Author Note(s): I should be working on my costume. I really should. I just enjoy writing these characters so much.
Any pairing ideas, tell me. I'm open to suggestions from the readers.
I don't own X-Men: Evolution.
Sitting around the Institute after a Danger Room session, Philippe mulled over the occupants he had met.
The first he knew from a few encounters. As soon as he stepped off of the plane, he smirked at the growl.
"Well, Jame Kinney," he said, walking over to the tanned, spiky, dark brown haired boy. He was shorter and broader than Philippe and his ice blue eyes glowered at him. He crossed his broad arms over his dark blue t-shirt.
"I was hoping you'd say no, Cajun," he commented.
"So was I," Audrey stated dejectedly.
"This guy give you any trouble, Audrey, just come tell me," he said. "Cousins keep each other in place. Mom's out by the car. Hates all the crowds."
"Charmin' as ever, mon cousin," Philippe said dryly, lifting up his bags and some of Audrey's- much to her protest as she pulled them out of his hands. Something about how he would probably go through her underwear or something. He smirked inwardly. He had done that at home. James sniffed the air and glowered at Philippe. Obviously, he was giving off some kind of scent. The tension in the air was disrupted by Danielle coming over and giving James a hug. Of course, James was not a touchy type of person, so he immediately stiffed from the brief contact. Danielle pulled back.
"It's great to see you, James," she said. "Can't wait to see ev'ryone else too." Wilhelm came up then, carrying Danielle's bags that she had dropped to greet the wolfish man.
"Well, let's get back to the mansion," he said. "Gramps is gettin' ansty."
"D'accord, can't let Gramps Logan get ansty," Philippe agreed. The group followed James out the parking lot where a woman who looked a little young to be James' mother waited. Same as ever. Tanned skin, long brown hair, mint green eyes, and long, lean body. Of course, she wore a scowl. Philippe chuckled slightly. Typical Aunt Laura.
"Bonjour, Tante Laura," he greeted warmly.
"Y'know very well your charms do not work on me, Philippe," Laura warned him, turning to the x-van and opening the trunk. Philippe's amused look remained on his face as he lifted his luggage into the back. He didn't pack much, his mother saying that she would send the rest of his stuff because of 'thaht dern security thaht don' know whaht they're doin'.' He was going to miss that persistent woman. Audrey moved to put her bags in and Philippe was about to tease her by moving closer, only to hear a growl from his cousin. He looked over and saw a protective eyebrow raised on his face. Great. He had to deal with Wilhelm and James being protective of Audrey. James was scarier than Wilhelm though.
Maybe he could go to a bar later...Gramps Logan was normally all right with that.
----
Rachel Summers had just completed her DR session. She had stayed later than the others and hey, she had a huge name to live up to. Being the daughter of Scott Summers and Jean Grey. She shook out her wet, short red hair, wrapping the towel securely around her body as she stepped out of the shower.
Yeah, she was the kid of those two but that didn't mean she couldn't be badass. She did everything right but took advantage of having a bit of fun. She walked into the locker room to see Audrey finishing up and getting ready to leave.
"So, Audrey," she started, walking over to the blonde girl. Audrey's response was looking at her and tilting her head to the side questioningly. "What's the new guy like?" Audrey's questioning look turned sour quick. She tugged on her shoelaces rather tightly and Rachel was sure that she lost some circulation from the act.
"Rach, I like ya," she told her calmly. "Don' even think 'boud id. Thad boy ain't nothin' bu' a pervert of a flirt."
"Sounds fun," Rachel commented. Audrey scoffed.
"Look, I'm no' stupid," she stated. "I know yer tryin' ta punish yer dad fer being with thad Frost chick so soon after yer mom died. Id ain' gonna do a thing cept hurt you. I'll look out fer ya though. Cause I don' wan' ya ta screw yerself over."
"Yeah, your concern is touching, country girl," Rachel waved it off.
"I'm serious, Rach," Audrey said. "If ya need ta talk-" Before the thought could be finished, Rachel moved to her locker and pulled it open harshly. Audrey knew that was a sign of the conversation being over. Audrey obliged, returning to closing her locker.
"Look, Audrey," Rachel said as the blonde moved to leave. "I know you're trying to help but please, don't." Audrey looked at her for a moment then gave a slow nod.
"I'm sure ya can meed Philippe now," Audrey told her. "Gehd him offa my hands, please."
"Wait, what?" Rachel asked, her interested eyebrow perking up with a lopsided smirk. She continued to get dressed but mentally sent Audrey a demand for more information.
