Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I making any money from, the X-Men
characters. Thank you to Corrinth for the loan of Ilehana Xavier. Blaze is,
always has been, and forever will be mine, so there!
A/N: Don't forget to review!
Scene 9
"Sorry I had to duck out on you," Scott Summers collapsed into a worn out hotel chair with a sigh. "Did you enjoy your shopping trip without me?"
"Uh-huh." Tsunami nodded, going to stand behind her boyfriend and rubbing the back if his neck tenderly. "Is Bobby gonna be okay?" She asked, her blue-green eyes honestly concerned. That was one of the things Scott liked best about Sun, she couldn't help be anything but honest.
"Yeah. Eventually. It's shook him up bad, but..." Reaching up behind himself, he took Tsunami's tiny Asian hand in his larger white one, toying with the sapphire ring on her right thumb. "Why do you still wear the Amentha ring, Sun? I thought all that was over, all of Gareth King's lies..."
"Ask Storm, or Blaze, they both still wear theirs too, or hadn't you noticed?" Oddly, Tsunami felt defensive about the whole subject. Odd because she didn't know why she felt that way. Kissing Scott's fingers she came and pulled up a chair besides him. "I guess its because no matter the downsides, we did learn a lot about our powers, about how much the elements have influenced our whole selves, whilst with Garthen."
"Downsides? You mean like his brainwashing of you? His pumping you all full of G.M. viruses to give you telepathy?" Cyclops didn't mean to be cruel, but it did sound more than a little incredulous to him.
"It taught us," Tsunami continued, big blue eyes demanding that he hear her out, "That no matter how powerful we get, we are still only human. No matter how strong we are, we are not Gods. Surely all mutants need to realise that?"
"Maybe you're right." Cyclops sighed again. "But I wish you'd get rid of it. The whole thing still gives me the creeps."
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With a flying leap like a cannonball cutting through the air, Blaze slammed her feet squarely into the drone, knocking it off its runners. Landing catlike she yelled out "Duck!" and threw a fireball across the danger room, turning a swinging mace to dripping molten metal.
Ducking and rolling as ordered, Gambit allowed the pole in his grasp to extend smoothly. Planting it hard on the floor, he used his momentum to pull himself around it, spinning to kick another drone off the rails. Suddenly everything went quiet, the mechanical whirring ceased and the danger room became safe.
Blaze grinned at her friend as he retracted the pole again and put it away in his coat pocket. She'd never been able to get the hang of using props like he did in a fight. Suddenly she frowned, noticing that the grey cotton training gear she wore was actually on fire.
"Damn it!" Concentrating she called the fire into herself, putting the tiny, teasing flames out despite their protestations. "I keep asking Xavier to have these things flame proofed like the uniforms..."
"Gambit didn't know you put fire out too, Chere. How long you had that card?"
"I've been working on it with the Professor. It's not hard, really. When I use my power, I throw out a tendril of it to make fire. The bigger the tendril, the bigger the fire. To put a fire out, I just draw the tendrils back into myself." She frowned, wondering if that was an adequate explanation. Then, sighing, she brushed the ash that had been her sleeve off her arm.
"No wonder the enfants call you the Firefly, Petite. You is gettin' powerful, non?" He brushed a fleck of ash off her cheek, eyes narrow but tender. "More powerful than Gambit for sure."
"Hey if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even be here, so don't start on with an inferiority complex." She smiled, ducking out from his touch.
**I hate to interrupt your training. ** Xavier called to them both. **And I know it's been a long day for all of us. But do I have to remind you about the Governor's Ball tonight? **
**Oops, I knew I'd forgotten something, Professor! And after I've spent a small fortune on my dress as well! ** Blaze responded, her telepathic voice pleasant in Xavier's mind. The telepathy imposed on her by Gareth King may have only been temporary, but she'd learned to control her mind voice very well in such a short space of time. Gambit had less control, but still more than most non-telepaths after the two theives' mind-link was broken.
**We finished trainin' Professor. We be ready if you still sure it us you wanna take along to dis soirée? **
**Of course, Gambit. I need mutants with a little charm and wit for this public relations exercise, and with Scott, Kurt and Ororo otherwise engaged, who else to take than Blaze and yourself? ** All three chuckled silently as Xavier left them with an image of Wolverine and Ilehana, dressed up to the nines and scowling like truculent children as they were introduced to various dignitaries.
"Maybe dis not be so bad, hey Chere?" Gambit offered as they left the danger room together.
"Hum," Mused Blaze in response, "In what universe is an evening in the company of politicians, especially politicians who want to wipe out every mutant born, ever going to be fun?"
