Still owning nothing
Still having a blast writing this!
When Two Sides Go To War
The war between Bobby and Mattie continued to rage. The war was widely known and sides were starting to be drawn up. By and large the girls sided with Mattie and the boys with Bobby. Jean and Scott abstained and generally pretended that they didn't know what was going on. Kitty, Kurt, Rogue and Evan watched with interest without ever actually getting themselves involved. Jamie, who was still smarting from the homework incident, found it all amusing and flatly refused to take a side. Each team considered him their mascot and seeing as how there was more than enough of him to go around, this arrangement suited everyone. Everyone else was in it up to their necks. Mattie's involvement of Tabitha and Paige opened the floor for Bobby to recruit the boys. Sam seemed to take the involvement of his sister personally. And Paige found that she had to watch her own back just as much as Mattie's.
Sunday afternoon found Mattie, Paige, Rahne, Bobby, Sam and Roberto in the extensive grounds playing Frisbee, having been kicked out the house by Logan. Mattie and Bobby were taking the game seriously, every point loss was a crushing defeat and very point gained was a cause for a victory celebration. The Guthrie's were taking it just as seriously, while Roberto and Rahne attempted to stop the game turning into outright war.
Mattie ran to catch the Frisbee and slipped on ice that Bobby had laid down for her. She lost her footing and her balance and tumbled to the ground.
"Too bad, Drew." Bobby sneered as he ran past her to claim the Frisbee. Paige got there first and threw it to Rahne. Rahne was quick to pass it to Mattie as Sam rocketed past her in his Cannonball mode. Mattie smirked at Bobby and rewarded him for his comment by 'lending' enough speed to the Frisbee to throw him backwards when he snatched it out of the air. He landed flat on his back, much to Mattie's amusement.
"It's all getting a little heated here." Roberto said to Rahne as Bobby iced up and mounting his ice slide towered over Mattie. Paige and Sam where in the middle of a shouting match on the other side of them. The Frisbee lay on the grass completely forgotten.
"He's being so pigheaded." Rahne said glancing in Bobby's direction who was now firing icicles at Mattie, who had no problem dodging them.
"She did mess with his car." Roberto argued
"That is no excuse for..." Rahne stopped herself and sighed. "They've got us doing it now."
"Strategic retreat?" Roberto asked.
Rahne nodded. "And quickly, before they ask us to help them."
X
The next morning Bobby slammed his fist into his alarm clock. He hated early mornings. He hated mornings. He hated Monday mornings. He hated the training sessions. And he really hated having to get up early on a Monday morning for training sessions. His tactic for this was to set his alarm for as late as he could possibly get away with. Then he got up, dressed and down to the Danger room before he had even had time to wake up properly. Logan always frowned at him as he walked in yawning. But that was a small price to pay for those extra minutes in bed.
The alarm kept going and he hit the clock again before he finally found the off button. Eyes half closed he shrugged into his uniform and trotted down the corridor to the Danger room. There was no one outside. He cursed under his breath, he was late. Logan was going to punish him big time. He pushed open the door to the room and stepped inside. There was no one inside. That was strange. Was there an outdoor training session today? He didn't remember there being one. Surely Sam would have reminded him. Sam? Why hadn't Sam woken him? Sam always tried to get Bobby out of bed earlier. It was a daily routine with them. So why had his room mate neglected his duties this morning? Frowning and becoming steadily more and more awake, Bobby looked around him. There was something strange about all this. He looked round the Danger room. Maybe this was an exercise to see how he coped with change. Logan was probably watching him from up in the control booth. He looked up. Nobody. He sighed then did a double take. The digital clock in the control booth was large enough that he could see the time from where he stood. But it couldn't be right. 5:10 am! Training didn't start until 6:30. What the fuck was he doing out of bed at 5:10? Why had his alarm clock gone off so early? It didn't take his long to figure that one out. Mattie. That little bitch had changed his alarm clock! He ground his teeth. She really knew how to push his buttons. He grinned evilly. She had just miscalculated. A sleep deprived Bobby was a very dangerous foe indeed.
X
The others all entered the Danger room an hour and a half later. Bobby looked up from where he had been taking the time to refine his ice sculpting ability.
"Bit early for you isn't it Popsicle?" Wolverine grunted.
"I just felt like an early morning today." Bobby replied.
Mattie and Paige broke into giggles at this. Sam shot his sister a dark look and hurried over to Bobby.
They didn't have much time to talk. Wolverine gave them their tasks then prowled around the room making sure that everyone was giving it their all.
Mattie found herself partnered with Rogue. The older girl looked her up and down. Mattie began to feel like a particularly bad type of bug. Didn't the girl ever smile? She couldn't believe that Rogue was most often found in the company of her room mate Kitty or Rogue's step brother Kurt. The two easy going, laugh a minuet mutants seemed in stark contrast to Rogue's permanent scowl and dark mood.
"Logan says you need to learn to fight." Rogue finaly spoke.
