"1-800-CALL-ATT"
Sequel to "Not Easy Being Fuzzy" and "Chasing the Sun to Paradise" in that order. ^_^
As we all know, NEBF was a Kurtty, but we are also getting tired of those things. CTSTP is not a Kurtty, merely a neat-o vacation to this lucky Pup's home. In that fic, we meet the twins Char and Menga, many thanx to the wonderful person of a similar name who gave me a good review. ^_^
Disclaimer: Yada yada, blah blah, yada.
"Chapter one: Takes two to Tango, and One to Trespass"
"Hallo!" Kurt ran up to his friends, arms held wide. Kitty sighed, leaning against the pillar, bored. The plane from Seattle had been delayed three hours, and she had missed the sale at the mall. Kurt was going to pay.
He pulled away from his hug, turning to introduce his new friends. "Keety, I vould like you to meet Char and Menga."
Her breath stopped short as Char took her hand, his lips brushing her knuckles. "Pleased to meet you, m'lady." He turned to look at his sister, ice-blue eyes twinkling. "I've always wanted to say that."
Kurt laughed, patting him on his back. "Ja, and keep saying it." He walked over to Kitty, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Zis one has been soooo sad since we decided we were better as friends."
Char winced. "Sorry to hear that, man."
Kurt shrugged one holographic-clad shoulder. "Ja, but she got over it."
Kitty pushed him away, scowling. Kurt hopped away, laughing all the while. She snorted, turning to look the twins over. Char was taller, and handsome, in a sculpted kind of way. His long silver hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck, his skin pale. His eyes shone with laughter.
His sister, Menga, wore her equally silver hair loose about her shoulders. She was slender, her blue eyes scanning the people as they walked by. Her eyes rested on Kitty, and the girl stepped back. Menga smiled, "Sorry to have frightened you."
Kitty smiled back, uncertain. Kurt pushed her towards Char. "Time to go," he quipped, "Ze Professor vants to meet mein new fruends!"
____________________
"Welcome to Xavier's Institute for the Gifted." Ororo, ever the proper hostess, stepped aside and watched Char, Menga, Kitty, and Kurt enter. Kitty's eyes were glued to Char's back, the girl blushing as she noticed Ororo's smile. The tall woman leaned down and whispered to her, "Not too bad of a choice."
Char waited for everyone to assemble in the main room, before letting Kurt introduce them with a flourish. "Everybody, zis is Char and his sister, Menga!"
Scott walked up to them, smiling smugly. "What can you do?"
"Scott!" Jean hissed, planting her hands on her hips.
Char waved her off, "No problem." His wide grin was infectious. "I can control water, Menga can control air."
"Shway!" Evan said, standing to his feet and showing off a spike of three.
Char and Menga looked at each other. "Shway?" she asked.
"Somezing he heard on TV," Kurt explained with a shrug.
Xavier rolled closer, "I have heard of you two, but we never had the pleasure. I am Professor Xavier, and these are my students. Scott you have just met. Evan is the one with the…colorful vocabulary. Jean and Rogue are behind Scott. Logan and Ororo are not my students, they are mentors."
Char smiled broadly, "Shway."
Logan rolled his eyes, waving a hand at Kurt. "Elf, why dun you bring in their bags?"
"Ja!" He vanished in a puff of acrid smoke.
A soft, warm breeze blew the smoke away. Logan looked up as Menga lowered one graceful pale hand. He quipped, "Might not be too bad with them around, after all."
+++++++++++++++++++++
Dinner was the usual eventful affair. Kitty was seated between Kurt and Char, with Menga on Char's other side. Kurt, of course, had a heaping plateful already plopped in front of him. Kurt almost accidentally pushed Kitty into Char.
Kitty looked up into clear blue eyes, blushing fiercely and forgetting to be mad at Kurt. She regained her composure, and smacked him upside the back of his head. Kurt snickered at her, shoveling a large bite into his mouth.
Scott scowled at him, "Why do you eat so much."
Kurt shrugged, not talking around a mouthful of food.
Char spoke, and Kitty was riveted by the smooth tones of his voice. "Look at what he does. The energy to teleport has to come from somewhere."
Shocked silence met his casual answer. The Professor broke the silence with a chuckle. "It is true what they say then, 'The best place to hide something is right under your own nose'."
"Like, what did you say?" Kitty was confused.
Ororo continued, "The answer was so obvious, we never saw it."
Kurt smiled broadly, pleased to be the center of attention.
Logan saw his chance, and began to brief the group on the next training exercise. Groans and rolled eyes came from every youth at the table. Menga placed her head in her hand, complaining, "I thought this was supposed to be a vacation."
"It is, kid. I'll go easy on you."
She looked up at Logan, eyes wide. She narrowed her eyes, sticking her tongue out at him.
"So," Jean spoke, prodding the conversation into life, "since I doubt Mr. Logan is going to have us train tonight, do you guys want to watch a movie."
