Take the Long Way Home
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Well, here goes. This is the first fic I've ever written, and it appears too be the first fic with X-23 in it; at least to my knowledge. Pairings are: X-23/OC, Lance/Kitty and Rouge/Gambit. Flames will be used to power up my OC's mutant powers :p
"AAA"-talking
'AAA'-thought
AAA-telepathy
AAA-self debate
Chapter 1: A Meeting of Mutants
X-23 ran blindly through the night. All she could think was 'He won't be able to stop them. Wolverine can't stop them and they'll take me back to the labs.' Gradually however she began to slow, she realized that there were no copters canvassing the woods, no dogs were hot on her trail. In-fact the only sounds in the New York wilderness was the soft screech of an owl on the hunt and the gentle "chirrup-chirrup" of the crickets.
Drained; emotionally, physically and mentally, she came to a stop in a clearing. She didn't hear; over the pounding in her ears the night creatures fall silent. Suddenly she snapped to attention. A strange odor had reached her nose. The scent was… dry, like leather almost. But whatever was the source of the odor was defiantly alive.
The sharp crack of a twig breaking underfoot had her reacting on instinct. She whirled to her left and charged whatever it was, all claws fully extended. But, as she charged she failed to notice a jutting root covered by a clump of grass. Failed to notice that is; until her foot caught and she fell; hard. Now this in itself wasn't so bad, after all she had an adamantium skull, but even that can't stop a concussion when your head gets up close and personal with a chunk of granite sticking out from the ground.
Pain exploded in her head. She had passed out a couple of times before and knew that this was going to be another one of those times. The last thing she saw before blackness claimed her consciousness was a large scaly three-taloned foot crushing a patch of grass near her head and that strange dry smell again.
(AN: if I was really evil I could just stop this fic right here, but X-23 said she'd neuter me if I did, 0_0', so on with the show!)
Warmth. That was the first thing she felt as her mind clambered up out of the pit of unconsciousness it had been thrown into. Someone had draped a blanket over her. The next thing that registered was the smell. She took a deep whiff of the air. There was a faint trace of that leathery smell, but it was all but buried under the scent of cooking meat. The next thing she noticed was the merry crackle of a campfire going. As she snuggled down into the blanket her only thought was 'It's nice to be warm, I've been cold for such a long, long time.
Her movement, however caught the attention of her 'rescuer', and he gave a dry chuckle.
"Heh, so sleeping beauty awakens," dryly said a smooth voice with a heavy dose of sarcastic humor in it.
She immediately snapped to attention, her hazel eyes flying open to lock gazes with the strangest pair of eyes she had ever seen. They were a rusty reddish color, and still tinged with mirth.
"Easy," the boy murmured, "You act like I'm going to eat you." 'She'd probably be delicious if she tastes as good as she looks. Whoa boy, rein it in; you just met this girl. Besides you don't even know her name and even if you did she's way too good for you.' So? Uncle always says to aim higher then you think you can reach and you just might surprise yourself. came a mental voice that carried a hint of feral power in it. 'Shut up, besides, I don't really know her at all, she could be a serial killer or something for all I know' Suit yourself the voice snapped with an injured tone. "Speaking of eating, you're probably starved." A loud rumble from her stomach confirmed his suspicions.
He gave a hearty laugh as she blushed with embarrassment.
"Just a little," she murmured, watching as he busied himself getting a bowl and spoon from one of the bags in the cave and then turning his attention to a small pot keeping warm in the coals at the edge of the fire, starting to ladle something into it. 'Easy there girl. Why am I feeling this attraction too him, I don't even know his name? Because he's, cute and he has a nice tush. came a voice from inside her head. 'Go away," she commanded. Don't think I didn't see you check him out; I'm you. X-23 wasn't listening however. She had returned too her study of her 'rescuer' and her surroundings.
He was medium height, around 5'11", muscular and had an innate, lithe grace, like a big cat, a cougar or panther, about him. This guy was defiantly a fighter, of that she was sure. He practically radiated power and strength, but hid it behind a mask of humor and silliness. Had she grown up normally, she would have pegged his personality as similar to Han Solo's. He had mussed brown hair and those strange reddish eyes. He was dressed normally enough, faded white t-shirt, jeans, but no shoes. That was strange.
