Love, or Something Like It
Disclaimer: "Saw it, wanted it, had a fit, got it...and then got arrested. Meh, go figure. Stupid Marvel company, not wanting to share."
A/N: And now my first favorite of the chapters. Wanna know why? XD 'Cause it's got fighting! And more romance! And drama!
I actually liked what I did with Alexis' last chapter. She's all...ass- kickity. At least, I think she is. It was weird, 'cause she was starting to be someone I loved to hate, even though she was my own OC. Eh, go figure.
Sorry for taking so long with this chapter y'all. I had...problems. XP
Anyway, shout-out time!
Sparkie- Yayness! She isn't becoming a Mary-Sue! And another yayness, because Sparkie isn't running from her, yelling, "Plague! Kill it, kill it, kill it!"
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Chapter Five: Sunday, February 6th, Evening
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"OK Alexis, just show us what you can do! No pressure right now, got it?"
A loud whirring noise came from behind the nervous teenage girl, and she narrowly missed a buzz-saw by seconds as she fell to the ground. "Uh, Scott!" she yelled, running from another saw. "I've never exactly fought...machines before! Inanimate objects just aren't my thing!" She tried to jump over a laser beam, but it quickly disappeared as the noise from the room died down. "OK, try this simulation then!"
Alexis tugged at the collar of her new X-Men uniform, her nerves starting to get the better of her. She wasn't a fighter; sure, she knew how to defend herself and how to bring down someone easily. But that was all street fighting, stuff she'd been brought up doing. She didn't know all this "defensive and offensive behavior" or all those tactics Scott had been gibbering about at dinner. Her powers weren't even useful in battle! Unless you counted that one time when she first discovered she had them...but that was more of an accident really.
She pulled herself into a "ready" position, fists raised, feet planted steady. The room around her took on a holographic appearance for a minute, before she found herself in what seemed like an abandoned warehouse. A computerized voice called out, "Simulation XMVSBH7 ready. Commence now."
From behind her body, she heard a low rumble. Whipping around, Alexis saw what looked like one of the boys from the mall. He was smirking at her from atop a pile of crates, wearing what looked like another type of uniform, and a Tupperware bowl on his head. He tossed a hand out in front of himself, fingers outstretched, and the room began to shake violently as a crack opened up in the ground and started moving towards Alexis.
Alexis gasped as she dropped to the ground and rolled away from the crack. She frantically began to look around the room. Come on, come on, she thought, her eyes locking on a long piece of pipe. Not the best, but it'll have to do. She crawled over to the pipe, before shooting up to her feet and grabbing it. She tested it on the ground, making a good dent in the concrete, before taking a deep breath and running towards her attacker. When she was within range, she cried out, raised the pipe above her head, and swung it back down.
It would've pleased her to hear the sickening "crack" of metal-on-skull, but just as the pipe was going to fall across the boy's forehead, a long, green, slimy looking thing wrapped around it and jerked it out of her grasp. Alexis fell to the ground at the boy's feet, skinning her palms and chin. She looked upwards and grinned sheepishly at the rock-boy, who curled his upper lip in response.
The sound of wind was heard behind Alexis, and she turned her head ever-so- slowly, coming face-to-face with another of the boys from the mall, the white-haired one that had been with Tabitha at first. He was smirking, and casually put his foot down on her back, pushing with a lot of pressure for being so thin.
Around her, Alexis noticed the rest of the boys from the mall gathering around her, almost like they were circling, each smirking at the easy defeat. They started to laugh as Alexis scrambled around, trying to stand and fight. The groups laughter echoed around her, and Alexis squeezed her eyes closed, fighting back tears. This isn't happening, she thought, covering her ears. No way is this happening. Come on Alexis, pull yourself together! She forced her eyes open, determination plain to see. You know you can do this. Don't let it end like every other time. You can fight, and you. Can. WIN.
Above the scene, in the control room, Logan grunted roughly. "Stop the simulation," he said to Scott, preparing to go down to the room floor. Scott shook his head. "She's barely been in there. We have to test her!"
"Look at her!" Logan tossed a clawed hand and the girl lying on the floor of the room, hands clasped over her ears, eyes wide. He could smell her fear, as well as slight determination. "She's had enough! Now, end the simulation!"
"Wait! Look!" Jean pointed down at the simulation excitedly. Everyone's eyes followed her finger down to Alexis.
The girl had managed to calm herself, and, in one swift movement, dug her nails into Pietro's leg, the one on her back. The simulation-Pietro yelped in pain, jumping up to hold his leg; an unwise decision, as Alexis then bolted up onto one knee, leaving her other leg extended behind her. She turned quickly, her extended leg moving along the ground and shoving into Pietro's remaining leg, bringing him down.
