Chapter 2:
by Starsinger
I'm going to apologize in advance, I'm from Texas, not Louisiana. I can write a Scottish accent, but forget the Cajun accent worth anything. Can't think of a better name for the chapter, sorry. No, still don't own them.
Unhappy noises issued from the sack as the Ilyana's fingers itched to touch it. She was sure what was in it, but didn't want to be so rude as to open it without the brunette's permission. She made a face at Mikhail who had pointedly slid in beside the woman who called herself Kitty. She heard her mother introduce herself as she heard a voice tell her, "Go ahead, open it. He's not happy in there anyway." Ilyana heard herself squeal as the purple head popped out of the bag. Alexandra simply didn't know how to react. She had heard that the tiny population had migrated to Earth several years earlier, but had never met one. Her opinion of the girl went up several notches.
They finally reached the compound that housed the teachers and stopped at the shielded quarters. Alexandra gestured for Kitty and Jean to exit the car, "These are the shielded quarters. I'm told you'd be more comfortable here." Kitty nodded, resigned as she stepped out of the car, Jean a moment behind her. Mikhail and Scott were a step behind them. The other residents started to exit the buildings, curious as to whom had arrived.
"Dr. Pryde," a voice called out. Alexandra turned at the same time Jean and Kitty did to find Dr. Henry McCoy striding toward them. He held out his hand to Kitty, "Good to see you again."
A genuine smile crossed the girl's face as she clasped his hand, "Hank, it's good to see you too. How'd you end up here?"
"Same reason you did, contract," he turned to see Alexandra's confused face. "Don't let her age fool you. She had her first PhD at thirteen. Only interrupted a year later when her mutant power manifested. How many do you have?" he asked.
"Uh, three, Information Technology, Physics, and Paleontology, I sort of started college when I was eleven," she finished uncomfortably. Lockheed hovered nearby as Hank looked up and smiled. Alexandra liked McCoy, so this just ratcheted the girl up in her mind. The next confrontation set her teeth on edge as Raven Darkholme followed the good doctor. Kitty saw her and tried to hurry into her quarters, Jean a step behind her.
"Well, if it isn't the mighty Jean Grey and her sidekick Dr. Pryde. Cured my daughter yet?" It took all of Kitty's self control and Jean's telekinesis to keep someone from hitting the woman. Two pairs of gloved hands clenched as Hank grabbed Lockheed to keep him from attacking.
"I'm a physicist, not geneticist, Raven, or do you still call yourself Mystique?" Kitty bit out. Kitty felt the emotions of anger and hate flowing from the woman, she sighed, "Why don't you ask her yourself?" she muttered as she entered her new quarters. She heard Jean enter behind her and close the door. She sighed with relief as the rampage of emotions outside subsided. She heard Jean turn on the heating unit behind her. Lockheed plopped down on the bed. Their quarters consisted of three bedrooms with two beds a piece in each room. Their room also held a dresser, table and two chairs, three lamps one a gas lamp, and a closet. Another door to their right opened into a bathroom. Kitty stripped off her gloves before she started to unpack.
"Well, at least the walls aren't the standard beige," Jean sighed. Kitty turned, the ring on her right hand flashed, "Why are you still wearing that? It's not like Sebastian Shaw is going to know if you hide it in a drawer…" Jean's voice trailed off as Kitty tried to suppress the surge of shame and resignation. "Well, with the gloves, the only way anyone would know is if they're a mind reader." The opal seemed to shine with a light of its own as they finished unpacking.
"Jean, this was my punishment for failing Rogue," Jean opened her mouth in denial. Kitty shook her head, "I should never have promised them that something could be done…" her voice trailed off as the door slammed open.
There stood Rogue unveiled and disheveled, but before either could open their mouths to comment she blurted, "That Cajun, Gambit, he can touch me!" Hank was hot on her heels nodding his head.
"Well, I guess we should put in our first call to Moira," Jean commented.
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Alexandra joined them in the communications compound as they contacted their colleague. Tears streamed down Rogue's face as Remy's bare hand caressed the bare skin of her face. "Well, I'd say tha' this is vera interestin'. Ye aren't feelin' any problems?" the older Scot asked.
Remy shook his head, "I didn't realize that I shouldn't be able to do this, mon ami."
Anybody told Raven? Jean asked telepathically. Kitty shook her head no.
"Remy, would you mind if we took a sample of your DNA, to see if we can pinpoint the reason you can counteract the effect of her powers?" Moira asked, Kitty found herself getting up for the med kit that was always in these areas. She found the swab she'd been looking for and snapped on a pair of gloves after stripping off her customary pair. Her back had been turned to the others in the room, hoping they didn't see the ring. Remy grinned impishly at her as she swabbed the inside of his mouth and locked it into the tube. They left the building as dinner time was called in the compound.
"Ah, you'll meet some of your students," Alexandra announced. "Don't worry, school doesn't start until Monday. I'm sure you'll need to adjust to the time change, anyway." Alexandra hadn't missed the ring, but she wasn't sure why she was hiding the beautiful stone. Someone else had noticed it to, with a narrowing of her eyes, but Raven simply walked away.
"I thought Rogue was her adopted daughter," Jubilee said.
"She is," Kitty replied. "She just feels responsible, so do I." Kitty sighed. Dinner consisted of a thick stew accompanied by bread. Rogue joined them as the men from the village seemed to orbit them, like satellites orbiting the planet.
