Snakehead

50

Ray, Todd and Thomas sat in front of the television, watching The X-Files.

"Hey, that guy sounds familiar," Ray pointed at the screen, "I've heard him somewhere before..."

Toad leaned forward on his toes, "That's Tony Sampson, yo. He's a voice actor. Been in a lot a' stuff, like Ed, Edd and Eddy."

Todd had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of television and movies, and was rarely mistaken about such things.

"Tony Sampson?" Ray scratched his chin, "Where have I heard that name before?"

"Vegetarian cults, cows and some pervert kidnapping teenagers, stripping them to their underwear and leaving them wandering around with the words 'He is one' on their backs... That's kind of creepy, and not in a good way." Thomas shrugged.

"I always knew them veggie-eaters were up to no good..." Todd chuckled.

When the show ended Todd turned to go to his room, which he shared with Lance, and, by extension, Kitty. "See ya' later, yo!"

After the door shut the important discussions began.

"So, it's a date?"

Ray nodded, "She said she'd go with me." He looked at Tom, "How about Bliss?"

"Maybe, we haven't had much time to plan anything and neither of us have a license, mine's a learner's permit and her's is expired. I'm NOT asking Scott to drive us, he'd probably dump me off in the woods or something."

"I'm sure we could double-date sometime."

Thomas sighed, "Wouldn't that be awkward?"

"It's not like were going to be making out or anything," Ray dramatically raised a blond brow, "At least, me and Scaleface aren't."

"I'm 15, she's 18. I doubt people would approve. I was just thinking standard 'dinner and a movie'" He paused, considering his mutation,"Maybe we should just get something to go, I can't eat in public, and I doubt Bliss can either..."

...

Sunday Night

Scaleface had expected a fast food place, or perhaps Red Lobster. She'd been mistaken. Ray had pulled into a ritzy, bay-side restaurant, he'd even had a reservation. No wonder he'd asked her to wear that uncomfortable dress while he wore a suit and tie. There was a dress code.

It was crazy to spend this much on her.

Sweet, but crazy.

So here they were, were both eating fresh shrimp and lobster while looking out over the moonlit bay. It was incredibly romantic, unless you were a vegan...

They were both a bit confused as to which was the lobster fork...

"Shrimp and lobster. This is incredible." Scaleface whispered.

"I wanted it to be special."

Ray turned to Scaleface as she laughed, "What is it?"

"I was just thinking of all those fairy tales where the dragon demands a beautiful virgin as a sacrifice."

Ray blushed lightly, "Does that make me a damsel in distress?"

Scaleface grinned, "Why, are you in distress?"

"No," He grinned right back, "I just hope that no knight in shining armor decides to 'save' me." He leaned forward and kissed her softly. "I prefer the dragon..."

"Hopefully you don't mean 'How to Train your Pet Dragon'."

Ray laughed softly, trying not to bring attention to them. "Better than 'DragonSlayer'."

"True." She reached out and affectionately ran her fingers through his styled orange bangs, "I'd rather have a sweet prince than a donkey any day."

Ray smirked, 'Donkey? From Shrek?" He chuckled, "I don't know, I've been called a Jack-ass before..."

"Naw, you're just a sweet puppy... Or a prize stud..."

Ray blushed as red as the lobster on his plate. He began poking at his food.

Scaleface frowned a little, "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, Ray." She thought back, she'd called him a damsel in distress, a puppy and a prize stud thus far tonight. Last time she'd seen him she'd called him a tramp. Perhaps her gentle teasing was not as gentle as she thought.

"It's alright." He smiled, "It's a compliment, right?"

"Yes... Are you mad?"

"Why would I be mad? I've been calling you a dragon all night."

"That's because I am a dragon."

Ray looked at her with an expression of mock offence, "Are you saying I'm not a stud?"

"No." She giggled, "But you are certainly no damsel in distress."

Her eyes turned grave.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?"

"For holding you prisoner when you came down into The Tunnels looking for Spyke... You were beg -" She stopped herself, Berzerker never begged, "Asking me to let you go, and I wouldn't..."

He smiled, "That was what, two years ago? And it's not like I could have gone anywhere, after Torpid froze me up. And you did let me go, eventually."

"While spitting fire at you."

He laughed, "What can I say, you're a spitfire."

"I'm serious Ray. I could have done something."

"You did, you didn't kill me." He sighed, "What would you have done? What could you have done? Told Callisto to piss off and carried me out? Then you'd have been in deeper guano than I ever was. I've said and done things I wish I could undo, but I can't." He gently took her hand in his own, "The past is dead, Michelle, only the future matters. Sure, you scared me a bit, I thought you were really going to roast my butt for a minute there, but you didn't. If I had a grudge or anything against you, you'd know it, and we sure wouldn't be dating. You did what you thought was best for the tribe. Don't beat yourself up about it." He pulled her hand close and kissed it. "We love each other, the rest doesn't matter."

...

Back at the school, Thomas couldn't sleep.

Ray was out for the evening with Scaleface, and he assumed everyone else was asleep.

As he couldn't sleep, he got dressed and went down to the first floor of the mansion. He wasn't fool enough to go out onto the grounds, as the stupid laser system the Professor had installed to protect them couldn't distinguish between attackers and students. Because of this, Ray wouldn't be able to come back until morning, he'd probably end up staying in The Tunnels or the El Camino... But what if they needed to evacuate the mansion during the night? Would the responsible adults think to switch off the guns?

Not for the first time, he considered the very real possibility that someone was going to get killed by all of these crazy things one day. The Danger Room, The Security System, Wolverine on patrol... All it would take is one slip up.