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Music pounded away in Blaze's room, too loud for Wolverine's sensitive hearing. Unfortunately it was also too loud for Blaze to hear Logan's thumping on the door either, or at least that'd be her excuse later. Tugging out her dress for the evening from the back of her now bursting wardrobe, Blaze marvelled at how far she'd come since arriving at the Xavier School. She'd come here with nothing, not even the shirt on her back had survived the burst of firepower that had killed two of Jacobi's men. She'd scraped and borrowed, mostly from Storm who happened to be almost exactly the same size as Blaze, until a teaching qualification and the new term had allowed her to collect her first paycheque from the Professor. It was incredible how quickly she'd adapted from living her whole life out of a suitcase to having a large wardrobe that no longer fitted in its allotted space. Life was good!
The dress hooked up on a curtain rail, Blaze shook out her mass of wet curls from the towel turban on her head, before swearing profusely in French Gambit would be proud of as the moisture fell on her precious piles of books. A flick of a finger warmed the books through quickly, sending steam rushing from the paper as they dried before much damage could be done. Blaze was thinking about the idea of Remy in a tuxedo as she began a similar trick on her wet hair. With no time to try and find a hairdryer in the mess she lived in, a shake of her hair with just a pinch of flame turned bedraggled dreadlocks into shining, bouncy curls completely without frizz. It sounded easy, but it had taken weeks of bad hair days for her to perfect the process, fortunately in the month whilst Gambit had been away or she never would have stuck out his teasing.
Half-dressed, a floating fireball provided better light as she danced to her music with a compact in one hand and make-up brush in the other. The track changed, brief silence followed by a screeching guitar. Blaze squinted at the reflection in the compact mirror, trying to name the track. She may listen to some rubbish when she went out, but at home she liked a track she could play air guitar to. Heck if she was going to be bored out of her mind all night she should at least be granted the right to have a little fun whilst getting ready!
Down the hall, fastening his bow tie as though was going to bite him, Remy rolled his eyes as Blaze's music was cranked up even louder. Gathering a pack of cards or two to hide in his pocket, just in case, Remy braced himself for the inevitable jokes and snide comments from the other X-Men on his appearance. And judging by the volume of Blaze's music, he was going to have a long wait to enjoy them. Past experience had tought him the louder the music; the longer she was going to take to get ready...
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"No, seriously Gambit, if you wanted to go dressed as a penguin I could have given you some pointers..." Ilehana only teased the Cajun because she knew it was winding him up. Actually, despite his deepening scowl as he leant on the hallway wall by the side of her similarly attired father, he did look good. Very good. The tuxedo fitted well, showing off his broad shoulders and toned body and the blackness of the fabric made his red-on- black eyes only the more startling. Besides her, perched half on the cupboard like she was, Logan was almost visibly oozing jealousy as Ilehana passed her knowing eye over the Cajun. As if the Wolverine could have anything to worry about. She told him as much telepathically, but his reply was cut short by the sudden and final appearance of Blaze at the top of the stairs.
It was Ilehana's turn to be jealous, not that it was an outfit she would have chosen herself. Blaze wore her endless curls pinned up on top of her head, her glistening make-up flawless. The tiny, strapless black bodice was embroidered with delicate flame-red flowers, showing off every curve of Blaze's feminine body. The skirts fell like black waterfalls of silk to float around her ankles. Dainty black shoes peaked out from under the skirts as in a rare show of shyness Blaze clutched the banister and stepped down the stairs refusing to meet anyone's eyes. Scott and Tsunami, fresh from being introduced to many of the school's children, joined the other X- Men at the bottom of the stairs, digital camera in Tsunami's hand.
"Oh Blaze you look gorgeous!" Enthused the water-elemental, "Quick, the three of you must pose for a photograph! Kurt, Bobby and all the others will never believe you looked this good if you don't!"
"Err, I think I will check if our limo is here..." Xavier quickly steered his wheelchair to the door, not pointing out that he knew very well that the car was waiting calmly outside for them. Ilehana smiled at her Dad's cowardice and followed him, her own camera-phone secreted in her back pocket.
"Blaze, Gambit, don't be spoil sports will you?" Sun pleaded, backed up by Scott.
"Yeah, come on you two. You would have done the same to anyone else if you hadn't had to go..."
"Too right we would, but only for blackmail purposes." Blaze muttered, meeting her old friend's eyes for the first time. He shrugged, not particularly fond of having his mug shot taken either, and went to stand behind her, one hand in his jacket pocket fingering a card. Logan scowled and headed to the garage, knowing exactly where Ilehana's beer stash was in relation to his own stash of cigars...
As soon the camera button clicked and the flash near-blinded everyone in the room, Blaze and Gambit almost literally sprinted out the door after the Professor. Scott put a conciliatory arm around Tsunami's slender shoulders as she looked at the photograph she had taken on the screen of the camera.
