Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, they are the property of Marvel and Stan Lee. Cougar and her class mates are figments of my imagination.

Author's note: Here's another short Cougar story. I really do suggest you read her other fic's first (and review if you would). Otherwise I'm not sure if you'll get this one. I had a fairly decent sized fan base going on, so this is for you guys :D. Just thought you'd enjoy it, though I didn't get too many reviews on the last one I posted. This story takes place after my first fic How I Joined the X-Men, and the last short one I wrote Running From the X-Men. Cougar's still in school at Xavier's.

Dealing as an X-Man

It was a half an hour past midnight on a Friday and, while the rest of my class teammates had opted for a concert, I'd left the school immediately after supper. It was the first day in a month that we were allowed off school grounds. We were in trouble for getting into a fight. As in we, I actually mean the entire student body.

Like most American high schools, Xavier's has this really stupid hierarchy that puts graduated senior above all others. They can cut to the front of the lunch line, they board the buses first, they have priority over the gyms or weight rooms, that sort of stupid stuff. They were collectively called super seniors because they had already graduated but were staying there to train on various teams to be X-Men. There wasn't a lot of them, four boys and two girls. But six people with superior airs can cause a lot of trouble.

Clearly, I'm one who avoids trouble in most situations. My lousy luck usually just dumps it at my feet. The altercation that had caused a school wide grounding had started out silly enough. The super seniors had come into the lunch room like a pack of dogs and cut to the front of the line. On this particular day, Wolverine had been in a foul mood, making our training session with him long and hard, ending with a Danger Room session that we had no hope of beating. I was currently favoring my left arm because of it, but my always-thoughtful teacher had forbid me from having the six inch gash healed for twenty four hours so that I'd appreciate having two good arms in the future. Normally, I try not to talk back to the man, but I may have accidentally referred to him as Sabertooth, so he made s run an extra three miles. After that, no one was in a good mood.

"This is stupid," Conner grumbled from behind me. "I guarantee that we worked way harder than them today."

"Well running three miles didn't really help either," Amber groaned, stretching a calf muscle against the wall as we waited.

"I aint apologizin' again," I informed her.

"It's not your fault Mr. Logan was being a," Ana barely hesitated before ending her insult with , "jerk."

"Just say it," Amber smiled wickedly at her friend, always trying to get the shy, polite girl to curse.

"Jerk works as well as any other word," She held her ground.

"You're right," Joseph suddenly pushed himself away from the wall, "This is stupid."

"Where are you going?" Amber asked cautiously as he started toward the older group.

"I'm going to tell them where the end of the line is," he informed us.

Now I bet all this time you were thinking that I'd started the fight. And boy was it a fight.

Graduates don't have anything else to do except train, so they're good. They also outnumbered our team, who immediately backed up Joseph as soon as voices were raised. It started with shoving, but powers were thrown in quickly. Keep in mind that unless plants are accessible, Joseph doesn't really have powers. One of the girls was a telekinetic, more powerful than Amber at the time. Conner's flying skills were worthless in the standard height ceiling of the lunchroom. I was working with a bum arm. Their training let them see Ana as our strong point and they targeted her quickly. Blast was powerful. She knew this and she always hesitated to use her gifts against another person. But two of them were focusing their plasma blasts at her.

"Ana," Crayola shouted above the suddenly noisy crowd as she struggled to ward off a psychic bull whip, "Hit them already!"

She sent one of the boys across the room and through a table.

Here's the bad part. That boy was part of a training team, and the rest of his teammates quickly came to his defense. Even if he was a jerk who cut in line, they still had to back him. This quickly turned the fight between my team and the super seniors to a fight between my team and each of their teams. Then few of the under class men, who were not on teams but knew why the fight started, came in to help us, which was appreciated.

It was probably two minutes between the time that Joseph approached them and Xavier came in. In those two minutes, the lunch room was set on fire, three windows were busted, five tables were broken, seven chairs were smashed, two people were knocked out, one shoulder was dislocated (that was my doing), six noses were bloodied, three black eyes were given, one molar was knocked out, and there were several smoldering craters in the tiles.

