"Everybody suit up!"
Pietro hollered as he dashed into the living room, running around the room at full speed and creating a small tornado. Todd yelled and dove for cover behind the couch. Fred remained seated on the couch, arms crossed over his chest since he was used to the slight breeze. Lance stood at the top of the stairs, fists clenched and demanding answers from Pietro. Gabrielle curiously poked her head out from the kitchen then rolled her eyes, resuming her cooking. She hummed softly as she stirred the soup with the wooden spoon, inhaling a deep breath of the aroma that was wafting around her. She was in her own little world but still attentive to the commotion of the boys, especially when it came to their voices.
"Pietro! Knock it off or I'll rock ya!" Lance shouted and Gabrielle could almost see him shaking his fists in anger at the speedster.
"Can't stop. Ain't gonna stop." Pietro retorted and his voice was several octaves higher than usual. Perhaps the change in voice was because he was running around a small enclosed space.
"Yeah! Knock if off, yo! I'm scared!" Todd cried out.
"Yeah, I can't see the tv with you runnin' 'round the place." Fred chimed in at last only as a means to appease the other members.
"Nope! Ain't gonna guess! We got a job!" Pietro shouted and the breeze at the back of her neck alerted Gabrielle to his presence. She turned and glared at him, wooden spoon in hand as he grinned at her. "Whatcha cookin', babe?"
"None of your business, Pietro. Now, get the hell out of my kitchen!" Gabrielle shouted and made an attempt to slap him with the spoon. She missed, of course, but he'd left the kitchen and gone back to the living room. She had a feeling his little commotion wouldn't be dying down anytime soon. She exhaled a deep breath and left the flame on low before she walked to stand at the doorway of the kitchen, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the frame to observe her team.
"What job? Mystique hasn't swung by since she came to drop off Gabrielle." Lance stated as he slowly walked down the stairs, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Wait... Scratch that." He grumbled as he recalled the incident that ensued between Mystique and Gabrielle after the Juggernaut fiasco.
"Hasn't even called to check on us!" Todd yelled as he poked his head up from behind the couch. His eyes darted frantically around the room for any signs of Pietro and the chaos that seemed to always follow him.
"That's probably because our phone is busted..." Gabrielle stated softly and cast her gaze to Pietro. "Because somebody insisted that a cat wouldn't leave the dog alone." She finished while Pietro narrowed his eyes at her, clearly displeased that his little stunt to keep Katherine from calling Lance had been laid on the table.
"Yeah! Well whatever! We got a job to do, okay? So suit up!" Pietro snapped at them before Lance could realize that he was the one that shattered their phone and destroyed the phone line. He made a dash to the second floor then reappeared seconds later, leaning close to Gabrielle with a mischievous smile on his lips. "By the way, that means you too, babe."
Her brows furrowed and lower lip jutted out slightly as she let his words sink in. She then cocked a thin brow and tilted her head slightly to left. She raised an index finger to point at her chest before the words clumsily tumbled out. "Wait, you mean me?"
He rolled his eyes and exhaled deeply before his sapphire eyes locked on hers again. "Duh! You're the only babe here. 'Sides, it's 'bout time you pitched in."
"Excuse me? You mind saying that again?" Gabrielle demanded as her arms quickly uncrossed and lowered to her sides. Her small fists clenched together and eyes narrowed at him.
There were very few things in life that Pietro feared. He feared angry women, mostly due to his sister's temperament. He feared mutant women because an angry one was bad but one that was angry and had mutant powers, that was a hundred times worse. He especially feared women like Gabrielle, the ones who seemed so innocent but once angered, they showed such a level of calmness whilst fury bubbled within them that it terrified him to no extent. He could see it now, see her raw fury behind her calm features. She was tearing him to pieces in a thousand different ways and planning to poison his meals for all eternity. If he didn't act fast, he'd surely die on the spot. His mind worked at thousands of miles per hour before he responded, feeling like he'd lived two millenniums in those brief ten seconds.
"I'm just saying we haven't exactly seen you in action with your mutant powers and it's about time we see what you can do." Pietro replied and offered the best charming smile he could muster even though he was mentally praying he'd live another day.
Her gaze softened and lips pursed together thoughtfully as she considered his words. "I guess that makes sense..." She mumbled softly and her entire body visibly relaxed before she stepped into the living room. "The only problem is that it would be best if I didn't expose myself. I've got no problem using my powers so long as I know nobody will recognize me. I'd hate to disappoint the old lady." She reasoned, referring to the assignment Mystique had given her.
"You could wear uh... One of 'em disguises." Fred offered as he scratched his head, trying to elaborate more on his idea but being unable to find quite the right words.
