From CC: It makes me happy to see so many people on board with Annie. We think she's perfect for Scott, so it's great to be vindicated in that everyone (so far) is agreeing with us. I can only hope you'll like some of our other set ups down the line and a few twists on current theories that frankly - Marvel needs to pay attention to. (we're available for consult, seriously.) Now. As this is the end of this particular VOLUME, please be sure to bounce on over to robbie's page to read the next volume which … robbie is frankly DYING to share.
From robbie: What CC said. Seriously. We are so on board the "Make Scott Summers Happy" train, and we're glad that everyone seems to agree that Annie is a good conductor for said train. ;) I'd say more, but VOLUME FOUR. *dying noises of excitement* *ahhhhhhh*
Chapter 14: "Dinner Guests"
Kamala Khan made her way up to the mansion with a little excited skip in every step. She'd double- and triple-checked the address a hundred times just to be sure she wasn't just dreaming this up, and yep, she'd definitely been invited up to the X-mansion.
She was really, really glad she'd taken Bruno's dare to actually turn in some of her writing when there was a Hawkeye working in publishing, but she hadn't thought she'd actually hear back. It was just a dare!
And now here she was. Walking up the mansion. And trying very hard not to look like she was about to die of happiness.
When she rang the doorbell, she totally recognized the guy at the door wearing a long coat and a smirk and tried not to squee in his face. "Hi!" she blurted out quickly. "Hi — um. I have an invitation?" She held up her letter. "I'm not late, am I?"
"No," the tall man replied with a thick accent. "You early — but Miss Kate waitin' for you down de hall. Come on in." He held the door open for her and smiled down at her with red and black eyes half hidden under his somewhat messy reddish-brown hair.
Kamala all but skipped over the first step as she looked around, wide-eyed, for a moment before she turned back with a little "oh." "Um — I'm Miss Marvel," she said quickly. "I'm an Avenger now," she added, because that was never, ever going to get old.
"Gambit," he replied with a widening smile as he tipped his head to her. "I'm not. An Avenger, dat is."
"No, I know that. I mean — hey, you're not on the team with me!" she laughed. "I mean — I know who you are. Not that — I mean. It's very nice to meet you." She mentally berated herself for tripping over her words — she had meant to be cool about coming to the institute, and this was so not how she had pictured it going in her head.
"Charmed. Maybe you'd like a soda or somethin' while you wait for Miss Kate?" He gestured toward the kitchen, already leading her that way before she could answer.
"Um, okay. Maybe some water," Kamala agreed. "It's a really long walk from your driveway."
"Dat it is, petit," Gambit replied before he pulled out a bottle of water for her and set it on the counter by one of the kitchen stools. "Mebbe take a minute to catch yo' breath before you pass out. Ain't nobody gon' mind if you take a minute to breathe."
"Thanks," Kamala said. She hopped up on the stool and fiddled with the cap of the water bottle before she took a long drink.
He leaned against the counter across from her and propped his head up on one hand. "So. You gon' be de new novelist for Miss Kate?"
"I guess so?" She smiled nervously. "I mean, I've only written the one thing, but she liked it. I really write more of fanfiction — I mean, well. I'm trying other things. Just… yeah." She rubbed the back of her neck.
"What kinda stories you write in your fanfiction, petit? You ever write about ol' Gambit?" he asked with a little laugh before he just shook his head at her. "Don' worry none. You gon' be jes fine. You play it cool and you make a big splash before you know it."
"Yeah, I can do that," she said, nodding to herself. They spent a few more minutes just chatting to let a bit of time pass before Kamala looked truly relaxed and at ease and Gambit offered to take her to see Miss Kate.
Kamala was grinning as he led her through the halls and as she took in the sights of the mansion before they finally got to Kate's office, where Kate was waiting with coffee and a nervous grin of her own. "Nice to meet you," Kate said, the smile widening when she realized that Kamala was just as nervous. "Cap's told me some really nice things about you — I hope you don't mind I called him to ask about you?"
Kamala shook her head and started to grin. "What kind of nice things?" she asked.
Kate just laughed and waved her inside. "All sorts of nice things," she promised. "He was surprised when I told him you could write, though. Come on in. Let's talk about how you can surprise him some more."
Kamala nodded and looked back over her shoulder to see that Gambit was just standing nearby, leaning against the wall and grinning at her with an easy smile.
