'Age of M'

Chris Summers flew Earth's jet over the ocean. Lennon sat next to him and
every now and then, she'd look over the ocean. The three ex-slaves were all
asleep in the back of the jet. Lennon was really glad that they had freed the
three teens.

"Lennon, something wrong?" Chris asked.

"Why Free Europe? Norms and Muts fight each other and M. It's almost as bad
as the areas the M owns." Lennon said softly.

"I told you, I have a friend there. He'll help us. Don't worry so much."

"Someone has to. You never do."

*

The glass flew across the room and smashed against the wall. It was the
eighth glass that had been broken in the last three minutes. David watched
Mr. M through another glass against the wall and let out a curse.

"Three! How do soldiers lose three slaves?!?"

"Mr. M," David cut in. "those soldiers have been killed. The slaves will be
found and so will the two that helped them. Please, control your anger."

"Vast, do you have a plan?"

David smiled slyly. "Yes, sir I do. I think I know were X has taken our lost
slaves and the girl he was with. Allow my team and myself to go there. Give
us two months and the slaves will come home."

"And X?"

"He'll be dead. I'll have a slave kill him."

"I'll give you and your team one month."

*
Chris landed the jet outside of Free France. Everyone got their things and
got out of the jet. They walked the two miles to a house in the middle of
nowhere. Chris told the others to stay there for a minute, while he went to
see his friend. Chris returned a few minutes later with a woman. She was tall
and leggy with soft, white,skin and a foreign beauty to her. Her blue eyes
sparked and her blonde hair was wavy and full. She was dressed in a blue
business suit and matching heels, a white doctor's coat was over the dress.

"Though you said your friend was a guy." Lennon said as the two walked over.

"I know I said my friend was a guy. Um, guys this is Dr. Roger J. Holder."

The woman smiled at them. "Hello." Her voice was soft and wonderful.

"Why'd your parents name you a boys name?" Kurt questioned, clearly wanting
to know.

"I was born a boy." Roger said matter of fact.

Everyone looked very shocked at that. Sorrow even hid behind Kurt.

Earth put a hand up. "Whoa, what kind of freaky place have you brought us to?
I'm all for being yourself,but when a woman that was a man is supposed to
take care of a bunch of kids-I gotta ask what's up that?"

Roger shook her head and let out a sigh. "Ok, I'm a mutant like all of you.
I'm a shape shifter and a year ago, I got stuck in the shape of a woman." All
the kids, minus Sorrow who was to busy playing with a string, started to
laugh. "Oh, come on it's not that funny."

"Yes, it is. Chris, did you know about this?" Lennon said between laughs.

"Um, no and yes. I saw him about two years ago,but I'd gotten a letter saying
he was a she now. I thought he'd unstick himself by now." Chris put a hand
behind his head. "I'm really sorry about the mix-up."

"No, it's ok. Just a little strange. Nothing to be sorry about, Summers.
Shall we go in?" Earth stated in a mature and sweet voice,much like the one
she used with Sorrow.

"Oh, yeah. Come on in, guys. My house is yours."



Roger's house was very big and was very old. It had wooden floors and
wallpaper that looked like it was over 20 years old. The wallpaper was faded,
as was the sofas and chairs. Roger lead the small band to the second floor
and into a small sitting room.

The sitting room had a fire place against a wall, a large window taking up
another wall and bookshelves against the other two walls. Two velvet green
sofas were in the room, as was a big leather chair. Roger sat down in the
leather chair and crossed her legs. Chris and Lennon took one sofa, while
Earth, Kurt,and Sorrow took the other sofa.

Roger picked up a bell on the table next to the chair and rung it. A few
seconds later, a 23 year old looking woman walked in. She was also tall and
leggy with a tinted skin color. She had chin length, bouncy,purple hair that
curved into her face and green eyes. This woman was dressed in a pair of
black slacks and a blue shirt with black boots. She looked over at Roger
with an annoyed look on her face.

"Roger, how many times have I told not to ring that damn bell? I'm not your
servant woman." She looked around the room and rested her gaze on Chris.
"Chris, it's nice to see you again."

"You to, Lee."

"Who are your friends?"

"Oh, Lennon is sitting next to me. The girl with the streaks is Earth, the
fuzzy guy is Kurt, and the little girl in the coat is Sorrow. Sorrow needs a
hair cut and new cloths and we could all use something to eat and a hot bath."

"I'm not your servant, either." Lee put a hand on her hip. "You really can be
rude,Chris."

Chris seemed to blush. "I'm sorry,Lee. Forgive me?"

Lee smiled a little. "Well, okay. Your forgiven. You can bring Sorrow to
the bathroom down the hall."

Earth stood up and took Sorrow's hand. "Thanks, Kurt come on." Kurt stood up
and followed Earth and Sorrow out of the room.

Lee looked after them. "Nice family. Aren't they a little young to have a
child?"

"No, they're just good friends." Chris filled in.

