Sorry about the long wait for this chapter folks. I hope you all aren't to upset with me. I promise to be better with updating, especially now that the semesters almost over. But for all of you I kept waiting thanks for the reviews and now here's the latest chapter from adam_bat, hope you enjoy.
Cook-off
"We're done with the repairs sir." The contractor informed Cyclops and handed him a bill, "As always it's been a pleasure working for you."
"I'm sure it has." Cyclops mumbled and stared at the large figure, "I mean, thank you. I'll put the check in the mail first thing."
"That sounds fine." The man and his crew left just as the other X-men returned with their groceries.
Logan whistled, "They did a nice job, new sink and everything."
"Yes they did," Cyclops said and then looked over the X-men, a stern expression set on his face, "and it was very expensive. This is your warning, destroy this room again and there'll be hell to pay."
The other's looked at each other and bit their lips trying not to laugh.
"Ok Cyke." Iceman giggled.
"I'm serious." Cyclops stated, "I really mean it."
"Ok, we got it. Hell ta pay." Wolverine repeated and turned to unload his groceries. The others followed suit. Cyclops watched them.
"As long as we're clear on the matter." Beast put a hairy thumbs up and Cyclops left out to the yard, taking a bag that Storm handed him.
The kitchen was doomed to be crowded and the teams were quick to claim counter space. All except for Hank and Sam, who were left standing in the middle of the kitchen holding their bags.
"Jean would you be so kind as to…" Hank began and was silenced when she turned around, searing flames shining in her eyes, "Um…never mind."
They headed over to another counter and were promptly chased away by Wolverine and his gleaming claws. They then turned to Iceman and Bishop.
"Could you two scooch over a bit?" Sam asked.
"I don't know, can we Bishop?" Iceman smiled and Bishop pulled out his gun and pointed it at the mutants.
"No."
Once again the two were rebuffed and finally they had to settle on attempting to join Rogue and Gambit. Gambit leaned casually against the counter near the stove while Rogue carefully unloaded her eggs.
"Hey Gambit could you guys move over a little? Me an Beast need some counter space to make our potpie." Gambit turned to Rogue.
"Hey chere, dis home wants you to move over. Gambit tink dat he's tryin to ruin your dish again." Cannonball's eyes went wide.
"No! No Rogue I was just…"
"You git out of here Sam fore I…!!!"Rogue turned around and the two bolted.
"Perhaps we can work in my lab." Beast suggested as he bounded down the hallway.
"Sounds good ta me." Sam replied and looked back over his shoulder, making sure Rogue wasn't following.
The counter positions being settled, the X-men went to the task of preparing their dishes for the night's potluck.
"Hey Jean what do you want me to do?" Warren asked and reached for a tomato.
"Don't touch anything!" Jean nearly screamed and Warren quickly pulled his hand back. "Just…just rinse the lettuce you bought." He nodded and quickly headed for the sink where Rogue was filling a pot with water.
"Jus a minute Warren let me fill up mah pot to cook these eggs." Rogue said sweetly as she waited for a huge black stew pot to fill up under a trickle of water.
"Why don't you turn it up a bit?" Warren asked as he watched the slow water nearly drip into the pot.
Rogue frowned, "Ah don want mah eggs ta break."
"Yeah, but you could…" He reached for the faucet.
"DON YOU TOUCH THAT BIRD BOY!" She screamed, Warren quickly backed away, clinging to the lettuce and wearily eying Rogue. He stood in the middle of the room wings pulled up like a shield and head hung low waiting for Rogue to finish.
"Ok, it says to separate the eggs." Bishop informed Bobby as he read the directions on the package of the cake mix.
"How far?" Bobby asked and Bishop glared at him, "just kidding, sheesh." He gently cracked the eggs, sending bits of shell into the bowl and tried to strain the yolk. "This is hard." He muttered and then gasped slightly as one of the yellow spheres broke and dribbled in with the whites. "Whoops."
Bishop looked on annoyed, "Well get it out of there." Bobby nodded and did his best to fish out the slimy yolk.
