Hey people! Thank you to everyone who's reviewed, I really appreciate it! If this chapter gets five reviews, I'll update by Wednesday. Seems fair? I know this is kind of a jerk move, but I just love reviews so much! I'd really appreciate feedback and suggestions.
Happy New Year guys!
xXx
It was Sunday and we had just spent the day working our tails to the bone. After cleaning ever window in the mansion (and believe me, there were many), we cleaned the garage, raked up every single leaf on the vast grounds, then unloaded supplies for the school, and finished up by preparing dinner for the whole school and cleaning up afterwards.
We were completely bushed by the end of the day. Everyone had decided to go to bed by 7:30. That is, everyone but Peter, who with his super strength and stamina was still ready for more. Just seeing him look wide awake and refreshed sickened me.
I gratefully crawled into my soft, warm bed. It wasn't long before I was completely asleep and dreaming about swimming in the bayou with a certain handsome Cajun. I dunked him under playfully and once he surfaced, he kissed me again fully. His large masculine hands cradled the back of my neck and his firm muscled chest pressed against mine comfortably. This time I didn't break away.
And then a gator grabbed my shoulder and started shaking it.
"Leah, Leah!" A voice whispered in the dark.
"Mhh? I wasn't kissing anyone!" I said drowsily, my weary eyes fighting to stay open.
"What?" Mom asked, complete confused by my randomness. "No, sweetie, you have to get up."
"No, Mom, I'm tired." I moaned.
"Leah, the X-men need you."
"Whatever I have to clean now can wait till morning, can't it?" I begged, rubbing my eyes.
"I'm afraid it can't." Mom answered, flicking on the lamp on my nightstand. I flinched at the sudden light it shed. "We're all being called away on a mission. And the junior X-men are summoned as well."
That woke me up. While we were on probation, Cyclops had told us we weren't welcomed on any missions. For them to summon us, it must be really important. I pushed back my covers and began to feel around for my shoes.
"I'll be right down."
xXx
We all met up in the room the X-men used to change into their uniforms. The room was pretty quiet, with people only talking in whispered mutters as they changed into their tights and laced up their boots. My team members and I were silent as we tried to catch any conversation from the adults which would explain why we were summoned.
"Alright everyone, listen up!" Scott Summers was in full uniform and looking more serious than usual.
Finally we were being debriefed.
"Reid Richards has detected a galactic radiation storm in the Negative Zone." Cyclops announced. "Thankfully, we won't be affected but the storm is headed straight for Prison 42."
This aroused much mutterings.
"The Avengers and Fantastic Four have sent out a call for all available powers to come immediately to assist with the evacuation of the prisoners." Cyclops continued grimly. "Once evacuated, we will help detain the prisoners until the storm has passed. Richards, Banner and Stark agree the nature of the storm should not cause damage to Prison 42, so once it is over we will be able to put the prisoners back. But we do not know how long the storm will last for. All of us will be going to help, except for the Professor, Angel and Dani, who will stay to look after the students. Any questions?"
Of course I knew about Prison 42. It was a maximum-security prison for super powered villains. Reid Richards and Tony Stark designed it. It was way out in the Negative Zone. There were many baddies there. Of course it had to be something as big as evacuating and, for a lack of a better word 'babysitting', the baddest baddies known to the world for the X-men to bring out the junior members to help.
I was getting tingles.
"Are you shitting us?" Bobby asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over us.
I couldn't be certain because of the glasses, but I was pretty sure I was right in guessing that Cyclops had rolled his eyes. "I am not even dignifying that with an answer."
"And we're really coming?" Sam asked for clarification.
"Yes." Cyclops said shortly.
"Hopefully it won't come to getting you kids involved." Jean spoke, "But we know that tonight we are going to be dealing with some of the most powerful people on the planet who will see this as an excellent opportunity to escape. We have to outnumber them if we want to keep control at all."
"We'll be looking out for you, and if at any point things become too much for you, please inform an adult immediately. This is a scary situation and no one will look down upon you if you feel the need to back out." Mom said calmly.
Why did it look like she was looking at me when she said that?
"Look out for each other and keep your heads." Cyclops announced. He gave a nod. "Good luck to everyone."
We filed out of the room and headed towards the hangar. I felt a hand on my shoulder pull me aside. I looked up into Dad's concerned eyes. About twenty feet away I saw Scott had taken Alex aside as well. I heard him asking if his brother was sure he could handle this and offered for him to stay behind. This very much offended Alex and made him storm after the others in a huff.
Guessing Dad was about to try the same thing with me, I warned. "Don't you dare try to talk me out of going."
"I wasn't going to. I may not be the smartest man on the planet but I do know when I can't talk sense into you." Dad replied. "We're going to make a detour first."
Dad began to walk down a different path from the others and I understood to follow.
"We are?"
