Chapter 3- Work first, Play later
Everything
hurt. Taylor opened his eyes and was semi-blinded by the bright
light that entered his pupils. Once his eyes adjusted, he could see
the brilliant flood-lights that lined the ceiling of the Xavier
Institute Med-Lab. For a school, the medical lab was
state-of-the-art. Jean Grey worked primarily as the head physician.
Taylor was aching all over, and vaguely remembered the fight that had
occurred earlier in the day. Taylor thought about it and realized
that he didn't even know if it was the same day. He had no idea
what day it was or what time it was. Taylor was basically lost, but
he felt relatively safe, knowing, at least, that he was still at the
Academy. A sudden, and definitely un-expected, crash averted
Taylor's attention back to his surroundings. "Hello?"
Silence. "Hello? Is someone there?" He attempted to sit up,
but a deep pounding in his head advised him to stay down. A hand
grabbed Taylor's forearm. "Taylor, it's me." Looking
up, Taylor saw the familiarly calming face of Dr. Jean Grey. "Oh,
ok, I was getting kind of freaked." She smiled sweetly. "Its
ok. You've been through a lot." "Um…what day is it? How
long have I been out?" "Well, about a day. Are you still
aching?" "Yeah, a little bit." She turned his wrist over and
wet it with a small iodine swab. "Let me give you something to
take care of that."
"It's ok, really, I'll live."
"No, I insist." She began to prepare a shot. He tried to resist
and sit up, but she had strapped him down, and he lay in too much
pain to actually use his powers. "Jean? What are you…" Taylor
immediately stopped when he saw the bottle, it was a sleep-inducing
hallucinogen, given to subdue psychotic patients. "Jean, what
are you doing? I'm fine, really. I don't need that shit!" Now
he really struggled. Pulling with all his might, he was able to
break one strap on his arm. Lifting his right arm, he tried to hit
her, but to no avail. She grabbed his arm and slammed it back onto
the table. "What the fuck is going on!" He knew this
wasn't Jean. "Well, you can't be making a lot of noise when we
leave. And we'd prefer you to be crazy, when we release you
again." "Leave? Crazy? I'm not going anywhere with you,
bitch!" Using as much telekinetic strength as he could muster,
Taylor flung a large desk chair towards the imposter, hitting her in
the back of the neck. Taylor cut the restraints with an available
syringe and jumped off the table, ignoring the pain(which had
lessened when he got up), to see who this was. This couldn't be
Jean. As Taylor examined her, the face and body of Jean began to
melt away. Her light skin faded to blue, her red hair shortened, her
kind eyes turned cruel and evil. This wasn't Jean. With the
slender body of an acrobat, this blue skinned shape-shifter looked to
be a menacing opponent. "Who is this?" Taylor had never
been told of any other "evil" mutants, so he hadn't a clue who
he was facing. Suddenly, with the force of several men, the
mysterious woman sweep-kicked him to the ground. Taylor landed
roughly and shot back up with the same force. Once he regained his
balance and glanced around, she couldn't be found. "Cerebro!"
"Yes."
"Lock all doors leading in and out of the med-lab."
"Taylor, I regret to inform you but you do not have the authority to do that."
"I don't care just do it!"
"But Taylor."
"Cerebro! Do it! And get the Professor over here! Now!"
"Yes, Taylor."
Taylor began to look around the room, trying to find this crazy chameleon lady. Where are you, he thought to himself. "Looking for me!" He turned just in time to have her plant her foot directly in the middle of his chest, jump-kicking him into the examining table behind him. The force of the kick caused Taylor to dent the, now fallen over, table. She screamed a shrill call of attack as she jumped at Taylor. He held up his hand and she stopped, mid-air. "What are you doing?" Her face showed confusion at the use of his powers. "Did you forget that I have a few tricks of my own?" "This is all wrong, he said you didn't know about your powers, much less have full access to them." "Then I think you need a new source." As static electricity filled Taylor's now wind-blown white hair, he let go a bolt of energy to be reckoned with. The sheer power of the blast caused a cloud of smoke to fill the room. But, when the smoke cleared she wasn't there. "Great, now where did this bitch go?" Just as he said that, the door to the med-lab shot opened as Professor Xavier and Scott ran inside. "Taylor, What happened?" Scott placed his hand on Taylor's neck, which had a small cut in it. "Some crazy blue-skinned chick, who at first looked like Jean, tried to…well I guess kidnap me and…" "Mystique…" Professor Xavier interrupted. "Mystique, was that her name?" "Yes, she is a…" "Shape shifter, I know." Taylor was glad to have been able to finish Professor Xavier's sentence instead of the other way around. Smiling, the older man finished explaining. "She is quite a force to be reckoned with. I apologize that you had to face her alone." "It's ok, but I think she was working for someone." "Why do you say that?" "Because, she told me that 'he' said that I didn't know about my powers, and was really surprised when I fought back." "Well, we will look into it, but for now you need to rest, that's two major battles in a row." Scott began to lead Taylor towards the door. "Taylor, come on, Jean wants to check up on you. To make sure you're Ok." Scott put his arm around Taylor's shoulders. Taylor hesitated. "You sure it's Jean?" Scott smiled. "Yes, I'm sure."
