Hey y'all! Firts of all big thanks to enchantedlight, addtothenoise, Freak87, Realtfarraige and lauren archibald for reviewing. And a quick question to enchantedlight: do you ever review sth more than "great chapter! update soon!" or is my story just that bad? LOL ;P Btw I feel the need to give a big cheer to addto, she must've been so fed up with this story being stuck in a dead end she went and started a vamp story of her own, well you go gal! Good luck and hope ya get somewhere with that idea! yeah there's a lot of vamp stories out there these days, must be the halloween comming up or sth. the more the better! mmm blood...
Uh yeah... chap4!
Chapter 4
The Ravens
" Hello Maharet, what a pleasant surprise."
" Why Charles you are making progress. It really is good to know you didn't lie about the surprise part at least."
The usually calm, wheelchair bound man grimaced but tried to controll his features.
" What brings you here?"
"Yes... Indeed there is a number of things that could be the reason for my visit. This time however I must dissapoint you that it wasn't for the old times sake."
The professor fought not to show the woman before him how much her cynical smirk affected him. Maharet was one of those people you simply did not turn down. That was the only reason he even allowed such a hazard to his students into the institute. If crossed, the harmless looking woman could prove to be quite the vicious opponent that you'd rather not have as your enemy.
" But before we discuss the matter I've come here for I must congratulate you."
" Excuse me?"
" Well for one on your excellent butler! A bit too voilent for my tastes but you can't cheat nature..."
Her voice dropped as she glanced at the man before her with half dropped eyelids. Yet again Charles wished he was dealing with anyone but the woman before him. Her sheilds were too powerfull even for him to break through. Yet she showed no sign of any mutant related abilities. A fact he and Eric found out the hard way a very long time ago...
" Why so surprised Charles? You know he must've had a life long before he became you guard dog."
" Do you know him? I mean did you? It would help us a great deal in reaching that part of his repressed memory if you-"
" You forget my dear friend you are in no position to ask me for favours. Besides, the friendly welcome you must have overheard isn't exactly a reunion I'd have with a past associate."
But Prof X already got his answer even without reading the woman's mind.
Maharet was a patriarch of sorts to an ennormous organisation. They weren't directly connected to any criminal or buisness deals, yet they possesed enormous amounts of resources.
All members influentive.
All powerfull.
All related.
On various parts of the world, in all circles or high importance there was a mamber of The family. They couldn't really be compared to the mob. Though their connections and influence were based on blood relations they worked quite differently. Besides, the group was around for much longer, years, daceds even. It was a miracle they lasted so long without losing track of each other. Even though the family tree was as wide as the world itself, the connections where always maintained thanks to the careful guidance of the seemingly meek woman in the chair across from him. She was the glue that kept it all together. She was the one they allturned to when faced with an issue. Their motto was why seek help from strangers, when you can go to your own. And they did. The family always dealed with all presented problems so they couldn't have any real enemies. The only people Maharet really did contact or care for where in fact a more or less distant family member. So by refusing to acknowledge Logan as an old associate, she denied her relation to him.
The family always made a point to look after their own, once they did make a new acquaintance that was dear to them, they were treated as a regular family member. So judging by what the Wolverine has been through in his tortured life it was impossible to assume any direct connection between the two.
Yet still, against his better judgement something inside told him there was more to this case then even he could fathom.
Charles furrowed his brow. Blaming Maharet's unsettling presence on his suspiciousness would just have to do for now
" Dear, dear Charles, how incredibly frustrating for you to realize that that amazing mind of yours knows so very little, really… But I'm afraid that second guessing my motives won't get you anywhere ."
" I assume you have come to enlighten me?" The professor all but growled.
" Oh no need to be so hostile my friend! I just came here to warn you... for old times sake. Let's just call it a friendly favour. "
" Judging by the look on your face it is anything but. So what is it?"
" Oh you're right, no need to beat arund the bush. It has come to my attention that you have taken quite an interest in my neice."
" Excuse me..?"
In his long life Charles Xavier had been many things. He was a buisness man, he was a philantrope and millionaire. He was an accomplished psychologist and scientist. He was the founder of a self proclaimed 'safe heaven' for gifted youngsters. And finally he was, quite unexpectedly a father to a troubled powerhouse of a mutant. But he's never, ever been involved with any member of That dangerous family.
