One Disaster Ends Another Begins
"I feel so stupid," Lance sighed as he put his head in his hands as he sat in the chair. He was in Roadblock's private office in Misfit Manor. Roadblock, Low Light and Spirit were in there with him. It was a day after the battle with Selene. "How could I have been so stupid to think for a minute she actually cared about me!"
"Lance it's okay," Spirit comforted him. "The important thing is that you're all right."
"I feel so freaking stupid!" Lance said again, this time a bit harsher. "Kitty was bad enough but this is ten times worse! How could I have been so stupid to think she actually…I'm so stupid!"
"Lance it's not your fault," Spirit shook his head. "Selene went into your mind and manipulated you."
"Those feelings you felt weren't real," Low Light said. "They were the result of her magic and mind tampering. You're not to blame here."
"With you she would have had her way if Toad didn't save the day," Roadblock nodded. "But he's fine now. All she did was tire him out and he's back to his normal hyper self."
"But it's still my fault!" Lance said. "Because of me, Selene now knows about the Destiny Stone and Toad!"
"You're also the one who locked her up in that underground chamber," Low Light pointed out. "And you helped bring down her palace on top of her as well."
"At least she won't be bothering us for a while," Roadblock sighed.
"But we all know she'll be back," Lance groaned. "She's a powerful sorceress. We all know she'll break out sooner or later! And now she knows about Toad. What are we going to do? We can't just keep hiding Tetsukaeru! Sooner or later Toad is gonna figure out what happens to him! Even he's not that clueless!"
"HEY GUYS!" Todd burst in with some small nets. "I've just figured out how to catch the little man in the refrigerator!"
"Toad we've been over this a dozen times," Low Light groaned. "There is no little man that turns the light on and off."
"I know that," Todd said. "I mean the little guy in there that's making the funny noises! You know when the fridge goes BRRR! BRR! BRRRR! And SKKRRRRR! KRREEE! It never used to do that before! It only used to go HMMMMM! HMMMM! And occasionally a SKREEEEEE! I think Cobra must have shrunk a guy in there using a shrink ray to spy on us! It's the only explanation! And I'm gonna catch him!"
"Yeah Toad you do that…" Spirit sighed as Todd hopped off. He gave Lance a look. "Sooner or later?"
"Definitely later," Lance sighed. "But even he's gotta figure it out sometime! Maybe in a year or so…"
CRASH! SNAP! SPLORT! SPLORT!
"Whoa look at all the ice!" Todd whooped. "I wonder what this does?"
SPLORT! FIZZLE! SPLORT! SPLAT! SPLAT!
"Or more…" Lance added.
CRUNK! CRUNK! CRUNK! SPLORT! SPLAT!
"Maybe I shouldn't have cut that wire?" Todd remarked. "I wonder what happens when I cut this one?"
"Definitely more," Roadblock sighed.
SPLORT! SPLORT! SPLORRRT!
"Yeow! That's cold!" Todd could be heard yelling.
"I think we've got at least two years," Low Light thought. "More or less."
SPROING! BONK! SPLONK! SKRREEEEE!
"Maybe three," Low Light added.
BOOOM!
"Okay, that shouldn't happen," Todd was heard saying as the smoke alarm went off. "Yeow! That's hot!"
"Wow look at the pretty flames!" Pyro was heard saying. "Great job Toad!"
"Yeah I think we can safely lean towards the more side," Roadblock moaned. "Lord this is gonna be one bumpy ride!"
"So we're definitely more concerned about Selene here?" Lance asked. "Just to make sure we're all on the same page?"
The fire alarm sounded. "Yeah that and keeping Toad and Pyro from burning the house down," Roadblock groaned.
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"Hey! Bartender! Another root beer float for my friend and keep 'em coming!" Juggernaut ordered. "And make it snappy!"
