Xander my man, I hope you know what you're doing. Xander thought as he waited for the last couple of X-Men to come and sit down.
It had been a painful night since hardwood floors do not make for the best beds no matter how tired you are. Add to that the fact that he had to deal with Cal'Syee voicing her opinion of the room she had been forced to sleep in and it all merged into a bad night as well as an even worse morning. When he had seen the look on her face he had hoped that Gambit might be able to help him calm her down and reduce her to just copping a 'tude instead of violence but the thief had been smart and vanished before either of them woke up. Once he had managed to placate, somewhat, the Regent he headed downstairs to see what might be going on and get a better measure of his housemates. Still mostly wearing their spandex super hero outfits he was glad to see that somehow one of them had managed to take a trip down to the local donut and coffee shop to get them all something resembling breakfast. After getting three donuts and a coffee into him a bout of practicality hit him and he decided that the 'meet-and-greet' between him and the X-Men he didn't know could be accomplished at the same time as his 'debriefing'.
He knew it would only be a matter of time before someone on the team of X-Men he had fought alongside let slip what was revealed in Antarctica and then chaos would ensue. By holding a debriefing with himself as the speaker they'd not only get an impartial retelling of events but also hear his theory about the possible truth of the massacre. He'd also be able to get a better read on what kind of person each X-Man was in the process which would help him decide if he really wanted to move in here. So once his breakfast was finished he told them that he had something to tell them and that once they were finished with their morning duties to assemble in the living room. It was a little bold of him to say something like that given that it was their home and he was just a visitor but it was the only way he could think of to get them all together.
One hour later he was taking one last look around the room and grimaced as he saw two people approaching him that had the ability to stop his plan in its tracks.
"What's this all about sugah?" Rogue asked with a greater amount of curiosity than suspicion.
"Indeed. I must admit I was somewhat… concerned… at what could be so important that you wished to have all X-Men in attendance." Beast said with the opposite proportions of curiosity and suspicion in his voice.
"Well I thought I'd tell everyone what we learned in Antarctica and then tell them about a little theory I have." Xander replied as if he was just telling them what a routine day for him was like.
"WHAT?" Both X-Men exclaimed which drew looks and stares from everyone else in the room as they were all curious as to what might have caused the outburst.
"Hey, hey, hey quiet down will ya?" Xander said at a volume just above a whisper as a hint for them to do the same, "Look I just think that we should get this info out all at once rather than have Warren 'Wings' Worthington or someone else spill the beans without thinking."
"While I admit that does seem like the safest course of action to take under the circumstances, why you? Why should you be the one to deliver this destabilizing debriefing?" Beast asked, a little less suspicious and a lot more discreet, "Surely myself or perhaps Bishop might be better suited to illuminating the others as to what we have learned."
"No, not really, no. No matter who says what here it's going knock everyone for a loop and make a lot of people pissed at whoever does the telling no matter what." Xander replied trying to lay out his reasoning for his blue furred friend, "It won't matter if they had anything to do with the event or the trial, they'll always be pegged as the one who told them about it. I figure it's better for that person to be me since if one of you did it, it'd mess up your teamwork or something."
"Very well but know that we will both be nearby if you need assistance." Beast said to which Rogue nodded in agreement.
"Thanks Hank. I just might take you up on that soon." Xander said as the last of the X-Men as well as his fellow newbies and Deathbird sat down.
Well time to find out if this is one of my better ideas or not. Xander thought as he took a deep breath to calm his nerves a little.
"Well I'm sure you're all wondering why I asked you all to meet here this morning and despite the support I'd get from the men, it is not to propose a wet T-shirt contest for the women." Xander said figuring it'd be good to open with a joke and, judging from the Ice Dude's reaction, it was indeed, "Instead I thought I'd let you all know what happened up in the Antarctic since I'm sure you're all dying to know."
With that he began to retell what happened from the moment he came to in the tunnels until Psylocke dropped them on the front lawn of the mansion. He of course omitted anything and everything that might have triggered Cal's homicidal tendencies such has what position he had been in when he had regained consciousness - contrary to popular opinion back at Sunnydale High School, he was not stupid. He also told them about his own covert investigation, highlighting each new piece of evidence concerning Magneto aka Erik the Red. The start and the middle of his explanations were accepted well enough and he thought he might have even seen a glimmer of respect in Bishop and Mr. Weird Hairdo's eyes at his observations. When the time finally came for the info that was revealed at the trial itself though that was when things began to heat up big time. With emotions very similar to the ones that scrolled across the faces of Rogue and Beast back in the Antarctic, the X-Men learned of Gambit's role in the massacre of the Morlocks. After that he concluded with his startling unmasking of Erik the Red, exposing him as the true Magneto, and then waited to see how everyone would react.
For the most part they seemed stunned into silence with either grim looks on their faces or outright anger in bone girl's case. If any one of them was going to pop their cork and go 'Remy hunting' it was going to be her so he made sure to keep an eye on her at all times. The ones that seemed to be taking this the best were the white haired woman, Storm, and Mr. Weird Hairdo, with the former feeling sorry for Gambit and the latter having a 'it happened, so what?' look on his face. Definitely promising but with at least three people including the bone girl being difficult to get an accurate reading off of in terms of face interpretation he figured it would be a good idea to begin explaining his theory.
"Now I know you guys probably have your own opinions of Remy right now but personally I think you're probably heaping more blame on him than he deserves." Xander said sounding perfectly reasonable and rational.