"Hey, at least I tried, right?"
A/N: Don't forget to review!
Scene 9
"Sorry I had to duck out on you," Scott Summers collapsed into a worn out hotel chair with a sigh. "Did you enjoy your shopping trip without me?"
"Uh-huh." Tsunami nodded, going to stand behind her boyfriend and rubbing the back if his neck tenderly. "Is Bobby gonna be okay?" She asked, her blue-green eyes honestly concerned. That was one of the things Scott liked best about Sun, she couldn't help be anything but honest.
"Yeah. Eventually. It's shook him up bad, but..." Reaching up behind himself, he took Tsunami's tiny Asian hand in his larger white one, toying with the sapphire ring on her right thumb. "Why do you still wear the Amentha ring, Sun? I thought all that was over, all of Gareth King's lies..."
"Ask Storm, or Blaze, they both still wear theirs too, or hadn't you noticed?" Oddly, Tsunami felt defensive about the whole subject. Odd because she didn't know why she felt that way. Kissing Scott's fingers she came and pulled up a chair besides him. "I guess its because no matter the downsides, we did learn a lot about our powers, about how much the elements have influenced our whole selves, whilst with Garthen."
"Downsides? You mean like his brainwashing of you? His pumping you all full of G.M. viruses to give you telepathy?" Cyclops didn't mean to be cruel, but it did sound more than a little incredulous to him.
"It taught us," Tsunami continued, big blue eyes demanding that he hear her out, "That no matter how powerful we get, we are still only human. No matter how strong we are, we are not Gods. Surely all mutants need to realise that?"
"Maybe you're right." Cyclops sighed again. "But I wish you'd get rid of it. The whole thing still gives me the creeps."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
With a flying leap like a cannonball cutting through the air, Blaze slammed her feet squarely into the drone, knocking it off its runners. Landing catlike she yelled out "Duck!" and threw a fireball across the danger room, turning a swinging mace to dripping molten metal.
Ducking and rolling as ordered, Gambit allowed the pole in his grasp to extend smoothly. Planting it hard on the floor, he used his momentum to pull himself around it, spinning to kick another drone off the rails. Suddenly everything went quiet, the mechanical whirring ceased and the danger room became safe.
Blaze grinned at her friend as he retracted the pole again and put it away in his coat pocket. She'd never been able to get the hang of using props like he did in a fight. Suddenly she frowned, noticing that the grey cotton training gear she wore was actually on fire.
"Damn it!" Concentrating she called the fire into herself, putting the tiny, teasing flames out despite their protestations. "I keep asking Xavier to have these things flame proofed like the uniforms..."
"Gambit didn't know you put fire out too, Chere. How long you had that card?"
"I've been working on it with the Professor. It's not hard, really. When I use my power, I throw out a tendril of it to make fire. The bigger the tendril, the bigger the fire. To put a fire out, I just draw the tendrils back into myself." She frowned, wondering if that was an adequate explanation. Then, sighing, she brushed the ash that had been her sleeve off her arm.
"No wonder the enfants call you the Firefly, Petite. You is gettin' powerful, non?" He brushed a fleck of ash off her cheek, eyes narrow but tender. "More powerful than Gambit for sure."
"Hey if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even be here, so don't start on with an inferiority complex." She smiled, ducking out from his touch.
**I hate to interrupt your training. ** Xavier called to them both. **And I know it's been a long day for all of us. But do I have to remind you about the Governor's Ball tonight? **
**Oops, I knew I'd forgotten something, Professor! And after I've spent a small fortune on my dress as well! ** Blaze responded, her telepathic voice pleasant in Xavier's mind. The telepathy imposed on her by Gareth King may have only been temporary, but she'd learned to control her mind voice very well in such a short space of time. Gambit had less control, but still more than most non-telepaths after the two theives' mind-link was broken.
**We finished trainin' Professor. We be ready if you still sure it us you wanna take along to dis soirée? **
**Of course, Gambit. I need mutants with a little charm and wit for this public relations exercise, and with Scott, Kurt and Ororo otherwise engaged, who else to take than Blaze and yourself? ** All three chuckled silently as Xavier left them with an image of Wolverine and Ilehana, dressed up to the nines and scowling like truculent children as they were introduced to various dignitaries.
"Maybe dis not be so bad, hey Chere?" Gambit offered as they left the danger room together.
