Here it is, the second and final chapter of this two-parter! Where we last left off, the Brotherhood was in full crowing mode, and the eight infected X-Men students were so very badly under the weather due to the Mutant Flu! This can't end well…OR CAN'T IT? Can these students recover and see to it that the Brotherhood pays for their deed and does not go unpunished? Can the X-Men still maintain their reputation as being good with the school that they currently have? Let's find out in this next one of these chapters which is also the concluding one!
I own none of the characters. They all belong to X-Men: Evolution.
X-Men Evo-Flu-Tion
Chapter 2-Sick Retribution
Going to the X-Mansion, we see that each and every one of the eight students who had been doused with the Mutant Flu were suffering very badly from its nasty effects. Each one, in his or her own room, was sneezing hideously and coughing repeatedly. Not to mention sneezing repeatedly and coughing hideously. They couldn't move at all and they felt worse than they'd ever felt in their lives. Their entire bodies felt like dumpsters filled with sewage. Worse, they were unable to speak due to how ill they were, so they could not say anything to help matters.
Down in his laboratory, Beast was trying to make a cure for the mutant flu, or at least a counter-virus. Either way, he was having a lot of difficulty. "Hank?" asked Wolverine as he got into the lab. "How's the treatment coming?" "Not so well, I'm afraid." Beast replied. "I'm doing all I can, but this is a newly created flu we're talking about, so it's very hard to know what to mix with which to make any kind of effective combatant for such a virus." "Well, I hope you're able to progress real soon, bub, 'cause the sick ones are getting worse by the minute!" Logan put in. "Dear God…" Beast exclaimed. He then doubled his efforts, while Wolverine got going. As the other students and teachers, as well as Principal Kelly, had been told about this, all but Kelly were doing what they could to help, while Kelly was becoming very judgmental about the X-Men.
Shadowcat, who had been phasing about the place trying to get medicines she thought would work, also attempted to make food, but she was nicely told not to by Professor X, who hid the fact he knew her cooking was horrendous and would only worsen the ones they meant to give treatment to. "But what if none of these liquid or pill medicines work?" asked Kitty. "Then we'll just have to hope Beast can come up with a better substitute." Professor X replied. "Especially in light of how their conditions appear to be worsening." "My God, how could even the goddamned Brotherhood do this?" asked Shadowcat. "And to think I was in love with Lance and vice versa!" "Now is not the time for that. We must focus on the most immediate of things." Professor X said. "You're right, sorry." Shadowcat told him.
The non-sick New Mutants had been looking everywhere for anything that could possibly help. Liquids, hot soup, anything. But even with Iceman going from place to place via his freeze powers and Multiple having copies of himself looking all about, it was hard for them to get anything, especially since, being young like they were, they were utterly unfamiliar with this new Mutant Flu. "My God," snarled Multiple, "the Brotherhood has pulled some rotten stunts before, but this takes the cake." "I couldn't agree more, Jamie." Iceman stated. "And the worst part is, all my cold powers, which are usually real effective beyond measure, wouldn't help matters for our friends at all! In fact, they'd only make it worse!" "Thank you for the update, Captain Obvious." Jubilee remarked. "Now if it isn't too much trouble, let's focus less on chit-chat and more on helping our sick friends!" Beserker then snapped: "As if anything we'll do is going to make a fucking difference! There's no treatment for this new flu, and we would be lucky to put together any kind of aid or relief to help ONE of the infected, let alone EIGHT of them! Goddamn that Brotherhood, I'm gonna fucking FRY them when I next see their sorry, scumbag asses!"
The likes of Havok, Angel and X-23, who were visiting at this time, were trying to contact Gambit and Colossus, who were once their enemies, but now their friends. They felt maybe they'd had a way to deal with it, so once the two were contacted, Angel quickly told them what happened and every single detail was filled in. Once they learned, Colossus said: "Hmmm. I admit this is a very tight spot indeed, comrades." "Even Gambit never had t' face nothin' like this, Mon A Mis!" Gambit admitted. "But is there, by any chance, anything either of you can do or suggest?" asked Havok. "I mean, come on, eight of our fellow students are sick as can be and the fate of this school's good reputation hangs in the damn balance!" X-23 spoke. "Well, there is ONE thing we can suggest, though it is a shaky, questionable plan, but I suppose your best hope right now, yes?" Colossus told them from the computer he and Gambit were talking to the three from and vice versa. "Anything! What is it?" asked Angel.
