Author's Note: I try to write shorter chapters now because believe it or not, even I was annoyed XD I just need to figure out how to shorten and improve the first 2 or 3 because I feel like they make a bad/boring premise to the story as a whole and I can't have that~
Also I decided to add titles to each installment for every few-parter episodes, just so it feels more... um, organic? Organized? Both?
Episode 8.0: SpykeCAM
Installment 1 of 2
Enter: Sabretooth
It's been four months since they let the X-Crew in on the big secret and all its complicated points of time travel and dimension skipping. Ever since, the air shifted.
Of course the initial reaction was a shock that started slowly wearing out, after the first couple of days of everyone suddenly becoming quieter around the three and whispering behind their backs. Then the conversations started to move to the front of their faces and more than one question was being asked, but they all agreed to be careful with the information they provide. Professor didn't necessarily disapprove of the decision of coming out with the truth, but he still insisted to be careful about interfering with the future, and that couldn't be done if everyone knew too much about it.
Soon everything started to pick up the normal pace as the crew accepted this thought of their friends' origin and went on with their lives. They all carried on past this revelation, this time without the aura of distrust and suspicion looming over the three.
Scott stopped frowning critically at every word that left Fallen's lips and resorted to just frowning occasionally because their ideas and opinions clashed more often than not. But besides that he even offered to run her through the basics of flying SR-77, the famous Black-Bird, and the two ended up spending a few educational hours in the simulator.
Evan also dropped scoffing and throwing glares in the girl's general direction and even came forth to apologize for his outburst, but they both agreed he had all the reasons to be dissatisfied with the official explanation of her residence at the Institute for mutants, whilst not being one herself. And finally - partly thanks to how well he was getting along with Kurt - they became something you could call friends. Or at least mutually respecting associates.
It goes without saying that before the reveal and coming to terms with the otherworldly facts, he wouldn't have considered turning around in his seat to talk to Fallen like he did now, that they received back grades for the recently turned-in reports.
"How'd you do?" he asked trying to see the brunette's mark.
"Aced it" she flipped the paper around briefly. "With a minus but still."
Evan grimaced with defeat and turned back around. A moment later the bell rang and the class was dismissed.
"Come on! I don't get it" Daniels thrusted his hand up with frustration as he proceeded to pack. "How do you get an 'A' and I fail?" he put his 'D' graded work up for her to see.
"What's so hard about doing your research and writing it down in pretty sentences?" she shrugged smiling sympathetically.
"Man, Professor Xavier's gonna ground me for the rest of my life" Evan sighed low as he rubbed the back of his neck.
The work was - as the teacher said - crucial in order to pass Social Science. With a D and hardly any good grades in this class, Evan was bound to have a hard time. That's why it wasn't at all surprising when Prof. Vandermeer's voice kept him from leaving the classroom;
"Mr. Daniels, could we talk for a moment please?"
Evan nodded at Fallen to go ahead without him and approached the teacher who proceeded to write out assignments for the next class on the blackboard.
"Admittedly I asked for a report on the Star Wars Program, however I wasn't talking about the movie" the man said.
"...But I like movies" Evan looked up from his failed paper.
"Which is fine" the aging man luckily didn't seem angry, but sincerely amused with his student, he smiled down at him and patted his shoulder. "But I was expecting a report on the national space defense system."
"Yeeah… I sort of figured that out by my grade" Evan grimaced with defeat. "Hey, look man, is there anything I can do to make this up? Extra credit? Anything?"
"Hm" Vandermeer took a moment to consider this before apparently coming up with an idea that satisfied him. "Perhaps there is something" he said and stepped back to open a drawer in his desk.
Evan watched with amazement as the man pulled out a handheld camera. "Woah! A Digicam! How cool is that!"
"You know, Evan, current events can mean a lot of things, including things that are important to people your age. They don't have to be huge, just have to mean a lot to you. How would you like to do a film report on that?" he held out the device towards the boy.
"You mean it?" Daniels happily took the camera from him.
"You got it, yeah. Project is due at the end of the week" he turned back to continue writing out assignments as Evan happily examined the new toy. "I suggest you get started."
"Hey, I'm on it!" Evan agreed enthusiastically and started towards the door. "Thanks for the second chance, Mr V" he smiled and left the classroom, his eyes immediately dropping to the camera in his hands. "Cool! Instant rewind, digital zoom- Oh, hey, you're still here?" he cut off seeing Fallen leaning against the opposite wall.
The brunette seemed oddly serious as she looked at the camera in his hands as if it confirmed something she unenthusiastically expected.
Evan shrugged it off and started towards the open window to try out his new toy. "I'm supposed to do this film for Mr V and he'll let me pass-" he started and began to lift the camera to his face, but a hand brought it down before he managed to hit record. "Hey!" he looked at Fallen confused.