He wandered into the library and saw Pietro sitting by the window, staring up at the sky.

The speedster turned, "I thought I was the only one up."

"So did I."

"I never did get that Toad slime off my shoes."

Thomas grinned, "We had to stop you somehow."

Pietro snorted disdainfully, then turned back to the window.

"He's probably still up there, you know." His words were little more than a whisper.

Thomas didn't need to ask who 'he' was. "Probably."

Thomas' father had been distant for a long time, but they'd reconciled, it seemed no reconciliation was possible between Magneto and his children.

"Aren't you going to say all the warm hearted crap about us being a family?" Pietro still didn't turn his eyes from the heavens.

"Actually, I was just thinking how dangerous this place can be. Eventually some kid's gonna' get fried by that defensive system out there, and if we ever have to evacuate at night, it'll be a massacre..."

Pietro smiled thinly, "I wonder why we never thought of that... Call in a bomb threat in the middle of the night and watch all the X-Geeks get fried by their own security system."

"Because you're not murderers. You never were. I especially doubt you guys would deliberately kill a bunch of kids, even if most of them are annoying little picks." He sighed, "I know you probably don't like most of us X-Geeks, but you still have your sister and your friends."

"What do you think of him?"

That was a question, wasn't it?

"I don't know. I've never met him, and I've only seen him in person once. After what he did to you and Wanda..."

Pietro's head whipped around.

Wrong topic?

He continued undaunted, "Like N'Kantu told Wanda, you deserve better, both of you."

"People rarely get what they deserve." Pietro replied bitterly

Pietro turned back to the window.

"Look, I can't understand what happened. I can't say 'I know how you feel' or anything like that because I don't. You can love your father, even if he's a terrorist. Hell, most of the kids here were rejected by their families, but almost all of them want to go back, want to be with their families again."

"Their families are not trying to conquer the world."

"Kubark's father rules an expansionist empire that is constantly conquering new worlds and forcing people to live by their standards. And Broo..."

Pietro laughed, but there was no humor in it, "I get it. I'm not the only one with a power hungry parent." He paused, "I really feel sorry for Blue-Boy, his mother's a sadistic shape-shifting bitch and his father's a demon lord."

Thomas gaped a bit at that, "A demon lord?"

"You didn't know? Crap..." Pietro frowned, "Kurt's father is a powerful demon named Azazel. He tricked Mystique into having his kid, and neither of them bothered with him after she threw him in the river..."

My God... What has Kurt been through?

"Azazel. I've heard of him. In some of my great-grandfather's books... You do not want to meet him, ever."

"I know, Wanda told me all about him... Was your great-grandfather a wizard?"

"Probably more of a warlock. He was the kind of mage that Dr. Strange would fight, and he was into 'Black Magic'. It killed him in the end, he and some others tried to enslave Varnae, he tore them to pieces."

Pietro arched a slender brow, "Varnae, Lord of The Vampires?"

"The same."

"Why?"

"Power. They wanted power and immortality as vampires. Idiots."

"Speaking of vampires, Jamie said Hellcow was seen about 50 miles from here."

"I hope she isn't in town tonight, Ray's out on a date, and the security system won't let him in until dawn..."

"Like a vampire cow could take down Berzerker or Scaleface. She'd be fried beef patties in minutes. I'd be more worried about Jamie, he'll probably want to go look for her."

"Still, I should probably call and tell them."

"I doubt they'd appreciate the interruption. She usually goes after lone victims anyway."

"I hope you're right." He pulled out his cell and began searching for the latest news on Bessie...

...

Ray and Scaleface walked down the empty beach, the glittering sands and tranquil waters lit only by moonlight and the occasional streetlight. They weren't exactly dressed for a beach outing, and both had taken off their shoes. Little crabs scuttled about the sands, hiding whenever the pair got close.

"One day I'd like to bring you here during the day, so that you can really appreciate it. And in proper clothes, too."

She decided to tease him a bit, "Who needs clothes to swim?"

He stopped short, she couldn't see his face that well, but she was sure he was as red as a tomato.

"Have you ever seen Jaws? Besides, I don't want some hungry fish to bite off my..." Scaleface giggled, "Hey, it happens! On River Monsters Jeremy Wade has run across several fish with a taste for guys', er, manhood..."

"Those are freshwater fish. You just don't want anyone to see you naked."

"Darn right! I don't like being looked at me like a piece of meat. And I'd hate to get hauled in naked to the police department-"

She kissed him again. "Yeah, I doubt the police are too fond of you, after you blew up two police cars and made them look like fools."

"They made themselves look like fools for trying to arrest a bunch of innocent kids whose school had just exploded." He smirked, "And they really don't like me at the BPD." He looked into Scaleface's eyes, "I wonder, why are you so eager to get me naked."

Scaleface laughed, "I admire fine art." She ran a hand over his abs and chest, "And you are a fine piece of art."

"Nothing like the masterpiece in front of me right now." He pulled her close, "And in this gallery, you're allowed to touch the exhibits." Their lips met in a passionate kiss.

"Performance art... I like it."

...

To be continued...

...

Notes:

Tony Sampson is Ray Crisp/Berzerker's voice actor in X-Men : Evolution. He was on The X-Files episode 'The Red Museum' as a character named Brad. That episode is the one they are watching, of course. He's done a lot of other work too. Another shout out to an actor who played one of the characters in The X-Men franchise.

And yes, several such fish have appeared on River Monsters.

In this AU Ray actually can swim, he just tends to avoid it. He does sometimes use the pool at the mansion, and he's very, very careful to control his powers while in the water.

No, nothing happened on the beach.

BPD - Bayville Police Department