AN: I'm back with a chapter written on the road.
don't own

Chapter Three: Storm Troopers

"Sasha!"

Piotr spun Sasha around, effectively snapping her out of her state of shock. Her face scrunched up and she scratched the back of her head, confused by her recent bizarre encounter. Some strange Asian guy with facial tattoos wanted her to join his mutant club? If the world couldn't get any weirder.

"Sasha!" Piotr tried again when he didn't receive a verbal response. He set his hands firm on her shoulders and gave a little shake, making Sasha's vision spin.

"Whoa, whoa!" she cried. "Be gentle, Hulk. We had those shots remember? Are you trying to make me puke?"

Piotr sighed in relief. If Sasha was making those kinds of comments, she was ok. "I think we should go," he said, glancing around nervously as if expecting Magneto himself to pop up.

"I think we should too. You get the girls. I'll get Sammy," Sasha declared and turned. Before she could actually make any ground, however, Piotr grabbed her arm. What is it with people tonight not wanting me to go anywhere, Sasha thought angrily.

"I don't think we should split up," Piotr said with concern. Sasha understood his worry, but she wasn't Daphne and he wasn't Fred. If Quill wanted to make a second appearence, she was going strait for the groin. Better yet, she won't forget she's a mutant this time and she'll freeze him. Because he was a mutant, the freeze wouldn't hold long, but long enough to make a quick exit or at least get a head start.

"I'll be ok. Don't worry. I'll see you by the car." She insisted. Piotr looked reluctant, but nodded. He squeezed her shoulder softly and pushed his way through the crowd.

Time to find Scooby-Doo.

For once, Sasha wasn't cursing her lack of size as she started to shimmy through the crowd. She bumped more than a few people, but besides the occasional profanity directed at her mother, she went unscathed.

After making a few rounds over the entire dance floor, she finally spotted Sam. At first, Sasha thought he was dancing with another man (which would provide them all with laughs and utter humiliation for Sam in the morning), but then she realized it was in fact a she with incredibly short hair. She looked kind of like Prince actually.

Whoever she was, Sam was hanging all over her like some common bimbo.

"Oh look!" Sam cried when he saw her. "That's her! The number! You know sh-she's my cousin."

Oh God, he was drunk. Without further ado, Sasha froze the she-man and grabbed Sam's arm, pulling him away. "Bye bye Arclight!" he called, giving a massive wave with his entire arm. The freeze didn't last long, but long enough for Sasha to loose sight of him…um-her before she saw her tall become mobile again above the crowd.

Sasha didn't let go of Sam until they were outside with Jubilee's jeep on view. "What wrong with you?" Sasha exclaimed hitting her cousin on the back of the head. When they reached the Jeep, she tried to open the doors on the very off chance that Jubilee had forgotten to lock them, but no go.

"Ow, Sash! That hurt!" Sam said, rubbing the spot where Sasha had hit him. She huffed and leaned against the jeep. They could only wait until Piotr found Kitty and Jubilee now.

"Yeah, well good! I thought you were with Jubilee and Kitty and there you are, socializing when they could be God knows where!" she barked. Honestly, Sasha didn't blame him for loosing the girls, and she didn't know why she was nagging him. She was just so confused. First about her feelings with Piotr that she just found out were not platonic like she thought, then Quill, and now two of her best friends were MIA. It was easy to just let her emotions out at Sam at the moment and regret it later.

"I'm sorry, Sash," Sam slurred, suddenly looking like he was about to cry. "I tried. I really did."

Sighing, Sasha enveloped him in a hug. She couldn't help it. He was just so darn cute when he was acting like a child. It also made the regret come in a little ahead of schedule. "I know you did. It's ok." She soothed and Sam started heaving in her arms. Oh shit.

As soon as Sasha wrenched herself away, Sam bent over and started hurling in guts onto the pavement. She walked to his side and rubbed his back. "It's ok," she repeated, this time with mockery laced in her tone.

"Oh gross!" The headlights flickered and there was unmistakable sound of locks clicking up.

"I feel gross," Sam groaned and straitened up. "Anyone got a tic tac?"

"Sorry, fresh out," Kitty laughed and climbed into the back seat. Jubilee called shot gun and Piotr took the wheel as the most sober person there. Sasha was the last to get in and as soon as she closed the door behind her, Sam laid his head in her lap. He groaned something that was impossible to make out and shifted so his legs were half on top of Kitty.

The girl didn't seem to mind on her part, but inspected his shoes for any possible trances of vomit. Sasha started to run her fingers through Sam hair absentmindedly and reflected on her friends' sudden sedated moods. Whatever Piotr had told them to get them to leave the party had left them all deathly quiet.

"So," Sasha said when no one spoke, "Did any one else get invited to join Mutant Club?"

Kitty and Jubilee gave an equally surprised no while Piotr said yes. "Mutant club?" Kitty asked.

"Omegas, a mutant group," Piotr corrected putting the vehicle into gear and backing up.

It didn't make sense. Why target her and Piotr but not the other girls or Sam? "Some guy came out of nowhere and starts talking about humans not understanding us and how they treat us like scum. Very gung hoe Mutant Power." Sasha elaborated.

"It was weird," Piotr added, obviously experiencing a simular encounter she had. "A girl named Callisto cornered me. She was so fast. I had to practically mow her down to get back to Sasha. The whole time she was talking about mutant superiority."

After that, it was a silent ride to the institute. Nothing kills a buzz like anti-human recruiters.

