Chapter 9 - That Infamous Calm
The room seemed to hush as Peter stormed into the room. His gaze scanned the chaos of the kitchen, and there was this look on his face…
That's the kind of look I used to see on Captain America's face before battle…
"Hey, kid, what's up?"
He looked at me, a little confused.
"Oh."
That's all he said, but the look on face didn't change.
"Where's the professor?"
I sniffed the air for a moment, just checking to make sure it was him. It was, but it was also… strange… to see him like that.
"He's in the garden with Storm."
He nodded and then went to the door, presumably to go outside. I hurried after him and caught him just outside the door.
"What's this about kid?"
He stopped and turned around, looking at me as if considering something. Then his shoulders slumped and he sighed.
"It's… nothing, really. Just need to clear a few things up."
"Right…"
I had this sudden feeling that I had failed as a guardian as he walked off. I squashed it fairly fast. I would figure it out eventually.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I looked down at the headline of the morning paper:
DAREDEVIL BRINGS DOWN THE KINGPIN!
Master Criminal Forced to Flee!
Despite my looking at it, all I really knew was the headline. What had just happened between Logan and Peter was a little odd, especially when Logan came back in looking a little confused.
Especially on the last day of school…
I dropped my spoon into the cereal.
Today's the last day of school! I completely forgot!
Which also set off a completely different alarm in my head.
TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY!
With all the commotion over the Sinister Six and Kitty's run in with runaway bank robbers it had been completely lost in the rush. I let the grin run across my face, and glanced around.
I'm sure someone will remember eventually, but it's not like we haven't been busy.
Still glancing around I decided to be a bit selfless and let it go if nothing happened. Some things were just more important. Then Aunt Ororo came in. She glanced over at me and smiled, coming over in my direction. She leaned down and placed a light kiss on my cheek, much to my embarrassment.
"Happy Birthday Evan…"
Then she rose and walked over to Logan and they began talking quietly.
Something's up…
"So you noticed it too?"
Huh?
I turned to see Kitty across from me.
"What?"
"That something's up Evan. The way Peter came in and stormed out, Storm talking with Logan in hushed tones… Something's going on and they're not telling us about it."
"Well don't feel alone half-pint."
We looked up to see Logan there.
Uh oh…
"Mr. Logan?"
"We don't know anything either. The Professor just sent Storm in here so that he and Peter could talk alone. I don't think that the kid has done anything wrong, but it's definitely something Chuck's decided to keep between the two of them. I don't like it, but I've learned to trust the professor. If we need to know he'll tell us."
"Doesn't make it any less frustrating…"
Logan heard my mumbling, and surprisingly, only grunted before replying.
"No, it doesn't."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This is disturbing Peter, especially in conjunction with what I sensed last night."
"Oh?"
"For several years Magneto had been training a group of older, more dangerous mutants in various parts of the world. Last night I sensed them come to the Brotherhood's house."
"Was Magneto with them?"
"Yes."
"I thought his helmet restricted you from picking up on his thoughts?"
"Yes, but from what I could get from Sabertooth at this distance without Cerebro was that Magneto was there, issuing orders. But that's what puzzles me. The Brotherhood were his targets."
"Perhaps they had a falling out?"
"Maybe…"
The professor looked at me hard.
"…but I think it has more to do with the defeat you handed them."
"Wha…?"
"Think about it. The Brotherhood have lost to the X-Men many times, almost everyone of our encounters. That was at least acceptable, for we are mutants. But now that they lost to an ordinary human…"
"He decided that the only thing they were good for is being ground into dust? Someone's got an attitude problem…"
"Remember that in his view humans are no better than sheep or cows. For his mutants to lose to them is simply unacceptable. Especially a lone human."
I nodded slowly.
"So what I felt was only Magneto's crew and the Brotherhood having it out then?"
"No. Sabertooth's mind is… familiar to me. When I sensed his presence I watched the encounter as best I could while making my way to Cerebro. By the time I got there the battle was over, but I did detect several presences that I hadn't felt before. Six presences to be precise."
"So the six interrupted Magneto's party. Typical."
