1. Prologue:Something Wicked This Way Comes

Prologue: Something Wicked This Way Comes

To say life was never as it seemed always felt like the ultimate understatement to Charlie.

She know better than to jump into a fight without knowing what the enemy was capable of; it was one of the most important things she had learned over the years as the Princess of Thieves, to know who you were going up against before you act.

Yet here she was in this dump of a place about facing an enemy she barely even know about but she had to they had her best friend.

Charlie know that here would be a lot of problems if she was found rescuing Digit and there would be a lot of questions she didn't want to answer just yet.

Charlie did know however that the truth or at least most of it could very well come out soon.


	2. Network Café

Do not own

**Early that day...**

**20 min. Outside Bayville- 6:59 a.m.**

It's too early.

As a thief who love the night Charlie was accustomed to falling asleep and not functioning at this time of day.

The only thing that helped this problem is that Charlie hadn't had to wake up and had just stayed up through the night to get to New York.

Charlie's mutation helped a bit with the lack of sleep at least, but the trip from Paris had taken a lot out of her.

Charlie really wished she had never called Digit before getting on the plain.

Charlie should have known Digit would pull a guilt trip with her being so close to Bayville after not have seen her for 6 months.

But Charlie did call Digit and was now riding down the highway in her newly accrued motorcycle (courtesy of the jerk from the airport who almost hit her with it) with new plates going to Bayville to meet up with best (guilt tripping) friend.

Well truth be told Digits isn't the only reason why Charlie was visiting Bayville, but Charlie wasn't about to tell Digit that.

It would just give Digit another reason for Charlie to join the X-Teens.

**Bayville: Outside the Network Café - 7:15 a.m.**

Digit, who is sadly a morning person much the Charlie's displeasure, was having her morning coffee at the Network Café.

The café was the one place you could almost always find Digit if she wasn't busy at school, tinkering in her father's workshop, or with the X-Teens.

Charlie liked the café for 3 reason (2 of which Digit doesn't know about) it served great coffee &amp; pastries, would be a great place to steal a person's identity from, and was the best place to keep Digit distracted from trying to talk her into attending Xavier's.

Coffee was the most wonderful thing Charlie could think about at the moment.

Not only would coffee wake Charlie up but, it would give her more energy to spend the day with Digit.

After all Charlie would have been asleep in a nice comfy hotel room if she hadn't told Digit she was going to be in New York.

Which knowing their luck they would definitely need.

Charlie didn't drink Coffee unless she was tired or when her mom wasn't around sense she tended to do things more abnormal than usual when she did.

Charlie park her new motorcycle and walked to the window of the café, were she could see Digit who looked way too awake for a Saturday Morning, through the window of the café working on her... well it's something Digit most likely invented.

Digit hadn't seen Charlie yet because if Digit had Charlie would have been talked into a hug by now and Charlie wanted to keep it that way, at least until she was safely in the chair in front of Digit anyway.

So Charlie walk to the back of the café to go through the back door.

The door was locked but that didn't stop Charlie, she just simple picked the lock and that didn't take more than 3 seconds.

Charlie quickly locked the door back and made her way to the front of the café without being seen.

Digit was look out the window most likely trying to find Charlie, so she didn't notice when Charlie took the seat in front of her.

Digit turn back to her back to whatever it was she had most likely invented and let out a startled scream when she saw Charlie.

Now Charlie was pretty sure that Digit was contemplating whether to choke or hug her (Charlie hoped Digit wouldn't hug her).

Charlie and Digits had the kind of friendship that most people didn't understand.

Not only did they act different from each other they looked like the type of people who would never get along.

Charlie was the type of person who wouldn't care if you were scared of her and enjoyed working outside of society's rules.

Digit was the goody two shoes type of girl next door type mixed with a hint of mad scientist.

Digit could always see the best in people even when they didn't deserve it, which is something Charlie could never do.

Charlie had long, wavy hair, in an almost spiky like layers, the bottom layers of her hair is black, the middle layers of her hair are red and her top layers are black again giving a dark almost gothic look.

With dangerous looking eyes of green that had a tendency to literally look like fire and the mostly dark colored clothes, Charlie was the type of person most people would normally keep away from.

Digit was just about the opposite of Charlie.

She had light brownish red colored skin and has dark brown hair that was braided with various colored glass beads, her eye color was like blue-green tie-die because of her mutation and her clothes were about as colorful as her.

Even though Charlie and Digit are different types of people, didn't live in the same state and one of them didn't like to talk about their personal lives they didn't like to talk about, they were best friends.