Gambit then said: "Try t' combine every cure for different kinds o' flu, one o' each, mind y'all, an' mix it together inta one. Then have it heated up nice an' hot, and make sure t' give an eighth of it to every single one o' the ones who got this flu. It may not cure 'em, but it could well make 'em well enough ta be able t' move, talk an' so on!" "Thank you for the advice and help!" X-23 said. "Of course." Colossus replied. "But we must go now. Best of luck on helping your friends, comrades." "Gambit and Colossus out!" Gambit put in. So the three took off and told the Professor what was needed, and Professor X used his mental powers to let Beast know what he should create. Beast understood fully and immediately got to work.
In the meantime, at the Brotherhood house, Toad's super soaker and pack had been put away exactly where it was meant to have been put away, and the Brotherhood was celebrating. "I can hear Principal Kelly's voice already, man!" Blob laughed. "Yeah, and it'll all be against the X-Dorks and pro-us!" Toad shouted. "Wouldn't Mystique just love to see us now?" asked Lance as he shook the place gently with his powers to add a rhythm. "And Magneto, too, for that damn matter?" added Quicksilver. "One question…" Scarlet Witch asked. "Yeah?" the other four said to her in unison. Wanda then asked: "What time do we need to see the ones who'll be reporting and judging the X-Men? I mean, if we're going to win their favor, we're going to have to be all around convincing that this wasn't our fault and we're the only ones suited to be here!" "Oh, and that is exactly why we're going to, at 11 PM tonight, go to them outside of the school!" Lance put in. "See, we tell them all we feel and know, and manipulate it so it'll sound like we're all the best! Then we confirm their suspicions, feelings and speculations, and it's easy street for us and hell on Earth for the X-Men at this school from there!" "And, since the non-sick X-Men will be too damn exhausted from trying to help their sickly and handle the criticism to interfere, not a damn thing will be capable of being done to stop us!" Quicksilver grinned.
"I see. I suppose that's as good a plan as any." said Wanda. "In the meantime, though, let's par-TY!" Blob shouted as he grabbed a whole six-pack of soda and drank down all six bottles in the course of twelve seconds. "So cool there's nothing to link us to the crime!" Toad went out. "That helps a lot!" "No shit, Sherlock!" barked Quicksilver. "Now shut the fuck up and just get down, man!" Obviously, he was doing all he could to make it impossible to think he'd been spotted or was keeping a secret. Back in the X-Mansion, Shadowcat was saying to Storm: "Why did this have to happen? It's bad enough our friends are so under the weather, but that's before you throw on how many people will be coming to see us and report all this! Especially with how Principal Kelly will call every reporter he can think of, having found this out?" "I'm well aware of how critical this is," Storm spoke, "but Beast is getting the closest thing to any kind of cure there can be concocted." "I just hope it isn't for nothing." Kitty stated.
Kelly had, it turned out, called many reporters, indeed, and he'd told what had happened. They were on their way to the X-Mansion now, and ready to chew out everyone who wasn't sick about improperly caring for their students and neglecting keeping the school healthy. So disaster was just waiting to happen. Soon enough, Beast completed the medicine which Colossus and Gambit had suggested, and told this to Professor X, who in turn let it be known to everyone, be it the sick ones, or the ones who were trying to help but unable to. He walked upstairs while using eight different vials, which he poured an eighth of the new medicine into each of. Then he went into each room and quickly left the vial next to the bed of the sick student and left the room fast so he wouldn't catch the flu himself.
Jean then used her telepathy to make the eight students know what had happened and what was next to them, and they managed to muster just enough energy to grab the vial with their medicine in it and drink it out. After a few moments, they had gotten back the ability to stand, move, talk and, to some extent, fight. Sitting up in bed and thanking Beast and the others for their help and/or attempted help once the lot of them came to their rooms, but at a safe distance, they were then informed about the reporters Principal Kelly had called, who were currently on their way. This shocked them, and Jean then said: "And, according to my telepathy, the Brotherhood means to meet them at 11 PM tonight, which is in an hour and a half, outside of this mansion. They mean to tell them all kinds of lies and cover up what they did so things will be in their favor from this night on after the rest of us are questioned about how we do things here!"
