Chapter 3
The next morning found the mutants in their normal morning routines complete with the usual arguments that drove Logan crazy. The only difference being they were now 6 hours ahead of the time they were used to and that added to their crankiness. Luckily there was no danger room so they didn't have to train before school like normal.
"Like, what does one wear to school in Paris?" Kitty had all her clothes thrown on her bed as she tried to decide what to wear for her first day of school. With all the excitement yesterday they did not have a chance to go shopping and she was sure none of the clothes would be fashionable enough to compare to the other students.
"Kitty, will you decide already," Rogue exclaimed. She was dressed in an off white cami that showed her pale skin at her midriff. She wore a long-sleeved green and off white flannel shirt over the cami and light blue jeans with her black camo boots and black gloves. She had put on her customary purple eye shadow and lipstick along with mascara. She had also put on a double strand silver necklace with a crescent moon on the longest chain and a star charm on the shortest chain.
Kitty finally decided on a white lacy short sleeved shirt with pink jeans. She added a pair of white heels and a silver necklace with a heart pendent and the matching silver earrings. Her hair was left down and she added a touch of mascara and pink lip gloss. Deciding she was as ready for her first day as she could be, Kitty walked out the door of her room. With just a small part of the team staying at the house the professor had decided that they could all have their own rooms.
On the other side of town Marinette was getting a rude awakening from Tikki. "Marinette, your alarm has been going off for 15 minutes. GET UP!" Tikki had resorted to pulling on Marinette's hair in the hopes of finally pulling the sleeping girl out of dream land.
"Jus 5 more minute," Marinette mutter as she smacked Tikki with her hand before rolling over and pulling the covers over her head.
"If you don't get up this instant I am going downstairs to get your mother," Tikki huffed in indignation.
Groaning at the insistent voice Marinette peeked out from under the covers. "Why does morning have to come so early?"
Tikki giggled at the bleary-eyed girl. "I'm pretty sure Adrien is going to be showing up at school in 2 minutes."
That had the desired effect. Marinette squealed when she looked at the clock before flying around the room and getting ready in record time. She hurriedly brushed her teeth and grabbed her purse and bag before flying down the stairs with Tikki trailing behind forgotten. "Morning mama," Marinette greeted before grabbing the nearest croissant and an apple.
"You'd better hurry Marinette," her mom called as Marinette ran out the door, "because if you get another tardy you are grounded for 2 weeks!"
Marinette waved as she sprinted down the street narrowly missing being hit by a town car that was driving the street. She made it to the school in record time and greeted Alya, Adrien and Nino. "Guess what, Mari," Alya was practically bouncing up and down in her excitement.
Adrien walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, "Alya, how about you let Nino tell her since it's his news." Adrien chuckled as Alya looked contrite before nodding and trying to contain her excitement.
Nino grinned at the girls before saying, "I've been offered the chance to DJ at the dance club my uncle manages. I'll be DJing this Friday!"
"Wow! Nino that's wonderful!" Marinette jumped up and down before giving Nino a huge hug.
"That's not the whole story though, I get to bring some friends with me." Nino's smile was about to split his face. "I was hoping you, Alya, and Adrien could come!"
Marinette stared for a second before looking to Alya who nodded vigorously. With a squeal the girls grabbed each other's arms and started hopping up and down. "Oh my gosh! What am I gonna wear?"
"Girl, tomorrow we are going shopping!" The girls' excitement and shopping planning was interrupted as the town car Marinette had run in front of earlier stopped in front of the school.
Most students walked to school or took a bus or the metro. Usually only the "rich" kids were dropped off at the front of the school. For the most part that meant Adrien and Chloe so everyone turned to stare as the car door opened and a beautiful redhaired girl got out of the car.
She was dressed in a green tank top with a yellow knitted shrug, a three-strand gold necklace, and a matching group of woven bracelets on her right wrist. A pair of jeans and brown wedges helped to show off her long, trim legs. She was followed out by a brunette boy with red sunglasses, a red sweater, brown khakis, and brown oxfords.
