X-men: Bast
***
Legal issues: Kia Jaeger(codename Bast) is an original character and belongs to me. All other characters and core X-men concepts are copyright Marvel, Stan Lee, and other creators. I do not own any of them, nor do I profit from them in any way.
Author Note: This story is based upon the story and setup in the comics and takes place at no particular point in them, but is instead treated as it’s own events separate from many of the large happenings in the comics. Also, I am not fully aware of every significant event that has happened in the X-men’s long history, so the information presented in this story and the information in the comics may not always 100% add up. Some characters who might even be dead as of the current X-men issues may be alive in this story.
***
Chapter Six
Scott, Jean, Hank, and Ororo sat in a semi-circle around Charles’ desk early Wednesday, the next morning. Scott sat upright in his chair, doing his best to look attentive and authoritive despite the fact that he had gotten just as little sleep as everyone else. Jean sat next to him, relaxed and calm, though the drowsiness was apparent on her features as well. She and Ororo were chatting quietly before Logan stepped into the room, scowling darkly. Logan was never one for waking up early. Well, not when he was forced to do so, at least. For all the trouble Storm had been through in the last two days, quiet contentment shone from her as it always did. Logan slouched in his chair, tilting it back and glancing at his teammates with an unhappy look.
Charles smiled at the gathering before him. “I trust the morning finds everyone well.”
“It’s frickin’ six in the morning’,” Logan pointed out. “What’s ever been good ‘bout six in the morning’?”
“We have most of the lab in order,” Ororo replied, ignoring her grumpy friend. “All that is left falls to Hank to take care of.”
Hank nodded and smiled fondly at Storm for a moment. Though both had been up well into the night, engaging in various activities in the lab, both seemed to be alert and in relatively positive moods. “Indeed, Ororo is right, as ever. Some of the more extensive damages will take quite some time to deal with, but we’ve gotten a respectable bit of work done, if I do say so myself.”
“Very good,” Charles smiled.
“Any idea what Sinister sent his goons for yet?” Scott asked.
“Hank?” Charles suggested.
“Not as of yet,” Hank sighed. “My research material on mutation patterns is suspect, as well as some of the tissue samples and DNA samples stored away in the vault in my lab.”
“The usual,” Jean nodded.
“So ya dragged us in here just to tell us that?” Logan asked. “At this ungodly hour?”
“No, not exactly,” Charles smiled. “Hank has done some scavenging into his computer, or what’s left of it, and believes he has found something.”
“It is possible this is an error,” Hank clarified, “But when I transferred the files from my old computer to a new one, several were missing. Normally I would just place the blame on a technical issue or possible damage from what happened to my computer, but I’ve taken measures to protect these files and make sure they can be preserved and transferred no matter what. But beyond that, the nature of the files lead me to consider foul play as a definite possibility.”
“Beast?” Jean smiled teasingly.
“Sorry,” Hank grinned. “I’m missing a number of computer files on all the faculty and students who have come to the school in the past year and a half. Considering the Marauders were tampering with my computer when I entered yesterday, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if they somehow got into that data and then deleted it.”
The group of Mutants were silent for several long moments.
“Shit,” Logan said at last.
“My thoughts exactly,” Hank nodded.
“So you mean to say Sinister may have access to all the new students?” Jean asked.
“I can’t be sure…but it’s a possibility.”
“That’s enough for me to feel uneasy about this whole thing,” Charles said gravely.
“Can you try tracking him? Or some of the Marauders?” Scott suggested.
“I’ve tried, but it seems he’s found some way to shield himself from my probing, and has done so for all his minions as well. They’re off the radar, as far as my powers are concerned.”
“What are we to do at this point?” Ororo asked.
“There isn’t much we can do at this point,” Charles sighed. “I shall continue to search for Sinister with Cerebro, as well as other clues or indicators of his presence. In the meantime, we will increase our security measures. The compound defenses will be set high, and we all will be keeping a close eye on things on both the sublevels and the upper floors. Until we find some other lead, this is all we can do.”
“I’m worried about how they got in here at the first place,” Scott spoke. “Our defenses were a little relaxed, but it’s not like this is some suburb hole in the wall that just anyone could walk into.”
“I’ve been thinking about that as well,” Charles nodded. “If not for Hank having the sense to set off the alarm when he stumbled upon them in his lab, we probably wouldn’t have even known they were here at all. We must take extra precaution. Until we find out more about how they were able to infiltrate us and what they want, we must assume we aren’t entirely safe at this point. Be vigilant, my X-men. Protect one another and stay on your toes. We will ride this out and discover what this whole thing is about soon enough, I’m sure.”
“Why isn’t everyone else included in this meeting?” Hank asked.
