Disclaimer: So do you think lawyers from Marvel really waste their time reading these things? Just to be on the safe side, I don't own the X-Men.
Author's Note: I'm going to apologize in advance. This chapter is a long because I couldn't find a good place to split it. I guess it makes up for the last couple being so short. Sorry! I wanted to explain the process of Brooke's shape shifting, but that will have to wait until next chapter.
V.V.V.V.V.V.V
Fifteen minutes on the dot Wolverine walked through the doors of the Danger Room. He looked around at all the gathered students, trying hard not to laugh. They all looked much worse for wear after their brawl. "Well, you guys are certainly a colorful bunch aren't ya?" Wolverine couldn't resist the pun. "Let's do some team sparring. Pick a random partner and start. No powers." He walked around the room, commenting where needed.
"Okay, enough of that. Now that you're warmed up, lets do a bit of a contest shall we? Let me have the guys on the left side of the room and girls on the right. The object is to stay on the mat, or over it as the case may be. Do whatever you have to win. Any questions? When no one spoke up, he motioned to Jubilee and Bobby. "Your up. Show us what you got."
Bobby stepped onto the mat and looked at Jubilee. Without saying a word he iced a large portion of the mat around her feet and then grinned at her. She smiled back and used her powers to momentarily blind him. She jumped, trying to clear the ring of ice only to have him grab her arm and fall, using her forward momentum to throw her off the mat. "Sorry, no hard feelings right?" He grinned at her. She just sniffed and stomped off, hoping Rahne had better luck.
Rahne shifted to her full wolf form as soon as she was on the mat. As soon as Logan gave the signal to begin, she charged Evan, forcing him to give ground as he fell back. He shot off some spikes at her, using the distraction to dance around behind her. His foot in a patch of ice left from the last fight and he slipped, landing on his back. Rahne jumped at him, forcing him to roll out of the way, getting extremely close to the edge of the mat as he did so. He stood up and shot off a few more spikes, driving her back, trying to regain the ground he had lost. She charged him again, and unluckily his foot found a different patch of ice. This time he just lost his balance enough so that when she landed, he was toppled off the mat. She stood on his chest and licked his cheek with her tongue before prancing off back to the other girls.
Kitty and Etienne were up next. Etienne had borrowed Gambit's bo-staff knowing his only hope of winning was to knock her off as quickly as possible because he still had little stamina. He held it stiffly in his right hand, and as soon as Logan nodded, swung the top at her head. She phased through it without a second thought, stepping closer to him to get in a punch. He brought the bottom of the staff around and used it to hook her leg, tripping her. She rolled and jumped to her feet, kicking out and making contact with his left knee. It buckled, and he hit the deck, the momentary pain making his head swim. She stopped, looking at him worriedly. "Are you okay?" He stood slowly favoring the leg and nodded. He gripped the staff and swung it at her legs, forcing her to phase through it. As she solidified, she punched him in the chest, sending him backwards. He hit the ice and slipped, cursing Bobby and trying to roll at the same time. He didn't make it. Etienne landed wrong, slamming his already hurt knee into the ground, causing him to grunt in pain. Logan walked over.
"That's enough. I'm calling this one. Patch, go get McCoy to check out that knee." He motioned Evan and Sam over to help.
"Well, at least we're ahead." Rahne was watching Sam help Etienne out of the Danger Room.
"Like, are you okay?" Kitty had just walked back to find Brooke rubbing her left knee.
"Yeah, it's just sympathy pains." She grinned at the other girl. "That looked like it really hurt."
Kitty nodded. "I feel bad winning that way."
Brooke shrugged. "With his empathy, he probably already knows." Kitty opened her mouth to reply when Rahne interrupted their conversation.
"Shhh! Amara is up against Kurt!"
Amara had already used her powers to throw several small fireballs at Kurt, with him narrowly avoiding them using his agility. Everyone stared as he jumped around like a monkey, with Amara throwing fireballs the entire time. Finally she got fed up and created a large fireball which he had no hope of avoiding. Sensing the shift of her mood, he teleported behind her the instant she threw it and grabbed her. He reappeared in mid-air on the other side of the Danger Room where he let her go. She fell, knocking the breath out of her lungs while he teleported back to the mat. As Kurt walked back to the boys side Bobby started cheering.
"Yeah man, that took less than 4 minutes, it's a new record!"
