Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men Evolution or practically any of the characters in this story. Please don't sue me, I don't have any money. Okay, that said, lets move to the notes.
I'm SORRY this took so long to write. I had major writer's blockage…with this story at least, and it took a couple of months to write six pages. Sheesh. That's pathetic. Um…and because I was getting back in my stride, this chapter may be a little odd compared to the others. Sorry about that. But it moves the plot forward, at least, and that's the important thing. Please review me and tell me what you think of it. Is this chapter any good, or should I scrap it and try to rewrite this part?
***
Professor Xavier was locked in the central room with Cerebro with the door locked when the two girls went to find him.
"Oh no! What are we going to do?!" Kitty fidgeted nervously, staring at the thick oak door as if she could will it open. She could phase through it, of course, but everyone at the Institute had very stern instructions not to disturb the Professor when he was in that room. It could be very dangerous. So she dared not try it.
"Calm down, Kitty! It's not a disaster. We'll just hafta…find someone else to tell." Rogue looked around the hall as she spoke, searching with her eyes. "Another teacher, ah mean."
"Tell me what?" Logan turned the corner of the hall, walking with the easy gate of someone in no hurry. Scott followed him into the room. They had probably been talking. The rest of the house was eerily quiet as all its residents slept in.
"Then monster attacked Lance last night," Kitty reported immediately. She raised the sneaker that she had dropped in her room the night before and held it up for inspection. "See? This was his shoe."
Logan looked at it, nonplussed. "What makes you so sure that's Avalanche's?" He raised a skeptical eyebrow at her.
Rogue answered. "Because the rest of the Brotherhood showed up this mornin', demanding to know where he is. Apparently, he went off and took a walk in the woods after the concert last night and never came back."
"We have to go looking for him!" Kitty exclaimed, still upset. "I mean, he and I got into a fight. It's my fault he's like, missing." She shook her head, tears starting up. "I don't like him, but I don't want him to get eaten, you know?!"
"We were hoping tha Professor could look for him using Cerebro."
"Well, in that case you're in luck." The man nodded towards the closed door. "That's what he's doing right now."
Rogue blinked at the door again, before swinging her gaze back to Logan in confusion. "But we haven't told him about Lance yet..."
Scott spoke up for the first time. "He's not looking for Lance. He's looking for the creature." He nodded at their incredulous glances. "Yes. It's a mutant. I'm surprised you haven't figured that out yet, actually. There's certainly no creature in nature like that."
Logan finished for him. "So if Avalanche is really with that thing, then when we find it, we find him." As he turned to walk away they heard a muttered, "As if we'd want to."
Scott turned to the others, cocking his head slightly in questioning. "Where did the other Brotherhood boys go?"
Rogue had leaned back against the wall and rested her head on it, face tipped up. Her eyes were closed. You could practically see the headache. Kitty glanced at her, and then answered.
"Who knows." She twirled a lock of her long hair around one finger absently. "Pietro got all upset and ran off in, like, a puff of wind. You know, the way he does when he's moving really fast? The other two followed him."
Scott sighed. "Pity. It would have been better if they'd stuck around. If they go looking for Lance all on their own, they could fall into the same trap that he did. I wish there was a way we could keep them close, where we could keep an eye on them."
The freshman snorted. "Oh yeah. Like that's ever going to happen. They, like, totally hate us. And Pietro sounded really mad. Everyone would have to... I don't know, dissolve into little puddles of green goo, or something, before they'd ever come back around here again."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Green goo?"
She shrugged and blushed slightly. "It was, like, the first impossible thing I could think of. Actually its...pretty icksome."
"Hey, Shades!" Logan walked back in. "You know how you were just saying you wished the Brotherhood had never left?"
No one asked how he knew. His hearing was as acute as his sense of smell.
"Yeah. Why?" Scott asked.
Logan jerked a thumb behind him. "Because they're here."
"What?"
"They're here. At the front gate. They want to come in and talk to you."
The senior was astounded. "Why?" he asked.
"Something about a temporary alliance." Logan's voice was supremely suspicious. "It's your call, but I wouldn't let them in here. It's a trap just waiting to happen. You can't trust those bozos."
