Title: Demonspawns: Never A Dull Moment (2/?)
Author: RahneWolfe & ShadowDrake
Disclaimer: see part one for all disclaimers and notes unless otherwise indicated.

DEMONSPAWNS: NEVER A DULL MOMENT (2/?)
- Friendly Faces -

Seven Miles later: Twin Oaks Shopping Centre -

Rahne crouched down in front of the newspaper stand and read the front page through the clear glass, "Bugger," she muttered to herself noting the date. "Oh... Tolen... lad," she said in a louder voice glancing over to the soda machine where her team-mate was frowning over the selection. "Ken I see ya fer a moment?" she asked a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth a mischievous light shining in her eyes, "there is something I want ya ta see."

With hand poised over the coin slot, Tolen arched an eyebrow as he turned toward the redhead. "How come I don't like that look in your eyes?" he asked, pocketing the quarter.

"Take a look at the date on today's paper," Rahne said with a nod of her head as he crouched down beside her.

"Well now... isn't that just lovely?" Tolen said sarcastically after a few moments, "no wonder the mobile isn't working... we're only ten years in the past. The number hasn't been created yet." He noted, cocking his head a bit as he read the cover store on the paper. "You remember what we were doing in two thousand two?" He asked her, his mind stirring a bit at memories as he tired to recall where he during the time period in question.

"Let's see... late two thousand three/early two thousand four, we were on Muir Island recovering from that raid on the Shi'ar Royal Palace... which ol' Lilandra has yet ta forgive us fer... something about unwarranted destruction and needless violence," Rahne said, her eyes taking on a hint of mischief and barely contained glee at the thought of that particular battle. A lot of pint up aggression had been turned loose on the Royal Guard as she and her comrades raced to stop the execution of Lilandra and their mentor Charles Xavier, not to mention removing a mad woman from the throne. Although if Rahne and Tolen had gotten their way, Deathbird would have more then just been removed from power. However, due to politics and being related to Lilandra in the first place, prevented that from happening.

"Yeah well... that couldn't be helped," Tolen replied dryly, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth, "Shi'ar disrupters don't come with a 'stun' setting. Besides the Royal Guard were doing their best to turn us into mulch... I take things like that personally. "

Returning the smirk with a truly wolfish grin, her upper and lower set of fangs peeking out of her mouth, "Aye... and before that... we spent nearly five an' a half months in Magneto's regen-tanks," Rahne added, losing all trace of humour as she remembered that period of time, her eyes literally glowing with rage momentarily.

"The arena," Tolen echoed in a harsh whisper, his own mind going back to the living hell of a Selena ruled Nova Roma where he and Rahne were forced to fight for their lives on a daily basis in the coliseum. "God I hated that place," he added giving himself a shake, forcibly shoving aside the memories of the remote kingdom by-passed by time deep in the heart of the Amazon jungle. However, their living nightmare ended with a very annoyed Magneto accompanied by several Avengers and X-Men in an all out assault against the ancient city. It turned out that Magneto had been on the trail of Nova Roma's self-styled goddess Selene who had strong ties to the New York City based Hellfire Club that had recently run afoul of the mutant master of magnetism. While Tolen never did find out just why Magneto had been looking for Selene or why several of Earth's mightiest heroes were willingly aiding him in his search, he really didn't ask too many questions about it either. He was just glad to be out of the slave pens of Nova Roma and as far away from the ancient city-state as possible. However, while over the years he and Rahne had gone back to Nova Roma; they did make sure to avoid visiting the coliseum least they give into the urge to destroy the place in a fit of rage. Besides Magma made them promise not to destroy her hometown before letting either of them set one foot into Nova Roma territory.

"Does it bother you that we seem to be telling time by major injuries here?" He suddenly asked, more to distract his mind from the horrors of the slave pens and arena. He still woke up in cold sweats at night recalling the endless battles in the coliseum and getting the hell beat out of him on a near daily basis by the head overseer while that bitch Selene watched and laughed.

Shrugging and giving him a lopsided grin of her own, Rahne pushed herself into a standing position, "nah really we could use other means ta tell time, such as how many times I've died," she replied dryly with a shrug, her mind going to two of her 'deaths' where she was literally wiped out of existence and recreated once more. Once to heal her nearly shattered mind, the other a cruel act by a power-crazed entity. "If ya're truly curious I'll be sure ta ask Doc Samson the next time Val sends us ta see him," she commented with a slightly wicked grin, "as fer what we were doing in early spring of two thousand two...we were tangling with that demon bear that was after Dani."

