"Not Easy Being Fuzzy"
Nobody's done a Star Wars/X-Men Xover yet, so I decided to have a wack at it. All the "not from Earth" characters are mine. (I know Obi-Wan is hot, but so's me character, Ce'it (pronounced See-et). Read and find out. Just think, a fic with two, yes, count 'em, TWO cute guys with tails.)
All the usual disclaimers, blah blah. Star Wars is owned by the great George Lucas, and The Fuzzy One and friends belong to Marvel. Everybody else, including the background concept, is mine. And let us talk about AU…
Rating: PG
Ce'it Ki Oshanna stood at the window of Bayville High, watching the students as they rejoiced in the end of the school day. One student, Kurt Wagner, had his attention. He couldn't place what is was, but there was something different about the boy. A sense that what was seen was not what was there.
He smirked. No wonder he had liked the boy the first time he sat in his class. Ce'it glanced at the think black band around his wrist. Currently, he looked like any other Human, but the Jedi Council and Traddess decided that is was best if a Jedi—a nonHuman Jedi—scouted this far-flung little world. He leaned his hands against the windowpane, watching Kurt talk to a slim girl in a pink shirt. She covered her mouth as she giggled at something he said.
Traddess was a transdimensional trading organization with the secondary responsibility of making sure everyone who used the nearby spacelane followed the rules. They needed allies, but the Itex stationed here had yet to find any. That was why the Jedi Council sent Ce'it. He silently praised the holographic projector that all Itex wore on this world, he had no idea what the people would think of large talking creatures that looked like either half-dog or half-cat. He didn't want to know what they would think of him, blue hair and tail and all.
He looked up at his reflection, dark blue eyes stared back. He felt odd, not seeing the spots on the back of his neck and blue hair that came from his Valterin father. His mother's legacy, pointed ears and a long, tawny furry tail, were also hidden. He rubbed his lower back. After a while, the muscles protested their cramped confinement, his poor tail wrapped tightly around his waist.
But, he had test papers to grade. He sighed, turning from the window and walked to his desk. The principle had no idea that an alien Jedi was sitting in the ethics classroom, quietly grading papers.
Professor Xavier sat in front of a large computer, staring at the screen with his brows furrowed. This new business in town, Traddess, had him worried. Why would it need to be so secretive? His research showed that it was trying to hire, but not very successfully.
"What is it, Prof?" Logan walked up behind him.
Xavier folded his hands in front of him, still staring at the computer. A distant image of a building under construction filled the screen. "Traddess, huh?" Logan continued. "I don't like it."
"They are too secretive, too sudden."
Logan grunted. "I'll keep my eyes open, but it's time for training." He turned on one heel, stopping once as Xavier spoke.
"Be careful, Logan. I fear this Traddess may be more than meets the eye."
Logan smiled, "So are we."
Ce'it walked among his students, handing back papers. He noticed that Kurt handled his differently, his first two fingers and last two fingers held together. He passed by, standing in front of the class.
"I want you all to enjoy Spring Break." Smiles greeted him. "But, after that we will start our essay on Human rights." Frowns, and Kurt shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Ce'it smiled to himself, if the boy only knew. He waved his hand at them, "Class dismissed, Kurt a moment, please."
The boy looked confused, but he placed his backpack on his desk. Ce'it didn't need the Force to sense that he was suddenly very nervous.
Ce'it smiled, leaning against another desk. "You did good on your test, but your grammar was a little off. You're getting better, but if you like, I can help you with your English." Ce'it didn't tell him that the only reason he was speaking English was because of a translator imbedded in the black band on his wrist.
"Ja, danke," Kurt stood, shouldering his pack.
Ce'it handed him a business card. His phone number and the name "Sean O'Shanna" was written on it. "Call me anytime to set up a time to meet if you want to. If not, that card makes a good bookmark."
Kurt smiled at the double meaning, study with the teacher, or read. "I vill remember." He skipped out of the room, more at ease.
"What did Mr. O'Shanna have to say to you?" Kitty pulled up next to him, her notebook held close to her chest.
"Zat I need to vork on my English. He said he vould help me."