Digit must have decided to just let it go about the whole scaring her thing and decided to be ha be happy about Charlie being here.

Beside Digit had long since learned to tolerate Charlie's more interesting and somewhat necessary habits.

After all Digit know firsthand what it felt like to be on the receiving end of Charlie's mutation and realized that her mutation was nothing compared to what Charlie when through with hers.

Digit hope that on day Charlie will help her get more comfortable around other people, not that most people noticed Charlie's discomfort since she always kept her face impassive, it was a habit.

"Ace stop being so quiet all the time or so help me I force you to wear that bell" Digit says.

Charlie just laughs thinking of Digits 16th birthday present to her and say "Go ahead and try."

"Just you wait, Oh! So how was Paris!?" Digit said with such excitement that Charlie figure matched her mom's description of Kitty and Jubilee on a shopping trip.

"It was ok. Just like the same old boring non challenging business my dad had me checking into." Well the business would have been boring if Charm hadn't shown up an hour before the job was done.

Charm could turn just about anything into a disaster if you got the wrong end of her luck.

Not that Charm wanted to give Charlie the bad luck in the first place it just happens sometimes.

"Sorry to hear that I would have though Paris would have been more exciting" Digit said in a somewhat suspicious tone trying to figure out what Charlie wasn't telling her.

Digit has known Charlie way too long not to suspect when Charlie was lying and know that nothing was truly boring when Charlie was involved in anything.

Thought Charlie had never said anything to Digit about what the family business was about, Digit had her suspension that Charlie was doing something illegal.

Mostly because if she asks Charlie will just tell her the watered down version of things.

"So how have you been and what on earth is that contraption." Charlie said just to get the explanation over with and to distract Digit about Paris.

"Good and it's a ... (A lot of long boring science)... (Waitress comes, Charlie orders coffee, Digit never seen Charlie without coffee so she doesn't stop her)... (More science) mobilized atom splitter... (More long boring science) ... training problems with a mutant with shield at the mansion... (Scientific explanation of shield) ... atom splitter will help her get passed it. "

Anyway the explanation took 48 minutes, 2 cups coffee, Charlie was working on the 3rd, and had words in it that for Charlie understand would have to channel Digits psych.

Digits has been trying to get Charlie to go visit the mansion and try out for the X-Teens for years, Charlie always refuses much to Digit's dislike.

"Now will you tell me what else happened in Paris", well distracting Digit worked for a little while.

"Well ..." Charlie couldn't finish because she was intruded by the loud crashing sound of the café window being smashed inward.

Everyone in the café jumped from there sets and looked where the window use to be (no screaming yet mostly because everyone's in shock but Charlie, who has decided it would be a great time to keep drinking her coffee while standing up).

Standing in the glass were 3 mutants (now everyone in the cafe is screaming and trying to get out except for Digit and Charlie).


	3. Limited Reason

Authors note: I'd like to thank tx peppa for the reviewing and for the subjections on how to improve the story. Also thank you Umbra8191 adding me to your favorites. By the way I've never been good at spelling, so there's a good chance your will see more missed spelled words. I think Spell Check is amazing! But it doesn't always help so if there a big spelling problem get let me know.

By the way if you want amazing check out my good friend .52 fanfiction, epically if you like the Hunger Games. When she reviewed she threatened world domination if I write more. I know it's annoying for an author not to post but I'm just not a fast writer and I'm trying to get 3 other stories ready to post soon, so update will be slow.

So far I trying to write 2 other Romy's along with this one and the first few Chapters are about ready to be posted. One of the stories I'm writing is sort of a prequel to Ace to Past to explain how Rogue and Gambit end up together. It will be called The Twisted Fairy Tale of The Thieves. The other Romy is going to be based on the movie. It will be something I'm writing is with .52. about what we think would happen if Rogue time travel back in time and meet Remy. It will be called The Mardi Gras Gambit.

A little about this story:

I thought I'd tell you that Charlie does have a southern accent she just hides it so other people don't pay that much attention to her. It's something about Charlie that Digit does know about. (I'll try my best to write in the accents)

In the last chapter 3 mutants had come through the window of the café. The mutants are henchmen of Dr. Matrix, (the main villain in this story so far) he's a telepath who can predict what can happen, but ironically his plans almost never work out. Nobody in the cafe knows his or the henchmen's names and powers except for Digit because she fights them regularly as an X-Teen.

The 3 henchmen who just invaded the café are- (wearing a green body suits by the way)

Vapor: She can teleport anywhere. She has red skin.