Remy got up and grabbed his bo-staff, he was up next against Brooke. As he was making his way over, Logan stopped him.
"Hey Cajun, word to the wise. Whatever you do, don't grab her from behind."
Gambit looked at Logan thinking that was one of the oddest pieces of advice he had ever heard. "Okay, I'll try not t' do dat."
Brooke stepped up to the mat to see Logan talking with Remy. "Hey! You can't give him help!"
Remy walked over and grinned. "Gambit don't need no help t' take you."
She grinned back but didn't reply, knowing he was right. He was one of the most experienced students because of his background. :Okay, I can do this, though it would help if I could use my powers right about now.: She took a deep breath, trying to remember everything Logan had been trying to teach her in the last couple months.
V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V
Sam and Evan made their way into the Medical Bay with Etienne limping in between them.
"My word, what happened to you?" Hank McCoy left his computer to come over and assist Etienne onto the examination table.
"I fell on de bad knee."
McCoy nodded and looked at Sam and Evan. "You boys can go back now. Of course, from the looks of it, your faces might need my medical attention." They both blushed with embarrassment and made a hasty exit, leaving Beast chuckling after them. He turned back to Etienne.
"I heard all about the little escapade you guys had outside. Does it hurt when I do this?" He took his hand and manipulated the kneecap.
"Oui!" Etienne yelped and tried to pull away.
"Hmm, better go ahead and take an X-Ray just to make sure, but I don't think you broke anything."
V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V
Gambit had moved first, trying to trip Brooke up with his staff, forcing her to move backwards towards the edge of the mat. She was trying to come up with a plan when a pain shot up her left leg, making her stumble. She recovered and threw herself to the side in time to avoid the staff, which had been aiming for her shoulder. As she landed, she swept her legs at Gambit's feet, attempting to trip him up. He easily jumped over them, and grabbed one, pulling her towards him and the edge of the mat. She had a flashback of her assault and screamed, twisting to pull free. Gambit was so surprised when she yelled that he let go.
V.V.V.V.V.V.V
"Are you okay?" McCoy had just watched Etienne pale and his eyes glaze over.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm okay." The familiar burning sensation was back, and he could feel Brooke's panic through his link with her.
McCoy took his pulse. "Your heart is racing! Are you experiencing any pain?"
Etienne distractedly shook his head, trying to calm Brooke down and listen to McCoy at the same time.
V.V.V.V.V.V.V
Brooke scrambled to the opposite side of the mat from Gambit, breathing hard. She could tell her mutant ability was trying to kick in, which was good, but at the same time if she morphed while Etienne was gone there was no telling what could happen. She stood, trying to decide what to do. The boys were tied with the girls at 2-2, and there was only Rogue and Sam left. If she lost to Remy, then the best they could hope for would be a tie. She came to a decision and used the universal signal for time-out, motioning Remy over.
"What y' need chere?"
She sighed. "I think I can use my powers, but wanted to give you a say-so since Etienne isn't here to stop me if I get rough."
He studied her, remembering the night before and how she had grabbed Bobby. "If you willing t' try it, den do it. Maybe Gambit be more o' a challenge dan Bobby, no?"
She nodded. "Okay, here goes." She closed her eyes and focused on the feelings of terror and panic she had gotten when Gambit and Logan grabbed her. She could feel the burning sensation, and then it was like a certain temperature was reached for she could feel her bones melt and reform. She opened her eyes and turned her head to look at the person in front of her. :I did it!: Gambit watched in amusement as Brooke proceeded to crane her neck around, trying to see what she looked like shape shifted. He thought she resembled a really big scaly dog trying to chase its tail.
V.V.V.V.V.V.V
Etienne could feel the heat building, and put both his hands on the bed to support himself. This was worse than the last couple of times it had happened. Without asking, McCoy grabbed the EKG machine and brought it over. "That's it, take your shirt off." Etienne shook his head, but was given little choice when McCoy grabbed him and proceeded to do it for him. In no time the leads were on. "Your body temperature is unbelievable, when did this start?"
Etienne gritted his teeth as the heat increased, then suddenly as the attack began it ended. His shoulders slumped and he looked at Hank. "Not long after I had de heart attack. Dere's extreme heat but den after a few minutes it goes away."
McCoy looked at the readings from the EKG machine. "Your heart rate was borderline for another attack and then it suddenly went back to normal." He looked confused. "I would like to run some tests, we need to know what is causing this."
