You're going to see a few new characters introduced. Don't worry too much about them, as most won't appear for more than a few scenes. They're just there to be introduced, and then set aside to be further developed in later stories. The focus remains on the Brotherhood, Magneto, the X-Men, and Lucas, not on new characters (unlike some authors, I'd rather develop the characters I have then just dump in a bunch of new ones). Oh, and excuse the grammar.

Act 2, Chapter 2 (6)- Pietro's Team

Five years after the Brotherhood disbanded, Lance Alvers was secure in his new, well-paying job as the CEO of the Lee and Kirby Department Store in Manhattan. He was married to a supermodel and had a four-year-old son, but was especially proud of his collection of classic automobiles. Sometimes, he'd fly around the city in his private helicopter and simply dump loads of cash for the commoners below to collect. As he did so, Lance puffed a cigar and adjusted his monocle, then tipped his top hat and ordered the pilot to take him to his summer home in the Catskills.

Actually, I'm lying.

Lance was stuck in a low-paying job at a gas station in New York, not a long drive from Bayville. His station didn't have a full service center, and instead just had a small stand between the pumps, where Lance could dispense cigarettes, beef jerky, and other assorted crap. The stand was small and a little cramped, though he had a portable black-and-white television set to keep him amused.

Lance was a fairly muscular man with long brown hair and a small patch of hair on his chin and a cigarette in his mouth, which he wasn't actually allowed to have on-duty, but he didn't care. Lance wore torn jeans, a black shirt and a worn brown leather jacket. He tightened his hands, covered by black, fingerless gloves, around his beer bottle. Behind the bullet-proof glass, he was invulnerable, but also terribly bored. At one in the morning, he didn't see too many customers. Which was fine, because he hated dealing with them.

Alvers had worked at the gas station for four years. Though he kept in touch with Fred and Toad, he hadn't heard from Pietro since the group split. And worse, he hadn't seen Kitty Pryde in over a year. After the Xavier Institute's expansion, Kitty was devoting more and more of her time to her job, as well as her studies. There was never a real break-up; Lance and Kitty simply drifted. Sometimes he wondered what she was up to. Sometimes he wanted to pick up the phone and call her. But every time he did, he just set it back down, afraid he'd have to tell her that he was still a nobody dispensing poisons to other nobodies at a gas station.

Nobody was there to watch him, and with no customers, he decided to light up his own poison inside the booth, though he wasn't supposed to. He probably shouldn't be drinking, either...

"'Scuse me," said a voice.

"Yeah, what's up?" Lance asked. There was a mutant outside; Lance could tell he was a mutant because he had shiny, dark-purple skin. If that wasn't enough, he had long, stringy, dark red hair. His eyes were entirely yellow and his teeth were more jagged than a normal human's. He wore a dull gray leather trenchcoat, sealed tightly, and slid $10 through the slot.

"Yeah, gimme some smokes."

"What brand?"

"Oh, fuck. Fuck me, uh..." The mutant scratched his chin (producing an odd effect, as if his chin were made of gelatin), looking at the selection. "Fuck, fuck fuck, fuckity fuck."

"You got some vocabulary there." Lance quipped.

"Motherfucker don't fuck with me. Fuck!" he yelled at the bullet-proof glass. "Bitch, do you know who I am? DO YOU HAVE ANY FUCKING CLUE WHO THE FUCK I AM?"

"No," Lance replied. "Should I?"

"DAMN FUCKING MOTHERFUCKING STRAIGHT YOU SHOULD!" The mutant expanded upwards and outwards, becoming twice his original size. He would be imposing, if he didn't look like stretched silly putty, or if his coat didn't stay its normal size. His distorted sneer looked almost like an awkward smile. "I'M GORGEOUS GEORGE, BITCH! YOU NEVER HEARD OF ME? I'M ONE OF THE NASTY BOYS, MOTHERFUCKER!"

"Oh. Really?"

"Yeah. Really." Lance had only heard of them from a 'stupid criminals' bit on a late night talk show, after one of their members had tried to rob a liquor store afterhours by climbing in through the roof, only to discover he was locked in. Apparently, they were actually high school kids who just thought they were hard criminals. "Yeah, well what brand do you want?"

"You know what? I'm gonna take 'em all." George slid his putty-like hand through the slot and proceeded to squirm his entire arm inside. Lance sighed, and pressed his cigarette onto George's hand. He quickly withdrew his hand and gripped it, letting it ooze slightly in his other hand.

