"Ja. For a 12-year old, he's such a pimp."
- Kurt Wagner
Turn, Smile, Shift, Repeat
A/N: Well, apparently my eternal optimism has been for naught. I will say no more about the cancellation of Evo other than within this week, someone will be getting a flaming bag of dog crap on their front porch. ^____^ This'll probably get me writing Evo stuff more than ever now, so your heart may be at ease… or in pain… whatever. And what'd you know? I kept my promise, Asylin! NYAA!
Someone e-mailed me about 'Roberto/Rogue'-ness, and I assure everyone there won't be any of that. It's the same case as the 'Kurt/Amara' stuff. And – well, I'm kind of tired of that belief, that when two characters receive characterization together, they're in love! It doesn't always work that way. Just look at Frodo and Sam! Scooby and Shaggy! SPONGEBOB AND PATRICK!!! Wait, I saw a fic about that pairing recently around here. Scratch that last one.
I can't believe no one's figured out where the death scene comes from, yet! I know it's a little bit vague, but surely not THAT vague, right? Tsk, tsk, my little monkeys. Do none of you know your anime?
Grawr. I have to reload all of my stories to replace the dotdotDOTS thingies and stop making my fic look so newbish and stuff. But I don't keep my old chapters saved on my computer, so I'll have to replace the dotdotDOTS by myself. ...On the other hand, I'm far too lazy. BLAH.
~*~ Reviewer Responses ~*~
Calamari Rings – ARGH! I know, stupid A/Ns in the middle of a deep, serious soliloquy from a moody angst character… I ALWAYS do those, and there are ALWAYS people that go "Naughty, naughty, Poptart! That's the sign of a bad writer!" But, I swear, I really did cut back on those since I first started writing! Yes, yes, I know the chapter dragged on – if I hadn't split up the chapter into 2, it would've REALLY dragged on. Another BH fan?? WOOT!! I wub my Brotherhood. Yes, the Brotherhood is da best thing ever. They're the hottest thing since sliced cheese. You've found Lance!Angst fics around here??! Well, I certainly haven't. Ah, but you forgot an important factor that is around in ALL Rogue!Angst fics… DA PSYCHES TAKE OVER HER LIKE LITTLE RED ANTS AND MAKE HER KILL! KEEEELLL! Um, but first, they let her get kinky with Remy/Pietro/the first attractive character she sees. THEN THEY KEEEEELLL!!!
Caliente – Romeo and Juliet? Really? I need to go read the play again or something. Anyways…YAY! You came back! That makes me one happy evil poptart. Thanks for reviewing!
RahneMan – Hey! NO VOODOO MONKEY BUSINESS!!!
StarryEyedDragon – Yeah, and truth be told, voodoo dolls scare me very much, so it's a good thing you don't, right? (See above reviewer response…)
me – No, I didn't… there's a line between using someone's work as inspiration, and downright copying it. ^^ See, I don't like Roguey angst… that was why it was so hard for me to get that chapter out, so I tried to emphasize the Roberto angst… Thanks for the review!
Cheesy Monkey – Huh. That's funny; my friend gets these mad 'gorilla' eyes, as he calls it, sometimes.
Raskolian Phoenix – I can't guarantee you that there won't be any slash in this fic, because there might. Hope that doesn't turn you off from this fic… And there are SO many deaths in LotR, and the only one that I know that I'll remember forever and ever is the one with Gollum… I didn't just spoil it for anyone, did I?
Lisette793 – Well, typically, the people who don't like Joyride most are a) Pietro/Kitty shippers, b) Kurt/Kitty shippers, c) Piotr/Kitty shippers, and… umm, whoever else their preferred guy to be paired up with Kitty is. Personally, I like Kurt/Kitty, but that doesn't change the fact that there is a joyful amount of New Recruit screen time in here. Or that Lance can shake the world. I mean, come on! It's my two favorite groups shaped together – Lance of da BRUDDAHOOD, and the NMs! And how cute was it; how Bobby, Sam, and Jubilee were hanging out with Lance like they idolized him? And anyways, the Lance/Kitty in that episode is cute. Even I, as a Kurt/Kitty 'shipper, can admit that. Thanks for the review!
