Disclaimer: X-men isn't mine.
Laureate: No, I do not believe Danny will drink… Danny and I share a sort of clean, happy mind principle. It goes perfectly with our happy places. Yeah, I saw ads for that. I'm kinda scared to watch it.
Akai Kah'ghe: I have a good scattering of them. But really, I don't think my family considers them oddballs. Bat treats? Do they sell those at Petco? Hmm…SHOPPING TRIP!
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Leave it to John to be arrested for harassing a butterfly.
Perhaps I should start back when Uncle Robbie waved us out. He gave us this mini bus (I have no idea why he had it) that could fit about twelve people. But thankfully, it forego being bright yellow.
We had started out of LA with Wanda, of all people, driving. Wanda told us that if I, Ray, and Lance could drive, so could she. I decided not to mention the fact that Ray and I were both underage and almost got them all arrested. Many times.
But somehow or other, perhaps due to the guy who was reading the map *cough* Sam *cough* we managed to end up in a place called the Pacific Grove. Which, if I'm not mistaken, is back towards the coast we are trying to get away from.
Anyway, we decided to take a break to get our bearings. Probably not a good idea. Uncle Robbie gave us all some new clothes, and John was wearing a shirt that screamed of tropical flowers.
So it should not have been a surprise that the pretty monarchs decided to descend on him. Monarchs are usually pretty timid, sweet things. I have no idea why John freaked. But to make a long story short, he began yelling something totally foreign to my ears. It was probably not foreign, but I decided not to allow my sweet ears to hear them, though I bet I was saying close to the same things when I ran across the freeway about three days ago.
He tried to bat them away, but they were fairly tricky and kept eluding him. The rest of us just watched with that fascination that only comes when a person is being attacked by butterflies. Then a cop arrived and arrested him. Apparently, in Pacific Grove, it is illegal to 'molest butterflies' and can result in a five hundred dollar fine.
A story for my grandchildren.
But that was why we were here, in front of a courthouse, debating who should go in. I was effectively left out, because I was far too young to take our case to the judge. Thank goodness for small favors.
"I'm not going in there!"
"Face it Lance- you're going in there!"
"No way! Why don't you just hex him out?"
"Oh, yeah, let's draw attention to ourselves!"
I probably should be changing the word debate to 'arguing with Lance' but even so, the meaning is the same. Doggy was leaning against me, watching some Jack Russel Terrier on the leash of a *ahem* portly woman. I put my hand on his collar, and noticed for the first time how worn out it was. I needed to get him a new collar.
"ALRIGHT! I'll go in. But you guys owe me." Lance turned and stalked into the courthouse. Ray looked at Rogue quizzically.
"What do we owe him for?"
"Beats me."
Around this time, Herman decided to nose his way out of my shirt. He poked his head out over my collar and sniffed the air. The lady with the Terrier gave me a look of utter disgust. I assume it was because she had something against bats. There was just no accounting for bad taste anymore.
We stood out there for about a half hour when John and Lance hurried back out. They waved away all of our questions and got into the van. Wanda snatched Driver's seat again. Doggy and I got into the very back with Sam. John took the back middle seat with Rogue, and Lance and Ray took the front middle. The bus has four rows of seats.
Wanda kicked it into gear and went down the road again. Can't wait to get on the road again. I'd better stop that. She might decide hexing me is the answer to all of her problems.
"Why are were you two in such a hurry?" Ray was looking at Lance. Lance looked at us all a little sheepishly.
"They asked me for my phone number and address."
Wanda took her eyes off the road. "Did you give it to them?!"
"Get your eyes on the road, sheilah!"
She jerked back to the road in time to narrowly avoid one of those signs. The ones that say the appropriate speed limit. I doubt we were going the speed it was suggesting.
"Of course I didn't. What do you think, I'm stupid?" I think Wanda was seriously considering that question.
"Then what did you do?" Ray asked.
"I gave him the number and address of the pizza hut I saw in LA."
"Good thinking."
"Yeah. But that means they'll be looking for Jack and Louis Reddington."
Rogue snorted. "Jack and Louis?"
"It was the only thing I could think up at the time."
"Wanda! EYES!" John was a bit frantic.
"I know what I'm doing, John!"
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"Kurt?"
"Nothing. Ze just disappeared."
"No sign of them anywhere."
Kurt and Kitty awaited further orders. Scott and the others in charge, Logan, Storm, Mystique, and Magneto, digested this new piece of information.
"We cannot spend anymore resources looking for them." Magneto had an undercurrent of emotion to it. Scott wondered what it could be. Sadness, perhaps?
"We can't just leave them behind." Storm's voice carried a slight protest. After all, it had only been three days.
