Chapter Six:
Trial By Capture the Flag
January 15
"…So, then Rogue stormed out," Keri explained. "And then she bumped in to Logan. She got snappy with him at first, and then she got all sad and walked away. Logan looked kinda confused, though I think she upset him."
It was Monday, and Keri was in gym class. She was talking to her best friend Miki while the class watched a stupid movie about some bubbly girls who went to military school. No one really liked it, but since it was in the curriculum, they had to watch it. Luckily, Shaina was understanding and didn't care if the children talked during the movie.
Miki looked at her. "So, Miss Hope's living with you all now?"
Keri looked at her. "Focus, Miki."
Miki sighed. "I'm sorry, Keri, I just can't picture her as a mutant!"
"Shhh!" Keri hissed, pressing her hand over Miki's mouth.
Miki looked at her. "Um, Keri? We're three feet away from everyone else!" This was true. Keri had pulled her away to have their conversation, mainly because of the thing that Keri and Shaina had in common: No one knew they were mutants.
It was Keri's turn to sigh. "True. But…you know, just in case!"
Miki nodded. "Right…So, everyone thinks that Miss Hope and Logan are going to get together?"
Keri nodded. "Rogue says she doesn't believe it, but I think she really does. So I keep telling her that she has to—"
They were suddenly interrupted by Shaina. "Keri and Miki! You don't have to actually watch the movie, but could you at least pretend you are? Just in case the Principal comes in here?"
"Yes, Miss Hope!" The two chimed, and hurried over towards the TV, signaling the end of their conversation.
In the movie, the three girls had to play capture the flag. This was hard, because they didn't want to get muddy and were wearing high-heeled boots. Plus, the course was laced with booby traps.
Keri looked at Shaina, and noticed that she had a look on her face that showed that she was getting an idea.
Keri groaned, and looked at her shoes. Something told her that a training exercise in her near future would include Capture the Flag.
At least she didn't wear high-heals.
***
"Capture the Flag…Intriguing," Professor X commented when Shaina told him her idea. "Continue, please."
Shaina nodded. "Well, I was thinking…we have the kids pull cards out of a bag, and that'll tell which team they're on. We could either play the game in the Danger Room, one of the many underground rooms you all have, or we could take a field trip out to the woods. And then, we just play the game, the kids using their powers to their advantage…but I suppose we'll have to set individual rules for some of them."
"For example?" Asked Ororo, who was listening in on this as well as Logan.
"Well…you know…Kurt can't teleport straight from his team's side to the flag, Keri can only be invisible, say, every other minute. Anyway, as well as the kids playing against each other's powers, I'm sure Logan and Mr. McCoy could whip up some…'obstacles'."
Logan smiled. "I like the sound of that."
"As do I," Said Professor X. "That sounds like a great idea."
Suddenly, Keri burst in to the room through the wall. "SHAINA!" She yelled. She noticed the Professor, Logan, and Ororo. "Whoops…I'm not interrupting anything am I?"
The Professor sighed. "Actually, yes, but—"
"Sorry, but Shaina, you have to see this!" Keri cut in. She grabbed Shaina's hand and ran off towards the living room, passing through every wall and solid object in their way.
"Keri, are we there yet?" Shaina groaned. She was staring to feel sick.
"Almost!" Keri answered. Finally, they made it to the living room. Dramatically, she pointed to the couch. "Look!"
There, on the couch, were Keri's pet rabbit, Mr. B, and Sailor Chicks. But that wasn't the reason that Keri was showing this to Shaina: it was the fact that Mr. B had draped himself across Sailor Chicks, so their bodies formed a perpendicular angle. But the strangest thing was that Sailor Chicks didn't seem to a problem with this: in fact, she was actually purring.
"Can you believe it?" Keri asked excitedly. "I've heard of rabbits and cats becoming friends, but only because they grew up together! Sailor Chicks and Mr. B are complete strangers! And to top it off, Mr. B's usually really skittish!"