Scott and Taylor walked down the hall towards the elevator, Scott still holding the younger man. Taylor stopped. Scott looked at Taylor, puzzled as to why he stopped. "Um…Scott?" "Yes." They had stopped by the elevator, and he waited before pressing the button.. "Can I ask you something?" "Sure, shoot." Taylor sat down in a chair. He was fidgety. "Go ahead and ask Taylor. It can't be that bad." "Well…I was wondering…well I wanted to know…what happened to you…I mean…why can't you control your optic blasts?" Scott sat down with a sigh, next to Taylor. "Oh, that." Taylor immediately felt bad about asking. "If you don't want to tell me…" "No, its alright. You see, when I was little, I was in a plane crash. We were traveling home from a family vacation…I think we had gone to California…well, I didn't know it at the time but It damaged my mutation controlling nerves." "But its amazing that you survived." "Yeah, it was a blessing." "So when did you find out?" "That I couldn't control my powers?" "Uh-huh." "When I got them." "What happened?" "Well, it started on prom night. That night I had a horrible headache. My headache went from a great pain to almost pure agony and I ran to the bathroom. I fell to the floor from the pain and when I opened my eyes again a beam of red energy escaped them. It took a few seconds for me to close my eyes again; it was as if everything was happening in a haze. I had taken out the ceiling of the gym, with one blink. Anyways, suddenly there were cops and ambulances all over the school. Several cops found me on the floor of the bathroom, my eyes tightly closed, tears forcing their way out though the closed lids. They began to hit and kick me, not sure of who or what I was. I tried to roll away from them, but it was no use. They yelled insults at me I didn't understand, all happening in a haze of confusion and pain. What exactly happened the rest of that fateful night is still not completely clear to me. The next I knew I woke up on a small bed. My body hurt all over and I felt something, probably blood, on my lip as I ran my hand over it. Before I had time to think I instinctually tried to open my eyes but couldn't. Some kind of tape was put on them, and as I felt my way I felt a metal ring over my eyes all the way around my head. Fear ran through me and I curled up in the corner of the bed, hugging my legs under me. I tried to listen for sounds I knew, my parent's voices, but only strange sounds of doors and locks met me. I felt my way around the bed and felt cold metal bars next to it; I had to be in a prison cell. I tried to contain my tears, my father's speech that "boys don't cry" was running through my head, but I couldn't stop them. Tears forced their way through the metal band and down my cheeks, mixing with blood, causing even more discomfort. It felt like I had been sitting there, feeling all alone and very miserable in the cell for days, when finally I heard my parents' calming voices. What happened next I'll never forget no matter how hard I try. I called for my mom. Quickly wiping away my tears so Dad wouldn't see them, I heard them talking to doctors and police. "Is this your son?" a stranger's voice asked. "He destroyed the School?" My dad's voice was cold and hard. "My darling boy," Mom's soft, whispered voice was clear. "I'm so sorry," I tried to contain my tears but they were clear in my voice. "He destroyed the school, 34 were wounded and 4 killed," It was the stranger's voice again, probably one of the cops. I was shocked to hear that I had killed someone. I thought I was a monster. The talking continued. "So, is he your son?" It was the stranger again but I barely noticed. Suddenly I felt a hand touch me, so instinctively I flicked away. "It's me," My mom whispered, soft and sad. I took her hand and held it, sitting myself as close to the bars as I could. She hugged me through the bars, I would accept any form of comfort now. "Oh, my dear son. May God have mercy on your soul," she was crying, I could hear it in her voice. "No. He isn't my son. Not anymore," Dad's cold voice said that and I felt like I had died. I couldn't understand why he was saying that, then. "Chris," My Mom's voice was pleading. "Come on, Ann," It was Dad again. Suddenly my Mom's warm arm was pulled back and I had never felt so cold and alone. "Mom! Mom, come back," I yelled as tears ran down my cheeks. "I love you, son. Be strong. And may God be with you. Always," Those were my Mom's last words before she disappeared. The words; "May God be with you because I can't" hung unspoken in the air between us..." Scott stopped, his cheeks wet with tears. Though the story was more than he was expecting to be told, Taylor had also shed several tears; he never realized how hard it was for Scott. "I'm Sorry for asking." He dried his eyes. "It's Ok, That was a long time ago, I'm just glad nothing like that happened to you." "Me too." "You're really lucky, most of the kids that come here are abused in some way because they are mutants." Scott put his hand on Taylor's shoulder. "Just remember, don't ever get too attached to something, you might end up loosing it." Taylor said nothing. A sort of silent bond had been formed, Taylor now knew a side of Scott that very few had probably seen. He was glad that Scott felt comfortable enough to tell Taylor all this. They continued upstairs to Jean's room, a silence gracing their presence all the way there.