"From what I could tell the damage was heavy on both sides. I would guess that they'll wait a few days to a week before coming after us again."
I frowned with thought.
"Maybe…"
"You don't agree?"
"Well, what you've said holds true for Mysterio and Electro, but the others are less than sane, or just plain driven. They might rest, or they might be back, it's nearly impossible to tell. If they have a specific timetable they'll definitely be back soon. Ock's a perfectionist, he would never let that kind of thing slide."
The professor nodded, acknowledging my greater experience in dealing with them. He looked up at the sky, addressing me without looking at me.
"Where do you think the next attack will be?"
I sighed.
"I'm not sure professor. The Doc is pretty intelligent, and he most likely has hostages. He could strike here, or he could try to lure you away and deal with you in an area that puts you at a disadvantage."
I sighed and turned to go back in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I glanced at Peter in the seat next to me. He was looking slightly dazed. Of course he'd been that way all day. Kitty said he'd about jumped out of his skin when she patted him on the back from behind.
"You okay there, Pete?"
He looked over at me.
"Yeah, sure. I'm fine Summers, just fine."
"You don't look it."
He sighed.
"I know. I'll try to lighten up a bit. We still have a party to get to after all."
"Yeah."
Weird.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I really need to watch my emotions here. It's not like the Six are just going to leap out from behind that bush and start denting my head or something. Maybe the party will help me relax.
With in mind I headed off to the party to have a little bit of fun.
I walked in only moments before Evan walked in from another door.
"SURPRISE!"
A round of congratulatory remarks went around and we welcomed the newest sixteen year old to the group. I went for the food pretty fast. Not that it mattered, so was everyone else.
After we had all officially pigged out, we reclined in positions around the room, and I had to resist the impulse to sit on the wall like Kurt was and simply sat down on the arm of a couch instead. Evan was eying a rather large box at the rear of the modest stack, but relented to opening the others first.
The first gift opened was from Beast, the first volume of the Monty Python's Flying Circus collection. His eyes lit up and a noticeable grin appeared on his face. On the couch next to me, Kitty snorted and Evan made a face at her.
"You don't like Monty Python?"
"Not really, no. It's stupid."
I arched an eyebrow and came to Evan's defense.
"The stupidity is what's so funny about it."
She just looked at me for a moment, then put her head in her hands and mocked a groan. We laughed and Evan moved on. The next thing opened was a small envelope from Wolverine, granting Evan tickets to an upcoming concert.
"Thanks man!"
He only received a grunt in reply. The next present was from the professor. The Complete Works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
"Since when does Evan read?"
Kurt gave a muffled yelp and teleported away as a pillow impacted the wall he was on. The rest pf us stayed wisely silent during the exchange. From Kitty he received a few shirts, and he accepted them graciously, if a little disappointed. He was finally ready to open the big box in the corner, placed by Storm. Inside?
Shirts. A lot of shirts.
The rest of us tried to hide snickers as he just kind of gaped into the box. Ororo explained in her cool unruffled voice.
"You go through them fast enough."
He blushed and pushed on to what was easily the smallest gift in the pile. Signed by Scott, Jean, Rogue and Bobby. He let out a whooping noise as a digital camcorder was unwrapped. And lastly, he got to my gift.
It had taken some effort to get a box to house a skateboard in, but found one I had. It was somewhat appropriately decked out in blue paper with a red ribbon, and I had fished out and placed one of my spider tracers instead of a bow. It wasn't bugging me because I hadn't turned it on. Evan pocketed the tracer and proceeded to tear through both the paper and the box alike to reveal the board.
"Cool…"
I smiled a little.
"Thought you might like it."
Logan and the professor both looked at me with arched eyebrows, both for different reasons, but let it pass.
The party broke up not too long after, all of us once more congratulating Evan. My relatively good mood lasted only as long as the party itself as I found myself on the roof of the institute long into the night, staring up at the stars, wondering when the attack would come.
My nerves were wound tight as lute-strings, and I recognized the feeling. It was almost as accurate as my Spider-Sense.
It was that infamous calm-before-the-storm feeling.
