching TV. Charles had taken the kids and Sean out for ice cream, leaving Erik to take care of the older ones. Not that they needed taken care of. Wade was also in the living room sharpening his swords. Gwen found the rhythmic noise comforting in an odd way.

There was a knock on the door, and Gwen decided to answer it. She swung her feet off of Alex’s lap, and then trudged to the front door. Swinging it open, she was met with two faces she never wanted to see again.

“Oh fuck.”

Notes