"No need to look so alarmed! I was just refering to your pitiful attempts to recruit my little rogue, but judging by the look on your face I should be concerned about you seducing any other of my charges?"
That little development did nothing to sooth Charles' nerves.
' So that mysterious, potential alpha mutant girl is under Maharet's protection? My god what have I done! I must immediately order my students to refrain from contacting her! But why in the world would Maharet trust someone as twisted and unpredictable with the child? She seemed to care for the girl, so why Raven?'
" Why Raven indeed? I said this before and I will say it again Charles, the dealings inside my family are none of your concern. Funny, I would have thought you'd learned your lesson by now..."
The chilly smirk had the strangest effect of the wheellchair bound man. He felt his blood boil, literally. The long forgotten nerves in his legs seemingly came to life, screaming in agony, burning through his skin. He looked down at his lifeless legs resting on his wheelchair trying to will the artificial feelings away. They were a sad reminder of the day everything worth living for came to an end. It wast the day Gabrielle left him. The day he made his glorious discovery. The day his best friend turned against him.
The day he met her.
"Well... I do believe I managed to get my point accross. Fare well Charles. And do keep an eye on your students. We are approaching quite dangerous times."
The Professor watched Maharet leave half heartedly, his glazed over eyes not really processing the cheshire cat smile on her gorgeous features, or the unearthy grace she moved with. Then suddenly when he snapped out of his trance he noticed she was gone. Without even opening the door.
It was the funniest thing how immature two grown men could act.
Frozen into place, jaws set hard, two pairs of eyes where locked in a battle of wills. The passionate, fiery brown challenging the strengh of cold, ice gray. And finally after what seemed like eternity they were snapped out of their intense staring contest by an unexpected slam of the door. Both looked equaly surprised at the regal woman now seated calmly in the backseat of the vehicle they were standing by.
" Wha the..?"
The battle of wills may have not been won my neither, but Mael certainly was the one for more intelligible reactions. He rewared his rival with a forced smirk, bowed mockingly and strode to the car.
Logan was left to stand in the dust left by the fast retreating car, watching amazed as the high security gates opened on it's own accord.
" I need a beer."
"That's unhealthy you know."
" Excuse me?"
" Hating someone with such a passion for so long. It could be bad for your...stomach."
Her hidden smile was a sign she was only half joking.
" Oh please! The only thing that could be bad for my stomach is rotten skunk blood, if anything!"
Maharet laughed merrily.
" Mael please, you really need to get over your issues. What is done can't be undone! Besides you don't see our girls complaining."
" Yeah, because one got her mind whiped clean and the other is too fucking obsessed she can't get over-"
Mael stopped in the middle of his sentance, not knowing if it was because of the cold, pale hand hovering over his shoulder, or the wary feeling of disapprovement he picked up from his master.
" Deliver this."
As the ivory envelope fell into his lap he realised he had overstepped his boundaries once more.
Scott Summers wasn't pleased.
He wasn't as calm and collected as everyone believed him to be. Circumstances forced him to be so.
And by circumstance he became the valued, decisive... control freak he was today. The tragic death of his parents, and dissapearance of his only brother were very hard on him. So hard in fact that it made the young boy realise all too soon that the world wasn't a happy place. If you held something dear you had to cling to it as hard as you could, otherwise it would be ripped away from you. Scott was very passionate about his beliefs. But what he liked most about living at the Institute and being the leader of the X-men was the order.
His life was quite messed up from the begining so order was what he craved. He liked to know his position as the leader was clear to everyone and he liked how the DR sessions were always run smoothly under his lead. He liked to know all his socks were neatly folded in his drawer. He liked to know he had a safe place to call home with a roof over hs head and his CD collection organized alphabetically.
But most of all he liked to know where his loyaltied lied.
The X-men were about helping people, true, but you could only help people if you could trust your teammates. And Scott Summers knew full well there were some people he could not and would not trust.
These people were the Brootehrhood.
As he glared at the rag tag group of future terrorists sitting casually at the table accross from him he realised that maybe the prof's view on mutant relations was far too idealistic.
Jean was wrong, he had absolutely nothing against helping a fellow mutant if she needed it, but said mutant looked perfetly happy were she was. Sitting at the brotherhood table enjoying their company like they weren't a dangerous threat to world peace! Scott was no ignorant, he heard Xavier mention casually quite often how great it would be to welcome the 'misguided teens' into their team. How outrageous!
