Chapter Four "LUNA!" Oriana screamed and went to go after her friend as Scott grabbed her arm and yanked her outside. "What about them?" Oriana said as the ran down the stairs and out onto the grass. "They'll be fine. Come on we've got to—” He trailed off as a huge ball of light landed in front of them. They stopped and spun around as the half man came down the stairs after them. "Uhhhh...." Ori said as she looked at Scott then dove to the right as another Plasma ball landed near them. * * * * * “Storm!” Logan called down the tunnel. “Kurt!?” Luna called unsurely. She shrieked as he was suddenly before her in a puff of smoke. “Yes?” he asked calmly. “Whatever we were supposed to find?” she began. Kurt nodded. “Well, we found it. We have to get out of here now.” He nodded. “Understood.” He grasped Logan and Luna. She felt a tingling as though being enveloped by darkness and cold. Then a flash, and they were outside. Luna coughed and waved the smoke from her face. Just as she was about to ask about Storm and Rogue, Nightcrawler was gone again. Then, instantly back with the other two women. “Where is Cyclops?” Storm asked. There was a crackling, thunderous crash. “There,” Luna said, sounding calmer than she felt. The others began charging forward, but Luna faltered. She crouched and put her arms over her head. When she lifted them up again, they were enormous wings. She flapped them and rose into the air, her ice blue, falcon eyes landing on her enemy. She swooped overhead with her talons stretched out, and clawed at the back of his head as he prepared to launch another plasma ball at Scott and Oriana. He grunted in frustration and turned to her. He was uninjured. He appeared only annoyed. “Do you actually think your attack would have any affect on me?” he asked, his voice coming from the depths of time. “I am a god.” He swatted at her, the back of his hand slamming into her chest. She shrieked a hurt bird-cry and fell, landing in human form. She threw her head back and looked up at him, baring fangs as she became a poisonous snake. She snapped forward and bit into his leg. He shook her off and looked ready to stomp on her, but Logan’s claws sunk into his arm. He stumbled for a moment, then batted Wolverine away. Once his claws sliced out of his flesh, the wound closed up. Wolverine furrowed his brow and snarled. “That’s right,” the villain said. “I’m much like you. But stronger. More powerful.” The sky clouded over, drawing their attention to Storm as she stood majestically calling nature to do her bidding. The enemy raised his palm at her to fire a plasma ball, but Nightcrawler grasped her and bamfed away moments before it could hit. "Luna!" Oriana cried as she raced over to her friend. "Erm… I don't really like snakes... um... don't bite me..." she said as she reached down and picked up the snake, grimacing as she did so. She looked back to see the half man glaring down at her. She shifted the snake into her left hand as a plasma blast came her way. With great effort she shot a huge fireball from her hand. It smashed into the plasma ball and sent it off to the side, giving Oriana enough time to run over to where Scott was. She set the snake back on the ground as it formed into the human form of Luna again. “Thanks,” she huffed. “I don’t know if I could have slithered away in time.” “Don’t mention it,” Oriana said with a laugh. “Rogue!” Scott called. “I’ll cover you!” She nodded knowingly and removed the glove from her right hand. She sprinted toward their enemy as Scott struck him with a blast from his visor. Storm sent a bolt of lightning toward him, and it sparked and flung him onto his back. Both blasts had sent him reeling where one barely fazed him. Abruptly, both attacks ended when Rogue leapt toward him, her hand stretching out to touch his. She held fast, and they both began to seizure. Rogue’s eyes were wide as she attempted to push him into unconsciousness. But it wasn’t coming. His power and mind were filling her, but he wasn’t getting any weaker. In fact, she couldn’t hold all she was absorbing. She screamed, and Logan ran forward, hauling her into his arms where she fainted. “Who are you!?” Logan demanded. “I am the Apocalypse.” He started to rise again and Scott yelled at Oriana who blasted him with a coating of ice. "Everyone MOVE!" Scott yelled as Oriana kept up her stream of ice long enough for everyone to make it into the woods. Scott grabbed her arm, and she quit as the two raced for the X-Jet. Luna transformed into a black cheetah with pink spots, her speed increasing vastly. She heard Logan huffing behind her as he carried Rogue. Kurt loped beneath Storm, who flew through the trees, her cape fanning out behind her. Scott and Oriana were the first to reach the jet. Scott immediately began prepping it for flight as Oriana strapped herself in. Luna burst up the ramp with a growl and was between changing back as she seated herself beside Oriana. Luna tilted her head when Oriana laughed at her. “Not every day you see a cheetah