Lucky Me

Chapter 87


Two days later and Daisy finally came home but she was not well enough to resume training.

All the people currently on the roster were dressed up (some of them having only recently gotten back) in their uniforms and looking a bit upset.

"It seems someone from the recent fort killings knows that we are on to them," Cyclops informed. "In the recent week, we have been sent to various parts of the world to fight what appears to be a mutant but in actuality is nothing more than an illusion."

Everyone nodded at this. Dr. Hank hadn't been happy to know he was pried away from his research to tackle an overdone light show.

"This is only to throw us off their tracks," Cable continued. "But thanks to some contacts, we have found a survivor from the first base. One, Jalen Sweeney." From there, it plunged into a deep conversation about what they were going to do and how they were going to hunt this person down.

"Cerebro," Jean finally stated firmly.

"Indeed, it seems the only logical choice to find this man in the timeliest manner."

Timely manner my pinfeathers! They took three hours to hunt down one stinking man! Chris and I ended up playing a card game at the kitchen table as the others wandered about the place. In the back of my mind I wondered how they were explaining all my absences from school recently. Knowing them, they probably said I had some mental disease or something.

This brought me back to thinking about another mental case: Julie. Jean told me she was picked up from an asylum but nothing else. I wonder what Julie did to be locked up in a padded white room?

When the angry flame thrower noticed me staring at her, she quickly said she wasn't into girls and stormed out of the room. Jack started laughing and I glared at him then focused my attention on my cards. Chris, I noticed, was glaring rather harshly at Jack.

"We found him!" Jean announced happily after they had herded us back into the control room.

"Great. Wonderful." Mr. Remy asked, twirling his staff like a professional cheerleader. The image of the Cajun man hoping around in a pleated skirt made shivers go down my spine in disgust.

"Sorry, Gambit," Scott sighed then turned his attention to my team. "The kids get to come again."

Oh man.

"There's no objection on our part to letting you seniors do this one alone." Chris folded his arms. "Just beat this guy up with your walkers or throw your hearing aids at him." Scott wasn't happy and Chris wasn't noticing. "Maybe even gum him to death if you misplaced your dentures."

"Shut. Up." I smiled broadly but I shoved the words through my clenched teeth with a ton of acid attached. Cyclops couldn't read my mind but I was making mental promises to slash and hash Shockwav the first chance I got.

"Like I was saying before I was interrupted. The kids don't yet have enough experience to be left alone on the field."

"Or alone in the house." Mr. Jean-Paul added. Guess he was still a bit ruffled about my little exploits last Christmas. Oh come on, grape and strawberry jelly was not impossible to get out of carpet!

"They will accompany us to where Sweeney is." Dad glanced over us. "Get into the Blackbird, we leave now."

"Don't make me turn this plane around!" Cable threatened mockingly. No matter what, no matter where, kids will be kids and boys will annoy the heck out of girls.

"Leave me alone you-you-!" Julie flustered as an orange flame flickered from her shoulders.

"Oh, I'm so hurt, how will I ever survive a name like that." Chris sassed back. As long as it wasn't directed at me, I was okay. Poor Cable, Wolverine, and Cyclops were the ones who had to take us with them. Adrian and I merely watched as our teammates yelled back and forth. So this was what it felt being on the sidelines.

"It's more entertaining when Chris and you are trying to verbally slit each others throats," Adrian remarked, shrugging.

Scott looked over at me; I smiled weakly and felt completely embarrassed about my 'team'.

I wonder if he ever had days where he wanted to quit?

Being subtle with Wolverine and Cable was just about as likely as walking away unscathed from a swarm of Tom Hiddleston fangirls when you block him from their wrath-er-love. In other words, it wasn't going to happen.

They found out where 'Jalen Sweeney' was staying (a no-name town of Pennsylvania) and one man crashed through the window as the other went to the door. The poor Sweeney guy was screaming and trying to claw his way through the wall as Cable cocked his gun and Wolverine flexed his wrists, making his claws gleam.

I was waiting outside. I figured they would have the information we came after in a few seconds and then I could go back to being bored without having to also be on guard.

Yeah, like things were ever that easy.

This guy must have been in the 'Mutant Protection Program' list because suddenly there were guys with guns surrounding the room Sweeney was in!

Scott didn't ask questions, just started to blast them to Kingdom Come (which meant down the hotel hall). Chris went to frying things while I, of course, got punched in the gut by some weaselly guy that looked greasy. There was a number four but Adrian was ducking and dancing around the guy.

