A/N: Hello there, I'm Lil' odd me. This is my fic as you might have noticed. ;oP I'm a fan of both LOTR and X-Men and since I haven't seen a crossover between the two I decided to write one. I hope you readers like it, both X-men and Lotr. I'm not gonna take up more of your time so I present to you:
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'The X-Ship Of The Ring'
Chapter one:
"Damn, this is the first time in two months that we have had some time off" Logan said, driving the jeep. They had been given some time off by Professor X and had left town. Gambit had also gotten a bit bored and had tagged along with Logan. Logan had borrowed a friend's apartment and that was where he and Gambit currently were.
"Indeed it has. But let's not think about that now. We're here to have a nice time and have fun, not complaint about everything. If you are so tiered of not having any time off you shouldn't have joined X-Men" the Cajun said with a grin on his face while he played with the car radio.
About 15 minutes later the two X-Men members walked in to a local bar. The bar was dimly lit and had a bar counter, some tables and a couple of pool tables. It was half full and they walked over to over to the bartender and ordered two beers and then headed to one of the free pool tables. They received a few stares, mostly because even though it was somewhat dark in the bar Remy insisted on wearing sunglasses along with his trench coat.
Time passed and little happened. But just as Remy had won over Logan for the sixth time a bunch of 15 rather drunk men started to argue with a young woman. One of them had come up behind her and grabbed her around her waist, and was hitting on her pretty hard. She had been looking down in her drink and had just brushed off his arms off her around her waist. The man had enough and forced her to face him. He was surprised by what he saw. His buddies saw what was happening and came over.
They started yelling, telling her to get out of town and that she was a freak and that mutants shouldn't be allowed to live. The woman didn't seem to pay much attention to them till one of them grabbed a bottle, smashed it against a table and was about to attack her with it. She looked at him and with a wave of her hand the bottle flew away and almost hit Logan in the head.
"What the…" he said looking over his shoulder. Just as he located who had thrown the bottle he saw one of the men come straight at the woman who had no visible way to protect herself. She saw him, grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground. That only seemed to anger the drunken men further. They gathered in a semi-circle and were going to close off any way of escaping had it not been for Gambit and Wolverine. Gambit had seen the whole thing and when the bottle came flying they decided to join. This happened just as the men closed in on the girl. They crossed the bar in an instant. Wolverine tapped one of them on the shoulder. The man turned around and said:
"What you want, shorty?" This pissed Wolverine off and he punched the man in the face, breaking his nose. The blood splashed all over the man's shirt while his hands tried to stop the blood coming from his nose.
"Never call me short. You got that, bub!"
Gambit took on the six men to the left and Wolverine took on the five remaining to the right, leaving the three in the middle for the girl to handle. She managed to fend them off but one of them had succeeded to hit her in the side, making it rather hard for her to breath. She kicked the one who had been hitting on her hard in the groin, causing him a lot of pain and making him fall to the floor. Some of the men in the bar who had seen this winced sympathetically.
Wolverine had enjoyed the fight and had taken it easy with the men. He had pulled the arm of one of the men out of its socket. Gambit had also taken the chance to play with the drunkards. He showed off since he never had the chance to do that in a 'real' fight. He jumped up on one of the tables and kicked the one to the left of him in the face, then jumped down as one of them tried to tip the table. He stood on his hands and grabbed a nearby chair with his foot. He then flung it at the man who had tipped the table over.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw the brown haired girl kick one of the men in the stomach. What he saw that the girl seemed to have missed was the man coming up behind her. He saw his chance and couldn't pass up the opportunity to help a damsel in distress. Just as he had knocked the last man out, the man had picked up a chair and was about to hit the girl over her head while she was busy fighting the man who had attacked her first. Gambit went to stop him, but the man with the chair had already brought the girl down. Not being able to stop him in time made him pissed off and he took out his Bo-staff and smacked the man in the head, making him fall to the dirty floor unconscious.
He took a quick look around. Wolverine was standing in front of a heap of men. He had kicked their asses but he had at least had the decency to not take out his claws. Gambit then turned his attention to the female body on the floor beside him. He bent down and checked for a pulse. It was there, weak but still there. He quickly glanced at her head only to find that it was bleeding. Her head had hit the bar table and there was a gash on her forehead, it went from the hairline to her eyebrow. It was bleeding and there was some dirt that had found its way into the wound.
