Ordeal 46

Jean Grey didn't think even Quicksilver could move as fast as the Dazzler. When she, and the others, stepped out of the building she nearly tackled Nightcrawler to the ground. Embracing him in a hug so tight that, if he were a cartoon character, Jean bet his head would balloon several sizes its normal size.

"You know how good it is to see a man who's an actual DECENT human being?" Then she kissed him on the cheek. And hugged him some more. Kurt Wagner had NO problem with this.

Dazzler then hugged and kissed Wolverine. And then Cyclops. (Who blushed. Making Jean giggle.) Dazz had the good sense to stop at the Black Panther and just do a former bow.

"Your Majesty."

T'Challa opened up his arms. "I don't mind."

But before Ali could respond a gentle but FIRM hand clamped on her shoulder. It was, of course, Storm's. "Mind if I cut in?"

Dazzler giggled, slightly embarrassed. "Oh no no not a bit."

"Raincheck." Said T'Challa.

"Raincheck." Dazzler replied and skipped away.

"That girl is giddy." The Panther said.

"Can't really blame her." Storm replied.

Then THEY embraced.

"Everyone but Gambit gets a hug?" The aforementioned Gambit playfully complained. "I'm hurt."

"I don't wanna be." Dazzler said. "Rogue would kill me."

"No Ah wouldn't." Rougue replied. "Yore th' touchy feelie type, Ali. Ah know thet. But YOU, Mistah. Lettin' someone else hug you b'fore me? Ah'd break ev'ry bone in yore body."

And then they embraced.

"I don't do hugs, Kurt, sorry." Psylocke said. But then. "The bloody hell I don't. C'mere, you."

And so it went.



Jean Grey took to the air and flew over the wilds of Africa. Where miles away from the hidden compound, less than half a mile from the Indian Ocean, were two aircraft. Although only one could still fly. The other was the wreck of the Blackbird. The functional aircraft, parked directly behind the Blackbird, was the Flying Fishbowl. That was the nickname given to the odd looking contraption captured by the X-Men years ago. Back when Jean Grey was a mini-skirted teenager called Marvel Girl. Lord that seemed like a whole lifetime ago.

As the former Marvel Girl sailed over the jungle part of her was also telepathically listening in on the big reunion back at the compound.



"Of course we didn't have any." Dazzler said to Wolverine and Nightcrawler. "We left for Wakanda with nothing but our uniforms and good intentions. But then I remembered the rip in the hull where the wings were sheared off. You could see the luggage compartment. So I spoke up and told them 'Our identification's in our purses back in the luggage compartment.' And when they checked the plane they saw the hole and assumed the purses, and everything else not strapped down, were thrown overboard during the crash.

"Clever." Kurt Wagner responded. "And then?"

"They..." Dazzler's cheerful expression changed. Hardened. "They got...personal. Fondling us. Hitting us."

Her voice quivered. "Being total ass-apes."

It took Ali a moment to compose herself. Clearly it wasn't a pleasent recollection. Kurt put his hand on her shoulder. She placed her hand over his and smiled as she gently squeezed it. It was nice to be touched by a man who was a friend and not a threat. "Then they marched us to their truck and brought us here. They..."

Again the voice quivered and Ali started to tear. "s-stripped us naked and tied us to poles...."

"Darlin'." Wolverine said. "If ya don't wanna talk about..."

"S'all right." She replied sniffling and wiping the tear away. "All past." But if she ever found herself alone with that Spencer jerk...slapping her and punching her the way he did while she was bound and unable to defend herself...she'd make him see the light as PAINFULLY as possible. She took a deep breath, went into "performer mode" and continued.

"They questioned me first. I guess because I was the only one to speak to them earlier. They wanted to know about the Blackbird and the costumes they found in our luggage.

"I told them we were wrestlers and those were our wrestling costumes."

"Wrestlers?" Wolverine and Nightcrawler said at once.

