The song for this chapter is "Before the night is over" by Gaelic Storm (they're super good and I think you should check them out if you haven't heard of them. www.gaelicstorm.com )
Also, in this story italics sometimes mean short flashbacks. Hope you can keep up! I am tossing in a third and fourth story line to weave into the plot. If you have any questions IM me! AOL: MalibuSkipper831
Before the night is over
Make your heart an open door
Then all we hold inside us
won't divide us anymore
John Allerdyce was decidedly upbeat. He had made up his mind. The brotherhood was definitely where he was supposed to be. No turning back now. He rifled through his favorite book, re-reading the pages even though he had them memorized. As he turned the page, a crumpled flower fell out.
John, Shhh! Scott is going to hear us! He and Jean will have me grounded so I never see the light of day again!
Cal, ((He brushes her face with a flower and makes an absurd face))
Urrgh, you always win our arguments. ((She giggles))
John shook his head. None of that he thought. I rid myself of those demons years ago. As he read, He was waiting for news of the Re-con mission to Xavier's.
"We're back," Mystique said casually as she stepped into the room. "We planted the bugs near the danger room, common room and foyer."
"Good." John said, as he nodded.
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"Even though it is wonderful to hear you want to carry on Jean's love for the children. I think it is too early for you to try and mentor a child." Storm began. Cyclops opened his mouth to protest but before he could she replied, "Instead, I am putting you in charge of the students for their field trip."
"I can't take care of all those kids!"
"I know that. That is why I am sending Wolverine with you."
"You're putting me...and Logan . . . in charge of Kids?"
"Good point. Gambit will go with you."
"Gambit is only a kid and besides, I think you're missing the point."
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"Ah-HA! Ladies and Gentlemen the illustrious Kissin' Kate Sumner!"
"Hardy har har, Andrew" Kate said rolling her eyes. She was studying for her midterms. This has been a bad week. She thought to herself and it's only gonna get worse. I can feel it. Kate had been having bad feelings all week. The misgivings were clouding her mind.
"Hello Katherine Sumner?" Andrew persisted.
"What? Oh oh.." She replied, realizing she was being spoken to.
"Katherine, I bet you haven't heard the newest 'Kissin Kate' Rumor? They say that you're a mutant, with poison in her spit glands."
"Honestly Andrew. Poison? In my spit?"
"How else can you explain the fact that all of the dudes you have swapped spit with have either gone crazy or died?"
"Okay I have only kissed three guys. The first, Mark, Died when he fell out a window. Not my fault. The second, Michael, Died from alcohol poison. Also not my fault. The last one, Matthew, went crazy. Contrary to popular belief, VERY much not my fault." [She had only kissed three men because she learned quickly that kissing them was signing their death certificates] Kate had replied coolly even though she knew they were her fault. She had said the lie enough to almost believe it was true. The only thing that reminded her that it wasn't was the ring on her finger. It was from Matthew. He had given it to her the day before he went crazy. She shivered at the thought. Andrew had scared her bad saying she was a mutant. She had thought, for a brief moment, that the jig was finally up. Mob hunts and being burned at the stake or worse she thought with a shiver they can't even stand Republicans. I can't stand to think what they would do to a mutant like me. "I am going upstairs, Andy, I need to lie down." She said softly. He means well. She started to think about what she had to do that day but her mind was clouding and the bad feeling was steadily getting worse.
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Pyro had been very carefully planning this attack. The bugs had told them that three X-men were planning to escort the kids on an outing to the Haven Cove School for the Gifted. They were having some sort of exhibition. Invitation only. Mystique had decided to infiltrate the school auditorium by placing an operative inside. That was to be him. He would pretend to be a new student. Mystique had already hacked into their computer and put in the fake files. He was to use an alias of Joseph Davidson. What kind of crap name is that? He thought as he read the file over. After he was inside the auditorium with the X-men, He was scheduled to unlock the back door to let the rest of the brotherhood in. They would take on the Three X-men by holding the kids captive. It was a foolproof plan. He smiled at the thought. He walked to the inside room of the apartment where the brotherhood was currently crashing. Avalanche was channel surfing. He paused for a moment on a soap. A girl with long straight blonde hair was crying her eyes out. Then the memories came back in a flood.
But John I… I… Love you.
No, you love to ride my coattails just like everyone else at this stupid school.
No, that's not so I really do…
Enjoy being my permanent damsel in distress? I would probably fall out dead if you ever did anything to defend yourself. You're always being kidnapped or beaten or abused, it is very tiring. And I am not the only one who sees it. Everyone does. Even your precious big brother and sister
No!
Yes. They would probably enjoy the day off.
