Author's Notes: Before anyone asks, I do wish to point out that the current version of the Ghostbusters is not mine, but rather, an inspired universe created by my friend and fellow author, Sparky Genocide, where he has created the plot of various beings of the supernatural and the paranormal to join with the members of the Ghostbusters to police the Earth of spiritual and paranormal threats. That said, whenever you see familiar characters from different cartoons showing up as part of the Ghostbusters, it is due to reference to Sparky Genocide's story who has graciously lent me his characters and universe to use here! Google "Sparky Genocide" and "Ghostbusters United" and you'll be able to find and read his story entirely if you are confused who has joined the Ghostbusters in this universe. That said, Danny Phantom isn't mine; he is property of Nelvana Studios and Nickelodeon. Now enjoy the chapter!

CHAPTER 21: Avalanche of Earth, Shadowcat of Light

"What the hell- ?" cursed one police officer as he uselessly fired his gun at one towering behemoth, having the bullets bounce off its impenetrable hide, "Heartless? What in God's name are Heartless doing here?"

"Gee, I dunno! You wanna ask that big ugly giant yourself, Mitch?" snapped his fellow coworker sardonically as he aimed with his small bazooka and fired a direct missile payload into the chest of another towering black mass, dead center in its emblem. Unfortunately, though there was a considerable explosion and some discharge of fleshy matter and blood, the hole in its torso wasn't enough to cause it to falter and die as it merely roared and lumbered forward again.

It was indeed pandemonium in Chicago. Two Hellfire Heartless were ambling amuck in the city, and no amount of gunfire and missiles launched from the Chicago PD and the scant S.W.A.T. teams made available to the scene provided little effect against the experiments of the Organization. And though many men and women ran and tried to gain distance away from the creatures, they weren't able to escape the shafts of black lightning or the elongated arms and claws. As a result, numerous civilians and officers alike screamed and perished as their bodies disintegrated, releasing numerous pink crystals to hover serenely in the air. One frantic mother, who was separated from her five-year old son from the shoving and pushing of the crowd, screeched unbearably as her child was grabbed by one of the Heartless and killed right in front of her.

"My baby! My baby! Somebody, please, save my baby!" the mother screamed, but unfortunately, no one could do anything as the boy's heart ascended into the sky and vanished. Among the rooftops, Octavia and Falco were surveying the massacre with scrutiny, though Octavia winced as each random human was subjected to the excruciating agony of losing their heart.

"We can't back out now," Falco said stonily, as if reading her thoughts, "And keep a lookout for the Misfits and the X-Men. Chances are, one of those annoying losers will have the Talismans we need – well, speak of the devil. By Corneria, those pissants are getting way too predictable."

The Tigershark next to Falco bit her tongue and didn't bother with a reprimand as the Joes, Misfits and a small group of X-Men consisting of Wolverine, Cyclops, Rogue, Jean, Shadowcat, and Colossus teleported into the chaos with the Mass Device.

"Help protect the crowd and get everyone here under control and out of the way! Leave destroying the Heartless to us, and be careful that you also don't fall prey!" Roadblock yelled as he let loose with special, armor-piercing bullets doused with holy water and enchanted by Willow Rosenberg on one Heartless, the bombardment of shrapnel being actually a bit more effective than the bullets.

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in," grumbled Cyclops as the other Joes and Misfits joined in.

"Thank you, we will," Quicksilver said smarmily, overhearing Scott's mutter and rubbing it in for all it was worth with a toothy grin, before he sped off and said dramatically, "Strike Raid!"

"I hope that Keyblade circles back and hits the silver-haired loudmouth right in the kisser," Rogue said darkly as she helped pick up an elderly woman escape by swooping down and picking her up gently.

While Shadowcat was helping the police officers maintain control on the panicked mobs, she then heard three voices managing to waft their way to her ears above the din of the screaming and yelling and occasional explosion and magical war-cry. But then again, considering that these particular voices were bellowing at the top of their lungs, it really wasn't that hard to discern them out of the pandemonium.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, RICHARD!"

"WELL EXCUSE ME FOR TRYING TO DO A SERVICE TO SOCIETY AND CLOSE DOWN THE TRASH-TALK RADIO SHOW YOUR BOY-TOY HOSTS THAT COULD MAKE JERRY SPRINGER AND HOWARD STERN'S SHOWS SEEM LIKE DISNEY RADIO BY COMPARISON!"

"HEY, IT'S 'MUSIC', YOU FASCIST PHILLISTINE! AND LEADING A MOB FROM YOUR SCHOOL'S PTA ISN'T A SERVICE TO SOCIETY!"

"Gravia…Orbs of Force Crusher!" yelled Blob as he aimed one magical attack at one Heartless.

"Yeow! Watch it! This sucker's got a long reach!" Shipwreck yelped as he narrowly avoided one clawed hand from one Heartless that stretched towards the Joe sailor like rubber.

"Oh no…" groaned Shadowcat, wincing and feeling she was going to get a lot more drama as she turned and half-ran towards the scene of the brawl where she heard the three familiar voices.

"RICHARD, JUST GO RUN ALONG WITH THE OTHER IDIOTS WHO ARE TRYING TO FLEE FOR THEIR LIVES AND LEAVE ME AND JESSE ALONE!"

"YOU HEARD HER, SO GET LOST!" This voice was Jesse D's, of this, Kitty was certain, as she got nearer and nearer. So then that meant most likely he was arguing with…

"OH, I'M SORRY! YOU WANT SOME PRIVATE TIME SO YOU COULD CONTINUE TO GET CRADLE-ROBBED BY MY HARPIE OF AN EX-WIFE?"

Beach Head was literally cursing up a storm as he shot at the other Heartless with his rocket launcher, yelling, "Back! Back you bastard, back!"

"Oh no!" Xi wailed, "It's got more hearts! They're fading!"

"DIE, YOU CREEP!" yelled Daria, Quinn, and Brittany as they blitzed forward, their Trichrona Keyblades out and ready for major pawnage.

"It couldn't be them! I mean, out of all the times to do it and Chicago is a big city! There's like totally no way it could be them! What are like the chances they'd be here?" Shadowcat had to murmur to herself, but she really had a hard time convincing herself this.

"YOU JERK! YOU'RE NOT EXACTLY RUNNING FOR 'STABLE-PARENT-OF-THE-YEAR' YOURSELF BY CANOODLING OFF WITH YOUR GAY LOVER, RICHARD!"

"I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY HEARTLESS WOULD WANT YOUR HEART! YOU AND YOUR CHIPPENDALE LOOKALIKE DON'T EVEN HAVE THEM!"

"THAT'S IT! YOUR ASS IS MINE NOW, TUBBY!"

"Gaia Earthquake Force Rush!" yelled Avalanche, causing a gigantic fault to form and blast back one Heartless, but unfortunately, it wasn't enough. If anything, it just made the monster madder.

"Aquara Water Dragon!" yelled Wavedancer, sending a powerful waterspout to crash into one Heartless.

"God, like, please," Shadowcat pleaded to no one in particular in her prayer, "Please don't let this be what I think it is. Please, don't let this be another like one of my family moments during this, of all times. Please tell me this won't totally be…"

"You punch like a girl!" Richard Pryde shot back as he tussled and traded blows with Jesse D, Althea's cousin and a popular music DJ who was additionally Kitty Pryde's mother's lover (and yes, Kitty still had headaches and migraines to this day about that one).

"And you can't even satisfy one!" snarled Jesse, and considering that he had a bodybuilder's physique, he clearly had the upper hand as he tried to pin Mr. Pryde to the ground in order to subdue him in a wince-worthy wrestling move, "YEOW! He bit me! You just bit me!"

"Ha!" crowed Mr. Pryde as he used his knee to send Jesse flying off him before he tackled him with a renewed vigor, using his fists.