After the real Jean's comprehensive examination, Taylor went back to his room. He was extremely tired from the events of the past two days, and, even though it was only seven, was ready to go to sleep. As Taylor was about to change, he noticed that the sun was setting. Taylor opened his window and went out on to the roof. He watched the sun set over the beautiful hills of Upstate New York. He felt calm, knowing that, in all this confusion, there was still a little bit of beauty in the most simple things. As Taylor sat there, gazing at the fading star, he heard footsteps. Taylor turned quickly and, just in time, saw Gambit climb over from the other side of the roof. He had never thanked him for rescuing him from the beast. Gambit had a smile on his face, making Taylor want to pounce on him and take him. He held back. Gambit sat down next to Taylor, and put his arm around the young man. "Gambit tink' you looking better." "Thanks." Averting his attention from Gambit, Taylor continued to stare into the orange depths of the sky. "Taylor?" "Yeah, what's up?" "Well, what you saw, when you…did that 'ting to that monster…was it dat' bad, homme?" Gambit could feel Taylor tense up at the mention of the incident. Taylor looked into Gambit's eyes, and he knew what Taylor had felt. "It…it was… to horrible for words. I saw… I felt everything." Just thinking about it made Taylor shake. Gambit tightened his hold on his friend. "Don' worry, Gambit won't let any'ting appen' to ya, mon ami." Slowly and readily, Gambit began to move closer to Taylor. As wonderful as the though of Taylor and Gambit was, he knew that it wouldn't be a long thing…with him it never was. The temptation was there, though, and heaven forbid Taylor don't give in. Taylor looked directly into Gambit's bright red eyes, and told him 'Yes'. The Cajun thief leaned towards Taylor and planted his lips directly on Taylor's. Taylor returned the force, exploring the man's mouth with his tongue. Taylor knew he should push him away but it felt so good, to good. Gambit pulled Taylor closer, their bodies melted into each other's, as the passion built up. Stopping abruptly, Taylor put his hand in front of Gambit's mouth, blocking another passionate kiss. "I really don't think we should be doing this." The Cajun smiled. "Gambit don' care if you don'." Continuing, Taylor kissed him hard, running his hands along Gambit's toned back. Taylor's hands began to explore the various 'curves' of Gambit's body, as passion got the best of him. Taking a cue from Taylor's eagerness, Gambit reached down and, with a gentle hopefulness, began to inch down the cloth that stood between him and Taylor's body. Then, realizing what was happening, Taylor immediately pushed Gambit back. He wasn't caught up in the passion now. "Hold on there cowboy." His face became disappointed and sad. "Gambit thought Taylor wanted 'im." His innocence made Taylor want jump on him and kiss him again, restarting the process, but he didn't. Suddenly the moment became awkward. A dark hand rapped at the window as Ororo stuck her head out. "Boys, are you planning to stay out here all night? I think it's going to rain." Taylor now knew her well enough to understand the irony of that statement, and he was grateful to her for saving him. To avoid more problems, Taylor stayed on the roof until Gambit was inside. The Cajun hugged Ororo before he left, and once the door was closed, Taylor crawled in through the window. "How long had you been standing there?" "I heard it all." "Wow, well…um…I guess…then, thank you." Ororo chuckled at Taylor's embarrassment. "He really doesn't mean to be so forceful. Remy, he's just lonely and, for some reason, trusts you. And obviously you don't have any problems with him." She loved torturing him over stuff like this. "Well, thanks anyways." Taylor hugged her and she left. Taylor couldn't help but think about what happened on the roof. He had Gambit, why didn't he do it? Slowly, Taylor got into bed. He did have feelings for Gambit, but was something else on his mind? Taylor knew something was up, but with such a busy night ahead, Taylor fell asleep quickly.
Taylor slowly cracked open his door. It was midnight. Nobody was out of their room. He slowly hovered into the hallway, taking extra care to not make any noise. The flared hem of his flame-print leather pants fell nicely over his black leather Italian platform boots, and his tight-fitting flame shirt fluttered gently in time with his hair. With the care and grace of a dancer, he quietly flew over to Kitty's room, making the trek to the next hall, and knocked on the door. Almost as if she knew he was going to knock, she opened it. Dressed in a tight leather mini-skirt with matching tank-top and bots, all donning a flaming detail, Kitty looked dressed to kill. Taylor had to admit, she had grown into her looks, and was now pretty hot. With the same care that Taylor was currently exhibiting, Kitty creeped gently down the hall. She was using her powers, lowering her body's density, to easily make herself silent. Without any weight on them, how could the floors creek? Kitty always did have fun with her powers. Continuing on their mission they both stopped at Theresa's door. She and Jubilee, a fireworks-generating emo-teen with the personality of a rebel, were already standing outside, prepared in clothes similar to that of Kitty and Taylor. Not needing any words to convey the pleasure of their matching outfits, Taylor smiled at them. Theresa was wearing skin-tight leather bikini shorts, a vibrantly-red halter top, and flaming thigh-high go-go boots. She was, without a doubt, the sexiest looking member of their renegade group. In true Jubilee style, she had donned a black leather flame-print trench coat, a pair of black leather Capri pants, and a sleeveless red silk shirt. All of them had also fixed a special kind of make-up, that resembled flames, around their eyes. They were all ready to go. Whispering, Taylor informed the group of the next move. "You guys look great, let's head to the garage." Like a team of spies, they made their way to the garage. As they turned the hall leading to the cavern of freedom, a loud deep voice stopped them. "And where do you think you're going?" Taylor knew the voice, he also knew the man's fragrant musky smell. "Well, Logan….we…um…where are