10 Arms: I can't think of anything else to call him so that his name till I ether think of a better name for him or someone comes up with a good name and is nice enough to tell me. He's strong and has 10 arms.

Death-Strike: His arms glow and turn into swords, he doesn't talk much. Asian-American and spiky hair. Has a short tempered. I have something planned for him latter. Try to see if you can figure it out.

Chapter 3: Limited Reason

Network Café- 8:25 a.m.

Charlie's very surprised that most of the X's (Charlie's abbreviation for X-Men and X-Teens) still don't know about her. Yeah Charlie and her family kept to themselves (most of the time anyway), but you would think the X's would notice at least a little of the trouble that finds her (or her family) whenever she's in town (or anywhere really). Charlie herself had never meet most of the X's, from what she heard about them she really wanted to ether.

Every normal person in the café was freaking out at the sight of the 3 overly hostile mutants, who decided that using the door would be an inconvenience. While the people were rushing to the back door (which Charlie had locked back after entering the café) Digit pushes the panic button on her communicator (Charlie doesn't notice this). Charlie (who was still drinking her coffee) took the time to slip into a darker area if the cafe (curtsies of the broken light) and evaluate the mutants.

The first thing Charlie notice had to be the women who had red skin, green body suit (which made Charlie think of a really cheesy Christmas ornament about an elf) with raven black hair and a disturbing smile. Standing next to Elffica (Vapor) was the big muscular guy with 10 arms who had this kind of look confused look on his face that you would expect to show up on a little kid face if someone tried to calculus to them. The so far unarmed Asian-American teen with spiked multie-colored hair that made him look like he was trying to ripe off an anime character. Just looked like he was board and somewhat angry.

Charlie noticed that Spikey (Death-Strike) took in what was around him better than the others, he was more observant then he looked. The thief in Charlie told her that she was going to have to watch him. As far as Charlie knows Spikey was the only one to notice her.

From the looks of things it was the guy with the 10 arms that broke the window judging from the blow and healing cuts on his arms. The window which was bullet proof glass.

Charlie thinks it hilarious that the café is so easy to break into (unless of course you were one of people trying to get out of the café, serially not one of thoughts people could pick a lock. They had to wait for the manager to open the door) and uses built proof glass. Charlie thinks Professor X must have paid for it the last time the café was destroyed (which happened during Charlie's last visit).

What Charlie was trying to figure out was why the mutations at the cafe were. The Network Café is the last place Charlie would want to rob by force in fact in was just plane idiotic to rob. The cafe was a block away from the police station, there are way better places in town that has more cash income, not to mention the X's lived within walking distance of the town and could deal with a mutation problem in no time.

That's when Charlie got it, they had to be here because of the X's or just one pacific X-Teen. Digit

Charlie's suspicions were soon conformed when Elffica's eyes zeroed in on Digit and smirked. Just before Charlie could switch on her powers, Elffica was gone and so was Digit. Great Elffica was a teleporter. Great Charlie hoped the only good thing that happened today wasn't just the Coffee.

Charlie was mad she want nothing more than to make the remaining multination pay for taking her best friend, but she didn't. Charlie know it wouldn't do her any good to use her mutation at full force, even if it took information from people's minds there would be too much to go through and problem not enough time to go through it. Besides it wasn't time to give away all her aces. Though her anger would problem give her away as a mutation and her Southern heritage a little. Her years of thief training and stubbornness would help her keep a straight face.

Charlie's know her best chance at finding Digit wouldn't be to take it by force (or at least not in the way she wanted to), that her best bet was to get them or 10 arms thinking. Something told her would be hard to read.

10 arms had started laughing like a maniac, while destroying everything in sight. He still hadn't noticed her. Spikey had walked close to the bake door (the people had finally left the cafe) probably to get close to a less obvious exit (smart). Spiky hadn't let 10 arms know she was here and didn't seem to be in a hurry to say anything about it. Spiky looked angrier, Charlie had a feeling he might actually care about what was happening. Charlie know he was up to something, but she hadn't quite figured out what yet or what was he playing at.

10 arms picked up a table and look at the coffee machine, getting ready to throw. Charlie decided that it was time to be bold but not to bold. She took a deep breath, a sip of her coffee and stepped forward out of the shadows.

"Does this escapade even have a point?" Charlie said. She had turned on Mavericks telepathy. Charlie was hoping to get 10 arms thinking if that was possible. Charlie is just using the telepathy on 10 arms and not Spiky because she thinks he won't notice her in his brain.