Charles smiled. “Because, I need to gather the faculty and student body today to explain what has happened and what has to be done, and I chose you all to assist in this.”
“Yer jokin’,” Logan said flatly.
“I’m afraid not,” Charles said, his smile growing wider.
Logan scowled and crossed his arms.
“Sounds good,” Scott nodded crisply. “Let’s get all this taken care of.”
Scott stood up and walked out the room, looking like a man on a mission. The rest of the team got up more slowly, and Hank, Jean, and Ororo filed lazily out the room.
Logan rose, shut the door, then plopped back into his chair. “Ya wanted to talk to me?”
“Yes,” Charles nodded. He glanced out the window for a moment, watching as a sliver of sunlight crept over the rim of the world, sending bursts of orange and red and pink light dancing across the bottom of the sky. The estate sprawled on outside the window, a neat and beautiful garden set in front of a trimmed and orderly lawn that raced toward the treeline.
“I heard that Kia was involved in the battle the other night,” Xavier stated at last.
Logan shrugged and crossed his arms over his well-muscled chest. “So?”
“Did she do okay?”
“Sure,” Logan shrugged again. “ I wasn’t really payin’ attention. Kinda had my hands full.”
The Professor nodded and folded his hands in his lap. “What do you think of her?”
Logan studied the Professor for several moments. “Uh…she’s a good kid, I guess. She did a good job last night, though she wasn’t really in the fight all that much. Why’re ya askin’ me this, Chuck?”
“I know this doesn’t make a lot of sense, Logan,” Charles sighed. “But I feel that she may be in danger. I feel she is entering into situations that are above her head. She’s a very brave girl, and she wants to help, and I find that a wonderful quality of hers. But I’m not sure she’s ready for the kind of things we so often face.”
“Yer talkin’ in circles, Chuck,” Logan pointed out.
“Yes, well,” Xavier smirked. “I have come to realize that Kia is going to become involved in matters over her head, no matter how we try to keep her out of harms way. I simply think that, until we can be sure that she is properly prepared and trained, she may need someone to…well, watch out for her best interest.”
Logan gave his mentor a long, hard look. “Why me?”
“Because I feel that you have the most to teach her. And I know I can trust you. And besides, you’ve got the least to do with your time out of all of us.”
“So much for not babysittin’,” Logan growled.
“Thank you, Logan. I knew I could count of you,” Charles smiled.
***
“If those pansy ninnies stole a single shred of my research…” Hank ranted under his breath.
“You’re still not done sorting?” Bobby asked, smirking at his long-time friend.
Hank sighed and did his best to let his irritation pass. “Not yet. I’m still double and triple checking my computer files. And I haven’t even gotten some of the replacement parts for some of the more sophisticated stuff that was destroyed. Ergo, no replacement parts, no repairs. And no repairs means my life is still in shambles.”
“Poor Hank,” Jean giggled.
It was about two hours after the meeting with Charles, and Scott had called the rest of the team to be sure the added security measures were understood. The team would be extra alert for some time to come, watching for any additional signs of trouble around the estate. The automated defenses were set on high, and the Students had been instructed to be alert and aware to anything suspicious going on around the Manor or the gardens. They had been advised not to wander outside the Manor without a friend or two accompanying them, just to be safe. The team had discussed even stricter precautions, but it was decided in the end that any additional efforts would likely put the students into something of a panic. It was agreed that any kind of panic would cause confusion that would if anything be counter productive to noticing something out of the ordinary.
“Where were you durin’ the attack, anyway?” Rogue asked Bobby.
“I got stuck rounding kids up into the shelters and making sure they were all right,” Bobby grumbled.
“Me too,” Betsy nodded.
“Charles asked me to do this as well,” Peter added.
“Someone had to do it, right?” Kia said. “Personally I think I would’ve been more suited to that. The kids are scared enough of me to listen.”
“That’s ‘cause they know you’ll fail them if they argue,” Rogue smirked.
“So?” Kia laughed.
“People,” Scott said sharply, returning their attention to him. “Do we understand where we stand now?”
“Yeah,” Logan nodded. “We’re stuck with a thumb up our collective ass.”
“Logan,” Cyclops glared at his teammate.
“Ah kinda agree,” Rogue put in.
“Logan has a point,” Ororo spoke. “For now, we’ve no idea what Sinister and his Marauders wanted. And we have no idea where they’re operating out of. So until Hank is able to discover what they were focusing on in his lab, or the Professor is able to find some clues to where we can find them, we’ll have to idle.”
“Yeah, well,” Scott muttered, then turned his attention to Jean and Betsy. “You two are working with the Professor to try and find some sign of our housebreakers, right?”