Sasha wanted to ask what happened to Sam when Quill took her away, but was nervous to break the silence again. She could always ask later. After all, Sasha lives with these people and sees them 24/7. She'd have plenty of time later.

They pulled into the garage after a short drive and made their way up to the dorms with no significant problems. Piotr had to half carry/half drag Sam around, but it didn't seem to take a lot of effort on his part. Sasha parted ways with Jubilee and Kitty in the boy's wing and followed Piotr so she could tuck the alcoholic in. There, she was met with unfamiliar territory. She had guy friends, sure, but they rarely entertained in their rooms. If they were anything like her messy brother's back home, she wasn't even curious.

She tried to concentrate on those somewhat random thoughts rather than a certain Russian's arm that kept brushing against her's. Now that they were alone (Sam didn't count in his intoxicated state), Sasha was faced with the same feelings she was bombarded with when they were dancing.

So she liked him. No big deal right? People developed crushes on other people all the time and he was her best guy friend. It was a little cliché, but it could work if he liked her too. Maybe she should...

Whoa, whoa, slow down there, Sasha thought. She had barely realized her affections and she was already thinking about a relationship?

Before Sasha could think anymore on the matter, Piotr was opening what she assumed to be Sam's door while easily keeping her cousin from toppling over. "Thanks for this," Sasha whispered to as not to stir Sam's roommate, some guy who went by Longshot.

"No problem," Piotr said setting Sam down on an immaculate clean bed, "Are you going to be ok?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Go get some sleep." Sasha replied. Piotr grinned down at her and bent to give her a friendly hug. Friendly. It wasn't a crushing hug that showed any emotion or even too tight like he was trying to feel for something inappropriate. Not that Piotr seemed like that type of guy. No, his loose, casual hug certainly put a damper on her God forsaken feelings and made her stop thinking like a school girl with a crush, regardless that that was what she actually was.

She could just be over analyzing like she always did, making everything seem more than what it really was. It was really a problem she needed to fix before it turned into something she'd need therapy and medication for.

Still, she couldn't tell if the way her heart sped up was a good or bad thing.

Piotr left and Sasha looked down at Sam, finally able to focus her jumbled thoughts on something.

"You're so lucky I love you so much," she said to him and started to remove his shoes. Sasha continued until he was just in his boxers and undershirt and lifted the sheets over him.

"Now where do you keep your Advil, you druggy? I know you have some." Sasha asked him and as she expected, there was no response, not even a twitch.

"Second shelf," came a groggy voice from across the room. Sasha winced and retrieved the medicine.

"Thank you, and sorry," she apologized.

There was a weak "'s ok" and Sasha tried to be quieter. She picked out two pills, snatched an almost empty water bottle from atop of Sam's dresser, and put them both on his bedside table. What was she missing?

Oh yeah. She reached beyond the table and pulled the blinds open. Bright lights and hangovers don't mix. Sasha couldn't be completely obliging after all. When the sun comes out, Sam would be thanking and cursing her name.

Sasha was just about to leave, but instead looked down at Sam again. She couldn't help but smile when she heard soft snores emitting from the older boy. "Night, cuz," she whispered, kissing the top of his head. Remembering his roommate, she crept out of the room and into the hallway on her tip toes like they do in cartoons. Mission accomplished.

She walked slowly down the hall, not quite ready to go to bed just yet. It had been an odd night. The puking, dancing, and drinking were all expected, but Quill and Castillo were not.

Oh well. No use worrying about it now. Maybe tomorrow when she had a clear head. Or next week. Never sounded particularly appetizing as well.

Maybe she'll climb the roof and watch the sun rise instead of hitting the hay. She hadn't done that in a while and suspected the sun would start surfacing in less than an hour. Passing by a window with a new destination in mind, Sasha saw a full moon glowing in all its glory high in the sky. OK, maybe a lot more than an hour, judging by its position. Apparently her inner clock was off. What time was it anyways?

Sasha reached into her too big pocket, hand searching for the familiar coolness of her cell phone. When she didn't find it, she cursed. Could she have left it in Jubilee's Jeep? Maybe Sam's head pushed it out of her pocket. She started patting herself down to double check. Yep, it diffidently wasn't there.

Mom's going to kill me.

That was the second phone this month. Sighing, she realized it couldn't hurt to check the garage and if it wasn't there, she'd use Jubilee's cell to call herself and see if anyone picked up.

She cursed again at the thought of anyone having her phone. She had all her friends listed by their codename in her phonebook accompanied by a picture of them using their powers. How could she be so stupid? Any moron with half a brain would realize they were mutants, and she's basically given them a guide to Mutant High and exposure.

Or maybe she was just being paranoid and over analyzing again. She really needed to give her imagination a break and stop it from letting it run away with her common sense. Grumbling, Sasha made way back to the garage. Turning down another hallway in the labyrinth that was Xavier's school, she stopped dead in her tracks on jumped back around the corner.

She pressed her back against the wall and slid down in a crouch position like Cyclops had taught them in a danger room session (one she had actually paid attention in). Her palms were flat against the wall, probably leaving sweaty hand prints, but that was the least of Sasha's worries at the moment.

Mustering up a little courage, she peaked around the wall and confirmed what she had saw wasn't a figment of her over active imagination.

There were storm troopers in the mansion armed what with looked to be some pretty serious weapons.

And all the children were upstairs, tucked fast asleep like good little mutants. They were sitting ducks.