"Fine jus' gehd oudda my head," Audrey groaned. "Thad boy has been flirtin' with me since he first saw me. I'm sure if someone more willin' ta play his game crossed his path, he'd back off."
"I'm willing, he's pretty hot," Rachel jested but felt rather intrigued. "Did he flirt with Danielle?"
"Ad first, yeah," Audrey said, sitting on one of the benches as Rachel continued to get ready, pulling on her red, low cut t-shirt and her maroon low cut jeans that clung to her. "But then, turned oud he jus' did id ta flird with me." Pulling on her nearly black boots (which were red), her green eyes glimmered.
"Sweet, innocent Audrey has a guy dogging after her?" Rachel teased.
"Okay, first, I ain' thad sweed," Audrey growled, crossing her arms.
"Oh, that's why you were offering to play shrink to me," Rachel jutted back. Audrey narrowed her eyes even more. Rachel snickered and looked at the clock. "Well, it's nearing dinner time. D'ya think this outfit is fine to meet a LeBeau in?"
"Dear, I think you could wear sweats an' he would be excited 'boud meetin' a willin' chick," Audrey retorted.
"Whatever, country bumpkin," Rachel teased lightly, walking over and putting an arm around the other girl's shoulder. The two walked out and much to Rachel's pleasure and Audrey's annoyance, Philippe was waiting.
"Whad are ya doin' here, Cajun?" Audrey asked, crossing her arms and turning her head defiantly.
"I was bored," he answered in a flat tone but a smirk was laced on his face. Audrey turned to glower at him.
"Hey, we met in the DR," Rachel interrupted. "Of course, I only know you as Artifice and you know me as Marvel Girl. So, I'm Rachel Summers."
"I knew who ya were, fille," Philippe said with a slight warm tone in his voice. "Y' were too young ta remember when you an' your mere came down ta stay wit' Mama an' Pere. I t'ink you was only two at de time. I was five." Rachel scrunched up her face in thought and Audrey thought to make her escape, touching a shadow and taking her form, disappearing. Philippe held back his annoyed face. How could he find a girl who could merge with shadows?
"Yeah, nothing's ringing a bell," Rachel said. "Haven't done much since Dad got with Ice Queen." Rachel took the opportunity to attempt to invade his mind, finding any thoughts that would be interesting. She should have known he'd been train in mental blocks. She scowled and Philippe grinned, knowing exactly what she had been trying to do. "So, you wanna head to the dinner?"
"Wit such a belle femme, oui," Philippe flattered. Rachel smirked inwardly. Hey, at least she'd be able to flirt with him.
----
Danielle backed up from the stove, her face contorted in defeat.
"That's not s'pose to look like that," she finally said. Cooking, as Audrey frequently reminded her, was never her forte.
"Vhat iz zhat smell?" Wilhelm asked, entering the kitchen. Dinner was in a few minutes and he wondered what smelled horribly. He winced as he saw Danielle in front the of the stove. "Oh." Suddenly, the strange concoction started to bubble. "Look out!" He yelled, teleporting beside Danielle, grabbing her, and teleporting away as the pot exploded. "I don't know how you do zhat."
"Because Audrey got all the cookin' genes," Danielle stated, defeated. "I just wanted to make a dish for dinner. Just one. Oh well. I'll live with it."
"Zhat's zhe spirit, Danielle!" Wilhelm told her, patting her on the back. "Don't vorry! You'll eventually be able to cook as vell as Audrey!"
"Hey, I'm fine with it, really," Danielle said. "My acro's better than hers anyway." Wilhelm held back the urge to roll his eyes. Sibling rivalry. It had toned down over the years at least. It was kind of annoying having them try to better each other at every single thing.
"Ja, zhat it iz," he agreed. "But, let'z get zhis cleaned up, ja?"
"Yeah, that's a good idea," Danielle sighed and the two made quick work of fixing the mess. James entered just as they finished.
"Hey, we're waitin' on you two," he said gruffly. He turned to look at Danielle for a second longer than usual and said "Who let you in the kitchen?" To this, he got a dirty rag thrown in his face.
"Not appreciated, James," Danielle said, walking past him. James growled and took the rag off of his face. Wilhelm laughed slightly, pointing.
"Ganz Gross," he joked, teleporting away as James leaped at him.
----
Audrey stepped out of a shadow in the dining room, looking for Danielle. She smiled, seeing her sister come out of the dining room. She deshadowed and the two sat together, Wilhelm teleporting to the open seat beside Danielle. Both sisters glared at him and he gave a nervous smile. Not his fault his power caused an after smell of sulfur and brimstone.
