The tall girl walked easily down the side of the road, her head held high and her abnormally long hair swaying in the slight breeze that also whispered through the changing leaves of the trees. She appeared too aloof to notice anything, but was in fact highly aware of her surroundings, especially of the little trickle of water that flowed through the ditch.
Mara River smiled, her blue lips curling up slightly over pointed teeth as she stretched a little and flipped a few strands of her blue hair back over her shoulders. She looked down the road ahead and skipped forward a few steps, humming to herself as she looked back at the sun, her forehead creasing slightly as she mentally cursed the Indian summer heat.
Her thoughts moved ahead of her feet, thinking of the small woman who, four years earlier, had invited her to go to the place she was heading for. Mara hadn't taken the invitation seriously at the time, her only thought had been to get the &$+# off the dry land and out of the reach of maniacs like that Juggernaut, who had nearly crushed her for nothing more than giving his happy face boxers a swift upward jerk when she'd seen them sticking out of his pants at the bar she'd been lurking in.
Now she was, again, on the run. Atlantis had been fun, and her dolphin family still playful, but she needed to duck out of the range of the underwater kingdom for a while. Namor had been seriously ticked off when they'd finally found his speedos at the top of the highest flagpole in the city.
Mara grinned at the memory, then glanced upward as a flicker of movement caught her eye. "What the $?" She frowned at the barely perceptible speck in the sky, trying to match the shape to any kind of hawk or buzzard that she'd ever seen, then blinked as the thing suddenly dove out of sight and she distinctly saw the bat-like webbing of the wings and understood the size of it.
"The mother of all heatstruck bats. Now I've seen it all," she muttered, then started jogging toward where the figure had disappeared.
A driveway guarded by a tall iron gate soon came into sight, the grim portals standing hospitably open. From around a bend in the drive came the sound of exuberant young voices physically discussing the joys of some sport.
"Oh man," Mara groaned slightly, looking at the pavement stretching before her. Then she cringed at the young laughter. "It's a house full of little kids, no wonder that old lady smelled funny!"
Scowling, she continued forward, then stopped with her hands on her hips as she rounded the bend and the house came into sight. Her initial impression had been wrong. It was not little kids, but big ones, some extremely so. She pondered one huge green boy as he was mobbed by smaller others, then started as a massive, bright blue, feline face was thrust into her own, golden eyes shining in benign inquiry.
"Hank!" bellowed a smoky female voice. "Get your big $+ out of her face before you scare her #$&+less!"
The massive cat blinked and looked over his shoulder with what sounded distinctly like a disapproving clearing of the throat. Shaking his head, he turned back to Mara and offered her one huge paw.
"Ai!" she yelped, leaping away from the creature. "Who the #$&+ are you?"
The cat gave a distinct and very human sigh, then seemed to rear up on its haunches. Before her startled eyes it shifted and blurred into a blue-furred man whose gentle golden eyes regarded her with some embarrassment.
"Forgive me," he rumbled in a soft, rich baritone. "I have become so comfortable with mine other skin that I forget at times what form I hold. My name is Henry McCoy." He smiled, fangs protruding slightly from his lower lip. "Might I have the pleasure of knowing your name and the purpose of your visit to Xavier's Academy?"
"My name's none'a your business!" shrieked Mara. Then she forced herself to calm down. "Where's Logan? You know, crazy short lady with claws?"
The blue man flinched and gasped as though she'd punched him in the stomach.
"Logan?" he said with difficulty.
"Yeah, Logan," said Mara angrily. "Lo-gan. Short, smelly, tried to recruit me a few years back. Don't tell me she's not here right now?"
"That's a +&$# of a way to talk about the dead, kid," said a woman with gleaming black hair as she came to frown at Mara, her violet eyes, one surrounded by a black spot, glinting in her milk-white face. The blue-haired teen recognized the smokey voice that had been yelling at 'Hank' earlier.
"Dead? What the $# do ya mean 'dead'?" gasped Mara. Then she glared down at the woman before turning and kicking the gravel at the side of the driveway. "Do I look like an idiot to you? I saw that woman squashed like a bug n' she popped back. What could kill her if not that big scarlet dude?"
"How about vaporization?" The woman's voice was a husky, pain-filled whisper.
