Hiya Long time no see. Didya miss me?
"Its been one week since you looked at me,
threw your arms in the air
and said "You're crazy"
Five days since you tackled me
I've still got the rug burns on both my knees
It's been three days since the afternoon
You realized its all my fault
not a moment too soon
Yesterday you'd forgiven me
And now I sit back and wait till you say you're sorry"
Howdy. That was a verse from "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies. That is one of my favorite songs and its been stuck in my head as of late so I thought I would be nice and share it with all of you. I figured that it was appropriate even though its been about three weeks since you "saw" me. I don't own the song or the Barenaked Ladies. Heck I don't even own one of their cd's. I only heard "One Week" on the Digimon Movie Soundtrack. I liked it but, I swear it is like song glue or something because it sticks in your brain...
Anywhoozles! Welcome to Chapter Nine World of Back in Diapers! In this chapter, we shall have our friend Carmen doing a brief appearance as a teaser of what is yet to come. Also, all of you who may have been curious about it, we shall explore the experience of bringing 12 pre-k mutants shopping. As in, in a public place. Say prayers for the non-de-aged teens. They'll need all the blessing they can get.
*Checks clip-board that has my new graphic organizer and schedule thingy attached to it* Oh yes. Last time I forgot to give the unit disclaimer for all the shows I referred to. Did any of you seriously think I owned any of them? Well, if any of you thought I did, you are sadly mistaken. *shakes head sadly* Oh and as for any of the opinions of the characters...Don't get upset. Not all of them are my views. I tried to think of shows from about fifteen years ago. The shows they ended up watching are shows that are on today. So if I just lost you lets just pretend I didn't say anything Capiche? (is that how it is spelled?)
so onto Shout outs!:
SperryDee- Glad that you love this so much. Yeah I liked Gargoyles too. I was trying to think of shows that had been on for at least fifteen years. Gargoyles came to my mind. I kind of randomly paired that show with "the Fuzzy One". But it does kind of make sense in hindsight.
Girl number 1- I am so glad you forgive me. Did you get my review for your story? Thank you so much for all the uber awesome compliments! I'll keep updating if you and everyone else keep reading and reviewing!
kidmol- Hey thanks for all that nice stuff ya said. *gasps* You want to know my grade?! But...its not safe! They might find me! Who is 'they' you ask? My enemies! They'll come get me and club me to death in my sleep! How do I know who I can trust? Ack. Fine I'll cut the dramatics. I don't really know how much I can give out but I can give you at least a hint. I am in high school *cough. prison-is-closer. Seriously-school-is-not-my-favorite-place-to-be. cough* lets leave it at that. Maybe I'll tell later but I'm a little insecure about things like that. I have no clue who could use that information so sorry I can't give you an exact answer at this time. Don't take it personally. So why did you want to know anyway? Is my work that good? Or that awful? (I don't know whether my ego needs to be deflated or inflated. Hee. Hee.)
ishandahalf- Hee hee. Glad you liked my show choices. I used to be way into Power Rangers. And I definately remember the Green Ranger. I think. Right now I am on medicine for a dumb old cold and my memory is fuzzy for all things more than ten minutes ago but the green ranger strikes something in my memory...You are right. There are way too many different series of Power Rangers now. It is really hard to keep up with them. I gave up too. I'm glad you like the story and I will aspire to update as fast as one of said bunnies would.
Howlerdrode- *laughs* Yes. Putting Jean into a corner was great fun! Marie and Remy make quite a team. Both of them are mischievous little snips but aren't they just so cute? Yes, I agree with you. After last chapter, I was almost in tears about the loss of the penguins. I fired the freakish mimes and on a trial basis with a new band of followers whom you shall meet at the end of the chapter when I introduce them properly. About Noitoma, of course I had to mention her! She rocks my socks! Speaking of which...maybe she's seen the elusive pink one in her void of space. Ok no more apologizing unless desperate times call for desperate measures. I am glad you like the story, stay with me now!
Little Byrdie- *sighs in relief* You have no idea how glad I am that I made a mistake. And that has definately got to be a first. Thank you, last chapter was a blast to write. I am glad to know that I am not the only one out there who thinks pink is overrated. Hm...you got nightmares from Muppet Babies and Sesame Street? Sesame Street and Blue's Clues were the cause of my nightmares. Most of today's little kid shows are just creepy! Yeah, little kids are weird. But aren't they just so cute? *nervous laughter* I would NOT have been to happy if I was the one cleaning that sand pit either.
roguishduck- I LOVE YOUR NAME! That being said, I am glad you like my story. Don't worry as long as people review I shall keep writing. (And probably even if nobody does review)
Maggie- I am glad you think its cool. Ick. Jean? Adorable?! Me thinks not. I have a hard time seeing her as anything but stupid prissy Jean Grey. Thank you for answering the question. I knew why Scott had his issues with his powers, but poor Rogue! I had no idea! She has every excuse in the world for not liking her powers. I knew about Cody and the kiss but I never pondered the psychological effects of that. And the other theory...If that is the case, then...POOR GIRL!
Bahs-tin Dudette, Again- Glad you like it so much. It was great fun to write. And I am always glad to respond to those who take the time to review for me. Yes. I abhor pink. As for the magical (and missing) pink sock...hey it was a Christmas gift from my parents a year or a few back. *smiles* I am glad I provided you with so many memorable moments. I am also glad that you agree with me that Remy considering feeding Jean to the gators is a good idea. It is too cute! But we must first think of the gator in question. If he were to do that, the gator would get sick and animal rights would come after me and Remy for feeding him spoiled food. And I don't believe in cruelty to animals. I agree! poor li'l Remy! *pouts* But...hey, shouldn't be too hard to find someone who is willing to kiss the boo-boo and make it all better...*many fan-girls raise their hands and squeal in excitement as they volunteer**glares at them* After all, he and Rogue-excuse me- Marie are fast becoming friends. I'm sure she would not want him to hurt...=) Happy Vernal Equinox to you too! And by the way you are very welcome.
soulstress- *smiles* Making Lance all parental and mature is surprisingly amusing. I guess it has something to do with the fact that I know if circumstances were different, he would make one heck of an X-Man. Well, if Grey and Summers were kicked out. But you are right, it does fit...somehow. I didn't originally intend for him to have that role but it just fell into place naturally. Hm, must be the whole good-boy-forced-to-be-a-bad-boy thing he has going for him. Wish I knew the reason it seems so right...
Silent Doom- First and foremost congratulations! You are my 50th reviewer! *presents Silent Doom with gold trophy* I am glad you like my story. Thank you for answering the question! You're right some of their mutations aren't too hard. Lance's control may be shaky (pun totally intended), but hey! At least he has it! In Evolution, Remy seems to have his powers under control quite well I would say. I mean he could charge up a whole bus, and a whole chain for the love of pixie-stix! Tee hee! Brain damage. I'd say that explains SOOOOOOO much about Mr. Scott Summers, doesn't it?
me- You wouldn't be any relation to a guy named Mike would you? He's one of my kinda, sorta, friends at school and he always signs everything 'me'. Anyway, glad you like the story. Sorry but it kind of has to be as long as it is. That's just how it turns out.