"Wolverine"
"Yeah" Logan answered, walking over to the Cajun.
"The girl, she needs help. She was hit in the head by a chair and now she's unconscious and bleeding."
"Then let's take her to the hospital."
"Come on Logan, you know they don't accept people like us there."
"What do you suggest we do then?"
While Gambit wrapped a piece of cloth around the girl's head he and Logan discussed what to do. Gambit finally convinced Logan to bring the girl along with them to the apartment. Logan grabbed the bag the girl had with her while Gambit picked up the limp body of the girl and they walked out to the car. Logan handed the bartender some money and walked out after Gambit. Most of those inside the bar had already made a run for it, those who hadn't had called the police. Some had even dared to approach the drunken and now beaten men and helped them up and keep them there till the police arrived.
Gambit laid the girl in the backseat of the car as Logan turned the engine on and they drove back to the house. As they reached the house Gambit picked the girl up and followed Logan in.
"Now what are we gonna do with her?" Wolverine said.
"Mind opening the door to my room," he said trying to point to his door down the hall, still carrying the unconscious girl.
"Yeah yeah yeah, and it's lucky for you that you didn't suggest putting her in my room" Wolverine said, opening the fridge and taking out a beer. Still holding the beer he then walked across the room and opened the door. He turned the light on as Gambit walked in and laid the girl on the bed.
Remy left the room for a moment and returned soon with a first-aid kit. Logan watched as Gambit carefully removed the old cloth and cleaned the wound with a cotton wool soaked in antiseptic liquid. Then he took out some bandage and slowly wrapped it around her head, making sure that it was tight enough to stay where it was.
"How old you think she is?" Logan suddenly said. Gambit turned around, surprised by the question.
"I do not know, mon ami," he said looking back at the young woman. He reached down and took of her knee high boots and her black coat, leaving her with a pair of black pants and a red top that had a neckline big enough that it revealed the top of her shoulders. Then he grabbed the blanket that was lying on the bed and put it over her. They both walked out of the room.
Iris's eyes fluttered open and it took a while before her eyes could adjust to the brightness of the room. Her head ached and she felt slightly dizzy. She pulled the blanket over her head to block out the light that was coming thru the window and to try to fall asleep again. But it didn't work. Her head still ached and she could hear her stomach rumble.
She slowly pulled the blanket down and opened her eyes slowly. She looked around but didn't recognize anything. She barely remembered what had happened the night before. That is until she tried to rub her temples but felt something in the way. She walked up to the mirror in the other side of the unknown room. She noticed that she didn't have her boots or her coat on. And to top it of, she had a bandage around her head.
'Okay let me see. I woke up in a strange bed, in a strange room. Not only that, but someone has taken my boots and coat off and I have a bloodstained bandage around my head. What the hell happened last night after that fight?'
She put her boots on, put on her coat and threw her bag over her shoulder. She slowly opened the door and peeked out. When she didn't see anyone she quietly slipped out. She rounded the corner at the end of the hall and walked into something, or rather someone's chest. She heard the sound of a door shutting and looked up and saw the last thing she expected. She stopped dead in her tracks and so did the one she had walked into.
She heard someone cough and turned to see who it was. She saw a man that seemed to be around 5'3 and had brown hair. He wore a pair of light blue jeans and a white t-shirt under a black leather jacket.
"Hey," he said watching them. Then he noticed the thing that had made Gambit freeze. The girl's eyes. They were just like Remy's eyes. Red irises on black sclera's. It didn't take long for all three of them to snap out of it. Wolverine was the first to speak.
"I'm Wolverine, and you are?" He walked over to the kitchen table and put down the two bags of grocery he had bought. He looked at her again, waiting for her to answer but saw that she had turned back to Gambit, who was looking down and had a thoughtful look on his face. He turned back his attention to the groceries and started packing them away. The girl finally answered.
"I'm Iris."
"Nice to meet you, Iris. You were quite the fighter yesterday" He looked at her.