Standing up, Alexis quickly picked her next victim, the rock-tumbler that had first attacked her. He was standing with his back to her, and Alexis knew from experience that that was the worst position to be in when you were attacked. Bracing herself, she ran forward and slammed her shoulder into the boy's back, causing him to cry out in surprise. He tried to turn and grab Alexis, but she had already moved up onto a crate behind him. She had crouched down, like a cat, before flipping off the crate, pulling it as she did. The crate flew behind her and into the boy, bringing him down with a crash as Alexis smirked and dusted off her hands.
The toadish boy, seeing that two of his teammates were down, hopped towards Alexis, unleashing the long, slimy thing again, which happened to be his tongue. Looking for something to put herself between the boy's disgusting tongue, Alexis picked up another piece of metal piping and held it in front of her face. The boy's tongue wrapped around it, somehow ending up in a knot. Alexis' smirk widened, before she started pulling the boy closer to her by using his tongue, all the while squinting in disgust from touching it.
When she had the toad thing face to face with herself, Alexis dug her sharp nails into his tongue like how she had done with Pietro's leg. Yelping, the boy pulled away, unwrapping his tongue from the pipe. Alexis simply raised an eyebrow at the howling boy, before raising her pipe and bringing it down on his head. With a single, light blow, he was out cold.
The only boy that remained now was the blob guy, someone Alexis wasn't in the mood to deal with. The whole time he'd been watching her take out the rest of the team with a slightly dazed look. He was still staring at the unconscious Toad, and Alexis rolled her eyes, before running behind him and hitting him over the head with the pipe like how she'd just done with her last victim. Shaking the ground as he fell, the boy toppled down, the last one to be taken out.
Alexis smiled, before falling to her knees, shaking. She only then realized that adrenaline was coursing through her blood, and as she let the pipe roll away from her body, she sighed deeply. For the second time that day she felt physically wasted, and barely heard "Simulation Aborted" come from somewhere above her as the simulation faded from sight. She did notice however, when two people reached under her arms and picked her up, setting her back onto her feet unsteadily. Shaking her head to clear it, Alexis noticed Scott and Kurt were holding her up, as Kitty bounced around her, cheering. Rogue stood before her, arms folded over her chest, a look of satisfaction on her face. Jean's voice came over the intercom in the room, blaring, "Good job Alexis! Are you ready for the next simulation?"
"Next simulation?!" Alexis cried, pulling herself out of Scott and Kurt's grip, still wobbling slightly. "You mean I have another of those damn things to do?"
"Well," Scott started, laying a hand on her shoulder. "We've seen how you fight physically, but now we need to see how you fight with your powers. Standard procedure really." He smiled, but it was quickly wiped off his face as Alexis pulled her shoulder out of his grip. "I don't do fighting with my powers, thank you very much," she snarled, eyes narrowing. "But, we have to gauge how far you are with them!" Scott protested, switching into his "leader mode".
Alexis shook her head violently, causing herself to stumble. Kurt lashed out and caught her from falling, and had to keep a strong hold on her as she leaned towards Scott. "I don't care if you have to gauge them, I ain't doing it. So deal!"
"Alexis! You will do as instructed," Jean shouted over the intercom, turning to Logan, who had been overseeing the lesson. "Shouldn't you be giving her the teacher-to-student talk?" she asked desperately, and Logan chuckled. "I'm not butting in this time Red. Scooter can handle it He's a big boy, and she's just a lil' thing." He smirked, and Jean rolled her eyes, turning back to the window of the control box.
Scott huffed out his chest. "You will do as I tell you, you will respect me and your fellow team members, and you will finish your training sequence for tonight," he told her forcefully, and was surprised when a finger was raised into his face.
Alexis broke free of Kurt's hold gently, her right index finger still pointed in between Scott's eyes. "You listen and you listen good, buddy. I ain't someone you can just order around. I ain't gonna respect you or anyone else if you don't respect me. And I ain't gonna finish this training thing. You have no right to force me to do any of this, seeing that you have no clue how to take me, and no clue as to who I am. Screw you, and screw this!" Her hand fell down to her side, and she stalked out of the room, pausing at the doorway to punch the metal frame, eyes still blazing with fury.
Scott was speechless, as was Jean, Kitty, and Kurt. No one, except maybe Rogue, had ever told Scott off. Even at that, Rogue hadn't dared to tell him something like that. They all looked at each other, Jean shooting an "I- told-you-so" look at Logan, who merely shrugged, just as surprised as the rest of them. Well, he thought, someone's finally managed to knock Scooter off his throne. Wonder what else the little smart-ass has in store for everyone.
The silence of the room was shattered as the large group of new recruits came stumbling in, chattering and laughing. "Hey, Scott!" called one of the boys, the brunette named Bobby. "Where's that new girl we're training with?"
"Oh, Rahne and I saw her in the changing room," a dark haired and complected girl said, pointing behind her. "She said that she was feeling sick and was going to rest. Strange thing though, she didn't look ill." The girl frowned, puzzled, while one of the other boys laughed. He rested a hand on her shoulder, shrugging orange and blonde locks out of his eyes. "Don't worry about her Amara. Let's just get this training session over with, eh?"
