Hey hey! Having a night in, so here's a chapter I finished for you. I'm at Uni, supposed to be partying all the time, but I'm just too knackered... Nearly didn't make my nine o'clock lecture this morning!
Anyhoo, thanks for the reviews :) and here's the next chapter for you to (hopefully) enjoy!
Logan sat on his own in the X-Jet, waiting for everyone else to return. He had wanted to go, but there was some plan involving Mystique taking his shape to fight Magneto that meant he got to stay behind. Joy.
He filled the metal box with cigar smoke, resting his feet on the probably sensitive and fragile controls, glad for five minutes peace from Jack and Kitty's constant bickering. It may have been good humoured, but there was something about the shrill tone Kitty took on when she was defending herself from Jack's teasing that really went through him.
His peace was short-lived, however, and all too quickly interrupted by a persistent banging on the ramp.
"Oi! Open up Logan, I know you're in there!" Jack demanded from the outside.
Logan contemplated ignoring her, but knew it wasn't worth it. Jack would persist in banging until it annoyed him sufficiently to make him open up. Languidly he pushed the button and lowered the ramp.
"Thank you," Jack trilled sweetly, before giving him a wide grin and sitting herself in one of the chairs.
"Where are we now then?" a British voice that Logan didn't recognise asked.
"The X-men private jet," Jack answered, spinning round in her chair, "There's a seat two steps forward and one to the right once you get off the ramp."
Logan turned round to look at this newcomer. They hadn't had a new recruit 'teacher age' for a while. Plenty of kids, but since Angel had turned up no new adults. He didn't count Jack as an adult, just like Kitty, Bobby and all the others, mostly because it annoyed them so much.
Logan had always considered Storm and Jean to be beautiful women. He was in love with Jean, she could have worn a bin bag, cut off all her glorious red hair and he would still have thought her beautiful, and it would take an idiot not to notice that Storm was attractive with her curves and ethnic beauty, but this woman was something else.
She was tall, towering over Jack who had stood up to help her find the chair and take her coat, and slim. Her hair was thick and long, and such a rich black that it shone blue in the light. She was wearing a long black overcoat that not only flattered her figure but gave her a dominating presence that just demanded attention. Logan nodded appreciatively, but only Jack seemed to notice. She threw a book at him.
"Hey!" Logan protested, sitting up in his chair, "I know you don't have much respect for authority Jack Starbright but you oughta stop being cheeky to me or I'll give you something worse than detention!" he snarled.
Jack just laughed at him.
"What could you possibly do to me, Logan?" she asked, grinning.
"Don't wind him up Jack," Warren said, walking up the ramp behind her and closing it, "We're in a very enclosed space here…"
"Sorry bird boy, I hope you'll excuse me while I put three holes in your girlfriend, hopefully it'll shut her up for a little while," Logan said.
Warren just rolled his eyes before walking over to the new woman.
"Don't mind them," he said, "this is perfectly normal and will probably be over in about ten minutes."
"What interesting lives you must lead if this is considered normal…" she replied.
Logan looked over at Jack. She had a taunting smile on her face, but he decided against rising to it. He couldn't hit her anyway, and she knew that. With that damn shield of hers he couldn't even get close.
Jack gave him a mock look of disappointment as he grunted and went to sit back down, picking up his cigar where he left off. Warren wrinkled his nose in distaste at the strong smell, but didn't say anything. Jack wasn't normally one to keep her mouth shut about his smoking habits, but this time the new woman beat her too it.
"Put that out, it's a disgusting habit," she said.
"I do beg your pardon, princess," Logan said sarcastically.
From behind her glasses she seemed to be staring right through him, which Logan found a little annoying and unnerving. Then he noticed the white cane she was carrying and realised why Jack had directed her so specifically to a chair.
"Robyn, meet the real Wolverine," Jack said, "He's not the most charming guy in the world, but he's not too bad, if you can get past the cigars."
"I can be charming if I want to," Logan said to Jack.
"Why don't you start by putting that out," Jack challenged.
"Why don't you keep your mouth shut," Logan said irritably.
His head was turned towards her, his cigar in one hand. The other he was using to point angrily at her, like that would make a difference. Warren was watching them with a very weary expression, but suddenly his slightly bored demeanour changed. He sat up and looked curiously over towards Logan's hand, the one holding the cigar.
Logan was about to ask him what was so damn interesting when he felt the cigar plucked from his hand by a strong set of fingers. He turned to look at Robyn to see his cigar drifting towards her, being held in place by what looked like blue smoke. It swirled about the tip of the cigar, closing in on it firmly, extinguishing it. Robyn held her hand up and the smoke carried the cigar towards it. Delicately she plucked it out of the air and the smoke dissipated.
"I'm sorry," she said, "But I can't stand smoke."
