I'm so in over my head. Something's wrong with this chapter, it's not very funny.
Mutants involved in the writing of this chapter- Laura, Sam, Bobby, Jamie, Jean, Rahne, Kitty, Jubilee. Just in case I got confused somewhere in the writing. I wrote this chapter in the hours of 12:30 and 2:00 a.m. this morning, and it's not the best, and the logic, to me, is sort of weak, but IT'S DONE AND THAT'S WHAT FRIGGIN' COUNTS.
So enjoy. I've already started chapter six. There's espionage in chapter 6. Not as much talking.
Oh, yes, and Jean's Phoenix powers are growing. No one knows this yet.
The next morning, Logan was gone. His room was empty, as though he'd decided to move out. Laura leaned against the doorway, frowning, while behind her Jamie played something violent on Scott's PSP. Of course Logan wouldn't even say goodbye. She blinked. What did it matter if he said goodbye or not? He wasn't her father or anything. If anything, they were like brother and sister, if you saw their genetics, had something to drink the previous night, and a slight squint.
At least he'd told someone his reason for leaving. According to Rogue, this wasn't a normal practice. He only told someone- Professor Xavier- if there was a chance it could affect the kids at the mansion. Apparently, it did. Storm and Beast were in a meeting with Xavier, and had been for quite some time.
"Are you just going to stand there for much longer or do you plan on coming back the real world soon?" Jamie asked from behind her. "You act like the world ended. He'll come back, you know. Next time Sabertooth gets away."
Laura twitched slightly and idly turned down the hall, Jamie trailing behind her playing his game and muttering to himself now and then.
"I don't really like the real world..." Laura said absently.
A month later, Logan hadn't returned. Even the Professor, if questioned about it, would frown vaguely and only offer small hints of what Logan had left for. Everyone knew why, that was obvious. But why hadn't he returned yet?
And although she hadn't known it was possible, Laura was miserable. Logan was the only one who could stand her constant verbal abuse, the only one she didn't have to be careful around. He'd seen her true colors, and hadn't been repulsed because he came from the same thing. She could identify with him, even if she'd never admit it. The first two weeks or so after Logan had left, Laura would sharply pay attention whenever someone was talking about him, or she'd prowl the nights, checking and rechecking security and the garage. But even after a few weeks she stopped doing that.
She couldn't avoid a nagging suspicion that however long Logan had planned on being gone, even tentatively, a month hadn't been on his list. Not when he was leaving Laura behind.
The last straw was a news feed one night on the six o' clock news. Several of the mansion's students were in the living room, idly arguing about what to watch. A few Jamies had the remote, and they were holding a small contest, seeing who could flip through all five hundred channels the quickest. So far Emo Jamie was winning.
"Today, on-."
"No, Pikachu!"
"-And now we're going to-."
"Mutant called Sabertooth-."
"Wait," Laura cried, "Go back!"
Jamie acquiesced. Jubilee rolled her eyes beside him.
"I hate the news, it's so depressing."
"-Broke into and overpowered the head of the building, gaining access to the government files on many of today's more well-known mutants, including-."
"That's why Logan's not back yet then, isn't it?" Rahne wondered, absently pushing the lamp back down onto the end table beside her. Jean blinked from the recliner against the wall.
"Sorry." She said, blushing slightly. "I'm having some problems with my powers. Again."
Laura ignored her, eyes focused solely on the television.
"It makes sense, if you think about it. Logan went to find Sabertooth, and I guess he did, but Sabertooth also found him and…and I guess it was at this place the reporter's talking about…" she waved vaguely at the television, frowning.
"That, like, doesn't make much sense. You need to work on your logic skills," Kitty commented from the floor, where she'd spread out several piles of homework into priority stacks.
"Unless she means that Logan got caught and is in the building somewhere under Sabertooth's control," Jean pondered.
"Yeah, whatever," Laura said. "I bet he's trapped somehow and can't get out. I need to go save him."
