X-Men: A Bright New World

[Lachiyous]

Interlude - Mystique

Undisclosed time. [Undisclosed location]

Doom. In the form of..

Blonde tresses. Blue eyes. The same girl, the same. Vision. Inevitable, inescapable, she'd become their...doom. Over and over again. Only this time, it would not be. Because...

Her. Auburn hair. White locks. Emerald irises. The key to. Everything.

Finally.

As soon as she knew of this, long ago, Irene orchestrated for the pursuit of the adolescent. She made it so. To drive the point home, ever so. Clearly. Upon her close friend, Raven.

"That girl will change everything -- she means more to us on our journey than even you or I!"

And ever since, with those words. Every single moment that's been planned. Every move. Notion. Idea and thought. It's been directed to this. Culmination. Of events. To what will transpire on the morrow. All because...of one...girl. One...

"Rogue." the name was spat out in disdain. "The lil' headcase is comin' with us!"

"You're pulling our legs. There's NO way in hell. That stray is much too green..."

"Enough you two." A third. All men. This one was more reserved. More pensive. "There's obviously a method to the madness. Mystique's rules, remember. Now quiet, before she hears any of this!"

Too little. Too late, Trapster. Heard enough.

But that also meant, that...so did she.

They would feel her wrath. That much was certain. And she, well. It was time for her to be a big girl now...

Raven's smile faded, slightly. Overhearing her 'team'. Downstairs. She took in the young woman's visage, and memories. Momentarily. Coursed through her at once...

The first moment Irene had spoken of her. She'd be getting a daughter!
The first moment she herself had found her. How frightened and out of sorts she truly was!
The moments after. Day in, and. Day out. Here. Every second. Years. How she strived to live up to Raven's expectations. Through her training. Her due diligence. It was true. She had made her proud....

And now. Finally. Everything had happened for a reason. All roadways led to this. She was the key to it all. And....it was time.

She offered one more smile. To her daughter before her. "To the States. We're headed for the Big Apple!"

Gloves off, no more time for bullshit...
========================================================================

 

[SortOfBeautiful]

Alison wasn't exactly sure what had happened. One moment, they were all in Charles' office, talking about practicing. The new students and trainees of the X-Men had been working hard, and Alison was always so excited for an excuse to train. Her whole life, she'd only ever explored and practiced her powers while singing or dancing. Now, for once, she could be herself and she had others around her who weren't scared of her and wanted to help her.

So then, why did the tables turn?

Gambit had grabbed her hand, and she squeezed it. Raising a questionable eyebrow, she wondered why it looked like he was so...concerned. She stumbled when Remy pushed her behind him and let go of her hand, glaring accusingly at Logan. She didn't mind a little fighting outside here in the courtyard, but...it seemed as if things had been taken too personally. Remy didn't trust the older man.

"Remy, it's fine, he--" She started, but gasped when those bone claws retracted from Logan's fists. Oh my god! Did that hurt? What were those? Not knowing scared her to death, and she didn't want either of them to get hurt.

"I will cut you down to size." Logan had warned, and Alison stood up a little straighter. Her heart was racing, and she couldn't just stand back and do nothing. Defensively, for Remy's sake, she stepped around him.

"No one's cutting down anyone, back off!" She called out, her voice firm. On her waist was a device that Charles had helped create for her. A device to help store sonic energy so she didn't have to drain all her energy in absorbing it from outside sound vibrations. While she preferred using her powers to music, now at least she could improvise.

When Logan's claws didn't disappear, Alison knew she had to react before Remy did something stupid and hurt himself. Her hand came up, warm with the absorption of her powers, and her finger pointed like the barrel of a gun, directed right at Logan. Her intense eyes and pointed hand were his final warning before the laser beam shot at Logan.

Miss!

She fired again, this time aiming for his chest.

 

[Remec]

Madrox

Jamie didn't really know what to make of Logan. The gruff man who had been welcomed so eagerly by Jubilee wasn't quite what he had in mind when he had read the paperwork on the staff at Xavier's. He shook his head lightly. PR and marketing strike again, I guess.

His thoughts were interrupted by the commotion and ado caused by Gambit, but he followed the group outside into the courtyard anyway. Jamie's mind shifted into a different gear as he tried to remember what he had been working on with the Professor over the last several days. Calming himself and mentally willing the device worked into his clothing--a modification by Dr. Richards of the mechanism Jamie's father had built for him--into lowering its safeguards and allowing him access to his powers. Intentionally, that is.

He was the last one outside and felt more than a little awkward and out of place at witnessing the exchange between the two older men. Did I miss something between inside and outside? So quickly? What do I....?

The creepy sound of something blending cracking knuckles, the pop of a switchblade, and flesh being separated made the hair rise along Jamie's wrists and neck and he tried to slip around Jubilee to get a better view of Alison's intervention. I thought we were going to show off martial arts, not practice lethal fighting.

