Take the Long Way Home
Chapter 25 here! Wow. A lot of people like Shippo. Well, enough of the small talk, let's get down to business.
AN: ATTENTION EVERYONE! Your attention please! I have an important announcement! Ahem; this is NOT a full-blown Inuyasha crossover! Shippo is the ONLY character showing up from that show. That is all.
Fluffy's numba 1 gal- I don't see what you're so mad about. The series ended after the episode that showed Inuyasha and Kagome's kids. I just made the stuff after that up. And I don't know about introducing Fluffy, he seems like the type to keep out of sight in this modern day and age.
LW- Thanks man, here's that update you wanted.
Azuredragoness- It's only a slight crossover though. I tell ya what, I'll trade ya. My obsessive, loud, snoopy, foul mouthed sister for your two brothers. Deal? I mean; a two year old brother and a fourteen year old brother I have experience dealing with. All you need is a cattle prod and a tire hanging from a rope for them to sleep in.
L1701E- It's gonna be a while before the next big team up, so sorry for the wait. But I think I can incorporate those ideas into that chapter though.
Rosethorn-They act nothing alike, how could you confuse them? Well, about Hiroshima, I'm a big history buff, and I think that a show of force would have worked just as well as the bombings had, but that's just my opinion.
Reliena- You want Queen, you got Queen! Sorry, Adam has more pressing matters to attend to; he won't be at the party.
Shadowbeast1-Thanks man, but this storyline seems to iron out any wrinkles all on its own. I could probably put in a mutant slime monster from the Black Lagoon and it would still find a way to fit in. And no, I will not be putting in a mutant slime monster from the Black Lagoon.
Animeluvr-you scare me. And yep, you're right about Rick's idea. Oh, and by the way…school talent show update is four words. Ducks several heavy objects thrown at the area his head had been occupying a microsecond ago Thanks Vegeta. He glares at me "Don't mention it. EVER." Gotcha.
Warconq-Hey man; long time no see! Glad you like they way I incorporated Shippo; it was the only way I could think of to get both him and Slash into the story.
WARNING
This chapter contains extreme amounts of insanity, with liberal amounts of fluff. Those of you who are considered mentally stable may become seriously deranged after reading this chapter. All of my friends should be fine though. That is all.
-AAA- Translation
AAA-telepathy
AAA-self debate, or conversation with feral side in Shawn and Rahne's case
Disclaimer-I have a muse that can incinerate planets when he's grumpy. Layers make him grumpy. Any lawyers in the house? There is a mad scramble for the door, lawyers beating each other with their briefcases in their panic Guess not.
Chapter 25-Birthday Party of the Century!
Scott strode in front of his troops, in full battle gear. "Okay troops, this is it. The enemy will be arriving at any moment. We've gone over our battle plans, and you understand the dangers. Are there any questions?" Rick raised his hand. He, Tabby, Sam and Jean were all in the line. None of them had their uniforms on. "Yes Rictor?"
"Are you done being an idiotic ass yet? Shawn wanted me to help him set the karaoke speakers up." Scott sighed and closed his eyes behind his visor as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Alright then; anyone who wants to leave, just leave." When he opened his eyes, only Jean was there; and she was looking at him like he was nuts. He sighed again as he felt her worry for his sanity through their bond. "Alright, alright, I'll go change." He got another message through their bond, a warning this time. "And I'll try to tolerate them. But if they step out of line, I won't be responsible for my actions." She nodded.
"Good enough. Who knows, maybe they've become a little more civilized?" She and Scott shared a look… right before Scott burst out laughing, and began to stagger away, clutching at his sides. A hairbrush smacked into the back of his head, but he was laughing so hard he didn't even feel it.
A little ways down the hall, Shawn was sitting, chuckling as he looked at a picture. It showed him, Hack, and Slash, with short black hair, dark eyes, and of course; human ears, laughing together. Coyote was in the background, sneaking up on the trio, a water balloon in each hand. Oblivious to their impending soaking, Shawn had Hack in a headlock, while Slash was giving his friend rabbit's ears for the picture. All three of them had the biggest grins on their faces imaginable. "Heh, good old Slash. Count on him to remind me of old times, even when he's not here," Shawn chuckled.
On the other side f the picture, there was a message in a messy scrawl. "Dear Crush, happy B-day. Sorry I'm not there, but at least this way I can be there in spirit.
