HLJ

Author's Notes:

I'd like to welcome all of you to the first, in what I hope to be, a long series of stories posted on this profile on .

I'll start with the standard disclaimer: "I own neither Digimon, nor X-men: Evolution." If I did…I'd…own it, I don't know, I could rant on this for a while, but you want a story.

So, I offer you this story, and a warm invitation both to review it and to visit my page sometime. I can't launch a beta-profile at the time of this posting, but I'll gladly beta-read some stories if you want an opinion. (To see my preferences/rules, please visit my profile page.)

Now, on with the show: (Cue cool theme song)

*Note: This story takes place after the end of Tamers. The events of Runaway Locomon did not occur in this story.

New Mutants – Wildfire

Four years…it's been four years since we defeated the D-Reaper and the Tamers said goodbye to our Digimon. And that was only the beginning of what was going to happen in our lives. See, in one night, our world was turned upside-down faster than when we received our partners. For three days the world knew of us, knew of our battle with the D-Reaper and how we had "saved the world." But then we blinked, and like a shadow when you shine a light at it… their memories were disappeared.

Only a handful of us remained, unable to believe that the world had simply forgotten, I mean, cities were still in ruin. We didn't know how. Even Yamaki, with the resources he could muster, which were very few considering the reason for his job was believed to have "never existed," couldn't discover what the cause was. Everyone who hadn't had pretty much direct contact with a digimon themselves…just forgot they existed.

But that was before we found out about the Mutants. Humans with powerful abilities, some powerful enough to make people forget the living nightmare they had just gone through with the monstrous program that ravaged the world, thinking they were doing everyone a favor. But we couldn't just forget; we had far more of a connection. And I think that's just what happened, but hey, what do I know, I'm just a kid.

It's been four years, and I managed to keep track of a little bit of the others' personal lives. Takato and Kazu stayed pretty much the same, still hung around at their old haunts, a few members short. Henry and Kenta were called away to a fancy "Institute" in America, Xavier something or other. Jeri's family ended up having to move due to problems with her father's business…she had been improving since she came to terms with Leomon's death, but no one's heard from her in years. As for Rika, well, she seems to have split ties with the others for the last few months, keeping mostly to herself since Henry left. And Ryo, that dashing charmer, he did what he does best, get called away. Where, they didn't know. He just disappeared.

It's the end of summer though, and change is in the air. So I'll leave you to see just what happened in the lives of the Tamers.

Simply…

The Wanderer

vvvvv

"So you really grew up around here Henry?"

The blue-haired teen had been watching out of the window of the car, lost in memory, and the question caught him off guard. He turned to his travelling companion, an older, red-haired girl known as Jean Grey.

"Yeah," he replied, subconsciously adjusting the black gloves he wore, "I can't believe it's almost been a year. Things haven't changed as much as I'd thought they would."

"So where are we supposed to, like, find your friend?" asked the other occupant of the backseat, a 'chipper' girl, about Henry's age. Kitty had literally begged them to come when she found out they were travelling to Japan.

"Kazu said they were hanging out in the park today at Guilm…" Henry stopped himself abruptly, silently chastising himself for almost saying the saurian-digimon's name. "At a place where we used to hang out." he corrected.

"Just let me know where to left you off Flashbulb," came a growling voice from the driver's seat.

"Right there Professor Logan," said the boy, pointing to where a small concrete path entered the trees. The man began to move through traffic, while Professor Xavier turned to the boy.

"Remember that if you run into trouble just use your communicator," said the older man, "There's a chance the Brotherhood may have noticed our repeated returns to this city."

"So what," said Kitty, "Could they even get here if they knew?"

"The Brotherhood has far more reach than you'd think," replied Professor Xavier, "To underestimate them would be a mistake."

"Your stop," said Logan, stopping the car next to the path.

"Thank you Sensei," came the reply as the boy climbed out, before he was quickly followed, Kitty phasing through Jean and out the door.

"I'll go with him," said the girl, "It might help to have backup if Lance and the others show up."

"And a chance to see the city," said Professor Xavier, tapping his forehead lightly.

"That's not fair," she pouted slightly, but smiled when she saw the matching one on the Professor's face.

"We may be able to enjoy some sights afterward," said the man, "But remember, Takato is our main priority." The pair nodded and Henry shut the car door, watching as Logan fought his way back into the traffic.

"They'll be this way," said Henry, walking into the shadows of the park, his teammate and friend following.

A few minutes later…

The pair finally found themselves at a set of concrete steps, leading to a small shack. The rust covered gateway was open and the pair began to ascend when…

"Henry!" came a shout from above them, and a form jumped out of the bushes. Without thinking, the boy shifted to the left and brought down a hand on his assailant, knocking them to the ground.

"Ow."

They heard laughter and turned to see another boy emerge from the bushes. The chuckling boy was taller than Henry, with brown hair that was drawn into little spike, visible above a visor hat. He was actually muscular in appearance, wearing a sleeveless t-shirt and shorts.

"Kazu," said Henry with a smile.

