You Can't Go Home Again

"Oh man," Lance blinked as he saw all the cop cars surrounding the front of the boarding house. "Look at them all! There are cops all over the place!"

"Well gee Lance we did have our faces broadcast over every news station in the country," Wanda said sarcastically. "Of course this would be the first place they'd look! Great idea."

"Shut up!" Lance snapped. "We need to get our stuff, like clothes. We need to try and blend in more. We stand out enough as it is!"

"It's gonna take more than a change of clothes to do that," Todd pointed out.

"I know but maybe if we had some we could at least look normal," Lance told him.

"I got it!" Todd said. "I can sneak in!"

"Are you insane?" Lance asked. "Stupid question."

"It'll be easy yo! I can just stick to the ceiling! Do a little wall climbing from room to room and whammo!" Todd smiled.

"Fine," Lance sighed. "We'll hide around back. Looks like the cops are just staking out the front anyway. But don't screw this up Toad!"

"Hey you are looking at the Toad, king of the sneak thieves!" Todd said proudly. "Although you babe have stolen my heart!"

"Get away from me you creep," Wanda hissed.

"She loves me!" Todd smiled and hopped away. The Brotherhood snuck around back to a corner of the house and hid.

"Think we're safe here?" Wanda asked.

"I think so," Lance said. "We used to hide here sometimes when Mystique was in one of her moods."

"I have to ask you what is the deal with Toad?" Fred asked Wanda. "What are you some kind of couple?"

"He seems to think so!" Wanda groaned. "Whatever gave him that idea I'll never know! All I do is insult him! I try to make my point but he just doesn't get it! Why doesn't he just take a hint?"

"Let's just say self esteem isn't exactly one of the many qualities Toad possesses," Lance told her. "The fact that you're even talking to him is enough of a turn on."

"Wonderful," Wanda groaned. "You know I'm actually starting to miss the asylum! People were saner there!"

A minute later Todd appeared with a sack full of clothes. Unfortunately they were all Wanda's. "Who cares what we look like?" Todd smiled when Lance protested. "As long as she looks good!"

He turned to Wanda. "I'd go with the uh black capris, red top and ruby choker." At this Wanda replied by shoving him to the ground. "Ah," He sighed happily. "She makes a guy wanna brush his teeth." He started into space, lost in his own world.

Which was quickly shattered when Lance bopped him on his head. "TOAD!" He snarled, grabbing him and shoving him against the wall. "This is not the time to go impress a girl!"

"It's always the right time for love!" Todd told him. "I gotta protect my girl! She deserves the finer things in life!"

"I do not believe this!" Lance groaned putting a hand to his head. "We've lost our leader, we're being hunted like animals. We're now homeless and have no food, clothes, or money! And all he can think about is getting a date!"

"Not to mention the chances for you ever getting back together with Kitty are slim to none," Todd remarked.

A pained look shot across Lance's face. "Kitty…" He let out an involuntary whimper. He dropped Todd.

"You just had to mention that didn't you Toad!" Fred groaned. "Toad get back in there and get us some stuff! Unless you want to walk around naked!"

"I see your point," Todd gulped and went back up.

"HEY! YOU!" A policeman making the rounds walked up and saw Todd on top of the house.

"Uh oh!" Todd gulped. "Time to make like a banana and split!" He hopped off the roof into the woods.

"STOP!" The policeman chased after him but was tripped by Lance's tremors. The Brotherhood ran deep into the woods. After what seemed like several hours, they stopped to rest.

"I think we lost them," Todd panted as he looked around from on top of a tree. "I don't see anyone following us!"

"Yeah they'll never find us in these woods," Wanda said sarcastically. "Great job Toad!"

"What are you complaining about?" Lance snapped. "At least you have a change of clothes!"

"Lance…" Fred looked at him. "I'm hungry."

"What do you want me to do Blob?" Lance whirled on him. "Call for reservations at a restaurant downtown? Huh? Yeah I'll just call up the most expensive restaurant in town and have them reserve a table for four! Better yet! I'll call up a nice four star hotel we can stay at! Would you like that Blob? Would you?"

"Hey!" Fred got in his face. "You don't have to get sarcastic with me, Avalanche! I can take a hint you know!"

"Will you morons shut your faces and knock it off!" Wanda snarled, stepping between the two of them. "We have enough problems as it is! The last thing we need is the two of you going at it for the title of world's biggest jerk!"

"Italian would be nice," Todd sighed hopping down. He blinked at Wanda. "Just the two of us in a nice dark corner."

"I will not kill him," Wanda groaned. "I will not kill him."

"It's official," Lance sighed. "This is the worst day of my entire life. And over the years there's been some serious competition for that title!"

"Hey come on yo, We'll be okay! We can try later when it's dark to get more stuff. If not we could always try to get some new clothes someplace else," Todd said.

"Oh sure," Lance rolled his eyes. "I've been dying for a new Armani suit."

"Nah, I know places where it's easy to swipe some threads," Todd waved. "You know, take some from the lockers while everyone's at gym class."

"Hello! Toad! We can't go back to school!" Lance shouted. "Remember!"

"Oh yeah," Todd scratched his head. "Hey! Every cloud has a silver lining!"

"Why me?" Lance groaned.

"Lance I'm scared," Fred sat down and started to shake a little. "I don't think I can take being captured again. If you guys hadn't come when you did…I don't know what they would have done to us!"

"I have a clue," Wanda said softly as she sat down. "If it's anything like the stupid tests they used to run on me back at the asylum. Being studied like a lab rat and locked in a cage…"

"Is that what they're doing to Mystique?" Todd asked.

It got very quiet. "What are we gonna do?" Fred asked.

"I don't know," Lance sat there on the ground. He took of his helmet. He looked like he was about to cry. "I just don't know what to do."

"Things can't get any worse," Todd sighed. Then he put his arm around Wanda. "Don't worry my love, I'll protect you!"

"Too bad no one is going to protect you!" Wanda snarled as she twisted his arm. Then she started flinging hexbolts at him. Todd hopped around screaming while Wanda chased him.

"Man I thought you acted like an idiot when you were moping over Kitty," Fred shook his head. "Poor little guy's got it bad."

"Kitty," Lance blinked as if he heard the word for the first time.

"Well at least Toad is smart enough not to fall for an X-Geek," Fred sighed. "Not that they'd be much help anyway. We're all alone out here."

"We're alone…" Lance looked like he was lost in his own world. "All alone."

"Yep it looks like we burned that bridge pretty good," Fred sighed. "Oh well, I guess we'll never be friends with the X-Nerds. They all hate us now more than ever."

"Kitty hates me," Lance became even more depressed.

"DIE TOAD!" Wanda threw a hexbolt at him.

"Can't we work this out in couples' therapy or something?" Todd asked as he hopped for his life.

"Lance do something!" Fred cried out as he watched Wanda cause destruction everywhere.

"Oh Kitty," Lance moaned as he lay there slumped against the tree.

"Okay," Fred put his head in his hands. "Now things are worse. Wanda has become even more psycho. Toad and Lance are acting like love starved idiots….So that leaves me as the only clear headed one."

He sat up and blinked. "Oh great. We're dead!"

So what will happen to our gang of misfits? Keep in mind that I am trying to stay as close to the show as possible. It looks like the next episode 'The Stuff of Heroes' will take place that same day as it ended. So we're all going to have to wait until the next episode to see what happens. Oh come on, they have to do something with the gang! Can't wait to see what!