DISCLAIMER: I do not own the X-men. But if someone would like to give them to me for christmas, that'd be cool.
She twisted the knob easily and opened the door. For someone who knew all too much about breaking and entering, he sure didn't keep his room very secure. As she stepped into the room, the smell of Old Spice and cigarettes hit her nostrils. It was a bit harsh at first, but within seconds, the smell started to comfort her. She looked towards the window, making sure that it was unlocked. Rummaging through his dresser drawers, she pulled out a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. She changed into them and crawled into the bed, grabbing a book. Even though the usual hectic comings and goings in the mansion were fun, she really enjoyed the quiet times. She looked around the empty room and sighed. They were always much better when she didn't have to spend them alone. She went back to reading, not entirely concentrating on the book. Before she could even finish a page, Xavier summoned her telepathically.
"Dinner in fifteen minutes." He paused. "Don't worry, dress is casual."
She smiled and threw the covers off. She pulled on a pair of gloves and dug around in the closet before coming up with one of her old bomber jackets. She headed off down the hallway, stopping at Storm's door and knocking.
"'Ro? Ya coming?"
"You coming?"
"Oui." He slid a pack of cards into his pocket and opened the door. Scott and Logan were both standing there, Logan tapping his foot impatiently. It was bad enough that he was stuck on this mission, but now he had to go to some ceremony, dressed in a tuxedo that he hadn't worn in... forever. At least as far as he could remember.
"Sorry, mes amis. Remy wanted t' change his underwear."
Scott sighed and Logan chortled. "How considerate of you, Gumbo. Now lets get going."
They headed down the corridor and onto the elevator. Scott pushed the button and the doors slid shut, taking them down to the main lobby. When they re-opened, the three men stepped out into the crowded room. All of New York's elite were in the room, as well as a large number of New York's finest. Security was tight, and for a good reason, too. They had been in the City for just over a week, having followed information about a supposed attack that would be attempted on one of the leading pro-mutant rights politicians. Even though it had been shut down officially a long time ago, the Stryker Crusade still had some pretty wild followers. And they were hard to track, too. They had followed them all the way from California, where they had been sent about a month earlier. None of them had been home in over four weeks, and they were all getting frustrated with the number of false leads that they had turned up. When they got the message that the attack would be during the annual New York holiday fashion show, they were happy. Finally, they got to be somewhat near the mansion. Worst-case scenario, they'd be able to sneak away and visit for a while during some of the downtime. Unfortunately, there hadn't been much down time at all. As soon as they'd arrived, they had to get as much information about the event as they could. It was fairly easy, considering their inside source. Elisabeth Braddock knew the New York fashion scene better than anyone. And the fact that she was one of the models appearing in the show didn't hurt, either. They headed to the entrance of the theater, flashing their passes to a familiar looking redhead. Jean just winked as she unlatched the satin rope that blocked the area from outsiders.
She pushed the door open and stepped out. Rogue grinned as she noticed that Storm was just as dressed up as she was.
"Hey. Nice pants."
"At least mah'ne fit me."
Storm looked down. The bottoms of the pants had been unceremoniously sliced off to fit him. Her legs were a lot longer than Logan's, and it showed.
"On the plus side, Ah see ya shaved your legs today."
Storm rolled her eyes and hit Rogue gently on the shoulder. They walked towards the dining room. Along their way, they noticed that the air around them had gotten significantly colder.
"'Roro? Did you..."
"Not in this outfit, I wouldn't"
They looked at each other and reached the same conclusion, just as Jubilee's voice could be heard shrieking nearby.
"BOBBY!"
Seconds later, Jubilee came barreling down the hallway, holding an icy pair of sunglasses.
"He totally iced up my ENTIRE room!"
A quick peek into the room confirmed it. The whole place was covered in a glassy sheen. Storm smiled and opened the window, letting an unseasonably warm gust of air come in. The ice melted, and another gust of air dried everything.
Jubilee shook her sunglasses, letting the last of the water drip off onto the floor.
"Thanks, babe. You guys headed downstairs?"
Both women nodded. The trio walked slowly down the hallway, Jubilee practically running circles around the two older women.
"So you think they'll be coming back soon? That was a long mission. I hope it ends well. Betsy said that she'll bring me back some of the clothes. That stuff is more than awesome. Did you two forget to do your laundry or something? 'Cause I have some stuff you can wear. I hope they made enough potatoes. I swear, if Piotr eats them all before I get any like he did on thanksgiving, I'll kill him. Well, I guess I won't kill him exactly. But he'll regret it."
They had reached the oak doors of the dining room, and Jubilee pulled them open.
"Whoa!" She hadn't seen so much food in her entire life. The large table was piled high with just about everything imaginable, and another table had a large assortment of beverages. She made her way over to the table and poured herself a soda.
He grabbed the glass and stepped away from the bar. He scanned the crowd and took a mental note of everyone else's positions. Just as he was about to find himself a seat, Jean entered his mind.
"There's one up along the runway. Keep an eye on the woman in the green and silver dress. She looks familiar, and I can't seem to access her mind. Be careful, she may know who we are."