"Yeah 'Mara," said another dark haired girl, setting off a few fireworks from her hands. "Let's have some fun!" The rest of the group cheered, while Scott and the other senior members groaned. "OK team," Scott started, sighing. "Let's start tonight's session..."
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Alexis fell onto her bed face first, before grabbing a pillow and screaming into it. When she was out of breath, she rolled over, onto her back, and stared at her ceiling, brow furrowed. Why did her temper have to keep flaring up? And what was with everyone asking her about her powers? She folded her arms beneath her head, sighing. Maybe I should just tell them... she thought. They can't get all that mad, can they? I mean, it was an accident after all.
Rolling onto her side and pulling her pillow close to her body again, Alexis shook her head. Who are you kidding Valentine? They'd kill you and make it look like an accident. Wouldn't you do that if you found out that you had a love trance on you that had to wear off on it's own?
A knock on the door brought Alexis out of her thoughts long enough for her to pull off a boot, chuck it at the door, and cry, "Go away!" at whoever was there. The person knocked again, this time more forcefully, and Alexis sat up, groaning. "Just go away!" she whined, standing up and moving to the door. "Open up runt!" came a snarl from behind the plank of wood, and Alexis came face-to-face with a rather-pissed-off looking Logan as she pulled the door open. Rogue was standing beside him, her arms crossed over her chest and an eyebrow raised.
"What?" Alexis sighed, stumbling at bit as she was off-balance. Her hands found their way to her hips, and anger and annoyance wove themselves into her features. "I'm not goin' back in there. No way, no how." She stood her ground, but it was hard for the short, skinny girl who was missing a boot to look menacing. Rogue couldn't help herself and began to snort with laughter, and even Logan chuckled a bit. "Cut the act kid, it ain't workin'. Now, c'mon. You still got yer trainin' to finish." He turned in the direction of the Danger Room, leaving Alexis and a laughing Rogue behind.
Alexis grumbled as she picked up her stray boot and slipped it back on, leaning on Rogue for support, before the pair made their way to the Danger Room, walking about ten or so feet behind Logan.
"So..." Rogue drawled, casting Alexis a curious glare out of the corner of her eye. "So what?"
"Where'd ya learn ta fight like that?"
"Uh, y'know...around." Alexis shrugged her shoulders slightly. "A girl's gotta know how to take care of herself."
"But ya had ta have had some kinda experience ta pull those moves off..."
"Well, let's just say I'm no stranger to protecting myself."
"That looked like more than protection ta meh." Rogue raised an eyebrow again, and Alexis sighed impatiently. "Fine, if you're gonna stick your nose into my business. I grew up around rough crowds, even before my parents had to give me up. A little kid's always getting picked on, and I ran around on my own rules and terms. You don't earn street credentials by just having a screwed past; everyone has one. So I learned how to stand up for myself, how to defend my pride and my body. Happy?"
Rogue smirked as they entered the Danger Room. "Not quite Lex. It's one thang ta have credentials out there; ya need 'em here ta make 'em count. So pull it together, before ya really mess thangs up." She patted Alexis on the shoulder, before heading up to the control room. Alexis stared after her, mouth slightly open, before a loud holler of annoyance caught her attention. Turning back to the room, she dropped her head into her hands and muttered "Why me?"
The rest of the newer additions to the school were messing around a bit, causing mayhem with what they could. At the moment, the boy named Bobby AKA "Ice Man", had iced a path along the room and was racing the other boys on it. Though he'd made the track, he was almost dead-last, just managing to be in front of the boy named Ray; both were far behind the pair battling for the position of first, Sam and Roberto.
Along the track were the other girls, Rahne, Jubilee, and Amara, all cheering their favorite boy, excluding Ray, who Alexis pitied slightly. But he was being cheered for by the youngest member of the newbies, the kid named Jamie, AKA "Multiple". Him and a few of his clones were cheering for Ray, who seemed slightly pleased at having the most cheers, even if he did ruthlessly pick on little Jamie at times.
Alexis was about to join the group, when she heard Logan bark over the intercom. "OK runts, training time! Today's session is simple: be the first team to get through the maze and rescue your kidnapped teammate before the other. Teams are as follows: Magma, Cannonball, Jubilee, and Sunspot are Team A; Wolfsbane, Ice Man, Berserker, and Alexis are Team B. Multiple, you are the target they are trying to rescue. Y'all got yer orders, so let the mission begin!"
The room turned into a sort of maze at those words, using the same sort of holographic projection as before with Alexis' previous session. The walls were high, at least twelve feet, and as one separated the teams, a loud buzzer sounded signaling the start of the session. Alexis got ready in a running position, but turned back as she saw no movement from the others on her team. "Well, what are you waiting for?" she shouted, tossing up her hands. Bobby rubbed the back of his neck and Ray cast a look at Rahne, who shot it back. "Well, normally we have a leader to tell us what to do. Usually it's Cyclops. This is one of the first sessions we've done without any of the senior X-Men."