"You'll get used to it," Ilyana piped up plopping down next to Kitty. Lockheed joined them, sticking his head in the bowl he'd been given. "So, you two can read minds?" she asked innocently. "We had a woman in here last year, Ms Frost. She wore thick gloves like you," she said pointing at Jean. "Do you know her?" she asked, watching the two women shudder.
"More or less," Kitty replied. "She died last year. I took a position she held last year." She smiled as the young girl's eyes grew, "I'm not leaving for at least six months. This position is mostly…ceremonial." Ilyana nodded, her eyes suddenly glued to her stew bowl. Quick sideways glances at Lockheed showed her true interest, the dragon, however, was very hungry.
Jean stood, "I'm going for a flight." She cocked an eyebrow at Lockheed who was licking his chops, "Care to join me?" The two exited the building after Jean deposited her dinner tray. Kitty thoughtfully finished her dinner before leaving as well. She gave a backwards glance before she did so. Ilyana watched with interest as one brother moved to join her outside while the other fought to stay inside and remain impassive.
"Are you cold?" came the voice from behind.
Kitty turned and saw Mikhail behind her. "A little," she admitted. "You're Mikhail, right? Ilyana's oldest brother?" His white teeth gleamed as he smiled in response. "She's a very charming little girl. Are you as charming?" she asked, coyly looking back over her shoulder at him.
Mikhail removed his jacket and put it around her shoulders, "Almost as charming as your little purple friend. You speak Russian," it wasn't a question. They'd been conversing in it the entire time.
Kitty looked at him, "My grandfather taught me. My grandmother was from the Ukraine, she taught him…" the statement trailed off.
"And he taught you," he finished.
They reached her quarters before turning back to him, "Look, Mikhail, I just got out of a bad break-up with a guy named Pete. I'm a little out of practice."
"I understand, Kitty, I will take it as slow, or as fast, as you wish," he bent down and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow." He left her and his jacket behind.
Kitty's hand went to her cheek. Pete Wisdom hadn't been a bad guy, they just hadn't been good together. She sighed, at least it wasn't his brother, Piotr, chasing her. She turned back into the building, never noticing that she was being watched. The red flannel nightgown and woolly socks she had been provided made the room's temperature tolerable, well, until Jean and Lockheed were blown in with the cold Siberian wind. "The lake up here is beautiful," Jean said unwrapping herself from her cold stiffened clothing.
"Yes, Lake Baikal is what I heard Piotr call it," Kitty murmured. "So, how are you and Scott getting along?" Jean's eyes widened, "Oh, please, you don't have to be an empath to detect those moon eyes you were making at him."
Jean stifled laughter, "Oh, and I was supposed to miss those looks you were giving Michael?" Kitty shrugged. "Better watch it, Kitty, his brother was watching you too." Kitty's face picked up as she stared at her friend.
Kitty shook her head, unable to think that far. The next day they spent touring around the village. Everyone wore gloves, hats, coats and various items of clothing that caused laughter from the elderly men in the village who said it was warm. The familiarization process took maybe an hour. It was a village, after all.
When they returned a martial arts class was being taught by a young Japanese instructor in the village square. The students were young, farm boys who were overly impressed with brute strength. Not a single girl could be seen. Jean watched Kitty's eyes gleam, "Don't hurt the local wildlife," she whispered.
Kitty gave her an innocent, "Who? Me?" look before walking over to the square to offer some advice. Her trip to Japan and the incident with Ogun still made her a master even this master would have a hard time to beat. "No, no, your form is all wrong," Kitty told one of the youngsters. "You need to be more relaxed."
Yoshi, the young instructor, turned to her with contempt in his eyes, "What would you know about this?"
"I would watch your step with Dr. Pryde if I were you," Raven, to everyone's but Kitty's surprise joined in, "She'll make you look like a child."
Fire lit his eyes as he challenged her and anyone else to the fight. One condition, she couldn't use her powers. She looked at Raven as she stripped down to her shirt and pants, "Still have that inhibitor?" Raven grinned as she pulled a bracelet out of her pocket and snapped it around Kitty's wrist. She relaxed into her stance and gave the young men a wave that simply said, "Bring it on."
When Piotr and Mikhail happened on the scene the village had split into two. On one side sat Jean, Rogue, Raven, Remy, Lockheed, Hank, and Scott. Lockheed was eating popcorn. The rest of the village sat on the other side waiting for their young men to bring the obnoxious young American down a notch. Piotr and Mikhail watched her stance, lean, hard muscles rippled easily as her audience whistled in appreciation of a form that had been previously hidden by the bulky clothing she wore. They joined the dragon and his friends. Their confidence was well founded as ten minutes later her opponents lay on the ground, groaning.
"You're getting slow, Pryde," Raven called out. "You should have been done five minutes ago."
Kitty chuckled as Lockheed dropped a towel in her gloved hands. She wiped her face and walked over to Yoshi, "Nice match," was all she commented before she dropped her towel on his prone body and grabbing her coat and heading for her quarters for a shower. She stopped long enough to unclasp the inhibitor, "How much did you win, Raven?"
"Oh," Raven started, "speaking of which…" her voice trailed off as she waded into the crowd.
Jean shook her head, "She had to show off."
The first fight is planned in the next chapter over this particular scene. As always, any input is welcome.