"Come on, I don't bite," Kate said with a little laugh. "Do you drink coffee? How do you take it?"
"I'm fine. I had some water," Kamala assured her as she gave Gambit a thumbs up and then closed the door behind her.
When Kamala and Kate emerged from the office, they were both grinning and laughing together, very different from the nervous little girls that they had been before. Kamala was telling Kate about her first time ever in space and how Tony Stark had written her parents a letter to invite her to a 'science symposium' so she could go — and Kate thought the whole thing was hilarious.
Kate invited her to stay for dinner, because Logan was going "all out," and she promised Kamala that it would be the best meal she'd had all week.
They were partway to the kitchen when a couple of the bamfs showed up and excitedly chattered at Kate, who just laughed at them. "Yes, this is the writer," she told them. "Say hi, Kamala."
"Hi, Kamala," Kamala said brightly as she waved at the bamfs, one of which got up pretty close in her face to examine her before they just sort of nodded at her and then turned their attention back to Kate to hover near her and more or less shepherd her to the kitchen so she could join the rest of the X-Men — and Kurt.
"Just sit wherever you want," Kate told Kamala when the younger girl seemed to pause uneasily once they got to the dining room. Kamala just stuck close by Kate and sat on her other side as Kate slid in next to Kurt with a sedate smile.
"Um — do we know what we're eating?" Kamala asked as everyone seemed more interested in chatting than anything else.
"Knowing Logan — likely either some kind of fish or venison," Kurt assured her. "It's not usually anything too terribly complex, I promise. But more often than not, it's a good night to come by."
"Sounds like I lucked out then," Kamala said with a nervous grin his way.
"Yeah, Bobby was on Saturday," Scott added with a laugh as he and Annie took a seat nearby. "You dodged a bullet."
"Oh. Oh, I really want to ask if it was a frozen dinner, but that would be bad taste, wouldn't it?" Kamala said.
Scott gave her a genuine smile. "No. Not really. Not when it doesn't matter what it is since he usually has to freeze it to put the fire out."
"Yeah. That doesn't sound like something I want to eat," Kamala agreed with a smile. "You're — you're Cyclops, aren't you?" she asked shyly.
His smile fell just a bit as he offered his hand to her. "Scott," he said with a little nod. "Nice to meet you—"
"Oh! I'm Miss Marvel," she said, positively beaming at him. "I mean — I'm Kamala. Also that. Um - are you really… I'm a big fan!" She looked very nervous again all of a sudden. "I've read all sorts of stuff about you and — and — my best friend's story about you is top-rated on Freaking Awesome and — and you're just really cool, Cyclops, sir."
"Ah, thanks … I think," he replied, the smile easing its way back on his face.
"So cool to see you at the mansion! I mean — you're getting back in action, right? You gotta," she said, warming up again and just all but bouncing in place.
"Thinking about it, yeah," Scott admitted. "Nothing's solid yet though."
"Oooh, that would be so cool!" Kamala gushed. "I mean — the new lineup is really, really neat, but oh man — that would be awesome!"
Annie looked incredibly amused as she slid her arm through Scott's. "It would, wouldn't it?" she said in a low whisper Scott's way.
A shrill whistle split the air, and the regulars were all set to go. "Time to eat, Kleine," Kurt said to Kamala. "Don't let them fool you — Ororo and Jubilee will fight you if it's one of their favorites."
"Oh, okay," Kamala said, then smiled the slightest bit and stretched out her arms until one of them had reached behind the chairs all the way to the end of the table. "Well, it's a good thing I can reach anyplace on the table and steal the best stuff," she assured him.
While the group went to grab their dinners, Logan slipped back to the kitchen to grab the beer, and when he tossed one Kurt's way, the fuzzy Elf very nearly missed it because he was wrapped up in conversation with the sweet Miss Marvel. Kurt glared at him for just a second but laughed it off.
"You game, Slim?" Logan had almost just tossed Scott a can but stopped himself to check and see if Scott still had the good humor from the night before. "Cedar Salmon and beer. Beat the combo."
Scott paused for a moment and then hard to smirk. "Hard to have one without the other."
Logan returned the smirk and tossed the can his way — which Scott caught with a bit more ease than Kurt had.