In other words so 'un-Xander-like' it was scaring even him.
"How'd you come to that conclusion lizard boy?" Asked the Ice Dude with an even mix of bitterness and anger in his voice that would no doubt be directed to Gambit if he was here.
"By actually looking at the facts and trying to remain objective, Ice Cube." Xander replied not losing his reasonable tone of voice, "Oh, and for future reference, that's 'dragon boy' to you.
"From what I've seen on your faces when the name Sinister comes up I take it he's a heavy hitter in the X-Men baddie category." Xander said trying to remember everything he had learned from Willow about speaking in front of a group, "Hey Beast? Where would you say Sinister's tech was at the time of the massacre? Would we be talking ten years ahead of everyone else? Twenty years?"
"Judging from what little we were able to observe at the time and observations made in the years immediately following the Morlock Massacre, I would have to say that Mr. Sinister's technological advantage was easily thirty years ahead of the rest of the world." Beast replied promptly and professionally.
"That far ahead huh? Then why did he hire Gambit when he could have easily recruited the Mauraders and located the Morlock tunnels on his own?" Xander asked bringing up the questions he thought the Ice Cube had conveniently forgotten to ask himself, "Call me crazy but most Uber-baddies don't waste resources or effort when they don't have to."
Taking a moment to let his questions and his point sink in he tried to measure the effect his words were having on the assembled group. While Ice Cube and Bone Girl were still wearing their 'I want to kill Remy' faces, those that had been a little more undecided definitely had their thinking caps on.
"Then we come to the people Sinister asked Gambit to round up." Xander said to get everyone's attention, "Now while I might not know anything about them aside from their names but with codenames like Sabretooth and Scalphunter, I think it's safe to say that there were at least two mutants with serious tracking abilities on the team. Hell! With the tech Sinister had he probably could have cobbled together some kind of scanner to do that job easily. So basically this guy had either the tech to find the Morlocks or people on his team of killers who could have found the targets on their own. Again that raises the question: why he had Remy do it if he didn't need to?"
"If you have a theory on that bub just spit it out and quit dancing around it," growled Mr. Weird Hairdo with a little impatience in his voice.
"Well I haven't got it all worked out yet but I think Sinister wanted to make Gambit into a mole inside the X-Men or at least one of the X-teams." Xander replied before bringing up his hand to stop any outbursts, "Think about it. Before this Belladonna's death what kind of person was he? Basically an okay kind of guy I'd like to think. After her death he became ice cold, like he said, and probably would've either gone evil or gotten himself killed. Sinister probably knew this and saw it as an opportunity. If he could arrange a big enough shock to not only shatter the 'ice dude' routine but also get him to want redemption the odds of Gambit hooking up with one of the X-teams or at least a hero group would go up. So he hired Remy to recruit the Marauders and lead them to the Morlock tunnels knowing seeing a sight like that would do just what he wanted it to do."
"Nice theory but going all angsty and joining the X-Men are a little too far apart to be possible." Ice Dude said taking pleasure in poking holes in any defence that might make Gambit look good.
"Is it? How did Gambit hook up with you guys anyways?" Asked Xander as he really didn't know the answer and hoped it would only help his case rather than harm it.
"He was attempting to infiltrate the mansion of the Shadow King in order to rob him when he saw me crash through a window and into a pool below." Storm replied with a tone in her voice that told him his argument was having an effect, "He rescued me and once we were able to lose the Shadow King's pursuit we began to steal together. Eventually we returned here to the mansion and Gambit decided to join me when I rejoined the X-Men."
"Did Gambit ever tell you what caused him to pick out this Shadow King guy's mansion to rob?" Xander asked as he sensed the possibility of a major point in his argument's favor emerging.
"No. Back then Gambit rarely spoke of his past and when he did it was only in a vague manner." Storm replied after taking a moment to think a little.
"So it's possible that Sinister might have arranged for Gambit to be at the Shadow King's mansion the night you were making a break for it." Xander proposed since he believed it would certainly be in keeping with the Uber villain's M.O, "A few hints dropped here, maybe an article in the local paper mentioning a few stealable items, and I'm sure Gambit gave into temptation without much thought."
"Once he was with the X-Men all Sinister probably had to do was pop up every once and awhile and threaten to tell everyone about his connection to the massacre to get the Cajun to do what he wanted." Xander said plunging onward in his theory, "Probably didn't work though since Gambit doesn't strike me as the time to do what the devil tells him a second time."
"Why didn't he just tell us?" Ice Cube asked as though he was scrambling to keep everyone in the 'hate Remy' column, "If you're right then telling us would've made Sinister's blackmail material useless."
"Gee Frostbite! That sounds like a great idea!" Xander replied getting a little pissy at the walking ice maker's narrow-mindedness, "I can see him just strolling into the kitchen one morning and saying 'Hey mes ami! How's breakfast and oh by the way I worked for one of your greatest enemies and played a role in one of the greatest massacres of our time!' Yeah! That would've gone over real well freezer boy!"
This one statement may have been a little harsh and over the top but it dealt a devastating blow to those who were still angry at Gambit for not telling them the truth sooner. They were no doubt realizing that in the beginning Remy had no reason to tell them the truth because they were only acquaintances then not friends. When the X-Men did make the jump from associates to friends the Cajun had a big reason to keep his mouth shut which was he didn't want to lose his friends and love as he'd probably been certain he would once the truth came out. He could tell that as much as they'd like to say otherwise none of the X-Men could deny that their reactions would have been a little on the overkill side if Remy had come clean with them a few years earlier.
