Chapter Two
Since the first two weeks didn't really leave much time for anything but cleaning, things went unbelievably well. It was when the cleaning was done that things really started getting tense. None of us are going to school right now and that leaves us with a lot of free time. So, we were all just sitting around in the living room doing whatever we pleased. Toad was attempting to watch TV, though generally the reception around here is so bad that it's pretty much hopeless. Blob was eating, as usual. Wanda still hadn't been seen since her and Gambit's argument and I wondered where she was. Maybe she had joined the X-Men but somehow I couldn't see her fighting for good. Gambit was doing something to that staff of his; adding something I think. I was playing out little tunes on my guitar, staring out the window. Gambit kept on throwing glares my way; I just knew my playing was starting to annoy him. I played a little louder and wondered if I should start up the stereo. Finally, he set the staff down and turned to give me a full on death glare.
"Would y' mind? Can' concentrate wit' dat racket."
I grinned at him and continued playing. "Don't mind at all. Kind of enjoying myself actually." I was laughing inside.
"If y' don' stop wit' de noise I am gonna have t' show ya personally what I been doin' t' dis t'ing." He picked up the staff, flicked a button and three long and very sharp looking blades snapped out of one end. Whoa. I was really starting to consider setting the guitar down as those blades looked lethal, when one of them fell off. We stared in shocked silence as it clattered to the floor, then we all broke into laughter. Gambit let out a very put upon sigh and bent to pick up the blade.
"Guess y' gonna have t' wait 'till I'm finished before I kill y'," he muttered to himself and went back to work on the staff. I waited for about ten minutes before I resumed playing the guitar. Heh heh heh.
#
A few days later and Gambit was finally finished with his staff. He cornered us all in the living room and announced that it was time to start working on our powers. He took us to a small field out in the woods, saying that Magneto owned it and nobody would bother us there. It was a perfect place to practice our powers. While it was no Danger Room, it was big enough and secluded. Gambit told us that he was going to show us how to work as a team. I couldn't wait to see this.
"Alright, I'm going t' be de enemy here. All y' gotta do is stand up t' anyt'ing I throw at y'. Y' t'ink y' c'n do dat?" God, I had never seen anyone as arrogant as that guy. Well, I'd show him exactly what I could do.
Grinning rather wickedly to myself, I said, "Bring it on, pretty boy."
Without even giving us the time to really prepare, he tossed a few cards our way, scattering us as we tried to avoid them. We really did try to take him down. Blob would run at him, probably trying to run him over but all Gambit had to do was blow out the ground from under him or trip Blob with his staff. Toad tried to get the staff away from him with that disgusting tongue of his. Gambit charged it and let go. The look on Toad's face when he realized he was holding a bomb with his tongue was priceless. He dropped it pretty quick, allowing Gambit to retrieve it. And, dammit, he even managed to avoid my earthquakes. I swear that guy must be part cat or something. Incredibly agile with out of this world reflexes, he easily dodged or deflected anything we could throw at him. After about 30 minutes of this, we were all panting with exhaustion and Gambit called a stop.
"Not bad, not great but not bad." He was smirking at us. Damn him. He was trained by Magneto for God sakes; we've never really had any training like this. Mystique could never be bothered. Right about then my temper just snapped. Something about that superior tone of his, like he was so much better than us. I growled and ran at him. If I couldn't take him down with my powers then I'd use my fists. But in my blind rage I'd forgotten about that damned staff of his. He used it to trip me and I landed flat on my back, the end of the staff on my chest holding me down. I glared up at him but all he did was give me a lopsided grin. It infuriated me even more and I struggled to get up but the staff kept me pinned. "Take it easy, eh? Y' got t' earn y' praise. You guys could do a lot better dan dat." He lifted the staff and I climbed to my feet. "Y' don' seem t' be getting it dough. Y' can't attack an enemy individually an' expect to win. We be a team, 'member?" We were all kind of silent for a few minutes. "Also t'inking dat y' need some hand-to-hand training. Can't always rely on your powers."
"All we need is our powers. Nobody's gonna beat them," I stated. I sighed inwardly at myself. Apparently, he's not the only arrogant one around here. He looked at me like I was an idiot. After he finished speaking, I kinda started to feel like one.
"Dat so. Den why do y' get your asses handed to y' every time y' fight de X-Men?"