Cyclops shook his head. "No, you're wrong. I don't think they'd attack while Lance is missing. Um, let them in. Let's hear what they have to say."
The older man stared at him for a moment, obviously not thinking much of the choice, and then turned around on his heel and walked back out to the front door.
"Scott, are you sure this is a good idea?" Kitty asked, genuinely curious. "I mean, Logan's right. They are creeps."
"The best way to keep an eye on them, Kitty, is to have them here willingly. And since they want to talk about an alliance, I'm not going to turn them away."
The freshman just shrugged. "Like, whatever." Rogue still hadn't spoken or moved from her spot on the wall. Kitty wondered if she'd fallen asleep there.
The door opened again and Pietro blew into the room. He wasn't using his super speed now, but was such a ball of energy and determination that it seemed like it. He took control of the room the minute he stepped into it, zeroing in on Scott like a missile. The other two trailed after him, guarded by a watchful Logan, who locked the door with an audible snick. Todd jumped a little and shot an apprehensive glance at the intimidating figure, who stared back flatly. Pietro didn't seem to notice. He was too busy getting in Scott's face. The speedster stopped about three inches away from the other boy, much too close for comfort, and jabbed a finger at his chest.
"Listen, Summers. We need to find Lance and you guys have the means to do it. So we're here and you're going to help us find him, end of story." He glared at the senior as if expecting argument. "So don't even think of protesting. We're working with you whether you want us to or not!" Ice blue eyes were narrowed over a stubborn, jutting chin as Quicksilver prepared himself for a fight.
"Actually I think that's a great idea," Scott said.
The sophomore blinked. "You do?"
"Yes. I mean, we worked pretty well together when we took down Juggernaut, so we know we can do it. And this thing seems pretty nasty. We can use all the help we can get." He smiled slightly in a wry fashion. "Thanks for offering."
"Oh." Pietro wavered for a moment, clearly unprepared for this unexpected capitulation. Then he regained his stride. "Well, just so you know, we aren't doing this for you." He crossed his arms arrogantly. "We just wanna help Lance and you're the most convenient way to do it."
"Yeah, yo," Todd added. "Why would we care what happens to you buncha freaks?"
Scott ignored that smoothly. "Alright. Fine," he said. "As long as you're willing to help, I don't care what your motives are."
The speedster nodded sharply. "Okay, then. Good." His tone was petulant. He almost sounded as if he missed the confrontation that had not taken place.
Silence reigned in the hall for a moment as the two groups looked at each other. Neither seemed to know what to say to the other. The quiet was broken by the noise of a door opening. All the Brotherhood boys jumped as Xavier rolled into the room. What would he make of them here?
Scott tried to explain. "Oh, Professor! I..." The older man waved him to silence. Xavier scanned the three new teenagers with his eyes, piercing each of them to the core with a searching glance. Then he nodded once to them in greeting.
"Well, in that case perhaps I should call the others." He spoke just as if they'd been carrying on a conversation and had said something memorable. Clearly, he'd been searching with more than just his eyes in that inspection, gleaning their intentions and purpose from them without their noticing. This realization did nothing to put the newcomers at their ease. Todd shifted uncomfortably again, shooting his gaze once more around the room, unconsciously looking for an escape route. They quavered when they fell on the still scowling Wolverine and he inched closer to Freddy. Fred himself gave a sort of a sigh and shifted from foot to foot, as if he wished he were somewhere else. Quicksilver dropped his gaze to the carpet.
The Professor ignored all this. He simply closed his eyes briefly in mental summons, and then opened them again as a familiar bamf filled the room.
"Ja, Professor. Vat did you... Whoa! Vat are THEY doing here?!" Golden eyes stared at the newcomers and a midnight blue tail twitched violently.
"I will explain everything, Kurt, once Jean and Ororo get here. That way I will only have to say it once."
"Well, here we are, then." Jean descended the stairs as gracefully as a princess. She was wearing a bathrobe as well, a fluffy sky-blue one that brought out the fire of her hair to perfection. This was no doubt the reason she had bought it. Ororo came behind her silently, not spoiling the girl's grand entrance. Cerulean eyes widened s she saw what Kurt had seen and the next moment she nearly spoiled it herself, slowing and almost stumbling down the last two steps.
