Chapter 3: Supper

NOTE: **Italics** = telepathically speaking (mental voice)

It was late at night as I turned onto the driveway and headed toward the garage so I could get the Harley out of this weather and clean it up. The snow turned into ice and really made a mess of the ride coming back from the wilderness area. I took the ride back slow, as I did not want to spin out and ruin this fine machine. A spinout would not hurt me, but I like this big Harley and wanted to keep on riding it for a while longer. As I got closer to the garage I triggered the door opener and saw Remy on the leeward side having a smoke. He followed me on into the garage.

"Gambit, now he be told in no uncertain terms by Jean to take that stinking thing right out of the house. That Jean, she be one with a temper to match that red hair of hers. And Stormy, she be no help to poor Gambit. All she do is throw this here coat at me and push me out in the cold snow." Remy shrugs his shoulders. "Poor Gambit, all alone out in the cold and snow with no fems to keep him warm."

I laugh and threw a shop towel at him. "Here. Help me dry the Harley off and I'll spot you a beer."

"That be the best offer Gambit done hear tonight."

So we dried and cleaned the Harley and got it put away in its space in the garage. To keep Scott off our backs we mopped up the melted snow and threw the wet towels in the hamper. I made sure the garage was secured and both of us headed up to the main house for some grub and the promised beers.

We went inside at the kitchen entrance and saw that the school's cook staff had already closed the kitchen up for the night. The main cook was sitting at her table doing some paperwork. She sorta frowns at the both of us when we came in and points at us with her pen. "Supper is long over, boys, and every thing is put away."

Remy goes up to her and works that Cajun charm of his, "Now Cookie, you don't want Poor Gambit to go hungry? Now do you? Just look – Gambit's be all wasted away and about to keel over dead from hunger."

She laughs and says, "You Southern charmer – my old mama told me all about you Cajuns from Naw Orleans. You both know where the food is at and you both are able to cook yourselves something to eat."

"Thanks Cookie" I said and we went to the fridge and quickly pulled out the fixings to make some burgers. I took the patties and threw them on the grill. "How do you want yours, Remy?"

"Gambit he wants his well done – none of that pink stuff showing inside. You hear now?"

"You got it – two burnt ones on the way. Me, I like them a bit on the rare side." I got busy flipping the patties. Remy came over with a pile of thinly sliced onions for me to grill and placed them beside the meat. "Remy – how about slicing some hot peppers to go with this?"

"That be good." A few minutes later he brought me over some sliced peppers and added them to the onions. I added my patties to the grill. I opened the buns and laid them on the grill to lightly toast them knowing that when they were ready so would every thing else.

Cookie came over and took a look at what we were doing. "Pretty good, I could use you both at lunch."

"Oh non, Gambit, he no likes to cook for a bunch of hungry children. They be too mean."

Cookie laughs and says, "You got it right on the money, honey. Now if I leave you boys alone, will you be good and clean up after yourselves?"

We both say at the same time, "Yes, Cookie, we'll clean up. Have a goodnight."

She turned and left waving all four of her arms and hands in the air as she chuckled her way out of the kitchen.

Getting back to the cooking, I put the buns on the plates Remy had set on the counter beside the grill and then put the patties on the buns. "Grub is ready – come and get it."

Remy came and got his and went over to the cook's table where he had placed the cut up vegetables earlier and sat down. I brought over my plate and the bowl with the grilled onions and peppers in it and joined him. As I dressed my burgers with some Mayo and the grilled onions and peppers, I watched Remy add every thing to his burgers. He smeared the buns heavy with mustard, Mayo and ketchup, then placed sliced cheese on the patties followed by several thick slices of tomatoes, pickles chips, the grilled onions and peppers, and then some lettuce. He added more mustard and Mayo on the top buns and then put them on the stacked bottoms.

Picking up one of his creations, Remy said, "Now this here be the most perfect burger. Logan, your burgers look down right puny. You be sure you don't want any veggies with that?"

I shook my head no as I took a large bite out of one of my burgers. Remy saw the red dripping down on the plate and exclaimed, "That burger, she stills be alive! Listen, Gambit thinks he hears it moo!"