The RP – Hah! I've been crossing my fingers, toes, eyes, hair (they were in braids today! I am GENIUS!), arms, legs, and nose! Yes, my nose. I know; I'm THAT talented. Despite that…it's cancelled. Marf. Thanks for reviewing.
Risty – A lot of people have been saying that! Tell me if I'm wrong: doesn't Juliet kill herself with poison after believing Romeo is dead, and when Romeo wakes up to find Juliet dead and gone, he kills himself? Maybe I'm just being stupid (HAH! HA! HA! I've never heard a more far-fetched idea! …fools…), but I don't see how that's Romeo and Juliet. Blarg. I must go and find my book version of it. Thanks for the review!
Snitter in Rivendell – Rogue angst. Man, I remember back in the day, when I would be such a happy little poptart if I found just one well-written Rogue angst fic that wouldn't warp her accent so much that it would drive me crazy… nowadays, all you can see is "WAHHH!! AH'M SAW DEPRESSED!!! Hey look, uh cute, seengle swamp rat that wants meh! Naww; Ah'll just gaw ahead an' make mahself MO depressed bah not likin' heem. Oh – well, would yeh look at tha'! AH KIN TOUCH! Say, swamp rat, Ah bet yeh're uh meenks een bed!" I disturb myself with my cunning intelligence and accuracy.
Jurassic Punk – I have a soft spot for Ray/Tabitha stories, actually, so it's likely that this'll be one too. But none of the couples are cemented in yet, so there is hope yet for you Ray/Amara or Ray/Caliban fans! :3
Chaotic Boredom – Grim Reminders… is that the one with Wolverine? And Canada? Or something? Yeah, I don't watch the Wolverine-centered episodes – they kind of bore me. (I have yet to see the one with Captain America.) Band geek posse?! LET ME JOIN!!! I have a tuba! …that hasn't been touched for some years now….
Dark Jaded Rose – You can make absolutely any character an angst case. Except for X23. She's too darn happy, man – it's impossible to angst-ify her.
dstrbd child – Ray is the bomb diggity.
Ravyn Nyte – A HAT shaped duck?! DUDE! FRICKIN' AWESOME!
Rogue14 – Aww. Thankies!
Andivari – Myeh; I really hate details. I'll try to keep better track next time anyways.
Juliana Sandoval – If you didn't notice, I was trying to cut the last couple of review replies short so people could get to the story already, but you're a fan of JULIANA, so that's an exception. Juliana rocks. I love great minor characters that aren't paid attention to enough. I'll keep mentioning Juliana, as well as other background characters from the new recruits' respective pasts, but it won't be anything major, as it's kind of hard to write much stuff for a dead character, unless I cross into cheesy territory by bringing ghosts up. ^^ And Paige? Well, after I get the Season 2 and 3 storylines out of the way, we shall see…
animeluvr1 – Hey, I don't have any cool points. Any time people award me points, they're LAME points. =( Ah well, that's what I get for acting so… lame… all the time. Thanks for reviewing, as always. Y'all flatter me so. ^^
TheRogueWitch – Rain and Roberto is an amazingly wonderful combination, isn't it? Cat food.
Aren't I amazing? Those review responses were 4 pages of this entire chapter alone. -_-;
I've come to my senses,
That I've become senseless,
I could give you lessons on how to ruin your friendships,
Every last conviction, I smoked them all away,
I drank my frustrations down the drain, out of the way,
So I sit and wait and wonder,
"Does anyone else feel like me?"
Someone so tired of their routines and disappearing self-esteems
I could be an expert on
co-dependency,
I could write the best book on underage tragedy,
I've been spending my time at the local liquor store,
I've been sleeping nightly on my best friends kitchen floor,
So I sit and wait and wonder,
"Does anyone else feel like me?"
I'm so over-dosed on apathy and burnt out on sympathy
- Less Than Jake (Anthem) … "The Science of Selling Yourself Short"
Chapter 5: The Science of Selling Yourself Short
First days of school are prominently known as "sucktastic". Some people get a kick out of them, though. They look past the oncoming stress from homework, crabby teachers, horrible group partners for projects that are worth 40% of your grade, and pop quizzes, to look at the 'bright side of things'. They are well-known, and hated, as 'optimists.' Most people dislike them and their annoying, senseless blubber about how everything's going to be okay in the end. I will ask the reader to never mind and momentarily forget that the authoress herself is an optimist, for sake of storyline.