As a rope like thing swung dangerously close to my head, I got a sudden memory jump. These were the guys from before! The ones from the compound video who killed all those people! The only one we got a clear picture of was attempting to get his hands on a dodging Cyclops. He was the one who killed all those people by barely touching them!

Having such knowledge that these men were not afraid to kill, I buckled under the pressure. Ripping the peach colored skin from my body, I let my claws flex and I dove toward the one who had the nerve to punch a girl (so what if I was brought here to beat the living crap out of him, it's still rude to hit a girl!).

Of course the one I got was probably code-named 'Mr. Explosion' or something because as soon as I landed a good one on the side of his head, this white light shot out from his body. It didn't turn me into ash (what kind of story would end there?) but blasted me and the roof sky high.

As I was sailing quickly to the ground, my wings opened up and an instant pain shot through the base of them. Ignoring that because I would rather feel pain than be dead any day, I made a U-turn and made my way back into the hotel.

There was no need for me to even attempt that. Flashy man came up to greet me. He didn't have any expression on his scarred face and just raised his hands. I ducked (while screaming a not nice word at him) as I didn't want to chance a power blaze again.

His shot went flying past me in a heat wave. I guess he was just playing nice with the first punch. In horror, I watched as the wild blaze slammed into a nearby, what I guessed, conference building (across the street from the hotel). Screams filled the skies as I swooped down toward the hole. One thing they pushed us to remember was that people were always more important than the problem. If there were lives in danger, take them out of immediate danger then whack the person who put them in danger senseless (or annoy them but I only think that worked in certain cases).

Hopefully my 'super strength' wasn't going to bail on me. I flew in to the building, watching as the smarter of the people ran hastily toward the exits. A few were limping but at least they were still breathing. Flashy was still up in the sky, looking down at me with no expression.

The huge banner above the stage read '4th annual Hair Stylist Convention of New England'. I guess crashing a prissy hair party was better than landing in the middle of a comic or anime convention. They'd probably want to tackle us mutants and make trophies out of us.

Or they'd drool.

"Help!" A woman screamed from behind me (where the rubble was). "I think she's stuck!" I ran to the frantic woman's side who had a fearful look in her eyes.

"I'm here to help," I stated coldly.

With a shaking finger, the freaked out woman pointed to a short haired brunette. Shoving some of the roof to the side, I made it to the woman's side.

"I'm going to get this off of you. Just hold still." Getting a firm hold on the edge of one of the beams which use to support the roof, I heaved the heavy object three feet from the other rubble.

"Get out." I groaned. One of my claws snapped at the base of my finger and I screamed a loud curse as the rail hit the ground once again. Yes, the woman made it out. "Run." I stated, shaking my finger, then coddling it to my chest.

Rule number one when fighting bad guys; never take your eyes off of them. This was learned the hard way.

Flashy sent a searing white beam my way and I did the only thing I could do once I heard the sound of it coming. I grabbed the lady I had just freed and jumped/rolled under a table with her. The table turned to slag from the heat and a liquid, molten dropped on my bare wing.

I hissed in pain, but kept from moving my wings out of the protective 'cocoon' I had around me and the woman's body. Whether or not she was unconscious or in a state of utter shock (both were reasonable) I didn't know. She didn't move willingly so I grabbed her hand and dragged her behind me as I crawled toward a row of couches in the corner. Anything was acceptable as long as it was a block between Flashy and myself.

The couches, of course, didn't last long but due to the other location I was currently hiding in with the lady, the wanna-be sun god touched down. I was currently in a bathroom, peeking through door which was being held open slightly by a piece of melted table.

"W-who is that?" Flashy lost all my interest as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I slowly turned around to see if my guess was correct. Before my stomach could call 'surrender' the bathroom door was pried off its hinges by a powerful blast from Flashy.

The door slammed into me and both the door and I went flying. Me and Miss Door skidded into the woman (who was more likely to kill me due to a heart attack than anything else) and we all three hit the wall with a sound crack.

What was with this guy!

Pushing the door off of me, and then climbing off the woman I regarded her carefully. She was unconscious but breathing.

"Stop." Flashy commanded, holding up his right hand. "One hand is force, the other one is heat. Do you know which one is which?"

The small debris clogged my throat. Coughing my way to breathe, I glared at him. "Doesn't really matter does it?"

