Hi everyone :)
It's time for another random and totally useless fact: the largest fish ever caught was a whale shark and was 59 feet long O.o
LucreziaNoin86: Glad you liked the chapter and it's good to know other girls tell their friends that as well :)
WolvGambit Le Diable Blanc: This update came as soon as I could get it out :)
enchantedlight: Glad you liked here, here's the update :)
Wiccangurl: I don't think it's that weird but some people are so closed minded and that sorta thing puts them off. Sad I know but you've gotta make those kindsa people happy otherwise they falme ya.
adrenaline addict: Jedi/mutant mind tricks! That cracked me up. Yes, I know, laughing at Star Wars jokes, I'm a geek :D lol
crystalwish: Rogue is awsome isn't she? Wish I could create a character as great as her -.-
Elle457: Remy's secretly Mystique? That's a very...Weird idea...Even if I did wanna make that work in the story, I'd have to think of a way to make it all make sense which would mean the next chapter would come out even more slowly wouldn't it:D
Anna: The love thing with Kitty and Jubilee: it was, indeed, an accident that people took it that way, but as another reviewer pointed out, Jubilee seemed to take it as a romantic thing didn't she? So now, I think I'll do something with that :D
IvyZoe: Yes, we're lacking in ROMYness at the moment aren't we? There's a bit in this chapter but next chapter there will be loads of ROMY goodness so far not. As for Head Remy, he's not due for a come for a few more chapters yet. He will come though, you have my word.
Anna MArie Raven: Lol, I did kinda write it like that didn't I? Hmm, I might make something out of that soon :D
Chica De Los Ojos Cafe: The main voice in her head will be explained soon. We're onto the final countdown of chapters remember?
firestorm13: Nothing like a bit of friendship action to warm the heart :) Glad to hear you're liking everything.
chicita: I might go for that un-expected twist you know. A lot of people have been saying that Jubilee's reaction was like she thought Kitty meant romantic love...I think I'm gonna have to address that in the story...(starts to ponder possibilities)
Baby-Vixen: Yeah, I think my friends just kinda get that I'm nutty enough to tell them I love them a lot although they do usually say it back. Eh, maybe they feel ablidged to or something lol.
Freak87: Glad you're liking everything and as for you and your friends, I'd say that punching each other in the arm is a sign of affection. It's not like you go around punching total strangers...Or do you? O.o
Shaishe: Glad ya did :)
sakura5tar: Yes, why Rogue doesn't want the teachers to know if part of the story so you're meant to be confused :D
Lucy Wood: No disappointments? Good, good :D
Lyra Eyota: Mmm, ROMY's are addictive aren't they? And stories exploring Rogue being able to use other mutants' powers are always interesting :)
rebuttall01: You're more patient than I am then. I hate being away from the internet for any length of time. Gets me kinda cranky -.-
CalliopeMused: Some people actually believe in spontaneous human combustion. I saw a programme on it once...Wasn't very convincing though, just kinda made the people who made the programme look really stupid O.o
DemonicGambit: Really? You don't think they should go to Washington? Hmm...Interesting...O.o
Crazy4Cocopuffs: 15- My cruel streak comes in later :D
20- Ooooooooh, so you're GottaLoveIt. It's nice to have you back with us. Glad everything is exceeding your expectations :)
21- Damn, you figured out my secret! I was involved in a high speed care chase when I was trying to escape the American government after sneaking into Area 51...A 17 year old driving from Nirvana to London England on half a tank of gas: it really was a history making day O.o
23- A lot of people think I'm evil...But really, I'm just misunderstood :D
24- Compliment there...Not good at taking compliments (blush)
25- Gotta love a bit of drama to spice up a story :D
26- That is actually a really good idea. I'm already planning something a bit like it so i think I'll include your idea as well :D
Chapter 27 baby! Yeah!
We're still on track with the chapter countdown: only eight more chapters left.
I have nothing else to say...O.o
Dawn seemed to come very quickly to Rogue. One moment, she was peacefully resting, actually finding Jubilee's snoring comforting. The next, there was a huge explosion near by which dragged her out of her pleasant state of mind before stamping all over it. Both her and Jubilee woke at the sound, Jubilee sitting up quickly only to bump her head on the bed above her.
"What the Hell is going on?" Jubilee yelled as she rubbed her bumped head, angry at being woken so rudely from her sleep.
