This chapter has been rewritten from my previous post. I wasn't happy with the way the story was going, so I did some editing. If you haven't already, please read chapter 11 as it has also been rewritten. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: You know the drill, now bugger off and read.
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Lucretia stiffened at the stranger's contact. It was bare skin against bare skin and her captor's feelings and experiences flowed through her. It was too much. She couldn't comprehend everything she was feeling. How could one person experience so many emotions at once? She was like a deer, frozen in the headlights of an oncoming car.
Luckily, Nicky sensed her distress and came barreling up from the tomb below. "Get your fuckin' hands off her!" he screamed as he shoved into the man. Lucretia flew to one side and her attacker to the other while the mutants from the meeting scattered into the night.
Lucretia lie on the ground, staring at the stars. "You okay?" Nicky whispered. Her eyes slowly shifted onto him and then shifted back to the night sky. Nicky sighed and sat down beside her. He glanced at the man he had all but mauled. He was dressed in what looked like white pajamas and his hair was white. He was sitting up, a hand to his head.
"You got some punch dere, pup."
"An' you got a bad habit o' stickin' y' nose in ot'er peoples business."
The man in white chuckled, "Dis be my cemetery. I'm de ground keeper, and you was trespassin'."
"Riiiiight. It's a cemetery old man, anybody can come here."
He laughed again, "Smart kid." He looked up at Nicky. His eyes were two blood read circles floating in a sea of black. Nicky gasped.
"Cretia! 'Cretia, look at dis! He's…"
She sat up, "I know who he is. He's de Witness." She looked hard at the older man, "Dat was intentional."
He nodded, "Sorry, had t' be done dough."
"No shit, just give me some warnin' next time, k?" She got to her feet and brushed off, "C'mon Nicky, time t' go."
"But…"
"I'll explain later, now let's go."
Nicky scrambled to his feet and followed after her.
The Witness merely stared at them, a tear on his cheek. If only there had been another way…
The rest of their visit to New Orleans went without any problems. Nicky and Lucretia continued their meetings with their contacts and Lucretia's ascension as heiress was flawless. They stayed a few weeks afterwards and then it was back to New York. Kurt greeted them cheerily at the mansion.
"Welcome back! How was New Orleans?"
"Fine," Lucretia answered as she gave him a warm hug.
"Good, and I…" he stopped, "Lucretia, you are wearing gloves. You haven't done that since you were in grade school."
She looked down at her hands, "Oui, I know, but I make Cyclops nervous. I t'ought dis might help."
Kurt gave her a skeptical look, "I think you are trying to make him even more nervous."
She gave a short laugh, "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Eit'er way, you'll never know."
He smiled a little, "The Professor wants to see you when you have settled back in."
Lucretia groaned, "Fine." She dragged her suitcases up the stairs and a few minutes later she was outside Xavier's office. She raised her hand to knock.
Come in.
She rolled her eyes and turned the knob, "You wanted t' see me."
The Professor smiled, "Yes, please have a seat."
Lucretia flopped into the chair and proceeded to stare at her fingernails.
Xavier realized this was the best he was going to get and began, "Lucretia, as I am sure you know, the school year is about to start…"
She continued to look at her nails.
He let out a small sigh, "The school year is about to start, and I would like you to participate actively with the students."
She straightened up, "Monsieur, I have already completed high school an' I have two undergraduate degrees. I need no more schooling."
"Yes, I realize that. I was actually wondering if you would like to teach."
She broke into hysterical laughter, "Oh dat's a good one, have a madwoman an' a murderer teach de students. Dat'd go over real well wit' de parents."
He smiled a little, "Logan is a teacher here."
"What's y' point?"
"Perhaps you would like to be his assistant in his self defense class?"
"Fine, whatever. Is dat all?"
"No, I would like to encourage you to work more with the Summers children."
"Non, I will not. S'too dangerous fo' dem."
"Lucretia, you must face your fears sometime."
"Den I will face dem on my own. I'll move out t' de boat house if my nightmares bot'er de household."
"That's not the point, Lucretia, and you know it."
She stood up, "Look professor, I don' like you, and you know it. I'll play yo' lil' games an' teach an' whatever, but only because it's at de request o' my parents. Understand?" She moved closer and placed her hands on the desk, "As fo' de boathouse," her voice was icy and her eyes were equally cold, "it was good enough fo' my Pappa, it'll suit me just fine." The implications of her statement were obvious. Xavier merely smiled and dismissed her. She spun on her heel and marched out of the office and back upstairs.
Lucretia scrubbed hard at the floor in her bedroom. How long had it been since anyone had lived here? A decade? Two? She sighed and put her back into it. A knock came at the door. She peered over her shoulder.
"Dere's a doorbell you know."
"I know, but I sensed you were busy, I didn't want to disturb you."
"You disturbin' me now Mrs. Summers," she gave her a sly grin.
Jean smiled back, "I just came to talk. And, please, call me Jean."
Lucretia nodded her head, standing and threw the sponge into its bucket. For some reason, Jean didn't get on her nerves as much as Scott did. "You want t' talk to me about my little spat wit' de Professor, non?"
She smiled weakly, "Yes, and no. I know things have been difficult for you and there is still some tension against your father, but please, we only want to help."
The young Cajun raised an eyebrow, "Y' husband wants me dead."
The older woman's shoulders slumped, "He's just scared is all. He doesn't know you and you did threaten the Professor."
Lucretia let out a short laugh, "S'good fo' 'em, keep 'em on his toes."
"Lucretia, please."
She stopped, "I know. I'll do what I can, but if he can' keep de peace, don' spect me to."
"Fair enough."
"Now what else did you come to tell me?"
Jean raised an eyebrow, "I thought I was the telepath here?"
Lucretia gave that same sly grin, "You learn t' pick up t'ings when you live wit a t'ief and an ex-con."
"Too true, I came here to tell you that you have a visitor."
"A visitor…" suddenly her face lit up and she tore past Jean and down the stairs. Jean followed hurriedly.
A young man in a gray suit with dark brown hair sat on the couch, legs crossed, tapping his fingers on his knee.
"David!" Lucretia exclaimed.
The young man turned around, "Cretia, darling!" His accent was heavy with a Cockney slur.
She gave him a quick hug and light kiss on the cheek. For a moment, it seemed to Jean as if he shimmered slightly. "You said you wouldn' be back fo' a few days, what happened?"
"Took care of ev'rythin' back home faster than I thought I would."
"Dat's wonderful. Jean, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine from England, David Gaines."
"A pleasure to meet you Mr. Gaines. Will you be staying for dinner?"
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I know, I know, bad ending for this chapter, but I wanted to get back into the swing of things. Hopefully I'll be able to start putting these out faster. Please let me know what you think.