Notes: The only excuse I have for this chapter taking so long is one common to many people. Writers block. But apparently the writers block fairy has moved on to torment some other hapless fan fiction writer, leaving me in a burst of creative genius. Yeah, right. I wish. But I did get this typed up, so I must be content with my current state of less then creative genius. *Sigh*
Disclaimer: To spice things up a bit, I'm going to let my cat do the disclaimer.
TANDY: "Meow."
Translation: "roguehobbit does not own anything to do with the X-Men. She would claim she did, if she wanted to be sued. roguehobbit does not wish to be sued. Marvel owns the X-Men and quite a lot of other things roguehobbit wished she owned."
Shout outs: Rogue151- you think I did Mystique okay? Thanks, I was worried about it. A 100%? You lucky duck. Yeah, I've heard that Risty looks a lot like Psylocke, and was made to look like her, but I've never actually seen Betsy to compare. But the fact that they both of purple hair seems to point to that conclusion.
StormHeart- glad you liked the Kittys stuff. Sorry this chapter took so long. Forgive me?
Nightcrawler03- you weren't expecting it? Good, I was going for a shocker.
ArtemisMoonshine- glad you love it. :)
TallieCat- thank you for the praise! Yay! Another person thought I did Mystique okay. And you liked the fight scene? Thank you!
Sue Penkivech- nope, you had never reviewed before. But, I'm certainly glad you did this time. Hehe, I love writing Risty. It saddens me that she's Mystique. And as to what happens next, you shall see! :)
Kakegods- glad you like. Thanks for reviewing!
And a special shout out goes to the lovely ArtemisMoonshine and Nightcrawler03 for being my beta readers! Thanks so much!
Chapter 17: Waiting
There was silence at the mansion. The remaining X-Men had given up all pretense of small talk, and were waiting in a tense silence for any word from Jean.
Evan was staring into space, blinking every once in awhile.
Kurt was swinging his tail in front of his face, the spade acting as a pendulum.
Ororo had her eyes closed and a soft rain could be heard coming from outside. She was using this time to water the garden.
Scott was tapping his foot impatiently and occasionally sighing.
Rogue was developing a tick in her left eye. She finally snapped. "Scott, if ya don't stop it Ah'm a gonna rip your foot off."
Evan laughed, and Scott turned to look at her. He had not heard her. "What?"
"Meine Schwester just threatened one of your appendages." Kurt informed him, muttering under his breath, "Und sie würde es auch tun."
Scott raised an eyebrow. "Which appendage?"
Rogue buried her face in her arms.
Evan gurgled with contained laughter, and said "Your foot man, just your foot."
Ororo opened her eyes and looked around the room. Kurt and Evan were trying not to laugh, Scott looked confused, and Rogue looked like she was wishing she could be anywhere but there. The Professor was still sitting with his hands to his temples and his eyes shut.
"I missed something, didn't I?"
"Nothing Auntie O, nothing." said Evan, finally calming himself.
"Why would she threaten my foot?" asked a still confused Scott.
"Never mind." said Rogue, lifting her head to look at Xavier. "Don't ya think we would have received some word by now?"
Ororo did not answer, but turned to look at the Professor, as if willing him to open his eyes and tell them something encouraging.
Forge walked into the room. He had been told about tonight's plans, and had stopped tinkering with his own prototype of a dimension switcher. It was a good thing they could get the real machine, because Forge was not overly confident that his would work.
He observed the groups melancholy air. Plopping down next to Rogue on the sofa, he said "So, who died and when is the funeral?"
When no one answered him, he said "Come on, guys, lighten up. Its not like they're in any real danger."
Scott turned to look at him, looking like he wished he could blast the 70's child into oblivion. "Look, you hippie, Jean and the others do happen to be in real danger! What if Magneto comes back early!? What if the whole thing was a trap set up by Magneto? What if-"
"First off, I'm no hippie. Second, don't dwell on the "what ifs", man. Life is to short-"
"Forge." said Ororo, realizing that his ranting could become a long speech.
"Sorry. But you guys really need to ease up in the stress department."
~*~x~*~
Gambit was thinking furiously. How was he going to warn the X-Men?
*It might already be to late.*
That thought entered his head unbidden. Shaking it off, he looked up at the house before him. The house, to use the term loosely, was an old, small, falling apart wreak. Magneto had gone inside along with Colossus. Gambit and Pyro had been left outside on guard duty.
Pyro was still humming to some tune inside his head and playing with one of his flame throwers. Gambit looked at him.
"Oh, Pyro."
The pyromaniac stopped humming, and glanced over at Gambit questioningly.
"Gambit has another job for you."
Pyro sighed dramatically. "I thoaght I was working fer Magneto, but lately I been doing all kinds o' jobs fer you."
"Someone needs to warn de X-Men about Mystique."
"Err, what 'bout Mystique?"
"Were you listenin' at all?" Gambit asked in exasperation.
"No. Should I 'ave been?"
"Oui. You must go tell de X-Men at dare mansion dat Mystique is also guarding de base."
