"Okay, everybody here?" asked Bobby, glancing back from the cockpit into the main are of the Blackbird, doing a quick head-count. Let's see... one, two, three... ah screw it.
"Anybody 'not' here?" he asked.
"I'm not!" replied Ray jokingly, causing the occupants to burst into laughter.
"No wait, seriously Kurt isn't here yet!" shouted Kitty, noticing her best friend's curious absence.
"How can a guy who teleports not be here yet?" asked Lance, sitting to her immediate left.
A muffled 'bamf' answered both their questions as the guy in question appeared, a passenger in his arms. Amanda and Kurt quickly founds seats as everyone strapped themselves in, ready for their trip to the beautiful Hawaiian Islands. Not that they were going alone, of course. Professor Xavier has insisted upon Ororo and Hank accompanying them as chaperones. They'd flown ahead in the XM-Velocity to clear up matters.
"Alright! This is going to be fun!" shouted Jamie in the backseat... or rather, several backseats. Each of his clones was wearing a survivor buff around his head. Appropriate, considering the students were going to be roughing it on one of Hawaii's more remote islands for their summer vacation. Well, not entirely roughing it, they did have tents and supplies. And, thankfully, Logan was staying behind with Sarah to give her motorcycle lessons, so there wouldn't be any sort of 'survival' training.
The only one who didn't think she'd be having much fun was Rogue, who was peering morosely out the window. Everyone knew why. She missed Remy.
The Blackbird powered up as everyone strapped in, and Bobby Drake flew through the hangar doors and up into the bright, beautiful blue sky, rocketing towards Hawaii.
"Summer vacation! Woooh!" he hollered.
Scott and Jean watched from the gazebo as the Blackbird flew up and into the horizon, moving entirely too fast to be safety, thought Scott. He didn't voice his objections aloud, as he may have once before, but instead lay back, Jean sitting in his lap and in his arms, as they both watched the horizon.
"Sure you wouldn't rather spend the summer with them?" he asked, idly running a hand through her crimson-red locks.
"Spend a month or two in tents, bitten by bugs, without shampoo, or my favorite sleeping bag at my side?" she replied, cuddling up against him. "Heck no. I'll stay here at the Institute. Besides, it'll be quieter with all the kids gone."
"Don't I know it... but I don't imagine my job'll be half as pleasant."
"It's just an internship," she replied.
"Yeah, at the Legacy company," he said bitterly.
"Who also happen to be the most advanced in the fields of genetics," she said, raising her head to look him right in... well, right in the sunglasses. "A field you and I should be deeply interested in. And I'd've jumped at a chance for an internship there."
"Alright alright, I surrender!" he said, raising his hands. "But I still don't like them. Since Spears was sent to jail we never see who's in charge now. Heck, I don't think I've ever seen a single board member in my time there..."
"And they have all the time in the world to waste on a temp like you?" she asked teasingly.
"You sure make time," he replied, teasing her back.
"You worry too much," she said knowingly, cuddling up against him, as they both stared up at the clouds.
"I guess."
Outside, Logan was busy teaching Sarah the finer points of driving her very own, brand new motorcycle (like he'd let her anywhere near his) when suddenly a scent assaulted his nostrils. Curious, he raised his head, drawing in the air to make sure he hadn't imagined it. Sakura petals.
But the scent was gone as soon as it had come. Maybe he had imagined it. After all, being around Sarah did tend to remind him of her a lot. They were similar in a lot of regards. Fierce, disciplined, intelligent...
"Logan! Come on already you said you were going to teach me!" she called out, flipping up the visor to her helmet as she brought her bike in alongside his.
Okay, Yuriko had been a hell of a lot more polite. But Sarah was young and, unfortunately, absorbing every nuance of being a teenage girl from the others at the Institute.
The scent forgotten, Logan returned his attention to his student, revving his engine. His other protégé, Sam, hadn't been half as good as Sarah, and unless Logan kept practicing she'd surpass him in no time. And Logan didn't care what Chuck was always saying about students surpassing teachers, nobody was better than him when it came to a bike and the open road.