"What?" Nightcrawler exclaimed. "Those good for nothing sneaks!" Spyke yelled. "So first they get us sick, and now we find out they were doing it both for that purpose and to make it look like this school can't care for its students properly so we X-Men would have problems from now till forever, and they'd have it easy as the only ones suited to be here, supposedly!" "Man, I will not stand for this!" barked Wolfsbane. "Neither will I!" put in Magma. "We're gonna go and make a difference, now that we're feeling a good deal better!" Sunspot stated. "We're gonna go and fry them!" "Not to mention force it out of them that this was their idea all along, right in front of the reporters they no doubt mean to lie to!" added Cannonball. "Ah look forward ta the way we throw their crap right back in their faces, y'all!" Rogue shouted. "Right after we blow them to hell!" Boom-Boom spat.
"Whoa, guys, cool off and calm down!" Iceman exclaimed. "You may be better than you were, but you're far from being well again!" Shadowcat added. "This has been shown as a flu that will take months to get over!" Jean put in. "And until you've recovered, you're very, very contagious and need your rest anyway, medicine or no medicine!" Cyclops spoke. "But we just can't let ourselves be the reason this school takes a fall for the worse!" Rogue yelled. "And right now, we're angry enough so this flu's got nothing on us as long as our medicine keeps it in check and makes it so we can still fight!" Nightcrawler added in. "If even I can say that, you know it's gotta be true!" "So we're going to make the best of this and hand their asses to them, in the process making sure we're the ones who get off easy and they're the ones who get the hardship from here on in! And we'll get apologies instead of criticism, while they get plenty of criticism!" Wolfsbane growled. All of them got out of bed and took off, and though Professor X tried to call them back, Wolverine said: "Chuck, the mood they're in right now, I think it's best we just let them go and do this. It's the only way out of this mess."
Professor X sighed and said: "I suppose you are right. Though I will still, along with Jean, keep my telepathy on alert just in case things take an even greater turn for the worse." All of everyone present, Wolverine and Jean included, nodded and watched as the eight mutants who had the Mutant Flu, but now could still function despite that, ran out the doors of the X-Mansion to look for the area outside where the Brotherhood would be waiting for the reporters. Back at the Brotherhood boarding house, the Brotherhood realized it was time to go and wait for when the reporters would come along, especially since Wanda picked up, with her powers, they had just arrived and were coming in to talk with Professor X, Wolverine, Storm and Beast. So Lance told them: "Okay, that's our cue! Let's go outside of the X-Mansion, find a place where we will not be seen and listen as the reporters chew the X-Teachers out! After that, they come along, we say hello and tell them everything to make Bayville High a permanent Brotherhood paradise!"
So they ran out the doors of their boarding house, and by the time they got to the proper place where they could watch and listen but not be seen in the dark, it was five minutes away from 11 PM. It took them that long to find a proper spot, given Blob's massive size and Toad's nasty stench. By then, they were able to hear the last critical words said to the teachers, and Toad said: "I think it sucks that we missed most of the X-Teachers being chewed out, but at least we made it in time to fill in the reporters." "True, that." Quicksilver spoke. "We must make sure to keep in mind who it was who did the main job of this whole ordeal once things get to be in our favor." "I assure you, we will. But right now, let's just delve in the fact it's all so close now we can taste it. Finally, those X-Freaks will be out of our hair…" Avalanche began. But then they all heard the voice of Rogue say: "The only thing y'all are gonna be…ACHOOO…tastin' tonight is our…ACHOOO…vengeance an' the dirt o' the ground y'all stand on, old comrades!" "HUH?" all of the Brotherhood let out in unison as they turned to see the six students who Quicksilver had sprayed with the Mutant Flu.
