Greeting and welcome from The Lady Mage! Chapter 11 is a bit short, but I think you will like it! Shoutout to my online bestie, Leonaria Dragonbane, for all her help with this chappie! I luv ya, chika! *MUAH*
Legalities: Yeah, totally would share this feral if he was mine . . . . Not.
FERITY: (fehr-ih-tee) - (noun) - 1.) The state of being wild or untamed. 2.) Savagery; Ferocity.
Every single shelf in the convenience store was chock-full of various junk foods, tacky souvenirs, and on-the-go necessities. Hell, some of the shit was even stuffed on top of other shit just to get it out of the box. Every single square inch of shelf space was taken- except for where the Twinkies go.
Victor grit his teeth with a scowl, glaring at the only empty space in the entire KwikFill. Of course they wouldn't have the one thing he wanted. No, that would be convenient, and nothing was ever fucking convenient. With a half-way calming breath, the blonde feral retracted his claws before they could pierce through the pockets of his charcoal duster. He shrugged his blonde ponytail off his shoulder to hang down his back, then turned and walked up to the individually wrapped snack cakes off to the sides of the registers.
Three packs of Twinkies left. 'Oh, happy day.' he deadpanned in his head, snatching them from their box before moving past a group of business men stopping in for a tank of gas and a quick lunch to stand in line behind two young frails.
"I know, right?" The blonde frail said to the young cashier, flashing him a flirty smile as she put a candy bar and her drink on the counter to be rung up.
"Yeah, it sucks." He returned, punching numbers on the register to ring the items up. "But my manager's been talking about it all last week. She'll be gone until next Monday. Locked everything up tight and all that. I can't even get into the storage room!" He rolled his eyes. "Cameras haven't worked in this place for like two years but she had all new ones installed just the other day."
New cameras? The blonde feral glanced around the store's ceiling, taking in the little red lights blinking on all the shiny, new security cameras. Amused, he looked at the one pointed his way over the cashier's shoulder, flashing a cheeky, smirking smile at it. He'd been to this little KwikFill at least a hundred times over the last two years- it was so conveniently located on I-87, and he stopped here on his way back and forth from Canada.
"-Doesn't trust us to keep this place up and running, so she's running surveillance 24/7 now." The clerk held a handful of coins out to the frails. "And ninety-seven cents is your change. Thanks for shopping at Kwikfill."
"Thanks, Tommy." returned the frail, picking up her purchases. "See you in Algebra 1 tomorrow!"
He grinned at her, then glanced up at Victor. ". . . . Uh, sir?"
The tall man turned his eyes from the camera to the cashier. "What?" he growled.
"Uh, you gonna . . pay for that?" asked the younger man, gesturing to the Twinkies in Victor's hands.
Victor narrowed his eyes, considering just walking out without paying for them- just because he didn't care for the younger boy's tone of voice- but the little blinking light just past his shoulder kept him from it. "Yeah." He tossed the three packs on the counter. "And give me . . . " He glanced over the store's meager cigar selection. "Fuck. Give me the box on the end there- the ones with the gold band."
"Those are individually sold, sir."
"Did I fucking ask if they were individually sold? I said I want the box." growled Victor. "So hurry it up."
"Okay." the cashier lifted the box out of its slot and set it on the counter, quickly counting up the 37 cigars left in it, then rang everything up. "That'll be fifty-two dollars and seventy-eight cents, sir."
Victor tossed three twenties on the counter, stuffing the Twinkies into the cigar box to carry easier. "Keep the change."
"Thank you, sir. Thanks for shopping at Kwikfill." said the cashier, watching the feral curiously.
Lifting the box, Victor gave a last glance to the camera. 'Hope they don't overly scrutinize that tape.' He walked out the door, but paused when something caught his attention peripherally. Turning back, he spotted the cashier pull out a pad of paper, glance at the clock on the wall, then scribble out a note. 'Well, shit.'
"JUST WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?"
Jean and Ororo spun towards the doorway; Zosia half-roared in surprise, dropping into a low crouch. Scott stood in the gym's entrance, hands on his hips, looking not at all pleased. Within a heartbeat, Zoe snatched her phone back from its spot on the speaker, silencing the room with the snapping of the cord.
"Scott, you startled us!" said Jean, amused. Ororo smiled with a nod and a chuckle.
"What was that?" asked Scott, glaring at Zoe. "What are you trying to hide?"
"Don't worry your little, red eye over it." she hissed back.
"Then what was it?" demanded the man, taking the fifteen steps across the room to stand in front of her. "What are you hiding?"
"I said not to worry about it." Zoe crossed her arms over her chest, pushing her sato-phone down her bra again. "So don't fucking worry about it!"
"If I thought you weren't up to something, I wouldn't have to worry about it!" He grit his teeth, standing beside Jean, glaring at the feral.
