The Uncanny R-Man: Yep Sage finally made a move and you'll see later on. Rogue is now a powerhouse and yeah she would have to be careful about that. Glad you liked the Emma/Jean/Ororo scene so much, as for the next one X-23 makes her first appearance.
Jenskott: I kind of feel the same way you do about the Romy stuff but I did need to add a little in the last chapter. I hope you like the action that's coming.
Mark C: Yeah Emma/Vince are started to become a lot like what Jean and Scott share. Glad you liked the part in the kitchen that was a good part too. You'll see a full explanation of Rogue's powers later on and we both feel that Sage and Hank are good for each other.
KSimonT-X: Well this will be the limit to Rogue's new powers I don't want to go overboard like they did a few times in the comics while she was on Storm's team.
coldqueen: Glad you like the Hank/Sage thing but Sage can't control how she jump starts a mutant's powers and when she did that in the comics to him he turned more cat-like in appearance.
Doza: Adjustments is over, I finished that with the last chapter a long time ago it's complete and over.
Minijudi: Well I'm glad you liked the Bobby/Jubilee I thought I might as well put a little of that in, and there was no insult but you didn't know that Jott was his favourite couple.
GothikStrawberry: Glad you thought that was cute she may be the oldest but she's very reserved in the show and more then Jean and Emma are.
Aaron: Yeah Sinister and Selene do deserve each other and so to all the other couples in this. Yeah Logan and Ororo's relationship will be one of the major things that will be talked about. As for Emma yeah she can do but that's why she's so fun to write.
Thanks to: X00001, Simba317, Silver Warrior, Wen1, LadyDeathStrike1, Sparky Genocide
Hellfire and BrimstoneCHAPTER 33: THE HUNT BEGINGS
-Xavier Institute – Classroom-
As the weekend passed and Monday fell upon the institute, much of the students returned to their classes. Summer was almost upon them and there wasn't much left to go school wise, but specialized sessions at the institute continued at the Professor's request. While the mutant situation in the public schools was not always favourable, that didn't mean that they couldn't get what they needed education wise in the safety at the institute. Usually the Professor, Hank, Ororo, Scott, or Jean would teach these classes, but with the arrival of Betsy and Warren, Xavier wanted to give them a chance to contribute like they so earnestly wanted. While they didn't exactly have much teaching experience, they still wanted an opportunity to pull their weight around the institute and since there were still plenty of issues that the others had to work out at the moment, there seemed like no better time than the present to get started.
"So what do they want us to teach the new recruits for our first class, luv?" asked Betsy as she and Warren walked along the corridors of the lower levels.
"Says here he wants us to start small and teach a brief session on mentality on the battlefield," said Warren, reading from a small cluster of papers that Xavier had given him that contained the itinerary for them to teach off of, "Which I think you shouldn't have a problem with, given some of the action you've seen."
"What can I say? With the body of a ninja, you certainly gain a thing or two in terms of experience…And I'm not just talking about combat," she said with confidence, feeling that this was a good place to start for her even though she had absolutely no teaching experience.
"Well don't get too cocky Bets," said Warren with a grin, knowing how she tended to see certain things in an unrealistic sense, "I've heard a few things about teaching the new recruits from Scott and Jean…"
"Oh please, I've heard that too," she said, brushing it off, wanting to stay confident for her first class, "I've made certain to get a few tips and tricks from the elders and I think if that if I can handle The Hand and the Hellfire Club…Then I think we can both manage a class."
However, no sooner had she finished those words did they hear a sudden crash. Quickly, they both ran in front of the door to see what was going on, but before they could open it, the door was blasted off it's hinges by a speeding Sam Guthrie, crashing into Warren.
"Oops…Sorry," said Sam with a sheepish look on his face as he quickly turned back to face the rest of the New Mutants in the classroom, "Dang it Ray! Ya know I hate spiders! Don't pull that trick again!"
"Oh come on man! They're just bugs!" exclaimed Ray, who was still in a fit of laughter like all the others.
"Okay man, you asked for it!" grinned Sam as he quickly forgot about Warren and Betsy's presents and returned to pay Ray back for the little prank he just pulled on him.
As soon as he was back in the classroom, Betsy quickly lifted the now shattered door off her boyfriend and helped him up while he was still seeing stars dancing in front of his eyes.
"Warren, you okay?" she asked in a worried tone upon seeing the look on his face.
"Yeah…As soon as the rock concert in my head dies down," said the winged mutant, rubbing his sore temples.
Betsy let out a slight grunt, knowing now that some of the things she had heard from the others were more valid than she would have liked them to be.
'Bloody hell…' she thought, 'Looks like this is going to be harder than I thought.'
With Warren following close behind, she made her way into the maelstrom that was the New Mutant's classroom. There was a loud ruckus of cheering and laughter as Sam continued to wrestle with Ray as everybody gathered around them.
"Come on Sam! Kick is ass!" urged Tabitha, cheering on the Kentucky farm boy that she still harboured a deep crush on.
"Okay, okay! Break it up!" said Betsy in an authoritative voice as she stepped into the crowed and forced Sam and Ray apart, "Class is in session, so just wait until afterwards to maim each other."
