Disclaimer: Be sure to save your work every 10 minutes, just in case your
computer crashes. I almost had to re-write this chapter from scratch. Oh,
and I don't own any of the X-Men.
Kitty pulled back up to the director's trailer as the filming helicopter touched down. The director rushed up to Kitty as she climbed out of the car and started pumping her hand madly. "That was remarkable! I'll win an Oscar for this!" he gushed.
Logan walked up to her, giving her an intimidating stare. After a moment, a curl of a smile traced up his lips. "Good job, kid. Guess you're not such a bad driver after all,"
"Gee, thanks," smiled Kitty.
Lance was the next to offer his congratulations. "Kitty, I've never seen anything like that before in my life!"
Before Kitty could respond, there was a scream as the director's trailer exploded into flames. Everybody turned to see Pyro standing on the roof of a blue pick-up truck, cackling madly. He sprayed another jet of fire around, sending the set workers running in panic.
Crane stuck his head out of the driver's window. "You ruined my life, Kitty!" he shouted insanely. "Now we're going to burn down the whole city! Catch us if you can!" He hit the gas and took off.
Kitty didn't hesitate one second. She started back to the car. Lance grabbed her by the shoulder as she started to climb in. "You can't go after him alone!" he warned.
"I know what I'm doing!" she said, and slammed the door and drove off.
Lance grit his teeth, and then ran to his own jeep. He saw that Logan was already sitting in the driver's seat. "You coming?" he asked.
Lance glared at his enemy, and reluctantly got in the passenger's seat. Logan took off, barely waiting for Lance to fasten his seat belt.
One of Foster's assistants looked over at him. "Sir, aren't you going to call security?"
"Are you kidding?" Foster asked. "Start the cameras! This'll be even better than the first scene!"
His assistant gulped, and ordered the cameras to start filming. Foster already had the helicopter and running, and took off to follow the three vehicles..
Kitty drove after the pick-up, trying not to lose Crane. Despite her efforts to keep up, however, he had managed to elude her. As she tried to figure out where he had gone, Crane pulled out from an alley and closed in behind Kitty. On the roof, Pyro took careful aim with his flame hose. "This is too easy!" he shouted triumphantly, and fired.
Kitty saw the flames closing in in her mirror just in time, and swerved over a lane. The fire singed the paint on her rear bumper, but didn't inflict any further damage. She swerved back as another flame jet shot past the side of her car. "Where is Lance?" she thought desperately.
Logan and Lance saw the fire before they saw the truck. Logan pushed the jeep as fast as it would go, trying to catch up. Lance clenched his fist and groaned, using his powers to shake the ground. Up ahead, a phone pole tottered, and then fell over. Too late, Lance realized his mistake.
Kitty saw the phone pole falling in front of her. She screamed as it crashed down onto the trunk of her car, lifting her front wheels off the ground. Behind her, Crane easily avoided the phone pole and kept closing.
Logan turned angrily to Lance as he dodged the pole. "What are you tryin' to do, hotshot!"
"I didn't see you doing anything!" Lance shot back angrily.
Logan shot out his claws a few inches from Lance's throat. "Don't talk back to the driver!" he threatened. "Just let me take care of this, and no more heroics from you!"
Lance glared at him but kept silent as Logan drove on. Logan brought the jeep up behind Crane and rammed into him.
"Hey, be careful!" Lance protested.
Another flash of the claws. "Do you wanna stop him or not? One more word and I'll throw you out myself!" Logan growled.
Crane ignored Logan behind him and kept focusing on Kitty to allow Pyro to get a clear shot. As Pyro was getting ready to fire, Logan rammed the pick- up again, this time in his rear quarter-panel. Crane swerved to keep from spinning, and Pyro's shot went wild.
Kitty saw the flame shoot way past her and engulf a billboard. The billboard tipped over onto the road and caught on fire. Both lanes were now blocked by the flaming mass of metal. Kitty simply phased the whole car through the billboard, no longer willing to refrain from using her powers.
"Atta girl, Kitty," Logan said as he saw the car vanish through the billboard. "Take advantage of what you've got,"
Crane didn't realize that Kitty had actually phased through the billboard. He thought that she had just driven through the burning wreckage. He did the same, forgetting momentarily about his passenger.
Pyro screamed and dove into the bed of the truck as Crane crashed through the burning billboard. He pounded on the rear window, trying to get the driver's attention. "You almost got me killed, you idiot!"