Rogue chose to ignore her friend as she had just as much information. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, quickly finding that she'd have to hold onto things to steady herself what with the combination of rough driving and the un-steadiness of her wobbly legs. Despite these inconviniances though, she made her way through the motorhome, up to the front. There, she found Kitty driving and only the bottom half of Remy's body visible as the top half was hanging out of the window on the passenger side.
"What's happenin'?" Rogue asked calmly, coming to stand just behind Kitty just as Jubilee came out to join them as well.
"We can't be sure but we think, WE THINK, the army knows it's us." Kitty grunted, adding bitter humour to the situation as always.
"Why are they still after us if the Professor's spoken out about it?" Jubilee demanded seconds before another explosion resounded around them.
"'Cause they can? I don't know! Why're you asking me?" Kitty snapped irritably, swirving to avoid the blast area of the explosion just ahead of them.
"Those ain'tahr explosions?" Rogue gasped in horror, grabbing hold of the back of Kitty's chair as the un-stable environment made her un-steady legs give way beneath her partly.
"No, they're not." Kitty confirmed, noticably glancing at the side mirror to see what was going on behind them. Another explosion, this one behind them came. "That one was ours."
As if suddenly remembering he was there, Rogue turned her attention to Remy. She reached over him to grab the small hoop of material on the mid-back of his trench coat and pulled him back inside fully. Once in, he turned to face her looking irritated before he realised it was her and then his irritation melted away to his usual confident/cocky grin.
"Mornin' mon cherie. Yo' lookin' particul'y lovely." He complimented.
"Whah thank ya very much." Rogue grinned back, moving slightly to allow him space to get to his feet. "Nah get aht the way and let someone else have some fun." She ordered playfully, squeezing past him to kneel on the passenger seat. As she passed him, Remy playfully pinched Rogue's bottom causing her to jump a little and throw him a mock indignant glare.
"Will you two focus please?" Kitty muttered, glancing for a second at the pair.
Rogue poked her tongue out at the Remy before moving her head out through the open window. Her hair was instantly blown in her face as she turned to look at what exactly they were running away from. Her jaw dropped in a combination of horror and surprise at what she saw. Not only were there trucks like before, but now they were also being chased by tanks. Tanks! Actual, missile shooting tanks! Had they given up on arresting them and were now just content with blowing them up? Did they really think they were that much of a threat?
Adjusting her position slightly, Rogue brought her arm out of the window as well. She stretched her hand towards the closest tank to them and began to concentrate on it as hard as she could. When she felt she had a hold on it, she began to try and clench her hand into a fist. Her face contorted slightly in the effort but the groan of strained metal soon proved to all that the effort wasn't going to waste.
"Don' over do it chere." Remy's yell only just came over the sound of the wind rushing past Rogue's ears. She would've done something to reassure him but she was just seeing the results of her hard work; the cannon on the tank she was focused on was visibly bending.
Rogue doubled her effort and seconds later, with a sharp clang, the cannon snapped and fell to the ground, flattened by the tank it came from in moments. Looking around now that was donw, she suddenly noticed that soldiers were hanging out of truck windows much like she was with the motorhome, only they had guns. Acting quickly, without really thinking all that much, Rogue pulled Head Cyclops forward. She felt her eyes begin to tingle and she braced her arms on the edges of the open window. The tingle became an itch and then the wide red beam shot from her eyes. The back-lash effect was more or less neutralised thanks to the fact Rogue was steadying herself. This also made her aiming a lot better and she actually managed to hit the tyres of one of the trucks like she meant to.
Feeling that startings of a headache, Rogue pulled herself back into the motorhome. She adjusted herself so she was actually sitting in the passenger seat rather than kneeling on it. Leaning back and relaxing her muscles, she released a small sigh. Then she noticed Jubilee giggling. She let her head flop to the side so she could ask what was so funny with just a glare.
"Your hair." Was all Jubilee said before her words dissolved into quiet laughter. Rogue only shook her head at the childish amusement and straightened her head out again, letting her eyes shut. However, no sooner had she shut them then Kitty spoke.
"Oh f...udge! Remy!"
With that call, Rogue's eyes shot open to see what was going on. Outside, right in front of them, was another huge group of tanks and trucks, all lined up creating an effective barrior which seemed to stretch on for a good mile or so both to the left and the right. "We are so screwed." She muttured, staring un-blinking at what was ahead.
"What should we do?" Kitty asked, her shoulders tensing as she adjusted her grip on the steering wheel in anticipation.
