AN: Okay things I don't own…um… X-Men, of course, Buffy, obviously, University of California, Jake and Polly are inconsequential original characters of mine, I don't own Anne Rice, no one does, she's a real person, I don't own Gone With the Wind or any associated characters and I think that's it. Just for timeframe reference, this story takes place after Tag! and in the Buffy-verse, I'm putting it between the events of "Older and Far Away" and "As You Were." Thus, there will be Buffy season six spoilers in the story. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy.
"God, I hate flying commercial," Scott said as he and the others came away from the baggage claim. "I just never trust the pilots, you know, I mean, I don't know how they've been trained!"
"Seriously. I think I might just run home after this is all over," Rogue muttered.
"You guys are so spoiled! Not everybody can have a state of the art supersonic jet in the backyard," Evan laughed at them. Everyone else rolled their eyes.
"Oh please, this from the guy who griped for thirty minutes about only being allowed one carry on!" Kurt replied. Evan looked wounded and clutched his skateboard closer to his chest.
"I don't like to be without my board, man. It's like a security blanket."
They milled around, regrouping, making sure everyone had everything, and then Jean noticed a woman holding a sign with "Xavier Institute" written in large block letters.
"Are you Professor Browning?" Scott asked.
"Nope, I'm her T.A. My name's Polly Wyatt. If you've got everything, we should bust a move, the van's parked in a red zone outside." She turned, leading the six mutants out of the terminal, as Evan turned to Kitty and mouthed "Bust a move?" They piled all their stuff into the back of a U.C. Sunnydale van, situated themselves and were underway.
"Hey," the blonde boy driving the van said, "I'm Jake Tyson, how you guys doing?"
"Good," Jean replied, smiling.
"So you're Xavier's kids," he continued. "How's that superhero thing workin' out for you?" Three answered:
"Great!" Scott said.
"Enh," Evan said.
"Bites," Rogue said.
"Um, that's good to hear, I guess," Jake said with a glance at Polly.
"So are you guys mutants too?" Jean asked.
"Yup! Jake can access all radio and television frequencies with his mind. It's kinda cool, he can watch about 80 channels at once."
"90."
"Yeah, right, when ten of 'em are infomercials. I can manipulate dead plant matter."
"Dead plant matter?" Kurt asked.
"Yep, you know, paper, natural fiber cloth, that sort of thing, I make nice floral arrangements too. What can you guys do?"
Kurt was more than delighted to oblige.
"Evan can shoot bone spikes from his body, Kitty can move through solid objects, Jean's telekinetic and a mind-reader, Rogue can absorb anyone else's powers-"
"And run at up to a hundred and seventy-five miles an hour," Kitty added.
"-Scott can shoot a really strong beam from his eyes, I can teleport and I'm pretty good at climbing."
"Wow… that's like straight offa the sci-fi channel!" Polly exclaimed.
"Way out…" Jake added.
"You're gonna miss our turn, Jake."
The van made a sudden right, sending Kurt crashing into Evan, Kitty crashing through both and almost falling out of the van entirely until Jean telekinetically grabbed her.
"Sorry," Jake said sheepishly. "We're here."
The younger mutants were shown to their rooms, all on the same hallway, two to a room.
"So, we got an odd number of both genders," Polly said. Jean smiled sweetly.
"Oh, Scott and I don't mind doubling up," she started.
"Nice try, red," Jake replied. "Your professor called ahead. Kurt and Rogue, Jean and Kitty, Scott and Evan."
"Damn," Jean muttered as Scott blushed furiously, all of them hauling their stuff into the rooms.
"Browning won't be in until Monday, so feel free to check out the town this weekend. There's a little club called the Bronze, it's where most of the locals hang out," Polly said, handing out bus schedules. "No Saturday curfew, but we want you back by eleven on Sunday. Just be careful out at night… there's a lot of freaks in this town."
Rather than discussing where they'd go, Rogue and Kitty picked up the phone in Kitty's room, and Kurt picked up the phone in his. There were three significant others in Bayville who needed a phone call.
"Tell her about the plan," Pietro said, hopping from foot to foot.
"How was the flight?" Lance asked, listening for the response.
"Tellherabouttheplan!"
"What's the weather like?"
"Tellherabouttheplan!!"
"Shut up Pietro, you'll get your turn. Okay. I love you too, pretty Kitty. Okay. Have Rogue fill you in. Bye babe."
Pietro snatched the phone and lit up like Times Square when Rogue got on the other end.
"Hello, gorgeous. Me and Rocky got a plan. We've got a way to get to Cali, we're just gonna raise a little money, I figure we'll be there in a week. Yes really! We'll go see the ocean, we can run to Hollywood, spray paint our names on the sign. So what are you wearing? Ooh… oh yeah. You know I'm not wearing any underwear…" Pietro cackled as he heard Kitty shrieking 'eww' in the background. "You're the greatest my love," he said. "Go out, have fun, I'll be smothering you in kisses before you know it. No, I won't get arrested! You worry too much, stripes. Uh huh. Love you more. No I love you more. I do! I completely do!" The argument about who loved who more did not so much escalate as accelerate, until Kitty snatched the phone from Rogue and told Pietro that they loved each other equally, but she was taking Rogue out, then hung up.