Slash"
-The Hood House-
Lance was looking into the kitchen, where Coyote was busy with something or other. "What are you guys doing? C'mon, the party's gonna start soon!" Todd whined from the living room. He and the rest of the Brotherhood were waiting in there. Pietro was twitching uncontrollably, with Wanda growling at him to stand still for once in his life every so often. Raven sighed as she watched with Fred, who was holding a small wrapped package, the birthday present that Coyote had gone and gotten earlier that morning. "Before we leave," she spoke up, catching the attention of the Brotherhood, "I want to lay down a few ground rules. No fighting, although arguments will be tolerated; no pranks unless you're working with someone from the Institute to pull it off, and most importantly, try to let bygones be bygones."
"Well, at least she left us plenty of leeway," Todd commented to Fred from his perch on the larger boy's shoulder. His friend nodded in agreement. After a few more minutes, Coyote emerged from the kitchen with a plastic grocery bag held carefully in his hands.
"What's that Brother?" Raven asked. The hidden question behind the words was: is that something that I'll have to punish you for bringing? Coyote grinned.
"Just somethin' for the instructors at the Institute. A kind of peace offering if you will. Just in case." He looked around at the eager faces. "Well, what're we standing round here for? There's a party to get to folks!" As soon as the words left his mouth, the entire Brotherhood was out the door and piled into Lance's jeep, with the exception of Pietro, who was running alongside it. It was a tight fit, but they managed once Todd retook his place on Fred's shoulder. "HIGH-HO SILLLLLLVERRRRR!!!!!" Coyote shouted as Lance peeled rubber out of the boardinghouse's driveway. As Thanatos watched them go impassively, he heard the faint sound of Raven's fist impacting against her brother's skull.
-The Institute-
"So we got everything up and ready?" Logan asked Storm. The Institute's resident cook had been preparing snacks for the kids for the past three hours, and was just now putting out the last tray of them. She nodded, looking fairly exhausted.
"Yes, and I'm glad that we managed to get a large enough cake on such short notice," she replied, brushing back a loose strand of hair as she glanced at the huge chocolate and vanilla cake. Logan just gave her a smile.
"Why don't you go and put your feet up Roro? Me, Chuck, Hank, Dante and this 'Coyote' guy oughta be able to handle the kids no problem." Storm smiled at him before she went up to her room to take a nice relaxing nap.
Outside, Jamie had roped some of the New Mutants into a game of hide-and-seek while they waited for the Brotherhood to arrive. The rest of the students were killing time in various ways. It actually hadn't been that hard to get them to agree, most of the older kids just thought that they could pretend to hide and then ditch the game. Unfortunately, they hadn't counted on Razor's nose joining in.
Jamie followed Razor as the little dinosaur followed another scent across the grounds. He had already found Roberto, Jubilee and Bobby, and was now searching for Tabby, Sam and Rahne. His little tracking partner suddenly stopped and wrinkled his snout in confusion. He turned and looked up at Jamie, not as big a chore as it had been a while ago; the synthetic dinosaur had grown almost a foot and a half since he had been entrusted into Jamie's care. "Something wrong?" Jamie asked. His reptilian friend shook his head.
-There's a strange scent here, one that doesn't belong to anyone I've smelt before- Razor chirped. Jamie began to imagine what a big hero he would be for finding and catching an intruder on the grounds. His face set in a determined look.
"Let's find out who it is then, shall we?" he said, striding forward. He slowed down and let Razor take the lead again once he remembered that he didn't have the slightest idea where he was going. They stopped at the base of a tree that was fairly isolated from the rest of the grounds. Razor began to sniff around the base of the tree, circling it a few times before looking up into the branches and growling. As Jamie watched excitedly, Razor took a flying leap into the tree's branches. Suddenly, muffled French curses, coupled with a few English ones that Jamie had heard Logan use when he had gotten pranked by Shawn, Bobby and Rick began to emanate from the tree. After a few moments, things quieted down and a trench-coated someone fell from the tree, landing in a heap at Jamie's feet. Razor leapt down after him, looking like the cat that had swallowed the canary. Jamie looked at the lump at his feet, nudging it with his foot.
"Hi Gambit." Suddenly Razor looked up towards the gate.
-The Brotherhood is here- Jamie nodded.