"Richard! Jesse! Both of you stop this now!" Mrs. Pryde was screaming, in her red sweater and jeans, standing on the sidelines and pleading for the two men to stop, but in their bloodlust, they were ignoring the yells of the woman and concentrated solely on beating each other up into a gory mess.

"Why won't you die?" yelled Beach Head irritably at one Heartless as he let loose with two grenades.

Toad shrieked as he dodged several attacks, crying out, "Yeow, yo! This one's sending lightning everywhere! Genie, give me strength! Help us out, yo!"

"Got it! One magically-sensitive lightning rod, courtesy of Phenomenal-Cosmic-Powers Incorporated, coming right up!" the blue Disney summon crowed before he managed to transform himself into a blue tower and safely take in all the black shafts of energy before they could strike the Misfits or the Joes.

Shadowcat felt her temples throb as she bit back a groan. Her mother, her father, and Jesse D. All of them fighting and arguing with each other during the middle of a Heartless invasion.

Apparently, God had a very strange sense of humor. At least in this universe.

And it only seemed like yesterday when Kitty was told by her parents at her birthday that they were getting a divorce, and that her father wanted to live with her friend's gay uncle and that her mother wished to move in with Jesse D, Althea cousin and Mrs. Pryde's mother. And yes, to this day, Kitty still needed therapy and counseling from the Professor (when she wasn't taking her frustrations out in the Danger Room).

"Like, a simple 'I-promise-to-not-screw-over-your-life' would be too much to ask for, wouldn't it?" Shadowcat grumbled to the sky before she then gave a very sharp and menacing bark.

"If you three don't like stop right now, I WILL SHOOT ALL OF YOU!" Shadowcat screamed. All three of the adults stopped and turned to see to their surprise Kitty, in her X-Men uniform and brandishing her blue and pink glovatrix out for all to view. Mrs. Pryde just stood there, blinking. Mr. Pryde actually had a grip on Jesse's hair in his hand, and Jesse was frozen in mid-position, one hand yanking Mr. Pryde by the collar and the other cocked back and ready to deliver a fist to his opponent's face. Kitty took a deep breath before she clarified.

"I have a glovatrix with enough fire-power to destroy a reinforced army tank. Don't make me use it," Kitty said. The three adults hurriedly stood up and remained cordial, though Richard and Jesse still looked like they wanted to fight and kill each other.

"She obviously got it from your side of the family…" Mr. Pryde muttered out of the corner of his mouth to his ex-wife.

"Dad….please, this is totally not the time," Kitty growled through gritted teeth, rubbing the bridge of her nose and contemplating if she could just shoot herself instead.

Meanwhile, Avalanche was busy using his magic when he suddenly felt a familiar and painful wave of nausea wash over him as every fiber of his body began to painfully throb and ache, sending uncontrollable spasms, his throat now feeling dry and cottony.

"Oh God…" Avalanche gasped, cradling his head as his convulsions continued, "Not now. Please…"

Simba immediately forgot all pretense and other concerns with the battle as he, Spirit, and Bree rushed over to the epileptic Misfit, and Simba screamed in his telepathic connection with his partner.

Lance! What's wrong?

The geokinetic was too busy shaking, one rivulet of blood trickling down his nostril and slightly foaming at his mouth, his chin covered with drool and his eyes rolling around in their sockets madly.

"He's having another attack!" Bree said instantly as she knelt next to him, fishing in her medical pack she brought with her in case of any emergencies.

"Can you help him keep it under control? He's causing a massive earthquake! If this continues, it'll destroy the whole block!" Spirit asked urgently, and Bree nodded as she fished out a hypodermic needle.

"I can't sedate him, but I can calm down the attacks! Just help the others! I've got it handled!" ordered the blond medic, and Spirit nodded as he armed himself with his crossbow and charged alongside Shipwreck and Dragonfly. Lance managed to croak out as he felt the little prick in his arm as Bree injected a component to lessen the adrenaline levels in his system.

"Simba…protect Kitty. Protect the Misfits and the X-Men. Please…do it, for me…" he rasped, and though he looked like he wanted to disobey and stay by his Keyblade wielder's side, the lion just growled before nodding his furry head and taking off. Unfortunately, the tremors caused by Lance were actually strong enough to cause the pavement and roads to wobble and collapse madly, rupturing pipes and cracking various buildings all around the metropolitan area.

"Yeow! Alvers, you idiot, what are you doing?" Cyclops yelped as a falling lamppost nearly crushed him, and Jean gasped in horror as she used her telekinesis to divert some rubble from a squadron of cops before it could fall and crush them from above.

"He's having another seizure!" she exclaimed. And it was additionally terrible considering that the tremors were also powering the two Hellfire Heartless, and now freshly enervated, one raised its claws to the sky and summoned an absolute cloud of black lightning, causing it to explode and spread out everywhere like a sonic wave.

"Yeow! Watch out!" Blind Master yelped as Whitelighter orbed him and Beach Head out of the destructive path, but some weren't so lucky. Though Genie tried, he could only divert so much, and the additional help of Jean's telekinesis couldn't shield everyone. Several more cops and lingering civilians perished, leaving nothing but their glowing hearts, and one shaft went directly towards Kitty and her family.

"Watch out!" Jesse yelled, and though Shadowcat managed to phase through it, it went past her and struck Mr. Pryde instead.

"NO!" Kitty screamed, horrified. She couldn't do anything, and her father was out of reach for her to grab in instinct to begin with.

"Richard!" screamed Kitty's mom as she made a mad dash to do something, anything, but Jesse D grabbed the woman roughly around the waist and restrained her from doing something foolish, maintaining his grip tightly.

"Don't…just don't!" Jesse hissed with steel, trying to calm down and prevent the woman from endangering her life as well, knowing that there was nothing else that could be done as the black lightning faded and Mr. Pryde's body disintegrated, leaving nothing but a shining pink heart crystal in its place. It hovered in the air, glowing in a cyclic rhythm from low to high intensity, before it hovered up in the air and vanished.

Kitty was already breaking down, falling to her knees and sobbing.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!" she kept wailing piteously, not caring if she was in peril any longer, covering her face with her hands and the one image of her father dying in front of her eyes forever branded into her brain.

"Yeow!" yelped Quicksilver as he dashed in and out between shafts, weaving safely around the energy attacks, "What gives? These Heartless are tougher to beat!"

"They got stronger from absorbing Lance's tremors! Since they were generated from his mutant powers, it allows the Hellfire Heartless to absorb the energy and replenish themselves! They now fully recharged and still madder than before!" gulped Quinn as she analyzed this on her scanners.

"They're certainly smarter! They're not just standing around and attacking anything on sight like before! And these two are actually trying to dodge out attacks a lot more!" gulped Dragonfly as she finished using her Sonic Blade technique with her Icewing, trying to hack off a Heartless' foot and trying to cause it to stumble. Unfortunately, the experiment got wise to the insect-girl's scheme and fluidly strafed to the side before trying to grab the Misfit with its elongated hands. Thankfully, she flew off before it could make contact.

"Wow! The Organization's must have been really upgrading the Heartless on the brains department! All for one…!" Daria cried.

"…and one for all!" Quinn and Brittany finished, bringing their pink Keyblades with their sister's.

"TRINITY LIMIT!" the Triplets yelled, blasting back the two Heartless with their Keyblade attack. With a massive flash of bright pink, the two specimens howled with pain as the time energy singed their hides, but instead of perishing, they became absolutely livid as they charged again.

"They just won't give up! Blizzaga Arctic Requiem!" Dragonfly yelled, summoning her violin and freezing one Heartless' arms before it could use its appendages to snare and drain them, causing the limbs to break apart in two as the ice energy crystallized them.

"And I can't use the staff on 'em! Not if they're not people who were infected and if they're not weak enough for me to finish them off!" Wavedancer cursed over her communicator as she rode on Dumbo's back.

