Welcome back to the 714 Universe! If you're new here, make sure you stop and look at the reading order on my profile, because this is a whole series shebang. If not, you know how this goes. Welcome back, and let's go!
Chapter 1: "Real Estate in Chicago is Cutthroat"
As usual, several of the X-Men and friends and family had come back to Westchester for the holidays — not just for Christmas but for birthdays and New Year's fireworks and just generally coming together for one big party for the last year that this would be the only school they were running.
The LA school was very nearly finished — the only thing left, really, was the grounds and a few finishing touches on the security measures.
And as for the Chicago school that Kitty would be running… She had a few different locations in mind, and she sat down at the table with her handful of maps and notations to lay them out with Scott.
"Alright. There are a few to pick from? Because there is almost no such thing as open real estate in Chicago," Kitty started out. "But of the four here, I think this one has the best location. It's not entirely isolated, and there are good paths of escape in an 'all else fails' scenario, but … it's also got a view of the lake. And you know that's … really a big deal in Chicago. Of course, the negatives … well. It's not the first time we've been there."
Scott raised an eyebrow at the description. "Let me see," he said, looking over her shoulder at the locations she had marked on her maps.
Kitty twisted her hands as she watched him. "It's kind of, like … from the first time we met."
Scott frowned down at the map for a good long time before he finally let out the breath he was holding. "Well, other than the history, you're right; it's a solid spot," he admitted. "But I want to check it out first. Just… to be sure."
"Oh, absolutely," she agreed, first shaking then nodding her head as she tried to go along with him. "That's why I put in the other three options too. Just in case."
"I do like Site B," he said, tapping the map. "No lake view, but it's got just about everything else."
"Yep, and it's a lot better than Site C, which … is in the old slaughterhouse district. Sorry, but, like I said…. Real estate is hard to come by in Chi-town."
"Right." Scott let out a breath. "Really, it should be fine. We're going to demolish and remodel anyway…"
"Yeah, can't have any bad karma attached to any of our locations," Kitty teased.
He shot her a dry look. "Well, if you'd rather just let the thing stand and ignore all the blueprints Forge has been drawing up…"
"That was not what I meant and you know it," Kitty shot back, one finger pointed his way.
Scott smirked and held up both hands. "Just trying to do this right, all things considered," he said. "I'd like these schools to last longer than the other ones we've tried outside of Westchester."
"I know, and I promise to do a better job as headmaster this time out," Kitty said, deflating a little.
"It wasn't a dig," he said. "Not on you," he added, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're going to be great at this."
"I know," she said with a smirk, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Less distractions. Less crazy. And no Quentin Quire."
"Not to mention you've done a little growing up since then," he said with a dry smirk.
"Is that your thinly-veiled insinuation that I was immature when Logan let me run the school?"
"Who's thinly-veiled?" he asked, the smirk widening.
She drew herself up in mock horror and hit his arm hard. "Maybe make it thinner then, Fearless."
He chuckled and shook his head at her. "Really, you'll do great. I'm more worried about the fact that Rachel and Bobby are on your staff. Think you can handle them?"
"I did before just fine," she said with a shrug.
"You did before they were…" Scott waved his hand and let the sentence trail off.
"Has it so altered their mental chemistry that they are a danger? Or are they both easier for everyone but you to deal with?"
"Ha ha." Scott rolled his eyes. "I'll head down to Chicago later on. I think Annie wanted to get out of the house anyway. With how many people we're taking on lately, it's been crowded. She could use a night out away from all of it."
"Pizza night it is!" Kitty declared. "Just like old times when Bobby was cooking — minus the part where he pretended to cook."
Scott chuckled at that. "Yeah, don't let him near your kitchen. Let's not burn the place down the second we build it."
"You know," Kitty said quietly, "he isn't a total moron in the kitchen. He just doesn't like to cook for a crowd." she scrunched up her nose. "I thought you knew that."
Scott looked honestly surprised. "This is Bobby we're talking about, right?"
"Robert Drake, yes. That is the guy."
"I've known him since he got his powers, Kitty, and I'm telling you: I've never seen him cook."
"And I'm telling you: I dated him for a little while, and the guy can cook."
Scott raised both eyebrows her way and then let out a little laugh. "You'd think I'd have run out of things to be surprised by for how long it's been."
"You're just getting complacent," she laughed.
"I may have been distracted by the fact that he's dating my daughter," he pointed out.
"Well, that's your problem, isn't it?" Kitty pointed out.
"You'd be doing the same thing in my shoes."
"Probably," she agreed. "But with more style and more sneak."
Scott smirked. "And Peter?"
