HONOR AMONG THIEVES

By Dino Pollard

The Xavier University.

These six individuals have been awaiting the return of one of their own for quite some time. The bald man in the wheelchair is Charles Xavier – the man responsible for bringing these mutants together. He is, more or less, their liason for the U.S. government – which sponsors their activites. They are Project: X-MEN. Seven young mutants gathered from all over the country, and led by Special Agent Logan of SHIELD.

After an old enemy of Logan’s tracked him down and decimated half the team, Logan ran off to track him down. They had assumed that all this time he was gathering information, trying to locate Sabretooth’s whereabouts.

That was beforea special news report came on.

{{ This is Trish Tilby reporting live from Illusion, known to be a hot spot for singles to have a drink, share a dance, and basically enjoy themselves. But where there was once a crowded dance floor and pulse-pounding music has now turned into a crime scene with sirens as the only sounds. There have been three confirmed fatalities – Jason Wyngarde, the club’s owner, as well as his bodyguards, Russ Anderson and Will Short. The incident apparently started when two mutants killed Anderson and Short, then broke into Wyngarde’s office and killed him as well. }}

{{ “It was… unreal. We were just dancing, and then this one guy was thrown from the window up there. Then this really big guy jumped out and followed him down.” }}

{{ “They were mutants!! Had t’be!! First Times Square now this?! Someone’s gotta put a stop to them!!” }}

{{ “There was explosions of some sort, and then the one guy – he had like, knives or something coming out of his hands, and he stabbed the big dude.” }}

{{ “Blood… all over… blood…” }}

{{ “I have no comment.” }}

{{ “I’m tellin’ ya man, it was whack!! I was like, ‘aw shit!!’ an’ I started throwin’ down with ’em!!” }}

{{ “Don’t got anyt’ing t’say…” }}

Ororo’s eyes perked up at the man on the screen. He wore sunglasses and a trench coat, before covering up the camera with his hand.

{{ The official police statement is that this was an isolated incident. One man, who witnesses claim had three long claws on each hand, stabbed a larger man and ran once the sirens were heard. According to police, the FBI took the larger mutant into custody. Despire the severity of the wounds, the larger man was still alive once the authorities arrived. The man with the claws, however, is still at large and considered armed and extremely dangerous. }}

“That… doesn’t sound too good…” Ali muttered.

“Nope…” John replied. “Doesn’t sound good at all.”

He turned off the television and wheeled himself away from it.

“Public perception is bad enough after the incident with Magneto,” Charles stated. “This just gives credence to the fears of men like Gyrich – mutants endangering humans.”

The sound of doors opening and footsteps echoing through the halls drew the attention of the X-Men. The door to the student union opened and Logan stood there, a cigar in his mouth.

“Sabretooth has been taken care of,” he stated. He looked around at them. “What’s wrong?”

“We saw it all on the news,” Scott said. “Some people think that this is just an example of mutants acting out.”

“Shit…” Logan muttered. “How’re th’ others?”

“They’re healing pretty fast,” Ororo replied. “Not as fast as you, though…”

Logan shot her a glance – he could tell from the tone of her voice that she resented him. Then he faced Xavier.

“The President’s not going to like this,” Charles stated. “The public will be calling for mutant blood, soon, and that may mean the execution of Magneto.”

“So let ’em,” Logan stated. “I say fry th’ bastard.”

“It’s not that simple,” Charles replied. “There are already some mutants who see eye to eye with Magneto. If he’s executed, then mutant militias will be popping up left and right with one goal in mind – the extermination of humanity. And if that happens, then Gyrich may get his way, and we’ll have Sentinels unleashed on mutants.”

“Sentinels…?” Scott asked.

“Mutant huntin’ robots,” Logan replied. “Developed by NASA an’ th’ government.”

“Your tax dollars at work…” Jean muttered.

“So what’s our next move?” John asked.

“For now, we lay low,” Charles replied. “Particularly you, Logan. I’ll get in touch with the President and inform him of the situation. Try and extend Magneto’s lifespan a bit more.”

He wheeled himself out of the room and towards the elevators – heading down to the sub-basement.

“I think I’m gonna try out that new ‘Danger Room’ thing SHIELD set up,” Logan stated.

“I’ll go with you,” Jean said. “I’ve been looking forward to giving it a run.”

“I’ve… ah, got a phone call to make,” Scott said, reaching into his pocket and grasping a small slip of paper.

“Phone call?” Jean asked with a grin.

“Scott’s pimpin’!!” John exclaimed, slapping his friend on the back. The blow practically knocked the smaller man over.