"Oh yeah," the young man replied also rising, "how the hell could I have forgotten that thing? It only tried to hack me in two." He added with a shake of the head, "why does every super enhanced being we meet try to turn us into kibble? I mean its not like either of us wear the big 'X' shaped target prominently shown on X-Men uniforms," he went on, "so why do we keep attracting refugees from slasher movies that just have to sacrifice us to some demented godling or they won't get their decoder ring and get their lifetime membership to the horror movie of the month club?"

"Well at least we know 'when' we are," Rahne said, "although, there is still something odd here. When that bear mauled Dani... it made national headlines... 'Bear Attack In Upstate New York'... Yana collected a bunch of them... put it all in that memory book of hers."

"Yeah, yeah she calls it her 'Book of Injuries and Embarrassing Media Coverage' says its the permanent record of the Demonspawns' trial by fire or something like that," he agreed with a thoughtful nod of his head, his brows furrowing a bit in thought, "I think she just takes morbid pleasure in all the times we bled for the general populace without getting a thank you."

"Aye well this is Illyana Rasputin we're talkin' about here... she considers horror movies ta be comedies," Rahne added dryly, one eyebrow arched in grim humour.

"Ahh, come on!" Tolen protested with a big grin, putting one arm around her shoulders, "'The Werewolf of NYU' was a hilarious movie... had the entire team rolling on the floor."

"It was na funny," Rahne growled lowly, her eyes flashing once more, "It was bloody embarrassing and rather racist. Na werewolf with an ounce of self-respect would act like that... and they certainly wouldna be stalking the campus of NYU!" She grumbled darkly.

Tossing his head back and laughing, he shook his head knowing that when it came to 'werewolf movies' Rahne tended to be very bias in her rather low opinion of them. "You're just mad because one of the werewolves was butchering a highland accent," he said, leaning closer to her ear with a big grin, "besides you got to admit it was funny as hell when the producers and director got a really good look at our lawyer when we sued them for deformation of character and using a likeness of you without permission. And it was hilarious watching the defendants nearly wet themselves when She-Hulk showed up in the courtroom in her business suit."

"Uh huh... ya and every other male in the courtroom were more interested in looking at her legs then actually listening ta what she had ta say," Rahne countered with a smirk.

"Well if I tried actual 'touching' she would have used me for a punching bag... and I don't even want to think of what you'd do to me," he defended. "Besides I'm more into russet red then emerald green," he added, "and you're only an inch taller then me... I like looking my lady in the eye... keeps me from getting slapped if she should think I'm staring at something else." He went on dryly, "and you're always warm... handy during long winter nights." Tolen finished waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Get ya soda ya overgrown swamp-hopper," Rahne ordered in a mock gruff voice, rolling her eyes for effect, "we still got ta figure out where we are and how ta get home."

"Yeah, yeah I'm going," Tolen said, pulling away and going back to the soda machine, "you're getting mean in your old age," he muttered, then chuckled at the low growl directed at him, "but I'd say it would be a safe bet to assume that Tandy and the tall, dark, and grumpy one will sound the alarm and call in the others to start searching for us. Yana and Wanda alone should feel the after affects of Merlin's spell and start the tracking process to find us. I say we lurk around this Bayville place for the time being, see what mischief and mayhem we can stir up in the meantime."

"Ya just looking forward to anonymity," Rahne accused, with a smirk.

"Why not?" he said dropping in a few quarters and making his selection, grinning brightly as two drinks dropped out instead of one, "cool... besides our counterparts are teenagers here... and hopefully have not had their entire lives screwed over by some reporter wanting to make a name for herself by exposing the private lives of mutant superheroes for the entire world to see." Reaching down for the two sodas, he tossed one to Rahne, "at least the vultures calling themselves journalists aren't camped out on my babka's stoop... most of the people in the old neighbourhood know me... and regardless of what they may think of me... they are very protective of their own and the neighbourhood."

"A third of Kinross has the same attitude toward me," Rahne acknowledged with a nod, "the other two thirds want ta turn me inta a throw rug or have me burned at a stake."

"Ah... but lets not forget the rare one percent of Kinross that want to use you for training purposes for the International Order of Werewolf Hunters... heard they were making Kraven the Hunter their poster boy." Tolen added with a rueful smirk.

