A/N: This probably won't make any sense to any of you, but oh well. No like, no read. Me no own, you no sue. Roll it.


Monkey walked through the halls of the Acceledrome, humming to himself. It was an overcast, gloomy afternoon in July, but he didn't let the weather get him down. All he did was act natural, like he always did, and stroll casually into the control room.

The control room was a large, open space located on the catwalk above the garage, and Lani Tam could almost always be found there. Monkey admittedly fancied her, but didn't have the courage to make a move, so the Maniac mechanic settled for worshipping her from afar.

In any case, today the control room was not serving its usual function. Today, the large screen that was filled with research and models of the Teku's and Metal Maniacs' cars was being used as a normal TV. Gathered around the screen were Shirako, Nolo, Vert, Karma, Taro and Lani, and for some odd reason they were watching CNN.

Monkey raised an eyebrow and approached the other racers.

"Hey, guys, what are ya—"

"Shhh"

He shut up and gazed at the screen, listening. Wolf Blitzer was reporting on an incident that had occurred just outside of Phoenix, Arizona, the night before.

"—one of whom is stable condition. If you're just tuning in, folks, last night in a park in a suburb of Phoenix, an angry mob chased down and savagely attacked five teenage mutant girls, leaving only one survivor. Sixteen year-old Melissa McClurg was hospitalized last night for severe external and internal injuries. McClurg and four other girls were discovered as mutants, and then pursued by a large group of townspeople. The other four girls were beaten and burned, leaving McClurg as the sole survivor. Several of the arrested assailants have been identified as members of Friends Of Humanity, an anti-mutant hate group—"

Monkey could feel his heart catch in his chest. But maybe it wasn't her...

A of the girl picture appeared onscreen; she was fair skinned with hazel eyes and curly orange red hair that fell past her shoulders, with a long slender face.

Mel.

Taro furrowed his brow for a moment.

"Hey, Monkey, aren't you from Phoenix?" he asked, receiving no answer. "Monkey?"

He looked about him; Monkey was nowhere to be found, and they heard an engine starting up. Karma and Shirako ran to the railing on the edge of the catwalk just in time to see Tork cussing up a blue streak as Monkey sped off in Hollowback, Rollin' Thunder having been recently destroyed. They ran down to the garage, wondering what was going on.

"Ahh, my dose," the Metal Maniac whined, covering his bleeding nose and shaking a fist at the now empty entrance of the Acceledrome. "What the hell is his problem?"

Taro sidled up. "What happened?"

"I don't know, man; Monkey just ran up and said 'gimme your keys'. I wouldn't, so he punched me." He paused, whimpering slightly as he held his face in his hands. "Damn, but I didn't know he could hit like that. It's like running into a brick wall! Whaddaya think he's up to?"

Taro's answer was concise, as always. He never said more than needed to be said. "We were watching the news. A few girls got killed in Phoenix. Mutant girls. Hey, does Monkey have a sister?"

"Yeah, her name's Melissa or somethin'. Why?"

The Asian Maniac put his hand on his forehead. "They mentioned a Melissa McClurg. She's the only one who lived."

Tork winced, though whether it was in pain or sympathy was unclear.


Monkey pushed Hollowback to its limits down the side streets of a small town, doing his best to avoid any and all other drivers. If he was going to make it to Phoenix before sundown he had to get there fast, and the way he was driving the cops would be all over him if he went down main streets or highways.

He didn't know what he was so worried about. A superhuman rate of regeneration ran in their family; she'd be fine in a few hours…physically. But it was still an incredibly traumatizing experience.

He cringed, all the while keeping up his frantic pace. There were only about a hundred miles to go, and then he was home.

The world was not a very friendly place for mutants right now, and boy, did Monkey know it. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he bitterly recalled when his powers had first emerged.

What happened barely registered with him at first; his mother was a mutant, and she had always told him it was a distinct possibility that he'd be one too. Monkey, in fact decended from a long line of what were referred to as feral mutants. It was only later that the full meaning of this struck him.

Fifteen year old Mitch McClurg had been kidnapped by a shadow organization called HYDRA, for something called Project Weapon X. He was still unclear on some of the details, but he knew they'd wanted to make him an assassin because of his powers. Monkey could regenerate at incredible rates, making him virtually immortal, and he also had enhanced senses, which were prized for tracking down targets. At the lab the operatives had taken him to he was put into a tank and forced to endure painful procedures that ended with him having his skeleton completely coated in a nearly indestructible metal called adamantium, and which also gave young Monkey eleven inch retractable claws. They'd tried to brainwash him afterwards, but a bunch of what had turned out to be X-Men showed up and rescued him.

That day wasn't all bad, Monkey supposed; he'd gotten to fly in a big jet, and Professor Xavier had even offered him a spot at the school! Monkey and Mrs. McClurg had declined, opting instead to pack up and move. HYDRA was out of business; SHIELD had made sure of that. So many stupid acronyms…

But what if all this national coverage brought Melissa to some unsavory character's attention?

His fraternal instincts taking over, Monkey knew he couldn't let Melissa go through something so terrifying. He absolutely refused to abandone her in her time of need. And so, he sped on, making his way to the bright suburb he had made his home not so long ago.

"Westin Hills," he stated, giving a forced and somewhat sickening laugh. "Mama, I'm coming home."


A/N: Yeah, I know; I said it would be an X-MEN:Evolution crossover, but I decided on a general Marvel-verse thing instead. Basically, this is an AU fic in which mutants and the X-Men exist in the AcceleRacers universe. Also, those of you who have read my Christmas fic, Let it Snow .:cough:shameless plug:cough:. might recognize the name Melissa. Oh, how Monkey enjoyed making cookies with her and their Mommy! And Westin Hills is not really a suburb of Phoenix, but a fictional mental institution outside of Freddy Krueger's hometown. R&R, all my love, FD.