Kazzah Sodapop- Glad you love it so much. *smiles*
Lady Farevay- *grins sheepishly* Sorry I scared you. Didn't mean to. Little kids can be uber obnoxious sometimes, but they are so cute and sweet. (Okay when their sleeping). Thank you for all the compliments.
Girl number 1- Hi!. Wait a second....You sneaky little snidget! You reviewed twice! Cool. I gotta figure out how to do that. Anyway, I am STILL glad for the forgiveness. How 'bout we say its both our faults (But mostly mine) and drop the whole issue? Huh? I'm gad you like it.
whiterose934- Well welcome to my world! =) I am glad you like this. Enjoy.
sorry, got deprived of a name- Hey thanks. I think its turning out quite well for my first shot. I'm glad you like me adding the accents. It does get so annoying when authors skip accents. I'd actually rather have botched up accents than none. I hafta do them. Its part of who the characters are, right?
Whew! I think that was the most reviews I have had on one update. Keep 'em comin' peeps!
Disclaimer: "Hear ye, Hear ye, Hear ye! Let it be known that Heartsyhawk does not own X-men Evolution or pretty much anything that is at all familiar to random people!" *weeps* "Sock?! Why have you forsaken me?!"
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
After all the people had been separated into the groups that they would "play" in, the little kids were sent to the car of one of the older kids with them. The cars being used were Wanda's scarlet Lexus, Amanda's pale yellow Jetta, Lance's usual green jeep, Roberto's golden-bronze Explorer, and Jean's SUV and the X-van. Not everybody had to have a car since they were all going in small groups. Most of the people drove their own cars but Sam took Jean's SUV since it was bigger and newer than the old, beat-up, gray, Taurus that his parents had saved up for to help him buy. And Piotr, who did not have a vehicle of his own, took the X-Van.
The group took a while getting to the store due to some kids getting car sick, some being claustrophobic, and others needing a potty break even though it should not have taken more than half an hour total. When they arrived in the parking lot of the shopping center, Lance gave a few last minute directions.
"Ok. All of you know what your stories are right? Piotr, you and Jamie can head over to Toys-R-Us and pick up some toys. Think for their age levels and what we know about them. So in other words, no small parts and unless you two enjoy head aches or are masochists (people who enjoy pain), no noise makers other than non-obnoxious ones. Then you guys can head over to Stop and Shop to get some groceries since we have to consider little kids' needs over teenage needs. And while we're at it, Daniels you can go with them. I don't need you and Pietro messing this up."
For a few moments nobody moved. None of the X-men or former Acolytes had ever heard Lance snap into his leader mode and they were surprised at how well he handled the roll. "Well?" He demanded. "Lets get this done!"
"Yes-sir" Pietro gave his best friend a mock solute and sarcastic smirk. Then everybody hurried to meet their orders.
They staggered their entrances so they would not be pinned as a group. As Lance walked through the doorway that led into the store he had to smile. All the soft colors and cute happiness would have been Kitty's dream to shop. Lance had to chuckle at the thought of how happy Kitty would be at her normal age if Lance entered this store when she did not have to threaten his life to do so. Kitty was a dreamer. You know, one of those girls who already has her whole family planned out and loves to shop for baby stuff with her boyfriend to pick out the stuff long before she and said boyfriend are even an official couple.
He shook his head and started towards the service desk. He was after all, clueless as to what little kids needed. So why not swallow his manly pride and ask for help? He chuckled. Kitty would be proud of him today.
He firmly took Rogue's hand in one of his, and with his other hand, he kept a grip on Kitty, who even as a small child was intrigued by baby stuff and sales racks. Remy and Scott followed obediently, even though Scott tripped a few times which Remy claimed had nothing to do with the fact that he had pushed the other four year old several times.
Lance grew agitated and released Rogue's hand and seized the scowling four-year-old Cajun's hand. He felt it best to do so not only so he could stop feeling sympathy for the boy he hated more than anything else in the universe, but he remembered that Gambit had been part of a family of thieves. Lance was not really in the mood to go to jail because a four year old shoplifted from a baby store. (A/N: Not funny don't laugh! My sister once stole a bag of socks from Wal-Mart when she was three. It was embarrassing cuz we had to go back in and give 'em back. Although I am the only one who remembers this so it may have been a dream but I doubt it.)
Lance approached the service desk and cleared his throat to get the attention of the clerk who sat drinking coffee from a travel mug and reading the newspaper.
"Can I help you?" The young woman who could not have been too much older than Lance sneered as if amazed someone would dare interrupt her.
"Look...Becky" Lance said hurriedly as he glanced at the name badge on her uniform. "I need to speak with the manger or someone who can help me out."
"The shift supervisor is on her break. You can talk to her in exactly twenty-six minutes." Becky said in a bored tone of voice.
"Is there a manager?" Lance asked. "Or any worker who can help me?"
"As the shift supervisor, I can assure you that you will be helped in good time unless someone else becomes available."
Lance started to get a headache. "Look I am kind of in a hurry miss. Can you please just help me?" He sounded desperate.
"Twenty-four minutes" Was the only response she gave.
"Hey! Becky, are you harrassin' another customer, esa (lady in Spanish I think. Mais, je parle espagnol comme une vache francais. {But I speak Spanish like a French cow /in French by the way/})?" A flirty and friendly voice with a light Spanish accent sounded. Lance turned and saw a girl of about seventeen approaching the counter.
She was an average height and weight with a pretty tan and long black hair that seemed to have a spotlight on it. Her eyes were an interesting shade of greenish silver but that wasn't anything terribly special. A red streak ran down her head from her scalp to the tip of her hair and was obviously artificial. But she was smiling and seemed to absorb attention. She walked with confidence and pride in her own looks. When she was close enough to reach out and touch Lance, he noticed the curious heart-shape of her pupils.
"Hi. I'm Carmen. I'm the assistant manger today. How can I help you, since Rebecca is refusing to do her job at the moment?" The girl said this in a flirty tone and aimed the second part, accompanied by a glare, at the other employee who just shrugged and said "nineteen minutes, thirty-seven seconds."
"Well, I have to buy a whole lot of baby stuff." He smiled and looked at Scott and Remy who were scowling about being called babies.
Carmen looked over the counter and her face lost the charming smile for a few seconds. "Are they...you know, yours?" She asked sounding a little disappointed at that prospect. After all she had just been mildly flirting with a guy and now she thought that he really had kids. Which meant that he was off the dating market. (Which he is anyway but she does not know that.)
Lance snorted in laughter. "Yeah, their mine." She looked mildly embarrassed and her face fell. "My brothers and sisters." he continued to explain using the alibi that had been developed for his group. Carmen looked kind of confused. After all, what teen-aged brother has to buy baby stuff for his little siblings with no parental unit tagging along choosing the necessary stuff so the teen doesn't go spend the money on useless junk?