"Cap can't get a hold of Spiderman. He's turned off his communicator and phone and none of the Avengers know where he lives. In his report of what happened when you came to get your mom and me from the base, he mentioned that you and the other girls stayed one night at his apartment. Do you know where we can find him?"
"Yeah, sure." I replied. "But what are we taking? If the others have the two jets, and the motorcycles won't be fast enough, how are we going to New York?"
Dad gave me a wild grin, making me even more suspicious. As we rounded the corner, I saw why. A black helicopter
"That's hot." I said, impressed.
"It's new, the Professor just bought it." Dad said as we buckled ourselves in.
"Mmm, new helicopter smell." I sniffed. I looked to where Dad was setting up his headset. "Uh, Dad, do you know how to fly a helicopter?"
Dad gave me 'the look'.
"Right, you're Wolverine." I admitted. "Stupid question on my part."
xXx
I rushed into the tiny apartment, slamming the door behind me. "Peter, I need-oh."
My mouth snapped shut. I had just walked in on one of the embarrassing experiences in my life. Peter Parker was not alone as I had hoped, but instead had company. But they weren't exactly playing Parcheesi. Peter's hair was mussed and he was only wearing a raggedy brown cloth around his waist. His, um, friend, was a pretty young red headed woman. She was dressed as an English lady from the eighteen hundreds and looking embarrassed.
Still not as embarrassed as Peter though.
"Leah!" Peter gasped, scrambling to find something to cover himself with. He grabbed a couch pillow and held it over his loincloth. "What are you doing here?!"
"I'm, uh, well I'm-" I tried to say. "I'm sorry, what the hell are you doing?"
"I'm kind of busy right now Leah, can you come back and mock me some other time?" Peter begged, beet red.
"Are you…playing Tarzan and Jane?" I asked skeptically.
The red head blushed. "I'm going to go change."
"MJ, wait, she'll be gone in a sec-" Peter groaned as MJ disappeared into the bedroom. He turned and glared at me. "I am going to kill you."
"No you're not." I smiled sweetly at my weird friend. "Now suit up, Spiderman's needed."
"Tonight? Listen, I told the Avengers I needed a night off. Daredevil was even filling in for me-"
"Everyone is needed, Prison 42 is about to be struck with a massive burst of radiation and we have to evacuate the prisoners." I interrupted. "I know this isn't how you expected your date night to end, but believe me, they want as much back up as possible."
Peter groaned again and banged his head against the wall, muttering something about being cursed. MJ walked out of the bedroom, dressed as someone from this century.
"Everything okay, tiger?" She asked, touching Peter's shoulder.
"Yeah, but I'm needed. Sorry about this MJ." Peter apologized.
"Don't worry about it." MJ smiled. She kissed Peter, looking like a movie star, before she exited the apartment. Peter looked after her wistfully, and I think he even drooled a little. It wasn't until I snapped my fingers in front of his a face a few times that he was broken out of his trance.
"Time's a'wasting, and our ride's waiting. Let's go."
Peter rolled his eyes and disappeared into his bedroom to change. "You're a complete brat, you know that?"
"Shut up 'tiger'." I grinned.
The night was going to be a long and dangerous one, but I felt much better knowing my favourite neighborhood Spiderman would be at my side.
xXx
My predictions that it would be a very long night were correct, unfortunately. From the moment we got to the entrance portal for Prison 42, we were on our feet. There was a large circular ring set up which had a force field around it to hold the prisoners. We put our hardest hitters (Thor, Ironman, Hulk, Jean, ect) closest to the ring and assigned heroes to certain prisoners. An example of this was Peter (in his Colossus form) being paired with the Thing and Hulk to watch over the absorbing man. Dad, Cap and Beast watched over the Taskmaster. Those who were not assigned to specific people formed a ring around our hardest hitters, ready to assist with back up. Others were posted outside the already high security building to watch for people who might attempt to help the prisoners escape.
Me, being probably the weakest person in the room at the moment, was the farthest away from the villains. I don't know why they even brought me in the first place, I felt so useless. Despite my boredom and fatigue, I did my best to stay alert and tried to be helpful. At one point, when it had been a good few minutes since the last time someone had tried to escape, I yawned and leaned on Spiderman (he was being spelled for a bit and had come back to talk to me).
"Leah, you still good?" Spiderman asked, keeping his eyes on Doc Oct.
"Mmm, yeah. Just tired." I replied sleepily, wishing Peter had a bit more fat on him so he would make a better pillow.
"I heard about your punishment. They really working you guys to the bone, huh?"
"More like to the marrow." I groaned.
"Rough. So what's been happening with you lately? We haven't talked in awhile." Spiderman asked.
This dude was way too awake for three in the morning.
"Hmm, well, Cap asked me to join his little team, which was cool-"
"I heard you declined, you poop." Spiderman joked. "We could have both been on the Avengers."