Mara stared at her, then took a step back.
"$," she growled. Then she spun around and kicked the gravel angrily. "$! Just...just great! Now what?"
"You are still most welcome to stay," said Hank softly, his form blurring slightly around the edges and then shifting back to the cat.
The woman looked at him, then sighed and nodded. "Yeah, we've got lots of room, if you can take a loony bin."
"Mr and Mrs McCoy! Bunyip just bit Roach, and now he's pukin' his guts out again!" yelled a young male voice that cracked with the strain its owner was subjecting it to.
Mrs. McCoy said a word that made Mara feel like blushing, then turned and ran toward the group of teenagers, bawling for someone named Jubal to deal with the visitor as the blue sabertooth bounded ahead of her to where a sleek, furry form was bent over with retching.
Mara looked over her shoulder and stared after them, vaguely recognizing the names Jubal and McCoy, but she hadn't paid too much attention to Logan when the woman had mentioned them. She pushed her hair away from her very large pointed ears, sighing to herself and digging through her pockets for her chapstick as footsteps approached her.
"Whaddya want?" growled a light male voice sullenly as familiar cigar smoke suddenly engulfed her.
Mara looked over sharply.
"Excuse me?" she growled back. Then she sniffed and suppressed a cough. "Sheesh, what is it with you people and those disgusting cigars?"
The tall, scruffy-haired Asian guy looked at her indifferently from blue eyes that looked as though they'd seen hell as he crossed his arms over his black T-shirted chest. "Dom said t' deal with ya. Whaddya want?"
"Well, aren't you the cute sidekick," she said, using the chapstick and then putting it away. She studied him, then shook her head. "Logan said you were a happy kid. You don't look so happy to me."
He flinched, then ducked his head and hunched his shoulders for a moment before throwing the cigar aside and clenching his jaw as he gave her an all too familiar smirk. "Funny, this is one'a my good days."
Mara stared back fearlessly, though inside she winced at the smile. Too many people she'd known had had that same look that said they'd been hurt so much that they'd finally just shut off. It creeped her out and made her feel as though she was watching something die.
"So," she said. "Where's the pool?"
He frowned slightly, eyeing her with quiet suspicion, but then turned as a black-haired girl who looked about 15 jogged up and stopped beside him. "Hey, Stitch."
"Hey, Jubes." The girl grinned back, dark eyes sparkling. "Dom asked me to tell you that Mara's staying here for now. You're supposed to show her a room."
Then she glanced at Mara, her face darkening slightly. "She came 'cause Mom invited her."
"Crap." Jubal clenched his jaw again, then turned back to Mara in gruff apology. "They tell ya she's gone?"
"Yeah, I got the memo," she said, looking him up and down again. "N' I don't need a room. Do you have a pool? Pond?"
"Yeah." He returned her scrutiny thoughtfully, his expression lightening as he put an arm around Stitch's shoulders. "But yer gonna need someplace t' put yer crap, too."
Stitch cocked her head, eyes sparkling again. "'N yer gonna haveta share the pool."
"I don't need a place for my crap. I'm utterly without crap that needs a place, if you don't mind. And it's not like I'm gonna chase the doggy-paddlers out of there, I can be nice if I really have to," said Mara. She looked at the girl a little more closely, then realized that she'd heard her refer to Logan as 'Mom'. That probably explained the uncanny likeness, the kid looked like a younger copy of the grouchy old woman.
Jubal snorted and let his arm fall from Stitch's shoulders. "Go on back t' class, kid. I kin do this without yer holdin' my hand."
"Sure." She cocked her head and grinned up at him saucily. "I found out what happened t' yer stash."
"I know." Jubal looked bored, though his eyes were still alive with affection. "Hank 'n Dom drank it last night. I heard 'em singin'. Git goin'."
"See you at dinner." Stitch blew a raspberry and loped away.
"They let minors have booze in this place?" Mara's eyebrows shot up. "If I'd've known that I might have dropped by sooner."
Jubal snorted again as he turned toward the mansion. "They don't 'let' me do nothin', darlin'. I do whatever the #$& I want to."
Mara grinned as she shrugged and followed, intrigued by this boy who seemed a lot different from the kid Logan had talked her ear off about.