Colossus then saw a familiar black orbed figure teleport above the grieving and oblivious Shadowcat and to his horror, he had a familiar object in his gloved hand…

"Katya, watch out!" Colossus yelled as he dove and got right in front of Kitty as Xaldin sent the spore down…only to infect Piotr instead. The Russian X-Man fell to his knees in absolute pain, holding his mid-section as he screamed in agony and felt his body alter itself horrifically.

"My God…" Jesse gasped, his face pale.

"Peter!" screamed Kitty helplessly as the transformation was complete, and the newly gained Heartless from the Hellfire spore was revealed to everyone's disgust and revulsion. The Heartless was mammoth, over ten feet tall now, was its physical musculature was hulking, bulging with noticeable ridges of corded flesh underneath its smooth, touch black hide. Classifying the monster of having a "body-builder's physique" would have not done it any justice and been woefully inadequate. Though it was still human-looking with Piotr's telltale crew-cut hairstyle and had two arms and two legs and a human-like face, it was still terrifyingly grotesque. The jaw was protruding out abnormally and pointed, and along with its narrow, slanted yellow eyes of no life and consciousness, the teeth were lined with triangular metal teeth similar to that of a shark. And as the hide began to encase itself with metal plates similar to Colossus' mutation, the heroes noticed another grim fact about the creature. Instead of hands and claws, the Hellfire drone had two hammers of solider steel. And on the head of each hammer was the black-and-red insignia of the Heartless.

"Peter! Peter, it's us, your friends!" Shadowcat tried to scream at Piotr, hoping she could break through to him, but with a frenzied roar, the Hellfire Heartless that was once Colossus now fully shielded itself, encasing its skin and hide with an impenetrable shell of organic steel plates. Xaldin grinned, showing all of his white teeth, his blue eyes shining with delight.

"Colossus…take their hearts," he intoned wickedly, and with that and causing the ground to tremble slightly from its wake, the Heartless charged at running speeds, leaving potholes in the blacktop road the size of manholes.

"This isn't good!" Jean cried.

"Gee, Jean, thanks for statin' the obvious!" snapped Rogue as she deftly lifted a car over head before she hurled it directly at the charging opponent who merely sent it back with one brush of its hammer-appendage.

---

Back at Xavier's School of the Gifted in Bayville, New York…

"This stinks!" muttered Ray hotly, sulking on the couch, "Not only are there Heartless in Chicago and the Misfits still have the Keyblades and magic, but we're stuck here under house-arrest because the Professor's afraid it's too dangerous while Scott, Jean and the others get to go off and fight where the action is! It doesn't make any sense!"

"I do not think that it is a bad situation, Ray," Rina half-growled as she chewed on her apple while sitting on the couch, "Kitty was logically allowed to leave because she could phase herself defensively and avoid any contact with the Hellfire spores, and Colossus wished to come to give her emotional support and lend his strength. And Rogue, Jean, and Scott were the only ones the Professor would trust to handle the battle and help get the innocent civilians out of the way and lessen the damage done by the Thirteenth Order. The rest of us needed to stay here in case the Mansion is open and left vulnerable to attack since the Organization has tried divide-and-conquer tricks before, but the all the Misfits were needed in Chicago to go fight the Heartless and in case anyone needed one of their Keyblades to seal a stolen heart. That's why Quentin from the Ghostbusters sent the Slayer recruits along with that ghost-boy to help guard the premises. It makes perfect sense to send all the Keyblades to completely eliminate the Heartless attack in San Francisco while fortifying the Mansion here with additional help in case the Inner Circle and the Hellfire Heartless strike here."

"As much as I hate to admit it, the fille has a point," Remy grumbled, though one can tell he was incredibly sour for not being there with Rogue in Chicago, "Should those Heartless conardes attack us here, we can at least hole up ourselves in the Mansion and in the lower basement and have a better chance of keeping outta reach. Though Remy gotta say that even with the additional spells the Charmed sorcières and Willow put up all around the school, Remy don't feel any safer."

"I know," Amara said as she shivered to herself, hugging her knees to her chest as she watched her friends play on the Game Cube, "If that Organization guy with the Keyblades could come in here and wreck our consoles and communications center and create a barrier to keep us out in the open, then nothing the Halliwells or any witch and wizard we know can really prevent them from doing anything to us or the school."

"Well, except Wolverine. Last time I checked, the Badger's immune now that his heart's locked," Tabitha mused.

Jubilee's voice was a bit soft as she paused, letting Roberto beat up her Samus Aran, before she spoke, "I just hope he'll be all right. Even if he is immune, he can still get badly hurt."

"And at least we have some of the Slayers the Ghostbusters sent here ta' guard our school along with that new kid. Dang, what's his name? the one who showed us he's half-ghost or somethin' from some kind of experiment his parents did? Danny Fenton?" Sam pondered.

"Phantom, actually," Tabitha corrected as she twirled a lock of her hair idly with one finger, "Still, gotta admit that for a half-ghost, if he was a little older and our age, he'd be a total cutie."

"Of course you'd think that one, Boom-Boom," Kurt managed to tease in a slightly jovial voice, but inside, he was deeply worried for Kitty, Piotr, and the others.

"Yeah, and we're stuck here with a dumb Disney dog who's not going to help us out, even though this is our battle too and we've been fighting the Heartless ever since we started investigating in Jump City!" the red-and-yellow haired adolescent grumbled.

"Quit griping. Batman said that Pluto has shown reason that he's on our side, Ray, so if anything, having him here would be a lot safer," Roberto sighed, not looking up from his game of (ironically) "Super Smash Bros. Melee" with Jamie, Kurt, and Jubilee (and Jamie was using Falco himself). The electrokinetic made a grimace of disgust.

"Hate to break this to the supporters of the We-Love-Batman fan-club, but the Batman isn't always right," Ray retorted. Roberto and Jamie glowered at their teammate in response. Pluto opened one eye and looked balefully at Bezerker, but didn't even move from his position as he continued to slumber, his nose bobbing up and down adorably from his snoozing.

Meanwhile, outside on the lawns and grounds of the X-Mansion, the aforementioned Ghostbuster recruits were slowly and warily scouting the perimeters…

While floating on air, Danny Phantom gave a big wince as he heard the explosion come from Beast's laboratory along with the sharp scream followed by a series of hollering for someone's intervention

"Forge! Get back here and take your beating like a man!" Hank was heard roaring loudly, and considering that Danny, Kennedy, and Shannon were a good distance away from the building, this was no small accomplishment. And likewise, they could hear the X-Men's inventor pleading for mercy.

"It was an accident! Don't kill me! Don't kill me! Help, help, help!"

The half-ghost adolescent turned to Shannon and Kennedy with a hesitant expression of disbelief.

"Are things always this crazy with the X-Men?" he asked, causing the two girls to share a knowing look before smirking at their teammate. Unlike them, this was Danny Fenton's first experience with the mutant peacekeepers.

"Trust me, you haven't seen what it's like when the X-Men, G.I. Joe, and the Misfits get together. Compared to the insanity that comes from those run-ins, this is actually considered peaceful," Shannon said with wry humor.

"I didn't think it was possible, but apparently, I've met people who are more insane than my parents, Valerie, and Vladimus combined," groaned Danny.

"Look at it this way: they're nuts, but a good kind of nuts," Kennedy said without much concern, "You'll get used to it eventually. If anything, be more concerned about any Organization creeps that could be lurking around…"

And speaking of which, a lone black orbed figure was idly and sulkily teleporting himself among the cover of the grove next to the mansion, revealing himself to be a blue-eyed, youthful male sporting a mullet of brown hair and a frowning face like a temperamental child. It was apparent that Demyx wasn't exactly having the greatest time of his life.

"Oohhhhh…" whined the Organization member to himself (and it was clear to any outsider that he was most likely the most immature participant of the entire order), "I told them they were sending the wrong guy to do this! I hate reconnaissance work! I didn't want to do anything today! Rotten Luxord and Xaldin! Mean Luxord and Xaldin! Can't they take a joke? Sheesh, some Nobodies have no sense of humor and…oh yeah, we don't have a sense of humor to begin with."

