X3: The Ace Of Spades

Disclaimer: X-Men is owned by Marvel Comics and 20th Century Fox. I do not own X-Men, nor am I making a profit from this work of fan-fiction. So don't sue me! Not that you'd get a whole lot from me anyway ;)

A/N: Wow, hey everyone. Can’t believe its been 2+ months since I updated this. Haven’t given up or anything, RL has just been hell lately. Hope you’re all still interested in the story (don’t be afraid to bug me if I’m taking so long – sometimes it helps to get me going if people bug me about it). Thanks for all your reviews back last chapter. Here’s the new chap – lots of fun scenes from the next few days of their Break.

Chapter 22: Vacation – Part Two

“Did you get hurt this time?” Sarah mumbled into Remy’s neck. She’d been waiting at the door of the hangar, and had raced over to them as the ramp of the Jet opened.

“Non, petite. Not even a scratch.” Remy said, grinning.

She looked him over with a dubious expression, and then smiled happily when she didn’t see any visible injuries. “Good.”

Remy kissed her cheek, and then set her down next to him. She grabbed his hand, and watched as the others filed down the ramp. At the back were the two mutants they’d found at the compound.

Lorna’s eyes lit up as she exited and she looked around the hangar and her eyes fell on Remy. She moved over toward him, and he noted her complexion seemed to have returned to normal, no longer as pale as it had been on the jet.

“I-I didn’t see a trash can, and I wasn’t sure what to do with these,” she said, holding up the wadded tissues he’d given her to stem the flow of blood from her nose.

Remy smiled. “Here,” he said, taking it from her fingers.

His ungloved fingers touched the tissues, and they began to glow magenta, and a moment later the tissues disappeared in a puff of dust, and a soft pop.

One of Lorna’s green eyebrows rose at that, and then her eye was drawn to where Sarah had moved back, mostly behind Remy, at her approach. She waved slightly to Sarah and smiled at her.

“Hi there,” Lorna said. “I’m Lorna – what’s your name?”

“I’m Sarah,” she replied, looking curiously at the woman. “Is that your real hair color?” She asked.

Lorna chuckled. “Yeah, it’s always been this color.”

Sarah smiled, and moved out from behind Remy more, her eyes on Lorna’s face. “Are you hurt?” She asked.

Lorna’s hand rose unconsciously to the large bruise on her face, and then forced a smile. “Not much. Remy and your other friends saved us before they could do anything to us.”

Sarah suddenly shrank back behind Remy once again, and Remy’s eyes flicked up from looking at her to see the reason for it - Nezhno had walked over to them, and moved up next to Lorna.

Remy smiled, and squeezed Sarah’s hand. “Sarah, dis’s de other person we picked up. His name’s Nezhno.”

The tall, silvery-tattooed man bowed his head toward Sarah, and rumbled a “hello” in his deep voice.

“H-hi,” Sarah squeaked, gripping Remy’s hand tighter.

Remy laughed, and nodded over to the entrance to the hangar where Xavier sat in his wheelchair. “C’mon you two, there’s someone you should meet.”

He pulled Sarah along, and Nezhno and Lorna followed along behind him.

Xavier nodded in greeting. “How did it go?”

Remy shrugged. “About as well as it could’ve without de time for better plans. No one got hurt at least.”

Xavier nodded, and inclined his head toward the two mutants standing near Remy and Sarah. “Are they… are they the only ones?” He asked sadly.

Remy nodded grimly. “Yeah. Th’rest… didn’ make it,” Remy said carefully, and Xavier nodded, glancing at Sarah and realizing Remy didn’t want to get into it further in front of her.

“Very well, I hope you have time for a ‘debriefing’ in a bit so we can go over what happened.”

Remy nodded. “Sure, Charles. I’ve gotta get my stuff packed for tomorrow, an’ get Sarah to bed, so send someone t’get me when you’re ready.” He nodded toward the two mutants. “Lorna, Nezhno, dis is Charles Xavier, de man behind all dis. I’ll leave you wit’ him.”

Remy started away, and Lorna placed a hand on his arm, causing him to turn back in her direction.

Lorna smiled. “Thanks, again, for getting us out of that place.”

Remy nodded, smiling back. “Y’welcome, Lorna.” He said, before turning again, Sarah moving ahead to pull him out of the hangar.

“Whoah, petite, slow down,” Remy said as she kept tugging his hand. The elevator door slid open, and the two entered, taking it up to their floor.

“You got all your stuff packed, petite?” Remy asked as they reached her room, and she opened the door.

Sarah nodded and pointed to her duffel bag sitting on the dresser, filled nearly to the brim. “Yeah, Remy, I’m not lazy an’ putting it off ‘till now, like you,” she said teasingly.

He poked her side, and she squirmed away, moving to sit on the bed. “I ain’ lazy, I jus’ like procrastinatin’.” Remy said.

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Rogue would call you lazy too.”

Remy sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. “I’m sure she would – you two’ve been teamin’ up against me.” He said, poking her again.

Sarah smiled, and then sighed, and leaned against him. “What happened to the other mutants you were talkin’ about?” She asked quietly. “You didn’t tell the Professor everything because I was there,” she said admonishingly.

Remy sighed. “Dat’s b’cause I didn’ wan’ you hearin’ it. You got bad enough nightmares as it is, petite.”

Sarah looked up at him. “Were they dead?”

Remy nodded, a frown on his face. “Yeah. Dey were doin’ somethin’ messed up at dat place, an’ I wish we’d found out earlier. An’ dat’s all I’m sayin’,” he said, looking sternly at her.

Sarah nodded, realizing that she probably didn’t want to know, if it had upset Remy like this.

“Are Lorna and that guy gonna stay here?” Sarah asked.

Remy shrugged. “I dunno, petite. Dat’ll be up to dem. They might have family somewhere or somethin’ to go back to.”

Remy leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Alrigh’, Sarah, you gotta get t’bed. We’ve got an early mornin’ t’morrow.”

She pouted, but got up to grab a pair of pajamas from the dresser as Remy stood. “G’night, Remy,” she said softly.

Remy tousled her hair, and moved to the door. “Goodnight, Sarah.”

*****************************************************************

“And you both are quite welcome to stay here as long as you like to get back on your feet. And if you like it here, you can remain even after that.” Xavier said, a warm smile on his face as he addressed Lorna and Nezhno.

“So this is like a school?” Lorna asked, looking around the main hall of the ground floor of the mansion as they walked next to Xavier toward his office.

Charles nodded. “It is. Unfortunately we have very few students here at the moment – most who have parents that accept them are visiting home or going on trips. This is our spring vacation, so most are gone. We have forty-five students this year, and we will have close to a hundred additional students by next semester.”

“Aside from the basics of schooling, I help my students gain control of their abilities. We also offer courses in Mutant Ethics, exploring what is an ethical use of our powers, and at what point we should not use them.”

He wheeled his chair in through his office door, and turned it, gesturing to two chairs that sat in front of his desk, which Lorna and Nezhno took. “If you would like to remain here, you could finish any schooling you might have – with the benefit of being among those who understand you and your abilities.”

“We even have a close relationship with the local community college, and a number of our students are taking on-line courses with them. They just need to go into town for any field trips that classes might require, but otherwise everything is done here at the mansion. I provide tutoring for some of the classes to supplement their on-line courses.”

Lorna’s expression became interested as Xavier explained the school, and Charles could also feel a tendril of interest coming from the expressionless Nezhno’s mind.