Shaina sighed and shook her head. "Yea, Sailor Chicks has that effect on people and animals…" She sat down next to her cat. "Looks like you've made a friend, huh?"
"Meow," Was Sailor Chicks response.
"So, how are you doing?" Shaina asked.
Everyone who was in the room (Shaina, Keri, Jean, and Kurt) at time could swear that Sailor Chicks gave Shaina the same look that you give someone when you're tired but content before she said, "Meow."
Shaina looked surprised. "Really?" She was suddenly aware that everyone was staring at her. She turned to Sailor Chicks and said, "Ya know, maybe we ought to talk a bit later." Looking a bit embarrassed, she hurried off back towards where Professor X, Ororo, and Logan were.
The Professor grinned when he saw her. "Don't worry, Shaina. A lot of pet owners talk to their animals!"
Shaina glared at him, but didn't say anything.
***
That evening, after dinner, Shaina flopped down on her bed, next to Sailor Chicks. "So, what were we discussing earlier?"
"Meow."
"Oh…well, how are you doing? I mean, how close are you?"
There was a pause, and then Sailor Chicks answered. "Meow."
"Really? That close? Well, when they're ready, they're ready. Where do you want to have them? I can clear out a drawer for you."
"Mmmm?"
"No, it's no trouble. Are you going to need any help?"
"Reow."
"OK. But don't hesitate to ask if you do."
"People'll are gonna think you're weird if ya keep havin' elaborate conversations with cats," Logan commented as he walked in to the room.
Shaina made a face. "I only talk to Sailor Chicks. Besides, people already think I'm weird, so I don't need to worry about that."
Sailor Chicks actually rolled her eyes, and trotted out of the room.
"Oh, don't be like that!" Shaina groaned. She turned to Logan and sighed. "Being pregnant is making her irritable."
It took Logan a minute to remember that Sailor Chicks was expecting kittens. "Oh…"
"Well, did you come to bug me for a reason, or did you just miss the melodious sound of my voice?" She asked.
Logan rolled his eyes. "Yea, right…Professor X told me to tell you that we're doin' the Capture the Flag thing tomorrow at 4:00."
"A.M. or P.M.?"
"P.M.."
"OK. Just one question?"
"Yea?"
"Why didn't Professor X tell me himself?"
"Ya think I know? Good-night," Logan said simply. Then, he walked out of the room.
Shaina got up and watched him. When about halfway down the hallway, she snapped, "Ya know, I hate it when people answer questions with questions!"
Logan turned and looked at her. "Really?" He said, not sounding interested.
"Didn't you know?" Shaina questioned, walking up to him.
"Have you mentioned it before?" Logan countered.
Shaina smirked. "I dunno, did I?"
Logan narrowed his eyes. "Are you startin' that stupid game where you take turns askin' each other questions and ya lose if ya make a statement?"
"What do you think?"
Logan thought for a second, and answered, "Would ya keep doin' no matter what my answer is?"
"Do you think I'm that kind of person?"
"I think the better question is, 'are you as good at this game as ya are at pool?'"
"What do you think?"
"Do I really need to waste my time doin' this?"
"Do you have anything better to do?"
"What difference would it make?"
"Isn't that a dumb question?"
"Are dumb questions allowed in this game?"
"So, you've acknowledged that we're playing a game?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
"Doesn't it depend on what you constitute as a game?" As she spoke, Shaina scratched her arm.
"Do you have an itch?"
"Isn't that kind of off-topic?"
"Do ya think it is?"
Shaina paused for a few seconds, and then groaned. "Ah, I give up. You win. I could never win at that game. Good-night." She walked back to her room, shutting her door.
Logan smirked. If she could beat him at pool, at least he could beat her at that game…whatever it was called.
He turned and walked about two steps before colliding in to something. Out of reflex, he ejected his claws, but then he realized that it was only Keri, invisible. "Imp!" He snarled. "Were you spyin' on us?!"
Keri became visible, looked at her shoes, and then questioned, "Do you think I was?!" Then, she turned and ran through the wall, leaving Logan behind.
