The X-Project

Lorna has some concerns for the Team Leaders.



Lorna had insisted on the small conference room that no one ever used simply because it was neutral ground. Meeting in anyone's office would have been too unbalanced and Lorna wasn't about to give away anything that she didn't have to. She'd made coffee and madelines, simply out of habit but didn't have any herself, sitting quietly in her chair waiting for Scott and Ororo to arrive. They'd be on time, of course. That was just the way they were.

"Lorna," Scott said, not quite dryly, as he stepped into the room. He had some suspicions based on the site of the meeting. This was definitely something serious, possibly something confrontational.

A moment later Ororo arrived - she had come from a different part of the mansion, but was still as punctual as Lorna had predicted. She gave the green-haired woman a small smile, unwilling to draw any conclusions about the timbre of the meeting before she had a chance to speak to her. "It seems we are all here, then. Shall we begin?"

"Would anyone like some coffee?" Lorna asked instead, sitting forward and reached for the carafe on the table. "It's fresh. Jamaican beans. A friend sent them to me kind of out of the blue." As she spoke, she briskly poured two cups and offered them to the others. The least you could do when you were about to be unpleasant was to provide a hospitable atmosphere, right? Sure.

But that sort of stalling tactic only worked for a little bit and as Lorna sat back in her seat again, she frowned. "Thank you both for coming. I know you're busy. The team has been very active and school hasn't been much quieter in the last several months. I've read the reports. Seems like you're hardly waiting for the bruises to fade before tossing someone back out onto another mission." Slender hands folded themselves over a file folder on the table, "which is why I'd like to know why I'm still benched."

Scott looked at Ororo, then back at Lorna. "You're not benched," he said a bit quizzically. "You've been cleared by the infirmary and by Charles."

"It is true you have not been on many missions lately," Ororo continued, in an almost seamless segue from Scott's words. "But there are other team members with less responsibilities than you. Surely it makes more sense for say, Logan to be called away than for someone with classes to teach and attend. We try to takeeveryone's commitments into account, Lorna, when choosing who will go."

"That's my point, precisely. I've been cleared for duty since before the mission to take down Sabretooth. I wasn't included then. When the McKenna girls were kidnapped, it was all hands on deck and Haller and I were placed on comm duty. When we raided the offices in Florida and Sam disappeared, I wasn't on the team either time. In fact, I haven't had field duty since September." Lorna took a deep breath, feeling herself losing her emotional distance on this one. "I have fewer commitments than Nathan. I'm not married, I don't have a child or even a significant other. I do have school and teaching but that's true of nearly everyone except Logan."

"We all pull coms duty sometimes, Lorna," Scott pointed out. "All hands on deck too often means stripping the mansion, and I don't want to do that anymore. And we didn't need a large team either for the office raid or for rescuing Sam." He didn't mention that there was a damned good reason she hadn't been on the team that took down Sabretooth. There was, but it didn't need to be said.

"If you are concerned about this, of course we will look into it." Ororo's tone was soothing, calm, but above all things professional. "It is not our intention to make you feel underused. But truly, Lorna, it may be a good thing that we have gotten to the point that not every team member must rush out at the first sign of trouble. This is what we strive for all the time."

Lorna's folded hands went white knuckles and her jaw tensed. "I'm concerned that you both have been, either consciously or unconsciously, leaving me off of missions. If it's unconsciously, I'm hoping bringing it to your attention will correct it. If it's consciously, I'd like to know because this team is why I came back to the mansion in the first place. I've got to start thinking grad school. There are better geophysics programs out there. And while I'm a good teacher, it's not my passion. This is my job. If you don't want me doing it, you need to tell me."

"That is not what we are saying at all." The headmistress glanced briefly at Scott, her expression unreadable. "There was never any insult intended, Lorna. We will certainly reconsider our rosters at this point and do what we can to work you into a more active rotation, if that is what you want."

"It's not our intention to make anyone feel as though they're being underutilized," Scott said when Ororo paused. "Better manpower situation or not."

The green haired woman shrugged and flattened her hands against the table. "Just don't give me excuses. You'll have some time to figure it out. I'll be leaving Wednesday for California, I'll be back next Monday. Take your time and evaluate if you're not using me because you don't really need me or because you don't think that you can trust me in the field. If I'm not an active member of the team, my presence here makes no sense." Lorna stood. "Thank you both for your time."

Scott rose, and if his jaw was a little tighter than it usually was, he figured it was justified. "We've been honest with you, Lorna. I'm sorry if you choose to regard what we've told you as 'excuses' - I can assure you they're not." He took a deep breath, then let it out. "If I don't see you before you go, have a good trip." With that, he turned and left.

"Thank you for coming to us, Lorna," Ororo offered as she stood, hoping to distill the slightly tense atmosphere in the room. "And I too hope you have an enjoyable trip. I am sure California will be very nice right now."

Lorna thought of the meeting she'd have this week and shrugged one shoulder. "California is always nice. It's part of their contract. It's like Camelot, except with better beaches." She gathered up her things and headed for the door, pausing with her hand on the jamb and rubbed her temple, sighing, "I'm not asking to make trouble,Ro . You know me better than that. I really need to know if this is the right place for me." She left without waiting for an answer.