X-Men 3: Here To Stay An original X-Men movie fan fiction

Written by: Jennifer S. a.k.a. AssassinElektra

Disclaimer:

I do not own the X-Men or any other Marvel Comics characters. This is a fan fiction story meant solely for the enjoyment of myself and other X-Men movie and comic fans.

Title: Here To Stay

Genre: Action/Adventure, Romance, science fiction, Marvel comics

Setting: This fic takes place shortly after the X-Men 2: Mutants Unite movie and is set in the movieverse.

Rating: PG-13, for violence

Author's Note: Okay, the initial cast that would play this sequel in a movie you all ready know from X2, but there are new characters who I've imagined certain actors playing.

Gambit is a hard role to cast, as you have to find someone who can not only do the accent perfectly but someone who has chemistry with Rogue and the personality of Gambit. I've always thought that James Marsters (Spike from Buffy) would be a great Gambit because he looks like him and we already know he can do accents from Buffy. However, he's too old for Anna, who plays Rogue. So, I've been thinking about it and decided that the actor Jonathan Scarfe (Joseph Smith in The Work and The Glory as well as Carter's heroine-addicted cousin in ER) would be a great actor to play Gambit. He's young enough to have a romance with Anna, and he's an incredible actor, so I think he'd have no problem portraying our favorite Cajun thief. Anyway, I'm just letting you all know this so that you know who I'm envisioning as Gambit when I write him. I'm going to Photoshop a picture of both James Marsters and Jonathan Scarfe as Gambit when I get the chance, and I'll put a link to those pictures in one of the future chapters if anyone is interested in seeing them. Thank you, as always, for reading this fic! I'm still deciding who I think would play a good Kitty Pryde (besides myself, lol) so I'll let you know when I find an actress I think would do a good job. Enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 7

I Might Like It

Manchester, New York Professor Charles Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters

"Trying to hook the Cajun up with Rogue?" Kitty looked over at Pyro, surprised to see him there. He gave her a suave look that made her blush. "I don't think we've ever officially met." He said, shaking her hand. "I'm Pyro."

"You were in my science class last year." Kitty told me.

Pyro thought about it. "Oh yeah. You were the computer whiz, right?" Kitty smiled shyly.

"Yes."

"You're the only reason I passed second semester, you know that?" Pyro said, sounding grateful. "So, what's with this new kid and Rogue anyway?"

"They like each other." Kitty said. She was not sure why she was confiding with this almost stranger, but something about the way he looked at her made her want to tell him everything.

"So, you're hooking them up then?" Pyro concluded. "How did you become the middle man?"

"Rogue's my roommate." Kitty told him. Pyro raised an eyebrow.

"Then you know everything about her." He said.

"Well, not everything, but…" She started to tell him, but Pyro reached out and touched her arm, and Kitty, without even meaning to, let it phase through. "I'm sorry." She said as he pulled his hand away.

"Kitty Pryde." Pyro said, a look of recognition crossing his face. "The girl who can walk through walls." He looked pleased, like this new realization gave him ideas, but they were sinister ideas.

"That's me." She said. "Aren't you the one who left with Magneto?" There was no shyness in Kitty's voice when she asked Pyro that.

"Yeah. For a while." Pyro said, and then, as if he were trying to convince himself he added, "But I'm back now."

"Are you?" Kitty started walking away, suddenly suspicious.

"Would they let me in the building if I wasn't?" Pyro asked. "The Professor can just, you know, read my mind and tell you if I'm lying if you're that worried about it."

"I'm not worried." Kitty said, turning around suddenly. She almost ran into Pyro as she had been unaware that he was right behind her, and just as she stumbled backwards, he reached out and caught her.

"Sorry, Kitten." He said, smiling at her. Their faces were so close that she could feel his breath against her skin. "Didn't mean to frighten you."

"Vat is zis?" Pyro pulled away suddenly and looked at Nightcrawler, who was eyeing him with his own suspicions.

"We ran into each other accidentally." Pyro said, laughing to brush it off. "See you later Kitty." He said, leaving.

