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7s and 2s

Reader mode
Huh. I was expecting the whole thing with the dealer to be Toad selling psychoactive or other substances that frogs secrete as a drug, especially after discovering he could create poison. Seems like marginally more effort to be a Toad version of Catwoman or Black Cat, but I guess it would be pretty obvious where the new drugs (containing substances found in certain frogs) would be coming from.
 
Chapter 3 is weirdly formatted for me, the font color is too light. I'm not reading comments because I don't want spoilers, so maybe it's been mentioned before. I've enjoyed all I've read, except for how dumb the mc is by going straight to crime.
 
Interlude: A Bombastic Celebration New
Interlude: A Bombastic Celebration​

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men Evolution. I own the OCs.
It was something of an open secret among the X-Men, and anyone who could call her a close friend, that Tabitha was not a huge fan of birthday parties.

That fact always seemed to shock people whenever they learned about it. Admittedly for good reason. If the concepts of vivacious, free spirited, and unapologetically carefree were to be collectively described in one picture, you would probably find a picture of Tabitha just living her everyday life.

While it would sound pretentious coming from anyone else, most people would agree that whatever party she was at Tabitha was often the life of it.

In her own words, if someone wanted to celebrate something then they shouldn't half ass it. They had to do it with 110% effort.

Drinking, dancing, making poor decisions in the heat of the moment because of the drinking and dancing. Tabitha at a party was much like her namesake mutation. Loud, explosively eye catching, and liable to hurt someone if caught in the blast zone.

Lots of times there wouldn't even be a partying happening and she could somehow conjure such festivities at the drop of a hat. When she was on a roll, Tabitha never failed to drag anyone she wanted into her orbit, even those outside her usual clique or those unused to her particular brand of mayhem (the most notable people being the strait-laced Jean and standoffish Rogue). The Bomb Mutant was scarily competent in that regard.

So, with all this information, it would stand to reason that Tabitha's dislike for birthdays was mostly likely blown out of proportion. Right?

Wrong. If anything, her dislike for the concept was enflamed by her consistency, despite it being a contradiction. It was honestly kind of impressive considering how chaotically random she was with any set order of societal norms and expectations.

…That being said. It would also be wrong to say she completely hated the idea of birthdays. Some aspects she quite enjoyed.

For one, Tabitha loved presents. Mostly the receiving part though she was an oddly good gift giver. Rogue still wasn't sure how she knew the goth teen wanted a signed album from the Black Crowes on her birthday a few months ago, the Bomb Mutant getting the record after a throwaway comment about missing home and mention of her favorite band.

Honestly, Rogue had been more curious on where Tabitha found something like that but her lips were sealed on the matter.

She was also fine with enjoying a nice dinner or going out in celebration for someone else growing older. It quickly became clear (to most) that it wasn't birthdays in general that Tabitha disliked.

It was her own birthday that the Bomb Mutant did not enjoy celebrating. The reason? No one really knew. She never told.

All Amara knew was that it was hilarious watching the normally unbothered Tabitha squirm in her chair, constantly looking over her shoulder as they ate at a restaurant in town. It was the four of them today with her and Tabitha eating with Kitty and Rogue. The former gave the Bomb Mutant an unimpressed look.

"Girl, would you like stop fidgeting so much? You look like you're going to dine and dash."

"Wouldn't be the first time…"

Amara caught herself a beat too late. Lurching forward as she snorted her drink through her nose, Rogue just barely caught herself across the table and turned her head away to quietly laugh under her breath.

Tabitha didn't notice their reactions nor turned to see Kitty's deadpan. The Bomb Mutant was too busy giving the evil eye to every waitress that walked too close to the table. She scanned the ones holding plates, seeing if it they regular food or suspiciously stylized deserts and watching for a bunch of them gathering. She surveyed the totally normal restaurant like it was a warzone rife with deadly traps.

"You do know we're paying for the meal, right?" Rogue, after taking a moment to compose herself, said and placed a hand on Tabitha's shoulder.

"Oh I know."

"And that we didn't going to ask the restaurant to bring over a birthday cake to embarrass you in front of a dozen strangers you'll never see again, right?"

"Ha. You think I was born yesterday? I know your games. I see even a cupcake with extra sprinkles get too close and I'm blowing the roof off this place in front of all these people. Do not tempt me, I'll do it!"

Amara's shoulders were shaking now. It really shouldn't be as funny as it was but it was. Tabitha was known for making other people nervous due to her random whims. Seeing her to do it to herself was…cathartic almost.

Rogue for her part just shook her head in quiet amusement and flagged a waitress to get a refill on her water.

Of course, that had the effect of making the Bomb Mutant jump, a flicker of lights growing in her palms.

"Okay, okay, we're not doing that!" Kitty whispered in a scathing tone, quickly grabbing Tabitha's wrist and pressed her hand under the table, hiding the light show from the waitress who walked over. "I am not going to explain to the Professor you exposed your powers in public because you got scared over a pastry!"

The Bomb Mutant pouted at the Phaser's glare as Rogue got her cup refilled. She waited until the waitress walked away before releasing her hand.

"Tabitha." Amara spoke up and smiled gently when the aforementioned Mutant snapped her head over. "We're not going to do anything. We're just here to have a nice day out. No crazy surprises or stupid cakes. I promise."

The Bomb Mutant gave the Magma Mutant a searching look, her face way too serious for what Amara thought was a silly reason but Tabitha eventually calmed down and leaned back into her chair with a begrudged 'hmph'.

"Ridiculous…" Kitty said lowly on the side, openly rubbing her temples. "Utterly, ridiculous. It's just a birthday dinner. How…How am I the voice of reason today? What did I do to deserve this? I'm the cute, ditzy one! Not the mopey and miserable one! That's Rogue's thing!"

"…You know, any other day I'd get angry over that…But seeing you melt down is way too fun for me to care right now."

The Power Siphoner weathered the glare sent her way with an all too smug grin, gleefully drinking her water.

They thankfully finished the meal before any real incidents could occur. Paying for their dinner, they went to the mall to get a nice massage, manicure and walk around the new section that recently opened up, getting a round of frozen yogurt as a treat.

As time went on Tabitha relaxed more and more, no longer as jumpy and second guessing every move they made (though she still kept her head on a swivel).

By the time they returned home, the hour had grown late and the sun was close to setting. They were walking up the path to the front of the mansion and were deep in a conversation, Kitty waving her hands around as she made her point.

"Look, objectively speaking, I think the AJ is the most desirable member of the band and it isn't just because he's the hottest."

"…First of all, that's not how you use objectively." Rogue said dryly. "Second of all, and I feel I'm going to regret this…Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kitty scuffed, raising a hand to list off points with her fingers. "AJ is always leading whenever they do a performance. He's the main writer for most of their songs, he only gets outshined in the music videos because Nick is a total camera hog, and out of all of them his presence on stage is the most eye catching."

"…Yep. I ended up regretting it."

"Alright then, which member would you date?"

"Kevin." Rogue immediately answered despite her earlier reluctance to humor Kitty and frowned when she gave her a blank look. "What?"

"…I want to say I'm surprised, but I'm really not."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing~. On a completely unrelated note, has he ever wore a pair of red sunglasses on stage? I think I'd like to see that."

Rogue's pale skin rapidly turned a bright red hue as Amara and Tabitha giggled behind the embarrassed goth.

"Oh, we're going there huh?" The Power Siphoner rhetorically asked with bared teeth. "You sure like to talk for a girl whose type is a big lug with all the emotional maturity of a brick wall but somehow even dumber."

"He's not dumb!" Kitty bit out, tellingly not explaining who she was talking about (something not lost on Rogue). "And I don't have a type!"

Amara, Tabitha and Rogue all stared at her for a long second. The Phaser pouted at that, opening her mouth to argue her side…before shutting it tight, thinking better of it. She eventually just crossed her arms with a huff.

"Whatever. What about you Amara? Which member would you date?"

"None." Amara shrugged at the blinks she received. "I never really listened to them back home." Her parents were far too strict for that.

"Oh. Then-"

"Nick." Tabitha instantly answered with a smirk. "I always wondered what it'd be like to date someone as pretty as me."

Her amusement grew at the many snorts and one "oh brother…" she got from Rogue. Hopping up the front steps of the mansion, the Bomb Mutant kicked open the double doors without any hesitation.