Not many can fill the shoes of being an optimist, though. People seem to forget how difficult it is to be eternally optimistic and try to cheer people up all the time. Of course, it is the optimist's fault for bearing that responsibility onto their shoulders in the first place, but then, that is a key trait in being an optimist – stupidity. At least your normal, garden variety pessimist knows when to shut up.
Jean Grey was a strange kind of optimist. She was realistic – very realistic, in fact; and level-headed enough to know that everything doesn't turn out okay in the end. But she wanted to cheer everyone up anyways. What would be the point of doing that, the reader may ask? Why would anyone want to try to be cheerful for other people's sake when they already knew it would be pointless to do so?
This is where one of Rogue's typical pessimist comments came in: She's fake.
What one calls 'fake' is what another calls 'noble'. Some may see Jean as a strong, unwavering force that is sacrificing a bit of her own soul to make other people's days brighter. Others simply call her a phony. It's all a matter of opinion. The bottom line - being Jean Grey was tougher than people made it seem.
Her day starts out bright and early. Hit the snooze button (7:00) once, and get up to take a shower. Pick out a nice outfit. Go downstairs and prepare a light, but nutritionally-filling breakfast. Get a ride from Scott. And from all that, another perfect day of being perfect and envied begins.
But we must keep in mind that not everyone is a Jean Grey. And the fact that this is a New Recruit-centered story, and not a Jean one. Elsewhere, mayhem rears its lovely head. [1]
-----
"School. I can't believe this. I hate school. School is evil." Jubilee groaned.
"Yeah, we've heard that before." Ray mumbled, fiddling with something in his pocket. Ever curious, Jubilee tried to sit up straighter in her seat to see, but Ray turned away to face his other side. Unfortunately, there sat Roberto, who stared outside at the rainy skies through the window. Ray frowned, and tried to stare straight ahead.
"Could you keep quiet back there? I'm trying to finish my homework." Evan said from in the passenger seat, scribbling some illegible numerical nonsense on his crumply piece of paper. Jean frowned at the sight, while at the driver's seat, Scott belatedly steered the car through the rain.
"Can't you go faster, dude?"
"Sorry, - um…"
"Jubilee."
"Sorry, Jubilee, but I'm responsible for everyone's safety, as the driver. If this car were to slip and spin to an untimely doom, it would be my fault and everyone's life." Scott explained calmly as he slowly turned the wheel to make a left.
"What Scott is trying to say is, he's scared of dying so he's driving like my grandma."
"Evan!"
"What?"
In the crowded van behind him, Ororo was at the wheel, while Jamie stared from across at her adoringly like she was the most interesting person in the world. Bobby was at the window's seat with the window rolled down, trying to show off for Amara, Tabitha, and Rahne by freezing the raindrops before they hit the ground. However, he wasn't getting much success. Rahne and Amara were glaring at each other, even going to the trouble of leaning forward in their seat to look across and over Sam and Tabitha. Also, Sam was uncomfortably close and squished against Tabitha, and he had an uneasy feeling that Tabitha knew this.
Ororo sensed the tension that was going on in the backseat from a strong aura that resonated from the teenagers. Also, she could look through the mirror. She cleared her throat.
"Would anyone like to listen to some music?" She asked pleasantly. Without waiting for an answer, she flicked the switch on. The van instantly lit up with the sounds of a symphony. Amara's face lit up as well.
"It's beautiful." She surmised. "I've never heard anything like it in Nova Roma."
Ororo smiled. "It's Moonlight Sonata, by Beethoven. Have you ever heard this?" Amara shook her head 'no'. Bobby sighed, louder than necessary.
"Yes, Bobby?"
"Would you mind changing the station? This really isn't my kind of music."
"Of course. What station do you usually listen to? I'm open to any and all suggestions."
Bobby abruptly leaped out of his seat ("GASP! You non-seat belt wearing monster!" said Jamie) and reached forward, stretching his arm forward and straining his fingers to reach the radio dial. A tiny, miniature icicle exploded from his finger and stabbed the dial. An outrageously loud volume of sound burst from the speakers, with an enticing beat and a magnetic voice that was digitalized with studio magic.
