Irene let out a wistful sigh as footsteps pounded against the floor behind her. She closed her unseeing eyes and a couple of tears fell from her misty white eyes from behind her dark glasses. She had known all along that this might happen, but she had the highest hopes that it would not. These people were supposed to be champions for the mutant's cause. She had thought that, because of that, they might fulfill her wish, if for no other reason than to be honorable to their cause. "I don't suppose you've come to thank me."

"The girl you sent us after was not Rogue." The voice was feminine and husky.

Irene blinked. "What?"

"You failed us, Irene."

Irene buried her head in her arms. "I've led you to everything you've asked for. I pointed out the girl to you and I tried to send her directly to you. Is it really that much to ask that you fulfill your end of our bargain?"

"We cannot let Mystique's memory be altered for your purposes. She means too much to the girl."

Irene breathed in steadily. "At least they sent you to do it. That means a little something, I suppose."

A piercing pain broke through Irene's back and dug its way all the way through to the front of her breast, where her heart was steadily beating. It felt as if someone had reached inside of her and ripped her heart out. Irene choked as her heart stopped beating and blood began to fill her mouth. The sickly metallic taste touched her tongue and one last tear fell from Irene Adler's eye before she fell out of the chair and hit the ground with a thud. A drizzle of blood leaked out of her mouth and puddled on the floor. The killer stared at her limp body for a minute before grabbing the hilt of the knife and pulling it out with a sticky swecpt. "I'm sorry, Irene." Without another word, she turned and left the mansion. Headquarters were calling her back.

---

Kurt disappeared with his tradition puff of brimstone and Zack trekked back to the group of waiting kids. They were nervous, and Zack understood that. This was the second time the mansion had been attacked and it had to be grating on the kids nerves. They were just children, after all. Hell, Zack himself was only a kid, but he liked to think of himself as smarter than a normal teenager his age. Kurt's trust in him only strengthened the leadership role in his character.

He couldn't be scared in front of them, no matter what. That was of utmost importance. If the students saw that their leader was afraid, they would be terrified. He'd have to have a strong front for them. Zack lifted his chin and his eyes roamed over the group assembled before him.

Magenta was the youngest of them all. At only ten years old, Zack wondered what kind of emotional stresser had evoked her mutation so soon. The girl hadn't even reached puberty yet. It was surprising how quickly her mutation had emerged. Next to her stood Siren and stick-boy Philip. They were both pretty young too, only two years older than Magenta. Zack thought it was ironic that Philip's mutation had been born from an eating disorder. The boy hadn't always been small. He'd been a tubby little thing until his mutation struck and downsized him. Now, the boy could eat all he wanted and never gain a pound.

Siren was a different story. When she had first come to the mansion, Xavier had to work endlessly with her to make sure she didn't accidentally screech. More than a few windows had been broken since the time of her arrival. However, after spending hours working with her, Xavier had found a way to help her and they'd even worked out a system. Siren only screamed now when her life—or someone else's—was in danger. She had learned fast for being so young. Still, students had to be careful not to surprise her. A single yelp from her was as painful as a nuclear cannon blast.

And then there was Sam and finally Rahne. Sam was a funny little kid. He was always so nervous about offending others that he was oftentimes over polite. He didn't like to cause trouble and he always watched out for his little sister. He was a protective, good-natured boy who took orders efficiently, but was to shy for any leadership role himself. At least not yet. And Rahne, Zack pondered over her. Rahne was actually the same age as him, but the girl had a wild side in her. Zack didn't know if it came from her mutation or just from her personality, but the girl was quick to a temper and didn't take critical comments well. Zack had seen Sparks insult Rahne inside and Rahne's immediate reaction had been resort to her mutation to supposedly pound him. He was glad that there really wasn't any other troublemakers in the group to rile her up.

"Okay, guys. Nightcrawler's going to be back soon, but while he's gone we've got to get what we can outa him." He gestured over to the black-eyed man who was still strapped down with vines and roots. "Sam, stay over there." He pointed to a tree that was about twenty feet away. "And watch Magenta, Philip, and Siren. I don't want either of them to be getting upset or anything."