"Look, what you would or wouldn't have done is beside the point, the thing to think about is how things must've looked from Gambit's point of view." Xander said not wanting them to get bogged down any, "He was probably feeling like crap after the massacre and jumped at the chance to earn some redemption by joining the X-Men. Chances were any time he thought about coming clean his mind put up the worst-case scenario of how you guys'd react and stopped him cold. After all what do guilty people do but think up worst case scenarios for how the people they know're going to react."
A voice in the back of his mind noted that Buffy had used similar methods in defending Angel both before and after the whole Acathla. Naturally he pointed out to the voice that this was completely different as Gambit was human, alive, not under a stupid curse and had been duped by Sinister since day one. Angel on the other hand was a vamp that for over a century did so much evil that he got the name 'Scourge of Europe' added on to his resume. The fact that he now had a soul made little difference and besides which Remy didn't brood even half as much as the gelled wonder did. The voice merely laughed at him before going back to whatever dark corner of his mind it had come from.
"You've given us a great deal to consider Xander." Storm said in an official leader-like tone, "Thank you."
"No problem. Just standing up for a friend." Xander replied while hoping that his words would be enough to keep Gambit from being eviscerated, "Now if you'll excuse me I've got a few things to pick up before settling in here. Rogue? Care to give me a lift into Manhattan?"
"Sure sugah." Rogue replied sounding a less troubled than before and maybe a little grateful to him for backing Remy up.
"Getting a little ahead of yourself aren't ya kid?" Ice Dude asked apparently very much the sore loser, "What makes you think that we're going to let you move in?"
"Well let's see: 1) I helped Rogue and the others turn back the Phalanx invasion of the Shi'ar empire, 2) I exposed Erik the Red as being Magneto in disguise and" Xander replied ticking off the reasons with his fingers, "3) I have a little over two thousand dollars I can use to pay rent here for at least three months. Unless I'm mistaken, money is something you guys are a little short on and I don't think place to stay is too much to ask for considering the reasons I just mentioned."
This of course shut Ice Cube up quickly as a combination of sound reason and glares from some of the other X-Men made it clear opening his mouth again would be a bad idea.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Touching Down at the Back Door of Dr. Strange's House, One Hour Later"So what're we doin' here sugah?" Rogue asked as she landed behind the house belonging to the Sorcerer Supreme Dr. Strange.
"Well after my apartment building burned down last Halloween I've been staying at Doc Strange's place so there're a few things I need to pick up." Xander replied as he walked up to the back door, "A sack full of clothes, a few books, my money and some medicine. Nothing that'll be too difficult to take back to the mansion one way or another."
Most of what Xander said seemed perfectly normal for a mutant on the run as in most cases it paid to travel light and stick to the essentials. However it was the mention of 'medicine' that got a raised eyebrow from her since she couldn't think of what sort he could be taking that only Dr. Strange could provide. After all the man dealt in sorcery more than he did modern medicine and aside from some exotic not widely known herbal remedies or the like she wasn't sure what else the Sorcerer Supreme had to offer.
"You sick or something sugah?" she asked in the hope of getting even a crumb of info on the medicine the newest tenant of the X-Mansion wanted.
"Let's just say that using my powers comes with a price tag and the medicine acts like a 70 discount deal." Xander replied as he knocked on the door of Strange's home.
While not a satisfactory answer the info he gave her was enough to sate her curiosity for the moment. She knew that there were mutants who needed specialized equipment or gear in order to safely use their powers but near as she could recall only a few of them had powers that seriously harmed the body producing them. It was a given assumption among most people who knew of mutants thought that their bodies were naturally configured to be able to handle their powers. Usually difficulties only popped up when the mutant's powers proved to be too wild or too powerful to control resulting in an increase in the wear and tear of the body. Was that the situation with Xander? If the blast of black flame he fired in the Antarctic was any hint it was certainly a possibility given how it destroyed Nanny and her army of cyborgs all in one go. Still she'd be sure to pass along the info to Storm and Cyclops when they got back to the mansion. She might personally see the kid as a friend and a good addition to the residents of 1407 Graymalkin Lane but she'd experienced enough in her time as an X-Man to be careful. Things were almost never what they seemed to be these days and being careful could mean the difference between life and death.
With a click and a pull the back door opened to reveal Wong, Stephen Strange's aide and confidant, with his usual polite expression and perfect manners.
"Ah Alexander! Dr. Strange has been expecting you and awaits your presence in the library." Wong said with a bow before turning to face her, "You are welcome to go with him of course Rogue."
"Thanks Wong." Rogue said and with that she and Xander entered the house following the Asian man as he led them both to the appropriate room.
As she walked through the various hallways and up the steps along their path she couldn't help but look around and try to figure out the mystery that was the house of the Sorcerer Supreme. She knew it looked like an ordinary building both on the outside and on the inside but again appearances could be deceiving. A person's home ultimately reflected their personality and occupation in the end after all. While she could see numerous scrolls and books along with a few unidentifiable knick-knacks she knew she was just seeing the surface, the icing, rather than the true depths of what was there. Much like a dream nothing was what it seemed and rules that governed what was or wasn't possible in the real world didn't necessarily apply within Dr. Strange's home.
Upon entering the library she saw that the Sorcerer Supreme wasn't in the best of moods today and the cause for the foul temperament had just walked into the room ahead of her. She wasn't sure why Stephen was angry but apparently something Xander had or hadn't done had left the sorcerer decidedly annoyed. Interested in what the conflict was all about she hoped they wouldn't do the 'guy' thing and try to act like nothing was wrong.
