SUMMARY: ALTERNATE UNIVERSE: Magneto never got his hands of the Senator, so he got another subject. He got more then even he ever bargained for or wanted. Sabretooth wasn't raised by a sadistic father. Mystique didn't turn blue when her mutation set in and Wolverine still had his memories.
DISCLAIMER: Darn it I still don't the X-Men! I do own Bell and Sabretooth's grandkids. If you want to use them, ask first.
REVIEWS: Would be nice, thanks.
Rating PG
CHAPTER 22: WHILE THE SABRETOOTH'S AWAY......
Lance was screwed and he knew it. Breathing hard it figured that it would be best to make it a good apology. Maybe just maybe, Fred will let him live.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking! Honest!" Lance hit notes he hadn't hit since puberty. Fred was stilled pretty angry and he really didn't believe the apology was as sincere as it should have been.
"Hey, Fred....it's okay. He apologized, really its fine. Just put him down, gently. I mean he's still your friend, right?" Bell said soothingly.
"He doesn't really mean it." Fred said looking at Bell. Bell went over to him and laid a calming hand on his arm.
"Just let him go. I bet he won't do or say anything against me again." Bell smiled. Fred just melted. He turned back to Lance and gave him a hard look and set him back down on the floor. Lance took off towards the back of the bar to the restrooms. Bell covered her mouth with a hand and snickered behind it. Fred let out a laugh.
Good, he wasn't angry anymore. Bell smiled at her large friend. "Well at least you got some revenge on him after all." The bar exploded with laughter. It would be a while before Lance could ever live this event down.
Bell was simply giddy. She giggled and cooed and just about danced around the barroom floor. She had her eyes closed some of the time, but Victor could see the red blazing trying to seep out from under her lids. He waved frantically at her. She trotted over to him.
"Listen Bell, James and I are going to be leaving and were bringing back some folks, so do me a favor and stay here. And try to stay out of trouble, alright." Victor said giving Bell a hug and he blew in her ear softly and she giggled. "Try to keep yourself under some kind of control. Please." Victor said in her ear.
"So...now it starts," said Brad. Victor and Logan looked at him. "She'll be fine as long as you aren't away long, so hurry back dears." Brad said lovingly to Victor and his brother.
"Do you really have to go? I'll miss you lots." Bell said mournfully.
"Well, I'll miss you too Babe, but we aren't going to be gone that long." Victor said chuckling. "What's going on with her Brad?" Victor asked. He suspected but he wanted Brad to confirm it.
"She's getting drunk, on the power she's mimicking," Brad whispered. Don't worry; it won't last all day, just a good part of it." Brad said soothingly. "Now you boys better trundle off and bring back your friends. We are going to have a smashing good party...." He laughed, threw back his head and howled. Bell couldn't resist she joined him, so did Victor and Logan. It sounded a bit like a wolf pack calling their territory. Jake laughed.
"Okay gang, that's enough. Just go, Vic." Victor turned to Jake and gave her a couple of large bills. "What's this for?" Jake asked.
"For food and drink for Bell...just in case she gets hungry, and thirsty." Vic said smiling. "I wouldn't be surprise me if she eats you out of food at lunch time." Victor said amused.
"She'll have to have a huge appetite for that to happen." Jake said.
"You should have seen her eat her breakfast this morning. She can sure shovel it in." Victor said, with some pride in his voice.
"Why Victor, that's the nicest thing you've said to me all day." Bell said sweetly, laughing, clinging tightly to Victor. He pried her lose carefully.
"Brad, would you be as kind as to keep an eye on her for me while we're gone. Normally I wouldn't leave her in this state, but I need to bring those folks here." Brad nodded.
"Don't worry Victor; darling...she'll be alright. Hurry back; she won't be only one missing you." Brad puckered up and gave him a distance kiss. Logan laughed at Victor and Victor rolled his eyes.
"Just wait until he starts flirting with you." Victor said in an undertone to Logan.
"I can hardly wait." Logan said sarcastically. They turned and left the bar leaving Bell to herself and Brad. Bell decided to dance to the music and took over the floor.
"Jake, here's a twenty, give me a roll of quarters." Brad said, pulling a bill from his wallet.
"Sure Brad, here ya go. Don't spend them all in one place." Jake joked.
"I plan to, I have you know. Right here, as a matter of fact." Brad said and went over to Bell. "Here darling, put some quarters in the machine and choose your own music to dance to. There's no need for you to dance to Lances music alone." Brad said giving her the roll of quarters.
"Why thank you Brad, your just oh so sweet." She gave him another hug. He simply purred in pleasure. Brad could hardly wait until Victor and Logan brought the others. She'll be more fun then a cast party after a successful opening.