Juggernaut and Sammy were in the bar of a minor hotel in upstate New York. It was the kind of place that was far away from the regular cities and towns and was often frequented by people who had no interest in attracting the attention of the local police. The owners of the place catered to the less law abiding members of society and the Juggernaut was one of their newest clients.
Of course the Juggernaut was not exactly paying for his room and board. Not that the owners were foolish enough to call him out on this. Or report him to the police. They vauled their health and buisness too much.
"Are you sure this is okay?" Sammy asked as he finished his hot dog.
"It's fine," Juggernaut snorted. "Remember kid, you have to take what you want in this world because no one's gonna actually give it to you."
"You're right Juggernaut," Sammy nodded.
Juggernaut actually enjoyed Sammy's company. The kid idolized him and was eager to please. And he had to admit that the kid had a past similar to his own troubled youth. It felt good to have someone know where he was coming from for a change.
He noticed that Sammy was a bit uncomfortable and he saw why. "You got a problem with us?" Juggernaut snarled at two men that reminded him of characters in Goodfellas that were sitting at another table.
"Uh no, Paulie you got a problem?" One man gulped.
"No, no I don't see anything that's funny or nothin'," The other man gulped.
"Good," Juggernaut sneered.
Two other men also saw him as they walked in. "There he is," A tall Irishman with black hair and a well groomed pointed beard pointed. He wore a black outfit and had a black cloak and carried a black cane with a ruby on top of it. "I told you I could find him. Cain! Cain you big lug! Over here!"
"Black Tom! You old devil!" Juggernaut grinned and waved his friend over. "Thought you were back in Ireland!"
"I was my old friend," Black Tom snorted as he sat down with his companion, a very burly yet well dressed young man with long bleached blond hair tied back in a ponytail. "But then my friend here showed up and suggested that we pull a little job together."
"Call me Amadeus," The young man in the black Armani suit stuck out his hand.
Juggernaut ignored it. If Amadeus was offended he gave no sign. He turned to Sammy. "And who might this be?"
"This is Sammy," Juggernaut said. "He's with me."
"Hi!" Sammy waved.
"Hello there," Amadeus said politely. "Good to meet you."
"Hey Kid," Juggernaut turned to him. "I gotta talk shop with my friend here. Why don't you go to our room and play with that new portable game thing I got ya?"
"Okay," Sammy hopped down. "Nice meeting with you." He went off happily.
"Well that is I sight I never thought I'd see," Black Tom shook his head. "I mean you with a kid? What's that all about?"
"Kid's all right," Juggernaut shrugged. "Picked 'em up in Southern Canada. Kind of like a traveling companion. Hell if my brother can have a ton of brats following him why can't I have at least one?"
"The man has a point," Amadeus nodded. "I've never met this Charles Xavier but from what I've heard, he sounds like a pathetic spoiled idiot who's always had things handed to him."
"You know I'm starting to like this guy already," Juggernaut snorted. "So what's the deal here? If Black Tom's recommending my services to you it must be something big."
"It definitely is. What would you say to an offer to that would not only make you a lot of money, but a chance to destroy an entire city and maybe take a shot at the X-Men?" Amadeus asked.
"I say, keep talking," Juggernaut grinned. "Sounds kind of interesting."
"Believe me Juggernaut," Amadeus grinned. "Interesting doesn't even begin to cover it."
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"All right can we get this meeting over with?" Lucas (aka Legion) asked in a bored tone.
Magneto had called a meeting with his lieutenants. There was Lucas, his daughter Lorna (also known as Polaris), her aunt Mender the healer, Cortez the energy giver, Sabertooth, Winters Magneto's loyal butler with a mind like a computer's and Mastermind. They were in a large room with a large metal table and chairs.
"Just as soon as that loser Blackjack shows up," Cortez snorted.
"He's…not coming," Lucas said. Actually Blackjack was one of a few personalities in Legion's mind. But the only one who knew of that was Mastermind and he was not about to tell Magneto anything unless he had to. "He has other affairs to attend to."