***
January 16
"Shaina, 'guess where we're going' is rhetorical! We've been guessing for the past 20 minutes!" Scott complained.
Shaina turned around and looked at him. "Alright, quitter!" She said, feigning annoyance. "We'll be there in a few minutes, and you'll find out!"
It was 3:45 P.M., and the group had all crammed in to the X-Van and were currently driving to medium-sized forest just outside of Bayville. It was almost time for their game of Capture the Flag. However, no one had any clue what was coming up…except for Keri.
"I think I know what we're doing," Keri sighed.
Scott leaned down close to her. "You do?"
Keri nodded. "Yea, and if I'm right, I'm sure glad I'm not wearing high-heels!" She looked up and shared a private smile with Shaina.
About 10 minutes later, the van stopped. "Out!" Logan commanded.
Everyone got out of the van, chattering and stretching. The four teachers then led the students a little way in to the woods, until they came to a part that had a wide, dirt trail running through it. On either side of the trail were untamed woods.
The four teachers stood before them. Shaina clapped her hands. "Alright, here's the 'sich: we're gonna play capture the flag."
The group murmured in interest, while Keri shouted triumphantly, "I knew it!"
"Yea, Okay…" Shaina pulled a small bag out from the X-Van. There are 10 cards in here. Five of them are red, five of them are blue. Draw a card, and that shows which team you're on."
So they all did. On the red team were Jean, Keri, Bobby, Jamie, and Roberto. On the blue team were Scott, Rogue, Kurt, Amara, and Kitty.
Shaina looked around. "Hey, where are the other two?"
Ororo looked at her. "Other two?"
"Yea, the one with long blonde hair, and the other with the orange bangs?"
"Sam and Ray?" Asked Rogue.
"Yea, them!"
"They've got detention."
Beast looked at her. "I can see Ray in detention, but Sam?"
Rogue shrugged. "Probably just a 'wrong place at the wrong time' thing."
Logan cleared his throat. "Can we please get to the game?"
"Keep your shirt on, Logan!" Shaina commanded. "I still gotta explain the rules: Each team has five minutes to hide their flag on their side. The boundaries for each side are marked off by ropes. Your flag must be hidden in plain sight, and visible at three angles. The jail is the roped off triangle on each side. You're allowed a jail guard, but not a flag guard. Since there are only five people on each team, you may want to make strategy, bearing in mind your strengths and weaknesses. Now, go hide your flags, and come back for further briefing." With that, she handed each team a scarf. "Oh, this is your flag, FYI."
As the two teams headed off on their opposite sides, Beast commented, "Well, you're quite thorough."
"Uh-huh," Shaina responded. "By-the-way, when did you all set this up?"
"While you were at work," Logan answered.
"Oh…" Shaina felt a bit embarrassed for not helping set the course up. After all, it had been her idea to do this.
A couple of minutes later, the two teams returned.
Shaina nodded "OK, good. Now, you all know the basic rules of Capture the Flag, right?" Seeing that the answer was yes, she continued: "Now, here are some individual rules: Keri, you can go through as many objects as you want, but you can only be invisible for every other minute."
Keri nodded. "'K."
"And Kurt, no teleporting straight from your team's side to the other team's flag. Jamie, if one of your multiples gets tagged out, then you're out. Does everyone understand?"
When everyone was sure of what they were doing, Shaina told them to get on their respective sides. "If you need us, then just scream hysterically. Alright…GAME ON!"
As soon as all of the students had disappeared from sight, the teacher's waited five seconds.
"Are they gone?" Asked Beast.
"I think so," Answered Logan. "Time to get out the heavy artillery." All of the instructors headed over to the X-Van, where they pulled open the hatch to reveal: An industrial sized bag of maple syrup, a large bag of white feathers, and a bag of water balloons.
Logan fingered the bag of maple syrup. "Ya know, the lasers and giant saws are nice, but sometimes ya gotta get 'em where it hurts. I have a feelin' lot a lot of us aren't gonna survive it if Red gets this stuff in her hair."
