Disclaimer: Nope.
Summary: Welcome to Marvel Close, where life is good and easy, if you aren't Kurt, Kitty, Evan or Marie that is.
Feel free to have a look into the lives of the X Men, and the Brotherhood, without their powers.
A/N: Finally, I have it up!
In this story, no one has powers, but they have abilities that are hints of their powers.
The character bios are as follows:
Kurt Darkholme
Age: 16
Kurt is the most flexible person in the entire school and was the star gymnast at his old school.
He is well known for his practical jokes, high energy, optimism and love of acrobatics.
Kurt has long since come to think his mother doesn't want him in her life and acts like a 'robot' when he is around her. Their relationship is almost nonexistent.
Raven Darkholme
Age: 38
Raven is a single mother and has gone through much in her life. She has distanced herself from her son in an attempt to try and keep herself from getting hurt. She does love her son though.
Katherine "Kitty" Howlett
Age: 15
The youngest in the Howlett family, Kitty is sweet, shy, and a straight A student.
She is well known for her love of dance and music.
She cannot use a computer to save her life, and that is the only class she does not get perfect grades in besides gym.
Marie "Rogue" Howlett
Age: 16
Marie is the oldest of the Howlett children and as much as her sister wears bright colors, she wears dark ones. The girls are polar opposites, and best friends. Marie is well known for her love of Gothic garb and music and loves Drama.
James "Logan" Howlett
Age: 40
Before Logan met Ororo his life consisted of cage fighting and traveling across Canada. He had met Ororo several years ago, but the two had lost touch until they ran into each other in Halifax. They married several years later and had Marie and Kitty. Logan is currently the owner of a motorcycle and auto repair shop and is well known for his gruff nature and incredible protectiveness of his family.
Ororo Howlett
Age: 38
Ororo is a lover of nature and teaches environmental science at the college. She is a family woman and loves not only her husband and daughters, but her sister and nephew. Ororo is well known for her prize winning garden, peace treaties in Africa, and her strength of character.
Evan Monroe
Age: 16
Evan is Ororo and Logan's nephew and Marie and Kitty's cousin. He would prefer to be on a skateboard all day than in a classroom, but his grades are decent and his one true love is sports. He's good friends with his cousins and thinks of them as his sisters, which they might as well be seeing as he spends most of his time at the Howlett home.
Enjoy!
MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE
Chapter 1: New Kid on the Block
"Marie...Marie...Marie, you will buy Evan a milkshake..." "And you will buy Kitty a new pair of shoes..." "And you are both dead!" Evan and Kitty laughed as they jumped away from where they'd been whispering in the, previously, asleep Marie's ear.
"Get back here!" the Goth chased after her cousin and younger sister as they ran from her room.
The three teens proceeded to run down the stairs and through the kitchen where Logan merely stepped out of their way and kissed his wife's cheek, without missing a beat. Ororo lifted the frying pan she'd been cooking in as she walked over to the table, letting the kids run under her outstretched arms on their way to the backyard.
"Remind me again why we had three?" Logan asked.
"Because I wanted a big family and one of them is our nephew."
"Ah, right…How is your sister anyway?" Ororo smiled, "Good, the whole legal mess with the divorce was hard on her and she was glad we've been able to keep an eye on Evan."
"Kid's family, besides, they all get along."
In contrary to Logan's statement, Rogue tackled Evan as her sister had been able to slip from her grasp.
"Gotcha!"
"Hey guys, check it out, looks like someone's moving in." Evan and Marie stood and looked over where Kitty pointed.
Sure enough, there was a moving truck parked outside the house down the street and the front door was open to allow the men to take the furniture and boxes inside.
"Wonder if there are any kids our age in the family?" Evan questioned and as if to answer the questioned, a black car pulled up and a strict looking woman in a gray skirt suit stepped out to go over and begin ordering around the movers.
Meanwhile, a teenage boy with chin length blue black hair, and pale skin got out as well.
"Guess that answers that question." Kitty laughed.
"Why don't you kids go great our new neighbours?" Ororo stuck her head out the screen door. "Thanks Mom, but I think I'll get dressed first." Marie brushed past her mother with a smile and headed back upstairs.
"Evan, Kitty?" "Sure Aunty O!" Evan chimed and took Kitty's wrist and proceeded to drag her over.
