Zombies in Chicago!

Disclaimer: "Ridin' along in my automobile..." - Chuck Berry

Chapter 10: Some Plot Advancement!

Location Unknown

Vanna Creed wandered into a convenience store. It was one of those convenience stores that was open twenty-four seven. The blonde feral walked up to the counter.

"Where's your gum?" She asked cutely.

"Second aisle." The clerk answered, not even looking up from the newspaper he was reading.

"Thank you." The blonde nodded, making sure her hat and long blonde hair hid her leaf-like ears. She didn't want this guy discovering she was a mutant. The blonde feline feral walked down the aisle.

"Ooh. Gum..." Vanna picked up a pink package of gum. "Huh." She opened the package and pulled out some pink gum. The blonde took a sniff. "Ooh, smells nice..." The blonde mutant then put the whole container of gum in her mouth and started chewing. "Mmm!" She opened up a couple more containers and stuffed the gum in her mouth. "Good gum."

"Hey, that pop star is at it again..." The oblivious clerk mumbled to himself as he continued to read his newspaper.

"Hee hee hee..." Vanna giggled. "He's silly." She then noticed several cylindrical containers. "Huh?" The blonde feral went over to the containers and noticed they were chips. "Hee hee..." She grabbed several containers and shoved them into her coat. "Now, I need a drink..." Vanna was helped by her talent for stealth, and the fact that the clerk really wasn't paying any attention. He was more interested in the funny pages than keeping an eye out for shoplifters. She looked up and down the coolers until she found a box of soda cans. "Perfect." She took out the box of cans from the cooler. She walked out of the store. "Thank you!" She waved. The blonde feral smiled. "I got me some food."

"Heh heh, poor Odie. You'll never get a break..." The clerk chuckled, never keeping his eyes off the newspaper.

Bayville Mall

CRASH!

"Oof!" Wrecker grunted as he got blasted through a wall by Scott Summers, the optic-blasting X-Man codenamed Cyclops. The X-Men found themselves in the midst of a brawl with the Wrecking Crew, a group of thugs empowered by Asgardian magic, and regular foes of the Avengers, Thor in particular.

"Yah!" Rogue exclaimed. POW! A mighty punch from the Southern-born mutant nailed Thunderball.

"Oof!" He grunted as he flew into a display. The blow dazed the green-and-yellow-clad thug for a moment. "Lorelei, let's liiive together..." He then shook his head.

"You like Styx?" Rogue blinked as Thunderball shook off his haze and started twirling his wrecking ball over his head.

"I do enjoy the classics, my dear." The former physicist smirked. "You children have no appreciation for good music!"

"Obviously, you don't play Guitar Hero." Bobby Drake, the Iceman, quipped as he blasted Thunderball with an ice beam. Meanwhile, Piledriver was facing off against Cannonball.

"Hold still, kid!" Piledriver grunted, trying to nail the blond Kentuckian with his large fists.

"Sorry, but Ah don't like the thought of those things hittin' mah head." Sam answered.

"Kid, I may be a farm boy, but I grew up in Brooklyn!" Piledriver warned. "I'll catch ya!" Cannonball couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Ah can't see ya raisin' sheep." Sam blinked.

"You'll be raisin' stars when I catch ya! C'mere!" Piledriver yelled.

"Alright, kid..." Wrecker scowled at Scott. "Ya know, you got guts, blastin' me. I give ya that. It takes guts to start somethin' with me and be willin' ta finish it. But I'm gonna make ya eat this crowbar, kid. I'm gonna stuff this bar down yer throat and give you a view of your guts!"

"I don't think so!" Jean Grey scowled, lifting up the Asgardian-empowered thug with her telekinesis.

"Thanks, Jean." Scott nodded.

"Oh ho, so you got a redhead girlfriend too, huh?" The Wrecker smirked. "You and Creel should share stories.

"Creel?" Jean blinked.

"The Absorbing Man." Scott remembered. "Jubilee told me about him. He fought Thor, too. And the Hulk. And the Avengers."

"Can't Thor keep his villains to himself?" Jean grumbled.

"Grrrr..." The Wrecker struggled against his telekinetic bonds.

"I'm sure if you tell him that, he'll let 'em know." Scott replied. "Let 'im go, Jean."

"You got it, Scott." Jean nodded. She released the Wrecker, and during that split-second the Asgardian-empowered thug still remained in the air, Scott nailed the thug with another optic blast, sending him flying through the ceiling.

"Come on, ya Commie!" Bulldozer charged towards Piotr in his human form. "Come and get you some, boy!"

"I am not a Commie. Russia is a democracy now." Piotr frowned, armoring up. Bulldozer collided with the steel-skinned Russian mutant.

POW!

"Oog..." Piledriver bounced backward, landing on his back, his helmet dented.

"Ugh!" Piotr fell over like a big metal domino.

"You okay, Colossus?!" Kitty asked.

