Disclaimer: Susana is my own creation, Marvel owns the
rights to everyone else(although I think they owe me now, since I currently
sell comic books for them at my new job.) Goo, Marvel! When reading this,
just keep in mind that continuity does not apply- period. Trying to make it...will only give you a
headache. Sorry! Oh yeah, Nat and Claud are Susana's old
roommates.
Notes:
sound
*thought*
} telepathic conversation {
Setting: Westchester, 6 months later(late May, if ya
care.) Late afternoon
Jono lifted the guitar from his lap and set it on one of the
stands lining the walls of his miniscule studio. He stood and stretched, then walked around the desk supporting
the bulk of the recording equipment and flicked a switch, stopping the
tape. His eyes danced as he looked
around the room, taking in all the toys he'd gotten for his birthday two months
ago. *How'd she even know I was
planning on getting some recording stuff soon? She never gets in my mind without asking...does she?* He shook his head, then opened the door,
stepped out into the hallway, and flicked the lights off before shutting the
door with a muffled thump. He shuffled
down the stairs, past the floor that housed most of the current students. When Emma closed the Massachusetts Academy,
Xavier had opted to bring the students there- by that point, they were all
mutants- to New York, where they were taught by both active and retired members
of the X-teams.
Susana taught two Spanish classes, which is where she was at
the moment. He checked his watch as he
arrived in front of the heavy oak door of her classroom, and was glad to see
that it was almost time for the end of her second class. He eased the door open and slipped through,
then shut it silently and watched as Susana stood on tiptoe to write something
at the top of the blackboard. She turned back towards the small class of young
mutants and grinned as she noticed him in the back of the room.
"Hola, Señor Starsmore. Cómo esta usted?" He
looked at her in mock confusion, and she rolled her eyes and shook her head,
then turned to a tiny blonde child perched on a desk chair. "Clara, can you help him out? He's obviously not so brilliant as we
are...But we'll forgive that this once, since he's so cute." She met his mildly
surprised gaze over Clara's head, and smirked at him as the child explained
what she'd asked and what the expected response was. He followed the girl's instructions, then settled onto a stool in
the back of the room to stare at her and wait for the class to end. She soon dismissed the students and hurried
them out the door, then came to where he sat at the back of the room.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her forehead
against his chest, then gave a long sigh before straightening up. "They're good kids...but I'm so
tired! Jean and I were up late planning
even more wedding stuff...it's exhausting." She yawned to emphasize her point, then rested her cheek against
his shoulder and looked at him. "Whatcha up to today? Besides," she disentangled an arm and poked him in the side, "disrupting
my class?"
}Thought I'd come see if you wanted to go into town
tonight...maybe catch a movie?{ He
grabbed her hand so she couldn't poke him any more, then raised it in the air
and twirled her towards her desk so she could pack up her materials. He gave her a light push on the small of her
back, then crossed the room to the windows and watched Scott, Bobby, Remy, and
Warren playing basketball while she straightened her desk. After shuffling the last stack of papers
into a semblance of order, she walked behind him and wrapped both arms around
his waist.
"You won't mind if I go to sleep right here, will
ya? I like the movie idea, really I
do...but I don't think I'll be able to stay up long enough to see the end. Want to get a video and take over the rec
room instead? That way you only have to
carry me up the stairs when the movie's over. And the couch in there is a lot better for sleepin than a movie theater
seat." He untangled her arms and
turned to look down at her.
}Do you just want to go to bed? You're making me tired just being around you.{
"You know, I think I may just do that....go lie down
for a nap. You," she reached up
and patted his cheek, "should get back to the studio...I can tell you were
working on something good in there." He nodded slowly, unaware that the full attentions of five telepaths-
Jean, Susana, Betsy, Monet, and Emma- were focused solely on him.
}Right. Very
important stuff goin' on in the studio. Listen, gel, I'm gonna go on up there unless you want me t'walk you to
the room or somethin'.{ He was
obviously distracted, and she grinned at his retreating back.
}Hey Jean, is everyone else ready to go? He'll be locked up in his studio for the
rest of the night. Gimme just a couple
seconds and we can go.{ After a short
wait to let Jono get safely ensconced in the studio, she raced upstairs, her
earlier pretense of tiredness gone, and quickly changed to a slightly more...risqué
outfit before scurrying down the stairs. Jubilee, Nat, Claud, Kitty, Betsy, Cecilia, Monet, Emma, and Sarah were
all standing around in the foyer. Scuffling sounds could be heard from the hallway, where Ororo seemed to
be struggling valiantly against Jean and Rogue's insistence that she join the
group. Between Jean's telekinesis and
Rogue's superior strength, she was soon convinced that joining the group was in
her best interest.