Sam still seemed a little irked at the snide grin on Ray's face, but with Betsy standing between them he felt it would probably be better to save whatever payback he had in mind for later.
"This ain't over yet Ray," said Sam.
"Well it is for now," said Warren, shaking his head slightly and regaining his composure after the impact from Sam he had suffered earlier, "Take your seats everybody…As Betsy said, you can maim each other afterwards. But until then, we're in charge."
Tabitha, Ray, and Bobby snickered, whispering to each other under their breath, "New teachers…This is gonna be easy."
As the rest of the New Mutants returned to their desks, there were still mischievous grins on their faces. However, Betsy kept muttering to herself that it was only an hour long class and it would be over soon enough.
"Okay everybody, Xavier wants you all to learn a few things about battlefield mentality and the kind of mindset one should have while on a mission," she began to lecture as she looked over some of the points on the itinerary that Xavier had given her, "This kind of thing varies depending on the type of mission whether it be a small recruiting mission or an all out fight against Magneto."
While Betsy continued to talk Tabby began forming small explosive fireballs in her hands while the others who saw it snickered and tried to hide their grins. Then, they began passing the specially timed explosive ball down the rows of seats until the arrived at Bobby, who silently rolled them along the floor so that they were behind Warren as he stood unaware of what was going on as he added in a few comments to Betsy's points. The rest of the New Mutants kept their look of innocence as they waited a tense couple of seconds for the timed bombs to go off…Until finally, there was a deafening bang right behind Warren only a few inches at his feet.
"Whoa!" he yelled, nearly jumping several feet in the air with the help of his wings as he fell flat on his butt, causing an eruption of laughter throughout the room.
Warren let out an annoyed groan as Betsy turned angrily towards the unruly young mutants sitting before her, some of them nearly falling out of their seats.
"Okay! Who did that!" she demanded, but all she got in response was laughter, "Tabitha! I know of only one person who can make little bombs and I'm looking right at her!"
"Hey, don't look at me!" she said with an innocent grin, "I'm all the way over here and Warren was standing all the way over there. How could I have possibly placed those little goodies behind him when I haven't moved from my seat?"
"Don't give me that look of innocence!" she said, starting to get annoyed at the snickers she kept hearing, "I know it was you!"
"Prove it…" she said with a grin, causing another round of laughter, "Maybe your boyfriend just had a big breakfast and he couldn't hold it in."
It would have been so easy to just peer into her mind and see the truth which she was already nearly certain of, but being that this was her first day teaching, she didn't want to take it that far just yet. Flashing her a threatening grin, Betsy backed off back towards the front of the room with a disgruntled look on her face.
"Okay, okay…Let's just get on with the itinerary," said Betsy.
"Uh…What itinerary?" said Warren as he held up a couple of burning pieces of paper that had been set ablaze when they were both distracted.
Both Betsy and Warren immediately turned towards Amara, who had been closest to the board and could have easily reached them. Her eyes were darting back and forth as Roberto, Rhane, and Jamie, who were sitting behind her were still snickering.
"What? I didn't do anything," said Amara with a sheepish grin, evoking a proud look from Tabby as she saw the expression on her friend's face.
"Guess that means class is out since there's no itinerary," said Jamie with a grin.
"Aye, so I guess we don't have to worry about a test," added Rhane.
"Good, because I wasn't taking notes!" said Roberto, leaning back in his chair as more laughter filled the room.
"Oh please, since when have you ever taken notes Roberto?" made Ray in between fits of laughter.
"ENOUGH!" ordered Warren, fed up with the chatter, "Class isn't going to end simply because someone burned the itinerary. We're just going to have to improvise."
Then, as he turned back towards the board, he suddenly slipped and fell again…This time on a patch of ice that Bobby had formed while both he and Betsy had been distracted when they were eyeing Amara. Everybody laughed again as Warren once again was forced to pick himself up off the floor, but the more they laughed, the more irritated Betsy got as her patience began to wear thin on these troublesome youngsters. She had hoped to make her first class manageable so that she wouldn't have to be too strict, but having never dealt with super powered teenagers in a classroom before she knew such a notion was nothing short of naïve. Now, the unruly youngsters had made it clear that they weren't taking this class seriously and if that was going to be the case…Then Betsy would show them just how difficult new teachers could be.
"All right that's it!" shouted Betsy in a voice that immediately caused the laughter to die down, "If you all want to act like two-year olds, then I'll make you think you're two year olds!"
"Oh shit…Now they've done it," muttered Warren as he took a step back, knowing what was about to happen would probably be something to behold.
"Hey, take it easy teach," said Bobby as he noticed the slight twitch in Betsy's eye, "It was just a joke."
Then, much to everybody's surprise/discomfort…A mischievous grin spread across Betsy's face as an idea just came to her as a result of Bobby's words.
"Just a joke you say?" she said, the look on her face beginning to freak a few people out, "You all want to make jokes? Hell…If that's what you want, why didn't you say so? I love jokes!"