"Okay. Bye Gambit, sorry about that." With that, Jamie and Razor ran off. Gambit just lay there; twitching.
"Heeeellllpp…mmmeeeeee…"
At the entrance to the Institute, the Brotherhood was being welcomed warily by Logan and Xavier. As he got out of the jeep, Lance was pulled aside by Logan for a 'heart-to-black hole' talk. "Listen kid, I'm only gonna say this once, after that it's open season, got it?" the feral growled. Lance gulped and nodded, looking for someone, anyone, who could get him out of this situation. He didn't see anyone, but someone saw him and began to head to the boys rescue, unnoticed by everyone else.
"Now listen up punk, if I smell your scent on Kitty in a way that means that you've been getting a little to close, if ya know what I mean, I'll make you into a eunuch. Got it bub?" The entire time Logan was threatening him, he had a firm grip on Lance's collar. Suddenly, another hand latched firmly onto Logan's wrist and squeezed it in a way that left Logan no choice but to let go, or have his arm paralyzed.
"Listen, bub," Coyote growled, getting between Logan and Lance, "Lance knows better than to mistreat a lady. And I don't see how any of this is your business. The Brotherhood is under my care, so you take care of your kids and I'll take care of mine. That okay with you?" Logan glared at the other man, taking in the practiced ease with which this man had broken his grip, and the fact that he didn't seem the least bit intimidated by his patented Glare-o-Death™.
"You Coyote?" he grunted. Coyote grinned disarmingly.
"Last time I checked." Before anything else could be said, a ponytail-ed blur raced around the corner, through Coyote and Logan, before slamming into Lance and knocking the boy on his butt.
"Hi Lance," kitty chirped from her perch on his chest. Lance grinned weakly.
"Hi Kitty. Umm, not that I'm complaining, but could you please get off of me?" (Déjà vu anyone?) Kitty blushed, while Coyote chuckled at the teen's predicament. Logan just held his head in his hands.
"Why do I even bother?" he groaned. Suddenly a cackling Pietro sped by, a whip cream covered Razor hot on his heels and gaining. A pack of sugar hyped Jamies followed, carrying jumbo pixie-sticks like spears and whooping and giving war cries. Coyote blinked, and looked at Logan who just groaned and shook his head in a "don't ask" manner. While they were distracted, Lance and Kitty made their escape.
"I say we get plastered before we try to face the rest of the pack," Coyote said, suddenly, grinning, "And I got just what the doctor ordered!" He produced the grocery bag he had before, and pulled some bottles out of it. "Doctor Jack Daniels that is!" Logan and he shared a grin and dashed away to Logan's secret drinking room, which was actually Xavier's office.
"Bub, I think this may be the beginnings of a beautiful friendship," Logan grinned, opening the first bottle. "Cheers!" There was a clink of glass as the door closed behind the two.
As the two of them attempted to save what little sanity they had left (Ironically by drowning it in booze), Raven was introducing herself to the professor. Hank had opted to stay inside, claiming that he had an important experiment to attend to in his lab and couldn't help with the party (Cut to the lab, where Beast is hanging from the ceiling from one arm, bottles of beer clutched in his other hand and both feet, doing his best mad scientist cackle.). 'Dang him, he's probably just hiding,' Xavier thought. He glanced over at Toad, who had gotten into an argument with Kurt over some game or something.
"I'm tellin' ya fur face, there's no way Donkey Kong could beat Yoshi!" Toad was yelling.
"Ze jungle king vould never lose to a little lizard!" Before the argument escalated, Shawn appeared, wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders.
"Guys, guys, if you want to settle your differences, there's a Gamecube in the rec room with Super Smash Bros: Melee in it." The two headed towards the rec room, still arguing loudly, while Shawn zipped of to circumvent any other altercations. He was having the time of his life. Xavier breathed a sigh of relief, thanking whatever deities were currently controlling his pitiful existence. He turned his attention back to Raven.
"So you're Coyote's older sister?" he asked, not really curious. Raven nodded in reply, just as bored as the professor was. As they talked, they moved further into the mansion. Raven froze suddenly as she saw Dante walk through the hall, scowling when Pietro raced by. He neatly plucked the can of whipped cream the boy had obtained from who knows where from his hands.
