"Out of my way, you big oaf!"
Blinking in surprise as a stick swiped warningly at their backs, Cyclops
and Jean stepped to either side, looking over their shoulders
inquisitively. Charles turned his chair around to find out who had followed them in, and with a slight smile suggested telepathically for them all to move to the
side of the entrance, following suit the next moment.
As the curtain of bodies stepped aside, Negrath and co were rather unsurprised to find Jaheira looking distastefully at the withdrawing X-men. Her path clear, she stomped past as if they weren't there; "What is it this
time?"
"What is what?" the lord inquired innocently.
"These." The druid replied with some heat, "These dressed-up, overgrown
citydwellers! Haven't we been bothered enough by such fools?"
"If I hang around ruling as I have, we likely will end up ruling a
makeshift city ourselves." He argued soothingly. It didn't work;
"Not with me around, you won't. Now who are these...these...dimension-
hopping clowns?"
"You knew they were from elsewhere?"
"You saying that," she pointed at wolverine, "is today's fashion in Amn?"
"Ah, no." Negrath acknowledged with a grin, inwardly relieved to see the man partake of the general, low-toned amusement her comment brought in his
group.
"Well, then what?"
"What?"
"Who are they?!?"
"Something wrong, Jaheira? This isn't like you..."
"I'll be damned the day I need to be told what's 'me' or not, child.
Currently I want to know who they are!"
-"What does it matter?" Viconia shot in, her gaze intent as Jaheira closed
her eyes, knotted fists shaking as she muttered angrily to herself.
"Let's just say..." she breathed at last, still appearing to work on her
anger-management, and not really looking at the other woman, "that it
does."
"We are known as the X-Men among our own...though..." Charles began, but closed his mouth an instant before Jaheira interrupted him, exlaiming in
immense relief "THANK you!"
Turning to him she added off-handedly;
"Any idea how such folk came here?"
"Unfortunately, all we know is that there's a good thing not more of us
'folk' came with us."
"How do you know?"
-"..."
From the increase in level of noise from the group, it seemed unusual that
the man had no immediate reply. Negrath found that easy to believe; something about the man exuded a degree of knowledge that knew no bounds.
That he should be brought to silence in conversation seemed impossible.
**Then again,** Negrath though with an idle smile, **he's up against
Jaheira the Protector...**
"You don't know, do you? DO YOU?"
"I...must admit to not having much experience this 'dimension-hopping, but
I assure you that if others of our kind had..."
"You Would Not Know."
"...Theoretically, no."
"YOU WOULD NOT!"
"Hey, chuck...?" Wolverine commented, grin making it clear he found quite the bit of amusement in the whole affair...more than his teammates, at any
rate.
"Yes, Logan?"
"I think you might want to cut the preaching and theorising with this
one...she seems to be the direct type of girl."
"Girl?"
The tone of the druid's retort had the grin wiped of his face in an
instant, replaced by a unmistakable frown of 'uh-oh'.
"Dare I ask your age, good sir?"
"Wolverine has a shaded past, but it is estimated that he'd be in the
sixties at worst...his healing factor can..."
"Sixties? SIXTIES?"
"So I've been told." The man in question muttered in some annoyance,
evidently regretting ever speaking up.
"Boy," Jaheira began, stressing the definition far beyond all reason, "I have survived nearly two generations of humans...that I have bothered to
know of!"
"That makes you, what? 110? 120?" Rogue hazarded, her smile no hiding place
for a clear intent to remove the pressure from her friend.
"You keep well, but come on..."
"I was beyond my 200's the last time I bothered to remember...that was before I ever met this guy, who at the time of our meeting were a fumbling
idiot of barely two decades." The statement made with trademark certainty, it also was accompanied with a
forced calmness that only helped impress upon them the error of their
thoughts.
"His words, not hers." Imoen added, as Jean openened her mouth to protest
the namecalling.
"Quite so." The druid nodded, beating Negrath himself to it.
