It was late by the time the Blackbird returned to the Institute, the sun having long set beneath the horizon. Many of the passengers had dozed off, among them Alexis. She had ended up almost leaning on Logan, much to his chagrin. As the massive jet descended into the hanger bay, the Professor wheeled out to meet them. Once the gangplank lowered, Logan stormed out in a huff, his knuckles tight. The Professor immediately rolled over to intercept him, looking less than thrilled.
"Logan, this is unacceptable behavior." he chastised. "Do you realize what might have happened had Scott and the others not gotten there when they did?"
Logan just ignored him as he walked past, fuming mad himself. The Professor turned to go after him, but that's when Scott descended the gangplank with a still snoozing Alexis in his arms.
"Scott, what happened over there?" he inquired.
"Kurt decided to stay behind in Haven City to complete his recovery." Scott answered. "Logan was less than thrilled, so this young woman offered herself up as a hostage."
"Well then," The Professor remarked. "This certainly complicates matters."
He looked over Alexis, noting a few bruises on her arms, as well as the cast on her hand. He turned to Jean, who was exiting the ship.
"Jean, take this young woman to the infirmary." he requested. "Make sure she's not badly injured after her encounter with Logan."
Jean nodded, then she and Scott walked out of the hanger bay.
"The rest of you should get some rest." the Professor suggested. "It has been a long night for everyone."
The others nodded as they left the jet, with Gambit casually throwing his arm around Rogue. As they left, the Professor's face fell. He turned and rolled off, chasing down Logan.
…
In the danger room, Logan let loose on the training robots, tearing through one right after the other with his claws. Forge watched from the observation booth, wincing with every lethal take down.
"Man, what pissed him off this time?" he commented.
"That, my dear Forge, is a long story." The Professor told him, entering the booth. "One that will have to wait for another time."
Forge looked back, seeing the serious expression of Xavier's face.
"Oh boy… Don't tell me he got into it again with Scott."
"No, not exactly." Xavier told him. "It involves someone… else this time."
Forge gave a slow nod, getting to his feet.
"I'll uh… go see how the spare wheels held up."
With that, Forge took his leave of the booth. Xavier went over to the control console and activated the intercom.
"Logan, we need to talk."
Logan just ignored him as he dug his claws into another robot before picking him up and throwing him at another. With a sigh, the Professor shut down the entire program, locking the door for good measure.
"I will not repeat myself."
Logan just sighed as he retracted his claws.
"I'm all ears Chuck!" Logan called out.
The Professor descended from the booth, rolling up to Logan with a stern expression.
"Logan, what you did was reckless, dangerous, and incredibly ill conceived. What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that one of our own was in trouble." Logan replied. "What did you expect me to do, just leave him there?"
"I expected you to obey orders." Xavier corrected. "Haven City is the only refuge for our kind that the MRD is not actively seeking. Thousands of mutants flock there to escape the prejudice the humans subject them to, and had your brash actions been allowed to play through, you would have placed them all in grave danger."
Logan didn't have a response to that, so he just stood there grumbling.
"Now we have a guest that requires my attention." Xavier declared. "In the meantime, you are to remain civil with her at all times, and I expect you to remain in the school until further notice."
"...fine." Logan finally spoke.
With a small nod, Xavier left the danger room, leaving Logan to brood in his solitude.
...
Jean finished a full bio-scan of Alexis down in the infirmary, going over her findings on a small tablet. Alexis was still zonked out, laying on her back on one of the exam tables. While Jean was working, Xavier entered the infirmary, curious to see how their patient was doing.
"Professor, you're just in time." Jean called out, not looking up from her tablet.
"In time for what, Jean?" Xavier asked.
"I just finished my examination." Jean answered. "The results are… interesting to say the least."
"How so?" he inquired.
"Well, at first glance, she appears completely healthy." Jean explained. "Some superficial bruising from her encounter with Logan, and her hand was broken about two days ago. Considering the confirmed presence of a healer in the city, the rate at which she's healing is to be expected."
"I'm assuming you found something more." Xavier guessed.
"Two things that stood out." Jean replied. "The first thing is her metabolism levels. They're incredibly high. They're nowhere near the level of a speedsters, like Quicksilver, but they're still abnormally high for a girl her age. More than that, her body does not appear to have anyway of maintaining energy. Her muscles and her liver should be atrophied, but they're not, and she does not appear to have any fat on her at all."
"Interesting." Xavier admitted. "What was the second thing?"
"Professor… she's human." Jean explained.
The Professor raised an eyebrow at that.
"Is she now?" he mused.
"Yes, my scanners did not pick up any trace of an X-Gene." Jean went on. "She's 100% human."