"Um, Evan, I'm not so sure, I mean..." "Relax Kit-Kat, the guy looks fine." Kitty took another look, the boy did look harmless. He was wearing a dark green button up t-shirt and a pair of tan slacks, not what you would call scary. "Well, I guess..." Evan grinned and pulled his less resisting cousin down the street.
The dark haired boy left the front yard and went around to the back of the house and Evan went around as well, Kitty in tow, following him. When they reached the backyard, a surprising sight met their eyes. The boy was balancing on one hand, upside down, and showed no sign of falling over.
"Hey!" Evan greeted and the boy twisted his neck to see to the side. "Uh, hi." He pushed off his hand and landed on his feet, dusting off his hands.
Evan walked over, "I'm Evan, this is my cousin Kitty, we both live down the street." He said as way of explanation. "We came to say hi and welcome you to the neighbourhood." Kitty added.
The boy grinned, "Alright then. I'm Kurt; it's nice to meet you." He shook hands with Evan.
"So did you and your folks move from a different part of town, or from a different city?" Kurt smiled, "It's just my mom, and we moved here from San Francisco." "Wow, that's all the way across the country." Kurt laughed, "Tell me about it. So you guys live down the street?"
"Yep, my aunt's her mom, and I actually live right across the street from you, they live a couple houses over." "Uh, whose they?"
Evan laughed, "Oops right, Kit's older sister, Marie." Kurt nodded, "Who would be right here." Marie came around the side of the house and Kurt did a double take, looking from her to Kitty and back again before shaking his head ~I should've learned to expect that siblings can be exact opposites by now. ~.
"So you're the new guy, I'm Marie." She held her hand out and he grinned before shaking it, "Kurt, nice to meet you."
"That's a different name." He shrugged, "Born in Germany." Kitty looked interested, "Seriously?" he nodded, "That's so cool." He blushed a bit, looking embarrassed.
"Hey, our Mom wanted me to invite you over and your mom too if she wants." "Uh..." Kurt looked towards the house and as if that were a cue, there was a flurry of yelling that was so loud and high pitched that the teens winced.
"She's not really a people person, but I'd be glad to accept the offer." He grinned. "Great! There's nowhere near enough guys around here." Evan exclaimed as Kurt followed the cousins back to the Howlett house in time to find Logan leaving.
"Uncle Logan, this is Kurt." Evan introduced him and Kurt, strangely undaunted by the gruff looking man, held out his hand in greeting.
Logan smirked, "Nice ta meet ya." Kurt grinned, "You too." Logan nodded and grinned before jumping into his truck and heading to work.
"Hey Mom, where are you?!" Marie called as they stepped into the house.
Kurt looked around, taking in the few decorative pieces from Africa, the family pictures and incredible welcoming feel of the entire house.
"Kitchen!" Ororo called back and the quartet entered to see her cleaning up from breakfast. She turned and smiled when she saw Kurt. "Hello." He grinned and Kitty was amazed by how at ease he was. "This is Kurt." Marie introduced him this time, "I'm Ororo, or Mrs. Howlett, whichever you prefer." She shook his hand. "Nice to meet you Mrs. Howlett." She smiled. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have lilies in the backyard that aren't going to water themselves." "See ya Mom."
"So, Kurt, what did you used to do in San Francisco?" Marie questioned. "Uh," he chuckled a bit, "Nothing normal." He grinned nervously.
"Like that hand stand thing you were doing in your backyard?" Kitty finally asked a question. "Yeah, I was on the gymnastics team at my old school."
"Sweet, I prefer skateboarding myself, but basketball's a close second." Evan supplied. "Kitty's our dancing queen, and I prefer acting over sports."Marie finished.
The teens moved out to the front lawn where they proceeded to relax underneath the tall, thick branched tree that grew there. Kurt grinned and took a leap, grabbing onto one of the lower branches and swinging himself up, before hanging upside down from it.
"You can't stay right side up for more than few minutes can you?" Marie questioned as she settled herself against the trunk. "Not really." Was the reply and the three laughed.
"What school are you going to go to?" Evan questioned. "Xavier's Institute."
"Sweet, that's where we go too!" Kitty smiled at the boy and Kurt grinned back.
"You have to try out for the gymnastics team, they haven't won in years. You know, you actually seem to have more talent than the rest of the team combined, you could be their saving grace." Kurt shrugged, or at least, that's what it looked like. "Maybe..."
The four stayed outside for most of the morning, until the black haired woman, who'd they'd taken to be Kurt's mom, came over, looking even more strict up close.