Still, like a typical child, Demyx pouted before kicking the ground in frustration, sulking and carrying on with his tantrum. He then perked up as he saw through an opening in the bushes the Slayers Vi and Rona, armed with stakes, knives, and a mace, patrolling the gardens, and suddenly, the Organization warrior decided on a little fun.

"Heh heh heh…" Demyx chuckled, summoning his weapon which turned out to be a large and bulky sitar with strings of sea-foam and colored the purest tinge of blue from the cleanest lake and stream. Perhaps he could have a little fun with killing these girls right before he caused a little chaos in the Institute, and two ordinary Slayer girls would hardly be a match against fifty or so clones of water.

"Dance, water, da- !" began Demyx, plucking the strings, but then a rumble of anger from behind made his eyes widened, and slowly, as he gulped, Demyx turned around to find himself face to face with a hulking, furry figure with a sword pointed right into his face.

"You want to press you luck, pal?" the giant rumbled with the purest form of a threat.

Demyx then did the only thing that naturally came to him.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Demyx screamed, which brought Danny and the other Slayers running only to spot the infamous black robed being dashing out from the wood.

"Organization Thirteen!" Danny growled as he brought out his proton gun, and Kennedy braced herself with her twin swords as she made her threat clear.

"You better back off, chump, or else we're - !" but Kennedy didn't even have time to finish that sentence as Demyx ran by her and the other Ghostbusters.

Yes. Ran by them.

"Run away! RUN AWAY!" Demyx screamed shrilly before he madly dashed out the underbrush, ignoring the Slayers completely as he then dove into a portal of darkness and nothingness, and before any of the girls could stop him, the Organization member vanished into thin air completely.

Needless to say, the Slayers and Danny were a bit…surprised. Out of all the possible outcomes they heard and expected from the Thirteenth Order for a battle, this wasn't one of them.

Rona had the biggest what-the-hell-just-happened expression on her face, his mouth turned downwards into a shocked grimace. Vi just continued to blink and stare blankly ahead. Shannon and Kennedy actually looked wildly around, expecting this to be a trick of some sort and that there would be an ambush all around them. And to further confuse them, there wasn't anyone else they could detect with their Slayer sense, which made this situation more genuine…and unbelievable. Caridad's mouth was slightly open as she turned around and continued looking at the spot where Demyx disappeared. Dana kept opening and closing her mouth as if she wanted to say something snide or sarcastic, but considering that they just saw an Organization member run cowardly for his life, she couldn't think up of the words in her frozen brain.

Chao-Ahn just managed to sum it all nicely in English with her translator, asking in a dazed voice, "Did he just…run away?"

"Something must've scared him. And considering that he was running towards us, it definitely wasn't our group," Kennedy said slowly, narrowing her eyes in thought. Danny meanwhile took out a PKE meter and scanned the area all around them, especially the spot where the hooded man in the black cloak teleported away.

"I'm getting a reading…whoa, this is weird, but the PKE scanner says that it's all around Xavier's Institute!" Danny said in amazement, "And before you ask, it isn't dark energy or any sort of malicious ectoplasmic reading we've seen before from the Heartless or from that Organization guy. In fact…wow, it's actually similar to the energy that is the unique signature of the Elementa magic the Misfits use!"

Vi blinked as she said in surprise, "The Misfits? But they're not here! All of them left for Chicago to the fight the Hellfire Heartless!"

"That's odd," Caridad said slowly, "Then who else could have cast that magic?"

Leomon just softly chuckled to himself as he looked down upon the Slayers from his position on the Institute's roof, hidden amongst the trees that were blocking their view of him, as he finished invoking the shield of earth energy all around the grounds of the school, his magic forming a sphere of the King's power above and below the ground. Just like the one he cast at the Pit before.

If Organization Thirteen and the Heartless were hoping to attempt to use the divide-and-conquer trick to attack Xavier's Institute of the Gifted and murder the rest of the X-Men, if not destroy their home and ransack their belongings, they would be in for another disappointment.

Granted, it was a risk coming here again, but with the Joes and a good number of the mutants in Chicago and having the satisfaction of driving away Demyx, it was worth it. Still, it wouldn't prevent other enemies such as Cobra or the Inner Circle's mutants from attacking, but it was better than nothing.

With that and feeling that the spell he cast was more than satisfactory enough, Leomon jumped slightly up and faded into thin air, hiding amongst the bright afternoon sky.

---

"Peter, stop! It's us! Can't you remember?" Shadowcat kept screaming at the Heartless that was once her boyfriend, Colossus.

"It's no good! He won't listen to us! He's only taking orders from the Organization!" Blind Master yelled as he threw several steel shuriken at the metal Heartless, only to have the sharpened projectiles bounce of its armor. Meanwhile, Wolverine, Rogue, Cyclops, and Jean were livid as they charged and blitzed Xaldin, remembering that Althea told them that the Organization members themselves weren't immune to mutant powers.

"You're gonna pay for this with your head, bub! And then I'll rip out yer nuts as the standard tip!" snarled Wolverine as he executed a series of ferocious jabs with his claws at Xaldin who parried as fast as he could with his lances in his hands while Jean wonderfully complemented her input to the battle by using her telekinesis to hold the free spears dancing on the air currents. Now Xaldin only had to fight with two of his six weapons, giving Logan a even chance to win.

Still, Xaldin was hardly worried. With a sneer, the black-robed warrior summoned a ferocious gust of wind that blew Wolverine backward and caused Jean to lose her telekinetic hold on the enemy's spears.

"Another time, vermin," Xaldin scoffed as a shadow began to loom and descend upon him from above…

CRASH!

Xaldin certainly didn't see the car come crashing down on him, but he felt the result as Rogue power-slammed the BMW she hefted with her strength and brought it down upon the man's head, pressing the Nobody to the pavement to be sandwiched by a heavy automobile.

"Talk about the pot callin' the kettle black, ya' roadkill pancake!" the girl with white bangs growled, but to her surprise, she was forcefully blown backwards by another strong cyclone of wind as Xaldin sent her flying, not the least bit injured from having several hundred pounds of metal crush him from above.

"Geez, this guy doesn't stay down!" Cyclops groaned as he fired another optic blast.

Meanwhile, Jesse had a brilliant moment of inspiration strike him as he saw one shaft of energy from a Hellfire Heartless strike another officer and caused the human to die, surrendering his heart to the voids unknown.

"That's it!" Jesse thought wildly, and as the Hellfire Heartless them shot another blast of dark lightning, the young man managed to twist his mutant shield in such as way where the shaft of crackling magical energy ricocheted off the opposing surface and flew upwards towards the sky…and right into the cloaked back of Xaldin himself.

"Aaaaaaaaaaa!" hollered Xaldin as the black energy managed to actually pierce through his bubble of wind and nail him directly between the shoulder blades. At first, Jesse was exuberant, inwardly cheering that such a magical attack would kill the Organization member and help the X-Men. But to his growing realization and dread, Xaldin whirled around, livid, to see the male below him still generating his mutant shield against the Hellfire Heartless. He didn't die nor lose his heart from the reflected energy generated by his own soldiers, despite what most sci-fi movies would tell otherwise.

"Oh crap…" Jesse blinked, realizing that things weren't going to way he expected. The Nobody with raven-colored dreadlocks furiously grabbed three Dragoon lances with his hands while sending the other three to hammer and jab mercilessly at Cyclops, Jean, Shadowcat, Wolverine and Rogue below.

"Heartless, go after the other mutants," growled Xaldin as he swooped down like a hawk with a murderous expression on his face, "I shall personally murder this one…"

"Leave him alone, you jerk! Aeroga Guardian Hurricane!" Quicksilver roared, shielding Jesse and Mrs. Pryde (who was still nearby) with a protective bubble of wind and warding Xaldin back while Fred tried again.

