Author's Note: After watching the X-Men Movie for the fourth or fifth time, and reading Dyce's "The Godless Among Them" arc even more times, I got inspired.  Then I saw the latest movie, and KNEW I had to do this story, since poor lil' Yana didn't get any facetime…at least her big brother got to be a hero! 

If you liked "The New Kid" series, you'll probably like this…maybe.  Same formula (Nate crashing into a school), different result (you won't even be able to tell the plot's recycled by the end!).

The title is a pun on a book about a certain BIG Red Dog that my baby cousin adores.

Continuity: Takes place after Piotr arrived at the school, but before Stryker's invasion.  So…maybe five minutes before the second movie…?  (::giggles gleefully at the ultra-cool Nightcrawler fight scene:: )

~…~ are thoughts/telepathic speech.

Summary: Jubilee searches for a way to bring little Illyana Rasputin out of her shell.  Does the answer lie within the mysterious Nate? 

The Littlest Snowflake (and How She Grew…)

An X-Men Movie-verse Fanfiction by:

Nate Grey (XMAN0123@aol.com)

Chapter 1: Stranger in a Storm

Jubilee sighed and glanced out of her window, watching lightning race across the night sky.  She truly did enjoy attending Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, but she was a mallrat at heart.  Unfortunately, today's outing to the mall with a few other students (Marie, Kitty, Illyana, Piotr, and Bobby) had been promptly canceled as soon as the surprise thunderstorm had appeared.  So Jubilee, for all intents and purposes, was disappointed and somewhat bummed. 

On the inside, anyway.

Outside, she was only disappointed and somewhat bored.  She had to be, for little Illyana's sake.

Since she had come to the school with her older brother three months ago, Illyana Rasputin had made very few friends.  This was partially because she had a bad habit of hiding behind the tree trunks of solid muscle that served as her brother's legs.  The only ones she ever really talked to were Piotr, Jubilee, Storm, and Professor Xavier.  She depended heavily on her brother for protection, comfort, and pretty much all aspects of her happiness.  Jubilee was there for friendship and "feminine talks" (which were very awkward, but she figured it was better than sending the poor kid to Dr. Grey), while Storm and Xavier provided emotional and mental counseling, respectively.  Illyana was shy to a fault, and hardly even spoke to those four.

Despite Xavier's claims that Illyana had not yet manifested a mutant power, Jubilee suspected she might be an empath.  The small girl seemed to have a gift for knowing what someone else was feeling…and, in turn, feeling it herself.  Illyana had gone on a week-long hunger strike, only minutes after Jubilee had wondered if she was getting fat.  Since then, Jubilee had learned to hide her emotions quite well.  The negative ones, anyway.

"It is your turn, Jubilee," Piotr said, breaking into her thoughts.

Jubilee blinked and looked at him.  "Oh.  Right."  She glanced at the cards in her hand.  "Gimme two."  She paused to check on Illyana, who was sitting in Piotr's lap, half-hidden by his large arms.  "You okay, Yana?" she asked quietly. 

Illyana shook her head and gripped her brother's arm a little tighter.

Because of the storm, Jubilee had decided on two small electric lamps, instead of turning on all the lights, as she usually did.  She assumed it was the dim lighting that bothered Illyana.  "Hey, what's wrong?  I thought we got we past that 'scared-of-the-dark' stuff."

"We did," Illyana whispered, her big blue eyes shifting back and forth nervously.

"Then what's the problem?" Jubilee asked.  She picked up two cards, looked at them, and frowned.  "Crap!"

"My sister does not like storms," Piotr explained, gently kissing the top of Illyana's head.  "There was a thunderstorm the night we…left home."

Jubilee nodded, understanding dawning on her.  Piotr and Illyana had come to the school because at least one of them was a mutant, and because they truly had nowhere else to go.  Jubilee wasn't quite sure how it had happened, but she got the idea that the circumstances surrounding the deaths of their parents were very unpleasant.  She could relate, and tried to avoid bringing it up.

Tried, anyway.

"Sorry," Jubilee apologized.  She reached over and patted the little girl's leg.  "It's just light and a lot of noise, Yana.  Nothin' to be worried about, right?"

Illyana didn't look convinced, but attempted to relax.  "Okay," she whispered.

Jubilee flashed her a warm smile.  "Good girl.  Now do me a favor and take a look at your brother's hand.  I've never lost THIS bad before…"

* * * * *

"Professor?" a gentle voice asked from the doorway.

"Yes, Ororo?" Charles Xavier asked, looking up from his papers.

"I am…worried about Illyana."

"Worried?" Xavier asked, gesturing towards the chair in front of his desk.

Ororo smiled appreciatively and sat down.  "Well…I am concerned.  As you know, I've been counseling her, and I'm afraid that she will continue to isolate herself from the other students."

"I understand your concern, but we can hardly force Illyana to interact with the students.  Above all, she must be comfortable.  If she is not, Piotr will not hesitate to take her somewhere else."