An African American young man walked in. He had bright amber eyes and strong, royal like features. His black hair was short and kept. He wore a black t-shirt and jeans. Along his arms were gray-brown tattoos-tattoos that would light up when he used his mutation.
"May I sit here?" He inquired of Audrey. "Or is Rachel going to be sitting beside you?"
"Be my guest, Azari," Audrey told him. Azari nodded and took the seat. Rachel and Philippe entered with James, who had to clean his face off. Philippe moved to take the seat across from Audrey but Rachel, oblivious, made the move. James chose to sit across from Danielle, so the Cajun wouldn't get any funny ideas. Defeated, Philippe took a seat across from Azari, the second guy he met when he came to Bayville.
Azari was the natural leader of the X-Men and Xavier's pet panther. The guy was built like a big cat. Lean muscles, tall, and somewhat of an intimidating posture. No wonder seeing who is parents were, Storm and an African King who pranced around as a Black Panther of sorts.
Speaking of Xavier, the old man entered with Gramps Logan walking behind him and Aunt Laura, almost like two body guards.
"My apologies but a mission has risen," he stated. "It will not require all of you. Just Rachel, Azari, and James. You four can remain and rest from your trip from New Orleans. Logan shall be going along with you three." Rachel, Azari, and James nodded, rising and leaving the room with Logan. Philippe moved to change seats but got a swift kick in the shin. He glanced at Audrey, knowing she had been the assailant by the all too innocent look on her face.
----
"What's the mission, Logan?" Rachel asked as they entered the blackbird, all in uniform.
Wolverine's was back to the good old blue and yellow. Never fail something that doesn't fail you, after all.
Azari's (Panther Strike's) uniform was black. He had insisted on it. The top was sleeveless and he wore gloves that went up to his elbows. He had metal plates on his wrists and a metallic belt. Seperating his black boots and pants were metallic knee pads.
James' (Wolf's) outfit was similar to an older one of Logan's. It was still blue and yellow but the main color was blue. He had a golden X across his chest and three yellow scratches on either shoulder. He had a black belt that had pouches to carry miscellaneous items he may need. Black fingerless gloves and black, armored boots finished off his look.
Rachel (Marvel Girl's) outfit was a little bit more complicated. She wore a black shirt that showed her mid-drift. A red triangle went down from her neck and a yellow diamond was in between her breasts. She had a metallic belt on that had a red box with an X in the center. He black pants met a yellow line before the red boots. Her gloves were fingerless and yellow with a red strip at her elbows.
"Simple," Logan said gruffly to the kids. "We're going to get a friend's kid. From Australia." He sat down in the pilot's seat and the kids took their seats. "Seems St. John and Wanda are having a little issue and want their kid out of the outback and with us."
"Y'mean Magda Allerdyce?" Rachel asked. "She's finally joining?"
"More like being put in our custody," Logan stated.
"She's a little, out there," James said. "Morbidly insane?"
"C'mon now, guys, let's not be so," Azari started but stopped as he saw the looks he was getting. "Let's try to be accepting and nice."
----
The flight took a while. They finally landed in the outback, at the meeting point Wanda had given. Standing there waiting was a girl with black, curly hair with bright orange roots. This, was of course, completely natural. Her blue eyes watched the plane with little interest. Her skin was a sun-kissed tan. She wore a lot of blues and blacks, contrasting with her hair. Her shirt was blue but was a little short and her leather jacket was rolled up. She wore black khapris and black combat boots. The door to the plane opened and she looked at the group indigently.
"Took y' blokes long enough," she commented, getting her bags and entering the plane. "My Dad's gone and started a fire. Again. And the cops are lookin' for him. Mom thought you could help. Maybe, use some psychic blast and knock him out. Oy tried to control the fire but Dad's just stubborn." Logan sniffed the air, finding the smoke.
"All right. He's not too far from here. Crazy St. John."
"Crazy? That's an understatement," Azari stated. He felt the glare from Magda and winced slightly. Rachel rolled her eyes and took to the air.
"I'll take care of it," she told them.
"Count me in, Red," James stated, following her on the ground.
"Now, hold on, we should plan something-" Azari started but knew his words fell on deaf ears. He gave a defeated sigh. Some prince he was. "All right. We'll need Magda to get calm the flames after Pyro's knocked out."
"What if Oy don't want to?" Magda asked with a deadpan face. Azari slapped hie forehead and Logan couldn't help but smirk. Kids.
