To Err is Human
By Todd Fan
Disclaimer: "Pregnant woman slays four?"
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Chapter 3 - Dark Visions
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As the early morning light of daybreak lit up the sky, the Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House was illuminated in a gentle glow. Todd sighed as he looked at it, before turning his gaze to the young woman walking beside him. He and Sidney had spent most of the night in the park, in each others arms. They had been in silence for most of the time, but later, they had talked as they used to, nothing about what had happened between them, just....life. He had missed that so much, and he really hoped that he wouldn't wake up to find this had been a dream. They stopped as they got to the steps of the Boarding House.
"Come home", Todd said in a whisper.
Sidney sighed, shaking her head.
"My place is with the Morlocks", she said softly, "we're still rebuilding our home..our world"
Todd sighed, hanging his head.
"I understand".
Sidney smiled softly, leaning in to give him a soft kiss.
"I'll sneak out to see you as much as I can, I promise".
With that, she stepped away from him, transforming into a cat, disapearing into the undergrowth. Todd watched her go with a sigh, before heading quietly into the Boarding House. He carried on straight upstairs, with a happy grin plastered on his face. He barely noticed Pietro's door open, a giggling girl stepping out, pulling on her coat.
"Good morning", she said, walking past him.
"Goooood Morning", said Todd cheerfully, before being yanked into Pietro's room at a blinding speed.
The silver-haired speedster eyed him suspiciously after he'd dragged him in.
"Where have YOU been?", he asked, "you haven't been moping all night, have you?"
Todd mearly smiled, walking around Pietro's room.
"Isn't this house great?", he asked, "I mean, I love everythin' about it. I love this house. I love the people in it".
He sat down on Pietro's desk.
"I love this chair, look at this chair", said Todd in wonder, pointing at it.
Pietro blinked.
"Did you get laid last night, Toad?".
"That is a nice shirt", said Todd with a smile, patting Pietro on the shoulder [1]
"Toad.....you're scaring me", said Pietro.
"She came back to me", said Todd simply, giving a happy sigh, "we just sat and talked all night. It was the most beautifull night of my life"
Pietro looked at him like he'd grown an extra head.
"And you just talked?", he asked, wrinkling his nose, "dude, you need to get out more"
Todd mearly smiled, before leaving Pietrro's room, entering his own and closing the door. Pietro blinked before shrugging, heading off to add his latest entry in his big black encyclopedia.
-----
Over in the Institute, Hank, Xavier, Logan, Kurt and Kitty were in the common room when a cheery Storm waltzed in.
"Welcome home, Ororo", said Xavier.
"Did you enjoy your honeymoon?", asked Kitty, peering over the card game she was beating Logan at
" Tortola, baby!", said Storm with a grin, plopping down on a chair.
"We'll take that as a 'yes', then", said Hank with a chuckle.
"Honeymoons are great", said Storm, "you get tons of free stuff!!!".
"Not to mention it's a celebration of the love you have with the person you've recently married", added Xavier.
Storm blinked, before waving a hand.
"That too"
"Here's a question", said Hank, looking around, "aren't you missing something kind of important that a woman usually brings back from a honeymoon?"
"Like what?", asked Storm, blinking.
Hank paused, before sighing.
"Oh, you know, just a little thing called a HUSBAND?!!".
"Oh, Forge?", said Storm, "he's carrying the luggage".
"Wutush!", said Logan.
"Do that again, and I'll smack you", said Storm, "he wouldn't let me do it, not that I'm complaining".
There was a small, weak thud at the closed door. Hank went over and opened it, letting Forge fall through with his arms full of bags.
"Heavy", he squeaked.
"Welcome home, Forge", said Hank, picking up one of the bags then blinking, "....this IS heavy!"
"Ooooooh did you bring us souvenirs?!!!", asked Kurt excitedly.
"Kurt, we were on our honeymoon", said Storm, "no, no souvenirs".
"None?", said Kurt, then looked hopefully at Forge.
"Sorry, nope", said Forge with a shrug, "the bags are so heavy because Ororo re-discovered her love of the 'five fingered discount'".
"Oh, I only took a few little unimportant things", said Storm with a wave of her hand.