Pietro stopped on a dime, and scowled at the half demon. "Hey that's my…YIPE!" Quicksilver took off running once more as Razor skidded around the corner and lunged at a sensitive portion of the boys' anatomy. The dinosaur was followed by the Jamie Hoard, who were all chanting something as they ran, still waving their pixie sticks like spears.
"ALLHAILTHESUGARGODSALLHAILTHESUGARGODSALLHAILTHESUGARGODS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" They cried. (Translation: "All hail the sugar gods!" x3) A few of the clones had made bows from empty pixie sticks and red licorice. They were using Butterfingers as arrows. Dante just shook his head and continued on his way, well used to this kind of behavior by now. As he went, you could practically see the hearts floating around Raven's head and in her eyes. Fred, coming out of the kitchen with a moderately small, for him, tray of snacks, noticed his mentor's sister's strange behavior. He looked in the direction she was looking and groaned mentally. He remembered what Coyote had told the Brotherhood about his sister and "hot" guys.
-Flashback, the Hood house, the night after Raven's arrival-
Coyote was cautioning his young charges on his sister's one major flaw, aside from that little 'p' word that all women suffer from, and all men suffer from because women suffer from it. "Remember guys, if she ever gets this really gooey look on her face, warn the guy she's lookin' at, try to hold her back for a few seconds to give him a good head start, then let go. Do not, I repeat, do NOT attempt to hold on for more than four seconds, cause she'll judo flip your asses into the next century. Yes, even you Freddy. She may be small, but damn she's wiry!" Toad raised his hand.
"What'll happen when we let go yo? Hey, that rhymed!" Coyote shrugged, ignoring that last part.
"It's always the same. She starts yelling stuff like, 'BABY!' and 'COME TO MAMA!', stuff like that.
-End Flashback-
Fred walked up and tapped Dante on the shoulder. The man looked over his shoulder. "Hmmmm?"
"Uh, Mr. you might want to start running." Dante glared at him.
"Are you threatening me kid?" Fred shook his head violently.
"No sir. It's just…" as Fred trailed off, he pointed behind Dante. Dante turned slowly, and his eyes widened. Raven was standing not four feet away, and you could practically see the hearts floating around her head. Now Dante is quite capable of taking on demons, vampires, and general nasty ugly evil creatures, but when it came to aggressive girls, he didn't know how to react. Nice, normal girls that he pursued were fine, but as we all know, if they're related to Coyote, they're anything but normal.
"Aw crap," Dante muttered. He whirled back to face Fred. "Kid, could you…?" Fred nodded in understanding. "Thanks." With that, Dante took off in a flurry of red and white. That was enough to start Raven into "hunt" mode.
"BABY COME TO MAMA!!!!!" She shouted. Fred got in her way, and managed to block her way for a few seconds, before she managed to slip past him. Toad, hopping out of the rec room to the tune of Kurt's laments about measly rotten lizards, was knocked over as Dante rushed past him, followed closely by Raven.
"HEY! What's goin' on yo?" The two ignored him. As he got up and dusted himself off, he took a glance outside, in the backyard, and suddenly grinned. He had just spotted the karaoke machine in the backyard. Shawn was standing next to it, and he seemed to be pleading with Maria. Sam and Rahne were looking on, along with Amara, Bobby, Jubilee, Rick and Tabby. Wanda was lounging in one of the deck chairs nearby, apparently taking a nap.
"Aw c'mon, it's a really great song!" Shawn was pleading. Maria, semi-scowling, arms crossed, shook her head.
"No, I refuse to humiliate myself in public!"
"So you'll humiliate yourself in private?" Rick asked. "OW!" he cried as Tabby smacked him upside the head. She shot an apologetic glance at Maria.
"Sorry, I hope to have him trained before long," the klepto said apologetically, while Rick rubbed the back of his head and sent a low level glare at her back. As Shawn continued to attempt to get Maria to agree, Fred, Todd, Lance and Kitty made their appearances as well. Lance had his arms draped over Kitty's shoulders. Behind them, the others could see Pietro zipping by, with Razor and the Jamie hoard still hot on his heels. He took a quick glance behind him, and grimaced before pouring on the speed. 'Don't these guys ever get tired?!?!' he thought to himself.