you?" None of them could see the older teammate. Slowly Logan revealed himself, stepping from the shadows. "Well, where?" They didn't know what to tell him. They all figure they would get busted, so lying was the only alternative. Theresa stepped forward, with a step that exhibited a cocky confidence that seemed to challenge Logan. "We might ask you the same thing." Logan stepped closer to Theresa and, though he was as tall or shorter than her, made her seem small. "One, I'm a teacher here ya'll are students. Two, I'm in casual clothes ya'll are dressed like hookers." Logan glanced up and down Theresa's body. "Cheap hookers." Turning his attention to Taylor he changed his mind. He smiled secretly at Taylor. "Well, not all of you, but still." Stepping back with the slouch of loss, the girls began to force Taylor forward, noticing the favorable glances Logan made towards him. "Um...Taylor you tell him." "Yeah Taylor tell him." They all pushed Taylor violently forward, knocking him into the arms of Logan. Helping the younger man up, Logan glared at him. "So, Taylor, where are you all going?" Logan could sense a hint of fear in the kid's voice. "Well…" He decided to be completely honest, it was worth a shot. "We're going to a nightclub in the city, Jasper's. Tonight our band is headlining, and we don't want to miss it." Taylor explained in great detail, making his case. "Wanna go?" It took several moments for Logan to answer but once he did they were quite shocked. "Sure." Alleviating their shock for the moment, the unlikely group headed to the garage. Once they reached the garage, Kitty, Jubilee, Theresa, and Taylor proceeded to get into Scott's new silver Corvette. Taylor smiled at Logan, who was currently prepping his bike. Logan didn't favor Scott, and was all for stealing his things, but the action taken by the kids had surprised him. Meeting eyes with Taylor, he raised an eyebrow. "What? We're just borrowing it, we'll bring it back later." Not caring to argue, Logan got on his motorcycle. They took off and, speeding down the highway, arrived shortly in the city and, in turn, arrived shortly at the club. Racing from the car, they breezed by the doorman with a wave, until Logan walked by. Standing defiantly before Logan, the doorman wouldn't budge. "Buddy, you need to stop." Taylor immediately turned around, when he realized that Logan had been stopped. Watching the scene as he got closer, he could tell that Logan was upset. "Hey, if you really want to fight, I'll be happy to oblige." Taylor placed his hand on Logan's shoulder and faced the doorman. "Tommy, don't worry, he's with me." The doorman smiled. "Well, as long as he's 'with' you, he can go on in." "No, Tommy, wait…" Logan wrapped his arm around Taylor. "Taylor's so modest. Thanks, Tommy." Leading Taylor into the club, Logan laughed. "Whatever it takes." Finding an empty table, Taylor sat Logan facing the stage. "Watch, and tell me what you think." Logan smiled. "Alright, go on." Taylor walked to the stage and hopped up. Kitty, Theresa, and Jubilee were tuning up. They all looked great, matching and ready to go. He rocked the mic on lead vocals, Kitty played out on lead guitar, Jubilee rocked the Bass, and Theresa was slamming on the drums. As the curtain rose, they were introduced as "Whirlwind".
Several original songs and cover songs later, they thanked the audience and introduced the new DJ. As the girls headed into the crowd, to dance, Taylor walked back to the small table where Logan was waiting. Whipping the chair around, Taylor sat down with a smile. "Well, what'd you think?" "Not too bad." Taylor shot a sarcastic glare at Logan, changing the older man's mood. "Ok ok, you guys were good." "Good, I'm glad you enjoyed it." Taylor called over to the bar, asking the bartender to send over a waitress. Several moments later a bubbly little blonde girl, much older than Taylor, with too-tan skin and faded blonde hair, giving her a washed up look, walked to the tabled and took orders. Taylor quickly put in for a dry martini. Turning to Logan, who was glaring at the fact that he was drinking, Taylor pleaded to him to ignore the situation. "You want anything?" "Um…ok…a beer." Taylor turned the chair back around and made himself comfortable. "So, lets chat." "About?" Taylor smiled, evilly. "Well, how old are you?" Logan laughed. "Next question." Pouting, Taylor continued his interrogation. "Fine, who is the hottest X-man?" "What?" Logan was unprepared for that question. "Who is the most physically attractive member of the X-men?" "Well…" "Jean?" "No, not anymore…" "Ororo?" "Your mom is beautiful, but no…" "ok, um…Scott?" "What!" "Just throwing out ideas." "Well, throw that one into the trash, cause that ain't ever gonna happen." "Ok, then who is it?" Avoiding the question, Logan shifted his attention to the dance floor. "Hey, Aren't you gonna go dance?" "You want to?" "Me? No, I don't dance." "Aw, boo. C'mon." Pulling Logan up, both physically and a little bit telekinetically, he dragged his unwilling partner to the dance floor. "Taylor." Logan's un-happy tone made no difference. Knowing that Logan was extremely uncomfortable dancing, Taylor proceeded to melt into Logan and move. Slowly grinding with Logan on the dance floor, he felt him relax and go with Taylor. Feeling Logan's strong chest rubbing against Taylor's back, Taylor felt wanted, warm. Their hips moving in time with each other, Logan's arms wrapped around Taylor's own firm chest, the passion began to rise. As their dancing heated up, many other dancers began to move away, watching as the two became lost in each other. Logan smelt the passion and Taylor felt it. Pulling Taylor's willing head back, Logan began to move his lips closer to Taylor's sensuous mouth. As the moment grew, Taylor and Logan's bodies began to scream in desire. Taylor could feel Logan between the denim of Logan's pants and leather of his own. Just as Logan's lips locked with Taylor's, a cry came from the crowd that caused both men to loose all concentration. Taylor fell to the floor, as Logan backed away realizing what had happened. "Taylor!" Kitty and Theresa ran to Taylor, helping him up. "What are you doing!" "Nothing, just having a little fun, calm down." He was kind of shocked by their anger. "Calm down! We will not calm down. You were kissing Logan!" He glanced over to Logan, who seemed to be ignoring him, why was everybody mad at him suddenly? They had caused a scene, and now the whole club was staring. Great, like I need more un-wanted attention. