In The Heat
An X-men: Evolution fanfic by Lavender Gaia
Editing and Assistance by Emily
Chapter Seventeen: Wicked
Disclaimer: I do not own X-men Evolution, any of its characters or Rachel Summers. They are all property of Marvel. I don't own Wicked either.
Note: School finally fixed me schedule, so I'm in a good mood. Enjoy the chapter!
Rachel awoke to feel a hand shaking her. "Little Red, wake up."
"Mmm…" she pulled away. "Sleeping."
Logan lifted her up. "Danger Room session. C'mon."
She squinted in the darkness of her room. "There's no Danger Room session scheduled for this morning."
"I know." The excitement in his voice was obvious. "It's a surprise."
"Well, go surprise everyone else," Rachel grumbled. "What do you need me for?"
He placed her over his shoulder, grabbing her suit with his other arm. "Actually, you play a very important part in today's session."
"…huh?"
"Let's go, kid. I'll tell you on the way."
"X-men, please report to the Danger Room immediately." This telepathic command from the professor was responded to by five groans in unison. It took a few minutes for the team to assemble in the sub-basement, with Kitty and Rogue being the last two.
Shadowcat's blue eyes widened in surprise. "You mean, this, like, wasn't a joke? We actually have to be here? The sun's hardly even out!"
"I bet they're still playing infomercials on TV!" Kurt cried, before fixing Scott with a suspicious glare. "You didn't have anything to do with this, did you?"
The leader shook his head, covering his mouth to hide a yawn. "No, I'm just as surprised as you are."
Emma put her hands on her hips, glancing around. "Where's Rachel? Don't tell me she gets to miss this."
As if those were the magic words, the door to the Danger Room opened and everyone assembled inside. "Okay…" Rogue said. "Now what?"
From the other side of the room, someone cleared their throat. "Um…help?"
They all glanced across the metal floors to see Rachel suspended in mid-air, locked in a metal cage that was hanging precariously from a single line hoisted on the ceiling. "What are you doing in there?" her father demanded.
She shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest. "Waiting to be rescued."
"That's right, troops, this is a rescue mission," Logan's voice came in over the speaker from the observation deck. "You need to save Phoenix here before something bad happens to her. Oh, and Little Red, you could be a bit more convincing."
"Oh, no," she replied monotonously. "Help. If you don't get me out, Logan will keep me in this cage. Ah. How's that?"
The only response was the Danger Room's computerized voice. "Begin mission."
Drones of people who looked surprisingly similar to some anti-mutant activists appeared before the X-men, who looked to Scott for orders. "Rogue," he looked at her. "Take them out."
"Me?"
"With the new technology, your powers will work on them the same way it would anyone else."
Pulling off one of her gloves carefully, she touched the nearest one, who was about to hit her. He fell immediately, energy zapped. "I'm gonna have fun with this," she grinned.
"What about us?" Kurt asked.
Scott clenched his jaw, staring ahead at the prize. "We get Rachel anyway we can."
Leaving Rogue to the drones, they ran ahead, only to be pummeled by rubber bullets. "Why can't she just use her powers to get herself out?" Emma snapped, turning into her diamond form.
"I'm not allowed to," Rachel called.
"If you're just going to complain, go back and help Rogue," Scott ordered, voice hardening. She stared at him for a minute, then shut her mouth and fell back. As Kitty phased both him and Kurt to protect them from the bullets, Scott used his optic blasts to destroy the guns on the walls.
The trio continued ahead when a large wall came up through the ground, blocking their view of Rachel. "I'm really starting to hate the new improvements in here," Kurt grumbled.
Kitty shrugged. "I'll just phase through and grab her. No big." She did so, then yelled back at them. "Uh…guys…"
Kurt grabbed his leader, teleporting them to the other side, where a small army of large spider robots greeted them. "Logan really likes these things, doesn't he?"
Below her, Rachel watched her friends destroy the robots when she felt something land on the back of her hand. Looking at it, it seemed to be a small, metallic crab. Picking it up, she examined it closely until it pinched. "Ow! What are these?"
"Just somethin' Forge's been workin' on," Logan's voice sounded from the earpiece in her ear. "Thought we'd try 'em out on you since you're just sittin' there and all."
More flowed down from the ceiling and she crushed the ones she could. "They hurt."
"I'm sure he'll be glad to know that."
"Guys, help!" Rachel yelled down to them. "I'm not kidding this time, get me out of here!"
Scott looked up at his daughter, then the two who were helping him get to her. "Stay behind me," he told him. Kitty and Kurt exchanged a look, then stood behind their leader. Scott turned a dial on the side of his visor, soon letting out a large blast across their side of the room, decimating the rest of the robots.
Kurt grinned. "I love it when he does that."
