As I have started responding to your reviews through PMs, there's nothing left to say except: I apologize immensely for the long wait! My life's been a bit hectic lately. But here is the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!
Also, as always, if you see any mistakes, let me know and I'll fix 'em!
Dark purple eyes scanned the patrons of the small café as she walked in. Spotting the familiar face of Raven Darkholme, she smiled and made her way to the corner of the café where the brunette was waiting.
"I must say," she said as she slid into the seat across from Raven. "I did not expect a call from you."
"I know," Raven said. "I hadn't planned on calling you, but I need your help."
"Yes," she replied with a nod. "Training your charges."
"Precisely," Raven said, leaning forward to rest her chin on her folded hands, her arms propped up on the table between them. "Also, it would be beneficial for me to have someone around to keep an eye on them when I need to take care of important matters. I know you have your own matters to settle, but I needed someone I could trust."
"Of course," she said, smiling again. "I will help you, Raven. After all, what are old friends for?"
"Thank you, Sylvie," Raven said in a tone that was as close to gratitude as the woman ever got.
"You are welcome, mon ami," she replied. "Now, before you go tend to your important matter tell me about these charges of yours."
"You will not be making wallets, neck tie racks, or paper weights," Sergeant Hawk informed the row of teens as he walked past them. "You will not be engaging in potato sack races, water balloon tosses, or pony rides. You will be taking twenty mile hikes, repelling two hundred foot cliffs, and crossing treacherous water with only a rope and all the courage you can muster." He stopped in front of the Xavier kids. "Do you read me?"
"Yes, Sergeant Hawk, sir," all of the teens replied in unison.
"I said, 'Do you read me'?"
"Yes, Sergeant Hawk, sir!"
"Welcome to Ironback Survivial Camp," Sergeant Hawk said, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "A name you won't soon forget. Now," he moved to stand directly in front of Scott, "here we have a young man, Scott Sumner-"
"Summers," Scott quickly corrected.
Sergeant Hawk continued as if Scott hadn't spoken. "Who's academic achievements at Bayville High have earned him the rank of group leader." He moved to walk down the row of teens once more. "You will be following his lead. You've got ten minutes to stow your gear and report to the training field. Dismissed!"
"Oh," Kitty groaned, plopping down on her pink suitcase. "I'm gonna be dead in, like, two days!"
"What about me?" Evan practically whined. "I'm a city kid!"
"Ditto," Augustus said, looking highly disgruntled.
"What did we ever do to deserve this?" Kurt groaned, looking around at his peers.
"Ah'm goin' AWOl," Rogue declared, reaching down to grab her duffel bag. As she slung it onto her shoulder, she asked, "Anyone know how to hotwire a school bus?"
"Not really," Alex said. Then he jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "I got my bike, though."
"Whoa," Scott said, placing a hand on Rogue's shoulder as she started to move toward Alex. "Slow down there, private. Come on, we're not washing out in front of the whole school."
"Scott's right," Bridget piped up, placing a hand on Alex's arm. "We can do this."
Alex arched an eyebrow as he looked down at the blonde. While Bridget had a tendency to come out of her shell around Inara, it was usually in the sanctity of the academy. It was highly unusual for her to be so outspoken in the presence of so many of her peers.
"See, Bridget's game," Scott said, sending an appreciative smile in Bridget's direction. "Besides, Professor Xavier endorses this place."
"Yeah," Jean said. "At least we were given a choice. Survival training here or with Wolverine."
"Some choice," Rogue grumbled.
"Seconded," Ailana said. "Sergeant Hawk seems like his personality's as close to Wolverine's as a normal person's can get."
"Oh, come one, guys," Inara said, dancing out from between James and Bridget, positively radiating giddiness. "Just look around! All this untouched nature!" She stretched her hands above her head, seemingly basking in the nature around her. "It's so exhilarating!" As she spoke, she brought her arms down, throwing them out to their respective sides. A burst of power rippled out from her in a circle, causing every plant it touched to sway slightly.
"Great," Augustus grumbled, glaring at the brunette's giddiness. "She's on a nature high."
"A what?" Kitty asked, blinking up at Augustus, the rest of the X-Men looking equally bewildered.
"A nature high," Alex answered with a grin. "She gets like this when she's around an insanely large amount of flora."
"Inara," James called, a small smile playing on his lips. "Tone it down a bit, okay?"
"Right," she said with a sheepish grin.
"Let's go drop our things off in our cabins," Scott said, shaking his head as he grabbed his bag. "We've only got a few minutes to get to the training field."
The teens scooped up their respective luggage and quickly headed for the four cabins they would be bunking in.
"Group leader," Fred sneered as he crossed his arms and glared at Scott's back. "Scholastic achievement. That shoulda been me!" He jerked his thumb at his chest.
"You can't even spell scholastic achievement, Blob," Pietro scoffed, placing fisted hands on is hips and turning his head to look at the older boy.