"We're outnumbered."
"Shouldn' make a difference. If y' worked as a team." That smug look was back again, but I knew there was a least some wisdom to his words so I kept my mouth shut. He studied me for a moment before going on. "Dat should be enough for t'day. Y'all can go an' do what y' want."
"Oh can we sir? Thanks ever so much." You could have cut the sarcasm with a knife. He ignored me though and went off on his own to God knows where leaving me with Toad and Blob.
"You know you really oughta lighten up a little. Give the guy a break." I looked at Blob incredulously. Had I just heard him right? "You've gotta admit that he has helped. We actually have electricity and food. Lots of food."
"Yeah, man, and with him training us, we'll be able to take out the X-Men in no time!"
"I can't believe you guys are taking his side!" I started to get really angry and the ground started to rumble slightly. It happens whenever I get overly emotional; I lose control of my powers slightly. I tried to calm myself down as hurting one of them is really not something I want to do. Staying would have meant losing my temper again, though, so I turned and stalked off, telling them they could walk back to town, I was taking the jeep.
#
We went to the clearing a few more times after that and we did actually improve some but not as much as Gambit was expecting, I don't think. After about a week, Gambit told us to take a few days off, he had something important that needed doing. So, we hung around doing nothing for a few days, Gambit seemed to be gone a lot and nothing was different from what it had been before he had ever arrived. Well, except for the clean house and no Wanda. Toad had been sulking about that the entire time; I don't think he's too fond of Gambit right now. Had to wonder where Gambit was going, though. He'd stay gone all day and then come back angry as hell at all of us. I ignored whatever it was he would yell at us, instead filling my mind with visions of throwing him off a cliff. It was something about us all being immature jerks with no sense of responsibility.
He came back one day even more enraged than usual. I looked at him warily but he just glared back at me.
"What de hell is de matter wit' y'?" His tone was accusatory.
Todd cleared his throat and spoke. "Um, who?" Todd cringed back slightly as Gambit directed his glare at him. He was obviously intimidated by Gambit, but then the guy did threaten to blow him up once so I think that Todd was justified in his fears.
"All of y'! Him especially!" He pointed a finger and switched his glare back to me. Sprawled over the chair, I raised my eyebrows and met his gaze head on. "Don' y' care about what happens t' y'?" I blinked at him. Where had that come from?
"What have you been doing all week?" I voiced a question that had been on my mind for some time. I had thought that he was going out and having a good time but now I was starting to think otherwise.
"I'm trying t' get y'all back int' school."
I shot to my feet, getting angry. "What?! You have no say in-!"
"Non! But Magneto does and y' are going t' finish what y' started dere!"
"There is no way I'm going back there," I said quietly, steel in my voice. This was one argument that he would not win. Why should we go back there, so that we can be ridiculed for being mutants? What was the point anyway? Kelly would never let us back into that school.
"Why? Why would y' want t' t'row dat chance away? Y', all of y', could be better dan any of dis. Y' can' just give dat up." He looked around the room at us, anger and confusion clouding his eyes. "Would y' rather end up livin' on de streets or workin' some dead end job f' de rest of your lives? Maybe y' will all be drug dealers, non? Does dat sound good t' y'?" His voice was scathing now and his words cut deeper than he would know.
"Shut up. You don't know." Our gazes locked once again. There was sadness in his; I knew that there was fear in my own.
"Non? Maybe I know more dan you t'ink. Do y' really t'ink dat dat couldn't happen t' y'?"
"I won't let it happen." I turned and fled the room. I did not want to talk about this. What Gambit had said brought up memories that I would rather not think about, that I could not think about. I could feel the astonished eyes of the others watching my retreat but I could not stay in that room any longer, I had to get away. I went up to my room, locked the door and collapsed on my bed. I tried to force my mind to go blank but couldn't stop from thinking back. I would never allow myself to do drugs; I had seen first hand what people did when taking them. I could not become someone like that myself.
My thoughts went around in circles like this until I somehow managed to drift off to sleep and into my nightmares.
A/N: SailorWade, Roberto eh? Never thought of that one, hmmmmmm, it has possibilities. But, Gambit/Xavier, uh, I don't know... The scary thing is that I think I could make that work. The Remy/Storm would work to. I love that pairing. Anyway thank you for answering my questions:D Anyone else have any ideas on what pairing to do??????