A/N: Getting down to it. Remy vs. Jean, a bit more with Xavier's plan, Scotty's coming around! Ah, I didn't really want to do it, but there's a floofy, cute scene with Rem and Marie. I expected a lot more to happen here, but c'est le vie. I can't wait to write the next chapter, it's going to be fun!! As always, tell me what you think! Review! Thanks!
Kitty kept glancing into the hall. She heard that Jean was back, and when she finally showed, Kitty was determined to get to her first. That probably wasn't going to be too difficult because she was alone in the room.
She was trying to concentrate on her chemistry homework, but her eyes kept sliding back to the door. She was so bored!
"What are you doing?" Marie asked. She was at the windowsill, biting back a grin.
"Nothing. What were you doing on the roof? You know Xavier warned us about that."
"That's why I was on the roof. Everybody else would stay inside so they don't upset the great Xavier."
"That's fine talk. He took you off the streets and gave you a home. You'd think that there would be a little appreciation!" Kitty sniffed. Some people just didn't know how good they had it.
"You'd think." Marie said under her breath. She shrugged for Kitty's benefit and put on a chastened expression. "You're right, of course. Hey! When did they get back?"
Remy was running past the door. Jean quickly followed on his heels.
Marie and Kitty shared blank faces before taking off after them. The afternoon was looking up.
"Scott, I'd like you to meet Warren Worthington." Xavier led Scott into the war room. It has been decorated festively. The people looking back at him made Scott very self-conscious.
"Hello, Mr. Worthington." He looked to Xavier for some clue as to why he was there.
"Scott, I wanted you to field some questions about the Institute." Xavier settled into a chair behind him.
"Um, okay."
"How are the children selected?" Raven asked, smiling widely at Scott. She reminded him of a predator looking at her next meal.
"We have a screening process that we put all of the children through. We give them an aptitude test and observe their problem solving methods. We keep a low profile so that the Institute sends out applications to those we desire."
"But aren't there some children here that come from the streets?"
"Yes. We were very fortunate that Xavier can spot talent." Does that even make sense? He can look at a person and tell? "About 5% of our student body comes from low income homes or were saved from the streets. Xavier takes trips every three months to search out talent that we would otherwise miss."
"How long does it take to determine where each child should concentrate their efforts? From entrance to graduation, how long does it take to get a cooperative student?" Sean Cassidy asked.
"Unless they are previously trained, we determine what the student should study. Usually, we just go by class sizes, and what is available." Except we change classes every term so the way we drop and add classes, there usually is only one place to put a new student. "Most students here are willing and eager to learn. There are a few with problems, usually the ones from broken homes, that take some time to settle into the program. Xavier is a licensed psychiatrist, and he helps the kids get through some of the harder adjustments. It all depends on the child, but on average, we start training after a year."
"That's quite impressive. How long have you been here?" Warren asked.
"Since I was seven. I was a saved child."
The guests exchanged a look that Scott didn't quite get.
"Thank you, Scott. Would you please locate Marie and send her into my office?"
The room was silent as Scott walked out. He glanced back once, then quickened his step. Suddenly, the thought of staying there for one more second sent chills down his spine.
"Well, what do you think? After reading his file, can there be any doubt about how well this program works."
"Like I told the boy, impressive. I think I will reserve my opinion until I see some more."
Xavier gave a tight smile. "Let's go see if Hank is ready."
"Hey! Wait!" Kitty yelled. It felt as if they'd been running forever. She struggled for breath. Marie was right behind her, and from the sound of it, not doing much better.
Jean turned frowned. She better see what they wanted. Silently cursing Remy, she slowed.
"What?" She couldn't hide the irritation.
"Where are you going? Why is he running?" Kitty gasped out as she struggled to regain her breath.
"I was following him. He should be running because once I get my hands on him, he's going to regret it!"
"Are you back for good?" Marie asked, meeting Jean's eyes.
"I think so. Our stepfather thinks it's for the best," Jean said with a sneer. Noticing Kitty's wide-eyed look, she smoothed her features down. "Anyway, I missed the cheesecake with the chocolate truffles."
"So tell us about San Francisco! What happened?"
Jean smiled as she began to weave the tale of their adventures. Marie and Kitty were soon hanging on every word. On every fictional word.
Remy heard Jean falling behind. He wasn't really heading anywhere, but he needed to be alone. He waved at the surveillance camera that was following him. He fumbled in his pocket for a cigarette and sighed in relief as the nicotine invaded his body. He walked to the trellis and hoisted himself up to the roof. Jean was terrified of heights, so he was pretty sure she wouldn't bother him.
"You know cigarettes aren't allowed on campus," Marie said, leaning back on her elbows. Remy lost some of his characteristic grace as he spun towards her, and immediately lost his footing on the slope. Marie watched him silently as he regained his composure.