"Fine," Magneto waved. "We can get down to business and discuss our future plans!"
"Such as when are you actually going to use the Bio Pulse?" Cortez asked. "We need to activate as many dormant X-Genes as possible!"
"The Bio Pulse is not just a switch to turn mutant DNA on and off," Magneto warned. "Used incorrectly it can kill mutants!"
"It can also kill humans," Cortez said. "Why not just do that?"
"A mindless slaughter is pointless at this stage," Magneto told him. "And some of our telepaths are still perfecting their skills to use it properly."
"Why not give me a shot at it?" Lucas asked. "I'm more than powerful enough to handle it."
"Yeah like we'd trust you to use it," Sabertooth scoffed. "What about those three test subjects Solitaire and I brought back?"
"I'm afraid only one of them survived the initial experiments," Winters told him. "As Magneto has stated before we are still working on the correct mental frequency for activating an X-Gene."
"Well one survived so use that frequency," Cortez snorted.
"Impossible," Winters shook his head. "I said he survived. I did not specify his condition."
"He's in a coma in the medical center," Medic explained. "But we are making progress."
"I don't like it," Lorna fidgeted. "I mean experimenting on people."
"We're just doing it to them before they do it to us," Cortez snapped. "And they've already started! I say the flat scans should pay for their crimes!"
"I'm with Cortez on this. Why don't we just kill off as many humans as we can?" Lucas asked. "The fewer the better."
"Because we still need to acquire more troops before we can begin any assault on humanity," Winters explained. "We must be at full strength before this war can begin."
"But we now have nearly a thousand mutants on our side," Lucas snorted. "What's the problem?"
"Actually we have eight hundred and forty nine mutants," Winters corrected. "And out of those 45 percent are Class One and Two, and fifty percent are Class Three. Leaving the remaining five percent at Class Four, including Magneto."
"Class what?" Cortez blinked.
"Don't you know anything?" Lucas distained. "Class One mutants are those that only have a physical mutation or a very weak one."
"Like someone who only has three eyes or claws or a tail. Or someone who has advanced hearing or can only see in the dark," Mender explained.
"A Class Two has both a physical and a separate minor power," Lucas said. "Both Class one and Two are also known as Gamma Mutants."
"Oh you mean like that Nightcrawler X-Man?' Cortez asked.
"No technically he's a Class Three," Mastermind explained. "A Beta Mutant."
"How can he be a Class Three?" Cortez asked.
"Class Three are usually mutants with two or more separate mutations," Winters explained. "In addition to his teleportation, Nightcrawler has a prehensile tail, the ability to climb walls, and of course blue fur as well as unusual fingers and toes."
"That's four right there," Lucas said.
"Five if you consider his limited night vision. And teleportation by itself is a categorized Class Three ability," Mender explained.
"Also a mutant with a useful, powerful and versatile mutation is a Class Three," Winters added. "Like phasing, optic blasts, flight…"
"Flight? Okay the phasing I get but how can flight be considered a Class Three Power?" Cortez asked. "Take that Angel for instance. All he does is fly around. How can that be considered Class Three?"
"Class Three is average," Mender explained. "Well as average as a mutant can get. It's not a bad thing. Sabertooth is a Class Three! You have a problem with that?"
"Uh no…" Cortez gulped as Sabertooth growled at him. "So what's considered a Class Four?"
"Class Fours or Alphas are mutants with highly advanced powerful mutations," Magneto went on. "Such as myself, Charles Xavier and Wolverine."
"Wolverine?" Sabertooth yelled. "Hold on! How the hell did that runt make it to Class Four while I'm stuck in Class Three? We both have the same mutant powers! Both of us have a healing factor, animal senses and strength, berserker rage…"
"But he also as the adamantium skeleton as well as the claws," Mastermind explained. "And his healing factor is twice as strong as yours as a result of it."
"I have claws!" Sabertooth showed him.