"I see." he responded. "Regardless, we should still treat her as a guest. Have her set up in one of the spare rooms."
"Professor, there's only one room currently not in use." Jean pointed out. "Kurt's room."
Xavier chuckled.
"I doubt that will be an issue, considering how friendly she and Kurt were when we checked on them." He replied. "If anything, I think she will be quite comfortable there."
Jean nodded and picked Alexis up using her telekinesis.
"Logan's gonna love this." she muttered offhand.
...
Alexis slowly woke up, giving a long stretch before rubbing her eyes. As she cracked her eyes open, she was surprised to find herself in an unfamiliar room. It was very neat and orderly, a fair-sized crucifix hanging on the wall being the only real decoration. She was in a large bed, still in her clothes, even if her jacket and shoes had been removed.
"Man, what time is it?"
She rolled over on the bed, noticing that the clock read that it was the middle of the night. However, that was not the only thing she saw. Perched on top of the clock was a small creature that almost looked like a chibi version of Nightcrawler. It was snoring cutely, and it appeared to be completely naked.
"What the-?"
She cut herself off once she saw that it was not the only one. The bed she was in was completely swarmed with the creatures, all of them curled up like cats on the sheets.
"Uh… I don't remember Kurt telling me he had siblings." she whispered to herself.
She slowly slid out of the bed, attempting to stealthily escape the room. Unbeknownst to her, one of the creatures saw her leave and scampered after her, slipping out of the room with her as she closed the door behind her.
She quickly noticed it once it bamfed onto her head, scaring the ever living daylights out of her.
"Holy-!"
It quickly covered her mouth, shushing her wordlessly. She recovered herself, then nodded. The creature smiled, then bamfed onto her shoulder.
"Well… Guess I have a hitchhiker then." she noted. "You wouldn't happen to know where the kitchen is… Would you?"
"That would be down the stairs and to the left." A Cajun voice told her.
Alexis turned around, finding herself face to face with the infamous pink-eyed Cajun. Gambit approached her kindly, taking note of the small being on her shoulder.
"Looks like you made a friend." He remarked, gesturing to the small creature. "It's strange. The Bamfs don't usually like anyone but Kurt."
"Bamfs?" Alexis repeated, looking up at the imp. "So that's what all those things were. I just thought they were Kurt's siblings are something."
"They are, in a manner of speaking." Gambit replied before offering out his hand. "However, all this talk of Bamfs has sadly pulled me off topic. I do believe I was about to introduce myself. Name's Remy LeBeau, though my fellow X-Men refer to me as Gambit."
Alexis gave a nod, grinning in recognition.
"So you're the famous Gambit." she said, taking his hand. "Kurt's told me a lot about you."
"All good I hope." Gambit replied, placing a gentlemanly kiss on her hand.
"If you call describing you as a womanizer, a thief, and a card shark good, then yes." she replied, sliding her hand out of his grasp with a playful smirk. "Were we back in Haven City, I'd probably arrest you on sight."
"Well we're not, so how about a friendly game?" Gambit offered.
"Help me finish my hunt for a midnight snack, and I'll consider your offer." Alexis promised. "I'd kill for some Oreos and cream soda right now."
"That can be arranged." Gambit told her.
…
The two sat in the mansion's kitchen, a large variety of snacks strewn out on the counter between them. Gambit had managed to locate a few bottles of cream soda, the two of them now sipping on a pair.
"Man, I can't believe how much junk food this place has." she remarked.
"Well this is a school containing a lot of kids." Gambit reminded.
"True." she replied, biting into an Oreo. "You know, this reminds me of game night back in the precinct. Once a month, me, my dad, and our deputy Paul would buy out the grocery store's supply of junk food and play cards until dawn."
"Sounds like fun." Gambit replied. "What games you good at?"
"A good number." Alexis bragged, smirking a bit. "Blackjack, Texas Hold 'em, five card poker, and even the mundane ones like Bullshit, Go Fish, Hearts, and Spades."
"Quite the repertoire." Gambit commented. "You know, I'm a bit of a poker wiz myself."
"Yes, Kurt told me that's your favorite game to cheat at." Alexis replied. "However, I'd be willing to play, if you swear to play straight and not tip the odds in your favor."
"Fair enough." Gambit allowed, pulling out a deck of cards. "Besides, I only cheat on 'special' occasions."
Alexis tossed an Oreo up to her Bamf as Gambit shuffled and dealt the cards. He then glanced over his shoulder with a knowing look.
"Perhaps you'd care to join us, Logan." he offered.
Alexis looked over and saw Logan leaning in the doorway, watching the two of them.
