In The Heat
An X-men: Evolution fanfic by Lavender Gaia
Editing and Assistance by Laine
Chapter Nine: Dazzling
Disclaimer: I do not own X-men Evolution, any of its characters or Rachel Summers. They are all property of Marvel.
"Come on!" Scott said, checking his watch again. "The concert isn't going to wait for us!"
"Perfection takes time, Scott," Jean told her boyfriend as she came down, adjusting her dark green dress. He raised an eyebrow in appreciation of the way the light cotton clung to her curves and the way her strappy sandals complimented her legs.
"You look amazing." He kissed his girlfriend lightly. "Where's Amara and Bobby?"
"I'm right here," a frazzled Ice Man came down the stairs, adjusting his red shirt. His friends were amused to see that it was a polo with a collar. "Do I look ok?"
"You look great," Jean said, grinning. Scott nodded his consent.
Bobby narrowed his eyes at Jean, then glanced over at her boyfriend. "Why is she looking at me like that?"
"She thinks you're adorable."
"And you're not even a telepath!" she congratulated Scott on his good guess. "Really, though, it's cute. That first date, beginning of the relationship, butterflies in the stomach feeling. You pull it off well. You and Amara will have a great time tonight."
He sighed in relief. "Thanks, Jean. Where is she, anyways?"
At that moment, Kitty and Rachel appeared at the top of the stairs. Shadowcat cleared her throat. "She looks awesome. C'mon out, 'Mara!"
The princess appeared from the hallway. She wore Rachel's short, black leather skirt with a cream colored sleeveless shirt. Kitty had pinned back the front of her hair, leaving the rest in perfect ringlets thanks to Jean's curling iron. The black, heeled sandals on her feet didn't even make noise as she descended down the stairs.
"Whoa." Bobby's jaw dropped. His eyes fallowed her every movement as she gently pushed a curl behind her shoulders, a light blush on her face. "Amara, you look…amazing. I mean…wow."
"Thanks," she grinned at him. "You look nice too."
"Are we ready to go?" Scott asked, getting a tad exasperated.
From the second floor, Kitty called, "Have fun you guys!"
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Rachel seconded.
Scott turned to look at her. "And what exactly wouldn't you do?"
"Not now, dear," Jean dragged him towards the door. "Bye, girls." The quartet went to the garage and hopped in Scott's car and there was an awkward silence until the redhead brought up, "Nice pitching earlier, Amara."
"You too!" the younger girl said from the backseat. "I never knew how great Kitty was though. It surprised me."
"She is really great," Bobby agreed. "Not as good as you, though. You're great at everything."
Amara grinned at him. "Well, I still don't exactly have the concept of quantum mechanics." The rest of the group laughed until Scott said, "I never knew a ruler of a country to need that, so I wouldn't worry about it too much."
Bobby immediately stopped laughing; his friend had committed a major taboo. It was an unspoken rule not to talk about Nova Roma unless Amara brought it up. No one liked to think about the time in the perhaps not so distant future when she'd have to leave and return to her people.
Jean elbowed her boyfriend and he winced, not because it particularly hurt, but because he'd realized the major infraction. "So, um, haven't we been to this place before for a hockey game?" he asked Bobby, desperate to change the subject.
"Yeah, that was a while ago, when Evan was still around. It was fun. If I remember correctly, I won twenty bucks off 'Berto," Ice man responded proudly.
"Is the place set up the same way for concerts?" Scott winced, remembering how high up they were.
"Nah, it's all changed. Here, I had Kitty print me out they seating plan." He showed it to the X-men at the next traffic light. See, they set up a stage over here and put the V.I.P. seats where the ice is during the hockey match."
Jean looked at the hundreds of top rows, biting her bottom lip. "And which part of the nose-bleed section are we in?"
"Actually, we're in row C." He pointed to the second row of the V.I.P. section. "And on the middle aisle too. I checked."
"Bobby, that's amazing!" Amara exclaimed as Scott went through the green light. "How did you get such good seats?"