Crane was getting irritated. They should have gotten her by now. "You just do your job and let me do mine!" he shouted back. Pyro grumbled but got back onto the roof of the truck. "Time to get rid of those pests!" he said. He quickly turned and shot a flame jet back towards Logan and Lance. Logan could not avoid the fire in time, and the jeep's tires exploded simultaneously. The jeep rolled, skidding to a halt. Lance and Logan both crawled out, unhurt.
"Thanks a lot! You just totaled my ride!" said Lance.
"Shove it, bub!" Logan said, running over to a parked motorcycle as Lance stared at his ruined jeep. Logan started up the bike and took back off after Crane. Lance pulled out his cell phone and dialed a few numbers, and when he heard, "911" on the other side, he explained to the dispatchers everything that was going on.
Kitty drove on, trying to find some way to get rid of Crane. Several blocks up ahead, she could see one of the bridges over the river starting to rise. There were two buildings on either side of the bridge, connected by a narrow catwalk. She made a quick guess on the trajectory and realized that this chase would very shortly be over.
Logan closed up rapidly behind the pick-up on the motorcycle. He dodged 2 jets of flame, and then jumped off of the bike, landing beside Pyro. He growled at Pyro as he shot out his claws. "End of the line, bub!" Before Pyro could react, Logan slashed at him, severing the hoses that ran to Pyro's backpack.
"No!" Pyro screamed and lashed out wildly at Logan. They grappled in the back of the truck as Kitty led Crane on towards the bridge.
Kitty hit the bridge just as it was fully open. Her car rocketed off the bridge and hurtled towards the catwalk. At the last second, she phased both herself and the car through the glass structure, and the T-Bird landed safely on the other side of the bridge.
Logan realized Kitty's plan as he saw her car go up the bridge, and he broke free from Pyro's grip. "Have a nice trip, bub!" he said, and jumped out of the truck. He hit the ground rolling, and got up in time to see the truck shoot off of the bridge.
Crane blindly followed Kitty up the bridge, not even seeing the catwalk until it was too late. He and Pyro screamed together as the truck crashed through the glass, lodging itself inside the corridor. Pyro emerged from the ruined truck and leaned his head through the driver's window. "Sorry, mate," he said to Crane, who was pinned behind the steering wheel. "This is where we part ways," he said, and ran off. A few moments later, four police officers ran up to the jeep, wondering just how they were going to explain this to their captains.
Epilogue:
Kitty sat on the steps of the courthouse, dejectedly. The judge had thrown the book at Foster for hiring an underage stunt-driver, and had held him completely responsible for all the damage that had ensued from chasing Pyro. He had thrown Crane in jail of course, but that was little consolation. Foster was bankrupt and had to cancel the movie, meaning that Kitty's fledgling career in pictures had taken a significant detour. In addition, the judge had placed Kitty on probation from driving until she was 21. When Kitty asked the judge how she was going to get to school and around town, the judge had sarcastically told her to get a pair of roller blades, and left the chambers.
As she sat moping, Lance pulled up to the sidewalk in a brand new jeep. He got out of the car and sat down next to Kitty.
"Hi," she said, unenthusiastically.
"Hi," he said. "Look, I'm sorry about the cops arresting you and everything. I just didn't want Pyro blowing up the city, ya know? I didn't mean for everything else to happen," he said.
"I know," she said forgivingly. "Maybe this is for the best," " Then, she noticed Lance's new jeep. "How'd you get a new ride so fast?" she asked.
"I, uh, borrowed Pietro's credit card," Lance said. Actually, he had stolen the card while Pietro had been sleeping. He doubted that Pietro would even realize what had happened until he got his bill.
"Cool," said Kitty. "You're lucky to have a new jeep. I'm really gonna miss driving. Stupid judge! I hate roller skates!"
Lance felt sorry for Kitty. "Wanna go for a ride, for old time's sake?" he asked.
"You mean it?" Kitty asked, perking up.
"Sure," said Lance.
"Won't we get in trouble?" she asked, giving him a coy look. "Only if they catch us," Lance said, giving her an equally coy look in return.
"You're on!" Kitty laughed and got into the jeep. "Hang on!" she said, and they took off in a big cloud of dust that briefly took the shape of an X before fading away.
The End
Coming soon: I'm going to write a couple more short, funny stories before I gear up for some more serious writing. Look for a game of hockey, X-Men style, and a game of Dungeons and Dragons as only the Brotherhood can play it. Ta!