"We're home!" The exclamation echoed throughout the large foyer of the X-Mansion alongside the slamming.

Stillness was the only thing that answered back. Tabitha curiously tilted her head. It was strange to hear the mansion so quiet. While it was a pretty huge place with plenty of room for everyone to have their own space (Xavier was the one to push for the earliest members to share a dorm), it was still rare to see the place completely empty. There would usually be one or two people walking about doing something.

Before she could ask where everyone was, a faint sound emanated from far within the mansion. It was too muffled to make out clearly what it was but it sounded like it coming from the backyard.

"What is that?" She asked turning to the others who entered after her. Kitty and Rogue glanced at another.

"No clue/Beats me." In a total subversion of earlier where they were nipping at each other, they answered in unison and walked off in the direction of the noise without another word.

Tabitha narrowed her eyes at the act. A ghost of a smile flickered past Amara's face as the Bomb Mutant slowly stepping to the side and towards the stairs.

"Well, I'm going to my room. I got, uh, things to-"

"Let's go see what it is!"

Grabbing Tabitha's arm before she could react (she made a sound that could only be described as a "startled squawk"), Amara shamelessly dragged Tabitha along after the others.

The Bomb Mutant tried to resist of course. Digging her heels into the ground, whining and hunching her shoulders but Amara could tell her heart wasn't in it. There was an aura of resigned acceptance around her.

The noise became clearer as they walked through the hall, the threshold of the kitchen coming into view. The faint sound of music grew louder and louder as the quartet reached very back doors.

They stepped through them to a completely different backyard than the one they left earlier.

There was a party happening tonight. The pool was full of members of the X Men and New Mutants splashing around in swimming attire, a giant ice ramp was erected next to it with a long plastic tarp going down its front acting as a makeshift slide. Bobby was currently working on a second ramp while Jubilee slid down the first one and splashed into the water.

Man tall torches were stuck into the grass field next to the pool, the lit standing torches set up in a wide ring and surrounded a growing pile of firewood in a dug-out basin. Lawn chairs were set up and people were relaxing in them already. A couple of speakers were lying behind them and blasting music.

Rows of tables were lined up on the grass, full of food and drinks for anyone to take. Smoke and the smell of cooked meat wafted from a grill Logan was tending to, the older Mutant working with a strange mix of contentment and laser focus.

His apron that said "Don't kiss the chief. He doesn't bite but he will maim" didn't help make it less weird. Standing on the backyard porch, Tabitha took in the sight of merriment and pursued her lips.

"Guys…" She said, looking at the rest of them with a sigh. "This…this is sweet, but I said-"

"Coming through!"

The Bomb Mutant jumped in surprise as Scott and Kurt came out after them, the two of them carrying an open cooler full of ice, soda and water bottles. Jean was bringing up the rear with a halo of chips and sauces telekinetically floating around her head.

"Oh, you guys made it back." The redheaded telepath noted when seeing the four of them and smiled. "Good. Logan has been slow cooking a bunch of ribs for a while and they're almost done. Hope you saved some room for seconds."

"They can get in line. I've been waiting all morning for those!" Kurt whined, the blue furred Teleporter staring longing at the grill. Tabitha blankly stared at the interaction and their nonchalance to her presence.

"Eh?"

"You know how Logan is. If it ain't done his way then it ain't done right." Scott shook his head. "If you really couldn't wait then you could have just swiped one when he wasn't looking."

"Yeah and lose a finger for my troubles? I already got less to work with compared to others. I'd rather not lose any today thank you very much."

"It was just a suggestion." Scott just shrugged at the deadpan Kurt sent him. Grabbing a coke from the cooler, he walked off towards the grill with Jean. Kurt scratched his fuzzy chin with wry look.

"Right, a suggestion. Because Wolverine is known for answering to those…Maybe I can pop over to the Professor and have him ask-"

"Hold on." Tabitha said, getting Kurt's attention and looking around with a confused face. "I thought this was…Why are we having a party?"

"No real reason. Scott and Jean have been begging the Professor to let us throw a party since summer started and they were finally able to convince him since a bunch of the students chose to stick around this year."

"So, it's not a surprise birthday party?"

"…No?" Kurt said with furrowed his brows. "Is it someone's birthday?"

Tabitha narrowed her eyes. Kurt gave her the same innocent, dopey look he always made whenever he was lost. The standoff went on for a solid minute before Tabitha buckled, gaining a contemplative look.

The Bomb Mutant looked left. She looked right.

A wide, toothy grin stretched across her face.

"Well. If that's the case, who am I to ruin a good time?"

Hook. Line. Sinker. Amara had to work to keep a neutral expression as Tabitha rubbed Kurt's hair and frazzled it, eliciting a whiny complaint from the blue Teleporter.

She then rushed off into the backyard chucking a small glowing orb into the pool and jumping in after it, screaming "cannon ball!" as it exploded in a blast. The blast and displacement of water sent those already in the pool scrambling and glaring as Tabitha resurfaced laughing.

The fact she didn't bother changing out of her regular clothes just made everyone watching sigh in fond exasperation. Rogue walked over and good-naturedly slapped Kurt on the shoulder.

"Nice job fur ball. And here I thought you couldn't lie to save your life." Rogue smirked and he blinked owlishly in response.

"And…what exactly did I lie about?"

"…" Rogue slowly turned her head to stare at the very confused Kurt. The Power Siphoner intently looked at his features, finding some sort of sign this was a joke. Amara and Kitty were doing the same. "Are you serious?"

"What?" Kurt frowned and became startled when she palmed her face with a heavy hand. "What!?"

"Kurt…This party is for Tabitha." Kitty explained with an exasperated tone. "Since she doesn't like being the focus of attention on her birthday we decided to throw a party but pretend it's just a random decision that has nothing to do with her. That way she can enjoy a nice night hanging out with everyone without any pressure."

"Really?! And she believes that!?"

"I highly doubt it." Rogue huffed. "She's not stupid. She knows that was a flimsy lie at best, and that's what we were banking on."

Kurt looked even more confused than ever, and Amara smiled indulgently.

"Remember…she's Tabitha."

As much as the Bomb Mutant hates surprise parties, as much as she couldn't stand anyone giving her special attention on her birthday…she couldn't deny going along with a silly, bold-faced charade even more.

Even when she could easily call them out on it. Especially then. That was half the fun for her.

No one ever said Tabitha Smith was a simple girl.

"…So, it is too late for me to go buy a present or…"

Rogue rolled her eyes and walked away from the rapidly sweating Kurt. Kitty just patted his shoulder and said his name could be attached to her gift. Amara looked around as he sagged in relief and popped away in a puff of smoke, scanning the people moving about.

"I thought you invited them." She said with a frown, turning to Kitty and the Phaser shrugged helplessly.

"I did! He never got back to me."

The Magma Mutant thinned her lips at that. It was a bit of a contentious decision on their part. More than a few people in the mansion didn't like it but they eventually relented, accepting that it'll be just for a day and that it was for Tabitha's sake.

So much for that. Shaking her head of superfluous thoughts Amara and Kitty quickly joined the party, the latter phasing out of her normal clothes to reveal the swimsuit she had underneath and jumped into the pool.

Everyone else already knew the plan (which makes it even weirder that Kurt really had no idea about it) so while no one gave Tabitha any more special attention than what she normally got, there was still the subtle undertone of this being her day.

Of course, that in turn made the Bomb Mutant stretch the boundaries of her usual antics, seeing what she could get away with. Another privilege she didn't mind experiencing on her birthday.

Amara was beginning to think she wasn't as consistent as she once thought…

The sun slowly dipped lower and lower into the sky as the "not" celebration went on. The music was set to a lower volume as night settled in, the pile of wood in the middle lit so people coming out of the pool could hang out on the grass and dry off next to the bonfire.

Logan eventually released his tyrannical hold on the meat he had slow cooking and each member of the house lined up to get their share (there was a short revolt when Kurt teleported to the front despite being the last one there).

Amara, Tabitha and Kitty made s'mores over campfire; their stomachs still full of the earlier dinner. They watched across the way as Rogue tried to chat up Scott while Jean was speaking with the Professor on the side.

That by itself wasn't so interesting. The entertainment (at least for Tabitha) came in the form of the subtle, and not so subtle, glances Jean gave the two whenever Rogue fixed her hair or "innocently" placed a gloved hand on Scott's arm, laughing at something the older boy said a little too loudly.