"One percent?!" Rahne cried with an arched eyebrow, "ya better check ya numbers lad... I've had more crosses, cloves of garlic... and silver whatnots shoved inta me face or shot in me general direction then I ken count."

"Ah come on... even you had to admit the silver bullets boiled in holy water and dipped into the garlic oil was pretty original," Tolen countered, "I hated having to break that idiot's arm... well not really, he deserved if for buying into Craig's load of bull... but it was original."

"Aye an' mum just loved having ta dig that bullet out of me shoulder ta," Rahne remarked dryly, "fer a doctor she still has a lot ta learn about anatomy at times... that one thing she wanted ta do ta that git wasna possible."

"That one even had Wolverine stumped," Tolen nodded with a wicked grin tugging at his lips, "but hey... I figure as long as she's not mad at me, I could careless what she is willing to do in defence of her kids. Besides I already had my death threats from Moira and Kevin so I'm pretty safe as long as I don't break your heart... I get to keep all of my body parts away from rusty scalpels and/or other sharp pointy objects."

"Coward," Rahne playfully grumbled with a shake of her head as she opened her bottle of soda slowly careful not to let it fizz over on her.

"Oh sure... laugh... I'm the one that had to put up with being threatened by every member, past and present, of the X-Men who thought I was absolutely no good and should be barred from breathing the same air as you," Tolen said in mock outrage, a bright grin tugging at his lips, "not that it stopped me. But some of those threats were just painful to hear...and Rogue had visual aids! And she performed a demo... how the hell she got her hands on a working guillotine, let alone got the Professor to let her set it up on school grounds, is beyond me." He added with a shudder, a cold shiver racing up his spine and a certain part of his anatomy cringed at the mere memory.

***************************

Rahne stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening as she caught two very familiar scents. "Er... lad... ya want ta look over your left shoulder and tell me what ya see?" she asked rather calmly after they had walked past several storefronts.

Frowning as he gave Rahne a long look, not liking the tone of her voice one bit, he casually looked over his shoulder, his brow furrowing at the sight. "Looks like two teens window shopping," he said shrugging not sure what the big deal was.

"Look harder at the redhead lad... picture her with her hair pulled back." Rahne advised a grinning tugging at the corner of her mouth as she put the cap back on her soda bottle.

"Rachel," Tolen breathed, before closing his eyes and giving his head a shake, "no... Jean," he corrected with a slow grin.

"Aye... and the girl beside her smells ta much like Kitty Pryde ta be a coincidence," Rahne added.

"Okay... this is... strange," Tolen said, his eyebrows arching in disbelief as his hearing picked up a rather interesting accent coming out of the teenage Kitty Pryde. "Er..." he got out raising one finger as his mind tried to function past what he just heard, "ah...no I did not just hear that." He told himself somewhat firmly, determined not to accept what his ears kept telling him he just heard. Turning to Rahne, counting on her enhanced hearing to set him straight, he noted the somewhat ill expression she had on her face. "You heard it too didn't you?" He said with growing fear.

Rahne opened her mouth then closed it, shutting her eyes and gave her head a firm shake, before acknowledging Tolen's own greenish looking complexion, "Kitty Pryde seems ta have developed a...... ... 'valley girl' accent," Rahne said in a monotone trying to find the proper words to convey the absurdities running through her head at the moment. She was able to hold her expression for a long moment before she glanced deep into Tolen's eyes and they both broke down into a fit of laughter.

Holding onto his girlfriend, Tolen tried to sober himself, "Oh god... we got to get her on tape," he managed to say in a low voice, "I know people that will pay good money to hear the self-proclaimed 'goddess of computing' with that accent." He finally got out tears of laughter running down his cheeks as he buried his head in the crook of Rahne's neck and shoulder.

***************************

Not far away, standing in front of a clothing store, Kitty Pryde looked over at the couple nearby who seemed to be laughing at something. Frowning a bit she tried to figure out what seemed off about the two, other then the fact they appeared to be dressed a bit warmly for the early spring day. Her eyes noting the black duster tossed over the guy's shoulder, who seemed to be leaning heavily on the woman, his face turned away from her and Jean.

"Don't stare Kitty, its rude," Jean said in a low voice, noting Kitty's distraction.

