Planning and Unraveling

"You don't know where he is?" Kitty asked over the phone. She sighed. "Lance is missing too. Oh, I can't believe that the Professor didn't sense this, and now we don't know where he is."

"Let's get going," Bobby finally said. "Sticking around here for too long can only lead to us getting captured."

"Where to?" Rose asked.

"Well, it has to be somewhat hidden," Ray said. "And cheap."

"And not mind eight mutants moving in and plugging in a large computer system connected to Cerebro via a very good wireless router," Arwen said.

"I have an idea," Jay said and looked at Sam.

"Who's gotten the best grades in flying?" Kitty asked as they all piled into the X-Jet.

Jubilee, Bobby, and Sam all turned to Ray. "I do okay," he said.

"Three perfect flight simulations," Jubilee said. "And that was before I left the first time."

"I've only really flown once," Ray said. "And Ms. Munroe was in the other seat that time."

"Well, I guess you're flying then," Kitty said. "Because I'm, like, not letting any of those six fly –"

"What's wrong with me?" Bobby asked.

"Um, last time I was in a plane you flew, I had to phase the whole thing through a cliff!" Kitty snapped. "And Sam and Jubilee definitely didn't help in that situation. And, no offense to you three, but you haven't ever piloted the X-Jet in any practice even."

"Do we have everything we need?" Sam asked as they prepared to fly the jet. Everyone nodded and took a seat.

"Sit down and I hope this isn't too bumpy," Ray said. "I've already contacted ATC, and they know and approve our flight, though they think we're originating from Canada."

"Starting now, no one is to use their powers unless it is an emergency," Kitty said as the plane lifted. "That makes it easier to detect us, and we need to find them first."

Scott moaned and rolled over. He opened his eyes and realized he was definitely not in his room. He was in a queen-sized bed with red velvet sheets in a large room. Something was definitely wrong with the situation. The last thing he could remember was grabbing Pheromones wrist, then his mind went blank. Scott rolled out of bed and walked to a door opposite a window covered in blinds. He opened the door and looked into the hall. Down the hall some ways, he heard some voices, all angry. He decided to check it out.

"Ah know ya know more than ya're tellin' us, Avalanche," Rogue shouted. "What is this place?"

"I already told you that, no, I do not know!" Lance shouted back. "I got ambushed a few days ago, and I've been here ever since."

"Zen how do ve get out of zis building?" Kurt demanded.

"Easy, you walk out the front door," Lance yelled.

"But a lot of good that'll do you," Danielle Moonstar said approaching the group. "We're on an island with no land visible in any direction. I can't even contact anyone not on the island."

"Scott!" Kurt perked up seeing Scott enter the scene. "You're avake!"

"Okay, Alvers," Scott said, pushing Lance against a wall. "What do you know that you're not telling us?"

"Nothing, Summers," Lance snapped. "Now, get your damn paws off me."

"He's telling the truth, Scott," Dani said. "He's a prisoner here just as much as you or me or Piotr."

"All I know is what anyone else here knows," Lance said pushing Scott away from him. "Magneto's bringing every mutant here."

Scott looked at Rogue and Kurt. "Did anyone escape Magneto?"

"Well, yeah," Rogue began. "Betcha won't like who the few were."

"I can imagine Logan…"

"Say my name, Shades?" Logan asked a beer in one hand and a cigar in the other.

"Wait, if you are… then who…"

"Kitty, Sam, Bobby, Ray, Arwen, Rose, Jubilee, and Jay," Jean followed behind Logan. "As far as we can tell, Magneto's yet to find them."

"Hello?" Sam called out opening the door to his house. The front lawn was littered with toys, and the house looked small compared to what Kitty thought it would be when she heard about his family.

"Sam!" a young voice called and suddenly a small brunette girl with pigtails and a teddy bear had latched herself to the lower half of Sam's body.

Sam smiled and patted the girl's head. "Everyone, this is Melody."

"Jay!" Melody yelled and grabbed the pant-leg of her other brother, pulling him closer. She looked at the group, and then up at Sam. "Why are you two home? Where's Paige? Are they all mutants like you? She's pretty, is she your girlfriend?"