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" "What?" Now they were accusing him. "We saw you kiss him, what do you say?" "How 'bout…Mind your own business." They both seemed shocked and hurt by Taylor's statement. "What do you mean?" "I can kiss who I want, when I want. Yeah, you guys are my friends, but you do not have control over my life. Get real." He turned to confront Logan, but as he looked he saw Logan walking outside. Running towards the door, Taylor came up just in time to see Logan punch the doorman. "Logan!" He yelled, but no response. He continued to follow his older teammate. Outside it had begun to rain, the sky was shady and black, as droplets of nature fell to their demise. "Logan." "Go back inside Taylor." His voice sounded harsh and cold. "Logan, please. Talk to me." He turned quickly and bolted up to Taylor, leaving only inches between them. "Talk about what? How I'm fun to fuck with? Or how about how your friends don't think I'm good enough for you? Or we could even talk about your relationship tendencies. Any of those topics good for you?" "What the fuck!" "Whoa, what?" "Why the fuck is everyone pissed off with me? Kitty and Theresa are pissed because…well I don't know why…and you too! Why are you pissed off?" "You're using me!" "So! That's what I do! You're hot and I want to use you for a while, but it may turn into more." "It may?" "Yeah. But not if you keep yelling at me." Logan's mood drastically changed as the rain pounded harder on both of the already soaked men. Logan didn't say a word. "Um...Logan?" Taylor saw Logan lift his head and plunge his lips onto Taylor's. Taylor melted. This kiss was more passionate than any he had felt. All thought went away from him as he sunk deeper into the kiss. Logan grabbed Taylor's body and lifted him, in the rain. Taking a cue from Logan, Taylor wrapped his legs around Logan's waist, holding tighter, wanting more. They stood there locked in a long passionate kiss, until neither of them could breathe. Gently, Logan set Taylor down on the ground. "Wow." Logan smiled at Taylor and grabbed the younger man by the wrist. "Let's go home." Taylor was still out of breath and barely pushed out a 'yeah.' In a much lighter mood, they both headed towards Logan's bike. They both jumped on and Taylor wrapped his arms firmly around Logan's strong chest, lifting up his shirt slightly and rubbing his toned stomach. Logan turned head back towards Taylor. "So…we're good?" "Taylor smiled and, leaning into Logan's ear, whispered softly. "We're great." Logan started up the bike and they took off down the road.
Breakfast was as crazy as ever. Taylor trudged in, knowing that he would have to face Kitty and Theresa, and possibly have to explain what happened between him and Logan. Its not like Taylor didn't want to tell everyone, but he didn't want to hurt anybody, namely Gambit. While Taylor was kissing Logan, all thoughts of Gambit went out of his mind, but as soon as he got home, he remembered. Well, here goes nothing. As he entered the room, the table was as noisy as ever. Everybody seemed caught up in some business of their own, no one even noticed Taylor come in. He noticed Kitty and Theresa, chatting away about some class assignment they didn't do. Gambit was no where to be seen, which worried Taylor a bit. His mom, who loved to cook, was busy in the kitchen, cooking up more breakfast. Then Taylor saw Logan. He watched, Logan seemed very distracted. His face showed signs of concern and worry. While watching Logan poke at his plate, he lifted his head and they locked eyes. Taylor smiled and waved slightly. This small gesture seemed to push Logan into high spirits. At the diversion of Logan's attention, the whole table turned to see who was in the doorway. "Taylor!" Kitty ran up to Taylor and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry about last night." "It's ok." "No, I feel really bad, and so does Theresa." Motioning towards Theresa, she came running and hugged Taylor equally as hard. "I am, really Taylor you were right, its none of our business who you…well…you know." Taylor stopped them both and, stepping into the hall to avoid a scene, had them follow him. "Wait. You think I…with Logan?" "Didn't you?" "No. I just kissed him, we got caught up dancing, it wasn't a big deal." "Oh, we thought that you were gonna…" "No." Taylor saw the scarlet embarrassment on Kitty and Theresa's faces. "It's just a little fun." While Kitty seemed to laugh at the situation, he could tell that Theresa was still upset over not being the object of Taylor's affection. "Can I go eat breakfast now?" "Oh, sorry." Kitty led Taylor back into the room, but as they entered the doorway, Logan grabbed Taylor's arm, leading him back outside. "Um…Logan, what's wrong?" All three stopped and faced the older teammate. "We got a mish, with Kurt and…you." Logan pointed at Theresa, who, suddenly remembering the mission, ran from the room. "Oh shit! I need to pack and get ready. See you guys later!" She left them laughing. "As funny as her freak-out is, we should probably head off too." Walking towards the bookcase in the hall, Taylor pulled out "Treasure Island," as the case slid to the side. Taylor proceeded into the hidden elevator. "Logan, you coming?" "Yeah, lemme' get something real quick." "Ok, see you in a bit." As the door slid closed, Kitty grabbed Logan's arm. "Hey, Logan, last night was wrong. I shouldn't have reacted like that. I want to apologize." Logan was pleasantly surprised by Kitty's confession. "Thanks Kit." She smiled. "I took it out of proportion, sorry. I guess I thought, well…I thought it was you, but it was Taylor. I'm really sorry." Logan was pleased with her apology, even though he and Taylor weren't finished with each other, it was better that everyone think they were. "Yeah, it's ok. It was a one-time thing, don't worry." "Well, you should probably get going." He pulled the book and entered the elevator. "I wouldn't want to be late. So we're ok?" "We're fine, see you around, Logan." The door slid shut, transporting Logan into the bowels of the institute, prepping him for a new mission.
