A/N : For Cat Girl, who requests a Toddler!Nightcrawler. After this I'm probably going to be taking a break as I'm going away and may not have an internet connection for a couple of weeks. I'll still be writing though, and will do my best to upload.

Flicking through the thin sheaf of papers she'd been handed, Jean looked more and more sceptical as she read, finally throwing it down on the table and saying

"Very funny. Now where's the real mission papers?"

"Strange as it may sound, I'm afraid they are the real papers" the Professor told her apologetically, "And yes, I know this sounds ridiculous, but it bears investigation"

Jean gave him a long, incredulous look. Picked up the file again, flipped to one of the pages, holding it up as she said

"Seriously? A tattoo parlour?" she asked, "What's so interesting about kids making poor life choices?"

"It's been at the centre of some very anomalous activity," he explained patiently, "Some very Mutant-like activity in fact. I need you to find out more – not just you of course"

"Oh great. Who do I have the pleasure of taking with me?"

"Kurt, Jubilation and Peter"

"No way" The file was flung back down again, and Jean stood, folded her arms huffily and set her lips. "A dumb mission, I can deal with. But I'm not taking the Three Stooges with me"

"Jean –"

"Remember Monaco?" she demanded, "Jubilation and Kurt got lost, and when we found them he was on the run from a bunch of mobsters and she'd accidentally got married. And don't even get me started on the trouble Speedy gets us all into!"

"I only want you to co-ordinate them" Xavier tried to pacify her, "They can complete the investigation, but I need you to be a stable base for them. A level head, if you will. I really do need Kurt for this, and as for the others – can you imagine anyone else in the school who would look less out of place in a tattoo parlour?"

Jean thought about it for a moment, had to admit that he was right. Jubilation looked like exactly the sort of girl who would end up with an ill-advised tattoo one day, even if she actually wasn't. As for Peter, he looked like a rock star at times, she wasn't even sure he didn't already have a little ink on him somewhere.

"Fine" she said at last. Gathered up her file, about to leave when she had been knocked back into her seat by a sudden force, the door of the study banging open. Pulling her hair away from where it had been whipped over her face, she saw Peter leaning over the desk, Xavier wearing that exasperated face he almost always had when the speedster was around, particularly when he had just come tearing into his study without knocking. Again.

"I know I should have knocked, Hi Jean, yes I'm sorry, this is important" he babbled, "Where's Dr McCoy? I really, *really* have to find him"

"What have you done?" Xavier asked in a tone of weary patience, "Or rather, what have you done now?"

"Kurt's fault, all of it. I did tell him not to play with stuff, 'specially not in the lab, and I thought Hank would have got rid of that machine after what happened but I guess it was too good to throw out with him being a huge tech nerd and all but –"

Xavier held up a hand for silence. There was that familiar headache, building up behind his eyes. Even blocking his thoughts, Peter was too much when he was agitated, and he looked extremely agitated right now

"First question, what were you doing in the laboratory?"

"Detention, remember? For throwing paper planes in class? Hank made me and Kurt clean out the floatation tank. It's gross in there man, seriously, have you –"

"Second question, what happened to Kurt?"

"He found that machine. Y'know, the… uh… Toddlerator?"

"The what?" Jean cut in. Peter was in front of her in a moment, looking guilty and scared

"You know when my Dad was looking after my little cousin? Yeah, I don't have a Little Cousin Peter. That was me, a Toddlerised me. Thanks for playing blocks by the way, it was cool"

"You mean, you –"

"Yes. Me. And Kurt. Kurt has now also been Toddlerised. I swear it wasn't my fault though, I was just there, and you know what he's like, I mean he's worse than me sometimes, which is really saying something I know. Which is why I really need to find Hank, so –"

"The mission…" Jean said, as if the thought had just occurred to her, "What about the mission?"

Xavier thought for a moment, looked between his two students, before at last he had waved a hand in an I give up gesture and simply said

"We need a teleporter. I'm afraid you'll have to take Kurt anyway. How old is he, Peter?"

"Heck if I know, six maybe? seven? I have no idea. He's small and blue and cute and… well"

"What?" Jean growled at him. He shrank back a little

"He doesn't speak any English yet" he squeaked, "Don't suppose you speak German, Jeanie?"

"No," the Professor answered for her, "but I know who does. Jean, you'll be pleased to know that I have a way of both making this work and keeping Peter out of mischief"

"And that is?"

"You're taking his father too"