At this point, the kidlets began to get in on the act. "Our mom and Daddy died a li'l while 'go (ago)" Scott said solemnly.
"Dere was a real bad car ask-a-dent. (accident). An' we went t' live wit' Gramma an' Granpa fo' a li'l bit. They were nice an' buyed us lotsa toys but dey said dat dey were too old fo' us." Remy nodded and widened his eyes in false remorse for his "deceased" parents.
"So they called Wance from at curl-edge (college). An' we gotsa live with him now. An' he don' have none o' the stuffs we need so we comed here." Rogue pouted adorably. "Ah miss Mama an' Daddeh (Daddy). But they wented ta heaben (heaven)." The little girl rubbed the crocodile tears from her eyes and Carmen's heart broke.
Lance inwardly smiled because his plan was working. Then he felt bad because he was upsetting this girl who he didn't know.
"That is so sad!" Carmen frowned. "What can I help you with?"
"Well." Lance started. "I have absolutely no clue what the little bits (Heartsyhawk talk for little kids) need. I'm still kind of new at the whole switching roles thing. Going from big-brother who was away at college since Kitty was born, to becoming like a fatherly figure is...not easy."
Carmen nodded sympathetically. "You poor dears. All of you. Okay, I can help you. Lets see, you need clothes, food, some furniture stuff, toys are highly recommended, and...hold on, I'll write you a list." She grabbed a piece of paper and pen from the counter and wrote a detailed list of what they needed.
She looked up. "Um, how old are they?" She asked. "There are some things you may not need due to age like bottles and diapers."
Lance nodded. "The twins, Remy and Scott are four." He pointed to the two boys who looked ready to spit poison at being called twins but they kept quiet in order to get the treat. "Ro-I mean Marie-is three years old." He stammered at the look the little three-year-old threw his way. The last of the group giggled gleefully and smiled at the smiling older girl. "And my pretty little Kitty here, is two." Lance looked back to the sales-girl.
"Hm, well, I guess you can get away with out baby bottles and formula. Is she potty-trained?" Carmen gestured to Kitty who was playing with Lance's watch, which she had somehow removed from his wrist.
"Um..." He looked at the two-year-old who grinned and nodded joyfully. "I guess so."
"Okay." Carmen gave him a weird look and wrote something on the list. "You should get a set of training underwear just in case." She wrote down a few things and turned back to Lance. "Do you know their sizes? You'll need a lot of baby clothes. Little ones like these only stay clean for about a couple hours."
Seeing the clueless and blank look on Lance's face, she pulled a tape measure from the drawer under the counter. She took a few measurements and looked at a size chart. "The twins should fit a toddler boy's size six and li'l Maria should be toddler girl's size two. (A/N: I have no clue about baby clothes sizes so just smile and take me with a grain of salt),"
"Scuze me ma'am but her name not Maria." Remy piped up. "'S Marie." Carmen grinned in apology at the girl who scowled menacingly at the older girl.
"Mah name ain't Maria. Or Rogue. Don't ya call meh that neveh again. If ya gotsa talk ta meh Ah am Marie."
Carmen slowly backed off. "Sounds like someone missed her nap today." She gulped and Lance smiled.
"Nah. She's always in a sour mood. She's a stubborn little brat sometimes. But that's part of who she is. I kind of think its cute. She gets sweeter with people she knows." Rogue stuck her tongue out at this point. Prize or no prize, he had no right to be mean.
"Wow, such a devoted big brother. I think that's about the best quality in a guy." She said in a rich flirty voice that was heavily accented with Spanish. "Being good with kids, of course, is what I mean."
"I never even really knew the first thing about kids until a while ago." He murmured under his breath.
"Well, here's your list, senor(mister...I think...). If you need any help...you know where to find me, hon." She handed over the paper and winked flirtatiously. Lance's eyes suddenly felt heavy and his mind felt fuzzy and run together and all thoughts left his mind. She leaned up and looked at him expectantly.
As if in a dream like state, he leaned down as if to kiss her. Rogue, Remy, and Scott all wrinkled their noses and covered their eyes whilst chorusing "EEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW"
Kitty on the other hand pouted and tugged gently on Lance's shirt sleeve. But it was as if he was in another world. "Wance! You're skishing (squishing) me!" The little girl whimpered. She started crying and almost immediately, Lance snapped out of the state of mind he had just been in and he looked concerned.
"Kitty? Are you alright, angel?" He stared intently at her, his large chocolate eyes full of concern.
"Of course. You have a girlfriend don't you?" Carmen asked somewhat embarrassed. He nodded and she continued. "Forgive me for being forward but you love her don't you?" He nodded again and his cheeks flushed as he realized what had almost happened. "Figures," Carmen muttered under her breath. "My powers never fail unless they're interrupting true love." She said this last part so low Lance did not hear it.
"You really love her?" Carmen pressed, disappointed.
"With all my heart," Lance answered honestly. He frowned. His temper was being tested by an overly flirty Spanish girl and he had not had an easy day. "Um, why do you care?"
"No reason," She lied through her dazzling smile. "Well, you have the list. If you need any help you know where I am. And bye the way, the li'l chica (girl?) you're holding is most likely an infants size 18-20 months. She's a little one that one is." With that she turned to help another customer.
After Lance walked off with his troupe of toddlers accompanying him, Carmen sighed. "Figures."
"What Figures?" smirked Becky who seemed to be at the end of her break.
"I was just a bit forward with that guy over there. Turns out he has a girlfriend."
"It's like I always say, all the best guys are gay, imbeciles, or taken already."
The other girl sighed. "Too bad. He was good looking. Sweet too."
"Becky, for my best friend, you really don't do well cheering me up." Carmen smiled ruefully.
Lance was walking over to where Carmen had said he could find some of the stuff. He found the essentials quickly enough, and then steered the carriage into the rather large area for baby clothes. He put Kitty and Rogue in the front basket since they were both small enough to fit. He made Remy hold one side and Scott hold the other so they could not wander off. He breathed deeply and stared at the clothes.
This was not his favorite thing to be doing on a Saturday morning. Shopping with Kitty was always one of those things he did to please her and grumbled about under his breath. He was not the most fashion conscious guy on the planet. No. That would be his best friend. Pietro knew style and stuff. Lance barely could color coordinate, let alone buy the entire wardrobe for a horde of toddlers.
For the boys, he found jeans and tee-shirts and shorts that he figured weren't too dreadful. He stuck with what he knew which was basically Pokémon, Spongebob, and a few varius other things that caught his attention. He stuck to darker colors since he figured that little kids had the hygiene of Toad and stains would not be fun to deal with. He passed over all things white. He vaguely remembered somebody telling him that the color white should be illegal in children's clothing cuz they seemed to be born with the mission of the destruction of white.