"Ow! Motherfucker means business. Damn!"

"You gonna buy some cigarettes or not?"

"Yeah... yeah, Salems. Get me some Salems." Lance gave George the cigarettes and his change. "Thanks man. Hey, we're cool right? Cool. Stay cool man, stay cool." George tucked the pack into his coat and slinked away. Lance shrugged and took another drag. Wait, the Nasty Boys were all high schoolers, and he just sold one of them cigarettes? Ah well. Lance had done worse things on the job.

--------------------

Fred Dukes sat ringside at a wrestling match, wearing a black suit and sunglasses. The suit had been tailored just for him; it was probably the best-fitting outfit Fred had ever had. Fred was a massive guy, easily three times wider than a normal human, completely bald, clean-shaven and with eyes slightly sunken back among the fat covering his face, giving the impression that he was older and more mature than he actually was. His size drew many stares, not only because it was hard not to stare at a man that size, but also because no normal human could ever hope to reach his girth and still walk around.

It wasn't obvious just by looking at him, but Fred had fallen on hard times. Returning to his hometown of Lubbock, Fred asked his uncle Jack, a cattle rancher, for work. Uncle Jack, however, told Fred that he couldn't afford to house him, considering his eating habits and size. Fred insisted on pulling his own weight, all of it, even if it meant getting multiple jobs. Uncle Jack insisted that he shouldn't trouble himself, that he couldn't afford to hire any more hands, among other excuses.

Fred slowly realized that since he'd left Texas, views had changed- or more appropriately, views that hadn't applied to Fred now did. Fred's family had turned against him. Now that they knew what he was, they didn't want his kind in their homes, even if he was their flesh and blood. Only Fred's grandparents, who had raised him, still welcomed him. But for an obvious mutant like Fred, it was hard to find work. In order to ease the burden on his grandparents, Fred decided to leave Lubbock altogether and scour the state for work.

This led him to Dallas, where he worked in various labor positions before he found work as a bar bouncer for three years. While there, he was discovered by his current employer.

"Unus the Untouchable, the new American Wrestling Federation champion!" one of the promoters announced. Standing next to him was a muscle-bound, black-haired man wearing black leather pants and a tight black shirt with his own personal logo in red. This man was Angelo Unuscione, a professional wrestler who went by the stage name Unus the Untouchable. Behind him, on the canvas, was his fallen opponent, the villainous heel called Strong Guy.

After all the post-fight promotions had died down, Unus retreated backstage, away from fans or the media.

"Great performance out there, sir," Fred complimented.

"Aw, thanks, Fred," Unus replied. "Glad there was no trouble tonight." Unus had special need for a mutant bodyguard; Unus himself was a mutant, the first openly mutant professional wrestler. When he first revealed himself, several others followed suit. Their bosses at first wanted to fire the mutant wrestlers, but decided that it would spice up each event. Still, many wrestling fans were outraged that mutants were being allowed. Unus's powers allowed him to keep himself protected, very well in fact- he could create a force field around himself, hence the title 'untouchable.' But even then, he had to create the field, and if caught unprepared, Unus could still be attacked from behind. He needed someone to watch his back, and that's where Fred came in.

In the locker room, Unus and Fred were met by Unus's arch-enemy, Strong Guy, a fellow mutant. Strong Guy was taller than Unus, with an oddly proportioned body- his arms were large, but his legs were narrow. Strong Guy wore jeans, but no shirt, as well as red-tinted glasses. His head was mostly bald, except for a yellow-white shock of hair growing out of his forehead. Years ago, Unus and Strong Guy had been tag team partners who had a falling out, and since became bitter rivals.

"C'mere!" The two hugged and slapped each others' backs. "Champ, huh?"

Well, the script said that, anyway.

"Yeah," Unus said. "It feels kinda good. Sorry about you, though, pal."

"Ah, I've been a loser before, y'know?" Strong Guy chuckled. "Who's the cueball?"

"Guido, this is Fred Dukes," Unus said, putting a hand on Fred's large shoulder. "Just hired him, found him working a club."

"Fred Dukes, eh? Bodyguarding's not so bad," Guido told Fred. "Me, I used to be a bouncer for Ali Blaire. You know. Before the drugs. Heh, before the drugs, who am I kidding? If you don't mind my noticing, you're pretty big."

"Yep. I'm a mutant," Fred told him.