"Sorry... but don't you like... think those two are strange?" the younger girl questioned turning toward the taller redhead. "I mean... its like I know that woman from somewhere... she seems familiar," she went on shrugging a bit, as she cast another look at the couple, noting the woman's short red hair that seemed to have a bit of a curl in it; one lock draped across her forehead as if determined to be different from all the other hairs. While she wasn't close enough to see the woman's eyes, Kitty was positive they were intense in colour, very direct in what they looked at, 'predator eyes,' her mind filled in.

"Kitty!" Jean hissed lowly catching the stray thought, "will you stop... you've been watching too many horror movies." She admonished the younger X-Man, "you're seeing things... they are just a couple having a little fun and enjoying themselves. That is probably her husband and he may not like you calling his wife a predator... how would you feel if someone did that to you?"

Grinning sheepishly Kitty gave the couple another quick look, catching a view of Tolen's face in the process, "Well... he is like.. kind of a hottie," she admitted with a lopsided grin, "oh no... they are like coming this way... could they have heard me?" She got out, panicking a bit as her face turned beet red at the thought of the man hearing what she just called him and in front of his wife no less.

****************************

Tolen bit his lip and ducked his head trying not to totally lose what little self-restraint he had left, having heard exactly what the teen had just called him. Reaching down he grabbed Rahne's free hand and gave it a squeeze, "She's just a kid Rahney... wait until she finds out just who she called a 'hottie'," he said in a devilish whisper leaning over to kiss the side of Rahne's head, a wicked grin shining in his eyes. "She could very well have kittens when she learns my full name." Remembering his first meeting with the big bad X-Man calling herself Sprite, at the time, Kitty Pryde took one look at him and called him gutter trash who couldn't be trusted not to steal the hubcaps off of all the Professor's vehicles. Not that he ever did anything to change her opinion of him, of course Kitty had never been one of his favourite people, preferring to just tolerate the phaser when he was forced to socialize with her. The feeling was more the mutual, Kitty being among the handful of X-Men that wouldn't let go of the past and let him try to make amends of some of his previous transgressions against the world and other mutants.

"Let's go introduce ourselves," Rahne suggested in a low tone keeping one eye on the pair, "maybe we ken learn a few things from them in the process... it would help if they ken lead us ta the Professor."

"Yeah," Tolen replied his lips still near the side of Rahne's head, "aside from Kitty's new accent I'm not getting any strange vibes on my 'paranoia meter'," he went on, referring to his sixth sense he had developed over the years as a form of self-preservation, "but you usually know when a telepath is about before I do anyway... we're the unknowns... even if they do know our counterparts I guarantee she wouldn't be expecting our shields or how we use our powers." He said, pulling away from Rahne and holding out his arm for her to take, a grin shining in his brown eyes. Years of experience and being in hostile situations had allowed him to develop very thick mental shields. While he couldn't keep a truly powerful telepath, such as Professor Xavier or Jean Grey, out of his head, he had learned to tell when he was being scanned and he could keep a low level telepath out of his head for a couple of hours with intense concentration. He was hoping that due to this Jean Grey's youth he would know if she tried a scan if not keep her out altogether.

However, he believed that actually keeping her out of his mind was rather a moot point, if Rahne wanted to approach the two they had to be safe. The werewolf tended to know immediately when a telepath was trying to read her mind or trying to establish an unwanted mental link of any kind. It was one of those quarks in Rahne Sinclair's powers that still puzzled everyone; although, it had been theorized that her enhanced senses detected telepathic activity around her on a subconscious level. Meaning that while Rahne wasn't always aware she was doing it, she could pinpoint an astral form before it fully materialized in the room, sort of like an animal growling and snarling into empty space in a haunted house. Just because a regular human couldn't see it, didn't mean it was invisible to her. Over the years, she has horned that ability to near razor sharpness, being one of only a handful of people to ever be able to catch either the Professor or Jean Grey totally unaware. She was certainly the only non-telepath or teleporter that could do so repeatedly.

****************************

Jean Grey straightened a bit as the couple approached her, noting the man's mischievous grin as if he knew a secret he couldn't wait to share with others. His dancing brown eyes darting over to Kitty every now and then, shining with suppressed mirth, almost like a little brother about to tease a girl by pulling her pigtails and running away. He was wearing a long sleeve dark grey mock-turtleneck shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, the fabric taunt over his chest and stomach outlining well-developed muscles giving mute testimony that for a little guy he was powerfully built. His jeans, although new and loose fitting in nature hide powerful leg muscles another sign that he was used to hard labour and kept himself fit and trim. He had a black duster folded neatly in half lengthwise draped over one-shoulder being a bit too warm to actually be wearing it.