"That's another thing, Professor.  Illyana must realize that Piotr may not be there every minute of her life.  She has to know how to fend for herself."

"I agree, Ororo.  That is partially why I placed her in a room with Jubilee.  Hopefully, some of her independence will rub off on Illyana.  Still, I do think that-"  He stopped and frowned.

"What is it, Professor?" Ororo asked.

"For a moment…I felt an…unfamiliar presence on the psychic plane.  Possibly a mutant triggering his gifts for the first time.  Now, however, it is gone."  He sighed and placed a hand on his forehead.  "Still, it requires some investi-"  He trailed off, suddenly looking shocked.

"Professor?"  Ororo leaned forward.  "Are you-"

Charles Xavier groaned and collapsed across his desk.

"Professor!"  Ororo's highly-praised ability to stay calm in the face of uncertainty wavered a bit as she rushed to his side.  Closing her eyes, she ordered her thoughts.  ~Jean?  Can you hear me?  This is an emergency!~

The reply came almost instantly.  ~I'm here, Ororo.  What's wrong?~

~Something's happened to Professor Xavier!  He said he sensed something on the psychic plane, and then he collapsed!  What should I do?~

~Yes, I felt it, too.  Get him to the infirmary.  I'll meet you there.~  There was a slight pause.  ~Don't worry, Ororo.  I'm sure he'll be fine.  There is precious little that can seriously harm his mind.~ 

* * * * *

"This is so not my night," Jubilee sighed.  "Petey, you sure you ain't cheatin'?"

The big Russian smiled.  "Perish the thought, my friend."

"Piotr doesn't cheat," Illyana agreed, her blonde head emerging from behind one of her brother's large arms.

"Thank you, little snowflake," Piotr said, stroking her hair.  "I could not have a better spokesperson."

"Yeah, yeah."  Jubilee frowned.  "Maybe we should play a card game I can actually spell next time…"

Illyana giggled.  "That's because you don't speak Russian."

"And I'm not gonna learn just so this big lug can beat me at MORE card games."  Jubilee finally put down her cards.  "Okay, I quit, you win.  Time to play somethin' I can't lose at."

"Like what?" Piotr asked.

Jubilee was just about to introduce them to her Playstation when the lamps went out, plunging the room into darkness.

 Jubilee muttered something under her breath as she fumbled around her dresser for a flashlight.  "Not scared, right, Yana?"

"Right," Illyana whimpered none too confidently.

"Don't be frightened, snowflake," Piotr said reassuringly.  "I have you."

"Hey, come on!" Jubilee protested.  "You said we got past the 'scared-of-the-dark' stuff!"

"Yes," Illyana agreed quietly.  "But not the 'scared-of-the-dark-during-a-storm' stuff."

"Great."  Jubilee's fingers closed around something even better than a flashlight.  "Okay, I can take care of the dark part." 

The battery-powered camping lantern buzzed and flickered on, bathing the room in an eerie green glow.

"There, see?  No more dark."  Jubilee sat down beside Piotr.  "It'll probably just take a few minutes before the lights come back on.  And we're not scared, are we?"

Illyana stopped trembling and looked up.  "But the storm-"

"Isn't going to hurt us, Yana."  Jubilee gave her hand a squeeze.  "Besides, nothing could get past your big brother, anyway."

The words were barely out of Jubilee's mouth when the window directly behind her shattered.  She had just enough time to turn around and see the dark shape, surrounded by hundreds of tiny glass shards, hurtling straight for her.  All she could really do was close her eyes and hope it wasn't very heavy.

Instead, Jubilee felt something warm against the front of her neck, and something cool against the back of it.  Then there was a loud thump a few feet away, and silence, save for the storm.  A few seconds later, she slowly opened her eyes.

Thankfully, the warmth on her neck wasn't blood; it was only Illyana, who was clinging to her tightly.  Jubilee hugged the small girl and glanced up.  The hulking figure of Piotr was bent over her, his armored skin gleaming in the pale moonlight.

"Snowflake?  Jubilee?  Are you hurt?" he asked, concern in his tone.

"Nah, we're okay," Jubilee said, stroking Illyana's hair.  "Just a little startled.  And thanks, Petey."

"Of course."  He straightened a bit, eyes narrowed.  "What is that?"

Jubilee followed his gaze and gasped.  Lying next to the lantern was the dark shape that had come through the window.  "I don't know."

Fortunately, the lamps flickered on at that moment.

Illyana glanced up at the older girl.  "Jubilee?"

"Yeah, Yana; I know.  You never have to listen to ME again…"

Piotr stood up and stepped over to the lantern in a few giant strides.

Jubilee swallowed noisily.  "Uh…Petey, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Neither do I, but we can't just leave it there."  Piotr squatted and poked at the object.  A few seconds later, he announced in disbelief, "It's a person.  A young man, probably around my age."

"Why didn't he come through the door then?" Illyana asked, clearly confused.

"I do not think he wished to come through the window, snowflake."  He glanced back at them.  "Jubilee, come see."

Jubilee blinked.  "Um…why?"

