AN: Hi! Okay, this is the start of my crossover fic. You'll see who we're crossing over with at the end of this chapter, where you'll also find the disclaimers du jour. But to start out: I, MBLite, do not own X-Men: Evolution. I'm just a lit-geek who needs something to do to burn brain power between sessions of working on her senior project. This fic is set in the same universe as Tag!, during the following summer. Enjoy!
"What's in California, Professor?" Scott asked, eyeing his plane ticket suspiciously.
"Hollywood," Kitty said.
"Disneyland," Kurt added.
"San Francisco," Evan threw in.
"Redwoods," sighed Beast.
"Fault lines," grumbled Rogue.
"Okay, okay! Sheesh. I meant what's in California for us?"
"There's a small town, one of the suburbs of Los Angeles, some very interesting activity's been going on there. The local branch of the University of California is doing a very covert summer program for mutants, run by an old friend of mine. She asked if I might be willing to recommend a few advanced students to the program. Congratulations, you six made the cut."
"But it's summer Professor!" Kitty protested, pouting. "How come we have to go all the way across the country and learn more?"
"Now Kitty," Xavier said patiently. "During the school year you six have monopolized much of my attention. We have many young students at this school who also need guidance. This way, they can receive the attention they deserve-"
"Without you idiots forgetting everything you've ever learned," Wolverine growled from the doorway. "Besides, I'm sick to death of all of you, damn it."
Some of the kids giggled, except of course for Rogue, Kitty, and Kurt. Kurt and Amanda had been dating exclusively since the Sadie Hawkins dance, Kitty and Lance were still going strong, and Rogue did not relish the idea of being an entire nation's width away from the one boy in the world she could- or wanted to- touch. They all filed out of the room for a last training session with a grumpy Logan, but Rogue lingered briefly behind.
"Professor, I'm thrilled that you thought of me for this and all, but-"
"But you're not thrilled with the prospect of spending time away from young Mister Maximoff, I realize."
"I keep forgetting you read minds."
The Professor looked down his nose at her with an uncharacteristic smirk.
"Well, in addition to being psychic, I'm also not an idiot, Rogue. However, I believe this opportunity is more important for you than for anyone. I realize I have made little headway in helping you to control your powers, and I'm deeply sorry for that. I promise you it's not for lack of trying, but every theory Dr. McCoy and I have come up with has crashed in phase one testing. So far, the only clue we have is the 'homeopathic' approach Mister Maximoff inadvertently discovered. However, Hank and I question the safety of that approach with other mutants, as Quicksilver's accelerated metabolism may have been a primary factor in the immunity, to say nothing of humans."
Rogue leaned against the wall and sighed. Somehow it seemed so much less important now that she and Pietro were virtually inseparable, but she was still so tired of being afraid and cautious all the time.
"The University program may help you to make headway in controlling your natural powers. Also, your latest physical shows that you still retain the undiluted powers you adapted from Quicksilver. I'm sure you've noticed the increased heart rate, for example."
"And here I thought that was just my newfound love of pixie stix."
"Very amusing, Rogue. In addition to learning to control your own powers, you now have the powers of a speed demon to contend with. This program will help you advance by leaps and bounds. Besides, it's just for a month. You and Mister Maximoff will be back to playing Scrabble and getting in Logan's hair by mid-July."
"Yes Professor," Rogue sighed.
"Go along now, you know how Logan feels about anyone walking into the middle of a danger room scenario."
"Yeah. By the way," she said, pausing in the doorway. "What town are we going to anyway?"
"If memory serves," the Professor said, "it's called Sunnydale."
AN: Okay, for those of you who aren't fans of the other show, Sunnydale is the setting of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer. Disclaimers continued: I do not own Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Fox does, and they should be very proud. But not so proud that they sue me over this little bit of fluff. (But on the other side, hey, wouldn't it be ginchy if Dark Horse and Marvel did a crossover comic? Oohhh…)