"I'M BLUE, DA BA DEE DA BE DA, DA BA DA DEE DA BE DA…"
"Turn it off! Turn it off!" Amara screamed. Sam clutched at his ears, trying to find his happy place where cowgirls in wet t-shirts ran amok alongside chimps that played banjos, while Tabitha instantly busted out some techno moves that she'd been wanting to show off for a while. Then, worst of all, Bobby began to sing along. [2]
Rahne rolled down the windows, and howled miserably like a lonely wolf during a full moon.
-----
"Yo, Duncan!"
Duncan Matthews was leaning against his car in front of the school in a leisure manner. He nodded at Duncan Clone A, whose name escapes all of us at the moment. Yes, all of us. Including you.
"Hey, man. So how was your summer?"
"Tahiti was awesome. Crazy chicks in bikinis everywhere, bars every night…"
Duncan chuckled. "Bet it was the life."
"Hell yes, it was. So how'd football camp go?"
Duncan grinned smugly and deftly flexed his fingers. "Coach says I'm sure to get a scholarship, once the scout comes and sees me."
"Wicked." They slapped five, and Duncan Clone A walked away into the school. Duncan returned his attention to the parking lot in front of him. Finally, he saw what he had been looking for –- a bright convertible with two white stripes streaked across it like a racy sports car. A tall punk-looking kid with an eclectic hairstyle jumped out of the car, looking very eager to get out and away from the occupants. A second later, the car door slammed shut when a sullen-faced, dark skinned boy climbed out of the car, looking extremely disgruntled. They were both unfamiliar, and Duncan found them rather unusual in appearance to be 'gifted', especially when sitting next to Scott Summers and Jean Grey. Evan Daniels came out next, jamming his head to his walkman, and Duncan shrugged, remembering all of the odd new students they had received last year. Finally, the girl Duncan had been waiting to see, came out of the car. Duncan waved at her. She waved back, smiling. Scott Summers exited the car last, and seeing the interaction between the two teenagers, immediately scowled. Duncan's grin widened.
"Hey Jean." The moment she had come close enough, an arm snaked around her waist and hugged her possessively. It was a little bit more than a friendly hug, but Jean didn't seem to mind nearly as much as Scott. Instead, she giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck in a welcoming response. Scott's face darkened, and he stalked off without a word. Jean looked surprised for a moment, releasing her hold.
"Bye, Scott!" She called out.
"Yeah, bye." Scott muttered. Duncan smirked, and turned Jean around so she would face him. "Guess which Bayville High soccer star got a broken leg over summer over in Spain for a soccer tournament?"
Jean gasped. "Not Maggie Chaste!"
Duncan laughed. "Geez, Jean; you're almost psychic sometimes. Yeah, it's Maggie. She'll be out for the rest of the season. Which means…"
"There's an opening in the varsity soccer team." Jean sounded slightly awed.
"And I know you've always wanted to play on it; even more than the basketball team." Duncan cleared his throat. "So, two out of three; guess who put in a good word for you with the coach for tryouts?"
Jean squealed like a maniac. "DUNCAN!" And, more or less, in fan girl terms, glomped him. [3]
-----
"Hey, Kurt! Wait up!"
The junior turned around and patiently waited for Bobby to catch up. Last night, ordered by Xavier, everyone had gathered around to compare schedules, and although Bobby was a year younger than Kurt, they had their first classes right next to each other: Public Speaking with Nuemez for Kurt, and World History with Dannigan for Bobby. Kurt, who had Dannigan last year, had told plenty of advice on how to stay on his good side, and the two quickly became buddies.
"Vhat took you so long?" Kurt asked.
"Jamie stalled. Said he didn't want to go to the junior high all by himself." Bobby said, panting. Kurt grinned. "And?"
"Rahne said she would be in 8th grade at the school, and Ororo said that Jubilee's in 8th grade too."
Kurt shook his head. "I don't know vhat's wrong vith him. I'd rather be doing show-and-tell all by myself than going to Public Speaking to make a speech in front of the entire class."
"Tell me about it." Bobby and Kurt began making their way across the hall through the crowds. "At least the idea of having Jubilee and Rahne with him made him feel better."
Kurt snickered. "Ja. For a 12-year old, he's such a pimp."
-----
Todd pouted and looked around; shifting his shoulders uncomfortably this way and that.