"Stop this immediately!" Professor Xavier's voice boomed over the brawl. He must have put some psychic force behind it, because several telepath's clutched at their heads.

Just like that, everyone froze, deer in the headlights, to turn and look at the Professor, flanked by all of the teachers. And we knew we were in very big trouble.

We received a speech from Xavier first. He was the most powerful psychic on the planet, he didn't have to ask what started it all. Our behavior was unacceptable, deplorable even, and would not be tolerated. He went on for some time, the angriest most of us had ever seen him. Then he grounded the entire student body and sent the teams to their leaders.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys!?" Logan snarled, barely even in the door of his office. We parted like the Red Sea so he could get to his desk.

"What they're doing is wrong-" Joseph, who'd obviously never been in the office to be yelled at, actually tried to answer him.

"So you think destroying the lunch room is right?" he snapped. "I don' t have time ta babysit you kids all day long. Clearly yer not too tired after team training ta pull this shit."

"That has nothing to do with it," Amber crossed her arms, glaring.

Now Conner backed her up, "It's not like we got into a fight because we were bored."

"We're supposed to be learning to do the right thing here," Joseph pointed out, "And they-"

"There's a dozen kids down in the med lab right now. Again, ya thought startin' a brawl in the school is the right thing ta do?" the man stared hard at him. It was the first time we'd stood up to him as a team for anything serious, but I could tell my classmate's resolve was wavering. I saw this and, from experience arguing with the man, I knew he was about to crush us. Unfortunately, I knew that I had to distract him from his prey.

"Oh, bullshit," I opened my ever-in-trouble-mouth. "I've read enough of yer files ta know how many brawls you've started, Wolverine."

He zeroed in on me then. "You were warned, kid. I told ya if ya got inta another fight you were outta here."

"That was two years ago," I shouted back, "And check my files, I've been in, like, twenty since."

"Pack yer bags," he bellowed, pointing at the door.

"Ok," I shrugged, turning to leave.

I got to see my friends wide eyed looks before he barked, "Get back in here and quit bein' a smart ass," like he always did.

I moved back to my spot silently, like I always did.

The ploy worked, yelling at me refocused his anger. He resolved to just scowl at us. "Curfew is moved up ta eight for a week. Be in yer room by then or else. Go get something ta eat from the kitchen and get back ta class," he decides finally. And we were actually let off easy. We still were confined to the school grounds for a month, and had to repair the cafeteria with the super seniors, but it wasn't too bad.

That was why, on our first night of freedom, the others had gone to a concert, but I wanted to get away from people. I wanted to get out and walk. Wolverine said it was a feral thing; I can' stand to be cooped up, so I was allowed to go out to the city and wander the streets to help release the feral stress. I was safe, keeping my powers of 'unnoticable-ness' jacked up and I had a transmitter if I happened upon any crime. This worked for awhile until Iceman was on call one week and got tired of responding to muggings and small things. Then I was allowed to take care of it myself, still following X-Men rules. The other stipulation was a one o'clock curfew. If I was lost (happened frequently) and couldn't make it, I was to call the school and someone would come pick me up. Really, you'd think with two rules I couldn't get into too much trouble. But I AM gifted, after all..

At a quarter to one, I called Wolverine's cell phone number, leaving a message with my location. I paced the street for an hour before I spotted his jeep one block over. By then I was tired, my feet hurt and I was very much annoyed that he didn't pick me up at the pay phone but instead sat in front of some old warehouse. His vehicle was empty too, so I slipped through the buildings open door. Maybe he'd smelled something interesting. Curiosity killed the cat...

I walked in on what was clearly a shady business deal. Wolverine, wearing a black eye patch, was talking with a fat, short balding man who was flanked by two steroid guys who weren't afraid to flash their guns. They were talking about shipment of twenty units, guaranteed fresh and another ten used. In hindsight, I really should have just left...

"That is a large order," the fat man replied in a heavy Russian accent, "How would that not raise suspicion?"

"Different sources," Logan shrugged. "No one cares ta look. Just as long as you can ship them without getting caught-"

"Shipping is my business," FatMan got huffy at that.