“Yes,” Jean nodded, glancing at Betsy. “None of us have managed to find anything. They’re completely absent from our mind’s eye. Even with Cerebro, it’s like they’re completely gone.”
“We know Sinister has stationed himself in the Savage Land before,” Hank pointed out. “Have we investigated such possibilities?”
“The Professor is working on it,” Scott answered. “But so far no luck.”
“Are we gonna have to go trompin’ in the jungle again?” Rogue groaned.
“Hopefully we’ll know soon,” Ororo said. “But for now, we’re going to have to play the waiting game.”
“Joy,” Kia sighed. “I bet this part of the job is a lot of fun.”
“Be happy you’re even here,” Scott said icily. “If it was up to me, you wouldn’t be. You’re not on the team yet, but the Professor has decided you need to know about all this anyway.”
“I’ll be sure to thank him,” Kia said sarcastically.
“What else do we need to figure out?” Bobby asked.
Cyclops shrugged. “That’s it for the moment. Keep your eyes open, and we’ll be paying attention to see if anything important changes. For now Storm is right; we’re going to have to bide for awhile. You’re dismissed.”
The team rose from their seats, mostly talking and mumbling together about the attack and the changes in general. Things would definitely be tense for awhile, but what could they do? And they had to display an outward facade of calm; the last thing they needed was to panic the students.
“Hey,” Logan spoke up as the team began to disperse.
Kia started walking past him, then startled slightly as she realized his eyes were on her. “Me?”
“Yeah,” Logan nodded. He crossed his arms across his barrel chest and gave her a bare hint of a smile. “Ya did good the other night. Vertigo is always givin’ us a problem. Ya kept a good head and took care o’ her. Thought ya should know yer okay, with Cyke givin’ ya a hard time an’ all.”
“Thanks,” Kia replied, feeling a swell of uncharacteristic shyness. She fought it down and smiled nervously. “You did a lot better. That woman looked like she hit pretty hard.”
“The broad was crazy, that’s all,” Logan smirked.
They both fell silent for several uncomfortable moments, neither knowing exactly what to say.
“Um,” Kia finally spoke, “Are you going to the training session this afternoon?”
“Dunno. I was think’ about it,” Logan replied.
“You probably don’t need to train too much, huh?” Kia said. A thick lock of brown silk fell across her eyes, and she reached up to push it the wavy strands away.
“Everyone’s gotta train,” Logan replied. “If ya don’t train, ya get rusty. If ya get rusty, ya’ll probably get dead.”
“You’re a really good fighter,” Kia commented, glancing at the floor and then back up at him. “Do you think maybe you could teach me some stuff?”
The distinct image of Charles grinning like a smug jackass formed in the back of Logan’s mind.
“Sure, why not?” he replied. “Ya sure as hell ain’t gonna learn much from Cyke anyway.”
“Scott gave up on teaching me directly, actually,” Kia pointed out with a roll of her eyes. “I’ve mostly been learning from Betsy and a few others.”
Logan nodded and rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Bets’ is the one to learn from. But I can still teach ya a few things. C’mon, then, let’s head over there and start early.”
***
Thursday, after her last class, Kia turned to leave the classroom and found Logan propped up against the wall outside her classroom door.
“Ya give them brats too much homework. It ain’t good fer kids to have their heads stuffed in a bunch o’ books all the time.”
“You don’t think so?” Kia smiled. “I figured now is as good a time as any to load them up with assignments, since we’re being so paranoid about who does what. It’ll keep them out of trouble until we all relax a bit. Besides, this is advanced English.”
Logan shrugged, smirking slightly. “Whatever ya say, Teach. Anyway. Ya still plannin’ on trainin’ today?”
“Yep,” Kia answered.
“Ya don’t want a day off?” he asked.
Kia shrugged and stepped back into her classroom, motioning for Logan to step inside. Logan glanced around at the room; organized, neat, clean…her desk in the front was as cheap and efficient as Charles was likely to own. Kia wiped the dry erase board clean as he watched.
“I don’t want to start bad habits,” she said, then giggled softly. “Scott lets me skip training sessions. I think it’s because he doesn’t want to have to deal with me.”
“Heh. What’s the deal with you and him?” Logan asked.
Kia paused for a moment, considering. She placed a hand on her hip and glanced over her shoulder at him. “What’s the deal with you two?”
Logan chuckled softly. “Point taken.”
“He just rubs me the wrong way. I guess I’m not fond of…” Kia faltered.
“Boyscouts?” Logan suggested.
“Pretty much,” she laughed.
“Don’t worry ‘bout Cyke too much. If ya stay out of his way, he’ll leave ya be. He’s usually decent enough ‘bout leavin’ people alone as long as they ain’t in his hair.”