"Well, you're just full of questions today," Sam said pulling her up into his arms. "Where's Mom?"

"Kitchen," Melody replied. Sam nodded and motioned for everyone to follow him inside.

"Ah! What are you doing here?" another brunette girl asked when he walked into the kitchen, despite the smile on her face. "And, why did you bring your whole class?"

"Sam," Sam's mother gasped. "Joshua, what's going on?"

"Well, you'll find this funny, I suspect," Sam began, "but, ya see…"

"We were attacked and need a place to stay for a while," Jay said without delay.

Their mother's face grew dark. "Attacked? Sam… what did you say when I asked if your siblings would be safe?"

"I said they'd be fine," Sam said looking at the ground.

"And, are they?"

"Well, Jay is…" Sam said slowly.

It seemed that their mother suddenly realized her eldest daughter was missing. "Where's Paige?"

"You're guess is as good as mine, Mrs. Guthrie," Bobby said walking into the room. "Hi, I'm Bobby. Now, whatever bad things you might have heard about me, ignore them."

"Bobby…" Sam began.

"Now, you see, I have taught Sam all about city life and how to fit in at Bayville," Bobby just continued.

"Bobby!" Sam yelled.

"What is it, Cannonball?" Bobby asked. "Oh, those look good. Can I have one?"

"Can we stay for a night or two?" Jay finally got to the point.

"What happened to the mansion Xavier owns?"

"Well, it's already been raided once," Sam said. "We didn't want to wait around for them to raid it again and collect us."

Kitty frowned at the progress of the two Guthrie boys on their own mother. "I'm very sorry if we are inconveniencing you in any way, Ma'am," she began stepping into the kitchen. "I promise, if you allow us to stay, we'll do our fair share of housework and abide by all your rules, but Magneto has captured all our instructors and the rest of our team, as far as we can tell. We just need a day or two to locate our professor, and then we'll be off to rescue him."

Mrs. Guthrie sighed. "Please, make yourselves at home."

"Thanks, Mom," Sam smiled and quickly kissed her cheek. He finally put down Melody and led the rest of the mutants on the grand house tour, which wasn't all that grand. It was a six-bedroom house, and each bedroom, aside from the mother's, held two beds. Sam and Jay's room was the first one they came to. Sam instructed everyone to put his or her belongings in there. He showed everyone the bedrooms of his siblings and pointed out his mother's room. Then he showed everyone the two bathrooms, the living room, and finally, the dining room.

"You guys want to set up the computer while I get blankets and pillows for everyone?" Sam asked.

"Sounds good," Kitty said pulling a chair up to the desk and opening the laptop she had grabbed from the professor's office.

"Hey, where'd your brother go?" Ray asked.

"Which one?"

Bobby gave him an annoyed stare. "The one we know."

"Oh, uh…, Joelle, what happened to Josh?"

"Probably went to see Julia," the brunette said walking by with a curious look on her face as Sam went to the hall closet. She entered the room where the rest of the mutants were gathered around Kitty. "So, do you girls, like, have a thing for Sam?"

"Arwen does," Bobby said sitting on what he assumed had to be Jay's bed. Arwen turned and wrinkled her nose at Bobby before returning her attention to Kitty. "What kind of dirt do you have on your brother?"

"Don't feel obligated to tell him anything," Ray said turning to the younger girl for a moment.

"Well, there's not much to say," Joelle said. "I mean, he never had any girlfriends or, well, anything happen to him before he started working in the mines."

"Hey, Joelle," Sam snapped walking into the room with a pile of blankets. "Zip it."

"But…" Sam gave her a stare and she quieted and walked away.

"Mines?" Jubilee asked. "Not to seem nosy, but, what's that about?"

Sam sighed. "My dad died a few years ago and when he did, I dropped out of school to help raise money by working in the mines around here. It's nothing big or anything. Did it over summer, too."

The sun was slowly setting. Charles Xavier sighed. He didn't know how he had allowed it to happen. Legion had blocked him for months as Emma Frost helped Magneto build an army. Now, only eight of his students remained free of Mutant Island, two of whom had only received just under a week of training. He tried to reach out to Kitty, but Legion wasn't far, blocking him from contacting anyone not on the island.

