Aha! After watching and re-watching the episode "Day of Recovery" I have finally found something I didn't think existed: possible Ray x Tabbitha evidence! Watch the scene where they first climb down into the sewer to meet up with Calliban…Tabby clings to his arm like there's no tomorrow! Yeah, so it's not much, but it's SOMETHING. And while we're on the subject—watch Xavier's expression at the VERY end of "Blind Alley"…see? HE IS EVIL! EVIL, I TELL YOU!!!
Yay! I do love three-day weekends, don't you? Not that it matters much anymore when it comes to my writing…I've taken up the [bad] habit of carrying my notebook with me and scribbling down a few lines every second I get, whether it be in class, during lunch, or in between scenes at play rehearsal. I can't help it; I've become addicted to this story! ^_^ Don't worry about my grades, they couldn't possible suffer any worse (…just kidding).
Bunny Angel—My, we're enthusiastic, aren't we? I think you had more exclamation points than words in there! ^_~
vagabond—You mean to tell me I've actually done something original? I'm in shock! And as for the 'Hood…I've got plans for our lovable misfits. *rubs hands together and grins evily*
todd fan—yeah, my parents are going to take me up-island to a place where I can get a private hour lesson. It's only about $75 dollars, and it's definitely worth it. Especially if it means I'll be able to pass before my seventeenth birthday ~hope, hope~…which is in a little more than two months.
ishandahalf—er…*looks around nervously* this is probably gonna bring hoards of Romy fans running after me, but Rogue doesn't see Remy again until almost the end of the story. There will be some mentioning or brief scenes, but little else. I'm sorry; don't cry, please! As much as I love the coupling, they're not the main focus of the story. If you're looking for a really good Rogue/Remy fanfic, check out Street Livin'. It's under my favorites section, if you haven't read it already.
Pyromaniac—Yeah, that Logan's got a real way with words, doesn't he? ;P
Eileen—But I did leave it there! Anyways, you got your wish, 'cause here's the next chapter!
Lady MR—Okay, I said I was going to be giving Ryo a larger role in the story, that's all I meant. She doesn't save the day, she doesn't become Madame Perfect, she doesn't unexpectedly have EVERY chapter completely devoted to her, but she won't be ignored, either. I wouldn't even DREAM of trying to turn her into a Mary Sue! Actually…you'll never guess who does save the day. I'll give you a hint: it's probably the last person you'd suspect (aside from Xavier, that is. He's evil. End of story). Geez…you keep talking like that, and you're gonna give my character a swelled head…
((Ryo: *has on a pair of Hollywood sunglasses* Dude…I rock.))
…*sigh* Now look at what you people've done! (lol) Yeah, I think Amanda's awesome, and what's even better is that she holds the same attitude in the show! I never liked Taryn much, anyways, and I NEVER liked Duncan. In my opinion, they deserve each other. You'll find out where Remy went to later in the story…and like I said before, he'll be around, but he won't see Rogue until towards the end. It's all part of the plot, I promise! And I'll try for some RoLo again soon as possible, just for you.
Aura Starfire—Thank you! ^_^ Why don't you try downloading the episodes? I have this program called KaZaA, and I download tons of anime and X-men eppies all the time. The only problem is that they tend to take FOREVER to download, but it's worth it!
Neva—Yeah, I thought so, too. Just wait until you see what I have in store for our favorite mutant/human couple next! I gotta say, though, it kills me to have to write all this non-lancitty stuff. The things I do for a good plotline!
The Guy Who gets Bossed by the Sis—heh, you sound like my little brother. Eep! Here's more!
[Random Quote: "Oh, no…the presents! They'll be destroyed! …and I care! What is the DEAL?!."]
She sat atop the dresser table over by the opposite wall, facing the doorway. Her legs, crossed just above the ankles, casually swung back-and-forth in a very child-like manner, and she was leaning back slightly, using her outstretched arms for support. It was quickly deduced that she must have just come from a Danger room session, because she still had on the typical training uniform—though her gray sweatshirt had been pulled over it—and her hair hung loose, flowing every which way in a lovely, curly mess. Her cheeks were still flushed from the workout, and she had on a somewhat ominous (yet, at the same time, very innocent) smirk.
Evan had to resist the urge to gulp.