"Get out, me too! We should get together sometime, and go bowling," Guido said.

"You know, Guido and I have been thinking about starting our own league, something for mutants," Unus told Fred. "Maybe you could join us."

"Actually, I'm not too good at bowling," Fred admitted, showing his large fingers.

"No, a wrestling league," Unus added.

"Oh, really? That'd be great! I've always wanted to wrestle!" Fred replied enthusiastically. Despite his size, he reacted almost like a little boy who had been offered his own flamethrower. "Wait, is it gonna be staged, or can we really wrestle?"

"I don't see why not," Unus said. "I'm getting tired of acting anyway."

As Unus walked out of the arena, he was greeted by a mob of fans. Several security officers were already keeping them behind barricades, but Fred kept his eyes open. At any time, one of them-

"HEY ANUS!"

And there he was. Crazy guy, chubby, wearing a shirt with a rival wrestler's logo on it. He jumped over the barricade and ran to Unus with something silver in his hand. Quickly, Fred jumped in front of Unus and caught the crazed fanatic, lifting him over his head. He shook him until he dropped the knife in his hand, then turned him back to the ground and dropped him. Several security officers ran to him.

"Christ almighty," Unus muttered. "I liked it better when the fans were kids and not delusional teenagers. Good work, Fred."

"Just doing my job," Fred grinned. For Fred Dukes, life wasn't so bad anymore.

--------------------

"Oh yeah? Sounds great, man," Todd Tolensky, better known as Toad, said on his cell phone. Toad's long, dirty blond hair hung past his shoulders, some of it in his face, so he brushed it aside to reveal his yellow teeth and pale skin. His voice was slightly scratchier than it had been when he first joined the Brotherhood; however, he wore the same uniform, which still fit him, though it was a little tighter now.

Toad sat in a sensibly-sized metal room, behind a metal desk, across from some metal chairs. To either side was a metal door. You guessed it, Toad was in a metal lobby.

"No, it's not that bad here," Toad said to the phone. "I mean, like I said, I'm used to it. The dorks ain't, but eh. I dunno-"

"TOAD!"

"Aaah... Freddy, listen, I'll call you back." Toad quickly put the phone down. "What do you need, boss?"

"I need for you to be working," Magneto said, stepping into the lobby. One of the doors led to the hallway of the Xavier Institute's lower level; the other led right into Magneto's office. "You have that phone for business, not for calling your friends. Now come with me, we have work to do."

"Right, boss," Toad said as he hopped over his desk. Magneto walked out the door, and Toad activated the lock near the door before following.

After five years, the expansions to the Xavier Institute were long since completed. The Institute was the name for the common grounds shared by two separate schools: the first was Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, a private school that taught junior and high school classes (since most mutants don't discover that they are mutants until around puberty, there were few elementary school aged students) as well as basic mutant-power related classes (each instructor worked with a squad of about ten each week to help train them). The second was Xavier's School for Higher Learning, a school that taught college-level courses, but did not give out degrees (though credit did transfer to other schools); the focus of this school was in giving advanced training in mutant abilities, including limited access to the Danger Room. It was an open secret that this school was less of a learning institution and more of a recruitment ground for potential X-Men. Storm was the official headmistress of the combined schools.

Two other schools had opened across the country: Xavier's School West Coast in San Francisco, staffed mostly by the second generation from the Institute, otherwise known as the New Mutants, as well as Angel himself, who had been persuaded to serve as the headmaster in addition to his financial contributions; and the Massachusetts Academy. The Academy already existed, but recently added a program for mutants sharing courses and instruction with the Xavier Institute, though the Academy was not an official Xavier franchise. Both schools trained mutants, but neither sent them on missions; their respective staff members were another matter. Professor Xavier remained at the original Xavier Institute, leaving the academic decisions to Storm and the military assignments to Magneto, focusing instead on serving as a superintendent of sorts for the combined schools.

As for Magneto, he was in charge of mission control for the X-Men and their underground facilities, and had essentially become the de facto leader of the X-Men, after Xavier decided to focus more on education than military missions. This meant that most students enrolling at the School of Higher Learning fell as much under Magneto's jurisdiction as Storm's. Cyclops remained the field leader of the X-Men, but had to meet with Magneto for clearance on every mission, something he wasn't especially happy about.