"Why are we even here, yo?" He grumbled sourly, vaguely shuffling his feet and narrowly avoiding tripping on his untied shoelaces. "Mystique ain't here to bother us as the principal from hell anymore."
The tall brown-haired boy that Todd was directing his question to mostly was only half-listening, lifting his head and scanning the crowds with an eager expression on his hard face that was poorly disguised. The silver-haired boy leaning against the wall watched his face with an almost amused look.
"Whatchya lookin' for, eh Lance?" Pietro said snidely with a smirk on his face. Lance's face burned momentarily, and he turned away to stare at the ground.
"Nothing." Lance muttered. "Let's just go home."
"Why? There isn't even anything to eat there." Fred complained. He looked the most uncomfortable there, trying to avoid getting hit by students. It wasn't really their fault; he was hard to evade, even when he was pressed up against the corner of the walls and sucking his sides in. Todd nodded.
"Yeah, man! We don't got nothing to eat! Without Mystique, there's no grub she can pay for us!" Todd's eyes were big and wide, and looking almost tearful. Pietro scoffed at him.
"What are you talking about? You have to be stuffed, with all of the flies you scarf down." He said, looking disgusted. Todd sniffed daintily.
"They're appetizers, yo. Not enough for a full day," and Todd patted his empty stomach sorrowfully. Pietro rolled his eyes as a 'whatever', and Lance had resumed searching the sea of high-schoolers, some lost, some straggling, on their first day back. Todd made a tiny whimper sound and began awkwardly and restlessly doing his little shuffle dance again, so Fred was the only one that was perceptive, oddly enough, to observe a certain crowd of mutants enter the school.
"Hey, guys, look! New kids!" Fred pointed at the tiny herd that had appeared. None of them really caught any of the boys' eyes. There was an oddly tough-looking kid with a hairstyle that looked like he had just escaped from the 80's and looked as if he'd fit right in with the Brotherhood, and Lance stored that bit of information in the back of his head automatically without even realizing it. He had started acting as the Brotherhood's guardian, of sorts; he was the ringleader now. Todd looked up to him; he was the only one Fred listened to; and Pietro…well, Pietro just sort of did whatever everyone else was doing. It put a source of pressure on him, as well as a sense of responsibility. Lance had taken to dropping by the local food mart every other day or so, and stealing a couple of bags of chips and such. Recently, Pietro followed Lance to the store during one of these escapades, and actually helped out. He was quite useful, as he could go fast enough that no one would be able to catch him unless their eye was attentive enough to see that one moment a can would be there, and the next, gone. Nobody asked how these mysterious little treats ended up in the cupboards, but everyone was grateful for them. This had been going on all summer since the whole asteroid incident, and Lance was quickly adapting to the situation. Now, he was even mentally recruiting possible new members, without even realizing it.
Pietro's eyes darted from one new kid to the next, not staying on any of them long enough to really focus, or even care. Todd was preoccupied with a fly that was whizzing about close to the ceiling, but Fred's eyes were locked on one girl, the moment she had strutted through the doors. Her hips swung rhythmically to an imaginary, infectious beat that had Fred entrapped and dazzled. Her face was an extraordinary palette of colors that no one in their right mind would really put together in that quantity, but somehow, it suited her.
Fred Dukes had a tendency to fall for the unattainable ones. First Jean Grey; now Tabitha Smith?
Pietro, of course, had been quick enough to catch Fred's expression the moment that it had gone slack, and snickered immaturely at him when a slight dribble of drool began to creep out from a corner.
"Pretty enough for you?" Pietro sniggered.
