Just a heads up, this is a long update. And I just have to say, thank you all for your reviews. You are all so nice and encouraging, you really inspire me to write, so thanks :)
And because one of you lovely angel faces requested it, I added some more family scenes (that's why this update is so freak'n long). Hope you like and review!
xXx
Fang came back from the woods, soaking wet and exhausted, but feeling better. He changed in to his human form before entering the cave, and preformed a proper shake to rid himself of the raindrops that covered him. He would have been content to stay in his animal form, but it would have taken forever for his coat to dry and Mystique would complain about the smell of wet dog.
He heard a man clear his throat and looked to see Magneto giving him a stern look.
"Fang, we have company." Magneto said pointedly, nodding to a young man leaning on the wall.
The man was a stranger. He looked like he was part Asian, and at least in his mid twenties. Fang supposed most (okay, pretty much all) girls would find the guy attractive. Fang got the vibe from the stranger that he was a feral, like himself. A part of him wanted to unleash a growl and show his dominance. He had a bad feeling about him and he wanted the man out of his territory.
"For God's sake Fang, put some pants on." Mystique ordered, rolling her eyes. She tossed him the pair of jeans he had discarded earlier, and he grudgingly put them on.
"Oh please, don't go out of your way on my account." The young man drawled, his eyes lingering Fang's muscled chest a bit too long.
"Daken, we have business to attend to." Magneto reminded politely.
In some ways Magneto really reminded Fang of Professor Xavier. Despite them being the same age, the two were both intelligent, polite and had a sense of class about them. They cared about people as well. The difference was the Xavier was a traitor to his own kind and had no idea what it was like to be an outcast and prosecuted.
"Right." Daken gave a smile that looked more like a sneer.
"You said that you can help get rid of our problem." Magneto prompted.
"Yeah, I can." Daken said, still wearing that unbelievably annoying sneer. "You want the girl out of the picture, but you need to get her old man out of the way to get to her."
"There are other matters which complicate things, but yes, that is one of our main problems with eliminating the threat." Magneto said slowly.
Fang looked between the two men, not understanding what they were talking about.
"I could take care of the runt by myself." Sabretooth snarled.
"Oh please." Mystique said in a bored voice. "You've possibly gotten the upper hand on him a couple times, that doesn't make you oh so superior. Suppose you can take him in a fight on a regular day, how do you think your odds change when someone is attempting on killing his daughter? He would go into berserk mode and destroy you."
Sabretooth opened his mouth to snarl back a retort, but Magneto interrupted.
"Mystique is right. Wolverine is too unpredictable." Magneto said sternly, settling the matter. "Daken will help subdue Wolverine until the task is complete."
"Wait, you're talking about Leah?" Fang blurted out.
Everyone turned to look at him as though he was completely stupid.
"No, we're talking about the Queen of England." Avalanche said sarcastically. "She's been hording the tea and crumpets for too long."
"Fang, you know we've been talking about eliminating the problem. Keeping her alive is too much of a risk for our entire race." Magneto said coolly.
"But-"
"The little bitch could wipe us all out, is that what you want, pup?" Sabretooth snarled, getting in Fang's face.
"She wouldn't do that, she's an X-man now." Fang defended in a growl. "And her parents are mutants for Christ's sake! Why would she want to wipe us all out?"
"Even without meaning to, she can doom us." Mystique answered. She placed her blue hands on Fang's shoulders and pulled him away from Sabretooth to look at her. "There are people who want to use her blood whether she wants them to or not. We have to think of our own, Fang."
"Some must die for the greater good." Magneto said calmly, making Fang's blood boil with rage. He turned his attention back to Daken. "Your whole race thanks you. I hope you'll stay with us until we complete our mission?"
"No way am I camping out in a cave." Daken let out a bark like laugh. "I'll be staying at a hotel until things are sorted out. I'll stay in contact."
Magneto nodded and Daken turned to go. Fang followed him out of the cave to the treeline.