"Rach, hold on to the bars," he told her. Seeing that she had a firm grip, he blasted away the bottom of the cage, standing under it. "Okay, let go."
Trusting him, she let go falling down. He caught her easily, holding her in his arms. "Hi," she whispered.
He frowned in concern. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Daddy."
Kitty suddenly appeared over Scott's shoulder. "Hey, Rach. So, like, why isn't the session over?"
"Part of saving someone is getting them to safety," the redhead pointed to the other side of the room. "You know, out of danger?"
Cyclops adjusted his daughter in his arms. "Okay, hold on tight."
Kurt raised his hand, "You know, I can just…" Scott walked past him. "Or not…"
When they got to the large wall, Kitty phased them both through. Rogue and Emma were leaning against the door. "Took ya guys, long enough," Rogue grinned. "How ya doin', Rach?"
"Fine," she smiled back, tightening her arms around her father's neck and liking how it made Emma flinch.
"Mission completed," rang throughout the Danger Room, followed by Logan's voice, "Good job, guys. Go get showered and have some breakfast. 'Ro's makin' waffles. And Little Red, you can go back to sleep."
"Okay," she yawned, snuggling against Scott's shoulder.
He smiled down at her. "C'mon, I'll take you upstairs."
Up in the observation deck, Logan looked over the Xavier. "You were right, Chuck. Seeing her in trouble did bring out some paternal instincts."
"As I knew it would," the professor nodded.
Logan made a noise. "You just know everything, don't you?"
Charles Xavier just smiled.
Scott got Rachel upstairs, going into her room and placing her on her bed. Rachel groaned, "Man, I left my nightgown downstairs…"
He turned towards her dressers, pulling out a pair of pajamas and handing them to her. "Here, you go."
"I like these ones," she said with a tiny smile.
Scott kissed her forehead. "I know. Get some rest."
"Dad?" Rachel called to him before he left.
"Yeah, Rach?"
"Um…I know you're busy tonight, but if you're not tomorrow…could we go out to dinner?"
He stroked her hair, taking a moment to notice that she had his ears. "Sure. We'll talk about it later. I love you, Rachel."
A large smile crossed her face. "Love you too, Daddy."
Scott left her then to get changed, and for the first time in a while, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.
Hours later, Scott was finishing up his memorization of the new Danger Room handbook when Emma walked in. "Darling, I just wanted to know where you wanted to go to dinner tonight. I'll make reservations."
He leaned back in his desk chair, stretching. "It doesn't matter to me. You know the city better than I do. Nothing too expensive though, my wallet's feeling a little light lately."
"Nonsense!" she waved a hand dismissively. "I'll pay."
"Sure," he forced a smile. "Great. Hey, Emma? What happened between you and Rachel yesterday?"
She sighed exasperatedly. "I just went in there to tell her you were going to have to reschedule your dinner with her. She seemed very upset. Then I just asked her a few questions and she flew off the handle. Really, I'm not sure if seeing her poor mother die didn't do something to her head."
Scott nodded slowly. "Right. Okay, thanks."
"But let's not think about that. Tonight we're going to have a fabulous night out. And even more fun after the show, if you understand me correctly." Emma kissed him deeply, holding his head in her hands.
A loud knock on his still open door broke them up as they turned to see Amara standing there, arms crossed over her chest and an unhappy look on her face. Emma smiled mischievously. "I'll just see you later, Scott." She left, exchanging a less than friendly look at the new mutant.
"What's up, Amara?" Scott asked, slightly relieved to see her.
"Bobby wanted me to give this back to you," she explained, handing over the book her boyfriend had borrowed. "Scott, you don't believe her, do you? About Rachel?"
He sighed lightly. "I really don't know."
"There's a word for that, if you do," she told him matter-of-factly.
"Really? What?"
"Stupidity." With that, the princess turned around and marched out of the room, leaving the X-men leader alone with his thoughts.
Kitty was sitting on her bed waiting for her toenails to dry, when there was a knock on her door. "Come in," she said, capping the top coat bottle.
A solemn red head poked itself inside the room. "Hey, Pryde…"
"Hey, Rach. What's up?" she scooted herself up towards the head of her bed, leaving sitting room at the foot.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Rachel told her, biting her bottom lip. "I shouldn't have yelled at you yesterday. I was out of line."
The brunette smiled, patting the space on her bed. "Don't worry about it. I know you weren't really mad at me."
Rachel sighed, taking a seat. "I have my mom's temper. Sure wish I had her brains."
"It's okay, Ray. Really." Kitty squeezed her friend's hand.
"Anyway, I wanted to give this to you." She handed Kitty the book she was carrying.
"Confessions of a Shopaholic?" Kitty frowned at the cover. "What's this?'
The phoenix hid her grin. "Just open it."
Turning the cover back, she stared the inscription breathlessly. "Oh, Ray…Where did you find this?"
