Disclaimer: I don't own anything!
Thanks to all my reviewers!!!
Chapter 6- Payback
It was dinner time at the Xavier Institute and the dining room was bustling with activity. The table had unknowingly divided itself into two sections, adults at one end, and kids at the other. The kids had decided to go in a circle, or rather a rectangle, and get to know each other. The "circle" started with Tom.
"Um, I'm Thomas Brooks, I'm fifteen, people call me Tom, obviously. I come from Fairfax, Virginia. I'm sorta shy. I like rock music, Linkin Park's my fav. My favorite color? Green, I guess. My favorite foods I guess are steak, fries, and I dunno. And I control the growth of plants." he finished quickly.
The rest nodded at the reserved teenager and continued with Ron.
"Hey, I'm Ron DaCosta - not Ronald, just Ron. I'm thirteen, me and my sister come from Pasadena, California. I like dark blue and, along with Tom, I like rock. I don't have a favorite group though. My favorite foods are bacon, sausage, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, pepperoni pizza, turkey, ham, bologna- "
"Ok, Ron, we get it!" Raina said impatiently to her slightly carnivorous brother.
"Sorry," he continued, "I like chasing Frisbees, and I love to swim, and I like running, and I can turn myself into a wolf." he ended in a hyper manner, after which a black wolf appeared in his place.
"Right, now that that's over," Raina said, remarking on her brother's odd narration, "I'm Raina DaCosta, and I'm not as crazy as my poor brother. I'm twelve, I like light green, and I love Evanescence. Foods, I like pretty much any kind of junk food. I like tennis, and I don't have a power yet."
Next was Kaye. She sat for a moment before speaking.
"I'm Kaye, I am fourteen, and I live around Jackson, Mississippi. I love black, punk rock, hush puppies, catfish and, anything that burns your mouth to a crisp. I like to channel surf, and read. My favorite books are Dracula and anything Stephen King. I have no mutant power. I also like volleyball, and I think Carebears are the spawn of Satan." she said this in a monotone voice and with an expressionless face.
Everyone except Triss, Nate, and Drake were a little freaked by Kaye, and decided to move on as quickly as possible.
"Ok, I'm Joel Summers, and I live here at the Institute with my family, Tom, Professor Xavier, Storm, and Wolverine. I'm thirteen. That seems to be a popular age doesn't it? Anyway, I like the color red, and just like every one else, I like rock." "Boys!" Kaye complained, remarking on how all the boys listened to the same music
"For food," Joel continued, "I like potato chips, pizza, and anything with sugar in it. I like to play all sports, and have no power yet." he finished.
This time it was Will's turn.
"I'm William Drake, please don't call me William, call me Will. I'm crazy, it's fun though. I'm fourteen, and I'm from Seattle. Blue is my favorite color, and I like ice cream. Mostly, I watch T.V and play video games, I tried snowboarding once, but I nearly killed myself. Lastly, I do ice stuff, like my Dad." After he finished he placed an ice Carebear in front of Kaye to show off his power. But unfortunately for Will, Kaye had a good aim. She threw it at him and hit him right between the eyes.
"Ok, break it up!" Triss spoke firmly to her cousin.
"Yeah, or we'll do what my Dad says every time two students bicker," Nate continued, "You two sound like an old married couple, you bicker much more I'm just gonna make you marry each other." he finished, doing a good impression of his father.
Both Kaye and Will looked disgusted at the idea and calmed down immediately.
"Right," Triss continued , "I'm Triss Wagner, me and my family live in Boulder, Colorado. I'm thirteen, like Nate, and I like pretty much every type of music. My favorite colors are pink, purple, and just about every girly color you can think of. My favorite foods are pizza, ice cream, and every thing else unhealthy. Once again, no powers. I love animals, computers, and I like to sing, even though I'm terrible at it." she ended.
"You can say that again." Nate remarked on her singing.
"Shut up, Nate." she snapped.
He snickered before he said, "I'm Nate Wagner, I like to blast out rock music to annoy my sister. I hate the color blue, but I like red, green and black. I love burgers, tacos , and pizza. I like T.V and video games, but I also like to climb. No powers yet, and me and Triss, we're good at spying." He said this all very fast.
