( Volume: 4 Arc: "Life and Death" Issue: 2/4)
Chapter 155 : take a bullet
"Guys, this is Laura. You can think of her as me. If you have a problem, you can go to her, and she'll try to help you out."
The group was standing in the garage, by an Xavier SUV, Logan leaning on the hood and Laura standing beside Julian, her arms folded.
"I think you just brought me along so you don't have to go in the women's stores," she said flatly.
"Also true," Julian grinned. "Everyone present and accounted for?"
"I don't feel like shopping," Sylvia said loudly. "One of us is dead! We buried her yesterday! We should be out avenging her!"
"That's not how the X-men work, Sylvia," Julian said.
"You said it yourself! We're not X-men!" James said, not wanting to go shopping either.
"Come on," Sylvia said, turning to her teammates. "Who's with me? Who wants to go teach these creeps a lesson?"
"I smell a Quire," Laura said.
"Guys—" Julian said, alarmed; Laura raised her hand.
"Keller. Watch and learn. BLACK!" She barked the last part so loud that everyone in the garage jumped as the sound was amplified (including Logan).
"It's Rockefeller-Bla—" Sylvia began.
"I don't give two craps what your name is. You're going to shut your trap and get in this van, on the count of three. Or I won't be responsible for my own actions."
"Are you threateningme?" Sylvia challenged.
"Fuck yes," Laura said, glaring at the girl.
"Laura—" Julian.
"Shut up, Keller."
"You want to tell your hormone-crazed, ugly little bitch of a wife that she's a hundred percent out of line, and that if she lays one finger on me, I'll call my parents, whose lawyer is—"
POW!
Sylvia's head snapped back, a stream of blood flying in an arc from her nose. She fell on her behind, too stunned to cry.
"In my defense, that wasn't a finger," Laura pointed out, looking embarrassed.
"…" Sylvia covered her broken nose with her fingers, and looked up at Laura with disbelief. "YOU HIB ME!"
"I kind of forgot about the Adamantium," Laura said sheepishly. "Really, I didn't hit her that hard. Barely glanced her face."
"SHE BOKE BY NOSE!"
"I'll get Elixir," Logan sighed.
…
After some argument, healing, and a small apology on Laura's part to the injured, the group proceeded to Westchester Center, were the outing was planned. Logan drove, and only two small problems occurred (caused by power slips on James's part).
Ten minutes later they found a parking spot and disembarked towards the food court. They stopped in front of Taco Bell and Julian announced they were going to split into three groups: anyone wanting to go to 'girly' stores would go with Laura; anyone wanting to see 'guy' stores would go with himself; and anyone who just wanted to walk around aimlessly could accompany Logan.
James immediately headed towards the older man's group, his pant legs dragging on the floor and his hood flopping over his eyes, leaving the only visible feature to be his frown.
Candace, Ruth, Amelia and Gaia followed Laura; Sylvia followed Logan, after a moment. Julian was left with Jacob Mullinix, and Gilbert.
"Meet back here at three o' clock," Julian called to those walking away.
...
"Here's the rule—ten minutes per store," Laura said, sucking on her tongue stud and holding up her wrist with a watch on it.
"Wha—no way! Shan't finish in—" Candace began, but fell silent at a glare from the girl in charge.
"Look, I haven't forgotten what you did to me, missy, so you better keep your distance. I'm safing for two right now and if anything goes wrong on this trip, I'm blaming you!"
The first store they entered was the Gap. Laura entered the store front and stayed there, not liking the contents and figuring that she should supervise her charges. This policy changed, though, when they reached Cherry Bomb,
and she found her charges whining at her to leave (twenty minutes after entering). Only Gaia seemed to appreciate this store.
Laura allowed the students to pick some of the stores after this; when they reached the soap store, she gave Amelia (the most sensible) some money and asked her to pick up a certain kind of soap, as she could not bear to stand
even near the entrance herself. She walked across the pathway and browsed in another store to escape the smell.
…
"Look, kids, here's twenty bucks. Knock yerselves out. I'm goin' to th' bar beside th' Michaels there. Call me at this number if ya need a hand with somethin' non-shoppin' related." Logan was thrusting a post-it note with a phone
number scribbled on it at James.
The boy raised his eyebrow. "Take us with you."
"Yer minors," Logan grunted, turning away.
"Take us with you or I'll call Jules and tell him your bailing," James threatened.
Logan paused. The threat did not bother him, but the thought of being nattered by Frost in his mind, later, did. That woman just didn't quit.
"You got cards on yah?" he asked.
"Yeah, I do," James said. Sylvia, behind him, nodded, looking much more pleased.
Logan raised his eyebrow. "Huh, bet Frost wouldn't be happy about that," he said.
James scowled. "Yeah…well I bet she'd be more unhappy about you skipping out on us like this."
"Fine. Follow. But put a lid on it, kid. Don't wanna hear ya two blabbin' the whole time. I'm goin' t' watch the game, and that's what I'm gonna be doin', understand?"
"But—" Sylvia started. James raised his hand. "Yeah, we got it. Be quiet."
"Good."
The kids followed Logan down the escalator and out of the mall, across the parking lot, and into a seedy bar. They had their ID cards at ready, but found they weren't asked for them, even when they sat at the bar with Logan.
"Guinness," Logan grunted to the bartender.
"Miller," James said. Logan glared at him. "Lite," he added. The bartender smirked.
"ID, kid?"
"Sure." James pushed the card across the table.
"Sex on the beach," Sylvia said. "On the rocks."
"She'll have a water," Logan grunted.
"Bu—" Sylvia.
"No buts, water or nothin' fer you, missy."
Sylvia went into a sulking fit; Logan and James ignored her, their eyes finding the television in the corner.
…
"Fuckin…" Julian grumbled, checking the time on his phone. The boys had been browsing around the anime store for what seemed like an hour, but was actually fifteen minutes. It was the third store they had visited.
Julian hated anime.
It seemed that both Gilbert and Jacob Mullinix were absolutely obsessed with the art form, and they were animatedly discussing shows as they examined the merchandise. Julian knew that he was accomplishing what he'd set
out to do—distract the students from the hard times and help with team bonding—but god if it wasn't killing him in the process.
At thirty minutes with the boys not looking to leave, Julian stepped outside of the store and closed his eyes. How could people find such a thing so fascinating was beyond him, especially when the store smelled like stale nachos.
He'd have to take Laura in there and get her opinion, he thought, grinning. She'd probably pronounce the smell to be that of 'nerd'.
Julian opened his eyes—and started. There were two men approaching him, with a look that wasn't right.
"You—" he raised a shield, just as one of the men tried to clap a rag over his mouth. The man was pushed back; he hit the railing and almost fell over the balcony onto the ground level of the mall.
"Get out! Now!" he shouted in to the store, to Gilbert and Jacob; with his mind he flung the other man over the railing, in time to meet his original attacker. He dealt with him similarly, then picked up his cell phone and hit speed dial.
"Laura—"
"Already here," she interrupted from beside him. "I heard the kerfuffle. What—"
The boys had exited the shop; Julian whispered to her what had happened. They tore off down the mall, towards where Laura had left her female charges.
"Where's Logan? I can't hear him anywhere…or smell him," Laura said.
They were now on the ground level, by a large tree in the center of the mall. Julian would never forget what happened next, the woman that slid around the trunk so neatly, effortlessly. With a white mask.
Laura's eyes widened and she pushed Julian out of the way, just as the trigger was fired on the gun—the dart gun.
The dart hit her neck instead.