"This is hard to watch." Kitty said lowly.

"How do you figure?" Tabitha asked, munching on her perfectly melted treat in delight.

"It's not exactly fun watching your friend set herself up for failure."

"That's…harsh." Amara said, frowning at the uncharacteristic remark.

"It's true though." Kitty bit back and a worried look crossed her eyes as she glanced at the two talking. "Have you ever seen the way Scott stares at Jean whenever he thinks she's not looking? Well, he's been looking at her that way since I got to the mansion…And I think Jean is finally starting to take notice."

Amara grew silent at that while Tabitha speared another marshmallow on her stick and held it over the pit to roast. Hurriedly pulling it back and blowing on it as it caught fire, she smushed the slightly charred marshmallow between two chocolate coated crackers and ate it with a smug grin.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Tabitha said, her words muffled from the gooey confection between her teeth. "From how I see it, Jean and Scott haven't really got together yet. That leaves a chance for our old girl to swoop in and take the prize. You know what they say, all's fair in love and war. The early bird gets the worm."

"…So Scott's a worm in this analogy?"

"Yep! A big, juicy laser beaming worm."

"Ew!"

"And that would make Rogue the bird…" Kitty said out loud, staring blankly into space before furrowing her brows. "Then what would Jean be? Another bird? Is she protecting Scott since he's technically her worm?"

"…I think you're taking it too literal. Honestly I was just saying random shit."

"I think a swan would fit Jean pretty well."

"What the fu-" Kitty flinched to the side, turning around to see Kurt sitting behind them. The blue Teleporter was in the midst of eating his serving of ribs his cheeks stained in barbecue sauce. "Wha-How long have you been there?!"

"I walked over here 5 minutes ago." Kurt admitted between bites. "But yeah, Jean's definitely a swan. My parents had a lake where a couple of them lived. They were beautiful but they were also fucking vicious whenever another swan tried to muscle in on their territory."

"Huh." Amara blinked. "I guess that makes Rogue the swan muscling in."

"That would be one sullen and unfriendly swan."

"A lot of them are like that so she would actually fit in pretty well."

"Of course she would."

"Wait, if they're both swans then shouldn't Scott be one too? It would make more sense than him being a worm."

"True."

"I will never make another bird analogy around you people ever again…"

As the conversation shifted from grumpy, lake locked feathered terrors to other types of territorial fowl that could also work (why were they so obsessed with birds?), Tabitha's focus was drawn when a number of conversations on the yard suddenly fell silent. Multiple gazes were focused in one direction and she turned to follow them.

Wearing her usual red t shirt, torn black pants and choker, Tabitha's eyes widened as she saw Wanda's stiff form standing on the porch gazing out at the yard with the usual quiet intensity she had become accustomed to.

"No fucking way." The sole female member of the Brotherhood looked very out of place in the X Mansion, and a part of her knew it by how she returned the looks she received with pointed glares. The fact no one was actively approaching her was probably staying her hand from doing something about the stares. "Wanda!"

Sharp blues snapped to her as Tabitha jumped from her seat and rushed over. She waited there as the Bomb Mutant came closer, holding a box in her arms.

"They invited you too?" Tabitha bluntly asked, not even trying to hide her surprise. And the fact she showed up. Wanda's eyes wandered to the bonfire for a second before returning to her.

"The ditzy girl told Lance there was a party being thrown and it had something do with your birthday." She said. "I think it was supposed to be a secret."

The uncaring tone she said it in gained a snort and chuckle from Tabitha.

"And the other guys didn't come?"

"Mystique."

Wanda gave the name like it explained everything. Which, to be fair, it did. Now more than ever was Tabitha grateful she utterly destroyed the master bedroom when leaving the Brotherhood's house. The Bomb Mutant than looked at Wanda and smiled softly.

"But you came."

The other girl shifted awkwardly at the touched note in her voice. Getting through to the mystical mutant over the past few months hadn't been easy for Tabitha. Whereas she already had something of a rapport with the other guys, Wanda was cautious and closed off on a good day. It took a lot of work to get through that initial prickly exterior (she was still pretty prickly) but Tabitha was nothing if not tenacious.

"She can't stop me from doing what I want." Wanda mumbled under her breath. "Besides, I'm not staying here long. I just came to drop off your gift."

"Hm." Tabitha looked down at the box Wanda held out at her and smiled widely. "Nope!"

Wanda recoiled slightly before narrowing her eyes.

"The hell you mea-"

"Come on!" Wanda made a startled sound as Tabitha grabbed her arm and turned around, dragging the Scarlet Witch with her towards the party. Somewhat stumbling after her, she tried to fight against the hold but Tabitha's grip was firm. "We have food and drinks if you're hungry. If not then we can just chill by the fire. Just ignore the idiots arguing over poultry."

Wanda tilted her head in confusion. Tabitha's point was made when they walked closer to the bonfire in time for Kurt to wave his hands around while yelling "female Jacanas are the ones who fight over their male, Chickens don't fight over Roosters!" with Kitty openly questioning why he even knows that. Amara looked over while they argued, vaguely noting the Scarlet Witch next to Tabitha and gave a small wave.

"I…don't think it's a good idea for me to be here." Wanda said, trying to escape her hold again but sighed in frustration when Tabitha still didn't relent. "Seriously Tabitha. I should go."

"Forgive me for intruding." They paused and turned together to see the Professor being wheeled over by Jean. The redhead stared at Wanda with a cautious look while the older Telepath smiled kindly. "But I quite agree with Tabitha. You should stay at least to eat Wanda; there's plenty to go around."

"…So it's okay for me to be here now?" Wanda asked in an icy tone, not any more standoffish than she usually was but it still felt heavier somehow. Xavier flinched momentarily before squaring his jaw.

"You were always welcome here Wanda. It was my mistake not seeing that sooner, and for that I'm truly sorry."

The Scarlet Witch blinked owlishly at the apology, obviously not expecting it and fell silent for a second. Sensing the weird vibe in the air Tabitha led Wanda away from there and continued to the bonfire. Shooing aside Kurt to make some room, they sat down between Kitty and Amara.

The former suddenly became hyper focused on cooking her s'more while the latter gave Wanda a polite (if a stiff) smile. Ignoring them, she placed the box in Tabitha's lap.

"Ooof. It's heavy than it looks." The Bomb Mutant rose a brow at the weight as she picked it up. "I hope you didn't break the bank on whatever this is."

"Wait, are we handing out presents now?" Kurt asked seeing the exchange and Tabitha opening the box.

"It's not from me." Wanda admitted. "It was shipped to the house a day ago. It's from Todd."

Tabitha's hand slowed for a moment taking off the tape. She looked over to Wanda and while she tried to play off her disinterest, there was no mistaking the very curious glances she kept giving the box.

"Wasn't he somewhere in Virginia or something?"

It was sporadic thing whenever she learned about the current whereabouts on the traveling Mutant. The few times they've talked was when she hanged out with the others and he called Fred or Wanda, stealing the phone for a little to speak with him.

"Carolina, but this came from Florida."

"Huh…"

Tabitha quickly finished opening the box and the others around them looked over curiously, Kitty and Amara leaning over to take a peek. The inside of the box was covered in a thin brown sheet and a note rested on top of it. Tabitha picked it up and held it to the light.

"Dear Tabitha." She read out loud. "Happy birthday. I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it in person but I hope you like the gift. It's best if you're outside when using it for the first time and please, make sure others are around when doing this so you don't get hurt. There are extra instructions inside. P.S. I apologize in advance for all the headaches I know you'll cause with it. Love, Toad…"

Tabitha turned the note over but found nothing on the back. Placing it down, she pulled the sheet aside to reveal the object hidden underneath.

"It's…a backpack?" Kitty asked with a frown. The same thing ran through the Bomb Mutant's mind but as she picked it up and raised it, she saw that it wasn't exactly a backpack.

It had the shape of one. It was square with straps on the front but it was sleek in design and made of some black metal. An exhaust fan was on the back, two oblong shapes on either side of it with openings on their bottom and looking inside them revealed narrow tubes leading to complicated internal machinery.