Toad's position among the Institute staff hadn't really changed much; he had little authority outside of Magneto's command, but he was cleared to enter nearly every room of the Institute's lower levels. In addition to being Magneto's personal assistant and secretary, he was also his right-hand man. Magneto taught Toad many things about the Institute and often asked him to handle technical details, feeling that Toad was more trustworthy than many of the X-Men, many of whom still hadn't completely learned to trust either Toad or Magneto.

With his technical skills bolstered under Magneto's tutelage, Toad had overseen minor additions to Institute security, communications, and even minor upgrades to the Danger Room equipment. He knew how to fly a jet, and even knew how to operate some machinery of Magneto's own invention; most of which was kept low profile. About the only thing Toad didn't have access to was Cerebro, and Toad would be the first to admit he'd have absolutely no idea how it worked.

"Make a note, Toad," Magneto dictated as the two walked down the hall. "The Danger Room's hologram projectors are running out of line, I want them re-synchronized, and take a look at the drones while you're there, some of the students have reported some glitches and I want to you to make sure they're operating normally. Also, take an order for me. I'm going to need two tons of raw steel, one ton of titanium, three tons of aluminum, and two kilograms of adamantium. Oh, and my stock of beverages is running low."

"Sounds like you got quiet a party planned," Toad said, writing everything down on his PDA.

"Just basic supplies for the students. We save a lot if I shape the raw metals myself. Are there any important events today?"

"Uh... nothin' fancy," Toad said, checking the calendar. "Oh, it's Jean's birthday tomorrow. You gettin' her somethin' this year?"

"Yes, but just a token gift. I'll give her wine again. Add another bottle of Mourvèdre to that list. As a matter of fact, take care of the drinks before anything else."

"Gotcha. Anythin' else?"

"No. Get going."

"Right, boss." Toad hopped ahead of his boss, bounding a corner and startling Cyclops, rudely hopping on ahead. "Pardon me, shades!"

"That little..." Cyclops turned to Magneto. Scott's hair was buzzed and stood up slightly, and he wore the black and gold uniform that was standard among the Xavier Institute instructors, along with a black variation of his old visor. "Magneto, we've got a situation downtown. I've got the X-Jet standing by and I'm taking Jean and Nightcrawler with me."

"Very well," Magneto confirmed. He didn't mind Cyclops taking a few teammates out to stop some minor disturbance, but Magneto grew restless. Nothing major had happened in a whole year. The last time was the appearance of Lucas and Wanda; the pair had fought the X-Men on a few occasions during the last four years, most of the time coming out on top, but still unprepared for the combination of Magneto and Professor Xavier. It troubled Magneto and they'd heard nothing from them in a year. Suspicious by nature, Magneto surmised that they were biding their time. There was nothing about this lull that he liked. Yet, he couldn't convince Professor X to actively seek them out. For now, he couldn't afford to make a move without the backing of Xavier and his X-Men.

But he knew something was going to happen. He didn't need psychic powers for that.

--------------------

Lance walked up the rickety stairs of his apartment building, carrying a bag of groceries. Fumbling for his keys, he opened the creaking door and entered his small, poorly furnished apartment. True to Lance's nature, it was grungy, it was messy, it was unorganized, and it was home.

And he had a guest.

"Lance Alvers," said the Scottish-accented man standing in what was essentially Lance's living room. He was about as tall as Lance, and apparently had a fondness for leather, as his black pants, vest, and matching jacket were made of leather. He wore a studded collar and matching bracelets, though he wore what seemed to be a formal coat over this ensemble. His mane-like blonde hair fell down to his shoulders, matching the tuft of hair below his lip. This, of course, was Lucas.

"Not again," Lance mumbled. "This has got to be the fourth time that guy's male strippers have gotten the wrong house. You're looking for Sergio, he's two doors down."

"Oh, you're a funny one," Lucas replied. "No, I'm not a male stripper."

"Fine, exotic dancer, whatever, just get out of my apartment."

"You may have heard of me, Lance. My name is Lucas, and I'm a mutant, like you. I understand you used to work for Magneto, and Mystique."

"Yeah, what about it?" Lance asked, more annoyed than anything.

"I'm putting together a little team," Lucas explained. "I could use someone with your talent and experience, Avalanche, and I know you have no love for Charles Xavier's little daycare center."

"You got that right. So what do you want?"

"Your cooperation," Lucas explained. "I have a date with Xavier. I'm going to need a strong team to keep his X-Men distracted while I tend to their old man. Do you think you could do that?"