"Yeah." Fred and Lance voiced in unison. Pietro glanced about and saw that Kitty Pryde had skipped into the school alongside Rogue. He could almost see the wheels turning in Lance's brain as he tried to figure out an approachable way to – well, approach her. Rogue mouthed a farewell to her, and stomped off and out of sight. Kitty looked around for a moment, tucking a stray piece of hair neatly behind her ear and anxiously biting her lip, looking for a familiar face. Just as Lance was about to step forward, Kitty gave a shriek of joy and darted off into the crowd, yelling, "Doug!" [4] Lance abruptly stopped, and the disappointment clearly showed in his face. For a moment, Pietro almost felt sorry for him. Almost. Meanwhile, the bell had rung, and students fled to their classrooms in a frantic atmosphere. Pietro had already disappeared when the bell was only halfway through ringing. Shoulders hunched, Lance slumped off to his first class, while Fred absent-mindedly took to the stairs where his first class – from last year – was located, his head still filled with thoughts of dancing, hip-shaking blonde bombshells. The poor guy would soon be humiliated by the teacher in front of a bunch of juniors. Throughout all this, Todd was –
"DAMN YOU BUG! I WILL DEFEAT YOU!" Todd screamed. He launched himself up at the ceiling, and crashed his head against the wall. Dazedly, he slid off the slanted top lockers without a strong foothold, and fell down to the ground in a crumpled, unconscious heap. The fly boasted its victory to itself in an annoyingly loud buzzing pulse, and flew out of the nearest window, savoring another hour of life.
-----
It was only 4th period, and Bobby had already had enough for one day.
He wasn't the type to ditch classes. Sure, he was the unrivaled king of pranks, and always managed to get into some kind of mischief or another, but he wasn't irresponsible about school. His parents were able to stand his monkeyshines[5], but not skipping out on his education. It probably was the one constant thing in his life. He had never really bummed out of school before; Bobby Drake was no Ray Crisp, that was for sure. However, this was different. 4th period was Geometry. The most boring Geometry class, ever. And with a woman who had to be a walking corpse; Mrs. Paxton. She was so ancient; her voiced sounded like crinkly paper, and her breathing sounded like the exhaling and inhaling of a dying frog that had just been intoxicated with gas. It was almost painful to try to stay awake and listen to such deathly boredom.
He dangled his feet over the edge of the rooftop with childish glee. With no one around really watching him, with the additional free feeling of doing something wrong and no one able to stop you, Bobby felt quite at ease to do anything. He raised his index finger and shot off some bird-shaped icicles, as if a bird had flown out of his finger and into the sky. The sleek shape glided smoothly and soared for a moment, until gravity took hold and it plummeted into a tree. He shot off three more that ended up doomed to the same fate.
"Nice." A voice said, making Bobby nearly topple over the roof in surprise. "Can you make me a giraffe next, Bobo?"
Bobby stared at the intruder. He had mussed up hair and scruffy jeans, and generally looked like the 'hey kid, gimme your lunch money' type. And, he had the unmistakable, cool air of a senior.
"I ditched from Paxton." Bobby said, sounding a bit on the proud side. The boy arched an eyebrow and smirked.
"Well, aren't you the badass around here, to come up on the school roof to make ice sculptures?"
Too late, Bobby realized his error. This guy had seen him use his powers. His mutant powers. The powers that his parents specifically told him not to use in front of anyone except maybe Professor Xavier, and especially not in front of schoolmates. 'It's for your own safety', they had said, and Bobby took their words to heart. The stranger must've seen the upset look that distorted Bobby's face, because he laughed and cracked three of his knuckles with ease. Maybe in 'thuggish', this was a friendly gesture, but in the general world, cracking your knuckles often meant that you were going to beat into a bloody pulp. Bobby's face quickly lost most of its coloring. This time, he didn't notice, and instead, crossed over to the edge where Bobby had nearly fell over in two swift steps.
"Check this out," He said, and flexed his fingers slowly out in front of him, popping some of those knuckles back in place, and making Bobby flinch. For some seconds, there was a still silence that was only intruded by harsh breathing. Then, the senior blinked, and with a start, Bobby realized that his eyeballs had rolled to the back of his head, showing off the whites of his eyes. At the same time, he felt his hand that was propping up his elbow against the concrete shake slightly. Then, it wasn't just his hand. His entire body was, and then, the school was. The 'thug' lifted his arms a little bit more, and the shaking seemed to move along with it. Redirected and revitalized, the focus of the shaking had been aimed at to the ground, two stories below, just after the entrance of the school. He balled his hands into fists, and a tiny ripple jutted out from the soil, and then a bigger one, and a bigger one, until there was an actual split of earth in that particular area. Bobby stared at the whole thing in awe.
"How…" Bobby croaked, sounding even older than Mrs. Paxton. He attempted to clear his throat, and retried. "How did you do that?"
"Easy. I've got powers, just like you." Lance, who wasn't exactly the expert at reassuring, comforting smiles and was more prone to scaring off little children with a roar, tried grinning a little bit. "You already got recruited by the X-geeks, right?"