"But I can spell doomed," Fred retorted, smacking his fist into the palm of his right hand. "Which is what that goody goody gang is after I get them alone in the woods!"
"Yeah, I can hear it now," Todd said. He pretended to hold a microphone close to his mouth as he went on, "Search and rescue efforts abandoned for missing teens." He moved to place the back of his hand against his forehead in a dramatic act. "No traces found."
"Have you lug heads forgotten that they have a chlorokinetic on their side?" Liron asked, crossing her arms. "And that we're surrounded by plant life?"
Lance had felt the ripple of power Inara had unintentionally released, so he wasn't paying close attention to the conversation going on behind him. Catching Liron's words, he finally spoke up, "Liron's right. Besides, we'll beat them where it hurts most. In public, in front of everyone, where they won't risk using their powers. Let's go."
"I have a feeling this is going to be interesting," Damion muttered as the Brotherhood made their way toward their cabins.
"Why do we have to do this again?" Madison grumbled.
"Mystique said she had something to take care of," Emily said. "And this was a way to ensure we stayed out of trouble while she was gone."
"It's really not that bad, guys," Annastasia said, a slight bounce in her step.
"Says the girl who turns into a wolf," Liron muttered, a nearly unseen smirk playing on her lips.
Annastasia playfully stuck her tongue out at the Israeli mutant.
With the children out of the large mansion that served as the Rosemund Academy, Tokugawa decided indulge in the large, flat screen and surround sound system set up in the recreational room. Since the teenagers he helped teach were usually occupying the large room set aside for recreational purposes, he usually spent his free time practicing Kendo or dappling in sumi ink painting. Today, however, he was going to enjoy a classic noir film he was sure his charges would find dull, with the possible exception of Inara.
Of his colleagues, it was only Crystal who expressed a definite interest in old noir films. Hunter admitted to never watching a noir film before, but as he liked classic movies, there was a good chance he might like the genre. He had invited both to join him, but Crystal wasn't feeling up to it and Hunter wanted to finish whatever classic novel he was currently reading. Robin had expressed absolutely no interest in noir films. Despite the age difference between them being just a year, she acted closer to twenty than she did thirty, easily becoming the 'cool' teacher out of the three.
So Tokugawa found himself alone in the recreational room with one his favorite noir films, enjoying his lunch in a comfortable solitude.
Fred looked up at the eight mutant teens already halfway up their respective ropes. With a determined expression on his face, he spit into his left palm before rubbing it against his right. He gripped his rope firmly with both hands and lifted his feet off of the ground.
The wooden beam holding the ropes bowed toward the ground under his immense weight. Evan and Ailana both lost their grips on their ropes, dropping a good five feet to hit the ground with dull thuds and low groans. Jean let go of her rope briefly before she managed to latch back on with her left hand, wincing at the feel of rope burn on her palm. James, Kurt, Scott, and Lance all managed to maintain their grips on their ropes due to good upper body strength while Madison used her ability to manipulate the gravity around her to keep her hold on her own rope.
The rope Fred was hanging from frayed and broke, sending him crashing to the ground with the loose piece of rope falling around his shoulders. "I'm not built for this kinda stuff," he grumbled, rubbing his backside before tugging the rope off of his shoulders and tossing it aside.
Alex, Augustus, Inara, and Bridget stood off to the side with Rogue and Kitty, all of them keeping their distance from the Brotherhood members not participating in the rope climb. As she watched Lance and Scott reach the top of their ropes, Inara leaned over to whisper to Bridget without anyone overhearing.
"You could probably agree with him a million times today, but I doubt Romeo would notice. He's too focused on defeating Tybalt."
"You would use Romeo and Juliet analogies," Bridget said with a giggle as Inara watched Lance and Scott grab hold of their respective zip lines. "But Scott's not Romeo."
"Oh?" Inara asked, arching an eyebrow at her best friend.
"Well, Lance is supposed to be Tybalt, right?"
"Well, yes," Inara replied slowly, not sure where the blonde was going with this.
"Then since Tybalt is Juliet's cousin, and you've got that weird connection thing with Lance, that would make you Juliet. And that would make Kurt Romeo, not Scott."
Before Inara could retort and dispute Bridget's logic, though she wasn't quite sure how at the moment, she felt the tell-tale tingling that always came right before Lance used his power of geological manipulation. She turned just in time to see the piece of land Scott was perched on break away from the rest of the ground and tumble into the river, taking the leader of the X-Men with it. Beside her, she heard Bridget gasp as the vibrations revealed to her a burnt orange version of the incident.
"Inara," Bridget said as she sent a glare in Lance's general direction. She wasn't even sure the brunette would do anything until she heard her response.
"Way ahead of you, Bridge."
If Lance had been close enough to hear the smugness in Inara's tone, he wouldn't have been surprised to find he couldn't step into his own raft. Looking down to see why his feet wouldn't move, he found that the grass had grown around his boots to hold him firmly in place.