Maybe back when it was just a couple angry boys with bruised ego's, but not now! Not after all criminal acts they've taken part in! Not after the disaster at the mall a couple months ago.
Not since Wanda.
The brootherhood used to be a minor threat. Mystique never seemed to care much about training her team so it was always a more or less easy win.
But then the Witch came. Came and ruined everything Scott so hard tried to maintain. She showed the X-men that they were not unbeatable. And most importantly she showed the brotherhood boys who had the upperhand. Since then things have been as unpredictable as ever. Chaos ruled and chaos was Cyclops' worst enemy.
' Oh get OVER yourself Summers and stop that ego trip of yours before I make you!'
' JEAN! This is not an ego trip, I'm just looking out for my team's safety!'
' Our safety my ass! You know full well we need new members, since Scarlet Witch came they begun to cause some real trouble! If that Rogue girl really is a mutant she will be confused and being pulled into the brotherhood world is NOT what a brand new mutant needs! Who said about inviting them all in? Sure that would be nice but it doesn't mean we're gonna welcome that disaster with open arms! Be reasonable Scott!'
' No you're the one that needs to be reasonable! YOU need to get out of the fairy tale world you live in and realise what's going on!'
Scott regretted those words as soon as he projected them. He knew he didn't mean that. He'd never be intentionally harsh to Jean. Yet lately they begun to drift apart. And he knew just the thing that was the cause. Duncan Matthews.
He couldnt help but hate the boy's guts. It wasn't that he was unberably cocky and popular. No that wasn't what infuriated Scott. He had Jean. And that was reason enough. Scott was the one who's been her friend all along! He was the one to be there for her through the good and the bad! So why Duncan? Why not him?
' God when did I become so miserably bitter? Maybe everyone's right. Maybe I need to losen up and stop letting my frustrations cloud my judgement.'
Scott sighed miserably not noticing Jean leaving him to his grim thoughts.
She picked up her lunch tray, throwing it's untouched contents into a trash can. Suddenly she wan't feeling so hungry. As a matter of fact it's been a while since she had intentionally craved food. But that... that wasn't important.
'Urgh that insufferable jackass! Sometimes he makes meso mad I wonder how I can stand him! It's like all he cares abour is himself and his pretty little team! We should be open to everyone. WE should reach out to people! And WE shouldn't snap at our friends for nogood reason!'
Jean quickly dismissed her bitter thoughts towards Scott, lately they've been having more and more issues and she refused to acknowledge the reason for them. Instead her mind wondered to her newest cause -Rogue. The girl was an enigma. When she first moved in to Bayville, some two years ago Jean barely noticed her. Though it was hard not to. She stood out like a razor blade in a daisy field. Her attitude, her style, everything about her seemed so different, so hostile. Yet Jean payed her no mind. She was too occupied with her own life to care about some new disturbed teen in the drama of Bayville High. Unfortunately cetrain circumstances made her pay much more attention to the new girl than she cared to give.
At first it were the little things. Jean noticed how she seemed to spend more and more time with the brotherhood boys, she was always a loner, that much was plain to see, but if she ever happened to talk to anyone it was one of them. At first she suspected she was another of Pietro's flings, seeing the extra attention he seemed to give her, but the rumor of them being cousins quickly killed that option. They didn't look too alike, and certainly didn't act anything like the other, but the mysterious white stripes in Rogues hair made the option believable. This however arose another question. If she was related to Quicksilver, was she a mutant as well? She asked the professor to monitor her with cerebro once in a while, but all results came negative.
However soon enough Jean had another reason to be wary of the girl. After a year or so Rogue begun to show some extra interest in one of her dearest friends, Cyclops. And although Jean herself was already in a brand new relationship with star of the football team, Duncan Matthews, she became obsessively jaleous of the other girl. The quiet goth girl who never seemed to be of much importance suddenly became a potential threat. Jean would never admit that to herself but she liked the adoration Scott gave her. She liked his attention even if it was well guarded and disguised into a coat of friendliness. The telepath begun noticing little things about the goth that could make her attractive to Scott, like her unusual two toned hair, her smoky green eyes, her curvy figure, her fiery spirit. She was too busy obsessing over finding those qualities in Rogue and comparing them to her supposed flaws to notice that to Scott, she was simply flawless.
