Hello again to all my friends. I don't own X-men, but regardless the original characters that I'll be using in here do belong to me.
Sorry about the semi-long wait for the update, this is what happens when I pick up a good series of books . and there's also work to blame.
Thanks for all the reviews by the way, here is the epicness of the snowball fight! Well the beginning of it.
Chapter 19
Naomi turned around coming nose to collarbone with Rael. She slowly looked up at him and swallowed. "What am I suppose to do as the flag?"
He smirked, "That's the beauty of it, anything you want, I just have to be able to follow you, and if a member of the opposite team grabs you, you have to go with them no fighting it." He took a step back and appraised her. "Then, if a member of your team manages to grab you back from them then you return to the fort. Those are the rules of being the flag."
The hairs on Naomi's neck stood on end, immediately her shadow shot up and enveloped her. A hand swiped at where she'd been, Flicker stood then in shock for a moment then Naomi reappeared behind Rael, a few small crack on her fingertips. Iceman caught sight of him, a snowball left his hand just as the shape of Flicker vanished.
Rael raised an eyebrow at Naomi behind him, "Hmm... this game may actually be worth playing this time." He gave her another look over, "A flag that can protect herself, if you do... that," he waved a hand from where she had been to where she was standing now, "again, you're required to take me with you."
"I've never tried more than just me."
"I believe in learning while working." Was his reply. "Make your move."
Naomi raised an eyebrow at Rael then sighed. She looked over the fort wall and ran for the next nearest pile of unoccupied snow, Rael close behind her.
Balls of snow were whizzing past in every direction Naomi managed to avoid them all as she ducked into the bunker. "Those look like hard throws..."
Rael came in behind her, he dusted off a snowball from his shoulder, "Rune is adding a little oomph to the throws. Less gravity, more speed."
Naomi frowned. "That hardly seems fair."
"You have a member of your team who can make a barrage of snowballs with a wave of his hand." Rael stated. "Storm tries her best to keep things," he ducked to avoid an incoming snowball. "Even."
Something tugged on the edge of Naomi's coat, she looked down at a small round, snow made creature, it had small stones for eyes, it motioned to a pile of six snowballs near her thigh. She looked to Rael's side, there was another one forming a snowball for him. She smiled, Curse had made her golems. She took one of the snow balls and peered over the snowbank. She lobbed the sphere of frozen into the air at a face popping out from the other side of the field. It missed hitting the snow behind them. She ducked herself avoiding an incoming orb. Rael was, in fact, throwing the made snowballs as well.
The air was filled with flying orbs when a light snow began to fall again. Naomi found herself laughing as she was struck in the shoulder by a snowball, it was fun, she couldn't remember the last time she'd enjoyed herself this much.
She felt the hairs on her arm stand up again. The snow golem sensed something as well and grabbed Naomi's ankle, she grabbed Rael's elbow as he released a snow ball. She closed her eyes and the two humans and two snowball making creatures vanished into her shadow. A shape dove down toward then, white wings carrying him then pulled up quickly when she vanished. Several snowballs were thrown at ArchAngel as he pulled up.
They came up in another bunker. Rael's eyes were wide, "A little warning next time! Its unsettling to disappear without warning."
Naomi apologized, "At least it worked." She replied, she could feel where her skin had cracked, across her palms and between her middle fingers; it felt a little odd trying to close her fingers. "How many times have you been the guard for the flag?" She asked while waiting for the next snowball from the golem.
"A few." He replied, he was leaning up against the bunker looking at the trees some distance behind them now, snowballs would occasionally fly out from the trees, some aimed low, some higher. "They normally stay crouched in the main fort, its the furthest from the opponent's fort." He shoved Naomi to the side as a snowball flew in, it collided with the bunker where her neck would of been. "I have to say this will be the first game where the enemy is literally hunting a shadow." He smirked slightly. "Amusing."
There was a blast of heat from somewhere nearby. Rael sighed. "Seems someone convinced Dragon to play along even though Rune's on their side."
"Wouldn't that be really dangerous?"
"Of course." He smiled, "But the world's a dangerous place too isn't it?" He turned and lobbed a snowball into the air. Naomi did the same. As she went to duck again she felt, and saw something. In the snow there was a trail of footprints, they seemed to be appearing by themselves, and for a moment there was a small shadow in them before the next shadow appeared.
"Is there an invisible kid at this school?" She asked curiously. The golems each took hold of their respective charges and Naomi grabbed Rael by the shoulder.
"Yes." The two of them vanished just as the foot prints reached their bunker.
They reappeared at the main base. Naomi fell back against the wall and sunk to her backside panting. "That's a little more complicated..." she whispered. She undid her jacket and closed her eyes.
"Exhausted?" Rael asked, Naomi nodded, "Well you were taking four forms actually, the golems went with us."
No wonder. Naomi thought to herself she could feel the cracks in her skin most of her hands were likely black under the gloves and there were thin cracks running up to her elbows already. A thought struck her she opened her eyes, "Where's Cat?" Someone said she'd last been seen slinking out into the bunkers as a cat, a snow creature on her back. She closed her eyes and felt for the shadows.
Naomi had begun to notice that the more time she spent in people's company she could sense out their shadows and find them, no two shadows were alike. She found Cat near the edge of the snowy open field, the little kitten was still for a moment then began to almost belly crawl out into the open battlefield. Naomi sighed, "I'll go get her."
The shadow of Cat suddenly became longer, and darker around her little paws. Naomi stood and saw a blast of flames, aimed for incoming fire, heading directly for the kitten. Naomi didn't think, she just ran.