"Inara," he growled, brown eyes darting up to lock with dark green ones.
He was further infuriated when she only smirked at the glare he was sending her. If he wanted to ignore whatever weird connection they had, then she would do just that. A nudge to her arm drew her eyes away from Lance and to Bridget.
"What's going on?" Bridget asked, her face turned toward Inara.
Inara looked back toward the river and grinned. "Scott's managed to climb into his raft," she told the girl beside her. "And he's headed for the opposite shore."
Bridget grinned as she 'saw' Scott climb onto the opposite shore and run toward the finish line. As he burst through the ribbon marking his goal, the grass around Lance's boots retreated, allowing him to move freely once more. Emily, who had noticed Lance's struggling and then the retreating green around his boots, pushed her way through the crowd of cheering teens to point an accusing finger at Inara.
"You used your powers to keep Lance from winning!"
"Yeah," Pietro said, zipping up beside the shadow manipulator. "Just because Summers slipped and took a bath doesn't give you the right to sabotage Lance!"
"Slipped?" Kurt said in an incredulous tone as he stepped up on Inara's other side. "More like avalanched!"
"Oh, please," Madison retorted, placing a hand on her hip and rolling her eyes. "You're just pawning the Boy Scout's clumsiness off on Lance!"
"I 'saw' the vibrations from his powers!" Bridget shot back, her hands balled into tight fists at her sides.
"Summers stole that first place ribbon," Todd threw in, thrusting his finger in Kitty's face.
"He did not," she retorted hotly.
"You want that ribbon so bad?" Rogue asked in a fierce tone. "I'll pin in to your forehead, freak!"
James simply stood off to the side, watching as his teammates and the X-Men continued to argue with the majority of the Brotherhood. Two Brotherhood members, Damion and Liron, seemed just as content as he was to simply sit back and watch everything play out.
The sharp sound of a whistle being blown cut through the air, effectively putting a stop to the intense arguing.
"Fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty," the mutant teens who had participated in the arguing counted each push up out loud and in unison.
Sergeant Hawk marched past them, coming to a stop in front of Fred. "Now on your feet!" he ordered. The teens groaned collectively as they slowly climbed to their feet. Sergeant Hawk marched past them once more as he went on. "Here at Ironback, we got ways to weed the loudmouths from the tough guys. We fight it out in the wilderness, against the wilderness! You grunt wanna prove how tough you are, fine! First team to snatch a flag I planted on Mount Humiliation and brings it back to me wins."
"Cake walk," Pietro said with a smirk as he stepped out in front of his teammates. "My team can take a sauna. I'll get it myself."
"Not if I beat you there," Kurt countered, stepping forward and crossing his arms.
"The whole team or no one!" Sergeant Hawk barked. "As proof, I want a snap shot of every member right there at the top. Are we clear?"
"Sir, yes sir!"
Sergeant Hawk turned to the three teens who had excluded themselves from the argument. "You three are free to return to the training field."
As Liron, Damion, and James started toward the training field, Augustus eyed the mountain the flag was on warily. Shaking his head, he grabbed Alex's arm and said, "We got nothing to prove, man."
"What?" Alex cried as Augustus began to drag him away. Since Alex was taller and heavier, Augustus had to call upon a large gust of wind to help him once the energy converter started struggling. "Augustus, let me go!"
Despite the snap in Alex's words and the anger burning in his bright green eyes, Augustus persisted. "Look," he finally snapped as he stopped and rounded on his friend. "I'm savin' your ass, alright? That mountain's hellaciously tall!"
Alex glanced back at the mountain in question, paling slightly as he took in its full height. He'd been so wrapped up in one upping the Brotherhood that he hadn't considered what obtaining the flag had entailed. Namely, climbing to unbelievable heights.
"Damn it," he muttered, jerking his arm out of Augustus' grip. "You're right. But don't think I'm happy about this!"
Augustus grinned as Alex stomped off ahead of him, fuming as he followed James' retreating figure. "You'll get over it," he called out as he chased after the blond boy.
"You leave in five from opposite trails," Sergeant Hawk informed the remaining teens, seemingly ignoring the two boys' departure. "Be ready."
"Better say your farewell, Sumner," Lance taunted as the two teams started to disperse. "'Cause you guys aren't coming back.'
"Oh, you got something in mind, Rock Tumbler?" Scott asked, moving toward Lance. He raised his right hand to his shades as he went on. "'Cause I –"
"Scott!" Jean interrupted as she grabbed his wrist and fixed him with a stern glare. "What do you think you're doing?"
"What? Nothing," he shot back in a defensive tone. 'I'm just fed up with those delinquents getting away with everything while we're stuck playing by the rules!"
"Hey," Lance snapped as he moved to stand toe to toe with Scott. "We don't need our powers to beat you!"
"Ah, fine then," Scott retorted with a smirk. "We'll all play it straight. And you know what, we'll wave to ya from the top."