Forge tipped out the contents of the suitcase Hank had been holding, which instead of clothes was filled with amenities....lots and lots of amenities.
"Oh", said Xavier, eyeing the small mountain, "well...it's perfectly normal to take a few hotel amenities".
Forge raised a brow and rummaged through the pile, re-emerging with a set of cutlery, a TV remote control, a small painting, a throw rug and, oddest of all, a brass number eight.
"Okay, maybe I went a teensy weensy bit overboard", said Storm.
"....A 'teesny weensy bit'?", said Logan, "Ororo, you stole your room number fer crying out loud!".
"I....wanted a momento?", tried Storm hopefully, before crossing her arms, "hey, I couldn't drink on my own honeymoon, I wanted to get something out of it!"
"Oh yeah, how'd you feel?", asked Kitty, prodding Storm's slightly protruding stomach.
"Calling it 'morning sickness' is an unfair ruse to cover up the horrible, horrible truth", said Ororo darkly, "it SHOULD be called 'morning, noon, night and everything in between sickness'...Stupid lying doctors, I'll string them up by their pointy little heads and laugh, laugh, I tell you, LAUGH!".
And laugh she did....manically.
"How're those mood swings going Ororo?", asked Logan with a chuckle.
"WHAT MOOD SWINGS?!!!", snapped Ororo, then started to cry, "I'm sorry sniff I don't know why I snapped at you".
Logan smirked.
"...Haven't had any then?"
Storm just GLARED at him.
"Why do you have to upset her?", asked Forge with a sigh, "do you not like me? Do you want me to suffer?"
"Hey, it affects dads too!", said Hank with a chuckle, before shrinking away from Forge's glare.
It was then Storm's make-up bag started to move
"Oh, yes", said Storm, "I forgot about our little stowaway"
"....You didn't smuggle anything illegal into the country...did you, Storm?", asked Xavier, watching her worriedly as she moved to open her bag....he didn't want any evidence in his house.
"No!", said Storm, opening her back, Shortpack poking his head out, gasping for breath.
"Geez, Ororo, what have you GOT in there", he said, sneezing, "ick!"
Kurt blinked.
"Did you guys to to Lilliput?", he asked, confused.
"...Shortpack?", said Xavier in suprise, "well, I didn't expect to find you of all people here! Kurt, he's not a Lillypudlian, put down the stick"
"Well, I ran into these two in Tortola and thought 'hey, I haven't been home for ages'", said Shortpack, dusting blush off his coat, "so here I am!"
"And in the nick of time too", said Xavier, a smile appearing on his face, "with Ororo living elsewhere, we DO need a new live-in teacher"
"...This is why you use a telephone first, Shortpack", Shortpack said to himself.
----
Meanwhile, over in Dark Hollow, Danielle sighed boredly as she sat on the porch steps to her and her grandfather's home, staring out into the ghost town.
"Danielle?"
Dani glanced up, smiling slightly as Black Eagle walked out of the cabin, taking a seat in his rocking chair.
"Hello, Namshim", she said. [2]
Black Eagle rocked in his chair, eyeing his granddaughter.
"Don't tell me you miss Bayville already?", he asked, "you were only there but last week!"
Dani rolled her eyes.
"It's not the town I miss", she said, then smiled softly to herself, "more the people in it"
"Not the Brazillian", groaned Black Eagle, "you can do better than that, Danielle"
Danielle turned her head to him, frowning.
"Better than a heir to a multi-million corporation?", she asked, "..not that it matters to me"
Black Eagle shook his head.
"He's just using you, child", he said, "once he bores of you, he'll find someone else to follow him around like a sheep. It is the way of his kind"
Danielle stood up, turning to look angrily at her grandfather.
"That isn't true!", she protested, "Roberto cares for me, he'd never hurt me like that!"
"And you think he'll stay with a girl he barely gets to see?", asked Black Eagle, "hah!. When frogs grow teeth!" [3]
"He DOES care about me!", snapped Dani, her eyes glowing.
Suddenly, between them, an image of Black Eagle being beaten by two masked assailants appeared. Dani blinked in shock, before the image faded.