"Where were we?" Viconia grinned, before tossing a glance over her shoulder
at the 'prisoners' as if pondering a 'playing'-session with them.
"We were establishing our ignorance of who might have followed us here." Xavier replied evenly, offering a slight nod of acknowledgement at Jaheira, who gave another stiff nodd by way of response before turning to glare at
Storm;
"And how many of our other potential vistiors are like you?"
"Like...me?"
-"LIKE YOU!"
-"I would think she is referring to your bonds with nature, 'Ro." Logan commented, then looked as if he might slap a hand to his face. As nothing
seemed to explode in his face, he relaxed...slightly.
"To be sure. How many?" Jaheira drove on, barely noticing the man.
"Depends, I guess...what you mean by 'nature'."
"All that grows, or affect what grows without the fumbling of 'thinking'
folk."
"I see...then there might be one or two...and some more that might affect
it through more indirect ways..."
"No solid number?"
"Naturally not, as there is no way all our friends and foes could have
entered this...plane?"
"I would prefer 'realm'." The druid offered, almost friendly now that she
was getting the information she wanted.
"As you say. But there is no way all of them could end up here with us."
"How many, at most. Like your group." Were the next question, helpfully
added to to ease understanding.
"Some thirty or forty...some are borderline, some have disappeared, some
don't normally get near us, and some..." Xavier listed, unconsciously
falling into 'lecture mode'.
"How many." Jaheira repeated evenly, interrupting him.
"At most?" 'chuck' inquired, blinking a bit in surprise; "I assure you,
there is no need for..."
"How...Many."
A moment of studious silence, then; "In the higher reaches of 500."
"Does not compute." Imoen interjected as the druid were about to object.
"You can't jump from 40 to 500 just because 'someone' aint that easy to
reach...?" "If you're dealing with separate timelines, dimensions, planes, what-have- you...then there can be no real limit to the number of heroes and villains you might meet. How many have you met for instance?" Cyclops contributed,
turning his red-tinted gaze on Negrath.
"uh...10-20...maybe a few more..." "About fifty, counting particular 'villains'." His sister added helpfully.
"And, being here, we would be in the risk of encountering them as well...no?" the query was directed back at Jaheira, a slight smile tugging
at the man's lips.
"...acknowledged. But that's a tad too general. I was asking for the number
of your kind. I know you are not just 'heroes'...and some of you is not
even that." her gaze at the professor turned pointed for an instant.
"Then we are back to my estimate of 30-40. Beyond that, there is no saying whether their classification is mutant, extradimensional, -teresterial or simply extremely well trained." Xavier replied, back on familiar territory.
"...Understood. Now," turning to Storm, "WHAT was that thrice-cursed,
balance-wrecking lightshow about!?!"
Taking a surprised step back, the taller woman blinked in confusion;
"Balance?"
"You saying you do not know the basics of what you're messing with?"
Jaheira retorted with an oddly disturbing calm.
"Oh...-that- balance. But of course. I cannot..."
"Then why the hells did you do it?!"
"We had some...trouble."Negrath offered helpfully, jabbing a thumb over at
the pair in the far corner.
Glaring over her shoulder at him, she followed the gesture and turned
around to stare;
"By all that is natural..."
"Hands off. He's mine." Callisto called imperiously, to which the druid
nodded dazedly still staring; "and you're welcome to him..."
Grinning a comment down at the blonde, the beastman found his legs sweeped
from under him and a blade at his throat. Blinking his surprise, he evidently decided to play nice...just in case. Soon the two were as they had been; more or less quizzically observing the
goings-on across the courtyard.
"What?" Negrath inquired of his old companion; "What do you see?"
"A monster. A beast beyond all reason. A wretched creation of all the
world's malice and deceit. A deformed..."
"Yes, yes, not a very nice guy. We know; we've been fighting him and his
for the last two decades." Wolverine bit in, a hint of annoyance in his
tone- he were after all not THAT different from the two-legged cat...
"Him...and his?"