Finishing her inspection of her comrade, she began too examine her surroundings in earnest. They were in a medium sized cave; with a few stalactites and stalagmites sticking up or down, depending on which they were. There were three duffel bags lying around the cave. The one closest to the boy was obviously his cooking utensils since he had produced bowl, spoon, and ladle from it. One of the others had a pair of faded jean cuffs poking up out of it. The other had a set of headphones and a cd case sticking out of one of the pockets. Obviously he wasn't one of the neatest of people. In the glow of the firelight, she saw something gleaming. It was a staff; it looked like it was made of bamboo, but the shine told her that it was constructed of metal. She reached out, intending to inspect it closer, when a quite voice froze her in her tracks.
"Please don't touch that," the boy said over his shoulder. Finished with preparing the bowl of stew, he handed it to her, saying "it's my own special recipe for huntsman's stew. Rabbit, some wild carrots and a hint of garlic for some added zing."
X-23's blush of embarrassment was hidden by the firelight. 'How did he…? Oh well I might as well just eat.' As she ate, the boy sat back on his haunches, watching her. Finally, after she had finished her second bowl, he asked the question she hadn't wanted to hear.
"My names Shawn, Shawn O'Reily. What's yours?" She started to make up a lie, like she had for countless other occasions, but found it stuck in her throat. After struggling with herself for a moment she bowed her head and mumbled something under her breath. Shawn leaned forward; "Sorry didn't catch that. What was it again?"b
She whipped her head up, looking mortified. "I SAID MY NAME IS X-23 ALRIGHT!!!!!!!!!" she screeched. Shawn sat stunned for a minute. Then he spoke up quietly.
"You don't have a real name do you?" the question was gentle and sympathetic. She mutely shook her head; her eyes starting to cloud with unshed tears. For some reason, his quite sympathy touched someplace deep within her.
"How about Maria then?" he asked. She looked at him as if he were crazy. "What? It's a really good name. Besides;" He gave a really goofy grin, "You look like a Maria to me."
She gave a small watery smile. "My names Maria, I'm glad to have met you Shawn. Maria shifted in place a moment then blurted out "Why are you helping me like this Shawn, I've never seen you before in my life?"
Shawn chuckled, then gave a grin that could only be described as pure cockiness, "Heh, guess I'm just a sucker for a damsel in distress." Maria colored at this and prepared to give him a piece of her mind, but he continued, "But seeing as you could have gutted me with those claws of yours, if not for your unfortunate tumble, I really don't think you fit into that category." Finished; he leaned back from the fire, watching the flames dance, the play of light and shadow making his eyes seem to glow like two coals at times.
Maria's mouth worked in astonishment. She spluttered and stuttered for a moment before finding her voice, "I…I don't know what you're talking about."
He raised his head from the study of the fire, once again impressing their strange color upon her. The grin was back, plastered all over his face.
"Girl, if you're not a mutant, same as me then I'm a mongoose"
She stared at him in shock, "Y-y-you're a mutant?!"
His look was one that said 'are you deaf?' "Did I stutter?"
He looked out of the cave mouth towards the lightening eastern sky, and settled back against the cave wall closing both his eyes. He opened his left eye almost as an afterthought and looked at Maria. "If you'll excuse me, we've had a busy night and I've got a lot of ground to cover tonight so I suggest we both get some sleep."
Maria saw his logic, they were both very tired, but she had one last question for this strange boy. "Why do you travel at night; it's not as if you stick out?"
For a moment he just leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. Then he spoke without moving an inch or opening his eyes. "Two reasons; first off my mutation has a habit of cropping when its least wanted and disappearing the same way. Secondly, I was trained to move in the shadows by my uncle, who just happens to be an S-rank shinobi. I'm his apprentice." He was silent after that.
Maria yawned and stretched before snuggling back into her blanket. She closed her eyes and slipped into a dreamless sleep. For the first time in her life she felt…safe.