ORORO / STORM.

“I do not pretend to, Exodus. I am simply reminding Emma that she is one member of the Council, not the centerpiece. Do you want her to speak for you?”

“I am aware of how Emma comes across,” Storm purses her lips. She often does that in regards to Emma Frost, it seems. “But her heart is often in the right place. Right now, however, I think individual voices are needed less than a cohesive unity.”

“Are you not, Scott? My best friend — your wife — blew up. There are very few people I know who possess power such as that, and I am hesitant to cast blame. If my fears are accurate, we may already be too late to fix things.”

“It would appear that you and I are of similar minds.” Ororo’s lips are pressed into a thin line. “What happened to Jean was not natural. None of it was.”

“Charles.” There’s less hesitation in Ororo’s voice. She does her best to keep suspicion from her gaze, but there’s a wariness in her light eyes. “Emma has been doing many things. I know of our difficulties, both here and on Arakko. I will ask you only once: do you see anything that has been off? The nature of the explosion? Emma herself?”

“We have many... contrasting dynamics.” Ororo pauses before shifting topics. “You’ve been resurrected recently.” A statement, not a question. Storm will never know how that feels as she has deleted her back-up due to her position as an Arakki leader. “Emma was one of the Council members who pushed the Phoenix Foundation for that to happen. Before that point, it went against everything she had been preaching.”

“I think that you have known me long enough to not mistake an attempt for conversation for whining.” Her white ponytail shakes alongside her head. “I am not here to talk to you on behalf of the Council or Arakko.”

“I am always interested in what you have to say, Nathan.” The words are genuine. “But I came to speak with you about Hope.”

“I do not care what Emma Frost said. She does not speak for all of Krakoa.”

“People will expect more from us, Max. As they should. We are standing on the precipice of history and everyone is watching.”

“I am Ororo Munroe.” The mutant extended a hand. “Storm. It is a pleasure to meet you, Doctor. I’m glad you were here.”

“I recently saw Betsy on Krakoa. She was looking for you, I believe.” 

“What an interesting thing to focus on.” Ororo was amused. “We do pickle some on Krakoa, but not much.”

It had been a while since Ororo had seen Rachel and Amazing Baby. She was busy on Arakko and Rachel was in Otherworld, so the two rarely overlapped. Kneeling down, Ororo scratched under the creatures chin. “It has been too long, Rachel. How are you?”

“One for us all, I’d imagine.” She had just been speaking with T’Challa and Shuri and both the royals feared for their people in the upcoming destruction. It was with the practiced regal smile that being a Queen had taught her that Ororo reached out with when she shook his hand. “Ororo Munroe. Storm. It is nice to meet you, Doctor.” 

“We will familiarize ourselves later.” Her smile was kind. “I’m glad to hear. I was made aware that things were difficult not too long ago. The Five didn’t confer with the Council in regards to your resurrection, but I have always believed blocking clones from the queue stands against what we do.”