Warren watched Logan's expression go from curious to indignant to simply annoyed. He couldn't help smirking slightly at the older man. It wasn't often Logan got his comeuppance.
"Interesting power," he grunted in the end.
Warren caught Jack's eye and had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. The look on Logan's face was priceless.
"Thanks," Robyn said. She put the cigar down, adjusted her hair and glasses before turning back to Logan in a business like manner, "So you're 'Wolverine'," she said, then turned to face Warren, "And I presume you go by a name a little less demeaning than 'bird boy' most of the time?"
"I'm Angel," Warren said.
"Is that as literal as Pyro and Multiple Man?" Robyn asked.
"Sixteen foot fluffy white wings, blonde curly hair and baby blue eyes," Jack said, "I'd say that was pretty literal."
"Baby blue eyes?" Warren said, "You make me sound about ten years old. It's nice to meet you, Robyn." He added, ever one to remember his manners.
"Likewise," Robyn said, though she didn't sound entirely convinced.
Warren felt a little bit guilty. He should probably have gone through the introduction motions before he had flown her ten minutes across the city to where the jet was hidden. But despite the confusion and disorientation Robyn must have been feeling, she seemed fairly cool and collected.
Jack sat back down in her chair and proceeded to spin round on it in a very childish, but strangely endearing manner. She smiled over at him and Warren felt his heart beat a little faster. Even after three months of dating she still held that power over him, and he thought she probably would forever.
"We just have to wait for Storm to get back now," Jack said to Robyn, "When she does we'll decide what's the best thing to do."
"I get the distinct impression that 'the best thing' is not going to involve me going about my life as normal," Robyn said, "You're going to have to take back that promise."
"I wish I could say otherwise, but I think you're right," Jack said.
Warren watched Robyn as she sighed resignedly, sitting back in her chair, pushing her hair and glasses back once again. She was an incredibly beautiful woman, made somehow even more so by the fact that she didn't know it. There was a wonderful shyness about her that most beautiful people didn't possess.
"It's not so bad," Jack said, "If worst comes to worst you could always come and stay with us for a while, until things blow over."
"And though that might not sound like such a thrilling prospect right now," Warren said, "It honestly isn't as bad as it appears."
"You mean to say you aren't always trying to kill each other?" Robyn asked, a wry smile gracing her face.
"Not always," Jack laughed, "We get on like a house on fire, don't we Logan?"
"If you say so," Logan growled.
"I thought names were a members only privilege," Robyn said.
"Well, so is being on our jet really," Jack said.
"In other words Jack is really rubbish at remembering to use codenames," Kitty said, walking though the wall of the jet and punching the open button to let the others in.
It had taken Warren a while to get used to Kitty appearing at random like this, and he felt a wave of sympathy towards Robyn when she jumped in surprise.
"Magneto gone?" Jack asked.
"Yeah, not sure what Storm did, but she got him to go away," Kitty said with a shrug.
The rest of the team were walking up the ramp behind her. Bobby and Peter were talking animatedly about defeating one of the Multiples, Mystique was looking as cool as ever, back in her human guise that she maintained more often than not these days (Warren personally believed it was a small rebellion against Magneto) with Storm, Nightcrawler and Hank following behind.
"Everyone here?" Storm asked.
"All present and accounted for, I believe," Hank said, looking round.
"Get strapped in and ready to head back then," Storm said, before walking over to where Robyn was sat.
Kurt Wagner had returned from Germany a couple of weeks after the events that lead to Rogue leaving the X-men. He had been visiting his family for a year before returning to stay in America indefinitely. A year wasn't that long, but there had been an amazing amount of change in the mansion, from the death of Scott and Xavier himself to the arrival of new teacher Warren and Mystique's dramatic side change. It had taken a lot to get used to.
After a brief period of mourning Xavier, Scott and Jean, Kurt had endeavoured to help out around the mansion in any way he could. He taught language classes to the students to give them a richer curriculum, and acted as a priest to those students who were religious, along with general helping out in Danger Room sessions and X-men duties. In a way he felt guilty for leaving the X-men at a time when they could have really used another helping hand, but Storm had insisted that he was where he needed to be.
Sat now in the X-jet, with his friends who had become celebrities in America during his absence, Kurt couldn't help thinking what a long way he had come from the days he had spent running because someone had used a potion to make him do what they wanted, namely assassinating the President. Kurt still thanked God every day that he had not succeeded. Thanks to the President, Mutants were now in a much better position, and that would not have been possible had Kurt killed him.
"I'm very sorry about all of this," Storm's voice broke him out of his musings, "My name is Ororo Munroe, perhaps better known as 'Storm'."
She was talking to the new woman, a dark haired beauty of about twenty-five.
