DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own X-Men Evolution, or any of its characters, nor do I have any rights towards it. The following story, however, is mine.
Bye Bye Boom Boom
Ha. Kicked out again. Great. Tabitha thought dryly. She was up in her, no, in Mystique's room packing whatever little she had. Mystique had just come and promptly got her kicked out. Oh well. She didn't exactly want to leave just then, but life could be a bitch sometimes.
Packing would only be the work of a minute. Surprisingly, Tabitha was very organized. She carried only what she had to, which was exactly 4 pairs of clothes, a few essentials, a little cash, her trusty walkman and CDs, and little else. Stuffing everything in a traveling bag, she took one last look around and was about to leave when inspiration suddenly struck. Leaving her bag by the door, Tabitha went around the room in deep concentration, pausing in every nook and cranny, and in the middle of the room too. Nodding to herself, she picked up her bag and walked calmly out of the room, checking her watch. In about 3 minutes, the room would blow up. She had learned to time her bombs.
Tabitha walked down and out of the front door. She had heard some of the conversation downstairs. Someone named Wanda had come to stay. Goody. Not only was she being kicked out, it was almost as if she was being replaced. The story of her life. Well, Tabitha thought, looking at the destruction zone that used to be the living room. if that Wanda person did all this, she can't be that bad. Maybe she'll give the boys a run for their money. With that, Tabitha walked out, not bothering to say good-bye to anyone. She wouldn't be missed, and she hated good-byes.
On the driveway, she glanced back with a smirk at the manor, Enjoy your room, Mystique. she thought, just as it exploded.
Tabby walked out of the driveway and started down the road nonchalantly, whistling to herself. There was no way she was going to look anything but uncaring if anyone was looking out the window at her or if they sent Pietro to quickly check if she was really gone or something. After she walked like this for about three or four blocks, she came to a kid's park that was on a small hill. She walked up and perched herself on a bench. Thankfully, the place was empty.
Ironically enough, she could still see the manor if she craned her neck, or stood on the bench. She did so, after making sure she was alone, and a slightly wistful expression came to her face as she gazed at the place she had called home for a few months. In reality, Tabby didn't actually have a home. She was as good as a homeless orphan, but had enough street-smarts to keep herself going. It was just easier to call whatever place she was staying at as home, whether it was an abandoned where house or the X-Men's Mansion. Sighing, she looked back at the Brotherhood Manor, which was still smoking slightly from her bombs.
Sure, it wasn't the classiest place in the world; hell, what was she saying? It was a run-down dump inhabited by a group of poor, mutant, high school delinquents, but she had been one of them. It's not like she was very popular there or anything. All she did was blow things up (especially on Todd), tease Freddy, and steal Lance's jeep every chance she got. She and Pietro never really had any squabbles, but she had never dealt with the Speedster that much, except when she "borrowed" his clothes. There was something about him that reminded her of herself, and she didn't want to dwell on that. (1)
Despite all that though, there was something about that place that made her slightly miss it. No, that wasn't the right word. Tabby never missed anything. She didn't allow herself too. No, something that made her a little regretful, yes, that's it, regretful, to leave the place. It was the acceptance she had felt there. Even though she and the guys were never the best of buddies, they had realized how and who she really was and accepted her for it. That was rare.
Tabitha knew that they wouldn't really miss her now that she was gone, and she was fine with it. It wasn't that they hadn't liked her or anything. Actually, the members of the Brotherhood were surprisingly protective of each other, her especially since she was the only girl. It was something no one on the outside would have ever guessed, despite knowing that the Brotherhood was a team. Tabitha knew they liked her just as she had liked them in their own different ways. She just didn't want them to dwell on her leaving and knew they wouldn't because it wasn't worth it. They had enough crap in their lives without having to deal with this too. Besides, they knew people like her. People probably left their lives quicker than they came, just like they did in hers. Tabby found out long ago that it was easier to be the one that left than the one that was left, so that's what she did.
The boys' acceptance of her probably had to do with the fact that their lives had been just as bad and screwed up as hers. Some were worse than hers, some were better, but they were all still pretty crappy. No one at the X-Manor had understood that at all, (maybe with the exception of Scott), and Tabby never expected them too. She liked taking life as lightly as possible, but she wasn't the careless airhead she led people to believe, and if they believed that without questioning, then they were just plain stupid. Tabby snorted in disdain. How could they think she had survived on her own all this time by being stupid?
No, even though she appreciated the security of the X-Manor and the Professor's endless back account, she wasn't exactly sad to leave that place. The truth was, the oh-so-great Professor was just as selective with his students, or rather, minions, as Magneto was. It wasn't a coincidence that Lance never managed to stay at the Mansion, or that certain mutants were recruited before others and the left-overs ended up at the Brotherhood Manor. Just look how easily the Professor let her leave.
Tabby didn't mind too much. She was like that. She knew by now that for some people, like her for instance, life held no trump cards. If you got kicked down, you just got up again as gracefully as you could and go on. No room for regrets or what-ifs. The carefree attitude helped. At least, when people saw that, even though they knew how crummy your life was, they figure you were okay so they didn't pity you. Stupid people. But Tabby hated pity, so she was okay with that.
Now she had to decide what to do. There was no way she would go back to the X-Men, and she just got kicked out of the Brotherhood. She could go see her mom, but she was pretty sure there wouldn't be a very big welcome there. One of the main reasons her mother had joined Tabby in the institute was to get her out of her hair. Still, Tabitha liked her mom much better than her dad.
She sighed and looked around. It was pretty late. Okay. Tabby settled down on the stone bench and pulled a light blanket out of her sack. Setting her watch timer, she lay down and used her pack as a pillow. She would sleep here for a while. Then she would go to school early and empty her locker. She was glad the park was hidden from view. If someone were to find her sleeping on a park bench, well, Tabby didn't want to deal with that.
She could get everything out of her locker, then hop a bus to New York for a small vacation. It was almost spring break anyway. Tabitha had a second cousin in NYC that probably wouldn't mind if she crashed with him and his girlfriend for a while. If she stayed here longer than that, there was a chance that the Professor would find out about her predicament and come and try to force her to come back to the X-Manor. Yeah right. Ain't happening. She didn't want to deal with the BoM at school either. They were probably going through hell with Mystique on their backs again.
With that settled, Tabby closed her eyes and let sleep take over.
(1) [She's referring to how their relationships with their Fathers are a lot alike.]
AN: All right people, this is the first thing I'm posting on FF.net, so be gentle, and review please!!!