"Never let it be said that your girl can't be assertive Rocky," Pietro smirked, hanging up the phone.
"So where are we going to raise money, smart guy? Pick up loose change on the street?"
Pietro grinned.
"Got any change?" he asked. Lance grumbled and reached into his pocket.
"How come you never have any change?" he asked, handing Pietro a pile of coins.
"Ruins the line of my clothes. Watch and learn." Pietro spun in a quick circle, throwing the change all around the room. Lance took a penny to the forehead. Dammit, he thought, this is why I wear a salad bowl on my head. He was about to start snarling at Pietro when he realized he hadn't heard a single coin hit the ground. He looked down and saw Pietro had slid in front of him, grabbing the penny that had bounced off Lance's head, along with all the rest of the change.
"Never underestimate how much loose change gets dropped in a day, Lance."
"Great, we're all set then!"
"Um… don't overestimate how much loose change gets dropped in a day, Lance," Pietro shrugged sheepishly. Lance sighed as Pietro threw the change in an old soda bottle. "I think we may have to resort back to old habits, my friend."
"I've got an idea."
Back in California, the X-Men stepped off the bus.
"Are you sure this is the right stop?" Jean asked.
"I'm sure, it's right here."
"Scott, did you remember to wind your watch back?"
"Um…"
"Nice job, fearless leader," Rogue muttered. "Where the heck are we?"
"It's creepy, wherever it is," Jean said, shivering in spite of the heat. Evan snatched the bus schedule out of Scott's hands.
"Oh great! We're at the cemetery! Way to find those hoppin' night spots, Cyke," Evan rolled his eyes, examining the map on the bus schedule. "Okay, the Bronze is here, we're here. We cut across the cemetery, hang out five minutes, and bam, we're dancing with local honeys only fifteen minutes behind schedule."
"Cut through the cemetery?" Kitty said doubtfully.
"Only other choices are a forty minute wait for the next bus back to the school or a seven mile walk to avoid the cemetery and the bad parts of town."
"I vote cemetery," Rogue said. "There ain't nothing in there but dead people, and I think we could take 'em if it came down to it."
"She's got a point," Kurt said. Jean and Kitty laughed nervously.
"I guess she does," Kitty agreed half-heartedly. "Well… let's get going."
They started trudging across the cemetery, which was quite beautiful in an Anne Rice kinda way. There were above ground crypts, gorgeous marble monuments, and lovely trees that were probably planted before the town got its charter. Unfortunately, not everything in the cemetery was inanimate.
"Do you hear something?" said Jean, stopping. Scott may have been wearing sunglasses, but the rolling of his eyes was pretty apparent in his voice.
"Oh don't start…"
"No, I think she's right, dude, listen," Evan said, stopping as well. They all paused, and there was a definite sound of grunting and fist hitting skin.
"Ah hell. No rest for the wicked," Rogue muttered, as they all took off toward the source of the noises. Rogue broke through to the clearing first, taking in the scene quickly with her newly quickened senses: Blonde girl built like Kitty, hitting a strange-faced kid over and over again.
"Hell," she muttered again. Jean, I'm gonna pry the beat-ee away, can you run interception on the blonde? she thought, hoping Jean would pick up on it.
On it. Jean thought back. Suddenly the blonde girl was floating backwards as Rogue grabbed the guy and dragged him a few feet away.
"Someone wanna tell us what's going on here?" Scott asked as Jean let the girl down.
"You wanna mind your own business?" the girl replied, running towards Rogue and the other kid.
"Oh…kay," replied Scott. Rogue zipped away from the kid, intercepting the girl.
"Not exactly forthcoming, are you?" she said, hands on her hips.
"I'm working right now, Scarlett O'Hara, I'll be happy to come forth later," the blonde girl snapped, trying to get around Rogue.
"That's funny, cause from where I'm standing, it looks like you're trying to beat the hell outta that mutant back there," Rogue said, blocking the blonde.
"Mutant?" the blonde said incredulously, turning to face Scott and the others. "Is she serious?"
"Rogue, look out!" Kurt shouted. It was too late, however: the strange-faced kid had grabbed Rogue by the neck, his bare hand touching her skin. Her eyes went wide as both convulsed.
"Shit!" shouted Scott and the blonde simultaneously.
"Scott, do something!" Kitty shouted.
"I can't get a clear shot without my visor, the beam'll blow Rogue's head clean off!" Suddenly Rogue and the kid were blown apart, as though something had exploded between them.
"Good job Jean," Scott said.
"It wasn't me!" she replied. Rogue was kneeling on the ground, retching.
"Guys…" she choked out, "I don't think that's a mutant." The other kid staggered back, snarling.
"Of course it's not a mutant, you morons," the blonde said, and threw something. It hit the kid in the chest, some sort of stick, and he exploded into a pile of dust. The X-Men's jaws all dropped as the blonde walked over and retrieved the stick. She turned back, hands on hips, looking profoundly annoyed.
"It's a vampire. Duh!"