"Well, they've been giving away the really bad ones for weeks now. They always save their best for right before the show. So I've been listening and waiting for them to give these out. It's just a good thing I have the fastest dialing finger on the East Coast," he extended his right hand in the shape of a gun with the index and thumb extended, then blew lightly on his pointer finger. And while this may work for some people, those people didn't have to worry about freezing their finger, like he just did.
His date giggled, then covered her hand with his, conjuring up the slightest amount of heat so as to melt the ice. "There you go."
He didn't let go of her hand, even when the ice was completely gone. "Thanks."
Amara just smiled while Scott groaned from the driver's seat. "I forgot how much I hate parking here."
"Can we valet?" the Princess asked.
"Yeah, but it costs a fortune."
"Do it, I'll pay for it," she insisted, pulling her wallet out of her purse.
Bobby ran a hand through his hair. "You don't have to do that, Amara. I mean, I asked, I'll pay for it…"
"Don't!" She pushed his hand away. "I offered, I'm paying, that's final."
Scott shrugged, then pulled up in front of the American Airlines Arena. Amara paid the valet, and the group went inside. "How about Bobby and I get some snacks while you girls find our seats?" Scott suggested. "Is there anything particular you want us to get?"
"Just a bottle of water, thanks," Jean kissed his cheek affectionately.
"Same here. Thank you, Bobby." Amara considered giving him a kiss on the cheek, but followed Jean into the seating area.
Ten minutes later, after five security checks of their tickets, they finally found their seats. As they had expected, it was right near the stage and they could see everything. Jean sent Scott a telepathic map of their position to help him and Bobby find it easier.
The boys soon came, loaded with food. Scott took the aisle seat while Bobby walked past Jean and Amara to take the empty seat next to his date. Scott put his arm around Jean, and she fit there perfectly. He kissed the top of her head. "This is nice. We haven't been out for a while."
"I know," She agreed. "We've both been so busy with the kids. One of which is now ours."
"We should do this more often," he concurred with a kiss to her lips.
"Indeed." Jean giggled and snuggled closer.
The lights overhead darkened and the announcer's voice filled the Arena. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the Spotlight 425 concert. Now, give it up for the band!"
Cheers erupted through the stadium as a pretty blonde woman took the microphone. "Hello, Bayville! I'm Allison Blaire, lead singer of Spotlight 425! Let's get started!"
The band got going with a fast song, and the crowd erupted with cheers. "She's great!" Amara did her best to say to Bobby.
He nodded. "Well, she didn't get her nickname for nothing!"
"What nickname?" Her answer was lost as everyone joined in to sing the chorus. Knowing she'd never be able to hear him now, Amara just focused on the stage until she felt someone take her hand. Looking at the boy next to her, she saw Bobby stare hard at the stage, with a hint of a blush on his cheeks. To reassure him that this was quite welcome, she rested her head on his shoulder happily.
On the other side of the princess, Jean and Scott were proving that they also had no qualms about pubic displays of affection, except they were using their lips.
Everyone enjoyed the concert, and Amara even joined Bobby and the rest of the crowd in cheering for an encore. Jean sat up and stretched; while she and Scott enjoyed their fun, it did put a crick in her neck. "Well, I have to go to the bathroom. Anyone else?"
Scott shook his head. "I'll go get the car from valet."
"I promised Tabitha I'd get her something," Amara said, stretching out her legs in preparation of standing.
"And I'll go with Amara," Bobby looked at his chaperones as if to say, 'You can leave now.'
"We'll meet out front in twenty minutes, then," he looked at the New Mutants, then wrapped an arm around Jean as they left towards the hallways.
Amara leaned over to adjust her sandal, and when she sat up there was a girl from the row ahead of them staring at Bobby. "Hi," she told him, grinning flirtatiously. "I'm Kelly."
He smiled back. "I'm Bobby." Suddenly, Amara felt an arm wrap around her waist. "And this is my girlfriend Amara."
Both Kelly and Amara blinked repeatedly, but Kelly didn't have the sudden glow like the princess did. "Oh. Well, see you around."
Magma grinned at the Ice Man. "I'm your girlfriend?"
"Um…only if you want to be."
She kissed him, then stood up and started down the aisle. "Come on, I have to get Tabitha a souvenir."