"You don't have to do this." Fang said in what he hoped was a calm voice.
"That's right, I don't have to do anything." Daken replied cockily. "But I can do anything."
Seeing that wasn't the right approach, Fang tried again in a different method. He grabbed Daken by the shirt and slammed him into a tree.
"You're not hearing what I'm saying." Fang snarled.
"I heard you loud and clear." Daken said in a calm, almost amused voice. He then popped out two claws from each hand and grazed Fang's chest with them. Not deep enough to be serious, but enough to hurt. Having Fang distracted, Daken grabbed him by his black hair and force him to be still. He pressed his face close to Eric's before continuing. "Now you hear me. I don't care if you have a little crush on this girl or whatever, but you're going to stay out of my way. You ruin this for me, I'm going to chop your God damn head off."
Daken released Fang and evenly began to walk into the trees.
"She's just a kid, you know. She's still in high school." Fang called out to the figure.
Daken didn't even look back as he called "That just makes it more fun."
xXx
I panted hard, wiping away the sweat that dripped into my eyes. My training suit was completely sweated through and was in pretty rough shape with the amount of tears and burnt marks. I wasn't too pretty of a picture either.
Focus Leah, focus! I yelled in my head. Don't let yourself down!
I army crawled under some low branches, trying to ignore the painful gravel beneath me as its sharp edges dug into my skin. I forced myself to slow my breathing, though my lungs already felt as though they would burst from a lack of oxygen.
I almost screamed when I felt a hand grab my ankle and drag me out of the brush and into the open. I quickly rolled onto my back and began kicking at my attacker. It was another robot. It shot tiny sparks at me that stung my skin as more robots filled the clearing. An awfully annoying alarm sounded through the trees and straight into my ears.
Fighting my pain, I got to my feet and started taking out the robots. As they continued to sting me, I commenced in ripping off their heads and limbs until all thirty (that's right, I count) robots were down.
I bent over, placing my hands on my knees, in attempt to catch my breath for a moment when a large figure jumped out of a nearby tree and landed on me. I was pinned in a second with three pointy claws in my face.
"End session." Dad said, not in the least bit winded. On the voice command, the rainforest turned back into the metal Danger Room. Dad retracted his claws and got off of me before offering down a hand with a smug look on his face.
I ignored the hand, choosing to lay on the ground for a bit.
"You're a bully." I accused.
"No, I'm your teacher. There's a difference." Dad argued.
"You're also my dad. Doesn't that mean you could let me win once in a while?" I asked, trying to not sound too much like a little kid.
"Course not, what would that teach you?" Dad asked, supressing a smile.
"Oh, I don't know." I said sarcastically. "Self-confidence or something? Anyway, could you at least lay off the robots and piranha pond?"
Darn those flesh eating fish.
"Course not, what would that teach you?" Dad said again, this time laughing out loud.
"Oh, you're a real riot." I grumbled, standing up. "Why do we keep doing this? I'm not getting any better! We should just cut our losses now while I still have all my fingers."
"You are getting better Leah." Dad said consolingly.
"Really? Because I've been training with you for over half a year and I've still never even come close to beating you! And I'm doing just as badly with Cap. You're both kicking my ass!"
"Leah, we've we doing this a long time and we're some of the best. You can't judge yourself by us." Dad said. "Trust us when we say that you're ding exceptionally well."
"I have to judge myself by your standards!" I said shrilly. "Dad, I have to be the best! I don't have any powers to rely on, just myself. I'm not even that strong! I have to be the best if I want to be a hero and I have to be the best now!"
I knew I sounded like a dumb five year old throwing a tantrum. I don't even know why I was getting so upset at this moment. I guess my physical and mental exhaustion was getting to me. Despite this, I couldn't get a hold of myself.
"Don't be so hard on yourself." Dad said. "Now shake it off and we'll go for another round."