"Charles, it's been hours since you last ate," Dr. McCoy said in a timid voice as he walked onto the balcony the Professor had been on for hours. "We're all worried, but you have to eat. You're not going to help them if you lose your health."

"I do suppose you're right, Hank," the Professor nodded as he turned himself around. "I just worry so much for them, and what Magneto has planned. I can sense that he wants Arwen, but I haven't a clue why she is so important to him, but her mutant signature is far different from any other. It's almost as if she puts out two different ones."

The professor and Dr. McCoy walked through the hall to the large dining area. Many of the mutants in the room, he knew. Some, however, he had never detected on Cerebro even before they had been captured. And, whatever Magneto had planned, he felt that Emma Frost's Hellions and his Acolytes were all that were needed to complete the task, as now the Brotherhood boys were prisoners like the rest.

"I cannot believe our own father would do this to us!" Pietro yelled to Wanda while piling a large amount of chicken onto his platter. "He thinks that he is any better a mutant than us?"

"At least I caught most of those I was supposed to," Wanda snapped. "You failed to capture one girl, three times now."

"I don't like this, Professor," Scott said approaching the man with a prepared plate of food for him. "This reminds me of Asteroid M a little too much."

"Except that it's on a tropical island and Magneto's not trying to get us to do anything but have fun," Logan said. "It's a little fishy."

"I still don't see why we have to sleep in the living room," Bobby complained once the young groups of escaped mutants had decided to rest for the night. Kitty had finished setting up the computer and they had made one extraordinary discovery. The mutant that had kidnapped the professor was practically pure muscles and called himself Bulk.

"Because, we're letting the girls have the beds," Sam said laying his blankets on the floor. "At least you've got the couch."

"I'd rather have a bed," Bobby said.

"Wouldn't we all?" asked Ray. "But, we don't, so stop complaining."

Kitty stared up at the ceiling. She wondered where Lance was and whether or not he was alright. Her thoughts then drifted to the rest of the X-Men. And Rebecca. All her friends were in danger, and she had barely escaped. Kitty knew that she had to lead the small team of mutants on the rescue mission, but she didn't think she could. After all, she had never led a team in her life, not to mention a full-scale rescue mission with no guidance.

"Now, Eros," Magneto said to the young boy. "You know what you must do."

Duke nodded as Magneto took a few steps backward. All around the building, mutants interacted. He was looking for the most natural ones between males and females. Magneto wanted an army under his lead, but he could wait twenty years or so for a whole new generation of mutants to follow him.

Most of the interactions Duke saw didn't seem right. Some he knew he just couldn't interfere with. However, as he strolled along the beach, he saw a boy and girl staring out at the sliver of sun left. He immediately reached out and detected their feelings. It was love. With a slight alteration, he knew he could easily change it to something different, something that would help Magneto's plan. Duke left the love in both the boy in the red shades and the red-headed girl. On top of that, he added lust.

Moments later, the boy slung an arm around the girl's shoulders. She accepted the embrace and leaned into the boy. Duke smiled. He had started to fulfill Magneto's request, but he would only add a few more to the list until he knew his sister and Arwen were both safe.

"Is that seriously a rooster I hear?" Bobby asked the next morning when the noise of a bird shook him from his sleep. He didn't get a reply, so he opened his eyes and looked around to see both Sam and Ray must have woken much earlier as both their blankets were neatly folded and placed in the corner.

"No, that's a crow," the voice of one of Sam's brothers said coming into the room. "Sam and the rest of your friends have been up for hours now."

"What time is it?" Bobby asked the little boy.

"Nine o'clock," he replied. "If you want anything to eat, Joelle's cooking in the kitchen right now."

Bobby smiled. "Thanks, kid." As the boy walked out, Bobby quickly folded his blanket and threw it and his pillow on the pile in the corner, then quickly dropped in on his friends.

"Bout time you woke up," Sam said turning as Kitty continued to type on the computer. "Go get something to eat. Joelle said she'd cook you something."