“Well I wouldn’t want to ruin his hair,” Kia rolled her eyes.
“Just follow Storm. She’ll take care of ya,” Logan suggested.
“I know. I make it a habit of listening to her.”
The board clean, Kia grabbed up her bag full of papers and books for her classes, and a folder full of recently turned in papers. The two Mutants left the room and she locked it behind her. “I’ll meet you downstairs in a few minutes?”
“Yep,” Logan nodded, and they parted ways.
***
Kia entered the Danger Room about fifteen minutes later. Logan had said they would be working out casually, so instead of her hand-me-down uniform she was wearing a tank top and a pair of tight sweat pants. She had her long hair hastily piled up into a messy but functional bun and she was wearing a comfortable pair of tennis shoes. She carried a small bottle of water and a hand towel in with her.
“I’m gonna set the mood, if ya don’t mind,” Logan suggested.
“Sure,” Kia shrugged.
“Activate Logan simulation three,” Logan said, and the Danger Room shifted.
They stood in a garden below a tall cherry blossom tree. The petals clung to the gnarled, reaching branches and sporadically floated down like pink snowflakes lifting on the odd gust of wind. The ground at the foot of the tree was covered in bright emerald grass that extended several feet before them. Beyond the grass stood a neatly arrayed rock garden, the multi-colored rocks and stones forming intricate and perfect patterns. To the left of the rock garden, a small pond splayed the ground, rippling softly as the breeze brushed across its surface. A slender stream stretched along from the pond, circling around the rock garden with a finely carved, short bridge spanning it. The wide garden was enclosed on all sides by tall, thick walls. The sky was clear and dotted with cotton-ball clouds, and several birds chirped cheerily as they chased each other through the branches of the cherry tree.
“What is it with you guys and Japanese places?” Kia asked with a smile.
“Huh?” Logan asked with an arched brow.
“The day we met. We did a training simulation in the courtyard of a Japanese temple.”
“Oh yeah,” Logan smirked. “The showdown at wing-po. I had Hank program this simulation, and that one too.”
“Ah,” Kia nodded. “Got a thing for asian culture?”
“Been out east a few times, ya could say,” Logan replied. He stepped away from the tree and turned back to face her.
“Anyway. Let’s get warmed up.”
The two Mutants stretched out, bending and twisting their bodies to loosen and warm their muscles. Kia was surprised by Logan’s flexibility; for how thick with muscle his body was, he was impressively limber. For her part, Kia was quite flexable, able to bend and maneuver her body into some of the more complex stretches.
“I ain’t really sure what to teach ya yet,” Logan said, “ ‘Cause I don’t really know what ya can do. So, let’s find out.”
“Uh, okay?” Kia replied as they stood up.
Logan popped his neck and then dropped his body into a relaxed but ready stance, his hands extended slightly before him. “Let’s spar. I’ll see what we need to do from there.”
Kia swallowed nervously but nodded, dropping into a stance of her own.
“Ya can use yer powers to make ya stronger and faster, right?” Logan said.
“Yes,” Kia nodded.
“Can ya use it to deaden pain?”
Kia considered for a moment and then nodded hesitantly. “To an extent, yes…I can manipulate my pain receptors and tune them down enough so that I don’t really notice anymore. Uh, why?”
Logan smirked and patted his arm. “My bones are made o’ the hardest metal known t’man. I ain’t tryin’ to hurt you or anythin’, but if I block, yer gonna feel it.”
“Okay,” Kia murmured. Her eyes shut for a moment, then she nodded again. “Done.”
“Good. Come at me.”
Kia exploded forward, leaping at him with superhuman speed. Logan’s eyes widened and he ducked as she launched a spinning kick at his head, easily leaping high enough to strike at his face with flying feet. He cursed under his breath as he felt the wind coming off the devastating kick rustle his hair. She landed and without hesitating a moment lunged forward again. She struck at him hard and fast, her fists jabbing at him repeatedly. Logan was nearly stumbling with the effort to dodge and sidestep her attacks.
Kia snapped out a front kick at his abdomen, making him scoot back out of range. Before he’d even finished dodging she exploded into motion again, raising her knee and driving forward with it past Logan’s guard.
Logan grunted heavily as the woman’s knee blasted into his stomach. He had to admit, she was good, especially for someone who was only now becoming a part of the X-men’s dangerous world. She was dizzying fast when she used her powers on herself, and her strength was nothing to laugh at either.
But he was Wolverine, and no one knew the game as well as he did.
His hand shot forward and gripped the front of her shirt, bunching it in his fist and yanking it forward as he kicked out her legs. Kia tumbled over, quickly catching herself and attempting to roll away.