A flash of light from the blonde's finger reminded Jamie of what Alison's powers were all about and he felt better about not jumping into things. He had jumped back, however, since the laser-like bolt had caught him unaware and bumped into Jubilee. He tripped as he came off her, and fell forward onto his hands. The slight impact between their bodies, as well as where his palms struck the ground, resounded through Jamie with an odd, but familiar, feeling and the next thing he knew, he was helping himself back to his feet.

Madrox looked at his selves and then the four of them turned and looked at where Logan and Remy were still squared off with Alison between them. "I think she has a point," he began when Alison's finger fired a second time.

 

[Remec]

Sam/Cannonball

“I would suggest rending a vehicle. I wouldn’t trust a driver that you don’t already know. A car would come in handy if things…happened,” Betsy told them.

Sam nodded and replaced the napkin from Kitty into the front pocket of his shirt and closed up his jacket over it once more. "Gotcha," he said, "Ah'll go get something and meet y'all back at the hotel. Or are we ready to leave from here?" He looked at the group and grinned. "Yeah, Ah guess we are, ain't we?"

He stepped back from the table and gave Kitty and Betsy a slight bow. "We'll be in touch," he told them, "regularly." Sam then motioned to Theresa and Wanda. "After you, ladies," he said.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Allison's intervention wasn't very welcome, but her attack which first looked comical, turned out to be so much more. A bright, concentrated light shot from her pointed finger, singing a few hairs, this got his attention fully. As there was no mechanism, no sound, he moved just as she fired again. The light hit his shoulder, burning through his clothing and scorching his skin. James grunted from the pain,

"So you can concetrate energy. Impressive...but are you fast enough?"

The wound was closing already, the burn healing over, skin renewing itself. He was talking only to gain himself a few seconds, seconds which healed the wound, gave him use of the arm back, the tone a mix of wonder and pain, more pain than what he actually felt. A tone to make the opponent pause, an inexperienced opponent will feel confused, even taken aback, the more experienced oponent might revel in scoring a hit.

James moved again, ducking, rolling, coming up from the ground with the lethal speed and power of a jaguar. Fingers gripped Allison's wrist, pulled, flicked and with added power she was flipping over, a deft pull making her land on her feet again, but with James behind her, her arm twisted and at his mercy. He pushed the arm up into a key-lock, claws retracted and now a knife at her her throat, he made certain that his point was taken that he could have killed her, then he released her and slid the knife back into it's sheath. He glanced at the Cajun,

"C'est ce que j'enseigne mon ami. That is why I belong here."

He faced Jubilee and...five Madroxes? He blinked, that was something new, he moved closer and studied Madrox and his duplicates, a slow smile spreading over his features.

"Perfect, you all even smell alike. Coupled with a few lessons from me you can take down basically anybody."

 

[Shadowlace]

Siryn

Theresa looked at the youth and than Wanda and laughed, "We could have one epic threesome if we want too"She said as she chuckled and than looked to Betsy. Seeing the woman frown was very satisfying. She looked hot with a scowl and irking her just made Theresa happy.

Theresa than smiled as she looked at them and grabbed the map. It would be fun to be on a trip with Sam, He should provide a great distraction between her and Wanda. She hoped too that the three of them could locate Piotr. He was a great guy and was super talented.She wanted to find him, as she would miss the guy and his smiling face. What ever happened she hope he was alive.

 

[Shadowlace]

Jubilee

Jubilee watched Logan work and smiled. She always admired him as a teacher, and secretly had harbored a crush on him for quite some time. She hoped now that she was a bit older, and had some experience. She looked at Logan and smiled as she than looked at Allison and the Cajun get trounced.

She smiled taking a simple stance her hands out and her foot forward. She knew the old man would have seen this style before. heck she learned it from him. She though hoped her speed and flexibility would save her. "Well old man care to dance with me"

She than springs forward and into a tumble. She pops up into Logans reach and slams her hands up and flashes her powers right in his face. she than drops and sweeps at his legs.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Wolverine

He looked at Jubilation, the stance was good, but not as balanced as he wanted it to be, her movements though was gracefull, fast and when she came up with her hands towards his face, he brought up an arm to shield his eyes as true enough she exploded her fireworks into his face. He sensed more than saw her sweep at his legs, conventional wisdom was to jump up or back to avoid the attack, but James was far from conventional. He jumped forward, knee aimed at Jubes' head, she blocked it and they faced each other, she attacked again, there was no need for weapons, nor claws, this was a friendly fight, a little dance as she had stated.

She had gotten quicker than he could remember, her strikes even had a bit more power behind them. James allowed her a few strikes, but a some of her attacks did get through, she had quite a wallop on her kicks, but he rolled with the punches and kicks. She managed to block most of his own hits, she had really worked on what he had taught her and her speed made grappling was out of the question, she was as fast and as slick as greased lightning, but even lightning could be struck. Having studied her throughout their little encounter, he struck, of course not as powefully as he could, there was no need to hurt her, but a light tap to the face with his fingers, she ducked right into his waiting arms as he locked her into full-Nelson hold and forced her down. He was grinning as he held on to her preventing escape, but also not trying to hurt her,

"You had gotten good kiddo, you can call me impressed."