“So you’re a school that just happens to have some sort of jet and a squad of mutants that attack Purifier bases?” Lorna asked, an eyebrow rising. “Not that I’m complaining……”

Charles laughed softly. “I guess you could put it that way. They are my X-men, a group of mutants that have been trained to fight, trained to protect the school and eliminate threats against mutantkind.”

Lorna looked into Xavier’s eyes. “If I stayed, I’d take those college classes you were talking about. Would I have to be a part of your X-men to stay here?”

Charles shook his head. “Oh, no, my dear. The X-men are a volunteer group – you only join if you choose to, and then only if you undergo some rather intense training.”

Lorna nodded thoughtfully. “But they are your former students, right?” She asked.

Charles nodded. “Mostly. I have had a number of students chose to not join, but most do. I will certainly not force you to. And in fact, three of those you met were never students of mine, at least in a the general sense. They came here for varying reasons, refuge, protection, and chose to join the X-men.”

Lorna bit her lip, and nodded, looking down. “I’m… I’ve got nothing to go back to. My family’s gone – the Purifiers killed them when they took me. I’d like to give this place a try, but… I don’t have any money…”

Charles shook his head. “No need for that. I don’t ask for money, only that you find what you might be good at and help out around the mansion.”

Lorna looked surprised, but quickly nodded. “Okay then, I’d like to try it out here.”

Charles smiled warmly, and looked over to Nezhno. “And you, young man?”

A small smile creased Nezhno’s features, and he nodded. “Yes, I would like to as well.”

*****************************************************************

Lorna walked slowly through the large entryway, and down the hall, looking in the open doorways of each room as she moved, spotting what looked like a large entertainment room, and a kitchen.

Xavier had promised to send someone to show her to a room after he discussed something with the X-men who’d broken into the Purifier base. She’d left his office so that Nezhno could speak privately with him, something regarding his mutant abilities.

She didn’t really know him very well, only talking to him the rare times they weren’t being watched by a guard or watching one of the other mutants being dragged away kicking and screaming for whatever experiment the scientists were doing. And even then, Nezhno wasn’t exactly the most talkative person, so she wasn’t sure what it was he was wanted to discuss with Xavier.

She shivered slightly when she thought of the others, of how they’d come back once the Purifiers were done with them, and remembered how terrified she’d been when her door had been opened, thinking she was next, only to be shaken out of it by Remy.

She nearly jumped when the elevator door, disguised mostly by the wooden exterior of the door which matched the rest of the paneling of the hall, slid open. Her expression brightened when the subject of her thoughts exited the elevator, stopping when he saw her.

“Hey Lorna,” Remy said, flashing her a smile. “Professor ready to talk to me?”

Lorna nodded. “I think so, he was talking to Nezhno when I left, and he said he wanted to talk to you and the others that went inside the building.”

“You been shown around yet?” Remy asked, gesturing for her to walk with him back the way she’d come toward Xavier’s office.

Lorna shook her head. “No, he said that he’d get someone to give us a quick tour and show us to some rooms for the night. Name was… Ororo, or something like that.”

Remy smiled and nodded, realizing Charles would likely not feel a need to talk to Ororo as she’d not been inside. “Yeah, Ororo. You met her already, actually – white hair, flew the jet?”

Lorna’s eyes widened in recognition. “Oh, alright – I know who you’re talking about.”

“You’ll like her,” Remy said, grinning. “She’s been a good friend of mine for years.”

Remy stopped near the computer lab, noting the door to the office was still closed, and he leaned back, sitting comfortably on the edge of one of the desks. “So…. Dis just a temporary room for you guys, or you thinkin’ of hangin’ ‘round?”

Lorna smiled softly. “Nezhno said he’s going to stay, and I’m gonna give it a try here.” Her expression fell slightly, but noticeable to him. “This place… I really like the whole idea. I graduated high school in December, and I was thinking of going to college this fall, but at the same time I didn’t want to deal with all the crap I’d get if someone found out I was a mutant. Here, I can go to school and not be around a bunch of bigots.”

Remy nodded. “I know what y’mean. Pretty much evr’yone in de place I went in N’awlins were a bunch of mutant haters.”

Lorna smiled sadly, and realized Remy must have been one of those Xavier had been talking about that hadn’t been his students.

“I think you’ll like it here. I did. Jus’ came here t’check de place out… for Sarah,” he said jerking a thumb over his shoulder toward the staircase. “Now I’m livin’ here an’ they talked me into coverin’ some of their classes for dem. Might actually start teachin’ full-time next year.”

Lorna smiled, and her eyes softened, looking at him. “R-Remy,” she said softly. “If I end up staying… would you like to…” She was blushing now. “Maybe, I don’t know, go out to dinner sometime?”

Remy sighed – he’d been pretty certain this had been coming since he’d broken her out of her cell. “Lorna,” he said softly, “I’m sorry, but I’m already wit’ someone.”

Her expression fell, and he placed a hand on her shoulder – he’d sensed her attraction to him with his empathy, and the whole psychology behind him basically coming to her rescue likely had only added to that.

“It’s not dat I wouldn’ want to, Lorna. If I wasn’ wit’ someone else I wouldn’ hesitate. But, de girl I’m wit’ – Rogue – she’s...” He glanced away, and to Lorna it seemed like he was staring far off into the distance. “Y’know how people talk ‘bout soulmates, an’ meetin’ de person y’want t’spend de rest of your life wit’, an’ dat sort of thing? For me, dat’s her. M’sorry.”

Lorna shook her head, looking at him in understanding. “No, I understand. I didn’t realize- I’m sorry. How about just friends?” She asked softly.

Remy smiled, and patted her shoulder. “Deal.”

The door to Xavier’s office swung open, and Nezhno exited at that moment. Remy nodded to Lorna. “Ororo’ll give you a good tour. M’leavin’ tomorrow early mornin’, so I’ll prob’ly see y’around Sunday or somethin’.”

Lorna nodded, a wistful smile on her face, “See you,” she said softly as Remy walked toward the office and she was left standing by Nezhno, waiting for Ororo.

*****************************************************************

“Did we manage to recover anything at all?” Xavier asked as Logan finished telling about the problems they’d run into in the control room.

Logan shrugged. “I’m not sure. Most of the hard drives were shot to hell. I brought back anything that was undamaged or mostly undamaged, but it will take a while to go through all the files. Probably will need help from someone with more knowledge to get anything off the damaged ones.”

Xavier nodded, frowning. “We could contact Kitty…”

Logan shook his head. “Let the kid enjoy her break. It’ll take at least the rest of the week to go through the undamaged stuff, and we can get her on the rest then when she gets back.”

“Very well,” Xavier said, and turned his attention to Remy, the only person they’d yet to hear from. “And your part, Gambit? Obviously it was at least partly a success.”

Remy nodded, shifting forward to lean his elbows on his knees. “Yeah, we got the only mutants alive out, so dat went fine. Wish we’d known ‘bout it earlier though, ‘cuz dere were at least a dozen mutants bein’ held dere at some time.”

“I caught some sort of doctor or somet’in examinin’ a dead mutant, an’ dere was another dead one in one of the cells dey were keepin’ ‘em in. Don’ know what it was dey were doin’, but it looked pretty fucked up.”

Remy sighed, and looked to Hank, who was sitting in the room with them, having just returned from moving a number of his personal items to the mansion. “De dead ones looked like they were bein’ operated on – experimented on. Their chests were sliced open an’ den stitched back shut,” he said, running a finger across his own chest in the Y-shaped cut emblazoned in his memory. “Blood on de floor of de cells, looked like dey bled out of their mouth an’ nose, an’ where dey got cut up. Any idea what dey coulda been up to?”