Come to think of it, he remembered it was Rogue. She would occasionally tell stories of how her friends back in Mississippi would tell her about their babysitting experiences before her powers came in. That was while she was with the brotherhood but even then she had been somewhat distant to the B-hood boys. Lance smirked at the irony. Rogue's minimal sitting experience would have been useful.
Since Lance noted that Rogue and Remy were southern, and New York was much colder than the deep South even in the Summer, he grabbed a raincoat, and a few sweaters for Remy while they were in the boy's department.
Lance turned a corner and blinked in surprise. It was as if everything had gone powder pink and lavender and white and yellow. Lance had never been in the girls department before. When Kitty had dragged him here that one other time, he had left after he had to see all the boy clothes.
Kitty squealed and clapped her hands. Lance smiled as the two boys gagged and whimpered. "Its too pink." Scott pouted. "I'm scared!"
Lance agreed with them but Kitty needed some clothes. He gingerly chose about a dozen cutsie girlie tee-shirts in pink, lavender, baby blue, and yellow. She seemed to adore each and every one of them and cooed happily. He grimaced and put them into the carriage. The next thing he did was select several matching pants, overalls, and shorts that he figured she would like.
Sighing, he brought the little kids to where he could find stuff in Rogue's size. She took one look at all the pink and girlie stuff and emitted a muffled squeak and hid behind Remy who looked revolted himself.
Lance groaned and randomly picked up a shirt. He held it up so the little girl could give her opinion. Rogue peeked out from behind her friend and raised her eyebrows.
"Come on, Marie, I know you don't like it but would you please wear it? It won't kill you." Lance pleaded with her.
"That what yah thank (think)!" She frowned. "Ah won' wear that if iss (it's) the last cwoves (clothes) in the whole whirl (world)!"
"Please, Marie? For me?" He begged.
"No!" She scowled. "Ah don' wanna! Yah can' make meh!"
"Will you do it for your friend Remy? Please?" Lance whined.
"Y' Crazy?" Remy panicked. "Don' y' bring Remy int' dis! Remy be Spits-a-lend. (Switzerland) Remy be nat'ral (natural {neutral}). Don' wan' her mad a' Remy!" The four-year-old snapped defiantly.
"Ah don' wanna!" Rogue's voice rose dangerously. "Ah ain't gonna wear nothin' here. Iss (It's) all pink!"
Lance frowned. "Look, squirt. I know you don't like this but that is too bad. You have to wear something!"
"NO AH DON'!" Rogue screamed. "Ah don' wanna!" With that, the three-year-old started screaming, Lance's ears turned red as a crowd gathered and whispered about how the "poor little sweetheart" must not be being treated properly. And several people tutted about how teens made such awful parents and shouldn't be having kids so young.
"Come on Marie, please? You're making a scene." She kept wailing so Lance quickly brought her over to the boy clothes and held up a forest green tee-shirt for her to inspect.
Amazingly, her tantrum calmed down almost instantly. She smiled and reached for the shirt that she wanted. Lance sighed and gave in and let her select her own clothes from the area she wanted. He felt extremely uncomfortable because people gave him odd looks as he carted a three-year-old girl through the boy's department and let her choose clothes.
When all of the kids had clothes and stuff, Lance headed for checkout. On the way, they passed a small toy section. Kitty grinned and clapped and reached out for the toys, so Lance decided he could get each of them something small. He would be spending big bucks anyway and he might as well get something to make his job easier.
Scott seemed to like a small robot dog that was remote-controlled. So Lance put it in the cart. Remy proudly displayed several packs of cards and Lance had to laugh. Where the kid had found playing cards in a baby store was a mystery to him.
Rogue giggled at a strange little stuffed animal and held it tight. After reading the tag, Lance determined that it was a kangaroo-rat. He shook his head and smiled at how affectionate the petite Southern belle had become when it came to him buying her a toy. She was being clingy and smiling and giving him one of those puppy-dog pouts that he couldn't resist from anyone.
Kitty seemed to just want to be cuddled. She wasn't too interested in most of the toys until she saw a small purple dragon stuffed animal discarded on the floor. "Like that!" She squealed. She smiled and reached for it. But, being in the top part of the carriage, she couldn't reach it. She squealed and whimpered and tried hard to reach it. "Want it!" She pouted. "Wance (Lance), get it!" She demanded and pointed to the object of her affection.
Lance sighed and reached for it. "You sure you want this, pretty Kitty? Its kind of creepy looking."
"Want it!" Kitty cheered. He handed it to her and she grinned, clearly pleased.
"Sank (thank) you Wance!" She took the toy and hugged it tight.
Lance shook his head and headed for the checkout counter. On the way, he passed Wanda and Pietro who seemed to be having a few problems with an obnoxious employee who had obviously mistaken the situation and thought the two seventeen-year-olds were together in the non-sibling way.
This actually played right into the sob-story that they had worked out. But still, both of them found it understandably embarrassing to be given a lecture on teenaged-pregnancies when the person is mistaking your sibling for the parent of a child which is not even yours.
Wanda looked as if she wanted to sink into the floor, so she had to make sure to keep her emotions in check, as her powers would make anything highly improbable, possible. Whereas, Pietro looked highly offended. Wanda was his freaking twin sister for the love of pixie-stix! Sure maybe they were as different as black and white, and they were anything but identical, but still, couldn't people at least tell they were related? Their eyes were really similar as well as their face shapes. And all facts of their relation aside, how could anybody think that she was even remotely his type?! Normally he went for cheerleadery types, or flirty girls, or girls like that. The only exception to his sub-conscious "no Goths" rule had been when he first arrived with the Brotherhood and had a teeny, tiny crush on Rogue but that only lasted about one week because he had begun to think of her like a sister.
Anyway, the employee kept babbling about how teenagers shouldn't be having kids and how annoying it was to always be seeing sixteen and seventeen year old couples with babies. Pietro cut in.
"Yes I know, that is so obnoxious, isn't it?!" He said enthusiastically. "But you know what is worse? When people keep butting into affairs of other people and not even giving young married couples the chance to explain that they are married before lecturing them about kids having kids. Wouldn't you agree...Scarlet, Darling? he looked pointedly at his sister telling her that her cue was now. She raised her eyebrow at what he called her and then she smiled, even though her brother noticed that her fists clenched even though she was holding the sleeping infant version of Toad.
"Yes, that is dreadful. But one can never be too careful. Father always said that kids should not be parents, remember, Peter?" She smirked to herself at the start her brother gave at her name for him. But through his shock he managed to sigh and nod.
The store employee looked rather embarrassed and meekly asked how she could help them.
"Well, to cut a very long story short..." Pietro drawled. "Last night there was a fire at our mansion. Most of the babies' things were ruined either by burning or by the smoke." He said looking frustrated. He shifted Bobby in his arms uncomfortably. 'Geez' he thought, 'his kid sure weighs a lot. And holding one of the mini-x-geeks isn't too fun.' He sighed deeply. "And seeing as most of it was family heirlooms or presents, we have no clue where to look for new stuff."