"Hey! Is that a karaoke machine?" Lance asked. Shawn shot him a look, but reigned in his fraying temper, nodding a yes. "Does it have any Montgomery Gentry?" Shawn broke off his argument with Maria, and walked over to the table they had set the CD player on. He pulled out a thick binder full of CDs and set it down on another table, shaking the table as it landed heavily.
"I don't know, lets see." Shawn flipped through the binder for a few moments, before finding the CD he wanted. He beckoned Lance over, and they held a quiet conference before both of them nodded in agreement. Lance strode over to the mike and took it in hand.
"This is a song dedicated to…well, I think you guys all know who." All eyes turned to Kitty, who blushed. Lance nodded at Shawn, "Hit it buddy." At that, Shawn popped the CD into place and started up the machine. Lance waited for a moment as the instrumental started, then began singing, using the words on the screen only for guidance on how long to hold a word, having long since memorized the lyrics to this particular tune.
"My old man's, backhand used to land,
Hard on the side of my head.
But I just learned to stay out of his way."
There's been, streetfights, blue lights,
Long nights with the world sittin' on my chest:
But it just showed me how much I could take."
"Hard times, bad luck;
Sometimes, life sucks!"
Kitty sighed as she remembered how Lance had always seemed to have it rough back in their hometown. Even though he was feared by most, he had never been really respected, but she perked up as he launched himself into the refrain.
"That's all right, I'm ok.
It ain't nothin' but another day.
Only God knows where I'd be,
If you ever stopped lovin' me."
"The bank man, the boss man, the lawman,
All tryin' to get their hands on me.
And I ain't even done a damn thing wrong.
I've been waylaid, freight-trained, short-changed,
By bigger an' badder men.
An' all I got to say is: "Bring it on."" At that, there was a rousing cheer from the boys in the audience.
"Hard rain, rough road,
So my life goes."
"That's all right, I'm ok.
It ain't nothin' but another day.
But only God knows where I'd be,
If you ever stopped lovin' me."
"I need you,
Gotta have you,
In my life, by my side,
Every day I'm alive,
Every night when I'm sleeping, I'm needing,
You!"
He stopped as the instrumental began, catching his breath, before jumping into the finale.
"That's all right, I'm ok.
It ain't nothin' but another day.
But only God knows where I'd be,
If you ever stopped lovin' me."
"That's all right, I'm ok.
It ain't nothin' but another day.
But only God knows where I'd be,
If you ever stopped lovin' me."
"Baby, never stop lovin' me."
"Ah, just see, what your lovin' does to me."
As the song ended, Kitty walked up to him amid the clapping and cheering, and silently wrapped her arms around his neck, before pulling him into a fierce kiss. There were several hoots and catcalls, but the young couple didn't even notice them. Tabby snapped a few pictures with the camera she had "borrowed" from Kurt. In the meantime, Wanda had woken, and was looking around, wondering what exactly was going on.
While the others were busy, Todd hopped over to the table, and flipped busily through the binder. Finding the song he wanted, he slipped unnoticed to the player, and slid the disk in. He got to the makeshift stage a few moments before the song began, and cleared his throat. "Hey yo, this song is dedicated to someone very special to me. She knows who she is, and I hope this song tells her exactly how much she means to me." He took a breath as Wanda waited to see exactly what hip-hop, rap song he had chosen. She didn't see why he hadn't just come out and said the song was dedicated to her; it was as obvious as Lance's dedication to Kitty. But she, and the rest of the audience, were knocked on their butts in shock when Todd "the Toad" Tolensky began to sing softly.
"You are…so beautiful…to me…"
-Meanwhile, inside the Institute-
Dante raced through the halls of the Institute. Glancing behind him, he saw Raven, still hot on his heels. The two had reached the teacher's wing when Dante had a method of escape come to him. He darted into one of the rooms; Storm's to be exact, and slammed the door shut. He locked it, and raced over to the balcony, throwing a "SorryI'lleplainlater," over his shoulder to the startled weather manipulator, before jumping off the balcony and swinging himself into the open window beneath it. He landed in Rogue's room.
Darting out of it, he raced down the hall, selected a door and barreled in. He turned, slammed the door shut, turned once more and slumped against it, breathing a sigh of relief. He looked up as he heard liquid being poured into a glass.