Hank frowned, shaking his head slightly. “I’m not sure. Perhaps some sort of organ transplant or organ removal? That would be my guess based on your description – can’t think of anything aside from that off of the top of my head. Although it indicates they likely weren’t well-watched or cared for given that they were allowed to bleed to death. That or they simply didn’t care.”

Remy shook his head. “Hm, I t’ink dey did care – ran into a doctor lookin’ at one of de bodies an’ sayin’ somethin’ wasn’t workin’ an’ dat dey kept burnin’ through mutants.”

Hank nodded slowly. “Perhaps we will have some luck finding out more on the hard drives you recovered.”

Xavier sighed, and nodded. “Is there anything else?”

Remy shook his head. “Other than de me findin’ Lorna an’ Nezhno, not really. We booked it when t’ings went south, an’ I blew de hell outta probably half de buildin’ as we left.”

“Okay, I think we’re done here then. Hopefully we get lucky and find something in the hard drives that gives us more to go on with Creed, or maybe something that gives us information on more locations. I’m sure you’d like to get to sleep for your early flight tomorrow, Gambit. Thank you for leading the mission.”

Remy nodded. “De rien. I enjoyed plannin’ it.” Remy stood with the others, and exited the room, walking next to Logan.

“You stayin’ ‘round de rest of de week?” Remy asked him.

“Yeah.” Logan said.

“Do me a favor an’ keep an eye on Lorna. I think bein’ at dat place affected her more den she let on. She acts okay, but dey killed her family, an’ locked her up in dat cell – can’t be good for a femmes mind.”

Logan nodded, quirking an eyebrow. “Alright, Cajun.” He paused, thinking for a moment and then spoke again. “You an’ Sarah have a good trip. Make sure Rogue enjoys herself – she really needs a good break to forget about thing. Everything’s just been nuts around here, an’ I was getting’ worried about her.”

Remy smiled. “I know. Her an’ Sarah both. I’ll make sure dey won’ have a spare moment t’think ‘bout all de crap dat’s happened.”

Logan smiled slightly and clapped a hand heavily on Remy’s shoulder, causing him to shift slightly as the walked to keep his balance. “Tell her I miss her.”

“I will,” Remy said, stopping in front of the elevator. “Prob’ly won’t see you t’morrow, so g’bye.” He smirked. “Have fun wit’ those hard drives.”

Logan rolled his eyes. “Least it’ll give me somethin’ to do. See ya ‘round, Gumbo.” He said as the door of the elevator started to slide shut.

*****************************************************************

“Okay, that should be everything we need here. Here are you keys, and thank you for renting with us, Mr. Lord,” the rental clerk said, passing a set of keys across the counter to Remy.

“Thank you.” Remy said, inclining his head as he grabbed the keys, his Robert Lord persona slipped easily in place, his normal accent nonexistent.

The middle-aged man smiled and nodded, looking down at a chart. “Your vehicle should be in row C, spot 23.” He looked back up. “I hope both of you have a good stay in Colorado.”

Remy smiled, and it grew wider when Sarah ducked her head shyly. He grabbed her hand and they exited the small office and out warm Denver mid-afternoon air.

Row C was only a short distance away, and it didn’t take long until they got to their car, a large, 4-door Chrysler sedan. Remy used the remote on the keys to pop the trunk, and he lifted their bags and placed them inside.

Remy unlocked the doors, and slid into the driver’s seat while Sarah moved around to the other side and hopped into the passenger’s side next to him.

“You ready, petite?” Remy asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

“Yeah,” she said, flashing him a smile.

Remy adjusted the seat, moving it back for more legroom, and then started the car, pulling out of the parking spot and out past the gate of the rent-a-car lot, and minutes later they were on the interstate, driving away from the airport.

***

“Merde,” Remy muttered under his breath, glancing for what seemed like the millionth time at the ‘My reality check just bounced’’ bumper sticker of the stopped car in front of him, and rolled his eyes at it.

He sighed and leaned his head back against the headrest, his foot touching the gas slightly as the long train of traffic moved forward another ten feet. According to the radio there was an accident ahead that had taken traffic down to one lane, reducing the flow into a slow stop-and-go.

They’d made it most of the way through the main city, before hitting this slowdown they’d been in for nearly fifteen minutes already. At that moment he wished he had his motorcycle – there would have been no waiting, he could have just ridden down the shoulder the entire way.

Remy glanced to his right, and his frustration disappeared. Sarah had leaned the seat back slightly and had curled her legs up onto the seat, her cheek resting against the back of the seat, and had dozed off.

He’d tried to get her to take a nap on the plane – and had done so himself – but she was too excited by the flights, and ended up sitting awake the whole flight, headphones on her ears as she watched the in-flight movie.

He smiled slightly, and reached forward to turn the volume of the radio down slightly as she began to shift in the seat when a commercial suddenly blared over the speakers.

The flights had been mostly uneventful, except at the beginning on their first flight when the person in the seat next to them upgraded to the open first-class seat after complaining to the stewardess about being forced to sit next to a mutant.

And Remy was rather certain that the “randomly selected screening” they’d been pulled aside for at the security checkpoint had not been all that random.

Fortunately, Sarah hadn’t seemed to figure that out, and the only downer for her had been the statements that led to the seat adjustments – something she quickly forgot when they got the row of seats to themselves because of that.

Remy leaned forward and flicked on the blinker, pulling into an open spot in the lane to this left which was moving faster. Finally he saw some flashing lights on the right side of the road, and they crept closer to the accident, people to the right merging quickly over to get out of their blocked lane.

From what Remy could see, it looked like a small compact had been sideswiped by a much larger vehicle and crashed into a convertible (which was hardly recognizable with the way it was crumpled up against the cement barrier that separated the interstate from the surrounding city streets).

Remy sighed and pressed his foot down on the gas pedal as they passed the accident scene and the traffic started to clear – the delay hadn’t been too bad, just a pain.

***

Sarah’s eyes opened slowly, and she felt disoriented, realizing she’d been sleeping sitting up. She blinked several times, clearing her vision, and bolted fully upright when she realized she was in their car, alone.

She started to look around, seeing a large building, and several other cars parked nearby. She felt a bubble of panic begin in her stomach and then she felt a firm piece of cardboard in the fingers of her left hand.

She glanced down and saw she was holding a playing card – the Queen of Hearts – and she relaxed, a smile coming to her face as she looked down at the card.

She rubbed at her eyes, clearing her vision more, and realized they were sitting outside of their hotel. She realized that Remy must have decided to let her sleep and went inside, leaving the card – which she’d told him once while they were playing a game of Go-Fish was her favorite card – with her so she knew he was nearby.

She kept the card gripped tightly in one hand, and slipped her other into her pocket, pulling out her passport. They’d gone into the city earlier that week, and gotten the passport from Remy’s friend Dan.

She’d liked Dan right away, he was a kindly older man that reminded her of her grandfather – who she’d visited often with her mother while she was alive – and didn’t have any problems with mutants.

She opened it up, looking at her picture, and the words, ‘Lord, Sarah’ next to it, remembering Remy’s had been Robert Lord. She flipped it shut again, secretly wishing it really was true, that Remy and her were really related like the passports claimed, that she’d never been related to the man who’d hated her and kicked her out after her mother had died.

It had been brought further to mind when Remy had asked her what her last name had been, and she’d been reminded of it again during their short time at Dan’s apartment.

