A/N: I'm pretty sure everyone saw the chapter title coming a mile away. It's just too obvious to NOT use.
Chapter 9: The Ax-Man
In the dome Kurt placed on hand on Tobias and the other on Aximili. Then he teleported all three of them out of the dome and they arrived in the air above the sea. They began to fall while Kurt looked for the Blackbird. When he found it he teleported again, bringing all three of them inside it. When Scott heard them enter he put the Blackbird on autopilot back to the institute.
I wonder if we just went through Z-Space? Aximili thought. Andalite scientists had discussed Z-Space teleporting but it was still theoretical, they would love to examine Kurt. Aximili looked around the interior of the Blackbird and found seven surprised new humans inside. [[Hello, I am Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill.]]
Everyone in the Blackbird introduced themselves. They were amazed to have actually found life from another planet.
"Um, can we just call you Ax for short?" Kitty asked. "Cause your name is a real mouthful."
"Kitty, he doesn't even have a mouth" Jean said. "You are a 'he' right?"
[[Yes I am a male]] Ax said.
"So what's an E.T. doing in the ocean?" Logan asked.
[[It wasn't by choice]] Ax said. [[The dome section of a spaceship was knocked out of orbit during a battle above your world.]]
"A battle?" Scott said. "Against who?"
[[We were fighting the Yeerks]] Ax explained. [[They are a parasitic race that wants to use your species as hosts. The battle for Earth ended in a draw.]]
"What kind of parasites are they?" Evan asked.
[[They enter your body through the ear and wrap around your brain]] Ax explained. [[Then they take complete control over your body, using your memories and thoughts to pass as you undetected.]]
"So there's no way to tell who's been taken?" Jean asked.
[[We've developed scanners calibrated to find Yeerks, but it would be a trivial matter for telepaths to find them.]] Ax looked at Xavier. [[Just look for a person that has two minds in one body.]]
"I'll keep that in mind" Xavier said. "Have these Yeerks taken a significant number of people?"
[[I don't know]] Ax admitted. [[Normally they infiltrate worlds to establish a foothold, and then take the rest by force. With their ships destroyed force isn't an option so if there are any Yeerks here they will be moving slowly.]]
"What do you recommend we do about them?" Scott asked.
[[For now the best course of action is contacting the Andalite homeworld]] Ax said. [[It's unlikely they know what happened here. We need another ship here to estimate Yeerk presence on this world. Until then, may I stay with you?]]
"Of course" Xavier said. "But how are we going to keep your existence a secret? You don't exactly blend in with a crowd."
[[Simple, I'll create a human morph based on a few of you.]]
"Wait you can morph?" Kitty asked. "Just like Tobias can?"
"About that" Tobias interrupted. "It was another Andalite that gave me the morphing ability, not a mutation."
"How does that work?" Jean asked.
[[We developed a device that grants the ability to all that use it]] Ax explained. [[All Andalites are given the ability when we enter the military, though few choose to actually use it.]]
"So how are you going to get a human morph that isn't a clone of someone?" Scott asked.
[[Like this]] Ax said. He walked up to Scott and acquired his DNA. Then he took Jean's, Kitty's and Evan's. Then he morphed into a human that was a blend of all four mutants. His skin became a shade darker than Kitty's, his hair was slightly longer than Scott's and was a shade of brown between Scott's and Kitty's hair. He was an inch shorter than Scott, with a frame between Evan's and Jean's. His eyes were Jean's shade of green, but his face resembled Evan and Kitty's. And he was naked.
"I did not need to see that" Jean said as she looked away.
"Should have known that was coming" Evan said, looking away.
"I think I might be scarred for life" Kitty said, her face in her hands.
"Does anyone have spare clothes" Scott asked.
"Professor, could you erase that image from my mind please?" Kurt asked.
"Put these on" Logan said as he tossed a pair of shorts to Ax.
"Okay" Ax said. Then he put on the shorts, over his head. "Better?"
"No" Xavier said. "They're supposed to cover where the legs meet."
"Oh" Ax said. He put on the shorts in the correct place. "How about now?"
Everyone cautiously looked at Ax, noticing how strange he appeared to be. To them it was like Scott, Jean, Kitty, and Evan had been thrown into a blender. As if he was a common relative between all four of them.