When Bobby returned to the room after eating breakfast, the other six mutants (Jay was out again) all looked deep in thought. "What's up, guys?"

"We found where all the mutants are," Ray said. "The middle of the Pacific Ocean, miles away from any other land."

"Well, why don't we just fly the X-Jet over there, pick them all up…" Bobby began, but was cut off by Kitty.

"If you haven't noticed, the jet isn't quite that large. Different plan."

"I've been saying we obtain a cruise boat, an go straight to the island," Jubilee said. "It would take a few extra days, but we'd be able to get everyone off."

"How do we obtain a cruise liner?" Rose asked.

"We need to be prepared for Magneto's men to attack at any second," Kitty said. "And, find out what those metal boxes Magneto had were made of, though, I have a slight suspicion."

"And what's that?" Ray asked.

"You know how he is always wearing that helmet?" Everyone nodded. "Well, I think he used the same material. I mean, it's an alloy that Magneto invented himself, so he probably made it super-strong, unable to teleport out of a sealed container of it, and unable to phase through."

"So, how do you propose we destroy it?" Sam asked.

"Chemistry," Arwen replied looking at Kitty. "We somehow set fire to the boxes which will change their molecular compounds by adding oxygen."

"Okay, and how do you propose we do that," Bobby asked.

"That's simple, Sunspot has enough heat to do that," Kitty said. "But that only stops his containment boxes. As for getting everyone off the island, it's going to be a large team effort. We get Amara to cause volcanic eruptions to create new islands. Bobby cools them off enough to have people be able to step on them, and then using boats, Kurt's teleportation powers, Jean's telekinesis, whatever we can use. So, we need a map, a compass, and a GPS."

The seven mutants set to work. Kitty, Arwen, Rose and Jubilee printed several different kinds of maps from the computer. Ray and Bobby worked on disconnecting the GPS from the X-Jet. And Sam worked on searching his whole house until he finally found a good, working compass.

"How do we get to the island now that we have everything?" Bobby asked as they finished packing everything so that they had everything they needed in one backpack.

"Easy," Jubilee said. "We let them bring us. We attract them to us and they'll come, capture us and bring us right to the island where we find the professor and he helps spread the message."

"So, let's have one last meal and set off," Sam said.

"What about Jay?" Jubilee asked.

"Can we leave him out of this?" Sam asked. "He's only thirteen."

"I don't think so, Sam," Jay said coming into the kitchen. "I'm in on this too. So, what's the plan, exactly?"

"Strange how all this isn't effecting the students too much," Logan said to Ororo the next morning. "They're all acting like teenagers."

"That's what worries me most," Ororo replied. "After all, teenagers can be quite promiscuous, and I doubt that they'll hold off all their urges for too long. And who knows how long Magneto plans to keep us here."

"However long he has planned, we'll escape sooner or later," Logan said.

"I sure hope you're correct," Ororo said. "Why, just this morning, I spotted Quicksilver trying to sweet talk Amara, and Amara was flirting back. It made me very uneasy, even after I pulled Amara from the situation to talk with me."

"I know what you mean," Logan said. "Have you seen Jean and Scott this morning? Something happened between them last night… something big." There was silence between the two for a few moments before Logan spoke again. "And have you seen the easily accessible liquor supply Magneto has in the cellar? Not even I could go through all that, even if I lived here the rest of my life."

"So, Magneto takes us to a tropical paradise, gives us all our own room and thick walls, supplies us with more than enough liquor to get us drunk often, and hangs around so we know he's not attacking non-mutants or working for mutant superiority," Ororo laid all they knew out in front of them. "What is his plan?"

"Let's not forget how he's protecting that Duke kid whenever he gets threatened," Logan replied. "And he always seems to be going around with that Tip girl."

"Pheromones," Ororo said. "Her battle name is Pheromones. She must have the ability to manipulate Pheromones, which could explain how she controlled Scott and Evan. And Duke has been called Eros, the Greek god of love."

"So, you think he's trying to get us all to fall in love, increase our pheromones, and reproduce?"

"In less than twenty years, if he raises all those children, he's have a large mutant army grown and trained to hate all other humans," Ororo said. "That might be his plan."


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