"Yeah, he's been stomping around in and out of groups all the while."
"And some people are getting restless as to when that bet's gonna be
decided." Rogue quipped with a mischievous grin.
"...bet?"
-"Which one of us bites the final dust first." Logan shrugged, only too
aware neither of them would in any sort of one-on-one confrontation.
"...final?" The query came out with some heat; the woman were getting angry with her
seemingly endless lack of information.
"Aye." Wolverine grinned; "By the time either of us manage to make a second
cut, the first will have long since healed."
"Showoff." Rogue coughed, making the druid blink at the curious way of
commenting.
"At first, sure...but once we get going, we usually remain pure as
choirboys throughout." Logan smiled wryly. "Your friend there having something similar?" he then asked, glancing over
at Xena and Gabrielle as he nodded at Callisto.
"She'll find herself in mighty fine trouble if not."
"She'll manage." Xena replied with sudden weariness; "She always does."
"Really..."
Turning to look at the woman with renewed curiousity, he grinned
maliciously; "We'll see..." Lifting his voice; "Why don't you two face off for a bit. Give the rest of
us something to laugh at?"
"Logan, she'll be torn apart!"
"Either that, or mr. Creed will get himself a mighty big surprise. She appears to be your superior!" he called, counting on the fellow to have
some pride left.
He did...but try as he might, he could not get hold of her. She on the other hand slashed him up every chance she got, only to gaze in fascination
as it healed...even as she dodged his 'retort'. As she began trying to cripple him, he found himself on the defensive, long
since having realized the blade to be uncannily sharp.
And he who thought only Logan's claws could stand a chance at harming
him...
Backed up against the wall, growling ferousciously, he glared at the upstart female having toyed so expertly with him. If he didn't know better,
he'd say his healing factor hurt. She on her side wore one of her wider grins, carving almost idle figures in
his flesh as if to see how many she could make before they vanished. "Will you stop that!!!" he bellowed at last, uncertain himself if he was
talking to her or the chucklers over by the gate. By way of response, the chucklers turned into laughers, and Callisto rested on her sword as she lectured; "I do not 'appear' to be anyone's superior. I
-am-. Are we clear on this now?"
Taking a couple of deep, cleansing breaths, as if to check whether his healing factor had managed to go the distance, an almost relieved grin, and
he nodded disinterestedly; sure, fine, whatever.
"Interesting..." Jaheira muttered, not having partaken in the mirth as she
observed the curious encounter.
Turning to Wolverine, she queried rhetorically; "And you..."
"Are pretty much the same, yeah."
"But civilized." "Some of us like to think so." Storm replied evenly, a frown giving away
her feelings regarding the insinuation that he might not be.
"There's civilized, and then there is intelligent." Logan added with a
smirk, drawing a smile from the druid; "Too true.
Imoen...?"
"Right on it." The archmage acknowledged, and the next instant they could
all observe the two Wild Ones' initial entrance to the keep grounds. Jaheira gazed expectantly at it, and then made a sound in the back of her
throat as the two stood observing each other, unharmed.
"Impossible."
"Yet evidently not." Logan argued matter-of-factly.
"Evidently." The druid acknowledged, turning to him as she drew a knife
from her belt.
With a sigh, the X-man straightened, giving a wry grin; "Just don't touch the heart or brain. Them healing hurts like hell...and I'm not sure it even
goes well."
A distracted nod, and she swiped the knife across his belly. A strangled noise as he clapped a hand to the wound, holding it closed for an instant, and it was done, it's only trace a slim line cut in the fabric
of his 'uniform'...which already was severely diminished.
"Should have guessed." He grumbled darkly, then shrugged; "Care to try
again?" Mutely shaking her head, the druid sauntered over to a corner where she sat
down and 'left'.
"Was it something I said?" Logan wondered humorlessly, and Imoen shook her head; "Rather something you didn't do...like spilling your guts all over
the place and die messily."