Annie laughed at the look on Scott's face. "You love it here," she whispered to him, and the only one who could hear it besides Scott was Logan, who just quietly smirked and turned away so Scott couldn't see it.
The group all made their way to the dining room, Logan with the rest of the six pack in tow to sit down to dinner and listen while Kate told the group as a whole about her newest author — pending getting her parent's permission on her contract, of course.
"She's really talented," Kate gushed. "I couldn't believe it when she told me she was only seventeen." Kamala was blushing and looking steadfastly down at her food as Kate went on to gush about the possibilities the two of them already had in mind for a series.
Of course, once Annie asked Kamala about how she got into writing and seemed to express genuine interest in her Avengers fanfiction — well, there was no stopping her. Her earlier shyness was gone completely as she seemed eager to tell Annie everything.
Scott and Logan watched her gush as they ate, only glancing at each other now and again in amusement at her enthusiasm as they listened in silently.
They were about halfway through dinner when the proximity alarms went off, and the gathered group looked up in surprise. "Please tell me that's just a fancy way of saying dessert is coming out of the oven," Kamala said, seemingly disappointed at the interruption.
"Excuse me," Kurt said after sharing a quick look with Logan and Scott, both of whom stood up quickly even as Kurt teleported away.
"Jubes — you wanna get the students somewhere safe?" Logan called out as he and Scott headed toward the front door.
Kamala stood up quickly to try and follow after them, with Kate close behind her. "What's the alarm? I can help," she offered, even as she grew her hands into fists about the size of her entire torso.
"Don't know yet," Logan replied, and as they got to the foyer, an explosion rocked the room and Kurt teleported back into the house, not twenty paces behind them.
"Reavers," he announced. "They don't seem too happy with any of us."
"Okay, well… what do you suggest to fight them?" Kamala asked.
"Hit 'em real hard," Logan offered before Kurt teleported the two of them outside in a pouf of indigo smoke.
"You let me know if you need out, and I'll ask one of the bamfs to take you," Kate offered as she ran beside Kamala toward the doors. "I know the switch from Avenger baddies to X-Men baddies is… fun. They can be much nastier than you're used to. Never even met reavers myself."
Kamala just nodded as she looked Kate's way. "I can handle it," she said. "You let me know if you need some backup, alright, Hawkeye?" she added with a cheeky grin.
As the two girls burst onto the scene, they weren't surprised at all to see that the three X-Men who had left before them were already knee-deep in the fight — Kurt with his swords, Scott blasting through enemies, and Logan tearing them a path to just keep going leaving bits of cyborg across the lawn.
Kamala winced a bit when she saw the carnage but nodded over at Kate. "So ... these are reavers?"
"Apparently." Kate said as she fitted an arrow. "I bet they're just as smashable as the stuff you're used to, though — let's try it out."
Kamala grinned at Kate and then rushed forward to send one reaver flying backward with a punch from her oversized fist. She grabbed another one up in the palm of her hand and then shouted out in pain and surprise when he shot through her, though Kate was quick to repay the insult with an arrow through his forehead as Kamala shook out her hand with a wince.
"You alright?" Kate called out, and Kamala just nodded.
"Healing factor," she explained as she shook her hand one more time. "Just have to work through it even when it hurts. That's what — well, the other Wolverine told me."
"Which one? The older one?" Kate asked curiously.
"No, the one that died," Kamala said as she smashed her fist down on a Reaver that had been eyeing Kate and taking aim. "For a guy who lost his healing, he sure had some good tips for mine."
"This one's a pretty good teacher too," Kate said with a smirk, illustrating her point by temporarily abandoning the bow to vault into a hooked kick that brought down a Reaver near Kamala.
"Thanks!" Kamala called out as Kate saluted her with her bow and then, to Kamala's surprise, vanished in a puff of smoke only to reappear a bit further out where she could line up a perfect shot — and then Kamala noticed the little bamf on Kate's shoulder baring its teeth at the reavers and growling menacingly.
"Embiggen!" Kamala shouted, and she started to grow even more — not just her fists but her whole body, so that she could kick a few reavers away from the fight. She heard a peculiar-sounding bamf just by her ear and looked over to see Kate perched on her shoulder.
"Oh, hi there. Mind if I come along for the ride?" Kate asked conversationally, and Kamala just grinned back at her.
"Do you have them trained or something?" Kamala asked.