Well that certainly was odd. He nodded towards the door and headed to the seat, setting himself down gracefully and taking a sip of his bourbon. He turned to the woman and smiled.
"Pardon me. You didn't happen to pick up a playbill, did you?" The accent was not his. In fact, it was his best impersonation of the Professor.
She was a bit distracted, he noticed, staring at someone across the room.
"Huh? Oh, yeah." She handed him the small book and continued staring. He followed her gaze and noticed that she had spied Scott. He watched as her eyes narrowed and she muttered something about sunglasses. She continued staring across the room and he took the opportunity to look around her. He noticed a larger than normal watch on her wrist and called to Jean over the mind link.
"I t'ink I found your little blocker."
"Let me see it."
He looked at it, sending the image across to Jean.
"Yep, that's it. Try to disable it without her noticing."
"Easier said den done."
He thought for a second, then grabbed the woman's wrist, sending a small charge through the watch.
"Excuse me, ma'am? Do you mind if I hold onto this? I'd hate to lose track of what I was purchasing." He held up the playbill.
She looked at him, agitated. "No, whatever."
He smiled, releasing his hand. "Thank you."
She hadn't even noticed that her watch had suddenly stopped ticking. Jean gave him a mental okay and he settled back into his seat, pulling out a small notebook. The lights started to fade out, and the music started. The announcer came over the loudspeakers, and the show started. The curtain parted at the end of the runway, and the first model stepped out onto the platform.
The kitchen doors opened and Beast stepped out, carrying a large platter, followed by the Professor. As Charles cleared his throat, all of the people standing around the room took their seats.
"I know that this table is a bit emptier than we would have liked for it to be, but I am pleased that so many of you were able to remain here for the celebration. And now, if you would do the honors, Henry..."
Beast nodded and picked up a large knife, removing the cover from the platter and exposing a huge turkey.
"What is it with all the turkey around here?" Piotr turned to Kurt for an answer.
"I do not know, mein freund. But I'm not complaining."
Henry raised the knife, ready to begin carving the turkey, and the Professor suddenly closed his eyes, holding up a hand.
"Wait a moment. Kitty is back."
Piotr stood up and rushed towards the door, where Kitty phased through and ran into him.
"Katya!"
She gave him a hug. "Hey, Pete!"
The Professor peered around the large man. "Welcome back, Kitty. I trust you had a good time?"
Kitty had decided that she was going to go back to Chicago for Hanukkah. She hadn't seen her "real" family in a long time, and was more than due for a visit.
"It was great. It was really nice to see everybody again. But it's just as nice to be back here."
The Professor smiled and casually swatted Bobby's hand down from where he was trying to freeze over Jubilee's drink.
"Please, Kitty. Have a seat."
Beast proceeded to slice the turkey and the rest of them began to load up their plates. Piotr lunged for the potatoes at the same time as Jubilee, and while they were occupied fighting over them, Kitty phased through the bottom of the table and grabbed the bowl, taking a spoonful and passing it to Rogue.
"Thanks, sugah. Good t' have ya back."
"Glad to be back." She looked around the table. "Where's Betsy?"
"New York. With the others." Storm filled her in.
"I thought they were in California?"
"They were. But then Charlie got some more information, an' he sent them t' New York."
"Exciting."
"You have no idea." Storm spooned herself some gravy and pushed the bowl towards the other end of the table. Kitty looked at the two of them and her face grew concerned.
"They haven't been back at all yet?"
"Not since before ya left."
"That's rough."
"Tell me about it." Rogue reached for the corn, before noticing something farther down the table. "Drake, if that turkey is cold when Ah get it, Ah swear, Ah'll pound you."
Bobby quickly removed his hand from the platter and stared down at his plate.
He looked down at his watch. This thing was going on for a lot longer than he had thought it would. He tugged at his collar, silently cursing whomever it was that first came up with the concept of a bow tie. He stretched out his legs. At least the sights weren't that bad. As if on cue, the curtain opened again and Betsy walked out, wearing something that could only be described as what happens when a bird explodes. The feathers were all spread out on what had to be the ugliest dress that Logan had ever seen. How anyone could find something like that worth buying, especially for the amount of money that was being asked. He looked over as a bald man and a young woman scribbled something on a tablet that they had with them. He looked up at Betsy, who nodded towards Jean. He turned his head again, noticing that a large number of the assembled purchasers were putting in orders for the dress. When he finally got Jean's attention and raised one of his eyebrows, she shrugged. She then nodded towards a man seated nearby him. Logan noticed that the man had suddenly reached inside his pocket. He sniffed the air and confirmed his suspicions. The guy had a gun. He looked across the runway, to where Gambit was seemingly flirting up a storm with one of the other people in the crowd. He made a mental note to report back to Rogue when they got home.
"Don't even think about it, Logan. She's the ringleader." Jean's telepathic message made him frown. There went his fun. He looked over at Remy again. The woman seemed to be resisting his charm fairly well. That certainly said a lot about her. Only one other person that Logan knew of had ever turned the Cajun down. He cracked his knuckles and leaned back, wondering how much longer they would have to be here. He had places that he would rather be. He looked up as Betsy headed back through the curtains.
