A/N: Who should Tony Stark hire for a 'black op' mission later in the story?

Chapter 29:

"You where right," Kitty said the next morning as she sat next to him at breakfast. "About the whole metabolism thing. God I'm starving. Hand over those eggs Rogue." She finished as she took a forkful of egg off of Rogue's plate and stuffed them into her mouth.

"Excuse me!" Rogue said in mock protest, "Now what am I supposed to eat?"

"You can have some of my sausage," Johnny smirked as he sat down across from her. "I've got a big one here, but if you want it, you'll have to go to that ball thingy. And then you'll get the sausage."

Eww, Kitty remarked, casting a glance at Peter as she did so. That's something I won't get out of my head for a while.

Wanna humiliate him? Peter replied.

How? Kitty asked intently.

Challenge him to an arm-wrestle for his meal. Peter smirked devilishly.

I think I will, she replied. "I'll take you up on your offer," she said, instantaneously gaining the attention of every male within earshot.

"Really?" said Johnny, perking up a bit, "I didn't expect that to wor..."

"On the condition," Kitty interrupted as she brought her right arm to bear on the table. "That you beat me in an arm wrestle." She finished with a large grin, matched only by Johnny's as he raised his own arm.

"I'll take you up on your offer," Johnny replied with confidence. "and I'll pick you up at six." he finished as their hands intertwined. Peter watched as Johnny's arm muscles tightened as he pushed lightly against Kitty to no avail. He watched as Johnny pushed harder and harder, all the while gathering an audience.

"What's going on here?" Havok asked Peter in a low whisper.

"Torch and Kitty made a bet," Peter replied as he continued to watch.

"The stakes?" Jubilee asked as she came up between them.

"If he wins, she goes to the ball with him," Peter replied with a smirk

"Damn," Havok remarked, folding his arms as he did so, "wish I'd thought of that. I'd have gotten a date a long time ago."

"When she wins she gets his breakfast," Peter finished seconds before Johnny's hand hit the table with a loud smack. Everyone cheered as Kitty took her prize with a large smile on her face, much to Johnny's shock. And Peter started laughing as Kitty playfully chewed on one of the sausages right in Johnny's face. The laughter soon garnered the attention of several faculty.

"That's enough," Jean hollered as she approached the small crowd around the table. "All of you, get ready for your classes." Everyone began to mumble incoherently as they began to disperse, allowing Jean to make her way to both Kitty and Peter. "Everyone except you two," she said, "the Professor wants you in the tac room."

"What'd I do?" Kitty smirked lightly as she stood up, smiling at her own victory.

"No idea," Jean replied, "he won't tell anyone. He just wants you two."

"better not disappoint," Peter remarked as he made his way into the hall. Seconds later Kitty caught up with him.

"broke my door handle this morning," she mused lightly.

"You can walk through walls. Why do you need to use a door?" He asked as they turned a corner.

"Why didn't you use your powers to make quarterback?" She rebutted, pushing him somewhat lightly on the shoulder. "Or Basketball team captain? Or hell, male ballet performer? Move up the social ladder of high-school and date a mega-hot cheerleader?"

"I don't think I'd move up very much with the last one," He replied as they rounded another corner. "And you don't think people would notice if a nerd could outstrip every single member of the football team?"

"To put them in their place, duh!" Kitty said as the light from the tactical room entered their sight. "It's what i'm gonna do as soon as possible. Gonna challenge every guy here to some sort of physical contest and beat them as bad as possible. I think I'll start with Alex. Pay him back for his repeated attempts to go out with me." She finished as they entered the room, which was populated only by Professor Xavier and Dr McCoy.

"I hope you will at least attempt to give the others a fighting chance," Xavier remarked with a warm smile. "A contest is no fun if all participants enjoy it, after all."

"But it never hurts to show off a little, professor," Kitty replied as she assumed a spot across from Xavier. Peter stood beside her, gaining a good vantage of the television, which was showing live news coverage.

"It seems," Dr McCoy remarked as he pointed to the screen, "that there has been fallout from this week's events."

"...the deadly events that took place earlier this week outside the White House, our country's populace have become polarized on two separate fronts. Our President seems to have ignited an underlying issue within our everyday lives, and turned it into a firestorm. Many are calling for him to be removed from office effective immediately, while more say more action is needed on the Mutant front. In an attempt to quell this uneasy situation, Tony Stark had this to say."

"People who refuse to obey the law are criminals by definition. These Mutants refuse to obey the laws set by our government, who we chose. Therefore they must be dealt with extreme prejudice, and swiftly. Our country has never tolerated these acts of Terrorism, and it never will!" Dr McCoy clicked the screen off solemnly as he turned to face the rest of them.

