Chapter 23: Boom-Boom-POW!
It was morning at the Institute and on the cliffs near it, the New Mutants were doing rescue training with Chelsea, Scott, Logan and Kurt. Scott rappelled down the cliffside where Kurt was pinned under a pile of rocks and was 'unconscious.'
"Confirmed, he's unconscious." The young man said into his com.
"And starving. Hurry it up, vill you? I need my breakfast." Kurt complained.
"Quiet!" Scott hissed, apparently wanting this to be serious. "Okay, send Tabitha down." The shaded teen said into his earpiece.
"Aw man, Boom Boom? You put my life in the hands of a maniac?!" Kurt groaned.
At the top of the cliff, Logan noticed that said girl was just listening to music and not paying attention. Growling a bit, he walked up to her and removed one of the earpieces so she could hear him.
"Hey!" He growled, causing her to snap out of it.
"Hmm, oh sorry, wrong headphones. I'm guessing I'm up right?" The blonde asked as she put the headphones down.
"Yeah." The clawed mutant replied with a sigh. Tabitha walked up to the basket while rubbing a finger under the scraggly man's chin, but a growl from Chelsea made her flinch away and prompt her to just head straight to the basket.
"What's yer deal, scales?" The scraggly mutant asked.
"That's for me to know and for you to stop asking about." The blonde stated irritably. 'Little tramp, I did not sign up to have to deal with kids like her.'
Tabitha climbed into the basket as it lowered and then started swinging around. "Look out below! Boom Boom's bombing in!" She called as she descended down to Kurt, swinging the basket the whole way.
"I'm gonna die." Kurt groaned as she reached him.
"Hey there cutie, guess I'm your ride." The girl flirted as she bent down to his eye level.
"Okay, I have to ask: Are you insane?" The blue mutant asked.
Tabitha simply just brushed his chin with her finger before she formed a small firecracker in her hand with her powers. "First we need to boom apart these rocks." She said before plugging her ears. "Fire in the hole!" She yelled as the rocks blew up. She then pushed him into the basket with her leg, causing the boy to Yelp in pain. "And into the basket you go."
"Ow! Hey, I'm an injured victim, not a log!" He told her.
"Nightcrawler, Boom Boom, you guys take this seriously already?" Scott barked.
"Okay, okay. Bring it up!" The demolition mutant called up to the top.
As they were being pulled up, Kurt smirked before he rolled off the basket which made Tabitha look down in alarm before he teleported back into it.
"Ha! You forgot to strap me in. Ten points off!" He chided.
"Oh no…" Scott groaned as he started climbing. "This isn't good."
"Alright, blue boy, you asked for it." Boom Boom smirked as she started chucking more fireworks at the cliffs as she continued to rock the rescue basket, one causing a rock to hit the back of the blue mutant's head and making him go unconscious as he slipped from it again.
"Uh oh. Kurt, come on! Joke's over! Get back up here!" She called him, but got no results. Acting fast, Scott blasted the rocks below him before the unconscious teleporter could hit them. After that, Logan jumped off the cliff to get him out of the water before he could drown.
But as the clawed mutant entered the water, he was apparently beaten to the punch by Kurt being surrounded by a very familiar orb of grayish black smoke, which then floated the boy to the surface well enough for him to be actually rescued.
As the boy was pulled back up to the top by Logan, the smoke reformed into a very pissed off looking Gavin who was still in his PJs, his bat shaped night mask pulled up to his forehead as he glared daggers at everyone.
"Will you people please keep it down?! Some of us are trying to sleep! I could hear you through my coffin, for god's sake!" The horror aficionado shouted.
"Sorry 'bout that, Gav. Didn't think you'd be able to hear us." Chelsea apologized to her younger sibling figure.
"Yeah? Well I was able to, and it doesn't help that someone got boom happy!" The cranky boy exclaimed as he glared at Tabitha, who actually looked ashamed of herself. With that, the boy disappeared, most likely to try and get some sleep.
(Later that morning)
After the whole fiasco that morning, Xavier had the group, and Gavin, to meet him in the danger room. The reason he called the pseudo vampire there was to presumably lecture him about his flaring temper. Bast was also giving Kurt a look to make sure he was okay.
"It is situations like these, as well as ensuring your obedience and safety, that we have rules here. And in order to do so, there must be penalties." Xavier explained before sighing as Tabitha just continued to file her nails. "So Tabitha, Kurt, you two will be confined to the Institute for two weeks and will be prohibited from using your powers and will be having training sessions with Logan and Chelsea two times a day."
