Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Steel Shadows ❯ Chapter 3

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Steel Shadows
By Janime and Star Lin
Chapter Three
Jubilee pulled Storm toward the window where they had seen the kimono yesterday. "It is beautiful, Storm. You just got to see it." For that moment, Jubilee was very much like any teen that was with her parents. Logan followed behind the two, a smile trying to tug at the corner of his mouth. They stopped in front of the shop. "See?"
"It is a beautiful design." Storm said, eyeing the deep rich purple and the white doves on the sleeves. Logan smiled at Storm. "But it must be very expense," she said.
"Oh, I think I might be able to get the price down," he said. "Let's go in so you can try it on." The three turned and entered the store.
An elderly man who was just coming out of the back greeted them. "Ah, good day. I'm Fudo Akira."
"Munroe Logan, my wife, Ororo, and our daughter, Jubilation Lee." Logan said, bowing to him.
Akira smiled at the dark skin woman and the young teen girl. "How might I help you, Munroe-san?" he asked.
"We notice the kimono that you have displayed in the window, Fudo-san." Logan nodded towards the kimono. "The design is not one that I have seen before."
"You have a very good eyes. It is based on a design from 400 or so years ago. But the clan that first designed it is unknown." Fudo-san told them. He turned to Storm and Jubilee. "Do you wish to try it on, Ororo-san?"
"If it is no trouble, Fudo-san," said Storm.
"It will be no trouble at all. If you would wait here for a moment." Akira said and made his way to the back room. A few minutes later, the older man came out of the back room carrying a bundle of purple. "This should be the right length. The changing room is on the left."
Storm took the bundle from him and made her way towards the changing area.
"I also found a kimono that will go with that. If you would like to take a look at it, Logan-san."
"Jubilee..." Logan began.
Jubilee rolled her eyes. "I know, I know," she said. "Don't leave the store and don't break anything," she mimicked in his voice.
"She reminds me of my granddaughter," she heard Fudo-san say, as Logan and he disappeared into the back room. Jubilee walked over to a display case that held different type of jade jewelry, and it also gave her a clear view through the display window.
**********
Cale's temper was just starting to cool down as he made his way through the city. Sage had gotten a few good hits on him, mostly because of the coppery taste in his mouth. He turned his head as he walked by a shop window and froze in place. In the display was a purple kimono, white doves on the sleeves, and a dark red sash. He placed his hand on the glass, his thoughts in a tumble.
This is exactly like the kimono that my mother wore, he sighed, knowing that it wouldn't help him at all and began to walk away from the shop.
"CALE!!!!" a voice cried out. He spun around to see Jubilee standing in the doorway of the shop.
"Jubilee?" he asked and walked back to the shop.
"Good lord, Cale. What happen to your face?" Jubilee asked, looking over the bruises and the burst lip.
"Lets just say that I had a disagreement with a friend," Cale told her.
"Jubilee, where are you?" came an older female voice from inside the shop.
"I'm talking to Cale, mom." Jubilee called back.
"Where is Logan?" Storm asked, exiting from the changing area, seeing Jubilee at the door, but she couldn't make out the man standing in the doorway.
"He's in the back room with Fudo-san, looking at another kimono." Jubilee latched onto Cale's arm and dragged him inside the shop. "Maybe you'll get to meet my mom and dad now." She was going to make sure that Cale was able to meet Storm and Logan. "I saw Cale walking by the shop window."
Cale blinked at the dark skin woman, wearing the kimono that he had been looking at. She had dark eyes and long snow-white hair.
Storm also took in the young man standing next to Jubilee. His skin was tan to a light brown, with deep blue eyes, a scar on his left eye, and dark blue hair. Jubilee had been right about this young man having a hairstyle like Logan's. He looked to have been in a fight, his cheek starting to show a bruise and blood was running from his lip. She got some tissues from the counter, next to the register, and came over to him.
"Child, what have you done to yourself?" Storm asked as she dabbed at the burst lip.
