Shout-outs

Rogue77: Aww…I'm so happy, Drake likes me. Thank-you! It wasn't as good as your action scene, I think, but thank you for complimenting me!

torque: Here you go! *gives Ivan plushie* I would love to beta read for you! That's one of the nicest compliments I've gotten. Please e-mail it to me, and put a subject like 'fanfiction' on it so I know what it is and don't accidentally delete it.

Laureate: Thank you! And Ivan thanks you too. I thought the Julian/Daria couple was a good match, I'm glad you liked it! Thank you for the pecan pie!

Raliena: Thank-you! I introduced a few more characters, I hope you like it.

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Several hours later, a cup of bad tea and several explosions, I left the underbelly tunnels and moved up in the Mountain.

The Mountain is almost three tiers of living space. The bottom floor is where the parties usually are. The underbelly is where training areas are. The top is where the resting places are. Rooms, cots, kitchens, that sort of thing.

"Well I'll be. If it ain't the toughest short stuff ever to wander above ground."

I looked to the voice. There was a big guy, almost seven feet tall, all muscle and brawn. He wasn't wearing a shirt. He was wearing black pants and black gloves.

"If it isn't Mr. Super! How you doin?" I grinned at him.

"I'd be better if that Russian Rat wasn't wandering around in the Underbelly. Can't stand him."

Mr. Super is the kind of guy you would imagine as a pro wrestler. He had really short brown hair and blue eyes, but those are contacts. The actual color is brown.

"He said basically the same thing." I grinned.

Compared to Mr. Super, Ivan doesn't look like much but a pretty boy. But I've seen those two get into a fistfight, and it's nothing close to pretty. Unlike Ivan, Mr. Super's mutant power is super-strength. He may not be super-tough. His toughness, like Ivan's, came from rigorous training, not DNA. But Ivan is a gymnast, which Mr. Super isn't, and he can give back just as much as he gets. The rivalry between the two is nothing short of legendary in the Underground.

"So what are you in for, kid?"

"You're only six years older than me, you know. We're just taking a break from the fast life."

"You tangle with the Rampage's lackeys again?"

"Yeah. Dracon tried to eat Stray again."

"Hunh." Mr. Super snorted angrily. "Those guys are causing more trouble than ever. Anything else new?"

"I met Magneto and his gang and a bunch of hoity toity muties."

"Must be Xavier's gang. Congrats, you met a bunch of celebrities."

"Great…Hey, you hear anything from the blue squadron lately?"

"Yeah." He got quiet.

"What happened?" I felt the words sink in my gut.

"Shoot-out. None of 'em survived."

I exhaled sharply. I didn't know the blue squadron all that well, but every time a group of mutants got killed, the Underground got more on edge. Last year, a few groups got offed in a gang war between two different mutant groups. The Underground locked down so fast that a lot of innocent mutants were left twisting in the wind and deported themselves.  And to top it all off, groups tended to break up faster during those times, as trust began to grow thin. Plus, this was the second group this year. The year was almost over, but it lay the sense of foreboding heavy on the Underground.

"Let's hope this doesn't end up like the Scula scandal last year."

"I'll drink to that sister." He handed me a soda. He was drinking vodka, but he knew I didn't care for it.

"So why are you here, Mr. Super?"

Mr. Super downed his shot of vodka quickly. "Heard a few rumors, decided to come here to rest up before going to investigate them. Business opportunities, you know."

"I'll drink to that." I saluted with my canned soda. He rose his vodka shot glass.

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Rampage drew a line through another name on his clipboard. His goal was going to be accomplished pretty soon.

Magneto had been here, requesting his database of mutants. Rampage had acquiesced, but had made a few…corrections.

One didn't make a deal with demons without holding a few cards in play. Especially with the stakes this high.

He opened a copy of his database on the computer. The computer was a wonderful thing, able to do what he needed ten times faster than a normal computer.

The database of mutants held the most information anyone could have on mutants. But his primary concern was on three…no, four groups now. Magneto, for all of his power and high ideals, was not a threat to his team, the Relentless, in any way, especially with his own superior manpower.

The first entries showed up. He read them boredly. He knew them all by heart anyway. And their leaders. The leaders were the biggest threat, even more so for one group, which had no leaders. Though one girl seemed to take that responsibility often than not. The little…rat.

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Arcane read the reports with the others.

Garil, a psychic and all around bad (well, in a sense) guy. He had black shaggy short hair with green eyes. He was of medium height, and had several chipped teeth, with a scar across his neck where someone had tried to rip his throat out.

Surreal, a lady with a constant bad temper. She had orange hair and a sort of face that couldn't be called truly pretty, but not bad to look at.