A similar look on Warren's face appeared as he leaned in and whispered something to Betsy, which only made her grin wider as she looked towards Bobby with an expression that was making him shift uncomfortably in his seat.
"Uh…Ms. Braddock, don't take it personally, but…"
Then suddenly, before Bobby could finish, Betsy unleashed her telepathy on him and Bobby Drake immediately sauntered out of his seat and began doing a retarded version of the chicken dance, causing everybody watching to laugh both in amusement and slight nervousness.
"Can't…Stop…Doing…The chicken dance!" struggled Bobby.
Everybody was laughing now, but Ray was laughing the loudest, which drew both Betsy and Warren's attention. Immediately, he froze under their gaze, but neither Betsy nor Warren flinched as the winged mutant whispered something else into his girlfriend's ear.
"Ooh…I like it," she grinned.
Ray was about to get up and run, when suddenly he lost control over his body and he jumped up on his desk, pulled down his pants, and started doing the macarana. Once again, everybody looked on with both amusement and anxiety as Betsy's eyes scanned the room for the one who was laughing the loudest. This time…Tabitha was the unlucky one who couldn't control herself. Naturally, Betsy decided that this young troublemaker needed a little lesson in discipline.
"Like that, don't you luv?" grinned Betsy as she made her way over towards Tabby's desk, "Well today's your lucky day…Because I've got something extra special for you!"
Tabitha nervously backed away and nearly fell out of her chair as Betsy once again used her telepathy on the ever mischievous young woman. This time, the effect was just as strange as Tabitha suddenly curled herself into a ball on the floor and began sucking her thumb like an infant. Then, she let out a cry that sounded typical of a two year old girl who just found gum in her hair.
"Waa!" she cried like a baby, "I want my ba ba! I want my ma ma! I need my diaper changed!"
As everybody saw the effects of Betsy's 'discipline,' they soon found themselves unable to laugh anymore as Betsy started scanning the room again for her next victim. Both she and Warren seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely with this…More so than any teacher should. But because of their actions, everybody had clammed up even as their three friends were still stuck in the states that Betsy had forced upon them.
"So this is how you guys always act?" said Betsy with a grin as she walked back to the front of the room and casually leaned upon the black board, "I have to say…I had my doubts, but I personally think I'm really going to enjoy teaching you guys like this."
"And next time, I think I'll bring my video camera so we can save wonderful student/teacher moments like this for future reference," added Warren, trying very hard not to laugh at the looks on their faces.
Nobody said a word now as Bobby, Ray, and Tabitha remained under Betsy's influence. Then suddenly, with a quick removal of her influences, the three mutant teenagers were free from her telepathy and feeling very embarrassed, confused, and uncomfortable with what had just happened.
"Now let's get one thing straight here people…Either way you want to do this is fine with me," said Betsy, feeling as though she was finally getting her message across, "If you want to listen and learn, I'm happy to teach you. But if you want to be rowdy and unruly, that's okay too…Either way I'd be more than happy to take care of each. And keep in mind…This is simply our first class. I'm sure both Warren and I can think of a few…Creative things for the future. Then again…The choice is yours, so what's it going to be?"
The smile on Betsy's face couldn't have been any wider as everybody remained silent and attentive, not wanting to tempt the purple haired telepath whom they had found out the hard was very different compared to the other teachers. She was not afraid of having a little fun with her powers and using what resources they had to get the message across. Teaching experience or not…She was not afraid to think out of the box to get things done and judging by the look on her face, she felt a small sense of accomplishment in showing her new students the kind of person she could be.
Then, as Warren looked back over at his still smiling girlfriend, he couldn't help but think to himself, 'I think we're both going to do just fine.'
Feeling that the silence had gone on long enough, Betsy smiled to herself, feeling as though teaching truly did have its unique rewards.
"Okay then…I take it by your silence that you want to avoid the latter," she said with a grin, "And that's perfectly fine with me. I'm sure we'll find other ways of making each lesson amusing. So what do you say we all get back to task at hand? Now, Battlefield mentality…Let's review."
Xavier Institute – Dormitories
Kitty was looking for Piotr. She wanted to ask him if he wanted to see a movie or something later this week. She walked down the hall happy as ever, and it seemed as though a lot of people were happier now despite everything that had happened. Even Logan looked happy and she had to wonder if the rumors of him and Ororo were true. She still had nightmares about being chained up with men ready to rape her as her friends were laying on the ground all dead. But thankfully, those didn't happen too often and she was very tempted to go to Peter's room and just let him hold her like that first night back.
She hadn't felt so warm and safe in someone's arms since her daddy used to rock her to sleep at night when she was little and had a nightmare. There was just something about him that she really liked. Of course she knew she had a thing for older and taller boys, but then again given her height most boys were taller then her…Hell, some who were even younger then her were taller.
But there was also the fact that working on that farm he had told her about had given him a body of a bodybuilder or something and feeling all those muscles that felt like steel kind of was a turn on for her, although she never told anyone that, and the fact he was such a sweat and nice guy. It was so rare to find a man like Piotr and she really did like him. She was even thinking that she could introduce him to her parents one day. After all, she knew they never would have approved of Lance and she never had told them that she kind of dated him for a bit.
