++++++ Quick note, there's a time jump of four years-Gaia is ten.

I hope you enjoy.

I do not own ++++++

Four

Gaia was ten today.

It was weird to think that she had been in their lives for four years. They'd moved from their apartment building in Queen's and into Hell's Kitchen, as strange as that sounded but it was easier to remain lost in a place such as that, plus the townhouse they'd gotten had a little yard for Chaos to have a run around in.

It sounded so…so domesticated but it really wasn't.

Obviously there were sacrifices that needed to be made, like when it came to jobs, sometimes Wade would go, sometimes Shelby would go and other times where it required both of them to go, Gaia would go with them. It was usually after these kinds of jobs that Jean and Scott would show up on their doorstep armed with their speech and wanting to take Gaia back to the school to learn her powers which she was doing just fine on her own. She's mastered fire and was having some trouble with water, air was turning out to be harder than she thought and earth was too hard for her at her current age. Sometimes things would explode out of control for her but Chaos of Wade were there to calm her down. Best part about having an immortal father figure.

She obviously went to school, even had a few friends.

Life was good and normal-well as normal as it could get with mutants involved.

As Shelby sat in her office, working on an article about urban growth her ears twitched. It was that same sudden feeling that she got something bad was lurking in the shadows…Wade called it her Spidey Sense before he decided to go bug Spiderman out for a while-poor kid.

She pulled her gun out of her desk drawer and walked out into the backyard where Gaia was staring at a pot of dirt on the outdoor table. "Gaia, honey?" Shelby called out screwing on the silencer.

"I've done my homework," she grumbled, staring at the pot. "Stupid flower won't grow."

"Not that," Shelby answered, "get down."

Gaia was trained well enough to know that when her parents said get down-she got down. She slipped underneath the table and rolled sideways as a bullet pierced the chair right where she'd been sitting.

Shelby aimed her gun looking around for whoever had fired the shot, her ears twitching again. She narrowed her eyes and they slitted as she looked for any kind of heat source, eventually finding one up in the trees. "For fuck sake, Domino. What the fuck are you doing? You could have killed her."

"I know." The speaker dropped down from the roof and landed on the ground with cat-like precision. She holstered her gun with a smirk and looked at Gaia. "I wasn't aiming for you."

Gaia stuck her tongue out at her and went to hide behind Shelby.

"You and Wade are hard people to track down," she smirked, "and here I find you all playing happy families…where is my lover anyway?"

"If you mean my lover," Shelby spat, "he's in Kabul earning money. Gaia, inside now."

Gaia bit her lip.

"Save it," Domino laughed, sitting down at the table. She flicked her midnight curls out of her face, showing guy the black patch over her left eye. "This concerns your little mutant over there. I would probably be doing the world a favour by killing her."

Shelby held her gun back up. "Give me a reason. Just one."

"She's going to destroy the world," Domino warned, "that's what that Cult were doing with her. I came across some files on a job I was doing six months ago-little miss Gaia over there is going to destroy the world. And out of the ashes a new rule will emerge with their Goddess at the head."

"I know," Shelby replied. Truthfully she'd known for some time that Gaia was intended to be used to destroy the world, not so long ago the mysterious Mr B had come whilst Gaia was at school to check up on her progress. He'd told them that by the time she was eighteen things would begin to fall into place and it was up to Gaia to decide what she wanted to do. Destroy the world…or save it.

"Oh and you're getting a visitor," Domino smirked. "Over the past four years both Jean and Scott have come time and time again thinking that they could bring Gaia in." She shrugged. "I think they have this petty competition going on to see who can bring in the most students at any given time. At least this is what my inside source tells me.

"And by inside source you mean Logan?" Shelby asked her.

Domino laughed. "But of course. But back to your visitor, your sister had discovered that Gaia exists, she knows nothing about her or where she is but she knows a mutant such as her lives so she starts to look for her."

Shelby narrowed her eyes. There was no other relationship more complicated than the one of Shelby Cooper and Raven Darkholme. From the moment Raven…or Mystique as she preferred to be called…had found out she had a sister who possessed much more powerful gifts than her, she had been trying to recruit her to their side of the war.

"Great," Shelby muttered, "guess we had a few years without blue bird sticking her nose in my business. Want some ice tea? I just made some."

"Beer?" Domino answered.

"Mumma said you can't have beer before five," Gaia piped up.

"Scram kid," Domino muttered, "the adults are talking."

Gaia muttered under her breath and walked away.

-XXX-

The day that Charles Xavier came to their place which was two weeks after Domino's visit, Shelby had sent Gaia with Wade to their private shooting range under the guise it was time for Gaia to learn how to shoot a weapon.

Shelby was sitting out the back cleaning her guns when Chaos led Charles Xavier into the backyard flanked by Jean and Scott.

"Miss Cooper it is good to see you again," Xavier smiled.

"To get to the point the answer is no," Shelby spoke. She didn't look up from cleaning her guns. "Gaia is ten, she'll be more inclined to say no now than she was four years ago. You don't want a student to protect. You want a weapon. Read my mind, Charles-I have no intention of handing her over like a lamb to slaughter." She put down a bit of spring and looked up. "If you had called I would have saved you the trip. I'd like it if you never darkened my doorstep again."

"Surely you must understand what danger you are all in?" Xavier argued.

Shelby cocked an eyebrow. "You do realise who you're talking to? Mild mannered journalist by day, fucking mercenary by night. And Wade can't die…that's my merc with a mouth you're doubting. Watch the tongue or I'll cut it out."

Xavier sighed. "I can see we're not wanted here. Come along."

Shelby stood up and followed them from the room. "Woof, woof," she muttered under her breath behind Scott.

"Where is Gaia anyway?" Jean questioned.

"With Wade," Shelby answered. "He's teaching her how to shoot a weapon. Good afternoon," she slammed the door in their faces.