Although, it was the way he held himself that set off a warning bell in the back of her mind. Like she had seen him somewhere before, although, she was sure she'd remember meeting him before. While he wasn't want she'd call classically handsome, he didn't scare small children either. He had a rugged face, sort of like Mister Logan's, as if he had seen and done things that had aged him before his time. There was a certain sadness that lurked in his laughing brown eyes, a sadness that cut to the soul of his being. His rough beard was neatly trimmed as if he had only recently begun to grow it and was carefully shaping it into a style he liked. His long hair was pulled back from his face, revealing a scar along one side of his face that started at the temple of his left eye and ran down to just past his ear. Upon closer inspection she noted a scar just above that eye that split his eyebrow like he had been hit with a broken bottle or something at one point in his life. But is was how he held himself that intrigued her the most, he seemed to stand in a bit of a crouch similar to the way Kurt did when he wasn't wearing his holo-watch... or that creepy little Todd Tolensky.

Jean made an unconscious face at that last thought; dismissing it almost immediately, for this guy to be mistaken for the Toad he'd have to be dipped in pool of mud and slime and have his teeth painted green. Not to mention loosing about a hundred or so pounds of muscle, since Todd Tolensky wouldn't be caught dead lifting anything that weighted over ten pounds without complaining for the next week about sprained body parts. Shaking her head slightly she turned her attention to the woman with him, her eyes immediately focusing on twin blue-green orbs that seemed to capture her and draw her in. 'Kitty was right... these are the eyes of a predator,' she thought to herself, as the woman smiled at her, Jean's eyes widening in disbelief as she caught the hint of a set of fangs peeking out of the stranger's mouth.

The woman cocked her head to the side slightly in question, causing Jean's heart to skip a beat immediately recognizing the act as something one of the younger mutants at the Institute did when she was curious about something. Narrowing her eyes a bit, she looked closer at the woman with the short fiery red hair who seemed to be studying her with a hint of mischief lurking in her direct, probing gaze. The woman had a quiet, intense look about her, as if she was always watching the activity around her not merely observing it as a normal human would. She seemed to look into people as if sensing things other could not, but Jean felt no stray telepathic scan brush against her mental shields, so either this woman wasn't a telepath or she was just a lot more subtle with her probes. Jean closed her eyes momentarily, her mind working as she tried to place just where she had seen that woman's gaze before. Something inside of her whispering that she knew this person in front of her, maybe not the male, but most definitely the female.

Only to have her heart jump into her throat and Kitty gave a startled gasp as the man suddenly spoke in a laughing tone. "Cut it out Rahney... you're freaking Jean out," Tolen said nudging his team-mate playfully and shaking his head ruefully. "I don't think they are used to that direct gaze of yours."

"Not hardly lad, I ken smell meself on both of them," Rahne replied dryly, "they are used ta me alright... Jean was just trying ta figure out where she's seen me from is all." She went on, winking at Jean, a full-fledged smile lighting up her face displaying her upper and lower set of fangs to the world without a care.

"Uh huh," Tolen replied folding his arms to regard her with a slight smirk, privately enjoying the bewildered look he was getting from the two teenagers. Just because the X-Men and his own team, the Demonspawns, liked to call themselves sister teams there was still a bit of rivalry between the two groups. Not that it ever got out of hand, they were able to be in the same house with one another and not tear it apart in mindless displays of aggression and macho shows of one-ups-manship. Besides, it wasn't often he got to confuse a telepath without getting a psi-bolt being tossed at him in retaliation.

"Wait!" Jean said suddenly, getting the two's attention once more, "you're...Rahne Sinclair," she went on slowly, her brows furrowing in thoughts as she stared into the woman's eyes. Now that she heard the woman speak she knew why she seemed so familiar, this had to be an adult Rahne Sinclair, there was no denying that piercing gaze and way she seemed to look inside a person. That was just how the young shape shifter back at the Institute looked at people, always with long silent, probing eye as if she was studying every minute detail of a person peering deep into a person's soul before making a judgement.

"Aye," Rahne replied just as slow, "well in about ten years anyway, if I read today's date properly." She added with a self-mocking smile, "I didna mean ta startle ya or Kitty there... we... Tolen and I were hoping ya could help us out."