"Yeah but they're not metal," Lucas snorted.
"Well if that's all it takes to be a Class Four then maybe I should get some metal bones myself!" Sabertooth grunted.
"Uh, Sabertooth?" Mastermind shifted closer and whispered. "Do you really think that's a wise course of action, considering who you are currently working for?"
Sabertooth looked at Magneto. "On the other hand…" Sabertooth said realizing the implications of what he had just said. "I'm already pretty advanced."
"I thought you might say that," Magneto narrowed his eyes.
"Wait by that calculation that means X23 is also a Class Four," Cortez thought aloud.
"Correct. As well as Jean Grey and Rogue," Magneto added. "And if Ms. Grey's little clone develops like the original…"
"Don't forget Trinity," Sabertooth grunted. "If those little maniacs aren't a Class Four I don't know what is!"
"And their elder sister as well," Magneto said. "Her manipulation of water is almost as skilled as my powers over metal. And her ninja training makes Wavedancer a very dangerous opponent."
"So is Solitaire's little brother Xi," Sabertooth told him.
"Don't forget the Scarlet Witch and lately Avalanche's powers are nothing to shake at," Mender added. "And don't forget the reports we have on Firestar, Magma, Sunspot, Iceman, Boom Boom and Multiple."
"That little Toad has gotten better at fighting too," Sabertooth added. "As well as Blob, Berserker and a few other kids the X-Idiots have."
"In other words both the X-Men and Misfits have better fighters and mutants that outclass nearly all of our troops," Cortez finally put it together.
"Yes! He can be taught!" Mastermind rolled his eyes.
"That is not good for us is it?" Cortez realized.
"Ya think?" Sabertooth snapped.
"Which is why we have to be patient!" Magneto added. "Fortunately we have been quite successful in recruiting lately. Thanks to Cerebi."
"Who's Cerebi?" Cortez asked.
"How could someone so stupid become a lieutenant?" Lucas snapped. "Cerebi is a miniature Cerebro. It's not as powerful and can only focus on one area at a time but it's very effective."
"Actually I have purposely not told Cortez and most of the non-telepaths," Magneto explained. "Except for Polaris and Mender."
"Why?" Sabertooth asked. "Afraid Xavier will get jealous?"
"Let's just say the less he knows the better," Magneto told him. "But at least it's able to be used by a lower level telepath than Xavier."
"More accessible to us and our purposes," Mender nodded. "But I do agree with Winters. We need more mutants on our side."
"And we can't wait forever for Cobra to help us grow 'em," Lucas grunted.
"Maybe we should try and free more mutants from detention centers? Like when we hit North Korea last year?" Lorna suggested.
"That was a good haul," Sabertooth nodded. "Not to mention a lot of fun. I must have killed at least thirteen humans that day."
"Remember those two mutants we picked up that told us about Neverland?" Mender reminded them. "There has to be more camps like that in the world."
"I have been looking into…" Magneto began when the door opened. "What now?"
"Magneto," A female mutant with red skin, long red hair and horns wearing a blue uniform entered the room. "We had another transmission from our spy at the Xavier Institute."
"Not now," Magneto waved. "We are in the middle of a meeting. I can read the report later."
"Begging your pardon sir," She handed him a sheet of paper. "But I think you'd better read this now. It's extremely important information."
"Oh very well," Magneto sighed and took a look at it. His eyes instantly turned cold with rage. "Is this accurate?"
"I'm afraid so, sir," She nodded.
"What is it Father?" Lorna asked.
"It's Apocalypse," Magneto snarled, crumpling the paper into a ball. "He's free! And those fools the X-Men and Misfits let him loose!"
"They did what?" Everyone at the table shouted.
The metal table started to shudder violently and began to crumple under Magneto's rage. "Oh boy…" Even Lucas was getting very nervous. "Meeting adjourned people!"