"What's going on?" she asked, turning to her mentor questioningly.
"Pietro, Fred, and Todd will be working with us in our search for the creature." Xavier said simply. "They are most anxious about the fate of Mr. Alvers. It seems he had a run in with our unknown mutant not long after Kitty, Evan, and Rogue did."
Jean stared, then swung her gaze to the Brotherhood boys. Todd was inching ever so slowly further away from Logan, shooting the tall man nervous looks all the while. Logan noticed this and bared his teeth at him in a parody of a smile, causing the Toad to jump and back away even further.
"I see," the redhead said at last in a calm voice, having conquered her surprise. "But how are we going to find it?" She sighed and shifted her weight to one leg. "Searching the woods didn't do much good, after all."
Xavier smiled slightly. "Do not forget that I have the power of Cerebro. I've managed to narrow down our search area quite a bit."
Pietro started. "You've found Lance?"
"No. I'm afraid its not so specific as that. This mutant apparently has some way of hiding its mind from me. I cannot get a clear fix on it, though I can point you in the right general direction."
"Well, what about Alvers?" Scott asked, thinking. 'Can you get a clear position on him?"
"I will try," the Professor promised. "In the meanwhile, why don't you all set off? Now that we know roughly where they are, my heart forbears that we should wait a single moment longer than necessary. Any new information I discover I will send to Jean telepathically."
There was a moment of uneasy fidgeting as the two groups eyed each other. Neither of them was sure how to proceed in this awkward and strange situation. Scott was the first to break the silence.
"Well, let's get going, then. We'll take the van."
"You have a van?" Todd asked in surprise.
Pietro scoffed. "Of course they have a van. These guys have everything."
"The van is the only vehicle we have that will be roomy enough for everyone," the auburn-haired senior continued, dredging up as much patience as he could muster. "We certainly won't all fit in my convertible."
Jean straightened and gazed piercingly around the room. "All right. Let's go." And she marched out the door, dignifiedly ignoring everyone she passed. Kurt shrugged and then followed her. Not to be outdone by the "furry freak", Todd hopped to pass him, with Freddy trailing in his wake. Everyone else filed out without a word, Logan pausing to get the address first. Shaking his head, Xavier turned and wheeled back into Cerebro's chamber, shutting the door telekinetically behind him.
Well, nearly everyone had left. Pietro paused with one foot out the door, and then zoomed back to Rogue, who was still doing a statue impression.
"Hey, what's with you? You surgically attached to that wall, or something?" He didn't get an answer. "Rogue. Hello. Excuse me, Rogue? This is Planet Earth speaking. Have you seen me lately?" He waved a hand in front of her face, but the Goth's eyes were still closed.
"You spiked the punch at that concert last night." It wasn't a question. Rogue spoke in an even monotone, still without shifting in the slightest.
Pietro fidgeted confusedly. "Um…yeah. I did. Pretty cool, huh?"
Her arm shot out and caught him by the neck, squeezing. The girl finally opened her bloodshot eyes to glare at him dangerously. "Do it again and I kill you," she grated out. "Slowly and painfully. Got it?"
His air cut off, Pietro could only nod with a surprised whimper.
"Good." She let go, stared at the floor for a moment, and then walked out, wincing at the bright sunlight of the outdoors.
Behind her Quicksilver cleared his throat and massaged his neck gently. "Geez. What's got her girdle in a bunch?" All of a sudden he realized he was the only person left in the hall. The sudden horrified notion occurred that they could all be waiting…for him, and he flashed out the door as fast as he could go. (which is pretty fast) It wouldn't do to ruin his rep, after all.
**
The uncomfortable silence in the van about matched the uncomfortable silence they had experienced in the X-mansion's hall. Wolverine drove them all towards the part of town the Professor had indicated. Luckily, however, or perhaps not so luckily, the quiet was not quite complete this time.
"Move!"
"No, you move!"
"You're in…my…way!"
"Well, vat are you trying to do, anyway? Stick your head out the window like a dog?"
"My legs are cramping up in this little space. Besides, you're one to talk about dogs, fuzzy. At least I'm not shedding over everything."
"No, you're just sliming the place up."