"Gee, thanks." "Don't mention it." The mage chirped merrily, in direct opposition of his
mock-growl.
and Jean stepped to either side, looking over their shoulders
inquisitively. Charles turned his chair around to find out who had followed them in, and with a slight smile suggested telepathically for them all to move to the
side of the entrance, following suit the next moment.
As the curtain of bodies stepped aside, Negrath and co were rather unsurprised to find Jaheira looking distastefully at the withdrawing X-men. Her path clear, she stomped past as if they weren't there; "What is it this
time?"
"What is what?" the lord inquired innocently.
"These." The druid replied with some heat, "These dressed-up, overgrown
citydwellers! Haven't we been bothered enough by such fools?"
"If I hang around ruling as I have, we likely will end up ruling a
makeshift city ourselves." He argued soothingly. It didn't work;
"Not with me around, you won't. Now who are these...these...dimension-
hopping clowns?"
"You knew they were from elsewhere?"
"You saying that," she pointed at wolverine, "is today's fashion in Amn?"
"Ah, no." Negrath acknowledged with a grin, inwardly relieved to see the man partake of the general, low-toned amusement her comment brought in his
group.
"Well, then what?"
"What?"
"Who are they?!?"
"Something wrong, Jaheira? This isn't like you..."
"I'll be damned the day I need to be told what's 'me' or not, child.
Currently I want to know who they are!"
-"What does it matter?" Viconia shot in, her gaze intent as Jaheira closed
her eyes, knotted fists shaking as she muttered angrily to herself.
"Let's just say..." she breathed at last, still appearing to work on her
anger-management, and not really looking at the other woman, "that it
does."
"We are known as the X-Men among our own...though..." Charles began, but closed his mouth an instant before Jaheira interrupted him, exlaiming in
immense relief "THANK you!"
Turning to him she added off-handedly;
"Any idea how such folk came here?"
"Unfortunately, all we know is that there's a good thing not more of us
'folk' came with us."
"How do you know?"
-"..."
From the increase in level of noise from the group, it seemed unusual that
the man had no immediate reply. Negrath found that easy to believe; something about the man exuded a degree of knowledge that knew no bounds.
That he should be brought to silence in conversation seemed impossible.
**Then again,** Negrath though with an idle smile, **he's up against
Jaheira the Protector...**
"You don't know, do you? DO YOU?"
"I...must admit to not having much experience this 'dimension-hopping, but
I assure you that if others of our kind had..."
"You Would Not Know."
"...Theoretically, no."
"YOU WOULD NOT!"
"Hey, chuck...?" Wolverine commented, grin making it clear he found quite the bit of amusement in the whole affair...more than his teammates, at any
rate.
"Yes, Logan?"
"I think you might want to cut the preaching and theorising with this
one...she seems to be the direct type of girl."
"Girl?"
The tone of the druid's retort had the grin wiped of his face in an
instant, replaced by a unmistakable frown of 'uh-oh'.
"Dare I ask your age, good sir?"
"Wolverine has a shaded past, but it is estimated that he'd be in the
sixties at worst...his healing factor can..."
"Sixties? SIXTIES?"
"So I've been told." The man in question muttered in some annoyance,
evidently regretting ever speaking up.
"Boy," Jaheira began, stressing the definition far beyond all reason, "I have survived nearly two generations of humans...that I have bothered to
know of!"
"That makes you, what? 110? 120?" Rogue hazarded, her smile no hiding place
for a clear intent to remove the pressure from her friend.
"You keep well, but come on..."
"I was beyond my 200's the last time I bothered to remember...that was before I ever met this guy, who at the time of our meeting were a fumbling
idiot of barely two decades." The statement made with trademark certainty, it also was accompanied with a
forced calmness that only helped impress upon them the error of their
thoughts.
"His words, not hers." Imoen added, as Jean openened her mouth to protest
the namecalling.
"Quite so." The druid nodded, beating Negrath himself to it.
"Where were we?" Viconia grinned, before tossing a glance over her shoulder
at the 'prisoners' as if pondering a 'playing'-session with them.
