Thieves, Scoundrels, and All Kinds of Riffraff
Chapter 13
By VivaGlam
* * * *
Author's Note:
Hm. Ok, I know I said that I'd post like nuts 'cuz it's the holidays, now. But I hadn't taken into account the little fact that, like, it's impossible to get me to sit down and write. I'd do anything *but* write. Stupid, eh?
Since this is the first 'real' chapter with all the characters, I'd just state that everybody belongs to everybody… (well, you know what I mean) and I'll get along with the chaos about to take place… ;) Oh yeah, and the timelines have been… uh…unsuspended, and so everybody's well, together again, all at the same time.
* * * *
Los Angeles, California
* * * *
The door leading into the Crest mansion banged opened, and the figure of a petite woman was seen coming up the stairs, with two larger people following closely behind her. CK paused, and looked around the lobby. "Whoa." He breathed. "This is where we're gonna crash?"
"Yeah. Unfortunately." Mumbled Adrienne, short dark hair mussed up and sticking out in all directions. Her eyes were heavy lidded with sleep, and dark rings circled them, making her look like a panda, much to amusement of the two men with her. "Don't worry, it's not so big that you're gonna get lost." She took her bag away from Kilroy, who had graciously insisted on carrying it for her, and proceeded to stumble away to the room that she had stayed in previously, when she had come back for a short period of time, to steal the security plans for the big heist.
The two guys looked at each other, and shrugged. "I guess she's tired." Said Kilroy.
"Y' think?" CK rolled his eyes, and dumped his bags by the stairs that Adrienne had descended not long ago, and trotted past his quizzical friend to the room beyond that. After he walked under the arch, he raised an eyebrow at the sight that greeted him, and whistled softly. "Dude, check this out."
Kilroy joined his friend, and grinned, realizing why his friend had been so awed. The room in front of them was gigantic, a merge of the living room and dining room, flanked to the left by a fully stocked wet bar, and behind that was a large spacious kitchen. In front of them, a huge sliding glass door was the only barrier between the house and the spacious back yard, in the middle of which was a huge, crystal clear pool. "Dude, I don't see why Adrienne was scared of coming back here. This place rocks, compared to our previous place."
Just then, both men heard the distinctive, unmistakable sound of a woman's heels tapping on the smooth marble floor, as somebody started walking towards the giant living room from behind them, coming from one of the other rooms that branched off from the entrance and the massive foyer. They turned around to find themselves looking at a sight that made CK wonder if Adrienne had accidentally brought them to the Playboy mansion, instead of the secret headquarters of a group of mutant thieves.
Deep blue eyes gazed out at them from under thick lashes, her flawless porcelain skin setting off the warm brown hair that cascaded down her shoulders, hanging past them to her hips, accentuating her feminine curves and small waist. The two men stared, dumbfounded at the beauty before them, when she finally broke the spell by squinting her large eyes suspiciously at them and demanding to know who they were and why exactly they were in this mansion. "Who are you, and what are the both of you doing here?"
Raykel had been wandering about the mansion aimlessly, looking for something to alleviate her boredom. For the past two days, she'd been bored out of her mind, having had absolutely nothing to do besides watching movies and hanging out with her teammates. Jay was cute enough, but after awhile, well, nicely put, he just didn't offer Raykel enough mental stimulation. Eclipse was not the most sociable of people, and the reclusive Fayre was hardly to be seen. Gabe had left halfway through to join Carey for something, and Amethyst had hardly emerged from her huge office.
Despite the fact that her looks often made people underestimate her intelligence, Raykel's mind was quick and sharp, and she often needed plenty of stimulation in order to keep out of trouble, as it were. She was not the kind who could be satisfied with shopping each and every single day. Shopping was great, but too much of anything tended to make one sick to the stomach. She'd nearly been driven out of her mind, when lo and behold; on the day when she was about to threaten Carey and Adrienne that she was going to walk out on them if something didn't happen soon, there they were- the new arrivals.