The room was almost completely silent as Ryo moved to lean forward on her arms, resting them in her lap. "You wouldn't—by any chance now—be trying to avoid me, Evan, now would you?" Her voice spun with a sugary-sweetness almost any girl would use in rhetorical accusations.
Caught by surprise from her bluntness, he gave the first answer that came to mind: "Umm…no?"
"Liar."
Sitting up, Ryo half-jumped, half-slid to the floor in one fluid motion. Once on the ground, she gave Evan a good once-over. The poor boy hadn't moved an inch; he very closely resembled a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. Ryo couldn't help but vainly attempt to stiffen a giggle.
The sound of her laughter echoing off the narrow walls suddenly seemed to lift much of the tension in the room, and Evan let go of the breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. Noticing how he visible relaxed, Ryo turned towards the adjacent room.
"Come on. Let's head back towards the others." She called back to him. Hardly pausing to blink, Evan found himself catching up to her and falling in step almost immediately. They walked in silence for a moment before she spoke up again. "Y'know, it's been a while since the last time I saw you."
He nodded, "I guess," his eyes practically glued to the floor.
Ryo abruptly turned around and began walking backwards without missing a beat so she could face him directly. Staring him straight in the eye, it was a wonder she didn't crash into anything. For a moment, Evan briefly wondered in the back of his mind just how she did it. Unlike before, however, her expression grew serious…probably the first time he had seen her as such. "It wasn't your fault, you know." She told him softly. He looked like he was about to quarrel with her on that, but she cut him off before he could get the words out. "And don't even try to argue with me, 'cause you know I'll win."
This earned her a brief smile. "You're probably right."
"Of course I'm right. I'm always right." She lightly joked, before giving a truly friendly smile. "But seriously, Evan. I don't blame you, nobody else blames you, so you shouldn't blame you. Personally, if you ask me, I blame that stupid boulder…"
This time, he gave a laugh. It was just too hard to wallow in self-pity when Ryo was around. She seemed to have this out-going, humorous (borderline insane) way about her…when you were on her good side, at least.
Just before the duo had reached the Main hallway, the phone ring twice before someone answered it. The voice of Jamie shouting out, "Kurt! Phone!" could be heard a few seconds later, quickly followed the distinctive bamf and faint smell of brimstone signaling the German mutant's entrance. Ryo took this as her cue, pausing in her [backwards] tracks just before the doorway.
"Hey, I have an idea." She told him, eyes lighting up with inspiration. "How 'bout you and me hang out this weekend, go out and do something? I swear, if I don't get out of this place for at least one day I'll go nuts!" Evan could definitely relate with that.
"Sounds like a plan. Got anything in mind?"
She winced slightly. "Well, the first thing to do is convince the Professor to let me go…"
"Wait, let me get zis straight." It hadn't taken a rocket scientist to figure out Amanda had been the one calling for Kurt. What caught him by surprise (actually, more like shock) was what it was she wanted. Every boyfriend's worst nightmare: "Your parents want to invite me over for dinner?"
"You knew it was bound to happen sometime, Kurt," Amanda's voice came through the receiver. If he didn't know better, Kurt could have almost sworn she was enjoying this! "Mom and Dad are really old fashioned when it comes to this sort of thing. They want a formal introduction, the whole shebang. Actually, I think it's a great idea; once they get to know you as well—" she quickly amended that. "—at least, almost as well as I do, they'll just love you!"
It took a second for Kurt to understand what she had just implied. "You mean…zey don't know zat I'm a mutant?"
"I'm amazed they haven't made the connection yet, but no. To them, you're nothing more than the average male threat trying to steal their daughter away."
For some reason, the thought of having to deal with nothing more than overprotective parents seemed inviting compared to the other issue. He glanced down at his imager. I suppose it would work… "What time?" He could almost see her smiling in relief on the other end.
"Tomorrow night, about six o'clock."
About this time, Ryo and Evan came into the room from the main hallway. Kurt caught a glimpse of them out of the corner of his eye as he replied, "I'll be zere." He waved over his two comrades. "Listen, 'Manda, I gotta go. I'll see you in school tomorrow. Bye." He hung up the receiver just as they reached him, each giving the blue boy a questioning look.
"Lemme guess…meeting the folks?" Evan asked.
