A/N: I'm sorry about missing last week but I lost my flashdrive and the story has caught up to the chapters I've been writing, because of that I won't be able to upload ever week anymore but I will upload the Friday after I finish each chapter. I'm also sorry that this chapter isn't one of my best.
"Couldn't we have stayed a little while longer?" Angel asked pleadingly.
"No, we have plenty of cash," Todd replied nonchalantly. "Besides Bigfoot's waiting."
"We were banned from most of the casinos anyway," Ben chimed in. "And Tessa's powers barely worked and usually only on blackjack."
"Why?" Nicky asked confused.
"Shuffling machines," Tessa answered with a sigh. "Unless I can watch the deck get shuffled I can't keep track of each card. On the plus side I learned a lot of new things about body language when someone's bluffing."
"It was a good trip," Calvin added, "counting expenses we made thousands of dollars in profit and saved a lot of cash from Blob clearing out cheap buffets."
"I'd be pissed if that wasn't true," Fred said simply.
"By the way Sage your power's one of my favorites," Calvin said smirking.
Kitty let out a yawn walking down the hallway with Lance, Lockheed's four little legs keeping in pace right behind her.
"I was up half the night working on a stinking earth-science report. What do you know about redwoods?"
"Um, they're really tall, really old, and they're used to make hot tubs?" Lance answered unsure.
"Not exactly an entire report," Kitty responded.
"I never asked to be a mutant," Mr. McCoy's voice flowed from the room they were passing, getting Kitty's attention. Almost everyone had heard about Mr. McCoy's outing the night before. "Why me?" he asked looking at his large blue hand.
"In order to find that answer each of us is faced with a unique journey of discovery," Xavier answered.
"Journey? Where do you go when you can't be seen by the public?" Kitty frowned then brightened and walked into the room, Lance and Lockheed following her.
"Professor, did you ask him yet?" she asked confusing everyone.
"Ask him?" Xavier said hoping for some clarification. 'What are you up to Kitty?' he asked her telepathically.
'Well, maybe he can take some of us to the redwood forest, just to get away.' She thought back his answer with a smile.
"Ah yes, Hank, we were thinking perhaps you'd like to lead a field trip to the California redwoods. Up for it?" the Professor offered.
"What? No. I'm sorry, I can't," Hank said dismissively.
"It really is a marvelous idea. You can choose which students you feel would benefit from-"
"Someone else should do it!" Hank said more sternly cutting Xavier off before he could finish.
"Please, Hank. Just imagine what you could teach them, in a natural environment like the redwoods, untouched by man, miles away from another human being." Mr. McCoy brightened up thinking about what Xavier was saying.
Mr. McCoy stood before the dining room table it was packed with students, while explaining the trip.
"It's a nature-study sojourn for those students," he placed his hands on Roberto and Rahne's shoulders making them blush, "who are falling behind in their earth-science studies." Bobby chuckled Mr. McCoy smiled at him.
"Me? B-but my grades are improving!" Bobby said defending himself.
"Uh-huh, with the speed of a glacier, you too, Evan," he said catching the young skateboarder as he tried making his escape.
"Ah, come on, teach. Can't I bring my grade up another way? Like going to the park, there's green stuff there." Mr. McCoy walked right over to him and stared him down. "Does this forest have any sidewalks?" Evan asked surrendering.
"So long everybody we're getting out of here with regular science," Jack opened his jacket to reveal the device Forge made for Kurt strapped to his chest.
"Isn't that-?" Kitty began.
"Not anymore, now it's my own personal teleporter," Jack let out short a loud maniacal laugh, before he could stop himself then cleared his throat. "I mean, later." He offered Amara a hand.
"Jack you're not even in earth-science, you're just sitting with me during this lecture," Amara reminded him, "and you're not finished tested that thing."
"It's fine look," Jack pushed a button vanishing in a puff of sulfurous smoke. The others murmured impressed, but a few seconds later he reappeared on the other side of the room falling out of the air and landing flat on his face. "Alight it still has a few glitches," he admitted retaking his seat next to Amara.