"Ha, I still could be." I replied. "I made the junior X-men-"
"You're an X-Baby?" Spiderman snorted.
I hit his arm. "Hey, we're not X-babies! We're junior X-men, there's a difference."
"Sure there is."
"And I guess you already heard about us sneaking into the city, how I got attacked by Daken and got grounded." I finished, stifling a yawn.
"You got attacked by Daken? Why didn't you tell me?" Spiderman moved suddenly, making me almost fall since I was still using him as a pillow.
"I thought you knew-"
"No, I didn't hear anything-"
"Hey Webhead! I'm going for a break." The Human Torch called. "How bout you quit slacking and come up here to take my place."
"Johnny Storm, one of the biggest toolbags in the city." Spiderman muttered to me. "Anyway, once I come back we'll catch up, okay?"
"Only if I'm not asleep by then." I joked.
Spiderman laughed and used his webs to swing to the ring.
Now who am I going to lean on?
"Look'n for a new pillow, petite?"
I fought to keep my face neutral, but I couldn't fight the blush creeping into my cheeks. Remy had slinked up beside me unnoticed while I had been talking to Peter. The truth was I had been going to great lengths to avoid him since the kiss. While I was mortified and confused about the incident, he seemed unaffected, making me believe that he had been joking when he kissed me.
Did I want the kiss to be a joke?
"Nope, I think I'm completely awake now." I replied.
"Yah sure? Cause Ah got one here with yo' name on it if yah are." Remy offered with a devilish grin, patting his shoulder.
"Like I could reach up there in the first place." I joked, regarding the much taller man.
"Okay, fair enough. Ah forgot about how yah suffer from be'n vertically challenged." Remy said in a fake sympathetic voice.
"Vertically challenged!"
"But here, Ah got a better way of rest'n you up." Remy said. The next thing I knew I was being swung up onto Remy's back. There he held me as easily as if I were a child.
"Remy!" I cried, blushing furiously. Many of the heroes closest to us had watched this display and were hiding grins.
"Relax cher, Ah got yah." Remy soothed. "Ah'll let yah down in a second, but just stay up there for a sec, 'kay? Just give yo' feet a break."
"Remy, this is embarrassing!" I hissed, wishing the other heroes would stop watching us. Despite my embarrassment, I couldn't but feel instant relief of my aching feet and back. And smell Remy's hair. It smelled amazing.
God was I tired.
"Aw, yah worry too much cher." Remy replied carefree. He laid a hand on one of my calves to steady me.
From the inner ring I saw my godfather grin and nudge Dad and Cap beside him. They didn't look as amused with Remy and me as Hank did. The looks they were giving Remy made me nervous. I could picture the two teaming up and finding Remy in a dark alley somewhere late at night and giving him a little talk. Eeek.
Dad had just motioned for Black Widow to come up and take his place. She, unfortunately, obliged. Once she was in his position, Dad worked his way through the costumed heroes towards us.
Thankfully, before Dad could come over to cut Remy's head off, one of the walls exploded.
Remy and I were the closest to the wall, and we were knocked back from the force. We were thrown back and Remy fell back on top of me. I coughed from the dust and brushed debris out of my hair. At least ten of the other people around us were thrown back as well. The heroes surged at the wall, but stopped in their tracks when Cap's voice rang out.
"HOLD YOUR POSITIONS! Stay focussed on your task people." Captain America bellowed.
Once enough of the dust had cleared, we could see who the culprits were. The Brotherhood of Mutants. Great, just great. Sabretooth, the Blob, Avalanche, Dom, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (I gave myself a mental pat on the back for recognizing them all) And standing at the front of the crew was a blue skinned woman holding a huge gun. Mystique.
"Excuse us for barging in like this, it seems like you're all having a little get together." Mystique said in a bored but mocking drawl. She pointed her large gun at the ceiling. "Make this easy on yourselves. Hand over Magneto and we won't kill most of you."
Magneto, the leader of the Brotherhood. I knew he was currently in custody, but I had not known that he was being kept at Prison 42.
"Cher, keep yo head down." Remy whispered to me. He was attempting to cover me with his body and coat. I struggled, feeling the need to try to help take the rogues down but Remy forced me to stay still. "Leah, Ah'm serious! Don't let 'em see you!"
I don't like being told what to do. In fact, I hate it. But every now and then, you have to swallow your pride and believe it is in everyone's best interest to just do as you're told.
I stilled myself, but I kept an eye on the mutants.
And then my heart stopped.
A young man stepped out from behind Mystique. He stood at about 6'2 and his tight black and white costume showed a very well defined body. He had short black hair and pale white skin. Half his face was badly scarred and he wore a black eye patch. He looked different, but not unrecognisable. At least not to me.
It was Eric.
At that moment our eyes met and total chaos broke out.