Scratch that, it didn't look like a backpack at all. It…it honestly reminded her of a-

"There's another note." Wanda's words snapped her out of her thoughts. The Scarlet Witch reached down to grab the note and Tabitha noticed the thin metal tiara next to it. "Flying Course Step 1. Make sure your jetpack is securely fastened to your back and tightened to leave no space between your back and the jetpack. Step 2, put on the psionic relay circlet and wait 10 seconds for the connection to be established."

"I'm sorry. Did she just say jetpack?" Kurt asked incredulously. The commotion was beginning to grab more people's attention. If Wanda's appearance drew scrutiny, then the strange device in Tabitha's hand and the blue Teleporter's reaction had other members of the mansion walking over.

Jean and the Professor were still standing nearby. The latter frowned at what he heard and wheeled himself closer.

"Perhaps it best if we let Hank take a look at that first." Tabitha glanced at the Professor. She then looked at the jetpack in her hand and the circlet in the box. "Tabitha. Let's not-"

The Bomb Mutant put it on before he could stop her. Quickly, but efficiently, snapping on the straps and pulling them taut, she snatched up the tiara and slid it on her head.

There was a mechanical whirring before it shrunk and tightened (though not to a painful degree) Tabitha swayed as a weird…sensation passed through her head. She felt a strange rush pass through her brain, like when someone stands up too quickly after sitting for a long time.

There was also an odd cold feeling as well. The only way she could describe it was like when someone splashes a bucket of ice-cold water on you while you're sleeping and that transition from doziness to razor sharpness but it only took a second for it to pass.

"Woah. That was wonky." Rubbing her temple for a moment, Tabitha looked to Wanda, the mystical mutant staring at her like the others. "What else does it say?"

"I really believe this is a poor idea."

"…There are a few modes. You just have to say them in your head to activate them. There's Shift 1 which is low power, Shift 2 is medium, and high is-"

It was on instinct. Listening to Wanda list off the modes while the Professor tried to instill a sense of caution, Tabitha said the modes back in her head.

'Shift 1. Shift 2-'

There were multiple cries of surprise as the thrusts came online, displacing the grass and sending plumes of dust everywhere behind Tabitha. The Bomb Mutant made her own grunt of surprise as she was lifted from her feet, suddenly sprung 10 feet into the air in an instant. The bonfire and ground rapidly grew farther away.

"Whoa!"

"Holy shit!"

'Shift 1! Shift 1-' Tabitha frantically waved her hands as she thought the lower mode, trying to slow herself and felt the pressure ease, the passing wind greatly lessening in intensity as she came to a floating position a couple stories in the night sky.

Tabitha felt her heart was beating in her chest. The feeling of weightlessness and her feet dangling in the open air, no ground to center herself, was a daunting new experience. It took a couple seconds for her breath to even out and her heart to slow to a manageable level. She took a peek down to see a lot of people moving about on the ground, those around the bonfire staring up in shock.

"Tabitha!" Her whipped her head around to see Jean fly up to her with Professor Ororo. The two floated closer to the Bomb Mutant and gave her worried looks. "Are you alright?"

She took a second at the question. Looking down at her free-floating body and clenching her fist, the Bomb Mutant realized her heart fully calmed down and wasn't beating as hard. The fear melted away and all that was left was a strange feeling of…anticipation.

"…Yeah." Tabitha said, a laugh bubbling in her throat. "Yeah, I think I am."

Oh she was going to wring this story out of him. One way or another.

They shared confused glances at her laughter. Professor Ororo said they should safely return to the ground and quickly tried to dissuade Tabitha from moving around too much.

Of course, she did the opposite and tried to sway from side to side, discovering the ease in which the jetpack followed her movements. When she leaned in one direction the thrusters were pointing the opposite way and pushed her the direction she intended. When Tabitha hunched slightly forward, she floated forward and vice versa.

Stopping herself was as simple as standing straight and not making any jerky movements. Turning in the air was surprisingly easy as well.

'Okay.' She was starting to get the hang of this. Twirling in place for a few seconds, Jean floated closer and held out a hand so she could guide her back down. Staring at the extended appendage for a second, Tabitha didn't take it…and gave a wide, impish grin. "Ooooorrrr~"

"Tabith-"

'Shift 2.'

She shot off higher into the sky with an elated cry.
A/N: I swore this Interlude was meant to be a lot shorter than I originally intended it to be. It was supposed to be short, sweet and a quick check up on the X-Men as they live in a world where Magneto's scheme never came to fruition and in relative peace (for now).

Apparently, I'm not good at that.

A jetpack wielding Tabitha who can zip around at great speeds and cover a crazy amount of ground while raining bombs from the sky? SI Toad had to do it. Ignoring how perfect an addition that is to her regular kit, he 100% would have done it just to imagine the amount of bullshit she'll get up to with it, even if he's not there to see it. That phone call later will be glorious to say the least.

That shade Wanda threw Xavier's way was also hella deserved. While Evolution was one of his better iterations, the dude really should have brought her into the institute once he saw Wanda living in the Brotherhood for a long time outside of the asylum with no issues. Even in a non-meta way and knowing that Agatha had to teach her to control her powers (and her hatred towards Magneto that I think was never publicly known), Xavier did the same thing with Lance and Toad in the show with the flimsiest of reasons and they had even less hangups with recruiting them. Neither were inherently unstable mutants with reality warping powers that can place others in harm just by their proximity and require very, very particular help but he still left them to dry.

…Oh shit. I just realized that could easily apply to Jean and not Wanda…How about that?

I hope you enjoyed.
 
Chapter 16: The Best Policy New
Chapter 16: The Best Policy ​

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men Evolution. I own the OCs.
Glendale, California

Nestled in the Verdugo Mountains of the Los Angeles County, the blazing midsummer sun shined on the steel and glass visage of the populated city with unforgiving intensity. Besides the occasional cloud passing overhead and blocking the intense rays, the tropical palm trees standing tall along the street and casting long shadows were the only respite to be found from the heat.

People walked up and down the boiling concrete streets with the practiced ease that living in such a place year-round afforded them. Families on vacation glanced around the city with wonder filled eyes while dragging along their children, older citizen played chess or mahjong in public seating areas, teenagers on skateboards and scooters zoomed past doing flip tricks on ledges with reckless abandon. It was a hectic but peaceful scene.

Walking down a long avenue full of many different types of stores and parked cars that glistened in the light, I cooled myself off with a handheld fan and ate an ice-cream bar, the cold treat already half melted. The wide brimmed sun hat I bought did its best to block the sunlight from hitting my eyes while I read the map of the city in my hand, navigating the busy streets of Glendale.

Sweet fucking damn is it hot! Feels like we're being slow roasted.

'A bit dramatic much? It was just as hot in Miami.'

No, no. That was a nice, humid heat. This is a dry and horrible and urgh! I can feel our skin just flaking as we speak…

That, unfortunately, I could not deny. Even after making bathing a regular part of my usual routine (something Toad finally stopped bitching about after so long), the nature of my powers meant I was always secreting a thin layer of slime at all times.

Compared to how it was before in Toad's memory, the amount I leak is substantially less than what he had to deal with. I couldn't tell if that was an aftereffect of not allowing it to pool in great amounts or if my body is reacting to my subconscious desire to not generate as much unless I needed it, there was still a baseline amount always there for me to deal with.

And in this dry heat the slime was growing gooier and sticky, the moisture being robbed until it got crusty, flaking off in tiny pieces whenever I passed a hand over my skin. I avoided doing that in front of large crowds since it was a very distinct image.

Small amounts were alright but it was a bit hard to ignore the stares when it looked like I was shrugging off a layer of white and green snow.

'Maybe I should stop somewhere to buy some sunscreen…'

Putting aside the more annoying side effects of my Mutant physiology, I stopped at a large intersection and stood at the crosswalk, waiting for the light as cars drove past. I was between an older Asian man on his phone and a young woman in a business suit who was waving a hand at her sweaty face.

From my position in the city, which was on a higher plateau compared to the southwest, I could see the skyline of downtown Los Angeles. I could see the piercing skyscrapers of Santa Monica cresting the horizon, the long rows of expensive mansions in Beverly Hills and the packed center of Hollywood Square. To the west was the Griffith Observatory hanging on the edge of a large park.

In city like this, in a county where tourists, celebrities, and colorful personalities cycled through here more than the actual citizens themselves, it was easy to see how someone would find it as the spot to begin anew. To leave whatever life you once had and reimagine yourself, free from past mistakes or demons.