"Wha-" Tabitha tried to protest before Kurt put a hand on her shoulder.
"Yes Professor, ve understand." The boy nodded.
"That's all fine and dandy Prof, but I still don't see why you had to haul my ass outta bed for this bullshit." Gavin hissed angrily.
"The reason I called you here, Gavin, is because of your disregard for handling your temper." Xavier explained. "If you aren't willing to do so, then there will be penalties for you as well."
"Look Prof, I'm already having to bend over backwards because of my seals, so I'm not gonna twist myself into a pretzel just because some people can't handle a short fuse." The boy snapped.
"And that's what's leading to your disregarding of handling your temper? You feel frustrated by all of this?" The elder man questioned.
"That, and I'm just naturally hotheaded. It's genetic, I get it from my mom's side of the family." He replied with a shrug.
Xavier sighed. "Then perhaps we could have you do meditation exercises with Jean and Ororo after school?" He suggested.
"It… Might work, but I don't know if I can sit still long enough for it to work." Gavin replied with uncertainty.
"At least give it a try." Charles sighed.
"Fine." The boy huffed in annoyance.
(Elsewhere)
At the Brotherhood's boarding home, everyone was trying to find something to eat, well, except Toad, who was currently catching flies that buzzed around the trash.
"Mmm house flies, nothing like a balanced breakfast." The boy chuckled as Pietro dashed around the room.
"Aw man! The cabinets are bare, and falling apart!" Frowned the silver haired speedster as he opened a cabinet and it fell off.
"What we need right now is some serious corn, and I know just where to get it." The amphibian based mutant grinned as he hopped towards Mystique's room… And couldn't even open the door. The impact of him crashing into it caused him to tumble down the stairs.
Before he could get to it again though, there was a knock on the door. As Pietro opened it there stood none other than Devin Shirakumo at the door, extra empty luggage bags in hand.
"What're you doing here?" The fast talker sneered.
"Collecting what few things I have left here. I'm moving out." The Japanese metal mutant replied with a stone faced look.
"By all means then, go ahead." Pietro said while letting him in. Devin did so and as he started to get his stuff, he saw Toad struggling to get the door to Mystique's room open again.
Taking pity on the shorter boy, he turned his hand into a mace and pushed him aside. "Allow me." With one swing he demolished the door and sent the imitation particle board all over the place, revealing the shapeshifter's former room and its contents before returning to packing his things.
While he was doing that, the four boys looked in Mystique's room and were surprised when they found what can only be described as a royal bedroom. There were even a pair of chandeliers on the ceiling.
With that done Devin turned to the boys and smirked at them as he gathered his things. "You're welcome." He said as he then turned around and left.
(Elsewhere)
Tabitha was walking down the hall to her social studies class, when she was suddenly approached by someone, this someone being her father. The blonde kept trying to get him to leave her alone, and he refused. Luckily for her though, Gavin had happened to walk by the two and shoulder bash the man into some lockers.
"This guy bothering you, Tabby?" He asked her.
"Yep. Thanks for getting him off my back." She replied with a smile.
The man glared at the boy as he got up. "You're in my way, kid. I'm trying to speak to my daughter." He stated.
Gavin hissed at him as he flashed his fangs. "Piss off pal, I don't care who you are. Stay away from here and us or else, I'm in a really bad mood today so don't push me."
The man glared at him before he turned his gaze to Tabitha. "Tabby, come on. Your mother and I are trying to work things out., but we need you there to help." He 'pleaded.'
This pissed Gavin off even more than he already was. Grabbing the blonde's father by the shirt collar he slammed him into one of the lockers and got up close and personal with him.
"What part of leave don't you understand, dickless? Are you trying to piss me off or are you just dumb? Get out of here before things start to get bloody, now." The pseudo vampire hissed, fangs dripping with saliva as he was almost foaming at the bit.
Sweating nervously, he just nodded before Gavin let him go. The elder Smith ran as fast as his legs could move, wanting to get away as fast as possible. He wasn't done yet, though.
He'd be heading to the Institute next.
Later on, Gavin decided to sit with Risty and Rogue at lunch, and as he was doing so, he decided to ask his southern belle friend something he had wanted to ask ever since he found out about the school carnival.
"Hey Rogue?" The boy asked nervously, his cheeks turning a shade of pink. Said girl looked at him and raised an eyebrow when she noted his pink cheeks, but decided to leave that alone.
"Yeah?" She responded, Risty looking at the two with interest for what would happen next.
"I, uh… Well, I was wondering if you… Would maybe like to go to the… Carnival with me this weekend?" He asked her nervously.