The guy was followed out by two more girls. One with her brown hair hanging loose with a lacy white top and pink jeans. The next one out had long dark brown hair a shade darker than her skin hanging to her waist and was wearing a black tank with a purple sweater open over it. She was wearing a multi strand silver necklace with blue jeans and black dress boots.
A pale boy got out of the car next. He was wearing a long sleeved blue and white checked flannel shirt, brown khaki's and brown oxfords. The final occupant had auburn hair with two white streaks in the front. She was dressed in an off white cami that showed her pale skin at her midriff. She wore a long-sleeved green and off white flannel shirt over the cami and light blue jeans with her black camo boots and black gloves.
As the X-Men stood looking at the school they felt the stares of the other students. This is gonna be so much fun, Rogue thought as they started walking towards the school. Hopefully it doesn't get as bad here as it is at home. With that disturbing thought, Rogue looked at the rest of the group and found that most seemed to be thinking along the same lines. As the group approached the doorway they were greeted by a grating voice.
"Since when do we let mutants into this school," Chloe growled at the group as she stood in front of the doors.
The group sent her frowns as Rogue stepped forward and got into Chloe's face. "Who said we couldn't?"
Chloe pushed right back at her and answered, "Once I get hold of my daddy, the mayor, this school will."
"Well, ah ain't scared of your daddy so until you're done crying to him you have to let us through." Rogue lowered her voice as she said, "And ah'm pretty sure y'all don't want to see me use mah powers do ya?" Rogue smirked at the brief widening of the bleach blonde's eyes before they narrowed into a glare again.
Not wanting to appear weak but not really wanting to go up against the mutant in front of her Chloe opted for picking up her cell phone and stepping slightly to the side so she could call her daddy. As the group entered the building they were followed in by Marinette and Adrien who both recognized them from last night.
"Good morning," Marinette called out as she caught up with the group. "Sorry about the unfriendly welcome wagon," Marinette apologized as she wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue.
Adrien saw the face she was making and had to let out a laugh before joining the conversation. "Not all of us are that annoying. My name is Adrien and this is Marinette." Marinette's cheeks flushed a light red at Adrien's laugh and then him introducing her. By then Nino and Alya caught up with the group.
"I can't believe the X-Men are here!" Alya squealed as she got her phone ready. "I need an interview."
The group turned to look at her in confusion before Marinette, Adrien, and Nino started laughing. As her friends laughed Alya turned and glowered at them. "And what is so funny?"
Scott stepped towards the ombre brunette saying, "Maybe we can talk about a possible interview later. Right now we are supposed to be heading towards the principal's office to get our schedules."
As Adrien, Marinette, and Nino stopped laughing Marinette said, "We'll show you where it is. The one with the phone is Alya, she runs the Ladyblog and likes to keep up with all superhero incidents all over the world. The guy with the ballcap is Nino, he's really good at mixing music and just landed his first DJing gig at his uncle's night club!"
The X-Men greeted the 2 newcomers and then remembered their manners and introduced themselves. "My name is Scott," Scott, being the leader took the initiative to introduce the group. "This is Jean, Rogue, Kitty, Amanda, and Kurt."
Alya looked at Kurt funny before asking curiously, "Aren't you supposed to be blue?"
Kurt laughed, "Yeah but the professor had this holowatch made for me so that I can appear normal. Without it people would cause a riot trying to get away from the fuzzy dude."
"Dude," Nino exclaimed, "Adrien could use one of these! Then he can get away from all his fan girls." Nino chuckled and soon the whole group was laughing at Adrien's horrified face. He really didn't need Nino bringing up his "star" status, although with his face plastered all over Paris he supposed it wouldn't take them long to figure it out.
"So, we have a celebrity in our mists," Amanda teased the blonde who blushed. Marinette frowned at the exchange wondering if the girl was going to be competition for Adrien's attention.
"Aww, mein fraulien, don't give the poor boy a hard time," Kurt teased his girlfriend as he gave her squeeze. This caused another round of chuckles to go through the group.
"Anyway, the office is this way," Marinette turned and led the way as the group of 10 started towards the principal's office.
The group arrived with minimal issues. Some people were nice while others were cold or just plain walked away from the group as they approached. As the group walked into the office they found Mr. Damocles on the phone. He had his head in his hand and you could hear someone loudly complaining across the line.