"Good," Jean said as they both turned and stomped away. "That's the deal. We're all competing fairly, no powers. And I, personally, am very proud of –"
"Come on, Jean," Scott interrupted in an annoyed tone as he stomped over, grabbed her arm, and yanked her in the direction of their teammates.
James arched an eyebrow as he watched Alex and Augustus approach him, the former grumbling under his breath. "I thought you two would be all for beating the Brotherhood."
"Damn fear of heights," Alex grumbled as he kicked a rock that had the misfortune of being near the toe of his shoe.
"What he said," Augustus said.
"Ah, I get it," James said, nodding as he gazed up at the top of the mountain. "Yeah, you two wouldn't have lasted long on that thing."
"Can it, Jimmy," Alex practically snarled.
James' eyebrow once again rose over one dark green eye. He didn't think his comment would piss Alex off so much. Then he noticed that Alex's furious green eyes were focused on something just past his left shoulder. Turning around, he found Damion standing behind him, an almost bored look etched on the Brotherhood boy's features.
"We've decided that we'd like to call a truce," he informed the Rosemund teens. "Just for now."
"We?" James asked, glancing to where Liron stood a few feet away. She flashed him a wide grin and waved as if they were old friends. This time, both of his eyebrows shot toward the sky. "Why?"
"The same reason we stayed out of the argument," Damion said with a light shrug. "That whole mess revolves around Lance and Summers butting heads. We don't consider that our fight."
"Your teammates certainly did," Alex shot back, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I'm sure they have their reasons," Damion muttered, sounding as though he had a few theories as to what those reasons were. "But we didn't really have any. Though, I'm sure Lira would've joined in if she wasn't in such a good mood."
The three Rosemund teens glanced over at Liron again, who was humming and nodding her head as if she didn't have a care in the world.
"Is there something wrong with her?" Augustus asked in a hushed tone.
"Yeah," Damion responded with a grin. "A lot. So, truce?"
James studied the hand being offered to him. With a shrug, he reached over to grasp it, giving it a firm shake. "Truce. For now."
Damion's grin transformed into an amused smirk before he moved to rejoin his cheerful teammate.
Robin followed the rest of the group deeper into the secret caverns that were a part of the Howe Caverns adventure park. It wasn't quite like the adventures she used to take back home, with just a select group of friends as her companions, but it was still a fun way to pass the time.
She had asked Crystal if she could join the younger kids at Ironback, but aforementioned kids had expressed their disapproval of that idea in loud groans. James took the lead immediately, silencing his peers. He explained that while they still thought she was the coolest teacher they had ever had, they didn't want the other Bayville High students to think they needed a baby sitter. With her hurt at their initial reaction sedated, she had laughed and told them she wouldn't want that either.
So she had settled for a nearby attraction that Crystal had suggested to her.
As the group approached the magnificent underground waterfall that was one hundred feet tall at least, she smiled to herself. Maybe she would bring the kids here on a field trip sometime.
XXXX
"Come on," Scott called as he stopped running just long enough to turn and face his team. "Let's pick it up. We're almost to the base!"
He turned around and continued running as soon as he finished speaking. Rogue, who was the closest to Scott, huffed, "What's with Mr. Decathalon? He's as bad as Sergeant Hawk!"
"All he cares about is winning this thing," Kitty stated. Glancing over at the boy running alongside her, she said, "Hey, Kurt, can't you, like, make yourself useful and just teleport us up to the top?"
"This trip is of the power-free variety, I'm told," Kurt replied.
"Tell that to Inara," Kitty grumbled, glaring at the girl running along her other side.
"Technically," Inara countered, not sounding nearly as breathless as her companions, "I'm not using my powers. The energy boost is just a lucky perk."
"Just ignore her," Bridget said with a grin from just behind Inara. "We all do when she gets like this. Besides, if we just keep following Scott's lead, I know we'll win."
Inara looked back to stick her tongue out at Bridget, effectively missing the glance Kitty and Kurt exchanged. Neither of them had ever seen the blonde talk this much outside of Danger Room sessions and parallel dimensions.
"Bridget's right," Jean said as she came up between Kitty and Kurt. She, too, had missed the glance they had shared. She obviously found nothing abnormal about Bridget's new found willingness to assert herself. "We just need to keep moving."
"The mosquitoes here are the size of pelicans!" Evan complained, stopping to swat at the blood sucking insects around him. "No bugs like this in the 'burb, man. Why are we here again?"
Ailana, who had stopped a few feet ahead of him to wait, rolled her eyes as he started running again. Once he caught up to her, she fell into step beside him. "Now I know why you and Aug are best friends," she teased. "You complain just as much as he does."
His only response was a fierce glare to which she simply gave him a playful smirk.