"Me?" Sam asked in bewilderment.

Zack smiled at the boy's expression and surprise. "You've got a level head and you're a good guy, Sam." He encouraged the boy. "Just wait over there for me and Rahne." Sam swallowed as if he was nervous and took his charges over to the directed tree. Zack grinned to himself. The boy really deserved more credit than was given him. He was a good kid.

Rahne cocked an eyebrow at him. "And we question him?"

Zack nodded. "That's the idea. Listen, Rahne." He had to get the idea across to her. "The guy probably won't talk if we simply ask him to. I want to appear intimidating, but don't actually hurt him. Kind of lookin' to do a good-cop, bad-cop senerio. Okay?"

Rahne grinned slyly. "And I'm the bad cop? Gotcha boss." Zack gave her a demeaning look and Rahne backed down slightly. "Okay, okay, I got it." Together, the two young mutants turned to the one lying on the ground and Zack knelt down next to him while Rahne stood at his feet.

To his credit, the man stopped struggling against his bonds at their approach and openly glared at Zack. Before Zack even opened his mouth, the man barked out. "I ain't telling you anything."

Zack frowned and his eyebrows drew together slightly. "We want some answers."

The guy sneered. "And I want a vacation in Hawaii. Guess it's not our day, huh?"

Rahne's eyebrows crossed darkly and she knelt down next to him. Her fingers had already started to claw as she grabbed the man's shirt in her hands. "Listen, asshole. You're going to answer our questions." Her eyes started to darken and fur sprouted over her face as her teeth began to elongate. "Whether you want to or not."

The man's eyes narrowed. "You're not going to hurt me." He scoffed, but Rahne could see the fear creeping into his eyes at her visage. "I'm not afraid of a bunch of little kids."

Rahne's clawed hands sharpened and pierced through his shirt before coming into contact with his flesh and slightly grazing the skin. "We'll have to see about that." Rahne's speech was becoming more muffled and blurry as her mouth lengthened to adjust for her new jowls. The tips of her claws began digging into his chest and the man yelped as tiny pinpricks of blood emerged.

"Rahne…" Zack said warningly.

Rahne growled at him lowly and Zack wasn't sure if she could even speak anymore. She had chosen to go into half-transformation where she wasn't yet a wolf, but instead appeared as an eerie half-woman, half-wolf werewolf nightmare girl. Her loose clothes were suddenly bulging with fur and muscle that rippled off her form, as if she were some kind of majestic wolf.

Below her, the man's eyes had widened in fright, but he kept his jaw clenched shut. Rahne growled at him lowly and he closed his eyes, trying to rid his mind of her scary figure. Rahne stayed poised on him for only a few moments longer before she jumped down, jowls opened wide, and clamped down on his wrist.

The man's eyes shot open and he howled in pain as Rahne bit into his wrist and drew blood.

"Ahh!"

Zack jumped up in surprise. "Rahne!" She didn't acknowledge him, so he grabbed her around the waist and started to pull her off the guy. When he touched her, Rahne let go of the man's wrist and turned to face him with bloodlust in her eyes. The hunger and feral intent in her gaze made Zack wonder just how much control Rahne had over her mutation. Her jowls were dripping with blood and she truly looked animalistic.

When Zack didn't approach her again, she turned back to their captive and lunged as her body shifted even more. Full fledged werewolf, she landed on all fours on his chest. Her clawed paws dug into the skin on his chest and the man howled as tears came to his eyes. He couldn't even bring up his arms to defend himself. Rahne lowered her jaws to his neck and Zack stepped forward to intercede.

Before he could, the man yelped. "Please, no! I'll tell you! Anything! Everything! Whatever you want to hear! Don't kill me!" Rahne's head paused at the word kill. As Zack speculated, the specter before him kind of looked ridiculous. The wolf Rahne had become was draped over in a shirt that was now much too big for her and awkward around her front paws. Her pants hung loosely attached around her waist that ran down her legs. Her bottom two paws still had socks on them, but the shoes had fallen off and a necklace dangled down in front of the man's face. It would almost be comical if it weren't so serious.