"Oh my fucking GOD, Victor better hurry the fuck up!" Zoe threw her arms in the air in frustration, turning on her heel to go get Sari from her make-shift bed. She made it almost to her cub before Scott's hand closed around her wrist. In two seconds, he was on his back, Zosia's foot on his chest. "DO NOT TOUCH ME!" Scott grabbed her ankle, twisting, bringing her down on the floor next to him, shoving her so he was pinning her to the floor. She roared at him, kicking him off.
"Scott!" Jean yelled. "Stop it! Both of you!"
"Zee!" Ororo and Jean rushed towards the two.
"If you so much as reach for that button, mother fucker, I will gut you in front of your girlfriend!" hissed the feral, eyes black, fangs lengthened, claws extended. She took on a defensive crouch in front of her daughter. "You better keep your fucking eyes SHUT around my cub!"
"HEY!" Jean barked out, "Cool it!"
"You two can't keep fighting like this!" Ororo crossed her arms, eyebrows drawn together. "Especially if you're going to be here for a while! The children cannot see the two of you going at it like cats and dogs!"
Scott only sneered, reaching out and grabbing the feral's shoulders, pushing her hard to the side. She swiped him with her claws, tucking into a roll before she could land on and crush Sari. Planting her feet, she launched at the fearless leader, claws extended aiming for his gut. He sidestepped at the last second, but she rebounded off the wall and tackled him to the ground. As she landed, her phone slipped free from her shirt, and skittered across the floor.
"HEY!" Jean yelled, "STOP!" Her voice was enough to wake Sari, the baby's earmuffs having slipped during her mother's scuffle. Tiny brown eyes turned black before the baby let out a wail. "SCOTT, WATCH OUT FOR THE BABY!"
The sound of the cub's crying only brought out the animal in Zosia, and she hissed down at the X-Man below her, pinning his hands before he could push the button on his glasses. He only snarled back at her, kicking her off of him.
"Stronger than you look, needledick." Zoe hissed, launching again. This time, Scott grabbed her shoulders, using her momentum to swing her up and bring her back down, throwing her on top of the pile of towels where Sari lay.
Ororo screamed, but Jean reached out, using all of her power she could, holding the feral mother a mere two inches off of the squirming, crying bundle on the towels. "Oh, my god, the baby! You're going to hurt Sari!"
"Forget the baby!" Scott yelled as Jean dropped Zoe beside Sari on the towels. He tried to grab her by the ankle, but she yanked up, grabbing Sari and shoving the baby at Ororo. "Its only going to grow up to be another cold-blooded, human-hating KILLER! So what if it gets hurt?"
Zoe hissed at him, using her arm to shove Ororo, baby in her arms, down and back behind where she crouched.
"SCOTT!" Jean yelled, using her teke to hold him in place. Seeing it happen, Zoe launched at him, knocking him free of Jean's power, and swiping her claws across his chest, leaving five bloody grooves in their wake. "ZOE!"
The redheaded telepath reached out with as much power as she could muster, holding the two fighting mutants as tight as she could. She held a hand up to each, making sure her bonds were tight. Zoe roared at her, but she held firmly to the struggling feral.
"Jean, let me go." Scott demanded.
"No, because I can see what you are going to do if I do!" retorted the telekine, beginning to feel the depth of her exertions. "Good God, Scott- her daughter is in the room! She was on the towels you were about to throw Zoe on! You could have killed her!"
"Oh piss!" cursed Scott, "It's just like its parents- it would have healed!"
"FUCK YOU!" roared Zoe, struggling harder, "IF YOU FUCKING COME NEAR MY CUB, YOU SELF-RIGHTEOUS MOTHERFUCK-Ack!"
"ZOE!" Jean cut the feral off with a mental squeeze. "Stop! Both of you, just stop!"
"Jean, I swear to all that is holy, if you don't let me go-" Zoe began, but cut herself off as Xavier rolled into the room.
"Am I going to have to follow the two of your around constantly?" he asked, his voice deep and agitated. Zoe's eyes focused on the floor near her feet in submission, watching him peripherally as he rolled up to her. "I told you that I wouldn't throw you and Sari out in the snow, but the two of you-"
"This can't go on, Professor!" Scott half-yelled, still held tight by Jean's bonds. "This-"
"Scott, calm down." Xavier gave his top student a once over, taking in the bloody marks across his chest, the rips on his shirt and pants. "You have lived here for more than half of your life, Scott." he began. "You have helped me help countless mutants to better their lives, to hide from those that would hunt them. We've taken in orphans and runaways from all walks of life. Why, with this one," He gestured to Zoe hanging limply from Jean's bonds. "Why with Zosia do you suddenly have a change of heart?"
