Somewhere I Belong
Chapter 12
The next few days, Shay began to loosen up again, which wasn't saying much, since she wasn't very loose in the first place. She wasn't the first to volunteer during the session in the Danger Room, but she didn't skip them either. She stayed in the back, like normal, though usually Kurt, Jean, Rogue and Kitty were with her.
She stayed down in the lab with Hank more often, as her studies began to pick up the pace and she found a new fascination with the computers. Hank helped her learn a few basic commands and she helped him file test results and research.
To Shay, Hank quickly became more of a father figure for her, though her wall never truly faded away. She talked with him about her schoolwork, and the other students in school, but she never talked about the two things that were most on her mind or troubled her the most: Her father and Logan.
Ever since that day in the Danger Room with Logan, after looking into his eyes, Shay didn't feel the same around the older mutant. Something was different, though she wasn't really sure what in the hell it was. She chalked it up to hormones and tried to not stare at him in the Danger Room or anywhere else in the school. It was just a stupid crush, because he spent the time to help her, and she'd get over it.
Her family never came up in any discussions, and she figured the Professor had some work in that. Even the other students stopped asking about her past eventually, though that was probably because of the deathly stares they got when they did asked. Her nightmares were beginning to get less frequent and with a new hope, Shay prayed that they may go away one day.
Life at the Institute quickly feel into a general routine, filled with tutoring, classes, training and, for Shay, long flights in the morning, afternoon, evening and any other time she could squeeze in. This, she quickly learned, was one large benefit from her move from the Alley to Xavier's. With his large land, Shay could fly in the open as long as she wanted, without the fear of being seen. Her favorite was to climb up the side of the Institute, her clawed hands and gargoyle feet coming in very useful here, and soar off the high tower.
Her longest times were normally spent at night though, seeing as how this was what she was most used to. The bright sun normally bothered her eyes, but at night, she had the cool, clean moon to guide her path through the sky, one she knew all to well. Strong winds blew the short hair out of her face, whipping it against her neck and pointed ears. The common roar blocking out any other sounds, leaving her feeling completely alone and at peace.
As the sun fell behind the trees one night, Shay stretched out her wings while sitting next to Kurt on the couch in the main common room. She smiled and apologized as he quickly moved to the side, her wing just clipping the side of his face.
"You going out for awhile," Kurt checked as Shay climbed to her feet, flipping the cover of her book over after dog-earing a page.
"Yeah, just for awhile. I got some more studying to do, or McCoy is going to kill me," she winked at him, tugging at her watch, making sure it was tightly clasped. "See ya later, Kurt."
He nodded his head towards her and looked back at the book in his hands as he heard her move out of the room and into the main foyer. Shay passed Kitty, who was coming back into the mansion, a laptop in her hand, resting against her hip.
"Hey, Shay," Kitty said as they passed one another.
Shay smiled and kept going. She grabbed the door just before it shut and pulled it back open, stepping out into the cool evening. A few stars were already beginning to sparkle above her, the moon just rising above the top of the mansion, the sky still a little purplish in the western sky.
Beating her wings softly, Shay turned back to the side of the mansion, where a large down-spout was connected to the wall. Giving a quick look around, Shay grabbed a hold of the pipe with one hand and with the other hand she dug her claws into the wall, and began pulling herself up the side of the mansion.
She made quick work of it, getting stuck on one of the ledges that cut its way around the building. She sat the on the edge of it for a few moments, staring down at the ground, twenty feet below her. Logan walked out the front doors and turned, heading towards the garage of the Institute. Shay watched him for a few seconds, wondering to herself if he'd ever taken the time to just quietly listen to the night, but shook her head and turned back to the task at hand, which was to get to the roof.
Two minutes later, her reward was a sky full of stars and a pretty decent breeze, ruffling her hair as she stared at the trees in the distance. Dark and a little forbidding, Shay was reminded of scary stories of creepy goblins and moaning ghosts that she'd read while with the Morlocks. She'd always wondered about those stories. Everyone would tell her they weren't real, all made up, but what was so hard to believe about them? Her she was, a mutant with silver skin and gargoyle wings. Who was she to say there were no ghosts or goblins in the darker parts of the world. Anything should be possible.
