Sorry this chapter took so long- I hope you're all still with me!
Standard disclaimers apply...
Just Lucky, I Guess 21
She closed the door behind her carefully and followed him into
the dusty room. "Nathan, I understand that you are quite busy, and I
do not want to keep you long. I simply wish to ask a few questions."
She smoothed a nonexistent wrinkle on her orange print sun dress,
hoping that her sugary tone concealed the irritation she felt at not
being informed about this trip to England. 'I must be patient,' she
cautioned herself. 'The plane will not leave without him, after all.'
She gracefully sat in one of several brown metal folding chairs lined
against the far wall and waited for his reply.
They were in a secured storage room adjacent to the hangar bay in
a large room filled almost to the ceiling with crates of used Shi'ar
computer parts. Lilandra sent the X-Men new Imperium technology every
two years or so, and the old parts and pieces were packed here into
storage so they could be cannibalized for repairs when needed. The
look on Ororo's face when she'd cornered him on the plane had warned
Cable that perhaps a private meeting would be better than speaking
openly in the hangar bay. Due to the sensitive nature of the Shi'ar
technology, the storage room was kept locked at all times. 'At least
now everybody else won't see me get bitched out.'
Private though it was, he'd still entered the room with some
trepidation. Some of the more adventurous X-couples had been known to
use the mansion's storage rooms for less than innocent purposes, and
the last thing he needed was for someone to see him and Storm going
into one of the private rooms and misinterpret the meeting for
anything more than it was, a simple meeting. This train of thought led
to a most disturbing possibility. 'I hope Ororo doesn't think I
brought her down here for....Nah, don't be stupid, Nathan.'
Cable chuckled ruefully at his own arrogance.
'Is he even listening to me?' Ororo glared at the daydreaming
Cable. She grit her teeth 'I must not let him see how I truly feel
about this trip- Warning Kitty about her new companion is far too
important.' Instead of voicing her irritation she smiled at him
sweetly and guestured at the metal folding chair beside her in
wordless invitation.
He stared blankly into space for a moment, then jerked back to
attention. He grinned sheepishly at her "I'm sorry, Ororo, I am. I was
thinking about something else. Now what were you saying?" He crossed
the room swiftly and sat down beside her, his massive frame taking up
almost two of the slight chairs.
She nodded magnanimously "I understand." Taking a deep breath,
she began, choosing her words carefully to keep the irritation out of
her tone. "Why were you going to meet this Wisdom person without
telling me? You knew I was interested in him." Nathan blinked in
surprise, but she blithely continued "You yourself told me that I
should meet him personally before I form any accurate impression of
his character. This seems a perfect opportunity." She schooled her
face into what she considered an expression of pure innocence. 'This
had better work. I *must* tell Kitty about what horrible things this
Wisdom has done, and if it takes lying to Nathan about my reasons for
accompanying him and...the others,' she sniffed distastefully 'then so
be it.'
Nathan groaned silently 'I was afraid this was gonna
happen...Shoulda left yesterday, before anyone else found out about
this, Nate.' He met her gaze and answered her, his voice calm and
steady. "Ororo, look. This whole trip may just be a waste of time, or
it may be something *really* important- I just don't know yet. I'm
sorry that I didn't tell you sooner, I am, but after what you said
about Pete this week, I honestly didn't think you'd care to work with
him, that's all." 'That much is true, anyway,' he reassured himself.
"And," he continued wryly "I *did* just find out about this yesterday.
Not a lot of time to let everyone know." 'Liar,' his conscience
hissed. 'You're just afraid Dom's gonna tell her off and you're gonna
be stuck in the middle again. But...' He stopped for a moment. 'Just
exactly why *would* she think I owe her an explaination about where
I'm going?' Frowning,e pushed that disturbing thought aside for the
time being in favor of the current argument.