"Oh, hey." Alexis said with a wave. "Listen, I want to apologize for back in Haven City. I shouldn't have shot at you."
Logan just fumed in response, not saying anything. She watched him go, wincing.
"He doesn't like me, does he?" she asked.
"He doesn't warm up to people easily." Gambit admitted. "Don't worry about it too much."
"I'll try." Alexis told him as they began the game.
...
Rogue walked through the halls of the institute, trying to find Gambit. He'd been eluding her for most of the night, and she was determined to find out why. Once she saw light emitting from the kitchen, she started to approach. Then, she heard Alexis in the middle of a game with Gambit.
"Alright, I see your two thin mints and raise you four thanks-a-lots."
"Hefty bet there, petit." Gambit remarked. "Hope you got the cards to match it."
"Alright, let's see you beat a full house." Alexis challenged.
Rogue's eyes widened a bit, having never been able to get more than two pair off of Gambit. She peered around the corner watching as Alexis displayed her cards, much to Gambit's surprise.
"Well, well." Gambit let out. "Looks like you know your stuff after all."
"Know enough to know that there's no way I won seven games in a row without help." Alexis pointed out. "Finding a loophole in my promise."
"You told me not to tip the odds in my favor petit." Gambit told her, flat-out admitting to Alexis' accusation. "You never said anything about tipping them in your favor."
"Fer the love ah Pete, Gambit." Rogue let out as she made her presence known. "You can't go one day without doing something underhanded, can ya?"
"What can I say, Chere?" Gambit responded. "It's part of my charm."
Alexis looked up at Rogue, giving a wave.
"Hey there." she greeted. "I'm Alexis."
"Hey." Rogue replied. "Names Rogue. Remy treating ya right?"
"He's trying." Alexis assured her before smirking. "So you're Rogue. Kurt said you and Gambit were an item."
"Guilty as charged." Rogue confirmed. "Though there are times when ah wonder why."
"Aw come on, Chere." Gambit replied, standing up and wrapping his arm around her. "Ya know ya can't resist me."
Alexis gagged, turning around. The Bamf on her shoulder tried to be helpful by covering her eyes.
"You're worse than my parents were, jeez." Alexis let out.
"I'll take that as a compliment, petit." Gambit remarked.
"Well, I think I best get some sleep anyhow." Alexis remarked. "I've got a feeling tomorrow will be… interesting to say the least."
"I suppose so." Gambit replied as he and Rogue walked off.
Alexis watched them go, then let out a yawn, her fatigue catching up to her. She shuffled off to bed, the Bamf curling up on her shoulder as she walked.
...
Scott approached Kurt's room, feeling more than a little bit awkward. This was his first time dealing with a hostage situation where he was the one holding said hostage. He didn't know how she would be coping with her situation, or even how the rest of the mansion would handle her presence. Still, he knew that the situation would have to be addressed sooner rather than later.
He knocked on the door, but didn't hear so much as a peep. He knocked again, and this time, one of Kurt's Bamfs opened the door. It perched on the doorknob, shushing Scott before pointing at Alexis. She was sprawled out on the bed in an awkward position, the remaining Bamfs all clustered around her like cats. Many were even on top of her, including on her head.
"Well… looks like she settled in nicely." He commented aloud.
At the sound of Scott's voice, Alexis shot up on the bed, sending several Bamfs flying as she did.
"I'm awake!" she announced loudly.
"Well glad to hear it." Scott remarked.
She looked over at him, blushing madly as she tried to straighten out her bedhead. This proved difficult with a Bamf still perched on her head.
"Sorry..." she muttered. "I do that… a lot actually."
"It's alright." Scott reassured. "Breakfast is ready in the kitchen when you're ready."
Scott then exited the room, closing the door behind him and waiting. Alexis quickly scrambled to make herself presentable, sniffing her clothes and recoiling in disgust.
"Okay, I definitely need to clean these." she remarked. "Maybe there's some spare clothes I can borrow for the time being."
She slipped into Kurt's bathroom, preparing to take a shower. As she did, the Bamfs raided Kurt's clothes, throwing them everywhere as they searched for something she could wear. By the time she got out, the entire room was a mess, and an outfit had been laid out for her on the bed.
"Man… and I thought I was messy." she commented.
She got dressed, then walked out of the room to see Scott waiting.
"For the record, the Bamfs made the mess." she said in her defense, her hitchhiker from last night resuming his post on her shoulder.
"Yeah, that seems to be their specialty." Scott remarked. "This way."
He led her down the hall towards the dining area, watching her out of the corner of his eyes. She chuckled in amusement, sticking her hands in the pockets of her borrowed jeans.
