NOTE: The Nasty Boys are Mr. Sinister's counterpart to X-Factor

Chapter 13

            Every X-men was hurled backwards as they were struck by a sonic blast. "Ugghhh, I never thought heightened hearing can be so painful," remarked Wolverine. Scott knew what he meant. Even though his hearing wasn't as acute as Logan's, his head was pulsing madly. He found it hard to gain his balance as he got up.

            Standing in front of the X-men were four mutants. The one who attacked them had long pink hair and wore a garishly decorated outfit (Ruckus). Standing close by was a huge figure who looked like he'll give Colossus a run for his money in terms of strength. With his massive jaw and small eyes, he looked kind of deformed (Slab). The third member had a dog-like mutation giving him brown fur, large claws and sharp teeth (Hairbag). The last member had a purple, clay-like body that looked like it could stretch (Gorgeous George).

"Look what we got here," Hairbag snorted.

"Perfect, I was itching to for a fight." Slab's jaw widened in a grin. The Nasty Boys rushed the X-men, who scattered in different directions as Ruckus let loose another audio blast from his vocal chords.

~We don't have time for this~ Scott thought as he shot at Ruckus, who dodged. "Wolverine, Gambit, get going. We'll cover you," he shouted, choosing those two because of Logan's sense of smell and Gambits familiarity with the area. He popped over a pile of rubble he had been hiding behind and carpeted the area with red light to cover the two mutants.

            The now five members of X-men and X-Factor then paired off against the four opposing members of the Nasty Boys. Beast found himself duking it out with Hairbag, while Storm threw a bolt of lightning at Gorgeous George. Blink and Psylocke were occupied with Ruckus as Scott took on Slab.

            Cyclops watched in fascination as Slab's body increased in size, as did (he presumed) his strength. Towering over his opponent, the massive mutant charged. Scott rolled neatly away before firing an optic blast. The shaft of red stuck his chest, but only made Slab stumble backwards, barely fazing him.

"Is that the best you've got?" the bigger mutant taunted as he stampeded towards him again, fist brought back for a bone-crunching punch.

            Betsy jumped out of the way as another blast of sound smashed into the place where she was standing microseconds before. She was almost as anxious as Scott to get to Jean and Angel. Something in her body just heated up at the thought of the handsome blond. Leaping straight at the wall, she kicked off of it gracefully, soaring high in the air before kicking Ruckus in the chest. As her opponent slid across the floor, she heard a loud roar as Slab once again rushed Cyclops. This time, her leader blasted a hole in the floor, causing his opponent to stumble. Seizing the opportunity, he blasted the dim-witted mutant at full power, the force of the attack picking up its target and slamming it through the concrete walls. Slab was buried under of heap rubble, though didn't matter anyhow: the force of the blast had knocked him out cold.

            Refocusing on Ruckus, she turned to see Blink running away as a huge wave of sound chased her. Clarice jumped into the air and instantly disappeared in a flash of yellow light just as the shockwave caught up to her. Using the momentum that she gained, she teleported behind her enemy and kicked Ruckus face first onto the floor. As he got up, Betsy charged her opponent and, sidestepping another sound blast, formed a purple psychic blade around her hand and drove it into his head. Ruckus screamed in pain as he blacked out.

"Are you guys okay?" Scott ran up to Blink and Betsy. Seeing that they were, he continued, "I need to find Jean. Psylocke, you go search for Angel. If you get lost, contact one of us telepathically. Blink, stay here and help out Storm and Beast, would ya?" The three then split up, as they carried out their assigned tasks.

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            Psylocke found herself running around in a maze of hallways. Her feet made kept up a steady beat as her silver boots banged onto the white marble floor. She had been running around for five minutes now. She finally saw a door and kicked it open, hoping to find Angel inside. Empty. Finding another one, she kicked that one too. Nothing. Getting irritated, she resorted to destroying every single door in sight.

She was kicking down her twenty-something-th one when she thought she heard huge bang. It sounded distant, so she chose to ignore it as she kept up her search.

//Psylocke, report\\

//Nothing yet Scott. I'll keep looking. What was that?\\ Betsy was curious at what caused the explosion.

//Let's just say I found Jean. I'm getting her out\\ Sensing her emotions at his end of the telepathic link, Scott laughed. //Hey Bets, Jean was just wondering why don't you just mind scan the area instead of dicing everything up\\

            Psylocke could've smacked herself. Hands to her temples, she began resumed her search.

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            Beast, Storm and Blink easily finished the last of the Nasty Boys when Wolverine walked in, supporting a stumbling Gambit. A few feet behind them was Scott, carrying a sleeping Jean in his arms. For the first time since the Sentinel attack, Blink saw her field leader actually relax. ~So that's the girl he's had been crushing over~

"Where's Psylocke?" Beast asked. He seemed unaffected by his fight with Hairbag.

"Out looking for Warren. She's scanning the area telepathically right now," Scott replied. He was careful not to wake Jean. She was exhausted by this whole ordeal, but at least in one piece. He just hoped that Warren would be the same. It was then he noticed that Jean was still wearing that strange collar.

"Hey Wolverine, think you can use one of your claws and unscrew this collar?" he asked, gesturing to it with his head.

"Sure thing kid." With one adamentium claw extended, Logan easily removed the power inhibiter from her neck. As he did, Jean stirred in her sleep, purring a bit as she snuggled against Scott's shoulder. He couldn't believe how beautiful she was.

"So, what shall we do with our attackers?" Storm inquired.

"Jus- Hey, where'd dey go?" Surprised by Gambits answer, everyone looked around, and noticed that the Nasty Boys were gone.

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            After several minutes of scanning, Psylocke finally detected Warren's mental signature about a hundred feet down the hall where she was standing. She covered the distance quickly and found herself standing in front of a pair of metal doors. Seeing that there was no way she could break in, she formed a psionic knife in her hand and slammed it into the electronic lock that controlled them. Sparks flew in every direction as the doors slowly opened.

She walked into the room that once housed Apocalypse's Four Horsemen. There were four operating tables, but the Horsemen were gone. Warren was nowhere to be found.

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            "Apocalypse," Sinister called in an emotionless tone. His body finally assumed its original shape as his regeneration factor kicked in. Scott Summers' final attack had almost destroyed him, the concussive force leaving behind nothing but his skeletal structure. It didn't help that his optic blasts tampered with the reconstruction of his mangled body.

"What happened tinkerer? Are the Horsemen ready?"

"There has been a minor set back. The X-men located the lab, but I managed to transport your soldiers away before they got a hold of them. Needless to say, this incident will delay the completion of your soldiers," Essex calmly explained. It wasn't an outright lie – it was half true.

            The other mutant looked ready to kill him, but stopped himself. "Very well. See to it that they are finished soon," he said, exchanging his frown for a wicked grin.