"You have a better chance of knowing him than I do.  You've been here longer."

"Oh.  Right.  I guess."  Making sure to keep Illyana's face pressed to her shoulder, Jubilee slowly walked over to Piotr and looked down for a long minute.  "Well, I've never seen him before, but is he…?"

"Da.  He has a pulse, and there isn't too much…liquid."  He glanced at his younger sister uneasily.

"Ah."  Jubilee patted Illyana's back.  "I guess we should call someone."

"Da.  That would be wise."

Jubilee closed her eyes.  ~Jean…er, Dr. Grey?  We've got…a small problem…~

* * * * *

Jean Grey sighed and leaned against the counter.  Never before had the infirmary been so popular, not even when Logan had started "sparring" with Scott.  Yet, for some reason, she now had two patients.  Both were mutants, both were unconscious, and both were telepaths, but she was only familiar with one.

She'd found Piotr and Jubilee huddled around the boy.  Thankfully, Jubilee had had the good sense to keep Illyana from seeing him.  There wasn't much blood, but then, it didn't take much to upset Illyana.  With Logan's help, they'd gotten him to the infirmary in record time, not that it really mattered.  There was little more they could do than clean the scratches and wait for him to wake up.  The latter in itself was fairly boring and quite nerve-wracking.  At least, for Jean it was.

Logan, on the other hand, was not exactly a patient man, but had amused himself by guessing what the boy's first reaction would be upon waking.  He'd decided on blinking rapidly and trying to kill them both.  It wasn't exactly optimistic, but he was itching for a good fight, and frankly, it was the first thing HE'D done after waking up in the infirmary.

"Think he'll be a problem, Red?"

"I don't know, Logan.  All I really know is that he has psychic powers and an unusual way of making his presence known."

Logan grunted.  "You know us macho types.  Nothin' better than a big entrance."

"Apparently."  She paused and looked at the boy.  "But there is something strangely familiar about him."

"Like what?"

She shook her head.  "I'm not sure.  Just a feeling I have."

Without warning, the boy's eyelids twitched.

Logan instantly went into a crouch, ready for anything.

The boy's eyes drifted open.

"Don't be afraid," Jean said soothingly, leaning over the bed.  "You're safe here."

The boy's eyes focused on her face, but he said nothing.

"My name is Jean, and this is Logan."

Finally, the boy blinked.  "Where am I?" he whispered hoarsely.

"Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters in Westchester.  More specifically, the infirmary."

His eyes shifted warily to Logan, and then went back to Jean.  "How did I get here?"

"You crashed through the window of a student's room."

"Oh."  His eyes went back to Logan, and he offered somewhat hesitantly, "…Sorry."

"It's okay," Jean reassured him.  "No real harm done.  But we would like to know more about you.  Your name, for example."

He stared at her for a long moment.  "Nate," he said at last.

"Well, Nate, you're welcome to stay here as long as you want.  As soon as you're feeling up to it, I'd be more than happy to give you the grand tour."

Nate glanced at Logan one last time, and then closed his eyes.  "Fine."  Within seconds, he was asleep again.

"That was easy," Logan remarked, sounding a little disappointed.

"For now," Jean added, sighing.  "But it almost never stays that way…"

* * * * *

"I want to see him."

Jubilee slowly opened her eyes.  Her gaze focused on the tiny figure next to her bed, and she sighed.  "Yana, this is so NOT a good time to talk.  It's…"  She squinted at the digital clock on her nightstand.  "TWO in the morning?!"

"But I want to see him!"

"See WHO?!"

"Window Boy."

In her groggy state, it took Jubilee 5.7 seconds to make the connection.  "Window Boy" was actually "Boy Who Crashes Through Windows."  A terrible Indian name, but certainly descriptive enough.  "Oh.  Um…maybe later, Yana.  Okay?"

"When?" Illyana pressed.

Jubilee sighed again, and then remembered something Mr. Summers had mentioned to her.  What was it again?  Ah, yes.  Positive reinforcement…or something like that.  "Look, kiddo.  In the morning, I want you to go out and make a new friend.  Then you come back to me, tell me their name, and three things you learned about them.  If you can do that each day, you get to see Window Boy.  The more you do it, the longer you get to see him.  Deal?"

Illyana considered that for a moment, and then nodded.  "Deal."

"Good.  And each time you DON'T wake me up at this ungodly hour, I'll share my jellybean stash with you.  Are we clear?"

"Okay."  There was a long pause, but the child didn't move.

Jubilee groaned.  "Lemme guess.  Another nightmare, and your own bed isn't safe anymore."

Illyana nodded again, looking disgustingly adorable as she tightly squeezed her teddy bear.

Wordlessly, Jubilee rolled to the left.  She waited until the teddy bear (which, for some reason or another, was named Miko) was pressed into her side, and then wrapped an arm around the child. 

Illyana snuggled closer, resting her head against Jubilee's shoulder before murmuring, "Thank you."

Jubilee's reply was a near audible grunt as she closed her eyes and tried to get back to sleep.