But Logan kept his hold on her shirt and jerked her back, smacking her to the ground and reaching down to press his free hand to her throat warningly. Kia ceased struggling and lay still, acknowledging his victory.
Logan gripped her slender hand and pulled her to her feet. He nodded, his face serious and void of emotion. “Again.”
Kia approached more slowly this time, edging forward and cautiously moving into his range. He swung at her, a wide, looping hook she knew was a baited punch. She took it, stepping into his guard and then blocking the body blow she correctly anticipated. Even though she could barely feel the pain, Kia winced at the dull clang of his metallic bone meeting hers. She shuddered as she considered what such an unyielding block could do to her if he wasn’t holding back.
She gripped Logan’s muscled forearm and kicked out, slamming a sidekick into his side and pushing him backward. His metal ribs absorbed most of the kick, and the rest he easily shook off. He nodded and motioned for her to come at him again.
Her speed once more picked up as she struck at him, punching, kicking, lunging and spinning as she advanced on him. Logan retreated, blocking and dodging, his powerful forearms and shins turning and absorbing every attack even as he gave ground. He snapped his own occasional jab and kick at her, which she easily dodged, but he was content for the moment to allow her the offensive and see what she could do.
The pair stepped into the rock garden, their feet skipping and sliding along the shifting rocks, disrupting the pattern of the stones to form a new, less obvious one. Logan blocked and twisted out of the way of a quick combination of kicks, then turned aside a straight punch aimed at his throat. He struck at Kia’s head with his right hand, then reached down and gripped the back of her collar when she ducked. He yanked her forward, pushing his left hand out at the same time, and tossed her effortlessly to the ground.
Kia groaned softly as she got back up, feeling pretty certain that some of those rocks had left pointy imprints on her back.
“Again,” Logan nodded, settling back into a guarded stance.
Kia focused her power, directing her adrenal gland to produce an even greater amount of adrenaline. She flew into motion again, this time feinting with a few strikes before reaching for Logan’s head. She pulled him into a clinch and jumped forward, raising her knee to strike him in the face, but he moved too quickly and pushed hard on her abdomen. She slipped back through the air and managed to land on her feet.
She was unprepared for the suddenly aggressive and wild man attacking her.
He charged her, his meaty fists swinging at her. She ducked and skipped around with her feet nearly slipping on the stones as she avoided his strikes. He kicked at her legs and narrowly missed as she leapt over it and flipped back. He lunged at her and Kia narrowing rolled out of reach, coming up and kicking out at his back. He spun and caught the kick, lifting her leg upward as he smacked his palm into her chest, sending her to the ground.
Logan’s powerful hands gripped her leg and began to twist it into a hold. Kia desperately kicked at him with her free leg for several moments to no avail. Finally, she managed to hook her foot around one of his heels and unbalance him enough to slip free.
As the woman sprang to her feet, Logan was back in her face, striking and lashing out at her. Both of them exchanged blows, attacking and blocking back and forth in a flurry of movement, their feet slipping and sliding along the stones, yet both perfectly balanced and composed. Kia planted the heel of her foot into his stomach, then lunged forward to drive the tip of her elbow into his face. Logan slipped down and to the side, avoiding her strike and stepping smoothly around her body. Kia attempted to slip free for only a moment as his arm closed around her throat from behind, then tapped his forearm to signal her surrender.
“Again.”
They moved off of the rock garden, spinning, lunging, flipping and twisting toward the small stream, their fists creating a burst of wind to brush against sweating skin as they narrowly missed making contact.
Despite Kia’s power augmented body, she was tiring. Using her powers so heavily was taxing her, draining the very energy reserves that she used her powers to replenish. Soon, they were going to be tapped out.
But not before she proved that she could hold her own, too.
She lunged forward, exploding into a left-left-right combination and then launching a roundhouse at her sparing partner. Logan retreated slightly but blocked each attack, making her limbs ache dully with the impact. Both of them scooted back onto the bridge spanning the stream and continued to attack and block back and forth.
Kia shot a hook at the side of his head. Logan ducked the strike, slipping past her guard. He drove the heel of his palm into her solar plexus, knocking the breath from her. He straightened, grabbed her arm, then hip-tossed her over the railing of the wooden bridge and into the stream.
The splash into the cold water shattered Kia’s concentration. She sat upright, sputtering slightly as she wiped the dripping water from her face.
“Ow,” she muttered. She flicked a waterlogged tendril of hair from her face and gave a sigh.
“You okay?” Logan asked as he walked to the side of the stream.
“Yeah…I think I may be a bit spent for the moment, though,” Kia said through a heavy breath.
Logan held a hand out to her and helped her to her feet. He nodded slowly and stepped away. “We’ll finish for tonight. Ya did good. I think I can teach ya a few things, but ya got a real solid foundation.”