She knocked on his door. "Piotr?" she asked as she opened the door a bit. He wasn't in and she looked around. "Damn…Where could he be?"
She was about to leave, but then something caught her eye. It was a sketchpad filed with paper. She knew he liked to draw and paint and she and to wonder what exactly he had done with such skill. She took it and sat on the bead flipping through them and she was impressed with what she saw. There were images of what must have been his family, places like a farm, cities that he must have been to, and the last ones were of the mansion.
She saw many people like a sad looking Rogue who was just looking out a window, the new mutants playing, a few of Jean and Scott and what looked like Vince in a karate pose…Then suddenly, she stopped for a second as she saw a few drawing of her. They were really well done. A few profiles and a few full figure drawings. Then she gasped a little at the sight of her in that new dress she had bought thanks to Emma. She knew she looked good in that dress, but how he drew her she looked fantastic.
"Katya?" Kitty squealed and jumped at the Russian voice and looked up embarrassed to see Piotr there at his door with a slightly worried look on his face when he saw her looking at those sketches. "W-what are you doing in here?"
"Oh, um I-I was just you know like looking for you and all and well I saw this and…" Kitty was shyly pulling on one of her bangs as she so often did when she found herself in an awkward position.
"Oh…I see you must have seen that…Sketch of you. I'm sorry…I shouldn't have drawn those without your consent," he said embarrassed and also hoping she wasn't angry with him.
"Oh no, I'm not mad at all. They're very good actually. And I…I didn't know that…Well…You saw me like that," Kitty said blushing as she went to the drawing of her in the dress.
Now it was his turn to look a bit embarrassed, "Well…I am only as good as my subject matter." Kitty giggled and smiled at that.
"Um…Do…You want me to pose for you sometime?" she asked shyly. She wasn't sure why she asked him that although it would give them something to do…And the truth was it was kind of exciting that he would draw her more maybe even paint her. She had never done anything like that before, but she hoped he would say yes. Looking at that picture, she looked more beautiful then she thought she was and it was a glimpse into how he saw her.
"I…" stammered the Russian mutant, uncertain of what to say. He really did care for her, but he had never had anyone actually pose for him, less alone use his new girlfriend, but the image of them spending time together as he captured her beauty and soul on paper and canvas was really appealing to him. "I would love that Katya."
She smiled and jumped for joy. "Oh this is so going to be cool! Thank you Peter," she exclaimed as she hugged him before leaving. "Oh I have to make sure I have something good to wear for those," she suddenly thought out loud and kissed him on the cheek before leaving for her room.
He just smiled and placed a hand on his cheek, wondering what exactly she was doing in his room again, but put those thoughts aside. Kitty herself was so excited the she didn't remember why she went there until looking at her fourth outfit and smacked herself in the head for forgetting. She just shrugged it off and went back to her clothing. They could go out later. Besides, she never felt so excited before. She felt like a model or something at the moment and couldn't help but be a little giddy with joy.
Xavier Institute – Dormitories
Wanda Maximoff was making her way down the halls of the upstairs dormitories as late hours of the evening set in and most were getting ready for bed. For her, as it was with many of the others, it had been rather difficult adjusting to the regular swing of things after all the time off they had from the Hellfire incident. Many were still going to trauma sessions with Xavier, but everybody was showing signs of recovery. Even Rogue was starting to come around ever since she learned of her new abilities, which in Wanda's opinion, she was having more fun with than she was willing to admit. There were still lingering issues, but as things around them began returning to normal, these issues were getting easier to cope with.
Wanda was tired after a day of renewed studying, which was somewhat hard to get back into given the extended break. But with time, she was certain that she would get back into the groove of things. After all, it was almost over for her and she planned on finally having her GED in hand just in time for summer. Things were finally getting more optimistic for her as the bleak story that was her life was now taking some very positive turns. Not only was she nearing the completion of her high school education, but she also had a new boyfriend in her life. While Kurt still had some lingering issues to deal with, she was still there for him and gave her the support and understanding only she could from her own sad experiences, which helped their relationship grow deeper with the time they spent together and the comfort they offered one another.
While Wanda knew that it would take time for them to develop a more physical relationship, she knew that time would help heal some of the wounds that Selene had inflicted upon him. However, after that incident where he nearly scratched himself to the point where he started bleeding, she still had a few lingering concerns about him.
As Wanda made her way down the halls towards her room, she noticed that Kurt's door was slightly ajar and there was a visible bit of light coming from it. Curious, Wanda opened the door and peaked in only to see Kurt slumped over on his desk, looking dead asleep.
"Oh Kurt…" she said to herself, "I really wish you wouldn't do things like this to yourself."
Slowly, she made her way in, closing the door behind her. She didn't want to leave Kurt like this, knowing it probably wouldn't be too comfortable for him if he stayed that way for very long. He had really been working himself senseless lately catching up on schoolwork, but he had stayed at it a lot longer compared to the others. Wanda had a feeling that it was because work provided a good distraction, but it still hurt to see him struggling so much and she knew there was only so much she could do to help him with his issues.