The store employee nodded and briefly told them where to get the stuff they needed. She timidly apologized. "I am dreadfully sorry that I broke into an unfair conclusion. Please accept my apologies." She smiled when the two of them nodded simultaneously. "Oh and good luck Mr. and Mrs. ...er...-"
"Its Maximoff, doll." Pietro smirked. "And thank you."
With that the "couple" walked away. Both of them were smiling. When out of earshot Wanda frowned menacingly.
"Darling?!" She asked incredulously. "Darling?!"
"Peter?!" He retorted.
"Scarlet?!" Her eyebrow raised. "Where on this planet did that come from?!"
"Okay, so-I-came-up-with-the-first-thing-that-came-to-mind! So-sue-me."
"What may I ask is wrong with the name I was given at birth?" She asked incredulously.
"The-same-thing-that's-wrong-with-my-given-name. They-stand-out-like-sore-thumbs. And-with-all-the-anti-mutant-stuff-nowadays-we-don't-need-any-extra-attention. And-then-theres-the-fact-that-our-father-isn't-exactly-the-most-popular-guy-on-earth-you-know! And-your-name-isn't-exactly-common, Wanda." He explained to his irritated twin.
"Oh, and I am sure Pietro is one of the most common names in Bayville." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
"Nope. I-am-pretty-unique." Pietro smirked proudly. Then it hit him. "Okay-I-got-it. Sheesh-point-taken." He pouted and she smiled and shook her head.
The twins grinned as they passed Sam and Jubilee. The two were smiling and shopping on their own. Sam had a ton of siblings and he'd been taking care of them since as long as he could remember. Plus Jubilee had a lot of babysitting experience so she knew sort of what little kids needed.
Jubilee had slipped her hand into Sam's and was joyfully shopping. One of the less known facts about Jubilee was that she was as much a valley-girl ditzy mall rat as Kitty was. (A/N: But she's from California I think so would that make her a Cali-girl? Sorry don't ask. I was watching TV and there was a commercial for the new Cali-girl Barbies) Shopping was the center of her world. Well, that and fashion and her yellow coat.
"They make a cute couple." Pietro commented to his sister nonchalantly.
"Yeah," She nodded blankly.
Pietro paused and wrinkled his nose. "Um, are-we-having-a-somewhat-civilized-conversation-about-the-love-lives-of-two-of-the-X-geeks?" He asked confused.
""That's kind of a scary thought..." Wanda blinked. The twins shrugged and walked away. They did not want to be scared by their actions anymore.
Back with Sam and Jubilee, Tabby and Amara both tried to squirm out of the carriages they were in. Eventually they gave up, but Tabitha looked a little restless. She kept grabbing random items from shelves and hurling them at the floor, her guardians, Amara, or the inside of the carriage. Jubilee and Sam kept taking turns removing the items and gently scolding her.
"Ouch. Tabby, yah can't keep doin' that." Sam mumbled as he rubbed the side of his head that a flying baby bottle had just hit. "Yah gonna hurt someone an' it'll most lahkeleh (likely) be meh." Clunk. A package of diapers hit his head. 'Well at least she picked somethin' softeh (softer).' He thought to himself. Apparently he had thought too soon because the next moment a bottle of baby shampoo hit him in the head.
He rubbed his head while pondering the size of the bruise he'd have by the time this shopping spree was over. Then he wondered how he could pummel into solid walls and not get the kind of headache he currently had, but a little two year old made him want to repeatedly slam his head into something heavy.
Amara eventually grew bored and fell asleep in the baby seat of the cart that Jubilee had her strapped into. Jubilee had a blast picking the clothes for her friend and Tabitha. Sam enjoyed having time with Jubilee but he found Tabitha unceasingly annoying. Even as a toddler the girl was her usual obnoxious self.
Eventually they came across Rahne and Roberto who were busy questioning an elderly Spanish man who seemed terribly confused and terribly unable to speak English which Rahne and Roberto had issues picking up on.
"¡Yo no trabajo aquí! ¡Acabo de comprar que un cumpleaños presentan para mi nieta! (I do not work here! I am just buying a birthday present for my granddaughter!)" Rahne gave him a confused look but Roberto understood. Spanish and Portuguese were slightly similar after all. (This is just a rumor I heard so don't be mad if it ain't true)
"Oh we're sorry sir. We thought you were an employee. Good luck finding something for your granddaughter."
With that he steered Rahne away. She proceeded to drag him up to the front desk.
"How may I help you," Becky smiled generously.
"Um we have a wee problem." Rahne explained quickly. "We have a school project te be doin' an' we dunno what the wee laddies be a-needin' (Don't kill if its awful. That is my pathetic attempt at a Scottish accent. What I meant for her to say is We have a school project to do and we don't know what the little boys need.)" She gestured to Kurt who was playing with a random item from the cart and Freddy who was sucking on his thumb.
"Becky the boss needs to see you." Carmen said as she exited the back room. "Said it was urgent." She turned to Rahne and Roberto. "I'm so sorry to interrupt but I can help you. What is it you need?"
Rahne sighed and Roberto stepped forward. "Um, we have this project at our school. I guess its like one of those baby-think-it-over things. Anyway we have to take care of these two kids and we don't quite know what we need. We know we shouldn't have waited until we ended up with the kids to do this shopping, but...." he trailed off and shrugged. It wasn't technically a lie. He didn't say anything totally untruthful. Roberto was wondering why the group of teens were prepared from almost every emergency that could be thought up by a combined effort of Scott, Logan, and Xavier, but nobody had ever planned for toddlers at the institute.
Carmen smiled and took out a pen. "Well, you're gonna want clothes and toys and training underwear and..." She trailed off as she wrote a brief list. "Here you go." She handed the list to Roberto and winked flirtatiously. Rahne watched, fascinated, as he seemed to melt into mush. He gave the girl behind the counter a pathetic, simpering grin and she giggled in response. Rahne shook her head and sighed and grabbed the list-and Roberto's hand- and walked off.
"C'mon Roberto." She rolled her eyes. "We are nay (not) here te be a-flirtin' with the staff. We hafta be a-takin' care o' de wee babes. An' the sooner we can leave, the happier Aye'll be."
"But...Rahne..." he whined as she dragged him from the counter. "She was pretty! You're no fun." He pouted and the young Scottish girl rolled her eyes. They worked their way into the store and picked up the stuff they needed. Roberto scowled the whole time.
They found the basics quickly enough. When they got to the clothes, they faced a slight problem. They had no clue how to find out sizes for Kurt and Freddy.
"Jus' great." Rahne sighed. "Aye think we be a-needin' some help. An' NO! We ain't a-goin' back te that check out counter, Roberto DeCosta!" He pouted after grinning sheepishly. "Oh, Maximoff!" She grinned and showed an almost canine grin as she saw the older boy whom she normally detested.
Pietro and Wanda rushed over. "Shhh. We're trying not to draw attention to ourselves!"