"Thanks for helping me out"
"Thanks for missing me with that bottle," he said with a little smile on his lips.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I tried to avoid it hitting someone. I guess I didn't have the time to see where it was directed. But now I see that it went flying in the right way after all." She blushed slightly.
"Why are your eyes like that?" This was the first thing Gambit had said. She spun around to look at him.
"What do you mean?" It was hard to believe that he was almost as confused as Iris was. He seemed so calm and cool.
"I mean, how come you have eyes like those?" Iris didn't know what to say except…
"I was born this way if that is what you mean. Just like you, I guess." He looked her in the eyes. They were like that for a moment till Iris's stomach started rumbling again.
"Hungry, eh? No problem. Sit yourself down and I'll make you an omelette while you tell us a little about yourself." He took out eggs and some other ingredients and told her to sit down. She sat dawn, but she was still taken aback by the whole thing.
"How did I get here?" she asked.
"Well, after the fight broke out yesterday at that bar one of the men managed to hit you in the head. It knocked you out and you fell and hit the bar table. That's why you have that bandage, if you were wondering. Ol' Gambit here…" he said pointing towards Gambit"…was a little late to stop the man, so he simple kicked his ass instead. Then he thought we'd bring you here to get that nasty gash of yours fixed. And that's about everything."
After that nobody really said anything till the omelettes were done.
"You want a beer? How old are you anyway?"
"Yeah and I'm almost 20 years old."
"Then what were you doing in a bar like that yesterday?" Wolverine said taking out a beer for both of them. "You want a beer Gambit?"
"Yeah, sure." Gambit was leaning against the wall, barely saying anything.
"I'm just doing a little travelling," she said. For some reason Wolverine decided to toss Gambit his beer. Gambit seemed too deep within his own thoughts and hadn't paid attention to what was happening around him. If it hadn't been for Iris Gambit would have been soaked with beer. She had stopped it inches away from his head telekinetically, but a little of the malted liquid ended up on his face, disrupting him from his thoughts. He wiped most of it off. He looked in Iris's direction and gave her a slight nod, as if to say thanks for stopping it.
"Telekinetic, huh," Logan said. "Do you have any other powers?"
*I can enter people's minds* she said still looking at him while he heard her voice inside his mind. She drank a little from the bottle of beer and looked out the kitchen window. It was sunny and there were some white clouds floating about like sails on the big blue sky.
After the meal they had agreed since Iris wasn't heading somewhere in particular, she should go with them back to the X-mansion. Wolverine thought that the professor would have a hell of a time when meeting Iris.
"Just think about it. You can come with us and stay at the mansion for a couple of weeks, or you can go and do whatever it was you were doing. But all I'm saying is that I think you should think this over."
*And you? What do you think I should do?* Gambit heard her talking in his mind. He had no idea what he thought he should do; let alone what she should do.
*I don't know, chérie* he said looking at her. Iris suddenly felt like she was about to throw up and asked where the bathroom was.
"The second door to the left," Wolverine said with his mouth still full from the omelette. She stood up and started walking over to the bathroom. Once inside she washed her face with water and stood there thinking the whole time. Then she went back to find the guys still in the kitchen.
Wolverine looked up and Gambit was now sitting where she had been sitting, across Logan at the kitchen table. He had his back against her but she could see that he heard her even though she walked rather quietly.
"Have you decided yet?"
"Yeah. I'll come with you guys. When did you plan to go back to the mansion?"
"As soon as possible, I guess." Wolverine looked over to Gambit who had turned around and had a face that was hard to read what he felt about the whole thing. Iris was utterly lost when it came to the fact that there was another one who had eyes like her. She thought she was the only one. That is why she always had problems when she went out. But those she had grown up with had accepted her and her powers. A little too much at times, but she was careful not to use them too much. Sure she used her telekinetic power, but she was careful not to abuse her telepathic powers. She didn't want to abuse that power, to know what others were thinking.
She had done so before. Sometimes it went well and you found out what you wanted. Other times you got more than you bargained for. She had had her share of mutant-haters. She knew what went on in their minds. Some mutants were lucky, they looked normal. But then there were the other ones, the not so lucky ones.