Cale swallow the growl and winced as the white haired woman tended to his bloody lip. "I got into an argument with one of my friends," he said and then hissed in pain.
"Forgive me, Cale, but this will hurt." Storm told him. He nodded and kept perfectly still as she finished cleaning his lip. She threw the tissue away and turned a radiant smile on him.
"The fight wasn't with Ryo or Rowen, was it?" Jubilee asked.
"Jubilation, he might not want to talk about it," Storm scolded her.
"It is all right... um..." Cale realize that he didn't know Jubilee's family name.
"My name is Munroe Ororo." Storm told him.
Cale smiled. "My name is Sasaki Kujuuruo but my friends just call me Cale," he said. "As I was trying to say, Munroe-san, I didn't have a fight with them. It was with one of their friends. It's... a long story."
**********
"It had just arrived yesterday evening. From what the designer told me, it is to go with the dove one that you are buying for your wife." Akira said as he pulled the rich earth brown color kimono from the shelf. He handed it to Logan.
Logan took the kimono, unfolding it with respect, and taking in the design. A black slash was pinned to the kimono and the sleeves had twin tigers. "This looks as if the tigers could come right off the sleeves." He looked closer at the needlework. "Hand made?"
"Of course," Akira said.
Logan again looked at the sleeve design. 'Why do I feel like I should know this design? Where could I have seen it before?' he asked himself.
Akira interrupted his thoughts. "Monroe-san, is everything all right?" Akira asked.
"Hai, I was just admiring the work." Logan told him. "I'll take both," he said, folding the brown kimono again. They both began to barter on the price of both kimonos. It was at the time that they were closing on the price that Logan caught the scent of the young man again. An eagerness to find out what the teen looked like came over him. "I'd like to pay for these now, if you don't mind, Fudo-san." Both men stepped out of the back room.
Storm looked away from Cale to greet Logan. "What do you think, Logan?"
"Beautiful." Logan breathed, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"Oh brother." Jubilee said, rolling her eyes slightly but she grin at the two.
Logan release Storm and gave a halfhearted glare at the girl. He then turned his full attention to the young man standing next to Jubilee. "Arigato for what you did for my daughter," he said, bowing.
Cale return the bow. "There is no need to thank me, Monroe-san." They both froze as they straighten. There was something about this man that made Cale feel like he should know him. For a moment, an image was overprinted of the gaijin with Jubilee's father, but it was gone.
That can't be right, Cale thought. The gaijin had been dead over four hundred years. He might be a descendant, maybe…
Logan too was trying to place the young man. Where have I seen those blue eyes before?
Storm watch the two looking at each other. She could feel a tension in the air. 'They do look alike from the side,' she thought. Then she remembered the dream that Logan had the previous night. I'll have to call the Professor later tonight. Stepping next to Logan she looked up at Cale. "Cale..."
He jerked his attention away from the older man and turned it to Ororo. "Gomen, I must have um... zoned out." Logan also snapped back to reality.
Storm shook her head. "I was just going to ask, if you didn't have any plans later tonight, if you would like to join us for dinner. I'm sure that Jubilee would like to have you come along."
"Yes, please join us for dinner." Jubilee pleaded.
"I'm not sure. I really don't have anything fancy to wear." he said.
Logan shook his head. "We were going to eat at one of the Tokyo restaurants." He wanted to learn more about the teen in front of him. He was sure that they had a connection and he hope that he could find out during dinner.
Cale rubbed the back of his neck, nervous about Logan's invitation to dine with them. "I'll have to let Mia know that I'll be attending dinner." Looking again at Jubilee, he knew that he couldn't say no. "I'm sure that it won't be a problem."
Jubilee beamed at Cale and they slipped over to a corner to talk while Storm changed back into her outfit and Logan paid for the kimonos.
"How about we meet back here at six o'clock?" Storm asked as they left the shop.
"Hai, I can be back here by then. I need to get going if I'm going to meet back up with my friends. They're probably worried that I got lost." Cale said, walking back toward the park.