"I'm not sure I understand," Jean said, glancing over to the man who had settled down a bit, leaning one shoulder against the brick storefront, willing to let Rahne do all the talking.

"Well several hours ago, Tolen and I were in Manhattan... ten years inta the future," Rahne said, getting right to the point, "we were trying ta stop a magic user from casting a spell... next thing we know we're about five miles outside of a place called Bayville."

"So... like this magic user sent you and... Tolen, is it?" Kitty spoke up, smiling sweetly at Tolen for a moment, "here... I don't get it, what do you need us for?"

Rahne cocked her head at Kitty once more, trying to resolve this teenage version of Kitty Pryde with the one she knew and coming up with two completely different people. "I ken smell the Professor on both of ya... ya both have been around him in the last twenty-four hours," Rahne began.

"Ewwww," Kitty interrupted making a face, "you can... 'like' smell other people on me?" She said making a disgusted face.

Tolen bit his lip to try to keep his laughter under control at both Kitty's disgusted look and the arched eyebrow Rahne was giving the girl. 'Oh god... I have got to get this kid on tape,' he told himself firmly already planning the mental torture he could put the older version of Kitty Pryde through with it.

Jean shook her head a bit sadly, catching Tolen's eye and sharing an amused grin with him, sometimes Kitty could really be dense. Although, she knew Kitty would probably have a heart attack if she only knew just how much Rahne Sinclair relied on her senses. How the werewolf kept an eye on everyone at the Institute using her enhanced senses, always checking and rechecking scents. Half the time Jean seriously doubted that Rahne was even aware she was doing it as the shape shifter entered the dining room for breakfast and would do her morning 'checks' of everyone at the table.

Jean herself only became aware of Rahne's subconscious habit after coming home from a date early one night. The younger girl 'knew' something had been bothering the telepath when she had come home. It had been rather shocking to Jean to learn that Rahne had known that Duncan had gotten 'grabby' with her and had tried to get too physical. The shape shifter didn't have to be there to witness it, she could tell by Jean's mortified scent alone. The werewolf had to be psychokinetically restrained from hunting down Duncan Matthews and ripping his heart, or any other body parts, out in a blind rage. It was only with the Professor's aid and a promise to make sure she was never left alone with Duncan again did the werewolf calm down or for Mister Logan not to do a little hunting of his own for that matter.

It was after that incident that Jean started to take more of an interest in the shape shifter's abilities, reading everything she could get her hands on about wolves in general and how they interacted with others. It had helped Jean form a better understanding of Rahne Sinclair and how the younger girl tended to view the world around her. During Jean's research she stumbled across how a wolf used its senses for hunting and identifying members of its pack, upon retrospect Jean realized Rahne did a lot very wolf-like things in her daily interactions with others, most things that were completely unconscious in nature.

Turning back to this 'older' version of Rahne, Jean noted the changes a decade had apparently made in the shape shifter. The woman before her was more confident, she held herself with an assurance that the teenage Rahne was still struggling with. Gone was the shyness that seemed to be firmly rooted in Rahne Sinclair's psyche that refused to be lifted no matter how many times some of the more adventuresome students at the Institute tried to break it down. In its place was a wily, mischievous being who was comfortable in her own skin, while Jean wasn't sure who this Tolen guy was; she felt he could be trusted. If Rahne was comfortable around him, laughing with him in a manner her teenage-self never did, he had to be a friend.

Jean had discovered that Rahne's 'instinctual' reaction to someone or something was rarely wrong. The werewolf could tell more about a person from a scent then a telepath could with a surface scan any day, and Jean knew and respected that. The telepath had a feeling that in time and with experience the Rahne she knew would become a very valuable team-member to have in first contact situations that could become messy in a heartbeat. She was secretively pleased her hunch was right, it seemed by the looks of the adult standing before her who was currently giving her an amused, arched eyebrow like she knew just what Jean was thinking.

"As I was saying," Rahne began again, choosing to ignore Kitty's reaction to something that was a natural part of who and what she was. 'She's just a child,' she told herself, 'from the way she is holding herself she is still new to her powers,' a part of her pleased that at least in this time, in this world where was a Kitty Pryde that hadn't aged a lifetime in a few short years. "Ya and Kitty have been around the Professor and many of the people Tolen and I know as friends and allies. I'm hoping that ya'll be willing ta introduce us ta the Professor... where we're from strangers showing up at the school unannounced are usually treated ta a very rude welcome. I prefer ta avoid any misunderstands... I don like needless violence if it ken be avoided."