"Gravia…Orbs of Force Crusher!" but to the Misfit's horror, nothing happened.

"Aw, crap! I'm still not recharged yet! I used up all my magical energy or something!" Blob wailed.

Xi took the Initiative as he raised his Rainforest Scale above his head and cried out, "No you won't! Give me strength! Bambi, come out and help us!"

"Mushu, you too! Help my useless brother! Give me strength!" yelled Scarlet Witch as she raised her Vengeful Blaze, and at once the two summons materialized with a grand spectacle of lights and magical energies. The deer fawn immediately began to prance and jump with leaps and bounds, scattering mana orbs everywhere and recharging the Misfits everywhere while Mushu peppered the Heartless with fire blasts.

Meanwhile, Kitty was unable to run from the metal Heartless, and Colossus was about to crush her with one final blow with his hammer when Simba, roaring, rushed by and snatched her away right before the mallet fell, crushing the spot where she once stood. Shadowcat could only gasp as Simba threw the girl onto his back while he galloped away from Colossus.

"No! Go back! Simba, like go back, please! Peter's still a Heartless! Please, Simba, save him! Please, I'm begging you! Go back!" Shadowcat cried, practically screaming. The lion growled in a commiserating manner, but he shook his head, denying Kitty's request as he maintained his distance from the infected Colossus. Lance's orders were to save Kitty, and it wouldn't make much sense to continue endangering her life if Simba took Shadowcat back to the Heartless to fight it.

Meanwhile, Lance, still being treated by a frantic Bree, woozily managed to see Kitty being distraught and remembered that even though Piotr was his rival…Kitty still loved him and he would be a heel if he didn't do something, anything.

But how?

While teetering between the brink of consciousness and unconsciousness, Avalanche then took a final gamble, one out of pure desperation and because his brain was so fuzzy from his seizures. It didn't seem it would do anything, but then again, considering Pluto was the one who blessed him with the Elementa magic and the Keyblade in the first place…

"Plu-…Pluto…help me…" Lance rasped, blood trickling out of one nostril.

Back at the X-Mansion, Pluto, unbeknownst to the mutant teenagers around him, made a connection as he literally astral projected from his body and into the plane where Lance could see and hear him. The Professor, from his office as he was trying to calm down a meek Forge and a apoplectic and singed Hank along with Tessa and Ororo, felt a sudden jolt touch him in the back of his mind.

"My word…" Xavier said, not sure what just happened.

Meanwhile, back at the battlefield…

At first, Lance thought he was hallucinating until he could feel the wet, sandpapery touch of the hound's tongue caressing his cheek and whimpering softly. Why Bree couldn't see him was beyond all sense and rationalization, but Lance didn't give too much effort in that thought as he pleaded weakly.

"Pluto…can you heal me?"

Pluto gave Lance the saddest look in his life before he whined and shook his head. It was apparent that the dog couldn't grant that request, not because he didn't wish to but because he couldn't. Pluto, like everyone else, has his limitations.

"Damn…" Lance muttered. It figures. And he was so sick of this, of having his attacks and convulsions brought by the errants in his genetic code coming in and crippling him at the most inopportune times, like being locked in a battle for your life and countless other lives via the Heartless. And Kitty was still in danger…

"Can you protect Kitty, then?" he weakly asked, a little louder. This time, Bree heard Avalanche and mistakenly took the question as meant for her since there was no one else around.

"I…I'll try Lance, but I can't promise since I don't have a Keyblade to fight with," the blond medic answered hesitantly as she injected a syringe full of medicine to lessen the intensity of the pain from the seizures. She was clearly trying to humor the teen. Lance just ignored her as he pleaded again in his mind, hoping that Pluto could listen to him.

"Pluto…help Kitty, please. I can't help her…like this," Lance croaked. Pluto blinked and titled his head to the side quizzically, as if confused why Lance would want such as thing until the geokinetic clarified for the canine.

"Look, I know she's over me, and I respect that, but…but I still care for her. Please! She needs help and she just lost her Dad! As much as I hate the Russkie, I don't want him dead or to kill anyone! Not that I wouldn't mind him doing it to Summers and Red - "

There was an angry snort of disapproval as Pluto gave Lance a reprimanding look for that thoughtless remark, and Lance immediately became sorry he said it as he begged as much as he could despite the pain searing in every muscle fiber of his body.

"Look, please, just help Kitty! Give her a chance to save the Metal-Man and the X-Geeks! Teach her magic too! You have to! She can't use her powers on the Hellfire Heartless!" Lance weakly coughed, and Pluto gave Avalanche the deepest look of pity and apology as he shook his head.

Avalanche knew that look; he'd seen it so many times before on the various social workers, teachers, and heck, even Kitty's face at times. The look that said with some remorse, I-can't-do-that.

"Pluto, please! Kitty's in danger! And I can't save her! Not like this! You can't be fully out of magic and Keyblades and stuff! Isn't there any backup thing you have? A secret reserve power of something? Another Keyblade? Please, Pluto…Kitty's in danger."

Pluto shook his head again, this time making a grunt that clearly said that he could not do what Avalanche asked, no matter how many times he begged. Lance, out of the deepest pit of desperation then tried another tactic that one could only term as insane and reckless, if not foolishly noble.

"Then…then take my magic," Avalanche said hoarsely before he got into a coughing fit.

Pluto's eyes went wide with shock, giving an odd noise of bewilderment, as his floppy ears perked up and his tail shot up to the sky like a steel rod, thinking that he didn't hear right. Avalanche then repeated it to Pluto more insistently.

"Take my magic, take my gift you gave me and give it to Kitty. Even if it's just one time, give it to her! Let her have a chance to defend herself and save Colossus!"

Pluto hesitated, actually looking reluctant…but he didn't shake his head or say no. And Lance guessed why.

"You can do it, can't you?" the Misfit coughed weakly, "What Jean saw in your mind when she showed us, you can take our gifts and give them to other people, right? You can change your decision if you want to, right? So you can pass off my magic to Kitty if you really wanted to, right?"

Pluto gave him a long, sorrowful look. He wanted to lie, but decided against it, and he nodded without saying anything. Lance became even more hopeful as he wheezed out his plea.

"Pluto, give it to her! Even if it's just one time, give it to her! Take my magic and give it to Kitty so she can protect the other X-Geeks and save Peter! Please, I'm willing! I'm willing to give it up!"

Pluto still looked unwilling to comply, torn between humoring Lance and the fact that he didn't want to do this. The earth-shaker then pleaded a final time before he lost consciousness.

"Pluto…she's got a strong heart too. I wouldn't ask you to do this if she didn't. Please, take it and give it to her!"

This time, Bree heard Lance murmur this loudly enough over the din of the fighting, and she blinked, confused.

"Lance, what are you talking about? Pluto's not here!" she said breathlessly, unsure of herself, as she gently shook Lance's shoulder to get his attention. But Avalanche had already passed out.

Meanwhile, Shadowcat was trying to make her way towards the metal-armored Colossus-Heartless, ignoring the yells of frustration from her fellow X-Men as they fought Xaldin and the hollers of pain and fighting-adrenaline from the Misfits and the Joes as they tried their best to incapacitate the three Heartless and not kill Piotr in his infected state. Even though it was foolish, Kitty didn't care. She already lost her father, and she would be damned if she'd lose Piotr as well.

Thankfully, Simba wasn't having it as he remembered Lance's orders and blocked the valley girl's path, stopping her from advancing. Kitty was so tempted to phase through the lion, but then again, considering he was a magical beast, she wasn't sure if it was possible. Thankfully, her voice was enough to get her message through.