Mattie nodded. Unsure if this was that right answer. It made sense that she had been assigned to Rogue. As one of the X-Men she was part of the teaching staff when it came to training. She was also one of the best hand to hand fighters. With her power being what it was, she'd had to learn other ways to fight. She was Logan's star pupil. That fact did little to make her less intimidating.
Rogue sighed. "Well ah guess that as a teacher ah'm not the worst you could find." She studied Mattie again. "Show me what you can do."
Mattie threw a punch past Rogue's left shoulder, the girl didn't even flinch.
"No. Let me see you move."
Mattie completed a lap of the Danger room and came to stand back beside Rogue. Rogue nodded. "You're fast. That's good. Something to work with." She started pulling at the glove on her right hand. "You've heard about mah power right?"
Mattie nodded, her eyes drawn to Rogues un-gloved hand like it was a loaded weapon. Which she guessed it almost was.
"I won't hurt you. I'll just give you a tap." Rogue said moving slowly towards Mattie. "The easiest way for me to teach you to how to use your powers to be a better fighter. Is for me to use your powers."
Mattie swallowed nervously but didn't move. Rogue placed three fingers lightly on Mattie's cheek. She grimaced slightly then stepped back. Mattie shook her head to clear the fuzzy feeling that had invaded her brain.
"You alright?" Rogue asked slipping her glove back on.
Mattie closed her eyes tight, pinching the top of her nose. When she felt normal again she opened her eyes. Rogue was grinning. At least, she had a slight smile on her lips, which Mattie decided was like a huge grin for her.
"You made Bobby get here over an hour early?"
Mattie bit her lip, then nodded, a slow grin creeping across her face.
"You can talk to me you know." Rogue said casually, but the smile had gone from her lips.
Mattie nodded, and then laughed nervously. "I guess I don't know what to say."
Rouge shrugged. "Whatever needs saying? Ah won't bite."
She flexed her muscles then did a lap of the Danger room. Mattie watched her, amazed at how fast she was going. Did she look like that? Like a coloured blur? Rogue raced back to face her and threw a punch without even pausing. Mattie blocked it and Rogue whirled and kicked her legs out from under her. She grinned down at Mattie. "You are going to be so good when Ah'm through with you. You might even give Logan a run for him money."
Wolverine turned at the mention on his name. He took in Mattie's less than imposing position. "I doubt it." He grunted.
Rogue pulled Mattie upright. "Okay, ah'm gonna teach you a couple of the basic's today. Then the real work out will begin."
Mattie felt a little flutter of excitement in her stomach. On the other side of the room she could see Paige, decked out in stone for today; her gung ho attitude seemed to have rubbed off.
X
Mattie rolled over and tried to ignore her alarm clock. Training, school, home work, plus keeping an eye out for any tricks that Bobby might have up his icy sleeve. It was all far to tiring. On the other side of the room Paige's alarm went off, and was ignored. Mattie silently counted to ten and then the alarm clock by the door went off. All three alarms beeped in a, we can do this all day, fashion. Mattie swore then hit the one of her beside table. The other two continued. Grumbling Paige silenced hers. Now there was just the one by the door. The girls had found that it was the only way to get up in the morning. The incessant ringing forced them out of bed.
"It's your turn to get it." Paige said.
"I got it yesterday." Mattie argued.
"No you didn't!" Paige sat bolt upright, motivated by this complete lie.
"No, I didn't." Mattie agreed. "But now you're up..."
Paige gave a cry of fury and hurled a pillow at Mattie. "Get up you lazy cow. It will take you far less time to get there than it would me."
"You've have got there by now." Mattie pointed out. "And it wouldn't be ringing."
"I can't stand that noise anymore." Paige clamped her hands over her ears. "Just turn it off!"
Mattie did the same to her own ears, gingerly put one foot onto the cold floor, then followed with the other one.
Paige risked taking one hand off her ear and pointed at the alarm clock. "Turn it off!"
Mattie grabbed the alarm clock and pressed the off button. Blessed silence filled the room.
Paige sighed and relaxed back against her pillows. "I really hate that thing." She said.
Mattie nodded in agreement, as she reset the alarm for tomorrow. It was a tried and tested method. It was the only way to make sure that they got up. Once up, they had no trouble getting ready. They were both natural motivators and could cope with anything once awake. It was the waking up part that they had the trouble with.
Paige grabbed the remote control for the stereo and flicked until she found a radio station she liked. Dancing along to the music the girls got changed for training.
Mattie glanced at Paige to check she was ready then headed for the door. She grabbed the handle and dropped it. It was freezing. Taking hold of it again she gave the door an experimental tug. Nothing. No movement. It didn't budge. She studied the door frame and noticed the layer of ice that had crept in around the door. Paige was watching her.
"What's up?"
Mattie pulled on the door to demonstrate. "The door's been iced shut."
"Five guesses who." Paige muttered coming over to have a go at the door.
"I only need one."
They both hauled on the door. It gave no sigh of moving. Mattie glanced at the clock. They were going to be late.
