Disclaimer: I don't own X-men Evolution characters so don't sue me. I have been having this weird Lance fixation lately. Especially with the woobie thing. He he. I love tormenting him! This is my first fic that's in chapters. It was only gonna be a short piece, but then something better entered my mind. So here it is! The boys go on an adventure on their own to defeat a new villain! With no help whatsoever from the X-men! God help us all…
Brotherhood Nightmare
Chapter 1: Where's My Woobie?
Lance screamed and woke up shaking. Another nightmare. He didn't get it; he almost never had nightmares. But for the past week he'd been having them every night. He reached out for his secret weapon against the darkness, his childhood blanket. The only item he had from his parents. The only proof he had that they had ever loved him.
Instead he found nothing.
"What?" He turned on the light and looked underneath his pillow. It wasn't there. It was there last night. "Where is it?" He asked, his voice shaking. He started tearing apart the bed sheets looking for it. "WHERE IS IT! It's not here. It's not here! It's not here! If it's not here then that means…"
He ran out of his room and started pounding on the doors of the other Brotherhood members. "EVERYBODY UP! GET OUT HERE NOW!"
"What's going on?" Tabitha yawned sleepily.
"Oh man what is it Lance," Pietro grumbled. "I'm trying to get some sleep here!"
"Okay!" Lance stood in the hall shaking. "I know one of you has it! Just give it back to me and nobody gets hurt!"
"What?" Todd snapped.
"You know what!" Lance snapped. "Something very important is missing! It is not where it should be."
"If you're talking about your brain you lost that months ago," Todd said.
"Stow it Toad!" Lance grabbed Todd by the shirt and glared into his eyes.
"Hey leggo of me!" Todd yelped. "I didn't take nothin'!"
"No," Lance let go of Todd shaking. "No you wouldn't do it. You've got your frog. You don't need to do it. You'd never take it. And Freddy you wouldn't take it either…"
"Take what?" Todd asked, exasperated. Then it hit him. "Wait, are you talking about your baby blanket?"
"IT'S A WOOBIE!" Lance screamed. "A WOOBIE!"
"Oh no," Fred groaned.
"That's what this is about?" Pietro slapped his head. "You lost your stupid blanket? Who are you Linus from Peanuts?"
"It's not funny Pietro!" Lance snapped. "My parents gave me that! It's the only thing I have left from them! It's the only thing I have that…Never mind! Just give me back my woobie and nobody gets hurt!"
"I didn't take your stupid woobie and neither did anybody else," Pietro snapped.
"Look I just need it okay!" Lance shouted panicking. "Where is it?" Without thinking he focused his powers and the entire house began to shake.
"Lance stop it!" Pietro cried out.
"Yeah quit shaking the place man!" Fred shouted.
"Lance you're getting sawdust in my hair!" Tabitha covered her head.
"Quit bringing down the house yo!" Todd shouted.
Lance stopped, panting with minor exhaustion. "I want it back!" He shouted. "I need it back! Where is it?" He ran into Todd's room. He ran back out. "No way am I gonna find anything in there! Pietro's room!" He ran in there.
"Man he's really freaked," Fred watched him. "I've never seen him like this. He must have really had a bad dream this time. A real bad dream."
"You know I've been having bad dreams too," Todd fidgeted.
"So have I," Pietro thought.
"WHERE'S MY WOOBIE!" Lance ran back and forth from room to room.
"I had a couple too," Fred nodded. "But I thought it was indigestion."
"What about Tabitha?" Todd asked. "You think she's had any?"
"GET OUT OF MY ROOM YOU LUNATIC! I DON'T HAVE YOUR STUPID WOOBIE!" She screamed.
"WHERE IS IT!" Lance shouted. The sound of stuff being tossed around was heard.
"Something tells me the nightmares are only limited to us," Pietro said. "Then again, it could be her that's causing them!"
"ROCKY YOU HAVE THREE SECONDS TO PUT MY STUFF DOWN BEFORE I FRY YOUR BUTT!"