The room seemed to hush as Peter stormed into the room. His gaze scanned the chaos of the kitchen, and there was this look on his face…
That's the kind of look I used to see on Captain America's face before battle…
"Hey, kid, what's up?"
He looked at me, a little confused.
"Oh."
That's all he said, but the look on face didn't change.
"Where's the professor?"
I sniffed the air for a moment, just checking to make sure it was him. It was, but it was also… strange… to see him like that.
"He's in the garden with Storm."
He nodded and then went to the door, presumably to go outside. I hurried after him and caught him just outside the door.
"What's this about kid?"
He stopped and turned around, looking at me as if considering something. Then his shoulders slumped and he sighed.
"It's… nothing, really. Just need to clear a few things up."
"Right…"
I had this sudden feeling that I had failed as a guardian as he walked off. I squashed it fairly fast. I would figure it out eventually.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I looked down at the headline of the morning paper:
DAREDEVIL BRINGS DOWN THE KINGPIN!
Master Criminal Forced to Flee!
Despite my looking at it, all I really knew was the headline. What had just happened between Logan and Peter was a little odd, especially when Logan came back in looking a little confused.
Especially on the last day of school…
I dropped my spoon into the cereal.
Today's the last day of school! I completely forgot!
Which also set off a completely different alarm in my head.
TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY!
With all the commotion over the Sinister Six and Kitty's run in with runaway bank robbers it had been completely lost in the rush. I let the grin run across my face, and glanced around.
I'm sure someone will remember eventually, but it's not like we haven't been busy.
Still glancing around I decided to be a bit selfless and let it go if nothing happened. Some things were just more important. Then Aunt Ororo came in. She glanced over at me and smiled, coming over in my direction. She leaned down and placed a light kiss on my cheek, much to my embarrassment.
"Happy Birthday Evan…"
Then she rose and walked over to Logan and they began talking quietly.
Something's up…
"So you noticed it too?"
Huh?
I turned to see Kitty across from me.
"What?"
"That something's up Evan. The way Peter came in and stormed out, Storm talking with Logan in hushed tones… Something's going on and they're not telling us about it."
"Well don't feel alone half-pint."
We looked up to see Logan there.
Uh oh…
"Mr. Logan?"
"We don't know anything either. The Professor just sent Storm in here so that he and Peter could talk alone. I don't think that the kid has done anything wrong, but it's definitely something Chuck's decided to keep between the two of them. I don't like it, but I've learned to trust the professor. If we need to know he'll tell us."
"Doesn't make it any less frustrating…"
Logan heard my mumbling, and surprisingly, only grunted before replying.
"No, it doesn't."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This is disturbing Peter, especially in conjunction with what I sensed last night."
"Oh?"
"For several years Magneto had been training a group of older, more dangerous mutants in various parts of the world. Last night I sensed them come to the Brotherhood's house."
"Was Magneto with them?"
"Yes."
"I thought his helmet restricted you from picking up on his thoughts?"
"Yes, but from what I could get from Sabertooth at this distance without Cerebro was that Magneto was there, issuing orders. But that's what puzzles me. The Brotherhood were his targets."
"Perhaps they had a falling out?"
"Maybe…"
The professor looked at me hard.
"…but I think it has more to do with the defeat you handed them."
"Wha…?"
"Think about it. The Brotherhood have lost to the X-Men many times, almost everyone of our encounters. That was at least acceptable, for we are mutants. But now that they lost to an ordinary human…"
"He decided that the only thing they were good for is being ground into dust? Someone's got an attitude problem…"
"Remember that in his view humans are no better than sheep or cows. For his mutants to lose to them is simply unacceptable. Especially a lone human."
I nodded slowly.
"So what I felt was only Magneto's crew and the Brotherhood having it out then?"
"No. Sabertooth's mind is… familiar to me. When I sensed his presence I watched the encounter as best I could while making my way to Cerebro. By the time I got there the battle was over, but I did detect several presences that I hadn't felt before. Six presences to be precise."
"So the six interrupted Magneto's party. Typical."