It was cloudy that night, thick and overcast, the dark fluffy clouds threatening to spill down rainwater at any moment, but they never did. Logan had retired hours ago, as had Charles. Sarah was down in the Danger Room doing katas before bed, leaving Scott and Jean completely alone in the living room as they sat back for a late night of burnt popcorn and DVD's. Tonight's special: The Matrix Revolutions.
Thus it was that the happy couple were sitting, side by side, as close as possible without being in one another's lap (a position neither would've complained about), finger's interlaced as they watched the battle for the survival of the human race. In a darkened room with the lights off, to cast the illusion of being in a movie theater. A theater all to themselves.
Jean could tell something was up during the entire movie, however. As anyone living at the Xavier Institute could tell you, it wasn't easy keeping secrets from a telepath. When you got in trouble, they knew. Professor X would, while not entering a person's mind directly (something he never did without permission or under duress), sense when someone had an aura of guilty thoughts floating about freely. Likewise, it was damn near impossible to surprise him. Though he'd managed to artfully fake it for his students sake on a few occasions. Jean was slightly easier in that regard, in that her powers were still growing, but it was getting harder as time went on. Her surprise twenty-first birthday, a little over two weeks ago, had been a disaster.
And now she could sense something was up with Scott. He was keep a tight rein on his thoughts the entire time, not giving her a glimpse but she could sense something. Not something bad, but something concerning her. And whatever it was, it was making him incredibly nervous. He kept fidgeting, alternately holding her close or giving her space. It was driving her crazy.
Without bothering to grab the remote, she flicked the pause button with her telekinesis. The movie instantly freeze-framed.
"Something on your mind, Scott?" she asked lightly. In the past three years they'd dated, since just before the end of high school, she'd never known him to be so nervous. And he'd faced down Juggernaut, Apocalypse, X24 and even Lucas without batting an eye.
"Guess you found out, huh?" he replied, his expression as unreadable as ever behind his wrap-around, ruby-quartz shades.
"You know I don't pry but you're practically gushing out thoughts," she said with a smile. Another flick of her telekinesis, the movie stopped, the big screen flicked off, and the room was properly illuminated. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's... wrong," he replied cautiously, shifting further in the couch so he could face her. "Just... well I'm not sure how to say this."
"Whatever it is, you can tell me," she said reassuringly, laying her hand over hers. Almost instantly she felt him relax. Powerful as Jean was, her powers of telepathy were always strongest around Scott. Because of the bond they shared.
Scott took in a deep breath, organized (and shielded) his thoughts, and then carefully told Jean exactly what was on his mind.
"Jean, I've been thinking about, well...us... for a long time. We've been together for as far back as I care to remember. Since you first came to the Institute. And you've always been there for me, and you always make me feel so happy whenever you're around. And... I don't want that to end... so tonight I wanted to do something about it. I was... I was going to wait until the movie was over but... now seems like as good a time as any."
Jean's breath caught in her throat. This almost sounded like...
Scott slid off the sofa, landing on one knee in a crouch posture right before Jean who had suddenly found it very hard to breath. Scott fumbled with one of his pant's pockets, finally managing to pull out a small black box. Its meaning became obvious to Jean before Scott even spoke.
"Jean... will you marry me?"
And as he asked his question, Scott dropped his mental shields, allowing Jean to peer at his thoughts. All of them focused on her. His nervousness was now apparent. Despite their bond, despite their love of one another... he was afraid she'd say no. Already in her silence she was starting to worry him more, and she immediately spoke without even having to think about it herself.
"Yes... yes! Yes Scott I'll marry you!" she all but shouted, as they two wrapped their arms around each other and drew the other close. Warm emotions washed over them both, as they managed to relax enough to let Scott show her the engagement ring and slide it onto Jean's trembling fingers. She was, as Kitty put it 'giddy with joy.'
Inside the mansion, all was happy, and it shone brightly with the emotions of the newly engaged Scott and Jean.
Outside, the storm clouds crackled ominously with thunder.