Kurt gave a sigh and nodded. "Ja."
From the opposite door, a majority of the New Recruits (specifically Jubilee, Rahne, Sam, Bobby, and Amara) walked in, laughing and talking about the day, Bobby in the middle of the group. As soon as he laid eyes on Ryo, however, he paused mid-sentence, eyes going wide and paling slightly.
Evan saw the evil gleam in her eyes as she spotted the residential Iceman, sauntering over to him casually but quickly. "Bobby!" She called out his name a little too cheerfully for his liking. "Just the guy I was looking for." He tried hiding behind Jubilee, but Ryo roughly grabbed him by the back of his collar before he could escape, smiling brightly. "Mind if I borrow your boyfriend for a little while, Jubes?"
She looked over at the poor boy, who was shaking his head rapidly. Saynosaynosayno… "Fine by me." He froze in terror. Oh, sh—
"Great! Come on, Drake." Ryo literally dragged him off towards the stairway, then continued towards the Girls' wing.
Everybody stared after their two retreating figures, wondering what the heck just happened. Jubilee shook her head—most likely at Bobby—and everybody turned to her with a questioning look on their faces.
"Okay, Jubilee…what gives?" Sam asked her.
With an exhausted sigh, she turned to address the group. "You know the one thing you never say to a girl?"
"Yeah."
"He said it."
The room quickly grew silent. Rahne, Jubilee, and Amara watched amusingly as their male comrades stared at one another with mixed expressions on their faces—a cross between pity for their teammate and relief that it wasn't them. Simultaneously turning their heads back to the girls, Evan (who currently had the most experience in knowing just what the bleach-blonde female was capable of) spoke for the three of them:
"…she's not gonna kill him, is she?"
Over at the Brotherhood house, things were unusually quiet (considering its occupants). Lance, who had stormed in the room a little while after school ended, was sulking in his favorite chair over in the corner, guitar in his hands and strumming a few cords every so often; Pietro was lazily reclining on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table, clicking away with the remote a mile a minute; while Fred and Todd had engaged in a friendly card came on the floor, the latter of the two wearing a transparent poker visor on his head and "smoking" a candy cigar. Fred had already eaten his.
After a moment or so of staring at his current hand, Todd placed two cards down. "Hit me," he said to his opponent. So Fred hit him. "…OW! Freddie, that means gimme two more cards, yo."
"…oh." With a slight embarrassment, he dished out the requested cards as Todd rubbed his now throbbing head. It was about that time that Mystique stomped into the room, eyes glaring and fists clenched.
"Yo, Boss-Lady! Where ya been?" Todd called from his seat on the floor, hardly taking the time to glance upward.
It was clear she wasn't very happy from the venomous tone of her voice. "Doing my job, unlike you lazy idiots."
"I don't like to think of it as being lazy," Pietro spoke up, his eyes still glared to the blinking screen, "More like resting up for our next battle."
Her eyes narrowed into such thin slits you could barely see their yellow pupils, her fingernails drawing blood from the palms they dug into. Without warning, she headed straight for where Pietro was sitting, grabbed the clicker from his hands and hurled it at the television set. Sparks flew in every direction as it hit and shattered the screen, causing a temporary flickering of the lights from the power surge. Eyes wide in sudden fear, the boys immediately stood to attention, dropping all instruments and playing cards in their wake.
"I am sick and tired of having to play babysitter to a bunch of smart-mouth, teenaged mutants!" She screamed at each of them, staring them down one by one. They hardly dared to blink; Mystique would have thoroughly enjoyed this moment of power were she not so enraged . "Now listen up and listen closely; I have a mission for you." She did a quick mental scan of the room. "Where's Wanda?"
They looked at one another, each time receiving a shrug in response. "Knowing her, out looking for Magneto." Pietro answered, though somewhat timidly.
Her expression didn't waver; they weren't sure if that was a good or bad thing. "Never mind, then. I doubt you'll need her; even you can't possibly screw this up." She paused, watching them squirm under her gaze. "Go to the Xavier Institute tonight and start up a battle with them. I'm sure Toad and Quicksilver can easily get past the security system."