"That's great," she beamed, then sobered. "But it's like, weird, too."
He shrugged, walking towards the knot of his friends. Scott leaned against the impeccable hide of his car. "Ja, I know vierd."
She smiled, pushing his shoulder a bit. "You would." She laughed as he stuck his tongue out at her.
Halfway home, he grabbed her ponytail holder and bamfed to the mansion.
He reappeared in the kitchen and started to rummage around in the fridge. "Good afternoon, Kurt," Professor Xavier rolled into the kitchen.
"Hallo," Kurt replied around a mouthful of food.
Xavier smiled. "Anything interesting happen in school today?"
"Ja," he pulled the card out, glancing at it before handing it to Xavier. "Vhat?" The print had shifted slightly, revealing a very small line of text on the bottom. It appeared to be an address. 2934 E Traddess Way, Suite 102.
Xavier took the card as Kurt explained. "Mr. O'Shanna, my ethics teacher gave me that, saying he'd help me vith English. That address vasn't zere before."
Xavier was transfixed by the word Traddess. "I want you to set up a meeting. The library in town will work fine. Scott and Jean will be there, watching everything."
"Vhat is it?" Kurt was worried.
Xavier handed the card back to him. "Traddess is the name of the new corporation three miles away. I need to know if this is a coincidence, or if he really works for them."
Kurt swallowed hard. "Ja, I see."
Xavier nodded, rolling into the living room to greet the other students. "I will tell Scott and Jean. It's your call on when the meeting happens."
Three days later, Ce'it relaxed in the city's library, paging through a book on Earth history. What a bloody mess, he sighed. War after war after war, not unlike home.
Kurt skipped in, waving to a couple of his friends. He walked over to Ce'it, plopping down in the chair opposite him. Ce'it had chosen a table far from the circle of the other seats in the library. Kurt couldn't help but to notice his choice.
Ce'it smiled, closing his book and placing it on the table.
"Hallo, Mr. O'Shanna."
"Good afternoon, but please call me Sean, I was never comfortable with 'Mr. O'Shanna'."
Kurt smiled sheepishly, obviously nervous about something. Ce'it pulled out a grammar book and asked Kurt if he had a copy of his paper. Kurt nodded, pulling out the rumpled mess.
Ce'it smiled, flattening the paper and began the lesson.
Scott sighed, staring out the window at his car. "I know you want to go out and enjoy the weather, I do too." Jean sighed, "But Kurt needs our help if something goes wrong…" she let the sentence hang, sighing deeply.
He furrowed his brow. "It's been an hour already. If something doesn't happen soon, I'm going to go crazy."
She smiled, patting his hand. "Me too."
They both looked up as Kurt skipped over to them. "How was the lesson?" Scott asked.
"It vent vell, vith Sean's help, I might be able to pass English."
"Sean, huh?" Jean teased.
"Ja, he says he don't like being called Mr. O'Shanna."
"I bet," Scoot stood, stretching. "Anything else?"
"Nein, except for another study session. He says zis one over pizza, maybe. Friends invited, too. But," he shrugged, sighing, "pizza after English."
Jean smiled, muttering something about bottomless bellies. "Did he say when?"
"Nein."
"How about this Saturday, at the park out side of the mansion. I hear it's supposed to be a wonderful day," Jean said, leaning her arms on the table.
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Jean laughed softly as Kurt skipped out of the library and into the bright Spring sunshine.
Ce'it lounged in the shade under a tree, hands folded behind his head. He let his mind drift, wandering the varied currents of the Force. Qua'Xia the Itex called it. The word, invented by a people that had no connection to the Force or anything like it, meant "Essence of Power", a catch-all term for the Force, Magic, and anything other weird form of energy.
Qua'Xia was strong on this world, and it fueled a new revolution in Human evolution. Ce'it could feel it with every nerve of his being, a need to adapt, a need to become, a need to use the very thing that makes life possible. But, he sighed, there are many layers to Qua'Xia, the Force being only one of them.