"Hey, what's up, doc?" Xander asked doing a poor, on purpose, imitation of Bugs Bunny.
"You've been tapping rather deeply into Kung Lung's power." Strange stated in a matter of fact kind of way rather than as a reply to Golden Eyes' question.
"Yeah well there wasn't a whole lot I could do about that Doc." Xander said dropping all attempts at false humor, "When you hang out with the X-Men things kinda find a way of happening."
The Sorcerer Supreme sighed in annoyed agreement that the southern native couldn't exactly dispute as the people wearing the X symbol did seem cursed to live in interesting times. Still at least Stephen's feelings towards Xander were more of the 'doctor-annoyed-at-the-patient-who-won't-do-as-he's-told' nature rather than something more serious.
"Indeed. I take it you're here for another allotment of the potion?" Strange asked as he began walking towards a nearby table where a metal box the size of your average clock radio sat.
"And my stuff. The X-Men have offered me a place to stay so me and my roomie here decided to spin by and pick up my stuff." Xander replied thumbing in her direction, "You can keep my Sports Illustrated swimsuit calendar Doc. I have a feeling where I'll be staying there will be more than enough eye candy to keep me happy!"
Strange rolled his eyes at this but for Rogue she felt an amused grin stretch across her face at Xander's effort to lighten the mood and turn things away from Stephen's light anger at him. The boy had a mouth on him almost as bad as Bobby or Remy but she doubted he had much experience duking it out with big league players. That thought in mind she decided to have some fun herself if only for the potential reactions she might get from the sorcerer and the dragon eyed kid.
"Well sugah I'll be sure 'n keep that in mind." Rogue said in perfect deadpan, "'Course if 'n you're gonna be admirin' me by the lake I'll be expecting ya to be wearin' something interesting too. Fair is fair after all."
The look on Xander's face was priceless.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
One Hour Later, The Streets of New YorkNote to self: matching wits with Rogue is like trying to outsmart Willow. Xander thought as he handed some cash over to the restaurant cashier, Trying will only make the Xan-man look stupid.
After the two of them had finished packing his things, minus the calendar he really had, he had suggested they take a spin by a restaurant to get some breakfast. The Southern Belle had pointed out that they weren't exactly dressed for mingling with the public but that problem had been fixed easily enough. After rooting through the dresser that Doc Strange had told him he could use for the duration of his stay he managed to find a short-sleeved T-Shirt and a pair of jeans that she could wear. She was only a few inches shorter than he was so it wouldn't be obvious to people walking down the street that the clothes weren't hers. They'd just think that she liked the baggy look or something and keep on walking by without any further thought. One of the first things that Xander had done the day after Halloween was replace all the clothes that had gone up in flames thanks to those pyro-freak Kung Lung followers. That meant a set of clothes for every day of the week plus at least two extra just in case he had to do some unscheduled demon slayage.
Once the problem of clothes was dealt with the only ammo she had left had been that she had already had breakfast. He pointed out though that despite his questionable eating habits back in high school he had never once considered coffee and croissant a suitable breakfast especially if it came from one of those chain coffee and donut places. That led to a meal at a nearby restaurant that was still running off its morning/breakfast menu and him ordering a stack of pancakes. For Rogue it seemed that eggs, bacon and a piece of toast was what she considered a proper breakfast though it could just as easily be her deciding to exploit his generosity. After all he was the one with over two thousand dollars to his name and in his pocket right at that moment. Still the time spent while eating was fun as they talked about all the news that they had come across after leaving Doc Strange's place.
One thing about walking around a big industrious city like New York was you couldn't look anywhere without some form of news faring media staring right back at you. From what he had been able to gather from the newspaper headlines his pal Pete was up to his neck in trouble with no easy way out. That snake Normon Osborn was back and had somehow convinced the Daily Bugle into putting a million dollar bounty on the web-slinger's head for a supposedly 'unprovoked' attack. Xander didn't buy it for a moment and knew that the monster must have orchestrated it somehow. Add to that the return of Doc Ock and a chapter of the Friends of Humanity opening on E.S.U campus and clearly the Big Apple had gone downhill since he last walked down these streets. He made a mental note to pay Pete and M.J a visit in Queens before heading back to the X-Mansion with Rogue.
He was just about to bring up the unspoken reason why he had chosen Rogue to fly him into the city rather than Storm or Joseph when he heard a thunderous crash and the sound of several car alarms going off at once. Looking to Rogue she nodded her head once in agreement before they both ran towards the commotion the both of them easily recognizing the sounds of a super powered battle. It took a left and then a right but in no time they arrived at the scene of the fight and found out what was going on.
The super serial killer Carnage was fighting Spider-man.
"Looks like the wall-crawler could use a hand." He said as he passed the bags he was carrying to Rogue, "Stash these someplace safe and then join in. I'm going to see what I can do to take some of the pressure of the web head."
Nodding once before flying off, he was almost surprised that she would take orders from him without putting up a fuss. After all he wasn't an X-Man and despite the time they had spent together helping the Shi'ar he seriously doubted he had done anything to merit such trust and obedience. Still he had no time to consider it any further as Pete looked like he was getting his tights wearing butt handed to him. Charging towards the battleground he summoned his armor, not caring who saw the change, and began to draw on Kung Lung's power to increase his strength, speed and agility so that it at least matched if not surpassed Spider-Man's. As he reached the edge of the parking lot he noticed three men hiding behind cars apparently treating the entire struggle like a day at the racetrack. It was a few moments later that his suspicions were confirmed as the three civilians spoke their mind.
