Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men Evolution, the '616'-mainstream, or any version of any Marvel characters that appear nor am I making money by writing this story.


"Sons of Liberty"
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'


Fort Wadsworth perimeter
Staten Island, New York
That night.

"Remember," Avalanche said, crouched down in the shadows, "Blob, Boom-Boom, keep out of sight. We'll need you to clear us a way out when it's time to leave. The rest of us are going to try and make our way in using the 'back door'. If something happens once we have the others, Banshee and Quicksilver, your job's to get them out of there, don't worry about the rest of us. Everybody got it? Good."

"I don't get it," Toad quipped.

"Not now, Froggy," Boom-Boom groaned, "I can't believe I'm sitting out our first big mission."

"Believe ye me, Lass," Banshee remarked, "If this all goes tits-up, ye'll be wishing ye were sittin' it out."

Boom-Boom glared at the Irishman, "Aren't you a little old to be checking me out?"

Banshee groaned, "I was nae checkin' ye out, it means... Ah, never mind... Bloody Yanks... This gets over with, I'll be gettin' so pissed I'll nae wake up for a week..."

"Boom-Boom, behave," Avalanche sighed, "At least until we need a way out, okay?"

"Whatever you say, Rocky," Boom-Boom faked a yawn, "I'll just be waiting out here, bored to tears until then."

"Let's just hope you stay bored, Boomer," Shadowcat told the other girl, "Because that means we haven't gotten into serious trouble."

"Come on, let's go," Blob grumbled, "It's not easy to keep a guy my size hidden for long."

"Right, right," Avalanche answered before turning to another member of the team, "Toad? Go."

"Right-o," Toad remarked in amusement, "Watch the bouncing froggy, it's the amazing acrobatic Toad!"

Taking a running start, Toad leapt over the fence, flipping and half-twisting in mid-air so that he was hands-down as he approached the ground on the other side. Doing a quick handspring as soon as the ground was in reach, he landed feet-first on the side of the former heavy machinery building and went into a crouch.

"Where's the 'Mission: Impossible' theme when you need it?" Toad muttered softly to himself as he looked around to make sure the area was clear, then gave the signal for the others to follow.

"We're next," Avalanche looked at Shadowcat and Quicksilver before turning to the last member of the infiltration team, "Banshee, you follow when we give the signal."

"Right," the older mutant rolled his eyes, "What do I need ta look for, ye pickin' yer nose or scratchin' yer bums?"

Avalanche glared at him, "I don't know what your problem is, and really? I just don't care... but if you screw this up, I'll do my best to make sure you're the first one caught, you get me?"

"Whatever ye say, lad," Banshee cocked an eyebrow, "Yer Fury's new boy after all."

Avalanche was about to demand an explanation when Shadowcat slid an arm around his neck, causing him to look at her.

"You can get all alpha male later, handsome, we need to go now," Shadowcat insisted as she took hold of Quicksilver's hand.

Avalanche took a deep breath and focused, "You're right, Pretty Kitty... later."

Sliding one arm around his girlfriend's waist and taking Quicksilver's free hand with his other hand, the team leader asked, "Are you sure this is gonna work?"

"Sure?" Shadowcat giggled slightly, "Nope. But we've got a good feeling about it."

Avalanche closed his eyes tight, "Make it fast."

"Hey, I'm the Quicksilver, everything I do is fast," the speedster remarked before taking off towards the fence, dragging his teammates behind him.

As they reached the fence, Shadowcat used her ability to turn intangible and take anyone touching her with her to let them move through the barrier's very molecules. Once through the fence, she released her powers as Quicksilver slowed down and the three let go of each other to crouch in the shadows cast by the heavy machinery building.

"Ten years with Interpol, half tha' again with SHIELD... an' I'm still watchin' th' kids on a bloody play-date," Banshee muttered to himself as he lifted into the air and glided over the fence.

Banshee looked around as he landed among the group, "So, where's th' entrance?"

Shadowcat pulled a small PDA out of her hip pouch, "About twenty feet that way."

Avalanche groaned softly as he looked in the direction she had indicated, "Under the water-tower?"

As she slipped the PDA back into its pouch, Shadowcat shook her head, "They must have rearranged some of the surface structures after the base was decommissioned."

"Well, tha's bloody grand."

"He's right, yo," Toad added from above the others, "That means we gotta get through the guards and we can't use a distraction cause we'll need it later."

"It's more than that, Toad," Shadowcat sighed, "This map came off the SHIELD database, which means that whoever Trask has in SHIELD altered the files."

"So we're gonna have to assume they know we're coming," Avalanche concluded.

Quicksilver folded his arms, "Well, this is going to be such fun..."

"Hey, think of it as an opportunity, yo," Toad remarked quietly.

"We've got to get you away from Boom-Boom more often," Avalanche groaned softly, "You think you can get from here to the water tower without getting caught... or blowing anything up?"

"Yo," Toad answered, "Does Kermit have a thing for Ms. Piggy?"

Without another word, Toad scuttled along the side of the building and around the corner.

'Two guards on patrol and one at the water tower, one little toad on the side of a building and a cold, damp night... easy for somebody to slip on some wet grass, yo...' Toad thought, 'But that would leave slime for them to find, what to do, what to do, what for a little toad to do...'

'One guard at a post,' Toad continued in his head, 'That's what Morty would call shoddy, very shoddy. Three guards is good, two is standard, one is asking for trouble... and in this case they're asking with flashing lights and sirens, yo...'

Pulling himself into a crouching position against the side of the building, Toad took a series of deep breaths. Kicking out, he launched himself out into the air, heading towards the water tower. As he flew through the air in a controlled tumble, Toad reached out with his hands and easily caught a rod extending from the top of the water tower, spinning around it like a trapeze artist before he curled up to place his feet against it. The boots he wore had special soles that allowed his feet to grip surfaces through them without a problem, freeing his hands to reach for the edge of the water tower. With a gentle push of his feet, Toad flipped over and landed with his hands behind his head and feet on the side of the water tower before he slowly turned around so that he was facing it.

'Just like sneaking into Coney after close, yo,' Toad chuckled mentally as he climbed down until he was hanging from the frame between the watertower's legs, 'Only not quite the same challenge.'

Just like as if it were a jungle gym, Toad crawled through the support struts and across the underside of the water tower until he was above and slightly behind the guard. Here he waited for a moment as the two rovers passed by.

'No talkin' or nothin',' Toad thought as they moved out of sight, 'Means they'd never know that a guard's been replaced or...'

Carefully, he threaded his way to the outside of the water tower so that he was just above the guard to his blind side. Letting go with his feet so that he was hanging with his hands, the acrobatic mutant released himself and dropped to the ground with an audible sound, causing the single guard to turn around.

In a Cockney accent he'd learned from his old teacher, Toad remarked, "'Scuse me, this your brain?"

Before the guard could react, Toad hopped into the air and unleashed a kick that caused the guard's head to snap back. A midair twist brought his other leg up to knock the guard's head against the water tower leg and knock him out.

"Showy, yeah, but effective," Toad muttered to himself as he lifted the guard up to lean against the tower leg that had knocked him out, "And you need a diet, yo."

Summoning up a load of adhesive slime, Toad spat it between the guard's back and the wooden leg, securing him in that position.

Toad nodded at his handiwork, "Now just need to get the others over here..."