A/N: Gabba Gabba Hey!



Chapter 9: "The End Is The Beginning Is The End"



The common area of the mansion was full. For lack of a better place to wait, almost all the kids had gathered in front of the tv. Although the television was on, it wasn't being given too much attention. Kitty was still keeping a very close eye on Toad, who in turn was warily watching her. He was ready to run if she should make any aggressive move toward him. Or any move at all, for that matter.

Jean's attention was fully occupied by Fred. So far, at least as far as she could tell, he didn't appear to have any depraved intentions toward her body. He had stared down at himself curiously a few times, but for the most part he was looking around with great interest at everyone else in the room. Occasionally, a very confused or very serious look would cross his face. Jean figured he was probably using her telepathy to read the others' thoughts. She guessed it wasn't the end of the world, as long as he didn't use the telekinesis to hurl anything across the room. Besides, it likely wouldn't do any good to ask him to stop.

Kurt, Evan, and Rogue were lined up across one couch. They each seemed to be lost in their own thoughts. Every once in a while, one of them would reach for the remote control and flip through the channels on the tv. Nobody really cared what was on, and they usually ended up back on whatever they'd been watching prior to the channel flipping.

The only three missing from the scene were Scott, Lance, and Pietro.

A few minutes earlier, Scott had decided to go searching for the other two, who had disappeared from the study when no one was looking. By this time, they could be anywhere in the mansion. In fact, there was no guarantee they were even still in the mansion. When Scott realized that, he began sweeping the house from top to bottom, hoping they hadn't managed to sneak out. Letting those two loose in Bayville to masquerade as himself and Kurt would be a disaster!

As he walked down the hall, the bathroom door suddenly flew open and Pietro stepped out. Scott looked past him, then switched his glare directly to him. "What were you doing in there?"

"It's the bathroom. What do you think I was doing in there?" Pietro smirked and shoved past him.

"Where's Alvers?"

"How should I know? What am I, his baby-sitter?"

Scott sighed and grabbed Pietro by the arm. "Come on. You're going back to the common room. And you're going to stay there!"

"No, I'm not! Hey, let go of me!" Pietro tried to pull away. "You can't tell me what to do!"

Scott started to pull off one of Rogue's gloves. "Don't make me take you out, Maximoff," he threatened.

Pietro considered for a split second, then sighed. "Okay, okay. Don't go all psycho on me."

When they entered the common area, Scott motioned to Rogue. "Keep an eye on him, all right? I'm going to look for Lance."

"Sure. Have fun." Rogue waved an arm apathetically.

"Her keep an eye on me?!" Pietro shook his head. "Hey, I should be keeping an eye on her! You know, to make sure she doesn't do any damage to the temple."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Oh, would you stop calling it that?"

"Do you have any idea where Lance might have gone?" Scott asked Pietro.

"Nope." He smirked again. "You're on your own."

"Thanks. You're a big help." Scott left the room to continue his search. He tried not to worry. After all, how much trouble could Lance have possibly caused in such a short amount of time?



X X X X X X X



Lance looked at his surroundings in dismay. The surface under his feet was slanted, and he was in serious danger of losing his balance, especially since he wasn't entirely used to Kurt's feet. He gave up on standing and reached out to steady himself. Carefully, he lowered himself to a sitting position.

In retrospect, he had to admit that experimenting with Kurt's teleporting abilities probably hadn't been the best idea in the world.

He scooted to the edge of the roof and peeked down at the ground, barely visible in the dark. From his position, it seemed about a thousand miles away.

Well, great. Lance groaned. How was he supposed to get down? He guessed he could try teleporting down, but he wasn't sure that was such a great idea. Wasn't that what had gotten him into this situation in the first place? Then again, he didn't have a lot of options. Still, with his luck, he'd be aiming for the ground and end up rematerializing half in the ground!

Coming to a decision, he cautiously stood up, holding on to the side of the chimney for balance. If he could avoid falling, he would search the roof for a way down. If he didn't find one, he would try the whole teleportation thing again.

He hoped it wouldn't come to that.