"Aint my problem. My bosses just wanna make sure they're protected on their end."

"I will give the buyer your price. We can meet again a week from now at the first location-"

Really, I had just turned to leave when the most annoying sound hit me. It was a black Pomeranian, being walked in from outside by another body guard who looked less than pleased to be on doggy duty. I froze, but the yammering mutt had already picked out my scent.

"Romanov," the guard threatened quietly, trying to pull the rat back, "Quit that barking before-" The dog jumped up at me yapping and I suddenly became noticeable. His eyes met mine, both wide before he dropped the leashed and pulled his gun, "BOSS!"Everyone's gaze shifted to him, then the dog, then to me. "Boss, we got a snoop!" Grabbing my arm, he dragged me over to the other men with the gun p? What are you trying to do?" Now all three guns were drawn, but two were pointing at my teacher.

My eyes flew to Wolverine, who didn't look worried about the future of my brain matter at all. Instead he asked in an irritated tone, "I told you ta stay outside ya idiot. Get over here," with his hand facing up, he waved me closer.

In Japan, where he'd spent many years, the 'come here' gesture is actually given with the palm facing down. He had trained us to use that as a safety, and to use the usual American gesture as more of a 'this is a trap/you might die' thing.

He was basically telling me that there was a real possibility that I was going to be killed. Neat. Thinking on my feet surprisingly well, I blurted out, "An undercover just drove by for the second time. He's eying your jeep."

"What is she talking about?" the Russian demanded.

"This is my look out," Logan picked up my ploy, "Can't be too careful in my line of business."

"She was too fxxking close to business to just be a look out," the gun pressed harder into my head.

"She can go invisible," Wolverine explained. "Makes her good at her job. Usually." At this he gives me a dirty look.

FatMan looked between us, then nodded to the dog walker, who grudgingly released me. Warily, I moved nearer to Logan. He continued to watch me, though. "Perhaps if she is unsatisfactory, you should get rid of her. She looks young..."

From the edge of my vision, I could see Wolverine's hand twitch, almost like he was holding back his claws. Still cool, he answered, "Not for sale. She pulls her weight."

"That cop's gonna be back," I urged, not liking the conversation's direction.

"I'll see ya in a week," Logan nodded to the Russian before taking a tight grip on my upper arm and steering me around the men.

"Make sure your little pet is where I can see her next time." His threat came through clear enough, but to our backs he added, "My buyer would be interested in her, too. In the case that you decide she is no longer 'pulling her weight'. Even if you are using her, there's a market for those eyes."

Turning with a smirk, Logan replied darkly, "I'll keep it in mind."

I don't open my mouth on the walk to the jeep, not even when he rips open the door and nearly tosses me in, or when he noisily revs the engine and guns it down the street. I wait until my seatbelt is securely on before shouting at him, "What the hell was that?!" just as he snarled, "I outta kick yer ass!"

"What!?" I snapped back.

"You've been grounded for a month, and ya can't go one day without pissin' me off."

"Hey, I called ta tell you I'd be late. It aint my fault you stopped ta play pirate on the way ta get me."

"What the hell are you talkin' about?" He jerked the wheel and made an illegal turn down a one way street before ripping the eyepatch off and slamming it on the dash board.

"You've completely lost yer frickin' mind," I yelled, flinching as oncoming traffic veered around us, honking. "Yer driving like a psychopath."

"I'm makin' sure no one's tailing us," he turned onto a normal street and checked the mirrors.

Relaxing just a little I asked again "What was that?"

He took out a cigar and lit it, ignoring me

"Wolverine."

He glared out the windshield, so I gave up, rolling down my window to suck his disgusting smoke out.

I fell asleep on the way back to the school. I was rudely awoken to him ordering me, "Go wait in my office."

It's like, three in the morning," I yawned, stretching as I got out.

"Go wait in my office," he repeated impatiently, "Until I know what I'm gonna do with you."

I'm tired, so I obey with little more lip than to mutter, "How bout ya let me go ta bed ya crab."

In the office, I slouched down in my chair and stifled another yawn. We'd been doing midnight training sessions 'because X-Men don't have schedules' and it was kicking my butt. I jerked awake when the door opened.