"She's from the Brotherhood!" Scott half-yelled. "She's not here for peace or to be helped- she's-"
"She is waiting for spring to come so she can get the fuck out of here!" hissed the feral, coming alive across the room. "My cub-"
"Zosia!" the professor cut her off sharply, then looked back at Scott. "I really am disappointed in you, Scott. Do you hear that?" He gestured to the crying cub in Ororo's arms. Scott nodded once. "Well, thank God, my boy, because if you had thrown her mother on top of her, that child would never cry again."
"It's a feral." Scott scowled.
"Yes, but she doesn't yet have the healing capabilities of her mother!" The professor rolled his chair over to where Zosia was planted. "She would have died. You could have killed Sari, Scott. She's innocent of all this, but she would have been punished for it."
"Let me go." Zoe said to Jean, her voice calmed, her head turned to watch Ororo trying to soothe her crying cub. "Jean."
"Let them go, Jean." commanded Xavier gently.
The redheaded telepath nodded, retracting her power over the two fighting mutants. She let out a yawn, tired from the exertion. Zoe streaked to Ororo, taking her cub back into her arms, holding Sari to her chest, tucking the baby's head under her chin. Sari hushed her cries down to whimpers, the smell of her mother soothing.
Her arms no longer burdened with the tiny infant, Ororo walked across the room to where Zoe's phone had slid across the floor. She picked it up, turning it over in her hands, then pushed it into her back pocket for safe keeping.
"What was that?" Scott asked, his head turned to watch her.
"Just my-" began the windrider.
"Zosia's phone." Xavier said to him, meeting the surprised feral's eyes. "I knew about it."
"Damned telepaths." she scowled lightly, dropping to sit on the floor, lifting her shirt and setting Sari to nurse. "Nosy things."
"Actually, Zoe," said Charles, amusedly, "I overheard Rogue telling Bobby about it. No snooping necessary." When the feral narrowed her eyes, he continued. "She wasn't spreading gossip; she was only telling him she wished she had one like it."
"You are allowing her to have a cellphone?" Scott asked, indignant. "She can call the rest of the Brotherhood with it! How can we protect the students if all of the Brotherhood knows where we are?"
"You dumbass." Zoe rolled her eyes. "Do you know how many of your students have been sent here BY Eric? Didn't you know that he helped the professeur to start this place as a school?" She held out her hand to Ororo, and gave the weather witch a smile when her phone was given back to her.
"Does she really need to be able to contact the enemy?" Scott balked. "I can't believe you are allowing her to-"
"Contact her husband?" ended the professor. "Sari's father? Zoe's mate? Yes, Scott, I am allowing her to have contact with him."
"He could come back!"
"HE IS COMING BACK!" roared Zosia, eyes black again. "We're here waiting for him to come back for us!" She grit her teeth to cut off her words, turned to look back down at her nursing cub.
"Scott, I will hear no more of this from you." Charles said, watching the man's face. He turned back to the feral. "And you, I'm sure we can come to some kind of compromise with regards to your phone and contacting Victor."
She eyed him suspiciously. "How do you mean?"
"I will leave you alone about your phone so long as you report to us whenever you are contacted by anyone on it and whenever you contact someone with it. By call or by instant message."
A scowl. "No dice. I may look like a child, but I am an adult. I won't be told-"
"Well, how about you just let us know if someone contacts you?"
"How about you pretend you don't know I have a phone and I'll pretend not to want to rip Scotty's throat out with my claws?"
"Because I doubt you could keep your end of the bargain with your temper." returned Charles, a little amused. "How about this then? You trust Storm more than anyone else in this room, don't you?"
Zosia's scowl deepened, her eyes still black. She turned her eyes to the windrider, then nodded once. "Yes."
"Then why don't you let Ororo know if you are contacted by anyone, and she can weigh whether or not it is worth letting us know about?"
The feral continued to scowl, thinking over his bargain. After a moment, she decided to agree for now- if only to shut them all up- and she nodded once in compliance.
"Alright then. Problem solved for now."
"She could lie and not say a word about anything!" Scott argued, becoming agitated again. "You act like she is this innocent little victim but she belongs to SABRETOOTH! She's just as evil and heartless as he is!"
"Scott, that is enough!" Charles voice echoed through the mutants in the room, unused to him raising his voice. "I will not hear any more of this! You two will learn to get along or I will make you get along!" He turned to Scott. "I will not have this discord. Go and calm down. Now."
The fearless leader set his jaw, nodded once, and stalked out of the room. Jean quickly followed him, worried.
Down the hallway was a loud boom, then the sounds of whirring machines. Zoe's eyes widened slightly. "What is that noise?"
"The Danger Room starting up." answered Ororo.
"What is the Danger Room?"
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The Lady Mage