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~`~`~`~
The next day, Remy decided he needed to check out this place. He'd been here for one night now, and it was time to see more than the med lab and the guest quarters he and Hank had shared last night. He had high hopes. He had been told that this was a school for mutants. And by judging by the looks of two of the teachers here, the women here were very nice looking.
He made his way down the hall of the first level. They had a very nice entertainment system. Top of the line TV, VCR, and stereo with surround sound. It won' be too bad 'ere, he thought to himself with a small smile. An' a nice movie collection. Don' get much betta den dis. Le's check out de food.
After a few attempts, he found the kitchen. He noticed the hole in the floor and wondered about it for a minute before dismissing it. Dis is huge!, he thought, taking in the large amount of counter and cupboard space. Remy like dis place!
Finding the refrigerator to be more than satisfactory, he grabbed a Coke. It'd been too long since he'd had a Coke. He sighed after the first sip, then belched accordingly. Vedy nice, he thought with a sigh.
"Was that you?" someone asked behind him. He turned to find dark-haired, dark eyed and very pretty girl. He gave her a charming smile.
"Oui," he said. "Dat was me."
"Dat?" she questioned. "Where you from? By the way, I'm Jubilee," she said, extending a hand.
"Nawrlins. I'm Remy," he said as he kissed the back of her hand. He smiled as he saw a small blush creep onto her face.
"Nawrlins?" she asked, frowning. "Oh, you mean New Orleans. When did you get here?"
"Few hours ago," he said, taking another drink of his Coke.
"So that was you that burped so loud?" she asked, returning to her original question.
"Oui," he said again.
"Very nice," she said with a smile. "Bet I can burp better then you."
"Oh really Chere?" he asked with a small smile. "Remy don' t'ink so."
She paused for a second, not realizing he was speaking in third person. She quickly figured it out. "I think so," she said. "I can beat Wolvie, so I can beat you."
"Wolvie?"
"Wolverine," she said. "Also known as Logan. He's probly my best bud here."
"So dis Wolvie is a good burper, non?" he asked as he walked back to the fridge to get her a Coke.
"Used to be the best 'till he taught me how to burp right," she said with pride in her voice. "But we need judges for this. Otherwise there'll be no way to know who won."
"Oui," he agreed.
"I know just the people," she said. "Follow me." He complied with her command and followed her back to the rec room. Dey musta gotten 'ere after I left, Remy thought. "Hey guys, we need someone to judge our burping contest. You up for it?"
Three heads turned. Remy stared at one of them. I was right!, he thought. He absent-mindedly shook hands with someone Jubilee called Bobby, and politely kissed the back of the other girl's, Kitty, hand. When he was introduced to Rogue, he thought he was looking at an angel. He kissed her hand longer then he had Kitty's and Jubilee's, making her blush. He smiled his most charming smile at her and was already thinking of ways to make her his. When he finally made himself look at something other than her beautiful brown eyes, he noticed she had a white streak in the front of her otherwise dark brown elbow-length hair framing a flawless face with soft pink lips. To him, she was beyond beautiful. She was gorgeous.
"Ahem."
He finally tore his gaze from the lovely Rogue to see Jubilee and Kitty grinning at Rogue, who was blushing furiously. Bobby was glaring at him. Me t'inks Bobby likes Chere, he thought. Too bad for him, heh? Chere gonna be mine.
"So do you guys want to judge our burping contest?" Jubilee asked again.
"Sure!" Kitty said. She looked to Bobby, who was still glaring at Remy. She nudged him in the ribs.
"Uh, yeah, sure," Bobby said, rubbing his side.
"Sure, sugah," Rogue said, not looking at Remy who was still staring at her.
"Dat's dat den," Remy said. "After you Chere," motioning for the ladies to go ahead of him. He turned to look back at Bobby as he walked out and could almost see the smoke coming from the blonde's head. Remy smiled to himself. Less den a day 'ere an' I got enemies, he thought. Typical me.
~`~`~`~
They never got to figure out who one the contest, though. Logan had been strolling through the mansion, still looking for changes since his return a few days ago when his overly sensitive hearing heard what he knew was Jubilee belch rather loudly. That was followed by another belch, from whom, Logan didn't know. What he did know was that he wasn't in the mood to listen to such nonsense. Once again regretting he'd ever taught Jubilee to burp like himself, he headed to the kitchen.
"Woah, Chere, show Gambit how ta do that!" he heard as he walked into the kitchen.
"Jubilation," Logan said.
Jubilee cringed at his use of her full name, but as unable to stop the burp in her throat. She tried to keep it quiet, but didn't succeed. With a sheepish smile she turned to face her Wolvie.
"Hey Wolvie," she said quietly.
"If yer gonna make that much noise, go outside or sumthin'," he said. "Ebony's tryin' to sleep."
"Ebony?" Remy asked.
"Er, Renee," Logan said.
"Oh, Chere need's rest, non?" he asked. "Gambit shoulda 'membered dat." He paused for a minute. "Rematch some ot'er time, Chere?"
"Uh, sure," Jubilee said. "Whenever."