Etienne shook his head. "Non, no tests. It comes an' den goes away, no harm done." He slipped off the bed, only to grab onto the bed when his knee threatened to give way again. "What bout m' knee?"
"Your knee is not broken, but will probably be sore and swollen for the next few days. Try not to walk too much and put ice on it. I would rather you let me run the tests before you go."
He didn't bother answering, just limped to the door. "Merci, Henri."
V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V
Brooke had finally remembered the reason she and Gambit were on the sparring mat. She turned and bobbed her head at him, giving him warning before she charged. He was prepared and sprang out of the way. She swung her head and barely missed him, making him give ground again. Since he was now behind her, she swung her tail like a whip, aiming for his legs. He used his staff like a pole vault, and landed on her back. She rolled, making him jump off. Everyone else had been holding their breath when she had shape-shifted. Now seeing the contest starting and Brooke seemingly rational, both sides began cheering. She stood up and lunged again, but as he swung his staff, this time she grabbed it in her mouth and pulled it from his grip. She slung it where it landed on the floor and slid out of reach.
"Well if y' want t' do dis de hard way." Gambit took out several cards. He energized one and tossed it at her. Thankfully Brooke had enough presence of mind not to snap at it. She reared back and spread her wings, using them to jump clumsily to the other side of the mat narrowly avoiding the flying missile. As soon as she landed she spun and cracked her tail, this time it caught Gambit on the side of his leg, making him loose his balance.
Etienne walked into the Danger Room just in time to see Gambit fall. The girls' side was nearest the door, so he sat down next to Kitty. She looked at him apologetically.
"Hey, how's your knee?"
"Been better."
"Brooke seems to be holding her own against Gambit."
He nodded, watching the fight.
Gambit recovered from the fall and charged three cards. He knew he wouldn't be able to withstand to many more blows like the one he had just taken. He tossed one card at Brooke, and when she tried to avoid it he tossed the second. She lost her balance and fell, before she could get out of the way he threw the third. In attempting to avoid the last card she overshot the edge of the mat and landed on the floor. She hissed, and picked up Gambit's staff, taking it back to him with a bob of her head.
"Merci."
She bobbed her head again and turned, seeing Etienne sitting with Kitty. She joined them, still in dragon form since she hadn't figured out how to turn human. Etienne reached out when she got close enough and tapped her on the nose. "Not bad chere." In that brief contact, Brooke had felt the throbbing in his knee through their link. She whined and nosed at his knee. "It ain't broken, jus' a little banged up is all. Gives me an excuse t' lay around fo' de next couple days." He chuckled, trying to relieve her worry. He glanced over to find Kitty staring at the two of them with a weird expression on her face. "What?"
She shook her head. "Nothing."
Logan looked around and then spoke up. "Well, that was a good show. Since the boys are leading 3-2, I'd say they won. Go ahead and hit the showers. It's lunch time anyway." He walked over to Etienne, ignoring the complaints of the girls. "Well Patch, what did McCoy say?"
"De knee ain't broken, but he said it's going t' swell."
Logan nodded and looked at Brooke. "Well Dragon? You going to change back?"
Brooke whined.
"I don't t'ink she knows how."
Logan turned around. "Rahne! Get over here!" When she got close enough Logan pointed to Brooke. "How do you turn from wolf to human?"
Rahne looked at Brooke. "Well, I just kind of wish to be human again. I think of what I look like and then focus on it."
Taking the advice Brooke closed her eyes and concentrated. She opened them again, but was still a dragon. She whined again and swished her tail.
Etienne laid a hand on her side. "Hold on chere." He looked at Rahne. "Can y' go get her towel from de locker room? If she changes back she'll be naked."
When Rahne return carrying Brooke's blue towel Etienne still hadn't removed his hand and was now stroking Brooke's head. "Calm down chere, y' can do dis." She closed her eyes to try again, trying to visualize herself. It helped that Etienne was there lending his support in the back of her mind.
When she opened her eyes again, she quickly grabbed the towel from Rahne and wrapped it around herself. "Thank you!" She gave Logan and Rahne a quick grin. When she turned around to face Etienne, he was standing up leaning on the wall. "Thank you too." She gave him a peck on the cheek before grabbing Rahne's hand and dragging her off to the girl's locker rooms.
Logan grunted and looked at Etienne, remembering that day in the Professor's office. "She's sure something."
Etienne was still staring after the girls. "Oui."