"Namshim...I'm so sorry", she whispered, hanging her head, "I...I lost control of it again"
Black Eagle sighed, standing and putting a hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay, Danielle", he said gently, "I pressed you to it. Perhaps this boy IS good for you"
He sighed.
"I have just gone overprotective and stubborn in my old age", he said, "I don't want to lose the only family I have left"
Dani walked over, giving him a tight hug.
"You'll never lose me, grandfather, I promise"
------
In the Hellfire Club HQ, Sebastian Shaw was sitting at his desk, waiting. He smiled to himself as he moved a chess piece from the set on his table.
"They're here, Shaw", said Harry Leland, the Clubs' Black Bishop,a large man with a well cut, though bushy blonde beard.
"Send them in", said Shaw, looking up as Emmanuel and Daniel both walked in, now dressed in the 18th century garb that was the offical 'uniform' of the Inner Circle.
"You asked for us, Sebastian?", asked Emmanuel, his portugese accent as strong in him as it was in his son.
"Yes, I did", said Shaw, smiling over his desk, "I have an assignment for you. Consider it your first....mission"
"What is it?", asked Daniel, running a hand irritably through his sandy blonde hair, "it's about time we got some action"
"Oh, you'll get plenty of action, Daniel", smirked Shaw, "go and speak to our White Queen, she will give you all the information you need".
He grinned as he watched the two men leave, moving his chess piece once more.
"Checkmate"
------
[1] - This scene is an adapted version of one from 'Dead Man on Campus', one of my most favorite films of all time.
[2] - Namshim is the Cheyenne informal word for 'my grandfather'. If you're wondering why she didn't say hello in Cheyenne, it's because the Cheyenne language has no word for hello or goodbye. You learn something new everyday, huh?...Unless you already knew that...err..yeah.
[3] - Believe it or not, this is an acutal Cheyenne idiom, for 'never'.
Bwahahahaha! And there's another chapter done. Those that have read the comics will probably know what will happen next, as for the rest...heh heh heh. Ahem. Don't worry, I don't plan to follow the comic storyline completely, only use certain elements of it for my story. Evil grin Do review. Until next time.
By Todd Fan
Disclaimer: "Pregnant woman slays four?"
------
----
Chapter 3 - Dark Visions
----
As the early morning light of daybreak lit up the sky, the Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House was illuminated in a gentle glow. Todd sighed as he looked at it, before turning his gaze to the young woman walking beside him. He and Sidney had spent most of the night in the park, in each others arms. They had been in silence for most of the time, but later, they had talked as they used to, nothing about what had happened between them, just....life. He had missed that so much, and he really hoped that he wouldn't wake up to find this had been a dream. They stopped as they got to the steps of the Boarding House.
"Come home", Todd said in a whisper.
Sidney sighed, shaking her head.
"My place is with the Morlocks", she said softly, "we're still rebuilding our home..our world"
Todd sighed, hanging his head.
"I understand".
Sidney smiled softly, leaning in to give him a soft kiss.
"I'll sneak out to see you as much as I can, I promise".
With that, she stepped away from him, transforming into a cat, disapearing into the undergrowth. Todd watched her go with a sigh, before heading quietly into the Boarding House. He carried on straight upstairs, with a happy grin plastered on his face. He barely noticed Pietro's door open, a giggling girl stepping out, pulling on her coat.
"Good morning", she said, walking past him.
"Goooood Morning", said Todd cheerfully, before being yanked into Pietro's room at a blinding speed.
The silver-haired speedster eyed him suspiciously after he'd dragged him in.
"Where have YOU been?", he asked, "you haven't been moping all night, have you?"
Todd mearly smiled, walking around Pietro's room.
"Isn't this house great?", he asked, "I mean, I love everythin' about it. I love this house. I love the people in it".
He sat down on Pietro's desk.
"I love this chair, look at this chair", said Todd in wonder, pointing at it.
Pietro blinked.
"Did you get laid last night, Toad?".
"That is a nice shirt", said Todd with a smile, patting Pietro on the shoulder [1]
"Toad.....you're scaring me", said Pietro.
"She came back to me", said Todd simply, giving a happy sigh, "we just sat and talked all night. It was the most beautifull night of my life"
Pietro looked at him like he'd grown an extra head.