"Rogue, care ta join Remy on a walk ta see de place?" Remy asked as he held a hand out for her to accept. After a slight hesitation, she took his hand. Remy smiled at her and let her show him the way out into the backyard. As he walked by Bobby, he grinned so as to say that he had his eye on Rogue and wouldn't give up until she was his girl.
Logan gave a small smile at the jealousy he could smell from Bobby. Kid's got competition, he thought. It'll be good fer 'im.
~`~`~`~
Hank sat next to Renee as she slept the morning after he'd given her the drug. He knew he'd given her the drug just in time. Another few hours and her heart rate would have been way too fast and killed her. He knew he should be helping Miss Grey with finding a "cure" for the girl he looked at as a daughter, but he felt he had to be near her. Sometimes he had to remind himself that she was only a few years old. His mood darkened as he thought of how the scientists that had created her and Tatiana had advanced their development and minds. Not only did they have the bodies of eighteen-year-old women, but also they had the maturity level of a middle-aged adult and the minds of off-the-scale geniuses.
He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Renee whimper in her sleep. He looked to see her dark brows pulled together in a frown and she lightly kicked one of her legs. Knowing the signs all to well, he woke her up. Though he couldn't tell that she had her eyes open because of her glasses, he knew she was awake because of her sigh.
"Ah saw Tatia hangin' in 'er room," she said quietly. "Sometahmes, Ah hate bein' able ta remember everythin' even if it ain't mah memory."
"I'm sorry my dear Renee," Hank said. "Such are the hardships of a telepath."
"Ah know," she said with another sigh. "Ah wish Ah'd been able ta stop 'er."
"Me too," he said. "Me too."
"Knock, knock," someone said. Ebony turned her head to see Bobby standing in the doorway. "Mind if I come in?"
"Not at all, Bobby" Ebony said with a small smile. "After all, Ah do have ya ta thank for getting' Beast 'ere ta save me."
"Beast?" Bobby asked as he walked up to Hank.
"That's what Renee calls me," Hank said. "My real name is Hank. It's nice to meet you Bobby."
"Likewise," Bobby said as he shook Hank's huge hand. Hank's huge size, furriness, and blueness didn't bother him this time.
"I'll leave you two alone," Hank said. Before he left, he bent down and quickly kissed Ebony's forehead. "It's real good to see you again, Renee."
"You too Beast."
With a nod to Bobby, Hank left to go help Jean.
"Thank ya fer getting' 'im," she said.
"No problem," Bobby said with a smile.
"What happened ta yer arm?" she asked, nodding to his bandage.
Unconsciously, Bobby fingered the dressing. "Got shot in the arm. Bullet went all the way through. I'll be fine. And to think it was for that stupid Cajun."
Ebony smiled at his last statement. "'Stupid Cajun'?" she repeated. "What's Remy up ta now?"
"Nothing much, just making moves on Rogue," he muttered.
"An' ya lahke 'er raht?" Ebony said with a small smile.
"Am I that obvious?" Bobby asked with a smile.
"Only ta those who're observant," she said. "She's very pretty though. Seems nahce."
"She's very nice," Bobby said. He went on to list all the qualities he loved in Rogue. When he was done and had realized that he'd been babbling like a love-struck fool (which he thought he was), he blushed and looked away from Ebony.
"Man," she said, "ya've got it bad!"
Bobby laughed. "I guess I do."
"Ya 'guess' ya do? Honey, ya've got it BAD." Ebony laughed when his blush deepened.
Hastily trying to get the subject off of his obvious crush on Rogue he said, "So, uh, how long do you have to stay in this bed?"
When she got control of herself she answered, "Ah dunno. Beast didn' say anythin' about it."
"Well, you look healthy to me, so how about a proper tour of the mansion?" Bobby offered. "I don't think you've had the 'Bobby Drake Absolutely Free, That's Right, No Charge, Tour of the Charles Xavior School for Gifted Youngsters."
Ebony chuckled. "No, Ah don' think Ah did. Lemme ask."
::Beast?::
::Yes, Renee?::
::Can Ah get outta bed now?::
She could tell Beast was thinking. ::For a few hours, then it's back to bed. Stay inside the mansion. And I'm serious, Renee.::
She giggled mentally. ::Of course, Beast.::
::I mean it.::
::Ah know.::
To Bobby she said, "Fer a few hours and Ah cain't go outside." Bobby looked at her strangely. Ebony realized he didn't know all of her powers yet. She smiled at him. "Ah'm telepathic too."
"I better be careful to keep my thoughts to myself then, huh?" he asked with a smile.
"Exactly. Now leave so Ah c'n get dressed."
"But where's the fun in that?"
She moved her hand to her glasses, knowing full well he remembered what happened the last time she took off her glasses.
"Okay, okay, I'm going," he said with a smile. "I'll be waiting outside."