Remy had taken Dan to the side, and they’d been talking quietly about something, like Remy always did when he was saying something he didn’t want her to hear, but they’d been speaking loud enough for her to overhear some of it. Enough to know they’d been talking about her father – for what, she wasn’t sure, but she hadn’t felt uneasy about it: she knew Remy wouldn’t send her back there.

She closed her eyes, trying to get her mind off of the thought of her father, because she knew Remy hated it when she started reliving the past and making herself sad.

A slight smile danced across her lips as her mind drifted away from that subject, remembering how strange Remy had sounded when he pretended to be Robert Lord. She’d told him as much later on the airplane once the person seated near them demanded a reseating, and Remy had laughed, telling her it was even weirder for him to do it.

She almost jumped when the door handle clicked, breaking her out of her thoughts, and she looked over to see that Remy had come out of the hotel and opened the driver’s door.

Remy climbed in, and grinned at her. “You have a good sleep, petite?” He asked.

Sarah nodded. “Yeah.”

He leaned over, tousling her hair – while it meant she had to fix it later, she still loved it when he did that.

“Good.” He said. “I already got our room, an’ took our stuff up. You wanna go check it out, or should we jus’ get goin’?”

Sarah smiled. “Let’s go, I miss Rogue.”

Remy leaned across the seat and kissed her forehead. “Me too, Sarah,” he said, leaning back to start up the car.

***

Remy slid the written directions Dani had given him over the phone the day before back into his pocket as they continued down the road, past a cow that was standing at the edge of the road.

Their car was no longer pristine like it had been when they left the rental place, and in fact it now seemed to have a thin coat of dust clinging stubbornly to its surface from their ride down the dirt road.

They finally saw a building around the next corner, and a woman with long dark hair kneeling near a flower bed, one of many that surrounded the house. The woman looked up at the sound of their approach and stood, waving in greeting. Remy pulled in next to two pickup trucks and parked the car.

He and Sarah popped their doors open at the same time, and climbed out, Sarah standing and stretching her legs after the long ride while Remy circled around the car to her side. The front door to the house opened, a tall, long-haired man exiting as they approached.

The woman brushed off the dirt on her hands on the seat of her pants, and stepped forward, smiling as she extended a hand. “Hi, are you Remy?”

Remy nodded, “Oui, Madame Moonstar,” he said, taking her hand and bending over it, his lips ghosting above her knuckles. “Enchanté. I can see where Dani got her good looks from.”

Peg blushed slightly, and laughed. “Thank you, and please, call me Peg.” She jabbed her husband in the side with her elbow. “A young gentleman who knows French, and how to flatter – you’d better be on your best behavior or I might just have to run away with Remy here.”

William chuckled, and extended a hand to shake Remy’s. “You’d never be able to handle her, son. Very few could. I’m William, Dani’s father.”

Peg rolled her eyes, and then bent down slightly, bringing her closer to Sarah’s eye level. “And you must be Sarah. Rogue hasn’t stopped talking about the two of you.” She said, shaking Sarah’s hand.

“It’s nice t’meet you, Mrs. Moonstar,” Sarah said shyly.

“Oh honey, you can call me Peg too, alright?”

“O-okay… Peg,” Sarah said hesitantly.

Peg straightened. “The girls are just inside, cleaning themselves up. They were taking care of the animals before you got here.”

As she said that, the front door swung open, and Rogue stepped out, dressed in a pair of jeans and a thin long-sleeved shirt, and Remy saw her face change completely from a neutral smile to a wide grin that lit up her eyes when she spotted them.

Sarah darted around Remy and Dani’s parents, and threw her arms around Rogue. “Rouge! I missed you a whole bunch.”

Rogue smiled and hugged her back. “I missed you too, Sarah.”

By then Remy had made it over to them, and wrapped Rogue up into a hug of his own, Sarah squished in between them. He pressed a soft kiss to her lips, and rested his forehead against hers for a moment.

“I missed you ‘a whole bunch’, too, Chére,” he said, grinning.

Rogue smiled, closing her eyes as one of his hands stroked through her hair. “Me too.” She whispered.

A laugh came from the doorway, and Remy saw Dani in the open door. “You two lovebirds trying to smother Sarah there?”

Rogue blushed and pulled back, Sarah still clinging to her. She reached down, shifting so she could pick Sarah up.

“Hi Dani,” Sarah said, waving over Rogue’s shoulder.

“Hey Sarah, you guys have a nice flight over here?” Dani asked.

“Yeah,” Sarah said. “It was long, though.”

Peg smiled, and put a hand on both Remy and Rogue’s shoulders. “Remy, Sarah, have you had anything to eat for lunch yet?”

Remy shook his head. “Non, we’ve only had breakfast, an’ a few bags of peanuts from de plane.” He sighed in exasperation. “I remember when I was little, dey used to have actual meals for de longer flights. Now y’lucky if you get more’n a soda.”

Peg laughed, and pushed them toward the door. “Rogue, Dani, Will, why don’t you show them around the house – I’ll make them some sandwiches.”

*****************************************************************

Remy stabbed another piece of apple pie with his fork, and brought it up to his mouth, glancing at Rogue who sat next to him on the couch, playing absently with her fork.

They’d shown Remy and Sarah around the house, and soon enough Peg had given them some ham sandwiches. The rest of the day was relatively uneventful, Peg and Will taking the four of them out in one of their pickup trucks around their property for most of the afternoon.

Peg had made several steaks for dinner, and apple pie for dessert, and they were now sitting in their large family room finishing off their desserts. Through the large windows of the room, they could see the sun disappearing under the horizon.

“Oh, and we have two new students now,” Sarah said, finishing her rapid detailing of what she’d done since Rogue and Dani had left.

“Really?” Dani said, smiling at her – she found it cute and amusing when Sarah rambled on without appearing to take a break to breath.

Sarah nodded. “Remy saved ‘em from somewhere yesterday. One of them is this really tall boy with lots of tattoos, an’ the other one is Lorna – she’s pretty nice, an’ she’s got this really cool green hair.”

Dani chuckled softly at her descriptions, and then raised her eyebrow. “Remy saved them, huh?” She asked, her gaze shifting over to Remy, along with everyone else’s.

Remy cleared his throat. “Wasn’ just me, petite,” he said, smiling wryly.

Sarah shrugged, and rolled her eyes. “Well Ororo, an’ Logan, an’ that furry blue guy all went along too, but Lorna said you were the one that saved them, didn’t she?” She said, feigning exasperation at not being able to just give all the credit to her Remy.

Remy chuckled, and looked to William and Peg. “Dani tell you ‘bout what else we got at the school?” He asked hesitantly.

“The X-men?” William asked, “Yeah, she has, and so has Charles – we’re friends from way back.”

Remy nodded and continued, setting down his now-clean plate. “We got word ‘bout de Purifiers wit’ mutants dey’d captured an’ were holdin’ someplace, an’ we broke dem outta dere. Only two, but… no one deserves t’get left in a place like dat.”

William nodded slightly. “Absolutely. I take it Charles talked you into becoming one of his X-men? He always was good at inspiring people to be their best and help others in any way they could.”

“Well, Charles did do de talkin’, but I had other incentives,” he said, smiling toward Rogue.

She blushed, and nudged him in the side with her elbow. “Yah get hurt this time?” Rogue asked, having been growing more concerned as they talked about the mission.

Remy shook his head. “De Purifiers didn’ even know we were comin’. No injuries dat I saw, ‘cept maybe Logan, an’ if he did it was already healed when we got back to de jet.”