"I do not trust ze boy." Nightcrawler told her as they watched him walk away. "His return is most unorthodox."

"I think he really wants to come back." Kitty said, surprising even herself.

"Nevertheless, 've should pay close attention to him." Nightcrawler said. "Kitty," She looked at him, "The Professor vould like to speak with you in his office."

"Is he awake?" Nightcrawler nodded, and Kitty took of towards Xavier's office with a smile on her face. "Professor…" She phased through the wall, then stopped cold in her tracks from embarrassment as she saw that Peter was there too. She smiled shyly at him and took her place beside Bobby on the other end of the room.

"Has anyone seen Rogue?" The Professor asked.

"She said she was taking a quick trip into town." Storm said, speaking up quickly. Everyone was present in the room, except for Rogue. Storm, Nightcrawler—who had bamphed into the room moments before, Cyclops, Logan, and even Jean, sat in front of the Professor's desk. Standing around were Bobby, Peter, Gambit, and Kitty. Everyone turned to look at the door as it opened and Pyro walked in.

"Sorry I'm late." He said, taking a chair. The Professor smiled at him, but Logan eyed him suspiciously.

"That's quite all right, John." The Professor told him, and everyone noticed Pyro's disgust at the use of his real name. "As you all know, this school not only helps other students like yourself," He said, speaking to Kitty, Peter, Gambit and Pyro, "but it houses the headquarters for the X-Men, a team of mutants that have banded together in the name of protecting humanity."

"Even though they hate us." Pyro said darkly.

The Professor ignored the comment and continued. "For a while, Jean is going to be taking a break from being an X-Men." He explained. "And Cyclop's has decided to take some time off as well to be at her side. This leaves two openings in the X-Men that must be filled in order to maintain the safety of this school and people of this world alike."

"What are you saying?" Pyro asked, pulling his lighter out of his pant's pocket. "You want us to put on the leather and start hacking along side the big guns?"

"Look, kid, you're…" The Professor held up his hand and Logan stopped speak.

"We are saying that two positions are open and must be filled with our most promising students, at least for a while. You four show the potential needed." The Professor said.

"You mean we would be X-Men?" Kitty asked.

"How come Bobby got to be one before us?" Pyro asked, motioning toward Bobby as he flicked his lighter open. "I mean, he's a few months younger than I am."

"Because he didn't abandon his friends for Magneto." Logan remarked sharply. Pyro glared at him then looked back at the Professor.

"Okay, let's say I try this submissive thing for once. What do you want us to do?" He asked.

"You will begin training to become an X-Men immediately." The Professor said. "For the next few days we will keep a close watch on your skills and abilities and then decide which two of you will become members of the team."

"So, we are to all train even though only two will be chosen?" Peter asked.

"Yes." The Professor said. "Scott, Storm, and Jean, if she feels up to it, will be the ones training you." He glanced at Jean, who was holding her head as if it were in pain. "Are you all right, Jean?" Everyone looked at her. Realizing she was the center of attention, Jean looked up and tried to brush off the pain with a faked smile.

"I'm just tired." She lied. Then, glancing at Storm, who seemed uncomfortable with her gaze, she added. "Someone who's here isn't supposed to be." She said.

"What are you talking about Jean?" Scott asked. "We're among friends."

"Mostly." Logan said, glaring at Pyro.

The Professor turned to Kitty, Peter, Pyro, and Gambit. "You are dismissed. We will let you know when training will begin." He smiled at them, and they all left—Pyro last of all. He glanced back suspiciously, then left, flicking his lighter closed and putting it into his pocket.

X X X X X X X X X X

"They're enlisting a couple of the older students to become X-Men, Shaw." Storm said, speaking to her cell phone quietly so that no one could hear her. "And I think that Jean is beginning to suspect me."

"Well, don't let her." Shaw said on the other end of the line. "Gain her trust. Our intelligence tell us that Storm and Jean were good friends."