“Fuck you, Squanto!” Scott replied with humor. John laughed before stretching out.

“I’m thinkin’ of hittin’ the town,” he said, then looked at Ororo. “How ’bout it, O? Up for a little sight-seein’. You didn’t really get a chance to check out the Big Apple since you got here. So what do you say I show you around?”

“Umm… well…” Ororo began. Then, she remembered the image she saw on TV. “Okay, sure. Sounds good.”

“Five-hundred channels…” Hank muttered. “Not a damn thing to watch…”

“Since we’re forced to share the medical facilities, could you please keep the immaturity down to a minimum?” Monet stated from her bed, a book in hand.

Hank frowned slightly and turned off the TV. Then, he looked over at Monet.

“What are you reading?”

Monet sighed and looked at him.

“If you must know, I’m trying to read Ulysses.”

“Ahh yes…” Hank replied. “James Joyce. Personally, I didn’t find it challenging enough.”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes right now,” Monet stated, going back to the book.

“I’m not joking.”

Monet looked over at him.

“Damn, never thought Times Square was so… well, big.”

“You’re acting like this is the first time you’ve seen it.”

“Well, in a way, it is,” John stated. “I mean, it’s kinda hard to enjoy Times Square when Magneto is blowin’ it up.”

“Hmmm,” Ororo replied, looking around.

“They’re working fast with these repairs, though, huh?”

“Mmmmm.”

“I think the Professor said that the government is paying for the damages or something like that.”

“Mmmmm.”

“Hey O, your pimp is flagging you down.”

“Mmmmm.”

“O!”

“What?” Ororo asked.

“You alright?” John asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You mean aside from the fact that you’ve barely had a complete conversation with anyone since you joined the team?”

“I’ve just… got a lot on my mind.”

“What, like you’re the only one?” John asked. “I had tons of athletic scholarships, but I had to throw them all away because I accidentally killed a guy. And it wasn’t even my fault! But I’m not letting it get me down.”

“That’s great, good for you,” Ororo replied.

“So why don’t you tell me what your little sordid story is?”

“I used to live in LA – now I live in New York.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s all you need to know.”

“C’mon, why can’t you tell me?” John asked. “We’re buds, right?”

“No,” Ororo replied. “We’re not.”

Using her mutant ability to control the weather, Ororo formed an air pocket beneath her feet and rode the winds into the sky, drawing stares from onlookers. John moved away quickly as to avoid detection.

“That went well…”

Foot-long, razor-sharp adamantium claws sliced through the gun turrets like a hot knife through butter. The bullets that did strike the X-Men’s leader had little effect – as the wounds healed instantly. If not for the fact that he possessed a code of honor, Wolverine would be the perfect killing machine.

His young teammate, however, isn’t as skilled. Psyche only recently learned how to create a tekekinetic force field, yet each bullet that strikes it sends a sharp pain through her mind. Many people consider psychic powers to be a tabloid reporter’s dream – access to everyone’s secrets. No one ever thinks about the headaches and migraines often assosciated with those powers – especially to those who are inexperienced.

“Keep pushin’, girl!” Logan shouted. “Try an’ concentrate on disablin’ th’ gun.”

“I-I can’t!”

“That’s bullshit, and you know it! Push harder!”

Jean gritted her teeth in pain, but tried to focus on the gun. While trying to keep the TK shield erected, she began to work on stopping the gun. It began to shake a little.

“Good, keep it up!”

The gun began to shake violently. Jean kept the shield up while the bullets continued to pelt it. One hand reached out towards the gun until….

“AHHHH!!!” she cried out in pain, dropping to the ground. Logan moved into position quickly, deflecting the bullets that came at her.

“Computer, stop program!!”

The gun stopped firing and the turrets returned to small compartments in the wall. Logan bent down by Jean and helped her up.

“Dammit…” she muttered. “I suck.”

“Y’ did good, red,” Logan stated.

“What’re you, high?” Jean asked. “I couldn’t stop the gun and keep the shield up at the same time. I screwed up.”

“You’re right,” Logan replied. “But this is training – it’s expected that you’ll screw up a few times. Ya gotta drop that whole, ‘I can’t do this’ attitude. If you’ve got discipline, you can. So restrain that kind o’ talk, soldier.”

“Since when am I a soldier?”

“Since I started leadin’ this outfit.”

REAL mature, “O.” John’s just trying to be friendly, and here you run away from him.

The winds which she carried on began to diminish as she hovered above a building. Before her feet reached it, though, she fell a short distance to the ground.

“Ow!” she grunted in pain, pulling herself to her feet. “I hate landings…”

“They say any landin’ y’ walk away from is a good one.”