"We could give you a lift." Logan said. Cale shook his head and continue on his way. The meeting with Jubilee's father had unnerved him for some reason.
Maybe dinner will help me figure out why I seem to know him, he thought.
**********
"Maybe we should go look for him," suggested Cye.
"Just wait a few more minutes," said Ryo. "He'll come back once he's cooled down."
"I hope that he's all right," Mia said.
Sage didn't say a word, although he did feel bad about what happened and the guilt of hiding the truth of what happened to the Sasaki Clan. But still, Cale and Sage always were at ends with each other. And the fights were second nature to both of them.
"Mia, why don't you and Ryo go home, the rest of you guys stay here, and I'll go look for Cale," said Rowen. "If I find him, or he comes back here, or he goes home, just tell the rest of us through the link."
"You won't have to," Cale said walking up to them.
"Where have you been?" Ryo asked.
"I took a walk into the city," said Cale, "and Sage, it would be the one day I wish I hadn't gotten in a fight with you. I saw Jubilee and met her parents."
"Well, there's a nice surprise," said Mia.
"And I'm going with them for dinner tonight."
"Moving a little fast there, eh, Cale?" Kento grinned.
The ex-Warlord turned a light shade of red.
**********
"All set, Rogue?" Xavier asked.
"Ready," she answered and leaned back against the chair.
Xavier pushed a button and the helmet for Cerebro descended from the ceiling, and the professor placed it on his head. Rogue closed her eyes and felt as if she was being pulled inward. Then she was standing next to Xavier in what looked like a hallway of a medieval palace.
"Ah gotta stop reading those romance novels," Rogue shook her head.
They walked down the hall, passing the doors that had an engraving of the person whose memories Rogue had absorbed when she touched them. Xavier felt Rogue's pain and guilt when she passed the doors with Cody, Carol Denver, and Bella Donna's pictures. Two were dead, and the last one was full of hatred.
"Up there," Rogue said, pointing to Wolverine's depiction on the door not far ahead. They went to it and Rogue slowly pushed the door open.
The area was set up like statues in a museum, and it looked like they were telling stories from Logan's life before he joined the X-Men.
"So many," said Rogue, "but which ones are real?" She walked over to a section and realized that she was looking at the time when Wolverine received the adamantium that was grafted onto his skeleton.
Suddenly, the shadowed area came to life, and Rogue watched as Logan went under the horrible operation. She felt the pain Wolverine had felt, and the savage desire to kill anyone in his path.
Xavier touched Rogue's arm and she jumped. Looking at her mentor briefly, she turned back to the life drama only to see that it had returned to where it started.
"It's no wonder why he gets like he does sometimes," Rogue said.
"I know," Xavier said grimly.
They moved on, looking through Logan's memories - Team X, his battles with Sabertooth, his love for Silver Fox and the rage he had when Sabertooth killed her. Other memories depicted so many different times and places, most would have been impossible.
Rogue sighed, feeling as though it would be impossible to find a memory of a baby. She was ready to tell the professor she wanted to call it quits, when something from the corner of her eye caught her attention. Rogue walked over to the scene. It looked like an Asian country, and there was a young Logan sitting next to a woman with dark blue eyes and a toddler sitting in her lap.
"Professor!" Rogue called, and Xavier appeared by her side.
"Interesting," he said and looked closer at them.
Rogue left him to find out if the memory was real or not. There was another one with Logan in a large pool of water. A young boy, about six, had jumped off Logan's shoulders. Judging by the look on Wolverine's face, the boy must have accidentally kicked him when he jumped. The same woman from the other memory was sitting on the bank laughing. Rogue had to laugh a little herself - that expression on Logan's face was priceless.
Xavier looked closer at the memory of Logan with the Asian woman and toddler. He used his telepathy, reaching out to try and tell if the memory was real or false. The memory wasn't implanted but a real one. Xavier frowned as he also found something very different to it.
"Incredible," he whispered in awe. If the "feel" of the memory was right, then that meant that Logan was older then they first thought. "Almost four hundred, fifty years old. But how can that be?"