We both laughed and got to the business of two hungry men eating, drinking some beers and talking about the weather, motorcycles, and sports. Nether one of us brought up past missions, lost friends or politics by unsaid mutual agreement. We both used this brief time in the kitchen to be just ordinary men.

After eating, Remy and I cleaned up and put every thing away. The kitchen after we finished was up to Cookie's high standard of cleanliness.

"I'm going to step out side and smoke a quick cigarette before heading to bed."

"Gambit, he join you for one also."

We put on our coats and stepped out side. Remy had already had his pack out and had shook out a couple of cigarettes. I took one and Remy lit both. I had barely taken a drag when Remy pointed toward something standing just outside the woods nearest the garage.

"Logan – what be that?"

There was a tall person shape figure wearing a dark cloak with a hood over its head standing still. I could not smell anything other than the normal every day scents around the mansion. The figure put its hands out in front with both palms facing upwards and started to walk or rather glide toward us. It was like it was not walking in the snow but just above it with out a sound.

**Wolverine, is there a problem?**

I heard the Professor's mental voice inside my mind and glanced over to Remy and saw that he also had heard the mental communications, "I don't know Chuck. There might be. Someone is here and I can't smell him."

**The others are on their way.**

BAMPF! Nightcrawler was the first to appear and he did so right behind our mysterious visitor. Who turned around and faced him. Without warning the visitor collapsed into the snow just as the some of the others team members arrived. We all rushed over to the fallen figure in the snow and I knelt down beside him and turned him over. A collected started gasp was heard from all of us as I pushed the hood away from our visitor's face to reveal the face of a beautiful woman with chestnut colored hair with silver streaks in it. Touching her I caught a scent of her perfume, light with just a hint of flowers. I froze at the sight of this woman, somehow I knew her but I did not know how.

**Jean – Bring our visitor in to the Infirmary** The Professor's mental voice was heard by all of us. Jean used her telekinetic powers and raised the woman up and floated her into the mansion. We all followed.

Beast was busy setting up the medical analyzer, which was a gift to the X-men from aliens from the far side of the galaxy, when we all entered the Infirmary. As Jean floated the woman to the examination table and lowered her gently on to it's surface, the Professor joined us. Storm assisted Jean in removing her cloak revealing a long knife in a sheaf strapped to a belt around her waist.

"This cloak is so light weight almost like spider silk but warm." Storm remarked as she folded it up and set it aside.

Jean withdrew the knife from it's sheaf and passed it over to Scott and then unbuckled the belt with the sheaf attached, slid it from underneath the woman and gave it to Storm. Scott examined the knife and said, "The blade is not metal. It almost looks like it is a diamond and the hilt is gold."

"Let Gambit see, he'll tell you it that's right or not." Remy walked over and took the knife and looked at it. "This here knife is the biggest diamond that Gambit ever seen and is first rate. The gold she be really pure but it be hard instead of soft like most gold this pure. Gambit now he wonders how this here knife was made."

"The leatherwork and beading on the belt and the sheaf is extraordinary and very beautiful" Storm remarked while looking at the belt. "The pattern reminds me of a carved stone block I once saw at the London Museum that came from a barrow tomb found near the celebrated circle of nineteen stones, which is seen on the road to the Land's End, known as the Boscawen un Circle."

I walked over to the examination table while Beast was scanning the woman and lightly brushed her long soft hair out of her face and pushed the silver strands behind her ears revealing that they were pointed at the top, almost like Nightcrawler's. "Hank is she a mutant also?"

"One moment, my good friends and I will have the results," Beast replied as he downloaded the scanner into his PC. We waited while the PC analyzed the results of the scan. Beasts pushed the print key and grab the paper over the print. He hummed in his throat and pushed his glasses higher up his muzzle as they had slid down as he read the results to himself.

"Well?" We all asked.

"She is neither human or mutant. Nor is she alien as the scan shows that she is of earthly origin. The scan, however does not reveal what she is."

I looked down at the woman and saw that she was looking up at me with her large golden brown eyes open.

TBC