fastening its seatbelt on a jet,” Oriana said. Luna huffed a laugh. The rest of the X-Men boarded the jet, and Scott immediately took to the sky. They thought themselves safe until they felt the jet shake and rock alarmingly. “What was that?” Luna asked. “I think he hit us,” Scott said. “Storm.” Her white head nodded, and her eyes lost their color. A tornado sprung from the sky, and Scott steered around it, blasting the jet through the sky. “What now?” Oriana asked. “We go back to the institute,” Scott said. “The Professor will know what to do.” Luna heard Rogue groan and turned to her. Logan was leaning over the young woman, watching her intently. “Hey, darlin’,” he said softly. “How you feel?” “Awful,” she said. “What happened?” Kurt asked. “He was too powerful,” she said, sighing. “I guess I just kinda… shorted out or somethin’.” Oriana looked back at them and then back towards Scott who was sitting in front of her. "That guy is just amazing," she said, and Scott turned around and looked at her then back out of the cockpit. "Amazing?" "Yeah, he took on all of us and still had the upper hand." She could see the back of Scott’s head move up and down in a nod. "Your ice stopped him for a moment, but he broke out of it pretty quick." The group sat in silence all the way to the institute. Scott landed the X-Jet inside the basketball court, and the group exited. Oriana walked next to Luna. "I can't wait to get out of this leather; it’s very hot." She frowned, and Luna laughed at her. “No changing just yet!” Scott called back. “First, we have to meet with the Professor and give him the lowdown.” Oriana sighed, and Luna swung an arm around her as they walked toward Xavier’s office. They entered and stood before the Professor, who took them in for a moment, noting their tired, disheveled looks. “I take it you found whatever it was you were sent to find?” Xavier said. “Yeah,” Logan said, nodding angrily. “And it was more than we bargained for.” “Calm down, Logan,” Scott said, putting up a hand. He turned back to Xavier. “We may have solved the mystery about the man in the news report this morning. About what he said. What we fought… It was unstoppable. Unlike anything we’ve ever seen. And he called himself Apocalypse.” Xavier looked thoughtful for a moment then nodded. "I think I will go to Cerebro. You are dismissed." As the group was walking out of the office, Oriana grinned. "Finally! I'm getting out of this horrid thing," she said, then bounded off to her room. She stripped and put on a pair of sliver bell bottoms, a shirt with flowing sleeves, and boots. She stood in front of the mirror and brushed out her long hair. It had be come very tangled and messy. Once satisfied she left the room and knocked on Luna's door. Luna was just finishing pulling a black tank top on when she heard the knock. She checked to be sure her pink jeans were fastened (nothing like opening the door with your fly open), then answered at the second, more tentative knock. She brightened when she saw Oriana. “Hey,” she said. She waved for her to come in, then shut the door behind her. “I like the pants.” She pointed to Oriana’s bell bottoms. The other woman laughed. “Thanks. Yours aren’t too bad either.” Luna grinned and sighed. “What are your thoughts on what happened today?” “I have no idea,” Oriana said, sitting heavily on the bed. “That guy was… terrifying. Almost godlike.” “Maybe if we had been more prepared…” Luna offered. “Somehow, I doubt it would have made a difference,” Oriana said. “He tossed us around like rag dolls. Acted like our powers were nothing.” “You sound shaken,” Luna said. “Aren’t you?” Oriana asked. “Yes,” Luna answered. She walked over and sat beside her. “To be honest, when he knocked me out of the air, I thought he had killed me. There was a surge of panic that flashed through my mind, and I was sure that I was dead. I’ve never been scared like that before.” Oriana put a reassuring hand on Luna’s shoulder. “You aren’t dead.” “I know,” she said. “But I don’t know if I can face that thing again.” “We may not have to,” she said. “The Professor may find a solution that will save us the trouble.” “Somehow, I doubt that,” Luna said. Oriana nodded and stood tiredly, looking over Luna’s room. Her eyes fell on a black and pink book with no title on top of her desk. “What’s that?” she asked, hoping she didn’t sound like a snoop. “It’s a journal,” Luna said. “Whose?” “Mine, I guess. I just found it in a drawer with ‘The Journal of Luna Cringe’ written at the front of it.” Oriana turned and raised an eyebrow. “Bizarre.” “You’re telling me,” Luna said, sighing. “Listen, maybe we just need to walk around and… be normal for a while,” Oriana said. “Come on.” She extended a hand, and Luna took it as she stood up. “What did you have in mind?” “Why don’t we go bug the guys a little?” Luna grinned, and the two raced out the door. Oriana pulled Luna to a stop as she spotted Logan sitting on the couch watching TV. Scott was sitting a few seats down from him in a chair. "What