No one whould've thought that the 'Perfect Jean Grey' who put up such a front of shiny confidence could be just as insecure as the next high school girl? Well she certainly wasn't going to prove anyone wrong, so she did the only thing she knew she was good at. She tried harder. And that's when she joined another school team. That's when she started her diet. However she never let Rogue and her laughable attempts to woo Scott out fo her sight. And good thing she didn't because although the goth soon realised her error, and the painful thruth that the Mr. Red Shades had eyes for one woman and one woman only, another interesting scene occured.
It was no secret Lance had a thing for Kitty. A very big thing that once even made him try to join their team. That was however a completely different story which of course ended in a huge disaster that Scott used as an example as to why they could never trust 'the enemy'. Either way it was no wonder that Lance was the first one to jump into action, when Kitty passed out in the middle of the school hall due to her exhaustation after a combination of the previous nights " Mall war" with the new Brotherhood, and the mornings 'better shape up' training session composed by dear Scotty.
Weather it was guilt or sheer affection, Jean had never seen Avalanche in such a state of panick. It was obvious the boy would've given his own arm just to help his x-girl but he didn't seem to know what to do. Unfortunately neither did Jean, they hadn't had their scheduled CPR class with Logan yet so all she could do was try to jolt her friend awake through psychic shocks. Lance however had another idea as he shot up to graba slowly retreating figure. Now that Jean thought about it the scene was quite funny.
" Help her!"
" Excuse meh?"
" You heard me Rogue! Help her! I know Irene made ya take CPR just in case! Come on!"
" Why the fuck shoud Ah help Miss pretty kitty, Rocky? She's got PLENTY of willing guys around!"
That arose a couple creative suggestions from the crowd , managed to get Lance over the edge, break a nose and bruise some ribs of the unfortunate male audiance, as well as place a very convincing threat. The most interesting part of Lance's half hissed message however took place in the mental plane.
" Listen Rogue if it was you neitehr me or Kitty would hesitate to force air into your lungs so stop being a cold hearted bitch, get on yer fucking knees and perform some pretty damn good mouth to mouth or I swear I'm gonna..."
It might've sounded like a bad porn line but it worked. It wasn't clear if Lance was projecting his threat or if he simply let Rogue guess what the 'or alse' was but pretty soon Rogue shoved him out of her way, delivering a powerful glare at the gathared audiance and kneeled by Kitty's side, barking for everyone to step away and give the girl breathing space. As the goth started performing CPR on her unconcious friend Jean's curiousity got the better of her and she took a glimpse into Lance's mind to find what the unspoken threat was and what made it so efficient.
'.. tell the whole school about yer sick little crush on " stick up my ass' Summers and let 'em know who stole his gym shirt ya freak!'
Lances harsh thoughts towards his friend were soon washed away by the relief he felt when he noticed Kitty breathing again, but they were enough to shock Jean stiff. What shocked her more however was when she noticed Kitty comming to, her psyche awakening, opening to Jean's telepathic abilities. Then as suddenly as it appeared it was gone. Sucked away.Undetectable. Flickering as if it was screaming for help from behind a brick wall.
Jean noticed the Rogue try to stand up and stumble on unsteady legs, gripping her head. Not surprisingly noone alse seemed to notice, or care, what was wrong with the dark girl, Kitty was obviously breathing again and as some cheerleader happily supplied " Totally fainted when she saw the demon freak hovering above her!". But Jean knew better. There was something terribly wrong with that Rogue girl and she was bound to find out what. She managed to catch up with the retreating goth and grab her arm.
" Wait a sec there! What have you-"
Shocked must've been the theme of the day for Jean because she nearly had a heart attack when she saw Rogue's pale, ghostly arm phase right through her strong grip. The other girl didn't even seem to notice what she's done, and without turning screamed an angry " Leave me, like alone!" in a very familiar manner.
That day most of Xavier's students left school early to tend to the still unconcious Kitty. Unsurprisingly no one believed Jean's frantic story. Kitty woke up after several hours feeling perfectly fine so the students blamed Jean's susicions on her own stress and exhaustation. However the scans she convinced the professor to make on cerebro proved that in fact Shadowcat's phasing ability had been used sometime during the school hours. Kitty denied using her powers that day and so the far fetched theory of Rogue's mutancy came to be.