"Kurt?" she said in a soft tone as she slowly neared his sleeping form, "Kurt, wake up…"
Then, Wanda reached forward and gently touched his shoulder. Then suddenly, Kurt let out a shocked gasp as he shot up and jumped back, falling out of his chair in the process. This stunned Wanda as she fell back as well, nearly losing her balance in the process. Upon seeing the dazed look on his face, Wanda knew that he must have been dreaming again…Most likely about the ordeal as she knew he so often did. He was still gasping in shock, but Wanda was quick to let him know that it was just a dream and he was back in his room.
"It's okay Kurt…It's me," said Wanda.
Upon seeing his girlfriend standing over him with a worried look on her face, Kurt managed to regain his composure and returned to his feet, feeling slightly overwhelmed at his own actions to a simple touch on the shoulder.
"Mien Gott…" he said as he rubbed the stiff feeling in his neck, "I…I'm sorry Vanda. I didn't…"
"It's okay Kurt," said Wanda, quickly cutting him off before he started to let his emotions get the better of him, "It was my fault. I should have known better."
"No…It's not that…" he began, slightly stammering in his words as he felt his tired mind and body slump slightly in the mental stupor he had been struggling with so much, "It vas just a simple touch. I should be beyond freaking out about it so much, but I…"
Kurt soon lost the ability to form the right words as he let out a deep sigh and looked back at Wanda with his sad, troubled eyes. Not wanting to see him suffer like this, she slowly made her way towards him, making certain that she was careful not to overwhelm him, but Kurt knew he needed her comfort…He needed her warmth. She wrapped her arms around him, allowing him to sink into her comforting embrace, which he willingly accepted.
"It's hard Kurt…Believe me, I know it's hard," said Wanda in a soothing tone, "It takes time…It takes a lot of energy and heartache. But you don't have to go through it alone…You're never alone, you hear? You're never alone…"
Kurt felt better at the warmth in her tone and once again thanked God for bestowing upon a guy like him a beautiful woman like Wanda. She was probably the only one who truly understood many of his inner demons after having lived a hard life herself as a result of having her childhood practically taken away from her at the insane asylum. She had been maltreated, beaten, and raped just like he had and after spending so much time with her like with their first date and even before that when he was deeply concerned over Rogue, she had been there for him. Amanda may have left a huge void in his heart, but that void was quickly being filled by Wanda with each passing day as his feelings for her only seemed to grow with special moments like this.
"I guess busying myself vith vork exactly have ze desired effect," said Kurt as they reluctantly parted and he looked back towards his desk, which was still littered with papers.
"No, not in the way you probably wanted," said Wanda, knowing the feeling all too well, "It doesn't make it go away…But it does give the mind something else to focus on. So don't think it's a total waste."
"I guess I'll have to take your vord for it," said Kurt, sounding very tired.
"You haven't been sleeping well, have you?" said Wanda, making it sound more like a statement than a question.
Kurt simply shook his head in response.
"Nightmares again?" she said, once again not sounding at all uncertain since she had been in Kurt's situation before.
Kurt sighed in response as he sat on the foot of his bed and rubbed his tired eyes.
"Ja…They come and They go," he said in a low monotone voice, "They aren't anywhere near as bad as they first vere vhen ve got back…But they are sill there."
"They'll always be there Kurt…" said Wanda as she sat next to him, an arm still draped around his body, "I wish I could say that they go away with time…But they don't. To this day, I still have dreams of waking up back in the insane asylum…Surrounded by the men who use to…Well, you know."
Kurt swallowed hard, knowing what she was referring to. He had hoped that eventually that his experience with Selene would be forced into the back of his mind and that he would be able to focus on the things he used to while only having to contend with the memory. However, it still affected him even though things had gotten better since his return. He desperately wished it would all go away, but as more time passed he was quickly finding out that such a notion was all but impossible. It was a feeling that brought a bit of despair to his mind, knowing that nothing he could do could distract him enough to forget…But thanks to the family he had at the institute and the care and support of Wanda, he knew he was not alone in learning to cope with the harsh realities of what he had been through.
"You want me to stay here tonight?" asked Wanda, knowing he had to get some sleep.
Kurt looked back up at her with a worried expression.
"Are you sure?"
"Come on Kurt, what kind of girlfriend would I be if I don't help you when you need it?" she asked, giving him a small peck on the cheek.
This actually caused Kurt to smile a bit, which spoke volumes to Wanda. However, it didn't stop there. Kurt then leaned in and kissed her back, this time on the lips in a deep, prolonged gesture of affection, which was kind of his way of letting her know that he was happy to have her with him even in times of darkness. Wanda, although a bit surprised at first, quickly began to kiss back, further enrapturing him in her arms and enjoying the soft feeling of his fur against her skin.
It was a warm, comforting feeling for the both of them. It symbolized how their relationship had grown so much after that first fateful date. They may have had many things taken away from them in their lives…Their childhood, their innocence, and even their sanity to some extent…But they still had the full capacity to love and to share their hearts with those who understand. It was something nobody…Not even Selene…Could ever take from them.