Dante had ended up in the Professor's office. Coyote and Logan, who were only on their second bottle, were sitting next to the desk, which had several unopened bottles still on it. He wandered over and pulled up a chair. "Booze. Now," he demanded. Logan slid him a shot glass, while Coyote handed over a bottle of whisky. Dante ignored the glass, took the whisky, and began to drink straight from the bottle.
Upstairs, Raven pounded on the door Dante had vanished into. "Open up! I only want to snuggle!" she shouted. The door opened to reveal a slightly grumpy Storm. The weather goddess arched one eyebrow.
"I'm sorry, but you're just not my type," she said with a small smirk. (AN: She's definitely been hanging around with Logan for to long.) Raven's mouth worked soundlessly for a moment, before she managed to regain control of her mouth.
"I-I'm sorry, I thought I saw Dante…" Storm interrupted her.
"You just missed him. He ran through my room and jumped off of the balcony. I doubt you'll be able to find him now." Storm paused and looked over the other woman. "Pardon me for asking, but who are you exactly?" Raven started.
"Oh, how silly of me for not introducing myself! I'm Raven, Coyote's sister." Storm looked closely at the other woman. In all of the forms she had faced Raven Darkholme in; the woman had always seemed to have a sort of predatory tendency about her. This Raven had none of that; instead she exuded a sort of serene calmness, if you overlooked the whole "obsessed with Dante" thing.
"Would you like to come in?" Storm asked. Raven accepted, and soon the two were engaged in the one activity that seems to be a girl's greatest pastime: girl talk.
Back outside, Shawn was attempting to scrape his jaw off the ground. Not only had Todd sung "You Are So Beautiful" to Wanda, and sung it well, but after the song had ended, Wanda had walked up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and given him a small kiss on the cheek before whispering a soft, "thank you" in his ear. Todd just stood there in shock, as did everyone else who had witnessed it. Finally the young amphibian had teetered over, and collapsed in a heap, a blissful smile on his face. "My god Wanda, I think you killed him!" Tabby said. Most of the girls had tears in their eyes, including Jean and Scott, who had come out to make sure there was some form of authority around, seeing as the adults had abandoned them.
"Well," Shawn quipped, "At least he died happy."
Rogue, watching from a distance, smiled slightly through misty eyes. Her smile turned to a gasp as two arms encircled her waist and pulled her up against someone taller than her. Someone in a brown trenchcoat. "Leave meh ahlone (alone) swamp rat!" she scowled. She felt Remy shake his head behind her.
"Non, cherie, you is sad. Gambit don like seeing you sad." Rogue tried to pull away from the Cajun's comforting embrace, but her heart just wasn't in it. "Cher, you know Remy don wanna hurt you, oui?" Rogue nodded weakly. "Den why youse always fightin' wit Remy?" Rogue twisted away from him and glared at the thief.
"Behcause yah stupid swamp rat! Anyone I get reahlly close to gets hurt eventually!" With that, Rogue stormed off into the mansion, leaving a slightly hurt Remy.
Before the next singers, Shawn and Maria (who he had finally convinced to sing the song he wanted her to sing with him, could take the stage, there was a commotion from the backdoor of the Institute. Logan, Dante and Coyote staggered out of the building, arms slung over one another's shoulders so that it was impossible to say who was supporting who exactly.
The trio moved with a strange swaying gait, as if they were walking on the deck of a ship at sea. Suddenly, Dante spied the crowd of students, and the karaoke machine. "Hey hic," he slurred to the others, "Why hic don we show theshe (these) kids how to really hic shing (sing)?" In reality though, only Logan was really that drunk. Coyote and Dante, being nonhumans, had a much higher alcohol tolerance than the poor feral could ever hope to achieve. They were only acting plastered, but they were still far from sober.
Before they could get to the stage however, Shawn pulled Freddy down so he could whisper in the big fellow's ear. Fred nodded in understanding, and went to stand in front of the trio, arms crossed and looking like the perfect bouncer.
"I'm sorry boys, but you'll have to wait to get into the club. We're at capacity right now."
"Do you actually think they'll buy that, even if they are drunk?!" Scott scoffed. His jaw dropped however, as the three began to argue amongst themselves.
"I told you we should have left earlier! But noooo. 'It's not that far a drive' you said, 'traffic clears up early around here' you said!" Coyote grumbled to Dante.