"Um…" Bobby turned away, suddenly embarrassed, and not entirely sure why. Sure, he had felt a bit alienated and ostracized when he had found out he was a mutant (as did 78 of his classmates at his old school in Boston… but that was a whole 'nother story), but he hadn't really ever considered the thought that there might not only be more favorable groups between mutants and humans, but between mutants and mutants. Being part of the X-Men seemed like a comic geek boy's dream come true, but suddenly, standing next to this undeniably 'cool' guy, who was a mutant just like him, Bobby felt like just that – a comic book geek standing next to the cool guy in school.
"I don't know. An X-geek, ditching? It's such a Brotherhood thing to do." Lance did a little wave sort of thing at the ground below, and a rock shifted from its place and covered the crack he had made. He turned sideways to face Bobby. "So, I didn't say what my name was. I'm -"
"Get out of here, Alvers. He doesn't need to know your name."
Scott stood at the entrance from the stairs. Lance's face immediately turned ugly.
"Can't a guy just talk to a person without you butting in, Summers?" Lance balled and unrolled his hands repetitively, looking ready for a fistfight.
"Bobby's already part of the X-Men, and that's final. Don't try to go around recruiting our own. He doesn't want to join scum like you and the Brotherhood."
Lance growled. "Stop shitting me. I'm warning you, Summers…" He took a step forward threateningly, and Scott's hand flew to his sunglasses warningly. The sunlight glinted off of them.
"And I'm warning you, Alvers. Don't make me repeat myself."
"Don't worry. You're coming across perfectly clear." Lance said, and launched himself at Scott. [6] The leader of the X-Men promptly side-stepped, forcing Lance to halt in his tracks, although he still slammed into the ventilation tube-y thingy. Angered, Lance kicked the ventilation tube-y thingy, and would've proceeded to beat the crap out of Scott's eagle cadet choir boy ass, if the ventilation tube-y thingy didn't start moving and groan. Immediately, Scott flipped his shades up and shot at it.
"OWOWOWOW!" Todd tumbled out of the ventilation tube-y thingy and flopped to the ground for the second time that day. "Yo! What was up with that, man?!" Todd yelped.
"Todd? What the hell are you doing in there?" Lance asked.
"Shoot; can't a guy just come up here to find some lunch for himself?" Todd whined. Scott, who had flipped down his sunglasses again, stifled a grimace.
"Sorry." He said without much conviction. Todd stuck his long tongue out unrepentantly, and hopped to the top of the now-dented ventilation tube-y thingy.
"Whatever, yo. So what's going on here?" Todd eyed Bobby, then Scott, and then Lance. "Geez, Lance. You're startin' to scare me, acting like Mystique, and bein' all manipulative n' recruiting n' stuff."
Unexpectedly, the door to the rooftop opened, and everyone spun around in ready attack position, including Bobby. They found Ray standing there uncomfortably, his hand awkwardly raised in a still position enclosed around a lighter. His mouth was caught red-handed around a cigarette.
"Um…I found it on the ground?" Ray said hopefully, through a half-open mouth.
"We'll talk about that later with the Professor, Ray." Scott said sternly. "Right now; go back to class."
Ray kicked absently at some imaginary dirt with his foot. "See, there's a problem with that… I was kind of kicked out of class."
Scott groaned and hit his forehead with the palm of his hand just as the bell rang. The front doors burst open as students walked about the campus to their next classes.
"Just… just go back to class now. Bobby; Ray; now. The Professor will be finding out about this."
-----
"Hey guys! Why so glum?" Tabitha bounced into the red convertible in high spirits. She plopped down in the seat, right between Ray and Roberto. Roberto stiffened and looked away, while Ray's scowl eased a bit. From the front seat, Scott sighed and drummed his fingers on the dashboard.
"What's taking Jean so long, anyways?" Scott said, frustrated. From the passenger seat, Kitty bit her lip and smiled half-heartedly, unhappy at being the bringer of bad news.
"Um, Scott… Jean told me earlier today she'd go out with Duncan to the mall after school."
Scott's face remained stoic and expressionless, though his voice was a bit different. "Oh… well, I guess we can leave, then. Kurt's 'porting, right?"