"Kurt, get down form that tree and come home. You need to help me unpack." Kurt's previous relaxed grin left and he sighed, dropping from the tree and flipping to land in a crouch. "I'll be right over, Mom." She nodded and strode away. He gave his new friends an apologetic grin. "I better go."
"We'll see you tomorrow man, there's no way you're getting rid of us that easy." Evan smirked and Kurt relaxed. "Wouldn't think of it Evan. See you guys later." He waved and ran down the street to disappear into his house.
"Well that woman certainly has a stick up her-"
"Marie!"
"Sorry..."
MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE
Kurt grunted as he picked up a stack of boxes that had come from his room in the apartment in San Francisco.
"Is that the last of them?"
Kurt sighed, "Yeah Mom."
"Good, I'm going out, I'll be back later." Kurt mouthed the words along with her as she left, he'd heard the so many times, he could repeat them, backwards, in gibberish, in German and in any order you wished while keeping up his impression of his mom.
"Thank God." He exclaimed as he set the boxes down. "Typical I leave the books for last, who knew paper could weigh so much."
He sighed and fell back in his bed, which consisted mainly of the frame and the mattress.
"Might as well start now." He said to himself and started digging through the boxes. He grinned when he found his stereo and plugged it in, putting a Simple Plan CD and blasting it, he got to work unpacking his room.
He had just finished unpacking his clothes when the doorbell rang.
A confused expression on his face he turned down his music until it was almost completely mute and trudged down the stairs. He opened the door to reveal Evan, his hands in his pockets and wearing a gray hoodie, it was only then that he noticed it'd gotten dark.
"Hey."
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Kurt was torn between laughing and being completely silent because of shock. He stepped aside to let his friend enter.
"Well, I'm bored, it's summer, you can only hang out with your female cousins for so long before you go insane and I've moved before and I know how much of a pain unpacking is so I thought I'd come over and give my friend my company and some assistance." Kurt grinned, "And I will happily accept your offer."
Evan smirked, "Good, 'cause ether way you're stuck with me." The dark haired boy laughed and led his friend upstairs to his room which looked like a tornado had hit it.
Evan grinned again, "Your room's cleaner than mine." Kurt gave him an amazed look and laughed again.
"So, what do want me to do?" Kurt looked around and noticed the boxes of books in front of his bookshelf. "Well, you could start shelving those books; I've got a million of them so it'll probably take you a while." Evan grinned then noticed the music coming from Kurt's stereo. "Simple Plan?" Kurt looked up from where he was digging through even more boxes. "Uh yeah, if you don't like them you can take a look through the rest of my CDs." He pointed to another box but Evan shook his head and turned up the music, still low enough for them to hear each other over. "Are you kidding, I love them." Kurt grinned and the boy went to work Evan occasionally asking Kurt questions and vice versa.
"So where's your mom?"
"No idea."
Evan gave him a surprised look, "I don't follow you."
"Well, when I told you she wasn't really a people person, I meant that in all ways, including she isn't a mothering person." He went back to organizing CDs.
"Oh, sorry."
"No problem, to be honest I'm actually relieved, I hate spending time with my mom. The drive here from JFK: pure torture." Evan chuckled and the uncomfortable atmosphere lifted. It was only when they noticed that it was 11 o'clock in the evening that they decided to call it a day and Evan headed home.
"Hey, thanks for the help Evan." He shrugged, "What are friends for?" Kurt grinned and shook his head before locking all the doors and windows and jumping into a quick shower before he fell into his newly made bed, his room still filled with boxes and miscellaneous junk, but tidier than before.
MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE
When Kitty woke up, it was to absolute silence. ~Must be one of those days where I wake up early. ~
With a sigh she got up and, with practiced stealth, manoeuvred around her room to get dressed in a pair of light wash jeans, a white t-shirt underneath a pink hoodie and a pair of runners. She pulled her hair into a ponytail as she made her way downstairs.
~What to do, what to do? ~
She checked the clock and did some quick math before realizing that it was a possibility that one person might be awake. She bit her lip before deciding to take a chance. She wrote a note and left it on the table before grabbing her house key and leaving through the front door which didn't creak as much as the front.
With her hands in her pockets she strolled down the sidewalk towards the newly moved in house.