"Don't record the Institute from here" she told him.
"What- why? What's up with that?"
The girl bit her lip with frustration as she glanced around. "There are too many people here" he muttered. "Come on."
And before he knew it, confused Evan was being pulled towards the stairs and out into the front yard. "Hey- what's going on?" he asked, still half focusing on how cool the camera is.
Finally they found a relatively solitary space the girl stopped and turned to him. "There's this guy in town- big and dangerous, to be brief. He's looking for Mr Logan. And he'd found where to find him because you'd get him on this camera."
For a moment Evan stared at her confused and then it clicked. "You mean- in the future?" he lowered his voice even though they were far enough from anyone.
Fallen inhaled deeply. "In a version of the future. I just don't think it's a mistake that needs to be done again. The man's dangerous and doesn't need to be led right to the Institute."
"But how would he get my camera?"
"You're not the most responsible person in the world, are you now?" she arched her brow at him.
Daniels shifted. "Point taken. So no recording the Institute from distance, is it?"
"Yeah. And keep an eye on that camera if you will."
Evan waved it off like it was nothing to worry about and started towards the school again. "I want to try it out on something else! Later!"
Fallen watched him run off before sighing and slowly following towards the entrance. She didn't take two steps before Kurt suddenly appeared in front of her and she shifted back. "The heck, Kurt! We're at school!"
"Ja? I didn't notice" he 'hm'ed and looked over his shoulder at the building. He then turned and smiled at the critical look on the girl's face.
"Remember Amanda?"
The spark of fun in his eye died away. "She's no longer part of-"
"Hold on" she put her hand up to stop him. "Before you two even met, she spotted you in a hallway as you turned off the inducer and 'ported away-"
"Fall, Amanda is the past…"
"Amanda is not the point. What I'm trying to say is, how do you think - how many others like her can happen? People who accidentally catch a glimpse when you use your powers or play with the damn thing" she gestured to his watch. "She had her mutant fetish, but others may have guns and knives or family members in the government and media."
Kurt fell silent.
"You 'ported right into me, but on my spot could be anyone" Fallen finished. "For Xavier's and your own sake, be more careful."
Wagner nodded exhaling heavily. "Sorry, I know it's not a joking matter. But that's the thing!" he threw his arms out and walked past her to get into the shade of trees. "My inducer's been 'wheezing' and 'itzzing' for an hour and I think it's about to give up all in all!" he fiddled with the device, and it indeed made low buzzing sounds while the hologram shivered and disappeared for fractals of seconds in random patches of digital distortion. "I've been watching out for any of you guys to let you know I need to go home and have the Professor look into it. I saw you here with Evan and no one was around to see me teleport so…" he sighed and smiled faintly at her. "I wasn't being completely reckless, see?"
Fallen's shoulders slumped as she gave up her aggressively worried demeanor. "Alright, fine. I'm just tense because apparently the entire Sabretooth plot's rolling in" she smirked apologetically at him.
"Is it?" he shifted his attention away from the failing inducer. At this point it was switching on and off on its own accord.
The girl looked around briefly to make sure no one's around before she continued; "Yeah. I stopped Evan from getting the recording but I can hardly imagine how it could postpone Sabretooth's arrival by more than a few hours of extra search" she shrugged. Not knowing when and how to interfere and when to stay put was something she almost forgot needs to be dealt with, since for these last months it was so calm - living in-between the cartoon's events.
Kurt stepped closer and brushed back her hair from her shoulder. "I'll mention it to the Professor when I get back, how about that?"
She nodded, although uncertain. "Yeah, do that. And get going before you get yourself and everyone in trouble" she smirked faintly at him as his inducer proceeded to hiss and make the image flicker. "Or before you get electrocuted for that matter. I'll excuse you in front of the teachers somehow."
xXx
"Ah didn't swipe your stupid novel!" Rogue frowned angrily.
"Oh right, like, I suppose it just got into your gym locker by accident" Kitty snapped back as they stopped and faced one another.
"Ya loaned it to Kurt, and he loaned it to meh. Ah was gonna give it back" the goth waved her off and started walking.
Kitty jogged after her, "Oh right, like- Ah!" not looking around in her irritated state she shoulder-bumped into another student walking by and dropped everything she was carrying against her chest. "Sorry!" she called and then looked up at who she bumped into and an involuntary smile appeared on her lips. "Could I be any klutzier?" she chuckled fixing her bangs.
"No problem. Let me help" the tall, black-haired boy smiled and crouched down to pick up her books and scattered papers.
Rogue grimaced with disgust as Kitty knelt down beside him and reached for the books. "I feel like such a dork, I mean I really should look where I'm going" Pryde said sending sideway glances to the boy.