Rahne's fur started to fade from her face as her jowls receded. The transformation itself looked horrifying and Zack had to believe that it was awfully painful. Rahne grimaced as her bones readjusted and crackled back to her human form. She rolled off the man and onto her back as the transformation continued and she became a normal girl again. Rahne shut her eyes and jerked spastically on the ground before finally settling to rest as herself. She stayed there on the ground, eyes closed as it finished.

Zack was concerned for her and his immediate thoughts told him to go to her, but the situation warranted his attention elsewhere. He had to take advantage of the circumstances before the man changed his mind about talking. Regretfully, Zack pulled up next to the guy and glared down hatefully at him.

"So talk."

The guy was still obviously not over the ordeal. He whimpered softly and Zack had the feeling that he wanted to cradle his wrist to his chest and just simper in his sorrows. "What do you want to know?" The man's voice was soft now, nothing like the strong defiance he had shown before.

"What's your name? Who do you work for? Why have you invaded the mansion?"

The guy cringed, as if the thought alone hurt him. "My name is Argus." Zack rolled his eyes. What was it with everyone needing a silly nickname to go with their mutation? It really was an absurd practice. And the adults! Of all people, they were the worst! Each of them chose a name for themselves and passed on the example to the kids. It was ridiculous. "And I work for the Mutant Champions."

Zack raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Mutant Champions huh? Well then, why attack the mansion? You had to know that we're mutants too."

Argus swallowed thickly. "We do. The mansion is of specific importance to us."

Zack shook him by the shoulders slightly to rattle him. "Why?"

Argus' eyes lolled for a minute until the shaking stopped. "Specifically, we want Rogue's cooperation with us."

Zack connected the dots quickly. "So you're taking the mansion hostage to ensure her cooperation." Zack squinted. "Why do you want Rogue to help you? It seems like you can do anything yourself with that kind of force you pulled on the mansion."

Zack wasn't very familiar with Rogue, but he had heard a lot of rumors. Especially when she had first joined as a student. Other students said she had a 'poisonous touch', whatever that meant. In a mutant mansion, it was probably meant to be taken literally. Zack knew that she had once inadvertently used her mutation against Logan and nearly killed him, but he didn't know anything specific about her. He'd seen her a few times, yes, but they'd never even been introduced. Rogue was a constant point of discussion for the kids and they seemed to be fascinated—obsessed even—with her mutation and her character. They were always analyzing her. Zack kind of felt bad for all the rumors that were always spread about her, but he still didn't know her.

"We want Rogue to lead us."

Zack's forehead crinkled with wrinkles that didn't really exist as he tried to grasp that. "You want…why? That seems a bit ridiculous. Why not simply choose someone in your clan to lead you than to force someone who doesn't want to join."

Argus' eyes glazed over at the thought. "She has immense power and we're going to help her master and obtain more. You don't know what our visionary has seen. She is going to lead us to Supremacy. We're going to dominate the human race with her help. She will be unbeatable."

"Right…" Zack could see that Argus truly believed what he was saying and that he was deeply into it. He wouldn't waste time trying to crush the man's views. After all, it was really a stupid plan and Zack could see that only just after hearing about it. If Rogue was all so powerful and unstoppable, what made them think that they would be able to control her at all? Zack snapped his fingers in front of Argus' face to grab his attention again. "Before you said that was your specific purpose for invading the mansion. Is there any other reason, or are you just trying to royally piss off the X-Men?"

Argus stared at him as if he were dimwitted. "Obviously we want the X-Men to join our efforts."

Zack replied sarcastically. "Oh, obviously. The best way to ask for help is to terrify and invade the X-Men's base and put the kids in danger."

Argus shook his head at Zack in amazement. "You don't get it."

"Get what?"