Drake was the last to go, and so far he looked pretty bored with this place already.
"I'm Drake Alvers," he said as if he couldn't have cared less. "I like navy blue, brown and black. I like most fast food, and I like driving over the speed limit.
"That's a very good first impression, Drake," Triss said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh yeah, and I can create earthquakes," he finished, still looking as if he might die of boredom.
Triss and Nate looked at each other in surprise and then took Drake out into the hall to have a whispered conversation with him.
"Drake." Triss murmured, "We never knew that. Did you tell Mom?"
"No." he answered casually.
"Did you tell anybody?" hissed Nate, fearing the answer he would get.
"Yeah," Drake answered, with a hint of hostility in his voice this time. "I told my Dad, why do you care?"
"Because you're our brother." Triss answered, "You should know that."
"You're not my real brother and sister," he spat, "so back off."
As he ambled off, Nate commented, "This is good."
"It's his Dad who's done this," Triss informed Nate.
"I know." Nate said, "Sometimes, he looks as if he could get away with murder." Nate finished, mentioning Lance. "Should we tell Mom?" Nate asked his twin.
"Something tells me she already knows." she answered grimly.
After dinner, all the adults locked themselves up in a room to talk about times gone by and old adventures they had experienced when they were with the X-men. Triss and Nate were up in the air vents, Triss with a camcorder, and Nate with a walkie talkie. The camcorder had a screen that the rest of the kids were watching, and they were listening through the other walkie talkie. All the kids except Drake. Drake had seen Rogue and his mother slip off to talk separately, and had followed them to listen through the door.
"Kitty what's wrong?" he heard a southern voice ask.
His mother sighed and said, "It's Drake, lately he's been acting-"Kitty tried to find a word for it.
"Lance-ish?" Rogue asked.
"Yeah." she agreed. "He's become uncontrollable and irritable."
"Just like Lance." Rogue finished. "And I suppose you knew he had powers?"
"Of course I knew." Kitty said bitterly, "I was waiting for him to tell me of his own accord, but he never did. Lance is becoming a bad influence on Drake. Tonight, when Triss and Nate dragged him out in the hall way, I followed and listened from inside the dining room."
Drake was already seething as Rogue told Kitty to continue.
"He asked the twins why they cared about him, and when they told him he lost it and said to them that they weren't his siblings and to back off!"
"I hate to say I told ya so, Kitty." Rogue said sagely.
"I know," Kitty answered shakily "Lance was, and still is, trouble. I've decided to go for full custody, because I don't want Drake to turn out like Lance."
That was all Drake needed to hear before sneaking away from the door, absolutely livid. His mother was always talking about those matters behind his back. But now she would rue the day she ever said those things about him and his father. He walked back down the hall to see the rest of the kids also angered by something. Triss and Nate dropped from the vents protesting too.
"We're babies, huh?" Ron growled
"Oh, I'm so glad the kids aren't listening, they don't need those ideas in their heads!" Will snarled, mocking his mother.
Drake looked around at the fuming kids as they insulted and scorned their parents. It was then when he found the perfect opportunity to turn the tables on his mother.
"Hey!" Drake whispered, "They don't think we can handle ourselves, right?"
The kids nodded in agreement.
"Well, why don't we show them we can?" He suggested.
"How's that, genius?" sneered Kaye.
"We go away for a few days, make them miss us terribly, and come back and have them begging forgiveness." he replied
They thought for a moment, then Raina said, "Let's do it."
'Success!' thought Drake. Because he was Kitty's son, Drake would make her feel responsible for the whole happening.
The adults were talking right now, completely ignoring them, so the children took their chance and ran with it. Triss and Nate were in charge of arranging pillows and things to make decoys of them all in their beds. Ron, Tom, and Raina got mats, blankets, and shelter for their little excursion. They couldn't just go into Bayville for a few days, because the police would surely find them. Kaye, Will, and Joel took care of food and drink, and of course everyone quickly packed their own personal bags. In no time they were crossing into the woods, Drake leading, and Tom bringing up the rear. But no one noticed a small silhouette slip out of the front door to follow. In his selfish attempt to get back at his mother, Drake had lured nine innocent kids into this vengeance plan, including a five year old girl who couldn't tell the wild outdoors from the city park.