Kitty pulled back up to the director's trailer as the filming helicopter touched down. The director rushed up to Kitty as she climbed out of the car and started pumping her hand madly. "That was remarkable! I'll win an Oscar for this!" he gushed.
Logan walked up to her, giving her an intimidating stare. After a moment, a curl of a smile traced up his lips. "Good job, kid. Guess you're not such a bad driver after all,"
"Gee, thanks," smiled Kitty.
Lance was the next to offer his congratulations. "Kitty, I've never seen anything like that before in my life!"
Before Kitty could respond, there was a scream as the director's trailer exploded into flames. Everybody turned to see Pyro standing on the roof of a blue pick-up truck, cackling madly. He sprayed another jet of fire around, sending the set workers running in panic.
Crane stuck his head out of the driver's window. "You ruined my life, Kitty!" he shouted insanely. "Now we're going to burn down the whole city! Catch us if you can!" He hit the gas and took off.
Kitty didn't hesitate one second. She started back to the car. Lance grabbed her by the shoulder as she started to climb in. "You can't go after him alone!" he warned.
"I know what I'm doing!" she said, and slammed the door and drove off.
Lance grit his teeth, and then ran to his own jeep. He saw that Logan was already sitting in the driver's seat. "You coming?" he asked.
Lance glared at his enemy, and reluctantly got in the passenger's seat. Logan took off, barely waiting for Lance to fasten his seat belt.
One of Foster's assistants looked over at him. "Sir, aren't you going to call security?"
"Are you kidding?" Foster asked. "Start the cameras! This'll be even better than the first scene!"
His assistant gulped, and ordered the cameras to start filming. Foster already had the helicopter and running, and took off to follow the three vehicles..
Kitty drove after the pick-up, trying not to lose Crane. Despite her efforts to keep up, however, he had managed to elude her. As she tried to figure out where he had gone, Crane pulled out from an alley and closed in behind Kitty. On the roof, Pyro took careful aim with his flame hose. "This is too easy!" he shouted triumphantly, and fired.
Kitty saw the flames closing in in her mirror just in time, and swerved over a lane. The fire singed the paint on her rear bumper, but didn't inflict any further damage. She swerved back as another flame jet shot past the side of her car. "Where is Lance?" she thought desperately.
Logan and Lance saw the fire before they saw the truck. Logan pushed the jeep as fast as it would go, trying to catch up. Lance clenched his fist and groaned, using his powers to shake the ground. Up ahead, a phone pole tottered, and then fell over. Too late, Lance realized his mistake.
Kitty saw the phone pole falling in front of her. She screamed as it crashed down onto the trunk of her car, lifting her front wheels off the ground. Behind her, Crane easily avoided the phone pole and kept closing.
Logan turned angrily to Lance as he dodged the pole. "What are you tryin' to do, hotshot!"
"I didn't see you doing anything!" Lance shot back angrily.
Logan shot out his claws a few inches from Lance's throat. "Don't talk back to the driver!" he threatened. "Just let me take care of this, and no more heroics from you!"
Lance glared at him but kept silent as Logan drove on. Logan brought the jeep up behind Crane and rammed into him.
"Hey, be careful!" Lance protested.
Another flash of the claws. "Do you wanna stop him or not? One more word and I'll throw you out myself!" Logan growled.
Crane ignored Logan behind him and kept focusing on Kitty to allow Pyro to get a clear shot. As Pyro was getting ready to fire, Logan rammed the pick- up again, this time in his rear quarter-panel. Crane swerved to keep from spinning, and Pyro's shot went wild.
Kitty saw the flame shoot way past her and engulf a billboard. The billboard tipped over onto the road and caught on fire. Both lanes were now blocked by the flaming mass of metal. Kitty simply phased the whole car through the billboard, no longer willing to refrain from using her powers.
"Atta girl, Kitty," Logan said as he saw the car vanish through the billboard. "Take advantage of what you've got,"
Crane didn't realize that Kitty had actually phased through the billboard. He thought that she had just driven through the burning wreckage. He did the same, forgetting momentarily about his passenger.
Pyro screamed and dove into the bed of the truck as Crane crashed through the burning billboard. He pounded on the rear window, trying to get the driver's attention. "You almost got me killed, you idiot!"
