AN:  Sorry this chapter is so short, I figured something was better than nothing.  Disclaimer du jour: I don't own Amtrak or Jeep. 

            "This sucks," muttered Kitty, cramming blouses into a suitcase.

            "I second your 'sucks' and raise you a 'blows,'" Rogue replied, folding up jeans and t-shirts and stuffing them into her duffel bag.

            "Yeah, but, can't you and Quicksilver just like, both start running and meet each other in Kansas?"

            "Maybe," Rogue said.  "I gotta figure out the distances.  Maybe we can both get Kurt to 'port us over to the Brotherhood house from time to time.  How'd Lance take it?"

            "Better than I expected.  He understands that I want to get better with my powers, he can deal.  How'd Pietro take it?"

            "You know Pietro.  Every hour seems like days, a month seems like a decade.  Ever since I absorbed his powers completely, I feel the same way."

            "That, or it's the 'I'm totally in love for the first time in my life' thing talking," Kitty laughed. 

            "Yeah, I guess that might have something to do with it.  What the hell am I gonna do in California?  Work on my tan?"

            "Well, maybe the Professor's right, and this program could like, really help your control."

            "That'd be nice, I mean, not having to keep completely covered all the time.  I just wish I didn't have to spend a month away from the one person I can touch."

            "The Professor told me that the teacher at the program, Ms. Browning, was saying that maybe I could use my powers to take control of objects I phase into.  That'd be kinda cool."

            "I guess there's worst ways to spend a chunk of my summer, I just wish it didn't have to be so damn far…" she trailed off at a knock on the door.

            "Ladies," Scott said in their doorway, "Our ride to the airport awaits."

            "This sucks," Pietro grumbled as he and Lance sat on the porch on a gorgeous, sunny, downright miserable day.  Lance kicked at nothing and scowled.

            "I'll see your 'sucks' and raise you a 'really fucking sucks.'"

            "Stupid bald man.  So how are we going to get to California?"

            Lance glanced sideways at Pietro.

            "We can't, Quickie, we can't afford a trip out west."

            "Don't be so damned defeatist.  A month without stripes is a month not worth living, and I'm far too pretty to die."

            "You could run us there."

            "I could run myself there, I don't think I can carry any extra weight that distance nonstop."

            "How far do you think you could manage?"

            "I dunno, stand up."

            Both boys stood up, and Pietro made an effort to lift Lance onto his back.  Upon lifting him off the ground, Pietro immediately tipped over.

            "About a block on my best day," Pietro replied.  "We could make it a road trip."

            "Yeah right.  We don't have that much money for gas, and the Jeep wouldn't make it to the Midwest without blowing up," Lance said, getting back up and dusting himself off.

            "Plane ticket?"

            "Us and what money?"

            "We could go steal Xavier's jet."

            "Never learned how to fly it.  Hitchhike?"

            "Mutants hitchhiking across middle America, that'll end well," Pietro said, rolling his eyes and sitting back down on the porch.  "When the hell did travel become so hard?"

            "Can we afford train tickets?"

            "They're about as expensive as plane tickets."

            Lance and Pietro sat in silence. 

            "You forgot to get the paper this morning," Lance commented distractedly as he noticed the plastic bag sitting in the cracked driveway.

            "Since when do we get the paper?"  Pietro replied, but got it anyway. 

            "Comics for Freddy, advice columns for Tabs, headlines for Todd, astrology for me, leaving you with sports or classified," Pietro said, swiftly dividing up the paper and handing Lance his allotted sections.

            "Thanks large, Quickie," he muttered; having no interest in sports, he flipped through the classifieds.  "Would you look at that."

            "I know, this is so irritating, 'Aquarius: Take care not to make any especially impulsive-'"

            "Not that, Miss Cleo, the want ads."

            Pietro glanced over, examining the small block of text where Lance had his finger.  Two ticket vouchers, Amtrak, call for details, ask for Jim, and a phone number. 

            They scrambled indoors and both grabbed for the phone.  Finally Lance was allowed to make the call because they didn't think Pietro could speak intelligibly while so excited.  The tickets were forty bucks, Jim and his girlfriend had planned the first class trip and then broken up, and Pietro and Lance couldn't possibly have given less of a rat's ass.  Lance met him at the gas station, gave him forty dollars, took the vouchers, and raced back home.

            "I told you I could force life to be fair to me, Rocky," Pietro grinned, already zipping around his room and packing.

            "You?  What did you do?"

            Pietro grinned his famous grin and shook his head,

            "Lance, Lance, Lance.  I got the paper."