Ororo rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say…"
Shaina smirked. "This is gonna be sweet…Let's move out!"
***
Meanwhile, Jean, who was the unofficial captain of the Red team, was thinking up a strategy.
"First off, we need a jail guard. We can switch off after a while, but we a need a volunteer for now."
Jamie raised his hand. "I'll do it. I hate to admit it, but I'm real vulnerable on the other side, and real useful here."
Jean clapped. "Great! Now, we need a strategy. I think we'd best off try to find the other team's flag. Dark Elf?"
Keri nodded. "I'm on it!"
Jean nodded. The rest of us'll stay behind for now. Find that flag, Dark Elf! And…if you're not back in 10 minutes, we'll assume you've been captured, and we'll storm their base."
"Aye-Aye!" Keri chirped, and scurried towards the path. In the distance, off on the hill, she thought she saw Amara running towards the boundary line.
She took a deep breath, walked to the very end of the path (where the neutral territory ended), and went invisible. Then, she started sprinting, knowing that she only had a minute of invisibility. She figured that she would explore for her minute of invisibility on the ground, then climb a tree and try her luck there.
As she was running in enemy territory, she came face-to-face with Scott, who apparently was patrolling the area. Since she didn't have enough distance to stop, she just phased through him.
Then, disaster struck. Scott stopped, and looked around. "Dark Elf!" He snapped. "I know you're out here!"
Curses! Keri thought. She had phased through Scot so many times he knew what it felt like…so, he knew that she was in the area.
He swung his arm around, and hit her in the back of the head. "AHA!" He said triumphantly. He aimed a "stun" optic blast at her, just barely grazing her cheek.
Keri's watch beeped, signaling the end of her minute. She grudgingly became visible again. She turned to Scott, sighed and said, "…CATCH ME IF YA CAN, YA ONE-EYED VARMINT!" She began running as fast as she could, swerving randomly, Scott firing laser blasts at her all the way. However, after chasing her for a solid 10 seconds, Scott let out a "WHOA!" And his lasers stopped. Keri dared to turn around and see why.
Apparently, there had been a pit in the ground, covered by grass and leaves. Keri had avoided it, but Scott, who had been running in a straight line, had fallen right in to it. She walked over to it, and poked her head inside. "No worries, Cyclops!" She said cheerfully. I'm sure someone'll come for you…eventually!" She jerked her head back out, narrowly missing the blast he had fired at her. Grinning, she walked away, eagerly continuing her search.
***
Meanwhile, Shaina and Ororo had been watching this whole ordeal from up in the trees.
Shaina smiled and shook her head. "I knew Keri— I mean, Dark Elf —was gonna get out of that ordeal! But a pit…A bit cliché, but still quite effective. What are your thoughts?" She asked Ororo.
Ororo turned to her. "That we should be working on the next obstacle."
Shaina nodded. "Yes, quite so. What's next? A brigade of water balloons, or a typhoon? Or perhaps maple syrup?"
"The maple syrup is reserved for the grand finale, and that's teamed up with feathers. Shall we contact the boys?"
Shaina nodded, and pulled out a walkie-talkie. She pressed the button, and said in to it, "Splinter to Badger. Do you copy? Over."
She waited a second, and then Logan's voice said, "Roger. This is WOLVERINE, not 'Badger', by-the-way. Over."
"Right. Have you pulled anything yet? Over."
"Roger. Beast an' I've released the water balloons. Sunspot is unhappy, repeat, Sunspot is unhappy. And Iceman has fallen in to the pit, only to be rescued by Multiple. He was given a lecture by Jean for leaving his post. Magma is in jail. Over."
"Roger that! Looks like Storm and I have some water balloons to issue. Over and out." Shaina grinned and turned to Ororo. Good news: It's water balloon time!"
***
Meanwhile, Keri was still hunting for the enemy flag. "Come on…" She hissed. "You've gotta be around here somewhere…!"