"What can we do?" Jubilee cried. "Can't go 'round them, too many to phase through them, can't double back, can't do anything!"
"Ah'll teleport us to safety." Rogue told them.
"No yo' won'." Remy corrected sternly.
"What else are we gonna do?" Rogue demanded.
"Yo've done too much already." He insisted.
"Ah'm fahne!"
All of a sudden there was a loud bang and the motohome swirved out of control. It didn't take a genius to figure out that one of the tyres had been blown, either by a bullet or just by something sharp in the road. Kitty tried to steady them but with the bang of another tyre, she lost control completely and the motorhome swirved to the side so violently that it over-balanced and began to tip onto it's side. Reacting the moment the second bang came, Rogue grabbed Kitty, yanked her out of the driver's seat, (luckily she wasn't wearing a seat belt) lunged at Jubilee, knocking her into Remy. Once they were all connected, Rogue teleported them away.
They reappeared in what seemed like the middle of no where. All that was around was a road, fields and trees, all of which stretched on as far as the eye could see.
The moment they were back, Rogue gave a small whimper of pain and her legs gave way beneath her, sending her slumping forward. Remy, Kitty and Jubilee all went to catch her at once and all played their part in supporting her limp body. Once Remy was sure he had a very secure hold on her, Kitty and Jubilee relinquished their holds on her.
"Chere?" He murmured to her gently, stooping his head a little while also holding her up a little straighter.
"Crap..." She replied weakly, her eyes fluttering a little as she struggled to keep them open.
"Wha'? Wha' is it?" Remy asked, eager to right anything which was wrong for her.
"Ah left mah shoppin' bags back in the motorhome." She answered, giving him a weak grin.
Mid-day came and the four young adults had made it into central Washington, near the building the original conference the Professor and the teachers were to attend was held. They knew that's where at least the Professor would be, they'd seen reports on the news enough times to know.
After havng escaped the army, they'd had to continue their journey on foot, Remy and Jubilee taking it in turns to piggy-back Rogue. An hour's walking later and they reached a small, trashy garage next door to an equaly trashy diner. Once they'd got directions from one of the waitresses inside the diner, they hitched a ride in the back of a truck thanks to Kitty.
Now, the four were hidden behind a building, watching the swarm of journalists and photographers which had gathered outside the building which they knew the Professor had to be in. Kitty and Remy were looking out from around the corner of the building while Jubilee helped Rogue stay up on her feet a foot or so behind them.
"D'you think there's half as many 'round the back?" Kitty asked Remy, her eyes darting around to look at various bits of the swarm of media ahead.
"Prob'ly not." Remy replied simply.
"I should phase us in through the back then?" She checked, moving away from the corner to face the other two girls.
"But no one will see us if we go in that way." Jubilee pointed out.
"...Yeah?" Kitty agreed, her tone questioning.
"We need to cause a scene." Jubilee told them, her tone implying it should've been obvious.
"Whah?" Rogue questioned from beside her.
"To get the sympathy vote duh! If everyone thinks we've suffered then we're less likely to get in that much trouble."
Everyone wsa silent for a few moments, not really knowing how to respond to that idea. The, Rogue spoke up: "That maht actually work."
"You're not serious!" Kitty groaned.
"Yeah. Think abaht it; frightened mutant teenagers on the run for a crime they didn't commit. The papers would have a field day what with the growing increase in mutant exceptance and support nah." Rogue predicted, Jubilee grinning smugly beside her.
"Yo' in no condition for causin' a scene chere." Remy pointed out.
"Ah'm fahne!" Rogue insisted, pulling away from Jubilee so she could stand on her own. She looked a little unsteady for a second but it passed so quickly that none of them could be sure they'd actually seen it. "Ya see? Fahne."
"Okay, we'll do t'ings yo'r way dhen." Remy conceeded through a sigh.
"Yes!" Jubilee hissed triumphantly, bringing her right hand up to her chest and clenching it.
"So what do we do? Just charge up there and start yelling?" Kitty questioned half-heartedly.
"No, of course not." Jubilee answered, her nose wrinkling in distaste. "Do you have no idea how to cause a scene? What we do is this..."
The mass of media representatives swarmed around the perimeter of the building, all eager to get hold of any information which leaked out. It had been four days since the robbery and since day one, the famous Professor Charles Xavier had protested the innocence of his students and teachers. On day two, those who had been arrested were released when the security cameras at the school were found to show them all in or around the school at the time of the robbery. One of the main suspects though, the one known only as Rogue, was first seen entering the school again thirty minutes after the robbery had taken place. That along with the fact she and the other three suspects were still running wasn't helping her situation. It was rumoured however, that she had been attending her father's funeral at the time of the robbery, but there was no solid proof of that.