"With Mom's things. I think she bought it just before she…ya know. And well, obviously she wanted you to have it."
Using one hand to hold the book to her chest, Kitty hugged her friend with her free arm. "You have no idea what this means to me. Jean was my first friend here at the Institute. I always looked up to her. She was like the big sister I never had."
"Yeah," Rachel nodded. "She was like the mom I had…then lost…then had and lost again."
Kitty traced the lettering on the cover with her finger. "I promise to take really good care of this." She placed a kiss to the cover, then closed it up tightly in her bedside drawer and wiped the mistiness from her eyes. "Hey, you want me to do your nails?"
Rachel glanced down at Kitty's toes. "I don't know if pink is really my color."
"Oh, don't worry." Reaching down next to her bed, Kitty pulled up a large plastic make up box, opening it to reveal over fifty different colors. "I've got tons."
She was doing a second coat of green on Rachel's nails when Rogue came in. "Hey, y'all. What's up?"
"Kitty's beautifying me," Rachel explained.
"Wanna join us?" Kitty offered.
Her roommate shrugged, taking a seat on her own bed. "Not like anyone will see it."
"But you'll know it's there and that's just as important," she replied, rummaging around her box for a minute. "I don't have any black, but look, I've got this nice purple color that you might like. It's called Dark Summer Plum."
Rogue examined the dark purple tint. "Toss it over."
As Kitty moved to apply Rachel's topcoat, the telepath started doing her toenails using her teke. "This is nice. Just relaxing. Now if only Miss Frost would go."
"Maybe Rogue will push her off a cliff," Kitty piped up, with a look at her friend. "She's good at that."
"Are you not over that yet?" Rogue rolled her eyes, then settled them on the redhead. "What happened yesterday anyway?" Rachel relayed the story to the two, finalized by Rogue's low whisper. "Wow. What a bitch."
"Seriously!" Kitty agreed. "I can't believe she would say that. I should have let you rip her head off." She squeezed Rachel's arm. "You know she was lying, right? We all love Jean and we always will."
"Definitely," Rogue agreed. "Ah can't believe Ah was nice to that phony! Let me tell ya, if Ah ever see her near the side of a cliff, she's goin' over."
Rachel chuckled. "Thanks, I appreciate it. I can take solace in that, and the fact that Logan was projecting some pretty awful things. Let's put it this way: if they ever meet in a dark alley, only one of them is leaving. And it's not going to be her."
For the next hour, the girls continued to raid Kitty's beauty product supply, even getting Rogue to try some new things. They were talking about how Kitty would look if she cut her hair when someone knocked on the door. "It's open," the roommates called.
Scott came in, outfitted in a dress shirt, slacks and a sport coat. "Hey, girls."
Rogue raised an eyebrow. "Well, well, well. Someone cleans up nicely."
"You look great," Kitty agreed.
Rachel nodded. "Very nice."
He smiled at them. "Thanks. I just wanted to say good night, since you'll probably be sleeping by the time I get back."
"Yeah, well, have fun," Rachel told him, then added under her breath, "Though I can't see how you would…"
With a mock frown in her direction, he kissed his daughter's forehead. "I love you and I'll see you in the morning. We'll talk about dinner then."
"'Kay. I love you too."
"Night, everyone," he told the group before leaving.
Rogue glanced at Rachel righteously. "See, told you he gave a damn."
She sighed. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that the professor was messing with his mind."
"Professor Xavier can be tricky," Kitty pointed out. "He doesn't necessarily have to use his telepathy to mess with his mind."
"Whatever," the youngest Summers shrugged. "It just seems weird."
Rogue went and sat on her bed, looking at the floor. "Ya shouldn't be lookin' a gift horse in the mouth. At least ya have a dad."
Kitty and Rachel exchanged a look, and the redhead nodded. "You're right. I remember what it's like to not have a dad. It's horrible. I'm glad Scott's alive, even if he is weird." The three were left in silence for a few minutes. "Can we go get something to eat? I'm starving."
Rogue let out a breath of relief. "Thank God. If you weren't gonna say it, Ah was. Let's get some food."
Kitty and Rogue both linked and arm with Rachel, and headed downstairs. The redhead hesitated for a second, then smiled. It was really nice to have friends.
Scott Summers adjusted the tie Emma had insisted he wear. He didn't like ties, which was why he hadn't chosen one in the first place. It still didn't make much sense to him why they had to get so dressed out to see a play, but with a glance around he saw that he wasn't an odd man out when it came to his outfit. Of course, it didn't do him much good to look around only to see more people looking at him oddly for wearing sunglasses inside.
"Stop fussing," Emma ordered with a kiss to his cheek. She had snuggled under his arm, pressing her still scantily-clad body against his. "The show is going to start any minute."
"Right. What are we seeing again?" he asked.