Rahne grinned apologetically. "Whatever. Look, ye know clothes an' sizes right?" He nodded nervously. "Well what size do ye think Freddy is a-needin'?"
Pietro shrugged. "I-don't-know! All-I-know-is-when-he-was-17-his-clothes-were-like-circus-tents-to-me. So-uh-try-um-this-size-right-here." Pietro quickly darted through the clothes section and found a large-ish size that looked promising. "And-for-Nightcrawler, -I'd-go-with-the-same-size-as-Drake-over-here."
Rahne raised her eyebrow and waited for what size that was. Pietro didn't supply it.
"Argh! Pietro, you are an imbecile." Wanda snapped. "Toddler size four, Sinclaire."
"Thank ye Wanda." Rahne smiled. She hurried off to the area where she could find the clothes. She frowned in dismay as she realized that she hated fashion. She went for comfort over style most times. That was the wolf in her. She didn't bother with accessories or stupid clothes that weren't fun or easy to wear.
"Oh joy." Roberto sighed. He was slightly more fashion conscious than she was. But even, still, no guy wants to be a seventeen year old shopping for a pair of two-year-olds.
They found a few things for Kurt and turned to Freddy's size. Both were dismayed by the lack of variety in the large sizes. Most of the colors were awful and terribly ickish even to a style-challenged metamorph and Brazilian solar powered mutant.
"What poor blind guy designed these?" Roberto raised an eyebrow.
Rahne shrugged. "Aye dunno. But pity on his poor soul. I guess we're pretty much limited te orange an' purple an' lime green." She sighed. "At least they go t'gether somewhat-Aye be a-thinkin'." She grinned nervously.
"Poor kid." Roberto gulped. "I think this is why a fourteen-year-old wolf-girl and a seventeen-year-old soccer player should not have kids. We don't know anything about them or their stupid clothes." The boy nodded sagely.
Rahne nodded in agreement and the two giggled and looked for the most comfortable looking clothes for play. After that the two skeptical teens joked as they headed for the checkout.
While all this was occurring, Amanda looked around nervously. Any moment somebody she knew could enter the store. They would report to her parents and she was not supposed to be anywhere near any of Xavier's students.
She knew she was wasting time but she was nervous and didn't want to approach an employee. So she skirted along throughout the store until she found Lance. He had found a toy machine and was allowing each of "his" brood a couple of quarters even though they were none too skilled at the machine except Remy. He won two stuffed animals with his four quarters and was working on something for Rogue who cheered him on happily.
"Lance," Amanda called. "I kind of need some help." The older boy nodded and came over to where Amanda and Ray stood, each clutching the hand of one of the grinning red-head mini-mutants.
"What's up Amanda?" Lance looked at her quizzically.
"I can't talk to any of the workers here!" She hissed in low tones. "My parents...I can't even talk to anybody at Xavier's! Just tell me what I need. Jean and Pyro are having issues behaving. Well actually it's just Pyro, but Jean won't get along with him."
Pyro grinned, exposing gaps where teeth hadn't grown in yet. " 'M not Pywo!" He shook his head. ""M name Johnny!" He giggled and grinned again.
"He is so immature." Jean sniffed.
"He so 'mmature" Pyro laughed.
"Quit it!" Jean huffed indignantly.
"Kit it!" Pyro mocked and clapped his hands together to display his amusement.
"Stop it!" Jean glared at the younger toddler.
"Spot it!" Pyro smiled.
"Miss 'Manda! Miss 'Manda! He's mimicking me!" Jean scowled and whined in a bossy voice. "Make the brat stop!"
"Mini-micking!" Pyro giggled.
Amanda groaned. "See?"
Lance nodded sympathetically. "C'mere you...pint-sized terrorist." He smiled at the red-headed boy who giggled and toddled over. It was immeasurably hard to imagine that only a few months previous, this boy had been one of Magneto's cronies bent on world domination for Magneto. It was even harder to believe that this adorable and innocent looking kid was an eerie insane pyromaniac just hours earlier.
"Oh sure leave me with Miss Brat over here." Amanda smiled to let Lance know she was just joking. "But thanks a super bunch anyway. Do you know what I have to get?"
Lance nodded and handed over the list the flirty employee had written for him. "For sizes, I'd pick up a few things in toddler girl's size 3 for Jean since she's only a little bit bigger than Rogue-I mean Marie's size now that she is a three-year-old. And for Pyro...I think you could try a toddler boy's size four. He's about Bobby and Kurt's size and I heard Wanda tell Rahne that Bobby is a size four."
"Thanks. I'll hurry right back." Amanda took off towards the aisles, leaving Ray and having Jean struggling to try and catch her.
Ray sat down on the bench Lance had collapsed onto and sighed. "Something tells me that this is going to be the longest period of time in the world until Lance can fix this mess. Its only been a few hours and I want out."
"You said it, Crisp." Lance grumbled putting his head in his hands. "I have no clue how people do this for a whole 18 years. I am pretty sure a week of this would kill me. Not to mention the effects of a month." Lance shuddered.
"You know Lance, I hear it's different if its actually your kid." Wanda smiled. She and her brother had finished checking out and wheeled the carriages over. "People say you love the little beasts no-matter what."
Lance gave her a nasty glare.
"Aw-does-that-mean-that-there'll be-a-while-wait-before-any-Alvers-Pryde-kids-after-the-two-of-you-get-hitched?" Pietro smirked.
"Pietro, I swear to you, if I wasn't emotionally drained from shopping for a flock of toddlers, I would kill you." Lance glared.
"I-guess-I'll-take-that-as-a-yes-then. Hope-you-have-a-brother-or-cousin-or-something-Lance-cuz-with-an-atitude-like-the-one-you-have-at-the-moment,-you-are-the-end-of-the-Alver-family-tree."
Lance playfully swung a punch at Pietro, knowing full well that the speedster would easily dodge it. "Enough wise cracks already Maximoff. You can't honestly tell me that if you ever have kids you look forward to this stage after this experience."
Pietro shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't plan on having kids yet, Alvers. Unlike you, not all of us plan to spend forever with our first high school sweethearts, Lance." Pietro shook his head as if ashamed of his friend.
Wanda wrinkled her nose and shook her head as well. Romance wasn't her thing but she did find it sweet about what Lance and Kitty had. Sickening, but sweet none the less. And after all, Kitty was sort of becoming one of Wanda's friends (Not that she'd ever admit it). The two had been unified by their friendships with Rogue.
Lance and Ray stared at the Maximoffs who both were slowly shaking their heads.
"What?" They said simultaneously. They raised their eyebrows at the same time.
"Urgh! Don't do that!" Lance grinned. "It's creepy."
"Yeah, I'd rate it a 9.7 on the freak-o-meter." Ray added conversationally.
"Do What?!" Pietro and Wanda asked simultaneously, both visibly confused.
"That...that....that freaky twin thing!" Lance finished lamely. "It totally wierds me out."