Ororo sighed "I suppose I understand how you might come to that
conclusion." The room was silent for a moment while they considered
their next words. Ororo spoke first "Nathan, if you just found out
about this trip last night, then why are Logan and Betsy accompanying
you?" She rested her arm on the back of the chair beside her, leaning
closer to him. "Could this information be so dangerous?" Her eyes
narrowed 'If so, then I *certainly* must come. My Kitten does not need
to be involved in any such business.'
He answered in a grim voice. "It very well could be, Ororo.
Pete's out of the game, but he still has some pretty high-level
contacts. And as for Logan and Psylocke, well..." He briefly explained
Betsy's vision. "That's why she's tagging along, and you know Logan-
once he makes up his mind there's no talking him out of it. I don't
like it, but I've come to accept it about him, and he does have some
pretty extensive connections, too."
She looked up at him, aquamarine eyes gleaming brightly. "Then
it is not too late for me to join you on this journey. Whatever
dangers this mysterious mission poses, my elemental powers can surely
be of great assistance. And," she smiled softly, genuinely this time
"I would dearly love to see my Kitten again."
He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling, considering
her words. Though he didn't especially relish the idea of being on a
plane with Dom and Ororo together even for the few hours the PACRAT
took to travel the Atlantic, he had to admit she was probably right.
If things got as rough as he was afraid they would, Storm's control of
the weather could be an extremely important resource. He studied her
carefully for a moment.
"Ororo, are you *sure* you can keep objective about this? I know
how you feel about Pete, and I'll be the first to admit that he does
take some getting used to." His face split in a huge grin as he
remembered the first time *he'd* met Wisdom. 'I'll have to remind him
about that- I haven't thought about New Delhi in forever.' He chuckled
under his breath 'I thought he was gonna *kill* Dom when he woke up,
even though she did save his life when she busted him out of there. I
don't care what Griz said, nobody can convince me she didn't do that
to him on purpose. That little caper had Domino written all over it...'
Ororo sighed loudly, breaking him out of his reverie. "Nathan,
please. I do not know what you find so humorous, but I must tell you
that I am not one of your X-Force children. I assure you that I will
take this mission most seriously. Now," she looked up at him again.
"Are we leaving today or not?" 'I did not lie to him,' she told
herself 'I *will* take this most seriously.'
He very nearly did a surface scan of her mind to convince himself
of her sincerity but decided against it- she valued her privacy far
too much for him to casually sweep her thoughts like that. He bit his
lip, considering. They were running late already, and he had the
distinct impression that whatever objections he raised Ororo would
come up with some reason to counter them until he finally consented to
let her go along with them. 'I don't have time to sit here and argue
with her, and, dammit, she's right. If Pete's message is half as
important as his usual information we're gonna need all the help we
can get.' Nathan sighed and made a decision, hoping like hell that Dom
would go along with it without flaying him alive. "Fine. Let's do it."
Ororo's feline eyes glittered in triumph. She rose gracefully,
the long skirt of her dress swirling around her legs as she swiftly
walked towards the door. "Wonderful! I am delighted that you agree
with me. I thought you might, so I took the liberty of packing a bag,"
She waved an elegant hand in the direction of the hangar bay. "I left
it outside the plane. Come, then, Nathan, let us go. The others are
waiting..." She turned the corner and strode down the short length of
corridor that opened into the huge hangar bay.
Cable trailed behind her, punching in his access code
automatically as he locked the door to the storage room.
He took a deep breath as he walked out into the hangar bay and watched
Ororo climb the ramp into the plane, travel bag in tow. 'This is gonna
be fun,' he muttered, and followed behind her.
To be cont'd...
BTW, my stepmother was in a very serious wreck yesterday. It looks
like she's gonna be alright, but I'd appreciate it if any of you who
believe in this sort of thing (and even any of you who don't) to say a
prayer for her...Thanks a lot.
===
-DuAnn
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give
to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be
troubled and do not be afraid. -John 14:27
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