He hung back till she was walking beside him, reminding her again of his mentor, then lead her up the front steps and through the open double doors.
"Lettin' in all the freakin' bugs," he muttered, but made no move to close the doors himself as he walked across the expansive foyer.
"Big place." Mara looked around. "That Chuck guy must have some serious cash intake."
Jubal shrugged noncommittally, but then stopped and looked around as someone called his name in a deep, hard-edged voice. "Yeah, Cable?"
Mara looked at the tall, silver-haired man with the robotic eye, then blinked at the small infant in his arms. She decided to reserve judgement on him, he looked powerful enough with his metallic arm, but he was holding a kid. Probably just another grouchy father.
"I have to go and help Hank and Dom with Bunyip. Could you hold Jabez for a few moments?" He held out the dark-haired baby, who was still in the new and floppy stage.
"Sure, bub," said Jubal softly.
Mara shot him a look of surprise at the love in his voice, then blinked as she saw the tender expression on his face as he accepted the baby and cuddled it close to his chest.
"Thanks." Cable blurred sideways and disappeared.
There was a tiny growl from the infant and Jubal laughed, the sound light and full of life.
"Yeah, still trips me out when he does that too, Jabez, darlin'." He nuzzled his cheek against the baby's hair, then turned back the way he'd been headed as though nothing had happened.
"Well, not such a stoney-eyed punk after all, are ya?" said Mara, her long legs keeping up easily as she frowned at the baby.
He glanced at her absently and smiled. "Eh?" Then he looked down as the tiny child frowned back at the water girl and let out a little snarl that was about as ferocious as something a puppy would do.
Mara arched an eyebrow at the smile, a corner of her own mouth twitching, then bared her teeth back at the baby before grunting and shaking her head slightly. "Kids," she muttered under her breath.
-Bleah!- she heard distinctly inside her head as the little one's face dropped into a horrible scowl.
She jumped slightly, both eyebrows shooting up before she scowled again herself. Bad enough it was a baby, but a telepathic baby? Just not good news.
"That kid have a temper?" she asked, looking at the infant warily.
"Nah, she's a sweetheart." Jubal smoothed the baby's back as he glanced through an open doorway. "Hey, Brownie."
"Hey yourself, &$#head," said a female voice from inside. "It's in your room."
"Great." Jubal smirked and continued on.
"Nice girl," Mara commented, still following close behind and rolling her eyes at the sweetheart comment. Kids never seemed to get along with her, and she didn't like them either.
There was a wordless poke at her mind that made her miss a step and catch the wall, and Jubal stopped to look at her quizzically. "You gettin' too dry?"
"I'm..." Mara scowled, then shook her head. "I'm fine."
Jubal quirked an eyebrow, but then looked back down at Jabez.
Mara glared at the tiny girl, then resumed walking, focusing on setting up mental shields, a skill she'd never been particularly good at. But, she assured herself, how hard could it be to block out a baby? This kid wasn't even a year old.
"So, how old are you?" she asked nonchalantly.
"Nineteen," said Jubal absently, then started as Mara got the distinct feeling that she'd just wet herself.
"Would you stop that!" she yelped, backing away from the pair and glaring, fists clenched as she ended up hitting the wall with a thud and an 'oof!'
Jubal regarded her with raised eyebrow for a few minutes, then looked down at the baby. "You felt that?"
"Felt what? What the #& is that kid doing t' me!" cried Mara, glaring at the child.
Jubal's smirk returned, knowing and downright evil, a twin to the one that Mara often saw in the mirror. "Talkin' t' ya."
"Well, make her stop!" hissed Mara. "I don't talk to babies!" Then she stopped as the baby calmly quirked an eyebrow before farting loudly and looking away.
Jubal snorted with laughter, his smirk turning into a rotten grin. "Live with it, darlin'."
Mara stared at the baby, then choked to suppress a laugh of her own and shook her head. "Whatever, bub."
Jubal's grin vanished like a light switched off as he lowered his face to Jabez' hair. "Come on, water's this way."
Mara knew that she had touched a nerve, and could guess why. She walked the rest of the way in silence, her spirits lifting as she caught the scent of warm salt water from somewhere ahead of them.
She paused as Jubal stopped in front of the last door at the end of the hall, then started as it opened seemingly on its own and swung open to reveal an indoor pool. He glanced at her, then turned back the way they'd come and walked away without another word.