"We've been doing this together for a while. Actually, they're pretty easy to work with once you get a good rhythm," Kate said, ruffling the little bamf's hair affectionately before she fitted an arrow. "Look out!" she said, firing once, and Kamala looked down to see that there were about three Reaver's headed her way.
She kicked one of them, and Kate shot the other, but the third managed to get a good slash in that cut through Kamala's calf, and Kamala fell to one knee, desperately shouting, "Shrink, shrink, shrink!" as she fell in an effort to keep from crushing a wing of the school or something.
Kate and the bamf teleported away from the fall, and by the time Kamala hit the ground, she was normal-sized and looked more like herself. "You alright?" she asked as she reappeared beside Kamala in another puff of smoke.
"Yeah, just have to go back to my normal form to heal," Kamala explained through gritted teeth. "Can you buy me a minute?"
Kate nodded and strung another few arrows — the first one explosive to throw the reavers back a bit before she just started firing again. "I can buy you as many minutes as you need," she promised as Kamala nodded and concentrated on healing for a moment.
Meanwhile, the boys had been fighting more or less together and as a team until the reavers just got flat out too nasty. Scott had gotten a slash mark across his chest that very nearly went to the bone, and Kurt had been bashed back hard enough that he temporarily couldn't focus enough to teleport until just a split second before that same reaver brought down a cybernetically-enhanced fist where his head had just been.
Logan had just … kept slashing and cutting at them as best he could — though he had lost track of where the other two had gotten off to as he did so. He was spinning and kicking. Rebounding off of one to kick another and generally enjoying himself with a little smirk as he used his momentum to tear off one of the reaver's arms as he sailed over one's head to dive into him from the other side.
He was simply too occupied with the task at hand to realize what they were doing by cutting him off from the others. But Scott was dealing with far less heat and finally — after a miserably tough fight — he looked up long enough to see what was really happening as the reavers made their move.
In a swift, coordinated attack, Logan found himself with strange cybernetic shackles on his wrists and ankles, and after stabbing the offending reavers for doing ... whatever they'd just done, an odd humming sound echoed the lawn. And just that quickly, he found himself entirely unable to move just as soundly as if Magneto himself had decided to freeze him to the spot.
Scott made a rush for him and called out to warn Kurt of what had happened just as Donald Pierce, the head of the reavers arrived on the scene. He looked Logan over with pure triumph in his gaze before he got to work — apparently just torturing their teammate while his underlings started to simply haul him off, though Scott couldn't hear what he was saying.
There was a familiar-sounding bamf, but when the smoke cleared, it was Kate and Kamala, along with a few bamfs, standing in the way of Pierce's underlings, Kate with her bow drawn and firing the arrows at the ones nearest Logan as soon as she had a good line of sight and Kamala fully healed and with her arms crossed over her chest, though she looked a bit queasy.
"I don't think I like traveling by baby demon things," she muttered to Kate before she looked Logan's way and just gritted her teeth. She reached over to knock aside some of the guards, eyeing the shackles suspiciously.
"Cut him loose," Kurt called out. "Cut him loose, and the bamfs will get you out before ... just — let him loose on them."
"Okay, let me just..." Kamala sized up the shackles while Kate kept Pierce busy with a barrage of arrows his way. She frowned at them and then grabbed hold of the connectors between them and squeezed, the cybernetics falling apart in her hands as she did so, fizzling with electricity that had her gasping but still didn't stop her from destroying the restraints.
And then — as Kurt had promised, Kamala smelled brimstone and tasted smoke before she was somewhere else in the battle entirely. It took a moment for her to get her bearings and find where she had just been so she could see what was going on:
As soon as Kamala had removed the devices holding Logan down, he burst forward and went straight for Pierce with a snarl, simply going right through anyone stupid enough to try and block his path on his way. Kate let out a little sound of surprise when she heard the snarl so close, and an instant later, she too was somewhere else entirely as Scott rushed toward the carnage Logan was working on creating.
Kurt teleported over to where Kamala was with a broad grin. "You did well," he told her with a little laugh.
"Thanks," she said brightly, still shaking out her hands. "I specialize in saving Wolverines," she teased.
"You and me both," Kurt laughed.
Kamala closed her hands back down to normal size, and when she opened them again, there was no sign of any burn from the shackles. "Man. That dinner is really calling my name right now. Do you guys always get attacked when Logan cooks?"