Remy frowned at her, and then shrugged. He settled down beside her and offered her a cigarette, which she accepted. They were silent, watching the flags flap in the wind, the clouds roll by.
"Why did you come back?" Marie finally asked. She was staring at him intently.
Remy hesitated. He knew that she wasn't clueless to what was happening at the school, but how to explain.
"I know if I ever left this place, I would start running and never look back. You couldn't get any farther than California. Why?!"
"Why don' y' just walk away?" Remy asked simply. "The gates aren't locked in the day."
Marie fumbled for the words. "I can't. Every time I get near the gates, something pulls me away. My mind floods with what is was like on the outside. I'm a coward. I can't go back to that."
Remy scooted closer and covered her hand with his. She looked down and then slowly back to him.
"Y're not a coward, Marie. I've seen what happens t' girls alone. That's why Jeannie an' me are here at all. I still can' decide if this is a curse or a blessing. I know that what they're doin' is wrong, but is it worth closing down? If it means goin' back t' the streets?"
The wind picked up and Marie tentively leaned against him. Letting out a small breath when he put an arm around her shoulders, she turned towards him. "It's worth it. Did you ever figure out what happened to Jono?"
"Who?"
"Jonothan Starsmore."
"No. I noticed that he was declared deceased wit'out a body. Weird case. Y' know what happened?"
Marie sighed. "No. He was my best friend. I was hoping you knew. There was a fire and the gym fell in. Everyone got out except him, but when they cleared everything out, there was nothing there. They said that the fire simply incinerated him, but wouldn't there be bones or something."
Remy ran his hand up and down her arm. Bright emerald eyes met his. He gently wiped away a tear with his finger.
Jean fumed. She could see them on the roof, and she didn't like the ways things looked from the ground.
"Jean! I've been wanting to talk to you," Scott said, pulling her into the school.
She yanked her arm out of his grasp, and started walking away from him. She felt a deep sense of betrayal. She argued with herself, telling herself that Scott never agreed to help, never admitted that she was right. It hadn't helped.
"Don't you have another little girl to kidnap? Some other student to put in a coma?" she said angrily. It was little louder than she intended, but the fact that other people were gathering didn't penetrate her focus.
"You know that's unfair. WE didn't kidnap anybody. If I recall correctly, that was your fault! And what happened with your brother was an accident. We handled that appropriately. Anyway, that's not what I wanted to –"
"I hate you! Everything that has gone wrong since we've been here has been your fault! You and that fucking Professor who has managed to brainwash everyone into thinking he's great! Stay away from me and stay away from my brother!" She was screaming. Xavier was frantically pushing his way through the crowds to reach her.
Scott stared at her in shock. All he wanted to do was see if she was okay and offer to help if there were any problems. Xavier caught his eye, and motioned for him to take Jean away from the crowd.
"C'mon. Let's get out of this mess. You can yell at me in private." Jean gasped as she looked around her. Shit! Remy was going to have a fit!
He hesitated. He didn't want to disappoint her if he was wrong, but it didn't seem fair to let her think her friend was dead.
"I think I know where Jono is. If he's alive, I mean. There's a huge section underground that I think are used as holding cells."
Marie wiped her face with her sleeve. She wanted to believe him. He looked so sincere, but there had been so many disappointments.
"Are you sure?"
"Nope. But I can find out." He winced as he remembered the harsh instructions Xavier gave them earlier. Stay above. Still, for the look on Marie's face he would have walked through purgatory itself.
"Can I go?"
"No. I have to plan it very carefully. You have to go on like you've been doing. I know Jeannie's been talking to you. I told her not to, but that girl is stubborn. Just stay out of trouble."
She was in trouble. Of that, there was no doubt. Scott lad her to her room and stood against the door. He was studying her. She was sitting on the bed, knees pulled up to her chest. She clutched her pillow like a shield.
"I'm not going to hurt you, you know," he finally said. It bothered him, this irrational fear.
"I know." Her voice was doubtful, her stance unaltered. "What's he going to do?"
"Who? Xavier? He's not going to hurt you either. He'll probably just want to talk about how you got all these strange ideas in your head. Don't worry." His smile made her feel a little better. He clearly believed everything he said.
A knock sounded and Jean tensed. Scott gave her a curious glance before opening the door to admit Xavier. He then went to stand next to Jean.
"What happened in the hall, Miss Grey?" The questioned was asked pleasantly asked, but Jean detected the threat in the tone.
"I got mad at Scott," she said, her voice scarcely above a whisper. Scott looked down at her, worried. He placed a hand on her shoulder. He was surprised when she turned to his side. He answered Xavier's questioning glance with a shrug.
"So the entire house heard." She flinched. "What do you think we should do about this incident?"
"I don't know, sir. I'm sorry."
