In The Heat

An X-men Evolution fanfic by Lavender Gaia

Editing and Assistance by Laine

Chapter Four: Trips

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men Evolution, any of its characters or Rachel Summers. They are all property of Marvel. I do own Karl and Emmi though. Karl can be used for any torture you want to inflict on an ass of an OC character whenever you'd like.

A/N: This chapter was made for pure fun before we got into the angsty stuff. It also gives me a good excuse to endlessly torture Scott. I love him, but he's just such an easy target.

There's also a fight scene in here, but since I've only written two in my life, one being purely swordsmanship, don't hate me if it really sucks. Any constructive criticism helps!

One more random note: Rachel's voice, in my head, is done by Brigitta Dau. Brigitta Dau played female Ranma from Ranma ½ for the first six episodes. From then on, Venus Terzo took over for the role, though Brigitta kept doing Ranma's singing voice. So Venus and Brigitta have similar voices, though they are different in some ways (Brigitta's is just softer, more feminine). And guess who else Venus Terzo plays. That's right, Jean Grey! This is what I do with my extensive expertise of the Ocean Group. Ok, now I'll actually start the fic.


Rachel woke up at her usual time, which was 5:30 in the morning. She had been trained from birth that they were to exercise and work on powers before breakfast or any schooling began, so if she wanted time to eat she'd better be up.

The sun hadn't begun to rise yet, so she doubted anyone else was awake. That made this the perfect chance to get dressed, then head down to help make breakfast. She was no longer a guest here.

Surprisingly enough, there was a light on in the kitchen. "Morning, Little Red," Logan said gruffly, nursing a cup of black coffee.

"Little Red?"

"Your ma's Red, so you're Little Red," he explained. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I always get up around this time. My body's used to it. Plus, I sleep right through alarm clocks anyway, so it's a good thing. Anymore of that stuff?" She asked, nodding to the coffee.

Logan raised an eyebrow and gestured to the coffee pot. "Didn't figure you were one for it."

"When you wake up before six in the morning every day, coffee's necessary. Right after air, but before food." Quickly, locating a cup, she added a tad of milk and sugar before swallowing a big gulp.

"I'll drink to that," he nodded, chugging down the rest of what he had.

"So, what time does everyone get up, anyway?"

Checking the clock, he replied, "Not for another hour or so. They tend to like to sleep in during summer. Surprisingly enough, your dad even convinced the professor to push back training times. But once in a while I do enjoy a mandatory 'emergency' session at about this time."

She grinned at the idea of everyone stumbling out of bed at the crack of dawn, and imagined Bobby fell a lot. "So…what do you do? I mean, you can't really just sit here until everyone gets up, can you?"

"I meditate, or train by myself. Sometimes, if I'm really bored, I'll go into the library and try to figure out exactly what Hank means when he says I'm missing the joy of reading. Then a few minutes later I'll remember why I don't read and resolve to go break some machines in the Danger Room instead."

"Do you ever spar?" She asked nonchalantly.

"No one up to spar with," Logan pointed out. "But I suppose I would if anyone was up but me."

"So spar with me," her eyes lit up excitedly.

He sighed. "I shoulda known that was coming. Look here, Little Red, I don't think Big Red or Shades would like it too much if I bruised their daughter up."

"Hey, I've been doing this for fifteen years!" She protested. "I can handle my own."

"Maybe against your parents or Alex, who couldn't hurt you if their lives depended on it, but I'm not so good at holding back. Maybe Half-Pint'll fight with you later, after you get back from the mall," he snickered.

"I would destroy Kitty!" Rachel yelled, banging her hand on the table. "And since when does going to the mall mean I can't fight? Do you really think that after more than a dozen years with the two founding members of the X-men I wouldn't be able to fight? Just give me a chance. Plus, aren't you supposed to be a teacher here or something? Think of it as an opportunity for me to learn something!"

He looked at her big green eyes, the emerald color that pleaded with him to give her a chance. "You look just like your Ma when you do that…" he grumbled. "Let's find you a spare suit to train in…"

"YES!" She punched the air victoriously, swallowing the last of her coffee and following Logan down the Danger Room. She limbered up as he searched through the back room for an X-men suit that no one was using.

"Here." A New Mutants training suit was tossed at her head. "Used to be Jubilee's, but I think it's your size."

He went to the hallway to stretch out while she changed. Luckily, the suits stretched to conform to the wearer and were quite comfortable as she stretched for a few more seconds within its grasp.