10 arms stopped what he was doing. He looked confused most likely because he didn't recognize the voice and/or didn't know what escapade meant. 10 arms looked at Charlie, freaked out, while dropping the table. Spikey's expression went from being anger to entrusted, he still didn't say anything. Charlie figured her anger would give away her mutation. If she didn't focus on controlling her emotions her emerald green eyes had a tendency to take on the appearance of a fiery ash green inferno. No the kind of thing that puts people at ease. Charlie didn't care.

"Ex...-Teen. Great." 10 arms stammered out, he looked a little disturbed.

Charlie raised a brow to that. Wasn't every day see got mistaken for a goody two-shoes.

"Not quite suguar." Charlie said her anger letting her accent slip out a little on the sugar. She'd have to watch that.

10 arms straightened up "then why you here"

Charlie lifted her cup up a little saying "coffee"

"Seriously though that girls gone why are you still here"

"I um ... Hey that's none of your business "unluckily for him he had just unknowingly just told her enough to find Digit. Which meant she could start betting him up, even though it probably would been smarter to wait. Charlie lived by a philosophy that you could only be so smart for so long, besides they were in on the plain to kidnap her best friend.

So Charlie set down her coffee on a near by table and started switching from telepathy to a more defensive psych when her 6th since went off. Charlie and Spiky fastly moved away from their spots just barely missing getting hit by some kind of fire blast. Ten arms was hit.

Charlie look back at the spot she was just in. Her coffee was destroyed.

Extra Authors note: Charlie acts crazier with coffee imagine taking it away.


	4. Probably Not The Best Idea

Author's note: I'd like to thank tx peppa for the reviewing again. It might seem sad (or crazy, problem crazy) that I killed off the coffee but it had to be done. Don't worry though I have big plans for that coffee, its sacrifice will not go in vain, ok maybe a little I'm not a big fan of coffee never liked the stuff. I'll let you know if that ever changes. But if you're a coffee lovers and can't believe that someone could not like coffee think about it this way there's more coffee for you.

My somewhat crazy friend (who isn't crazy in some way though) .52 has some great fan fictions (my favorites are dead hearts and pâle souvenir: faded memory) and just so you know Sierra I wouldn't be calling you crazy if you hadn't done 2 things: threaten world domination and say I was evil so many times.

Like when you told me I was evil bring a slice of great (you .52 said so yourself) homemade Germaine Chocolate cake with homemade cream cheese icing (anyone else hungry now). Hum well it might have been evil to put that in there. Oh well.

Long name much meaning (did a famous person ever say that? I don't know?).

Chapter 4: Probably Not The Best Idea

Charlie looked to the front of the café to see who had just attack her and more importantly, just destroyed her coffee.

There was a guy that looked about her age standing there and no one else.

Charlie knew he was an X-Teen member by his dark naive and green uniform.

She had seen the uniform only three times before but it wasn't something someone could easily forget.

He had orange-red flame like hair with piercing blue eye that reminded Charlie of something she just couldn't quite remember.

His hands started to glow with fire and he had an evil like smirk on his face.

The smirk didn't bother Charlie one bit though, she had seen worse.

10 arms (who had completely forgotten that Charlie was there by then) recovered quickly from the blast and started throwing things at the fire flinger.

Spiky looked at Charlie and said in a low but genital voice, "I may not know who you are, but I suggest you do yourself a favor and leave before you get yourself hurt".

Yep something's was disturbingly wrong with this guy.

Before Charlie could tell Spiky just what he could do with his advice, he turn to the fire flinger and his arms started glowing and turned into swords.

Spiky started walking to the direction of the fire flinger.

Charlie knew one thing for sure, no matter how disturbing she found this guy, she definitely going to absorbing him to get his mutation.

Well maybe later, she had other plans now.

Charlie already had information about where Digit was going to be, from the idiot with the 10 arms.

But Charlie wasn't going to leave the cafe just yet.

As luck would have it Spiky and 10 arms were keeping (likely by accident) the X-Teen from attacking Charlie again.

The X-Teen was too busy with them to attack Charlie.

In fact it looked like the fire flinger wasn't worried about Charlie.

That was a big mistake on the fire flinger's part.

Because (and this is unfortunately for the fire flinger) his back was turned to Charlie's side of the cafe that Charlie was in.

Charlie pulled out her bo-staff and in one fluid movement knocking the fire flinger to the ground, from behind.

He didn't even see it coming.

The fire flingers blazing (not literally) blue eyes found Charlie's.

You know when someone with fire like eyes takes the time to start beating you up most people don't smile.

In Charlie experience that means the person was completely nuts if they had positive reaction to her fire eyes.