Of course when taught by James, you get taught how to escape, even fight dirty if need's be, her head struck him on the nose as she tried to wriggle free, it didn't loosen his hold, but did draw a bit of blood before his healing factor kicked in,

"All right all right, you're not a kid anymore, but a young lady."

He had to be dead to not feel how her body had changed since their last sparring session, but she was still much younger than him and he did not delude himself, very few women would ever feel anything for a gruff old bear like himself.

 

[Shadowlace]

Jubilee

She struggled a bit more and getting just enough she was able to turn and kiss him on the cheek before she was forced back into the hold she than giggled and blushed."Glad you finally noticed" She than tried one last trick and smiled.

"By the Way Logan I do pay attention"She gripped his arms and used her power. She let the intensity build in her hands and let the very heat of the thermo reaction build on his skin as she kept her self solidly on her feet as she focused on burning her mentors and crushes arms.

 

[DeathsKnight]

The kiss was startling, but he didn't let go, then she used her powers to burn him. He was sure that she knew his healing factor would kick in as soon as she begun, so he didn't let go until he could feel the burn breaching his healing factor's rate. He swiveled his hips, entangled a leg with her own and thus tripped her as he pushed forward, she was forced to break the hold on his arms or have her face smashed against the ground, again she proved to know that he would not hurt her too much, she used only one hand too soften the impact.

He wrapped his legs around her waist and squeezed, only then did he release his hold, slipping the more damaged of his arms aronund her throat and before she could react his knife rested against her throat,

"Glad you pay attention, next time make sure to have a follow through on your surprise attack."

He released his hold and got to his feet, his left hand a bit useless due to the frayed sinews and muscles in his arm, he grunted in satisfaction,

"You improved a lot Jubes, I have to congratulate you on that."

 

[Shadowlace]

Jubilee

She kips up once freed and walks over giggling and than kisses Logan on his cheek."Really thats' sweet! does that mean the next time you go off on one of your adventures i can come with you?"She says wide eyed as she had always since she had got her wanted to go off with Logan.

Jubilee stood there next to him with admiration in her eyes. She had always liked Logan he never held back and told you exactly how he saw it. She had originally been a pest to him but eventually he warmed up to her. Granted she was barely a teenager and he was... well he was old. Jubilee though held a special place in her heart for him, and now she could act on it if she wanted to. The problem was she was still nervous about it, she had only been with one guy and Logan could have had hundreds of women by now, and she was well some scrawny little girl barely legal and not as experienced as he was. She though really wanted to try and see if he would have feelings for her. At least she hoped he wanted to try things with her.

 

[Lachiyous]

Gambit

Almost Five Years Ago. [New Orleans, Louisiana]

She couldn't recognize the value...

"You dere. T'ief. Step 'side!" One gruffly threatened, quickly accompanied by another voice. Just as stern, "Stay 'way from de girl..."

....in conflict. What mattered if he came from the other side of the fence, the. Wrong, side of the city? Didn't what felt right, inside the. Heart, far outweigh these...socializations of the. Mind, of...society?

"We not cause pain, to de no one..." he attempted, in a civil manner. Perhaps in vain.

They were not impressed. Not one bit.

"Dat dere is WRONG! You present. You t'ief. And! You wit' Celeste..."

"No outsider, much less one of de enemy clan. Ain't NEVER 'lowed be wit'--"

Yet, bless 'im. He went straight for the gullet, by laying out his. Trump -- wild -- card. Jack of Hearts.

"....maybe it be interest t'know, dat dis t'ief. Love dat girl..."

"...quoi?"

"De hell you jus' say?!"

"Better, what make you t'ink dat 'kay? Dere is NOT a ONE T'ING 'kay. Wit' dat. An' wit' you!"

"T'ief, you are l'adversaire. Stay longer s'more, you goin' find a world o' pain.."

He made his move, now...it was. Her turn...

"Louis, Pierre. 'Nough. Remy not 'lone in de romance. I love 'im 'swell..."

She certainly could surprise him, as well her coming out of. No where. But then, what was the saying: Love comes when one least expect it..? Fresh, new and yet...he felt deep in it. Hands entwined. As he peered tenderly at her soft hazel eyes, he just now noticed...the. Sudden emergence, of more. TEN, more men. Weapons drawn, facing him now. He definitely was deep in it...

Merde.
========================================================================
Thursday. Now.

The short, stocky. Stranger, of an older individual. Wasn't as kindly impressionable, by the Cajun's non-too-welcomed. Greeting, and acknowledgement. Nor should he have been. And as anticipated, like a cornered enemy -- an infiltrator, at that -- he spat back! Remy had to take mental note of the man, adding him up. Just so...