He canted his head. "I suppose it does not." There was a funny tinge of an accent to his words. Raising his hand to eye level, it began to glow. My hand had been resting on the handle of the door, and when he got distracted, I got vicious.

With a firm tug and a well placed swing, the man went flying into the stalls via door mail. I panted in pain and because of the outrageous amount of adrenaline pumping through my battered body. Clambering to my feet, I checked out Flashy's state. Snorting, I couldn't think of a better way for him to taste defeat. He slammed into a toilet (now broken) and had his head back in the bowl. Since he groaned I knew he wasn't dead.

Turning, I went back to check on the knocked out woman. Another slight dilemma. I studied her with cold eyes, my heart ached painfully as I noticed she looked thinner then the last time I saw her.

Heather, my ex-mom, always did want to go on a diet. You know, those five pesky pounds from Christmas every year eventually add up in the long run.

"Uhn," Heather moaned, sitting up on the pieces of wall. "W-what…" Her voice apparently passed out again when she saw my expression of cold stone disgust. She shrunk back from my presence.

I sneered (yes, I actually can make my face contort to a sneer) and turned to leave. All the past feelings of betrayal came knocking on the door of 'here and now' and I just didn't want to deal with it at the moment.

"Blyt, come in." Cyclops' voice crackled against the silence. "Blyt! Report!"

Rolling my eyes, I tapped my badge lightly. "I'm here."

"To the plane, we have what we need."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." I muttered back dryly, knowing he didn't get it.

"Wait!" Heather called to me; I didn't spare a glance back as I spread my wings. I did, however, fall to my knees when the newly blistered part of my wing throbbed with white hot pain. I discovered it wasn't only my wing, but the skin between my wings. Man, it hurt.

I felt trembling hands touch my wing. Lightening fast, I glanced back, stood up, and started to march toward the door. To think that woman, just because she probably didn't realize I was her daughter (ex-daughter, my bad) was willing to help. My team looked questioningly at me as I approached via foot (slightly limping because I tripped on the sidewalk over the giant hairspray display on my way out).

"What went on?" Chris asked. Yeah, I know he was just concerned but the glare had not gone from my face.

"Nothing. The guy is down," I snapped this and he mirrored my 'oh-so-loving' expression.

As I strapped in and we pulled off the rooftop, I glanced out the window toward the busted up convention building.

"What happened to you, kid?" Wolverine asked, chomping on the end of a cigar. "Yer fingers bleeding and you smell like blackened bar-b-que."

"Got on the wrong side of someone's temper," I muttered in response. That seemed to pacify the man since he shrugged and went to light the cigar up. He had puffed once before Cyclops 'zacked' it out of his fingertips and calmly stated 'no smoking in the plane'.

Julie was laid up on one of the stretchers and she was carted off to the med-lab as soon as we landed back at the mansion. Dr. Hank looked me over and shooed me into his little room of horrors as well. He stated very rationally that the claw had broken because my adrenaline wasn't supporting the claws, it was supporting the aspect I was using (meaning the super strength).

After he scraped off the dead skin, announced I had third degree burns on the skin next to and on parts of my right wing, I was free to go. When I asked why D-M couldn't just patch up my nail, the blue man laughed it off saying she was enjoying her break from local healer for the time. Why ruin her vacation? I think it's because they are very wary about her limits now since she only just healed.

When Friday afternoon came, Scott picked up Julie, Adrian, and me from school and drove back to the mansion. From there we were told to 'pack our suits and a few changes of clothing'. We did as we were told without too much thought (monster of a Poovey test was just given and most likely failed, thus my brain was goo).

As we boarded the Blackbird, I was surprised to see Miss Ororo and Jean there as well. I couldn't understand why until we were halfway to Texas.

"Sweeney gave us a name and a location. He couldn't help us out too much after that." I was going to guess he was either dead or wishing he was. "'Lucky Dice' was his payoff's name." Cyclops flipped a few switches. "We traced his actions to Texas. We have a few pictures of him that will be passed around, take a good long look at them."

"Wow." Julie stated, obviously impressed with what she saw. I peeked over the back of the seat. The grainy photo showed a guy with a longish, choppy haircut, cigarette hanging out of his mouth, and wearing sunglasses. Just the simple picture screamed 'bad boy'. No wonder the little punk/Goth was instantly in love.

Falling back into my seat, I rested my cheek in one of my hands and leaned my elbow on the armrest. This was certainly going to be interesting.