He hadn't been listening to a word I was saying. Letting out a sound that sounded somewhere between an aggravated sigh and an angry cat, I threw my hands up in the air and stormed out of the Danger Room.
"Leah, where are you going?" Dad called after me.
"I'm going for a long hot shower!" I yelled back
"Your session isn't done yet!"
"Yes it is."
"You still have another forty minutes-"
"Not today I don't!"
I was being so immature, but I couldn't care. I planned to apologize to Dad the next time I saw him and beg for his forgiveness. But until then, I was hitting the showers.
xXx
"Do you know what your daughter did during her DR session today?" Logan asked as he entered the living room where Storm was reading.
"Hmm, did she beat you?" Storm asked, turning a page.
"Pfft, she wishes. But no." Logan stretched out on the couch beside his wife. "She walked out early."
"She did?" Storm said in a mildly interested voice. "Hmm."
"That's your only reaction?" Logan asked.
"Reaction to what?" Storm replied absently, turning another page.
Seeing that he wasn't going to get the attention he was looking for while Storm continued to read her book, Logan stretched his legs out further. He pushed the book out of her hands and to the floor with his feet before wiggling his toes under Storm's nose.
"Ah! Logan!" Storm groaned, shoving his feet away.
"Oh, I'm sorry honey, are you trying to read?" Logan asked innocently.
"You do realize I can strike you with lightning, right?" Storm said drily.
Logan laughed, "You wouldn't, you think I'm too cute."
Storm couldn't help but smile back.
"So what should I do about Leah? I can't have her walking out on sessions like that. Had she done that during a group session, I would have reeled her out and put her on maintenance duty for a year." Logan said. He took pride in how hard his Danger Room sessions were and how much the others feared them. "But she asked for these sessions. Should I go harder on her? I don't know what to do."
"Well," Storm said as she began to massage Logan's feet. "I think you should go a little easier on her."
"You're kidding, right?"
"I'm not. She's running herself ragged between her team lessons, lessons with Steve and lessons with you. She's pushing herself too hard." Storm explained.
"She wants to push herself 'Ro, she's afraid that she's not good enough." Logan countered.
"Have you been giving her positive reinforcement?" Storm asked.
"I have, so has Cap, but she won't believe us. She thinks that she has to be at our level already."
"But that's crazy!"
"I know it is, but you know how stubborn Leah is." Logan said. "She gets that from you."
"Mmm, I think both of us are to blame for that, dear." Storm countered. "Okay then, don't go easier on her at her lessons if you think that it won't help but give her something outside of her lessons to look forward to. She needs to relax a little."
"Hmm, you think that will work?" Logan asked, closing his eyes with pleasure at the sensation of his feet being rubbed.
"I really do. We could do something as a family, we haven't been spending as much time together as we should."
"Well, maybe me and Leah could do something together, but we should probably leave you at home. We really don't want some unfun old nagging woman trailing behind, slowing us down." Logan joked.
In response, Storm tightened her grip on her husband's feet and began tickling them mercilessly.
xXx
I was sitting up in my room attempting to complete a very difficult assignment on bond energy assignment when Dad knocked on the door. Still in deep concentration, I uttered a grunt like sound to allow him in.
"Still working on your assignment?" He asked, leaning against the door frame.
"Ugh." I replied, typing another equation into my calculator.
"You've been at it a while now. Why don't you come outside for a bit?" Dad suggested. "Some fresh air will do you good."
"Uh-uh, must finish." I answered back, sounding like something between a caveman and a zombie.
"Hmmm," Dad expressed, coming over. He took in the scene like it was some sort of disaster zone. Which, admittedly, it was. I was working on my bed with multiple sheets of paper that held equations and references scattered around me. I kept misplacing my pen so I had dumped a whole package of them in a pile nearby so I could quickly get another. I looked very much like my work area. My hair was a mess because I continually ran my fingers through it with frustration and my eyes were twice their normal size as due to my anxiety.
