Lone Star

Disclaimer: Whoopla!

A/N: All right this isn't as long as I would have liked, but still....I'd like to send a shout out to:

TheWolf: You got it!

UNC: And stuff....

SpasticSkitzo: I wish mine was too my house is full of crazy people! GAH!

Risty: Bad people of course, you silly goose, you. J/K.

Stephanie: Aw, I'm so happy for them too. They're such late bloomers! LOL!

Lladyred01: Ya'll should check out this chick's story, 5 aces in a deck, or else!

I'm also including a better description of March at the request of one of my reviews.

Chapter eleven, Thick as thieves, suckah!

The plan was in place; Xavier and Archimedes had planned, critiqued and re-planned. All that was left was to gather everyone together, which was proving harder than they--for all their planning-had planned.

Gathering some of the kids was easy enough, Rouge almost never left, Amanda was visiting her grandparents in Iowa so Kurt was sulking around, Jean and Scott were washing their cars, Kitty was swimming and trying her hardest to phase through the water so she could stay under longer, so far no luck, and unfortunately all the other were lost somewhere.

Xavier had sent Storm to gather up the strays that were teeming about the city, and asked Hank to find hunt down the ones running around the mansion, including March, Logan, and Polaris.

***

Hank grumbled as he stalked through the mansion he'd found almost everyone except for Kurt, Kitty and March. He'd been meaning to talk to her since yesterday but unfortunately she'd eluded him all day. He wasn't sure if she was mad at him or not. She has every right to be, a sadistic voice said somewhere in the back of his head. After the way you went on about: Oh I don't want to be a mutant anymore, without the slightest thought that she was a beast too. Hank came outside and walked around the grounds; the sadistic voice still grumbling in his head. Will you be quiet! The more dominant voice said. The sadistic voice retreated. Hank continued to walk looking for the kids, and asking himself is having a fight with the voices in your head was indeed one of the first signs of insanity.

He rounded the east corner of the mansion and came up to the pool, looking around he didn't see anyone, but he heard the sound of water moving. He glanced down into the pool, and then he saw Kitty down at the deep end down near the bottom. The sunlight came streaming onto her small body, through the ripples her body looked malformed. She was lying with her eyes closed, and didn't look like she was coming up anytime soon.

Sighing he crouched down he grabbed the edge of the pool and leaned in, he reached Kitty and gently tapped her. Her eyes popped open and she opened her mouth in surprise. Unfortunately she lost all her air while doing this. She quickly pushed off the bottom of the pool and erupted at the surface causing water to splash the area around her. Beast sighed and pushed the wet fur out of his face.

"Like why," She spit out a mouth full of water and pulled herself out of the pool. "Did you do that?" she grabbed a towel and began to dry herself her off.

Hank shook himself off causing Kitty to shriek as more water hit her, "because the professor is gathering everyone for a meeting. He says to see him in his office as soon as you can be there."

"Ok." Kitty wrapped the towel around herself and began to leave, but Beast remembered something and turned around just before she got out of ear shot.

"Kitty do you know where Kurt or March are?"

"Yeah, like, they went to the garden I think." She waved and pointed her hand in the general direction of the garden. Hank nodded.

"Thanks Kitty!"

"Like, no problem!" She left retreating to the mansion to get a change of dry clothes.

Hank sighed and began walking again, he was almost dry now, he really hadn't gotten all that wet. Today was just a bad day that was all, the world was not out to get him, it was just a bad day.

He rounded one corner of the mansion that lead to the garden, and saw Kurt and March there laughing, as they sat on the carved stone bench. He paused for a moment and watched them. The only two others he'd seen like himself. Kurt's transformation was due to Magneto's experiments. March though, she had mutated much like he had. Her shocking blue fur covered all the skin he could see, and all of what he couldn't. She wore normal cloths like he did most of the time, except her pants were always cut right below the knee, and every shirt she wore had, demon, beast or monster, written in some language today it was Spanish Monstruo (Monster). He really could see the similarities between them, not in color but in the look o things. Her face seemed human, and beautiful only covered in fur, her hair much like his was long and a different color than the rest of the fur that covered their bodies, hers though was a bright neon orange, two blue fur covered pointed ears peeked out from the mess of hair. From her smile he could see her sharp pointed teeth. Her hands remand human except for the long claws that replaced normal fingernails.