"Dude, you might have knocked Chumley out cold," was the boy's response as he looked at the form on the ground.

"Don't tell me," said the teen. His "assailant" was Takato Matsuki, the person they had been sent to find. The boy groaned and got up from the ground, rubbing his back as he looked at him.

"You got faster," the boy groaned, as Henry got the first look at his friend in almost a year. Takato had grown his hair longer, and it now curved down his head, with red stripes now contrasting the brown of his hair. His physique seemed to show the boy had been following Kazu to the gym, but his attire remained similar to his favorite style, a hoodie and slacks.

"Sorry," said Henry, rubbing his head, "I've been training more than usual at the Institute."

"So you told him we were coming," he said to Kazu.

"Not a word," replied the boy, "It's one of his…gifts." He made air quotes as he said this last word.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me," he said to Kazu, before turning to his old friend, "You should have seen the story he concocted to get me here," said Takato with a smile, before trying to imitate his friend's voice, "The world is full of mutants. You're one of them."

"I was telling the truth Chumley," said Kazu, his voice flat…as flat as it could get with the boy.

"Yeah right," said Takato, before noticing Kitty for the first time, "Is this your girl…"

"Dude," interrupted Kazu, "You shot a fireball!" Takato immediately stopped talking and turned to his friend.

"What?"

"Yesterday in Gym," Kazu said to Henry, "He was pitching and he literally threw a fireball. Lucky I was catching or someone might have thought it wasn't a trick."

"So let me get this straight," said Takato, his tone guarded, "I threw a fireball, and you caught it and weren't burned at all. Have you thought about this story?"

"Chumley," said Kazu in a serious tone, "I want you to watch carefully." He held up his right hand, the back facing his friend. It was silent for a moment before metal plating, rust red, passed out of his sleeve and covered it, forming a gauntlet that the boy now flexed, offering to his friend.

"Is this a trick?" asked Takato, tapping the metal and hearing a solid sound back.

"No," said Henry, stepping forward, "It's like Kazu said, we're mutants. That's what the Xavier Institute is. They recruit people like us and show us how to control our powers, to protect ourselves and others, like…" he glanced back at Kitty, "Like the old days."

"Is that what caused this?" said Takato, whispering to his friend, "We just all get mutant powers now instead of digimon?"

"I have a theory on why we have these powers, but I'm still figuring out some things. But our powers do definitely seem to correspond to our partners."

"Man, I am like, so the odd one out here," thought Kitty, leaning against a tree as she watched the three talk.

"Are they ever gonna stop talking?" asked a voice next to her.

"I don't know Lance…Lance!" said Kitty, turning and seeing the boy resting, leaning on one arm against the tree.

"Really?" said Henry, as the group had heard Kitty's shout and turned to see.

"Yep, now get ready to have your world rocked," the boy than lifted a hand, his eyes rolling back into his head. Seconds later, the ground began to rumble and shake and the group had to focus on even staying standing.

"I'm up," came a quick voice, and the ground stopped rumbling. Seconds later a green-blue blur shot into the group, leaving Henry and Kitty flat on the ground.

"So which one of you is the new mutant?" asked the boy known as Lance, as the blur continued to spin circles around Henry and Kitty, neither of them able to get up.

"Better question, what are you supposed to be?" was Kazu's reply.

"We're the Brotherhood, and we're the mutants who get to use our powers however we want," he answered, "No rules or fancy schools."

"I heard about you," said the boy, "Apparently you can't win a battle for all that 'lack of rules.'" This was followed by a green flash as the blur was knocked over, revealing a white-haired teen wearing a skin-tight outfit and Henry holding up an ungloved hand, which had two green stripes on it, both glowing like a neon sign.

The ground began to rumble soon and Takato blinked, only to see Kazu, red armor covering his body, moving forward, his heavier weight enabling him to move close enough to leap forward and tackle the boy, stopping the movement flat out. Takato then sensed the speedster had gotten up and then, his vision lost focus, as if he was staring down a long tunnel, before finally disappearing…

vvvvv

Henry and Kitty had managed to get back to their feet just as Quicksilver did. However, they all had to immediately drop to the ground again to avoid a large fireball that shot directly over their head. Henry looked to see a sight that brought back memories of his tamer-days.

Takato now stood almost crouched, his eyes a golden color and his pupils reduced to slits. A feral growl seemed to emanate from the boy and he locked eyes with Pietro, a fireball appearing in each hand.

"Try and catch me Sparky," said the boy, running a circle around the fire-wielding teen, watching as he tried to turn fast enough to follow him. The feral mutant apparently had enough and simply began lobbing fireballs after him, producing a smoking circle behind the boy.

"This is getting too hot for me. I'm out of here!" said Quicksilver as Takato began to get more accurate, one fireball missing him only because he stopped dead in his tracks. The boy took off in a blur as Takato leapt at the spot where he was.

"Pietro!" called Avalanche before looking around and running off after him.