are we going to do?" Luna asked. "Change into a cat," Oriana said, grinning. Luna frowned the closed her eyes. Oriana smiled as the black and pink cat rubbed up against her leg. Ori picked her up and went around behind the couch. She tossed Luna up into the air, and the cat landed on Logan's lap. Luna’s animal instincts took over nearly at once as she purred and nuzzled her face against his stomach, her eyes shut blissfully. “What the…?” Logan petted her head. Luna perked up and glanced at Scott. She arched her back and let out a loud hiss, batting a clawed paw at him. Scott cringed, and Logan laughed loudly, covering his face with one hand as Luna curled up in his lap. Suddenly, she transformed back into a human and sat grinning at him, as his laughter died. He stared at her, looking rather affected by her closeness. “Something wrong?” she asked. “You don’t want to stroke me anymore?” “I, uh,” he stuttered. Luna laughed and turned her head slightly in Ori’s direction as she approached Scott silently. Oriana extended her right hand and placed it under the chair which had a metal bottom with holes. She grinned as a fire ball shot up and hit Scott in the rear. Scott went flying out of his chair holding his bum as Luna and Logan roared with laughter. Oriana calmly sat down in his chair and grinned innocently at him as he turned to her, rubbing his bottom. "Why did you do that?" "Because I needed a chair." "There is a whole couch over there." "Yes, but I wanted this chair." She grinned at him. Luna was practically dying with laughter. And, while Scott seemed miffed, he also looked amused. “I want my chair back,” he said, his voice low and filled with warning. “Come and get it,” Oriana said, crossing her legs and putting her hands behind her head. “You asked for it,” Scott said. His hand went to his visor, and thin stream of red zapped Oriana’s hip. She jumped up, rubbing her hip and glaring at him. “You could have blasted me to—” “But I didn’t,” he said. “I have complete control.” “If you sit down in that chair, you’re getting a hotfoot like you’ve never felt in your life,” she warned teasingly. “And you’ll get a hot butt,” Scott said, crossing his arms. “Already got one,” Oriana said with a wink. Scott swallowed and blushed nervously. “I meant—” “Hey, well, this was fun,” Logan said, covering for Scott for reasons even he couldn’t ascertain. “But we gotta meet with Xavier.” Luna hopped out of his lap reluctantly but felt rewarded when Logan winked at her. She smiled saucily in return and watched his powerful strides as he walked away. Scott followed after him, still blushing. Oriana looked at Luna and grinned. "Shall we eavesdrop?" Luna nodded. "Let’s." The two took off after them and raced down the halls. They waited until Logan and Scott went inside Xavier’s office, then snuck up to the door and listened in. "Have a seat," they heard Xavier say. "Why are you so tender, Scott?" "Um... well… I..." Scott stuttered. "He and Oriana had an argument over who was sitting in a chair," Logan said. Oriana had to stuff her fist in her mouth to keep from laughing. Luna was biting her lip furiously, Oriana’s struggle to keep from laughing only making her own funnier. They heard a light chuckle from Xavier, then he continued. “Cerebro’s signal was much clearer now that you’ve drawn the enemy from his hiding place,” he said. “It is as you said. He is Apocalypse, and he is immensely powerful.” “What about that psychic stuff?” Logan asked. “That guy he controlled?” “Apocalypse is not a psychic,” Xavier answered. “But he does have a very powerful influence, akin to that of a deity. I felt it just from locating him. But it was as if feeling it from the outside. I imagine that Dennis Thorbes came into close proximity to him and was greatly affected in this manner.” “How were you and the rest of us not affected?” Scott asked. “I don’t know,” Xavier said. “Perhaps… he wasn’t trying. Even things that come naturally take effort.” “Could he take control of us?” Scott asked. “Doubtful,” Xavier answered. “If you are aware of this influence, it becomes less potent. That may be all that saved me from going under his spell.” “You’re a psychic, Chuck,” Logan said with a sigh. “You got a lot more power to resist than we do.” “We all have free will, Logan. That, in itself, is great power.” “Yeah, and you could make me cluck like a chicken right now if you wanted,” Logan said with a laugh. Luna couldn’t see his face, but she imagine Professor Xavier to be smiling. He must have sensed she and Oriana outside the door, but he said nothing. She wondered now what he waited for and why. “Or I could make the two, eavesdropping women outside run in here bereft of their clothes if I wanted,” Xavier said. “But that would be in bad taste.” “Eavesdropping?” Logan growled. “Oh no,” Luna said. “I think this is our cue to leave.” Oriana nodded, and Luna ran down the hall as they heard the rattling of chairs and people standing. They skidded around the corner in time to hear Scott say, "there is no one here." Oriana and Luna went back to Ori's room and went in. Oriana flopped down on her bed in a fit on laughter. "Boy, what a day!" she said. "I don't think Scott will soon forget that little flame you gave his bum," Luna said, grinning and sitting down on the bed next to her. "Oh, I know. That was good. And Logan looked quite shocked when you changed into a woman and asked him why he did not want to stroke you anymore." The two woman burst into another fit of laughter. Luna sighed as her laughter ended. Her stomach ached from it. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had this much fun. Maybe because she’d never had this much fun at all. She grinned at Oriana as she propped herself up on one elbow. Luna’s eye strayed to the window and noted the pink and purple hues of a fresh sunset. “I think I may turn in early,” she said, then yawned rather largely. “Tired?” Oriana asked. “Yep,” Luna said. “Fighting evil will do that to you.” Oriana chuckled. “Then, you’d best get some rest.” “What about you?” Luna asked. “I’m not really that sleepy, oddly enough. I think I’ll putter around the mansion. Snoop a little.” “All right,” Luna said with a laugh. “Just don’t give Scott anymore surprises… Not without me to watch, anyway.” Oriana grinned. “I promise.” After bidding each other good night, Luna strode to her room. She closed the door, locked it, and immediately pulled her tank top of with a weary sigh. She turned and shrieked when she saw she was not alone. Her hands, still holding her top, shot to her chest. “What is wrong with you!?” she shouted. “Do you have no decency!?” Logan grinned. “Nope.” * * * * * Oriana walked out of her room and down the hall, wondering where it lead. She got to the end and found a sliding glass door. She peeked out of it, then opened it and stepped out onto the balcony before her. She gazed out at the stars and moon and smiled. She jumped as someone touched her shoulder. She turned around to see Scott grinning at her. "You could get burned sneaking up on people," Oriana said, leaning up against the railing. "Sorry, I thought you would have heard me," Scott said as Ori raised an eyebrow. "Mmmm-hmm, sure." She grinned. "How's your bum? Need a little ice?" Scott blushed. "Erm... Its okay. I've had worse." "Oh please. I barely burned you." She lifted up the side of her shirt and pushed the side of her pants down a tad. "See, I've got a red blotch where you got me, and I'm not whining." Scott seemed a little miffed at the skin she was showing him, then seemed to recover. "Yeah, yours is not where you sit." Oriana laughed. * * * * * Luna turned quickly from Logan’s uncomfortably naughty gaze and slipped her top back on. She turned back to him with unleashed anger present on her face. “What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice smoldering with irritation. “I came to ask you what the deal was with today’s little kitty cat episode,” he said, seating himself on her bed and propping his feet up. “It was Ori’s idea,” she said, blushing and fidgeting a little. “Was nuzzling me and turning back into a human her idea, too?” he asked with a quirked eyebrow. “Well… no.” Logan smirked at her for a heated moment, then sighed when she didn’t seem to be loosening up. “Anything else?” she prompted, planting her hands on her hips. “Yeah,” he said. He stood up and moved in front of her. “I never answered your question earlier.” “My question?” she reddened with recognition. “That answer is yes.” He cupped her face in his hands and brought his mouth to hers, kneading it tenderly at first, then moving with thirst. Upon instinct, her arms encircled his waist, pulling herself intimately close to him. He pulled away from her with a vulnerable sigh she barely picked up on. One she hadn’t expected of him. “Goodnight, Luna,” he said, turning to the door and walking out. Luna turned her back to the end of her bed and sat down as the feeling left her legs. What was that about? He didn’t seem to be the type of man to run from the prospect of a physical interlude with someone like herself. Was he afraid to feel? If so, they really did have something in common. * * * * * Oriana turned back to the sky. The stars twinkled at her from their velvet blanket. "I love the night," she said, leaning her elbows on the railing and placing her chin in her hands. "It is so peaceful and carefree. Beautiful," she said, taking a deep breath of the air as Scott came up beside her and leaned on the railing as well. "It’s not as beautiful as you," Scott said in a soft voice. Oriana looked up at him, not excepting him to say something like that. She smiled gently at him. "I think that’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me." She kissed his cheek, bid him goodnight, and went back to her room. As she pulled on her nightgown she wondered why she had not kissed him on the lips. "Probably because he does not seem like that kind of guy," she muttered to herself as she slipped into bed.
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