"You were seen?"
"You're asking -me- that question? Don't insult me."
"Well, what've you found?"
"This."
"This could be trouble."
"On the contrary. This could work to our advantage. After all…the higher they go, the harder their fall will be."
"Anything else I should know? I'm getting impatient."
"You'll get her when the time is right."
"We move?"
"We move."
Author's Notes:
To assist in your guessing of the voices, I'll give the exact number of different people talking. In this particular case, three. Reason why most of them are on vacation? Cut down on casting costs, quite obviously. Don't worry they'll be back later. Later also will I explain what has happened to Gambit. Oh don't worry, he's not dead… yet. Legacy company is from a few stories back in 'Infection' and was previously run by Guy Spears, who used it to spread the Legacy Virus. Before anyone panics, Yuriko will -not- be appearing in this story. Lady Deathstrike will not be involved. However, there is a reason he caught her scent, to be revealed later. For the record, I see I need to clear up a few ages in my story. It's been three years since the end of Ascension (covering my previous stories) which makes Scott and Jean 21, Remy 24, Rogue 20, Kurt, Bobby and Sarah 19, Kitty and most of the New Recruits 18, Jamie 16 and so on. You can figure out the rest by comparison. As if anyone cares exactly how old the adults are.
Todd fan: No guarantees, as I said, frequent updates are over. But probably at least one more before you return from your holidays.
X00001: It's comin', it's comin.'
Nessie6: Alright I'll spoil. All mutants. Won't say who though, that's too easy. As for somebody dying, I'm not saying yes, I'm not saying no but… I'm especially not saying no.
DoubleL27: Never does happen enough, but who honestly wants to read a story without conflict? They're dull. Still, lots of happier moments in this one, as opposed to my previous story.
Princess Myra: Yeah, this is all two years after the first scene. That was just some real quick foreshadowing and the like. And don't worry, anything I start I finish, unlike some ff.net authors I could name. So at the very least, you'll see how this ends.
Sandoz: Actually I think maybe Lance didn't want to be in the picture as a sort of protest. Like he's not one of the crowd or anything. As for Danielle and Forge, I honestly have no idea, I hope my explanation works as well as any.
Star-of-chaos: Maaayyybe. Maaaaybe not. Not telling.' I'm really glad people are actually guessing this time around though.
ViciousAssassin: Oh nonono, I say nothing of the sort. Professor X hopes that is the case. He's in for a rude awakening. And perhaps I will make such a chapter, but that particular couple I dunno if I would be good at writing. And yes, two years after the last scene.
Risty: Oh don't you rant to me about underappreciated Forge. Fret ye not, I will not be forgetting him, nor Arcade, nor any of the other characters who seemed to blink on and off the radar.
Son of Logan and Ororo: I never was a big fan of Evangelion, but I did sit through and watch the entire series. And that's a really big compliment, so thank you very much. And yeah, your analysis of the final pic is probably right. I just try to explain it in the show, rather than as a show.
Elrohirthewriter: Not tellin', not tellin', not tellin' who the voices are. Although I already gave a major hint a while back to Nessie6. And yeah, I live for cliffhangers. I get more reviews that way. Heh.
Sphinx29: I dunno what culture you come from where thirteen is good luck. But wherever it is, sign me up. Thirteen's my personal lucky number. Anyway, as for the voices you'll see. And did I not mention Ray? He'll get his time.
Evan fan: I'm afraid this story isn't Evan-heavy, but he'll get his screen time here and there. Glad you liked the beginning, hope you like the rest, and sorry to disappoint, but its time for me to move on.
Rogue14: No, you update! I wanna read more of your stories too! Update ASAP!!!
Epona04: Coming as soon as possible, given my time constraints. I promise, working on it day and night (What I dream I generally write, you see).
Comet-hime: Ice, dear Comet-hime. Ice down their backs while they were sunning themselves. Either that or peeking on them while they changed. You know Bobby. And actually your picture from way back, with the girls in swimsuits? Inspired my choice of opening scene.