Ororo looked towards the source of the voice, her pupils beginning to fade out which signaled the use of her mutant powers. A man stepped from the shadows wearing a trench coat and his eyes were glowing red. The whites of his eyes, for some reason, were pitch black.

“Ain’t that right, chere?”

“REMY!!!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and pressing her lips to his.

“I’m guessin’ dat means you’re happy t’see me.”

“So you were at the club.”

“Which one?” Remy asked with a smirk. Ororo rolled her eyes.

“Seriously, what’s the deal? I thought you were still in LA – what are you doing here?”

“Saw you on de news – usin’ yer powers against that Magneto guy,” Remy replied. “Figured I’d see how you were doin’. Plus, I had some Guild business t’ attend to.”

“Why are you still with those bastards?” Ororo asked.

“I may not like their methods, but they’re family. An’ y’can’t turn your back on family.”

Remy placed a cigarette in his mouth. He pulled out a small zippo and lit before turning back to Ororo.

“Who’s th’ walkin’ Buick you were with?”

“That’s John,” Ororo replied. Remy cocked an eyebrow. “He’s a teammate.”

“So how’s it feel t’be a superhero?”

“I’m not a superhero, I’m a government lackey.”

“Oh?”

“We’re funded by the government. I don’t know all of the details, though. Magneto was our first mission.”

“Well, I don’t wanna get y’ in trouble with your new bosses or anythin’ like dat…”

“But…?”

“But what d’ya say t’ one, last fling?”

Ororo looked over the edge of the building, then looked back at Remy, a devilish grin on her face.

“Well, with an offer like that from the legendary ‘Gambit,’ how can I refuse?”

He held the phone in his hand for a few minutes, before hanging it up. He kept his hand rested on it.

C’mon… you can do this… She gave you her number, that means she wants you to call her.

His grip slowly tightened on the receiver, and he lifted the phone, then slammed it down again.

“No…”

You’re a dumbass, Scott… he thought to himself. But what if she was just playing a joke on me at the club? What if I call her and she just laughs at me? What if she has a boyfriend? I should wait… yeah, that’s it. I should wait a little longer. Girls don’t like guys who call right away – makes them seem desperate. Or maybe she’ll lose interest if I don’t call her right away.

He picked up the phone once more and began to dial the number. After trying to dial Maggie’s number five times and hanging up each time before he pressed the last key, he already had it memorized.

But… what if she doesn’t think any of those things? What if she’s actually happy to hear from me? I mean, where do I go from there?

Scott’s finger pressed against each key so hard that

the tone practically deafened him. Digit by digit, he punched in her number until it started to ring.

{{ Hello? }}

…..Okay… now what?

{{ Hello? }}

This is it, you silly bastard. Just talk! But how do I start? Wait… maybe I should say hi – yeah, that seems to be a good ice-breaker… but I don’t want to sound like a stuffed shirt when I say it, I gotta say it cool. Like yo – no, that’s too cool. Like, “hey, how’s it going?”

“Hey…” Scott said. “…How’s it going?”

{{ Who is this? }}

“It’s Scott. From the other night.”

{{ Scott? }}

“Yeah.”

{{ I don’t know anyone named Scott. }}

Oh shit. This is good – she doesn’t even remember me.

“You don’t remember meeting me at the club the other night?”

{{ Club? You sure? }}

“Yeah… you said that you liked my sunglasses, we talked for awhile, and you gave me your number. I go to Xavier’s, remember? How could you forget my name already, Maggie?”

{{ Maggie? Oh shit man, I’m sorry. I’m Maggie’s roommate, justa second. }}

Scott breathed a deep sigh of relief. He could barely overhear the roommate talking to someone else in the room.

{{ Hey Mags, it’s for you. He sounds cute. }}

{{ Yeah? }}

“Maggie?”

{{ Yeah. }}

“It’s Scott.”

{{ Oh hi!! Sorry about that, my roommate’s got some problems. }}

{{ You better sleep with one eye open!! }}

{{ That’s her trying to sound threatening. }}

{{ I heard that! }}

“It’s okay,” Scott stated. “So, what’s up?”

{{ Nothing much, we’re just hanging around the dorm. How ’bout you? }}

“Ditto.”

{{ Hey, did you hear about what went down at the club last night? }}

“No, what?” Scott asked, lying through his teeth.*

{{ These two guys got into a HUGE fight – it was insane! There was blood everywhere!! }}

“Did you get hurt?”

{{ No, I wasn’t there. My friends were telling me about it. }}

“Do they know who those guys were?”