"He needs work on the sneak … big time."
"Well, as I understand it, it's easier to be quiet in space," Scott said, the smirk widening.
"Right. Because the trained ninja has noise issues," she teased. "Go on. I've got the kids. You obviously need the break. Especially after what had to have been a wearing trip to Japan. With the kids. What were you thinking?"
"It was perfectly quiet," Scott promised. "Actually, we spent most of the time at the beach."
"Oh come on," Kitty said, wide-eyed.
"I thought Logan told you: the Yashida clan doesn't have a claim on him anymore," Scott said with a shrug. "Apparently, that makes Japan a passable vacation spot. The kids loved it."
"Yeah, but … really?" She looked shocked by the news.
"Do you really think I'd take my kids anywhere I didn't think was safe?" Scott asked, one eyebrow raised.
"No, but … I mean…. He's thought he was in the clear before, and they came after him anyhow."
"We were there for a week, and not a one of us saw a single ninja," Scott said.
She blew out her breath, both eyebrows raised as she crossed her arms. "Maybe he killed them all last time." She grinned at him. "There couldn't be an endless supply, right?"
"You'd think so, but that's not what I've heard," he smirked.
"Really? Not a one?" she asked, her shoulders drooping. "The last time I went, I got possessed."
Scott pulled his arm around her shoulders. "Maybe you should go back. Might be a good idea to have some good memories of it."
"No thank you. Just because he's out of it with Yashida does not mean that Ogun wouldn't take a chance again," Kitty pointed out. "That guy makes me feel like I need to wash my soul."
"Yeah, I know the feeling," Scott said with a nod before he pulled her into an honest hug. "Thanks for looking out for the kids. I promise they're only monsters sometimes."
"Hey, we'll have a good time. The other kids are here, and who knows? Maybe it'll get Peter to rethink another one."
"It's worth it, Kitty," he promised as they headed down the hall.
"I tell you what," Kitty called out to him. "Tell me about it after you carry them and go through labor."
Scott laughed and held up both hands. "Fair enough," he called back.
Scott wasn't surprised when he told Annie the plan that she was absolutely on board. Christmas had been particularly exhausting this year, and no matter how many times Annie said that she and her sisters loved to cook for an army, he knew that having so many people in the mansion as well as all the kids from the X-Men starting families had taken its toll.
"I was thinking we'd drive," he said. "Just the two of us."
Annie beamed at him and nodded, wrapping her arms around his shoulders happily. "Oh, yes please. That sounds lovely."
"Kitty's already offered to take care of the kids," Scott said.
"Oh, that's trouble," Annie laughed. "I've seen her Peter with Chloe."
"You should see him with Jubes' twins."
"It's the white hair," she laughed.
Scott grinned as the two of them packed a few things for an overnight stay. They'd be leaving the next morning, but since they were driving and not flying, it was a good idea to have some toothbrushes and such just in case.
"Are you gonna go somewhere romantic?" Charlie asked with a little giggle when she caught the two of them packing — and spotted Annie stealing a kiss as they did so.
"We're just going to go see the place that Kitty wants to build her new school," Scott explained, smiling down at the little girl.
"You should go somewhere romantic," Charlie decided.
"We should?" Annie asked, delighted by where Charlie's head was.
"Yeah, you should. Remy and Miss Marie said that it's important to go to romantic places like Paris," she explained, and Scott couldn't help but smirk.
"Remy's been saying that for as long as I've known him," Scott chuckled.
"Well it must be true, because they kiss a lot," Charlie reasoned.
Annie raised her eyebrows Scott's way as she addressed Charlie but watched him. "And you think we should kiss more often?"
"Well you sure don't do it as much as Remy and Miss Marie."
Scott laughed out loud at that as he crouched down to ruffle Charlie's curly hair. "Tell you what. I'll take your mom somewhere nice for Valentine's Day. Do you think that's a good idea?" he asked her, grinning over the top of her head at Annie.
"Oooh, yes. That's the perfect day!" Charlie agreed.
Scott just laughed and kissed the top of Charlie's head. "Will you make sure your brothers and sister behave for Kitty while she's watching you guys?"
Charlie nodded enthusiastically. "I'll make sure Chance doesn't get in any fights," she promised.
Annie kissed Charlie's cheek and grinned. "That's my smart little girl."
"Oh, this is the perfect place for a school," Annie said as they arrived at the spot that Kitty had picked out, smiling especially at the lakeside view as she looked around the area.