Jean nodded thoughtfully, her mind working over the problem, "So you think it would go over better if we go in first?"

"You're only the second most powerful telepath on the planet Jean," Tolen said with a grin, "who better then you to tell the Professor we come in peace? You can even borrow our driver licences as further proof... as long as you promise not to laugh at the picture, I was having a 'tame' hair day and look like a geek in mine." He went on, looking rather embarrassed, "I don't know how I ended up looking like a life-time member of the Dweebs of America Association." He finished with a mock shudder.

"Is he always like this?" Kitty asked with a laugh, finding herself smiling at Tolen's antics, he seemed to be going out of his way to put her and Jean at ease. 'Who is this guy?' she wondered, trying to figure out if she knew him, 'and is he really with Rahney?' she asked herself, glancing at his hands and not seeing a ring; although, she did note how rough and scarred his knuckles were like he did a lot with his hands.

"Ah...yeah," Rahne said after a few moments, arching another eyebrow at Kitty not liking the minute changes in the girl's scent. 'Cor... I had forgotten how annoying Kitty was at this age...even without the bloody accent.' She thought firmly ignoring the urge to growl at the teenager. "Huh?" Rahne half growled, her demeanour changing suddenly as she detected another scent in the air. "Question... Sabretooth... friend or foe?" She asked turning her head to the side to look further down the row of storefronts.

Following Rahne's gaze, "Aw man... it's the blonde-fleabag," Tolen groaned, "god... he's even hairier in this time... I don't remember him being that hairy."

"Why nah? He used ya fer a punching bag enough times," Rahne asked, a low growl rumbling in her chest.

"Well yeah... but that was when I was young and stupid," Tolen replied, his eyes hardening a bit, as he watched the feral mutant turn toward the little group with a snarl. "Uh... bet he just picked up our scents, poor bastard... he must be awfully confused right now."

"Picking up Pyro ta," Rahne commented jerking her thumb behind her toward the parking lot.

"Ohhh, ambush," Tolen noted with a grin, "looks like they have their eyes set on Jeannie and Kitty... should we ruin their afternoon and beat the hell out of them?"

"Aye," Rahne replied, eyeing her target with narrowed eyes, "Tolen and I will run interference, ya and Kitty head fer home," she directed.

"But..." Kitty began.

"No buts kid," Tolen said sliding his duster off his shoulder and handing it to her, "you don't play games with these two... they are pros at what they do if nothing else, never underestimate them or you're dead."

"More reason not to leave you two here to face them," Kitty protested.

"We're unknown ta them lass," Rahne countered, "even if Sabretooth does recognize mine or Tolen's scents, Pyro won't an' we don plan ta let them compare notes. Odds are they are here fer ya and Jean, they will be looking fer any attacks from ya."

"She's right Kitty," Jean said putting her hand on the phaser's shoulder, "we need to get out of here and inform the others. Can you two find the Institute later?" She asked, turning to Tolen with the question.

"Jeannie... now that hurt... if Rahney can't track it, it doesn't exist, besides I'm quite capable of looking up the name Charles Xavier in the phonebook," he replied, "er... he IS in the phonebook, right?" At Jean's answering nod, "good... just let the Prof know we'll be swinging by later... and Kitty... don't get too attached to my duster." Tolen added with a wink.

"On my mark?" Jean asked, taking a deep breath glancing over to Scott's car. Wetting her lips, she grasped Kitty's hand, "Kitty keep us phased until we get to the car, Rahne... Tolen...I really want to see you both later at the Institute... don't make me come looking for you." She tired to sound self-assured and not think about leaving two people to face mutants she knew for a fact were homicidal maniacs. Even if her rational side kept telling her that Tolen and Rahne did have the advantage over the two, still she didn't like leaving them to fight a battle that wasn't theirs.

"Yup... that's the Jean Grey we all know and love," Tolen chuckled, with a grin, "we'll be there just make sure you two are waiting for us... or we'll come looking for 'you' and I've got a well-known reputation for destroying other people's property in fits of rage... and you really don't want to know what Rahney does to people that have annoyed her by kidnapping her friends. Its quite disgusting... so keep yourselves safe until we meet again, will you?"

"We will," Jean said, smiling despite herself, "see you later."