Mara looked after him, then gaped at the pool. It looked almost like an indoor jungle pond, tropical plants and trees growing all over the walls and the scent of the water clear and healthy. She walked forward, then crouched down and touched the surface, delighted with the quality of the salt water. It was by far the best pool she'd ever seen indoors.
"Huh, looks like Logan wasn't lying," she muttered.
The water suddenly dipped away from her fingers, then rippled softly. As she watched, it seemed to form a transparent skin, which drew together and sank under the surface next to a pair of swim trunks that lay on the bottom of the pool, then congealed into the form of a young man.
"Huh." Mara stared at him and stood. "Well, it's not a dolphin... Still."
She shrugged, then leapt into a graceful dive, slipping into the water without a splash and letting out a sigh of pleasure. She did a quick lap around the pool, then turned and swam towards the form, blinking.
"Are you somebody?" she asked, her voice echoing through the water.
"Yes," said a soft voice that she felt more than heard as the figure turned toward her bashfully, revealing a bluff, open face that was slightly flushed. "Do you need the pool?"
She blinked, her fingers and toes extending to make full use of the webbing in between them as she rose off the floor of the pool and circled him, her long blue hair shimmering and wrapping around her like some kind of strange aquatic plant as she peered at him curiously. She didn't mind her loose sweatpants and small tanktop getting soaked, she wasn't planning on leaving the pool any time soon anyway.
"You don't need to leave, these pools get boring when they're empty," she said, looking him over. He was cute in a way, and obviously shy. Mara grinned at him.
He ducked his head and crossed his arms over his muscular chest, his cheeks turning an even brighter colour as his short dark hair moved in the current of her movement. "I'm Donnie."
"I'm Mara," she said, blinking again. She didn't need to while she was under water, but this kid was scared enough without her staring continually at him and she didn't feel like being mean right now.
She circled him once more, then backed off a little and skimmed the bottom of the pool lightly before spinning to face him again.
"Don't be scared kid, I'm not a piranha." She smirked.
Donnie tried hard to smile but then bit his lip, blurted a hasty apology, and bolted. Mara was left bobbing in his wake, watching as he trotted away through the door.
She pushed her hair out of her eyes, then snorted with laughter. A second later she yawned.
"Aw heck, too much fun, not enough sleep." She sighed to herself, looking around. Swimming to the far end of the pool she crouched on the floor, deciding a quick nap couldn't hurt anyone.
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She was wakened some time later as the door to the pool room banged open and looked up to watch as a huge, muscular blond man gently lowered an unconscious Donnie into the water and held him there till he dissolved.
"Huh?" she wriggled through her hair and started to swim over, but then paused, suddenly worried she might be swimming through the kid.
She backed off, then decided to play it safe and rose to the surface, the water sliding off her skin smoothly as she looked the man over and scowled.
"What happened to Nerves?" she asked.
"Dried out." The guy frowned back from amber eyes, then lifted a clawed hand and scratched one sideburn thoughtfully.
"Dried out? Huh. Why'd he run outta the pool then?" She frowned, not waiting for a reply before she slid back under the surface and looked around, waiting for the boy to re-appear.
A soft splash at the surface caught her attention, and she looked up to see the guy gesturing for her to come up.
"He ain't gonna take human shape again fer a bit," he said as she poked the very top of her head out of the water and gave him a look. "Takes 'im a couple hours t' recover, 'n 'e might do it better if yer not here. Y' kin come back later."
Mara scowled horrifically at him and rose further from the water.
"Yeah?" she said. "Why is that, exactly?"
"Y'saw how skittish 'e is," he responded imperturbably. "Besides, it's gettin' t' be supper time."
"What if I don't eat?" she said, then vanished underwater again.
Crouching at the bottom of the pool she waited, then sprang upward, shooting through the water and flying out of the pool with a showy splash, landing on all fours at the water's edge. She shook like a dog, dousing the man in water as it flew off in all directions.
Finally, she stood, flicked her hair to rid it of the last remaining water and looked down at herself before lifting her eyes to the stranger and blinking as she was hit with a spray of water from his own vigorous shake.
"I kin hear yer belly growlin'," he said calmly, as though nothing odd had happened.