"We don't care if your help is optional or forced. Do you have any idea what kind of sway Xavier had in the government?" He shook his head dismissively as if Zack weren't wise enough to comprehend it. "With the mansion under our rule, we will control Ororo entirely. We will make her do anything we want. With her on our side, the school is on our side and so is the school's voice in government. Added to our own people already in place, we are set." He chuckled softly to himself. "Can you imagine, with Ororo's influence with someone, per instance, say Hank McCoy, Secretary of Defense in Mutant Affairs in the White House. With a backing like that, do you know how many lives we can reach and change? This is bigger than you know, bigger than just you or me. We're out for the good of us all."

Zack was quickly learning that this little invasion branched out much farther than he had first thought. They were planning to use the government, for heaven's sakes! More questions than ever were emerging from this little discussion. "Ororo's not going to use resources to help terrorists."

"Who says she's going to be under her own mind to make choices?" The mere thought seemed to make Argus delirious with joy. "All of it is coming together so perfectly. Suddenly, Argus' black eyes narrowed at him. "We're not terrorists."

"Just what are the Mutant Champions trying to do anyway?!" Zack asked, earnestly concerned where this was going. It had already been blown way out of proportion. This way far beyond levels he had thought possible.

Argus gave him that you're-an-idiot look. "Mutants everywhere—at least in the US, until we branch out to the rest of the world—but everywhere, we're finally going to be free and have the superiority we've always deserved."

Zack had many more questions for the man, but at the moment, he didn't think he could take any more in. Without another word, Zack stood and went over to Rahne's side. She was still lying down in the dirt with her eyes closed. With all the excitement from Argus, Zack had almost entirely forgotten about her. Now though, Zack focused his attention on the girl.

"Hey, Rahne. Are you alright?"

Rahne didn't respond. A little nervous about it, Zack lifted her shoulder off the ground and Rahne's eyes snapped open as she pushed away from him with both arms. Her eyes were unfocused and glazed. "Rahne—it's me!" Zack grabbed her shoulders more forcefully until Rahne stopped struggling and her glassy eyes somewhat focused on him. "Rahne, tell me what's wrong."

A tear slid down Rahne's left eye and she turned away from him. Her eyes landed on Argus' wrist and she stared at the puncture wounds she had left there. Zack followed her gaze, but he still didn't understand what was bothering her. Silently, Zack scooped her up into his arms and trotted away a dozen feet in the other direction from Sam. He laid her down in a pile of leaves and kneeled next to her. "Tell me what's wrong, Rahne."

Rahne took a minute to respond. "I can still taste it." She finally said. Before Zack could form the question, she went on. "His blood in my mouth." She confessed. "Salty and coppery. Metallic and warm…" Rahne curled up into herself so that she lie on her side in the fetal position and gently rocked back and forth. "I smelled his fear. It-it was like an adrenaline rush. I couldn't stop myself from biting him."

Zack scooted around so that he was in front of her again and he wiped a tear from her face. If anything, this was showing him that Rahne wasn't as fierce as she put herself out to be. She wasn't as hard. And her quick temper was a defense mechanism, but Zack didn't know against what. "Your mutation's tricky, Rahne. Controlling that part of you is bound to be—"

She cut him off. "You don't understand." Her voice was hoarse and forced. "Zack—I wanted to bite him. The blood, it…" She hesitated. "it…it tasted good." More tears fell and Rahne closed her eyes, unable to look at him. Zack took her up into his lap as she sobbed. "I didn't want to stop. I wanted to rip his throat out."

"Shhh." Zack attempted to calm her. "You didn't, Rahne. That's what's important. You stopped yourself." They sat there for a few moments as Rahne cried in his lap. Zack tried to soothe her by mumbling sweet nothings as Rahne fought to forget the rush she had gotten from biting Argus. After a time, Rahne stopped crying and wiped her cheeks of the evidence.

"We should check on Sam and the others." She said importantly, standing to her full height. Zack didn't question this change of attitude. Rahne was putting up her defenses again and showing the world a cold, hard persona. He understood her desire to hide her emotions.

He stood up behind her. "Yeah, we probably should." Zack held a new understanding of Rahne and his heart was gentle to it. The poor girl…

Together, they returned to the group.