Kitty could feel her stomach tossing with nerves she was, by nature, not the most outspoken out there person in the world. She was about to knock on Kurt's front door when she heard a soft thump come from the backyard. She had a slight idea of what was going on and her guesses were proven correct when she walked through the back fence to find Kurt in a pair of loose black pants and a tighter white t-shirt, doing a series of flips and manoeuvres that she hadn't thought humanly possible.
"Kurt?" she spoke up and he landed and turned to her. She was relieved when he smiled and it also brought to light that she hoped to have that smile directed at her more.
"Kitty! To what do I owe the honour of your presence here this morning?" he came over and she shrugged, feeling a bit more at ease. "I woke up early and came to see if you were up. My family's grumpy in the morning."
He chuckled. "Well in that case, you want to come inside for hot chocolate or something; I promise I'm not some kind of creeper." She giggled, "Sure, why not?" he grinned and she followed him inside.
"Do we have to worry about waking up your mom?" he shook his head. "Nope, she left for work a couple hours ago. So what do you prefer, hot chocolate or tea, 'cause I still need to get groceries." She smiled, "Hot chocolate's great." They chatted a little bit as Kurt prepared their drinks and Kitty was surprised at how easy it was to talk to him.
"Okay, I have a question, but you don't have to answer it." He nodded, "Alright."
"Well, I'm just curious…what happened to your dad?" she avoided his eyes which she found to be a deep blue that seemed endless. "Don't know…hey I'm not angry, you're entitled to ask questions." Kurt gave her a warm smile.
"I never knew him, and I actually don't want to." He laughed and she gave him a confused look. "Well anyone crazy enough to get together with my mom must be senile." They kept their expressions straight for all of five seconds before bursting out in laughter.
As they both went back to normal Kurt took a glance at the clock, "Wow, we've been sitting here for nearly an hour." Kitty whistled appreciatively. "So, you obviously are going to be busy unpacking for a while." She stated, noticing the abundance of boxes that were still stacked around the house.
"Yep. What a fun day!" she rolled her eyes at his sarcasm. "Well, you want some help?" he smiled, "That would be great."
She grinned and stood. "Alright, lead on then."
He shook his head and laughed before leading her upstairs. "Evan actually came over and gave me a hand last night, so it's not as bad but…" he left the end of the sentence open allowing the stacks of boxes to speak for themselves.
Kitty looked around and noticed the bookshelf, "I'll work on those, and you have a shower." He grinned. "And you are a mind reader. Be back in ten."
True to his word, Kurt was gone for ten minutes before coming back in cargos and a red t-shirt, his hair slightly damp. Kitty had already finished the box Evan had started the night before and was opening another.
"You work fast." He complimented before opening yet another box of CDs.
"Thanks. Okay, I have an idea." Kurt smirked, "End of world idea or possibility of us being arrested idea?" Kitty grabbed a pillow from his bed and chucked it at him.
"Neither smart aleck." He chuckled.
"It's just we don't know much about each other so how about we just swap questions?" Kurt thought for a minute, "Alright, but we have the right to refuse to answer a question." Kitty nodded in agreement. "Sounds good. Okay, besides gymnastics, what are your hobbies?" Kurt grinned, "You started with an easy question. Well, I play guitar, read and occasionally I'll skateboard."
Kitty smiled, "Are you any good?"
"In skateboarding or guitar?"
"Both."
"I can do a few tricks on a skateboard, but nothing too jaw dropping and as for guitar, I picked it up when I was…four I think, so pretty good. Now, what about you? Your sister mentioned that you dance. What kind?"
Kitty blushed, "Whatever I could get into as a child, but usually I stick to jazz, ballet, and hip-hop. I love dancing when it tells a story." She admitted and he smiled. "Cool, okay your turn."
She thought for a minute, "Favourite bands, to listen to and to play."
He grinned, his eyes lighting up, "To listen to: Simple Plan, Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy, Nickelback and Daughtry. To play: Daughtry, Simple Plan, some Nickelback and Evanescence or Nightwish when I want something really challenging." He nodded in her direction, "What about you, favourite bands?" She smiled, "Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Avril Lavigne, Megan McCauley, Michelle Branch and oddly enough, Simple Plan and Daughtry. Evan got me hooked." He chuckled and it continued like this for a while, even as they finished Kurt's room and continued on in the living room.
"Most endearing but annoying thing one or both of your parents have called you."