She was just about to give up and go back when something blue caught her eye. Grinning, she walked over to it, and saw that it was the blue team's flag, folded on a tree stump. She thought for a minute. Shouldn't she just grab it now? It would save a lot of time and effort…Yes, in fact, she decided to pick it up right then and there.
"Having fun?" Said a familiar voice.
Keri turned, and her jaw dropped. The entire blue team had ambushed her. Shw did a head count. "Where's Magma?" She asked.
"In Jail," Kitty answered shortly.
The entire team lunged at her at once. "YEEK!" Keri screeched, phasing through as many as she could. Curse that every-other minute invisibility rule! Keri thought. It was at least another 30 seconds until she could become invisible again! Her only hope was that she could—
Tap.
Keri felt a three-fingered hand tap her shoulder. "You're out!" Kurt said triumphantly.
Keri sighed, and put her hands in to the air. "Put me in to the brig, mon capiton!" She announced.
Rogue (who apparently was jail-guard) led her to the jail, which also held Roberto. "You two, huh?" She commented, sitting down next to him. She noticed that he was wet.
"Yea…Jean sent me to go find you, and Kitty snuck up on me."
Keri nodded, and then, when she was sure Rogue wasn't looking, she leaned in and whispered, "I know where the flag is!"
He looked at her. "You do?"
"Yea! It's not to far from—"
Suddenly, the air was filled with the sound of water balloons hitting the ground and people, and screeches.
"What the…?!" Rogue spat.
Roberto sighed. "Ah, water balloons. Those got me, too."
"Water balloons?" Keri thought out loud. "I think that maybe the teachers are playing pranks on us."
"Better than Logan firing lasers at us." Roberto replied.
The two sat in silence for a minute. Then, Roberto broke it. "Do you seriously think Logan and Shaina are dating?"
"SHADDUP!" Rogue snapped suddenly. "NO TALKIN' IN JAIL!"
Roberto's eyes widened. He leaned in and whispered, "What's her problem all the sudden?"
"I can't imagine," Keri lied, looking at Rogue with concern.
***
Shaina yawned. "I'm starting to get bored."
Ororo looked at her. "It probably won't be much longer."
"By-the-way, how cold is?" Shaina asked. Her face and neck were chilly, but the rest of her body was warm in her suit.
"About 40°," Ororo answered.
"40°, huh? A bit warm for January…" Suddenly, Shaina's eyes shot open. "Hold on…we dumped water balloons on people in 40° weather?!"
"They'll be fine," Ororo brushed it off. "Their suits should keep them warm."
Suddenly, the two heard shouting coming from below them. They turned and saw Scott being helped out of another pit by Kitty.
Shaina giggled. "Is that his third pit or fourth pit?"
"Fourth."
Suddenly, Beast's voice sounded over the walkie-talkie. "Beast to Splinter. Do you copy? Over."
Shaina picked it up. "I read you loud and clear. Over."
"The red team is storming the blue team! I repeat, the red team is storming the blue team! Over."
"Roger that. Shall we ready the grand finale? Over."
"Yes. Meet us on the path. Over and out."
Shaina shut it off and put it away. "Finale time!"
Ororo nodded. "Let's go."
***
Rogue was watching Roberto and Keri, when she saw Bobby, in his frozen version, watching them from. Smirking, she strolled over so she he was about six feet in front of her. Then, she charged at him and tackled him. "Yer out, Iceman!" She crowed.
Then, she realized that it wasn't Bobby: just an ice sculpture of him.
"Pretty good likeness, eh Rogue?" Bobby jeered at her from behind.
Rogue turned. "Oh, crap!" For while she was tackling the fake Bobby, the real Bobby and Jean had come and rescued Roberto and Keri, and were leading them back to the red team's side. The rules said that since they were bringing back teammates, they couldn't be tagged.
Rogue watched them go. Abruptly, she noticed Logan standing there, chuckling.
"Nice goin', kid," He said, shaking his head and grinning.
"Shaddup," Rogue growled.
He shrugged. "Ah, what am I sayin'? Bobby did a great job, he's really gettin' good at makin' those copies of himself."