"I am here in the capacity of a teacher, hand-to-hand training..." Again, with this 'teacher' business? If he were REALLY here to teach, would le professeur. Xavier, wouldn't he have mentioned this guy, at the least. ONCE? Didn't add up, much at all. "...f'r the first time in my life I belong somewhere and bub, you are not gonna tell me..." Just what was he GOING on about, any the. Way? Talk, talk. Talk. Stalling? Alterior motive? He clung steadfast, every bit to the stranger's demeanor, making sure not to. Miss, the single of a facet.

Fixate one's attention on a new subject.
Contemplate the prospect(s).
Prime the feasible -- auspicious -- scheme, if in necessity.

SNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICKKT! Gambit's fiery irises. Flared. At the sound, and the. Six, boney knives -- three on each appendage -- which just sprung, blatantly through...the. Adversary's skin. A perspicuous notion of war. Crystal clear act of violence. The threat all directed to himself, as the foe let out. Gutturally, completing his stance, "I will cut you down to size." Strike One!

He knew the guy could NOT -- should NOT -- be accepted, or. Credited, based on so very. Negligible, the know-how on him! A spy. An invader. Whatever -- the runt was here to sabotage the School, and its. Students, that which--

Alison, very abruptly. Fronted, the Cajun!

Eh?

Her voice commanded, soon. There, after. "No one's cutting down anyone, back off!" Then, there were. Light...beams. Discharged. Twice, back at the foe!

No. This was NOT what Remy desiderated. How COULD he? She was now in danger...

The man uttered out in pain, from the. Second, laser. Before -- animalistically and spedfast -- manipulating his position, until the. Blonde, was in his grasp. Strike Two! He dared, he. TOUCHED her--!

Jaime's antics went unheard, and. Unseen, by him. Within, the flash as the Cajun became embittered. Instantly...

Metallic bo held, along with. Five cards, having slipped from a. Leather cuff. One for each, supposed. Foot, in height of the. Combatant. The wafting of bluish. Pink, all ready. Emitted from his. Gaze, deadset on...

Him. Releasing...her?

"C'est ce que j'enseigne mon ami." The pretender lied..."That is why I belong here.."

Gambit didn't buy into. Any the word or notion, from. Him, and in. Taking an emphatic step forward -- the bright glow encircling both hands -- he meant to, strike the. Would-be-aggressor, and. Indoctrinate -- chastise, too -- him on assailing, a. Lady! But...

"...care to dance with me?" One moment to the next. The youthful girl lept forward. Like a gazelle, and. Tussled, with the individual. He scuffled back...

Fighting with another girl...

Back, back and. Forth. They went. Until...

"You had gotten good kiddo, you can call me impressed." he...praised her.

Huh?

"...not a kid anymore, but a young lady."

What. Was. Going. On...

"Glad you finally noticed. By the Way Logan I do pay attention..." she chirped.

Here? The two more-or-less, sparred again. The attached boney weapons, retracted. Warily though, the kinetic energy. Dissipated, from the both of Remy's. Hands -- staff and cards included, and put away. Lastly, yet only with the realization that the two. Were acquainted, did it diffuse from his. Molten orbs. He cast them, down. Curiously, at the. Militia-like dog tag, that he had palmed....earlier, which. Had a bunch of numbers on it, and one. Name:

WOLVERINE.

Not worth it. And Gambit, still. Didn't trust him. Turning on boot, he flipped the. Chain back, over his. Shoulder, to the. Stranger. Logan, as he was. This...Wolverine...guy.

"Stay 'way from de blonde gal. An' from dis Cajun. Maybe den. T'ings be 'lright, d'accord?" His curt attention. Switched. To Alison, as he extended himself. To her. Concern ringing in his tone, as he examined her, "You 'kay, chere?" He spotted Jaime's duplicates just now, also. Attack or not, he wished only, for her safety. "Promise Remy, you don't. Never, do de NOTHIN' like dat 'gain..."

If she was at all. Injured--!
========================================================================

 

[DeathsKnight]

He grimaced,

"One of my little adventures is too dangerous for anybody to come on Jubes, but I will make sure to come on one with you."

Of course the Cajun's words was not totally ignored, but the fact that he cut in while Logan was talking to Jubilation, proved to James that there was going to be a lot of trust issues and heated blood between the two of them...nothing strange to him though. He just smirked and grabbed the metal tags in mid-flight, he flicked them open and he froze, it was his tags, two belonged to his last action seen in the jungles of Vietnam, the third was lost more than three years ago. He turned to look at the odd couple, the blonde and the red eyed Cajun,

"Hey Frenchie, where did you get these?"

 

[SortOfBeautiful]

Dazzler.

"So you can concentrate energy. Impressive...but are you fast enough?"