"Not everyone is going," Mr. McCoy told them; "only Kitty, Lance, Bobby, Rahne, Evan, Roberto, Victor, Meagan, Josh, and Jay." Amara, Jack, Sam, and Jubilee cheered while some of the others groaned.
"Lockheed's coming too," Kitty said petting the little dragon wrapped over her shoulders.
"Movie?" Jack asked Amara.
"I was thinking skating," she suggested.
"Sounds great," Jack took Amara's hand and they walked out.
"I blame you," Jay said pointing at Victor.
"Me?" Victor asked shocked.
"You're the one who suggested we all take earth-science together," Megan added.
"Yeah we're falling behind in every class but you suggested the one class that's taking a field trip across the country, and I wanted to take biology," Josh told him.
Elsewhere the Brotherhood members except for Fred hiked through a huge forest.
"I'm telling you there are no mutants around here," Tessa told the Brotherhood members again.
"I'm sorry but Arcade's notes say there's a Bigfoot here somewhere," Toad told her. "So were not leaving until we find something like a Bigfoot."
"I think we should listen to her," Jonas told them, "she detected my mutant signature underground after all."
"Yeah but Nicky has its scent even if it isn't a mutant were going to -," Toad stopped as a loud roar got everybody's attention.
"Found it," Nicky chocked out looking way up at the huge growling humanoid creature, covered in white fur and foaming at the mouth. Nicky growled back at him, but Cessily grabbed him and yanked him back as the creature smashed the ground where Nicky had been standing.
"Sorry Wolf Cub but he's a little out of your weight class," she told him.
"That is not a mutant," Tessa said running away as it tried to grab her.
"No kidding," Calvin said copying Toad's powers and leaping out of the way.
"I don't care what he is my Brotherhood doesn't back down that easy," Toad said taking a massive breath expanding his ribcage, then releasing a near gale forced gust, that made the creature stumble back.
"My turn," Ben said launching a blast of fire at the creature. The creature leapt right at Ben who turned and ran.
"What the heck is that thing?" Angel asked flying to keep her distance.
"It's a Wendigo, a nearly indestructible man-eating monster," Jonas answered. "But it should be further up north."
"That would hold more meaning if you didn't still think I was a werewolf," Nicky growled.
"Wendigo!" the creature roared chasing Ben.
"Never mind," Nicky shrugged.
"Move it!" Toad shouted leaping past Nicky onto the Wendigo's back forcing his hands through its fur. It struggled for a few moments getting sluggish; desperately trying to reach Toad, but soon the Wendigo stopped moving entirely, and toppled to the ground. "Winner by technical paralyzing mucus, Todd 'the Toad' Tolanski, haa," he said imitating a cheering crowd.f
"Great now what do we do with it?" Tessa asked sounding annoyed.
"You know I think it looks more like a Yeti then a Sasquatch," Tandy said with a smile.
"That's a great idea," Toad said smiling back. "Cloak Dagger, take this guy to Antarctica; he won't be able to cause too much trouble down there."
"No way, we could make it that far," Ty told him.
"Well we're not leaving this thing in the middle of California, Sage sensed a lot of mutants on the way down here, Graymalkin how far up north is this thing supposed to be?" Toad asked.
"I believe Canada."
"How about Canada can you make it there?" Toad asked Ty.
"Maybe but he'll probably come to in the Dark Dimension."
"Jonas, this thing's a mindless monster right?" Kevin asked. "No feelings, no remorse, just the desire to kill?"
"Yes and eat people, oh and their also attracted to heat," Jonas added.
"That explains why it went after me," Ben sighed. Kevin kneeled down next to the Wendigo and removed his glove.
"Don't," Toad shouted Kevin stopped his hand inches from the Wendigo's head.
"This thing is a mindless monster whose only goal in life is to eat people and be warm," Kevin summarized. "Why should I stop?"
