The Blackbird landed softly behind the labyrinth, and amazingly enough, attracted no attention whatsoever. Blayne, his mother, and his brother came out, mouths gaping wide. The hatch opened and Jubilee bounded out, grinning merrily. Wolverine and Storm emerged, the latter smiling at the scene, the former scowling slightly. Blayne had run over and picked up Jubilee in a big hug.
"How are you?" he whispered in her ear. They pulled apart, and Toby leapt into her arms.
"I'm alright. The service was yesterday. It was beautiful; just the way Beast would have wanted it. Now, you packed?" She looked at Toby, who nodded furiously and jumped down, running to retrieve his bag. Wolverine grabbed Toby and Sarah's bag, Blayne grabbed his, and the six boarded the plane. Blayne looked around in astonishment.
"How do you keep this thing from being noticed?"
"That is an X-Men secret," Wolverine replied gruffly. Jubilee and Blayne looked at the man curiously, but Jubilee shrugged it off.
"He doesn't like long traveling," she lied. She knew what was bothering him, and she giggled to herself. Storm gave the command to buckle themselves in, and after making sure Toby was secure, Blayne took a seat next to Jubilee. Once in the air, they began to play a card game while Mrs. Warner asked Storm and Wolverine questions about appropriate behavior at the mansion.
Storm smiled, "Do not worry, Mrs. Warner, it's not a military-like atmosphere. We do have Jubilation after all." Wolverine snorted his approval and looked into the back of the cabin. The two older ones were trying to teach Toby how to play "Go Fish," but to no avail.
The toddler seemed to think it fit to throw the cards everywhere, much to the chagrin of the teens. Jubilee finally gave up and pulled the portable TV/VCR out of a compartment. Popping in "All Dogs Go to Heaven" (one of Jubilee's favorite movies), the children sat back and enjoyed the ride and the show. They got through that and almost through "Aladdin" when Storm announced their arrival. They buckled back in for the landing, and clambered out hastily when the "all clear" was given. The Professor was waiting for them as they disembarked.
The Professor extended his hand to the woman as she approached him. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Warner, I am Charles Xavier. We spoke on the phone."
"Of course," she took the proffered, then gestured to the boys who had come up behind her. "This is my eldest son, Blayne," Blayne shook the professor's hand, "and my youngest, Tobias." Toby bowed slightly, then shouted.
"Call me Toby!" His mother looked at him sternly, but everyone merely chuckled. The Professor and Wolverine showed her to her room, then took her to the den, where they were to meet the team. She found her sons already waiting there, along with an assortment of people. The Professor went around the room, each person nodding as they were introduced.
"That is Rogue, Scott Summers, also called Cyclops, and Dr. Jean Grey. I believe you already know Gambit, Ororo Munroe, called Storm, and Logan, or Wolverine. And of course, Jubilation Lee." The professor squelched a small pain as he forced the thoughts of not being able to introduce Hank out of his mind. Mrs. Warner nodded to each in turn, and she completed her introductions as well. Jubilee whispered something in the professor's ear, and he looked at her quizzically. He looked at Cyclops, had a mental conversation with him briefly, and then nodded. "Very well, Jubilee has requested a small demonstration of our powers. I will take you to the Danger Room control center while they get ready." The rest of the team groaned slightly at the thought of another training session, and most of them shot glares at Jubilee, who shrugged and skipped away to change.
Soon, they were assembled in the Danger Room, with the professor calling the shots. Cyclops said a few brief "leader-like" words to the team, then signaled up to the control center. The professor nodded and programmed in a scenario.
The Danger Room faded as a destroyed city surrounded them. Storm and Rogue took to the skies, searching for any enemies. Wolverine and Jubilee split off to the side, while Gambit slunk to the shadows. Scott and Jean walked down the street, searching for survivors.
As they walked, Wolverine and Jubilee soon found themselves on the receiving end of rather unfriendly fire. A squad of about ten FOH members were storming toward them, and Wolverine unsheathed his claws. As he prepared for the attack, Jubilee fired pafs off in an attempt to spread them apart. Her firing alerted Gambit and he signaled Jean and Cyclops, and the three moved to the fight, attempting to circle the melee and surprise them from behind. On their way, they encountered a second wave of some robotic type creatures. There were only five, but they packed heavy firepower. Rogue swept down and picked up two, flying high and dropping them before they could turn and fire on her. They busted into a million pieces as they collided with the concrete.
As the FOH closed in, Jubilee began her fighting techniques, throwing flying spin kicks and punches. A well-placed jump spin hook-kick knocked one out cold. As she landed, two more grabbed her, but Wolverine had seen this coming and grabbed one man by the wrist and broke it, forcing him to release his hold on the firecracker. Jubilee kicked up and out, landing a front kick to the guy's stomach and pushing herself back. She crouched down into a fighting stance and waited for the guy to charge her. He did, and she ran and jumped off the wall, performing her spin twist flawlessly and landing behind the guy. As he turned, the last thing he saw was the heel of her boots as she threw a back kick into his face.
On the other side of the street, Jean had telekinetically pointed their weapons straight up as Gambit and Cyclops pelted them with their powers. Storm called down a bolt of lightning, which struck the fifth one, sending it into violent, electronic spasms before it sparked and "died." With the robots dispensed, the five rushed to help Wolverine and Jubilee, only to find they didn't really need it.
Wolverine was so intensely occupied with two FOH members that he didn't notice the other three sneaking up on him. Jubilee did, and threw some pafs into their faces. Gambit entered the fray, twirling his bo staff and took out the offenders without a second thought. Wolverine dispatched his charges, and Cyclops stunned the remaining two. He turned to the team.
"Good work, X-Men." Wolverine sniffed the air.
