Je ne sais quoi, my dear friend, Raszyk whispered to herself as she slipped down the hallway. How do I do it? It's just my natural je ne sais quoi. Of course, being invisible helped. Brushing aside one strand of her boring brown hair, she turned on the Walkie-Talkie.
"This is DeathGirl calling Firestar," she whispered into it. "Repeat, DeathGirl calling Firestar. Over."
Up in the boys' dormitory, St. John pressed the Reply button. "This is Firestar, DeathGirl," he said. "Casino and Codiac are in position. Where are you?"
"Position B," came the whispered reply. "I'm approaching Ground Zero, and Target has not yet detected me. I'm applying Enticement as we speak."
"Copy that, DeathGirl." St. John replied. "Hold on- Casino's trying to contact me. Over and out."
"Firestar, this is Casino," Gambit's voice said. "Is DeathGirl in position yet? Me and Codiac are getting restless here."
"She's in position," St. John whispered back. "Hold everything- I hear Mazda coming."
He slipped the Walkie-Talkie under his pillow and dutifully bent over his math textbook as Storm passed by the doorway. She never even looked in his direction.
"The coast is clear," St. John continued as soon as Storm had walked away. "Proceed."
In his room, Wolverine suddenly stood up straight. What is that smell? he thought. It's familiar, but I- ah! His anger flared up. I smell beer- beer and puke. Somebody's having a keg party without me! The enraged mutant jumped up. Tryin' to cut me outta the alcohol, huh? I'll show 'em! Without further ado, Wolverine snuck out of his room, keen senses alert for the smell of Guinness. He followed it down the corridor and into the conference rooms, then out of the conference rooms and into the Blackbird hangar. There he lost the scent for a while, but eventually picked it up again, heading toward Xavier's office.
"Casino calling Firestar," Gambit whispered over the Walkie-Talkie. "Target has left the area. Proceeding with removal and replacement . . . contact will return when the mission is complete. Over and out."
"Over and out," St. John said, and cut the connection. He sat there for a moment, playing with his lighter. Good thing Raszyk volunteered for this job- she was the only one who could outrun Wolverine.
Five minutes later . . .
"This is Codiac calling Firestar," Bobby Drake's voice came through. "Mission accomplished. We're heading home." Grinning, St. John ran to his window, which looked out on the central courtyard. Wolverine would be mad when he found out. Hoo boy, would he be mad.
Wolverine, meanwhile, had finally cornered the elusive scent- only to find that its source was a plastic Ziploc bag full of Guinness and old puke, left over from the last party they'd thrown. But how did it get out here? he thought to himself. Unless someone was carrying it . . . Realization dawned, horribly, as behind him the laughter of the students rang in his ears. He turned and pelted back to the school, only to find the deed done. The junior mutants were gathered around the flagpole while Gambit and Iceman stood triumphant- for there, fluttering in the breeze at the very top of the pole, were fifteen pairs of Wolverine's own Teletubby boxers.
"This is DeathGirl calling Firestar," she whispered into it. "Repeat, DeathGirl calling Firestar. Over."
Up in the boys' dormitory, St. John pressed the Reply button. "This is Firestar, DeathGirl," he said. "Casino and Codiac are in position. Where are you?"
"Position B," came the whispered reply. "I'm approaching Ground Zero, and Target has not yet detected me. I'm applying Enticement as we speak."
"Copy that, DeathGirl." St. John replied. "Hold on- Casino's trying to contact me. Over and out."
"Firestar, this is Casino," Gambit's voice said. "Is DeathGirl in position yet? Me and Codiac are getting restless here."
"She's in position," St. John whispered back. "Hold everything- I hear Mazda coming."
He slipped the Walkie-Talkie under his pillow and dutifully bent over his math textbook as Storm passed by the doorway. She never even looked in his direction.
"The coast is clear," St. John continued as soon as Storm had walked away. "Proceed."
In his room, Wolverine suddenly stood up straight. What is that smell? he thought. It's familiar, but I- ah! His anger flared up. I smell beer- beer and puke. Somebody's having a keg party without me! The enraged mutant jumped up. Tryin' to cut me outta the alcohol, huh? I'll show 'em! Without further ado, Wolverine snuck out of his room, keen senses alert for the smell of Guinness. He followed it down the corridor and into the conference rooms, then out of the conference rooms and into the Blackbird hangar. There he lost the scent for a while, but eventually picked it up again, heading toward Xavier's office.
"Casino calling Firestar," Gambit whispered over the Walkie-Talkie. "Target has left the area. Proceeding with removal and replacement . . . contact will return when the mission is complete. Over and out."
"Over and out," St. John said, and cut the connection. He sat there for a moment, playing with his lighter. Good thing Raszyk volunteered for this job- she was the only one who could outrun Wolverine.
Five minutes later . . .
"This is Codiac calling Firestar," Bobby Drake's voice came through. "Mission accomplished. We're heading home." Grinning, St. John ran to his window, which looked out on the central courtyard. Wolverine would be mad when he found out. Hoo boy, would he be mad.
Wolverine, meanwhile, had finally cornered the elusive scent- only to find that its source was a plastic Ziploc bag full of Guinness and old puke, left over from the last party they'd thrown. But how did it get out here? he thought to himself. Unless someone was carrying it . . . Realization dawned, horribly, as behind him the laughter of the students rang in his ears. He turned and pelted back to the school, only to find the deed done. The junior mutants were gathered around the flagpole while Gambit and Iceman stood triumphant- for there, fluttering in the breeze at the very top of the pole, were fifteen pairs of Wolverine's own Teletubby boxers.