"Hum," Mused Blaze in response, "In what universe is an evening in the company of politicians, especially politicians who want to wipe out every mutant born, ever going to be fun?"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Music pounded away in Blaze's room, too loud for Wolverine's sensitive hearing. Unfortunately it was also too loud for Blaze to hear Logan's thumping on the door either, or at least that'd be her excuse later. Tugging out her dress for the evening from the back of her now bursting wardrobe, Blaze marvelled at how far she'd come since arriving at the Xavier School. She'd come here with nothing, not even the shirt on her back had survived the burst of firepower that had killed two of Jacobi's men. She'd scraped and borrowed, mostly from Storm who happened to be almost exactly the same size as Blaze, until a teaching qualification and the new term had allowed her to collect her first paycheque from the Professor. It was incredible how quickly she'd adapted from living her whole life out of a suitcase to having a large wardrobe that no longer fitted in its allotted space. Life was good!
The dress hooked up on a curtain rail, Blaze shook out her mass of wet curls from the towel turban on her head, before swearing profusely in French Gambit would be proud of as the moisture fell on her precious piles of books. A flick of a finger warmed the books through quickly, sending steam rushing from the paper as they dried before much damage could be done. Blaze was thinking about the idea of Remy in a tuxedo as she began a similar trick on her wet hair. With no time to try and find a hairdryer in the mess she lived in, a shake of her hair with just a pinch of flame turned bedraggled dreadlocks into shining, bouncy curls completely without frizz. It sounded easy, but it had taken weeks of bad hair days for her to perfect the process, fortunately in the month whilst Gambit had been away or she never would have stuck out his teasing.
Half-dressed, a floating fireball provided better light as she danced to her music with a compact in one hand and make-up brush in the other. The track changed, brief silence followed by a screeching guitar. Blaze squinted at the reflection in the compact mirror, trying to name the track. She may listen to some rubbish when she went out, but at home she liked a track she could play air guitar to. Heck if she was going to be bored out of her mind all night she should at least be granted the right to have a little fun whilst getting ready!
Down the hall, fastening his bow tie as though was going to bite him, Remy rolled his eyes as Blaze's music was cranked up even louder. Gathering a pack of cards or two to hide in his pocket, just in case, Remy braced himself for the inevitable jokes and snide comments from the other X-Men on his appearance. And judging by the volume of Blaze's music, he was going to have a long wait to enjoy them. Past experience had tought him the louder the music; the longer she was going to take to get ready...
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"No, seriously Gambit, if you wanted to go dressed as a penguin I could have given you some pointers..." Ilehana only teased the Cajun because she knew it was winding him up. Actually, despite his deepening scowl as he leant on the hallway wall by the side of her similarly attired father, he did look good. Very good. The tuxedo fitted well, showing off his broad shoulders and toned body and the blackness of the fabric made his red-on- black eyes only the more startling. Besides her, perched half on the cupboard like she was, Logan was almost visibly oozing jealousy as Ilehana passed her knowing eye over the Cajun. As if the Wolverine could have anything to worry about. She told him as much telepathically, but his reply was cut short by the sudden and final appearance of Blaze at the top of the stairs.
It was Ilehana's turn to be jealous, not that it was an outfit she would have chosen herself. Blaze wore her endless curls pinned up on top of her head, her glistening make-up flawless. The tiny, strapless black bodice was embroidered with delicate flame-red flowers, showing off every curve of Blaze's feminine body. The skirts fell like black waterfalls of silk to float around her ankles. Dainty black shoes peaked out from under the skirts as in a rare show of shyness Blaze clutched the banister and stepped down the stairs refusing to meet anyone's eyes. Scott and Tsunami, fresh from being introduced to many of the school's children, joined the other X- Men at the bottom of the stairs, digital camera in Tsunami's hand.
"Oh Blaze you look gorgeous!" Enthused the water-elemental, "Quick, the three of you must pose for a photograph! Kurt, Bobby and all the others will never believe you looked this good if you don't!"
"Err, I think I will check if our limo is here..." Xavier quickly steered his wheelchair to the door, not pointing out that he knew very well that the car was waiting calmly outside for them. Ilehana smiled at her Dad's cowardice and followed him, her own camera-phone secreted in her back pocket.
"Blaze, Gambit, don't be spoil sports will you?" Sun pleaded, backed up by Scott.
"Yeah, come on you two. You would have done the same to anyone else if you hadn't had to go..."
"Too right we would, but only for blackmail purposes." Blaze muttered, meeting her old friend's eyes for the first time. He shrugged, not particularly fond of having his mug shot taken either, and went to stand behind her, one hand in his jacket pocket fingering a card. Logan scowled and headed to the garage, knowing exactly where Ilehana's beer stash was in relation to his own stash of cigars...
As soon the camera button clicked and the flash near-blinded everyone in the room, Blaze and Gambit almost literally sprinted out the door after the Professor. Scott put a conciliatory arm around Tsunami's slender shoulders as she looked at the photograph she had taken on the screen of the camera.
"Hey, at least I tried, right?"