Kitty nodded, and was about to speak further, when the petite Taryn Fujioka appeared.
"Scott! What's going on?" She exclaimed, a hand on her hip. Scott looked puzzled.
"Um…"
"Hello, Summers! Signing up for French Club during lunch ring any bells?"
"Yes…" Scott said slowly.
Taryn sighed teasingly. "This isn't like you, Summers. There's an informational meeting today, right after school, at the university. Remember? Because of that special trip to France that the club has to organize this year? And you promised me a ride?" A dawning look comprehension passed over Scott's face, with his mouth in a little 'o'. Worriedly, he motioned vaguely with his hand at the passengers in the backseat.
"But I've got to take them home and…"
"The meeting's only 20 minutes long, Scott. They can find another ride, can't they?" Taryn tapped her sandal-clad foot impatiently. Scott nodded, knowing urgency in Taryn's voice.
"Okay, guys; I'm going to call the mansion with my cell phone so someone can pick you guys up. I'm really sorry, but this is urgent…"
"It's okay, Scott!" Kitty said cheerfully. "I bet Kurt's still hanging out by the soda machines. Hopefully he's not too lazy today to port at least one person with him."
"Alright; so the rest of you will be picked up by Miss Monroe or somebody – err, maybe not, since she's probably going to pick up the others at the junior high… well, someone will, I promise. Sorry again, guys." The new recruits scooted out of their seats and watched as Scott hurriedly drove off, Taryn in the passenger seat. The three stood there in front of the school building.
"Great! So now we have to stand here like losers and wait for our ride." Tabitha whined. No one answered her. The campus was now mostly isolated, with the few last departing students mingling in the farther side of the parking lot. Bobby came running out of the school doors.
"Sorry; got held up a bit." Bobby panted. "Hey…where's our ride?" Tabitha huffed and crossed her arms.
"Off at the French Club." Tabitha scoffed. She looked around a bit, and blinked. "Say, where's that princess chick?"
"GUYS!"
Bobby, Tabitha, Roberto, and Ray all turned their heads to the direction of the voice. Jamie was running towards them. Bobby raced forward and they collided; Jamie nearly mowed down Bobby, who stopped him by grabbing hold of his arms.
"Jamie? What are you doing here?" Bobby said confusedly. The panicked 12-year old was breathless, but was somehow finding the ability within him to talk a mile a minute. No one could understand his babbling nonsense though, and Tabitha smacked him lightly.
"Spill it, kid! What's going on?"
Jamie's eyes were red from crying, and he just managed to swallow down a hiccup before yelling it out.
"Amara's been kidnapped!"
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[1] Weird transition; I know. But, just so you know, there will be Jean characterization in this fic, just like there's been characterization for Kurt, and Rogue, and stuff. She's not my favorite character, but then again, neither are Kurt and Rogue. And, like the other ones, hers will tie in with a new recruit. Can you guess which one, though?
[2] – Believe it or not, all of that has happened to me inside my mother's car. Sam's happy place, however, is completely made up. Except for the banjo-playing chimpanzee part. I've always wanted to see that too, Sammy boy. *is nostalgic now* I was the one working the techno moves, by the way.
[3] – Despite all the typical stereotypical 'heartless, dumb brick football jock' crap, I think Duncan really did like Jean, even after the mutant secret was out. Yeah; he didn't say the best thing, but it more or less can be loosely translated to "Hey. You're a mutie. But I still like you!" And what can I say? I like Duncan.
[4] – Nope; not an OC. Doug Ramsey? Ermm… I dunno who he is, but apparently he's Kitty's friend, according to a buncha online bios. WHOOZAH! Thank you, Beyond Evolution! *bows*
[5] – I swear it's a real word. It is.
[6] All of that dialogue sounded dirty. But then again, I have been to a lot of slash-eccentric Brotherhood sites lately.
A/N: Squee. I love writing about the Brotherhood. They're more fun to write about than New Recruits, even. But not as much fun as writing about Paul. Anyways, this is my gift to you, in honor of the best day of the year – February 15: Chocolate Blowout Day. It's not my best, admittedly, and I really did want to write more Brotherhood/New Recruit characterization, but at least I put in a cliffhanger. And anyways, I'll do more Brotherhood later on; promise. Woo. Cliffhangers.