Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men. Ilehana Xavier belongs to Corrinth and is used with permission. Blaze, Shockwave and Iona belong to Lamby and should not be used without my permission.

Scene 06

"Blaze, what are you doing?" Storm asked from the front passenger seat of the open-topped jeep that Gambit had borrowed from Ilehana to come pick them up. Gambit, one hand on the wheel and one arm draped over the side of the car, just shook his head as Blaze extracted herself from the pile of luggage she was sat with. Pulling forward using the car's roll cage, Blaze leant forward between the two front seats and started messing with the radio.

"I-pod…" Blaze muttered by way of explanation, sitting back again and tucking her feet up underneath her. A small gadget in her hand was her latest toy, the adaptor she'd just set up pumping the music from the I-pod through the car stereo. The wind teased her hair into knots as she flicked through tracks to find the one she wanted.

"You better pick somethin' good, Petite." Gambit smiled, "There be none of your English trash in this car, okay?"

"English what?" Blaze replied accusingly, eyes meeting Gambit's in the rear view mirror as she returned his grin. "And what was the last album you bought Cajun? Here, this should do you…" The song was an ultimate summer rock anthem; Remy listened for a second, and then reached over to turn the volume up. Storm smiled and leant back in her seat. It might not be as hot as Hawaii, but somehow she still felt that she was on vacation. And with trouble waiting for them back at the mansion, she like Blaze wanted to drag that feeling out for as long as possible.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"What are you doing? Sam'll kill you Ver!" Wolfsbane whispered frantically as Vertigo less than subtly removed the pillows from Sam's bed and tossed them onto the floor. Unsatisfied, the white haired mutant knelt on the floor and reached her hand right under the bed. "Yuk." Vertigo moaned, finding only a smelly sock and a long forgotten jawbreaker.

"Looking for this?" Shockwave waltzed in, strode right onto her bed and from there stared down at Vertigo with the book in hand. "I had a feeling you might be wanting to steal this, so I've been keeping it with me."

"I only want to look at it Shockwave." Vertigo replied. "It's a library book remember, you can't keep it forever."

"Yeah!" Wolfsbane chipped in. Up until now she hadn't thought about it, but at the sight of the book she wanted to read more. "Stop hogging it Sam!"

"Hey you're the animorph Wolfie, you can't call me a pig!" Sam cackled, making snorting noises, but showing no sign of letting either of them touch the book.

"Oh act your age." Vertigo moaned. "And get down from there." Raising her hands, Vertigo unleashed a rainbow streamer of her power. For a moment, Sam wobbled and giggled- it was just like being really, really drunk. But suddenly her legs gave way and she collapsed cross-legged on the duvet. "Bitch." She glared at Vertigo.

"Look!" Wolfsbane snapped, brown eyes wide and disbelieving. "It's doing it again!" And sure enough, once again the book was throbbing with strange light.

"Do it again Ver!" Sam demanded. "Blast it, I want to see what happens!"

"What if its not…" 'Safe' had been Wolfsbane's next word, but Vertigo was already aiming her powers. The throbbing, pulsing light increased, and they could almost hear a male voice laughing at them. A strange, deep, ageless voice drenched in malice and chaos.

"Wicked…" Vertigo exclaimed, out of breath after her exertion.

"Its our secret." Wolfsbane was adamant. "Nobody else can know what we've found out…"

"Not even the X-Men? Not even the Professor?" Vertigo asked.

"They've had their chance, this book's been in the library for who knows how long." Sam decreed. "Its ours now, the three of us…"

"Four of us." Vertigo corrected. "We can't leave Iona out."

"But she's just a kid…" Sam moaned.

"A kid who could spill on us if we don't include her." Wolfsbane pointed out. "I agree with Vertigo."

"The four of us." Sam accepted it, hugging the book to her chest. "We are gonna find out every secret this book holds…"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Unpacking, as far as Blaze was concerned, involved turning her suitcase upside down, and shaking everything but the kitchen sink out of it. Sat on her bed, slurping on the last of his coke from the drive through, Gambit had to laugh at her.

"I think half of Hawaii's sand has ended up in my shoes." Blaze moaned comically, turning a shoe upside down and letting a ribbon of sand wash over her fingers. She was sat elegantly on the floor, not that it was visible around her anymore for all the suitcase's contents.

"So if Storm got the other half in her shoes, there ain't no sand left on the island…" Gambit observed, making Blaze shrug as she gave up and tossed the shoe over her shoulder and into a corner. "How many pairs of sunglasses can you wear at once, Blaze?"

"I haven't got that many." Blaze defended herself, plucking three pairs out of the heap and putting them on top of the chest of draws.

"You forgot the ones on your head." Remy pointed out.

"No I didn't." Blaze told him, unravelling her hair from that pair too and putting them by the bed. There was absolutely no order to where she kept things that Gambit had ever managed to work out, not in all the years he'd known her. But then again, since arriving at the mansion the sheer amount of girly stuff she owned had increased exponentially in size. He was almost sure she'd never been quite this girly when it was just the two of 'em… "What are you thinking?" She asked, looking up at him curiously.

"Not much." He answered honestly enough. "The Professor gonna be waitin' for you…"

"I know, I know…" Blaze sighed. "And I do want to get Iona straightened out. Its just…"

"Just what Petite?"

"Just I don't know where to start. I'm fine when it comes to teaching languages, or even how to control mutant powers, but I don't know the first thing about sorting out a troublesome teenage girl."

"Then you come to the right guy, non?" Gambit laughed, offering Blaze a hand to come perch next to him. As he leant against the wall, she sat at a right angle to him, cross-legged now with her bare knee touching his thigh. "I not do so bad a job with you, did I?"

"I guess not." Blaze smiled. "I suppose should take some comfort in that. Even if I do mess up, she could turn out alright anyway, just like I did…"

"Thanks, Chere." Gambit was sarcastic, but Blaze just laughed it off and kissed his cheek.

"I gotta go, but if you want to finish unpacking for me…"

"You mean throwin' everythin' in different directions 'til the pile don't look so big…" Gambit corrected.

"Exactly." Blaze agreed, "I'll buy you a night out for it, I just cannot be bothered." And with that she sprung back off the bed again, opened the door and headed back to the real world. For a minute Gambit looked at the mess she'd left behind, before getting up himself and leaving. She could buy him a night out by all means, but cleaning up after her was above and beyond the call of duty…