"Yuck," He stuck out his tongue as he managed to pull some of the egg out and wiped it onto a nearby dishcloth.
"Good enough." Bishop noted and then returned to reading the package. "Ok now we add the oil and beat with an electric mixer set on medium."
"Gotcha." Bobby poured in the oil and then turned on the mixer, maximum speed. The bowl whirled around on the stand sending batter flying and coating the two men's faces. "Whoa that was cool." Bobby smiled from underneath the dripping cake mix and then quickly ducked, avoiding the hand that came flying in to smack him, "Hey!"
Bishop gritted his teeth, "Let's try this again." He pulled open another box and dumped the white powder into the bowl. "Separate two eggs."
"Good thing we bought more that one huh?" Bobby grinned and then lost control of another yolk, "Dang it."
Logan stood at the stove frying hamburger meat while Storm grated cheese for their lasagna. They had both decided on the ready to bake noodles and so were just taking care of the other ingredients. Logan nodded in satisfaction as the hamburger meat took on a slightly brownish tinge.
"Alright, this is ready." He brought the pan of lean beef over to Storm and the awaiting casserole dish.
"Logan that is not cooked." Storm said after examining the meat.
"Sure it is, 'sides, it's beef." He pulled up the spatula and attempted to spoon in part of the meat.
"No, it's not. Look most of it is still red." Storm grabbed his hand, preventing him from adding the raw meat to her lasagna.
"Look this is my half of tha dish an I say that this meat is perfect." Logan growled.
"I will not allow you to poison our team with botulism. Now finish cooking it or…"
"Or what?"
"Metal is an excellent conductor you know. And I'm sure that I could easily finish cooking that meat, along with whatever or whoever is near it." A booming echo of thunder shook the mansion.
"Fine." Wolverine returned to the stove, "I still say there ain't nothin wrong with eatin things a little rare. But whatever makes ya happy."
"Thank you Logan." Storm said and then returned to grating the cheese.
Back in Hank's lab Beast and Sam had finishing dicing their vegetables and cooking the chicken over a Bunsen burner. Sam was working on the dough while Beast muddled over a set of dizzying calculations.
"This stupid dough won't stay together." Sam complained as he rolled over another ruined crust. He tried to patch the pieces together and then scrunched them all back into a ball in frustration.
"A moment please." Beast said while scribbling across a piece of paper. "Eureka!" He turned to a counter lined with rows of test tubes and beakers and began to mix chemicals. "Here, mix this in with the dough."
Sam took the glass vial and stared at its contents in hesitation, "What is it?"
"It is a new compound that I have just discovered. Not only will it solve your cementing problems with the crust, but it will also aid in shortening the cooking time significantly."
"Really?" Sam smiled and quickly poured the elixir over the dough and mixed it in. He gathered another ball and began to roll, grinning as a perfect piecrust formed. "Hey it worked."
"Of course my Kentucky native." Beast declared and pulled over the pie pan, "Now just drape it into here and we can add the filling."
Soon the potpie was assembled and baking in a small oven Beast Gerry rigged with Bunsen burners and scrap metal.
Scott was standing over a barbeque grill angrily striking matches and trying to light the pile of charcoal stacked in the middle of the black pit. He was so consumed with his task that he didn't even notice when a blond haired man walked up behind him.
"What're you doing Scott?" Cyclops jumped, spilling the box of matches and spinning around angrily.
"What…?" His anger quickly faded as he saw his brother standing before him. "Alex! What are you doing here?" He smiled and then bent down to quickly scoop up the matches.
"Nothing, just thought I'd check in on my big brother." He bent down and helped Scott and then the two stood, "What are you doing?"
"Me? Oh just getting ready to barbeque, we're having a potluck tonight." He turned back to the grill talking over his shoulder, still lighting matches.
"You don't have enough lighter fluid." Havok pointed out and grabbed the can.
"I think I can handle it." Cyclops stated and lightly pushed him away.
"No, really I can help." Havok tried to elbow in and then settled for squirting the fluid over Scott's shoulder just as he dropped another match into the pit.
