I'M STILL DYING!

(Disclaimer: Once again, Marvel Comics/KidsWB owns most of these people, with the exception of Michaela. This is the sequel to "I'm Dying!")

PROLOGUE

She was almost ready.
Michaela had been in this hellhole for two months now, and that was more than long enough. She wanted out. She wanted revenge on those who had put her here, specifically the mutant who called himself Magneto, and his children.
Her plan was coming together. One more night . . .

...and the last piece of the puzzle would be in place.

CHAPTER ONE

"Mystique?"
She groaned and rolled over, pretending not to hear.
"Can I come in?"
No, you can't come in, you idiot! It's your fault I'm sick in the first place!
"I brought you some food!"
Oh, joy.
"Fine," Mystique rasped. "Come in."

Todd Tolensky,a.k.a. Toad, tiptoed into Mystique's room....

It had been a week this time. Last time, she had been sick for over a month. She blamed it on stress--the stress of having another person in the house, the stress of being a mutant, all kinds of stress.
She really needed to see a doctor.

"You want some soup?" Toad asked her.

"What kind?"
"Chicken noodle."
She sat up and peered into the bowl. It actually looked good.
"Did you make this yourself?"
"Yeah."
"For once you've done something right." She motioned for him to go, and he got the hint. He closed the door behind him.

Downstairs, Pietro, Lance, and Fred were arguing over the remote.
"Would you keep it down?" Todd demanded. "Boss Lady's sick again."
Pietro raised an eyebrow. " Again? That's the third time this month!"

"Man, I liked it better when we only had the X-Men to worry about." Fred groaned.

"You think she's gonna die?"

"If we bug her one more time," Lance said," we're gonna die."

This wasn't right, Todd knew. Ever since that time they'd busted him and Wanda (mmm, Wanda) out of that crazy lady's holding cell, Mystique had been almost constantly sick. Almost as if . . . someone had done something to her.
He shook his head. That was silly, wasn't it?

At the Xavier Institute, meanwhile, Professor Charles Xavier had a vague sense of uneasiness as he read the latest psychological evaluation of Michaela. The psychiatrist's notes indicated that her already vengeful attitude had taken a marked turn for the worse in the last several weeks....

She is very dangerous. Too dangerous to be let out again. I must speak to--
His intercom beeped.

"Professor, it's Scott. We've got major problems."

"What kind of problems?"
"Have you turned on your TV lately?"

"No." Xavier admitted. "Why?" He hoped it wasn't what he thought it was....

"Prison officials are now confirming that an inmate at Smithers State Women's Correctional Facility has escaped, and is believed to be headed towards Bayville. Michaela Sandoval is five feet six inches tall, has brown hair, and a scar on her right upper arm. It is not known at this time if she is armed . . ."

"Dear God."

He called his students together. Most of them had already heard the news.
"Because of the danger involved, I'm afraid I'll have to ask all of you to stay on the grounds until further notice."
"Does zat mean ve don't have to go to school?" Kurt asked hopefully.
"Under the current circumstances."

"So Mrs. Frankenstein's broken out?" Kitty said.

"Apparently so," Xavier sighed. "I'll have to warn Mystique and the Brotherhood as well."

"Great." Wolverine sighed. "When it rains, it pours."

When the phone rang, Pietro was the closest to it. He pounced on it before it had even finished the first ring.
"Joe's Pool Room, Eight-Ball speaking," he quipped.
The others crowded in to see who could be calling them.
"Mystique? She's, ah, she can't come to the phone--"
"Who is it?" Lance mouthed.
"Professor Chrome-Dome," Pietro mouthed back. Into the phone he said, "Important? Okay, I'll get her, but--yeah, I'll get her. Hold on." He put the phone down and went to Mystique's room.

"Xavier?"

"He said it was important," Pietro said. Mystique didn't look good, and he wasn't sure he should be getting her up out of bed, but Xavier had stressed the "important" part.

"What's happening?"

"I don't know. You gotta come talk to him." Pietro helped her up and handed her her robe, tactfully averting his eyes.

On her way to the door,Mystique glanced at a TV news bulletin....

She recognized Michaela's picture and froze in her tracks.
No. It can't be. Don't let that crazy woman near my kids again!

But when she met Xavier at the door, his words confirmed that "the crazy lady", as Toad had so eloquently dubbed her, was on the loose again. "Michaela's escaped..."

Do we know where she is?" Mystique asked. She thought she really ought to sit down, but she didn't want to invite Xavier into her house. Borders had to be defined.
"Not as of yet. I thought it would be best if you all came to stay with us for a few days. It's not safe for you here. She does know where you live, after all."
"I . . ." Mystique began. This was the last thing she had been expecting. "I don't--"
Then she collapsed onto the floor.

Xavier turned to Pietro and said, "Call the hospital immediately."

gonna be okay, yo?" Todd asked.
"She'll be fine," Xavier said. "Where's Wanda?"
"She went to get some ice cream--" Pietro began, then stopped dead as he realized his sister was out there with a crazy woman on the loose. A crazy woman who had already tried to kill her once. "Wegottagofindher!"

With that in mind,Xavier contacted Jean Grey. Tell Wolverine that he needs to find Wanda at once and bring her to the mansion.
Jean nodded. She was aware of the danger the other girl was in.

A few minutes later, Wolverine found Wanda at the school library. "C'mon, kid, we gotta get you home fast." he told her. "Michaela's busted out of the slammer and she's out for blood."

"Michaela?" Wanda went pale when she heard that news. She still had nightmares about being kidnapped and tortured not too long ago.

"Broke out of jail this morning.Told the guards she was gonna kill us all--right before she blew them away."

"What about Boo-I mean Pietro? Is he all right?"

"He's with the Professor right now."

"If that's where we'll be safest," Wanda decided, "that's where we'll go."
She was just leaving with him when a thought struck her. "Has anyone called my father yet?"

"We're still lookin' for him..."

"She hates him most of all."
"Why? He dump her or somethin'?"
"I don't know. It happened a long time ago. They worked together, I think."

Meanwhile, as she approached the highway exit leading into Bayville, Michaela had one thought repeating through her mind: Magnus,his family,the so-called Brotherhood,the X-Men--they'll all pay.

First, though, she had to ditch this car before she got caught. She pulled over at the next rest stop and got out.

She then began searching for another vehichle to hijack--preferably one with lots of gas. She had a long way to go before she gave her enemy and his family what they had coming to them . . . .

Jackpot! There was an SUV in a far parking space with the keys in the ignition. Served the dummies right.
She looked around to make sure no one was watching, then opened the door, slipped into the driver's seat, and drove away.

"Destroy them all."she told herself."Magnus,Xavier,Wanda,Pietro,Darkholme,Cyclops,Avalanche,Jean Grey,the Brotherhood,the X-Men....destroy them all.Don't leave so much as a fingernail left of them.Kill them one by one,then turn their corpses to ashes...."