"Disguise, huh? Maybe she doesn't have to really wear one so long as she hides her hair and avoids eye contact. Maybe even wear clothing that doesn't give a clear view of her body?" Lance added as he leaned over the railing at the foot of the stairs, glancing from left to right. It was almost as if he were looking for ideas that could be incorporated into a disguise for Gabrielle.
"Oh! Oh! Me me me me!" Todd yelled before he hopped out from behind the couch and proceeding to hop up the stairs and out of view.
The Brotherhood members all exchanged confused glances but no one dared follow Todd. They waited in uncomfortable silence, listening to squeals and shrieks of pain. It sounded like Todd was having a fight of some sort but nobody cared enough to investigate. Todd would be fine. After about five minutes, Todd came hopping down the stairs with a bundle under his left arm. He hopped up to Gabrielle and stopped by her feet, offering her the bundle. She blinked and carefully took it, nodding her thanks to him and watching him hop to the couch, only to hide behind it again.
She slowly unrolled the bundle to reveal a very large gray hoodie, blue and white baseball cap with a number one stitched in the center, black fingerless gloves and goggles. She raised a curious brow and looked straight at Todd, who was currently pretending he was invisible.
"Ummm... Todd, where did you get all this?"
He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he mumbled. "Ya know, I... Uh... Errr... found it. Saved it. Saved it and stuff. Uh... The hoodie used to be Fred's when he was uh... slimmer. The cap was Pietro's from back when he was probably a kid. The gloves were Lance's first pair but were too tiny for his hands. The goggles were mine back when I wanted to learn to fly."
"Eh, you callin' me fat, Todd?" Fred demanded while Todd furiously shook his hands and head.
Pietro's lips twisted into a frown before he glared at Todd. "You stole my lucky hat!"
"I didn't steal nothin'! I found it!" Todd defended but cowered further behind the couch.
"Kinda disturbed you kept those, Todd..." Lance grumbled softly and slowly straightened himself out before shifting uncomfortably.
"I keep things I think are cool!"
"More like steal 'em, ya slimy toad!" Pietro snarled and dashed to Todd, shaking an angry fist in his face.
Gabrielle rolled her eyes and exhaled a deep breath before she reached out to yank Pietro away from Todd. She hefted the bundle on to one arm and looked at each member in turn before she spoke up.
"Would you guys mind if I wore your a stuff? All this will help keep my identity a secret and I can go on this job with you guys."
The boys shifted around uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact with her, which led her to believe they were probably feeling self conscious. Fred twiddled with his fingers slowly before he rose his head and looked in her direction. Their gaze met and he nodded before looking away. Lance looked at his current pair of fingerless gloves then at Gabrielle before waving a dismissive hand at her, signaling it was fine with him. Todd waited for her gaze to land on him before he beamed happily, clearly happy with himself for lending a hand and feeling like there wouldn't be a problem. Pietro was the last to silently agree but not before rolling his eyes and letting out an exasperated breath.
"Great! I'll go get dressed!" She smiled and bounded up the stairs with the bundle in her arms.
She walked out of the house and made her way to her little trailer. She opened the door and dipped inside then closed the door behind herself, making sure to lock it before she began changing out of her clothes. She rummaged through her luggage and pulled out a pair of thigh high black and white striped socks. She carefully slipped them on before pulling on some jean shorts. She swapped her long sleeved shirt for a white v-neck tee then pulled on Fred's old hoodie, surprised to find it smelling like floral detergent. It was very loose on her and dragged down past her knees, reaching about halfway down her shins. She put on Pietro's old cap and struggled to keep her hair secured under it. She paused with the goggles halfway up her face. The lens were opaque colored and she wagered they'd make it pretty much impossible to see but they would certainly help keep distinguishable facial features obscured. She put them on then tugged the hood over the cap, shadowing her head completely. She slipped on the fingerless gloves then put on her trusty boots before heading out of her cozy "room" as she'd taken to calling her trailer. She went back inside the house slowly as her vision tried to adjust with the goggles. She paused at the entrance and noticed they were all in uniform.
"I take it this job involves a fight?" She asked casually.
"You betcha, babe. It'll be fun too." Pietro replied and grinned before speeding out the door.
"Alright, let's move out. We'll fill you in on the way." Lance remarked and grabbed the keys for his Jeep before walking out the door.