"Because you hate using your powers," Toad answered.
"On people, and animals, but monsters?" he challenged. "It needs to be destroyed," Kevin said simply, "if it was a human or a mutant or an animal or could just think I'd never have do this." Jonas resisted the urge to say Wendigo's start out as humans, especially since the curse was permanent.
"Dude makes a point, and if he doesn't do it I will," Calvin added.
"It's my curse I'll do it," Kevin said simply before he touched the Wendigo it was still paralyzed and didn't move as the withering traveled down its body, it died almost instantly as its brain was dried up, within moments the Wendigo's body was replaced with a dried up light brown husk resembling the Wendigo, then the husk dissolved into dust.
"Look it's almost sundown," Toad said getting everyone's attention "let's set up camp and we can head back to the car tomorrow."
"You guys go ahead I'm going to go for a run," Wolf Cub said starting to walk off on all fours.
"Everyone pitches in wolf boy," Toad scolded as they went looking for a good camping spot, Nicky sighed and followed them.
"I thought you hated the forest anyway," Angel said confused.
"I did, but I'm getting used to the wolf in me, and in these surroundings, I want to let him out," with that he let out a howl.
"Chill out man," Calvin sighed.
The Next Day in the California Redwoods, the X-Men had landed the Velocity and covered it with tree branches for camouflage before most of them started hiking out.
"It's fine the way it is, Roberto," Rahne called, as Roberto continued to cover the Velocity with branches.
"Yeah, you're missing all the fun," Evan mumbled sarcastically before walking into a bushy low hanging tree limb.
-A little Later-
"It was plenty camouflaged," Rahne told Roberto as they continued to hike.
"Few more branches couldn't hurt," he shrugged passing her.
"I smell overachiever issues," Rahne commented.
"If he was an overachiever he wouldn't be stuck out here with the rest of us," Lance groaned walking past her trying to catch up to Kitty.
"These things weigh a ton," Evan grumbled to Roberto referring to the packs.
"This gear is nothin'. Ah Just feel that sun, man. It totally juices me. Yeah!" he exclaimed happily.
"Next time don't complain to the guy with super strength and endurance," Josh whispered to Evan.
"You don't look so good," Roberto commented.
"I'm going through pavement withdrawal, man," Evan told Roberto. "This is cruel and unusual, teach!" he shouted up the trail to Mr. McCoy.
"Send me an e-mail, and I'll take your complaint under advisement," Mr. McCoy told him.
The Brotherhood hiked through the forest heading back towards civilization.
"Wait!" Tessa shouted making them all stop.
"What is it," Jonas said concerned.
"I'm sensing other mutants a lot of them."
"They're probably camping but they might be living here," Toad said contemplating the options. "We can't pass up the opportunity lead the way."
"Allow me," Nicky said running off ahead.
"Wolf Cub," Toad shouted, "Angel, Mimic, keep up the rest of you stay together," he said hopping through the trees after Nicky, with Angel and Calvin flying close behind.
The students set up their tents, Evan launched spikes though his finger as posts for some of them.
They did some homework cataloging the local vegetation. Evan showed Mr. McCoy a plant he found and was scratching himself feverishly as he began to break out.
Josh healed Evan's rash, while Beast gave a lesson about nature, in front of a lake and a waterfall, to everyone else.
They hiked through a cave and on to a cliff.
The Institute students were all watching as a school of fish swam up stream. Kitty took pictures not paying attention to anything else, Bobby was going to splash some water in front of her camera but Lockheed snapped at him from Kitty's shoulders, making him fall back.
"Your stupid dragon tried to bite me again," Bobby said upset.
"Lockheed isn't stupid," Lance defended the small dragon.
"You won't think that when he tries biting you," Bobby countered.
"He never snaps at me watch," Lance leaned over, Lockheed moved out of the way, and Lance kissed Kitty on the cheek. "Besides he only snaps at you when you're trying to mess with Kitty."