"That was too easy. Something doesn't smell right." He sniffed the air again just before he was hit in the back by a blast from a robot.
"Wolvie!" Jubilee rushed to his side, helping him to his feet. She looked at the charred shirt on his back and her stomach lurched, suddenly thankful for his healing factor. But why had the professor done that? If it had hit another member, they'd be out cold for a long time!
Don't worry, Jubilation, I aimed it for him. I know his limits.
She scowled up in what she thought was the direction of the control center. It was still a dirty trick. She turned back to the others, who were facing down ten of the robotic creatures. In the control center, Xavier turned down their capabilities to a medium stun. Cyclops and Gambit were fending them off best they could, but they were still closing. Scott yelled above the din.
"Storm, rain!" Storm's eyes clouded over and thunder cracked overhead. A sheeting rain fell over the fight, shorting out the few robots that were unable to put up their protective shields. These seemed to be tougher than their counterparts from earlier, and it took Cyclops and Gambit a full minute of blasting to take down two of them. Storm once again called down a lightning bolt, which only managed to faze one momentarily. It took another bolt to render it "dead" and she landed, unable to continue for the time being. Jean once more picked one up telekinetically and threw it into a brick wall near Wolverine and Jubilee. They shared a grin and began their "tag team." She paffed it several times, sending its electronic systems into overload. This momentary lapse of control allowed Wolverine to get close enough to rip it open completely.
Blayne watched from the control room, completely entranced by the teamwork. Only in his dreams had he imagined such as this. He watched as Jubilee and Wolverine destroyed a robot in a simple yet long-practiced series of movements.
Mrs. Warner watched her eldest son, smiling. She looked over to the professor and opened a link.
~My son seems to be enthralled.~
~Indeed, it can be overwhelming for those not used to it. How old is he?~
~He just turned 17.~
~Jubilee seems attached to him.~
~Yes, and he to her. I believe he's going to ask me to stay tonight.~
~Stay here? Would you allow it?~
~I have never impeded in my children's dreams, for it is what keeps them going at times.~
~What about the young one?~
~Toby will understand. He is far superior to others his age.~
~If Blayne wishes, I will allow him to stay. Has he decided on college yet?~
~He has been accepted to Oxford, and was planning to start next fall.~
~We have many accredited universities here in New York. He is welcome if he wishes.~
"Thank you, professor." Blayne looked up at his mother confusedly, but nodded when she smiled down at him. Telepaths, he thought, shaking his head. She gave him a warning glare and he blushed slightly. When Mrs. Warner re-focused on the action, she found that all but two had been destroyed. Gambit launched a well-aimed card, which slid into the small opening on its front, blowing it up from within. While the last was distracted by Jean throwing things at it and Cyclops blasting it, Rogue came from behind and smashed its head in, causing it to collapse and "die."
The Professor deactivated the scenario and called over the PA system. "Well done, team. That was an excellent demonstration and practice." The four occupants of the control center left and met the team in the hallway. Jubilee squirmed a little.
"Yuck, I need to go shower. Later," she trotted off to her room and the team laughed. Wolverine chuckled and walked up the stairs to do the same.
"Mrs. Warner, perhaps you and your sons would like to join me for a walk of the grounds?" the professor offered.
"I would love to. Boys?" Blayne nodded and Toby clung to Blayne, so it was unanimous. They began their tour as the team went to shower and change.
Jubilee came bounding down the stairs last as they all gathered in the kitchen.
"Ah, Jubilee, we were thinking about taking our guests out to dinner tonight. Any ideas?"
"Well, prof, I—"
"No!" the resounding call from the rest of the team silenced her. She stared at them, hurt.
"No offense, darlin, but Disco Pizza is not exactly what we were going for here," he scooted out the chair next to him and she plopped down in it with a huff.
"How about Oliver's?" Jean offered. The Professor nodded, as did most of the team. Wolverine chuckled and leaned over to Jubilee, who was still sulking.
"Don't worry, Jubes, you can get their pizza and pretend." She looked at him in amazement and punched his shoulder. Then she suddenly realized that was not the thing to do, shrieked, and bolted out of the kitchen. He was right on her tail all the way out the mansion. Blayne looked at his mother, then out to the scene.
"That looks familiar," he commented. She smiled, as did the entire team. Wolverine now had Jubilee held above his head. She writhed once, and he lost his grip. Just before she hit the ground, Jean stopped her, but that didn't slow her down one bit. She leapt back up and attempted to tackle her mentor. He easily deflected the attack and sent her sprawling to the ground.
"Dirty trick, Wolvie."
"Tactics, darlin', tactics." She growled and jumped to her feet.
"We never finished our sparring session," she commented. She sent pafs at him, but this time, he dodged them, and when she went to move around him, he swept her up in a bear hug. Knowing there was no way out, her body went slack. He immediately dropped her, thinking he had injured her. When he received a roundhouse kick to his head for the trouble, he realized he'd been tricked.
"Tactics, Wolvster, tactics," she mocked in answer to his growl of frustration. The Professor looked out at the scene, smiling. He opened a link with Logan.
~As entertaining as this is, I'm afraid the rest of us are hungry.~ Logan nodded mid-swing, wrapped his arm around her middle, and hauled her into the mansion.
"Game's over, darlin'. Everyone's hungry."
"Yeah right, you just knew you were losing." He snorted and pushed her upstairs to change again. Their clothes had grass and mud stains from the excursion. Once freshened up, they piled into three cars and took off for the restaurant. The Professor left the seniors in charge and prayed that he had a mansion to come home to.
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Phew! *wipes brow* that was a hard chapter to write. Took me a while, but here it is. As I said, it's almost over. Still thinking about that musical though (I know, I'm crazy…but come on! Can't you just see the mighty Wolverine breaking out into song?!?). Okay, now that that's done…review please!