X
Wolverine treated them to his darkest glare when they entered fifteen minuets late. They had pulled at the door for ages; Paige had suggested morphing to rock and punching her way through. Luckily for the door Mattie had suggested that they use hairdryers. Both armed with a hairdryer they had attacked the door from both sides. The ice had finaly melted, leaving them with their freedom and a soaked floor.
"Husk, laps. Chase, push ups. Twenty each." Wolverine snapped at them.
"But-" Husk protested.
"Thirty." Wolverine cut her off. "Now."
Husk cast an apologetic look at Chase, then started her laps of the room. Mattie dropped to the floor and started her push ups. She deliberately didn't look at Iceman. She might not have been able to control herself if she'd seen the smug look that she had no doubt was on his face. She was going to get him for this.
X
And so it continued, war had well and truly been engaged. Everyone was of the general conclusion that left alone Mattie and Bobby would have given up. But their seconds, Sam and Paige, came up with ideas when their leaders failed. Then there was the added element of people wanting to be in on the joke. It was too much fun to see the other team looking embarrassed as the prank was pulled.
To get Bobby back for making them late Mattie waited until it was his day to clear the table after dinner. Then she, helpfully, laid the table. This was no great surprise; all of them were being extra nice to the adults. They were walking on very thin ice, any moment now they were going to get caught in the act, and then they would need this good behaviour as a get out of jail free card. As she placed each item on the table, Mattie put on a layer of superglue. By the time Bobby came to clear the table, it was stuck fast.
Bobby reacted by getting one of his mates to borrow some security tags from work. He pulled out the metal strip and managed to slide it into the lining of Mattie's jacket. Next time she and the girls went shopping, they were stopped in every store. A very embarrassed Mattie knew exactly where the blame lay when she got back and Bobby asked her how her shopping trip had gone.
In response Mattie taped a sheet of card over Bobby's door, with about a two inch gap. This she filled with Ping-Pong balls. When Bobby opened the door in the morning he unleashed an avalanche of white balls, which welcomed him into the morning by pelting his unsuspecting body.
Bobby topped her trick by filling her room from top to bottom with newspaper. From the floor to the ceiling there wasn't a square foot of space. Mattie had to clear it all out, before she could even think about doing the History essay that she'd been set.
Mattie came back at him by stealing his clothes and towel while he was in the shower. Bobby had to ice up and make a run for it back to the safety of his room.
X
Bobby argued with Sam over that one. Sam had laughed along with the rest of the group at Bobby's predicament. Bobby seemed to have taken this to heart. His second had deserted him. The two boys argued for days, then sulked, then glared with open hostilely at each other. This resulted in two whole weeks with no pranks being played.
Mattie and Paige were heading out when they heard Bobby and Sam arguing upstairs.
Paige rolled her eyes and muttered "Boys!"
Mattie nodded in agreement.
They were unprepared for the sight of Sam's body pitched over the balcony and dropping face first to the floor of the entrance. Mattie gave a scream and Paige ran to her brother's side. She grabbed Sam, and then recoiled in horror at his limb body. Mattie felt Sam's neck for a pulse and couldn't find one. She looked at Paige, who had gone very white. She reached for a pulse again, and realised that the body was cold. Something wasn't right here. Frowning she flipped the body over. Empty eyes with a wide open mouth stared back at her. It was one of the training dummies dressed up in Sam's clothes and a wig.
Paige's eyes flashed with cold fury. "Sam that was not funny!" She screamed.
Above them they could hear the woops of Bobby and Sam congratulating themselves.
"They must have been planning this for weeks." Mattie muttered.
Paige turned to look at her, her face rigidly set in determination. "Let's get them."
X
While everyone else was finishing up with breakfast and getting ready to leave, Mattie slipped into the garage. Once there she crept up to Bobby's car. She pulled out from her bag a toy dog. Making sure the collar was on tight, and not going to slip off, she attached the leash to the collar, and then tied it securely to the rear bumper of Bobby's car. Giggling to herself she went and joined the others. Paige raised her eyebrows and Mattie nodded. Paige grinned. As had become their routine the girls got a ride with Kitty. They watched as Bobby jumped into his car, loaded up with passengers then roared out of the garage.
"Like, does he have to act like it's a race all the time?" Kitty asked.
"That's boys for you." Jubilee sighed from the front passenger seat.
They headed to school taking about what homework they had or hadn't managed to get done and how much trouble they were going to be in because of it.
"Guys look!" Jubilee cried pointing. "It's Bobby!"
Paige and Mattie exchanged glances and saw Bobby's car pulled over on the side of the road, while Bobby was trying to explain himself to a policeman who was inspecting the toy dog.
"Was he dragging that poor creature?" Amara asked, looking horrified.
"Don't worry, Amara." Mattie said, waving merrily at Bobby as Kitty drove past. "He led a good and happy life at the toy shop before Bobby dragged him down the road."
"It's a toy!" Kitty squealed.
"Of course it's a toy." Paige responded. "You don't think we'd attach a real dog to Bobby's car."
"That cop seems to think so." Jubilee said.
"I'm sure that Bobby will talk his way out of it." Mattie told them, leaning back into her seat. "Eventually."