"But what could be causing them yo?" Todd scratched his head.
"I think it's time for careful analysis! This looks like a job for…" Pietro made a quick change into a suit. "Doctor Maximoff, psychiatrist!"
"Oh great," Fred groaned. "Now they're both nuts!"
"AGGGGHHHHH!" Suddenly the house began to shake.
"Not again!" Todd shouted.
"Oh man, we gotta stop him before he kills all of us!" Fred covered his head as bits of the ceiling rained down.
"Rocky stop it!" Tabitha shouted. "Stop it! Guys!"
"Only one thing to do," Pietro shouted. "Freddy! Do it!"
"Sorry man," Fred gulped. "But this is for your own good!" He slapped Lance hard, knocking him out cold.
"Okay," Pietro brushed himself off. "Blob you carry Lance downstairs. Tabby you look for his stupid woobie. Knowing Lance he put it someplace and just forgot about it! Everyone, to the couch!" He led the procession.
Tabitha grumbled, "Sometimes I wonder if leaving the X-Men was such a good idea."
"Okay, let's put him on the couch," Pietro motioned. "Now let's get to the bottom of this!" He started walking back and forth. "Now what do we know?"
"Uh…" Fred raised his hand.
"Let me rephrase that," Pietro sighed. "What do we know about these nightmares? I first started having nightmares the day after Christmas. You guys?"
"Yeah that sounds about right," Todd nodded. "You Freddy?"
"That sounds about right," Fred scratched his head. "I think. I'm not very good at remembering dreams. Wait, there was this one great dream I had a couple of months ago! I was at the Superbowl and I was the star Quarterback and all these cheerleaders…"
"FRED!" Pietro snapped. "We're talking about nightmares, not fantasies!"
"But I liked that dream!" Fred pouted.
"Okay can we get back on track here?" Todd sighed. "I mean, what were your nightmares about? Mine were when I was little." He gave out an involuntary shudder.
"Mine too," Pietro said.
"Yeah," Fred remembered. "I remember. I was with the other kids, but they laughed at me cause I was different. Used to laugh and call me names. They never let me join in any games. Oh wait that was the Rudolph Christmas special."
"Freddy…" Pietro groaned.
"No no, wait a minute," Fred held up his hands. "That happened to me too."
"I'll bet Lance has been having those dreams too," Pietro nodded.
"Speaking of which," Todd indicated.
Lance moaned as he woke up. His eyes were wide open. "No!" He screamed shaking violently.
"Hey Lance take it easy!" Fred said. "We're here. It was just a dream."
"No! No!" Lance's eyes darted around. The house started to tremble slightly.
"Lance don't freak out or nothin'!" Todd said putting his hands up. "Oh man, here we go again!"
"Yeah Lance, think happy thoughts," Fred told him. "Um…cheeseburgers, cotton candy…fries… ice cream."
"That's what you like Fred!" Todd told him.
"Hey everybody likes ice cream!" Fred huffed.
"I'll handle this," Pietro said. "Lance, think about Kitty."
"Kitty?" He blinked as if this was the first word he ever heard.
"That's right. Think of Kitty," Pietro held up a picture of Kitty. "See Kitty? Pretty Kitty."
"Kitty," Lance sighed taking the picture, rocking himself back and forth. "Kitty."
"That's right Lance," Pietro spoke as if speaking to a little kid. "Think about Kitty. Pretty Kitty. Nice Kitty."
"Kitty," Lance relaxed focusing on the picture.
"Okay I think he's gonna be fine for now," Pietro told the others. "For once his stupid fascination with the X-Geek came in handy."
"Yeah but what's causing the nightmares?" Todd asked. "Hey, you think that Xavier guy's behind this? He can go into minds!"
"Yeah, maybe he did something to Lance when he was with the X-Geeks," Fred reasoned.
"Nah," Pietro shook his head. "As much as I'd love to pin this on old Baldy, it's not his style. Plus if he was gonna do it, he'd have done something to us long ago. Something else is causing this."