"After dark," Rahne put in, easing into a battle stance, "ta be on the safe side, don want ta lead any 'strays' ta ya or the others." She said, using the codeword among the Demonspawns for the media that tended to follow around her and her team-mates like demented lost puppies, momentarily forgetting she was not in her proper time.

"Ah... sure," Jean said, not quite sure what Rahne meant by 'strays' the way she said the word, it sounded like she wasn't talking about Sabretooth or Pyro, but if not them than who?
End Part Two.
Side Notes: For those of you with limited knowledge of the New Mutants, Wolfsbane, or Marvel canon lore for the most part here are a few points of interest.

1st: Rahne has actually died twice, the first time it was along side most of the New Mutants, when the Beyonder slaughtered the team and further wiped out their entire existence. {As if killing them wasn't heinous enough.} Only to be recreated/resurrected later by the very same Beyonder and set against a collection of Earth's Greatest Heroes during the Second Secret Wars. She was killed/destroyed years later by a nut-terrorist, that actually made the later-era Magneto seem sane, called Haven to remove the mutate/bonding program in Wolfsbane. Life long fans of the werewolf still cringe at her X-Factor stint and how much of a nutcase Rahne was depicted as. Haven destroyed Rahne and recreated her within the span of a few seconds, "healing her in much the same fashion as she planned to heal the Earth... by destroying it and creating a new one more to her liking.' Further, Rahne retains her memories of both deaths as well as her resurrections. Although, she was heavily traumatized - as were her team-mates - over what the Beyonder did to her.

2nd: Dani and the demon bear is an actual story arch in the New Mutants, for those of you that have never heard of the New Mutants... you should run - not walk - to your nearest comic book store and start searching for back issues. Long ago, in a happier time when the writers at Marvel were all sane and actually had cool story lines, there was the sister/novice team of the big bad X-Men called the New Mutants. Take the time to learn about that often over looked team, they were more then just the novices, they were a family and they were well on their way to turning Magneto back into a human being. {Before fate and an insane writer decided to screw Magneto out of his redemption and a good potion of his sanity by turning him into the neo-Hitler... yes there was a time when the Master of Magnetism was more then a two-dimensional madman.}

3rd: Rahne has been able to sense telepathic communication before - she sensed Jamal attempting to contact people outside of David Heller's mind in an actual New Mutant issue. While talking to her 'mum' Moira, she sensed the telepath behind her, turned around, wolf-out and growled at his astral form seconds before his made his presence known to Moira MacTaggart who was facing in the direction he appeared in. So it is not farfetched that she has horned that particular skill, as she got older.

4th: In the comic books Nova Roma is a small city-state in the middle of the Amazon Jungle and not on a small island as in the X-Men: Evolution cartoon, also Amara's father is a Nova Roma Senator.

5th: Kitty Pryde has actually had three codenames in the past, when she first joined the X-Men the Professor gave her the name 'Sprite' which she later changed to 'Ariel' and finally started calling herself 'ShadowCat' after a limited series with Wolverine. In which she journeyed to Japan, got possessed by an evil ninja who hated Logan who she damn near killed... but she's a lot better now. Kitty was reluctant to take the name 'Spirit' because she didn't want any jokes about people pulling her 'tab' - her actual words people not mine. And apparently Kitty was quite colour blind when she first joined the X-Men as anyone can tell who actually own comic books that old... a stylin' superhero she was not! She has actually worn roller-skates into battle with cowboy gloves and dancer leg warmers... people who actually own the issue with her on the cover this way know exactly what I'm talking about here.

6th: The She-Hulk aside from being the Hulk's cousin, an Avenger, and former member of the Fantastic Four... is also a practicing lawyer. Even after getting trapped in her She-Hulk form she continues to be one... the thought of having a giant green bombshell of a lawyer who could hold her own with Thor or Hercules just seems my kind of lawyer. And you know no one has dared call her a 'vulture' and/or a 'leech' in fear of getting their heads ripped off.

7th: Long time fans of the X-Men will tell you that Kitty Pryde using a 'valley girl'-like accent is rather absurd - Kitty is from Deerfield, Illinois rather far from the beaches of Southern California.

8th: Some myths in fact claim that garlic is a way to ward off both werewolves and vampires. Exactly how it is supposed to offend a werewolf is beyond me since as far as I know only Monk's Root {or Wolfsbane} actually has a reputation for being able to ward off a werewolf. Maybe it only works on Italian werewolves or something.