---

The sight of Logan and Rogue embracing warmed her to her very center. Even as she had been planning it for the last few months, Mystique never would have it working out this way. Rogue didn't despise her—and she was working on trusting her as well. She had chosen Mystique over the X-Men a couple of times now and the thought made Mystique smile. On top of that, Logan was her father—Mystique couldn't have chosen a better daughter for him if she tried. Logan loved Rogue as if she were his own child—even before figuring out that that was the truth. And to top it all off, Logan loved her. He hadn't had any hesitancy accepting his long-gone memories and she loved him for it. Everything was going to work out. Mystique hadn't even hoped to imagine a situation like this. It was like a dream.

Mystique glanced over behind her hugging husband and daughter. Erik stood there with his son, Pietro at his side. Mystique's eyes narrowed dangerously. Her gaze locked on Erik who stood not ten feet in front of her. He was crying and watching Rogue with a wistful longing in his eyes that made her all the more possessive of her daughter. Mystique's jaw clenched in undisguised hatred.

She made to step forward and confront him, but was stopped by a firm hand on her shoulder. Remy stood just behind her and he gave her a meaningful look with those deep red-on-black eyes of his. "Mystique." His tone was warning, patronizing even.

Mystique wrenched her shoulder from his grip and glared at him, but Remy didn't back down. "Don' ruin de moment, Mystique." His tone was so haughty, so…knowing. Mystique's eyes narrowed into slits. "Dey weren't fightin'." Remy gestured at Erik's tears. "Don' start one." Mystique gnashed her teeth together. She hated Erik. He deserved the worst of hells for what he had done to her. If she could just… "No." Remy cut off her thoughts. "If y' won't be rational, let Remy be de first t' point out dat de metallic man controls Logan entirely if he wants t'. An' is Remy de only one dat notices de buildin' is entirely made o' metal? Not t' mention Speedy dere is faster dan any o' us." Remy shook his head. "Even if he was attackin', we got no chance here."

Mystique cast another hateful glare at Erik that he didn't even notice. He was too busy watching Rogue, Mystique realized. What had caught his fascination so? She would beat it out of him—she would rip him to pieces, if only-Remy grabbed her arm and started steering her out. "Come den, kiddies." He called out, addressing Logan and Rogue. "Time t' go t' de mansion."

When Remy had pushed Mystique all the way out the door and glanced up, he froze. The entrance to Magneto's hideout was surrounded with mutants. At least, Remy was assuming they were all mutants. Some had obvious manifestations, but with others, he wouldn't be able to tell until they attacked. And attack they would—it seemed. They had formed a half circle around the entrance and were poised to attack.

"Remy don' suppose dat dis is de welcomin' committee fo' love an' friendship, eh?" One of the mutants spat at Remy and it landed a few feet in front of him on the pavement. The pavement started to sizzle and break down until there was a small hole in the asphalt. Remy raised an eyebrow in speculation. "Remy take dat as a 'no'."

Behind them, Logan and Rogue pulled up short. "Well damn." Rogue lifted her chin at the mutants. "Ah don' suppose they're here to congratulate us, do ya?" Logan reached out and grabbed the front of her shirt before shoving her back. He grabbed the back of Remy's overcoat with his other hand and pulled him back too.

"Come on!" They all quickly retreated back into the base and Logan called out. "Magneto?!" Whether it was accusingly or asking for help, Rogue couldn't tell, but it broke Erik out of his trance and the metal door that had been sliced up rose again and melded together with the metal frame to create a wall of steel between them.

"Better get ready." Logan's claws came out with a familiar snick. "'Cause that ain't gunna hold 'em for long."

It wasn't but a second after his comment that the ground started shaking.

---

"Which way did they go? Over." Kitty spoke into her earpiece and stopped for a moment to listen to the response.

"Go right on Sicamore Street and head down into Knight's Court."

Kitty chuckled. "Knight's Court—how cool would it be to live on a street named 'Knight's Court.'"