"He's right you know," Kitty commented. "Lockheed's as gentle as a kitten, but he's protective and he can tell when you're up to something," she said proudly. "According to the website Jack found dragons are very loyal and caring to whoever they imprint on."
-Flashback-
Jack was in his room typing on his laptop in the middle of the night while chatting with Dojo over a headset.
"Thanks Dojo this is a lot of help. Loyal, empathic, so they can predict the needs of their parental figures," Jack said typing it all down. "You should know Lockheed looks nothing like you though…Purple scales, little horns, wings…Yeah he does have four legs how did you know?…Your Aunt Ethel's kid? How can you...She married an Eastern Dragon? Okay so what are those like?" he asked typing quickly. "Cool like on movies. Okay not that smart can't talk...They get how big? …But they can shrink down like you right? ...Well let's just hope that he can.*"
-End of Flashback-
All the students stripped down to their bathing suits and went for a swim.
The students relaxed next to the lake while Beast swung through the trees before doing a cannonball. He shook off his wet fur happily drenching the students, before walking away looking depressed. Kitty walked up behind him concerned, with Lockheed on her shoulders.
"Uh, is anything wrong Mr. McCoy?"
"Oh no Kitty, everything's fine. Out here, in this place, I'm enjoying the animal I've become but I don't want to. This is not who I am," he said sadly.
"Well, then maybe it's who you were meant to be," Kitty suggested consolingly. Beast smiled until Nicky charged in out of nowhere tackling him from behind.
"Found you," he said smiling; he sat down like a dog, and let out a loud howl. Toad, Calvin, and Angel popped out of the forest right behind him.
"Nicky, you shouldn't run off like that," Toad scolded, "and get off of him."
"Sorry but I found a couple of mutants," Nicky said happily stepping off of Beast's back as he stood back up.
"No you found the X-Men," Toad said levelly. "We're looking for loners and mutants who need our help, not other teams with illusions of saving the world. Now we're going to head back through the forest to find the others," Toad told him sternly.
"Oh, man I'm sorry," he said sadly his ears dropping slightly.
"Toad like what are you doing here?" Kitty asked.
"What you're the only group of mutants allowed to take a vacation?" Toad asked sounding insulted.
"Kitty round up the others and head back to camp," Beast told her.
"Sure thing, Mr. McCoy," Kitty nodded.
"Others? Hey can we go with you guys?" Toad asked. "We picked up a psychic mutant and she'll be able to find us easier if we're in a large group." Kitty looked over to Beast.
"I suppose as long as you behave yourselves," Beast said warningly.
"Whatever you say fuzzball," Toad said smirking. Beast began walking away and Nicky followed. "Nicky…" Nicky looked back at Toad. "Just meet us back at the X-Men's camp," Toad sighed following Kitty the other way. Beast didn't say anything as Nicky followed him. "What's with the lizard," Toad asked referring to Lockheed.
"He's a dragon," Kitty corrected.
"Yeah right," Toad scoffed.
Beast and Nicky continued walking in silence down a small stream.
"So how long have you been like that?" Nicky finally asked.
"It's been a few months now, you?"
"About the same," Nicky shrugged.
"How do you live with it?" Beast asked curious to hear his perspective. "Being so different?"
"I went with it for a while let my wolf side dominate me. It was the only way I could survive, after I ran away from home. Toad's trying to teach me to control it but he doesn't exactly resist his own animal urges." Nicky looked down at a fish flopping in the shallow water. "See the human in me says poor defenseless animal, wolf says yeah free meal. I'd become a vegetarian but my wolf side won't accept it." Beast reached down picking up the fish and tossed it back in slightly deeper water. Nicky shoved him, "that was the right thing to do." Nicky's ear twitched as they both heard twig snap. Nicky put his nose in the air while Beast looked around. "A deer," Nicky whispered walking away from the smell, Beast following him. They stepped out of the stream and looked back hearing a bush rustling as a man with a camera and slightly sprinkled in deer urine slowly retreated back, Nicky put a hand on Beast shoulder to calm him down and they both walked off on all fours.