They got up, the boy handed the brunette the rest of her school papers. "Here you go."
Kitty giggled. "Thank you, Jason."
"Thank you, Jason" Rogue repeated her words in a mocking manner as she threw her head from side to side like an over-enthusiastic flirt. Then she growled with disgust and rolled her eyes.
The other girl shot her a quick, hostile glance over her shoulder.
"It's Kitty, right?" the boy smiled, ignoring the moody goth.
"Ah- yeah!" Pryde's cheeks flushed as she giggled again. "Kitty, that's right! Yeah! Hi!" she stopped her waving hand. "Oh! Already said that. Um- Whatcha doin'?"
"Ugh, I'm definitely gonna be ill" Rogue muttered.
"Hanging posters" Jason pulled the thick set of papers from under his arm showing the print with a picture of a demonic-looking male character playing electric guitar. The title read Dracula The Rock Musical. "Auditions for the school play are tomorrow night. Hey, you're gonna try out, right?" his smile widened as he looked at Kitty and briefly glanced at Rogue as well. "We need girls who can sing and dance."
While the southerner seemed nearly offended with the offer, Pryde's eyes sparked with interest.
"So, like, what part do you play?" she asked playing with her necklace.
"Um" Jason smiled a bit shyly. "I'm the, um… male lead."
"You're gonna be Dracula?" Kitty asked impressed. "Cool. Well then, duh! I mean yeah, sure! Of course I'm gonna totally try out."
"Great" the boy gave her a thumb up. "Well then, I'll see you tomorrow" he waved briefly and moved on to hang the rest of the posters as Kitty walked him with her blue eyes.
"Just when Ah thought ya cannot possibly get more pathetic" Rogue said with a snarky smile.
Pryde spun on her heal with her and faced her with her head held high and a smile on her lips. "At least I've got a hope of getting casted, unlike you" she gestured theatrically.
Rogue crossed her arms with a frow. "Think 'bout it. Ah was made for this play. HEY!" she shouted suddenly as she saw Evan kneeling behind open door of his locker with a camera lens pointed at them. "What are you playing at, Porcupine!?"
Surprised, Evan abruptly shifted the camera away from his face before grinning innocently. "It's cool! I'm just doing an assignment for Vandermeer's class."
"Ah better not see mah face on that tape or they're gonna be calling ya Spike-less" Rogue threatened as Kitty rolled her eyes.
"Uh-huh, yeah…" Evan still smiled as he approached them but the threat registered alright and one could tell from his voice. "Hey, look! Don't worry about it. So, are you guys gonna audition for this?" he pointed at the posters duck-taped to lockers all over the place.
"Well, I am" Kitty said throwing a challenging look at her roommate.
"Yeah" Rogue smiled with disdain. "Me too."
Both girls looked away from the other with utter disgust before sending each other daring looks and walking away, each in their own direction.
"Cool" Evan immediately brought the camera to his face to capture the moment. "Now that's what I'm talking about."
xXx
Professor Charles Xavier was sipping on a milk tea as he indulged in lecture of a collection of different scientists' takes on- and further study of Faraday's work on electrochemistry. Soft tones of music accompanied him as Ororo Monroe played the piano that sat by the window of the dining hall. Cloud, the stray kitten that lived here since December last year, napped by her side on the stool. She was a petite ball of gray fluff and purrs, however she doubled in her size since arrival and seemed perfectly content with her life at the Institute. Evan the Professor himself - who initially disapproved of keeping an animal at the mansion - grew fond of the cat and was caught red-handed on petting Cloud as she curled in his lap.
The peace was disturbed very abruptly by an unexpected sound of a BAMF and one of the students suddenly appearing, dangling down the massive chandelier directly above the dining table.
"Oh, there you are, Herr Professor!" his eyes opened slightly wider and then he teleported onto the ground a few steps before the man. "I really need to talk to you."
"Kurt" the man closed the book and put it on the edge of the table. "Why aren't you at school?"
"What? Ah. Oh, my inducer broke" he waved his watch-bearing wrist briefly. "But there's something else I need to talk to you about."
The man reached his hand and wiggled his hands slightly at the device. "I am listening then."
"So- apparently there's going to be some minor trouble- like in the future, you know" Wagner said as he proceeded to unstrap the watch and hand it over to the man. Xavier listened intently, his eyes slightly narrowing with concern at the information. "Previously nobody got hurt too bad but I thought you'd rather know since Sabretooth is troublesome- long term."
"Sabretooth?"
"Ja, he's this big nasty fella who's after Mr Logan" Kurt nodded.