"And you just talked?", he asked, wrinkling his nose, "dude, you need to get out more"
Todd mearly smiled, before leaving Pietrro's room, entering his own and closing the door. Pietro blinked before shrugging, heading off to add his latest entry in his big black encyclopedia.
-----
Over in the Institute, Hank, Xavier, Logan, Kurt and Kitty were in the common room when a cheery Storm waltzed in.
"Welcome home, Ororo", said Xavier.
"Did you enjoy your honeymoon?", asked Kitty, peering over the card game she was beating Logan at
" Tortola, baby!", said Storm with a grin, plopping down on a chair.
"We'll take that as a 'yes', then", said Hank with a chuckle.
"Honeymoons are great", said Storm, "you get tons of free stuff!!!".
"Not to mention it's a celebration of the love you have with the person you've recently married", added Xavier.
Storm blinked, before waving a hand.
"That too"
"Here's a question", said Hank, looking around, "aren't you missing something kind of important that a woman usually brings back from a honeymoon?"
"Like what?", asked Storm, blinking.
Hank paused, before sighing.
"Oh, you know, just a little thing called a HUSBAND?!!".
"Oh, Forge?", said Storm, "he's carrying the luggage".
"Wutush!", said Logan.
"Do that again, and I'll smack you", said Storm, "he wouldn't let me do it, not that I'm complaining".
There was a small, weak thud at the closed door. Hank went over and opened it, letting Forge fall through with his arms full of bags.
"Heavy", he squeaked.
"Welcome home, Forge", said Hank, picking up one of the bags then blinking, "....this IS heavy!"
"Ooooooh did you bring us souvenirs?!!!", asked Kurt excitedly.
"Kurt, we were on our honeymoon", said Storm, "no, no souvenirs".
"None?", said Kurt, then looked hopefully at Forge.
"Sorry, nope", said Forge with a shrug, "the bags are so heavy because Ororo re-discovered her love of the 'five fingered discount'".
"Oh, I only took a few little unimportant things", said Storm with a wave of her hand.
Forge tipped out the contents of the suitcase Hank had been holding, which instead of clothes was filled with amenities....lots and lots of amenities.
"Oh", said Xavier, eyeing the small mountain, "well...it's perfectly normal to take a few hotel amenities".
Forge raised a brow and rummaged through the pile, re-emerging with a set of cutlery, a TV remote control, a small painting, a throw rug and, oddest of all, a brass number eight.
"Okay, maybe I went a teensy weensy bit overboard", said Storm.
"....A 'teesny weensy bit'?", said Logan, "Ororo, you stole your room number fer crying out loud!".
"I....wanted a momento?", tried Storm hopefully, before crossing her arms, "hey, I couldn't drink on my own honeymoon, I wanted to get something out of it!"
"Oh yeah, how'd you feel?", asked Kitty, prodding Storm's slightly protruding stomach.
"Calling it 'morning sickness' is an unfair ruse to cover up the horrible, horrible truth", said Ororo darkly, "it SHOULD be called 'morning, noon, night and everything in between sickness'...Stupid lying doctors, I'll string them up by their pointy little heads and laugh, laugh, I tell you, LAUGH!".
And laugh she did....manically.
"How're those mood swings going Ororo?", asked Logan with a chuckle.
"WHAT MOOD SWINGS?!!!", snapped Ororo, then started to cry, "I'm sorry sniff I don't know why I snapped at you".
Logan smirked.
"...Haven't had any then?"
Storm just GLARED at him.
"Why do you have to upset her?", asked Forge with a sigh, "do you not like me? Do you want me to suffer?"
"Hey, it affects dads too!", said Hank with a chuckle, before shrinking away from Forge's glare.
It was then Storm's make-up bag started to move
"Oh, yes", said Storm, "I forgot about our little stowaway"
"....You didn't smuggle anything illegal into the country...did you, Storm?", asked Xavier, watching her worriedly as she moved to open her bag....he didn't want any evidence in his house.
"No!", said Storm, opening her back, Shortpack poking his head out, gasping for breath.
"Geez, Ororo, what have you GOT in there", he said, sneezing, "ick!"