"Yes, I understand Mayor Bourgeois. I am afraid that I cannot turn students away for that reason. It would be discrimination. If you have an issue with it you will need to speak with the President." He paused and listened for a second before saying, "I'm sure you are good friends with the President." He paused to listen again. "Well, once you have his backing I can do it but until then I have to answer to the Ministry of Education." Another pause. "Yes sir," and he hung up the phone. Looking at the group gathered at his door he waved them in.
"I am afraid I must apologize for making you wait. That call was important and couldn't wait."
"That's fine sir," Scott said as he looked around the office. It looked a lot like the office of the principal at Bayville High.
Mr. Damocles was pleased with the young man's manners. "I have your schedules right here. Scott and Jean," the redhead and the guy with red sunglasses stepped forward, "here are your schedules. Alya, can you please show them to their first period? Their class rep will make sure they know where the rest of their classes are from there." The brunette girl nodded her head as Mr. Damocles turned towards the rest of the students. "Kurt, Amanda, Katherine, and Rogue," he paused at the last name and double checked that he had it correct. "Umm, here are your schedules. Marinette here," he motioned to the bluenette at the back of the room, "is your class rep and will make sure you know where to find your classes. Now off to first period with all of you." He shooed them out the door before returning to paperwork on his desk.
The group exited the office. Alya motioned for Jean and Scott to follow her while Marinette looked over the other four's schedules. "Alright, Kurt it looks like most of your classes are going to be with Nino. Amanda most of your classes lines up with mine and Adrien's. Rogue and Kitty, you are pretty much split between my schedule and Alya's. Which means we all have Physical Education together on Friday's." Marinette smiled at the group before turning to lead the way to their homeroom class.
"We get an hour and twenty minutes for lunch. We also get a 20-minute break at 9:50 and 3:15. Lunch starts at noon. You are free to leave campus during the lunch break. If you want you can come with us to my parents' bakery for lunch today. Not to brag," she said with a friendly smile over her shoulder, "but my parents make the best croissants in the country."
Adrien and Nino let out a laugh before Adrien spoke up, "I would say the croissants aren't the only thing that they make the best of."
Rogue, Kitty, Kurt, and Amanda laughed along with the group while speculating on whether Adrien was only talking about the baked goods. Alya met up with them at the door to the classroom. With a questioning look she looked at the laughing group. "What did I miss," she inquired.
"Marinette and Adrien were telling us about the bakery. Marinette said that they made the best croissants while Adrien is under the impression that 'the croissants aren't the only thing they make the best of'," Kitty quoted the last part and winked at Alya who also started laughing. Marinette and Adrien were a little clueless as to what the two found so funny about that comment but they never got to ask as the warning bell for first period rang sending everyone into the classroom to find seats.
The regular class took their usual seats. Kurt slid onto the bench to sit with Adrien and Nino while Kitty sat with Marinette and Alya. After looking around Rogue went to sit with Juleka and Rose while Amanda moved to the back of the class to sit with Nathaniel. Once Ms. Bustier entered the classroom everyone turned their attention to the front of the classroom.
"We have a group of new students today," Ms. Bustier began. "Will Kurt, Rogue, Amanda, and Katherine please come to the front so the class can meet you?" With a sigh of agitation, the group stood and did as instructed. "This group is representing Bayville High. They will be staying with us for at least three months, please make them feel welcome."
Chloe scoffed from her seat in the front causing Ms. Bustier to frown in her direction, but she continued as if nothing happened. She turned to the four students in front of her, "Please introduce yourselves and tell a little about your lives in New York."
Kurt stepped forward first, "My name is Kurt and I'm originally from Germany but transferred to Bayville for the opportunities the Xavier Institute offered people like me. I have really enjoyed meeting more people with my interests and furthering my education."
As Kurt stepped back Amanda took a step forward, "My name is Amanda. I love my family and learning more about my heritage. We recently traced our family back to a band of Romanian gypsies that traveled to Africa and settled with my father's tribe. I also love history."