There was another congressional hearing today for the fifth day in a row. Charles Xavier would continue to insist the innocence of his students and the politicians and authorities would continue, what was basically, scare mongering. The situation was quickly dividing the population in all states; those who were against the mutants and so thought the teenagers guilty and those who sympathised with them and so believed in their innocence.
The sudden howling of fireworks caught everyone's attention; media and security alike. All eyes looked to the sky before, after seeing nothing, looking behind. That's when they saw the four young mutants, whose faces the whole country knew, running towards them. Well, one was being carried on the only male's back while he and the other two girls ran. The asian girl was the one providing the fireworks and, curiously, they were all holding hands.
The area was instantly lit up with flashes of white light as the photographers began to snap their cameras, capturing as many images of the four as they could. The reporters all reached for their tape recorders in preperation for the interview they all felt was surely coming their way.
The four got closer and closer and, strangely, were showing no signs of slowing down. Pictures continued to be snapped right up until the moment the four young mutants started running right through them all. A startled panic rose up and everyone began to shuffle around, all trying to see where exactly the four had gone. Brief glimpses were caught as they phased through the crowd but they weren't fully seen again until they emerged on the other side of the crowd.
The photographers started up again immediately as the four mutants phased through the security barriors and guards with ease. Then, they disappeared through the walls of the building.
"There, that got their attention." Jubilee grinned as they emerged from the wall of the building, now on the inside surrounded by white walls and boring grey carpet. "Those pictures are gonna look good on the front page. I can just see the head-line; United in Fear."
"You really do live in your own little world don't you?" Kitty panted, worn out from the running on top of the extended use of her powers.
"Which way d'ya'll think we should go?" Rogue asked before the other two girls could get into an argument.
"We could split up." Jubilee suggested as they turned a corner.
"No' a good idea petite. Bes' to stay toget'er." Remy disagreed, shifting Rogue on his back slightly.
"Right." Kitty agreed. "We'll stay together and check out this floor before we find the stairs and go up to the next floor."
No one voiced an agreement but none of them disputed it either so it was wordlessly decided on. Things are never that simple though and soon the familiar situation of turning a corner and being confronted by a group of authority figured occured. They all joined hands again and simply carried on running, phasing through the group of men. At the end of the corridor, they turned another corner which was luckily empty.
"I can't keep doing this." Kitty panted weakly, slowing to a stop and leaning against a wall. Jubilee was at her side in an instant. "I need to rest, even if it's only for a second."
Remy and Rogue glanced around themselves quickly and Remy spotted a set of double doors about two feet behind them. "We'll hide in dhere for a little while." He said, heading over there, thinking it was a storage room or at least just an empty room.
Suddenly, just as Jubilee had managed to get Kitty into a suitable position to support her, gun-shots through silencers suddenly came from the security guards who had caught up with them. Rogue instantly stretched her arm out to them and used her borrowed magnetism to stop the bullets in mid-air. Pain coursed through her entire being but although she gave a small whine, she didn't stop what she was doing. None of them were going to be able to easily open the doors so Kitty braced herself and with an amazing burst of effort, grabbed Remy and yanked them all back, phasing through the doors. All four stumbled back awkwardly into the room, the momentum continuing for quite a while. Finally, Remy was able to steady himself and Rogue whereas Kitty and Jubilee tumbled to the floor. And then a collective gasp sounded. The four froze; they hadn't gasped...
Slowly, they all turned to see a conference room full of people, most notable the Professor and Jean who were up at the front, obviously either about to or in the middle of addressing the rest of the room. At the sigh, Rogue and Kitty both let out small puffs of air and allowed themselves to slump forward knowing they really didn't have to do anything anymore. However, everyone else seemed to take those actions as cause for concern as soon, most of the teachers were rushing towards them.
"Now that," Jubilee whispered to her three friends, a huge grin on her face. "Is how to cause a scene."
Safe at last! Yay :) And, for those of you who were following it, (that means you Freak87 :D) It brings us to the end of the infamous "Shopping Bag Saga".
Hmm...I'm not keen on this chapter personaly. Not one of my bests. But hey, that's just me, maybe you guys all liked it. I hope that's the case :)
Catch ya'll next time :)
Hugs
Dream