"CHARLES WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Magneto roared. "YOU AND THOSE FOOLS ARE GOING TO PAY DEARLY FOR THIS!"
"So much for patience," Mastermind grumbled as he and the others fled the room.
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Back at the Institute life went on as usual. Which meant of course there were a lot of explosions and other disasters. And one was about to happen in the kitchen.
"What are you doing Beast?" Scott asked as he walked into the kitchen with Rogue.
"I am trying to teach Penny some simple words," Hank had a few fruits on the table. Penny was at the other end looking at them with wide eyes. "I believe we are on the verge of a breakthrough!"
"Give it up Beast," Rogue said. "Penny can't talk. Not even the Professor can help her."
"Just because her mind has abnormal shields that no telepath can completely penetrate does not mean the power of speech is out of the child's reach," Hank said.
"Taking a page from Roadblock?" Scott asked.
"Well you must admit it is quite appropriate," Hank chuckled. "Besides, there appears to be nothing wrong or abnormal with her vocal cords. I have the scars and the bite marks to prove it."
"So you're saying that she has the ability to talk but she doesn't know how," Scott put it together.
"Precisely," Hank nodded. "And I will be the one to teach her!"
"I dunno Beast," Rogue said. "I like Penny but personally I think she's about as bright as mud. It took us six months to toilet train her. And even now I still have to check the plants and the carpet around here for any extra moisture."
"Rogue there is no such thing as a child that cannot be taught," Hank held up a finger.
"You've never had Toad in one of your classes," Rogue contradicted him.
"Here at the Xavier Institute we believe that nothing is impossible," Hank went on.
"Except having a nice quiet normal day," Scott smirked.
"Look the point is that no child is beyond help as long as the teacher is patient and willing enough to work with him or her," Hank gave them a look. "If Anne Sullivan could teach Helen Keller, a blind and deaf child how to communicate with the world and become an international celebrity I can get Penny to talk!"
"Oh this I have got to see," Rogue sat back on a chair.
"Certainly beats what's on cable," Scott agreed leaning back on a counter. "Go ahead Ms. Sullivan."
"Ha ha," Hank gave him a look. He turned his attention back to Penny. "All right Penny. Now…" He picked up an apple. "This is an apple. Penny. Say apple."
Penny jumped up and down and tried to reach for the apple with her hands. "No, no…First we have to say the word," Hank held it out of her reach. "Apple. Come on. Like this. Aaaaaa-pull…"
"Aahhh?" Penny squeaked.
"Yes, that's a good start!" Hank said enthusiastically. "Aahhhhhhh!"
"AAAHHHHH!" Penny opened her mouth wide.
"AAAAHHHHH!" Hank said. "Yes you're getting it! AAHHHHH!"
"AAHHHHHH!" Penny mimicked.
"Now the ple part," Hank said. "Puh-ulllllllll."
"Uhhhhhhhh," Penny mouthed.
"No not uhhhhh, puuuuuuuuuullllllll," Hank exaggerated the word. "Pulllllll."
"Uuuuuuuullllllllll," Penny rolled her tongue.
"Good! Good! Now we put the sounds together! Aaahhhhhh…Pulllllllllll," Hank said.
"AAAHHHHHHH!" Penny rolled her tongue.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh," Hank said. "Aahhh…OWWWWW!" He yelped in pain as Penny leapt on the table and grabbed for the apple, accidentally grazing him with her sharp hair and claws. "PENNY!"
"Okay I saw that coming, anyone else?" Scott asked. "Besides Beast that is?"
"Yeah you're making real progress Beast," Rogue chuckled.
"No! No! NO!" Hank managed to keep the apple away from the whining pink girl knife. "Down! Down! Girl! Off the table! Down now!" Penny hopped down. "No! No! We don't grab for the apple! We ask for it! Now say the word! I know you can do it."