Rachel jogged over to open the door for Logan. "Do you wanna change too?" She asked, noting his pajama pants, wife beater and bare feet.

"Nah, I'm good."

"You're just trying to give me as much as a handicap as you possibly can, aren't you?" She frowned as they got into their places.

Without answering, he just grinned. "Ok, I'm sure by your stance that you've done martial arts training, but I ain't into that 'two hits and it's over' thing. I fight full contact, and I rarely pull my punches. And no powers. I don't wanna be doing 'I'm a Little Tea Pot' if you lose this, and no funny TK things either. I can't really help my healing factor, but you won't see a thing of adamantium. So if that's not good for you, we can end this now."

"No, that sounds great," she replied honestly. They got into the fight positions and it had officially begun.

She had a small height advantage over the Wolverine, but other than that, he surpassed her in every way, except for one: She could easily outwait him. Logan was not a patient man. When it came to fighting, he saw no reason not just jump right in, unless the leader forced him to go over tactics. His were always the same: Get in there and fight until you die.

Logan was sick of waiting for her to strike and let out an easy punch towards her left cheekbone. Rachel quickly danced back, eyes calculating the distance between her and Logan. He understood what she was doing and smiled lightly. She was measuring his reach; was it longer than hers? How close could she get in without getting smacked upside her head?

After another punch was aimed at her throat, Rachel dropped to the ground, sweeping her leg behind his in order to throw him off balance. This worked for about two seconds as Wolverine fell. She was so happy with her conquest she didn't see his foot heading towards her stomach till it was too late. She flew across the room, remembering how to land at the next to last second.

For a moment, he was worried that he had hurt her and jogged over to her. "Shit…Rachel, are you--" A punch extended out and hit his eye, followed by a foot connecting to his chest that forced him a few feet away. Wolverine couldn't believe it. She had faked him out.

"First rule of battle: Never trust your opponent," she said, eyes glinting merrily.

He smirked at his young adversary, before leaping at her with a barrage of heavy punches and kicks. Most of which she could dodge, but the ones that hit really hurt. Rachel got a small chance to get on the offensive side when he jumped back to regain his balance. She did a roundhouse kick towards his head, connecting solidly with his cheek. While he was momentarily stunned, she punched his stomach a few times, eyes widening in shock as she felt her blows doing nothing against his solid abdominal muscles.

The last punch he caught, and before she realized what was happening, he threw her over his shoulder, across the room. Being more prepared this time, she landed softer than before, but Wolverine pounced before she even got a chance to get up. Her feet rose, kicking him away before he could touch her. Unfortunately, she neglected to realize that he was planning on taking her with him.

The two sailed several feet away. Logan gained his footing without fail, holding Rachel in his arms. She was doomed. He captured her arms behind her back, ignoring her frantic kicks as he forced her to the ground. After securing her legs under one of his own, he started counting. "One Mississippi, two Mississippi…" he continued on until, "Ten Mississippi."

Rachel collapsed on the ground as he released her, knowing she'd be feeling this later. Logan panted next to her, lifting up the bottom of his wife beater to get the sweat of his face. "You weren't bad, kid. Mind some constructive criticism?"

"As long as it's more constructive than criticism," she moaned. "We redheads don't take too well to hearing we're wrong. Especially my mom. If it hadn't been for Dad, I'd still be grounded from that one time…"

He chuckled. "Well, you seem to have a good grasp on Judo."

"Judo? Isn't that the thing where you throw people over your head…like you did to me?" She rubbed her backside as she sat up.

"It's not just that. Judo is about falling, too. Knowing how to fall on different surfaces after different throws and such. It looks like you've got that covered, but I guess I can work with you on the throwing people over your head part. Which leads me to my next point: your arms."

She looked at them. "What about my arms?"

"They're weak."

"Hey, what's constructive about that!"

"I'm getting to it! Your punches barely dented me, and I know I've got a rather hard stomach, but still. You even know your arms aren't the strongest, since you tend to resort to kicking more than anything else. You've got strong legs, but they're not always going to be beneficial to you in a fight," he explained. "If you're fighting in heavy snow or sand, it's gonna be hard enough to walk, let alone kick your opponent till he's down."

She scowled at the ground. "You don't have to rub it in."

"Hey, I'm offering to help. Let me guess, you've never done terrain training?" He guessed.

"Only the ones around Westchester."