"Don't you have somewhere to be, Badger?!" Rogue said, rolling her eyes.
"Don't you start that. Keri and Shaina do it enough. But yea, I do have somewhere to be." He strolled about four feet, and then suddenly stopped. "Do you have shampoo back at the institute? Jean may need to borrow it…"
Rogue looked at him oddly. "What?"
"Oh, nothing," He said, smirking. Then, he walked away, disappearing from sight.
Rogue watched him go, and then smiled, though a bit confused.
***
When Keri, Roberto, Bobby, and Jean had made it back to their side, they immediately began forming another plan.
Jean looked at Keri. "Dark Elf, do you know where the blue flag is?"
Keri nodded. "Oh, yea! Look, I bet we can win if you let me get the flag, and you all cover me."
Jean thought for a minute. "That could work…"
So, they formed a plan, and got poised and ready at the end of the path, Keri in the lead. "Everybody ready?" She asked.
Jean lifted herself in to the air, Bobby turned his entire body in to ice, and Roberto went in to his "super-human" mode. "Ready!" They replied.
Keri nodded, took a deep breath, and called, "DA-DA-DA-DA-DADA! CHARGE!"
As they ran in to enemy territory, Bobby muttered, "You didn't really have to do that…"
"Nonsense, of course I did!" Keri brushed him off. Then, she got serious. "OK, follow me to the flag!"
"We're right behind ya, Dark Elf!" Jean replied.
The hadn't gone far when they ran directly in to Scott. He immediately open-fired at them. However, Jean took care of that problem by simply lifting him up with her power, and setting him up on a tree branch, 15 feet from the ground.
Scott's eyes widened. "Jean…that's not funny!"
Jean smiled. "Don't worry, Scott! I'll come back for you after we've won." The red team then continued on, while Scott called for Kurt to come and help him.
"Cyclops is up a tree, Rogue is the Jail Guard, and last time I checked, Magma was in jail. So that just leaves Nightcrawler and Shadowcat," Roberto counted off.
"Darn…those two'll be hard, especially Nightcrawler!" Bobby commented.
"Oh, thanks!" Kitty said sarcastically as she stepped out in front of them.
Abruptly, Bobby stepped out and froze an igloo around Kitty.
Keri looked at him. "Yea, only here's the problem: Shadowcat can go through solid objects."
Sure enough, just as she spoke, Kitty began phasing through the ice. However, Bobby just kept coating more on in all directions. He turned to Jean, Roberto and Keri. "Ya know, this could take a while. Why don't you all go ahead?"
So they did. They continued on, until they came to the stump that had the flag draped over it. "And, here we are!" Keri announced.
Jean picked it up. "Good work, Dark Elf!" She congratulated. "Now, all we need to do is get this over to our side!"
"End of ze line!" Kurt sneered as he stepped out. With that, he BAMPHed over to Roberto.
"Crap!" He said in frustration. "This is the second time this game!"
Jean and Keri backed up against the wall. Jean handed the flag to Keri. "It's all up to you now!" She announced.
Keri looked at her. "Yea. I know what I have to do!"
"Good!" Jean pressed her hands to her temples, and Keri was suddenly lifted off the ground and hurled through the air.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Keri screamed. She probably would have enjoyed the ride a bit better had she known that this was going to happen, or if she hadn't hit the dirt path when Jean's lift had run out. As you can guess, none of these to were present. She hit the ground, hard.
The four instructors were standing on the path, apparently waiting. Logan looked at her. "Where did you come from?"
Keri stood up and brushed herself off. "A red-haired psychic who panicked," She grumbled. Then, when she realized that she had the blue flag clutched tightly in her hand, she ran over to the red team's side. "HA! WE WIN!" She cried triumphantly.
Beast clapped. "Good job. Now, gather everyone out here."
Once everyone was out on the path, Shaina spoke: "Good job, everyone! You all did a great job. But the winners are…the red team!"