“Thanks,” Kia smiled tiredly.
“Yer gonna be bruised up pretty bad, huh?” Logan said. Kia glanced down at her body and noticed the bruises already rising on her arms.
“I’ll be okay,” she assured him. “About an hour or two of healing and I’ll be good as new.”
“Good,” Logan nodded. “We’ll train again sometime soon, and I’ll teach ya a few things that should sit well with yer kinda fightin’.”
“Okay, that sounds good to me,” Kia nodded.
“Deactivate simulation,” Logan said, and the garden around them faded, leaving them standing in the cold metal chamber of the danger room.
“Are you coming to dinner tonight?” Kia asked as she retrieved her towel and mopped away the gleaming sheen of sweat from her brow.
Thursday was the day that the team generally tried to gather for a group dinner. It was an old tradition at the Mansion, and a good time for the friends and teammates to relax and enjoy conversation and companionship. It was something of a ‘family’ time for the X-men.
“As long as Rogue ain’t cookin’, I’ll be there,” Logan grinned.
“Nah,” Kia giggled. “Ororo is going to make some pasta and potato salad. Hank is making cheeseburgers. And I’m baking some stuff.”
“Jean ain’t cookin’?” Logan asked with an arched brow. Jean was the closest thing to a cook that the team had.
“Um, no, I don’t think so. Ororo said Scott was going to take her out to dinner.”
“Ah,” Logan muttered. “Yeah, I’ll be there. See if Beast can sneak in some bacon fer me.”
“No problem,” Kia smiled. “See you around seven then. And thanks for the training.”
***
Logan arrived in the dining room at seven, dressed in a black t-shirt and worn pants. He wanted a cigar. He refrained from smoking for dinner. He seldom cared about others impressions of his bad habits, but he felt a dinner table wasn’t exactly the place to light up a Cuban. Kurt was placing some trivets on the table while Hank brought out a giant bowl of pasta salad. Rogue followed him out of the kitchen, carrying a plate laden with fresh, steaming muffins ranging from corn to blueberry to banana. Peter and Bobby entered and took their seats at the table, talking and joking together. Ororo brought in her famous potato salad as Hank walked back into the kitchen and returned a moment later with a huge platter of burgers and an extra large bag of buns. Kia exited the kitchen last, carrying yet another tray, this one bearing small plates of toppings; lettuce, relish, pickles, tomatoes, condiment bottles, and fresh, crispy bacon.
Everyone started getting settled and comfortable, Several seats remained empty; it was rare for each and every one of them to show up for dinner, and no one took much notice, despite the wariness everyone was going through. Kurt took a seat next to Kia and Logan sat between Peter and Bobby. Both Logan and Peter, along with Hank, had specially crafted chairs designed to support their unusual weight.
Hank pushed a small cart covered with various drinks and beverages out to the table. Everyone started grabbing food and drink, piling their plates with burgers and various kinds of salads. Rogue handed Logan one of his beers as Hank took a seat beside Storm.
Kurt cleared his throat softly. “If it vould please my friends, shall ve have a blessing?”
“Of course, Kurt,” Ororo smiled. Despite coming from all walks of life and having a variety of beliefs between all of them, everyone respected Kurt’s blessings. He offered to pray for his friends because he cared for them, not to convince or convert, and each of them appreciated his good intentions.
After the blessing everyone began to eat enthusiastically. The clatter of dishes filled the room. Logan helped himself to an extra scoop of potato salad while Peter grabbed up more corn muffins than anyone else. Most of them grabbed an extra hamburger. Sporadic and varied conversations crisscrossed the table, relaxed one on one talks and rowdy debates and group exchanges that involved nearly everyone present. It was a relaxed, enjoyable time where everyone could catch up and bond over good food.
***
After the meal, most everyone pitched in for the clean-up process, though not everyone could fit into the kitchen. Almost no food remained from the pleasant meal, so most of the work centered around cleaning dishes. Peter and Kurt carried dishes to the kitchen. Betsy and Bobby put up the remaining drinks and soda’s, and tidied up the kitchen. Hank and Ororo cleaned and arrange the mess in the dining room and then left to spend some time together. Most of the ground dispersed.
That left Kia to do the dishes. She filled the sink with hot water and soap and grabbed a sponge and a wire brush, and had at it without complaint.
“Lemme give ya a hand,” Logan offered as he stepped up beside her.
Kia arched a curious brow; Logan didn’t seem like the dish-washing type, but she nodded anyway and made room for him at the sink. They settled into a rhythm of Logan scrubbing the food and mess from the dishes before handing it to Kia, who rinsed and wiped the majority of the water from the dish before setting it in the rack to dry.
