Project X [18+] [Fanfiction]

Chapter X: Looming Danger

It had been a few months since my position in the X-Men took me away from home. Most of our recent tasks had been localized to our city, and rarely did we even have to travel a few states over in the Blackbird. In many ways it was nice; it allowed those of us on the team to focus on building a more normal life. Or at least, as close as we could get, given what we were. It was difficult to have a relationship or to even have close friends not on the team when you were travelling everywhere from the Savage Lands to the Mojoverse on any given occasion.

During the lull of travel, it seemed that our group celebrated the diversity in different ways. Some decided to get a normal job in the city to keep fresh the idea that we were meant to work with humans, not threaten them. Some took the time to catch up on their reading and work, like Dr. McCoy. Some, like myself, took the opportunity to build up personal relationships that otherwise would feel too strained given the rigors of our lifestyle.

Granted, I had been pushed into my desire to build a relationship against my own stubborn nature, but I was still pleased with what the results had been. Shifter and I had forged something unique, and though words like "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" never quite seemed to fit the description of what we were, there was a clear bond that had been building over the weeks. It was pleasant to wake up in the morning to know I would see him during that day, sometimes even as soon as when I would roll over in bed. Though my lessons and private sessions with the headmistress would still continue, I was well on my way to forming something that others experienced but I had always denied. I do not believe the transition would have been quite so smooth had the past few weeks been filled with the sort of chaos we so often are called to resolve.

As a result, I was a bit hesitant when we were given our orders that afternoon.

"Taiwan?" I asked, seated on Shifter's desk. I was dressed in my typical attire; fresh from a meeting with the entirety of the X-Men. My eyes narrowed as I watched him move about the room, packing things up into a small suitcase. "She was not forthcoming about the details. I can not imagine we are travelling overseas for a trivial matter."

"Well of course not, Laura." Shifter looked back to me with a smirk after tossing a shirt into his suitcase. It was a mess; nothing was folded properly and he was making poor utilization of his travel space. I held my tongue, knowing that few people held my passion for efficiency. "Are they ever trivial?"

"Juggernaut is." I responded simply, and rolled my head from side to side, stretching out my neck. "And the Wrecking Crew. And to be perfectly honest, I did not understand why everyone was so afraid of Blackheart."

Shifter just laughed as he drew near to me, and his hands went to the sides of my head. I stopped fidgeting as he bowed my head down, and pressed a light kiss to the bridge of my nose.

"Well...trivial to you isn't the same thing, is it?" He chuckled, and stepped back to packing. "What are you worried about? There's plenty of us that are staying behind to protect the city, and you know that if things ever get really bad there's plenty of other heroes on call. Aren't you excited to visit a new place? Have you ever been to Taipei?"

"Not to my knowledge." I responded calmly, my eyes narrow as I continued to trace my lover's movements. Finally, my irritation at his packing became too great, and I hopped from the desk to march over to his suitcase. Without a word I began to pull clothing from it and fold it precisely, saving him space so he could bring all that he needed. "It is possible I travelled there to assassinate someone but was conditioned to have no memory of it."