Both Wolverine and Cyclops came in, walked to the other side of the desk and looked at me. After a minute, Logan was the first to speak, "What the hell were you tryin' ta pull?"

"Logan," the other man sighed, then asked me, "Cougar, what were you doing in that warehouse?"

Oh, wow, someone asking myside of the story. How refreshing. "I wasn't gonna make curfew so I left Mr. Psychopath here a voicemail-"

"Cougar," now he sighed my name.

"I saw his jeep down the street and just though he was there ta pick me up. I wasn't there," I glare over at the scowling man, "ta just piss someone off."

"Language," Mr. Summers scolded. "You weren't trying to insert yourself into his missions?"

I stared back like he was an idiot. "Do I look like-" I stopped myself short of saying Jubilee and finished, "Someone who would horn myself inta a mission? With Wolverine of all people?"

They exchanged a look before Mr. Logan took over the interrogation, "What'd you see?"

"Nothing," I answered not too quickly.

"Don't lie ta me, kid," he gave me a scowl.

"I would never lie ta you, Wolverine," I went for the wide-eyed innocent look.

He turned to a frowning Cyclops, "She's 18. It aint child abuse if I hit her no more."

Cyke raised an eyebrow at his partner before pointing out to me, "You're being rather uncooperative, Cougar."

I crossed my arms oer my hes and explained, "Cuz its almost four in the morning and you two are interrogating me. I aint givin' you nothin' til you tell me what's goin' on."

A muscle in Logan's jaw started twitching but Mr. Summers almost liked he was trying not to smile. He turned to the angry man to ask, "What's your response to that?"

""I'm gonna take her out back is what I'm gonna do," was the growled reply.

"She's your student," he pointed out, still amused. "And its your mission. Make the call."

If I wasn't so tired, the glare that he gave me might have scared the hell out of me. "Ya might not go lookin' for trouble, kid," he finally grumbled, "But ya sure got a knack for findin' it."

"Lousy luck," I shrugged.

"Udinov expects ya ta be at the next meeting," he gives me a name for the fat man. In exchange for that info, he demands, "What did you see?"

"You wearin' a stupid lookin' eyepatch," I answered, still irritable, "And makin' a dirty deal with the Russian. Thirty units that he'll ship somewhere else."

"Girls," Cyclops filled in. "Udinov specializes in the transportation of young mutant girls from the US. To Europe."

Uncrossing my arms, I leaned forward in the chair, "Power specific or what?"

"Sex trade," he corrected. "His buyer prefers mutants with physical characteristics but fairly latent powers."

I got a bad taste in my mouth at the memory of the fat man. "So why not just gut the bast-" I glanced at Cyclops before correcting, "Bad Guy...and get it over with?"

"We want the buyer too," Logan explained. "Then I'll gut the bastard."

I frown because he got to cuss and I didn't

"He's had a psychic put blocks up in his head. Unless there's a specific thought, even with Cerebro, it's hard to determine whether it's his client or his butler. We're hoping at this next meeting, where he's supposed to receive the girls, the buyer's name will be more prominent in his mind."

"So what do ya want from me?"

"Yer gonna be at the next meetin' with me," my psychotic teacher scowled at me.

"No I'm not," snorting at his, I crossed my arms again.

What?" he asked as Mr. Summer's eyebrows shot well above his visor. "Why the hell not?"

"I don't want to," I frowned, "And just because you think I should be all gung ho ta be on a mission doesn't mean I am."

His jaw started doing that weird tensing thing again.

"Cougar," the calmer of the two started, "If you're not there, Udinov might be suspicious and not go through with the meeting.

Pushing myself out of the chair, I head toward the door, "Get a shape shifter, then. Or stick Jubilee in there with an image inducer."

"This meeting isn't over," he told me firmly.

Turning back, I held out my hands, "I aint on this mission. Its not my meeting." I walked out on them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

K, this was supposed to be a one-chapter story, but it's gonna be way to long. So three chapter, maybe four. I'll try and get them out fairly quickly, though. Read and Review, just so I know there's someone! Thanks :D