Once they had all piled into a widely varied assortment of
cars, Jean provided directions to all the drivers and they set out. Susana bounced happily into the front seat
of Nat's rented F-150 and began chattering excitedly about the club they'd
decided to go to. Jubilee and Claud
attempted to squeeze themselves into shapes that might make sitting in the fold
down seats of the extended cab pickup a little more comfortable.
From a shadowed window of the Xavier mansion, Remy LeBeau
watched as the various cars filled with women, almost all of whom had, at some
time or other, worn the X. *An' we
thought that some of their combat uniforms showed skin...Somehow I don't think
the petites are goin' out to an innocent dinner and then out for dancin'...and
it'd be wrong to pass up an opportunity like dis one.* As the last car left the driveway, a glimmer
appeared in Remy's eyes. *Now, where
did our groom to be get sent off to?* He dropped both feet to the floor and went in search of Jono.
Susana managed to take over the radio without the slightest
break in conversation, and Jubilee cringed as twangy country began to resonate
from the speakers. Claudia laughed
softly, then spoke. "Doesn't she
listen to this up here?"
"Yeah...but I can usually escape. The mansion's a bit bigger than the cab of a
truck, ya know? God, I hope Ange
doesn't find out about this." She
gnawed fretfully on her thumbnail, then continued. "I mean...geez. He's
cool as hell, but he can get kinda pissy and possessive sometimes."
Claud rolled her eyes in sympathy. "Thankfully, I left mah current one-and-only at home...he'd
be havin' a coronary right bout now if he knew what we're up to." She looked up and met Nat's eyes in the
rearview mirror.
"Will ya'll stop that? We're just goin' out t'dinner and then to a club. Nothin' for them to get the least bit upset
about...honestly." She
shook her head in disbelief, then looked back at the road and ignored them.
"Easy for you to say...you don't have to worry about
anyone back home. If Trav even thinks
about gettin' upset at ya, you'll dump 'im, simple as that." Rather than answer, Nat simply brushed a
curl of red hair out of her eyes and shrugged, then flicked on her turn signal
in accordance with the directions Jean had given her. A broad grin spread across her face as she looked at the building
in front of them.
"Dios," Susana breathed, then pinched the
bridge of her nose. "Let me guess,
you all had shields so I wouldn't know till we got here...right?" The other occupants of the car shook their
heads to clear the remnants of the blocks Jean, Emma, Monet, and Betsy had
helped them put up. That done, they all
looked at her and nodded.
"Hey, you ever try to trick a telepath? It took a lot of planning...and a lot of
bribery, for that matter. I think I owe
Jean enough Ben and Jerry's Phish Food to feed a small country. We won't go into what I had to promise Emma
and Betsy for their help." Jubilee
pushed at the back of Susana's seat. "Well, aren'tcha gonna get out? I'm a little squished back here...." Susana shrugged and opened the door, then slid out and adjusted
the straps of her tank top while she looked around for the rest of their
group. Jubilee squirmed down from the
back seat and stared up at the side of the building.
"Hmm...not quite what I expected."
"Why d'you say that?"
"Not enough neon. It's almost classy looking." Just then, the car carrying Storm, Jean, Sarah, and Cecilia pulled
up. Storm and Cecilia were both out of
the car almost before it stopped. Susana privately mused that the speed with which they jumped out might
have actually impressed Quicksilver.
"Whatsa matter, Wind Rider? Got another Morlock to
kill back at the Mansion?" Sarah's
abrasive voice preceded her out of the car.
"Dang! Ya'll were
gettin' along so good for a minute there!" Rogue tucked a stray lock of white hair behind her ear- it'd
gotten blown out of place during the ride over in Emma's convertible.
"If by that, you mean that we can successfully ignore each
other for the duration of a short car trip, then yes, we were getting along
marvelously. If you meant that we can
speak in civil terms...you have never been so wrong. I do not wish to spend my night in her company." The weather goddess sniffed regally and tugged
at the high hemline of her dress...a dress, Susana noticed, that seemed a bit
much for a quiet evening at the mansion.
*Ok, it's official. Everyone but me knew about this. Oh well.* She shrugged and
turned to Sarah to see her reaction.
"Yeah, well, it ain't my cuppa tea, either." Sarah pulled loose a small fragment of bone
and tossed it onto the pavement of the lot. *With luck, maybe it'll take out someone's tire.*
"Will ya'll quit that! Ro, if she gets too much, I'll just...snap off a leg or somethin'."
Cecilia spoke up from her seat on the back bumper of the
car. "Do you think you could all
keep the bloodshed to a minimum? I
don't know about the rest of you, but I'm here to have a good time. And if I don't get it, anyone who needs
treatment is gonna have to watch out." She shrugged at Jubilee's slightly shocked glance, then pulled out a
nail file and began working on a broken nail edge. "What? Doctors get
time off, too."