"Holy crap! It can't be…" Blob gasped. "YOU?" Scarlet Witch shouted out. "Yeah, US!" snapped Spyke. "Bet you thought you'd have no…ACHOOOOOOO…problem telling the…ACHOOO…reporters the lies you planned to fill them in on once they came along here! But we're gonna…ACHOOOO…be the ones…ACHOOO…filling them in!" "Right after we do…ACHOO…away with you, that is!" Magma added. Cannonball stated: "It took us a damn long time to find y'all, Ah admit, since we had ta keep…ACHOOO…lookin' in area after area outside of the damn mansion, but at least we managed ta…ACHOOO…catch up just in time ta put a stop ta yer…ACHOOO…evil plan!" "You…ACHOO…know what…ACHOOO…time it is, you…ACHOOO…douchebag dickheads?" asked Sunspot. "IT'S…ACHOOOO…PAYBACK TIME!" Nightcrawler shouted. Then the eight of them attacked the Brotherhood. Nightcrawler leapt forward over the tongue of Toad, who tried to nail him with it, and did a big summersault before grabbing a hold of Toad, going: "ACHOOOOOO!", sneezing on him as a result and at last tossing him into a tree, making him crash dead on into it.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Toad screamed as he flew, and once he crashed into the tree, he was knocked unconscious and the first one outta the fight. Scarlet Witch was next, and although she got her powers going, she didn't get a chance to use them. At the same time that Cannonball flew around her and plowed into her from behind, Boom-Boom threw her trademark exploding spheres at Wanda's feet and Magma blasted her in the midriff with fireballs. Wanda was downed in seconds, and, after Magma went: "ACHOOOO!", in the process sneezing onto her, Wanda's powers screwed up as a result of the bad triple whammy she took in a way that didn't kill her, but definitely knocked her out. Meanwhile, Spyke was dealing with Quicksilver. "Think you can spray us with that shit and get by with it, speedy? Not even being as fast as you are!" Spyke snapped. "Oh, really? We'll see how sound such a statement as that turns out to be when I give your ass a sound thrashing!" Quicksilver put forth in a comeback.
He ran at Spyke, but Spyke was ready for this, and he made his entire body develop wood armor and wood spikes all over it. He tried to punch him rapidly, but he only succeeded in badly cutting his hands and almost breaking them. "OOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! EEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Quicksilver howled in pain as he came to a sudden and abrupt stop. "And if you think that's painful, wait'll you see what comes next!" said Spyke. He went: "ACHOOOOOO!", sneezing on Quicksilver, and for Peitro, things went from bad to worse. Sunspot turned to his fiery form and blasted Quicksilver with flames. Said flames he saw to it did not burn the speedy jerk, but they did have enough heat and impact to knock him out. A fact made clear by how he manipulated those flames and how Quicksilver fell over, out cold, on his back. Sunspot flew down next to Spyke, changed back to human form along with Evan, and the two clapped fists, Sunspot going: "All right!" "Way to go, Sunspot!" Spyke responded.
But now Avalanche was really fucking mad, and showed it by saying: "Okay, this crap has gone on way more than long enough! You fall now, and your attempt to ruin our plans gets tossed into the toilet and flushed!" He used his powers to shake the ground, causing Spyke and Sunspot to go off balance, but Rogue ran up behind Lance and shouted: "Oh, no ya don't, quake boy!" As he turned around, she pulled off one of her gloves and put her bare palm over his face, causing his energy and consciousness to be drained from him. Avalanche fell to the ground in a comatose heap, but not before Rogue went: "ACHOOOO!" and sneezed into his face. What's more, Rogue got his earth controlling powers in the process. "Thanks, Rogue!" Spyke and Sunspot said in unison as she made the ground go straight again. "Don't mention it. Now it's time ta put these terrain powers ta much more proper use!" Rogue replied. Here's what she meant, by the way.
Blob, the last member of the Brotherhood still standing, was being confronted by none other than Wolfsbane, and though she had changed to her full wolf form, she was waiting for the right time and area to attack, while Blob was looking for an opening to squash her. Just as she said to him: "It's over, Dukes! We're pulling your plug and revealing your little scheme! You'll never make this school your place to own, nor will you cause us a permanent bad reputation!" and Blob spat back: "I beg to differ, furface! You know why? 'Cause it's not over till the fat man gets the flea ridden mutt bitch squashed!" Rogue suddenly shook the ground underneath Blob's feet, causing him to go way off balance. Blob went: "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAA--WHOOOOOOOOOOOOAAA!"
Rogue yelled out: "Rhane! Now's the time ta strike! Pounce an' give him what for!" A reply from Wolfsbane consisted of: "Gladly! Thanks for the helping hand!" as she leapt onto the Blob and scratched, bit and licked him. She also said: "AAAAACCCHHHOOOOOOOOOO!" as she sneezed in his face, which was the area of him she had just licked. "Hey, gross! What the hell, you sick-ass bitch?" Blob exclaimed as Wolfsbane leapt off of him and ran towards Rogue, who did one last shaking of the ground under Blob's feet before stopping, so he would fall over on his fat ass and pass out, which he did. The fight was over, and these X-Students had won all too handily. "YES!" they all shouted. "We fuckin' did it, y'all!" Rogue yelled.