"Are you guys crazy? MAKE TRACKS!" Said one guy who was looking at the other two like they needed professional help, "Carnage won't hesitate to take out a few bystanders!"
"Yeah, but we're gambling he'll cap Spidey and leave the body." Said the second guy with anticipation of the event he described.
"That way we can collect the Bugle's reward!" Said the third guy obviously already counting the one million dollars.
Assholes! Xander growled as he leapt past them into the battleground proper, After all the times Pete has saved their lives and the lives of everyone in this city they still treat him like crap!
"You hear those guys, Spideroonie!" Carnage asked maniacally as he shoved his clawed hands through the car windows the wall crawler had blocked with his body half a second earlier, "They're looking to profit from your death. Me, I'm a purist! A dedicated craftsman! I KILL FOR THE SHEER JOY OF IT!"
With that Carnage threw the car over his shoulder and towards the three morons who were only beginning to realize the danger heading their way. Despite the fact that his inner Xan-man was telling him the world would be a better place with those three gone from it he knew there was only one thing to do. Jumping into the air he clasped his hands together before delivering a thunderous axe-handle to the car sending it back towards the psychotic symbiote killer. Not expecting this move in the least, Carnage didn't notice the incoming mass of metal until it was too late and it slammed into him. Fortunately Spidey had been in a better position to see the car coming and had gotten out of the way just in the nick of time. Landing by his side the web slinger looked surprised to see him so Xander decided to do the first thing that came to mind.
"I didn't like the color." He said pointing at the car he had slammed down on Carnage.
A shift beneath Pete's mask easily told him that the wall crawler's eyes were quirked and a grin was on his face. That was all they had time for though since a second later four tentacles of red and black goop snaked out from beneath the car, clamped down on it, then tore it in two. Apparently Mr. Santa Claws didn't like the car either and decided to make sure the automobile was never used again by anyone. Carnage took a moment to revel in the destruction he had caused before settling the masses of white that passed for eyes on his enemies.
"You should've butt out kid! This ain't no Saturday morning cartoon show and no half-assed Ranger outfit is gonna keep me from playing with yer guts." Carnage said both with deadly intent and mocking contempt for Xander's armor.
"Better to be mistaken for a Ranger than an action figure that's been on a hotplate too long!" Xander growled as once again Strange's choice of armor design resulted in him being compared to a Power Ranger.
"Oooohhhhh! Nice one!" Carnage said with false respect before lunging forward, "Now it's my turn to cut you to the quick… or to the bone… whichever comes first."
The serial killing symbiotic only got about halfway to his intended targets before out of nowhere something slammed into his side, hurling him into the side of a dumpster almost hard enough to tear it in two. Xander didn't even need to look to know who had executed the attack but look he did anyways and was somewhat puzzled to find Rogue hovering in mid-air with what looked like some gymnasts wool leggings on her arms. However it took only a second for him to come up with a reason why since he quickly remembered what her mutant power was and how it worked. Rogue had the ability to absorb a person's memories, personality, abilities and super powers into herself through skin-to-skin contact. Given who it was they were dealing with he could understand why she'd take some precautionary steps against absorbing anything from Carnage.
"Is this a private party fellas or can anyone join in?" She asked rhetorically much like how Buffy did when she chose to reveal herself to an unsuspecting vampire.
"Sure thing lady! The more the merrier!" Carnage yelled as he let loose a volley of arrowheads from his skin at the southern girl.
So quick were the weapons cutting through the air that the woman with the striped hair barely managed to escape the brunt of the barrage with only two darts actually doing any damage at all and which was only to the leggings on her arms. Deciding he didn't want the psycho to get on a roll Xander headed for him in a random but always forward moving pattern. He knew that he was still new to this superhero gig and that against a killing machine like Carnage his first mistake could be his last. His only hope would be to deliver some devastating blows up front and hope that that softened him up enough for Pete or Rogue to finish the job. Seeing a flicker of movement coming from his target he darted to the side with all the speed he could muster and barely managed to evade a tentacle no doubt sent with the intention of piercing his armor in a vital area. Upon closing to striking distance he decided to do something Carnage wouldn't be expecting from someone in the superhero set and extended the talons/claws that tipped his fingers and thumbs. Then, with two crisscrossing slashes, he used them to cut into the body of the mentally unhinged maniac in the hopes of getting to the person beneath the symbiotic.
"YYYYIIIIEAAAHHHHRRRR!" Carnage screamed in pain before delivering a vicious backhand that sent Xander flying until the former Zeppo slammed through a car's roof and into the brick wall in front of the car.
"Looks like my plan worked." Xander muttered a little groggily as he tried to shake off the haze caused by both the backhand and hitting the wall, "Lucky me!"
Sliding off the hood of the car he looked to see exactly what effect his attack had on the killer and was somewhat gratified to see that Carnage was a little less mobile and unless he was imagining things was protecting his torso from attacks. However the maniac also didn't seem discouraged at all or have any intention of fleeing which confirmed the theory Xander had gone in with. While it was indeed possible to seriously harm Carnage his symbiote half either rapidly healed or minimized the wound's impact on the madman's fighting capabilities. If that was indeed the case then all that was needed was to inflict a wound serious enough to incapacitate Carnage but not so serious that the symbiote would be unable to preserve its human half's life. Not exactly something someone like him could easily do considering he didn't know the extent of the symbiote's healing factor nor what it would take to push it to just shy of its limits.