"Fuck you," Lance told him. "I'm done with that. It's always someone against the X-Men. Magneto, Mystique, fucking high school principals... I'm done. I hate them, but I'm not gonna pick a fight with them just because some goth dick psychopath with a vendetta told me to. Get out of here."

"I have to say, I'm disappointed," Lucas said, crossing his arms. "If that's your answer, then I'll leave you be." Lucas walked around the couch on his way out, but stopped right next to Lance, then wrapped his arm around him, putting. Into Lance's ear, Lucas whispered, "Like it or not, Avalanche, you're going to be a part of this. You're going to wish you'd sided with me."

"Like I haven't heard that before," Lance said, throwing Lucas's arm off. Lucas sneered, and walked out the door. Lance rubbed his face, already realizing that he was going to have to get involved.

He moved an ashtray and an old magazine aside and picked up his phone.

--------------------

Fred Dukes walked behind Unus the Untouchable as he shopped at an electronics store in Dallas, where they lived. One of his friends had thrown a bottle at his television after his football team lost, and considering the man was a mutant, it was time for Unus to get a new one (after getting his friend to pay him for his loss).

"What do you think, Dukes?" Unus asked, sitting in a recliner in a demo area, rigged with an expensive surround sound system and a giant HD screen. "Beats my old set up, doesn't it?"

"Oh, yeah," Fred agreed. "But... uh, you sure you wanna pay that much for this?"

"No worries, I'm rich," Unus insisted with a grin. "You! Blueshirt. C'mere. I'm taking this home." A few feet away, a young girl of about fifteen was looking at portable CD players. As Unus negotiated with a salesman, Fred walked over to her. The girl was pretty- not supermodel pretty, and not Jean Grey pretty, but she certainly wasn't ugly. Just pretty enough to likely not realize she was pretty; she was a wearing denim skirt and a hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, clearly trying to hide herself. That just made Fred even more curious. He caught a glimpse of what seemed to be grayish-purple hair beneath the hood. Was she a mutant?

"That's a good one," Fred commented as the girl looked at an inexpensive player. "Good brand."

"Oh," the girl said shyly... or perhaps nervously. She looked at Fred, slightly surprised at his size. Her skin was a little pale and covered with light freckles. Her eyes were a deep purple, set behind a pair of glasses. "Really?"

"Yeah, I have one of those," Fred told her. "Works pretty well for that price. My name's Fred, by the way. Friends call me Freddy."

"My name's Ellie," she told him. It was pretty obvious that she didn't have much experience with conversation. "So, this one's good?"

"Yeah. Well, that depends on what you're looking for," Fred explained. "That one there plays mp3s, but I'm gonna be honest, I don't know how to work those. That one there, you pay for the brand name. Uh... that one, I don't know what's special about it to make it cost so much."

"But this one's good?" Ellie asked, holding her first selection.

"Yeah. That's the one I got."

"Okay. Thanks." Ellie tucked it into her sweatshirt and started to walk away.

"Whoa, wait a minute, you're just gonna take it?" Fred asked. When questioned, Ellie started to run in a panic. Fred looked back at Unus, who was filling out paperwork. None of the employees seemed to notice the running shoplifter. Quickly, Fred bounded after her, moving rather fast for a man of his bulk. He caught her by the hood and held her up to eye level. "Now listen, Ellie, it's not that I hate stealing. Some of my best friends steal. I just can't let you be so obvious about it."

"Huh?" Ellie asked. Fred set her down. Her hood fell back behind her, revealing her grayish-purple hair, falling just past her shoulders. That just confirmed Fred's suspicion that she was a mutant. "You're not gonna stop me?"

"Nah, I'm gonna help you." Fred looked around the store. He spotted a series of refrigerators and washing machines. "Tell you what. I'm gonna make a distraction. You go towards the door, and when you see an opening, run for it."

"I... uh, okay," Ellie said, still not sure if Fred was bluffing or not. She pulled her hood back over her head and inconspicuously made her way closer to the store's entrance. Once she was a safe distance away, Fred cracked his knuckles and grabbed a refrigerator, lifting it over his head.

"Yeah! Check that out!" Fred yelled loud enough for the entire store to hear. He took a washing machine with his other hand and lifted it over his head. "Can I work it or what? Can't trust a machine you can't lift over your head! Hahahaha!"