"We sure did, and the best part is we managed to make plenty of physical contact with the Brotherhood, so God knows how badly we've spread our Mutant Flu to them!" pointed out Spyke. "Yeah! Hadn't thought of that!" Magma mentioned. "Ironic the very flu they dosed us up with they now get some of!" "A nice taste of their own medicine, if you ask me." Nightcrawler said. "Wait!" Wolfsbane shouted. "I smell those reporters! They must be coming here!" "Oh, of course!" Cannonball exclaimed. "It must be 11 PM now!" "Good thing they're not mutants, then, 'cause we've got a whole world of explaining to do!" Sunspot stated. "And good thing we're in the very spot they decided to leave the mansion towards!" spoke Boom-Boom. "Otherwise, this will get very awkward!"
So when the reporters came along and saw the eight of them, one said: "Hey, I recognize the eight of you! Aren't you the ones who got infected with the Mutant Flu?" "Yeah, we are." a reply from Nightcrawler consisted of. "Then what the hell are you doing out of bed, and here, of all places?" another reporter asked. Everyone took turns in telling them the truth of what had happened, and by the time they were done, the lead reporter said: "My God, it appears that your principal was wrong and so were we! We certainly hope you gave those rotten Brotherhood guys their just desserts!" "Oh, we…ACHOOOOOOO…did, believe me." Rogue said. "In fact, they're right…ACHOOO…over there." said Cannonball, pointin' to them. The reporters saw the out cold Brotherhood, and Wolfsbane said: "We also managed to…ACHOOOO…pass the flu we've got onto them, since they're mutants like we are, so I'd say we thoroughly made them pay." "I'd say so, too." another reporter said. "But now, you've all got to get yourselves to bed again, and we've got to tell the truth to Kelly and apologize to your teachers." Suddenly, the eight X-Students began sneezing, coughing and wheezing like mad once more, the effects of their medicine clearly started to wane. They knew this was the ideal time to oblige the reporters. "Can do. We're suddenly…ACHOOO…tired again, anyway, not to…ACHOOOO…mention starting to…ACHOO…feel the Mutant Flu come back to bite us." Nightcrawler said. "Come on, guys. I'll teleport us all so it gets us back home." So he did exactly that, and everyone got back to their respective rooms and went to bed, while the reporters went back to the school do make good on their plans and words.
Meanwhile, Wanda regained consciousness faster than the rest of the Brotherhood, but was just barely conscious. She remembered what happened, and quickly used her powers to get herself and everyone who was a member of the Brotherhood teleported back to the boarding house. Soon enough, Kelly was told the truth and he, like the reporters, apologized to all of the teachers who had been criticized and misjudged. Kelly did ask Professor X: "By the way, Mr. Xavier, how do you intend to punish the Brotherhood for what they've done?" "I actually don't think that will be necessary." Professor X replied. "What? Why?" asked a reporter. "Because, according to my telepathy, the fight they had with my sick students has given them a taste of their own medicine, and I do believe what they are bound to go through for the next matter of months is punishment enough."
And sure enough, back at the Brotherhood boarding house, everyone was in bed and as ill as the X-Students had been with the Mutant Flu prior to getting that medicine mixture. All of the Brotherhood members were sneezing and coughing badly, but Toad more than the others. Lance furiously said: "I swear to God, Toad…ACHOOOOOO…if you…ACHOOOOOO…do that one more time, I'm gonna bring this entire fucking room down on your head!" But Toad could not stop himself from sneezing one more time, and he let out: "AAAAAAAAACHOOOOOOO!" "OKAY, THAT TEARS IT!" Avalanche exploded, and he used what little strength he had to make his powers shake the ground, though all he succeeded in doing was overturning Toad's bed before he passed out from the effort. "Hey, can someone…ACHOOOOO…help me here?" asked Toad. "I'm kinda…ACHOOOO…trapped under here!" "Wish I could, but I'm too sick and weak to even move…" Blob moaned out weakly. "Ditto…" Quicksilver groaned out loud. "Avalanche, this was your…ACHOOOO…worst idea ever…ACHOOOOOO!" Scarlet Witch spat. "Oh, shut the…ACHOOOOO…fuck up, will you, Wanda?" Lance shot back.
THE END
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