Disclaimer: The X-men, Xavier, and all things from the X-men comics/movies are not mine. I do however retain the rights to LABB, Kat, and Megan… if you want to fight me for them, I will destroy you.

Kat wipes the thin sheen of sweat off her brow as her body slides through the fighting stances and maneuvers again. She falls when she does a rotating jump kick, but this only makes her push herself harder. Kat falls a second time, Drat it all! I know I can do this! I have done it before… There we go. Finally landing the troublesome maneuver, Kat jumps at the mental message she receives without warning.

"Kat, pet, I am glad you have been keeping up training… you are going to need it when you get here. I have everything in place for the evacuation… including the un-programming I had to do on the minds of most of these mutants." Alexander's mental tone is not exactly cheery and comforting, some might even call it strained and sadistic, but Kat wouldn't have it any other way.

Kat hides her relief at hearing from Alex behind a show of annoyance, "Alright, what's the big idea with completely ignoring me for the past two months, then outta the blue, you gotta pop inta my mind –without any proper warning –for a word with me! I'm trying ta train here, Glowing-hands!"

"Sorry, pet, I didn't mean to interrupt, but I need you here today, if at all possible. Critter is on his way there to get you… I sent him out on a 'capture' mission two weeks ago, so he should be there soon. You will have to find a way to get here faster than that, though." Alex takes on a more humored mental tone as he imagines any number of ways Kat could find for fast transport, "Oh, and don't forget to drop that accent of yours when you return. We don't want the guards to get suspicious."

Kat nods even though she knows he can't see it, "I'm on it… I'm sure I can find something that will work… and the accent will be gone in no time." She snatches up her knives off a nearby bench, packs her water-bottle away in its insulated pouch, and rushes into the mansion. A young woman, only a few years older than Kat, sports an identifying white streak down the front of her brunette hair. This woman is standing outside one of the mansion's classrooms. She sees Kat running down the hall, "Hey, Kat, class starts in ten minutes. You better hurry up getting changed!"

Kat laughs and hurries on, "Don't worry about me, Rogue, because I'm not going to class today." She looks over her shoulder to continue talking to Rogue, "If anybody asks, I will be back ASAP… and with company." Kat doesn't get to say anything else because she runs into someone. Kat pales when she sees the middle-aged, handsome man in front of her.

He readjusts his sunglasses and crosses his arms, "You're cutting class? I think Megan will have something to say about that, Mary-Kathryn."

Kat groans mentally, and covers with a cocky tone, "What do you care if I am cutting class, Cyclops? I am on my way to see mom right now, so mind your own business, would you?" Kat glares down her nose at Cyclops, I hope he doesn't call my bluff… mom won't agree to what I have in mind if I have to explain everything…

Just as Cyclops opens his mouth to say something, Megan speaks up from behind him, "Scott, is there a problem?" Cyclops shakes his head and Megan smiles as she continues to Kat, "What do you want to talk to me about, M. Kat?"

Kat leads her mother away from Cyclops before saying, "I need a favor, mom… Can I use your motorcycle today… and maybe a little longer… I have to go help out some friends."

Megan raises an eyebrow, "My motorcycle? Absolutely not! I am not going to have you out on my motorcycle… it's a dangerous machine, M. Kat!" Kat starts to make an appeal, but Megan just crosses her arms and states firmly, "It is out of the question, M. Kat. You are not taking my motorcycle anywhere… and you should be getting to class anyway."

Kat sighs, "This is more important than class, mom… People's lives could be on the line… but FINE, I won't take YOUR motorcycle… anyway, I gotta go change clothes."

At Kat's words, Megan assumes that Kat will be heading for class, but Megan does not know her daughter very well anymore. Kat showers and puts on fresh clothes, before taking the time to think about another way out, Well, mom only said I couldn't take HER motorcycle… so I will just have to borrow Logan's bike… and I know better than to ask him. He won't just hand over his bike to me, so I better find a way to distract him, while I remove it from the garage. Thus decided on her basic plan of action, Kat heads down and ignores the late bell that rings overhead, Not like it matters when you aren't going to class anyway. Kat grins to herself and heads out the front door.

"Someone-seems-happy-Kat… Ready-to-go-back-with-Critter-now?" the hyper almost impossible to follow words do not seem out of place to Kat. She nods to the brown/grey, fur-covered male that had been hiding in one of the school shrubs. He jumps up and starts bouncing around her, "Goody-goody-goody. We-go-to-GlowingHands-now!"

Kat shakes her head, "Not quite yet, Critter… we need to get a vehicle first, and that requires your help." Critter pauses in his bouncing to listen to what Kat has to say, and she continues, "I need you to act as a distraction." Kat spots Logan standing with Megan in the yard not too far away, so Kat points to Logan as she continues, "See that man over there? I want you to distract him… and the woman he is with. Go, distract, now." Critter gives a little salute with an idiotic grin and bounds away toward Logan and Megan as Kat slips away to the Mansion's garage.

Critter scurries up to Logan, just stares at Logan for a moment, and then hops up and down in front of Logan. Logan glares at Critter in annoyance, "What is your problem, bub?"