"Well, while you're here you're going to be an expert at every terrain known to man and then some, k? Now, later on I'll show you some exercise to do for your arms. Just come see me when you guys get back from shopping, if we don't have to bury Summers first," Logan reached over and ruffled her hair. "Why don't you go take a shower, I'm sure 'Ro will be up soon to cook breakfast."

Rachel stood and stretched. "Thanks, Uncle Logan."

"Uncle Logan!"

"Well, that's what I called you at home. Sorry, I guess I'll just stick to Logan here," she grinned sheepishly at him and waved as she left the Danger Room. "See ya later!"

"Dear God, I'm an uncle now," he said in awe as he ran a hand through his hair and imagined a bumper sticker on a Volvo that said: I'm a proud uncle of a telepathic telekinetic mutant! He chuckled. "The big bad Wolverine driving a minivan…" But, if he added Rachel and rest of the rug rats in the back…Yeah, he could see it.


A few hours later, after Rachel had soaked away some of the pain in the tub, she, Jean, Scott, Kitty, Amara and Tabby were sitting in Jean's SUV on their way to the mall. "So, I hear you and Logan sparred this morning," Scott mentioned from the passenger's seat.

"Yeah, the pain hasn't exactly hit me yet," Rachel winced, rubbing her arm where a bruise had already formed.

"I've got some awesome bath salts if you want to use them earlier," Amara offered. "Old recipe from back home."

"Thanks, that sounds great," she said sincerely.

"You know, Jean, I think she's too beat up to go shopping. Why don't we turn back?" Scott suggested.

"Stuff it, Summers!" Tabitha ordered. "The girl needs clothes."

"This is why I'm driving and you're not," he girlfriend told him as he slumped in his seat and grumbled.

Jean found a perfect parking spot once they reached the mall, and they all wondered once again if telepathy had anything to do with that. "So, where should we go first?" Kitty asked. "Most of the clothes places are around here, but you have to go through the food court to hit the good shoe stores."

"Ladies and gentlemen, our walking directory," Jean smirked.

Kitty elbowed her friend playfully. "Shut up! You know, there's this place called Alternatives. They've got some nice clothes, and I think they're having a sale on bathing suits."

"Oh, yeah, I saw a shirt in there that I wanted the other day, but they didn't have my size," Tabitha said, and started walking towards the shop before anyone else could say anything.

Scott already looked bored as they began looking through the racks. He had almost gotten comfortable leaning against the wall when Kitty said, "Hey, Scott, what do you think about this shirt?"

Jean rolled her eyes, "Pink is no good on redheads!"

"Alright!" Tabitha cried. "I bet this leather mini would look awesome on you, Rach!"

"I bet we could find some matching gogo boots to go with it," Amara suggested. "And this white shirt!"

"We'll have to take off a few of those buttons, of course," Tabby grinned.

"Do you like these jeans?" His girlfriend held up a pair with a dragon embroidered on the right leg."

"Oh, those are nice," Rachel said, examining the threadwork of the pants.

"It's not for Rachel, it's for me!" Kitty explained. "So, what do you think?"

Scott's head was hurting. "Listen, we're supposed to be shopping for Rachel, so why don't you ask her. But no leather miniskirts!"

The shorter redhead started flipping through a rack when she pulled out a blue t-shirt, frowning at the writing on it. "Looks like whichever printer made this was broken."

Kitty looked over at it. "It wasn't broken, it's in Latin. I can't translate it though."

"You're right, it is." They all looked at a tall guy with blue eyes and shaggy brown hair. "I have the same shirt. It means: If you can read this, you know too much."

Rachel laughed. "I like that! Thanks," she read his store nametag, "Karl."

He grinned. "No problem. Always ready to help a pretty girl."

Kitty giggled and lightly nudged her best friend. Scott, on the other hand, was not amused. "Rachel, there are some clothes over there that you might like." He gently lead her to another rack several feet away.

Karl looked at the remaining girls. "Is that her boyfriend?"

Tabby smirked. "Nope. Her dad."

"I really hope you're being sarcastic," Karl deadpanned.

"Actually, he is her father. And I'm her mother," Jean told him, voice catching frostily. She did not like the thoughts he was having about her baby. "Got a problem with that?"

"None at all, ma'am," He replied, blinking at the tall redhead. "Excuse me, I have other customers to assist."

"Way to scare off respectable boyfriend candidates, Jean!" he blonde friend frowned.

"He was no good for Rachel!" She protested, looking for a pair of the dragon jeans in her size.

"I meant for me. Look around, I'm the only one here who doesn't have a boyfriend!"

Amara raised her hand. "I don't have a boyfriend."