"Everyone get ready. Remy's picking up on some apprehension from their leader. They'll probably be striking soon."
Logan shifted slightly in his seat, looking around the room once more. He saw Scott move in closer to the senator and Jean step away from her position at the rope. The man nearby him had set the gun on his lap, and Logan noticed that it had a silencer screwed onto the tip. He stood up and made his way towards the man's seat, pausing momentarily to whisper something in his ear.
"Try something and I can promise that you won't make it out of this room alive, bub."
The man was startled, and his hand grabbed instinctively for the gun, as he looked up at Logan, recognition washing over his face. He narrowed his eyes.
"X-men."
"No need to announce it to me, pal. Now hand over the piece."
The man complied, and Logan silently sliced the gun in half, handing it back.
"Pleasure doing business with you."
"Peasure doing business with you, ma'am. Have a great holiday."
Rogue nodded and closed the door. Everyone had been surprised when the front gate had buzzed and a large delivery truck had ambled up the driveway. Rogue walked back into the dining room, carrying the large package. Everybody looked up from their desserts.
"Holy crap, that's a huge box." Jubilee kicked Bobby under the table.
"What?! It is!"
Piotr stood up to offer his help. "Need a hand with that?"
Rogue balanced the parcel on the fingertips of her right hand and peeked around it.
"Ah think Ah can handle it, but thanks, Pete." She walked to the corner of the room and set the package down with a loud thud. Walking back to the table, she brushed the snow off of her jacket.
"It's really startin' t' come down out there."
"Yeah, we're supposed to get about two feet overnight, right Storm?"
"Bobby, I already said I wouldn't do it."
"Ah hate the snow."
"You get used to it."
"Says th' guy who grew up in Russia."
She picked up her fork and tried to cut into the slice of pumpkin pie, discovering instead a solid block of frozen pumpkin.
"Bobby?"
"Roguey?"
"Please get me another piece of pie."
"Will you open that big box?"
"Eventually."
He slid a plate down towards her, and she quickly ate the pie, then pushed the plate away.
Kitty looked over at the box. "Are you gonna open it, or do I have to go in there and see what it is?"
"Jen? Are you going to open this door or do I have to break it down?" Betsy banged on the door to the dressing room that she shared with another one of the models. The dress was far from comfortable, and she had been aching to get out of it almost as soon as she put it on. She pounded on the door once again, motioning for one of the stagehands to unzip her. She was tired of being proper. She pulled the dress off and pounded on the door again. She heard a low whistle from behind her and spun to see a man dressed in a suit.
"Is there something I can help you with, luv, or do you just plan on standing there staring at my ass all night?"
The man's face grew stern, and he walked away. That was not the reaction he had anticipated.She watched him walk away and turned back to the dressing room, raising her fist to knock just as the door swung open and one of the stagehands stepped out, looking slightly flustered. She opened her mouth in shock and watched the young man walk away, then turned back to the dressing room and pushed the door open.
"Jen! Did you— You DID!"
"It's the holidays, Betsy. Good will towards men."
"'Good will towards men' does not mean 'Go shag the stagehands!'"
"It's all a matter of your interpretation. I see it how I want to see it."
"Your sight is clouded, my dear. Very clouded."
"Just shut up and change into your little skimpy spandex suit, 'luv.'"
Betsy rolled her eyes. Jen was one of the few friends of hers whom she had trusted with the information of her ties to the X-men and sometimes, she regretted it.
"Jen, do me a favor?"
"Hmm?"
"Stay in here for the next half hour. Lock the door, and don't let anyone in."
"Oooh, is something gonna happen?"
"No. I just want to make sure that all of the roadies get tested for STD's."
Jen threw a tube of lipstick at her, then shrugged her shoulders. "Fair enough."
Betsy adjusted the strap on her "skimpy spandex suit" and pulled on a bathrobe.
"Suddenly modest, are we?"
"Just don't want my goods falling out. Lock the door."
"Pip pip Cheerio"
The tube of lipstick was hurled back at its owner just before the door slammed shut.
Betsy walked down the back hallway, and towards the wings of the stage. On her way, she passed the man in the suit, who seemed to be holding a conversation with his sleeve. She noticed someone else farther along the hallway dressed similarly. She approached the man who she had caught looking at her earlier.
"Pardon me, but are you on the security detail?"
He looked up at her, considering his answer. She smiled at him, not letting on at all that she already knew every single detail of his mission and a few things about his coworkers, too. Telepathy was great for things like that.
"Yes. I am. Is there something that you need?"
"Yeah. I noticed something strange back near the clothing racks. Could you check that out for me? I'm really worried. Someone's been stealing my nail polish and it can be such a bitch to replace all of that."
The man rolled his eyes. He really wasn't interested in hearing a ditzy model blab on about beauty products. He checked his watch.
"Yeah, sure. Show me where."