Penny whined. "I know you are hungry Penny but we have to ask for what we want. Not grab it like a monkey hungry for a banana. And no! You can't have the banana either!" Hank said as he pulled the banana out of reach. "Now I will give you this apple when you say 'apple' and not a moment before. Apple. Aaaa…"
"Beast give it up," Rogue said. "You're just torturing the poor thing. Not to mention yourself."
"Rogue please!" Hank turned to her. "I feel I am on the verge of a breakthrough. Now if Penny learns that she will get things if she asks for them, it will encourage her to talk. The only way Penance will get this apple is if she asks for it! There is no other way!"
"Actually there is," Scott made a slight grin. He pointed behind Hank. "She could just do that."
"What?" Hank turned around. Only to see that Penny had opened the refrigerator and was now stuffing her face with apples from the fruit bin. "PENNY!"
"Aahhhhh!" Penny made a sound with her mouth full. Then went back to eating.
"I take it back," Rogue smirked. "Penny is smart."
"Quite the miracle worker aren't you?" Scott quipped.
"Oh shut up," Hank grumbled as he bit into the apple.
Meanwhile another teacher was having problems with his student.
"AAAHHHHHH!" Madelyne shouted as she accidentally shattered a vase with her telekinesis. "I told you I couldn't do it!"
"You're rushing things," Jean said patiently. She and Xavier were in the living room with her supervising her training with her powers.
"No you're rushing me!" Madelyne snapped. "So I can't balance a stupid vase in the air longer than a few minutes? What's the big deal?"
"We're just trying to teach you control," Jean said. "Which you certainly need a lot of practice in."
"Newsflash, just doing pointless stuff isn't helping me!" Madelyne snapped. "How about a real lesson like how not to destroy stuff or change the television channels without blowing the TV up? At least that's useful! I'm going to my room!" She turned and left.
"Madelyne!" Jean shouted.
"Let her go Jean," Xavier said patiently. "The girl is tired. We have been doing this for an hour."
"Only an hour," Jean grumbled as she picked up the pieces of the vase with her telepathy. "And she throws a temper tantrum because she think's that's too long."
"I remember a certain young lady who had a very similar attitude when she first arrived here," Xavier chuckled, stroking his chin.
"Please tell me you are talking about Rogue," Jean gave him a look as she finished picking them up. "I was not that bad."
"No, you were worse," Xavier pointed out. "Remember the first time we did try a lesson in changing the channels on the television? How long did that last? Five minutes before you got frustrated and…"
"And blew it up. I get it, I get it," Jean said. She concentrated. The pieces of the vase formed together. Then they fused back into a perfect shape, as if it hadn't been broken at all. "But you have to admit, I've gotten better at it."
"More than better," Xavier raised an eyebrow at her handiwork. "Phenomenal. When did you learn to do that?"
"I dunno," Jean realized what she had done. "I just…did it."
"Amazing," Xavier wheeled over and examined the vase. "Not even a crack. It's like it was never broken."
"My powers have been progressing," Jean said. "And I have been training a lot. I mean it's probably got nothing to do with the Phoenix Force."
"I didn't say anything about that." Xavier said.
"You didn't have to, I could hear your thoughts," Jean told him.
"I thought I had shielded them," Xavier frowned.
"Well you must have slipped," Jean grumbled. "I mean not everything I do is about it you know?"
"Perhaps," Xavier nodded.
"What do you mean, perhaps?" Jean snapped. "Don't patronize me Professor. I know you're obsessing over the Phoenix Force, but I've got it under control. And having you doubt me every time I learn something new is not helping! I'm not a kid like Madelyne you know!"
SHATTER!
Jean blinked as she realized she had telekinetically shattered the vase she had just reassembled. "No, but your resemblance to her is quite starting," Xavier said wryly.
"I can't believe I did that," Jean groaned as she used her powers to put the vase back together again. "I'm sorry Professor, I've been under a lot of pressure lately. With school and the X-Men and now training my clone kid sister…"
"You have been working rather hard," Xavier interrupted her. "And I'm sorry if I offended you. I'm only concerned about your well being. You know that, don't you?"