Todd moved up the side of the mountain with ease, jumping from one small ledge to the next. Annastasia wasn't far behind him, her fingernails transformed into sharp claws to give her a better grip on the rocky surface. A rope was tied around her waist, trailing down to loop once around Emily's waist, then once around Madison's, before being tied together in front of the two older girls. Madison's ability to manipulate gravity made all three girls lighter, allowing them to scale the mountain faster.
"What's taking you boys so long?" Todd called down as he stopped on a ledge just long enough to look down past the girls.
A good distance down from the girls, Fred was slowly making his way up the side of the mountain. Using his immense strength, he slammed his feet into the rock to make foot holes, managing to find decent grips for his large hands. Two ropes were tied around each of his arms, where they met with his shoulders. A few yards below him, Lance and Pietro slowly walked up the side of the mountain, the two ropes tied around their waists.
"Man, if he slips and falls, we are history," Pietro hissed as he glanced over at Lance. Turning back to look at the enormous teen pulling him along, he added, "Death by blubber bomb!"
"Fastest way to the top is a straight line, Pietro," Lance told him in a matter-of-fact tone. "We are winning this race, make no mistake."
The library at the Rosemund Academy was a welcoming sight in the blue eyes of Hunter Burden. It was his favorite place to be, but he rarely found time to indulge himself. What with the training and extracurricular studies of the six high school students residing at Rosemund's, a lazy afternoon spent in the confines of the library was almost impossible. So while the younger kids were at survival camp, and Ava and Jay were visiting her parents in California, he was going to spend as much time in the vast library as possible.
Grabbing the classic novel he was halfway through, he seated himself comfortably in one of the large, plush armchairs scattered around the room. Before he became lost in the great piece of literature in his hands, he took a moment to look around the room, remembering a time when there were only two high school students roaming the academy's halls.
If he concentrated on the dark brown chair across from the one he occupied, he could almost see the faint figure of Inara nestled there, her father's latest book cradled in her lap and Shadow curled up beneath her feet. With a chuckle, he recalled Alex's disbelief at the fact that anyone could read as much as the two of them did. That boy was always full of energy, as long he maintained a healthy appetite, so he didn't understand how Inara could willingly sit statue still for hours on end.
With a shake of his head, Hunter turned his attention to the book his mind was begging him to hurry up and finish.
Fred grunted as he fell to his knees on the cliff. After getting to his feet, he looked up at the three girls standing around the entrance to an abandoned mine. "Where's Toad?" he asked, noticing the younger boy's absence.
"Todd," Annastasia replied, accentuating the name, "is checking for a short cut."
"Hey, Freddy," Lance called up from where he and Pietro hung suspended in the air. "A helping hand?"
Fred moved to stand next to the three girls, dragging the two teens up the side of the mountain as he did so. Lance and Pietro could be heard protesting as they were roughly hauled up, but Fred didn't seem all that concerned by it. Once they were back on their feet, Lance and Pietro were quick to shed the ropes tied around their waists as Fred shrugged his end of the ropes off his shoulders. Pietro glared at the back of Fred's head as he joined his teammates, while Lance studied the entrance to the mine.
"An abandoned mine?"
"Toad's looking for a short cut," Fred told him as he crossed his arms over his chest. Annastasia scowled at the fact that he hadn't used Todd's actual name for the second time.
"Hey," Todd called as he reappeared at the entrance. "There's a tunnel in there that's like a stairway to the top."
"Now you're talking," Lance said with a grin as he moved to tear the board that had been nailed across the entrance away, ignoring the 'Keep Out' that was written across it.
"I'm not so sure about this," Annastasia said in a wary tone as the boys followed Lance into the mine. She glanced down at the board Lance had just discarded before noticing another board next to it. The word 'Danger' was written across this one. "Doesn't seem like such a good idea."
"I'm with Annie," Madison said.
"Just stick close to me," Emily told the other two girls as she ushered them after the boys. "I'll get us out if something goes wrong."
Scott tilted his head back to peer up at the top of the mountain, shielding his eyes from the glaring sun as he tried to catch a glimpse of the flag.
"Spot the flag?" Kurt asked as he came to stand beside the older boy.
"No," Scott replied as he turned to look at the German mutant. "Pop up top and see if it's still there."
"But, I thought," Kurt began in a hesitant tone. Glancing back at the rest of the group who were just now climbing onto the cliff where he and Scott stood, he asked, "What about Jean?"
"Hey, you wanna win or not?" Scott countered, placing a hand on Kurt's shoulder.
"Okay, fine," Kurt said, shrugging the hand off. "But she's not going to like this, I can tell you that." He disappeared with a bamf, leaving behind a dark cloud of smoke that had barely dissipated when he reappeared. "It's there," he said as Evan approached. "We are very close. And no sign of the enemy."
"Forget the pitons," Scott said as he turned to Evan. "Evan, spike a rope up there. Time is wasting!"
"I think Odysseus is starting to lose control," Inara whispered to Bridget as Evan asked Scott if he was sure.