Mara put a hand on her hip, arching one delicate blue eyebrow at him. "And your name is?"
"Victor Creed." He peered into the water, then turned and loped out of the room.
"Nice. A felon. Just freaking wonderful, the company they keep here, even if they do have a nice pool," Mara sighed, turning to leave. At the door she looked over her shoulder. "Hey Nerves, don't lose yourself in there."
She strolled down the hallway, listening to the sounds of life that stirred the huge old house, then stopped short as a laughing couple came from the door to the room where Jubal's friend had been earlier. "Do you freakin' mind, I'm trying to walk here?"
"That's it, stand in his way!" cried the woman, her pale blond hair in disarray as she leaped and grabbed the man around the neck. "I have you, Bobby! Now give it to me!"
"Ow, Emma! I can't breath..." The brown-haired man pulled at her arms, then held a small parcel tantalizingly in front of her eyes.
Emma grabbed it with both hands, her pale blue eyes fixed on it greedily. "My order! Yes!" Laughing merrily, she ran back into the room, her white spike heels soundless on the thick carpet.
Bobby rubbed his neck and grinned at Mara. "Hi. Sorry about that."
She looked at him as if he were insane, then after the woman.
"Yeah, sure," she said. "Whatever."
His grin went slightly mischievous as he offered a hand. "Bobby Drake. That's my wife Emma."
Mara looked at the chilled digits, then made a face.
"No touching." She looked down at him and crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. "My name's Mara."
He flushed like a boy caught with his hand in the cookies, his grin still firmly in place. "Hi, Mara. Are you going to be staying here?"
"Bobby, come and see these! They're even more exquisite than they were in the pictures!" called Emma excitedly.
"If I feel like it," said Mara, locking a piercing gaze on him. "You'd better go, sounds like your wife's got a treat."
He blinked, then flinched slightly as loud music suddenly blasted out from upstairs. "Oh boy, poor Jubes. I'm coming, Em. Nice meeting you, Mara."
He waved absently and disappeared inside the room, closing the door behind him.
"Jubes, huh?" said Mara, looking up at the ceiling. Then she grinned. "Hey, whatcha know, Audioslave!"
Turning, she walked down the hall toward where she remembered seeing the stairs, grinning at the faint rattling of paintings that came from the pounding bass and electric guitar. There were two teens dancing in the foyer as she crossed it, but she ignored them and ran lightly up the dark wood staircase, her eyes widening as the music got louder.
Then she paused as she noticed two figures standing in front of a door near the end of the hall. One, faintly glowing and indistinct, was blocking the way of the other, a brown-haired man in red sunglasses.
"Back off, Scooter," she heard a husky female voice say. "Just let 'em be."
"Ruh, he's underage! I won't stand by and let him destroy his life!" said the man in a voice full of frustration and pain.
"Just let 'em be," repeated the glowing form softly, then glanced toward Mara.
The brown-haired man glanced toward her too, then looked up as though someone else had spoken.
"Fine!" he growled, his face contorted with anger and grief. "I'm going. But I think you're making a mistake, Charles!"
The glowing figure watched him walk away, then turned back to Mara. "Took ya long enough, kid."
Mara frowned, trying to make out features in the softly shining face, then blinked as the figure disappeared.
She stared for a moment, the odd greeting unsettling her as she realized the voice was familiar. More than familiar...
Mara shook her head. If Logan had a kid, why wouldn't she have a twin? She didn't bother dwelling on it, instead walking to the door and putting an ear against it, smiling in satisfaction at the pounding music. Shoving the door open without a second thought, she swayed back slightly and grinned widely as the music hit her like a physical force. Then she blinked at the scene inside the room.
The boy Jubes was laying on his back on the bed, staring at the ceiling with a half-empty whiskey bottle hanging out of one hand. Mara tilted her head, staring at the expression on his face and feeling a chill run up her spine at the mixture of weary age and youthful vulnerability, savage anger and overwhelming sorrow. The total lack of caring or hope that she saw there nearly made her reel back.
She swallowed, feeling her knees go weak, though she locked them firmly and gripped the doorframe, her short nails leaving scratches in the wood. Tearing her eyes away from his face she noticed the wrist of the hand that held the bottle, and the pale scars on the front and back, as though something had been thrust through it. Filled with new dread, she tried to force herself to look away, but found herself unable.