Kitty grinned, "Easy, my dad has this thing where he is almost physically impossible of calling us by our first name, so everyone gets a nickname. You know you're in trouble or if the situation is serious if he calls you by your real name." She explained and Kurt nodded as he hooked up the TV.
"So what's your nickname?" "Half-Pint. Insanely annoying, but nowhere near as bad as Evan's."
Kurt looked up, "Oh there's a story there."
Kitty giggled, "A couple years ago, he got this really bad haircut that was like one of those punk rockers. All spiky and stuff." Kurt snorted at the mental image. "Well, my dad started calling him Porcupine and the name just stuck. Beware; you'll probably get one too." Kurt grinned, "I look forward to it Katzchen."
Kitty blinked, "Um, what?"
"Oh, sorry." Kurt blushed when he realized what he'd said. "It's uh German for kitten. Kitten, Kitty, Katzchen. Sorry bout that."
She smiled and shook her head. "No problem, I like it."
He grinned, "How long did you live in Germany anyway?"
"Long enough for German to be my first language, but my mom moves a lot for her job. Hopefully we stay here for a while longer though, moving is an absolute pain." She nodded and smiled as she finished stacking the DVDs.
"Tell me about it. We moved once when I was a child. I never want to do it again." Kurt laughed and they fell back into their easy conversation.
It was just as Kurt noticed that it was nearly eleven thirty when the doorbell rang.
Taking notice of who was surrounded by more boxes, Kitty squeezed through the mini maze to the door. "I got it!" she opened the door to reveal Marie and Evan.
"There you are!" Marie grinned but they all rushed back into the living room when they heard the sound of what must have been paper or cardboard fall and a low "Ow..."
Entering they found that a stack of boxes had tipped over, completely covering their new friend in books and sheets of paper.
"Kurt?"
"A little help would be nice." His voice was muffled by the paper and the girls laughed as Evan dug him out.
"Thanks." Evan gave him a hand up, fighting a grin.
"Go ahead, laugh, not the first time that happened." Evan snorted and the girls had to hold onto each other to stay up.
"So, we just came over to make sure you guys weren't starving yourselves, but from the looks of your kitchen, it appears you will be coming with us. Evan, grab the Elf."
"The wha-hey!" Evan grabbed Kurt's arm and pulled him out the front door.
Marie smirked and spotted the house key hung up behind the door. She slipped it off the hook and locked the house as they headed across the street to Evan's house.
"Alright, what's with the 'Elf' thing?" Kitty questioned even if she had a pretty good idea.
"Dad of course."
"How'd he come up with Elf?" Kurt spoke up from where he was still at Evan's mercy.
"I don't know." Marie grinned; she knew very well it was because of Kurt's shorter stature.
"Probably because you're just the slightest bit taller than Kit." Kurt rolled his eyes and Kitty smirked, "Told you so." He laughed at that and finally slipped from Evan's hold.
"Hey, get back here!" Kurt laughed and jumped out of the way, meaning he ended up behind Marie.
The girls kept walking towards their cousin's house, Evan chasing Kurt in circles around them. By the time they made it to the front step, Evan was still chasing him.
"I give! I give!" he exclaimed and collapsed on his front lawn.
Kurt bowed and helped his friend up.
"Mom's hosting some garden club thing so we're eating at Evan's." Marie explained as the skateboarder opened his front door. "Yep, and Marie is her sandwiches of awesomeness!" Evan led them through the house to the kitchen where they sat around the table, watching Marie make sandwiches to the order of the others.
"Okay, you need to take a break." Evan ordered Kurt after they'd finished eating and had done the dishes.
At Kurt's confused expression Evan elaborated, "You have been doing nothing but unpacking for two days, you are going to have some fun. And I don't care what your mom would have to say on the matter."
Kurt smirked, "Actually, I was going to ask what you had in mind."
Evan smiled, "I don't know, you said you skateboard?" Kurt nodded, "Well then, let me kick your butt. There's Terrain Park down a few blocks that hardly anyone knows exists, we can go there."
"I'm up for that." He grinned.
"Can we come?" Kitty asked. "Sure Kit, I don't see why not." She smiled, "Alright, be back in a few." She smiled and ran out the back door.
"Grab my manuscripts while you're at it!" Marie called after her sister.
"Got it!"
Kurt chuckled. "I just have to go dig out my board." That left Marie and Evan to wait on the front step for their friends.
MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE MARVELCLOSE
A/N: Alright let me know what you think!