"I'm a very lucky man to have someone like you," said Kurt as they finally ended their long, drawn out kiss.
"And I'm a very lucky woman to have such a sweet guy like you," smiled Wanda, "We'll both have our issues to deal with down the road…Believe me, there will be plenty. But like you once told me…We have to have faith."
Kurt couldn't help but smile back at her words, for it helped remind him of his own strength that had been so easy to forget after everything that happened. But even for all complications that surrounded their lives, sometimes it only took a simple reminder to gain the strength needed to fight through and triumph over so much adversity.
"No come on…" said Wanda as she scooted back in his bed, "It's time for you to get some sleep Mister."
"Alright liebe," he said with a grin as he turned off the lights and rolled back the covers of his bed, "I know better than to argue vith you."
As they both settled under the warm sheets, Kurt found himself snuggling into the warmth of Wanda's body. His arms soon snaked around her waist as he held her close, feeling as though no nightmare could touch him as long as he had this girl in his embrace. And as they both drifted off into a world of dreams, no such nightmares came…Which was a rare, yet very welcome thing for both Kurt Wagner and Wanda Maximoff.
-JC's Bar and Grill-
A motorcycle drove up to a bar just outside of Bayville in the late hours of the night. Logan, wearing his biker jacket and blue jeans as well as a cowboy hat, turned to look at the passenger he had along with him. Ororo got off the bike, also in jeans, but also bearing a red top and jacket. She pulled off the helmet she wore with her hair was tied back into a ponytail so it looked nice and neat, but she still ran a hand over it smoothing it out. He had to admit she still looked great…Okay, not as great as that killer dress she wore the other night, but still very attractive.
"I don't see why you don't need to wear a helmet while I have to," she said placing the helmet on the back of his bike.
"Darlin' I got a healing factor and metal stronger then any material in that helmet so I don't have anything to worry about."
"Point taken," she told him walking up to the place and looking it over.
"You sure ya wanted to do this?" he asked her as he walked up next to her. "I know this ain't the type of place you're used to goin'." In fact, he was pretty sure of that.
She just smiled at him, "Logan if we're…Going to have a relationship, then she should get to know the lives of each other. Besides, I've always wondered what you do when you leave for those periods of time on your own and what you do there." She looked over the place there were pickup trucks and motorcycles parked everywhere and old school rock and roll could be heard blaring inside. The placed looked a bit rough, but she'd seen worse places in her life. They walked into the place and Ororo saw many people in either country or biker wear. The waitresses all wore black skirts and red tops with name tags.
There were pool tables and a few dartboards in one area with the jukebox playing the Rolling Stones at the moment. On the opposite side, there were tables set up and people were mainly watching what looked like a baseball game on a couple of TVs. There were also a few people smoking, adding to an overall smell of smoke, meat, and beer.
"Charming place," she said with a smirk to him as they came to a bar across from the door. "I can see you coming here a lot."
Behind the bar a large man with a T-shirt and jean jacket with the sleeves cut out and brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She could also make out several tattoos over his body and watched as he tended the bar. The man looked up and smiled at Logan. "Well look what the damn cat dragged in. Been a few months since you stopped by Logan." Then he looked Ororo over and smiled. "Damn…She with you? Cause if she ain't, I'll take her!"
Logan knew he was kidding and grinned. "Yeah the lady is with me. Jay this is Ororo…Ororo, Jay. He runs this dive."
"Hey this ain't no dive. I do me best to keep it from that and you know it midget-man," Jay said, which surprised Ororo because Logan didn't try to hit him in response…Instead, he actually laughed and she guessed that they were on pretty friendly terms.
"Nice to meet you Jay," she said to him and he smiled and nodded back to her.
"So Logan," Jay started as he got out two beers that Logan asked him for after the small introduction. "I see you moved up in the world…Tell me, she got a sister?"
"Yes I do, but she's married." Ororo said amused and took her beer.
"Happily?"
"Very."
"Damn, good ones are always taken," he muttered, causing Ororo to nearly laughed at the man's antics. "Anyways, try not to bust up the place this time okay Logan? I couldn't get that dent out of the wall you threw those two into and I had to cover it up with a damn dart board."
Logan looked over at the wall. "Oh, so that's why you got a new one. No promises, but I'll try," he said and walked off to a free pool table.
Ororo was about to go too, but Jake gently place a hand on her arm. "You look like you can put a leash on that guy so please try and keep him under control. He's a good customer, but I can't get no insurance anymore cause of him from the LAST time he trashed the bar."
"He really damages this place every time?"
"Oh hell no, hell I get a fight in here once a week. Just that when he does it, things get broken more and I just finally got everything replaced last week."
Ororo nodded her head and told him she would do just that, evoking a huge smile as the oversized man nodded. He even said if she could keep him from trashing the place, she could drink here free whenever she was with him. Ororo shook her head in amusement as she walked over to Logan who was setting up a pool table.
"I must say Logan you have quite the reputation here," she said amused as she took a pool cue from the wall.
Logan smirked as he placed his beer on the edge of the table, "All lies darlin', don't believe a word of it."