Interesting arrivals. She sized up both men standing in front of her. Typical college boys. She thought to herself, not in the least bit impressed. The shorter, heavyset one on the left was clad in jeans and a t-shirt, with an open flannel shirt tossed on over that. Obviously, he's not the fashion maven. He had an innocence to him that reminded her of a country boy who'd just set foot into the city for the first time. He's probably gonna trip over his own feet trying to impress me. She thought to herself, smug with confidence at her attractiveness.
The taller one seemed smoother, with his slick hair and carefully groomed goatee. Dark eyes glinted with intelligence, and his fingers seemed to constantly be moving, itching to touch something. And probably steal it. Now this guy belongs in the city. Huh. Odd pair. Wonder where Carey dug 'em up?
There was another pause, when finally Raykel decided to speak up. "Well, are you both gonna introduce yourselves, or just spend the rest of the day staring at me?" She looked one, and then the other, before raising one perfectly arched eyebrow.
This jolted the two men into reality, and CK quickly took the initiative. "The name's CK, darling." He bent down to take her hand and kiss it, never noticing the smug smirk on Raykel's lips. "And don't mind Kilroy, there. He's not quite versed in matters regarding the fairer sex."
"Is that true?" she asked Kilroy, looking at the man with a carefully orchestrated wry smile and a suggestive tilt of her head. Let's see how he responds to this.
Kilroy opened and closed his mouth like a fish, unable to really say anything. Then, finally, he managed to choke out his words. "Uh… n-not really."
Hm. Raykel was barely able to hold back her giggle. Cute, that one. She looked at the two men standing in front of her, and sighed mentally, supposing that enough teasing had already been done. "So you two must've come in with Adrienne."
"Yeah." CK looked at her in faint surprise. "How'd ya know that?"
Raykel smirked slightly, wondering if CK had underestimated her because of her looks. After a moment or two, she decided against it. It was just surprise. "Because the only other person who's been recruiting is Carey, and he got back this morning with a new addition to the team of his own. Where is Adrienne, anyways?" She switched topics suddenly, leaving CK a little off-balance. To her chagrin, the one who'd CK had introduced as Kilroy still hadn't said more than 3 words to her since they'd met a few minutes ago. Maybe he's autistic.
"She went upstairs to crash the moment we got here." Said CK, pointing in the direction of the rooms.
I wonder if she knows about the room changes. Thought Raykel to herself. If she went to the room that she'd occupied the last time, then… Raykel trailed off, trying to remember just who was residing in that room right now. Then, when she finally did remember, a slow, evil grin spread across her pretty face. Well, whaddya know? It's Gabe who's in that room right now. And last time I remember, he mentioned something about a shower.
CK looked at the woman in front of him, wondering about that suspicious looking grin that was spreading across her face right now. "Is something going on?"
Raykel was jolted out of her reverie, and looked at CK. "Nah. Just thinking."
And for some reason, she seemed to find this extremely amusing, and walked away, laughing. CK looked at Kilroy, who was still speechless from that encounter, and shrugged. Oh well. Might as well get comfortable.
* *
Upstairs
* *
Opening the door, Adrienne tossed her bag into one corner and tumbled onto the bed before tearing off her sneakers, and tossing those aside as well. She then yanked the pillow to her side and closed her eyes, immediately drifting off into sleep, oblivious to the fact that the shower in the bathroom attached to the bedroom was running, or that her bag and shoes had landed beside another set of luggage, and a pile of shed clothes.
In the shower, Gabe was taking a much needed shower, after having had a good workout upon returning from New Hampshire with Carey and Kat. As he hummed a little tune to himself, enjoying the feel of the warm water flowing down his body, he didn't hear the door slamming closed, or the sound of the shoes landing on the smooth parquet floor. When he was done, he stepped out of the shower, and toweled himself dry, before tying said towel around his lean waist.
He paused, sensing that something was wrong. But what, he couldn't quite put his finger on. He frowned, and then walked cautiously out to the main bedroom, to fine himself staring, in shock and disbelief, at the prone form of Adrienne, sleeping soundly on the bed in the middle of the room. "Holy sh-"
Before he could complete his curse, Adrienne emitted a very unfeminine snort, and turned over. He held his breath, hoping that she wouldn't wake up. And yet, one part of him wondered what would happen if she did. Admittedly, she looked rather alluring in her sleep, mussed hair, sticking up every which way. Before he could do anything else, she turned again, lying on her back. Her eyes fluttered open, and she squinted a little as her eyes tried to focus. Being short sighted, she wasn't quite sure what she was looking at, until she found herself staring at an almost naked Gabe standing in front of her bed.