Moving on from that memory, he found one with Logan on a storm tossed ship. He was holding onto the railing and waves pounded on his body. Logan was reaching out to grab what might have been the cabin boy of the ship as the teen was dragged from the ship by the wave. Another memory showed Logan and the Asian woman again, this time the toddler was just a baby. With this memory it must have been of the baby's birth. There was an older couple in this memory that shared looks with the young woman.
"Professor, come here! I found something!" Rogue called out, her voice sounding upset.
"What is it, Rogue?" Xavier asked as he quickly came over to her. She stepped back from the image, her eyes wide with fear, and a deep sadness in them. What ever was in the memory visibly upset the southern X-Man. As he came to her, she was staring at a memory that had Logan with a six-year-old child in his arms. Logan had blood on him but the professor couldn't tell if it was his own or that of another. The child was the toddler that he had seen in the first memory. Also it looked as if Logan was wearing a gauntlet type weapon on his hands.
"What's wrong?" he asked again.
Rogue swallowed sharply before she spoke. "I saw this and was wondering why Logan seem to look ... well like the Logan we know now. I touched it and…" she said and couldn't find the words that would describe what happen. "It might be better if I show you." She then reached out and touched the memory, being overwhelm by this past Logan's feelings of anger and fear.
**********
Logan brought his hand up, steel blades coming out of the gauntlet, and slash a spear that seem to come out of nowhere. He then ducked an arrow that came at him from the left. Sprinting from the clearing and into the woods, a series of spears imbedding themselves into the earth where Logan had been, he held the child to his chest as if it was the last thing on earth that he had left. Dodging his way through the trees with the sound of footsteps and horse hooves dogging him along the way.
Logan skidded to a halt as he broke from the forest and found himself at a cliff.
A small voice came from his chest. "Otoo-san?"
"Shss, Kuj-chan." Logan whispered to the six-year-old. "We'll get out of this."
The whistling of an object in the air caught Logan's attention.
Looking up he saw an arrow coming straight at the child. With no time to deflect it, he spun around and took the arrow in his back instead. His body jerked and he dropped to his knees. Despite the motion, he held onto the boy in his arms.
"It's over, gaijin," one of the soldiers spoke. "You two are going to hell with that bitch that spawned him."
"Hold on tight, Kuj-chan," whispered Logan. "Trust me." The boy nodded and tightened his arms around his neck as he turned to glare with utter hatred at the soldiers. "You," Logan shouted, "will regret the day you ever saw me!"
With that, he stepped off the cliff and fell, holding the boy tightly against him.
**********
The memory went dark and then came back to the first scene. Both were startled by what they had learned. "I believe that this is enough for today." Xavier said.
Rogue barely nodded. She didn't want to see anymore either for she feared that the child died from the fall. "So young..." she whispered, remembering the scene of the same child and Logan playing together in the lake.
"Come, we have been here long enough." Xavier said and then drew her back into the real world. "For now," he said, "I think it's best that we keep this between you and me, Rogue. Until we are certain about what happened, then we'll let everyone else know."
Rogue wiped at the trail of tears before looking at her mentor. "Okay," she said, "but what about Storm and Jubilee?"
"I'll let Storm know the next time she calls," said the Professor. "As for Jubilee, if Storm has told her about this, she'll let her know too."
"It's gonna be hard for me to keep this from Gambit," Rogue shook her head. "I'm such a sucker for that Cajun charm of his."
"Do your best to resist," Xavier laughed.
**********
Logan and Storm were waiting for Jubilee to finish getting ready. The young girl was so excited to have Cale come along with them for dinner.
"I haven't seen her this happy since the time I came back from that six-month odd job in Alaska," Logan said.
"Jubilee is very fond of you, Logan," said Storm.
"Ready!" Jubilee said as she exited the bathroom.
Logan frowned as her looked over her outfit. "Isn't that cut just a little low for you to be wearing?"
Storm smiled a little. Indeed the maroon top was low-cut, but it matched well with the black slacks and shoes.
