Public Service Announcement: I'm back! This story has taken me in a completely different direction than I originally thought. But these things are feral in that way, and it's basically best to leave food out and otherwise do not interfere. So here you go. A surprise new character has bumped the rating of this fic from pg-13 to what could possibly end up being a censor's nightmare R. So be strongly cautioned. All Marvel characters belong to Marvel. All of my spawn belong to me, including but not yet limited to: Dana Detrou, Nevi and Ben, whose last name is still in the think pot.
Again, if you're 13 and reading this to feel grown up, please do my conscience a huge favor, and don't. Go watch an old Katherine Hepburn movie, they build character.
Please be unnecessarily critical and picky in your reviews, flame if you wish. I'm a smidge masochistic when it comes to these things.
Meanwhile, Jean was under strict orders to take a nap...
"Jean," It was Piotr's voice. "Jean?" She did not wish to answer. "Jean wake up, it's time to go." She opened one eye, just barely, to be certain she wasn't having a terrible dream. Colossus was bent over her, shaking her gently with his enormous palm on her soft feminine arm. It made her miss Scott, and hate him all the more. She sat up, swinging her body like a zig-zag needle of a compass.
"Sorry, Peter. I'm up." She never could quite pronounce his Russian name.
Piotr righted himself and looked away to keep from looking straight down her scoop-necked sweater. Jean picked up on that and smiled to herself. 'Boys will be boys, but at least this one is a gentleman about it,' she thought, which was more than she could say for most of her other male teammates, her ex-fiancé included. She never could figure out why Piotr hadn't been swept off the market the moment he hit puberty. If she'd ever had a romantic feeling toward him she would have done it herself. As things were, however, he was just a few years too young for her, and she'd always preferred the pretty-boy type.
"Are you ready?" He was saying. "The Professor is waiting."
"Yeah, I'm going straight to the jet now." She paused at the door and turned, "are you coming?"
"No," he replied, a little sadly. "Manning the fort, as usual."
"Hey thanks for waking me."
He nodded her welcome, then pointed at the crown of her head, trying not to smirk. "Bed head."
Jean ran her fingers through her hair on her way out, thanking him again.
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They landed on an old building not far from the coast, took the elevator down and found themselves in a shady alley way, home to the beginnings of a tent city. Xavier pointed to a dumpster with about four bags of trash that had seemingly fallen out of it. "There," he said.
Storm and Jean looked at one another. Clearly there was nothing there but sacks of garbage. Storm spoke up, "Where, Professor?"
"Just there." Seeing he was not convincing them, he wheeled towards it himself. The women followed, acting as body guards to their teacher. He stopped directly in front of the group of garbage, and spoke to it. "Dana?"
Suddenly one of the sacks had a head. Indeed it had been a young person curled up and cleverly camouflaged. It turned to the Professor, hope and skepticism mingled dangerously in its eyes. She - certainly it was clear now that the kid was feminine, turned her body over and leaned against the green metal of the dumpster, crossing her arms. "Who's asking?"
It was becoming apparent that her street toughness was only an act as her eyes darted between the two x-women and back to the Professor. The kid was terrified, but too proud to fully admit.
Charles fixed on her one of his all-calming Santa Clause smiles. "I am Professor Charles Xavier. I believe we spoke some last night." He quickly offered his hand to formally shake, which the girl took in a way that betrayed her upbringing.
She eyed the two women before speaking. Charles, feeling somewhat like the man of his youth, quickly introduced them. "I beg your pardon. This," he gestured to Storm on his left, "Is Ororo Monroe, also known as Storm." Then he turned to indicate Jean on his right, "and this is Doctor Jean Grey, also known as Marvel Girl." Jean blushed furiously at her team name. She felt she had outgrown it when she hit 18.
"Pleased to meet you," the girl said, just barely loud enough for them to hear, as she stood. "I am Dana Detrou, also known as the Insomniac." The hands she offered them from square confident shoulders were clammy and trembled furiously. She would not look Jean in the eye.
Also betraying her true origin were her clothes. Too romantically vagabond to actually be true homeless garb, the girl wore striped workman's overalls and an old man's wool cap, a ratty old scarf, a black burlap-looking makeshift trench coat and thick knitted mittens with the mit part cut off to allow the use of fingers. Her long brown hair was braided into a thick whip that hung over her shoulder and nearly touched her waist, her bangs smashed down under her cap so as to hang in greasy pieces in her eyes, which were a peculiar dark brown with blue encircling her pupils. Her cheeks were charmingly dirty and rosy in the morning air. Indeed, she looked more like something out of a play or movie than an actual street mouse.