'The perfect place to disappear…' I idly gazed out at the wider city until the light turned green and went to continue on my way.

The harsh screeching of tires echoed over the area.

Multiple people in the surroundings turned as from around the corner, a large, armored truck swerved into open view. Drifting on the asphalt and kicking up a storm of smoke, half a dozen police cars turned the corner as well, their sirens blaring while they chased the runaway truck. I had heard the sirens approaching vaguely in the distance but I didn't place much attention on them (it was a busy city after all).

I internally sighed when the truck straightened and immediately rushed towards the intersection.

It uncourteously slammed through the few cars too slow to get out of the way, the force from the collisions pushing them to the side like they were toys compared to the larger vehicle. The people on the street, even the ones nowhere in the way, hurriedly dove to safety. I luckily had taken a single step and was far from the middle of the road.

The mother of two, who was staring in abject shock and stunned in place as she held the hands of her kids, was not nearly as fortunate.

There was a split second where I did nothing. A small, tired and frankly baffled part of my mind (that wasn't the echo of a departed teen) couldn't help but point out the obvious.

Surely. Surely, she wasn't just planning to just stand there and wait for the multi ton, giant metal deathtrap rapidly approaching (at well above the speed limit) to turn her and her children into a bloody smear on the ground. She had plenty of time. Surely, she was going to move…right?

I was already charging forward by the time the armored truck passed under the red light and she was still stunned stiff, like a deer in headlights. The kids were too preoccupied pointing at the chase and looking up at their frozen mother.

My shoulder collided with hers in a very ungentle manner, the force sending her clean off her feet and out of the way of the truck.

The maneuver would definitely leave a bruise but she landed on her ass rather than on her head and had taken one of her kids with her (they landed on top of her). A pair of good Samaritans watching grabbed the two and hauled them off the road onto the sidewalk. They'd survive.

I grabbed onto the backpack of the kid that she lost grasp of and I swung him upward, never stopping with my sprint. It spoke to how fast everything happened that the kid only screamed in surprise when he reached the full arc of his flight.

We just barely dodged the speeding vehicle at the last minute. Seeing it was one of those armored trucks used to transfer money to the bank (and suddenly everything began to make sense…), it blurred past inches away from us, leaving a trail of smoke that got in my eyes.

Rapidly blinking my watery vision, I quickly ran onto the sidewalk as the police were still chasing after the truck and I caught the kid as he fell back down.

While I wasn't out of breath my chest was pounding, weirdly enough. Holding the stunned kid in my arms I looked at the lines of police cars speeding past and after the truck which turned around corner, clipping the side of that building. Watching them go out of sight, I looked down at the mom sitting on the ground, the kid was being checked on by the Samaritans. Her hair was tossed and disheveled and she stared up at me with wide eyed shock.

"Lady." I began; my lips pressed to a thin line. "You really have to work on those survival instincts of yours. That was atrocious."

She didn't react to my admittedly blunt (but totally deserved) advice. The woman took sharp inhales and exhales, trying to regulate her breathing back to manageable levels. It looked for a second that she would succeed and say something.

A shadow passed overhead. The woman, along with the people around us, dumbly stared upward and I followed their gaze.

A man was flying in the sky. It was a bit hard to get a clearer view due to it being high noon but he was flying low enough that I could see the all-black sleeveless jumpsuit that hugged his muscular body, his thick armored boots with streaks of red and white skin.

The bright red W plastered on his chest was glaring in this light.

Wonder Man…

I stared as the known associate of Giant Man and the Wasp, and one of the first Superheroes to appear in the early 1990s of this universe shot in the direction where the cars went. The air around him displaced at the sheer speed he was moving and he disappeared into the distance like a cruise missile.

There was an unholy crash that echoed far in the distance, followed by the roaring of gunfire and hoarse shouts before it cut off just as quickly. The eerie stillness that overtook the busy metropolitan in the wake of that encounter was weirder than seeing a genuine superhero in the wild.

…So, we going to see what that's about or…

I took a deep breath.

'Nope.' I turned and placed the kid in my arms next to his mom before continuing on my way. I heard her stutter behind me, the woman finally regaining her voice but I didn't stick around to see what she wanted to say. 'What kind of crazy idea is that?'

Hey, just checking. You're the one who seems to attract this kind of stuff like a magnet. At least we weren't pulled into…whatever that was beyond saving those people's lives.

'At least…'

You always hear about the stories like this. A heart pumping car chase, police cruisers chasing after a perp, collateral damage and, of course, the superhero closing in right behind. With how young this universe's cape scene seemed to be the only real active superheroes were a small number. Not the flesh outed, entire superhero teams that have saved the world a dozen times over and became whole communities.

So being pulled into something like that, even if it was in a minor passing capacity, after barely a day and a-half in LA said something about my luck.

I give it another week before you really get dragged into some random crap. Max.

With the corner of my eye twitching, I ignored the lack of faith and headed up the street as the area became alive again in the usual bustle. Seems like people around here were used to such spontaneous chaos because no one batted an eye after a couple minutes save for tourist watching the sky, presumably for another peak at Wonder Man.

A consequence of having a real, active superhero working in the area I suppose. The flying wonder has been on the scene for over a decade at this point and has been posted in LA for a better part of 4 years.

Rumor had it that he sometimes flew to Seattle to battle crime with his old superhero pals before returning to his home turf. Why he kept coming back here and its importance to him was a widely discussed subject online, as was common for any modern masked vigilante.

But such things weren't for me to be concerned with. I ultimately reached my destination after an hour of walking, crossing a small bridge and looked up to peer at the large building in front of me.

Glendale Community College. Heh. And here I thought we would never grace the halls of a place of learning ever again.

It was quite a nice-looking college all things considered. It had its own enclosed section against a tall mountain, multiple large structures stretched across campus for different departments, there was a nice open football field and smaller track ones lying around. I also saw there were a bunch of parking slots on the other side of the street next to a baseball field.

I entered the main administration building of the campus, immediately letting out a breath of relief at the air-conditioned marble and wood lobby. Signing in with a pretty girl working the front desk, I was escorted by a male security guard to a somewhat empty waiting room at the end of a long hall. It was a small area with a number of chairs, couches and a few desks scattered about.

Beyond an older couple sitting with a bored teenager with long blond hair flipping through a magazine and younger couple whispering amidst themselves, there wasn't anyone else inside.

"The tour should start in another 20 minutes. You can wait here until then." The security guard said before returning back to his post. Nodding in thanks (though he turned around before he could see it) I walked to a stand in the back that had a cheap coffee maker with a water fountain and vending machine next to it.

Oooooh, they got spicy Doritos. Get two!

Doing so to quell the ghost of the teenager in my head and buying a bottle of water, I took a far corner for myself to quietly wait. A few minutes passed as more and more people slowly trickled in the room until half of it was full (must be a popular local option). I leaned back in my chair as we waited for the better part of half an hour before a short woman who looked to be in her early 30s, with tanned skin and curly hair entered the room.

"Oh? We got quite a few people here today, wonderful!" Taking stock of how many people were there, her eyes lit up in glee and the woman gave a comely smile. "Good evening everyone! Thank you all for coming today. My name is Emilia and I'll be your tour guide. If you have any questions I'll be more than happy to answer them as we explore the campus."

People were already standing up as she introduced herself and grouping up in front. I stayed in my seat until the very last person got up before doing so as well and the woman led the group out into the hallway.

"Glendale Community College was founded in 1927 as Glendale Junior College. It was one of many learning institutions during the time of the Union High District's rein before transitioning to what it is known as today in 1944 due to the creation of the Glendale Unified School District. The college is just about 100 acres large with 15 buildings littered throughout. Each building is assigned to one of the major departments we have here on campus…"

Her heels clanked on the marble floor as she gave a short lesson on the school's history, mentioning the virtues of the original creators of the school and the values they wanted to instill in all current and future students. The regular PR bullshit every institute openly spoke about to make themselves look better.

Through the windows she pointed out each building and what department was in charge of which. The largest building to the north was the main center where student affairs and clubs resided with the library connected and the one next to that was the center for Advanced Technology. Talking a short walk to the east under Emilia's guidance showed the massive auditorium with the football field right behind it.

Due to it being summer there were few students on campus save for those taking summer courses or doing some part time work. Emilia either nodded or introduced a student if she recognized them, getting them to talk about their time at school and what they liked about learning here.