"Why?" Lance spoke up. The sound of his voice cut through the air like a knife to butter, drawing Mystique's head to sharply turn towards him. Before anyone knew what was happening, she backhanded him so hard he fell to the floor. The others moved to aid their friend, but one glance from Mystique and they stiffened in their tracks.
She turned back to the boy, who wiped a thin trail of blood from his mouth before looking up at her. "You don't question, you follow orders. Is that understood?" He nodded fearfully. "And don't even think of warning your little girlfriend this time, Avalanche, or so help me a fat lip will be the least of your injuries." She turned back to the remaining three. "I've learned that Xavier has welcomed yet another recruit to his team, approximately two months ago. You job is to lure her out, find out what you can about her. Powers…origin…even a name would be of the utmost importance. I don't care how the fight turns out; get the information and report back here. Understand?"
They nodded. Lance stood up, one hand holding his stinging cheek, but nodded as well.
"Good. Suit up."
Outside the window of Jubilee and Ryo's co-bedroom (the latter of which had left the room some time earlier), the sun has just set a few moments before and a beautiful array of stars were beginning to appear in the darkening sky. A full moon was rising above the horizon, adding to the magnificence of the view. But neither of the room's current occupants were paying much attention to it. They had a much more important task at hand…
"Okay, Jubes, what'd you get for question number fifteen?"
It had quickly become a nightly tradition for Bobby and Jubilee to hang out in her room after dinner to do homework together, especially considering they took many of the same classes. And so it was that evening—just like any other—the young couple sat Indian-style, directly opposite one another on Jubilee's bed, various textbooks and papers surrounding them.
When he didn't get an answer, Bobby looked up. "Jubilee?"
"Hmm?" She quickly snapped out of her trance. "Did you say something?"
"I asked what you got for number fifteen."
Pausing for a second to recollect her thoughts, Jubilee shuffled through a few of her papers, checking her work before replying. "I..um…don't think I'm up to that one yet." Bobby frowned. Something was wrong with this picture; she always finished her work before he did Carefully, he tucked his papers in the textbook, closed it and placed it off to the side.
"Okay, spill it. What's wrong?"
"Wrong?" He saw her visible flinch, but attempt to cover it up with a small laugh. "What makes you think something's wrong?"
He moved closer so that their knees were touching, then gently took her things from her lap, placing them off to the side along with his. She made no move to stop him. "Come on, Jubilee. I know you. Something's definitely up." He leaned in and whispered, "You know you can tell me anything, right?" then paused for a second before adding, "…well, anything but the answer to number fifteen, that is."
She giggled. "Very funny, Drake." Grabbing the nearest pillow, she lightly tossed it at him. He caught it with a grin, eyebrow raised.
"You realize, of course…this means war."
He took the pillow in his hands and started whacking her with it; she squealed in protest, then grabbed her own pillow to retaliate. Rising to their knees for better swings, it quickly became a free-for-all combat. Feathers were soon flying everywhere as the seams of the pillows gave in to the beatings, nearly obstructing their vision as they swung blindly in fun, laughing heartily all the while.
Bobby was the first to loose his balance, a wild aim at nothing but air being the cause. He wobbled amidst the shower of feathers before falling forward, straight into Jubilee. With a yelp of surprise, she squeezed her eyes shut, tipped over and ended up lying on her back, her head supported by a large, fluffy pillow. Bobby landed right on top of her. But then she opened her eyes, and the minute they connected with his, the laughter died down. Their faces were less than a foot apart, their breathing—slightly heavy from the exercise—growing synchronized. He just stared down at her with a loving smile, not wishing to move, which she happily returned. On impulse, Jubilee reached up with one hand to stroke his cheek softly, giggling as a few of the feathers tangled in his hair fell down, tickling her skin.
The door suddenly opened, and both their heads turned to see Jamie walk in. "Hey, Bobby, I was wondering if I could borrow your…" He took one look at the scene, made an about-face and walked back out the door without missing a beat. "…okay, never mind. I'll come back later."
They stared at the closed door for a few seconds before turning their heads back to face one another…and burst out laughing. "Get off me." Jubilee managed between giggles; he reluctantly obliged, and the two sat up, brushing the feathers off themselves.
On the other side of the door, Jamie was leaning up against it, eyes wide and staring straight out ahead of him. "Mental note:" he said to himself, "From now on, always knock!"