Charles wasn't a complete stranger to the monicker. It came up early on when he first encountered Logan and with him - tried to probe the darkness that surrounded his past. They hardly knew anything about the said individual though, except that he had some kind of a feud with Wolverine. What little information Xavier received from Kurt's memory last year had merely provided him with brief images of the said mutant apparently fighting on the opposite side of the X-Men's future battles as well, but he didn't know how severe the conflicts with the Sabretooth were supposed to get.
"Do you happen to know why he's after Logan?" the man asked.
Wagner nodded. "Some of it."
He clearly waited for a cue to continue after the many times they were told to be cautious about sharing details that aren't supposed to be known at the time. However since the truth was out Xavier was more open to playing open cards, at least in this regard.
"Please, do tell."
Wagner wetted his lips as he sat down, however he was clearly anxious. "He's actually Mr Logan's half brother. They served during Cold War together, but something caused them to become die-hard rivals shortly before the Weapon X project."
Charles' brow twitched. "Weapon X?"
"Ah, right. H.Y.D.R.A.- that's an organization but I don't really know much about them- wanted to create a mutant that would be an ultimate weapon" Professor Xavier's eyes became more distant as he listened to his student. "They used Mr Logan then wiped his memory clean. And they still continue to work with his DNA for that matter…"
Xavier continued to look searchingly into the surface of the table and remained quiet. Ororo also watched them with a worried frown but didn't say anything.
"I don't know much about that…" Kurt picked up again after a moment of lingering silence. "But I know for sure that Sabretooth is going to do anything to get Mr Logan for whatever reason... and later he's going to only be trouble for us, so…" he trailed off softly. "Maybe we should use this opportunity to do something about him?"
Professor Xavier's eyes met the golden eyes of his student again. "What do you mean exactly, Kurt?"
Wagner shrugged slightly. "I don't know. Last time you wiped his memory and dropped him off somewhere, but he was only gone for so long. Then he turned up by Magneto's side and was back to causing trouble for us."
The man closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath. "Let's not rush with deciding to change anything just yet."
"But Professor!" Kurt got up with exasperated frown. "He's in Bayville right now and he won't hold back from taking hostage as bait if he finds it a good way to get Mr Logan! He's- he's not okay, he's ready to hurt people."
Charles rubbed his nose. "I do understand the seriousness of this situation, thank you, Kurt. We'll take all precautions to contain Sabretooth when he turns up at the Institute, but for now I- I need to excuse you. I'll see what's the problem with your inducer and try to return it to you as soon as possible. Until then take the day off school and please stay indoors for I want to switch on the security mode so we're instantly notified when Sabretooth arrives at our grounds. You can go now."
Wagner watched the man for a moment, a little frustrated that he doesn't seem as eager to interfere as he'd like him to be, but then he teleported away.
Xavier turned his gaze to Ororo, whose blue eyes reflected the same worry that he felt.
"H.Y.D.R.A." he said.
"The head's grown back?" she whispered.
"If it's not at the moment, it will. It always does."
xXx
"And now, for an Evan's eye-view of what it means to be a truly trashing street-skater" Evan's face took up majority of the frame but one could see students swarming around him through the door of the school.
He dropped his board and jumped down the stairs, immediately plunging towards the tables; he wrecked chaos as he jumped over a group of students sitting there and immediately skated on at a high-speed. He nearly knocked out a couple walking hand in hand, then almost tripped two friends caught up in a conversation and knocked off balance a nerdy kid a little further down the line.
Yelps and shouts followed him everywhere. He grinned at the lens and waved his hand.
He was oblivious to the abnormally large man following him along through the rooftops.
One hand holding the camera, he used the other to perform stunts as he skated down the pathwalk. It was going gloriously until a stray cat appeared out of nowhere on his way and Evan abruptly kicked his board up into a jump over the animated obstacle. Just a moment after he landed he felt something warm and heavy push against his back and heard something that sounded a lot like a growl behind him.
He was forced off the course and into the alley to his left, somewhere along his attempts to stay up the camera was snatched away from him and another second letter the front wheel of his board got stuck in a crack and he tumbled forward, basically diving into a pile of stinking trash bags. His head was spinning from hitting the wall behind them.
He climbed out of it with his head pounding. Initially he felt anger and wanted to go make whoever caused this pay, but then he remembered what Fallen said about someone finding out Wolverine's whereabouts from his recording. Clearly, whoever that was made this bold move.
He ran back onto the street but no one was there except for a few random passerby in the distance. His camera was discarded on the ground. He hurried and picked it up looking for any indications of it being broken. He brought it to his face and zoomed in and out at the street; it seemed to be okay.
The guy from Brotherhood showed in the frame and made it closer in a few frog-like jumps. He perched on top of the near staircase and waved his hand for the camera. "Whassup Daniels!"