"I like it," Jubilee put on her brown jacket.
"Shall we go?" Storm quickly said before Logan could protest.
"Yeah, let's go," he said. If he tries anything on Jubilee, he's gonna be missin' a few certain appendages, Logan thought as they left the hotel.
**********
Rowen looked up from his book as Cale came into the room. He blinked a few times at the outfit that Cale wore. "Not bad," he said. Cale was dress in a black leather sports jacket, dark pants and shoes, and a deep red silk shirt. "Where's the tie?"
"He said that it felt like it was choking him," Sage said as he and Mia came down the stairs after Cale. "I could never figure out why my sister bought that jacket for me," he added with a shake of his head.
"Because she knows that you hate black," Cye said, setting out plates on the table. Ryo and Kento snickered from where they were sitting at the coffee table, both trying to beat the other in the chess game they had set up.
"Keep it up you two. I still have the attic to be cleaned," Mia said. She smiled as she picked up her car keys. "I'll be back in time for dinner." Mia and Cale step out of the house, heading for Mia's jeep. "We have a slight problem," she said to him.
"What do you mean?" Cale asked getting into the car and watching as Mia did the same on the driver's side.
"Well, they are going to find it strange that a woman is bringing you there," she said. "That girlfriend of yours might get jealous."
"She's not my girl..." he trailed off as he saw the teasing smile on Mia's lips. "I give up."
"What if I said that we were brother and sister?" Mia asked a few minutes later.
Cale shook his head. "We don't look anything alike," he said. His eyes watched traffic as they enter downtown Tokyo. "You're my cousin."
Mia blinked. "I am?" Surprised that she hadn't thought of that too. "But we still don't look alike. Will it work?"
"We'll say that you're my cousin from my mother's side and your father's."
"Okay, but what about you?" she asked.
"Turn here," he said. "I could say that I'm staying with you while I'm looking for another job."
"Okay," she said as they rounded the last corner, the kimono shop coming into view. "What about our parents?"
"That's where we're meeting," he said. "Um, they died in a plane crash when we were little and Grandfather was taking care of us; but I was living with my father's family until last year."
"You came to help me out after you lost your job when Grandfather died," she added.
"That should cover it," he said as they parked. He looked over to the shop and saw Logan, Ororo, and Jubilee. "There they are," he said, stepping out of the jeep.
"Cale!" Jubilee ran to him. She stopped and looked at Mia. "And this is?" she asked, feeling her blood boil.
"This is my cousin, Mia," said Cale. "My car died, so she drove me here."
"Oh, okay," Jubilee smiled and her anger fled.
"It's nice to see you again, Cale," Storm said as she and Logan walked up to them.
"Pleasure, Munroe-san," he bowed respectfully.
"And who is this charming young lady?" Logan asked.
"Koji Mia," she said, "I'm Cale's cousin."
Logan blinked at the name. You don't happen to be related to Koji Takahiko," he said, "an expert professor on Japanese history?"
"He's our grandfather," Mia said surprised.
"I met him almost twenty years ago," said Logan. "How exactly are you two related to him?"
"My mother, her father," Cale said.
"That's funny, I know he talked about his son but I don't remember him mentioning a daughter."
"Grandfather didn't really care about my father. He didn't speak with my mother much after they married."
"Well, such a small world," Storm smiled. "Are you joining us, Mia?"
"Gomen, I can't, Munroe-san," Mia shook her head. "I have a lot of things to do. Call me when you're coming home." She hugged Cale.
"I will," he said. "I'll see you later." Cale walked into the restaurant with the Munroe family as Mia got back in her jeep and drove home.
**********
Drinks served and orders taken, the four chatted about the day's events.
"I think that it's mostly just our different personalities that grate on our nerves," Cale said as he answer Jubilee's question about the fight that he had been in. "Sage and I may fight most of the time but if I ever need someone to back me up in a fight, then I'll have him on my side."
"Doesn't seem like the type of friend I would like," Jubilee said.