Lee nodded. "Okay, well-"

"Damn, I've missed the party again." A smooth male voice said from the door.
Everyone turned to see an eighteen year old guy. He was very tall (about
6'5'') and was well built. He had reddish brown hair, that fell over his
reddish eyes. He was dressed in black pants, a tight white t-shirt and boots.
He smiled his perfect white smile at Lennon and Lee. "Lee, you should have
told me we had a beauty in the house. I saw two other beautiful girls, going
to the bathroom with a fuzzy boy. This place is turning into my dream home."

Roger made a face. "Lennon,meet Nes Lebeau."

Chris sat up straighter. "Nes, it's good to see you, how have you been?"

"Good. I'm guessing you've been great with three pretty girls around you."

Chris blushed a little. "Well....yeah."

"Great." Lennon muttered, before standing up and picking up her things. "Now,
where is the food?"

"I'll show you." Nes said. "That will give Roger, Lee, and Chris time to
catch up."

*
Kurt stood outside the door of the bathroom. He could hear Sorrow whimpering
and making noise in the tub and he could also hear Earth tiring her hardness
to keep Sorrow in said tub. Kurt smiled at the thought of Earth having to be
calm and nice. A few seconds later, her green streaks now up to her
shoulders,while the rest of her of hair was still mid-back.

"I had to cut it, to show Sorrow it doesn't hurt to cut hair." Earth
explained. Kurt nodded and his face grew into a smile as Sorrow came out of
the room.

Sorrow's hair was now clean and was really a chestnut color. The hair was now
up to her shoulders and her eyes seemed brighter. She had burns on her
body,but they were almost hidden by the black leather pants and the coat.
Earth had cut the coat to make it shorter and to make it look like a rocker's
shirt. Sorrow was even wearing black shoes. She seemed to smile at Kurt as
she nodded her head a little bit.

"You look so good, shadow." Kurt told the younger girl. "So pretty." He put a
hand over his heart. "Be still my heart. Oh, you really look great. Streaks,
you've done wonders."

Sorrow looked from Earth to Kurt and back to Earth. The little girl hugged
Earth and then Kurt. She took Kurt's hand and stayed close to him. Kurt's
tail moved around a bit and hit Earth on the foot, something which she'd
normally yell at him about;instead she laughed.

"Come on, Fuz, Shadow and I are going to watch the sun rise."

*
Nes brought Lennon to the kitchen and had her sit down at the bar. He made
her a sandwich and handed it to her as he too sat at the bar.

"Uh, Nes how do you know Chris?" Lennon asked before taking a bit of her
sandwich.

"We grew up together, our parents were all X-Men. How'd you meet,Chris?"

Lennon blushed a little. "I...well....I tried to kill him. Because of my
powers, when I touch someone I hurt them or even kill them." She picked the
control collar up. "That's why I brought this with me."

Nes took the collar from her and looked it over. "You shouldn't use this,just
to touch people. One day, you'll learn to control your powers or at least
find someone you can touch. Trust me." Nes broke the collar in half, much to
Lennon's dismay. She looked like she wanted to yell at him, then beat him up.
"Shh, say cool. I promise you'll learn to touch without hurting or killing
anyone. In fact, I'll make it my goal."

Lennon groaned. "Agh, I was so close." She banged her head on the table. "So
close."

He put a hand on her head. "Hey, stop that. You'll hurt yourself." Nes got
Lennon to sit up again. "Now, I really think you need to chill. Bring your
stuff and come with me."

"And why should I follow you?" Lennon questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Nes leaned into her face. "Don't you trust me?"

"No."

"Come on, what did I ever do to you?"

"Nothing, I just don't trust you. It's very simple." Lennon stood up and
picked up her things. "Well, are you going to show me or not?"

"Ok. Come on."

*
"Let me get this straight." Roger said. He, Lee, and Chris were all still
sitting in the room. "Lennon tried to kill you. Earth, Kurt, and Sorrow are
slaves of M. And you want to restart the X-Men?"

Chris nodded. "Yep."

"Roger, I think Chris has finally lost it. Who did you have in mind? Who do
you want to join your X-Men, Chris?" Lee asked.

"Well, Nes will join. I was hoping Roger would, but I guess he won't be much
help right now." Roger gave Chris a look. "Sorry, man. Lee, I was planning on
asking the people I've brought here and you."

Lee shook her head. "No, I won't join the X-Men. Look, I'm sorry Chris, but I
just can't. You can stay here,but I won't fight."

"Lee, you have to. Please, Lee. Please?" Chris made puppy dog eyes at her.
"Leeeeeee."

"Nope." Lee stood up and walked over to the door. "Chris, I'm very sorry. I
just can't use my powers again." With that she walked out.

Chris let out a sigh. "That didn't go the way I had planned."

"With that woman, nothing ever goes the way you want it to. Trust me, I
know." Roger sat up. "You have a good idea, Chris. But, freeing the world of
M is an idea that people have had before."

"Yes,but this time I've got three of his ex-slaves. They can tell me all
about his plans and how he works."

"True, hey where are they anyway?"