The Force rippled, and those who had adapted wandered into the park. He opened his eyes, watching them enter. Kurt headed the pack, wearing shorts and a too-bright tee-shirt, smiling from ear to ear. Behind him trailed Scott, Jean, and the slim girl he had seen Kurt talk to earlier. A dour looking man herded the group ahead of him.
"Hallo, Sean!" Kurt greeted him with his usual enthusiasm.
Ce'it sat up, waving. "Hallo, I have Frisbees and the grammar book." Kurt moaned. "Grammar later, I have decided the weather is too nice."
The dour man's mouth quirked up in one corner. A smile, perhaps? Ce'it suddenly stood, flinging the Frisbee at Scott. Scott caught it, surprised.
"Nice toss," he quipped.
While they were tossing the Frisbee back and forth, laughing and leaping, Ce'it chose to ignore the slim girl, Kitty, as she passed through a tree rather than run into it.
A dark ripple flowed to him, a flash of rumbling anger. He stopped, the Frisbee limp in his hand. "What is it, Mr. O'Shanna?" Scott asked, ever the one for protocol.
Lance Alvers stomped into the clearing, an evil look on his face. "Hi, everybody, see you all wanted to party without me!" He looked over at Ce'it, taking in his dark tee-shirt and gray sweatpants. "And with the new teacher as well, how nice!"
"Why are you here?" growled the dour man, Logan.
"Why, to have fun!" Lance held his hands out.
Ce'it walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He sensed something else. "No, you are not."
Lance spun and looked at him in shock. Scott took a step forward, adjusting his sunglasses. The boy's eyes narrowed. "You know, teach. You're wrong, I am here to have fun." The ground rumbled.
Ce'it did not lose his balance. Scott ran forward, stumbling, and fell short of Lance. The boy continued to speak, his attention focused on Ce'it. "You failed me in ethics class!" He stomped his foot down, the others falling as the ground shook harder. "BIG mistake!"
Ce'it calmly regarded the enraged boy. "No, you did not fulfill the requirements of the course. And you were absent half the time."
Lance yelled, raising his foot. Ce'it looked around, nobody was in the park except for students from the institute and their dour guardian. He needed their trust. He sighed inwardly, time to let them know he was something else. He called on the Force, and Lance rose gracefully into the air.
Scott looked over at Jean, who shrugged, "Not me."
Ce'it held Lance, speaking softly and slowly. "I have had enough. I don't care who or what you are, you are still my student. If you come to class and do your work, you will pass. I will not be bullied by you or anyone else."
"Hey man, I didn't know you were a freak! Like me, like them, it's cool!"
The dour man growled at the revealing of the others' secrets. "I already know," Ce'it said, soothing the others. Surprise and shock rippled through them. "And I know it's none of my business." He placed Lance back on the ground. He waved his hand at him, cringing at what he was about to do. He couldn't risk Lance seeing what was about to happen. "Go home."
"I think I'll go home," Lance woodenly replied and tromped off into the forest.
"What do you know?" Logan growled from behind him.
Ce'it kept his arms folded in front of him. "Not much, I know you are all different. The next stage in Human evolution. That's all."
"That's too much."
Ce'it turned to face him, shrugging. Kurt ran up to him. "Is zat vy you vanted to tutor me? To get closer to us?"
"No," he looked down at Kurt. "I wanted to tutor you because you needed help with your grammar." Ce'it looked back up at Logan. "I do want to get to know you all better, but on your terms. You have my phone number if you want to call me."
Logan grunted. "How about now, with the Professor."
Ce'it looked down at his watch. "I think I can do that."
Logan waved Kurt over. "Think you can get us to the Prof?"
"Sure."
BAMF
Ce'it staggered for a moment, bracing one hand against the wall. What an unusual sensation. First he was in the sun in the park, and now…now he stood in an austere office with an older gentleman in a wheelchair looking out the window. Kurt panted slightly, standing next to him. He winked, before teleporting out.
Logan scowled at Ce'it.
The man in the wheelchair rolled around, his hands folded in front of him. "I assume you are Sean O'Shanna?"
Ce'it bowed deeply. This was no time for false names. "Ce'it Ki Oshanna, at your service."