Kurt frowned for a moment. "No, but it does seem to happen more often on his turn. Perhaps he plans it?"
Kamala laughed. "If he does, that's real dedication to making sure everyone works off all their food." She looked toward Logan and Scott. "Aren't they… gonna need help?" she asked, though she looked like she absolutely did not want to go anywhere near that - it was way too much heat for her.
"No," Kurt said with a little shake of his head. "Pierce made Logan mad. He can reap what he's sown now." Kamala just nodded at that, still watching a bit wide-eyed as the two X-Men went to town.
"Someone should point out to Cyclops that he's showing bone," Kate said as she caught up to the two of them, down one quiver and strapping on another.
Kurt raised his hand to his ear theatrically. "Don't you hear the affectionate screaming from here? It's already been pointed out. Words have been exchanged."
Kate snorted as she shot an arrow through another reaver and took the opportunity to take advantage of the small pause to steal a quick kiss to his cheek. "I meant someone he's not actively trying to stupidly rescue, silly Elf," she teased.
"Like that makes any difference," Kurt teased. "He knows that Logan has seen him injured. He won't come out of there until the fight is over or he's passed out from blood loss or pain. There is no middle ground."
"Then we'd better speed this fight along," Kamala suggested, picking up a reaver and throwing him out of the way in one unnaturally large fist.
Just then, Scott shouted out a curse as Logan tore off Pierce's head and drop kicked it halfway across the lawn, just past Scott's head, and after that, the rest of the reavers left didn't exactly seem to feel as though they had much to fight for. The girls, Kurt, and the bamfs easily ran them off after that with arrows sticking in place that really didn't need the downgrade to function properly.
Once the reavers had been run off, Kamala sat down in the grass with a long, loud sigh and then laid back in it. "I could eat a dozen churros right about now and not even blink," she announced to no one as Kate grinned over at her.
"Sorry dinner got screwed up," Scott muttered her way. He and Logan had made their way up to the little group now that the reavers were gone, and Logan was still just half glaring at him.
"Kurt — make those little demons drag him to Henry," Logan growled out. "Idiot doesn't know when he's had enough. Even when his flamin' sternum is showing." Scott opened his mouth to complain, but two little bamfs had already attached themselves to his legs, and in a poof, they were gone.
"So ... reavers," Kate said as she slid up to Kurt and snaked an arm around his waist. "I can check that off the list now. Fun fun."
Kurt smiled over at her before he noticed the growing bruise just underneath her eye. "Are you alright?" he asked, and she just tried to wave him off.
"Worrywort," she said with a little smile.
"When someone hits so close to your eyes, of course I worry," Kurt said as he gently lifted his hand to her cheek.
She held his hand to her face and just smiled at him before she stepped in to kiss him.
A little ways away from the involved couple, Kamala looked a bit pale from her little spot on the grass and Logan simply dropped down to sit nearby. "You don't like blood, do you?" he asked before he glanced her way to watch her expression.
She shook her head. "I don't like hurting anybody if I can help it," she admitted.
"Those guys were mostly robot. You didn't hurt anything," he assured her, though she didn't look all that convinced. "You okay? Get hurt? The other three all got a little worked over."
Kamala waved a hand his way with a little smile. "I'm fine. I just need some serious chow is all. Healing really takes it out of me," she explained.
He nodded his head in understanding. "Yeah, that'll do it. Little tip, though — switch to protein. You need about six times as much sugar to get the job done."
"Good to know." She sat up a little bit and grinned at him. "We haven't been introduced, really," she added. "I mean — I met you once, but Cap said that was the alternate dimension you. So ... hi. I'm Miss Marvel." She stuck out her hand for him to shake. "You can call me Kamala."
He gave her a little smirk as he took it. "Logan," he replied before he leaned back onto his elbows in the grass. "You're working with Cap, eh? He treating you right or should I work him over for you?"
"Oh — it's great!" Kamala said quickly. "I really, really like being an Avenger."
"Glad to hear it," he said with a nod. "Still. There's a lot they skim over. If you decide you want to learn a little more than what Cap has you doing, come on by."
"Well, I'm doing a lot of training with Queen Medusa too," Kamala explained. "Not to mention I'm still in high school," she added with a sheepish smile as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Do you guys offer summer courses?"