FWOOOM! A large plume of fire flared up and then quickly died down, leaving the coals burning.
"See." Alex grinned and then laughed as Cyclops turned to face him angrily, "Hey your face is all black!"
"So's yours." Cyclops said flatly.
Jean was creating a culinary masterpiece. She had carved out small ornate figures from the various vegetables and fruits she had gathered and gently set them in and around the salad bowl. After Warren had finally brought back the cleansed lettuce she had forced him to the side and continued the preparations alone, leaving Warren with nothing to do.
He sat against the counter idly watching the others work and then casually picked up one of the tiny carrots carved into a small rabbit. He examined the piece and then glanced down, picking up another shaped like a howling wolf. Jean was busily arranging the lettuce in the bowl so that only the greenest pieces showed and Warren began to absently run the small animals thru the air. He looked at Jean and saw she was still busy and began to become more engrossed with his play. Suddenly the wolf began to bark and the rabbit shrieked, "Oh noooo." And began to run madly thru the air, wolf in close pursuit.
"I'm gonna get you, oh no! Oh yes bwahahaha! Oh no, yes, no, ahhhhh!!" The two pieces smashed together in Warren's hands and moaned pathetically.
"What are you doing?!" Jean hissed and Warren quickly looked up. The other X-men stared at him in confusion and laughter and his face turned bright red.
"Nothing…here did you need these two yet?" He handed her the smashed pieces. She glared at him then turned back to her salad, sending a cauliflower stem flying at his head.
Logan had finally browned the hamburger meat to a state that pleased Storm and the two layered it in with the cheese, tomato sauce, and noodles. Storm gently covered the pan with a piece of foil and Wolverine carried it to the oven. He double checked the heat and then placed the pan inside. Bobby soon approached with his cake pan and tried to place it in the oven.
"Hold on Drake." Wolverine growled, "Where you puttin that?"
"It's supposed to go…on the top rack…in the center." Bobby replied, repeating Bishop's carefully ingrained instructions.
Wolverine shook his head, "Nope, that's where our dish is. What about the temp?"
"It goes in at 325." Bobby said hopefully.
Wolverine sighed, "Sorry Drake, this ovens set at 400 that's way to hot for that."
"Well maybe we could turn it down to 350, that's kind of in the middle."
"You touch that and I'll cut your hand off."
"But…"
"Get out of here…Now!" Wolverine popped his claws and Bobby skittered away.
"Jerk." He mumbled.
Bishop watched as Bobby quickly hustled back, cake pan still in hand. "What happened?"
"The ovens to hot." Bobby said and handed him the pan, "ask Wolverine, he knows."
Bishop grumbled and then placed the pan back on the counter.
"Well what do we do now?"
Bobby thought for a moment and then his face lit up, "We could nuke it!"
Bishop considered the idea and then nodded, "That should work." He grabbed the pan and Bobby opened the microwave.
"How long should I set it for?"
"Put it in for half of what it says on the box." Bishop decided and Bobby set the clock and hit start. The cake inside began to spin around on the turntable while the microwave hummed. It slowly began to bubble and expand and then it exploded. Bobby and Bishop had just enough time to dive out of the way as the door blew open and cake batter erupted onto the floor.
Bobby looked down at the mess and then went back to their counter, "Separate two eggs?"
Rogue and Gambit stood side by side cracking open the last of the boiled eggs. They carefully cut them in half and scooped out the yolk into a bowl that was nearly full with the yellow balls.
"Alright then," Rogue said proudly as she finished the last egg, "Now ta mix the fillin."
Gambit watched as she began to add the separate ingredients and mix the filling for their deviled eggs.
"You should add a little seasonin, chere." Gambit suggested and perused the spice rack. He pulled out a couple of bottles and showed them to Rogue, who was glaring at him angrily.
"You tryin ta mus up my cookin' Cajun?"
He flashed a warm and charming smile, "Non petite, you now Gambit always appreciate the fine cookin of a beautiful woman. He just trying to pitch in is all. Cyclops did say we should work together."
