Slavery, Deliverance, And Faith: Part One

By Dyce


Disclaimer: Almost all the characters in this story are the property of Marvel Comics, as interpreted by Brian Singer. I do not have permission to use them, and am making no money by said use. Annie and Geordi belong to me, as do assorted supporting characters. Please ask permission for their use. The title of this story is taken from the song of the same name, sung by Clint Black. This story is a sequel to "The Godless Among Them," by me, easily found at Kielle's Movieverse Archive, http://www.subreality.com/movieverse.htm

Annie hit a tripwire at hip height (on her, anyway), doubled over, and fell flat on her cute little nose. "Ow!"

Creed smiled, picking her up by the overall-straps and setting her back on her feet. "See, you missed the tripwire."

"Who puts a tripwire above knee height?" Annie sulked. She rubbed her nose with a little clawed hand. "Hurt my nose."

She was so CUTE! Creed firmly squashed a sloppy grin. It was good that she'd tripped. The kid was overconfident. And picking her up and giving her a hug and telling her it didn't matter, just this once, wasn't going to help one bit. "It'll heal. Go around again."

"Okaayyyyyy." She sighed, dusting off her knees and skipping back to the beginning of the makeshift obstacle course. Creed had told her, sternly, that this was a "baby" course...just a test to see how well she'd do. He'd lied. The course would have been moderately challenging even for him, and he was a good three feet taller.

She wrinkled her nose, wriggled her butt a little, and jumped eight feet straight up, to swing from the bottom rung of a fire escape. Before the thing could come down, she was pinging off a brick wall and heading for the first obstacle. Aww...his baby she was so CLEVER! Look at the little critter go!

Creed wiped the grin off again, and tried to think macho thoughts.

But she WAS cute. And as smart as a whip, too, he thought fondly. Not like him. He'd pretty much come to terms with the fact that he wasn't all that bright, but it was nice that she'd gotten Mystique's brains.

He was also thankful that that was all she'd gotten from Mystique. He didn't like that woman. She was shifty. And, given as Magneto was still in jail and all, she was damn disloyal as well. And not just disloyal to things like the Government, which didn't count, but to actual PEOPLE.

Annie bounced off the last dumpster and stabbed a mannequin in the kidneys. "How'd I do?"

"Not bad," he said as grudgingly as he could...but when she bounced happily on her heels and beamed at him, he couldn't help smiling back. "That's enough for today. You wanna get pizza?"

She nodded. "Can we get the brown sauce on it?" she said hopefully. "And the little sausage slices?"

"Whatever you want, honey." He didn't even notice the endearment as it slid past his lips. "But you better clean up first. Yer filthy."

"That's YOUR fault," she pointed out.

"Yeah? So?"

"Okay, okay, I'll clean..." They slipped out of the vacant warehouse, and across the road to the bike.

It was completely ridiculous to think her tiny helmet was cute, hanging on the side of the bike next to his big one.

Annie lifted her small face and sniffed. "Do you smell that?"

Creed sniffed too, turning his head a little. "Think so. In the alley?"

She nodded, slipping quick as a weasel into the narrow opening. He paused, irresolute. It probably wouldn't help if he went in too...and he really hated places too small for him to fight in...

"Hey, Dad!" An imperious little voice summoned him from the alley, and the magic D-word melted him instantly. With a resigned sigh, he slipped into the dark opening.

Annie was crouching in the darkest corner, her posture one of absorbed focus. "Look what I found," she said softly.

Creed hunkered down on his heels, and looked. A scrawny little girl scuffled back against the brick wall, gazing at him with wide, white pupilless eyes. For a split second, he thought she was blind...then the mauve hair and lavender skin registered. A mutant. "Huh," he said thoughtfully. Annie aside, he really didn't like kids much.

Annie reached out a curious paw. The kid flinched, and Annie tilted her head. "You got a name?" she asked.

"C-Clarice..." the little girl whispered.

"Clarice, huh?" Annie nodded. "I'm Annie. And that's my dad," she said proudly.

The white eyes widened a fraction more as they took in Creed's massive bulk. "Oh," she whispered.

Annie's sharp -- and for now, blue -- eyes took in the too-thin frame, the matted purple hair, the dirty skin. "You're on the streets, huh?"

Clarice nodded ever so slightly.

Creed traded eyerolls with his daughter. A kid who just went around answering questions like this...well, she wouldn't last long, and that was a fact. Poor little brat didn't look older than eleven, and an obvious mutant...

"She's only little," Annie whispered, too soft for the child to hear.