"That or private lessons," he said with a little nod. "Always something to work out. Kate refuses to admit she needs help, so I just work her over when I have time."
Kamala laughed. "That sounds a lot more rigorous than my summer reading list," she said.
Logan looked over his shoulder to where Kurt and Kate were still flirting. "C'mon," he said as he got to his feet and offered her a hand up. "Let's get some food in you. Can't have word out that we're lettin' kids starve."
Kamala laughed outright. "Just let me at the pantry. You and I can clean it out, and they'll all regret letting us anywhere near the kitchen," she teased.
"Wouldn't be the first time," he admitted with a smirk.
"And maybe not the last?" she asked hopefully.
"Not likely," he agreed. "Especially if you're on the Avengers roster. We'll be crossing paths." With that, he led the way back, with Kamala beaming all the way behind him.
Those in the mansion were still putting themselves back together after the attack as a few of the students and teachers took to fixing up the school, clearing out cyborg parts, that sort of thing. But Annie had escaped Jubilee's watchful eye to run down to Henry McCoy's medical bay as soon as she heard that Scott was injured, and when she saw what had happened, she looked like she might have a fit.
"What happened?" she demanded, running over to him to get as close as Hank would allow while he was cleaning the long, deep cut to prepare to stitch it back together.
Scott grinned ruefully at her. "I got on the bad side of a reaver," he explained. "I'm fine - Hank's fixing me up."
Annie crossed her arms over her chest and looked over her fiance, who was pale and, she could tell, had his teeth gritted in that way that meant he was pretending to be far more alright than he actually was. She glared at him for a long moment, her lips pursed. "You're not fine, Scott," she pointed out, waving her hand at the medical setup.
"Occupational hazard," Scott said with a little shrug.
Annie rolled her eyes hard. "Do you see anyone else in here that wants to show off their skeleton, Scott?" she asked, which had Hank quietly smirking as he was content to just let Scott get a talking to from this angry Southern lady. "Because I sure don't."
"That's because he's upstairs and healing with half the pantry laid out," Scott said, and Annie glared at him.
"You don't have healing powers, mister, so don't drag him into your own stupid," she said, leveling a finger at him. "So help me, if you show up to our weddin' in a body cast, I will string you up nine ways to Sunday and leave you for the polecats."
"You really should listen to your bride, Mr. Summers," Henry agreed with a little twinkle in his eyes. "I'm not entirely sure how to treat one who has been left out to the polecats."
"I'm not sure on that myself," Scott admitted with an attempted smile Annie's way, but she just rolled her eyes at him even harder.
"Tell me somethin', Doctor McCoy," Annie said, her accent only deepening the more frustrated she got. "Is he goin' to be able to pick up my little nieces when we get back?"
Henry thought it over for a moment and tipped his head to the side. "He might want to let them come to him for the first week unless the stitches are out by the time you get back. It all depends on how long you're here and if our Fearless Leader can manage to keep out of trouble until then."
"Oh, he will," Annie said with a meaningful glare Scott's way. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and settled in with her hands on her hips. "I won't even have to give him a hard time, because those two little imps of Rachel's will do it for me. Not getting their Uncle Scott fix. Shameful."
"Shameful indeed," Henry agreed.
"Hey," Scott said, holding up his hands in as best a defensive gesture as he could manage with Hank still working him over. "We chased off the reavers, and we kept the school safe. We even stopped Pierce from grabbing Wolverine. I think we did good."
"I didn't realize that Pierce was that close," Henry said with a frown as he finished the last few stitches. "Did they manage to lay hands on him?"
Scott nodded with a frown. "Pierce brought a few new toys," he explained before he added, this time smirking the slightest bit, "That Miss Marvel, though — she broke right through them. I don't think Pierce was ready for her."
"He seems to underestimate the young ladies that take a shine to our Wolverine."
"As long as he keeps doing it, I won't complain," Scott admitted. "I'd rather have that oversight to exploit than anything."
"Is she alright?" Annie asked cautiously, looking around the medical area as she suddenly realized she didn't see any injured young lady there.
"Logan's taking care of her," Scott replied, sounding perfectly at ease with the idea. "She should be just fine."
Annie looked him over for a long minute. "Excuse me," she said at last, in a dripping, honeyed accent that meant all sorts of trouble as she headed out of Hank's setup and back toward the main areas.