Sirens began to fill the air, as the smoke coming from the battle appeared to get someone's attention, but that was not what held the X-men's. True to his partner's rage-modes, Takato may have lost sight of their enemies, but he still wanted to fight, his vision colored red. He slowly advanced toward the pair before a pair of rust-colored arms caught him in a bear hug, lifting him off the ground with augmented strength.

"Easy Chumley," said Kazu as he felt his friend thrashing. The group retreated in the trees as the sirens got closer, Kazu carrying the still struggling mutant, before he went limp.

"What's going on?" came Takato's voice, shaking with the up-down motion.

"I'll explain later," was Henry's reply as Kazu flipped him onto his shoulder and kept running, not wanting to lose any time…

The teens finally stopped when they had gotten far enough away to not hear the sirens, and they sat down, panting. Kazu's armor disappeared with the sound of grinding metal and he fell back, looking up at the sky.

"Is this what they have you do in America?" he asked Henry with a laugh.

"How long could you do that?" Takato interrupted before the boy could answer.

"Turn into the Metal Wonder," said Kazu, "I've been working on it for months, it happened about the same time as Henry here."

"Then why weren't you called to this 'Institute'?"

"Honestly…" started Kazu, "We decided to spy on you. Wait to see when you gained an ability too."

"Excuse me…" interrupted Kitty, before Takato could respond to this revelation, though the temperature did seem to increase slightly, "Can anyone like, tell me why no one seems to care about what just happened?"

Kazu and Henry stopped, realizing just what she was saying. Takato had literally pulled a Guilmon, going into some kind of strange "battle-rage" and they hadn't even cared. The memory of the saurian-digimon was still burned inside them…and they were just…used to the quick rages. Meanwhile Takato had simply blanked, not having a clue what she was talking about.

"What do you mean?" asked the boy, "What happened?"

"You went feral dude," said Kazu, "You scared those other two away like it was nothing."

Takato fell back to the ground, his mind flashing back to his digimon partner. He could easily remember the good times and adventures, but the bad times remained fixed in his memory as well. The "rages" when Guilmon first digivolved, the loss of himself in battles, and even…Megidramon. That was what Takato remembered of the dark side of his tamer days, and he had really gotten those attributes from his partner, than he could cause serious damage to people around him.

"You're worried it might happen more frequently?" asked Henry, reading his friend, "Well, that's part of what Professor Xavier does at the Institute; he helps us learn to control it. I mean, I wear gloves because my hands glow randomly; and there's another X-men, Scott, he can't take his glasses off without blasting whatever's in front of him. But the Professor is teaching us how to control our powers, so we don't hurt anyone."

"Do you really think he can help this?" asked Takato, loosely cupping his hand and feeling it warm, almost as if fire was waiting to come out.

"He can help," said Kitty, "I used to wake up in whatever room was beneath mine when my powers first appeared. But now, it's like, easy as walking."

"Come on, I guarantee the Professor can help," said Henry.

"It's better than being stuck around here," said Kazu, "I can't wait to go. Free trip to America."

"Then I guess I'll do it," said Takato with a slight smile, seeing his friend's points, "…But how am I going to explain this to Mom and Dad?"

"That's what the Professor is doing right now," said Henry as they got up, "In fact, we should be heading to your house soon if you want to pack."

"Awesome!" said Kazu, as they began to walk toward the boy's house, "Now Henry, can you tell me more about this Blackbird? I can't wait to get a ride…"

vvvvvv

"I can't believe you just bailed on me!" Lance growled at his teammate.

"Hey, you weren't the one who almost got toasted!" snapped the boy right back, noticing that the ground of the airport had begun to rumble as they made their way toward a thin staircase. However both were far more aware of the piercing stare of their shape-shifting leader from the door of the private jet it led up to.

"I see you're alone," said the woman, tapping a heel in her main illusion, the principal of Bayville High.

"You could have brought the rest of the team," said Pietro, "We were outnumbered and the kid was a psychopath."

"We've lost Rogue and we haven't gotten a new mutant yet," said Mystique to herself, but loud enough so that her "students" could hear, "I wonder why I don't just do these things myself."

"You wouldn't have gotten him," said a voice with a laugh behind it, coming from the top of the plane. The group looked up to see only a shifting shadow, before a form reappeared on the wing, within easy sight of them all.

The figure resolved to be a teenage girl, with hair the same color as the shadows, pulled back into a loose ponytail. Her attire was simple, a purple t-shirt and worn-out jeans, hidden partially beneath a brown trenchcoat.

"And why is that?" asked Mystique, sensing the girl was going to give them more than just a speech.

"Takato will go with his friends," she replied, "He would have ended up with them even if your boys would have won that thing they called a fight."

"Hey!" stepped up Lance, only to get a clicking noise from Mystique, causing him to stand and seethe.

"I assume you came here for more reasons than just to tell us what they did wrong," said the woman, adjusting her glasses.

"You're right," replied the girl, "I heard that you're recruiting."

"I believe we may just have a position for a lady of your skills," said Mystique, motioning to the door of the jet, "Let's talk, Ms…"

"Nonaka," said the girl as she leapt from the wing to the stairs, landing perfectly, "Rika Nonaka."