"Hey, it needed a little décor! But you're taking up a seat and a half here! Your tail keeps getting in my way. Move it or I'll cut it off, yo!"
"Hah! I'd like to see you try!"
Pietro groaned aloud. "Whose bright idea was it to have those two sit next to each other? Oh, wait. Like I have to ask." And he leaned over and hit Scott, who was sitting next to him.
"Ow!" Scott rubbed his arm and glared at the other. "Don't look at me. It was their idea, remember? They were fighting over the same seat when we came in."
"No, I don't remember," Pietro retorted. "I was…" he trailed off.
The senior smirked at him. "Oh, that's right. You were late."
"Shut up."
"'Dey fastest man alive' was the last one to get here."
"I said shut up!"
"In fact, I think I saw a couple of snails pass you on the way…"
"Hey, shut up, Summers, or I'll pop you one!"
Scott rubbed his arm again, a wry smile twisting his lips. "You just did, if you recall."
The silver haired teen blinked, and then settled back in his chair sulkily. "Besides, that was not my fault. I was assaulted by one of your team members."
"Well, I don't blame her a bit. That's what you get for getting her drunk." Oh, Scott was enjoying this taunting. It wasn't often that someone got verbal advantage of Pietro. "First thing you learn around here: you want to live happily, don't piss off the Rogue."
"Children, please." Ororo looked back at them tiredly. "Stop bickering. And I mean all of you!" she called loudly to Kurt and Todd, who were now wrestling over a candy bar. Kurt stopped and pulled away with a guilty look.
"Yes, Storm."
"What are you, my mother or somethin'? Todd muttered and glanced at his rival. "That's my Snickers, yo."
Kurt just snorted and unwrapped it. "Dream on, Toad." Just as he was about to take a bite a tongue snaked out and caught it, pulling it into the other boy's smug mouth.
"I will," Todd retorted with a smirk. "And I'm dreaming of…chocolate."
"Hey! Give that back!"
He swallowed. "Sorry Blue Boy, but I really don't think you'd want it now."
Kurt's eyes seemed to flash. He made a noise of complete irritation and jumped on Todd. As the two rolled around fighting they spilled into Kitty's aisle, knocking her soda over into her lap. The girl sprang up with a cry, ripping her earphone's down to glare at them furiously. "Like, hey! Knock it off! Storm!"
Storm looked back again and rolled her eyes. "Children! Behave! Nightcrawler, Toad; stop fighting this instant!"
Behind the wheel, Logan rolled his eyes. "Wonderful. I'm transporting the menagerie here. Just my luck.
In the back Fred sat, munching on potato chips and studiously ignoring Rogue, which wasn't hard, and Jean, which was. The redhead smiled tentatively at him.
"Um…hi, Fred." He stared straight ahead and scarfed a large handful of chips. "Look. I know we didn't get off on the right foot and…I'm really sorry about what happened when…well, when we first met. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." More chips. "I just…well, the whole thing was badly handled. I…really wouldn't mind being friends, if you want. Honestly. I'm just…not looking for a relationship right now." He'd finished the bag. Damn. Good thing he had another.
Jean stared at the Lays in consternation as he tore the top off the new bag and dug in once again. "You know, you're going to choke yourself if you keep eating so much." Munch munch. Did she really think she could give him advice? Rogue stirred from her self-imposed funk and looked cynically at the popular girl next to her.
"Why don't you just give it a rest, Jean? He ain't listening to you anyway."
Jean sighed. "I know. I just…I know." Thankfully, she lapsed into silence. Good. He was halfway through the second bag already and didn't want to ruin anymore good snacks with bad company. Fred cast a thankful eye Rogue's way, but she just sniffed and turned to face the window again. Cold bitch. Oh well. There were chips to be eaten.
Up front again, past the now separated Kurt and Todd (who each glared and sulked in turns), Pietro suddenly sat up and looked around, doing a head count.
"Wait a minute. It's actually quiet in here. Where's the loser?"
"We're going to find him, remember?" Kurt drawled. This earned him a glare from the speedster, as well as another one from Todd in the bargain. Quicksilver shook his head rapidly.