"Mine left this morning," Kitty agreed sourly.

"Princess, I do believe you and the Popsicle have been going to see a few movies together lately. Alone. And I'm pretty sure you can heat him up more ways then just using your powers," Tabitha said, making Amara blush. "And Kitty, Lance is coming back. Plus, after this you'll practically be glued to the computer waiting for his next email. I mean, more than usual."

"Oh, I wonder if he called yet!" Shadowcat squealed. "I forgot to turn my phone on after it charged. I hope I didn't miss his call!" She frantically pulled out her pink cell phone, pushing the on button.

Boom Boom rolled her eyes. "See what I mean?"

"Trust me, Tabitha, he was no good," Jean assured her as Scott and Rachel rejoined the group. Her daughter had found two more tops and skirt that Scott had finally deemed "tasteful."

"We're gonna go get a bathing suit. Wanna come?" Rachel asked, grinning at her housemates.

Kitty had finished checking her messages and was smiling rather happily. She swung an arm around the taller girl's waist and grinned. "Sounds great to me!"

"Me too," Scott grumbled, shooting at dirty look at Karl, who hadn't stopped staring at his daughter. Jean didn't even attempt to scold him.

The group of girls and one poor boy walked over to the bathing suit section, browsing random sections. "Can I help you?" A girl with a nametag that read "Emmi" asked.

"I'm looking for a suit," Rachel explained.

"One piece or bikini?"

"One piece!" Scott replied quickly, before Jean elbowed him in the stomach.

"She can have whatever she wants, Scott!"

"Bikini," the short redhead answered to spite her father. Emmi led them to a rack with two pieces her size. She picked out a blue one with a print of the Hawaiian Islands on the bottom and the name of the state across the breast. "This one reminds me of Uncle Alex. He used to be a pro surfer."

"Actually, he's doing the same thing now," Scott explained proudly. "He's not pro yet, but I expect he'll get there pretty soon."

"Wow, that's great! You know, I'd really like to see him if I could. You think that's possible?"

"I'm sure we can arrange it," Jean told her with a smile. "Oh, I like this!" She held up another bathing suit. It was lavender, and though a little on the skimpy side, she wouldn't mind getting one for herself like that.

"I'll take that," Rachel grinning.

Jean tossed it to her with a roll of her eyes. "You've barely been here a day and you're already a spoiled brat."

"Dressing rooms are over there if you want to try those on," Emmi pointed to a door next to a row of mirrors.

"Thanks, I'll be right back." Scott smiled as Rachel jogged over the changing area.

"I don't mean to be nosy or anything, but was Karl bothering you earlier?" The short salesgirl asked, popping her gum.

"Not really, why?" Amara asked, casually flipping through the rack.

"He's just a major jerk, that's all. He dated my best friend for almost a year, and then we found out he'd been cheating on her the whole time. Plus, he wasn't exactly the candidate for World's Best Boyfriend either," she sighed. "He's a major flirt and tended to forget semi-important things like Valentine's Day and her birthday. Not to mention he got into a wreck in her car right before they broke up."

"Like, what a total sleaze ball!" Kitty scoffed indignantly.

"Tell me about it." Emmi glared at Karl as he helped two more unsuspecting female customers. "I should go save those two. Just ask if you need anymore help."

"You know," Tabitha began when Emmi was out of earshot, "We should teach him a lesson."

The rest of the girls nodded furiously in agreement, but Scott had his disapproving frown that he always wore when they talked about using powers in public. "You guys, we've finally found a store where we aren't kicked out for being who we are. Do you want to risk that?"

"It'd be worth it to teach him that girls aren't play things!" Amara insisted.

"Totally!" Kitty agreed loudly.

He tried to look at Jean for support, but she shook her head. "Sorry, Scott, but I'm with them on this."

"Fine. I'll just wait here for Rachel," their leader grumbled, but got a sweet kiss for his troubles.

"I'll go first," Shadowcat grinned. Karl was checking out two people at the cash register. There was a sale of two for one lip gloss right next to it. "Excuse me," she cut in front of the people in line to get to the lip gloss counter. As she passed by, Kitty casually and inconspicuously phased her hand through the cash register.

Sparks flew up from the machine and it started making loud noises and spitting change. "What the hell!" Karl wondered, standing back as he was pelted with nickels.

The manager came out from the back, manually shutting off the register. "Karl, go unload the new perfumes. I'll take you at the other register," he told the customers.