Shit. Alison had been taught how to use, control, and manipulate her powers, but defense? Combat? She was still learning and had only been asked to start strength training before anyone had taught her anything else. Supposedly, some guy named Piotr loved to help in that training, but with him mission in action, their options were limited right now. This Logan guy, though...he seemed to know what he was doing.

Before Alison could do anything, Logan was charging at her, grabbing her. Alison was able to flip and land safely on her feet, but with barely any time to react, Logan was behind her, her arm was painfully twisted, and those claws were at her throat. She gasped in a breathless surrender before he released her.

It didn't take long for Jubilee to join in on the action, however, her motives had been much more playful than Alison's original intentions. Although, she never really mean to harm Logan. Give him a warning, yes, but her whole life she had stopped using her powers except at work so she didn't hurt anyone. Thankfully, Logan had healing powers that hadn't been known to her, but that didn't make what she did okay. None of it did.

She felt awful, and wanted to apologize. She looked to Jamie, but with all his multiples, she didn't really know exactly which one to look at. Which one was the real him? Did it matter? She wanted to say something, but soon Remy was at her side again, concern and worry in his eyes.

"You 'kay, chere? Promise Remy, you don't. Never, do de NOTHIN' like dat 'gain..."

"I'm fine," She promised, clearing her throat and nodding quickly. She wiggled and extended her arm a little, still sore from being bent in the awkward position from before, but it was a painful reminder that she wasn't as powerful as she thought she was. She had a lot to learn. "I thought he was going to hurt you, and I couldn't just stand there. I shouldn't have done that, I know that now. But you," She pointed at him, jabbing him with that same finger she had blasted Logan with. "You need to calm down too before we all get into trouble." She warned him, those beautiful blue eyes glaring at him. When Logan came back over, she stepped aside and hoped they could be civil.

She kept a careful eye on them as she stepped over to Jamie. Or at least, one of Jamie's copies. She crossed her arms in front of her.

"You step in this time, if something happens. Power in numbers?" She grinned, turning her head over at him. Them.

 

[SortOfBeautiful]

Kitty.

Katherine Pryde has always been a friendly, sweet, even often quiet girl. But when her best friend's life was on the line and it came time to stand up for herself, she'd do it. Of course, she chose to bid her time and at least wait for everyone to leave before she spoke out any more. Betsy did not return that same favor.

“Of course you’re staying here, Kitty. And that’s final."

What, are you my mother now? she wanted to ask. Kitty could only look away, helpless and unable to do much as she waved the others goodbye. Standing up, she gave Sam a quick hug, so she could whisper in his ear.

"Sam, please stay in touch, even if there's nothing. Even if he's not at the farm, look for clues, anything." She pleaded her whisper, and watched with worry as he left with the other girls. Hopefully the others would be safe too, and they didn't suffer the same fate that Piotr had, whatever that might be. When they were gone, she turned her head over to Betsy again.

"Just for the record, I don't agree with this. Professor wanted us to go on a mission together, and you're splitting up the group the first chance you get. I just don't see the logic. It's almost as if you're trying to sabotage any hope we have in finding him." She said, plainly. "You hardly even know Piotr, you were only chosen to lead us because you're older, or...something, I don't know! If anything, my relationship with him could help us, and you're wasting our time in the city. Whatever, let's just get this over with, shall we? I can't stay in here a second longer."

Kitty laid her money on the table for her tea, and walked out ahead of the older girl. She didn't know where to start, but she guessed that Betsy would have a phone call to make.

 

[Remec]

Sam/Cannonball

Sam's eyes had bulged a bit and he was glad for the cooler temps and the jacket he wore was long enough to hide any other bulges that were threatening him after Theresa's comment. He flicked his gaze over her body, cut to do the same to Wanda's, and then met the fiery Irish girl's eyes and smiled. "Epic does sound nice," he said. And here's hoping for some downtime to check that out. First things first, Sammy.

He gave a slight nod to Kitty as she begged him to let her know whatever they found at the Rasputin farm. The look in her eyes and on her face shone through the anger she was fronting towards Betsy at the moment. It was one he had seen enough times on his mother when something unknown had happened in the mines. The voice would be next, he told himself, and inwardly sighed at how on the mark he had been when he heard the younger girl.

"Not to worry," he whispered as he returned her hug and gave her the briefest and softest of reassuring kisses on her cheek. Sam then slipped away from Kitty and led Wanda and Theresa out the door and off to the rental agency.

"YA khotel by arendovat' avtomobil' v techeniye neskol'kikh dney," Sam told the woman behind the desk. His Russian was not free flowing, of course, and he had to consult both his dictionary and colleagues to get out the entire sentence, but he felt good that he'd managed it without too much mangling. The rental agency clerk gave him a broad smile.

"It is not often you English-speakers make such an effort," she told him. "American, yes? You did good. Usually they come in and point and say, 'Car" in a louder-than-usual voice...like shouting makes things clearer. Razve eto ne?" She stopped and laughed. "Oh, that was French idiom...how you say? Y'know?"