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"My men will have her soon. … In the next two hours, I should hope. … No, no. I didn't mean hope. I know they'll have her in the next two hours, so your people had better be ready," Alton smiled into the phone, staring at a shiny, black briefcase open on his desk. 1 and a half million dollars smiled back at him, crisp and fresh, thanks to a few certain individuals who were also interested in Magneto's mutant.
He swiveled his chair around, facing the windows behind him, propping his feet up on the ledge. "Yes, yes. I've told them. … Yes, she'll be bound and wearing the helmet, they won't forget that. … Yes," he smiled, "good doing business with you too." With that, he clicked the phone off and looked at the darkening sky.
The girl always flew at night. For the past two weeks, every night the team had seen her in the sky, the perfect time to capture her. Sure he'd left no room for mistakes, Alton couldn't help but smile simply to himself. But that smile faded when heard a creak from behind him.
Turning swiftly, Alton's eye widened when he saw Gambit leaning against the doorframe of his office. "What the fuck do you think you're doing here?" Alton said through gritted teeth. His threat from his last meeting with the boy rang in his head, causing Alton to stand up from his chair, leaning slightly on the desk before him.
Gambit's sly smile appeared, something he would come to be known for and took a step into the office, looking around for any objects that might come in hand, if need be. "Jus' keepin' an eye on y'. What were y'talkin' 'bout on de phone, mon ami?"
Alton's face flushed with anger. The kid knew what was going on, he was just trying to egg Alton on, and doing a pretty damn good job of it. "Get out of here, or I'll kill you."
His face filling with mock sadness, Gambit pulled out a pack of playing cards, shuffling them between his two hands. "I t'ought we were friends. Y'really goin' t'kill one of y'friends?"
"Kid, I'm warning you."
It seemed to be what Gambit was waiting for. Staring at Alton, Gambit lifted one of the cards in front of his face, held lightly between two fingers. Right before Alton's eyes, the card began to glow a bright red, casting the eerie light back on the kid's face.
Suddenly, to Alton's shock and dismay, Gambit threw the card right at the desk, which automatically exploded, as though the card had been the world smallest pack of dynamite. Alton jumped to the side and feel, flames licking his arms and chest.
Gambit appeared over him, who crouched down and grabbed the singed front of his shirt, hulling him up slightly. "What are dey doing wit' de fille?"
Alton struggled to get lose, but Gambit's hold only tightened. "They're doing what Magneto wants."
"Gambit don' believe y'," Remy smiled down at him and with one hand, drew out another card.
Alton's eyes were the size of teacups this time and his mouth dropped open. "It's the truth!" he shouted at Gambit.
"Mon ami, I know y'lying an' I'll prove it t'y'." Gambit charged the card with the same red energy he did last time and held it very, very close to Alton's face.
"No! Ok, ok. My men are still grabbing the girl, but not delivering her to Magneto but to some other people."
"Who?" Gambit pulled the card back slightly, so he could see Alton's eyes again. "Who?!"
"A few doctors from a testing facility. I don't know where, I told them to keep it secret. They've… they've got a helmet, like Magneto's. When she's gone, no one will be able to find her."
Gambit stared at Alton a few more seconds, weighing the man's words. Then he finally released the front of Alton's shirt and stood, charged card still in hand. "T'anks f'y'help, mon ami." He turned and left Alton alone on the floor, trying to catch his breath.
As Gambit turned out of the doorway, down the long hall, he pitched the card into the office, the following explosion destroying everything and everyone inside the room.
****Notes****
As normal, all credit for the Cajun-ness in this chapter goes to Amy Michelle [dark_english_rose]. The rest of the story goes by pretty quick, though lucky for me, I've already got a plot for a sequel and already began working on it. I just hope you guys like the ending to this enough to read the next one.
