Chapter Three

Tatooine

 

Luke’s landspeeder flew across the Tatooine desert, wondering if he really should have let Threepio be the driver. But then again, this was his droid counterpart they were talking about. Why shouldn’t the droid drive?

Luke narrowed his eyes, then teleported a while ahead. He saw the droid, then waved his hand to Threepio telling him to stop. Then he walked back up to Artoo. "Where do you think you’re going?" he asked.

The droid beeped in reply. "What do you mean, Obi-Wan Kenobi?" a prim voice asked from behind, and Luke sighed as Threepio joined the conversation. "Luke is your master, not this Kenobi!"

Artoo made a rude noise at Threepio. Wisely, Luke cut in before Threepio could reply. "It’s fine, let’s just get him back to the landspeeder," he said.

He had just turned to leave when Artoo began squealing in worry and rocking back and forth on his legs. Luke frowned. "What’s wrong?" he asked.

Threepio looked around at the top of the cliffs. "He says that there are life forms operating on top of the cliffs," he reported, then gave an electronic gasp. "Oh, my!"

Luke whirled, grabbing the rifle he had in the back of the landspeeder. When he looked up, he too gasped in surprise.

Standing on top of the cliff was the look-alike Camie that he kept telling himself was not Camie. She was watching them, and when she saw that Artoo was squealing, she backed away. "Who in hell is that?" Luke muttered.

Then there was the sound of a low moan from the top of the cliffs. Luke whirled the other way, looking up. "Sand People," he muttered. He took off at a run, then looked to Threepio behind him. "Come on!" he told the droid before running off again.

 ***

Danielle watched in curiosity as her fellow mutant and his protocol droid started moving off towards the Tusken Raiders’ camp. "He would not," she murmured in disbelief.

But he did. Both of them began to come closer and closer to the camp. She raised a hand to the comlink Chewbacca – or Beast, as he was known in the X-Men – had personally fashioned. "Pyro? Beast?" she asked softly.

There was a soft roar, then Han’s reply. "We’re here."

"I’m moving in," she told them. "I keep hearing something about an ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ that sounds familiar."

"Go for it. We’ll be waiting here."

"Storm out."

She held her arms out and felt the familiar feeling of blood rushing through her body. She had rehearsed this action many times before after she, Han, and Chewbacca had personally fashioned their X-Men suits so people couldn’t see how they usually were.

She heard a faint whistling, then smiled as up and down her body, pieces of her black X-Men armor began fastening itself around her. Finally, she felt the cloak she wore fastened around her neck and onto her wrists came on. "That never gets old," she said happily as lifted up into the sky so she could see everything that was going to happen.

*** 

Luke waved Threepio down when he was still a good ways away from the Tusken Raiders. Seemingly almost glad, Threepio stooped so that he was hidden from view. Luke concentrated on getting as close to the Tusken Raiders as possible, and to his surprise, he teleported a few good meters closer. He had a great view!

"Thank goodness for that mutation," he murmured.

He raised his macrobinoculars, taking a look down to see the Tusken Raiders huddled around their banthas. He frowned. "Not a lot of them . . . " he murmured.

Suddenly, he heard a roar from behind him, and turned. He gasped, seeing that there was a Tusken Raider standing right over him. Quickly, he raised a hand. Ice shot out, smacking the Tusken right in the face. Shocked, the raider roared and fell away, but then Luke felt a slam to the back of his head, and he fell into the ground. He groaned, rolling over onto his back to face the squad of Tusken Raiders that had snuck up on him. Wearily, he tried to get up, but then he heard something that no one had ever heard on Tatooine before.

Was that thunder?

The Tusken Raiders were obviously stunned as well. They started fanning out, looking at the darkening sky in shock and fear. At least Luke thought it was shock and fear. Their faces were covered.

"Wonder what happens when desert savages get hit by lightning."

Luke turned, shocked to see that the girl he had mistaken for Camie was standing in front of them. Her long brown hair was fanned out behind her, but her eyes were glowing pearly white. She was dressed in a black armored suit. What really made Luke feel glad for her help was when he saw the X’s wrapped across the belt she wore. She shrugged casually, then held her hands out. "Same thing as everyone else, I’m guessing," she commented.

Lightning lanced the ground all around her. The Tuskens screamed and tried to run, but the girl gave them no chance. Lightning struck each and every one of the squad – all ten of them. As soon as she confirmed they were dead, the glow from her eyes faded and the sky cleared.

Luke groaned, reaching a hand up to his head. Like he had thought, the cut was beginning to go away.

The girl ran up to him, dropping down beside him. "Are you all right?" she asked worriedly.

Luke nodded, sitting up. The girl gripped his arm and helped him. "I’m fine," he replied. "I can heal."

"So that’s one of your mutations."

Luke blinked. "How did you – ?" he sputtered.

The girl smiled. "I’m one as well. Magnetism, shape shifting, and weather control. I go by – "

"Storm," Luke finished. "You’re one of the X-Men."

Storm blinked. "Well, I see our name’s popular around Tatooine."

"Spoken in awe by everyone," Luke assured her, as she helped him stand. "But my name’s Luke. Luke Skywalker."

Storm smiled. "Then I suppose you should call me by my real name. Danielle Al Thor."

Luke smiled as well, holding his hand out. "Thanks for saving my life."

"You’re welcome," Danielle replied, shaking. "Most of the times I’m called Storm. My fellow X-Men have joked about calling me Magneta and Mystique."

"Mystique’s good," Luke told her. "How do you not like that?"

Danielle looked at him, then her form changed. Standing in front of Luke now was a wamp rat, and then she switched again into a full-grown krayt dragon. Then she changed once again, and this time it was not Camie standing in front of him. This girl had long dark hair streaked with white and gray, her eyes stormy gray. Luke chuckled. "No pun intended," he told her, "but your eyes are really stormy."

Danielle grinned. "That’s why Pyro and Beast call me Storm. What are you called?"

Luke was taken aback. "Me?"

"Yes, you," Danielle replied.

Luke shuffled awkwardly on his feet. "No one else really knows . . . "

"You do this really weird thing when you teleport. You’re surrounded by black smoke. Did you know that?"

Luke blinked. "No," he replied, shaking his head. "I never did."

"Call yourself Nightcrawler," she suggested.

Luke smirked. "Um, no."

Danielle shrugged. "Wolverine because of the healing?"

Luke snorted. "I am not a Wolverine."

Danielle threw her hands up in the air. "What about Iceman? That’s all I’ve got."

Luke considered, then nodded. "That’s good."

"Then I’m out of – " She blinked, then looked at Luke in surprise. "You like that?"

"Not too complicated," Luke told her. "And I don’t sound like an animal either."

Danielle barked in laughter. "At least I got something." Then she stopped, putting a hand on Luke’s arm. "I know you came with the two droids, but who’s that?"

Luke stopped, too. Artoo and Threepio were back at the landspeeder like he had expected. But sitting with them in a dark brown robe was an old man, talking to Artoo.

Suddenly, without introductions, Luke knew who it was. "The man Artoo claims to know," he whispered. "Obi-Wan Kenobi."

***

So not exactly like the movie, but Luke had better be grateful that Danielle saved his sorry butt from those Tusken Raiders! :)

Dedicated to SugarcoatedDarkness for being a great talker and a funny person.  :)

Sorry it's short, but most likely the parts when they're on the Death Star will be a lot longer. Then they'll join up with the little lady from the beginning and form the actual team!

Another video on the side. I'm sorry, but I love the X-Men, and this was just too cute. :) Danielle's on the side, too. She's the new OC, she's just there to wrap everything up. She's there for someone else too . . .

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