William's brow furrowed. “I’m not exactly up on these anti-mutant groups. The Purifiers are the terrorist group that bombed that hospital, right? The ones they think were behind killing all those mutants in New York a few weeks back?”

Remy shifted his hand to the side to squeeze Sarah’s hand when she tensed up at the mention of the Tunnels, and nodded slowly. “Yeah, it is.”

“That was such a horrib-“ William began.

Peg, who saw the interaction between Remy and Sarah and remembered what Rogue had told her, subtly stepped hard on her husband’s foot, gaining his attention so she could fix him with a look that said ‘Shut up about the subject unless you want to be sleeping on the couch tonight. ’

Peg cleared her throat, and looked over to Remy. “So... Remy, are you in college like Rogue and Dani?”

Remy shook his head. “Non, already done wit’ college, ‘least as much as I needed t’get through.”

“Oh,” Peg said, looking slightly surprised. “Sorry, I thought you were younger.”

Remy smiled. “Well, I’m only twennyone, just got outta school pretty fast. I’ve been doin’ some teachin’, fillin’ in at de Institute, an’ Charles’s offered me a full-time job f’next year.”

Peg smiled. “That’s great. I used to be a teacher myself, before Dani was born. I stopped to say home with her as she grew up, and I’ve just grown accustomed to our bigger ranch here, and keeping it up with Will.”

“Remy’s a good teacher,” Sarah said, smiling up at him.

A slight pinkness came to Remy’s cheeks, and he looked a bit embarrassed. “Dat’s what ev’ryone keeps tellin’ me, I t’ink dey’re all jus’ tryin’ to get on my good side,” he said shrugging. “It’s definitely not what I’d thought I’d be doin’ if you asked me jus’ a few months ago.”

Rogue rolled her eyes and swatted him in the gut. “Never thought Ah’d see modesty comin’ outta yah, swamp rat.” She said, laughing.

Dani nodded. “Remy, you know just what to say and how to say it to get people encouraged to learn or work. I know I’d still be avoiding using my powers if you hadn’t kept pushing me.” She said, glancing at Rogue – they’d practiced several times over the last several days with Dani’s abilities.

Remy shrugged again as everyone finished off their dessert. “Like I said, if y’all say so.”

Sarah yawned next to him, and Peg rose from her seat, and began to collect everyone’s plates. “Don’t feel obligated to stay here and make conversation with us if you’d like to get back to your hotel. We do have an early morning tomorrow if we want to get out to A-Basin at a decent time.”

Remy nodded, and shot her a slight grin. “Dat’d probably be a good idea. Let me help wit’ de-“

Peg shook her head. “No, Will and I can do the dishes. You’re a guest here.”

Remy sank back onto the seat after he’d begun to rise from it. Dani glanced between Remy and Rogue, and stood up. “Sarah, do you want to help me put away all the leftovers?”

Sarah looked over to Remy, and then shot him and Rogue a knowing smile before bouncing to her feet, and grabbing Dani’s hand. “Sure, Dani.” She lowered her voice. “Can I get a little more pie?”

Dani chuckled, and pulled her toward the kitchen. “Let’s see what we can do about that.”

And within moments, Rogue and Remy were left alone in the room. Remy leaned closer to her, smiling, and brushed her hair to the side so he could plant several kisses on her bare neck before pulling back, lips tingling.

“Didn’ t’ink I’d miss you dis much, Chére,” he murmured.

Rogue sighed, leaning closer to him as his arms slid around her. “Ah know. Even though Ah was here havin’ fun, you an’ Sarah were always on mah mind, an’ even since yah came we haven’t had time alone till now.”

She was quiet for a few moments, and looked down at her hands resting in her lap. “Remy, this new girl, Lorna. Is she pretty?”

Remy shrugged slightly. “Yeah, Chére, she’s pretty good lookin’. Nice girl, too, sucks she got taken by de Purifiers like-“

He broke off when he felt his empathy pick up an emotion from her he wasn’t expecting. He looked down at her, and shifted a hand up to put it under her chin and bring her face up so he could see it. “Y’not jealous, are y’Chére?” He asked softly.

Rogue’s cheeks turned red, and her eyes avoided making contact with his. “Maybe,” she murmured. “Ah’m sorry, Remy, here we are t’gether an’ all Ah can think of is if you’ll like the new girl an’ get over me.” She said softly, trailing off.

“Hey,” Remy said, his thumb running along her cheek. “You ain’ got nothin’ t’be sorry ‘bout, Chére. Y’jus’ got outta a relationship wit’ someone cheatin’ on yah, y’got no reason not t’feel like dat.”

He sighed. “Remember we wanted t’be honest, Chére? Well, Lorna asked me out yesterday...”

At that moment, looking into her eyes, she looked completely vulnerable, all her insecurities and experiences with Bobby coming into her mind.

Remy smiled, brushing his lips against hers. “I told her no, told her I had de woman I wanted, an’ wasn’ givin’ her up for anythin’. I promise I ain’ ever gonna cheat on you Chére. Never, hein?”

She nodded softly, blinking away a tear.

“Good,” Remy said. “I know how it feels too, Chére. I got my heart broken in de past same as you. Found her cheatin’ on me, an’…” He shrugged. “I been in an’ outta relationships since den. You’re de first dat’s lasted more den a weekend. You’re a lot braver den me – took me years, an’ here y’are jus’ a week or two since it happened t’you.”

Rogue’s eyes softened, and she reached a gloved hand up to stroke his cheek. “Maybe Ah was just lucky t’find the right guy right away,” she said softly. “Ah’m sorry Ah… sorry Ah was worried ‘bout it – bein’ away, an’ then hearin’ bout someone new jus’ hit me somehow. Ah – Ah promise too, Ah’ll never cheat on yah.”

Remy’s lips twisted into a large smile. “I know y’won’t, Chére. Dat’s part of why I l– it’s why you’re de first person I’ve stayed wit’ – wanted t’stay wit’.”

Rogue smiled and shifted further in his arms. “Remy,” she said softly, “Ah know Ah shouldn’t have doubt-“

Remy placed a finger over her lips, cutting her off with a stern look. “No more ‘pologies, Chére. You got nothin’ to be sorry for, hein?”

Rogue let out a deep sigh, and then nodded. “Thanks for tellin’ me what happened. Ah guess Ah’ll just hafta get used to women tryin’ to hit on mah boyfriend since Ah chose someone as handsome as you.”

Remy grinned. “Well now, Chére, you really think I’m handsome? An’ here I thought I was a dirty ol’ swamp rat.”

Rogue nuzzled her head under his chin. “Y’are. But even dirty ol’ swamp rats can be good lookin’.”

“Jeez, get a room you two,” Dani said from the doorway, bringing them back to the present.

Sarah giggled next to her as the two of them straightened up on the couch.

Remy grunted, and placed a kiss on Rogue’s cheek. “We better get goin’, Chére. I’ll see y’tomorrow.” He said, reluctantly releasing her to stand up.

Sarah moved across the room, giving Rogue a hug. “Bye Rogue,” she said.

“Bye sweetie,” Rogue said softly, standing as Sarah let go of her, so that she could see them back out to their car.

***
In the kitchen, Peg and William were cleaning and drying the dishes by hand as Rogue and Dani said their goodbyes to Remy and Sarah.

William sighed at his wife, who had been silent as they did the dishes, and he set down the bowl he was holding and the towel he had been using to dry it off. “Peg, what was that about in there?”

She shot him a stern look. “You really need to learn when to stop talking and change the subject when people look uncomfortable.”