She shot straight up, and her eyes widened, before she SCREAMED. "ARGH!!!" She spun around, and grabbed the first thing that she laid her hand upon, which happened, fortunately for Gabe, to be a pillow. She hurled it at him with considerable force, and he raised his hands to block it, grimacing. "Adrienne, I know how this looks, but I swear…"
By now, she'd risen from the bed, and had grabbed another heavier pillow, and was smacking him repeatedly on the head with it. "Pervert!! What were you trying to do?! This is my bedroom, so GET OUT!!"
He did his best to fend off the blows from the enraged woman, and finally, after having had enough of this, paused, ducked Adrienne's next swipe, which was aimed at his head, and dodged a scarily close kick to the groin before grabbing the pillow. Wrenching it from her hands, he pinned her arms to her sides, and pushed her back onto the bed, pinning her down with his heavier weight. "Calm down!! Addy, it was an accident!! I wasn't gonna do anything!!"
Both of them were out of breath, gasping, and Adrienne was perspiring profusely. She wriggled, trying to get out from under him. "Get off me!!"
"Only if you stop trying to castrate me!!" He hollered, trying his best to calm the furious Adrienne.
That seemed to wake her up, and she finally stopped struggling. As she looked around, she realized that she had grossly overreacted, because all the evidence seemed to point towards there being a true misunderstanding. Then, she also became acutely aware of the fact that a barely clad Gabe, who has hotter than hot, was lying on top of her, pinning her down to the bed. She flushed a deep red, and then, he too noticed the odd situation, and quickly got off her, and turned away, trying to hide his red face. "Uh… sorry about that." He muttered.
"'s ok." Mumbled Adrienne, who slid off the bed. "I'll go downstairs, and I'll come back and move my stuff when you're, uh, decent." Before she went out the door, she turned around, and very quickly, choked out an apology. "Sorry." Then, she left, fleeing out of the room.
* * * *
Downstairs
* * * *
Fayre was sitting on the floor in the den, long legs folded under her in the lotus position, and her eyes were closed, a peaceful, serene expression on her face, skin having been bronzed gold from many years of running under the sun's rays. Her long black hair had been twisted up into a sleek bun, and soft, soothing music played, as she prepared for her daily yoga session. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her arms up over her head, and slowly lifted her right leg out, keeping it perfectly parallel to the ground, and just a few inches above it, while her left leg bent into a squat, supporting her entire body's weight on that one limb. Slowly, she stood up on that one leg, keeping her right leg parallel to the ground the entire time. When she was finally standing up straight, still balanced on her left leg, she slowly lifted it further up, until it was pointed directly at the ceiling. After holding it for a few minutes in that position, she put her leg down.
To her surprise, she heard somebody clapping behind her, and spun around, hands up and clenched into fists, more than ready to deliver a few blows to whoever had snuck up on her. When she saw who it was, she put her hands down, and shook her head. "Hasn't anybody told you that it's not a good idea to sneak up on somebody?"
Carey smiled faintly, and walked over to sit on the couch opposite her. "I didn't sneak up on you. You were so busy concentrating that I didn't have any problems trying to keep my presence unheard."
Fayre rolled her eyes, and returned back to the lotus position, folding her legs under her. "So, you must be Carey, right?" She asked.
Carey titled his head a little, and grinned at her. "Good guess. How'd you know?"
"Well, the last name Li was a dead giveaway in regard to your appearance, and the fact that Adrienne's the only other Chinese person helped, too. And she did mention the presence of a mysterious older brother who was kind enough to help her with this crazy idea of hers. Whatever it is." Fayre had now lifted her whole body straight up into the air, balancing the entire weight of her body on her neck, long, lean body perpendicular to the floor of the den, arms supporting her torso.