Rogue seemed a little surprised at what he had just asked her. "Wait, are you askin' me out, Gavin?" She asked.
"N-no, nothing like that! It's just… I never had any chances at carnival fun, growing up. I want someone to be there with me to make it a moment worth remembering." He explained. It was true. He couldn't have any fun at the carnival since his mother was worried about numerous things happening to him back then, with kidnapping being one of them.
This caused the auburn haired girl to look at him sadly, like one would a small puppy or kitten that's been left out in the rain. "Okay… Sure, if it'll make you feel better, Ah'll go." She nodded.
"Yeah, that's a good idea. You two should definitely go together, it'll be good for both of you." Risty nodded in agreement.
"What about you?" Gavin asked. He may have wanted to be alone with Rogue, but he also didn't want their friend to be left out either.
"Are you sure you want me there with you two? Three's a crowd, you now." The British girl replied with uncertainty in her voice.
"Well it's just I don't want you to be left out." The boy told her.
"Aw, thanks love, but I'll be fine. Besides, I already told Kitty I'd go with her." She cooed with a smile, causing the pseudo vampire to blink.
"...Oh! Okay. Have fun, tonight." Gavin said in surprise before quickly calming down.
"Same to you. You two have fun out there, alright?" The girl smirked, giving the two a wink.
"Count on it… Though I do hope I don't lose my dinner because of one of the rides." Gavin replied before muttering that last part to himself.
"What was that?" Rogue asked, not hearing what he was saying.
"Nothing serious. Just me hoping that something unpleasant doesn't happen." The horror fan replied, waving her off.
(Later)
At the Institute Bast was currently walking back into the Institute with some medical supplies and groceries when she saw Xavier talking to someone who she didn't recognize.
"You have no parental authority here, Mr. Smith. Tabitha's mother gave us specific instructions as to your visitations, So I'll have to ask you to leave." Xavier said as he started to turn away.
"You think I don't know what kind of freak show this place is? Let me see my daughter or I'll have the news teams here tonight." He threatened as he grabbed the sides of the man's wheelchair, though was stopped by Bast shoving him away with a swing of her bags.
"Back off!" She snapped.
"Those hands of yours? I'm thinking of relocating 'em, like in a jar on my dresser." Logan said as he entered the room with Chelsea behind him, his claws deployed. The Dragoness turned her eyes draconic as scales appeared on her face, fangs and claws growing as well.
"I second that, then maybe I can barbecue 'em and we can feed him to the reptiles." She grinned while licking her teeth with her forked tongue. "Or just feed 'em to me."
Before anything else could be said the door opened and closed. Everyone looked and saw Gavin, Rogue and Tabitha entering the building. Mr. Smith grinned slightly before he dragged his daughter off elsewhere… Or at least, he tried to.
Gavin had used his smoke to grab Bloodfallen and pointed it at the man's neck. "You have exactly three seconds to give me a good reason not to drive this sword through your throat." He snapped.
"Gavin, stand down." Xavier ordered. Gavin looked at the Professor before sending one last glare at Mr. Smith before sheathing Bloodfallen and walking away.
Xavier then gave the man a stern look. "You have five minutes. Any longer and I will have my instructors show you out." Was all he told him.
Sighing, Tabitha led her father to a room where they could talk without being interrupted. Outside said area, Gavin was practically foaming at the mouth.
"What. The. Actual. Fuck?! That guy's been harassing Tabitha all fucking day, and you're just gonna let them be in the same room together?!" He growled and hissed angrily as he punched a wall, causing it to crack.
"Gavin, why are you so worked up over this? Is there something I need to know?" Charles asked.
"You're the telepath, Prof, you tell me." The boy stated sarcastically. When the man only gave him a stern look, he started to scratch his scalp in aggravation and growl as he paced around the room, his long black hair whipped around as he did so.
"He's one of those parents that wants to use their kid's powers for their own personal gain." Gavin stated. "I know because I've dealt with those same types of people. Me and Devin were constantly being put through tests to determine the extent of our powers by an organization that my mom answered to called SHIELD, and they constantly threatened to have her custody taken away if she didn't comply. We were always forced to do what they told us, and even when Devin was taken away from us, he had to endure the same situation with the Yakuza. This is the exact same thing, Prof!" He ranted.
The bald man intertwined his fingers in thought. He was aware that there were those that would seek to use their children's powers for their own benefit- he had seen a few cases himself. As such, he knew that he needed to be careful when dealing with this.