The blue team politely clapped. Keri turned to Jean. "Oh, by-the-way, when I said, 'I know what I have to do', I meant that I should turn invisible, and phase through objects as I run as fast as I can and hopefully make it back to our side."
Jean laughed nervously. "Oh…Uh, sorry…I guess I panicked a little bit…"
Keri rolled her eyes. "Yea…I kinda figured that."
Shaina cleared her throat. "ANYWAY, we have a special prize for the winners. I'd you'd all just follow me…" She strolled off in to the woods.
"I wonder what our prize is?" Bobby thought out loud.
"You'll soon find out," Shaina said innocently. She led them out to a certain spot. "Now, stay here." She then departed.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Keri admitted.
"Why? We won! The prize has got to be something good!" Said Jamie.
Without warning, a sticky, brown wave dropped on their heads. Then, the air was filled with white feathers, which stuck to them
Jamie dragged his finger in a spot on his uniform, smelled it, and then tasted it. "It's maple syrup!" He announced.
Jean's jaw dropped. "Maple syrup? MAPLE SYRUP?!"
"And feathers…we look like chickens," Bobby reminded her glumly.
"I HAVE MAPLE SYRUP IN MY HAIR?!" Jean screeched.
Keri licked her arm. "Taste me; I'm delicious!" She squealed happily.
Bobby pulled a feather off of his elbow. "What gives?!" He demanded off the instructors, who, along with the blue team, were laughing hysterically at them.
Shaina shrugged. "I thought it would be funny," she said simply.
"I need…to take…a shower," moaned Jean. "So…sticky…"
"Quit being a baby, Jean…" Roberto sighed.
"Just get in the car," Said Beast, chuckling.
The car ride back was much different than the ride there: Instead of the students chattering to each other about where they were going and what they were doing, it was mostly the blue team giggling at the red team, Bobby and Roberto sulking, Jean moaning occasionally about her hair, and Keri seeing how many surfaces she could stick to.
"I claim the girl's shower first!" Jean announced.
"And I get the boy's shower first!" Roberto announced as well.
"What am I supposed to do?!" Demanded Bobby.
"Jump in the pool?" Shaina suggested.
"No way, it's, like, 20° in there!" Kitty pointed out.
Ororo shrugged. "Then, in that case, just wait your turn."
Rogue dragged a finger down Jean's hair. "Yeesh. Yer gonna need alota shampoo…I've got some ya can borrow." She turned and smiled at Logan, who smiled back.
***
A little bit later, they had arrived back at the institute. It was a bit of an odd parade: The instructors in front; then the blue team, talking happily; then the red team; muttering about how "It didn't make sense to soak the winners"; and Keri, bringing up the rear, skipping, and saying happily, "How can one girl be so delicious?!"
Sam and Ray, who at home by now, watched them go by. "What happened to you guys?" Asked Ray.
"We played capture the flag! The winners got covered with maple syrup and feathers! Taste me; I'm delicious!" Keri explained as she walked over to them.
"Uh…I'll pass…" Ray replied.
Keri shrugged. "Your loss!" She walked off, licking her hand.
Shaina, who was watching her, sighed and rolled her eyes. "Keri Smith…One in a trillion…"
"You're right," Logan commented. Then, he looked genuinely surprised. "Wow, somethin' that you an' I see eye-to-eye on."
Shaina smiled. "That's one in million." Then, to Logan's obvious surprise, she leaned over, and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. Then, she departed.
Logan rubbed his cheek, a look of confusion on his face. But what he didn't realize was that Rogue had been watching them, and when she had seen that kiss, her eyes had narrowed in fury. She stalked up to her room, a sour look on her face.
Bobby passed her. "What are you so angry about? You're not covered in maple syrup and feathers!"
Rogue ignored him, and walked in to her room and slammed the door. She flopped down on her bed, scowling at the ceiling. She had been wrong about Shaina. Even if they weren't dating, it was obvious that she had Shaina had a thing for Logan. There was no way that she and Rogue and Shaina could be friends.
That kiss was what did it.
This was war.