Alexis gave another impatient sigh, before pulling the others down into a huddle. "OK, this is what we do first. Bobby, ice up and make a slide to see if you can see over the walls and where we have to go. Rahne, try to sniff out a trail. Ray, charge the walls."
"Charge the walls? What'll that do?"
Alexis rolled her eyes. "If any members of the other team are touching them, they'll get shocked, giving us a bit more time to work. Now, get to it!" She clapped her hands together, almost as if she was in a football game, and the others gave her a strange set of looks before they all moved into her instructions. Ray held onto the nearest wall and gave it a small shock of electricity, almost laughing as he heard a loud, "Ow!" from the wall to his left and just slightly in front of him.
Rahne also bit back a laugh as she morphed into her wolf form and started to sniff the ground. There were faint trances of Jamie, but not enough to track. Morphing back, she watched as Bobby iced up and made a path up and over one of the walls, Alexis kneeling by his side. She stood up, used a hand to shade her eyes from the glare of the room's lights, and began to look for a path. "Rahne!" she called down to her teammate, who met her eyes with concern. "Go ahead with Ray! Take a left, then a right, then run straight ahead for about twenty yards. Bobby and I'll meet you there!" Wolfsbane nodded, before she ran off, following Alexis' directions, Berserker on her heels.
"Why'd you send them ahead?" Bobby asked, turning to look her in the eye. Alexis gulped, before pointing dramatically over his shoulder. "Because we have to deal with that." Bobby looked slightly confused, before he turned his head, eyes widening at what Alexis was pointing at. "Ohhhh noooo! Hold on!" he shouted, reaching out to grab Alexis' hand, before jumping off the ice slide, pulling her with him. Against her better judgment, Alexis began screaming, stopping abruptly as Bobby made another ice slide, this time following the directions that Alexis had given Wolfsbane and Berserker.
"What is that thing?" Bobby asked, trying to dodge the lasers coming from the spiky, mace-like object floating behind them. "Hell if I know!" Alexis called back, crouching behind the shield Bobby had conveniently created to protect them. "Hurry!" she shouted as the shield was struck, ice shattering around them like glass. "I'm trying!" he replied, speeding up.
"There's Wolfsbane and Berserker!" Alexis cried, pointing ahead at the two, bored looking figures. "Ray!" The boy looked up, eyes widening at the sight of the pairs' pursuer. "Kill it kill it, kill it!"
It only took one "kill it" for Ray to jump into action. With a few well- aimed electric shocks, he managed to disable the machine, it falling out of the air and onto the ice slide, crushing it. Alexis and Bobby were thrown to the ground, but scrambled to their feet quickly, Bobby holding his right arm gingerly. "Go on ahead," he panted, struggling to stand. "You need to hurry."
"Oh no, you're not getting out of this that easily," Alexis said, shaking her head and heaving Bobby the rest of the way to his feet. She bit into the sleeve of her uniform, tearing off a long strip and tying it into a make-shift sling for Bobby's arm. "Now, come on!" She started to run again, when a loud "whir" sound echoed around the room, the maze disappearing. "Congratulations Team A. You made it through the maze, defeated your attacker, and rescued your teammate in record time!"
Alexis screamed in annoyance, dropping Bobby as she threw up her hands in frustration. Rahne and Ray also looked sulky as they walked over to the other recruits who were cheering for their victory. Bobby managed to stand again, before shooting Alexis a sad glance and muttering, "We'll get 'em next time Lex," and patting the girl on the back. She nodded warily, before joining the celebration committee.
Around her, the teams had short of branched of into awkward pairs, boys with girls, each giving their congrats or accepting it. Alexis smiled, before shaking her head. It seems like that trance did at least one thing right, she thought as she observed Jubilee fussing over Bobby's shoulder, Amara and Roberto hugging each other and still cheering, and Sam blushing and scuffing the toes of his boots as Rahne muttered her own embarrassed words of praise. I think I managed to hit the right people with that group.
After calling out her own praise and receiving thank you's from the winning team, Alexis yawned and started for the doorway of the changing room. It was going to be a stressful morning, what with another training session with Logan at dawn, and her first day back at high school in a month later on. The roughed-up teen was going to need as much sleep as she could get.
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A/N: And it's done! Again, sorry for taking such a long time to update. I was starting to fall out of the story groove. But, it's here! Please, drop your comments, I'd love to hear your opinions! Oh, and next time on "Love, or Something Like It":
Alexis cocked her head to the side, long hair falling over her shoulder. "Can I hurt you?" she asked the boy standing in front of her, who laughed heartily. "I dunno 'bout that sweet thing; I'm pretty sure you can-"
His reply was cut short as Alexis' temper got the better of her, and she kicked the boy swiftly where it hurt the most. As he doubled over in pain, Alexis smiled. "You were right. I can hurt you."