"We were establishing our ignorance of who might have followed us here." Xavier replied evenly, offering a slight nod of acknowledgement at Jaheira, who gave another stiff nodd by way of response before turning to glare at
Storm;
"And how many of our other potential vistiors are like you?"
"Like...me?"
-"LIKE YOU!"
-"I would think she is referring to your bonds with nature, 'Ro." Logan commented, then looked as if he might slap a hand to his face. As nothing
seemed to explode in his face, he relaxed...slightly.
"To be sure. How many?" Jaheira drove on, barely noticing the man.
"Depends, I guess...what you mean by 'nature'."
"All that grows, or affect what grows without the fumbling of 'thinking'
folk."
"I see...then there might be one or two...and some more that might affect
it through more indirect ways..."
"No solid number?"
"Naturally not, as there is no way all our friends and foes could have
entered this...plane?"
"I would prefer 'realm'." The druid offered, almost friendly now that she
was getting the information she wanted.
"As you say. But there is no way all of them could end up here with us."
"How many, at most. Like your group." Were the next question, helpfully
added to to ease understanding.
"Some thirty or forty...some are borderline, some have disappeared, some
don't normally get near us, and some..." Xavier listed, unconsciously
falling into 'lecture mode'.
"How many." Jaheira repeated evenly, interrupting him.
"At most?" 'chuck' inquired, blinking a bit in surprise; "I assure you,
there is no need for..."
"How...Many."
A moment of studious silence, then; "In the higher reaches of 500."
"Does not compute." Imoen interjected as the druid were about to object.
"You can't jump from 40 to 500 just because 'someone' aint that easy to
reach...?" "If you're dealing with separate timelines, dimensions, planes, what-have- you...then there can be no real limit to the number of heroes and villains you might meet. How many have you met for instance?" Cyclops contributed,
turning his red-tinted gaze on Negrath.
"uh...10-20...maybe a few more..." "About fifty, counting particular 'villains'." His sister added helpfully.
"And, being here, we would be in the risk of encountering them as well...no?" the query was directed back at Jaheira, a slight smile tugging
at the man's lips.
"...acknowledged. But that's a tad too general. I was asking for the number
of your kind. I know you are not just 'heroes'...and some of you is not
even that." her gaze at the professor turned pointed for an instant.
"Then we are back to my estimate of 30-40. Beyond that, there is no saying whether their classification is mutant, extradimensional, -teresterial or simply extremely well trained." Xavier replied, back on familiar territory.
"...Understood. Now," turning to Storm, "WHAT was that thrice-cursed,
balance-wrecking lightshow about!?!"
Taking a surprised step back, the taller woman blinked in confusion;
"Balance?"
"You saying you do not know the basics of what you're messing with?"
Jaheira retorted with an oddly disturbing calm.
"Oh...-that- balance. But of course. I cannot..."
"Then why the hells did you do it?!"
"We had some...trouble."Negrath offered helpfully, jabbing a thumb over at
the pair in the far corner.
Glaring over her shoulder at him, she followed the gesture and turned
around to stare;
"By all that is natural..."
"Hands off. He's mine." Callisto called imperiously, to which the druid
nodded dazedly still staring; "and you're welcome to him..."
Grinning a comment down at the blonde, the beastman found his legs sweeped
from under him and a blade at his throat. Blinking his surprise, he evidently decided to play nice...just in case. Soon the two were as they had been; more or less quizzically observing the
goings-on across the courtyard.
"What?" Negrath inquired of his old companion; "What do you see?"
"A monster. A beast beyond all reason. A wretched creation of all the
world's malice and deceit. A deformed..."
"Yes, yes, not a very nice guy. We know; we've been fighting him and his
for the last two decades." Wolverine bit in, a hint of annoyance in his
tone- he were after all not THAT different from the two-legged cat...
"Him...and his?"
"Yeah, he's been stomping around in and out of groups all the while."