"Why must I do it all the time?" whined Pyro.
"Colossus is unavailable at de moment. Hurry, go, Gambit will make up an excuse for your absence."
"Why don't you go?" Pyro said stubbornly.
"Because your absence will be easier explained then Gambit's. Also, Gambit can lie better den you."
"Tha' not somethin' to be proud of, mate."
"Will you go already?!"
"Alroight, alroight all ready. I'm a going." Pyro turned off the flamethrower, and ran down the alleyway.
Gambit began to think of something to tell Magneto.
~*~x~*~
The assault team was slowly approaching Magneto's room.
"Why are we being so careful? Sabertooth and Quicksilver are out of the picture, there's no one left to look out for." said Shadowcat.
Wolverine answered her, but did not look at her. He kept his eyes ahead of them, searching the shadows. "It never hurts to be cautious, Half Pint."
Nightcrawler was slightly ahead of the others, scanning the area with his yellow eyes. Sprite was in the rear, with Jean, Shadowcat, and Wolverine in front of her.
Jean was staying in touch with the Professor and Wolverine was put somewhat at ease since the only two guards were taken care of. Neither of them sensed the form that was stalking them.
Then Sprite screamed.
~*~x~*~
Scott had resumed taping his foot. Rogue's tick had returned. Forge had gone back to the lab, deciding to get some work done on one of his numerous inventions.
Evan had fallen into a light sleep, and Kurt would soon be following his lead. Then the door bell rang.
"I'll get it!" said Rogue, jumping out of her seat.
"No Rogue. It might be Risty again, and you're in uniform." said Ororo. "Kurt, go answer the door."
Kurt sat up, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Standing up, he turned on his image inducer again and headed for the door.
The ringing of the bell had been going on, and now it was just one long ring, like someone was pressing his finger down on the button and not releasing it.
Kurt opened the door. There stood Pyro smiling like the maniac he was, and still holding down the door bell with a gloved finger.
~~~~~
Translations: meine Schwester- my sister
und sie würde es auch tun- and she'd do it too
Wahahaha! Cliff hanger! Sorry people, that just seemed a good place to stop. Also, I know it's rather short compared to my most recent chapters, but I figured I should get this up since I have not posted in awhile. If anyone is interested there are now two chapters up on my InuYasha fic. *Sigh* I think I'm better at writing X-Men fics then InuYasha ones though. Oh well.
I might post again before Christmas, key word there is "might". But I will work on the story more during that time. And do my homework some evil teachers assigned me over the break. Grr. Mean teachers.
Anywho, I hope you all have a wonderful joyous holiday! Merry Christmas!
~:b~
roguehobbit
Disclaimer: To spice things up a bit, I'm going to let my cat do the disclaimer.
TANDY: "Meow."
Translation: "roguehobbit does not own anything to do with the X-Men. She would claim she did, if she wanted to be sued. roguehobbit does not wish to be sued. Marvel owns the X-Men and quite a lot of other things roguehobbit wished she owned."
Shout outs: Rogue151- you think I did Mystique okay? Thanks, I was worried about it. A 100%? You lucky duck. Yeah, I've heard that Risty looks a lot like Psylocke, and was made to look like her, but I've never actually seen Betsy to compare. But the fact that they both of purple hair seems to point to that conclusion.
StormHeart- glad you liked the Kittys stuff. Sorry this chapter took so long. Forgive me?
Nightcrawler03- you weren't expecting it? Good, I was going for a shocker.
ArtemisMoonshine- glad you love it. :)
TallieCat- thank you for the praise! Yay! Another person thought I did Mystique okay. And you liked the fight scene? Thank you!
Sue Penkivech- nope, you had never reviewed before. But, I'm certainly glad you did this time. Hehe, I love writing Risty. It saddens me that she's Mystique. And as to what happens next, you shall see! :)
Kakegods- glad you like. Thanks for reviewing!
And a special shout out goes to the lovely ArtemisMoonshine and Nightcrawler03 for being my beta readers! Thanks so much!
Chapter 17: Waiting
There was silence at the mansion. The remaining X-Men had given up all pretense of small talk, and were waiting in a tense silence for any word from Jean.
Evan was staring into space, blinking every once in awhile.
Kurt was swinging his tail in front of his face, the spade acting as a pendulum.
Ororo had her eyes closed and a soft rain could be heard coming from outside. She was using this time to water the garden.
Scott was tapping his foot impatiently and occasionally sighing.
Rogue was developing a tick in her left eye. She finally snapped. "Scott, if ya don't stop it Ah'm a gonna rip your foot off."
Evan laughed, and Scott turned to look at her. He had not heard her. "What?"
"Meine Schwester just threatened one of your appendages." Kurt informed him, muttering under his breath, "Und sie würde es auch tun."
Scott raised an eyebrow. "Which appendage?"
Rogue buried her face in her arms.
Evan gurgled with contained laughter, and said "Your foot man, just your foot."