“How’re ya holdin’ up?” Logan asked after minutes of silence.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Kia asked as she wiped a glass.
“With the attack an’ all. Lot o’ us are kinda on edge lately. Must be kinda hard for ya, bein’ kinda half in an’ half out o’ the team.”
“I guess,” Kia shrugged. “I’m being included because the Professor wants me to, but from what I can see, none of us are really doing anything anyway.”
Logan nodded and handed her one of the extra large platters. “How ya sleepin’?”
“Fine,” Kia shrugged, then smiled slightly. “I’m not going to lose any sleep over this or anything. I get pretty little as it is.”
“How’s that?” Logan asked.
Kia shrugged and reached up to scratch her nose. “It’s because of my powers. I only need about four or five hours of sleep to function normally, and I can manage on less than that if I have to. I use my powers to boost my body’s energy producing systems while I sleep, so it takes less time in a sleep state for me to get well rested.”
A wry smirk twitched across Logan’s face. Kia gave him a confused look. “What?”
“Ya got suds on yer nose,” he reported with a wider grin.
Kia tried her best not to turn red as she grabbed a paper towel and wiped her nose.
“You ain’t the only one,” Logan said as he turned his attention back to the dishes.
“Pardon?” Kia asked.
“Yer sleep trick,” Logan explained. “I do that too, only I ain’t got much say in it.”
Kia nodded as Logan handed her the last dish to rinse and dry. “I like sleeping, though, so I usually sleep in anyway. I’d probably sleep till noon every day if I didn’t have to teach classes.”
“Yer kinda strange sometimes,” Logan chuckled.
Kia glanced at him, smirking softly as she put the last dish on the rack to dry. “Yeah, I know. But I don’t really mind.”
“Ya shouldn’t,” Logan agreed. He walked to the fridge and fished around for a beer.
“If ya hadn’t noticed yet,” he continued without glancing at her. “We’re all kinda off here. An’ it ain’t just ‘cus we’re Mutants, either, though for some o’ us that helps. When ya live like we do…ya tend to see stuff different than most folk. Bein’ strange…it’s part o’ the job. An’ I think it makes ya a better person, anyway.”
He stood up straight, beer in hand, and glanced at her. “Night,” he said with a curt nod.
“Thanks,” Kia said softly, but he was already walking away. She watched him go, then gave a shrug and returned to her room for the night, trying to decide which of the two of them was actually the strange one.
***
Jean stepped out of her room with a sigh and shut the door softly behind her. She wore an emerald spaghetti strap night-gown that fell to just above her knees. She walked bare-foot down the Mansion halls feeling down and upset. Her rich fiery curls hung about her face. She approached the kitchen quietly, but when she glanced in, she spotted Logan and Kia sitting at the table. She and Kia weren’t entirely comfortable around each other, and although Logan was often surprisingly reliable for a shoulder to cry on, she didn’t want to talk to him about this.
So Jean walked quietly past the kitchen and made her way to the rec room down the hall. She entered to find the TV screen casting its soft light about the room and the volume on low. Elizabeth was sitting on the couch. She wore a pair of small, fuzzy blue slippers and a soft purple robe over her nightwear.
Psylocke glanced up as Jean entered the room, watching the redhead as she walked across the floor and sat down on the couch beside her.
You’re upset, Betsy said into her mind.
We’re not supposed to pry like that, Jean replied telepathicly.
I didn’t have to read your mind, you know. It’s all over your face.
“Betsy,” Jean sighed out loud. “I just don’t know what I’m going to do. I feel like we’re falling apart.”
Betsy nodded slowly, sitting up straighter and turning to face Jean. “You two have another fight?”
“No,” Jean replied glumly.
“Did dinner not go well, then?”
Jean shrugged one shoulder as she lifted one slender hand and began to distractedly chew her thumb nail. “I guess. It was just…We sat there and stared at our food, and barely said two words to each other in the span of an hour. It was…uncomfortable.”
“I’m sorry,” Betsy sighed and shook her head. “I know it’s been hard on you, Jean.”
“I don’t know what’s happened to us, Betsy,” Jean murmured. “We used to be so close…so in love…and now it’s like we’re strangers. It isn’t even comfortable to be in the same bed with him anymore.”
“Scott does seem to have changed some,” Betsy muttered.
“You think so, too?” Jean asked.
“Yeah. I mean, he’s always been anal, but lately…” Betsy let her words trail off as she shrugged.
“I wonder if it’s because of our problems,” Jean confided. “I sometimes think the relationship and I are the reason he’s acting the way he is.”