Amanda stepped back and Kitty stepped forward. "My name is Kitty Pryde. I'm, like, originally from Chicago, IL. My parents learned of the special opportunities available to me at the Xavier Institute and thought it would help broaden my horizons. It has been the best choice I've, like, made so far."
Kitty stepped back Rogue stepped forward with a slight eye roll. "Mah name is Rogue. Ah'm from Mississippi and was taken into the Xavier Institute after mah adoptive mother found out about the opportunities ah would have in New York."
Ms. Bustier and the rest of the class said a quick hello to the group before Ms. Bustier "Thank you. Please return to your seats so we can finish roll call and move into our lesson." Without another word the group went back to their seats.
The first part of the day went on without any issues. Once lunch time rolled around Adrien, Marinette, Alya and Nino waited on the front steps of the school for the Xavier group to meet up with them. Once everyone arrived Marinette led them towards her parents' bakery. As the group reached the bottom of the stairs they heard an irritating voice from behind them.
"Of course, Marinette would associate with lower beings. Adrikins, what are you doing? You're better then these losers. You should come to lunch with us."
"Chloe," Adrien sighed in annoyance. "I am going to ignore that remark and continue on my way." He turned around only to find a blonde tick attached to his arm. Marinette frowned and started to step forward but was beat to it by Rogue.
"Look you little scum sucking leech," she growled, "you had better back up and shut your mouth before ah get angry." She was pretty sure Wolverine would have been impressed with the amount of venom she put into those words without having to yell. "So ah'm only gonna tell ya this one more time. Back off our case or ah will make you regret ever crossing my path."
Chloe paled but refused to release her death grip on Adrien. Adrien was unsure of what to do. He did not like the way Chloe was treating the newcomers but at the same time he didn't understand why Rogue was being so antagonistic towards Chloe. He put himself between the two girls while prying Chloe off his arm. Looking at his longtime friend he frowned as he told her, "They haven't done anything to you. Now go on home and enjoy your lunch." He then turned with another frown at Rogue. "Why are you being so aggressive to her?"
Rogue met his glare with one of her own, "Ah've had to deal with bigots like this little tramp ever since ah got mah powers. Ah am sick and tired of putting up with their crap so if ah can do something about it ah will."
Kitty stepped up behind Rogue and carefully put her hand on her shoulder, "Rogue, I, like, think you should talk with the professor. I know you, like, don't like dealing with bigots but this is over aggressive even for you." Lowering her voice so no one else could hear she asked, "Are the psyches acting up or is this something from Steamroller?"
Rogue just shrugged her hand off, "Sorry guys, ah guess ah'm having more issues adjusting to the new time zone then ah originally thought. Ah will not apologize to her though. Let's go get some food. Maybe ah'm just hangry."
The group let it drop as Marinette once again started leading them to the bakery. Scott pulled Jean to the back of the group to ask, "Are you getting anything from Rogue that would indicate what is going on with her?"
Jean shook her head, "No. I am, however, sensing more thought patterns then 10. I believe there are two people/things that are hanging around that we can't see."
"Could Ladybug and Chat Noir be watching us from somewhere nearby?" Scott scanned the building around them trying to discern where the heroes could be hiding.
Jean was shaking her head again. "No, this is different but similar at the same time. Marinette and Adrien both had familiar thought patterns but I couldn't place where I would have known them from. But now I can sense another couple of similar but unknown patterns. I honestly think that Marinette and Adrien are Ladybug and Chat Noir."
Scott studied the two students as they approached the bakery and opened the doors. He could kind of see the similarities between the two students and the two heroes. "Should we let them know that we know who they are?"
"I'm not sure," Jean replied. "I think it would be best to wait until we know them a little better before letting the cat out of the bag as it was." Jean sent Scott a proud smile at her pun. Scott chuckled as the followed the rest of the group inside.
Marinette introduced everyone to her parents Tom and Sabine. Kurt was in heaven with all the food to choose from and ended up taking some of just about everything. Everyone else choose either ham or turkey croissants while Kitty had a cheese croissant. As they all ate Marinette filled the newcomers in on Nino's gig for Friday.
"It's going to be so awesome! You guys should come too!" Marinette looked towards Alya and Adrien for support. Her friends nodded with their mouths full.