"He's only human, Inara," Bridget whispered back as she rolled her eyes. Deciding Odysseus and Penelope weren't the worst literary couple Inara could've used, she let the name slide. "He is allowed to lose control sometimes."
Inara snickered as Evan looped the rope around a spike protruding from his wrist. As he launched it into the air, she said, "Especially when competing against Lance, it seems."
Scott grinned as the spike became imbedded in the rock a good distance up the mountain. "That flag is ours!"
He spit into his right palm, rubbed it against his left, and moved to firmly grasp the rope. As he started climbing, he spared a glance over his shoulder only to find that not one of his teammates had moved to follow him. He dropped back onto the cliff as Jean approached before holding the rope out for her to go first. With a dignified huff, she turned away from him and began to scale the mountain by hand.
"How did you know to make us wear gloves?" Ailana asked Inara as she started climbing the mountain.
"My mum used to take me pyramid climbing while Daddy worked on his next book," she replied. "She always made me wear gloves."
"Next time you talk to your mom," Ailana grunted. "Tell her thanks for me."
Todd led his teammates deep within the mine, where sunlight was streaming in from a shaft above them. Lance moved to check out the shaft, scowling after a few seconds. Whirling on Todd, he grabbed the younger boy by his shoulders, slamming him into the wall.
"You bonehead," he growled as the earth around them began to shake. Emily placed her hands on Annastasia's and Madison's shoulders as he went on, the shaking not ceasing. "We can't get through there! We probably lost because of you!"
"I-I kinda figured you could, you know, avalanche it loose a little bit," Todd said in a nervous tone.
"He's right, Lance," Pietro said as he stepped forward. "Give it some more juice, Lance, and you'll unclog it."
"Alright," Lance said, shoving Todd away from him.
"That's our cue, girls," Emily muttered as Lance shouted for everyone to stand back. None of the boys noticed the shadows leaping forward to engulf the three girls.
Madison shivered at the blast of cold air that always came with shadow travel, while Annastasia merely rubbed her arms. The light coat of fur covering her body kept her body temperature at a decent level, even in the cold darkness. As the darkness receded, they found themselves standing on a cliff beside the opening of the shaft.
"Wait here," Emily said as she began to fade back into the shadows. "I'm going back for the guys."
"There it is!" Scott exclaimed as he stepped onto another cliff. The flag could easily be seen by the whole group now. "Victory!"
A familiar tingling sensation flooded Inara's entire being, causing her to gasp and spin around to check on her teammates. Everyone behind her was safely standing on the flat surface of the cliff, except for Evan. He was still making his way up the side of the mountain. Knowing she only had seconds to act, she darted back toward Evan, clenching the tip of her left glove's middle finger between her teeth. With a firm tug, she freed her left hand just as the ground started to shake. In a move that she'd only ever seen her mother pull off, she slid down the side of the mountain, luckily finding a sturdy purchase for her right foot as she gripped the jagged edge of the cliff with her right hand. Reaching out with her bare hand, she latched on to Evan's wrist just as he lost his grip. His other hand shot up to wrap around her wrist as he dangled below her.
Two hands wrapped firmly around her right wrist, just below the edge of her glove. She looked up to see Jean kneeling above her, holding her in place while Kitty quickly tied a rope around Ailana's waist. Ailana eased herself over the side of the cliff after Scott finished tying the other end of the rope around his own waist, serving as the Hawaiian mutant's anchor. Evan reluctantly released Inara's wrist only to quickly latch on to the rope holding Ailana. She gripped his arm tightly and urged him to place his feet on the top of her own. Once that was done, she gave Inara one firm nod. The whimper that escaped Evan's lips as Inara let go of his hand was barely audible, so Ailana pretended not to hear it. Scott quickly hauled them up, and Kurt and Kitty helped them over the edge of the cliff.
Jean managed to pull Inara back over the edge of the cliff, since the younger girl was shorter and lighter than the redhead. Once she was back on her feet, Inara retrieved the glove from between her teeth and slipped it back on her hand.
"You're bleeding," Jean announced, green eyes focused on Inara's right leg.
When Inara followed her gaze, she was surprised to see a decent sized cut on her outer thigh, just below the hem of her shorts. "Huh," she said, grimacing lightly as it started to sting. "I must've gotten cut on a rock. I didn't notice due to the adrenaline."
"Here," Ailana said, pulling off the red handkerchief holding her bangs back. "Tie this around it."
"Thanks, 'Nara," Evan said in a highly grateful tone as Jean proceeded to tie the red fabric around Inara's leg.
"You're welcome," she replied, flashing him a slightly weary grin.
"Nice move," Scott said, sounding highly impressed. "I'm guessing that tremor was Lance?"
"Yeah," Inara confirmed with a nod. "I think they're close, but I'm not entirely sure."
"They are," Bridget said, turning her head to the right. "They're in a caved in mine shaft just over there." She raised her hand to point in the general direction of the shaft.