A little later Toad, Angel, and Calvin were relaxing in the X-Men campsite. While some of the X-Men were a little on edge about them being there.
"Here they are," Tessa said walking into the campsite with the Brotherhood behind her.
"Oh man it's just the X-Men," Cessily groaned.
"I know," Toad agreed.
"Hey Snowflake it's been awhile," Ben smirked at Bobby.
"You wanna go, Smokey!" Bobby asked icing up.
"Nothing would make me happier," Ben said switching off his image inducer and burning a little brighter.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa" Toad said hoping between them, "not the time and not the place. You think I wouldn't like to beat down on Victor for not joining the Brotherhood? Of course I would but I'll get to do that later." Nicky leapt into the campsite with Beast, Nicky's eyes were instantly drawn to Rahne and he got smile on his face.
"Hey I'm Nicky," he said smiling offering a clawed hand.
"Rahne," she smiled shaking it.
"Great a future Lance," Toad groaned. "We're all here, now let's not be," Toad said leading them off.
-Elsewhere That Night-
A gathering of Bigfoot believers were examining everything that the Wendigo had left behind, a large plaster mold of its foot print, a large pile of it shed white hair, and a blurry picture of it coming out of a cave.
"What do you think, Dr. Patronete?" one of three men asked the only true scientist with the group. Dr. Patronete was an older red haired man with glasses, a mustache, and facial hair growing all the way around under his chin.
"This is interesting, but it's hardly proof," he said being impartial. The three men griped and argued pointing at the picture.
"Here's your proof," another man exclaimed holding up a tape and a camcorder. "I give you Bigfoot," he said popping in the footage of Beast and Wolf Cub into the TV he was standing next to. They all gasped and huddled around the TV.
"Wow, he's in focus," someone commented.
"Are they wearing pants?" one of them asked.
"Probably stole them from a campsite," another chimed in.
"I mean could they be that intelligent?"
"They obviously live on fish, but lack the manual dexterity to hold on to them. Look there the smaller brown one shoves the larger one for losing their meal." The two members of the camp not huddled around the TV shared a look. One was wearing all camouflage and the other looked like he was dressed to go hunting in the Australian outback. The others continued watching mystified only turning hearing the sounds of guns cocking.
"Let's bag us some apemen," Patrick, the one in camouflage said with a vicious smile, while resting his tranquilizer rifle in his hands. Greg the one with the outback look was doing roughly the same thing.
-The Next Morning-
"Okay there's no reason to rush off today," Toad told the Brotherhood.
"What about Fred?" Jonas challenged.
"He'll be fine on his own for another day, I called him," Toad waved him off. "Each of you will be assigned an X-Man to hang out with or annoy, no fighting." Calvin raised his hand, "question?"
"Why?"
"To better understand our potential enemies," Tessa inferred.
"Right, I'm taking Mr. McCoy so deal with it Wolfy, you'll be hanging out with Rahne."
"The red head?" he asked, Toad nodded. "Cool," Nicky said smiling.
"Cloak and Dagger, you follow Lance and Kitty," Toad instructed. "They're a couple so you should be fine. Match you get Iceman."
"Yes," Ben cheered, "I love giving Snowflake a hard time."
"I love that nickname keep using it," Toad smirked. "Graymalkin you're with Sunspot."
"The one who gets his power from the sun," Jonas asked.
"Yes."
"While light weakens me," Jonas added.
"That's why you're with Sunspot, and why Wither's with Josh. Angel you're with Meagan. Mimic you're with Jay, remember they don't know what your powers are they think it's just the same as Angel keep it that way. Mercury you follow Victor, and Sage you're left with Evan."
"Very well," Tessa nodded.
"Now let's go find them," Toad ordered.
"Hey Beast dude," Toad called leaping through the trees right behind Beast.