Fine! ((She runs away))
John squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. Why were his memories becoming more frequent? He had thought he was done with that phase of his life. Suddenly as it had come and gone, the flood of memories came back. How could I have been so cruel? She was only 15. That was 3 years ago. I wonder where she is now. Scott didn't even know. He thought about how Callie had overheard Scott talking to Jean about a younger child and misunderstood it to be her. She had come to him in tears and told him what she had heard. He had just fought (again) with Scott. Scott didn't like John and Callie being so close. Scott and Jean believed he was just playing her. It wasn't true. He really did love her. He was tired of Fighting with Scott and Jean. He was tired of constantly saving her. He had only been halfway lying when he said he would be surprised if she defended herself. He had decided the best thing to do would be to end it. He couldn't let her down gently. She was smarter than that she would come back. No, He had to really piss her off so she would leave him alone and Scott would be satisfied. Even though Scott and Jean weren't married, they had taken Callie under their wing and Scott had adopted her as her legal guardian. He was fiercely protective. John arrived only shortly after Callie's biological older brother died. And he had seen how Jean and Scott's love for Callie had grown over the years. But that was beside the point. The point was, after the breakup Callie ran away and never came back. Cerebro couldn't even find her. Professor Xavier said she was using her telepathy to block him. Jean said all she could get was Callie's voice in her head saying that she was fine, and she had found somewhere to stay. Scott had beside himself for weeks afterward and no one ever found out that John had broken it off with her. Two years later Jean and Scott married and Jean tried to adopt Callie as her legal guardian, even though Callie's status was missing. They found out that there was a form that had to be signed by Callie. No one was sure what to do until Jean suddenly declared that one day she was going to some small town in Maine to do some research. It would have been pretty legitimate if she hadn't come back with the form signed. Scott had gotten pretty angry that she refused to tell him where Callie was. Jean told her that it simply wasn't her secret to tell. You'll know soon enough she had promised. What no one counted on was the breakage of the dam of Alkalide Lake and her untimely death. Now no one would ever no what happened to her. John shook his head. Too much thought for tonight. I need sleep, because tomorrow is the big day.
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The lipstick was purely a fatal accident. Her chemistry had project gone horribly wrong. She remembered how much she liked the red color when she made the first tube. The assignment was to take an ordinary object, add a chemical to it, and study the reaction. The addition of ammonium thyglocolate, the chemical in perms, to her melted down lipstick had turned it the most attractive shade of red. She had no idea at the time how potent and deadly it was. Just lipstick she figured I am so getting an A. She had put it on for her date that night with her boyfriend. She had gone up to his third floor dorm, and met him in front of the window. It had been raining and she watched the sky with him for a moment when he moved in for a kiss. She kissed him sweetly and when they pulled apart, he looked a bit pale. He started to choke and stumbled backward, breaking through and falling out the window. The tox screen (used on a person [often deceased] to screen for toxins in their body) came back negative. It was ruled an accident. She was automatically exempt from her upcoming assignments because of what the guidance counselor called "traumatic experience." A few months later, her new boyfriend had been at a party and gotten very drunk he was throwing up and Kate had offered him her glass to vomit in. After, managing to get some of her lipstick off the rim (when he went to puke) in his mouth, he appeared to be choking. Kate gave him a glass of water. He had died shortly after. His blood-alcohol level was so high that it was ruled alcohol poisoning. Her last boyfriend had been sitting on her bed, when he saw a napkin where she had blotted her lipstick on the floor. He picked it up and threw it away. Kate had walked in. He told her hello and they talked for a little while. He started to tease her good-naturedly and he stuck his fingers in his mouth and made a face. He suddenly said he wasn't feeling well. He gave her a birthday present and left, saying he would be back later. She opened the present after he left, it was an opal ring. The next day, he was found in his room droning on about kissing Kate. He was in his own world, almost as if he were permanently spaced out. After a couple of tests, it was revealed that he was mentally unstable and he was locked away. His tox screen only revealed a small trace of ammonium thyglocolate. Kate had then put it all together. The lipstick was lethal and hadn't shown up on the other tox screens because water deactivates ammonium thyglocolate. By the time it had been deactivated in her last two boyfriends, it was too late. Its damage was done. The rumor mill had gone wild after that. She had earned the nickname "Kissin Kate." She still kept the lipstick tube around, just in case. It was her pepper spray, so to speak.
Today she was to be the usher at the exhibition for her gifted school in Haven Cove. She arrived at the door to meet her other usher counterpart, Ben.
"Hey," Ben said. "I gotta go get this new kid, some Joseph guy; I have to be his tour guide. Guess you are stuck staffing the doors by your self. Sorry!" He rushed off.
Great! Just great! She thought. The qualms over the day were getting worse. She ushered people to their seats.
"Hey! How's my favorite usher?" Andrew popped up next to her.
"Oh Andrew, thank god! I needed some help! Man the door I gotta go seat people!" With that, Kate ran off without waiting for Andrew's reply.
~*~ a half hour later ~*~
The dancers had started on their first set. When they had finished, set movers had come out to change the set for the next act. Suddenly a boy with dark hair and a light in his eyes jumped onto the stage.
"Nobody move!" He shouted. "Stay still or the kid dies" He had A small child in his arms and he was holding a gun to its head. A man in the audience stood up.
"Let the kid go John. Your problem is with me." He started.
A/N -Ok I know that was a bad place to stop but if I hadn't this chapter would have gone on forever.
To recap- Callie came to the school @ 13. John was 14 when he first arrived. Callie was 15 when she and John broke up. John was 16. John is now 19. Callie (wherever she is, if you haven't figured it out) is 18. Between when Callie left and now Wolvie, Rogue and Iceman have joined the squad. In case you haven't also pieced it together, Jubilee and Kitty are on the scene and are teenagers. Gambit is also there and I am going to say he is prolly about 22 or so. Rogue is 20. And if you want to know why I am telling you this it is because I am obsessive about minutiae like that.