Peter lifted an eyebrow at her and Kitty slugged him in the arm. "Oh, you're no fun. Come on, this way." Kitty grabbed his wrist again and turned down Sicamore Street. Ororo was flying overhead and tracing John's progress with that girl Tabitha. She relayed the messages via the headset that Kitty wore and Kitty and Peter were following discretely through the sides of buildings. They were tracking the two back to Magneto's lair.

Kitty tugged on Peter's arm. "So go on, you still haven't answered my question."

"Which one?" Peter asked fondly, grinning down at her. It was a little intimidating that he was so much bigger and taller than her. Honestly, his arm muscle was the size of her entire leg. The man really worked his body.

"Oh, you know—lion or Wolverine, who would win?"

Peter shook his head dismissively. "Wolverine would shred the lion to pieces. Too easy."

"Oh yeah big guy? Why don't you think of one?" Kitty challenged.

"Okay." Peter took a moment to consider. "Sparks or Jubilee?"

Kitty wore a considering face. "Ohh—that is a good one. There powers are almost the same you know, hmm." She weighed out the options. "Sparks had more bloodlust, but Jubilee's obviously more trained." She thought about it for a moment longer. "I think Jubes would come out the winner—simply because she'd want to hurt Sparks more."

"You think so?" Peter speculated.

Kitty nodded. "Yeah, she's older and has too much experience on him anyway. Okay, so --Cannonball or Husk?"

Peter grinned. "Why would Cannonball and Husk be fighting? Physically, I mean."

Kitty pursed her lips. "That's true. Hmm-well, for hypothetical's sake."

"Husk, definitely. Cannonball would never be able to hurt his sister—besides, that girl's got massive power. She's just so shy about it."

Kitty shrugged. "That can happen when your power causes your clothes to disintegrate when you use it. A girl gets shy." Kitty phased them through the side of a house and Peter found himself in the kitchen of a quaint home. A family of four were seated around the table and the teenage girl's eyes bulged at their intrusion.

"Oh my God!" She leapt up from her seat and pointed, wide-eyed at Kitty and Peter. "How did you--"

Kitty waved at her politely, speed walking through the kitchen. "Sorry for the interruption." Before anything else could be said, they both stepped through the wall into another room in the house. A bedroom, by the looks of it. Kitty hurried forward and stepped through another wall, faithfully dragging Peter behind her. They stepped out again into fresh air and Peter raised an eyebrow at Kitty.

"That was interesting. Perhaps we shouldn't be walking through people's homes."

Kitty waved him off with her free hand. "It's much quicker this way."

"Yes, but—" Peter quieted as he realized they were walking through another home. Thankfully, it was empty. Kitty strode on through as if she owned the place. "Kitty—you can't just walk through people's homes!"

"Shhh." Kitty quieted him, listening into her earpiece. "Storm says to stop—John and Tabitha have stopped." Kitty squinted her eyes. "Umm, I think we've found their base."

"Really?" Peter asked. "Wher—" He cut himself off as he followed Kitty's gaze to a big chained up warehouse in the distance. It was pretty far away. Even with his good eyesight, Peter could barely make out the building from his vantage point. "Well, what're we standing around for?"

Kitty was listening to the headset and she frowned. "The warehouse is surrounded by mutants." She conveyed. Kitty grabbed his wrist again as her frown deepened. "Come on, we need a closer look." They started sprinting. The rest of the way was level ground and the houses had stopped being built around the area. There was just the big warehouse. As they got closer, Peter could make out a chainlink fence that surrounded the perimeter of the building. There were dozens of figures outside the building. "Mag's place is under attack." Kitty informed him.

"By who?" Peter asked, bewildered. There were so many people outside in the front, he knew it couldn't be their team or Logan. So who was it?

Kitty glanced back at him. "Storm doesn't know—lot's of mutants though." They ran a short distance further then Kitty pulled up short. "Stop." Kitty glanced around to see if they could find any sort of cover. The area surrounding them was completely open field. She pursed her lips in thought until she saw two sidelong figures dash around the right side of the building. "Come on." She urged Peter. "Stop puttzing around."