She suddenly turned and faced him, "Hello Hank! Come on over and sit with us." She smiled reviling her perfect sharp, white teeth, and waved at him.

"Yeah, join ze furry party!" Kurt yelled happily.

"How-" Hank began but March cut him off.

"I could smell the wet fur from here." She said and tapped her nose. That was quickly becoming her trademark. "So what did you come here to tell us?"

Hank shook his head. Did she know everything? "Xavier wants us all to meet in his office."

March's eyes lit up. "I know what he wants! I knew Uncle A. had something like this planned!" Apparently she did. "Come on you two, you'll be so surprised I guarantee it."

Hank turned and raised an eyebrow at Kurt who shrugged. "Come one." March whined and grabbed their hands tugging them like a three year old in a hurry to get an ice cream cone. Kurt laughed and got up.

"I'll see you two in ze profezzer office." And with that and 'BAMF' he was gone.

March blinked for a moment and then laughed, "I keep forgetting he can do that." She said. "Well come on just because he's gone doesn't mean you're off the hook. Let's go."

She dragged him towards the mansion still holding his hand.

Storm herded the last of the kids in. There were many grumbling coming form the kids. Polaris distinctly heard from one of the girls, Tabitha, pout 'And that shirt was on sale too.' And from one boy she'd been talking with recently Roberto Da Costa (Sunspot) she got 'Man and I was next in line. Man I'm hungry!'

He walked over and sat next to her and Logan. Logan grunted and he twitched. Polaris laughed and looked at him sympathetically, he shrugged and tried to look as defiant as he could. He was so adorable, really. She had to admit when she was in high school; she would have jumped at the chance to 'go out' with a boy like this. Then she glanced at Logan and sighed. Oh well sometime the compromise was better, even if the boy was sweeter.

Another boy Samuel came walking in with a girl, Amara. Sam was stumbling awkwardly beside her and both Polaris and March hid a smile. They'd both seen his awkwardness around girls and both found it absolutely adorable. Amara, now that she was one of the only girls left in the New Mutants, tended to try and make him as uncomfortable as possible. They couldn't blame the girl they both tried they're hardest to make their guys as uncomfortable as possible as well. Bobby came in just after them fiddling ideally with his ice powers.

The last to come in was Ray, he was in full guy pout mode, and slouched against the far wall, distinctly near Tabitha it seemed.

Across the room Xavier sat behind his desk and in the seat nearest to him, Archimedes sat. Finally seeing that everyone was finally in the room, he 'ahemed' loudly and every one gave him their undivided attention.

"I suppose you are all wondering why I called you here?" He looked expectantly around the room. There were nods, smart comments, dramatic sighs and complaints heard all around. "I am aware that it is summer vacation for you all." There were more nods, smart comments, dramatic sighs and complaints. "There for I would like to propose a 'field trip' if you will." No one moved. Every other field trip the professor had ever proposed ended in disaster. "We will be going to a rather large town-" He continued the story and finally Archimedes took over to the students rapt attention, he explained the rules of the Point where they all would be staying, and any minor details Xavier had left out. Everyone in the room was excited to leave. They all wanted to see this new place, to meet these new mutants. It was a fascinating idea, a city of mostly all mutants. They couldn't wait.

But unfortunately they'd have to. The ride was after all six hours.

They left the next day and everyone was impatient to be off. Especially Polaris. It had been a year since she'd been to her home. Logan could tell she was anxious but he didn't say anything as they loaded the helicopter and Blackbird. He hadn't really said much to her at all in the last three days. He couldn't think of anything to say at all. Polaris didn't seem to notice. She really hadn't expected him to change much, so she wasn't pressing the issue.

"That's the last bit." She declared and threw the last duffle bag into the cargo bay. "Lets move out!" She gave a whoop and jumped into the pilot seat of the helicopter.

"I'm piloting Black." He said and got up beside her.

"That's what you think." She said and started the engine; Logan jumped into the co-pilot seat and glared at her. "Don't worry I'll let you sit in the big boy seat on the way back."

Logan growled and she laughed and turned to look at the few students in the back of the chopper March, Hank, Xavier and Archimedes were in the Blackbird, it was Logan, Roberto, Ray, Tabitha, Amara, and herself.

She smiled at them and took off, flying fast into the horizon.

A/N: Sounds like a western movie. R&R!