"Thank you so so much." She led the way back towards the room where the designers kept their clothes until the models were ready to put them on. Before they reached it, though, she veered slightly to the left, and walked into an empty storage room. She hit the light and pointed towards a door on the other end of the room.
"I was in here with a couple of the other girls, painting my nails while they were getting ready, and when I came back later, everything was gone and that door was open a little bit. I'm too scared to see what's in there though. Would you check?"
He sighed and headed towards the door, and she closed the door in the hallway, calling to him again.
"Oh, one more thing."
When he turned around again, he was surprised to find her holding what seemed to be a glowing sword.
"What the..."
"Never take things at face value, luv. And if you reach for that gun. I'll have to make this incredibly painful."
"Mutie."
"I have a question for you. And answer truthfully, because I can read minds. Are you familiar with the X-men?"
He nodded, and she dropped the robe, turning around and showing him her rear.
"Get a good look, and tell whomever finds you that Psylocke says hello."
"Tell Kurt that I say hello, and that I hope he has a good holiday. The blue packages are for him." Rogue read the letter out loud and dug into the parcel, pulling out a long blue box and tossing it towards Kurt. He unwrapped it and pulled out a new set of swords, the adamantium blades sharp and the hilts inlaid with gold and silver. The sheaths were thin but strong, and covered in a rich red fabric that matched his uniform perfectly. He laid the swords back in their box just in time to reach up and catch another package. He started to open it, then turned to Rogue.
"Don't you have any?"
"Yeah, Ah've got plenty."
"So open one."
"Ah can wait."
"Open one."
"Fahne."
She pulled out a small green package and unwrapped it.
"Ah think this one is for Remy..." She held up the box of Nicorette.
"Why don't you open another one?"
"Ok."
She pulled out a larger package and tore the wrapping paper off. She held up a black jacket, similar to the one that she often wore, but made of a much higher quality leather and with embroidered X's on both shoulders. She stripped off the old jacket that she was wearing and pulled on the new one. She stuck her hands in the pockets and pulled out a new, matching pair of gloves. They were thick but they still breathed well, which was always a plus. She changed into them as well, and floated into the air, doing a little twirl.
She picked up the letter again and kept on reading.
"There is also a package in there for Xavier. It isn't wrapped, so you should know which one it is."
She dug around a little bit and pulled out a small jar.
"Ah'm gonna guess that she means this." She passed it over to Charles, who held it up and read the label.
"Buffering wax. Just what I always wanted."
Bobby laughed. "Yeah, you're not as shiny as you used to be."
Xavier looked over at him. "Stop hitting yourself."
"Huh?" Bobby slapped himself in the face involuntarily. "Ow."
The room erupted into loud applause. Rogue picked up the letter again and started to read it to herself. She reached into the box again and pulled out a small box. She opened it and held up a small book. The room got quiet as they watched her face change emotions. Kitty put her hand on Rogue's arm.
"You ok?"
Rogue nodded. "Yeah. It's just... This is Irene's. Raven says that she kept a separate diary about me. She thought Ah might want t' see it."
Kitty repositioned herself and offered a hug. Rogue closed her eyes as she felt tears start to well inside. When they released their hug, Rogue wiped her eyes and set the book down.
"Sorry. There's a bunch of other things in here too. Ah think we should wait until tomorrow to open them, though. It ain't fair that Kurt and Ah get to open everything now."
"I agree. We should keep all of the rest of them for when the others return."
They unpakced the rest of the presents and took them into the foyer, where a 20 foot tall tree was decorated. A ton of presents were piled all around the tree, and Rogue walked over, tossing the packages in with the others. She turned back to Kurt who was digging through the packing peanuts.
"That all of them?"
He walked back into the room, and tossed the man in the suit in with the others.
"Think that's all of them?"
"Yeah."
They had rounded up all of the men who were working with the Stryker Crusade and put them in the back room. The woman had finally succumbed to Remy's charm and was locked in the bathroom up in their suite. He walked in and whistled at the rather large assortment of people collected in the room, most of them unconscious.
"Dat was really easy."
Betsy nodded. "Almost too easy."
Wolverine shrugged. "It's done now. Once the FBI gets here, we can leave."
"Good. Oh! I almost forgot, Jen is still in the dressing room. I'll be back."
They watched her leave.
"Who's Jen?"
"De one wit' de newspaper dress and de fuzzy boots."
"Oh, right." He paused. "How on earth do you remember that?"
"Photographic memory."
"Oh, really?"
"Well, dat and Remy went out wit' her once."
"Hmmm..." The gears in his head were turning again. If he didn't have the flirting to work with, this was something.
"Don' even bot'er, Logan. She knows. Jen is one o' Betsy's friends. Dat kind of information don't keep too long."
Wolverine grunted. He stepped out of the room, and Remy followed, closing the door behind him and lighting up a cigarette.
"So, we done?"
"I sure hope so."
Logan pulled out a cigar and Remy gave him a light.They walked towards Betsy's dressing room. The backstage area was almost completely deserted. A shadowy figure stepped out from underneath a catwalk.
"You shouldn't smoke back here."