"You can finish this tomorrow." Dad declared. "Come outside."
I stopped myself from making an annoyed sound.
"Dad, I only have half the assignment finished. I need to get it done and out of the way. I can go outside any time." I explained, wishing he would take the hint and drop it.
"Okay, okay, I guess I'll go out by myself then." Dad sighed, slowly making his way to the door. "Or better yet, I'll asked the swamprat to come out. We could have a nice long talk about you, I could tell some potty-training stories, maybe dig out a couple of baby pictures…"
I sat straight up. "You wouldn't!"
"Or maybe I could round up Cap, Beast and a few other old friends and we can have a little 'chat' with Lebeau about whether or not it's really appropriate for him to be pursuing my daughter." Dad mused out loud. "I wonder if Gumbo would fit in the trunk of Summers' car."
"DAD!" I yelled. I jumped off my bed and grabbed his arm. He looked back and gave me an innocent smile.
"Oh, what's this? Have you changed your mind, sweetheart?" He asked with a smile.
"Fine you've blackmailed me into it." I grumbled, reaching for my coat. "But I'm not staying out for any more than an hour. I really have to get this done."
We headed out to the school grounds together. It was late fall and the trees were now bare of their brilliant coloured leaves. There were piles throughout the yard of orange and brown leaves to be disposed of. The gardens were dead and the sky was a dreary grey swirl. It was three degrees outside, but I couldn't complain. Back home in Ontario the temperatures had probably dropped below zero.
"Wow, nature." I grumbled. "Great. Can I go back inside now?"
"Trust me, you're going to like what I have to show you." Dad replied, leading me back to the orchard.
Just as I was about to fake a twisted ankle so that I could escape back inside to work on my project, I changed my mind completely.
"Dad." I said. "You are awesome."
The orchard had been converted to a skating rink. The smooth, glossy ice stretched far enough to be the same size as a standard arena. There were no backboards, but there were hibernating apple trees on the sides of the ice. I saw that the ice went around the trees, so that a person could skate around them.
It was beautiful.
"It's been awhile since we've all gone skating together." Mom said, coming up behind us. Her long white hair was tied back in a ponytail, which stuck out below her toque. She wore an elegant red coat and black leggings, along with a pair of black gloves. Over her shoulder was a pair of white figure skates tied together. Mom always hated the cold, but she loved skating.
"But how did you-"
"Drake arrived late to my tech class. I gave him the option of doing me a favour, or detention." Dad gave a wolfish grin. "Guess which one he chose?"
Within minutes we were laced up and ready to go. We all had new skates (we lost our old ones when our house was blown up), and we were all a little rusty, but soon we picked things up. Dad brought out a net, sticks and a puck so that we could practice slap shots while Mom glided across the ice like an Olympian. It was great. It was more than great, it was awesome! I had almost forgotten how much of a thrill it was to be on the ice.
Taking a break from the shots, I followed Mom around for awhile, attempting to mimic her moves. It was a futile attempt. Mom was pure grace. She moved with precision and speed, never losing her balance as she completed jumps and spins alike. I had never been a very good figure skater. I was average at best and below average when I tried to figure skate in hockey skates. But still it was fun to pretend I was good, even when I was doing the most basic of moves.
I heard an approving whistle from a little distance away as I pulled myself out of a spin. I instantly smiled when I saw who my audience was. My favourite Cajun leaned against an apple tree. I quickly skated to his side.
"Hey," I greeted, my voice a little breathless.
"Hey yo'self, petite. You be do'n pretty good out der." Remy complimented, unleashing his charming grin. "Who da thought my little grease monkey was so talented?"
I heard Dad growl and begin to skate towards us, but Mom cut him off and forced him to skate away with her. The woman was good.
Remy, oblivious to the danger that had been averted, sat down on a large rock and began to put on a pair of skates.
"You skate?" I asked, amused.