"They're more Mia's friends then mine. Back home, I have some really great friends," Cale said, thinking of Dayus, Sekhmet, and Kayura. "Kayura is worrying herself into gray hairs with me being here."
"Who's Kayura?" Jubilee asked, trying not to turn jealous on him.
"She tries to be the mother hen of our group. It's not good for a twelve-year-old but she kind of felt that she had to fill in for Anubis after he died." Cale looked down at the salad that he was poking at. He couldn't understand why he was opening up so much to these people. "But I guess you don't want to hear any kind of depressing stuff."
"How did your friend die?" Logan asked, surprising himself with the question.
Cale blinked at the man across from him. "Well, he was killed trying to save Kay," he said, the rest of his words becoming laced with anger at himself for following Talpa. "Maybe if the rest of us hadn't been so blind we could have helped him."
Storm reached out and rested her hand on his. "How are you dealing with your friend's death?"
"We became closer. It was Anubis' death that brought us back together. Each of us still miss him but we have made are peace with him." Cale said softly. He picked up the plate. "I'll be right back," he said, heading for the salad bar.
"He seems to be an open boy but a bit closed off too. He hasn't said much about his family." Storm said as she watched Cale walk off.
Logan nodded. "Something tells me that he grew up without them. He's closer to his friends then his own relatives."
"Maybe they kicked him out?" Jubilee said. When both of them looked at her, she gave them her opinion. "Well, the day that we meet, Cale was on a wall about eight feet above and dropped off as if he was stepping off the sidewalk. He dragged me down an alley after knocking the guy's teeth out and ended up in a dead end with a fifteen-foot tall chain fence. Cale picked me up and jumped over it. We hid behind the dumpster…"
Jubilee paused as she thought back and remember one of the teens had looked right at the darken spot that they were hiding at. "And I swear that they looked right at us, but they didn't even see we were there." She looked up at them. "He might be a mutant and his family kicked him out because of the fact."
Storm looked over to Logan. "It could be possible. I think it might be better if I talk to both him and his cousin in private and see if he might be."
Logan grunted. "I'm sure Chuck would like to know about this. I'm wondering why Cerebro didn't find him first, because from what you told us, Jubilee, he had his abilities for a while." He looked up as he saw Cale coming back to them. "We'll talk more about this later."
**********
Mia let out a long sigh of relief as she closed the front door, leaning against it. "That was a close one," she said aloud to herself.
"Mia!" called Cye. "Supper's on the table!"
"Be right there!" she answered. "I've had some close calls in my life," Mia said as she entered the dining room, "but nothing will compare to what happened when we met up with the Munroes."
"What?" all five Ronins asked together.
"Jubilee's father knew my grandfather."
"You've got to be kidding," said Rowen.
"He knew him," Mia said. "And as far as anyone is concerned, for the time being, Cale and I are cousins."
"Who brought that up?" Kento asked.
"Does it really matter?" Mia looked at him. "So humor us and say that my father and his mother are siblings, and they died in a plane crash when we were kids. Cale stayed with his father's family, I stayed with Grandfather."
"Got it," said Sage.
"Clear as a bell," said Ryo.
**********
The question caught Cale off guard. "Hai, Mia teaches Japanese History. She took the class over after Grandfather Takahiko past away." Cale said to Logan.
Logan nodded toward Storm. "Ororo teaches a history class. I was just remembering the book that I was bringing to your grandfather and I thought that it would be interesting if we could use some of the myth and try to pin them down to a certain point in Japanese history."
"I don't know. We could try combining Jean's literary class with the history class. But I don't know when she started them on the myth section. I'll have to talk to Professor Xavier about the idea. I'll do that tonight when we get back to the hotel," she said. It'll also give me a chance to see if the Professor found out if the baby Logan had dreamt about was real or not, she added to herself. "If he does agree, do you think I could speak with your cousin about this project?"