"This I never imagined," Xavier remarked as he folded his hands in front of his face. "We have gone from a witch-hunting to the brink of a national crisis that will split this country in two."

"Stark's reaction will be a violent one," Dr McCoy remarked, "along with Stryker's. Together they've got enough power to do whatever they please. No one can oppose them, really. Not while Stryker's got his Purifier army, and Stark's got every non-mutant superhero in his pocket..." He turned to face Peter and said, "No offence, my boy."

"None taken," Peter replied, "besides, I've met plenty of people who would agree with you."

"Are you saying," Dr McCoy said, almost sounding sarcastic, "that there really are others who disagree with Stark as much as us?"

"Sure," Peter shrugged. "Luke Cage and his 'heroes for hire' gang have had their fair share of disagreements with Stark. Daredevil and his lawyer buddy have actually tried to take the Avengers to court before for damage to public property."

"Really?" Kitty asked, almost sounding shocked.

"Yeah," Peter continued, "but it never went that far up the legal system. Someone squeezed the lawyer's office into submission."

"Bet that pissed him off," Kitty muttered before returning her attention to Xavier. "And your point for calling the two of us here is...?" She continued questioningly.

"Given the success of your last reconnaissance mission, I wish to offer you another." Xavier remarked as he uncrossed his hands and wheeled himself to the small table that rested against a wall, "One that is much less perilous and lengthy." he grabbed a series of papers off of the table and handed them to Kitty. "I want you and Mr Parker to make an appearance on the news. I want you to speak out against Stryker."

"I...won't it be dangerous...? With the whole world watching and..." Kitty said as she began to stutter. Peter placed a hand on her shoulder, doing his best to offer solace as Xavier's eyes flashed to him for the briefest of seconds.

"We will film the segment here and submit it to local news stations," said Xavier calmly.

"Isn't there someone more qualified...?" Kitty asked nervously, "like you or..."

"Kitty, you two are now the face of our cause," Xavier said passionately, placing a hand on her shoulder. "People saw what happened on television. They saw you try and save Mr Parker. Already people within our own community want to meet you two."

"What?" Kitty half-blurted as she rose to her feet. "I...I can't...no..."

"No one will force you to do anything," Peter cut in for her, as comfortingly as possible. "I'll do it alone."

No, Kitty replied psychically.

I'm not going to make you... He began to say. Am I really saying it? Is a word only a word if it is spoken? He brushed these thoughts aside as Kitty cut them off.

And I've still got to make up for what happened in New York. She interrupted calmly. "We'll do it together, professor." She stated verbally for all to hear, and was met with nods from the professor and Dr McCoy.

"We have prepared some things for you two to say," Dr McCoy remarked calmly as he handed small stacks of papers to both Peter and Kitty. "To avoid being accused of terrorist propaganda and the like. Legally at least, we can't stop the general public's opinion."

That won't be easy, Kitty said with a half-smirk.

It'll be just like that science presentation back in October, He replied with an equally large grin.

Didn't we almost get expelled for that?

The details are sketchy.

Is there anything you remember?

Doing all the work.

Bullshit.

And your 'Father' barging into the library and dragging you out.

I'll give you that one, Kitty smirked widely in his direction.

"Ahem," Xavier coughed, getting their attention. He looked at them with a warm smile as he continued, "While I am glad you two are using your new-found abilities to their full potential, I suggest you attempt to cover up your blank expressions, or learn to multitask. Some may find it somewhat rude and feel ignored."

"...Sorry..." Kitty murmured quietly. "Is that all...? Because I've got a lot of work on my hands right now..."

"I understand," Xavier smiled lightly, "Between your schoolwork, this upcoming program and the dance you are to plan, most would suffer a mental break down."

Add in hearing someone else' voice in your head and realizing you can climb walls and... Peter mused, knowing exactly how much pressure she was under.

That to, she replied, "Now I've got to go. When do you want to record...?"

"Tomorrow," said Xavier. "As early as possible. I want to get it out so we can avoid as much of a catastrophe as possible."

Yeah, because getting shot at is a walk in the park. Kitty mused lightly as she stood up from her chair and made her way to the door. He followed, and soon enough they where in a secluded hall, all alone.

"You know," he whispered quietly, "I don't think I ever finished thanking you for fixing up my mask."

"We really should stop doing favours for one another," she replied as they both came to a halt. "We're gonna lose track eventually."

Fine then, he half-smirked, I won't help you next time you get stuck on the ceiling.

That's not fair, she replied with a grin, I don't know what I'm doing when I'm up there. I just need practice. And your help.

I'll help you, he said with a smile, because you asked nicely. And as far as favours, we'll just ignore them to save our sanity.

Sounds like a plan, she replied, Danger room at six tonight?

It's a date, he finished as they both parted ways down separate hallways.