Scott nodded quietly, though his focus wasn't on the view but on the building itself. He was surprised that Kitty had picked it out, honestly, because it couldn't have held good memories for her. This was where Emma had held her and several of the X-Men when they first met, after all. Still, better than a Weapon X facility, he thought to himself, dryly, remembering Kitty's dig from earlier.
Annie turned from admiring the view to slide her arms around his middle and rest her head against him. "I recognize that look," she said softly. "What's the matter?"
"Just a little history with this place," he said in as offhanded a tone as he could manage. "We're tearing the building down anyway to make the school. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything still being used underneath."
"What kind of history?" she asked with a frown. "Should I have brought that Stark gun?"
Scott smirked. "No, I doubt anybody's using this place anymore." He took a deep breath and let it out. "And since Emma Frost was the one running things and Rachel de-powered her—"
"Oh, I hate that woman," Annie said, wrinkling her nose.
Scott chuckled and turned to kiss her. "I doubt she's here. Nobody's heard from her since we faced the Hellfire Club a little while ago."
"Good riddance," Annie sniffed, and Scott chuckled again as he stole another kiss.
"Come on; let's get the nostalgia tour over with so we can just tear it down," Scott said, taking her by the hand as they headed inside.
Of course, as it turned out, Scott needn't have worried. Just from the dustline alone, it was obvious that no one had been in the building for ages. It was completely undisturbed from top to bottom, and Scott found himself letting out a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding as they finally stepped back out into the cool evening air.
Annie let out a little laugh as as she reached over to squeeze his arm. "What were you expecting?"
"This, honestly," he admitted.
"But you had to be sure." He nodded, and she let out a little laugh as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Well, now that you've seen it, let's call Kitty and tell her it's perfect. If she likes it, and she's the one who was captured here, I think we can safely say it's a solid choice."
Scott grinned at her as he did just that — and a quick phone call later, Kitty knew to go ahead and make an offer on the property and make arrangements to start building once that went through. With that settled, Scott wrapped an arm around Annie's shoulders as they headed back to the car. "What are you in the mood to eat for dinner?" he asked. "Anything you want."
"Mmm, I'm not sure," Annie admitted. "It's been a while since we've been able to eat somewhere nice — just the two of us."
"I'll see what's in the area," he said with a nod as they got to the car, pulling out his phone — though he had only just unlocked the car when he heard a noise behind him. He spun around to face their assailants, but before he could get a good look at any of them, he saw instead the mesh of a net headed their way.
"Annie, get down!" he shouted as he blasted a wide beam through the middle of the net, and Annie ducked, falling flat so that the dangerous, melting net passed over her, still sparking slightly as Scott narrowed his eyes at the sight.
Annie popped back up and went to the glove box to get the pistol she kept there for exactly this kind of emergency as Scott spun to face whoever had thrown the net. He spotted a few larger men but didn't recognize them — though he did recognize their clothing as definitely unearthly.
He heard the sharp rapport of a gun as Annie fired at the guys, and he smirked to himself as he rushed forward, his own optic blasts in play, and heard the invectives that Annie was muttering over and over as she fired.
He blasted one of the big men backward into the other, and when they struggled to get up, reaching for weapons to use against him and Annie, Scott fired off another shot that knocked both of them out — and for good measure, he kicked aside the weapons, crouching down beside one of them to see if he could find anything that would identify who they were or why they had come after him and Annie.
There wasn't anything, as far as he could see. Just a few guys who weren't from Earth, with guns that looked a lot like what Peter Quill's crew used. But no identifying marks from what he could see beyond a tattoo on one of them that didn't correspond to any groups that Scott knew of.
He sat back on his heels, frowning over the mystery he had stumbled into, when he heard Annie shout out.
"Scott!" Annie shouted his way as she saw what he couldn't: the blue portal opening up just behind him.
It hadn't been quite enough time for Scott to react more than to start to stand as the portal had appeared out of nowhere, and before he could turn toward the source of the problem, the woman responsible for the portal had already come through with swords drawn, two of which she hooked underneath Scott's chin, close enough that she drew blood from the base of his jaw.
He froze, halfway holding his breath and angling his head back away from the blades, and he caught Annie's wide-eyed stare from a few feet away.
He realized exactly what was going on when a third arm, this one metal, pulled him back, and with the swords at his throat so close, he had to take each step back with Spiral.
"Tell Mojo I'm not interested—" Scott stopped when Spiral pulled her swords closer and drew a thin line across his neck.
"You're not the main attraction, Cyclops," Spiral whispered in his ear as she took a few more steps backward with him, and they stepped through the portal into a room that didn't have any windows or doors. She shoved him forward, and he spun to fire an optic blast her way…. But she had already disappeared through another portal, and he swore under his breath.