Only one way to find out! He thought as he charged forward to where Rogue and Spidey were using the old 'decoy and attack' strategy against crimson crazy kook.
Grabbing the remains of a car's fender he thrust it forward with the intention of slamming it into his target's gut and knocking the wind out of him. However just like he figured the super powered killer saw the attack coming and sent two tentacles out from his body to cut the piece of metal straight down the middle no doubt with the intended end result being impaling Xander through the chest. Modifying his plan he leapt into the air just high enough to clear the fender being split in two before preparing to bring his talons down in another slashing attack. Unfortunately, like certain Anime ninjas, Kasady wasn't about to fall victim to the same move twice and with his right hand grabbed and threw Rogue into the descending armored figure sending both of them to the ground. Normally Xander would have waited until his head had cleared a little more before moving but seeing a blurry red object heading quickly at the two of them he just reacted instinctively. Grabbing Rogue by the shoulders he leapt as high as he could into the air in order to avoid the incoming attack. Looking down as he felt the upward momentum begin to die he was glad that he had such good instincts because it had just saved him and the vivacious X-woman from getting a rod of red and black goop put through them.
"Thanks sugah." Rogue replied taking control of their flight plans with her own flying ability.
"No problem, lovely lady." Xander said in his best polite cowboy voice, "Now what's say we teach Mr. Ketchup face some manners."
With a grin as her only reply Rogue began to descend rapidly towards Carnage like a dive-bomber on an attack run. The wall crawler was doing an okay job but it was clear that Pete wasn't making any headway on putting the maniac down for good. Xander knew that that was largely due to the whole 'refusal to kill' rule that the wall crawler followed religiously every time he put on his costume. After all in every almost objective newspaper and media broadcast he had seen involving the web slinger Spider-Man never really cut loose with his strength. It was like he started out at a pre-determined level and then upped it as the situation dictated. While this might seem reasonable it also meant that a battle would take longer than it should have because Spidey took so much time trying to give an exactly measured attack to his enemy. Not that going all out every time was the smart way to go or anything since overkill was possible and it would mean an enemy could get your measure quickly but there had to be some middle ground between all out and half-assed.
"Hey Rogue? How good is your throwing arm?" Xander asked as an idea for an attack came together in his head.
"I can throw a mean fastball if that's what ya'all're talkin' about." Rogue replied casually as she almost immediately picked up on what her passenger wanted.
"Then get ready to bring the heat, 'cause I'm going in!" Xander said as he brought his fists up in a classic Superman flying pose.
With a quick wind up Rogue threw him through the air at Carnage and, like the missile he was attempting to imitate, he slammed into Carnage knocking him hard to the ground. Rolling with the left over energy from the X-woman's throw, he did his best to get clear just in case the attack had less of an effect than he'd expected. However Lady Luck was smiling on them as it turned out that the forceful impact of one armored Xander combined with the slashes that hadn't completely healed yet left Cletus sluggish.
Better deliver the knockout punch before Crazy-boy here recovers enough to turn us all into red confetti! Xander thought as he prepared for one final attack run in the hopes of finishing the battle.
Unfortunately Carnage saw what was coming and did the thing that all bad guys did when their defeat and/or capture is seconds away: throw something big at innocent bystanders and run. In this instance it was a pick-up truck and what was left of the dumpster Rogue had knocked him into earlier. Between nailing Carnage and saving innocent bystanders there was really no choice and as one unit he, Rogue and Spider-man moved to intercept the heavy objects. The webhead managed to snag the dumpster with his webbing and a combined effort between Rogue and him managed to stop the truck and set it down more or less gently. Of course the owner might be a little cross at them for leaving handprints and talon holes in his truck for all to see. Fortunately with his armor obscuring his face and Rogue's… attributes… distracting men from her face he figured that they could safely escape prosecution for the damage.
With civilians out of harms way all three super powered beings turned her eyes back to where they had seen Carnage last and growled in frustration to find that he was gone. Running, leaping and in Rogue's case flying back to where the serial killing psycho symbiote was last they all looked around for some clue as to where he had gone. After a few minutes of looking though it looked like Kasady had decided to practice some stealth and caution for the first time in his life and had vanished without a trace. Even using Kung Lung's power to enhance his visual range didn't yield any helpful clues leaving him to growl in frustration that such an evil being had managed to get away.
"Don't worry Dragon-boy." Spider-Man said placing a comforting hand in his shoulder, "If I had a nickel for every time a super crook got away from me I'd be one very rich web-slinger. Now we'd better make ourselves scarce before the men in blue show up, because for some reason I'm not too popular with them right now."
"Yeah. See you at your place later okay?" Xander asked covertly conveying that he'd be taking a spin past the Parker home in the next hour or so.
"Sure. We'll grab a few beers and play five things connected to Jennifer Love Hewett." Spider-man replied with a thumbs-up before shooting a webline up to an overhanging stone gargoyle and took off swinging.
"We better get goin' too sugah." Rogue said as she picked him up by the armpits and lifted him into the air, "We might not have a million dollar bounty on our heads but that don't mean they won't take us in for free."
"Yeah but that's not what's worrying me right now." Xander said as he and the X-woman ascended to rooftop level.
"It's not?" Rogue asked more than a little surprised.