X X X X X X X



For the last ten minutes, Amanda Jensen had been slowly waking up. Professor Xavier monitored her closely through the observation room window. When she sat up and began looking around the room, he moved to the door.

"You going in there, Charles?" Logan asked.

"Yes. Why don't you keep an eye on things from out here?" Xavier touched a few buttons on the keypad beside the door. The door slid open, allowing him to roll through. When he was inside the room, the door slid shut again.

Amanda regarded him suspiciously. "Look, I don't know what you want or how you got me here, but -"

Holding up a hand placatingly, Xavier said, "Miss Jensen, please -"

"I don't know how you know my name, either, but this is kidnapping, you know."

"My intention is not to hold you against your will," the professor started, but was cut off once again by Amanda.

"Oh yeah? That's why you knocked me out and abducted me?"

"We meant you no harm, but I'm afraid it was necessary. You've created a situation which it seems only you can repair."

"Oh. That." Amanda bit her lip. "You know, the first time that happened, I accidentally made my parents switch places. But that was easy to fix. That was only two people. This is different. I really don't think I can repair it. I don't have a lot of control over who goes where, you know? It's just sorta random. So you may as well let me outta here, cuz I really don't think I can help you."

Xavier shook his head. "I've taken all of that into consideration, and I believe there is a way to rectify this situation despite your lack of control. Are you willing to try? There are ten young people out there whose futures depend on your decision."

She thought it over, then sighed in something close to resignation. "And then you'll let me go?"

"Of course."

"Oh, fine." She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Resting her chin on her knees, she asked, "So what's this brilliant plan of yours?"

The professor smiled and sent a telepathic summons to the ten young people, X-Men and Brotherhood alike. He then settled in and proceeded to explain his idea to Amanda.



X X X X X X X



Lance's footing slipped as Xavier's voice blasted through his skull. He had time to utter one hoarse shriek before he slid down the length of the roof. The shingles bit into his stomach as he flew down them at approximately a thousand miles per hour. His feet hit the edge of the roof, then kicked at thin air. In the nick of time, he caught the edge of the rain gutter with his hands. His downward momentum abruptly halted.

"Alvers? Is that you? What are you doing up there?" a voice below him called.

Clutching the gutter, Lance tried to crane around to get a look at the person below. Scott stood on the lawn in a puddle of illumination from the porch light. "What am I doing up here?" Lance laughed harshly. "I'm doing chin-ups. What does it look like I'm doing up here, Summers? I'm hanging on for dear life!"

"Oh." Scott squinted through the glare from the porch light. "Well, we're supposed to meet Professor Xavier down in the observation room now."

"Yeah, well, if you've got any bright ideas on how I'm supposed to get down from here, I'm not ashamed to admit I'd love to hear them!"

Scott frowned. "How did you get up there in the first place? By teleporting?"

The gutter was starting to make a very ominous creaking sound. Lance nervously glanced up at it, then shouted, "Yeah, okay? By teleporting! Now how do I get down?"

"Maybe you should try teleporting again."

"You think that's a good idea?"

Shrugging, Scott called, "What other choice is there?"

Lance looked up at the creaking gutter again. As much as he hated to admit it, Summers had a point. There really weren't any other choices, and by the sound of it, the gutter would be giving up any second now. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated on the ground. Still afraid of teleporting into solid matter, he aimed for a spot about a foot off the ground. With a poof of sulfurous smoke, he disappeared from the roof.

And reappeared five feet off the ground.

Shrieking, Lance fell the five feet, landing on his back with a thump. The wind temporarily knocked out of him, all he could manage was a small, breathless "Oof."

Scott looked down at him. "You okay, Alvers?"

Lance carefully sat up and rubbed his back. "You mean besides the three crushed vertebrae? Yeah, I'm great."

"Good. Let's go. Amanda's awake and the professor has a plan to straighten this out."

Jumping to his feet, Lance exclaimed, "Well, it's about time!"



X X X X X X X



Outside the observation room, the rest of the switched kids were gathered, plus Logan, Ororo, and Professor Xavier. As Lance and Scott reached their position, the professor nodded at them. He held up a piece of paper he'd been writing on and addressed the group.

