Bobby walked the length of the swimming pool, the chlorinated water lay, covered, for the night with a large blue tarp.
No one was supposed to be out this late. Bobby had a lot of thinking to do. He sat on a lawn chair facing away from the mansion. Tears came before too long. Small droplets of water that traveled down the sides of his face before falling to the ground froze in mid air.
He was lost in thought… confusion… teen angst. He didn't hear the figure approaching him stealthily from behind. Suddenly large fury arms were around him.
"Logan?" he gasped.
Not Logan. Bobby twisted in the embrace to see the face of a large blue cat staring back at him.
"How are you little one?" said the Beast in something resembling a purr.
"I'm alright sir… I think."
Bobby settled back into the large strong arms. The blue fur had a slightly affected aroma, not quite natural. Beast was very tidy when it came to hygiene; the smell was probably from scented bath salts or cologne. Bobby actually didn't care either way, but the sophistication of his companion was oddly comforting after the bizarre ruthlessness of the previous night.
"Its wolverine isn't it?" Beast whispered into Bobby's ear.
Bobby just nodded.
"He can be rather insensitive when it comes to matters of the flesh… he is a good man, even a caring person…" the Beast stopped mid sentence as if debating the truth of his own words.
"Then why? Today…" began Bobby "He acted like nothing had happened…. Like we didn't… like it was just another day…"
Before the Beast could reply three things happened. Someone screamed from behind inside the mansion. A large red beam ripped out from the hanger beneath the basketball court. And a shadow appeared over the pool area, the figure of a man.
Bobby looked up… the caster of the shadow was sillaueted against the full moon, its details indistinct, but both men below knew who it belonged to.
"Magnus! " Growled the Beast… "Magnus! What on Earth are you doing here?"
"My dear Mr. McCoy…" said a strong, sweet voice from above "… it has been too long… you've changed, I can't say It's an improvement…"
For a moment but only a moment Beast looked down at his hands, now paws with retractable claws… very imprecise tools for his work they were. That moment was all Magneto needed.
The lawn chair bent itself around the Beast snatching him up in a crushing embrace before flinging itself out across the trees some distance from the mansion.
Bobby just stood and shook with fear.
Magneto floated down beside him and gave him a scrutinizing look. "I don't believe we've had the pleasure." He cooed and stretched out his hand.
Bobby didn't know what to do… he took Magnetos hand in his… magneto leaned over slightly and kissed it in a regal gesture.
"They were right about you… you are quite beautiful young Ice Man."
"T…Thank you s-sir" stuttered Bobby.
A lead ball came out of no-where and hit Bobby in the side of the head, knocking him unconscious.
"Beautiful, but otherwise un-usefull to me at the moment I'm afraid.
Kitty stalked the halls... she'd seen the red flash of Cyclops's optic blast go off from her bedroom window as she was getting ready to go to sleep.
Quickly she made her way to the end of the hall and tripped the silent alarm, then, she held her breath and sunk through the floor.
Mystique strolled casually up to the Blackbirds control panel. She was going to have to do a number on this, and quickly before the x-men lying on the ground awoke. Cyclops was no match for her, she could handle him, she thought, but Professor Xavier would be difficult to pacify once he was aware of her presence.
She hurriedly opened up the main console and started pulling wires... connecting others here and there in various places... almost done now all she had to do was upload the virus into the mansions security system and...
"Relaying the main thrust router into the navigational circuitry... yeah I can see how that would make it difficult to fly, trying to block your escape?"
Mystique whirled around to see a young freckled girl in her pajamas holding a long engraved wooden stick of some kind standing a good two yards behind her. How had she snuck up so easily? Mystique was no dupe when it came to stealth.
The older woman sneered. "Smart girl." Her eyes flashed yellow.
"A really smart girl would have disabled the homing beacons and stolen the jet as her getaway." retorted the Shadow Cat.
Mystiques eyes narrowed. She lunged at Kitty flipping head over heals into an axe kick that would knock any normal girl unconscious to say the least. Her foot hit floor and she winced in pain for a moment.
"But your not a really smart girl are you Mystique?" said kitty standing in front of her still, completely unharmed.
Mystique kicked out trying to knock her opponents' feet out from under her. Her own leg passed through the girls two pajamaed appendages like a knife through air. "Oh..." thought Mystique "... that girl."
Kitty moved back slowly and brought her boken (which is what the stick turned out to be) up to the side of her head in an offensive back stance.
"Funny," said Kitty "I'd heard you were good."
"I'd heard you were twelve." replied the shape shifter.