"No I'm worried about whether or not my stuff is still where you left it." Xander replied sounding perfectly serious, "You know you can't leave anything alone in this city for more than a few minutes or it's gonna get swiped by someone."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Front Porch of the Parker Home, Queens, New York, One and a Half Hours Later"Are you sure its okay for be here Xander?" Rogue asked as she casually looked about the outside of the Parker home.
"Don't worry! I may not have been invited to any backyard Parker barbecues but we've talked often enough at the Daily Grind that they know they can trust me and by proxy you." Xander replied as he knocked solidly on the front door while thinking, I hope! Otherwise I'm gonna have some 'splaining to do.
The truth of the matter was he wasn't quite sure where he stood with Pete and M.J given that the only times he had ever really seen them in the past was when they spun by the Daily Grind to talk or meet up with Ben. Sure they occasionally got into a conversation, in some cases because Ben wanted to avoid replying to a question and so diverted it to him instead, but outside of the restaurant there had been nothing. Add to that that he wasn't sure how much Pete had told his wife and his Aunt Anna Watson about his recuse of little May and he could be a few seconds away from either a hug or an awkward moment. Turning his attention back to the door he could hear footsteps approaching and a second later the door opened to reveal the stunning redhead that was Mary Jane Watson-Parker. Momentarily knocked for a look by her beauty the former Zeppo had to wonder how Pete had managed to win the heart of a woman who had been both a professional model and actress. Whatever it was Peter was definitely one lucky man and he'd consider himself lucky if he managed to have a girlfriend half as beautiful as her much less marry such a knockout.
"Hey MJ! How'er you—ooommmppphh?" Xander began to ask but before he could complete his question the ravishing redhead in front of him dove at him.
With arms wrapped tightly wrapped around him in a hug and a kiss on the lips he almost lost his balance which would have landed the two of them on the front walkway in a heap. Thankfully Rogue was there to steady him and when the unexpected show of affection ended he had two things on his mind: a) what was that for? And b) What'll Pete do if he finds out?
"Wha… why… huh?" Was all he could get out to try and figure out why MJ had done what she did.
"Relax Kevin." MJ replied with a knowing smile as she likely had a good idea what sort of thoughts were running through his head at the moment, "I just wanted to thank you for rescuing May and bringing her back to me and Peter."
Visibly relaxing at this all concerns over a possible confrontation with Pete vanishing like smoke he tried to ease back into his usual casual manner.
"Though to be honest you're not a half bad kisser." MJ commented with a mischievous glint in her eye.
This left him stumbling for words again and he could see out of the corner of his eyes that Rogue was enjoying his predicament immensely and it was only will power and the desire not to cause him further embarrassment that kept her from laughing out loud. He'd get her for that later. Maybe put some platinum blonde hair dye in her shampoo so that skunk stripe of hers wouldn't stand out quite as much. Perfect!
"Should I be worried MJ?" asked Pete as he walked into sight wearing jeans and a T-shirt.
"Don't worry Tiger. Compared to you, he's strictly an amateur." MJ replied half seriously as she gave her husband a kiss with more passion behind it.
I don't know if I should be yelling 'HEY!' right now or just be thankful that Peter isn't taking what happened too seriously. Xander thought with a mix of emotions.
"Come on in Kevin." Pete said as he invited both him and Rogue in with a wave, "There's someone else here that I think wants to thank you too."
Stepping into the house he found it to be the very picture of a family home with furniture and decorations that seemed to embody what a husband and wife would want to raise their child in. Some things like the TV looked a little out of date but given Pete's job as a freelance photographer for the Bugle and the fact that MJ dropped out of the public spotlight awhile back and he doubted they had money to spare on a new one. Still it was leagues above his burnt down apartment and even if he and the X-Men pinched every penny of his two thousand dollars to restock the mansion it wouldn't come close to this. Following the two Parkers into the living room he was greeted with a sight that made him smile before he even realized that his mouth had moved. Laying in one of those baby seats on the couch and looking like she was making a detailed survey of the entire living room with her eyes was one little May Parker. The baby hadn't changed that much from when he had seen her last, maybe a little more brown hair, but it was clear to him that she was right where she belonged.
Kneeling down in front of the couch and looking into the infant's eyes he could swear he saw the first sparks of her father's sense of humor but in the looks department he had a feeling she'd take after her mom. Waving a finger in front of the child's face he watched as May tracked the digit closely before amazingly enough grasping it in her tiny hands.
"Looks like she's happy to meet you sugah." Rogue said clearly ensnared by the 'awww' atmosphere all babies seem to have around themselves.
"Well strictly speaking this isn't the first time we've met." Xander said offhand without really thinking what he was saying through, "Not that she'd remember the flight to Doc Strange's place or the time she spent in my old apartment."
"Well I know what we can do about that little problem." Peter said with a tone in his voice that immediately had Xander turning his head to look at him, "How would you like to be an honorary uncle to little May?"
"I'd say 'huh?' is what I'd say." Xander said as he extracted his finger from the baby's grasp and stood up.
"Well you did rescue her and return her to us. Plus with our visits to the Daily Grind and what Ben told us we're practically friends already so 'uncle' wouldn't be that big a stretch." Pete replied sounding somewhat hopeful that Xander/Kevin would accept the new title.
When the little sounds of an unhappy baby began to fill the air everyone in the room looked down to see a cross little May glaring at Xander.
"Besides it looks like May has already grown attached to you." MJ stated with a giggle of amusement as her firstborn reached with chubby hands towards Xander/Kevin.