"You know, it's not natural for somebody to be able to do something like that." Quipped Carey; eyeing the poses that Fayre was contorting her body into.
Fayre would have snorted if she could have, but unfortunately, she had to concentrate on holding her pose, or she would come crashing back to the ground. "It's called yoga. The Indians have been practicing it for hundreds of years to improve their mind, body, and health. They're known the world over for it."
"Ah, kinda like how they wrote the Kama Sutra and invented tantric sex. They're known the world over for that, too. And believe me, it definitely improves mind, body and health." Fayre could've sworn that she saw a sly grin on his face, but being upside down and concentrating on holding her yoga pose, she found it rather difficult to see whether he really was grinning. If Fayre didn't know any better, she'd think that the suave conman was flirting with her. But now, it was all she could do to suppress a giggle.
"You're trying to sabotage me, aren't you?"
"I need to see just how good our weapons expert really is." He replied, chuckling. "You can stop now, you know. I'm impressed already."
Fayre finally lay her body back down, and got up. "Who said I was trying to impress you?" She asked, winking at him before she walked out of the den. Carey was left a little stunned at her reply, and could only grin at that, admiring her rear view as she exited the room.
* * * *
In the Kitchen
* * * *
Katherine stood in the kitchen in her natural form; dressed in a loose fitting pair of black track pants, and a black tank top, she was busy rummaging through the cabinets and refrigerator, looking for any scraps of edible food. Despite the fact that she'd only been in the Crest Mansion for a few hours, she'd already made herself more than comfortable, moving into the room that she'd deemed best without consulting anybody, and the same initiative (or lack of respect, in some people's opinion) was showed when it came to eating, as was evidenced by her behavior.
Eclipse had been watching the teenager for awhile, and found herself scowling at her behavior. The kid hadn't said a single word to her since setting foot into the mansion, and already, with even that minimal amount of contact, she found herself developing an intense dislike the kid. Everything about the girl, from her attire down to the frown on her purple face, put Eclipse on edge. When the girl had finally made enough of a mess, Eclipse stepped into the kitchen, and the two women met for the first time. "So, think you've made enough of a mess?"
Kat turned around to find herself staring at a person who looked startlingly like herself, from the purple skin to the scowl which she imagined she often wore on her own features. "I'm not trying to make a mess. If you'd stepped in earlier and helped, this wouldn't have happened."
The woman smirked, and Kat found her hackles rising defiantly. She hated being laughed at. More than anything else in the world. Glaring daggers, she clenched her fist, and looked Eclipse straight in the eye. "Look, bitch, I have no idea who you are, but I know that you're going in the right direction for a damn big black eye, here."
"You couldn't take me on even if I had one hand tied behind my back, and a blindfold on." This got the desired reaction from the hotheaded little girl, as she gave Eclipse the finger. Teenagers. So easy to manipulate. "Bring it on, kid. Let's see what your best shot is."
And Kat launched all 5ft 6in of her body at the smirking shape shifter.
* * * *
Fayre was walking to the kitchen, intending to get a good cold glass of water, when she heard a horrendous racket coming from the kitchen. The crash and bang of appliances being tossed all over, the thumping of plastic Tupperware falling onto the floor, accompanied with the shriek and yell of two female voices could be heard.
"Gerroff me!!"
"Ow!! You'll pay for that, bitch!!"
"Argh!! My eye!!"
"Leggo my hair!!"
Worrying about what was going on, Fayre hurried to the kitchen, only to be greeted with a disastrous sight. The newcomer- what was her name? Was rolling on the floor, tussling furiously with Eclipse. It was actually rather hard to tell one mutant from the other, because both Eclipse and what'shername had purple skin, and what with all the limbs flailing all over the place, and the sight of flour and egg decorating them both was enough to make distinguishing one from the other difficult.
Fayre waded into the fray, and miraculously enough, was able to pull the furious women apart. However, Kat was blinded by fury, and since flour covered half her face, her eyesight was impeded, and she lashed out, smacking Fayre on the nose, causing her head to snap back.