Xavier smiled. This one was clearly not the problem. "I have an idea. Why don't you attend dinner tonight with Scott? That way the students will see that you two have settled your problems."
Jean almost sighed in relief, but caught it in the last second. "Yes sir. Will you tell Remy for me?"
"Of course dear." As soon as the door closed, Jean pushed away from Scott. She raised an eyebrow and said coolly, "Check your computer. Now, get out." She jumped up to get ready for her next target.
Her eyes followed his every move. He was staying as far away from her as possible. Jean's lip curled into a snarl as she watched Logan put Jubilee through the paces.
"So what's going on, Jeannie?" Remy murmured in her ear. He was dressed in work clothes, all form fitting and black, and his hair pulled back from his face.
"I can explain, just not now," she hissed. He wasn't supposed to be here. Ever since Logan took back his self-defense classes, Remy had been exempt.
"Jean, I told you to lay low. I told you to toe the line…"
"I know that. I messed up. You know that I'm usually good about doing what you tell me…"
"Break into pairs!" Logan's voice rang out.
Jean narrowed her eyes and faced a grim Remy. He gave a slight bow and waited for Jean to get ready.
"Go!"
Block. Block. Jab. Their movements were fluid, block meeting each attack. Remy was the stronger of the two, but Jean was fairly innovative. She kicked out towards his ribs, easily ducking under the arm that flew at her. Remy sidestepped the kick and flung the heel of his hand at her chin. She flipped backwards, missing the blow, but a well-placed leg sent her sprawling across the floor. She quickly rolled back onto her feet and went on the offensive. She managed to throw Remy off-balance, but there was no time to gloat over that. Remy quickly took back the upper hand, throwing a barrage of blows at her that Jean could only hope that luck was on her side.
The whole class had stopped the exercise to watch Remy and Jean spar. Logan was watching in amazement at the vast amount of experience they showed.
Remy was concentrating hard on challenging Jean, but not actually hurting her. He was surprised and pleased with her skill. Still, he planned to beat her.
Jean's arms were screaming in pain, but she remained steadfast. He was slowly backing her into the wall. The crowd parted as the came close. Timing it just right, Jean pushed off from the wall, crashing right into Remy. He easily rolled away from her and came up smiling.
"Pretty good, Jeannie, just not good enough."
She lunged at him, making her first big mistake. He easily threw her off balance, sending her to the floor. As soon as she hit, he lightly rested his foot against her throat.
"You lose." His eyes bored into hers. She sighed and nodded her defeat. He helped her up and gave her a look.
"Yes, I should have thought things through before flying off the handle. We need to be extra careful, and I totally disregarded that. I'm sorry." She was gritting her teeth by the time she reached the end.
"Was that so hard? When you can beat me, then you get to be right." They were scarcely speaking at all. Everyone was leaning in, trying to hear what was being said. Remy looked around, and then raised his voice.
"How did I beat y'?"
"You made me mad. I let emotion take over self-control. I made a mistake." Jean said immediately. A light blush colored her cheeks as she realized that was what happened earlier as well.
"Y' did good, petite." He gave her a grin and sauntered out of the gym. Jean became uncomfortably aware of the stares that were now focused on her.
"That's not stuff you learn on the streets," Logan said quietly.
Jean smiled sweetly. "That was what you were showing in class a couple weeks ago. We didn't want to show off by doing anything hard."
"Where the fuck are the kids files?!" Logan yelled. He was tearing through the file room and had been for the last hour.
"I can't get them on the computer either," Ororo called back from the control room. "They've completely disappeared from the data banks."
Xavier was calmly sitting in the war room, silently thankful that his guests had all retired to their rooms already. A pensive frown marred his smooth face. "That's impossible. Only I have clearance to change the files."
"They're not here," Ororo repeated, irritation tingeing her tone.
Xavier put his head in his hands. Things were not going smoothly. "What do you need the files for?"
"Those fucking kids are pulling a fast one on us. They know stuff. They were executing perfect forms. Where do you that on the streets, huh? That book Remy's always carrying around? It's written in Latin!"
Hank looked interested. "There were a few times when were following them that we lost track of them for a couple of months."
"And they learned martial arts, Latin, and differential equations in that time?" Logan sneered.
"Well, they did test at genius and they stayed in a library. That's probably where they learned a lot of the things they know," Scott said softly. "I think the girl is a hacker, the boy is the executer."
Xavier peered up at him. "What makes you say that?"
"Just a feeling," Scott mumbled. Actually, it was a really weird message on my computer.
The room fell silent. The homogenous whirring of the computers were the only sounds in the room.
"Bring Erik to me." Xavier said. His steely blue eyes were hard, his lips pressed into a thin line as determination etched itself onto his face. He has never failed to break a child, to get his way. He would be damned if it would happen now!