Since then Xavier encouraged his students to try and reach out to the girl, learn more about her and maybe even offer her a place at the institute. Unfortunately some of the x-men where less than pleased by that idea...
Jean sighed looking at Scott sitting at their table looking as stubborn and pissed at himself as ever.
'Well he ought to be!' And with that the telepath strolled away, happy at her private victory of making Scott feel miserable for mistreating her.
Unfortunately Scott was feeling miserable for a whole different reason.
Considering making friends with some one who's all 'buddy buddy' with your worst enemies isn't an easy option. But it was something he needed to do. For his friends.
All his friends, not just Jean. Riiiiight.
'Well the team needs new members, to level out the chances, and the new foreign recruit Xavier sent for might not be enough! Where was that guy from anyway? France, or something. Nevermind, as long as Rogue and her mysterious powers don't help the brotherhood kick our ass everything's gonna be fine.'
He ignored Evan's self absorbed board speech and concentrated on his rival's table. Suddenly a very uncharachteristic smile appeared on his face.
' This might be easier than I thought.'
Having ADD was not easy on a teenage boy. Especially if said boy combined it with a lot of sugar and his mutation.
Being inconspicuous was a crucial part of Pietro's life. His 'line of work' required it. But, oh it never was easy! On the contrary, witholding information and 'staying put' was pure torture for the boy. Time was always crawling at snail speed for him, so intentional pause was adding salt to the wound. His lack of patiance was something his father always chided him for. Luckily he no longer needed to take his shit, but the fact remained, conciously or not Pietro always aimed to impress the man. He was like the ghost looming over him, reminding him of all his failures. And so Pietro stayed put, fighting an internal battle he was not willing to lose, all the while playing idly with the tip of the envelope he was pocketing.
" Can you STOP that speedy! If you tap that damn foot one more time I'm gonna rip it off and shove it so far down ya won't know if yer trying to chocke or fart!"
" Awww poor rocktumbler's annoyed cuz his pet kitten won't give him any?"
" That is IT!" Lanca stomped his foot on the floor creating a small quake tripping Pietro's chair. Pietro however was long gone by the time it hit the ground, now occupying the seat by the, more than usually, quiet Rogue. He childlishly stuck his tongue out at the groweling Lance all the while glancing nervously around the table.
' C'mon, c'mon c'mon! Where is Wanda? I need her here to just say my piece and be off before I'm going to LOSE IT!Ok calmdown 1234567ohcrapit'snotworking!'
" Yo Rogue is Pietro hyperventilating?"
Rogue didn't even seem to notice, being occupied with fingering her french fries in her zombie like state.
" Aww man you guys have one fucked up fam- snoocklebums you're here!"
Wanda twiched and deepened her scowl, not acknowledging Todd's presence otherwise. She pulled a chair next to the, again grumpy looking Lance and accross from Rogue.
" Babycakes I think you and Roguey wearing matching outfits is totally hot!"
Wanda just snorted, raising an eyebrow at the lack of comment/voilent reaction from her friend. Pietro seemed to notice that as well and decided now was a good time to finally calm his nerves.
" Yeah guys about that move... I think we should meet up after school and discuss it.."
' Awkward! How the hell am i supposed to get them alone?'
" What is there to discuss yo? Honeybun tell him you don't wanna leave your Toadie"
Wanda, unlike her twin was showing extreme length of control, seeing as her only reaction was a very silent, very intense glare in 'her toadies' direction. It turned out to be even scarier then a 'violently angry' Wanda. Pietro seeing he was getting nowewhere with this conversation started fidgetting. Getting the girls' attention was harder then he thought. He decided to occupy himself with something, anything, until the boys left them alone. Seeing nothing better to do he grabbed a bottle of ketchup and spread it generously over Rogue's fries.
Suddenly the white striped girl was pulled out of her catatonic state, shot up from her chair an screamed at the top of her lungs staring at the offensive fries. After the initial shock Lance was the first one to recover, grabbed her arm and pulled her down back to the chair careful to only use the covered part of his hand. Times like these the group was more than happy for their reputation of scary freaks because no one seemed too bothered by the goth's behaviour.