"We must deal with our own survival now. We must wait no longer for them." Logan growled at his words, but did not disagree.
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"And here…we are!"
There was a cheer throughout the bus when it passed the California border. Only took us four days to get out of the state. And three map readers. Life was good.
Wanda had given up the wheel after she almost ran a semi off the road. She thought it might be best because she had to pull off the side so people that felt sick could get a breather. Doggy threw up. So did Sam. I managed to keep my cookies down, if one will pardon the phrase. But it was difficult. Herman became permanently attached to my neck. I think he may have been traumatized. The others weren't too well off either.
As it was, Wanda was forced to take back seat to John. John is a fairly good driver. On open stretches. Away from other cars. Yeah.
Our new seating arrangement gave Doggy and I our own seat, once again in the very back. Rogue and Sam sat back middle, Lance and Wanda took the front middle, with Ray as shotgun.
But we managed to get out of California without getting arrested (sans John's 'incident') which probably only proves that we're insane. Yet another good song.
"So what state are we in now?" Ray was one of the map readers. Which made that question incredibly dense.
"According to that sign," Wanda squinted out the window. "Oregon."
"Oregon? Hey, why is this Oregon purple? Aren't they usually green on the maps?" Leave it to John to be an expert on maps.
"Manhksdph."
"What was that, Rogue?" Lance looked back at Rogue, then cracked up.
"She's talking in her sleep, guys."
Wanda turned around in her seat to look at Rogue. She wrinkled her nose. "She's drooling too."
"Swahmp Rah…"
"What did she say?"
"Ah think she said Swamp rat." Sam was biting his lip, trying to keep from laughing aloud.
Wanda snorted. "She's having dreams about your buddy John."
"Not surprising Sheilah. Lots of ladies have dreams about him. Or at least he says so."
"Peihtoh….."
"What was that?!" Ray had to bite a bit of his sleeve to hold back a roar of laughter I know was building.
"Think she said Petrol? Freaky…." Sam was about to put his hands over his delicate ears. Wanda had a funny look on her face.
"I think she said Pietro."
I snorted loudly, then put my hand up to my mouth to stifle it. It was a wonder Rogue hadn't woken up yet. It was a wonder John hadn't run the bus off the road. He was shaking a lot from laughter.
"Schotts…."
"Is she having a dream with all the guys she knows or something?!" Wanda had hid down in her seat because she had to take a couple breaths.
"If that was true, than why is Summers in it? Everyone knows he's not a man." Lance sat back smugly. Doggy put a paw over his face and I had to bite my lip against the laughter that was threatening to pour out of my mouth.
"Piegterh…."
"Piotr too?" John choked back more laughter.
"Not a bad choice." Wanda muttered under her breath.
"Who's gonna be next?" Lance looked at the Rogue for the next word to pop out. As we all were. Except for John. I hope.
"……choclatesh…"
Wanda couldn't hold back her laughter anymore. As soon as she started the rest of us did too. Rogue sat bolt upright.
"Whashat?" Apparently she was still a little sleepy.
Wanda was laughing too hard to say anything. Ray and Sam both had tears streaming down their faces. Lance and John were howling with laughter. I buried my face into Doggy's shoulder. I had tears too. I was making Doggy's coat soggy.
"What's goin' on?" Rogue got over her sleepiness pretty fast. She glared at all of us.
Lance was first to get over his laughter. " You were dreaming. Did you know you talk in your sleep?'
"Ah do not!"
"Yeah you do."
"Yeah."
"Ah'm afraid so."
Rogue glared at Sam, Ray and Lance. Then she turned back to me.
"Do ah?"
"Yes."
"What did ah say?"
"Something about Remy, Pietro, Scott, Piotr, and I think the last word was Chocolate."
She looked at me for a minute, then the realization hit her.
"That's not what it's ahbout!"
"What was it about then?" Wanda had a smirk on his face.
"Ah was at an ice cream shop and they were there! I ordered chocolate!"
"With three decent looking guys? Yeah, right."
"Three?" Ray looked confused.
"I do not look at my brother, thank-you."
"Oh yeah. Pietro."
"Ah swear! That's what the dream was about!"
"Yeah right!"
And that was how I learned that Rogue dreams about *ahem* ice cream parlors.
It's incidents like these that makes a girl wonder if she'll ever get back home.
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Bwahahahahahha!
Yes, I realize that there have been several stories in which Rogue talks in her sleep, but I just couldn't help myself.
Doggy is through with being nostalgic. Actually he isn't, but he got in trouble with another story. Herman is still attached to someone's neck, so Kally will take the reviews this chapter.