-Rose
Disclaimer: "Saw it, wanted it, had a fit, got it...and then got arrested. Meh, go figure. Stupid Marvel company, not wanting to share."
A/N: And now my first favorite of the chapters. Wanna know why? XD 'Cause it's got fighting! And more romance! And drama!
I actually liked what I did with Alexis' last chapter. She's all...ass- kickity. At least, I think she is. It was weird, 'cause she was starting to be someone I loved to hate, even though she was my own OC. Eh, go figure.
Sorry for taking so long with this chapter y'all. I had...problems. XP
Anyway, shout-out time!
Sparkie- Yayness! She isn't becoming a Mary-Sue! And another yayness, because Sparkie isn't running from her, yelling, "Plague! Kill it, kill it, kill it!"
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Chapter Five: Sunday, February 6th, Evening
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"OK Alexis, just show us what you can do! No pressure right now, got it?"
A loud whirring noise came from behind the nervous teenage girl, and she narrowly missed a buzz-saw by seconds as she fell to the ground. "Uh, Scott!" she yelled, running from another saw. "I've never exactly fought...machines before! Inanimate objects just aren't my thing!" She tried to jump over a laser beam, but it quickly disappeared as the noise from the room died down. "OK, try this simulation then!"
Alexis tugged at the collar of her new X-Men uniform, her nerves starting to get the better of her. She wasn't a fighter; sure, she knew how to defend herself and how to bring down someone easily. But that was all street fighting, stuff she'd been brought up doing. She didn't know all this "defensive and offensive behavior" or all those tactics Scott had been gibbering about at dinner. Her powers weren't even useful in battle! Unless you counted that one time when she first discovered she had them...but that was more of an accident really.
She pulled herself into a "ready" position, fists raised, feet planted steady. The room around her took on a holographic appearance for a minute, before she found herself in what seemed like an abandoned warehouse. A computerized voice called out, "Simulation XMVSBH7 ready. Commence now."
From behind her body, she heard a low rumble. Whipping around, Alexis saw what looked like one of the boys from the mall. He was smirking at her from atop a pile of crates, wearing what looked like another type of uniform, and a Tupperware bowl on his head. He tossed a hand out in front of himself, fingers outstretched, and the room began to shake violently as a crack opened up in the ground and started moving towards Alexis.
Alexis gasped as she dropped to the ground and rolled away from the crack. She frantically began to look around the room. Come on, come on, she thought, her eyes locking on a long piece of pipe. Not the best, but it'll have to do. She crawled over to the pipe, before shooting up to her feet and grabbing it. She tested it on the ground, making a good dent in the concrete, before taking a deep breath and running towards her attacker. When she was within range, she cried out, raised the pipe above her head, and swung it back down.
It would've pleased her to hear the sickening "crack" of metal-on-skull, but just as the pipe was going to fall across the boy's forehead, a long, green, slimy looking thing wrapped around it and jerked it out of her grasp. Alexis fell to the ground at the boy's feet, skinning her palms and chin. She looked upwards and grinned sheepishly at the rock-boy, who curled his upper lip in response.
The sound of wind was heard behind Alexis, and she turned her head ever-so- slowly, coming face-to-face with another of the boys from the mall, the white-haired one that had been with Tabitha at first. He was smirking, and casually put his foot down on her back, pushing with a lot of pressure for being so thin.
Around her, Alexis noticed the rest of the boys from the mall gathering around her, almost like they were circling, each smirking at the easy defeat. They started to laugh as Alexis scrambled around, trying to stand and fight. The groups laughter echoed around her, and Alexis squeezed her eyes closed, fighting back tears. This isn't happening, she thought, covering her ears. No way is this happening. Come on Alexis, pull yourself together! She forced her eyes open, determination plain to see. You know you can do this. Don't let it end like every other time. You can fight, and you. Can. WIN.
Above the scene, in the control room, Logan grunted roughly. "Stop the simulation," he said to Scott, preparing to go down to the room floor. Scott shook his head. "She's barely been in there. We have to test her!"
"Look at her!" Logan tossed a clawed hand and the girl lying on the floor of the room, hands clasped over her ears, eyes wide. He could smell her fear, as well as slight determination. "She's had enough! Now, end the simulation!"
"Wait! Look!" Jean pointed down at the simulation excitedly. Everyone's eyes followed her finger down to Alexis.
The girl had managed to calm herself, and, in one swift movement, dug her nails into Pietro's leg, the one on her back. The simulation-Pietro yelped in pain, jumping up to hold his leg; an unwise decision, as Alexis then bolted up onto one knee, leaving her other leg extended behind her. She turned quickly, her extended leg moving along the ground and shoving into Pietro's remaining leg, bringing him down.