She just smirked as she lined up her first shot and managed to get a striped one in. "So do you usually play alone?" she inquired as she banked a shot and sunk in another ball.
"Nah I usually try and con a few bucks out of a few others," he said as he saw her sink two more in one shot and stopped taking another drink of his beer, "You've done this before haven't ya?"
She only smirked as she took her next shot. They kept playing and she won the first game, but Logan had managed to win the second game and they were currently on their third game and both had a few beers. Ororo drank only a couple, but Logan downed three. However, his healing factor helped him contend with that so it was tougher for him to get drunk and even more so on American beer and he really wished that he could get more Canadian imports…Although he did have his own special stock back at the Institute well hidden from the kids.
At this time, one of the other patrons there had been watching them, well mainly Ororo. He and his friend had been drinking for a bit and he couldn't help but comment on her to his buddy. "I swear that is one fine piece of ass," he slurred slightly.
"Oh hell yeah," his buddy grinned, "Too bad she's with that short guy."
His buddy in faded jeans and a jacket with an unshaven face got up and fixed his belt with a bull horn buckle on it, "Well she's about to move up in the world."
Ororo was leaning over for a shot when someone slapped her ass slightly. "Hey babe, can I buy you a drink?" She quickly got up and glared daggered at the man.
"Touch me again like that and you'll regret it!" she hissed at him as Logan put down his beer and started to walk over to him. He knew she could take care of herself, but he was also pissed at seeing some drunk cowboy wannabe do that to her.
He grinned as he pulled her to him, "Come on honey, ditch the runt and go with a real man."
Ororo narrowed her eyes. "I warned you," she said as she kneed him in the groin hard. The man fell to the ground and groaned out loud.
Logan had to chuckle at the site, but the guy's friend didn't like that one bit and decided to take it out on Logan. "You think that's funny?" the man said as he pulled Logan around and slugged him across the face, but the pain of hitting his face wasn't something he was prepared for and later the doctors would tell him is hand was nearly fractured, but at this moment he cradled his hand as he yelled out in pain from hitting the metal under Logan's skin.
Jay saw this and groaned and got close to his head waitress. "Glory, tell the girls to put away all the breakables." She nodded her head, she knew exactly as did the other girls what he meant and that trouble was about to happen.
Logan for his part cracked his neck and looked at the man before hitting him with an uppercut that sent him into a table spilling drinks over a bunch of bikers that had been enjoying the 'floor show' until that moment and all glared at Logan. There was just one moment of silence before all hell broke loose as a classic bar fight started.
During the fight Logan tried to make his way to Ororo, but he saw that she was taking care of herself using the pool cue like a bow staff and tripped, whacked, and jabbed with it. He was impressed since he didn't know she knew how to use a weapon like that. A chair hit Logan on the back of his head and he growled as he bunched the one in the face who had done it.
He moved over to Ororo as she used the cue to hook one man with his arm and behind his neck and tossed him into a wall. "I think we might want to leave now darlin'."
"I would agree with you Logan," she said as they made their way to the front door and made it to his bike.
"Sorry that happened in there. I knew taking you to a place like this was a bad idea," he told her as they got on his bike.
"Actually I had fun, and I must say you know how to show a girl an exciting time," she said as he put on the helmet and climbed onto the back of the bike and then wrapped her arms around him. "Perhaps we could do this again?" she said, very serious about that as her heart started racing and she felt the adrenaline rush in her body. She had never had such a wild time and given her usual mundane life which she did like, but it was excitement like this that she missed since moving out of Africa.
Logan grinned as he gunned his engine to life, "If you want to, I know of a few bars we could go to while Jay cleans house and calms down enough not to kick us out when we walk through the door."
"That sounds fine," she said and wondered what Sage would think when she told her that she got into a bar brawl with Logan. The image of her face alone sent her laughing as they roared down the highway on his bike. For the first time in years, she had never felt so alive again.
-Forest in the middle of Nowhere-
Lady Deathstrike, Deadpool, Gauntlet, and Viper were now in camouflage combat gear as they made their way through the middle of a forest in the mid west.
"So…We're sure the little brat is out here?" Deathstrike asked them.
"Well if she isn't, then we can always have a good camping trip instead," Deadpool said happily, "Maybe we can make smores, sing songs, and tell ghost stories." The others looked at him like he was crazy, which on the hour long plane ride, they were fairly sure he was to some degree.
"If the girl is here I can find her…I did it before, I can do it again," Gauntlet said, scanning the area with his cybernetic eye. He still had her genetic data from the last time stored just in case and he could pick up her DNA trail from several miles away with it.
"Lead on then Colonel Clink," Deadpool said to him, "You're our blood hound to tallyho!"
Deathstrike leaned in close to Viper. "Do we REALLY need this fool?" she half whispered and half hissed at her.
"Despite his mouth, he's quite good at his job." At least that's what Viper kept telling herself, but the annoying mercenary was quickly pushing her patience.
"This way," Gauntlet said pointing to an area with a stream running by it.
"And how do you know this O Mighty Hunter?" Deadpool asked him as he got his weapons ready.
