Galatea

Galatea Chapter Two (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST WOMAN ALIVE (tm), Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta...*sends extra muses just in case * InterNutter, TC, Maxwell Pink and Dracena are all lovely and wonderful for archiving/hosting. :) ProPhile is smutastic. ;) Readers/Reviewers: *GLOMP * And no, Spetion, they're not sharing a room but they were...um..."visiting".


"I am not saying somebody took it... I'm saying that it's been seriously misplaced..."
Jean rolled her eyes. "Professor, it didn't just walk off!"
"I'd like to believe the best of my household," he sighed. "It would be easy enough to find out but I'd rather show trust in their basic good and give them the chance to return it...find it, rather."
Jean pressed her lips together to keep silent as the sleepy residents of the Institute trooped into the library. She exchanged glances with Scott, leading in the younger students from the new wing, and sighed. Logan, looking more irritated than sleepy, crossed hiss ans and took up his customary position by the door. "What's the deal, Chuck?"
Professor Xavier's stern expression quelled any snickers from the younger mutants who would have found Logan's familiarity amusing. "Something has gone missing from the boathouse..." He took a brief moment to reinforce his mental shields, so much a second nature by this point in his life it was not even an effort. "Every possible avenue as been exhausted in terms of search. We have ruled out the possibility that it was simple misplaced," he raised a brow at Jean's soft snort and continued, "and we would like to offer the opportunity to anyone who may have...made a poor choice...to rectify this matter immediately."
Jean cleared her throat softly and added, "I'll be in class all day tomorrow and Scott will be working... If you know or you are the person who took it, you can put it back between seven and four..."
Paige, looking worried and confused, asked, "What are you missing?"
The older girl smiled crookedly, apologetically, "I'd rather not say. Whoever has it knows what they took and knows how valuable it is to me personally... It's not worth a lot of money but it has...sentimental value beyond anything else I own."
Kitty covered yet another yawn and asked, "Well, is that it?"
Scott spoke before Jean could. "We're sorry you all had to come downlatelate..."
Professor Xavier interrupted calmly. "But Jean felt this was very important...I-we-are sure this is just a minor transgression, a prank maybe or an error in judgment. If the item is not returned tomorrow, I'm afraid we will have to resort to more draconian measures. Good night."
A subtle signal from the Professor detained Kurt and Jubilee, who lingered in the back of the room until it cleared out. Looking longingly in the direction Kitty had vanished into, Kurt asked "What is it, Professor? I'm kind of tired..."
"I imagine so," he replied dryly. Ignoring Kurt's blush and Jubilee's bemused look, he continued, "I have a request to make of you both... You are well liked and trusted by the new students and they tend to tell you both things that they would not otherwise reveal to people they might feel would leak privy information back to me or one of the other adults."
Jubilee held up a warding hand. "Whoa. You want us to snitch? No way, dude. I ain't snitching on anyone!"
Professor Xavier sighed wearily. "I am not asking you to tell tales, Jubilation. I am asking you to encourage any miscreants to return the stolen property."
Kurt raised a wary brow. "If they do not feel a need to confess to us, what do you suggest we do?"
"Encourage honesty or at least bravery. Mention that it would be a good thing if someone returned Jean's item because it hurts you that they hurt your friend..."
Kurt snorted. "May I phrase that less stiffly?"
"As you wish."
Jubilee shook her head. "I'm not going to play the heavy here... If it was taken out of someone's locked house, just one thing, without leaving a trace... Someone knew what they were doing and they aren't going to give it back."
Kurt eyed Jubilee dubiously but had to agree. "She knows whereof she speaks, Herr Professor... No offense, Jubes."
"None taken," she shrugged. "I was good at what I did and I'm proud of it. Kept me from getting killed or worse."
Professor Xavier sighed inwardly. "That will be all for this evening. Good night..."
Kurt and Jubilee nodded their farewells and exited quickly, before he could think of anything else to ask of them. Once outside the door, Jubilee snorted, "No way. I'm not going to do it."
"If it'll help Jean..."
"Why doesn't she just scan 'em?"
Kurt made a helpless gesture with his hands. "Maybe she wants to show them some respect before violating their trust... And besides, they would have to be thinking of it exactly when she scanned them for her to pick it up easily... The Professor and Emma are more adept at plumbing for thoughts."
Jubilee shook her head and turned tok ofk off, tossing over her shoulder, "I feel bad someone stole from her, really, but I gotta wonder...what's going on that makes 'em need to?"


Storm was watching the thick clouds roll in from the bay when Logan slipped into her room. "Not even a new semester and the kids are acting up."
She raised a platinum brow and turned to face him on her balcony. "Something doesn't seem quite right about the whole thing..."
"What? Kids stealing? It's not right but it ain't surprising." He closed the distance between them and slid his hands around her waist. "I don't know about you, but I'm still wide awake..."
"I'm not in the mood, Logan," she sighed. She crossed her wrists behind his neck and sighed, letting her head fall back to look up at the stars. "Something just doesn't seem right lately..."
"Uh...what?"
She smiled faintly at the reflexive tightening of his hands on her hips. "No, we're fine," she sighed. "You and I are just fine..."
"If you say so," he responded just as quietly, dipping his head to kiss her throat.
Storm murmured protest but did not push him away as he buried his face in her hair. "It feels like there's something brewing, something beneath the surface of everything that's normal."
"You get melodramatic when you're tired, babe."
"What did I tell you about nam names?"
"Ah...something about lightening and metal skeletons."
"Exactly." She laughed at Logan's discomfited expression. "I'm not melodramatic. I'm just correct."
"Ah, the goddess complex. I see... The problem with goddesses is that they're always on pedestals."
"Not always. Some have feet of clay."
Logan lowered his head to kiss her again but a loud, crystalline crash from next door made his head snap up, hearing the muffled shng cng clearly where Storm just heard the dull thud of voices against wood. "Be back."
Storm sighed in frustration. "I'll come with you." Under her breath, she muttered, "Not like I had anything else in mind..."

Emma picked up another glass ornament to throw, but Sean stayed her hand. "You're actin' like a child!"
"You're an idiot!" she snarled, wrenching free of his grasp. "Get out of my room!"
"This is my room!"
"Then move!" She stomped on his foot with one white stiletto. "Now!"
Sean let loose a stream of swear words so blue they practically colored the air. "Emma, stop acting like this!"
Emma did not respond but ran head first into Logan's chest. "What's the deal?" he asked genially, but pinned Banshee with a penetrating stare.
Banshee, ne Sean, snorted. "Ask her, the daft bint!"
"That," Emma snarled, "was low." She sent lamp soaring towards his head with the benefit of her telekinesis.
Storm dodged to one side to avoid being plowed down by the fleeing telepath. "I told you something was going to happen."