Chelsea, Logan, Bast and Rogue meanwhile all looked at the boy in sympathy. It seemed like even after all this time, they truly didn't know everything about him. Rogue walked up to him and hugged him tightly, wanting to comfort him while Chelsea took the less invasive route and just stroked his head reassuringly and the other two just put their hands on his shoulders, giving him looks of understanding while Xavier spoke again.
"I see. Thank you for sharing this Gavin, I'm glad that we're finally managing to get you to open up more about your feelings." Xavier told him. "Now, I think it's best you took some time to cool off? Perhaps getting yourself something cool to drink to calm your nerves?"
"Oh man, I could go for some ice water right now." Gavin moaned in bliss at the thought. He and Rogue then went into the kitchen along with the other three and got themselves something to drink.
The pseudo vampire shakily drank his water as it slowly started to help him calm down, only to notice that all four of the other pairs of eyes were staring at him.
"What?" The boy asked, feeling weird from the staring.
"Are you sure you're okay right now?" Rogue felt the need to ask.
"I will be after you guys stop staring and asking me about it." He said irritably as he drank some more water.
"Kid, stop being such a little ass." Logan said in a gruff tone. "We just wanna help ya is all." He added.
"And I'm glad that you do, but sometimes a person needs time to simmer down a bit before they're ready to talk about anything. Until then, giving them some space so they can clear their thoughts is the best you can do." Gavin said with a touch of wisdom painting his voice, making the others blink in surprise.
"Where'd you hear that?" Chelsea asked.
"Ms. Munroe told me that. It made sense to me, at least." He shrugged.
Rogue then took this opportunity to take Gavin's hand. "Well we're here for you when you're ready to talk. Besides, you said you know me better than anyone, so I think it's my job to do the same thing with you."
"Yeah kiddo, like you said, we're just as much your family as your brother and mother are now, so if you need us, we got you." His blonde sister figure added.
"Ditto." Bast nodded.
"Damn right there, Scales." Logan nodded as well. Gavin looked at them before he smiled.
"Thanks, guys." He told them.
(Later)
It was the night of the carnival and Gavin was now walking around it with Rogue, the two had just stopped at a cotton candy stand so the boy could buy some for them.
"One of the biggest you got please." He asked as his white gloved hand handed the man behind the booth some money. Despite him being in his usual attire he still had to wear his seal gloves as a precaution due to his seals still being rather new, which irritated him.
"You got it, kid." The vendor replied before he got to work. As the man handed him the candy. "And I made sure it's plenty for both of you. You kids enjoy it, alright?" The man said with a knowing smile.
This caused Gavin to blush as he turned and held the candy on a cone out for Rogue to share with him as they continued to walk. "Here." He offered, though still blushing.
Rogue smiled before she took two bites out of it. "Thanks." She said, her smile still in place.
The horror lover couldn't help but let out an internal sigh of longing as the two continued to share the cotton candy. He thought it was great that he could finally be alone with Rogue again. But at the same time he still couldn't believe that Risty didn't want to come with them. In fact it seemed as though every time he wanted to try and attempt to further his relationship with Rogue, she didn't just approve of it, she encouraged it. It honestly seemed a little… Odd to him if he was being honest.
Once they had finished their sugary treat, they decided to wait a bit before they went on any rides to let it digest. Losing what you just ate because of absurd speeds didn't sound pleasant to them.
As they sat together at a picnic table and drank some sodas, Gavin took notice of Rogue's current outfit: It was her usual gloves, with a purple tank top with wide straps that showed her midriff, a lighter purple blouse that showed her pail shoulders, a pair of navy blue jeans with holes torn in the knees and lastly a pair of black Chuck Taylors sneakers.
"So, what do you think the others are doing here?" The horror enthusiast asked. "You look nice, by the way."
"Thanks. And I'm not sure but-but Ah think Ah may know two people who are doing something they shouldn't be." Rogue said as she noticed two familiar faces.
"Who?" He asked. Rogue just pointed behind the boy as he turned around and then saw Tabitha and Kurt stumbling out to one of the rides that had just suddenly 'malfunctioned'. Gavin then groaned as he facepalmed. "Great… Just great…" He uttered in dismay.
That's when they noticed Tabitha looking in another direction and saw her father standing near the bleachers across the way. Seeing the man instantly made Gavin's blood boil in his veins.
When Rogue saw her friend get angry, she looked in the direction he was facing and immediately figured out why. She quickly put her hand on Gavin's to get his attention.
"Gavin, no. Not here." She said seriously.
"We need to get the others." He told her coldly. She didn't like how cold he was, but nodded nonetheless.