"Hello Todd," Beast smirked at him. "Nicky tells me you're teaching him to control his wolf side."
"Then Nicky's a liar," Toad replied simply. "I'm teaching him to coexist with his inner wolf. What's the point of forcing yourself to be something you ain't yo? I am the Toad I eat flies and mainly travel by hoppin' around. I is what I is, awesome."
"That's not a bad philosophy," Beast said slightly impressed. "So why are you following me?"
"I'm letting my friends get to know the X-Men, and I figured I was the only one who could keep up with you."
"Is that so?" he asked arching an eyebrow.
"Crap," Toad groaned before Beast leapt away quickly. "I so saw that coming," he muttered leaping after him.
Meanwhile the Brotherhood members were hanging around the X-Men as ordered.
"So you two were brought together by your powers," Kitty gushed after Tandy told her and Lance how she and Ty got together.
"Chicks," Lance said to Ty shaking his head. Ty nodded in agreement.
"They're great," Ty smirked.
"True."
"How have you guys been doing?" Angel asked Megan and Jay.
"It's tough at times but were doing alright," Megan replied with a shrug. "How about you Angel, how's the Brotherhood?"
"It gets a little boring but it beats being hypnotized 24/7," Angel replied grimly.
"It's weird that you and Angel have the same powers," Jay commented to Calvin. Angel looked slightly worried but Calvin quickly came up with a quick lie to cover it up.
"The wings aren't really my power," Calvin shrugged. His insect wings retracted and were replaced by a pair of wings just like Jay's but covered in feathers the color of Calvin's hair. "See I'm actually a shape shifter," Calvin lied. "Todd didn't want me to tell you."
"Why are your wings blond?" Megan asked.
"Oh well…I'm a little bad with colors sometimes," Calvin stumbled slightly coming up with the lie but played it off like he was admitting it.
"Do-do you have to follow me?" Josh asked.
"I'm not happy about hanging out with some golden boy X-Men either," Kevin replied coldly. "But Toad's the boss." Josh just sighed.
"Go bother someone else," Bobby said annoyed.
"Make me Snowflake," Ben challenged.
"If we did fight I'd be stuck putting out all the fires you end up starting."
"What's your point?"
"So what are your powers?" Roberto asked Jonas to break the tension.
"I am told the same as yours but powered by darkness," Jonas answered darkly. "But this witchcraft saved my life." Roberto decided against asking.
"Wait up," Cessily called stretching after Victor.
"You may have been told to hang out with me, but I wasn't told to hang out with you," Victor called back still running off.
"Oh come on."
"No way, last time we hung out I lost an arm," he said pointing at his larger scalier arm."
"So you got a better one."
"No!" he said picking up a large rock and tossing it at her, her hand came to a point and she sliced through it.
"I was hypnotized come on."
"NO!"
"You're really lucky," Nicky told Rahne as he walked with her looking for soil samples.
"Why's that?"
"You can do everything I can, but you can look normal when you want to."
"That not big of a deal, Jack will probably make you an image inducer when you get to the Brotherhood house." Nicky shook his head.
"I don't want one I'm not going to deny what I am; hiding's one thing but I'd never deny who I am. That's one of the things Toad's been teaching me."
"You X-Men aren't what I expected," Tessa told Evan conversationally.
"What do you mean?" Evan said slightly curious.
"Well I thought you'd be more impressive," she shrugged.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Spikes, and intangibility, are not that impressive." Spike soon ended up in an argument while Tessa was calmly having a conversation with him.
Beast had thought he lost Toad and found himself heading towards strange noises. He looked down to see a pair of Bigfoot enthusiasts talking about the whistle one of them had. Beast smirked and leapt away he flipped several dozen feet away from the two people he saw and hid behind a large bolder before letting out a powerful roar, that attracted all the bigfoot believers attention. They all muttered to each other heading to the source of the roar while Beast pushed the bolder that was hiding him downhill and towards his hunters it rolled through several large bushes making a lot of noise, they never saw the stone and believing it to be Bigfoot they ran off scared. Beast smirked again and began walking off plucking and sniffing a floor as he went.