"Um, I can ask Mia about it when I call her to pick me up," Cale said. He blinked as a mound of something dark past in front of his eyes. The plate that Jubilee sat down in front of him had what looked to be a mound of something white, black, red, and with these white round things. He poked at it with a spoon, swearing that the stuff had just try to eat the spoon. He looked at Jubilee, who had the same thing on her plate, and asked, "What is it and will it kill me?"
Jubilee glared at the cough that covered a burst of laughter from Logan. "It's called the 'Jubilee Special'," she said. "It's chocolate cake with chocolate icing, vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice-cream, hot fudge, caramel, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and mini-marshmallows. I left off the nuts because I didn't know if your were allergic to them or not."
"You are going to have a stomachache after eating that." Storm said, eyeing the oozing confection.
"If not then that is going to cause nightmares, if not for her then for me." Logan added in a teasing tone. He sighed to himself as he saw the boy still poking at the overly rich dessert but Storm heard the faint sigh.
"Come on, I like to speak with you for a second." Storm said to Logan. "Behave for a bit," she said.
"Yes, mom." Jubilee said, before taking another bite of the 'Jubilee Special'.
Cale watch the two walk off and then turned back the dessert on his plate. Here goes nothing… he thought as he took a bite. All that could be said was that his sweet tooth was scorched from it. He swallowed the bite quickly and downed the glass of water next to him. Even after that it still felt like his mouth was coated in sugar. "That's a bit strong," he grasp out.
"You all right, Cale?" Jubilee asked, pushing her plate away after she saw his reaction.
"I never had anything that sweet before." Cale said, having refilled his glass and finally clearing out the sugarcoating. "I won't be having any sugar for the next five years." He saw her smile falter. "Don't be upset. I just grew up without many sweets, that's all. I guess it just took me by surprise," he said with a smile.
Jubilee stared up at the older teen and the strangest impulse came over her. She crossed the distance, lips meeting lips, as she kissed Cale. The kiss lasted on a couple of seconds but it left a blush on her cheeks as she pulled away. Looking up at Cale again, her eyebrow rose at the sight that greeted her. His face was a deep red, his lips parted a tiny bit, and his eyes were as round as the dinner plates that they had eaten off of.
"Um, Cale, are you all right?" she asked.
Cale could only sit there in stunned silence while he tried to collect the goo that use to be his brain and put it back into shape. "I'm just waiting for my tongue to work," he got out.
*************
"Logan, what's wrong?" Storm asked when the two X-Men were by the phones, safe from anyone eavesdropping.
"I don't know," said Logan. "Every time I look at that boy, I feel like I know him in some way."
"Logan, did you have a relationship with a woman when you were last here?" Storm asked. It would make sense, she thought, Logan was here almost twenty years ago. And Cale is around seventeen.
"To tell you the truth, darlin', I really don't remember."
"Have you been sleeping well since that dream about the baby?"
"Not really."
Storm bit her lip. "I hope that you're not going to be mad at me when I tell you this," she said, "but I called the Professor after you went back to sleep from your nightmare and he said that he and Rogue are going to search through your memories when she last touched you."
Logan didn't say a word, only looked at Storm. After a few moments, he smiled. "Thanks, Ororo. You always take care of me when I'm feeling down."
"Well," Storm put her arms around his neck, "I have to. After all, I am your wife."
Laughing quietly, they returned to the table.
*************
In a subway tunnel several streets over from where Cale and the Munroe family were having dinner, not all was as calm as inside the restaurant.
"Let me go!" came a girl's voice. The hat that she had been wearing was next to her on the platform floor. The hat had been hiding cat ears in her violet hair, small fangs glitter in the faint light of the platform. She struggled in the hold that four of the boys had on her.
"Hold her still. I'm sure the boss will pay us well with this mutie," Uzaro said, as he brought the syringe to the girl's arm, injecting the serum into her blood stream. He stepped back, watching as the girl's struggle became feebler until she finally slumped between the two that now held her.
"Help Joe and Taiko. Let's get our package to the boss. That'll be one less mutie on the streets." Uzaro said to one of the other teens. The only thing that would be found on the platform was a cream colored hat.