Most of the students just gave generic comments about how many courses were available or the opportunities the extracurriculars gave. The crowd in the tour were split by those giving faux polite interest and those who actually wanted to know the ins and outs of the school. The latter was usually enthusiastic parents asking for their decisively bored teenager turn young adult.

Emilia took it all with patient grace as she led the way into the other locales. We walked the long halls in relative silence after she asked us to so we wouldn't disrupt the other students still here. She would stop by any open doors and allow people to peek into the classrooms. They were usually empty with the rare small summer class occurring or a teacher doing paperwork.

Doing a whole loop around the building and through the student center, Emilia entered a large building on the other side of campus.

"And this, is the Bhupesh Parikh Health and Sciences Center, named after the sponsor for its construction. Here students learn the basic skills needed to enter the nursing and medical technician field. In recent years we've also added a new wing for the introduction of more advanced studies such as Oceanography, Biotechnology and Anatomy. If you follow me we can see the young interns at work with teachers through the glass."

Emilia had done her best to make sure that the entire group stayed together throughout the tour and would occasionally look back in case of stragglers, telling them to stick close. In this instance however she was deep in conversation with a family and wasn't paying much attention behind her.

My steps slowed to make some space between me and the last person in the group. They slowed further when Emilia turned the corner, still talking and too distracted to notice my increased distance.

I stood in the middle of the long hallway as the tour group disappeared completely from sight. Taking a few glances at the polished glass and concrete interior I turned around and began to retrace my steps.

I thanked my lucky stars that we had already passed my target on the way here. Idly counting the doors and rapidly reading the labels above, I stopped by a doorway that read "Biochemistry II" and entered inside (it was partially ajar).

I stepped into a modestly sized classroom. Rows upon rows of seats curved down into an oval shaped pattern, at the epicenter was a wide oak desk littered with a number of books stacked high, a computer and other documents. Far above in the ceiling there was a skylight and through it the sunlight shined down on the desk and the man-sized black board behind it.

And sitting behind it, writing something down in a notebook while nursing a cup of coffee, was a man.

He appeared to be in his early 50s with a tall but lean frame garbed in a plain brown dress shirt and black vest. A dense array of freckles dotted his flushed pale skin; his haphazardly maintained beard was full of red hairs scattered with the occasional white, the same true for his slicked back hair. A pair of black glasses rested on a crooked nose and framed two shaded eyes.

"I wasn't aware I had a second class this evening." He said lowly as I stepped inside, not even raising his head from the notebook. I momentarily paused at the top step before continuing my descent.

"I wouldn't know." I admitted freely. "This is the first time we're ever meeting."

That got the man to raise his head and give me a sharper look. As I got closer I noticed his eyes were a dull hazel and he had dark, heavy bags. It looked like he hadn't slept in days. He scanned me up and down before ultimately narrowing his eyes.

"You're not one of my students."

"Nope. Was following the tour guide and saw the chance to split off on my own. She probably won't notice honestly."

"You know you're not supposed to be on campus grounds without a chaperone. Not if you don't go here."

He talked with a tired drawl in his tone but when I stopped within a few feet of his desk I noticed the minute tensing of his frame. His hand went under the desk, out of sight but I could take a wild guess as to what's under there.

Of course, I completely ignored the signs and just gave my most awarding friendly smile and outstretched my hand.

"Todd Tolansky." He didn't take the hand. He just continued to stare up at me. "Are you Professor Dunphy?"

The older man stared for a second longer before lazily looking down at the name plaque on his desk that read "Ezequiel Dunphy". He looked back up at me with a very unamused frown.

"Apparently." He deadpanned with all the energy of an overworked college professor with little fucks left to give. "Now do yourself a favor and leave on your own before I call campus security to do it for you."

I tilted my head at that, feeling weirdly nostalgia of all things. My non-reaction must have rubbed him the wrong way because he wordlessly reached over and roughly pressed a button on his desk phone. I raised my hands in surrender as it rang in the quiet classroom and began walking backwards as the ringing cut off, a woman answering saying that it was the front office and how she could help.

I just about closed the door behind me as he spoke about any "intruder" on the grounds.

Well. Wasn't he a friendly fellow…

'Is that really so surprising though?' I thought and walked down the hall. 'I don't really think I'd be the most outgoing person if I had to go as far as to change my birth name to hide from everyone.'

I guess, but if he's trying not to gain attention than why pick a name like Ezequiel? Seems backwards.

'Perhaps.' I also imagine a strange, unknown teenager walking up to you without warning and being cryptic as hell would make anyone at east. 'Oh well. At least we know he actually exists now. We can work from there.'

While Nadya and Callum gave their recommendations to the informant, the information in the file wasn't totally comprehensive on why Lionel was so important to Project Rebirth. There was plenty of other dirty little secrets about the government operation, both the first and second iterations, but as to the man pretending to be a college professor teaching summer courses?

Nothing. It didn't mention if he was one of the leading scientists in the Projects or an assistant helping prep test subjects or a supplier of the Rebirth's Vita-Rays (that I at least remembered from comics) or a hundred and one other guesses I hatched up.

There was nothing beside his name and his fake alias. I had to find his name in a phone book and the place he worked at in a nearby library (it felt almost novel finding things about a person this way) but there was so little about him that I still wasn't 100 percent sure.

Everything else was a jumbled stack of other information that wasn't immediately valuable to me. I quickly moved exited the center, careful not to draw the attention of the other students and faculty walking around, and reached a secluded area behind the building.

I scaled the wall, climbing to the top in single bound and made my way to the center of the roof. It took a bit of searching since there multiple skylights but I was eventually able to find the one to Lionel's classroom.

Credit where it was due, campus security was fast because they were already talking with him as I peeked inside. The older man was still sitting at the desk as they (I supposed) asked questions to which he just shrugged and shook his head to most of them. Probably something about how I looked like and if he's ever seen me before.

They eventually left after a few more seconds of talking. I heard a little chatter in front but it died down soon enough. They were probably scattering to cover more ground and see if I went to another part of campus or if I was harrowing someone else. Considering there was no ladder on the side of this building and that roof access was locked, they'll probably never check up here.

Sitting down crossed legged and leaning forward so I could always have him in my sight, I watched him wordlessly go back to writing in his notebook.

Honestly. I kind of expected him to be halfway to his car the moment I left. If I was the man with a fake name hiding out in LA for…whatever reason, my random appearance and words would have me on the move immediately. There went that plan to speed things along and trail him back to his place or wherever else he had in mind.

Oh well. Resting my chin on a hand, I got a little more comfortable since he didn't look to be in a hurry.

And so I waited. The mid-summer sun continued its gradual curve across the sky, beaming down and causing the sweltering heat to become even worse (good thing I bought that water bottle). Every time I wiped away at my neck a shower of green, white mucus would flake off. I had to be careful not to stain the glass and grab his attention.

Seconds turned to minutes. Minutes to hours. I ended up lying down next to the skylight and covering my eyes with the sunhat, peeking into the skylight every few minutes but beyond going to the bathroom, Lionel didn't go outside his office for anything.

As time went on more and more people were leaving the campus leaving the nearly empty campus became even more barren.

No one came up here like I assumed and I had to imagine after enough time with no sighting the search would simmer down. I did find it strange however that they never called the cops-

My phone began to vibrate in my pocket. Sitting up slightly, I took another peek into classroom before reaching down and taking it out. My brow rose when I saw that it was Wanda calling me.

'That's rare…' Taking a few steps away from the skylight, I curiously answered the call. "Hell-"

"YOU GOT ME A FUCKING JETPACK!?!"

"…" I softly closed my eyes as I pulled the phone away, my ear ringing (I mentally patted myself on the back for lowering the volume just in case beforehand). Waiting until I could hear properly again I put the phone back. "Hello Tabitha. I see you got my gift."

"Hell yeah I did!" The voice of the Bomb Mutant came through the phone with all her usual exorbitant energy, her voice booming even with the low volume. "It scared the crap out of me! When I first flew my heart pretty much wouldn't stop beating and I almost clipped the side of the mansion when trying to land."

"Did you read the instructions?"

"…That's not the point. The point is that you could at least sent a warning ahead or something!"