Soon, several blue-shirted employees were practically rushing over to him, either to try to get him to stop or possibly to try and sell him both appliances. Ellie noticed that everyone was looking at Fred; quickly, she ducked out and ran through the door, sounding the alarm; unfortunately, she froze as streaks of electrical energy surged through her and the alarm stalls. Now Fred's diversion was second to Ellie's power surge.

Several employees had gathered around the entrance, but all kept their distance, unsure of how to handle the situation. Fred dropped the appliances and rushed over.

"What's going on?" Unus asked, joining him in mid-run.

"No time," Fred told him. The massive mutant pushed several frightened customers out of his way and even knocked over a DVD display stand on his way to the entrance. Pushing past the useless employees, Fred ran to Ellie and put his arms around her, the electrical surges running through his body. He moved backwards, pulling Ellie out of entrance stalls and back into the store. The electrical nightmare was over, but the stalls were practically destroyed. Fred himself smoked a little, but was mostly unharmed.

Ellie, however, was unconscious.

"Lemme see her," Unus said as Fred set her down on the floor. He checked her pulse. "She's fine. Still breathing. But we'd better get her to the emergency room."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Fred asked. He picked up the unconscious Ellie and ran out the door with Unus. Unus suddenly turned back and ran to one of the managers.

"I'll give you a call in a few minutes so we can talk about the delivery."

--------------------

Lance sat on a bench outside of the mansion at the Xavier Institute, after breaking the news to Professor Xavier. He fidgeted, half-consciously searching himself for a pack of cigarettes. He growled at himself for forgetting that Summers had confiscated them when he caught him trying to smoke on the Institute grounds.

Professor Xavier had been in the Cerebro chamber since Lance had spoken to him.

"Hi," Kitty Pryde said, walking up to him in her X-Men uniform. Kitty hadn't grown too much taller, though she did look more mature. Her hair was no longer tied in a ponytail, instead trimmed fairly short, and black-and-yellow uniform left her midriff bare. Lance and Kitty hadn't seen each other in a year. They'd drifted, but Lance could tell by her body language that the fire wasn't all gone. She looked at him silently for a moment before saying, "I heard you met Lucas."

"Yeah, no big deal," Lance replied.

"It kind of is around here. He's been attacking us for years, but it's been a while since he's tried anything. It's kinda weird, you know? He's been planning revenge, but why did he wait so long?"

"I don't know and I don't care," Lance chuckled. "I keep trying to stay out of this, but someone always has to bring me back in."

"Did someone put a gun to your head and tell you to come here?" Kitty asked sarcastically.

Lance was about to respond, but instead looked away. He noticed a group of mutant kids playing basketball, one of them cheating by extending his rubber-like arms over the hoop. "How've your students been?"

"They're a handful, but it's more fun that I thought it'd be," Kitty admitted. "It sort of takes me back."

"Back to being the class nerd?" Kitty pushed him lightly and laughed.

"Hey, don't lecture me on school. You don't even have a high school diploma."

"I was working on a GED," Lance defended. "I mean, it's not like it makes a difference."

"Of course it does," Kitty said. "If you don't have an education, you're not going to get past the gas station, you know. Why don't you sign up for a few courses here?"

"Yeah, and how am I supposed to pay for them?"

"You could waive the fee in exchange for volunteering as a member of the X-Men," Kitty proposed. "I could talk to the Professor abou-"

"No way," Lance protested. "I tried the X-Men once, I'm not going back to that. I'd rather join the military."

"So why don't you?" Kitty teased.

"Maybe I will!" Lance threatened jokingly. "Sure beats all of this bullshit. I mean, you've got Magneto hanging around here now, you've got Toad living in your house, and now he's too busy to hang out, Gambit doesn't seem to have trouble getting a place to stay whenever he shows up, Xavier's standards have seriously dropped."

"Maybe, but at least we're making progress," Kitty retorted. "Look at you. What do you plan to do with your life?"

"I... I dunno. I'm just gonna wait and see what happens."

"Don't wait too long." Kitty pecked him on the cheek and stood up. "I'll see you later, Lance." She walked back towards to building. Lance shrugged and leaned back on the bench.

--------------------

"You? College?" Toad asked over the phone. Lance was still driving the same crummy jeep, holding a cell phone to his ear. It had actually been a year since Lance had physically seen Toad. Despite having probably been less than fifteen feet away from Toad when he had gone to the Institute an hour earlier, Toad wasn't available- he was usually busy running an errand for Magneto. He could, however, talk on the phone while doing such. "You sure you wanna do that? I mean, it ain't easy... and it ain't cheap."