Gambit saw the slight gleam of light reflecting off of the sunglasses that the man was wearing, and he charged up a card and flung it at him.
"Don' tell me what t' do, Scott. Not in de mood."
Cyclops stepped out of the way of the card and it exploded in the air.
"Are you ever in the mood to take orders?"
"Was dat an order? No smoking?"
Scott sighed and changed the subject. "Get ready, the police will be back here shortly to collect those goons. I spoke with the senator and explained the situation. He's invited us to dinner. As soon as the cops get here, we're heading over to meet him."
Wolverine reached into his pocket and pulled out the scraps of the bowtie that he had shredded moments before.
"It isn't a formal dinner, is it?"
"Just don't tear up the rest of that tux, okay?"
Scott turned and walked back out towards the stage without waiting for an answer.
"Merry Christmas, jackass." Logan called out after him.
Remy laughed. He didn't always get along with Logan, but when they were on each other's good sides, he was really a nice person to be around. Especially when they decided to mess with Scott. He stepped over to the dressing room door and knocked. Betsy opened the door, ready to tell off whatever stagehand had decided to come try their luck with Jen.
"She isn't interested! Oh, Remy. I suppose you can come in."
She opened the door wide enough for the men to enter, and stepped aside.
"Sorry, Jen's had a number of male callers tonight."
"Dat don' surprise me."
A shoe came sailing across the room, hitting Remy squarely on the shoulder.
"Nice t' see you again, Jennifer."
She made a face at him, then ran up and hugged him. "Same, Remy."
"Jen?"
"Yes?"
"Did anyone ever tell you dat you t'row like a girl?"
"You're so sweet."
"Aw, t'anks."
Logan made his way to the table, where a large number of snacks had been laid out, and remained untouched.
"Aren't you girls going to eat this?"
Both of the models responded at the same time.
"You're joking?"
They turned to each other and started to laugh.
"Jinx!"
Remy walked over to the table and helped himself to a bagel.
"Remy forgot how much he liked t'ird grade."
In response, two shoes came flying at him. He laughed and pawed at the air.
"Meow!"
She looked up briefly from where she was sitting on the couch. She hadn't even heard the cat come in.
"Hey, Turkelton."
The Professor had adopted the orange striped cat when it was just a kitten. She looked back down at her book, as the cat meowed again.
"What d'ya want? Ah don't have any food on me."
The cat leapt up onto the couch and looked behind it, watching the door. She put the book down and reached out to pet it. Just before she did, she noticed that the cat was gray. She jerked her hand back and jumped up from the couch, running to the door and slamming it shut.
"What th' hell d'a think you're doin' here?!"
The cat morphed back into it's true form, and smiled.
"Just making sure that you got my package."
"Ya delivered it to me yourself. Ya already knew that Ah got it."
"How'd you know that was me?"
"Like you would actually trust anyone else to deliver somethin' for ya? Not t' mention, Ah'm pretty sure that ya can't just ship adamantium weapons with UPS."
"You're reading the diary?"
"Only what's happened up until now. Ah don't think that Ah could bring myself t' read into the future."
"I know the feeling."
Rogue walked around the couch and sat down next to her mother.
"So, what are ya up to these days?"
"If I told you, I'd have to kill you."
"That bad, huh?"
"Always."
"You still with Magneto?"
"Wouldn't you love to know?"
"No, actually. Ah don't really give a rat's ass."
"That's my girl."
"How's your holiday goin'?"
Raven sighed. "Lonely."
"Yeah. Ah know th' feeling."
Raven perked up a little bit. "Did that Gambit fool leave you?"
"NO! No, not lonely like that. He's away on a mission. And you're never around here. Everyone's been gone somewhere or other recently. It's only been me, 'Ro, and Chuck that have been here th' whole time."
"Kurt?"
"He went back t' visit Margali at th' circus. Just came back yesterday."
"Oh."
"Ya want some coffee or somethin'?"
"Alright."
Raven stood up and then changed back into the cat, this time making sure to look just like Turkelton. They made their way to the kitchen, where Rogue was surprised to see the Professor sitting with two cups of coffee. He nodded to the cat.
"It's alright, Mystique."
The cat chirped a little bit and then morphed back into the tall blue woman. She reached out cautiously as Charles offered her one of the cups.
"Happy Holidays."
"Right..." She watched as he handed Rogue the other cup and wheeled himself out of the room.
He nodded to the other waiter, who wheeled the cart full of food into the large room. The two of them served the plates to the eight people seated around the table and bowed their heads as they left the room. The senator smiled.
"Dig in."
They complied. Logan picked up his knife and started to cut into the steak, to no avail.
"These things ain't sharp."
He looked around to make sure that none of the waiters were about, and unsheathed one of his claws, slicing easily into the meat.
"Much better."
The senator watched in awe as the small man ate his steak in the way that only he could.
"You said that they're adamantium?"
Wolverine nodded, unsheathing the rest of the claws and letting the light hit them.
"Fascinating."