Kurt, who's mouth was currently stuffed with a chocolate croissant, tried to speak but only managed to blow crumbs out of his mouth. And of course, Rogue happened to be sitting directly across from him.
"Seriously Kurt," she exclaimed as she jumped up to avoid more crumbs. "Ah know that you have better manners then that! Don't make me tell Ororo to give you etiquette lessons." Rogue smirked at the look of fear that crossed her adopted brother's face.
Kurt swallowed his food quickly before begging, "Please don't mein sister. You do remember what happened the last time someone didn't mind their manners. That woman is scary when she is mad." Kurt shivered and everyone at the table laughed.
"Ororo is only, like, scary when you don't do what you are supposed to Kurt," Kitty giggled.
"Or if you crush her flowers," Jean added with her own laugh.
"Alright," Alya said after the laughter died down, "I can't take it anymore. What are your guys' powers?"
The six mutants stopped eating and looked at Alya before looking around to see who had heard. Luckily, all the customers seemed to be engrossed in their own meals or talking to each other.
"Alya," Marinette hissed at her best friend. Alya blushed and lowered her voice.
"I just love superheroes," Alya admitted shyly.
Amanda looked at the group before saying, "If no one else has any objections I say we let them come over and watch training tonight. Logan wouldn't mind, would he?"
"No," Scott said instantly. "It's too dangerous for civilians to be around even when it is just practice."
The four friends looked sad at that. "It would be cool to watch you guys, dudes. Especially if I don't have to worry about keeping Alya out of danger," Nino commented.
Scott and Rogue frowned at the thought. Kitty and Kurt added their own support to Amanda's suggestion thinking it would be nice to have more friends at school who knew what they could do.
Jean added, "Scott, it might not be a bad idea. They are being very supportive of us even though they know what we are. It would be helpful to have a few more sets of eyes helping us keep a look out for you know what."
Scott sighed, "Contact the professor before we make any decisions."
No need Scott, all the X-Men heard. I believe that Jean's suggestion is a good one. Have the students get permission from their parents and they will ride with you to the manor.
The group nodded and then Kitty spoke up. "Do you guys think you can come over after school today? The Professor wants to meet you guys."
"Umm, how do you know that?" Alya wondered.
Kitty giggled, "He's a telepath and apparently was figuring something like this would happen since he sorta just, like, told us what he thought."
The four classmates looked at each other warily. "Don't worry," Jean hastened to assure them. "He only enters someone's mind with permission. He's just very familiar with our way of thinking and it doesn't take much to get his attention."
This helped the group to relax. "I'll go ask my parents right now. Alya, Nino, and Adrien did you want to use to store phone to contact your folks?"
"Umm, I don't think I will be making it tonight," Adrien said regretfully. "I have a photo shoot at 5 in the park."
"A photo shoot?" Kitty looked excited. "Can I, like watch it? Or is that too weird?"
Adrien smiled kindly at the brunette. "No, it's alright. Quite a few people usually stop to watch anyway. But if you guys have to get home I'll just catch up to you next time."
"Why don't you call your dad and see if you can come over after the shoot?" Jean suggested as she took a piece of paper and wrote down their address.
Adrien took the paper and stepped outside to make the call. When he came back in he was smiling. "He says as long as it doesn't affect my grades or the quality of the shoot I can head over afterwards. But, I won't be there until around 6:30."
"Great," Marinette was glad that Adrien would be able to join them. Anytime she could spend more time with him was a plus. She was hoping to get up the nerve to ask him out to a movie.
"Supper isn't until seven so you'll be just in time," Amanda sent a friendly smile towards the blonde making Marinette frown. Amanda turned towards Kurt, "Are we going to go dancing on Friday night then? You still owe me after last years interrupted Sadie Hawkins dance."
Kurt smiled at his girlfriend. "Sure, we can go boogie the night away."
Rogue huffed, "Count me out. Y'all know ah don't do big crowds."
"Well, I think it sounds like fun. But I don't have anything to wear," Kitty butted in.