She made her way upstairs with a frown settling deeply on her features until she finally found Logan — sitting easily in the kitchen with Kamala as the two of them chatted over what was left of the salmon, nibbling away. Or, more appropriately, as Kamala brightly told him that her Wolverine fanfiction was the second-highest rated story on the website she used to post her stories.
Logan just kept pushing things her way and trying to get her to take a breath, and eat, supplying stories of his own here and there to give her a chance to slow down.
Annie looked them both over for a long moment in the doorway, arms crossed, before she swallowed hard and looked at Kamala first. "You alright, honey? Sounds to me like it was rough out there."
Kamala just nodded brightly around a mouthful of food. "Mmhmm," she said, still nodding before she swallowed. "Just hungry."
Logan just gave Annie a little tip of the head a moment before Kamala invited her to join them, and Logan just pulled a chair out in response.
Annie regarded Kamala for a moment before, slowly, she settled into the chair but didn't touch any of the food. "Scott's down in the medical suite," she told Logan matter-of-factly, just to see what his reaction would be.
"Yeah, he'd have been there a lot sooner if he'd have listened and backed off. Hell. Might have avoided it altogether if he'd have just backed off."
Annie's frown only deepened at that. "Well, how come he didn't, Wolverine?" she asked in a very quiet voice.
"Hardheaded as much as I can figure," he replied with a shrug.
She frowned at him for a long moment before she seemed to gather herself and then stuck her finger in his face. "Don't you go gettin' him killed, Logan, or we're going to have words. And I don't care that you can heal yourself up right pretty afterward, because that just means I'm going to find out if I can apply all those stories my daddy told me from the war - in person."
He turned to look her over properly. "You can, anytime, if it makes you feel better. And I told you before. I can't make him listen. I can take the hit for him if I'm not already down, but I can't stop him from being an idiot."
"No, you make idiotic decisions with him," she half-shouted, still pointing at him and accentuating her words with a little bounce of the finger. "And don't take a hit for him. That's — that'll make it worse, you… you self-healin' little nincompoop!"
"If I didn't take hits for him, he'd be dead a dozen times over," Logan told her frankly. "And I'm not going to stop. I can take it. He can't."
"It ain't living for him if he loses one of you," she shot right back, eyes narrowed. "You didn't see him before. So don't make me come after you — because I will."
"Half of what I do is keep everyone from getting that badly hurt," he replied calmly. "I can't stop every hit they take, though. Especially when they—" He stopped himself partway through and just drew in a deep breath. "Tell you what, sweetheart. When you finally get fed up and decide to come and try what your daddy taught you — bring a baseball bat. I don't want you to break your hand when you hit me."
"Lord help you if I do," she replied evenly, glaring at him hard. "I don't aim to be pleasant about it if you bring that boy back to me beat to all hell and back."
"I'd be happy to teach him how to avoid it — if he'd listen. But years of working with him and not once has he ever listened to a word I said," Logan told her. "So until hell freezes over, I guess I'll just keep trying to take the damn hits."
"Then I guess you and I'll be seein' plenty of each other come July when we move down here," Annie said. "Because 'long as you keep doing that, he'll keep right on gettin' hit anyway." She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair.
"When you run outta your daddy's ideas, I'll coach you in more until you get tired of it."
"Honey, I'll just start using the things I learned from my kids. Those little ones can be nasty when they want," Annie shot back, the beginnings of a smile on her face.
He smiled her way at that. "I'll watch out for glitter bombs and legos minefields then."
"Don't joke," Annie said, the smile tugging at the side of her mouth. "Legos are the worst pain a five-year-old can inflect."
"On your wallet, sure," he agreed with a little laugh.
She shook her head at him and then let out a sigh before she reached over to lightly hit him in the side of the arm. "Don't be an idiot," she told him with a stern look that quickly softened as she then reached over to squeeze his hand. "And ... keep looking out for my idiot, please."
"If I could find a way to take the hits that'd save him without him knowing it? It would have been a perfected art years ago."
She laughed and nodded her agreement before she stood up and primly brushed her hands off on her pants. "Right then. Sorry to interrupt your… late dinner," she said.
"You didn't," Logan told her. "I'm used to getting yelled at after fights."
"That should tell you a little somethin' about your style, honey," she said with a smirk.