Todd hopped out the door with various leaps and bounds in between. Fred waited by the door and sheepishly gestured for Gabrielle to go out first, seeing as how they'd pretty much shoved their way right past her. She touched her hand to her chest and smiled even though he couldn't see it. She then flashed him two thumbs ups before she walked out before him. A smile spread across his face before his cheeks tinged a slight pink, feeling a little flustered that a pretty girl like Gabrielle was so appreciative of his gesture. Pietro hoisted Gabrielle up on to the Jeep and sat beside her in the back, occupying her right and Todd her left. Fred climbed on to the back and the Jeep creaked a bit under the added weight, threatening to fall apart under them all but thankfully nothing of the sort happened. Lance started up the engine and immediately sped away.
"So... about the job..." She casually began and waited for someone to chime in.
"Pietro says Magneto gave us an order to go intercept Nightcrawler. Use any means necessary, which means a serious mutant smackdown." Lance replied and his knuckles tightened around the steering wheel to aid his dodging of cars and the occasional pedestrian or two.
"The old man knows what's up with my delivery earlier and he isn't too happy. So we do his dirty work for 'im cause we're such nice fellas." Pietro remarked and inspected the nails on his right hand before wrapping an arm around Gabrielle's shoulders.
She raised a brow at his actions but then figured that an egomaniac like him would go through various lengths to ensure he was good looking at any moment. "Okay... so what? We go beat up the fuzzy blue one?"
"And how do you know he's the fuzzy blue one?" Pietro pried as he leaned in close to her, resulting in having her gloved palm thrusting against his chin.
"I did my research. Now, for the fight, I'll be standing back. I won't let myself be seen or heard unless it's necessary I step in. I don't want the X-Men knowing I'm on your side or what I can do. That would level the playing field and I'm sure Mystique would kill me if I let that happen." She stated and crossed her arms over her chest, nuzzling against Pietro's side only so her elbow would accidentally dig into his ribs every five seconds.
He winced and struggled to remain quiet, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of seeing him in pain.
"Good plan. Now, we should be there in ten minutes." Lance replied as his hands quickly maneuvered the Jeep expertly under such high speeds and with various obstacles he easily ignored.
The rest of the drive was quiet though the atmosphere between them all was tense. Fred was hoping that Gabrielle would treat them to a nice meal if their job went well. Her cooking was divine and she was always nice to him, which made him feel very strange. Todd was silently praying he'd earned cool points with Gabrielle for helping her put together a disguise with items from his 'collection' as he'd put it. Lance was uneasy about their orders, mostly because Magneto seemed to be wanting to one-up Mystique, which meant hostilities between their bosses were imminent. Pietro was trying to figure out how to really impress Gabrielle and make her fall for him already. He didn't appreciate the fact she was shrugging off his good looks and charm as if he were some regular guy, which he wasn't because he was a million times better than any other guy in the damn universe and she should be feeling honored he is showering her in his undivided attention. When they pulled up to the construction site, they made sure to park with a bit of distance and headed out on foot.
"I'll go around back. Remember, I've got your backs." She whispered before she sneaked away, quietly treading through mud and avoiding puddles.
It seemed the budget for chain link fended was nonexistent because she was looking at wooden fences. She smiled a little as this would make sneaking easier and carefully hoisted herself up and over in one fluid motion. She landed crouched down and sneaked towards a machine, hiding behind it and keeping her poked out just enough to see. She could make out two lone figures in the distance. She figured it was probably Mystique and Kurt but they weren't alone for long. Her teammates stepped in and a battle ensued almost immediately. Kurt was defeated in a team effort and she couldn't help but smile. They'd pulled off the job without a hitch... or so she thought.
More figures emerged and she knew it was the X-Men. She couldn't quite make out who was who in the chaos that ensued but it didn't look good. The fighting ended before Gabrielle had even realized what had happened though the outcome she could clearly see. Todd ended in a pile of rubble. Fred was stuck in a machine. Pietro swept off his feet and Lance on the floor. She clenched her hands into fists at the humiliation they'd given her team and considered stepping in immediately but paused. Someone was approaching... Lance? She couldn't quite see what the individual was doing but her eyes widened when the figured turned around and chased after Mystique. She recognized that blur of colored hair anywhere. Her stomach dropped when she saw her use Lance's powers as Mystique fled and that was the last straw. She jumped out from behind her hiding place and rushed forward, thrusting her hand out.
Rogue paused and blinked as she felt strange. Something was off... She raised her head up slowly and gasped as she saw a hooded figure running towards her. She tried to use Lance's powers but nothing happened. She froze as she realized she couldn't use his powers for some strange reason. The figure punched her right in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her and rendering her unconscious before she had any time to react to the oncoming threat. Gabrielle glared down at Rogue and stomped her foot on to her back for good measure before running off to confront the others. Jean saw her approaching and immediately tried to hold her still telekinetically but found herself unable to do so.