Peter rolled his eyes as they took off again. They made a wide arc around the front so they wouldn't draw attention, but nobody was looking their way anyway. Kitty suddenly stumbled as the ground under their feet started to quake. Peter held out his hands and steadied her by the shoulders. When she looked back up at him to thank him, he was entirely encased in metal. Peter nodded at her solemnly. "Let's go."

They made their way around to the right side of the building where John and Tabitha were stacking wooden crates up against the side of the wall to build up to the window. The crates were huge and very immovable. Easily the length of Kitty herself, they weren't having much success. The two turned around quickly when they heard Peter's heavy footsteps and immediately went on the offensive.

John flicked out his lighter and lit a flame while Tabitha rubbed her fingers together and several shiny marbles of light emerged. "Hey!" Kitty protested in a hushed whisper. "We're not here to fight!" She held up her hands in a I-surrender motion.

Peter nodded at the heavy crates they were attempting to move. "Need a hand?"

Tabitha glanced at John uncertainly and John waved her down. He gave them both a hard look. It was obvious they needed Peter's help, but John wasn't happy about it. "Don't try anything funny."

Peter nodded agreeably and walked up to them. He picked up the huge crate they'd been struggling to lift and placed it against the side of the wall. "What's going on in there?" He asked.

John shrugged. "Beats me. We just got back here and found out the place was under siege."

Peter began to lift another crate to stack on top of the one he'd already put down. "Does Storm know anything?" He asked Kitty.

Kitty shook her head. "She must have dropped her earpiece. I haven't gotten anything for the last four minutes."

Tabitha rolled her eyes. "Dropped her earpiece. Riiight."

Kitty scowled at the girl as Peter went for a third crate. This one he set down in front of the first two. There was just one crate left. Carefully balancing it in one arm, Peter climbed on top of the bottom floor crate and hefted the one in his hands up on top of the first two.

"It is a warzone out there." John pointed out.

Kitty started to climb up the mountain of crates. Once she got a rhythm down, it was easy. She stuck her foot half into the box and then solidified the bottom of her foot so she could climb up the side of the crate as if it were a ladder. She did the same with her fingers and pawed her way up the crates as if she were a spider-girl.

Peter glanced down at John and Tabitha. He reached a hand down and grasped Tabitha's forearm. He hefted her up the first crate then eyed the other two she had to get up. "Here, I'll give you a boost." Peter clasped his hands together and Tabitha stepped into his palms. "Careful." He warned her. Tabitha nodded for him to go and Peter hefted her up into the air. He raised her high above his own shoulders and leaned close to the crates on the wall so that she could grab hold and heave herself up. Kitty helped pull her all the way up.

Peter went to help John up too, but John brushed him off. "I can get up myself, Muscle freak." John hoisted himself up the first crate then found a little ledge where the second one met the third and scrambled up that way.

Kitty glanced over the ledge at Peter. "You coming?"

Peter shook his head. "It might not hold my weight." He pointed out. Kitty nodded in understanding. "Tell me what you see." He added.

John had his hands up against the glass and was trying to listen in. "What're they doing?" He asked in bewilderment.

Tabitha frowned. "They're just…talking."

Indeed, she was right. The gathering of mutants had circled around the entrance and melted down the door. Now they surrounded the heroes in the middle and one mutant had stepped forward in front of the others. Tabitha couldn't make out if it was a male or female from her vantage point, but everyone's attention seemed focused on them.

"I'd kill to hear what they were sayin'." Tabitha commented wryly.

John made to elbow in the window, but Kitty caught him before he could go through with the action. "You'll make too much noise." She advised. "Scoot over."

Growling, John obeyed and Kitty squeezed in front. "Give me a small lift." She told John.

"What do I look like, you're dog, like the metal toy?"

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Do you want to hear what they're saying or not?"

John cursed under his breath then strained let Kitty climb onto his back. She wobbled precariously for a moment, causing Peter to call, "Careful!" before she found her footing and leaned towards the window. She slid her fingers through the glass and then popped the latch open from the inside. The window popped open with a little click and voices below suddenly became clear. Kitty's eyes widened in shock as she listened in to the conversation.