"Enough of this. Do
you think we might go ahead and start off the evening?" Betsy flicked a speck of fuzz off of her
shirtsleeve and looked around expectantly.
"Certainly, Ms. Braddock. Care to lead the charge? By the
way, everyone, I have small bills for those of you who don't plan in
advance." Emma pulled out three
banded stacks of bills and ruffled the tops of them, then tucked them back
inside her purse and snapped it shut. "But I'm not paying cover charges. Or buying drinks." She glared down her nose at Jubilee, who stuck out her tongue and
crossed her eyes, then pushed away from the car she was leaning against and
held out an imaginary torch.
"As maid of honor, I, Jubilation Lee, will fearlessly lead
this team into...well, battle's not right, but it'll have to do. Forward, Ho!" She brandished the imaginary torch at the building, then strode
off.
"Hey now, watch who you call a ho, there, girlie."
"Right...sorry, Dr. Reyes." She'd stopped a few paces after she stepped away from the
group. "Is anyone planning on
following me, here? Cause that's what
people usually do when the leader does something...."
~Meanwhile, in the parking lot of Miss Kitty's Cabaret, across
town~
"Ah'm not so sure 'bout this, ya'll." Sam Guthrie eyed the door of the abandoned
warehouse-turned strip club with no small measure of trepidation. He'd let himself get suckered into coming
along on this, the retaliatory bachelor party strip club visit. It was just now occurring to him that maybe
listening to Gambit when he mentioned strip clubs was not the best possible
idea. *Coulda stayed back at th'
Mansion with the professor, and Kurt, and Sean...but no, Guthrie, you just had
to open your big mouth.* "Are you
sure the gals was goin' to a strip club, Mistuh Remy, sir?"
Remy began to answer, but was cut off by Bobby. "Ah, the sweet little country boy tagging along...now, I
know every group needs one, but does ours have to be so...sweet and
country? It's a bit much to
handle." He snorted, then snapped
his fingers impatiently at Scott and Warren, both of whom were taking their
sweet time getting out of the car. "Sam, you're 26 years old. I don't think your momma's going to come up here and whup yer butt just
because you came along on Jono's send-off party."
"As I was sayin, homme..." Remy glared at Bobby before
continuing, "I'm sure they did. De
femmes, dey weren't dressed for a quiet dinner. Or..." he shot a glance at Jono, who had sufficiently
recovered from the earlier persuasion, "a lil nap." Jono flicked him off.
}I'd like to see you get past...Ange, who'd we decide helped her
on that? Jean, Emma...{
"Betsy, and Monet. The hombre stood no chance. But..." Angelo grinned wickedly,
"I can't say I'm unhappy about this. Well, I'd rather Jubes hadn't gone with...but it gives me an opportunity
to come here, so I can't bitch too much...until I see her. Then, I'll lay it on so thick, she won't
suspect a thing."
Scott, having successfully exited and locked the car, checked
the locks (twice, just to be safe), made sure his sunglasses were securely in
place, and scuffed his shoes back and forth on the gravel of the lot.
"Scottie, y'lookin' a little nervous there, homme...you
ok?"
Scott looked up and cursed inwardly. "It's...a little warm out here."
"Scottie? It ain't
even June yet. Dis is not hot...Y'ain't
neva been to a place like dis, have ya?"
"Well, there was this one time..."
"Bullshit, Scott." Warren took a puff of his cigarette and raised an eyebrow at his friend,
then turned to Remy and rolled his eyes. "We went slumming in a country bar back in the old days...some
girl's shirt got ripped almost off in a fight. It wasn't a strip club, per se...but I do think I remember Bobby
waving a five at her. And unless my
memory fails me, which it never does, Hank whistled."
"Gentlemen, gentlemen...if we are going to embark on
this...cultural venture...perhaps we should begin by entering the establishment
and procuring a table and some libations?"
}What'd he just say, Ange?{
"The man said," Logan slapped everyone within arm's
reach on the back, "let's get our asses in there, have a beer, and see the
sights!"
"After you, chico. You're the guest of honor, after all."
~Back across town, at Guilty Pleasures all male revue~
"Well, Susana, I admit I had some reservations...we were
not the best of friends at the Academy. But I'm glad I came, now..."
"You know, M, you don't have to gloat because you caught
the guy's G-string. It's not very
sophisticated."
"Sophistication can be overrated. Waiter! I'd like another
margarita, please. Don't forget the
salt!"
~Miss Kitty's Cabaret~
The waitress sat her tray down on the table and passed drinks to
everyone who'd ordered. She was given a
murmured thanks by everyone except Scott and Sam, both of whom had found things
of intense interest on the floor. She
debated commenting, but just then, a song started up. She shrugged and returned to the bar for the next load of drinks
as the first dancer of the night took the stage.
"Oh my stars..."
"And her garters, Hank. Shut up and enjoy the show."