His eyebrows rose in the change of name. "What else is different about you?"
"Much, but first things first. Why do you want to talk to me?"
Xavier held up a small card, the one he had given Kurt.
"What is Traddess?"
"Traddess is a trading and security company."
"I don't believe you."
Ce'it shrugged. "Believe what you want, I have nothing to hide." Well, not until the holoprojector was turned off.
Xavier continued to speak. "We know you are a mutant, what I want to know is how we were not able to detect you."
"I'm not a mutant," he held his hand over the watch, deactivating the holoprojector. Logan gasped at he appeared in his own furry glory. Ce'it explained. "My mother was Mersakii, that's where my ears and tail come from. My father was Valterin, I get my coloring and spots from him."
"Was?"
Ce'it nodded once, sadly. "My father was a trader, he died in a raid shortly before I was born. My mother died in a plague on her homeworld when I was two. A Jedi Healer discovered my…talents…and took me to the Jedi Temple for training."
"You're an orphan," Logan stated simply.
Xavier considered the being in front of him. "You are an alien then, able to use some form of energy for your own purposes." Ce'it nodded, the Professor wasn't completely accurate, but he was close enough. He didn't relish explaining what the Force was at the moment. Xavier continued to speak. "What brings you here?"
"Traddess needs allies. We need contacts on this world, people we can trust, people who we know can keep their mouths shut." He motioned to the room around him." He held a hand out to them. "I can offer a tour, if you like."
Xavier nodded, "I would like that very much. Tomorrow?"
Ce'it thought it over for a moment. "I think I can arrange that."
"Good," he turned to Logan. "Please show him the front door, I am sure he has much to do."
Ce'it followed Logan out of the room, not bothering to turn his holoprojector back on. Kurt skipped down the hall, stopping in his tracks and dropping what looked to be a bowl of popcorn. He walked slowly up to Ce'it, pacing around him and going so far as to pull lightly on his tail. Ce'it obliged him by wrapping it around the boy's wrist.
Kurt thumbed the watch on his wrist.
Ce'it's eyes widened as he saw Kurt for the first time. The youth was covered in soft blue fur, dark blue hair falling to his shoulders. Delicately pointed ears peeked out from under the unruly mop, and a long thin tail with a spade on its tip swung out behind him. Three fingers and two toes on each hand and foot rounded out the boy.
Until he spoke, small fangs flashing. "You're like me!"
"Not quite, but, it's nice to know I wasn't the only one leaving fur all over the classroom." Ce'it grabbed hold of his tail, patting down the tip. "With Spring coming, I've started to shed my winter coat." He held up a tawny hair.
Kurt laughed, his eyes bright. "Ja, I can see zat! Just wait until ze ozzers find out!"
Logan scowled at him, but his eyes were soft. "Hate to disappoint you, kid, but your new teacher is—"
"Different," Ce'it cut him off. Logan gave him a very severe glare as the Jedi continued speaking. He knelt down to look Kurt in the eye. "Unlike you, I am not Human."
"People say that about me, too."
Ce'it shook his head. "They are wrong." He smiled, taking the shock out of his words. "You belong here, Kurt. This is your homeworld, not mine."
Kurt took a startled step back. "You're—you're an alien?"
Ce'it called on the Force, trying to calm the boy down. Logan's eyes narrowed. "I won't deny it, but," he paused, pinning Kurt down with the infamous Jedi gaze, "Just because I am not Human doesn't mean I don't want to know you better." He looked up at Logan, "All of you. I am as much as an outcast here as…" he sighed, letting the sentence hang in the air.
Kurt's shock subsided, he fully understood the meaning behind Ce'it's words. Th eboy sigehd in resignation, "How long vill you be here?"
Ce'it shrugged, standing up, "That, I do not know."
Kurt looked up at Logan, biting his bottom lip, one small fang flashing into view. He stood closer to the Jedi, whispering, "Vat do you use ven you are shedding?"
Ce'it bent to pick up the bowel of popcorn, "That pet store down the street has this new kind of brush…"
Logan rolled his eyes as he followed the chatting, tailed pair from the building. Several strange stares followed them as well.