"Nice work blue boy," Toad whispered to himself from a nearby tree. Beast let out another roar as he was hit with several tranquilizer darts. He pulled the darts out and charged at his attackers Patrick ran and Beast followed, Patrick was smiling as he ran. As soon as he was in place Dr. Patronete sprang a cage up right from under Beasts feet. Beast tried to break free but he was forced back, the confinement allowed the tranquilizer darts to finally take effect and he passed out.
"You're an X-Geek but you're still a mutant," Toad sighed hopping away.
Two of the Bigfoot supporters and Dr. Patronete were gawking at Beast in the triangular prism cage. Beast was slowly regaining consciousness after he heard his name when one of them called him 'the real McCoy.'
"It was almost like he understood that," Dr. Patronete commented which earned him a laugh from one of the men he was talking to.
"Yeah, right, no more celebrating for the doc," he commented before he and the other guy walked away.
"And I know just the taxidermist to handle this size of game too," Patrick commented walking up to the cage with Greg. With that comment Beast was fully awake and alert.
"That's outrageous!" Dr. Patronete said upset. "This is a wonder of nature. It's our duty to respect it."
"What? It's not like we're making a rug out of it," Patrick replied like it was no big deal.
"A coat maybe, but not a rug," Greg joked.
"What was I thinking when I let them join this expedition?" Dr. Patronete asked himself while Beast observed them intently.
Toad gathered both groups of mutants and told them how Beast was captured. The X-Men didn't take it well. Evan grabbed Toad by the collar pushing him against a tree, and extended one of his spikes.
"You let Mr. McCoy get captured," Evan said angrily pointing the large spike at Toad.
"Put…him…down," Nicky said in a low threatening growl while he and the entire Brotherhood was glaring at Evan or one of the other X-Men. Ben smirked lighting up his hand looking at Bobby.
"Match don't you do it," Toad warned.
"Come on he's the ice guy," Ben whined.
"Match you'll get your chance I promise, but not right now."
"That's what you always say!" Ben moaned.
"Shut up Match it's not the time. Spyke let me go you're going to help the Brotherhood save your chaperone."
"Who put you in charge?" Bobby challenged.
"You need our help, I'm Leader of the Brotherhood so I'm in charge," Toad told them.
"We don't need your help," Victor argued.
"How are you going to find him? Is wolf girl going to pick up his scent?" Toad asked. "Because I know the last place he was, it'd be a good place to start, we've got a wolf mutant too, and we have a telepath that can track him down directly." Lance scowled at Toad. "Also the more you argue the longer he's being held prisoner."
"We're not letting you be in charge," Lance told him walking up right next to Evan. Toad stuck his hands onto the tree Evan had him pinned against, he put a foot on each of their chests and launched both of them over ten feet away.
"You see X-Geeks I am in charge, you want to deny it we'll just save him on our own," Toad told them all.
"No, we can't let you go off on your own," Kitty announced. "We're willing to work together on this." She sighed.
"Together? Alright I guess it could work," Toad shrugged. "Now here's what we're going to do."
Dr. Patronete poured himself piping hot campfire coffee.
"Hey," Beast called quietly surprising the doctor.
"Di-did you say that?" Dr. Patronete asked unsure stepping closer to his cage, while Beast looked at him with a black expression. "Human," he carefully annunciated pointing at himself. "Human, Hu-"
"I have to admit, this cage is brilliant," Beast said casually, which fully shocked the doctor into dropping his coffee. "I'm guessing some kind of convex polarity reversal?"
"Good heavens," Dr. Patronete stated fully shocked. "You can speak!"
"Am I right?"
"Oh uh, uh," he stumbled over his words. "Yes, convex polarity rev-uh-How do you know of such things?"