"I am okay." Piotr nodded.

The Southside Misfits' Firehouse

"I had better get back to work." Johnny B realized.

"Yeah, you do that." Vixen nodded. In a flash of lightning, Johnny B zipped back into his lab.

"...can he really fix my hand?" Ash asked, pointing in Johnny B's direction.

"You'd be surprised what he can do with some spare parts." Raven answered. "Anyway, anyone got any ideas on how to stop Alhazred."

"I'll go up to my room and get on the computer." Vicki got up from her seat. "There is nothing you can't find on the Internet. Maybe I can find out more about Alhazred. Perhaps even find a spell to put him back in the Necronomicon."

"And maybe afterwards, we can burn that damned book." Ash grunted. "That thing has caused way too much trouble."

"I agree." Raven nodded. "Vicki, get on the spell-finding."

"You got it, Rae." Vicki nodded, heading upstairs.

"How long is it going to be until Greased Lightning Boy is done with the new hand?" Ash asked the Native American Joe. "My stump is cold."

"Don't worry about it, Mr. Williams." Jenni reassured with a warm smile. "Johnny B works quick. He'll have your hand fixed lickety-split."

"Yer joking." Ash scoffed. Raven smirked.

"We believe that Mr. Gooden's top running speed can reach about one-third the speed of light." Raven told Ash. "He can only do it for very short bursts, though. It takes a lot of effort." The dark-haired man's jaw dropped.

"One-third?! The speed of light?!" Ash's jaw dropped.

"The speed of lightning." Jason Vincent explained. "So trust us, he's fast."

"Huh." Ash blinked. "With kids like you being able to take out Deadites, ya don't need people like me. Just out of curiosity, what kinda superpowers do you kids have? I mean, I know dreadlock boy over here's tough..." He jerked his thumb at Eric, who was nonchalantly watching TV.

"Super strength and invulnerability." Eric smirked. "I'm bad."

"And I know Red over here starts fires and is nuts." Ash continued, pointing at Lisa.

"Everybody says I am nuts, but I don't know why." Lisa blinked, twirling some of her bright red hair around her finger. She then noticed a wastebasket. "Ooh!" The redhaired Asian threw a fireball into it. She grinned happily.

"We noticed." Raven sighed.

"She'll be fine. Wastebasket fires usually keep her quiet for an hour or two." Jenni explained.

"And what's your power?" Ash blinked.

"Me?" Jenni smiled. "I'm a living lightshow. I can shoot lasers and hypnotize people."

"Mine is adaptability." Jason explained. "I can gain a power to get out of a situation. For example, if I'm in water, I grow gills. If I'm in a fire, I become pyrokinetic."

"Pyro-what?" Ash blinked.

"Fire manipulation." Raven explained. "Lisa has that power. She can also fly."

"Hee hee hee." Lisa giggled at the wastebasket with the fire in it.

"Vicki, the dark-haired girl in red, has the ability to alter probability and to charm people." Raven continued on. "Johnny B, the kid who is fixing your hand, has superhuman speed and the power to generate electricity."

"My power's kinda useless." Mike admitted, scratching the back of his head.

"It ain't that useless." Eric rolled his eyes. "We never lose the remote."

"You can find things." Ash deduced.

"Well, yeah." Mike smiled. "They call me WrongWay as a joke. I have a mutant tracking ability. I can find anyone and anything. My X-Gene also enhanced my photographic memory. I'm like an elephant. I never forget."

"Except when you have to do your chores." Raven smirked. "That always seems to escape your mighty memory."

"I dunno why." Mike grinned.

"Are we going to talk about Deadites?" Ash grumbled.

"Hey you guys, lookit this!" Eric pointed at the TV. The heroes gathered around the tube.

"And in the news, a mysterious outbreak of what appears to be zombies appeared suddenly! According to reports, they were first seen in Washington Park by a young couple..."

"Washington Park, huh?" Ash frowned. "Maybe Alhazred is there."

"Behold! Your new arm!" Johnny B whooped as he zipped in. He held up the new arm, which basically looked like the original gauntlet hand attached to a long red toolbox. "I made some modifications."

"Uh..." Ash blinked at the arm. "That thing's not going to explode, is it?"

"You never know with Johnny B." Eric snickered.

"Eric!" Raven admonished.

"Try it on." Johnny B helped Ash put on the arm. "I put in a special surprise. Think of a chainsaw."

"Uh, okay..." Ash did what Johnny told him to do. Suddenly, with a whirring noise and some clicks, the arm transformed itself into a chainsaw. The dark-haired employee smirked. "Groovy."

Well, well, well! Looks like Ash has got a new toy! What insanity will happen next? What will Vanna be up to next? Can the X-Men beat the Wrecking Crew? Will Ash and the Southside Misfits be able to stop Abdul Alhazred! Find out in the next chapter! Suggestions needed badly!