A/N: Here's the next installment. Sorry about the Betsy/Ororo thing in the last chapter (nice catch, Natural, it's supposed to be Betsy). It's fixed now. Also, I noticed I was slipping in Remy's accent. Sorry, but I hate writing it – yet it's not Remy without it. Um, not too mush to say about this. Just tell me what you think. Review please!!!!!
Scott knew that Remy somehow planned it. There was no way the scamp could miss being in the room every time their father called. It had to have something to do with the telepathy. He thought they should get an answering machine to screen the calls.
"I didn't know I was going to have a power spike, Father," he explained for the third time. Honestly, for a scientist, you'd think he'd pay attention to his "subject."
"Is Remy ready to go?" Nathanial asked, annoyed with Scott's tone.
"No. Is he ever?"
"How is the new prescription working?"
Scott sighed. "It's better. My control is better, too, as I'm sure Xavier has told you."
"Professor Xavier has not submitted his report yet and I'm asking you. It sounds like Remy's impudence has rubbed off on you. The next time I talk to you, I trust I won't detect it." The phone hung up in his ear.
Scott rubbed his head. Well, at least he knew how to get off the phone with the man.
"Ready, Scottie?" Remy asked, throwing the door open and extending his adamantium bo staff so it nudged Scott's chin up.
"You scheduled the Danger Room?" Scott asked, his mood suddenly buoyed. He pushed aside the staff absently.
"Got a special pass even. We can use it wit'out the safeties. Only catch is it's goin' t' be monitored by Logan and Xavier, but who cares?"
Getting time in the Danger Room was hard. It was booked two months in advance. Remy and Scott loved to spar in the gym, but using powers made it ten times more fun.
"I'll meet you down in five minutes."
"Honey, you can't choose Remy for your mentor. You need to pick a girl just in case you need someone after hours," Emma Frost tried to explain to the stubborn girl in front of her. Again. How did a four-year-old get into the Institute anyway? The next youngest student was nine.
"But I like Remy," Kitty pouted.
"I know. We all like Remy, but can't you think of one girl who you like?" Emma needed an aspirin. She resisted the urge to tweak Kitty's mind just to end this torture.
Kitty chewed on her bottom lip and furrowed her brow. "I think Remy likes the girl over there." She pointed to Marie and Jean's room.
Emma crossed her eyes. "Which one? Just pick one."
"Jean. No, Marie. No, Jean. She's the pretty one. Like me." Kitty was pleased with herself.
Emma smiled through gritted teeth. "Jean will work nicely. Now go get some lunch."
"Aren't you gonna eat, Miss Emma?"
"No, honey, I have to go lay down." What in the world possessed her to work in a school? Emma practically ran back to the staff quarters while Kitty skipped to the cafeteria.
"Jean! You're my mother!" Kitty yelled once she saw the girl talking quietly to Marie.
Marie laughed. "Looks like you finally have someone who wants you to tell her what to do."
Jean made a face at her sister. Kitty bounded over, a wide smile spread across her face. Her long brown hair was tied with a ribbon, but it was falling down her back.
"What are you talking about, Kitty?" Jean said, automatically fixing the ribbon. Marie snickered.
"Emma told me I had to pick a mother, so I picked you!" Marie knew what she was talking about, but waited to see if her sister picked up on it. From the horrified look on her face, she didn't think so.
"But…See, Kitty…I can't…"
She couldn't stand it anymore. Marie was dying. "She means mentor, you dummy."
Kitty watched in surprise as Jean turned bright red. "Don't you want to be my mother?" she asked in a small voice.
Jean smiled finally. "Mentor. I'm your mentor, sweetie. Of course I want to be your mentor."
In seconds, Kitty's confidence was restored. "I thought so." She ran off to get some food.
Remy didn't think he could take much more. The sweat was running into his eyes and his body felt as if it were made of rubber. Scott was leaning against the wall, waiting for him to catch his breath.
"I'm okay," Remy gasped, leaning on his staff. The only thing that kept him going was the fact tat Scott's latest power spike hadn't moved him that far ahead of him. Plus, once he got back from visiting father, they would probably be even again.
Scott moved towards the circle, limping slightly from the blow to the shin Remy planted earlier. Blood trickled from his lip. His shirt had long since been shed. A pattern of purple and blue bloomed on his chest.