Bell fed the hungry jukebox quarter after quarter and chose her songs carefully. Soon the entire roll of quarters was in the machine. Music would now pretty much be constant for quite a while. After Lance's choice of music was over it was evident that Bell's was better. Her choices were alternating between fun dancing and some slow dancing. She was all over the floor. Brad was the only one who knew how new Bell's body was to her. She moved like a chorus dancer and ballerina. She was flamboyance and elegance at the same time. It was intoxicating to watch her and the men at the bar became hypnotized by her.
She'd been dancing to and singing with the music for almost an hour and not showing any signs of slowing down or getting tired. The lunch crowd started showing up one of them asked, "When did you hire entertainment, Jake?"
"I didn't, she's just waiting for someone. I suggest that you not bother her." Jake said smiling.
"I wasn't, just like watching her. She's an out of work dancer isn't she?"
"No, I don't think she is." Jake smiled. And went back to the bar and filled orders for drink and food.
The male patrons took turns dancing with her, and Brad had the most fun he had in such a long time. She danced with Remy, Pietro and Fred, Brad especially; she even tried to get Lance dance with her but he declined.
After a half hour later more of music and dancing Victor and Logan came back with a gang of friends. Bell simply rushed Victor and jumped into his arms.
"It seems that she is already taken." Said one of the patrons to a friend.
"Was there any doubt?" They looked at each other, "Nahhh."
Victor had learned that Bell had been dancing the whole time he was gone and had nothing to eat, so he ordered for her. The crowd that Victor and Logan brought back was milling around and they were looking for table to sit at. Victor had promised them a good meal and some fun. They were all mutants with a variety of powers. Bell's eyes simply glowed red almost constantly since Victor's and Logan's arrival with Victor's friends. Her body was accommodating the powers that it is sensing. Victor knew that her instincts on handling the new powers will probably take over and she wouldn't need all that much training. Just a little coaching, the proof of that was when she turned into the Sabretooth Tiger early that day, was all that he needed to be certain of her control.
Bell ate with enthusiasm and devoured whatever Victor ordered for her. With no fanfare she announced after eating that it was time to go and she did not hesitate to invite Remy to go with them. Remy looked at her confused.
"Why must Gambit go with Bell, chere'? What's in it for him?" Remy was unsure of how to handle the invitation.
"Your future.... of course! It's a good one, I promise. Go with us now, and it will be. Stay and you'll regret it, maybe not now, not today, not tomorrow...but soon and for the rest of your life." She giggled. "Humphrey Bogart to Ingmar Bergman...Casablanca. But it's no less true for you; trust me." Bell leaned over to Remy and whispered in his ear. "She's there, the one for you....you'll see. Come with us and meet her, be with her. She's waiting for you... too."
Remy's eyes widen in surprise. "Your future is waiting....don't turn away from it. Embrace it, grab your coat and staff and come with us. When we leave here, the offer is closed. If you stay you will meet her, but she'll never be yours...ever." Bell said quietly. Her voice carried an ominous tone that sent shivers up his spine. Was she like Brad? He turned to look at Brad and he nodded.
"She's right...go now and all will be well for you...stay...you don't want to stay." Brad said.
"Don't listen, Remy..." Lance said. "They're just pulling your chain." Lance said. Pietro agreed and Fred looked confused. Why Remy and not him? What's so special about Remy? Was there no one for him? Fred sighed, probably not. But Bell smiled at Fred.
"Don't worry Fred; things go alright for you too." Bell smiled. She turned to Remy. "Going once, going twice........" Remy hesitated. "If you come with us, Victor here will pay you three times as much as who ever you're working for now. Won't you Victor?" She smiled at Victor engagingly. He cocked his head...Remy coming with them was important to her. It must mean something. Victor nodded.
"Make that four times as much." Victor said sweetening the deal. Remy's red eyes gleamed. That was more then he could make working for the Thieves Guild in six months, or his present employer. He smiled and got his coat.
"Remy ready to go wherever you lead, Chere'." Remy said putting on his coat and joining Victor, Bell, and Logan.
"You'll be sorry, Remy!" Pietro said angrily.
"Actually he won't be, not now or ever." Bell said to Pietro. She smiled at him sweetly. "She ya later guys....bye for now." Bell skipped out the door with Victor, Logan and Remy on her heels. Victor stopping only briefly to pay Jake for the party that was going to take place with his friends that he brought.
They gathered around Victor's car waiting for him to unlock it. Bell suddenly grabbed Logan and pulled him sharply to her. A crash came from the exact spot Logan had been standing. A huge flowerpot had fallen from a balcony from the building next to Jake's. "Oh my god!!!" A scream came from the balcony, "Is everyone alright?!"