Ali actually smiled at that. "Storm and the others reacted the same way. It was the first thing to pop into my head. I told them we were part of an all female group called Glamorous Grapplers X-Treme and that were were on our way to a bout in Sydney, Austrailia. Our plane developed engine trouble and we crashed. I explained that our plane was a prototype Executive Class Shuttle built by Tony Stark. He was one of the GGX's biggest backers. He loaned it to us for publicity to attract potential buyers before putting it on the market. Company C.E.Os and other V.I.P types."

"Wait a minute." Wolverine interrupted. "Surely ya knew they'd check out such a story."

"Under normal conditions yes. BUT, as it turned out we overheard two of the men talking as we rode in the truck. One of them was growsing about there being no internet. No cable. They couldn't even use their cell phones because they were so far out in the boonies. These guys were completely cut off from civilization. Or so I thought at the time.

"I was making it up as I went. I knew couldn't just tell them the truth. That we were were the X-Men."

"So." Said Nightcrawler. "You told them you were wrestlers. Then what?"

"One of them asked me about my character. What kind of wrestler was I. I said I was a rock star diva type called 'Superstar.' My shtick was I'd sing and dance before a bout. And if I won...More singing and dancing."

"Sounds like a real annoying character." Logan said. He was teasing her. But to his shock, and Nightcrawler's amusment, she AGREED with him.

"Exactly. Mine was a bad girl character people love to see get beat up because she IS so annoying.

"Then I was asked if I could actually sing and dance."

"I can see where this is goin'." Wolverine said. This time serious.

"Me too." Replied Nightcrawler.

"Yeah. Next thing I knew..."





"AHHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Rogue stared daggers at Gambit.

"Whut th' hell's so danged funny?"

"You." He continued to laugh. "Dressed as a CHEERLEADER."

"An' whut th' hell's so danged funny about me bein' dressed as a cheerleadah?"

"Mon Cheri. I know you. You are the type to beat up cheerleaders and steal their lunch money."

"HOW DARE YOU! AH NEVAH...Well there was that one. But she was a real bitch and had it comin'. But Ah NEVAH stole her lunch money!"

"Okay." Gambit held up his hands in surrender. "Pax. Pax. So what happened after you put on the costumes?"

"Aftah a while some o' Harpah's goons came in and took Dazzlah. They tied up Ororo an' Betsy an' made me strip outta mah costume. Ah was taken t'these stocks outside.

"Ah tell you, Remy, Ah was so shor Lightengale was bein' set up t'fail. And bound up the way Ah was Ah'd git it from BOTH ends. But damn if'n she didn't do it. Even without her powahs she dazzled them. She saved us from bein' raped thet first night."

"And the following nights too I wager. What did you do the second night?"

"We," She cleared her throat. "Wrestled."

"Wrestled?"

"Yeah. We wrestled."

"Mon Cheri. You're blushing."

WE JEST WRESTLED, OKAY?"

He held up his hands in surrender again. "As you say."

"I had to French Betsy."




"WHAT!!!???"

Jean Grey nearly fell out of the sky when she telepathically heard that. She barely missed crashing through the canopy of trees. Returning to "cruising altitude" she continued on and continued to listen in. Rogue went into graphic detail what happened that night.

Finally she reached the Fishbowl and landed. Just as Rogue got to the part about the barrels.

"EWWW, GROSS!"

Jean seriously debated not listening anymore. But no. She HAD to know what happened next. Meanwhile she boarded the ship.

When it was decided to make the Fishbowl an official part of the fleet the bouncing barefoot bastion of big-worded brilliance, Henry P. McCoy---AKA the (less hairy) Beast, installed a mini-Cerebro. And this is where the former Marvel Girl was headed. She and Scott, Cyclops, had a hunch about the unexplained power loss of their teammates, Storm, Rogue, Psylocke and Dazzler. Thank Heaven it was temporary. But still. Anything that could not only knock out every mechanical device of an entire city but also mutant powers was something to take very seriously. Especially if the cause proved to be hostile.

Jean sat at the Cerebro console and began her research.

She shivered when Rogue mentioned what happened in the bathtub.

Commission for thanks for the commission.