Kurt blinked.
"Did you guys to to Lilliput?", he asked, confused.
"...Shortpack?", said Xavier in suprise, "well, I didn't expect to find you of all people here! Kurt, he's not a Lillypudlian, put down the stick"
"Well, I ran into these two in Tortola and thought 'hey, I haven't been home for ages'", said Shortpack, dusting blush off his coat, "so here I am!"
"And in the nick of time too", said Xavier, a smile appearing on his face, "with Ororo living elsewhere, we DO need a new live-in teacher"
"...This is why you use a telephone first, Shortpack", Shortpack said to himself.
----
Meanwhile, over in Dark Hollow, Danielle sighed boredly as she sat on the porch steps to her and her grandfather's home, staring out into the ghost town.
"Danielle?"
Dani glanced up, smiling slightly as Black Eagle walked out of the cabin, taking a seat in his rocking chair.
"Hello, Namshim", she said. [2]
Black Eagle rocked in his chair, eyeing his granddaughter.
"Don't tell me you miss Bayville already?", he asked, "you were only there but last week!"
Dani rolled her eyes.
"It's not the town I miss", she said, then smiled softly to herself, "more the people in it"
"Not the Brazillian", groaned Black Eagle, "you can do better than that, Danielle"
Danielle turned her head to him, frowning.
"Better than a heir to a multi-million corporation?", she asked, "..not that it matters to me"
Black Eagle shook his head.
"He's just using you, child", he said, "once he bores of you, he'll find someone else to follow him around like a sheep. It is the way of his kind"
Danielle stood up, turning to look angrily at her grandfather.
"That isn't true!", she protested, "Roberto cares for me, he'd never hurt me like that!"
"And you think he'll stay with a girl he barely gets to see?", asked Black Eagle, "hah!. When frogs grow teeth!" [3]
"He DOES care about me!", snapped Dani, her eyes glowing.
Suddenly, between them, an image of Black Eagle being beaten by two masked assailants appeared. Dani blinked in shock, before the image faded.
"Namshim...I'm so sorry", she whispered, hanging her head, "I...I lost control of it again"
Black Eagle sighed, standing and putting a hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay, Danielle", he said gently, "I pressed you to it. Perhaps this boy IS good for you"
He sighed.
"I have just gone overprotective and stubborn in my old age", he said, "I don't want to lose the only family I have left"
Dani walked over, giving him a tight hug.
"You'll never lose me, grandfather, I promise"
------
In the Hellfire Club HQ, Sebastian Shaw was sitting at his desk, waiting. He smiled to himself as he moved a chess piece from the set on his table.
"They're here, Shaw", said Harry Leland, the Clubs' Black Bishop,a large man with a well cut, though bushy blonde beard.
"Send them in", said Shaw, looking up as Emmanuel and Daniel both walked in, now dressed in the 18th century garb that was the offical 'uniform' of the Inner Circle.
"You asked for us, Sebastian?", asked Emmanuel, his portugese accent as strong in him as it was in his son.
"Yes, I did", said Shaw, smiling over his desk, "I have an assignment for you. Consider it your first....mission"
"What is it?", asked Daniel, running a hand irritably through his sandy blonde hair, "it's about time we got some action"
"Oh, you'll get plenty of action, Daniel", smirked Shaw, "go and speak to our White Queen, she will give you all the information you need".
He grinned as he watched the two men leave, moving his chess piece once more.
"Checkmate"
------
[1] - This scene is an adapted version of one from 'Dead Man on Campus', one of my most favorite films of all time.
[2] - Namshim is the Cheyenne informal word for 'my grandfather'. If you're wondering why she didn't say hello in Cheyenne, it's because the Cheyenne language has no word for hello or goodbye. You learn something new everyday, huh?...Unless you already knew that...err..yeah.
[3] - Believe it or not, this is an acutal Cheyenne idiom, for 'never'.
Bwahahahaha! And there's another chapter done. Those that have read the comics will probably know what will happen next, as for the rest...heh heh heh. Ahem. Don't worry, I don't plan to follow the comic storyline completely, only use certain elements of it for my story. Evil grin Do review. Until next time.