She sighed. “I don’t want to hear you mentioning those tunnel killings again while they’re here. Rogue told me Sarah was one of the mutants down there, one of the only ones that survived, and Remy took her in. So don’t even hint about it. Lord knows you’ve probably already given the poor girl nightmares tonight as it is.”

She looked back to the dishes, satisfied that her husband looked properly abashed.

“Damn, I didn’t realize,” he breathed. “I guess it’s a good thing she ended up with him at the Institute – if anyone knows how to help someone deal with experiencing something like that, it’s Charles.”

“I know,” Peg said nodding and scrubbing another dish clean and rinsing it off. “I can’t begin to think what that would be like, especially for such a young girl like Sarah. But, they say children are resilient, so hopefully she’ll be okay.”

William took the dish – the last one – from his wife and wiped it down, placing it in the open cabinet above the sink. “Sorry, Peggy. I should’ve paid more attention.”

Peg sighed, and then smiled, moving over to hug him gently. “I probably should have mentioned it to you, but you were already asleep after I talked to Rogue that night, and I didn’t think of telling you later.”

She pulled back, and squeezed his hand. “Let’s go say goodnight to Rogue and Dani – we should get to sleep as well if we want to get up early and get up there without much traffic.”

*****************************************************************

Charles steered his wheelchair down the hall past the computer lab, toward his office. He was returning from lunch, which he ate every day – in addition to dinner – with those who’d remained at the mansion.

Sadly, the number was far higher than he would have liked, and he knew that with the increasing student body size next year, that would just increase. Only a few literally had no family to go to – two of those being the new students, Lorna and Nezhno – the others were mostly unwanted by their families because of their mutations.

He paused, and smiled, as he neared his office. The door was still slightly open as he had left it, and he pushed it open, wheeling in toward the man running a device over a wall of the room.

“Help yourself,” Charles said dryly as the tall, African-American man turned at the opening of the door.

“Charles,” he said, a smile on his face that reached his single brown eye – his other lost years ago and covered by the black eyepatch he now wore. “Great to see you again.”

Charles smiled, shaking his hand firmly. “Nick, it’s good to see you too, old friend,” he said as Fury sat down in a chair, shifting it so he could sit. He slid the device back into his pocket. “Sorry, old habits and all. Don’t want to be unknowingly bugged by someone.”

Charles nodded in understanding. “So what brings you here, Nick? Just here to see an old friend?”

Nick smiled, but shook his head. “Not entirely. I have some official business to discuss with you.”

He leaned back in his seat. “Let’s start with the easiest thing first. That kid your students rescued on Alcatraz – the one that the Cure was based on. I’ve talked the powers-that-be into releasing him under your care if you are willing to take him in.”

Charles inclined his head. “Of course, he’d be more than welcome here.”

Fury smiled. “Good. I’ll warn you the kid’s got some sort of mutant nullifying power that works within a few feet of him.”

Charles nodded. “I know. I think he may actually be able to help out other students with it as I help him learn to control it, nullifying powers so my students can remember what it was like and what they are striving for.”

“Alright – I’ll get the paperwork pushed through and try to get him over to you by Sunday – I know you’re on a break this week, but you know how red tape is - can’t move things any faster to get him more time here before you start back up.”

“I’m sure he’ll adjust just fine.” Charles steepled his fingers.

“I’m glad you came to visit, Nick. I’ve been wanting to talk to you as well, about some rather disturbing things.”

Fury shifted in his seat. “Alright, you first.”

“I’m very worried about the future of our country and my fellow mutants – I’m sure you saw me on CNN at the debates?”

Fury nodded. “Handed that ‘family values’ prick his ass pretty nicely.”

Charles smiled slightly. “Thank you. Well, a… let’s say a contact of mine piqued my curiosity and suspicions about Senator Creed, and while I was there, I read his mind.”

Fury’s eyebrows rose. “Must’ve been some pretty serious suspicions for you to do that. What did you find?”

“Creed is behind most of the anti-mutant sentiment we’re seeing today. Church of Humanity, Humanity’s Last Stand, the Purifiers…. He funds them through some sort of hidden system that doesn’t trace back to him.” Xavier sighed. “I saw a conversation between himself and his campaign manager – they were the ones that planned the killings in the tunnels in New York.”

“Are you sure?” Fury asked, his expression serious.

Charles nodded. “Unfortunately I am.”

Fury shook his head. “I was afraid of this. We’ve had our worries with some of the more militant positions he held in the past before he started the campaign, but this… I can’t believe my people missed something like this – we give all the candidates a rather thorough once-over to make sure they’re up to snuff, but somehow we didn’t catch this.”

“Well, to be fair, from what I could glean his assistant is the one that does the dirty work, and he seems to do it mostly anonymous, and doesn’t leave witnesses behind.”

Fury grimaced, and shook his head. “We still should have caught it. I’ll have to look into the possibility that we did find it but have someone sympathetic to Creed keeping that information from the rest of us. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“In any case,” Fury continued, “this actually could have something to do with what I came to see you for. As you know, while S.H.I.E.L.D. is considered a part of the government, we’re not exactly completely answerable to the President, given our status as a more multinational entity. Right now, I want to make a small team made up of mutants and other superhumans, and I was wondering if perhaps any of your X-men might be interested in it.”

Charles raised an eyebrow. “Your Avenger Initiative? After you went public with it, I’d have thought you wouldn’t want the negative publicity of mutants marring their success. Superhumans, and people wearing high-tech power armor, are viewed much differently than we are.”

Fury shook his head. “No, not the Avenger Initiative. Like you said, that would be far too harmful given public opinion. No, I want to make a group made up of mutants, that utilizes their abilities – mutants I can trust, those that you recommend to me.”

“While the Avengers are a great PR stunt, and quite good at what they do, that publicity means they can’t do everything we’d like them to do. What I want is a team in the shadows, a black-ops team that can do everything the Avenger’s can’t.”

“And you’d like that team to be my X-men,” Charles said dryly.

“No, not all of them. I want people that can keep a secret, people that don’t care too much about getting their hands dirty, willing to do some… less than approved things to keep this country, and society in general, safe. And no, I’m not trying to steal people from your team. They’d be more than welcome to stay here with you and your team – they’d just have a… weekend job.” He said, grinning slightly.

“And don’t tell me they aren’t up to it. I saw what they did at Alcatraz – they’re more than capable. And they seem to be willing to get their hands dirty, given your little hit-and-run on that Purifier base the other day.”

“Ah, you heard about that. I was wondering if you would,” Charles said, smiling slightly.

“Would have been hard not to, considering we’ve been trying to insert a mole in that facility for half a year now. You find what you were looking for?”

“Partly,” Charles said. “They were experimenting on mutants they’d kidnapped. There were only two still alive when we got there – both are staying here at the school. We… acquired some damaged hard drives that could hopefully give us some solid link between Creed and the Purifiers.”

Fury nodded thoughtfully. “Figured it had to be important for you to order something like that.”

Charles sighed. “I’ll tell my X-men about your offer, but I won’t force them to get into this.”

Fury smiled. “I’m sure some of them will take it up. Even if you don’t want to offer it to everyone, at least make the offer to Logan. I know he’d be up to it – we worked together years ago before the whole memory thing and Stryker. And you already have someone living here who seems to think he’s a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent already.”

Charles raised and eyebrow, and Fury explained. “One of your newest houseguests, the infamous Remy LeBeau. Used a S.H.I.E.L.D. Badge to rescue a mutant girl from the police in New York the other week. I gotta admit, the kid’s really got some balls – don’t know where the hell he got that thing – tell him he better take care of it. Wouldn’t want it to fall into the wrong hands.”