"Yeah. At least for our sakes." A rougher but still familiar voice said and I recognized the southern drawl of Rogue speaking on the side. "It took an hour for Jean and Ms. Ororo to get her to come down to Earth and even longer for the Professor to get it away from her for study. Mr. McCoy has been analyzing it for a few days now."

"And I'm still waiting for it back!"

"Hello to you too Rogue." I apologized though I was smiling to myself, imaging the scene and the chaos of the X-Men running around trying to control an excited Tabitha from going crazy with her new toy. I pointedly didn't tell her how that was exactly what I wanted to happen. "But come on, you can't deny it was pretty cool."

"Hmph. Maybe a little…" She admitted, almost begrudgingly so, and I chuckled. Readjusting my sunhat, I heard the phone being moved around and a third voice came through.

"Where did you even get a jetpack?" Kitty asked and I scratched my cheek.

"It's…a bit complicated. How many people are on this call?"

"Just us four." Tabitha admitted. "Me, Rogue, Kitty are with Wanda and we're hanging out at the mall."

"Hmm." Interesting group make up. I knew Tabitha made friends with the others through previous calls but I wasn't expecting the other X-Men to get past Wanda's prickliness. Small miracles. "Well, to make a long story short, I got into a fight with these dickheads a couple days back. They're a part of this group called Orchis who supplies their minions with jetpacks, laser guns and a bunch of other high-end technology."

"Are you okay?" Tabitha asked in worry and I snorted.

"Oh yeah. Compared to the regular ass beatings you guys used to deal out to us, these guys were chumps. I took a lot of their stuff for the trouble. I sold most of them but I remembered it was your birthday coming up and saved one for you."

"Best present ever by the way."

"Damn right."

"Will it be a problem if Tabitha has one of their things?" Rogue asked and I shrugged.

"Shouldn't be. I met a guy who dabbles in this kind of stuff and he didn't find any sort of trackers in them. You can always tell your fuzzy brainiac teacher to check it out though."

"I'm a little more curious about the 'laser guns' you were talking about."

"No." I deadpanned, uncaring of the whiny 'oh come on!' from Tabitha. I was confident Xavier would not hold that much of a grudge over the jetpack. Giving Tabitha a rifle that shoots high powered plasma beams would definitely get Wolverine with the Black Bird on my ass.

That or a one-way angry psychic message of me being a very bad influence. Shaking my head of the terrifying image, I took one last swig of my greatly reduced water before continuing.

"But since I have you guys here, I should warn you. If you ever cross paths with Orchis it's going to be in your best interests to shoot first and ask questions later. They really don't like Mutants so don't be surprised if they do the same."

There was a long stretch of silence on the other side. They were probably pondering the new information, wondering if they should tell their teachers about it or look into it themselves. As far as I could remember, they never met a group like Orchis in canon but who's to say they never will. Better to be safe than sorry in my opinion.

"You've been busy." Wanda said, a conversation between the girls audible in the background. "I guess your road trip didn't stay so peaceful after all."

"What can I say?" I lazily grinned and walked over to check the skylight again. "I try to mind my business most days but trouble just can't seem to resist the Toad-"

He was gone. I blinked once. I blinked again. Staring at the empty seat where Lionel was sitting a couple seconds ago, I took a deep full breath.

"Mother fucker."

"Huh?"

"I'm going to have to call you back."

"What? Wait-"

I cut the call and clicked the flip phone shut as I pressed my face against the glass. I tried to scan the room to see if he just went for another water break and while his desk was still relatively the same, I soon noticed his notebook was nowhere to be seen. Same with his vest that he had taken off to hang on the back of his chair.

Shuffling between the sides of the building and scoping the campus grounds, I just barely caught a tall figure walking across the bridge over the highway.

How the fuck did he get over there so fast? I didn't have to dwell on it and leapt off the science center as he continued walking, reaching the main road after a minute to hail a taxi.

I kept my distance as I trailed the cab across town, leaping from building to building. While I had the benefit of them being in a car with limited aerial view, the fact that it was broad daylight (not to mention rush hour) made it difficult to avoid catching the attention of the people on the street.

I definitely saw a couple passerby's point upward and stare but I just kept moving, leaving the area in just one or two hops. By the time anyone could truly get curious and investigate or call the cops I would be long gone.

The cab drive ended somewhere in downtown Los Angeles. Landing on a rooftop across where it parked, I watched Lionel exit the taxi and quickly enter a long five story apartment complex. I scanned the front of the building and the closest street pole to check where I was. What I found made my brows furrow.

'Huh.' He…actually went home. Then why was he in such a hurry? 'I thought he realized that I was tailing him.'

Now I felt stupid for panicking earlier. Seeing him close the front door to the building behind him, I scratched at my chin as I rethought my next step.

Not to be a backseat spy/stalker, but what exactly are we going to do now?

'Off the top of my head? I was thinking we'd spent a few days watching his movements. See how he lives his live, who he regularly comes in contact with and somehow use that information to our advantage so we'd be better positioned next time we meet."

Really?

'Of course not.' I rolled my eyes. 'Despite our success in Bayville, we have no real training when it comes to subverting a paranoid man hiding from the world and getting him to do what we want. Odds are it'll just blow up in our faces.'

Okay smartass, what is the actual plan then? You do have one, right? I doubt you're just going to walk up to the guy and honestly explain to him why you're here.

…

Oh you have got to be fucking-

I jumped off the edge of the building amidst a slew of mental profanity. Soaring over the street and landing on the opposite building, I melted the padlock on the roof access door. I made my way down the stairs as Toad continued to poke holes in my plan.

If he wasn't willing to talk to us in his classroom, why would he be fine with it here?'

'I was hoping he'd feel more comfortable speaking there and not in the middle of a public space like work. Put the ball in his court so to speak.'

…That's incredibly stupid.

'Probably.'

I reached the third floor of the complex and tried to remember the apartment number from the file.

If this was the plan then why didn't we just wait at his house to begin with?

'It's funny how you keep saying "plan", as if you don't know that I'm doing all this by the seat of my ass.'

…

I eventually found his door number. Looking right and left to make sure the coast was clear I raised a hand.

Whoa, whoa! Can we talk about this?

'You're being real judgy today.'

Because this is dumb! It's feels so…rushed.

'…You know what? You're right. This is sloppier than how we usually do things.' Though the bar is not that high. 'We could do what I said earlier. Spend days if not weeks getting settled in the city, tail him around for just as long and wait for the right moment to get more information…oooooor.'

I knocked. Giving some good heavy knocks to the wooden door, I waited there patiently for a minute.

It didn't open (not that I was expecting it to), but my ears did perk up at the sound of faint footsteps approaching behind it and the soft clank where the peephole was. I couldn't see anything from my side but I looked into the peephole all the same and gave a smile.

"Hello~" I said, speaking louder than I usually did to get my voice through. There was no response. "You probably weren't expecting to see me so soon again. That's fair. You strike me as the kind of guy who doesn't want to be bothered."

The door continued to be closed, silent, and I rolled my jaw.

"Listen. I know you have no reason to give me the time of day. And in danger of sounding like I mean the exact opposite of what I say, I'm not here to hurt anybody. I just want to talk. If you want me to fuck off after hearing me out I'll do so, but I think you can help me with something…Mr. Nagel."

Okay, I'll admit it. That last part was a dick move on my part (it was harder than I thought to project your genuine intentions through a peephole) but I needed to get his attention. Waiting a long minute with no change or response, I let out a small sigh.

…So are we breaking the door down or…

'Now look who's being hasty-'

The door creaked open. Swinging open just wide enough for someone of my size to walk in, the inside was mostly in darkness with just a bit of light leaking from an opening in the far window.

"Come inside."

Lionel's voice came from behind the door. Glancing at it, I chose to bite the bullet and did what he asked. In for a penny as they say.

As I stepped through the threshold into the apartment, I got a better view of it. It was a cramped apartment that looked bigger due to it being sparsely furnished. Besides an old beaten brown couch, a coffee table and a dining table with a single chair, there was nothing else in here. No personal items, no decorations or pictures. The lack of that with the barren white walls that were cracking at the corners made the space feel oppressive.

The harsh click of a hammer being nocked back made me pause.

"Keeping walking. To the middle of the room."

I slowly raised my hands and continued to the center, turning around as Lionel kicked the door close. The older man leveled a silver revolver at my head and walked two steps to his right, keeping his back to the kitchen. He gave me long look up and down.