"Like, get out of my way! Peter's there! I'm not losing him!" Shadowcat threatened. Simba shook his head, rumbling dangerously. Kitty then tried to sidestep him, but the Disney lion got in her way again, making it clear that he would uphold Lance's orders to the letter, and Kitty felt her patience break due to her anger and grief. She then utilized her mutant powers and tried to phase through Simba, expecting the familiar cold feeling of passing through solid matter. So imagine her surprise that she solidly collided against Simba's furry head and was forcibly pushed back with a hard nudge, sent fumbling backwards. Shadowcat was stunned.

"I…I can't phase through you?" she half-gasped. Simba narrowed his eyes and shook his head. Kitty was now starting to become frantic.

"Like, let me through!" she shouted furiously at Simba who continued to block her way, "Please, let me through! Peter's still in there, deep down! I can still try and reach him, even though he's still a Heartless! Please! Like, let me help and try to save Peter!"

Simba growled and shook his head again, and Kitty completely went ballistic as she then screamed, "Like, what is wrong with you? Do you and Lance actually want Peter to die? Is that like it?"

The orange-furred lion gave Shadowcat a deepest look of disgust and anger at that statement which Kitty immediately felt ashamed. There were several tense seconds between them while the Disney summon just silently glared daggers with promise of furry retribution at the mutant female.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered, "I didn't mean that."

Simba just turned his head away in loathing; though he loved and respected Lance, he wondered what in the name of the Pride Lands did he ever see in this vain, selfish, air-headed female. Shadowcat was about to beg some more when she felt suddenly woozy, and feeling faint, she collapsed on her knees. Alarmed, Simba was about to rush over and help the teenager up when he stopped short and stared, his jowls dropping in surprise.

There, in the middle of Kitty's forehead, was the yellow symbol of the Lumiga Kingdom, the King's magic of the element of light.

Impossible, gasped Simba to himself. Meanwhile, Kitty closed her eyes, her head swimming and her vision blurring so much that it hurt, holding her hands to her throbbing forehead. And yet, even amid battle, she couldn't hear or feel anything, almost as if she was displaced into another realm or plane of nothing but silence and peace. And in her mind, to her further amazement, she could see…Pluto?

No, there was no question about it. It was as if he was really there, wagging his tail happily and panting, looking at Kitty with love.

"Pluto…" Kitty said hoarsely, her throat hot with grief, "My Dad, Peter, everyone…please, help me. Like, I don't want to lose them. Please, give me a miracle to save everyone."

Pluto's eyes were warm as his eyes began to glow if a soft yellow, his pupils radiating in soft tones of the sun, and Kitty instantly felt a warm surge of power flowing all around her, easing her grief and lessening the petrified feelings of cold throughout her body. And she could feel the words come to her out of nowhere, instructing her on exactly what to say to channel this new blissful power.

But the only difference between her and the Misfits was that there was no voice instructing her.

Shadowcat then opened her eyes, her pupils glazed and hollow, as she stood up slowly and demurely, the sigil on her head glowing even brighter, her mouth slack as she then reacted in the only way that could make sense to her.

"Like, LUMIGA…!" yelled Shadowcat, building up her voice over the roars and bedlam of the battle as she pointed her forefinger up into the air, invoking a blinding star of yellow luminescence all around the field as it originated from her fingertip. In a flash, tiny, thin wisps of illumination surged towards the teenager and collectively gathered in her hand, nearly blinding everyone around her.

The other Misfits, Joes and X-Men were shocked and startled to say the least.

"What the hell is Kitty doing?" Shipwreck blurted out in puzzled bewilderment, but Wavedancer and Blind Master guessed it at once.

"I don't believe it! Kitty's…doing magic now! I can sense it! It's magic, the same magic Pluto's given all of you!" the Joe ninja master exclaimed.

"Impossible!" Xi gasped in awe as Shadowcat, with a fierce look on her face, pointed her glowing finger at the metal-armored giant that was once Colossus before she finished her bellow.

"…MOONBEAM SHOWER!" the X-Girl shouted, and at once, the convergence of light faded.

"Whoa! What the heck is goin' on?" Rogue gasped as she and the other X-Men could only look upon the scene in astonishment and growing surprise as Kitty raised her hand higher to the sky, and from her finger, a solid thin beam of yellow moonlight shot up and disappeared into the sky, fading into the light blue atmosphere…before the sky began to rain down a multitude of yellow shafts of light all over the city, each one hammering down and striking like a missile. And each one of the moonbeams was particular painful, an intense beam of light energy. All three of the Heartless and Xaldin were besieged at the streams of magic engulfed them and the battlefield.

Xaldin managed to use his array of lances to shield himself from the main brunt of the assault, but he still couldn't avoid the shafts of magic as the light surged through his body, setting every portion and cell of his being in excruciating torment. The Organization member screamed as the attack subsided and he gave Shadowcat the biggest glare he could, his black cloak smoking from the intense moonlight striking him.

The other X-Men actually stopped and stared, stunned beyond all forms of comprehension.

"Well, holy shit!" cursed Wolverine, "The half-pint knows magic! I don't believe it! The half-pint knows magic now! And it's that Lumiga crap magic, that magic based on the element of light!"

"That means…she has a purer heart! And because she's got a stronger heart, she got one of the Misfit's magic! Well whaddya know! Who would have thunk Miss Valley-Girl'd have a purer heart?" Rogue stammered in amazement, holding a hand to her mouth.

Jean gave Rogue a sardonic look as she said, "Rogue, these are the Misfits we're talking about. It's a given she'd be more pure than some of them."

Daria felt her heart ease up in relief upon its rapid pounding against her ribcage as she saw the levels of strength and dexterity of the Heartless experiment drop significantly enough though her scanner.

"Wavedancer, Peter's weakened enough now! You better do your thing!" the Triplet sister shouted over her communicator which prompted to act with her staff.

"Destiny Kingdom Heartlock Reform!" the ninja girl cried out, and the poorly battered metal ogre let loose the most piercing howl of pain as the ten colorful sigils engulfed followed by the ever-so familiar final scene of the pillar of light…

Kawhoom!

"It's Peter! He's back! You did it!" Jean exclaimed with joy and relieved gratitude as the light faded to reveal a now restored and whole metal form of the X-Man, Colossus, before he fell to the concrete with a mighty thud, forming a crater with his bulky, armored frame, as his heart crystal landed with cracking noises on the sidewalk next to him.

"Oh no…" Cyclops murmured, realizing what was coming next.

"I got it!" yelled Quicksilver as he dashed forward with his super-speed, but Xaldin then invoked a mighty tornado with three of his spears, and yelping, the Misfit speedster actually had to swerve madly and skid before leaping out of the way to avoid being stabbed to death. Descending lightly back to the ground, the Organization wind-rider snarled as he then brought the two lances in his hands and formed a vicious typhoon right in front of the Joes, Misfits, and X-Men, threatening to rip them to shreds.

"Yeow!" yelped Low Light as he transformed to steel, "What gives? This guy's wind magic is sharp, like knives!"

Sure enough, as the Joe sniper protectively held Cover Girl to his chest and shielded her with his body, the back of his uniform were already ripped to shreds, fabric flapping off in the gusts and exposing his metal back. If he hadn't transformed his atomic structure to solid steel, he would have been severely lacerated. And though Jesse, Jean, and Genie (humorously enough, using a giant parasol umbrella) used their powers to protect everyone from being severely wounded, it still held them at a standstill.

"That heart is mine, pests!" Xaldin growled as he reached for Colossus' heart, but another form struck the spear-wielding warrior from his blind spot.

"Aeroga Shadow Phantasm!" Falco roared, barreling like an unstoppable bullet, his blue, lithe body encased with a silver column of harsh winds that would have decimated and rent anything in its path, and sensing the danger, Xaldin took the two weapons in his hands to summon another protective bubble of air to counter the avian's magic. Both attacks struck with full force, causing a backlash of air to erupt and spread everywhere, with Falco doing his best to not give the Organization member an inch. Octavia, meanwhile was staying close to Piotr's unconscious body as she picked up the X-Men's heart and probed it deeply, not allowing herself to overlook anything vital.