"Hey, you aren't worthy to lick Lance's shoes, Blue Boy. Maybe you could work up to fetching, though. Eventually. I'm talking about the LOSER! Where's Daniels?"
Kitty frowned at him. "Like, I told you that this morning. Evan got injured by the monster. That's why he's not coming with us. What, didn't you believe me?"
"Well…not really. To be honest, I wasn't really listening to you at that point."
Kitty humphed and crossed her arms, looking very put out. Pietro failed to notice, of course.
"So he's really laid up? Cool. I wish I'd been there."
She stared at him. "That's horrible!"
He blinked back. "Why? I hate him."
"Yeah, but still…"
The car shuddered to a stop and Logan pulled the key out. "We're here," he announced as he stood up and opened the door. "Thank God." They all piled out after him. And then stared.
"So…Lance is being held hostage inside the local Quickie Mart?" Todd snickered. "I think you guys musta gotten your tea leaves crossed."
Logan growled. "Can it, Stink Boy. We've got a general area. This was just he most convenient parking. Now, if we want to narrow our search, we ought to ask around; see if anyone's noticed anything strange around here and where it's coming from."
Pietro sped over and cocked his head. "So, what are we supposed to do? Just walk in and say, "Excuse me, but have you seen a wild rampaging monster of doom wandering around here lately?""
The man smiled grimly. "That's exactly what I'm saying. Care to do the honors?"
"Um…no. That's okay." And he stepped back again.
"Well, I'll do it," Kitty volunteered. She glanced around at the group. "No offense, but you guys are, like, way conspicuous in your battle uniforms. Mine's not so bad. I mean, I could probably pass it off as some sort of uniform for school; gymnastics, or band, or something. So I could go around and, like, poke for information."
Wolverine fingered his orange mask, which he had yet to pull on, and then nodded. "You're right. We do make for an interesting sight. All right, Half Pint. Have it your way. Just…try to remember that you're there to listen to them…not to talk their ears off."
Kitty looked annoyed. "Well, duh." Offended, she turned and stalked off.
Logan ignored her comment and turned to face the others again. "The rest of you listen up! This monster's not likely to be wandering around the downtown. It'll have to stay someplace inconspicuous. Someplace not too near to people. Now, we're near the edge of town; I say we search the back scrub and fields around here. Split into threesomes…" he paused as a couple members of the Brotherhood snickered and leveled a glare at them. "…of search parties, for safety. Look for a likely lair, tracks, anything that will help us find this thing. The Professor might be able to pinpoint its location, and then again, he might not. So it's up to us to search as carefully as we can. And be on your guard! The last thing we need is someone else hurt or missing." Speech given, he nodded at Ororo and pulled on his mask.
Storm took his cue. "All right, split up."
Pietro dashed to Jean's side. "I'm going with you, Carrot Top. If the Magical Wheeling Wonder gets in touch with you, I want to be the first to know about it."
Logan stepped behind him. "Fine. Just keep in mind, though, that I'll be keeping and eye on you… Personally."
The speed freak stiffened, and then shrugged oh-so-casually. "Fine by me. What do I care?" As the other started to turn away, he added snidely. "It's not like you could ever catch me, anyway."
Wolverine paused. "What?"
Pure innocence. "Nothing."
Todd spoke up. "I ain't going with the witch, yo." He looked pointedly at Storm. "Last time I was near her, she started throwing lightning bolts at me!"
Scott sighed. "Fine, Toad. You can come with me, then."
"And me," Rogue added. Her gaze flicked to the auburn-haired senior and she flushed ever so slightly.
Kurt cast a disgruntled glance at Fred, and then sighed and looked at Storm. "I guess it's the three of us together then, ja?"
"Apparently." Poised blue eyes swept around. "Well, let us split up and search for clues." They spread out and headed for the less populated areas not far away, more woods and fields where farmers had once grown their crops, scores of years ago. They searched and they looked with a strong determination in their hearts.
Please review me. I'm not sure about this chapter. Do you think it goes well with the rest of the story or should I scrap it and try to rewrite this part? I'm not sure. Of course, if you liked it, feel free to review me and tell me how much. That's always nice.
And, as always, if anyone has any ideas they want to share with me, feel free. They just might get used in the story.
Review!