'Sure there are those who have it worse than me, but still… I can't go out like a normal person. I have to hide behind sunglasses most of the time. And sometimes I simply mess with someone's mind so that it seems to them that I have normal eyes. But I can't do that all the time, it makes me feel so… so… I don't know. I guess I all I want to feel normal. Be among people who are like me. Who know what I'm going thru. Like that Gambit-guy, he of all people should know how I feel.'
"How long does it take to drive there?"
"It's outside New York, so it takes quite a while to get there," he said.
"Oh, okay. Then I guess I should take a shower first, and then we can go. If it's alright with you that is?" she said feeling unclean and hoping that the shower would help ease the dizziness and nausea that she felt as well.
"Yeah, of course you can. Gambit and I will pack our things meanwhile." Iris grabbed the bag she had dropped when she had walked into Gambit and walked back into the bathroom. She took out her shampoo and turned the water on, a bit warm so that it would help her muscles relax a little more.
She stepped out of the shower a while later and put her clothes on. She picked another pair of black pants, a tight red top and a loose net-like sweater over it. She combed her hair and stepped out of the bathroom. Wolverine was in his room packing and Gambit sat in front of the TV. He was wearing his trench coat and has a pair of sunglasses on top of his head. Under the trench she saw that he was wearing something black, but she could only see a little from where she was standing. She later saw that it was his suit, and that it was electric blue and fuchsia as well.
He watched her as she came out and told her to sit down so that he could clean the wound again. She did as she was told and sat down, waiting for him to take her old bandage of and replace it with a new one. He took out a cotton wool and soaked it with an antiseptic liquid.
"This will sting a bit, mon ami," he said leaning closer to take out the dirt that might have found its way in to the wound. Iris flinched as Gambit started cleaning the open gash. The bleeding had stopped and the blood had dried. Then he took out some bandage and wrapped it carefully around her head. The strong smell of the antiseptic made her only dizzier and she once again felt like throwing up. However, she repressed that feeling.
"There, now it's done," Gambit said leaning back from her and standing up. He turned around and packed the things he had used back into the first-aid kit that was placed on the table.
"Thanks," Iris said in a rather low tone. Wolverine came out of his room with a bag of his in his hand and waked over to the front door, where he picked up what must have been Gambit's bag.
"Are you done?" he asked opening the door.
"Oui. We just finished up," Gambit answered putting on his sunglasses. Wolverine stepped out of the door and walked over to the trunk of the car and put his and Gambit's bags in there. Before he had the chance to even reach the car he heard Gambit calling for him.
Wolverine walked out and Iris grabbed her bag and stood up to follow him to the car. Halfway across the room her feet failed her and she swayed and would have hit the ground had it not been for Gambit. He caught her in his arms but she seemed to have fainted, but that was till he could feel her body start trembling. He called out to Logan for help. Logan came running thru the door within seconds and was meet with the sight of Gambit holding Iris in his arms. She was shaking and the shakings became more and more violent. He bent down and they both tried to hold her body down and stop the shakings.
A muffled scream was heard from her throat and slowly grew louder. At the same time a white light appeared and the surroundings became hard to see, it looked like a fog had materialized around them. The background faded to nothing but white and Iris let out a scream from the intense pain that was going thru every inch of her body, it was a cry from the bottom of her soul. The pain slowly vanished and her body was once again limp. Her scream had left Wolverine's and Gambit's ears ringing, but that was the one of the last things they thought about right then.
Wolverine was the first to look up while Gambit checked her for a pulse once more.
"She's got a stable pulse now," he said still looking at her. He removed some hair from her face.
"Where the hell are we?" Wolverine asked no one in particular. Gambit looked up at this.
"What the…"
They were no longer in the little house, but in a snow drift.
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A/N: Hope you liked it! It took me a while to write it, but it's worth it if you liked it. =) *picks up an old watch from a hidden pocket and starts dangling it* You are getting sleepy. Your eyes are getting heavier. You are sleepy. You will press the purple button. It is your best friend. You MUST press it. You WILL press it.
Till we meet again, remember that I'll update depending on how many reviews I get. Nah I'm only joking, but the reviews will help me by giving me inspiration, letting me know that there are people out there who enjoy what I do and what I've written. =o)