"Well excuuuuse me! How was I supposed to know a sofa would break down in the middle of the living room and cause a ten armchair pile-up?!" Logan just watched the two, a stupid grin on his face, occasionally taking a swig from the bottle he had in his hand. The other two had bottles as well.
Shawn turned to Maria, and gestured to the stage. "Ladies first," he said, giving a grand bow. Maria gave him a half scowl, half smile, and went up to the mike. While Fred had distracted the drunken trio, Bobby had attached an extra microphone to the machine, so the two of them could sing at once. Shawn slipped a disc out of his pocket and handed it off to Lance on his way to the stage, who slipped it into the machine. He grinned to himself as he got up on the low platform.
The disk he had handed Lance had been sent with the machine from his uncle. In the letter enclosed with the machine, he had said that the disc had only one song on it, one that he thought would improve Shawn and Maria's relationship immensely, just singing it together. Maria took a breath as the music began, and then…
Maria started softly, blushing a bit at the lyrics.
"Kiss me too fiercely
Hold me too tight
I need help believing
You're with me tonight
My wildest dreams
Could not foresee
Lying beside you
With you wanting me
Just for this moment
As long as you're mine
I've lost all resistance
And crossed some borderline
And if it turns out
It's over too fast
I'll make ev'ry last moment last
As long as you're mine:"
Then Shawn began, giving Maria a deep look that seemed to swallow her up.
"What am I doing?
What's this I feel?
The boy who was certain
Love isn't real
Somehow I've fallen
Under your spell
And somehow I'm feeling
It's "up" that I fell…"
Then in chorus, ignoring everyone around them…
"Every moment
As long as you're mine
I'll wake up my body
And make up for lost time"
Shawn took over again,
"Say there's no future
For us as a pair…"
Back to a chorus,
"And though I may know
I don't care!
Just for this moment
As long as you're mine
Come be how you want to
And see how bright we shine
Borrow the moonlight
Until it is through
And know I'll be here holding you
As long as you're mine."
As they finished, there was a heavy silence as Shawn, in a repeat of the gesture he had done on that late night not so long ago, brushed a lock of hair away from Maria's face, and gently kissed her. A kiss that she returned passionately. The two broke away from each other, blushing, as they were treated to the same reaction from their friends that Lance and Kitty had received; catcalls and all. Shawn gave a goofy grin, and proceded to join Todd on the ground in an unconscious heap, smiling. "That must have been some kinda kiss," Lance grinned. Maria looked a little shocked that her kiss had had that kind of effect.
Fred, who had been asked to keep the drunks away until Shawn and Maria had finished their song, stepped out of the way and gestured towards the stage. "Guys, we've just had a few people leave, you can go right in now." Dante and Coyote forged forward, supporting Logan between them. They dumped Logan in a chair, with Dante flinging himself into another. Coyote stepped up to the machine after flipping through the binder and finding a disc that seemed to suit him. He put it into place and stepped up to the mike. Seemingly stone-cold sober, he tapped it a few times.
"Hey, this thing on? I'm gonna sing you guys a song that tell you my outlook on life. The guys should appreciate it. The girls…," he shrugged, "Feh." He took hold of the mike and waited for the song to start. When it did, he began to belt out the lyrics, somehow managing to stay in tune.
"Daddy's belt
Momma's drapes
Standin' tall on the backyard shed
Lookin' cool, in my superman cape
I told the neighborhood girl
Said "Hey y'all watch this"
My fate was a broken arm
and my reward, one big kiss
When daddy asked me why I did it
I made him laugh out loud when I told him
'Cuz the chicks dig it'"
He immediately launched into the chorus with gusto.
"Scars heal
Glory fades
And all we're left with are the memories made
Oh yeah
Pain hurts
But only for a minute
Yeah life is short so go on and live it
Cuz the chicks dig it
Oh yeah the chicks dig it."
"Black top road
Learner permit
Thought I was Earnhardt
Drivin' fast
But I didn't see the ditch
Took out a mailbox, then a fence, then a barn.
The police came and called my father;
But I met the farmer's daughter
And when the judge asked me why I did it
He threw the book at me-e-e when I told him
Cuz the chicks dig it"
"Scars heal
Glory fades
And all we're left with are the memories made
Oh Yeah
Pain hurts
But only for a minute
Yeah life is short so go on and live it
Cuz the chicks dig it"
"Just throw caution to the wind my friend
Then sit back and watch your life begin,
Cuz…"
"Scars heal
Glory fades
And all we're left with are the memories made
Oh yeah
Pain hurts
But only for a minute
Yeah life is short so go on and live it
Cuz the chicks dig it.