"What freaky twin thing?" the twins asked after exchanging a glance. They had no clue what the two guys were going on about.
"The thing where you either finish each other's sentences or speak at the same time." Lance explained.
"Its just plain wrong. And it is terrifying how much alike you two are. Like when you were both shaking your heads. Except for the fact for the obvious differences, like gender, hair and skin tone, the two of you were 100% identical.
Wanda looked at her brother and frowned. She blinked in thought. Her brother did the same moments after she had. Both shrugged.
Suddenly, something in the store caught Remy's interest and he took off to go to it. A large percent of the present teen mutants panicked. Lance groaned and took off after the kid. Lance returned a few minutes later holding a struggling four-year-old and a bag, and wearing a smile.
"Okay, that's it. He's finally cracked. And it only took about three hours with the kids." Ray exclaimed and Wanda nodded in agreement.
"Very funny, guys." Lance rolled his eyes. "It just so happens that I have discovered the solution to one of our problems." He said dramatically. Proudly he smirked.
"What,-did-you-find-some-poor-sucker-to-adopt-twelve-mini-mutants?" Pietro asked hopefully.
"No, besides, I would not put these little pests into any poor soul's home. For one thing, we would be in serious trouble when either Forge fixes this mess, or the professor and other adults come back, whatever happens first. Not to mention what Rogue and them will do to us if they found out we adopted them out."
Pietro considered the pros and cons and decided his friend was right. "Okay, so-you-didn't-adopt-out-the-pipsqueaks. So-why-are-you-so-smug? And-what-is-in-the-stupid-bag?"
Lance smirked and opened the bag. With the hand that was not holding the squirmy four-year-old, he removed a red and black striped harness device. He struggled to clip it onto the young toddler who was obviously less than thrilled. When he finished, he set the boy on the ground. Remy immediately tried to bolt in the direction of whatever it was that he wanted to see. But he got about three feet before he was stopped. He struggled to pull and the end of the device that restricted him was firmly in Lance's grasp.
Remy turned and saw this and his face fell. "What de 'eck (heck) is dis?"
Lance turned to the other teens. "Restraining leashes. I got ten of them. They are designed to prevent little...angels such as Remy here, from running off or getting kidnapped or lost or something ridiculous like that. This little turkey made the mistake of running straight passed them. After I caught him in the aisle he took off to, I grabbed some. Ten because Amara and Toad are too little to walk on their own yet."
Pietro stared at his former leader in shock. "So-in-short-you-got-the-little-pains-baby-leashes?" Lance nodded. "What-makes-you-so-sure-that-we-don't-want-them-to-get-kidnapped-or-lost?"
"Pietro," Lance said in his 'you're-smashing-my-last-nerve-into-the-floor-and-disobeying-a-direct-order-from-your-best-friend/leader-and-this-is-your-last-warning-voice'.
"Fine. Don't-get-so-upset. Can-we-at-least-lose-Grey-and-Summers? Please? Pretty-please? Pretty-please-with-sugar-and-soda-and-pixie-stix-on-top?" Lance laughed at the hopeful look on Pietro's face.
"As painfully tempting as that is, My conscience would never let me forgive myself if I lost a three and four-year-old. Even if they are the two people I hate more than anyone else with the possible exception of Apocalypse and your Dad and Mystique."
Pietro frowned and as Lance handed each of them a couple harness/baby leash combos, he seemed to consider not fully clipping the contraption on Jean and Scott's.
"I-still-think-we-should-lose-them. Or maybe I they'd get lost."
Wanda rolled her eyes. "I wish you'd get lost!" She snarled at him. "How do you sleep at night with the knowledge that you want two toddlers to get lost!?! Do you know that it isn't exactly fun or a good thing to think about? It actually happens Pietro. It's a scary thing. Imagine how you'd feel if someday when you, Heaven forbid, are a parent, and your son or daughter got lost in New York City. I feel you owe Jean and Scott an apology. RIGHT NOW!"
Pietro turned an odd shade of pink and murmured an apology to the two kidlets who didn't even seem to know that they were being talked about. It was clear that his twin terrified him sometimes. Yet he also seemed surprised that she had jumped to the defense of the two brattiest snips he had ever met. He had no clue that his sister cared about kids so much. He knew it was about the kids because she hated Summers and Grey as much as any of them.
"Why Remy gotta wear a dumb ol' baby leash fo' (for)?" The child pondered aloud. "Remy not a enfant (baby)! Remy be fo' (four) years ol'! Dat ain' a bébé! Remy don' need a leash."
Lance shook his head. "Sorry pal. But you really have no choice in the matter. There are way too many of you."
The child gave his most angelic grin. "Please let Remy go..." He begged. "Remy won' run away never 'gain."
Lance shook his head and sat back down on the bench.
"Fine! Be dat way! Remy hates y'. Y' not Remy's friend no mo' (more)."
Lance looked bewildered. He had never really been the Cajun's friend. But why did that cut something deep inside him like a twisted dagger? He shrugged and watched as the little four-year-old struggled to wriggle out of the offending device.
"Save your energy squirt, it's kid proof." Ray smirked and received an angry glare in return.
Rogue, on the other hand, was not accepting the restraint so passively. Wanda did not look terribly pleased about the girl's yelling and threats. Eventually, she pinned the girl with her powers and forced her to stay still using a well placed hex-bolt. The child was pretty much howling and people were beginning to tut and stare.
"Shhh, kiddo come on. Don't do this to me." Wanda begged. "I know you don't like it, heck, I don't like putting you in it. Please calm down."
Pietro seemed to be getting a headache. "I-can't-take-it-any-more! I-have-to-go-outside-and-get-a-bit-less-noise-pollution! That-girl-sure-can-reach-decibels!" With that, he sped outside clutching his ears.
"Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?" A voice sounded behind Wanda. The seventeen-year-old Maximoff was startled. And a startled Maximoff is not EVER a happy Maximoff.
"What?!" Wanda asked ruder than she intended to. She clipped the last buckle on the leash/harness Rogue was wearing. The girl was still screaming and throwing a tantrum.
"I'm Carmen." The girl smirked.
Wanda snorted. "Funny, I don't remember asking you for your name."
Carmen ignored the remark and smiled. Wanda instantly didn't trust her. Her grin was way too big, her uniform was slightly tighter than need be, and worst of all, this strange Spanish accented girl did not seem phased by Wanda's obvious desire for her to go away.
"Well, your little chica (girl?) is screaming quite loudly and I was wondering if I could do anything to help you out."
Wanda's jaw dropped. "My little what?!" She snarled.
"Your little girl. Sorry, Sometimes I assume everybody speaks Spanish." She flashed a dazzling smile that didn't impress Wanda in the least. Wanda did not even bother to tell her that she understood what had been said.