All eyes turned to her in mixed expressions of exasperation, confusion, dismay, and skepticism and several voices voiced those feelings, ending with Jamie's comment: "The Professor would never let any of us go find Sabertooth, you know that!"
"Really?" Laura frowned. "I didn't know that."
Jean stood up. "Okay, first of all, I would like to point out that deliberately going to find Sabertooth, whom even Logan can't defeat, is an extremely stupid idea."
Laura, Kitty, and Rahne pouted, while Bobby, Jamie, Sam, and Jubilee smiled smugly.
"However, if we're going to consider ourselves a family we're going to have to do things like a family, including bailing family members out of bad situations. Besides, the Professor is at a lecture at Harvard. Scott and I are in charge. So I say we go get Logan back."
"You just like him because he bought those pads for you once," Sam complained.
Jean raised her finger to silence him. "Be as it may, I'm interested in helping Laura. Not entirely because she'd likely get stomped on her own. I think if we worked as a team we'd stand a chance at success. And if we can subdue Sabertooth and get Logan free, then we can also get the other mutants he has to safety too."
Now Laura, Kitty, and Rahne smiled while Bobby, Jamie, Sam, and Jubilee pouted.
Rahne stood up. "If ye don't want to go then don't. But I'm in."
Bobby stood up too, right in front of Rahne. "Has it not occurred to anyone yet that we're a bunch of kids? Kitty and Jean are the only actual X-Men in here-."
"Well, technically-." Kitty interrupted.
"No," Bobby interrupted, "We're not X-Men, we're the new recruits, the backups. We've only even been on a handful of missions, and minor ones at that. We don't count. And some of us think that's because we're inexperienced, and that won't change until you at least give us a chance in the field-."
"What the hell do you think this is, a frolic through daisies?" Laura interrupted. "Now shut up. All of you. I don't need help, I've done harder things by myself before. I don't need you."
Jubilee spoke slowly, "It would be easier with more people. Sort of as backup, at least. If not in the middle of everything."
"Yeah, that'd be cool. And we could be distractions for Sabertooth. That way you could get in at least." Jamie pitched in.
"And between Bobby and Jean we'd have enough firepower to hold our own should the need arise," Sam was warming up to the idea. "And Kitty and I wouldn't have a problem if walls got in the way. Maybe this would actually work."
Laura sighed. "I have lost all control of this rescue mission, haven't I?"
"Yep," Jean grinned, then sobered. "Crap, Scott. I forgot about him."
"Oh, is he here?" Jamie asked. "I forgot."
"No, um…go get in my van, I'll distract Scott then come meet you."
"Uniforms?" Sam asked. Jean shook her head.
"No time. Scott would catch on, and you know he wouldn't like the idea. Give me fifteen seconds and then sneak into the garage. Now." Jean sauntered out the door.
The room was silent for a moment, listening to Jean BS to Scott. Their voices faded as they walked away down the hall.
A few more moments passed, and then Bobby cleared his throat. Laura looked at him.
"It's been fifteen seconds," he whispered.
Okay, go. We're in the kitchen. Jean thought to them.
The seven teenagers managed to stay relatively quiet as they snuck into the garage, passing Jean lying about needing more pads ("I hope he doesn't remember her period was last week," Kitty whispered to Jubilee, who stifled a giggle as Laura glared at them.). Jean joined them shortly, climbing into the driver's seat and opening the garage door. She frowned for a moment, and closed her eyes.
"Um, this may be a stupid question, but what are you doing? We're um, not moving," Sam asked from the way back row of the van.
"I'm trying to sense…anything. I think if I concentrate I can, I can do a lot of things with my powers that I used to be unable to, and it really increases when the Professor's gone…so be quiet…." Jean muttered, fingers on temples. "…Northwest."
"So how do you figure this?" Laura asked from the shotgun seat.
"Call it a hunch," Jean answered, a strange light fading from her eyes as soon as she opened them.