Scars heal,
Glory fades
And all we're left with are the mem-ries made
Pain hurts
But only for a minute
Yeah, life is short so go on and live it
It don't matter if you lose or if you win it
Hey, the chicks dig it
Oh yeah
The chicks dig it
mmmm
The chicks dig it
Ah hey oh yeha
The chicks dig it!"
As he finished, the guys in the audience, with the exception of Shawn and Todd, rose and gave Coyote a standing ovation. The girls on the other hand, weren't too impressed with the spirit's performance. Kitty and Jean exchanged a look. "Men," they snorted. As Coyote stepped down, Dante stepped up. They exchanged high fives as the passed each other. When Dante got to the stage, he adjusted the mike, and looked over the crowd.
"Alright kiddies, this is a personal favorite of mine, so it you don't like it…tough!!!!" As he spoke, Shawn and Toad were stirring from their kiss induced comas. Todd looked at Shawn as they sat up.
"Did we just dream that?" Shawn gave a goofy grin.
"If we did then I intend to go right back to sleep!" Maria, recovered from the kiss, gave him a small shove with her foot, more playful than anything, to get him to get up. Shawn retaliated by tugging her down on the ground next to him by her ankle. After the two finished their playful little scuffle, Dante, who had been waiting patiently for them to stop, began to sing, assuming a low glare that would last for the entirety of the song.
"Steve walks warily down the street,
with the brim pulled way down low
Ain't no sound but the sound of his feet,
machine guns ready to go.
Are you ready, Are you ready for this?
Are you hanging on the edge of your seat?
Out of the doorway the bullets rip
To the sound of the beat!"
"Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone,
Another one bites the dust!
Hey! I'm gonna get you too!
Another one bites the dust!"
"How do you think I'm going to get along,
without you, when you're gone?
You took me for everything that I had,
and kicked me out on my own.
Are you happy, are you satisfied?
How long can you stand the heat?
Out of the doorway the bullets rip
To the sound of the beat, YEAH!"
"Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust!"
"There are plenty of ways you can hurt a man
And bring him to the ground.
You can beat him,
You can cheat him,
you can treat him bad, and leave him
When he's down!
But I'm ready, yes I'm ready for you
I'm standing on my own two feet.
Out of the doorway the bullets rip
repeating the sound of the beat!"
"Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust
Hey! I'm gonna get you too
Another one bites the dust!"
When he finished, he took a low bow as he was greeted with a standing ovation, with the exception of Logan. As Dante got off the stage, Logan got up and shakily made his way to the table. After flipping through the binder for a moment, he selected one and handed it off to Dante, pointing at the song he wanted. Dante raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment.
As Logan prepared to sing whatever he had chosen, Raven and Storm made their way out of the mansion. "I wonder where Charles has got to?" Storm remarked as she and her new friend made a bee-line for the karaoke party. (Cut to Beast's lab, where the scientist has now been joined by the professor, who is performing wheelies and spinning about in circles. Beast is still cackling away. Both are completely plastered.) The two reached the outskirts of the gathering, just as Logan got to the stage. He clutched at the mike, and, as the music started, began to sing.
"Feelings…"
Everyone present just about died laughing on the spot.
-Magneto's Base-
"So whaddaya need bossman?" Pyro asked his employer. He, Sabretooth, Thanatos and Colossus were gathered in the briefing room, alongside Mastermind.
"We are going to attempt to fill our ranks, by "reprogramming" a few of my old friend Charles' students. I need you all to provide a distraction while I abduct the student I've picked as a test subject. I have it on good authority that the Institute's defenses are lowered, since one of their own is celebrating his birthday. We go in, you distract the X-men and those traitors, the Brotherhood, and we get out with our, 'new recruit'. Any questions?" Sabertooth raised a hand. "Yes?" The feral gave a slightly mocking grin.
"We get hazard pay outa this?"
---To Be Continued---
Wooh, this is shaping up to be big time trouble. Who does Magneto intend to recruit? How will his carefully planned assault go? Find out next time. Until then, any suggestions welcome, and Read & Review!