"Ah'll go get Kitty while you go grab Scott. See if you can get Evan on the way." Rogue ordered. The boy nodded as he dissolved into smoke and then went to find the others, knowing that time was more than likely of the essence. Rogue, meanwhile, started walking up to Kurt. Hoping to get answers out of him.
(Elsewhere, minutes later)
Tabitha was now being cornered by the Brotherhood after she had just tried to stop her dad from taking the school's money. When Toad was about to steal the bag of cash from her, there was a loud *bong* sound as a sledge hammer hit the boy on the back of the head. As the amphibious mutant fell unconscious, it was revealed to be Devin who struck him. But before Tabitha could say anything, he just made a motion for her to be quiet as he turned into his liquid state and slipped away without another word.
A moment later, Gavin arrived with Rogue, Scott, Jean and Evan right behind him. Upon laying eyes on Mr. Smith, he glared bullets at him.
"You are so dead!" Gavin yelled as he ran towards the man. Mr. Smith quickly forced the bag of money and pushed Tabitha to the ground as he ran, with the pseudo vampire right on his tail.
After a bit, the chase ended up on the (rather unstable) roof of the ruined gym. As soon as the elder Smith took three steps, the ground under him suddenly gave way.
As the man struggled to get back up, he dropped the money, and Gavin now stood over him with both his guns pointed at the man.
"The way I see it you have three choices: You let the money go and I shoot your ass with a couple magazines of stun bullets before turning you into the police, you take the money and fall to your death like the hopeless and greedy sack of shit you are, or you take my hand and give me the money and I still let you fall for pissing me off so many times." The boy told him. "So, what'll it be, dirt bag?" He challenged him.
The greedy man seemed to think it over before lunging for the bag, the action causing the ground underneath him to give way and let him fall. Gavin watched as he fall before Kurt teleported up and saved him… Only to get smacked for it in return. The act caused Gavin to facepalm.
"Should've seen that coming." He muttered before he turned into smoke and went to the ground floor just in time to see Tabitha giving chase to her father.
(Later)
Hours later, Tabitha's father was thrown in jail and the girl ended up leaving the Institute soon after. This made everyone feel pretty bad, especially Kurt, who had actually started to like her.
Gavin, meanwhile, was sitting on top of his coffin while feeding Brownie, who was on his shoulder, when a knock came on his door.
"It's open." He called out to the one who wished for entry. It soon was revealed to be Rogue, who walked inside and sat next to him as she stroked Brownie's head with one finger.
"Hey." She greeted him.
"Hey." He nodded as she sat next to him.
"So, all that just happened… How're ya holding up? Ah know it must be pretty hard since you knew what was happening and couldn't do anything about it." The southern girl said.
"Tell me about it." The boy sighed in aggravation, slumping forward. "It's one of the few things that I just can't stand. Not being able to do anything to help those that I care about, it drives me crazy!"
Rogue looked at him with sympathetic eyes and hugged the boy as his pet bat nuzzled his cheek. "Ah know, Gav, Ah know." She told him. As the two separated she gave him a smile while her arms were still wrapped around his shoulders.
"But no matter what's happened, Ah had a great time tonight." The girl smiled at him as she kissed him on the cheek, leaving a purple lipstick mark on his cheek before she got up.
Gavin blushed as he put his hand to his cheek. "Uh, sure, m-me too." He stuttered as she opened the door.
"Well, see you tomorrow." She said while waving goodbye. "Good night."
"Yeah, g-good night." The pseudo vampire nodded as he watched her leave, his hand still on his cheek where her lipstick still could be seen.
Gavin sighed. He wasn't going to forget that particular action anytime soon. The boy crawled into his coffin after getting ready for bed, and his mind was focused on one thing as he fell asleep: How much he was in love with Anna Marie, Aka Rogue.
(Elsewhere)
-Tampa Bay, Florida, St. Jude's Children Hospital-
In one of the hospital suites of the St. Jude's Cancer Research Hospital For Children, a young girl around 14 was sitting in a hospital bed as her IV was still connected to her right hand. A crochet knit cap was over her head to protect her currently bald head from the cold air of the hospital.
The girl was a Hawaiin girl, with dark brown hair and skin with native islander features, and forest green eyes. She also had a Hawaiian tattoo of a shark on the back of her neck.
This was Kai, and she was the youngest of Chelsea's friend group. She was watching TV in her hospital bed when a nurse walked in.
"Kai, sweetheart, it's time for your next round of Chemo. Are you ready?" The nurse asked her.
Kai groaned a bit at the mention of Chemo, but choked it up. "Yeah… Let's do it." She replied with a sigh.