"Robyn Meredith," she replied, standing up and finding Storm's hand to shake, "Jack told me you were in charge of whatever organisation or operation this is."
Kurt looked over at Jack. She was one of the many new things he had had to get used to. Whereas Warren was a simple and honest soul, amiable and easy going, and even Mystique came with a certain amount of 'what you see is what you get', Jack was something else altogether.
In all honesty he hadn't even noticed her when he had first returned to the mansion. It was only when he had a run in with Logan that had deteriorated down into him muttering insults in German that she had caught his attention.
"If you're going to insult him at least say it in English so everyone else can laugh at his expense," she said to him in perfect German.
He looked over at her, taking in her scruffy hair, unconcerned manner and her eyes sparkling with a hint of mischief.
"I don't believe we've been introduced," he said, "I am Kurt Wagner."
"Jack Starbright," she replied, "Well, not really, but that's a long story."
He had been about to ask her to tell him, but she had been dragged off by Kitty to discuss their English homework. Briefly she had turned round, caught his eye and winked, before allowing herself to be shepherded into Kitty's room.
Kurt pulled himself back to the present in time to hear Storm say to Robyn, "Well, you are welcome to come with us, of course. I know it's hardly ideal, but given the circumstances perhaps it's the best option."
"You mean given that I'm likely to be attacked and kidnapped if I stay in my house, and tracked down if I try to move?" Robyn said.
"Pretty much," Jack said.
"We can keep you safe from Magneto," Storm continued, "but it will mean leaving all your friends and family behind."
"Family not a problem, I don't have any," Robyn said, "But can't I at least leave my boss and friends messages?"
"If Magneto finds anyone who he might be able to use as leverage over you then he probably will," Jack said, "You'd be better off making a clean break, at least until Magneto's backed off a bit. I mean, do your friends even know you're a mutant?"
"No," Robyn replied, "it's not really been the right political climate to go about broadcasting information like that."
Hank chuckled.
"Will Magneto ever back off?" Robyn asked.
"The thing with Magneto is he has very strange values," Jack said, "Once he gains a certain amount of respect for you he'll leave you alone. It shouldn't be too hard for you to earn that respect, being as powerful as you are."
"I have to earn my potential kidnapper's respect?" Robyn asked, disbelief ringing clear in her voice.
"I know, it seems backwards," Jack said, "But it'll work."
"Whatever," Robyn said, "Just get me out of here before he turns on my friends an colleagues."
"You heard the lady," Logan said, "Get this heap of junk back to Westchester."
Robyn sat at the back of the jet in a semi-shocked state. The events of the day were starting to catch up with her and as more miles rolled by beneath her, the more confused and dreadful she felt.
"How you holding up?" Jack asked, coming to sit by her.
"I've been better," Robyn said, "It's not every day you end up being taken halfway across the world because some maniac has it in his head that he wants to kidnap you."
"It sucks, I know," Jack said, "But of all the places to be dragged halfway across the world to, Xavier's is probably one of the nicest. At least for people like you."
"People like us don't you mean?" Robyn asked, wondering why Jack felt she was different to her.
"Well, I'm an exception," she said, "I got dragged halfway across the Universe."
Robyn couldn't quite tell if Jack was being serious, but before she could ask, the girl had moved on to a different topic of conversation.
"You'll feel better once you know who everyone is," Jack said, "And I don't mean stupid codenames either, I always forget to use them anyway. You've already met Kitty. Iceman's real name is Robert Drake, or Bobby, then there's Peter sat next to him. Mystique's real name is Raven but everyone just calls her Mystique, then there's Hank McCoy…"
"As in the politician?" Robyn interrupted.
"That's the one," Jack said, "Secretary of Mutant Affairs. He's sat on the chair next to Mystique. Behind him is Logan, who you already know, and next to him is Kurt."
"Who's W. Worthington?" Robyn asked, remembering the card Cherie had told her about, "or did you steal that credit card?"
"No!" Jack protested, "it's his," she pointed over to where Angel was sitting.
Angel turned in his chair, looking back at them. Robyn could sense a certain amount of amusement emanating from him. It was obvious to her that he was very fond of Jack.
"Warren Worthington, the third, the only person around here rich enough to have a credit card he can afford to let Kitty get her hands on!" Jack said with a laugh, "That's everybody, isn't it?"
"I think so," Warren said, containing a laugh as he turned back round.
Robyn wasn't sure if she felt any better for knowing everyone's names. Sure the presence of esteemed politician and Mutant Rights Activist Hank McCoy had been something of a reassurance, but it didn't really detract from the fact that she was about to land in a completely different town in a completely different country on a completely different continent. Robyn didn't like changes. It took her a long time to get comfortable with a place, and once she had she didn't like to leave it. She hadn't moved since her Mother died ten years ago.
Please review! Xx