Sam nodded and laughed along with the woman. Minutes later, paperwork was done, contract signed, and him and the two women were driving out of town in a serviceable, if in need of a little maintenance, small four-wheel drive vehicle. Sam had considered a regular car, but all they had had been very small and he wanted something that could potentially carry everyone, including Peter.

Finding the road out of town had been a pretty straightforward thing; getting oriented from the diagram Kitty had given them to a map Sam had gotten from the rental agent, a little trickier. Soon, however, they were turning onto the long, winding road of dirt and gravel that should lead to the Rasputin farm. There was a place where they could hide the vehicle, if they wanted to close the distance on foot, but there wasn't much in the way of brush to hide it well.

Sam knew it was colder here than back home, but the way the scenery they passed while driving had looked, there was more than merely the change of seasons going on. It had a bit of the look of an area under a drought, the farm before them even more so.

"Well, ladies," Sam said, "that should be it. That cluster of buildings across the field and among those trees. Shall we drive on or get out and walk from here?"

 

[Lachiyous]

Gambit

Over One Year Ago. [Somewhere. In the Old World of Europe]

<>This mission is greatly significant.<>

He didn't respond. Not in a verbal committment, nor. Did he appear very invested. Thoughts, and. Feelings...elsewhere.

The dark and mysterious figure pressed on. Unfazed, the one bit. <>The target is a man. Yet, unlike any other.<>

Still nothing.

<>He has regenerative capabilities, far exceeding anything. Humanly. Possible.<>

Not the small of a. Peep.

<>You will bring him. Here. To me.<>

This brought him, to the. Present. And to the. Demands, of this conversation. "Dat not de way dis works. Not de style of de Cajun. Mostly..."

<>Your morality is almost touching. If not. Extraneous. You'll find him for me. Through whatever means. Necessary. It will not...become you. To refuse me. Remember that.<>

A slight frown, grew. Across his face. "Not wit'out pic. Address. De name, no?"

He flashed his ominous smile. Knowing his favored agent had no choice, but this one. To make. <>You'll receive nothing but this. Personal belonging of his, which was obtained. Not too long, after you had come. Under my employment.<>

A silver chain, coiled down into. A metal-like tag. With a list of numbers, punched in. At the top. The bottom remarked CDN FORCES CDN.

<>I trust your skill set, can. And will, do the rest.<>

And in the middle, of the militia token. He noted, only one name. WOLVERINE.
========================================================================
Thursday. Earlier.

Instinct.

Doesn't even take a moment. To connect. And do. What's ingrained. Even within the company of friends. Team mates. And strangers. The office of one, Professor Charles Xavier. Notably inclusive.

The glint of silver, did in fact. Snag him, on a subconscious level. Even as the cigar had, his all together present. Attention. Even so, fingers. With a mind of their own. Pluuuuuucked, the source of metal. From its 'home'. Perhaps, fulfilling long overdue. Past, unrealized...desires. Simply, by...

Instinct. And the third set of dog tags, in his possession...
========================================================================
Now.

"I'm fine." Alison affirmed. Although he noticed that she. Visibly. Ached, in the fashion she was turning. And twisting, the one of her. Arms. Upon deeper, visual inspection. It didn't give the impression of being. Swollen, or bruised...yet. She must have been more shaken up than anything. He was just about to reach, one. Gentle hand, to touch her. Reassure her. When, she stated to him. "I thought he was going to hurt you, and I couldn't just stand there. I shouldn't have done that, I know that now. But you." It was her, that touched him. A finger, poking his chest. "You need to calm down too before we all get into trouble." She was never the more. Serious, than now. As she held him, unwavering. With her gaze.

But that time -- that protective instinct -- had all ready come through, and. Passed. From the before. Superseded, by that of his. Charm. To which, he'd always had plentysome. "Calm down? Dat not what you say de LAST time. When dere be trouble, chere. Gambit recall you want him anyt'ing BUT calm, eh?" A playful smile. Colored his lips, and on display. For her.

When Logan came toward him, and addressed him. He turned toward the individual, as Alison sauntered over to Jamie. "Hey Frenchie, where did you get these?"

These. Gambit witnessed the shimmer, of the silver. Military metal tags, that shone brightly. In the day's -- Sun's -- radiance. The image of them. Their importance. And the play of memory, as they related. To him, lingered. Not the too long at all. The good of his spirits, far too dominant. At the now, and present. "Could be, de man of de moment. Well, not dis man..." He rushed to exclude himself, thusly. His hands directed inward. With a wink. "..heh. Dat maybe drop dem. An' what you know. 'long come Gambit. He go an' pick dem up. Return. Wit' a smile to boot. Free service, great cust'mer relations!" He laughed, completing the joke. Not at all, teetering near the. Presence of, nor potential seriousness. In origin, of the tokens. Least of all, his connection to any of it...