"Now!" yelled Scarlet Witch as she struck along with Xi, "Fire Crimson Whirlwind!"

"Woodra Leafblight Revolution!"

Xaldin disappeared when the fire and wood attacks sped towards him, and Falco barely had enough time to dodge the magical combination himself, back-flipping and having his red jacket display a few nasty charred lacerations.

"Hey, you nimrod lunatics! You nearly hit me!" squawked Falco in anger.

"Oh golly gee, that would have been such a shame," Wanda drawled, her voice simply dripping with sarcasm as she, Mushu, Bambi, and Xi charged. Falco then went for the defense.

"Reflega!" he squawked, sending numerous shrapnel of his shielding magic attack the four rather painfully and giving him some breathing room.

"Uh, hate to break this, but those other two Hellfire Heartless are still going around! We may have cured Peter but we haven't dealt with them yet!" Shipwreck yelled directly with dire need as he emptied his dual Desert Eagle pistols into the backs of the abominations.

"Kitty, use your newfangled magic thing again!" Rogue shouted, and Shadowcat nodded before she pointed at the Heartless again.

"Lumiga Moonbeam Shower!" she cried, but to her horror, nothing happened.

"Huh, what's going on? Nothing like happened!" Kitty gasped. That feeling, that warm and wonderful sensation and phenomenon of tapping into something huge and glorious and influentially vigorous and powerful…was gone. Octavia then sighed with disappointment as she tossed the heart at Wolverine who caught it in surprise.

"It was no Talisman, X-Men. Perhaps next time…" and with that, both she and Falco took off, jumping to the rooftops of the nearest skyscrapers and vanished from sight. Unfortunately, even though the soldier from the Thirteenth Order was gone and Piotr was back to normal, it didn't stop the other two Heartless from trying to kill all of them. And Simba looked on worriedly at Bree and Avalanche who were still out in the middle of the battlefield.

"Simba, GO!" Shadowcat cried, phasing Beach Head nearby so that the Heartless' magic would pass by them safely, "Go get Lance! I'm all right now and so is Peter, but go help Lance and Bree!"

The lion, after bellowing a vicious Proud Roar attack to send the Hellfire Heartless skittering backwards, turned and looked at Kitty incredulously.

"Look, Avalanche's more important than me even though I have magic because like he's got a Keyblade and he's your friend, so go!" Shadowcat said hurriedly as she loaded her glovatrix with a cutter missile.

Simba looked torn…until Kitty then said the words he needed to hear.

"Simba…like, just follow your heart. Doing the right thing means bending if not totally breaking some rules. And Lance wouldn't want you to feel guilty. He needs you, and I don't," Shadowcat said, her blue eyes showing compassion and rare understanding, and the lion's ember eyes gleamed before he took off. Bree was now thoroughly scared as one of the two Heartless began to reach towards her, but to her surprise, Simba came roaring, skidding to a stop right in front of the two right before he let loose a gigantic howl of rage, his jaws opening as wide as he could, and the Hellfire Heartless shrieked as parts of its hide exploded, bleeding profusely and starting to dribble down its muscled body.

Simba then growled and nodded to his back, which prompted Bree to awkwardly but quickly grab Lance by the waist and heft him across the lion's back before she hopped on and patted the Disney lion's flank encouragingly, causing them to dash off and out of peril.

"Simba?" groaned Avalanche weakly, "You…you're still with me?"

I would never leave you, my friend, the lion telepathically spoke with reassurance and promise as he looked warmly at his partner strewn out weakly on his broad back as he carried Lance and Bree out of the middle of the battle, making it clear for the Misfits to finish it once and for all.

"Thundaga Blitzclap Pressure!" Toad yelled, throwing a powerful ball of electricity.

"Lumiga Mark of the Sun!" Whitelighter cried out, and the Hellfire Heartless stopped and arched its back, roaring as the powerful column of thunder tore through its senses before the yellow symbol of the sun seared into its chest and caused it to die and explode in a brilliant detonation of orange and yellow luminescence.

"Huh? Lumiga? Whitelighter still has his powers? And his Keyblade?" Cyclops blinked.

"I thought you had it now, Half-Pint," Wolverine said, confused and raising an eyebrow at Shadowcat who shook her head, showing she didn't understand what was happening as well.

"Like, I thought so too! Maybe he got it back or something!" she stammered.

"Ars Arcanum!" Blob roared as he charged at the last Heartless, swinging his Heavyweight Keyblade like a maniac. Dragonfly, Quicksilver, and Mushu chimed in as well.

"Sonic Blade!" Lina called out strongly, barreling forward and encased with a column of sky-blue arctic energy, at sub-zero temperatures, and gliding across the ground with her Keyblade pointed right out in front of her.

"Mushu, double team with me! And try to keep up!" Quicksilver shot back snidely.

"Ha ha," droned Mushu, deadpanned, before he shot out a terrific burst of dragon-flame, crying out, "I'm on fire!"

"Strike Raid!" Pietro cried out, reaching back and flinging his Zephyr Keyblade, combining with Mushu's fire magic and turning into a discus of searing red heat.

The Heartless didn't have a chance as it was severely and gruesomely hacked apart, with three consecutive strikes at it's back, legs, and head right at the neckline, and it gave a final howl before it perished and disintegrated to reveal…another glowing heart as it rose to the sky.

"What?" Cover Girl asked in shock.

"A heart? That Heartless had a heart?" Quicksilver gulped.

"Trinity…" Lina asked fearfully, but the Delgado Triplets shook their heads.

"It was empty! It wasn't made from an infected person or else it would have shown on our scanners!" Brittany protested fervently.

"At least Peter's safe…" Bree pointed out as everyone watched the heart leave Wolverine's hands and return back into Colossus' body, disappearing into his chest and forming…a brown keyhole. Lance's Steel Quartz began to glow and vibrate a bit in response and Simba smiled.

Lance… the lion intoned meaningfully and gently at the Misfit, and with a flash of light, Avalanche's Keyblade locked the keyhole on the X-Men's chest and caused it to disappear with a final click.

"Yeah…but it's not the same thing for all the other Chicago natives who just died here," Beach Head said hoarsely as he surveyed the wreckage everywhere.

"And the only way we can get them back is at the Gathering of Twilight," Blind Master said wearily.

"Dad…" sniffed Kitty, not sure if she could hold it in as Mrs. Pryde began to weep in her hands. All the Misfits and Joes and X-Men were pained; losing one's parent was truly life-shattering.

Genie truly showed the most emotion and touching concern as he flew down to Kitty and sorrowfully gave the teenager a big, massive hug. He said sadly, "I'm sorry, kid. I tried, I really tried, but I couldn't save everyone from getting their hearts taken. But I did want to say that I'm sorry I couldn't do anything for your Pops except that me and the other Misfits will get him and those other people back. Just like the Joes and the Slayers and all the other hearts that were stolen by the baddies. Don't lose faith, all right?"

"Thank you, Genie," sniffed Kitty, doing her best to not cry. But it was impossible. The more and more she attempted to push it out of her, the more she tried to deny that it ever happened, the event was forever imprinted in her memory and worst fears.

Her father was as good as dead. His heart forever lost. And Shadowcat just broke down right there and then, sitting down on the sidewalk and holding her knees to her chest, wailing as Jean, Scott and Rogue did their best to comfort and hug her. Wolverine just gruffly picked up his communicator and contacted the X-Mansion.

"Chuck…" he growled, "We've got a situation."

