Muse: (sits down)
BAZ: Come on, I have to get ready, and I need your help with a story.
Muse: I'm on strike.
BAZ: On strike? Why?
Muse: I feel I'm being abused, and I won't help you until Phoenix releases her muse.
BAZ: You do realize that the longer you don't help me the angrier the fans are going to get.
Muse: So?
BAZ: Dear, Phoenix is a fan, an avid one at that, and by not helping, you're endangering her muse, not to mention ME!
Muse: (Thinking)
BAZ: (mutters) FINE I'll get ready by myself.
Muse: STOP!
BAZ: What?
Muse: Where are you going? We have a chapter to write.
BAZ: But…
Muse: SIT DOWN! And start typing.
BAZ: ABOUT WHAT?
Muse: Hold on I have a great idea…
Pietro was getting bored. No, he was getting there, he was there. And he had three postcards sent out by now. They'd been sitting in the car for over an hour, in totally silence. Although the car was pushing the speed limit, it was still to slow for him. Combined with the facts that Kitty would glare daggers at him every time he made a move for the radio, and that his eyes kept shifting to her full stomach.
I wonder who the father…
She sighed loudly, "Lance," she declared openly, making Pietro wonder if she'd picked up a bit of telepathy. "You know you're not as sly as you used to be."
"Damn," he muttered jokingly, causing Kitty to smile beside him.
"How far…"
"Along am I? Five months."
He drummed his fingers tunelessly on his briefcase, and then he noticed the wedding band on her right hand. The diamond wasn't overly done, yet it wasn't small either, just within Lance's price range, Pietro smiled. The band itself had beautiful engravings around it, Pietro knew that Lance hadn't picked out the ring.
Kitty saw it look, and unconsciously looked at it. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Pietro nodded, "Rogue picked it out, I was so worried when I saw them together, but I know why now."
He nodded again, Rogue always did have great taste, she picked him didn't she?
"How long have you been married?"
"Three years."
"Sorry I missed it."
"Lance tried calling, but you never picked up." She looked at him briefly, "Oh, Cerebro working again, don't worry we didn't tell Rogue. She told us a long time ago that she didn't want to hear any thing about you unless it was from you."
They sat in silence a bit longer, until Pietro could stand it no longer.
"So, is there some kind of speech I get to hear."
Kitty looked surprised, "You want to hear it?" she asked as if questioning his sanity.
He shrugged, "Just skip over the parts I know."
"OK, that would be who we are and what we fight for. So, that would leave… oh ya." She took a deep breath and began. "Several years ago a huge riot broke out in a high school in Pennsylvania, targeting, you guessed it, mutants. The Professor realized that younger mutants weren't going to reveal themselves out of fear, unless they were given an environment that they could feel excepted in, and comfortable with their gifts.
"So he added a few wings and turned the Institute in the 'The School for Gifted Youngster.'"
"Nice name," commented Pietro.
"I know, but bear with me. The students call it Mutant High. He took the original X-men, minus a few and turned them into the teachers."
"Teachers by day, crime fighters by night."
"And we grade papers in between."
Pietro laughed and Kitty continued, "Scott's the principal, and he answer to Ororo."
"What happen to Xavier?"
"He's in Ireland. Oh ya, just because you're a teacher, doesn't mean you're an official X-men, so on and so forth."
Pietro nodded, "Got it. So do you know what subject I'll be teaching?"
"You'll probably be taking over Evan's History class."
Much to Kitty's surprise Pietro didn't even flinch hearing Evan's name, but instead asked, "What happened to him?"
"I'm not sure, me mentioned something about the 'X-Games' and making a team, I don't understand but the students thought it was pretty cool."
Pietro nodded once again, he seemed to be doing that a lot. Before he knew it, Kitty had pulled into the long driveway of the school. And, for what seemed like the first time since that night, Pietro lost his nerve.
BAZ: (Stands up)
Muse: WAIT! Where are you going?