As Logan entered the Ready Room, the room used to prepare for a mission, he saw Taylor waiting for him. With his uniform unzipped, chest exposed, Taylor looked very attractive. His white hair fell ever-so-gently onto his shoulders and his tight leather pants made his ass look great. "Well, what do we have here?" Taylor smiled as Logan ran his fingers down Taylor's chest. "That feels good." "Is this my treat or yours?" Logan bent down and, grabbing the zipper with his teeth, dragged it up to meet Taylor's neck. "Lemme get dressed and I'll meet you there." "Alright." Taylor turned and began to walk into the hangar. He stopped. "Wait, Logan." Turning around to face Logan, Taylor saw that Logan had already taken his shirt off and was now pulling on his jacket bare chest exposed. Logan stopped. "What's wrong?" "Well, are you sure about, well, us?" With a grin on his face, Logan sauntered up to Taylor and pulled him into him. Kissing his neck, he could feel Taylor's breathing change. "I'm oh so sure." Logan let go and went to finish dressing. "I'll meet you in there." "So, I'm you're boyfriend?" "Or boy-toy, whichever you prefer." "Hey!" "Just kidding." Taylor smiled and turned back towards the hanger. "See you in a bit, babe." Logan chuckled as Taylor left the room. "He's crazy, but cute." He finished getting dressed and walked into the hanger.
The Blackbird was fired up and ready to go when Logan finally entered the hanger. As he stepped up the ladder to board the jet that hid under the school, he saw Taylor waiting in the cockpit. Kurt and Theresa were there to, however, so they couldn't really "do" anything. He slowly trudged up the ladder and sat in the remaining chair. "All right, you all ready, lets go." The Blackbird was a sight to be seen, especially when taking off. As the two large doors above them opened, the jet began to rise slowly, at first, but then with more speed as the doors finished opening. Looking out of the windows, Taylor could see the other students watching the machine rise from the basketball court. It was amazing. And once they were in full speed, skipping on the upper atmosphere, almost nothing could detect them. The Blackbird was truly awesome machinery. Kurt pressed a small green button, setting the jet on Autopilot, and dramatically flipped around his chair to brief them. "Greetings to you all." Logan rolled his eyes. "Where are we goin', elf?" Shocked at Logan's rudeness, even though it didn't bother the others, Taylor touched Logan's arm, sending a small electric jolt through him. Turning quickly, Logan gave Taylor a 'why did you do that?' look. Speaking telepathically to him, he voiced his complaint. That was rude. He doesn't care. But I do. What's the big deal? I don't want to date an asshole! So I'm an asshole? Just, nevermind! "Kurt, where are we going?" "Very well, we are going to Jaddar, Norway where apparently a mutant colony is located in an abandoned underground sewage treatment plant. From our sources we have learned that Magneto may already have some of his lackeys out there looking, so we need to be careful." Accessing the onboard computer, he brought up a 3-dimensional map of the area they were to explore. "The plant is big, so once we land, Logan, you and Taylor search over here..." Pointing to different areas of the map, he directed them where to go. "...And Theresa and I will search over here. Now if anyone finds something we call the others. Agreed?" "Agreed." As Kurt finished, Theresa stood up and confidently addressed him. "Kurt, I think I should go with Taylor?" Theresa smiled at Taylor, who turned away and blushed slightly. "Well, as much as one of us would like that, since this is Taylor's first mission, he really needs to be with someone more experienced, you understand, right?" "Yes, I understand." Slumping down into the chair, Theresa was blatantly pouting. A small buzzer sounded as they approached their destination. "Let us prepare for landing." Kurt flipped his seat back around and took the Blackbird off of autopilot. One could easily see the mountains of Norway down below them. As Kurt brought the jet down towards the rocky purple giants, Taylor smiled. This was Taylor's first mission, and was very excited. He wasn't sure what was going to happen, but he was ready for anything. Kurt slowly landed the jet and led them out towards the mission. Walking through, what seemed to be, a wasteland, they seemed to be a bit lost. "So where is this place…err…Kurt?" Taylor could feel Logan struggle to not say 'elf,' and he was grateful to him. Thanks. Logan smiled at Taylor. Just fer you, kid. "Over there." Kurt pointed to an old abandoned mine entrance. "There is the entrance." They walked, or in Theresa's case, flew, to the entrance. Taylor looked inside; it was very dark. "Why does this suddenly seem like a bad idea?" "Because it's dark and scary…" "…and practically screams 'Slasher' movie." While Theresa couldn't understand how they had done it, Taylor had just completed Logan's sentence. Taylor's older partner handed him a flashlight. "This'll brighten things up a bit." "Thanks" "Don't mention it." Taylor clicked on the flashlight as he peered down the bleak