"Escorting me through the premises to make sure I don't try to make a break for it?" she quipped good-naturedly.
The Bamf let out a small laugh, placing a hand in front of its mouth. Scott glanced down at her, a bit surprised by her good humor.
"Just looking out for our guest." Scott replied.
"Guest." Alexis repeated. "What is this, beauty and the beast? If so, I left my Prince Adam back in Haven City."
Once the words left her lips, she blushed badly, covering her mouth. The Bamf on her head was cackling, kicking its feet in the air.
"Well at least you have a little reminder of him." Scott joked, gesturing to the creature.
"Yeah, I suppose so." Alexis admitted before regaining herself. "Look, you don't need to sugarcoat anything for me. I know what I signed up to be the second I made this deal."
"Just trying to make you feel comfortable." Scott told her.
"Well, you'd be the first." Alexis replied.
She then stopped walking, her fingers drumming slightly in her pockets.
"Look, I figure I'm going to be here for a while, and you're going to find out about this eventually." she began. "I just… I want to get this over with so I don't have to wait for the other shoe to drop."
"Get what over with?" Scott questioned.
Alexis took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and closed her eyes.
"I'm human." she said quickly.
Scott stood there a bit surprised by the revelation. Alexis secretly prepared for him to lash out or yell at her, possibly even accuse her of some wrongdoing. Instead, he just gave a nod.
"Alright then." he said, turning to resume walking. "Come on, breakfast is getting cold."
Alexis blinked, then quickly caught up with him.
"Wait, you're not upset?"
"Why would I be?" Scott asked.
"Because… well… you know..."
"Look kid." Scott cut her off. "There are good humans, and bad humans. Just like there are good mutants and bad mutants. We don't judge you based on your genetics, we judge you based on the kind of person you are."
Alexis let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that.
"Thank God..." she said softly. "I know Kurt said you guys practiced tolerance, but I was a bit worried."
"I suppose you had reason to." Scott admitted. "Being a human in a city of mutants must not have been easy."
"No it was not..." Alexis admitted, pulling her casted hand out of her pocket. "This isn't the first injury I've received as 'vengeance' for the 'crimes of my species'."
Scott winced at the thought of the other injuries she might have received.
"Well, you won't have to worry about that here." Scott reassured.
"That's a relief." Alexis told him. "Though would you mind not telling Wolverine? I have a feeling he's not as… accepting as you guys are. And I think he already hates me."
"Fair enough." Scott agreed. "Don't worry, your secret is yours to do with as you please."
"Thanks Cyclops." she told him.
"It's Scott." he replied, opening to doors to the dining hall.
X-Men and students alike were gathered in the Dining Hall as Scott ushered Alexis in. Many of the students began whispering amongst themselves, some teachers eying Alexis curiously.
"Everyone, this is Alexis Ryder." Scott introduced. "For the next couple of weeks, she will be staying here at the institute."
"Why does she have one of those weird imps on her head?" a young student that resembled a fish questioned.
"Sammy, what did we say about raising our hands?" Ororo chastised.
"Sorry Miss Monroe." Sammy apologized.
"As I was saying, she'll be staying here for a few weeks, and I want you all to treat her like you would like to be treated." Scott continued. "Help her out, make sure she doesn't get lost, and please do not pull any of your usual shenanigans Bobby."
Bobby, a young man that almost seemed to be made entirely of ice, just gave a small shrug.
"Oh come on, Scott." he let out. "What do you take me for?"
"A troublemaker." Scott answered honestly.
Alexis chuckled, then took her seat at the breakfast table. Sitting right next to her was Kitty, who immediately scooted up close.
"Hey there." Kitty greeted. "We never got properly introduced. Name's Kitty Pryde, aka Shadowcat."
"Hey." Alexis replied. "Alexis Ryder, aka X-Gene."
"Nice to meet you." Kitty told her, handing her a plate laden with pancakes and bacon. "Gotta say, that was pretty gutsy, standing up to Logan the way you did."
"I've been facing down people like him since I hit puberty." Alexis informed her, taking a bite of bacon before handing a slice up to her Bamf. "I'm used to it by now."
"Wow, and here I thought you were just some nurse looking after Kurt." Kitty remarked.
"Nope, I'm a deputy." Alexis corrected.
"Still pretty cool." Kitty admitted. "Now eat up, or your new friend will eat all your bacon."
Alexis glanced down at her plate just in time to see a small, imp-like tail hooking onto a piece of bacon on her plate. She tried to reach for it, but the Bamf easily kept it out of her reach, taking a massive bite out of it.