He pulled a sheaf of papers from an inner pocket of his jacket, nearly as thick as a book. “This is a little over half of our file on the kid. He sure knows how to do things and look innocent after he does them, and he’s just the sort of man I’d like on the team.”

Fury paused contemplatively before speaking again. “Maybe your skunk-haired girl would like to join as well. Her powers would definitely be useful for a team like this.”

Xavier shot him a stern look. “I’ll leave that up to her, Nick. You know she can’t control them, and that makes her very insecure about using them, not to mention the damage it can cause to her mind without control.”

Fury raised his hands defensively. “Hey, hey, just some thoughts. I don’t want people forced into this.”

“What are the details, so I can tell them?”

Fury smiled. “Well, first off, you’d get access to S.H.I.E.L.D. resources whenever you need them for your own activities. You could use them for whatever mission you happen to be sending your X-men on – sure you would have liked our blueprints the other day at the Purifier base.”

“Second, they’d be official S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, which can pay pretty decently.”

“And I know how much you are looking into expanding your school. If any of your X-men accept my offer, I can get some funding set up for you. An anonymous ‘donation’ to your Institute, no strings attached – enough to cover all your expenses for the school.” Fury concluded.

Charles remained silent for nearly a minute, finally speaking when Fury shifted in his seat. “I’ll repeat your offer to them, but I can’t guarantee anyone will take it, Nick.”

Fury smiled. “Thank you, Charles. I have a few mutant agents, but we just don’t have enough for a team like this, so I thought what better place to try recruiting than from someone that already has their own team. Just offer it, and let me know if there are any takers.”

Fury sighed, and stood, stretching out a hand to shake Charles’. “Thanks for your time, Charles. I have to get back, figure out how we missed Creed’s connections. You know how to get in touch if you find anything on those hard drives.”

Charles nodded. “I’ll keep you in the loop – there’s not much we can do on our own, but you have much more pull in your position. If we find anything, you’ll be the first to know.”

Outside the window of Charles’ office, a sleek black sedan pulled up in the driveway. “That’ll be my ride. Nice seeing you again, Charles.”

“Nice to see you as well, Nick. Take care.” Charles said as Fury left his office, leaving him to ponder Fury’s offer, who would take him up on it, and consider how much his ‘donation’ would help keep the school going without need of more donations – something that was growing harder to do as its size increased.

*****************************************************************

Kitty heard the rumbling engine of her mother’s car through the closed door to Piotr’s modest-sized home.

“Thank you for having me over for the day,” Kitty said, smiling to Piotr’s parents.

Piotr’s father, Nikolai, was nearly Piotr’s own height, and was slightly overweight, and his dark brown, bushy beard, had streaks of grey in it that were visible at his temples as well. He’d greeted her minutes before at the door with a thick Russian accent.

Piotr’s mother, Alexandra, was short, slightly shorter than Kitty herself – leaving Kitty to wonder how Piotr had grown to be taller than his father, who towered nearly a foot or more above his wife – and she had short, brown hair that was cut to frame her heart-shaped face. Alexandra’s accent was much less noticeable than her husband’s, clearly having had more success at reducing it over the years after she and her husband moved to America.

“Oh it’s no problem, Kitty. Piotr’s always spoken highly of you, and we’re happy to be able to meet one of his friends.”

Kitty smiled, and looked around the large entryway of their house, and caught a glimpse of a blush on Piotr’s face when his mother said that.

“Come, come, you can take off that coat and have a seat in the living room. I’ve made some hot cocoa for us.” She said, ushering Kitty ahead of her into a room with thick, shag carpet, and several couches surrounding a television stand in the corner and a slate fireplace next to that.

“The weather can be truly odd, can’t it?” Alexandra asked, shaking her head.

“Da,” Nikolai said. “Just yesterday it was warm and sunny, and today it looks like it could snow – maybe our last snow of spring.”

Kitty nodded, and removed her coat, laying it over the back of one of the couches as she sat down, next to Piotr. The house was much warmer than the air outside, and it was especially warm there by the lit fireplace.

Alexandra left for a moment, and then came back with a tray with five large mugs, visible steam rising from them. She handed two to Kitty and Piotr, and then set the tray on a coffee table located centrally between the couches.

“Help yourself, Nikolai. I’ll be just a moment.” She walked over to the stairs, and looked up them. “Illyana, enough studying today. Our guest is here, and it is rude to not greet her,” she called up the stairs.

A faint voice called back down, “Alright, I’m coming Mama.”

Alexandra smiled, and sat on the couch next to her husband, reaching for one of the mugs, and sipping lightly from it.

Kitty started slightly, nearly spilling the contents of her mug on her lap, when a bright, pinkish-yellow pinpoint of light sparked to life on the floor across the room. She watched in amazement as the light quickly moved, drawing out a glowing circle, which then filled in with the same light. It reminded her almost of the forming of a wormhole, from the sci-fi series Stargate which she watched religiously: one thing she’d always admit was to aside from being a computer geek, was a sci-fi geek.

Her mental comparison seemed to be accurate when a girl – blond haired and blue eyed, who looked only a year or two younger than Kitty - levitated up through it, and it disappeared with a soft “pop” as her feet cleared the rim of it.

She smiled, and waved to Kitty. “Hi, I’m Illyana. You must be Kitty.”

Kitty leaned forward and shook her hand, looking at the girl with interest. “Yeah. It’s nice to meet you, Illyana.”

Alexandra shot Illyana a stern look. “Illyana, you know you shouldn’t be using your powers like that, especially when we have guests that you could frighten. I’m sure you’ve not become so lazy that you can’t walk down the stairs without your powers.”

Illyana lowered her gaze. “Sorry, Mama,” she said, and winked surreptitiously at Piotr and Kitty, a glint of mischievousness in her eye.

Alexandra leaned back, looking satisfied, and gestured to one of the mugs. “I made you some cocoa too, Lapushka. ”

Illyana grabbed the last mug and sat down on the couch on the other side of Kitty, blowing off the steam before raising it to her lips and taking a large gulp.

She cocked her head and looked curiously at Kitty. “So you’re the girl my brother’s always going on about.” She stated matter-of-factly, glancing teasingly at her brother.

Kitty saw Piotr blush again, and she felt a bit of heat come to her own cheeks at the hidden suggestion in Illyana’s words. “I-I guess…”

Illyana laughed softly, and patted her arm. “I’m just teasing my brother. You’re the girl that can walk through walls, right? Petey called it ‘phasing’?”

“Yeah,” Kitty said with a smile. She shifted her mug into her right hand, and then moved her left hand, causing it to pass directly through the mug, the molecules in her hand shifting out of phase from the molecules of the mug and its contents.

Illyana grinned widely at the sight. “That’s awesome, Kitty. It’s fun to listen to Petey tell me about different mutants he’s met, but it’s nothing like seeing them for yourself.”

Kitty smiled and nodded. “I know what you mean – it was mind boggling when I first went to the mansion to see all the different mutants, and even now we get new mutants all the time. Everyone’s unique.”

Kitty took another sip of her cocoa. “Pete said you’re graduating in a few weeks.”

Illyana nodded, and her cheeks flushed slightly. “Yeah, I’m excited to finish up. I’m giving the valedictorian address, and I’m a little nervous about that.”

Piotr leaned back, reaching behind Kitty to place a hand on his sister’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, mladshaya syestra, you’ll be just fine.”

Illyana just shrugged, and looked back to Kitty. “In the fall I think I’ll be coming out to the Institute by you two. We’ve already talked to Professor Xavier, and I’ve got a spot reserved in the roster.”