corridor. and walked inside. Theresa followed right behind him, holding on to his hand. The walls were wet and sticky. As Taylor placed his hands on the wall, he felt sick to his stomach. The walls were covered with grime, dust, and a green mud that smelt of rotting eggs. "This used to be an old Sulfur mine." Kurt explained things to them as he ran and Bamf-ed his way down the opening. They continued down till they reached a large metallic looking door. As they examined it, they found it to be extremely heavy…and locked. "I think we found the plant." The sarcasm in Taylor's voice was audible to the deaf. Instantly, Kurt teleported. "Now where's he going?" "Your right," they heard his voice on the other side of the door "but there's no way to open it." "Move." Logan pushed both Theresa and Taylor back as he ran towards the door. He extended his claws and sliced a big "X" into the door. The pieces slammed into he ground as a hole opened up. "Nice." As they walked, they ran into a large fork in the road. Glancing down both corridors, Kurt turned back to them. "Now we split up." Kurt dragged Theresa away from Taylor, as they headed down their separate ways. After they were out of both sight and hearing range, Taylor jumped on Logan. Madly kissing him, Logan pushed Taylor up against the cool steel walls. "I thought they'd never leave." "Right." Logan unzipped Taylor's jacket, and began stroking the younger man's bare chest with his tongue. Logan delighted in the small hitch it caused in Taylor's breath, and the obviously hard pleasure it produced. As their kissing heated up, a twinge in Logan's nose caused him to drop Taylor. He fell to the earthen ground with a thud. "Ouch!" Logan simply quieted him and, helping him up, began to creep down the hall. "Logan? What is it?" Taylor thought he was simply playing, but, when he extended his claws, he knew something was serious. Coming up behind him, and zipping up his jacket, Taylor gently placed his hand on Logan's shoulder. "Logan?" "We need to get going, someone's here." They began to walk swiftly, almost jogging, down the hall, to the source of Logan's distress.
Taylor and Logan walked down a metal corridor. "Logan, please, can we just get back to…well you know. I want to…" Logan interrupted him. "Taylor, I love you, but this isn't the time or the place for this conversation. We need to keep quiet, my senses are goin' crazy, someone is here." "So I'm not important enough for an old sulfur mine?" "Taylor, please…" "No, fine. Fight. Kill. Whatever, just don't expect me to forget this and just start making out with you again. You'll need big expensive gifts to open this shirt again." Rolling his eyes and sighing heavily, Logan continued to creep. "Fine." They continued, in an awkward silence, until they reached a large room. With broken undistinguishable lab equipment, Taylor couldn't tell if this was a medicine lab or something else. The walls were the same metal that ran through the mine, but the floor was plain solid concrete. "What is this place?" Taylor had seen something like this before, but he wasn't sure where. A strange booming voice answered Taylor's question. "Your tomb." Not expecting to not have felt an enemy, Taylor quietly whispered into Logan's ear. "Logan, who is it?" Logan, claws extended, teeth clenched, was ready to fight. "Sabretooth." Taylor was not expecting what he saw, he thought of a tiger, not a monster. Donning tattered cloths and mangy blonde hair, Sabretooth seemed like a homeless freak, but the bulging muscles, inch-long fangs, and talon-like nails, told Taylor otherwise. This guy looked to be a force to be reckoned with. Taylor could also sense a strange bond between him and Logan, much like that of one-time mortal enemies, and by Logan's look, that hadn't changed. Two others followed him from the darkness. "That's Toad, and I'm sure you remember Mystique." Taylor recognized the blue-skinned shape-shifter, but the bug-eyed man was new. With skin the color of the green liquid that covered the walls, and a stench equally as repulsive, Toad's name began to make sense. "Taylor." "What? Now you want me?" "Taylor!" "Fine, what?" "Get ready to fight." "These goons?" "Yes, these goons." "Alright." With the snap of a finger, Taylor flew into the air, generating lightning and wind around him, adding a menacing appeal to his white eyes and wind-blown hair. "I'll take Sabretooth. Can you…" "…Take Mystique and Toad? Yeah." Expecting pre-fight banter, Taylor wasn't prepared for them both to jump on him, pulling him to the ground. Throwing Mystique to the side, and knocking her temporarily unconscious with his mind, Taylor grabbed Toad's tongue as it whipped towards him. "My mother told me about you. The lizard who doesn't die when he's supposed to." Holding on to the pink mass of oozing saliva and squirming muscles, Taylor felt in control. "Do you know what happens to a toad that gets struck by lightning?" "I've already 'eard this one, from yur mum." Taylor grinned sarcastically. "Then you obviously didn't learn the first time." Drawing on as much power as he could, Taylor sent the largest bolt of lightning he has ever manifested, right into Toad. Taylor