"It's not our problem," Creed protested half-heartedly, in the same near-silent whisper. Dammit, now he was going soft...just because he had a kid of his own, he was getting so he didn't like seeing other little girls in over their heads...

"We could take her back to the school," she suggested. "They like little scruffy smelly kids."

Creed nodded. It would certainly make some brownie points for him if he dropped another little kid off with Annie on Monday. They were still pretty leery about letting him take her on weekends, and until she'd learned everything they had to teach her...which he figured would take at least another six months... he was going to have to make nice.

Annie held out her hand. "C'mon," she said kindly. "You're not really bright enough to make it on the streets by yourself, I can tell. So we're gonna take you to this sort of school place where they think mutants are all cute."

Clarice stared at the extended hand, shaking her head slightly.

"Aww, c'mon," Annie coaxed. "Nobody's gonna do anything nasty to you, I promise. On account of if they try, I'm gonna reach down their throat and pull their liver out, okay?"

The little girl made an uncertain noise.

"We'll buy you some pizza," Annie wheedled. "With little sausage slices."



"I'M BACK!!!"

Scott leaned back in his chair, a manouver which allowed him to look out his office door and across the hall to the foyer. "Annie, what time is it?"

"It's eight o'clock. Right when you told me to be here."

Scott sighed. "I MEANT in the morning, Annie."

She giggled, bouncing into his field of view. "But you didn't SAY in the morning."

"I said in the morning LAST time. And the time before. And the time before that." Scott couldn't help grinning at her. "You know I MEANT it this time."

"Yeah, but you didn't SAY it," she pointed out, grinning back. "Anyway, we were going to come back in the morning, but we found something really interesting yesterday."

"Another car that almost goes?" Scott asked resignedly.

"No, much better." She pointed out of his field of vision. "Come and see!"

Resigned to his fate...and fairly sure that whatever she'd brought back this time had to be at least as interesting as the Cadillac that was very nearly fixed now...Scott pushed back his chair and strolled out into the foyer. "What did...you..."

A tiny, scrawny child was clinging to Creed's hand, wearing what Scott was fairly sure was a pair of Annie's overalls (much too big) and her least-favourite pink t-shirt. She was very obviously a mutant, and even allowing for malnutrition and poor growth, she couldn't be more than eleven. "We found a kid," Annie said proudly.

"I can see that." Scott hunkered down slowly, gazing at the little girl. "Hi. I'm Scott Summers."

She sidled a little closer, still holding tightly to Creed's hand. "Hi," she whispered.

"I told her about you," Annie said helpfully. "He's the nice one, Clarice."

Scott smiled his friendliest smile. "Clarice, huh? That's a pretty name."

She smiled shyly. "Thank you," she said in that same tiny voice.

Annie tugged on Scott's sleeve. "Mr. Summers? Can she stay?"

Scott looked at the tiny, helpless-looking child, and let sentimentality cloud his judgement. "Of course she can," he said firmly. "We wouldn't dream of sending her away."

Clarice's face lit up like a small, pale candle, and Scott smiled again. "Annie, would you mind if Clarice shared your room?" he asked, squinching around to look at her.

"I was gonna ask if she could." Annie gave him one of her comically serious looks that always put him in mind of a baby monkey. "I think it's fostering bad feeling that I have a room to myself."

Scott nodded, equally seriously. It was absolutely imperative that you not laugh at her when she was like this. "That's true. And I can trust you to look after Clarice and make sure she knows her way around and such, right?"

Annie nodded, smiling proudly. "I can do that."

"Good." Scott finally had to turn his attention to Creed. "Uh...thanks for bringing Clarice in," he said stiffly.

Creed grunted, scowling a bit. "Was Annie's idea," he said gruffly.

Well, he'd guessed THAT much... "Thanks anyway," he said as politely as he could, and turned back to Clarice. "Clarice, do you have any family you need to contact?"

She shook her head violently, and Annie put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "It's okay," she said comfortingly. "Mr. Summers doesn't have any family, either, so he understands these things."

Scott nodded, touching the thin shoulder gently as he stood up. "Okay. Have you eaten?"

"Dad bought us some chicken," Annie said happily, gazing adoringly up at her father. Scott firmly squashed a tiny twinge of jealousy. Just because he felt like he had a special bond with Annie didn't mean he got to be jealous of her own father. "Hey, Mr. Summers, did you know that you can get it in all different size buckets? We got a really BIG one."

Scott rolled his eyes. "Annie, do you remember ANY of what Doctor Grey taught you about nutrition?"

"Uh-huh. We had apples, too." Annie beamed. "Great big green ones that got juice all over the inside of the Jeep. You gotta be careful with those things. And--"

"Good." Scott interceded before she could go into full spate. "Why don't you take Clarice up to your room, then? She looks like she could use an early night, and you have studying to do before you go to bed."