Crane was getting irritated. They should have gotten her by now. "You just do your job and let me do mine!" he shouted back. Pyro grumbled but got back onto the roof of the truck. "Time to get rid of those pests!" he said. He quickly turned and shot a flame jet back towards Logan and Lance. Logan could not avoid the fire in time, and the jeep's tires exploded simultaneously. The jeep rolled, skidding to a halt. Lance and Logan both crawled out, unhurt.
"Thanks a lot! You just totaled my ride!" said Lance.
"Shove it, bub!" Logan said, running over to a parked motorcycle as Lance stared at his ruined jeep. Logan started up the bike and took back off after Crane. Lance pulled out his cell phone and dialed a few numbers, and when he heard, "911" on the other side, he explained to the dispatchers everything that was going on.
Kitty drove on, trying to find some way to get rid of Crane. Several blocks up ahead, she could see one of the bridges over the river starting to rise. There were two buildings on either side of the bridge, connected by a narrow catwalk. She made a quick guess on the trajectory and realized that this chase would very shortly be over.
Logan closed up rapidly behind the pick-up on the motorcycle. He dodged 2 jets of flame, and then jumped off of the bike, landing beside Pyro. He growled at Pyro as he shot out his claws. "End of the line, bub!" Before Pyro could react, Logan slashed at him, severing the hoses that ran to Pyro's backpack.
"No!" Pyro screamed and lashed out wildly at Logan. They grappled in the back of the truck as Kitty led Crane on towards the bridge.
Kitty hit the bridge just as it was fully open. Her car rocketed off the bridge and hurtled towards the catwalk. At the last second, she phased both herself and the car through the glass structure, and the T-Bird landed safely on the other side of the bridge.
Logan realized Kitty's plan as he saw her car go up the bridge, and he broke free from Pyro's grip. "Have a nice trip, bub!" he said, and jumped out of the truck. He hit the ground rolling, and got up in time to see the truck shoot off of the bridge.
Crane blindly followed Kitty up the bridge, not even seeing the catwalk until it was too late. He and Pyro screamed together as the truck crashed through the glass, lodging itself inside the corridor. Pyro emerged from the ruined truck and leaned his head through the driver's window. "Sorry, mate," he said to Crane, who was pinned behind the steering wheel. "This is where we part ways," he said, and ran off. A few moments later, four police officers ran up to the jeep, wondering just how they were going to explain this to their captains.
Epilogue:
Kitty sat on the steps of the courthouse, dejectedly. The judge had thrown the book at Foster for hiring an underage stunt-driver, and had held him completely responsible for all the damage that had ensued from chasing Pyro. He had thrown Crane in jail of course, but that was little consolation. Foster was bankrupt and had to cancel the movie, meaning that Kitty's fledgling career in pictures had taken a significant detour. In addition, the judge had placed Kitty on probation from driving until she was 21. When Kitty asked the judge how she was going to get to school and around town, the judge had sarcastically told her to get a pair of roller blades, and left the chambers.
As she sat moping, Lance pulled up to the sidewalk in a brand new jeep. He got out of the car and sat down next to Kitty.
"Hi," she said, unenthusiastically.
"Hi," he said. "Look, I'm sorry about the cops arresting you and everything. I just didn't want Pyro blowing up the city, ya know? I didn't mean for everything else to happen," he said.
"I know," she said forgivingly. "Maybe this is for the best," " Then, she noticed Lance's new jeep. "How'd you get a new ride so fast?" she asked.
"I, uh, borrowed Pietro's credit card," Lance said. Actually, he had stolen the card while Pietro had been sleeping. He doubted that Pietro would even realize what had happened until he got his bill.
"Cool," said Kitty. "You're lucky to have a new jeep. I'm really gonna miss driving. Stupid judge! I hate roller skates!"
Lance felt sorry for Kitty. "Wanna go for a ride, for old time's sake?" he asked.
"You mean it?" Kitty asked, perking up.
"Sure," said Lance.
"Won't we get in trouble?" she asked, giving him a coy look. "Only if they catch us," Lance said, giving her an equally coy look in return.
"You're on!" Kitty laughed and got into the jeep. "Hang on!" she said, and they took off in a big cloud of dust that briefly took the shape of an X before fading away.
The End
Coming soon: I'm going to write a couple more short, funny stories before I gear up for some more serious writing. Look for a game of hockey, X-Men style, and a game of Dungeons and Dragons as only the Brotherhood can play it. Ta!