He happily watched her walk away before reality hit him. "That was a yes, right? Amara? Hey!"
Jean and Scott were outside, kissing each other as they waited for the convertible. "You know," He told her, "I am very happy."
"Are you now?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Mmhmm. I have you," He kissed her again, "and we have Rachel…"
"And Sarina," Jean reminded him.
Scott nodded. "That's right. And now we have the car." He slipped a few dollars to the valet as Bobby and Amara came down to meet them. Both of the New Mutants were out of breath with flushed cheeks. Jean and Scott were pretty sure it wasn't from running.
The dog was waiting for them as they came in the door, trying to jump on everyone and lick them equally. "When'd this guy show up?" Bobby asked excitedly, scratching Sarina's head.
"We got her earlier," Jean explained. "I'm gonna go check on Rachel." She went upstairs, Sarina following her every step. There was no answer when she knocked on the door, and when she walked in, Rachel was lying on her bed reading a book. From where she was, she could see her daughter's eyelids drooping. "Hey, sweetie."
She looked up quickly and smiled. "Hey, Jean. How was the concert?"
"Fun. What've you been doing?" She sat down on the edge of the bed, pushing some hair back from Rachel's eyes as Sarina jumped up and licked her face.
"Kitty and I took Sarina for a walk and then I just wanted to read."
"You look tired, why didn't you just go to bed," Jean helped Rachel slide under her blanket, then used a strip of paper as a bookmark and placed the paperback on her nightstand.
She shrugged. "I wanted to say goodnight to you first."
There was another knock on the door and Scott stuck his head in. "Hi you two. How're you doin', Rach? You look tired."
"I'm fine. But yeah, I am tired," she smiled as he kissed her forehead.
"Get some sleep, then. Good night, honey." He looked at Jean, who smiled, "I'll be there in a second."
The older redhead stood up and gave Rachel a similar kiss. Her daughter was already half asleep. "I'll see you in the morning. Love you."
"I love you too, Mom," she whispered softly before fading into unconsciousness.
Jean smiled as she closed the door. She liked the sound of that.
Rachel got up at the normal time the next morning, and after finishing the book Kitty had lent her (which was filled with complex physics that she'd never understand even if it was telepathically put in her brain), she took Sarina on a long walk that the dog enjoyed.
After breakfast, Xavier approached her. "Rachel, could I speak with you for a moment?"
"Sure, Professor." She followed him into his office and took a seat. "I'm not in trouble, am I?"
"If you've done something wrong, I haven't found out yet. But prepare yourself, I assure you I will find out." He smiled at her. "Actually, I wanted to talk about your powers. You're telepathic and telekinetic, correct?"
Rachel nodded. "Just like Jean."
"Have you done anything with them since you arrived here?"
"Well, I've been keeping up my mental block. It's kind of habit." She thought over anything else. "I was playing Jenga the other day." At his curious look, she explained. "I do it with my TK. To practice precision and stuff."
"What a wonderful idea." Xavier thought it all over before realizing that Jenga wasn't the topic at hand. "Would you mind showing Logan and I a little demonstration in the Danger Room?"
"Um, no, not at all. Do you want me to get changed or anything?" she gestured towards her jean shorts and sky blue t-shirt.
"Oh, no. We can get you fitted for an outfit if you'd like, but that should be fine for now." He rolled out of his study and down the hall. Logan was already waiting in the control booth above. "We'll be watching from up there. Just be ready."
She waited for a few minutes until Wolverine's voice filtered through the PA system. "Ok, Little Red, just shield yourself or whatever with your TK. Give me a sign that you understand."
"I got it, Uncle Logan," she told him telepathically.
He grunted. "Show off."
Rachel grinned and shielded herself from a laser coming from the ceiling before jumping out of the way of a robotic spider that had formed from the wall. She ripped off each of it's legs, letting the solid center fall on to the floor.
The door slid open behind her and she wiped the sweat that had begun to gather on her face. "Is that it?"
"Yes, we've seen that you can handle your abilities quite well. Though I believe you've had training before," Xavier smiled at her.
Logan smirked at her, arms crossed across his chest. "Plus, after the beating you took this morning, Chuck and I wanted to make sure you weren't hurt."