"She's a telepath, though." Storm argued. "She'll see that I'm not…" She paused and smiled as Scott walked by. "Sorry, Cyclops was just…"

"Look, I don't care how you do it, Emma. Just gain their trust." Shaw said, and then he hung up.

"Fine." Storm said, slamming the phone as she folded it and threw it into her pocket.

X X X X X X X X X X

"Kitty?" She stopped walking and turned to look at Peter, a smile automatically coming across her face at the sight of him.

"Yes, Peter?" He smiled back when she said his name.

"Are we still going to dinner Friday?" He asked.

"If we don't have to train." She said. "I sure hope we don't." Her cheeks turned red as they walked away together.

"It makes me sick." Bobby said, and Pyro gave him a questioning look. "Everyone here has someone except for me."

"Don't let her drag you down, man." Pyro said. "Rogue isn't worth it." Bobby gave him a grateful look.

"Thanks." He said. "But that doesn't make me feel any better."

"You just need to get out of this school." Pyro said, smiling. He pulled his lighter out and began playing with it again. "What do ya say we go out on the town tonight?" He raised an eyebrow.

Bobby smiled. "I can't." He said. "The last thing I need is to get in trouble because I broke curfew."

"Oh, come on, Iceman! You're not really gonna live your life as the clean-cut prep, are you?" Pyro asked tauntingly. He flicked his lighter on and manipulated the flames to look like a dancing woman.

Bobby smiled again, then placed his hand over the dancing flames. Within seconds they were an ice statue, and Bobby barely caught it before it fell to the ground.

"I hate it when you do that, man." Pyro said.

"I know." Bobby told him.

New York, New York Hellfire Club Headquarters

Sebastian slammed his phone onto the table in front of him, making Storm and Rogue jump. They had just heard his side of the conversation from inside their cell, where he was watching them from a window.

"Looks as if the Professor is getting desperate." Shaw told them. "He's making a couple of the students X-Men." Storm's eyes opened wide, but they were not her own and the sight scared Rogue.

Rogue was still not used to looking at Storm in Emma's body, but she was learning to accept it. Still, it was unsettling to know that somewhere Storm's body was being possessed by a villain.

Storm glared at Shaw and tried to use Emma's telepathic powers. He smiled. "Don't try too hard, Storm." He told her. "The room you're in has neutralized your powers. I'm not taking any chances this time."

"Are you goin' to kill us?" Rogue asked, sounding a bit afraid. She looked afraid too, almost as afraid as she had looked when Magneto had captured her.

"All in good time, my dear." Shaw told her, amused that she cared.

"We'll find a way out!" Rogue screamed in frustration as she pounded her fists against the window. "We'll get out, you monster!" Storm rushed over and tried to pull Rogue back, but she was too angry to be stopped. Shaw smiled form the other side and pressed a button, and the mirror returned.

"I know you can see us!" Rogue screamed, hitting the mirror. "We'll get free! And when we do, I'm coming for you!" Storm backed away, surprised with Rogue's actions.

Manchester, New York Professor Charles Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters

"Logan." Carol said, looking at him. He gave her a glance then walked over to the refrigerator, pulling out a cold coke. "Mutant X." Carol said, and this sparked his interest. He turned and looked at her.

She was sitting at the table, a cup of coffee in one hand and a pair of reading glasses in the other. There was a newspaper sitting on the table.

"What do you know?" Logan asked her accusingly.

"Not much." She admitted, setting her cup of coffee down onto the table. "Only what I've picked up here and there." She thought for a moment. "It must have been painful."

"What?" He snapped.

Carol looked at him. "What Stryker did to you." Logan looked away, irritated. "I'm sorry." Carol said. "It's none of my business." She added.

"I don't remember it." Logan said after a few moments of silence. "But when I went back…" He paused and looked at her, "When I walked into that room, it came back for a moment." In his mind confused memories flashed before his eyes. He closed his eyes in an attempt to make them go away, but this only made them worse, so he opened his eyes again.

"Are you okay?" Carol asked.

"I'm fine." He said. Then he looked at her and noticed that she looked a bit pale. "What about you?"