Ororo opened her eyes and looked around the room. Kurt and Evan were trying not to laugh, Scott looked confused, and Rogue looked like she was wishing she could be anywhere but there. The Professor was still sitting with his hands to his temples and his eyes shut.
"I missed something, didn't I?"
"Nothing Auntie O, nothing." said Evan, finally calming himself.
"Why would she threaten my foot?" asked a still confused Scott.
"Never mind." said Rogue, lifting her head to look at Xavier. "Don't ya think we would have received some word by now?"
Ororo did not answer, but turned to look at the Professor, as if willing him to open his eyes and tell them something encouraging.
Forge walked into the room. He had been told about tonight's plans, and had stopped tinkering with his own prototype of a dimension switcher. It was a good thing they could get the real machine, because Forge was not overly confident that his would work.
He observed the groups melancholy air. Plopping down next to Rogue on the sofa, he said "So, who died and when is the funeral?"
When no one answered him, he said "Come on, guys, lighten up. Its not like they're in any real danger."
Scott turned to look at him, looking like he wished he could blast the 70's child into oblivion. "Look, you hippie, Jean and the others do happen to be in real danger! What if Magneto comes back early!? What if the whole thing was a trap set up by Magneto? What if-"
"First off, I'm no hippie. Second, don't dwell on the "what ifs", man. Life is to short-"
"Forge." said Ororo, realizing that his ranting could become a long speech.
"Sorry. But you guys really need to ease up in the stress department."
~*~x~*~
Gambit was thinking furiously. How was he going to warn the X-Men?
*It might already be to late.*
That thought entered his head unbidden. Shaking it off, he looked up at the house before him. The house, to use the term loosely, was an old, small, falling apart wreak. Magneto had gone inside along with Colossus. Gambit and Pyro had been left outside on guard duty.
Pyro was still humming to some tune inside his head and playing with one of his flame throwers. Gambit looked at him.
"Oh, Pyro."
The pyromaniac stopped humming, and glanced over at Gambit questioningly.
"Gambit has another job for you."
Pyro sighed dramatically. "I thoaght I was working fer Magneto, but lately I been doing all kinds o' jobs fer you."
"Someone needs to warn de X-Men about Mystique."
"Err, what 'bout Mystique?"
"Were you listenin' at all?" Gambit asked in exasperation.
"No. Should I 'ave been?"
"Oui. You must go tell de X-Men at dare mansion dat Mystique is also guarding de base."
"Why must I do it all the time?" whined Pyro.
"Colossus is unavailable at de moment. Hurry, go, Gambit will make up an excuse for your absence."
"Why don't you go?" Pyro said stubbornly.
"Because your absence will be easier explained then Gambit's. Also, Gambit can lie better den you."
"Tha' not somethin' to be proud of, mate."
"Will you go already?!"
"Alroight, alroight all ready. I'm a going." Pyro turned off the flamethrower, and ran down the alleyway.
Gambit began to think of something to tell Magneto.
~*~x~*~
The assault team was slowly approaching Magneto's room.
"Why are we being so careful? Sabertooth and Quicksilver are out of the picture, there's no one left to look out for." said Shadowcat.
Wolverine answered her, but did not look at her. He kept his eyes ahead of them, searching the shadows. "It never hurts to be cautious, Half Pint."
Nightcrawler was slightly ahead of the others, scanning the area with his yellow eyes. Sprite was in the rear, with Jean, Shadowcat, and Wolverine in front of her.
Jean was staying in touch with the Professor and Wolverine was put somewhat at ease since the only two guards were taken care of. Neither of them sensed the form that was stalking them.
Then Sprite screamed.
~*~x~*~
Scott had resumed taping his foot. Rogue's tick had returned. Forge had gone back to the lab, deciding to get some work done on one of his numerous inventions.
Evan had fallen into a light sleep, and Kurt would soon be following his lead. Then the door bell rang.
"I'll get it!" said Rogue, jumping out of her seat.
"No Rogue. It might be Risty again, and you're in uniform." said Ororo. "Kurt, go answer the door."
Kurt sat up, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Standing up, he turned on his image inducer again and headed for the door.
The ringing of the bell had been going on, and now it was just one long ring, like someone was pressing his finger down on the button and not releasing it.
Kurt opened the door. There stood Pyro smiling like the maniac he was, and still holding down the door bell with a gloved finger.
~~~~~
Translations: meine Schwester- my sister
und sie würde es auch tun- and she'd do it too
Wahahaha! Cliff hanger! Sorry people, that just seemed a good place to stop. Also, I know it's rather short compared to my most recent chapters, but I figured I should get this up since I have not posted in awhile. If anyone is interested there are now two chapters up on my InuYasha fic. *Sigh* I think I'm better at writing X-Men fics then InuYasha ones though. Oh well.
I might post again before Christmas, key word there is "might". But I will work on the story more during that time. And do my homework some evil teachers assigned me over the break. Grr. Mean teachers.
Anywho, I hope you all have a wonderful joyous holiday! Merry Christmas!
~:b~
roguehobbit