"She is NOT my little girl! She is-"
"Her niece." Lance cut in. He stepped over to the two girls who were dangerously close to exploding Wanda's fearsome temper. Wanda tensed briefly as he put an arm around her shoulders but relaxed at the 'play-along' look he shot her. "You see, there's this whole long complicated story but anyway, my mom's parents had adopted her and so she's technically my aunt. Actually all of our aunt." He gestured to Remy, Rogue, Scott, and Kitty.
Lance sent Carmen a small smile. She fluttered her eyelashes. "I remember you. You're the guy with the soap opera story. And so the plot thickens." She joked. Then she took a closer look at the tiny three-year-old girl who was still audibly distressing over the leash/harness. "I know you too! Li'l Maria, right?"
Rogue stopped yelling just long enough to glare at the store employee. She then sucked in a breath and started wailing. She even managed to bring tears from her eyes. She cried and howled and raged. "Mah name is NOT Maria! Its Marie!" The child sobbed.
The Spanish speaking girl backed away slowly. "I am so sorry, honey." She was rewarded with another glare. "Cute kid." She said wryly to Lance. "Well, she does not seem to like me too much so I'll just go help the other customers." The girl turned and left.
"Ah hate her." Rogue said with venom in her small voice. "She ain't a nice pehson (person)." The small girl glared at the others retreating back.
Wanda pulled the girl close. Rogue was trembling slightly. It was mostly out of anger, but part was exhaustion. She had just about screamed herself out of energy.
"Shhh. Calm down R-Marie. It'll be alright." She said softly to the tiny child who sucked in breath after breath and tried to regulate her breathing. "I don't like her much either. But you don't need to be so enthusiastic."
In a few short moments, Rogue had almost entirely calmed down. "Good girl Marie. Don't let that mean old girl bother you." Wanda smiled. Rogue yawned and stepped away from Wanda. She sat down on the floor near where Remy, Kitty, and Pyro sat playing with some things from one of the bags. She cuddled close to Remy and the two played with the toys Lance had got for them.
Wanda smiled as Rogue drifted off to sleep, leaning against the wall and her newly discovered best friend.
Meanwhile, Lance had not recovered from what he had seen. His jaw would come unhinged if it dropped any further. His eyes were wide. He had never seen Wanda so...so...maternal. And he had lived in the same house as her for a long while.
Pietro took that opportunity to reenter the store. "She-calmed-down-yet?" He asked.
"Shhh." Wanda put a finger to her lips. "She's sleeping, Pie." She pointed to the little-girl, who was leaning into her friend's shoulder. "She drained her energy while screaming. And we don't want to disturb her."
"Uh, okay." Pietro whispered. Then he caught sight of Lance, who was still goggling at his sister. "What-are-you-looking-at-Alvers?" He demanded.
"She...Wanda....they...Marie...we..." Lance answered, dumbstruck.
"Alright." Pietro rolled his eyes. "Now-that-you-just-gave-us-this-year's-most-intelligent-answer," The impatient seventeen-year-old said sarcastically.
Lance shook out of his stupor. "Your sister! She calmed Rogue down! It was weird. She was like she was Rogue's mom or something. I can't even tell you how shocked I am that Wanda is so naturally good with kids!"
Pietro shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Whatever. Just...don't-stare-at-my-sister-like-that-anymore. It-creeps-me-out." Lance gave his friend an odd look and nodded.
Wanda flushed slightly. She knew Lance wasn't interested in her that way, but still, her brother lacked any modesty about that kind of topic that was courteous to have around others.
Noticing that she looked slightly upset, the pint-sized version of Pyro toddled over.
"Up!" He demanded while grinning. She smiled and gently lifted the two-year-old Aussie into her lap on the bench.
"Dunn (Don't) be sad, Sheila." He lectured, flashing his toothy grin. "No wowwies, roight (no worries, right? in Heartsyhawk's version of Aussie talk)?
After about half an hour, all the other groups showed up. They congregated in the entrance hall thingy.
"Okay, good job kids. Except for a few...minor issues, all of you were angels in there. And as promised, you'll get a treat. But it won't be right now cuz we have to go home first." Lance smiled at all the children. The reason they would be going home first was that all of them looked drowsy and slightly worn out. The only one fully awake seemed to be Remy, but that was only because he was making sure his friend was okay and helping her walk to Lance's jeep.
Jaime and Piotr met the group with ginormous bags from the toy store and the announcement that they had already delivered the furniture to the mansion.
Lance had everybody hurry home. The kidlets needed naps and food and stuff like that. Also, if they weren't home soon, Pietro would start whining about the dates he had to prepare for that night, and Lance's nerves could only take so much whining and complaining. It was bad enough from toddlers but much more annoying from a seventeen-year-old guy.
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
So what did yah think? I am SOOOOOOO sorry that this took so long. But I have a few legitimate excuses. Number 1: I have been in the middle of a series of standardized testings that determine whether or not I graduate high school. I will not type the name of the dreaded beast for I am done with the wretched thing and want no part of it to haunt my memory. Number 2: I noticed a fatal flaw to the plotline in this chapter so I had to revise the whole thing. I realized it when I had this all typed up so I had to start from scratch. I can't tell what it was because it would seriously give away the whole plot and a few secrets that are gonna be big news later. Number 3: I have been tirelessly searching for my new minions to replace the trained assassin penguins. The mimes, well, I still have nightmares of them. So I think I have found a safe alternative to assassins and freakishly mute clowns. They are the Ninja-like Swedish Monkeys. Their pay is reasonable: reviews and I know you guys will help me with that one...won't you? They also request humor and good Fanfiction stories, so again, part of that one is on you guys...Anywhoozles, I promise that things won't take so long next time. The next chapter isn't so long and NO MORE STUPID TESTING!!!!!! That adrenaline rush alone will push me to do some serious butt-hauling and write.
Oh by the way, Alix will be posting something tomorrow. She finally wrote something really good and I made her promise not to burn it like she does with her work that she does not like too much. Her screen name will be like EviltwinAlix or something like that. But it's a poem called "Love Letter". Check her out and review it please. She needs the self-esteem booster. She wants to know that people like her stuff. I think its pretty good but only you can tell her the truth.
Oh yes, I forgot almost entirely about the question! Silly me! Let me see...*scratches chin in thought* hmm...Okay I've got it. If Barbie has Everything....Why do you have to buy her friends? And Better yet...Why do you have to buy her family and boyfriend?*smirks*
Okay as for an X-men pondering question....Where did Rogue learn how to ride a snowmobile (and a quad, and a motorcycle)?!?! Or to quote everybody's favorite stuck-up Summers "Where'd a Southern gal like you learn to ride a snowmobile?" (Cited: episode "Turn of the Rogue")
okey dokey smokey! go-bye-bye! And don't forget to help feed and pay the Ninja-like Swedish Monkeys!
PS: Happy Vernal Equinox, Happy Good Friday, Happy Easter, Happy Passover, and Happy Christmas. OOPS! Sorry, wrong season, but seriously, happy whatever you celebrate.
Chapter 9 completed Thursday April 8th