Remy forced his legs to move. He felt the sticky blood on his leg, a gash to his thigh. A family of bruises on his back made it agony to stand straight. They still had to pull their shots with their powers a bit because they could easily kill each other with one shot, but they weren't pulling much back.
"Ready?" Scott was a cold bastard when fighting.
"Go." Remy said, the arrogance back in his voice, the strength belying how he really felt. Suddenly, the pain, the wounds, the fatigue disappeared. All that mattered was getting the kill, was the thrill of victory. Remy had to get creative to avoid some of the blows Scott aimed at him.
A quick jab, a duck and an exploding card. Scott was on the ground. Remy placed the tip of his staff at his throat.
"Bang, y' dead."
The lights came up and the background turned back to a bare white room.
"Time!" The professor's voice shot out from the speaker.
The boys were silent as they showered and bent their bodies into clothing. They didn't make a peep as the doctors fixed their wounds. They moved slowly towards the cafeteria without even looking at each other. They were starving. Like boys across the world, the only thought in their head was getting food into them, and everything can just wait until that happens.
"What happened to you?" Marie asked, falling into step with the boys. The question was aimed at Remy, but she scrutinized Scott's face too.
"I kicked Scott's ass," Remy mumbled, grabbing a tray and rushing to get in line ahead of his brother.
Scott snorted. "You wish. You got one lucky win at the end. I had three." He began to eat as soon as the macaroni was spooned onto his plate.
"Yeah, but my win had style."
Marie rolled her eyes, but she still stared at the stitches above Remy's eye and the bruise on Scott's cheek.
"Did you have to hurt each other? Why couldn't you play non-contact?"
The boys looked at each other in shock. Was the girl mad? What was the fun in that?
"I don't think you understand," Scott said slowly, as if to drive home the fact into her head, "We were sparring. The point is to hone our skills so that if anyone is actually trying to hurt us, we'll be ready."
"Who would try to hurt you?" Marie asked, trying not to look too eager for answers.
"You know, those anti-mutant groups, maniacal super-villains trying to take over the world. The usual," Scott said between bites. Marie swiped a bite of Remy's apple pie, taking a chance with her life by the way Remy glared at her. She looked thoughtful.
"Could you teach me? To fight?" She asked the boys, looking from one to the other.
Remy looked unsure. "Why d' y' need t' fight?"
"You know, anti-mutant groups, maniacal super-villains. The usual."
"How are we going to break into that place? There are more security systems there than in the White House!" The Captain looked disdainfully at the whining man. Some people just needed to be told what to do.
"We don't care about setting off a few alarms. The point is to level the place. Think of how that mansion will look in a pile of rubble on that manicured lawn." The men were silent, hanging on his every word. It didn't matter what he said. He was a leader, their leader. "I was hoping this shipment would arrive in time for the meeting."
A large crate sat in the corner, inconspicuously. The men watched expectantly as the Captain pried the top off.
"This, gentlemen, is enough dynamite to take out five of those mansions. And these have enough firepower to take out a man at 500 feet, easy." A cache of guns were poured onto the table, shining under the single overhead light. Another box was filled with ammunition. Smiles appeared as the men envisioned themselves the savior of humanity, the destroyer of evil. "Let's study these plans. We're going to have five strike teams. Jasper, you take your squadron to section three…"
"Hey, Marie," Scott said, catching up with the girl as she swept down the hall.
"Yeah?" She was curious as to why he wanted to talk to her.
"Be ready after dinner. You have to train your body before we can really spar. Meet me in the gym." She nodded solemnly, noting the change in Scott's manner. She wasn't going to be helpless any more. Nobody was going to push her around. Nobody was going to make her fear the shadows. Nobody was going to scare her anymore. Especially him.
Scott wore a grim expression as he watched Marie go to her room. He wasn't going to let anything happen again. He was going to help Marie because he couldn't help her. He was going to make sure that Marie wasn't going to join his nightmares.
A/N2: We're going to have some real fun next chapter, as I promised. I'm trying to get Marie more in the story. Any ideas? Any characters you want to see (nessa, I know you want Jono. I'm working on it)? I'd really like to thank Jukebox for consistantly reviewing this story and Convergence. I thrive on happy words! J Anyway, tell me what you think! Thanks!