Kitty darted next to him, whispering. "Is that Mr. O'Shanna?"
Logan nodded, "We will have a meeting after I show him out. Tell the others to meet me in the main room."
She nodded, looking once at the oblivious pair, and fazed through the floor.
Evan, Scott, and Jean sat on the couch, watching TV and waiting for the others to arrive. Kurt bamfed in, fussing with something paddle-shaped before tucking it into his pants pocket. Rouge sauntered in, followed by Ororo and Logan. Kitty phased through the wall with a two bowls of popcorn, one of which she handed to a delighted Kurt. The Professor glided in last, a grim and determined expression on his face.
"After school tomorrow," he began without preamble, "We all have a meeting at Traddess."
"That strange new building you have your eyes on, right?" Evan asked, his mouth full of popcorn.
Xavier nodded. "Yes, and Mr. Oshanna will be our tour guide."
"Sounds like fun," Scott smiled, reaching over for popcorn.
A corner of Logan's mouth quirked up. "You have no idea."
Xavier glanced at him sideways before continuing. "After my mistake of not telling you about your principle, I have decided to tell you now what I know of the new ethics teacher."
Five pairs of eyes stared at Xavier in disbelief. Kurt looked smug, smiling at his secret. "Mr. O'Shanna is a mutant? Please tell me he's not Kurt's father," Evan quipped.
Kurt gave him a sidelong glance, but Xavier spoke, smiling. "If Mr. Oshanna was Human, he might have been Kurt's father. But, he's not."
"Like, not his father, or not Human?" Kitty ignored the hands removing popcorn from the bowl on her lap.
"Both," Xavier sighed. "He works for Traddess, and has invited us for a tour."
"Cool, like spacemen and stuff, dude! And he's your teacher!" Evan patted Kurt on the back.
"Ja," Kurt agreed, smiling, "And he has a tail, and blue hair, and pointed ears, and he—"
"He what?" Kitty glared at him.
Kurt looked sheepish, "Uhm," he brushed at his forearm, wiping off lose strands of fur, "zat he's not the only one who leaves fur in ze classroom."
"Shedding his winter coat, too?" Scott teased him. Kurt smiled in response, shoving a handful of popcorn in his mouth.
"Anyway," Xavier continued, "We do not know anything about these people. We do need to find out exactly what Traddess is, and why it is here. And we all need to be on our best behavior."
"Ja," Kurt agreed, "Ve vill try."
On the outside, Traddess looked like any other half-completed office building. Construction workers applied final coats of paint to the exterior, while a little vehicle with a brush under it wiped the dust from the newly paved parking lot. Islands of dirt sprouted around the parking spaces, trees stacked off to one side like a root-ball bound forest. Piles of shrinkwrapped pallets littered the edges of the parking lot. The x-van was carefully parked next to a battered red pickup, a metal frame connected to the bed. Ladders were tethered to the top, one so long as to peek over the roof.
A small, slim man walked gracefully up to them. He stood for second, giving them time to look him over before he introduced himself. Xavier took in his very short stature, only slightly taller than Kitty, and his vibrant purple eyes.
He bowed deeply. "I am Spokesbeing Donnye, and I welcome you to," he glanced back at the half-completed building, "Traddess."
"Spokesbeing?" Logan repeated.
Xavier waved his hands at his students, "These are my wards, Scott, Evan, Kurt, Kitty, and Rough. This is Ororo and Logan." Donnye inclined his head to each one.
He turned, speaking over his shoulder. "It may not look like it, but his building was built backwards, from the inside out. It's almost complete. If you would follow me, the lobby is much more pleasant than what will eventually become the parking lot."
Xavier couldn't place the small man's strange, subtle accent.
AN—not to leave you guys in the middle of a paragraph, but...should I continue? What does Traddess have in mind for the X-Men? Just what is a Jedi doing on Earth? And why a nonHuman Jedi? Just what is Donnye (he's not Human, either)? And…AND…what kind of enemies does Traddess have that requires such secrecy? Not to forget the most irritating question of all…what will they find in the hallowed halls of Traddess? So….should I continue?