Her eyes shifted and she began to speak more haughtily to the professor. "Thank you for your concern but I shall be perfectly fine where I am."
"Dana, you were so frantic," Jean started on behalf of the Professor, who seamed to be deep in thought.
Her eyes shifted again. "When one has nightmares out here they tend to be a little more traumatic than for those in warm beds with mother and dad just down the hall."
This was rehearsed. Jean could sense Dana had hoped they would not come, but why? She entered the girl's mind without her permission, something she rarely did.
The timing was wrong.
No, in fact the timing couldn't be worse.
They had blown some sort of cover.
At that very moment the whole team suddenly noticed a homeless guy listening intently. Dana seemed to suddenly gain all confidence and stared at the man with a terrible intensity. He began coughing and shaking, reaching for his trusty bottle of watered-down gin, guzzled some, and promptly regurgitated all of it. Sweat began pouring out of him, his cough became heavier and wetter until he choked and fell over, limp. Steam snaked out of his open mouth and rolled out from under his tightly clenched eyelids.
Storm was the first to catch on, and turned back to the girl, accusing and yet impressed. "You control water." She said.
"It's not safe here. Follow me." She turned the corner and ran squarely into a clearly dangerous girl, standing at about 5'10, wearing buckle-friendly black pants, a black tank top with a silver dragon crawling up, it's mouth open wide just at where her heart would be. She was followed by a small flunkie of about 11, clearly a younger brother.
"You got troubles, princess girl?" The girl asked, popping her neck and making the team aware of her sparkling silver granite nails.
"It's ok, Nevi, this isn't social services." Dana replied, trying to get the girl to leave. She was obviously unconvinced as she still would not permit Dana to pass.
Xavier smiled, realizing that himself in his sport jacket and the two women in black business suits must have looked very threatening to the kids.
He put out his hand in introduction, but didn't get to finish it, "I beg your pardon, I'm – "
"You're Charles fuckin' Xavier!" The woman yelled. "Holy shit on a fucked-up convent girl. It's the god-damn professor, in person." The boy was wandering off, bored. "Cheese, get over here and shake this man's hand." She ordered, snapping her fingers. "Straighten your shirt. This is a gentleman."
The boy snapped to attention, tugged at his shirt, removed his baseball cap and stuck out his dirty hand for Charles to shake. "Pleased to make your acquaintance," the boy said, rehearsed. "I'm Cheese." His sister kicked him, and he coughed and tried again. "My name is Ben."
"Very good, smart ass," his sister told him, therefor dismissing him. "Stay close." She turned her attention back to the team and Dana. "Hello. I'm Nevi. It's an honor to meet you all."
Dana was trying her best to get away without them, but could not bring herself to leave them behind after what they did for her. She turned to Xavier apologetically. " My deepest apologies. Might you be able to spare a seat for two more?"
"Seat!" Nevi exclaimed. "Who needs a seat? Brother-mouse and I can sit on the floor and be just as happy as anywhere."
Dana was clearly mortified, but it got worse.
"Not that I want to be any burden. No, not us, never burdens, always bearers, Ma used to say. But White Johnny is on my case, raising his cut from tricks almost double, and my brother - as you probably noticed - is starting to drop, and some of the girls with VD down at the hub been tugging on him when my back's turned."
Dana turned absolutely pale, as if she were afraid that they would retract their offer to help based on her friend's lack of social boundaries.
Nevi continued talking so fast that Storm almost overlooked the fact that her left eye was black as coal while her right eye was an unnatural shade of green, gleaming like that of a cat's. "It was fine when he was a baby - they all thought he was like a puppy, but as soon as the crack-fucks realized he was going to one day be well-hung and broad-shouldered like his daddy was, it hasn't been safe for him."
Xavier stifled a "my God!" and smiled cordially. "Of course there is room for more in the Jet, but I must warn you, things may be a little cramped for a while back at the mansion."
That didn't seem to bother Nevi, as she just let out a long breath and said, almost to herself, "Sweet Jesus we're going to a mansion." She turned around, calling at the brick buildings behind her. "Benjamin! Get your ball and glove, we're moving."
The sound of shoes running on asphalt answered her command. The boy joined them in a matter of moments, baseball mitt stuck in his pants pocket, ball in his fist, dimples indicating a stifled grin.
ok kids, I need your help. Tell me how you visualized Nevi's appearance, beyond what I described. What color is her hair? Skin tone? Build? Structure? Also, what do you think her power is? Reviewers get cookies and icecream ;)
Always many thanks for reading, much peace and creativity.