Alexandra shook her head wryly. “Illyana got accepted into Harvard and Yale, but she turned them down.”

Illyana sighed. “Mama, I can still go there if I don’t like it at Xavier’s. Besides, we already decided that getting a pre-law degree at the community college in town from the mansion will still let me get into Harvard in a few years.”

Kitty smiled slightly, finishing her cocoa, and setting the cup down on the low table. “You want to be a lawyer?”

Illyana nodded her head. “Yeah, I’ve wanted to for years, especially after we found out Petey and I are mutants. There aren’t nearly enough people out there willing to defend mutants in court, so most of the time they end up with court-appointed lawyers who may or may not give them a good defense depending on how they feel about mutants.”

She shrugged then, the passionate look in her eyes fading to be replaced with slight embarrassment. “I mean, who better than another mutant to do it with the way people are these days? There’s, what, Jennifer Walters in New York, Evangeline Whedon in Philly, and that three-person firm out in San Francisco, and that’s pretty much it.”

Kitty grinned. “Well, if you can make convincing speeches like that in the courtroom, I think you’ll make a great lawyer,” she said, a slight laugh in her voice.

Illyana blushed. “Thanks.” She said, setting down her now-empty mug of hot cocoa, and looking toward her mother. “Mama, can we show Kitty around the house?”

Alexandra nodded, smiling at the spark her daughter always showed when speaking about what she wanted to do with her life. “Go ahead, Lapushka. You to Piotr. I’ll get started with our dinner,” she said, and looked at Kitty as she stood. “Piotr told us you are… how do you say… vegetarian?... so I thought we could all try a recipe I found for portabella burgers.”

“I- thank you, you really didn’t have to-“ Kitty said, touched by Piotr thinking of that and his mother looking for a meal to suit her.

Alexandra waved a hand, and smiled. “Nonsense, dear. It sounded like a good meal, and it’s probably a lot more healthy than what we usually have. You go let Piotr and ‘Yana show you around.” She said kindly.

“Thanks,” Kitty repeated softly, smiling warmly at Alexandra.

***

“And this is my room,” Piotr said. “Not much, because I’m hardly here at home any more, but…” He trailed off shrugging.

Kitty peeked in the doorway, her gaze moving over the bed and dressers of the room before stopping at the framed and unframed pictures lining the walls.

She stepped in slightly, raising her hand to touch the edge of a watercolor reproduction of the front of Xavier’s mansion. “Is this… did you make this?”

Illyana nodded, smiling. “Yep, all of these are Petey’s.” She said proudly. “He’s been drawing and painting for me since I was old enough to remember. I hang the ones he sends me up in here and in my room.”

“Pete, these are beautiful,” Kitty said, an awed tone in her voice as she looked from picture to painting – some were painted in full vibrant color, and others were hand drawn, detail-filled sketches. Her gaze stopped on one that appeared to be Piotr drawing each of them in a sort of group, school picture: both teachers and students.

She looked back at him, her eyes wide. “I didn’t realize… I’ve seen you with a sketchbook a lot but I didn’t know you were so good.”

Piotr tugged uncomfortably on his collar, his cheeks darkening slightly in a blush. “I’m… I’m not really that good.”

Kitty laughed and shook her head. “Pete these are amazing. None of us knew you could do something like this – why haven’t you shown us any of these?”

Piotr shrugged. “I… I guess I thought you’d all think it was weird. That’s how everyone was out here – everyone thought I should go into science or sports or something like that….”

Kitty shook her head. “Pete, you can turn into organic metal. You think that’s less weird than being an artist?”

Piotr looked at her with a sheepish expression.

“She’s got you there, Petey,” Illyana said.

Kitty’s brow furrowed. “You’re graduating this winter, right, Pete?” He nodded. “You should try to find an art school around the Mansion that you can go to – I think you’d be a great artist.”

Piotr shrugged again, and was about to speak when Illyana interrupted wryly. “I’ve been trying to get Petey to do that since he left for the Mansion, Kitty. Maybe he’ll listen to you,” she said, turning toward Piotr to shoot him a knowing look – she knew quite well about his crush on Kitty.

“At least think about it Pete,” Kitty said, putting on a pleading expression.

Piotr sighed. “I know when I don’t have a chance at winning a conversation,” he said resignedly. “I’ll think about it. I was kinda wondering what I’d do after I graduated anyway.”

Kitty smiled and reached out to squeeze his arm. “Good.” She glanced around the room again, and a thought occurred to her. “Hey, have you ever been to the Chicago Art Institute, Pete?”

Piotr nodded. “Once, before I discovered I was a mutant.”

“Well, we wanted to figure out a place to go on Friday with our families, so why don’t we go there?”

Piotr looked down. “We don’t have to go there just because…”

Illyana grabbed his arm in a hug. “It sounds like fun. Mama and Papa won’t mind going either. Let’s do it.”

Piotr finally nodded. “Alright. Your parents will be coming, Kitty?”

Kitty’s smiled dimed for a moment. “Probably not my dad. I asked him at the beginning of the week about going somewhere on Friday but he’s swamped at work. But my mom should be able to come,” she said, her smile returning to its original brightness.

“It will be good to meet her,” Piotr said, his voice dropping softer at the end of his sentence as he cocked his head.

He’d heard Alexandra calling up the stairs. She called again, and he backed out of the room, and called back in answer.

“Wash your hands and finish up your tour, dears, I’m getting ready to serve dinner.”

“Okay, Mama, we’ll be right down,” Illyana called down the stairs.

She looked back at Kitty, and sighed softly. “That’ll be the main thing I’ll miss when I come to the mansion – Mama’s dinner call.” She said, and her stomach grumbled loudly in response.

“It sounds like it,” Piotr said teasingly, poking her in the side.

Illyana jumped to the side, and stuck her tongue out at him. “You’re mean. Just for that, you’re gonna be doing the cooking for all of my meals when I come to school out there.” She said, shooting a grin towards Kitty, before dashing down the stairs when Piotr laughed and tried to poke her again.

Kitty smiled, looking after the two, and found herself wishing, as she often did when around people who were siblings, that she’d not been an only child.

She followed them down the stairs, taking one last look back at the framed painting of the mansion in the open doorway of Piotr’s room, wondering how she’d never noticed his artistic skills before – how none of them had – and wondered what else she didn’t know about her quiet friend.

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A/N: Hey all, hope you liked it. Some ROMY, a bit of cute Kitty and Piotr interaction, and Remy/Sarah fun. Few nods to some other Marvel Characters, mainly the lawyer’s names.

Sorry again for the horrendously long wait. Like I said, RL was horrible. I managed to catch the Swine Flu, and then that developed into pneumonia and a stay at the hospital, so I spent a few weeks lying in bed and feeling like crap without getting anything done. Since then I’ve been playing the catch-up game at work and especially at school, but now things are calming down – just finished my last final.

I had to break up this chapter as it was getting two long. Part three and the end of the vacation saga is pretty much done, and I expect to post it on Sunday (give you guys some time to read this one;)). More ROMY, skiing, and a lot of other stuff to wrap up the little vacation trilogy of chapters.

After that, I’m on a week-long holiday to see family and then I’ll have around 3 weeks to write stuff before school starts again. Hopefully there’s never a huge gap/break in posting like this again..

See you all later!
~ShadowGryffindor

PS: Here are some translations from the chapter
Lapushka – Little Paw, a sort of pet name in Russian
mladshaya syestra – Little Sister