"Please, Magda?" Azari semi-whined.
"Well, since you asked so nicely," the girl replied, deadpan but anyone could tell it was sarcastic.
----
James stopped at a outcropping of rock, examining the fire below. Rachel floated a foot above him, looking just as he was. Except, in her own way. Which was a psychic scan. James sniffed, ready to jump. Both waited for the other to say something and the competition made the air tense. Suddenly, both took off in the same direction. James had an edge of super speed but Rachel outsmarted him, telekenetically lifting him up, smirking at his scowl.
"Gotta play fair," she teased lightly.
"Says the one making me float," James replied gruffly. Rachel laughed but the laugh faded as she avoided a strike from a fire dragon. She released James and he landed on his feet.
"Mr. Allerdyce! It's me, Rachel!" Rachel called to the laughing manically man. He ignored her as he continued to "play" with the fire. Rachel scowled slightly and sent a psychic blast at St. John. It didn't effect him. Rachel avoided another strike, examining the man. He was wearing a tattered white shirt and dusty jeans and boots. He was tanned form years in the outback and his blonde-orange hair was still as uncontrollable as ever. He was face was etched with lines and then, Rachel saw it. A headband made to block out telepaths like her. There was also the possibility of it controlling his mind.
"Hey James!" Rachel called down to him. "Our good friend Pyro has a horrid headband on. Wanna get it off of him?!" James looked at her, a little confused but then figured it out.
"Sure," he growled, running towards Pyro, avoiding the strikes and tackling the man. Rachel winced.
"Um, remember, James, he's not indestructible!" Rachel called over. Suddenly, an eruption of fire sent James flying into the air. Rachel watched him, surprised as he fell to the ground ans swore. Loudly. "You okay?!"
"Would have been nice if someone had broken my fall!" James snarled back. Rachel smirked at James, who's top was slightly charred but he was perfectly fine.
"You have your mother's healing power and all that," she teased lightly, avoiding a fire blast.
"Still woulda been nice," James growled lightly.
"Stop whining and nab that headband, Wolf!" Rachel ordered. "We need to get it to Forge and Hank to examine!"
"Right, I figured that," James muttered, getting up and headed towards the fire controller. "All right, bub, I'm done bein' nice." James snarled and leaped at St. John again, effectively taking him down and slamming a fist into his face, knocking the poor bloke out cold.
"Unnecessary, James!" Rachel snorted, landing beside them.
"Well, I didn't see you knocking him out," James snarled back, removing the headband. The fire around them started to fade and they turned to see Azari, Magda, and Logan standing there, looking at the three.
"How hard did ya hit him, mate?" Magda asked, deadpan.
"Hard enough," James replied gruffly.
"Probably deserved it," Magda said. "But, get offa my dad." Suddenly, a pillar of fire flew at James, throwing him off of the knocked out Aussie. "Thank you." St. John groaned and sat up, rubbing his head.
"Crikey, what the hell just happened?" He asked, rubbing his jaw. "Feel like Oy got hit by a truck."
"Close enough," Rachel said, offering him a hand up. "It was James."
"Where's Mum?" Magda asked.
"Oy don't rightly remember, luv," St. John said, deep in thought. "All Oy remember is someone sneakin' up on me and puttin' that blasted thing on me." He pointed to the headband. James was already examining it curiously. Logan snatched it out of his grandson's hand, placing it in a pocket on his belt.
"We'll get on it, Pyro," Wolverine snarled slightly. "Kids, let's go. St. John, I'm leavin' you here. Never liked you."
"Aw, c'mon, Wolvie! Y'know y'luv me!" St. John lightly teased. He received a glare. "Rohght rohght. Oy'll stay in case someone tries again. Oy know the drill, mate." St. John smirked slightly and moved to his daughter. "Now, y'lissen here, kiddo. You be a good X-Man, follow the rules, and try not ta set anything on foire."
"Oy'm gonna tell ya the same, Dad," Magda told him with a perfectly straight face. St. John immediately keeled over laughing, slapping his daughter on the back.
"That's my lil' sheila!" He stated, a wide, stupid grin on his face. Azari gave a worried look at James, who gave him a gruff look in reply.
----
Returning to the mansion, one question rang through Rachel's mind. She scoured the halls until finding the one person who could answer the question. Audrey was in the library, catching up on some reading.
"So, is Philippe dead yet?" Rachel asked. Audrey looked up from her book with a blank face. She then returned to her reading and replied
"Laura's making him do extra training sessions."