could smell the smoking flesh, and the char marks were very prominent. "Well, that took care of that." "Wow, Taylor. I'm impressed." Taylor turned around, just in time to see Theresa walk up to him. "Theresa? Where's Kurt?" "He went to help Logan, I was going to ask if you were ok, but obviously you are." "Did you see Mystique?" "What? She's here?" "Yeah, we need to watch out." "Can't we just." She leaned in and kissed him, her mouth was powerful and strange. He realized why. "Theresa, you should know that this was my very first kiss…" "…well, was it…" "…with a girl." Lifting her up, with his telekinesis, Mystique changed back to her usual sly form. "And for the record, it sucked." Scoffing at Taylor's sarcasm, Mystique tried, with no avail, to break the bonds of her mental confinement. "Hm…Too bad." "For you." "Please, you don't have the heart to kill again." She was partially right, but her mocking tone was enough to send Taylor back over the edge. "Try me. Goodnight, bitch." Once again drawing power, Taylor gave the same treatment to Mystique as he did to Toad. Her blue skin faded slightly, when he finally set her down, dead. "I'm sorry, both of you." Taylor had never killed anyone, and now he had just killed two in a row. And the fact that they were simply fighting to be free, like him, made the situation harder. He wasn't going to ever get used to this. Grieving would have to wait, because when he heard a horrible crash, he remembered that Logan was still fighting. "Oh my god! Logan!" He quickly flew towards Logan, hoping he was still ok.
As Taylor came upon the scene, all he saw was blood. Everywhere there were spatters and pools of blood. The two feral men were wrestling each other, with no clear winner. As one dug their claws into the other's flesh the other met them with the same action. Hovering above this bloody fight, he wasn't sure if he would be able to help Logan without hurting him as well as Sabretooth. As the two wrestled, Taylor could see no way to separate them. Whoa! Duh, Taylor! Gathering up his telekinetic strength he thrust the two fighters apart, holding them in place, several feet above the air. While Logan was startled and eventually appreciative for the break, Sabretooth snarled and growled, obviously angered by Taylor involvement. "Stay out of this you little twerp!" "Hey, Mr. Rude." "Leave him alone." "What's amatter Wolverine? Need a kid to fight your battles." "He's new, he doesn't know how we work this out, yet." "Um, excuse me. Can you guys stop talking about me like I'm not here?" "Can't handle it?" "Ok, you shut up. Logan, where are Theresa and Kurt?" "I'm not sure. Taylor leave, let me handle this." "Put me down you fuckin' brat!" "Taylor!" "Ok, that's enough. Logan, chill out!" Motioning towards the door, Taylor threw Logan away from the fight and, utilizing more mind power, shut the door, sealing him alone with Sabretooth. Sorry, Logan. Taylor, no, don't do this. You can't win! Watch me. Focusing his attention back on Sabretooth, he lowered himself to his new enemy's height. "So you're the dreaded Sabretooth." "Why don't ya let me go, and I'll show you why I'm dreaded." "How 'bout not?" Taylor shot Sabretooth back into the wall, denting it with the impact force. Quickly recovering, Sabretooth lunged at Taylor, pinning him to the floor. Slashing quickly at Taylor's face, blood droplets hit the floor each time. Maybe I should re-think this. Pushing Sabretooth off with his legs, Taylor flew up and surrounded himself with electricity. "You wanna play rough? We'll play rough." Taylor lunged at Sabretooth, flinging ball after ball of electricity at him. Hey! It's working. I just hope I can keep it up.
Logan slammed into the door. "Open, damn it!" He knew that nothing he could do would make Taylor change his mind, he was stubborn that way. Although, Logan had to admit, Taylor could probably handle it. He was one of the strongest mutants that Logan had seen. Tirelessly Logan slashed and hacked at the door, trying to find some way to open it, Taylor obviously was not letting him in. After nearly an hour of work, the door slid open. Thinking it was his own strength that opened it; he congratulated himself and ran in. Unfortunately, he realized the real reason why it had opened. As he ran in, he saw a horribly bloody scene. The first thing that grabbed Logan's attention was a mangled mass of charred flesh, that he took to be Sabretooth. Smiling he turned to congratulate Taylor, but fell to his knees when he saw him. Laying outstretched on the floor, Taylor's white hair was soaked in blood and wounds covered his body. With a look of pure pain and sheer exhaustion, Taylor lay there, not moving, not even breathing. Now Logan knew why Taylor had opened the door, without any power in him, he couldn't hold it. Logan gently lifted Taylor, hoping to see some sign of life or movement. Logan saw nothing. As his spirits fell, a small twinge in Logan's mind caused him to stop. Told ya so. The message was weak, but he knew it was Taylor. Laughing, Logan lifted his young friend up and moved towards the exit. Talking into a small communicator, Logan located Kurt and Theresa. "Kurt, we're leaving."