Carol smiled and laughed quietly. "Oh, I…" She looked at him, "They don't have any alcohol here do they?"

"Girl after my own heart." Logan commented. "But, no. It's a school." He reminded her.

"I'd almost forgotten." Carol said, smiling. "All of the students here are so…grown up."

"They've had to grow up fast." Logan commented, thinking back to the night when the mansion had been attacked.

Camouflaged soldiers all around, shooting the kids and snatching them away.

"I can help you!"

"Help them."

"So, Logan, do you always make your way to the kitchen in the middle of the night?" Carol asked him, bringing him back to the present.

"Couldn't sleep." He said. "Happens a lot around here." He took a swig of his coke and wondered how Jean was doing. He cleared his throat and looked at Carol. "There's a bar not far from here." He told her.

X X X X X X X X X X

Scott tried his best to just lie there and be supportive, but Jean had not spoken to him for hours. She had just laid there, tears pouring down her face as she stared off into the distance at something he could not see.

"Jean." He whispered her name as he reached over to put his arm around her.

She turned on the bed and faced him, a smile coming across her face. "Thank you for staying, Scott." Jean said. "I don't want to be alone." She added, as new tears fell from her eyes.

"You're never alone, Jean." He told her, trying his best to comfort her. But she had died, and that was something that he just could not relate to. "I'm worried about you." He said, kissing her forehead.

Under the covers Jean's hand slipped across Scott's chest and she held him tightly to her. "I know." She whispered. "I…there's this power inside of me that…" She looked away, "I'm afraid I'll lose control, Scott."

"Jean, you've always been able to control your powers better than the rest of us." Scott told her. "You'll be fine."

"Losing control isn't what worries me, Scott." She said. "What does is that if I do lose control, I might like it."

"What are you saying?" Scott asked her.

"I'm saying that…" Jean looked at him and smiled. "I'd like to see your eyes." She reached over to take his visor off, but he sat up quickly and grabbed her hands, pulling them away.

"Jean, you know you can't…" Her hands brushed past his and took his visor off before he could do anything. He kept his eyes closed tightly. "Jean, give me back my visor."

"Open your eyes, Scott." She whispered.

"Jean…"

"Scott, look at me. Don't be afraid." He opened his mouth to argue, but then he felt Jean's hand against his face. Slowly, cautiously, Scott Summers opened his exposed eyes. To his surprise nothing happened. He looked at Jean's smiling face and couldn't help but smile himself.

"How?" He asked.

"I'm telepathically holding your beam at bay, Scott." Jean happily told him. "So that I can look at you." She ran her fingers through his hair. "I love you." She said, leaning in to kiss him.

Manchester, New York Mystie's Bar

"I'm telling you, Bobby, tonight you are going to have the time of your life!" Pyro said, walking over to the bartender. "I've got a first-timer here, Charly. Think you can hook us up?" He asked.

"Sure can, Pyro." The bartender said, sliding two full glasses towards them. "Enjoy. This one's on the house. Your boss came in and paid earlier."

"What boss?" Bobby asked.

"No one." Pyro said, brushing it off. "The tender's just a little, you know?" He made a gesture that said crazy and smiled as he took a drink.

"Sure." Bobby said, but he was still suspicious.

"Where you been the last couple of days, Pyro?" The bartender asked, walking over.

"Back to school." He answered.

"Does Magneto know?" Everyone in the room got quiet, and Bobby suddenly felt he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Of course I do." Bobby stood up and looked at Magneto, who was standing in the shadowed corner. He walked out and looked at them, giving Pyro an unamused look when he held his drink up to him. "Hello, Bobby." Magneto said, glancing at the boy's bunched fists. "You can't possibly think I'm here to fight you." He told him, sounding disappointed with him.

"I thought you didn't work for him anymore." Bobby said, glaring at Pyro.

"That's the problem with you thinking, Bobby." Pyro said, standing up. "It always ends with people getting hurt." He winked at Bobby, then threw a large ball of flame at him.

9