The cyborg mutant just grumbled something under his breath. "Look in the wild you need shelter, food, and water. So she'll stay close to any source of water."
"Oh," the Canadian mercenary said realizing that made sense. "Okay then, lead on MacDuff." They started their search of the area.
An hour later, the now fifteen year old X23 was stalking a rabbit that she wanted to eat for later. Her combat uniform had seen better days as she had to cut the sleeves and legs below the knees since she had grown a bit. She didn't bother with gloves and she also used her claws to cut her long hair to shoulder length since it was getting too long and got in the way.
After having convinced everyone that she was 'dead,' she had gone on her own way. She tried a few cities, but she didn't like them. They were loud, noisy, smelt badly, and there were too many people for her comfort. Plus, the fact she had no money, as she had learned that was needed to buy food and shelter, made it all the more difficult.
So she went into the forest just wondering around. It was peaceful out here and it gave her time to think about her complicated life. She knew that she couldn't live out here forever, but where else did she have to go? She had thought about Logan a lot during this time. She knew that he had to know she was alive, but he was on the other side of the country and she wasn't ready to face him just yet.
She was walking down wind of the rabbit and then both she and the rabbit suddenly caught a few scents. She was startled a bit and quickly moved just loud enough for the rabbit to hear and run off. She growled in frustration. She wanted rabbit, but she could get another fish to eat for later by the lake or stream. Now she wanted to just get out of the way of whoever these people were, which she suspected were most likely another camping group, but then she caught the smell of gunpowder.
'Hunters?' She thought to herself, but as the wind picked up she caught one of the scents more clearly and her eyes widen in horror at what she smelt. 'No…It can't be…It can't be…She's dead.' She knew that many thought the same of her and she hadn't actually seen her die, but there was no way she could have survived…At least that's what she though.
She moved closer and sniffed the air again and she could now make out four of them. Two she didn't know, but two she quickly recognized. She let out a growl at Gauntlet's scent and there was no denying the last one. It was her…It was Viper. She was alive and she was after her again.
She thought she was free of them, but now it was happening all over again…Never the less, she was going to finished what she started and began to stalk some new prey.
Gauntlet had picked up a heat signature that had to be from a human, but he lost it. He didn't like it one bit, for when he had been hunting the girl with that Russian Omega Red, she had pulled this trick on them a few times as well. Mainly she just ran out of range, but other times she would attack them. At the moment he got the feeling she knew they were here now and readied his stun rifle that he had been given. "I think she's on to us."
"What makes you think that?" Wade said looking through the trees, "So Logan's mini-me knows we're here, so what? She can't be as bad as the short and unshaven," he said referring to Logan.
"She's almost worse," Viper told him seriously.
At that moment X23 attacked from the trees. She kicked Gauntlet in the face, shattering his cybernetic eye as she kicked off him and flipped into the air and landed on Viper. But Viper threw the girl off her with strength that X23 had known she didn't have in the past. She put that aside as a woman with large claw like hands started to attack her.
She was fast and managed a few cuts on her body before X23 sent a foot blade across the Japanese woman's abdomen. Then, she felt a dart hit her shoulder and saw a man in red and black with a dart gun. "Damn, looks like we should have brought a bigger gun." She snarled as she ripped the dart out and attacked him slicing his gun with a hand claw and tried to slice him with a backhanded slice, but he dodged it and kicked her in the stomach.
"Nice try little girl. You're good, but not that good," he said to her as he took out a blade and attacked her. She ducked under it and stabbed him in the chest with her claw, but to her surprise he just staggered back with a grunt. "Okay, if you're going to be a bad girl like that, then I'll have to take you across my knee and give you a little spanking!"
X23 growled, but then a powerful kick sent her into a tree by Viper and she bounced off it hard and started to fall down a hill. When she stopped, she felt her body had cuts and bruises all over, but she knew she needed to get up and run. She had to withdraw and come up with a battle plan since those two were different then the others. They survived attacks that should have killed or seriously wounded others. The only other people she could who could survive suck blows were her and Logan, so that meant they had to have healing powers similar to theirs. That meant she had to rethink her attacks as she managed to push off and started to run.
Up on the hill, the others were getting themselves fixed up. Gauntlet was trying to fix his eye while Deathstrike was nearly healed as her stomach stopped bleeding. Viper looked over at Deadpool, "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, just peachy. She only punctured a lung, but give me five minutes," he said, coughing a bit, "Okay, that girl seriously needs a timeout."
"Will you grow up!" Deathstrike snapped at him, "Can you not be serious for a nanosecond instead of acting like the fool? How you are still alive is beyond me!"
He just looked at her and smiled under his mask. "Are you hitting on me? Cause I am so into that and I don't mind the claws…Hell, I can heal!" She made a disgusted face at him. "Hey, when you look like I do, you take it when you can get. I mean, when's the last time you got laid?"
"Will you shut up!" Viper hissed out at him, "We have to make camp. We'll never find her at night and we'll have a better chance when morning comes." She stepped away from them looking down at the hill. She swore that she would have her revenge on that girl and no matter how long it took, she would capture her.
NEXT UPCHAPTER 34: CAPTURED PREY