"Sure!" Char and Menga said in unison. Kitty smiled, and Kurt rolled his eyes.
"Hey, I got—" Kitty cut Even off with a stern glare.
"We are so not watching another one of your stupid horror flicks."
"I have an idea." All eyes turned to Char. "Dragonheart."
Scott snorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Why that one?"
Char counted the virtues off his fingers, "It has humor, action, some romance, and a really…shway dragon."
Jean clapped her hands in glee. "Well, I guess it's Dragonheart, then!"
Even rolled his eyes, glaring at Char. The pale youth shrugged, "And you would have her chose Titanic?"
He grunted, "You got a point."
Kitty pouted, "I happen to like that movie."
Char teased, "I won't hold it against you, then."
She looked at him, freezing in mid-pout as her eyes met his. Light blue stared into ice blue, and the world stopped. She could hear her heart beating, her face growing warm. She could see every line on his face, every strand of silver hair. Even his perfect eyebrows were silver; too metallic to be called gray. After a few seconds, Kurt cleared his throat. They both blushed, looking away.
"Alrighty then, let's get this cleaned up and watch the movie!" Evan snapped up dirty dishes, neatly piling them so Jean could float them to the kitchen.
AN: To understand anything else, you must first read Not Easy Being Fuzzy
Jedi Knight Ce'it Ki Oshanna sat back in his chair, reading a book. Most people would look at the book as juvenile, and far below the reading ability of a 30 year old male.
But Ce'it wasn't thirty. Due to his dual nature, half Valterin, half Mersakii, and completely alien, he appeared older than he really was. He scowled, but not by much. His thick tail, a gift from his Mersakii mother, tapped the floor in a rhythm all its own. He might be a Jedi, trained by the one and only Master Tari (AN, Click on me name, you'll find stories on HIM. "ICE" is my fave) but he couldn't read English.
To him, the, he looked at the spine, young reader science fiction, was amusing practice. Over the past few months of his very long-term mission, he had become a teacher at Bayville High, and befriended the X-Men. Kurt and Evan were visiting, each attempting to beat the other's video game character. Both refused to play against Ce'it, who was able to use the Force to sense what his opponent was doing.
"So," he searched for the proper English words, practicing the language when he wasn't using his translator. "Friends like it here?"
Kurt looked up at him, understanding. He was taught English at a young age, but the complex language confused him from time to time as well. "Ja, Char and Keety like each other."
Evan suppressed a shudder.
Kurt elbowed him, "And Menga has eyes for you, mein fruend."
The dark youth stuck his tongue out at Kurt. Ce'it smiled. "Happy to see they like it here."
"Hey, teach. You're getting better." Evan saluted him with the game controller.
"Practice," Ce'it sighed. He would never be able to speak in front of people without the translator, his accent was very thick and simply too alien. It would stand out in too many people's mind on an accent that simply would not be placed. Kurt had likened it to a drunk German trying to speak French words in Spanish. Evan said he sounded like a Klingon whispering love sonnets. Ce'it had watched Star Trek, and it escaped him on how a Klingon could whisper anything.
He sighed, standing up and walking over to the phone. He waited for it to ring twice before he picked it up. "Man," Evan quipped, "That really freaks me out when you do that."
Ce'it placed a small translator next to the receiver, the small black box barely bigger than the phone's speaker. "Hello?"
Evan looked up at him, waiting for Kurt to make his next move on the game. Ce'it lowered the translator, speaking rapidly in his fluid native tongue. His brows furrowed.
Ce'it gently lowered the phone its base, cursing something fast and vicious. Kurt and Evan both looked up at him in shock. "Vat is it?"
The Jedi picked up his watch, clasping it around his wrist. He thumbed it, a hologram flickering into view that hid his dark blue hair and pointed ears. As he wrapped his tail around his waist, he spoke. "One of your friends is in trouble."
Kurt and Evan sprung to their feet, Evan making a few spikes grow from his arms. "Where?"
"On Traddess property."
Xavier rolled into the medical ward, casting his eyes on the assembled teens. And one alien. Char stood by the bed, Menga laying on it, unconscious. Jean busied herself by arranging a cupboard. Scott was with the others in the main room.
Xavier looked up at the alien, the man's piercing amethyst eyes boring into Menga. His translator was around his neck, a thin band of black. He was short, and otherwise looked quite Human. The Professor couldn't help but think that this made him all the more alien. Donnye was a Shapechanger, and the current being in charge of Traddess. His companion, the striking cat-like K'Payr Manora had returned to her home system to tale care of some business.
It had been Donnye that found Menga, knocked unconscious by the Traddess security fields. He was here to find out why she had violated the no trespassing signs.
"Is he coming?" Xavier spoke softly.
Donnye nodded, his translated voice not as well covered as Ce'it's, his odd accent filtering through. "Hai, and Kurt and Evan are with him." Occasionally, the translator would pick a word from a language other that English. Hai was Japanese for yes, with respectful connotations.