It hadn't slipped his observation, that. Young Jubilee was practically. Fawning, over the individual. Impressing, eager to please. Not unlike a school girl crush. He hadn't met either of the two before today, so. Their acquaintance, the. History of their...friendship. Wasn't something he was privy to, knowing. It was quite apparent, that a tease was in order! "L'amour..." A hand, upon the shoulder. Of each. Jubilee and Logan. "..even at its. Beginnin', buddin' romance. Dere is no price. For de beauty. For dis girl an' dis guy. To wit'stand de test of time! Toget'er! Ain't life sweet..." The Cajun was full of grinning, smiles. And smiling, grins. For the lovely couple he just pronounced before him. The other young teenager(s), Jamie. And of course...for Alison.

Hmm. Come to think of it. He wasn't really wrong. About the love. Or as it was, l'amour...
========================================================================

 

[DeathsKnight]

James

He stared hard at the Cajun, flicked the dogtags around his fingers and shoved them into a pocket,

"Aucune femme saine d'esprit m'aimera."

For some strange reason he didn't trust the suddenly jovial red-eyed man, but there was much to sort out for now.

"By now I know the powers of four of the five people here, I know what I can do, I know what Jubilee can do, Allison gave a nice demonstration and Madrox over there..."

He pointed at the five Madrox's in turn,

"Showed what he can do, the only person to actually show me what he can do is you. Now I know that while Allison and I had our little dance, you did something behind my back. I saw a flare of color, but I felt nothing, I can assure you, even though you do not trust me."

He sniffed,

"I do not trust you either, but I have a little something to show you."

From his jacket he withdrew a leather-bound notebook, he opened it and instead of pages, it held photo pockets. From one of the pockets he drew a photo showing himself with the Professor, Colussus, Jubilee and various of the first students in front of the school.

"The professor is the one to give me the tag with Wolverine on it, I lost it during a rather heated scuffle. Somebody gave it to you didn't they?"

He stuck the picture back into it's pocket, right next to the picture of a striking red-head, he flicked the photo book closed and placed it back into his pocket.

"Also if you have your reservations about why I'm here, feel free to call the Professor, he will be most likely able to explain my situation to you. At least I know you will listen to him."

James turned away, slipping his jacket off and placing it carefully on the stairs,

"Jubilation showed you what I teach, now is there any takers for the very first lesson?"

 

[heartofcourage]

Betsy Braddock

Betsy was drawn up short as she heard the dark sarcastic tone that practically dripped silently through Kitty’s thoughts. The girl was a teen, one that barely had control over her emotions as it was and she could definitely understand the worry and need to know that her friend was safe. Still, this was the exact reason why she wouldn’t allow her to go with the rest of the team.

She let the girl tell her plainly how she felt, her face neutral until the little tantrum was over. Calmly, she paid for her drink and stood, leading the girl outside. She stood silently on the sidewalk for a long moment, gathering her thoughts and shielding herself from the millions of other thoughts that floated through the city. With a calm breath, she turned to stare at Kitty with her intense blue eyes.

“Just for the record, I think you’re a spoil brat who’s acting like she’s 5 instead of the age she actually is. Yes, the professor wanted us to go on this mission together and we have. Frankly your attitude is the reason you’re not going with them, combined with the fact that you can’t separate your feelings from Piotr from the task at hand.”

“Don’t you see that this is large than him? Why would he be gone except for the simple fact that someone is drawing us towards something else? What good would it do to send us all into a trap?” Betsy took a step towards Kitty, her voice lowering so that only she could hear. “I should send you home for questioning authority. I should send you home for disrespecting me…and yes, I do hear every single thought that races through that little brain of yours as if you were screaming at me…which I assume is what you would really rather be doing right now.”

“And…little girl…as far as Piotr goes…you have no idea what my relationship is with him. You really want to know? I fucked him. Down by the lake at the mansion. Now you tell me, how well do you truly know Piotr?” Betsy turned then, zipping up her leather coat against the chill as she decided to make her way towards the nearest secure phone. There were some things she needed to learn about the man that they all thought they knew so well but were learning that they didn’t know well at all.

 

[Remec]

Madrox

There was something more than a little odd about the way Logan had moved over and observed Jamie and his duplicates. Is he smelling me? The unspoken question was answered almost immediately when the shorter man had cracked what might have been a genuine smile and commented, "Perfect, you all even smell alike. Coupled with a few lessons from me you can take down basically anybody."

Always good to know. But is that what I want?

He watched as the demonstrations...lessons?...continued. He would not have thought a girl of Jubilee's age and size could fight so well. Jamie's mind wandered a bit as he wondered if she'd be up for helping him get up to speed, so to speak. A glance at the dupes showed that most of them seemed to be having a variation of the same thought--some a little less interested, a couple who had adjusted the way they stood while watching as if already taking mental notes, and the last who seemed to be checking Jubilee's body out instead of her fighting style and the technique she was using against Logan.