"What do you want, Tolensky?" Evan dropped the camera refusing him the attention. "Look, I'm busy here."
"I heard about your movie. Check me out!" Todd used the railing to perform a wobbly one-hand stand and then proceeded to make a humanly impossible jump to the first-floor windowsill that he used for a backflip back onto the railing. He slid down on his boots; "Style, charisma, Todd's got it all yall!" he jumped to Evan's side. "So start shooting already."
Daniels was utterly unimpressed and refused to give one bit of attention to the posing boy, instead he examined the camera to make sure everything else is working properly and there's no visible bumps or scratches that Mr Valdermeer could hold him responsible for. "Take a hike, Tolensky. I got too much respect for my crap" concluding the camera's fine he dropped his board and skated along in the direction of the Institute.
Whoever it was that messed with him seemed long gone and Evan made it to the Institute without any further accidents. The first thing he heard was his aunt's voice from the kitchen where she prepared dinner with Jean;
"Evan. You made it just in time to help us make the table."
"So early? What about the training?" he asked.
"Professor will make an announcement during dinner, so hurry up. Everyone's already informed to be downstairs in five minutes."
"Of course, Auntie O., just let me drop my stuff in my room" he said and fled upstairs.
He dropped off his backpack and skateboard, but decided to bring the digicam with him so that he could start working on his movie right after dinner. He mentally noted that he will need to ask others to do a few stunts for the camera.
"Sure, after I get my watch fixed" Kurt agreed when the two boys proceeded to put mashed potatoes on their plates. "But can you do me a favor before that?"
"What is it, K-Man?"
"When you leave to film, can you swing by Blockbusters or some video-game rental for me?"
Evan gave him thumbs up. "Man, I'm jealous you get to stay home tomorrow."
Wagner shrugged with a smirk. "Didn't mean to bust the inducer. Besides, they still make sure I get all my schoolwork done anyway."
"Who's they?" Daniels asked.
"Me, probably" Fallen slipped onto the chair beside the german. "And your aunt" she told Evan.
"Mhm!" Kurt grunted as he swallowed the first bite of meat loaf. "And she put me on extra cleaning duties too! So I'm not 'bored'" Kurt marked quotation marks in the air. "Like that could happen."
"See, K-Man, if you weren't bored you wouldn't need me to get you moves or games" Evan waved his for at him with an amused frown.
"Movies or games aren't to kill boredom, it's the way I chose to spend that time" Wagner responded defensively.
"But-" Evan cut off when he suddenly felt a firm hand on his shoulder. His eyes traveled along the massive arm to the disturbing seriousness of Logan's blue eyes.
"Porcupine, there anythin' I should know 'bout?"
"Ah- um… I don't know, did I do something?" Daniels frowned in confusion.
"Logan, please take your seat with everyone" Professor Xavier said as he entered the room.
"I smell Sabretooth on the kid!" the man growled turning his eyes sharply to the man who calmly positioned his wheelchair at the end of the table.
"I know" Xavier replied. "And I'm going to explain why if you please take your seat, Logan."
Wolverine's brow twitched in surprise and irritation, but then the man narrowed his eyes and walked around the table to take his seat between Kitty and Kurt. Evan munched on his food nervously as it became clear it was about the man Fallen mentioned. But he couldn't have possibly gotten the info he wanted, as Evan never caught Wolverine on tape due to Harris stopping him.
Everyone else also already started eating but continued to glance at the Professor with Interest.
"As you already mentioned, Logan" Charles spoke up once everyone settled down. "Your so to say, enemy, is currently in Bayville, that much we know for a fact."
"He's here for me" Wolverine said sharply as he stood back up. "Smelled him on Porcupine just like he smelled me on him. No doubt he followed him here. Knows where to find me, and it's best I go meet him where no one else can get hurt before he decides to come here and break a few student body bones if yall lucky enough."
"Excuse me, but… who is Sabretooth?" Jean asked.
Logan's eyes lost focus and he eased himself back onto the chair, however his jaw clenched. "...Sabretooth and I- run back gods know how far."
"Actually- ugh!" Kurt cut off when he felt Fallen poke his ribs.
Wolverine's eyes narrowed as he turned to the two sitting to his left. "What do ya two know?"
"Logan" Professor demanded his attention immediately. "We talked about this. They don't know anything."
When Wolverine turned his gaze to the man, Wagner and Harris looked at each other briefly with confused frowns. They did know things. In fact, Fallen - as the one who took time to read the comics and do her research into the backstories of people Kurt knew in person - could pretty much provide so many information, names and even dates that Logan's constant chase after the ghosts of his past would be forwarder by many years.