He had always heard of the X-men, from news reports and government documents, but he had never imagined that he would be sitting in a restaurant, eating Christmas dinner with five of them. He had always found mutants interesting, and he really admired mutants like them, who laid their lives on the line trying to protect people, human and mutant alike. He went around the table again, trying to remember what they had said their names were. He knew all of their codenames, but they had also introduced themselves by their real names, something which he took as a great honor. Betsy speared a cucumber and dipped it into salad dressing. She put it in her mouth and chewed, noticing that the Senator's daughter was watching her.
"She isn't with us on this trip."
The whole table looked up at Betsy, who had seemed to answer a question that no one had heard asked. Jean smiled and set her spoon down on the edge of her soup bowl and nodded at the teenager.
"She was visiting with her family for Hanukkah."
"Oh." She looked down at her plate, confused. How had they known that she was wondering about the girl called Shadowcat?
"We're telepathic, luv. If you wonder about something loudly enough, we can't help but hear it." She turned to the Senator's wife. "Oh, and the strapping young Russian is back at our headquarters as well." The older woman blushed, and Logan laughed a little bit.
Remy played with his spaghetti, and made a face with the meatballs, which he proudly displayed to Scott, who looked up from his chicken just long enough to roll his eyes. Maybe. It was kind of hard to tell through the glasses.
"And those are Ruby Quartz, you say?"
Scott nodded. "Yes, sir. The only thing that'll keep the beam in check. Well, besides my eyelids."
"Incredible." He turned to Remy. "And you're the one who throws the cards, right?"
"Oui. Dat'd be me. De guy who throws de cards."
"And why do you call yourself the X-Men?"
They looked around at each other. Not everyone knew about the Professor, since he never went out in the field with them. Scott smiled and answered the question.
"Partially due to Professor Xavier, who taught moat of us how to use our powers, but mostly simply because mutants possess the X-Gene."
"Ah, of course."
"Excusez moi..." Gambit stood up from the table and headed out to the balcony of the restaurant to have a cigarette. The senator's daughter watched him leave, and Betsy bent over to whisper to her.
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you asked him a few questions."
The girl nodded and excused herself from the table as well, walking out to the balcony.
Betsy sat back up and cleared her throat.
"No, it wouldn't be any trouble at all for us to sign something for you."
The senator smiled. "Really? I'd love to have something to hang in my office."
"We'd have to be in uniform, of course. But I think that we can arrange something. I know tons of photographers."
"I could get a photo of the whole team?"
Scott nodded. "Sure. The whole team. It's always nice to have supporters, especially with the amount of negative reaction that people have towards mutants. We appreciate what you're doing."
"Tell me, are you familiar with 'the Brotherhood of Mutants'?"
Logan grunted. "Unfortunately."
Scott sighed, and Jean tried to explain in as diplomatic a way as she could their relationship to the other organization.
"Their founder is a friend of our Professor. He has a different view of humanity than we do. But we're relatively close to them, no pun intended." She laughed a little at her own joke, before receiving a psychic slap from Betsy and clarifying what she meant. "The second in command of the Brotherhood is the mother of two of our team members. We've worked by their side on some occasions, but in the end, we usually go our separate ways."
"Thankfully." Logan quickly went back to eating his steak before anyone had a chance to respond to his comment.
Rogue closed and locked the door before Kitty had a chance to respond to Mystique's comment.
"Why did you say that?"
"It's true. She has put on weight."
"Momma..." she sighed and sat down on the couch. Raven sat next to her and looked out the window, where Bobby was building a large ice sculpture.
"Why do you stay here with these fools?"
Rogue followed her gaze and laughed, as she realized what Bobby was sculpting.
"Because these fools are mah family."
"I am also your family. More so than any of these people."
"Momma, of course you are. Why do you think Ah didn't pummel you when Ah realized you weren't the cat? You're my mother. And that means something. But everyone here is more of a family to me than the Brotherhood ever was."
Before she could continue, Kitty phased through the door and announced that she had, in fact, lost weight since the last time Raven had seen her. She left the same way that she came in and stomped off to find Piotr.
"I need to ask you a question."
"Can i ask you a question?"
Remy turned around to face the girl.
"Oui."
She leaned over the railing and looked out at the city.
"Are there a lot of mutants?"
"Oui. Tons. But most don' know it."
"I always thought that it was just you guys."
"Non. We're just a few."
"Where do you guys live?"
He looked at her, trying to figure out if she was being honest in her questioning. After a moment, he picked up no feelings other than simple curiosity from her, so he answered.
"Promise you won't tell?"
"Yeah."
"We all live upstate."
"New York?"
"Oui."
"Cool. Guess what?"
"What?"
"Watch this."
He looked over at her and watched as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Seconds later, she was hovering in the air, a good four feet off of the ground. He looked around, and grabbed her leg before she went any higher. She landed haphazardly on the balcony.
"Where'd you learn dat little trick?"
"Just woke up one morning and I could do it. Cool, huh?"
"Very cool. You need t' work you your landings a little bit, dough."
"Yeah, I know. I was so excited when Daddy told me that we were going to have dinner with you guys. I figured that you're people that I could tell about it."