Kurt did not wait for the others, and teleported in as soon as he was close enough. He ran over to the bed, looking up at Char and Donnye. "Vat happened?"
"She was where she was not supposed to be." Donnye spoke without anger or accusation.
Kurt held her slim, pale hand in his. "Vake up, mein fruend."
Evan ran into the room next, Ce'it a few steps behind.
Xavier placed his hand on Kurt's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Kurt. But I can't reach her mind."
Donnye looked up at Ce'it, motioning towards the girl. "Care to do the honors?"
Kurt backed away, and Char looked from Kurt, to Donnye, then to Ce'it in shock. "You-you're mutants?"
Donnye smiled. "Nope."
Ce'it walked next to Menga, placing a hand on each of her temples. "Donnye will explain it to you." He closed his eyes.
The Force on this world was different. It stood poised on the edge of a cliff, looking down the genetic precipice. Far below was a sea of roiling opportunity, evolution out of control. This was not the first time this world had stood on such a cliff. Many millions of years ago, mass extinctions had prompted evolution to repair the gaps. Only now the extinctions were man-made.
He reached for the Force. It filled him with strength, with light. He could feel his own heartbeat, and then he could sense it just before it happened. It was time.
Ce'it focused on the girl, reaching into her mind. Menga, her name was Menga. Her thoughts were confused, jumbled.
Wake up, Menga. The others are waiting.
Who are you? Her thoughts flitted through his mind, teasing his consciousness like a cool summer breeze.
Ce'it, a friend of Kurt's.
What happened?
That's what we want to ask, but first you need to wake up.
Her thoughts were confused, a jumbled of shifting winds and colors. I am asleep?
Not quite. I can help you, but only if you try.
I am scared.
Ce'it reached more, easing a feeling of calm into her. I am here. But you need to try.
The winds picked up, pushing at him. He grabbed at them, pulling them to the light. He could hear Xavier's gasp as he was able to register her mind. At that point, Ce'it pulled back, looking down into her ice blue eyes. "Good morning," he smiled.
Char looked at him, eyes narrowed. "Who are you people?"
Char paced in the main room, Menga resting in the recliner. He waved his hands around as he spoke. "So, you are like, aliens, sent here to look after some space lane that's not even in this galaxy!"
"Sounds about right," Donnye propped his feet up on the coffee table.
"And you," he turned to look at Ce'it, "You are a teacher at the high school?"
"Had to learn about the locals somehow."
"But a high school?"
Ce'it shrugged. "What other job could I work where I get three months of the year off, and meet people like the X-Men?"
Char closed his mouth. He spoke again, softly, "But why here?"
Donnye answered, "It is best to hide right in plain sight. Besides, genetics is my life, it's what I am, I shapeshift genetically. And I must admit, coming from a species that cannot mutate, it's an amazing process to watch."
"So you study us?" Char hissed.
Donnye shrugged, "Passively. Like you read a book or look at a painting. To tear apart the book would be to destroy. I am here to run Traddess, not pick apart mutants."
Char seemed to accept his answer, barely. Ce'it looked at Menga, speaking softly. "Why were you on Traddess property? And you can't tell me you didn't see the signs, I helped install them."
Her mouth snapped shut in mid-protest. She looked down at her hands, withering under the classic Jedi gaze. Logan looked at Ce'it, grunting. It was rare that he was able to elicit such a response with just a glance.
"I was exploring, and I wanted to go look."
Anger rolled off of Char, he turned on her, growling, "I told you we can't do that!"
"I know," was her soft reply.
Ce'it held up a hand. "Enough."
Xavier looked at Donnye from over his folded hands. The small alien, standing just a shade taller than Kitty, sat up, resting his elbows on his knees. His ageless amethyst eyes peered into nothing. For a few seconds he sat this way, and Xavier could sense the anxiety filling Menga's mind. Just before she panicked, Donnye smiled.
"Curiosity is not a crime," he straitened, placing his hands on his knees. "But trespassing is. Your punishment is to clean Skimmer's hull." Ce'it smiled. This was more of a gift than a
punishment.
"What's Skimmer?"
Donnye smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Not what, who. She is as sentient as you or I. She just happens to look like a space ship."
"And I get to clean your…space ship?"
Donnye nodded. "No, you get to clean my partner." At her confused look, he continued. "The closest thing this world has to what Skimmer and I have are like Police partners."
Her mouth formed into a silent O.
"Does that mean she gets the tour?" Kurt spoke up, excited.
"Same one you got, except she'll be there longer."
"How much?" Char growled.
"Until Skimmer is clean to her satisfaction."
Menga brightened, "My satisfaction?"
"Sorry, Skimmer's satisfaction."
Her face fell.
Well….that's the end of Chapter one. Remember that thing Yoda sensed, that thing that made him decide to send Ce'it in the first place? Might be happening here in the next couple of chapters! When I gets around to writing them, that is. ^_^;