There was only about ten to put on the shelf, which was finished in about two seconds. But as the young salesman was about to crush the box and put it in the back to recycle, he noticed a little yellow ball in the corner. He figured it was just something the manufacturer had stuck in. Then again, he also figured it wouldn't explode.

Alas, it did, pushing him back into the table, knocking down the whole display of perfume. Glass and the strong smell of the sent was everywhere. They could tell the manager was trying not to curse him out. "Why don't you just go on your lunch break!"

"I…I think that'd be a good idea," Karl grumbled, rubbing his back as his boss grabbed a mop and started looking for glass shards that had scattered away from the epicenter.

The Summers clan approached them, ready to check out. Scott was swiping his credit card as Karl came in again, carrying a tray of food from the court. Amara couldn't help but set one of his Converses on fire. While he was attempting to put it out with his other foot, Rachel saw Jean move her hand gently, causing the rug to slip from under him. Down Karl went, taking the food—including a Slushie and a big bowl of chili—with him.

Scott surveyed the damage of the store. Not quite the chaos they could have caused, but still… "Remind me not to make you guys mad."

Jean laughed and kissed him again. "Consider yourself warned. Now let's shop!"

"I have the coolest parents in the world, don't I?" Rachel asked Kitty in awe as Scott held her shopping bags for her.

"Yeah. Yeah, you do."


A/N: An extra long chapter! I originally meant to do the entire shopping trip in one go, but the fight scene took longer than I thought. I really enjoyed writing that part though, and I'm sure I'll add more like that later if you liked it. Please let me know if you do!

I have read the Phoenix Saga as of a last week. I enjoyed it, though I promise that mine is going to be very very very different. It'll still have the same basic principals, but I have to change details to fit the XME Universe. Plus, I would just wind up killing Emma Frost and I haven't found a way that is appropriate for the amount of pain she deserves yet.

Next chapter'll be finishing up the shopping, and more Scott torture. But this chapter was personally satisfying. Not that Karl has any relation to my ex-boyfriend. I mean, sure they have the same name, and they look alike, and they have the same shirt, but it doesn't meant he's there for my own twisted amusement as I imagine doing the same thing to my boyfriend. Nope, not at all…

Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.


Review Responses:

Jen1703: I'm glad you enjoy it. Thank you for reading!

X00001: Well, most people just out of high school don't have to be the parents of a teenager, but I'm sure they'll get used to it eventually.

Slickboy444: Don't worry, I'm not giving up on this! Definitely, no fic can be good without some nice Lancitty and Jott. Plus, I love Bobby, so I may unconsciously give him some of the best lines. But he deserves them! I'm glad you like it.

DOJ: That's one of the slightly upsetting things about this fic. Since the Brotherhood is gone, there won't be any more Lancitty till near the end. But they'll definitely be JOTT and tons of cool moments with Rachel and her parents.

Agent-G: I'm so sorry! I don't think I've ever done that before. But, since I did miss you, I'll respond to both at once. I've read some of Rachel from Excalibur, but I'm trying to make her a little more light-hearted. I'm definitely going to focus on her relationship with Kitty though, as I love that aspect of her. The Greys will definitely be here in certain parts, but I'm not sure if they'll be any certain spots just to meet Rachel. Yes, Kitty does share a room with Rogue, but you'll find out in the next chapter that Rogue actually slept on the couch while Kitty used their room. Kit was worried that Lance would find some other girl while he was away and not come back to her, so she wanted to reassure him that she did love him (besides, if anything he'd be too scared to go after another girl after thinking of what Scott or Logan would do to him). But there's about .1 chance of him hooking up with another girl where he's going. I love the Lancitty relationship even more than Jott, and even if she's too good for him from your point of view, you can't help who you love. That would just break her heart more than it already is, and I can't do that to Kitty. I have someone in mind for Rachel, but it won't happen for a while. She's gonna have enough on her hands. Thanks for reading!

Helen: I hope you keep reading.

Wen1: Jean's got some trouble, but they didn't come out too much in this one. I was trying for the no-angst concept, since there'll be plenty of time for depressing stuff in the future. And Amara's always been a Princess. She's the only daughter of the King of Nova Roma, which is a small island country in the Amazon rainforest.

lili: I'm not going to stoop to the level of bashing Rogue because I don't want to be like those people. There are only two people in the entire X-men continuity that I would be willing to bash (and in turn in their lives in extremely painful ways), but neither of them are in this story. If they want to stoop so low as to bash Jean and Scott, let them do it. I'm taking the high road.