As Bobby reached up to carefully pluck a feather from Jubilee's hair, he repeated his earlier question: "Now, are you going to tell me what's got you in such a gloomy mood, or am I gonna have to tickle it out of you?" He held up the rescued feather with a grin. She smiled at him briefly before her expression grew solemn again.
"I-I got in touch with my foster parents today."
Bobby shifted his position so that he could sit right beside her. He smiled at the news; ever since the Incident, many of the students had had difficulty in contacting his or her parents to assure them everything was fine. He, himself, had been lucky enough to speak with both his mother and father in less than a week, but Jubilee was still among the few who hadn't been able to contact hers. "Really? That's gr—"
"They want me to come home."
He froze. "What?" Maybe he hadn't heard right. He could've sworn she said…
"They want me to come home. When I talked to Mom this afternoon, she was in near hysterics. Dad's absolutely furious with the whole thing. T-they saw the news broadcast…they know." Jubilee's hair was obstructing her face from view, but he could still tell she was desperately trying not to cry.
"When?" Was all he could manage, his voice coming out much colder than he had meant it to; Jubilee cringed from his tone.
"Saturday evening."
"Saturday?!" He exclaimed. "But that's the day after tomorrow!"
"I know that!" She snapped back, before calming herself down, leaning her forehead on his shoulder. "I don't wanna leave, Bobby. I don't wanna leave the institute. I don't wanna leave you."
He rested his head atop hers. "I know." He whispered to her, "I know…" A sudden rumble interrupted the moment, however, as the ground began to shake. "What the—"
The two of them stood up, staring at the now immobile ground before a sudden ruckus outside caught their attention. Giving each other a curious glance, they rushed for the door and peered out. Scott, Rogue, and Kurt—all still in their day clothes—were furiously banging on the door opposite Jubilee's. "Come on, Kitty, open the door!" Scott shouted. "This is serious!"
"What the heck's all the racket about out here?" A sleepy Ryo stepped out from Amara and Rahne's room, where she had been taking a nap. Bobby took one glance at her, and ran back inside his girlfriend's room with an 'eep!' Ryo, for the most part, ignored him. "I swear, Scott, they could hear you all the way out in the Hamptons!"
"Ah'm telling ya, she's not commin' out. Ya're wasting ya time." Rogue sighed from where she was leaning against the wall, then turned her head to explain to Ryo. "She's locked herself in; the Brotherhood's outside tryin' ta pick a fight with us, an' Kitty doesn't wanna come outta her room ta face 'em."
Ryo had heard a little about this other band of mutants from most of the other New Recruits. From what she had been able to gather, they were a bunch of misfits who were constantly looking to pick a fight with the X-men…that was about it, but it was still enough to earn a scowl from her. "The Brotherhood? What the hell do they want?"
"To cause trouble; what else?" Scott told her. "Kitty, we don't have time for this!"
Scott, do not try and force her, Xavier's voice suddenly rang in all their heads, She's had a rough day, and her heart's not into it. You know the reason why…
"But, Professor—" he began.
Leave her be, Scott. Why not just send Ryo in her place?
"What?!" He exclaimed.
"What?!" The others exclaimed.
"WHAT?!" Ryo exclaimed. "You're joking, right? Somebody tell me he's joking."
I never joke. Came the reply. Ryo, listen to me very carefully. I've been watching you in your training sessions. Your skill has improved greatly over such a short amount of time, and I feel you're ready to take on a bigger challenge. Now tell me, do you think you can handle it?
The others stared at her wordlessly as she thought about it carefully. After a moment, she nodded hesitantly. "I guess so."
Very well then. I wish you the best of luck…Rhythm.
"Rhythm," she repeated softly, smiling at the new codename. "Now that's more like it!"
Kitty sat on the windowsill of her bedroom, curled up in a fetal position with Lockheed held tightly in her arms. She cursed her luck for having a room that overlooked the entire front yard. Ignoring all protests coming from outside her door, the young brunette directed her focus to the four boys standing just inside the mansion gates. She saw Lance searching the yard for signs of their welcoming party, wondering how he would react to not see her among them.