"Just community college," Lance told him. "I'm gonna see if I can't get an associate's degree."

"Okay, but in what?"

"I haven't decided yet," Lance replied. "Engineering, I guess. Or business."

"Nah, don't do business!" Toad protested. "Everyone does business. Hey, I hear there's good money in nursing."

"Fuck you, I'm not gonna be a nurse. And don't say I'm doing it for Kitty, because I'm not. Well, a little. Don't tell her that." Lance sighed. "It just feels awkward, she's already teaching, and she's with the X-Men, and she's already earned a degree in physics. And she's only twenty! How did she do all that?! And look at me, I don't even have a high school diploma. Spent the last four years working at a fucking gas station. Argh."

"Well it's that or th' army," Toad replied. "Aw, boss's callin', I gotta go." Toad abruptly hung up. Lance tossed his phone onto the passenger's seat and continued his drive.

--------------------

"You were trying to help her shoplift?" Unus asked a nervous Fred in the emergency room's waiting area. Even if he was a head shorter than Fred and a third his size, Unus was a very intimidating man, crossing his arms across his large chest. "What's the matter with you?"

"What's the problem? It was just a CD player," Fred insisted.

"You don't steal, and you don't help people steal. It's not right, Fred. I used to be that way when I was a kid. I did worse. I got out of that, and so did you."

"Well yeah, but... I dunno. I dunno what I was thinking, sir." Fred sat down, taking up about three seats. The doors opened and Ellie stepped out, a little woozy but okay, and joined by an old doctor.

"She'll be fine," the doctor said. "She just needs rest."

"What happened back there?" Fred asked.

"I'm... a mutant," Ellie confessed. "I'm not very good with electrical things."

"We'd better get you home. Where do you live?" Unus asked.

"Um... I kind of..." Ellie looked around, trying to think of a good answer. She sucked it up and admitted, "I kind of don't have one."

"Don't have one?" Unus asked skeptically.

"You ran away, didn't you?" Fred asked. "Your family didn't want to believe what you were." Ellie looked down and nodded. "C'mere." Ellie went to him and Fred wrapped his arms around here. If there was anyone who understood that, it was Fred. "I guess you can probably tell I'm a mutant, too. So's my boss. It's okay. Nothing to be ashamed of." Fred laughed to himself.

"What's so funny?" Unus asked.

"Heh, I sound like one of the Xavier dorks," Fred chuckled. "Boss, could we...?"

"Could we what?" Unus stared back at him. Catching his message, he shook his head. "Look, I can give her a place to stay for a few days, but I can't go takin' in strays. Now come on, let's get out of here. Hospitals give me the creeps."

--------------------

"So, you're a bodyguard?" Ellie asked, sitting in Unus's large kitchen with Fred, eating a bowl of soup, while Fred ate a sandwich. Unus had already gone to sleep. The house was larger than Fred was used to, but it only made sense for a professional wrestler to have a large house. Not quite the mansion Xavier had, but Fred wasn't about to complain. Unus didn't need protection at all times, but he'd allowed Fred to move in when the large mutant had difficulty finding an apartment that could accommodate him.

"Yep," Fred said proudly between bites. "See, Unus is a mutant, and a lot of people don't like mutant celebrities, so I gotta keep an eye open. That's why I'm living here, too."

"What can you do?" Ellie asked.

"Nothing too fancy. I just got a lot of muscle, and a lot of bulk. But pretty much nothing can hurt me."

"I wish I had that power," she said.

"You wouldn't like it," Fred admitted. "You can't go anywhere without people staring. Plus, they'd call you things like Blob. That's my nickname, y'know."

"You let people call you that?" Ellie asked. "Doesn't it hurt?"

"Used to, but I got thick skin now. I kind of like it now. But yeah, what are your powers?"

"Oh... well, I haven't really figured them out," Ellie said, brushing some hair out from behind her glasses. "I hear a lot of mutants get their powers in their teens. All that happened to me was my hair and eyes changed color. Then I kept getting static shocks. When I touch machines sometimes, they just kind of stop working."

"Sounds like you just need to get used to them," Fred suggested.

"Well, that's not it. My dad was yelling at me one day... he kinda yelled at me a lot since my hair changed color... but I threw my hands at him and he fell. He stood up, all woozy, and it took days before he could see straight. He was so angry... that's when I left."