She nodded. She had noticed earlier that someone had brought her backpack down. After a few minutes' thoughts, she decided against wearing gloves, though she knew she probably should. She just didn't feel like it. She picked out a pair of her extra-flare legged jeans, her white platform tennis shoes, her dark blue Fenix TX spaghetti-string tank top (she wasn't going to be leaving the mansion after all), and her silver choker. She'd quickly learned how to steal without being caught (she hadn't lived with Remy for a few weeks without picking up a few tips) and had had fun at the mall when she had enough money to indulge herself. Rave and Hot Topics quickly became her favorite stores.
Pushing thoughts of her past from her head, she undid her hair from its braid and pulled into a pony tail, but didn't pull it all the way through with the last loop of the hair tie, leaving it half its usual length down her back. Deciding she was ready, she stepped out. She blushed a little at Bobby's stare.
"Ya ready?" she asked, staring at her black fingernails.
"Uh, yeah, this way," he said. His blue eyes did not leave her.
~`~`~`~
"Ya mean ya can make snow?" Ebony asked again. She couldn't believe that someone could actually make snow by just concentrating.
They were standing in front of the front door. He had been telling her about his powers when she'd stopped when she'd realized he could make snow.
Bobby laughed. "Yes, I can make snow," he said. "See?" He held out his hand and sure enough, seconds later a small pile of snow started accumulating in the palm of his hand.
Ebony had never seen snow before. Mostly because of a sheltered life, partly because it just didn't snow in New Orleans. She slowly reached out her hand to touch it, being careful not to touch Bobby's hand. She was amazed at the softness of it and how it melted almost instantly against her warm hand. She grabbed a bit of it and tasted it. She smiled at Bobby when she realized it tasted like cold water.
Bobby was amazed that a person couldn't know what snow looked and tasted like. He'd come to love being able to make it able to have a snowball fight in 100-degree weather. If the pool in the backyard got too warm, he was the mutant to call. If a snow sculpture was needed for any reason, call Bobby. Hey, he wasn't called Iceman for nothing after all.
Being the sometimes-funny-to-others and sometimes-evil thinking mutant he was, Bobby got the idea of throwing a snow ball at her to see her reaction. He smiled back at her and started adding more snow to his hand.
She saw that the snow pile was growing and started to frown. She didn't have a good feeling about this. Testing the "thought airway" she saw Bobby's intentions. With a small smirk on her face, she decided to show him a thing or two. Just when before the snowball hit her, she telekinetically "caught" it and threw it in his face. The wide-eyed surprised look on his face was priceless and she burst into loud laughter.
"I can't believe you just did that!" he exclaimed. He quickly made another snowball and threw it at her. She screamed at the cold. Gathering the snow that had fallen on the ground around them with her telekinesis, she made another snowball and threw it back at him. This routine continued until Logan came around the corner just as Ebony ducked and was nailed in the face with a snowball.
Bobby stood stock-still horrified as to what the Canadian would do to him. Ebony laughed even louder. Logan popped his claws and started towards Bobby. He was stopped however when Ebony unsheathed her own claws. Bobby's mouth fell open behind her. Ebony could see the hint of laughter in Logan's eyes and knew that he wouldn't hurt her or Bobby.
"Clean up yer mess, you two," he said as he sheathed his claws and walked past them up the stairs to his room.
"Aiight Logan," she said as she also sheathed her claws and turned back to face Bobby. Seeing the look in his eyes, she sighed.
"What else can you do?" he asked. "I mean, you've got Mr. Summers' power, telepathy, telekinesis, and now Logan's claws."
She sighed again. She led him to the rec room and had him sit down. She sat next to him, not too close, but not too far away. She quickly named off her mutations and stared down at the ground when she was done.
"Are your eyes the reason you wear something other your eyes all the time?" he asked. "And the gloves? To protect others?"
"Yeah," she said quietly. "Ah'm lahke all superhero mutants combahned inta one huge mess."
"You're not a big mess," he said as he moved closer to her.
"Yer jokin' raht?" she said with a laugh. "Ah mean, Ah almost died last nahght. I'm only a few years old accordin' ta Hank. Ah put a hole in th' kitchen floor. There's a few othah things but Ah cain't 'member them. If that ain't a mess, what is?"
"None of it's your fault though," he said.
"Ah s'pose yer raht," she said.
"I know I am," he said with a smile. She laughed and very gently punched him in the arm, making sure to hit his sleeve. Even when she tried not to hit him too hard, he grimaced slightly. "Damn, that metal hurts!"
"That's th' point," she said with a small smile.
"Wanna watch a movie?"
"A movie?" she asked.
"Don't tell me you've never watched a movie before!" Bobby exclaimed.
"Then Ah won' tell ya," she said.
"Okay," he said, trying to think this through. "We'll start with the best movie of all time: Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Then after that, we have to watch the second best movie ever: Real Genius. But first, we have to get all the movie essentials: popcorn, Coke, some chocolate stuff like Milk Duds and Butterfinger mini's. Please tell me you've had chocolate!"
"Ah'm not that deprived!" she exclaimed with a giggle.
"Thank heavens!" That earned him another "soft" punch to the arm. "Ow! Stop that woman!"
"Woman?!" Ebony cried. With that they took off towards the kitchen, slightly slipping in the puddles still in the hall, to get the "movie essentials" laughing all the way.
To be continued....