"Looks like you're outvoted, sugah." Rogue said grinning at his predicament.
With a sigh he knelt back down and wiggled his finger in front of little May until she grabbed it again. Naturally once she had the intriguing digit in her hands all sounds of anger and unhappiness vanished leaving the child content and occupied. That pretty much clinched it. He had been all set a few moments ago to graciously turn down their offer on the grounds that his lifestyle didn't exactly allow for regular visits to his 'niece'. However when the child in question voiced her own opinion and desire that he stick around and be her uncle then there was little he could do but accept his fate.
"Alright I'll be the uncle to this little rugrat." Xander said as he used his superior strength to guide little May's hand this way and that, "But that being the case I think you should know that Kevin Lancaster was just an alias I've been using. My real name is Xander Harris."
While the Parker's were a little puzzled there wasn't a hint of fear in their eyes.
"Why'd you go by Kevin then?" Pete asked with genuine curiousity even though he unconsciously took up a defensive posture.
Deciding that it would be easier to just show them than to go through the whole 'Origins' tale he reached up and removed the sunglasses that hid his eyes from sight. They were a little shocked at first, understandable considering what his exposed eyes implied, but eventually they settled back into the casual state they had been in before and gave reassuring smiles.
"Well that certainly explains a few things." Pete said like someone who found out why beer seemed to mysteriously vanish from the fridge.
"It doesn't change things though." MJ said making it clear she didn't care if he was a 'mutant' or not, "After all with Peter as her father I doubt having you as her uncle would be all that crazy."
"No I guess not." Xander said as he conceded that having Spider-Man as a dad would make having a 'mutant' uncle not all that odd, "So how about you guys tell me what I've missed since I went traveling last December."
Peter took the lead with the summary of the past few months starting with his adventure with Doc Strange and some funky magic orb thing. Then the sudden return of the Stacy family, a member of which Pete dated back in his university days before hooking up with MJ, with a look on the photographer's face that said he was uncomfortable with that family being around. From there the return of Doc Ock was discussed with Xander not liking the idea of there being a cult of ninjas out there capable of bringing dead bad guys back to life. Given the sort of baddies he and the Scooby gang put in the ground he was not liking the idea that they could be brought back for the right price. He noticed that they all studiously avoided the topic of Osborn's return and the one million dollar bounty on Spidey's head. Not that he could blame them as he didn't much want the thought of that monster souring the mood a spoiling the enjoyable get together. There would be time enough to devise ways of bringing that devil down later and preferably when the women weren't present to hear the horrific details.
Eventually though it was time to get going as he had one more thing to do before he and Rogue headed back to the X-mansion.
"Well it's been great talking with you guys again but me and Rogue have some shopping to do and need to get to the nearest mall before it closes." Xander said as he got out of the chair he'd been sitting in.
"What sort of shopping sugah?" Rogue asked clearly clueless about what he was up to which of course was the way he wanted it.
"Well last night before hitting the sack I got to thinking that Cal's going to be here awhile until they repair her way home and sent a transport for her." Xander replied trying not to give too much away, "Given that I don't even want to imagine what cabin fever will do to a woman like her I figured getting her some clothes would let her roam about without drawing attention to herself. After all purple armor and a tiara would be pretty hard even for the densest person to miss."
"Mighty thoughtful of ya Xander. Ah assume you picked me to fly ya here so I could help pick somethin' out for her?" Rogue asked with some unknown wariness in her voice.
"Yep. I mean you look like you're about the same height and build as her so what fits you should fit her as well." Xander replied choosing to ignore the odd tone in her voice, "I figure it shouldn't take more than an hour to get her enough clothes for a week."
"You really think it'll just take an hour to choose out Cal's wardrobe?" Rogue asked with the wariness going up a notch.
"Sure. A couple of T-shirts here, some ladies boxers there and some jeans to round things out and we'll be done." He replied as though it was perfectly obvious what to get.
However when he looked at the disappointed look on Rogue's face and the offended look on MJ's he knew something was up.
"What?" He asked since he had no clue why they were looking at him like that.
"Xander, you're still young, so I can understand why you'd think that it'd take only an hour to shop for the clothes 'Cal' would need." MJ said as she walked up next to him and placed an understanding hand on his left shoulder.
"The thing is sugah is that we women put a little more thought into shoppin' than you guys do." Rogue said as she walked up to him and put a hand on his right shoulder, "An' while Cal' might not be from around these here parts I'm sure she feels the same way."
"Right. So I guess me and your lady friend here will have to go with you to make sure you pick out the right stuff for 'Cal'" MJ said before looking up at Rogue and asking, "He does have enough money right?"
"Over two grand if I heard him right." Rogue replied with an unsettling grin, "Think it'll be enough?"
It was about then that Xander's warning bells began to go off and his mind got an idea of what was about to happen to him.
"Barely! But I know a half dozen places where we can get a bargain discount if we drop my name to the right people." MJ said before both she and Rogue began to guide him towards the front door, "By the time we're done Cal' will be fully stocked and accessorized."
"Pete! HELP!" Xander exclaimed as he looked beseechingly at his one male hope of escaping this grisly fate.
"Sorry bud! But someone has to stay here and look after little May." Peter said with a smile on his face saying he was enjoying every minute of his friend's plight, "Besides, better you than me."
"Traitor," he muttered before resigning himself to his fate.
I hope they'll leave me at least a few dollars! Xander thought as he and the two women exited the house, I should've known better than to mention shopping in front of two women!