"From what I could tell the damage was heavy on both sides. I would guess that they'll wait a few days to a week before coming after us again."
I frowned with thought.
"Maybe…"
"You don't agree?"
"Well, what you've said holds true for Mysterio and Electro, but the others are less than sane, or just plain driven. They might rest, or they might be back, it's nearly impossible to tell. If they have a specific timetable they'll definitely be back soon. Ock's a perfectionist, he would never let that kind of thing slide."
The professor nodded, acknowledging my greater experience in dealing with them. He looked up at the sky, addressing me without looking at me.
"Where do you think the next attack will be?"
I sighed.
"I'm not sure professor. The Doc is pretty intelligent, and he most likely has hostages. He could strike here, or he could try to lure you away and deal with you in an area that puts you at a disadvantage."
I sighed and turned to go back in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I glanced at Peter in the seat next to me. He was looking slightly dazed. Of course he'd been that way all day. Kitty said he'd about jumped out of his skin when she patted him on the back from behind.
"You okay there, Pete?"
He looked over at me.
"Yeah, sure. I'm fine Summers, just fine."
"You don't look it."
He sighed.
"I know. I'll try to lighten up a bit. We still have a party to get to after all."
"Yeah."
Weird.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I really need to watch my emotions here. It's not like the Six are just going to leap out from behind that bush and start denting my head or something. Maybe the party will help me relax.
With in mind I headed off to the party to have a little bit of fun.
I walked in only moments before Evan walked in from another door.
"SURPRISE!"
A round of congratulatory remarks went around and we welcomed the newest sixteen year old to the group. I went for the food pretty fast. Not that it mattered, so was everyone else.
After we had all officially pigged out, we reclined in positions around the room, and I had to resist the impulse to sit on the wall like Kurt was and simply sat down on the arm of a couch instead. Evan was eying a rather large box at the rear of the modest stack, but relented to opening the others first.
The first gift opened was from Beast, the first volume of the Monty Python's Flying Circus collection. His eyes lit up and a noticeable grin appeared on his face. On the couch next to me, Kitty snorted and Evan made a face at her.
"You don't like Monty Python?"
"Not really, no. It's stupid."
I arched an eyebrow and came to Evan's defense.
"The stupidity is what's so funny about it."
She just looked at me for a moment, then put her head in her hands and mocked a groan. We laughed and Evan moved on. The next thing opened was a small envelope from Wolverine, granting Evan tickets to an upcoming concert.
"Thanks man!"
He only received a grunt in reply. The next present was from the professor. The Complete Works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
"Since when does Evan read?"
Kurt gave a muffled yelp and teleported away as a pillow impacted the wall he was on. The rest pf us stayed wisely silent during the exchange. From Kitty he received a few shirts, and he accepted them graciously, if a little disappointed. He was finally ready to open the big box in the corner, placed by Storm. Inside?
Shirts. A lot of shirts.
The rest of us tried to hide snickers as he just kind of gaped into the box. Ororo explained in her cool unruffled voice.
"You go through them fast enough."
He blushed and pushed on to what was easily the smallest gift in the pile. Signed by Scott, Jean, Rogue and Bobby. He let out a whooping noise as a digital camcorder was unwrapped. And lastly, he got to my gift.
It had taken some effort to get a box to house a skateboard in, but found one I had. It was somewhat appropriately decked out in blue paper with a red ribbon, and I had fished out and placed one of my spider tracers instead of a bow. It wasn't bugging me because I hadn't turned it on. Evan pocketed the tracer and proceeded to tear through both the paper and the box alike to reveal the board.
"Cool…"
I smiled a little.
"Thought you might like it."
Logan and the professor both looked at me with arched eyebrows, both for different reasons, but let it pass.
The party broke up not too long after, all of us once more congratulating Evan. My relatively good mood lasted only as long as the party itself as I found myself on the roof of the institute long into the night, staring up at the stars, wondering when the attack would come.
My nerves were wound tight as lute-strings, and I recognized the feeling. It was almost as accurate as my Spider-Sense.
It was that infamous calm-before-the-storm feeling.