Not long after the battle, various squadrons of police officers and ambulances were scattered all throughout the ruined and wrecked portions of the city of Chicago, various buildings damaged with cracked windows, overturned cars, and massive indentations in the streets and sidewalks. But that was nothing compared to the innocent civilians whose hearts were stolen by Xaldin and his drones…

"As you can see from the wreckage behind me…" stated the female reporter, Trish Trilby, amongst the hundreds of other representatives from the media who wished to capitalize on the destruction and grief, "Though the two Heartless may have been stopped, G.I. Joe and the army mutant group known as the Misfits have declined to comment on why such strange attacks have been appearing as of late or how the soldiers were able to beat back such threats with their tactics. And many question why only some of the various vigilante teenagers known as the X-Men are here instead of more proficient help such as the Justice League or the Teen Titans, but after viewing what can only be termed as a complete and utter war-zone, with the recent sightings of Heartless in Steel City and London in mind, people can only ask: when and where will the Thirteenth Order strike next? Reporting live from Chicago, this is Trish Trilby, Channel 6 News…"

Despite Trish's attempts to remain neutral, resentment and blame for those that were lost were running high amongst the various people in the area, officers and civilians alike. Various screams and jeers of blame and uselessness peppered the mutants and Joes on the field, and Jesse knew unfortunately that after today, his secret of being a mutant would no longer be hidden.

"Was this how you wanted to come out to your fans?" Wavedancer tried to quip a bit in jest, hoping to lighten the mood, but deep down, she was pained. Her cousin was now in a place where he could no longer turn back to before.

Jesse managed to laugh a bit half-heartedly before his face grew somber again, and he looked at his cousin before he asked softly, "Al…this 'Gathering of Twilight' thing that everyone in the world has been overhearing and going on about. It's bad, isn't it? And somehow, that's where all this is going to end up, isn't it? And you and everyone else is going to be in the middle, right? Tell me the truth, Althea. Please. I've just seen people die here. And now I'm outed as a mutant, so it's not like I have anything left to lose."

Wavedancer sadly looked at Jesse before she knew that she couldn't bring herself to lie to her own cousin, so she exhaled wearily and nodded.

"Yeah, it's bad," the ninja girl admitted softly, "And it's going to get worse. This is going to involve the whole planet, Jesse. What all this is…is just a warm-up to what we'll probably be fighting in the big one."

"Good, the count me in," Jesse D said, his eyes now showing a fire that wasn't there before, and before Althea could automatically open her mouth, he continued forcefully, "And if you even try to tell me that it's too dangerous or any more of that bullshit, ninja-training or not, I will clock you one, Al. I just saw my girlfriend's husband die. I held my own against the Heartless and that Organization asshole. And I survived being kidnapped and brainwashed by Cobra to kill Uncle Hector when I was a kid. And if it's the end of the world, then I'll go down fighting alongside my family, and face it, Al. You'll need everyone you and the Joes can get. Even with the League, Slayers, and Titans, you're still not sure if you have enough to fight this threat at all for a survivor's chance. So no matter what, I'm in."

Wavedancer exhaled through her nose wearily before she nodded.

Shadowcat then unconsciously fingered the diamond and gold menorah necklace she was wearing around her neck, a tribute and gift her father gave her for her tenth birthday and just by unhappy coincidence, she chose to wear it on her date with Piotr in Steel City and in her rush to dress in her X-Man uniform for the battle in Chicago, she forgot to take it off.

"Dad…" Kitty whispered, her hand clenched tightly around her necklace and feeling her teeth grind against each other in determination as she promised, "I'll find you…I'll get you back…"

She turned her gaze back to her shaken and still grieving mother as Bree and Cover Girl did their best to talk to her and ease her pain, with Mrs. Pryde wrapped in a blanket brought by one of the paramedics and holding a Styrofoam cup of coffee in her hands.

"I'll so get you back…" Shadowcat promised again. If only she had the magic again to do it in the first place.

And then her thoughts then drifted shamelessly to the Yellow Materia that was still being kept for safekeeping in the secret and secure vaults underground of the Institute…

---

"Experiments 335, 336, and 337 have been destroyed, my Superior. And unfortunately, one of the X-Men is now immune to the Hellfire Heartless. I have personally witnessed the Misfit, Avalanche, seal his teammate's heart with his Keyblade," Xaldin said coldly as he reappeared with a plume of black smoke laced with cold drafts of air generated from his lances. The Superior looked up from his mid-tirade with a rather embarrassed and cowering Demyx, flinching from the thought of how painful it would be to be seared by the intense energy of the leader's weapon. And the Superior was certainly enraged enough to decapitate Demyx over a hundred-fold with it.

Managing to gain control of the usual stoic timbre of his voice, the Lord of all the Thirteenth Order managed to say, "You have done well at least in initiating the Harvest, Xaldin. Over one hundred hearts have been obtained, each one a pure light in the darkness that when added together with the other countless hearts we've gathered brings us closer and closer to bringing the Door to the Light at the Gathering. Unlike this fool who could not even manage to spy and kill unsuspecting mutant children and Slayer girls like he has been ordered to!"

This last sentence kept rising in volume and crescendo until it was nearly deafening Demyx then tried to utter a lame defense.

"Hey, the big puddy tat scared me! I didn't want to be on the wrong end of his sword! And he took me by surprise! He just appeared out of nowhere and was about to slice my in half! I just…did what…came naturally!" the Organization's musician whined.

"Demyx, you do know you're digging your grave deeper and deeper, right?" the blonde-haired Larxene grinned, folding her arms across her chest and her smile being so big that one had to wonder why it didn't break her pale cheeks. The Superior's frown actually marred his entire face as he bared his teeth. At first, he actually considered sending Demyx to carry out the next assignment to infect another city as punishment for the member's utter and complete failure, but then he realized that should Demyx fail a simple reconnaissance mission, odds are that he would fail at holding his own when he fought against the Misfits and X-Men. And considering that there were now ten Keybladers on Earth, the Inner Circle and the Organization would need everyone to help ensure that the heroes and this planet would not survive the Gathering.

Even Demyx. Unfortunately. And despite his disappointments, Demyx was still a powerful Organization warrior who could truly create a horrific fight should he be under the right circumstances.

The leader of the Thirteenth Order then turned to the red-haired Axel and gave his order.

"Go to the city of Bayville with the next Hellfire spore that Hamilton can provide for you. You may additionally take one or two of the already developed specimens along to ensure that your portion of the Harvest is fruitful. Considering that a good number of the various friends and associates of the X-Men reside in Bayville as well as high feelings of anti-mutant sentiment, such an attack will be a tragic blow for Xavier's brood as well as making sure that more and more of the foolish humans blame them and their allies for this turn of tragic events, making the job easier for the Inner Circle to manipulate those fools against them. Do not fail me, Axel."
The smarmy chakram-wielder with the spiky-mane expertly twirled one hoop on the edge of his finger, the circular spiked weapon generating a small tornado of flames impressively as it spun, obviously showing off that he was certainly not afraid of battle and confident enough to fight anything that came his way.

"Well, hate to brag, but I can definitely promise you better results than Demyx ever could," he declared a bit superciliously.

"I daresay that is hardly a big accomplishment…" drawled Luxord, the goatee-toting man smirking playfully as he shuffled a pack of cards rather quickly and fluidly between his palms, as Axel teleported away in a cloud of smoke. The Superior then coldly turned his gaze upon Demyx, his weapons now fully out and protruding from his sleeves, the red beams dangerously crackling in the air.

"Now as for you, my Melodious Nocturne…" the number one member said frigidly, "We still have to talk about this latest embarrassment…"

Demyx gulped and chuckled uneasily.

Author's Notes: Next week, as the excitement grows over Kitty learning magic, the Misfits aren't readily pleased to learn how she got it as Lance lets them in on his secret. But time may not be on their side for debate as the Heartless again lay siege, this time in Bayville and to make matters worse, as Jean contemplates her frustration with her recent romantic struggles with Scott, the Friends of Humanity are causing additional chaos in the city as well. And yet as Cyclops become infected himself with the Heartless, romantic issues may be the last thing Jean needs to worry about as she and Fred battle Axel in the chapter "Phoenix Fire". Check back next Friday, and until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Constructive criticism welcome!