Domino, a true jack of all trades. He was tall and thin, with scraggly blond hair. His powers remain a mystery, as he relies completely on more…orthodox methods to deal with his enemies. Domino tended to be very quiet.

Danny's two massive rottweilers, Cassius and Brutus, lay at Arcane's feet. Garil was sitting opposite of him. The table was round, so this was not difficult. In the middle of the table, a tray with four glasses full of water and a pitcher of water sat.

"Your dog's head is on my foot." Garil grumbled as he flipped a page on his report. Arcane picked up a glass of water from the tray.

"Not my dog."

"Might as well be, the way they follow you around."

"Belongs to the empath."

"Which one?"

"Do you really need to ask that?"

"Oh…The cute one."

"Hey."

"Sorry. Forgot you were 'protective'." Garil said slyly.

"Don't start with me, psychic. I'll make short work of you."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Can the testosterone levels please get shelved? We have work to do." Surreal snapped.

"Could have fooled me." Garil muttered. Surreal gave him a look of pure disgust.

"I can't even see why you're here."

"I like to think I walked." He commented into the water glass he just picked up. Arcane hid a smile. Domino stared at the assembly unfeelingly.

"Let's review." Surreal shot Garil a dirty look. "We've got two dead mutant groups. All of them were killed in a free for all battle. All were ambushed. The leaders of said groups were found dead after the initial battle."

"If all of them were killed in the battle, wouldn't it make sense that the leaders were killed in said firefight?" Garil noted.

"They were kept alive for a few minutes and then killed, presumably for information." She glared.

"How do we know that?" Garil persisted.

"Witnesses." She snarled at him. " How ELSE would we know? The killers were only interested in the mutant groups."

"Just covering all the bases." Garil said. "If it wasn't me, it would have been Arcy boy there, and I know you're not exactly comfortable around him."

"What are you implying?" She began to raise her voice.

"Quiet. We're not going to get anywhere if you two start a fight. And if I remember, it's illegal for there to be fighting between paladins in the Underground unless absolutely necessary." Arcane broke in forcefully.

"Yes it is. Not that that stopped you before, Arcane." Garil commented smugly.

"As I remember, it was necessary."

"You were fighting me."

"I rest my case."

"Cold."

"Yes."

"Can we get back to the situation at hand?" Surreal grumbled.

""Whatever makes you happy." Garil commented innocently. Sitting next to Surreal, he was playing with fire, but he was known for taking his chances.

"I think the killings may be related. And I think another incident may happen." Surreal said matter-of-factly.

"Indeed." Domino stated.

"Well, we'll just have to be on the lookout. Ain't nothing we can do with the information we've been given." Garil snapped his report closed. Surreal glared at him.

"Ain't nothing we can do? Is that all you have to say? Where is your compassion?"

"It's true, unless you have some miracle plan that will give us who we want." He shot back.

"We have to keep our ears open. Like Garil said. But in the meantime, we're going to have to do something. I suggest we split up into pairs and hit the hotspots for gossip. We're bound to pick up a few rumors." Arcane mused.

"I'll drop dead before Garil comes with me."

"Fine. I'll take him."

"I feel like such a worthless person."

"You are. Alright, Surreal, You've got Domino. What hotspot do you want?"

"We'll take The Rough."

"May you find diamonds of information." Garil commented.

"Shut-up." She growled.

"We'll take the Rock Pool. You make any puns and I'll shoot you." Arcane threatened.

Garil struggled to keep his mouth shut. The last time he didn't he came off on the worse end.

"Right. We know how to keep in touch with one another if we have a real lead, right?" Surreal pressed.

"Cell phone?"

"Works for me." Arcane put his report on the table. "Happy hunting."

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John boredly threw down the pictures Magneto, his boss, had given them. Lots of pretty shielahs, some weird lookin' mates, but not one that used fire. There was a Firefly, but that was a he, and he just glowed like, well, a firefly.

"Mates, these ones are boring. Though that shielah with the pigtails, she was fun. Loved her hair. Red as fire, so it was."

"Didn' look like dat to me, homme." Gambit shuffled a deck of cards.

"So it was a little dark. But the fact is, she was exciting, but look at these others! They hardly got nothing, it's like takin' candy from a baby."

"Some of the mutants are not here, comrade." Piotr pointed out.

"Eh?"

"That man in the hat and trench coat, his picture is not here. So, there must be mutants that have not been recorded."

"Da Tin man got a point. We might have some fun yet, homme."

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Sorry for the lull in updates. Had a few things to do yesterday and couldn't get this little chapter up.

Mr. Super shall take the reviews! Because he's super like that.