"Everyone's fine, no one got hurt, except the plant." Bell called back. "Poor plant, I don't think it can recover. To bad." She sighed. "What's with you and plants anyway. First a tree knocks you unconscious and now a potted plant wants to bean you." Bell snickered.
"Yeah, who'd would have thunk that plants can be so vicious?" Logan said with humor. That set Bell to giggling almost uncontrollably.
"Strange, Gambit didn't even see chere' take a drink of alcohol." Remy said.
"She's power drunk, Gambit. Climb into the car and we'll be off." Victor said unlocking the car.
"I want to sit in the backseat with Remy." Bell announced. She opened the backdoor behind the driver's seat and climbed in.
"Gambit sits in the back seat with Bell, then." Remy said climbing in beside her. Victor turned to his brother and shrugged. Then the brothers got into the car and Victor started up and car and began the drive out of the large city.
It was at least a half hour drive just to get to out of the city to the highway. It was a decent drive to Westchester from NYC and they had already wasted too much time as it was.
When they got to the more unpopulated area Victor turned off of the highway and started taking a short cut. There wasn't as much traffic and he could drive faster. Bell however had different plans. The car radiated a white light and left the road behind as it lifted off. Suddenly Victor found himself driving a flying car.
"Hey Victor, put some music on for us......Something perky to fly by." Bell said smiling. Victor found an all music channel and continued to point the car towards Westchester. The car picked up speed and they were flying fast. Victor chuckled, this flying car coming from a woman who not all that long ago was afraid to fly.
"Muggles aren't used to seeing flying cars," Bell quoted from the Harry Potter book. "Fortunately there doesn't seem to be any muggles about." Bell laughed and giggled at her joke.
"Bell you don't know where Westchester is, do you?" Victor asked.
"Nope...just drive the car like you would normally. The car will stop, go, turn as you steer and pedal." Bell started to sway with the music being played on the radio.
"What about up and down?" Victor asked.
"Hmmm, I hadn't thought of that." She looked as if she was pondering. "Why don't you press the top of the steering wheel down for down and press the bottom down to go up?" She wrinkled her brow, "Yeah that will do it." Bell said simply and went back to listening to her music. "Oh, if you want to go faster, just press down on the gas pedal like normal."
Victor grinned and pressed the gas pedal, and sure enough the car flew faster. "Thanks Bell. This is great!" Victor grinned.
"Remy doesn't understand. Bell, she has the power to make things fly?" Remy asked.
"Remy, Bell has the power to do just about everything at the moment." Victor crowed.
"What does Bell do?"
"She's what we call a power mimic." Logan said looking back at Remy and smiling.
"Gambit heard of those before. But not this powerful." Remy said.
"She takes the power from others and gives them a boost." Victor said. "Of course we'll need someone to confirm it. But it seems so obvious now." Victor feeling a bit adventurous he stomped on the gas and the car simply sped up to 90 miles an hour in the air. Victor laughed with glee and Logan smiled. Remy looked a little pale.
"Don't watch the scenery go by if you don't want to hurl." Bell giggled. Without the hassle of turns and bumps and traffic the car was making really good time.
"Do you know where the school is?" Logan asked Victor.
"Of course, I've kept the place under surveillance for a while now. I can even find the place from the air. So it won't be a problem. My, we are making good time." Victor said.
A half hour later they were only a mile or two away from the school. "Ah Bell, you can put us down now." Victor said. "I can drive us there from here." Bell acted if Victor hadn't said anything. "Uh, Bell. Bell. Can you hear me?" Bell still didn't answer. She was lost to them in the music and her power. "Remy give her a nudge, won't you." Victor said.
"Are you sure that wise, homme'?' Asked Remy, being a little concerned that Bell might be angry at being disturbed.
"We've got no choice in the matter, we're coming up on the school and unless you want to go all the way to Florida, I suggest you get her attention now." Victor said.
Taking a deep breath Remy shook Bell gently and called to her.
"Bell, we be there soon. You can put us down, now." Remy said gently; his accent extra thick. She turned to him and blinked.
"Oh, okay. Would right here be alright, Victor?" Bell asked a little dazed.
"Of course, a nice soft landing would be a must, thank you." Victor said gently.
"Sure. Not a problem." And sooner done then said, they were traveling over the road to the school. There wasn't a noticeable bump; it was as smooth as if they'd been traveling over the road the whole time.
In two minutes the customized muscle car carrying the four mutants entered the gates of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Little did the school know that from this moment on, things would never be the same.