"Nope, never done it befo' in my life." Remy answered cheerfully. "Back in N'Orleans, we didn't have too much ice."
"Hmm, so I'm guessing these aren't your skates?" I inquired.
"Nope, Ah'm 'borrowing' dem." Remy said innocently. I noticed how 'Summers' was written on the tongue of the one skate and suppressed a smile. Stealing was wrong, everyone knows that. Except for Remy. And Scott Summers was his favourite person to steal from.
Remy stepped onto the ice, a cocky look on his face. And instantly fell back onto his bottom. His long limbs flailed helplessly as he crashed down onto the ice, swearing in French. Pressing my lips tightly together to prevent myself from smiling (unlike Dad who was laughing openly at the younger man's embarrassment) I leaned to help my friend up.
"The ice is slippery." I warned cheerfully.
"Yah know, yo' sense of humour lacks something petite." Remy said dryly, making me laugh. His posture was horrible as he tried to fully stand up again. He wobbled and I took his arm around my shoulders to help steady him.
"Need some help?" I asked. This time I actually wasn't trying to tease him, I really did believe I should help him.
"Non. Ah can do it." Remy replied, sounding a little annoyed.
That is so like a guy. They are all for helping girls, but God forbid we offer to help them. They are so vain that way.
I held up my hands in surrender and skated a distance away. I leaned against an apple tree sticking out of the ice and watched as Remy wobbly moved towards me. Instead of actually skating, it looked like he was trying to walk on skates. The result? Hilarity.
"Looking a bit shaky, there Gumbo." Dad called as he sped past him.
Remy open him mouth to counter, but instead fell on his bottom again. He let out a long line of both French and English swears before he got control of himself. He looked up at me pathetically.
"Hey, uh, could yah give me a hand cher?" Remy asked.
"Oh, but it looks like you can do it by yourself." I mocked gleefully (kicking a man while he's down is a petty thing to do, but so is male ego).
Remy groaned, "What Ah meant is, dearest greasemonkey, I require your assistance because I am horrible at this devil sport and I cannot even stand by myself without falling on my ass."
I burst out laughing at Remy's attempt at hiding his accent during his plea.
"Come on swamprat," I said, helping Remy get to his feet once more. "We're going to turn you into the next Patrick Chan in no time."
"Who?" Remy asked. He leaned on me for support as we slowly began our way around the ice.
"A world champion figure skater. He's also Canadian." I answered.
I shouldn't have been so pleased by Remy being so bad at skating. But he's always so cool, confident and excellent at everything he does. He's also very cocky. To see him moving around the ice like a five year old made him seem so much more, I don't know, attainable I guess. He has this movie star like presence that makes me feel like this awkward, dorky teenage girl who snorts milk out her nose. When he was finally showing a more vulnerable side, it felt even more comfortable to be around him.
"Remy, you're doing really well!" I said encouragingly, once we had been on the ice together for fifteen minutes.
"No Ah ain't." Remy countered, though he didn't sound upset about it. "Ah'm still as clumsy as a new born calf."
"This is your first time," I consoled, "you can't expect to be perfect on the first try."
"Hmm, well Ah ain't too worried about the skating." Remy said in his sexy accent as he wrapped an arm around my waist. "De fun part is being close to you."
"Keep your hands where I can see them, Cajun." Dad growled, skating up to us.
"Logan, Ah'm just trying ta support myself so dat Ah don't fall." Remy said in a mock shocked voice, as though he couldn't believe he was being accused of trying to get feely with me.
The vein in Dad's temple began to throb, which I knew from experience was a bad sign. I unwound myself from Remy's hold and helped him to a tree to prop himself up on.
"Dad, want to practice some more shots?" I suggested, trying to get his mind on other things.
Dad opened his mouth, probably to say he rather do something violent to my favourite Cajun, but I took him by the arm and dragged him over to where we left our hockey sticks earlier. I threw Remy a smile over my shoulder before skating off.