"And some people are getting restless as to when that bet's gonna be
decided." Rogue quipped with a mischievous grin.
"...bet?"
-"Which one of us bites the final dust first." Logan shrugged, only too
aware neither of them would in any sort of one-on-one confrontation.
"...final?" The query came out with some heat; the woman were getting angry with her
seemingly endless lack of information.
"Aye." Wolverine grinned; "By the time either of us manage to make a second
cut, the first will have long since healed."
"Showoff." Rogue coughed, making the druid blink at the curious way of
commenting.
"At first, sure...but once we get going, we usually remain pure as
choirboys throughout." Logan smiled wryly. "Your friend there having something similar?" he then asked, glancing over
at Xena and Gabrielle as he nodded at Callisto.
"She'll find herself in mighty fine trouble if not."
"She'll manage." Xena replied with sudden weariness; "She always does."
"Really..."
Turning to look at the woman with renewed curiousity, he grinned
maliciously; "We'll see..." Lifting his voice; "Why don't you two face off for a bit. Give the rest of
us something to laugh at?"
"Logan, she'll be torn apart!"
"Either that, or mr. Creed will get himself a mighty big surprise. She appears to be your superior!" he called, counting on the fellow to have
some pride left.
He did...but try as he might, he could not get hold of her. She on the other hand slashed him up every chance she got, only to gaze in fascination
as it healed...even as she dodged his 'retort'. As she began trying to cripple him, he found himself on the defensive, long
since having realized the blade to be uncannily sharp.
And he who thought only Logan's claws could stand a chance at harming
him...
Backed up against the wall, growling ferousciously, he glared at the upstart female having toyed so expertly with him. If he didn't know better,
he'd say his healing factor hurt. She on her side wore one of her wider grins, carving almost idle figures in
his flesh as if to see how many she could make before they vanished. "Will you stop that!!!" he bellowed at last, uncertain himself if he was
talking to her or the chucklers over by the gate. By way of response, the chucklers turned into laughers, and Callisto rested on her sword as she lectured; "I do not 'appear' to be anyone's superior. I
-am-. Are we clear on this now?"
Taking a couple of deep, cleansing breaths, as if to check whether his healing factor had managed to go the distance, an almost relieved grin, and
he nodded disinterestedly; sure, fine, whatever.
"Interesting..." Jaheira muttered, not having partaken in the mirth as she
observed the curious encounter.
Turning to Wolverine, she queried rhetorically; "And you..."
"Are pretty much the same, yeah."
"But civilized." "Some of us like to think so." Storm replied evenly, a frown giving away
her feelings regarding the insinuation that he might not be.
"There's civilized, and then there is intelligent." Logan added with a
smirk, drawing a smile from the druid; "Too true.
Imoen...?"
"Right on it." The archmage acknowledged, and the next instant they could
all observe the two Wild Ones' initial entrance to the keep grounds. Jaheira gazed expectantly at it, and then made a sound in the back of her
throat as the two stood observing each other, unharmed.
"Impossible."
"Yet evidently not." Logan argued matter-of-factly.
"Evidently." The druid acknowledged, turning to him as she drew a knife
from her belt.
With a sigh, the X-man straightened, giving a wry grin; "Just don't touch the heart or brain. Them healing hurts like hell...and I'm not sure it even
goes well."
A distracted nod, and she swiped the knife across his belly. A strangled noise as he clapped a hand to the wound, holding it closed for an instant, and it was done, it's only trace a slim line cut in the fabric
of his 'uniform'...which already was severely diminished.
"Should have guessed." He grumbled darkly, then shrugged; "Care to try
again?" Mutely shaking her head, the druid sauntered over to a corner where she sat
down and 'left'.
"Was it something I said?" Logan wondered humorlessly, and Imoen shook her head; "Rather something you didn't do...like spilling your guts all over
the place and die messily."
"Gee, thanks." "Don't mention it." The mage chirped merrily, in direct opposition of his
mock-growl.