Finally she straightened and walked into the room, standing next to the rumpled bed and shaking her head as she felt the music tremble inside of her, almost deafening her sharp hearing. Face furrowed in a frown, she flopped to the floor, leaning against the bed and grabbing the bottle, then glancing at the brand before she took a swig herself.
"Neugh!" she said, making a face and bringing her knees up, then sniffed the drink and shook her head again before sighing and bringing the bottle to her mouth once more.
A hand suddenly grasped her wrist in a grip like an iron band and she looked up into Jubal's angry face.
"Whadya think yer doin'?" he snarled, eyes boring into hers from under his forelock.
"That's nice," she said calmly, twisting her wrist and snapping it out of his grasp, the move made easier by her smooth, rubbery skin. "If you're trying to catch a fish you don't squeeze, Brainiac. And if it's your booze you're worried about, it's called replacement. Besides, you'll be sick if you drink all this crap by yourself."
"So?" He let himself flop down with his face hanging over the edge, his eyes going dead and gone again as the song started over. "Hurry up 'n drink 'n give it back."
Mara turned and got to her knees and put her elbows on his bed, then took a hefty swig before giving the bottle back and looking around at the posters on the walls.
"What's that band?" she said, pointing at a group with a black, fur-covered girl in a leather corset and pants in front of the other members. "Didn't know there were popular muties in the business."
Jubal drained half of what was left in the bottle in one long draught, then looked up at the poster indifferently as he handed it back. "The Lovely Dictators. They're playin' tonight at Hell."
"Hell," Mara repeated thoughtfully, downing the rest of the whiskey. Then she grinned. "Sounds like a nice place. Hey, I know! Let's go!"
"I'm grounded." He smirked, then got up and went over to the dresser, where he gave his hair a quick, automatic sweep with the comb and picked up a set of keys. "Come on."
She got to her feet and grinned. "Lead the way."
Jubal went over to the door and stuck his head into the hall to listen, then scowled absently and shut it. "Window."
Mara turned to follow, but then nearly jumped out of her skin as that glowing woman suddenly appeared next to him.
"Don't do it, kid. You've had too much t' drink," said the familiar voice.
"Bite me, Wolvie. You're dead." Jubal went to the window and opened it, then slipped through.
"Jubes?" said Mara, sticking her head out of the window and grinning down at him, holding onto the window frame as she wobbled. "Sheesh, a couple sober years n' you turn into a lightweight," she muttered to herself.
"Come on!" he hissed, ignoring the low voice of the ghostly one, who had followed him outside and was standing at the base of the wall.
Mara chuckled, then leapt out of the window as gracefully as she dived, only with a rougher landing as she hit on her butt.
"Crap, I am a lightweight now," she muttered, lifting herself up and leaning against the wall as she nodded at Jubal. "Where now?"
"Behind the gazebo," came the voice of that glowing being, followed by a broken sigh and a muttered string of what sounded like not-curses. "Just don't git yerselvs killed."
"Why? You didn't take the last slot in the graveyard." Jubal vanished into the night.
The glowing woman sighed again and turned to look at Mara, Logan's face showing clearly from under close-cropped hair before she vanished as abruptly as she'd appeared.
"Lo..." Mara turned, staring after her, then turned and ran after Jubal, listening for him and tracking the scent of whiskey through the dark to find her way. The roar of a bike suddenly shattered the night, making leave the ground in a startled jump and then shy sideways several steps before she started giggling hysterically. She hurried on to the back of the little white garden house, then paused when she saw the figure on the giant black Harley, his face covered by a black helmet.
"Very nice." She chuckled, then hurried over and got on the back, wrapping her arms around his waist and looking around. "Whenever you're ready."
His reply was to nearly bean her with a second helmet as he thrust it over his shoulder, then to burn rubber out of the yard before she'd even finished fastening it, the front wheel of the bike leaving the tormented lawn as he gunned toward the driveway.
"Heh, waste no time, why don't ya." Mara grabbed him again as they sped off into the night. Then she glanced at the ground and woods shooting by and groaned softly, bowing her head and closing her eyes. Vehicles. Ugh, she thought to herself.