“Don’t take it all on yourself,” Betsy scolded, reaching out to pat her friend’s hand. “Scott is responsible for his own actions, and it’s hardly like he’s being a great guy to be around lately, for you or anyone else.”
Jean ran her hands through her curls in frustration. “Things just aren’t the way they used to be…I don’t feel like I used to. I don’t think I love him anymore.”
An uncomfortable silence stretched between them for several moments, neither wanting to really address the issue that had just been put on the table.
“If you don’t love him, then maybe you should start thinking about where your relationship is at now, and if it’s something you want to continue,” Betsy advised.
“How can I do that? Besides all the personal issues that would cause, us breaking up could rip the team apart. Can you imagine how awkward that would make things around here?”
“No more awkward than they’re getting as things are,” Betsy insisted.
“Maybe,” Jean muttered. “I just don’t know what to do right now.”
“Right now you should relax and watch crappy late-night TV with me, and leave thinking about this kind of stuff till a more reasonable hour,” Betsy smiled.
“Yeah,” Jean replied, then stifled a yawn. “Anything good on?”
“Is there ever anything good on at this hour?”
“What’re you doing up, anyway?”
Betsy shrugged and flipped a few channels. “The attack has me a bit…edgy. It’ll probably be a few nights before I can relax enough to sleep properly.”
“We’re all edgy,” Jean replied as she relaxed into the couch.
“I know. Still, everyone seems to be handling things reasonably well.”
“I’m glad for that,” Jean nodded. “I’d hate to think what kind of mood Scott would be in if we didn’t.”
***
Logan shuffled into the kitchen shortly after midnight the next night, dressed in a tank top and shorts and scratching his head. He was feeling restless and couldn’t seem to settle in to sleep just yet, so he decided he’d get himself a snack and a beer, and maybe catch up on some reading. While he certainly didn’t consider himself an intellectual, Logan was more well read than some of his friends realized.
He smelled Kia just before he saw her and paused in the doorway. She was rifling through the fridge, likely for the same reason as he, and he wasn’t sure if he really felt like talking to someone at the moment.
But Kia glanced up and caught him in the corner of her eye before he could step back out of view. She jumped ever so slightly when she spotted him, but then straightened and smiled.
“So the kitchen calls you at night too, huh?” she asked.
“Never could sleep on an empty stomach,” Logan replied, and stepped more fully into the kitchen. “How ‘bout you?”
“Spending my nights grading papers,” Kia replied as she bent back down and started pulling things out of the fridge. “Sit down, I’ll warm you up some leftovers.”
“Thanks,” Logan grunted as he pulled one of the chairs out and plopped down into it. “So. How many o’ yer kids ya failed so far?”
“None, actually,” Kia replied as she put a jar of mayo on the counter. Her hair, loose and unbound at this late hour, hung down beside her face like a curtain waving in the breeze when she bent back down to grab more from the fridge. “All of my classes are advanced and optional, so all the children in them can handle it.”
Logan scratched at the stubble on his chin. “Ya gotta have some kinda PhD fer Chuck to let ya teach the advanced classes, don’t ya?”
“I have one,” Kia smiled. She shut the fridge door and laid some bread on the counter top. “An English degree specializing in Literature.”
“Yer kinda young to have a PhD,” Logan commented.
“I get that a lot,” Kia smiled broadly.
Kia fixed up a double decker cheeseburgers with bacon. She made herself a large bowl of Cookie Dough ice-cream.
“You know, sometimes it’s nice to be able to accelerate your own metabolism,” Kia smiled. “It means all ice-cream is guilt free ice-cream.”
They ate for several moments in silence, relaxing into the kind of enjoyment only an after-midnight snack could bring.
“Ya seem like a pretty good cook,” Logan commented several moments later. “Pete’n I ate tons last night. He seemed to really like them banana muffins. Liked the corn muffins, myself.”
“Thanks,” Kia said, beaming happily at the compliment. “I have a lot of practice. I used to cook for my family all the time.” Kia paused and made a face. “I wasn’t so good at first, but anything was better than my step-aunts cooking. My poor brother hardly ate. Someone had to put some meat on his bones.”
“He a Mutant too?” Logan asked.
“Yeah. At least he was,” she answered evenly.
They fell silent for the rest of their meal. Logan carried his plate to the sink and washed it, then filled a glass with some water.
“Sorry,” he said softly. He left her standing at the kitchen sink.
End Ch.6
I really liked writing the training scene in this chapter for some reason. It seemed pretty interesting and intense to me, and (at least to my eyes) more concise and developed than some of my previous battle scenes. Hope you all liked. No sex in this chapter, but that’ll be remedied with the next one, never fear ;) .
Please send all questions/comments/critiques to
Crouching_Buddha2000@yahoo.com