"Sounds tough." Fred had never been known for his verbal abilities.

"I really appreciate you and your boss letting me stay," Ellie said, smiling slightly. "But I don't know where to go from here." Fred closed his eyes, and mentally prepared himself for what he was about to tell her. Almost as if holding back vomit, Fred tried to squeeze the words out. Finally, he told her.

"I know a place," Fred blurted finally, half-startling Ellie. "It's in New York. Bayville. There's a school there..."

"The Xavier School?" Ellie asked, interested.

"Yeah. I kinda got connections there," Fred said, priding himself on it now that he knew she had heard of it.. "I've got a friend who works there. Works for Magneto himself. I used to work for Magneto too, you know. I've got another friend who's dating one of the teachers." Fred was aware that Lance and Kitty's relationship was over as far as he knew, but it sounded good. "The X-Men even asked me to help them fight Apocalypse."

"Really?" Ellie lit up. "But, I don't have any money... and I don't want to have to make you guys pay for anything else."

"Actually, I don't remember what their payment situation is," Fred admitted. "I think regular classes are free. Either way, I can make a few calls and get you all set up."

"Thank you, Fred," she said. "Thank you so much."

"Aw, don't mention it," Fred grinned. This thing about helping people wasn't so bad.

"So... what was it like fighting Apocalypse?" Ellie asked with all the curiosity of a little girl wanting to hear an adventure story.

"Well, it was like this. Me and some of my buddies were sitting around at home, and all of a sudden, one of the X-Men knocks on the door..."

--------------------

"Welcome, Professor Xavier," the computerized female voice said.

Professor Xavier donned the Cerebro helmet and mentally activated the main system. The lights on the bridge lit up in a sequence, leading from the door to the main unit, and then to the console. Once the device reached full power, the lights around the spherical chamber dimmed as more of the Institute's self-generated power went into Cerebro.

The tile panels on the wall faded away, showing him in infinite void, through which he could see the clouded, vague images of everyone his mind could reach, people in Bayville, people in foreign lands, and people who were paranoid that someone might be looking through their head.

But Professor Xavier didn't need to find these people. He ignored all the thought patterns he sensed, focusing only on a single mind, which he soon found.

Or rather, it found him.

"Hello, father," the voice echoed in his head.

"David... David!"

"Don't bother looking for me. We'll see each other soon enough." And then, Lucas disappeared.

--------------------

The X-Men scrambled through the lower levels as alarms and sirens went off. Cyclops led the charge as his team finished putting on their uniforms in mid-run. Near the exit was Toad, crouched on the floor and waiting for the group.

"Magneto says he wants th' team split into two," Toad relayed. "One half covers the front, th' other gets th' back."

"That's what we usually do when alarms are tripped on both sides," Cyclops growled. "Tell him it's already been covered."

"Th' automated defenses went offline," Toad explained, hopping along Cyclops as the team exited into the mansion. "You're gonna have to rely entirely on th' team."

"Yes, Toad, I'm aware of that. We know how to do our jobs." Toad stopped hopping and let the team pass him.

Uh oh.

Okay, so who did we meet? Gorgeous George, Unus the Untouchable, Strong Guy and a girl named Ellie. Okay. Who the hell are they?

Gorgeous George is a member of the Nasty Boys, the unfortunately named group of minions who once worked for super-scientist and general sexual predator/drag queen Mr. Sinister. I don't think anyone except their creators took them seriously. He will not appear again in this story.

Unus is one of the older X-Men villains. He was an early ally of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and a criminal partner of the Blob. He was also a wrestler. What you've seen so far is about as much of a role as he plays in this story.

Strong Guy is, of course, Strong Guy. He used to be with X-Factor, back when Havok was leading the team. These days, he's with Jamie Madrox's detective agency... also called X-Factor. Jamie's a kid here, so it's best to assume they're not really familiar with each other. We're done with Guido.

And our new friend Ellie happens to Phantazia, aka Eileen Harsaw... a relatively obscure member of Toad's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants from the 90's. I won't get into her vaguely electric powers right now, since they're actually pretty complicated. For all intents and purposes, this slightly renamed version of Phantazia is a blank slate; the original Phantazia had little personality beyond "HA HA I AM EVIL!" She'll put in another minor appearance, but otherwise she's done for the story.

Hey, are you out of food yet? Go get some more. Bring me something. Seriously, bring me something, I'm hungry.