BAZ: My hands hurt, and I need to pack!
Muse: You can do that later, we need to keep going.
BAZ: Why?
Muse: Because you promised the readers that Rogue and Pietro would see each other again in this chapter.
BAZ: I hate you.
Muse: I know, just sit down, and type up this…
Kitty guided Pietro though the halls and he was sure that they were lost. Up ahead Pietro watched what he guessed was a student press his face against a door, obviously eager to hear the conversation inside.
Kitty cleared her throat, and impatiently tapped her foot.
The young man gulped audibly and turned to face them, to Pietro's surprise the boy's face was a pale gray color and he seemed to have no nose and a thin black line for a mouth, his eyes were giant pools of sliver. He tugged nervously on the collar of his blue shirt.
"Umm, hi, Mrs. Alvers."
"Sydney."
"Um, you're looking very, um, lovely today."
"Thank you, what are you doing here?"
Pietro blinked, no longer stood before him a teenage boy, but one that looked to be four years old.
"I was- I was- I was twalking in cwass, and-and-and da tweacher gwot mad."
"Roberto," Kitty sighed and shook her head.
Pietro blinked again and before him now stood what seemed to be a carbon copy of Sherlock Holmes.
"Great detective work, my dear." He blew gently on the pipe in his hand and smiled as several bubbles popped out the other end.
"Shape-shifter?" Pietro guessed.
"One of three, and by far the most annoying."
"Awwww," Sydney had returned to his original form, "Ya only say that cause you love…"
A voice yelled out of the closed door, "Ya know damn strait that unfair, Scott!"
The door, now slightly ajar, had three eager ears pressed closely.
"Unfair?! How am I being unfair? You took four students to an Anti-Mutant rally!"
"They were four Seniors Scott! Ah've been trainin' 'em for five years each! They know how tah take care of themselves."
"That's not the point, Rogue and you know it. What would've happened if you were found out? Huh? Are you willing to lay your life on the line and get students killing because of a mistake?"
"Now you seem tah miss the point, Scott. We're weren't found out, and I lay mah life on tha line almost every fuckin' day!"
"There's no need to get vulgar…"
"Stay out of this, Jean. This is between Rogue and Scott, not us."
"Thank you, Ororo."
"Rogue, how do you justify what you did?"
"They needed to see it. They needed to see humanity at its worst. All you give them is the butterflies and smiles of humanity, you tell them that we are to protect humans because deep down inside they are us and we are them. They need to see what, if they become X-men, they'll be protecting. Not only the good , but the bad too. When we started as X-men, we were given a chance to interact with normal people; they aren't given that choice. They needed to see it, Scott."
Scott had no reply, so Ororo had one for him.
"I agree, just next time, Rogue, get permission."
"Remy agree dat dis is an interest'ing conversation. Jus' not one dat you should be lis'ening ta," a smooth male vice whispered from behind the three eavesdroppers.
They jumped visibly, and, thanks in part to Kitty's mutation, right though the door.
The four people in the room jumped themselves and stood to face the intruders.
"Kitty, I see your back with the newest member of our work force," stated Ororo.
"Sydney!" yelled Scott, "I thought I told you to get back to class!"
"Hehe, right." He morphed himself into what looked like one of the three pigs, and sang his own version of "Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf" as he skipped down the hall.
It took Rogue a moment to realize who was all in the room.
"P-Pietro?" she stuttered out.
"Chere, you know dis guy?"
"Of course Ah know him."
"It's good to see you again Roguey." He took a step toward her, but was stopped suddenly by the accented man.
"Remy no know you, homme. Who you be?"
"I'm Rouge's boyfriend."
"Dat's impossible, homme."
"How?"
"Remy be Chere's man."
Muse: YOU CAN'T END IT THERE!
BAZ: I'm tried, I need to pack, and I'm missing my show!
Muse: Fine, but if the readers are made, then it's your fault.
BAZ: Thanks for the support.
Muse: Anytime.