"This is really freaky" Kitty said. "You could pass as my brother."
"How did you do that?" Storm asked.
"We call it a Frolis Maneuver" Ax explained. "I take the DNA of more than one individual and combine them to create a new person."
"We're going to need to get you a suitable morphing outfit" Tobias said. "Something for if you need to morph human and there's no time to get dressed."
"Very well" Ax said. "If you don't mind I would like to demorph until we arrive at our destination."
The rest of the trip back to the institute went by quickly. Ax explained all the trivial details regarding Yeerks and he listened while Xavier explained mutants. Ax was surprised at the sheer variety of abilities caused by a single gene. No wonder they had thought morphing was just another mutant power. These mutants were far more dangerous than Elfangor described.
When they arrived at the institute the students all immediately left for school. Xavier called ahead to Bayville High to make up an excuse for why they were late. The students complained about still having to go despite having been up all morning on a mission. Since Storm drove them to school they left Ax with Xavier and Logan at the institute.
"So do you have any combat training?" Logan asked.
[[Only the standard military preparations, but no field experience]] Ax said.
"Let's see what you can do then" Logan said.
Logan led Ax into the Danger Room and then went to the control room. Inside Logan activated a basic program. Several robotic drones came to life inside the Danger Room and rushed towards Ax.
Ax saw the drones coming from all directions. He quickly destroyed them with several slashes from his tail blade. Then he saw several turrets activate and fire weak lasers at him. Ax dodged them and fired his Shredders at them. Even the stun setting was enough to short-circuit the turrets, rendering them harmless. Then Ax saw several cannonballs fired towards him, quickly intercepted by his tail blade and Shredder fire.
"Not bad for no field experience" Logan said over the intercom. "That's enough for now."
Ax left the Danger Room and exited the institute. He wandered around the grounds, tasting Earth grass for the first time. He found a nice secluded spot to set up a temporary scoop to live in. The institute was a nice place, but too enclosed for Andalite lifestyle. There were plenty of trees around the spot Ax picked which hid it from view. For most of the day Ax worked on making his temporary home, until the X-Men returned from school.
When the X-Men arrived they asked Ax to come back inside the institute. They gave him a plain black uniform to wear in his human morph. With a few attempts and advice from Tobias Ax incorporated the uniform into his human morph. With that finished Logan wanted to see how well Ax could fight as part of a team. In his natural form Ax entered the Danger Room with the others.
[[Who commands the team?]] Ax asked.
"I do" Scott said.
[[Very well]] Ax said. [[I will follow your orders Prince Scott.]]
Jean and Kitty giggled at that moment. "Prince?" Kitty said.
"Can we focus on the matter at hand?" Scott asked.
"Sure, you're highness" Jean said.
Everyone but Scott and Ax laughed at that. [[Prince is a military rank]] Ax explained. [[Arisths and Warriors fight under their Prince's command.]]
"Enough chitchat in there" Logan said from the control room. He activated the Danger Room, creating a maze in it. Ax was surprised by the sudden enclosure, but tried to remain calm. The goal was to get through it together.
Tobias morphed into a rhinoceros and charged, destroying obstacles in the way. Scott and Even destroyed turrets in the air with eye blasts and spikes. Jean telekinetically blocked laser blasts while Ax intercepted debris with his tail blade. Kitty and Kurt scouted the maze to find the right path. Jean relayed their thoughts to guide everyone through the maze.
They completed the maze in record time. However everyone could see that Ax had been uncomfortable in the maze. "Is something wrong?" Scott asked.
[[I don't do well in tight spaces]] Ax admitted.
"Well you seemed to handle yourself well enough" Evan said.
[[The military trains us how to handle Claustrophobia]] Ax said. [[However it is still stressful.]]
"Maybe you should take a break outside for a while" Scott suggested.
[[Thank you, Prince Scott.]]
"Can we go to, prince?" Kurt said.
"Shut it Kurt" Scott said.
"Happy to oblige, my liege" Evan said.
Scott smacked his forehead. "I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?" Scott said.
"Nope" Tobias said.
A/N: I'm not going to do the "playing with syllables" thing Ax did in the books. It got really old really fast and to me that would just take up space here. Not to mention how it confuses my spellchecker.
P.S. I would appreciate suggestions for how to have everyone tease Prince Scott.