"Dat's because we are. Tell me somet'ing. What grade are you in, in school?"
"Tenth.Why?"
"How would you like to come back wit' us? Where we live, it's a school for mutants. You could learn t' use dose powers of yours."
"I dunno..."
"It's a great place. And de flight instructor is de best in de world."
"Huh?"
"You've seen us on de news, non?"
"Yeah."
"You know de belle femme wit' de white stripe in her hair?"
"Uh... Rogue, right?"
"Oui. She'd teach you. And Remy can vouch for her. She's a great person."
"Hm... I guess..."
"We'll talk to y'r dad about it. See what he t'inks. And if y' don't like it, you can always go home."
"Okay."
"If you don't like it, ya could just go home."
"Okay. Maybe I will."
"Fahne."
"Fine."
Raven crossed her legs. She'd be damned if she went anywhere under those circumstances. No one suggested that she leave and got the satisfaction of watching her obey. Especially her own daughter. She glared at the younger woman, trying to get her point across. Brilliantly green eyes mimicked her glare, and the staring contest was on. The doorknob turned and Storm stepped into the room, surprised with the amount of tension that coursed through the air. She looked at the two women in turn, and sat down on the couch, grabbing a nearby bowl of potato chips and flipping through channels on the television.
"You're like children, you know that?"
She munched on the chips and put her feet up on the table. She settled on a cartoon show, since it seemed like something that she hadn't seen before. She looked over at the two who were still glaring at each other, shrugged, and picked up Rogue's can of soda. She watched the show, as she snacked. A large man was sitting in an office, where a woman in a dress suit was explaining a schedule to him.
"Any questions, Mr. Dukes?"
"I don't know if I can do school again. I didn't much fit in at the other ones."
"You won't have any trouble here. As the principal, I can make sure of it."
She leaned back and dropped the remote control on her lap. The dialogue was okay; the animation wasn't too bad... It'd do. Not like there was anything else to watch. She drank some more of the soda, as the large kid, "Mr. Dukes," threatened a jock and hefted a locker out of the wall, before being stopped by a redheaded teenage girl.
"Uh, hi? You must be new here. I'm Jean Grey."
Storm nearly choked on the drink, and Rogue and Mystique both turned to face the television.
"What did she just say?"
Moments later, when the larger man introduced himself as Fred Dukes, all three of them were glued to the show, their mouths agape.
"What the hell is this all about?"
Storm shushed Rogue and turned up the volume. The scene changed to a classroom, where a teacher was handing out playbooks in what seemed to be a drama class. The teacher stepped in front of a desk and dropped a book in front of a girl with brown hair and white bangs whose makeup made her look an awful lot like a raccoon.
Rogue jumped up and shouted at the television. "YOU'RE KIDDING ME?!"
A boy with red sunglasses on received the next book, and moments later another student spoke to him, calling him Scott. That same student made a remark about the character whose hair at least was reminiscent of Rogue's, and the classroom laughed. Rogue sat down. "Well, it ain't me. Or else that kid wouldn't have a face."
But then they heard the girl speak. Her accent was eerily similar to Rogue's own.
She jumped up again. "WHAT THE HELL?!"
The noise was enough to bring Kurt into the room. He teleported in, landing on the back of the sofa. He grabbed a handful of chips and pointed to the TV.
"What's this?"
"A stupid cartoon that someone thinks is a cute idea."
Storm grabbed Rogue's wrist and pulled her down on the couch. "Just watch, Kurt."
The cartoon switched scenes again, and the kid who was supposed to be Blob was walking through the cafeteria.
Kitty walked in and sat in a chair. "Cartoons?"
Storm nodded, and one of the kids on the screen started to talk.
"Is that humongous guy the one that you and Logan, like, went to see Saturday night?"
Kitty laughed and mocked the girl. "Like ohmygod! Change the channel. This show sucks."
Mystique shot her a look. "The redhead's name is Jean Grey. Don't know who that one is."
"What?"
"Just watch."
The girls at the table continued talking, and Kitty had trouble containing her laughter as the brunette talked like a valley girl.
"Haha, the Blob has great hair." Kurt piped up from the back of the couch. The scene changed again and Scott, Jean, the brunette, and a boy who looked chinese were sitting at the table. The boy started to talk with an almost German accent.
"You and the Rogue?! That is a strange combination, ja?"
Kurt dropped the bowl that he had picked up. "Was?! Not possible."
Rogue pointed at him. "Your hair's great, too, Kurt."
"That is not me. No way."
Storm paused the TV. "Look at the hands. Either that guy's a star trek fanatic, or he only has three fingers."
Kurt sighed and pushed the play button with his tail. The Blob made his way to a table and sat down, breaking the chair. As food went flying across the room, the five people watching all looked at each other, before erupting into laughter. When Jean addressed the valley girl as "Kitty," the laughter escalated, and Kitty herself buried her face in a pillow. Storm grinned and announced that she had a new favorite TV show.
"Yeah, just wait. Ah bet they get you real good, too."