"Hey, I got you good at least once!" She protested when the door opened again.
Jean ran a hand through her shorter hair; she had expected the Room to be empty. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting anything?" She looked questioningly at her daughter.
"Oh, no, we're done here. I'm glad you have an interest in keeping with your work," the Professor smiled at her.
"It'll give me a chance to work with the new voice activation system," She told him as he, Logan and Rachel went to leave. "Um, Professor?"
He turned to look at her. "Yes, Jean?"
"I think…I had an idea for a codename."
This sparked his interest. "What is it?"
"Well…how does Phoenix sound?" She asked him carefully.
Xavier thought it over carefully. "If that is what you would like, I think it would work well. We'll present it at our next group training session."
Jean sighed in relief. "Thank you, sir."
He left and she was alone in the large room. "Initiating practice, level four." There were ten levels; Wolverine usually worked on nine so this was a medium start. Unfortunately, she found it much too easy and there were soon scraps of metal littering the floor.
"You have advanced to level eight. Would you like to continue?" the computerized voice asked.
"No…upgrade to level ten." She instructed. Adrenaline ran through her veins; she wasn't quite sure what was on the highest level, but she was ready for whatever it was. Suddenly, what seemed to be a Sentinel replica was in front of her. She should have been scared. She should have felt something, anything besides the excitement that covered all her sense, including common sense.
She dodged everything it threw at her, flying in ways that she'd never known before, as if it was as natural as breathing. After destroying several mechanisms, she was face to face with it, though its entire head dwarfed her body. The large metal vibrated before being ripped off and thrown into the control room.
Explosions littered through the area and smoke filled her lungs. "I've beaten…everything…" she whispered before losing consciousness and plummeting towards the ground.
A/N: I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to update. I've been extremely busy, and not as sick. I will definitely try to update sooner. There's a cameo in here from a comic character. A cookie if you find them!
Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.
Review Responses:
Strayphoenix: The dog is actually modeled after my dog. And I'm so glad you like Rachel; she's one of my favorite comic characters (I don't get the new "I'm Emma's Best Friend!" but hopefully that's just a phase).
Reddfire: There was definitely some Phoenix stuff in this chapter and there will be a lot more to come.
Rogue14: You'll find more about her in future chapters, I promise. This was just a light hint of what was to come.
Wen1: There was JOTT in this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it.
Jenskott: I liked the fact that not only was Jean innocent (more or less, depending on your views), but she also came back. Until they screwed that over in New X-men, but those were the same writers who had Scott commit adultery. I think you'll like my take on it; we'll have to see.
Telepathic Angel: I didn't name my dog, but I like the name Sarina too. I hope you like this new chapter.
Emily: I enjoy picnics, so I thought Jean and Scott might too. I'm very happy you're enjoying the story so far.
Helen: Thank you, I hope you like chapter nine.
Diaz F.: I actually don't like filet mignon or escargot. I know, I'm weird. I do like chocolate covered strawberries though. There's a tad bit of Phoenix this chapter, much more in the next, I promise.
DOJ: I love Kurt and John makes me laugh (I love the scene in Cajun Spice where he rewatches Magneto's death over and over). Todd is one of those guys that you really can't hate, though I'm not sure I'd like there to be two of them in the world. Two Kurts would be nice, though I'm not sure if he'd end up the same with Magneto not experimenting on him (I have a theory on that too).
Ingrid: He either paid them off or threatened them. I want a guy like Scott, but I don't think they make them like that in Florida. He really is a sweetheart.
StarStar16: I'm not sure what kind of dog Sarina is, but once my friend's dog locked my mom out on the porch and she had to break the screen and climb out, then hire a locksmith to get her back in.
Sweetmidnight: Well, I just wanted to give you the option. I do hope you'll stick around and read, I'm trying not to give anything away. The only person who knows what's going to happen besides me is my beta. If you miss anything, I'll try to explain. I hope you like the new chapter.
Jacx: I'm glad you enjoy it.
Shay: Well, I'm not sure where I said there would only be 12 chapters, because there will be at least double that. If I did say that, please ignore it, I was probably on medication at the time. I hope you read up to that and more!