"We're going shopping for new clothes tomorrow," Alya told her. "You and Amanda should come with us. And you two as well," She turned towards Rogue and Jean. "It'll be a good chance to get to know you guys better even if you aren't going."
"We will have to check with the Professor tonight. It might not be a good idea for us to go out to a dance club," Jean reminded the others.
Scott checked the time and saw it was time for them to head back towards the school. Everybody thanked Marinette's parents and praised their pastries before heading back to the school house.
At the end of the day to X-Men were exhausted but knew that Logan was waiting for them get back to the manor for training. Marinette asked Ororo to stop by her parents' bakery so that she could get snacks for everyone and then they were on their way. Alya was beside herself with excitement. She couldn't believe she was actually going to watch some of her heroes training for battle.
"So, why are you guys in Paris," Alya questioned as they drove.
"We'll explain everything at dinner, dear," Ororo stated as she turned into the drive of the manor. "It's just easier to explain to everyone at the same time."
Alya pouted but only for a second as she gawked at the house they stopped in front of. "This place is gorgeous!" Nino and Marinette nodded in agreement. As they got out of the car they were greeted by a short man dressed in an orange and dark blue outfit with a matching mask that came to two points on either side of his head. He had a cigar stuck between his teeth as he leaned against the door frame.
"'Bout time you guys got here. Suit up and meet me in back in five minutes." With that he turned and walked towards the rear of the house. The X-Men ran up the stairs and disappeared in the house so that they weren't late. Alya and Nino had unconsciously stepped behind Marinette when Wolverine had appeared on the porch.
Ororo turned to the three remaining students standing on the porch. "Come on and I will show you where you can wait while Logan runs them through the training program." They nodded and followed the African goddess through the house to the back yard. It was even larger than the front yard!
As they sat down on the patio they were wondering what kind of training they could possibly have with only open space. They did take notice of the white circle that was about a mile wide in the middle of the yard. Once the mutants appeared they were met by Logan who gave them a run down of what to expect. The students nodded to their teacher. As the four bystanders watched the sky darkened and automated defensives rose out of the ground and focused on the mutants. The watching teens gasped as lightening suddenly struck next to where the teenage heroes were standing. As a single unit, the team started working on taking out the defense system while dodging lightning bolts and huge gusts of winds.
"WHERE DID ALL THIS WEATHER COME FROM," Nino yelled at the girls next to him.
"I THINK IT'S BECAUSE OF HER," Marinette pointed to the sky where they saw Ororo suspended with her eyes glowing white as she held another blast of lightning in her hand.
"NO WONDER KURT DIDN'T WANT TO MAKE HER MAD," Alya commented as she zoomed in on Storm.
The group was about halfway through the gauntlet Wolverine had set up when suddenly the game seemed to change. The turrets went back underground when the team entered the white circle on the yard. They were now facing off against two new people. The first had a handful of cards in his hands that suddenly began to glow a magenta color. The other person looked to stand around 7 feet tall and was covered in metal.
The mutants stopped and regrouped as they reevaluated the playing field. "Really? Gambit, what are you guys doing here and why do you think the two of you can take on the six of us," Rogue demanded as she stood with her hands on her hips.
The Cajun grinned at the southerner. "Aww, c'mon Cherie. Ya can't tell moi dat you aren't happy to see dis swamp rat, can ya?"
"Ah believe ah just did. Did your daddy kick you outta N'Awlins again?" Rogue smirked at the Cajun as his eyes narrowed.
"Dats a low blow cher." With that he proceeded to throw the charged cards towards the group. The explosion sent them diving in different directions. Kurt had moved to Amanda and 'ported her out of the way when Remy attacked.
When the couple reappeared, they were standing behind the duo. As Amanda set up a magical bolt to send them flying Wolverine pounced from behind and knocked her to the side causing the bolt to go wild. Luckily Jean was paying attention because she was able to deflect the wild bolt that was headed right towards the spectators.
Kurt rounded on Logan as the feral mutant charged at the blue elf. "Herr Logan, don't you think you were a bit harsh on Amanda?"
Wolverine just growled as her released his claws and swung at the elf. Nightcrawler had teleported just in time and grabbed Amanda as she groaned and rubbed her head where she had hit it when Logan pushed her.