For the first time in her life since that dreadful night she was sent away Wanda felt afraid. She was afraid for her friend who was staring at her plate full of untouched french fries with ketchup like it was the most terrifying sight in the world.
" So... is hyperventilating a family trait, yo?"
Fred who up until now was too busy stuffing himself with the containts of his 3 trays, felt it his que to 'gently' smack Todd into silence. It resulted in the boy getting shoved halfway accross the cafeteria, but hey it worked.
Lance surprisingly the collected one put his leather jacket around Rogue's shoulders fearing the worst. Wanda looked at him with a mixture of accusation and appreciation, putting her arm around her now shaking friend. Pietro just sat there dumbfounded, still holding the bottle of ketchup. He was holding it so tightly, most of it was spread over his arm but he didn't seem to notice. Finally Rogue begun to come to, shaking her head as if she was trying to clear it.
" So much...too much/ everywhere.."
" Um are ya ok Rogue?"
Suddenly her head snapped up in Pietro's direction, her green unyielding eyes accusing and cold.
" Why'd ya do that?"
" Do what!"
" THAT!" She screeched pointing at her fries.
" What the hell Rogue? You always eat your fries with ketchup! I thought I was being helpful!"
" Like hell ya were! DidAh ask ya to spread...THAT over mah fries!Ah don't think so!" Rogue screamed over her shoulder, making quite a scene and nearly run out of the cafeteria shoving a terrified Kitty out of her way.
" Well no need to freak over a bit of KETCHUP!" Pietro put in just as loudly walking after her at a quickened pace.
For the first time in a while instead of feeling an interesting mixture of anrgy and something alse Wanda felt just plain confused as she run after her so called family.
' Well at least THAT got their attention!'
Thought Pietro grimly realizing what he was in for, when the two goths came to and combined their attitudes against him.
' Joy.'
Straightening out Pierre LaVignon glanced wariely at the young man before him. Dare he not call the homme a gentleman! He watched as the youth smothed back his chin lengh copper red hair in one confident motion. The hair didn't have enough gel to hold it back in what Pierre would call a dignifying style.
' De little bâtard has no class at all!'
Pierre wasn't your everyday maitre d'.
Oh no, Pierre used to be the son of one of the wealthy parisian families, schooled in the best schools, seen on the most sophisticated events. All until in his foolish years of youthful recklessness he beckame indepted to a very dangerous family. That was when real life ended for him. He was now nothing more then a shadow of the man he once was. But then again, looking at the 'lives'of his fellow 'collegues' he was quite lucky.
After all, he didn't get the life sucked out of him.
His brow twitched as he studied the young man again. Perfectly ironed designer suit. Sharp, handsome features, cunning eyes, self satisfied smirk. Oh yes Pierre knew the type. He used to be just like him. His whole life ahead of him with nothing to lose.
' Not'in but his foolish soul.'
And the resamblance made him hate the man's guts even more.
" Your name Monsieur?"
" Pfft oh please Pierre you know perfectly well who I am!"
' And that insufferable arrogance...'
LaVignon forced a smile and glanced at the list before him.
" Oh of course! Monsieur Raven, how could I forget! The ladies are awaiting you at the usual table."
And without another word he let the tall man pass into the smoke filled room full of high class bâtards.
Quentin Raven strode past the unnerved maitre d' with another blood boiling smile. ' Well somebody needs a lay!'
As he strode through the sophisticated little room he bathed in the lustful looks he recieved from all the matrons. He was quite a catch and he knew it. The name Raven was well known in this circle. And being one of the few remaining heirs to this enormous fortune did help you find friends in the most dire of times. Quentin smirked to an old acquaintance running a hand through his hair again in a semi nervous habit. He wasn't used to wearing them down.
'But sometimes when you really want something you have to wear a diferent skin, more fitting of the occasion.' He felt like laughing out loud, thinking of another raven he just quoted, one he didn't share a name with.
He abandoned this train of thought finally reaching his destination. He bowed in mock respect and rewarded the women seated with an apologetic smile.
" Anna, Scarlett, I see you've already met Mr. Shaw"
TBC
AN: WOW That was long! WELL the continuation is really up to you! So again, sorry for the long delay and REVIEW!
Disclaimer: again all I own is the bloody bloody wall damnit! And maybe Pierre LaVignon but sadly he's not worth shit!