"A bit young to be working for Shield aren't ya?" He asked in gruff tone. "Not that it would surprise me."

"Mr. Nagel-"

"Don't-" He snarled. "-say that name."

I raised my hands higher and gave a slow nod. I waited a moment for the tension in his frame to loosen (it didn't) before continuing.

"I'm not with Shield." I said firstly. "I'm by myself here; no secret spy group sent me here."

"Right. Because a random kid was just able to find me and learn who I am on a phone book."

"Funny enough, that actually is how I found where you worked." I admitted and pursued my lips at his blank look. "The rest came from a file an information broker gave me. Your name was inside of it, along with a note that you were important to my goal. Why that is I'm not totally sure but it came from a reliable source so I was inclined to believe it."

Lionel stared quietly as I laid it out. His face was set in stone for all I could gleam anything from it and he was still aiming the revolver at me.

This is going pretty well.

'How do you figure?'

You haven't been shot in the face yet.

"Do you really expect me to believe that crap story?" Lionel asked, his voice dripping with condemnation. "Even if it was, what kind of fool comes to an unfamiliar city, tails a complete stranger on information he himself doesn't fully understand with no real idea if that person can help him?"

Shots fired!

"I can prove that part. I have a flash drive with that very information on me." Jet gave me some backups just for safe keeping. "Can I reach into my pocket to get it?"

"No." He shot that down instantly. "Matter of fact, I think we're done."

"You haven't heard the rest of what I got to say."

"I don't care. Get out."

"If you would just listen-"

"No! No, I said I don't fucking care! Get out!"

"Mr. Nagel please-"

"Don't FUCKING CALL ME-"

I took the chance as he took another step forward and his fury reached a new level.

My tongue lashed out like a whip, instantly wrapping around the barrel of the gun and pulled before he could blink.

I was expecting a harsh flinch as my tongue wrenched the gun from his hand and held it aloft. I was prepared for wide eyed shock, confusion and spending the next few minutes convincing him that I wasn't some crazy alien or rogue science experiment here to do him harm.

Nothing on my bingo board foresaw Lionel abruptly pause, the fury rapidly fading from his frame and for him to blankly stare up at my Prehensile Tongue holding his pistol. His dark eyes seemed to glaze over as he took in the scene, quietly watching it gently lowered the gun on the table and out of either of our reach.

"How." He suddenly asked, still stun locked watching my tongue return to my mouth and I blinked owlishly.

"I'm sorry?"

"How." Lionel pointed this time at me, a fierce energy now in his frame that still wasn't quite fear or the earlier anger. I stared at him for a moment before pursuing my lips.

"Uhhhh, I'm a Mutant?" I thought I would need to explain what exactly a Mutant was but Lionel nipped that in the bud as well out because he furrowed his brows.

"Wait. Mutants are real? They're-They're not some government hoax or conspiracy theory?"

"…Not last I checked, no. There's a bunch of us scattered around the world."

"…Huh." Whatever else he had to say after that apparently paled in comparison to that simple revelation because he lowered his head and went into deep thought. "Mutants? I know that stupid trust fund brat has been making waves with his advanced powered armor and other Enhanced have been coming out the woodworks lately but Mutants? How did they hide them…"

I tilted my head as Lionel spoke out loud. Not to me but seemingly to himself in thought. I looked around at the spartan living room for a moment and when I returned my gaze, the older man was giving me a piercing look.

"…You really aren't from Shield." He said lowly. "They would never send an asset like you after me; I don't matter nearly that much nowadays. Any other organization would have sent you with better equipment and directives, or at least gone with the hard approach after the soft didn't work…"

Lionel stood straight, and his expression warped into a horrified, lost one.

"Oh my God…Are you actually just a random, stupid fucking kid?"

"I've told you nothing but the truth since we met."

Ironic, ain't it?

Lionel stared at me for a few seconds in silence. Then his head hanged low and sighed into his hands.

"I could have left through the scaffolding the whole time…"

Watching his quiet epiphany happen, I glanced around again and pointed a thumb at the couch.

"So. Can we take a seat and talk for a second?" I asked and Lionel gave me a tired, bitter chuckle.

"You ask like you're giving me a choice."

"Oh for the love of fucking god man; I'm not here to hurt you. Hell, you're most likely never going to see me again after you answer a few of my questions. I wasn't lying when I said you can tell me to fuck off once you fully hear me out."

There was still an element of distrust and suspicion from the older man which, you know, was fair. But either realizing that I wasn't leaving until I get that much and that I could make him stay by force, Lionel just sighed once more and followed my lead.

The couch was a stiff and old thing requiring me to wiggle until I found a comfortable soft. The older man just straightforwardly sank into the seat and crossed his arms to face me.

"So." Lionel started. "What do you really want from me?"

"I actually don't know that yet." I admitted. "Like I said, the information was sparse in explaining why you're so important so let's get the basics out of the way. First off, you are Lionel Nagel, right?"

"…Yes." He said through gritted teeth. "But don't call me Mr. Nagel again."

"What should I call you then?"

"…Just call me Lionel."

"Okay. Lionel. Tell me, what do you know about Project Rebirth? Specifically, the second iteration the government made after the first one was destroyed."

It was a flimsy trap question. Considering how he was, it would stand to reason that he would try to play off any information on Project Rebirth that wasn't public history.

So it kind of threw me off balance when Lionel quietly closed his eyes, his jaw tightening greatly even as the rest of his body sagged in the seat.

"Of course that's what this is about…I just can't escape that damn fucking nightmare." Lionel said lowly, raw anguish in his tone as he seemingly went somewhere far away. I had to tilt my head into his view to get him back and he bit his lip. "So, what is it? Are they reconducting trials? Have those bastards in Weapon Plus reopened shop? How many people have they killed already?

"None of that. It's been destroyed."

Lionel stiffened in his seat. Going completely still, the only movement from the older man was the very, very slow turn of his head in my direction.

"What?"

"It's gone." I elaborated. "It was stolen by a Mutant and it got destroyed by another Mutant in a scuffle. Far as I know, there's not a third one lying around somewhere in the world, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that."

"…"

Lionel continued to stare. Searching. Probing my features for any falsehood or bad timed joke. He turned away after enough time passed and he stared at the wall, his irises bouncing around his sockets as if he was mentally tallying something.

A chuckle escaped him. Then he began to laugh. I almost flinched because of how raw it sounded. It was raspy and choked, as if he hadn't had a reason to laugh in a very long time. Eventually the laugh petered out to a simmering chuckle and then, nothing but contemplative silence as he returned to staring blankly at the wall.

"It's gone…" Lionel whispered under his breath. "That…That explains a lot of the chatter I've been hearing lately…"

"Chatter?" I echoed and the older man glanced at me.

"Why is a kid like you asking around for something like Project Rebirth?"

"…How about you answer my question first, then I'll answer yours, hm?"

He snorted and stood up, walking past my confused self to enter his kitchen. I leaned over to see him opening his fridge and taking out a beer.

"If you're telling the truth, then consider this thanks for giving me the best piece of news I've heard in 20 years. Yes, I know all about the second Rebirth. Matter of fact, I was there on the ground floor when it was first constructed. How couldn't have I been?" Lionel asked rhetorically, his smile that had turned lighter growing bitter again. "After all. It was the lifelong obsession and greatest failure of my father, and the thing that ultimately got him killed. Wilfred Nagel."

……

…

"I have no idea who the fuck that is!"
A/N: SITodd is going to have to ask for a refund on his Metaknowledge package because this is getting ridiculous. Echo Toad is currently too stunned to call him out on it due to the fact it fucking worked!?

Sometimes, honesty truly is the best policy. Especially when you're kind of a shit liar like SITodd who can't be bothered to think up one. If you haven't picked up on it so far, he's not really a planning sort of guy but do stuff and find out guy.

With how convoluted lots of interpersonal relationships are between superheroes, supervillains, secret organizations and hyper genius scientists are, a guy that straightforwardly walks up to you and says the very first thing on his mind must be a refreshing change of pace. At least I assume so.

I hope you enjoyed!
 
thank you for the chapter wish we got them more often but I'm also just glad it isn't abandoned
 
Excellently written, I'd say I'm surprised how little traction this has currently, but having been on the CW side, explains most of that. I expect this will populate with watchers relatively quickly now.
 
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