Standing up, Alexis quickly picked her next victim, the rock-tumbler that had first attacked her. He was standing with his back to her, and Alexis knew from experience that that was the worst position to be in when you were attacked. Bracing herself, she ran forward and slammed her shoulder into the boy's back, causing him to cry out in surprise. He tried to turn and grab Alexis, but she had already moved up onto a crate behind him. She had crouched down, like a cat, before flipping off the crate, pulling it as she did. The crate flew behind her and into the boy, bringing him down with a crash as Alexis smirked and dusted off her hands.
The toadish boy, seeing that two of his teammates were down, hopped towards Alexis, unleashing the long, slimy thing again, which happened to be his tongue. Looking for something to put herself between the boy's disgusting tongue, Alexis picked up another piece of metal piping and held it in front of her face. The boy's tongue wrapped around it, somehow ending up in a knot. Alexis' smirk widened, before she started pulling the boy closer to her by using his tongue, all the while squinting in disgust from touching it.
When she had the toad thing face to face with herself, Alexis dug her sharp nails into his tongue like how she had done with Pietro's leg. Yelping, the boy pulled away, unwrapping his tongue from the pipe. Alexis simply raised an eyebrow at the howling boy, before raising her pipe and bringing it down on his head. With a single, light blow, he was out cold.
The only boy that remained now was the blob guy, someone Alexis wasn't in the mood to deal with. The whole time he'd been watching her take out the rest of the team with a slightly dazed look. He was still staring at the unconscious Toad, and Alexis rolled her eyes, before running behind him and hitting him over the head with the pipe like how she'd just done with her last victim. Shaking the ground as he fell, the boy toppled down, the last one to be taken out.
Alexis smiled, before falling to her knees, shaking. She only then realized that adrenaline was coursing through her blood, and as she let the pipe roll away from her body, she sighed deeply. For the second time that day she felt physically wasted, and barely heard "Simulation Aborted" come from somewhere above her as the simulation faded from sight. She did notice however, when two people reached under her arms and picked her up, setting her back onto her feet unsteadily. Shaking her head to clear it, Alexis noticed Scott and Kurt were holding her up, as Kitty bounced around her, cheering. Rogue stood before her, arms folded over her chest, a look of satisfaction on her face. Jean's voice came over the intercom in the room, blaring, "Good job Alexis! Are you ready for the next simulation?"
"Next simulation?!" Alexis cried, pulling herself out of Scott and Kurt's grip, still wobbling slightly. "You mean I have another of those damn things to do?"
"Well," Scott started, laying a hand on her shoulder. "We've seen how you fight physically, but now we need to see how you fight with your powers. Standard procedure really." He smiled, but it was quickly wiped off his face as Alexis pulled her shoulder out of his grip. "I don't do fighting with my powers, thank you very much," she snarled, eyes narrowing. "But, we have to gauge how far you are with them!" Scott protested, switching into his "leader mode".
Alexis shook her head violently, causing herself to stumble. Kurt lashed out and caught her from falling, and had to keep a strong hold on her as she leaned towards Scott. "I don't care if you have to gauge them, I ain't doing it. So deal!"
"Alexis! You will do as instructed," Jean shouted over the intercom, turning to Logan, who had been overseeing the lesson. "Shouldn't you be giving her the teacher-to-student talk?" she asked desperately, and Logan chuckled. "I'm not butting in this time Red. Scooter can handle it He's a big boy, and she's just a lil' thing." He smirked, and Jean rolled her eyes, turning back to the window of the control box.
Scott huffed out his chest. "You will do as I tell you, you will respect me and your fellow team members, and you will finish your training sequence for tonight," he told her forcefully, and was surprised when a finger was raised into his face.
Alexis broke free of Kurt's hold gently, her right index finger still pointed in between Scott's eyes. "You listen and you listen good, buddy. I ain't someone you can just order around. I ain't gonna respect you or anyone else if you don't respect me. And I ain't gonna finish this training thing. You have no right to force me to do any of this, seeing that you have no clue how to take me, and no clue as to who I am. Screw you, and screw this!" Her hand fell down to her side, and she stalked out of the room, pausing at the doorway to punch the metal frame, eyes still blazing with fury.
Scott was speechless, as was Jean, Kitty, and Kurt. No one, except maybe Rogue, had ever told Scott off. Even at that, Rogue hadn't dared to tell him something like that. They all looked at each other, Jean shooting an "I- told-you-so" look at Logan, who merely shrugged, just as surprised as the rest of them. Well, he thought, someone's finally managed to knock Scooter off his throne. Wonder what else the little smart-ass has in store for everyone.
The silence of the room was shattered as the large group of new recruits came stumbling in, chattering and laughing. "Hey, Scott!" called one of the boys, the brunette named Bobby. "Where's that new girl we're training with?"
"Oh, Rahne and I saw her in the changing room," a dark haired and complected girl said, pointing behind her. "She said that she was feeling sick and was going to rest. Strange thing though, she didn't look ill." The girl frowned, puzzled, while one of the other boys laughed. He rested a hand on her shoulder, shrugging orange and blonde locks out of his eyes. "Don't worry about her Amara. Let's just get this training session over with, eh?"