Critter laughs squirrelly and gets close to Logan's face to look at Logan's dog-tags, "Oo-shiny-shiny-shiny! Pretty-pretty-pretty-shiny… Shiny-mine!" Critter snaps the chain for the dog-tags and runs off with them, before Logan even realizes what's happening.

Logan gives a start and runs after Critter, "Get back here with those, you thing!" Megan laughs at the sight of Logan chasing after the fur-covered squirrel-man. Just as Logan is catching up to Critter, they all hear a motorcycle peeling out of the garage. Logan looks up toward the sound and swears when he spots Kat on his bike, "What the Hell! Kat!"

Kat slides to a stop in front of Logan and Critter, "Get on, Critter." Critter jumps on the back of the bike, and Kat looks at the dog-tags he has in his furry paw, "Critter, put them down!"

Critter pouts, "No! Shiny-mine!"

"Critter, NOW!"

"Yes, ma'am," Critter's speech slows to a normal speed as he looks hurt and drops Logan's dog-tags on the ground. Once Critter has his arms around her waist, Kat revs the engine and spins out through the Mansion gates. Logan scoops up his dog-tags and grabs Megan as she runs past him yelling, "M. KAT! GET BACK HERE!"

As he wipes his dog-tags on his shirt and holds onto Megan, Logan states, "She better not scratch my bike."

Megan whips around and practically screams at him, "YOUR BIKE! MY DAUGHTER JUST RAN OFF TO WHO KNOWS WHERE AND ALL YOU CAN SAY IS THAT SHE BETTER NOT SCRATCH YOUR BIKE!"

He lets go of Megan and steps back from her wrath, "I ain't worried about her… She just better not scratch my bike." He puts his hands up defensively at the glare he gets from Megan, "That kid of yours can take care of herself, Meg."

Megan fumes, "NO, SHE CANNOT TAKE CARE OF HERSELF!" She steps back when she realizes that she has taken a hold of Logan's shirt front. She opens her fist with some difficulty but still looks livid as she states coolly, "I'm going after her." Megan stalks away toward the garage and her motorcycle within.

Logan trails after her and grabs her forearm, "Meg, how you gonna find her? You know where she was headed?"

"No… I don't…" Megan's face falls for a moment, before her mind comes across a solution, "Wait, I don't have to know where she went! Charles can find her for me!" She dashes inside and strolls purposefully to Xavier's office. She throws back his door forcefully and only spares a glace at the startled students inside, "Charles, I need your help… NOW."

Xavier looks up from the textbook he had been reading from a moment earlier. He does not have to read Megan's mind to know she is upset, even the students who have no telepathic abilities can tell that by the look of murder on her face. He turns his attention briefly back to his interrupted class, "You may all use this time to start reading the assignment in class. There will be a quiz on the material tomorrow, so be prepared." Xavier wheels his way into the hallway and Megan follows. She shuts the door behind them as Xavier asks calmly, "What happened, Megan?"

Megan scowls menacingly, "M. Kat just took off on Logan's bike with a mutant I don't recognize. I need to know where she is headed."

Xavier steeples his fingers in front of his face for a moment, "She is too far away at this point for me to find her without the help of Cerebro." He starts down the hall without another word.

Logan, who has been standing quietly to the side, says, "You don't seem surprised, Chuck."

Xavier shakes his head, "In truth, I have been expecting this for some time. I do not mean to alarm you, Megan, but Kat has been disappearing every morning, and many of them I am sure I sensed her searching telepathically for some presence. This morning I believe she found what she wished."

Megan growls in the back of her throat, "She has been hiding something from me? And you knew but DIDN'T tell me!"

Xavier leads the group into the basement laboratories, "Megan, if I had told you, do you think she would have willingly confided in you? I do not believe she would have. I was hoping that over time she would come to trust us enough to be open with us, especially about LABB."

Megan heaves a sigh and rubs at her temples, "I know she was being a little guarded, but I thought it was just from the shock of what happened… Charles, I have to go after her… what if she has gotten herself into trouble?" She stops as Xavier approaches the door to Cerebro, "No matter what you find, you will tell me, right, Charles?"

Xavier hesitates only a moment before answering, "Yes, Megan. I always have, have I not?" He takes one of Megan's hands in his for a moment and looks into her eyes, "You do not have to do this alone, Megan. My X-men and I can help if you let us." Megan only nods, and Xavier enters Cerebro.

Kat races down the road with unnatural speed, appearing as only a tiny streak to the police that she passes on her way. Before they can even think to give chase, she is out of sight again. Kat chuckles to herself as she guides the motorcycle with more than just her eyes, she uses her magnetic abilities to their fullest to keep Critter and herself in one piece as they speed toward the LABB facilities that Kat hates so much.

A mile before they reach the LABB community, Kat slows and stops the motorcycle at a motel, so Critter can ease his sore muscles. He goes ahead to report to Alex, while Kat goes to shower and change her cloths. After the ten hour motorcycle ride that she and Critter endured, she knows that she is anything but presentable. Kat takes her time showering, enjoying the sensation of hot water poring down over her. When she emerges from the motel room's tiny bathroom, she finds Alex waiting for her. Kat crosses her arms over her towel-covered chest, "I see your timing is as bad as always, Glowing-hands."