Great. So my dupes can be more pervy than I am. Joy joy.

While he had been observing his selves, the others had continued. Logan and Remy seemed to be sort of sizing one another up, like playground alphas in a new neighborhood, and he wasn't sure what to make of it all. Alison stood nearby, but then approached him and began watching from next to him. "You step in this time, if something happens. Power in numbers?" she said with a grin.

Jamie sighed and nodded. Yeah, that's what Logan seemed to think too. I wonder how quickly I could make more of me?

Logan and Remy talked some more, something to do with a set of what looked like dogtags, then Logan was saying, "....I know what Jubilee can do, Allison gave a nice demonstration and Madrox over there showed what he can do...." The next part of Logan's words was lost to Jamie as the man had pointed directly to him and all the duplicates had turned to regard Jamie with expressions of worry and bewilderment. He made a calming motion to them and paid attention to Logan once more.

"....any takers for the very first lesson?"

The first?

Jamie swallowed nervously and raised a hand (as did three of the dupes). "Since what I showed you was sort of by accident, I'm thinking it must be my turn, right? What is the very first lesson? Or do I have to volunteer for it before knowing what I'm getting myself...selves...in for?"

 

[DeathsKnight]

Logan turned to face the youngster and grinned,

"Not tah worry kid, it will be basic self-defense."

For some strange reason he knew exactly which was the original Jamie, if it was instict or something more he did not know, nor did he care, as long as it worked.

"Step right up and we can start."

He looked at Allison and Remy,

"You two lovebirds have a good look, Jubilation knows this already."

He wasn't sure what triggered Jamie's powers, so he eased Jamie into the exercise, making sure that Jamie knew exactly what to do, how to throw a good punch, how to fall and of course how to deliver the very efective knee to sternum. When he was sure that Jamie had at least a slight mastery of what he had taught him, he moved on, increasing the speed, asking for more power. The kid packed a good punch, the knee of course needed some work.

By the time he allowed Jamie to rest, the latter was sweating profusely, James glanced at the dupes, they still seemed perfect,

"Ah hope they learn from you, I really do not wish to go through all the duplicates you can create just to get one lesson done."

How he knew that Jamie could create more duplicates? Common sense and of course having read a few research notes during his stay in Japan helped as well. He looked at Jamie, waiting for him to catch his breath, then he leaned closer,

"Say kid, we need to finish up if yah still want to head into town."

He grinned and straightened up,

"Last stretch, then we're done f'r the day...well at least done with this lesson."

He crouched, ready to take Jamie's attack

 

[Remec]

"Self-defense sounds like a good place to start," Jamie said. And probably a lot easier than what Alison and Jubilee were doing with him. He proceeded to square off with Logan and followed the older man's lead in each part of the lesson. When they would break for a short breather, he would glance over at the duplicates already formed and noted that, as before, they were distinct in their behaviors.

Two were avidly enthralled in what was going on, and seemed almost ready to swap out with Jamie and get some hands-on training. Another seemed almost bored, like this was all something he'd learned already. Number four appeared to just be more interested in Jamie's well-being...holding his breath when he exchanged blows with Logan, or biting his lip when Jamie would be struck or thrown or fall particularly hard.

The last dupe was too busy alternating his ogling of Alison with that of Jubilee. He was subtle about it, but Jamie was sure that was what he was doing. And the girls probably know it too. Women tend to be aware of things like that.

"Ah hope they learn from you, I really do not wish to go through all the duplicates you can create just to get one lesson done," Logan said.

"Yeah, they seem to. And vice versa. I used to sometimes send one into town on errands when I couldn't leave the farm and they would pass along what they had experienced when they were reasorbed."

He watched Logan process this information and returned the man's smile at mention of going into town. Logan said, ""Last stretch, then we're done f'r the day...well at least done with this lesson." Jamie nodded and prepared himself as he saw Logan setting up for him.

Jamie took a deep breath and followed the mental routine Dr. Richards and Prof. X had coached him in, interacting with his outfit and letting his power become more active. How to best do this? I guess we just go for it.

He made a sudden rush towards Logan, then attempted to feint to the side to throw off his new teacher's perception of what he was doing. Jamie had not counted on Logan's enhanced senses, and his eyes widened as Logan swiveled without any seeming effort and threw up a block and counter-blow to the young man's midsection. Jamie gave a short grunt, but grinned as both the block and the punch triggered off a new duplicate. The two new arrivals appeared to Jamie's right and left, flanking Logan and attempting to connect with a downward blow and a leg sweep.

"The power works off of kinetic blows," Jamie said, "so the more I get hit, the more I can hit back."

 

[Lachiyous]

[Please continue the posts in the following NEW X-Men: A Bright New World IC thread. Thanks!]

 

[DeathsKnight]

-grumble-