Annie nodded and sighed. "Okay, okay..." She stood on tiptoes and hugged her father around the ribs. "Friday, right?"

He wrapped big arms around her for a brief, awkward moment. "I'll be here."

She smiled dazzlingly at him, then pried Clarice's hand from his and gently coaxed her up the stairs, taking the small thin hand in her square, long-fingered one. "C'mon, I'll show you our room."

"Is it nice?" Clarice whispered.

"Sure it is. Kinda small, but that's okay if it's just us. Only don't wake me up if I'm sleeping, because I might whap you in my sleep." Annie's chattering -- softer than usual -- faded away up the stairs.

Sabretooth and Cyclops stared at each other.

There didn't seem to be a lot to say.

With a soft grunt, Sabretooth turned and stalked away.



"Her name's Clarice," Annie said, for the eleventh time that morning. "I found her, and she's kinda shy, so be nice."

Clarice inched a little closer to Annie. The brash, charming girl made her feel much safer. She might be a little loud, and a little overconfident, but she'd made it clear that anybody who messed with Clarice messed with her...and the other students had made it clear that anybody who messed with Annie was a crazy person.

They all seemed to like her, though...there was something about her unquenchable cheerfulness that made up for the loudness and impatience and total lack of anything resembling tact. She was annoying, but liked her anyway. Clarice had always been quiet, and friendly, and well behaved...and she hadn't had a tenth of the friends that Annie seemed to.

She kept waiting for the older girl -- by just over two years, they'd figured -- to leave, and go off with her own friends. But she hadn't...she'd just towed Clarice around with her, telling everyone who she was, and that she was shy, so they had to be nice. And they were...even the boys. Two called John and Bobby especially, who had smiled at her and shared a bag of candy at lunchtime. Rogue was nice, too, but much too old to really be a friend...seventeen, at least. Jubilee -- who'd once shared a room with Annie -- was nice, but spent most of her time with her own best friend, Kitty. Yana was the only one close to Clarice's age, but she didn't speak much English.

"You want a Gummi Snake?" Annie held out a small package. "They kind of get stuck in my teeth, but I like them."

Clarice took one, smiling a little. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Annie kicked at the grass, legs swinging from the bench. "Do you like it here?"

"It's nice." Clarice knew she looked anxious, but she couldn't help it. "How...how long can we stay?"

"I don't know," Annie said thoughtfully. "Until we're at least as old as Rogue and John."

Well, that was a long time... Clarice sucked contemplatively on her Gummi, feeling rather less worried.

Annie patted her knee. "Don't worry about it," she said comfortingly. "People like you here."

Clarice brightened. "They do?"

"Sure." Annie grinned. "You're quiet, and nice to people, and you keep me busy. I haven't climbed the side of the building once since you got here."

"Oh." Clarice giggled a little. "Is that good?"

"Well, if I'm not climbing the building, I can't jump off it screaming like a maniac just to watch everyone panic," Annie said reasonably. "Which, incidentally, never stops being funny. At least I don't think it does."

Clarice blinked, taking another gummi-snake. "...Oh."

"I'm not supposed to do it anymore." Annie sighed. "And I'm not allowed to run on the roof, and I'm not allowed to dig tunnels under the house, and I'm not allowed to swing on the power-lines, and I'm not allowed to drive the minibus, and I'm not allowed to sit on the ceiling during class." She pouted. "I'm not allowed do ANYTHING fun."

Clarice spluttered quietly. If she hadn't seen Annie standing up on the back of the motorbike, she'd never have believed it. "Well...there are other things that're fun..." she said weakly.

"Like what?" Annie asked curiously. "And don't suggest swimming across the lake, 'cause that makes people jumpy."

Clarice gulped. "Uh...board games?"

Annie sighed. "I'm not allowed to play Pictionary or Trivial Pursuit anymore. I'm too good at it. Perfect memory and all."

"Oh. Well. Uh... Playstation?"

"John gets upset when I win. I think it threatens his masculinity." Annie grinned. "Rogue's fun to play against, though."

Clarice giggled softly. "Oh, I see."

Annie grinned at her. "There's only one thing I won't play. 'Cause it's demeaning."

"What's that?" Clarice asked.

"Fetch. Anyway, Bobby gets the bark stuck in his teeth."



"Mr. Summers?" Annie peeped around the office door. "You busy?"

"Not really." He looked up from a stack of papers, smiling at her. "What is it?"

Annie perched in the 'student' chair. "It's Friday," she explained.