Well the fire flinger didn't just smile, he started smiling like a maniac when he noticed Charlie's eyes.

OK now Charlie thought the guy was a little creepy, she still had meet worse.

The fire flinger must have thought that Charlie was distracted by his smile because 5 seconds later he tried to set Charlie on fire again.

It didn't work out for him.

Charlie dodged away from the blast with no problems, even going as far as to drop down and punch the fire flinger hard and fast toward his face.

Or at least tried to.

The fire flinger managed to roll away from the punch at the last minute.

Fire flinger sent another fireball at Charlie while he got back on his feet.

But Charlie managed to twirl the fire away with the help of her bo-staff.

There's eyes locked and strangely enough he was still smiling. Then Charlie dodge the incoming fire ball the fire flinger just sent her way.

Well she could say one thing about him, he had guts that made it hard to believe he was a Goody Two Shoes X-Teens.

Meaning no offence to Digit (though she could be a bit of a Goody Two Shoes sometimes) or her brother (she didn't understand why he liked Xavier's so much especially since he wouldn't tell them who he was).

Charlie quickly brought her staff to flip over not only the fire ball but the fight flinger.

Before the fire flinger could even turn around Charlie had knocked him off his feet again.

He moved his leg to try to take her down.

Charlie quickly stepped over his swinging leg, then dodged again to avoid the inferno coming at her from the side.

The fire flinger got up again and started circling fire around her.

He thought he had her trapped.

Well he had another thing coming.

Charlie leaped over and into the air over his head with her staff.

Just about taking his feet out from under him, when she hear.

"HEY! WHAT HAPPEN TO THE COFFEE PLACE?" Screamed a very familiar voice that caused everyone in the cafe to turn to it except Charlie, who know that it could only be Charm.

"CHARLIE WHAT DID YOU DO!"

Yep that was definitely Charm.

Charlie put her staff up knowing that her fight with the X-Teen was most likely over and a much different fight with Charm was about to begin.

Charlie had no idea how she managed to find her so quickly, but then again Charlie never could figure out how Charm managed to find anyone most of the time.

Because if Charm didn't have the gift of luck, Charlie was sure that she would get lost just walking from down the street.

But Charm's gift was luck which was a very unfortunately for Charlie a lot of times.

Because Charm tended to accidentally give some of the people who Charlie was about to unknowingly make a part of her varying business deals, good luck when Charm was around them.

Charlie tensely looked at the all so familiar voice and simply pretty face.

The kind that was beautiful but looked plain at a small gains.

Charm loved it because it was the perfect face for an assassin and Charm was almost the perfect assassin.

The only reason Charm wasn't the perfect assassin was that she preferred to do thing big, loud and with a bang.

Which was the other reason the somewhat antisocial thief didn't like her around on jobs, otherwise Charm was like an older irresponsible sister to Charlie.

Charm looked around and immediately guessed what was going on.

"Charlie what happened to Digit, don't you usually meet her here and wait have you had coffee?!

"No" said Charlie very comely.

Charm narrowed her eyes at Charlie "mmhmm shore then why you are here."

"I'm trying to find out where they took Digit" Charlie said pointing at the guy with 10 arms who looked really amused and the guy with spiky hair who looked amused.

"Really you haven't figured it out by now? You normally do and why are you attacking an X-Teen?"

"What he started it." Charlie point at the X-Teen who look almost just as confused as 10 arm.

"How did he start it exactly?"

"How did you find me exactly?"

"Well wait that's not the point."

"Well what is the point?"

"You're supposed to be finding and going after Digit"

"I told you that's what I was doing" Charlie try to explain again.

But Charm had decided to stop listening to Charlie by then.

After all she had known Charlie long enough to at least notice when Charlie was lying and know that Charlie would most likely never admit it.

So Charm decided to simply take matters into her own hand and her ever so lovely grappling hook.

With luck on her side Charm made a run for Charlie pulling her away from the stalemated fight and into the air in a speed that could make quicksilver proud.

Leaving the all three boys in the cafe to fight nothing but themselves again, which 10 arms was more than happy to start back up.

Charlie only stayed with Charm long enough to agree that going back into the fight and that going after Digit best thing to do right now.

But Charlie soon left Charm by herself claiming that it would be better for Digit to getting out safely (which was true even considering the coffee, jetlag and practically no sleep) than Charm helping (plus Charlie was mad about be kidnaping by Charm).

Charm didn't like the idea but Charlie didn't give her much choice by using her own luck against her.

By the time Charm got out of the hole in the wall (completely unhurt) Charlie was long gone


End file.