Rogue glared at him a moment more and the broke down into a smile, "Okay then swamp rat, just be careful on how much ah that stuff you add."
"Sure ting Rogue." He began to sprinkle in the powder, "Little Cheyenne is just what dese here eggs need, dat an yo delicate skill." Rogue blushed.
"Their ready Scott." Havok stated while examining the glowing coals.
"No, they should be grey."
"I'm telling you, their ready right now."
"No…"
"Here I'll put the grill on."
"Leave it alone."
"I can do it."
"Don't touch…"
"Just let me…"
"No, watch out your going to…"
Clang, fizzle. The grill fell over and the coals spilled out onto the lawn, singeing the grass.
Jean sighed, "Finished." She stood in front of a massive arrangement that resembled a delicate miniatures display more than it did a salad. Tiny animals climbed and grazed over green lettuce leafs or stood amongst curled orange peels and rose blossoms carved from various kinds of vegetables.
"Wow Jean, this looks great." Warren marveled. He moved to pick up the platter.
"What are you doing?" Jean hissed.
"Just taking it to the table." Warren replied nervously.
"No!" She screamed and then glanced around at the stares and smiled, "I mean…no Warren, I can do it." She used her telekinesis to gently lift the display and carried it into the dining room. Warren followed, taking a moment to gather the bottles of salad dressing.
"Okay, cake batter mixed…no lumps."
"Check."
"NON-metallic pan."
"Check."
"Microwave set on low."
"Check."
"Timer set for three minutes."
"Check."
Bishop sighed, "Okay let's give this one more shot." Bobby nodded and closed the door to the microwave. He added a small band of ice to make sure it stayed closed this time and pushed power.
The two men watched fearfully, hoping that this time it would work. The final cake began to swell and bubble up and they cringed. Then it settled out, forming into a nearly perfect picture of what a good cake should look like. The microwave buzzed and they both smiled.
"Alright!" Bobby grinned and gently pulled the cake out, "It finally worked."
Bishop grinned and looked back at the box, "It says to press gently on the middle and it should spring up if it's done." He reached out and set his fingers on to the surface of the cake and grimaced. "Its hard."
"What?" Bobby set the cake down and tried to press on the yellow cake, it was completely solid, "Oh man, this is Wolverine's fault." He turned and saw Wolverine and Storm pull a delicious looking lasagna out from the oven. "I'll show him…"
"Later." Bishop grabbed his arm; "right now we're the one's who are going to get in trouble if we don't have our dish ready for the stupid potluck."
Bobby huffed angrily and then settled into thought. "Hmmm…Hey! I got an idea!" He raced out of the kitchen, taking time to grab the tray that was meant for the cake and a can of icing.
Bishop rolled his eyes and began to follow, "I hope it's better than your last one."
Scott ducked as a blast shot over his head. He sprang up and fired one back and rolled clear of a third. Havok crouched behind a bush and returned fire yet again.
"I know what I'm doing Scott!" He shouted and pulled his head down as a crimson bolt flew by.
"No you don't. I'm older and wiser than you, and I know how to cook chicken!" The yard was pitted with craters and holes and to the side…a grill with several pieces of chicken slowly burning to a crisp.
The battling men, however, failed to notice and continued to argue about the best ways to barbeque. Cyclops snuck around a hedge, staying low to the ground and relatively silent. He crossed the yard to see Havok crouching behind a bush and searching the field.
"Where'd you go Scott?" He called and stood up, preparing to fire again.
Cyclops charged at Havok and tackled him mid waist. The two flew to the ground and began to roll around on the ground cursing and fighting.
"You girl!" Havok yelled out, "no pulling hair!"
"Then you stop biting!"
"Well you…hey *sniff* do you smell something?"
"Don't even try that I know all about your cheap tactics. I…*sniff sniff* hey something is burning." The two paused in their fighting and slowly turned to face the grill spouting flames.
"THE CHICKEN!!!" They shouted in unison.
Okay next up…THE POTLUCK. Stay tuned to sample the tasty dishes the X-men cooked up. See you soon, I promise.