"Yeah 'Mara," said another dark haired girl, setting off a few fireworks from her hands. "Let's have some fun!" The rest of the group cheered, while Scott and the other senior members groaned. "OK team," Scott started, sighing. "Let's start tonight's session..."
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Alexis fell onto her bed face first, before grabbing a pillow and screaming into it. When she was out of breath, she rolled over, onto her back, and stared at her ceiling, brow furrowed. Why did her temper have to keep flaring up? And what was with everyone asking her about her powers? She folded her arms beneath her head, sighing. Maybe I should just tell them... she thought. They can't get all that mad, can they? I mean, it was an accident after all.
Rolling onto her side and pulling her pillow close to her body again, Alexis shook her head. Who are you kidding Valentine? They'd kill you and make it look like an accident. Wouldn't you do that if you found out that you had a love trance on you that had to wear off on it's own?
A knock on the door brought Alexis out of her thoughts long enough for her to pull off a boot, chuck it at the door, and cry, "Go away!" at whoever was there. The person knocked again, this time more forcefully, and Alexis sat up, groaning. "Just go away!" she whined, standing up and moving to the door. "Open up runt!" came a snarl from behind the plank of wood, and Alexis came face-to-face with a rather-pissed-off looking Logan as she pulled the door open. Rogue was standing beside him, her arms crossed over her chest and an eyebrow raised.
"What?" Alexis sighed, stumbling at bit as she was off-balance. Her hands found their way to her hips, and anger and annoyance wove themselves into her features. "I'm not goin' back in there. No way, no how." She stood her ground, but it was hard for the short, skinny girl who was missing a boot to look menacing. Rogue couldn't help herself and began to snort with laughter, and even Logan chuckled a bit. "Cut the act kid, it ain't workin'. Now, c'mon. You still got yer trainin' to finish." He turned in the direction of the Danger Room, leaving Alexis and a laughing Rogue behind.
Alexis grumbled as she picked up her stray boot and slipped it back on, leaning on Rogue for support, before the pair made their way to the Danger Room, walking about ten or so feet behind Logan.
"So..." Rogue drawled, casting Alexis a curious glare out of the corner of her eye. "So what?"
"Where'd ya learn ta fight like that?"
"Uh, y'know...around." Alexis shrugged her shoulders slightly. "A girl's gotta know how to take care of herself."
"But ya had ta have had some kinda experience ta pull those moves off..."
"Well, let's just say I'm no stranger to protecting myself."
"That looked like more than protection ta meh." Rogue raised an eyebrow again, and Alexis sighed impatiently. "Fine, if you're gonna stick your nose into my business. I grew up around rough crowds, even before my parents had to give me up. A little kid's always getting picked on, and I ran around on my own rules and terms. You don't earn street credentials by just having a screwed past; everyone has one. So I learned how to stand up for myself, how to defend my pride and my body. Happy?"
Rogue smirked as they entered the Danger Room. "Not quite Lex. It's one thang ta have credentials out there; ya need 'em here ta make 'em count. So pull it together, before ya really mess thangs up." She patted Alexis on the shoulder, before heading up to the control room. Alexis stared after her, mouth slightly open, before a loud holler of annoyance caught her attention. Turning back to the room, she dropped her head into her hands and muttered "Why me?"
The rest of the newer additions to the school were messing around a bit, causing mayhem with what they could. At the moment, the boy named Bobby AKA "Ice Man", had iced a path along the room and was racing the other boys on it. Though he'd made the track, he was almost dead-last, just managing to be in front of the boy named Ray; both were far behind the pair battling for the position of first, Sam and Roberto.
Along the track were the other girls, Rahne, Jubilee, and Amara, all cheering their favorite boy, excluding Ray, who Alexis pitied slightly. But he was being cheered for by the youngest member of the newbies, the kid named Jamie, AKA "Multiple". Him and a few of his clones were cheering for Ray, who seemed slightly pleased at having the most cheers, even if he did ruthlessly pick on little Jamie at times.
Alexis was about to join the group, when she heard Logan bark over the intercom. "OK runts, training time! Today's session is simple: be the first team to get through the maze and rescue your kidnapped teammate before the other. Teams are as follows: Magma, Cannonball, Jubilee, and Sunspot are Team A; Wolfsbane, Ice Man, Berserker, and Alexis are Team B. Multiple, you are the target they are trying to rescue. Y'all got yer orders, so let the mission begin!"
The room turned into a sort of maze at those words, using the same sort of holographic projection as before with Alexis' previous session. The walls were high, at least twelve feet, and as one separated the teams, a loud buzzer sounded signaling the start of the session. Alexis got ready in a running position, but turned back as she saw no movement from the others on her team. "Well, what are you waiting for?" she shouted, tossing up her hands. Bobby rubbed the back of his neck and Ray cast a look at Rahne, who shot it back. "Well, normally we have a leader to tell us what to do. Usually it's Cyclops. This is one of the first sessions we've done without any of the senior X-Men."