"They'll give anybody a degree these days," he joked rubbing his fingers together in a sign for money.
"You are not Bigfoot are you?"
"Now we're on the same page," Beast smiled.
"But then who-" Before the doctor could ask any more questions, Greg walked up to them.
"Hey doc we found some kids that were snooping around the campsite, we think they might be after beasty here, Pat's interrogating them."
"He's interrogating children?" Dr. Patronete asked appalled.
"Relax they're teenagers," Greg said waving it off. "They claim to be a couple," Beast looked up eyes filled with worry. Suddenly a red-furred and blond-furred wolf ran past them into the forest, no idea the wolves were Rahne and Calvin.
"What in the world?" Dr. Patronete said surprised. There was a loud rustling in the trees as birds flew off, not knowing that Angel and Jay were spooking them out of the trees.
"There's something wrong here," Greg said concerned. A second later the ground began to violently shake. "Just a little earthquake," Greg chuckled nervously, before screaming and jumping away from as bowling ball sized boulders came rolling down the hill. "Avalanche," he screamed grabbing the doctor arm and stumbling off with him. Beast smiled realizing what was going on. Cloak and Dagger walked up on one side of the cage. Cloak partially covered the cage when he pulled the cloak away the entire side was torn to pieces.
"Step outside," Beast happily took Cloak's advice leaping out of the cage. Cloak draped his cloak completely over the cage, there were some noises and when he pulled the cape back all that was there was Jonas with a pleased look on his face and an indentation in the grass of where the cage was.
"I think that takes care of any evidence we're responsible for," Dagger said smiling.
"Yeah that should do it," Cloak looked Dagger over. "Did I mention you look spectacular in that costume?" They inched closer smiling flirtatiously.
"Control your animal impulses," Jonas said disgusted.
"Maybe we should just go," Dagger suggested.
"Right," Cloak agreed. "Stand close Mr. McCoy," he added covering the four of them in his cloak and teleporting. They reappeared behind Toad and Kitty up the hill. They were both looking through a pair of binoculars. Lance was next to them with his eyes rolled in the back of his head, Roberto, Victor and Blob were nearby picking up and rolling stones down the hill. Ty and Tandy had teleported several of them to the trailer to change pick up Fred, and drop off Nicky and Kevin.
"Mr. McCoy," Kitty said happily running up to hug her teacher.
"Alright Josh and Mercury have stolen some tapes, okay guys no more stones, Avalanche keep shaking the ground but a little less powerful," Toad instructed.
"This plan is actually going really well," Kitty said surprised.
"Of course it is it's my plan, good Josh and Mercury are out of the way." Toad pulled out his Walkie-Talkie, "Match, go ahead."
Ben smiled from his place behind a tree just outside the campsite.
"Can do boss," Match reached his hand out towards the campfire and it exploded with flames.
"What are you doing?" Kitty asked dismayed.
"Burning any evidence that we were there," Toad shrugged, "what Bobby said it's going to rain, and besides California has forest fires all the time."
"Someone could get hurt," Lance said upset breaking his concentration.
"So they're humans," Blob said like they didn't matter at all.
"We only came to help a mutant," Toad added. "Forgive me if I don't worry about the people who locked him in a cage." He held the Walki-Talkie to his mouth, "we're out of here," Toad turned and walked off as it started to rain, the others followed him.
The X-men were in the Velocity heading for home.
"Sorry we let you get captured Mr. McCoy," Victor spoke up.
"It's alright nothing you could've done," Beast said simply. "Besides I've learned there's no point to forcing myself to be someone I'm not, I'm still Hank McCoy but I'm also Beast and I need to get the two sides to coexist. Simply put I am what I am."
A/N:Sorry I know it's not my best chapter but I wanted to do one with less Jack Spicer and more of the New Mutants, and a little more of Toad in charge.
*This is to say Lockheed will have traits like Dojo and the better known middle ages town destroying dragons, so more or less he'll be just like the alien dragon from the comics.