Alex shakes his head and tosses some cloths to Kat, "When are you going to stop turning your nose up at my 'timing'?" He nods to her, "At least this time you have something covering you…" He shrugs.

Kat tries to keep from laughing at Alex' play at non-concern over their earlier encounter, but she cant hold it in and starts snickering openly, "Like you don't wish this towel wasn't blocking your view, Alex!"

Alex shrugs indifferently, "You have been my student for these past few years…" His voice trails off to nothing, and he swallows forcefully at the sight before him. Kat throws her towel at Alex and starts pulling on the cloths he had given her. Once she is completely dressed, Kat takes out a box from Alex' bag and pulls from it an assortment of makeup. Alex finally finds his voice again, but it is much huskier than it had been, "That was…"

Kat cuts in, "That was what, Glowing-Hands?" She leans toward the mirror above the motel room's sink and applies a minute amount of compound to her face, "Don't say it was uncalled for or inappropriate because as far as the law is concerned, we are husband and wife in every sense…" She adds eye shadow and then lipstick to finish off the effect. "So that 'You're my student' crap doesn't count anymore." Kat turns away from the mirror and straitens her professional-looking blouse, "How do I look, Alex?"

Alex stands up stiffly, "Quite nice, Pet… but don't forget, our marriage was only a legal matter to keep you out of trouble… we are friends and partners, but we will be nothing more."

Kat nods grimly, "I know that, but if we are going to pull this stunt off today, we need to act like a LOT more than just 'friends and partners,' Alex." She sighs and smoothes her dress pants over her hips, "Now how do I look? Will they recognize me easily?"

"No, you look nothing like the simpering 'pet' mutant that I trained. You have self-possession, a bit of makeup, and decidedly feminine, but not sluttish, cloths. No one that looks at you will recognize you, at least not until it is too late." Alex moves toward the door, "I came here on LABB transport… so we will have to take that bike you borrowed to get back." He grins, "Don't worry, I have something for you to wear so you'll be presentable by the time we get there."

Kat rolls her eyes, "Oh, goody."

"Here." True to his word, Alex hands Kat a black trench coat. Her eyes light up as she pulls it on and follows him out the door. He briefs her on what to expect once they arrive, "Critter is already waiting at the exit to help keep order among the escapees, so all we have to do is get in, free the mutants, and get back out. I told my superiors that I am bringing my new wife to see the facility because you are interested in a job there. They were quite eager for the chance to add a woman to the team to deal with the worst case males, as you already know from what you saw inside. Now, all you have to do is smile and shake hands when I introduce you, and they should let us go on our way."

Alex looks back and Kat nods for him to continue, "As you also know, during Lock-down, which is when we will be arriving, all the Handlers and various other officials are all in the center of the facility. Only the patrol guards will be in the hallways, so if you can take out the cameras all at once with that magnetism of yours, I can trap our main threat inside their own fortifications."

Kat smiles warily, "And while you do that, I'm to take out all the guards who challenge a lone woman without ID wondering the Lock-down halls… I think not. Alex, if I can get near that center room, I can melt the doors to the posts. I'll also cover the windows with a metal layer while I'm shorting out the cameras. Then we can both proceed to the Lock-downs and I'll deal with the guards one-by-one while you are opening cells. I can create enough interference with magnetic fields to keep word from preceding our work."

Alex blinks and shakes his head with a slight grin, "Alright, so your way is better… that's what we'll do then. Come on, let's get going before they get suspicious of us being late." He throws his leg over the bike seat and straddles it, making his buckskin trench coat drapes down like a tan cape. Kat settles herself behind him and takes a moment to fasten the black trench coat around her waist. Once satisfied that her new coat is settled properly, Kat puts on her helmet and slips her arms around Alex' abdomen. Alex starts the motorcycle, pushes it upright, and kicks in the kickstand all in one swift motion.

Back at the Mansion, Megan is trying to hurry the X-men along, "Come on, by the time you are ready, my little girl could be hurt!"

Cyclops starts to say something but shuts his mouth at a glare and a whispered word from Storm, "Don't."

Megan continues to prod at Cyclops, Gambit, and a few of the other X-men, "Why did I agree to this? How is taking forever to leave helping my baby!"

Logan pulls Megan away from the others, "Calm down, babe. Chuck told us where she is and he wasn't too worried about 'er getting in 'ter trouble. So we must have some time."

"Since when has Charles been worried about anybody, Logan? This is MY baby we're talking about. I want her safe NOW, not a hundred years down the road!" Megan rants.

Just then the Cyclops comes over to them, "We're ready now. Shall we?"

Megan sighs, "It's about time!" Logan leads Megan onto the Blackbird while the Storm, Cyclops, Gambit, and the Beast are grabbing the last of their equipment. As they lift off, Megan sends out a prayer that they won't be too late.