"And...?" he prompted.

"And I'm worried about Clarice." Annie gave him her serious-baby-monkey look. "She hasn't really acclimated yet, and she's upset about me going away."

"Oh. And you want to cancel this weekend's going-away?"

Annie gave him a stern look. "No, silly. I want her to go too. Dad misses me when I'm not there."

Scott blinked. "I...you don't think he'd...well...mind?"

Annie shook her head. "You said I couldn't have a puppy. I need something to play with."

Scott blinked again. "It's not quite the same," he said weakly.

"Well, no. I don't have to paper-train Clarice." Annie grinned. "Really, I'm sure he won't mind. He likes anything that keeps me busy."

Scott raised an eyebrow. "He's supposed to be spending time with you," he said sternly. "As in, he's supposed to keep you busy."

Annie grinned. "He tries," she said demurely. "But he's not really experienced with kids. And he gets tired, 'cause he's not as young as he used to be."

Scott spluttered quietly. "What did you do to him!?"

Annie widened her eyes innocently. "We ran a race."

"And how long was this race?" Scott asked suspiciously.

Annie sniffed disapprovingly. "He flagged after forty blocks."

Scott grinned. "Dreadful," he said, shaking his head.

"Mind you, he didn't actually STOP until fifty-three and a half blocks."

Scott chuckled. "And when did you stop?"

Annie grinned, swinging her feet. "Fifty-seven. I had to go back to get him."

Scott chuckled. "Ahh. Well, it's good that you went back." He fished around in his desk drawer, and offered her a bag of confiscated liquorice. "I don't know, Annie... Clarice really needs to acclimate to the school."
Annie pouted. "I can't take her with me?"

"Not this time," Scott said firmly. "We don't want to foster emotional dependency, do you?"

Annie sighed and shook her head. "No. 'Cause that's destructive to her emotional stability and personal wellness."

"That's right." Scott patted her hand. "We want Clarice to be a whole and self-reliant person, who doesn't need an emotional crutch."

Annie nodded. "But I'll call her tomorrow, to make sure she's all right."

"If you like." Scott smiled. She was so adorable, sometimes...when she wasn't being a nightmarishly energetic little hellion.

"I will." Annie pouted a little. "I still wish she could come with me."

"Maybe another time," Scott said kindly, not meaning a word. "And Annie...when you see your father, I think you need to have another one of those little talks with him."

Annie blinked. "Again? What'd he do this time?"

"There are five bikers in intensive care, and I understand that he wrapped one of them up in his bike so comprehensively that he had to be cut out with a welding torch."

"Oh dear." Annie sighed heavily. "I'll talk to him."

"You might mention the taxi he pushed into the river. Right off the side of the bridge." Scott removed his glasses for a moment to rub his closed eyelids, then slid them carefully back into place. "He is getting better, though. He did pull the driver out through the window before giving the taxi its bath."

"I'll talk to him," Annie said resignedly. "He won't do it again."

"Well, yes, but he's going to do something else just as bad, isn't he?" Scott leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I know it's not easy for you, Annie, trying to modify his behaviour, and I know you're too young for this kind of thing, but he won't listen to anyone else."

"I know." Annie rested her chin on her hand. "He's a big responsibility."

"And if you don't feel ready for that responsibility, Annie, you don't have to--"

"Yes I do." Annie shrugged. "Nobody else can."

Scott paused. Then he smiled at her, reaching out to pat her shoulder gently. "That's a very mature attitude," he said softly. "And I'm proud of you."

She beamed, and nearly knocked him over with an enthusiastic hug. "Thanks, Mr. Summers!"

"You're welcome." Scott returned the hug, a little awkwardly. "And no."

Annie pouted. "I didn't even ask yet!"

"Clarice still needs to be independent. And you need to have that little talk with your dad."

Annie sighed. "Oh, okay. But you gotta look after her while I'm gone."



"Come on. It'll be fun," Bobby coaxed.

Clarice shook her head, hugging a cushion to her chest. "Don't want to," she whispered stubbornly.

"You sure?" he asked kindly. "We'd like you to come along."

"Don't want to," she insisted.

"Okay. We'll bring you back something." He smiled at her again, and left.

Clarice sniffled a tiny sniffle. She missed Annie. It had been a whole day and a half, and she wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning. The school seemed a lot bigger and scarier without her, and Clarice felt very much smaller.

Everyone was being nice to her...Jubilee and Kitty had taken her to a movie yesterday, along with Illyana, and even bought her popcorn. And Bobby had just offered to let her go with him, Marie, and John to the mall, and Mr. Summers had even let her have an extra helping of dessert last night. But it wasn't the same.