"Elf, you know as well as I do that our enemies do not pull their punches. With Amanda as part of the group she is going to have to get up to speed or she could be a liability."
Kurt glared at Logan before teleporting with Amanda to the back of Jean and Scott. Rogue and Gambit were currently engaged in hand to hand combat while Colossus wasn't having much luck getting to Kitty. He finally had her distracted enough for dodging his blows that she didn't anticipate that he would swing down "through" her and create a hole causing her to lose her balance once she was unphased. Jean caught her with her telekinesis while Scott shot Piotr with an eye beam. Logan had kept to the side and once the opening presented itself he quickly dispatched Scott. Once Scott was down he headed for Kitty. Luckily, Kitty had been keeping up with her Ninjutsu training and was able to dodge the attack before phasing through a tree. Logan sliced through the tree with a growl which provided Kitty with a thick limb to use as a weapon. She quickly feinted and twirled low taking Logan down with a blow to the back of the knees.
She wasted no time in returning to the group. Rogue had been knocked out of the game by Gambit and he went to join Piotr. Kurt, Jean and Kitty were the only X-Men left in the "game" at this point in the training. Gambit wasted no time in throwing the exploding cards at the trio while Piotr took the distraction as a chance to pummel the ground in front of Jean, throwing her backwards. She managed to catch herself before she hit the ground and threw a telepathic blast towards the armored man which knocked him backwards and out of the game.
Kurt 'ported behind Gambit and grabbed onto the red eyed Cajun. Remy grabbed his staff and started to swing it around only to find himself about 5 feet above the ground. He hit the ground and rolled into a crouch as he looked around for the next attack. He didn't have to wait long as Jean sent a telekinetic force field his way knocking him on his back and outside of the arena. That left 3 to one.
Alya was recording the whole thing while trying not to fan girl. Marinette was watching and taking notes for future sparing sessions with Chat. Nino was just sitting there with his jaw on the floor.
Wolverine was currently engaged with the three remaining mutants. Kurt was the next one out. Wolverine anticipated where he was going to teleport and knocked him out. Kitty fell next, she phased through a punch before turning solid to throw one of her own but didn't anticipate Wolverine ducking and throwing her over his shoulder out of the ring. Logan turned with a grin at Jean. Jean raised her arms and floated into the air. Logan went into a crouch waiting for her to make the first move. Jean sent a blast in his general direction causing Logan to dodge to the left. With him distracted Jean sent a mental blast towards where he was jumping to which blasted him out the arena.
"Not bad," Logan said as he gained his feet. "Kurt, you need to get over your hang up of protecting Amanda. She is a part of this team now and has to be able to stand on her own. The rest of you need to work on your conditioning. You're all winded and we were only at this for an hour. How are you going to hold up against Steamroller when we face him? You guys know that battle is going to be our hardest yet.
"Go get cleaned up for supper. We will be having our usual morning session before school tomorrow." Logan smiled as the group of teens groaned and worked their way back into the house to clean up.
"What did you think of the training session?" The three spectators jumped and turned to see Professor Xavier approaching in his wheel chair.
"It was AMAZING," Alya screamed with Nino and Marinette grinning broadly in the background. "Thank you so much for letting us come over and watch this!"
The professor smiled fondly at the excited brunette. "If you will follow me we will meet up with the X-Men in the dining hall." He looked towards the front door, "Marinette, will you be a dear and open the door for Adrien?" As the professor finished his sentence the doorbell rang.
"I don't think I will ever get used to that," Marinette gave a shy smile to the professor before heading to the door and letting Adrien in. "Adrien, you are not going to believe what you missed. Alya recorded the whole thing! It was amazing to watch!"
Adrien grinned at the bluenette talking to him as they rejoined the group. He was so glad that she wasn't still stuttering around him. As she became more comfortable around him and opened up more he found she was a wonderful girl. If he hadn't already been in love with Ladybug he was sure he would have fallen for Marinette. Although, there were times when the way Marinette acted reminded Adrien of his lady.
"Alya, I am going to have to get a copy of that to watch. How long was it?" Adrien questioned as he looked over the group.