"Maybe the X-Jerks are having bad dreams too?" Todd asked. "Maybe we should ask them?"
"Oh yeah," Pietro rolled his eyes. "Sure, we'll just call up Xavier and ask: Hi there! We're all having bad dreams at the Brotherhood house. Are you guys having bad dreams too? If not, could you help us solve our problem? Oh yeah, they're gonna love that!"
"Yeah we can't ask them," Todd nodded. "Besides, most of them aren't even in town. They're all gone for Christmas break! And I heard that Xavier's Cerebro thing is busted so that's gonna be no help to us!"
"In other words we gotta figure this out ourselves," Lance's voice broke in.
"Welcome back Lance," Pietro smirked.
"Yeah," Lance fidgeted sheepishly. "Sorry guys, I …kinda went a little crazy back there I know, but when I get a dream that bad…I just can't seem to snap out of it unless…um…"
"Hey it's okay," Fred shrugged. "We understand. We all have our little crutches. When I have a bad dream I eat."
"Really I never would have guessed," Pietro smirked.
"Lance I found your stupid woobie," Tabitha came downstairs holding it. "You know where it was? Drying in the bathroom!"
"What?" Lance blanched. "Oh yeah, I got a little blood on it the other night when I woke up from my nightmare. I accidentally scratched myself. Thanks," He sheepishly took the woobie and began stroking it absently.
"Now that this crisis is over can we all go back to bed?" Tabitha snarled.
"Not just yet Tabby," Pietro said. "Have you had any nightmares lately?"
"If you don't count my life," She smirked. Then thought. "Well, actually now that you mention it I have been having some disturbing dreams lately."
"About what?" Todd asked.
"None of your business!" She snapped.
"Let me guess, something from your past you don't want dredged up," Pietro folded his arms.
"How did you know that?" Tabitha blanched.
"That's what's been happening to all of us!" Todd told her. "Somebody's behind this! Maybe some evil mutant out to get us!"
"Or maybe it's the non stop showing of horror movies and chili dogs you've been eating every night!" Tabitha groaned.
"It's a conspiracy I tell you!" Todd pounded his fist into his palm. "A conspiracy!"
"No it isn't!" Tabitha got into his face.
"Yes it is!" Todd shot back.
"No it isn't!"
"Yes it is!'
"No!"
"Yes!"
"I'm gonna get a snack," Fred got up and went to the kitchen.
"Blob this is kind of important!" Pietro exclaimed.
"So?" Fred asked. "That doesn't mean we have to discuss this on an empty stomach. I wonder if we have any graham crackers left?"
"It is not a conspiracy!" Tabitha shouted at Todd.
"Yes it is!" Todd shot back. "Of course it is! Why would you say that unless…wait! You're in on it aren't you?"
"What?" Tabitha exclaimed.
"Kitty," Lance rocked back and forth in his seat, stroking the fabric of his woobie and looking at Kitty's picture.
"Oh you are so out of your little froggy mind you know that?" Tabitha spat.
"Oh really, then why are you so eager for us to ignore the facts!" Todd shot back.
"Hey do we have any chocolate syrup left?" Fred called out from the kitchen.
"The only fact around here is that you are a paranoid little twerp!" Tabitha yelled.
"How long have you been spying on us? Who are you working for?" Todd grabbed a flashlight and shone it in her face.
"Get that light outta my eyes before I sock you in the jaw!" Tabitha yelled.
"What's going on?" Todd hopped up and down in anger. "I want the truth!"
"I want Kitty," Lance moaned.
"Anybody want marshmallows?" Fred asked.
"Oh man," Pietro put his head in his hands. "If someone is behind this we are so dead!"
"For the last time Speedy there is no one behind anything!" Tabitha shouted as she and Todd started fighting on the floor.
From a distance a shadowy figure watched them through the cameras he had secretly planted inside the house. He shook his head and smirked, "Idiots…"