"We'll see."
After the show had ended and they had all had a good laugh, mostly due to a combination of Rogue's makeup and Kitty's voice, they got ready to change the channel, and the announcer came on.
"Stay tuned for another exciting episode of X-Men: Evolution"
Mystique stood up. "This is too much excitement for one night. Goodbye."
A few people grunted and Rogue waved. Kurt stood up.
"Walk you to the door?"
"Sure."
"Walk you to the door?"
"Sure."
The teenager escorted the group of mutants to the front door of the apartment.
"Thanks for talking to them. I guess I'll see you in January, then?"
"Yep, we'll send a couple of people to come get you. Your family is welcome to come along if they want."
"Thanks, Mr. Summers. It means a lot to me."
"Just glad to help. Seeya."
They walked the few blocks back to the hotel. Once they reached it, they all ran into their respective rooms and threw off their dressy clothes, packing as quickly as they could. Logan thought briefly about shredding the rest of his tuxedo instead of cramming it back into the small overnight bag that he had, but decided against it. It was always good to have one in case he needed it. He never much liked being fitted for rentals.
Scott folded all of his clothes and tucked them neatly into his suitcase. Jean came out of the bathroom with a large bag.
"Do you mind if I throw all of your junk in here?"
"Uh, no, I guess not." He put the small plastic bags that he had to pack his toiletries back into the pocket. He hoped that nothing burst on the way home.
"You worry too much, sweetie. Its just shampoo."
"Yeah..." He tucked his visor into it's case and set it on top of his uniform, which he had folded into the suitcase as well.
Remy opened his dresser drawer. He grabbed all of the pairs of underwear and shoved them into his backpack. He had changed into his jeans and a black T-shirt, and his costume and tuxedo were both neatly hanging in a suit bag near the door. He threw his toothbrush and deodorant into the bag and grabbed his trench coat. He lit a cigarette and slung the backpack over his shoulder.
Betsy emptied her drawers into one of her suitcases. She went into the bathroom and packed her makeup into another one. She unloaded her closet into another suitcase and her dirty laundry went into a fifth. She called for the bellhop to carry it all out and checked her lipstick before opening up one of the suitcases and shoving the hotel bathrobe and slippers into it.
"It's not like Charles can't afford it if they charge us..."
Fifteen minutes later, they were all checked out and had loaded themselves into their car for the ride home.
"Remy, slow down! It's not a race."
Scott was beginning to regret letting Remy drive. He seemed to be in a hurry, and Scott was beyond worried that they would have an accident.
"It is t'me, mon ami."
Betsy laughed from the backseat. "That rhymed."
"Oui. It's rhyme time."
Jean joined in. "With your host, the ragin' Cajun."
Logan groaned. "This game is lame."
Remy laughed and turned around, which prompted Scott to scream "You're going to kill us, you maniac!"
"That didn't rhyme, luv."
Remy held up his arms and waved his hands in Scott's face. "Look, mom! No hands!"
Scott started to grab for the steering wheel before noticing that Jean was driving with her mind. He crossed his arms and looked out of the side window, grumbling.
"I suddenly feel like I'm about to pass out."
"Ah feel like Ah'm about t' pass out. Ah think I'll go t' bed now." She stood up and grabbed the now empty bowl of chips, depositing it in the kitchen on her way to Remy's room. Once there, she shed her jacket and gloves and crawled into the bed. She pulled the covers around her and tried to fall asleep. As tired as she was, sleep wouldn't come as easily as she had hoped it would. It was tough enough with half the team being away. The fact that Remy was gone as well and that it was Christmas made it much much harder. She snuggled into the pillow, breathing in the smell of the room. Sleep eventually washed over her, and she relaxed a little bit.
Sleep washed over her and she began to relax, but all too soon. Next thing she knew, she was being poked.
"Wake up, we're here."
"Unnngh?"
She opened one of her eyes. Sure enough, they were in the garage. She stretched and practically tumbled out of the van. Everyone else had gathered their luggage, but she took one look at hers and decided to leave it for morning. She closed the trunk and headed out of the garage.
"Happy Holidays."
Scott grabbed one of Jean's suitcases and they headed out of the room as well. Logan turned to Remy and grunted, nodding. Remy smiled and waved, as he followed the shorter man out of the garage. He shut off the light and headed up the stairs. As he passed Ororo's room, he heard a shriek, which undoubtedly meant that Logan had made his way in there. He started to head towards Rogue's room, but decided to dump all of his stuff first. He opened his door and threw his backpack onto the floor. He hung the suit bag on the closet door and kicked off his shoes. Reaching into his dresser drawer, he noticed that his favorite pajamas were gone. He scanned the room, before noticing the lump on his bed. He walked over and smiled, as he recognized her. Leaning in, he kissed her on the forehead, just enough to cause her powers to stir and wake her up.
"Remy?"
"Oui."
She sat up, smiling. "Merry Christmas!"
He jumped in next to her and gave her a hug. "It is now, Chere. It is now."
A/N: Happy holidays, everyone! Sorry if the ending kind of sucked :)