But curiously enough, the man never asked her, nor Kurt or Forge, whether they know anything he doesn't. Now it started to make sense as to why.
I urge all of you to be especially cautious and not wander alone around the town or even our grounds" the man looked each of his students in the eye seriously. "This is to assure your own safety, as the man we're dealing with is unpredictable and seems to have little regard for human life."
There was a slight shift as everyone's shoulders squared in readiness.
"Now, Evan" the Professor turned to the boy directly. "The camera of yours, mind if I see it for a moment?"
Although slightly confused, Daniels handed the camera to the next person and it was quickly passed along to Xavier's end of the dinner table. The man opened the screen viewer and browsed through the clips.
"Am I gonna be in trouble?" Evan asked.
"You haven't done anything wrong- besides risking destroying this camera during your stunts" Charles said. "I'm just looking for- hm, yes" he absently switched on one of the files and the sound carried to the silently eating students. On the screen, he saw a man push Evan and snatch the device; despite the disturbance of the recording it was clear he descended to a side of some outdoor staircase to hide before switching off the recording. Professor rewinded the clip until he was able to pause at the clearest shot of the man's rough face surrounded by shally, blond hair.
"Wasn't there supposed to be a recording of a message from Sabretooth?" he didn't lift his eyes from the screen, however it was clear who the question was meant for.
"There was" Fallen agreed.
"He clearly just didn't feel the need for it, since he didn't find Mr Logan on the recordings" Kurt shrugged.
"Clearly so" Xavier closed the viewfinder and handed the camera back to Jean so she could pass it along. "However, Evan, I will insist on reviewing the final cut of your movie before you show it at school."
"Understood!" Daniels' face brightened when he got the device back into his hands.
"Imma go find him before he finds me" Wolverine muttered under his breath as he got up decisively.
"Actually, Logan" Professor's voice was loud enough to stop him halfway to the door. "I would like you to stay put until any decisions are made."
"What decision you takin' about?" Logan frowned and gestured to the window. "He's out here wantin' to fight me, so any decisions are mine and already made!"
"Is that what you want to teach the younger generation?" Xavier flashed him a firm stare. "That fight is the way to resolve issues?"
Logan groaned. "I want to teach them to keep out of other people's business" he left without looking back again.
xXx
Although it was way past midnight, Kurt was in the Institute's library. The lights were off as he wasn't reading, his attention was instead on the screen of the computer that faintly illuminated the nearest surroundings. He was playing last year's horror game and was long past laughing at himself for getting hibbie-jibbies from such an old game.
He thought that the newest games from the mid-2010s Fallen threw his way back in the future scare-proofed him for the old, visually inferior games. But no. The old 90s games had something so eerie about them that he could feel fur on his back stand on end as he tried to figure out how to survive the gameplay.
With Fallen's earbuds blocking out sounds other than those coming from the game, he didn't hear the library's door open and close again. The only light source in the room was the faint screen so there was no shadow to loom over him and warn him that he's no longer alone.
The intruder found it almost amusing how easy it was to sneak up on the usually vigilant boy in this setting. The person loomed behind him for a lingering moment observing the screen above his head, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Kurt squared his shoulders as a more intense scene forced him to put his entire attention in being quick and precise within the game world if he wants his character to ever make it out of the skin-crawling ghost town, and not share the fate of the victims whose disappearance he investigated.
That was when the intruder's arms firmly grabbed his shoulders and Wagner barely stopped himself from screaming as he jumped and spun around almost falling off the chair while his hands were too busy yanking the buds out of his ears to catch himself.
He hid his face in his palms catching a breath after he saw the girl nearly dropping to her knees with a hysterical laughter at his reaction. "Scheiße! Fall!" he gasped dropping one hand to his hammering heart. "I almost got a heart attack! Still can! Gott im Himmel…!" he dropped his head against the back of his chair breathing deeply with strained relief. "Du bist das Schlimmste" he muttered. "Das absolut schlechteste."
"Now boy, my German isn't perfect but I think you're not being very nice" containing her laughter by now but still unable to stop smiling, the brunette pulled up another chair behind him and rested her arms on the back of his one.
The boy lifted his light eyes to her with an expression that perfectly corresponded with his words; "You deserved my mean-ness."
"I love you too, Kurti" she grinned at him. "So what're you playing?"
Wagner shook his head at her as he turned to the screen again. "Alone in the Dark 3" he replied.
"Alone, huh? Should I leave you to it then?"
"It's actually stressing me out of my pride so you're welcome to stay and collect it" he no longer tried to contain an amused smirk.
His hands returned to the keyboards and mouse whereas the girl's arms slipped around his midsection as she leaned against his back. She watched him play over his shoulder, allowing herself to borrow one of the earbuds.
