Apologies in advance for calling tea a 'vile concoction' to any tea lovers out there. Personally, I like nothing better than sitting down with a cup of tea and reading/writing fan fiction. But that's beside the point…

"You said Jari was due back over an hour ago. And he's not here." Loki's voice was sharp, and lacked its usual mocking tone.

Emma gave a derisive laugh. "He's a teenager, darling, what do you expect? He's hardly going to stick to timetables."

"I'm sure that is the case for most of your mutant children. But how many of them are experiments made by someone so powerful and dangerous they are at risk?" At the back of his mind, Loki thought that he was overreacting slightly. Even further back was a voice arguing that as a father it was his duty to overreact during certain circumstances.

"You Asgardians worry too much. More tea?" Emma was clearly enjoying Loki's discomfort.

"I do not want any more of your vile concoction." Loki stood up, angered, and left the room.

As soon as he'd left, Cyclops turned to Emma. "Emma, dear, do you really think it's a good idea to anger a god?"

"Don't be silly Scott, all gods love an excuse to overact. I shouldn't worry. Have another sandwich."

. . . . .

Gambit was heading along the corridor to his bedroom. It had been a long day, and he was looking forward to crashing in bed hours earlier than usual. All thoughts of bed vanished however, when he opened the door and was met with a stormy looking Asgardian.

"What are you doing in my bedroom?" Gambit was amazed at how calm his own voice was. His shock though was clear on his face.

"Do not be alarmed, I do not wish to share sleeping quarters with you."

"That's a relief." Gambit looked more than relieved. "But what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you." Loki answered simply. "You are aware of the threat Jari faces on Earth? That his creator will come looking for him sooner rather than later, and when he does it will most likely end badly for Jari and those around him. And since Jari is over an hour late returning to the 'safety' your X-Men have offered him, I am inclined to believe that the worst has happened."

Far from waving away Loki's concerns as he had expected, Gambit nodded gravely. "You have a point. We could ask Emma to use Cerebra to tell us where he is."

Loki shook his head. "She won't. That woman is too stubborn for her own good. She refuses to believe that Jari may be in any danger."

"And Pixie." Gambit had suddenly remembered who Jari was with.

"Pixie? The girl with the pink hair? She could be in danger too."

Gambit said nothing, but grabbed his staff from the wall and headed for the window.

"I take it we are going after them then?" Loki asked, surprised. "Wouldn't the door be a better option?"

"I'm going after them. You're welcome to come with me. And I'll get stopped if I go out the front door; the window is the better option."

Loki smirked. "A man after my own heart. I always use the back exit."

Gambit shot him a warning glance. "Don't try anything on with me, mon ami. Especially not now."

Loki sighed dramatically. "It was a joke. Something you X-Men do not seem to understand." He was left addressing an empty room; Gambit had jumped out the window. Smiling to himself Loki followed.

. . . . .

Jay Guthrie was lying on his bed, staring out the window. Suddenly a figure fell past, landed on the ground, and picked himself up, turning to look back up.

"Nick?"

"Yeah?" Nick was also lying on his bed, intently playing on his DS.

"Mr Gambit just jumped out a window." This was delivered in Jay's usual deadpan tone, so Nick didn't know if he was joking or not. Sitting up he too looked out the window.

"Crikey, you're right." Just as he said that a second figure, clad in green, landed next to Gambit. "That's the god dude, isn't it? What do you think they're doing?"

"Jari and Pixie aren't back yet. My guess is that those two got worried, Miss Frost said there was nothing to worry about, and so they decided to sneak out." Jay sat up. "Maybe we should tell Miss Frost." He headed to the door.

Nick on the other hand, opened the window. "What'll Miss Frost do? Maybe we should go after them instead."

"What good will that do?" Jay hovered by the door.

"Um…"

. . . . .

Jari's hair hung limply in his eyes, matted with blood. His vision was blurry, and as he gradually came to he found that he couldn't move his limbs. His first thought was that maybe he was experiencing the hangover Gambit had had. Then he became aware of the heavy manacles fastening his arms and legs to a wall. Raising his head he squinted, bringing the room into focus. Across from him, imprisoned in a similar way, was Pixie.

Her wings were bound too, and lacked their usual colour. She finally raised her head and locked eyes with him. Her eyes were red and full of fear.

What happened? Where the hell are we? What's gonna happen? Despite the fear he was feeling, Jari attempted a smile.

"Hey- don't worry. We'll get out. Soon as I vaporise these shackles we'll be off and away." He was rewarded with a weak grin from Pixie. But plans of escape were soon put on hold.

"I'm afraid your mutations won't work here." A low voice, sinister and menacing rang out. A figure stepped out of the shadows, into Jari and Pixie's view.

"Who the hell are you!" Jari summed up enough strength to shout.

The figure chuckled, sending shivers down Jari's spine. "You don't recognise me? What a pity. I hoped there would be a moment of recognition when you looked into my eyes and knew who I was. I'm disappointed in you, Jari Clark."

It then hit Jari who this person was. "You created me" his voice came out in a hoarse whisper. Understanding had also dawned on Pixie.

"Sinister. You're Sinister." She spat out.

Sinister laughed. "So you do know who I am!"

"Lucky guess" Jari muttered.

"I know about you. Off the X-Men." Pixie was braver now, more defiant.

"Ah yes. Little Miss Gwynn. You want to be an X-Man, don't you? So far from home, so desperately trying to impress your poor, dead, father."

"How do you know about my dad?" Pixie was furious. "And what do you want from us?"

"All in good time. To be honest, you were an unexpected bonus; I originally only came for Jari."

"Well what do you want from me? Why did you create me?" Jari took over the questioning.

"I specialise in genetics. Especially mutations. And I wanted to create one of the most powerful mutants Earth has ever seen. Obviously you are not the most powerful- nowhere near it in fact, no offence. But you are one of the most interesting ones. Half Earth-mutant, half Asgardian. Full of raw power ready to be studied."

"You're sick." Jari glared at Sinister.

"I suppose it may seem that way to the uneducated mind. But this is all in the name of science."

"Seriously though, do you have a brain disease or something? There is something seriously wrong with the way your mind works." Jari winced internally. He really should shut up.

"Hmmm. Perhaps I made a mistake in my choice of parents. I didn't expect you to be such a…"

"Smart-alec? That's what it says in my school reports." Again, Jari wished he'd kept his mouth shut.

"Indeed. I won't deal with you in this way. You have a few options. One: keep quiet of your own accord. Two: I cut out your tongue. Brutal, but effective. Three: I start experimenting on your girlfriend here, until you learn to keep your voice under control. But I'll be experimenting on her later anyway, no matter your choice. I'll start on these wings of hers."

"No!" Jari shouted. "Okay… I'll be quiet."

Sinister smiled. "Good. Now we can get started."

Dun dun duh… Stay tuned… In the meantime, vote time! Do you think Nick and Jay should go after Gambit and Loki (for no apparent reason) or should they alert the other X-Men? You decide… hopefully.