Alexis gave another impatient sigh, before pulling the others down into a huddle. "OK, this is what we do first. Bobby, ice up and make a slide to see if you can see over the walls and where we have to go. Rahne, try to sniff out a trail. Ray, charge the walls."
"Charge the walls? What'll that do?"
Alexis rolled her eyes. "If any members of the other team are touching them, they'll get shocked, giving us a bit more time to work. Now, get to it!" She clapped her hands together, almost as if she was in a football game, and the others gave her a strange set of looks before they all moved into her instructions. Ray held onto the nearest wall and gave it a small shock of electricity, almost laughing as he heard a loud, "Ow!" from the wall to his left and just slightly in front of him.
Rahne also bit back a laugh as she morphed into her wolf form and started to sniff the ground. There were faint trances of Jamie, but not enough to track. Morphing back, she watched as Bobby iced up and made a path up and over one of the walls, Alexis kneeling by his side. She stood up, used a hand to shade her eyes from the glare of the room's lights, and began to look for a path. "Rahne!" she called down to her teammate, who met her eyes with concern. "Go ahead with Ray! Take a left, then a right, then run straight ahead for about twenty yards. Bobby and I'll meet you there!" Wolfsbane nodded, before she ran off, following Alexis' directions, Berserker on her heels.
"Why'd you send them ahead?" Bobby asked, turning to look her in the eye. Alexis gulped, before pointing dramatically over his shoulder. "Because we have to deal with that." Bobby looked slightly confused, before he turned his head, eyes widening at what Alexis was pointing at. "Ohhhh noooo! Hold on!" he shouted, reaching out to grab Alexis' hand, before jumping off the ice slide, pulling her with him. Against her better judgment, Alexis began screaming, stopping abruptly as Bobby made another ice slide, this time following the directions that Alexis had given Wolfsbane and Berserker.
"What is that thing?" Bobby asked, trying to dodge the lasers coming from the spiky, mace-like object floating behind them. "Hell if I know!" Alexis called back, crouching behind the shield Bobby had conveniently created to protect them. "Hurry!" she shouted as the shield was struck, ice shattering around them like glass. "I'm trying!" he replied, speeding up.
"There's Wolfsbane and Berserker!" Alexis cried, pointing ahead at the two, bored looking figures. "Ray!" The boy looked up, eyes widening at the sight of the pairs' pursuer. "Kill it kill it, kill it!"
It only took one "kill it" for Ray to jump into action. With a few well- aimed electric shocks, he managed to disable the machine, it falling out of the air and onto the ice slide, crushing it. Alexis and Bobby were thrown to the ground, but scrambled to their feet quickly, Bobby holding his right arm gingerly. "Go on ahead," he panted, struggling to stand. "You need to hurry."
"Oh no, you're not getting out of this that easily," Alexis said, shaking her head and heaving Bobby the rest of the way to his feet. She bit into the sleeve of her uniform, tearing off a long strip and tying it into a make-shift sling for Bobby's arm. "Now, come on!" She started to run again, when a loud "whir" sound echoed around the room, the maze disappearing. "Congratulations Team A. You made it through the maze, defeated your attacker, and rescued your teammate in record time!"
Alexis screamed in annoyance, dropping Bobby as she threw up her hands in frustration. Rahne and Ray also looked sulky as they walked over to the other recruits who were cheering for their victory. Bobby managed to stand again, before shooting Alexis a sad glance and muttering, "We'll get 'em next time Lex," and patting the girl on the back. She nodded warily, before joining the celebration committee.
Around her, the teams had short of branched of into awkward pairs, boys with girls, each giving their congrats or accepting it. Alexis smiled, before shaking her head. It seems like that trance did at least one thing right, she thought as she observed Jubilee fussing over Bobby's shoulder, Amara and Roberto hugging each other and still cheering, and Sam blushing and scuffing the toes of his boots as Rahne muttered her own embarrassed words of praise. I think I managed to hit the right people with that group.
After calling out her own praise and receiving thank you's from the winning team, Alexis yawned and started for the doorway of the changing room. It was going to be a stressful morning, what with another training session with Logan at dawn, and her first day back at high school in a month later on. The roughed-up teen was going to need as much sleep as she could get.
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A/N: And it's done! Again, sorry for taking such a long time to update. I was starting to fall out of the story groove. But, it's here! Please, drop your comments, I'd love to hear your opinions! Oh, and next time on "Love, or Something Like It":
Alexis cocked her head to the side, long hair falling over her shoulder. "Can I hurt you?" she asked the boy standing in front of her, who laughed heartily. "I dunno 'bout that sweet thing; I'm pretty sure you can-"
His reply was cut short as Alexis' temper got the better of her, and she kicked the boy swiftly where it hurt the most. As he doubled over in pain, Alexis smiled. "You were right. I can hurt you."
-Rose