It was then that the two mutants heard the laugher coming from outside. They
both went to the window, to see the three teens playing tag outside. Sorrow's
wings flapped around as she flew above the trees. Kurt teleported here and
there,trying to get close to the winged girl. Earth was on the ground,
yelling at them about using their powers. Chris and Roger exchanged a look
and smiled.

"That's so cute,I think I'm going to lose my breakfast." Roger muttered.

"Come on, it's sweet." Chris said. He hit Roger in the stomach a little. "Be
nice."

"You going outside to ask them?"

"No, I'll wait till they are inside and I'll ask Earth. She's the oldest and
seems to be in charge of the other two."

*
Later that morning, Chris walked up to the third floor and knocked on the
third door on his right. It was answered by Earth and she was holding a book.
Earth moved aside, so Chris could come in.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" Earth asked as she sat on the bed.

"I wanted to talk to you." Chris said, before leaning against the wall. "Do
you and the kids have anything planned?"

"Yes, Kurt and Sorrow are going to go their own way and I'm heading my way.
We decided that it will be better this way. I can take care of myself, but
Kurt and Sorrow need each other. Besides, this way it will be harder for M to
find all three of us."

"But, their your friends. You won't miss them?"

"Of course, I'll miss them. This way is the only way that will work. It's not
like I don't care about them, I just think this is best. We all do."

Chris nodded slowly. "Uh-hu. Hey, what if I told you that I could make it so
the three of you could stay together."

Earth stared at him. "I'd ask you if you had gone nuts."

Chris moved over to Earth and bent down next to her. "Earth, I want you and
Kurt and Sorrow to fight with me. Join the X-Men. Fight M with us." Earth was
silent for a moment. "Earth?" Earth started to laugh. "What's funny?"

She stood up and looked at Chris, still on the floor. "Fight M? You think
you can defeat M? Your crazy. No one has ever even come close to killing M.
Even the X-Men couldn't defeat M and they had years and years behind them.
What do you, Lennon, and the others have? Three years? Two days? One hour?
You can not kill M, get that idea out of your head. Ideas like that, get boys
like you killed."

Chris jumped up and stood inches from her. He leaned in and yelled in Earth's
face. "Boys like me? What's that supposed to mean? We can defeat M, we just
have to try! Earth, you and the others are free-for now. How long will that
last if you don't fight with us?! There is a war coming, a real war for
freedom. You escaped,but don't you want to free your friends still at M's
places?"

"It's to late for them, Summers. They've chosen to be on M's side. Look, I'm
sorry. You want Kurt and Sorrow, you'll have to ask them. I don't speak for
other people."

"And you? Will you join the X-Men?"

Earth closed her eyes for a moment. "I escaped, the last one of my family
alive. It's time to be what I need to be. I need to be a X-Men, right now.
You've got another X-girl." She kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Thanks for
helping us,Summers."

Chris blushed a bit and started toward the door. "It was really no problem.
Easy." He ran into the wall. "Ow. Okay, bye." Chris quickly opened the door
and walked out.

Earth stood there a second. "He's such a loser." She whispered with a shake
of her head.

*

Lennon sat in front of a table. She looked up at Nes, who was standing above
her. "This is going to help me chill?" She questioned him;not for the first
or even third time in half an hour.

"Yes, now color." Nes sighed.

"Color? I'm painting, not coloring." Lennon stated. She picked up her brush
and dipped it in red. She painted strange shapes on a white sheet of paper.

*
Kurt and Sorrow sat on the front steps, sharing an apple. Kurt handed Sorrow
the apple, just as Chris walked outside.

"Hell-o Chris." Kurt said as Chris came walking down the steps. Sorrow waved
a little bit and handed Kurt the apple.

"Hi, guys. Listen, I was wondering if you guys wanted to....well...see I'm
remaking the X-Men and I thought you guys might want to join?"

Sorrow and Kurt exchanged a look. She shrugged and then nodded. Kurt looked
back at Chris. "Fight M? Uh, sure. We'll fight for peace, besides Earth
already asked us using her telepathic ability and we told her yes. It's
really no big deal. You really should calm down."

"Oh? Okay, yeah. Wait, Earth is telepathic?"

"Oh, she's just full of surprises." Kurt answered with a fangy grin, before
handing the apple to Sorrow.

It was then that they heard the sound of a truck coming toward them. It was
an old blue truck, that was smoking in the back. They couldn't really see,but
it looked like a young blonde girl was driving with one hand on a man that
was bloody and nearly falling over.

Chris looked to the door to see Roger and Lee running outside. The two of
them ran down the steps and stopped by Chris.

"What's going on?" Chris questioned.

"Denny is bringing someone from the N. D. he got here from Russia last night
and is not only ill,but was badly hurt getting here." Lee filled in.

Kurt and Sorrow stood up and ran into the house, just as the truck stopped.

The girl opened the truck door and got out. She had opened wounds on her face
and she was full of blood. "I...I tried to heal him. I could only heal a
little."

Lee took Denny's hand. "It's okay,now. You'll be fine. Chris, help Roger get
him out of the truck."

Chris nodded and helped Roger get the man out of the truck. The brought him
in the house and upstairs.

TBC