His eyes traveled up the sides of the house, and for a brief moment, seemed to make contact with hers. She froze as he held the gaze, then reminded herself that there was no way he could have been able to see through the tinted windows. Still…
Not willing to torture herself anymore, Kitty reluctantly pulled away from the window, shutting the curtains. She had no interest whatsoever in watching the inevitable skirmish that was about to take place, opting to bury herself under the warm, inviting covers instead.
This is like something from a comic book, Ryo thought to herself as she lined up with the others to greet their visitors. She still had on her outfit from earlier, but managed to find the time to pull her hair back up in its usual ponytail. Standing her ground between Evan and Kurt, she managed to catch a glimpse of three teenaged boys stationed in different areas of the yard. The moon was full amidst cloudless sky filled with bright stars, so despite it being well past sunset, Ryo was able to see with very little difficulty.
One of them looked about five times her weight and twice her height, with a bright yellow mohawk and casual clothing—he reminded her of one of those Japanese sumo wrestlers. The second boy had to be at least two years her junior, with pale green (green?) skin, dirty blonde hair, and was wearing what looked like a metallic turtle shell. He was hunched over, much like a frog, with golden-colored eyes darting around in search of something; she jumped slightly when a long tongue came out of his mouth and snapped up a fly. Oh, gross! The third boy, however, was the one that definitely caught her eye. He stood shorter than the first one, but with a more muscular build. His black hair looked tough and fell over his eyes in ratted bangs, covered by what looked like a fruit bowl.
But what Ryo noticed about him the most (even more than his ridiculous outfit) was the look in his eyes. He seemed to be searching for something in particular, his sight darting about in hopes of finding it…but then seemed almost relieved when he came up empty. It was all very bizarre to her.
As the cliché went, Scott stepped forward, assuming his position as leader. "What do you want, Alvers?"
The boy Ryo had been observing last turned his head, a sneer immediately appearing on his face. Without a sound, he held up one hand and the ground began to shake, sending a split in the ground towards the X-men. They instantly jumped out of the way, and the battle began.
Kurt and Rogue went straight into defensive maneuvering, weaving their way through the war zone—Kurt, by teleporting—and occasionally getting a kick or two in. Evan and Scott set to work shooting off bone spikes and laser beams, while Jean remained off to the side for the time being, holding up a psychic shield to be sure the mansion would suffer the least amount of damage possible. Ryo, deep in concentration, found herself enthralled by the rapid-paced feeling of combat. Holding her arms straight out in front of her, palms out and overlapping one another, she was surprised to find how well she could now control the sonic waves when she wanted to blow stuff up.
The battle, a chaotic brouhaha where it was every man for himself, lasted several minutes before a figure stepped up about twenty feet away from Ryo. It was Lance. She paused, staring him down with both hands extended in defense. "You must be that Newbie we were told about." He said to her with a hint of amusement. "I was wondering when I'd get to meet you."
She glared at him, sending off a series of blast in his general direction. He dodged them all. "Ooh, hold still, you walking fault line!" She squealed in annoyance. He gave a smirk, and held out one hand. The ground beneath Ryo began to shake, but she managed to hold her ground until it subsided. Then, she got an idea. "You call that an earthquake? Watch and learn…"
She got down on one knee, holding up her hands. "Sonic waves…" Then, she placed them flat on the soil, palms down. "Plus ground…" Almost immediately, the ground began to shake furiously as she sent a series of pulses through the earth's crust. Caught by surprise, Lance was quickly knocked to the ground as she got him off balance. "Equals you falling flat on your ass." She stood up, brushing the dirt off her hands. "See what happens when you pay attention in Science class?"
"My, my, aren't we resourceful?" A new voice spoke up behind her. She abruptly turned around in surprise…and met eye-to-eye with none other than Quicksilver. Her eyes went wide as recognition immediately took over, and she gasped. Likewise, his cockily-folded arms dropped to his sides, mouth opened wide in shock. "…Ryo?!"
"…Pietro?!"
The battle continued on around them, no one else seeming to notice their sudden halt in fighting. Underneath the starlight, they stared at one another in astonishment for close to half a minute before managing to absorb everything. Here they were, face-to-face, after all that time…and on opposing teams. Finally managing to locate their voices again, the next words out of their mouths were in unison:
"You've gotta be kidding me!"
___________________
TO BE CONTINUED…
*note—Three guesses on which episode I plan to parallel first. The hint is in this chapter. ^_~