"Don't you need to get up for school in the morning?" Kurt asked without looking back.
"I couldn't sleep" she responded casually.
For a good while she just rested her head against his shoulder unconcerned with how late at night it is despite her alarm clock was set for 7 in the morning. Kurt didn't urge her to go to sleep either, all-nighters every few days were nothing new to either of them.
The game however bored her rather quickly, as while she loved the 90s in a lot of ways, the gaming options weren't one of them and she much preferred the realistic-looking and advanced games of the future. Her attention instead spanned to lightly teasing Kurt's neck, kissing it slowly and affectionately. Initially, Kurt responded by wrapping his tail around her waist in an absent-minded appreciation, but as it went on he swallowed as he tried not to let that distract him from finishing the game, yet his breathing pattern changed.
She smirked shifting his hair aside to gently nib on the lobe of his elvish ear and then kissed her way down from there to the top of his shoulder again. Kurt bit his lip with a slow breath in and out. With her arms still just innocently embracing his midsection she resisted her own urge of letting them wander or even so much as caress his stomach. She wanted distracting him to be a slow burn.
With busy schedules, there was hardly ever enough time to slow down and take her sweet time driving him crazy without him noticing when exactly innocent relaxation gets replaced by the desperate need. She loved to observe the gradual change in his golden eyes.
His hand was a little shaky but his grip was confident as he let go of the PC mouse and loosened her embrace so he could slightly turn around. He only did so enough to look her in the eyes, and the way he stared into her soul with urgency made it clear he realized he crossed that line in his mind.
She smirked getting up from her seat and he guided her along to sit atop of his laps and hastily brought her into a kiss. With her legs strangling his slender hips she found barely enough room to support herself on the chair on his either side, but they were perfectly comfortable, if not a little ignorant of the potential discomfort. His hands on her hips holding her secure, her hands in his hair, his tail around her stomach pulling her tighter against him; Even the mere office chair was more than enough space as they practically melted together, taking their sweet time with the slow, intense kiss.
They nearly fell with the chair when the library's door opened abruptly; Logan's annoyed hoarse voice felt really loud in the quiet; "What do ya think yer doing? Grindin' session 's over!"
Fallen bit on her lips in a poker-expression as she slipped onto the floor allowing bewildered Kurt to get up as well.
"May I remind you that we're not actually minors, sir?" she tried.
"No fucks given. Get to sleep before I ground ya both!" the man ordered. "Or do ye need me to inform Chuck of the attempted misuse of his library?"
"...Nope."
"Then leave immediately."
Seeing how mortified Kurt seemed, the girl quickly clicked 'shut down' on the computer and wrapped her arm around the boy's back.
"'Port us please?" she asked.
Kurt nervously shifted his eyes away from the irritated teacher and hesitantly looked at her before teleporting both of them back to the other wing of the mansion.
Logan didn't bother to follow upstairs and make himself clear that he meant each of them going to their own rooms to sleep, instead he started towards the big window looking into the darkness swallowed gardens. His eyes probed the night as his nostrils sipped on the air that radiated from the untight frame. The black trees drawn against navy night sky and all the stars visible above the ocean seemed undisturbed, but there was something in the air.
Something primal and oozing with testosterone, someone whose scent he was by far more sensitive to than to any other smell. He felt anger-fueling frustration coming from the fact that he can't put his finger on what made him want to rage, but a cue was that it also brought some odd sense of nostalgy that reached all the way to the distant past he didn't remember.
He didn't know what happened that the man felt like a mortal enemy to him, but from the get-go his instincts told him to not take the threat of Sabretooth lightly.
xXx
[[SpykeCAM - REC]]
[[7:12 am]]
"Maybe the red" Jean holds a turtleneck to her body and examines it in the bathroom mirror for a moment before deciding. "No. Maybe the… ugh" she scoffs in frustration.
That's when she notices the camera peeking through the cracked door and abruptly tries to cover up her short nightgown with the red sweater.
"Hey! what are you doing?!" she frowns. "Get that camera out of my face now!"
She extends her hand and the door abruptly shuts closes blocking the view and pushing Evan back with it still in his hand.
"Hey! Touchy-touchy" he fixes his baseball cap and brings the lens back to his face. "Wasn't that interesting? Anyway, let's see if I can find some real action around here."
[[CUT]]
[[7:18 am]]
"-And the worst part is I can't even like, practice in my own bedroom because I share it with my competition" Kitty complains to Scott as they make waffles for breakfast. "And the auditions are tonight!"
"Maybe you just shouldn't think of Rogue as competition" the boy clearly tries to reason with the petite girl. "I know you two have a lot of disagreements, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't give each other a chance."
"She's the one who won't stop being acrimonious" Pryde rolls her eyes.