"It's usually that I'm hoggin' all the fun, so I guess it does." He turned to Kamala for a moment. "Now you. You need a ride home or something?"
"I was just going to take the bus," Kamala admitted, though she looked a little put out that the Annie and Logan show was over now.
"If you're not against it, I'll take you to the city," he offered. "Save your fare."
"That would be great," Kamala agreed with a smile.
"You ever ride a motorcycle?"
She shook her head, eyes as wide as her grin. "No, I haven't. But ... I've always wanted to," she admitted, her eyes sparkling.
"Well let's grab you a helmet and get you home. Pretty sure I got a jacket around here somewhere you can use," Logan told her. "I could use the fresh air after that mess anyhow."
Kamala grinned delightedly. "Ooh, yes please!"
By the time spring break was over, and Annie had to get back to her students, it was obvious that she didn't want to leave the mansion as she chatted with Storm, excitedly planning out her curriculum for the students as more and more of them trickled back in from their vacations.
"We'd be more than happy to help with your move," Storm told her over breakfast before they were due to leave.
"I'll let you know," Annie promised with a smile. She was shaking her head with a little laugh as she said it and leaned forward. "We may honestly need the help. It might be hard to plan a wedding and move so far from home."
"I'm sure most of us here would be happy to help with that too," Storm promised, grinning.
Annie laughed and nodded her agreement. "We wanted to get married in Anchorage where most of our friends are," she explained. "So we might have to change the date a bit."
"Don't hurry things along on our account unless you're sure that's what you want," Storm replied, shaking her head. "We can always fly you out there when you need it."
Annie nodded. "We might take you up on that," she agreed. She leaned in a bit closer with a wide smile. "And, of course, I'll have to make sure you and the rest of the X-Men are invited. We sent out invitations weeks before Wolverine showed up on our door."
"Well, if the invitations are already sent out, we wouldn't want you changing too much," Storm said, chuckling.
"Oh, we'll need to find a larger venue anyway," Annie admitted easily. "I just can't imagine getting married without having Scott's family around, especially not now that I've met you all."
"That's very considerate of you," Storm said with a small smile.
"No, it's the very least consideration I could show," Annie countered, shaking her head with a little laugh. "Of course y'all should be there. It's not a consideration; it's a fact." She leaned back and tipped her head at Storm as she sipped her sweet tea. "And, honestly, if anyone should be talking about consideration, it's me. You've been way too nice to me."
Storm shook her head, smiling wider. "It's just good to see that you two are so happy," she insisted, to which Annie just grinned.
"We really are," she said softly. She smiled over at Storm as she admitted, "I can't wait to be married to him."
"The feeling is obviously mutual," Storm said with a warm smile. "And I think I speak for all of us here that it's refreshing to see him so… relaxed and happy."
Annie nodded her agreement and then got up to put away her breakfast dishes. "Of course, if I'd've known just how badly he gets himself beaten when he runs with y'all, I'd've insisted on taking a few medical courses before I got engaged to him," she joked.
"I'm sure you can still do that," Storm laughed.
"Once the summer hits and I have a bit more time," Annie agreed. She finished rinsing out her dishes and wiped her hands off on the towel before she turned to face Storm with a little smile and flung her arms around her neck. "Thank you for your hospitality. Truly. It's been an amazing week."
Storm laughed as she hugged Annie back and was surprised when the hug ended that Annie was pressing something into her hands. When she looked down at the envelope in surprise, Annie had a huge smile on her face.
"I'll see you soon, I'm sure," Annie called out, waving, as she all but skipped down the hall to help Scott finish packing up for the trip back to Alaska.
Storm laughed and shook her head the slightest bit before she opened the envelope and had to smile at the neat, hand-written calligraphy:
Douglas and Evelyn Hale
Are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter
Annette Elizabeth Hale
To
Scott Summers
You are cordially invited to their wedding in
Anchorage Alaska
On the Eighth of August
Storm smiled and turned the envelope over in her hand to see that it was addressed to the entirety of the X-Men. "Well," she said with a little smile. "I'll have to mark our calendar."
Footnotes:: PLEASE, GO read the launch of volume Four, but also … if you were invested in the collaboration we both took part in, do yourself and us a favor and search up 'TeamAwesomeLives' to find our version of how it should have ended.