Fayre paused in shock, and touched a finger to her nose, and discovered that there was just the slightest trickle of blood coming from it. "You bitch." She gasped. "You broke my nose!" And with that, she tackled Kat, and brought her to the ground. Eclipse was not willing to sit back and let Fayre have all the action, and she joined in, causing the catfight to turn into a three-way free-for-all.
Meanwhile, Kilroy had been exploring the compound with CK, and he had returned to the main living room, only to discover that a HUGE catfight was taking place. "Whoa." Breathed CK.
"Dude, a catfight." Muttered Kilroy.
"Maybe you should stop them." Said CK, looking at the very entertaining scene before him.
"Take that!! And that! And that!!" snarled Fayre, as she punched Kat, once, twice, and three times, in the gut. But before she could continue, Kat managed to slam her fist into Fayre's solar plexus, causing her to fall to the ground, wheezing. Kat got up, and Eclipse took the chance to backhand Kat, before struggling to put her into a chokehold.
"ARGH!! Leggo!!" And Kat thrust her elbow into Eclipse's side, and took the opportunity to pin her against the kitchen cabinets."
"And get in the middle of a catfight?" asked Kilroy, incredulous.
"Oof!!" Fayre was accidentally kicked by the flailing Eclipse in the crotch, and she doubled over. "Damn you, that HURT!!" She punched Eclipse in the eye, and jumped on top of both Kat and Eclipse.
"You're the one who's invulnerable." Answered CK.
"Shit!!" Hissed Eclipse, and she bucked, trying to get out from under the two other women.
"And get in the middle of a catfight?" asked Kilroy again.
"Ahh!!" Yelped Fayre.
"You're the one who's invulnerable!" Answered CK, yet again.
"HUAGH!!" Kat managed to put on a sudden burst of speed, and managed, miraculously enough, to lift Fayre off herself. She then did her best to toss the kicking, screaming, and yelling Fayre to Eclipse, who then had to deal with the terror. Once Eclipse was distracted sufficiently, she dove onto the pile, and started hammering on whoever was underneath her.
"And get in the middle of a catfight?" Asked Kilroy, one more time.
"I'll teach you to hit me next time!!" Shrieked Fayre, and she proceeded to grab a piece of Tupperware and hit Kat continuously over the head with it.
"Good point." Muttered CK. "Hey, you think you can make it to the microwave? I think we're missing some popcorn."
Kilroy peered at the circle of death, in which the flailing arms, legs, and occasional Tupperware lid flew, and mentally charted out a path. "Yeah, I think so. I'll grab that pack on the floor, and if I stay close to the fridge, it should be ok."
* * * *
5 Minutes Later
* * * *
Adrienne walked down the main staircase, trying to think of apology after apology for beating on Gabe like that. She really didn't know what had overcome her, and shook her head mournfully. Maybe she could treat Gabe to dinner or something like that. Although, the image of Gabe in just a towel draped over his hips was very… well, arousing. She flushed slightly at the thought, and shook her head, trying to clear it out of her head, and remove the embarrassing blush.
She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't her the enormous racket coming from the kitchen until she was nearly there. "What the hell?!" She asked, shocked at the sight that lay before her.
Leaning against the counter separating the kitchen from the dining room was CK and Kilroy, both of whom were munching on a freshly made bowl of popcorn- the steam and the warm aroma of butter wafting from the snack told her that much.
In the kitchen proper, still going strong, were Fayre, Kat, and Eclipse, all tangled up, each still trying valiantly to murder the other two. Flour, biscuits, and other foodstuffs normally found in the kitchen were strewn all over the place, to the point where Kat's formerly black clothes were now stained a powdery looking gray, from the flour, and Fayre's silky hair was glued to her head, with a disgusting mixture whose ingredients Adrienne really didn't want to hear about.
"CK!! Kilroy!! We have to stop them!!" She pushed past the two watching college boys, but before she could do anything, she was yanked back by CK, who was holding her collar.
"Nope. Can't letcha do that. Safety reasons and all that." He shoved another handful of popcorn into his mouth, and held the bowl out to her. "Popcorn?" He asked, talking around the fluffy white kernels.
Adrienne glared at the two, and then started looking around. "There has to be some way to calm them down!!"