"Scott!" Jean yelled before crying out in shock as the hooded Gabrielle sent her flying back with a kick. She flew back onto a machine, her back slamming against it before her head connected as well with the impact. A soft groan escaped her lips before she slumped to the muddy earth, unconscious as well.
"Jean!" Scott shouted and focused on her attacker, raising his visor up and grimacing as his optic blasts refused to be unleashed. He mentally cursed his chaotic power for somehow not working when he needed it the most. A shovel came into contact with the side of his head and he slumped over with ease.
Gabrielle counted off the members now. She'd knocked out Jean, Rogue and Scott. Kurt was still knocked out. That left the annoying brat and equally annoying punk. She exhaled softly and noticed the pair trying to team up against her. She picked up a few bricks and chucked them at Evan, who tried to spike them out. He was unable to do a thing so the bricks collided with his body, bringing down a stinging world of pain. She ran up to him and slammed his head back into a machine as well before focusing on the last member of the team. Katherine was beyond terrified, having witnessed her team fall to this hooded figure that seemed to be doing something so their powers wouldn't work. She started backing away slowly but ended up bumping against the machine, gasping as she couldn't phase through it.
"P-please don't hurt me!" She begged and the hooded figure only seemed to mock her as it slowly walked up to her. "Please!"
Gabrielle closed the distance between them and slammed her head against her, knocking her unconscious as well. The slender girl's figure slowly slumped down to the floor and she exhaled a deep breath of relief how that the X-Men were defeated.
"Damn... For a chatterbox, her damn tiny head felt like a brick wall..." Gabrielle grumbled as she pressed one palm to her now throbbing forehead. Bashing heads with someone to knock them unconscious always looked so easy in the movies. She wished someone had told her that real life didn't exactly work out that way before she'd gone and tried it.
She stumbled towards Todd in her semi stupor and slowly rolled him on to his side, gently stirring him awake. He groaned softly when he came to and accepted her hand to help him get back on his feet. She managed to run over to the machine when Fred's yelling grew louder. She stopped the machine before calling Todd to help her pull Fred out. They succeeded after a few minutes of struggling before she went to go slap Pietro silly until he woke up. He uttered a string of curses too fast for her to fully understand when he came to, which meant he was totally fine and there was no need for concern on his behalf anymore. Lastly, she ran to Lance's side and stirred him, calling to him but he didn't come to. She shouted for Fred to come carry Lance and ordered the other two to head to the car. They were stunned to find the X-Men unconscious and had questions but the way she spoke and moved told them it wasn't a good idea. They stumbled their way to the car while Gabrielle was already seated in the driver seat, engine running and signaling them to hurry. They quickly scrambled into the Jeep as Gabrielle sped off.
The drive home had been quick and painfully silent. They'd placed Lance in his bed and been ordered to not come into his room unless she requested their aid. Gabrielle sat on Lance's bed, dabbing at his forehead with a wet cloth. She'd been so stupid and slow. If she would've been closer, she could've intercepted Rogue. She could've stopped her from stealing from Lance. Now he was unconscious and part of him had been sucked away by that leech. She hated herself for failing to protect them, her family. She'd let them get hurt and humiliated. A choked sob escaped her lips and she brought her free palm to her lips, pressing it against them to silence herself. She didn't want them to hear her cry. She struggled to calm herself down but once she had, her fingers gently brushed aside a few strands of his hair.
"I'm so sorry, Lance... I'm such an idiot..." She whispered as her fingers rested on his temple.
A thought crossed over her mind and she allowed herself to feel. She closed her eyes and opened herself up, her mind connecting with his as she began to read it. Memories were sorted out swiftly until she came across the ones from earlier. She could see what he saw during that fight, felt what he felt.
Seconds later, he was on the floor and Rogue looming over him, a sort of twisted smile upon her lips. Her pale fingers were inching close to his face and he knew what that meant. He was terrified, she was going to take from him again. She was going to steal part of his soul and keep it for her own. He was praying aid would come, that Gabrielle would truly have his back like she'd said she would. No help came and he felt himself slipping, his energy leaving his body and a part of his soul being torn off. He succumbed to the darkness but he could still feel the pull, even in an unconscious state.
Rogue was tugging at her soul and she wanted it to stop. She shrieked and begged that leech to release her but she wouldn't let go. She began to feel like she was suffocating her, pale fingers around her throat and squeezing. She wanted to fight back but her body wouldn't move. She called out for her team to rescue her. She screamed and begged for mercy but her death grip only tightened. Gabrielle could feel herself being dragged down into the darkness and she knew she'd never be seen again.