{{ Nope, word is it that the feds busted it up or something. One of the guys got away, the other was arrested or something. People are saying that they’re mutants. }}

“And you… hate mutants?”

{{ …well I dunno…. It’s kinda hard to say I hate them when I don’t think I’ve even met one… I mean, I don’t wanna sound like one of those people who are totally politically correct, but there are these right-wing guys saying that mutants are a danger to everyone. But, I’ve never been hurt by a mutant. }}

“What about that Magneto guy that tore up New York?”

{{ Yeah, that was pretty scary… but weren’t there other mutants fighting him or something? So maybe they’re not all bad. Maybe that magnet guy was just an exception. But anyway, I don’t really feel like wasting your phone bill about current events. }}

“It’s okay,” Scott said with a little chuckle.

{{ Well? }}

{{ Hold on. God, you’re worse than my little sis! }}

“Huh?”

{{ Oh nothing, it’s just Jenny. She keeps bugging me. }}

“Ahh…”

{{ Hey, I got invited to this frat party on Saturday… I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come? }}

“To a frat party?”

{{ Well, if you don’t want to go, that’s fine. }}

“No no, I’d love to.”

{{ Okay, cool. }}

“Hey, what time are you done with your classes tomorrow?”

{{ I dunno… like one. }}

“How ’bout I pick you up and we can get some coffee or something?”

{{ Yeah, sure. That sounds like fun. }}

“Alright, great!” Scott exclaimed. He suddenly caught his excitement and began to tone it down. “Well, I gotta run. I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

{{ Sure. I’ll meet you by the front gate. }}

“Okay, I’ll talk to you later then.”

{{ Okay, bye. }}

“Bye,” Scott replied, hanging up the phone. He sat in silence for a few moments before leaping off his bed.

“YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!!!!”

“Scott…?”

Scott’s eyes darted to the door where he saw Ali standing.

“You okay?”

“I’m better than okay!” Scott exclaimed. “I’m great!!”

“We just got attacked by an extra from Cats, and you’re great?”

“N-no, it’s not that,” Scott stated. He looked down at the slip with Maggie’s number on it. “It’s… nevermind. It’s a long story.”

“Oooookay….”

Ali walked away from his dorm and he just fell back on his bed, chuckling to himself.

“Hey mon ami,” Remy stated. “Y’got a light?”

“Yeah…” the man replied, handing Remy his lighter. Gambit flicked it open and lit the tip of his cigarette as Ororo moved closer to the man.

“So… dis is New York, eh?” Remy asked. “They can keep it.”

“I live here.”

“Well, good for you. Me, I’m from LA where de sun’s always shinin’ an’ de women are always loose.”

“Whatever you say.”

“Look, I gotta run – nice talkin’ t’ya.”

Remy walked from the man and met up with Ororo after he crossed two intersections.

“Well?”

Ororo reached into her pocket and pulled out a wallet. She opened it up to reveal the driver’s license of the man Remy was just talking to. She pulled out all the cash, not much more than twenty bucks, and stuffed it into her pocket before tossing the wallet on the ground.

“Still got it,” she noted.

“It makes a body proud t’ see his protegé in action,” Remy stated, kissing her lightly.

“Well, I learned from the best,” she muttered, grabbing his crotch. Remy raised an eyebrow at her.

“Y’got a dirty mind, chere.”

“We haven’t seen each other in awhile.”

“Yer jailbait.”

“I’m eighteen, you’re a master thief wanted all along the west coast and Louisiana. Besides, jail never scared you before.”

“True,” Gambit stated, kissing her once more. “It’s a temptin’ offer, chere. But I got some work t’do. If I get some free time, I’ll look y’up. Meantime, watch yer back – especially when dealin’ wit’ th’ government.”

He winked at her and moved out into the intersection with the rest of the crowd, almost instantly vanishing in it. Ororo stood there for a few minutes.

“Hey, there you are.”

“Oh, John,” she muttered, looking at her oncoming teammate.

“I was lookin’ all over for you,” John stated. “I figured the Professor wouldn’t be too happy if I lost one of his students – and I don’t even wanna think about what Wolverine would do to me.”

“Yeah,” Ororo muttered. She pushed thoughts of Remy out of her head, and looked back to John. “Look… I’m sorry about what I said…”

“Hey, water under the bridge, O. So, whaddaya wanna do now?”

“I’m feeling kind of tired, actually,” Ororo replied. “I think I’m gonna head back to the dorms. You can stay here if you want.”

“Naw, that’s okay. I brought you here, it’s only fair that I go back with you.”

“Okay…” Ororo stated as the two began to walk in the direction of the parking garage. “John?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”