She then looked into the garden, and saw a hose sitting near the pool. Her eyes lit up, and she made a mad dash for it. Within minutes, the hose had been dragged through the living and dining rooms, and was promptly aimed at the three women. She tossed it to CK, and shouted an instruction to him. "Hold that right there!!" before running back out.
He didn't quite know what to make of the snaking green hose, until she turned it on. Being a garden hose, the water gushing out was quite powerful, and as CK was in no way prepared for such strength, the hose slipped out of his fingers, and whipped around furiously with the force of the water flowing through it, spraying icy cold water all over the kitchen, the dining room, the tangled mess of angry mutant females, and the not-so-innocent bystanders CK and Kilroy.
CK hopped around, trying to dodge the spray of water, which coincidentally, seemed to be spraying more water at them than at the shrieking mass of furious female flesh in the kitchen. "Argh!! Come back here!" He hollered at the hose. He stepped forward, only to trip over a length of the hose himself, and fall down, hard, on the cold, wet floor.
Kilroy ignored his friend's pained grimace, and tried doing his best to grab hold of the slippery hose, which to his horror, seemed to move with a life of it's own.
Over in the kitchen, as the three women sought to untangle themselves from each other and get out of the way of the renegade garden hose, somebody kicked the area under the with a considerable amount of force, causing the already toppled bottle of liquid soap to spill its contents onto the wet floor. CK, meanwhile, made a valiant grab for the hose, only to knock it away from Kilroy, who was this close to getting a good grip on the hose. The spraying hose was then pointed in the direction of the growing puddle of soap, and a huge cloud of soapy lather started forming. In addition, the soap made the floor more slippery than ever, causing Fayre, Eclipse, and Kat to slip and slide dangerously across the kitchen floor. No longer were they trying to rip each other's throats- now, just keeping their balance was all that occupied their attention.
Adrienne ran back into the house, only to find herself staring at the worst mess ever. A soaking wet CK and Kilroy were trying to pull the hose in, and Fayre, Eclipse, and Kat were struggling to stand up straight amidst a HUGE cloud of lather that was growing larger and larger by the second. "Oh no." She whispered.
"What the HELL happened here?!!" Roared Carey, standing at the entrance to the living room, looking extremely livid.
"Oh shit." Adrienne covered her face with her hand. "Of all the people to see this first…"
Carey stalked up to them, eyes bulging, and the vein on his forehead standing out.
"Oh boy, he's gonna blow." She muttered to herself, averting her eyes.
"WELL?!" He looked at the mess. Fayre was looking terrible, with blood streaming down her nose, and Eclipse was getting a darkish purple ring on her left eye, which, coincidentally, also happened to be nearly swollen shut. Kat's clothes were torn in various places, and she was holding her side, and a spot on her head, a look of pain on her face. CK and Kilroy were slipping around on the slippery, soapy floor, soaked to the bone, and his sister was standing near the exit to the backyard, eyes wide, and the corner of her lip twitching a little.
"Uh, well, you see, I…"
"She started it!"
"The hose went berserk!"
"The bitch broke my nose!"
"I was just watching the fight!"
"All I did was make popcorn!"
"I tried to stop them!"
To Adrienne's surprise, instead of going berserk at the barrage of excuses that all flowed out all at precisely the same moment, Carey spun on his heel and walked away. Truth was that he was about ready to faint, but he wasn't about to let them find out.
I think I have some aspirins in my luggage. Yes, an aspirin would be an excellent idea right about now…
* * * *
Author's Note:
Well, so, whaddya think? Was it worth it? I know that this chapter took awhile, but I just couldn't sit down and write. Sorry. I'll try to get the next chapter out ASAP, but seriously? No promises. But R&R, and tell me what you think!
And one more thing. If you have a character in my story, and haven't been reviewing, expect a very nasty, sudden ending to him/her. That's all I'm gonna say. I understand if you've missed the story once or twice, because the turnover rate for the front page of the X-Men: Evolution section on FF.net is extremely high, but after a certain point, I lose my patience, and while this is a more lighthearted fic, do not underestimate my ability to make things painful for characters. I have a VERY warped mind. You have been warned.