"Hey!" she let out, looking up at the imp playfully. "That's mine!"
Kitty laughed at Alexis tried to get at the mischievous creature, getting the feeling that she was going to fit in just fine around the institute.
…
The rest of the day proved to be rather eventful for Alexis. Many of the students had heard about Haven City, and once word got out that she was born and raised their, she spend hours playing twenty questions with them. It wasn't until lunch time that she was finally able to catch a break. Ororo slipped her a plate of what looked like pulled pork, allowing her to disappear into Kurt's room for a much needed break. The Bamfs converged on her as she slid down against the door, raiding the French fries on the plate as she was finally able to catch her breath.
"Is it always like this here?" she asked the small creatures.
Her designated Bamf just nodded, holding out a French fry for her. She took it, then began eating away on her pulled pork sandwich. As she ate, she looked at the various Bamfs across the room, making her realize how much she was starting to miss their larger counterpart.
"I wonder how Kurt's doing…" she muttered to herself.
A Bamf off to the side perked up when she said that, a big grin on his face. He scampered into a pile of discarded clothes, fishing around for a moment with his tail waving in the air. He then came out with Alexis' cellphone in his grip, bringing it over to her happily. She took it from him, slightly confused.
"My phone?" she questioned. "Why are you giving me this?"
The Bamf pushed the phone closer towards her, as if urging her to use it.
"You want me to call him?" she inquired. "But I can't. He doesn't have a phone to answer with."
An idea then stuck her as she opened up her contacts list on her phone.
"Or does he…?" she mused.
…
Kurt sat on the edge of his bed in his cell, working on some physical therapy exercises for his freshly healed arm. It was about all he had to do now that Alexis had left. Sheriff Ryder had his duties to the city to attend to, and while Paul did try to keep him entertained, he was always distracted by all the copies he had to maintain to keep the city protected.
All of a sudden, Sheriff Ryder appeared at the door, carrying the landline phone from Alexis' desk on a long extension cord. He opened the door, causing Kurt to look up in confusion.
"Sheriff Ryder." He greeted in surprise. "I did not know it vas time to eat."
"It's not." The Sheriff replied, a knowing grin on his face as he set the phone down just inside the cell. "But I have a feeling you'll be needing this."
Before Kurt could question why, the phone began to ring. The Sheriff smirked, walking out of the cell before closing it behind him. Kurt watched him go, then slid off of the bed towards the phone. He used his tail to hook onto the receiver, bringing it to his ear.
"Hallo?" he greeted.
"Is it weird that I could tell you were speaking German?" Alexis' voice answered back.
Kurt's face lit up as he adjusted his position to one that was more comfortable.
"Alexis!" he practically cheered. "Vhy are you calling me? I thought it vas-"
"I'm calling from my cellphone." Alexis explained. "Nothing off about calling the office, right?"
Kurt chuckled, leaning back on his bed.
"Ja." He replied. "So, are of ze X-Men treating you?"
"Like a guest of honor." She answered. "Everyone's been real nice so far. Scott took a load off my shoulders when he told me he didn't care about who, or what I was, only the kind of person I was."
"I told you ze X-Men vere different." Kurt reminded her.
"That they are." Alexis agreed. "I've got to meet Gambit, and he's exactly like you described."
"Should I be worried?" Kurt asked playfully.
"Nah." Alexis assured him. "He may cheat at cards, but he doesn't cheat on his girl. Besides, he's not my type."
"Oh?" Kurt let out, raising an eyebrow. "And pray tell, vhat is your type?"
"Well, he's about 5' 9", built like a gymnast, has got the most breathtaking yellow eyes." She listed off.
"Aw, you're making me blush." Kurt told her.
They both laughed a bit, then Alexis let out a sigh. Then, the speaker was filled with the sound of childish laughter. Kurt recognized it, a smile on his face.
"I see you've met mein little brothers." Kurt remarked.
"Right." Alexis commented. "Gambit called them… 'Bamfs'. Are they really your brothers?"
"In a matter of speaking." Kurt replied. "Zey are a race of lesser demons that have been fed my blood. Zis iz vhat gave zem mein abilities."
"That much I noticed." Alexis commented. "I've got one that seems to have decided to settle onto my head and/or my shoulder."
"Zat iz a first." Kurt let out. "Zhen again, zhey are your type apparently.
"If I was in the room with you, I'd totally punch you in the arm for that." Alexis informed him.
The two laughed again, the sound echoing through the cellblock. Sheriff Ryder leaned against the wall, a happy smile on his face as he circled a section of predictions in his journal.
"This is one of my favorite timelines." He said to himself as he resumed his duties, allowing the two friends to talk.