Note: Hopefully this one will actually get finished.
A gentle breeze blew through the swamps of Louisiana. An almost full moon shone down on the crocodile infested waters. The sound of crickets mixed with the subtle sound of a motor boat speeding through the swamp. It pulled up to a fairly large tree with its roots barely covered by soil. Long elder's beard moss hung from its gnarly branches.
"You sure this is the place?" one of the men asked.
"Yeah boss, this is where that Gambit guy said she is," the driver answered gruffly.
Up in the tree a figure sat watching the two men talk. Her long tail twitched as did her glistening black nose. Her wolf like ears swiveled back and forth while her amber eyes locked onto the men who had gotten into an argument now. Baring her long canines she leapt down from the tree and into knee high swamp water.
"You boys sure do got a lotta nerve comin' this deep inta my swamp," her southern accent was a little broken but you could definitely tell she'd grown up there for most of her life.
"So there you are," the first man said as he tipped his hat. "We've been looking for you for most of the night."
"We'll you found me," the wolf stood up on her legs, making it apparent that she was anthropomorphic.
"You're a…a…" the man started to stutter.
"A mutant? I sure am," the wolf approached the boat. "You can call me Ida."
Both men stood dumbfounded in the boat. There was a time of silence except for the crickets.
"Now you boys didn't come all this way for nothin'," Ida jumped up into the boat, flinging mud and water. "What did you gentlemen need, now?"
"We have a task for you," the man backed away from the she-wolf as she sat down on the back of the boat. "We have some where we need you to sniff around, so to speak," the man chuckled nervously.
"Boy, don't be tryin' to pull jokes," Ida rested her elbows on her knees and shook her head. "I ain't in the mood for it."
"Ah, yes. Sorry," the man loosened the tie around his neck. "Well then, have you heard of the Xavier Institute?"
"Yeah, that 'haven' for mutants," Ida rolled her eyes. "They tried ta find me once, didn't though. I know these swamps better than they ever will."
"Well that's fine and dandy, but we need you to go there," the man continued.
"Boy, lemme ask you," Ida picked the man up by his collar. "Is this a test of my patience? I'm gonna tell you somethin' now, I got a short fuse."
"N-n-no…" the man shook his head. "We just need you to find out what's going on at that school. And we wouldn't mind if you picked off a few of the mutants."
"I ain't no one's little errand girl," Ida set the man down. "Besides, if I did do it, what's in it for me?"
"Anything you want," the man smiled in a wicked way. "Money, weapons, freedom, anything you want."
"Can you get me access to the museum in London?" Ida raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, why?" the man raised his eyebrow in confusion.
"You know, my mama used to tell me stories of ancient clans of mutants and their weapons," Ida looked up at the moon. "I'd like to find something I've been lookin' for a long time."
"Is that all you want?" the man asked, a little stunned at the simple request.
"No, I want you and your buddy ta get outta my swamp!" Ida jumped out into the swamp water. "If you don't, my crocs are gettin' hungry."
Four crocodile heads surfaced the moonlit water. Each head was huge though the one closest to the boat was the biggest. The second man started the engine and sped off into the distance.
* * * *
"Professor, what is it?" Storm asked as she walked into the professor's library.
"A new mutant," Xavier smiled a little. "She was down in Louisiana but has started to make her way up here."
"When will she make it up here?" Storm leaned against the desk.
"She'll be here this evening I assume," Xavier looked out the window and at the rain pounding the ground. He chuckled. "Let's just hope she isn't walking."
"Or we'll have a very soggy mutant," Storm smiled warmly then walked out of the library.
On the other side of the mansion a few of the students were up and around. Asha was walking down the hall with Rogue behind her when Kurt appeared out of nowhere, like he usually does.
"Have you seen Kitty?" Kurt asked as he ducked behind Asha and Rogue.
"No, why?" Rogue crossed her arms as her adoptive brother tried to hide behind her.
"She made a new batch of muffins," Kurt whispered as an unmistakable voice sounded.
"Kurt? Like, where did you go?" Kitty asked as she came around the corner.
"I'm not here," Kurt 'ported and left the two roommates standing there.
"I could've sworn I, like, heard that fuzz ball," Kitty placed one hand on her hip while the other held up a muffin tray. "You guys, like, want to try some?"
Rogue shoved the tabby forward. Asha growled but took a muffin from the tray. Slowly she bit into it.
"There's catnip in here," Asha said as she took a more daring bite. "This is your best batch yet."
"Alright!" Kitty took off back around the corner to go tell Jean of her victory.
"Is it really that good?" Rogue questioned.
"If she used less catnip," Asha made a face and shook her head. "Too much catnip is like drinking too strong of a whisky."
"Ah see," Rogue nodded and turned on her heel.
Asha shook her head once more and followed her roommate. A clap of thunder sounded over head that shook the mansion. The rain continued to pound at the window and soak the dry earth.