"That's a big word, don't you think?"
"Whatever, she deserved it- And what do you think you're like, doing with that camera again, Daniels?"
She throws a wet towel in his direction but it misses the camera lens by miles.
[[CUT]]
[[7:24 am]]
"Come on, they're like, taking off" Kitty throws over her shoulder as she passes by Kurt and Fallen in the corridor and hurries back to the front entrance with the little backpack bouncing off her back.
"Be there in a moment" Harris responds.
"Also Evan's following me with a camera, take him awaaaayyy" Kitty's voice disappears down the main hall's staircase.
The semi-embraced pair curiously turn to the boy in question who pops a hand showcasing a peace sign into the frame. "Just doin' my thin', don't pay no mind!"
Kurt slightly frowns with a critical look. "You know you can't use this footage, right?"
"Yeah whatever, a lot of it is for my personal collection, for example - to annoy you about eating faces all over the place."
Fallen snorts whereas Kurt seems unimpressed at best. "I would express my feelings about it but I don't seem to have enough fingers to get my point across."
The girl snorts again. "Here, let me do the honor" she says as she pops her middle finger, her hand mostly obscuring the view of their faces as they have a quick goodbye kiss.
"Ew, you two make me sick" Evan's voice is the last thing to register before the camera lens shifts away from and the clip ends.
[[CUT]]
[[7:26 am]]
"We should think about this more" Ororo says as she walks across the empty kitchen with a kettle.
"I agree, however I'm afraid that there is little to no time before we need to take some action" Professor Xavier nods his appreciation as Monroe pours his tea.
"Have you asked Logan if he agrees with this decision?" the woman sits down with ather steaming cup.
"You know him. He's stubborn. He won't appreciate us forcing him to step back from something that feels so personal to him" Xavier says as he stirs milk in his tea. "But I certainly believe that capturing Sabretooth could be for the best. At least we can hope we can come up with a solution that will turn out better than what we originally did about his case."
[[CUT]]
Evan pulled the camera away from his face with a slightly surprised expression. Were they talking about changing some events from the alternate timeline? It was the first time Evan heard anything about anything to do with it since Fallen, Kurt and Forge explained everything to them a few months ago. Whereas the news already took a while to get over, the odd quality of the situation made his skin crawl again at the thought that they're about to interfere with what one could call a destiny.
Evan, for one, didn't believe there's such a thing as destiny, however he couldn't deny that changing events from a future that already happened (confusing as it sounds) felt like disturbing some kind of order of things. And again, while that wasn't necessarily bad, it was a serious deal. It felt like one.
However he chose to quietly withdraw from the conversing adults and go straight to the source. Well, one of the sources anyway, and the only one that's at school right now. He didn't want to miss the first period by seeking out Kurt or Forge around the mansion, his grades were already hanging by a threat as it is. The only reasonable idea seemed to be to hurry to school and only bring it up in-between periods.
So he did, and shortly after the first period he quickly made his way to the schedule board and then towards the classroom where Fallen had her first block. Luckily the girl still hung just a dozen feet away from the door chatting with two boys he was vaguely familiar with.
"Do you have a moment?" he asked immediately.
"Evan? What is it?" the girl insignificantly raised her brows in surprise.
"Come on, I think you'd like to hear this" Daniels urged, he nodded his head to the opposite wall where there was a little more privacy.
Fallen took a small breath and excused herself with the two friends and walked over to the window with Evan.
"Did you talk to the Professor about that Sabretooth guy?" the boy asked.
"No, but Kurt did yesterday" the girl crossed her arms loosely with a concerned look on her face. "Why?"
Daniels contemplated it for a short moment before asking again; "Do you know if he asked him to take some action to change the future? Gave instructions?"
"I… No, at least none that I know" now the brunette's frown deepened. "Something's wrong?"
Evan grimaced briefly before shrugging. "I don't know, I don't think so. I just heard them saying that they plan to capture him instead of- whatever would have happened otherwise. They were sayin' something about it hopefully turning out better than originally or something."
As the boy spoke, Fallen watched him with growing concern and disapproval. "Wait, this isn't a decision that should be taken on a whim like that."
"On a whim?" Daniels arched his brows before frowning like in the good old times when he was suspicious of Fallen. "If Professor knows what would happen if he went through with whatever was the original plan and he decides to do a different thing, that's not a whim. That's taking responsibility for the future" he turned to leave but continued to look at her over his shoulder. "As one of the two who knows it better than any of us, you might want to try that too. Taking responsibility for what becomes of it instead of keeping it hush-hush, trying to do the right thing and all, you know?"
"...Evan, come on" she called after him but the boy kept walking and just waving her off over his head.
To be continued...