"Of course you are," Jean sighed as she finished. "There, good as new. I'm getting pretty good at this."
BOOM!
"Now if only you could do that with the walls of the Institute we could cut down on our repair bills," Xavier groaned as the mansion shuddered.
"I wonder who it was this time?" Jean asked.
"I'm afraid we'll find out soon enough," Xavier sighed as they went to investigate.
Unfortunately for them, they did find out. But it wasn't one of the X-Men or the Misfits. It was an invader that heralded the beginning of trouble.
Looks like the mansion's under attack again! But who or what is responsible? And who is this Amadeus character and what does he want with Juggernaut? Tune in next time to find out!
"I like that song!" Pyro said.
"What song?" Lance asked him.
"You know that song!" Pyro said. "Amadeus, Amadeus…Who-ahh Amadeus! Yeah rock me Amadeus!"
"Oh that song," Lance nodded. "I like the Dr. Zaius parody better myself."
Scott walked out. "Are we going on another one of those weird tangents again?"
"What kind of weird tangent?" Pyro asked.
"The kind that has nothing to do with the story and is just a bunch of nonsense that jumps out of Red Witch's brain whenever she has too much coffee," Scott folded his arms.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Pyro scratched his head. "I think they are kind of fun."
"Why do I even bother?" Scott groaned. "Seriously? Why do I even try? She's making me as nuts as she is!"
"I've finished going through my clothes for the fall," Kitty walked out with a small pile of clothes in her arms. "I couldn't believe there were so many outfits I had to get rid of!"
"Kitty...You're only holding three outfits," Lance said.
"Well yes," Kitty said. "One has a slight rip and the other two are out of style. You seriously can't expect me to wear last year's fashion trend now can you?"
"You know that's a question I would expect Quicksilver to say," Pyro remarked.
"You thought that too?" Scott asked.
"Will you guys be serious for a minute?" Kitty gave them a look. "Twice a year I go through my clothes to see what I can get rid of to make room for more clothes. Well that and change over my summer clothes to fall ones. And vice versa."
"You actually do that?" Lance was stunned.
A lot of girls do that. I do that.
"There's a shock," Lance rolled his eyes. "You would do something that crazy!"
"This from the guy who just shoves everything into his closet and keeps it there," Scott gave him a look.
"Oh and you don't?" Lance looked at him back. "You actually go through your clothes twice a year?"
"Well no," Scott admitted. "But then again I'm not a girl."
"All right I have finally narrowed down my closet," Pietro appeared with a large bag. "I just had to get rid of these clothes! They are so last month!"
"I've gotten quite a bit of a turnover as well," Hank walked out with a bag.
"Okay Quicksilver is a given, but you Beast?" Pyro's jaw dropped.
"You try having blue fur that sheds a lot at certain times of the year and see how long your clothes last!" Hank gave him a look. "Especially if you have to wash them twice or three times a day!"
"Way too much information here!" Kitty groaned.
"How did we get on this subject?" Scott asked. "Seriously how?"
"I think it's because Red has closet cleaning on the brain," Lance pointed his thumb upwards. "She just threw out three bags of stuff."
Hey it's a personal record for me! I'm proud of it!
"Good for you!" Scott said sarcastically. "How do we attract crazy authors like this?"
"Oooh! This is nice," Hank was pawing a hat from Pietro's bag. "Is this cashmere?"
"Yeah you want it?" Pietro asked. "It's one size fits all."
"I'll take it," Hank said. "I'll give you this vest in exchange. I had it when I was not my furry self so it's a little small on me."
"I think I can take it in," Pietro took it. "Once I get it dry cleaned."
"As long as we're exchanging stuff Pietro can I have this shirt?" Kitty asked.
"Why not?" Pietro said.
"Oh yeah, that's why..." Scott groaned.