"We're going to have to do this a little differently than I had first thought. Amanda is not able to dictate who switches bodies with whom -"

"So we're doing it my way?" Pietro interrupted. "Throw everyone in there and start switching til we get it right?"

"Not exactly, but close. I propose you go in two at a time until everyone has been returned to their own body. Of course, it means most of you will be making an additional switch, but it will only last until the next person enters the room." Xavier indicated the paper he still held. "I've made a chart of the necessary pairings and the order in which it will have to be done."

Kitty took a look at the sheet of paper. "Hey, this puts both Evan and Jean in my body before I get it back! Why can't I go first?"

Pietro grabbed the chart and skimmed it. "You?! What about me? He's got me last! And - Ack! Do you have to put Summers in my body to do this? Man, this sucks!"

"Yes, Mr. Maximoff, I'm sure it does suck. Nevertheless, it is the best way." Xavier took back his chart and pointed to Lance and Kurt. "The two of you are up first. Then, Lance, you stay in the room and I'll send in Evan."

"Wait a minute," Evan protested. "Wouldn't that put me in Toad?"

"Only until I send Jean in." The professor sighed. "There are other combinations we could go through, but I'm sure at least one of you would find something wrong with every single one of them. This is the one we're going with. However, we need to get started. Lance, Kurt?" He motioned them toward the observation room where Amanda was waiting.

The boys looked at each other and shrugged. As they entered the room, Kurt murmured, "I sure hope all this switching around is safe."

Lance watched the door as it slid shut behind them. "I don't know, but I'm not looking forward to being Toad, even if it is only for a minute."

"It's actually not so bad once you get used to it," Kurt allowed.

They stopped talking and looked at Amanda, who was staring back at them evenly. Kurt raised a hand and waved awkwardly. "Um, hi."

"Hey." Amanda sighed. "Let's just get this over with, okay?"

"I agree." Lance swept his arm out in a mocking gesture. "Please, do your thing already."

"No problem."

With no further discussion, she produced one of the iridescent spheres. It spread over the two boys, then popped like a soap bubble. The boys wobbled on their feet, then steadied themselves and looked at one another. Kurt grinned.

He was back!



X X X X X X X



Fifteen minutes later, it was over. Everyone was back in their rightful bodies and the nametags had been joyfully discarded. The kids remained gathered around Xavier as Amanda exited the observation room and looked at them. She shrugged awkwardly. "Okay, so, uh . . . I guess I'll be going now."

"Amanda, wait a moment," the professor said. "You're welcome to stay here at the Institute if you wish."

She laughed. "Right. No offence, but I really don't ever want to see any of you again. In fact, I think I'm gonna leave the state or something."

"Good riddance," Lance muttered.

Glaring at him, she whirled on her heel and started down the hall. At the first juncture, she stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Okay, how do I find my way outta here?"

"Ororo, show her out," Xavier instructed.

She nodded, and she and Amanda disappeared around the corner. The remaining group looked around at one another. Suddenly Pietro burst into laughter and pointed at Scott. "Man, you look like such a dork!"

With a start, Scott realized Pietro's name was still emblazoned across his forehead in black permanent marker. He groaned and ran down the hall, headed for the nearest bathroom. He hoped the marker would wash off without too much trouble.

The four Brotherhood members continued to laugh until Kitty glared at Toad and demanded, "What are you laughing at? I wouldn't be laughing if I were you. Especially since you're back in your own body and there's nothing to stop me from killing you now!"

Toad's eyes widened. Without a word, he leapt past her and ran down the hall.

"Hey, come back here!" Kitty yelled, and proceeded to chase him.

The rest of the group watched the chase until Toad and Kitty turned a corner. As they debated going to Toad's aid (or perhaps to Kitty's), they suddenly heard Scott's voice thunder,

"Hey! Who shaved my legs?!"

Pietro grinned. "Oops. Heh-heh, time to go!"

Pandemonium.







stay tuned; there's still an epilogue on the way . . .