Everyone turned to look at Scott, waiting for him to decide their course of action. He glanced up at the flag for a very brief moment before turning back to his team. With a determined look on his face, he said, "Let's go see if they need any help."
The others grinned as they all followed Bridget toward the shaft.
Emily reappeared with Lance just as the X-Men and their allies rounded the side of the mountain. The toll for using her powers in less than ideal conditions caused her to black out. Lance caught her before she hit the ground, picking her up bridal style.
"Freddy's still down there," he told the X-Men, knowing he and his teammates couldn't get the large teen out on their own.
"We'll get him," Scott assured him. "Bridget, shift into your rock form. Ailana, tie your end of the rope around her waist. Kitty, tie this end around your waist."
"Why am I the one who has to, like, go down there?" Kitty complained as she snatched the offered rope out of Scott's hand.
"Because we may need you to phase Blob out," Scott told her as she tied the rope around her.
After Ailana got the rope tied around a transformed Bridget, Scott lowered Kitty into the shaft. With the X-Men distracted, Todd grinned and pointed to the easily visible flag. "Heh, Pietro," he said, catching the speed demon's attention.
"I'm there," the white haired teen replied with a grin before becoming a blur as he zipped away.
"Hey!" Kurt cried as Pietro blew by.
He quickly teleported to the top of the mountain, reaching the flag just as Pietro came to a stop on the opposite side. Both teens reached out to wrap both hands around the flag pole at the same time. As they struggled to claim the flag for their respective teams, the Blackbird flies down so that it is level with the mountain top.
"X-Men," Storm's voice calls over the external speaker. "Professor X is in danger, and so is Mystique. Thorns, you are not required to aid us."
"No," Inara said, stepping forward and taking the place of leader in the absence of both James and Alex. "We'll help, but we've got to pick up the others."
"We're missing a few members, too," Lance said.
"That mean you're up to it?" Scott asked, directing the question to Lance.
"Let's grab our guys and go," Lance replied with a smirk.
A look of surprise briefly crossed James' features as the tall tree beside him reached down to wrap a branch around his waist. Alex and Augustus both surprised yelps as the same tree wrapped two more branches around them. They were lifted into the air toward a hovering Blackbird as Kurt teleported down to place a hand on Damion's and Liron's shoulders.
"We've all got somezhing to take care of," he told Sergeant Hawk.
The stern looking man simply arched an eyebrow, only looking mildly surprised as Kurt handed him the flag with a Polaroid taped to the pole. Kurt teleported back to the jet with the two Brotherhood members, who joined James, Alex, and Augustus in being filled in as the Blackbird headed for the Xavier Institute at top speed.
Wolverine weakly raised his head, watching as nothing stopped the Juggernaut from getting to his brother. He was seriously considering trying to struggle to his feet before his healing factor finished doing its job in a last ditch effort to stop the behemoth when a familiar voice rang out behind him.
"Take a break, Wolverine," Cyclops called from the entrance to the Danger Room. The X-Men and Brotherhood stood around him, all dressed in their battle attire. He could even make out the Rosemund teens, looking out of place in their hiking gear.
"We'll take it from here," Avalanche added.
"Jean," Cyclops said, turning to the redhead on his right.
Juggernaut stretched a hand out toward Xavier, who cringed and closed his eyes, before he was suddenly lifted into the air. Jean fell to her knees in the middle of the metal floor, struggling to keep the large mutant off the ground. Pele rushed forward at Cyclops' call, stretching her hands out to heat the air underneath Juggernaut in the hopes of keeping him aloft.
"Cain's helmet," Wolverine shouted. "Remove it!"
"Activate: Nymph's Run, T-Five!" Cyclops ordered as both Jean and Pele collapsed from over-exertion. Hidden compartments all over the Danger Room suddenly burst open, revealing plants of all sizes.
Juggernaut's feet hit the metal floor as the two girls slump against each other. He moved to approach them when Blob slammed into his left side from out of nowhere. "Unstoppable," he said, smirking, "meet the unmovable!"
Nightcrawler teleported onto Juggernaut's back to unfasten one of the latches. Juggernaut reached over his shoulder to grab the teen after recovering, pulling him around to the front before tossing him aside. The branch of a nearby tree reached out to wrap around Nightcrawler's waist before he smashed into a wall, lowering him to the ground and gently setting him on his feet.
Juggernaut charged Blob, slamming into him and sending him flying into a wall. Cyclops and Dynamo jump in front of the unconscious Brotherhood member and send blasts of red and green into Juggernaut's chest. He stumbles a little before picking up a piece of the Danger Room he had discarded earlier. As he hurled it at the two boys, one of Legion's soldiers suddenly appeared in front of them, easily preventing the piece of debris from hitting either of them.
Avalanche handed a still unconscious Phantom to Boneyard before he and Gravity stepped up behind Juggernaut. While he used his powers to dent the metal floor around the massive mutant, she used hers to intensify the gravity in the same area. Together, they brought the Juggernaut to his knees long enough for Quicksilver to zip in and unfasten another latch. Juggernaut shook Quicksilver off of his back as he overcame the effects of Avalanche's and Gravity's combined abilities and stood up.