"Clarice?" a gentle voice murmured.

Clarice looked up to see the smooth white hair and dignified smile that were the first things anyone noticed about Ms. Monroe. "Hi," she whispered.

"Hello," Ms. Monroe said softly, sitting down on the couch beside her, right where Bobby had been a few minutes before. "You didn't want to go to the mall, then?"

Clarice shook her head. She hadn't wanted to go. She hated the mall, which was too big and too loud and too bright and too crowded. Even with Annie, it was scary.

Ms. Monroe nodded understandingly. "It is a little overwhelming sometimes, isn't it?" she said kindly. "So very loud, and so many people."

Clarice nodded, giving her a shy little smile. Ms. Monroe was nice. She didn't act like you were weird if you didn't talk much, and got nervous in crowds. She didn't talk much, either.

"Well, since you don't want to go to the mall, how about we go down to the kitchen?" She smiled that nice smile again, holding out her hand. "I have a tub of ice cream hidden in the freezer that we could share, if you like."

Clarice smiled again, a bit wider this time. "Okay," she whispered, tucking her small thin hand into Ms. Monroe's long, slender one.

They slipped down to the kitchen, where the cook was muttering good-temperedly about picky teenagers who didn't appreciate fine food. Ms. Monroe smiled at him, and they took the ice cream and two spoons out onto the little patio. "I hope you like fudge-mint," Ms. Monroe said seriously. "It's my favourite kind."

"I've never tried it," Clarice murmured shyly.

"Here." Ms. Monroe loaded up a spoon and held it out. Clarice tasted it tentatively, and couldn't help the big smile that spread over her face. The older woman smiled too, and pushed the tub a little closer. "You like it, hm?"

Clarice nodded, beaming. "It's nice."

Ms. Monroe took a spoonful of her own, and nibbled it delicately. "You miss Annie, don't you?" she said gently. Clarice nodded silently, taking another spoonful of ice cream. Ms. Monroe nodded, giving her another kindly smile. "It must be very dull, not having anyone to play with," she ventured.

Clarice nodded again, smiling a little bit. "We play lots of things," she said shyly. "Like hide-and-seek, and Finding Things That Got Lost, and Climbing High Things and Making John Nuts."

Ms. Monroe actually giggled at that. "As a teacher, I should discourage that game, but I rather believe that it's good for his ego," she said, almost impishly. "It makes it a lot smaller."

Clarice giggled too. "He swears a lot," she said shyly. "But he knows it's in fun."

Ms. Monroe nodded. "You and Annie seem to have a lot of fun together," she said softly. "You know, she wanted to take you with her this weekend."

Clarice nodded and sighed. "But Mr. Summers said no. 'Cause he doesn't want me to be dependant." Annie had explained that Mr. Summers only had their best interests at heart, but Clarice hadn't been entirely convinced.

Ms. Monroe looked grave. "I think Mr. Summers was right, Clarice," she said softly. "Annie's visiting her father right now, and...well...he can be a little scary sometimes."

Clarice gave her a blank look. "He can?"

Ms. Monroe blinked back. "You hadn't noticed?"

Clarice shook her head, and smiled another shy little smile. "He let me ride on the motor-bike," she said happily. "And I got a whole pizza all for me."

Ms. Monroe blinked at her, looking baffled and a little alarmed. "You did?"

Clarice nodded. "He doesn't talk much, 'cept to Annie, but he didn't yell at me or anything. And he gave me and Annie a box of cookies each." Food figured largely in Clarice's world, and had since she'd found herself homeless and alone. Anyone who gave her as much as she wanted to eat, and didn't yell at her, was fine with her.

Ms. Monroe took another bite of ice cream, gazing out at the grounds for a long moment. "He didn't...scare you, then?" she asked carefully.

Clarice pondered the question. "A little, I guess. Right at first. But not after I saw him and Annie together for a while." She sighed, licking her spoonful of ice cream reflectively. "It must be nice to have someone like that. Who loves you even if you are a rotten kid a lot of the time."

Ms. Monroe nodded slowly. "They seem truly fond of each other, then?"

Clarice nodded. "In a guy way. Shoulder-punching and stuff."

Ms. Monroe nodded again. "Would you have liked to go with Annie?" she asked very quietly.

Clarice savoured her ice cream. "Yes," she said just as quietly. "I wanted to go."

"Then I will arrange it with Mr. Summers for next week," Ms. Monroe said, standing up. "You may finish what's left of the ice cream, if you wish. I...have work that needs doing."

Clarice nodded, digging into the ice cream happily. She would go next weekend. It would all be arranged.

To Be Continued