"It was a little over an hour. They just finished off. Apparently, they aren't in good enough shape dude so the scary one told them they had training before school tomorrow," Nino informed as he took in his surroundings.
"Harsh," Adrien sympathized. "Sounds like something my dad would do if I was training for a competition."
Nino chuckled as he fist bumped with Adrien. They made it to the dining room just as the first of the X-Men walked in. Scott and Jean had changed back into more comfortable clothing for lounging around the rest of the evening.
Storm walked in from the kitchen carrying a couple of platters of food. Scott and Jean headed into the kitchen to help carry out the rest of the food. The professor motioned for the four teens to take a seat as the rest of the team walked in. Logan had changed back into jeans and a flannel shirt while the rest of the team had also changed into lounging clothing.
"I know you have meet Scott, Jean, Rogue, Kitty, Amanda, and Kurt. Now I would like to introduce you to Logan, Ororo, Remy, and Piotr. And this is Alya, Nino, Adrien, and Marinette." The professor pointed to each individual as he spoke.
Everyone exchanged the usual pleasantries before the professor announced it was time to eat. It was pandemonium as the teens all jockeyed for the dishes they wanted. Once everyone had their plate full of food and had settled down the professor turned his attention to the four French students.
"I am glad that my students have found four great people at their new school." The four teens smiled shyly not quite sure how to take the compliment. "It is very refreshing to know that there are good people in all corners of the globe. However, Alya had asked earlier why we had come here. As we explained to Ladybug and Chat Noir last night we are here to stop a new threat." He proceeded to tell the teens the story of his step brother and the green stone of Cytorrak. "We were hoping you could help us keep an eye out for anyone acting differently."
The four teens nodded. "It will be great working with you guys," Alya declared. "Maybe something will come up tomorrow on our shopping trip." Alya smiled at the girls around the table.
"Shopping?" The professor questioned.
"Nino is DJing at a club this Friday," Kitty explained. "Amanda and I want to go with but of course we would, like, need some more appropriate clothing. Can we go?"
The professor looked at Storm and Logan. Logan shook his head while Storm just shrugged. "I don't see where it would be an issue. How many of you are going?"
"Amanda, Kurt, Piotr and me so far," Kitty replied.
Jean looked at Scott, "Would you like to go? It sounds like fun."
Scott shrugged. "Sounds like fun and we probably shouldn't split the team up more than usual."
Jean looked a little put off by his reasoning but decided that at least she would be able to get him there and maybe work on loosening him up some.
Remy had managed to get his seat next to Rogue and now put his arm around her shoulders. "Ma Cherie and ah will be dere. Ah don't ever pass up de chance for some partying."
Rogue rolled her eyes and pushed his hand off her shoulder. "Ah'm not going swamp rat," she growled at him. "Ya know ah don't do crowds. Besides, if ah'm there how are you gonna find the bimbo you're gonna go home with?"
Remy glared at the striped hair girl. "And why would Remy go looking for another femme when you're right there?"
Rogue rolled her eyes before getting up and storming out. Remy made to go after her but stopped when Logan growled at him. "You stay put Gumbo. She needs a little time to cool down."
The four guests shared a look wondering why Rogue was so worked up over going dancing. Logan glanced at them, "If you have questions take it up with Rogue. It's her life so she should be the one to tell you." Seeing their confused looks he said, "Teen emotions are easy to smell and curiosity is one of the most common."
"Just when I start to relax they go and do the woo woo stuff," Nino whispered to Adrien who nodded in agreement.
After supper was finished it was time for the kids to get home. Ororo offered to drive them but they declined since Adrien's bodyguard was there and willing to drop them off. Everyone said their goodbyes and headed off to bed. Morning was going to arrive earlier then the teen superheroes were ready for.
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This was a long chapter! I'm hoping it doesn't move too slowly. Now that the group is "friends" the story should move along a little smoother. I'm looking forward to the shopping portion tomorrow. Creating outfits for characters is one of my most favorite part of writing stories. I just wish I could draw some of the designs that come into my head. If any of you are talented and want to give my outfits a go please feel free. Just make sure you let me know where to find them. 😊 Thanks and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