She gave an incensed, "didn't-I-tell-you-this-three-times-at-dinner" eye roll. "Wicked. It's a musical about the life of the Wicked Witch of the West." He briefly recalled her saying something about having seen the original cast, but that the new one wasn't half bad. "Where has your head been tonight?"
"Sorry," he apologized. "I'm just tired. Never got my energy back after that early session this morning."
"Well, we'll just have to sleep in late tomorrow." Her long, white fingernails traced up and down his thigh. "Because I don't think we'll be getting too much sleep tonight."
He had never been more grateful for dimming lights than at that moment. Amara's words from earlier kept ringing through his mind, as well as the sight of his daughter's tear-stained face. Emma couldn't have upset her that much with just a few questions. Rachel was smarter than that. The only thing was, what had happened instead?
Emma's voice in his ear jerked him back into the present, "I would look fantastic in that dress," she told him, pointing to where Glinda was onstage.
"No one mourns the wicked," someone from the chorus intoned.
Scott shot a look at his date. So, Emma, what is it? He thought. Are you a good witch or a bad witch?
"Rachel, dear, what are you doing in here?" Storm asked, walking into the Danger Room.
The redhead glanced at the former goddess. "Nothing."
"As I can see. If you'd like to train, I can run a practice session for you," she offered.
"No, it's not that," Rachel shook her head. "Storm…I…If I tell you something can we keep it between us?"
Blue eyes surveyed the smaller girl. "That depends what it is, child. Is it something that could hurt you or somebody else?"
"I don't think so," she whispered.
An arm wrapped around her. "Then, please, dear, talk to me. I promise to keep it in my confidence."
The two sat on the floor, backs against the wall. "Well, the other day we were doing just a regular Danger Room session," she explained. Ororo nodded knowingly. "And Logan decided to try and toast us with some flames. I didn't even see it or know they were there, but before I knew it, I was engulfed in them. But I didn't get hurt at all."
"I know your mother used to be able to block fire with her telekinesis," Ororo offered.
Rachel shook her head. "I don't even remember using my TK. I mean, I guess I could've, but…I could feel the flames on me. It didn't burn though. It felt warm and nice and…right. I've been having a lot of dreams about fire lately too. Plus, they said that Detroit was like fully burned so I thought….I dunno, I thought there could be something to it. I'm just silly, aren't I?"
Storm stroked the young girl's hair. "No, you aren't silly in the least. People often wish they had different abilities than the one's they possess, not realizing that the ones for them are theirs because it fits them. You shouldn't wish for other than what you have to be like someone…or to be different from someone," she confirmed with a steady look into Rachel's eyes.
"Right, I know." She sighed, then got to her feet. "It was stupid to begin with. I'll just go upstairs."
"Please don't be disheartened, child," Storm requested, rising with her. "You have very strong powers that I've heard you can control quite well. Jean would be very proud of you."
"Thanks," Rachel whispered, a light smile on her lips.
Ororo kissed her temple. "Please know that you can talk to me at any time. I know I'm not your mother, but I'd like to be your friend."
The girl just nodded and headed into the locker rooms alone.
"Thank you for driving home, Scott," Emma purred as they came in through the kitchen entrance of the mansion. "I just get so tired right after long shows."
"No problem," he replied, handing her back the keys. The Mercedes was nice, but he liked his convertible better.
She caressed his cheek lightly, then kissed him soundly. "Mmmm, you know, I might be too tired to climb up stairs and get to my room. I could think of a really great way to thank you if you helped me there." The telepath pressed herself against him suggestively. "And you could even stay overnight."
"I'm not sure if that's such a good idea. I mean, we're supposed to be role models. And if the rest of the Institute…"
"Psh, oh, Scott, really!" she wrapped her arms around his neck. "We're consenting adults. What's Charles really going to do?"
It's not the Professor I'm worried about, he thought. It's the look on my daughter's face when she finds out and whether or not someone will actually be able to stop her from killing you this time.
Her lips placed little kisses down his neck, ending at Adam's apple. "Please? I get so lonely at night. I promise it'll be the best night you ever have."
"Sure," he resolved, not wanting to disappoint.
Apparently he didn't. "Wonderful," she grinned. "Let me just get some water and we can go upstairs. As she walked over to the refrigerator, he turned around towards the stairs before hearing her call out.
"Emma?" Turning around, he caught her in his arms before she hit the floor. "Emma, what's…?"
The leader of the X-men didn't even get to finish his question before the world went black.
A/N: Dun dun dun! Heh, I like cliffhangers and I haven't gotten to write one in a while. Sorry that you all have to be the recipient of it. I still haven't finished my reading, but I wanted to do this so I could get at least one more chapter out before school starts. Two chapters in less than a week isn't too bad. If I have some extra time on Sunday, I'll try to work on eighteen, but no promises.
Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.