Strong winds immediately surround him and knock him down again as Storm and Vortex approached with their hands held out in front of them. Shadowcat phased out of the nearest wall with Rogue, both girls quickly unfastening the last two latches before darting out of reach. Toad hopped onto the wall above Juggernaut. His tongue shot out to wrap around the metal nose guard between the eyes pieces of Juggernaut's helmet and pulled the heavy dome away from the rest of the red armor.
"No!" Juggernaut cried as he reached for the helmet to no avail.
"I'm sorry, Cain," Xavier said as he raised his fingers to his temples.
He turned to lock eyes with Xavier, fury etched across his face. Before he could take a step toward his brother, the small group of plants closest to him suddenly sprang to life and reached out to wrap around him. At least ten black, humanoid figures joined the plants in holding the unstoppable mutant back as the psychic attacks began.
It took several powerful blast to render the Juggernaut unconscious. During that time he managed to shake off most of the soldiers and tear through some of the plants holding him. The remaining soldiers and plants disappeared and retreated respectively as Cain Marko fell to the floor with a booming thud. The assembled teens cheered as they rushed forward to form a semi-circle around Xavier and Mystique.
"Now there's something you won't see every day," Mystique said as she looked around at the three united teams.
"I agree," Xavier said, looking over at Mystique as he added, "And that's a shame."
"Come on, boys and girls," Mystique said as she headed for the exit. "Let's get out of here before you're invited to a slumber party."
Emily, having finally regained consciousness, walked out with the support of Damion. She didn't seem all that heartbroken at missing the fight. Todd set the metal helmet he'd helped to remove on the floor before moving to follow them. The rest of the Brotherhood eyed Fred warily as they followed, hoping the large teen remained steady on his feet until he reached the boarding house.
"Hey, Summers," Lance called, stopping to turn and smirk at the leader of the X-Men. "As a group leader, you're only half bad."
"Well, then, next time you can call the shots," Scott replied with a small smile.
Lance opened his mouth to tell Scott there wouldn't be a next time when his eyes flickered over to settle on Inara. The words died on his lips and he simply gave a disbelieving 'hmph' as he turned back around and followed his team out.
"Your bike is in the garage," Hunter told Alex as the six Rosemund teens stumbled through the front doors of the academy. When the boy simply nodded, he asked, "Did you have fun?"
"Have fun?" Augustus asked with a groan. "Of course we didn't have fun! Not only did we have to endure survival camp, we had to fight some crazy guy on steroids! Do you know how hard that was?"
"I think he does, Aug," James said, noticing the knowing smile slowly making its way onto Hunter's lips.
"What?" Augustus burst, glancing between them. "You mean you knew we were gonna fight that.. that.."
"Behemoth," Inara offered with a weary grin. She had used a lot of energy keeping Juggernaut from reaching Xavier. Unstoppable was definitely a worthy title for him.
"Yeah," Augustus shouted vehemently. "Behemoth! And you didn't even warn us?"
"I saw the whole thing, Augustus," Hunter said with a little laugh. "I knew everyone would come out of it just fine."
Augustus simply gaped at the precognitive mutant for a few minutes before he threw his hands up in the air with a loud groan. "Unbelievable," he cried as he stormed up the stairs.
Bridget giggled quietly as she pulled Inara's right arm over her shoulder. "I'll take her up to her room, Alex," she told the blond on the chlorokinetic's other side. "Go get something to eat."
"Food," Alex groaned longingly as he eased out from under Inara's left arm. He placed a hand over his stomach, rubbing it lightly as he headed for the kitchen.
"I hope the girl he ends up marrying is a bloody genius when it comes to cooking," Inara mumbled wearily as Bridget began leading her up the stairs. Bridget giggled again while Ailana openly laughed as she followed them.
"Thanks," James said when it was just Hunter and himself in the foyer. "For letting us handle it."
"It wasn't a problem, James," the older man told him. "Like I said, I knew the outcome was good."
"Still," James said as he moved around his teacher to head up the stairs. "Thanks."
Hunter watched the boy until he reached the top of the stairs. Knowing that James was thanking him for trusting the teens with what they would come to consider their first official mission, he smiled again. He had, of course, told Crystal as soon as the vision came to him. Luckily, she had also agreed that their charges could handle it. A loud crash drew his attention in the direction of the kitchen and he sighed. Quickly moving toward the kitchen, he decided to go assist Alex in whipping up something to eat before the energy converter blew up the microwave. Again.
So, I haven't been playing with Liron's insane mood swings. I remedied that a little in this chapter. I hope to remedy it more so in future chapters. Again, let me know what you think. Hated it? Liked it?
For those of you reading As They Seem, that update should be coming shortly. I hope.
