I feel incredibly privileged.  I have been here for about three weeks, and my combined review count is up to the one hundreds!

Akai Kah'ghe:  Empathy with Toad?  I don't think so. Maybe.  He's too….human, if you'll pardon the expression.  *trying to receive thoughts* I'm doing my best!

Laureate:  I'll admit something now.  I actually love Pietro.  When I read the original comics, he was my favorite.  Don't worry, there will be reptiles.

Flamingo1 : Actually. There may be a little romance, but as of yet it will be severely underdeveloped (ie. Crushes, so on.)  But it will probably get a little more serious later.   And those are only for the original X-men.  I haven't even gotten into Danny's romantic interests yet.  Though my muses and I are thinking up something good…..

Fire Raven3: You think I'm going to leave that wonderful Ausssie behind?  No way.

Abigail Marie:  Herman thanks you.  You.

Disclaimer: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHHAHHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  ……..sorry. I don't own anything except what is mine.  X-men is not mine.

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They said the threat was some radical group, the Friends of Humanity.  They had buddied up with some guy Trask's scientist and made something that hunted mutants.  That's why we had to stick together, to protect ourselves.

I felt the same twinge of fear that I felt when Herman and his colony invaded my room.  It was a controlled fear, the kind that tightens your gut and causes your heart to beat a couple of tics faster. Like when you're looking at a bully at school.  You know what he can do, but you don't want to back down.

It took a day for everyone to settle in and for plans to be made. When the night came, everyone gratefully slid into that uneasy sleep that comes only from exhaustion and anticipation.

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"AHHHH!  AHHHH! AHHHH!"

I bolted straight upright , sending Doggy tumbling off the bed.  I panicked and dug under my pillows to grab the flashlight I had there.  Fumbling I turned it on and shined it into the screamer's face.

Jubes was standing up in her bed, doing some crazy dance that involved her trying to stomp on something.

"Jubilee!" Rahne fell off the cot she was sleeping on and tried to go help, but got tangled in the covers and fell flat on her face.

"AHHHHHH!!  GET IT OUT, GET IT OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

There was nothing wrong with Jube's lungs. 

Jube's little dance landed her too close to the end of the bed and she landed on the floor via posterior.  It didn't seem to stop her though, since she got up, ran towards the door, tripped over Rahne who was still fighting the covers, got up again, and opened the door into somebody and ran out screaming.

Doggy was freaked out as it was by his rude awakening and fled out the door as well (after he ran into Rahne, thwarting her third attempt to get up).

"What's going on?!" Mr. Logan stuck his head into the doorway and glared at us, Rahne still struggling with the covers and me sitting up with the flashlight.

"Jubes just ran out!" The Scottish girl managed to get out finally and stood looking at the bed.  " She just freaked and starting doing some crazy jig."

As soon as she stopped speaking, something big and black flew off the bed and landed on her chest.  She was wearing a tee top and it looked like it fell down her shirt.  I saw her eyes widen dramatically and she tore out of the room screaming.  As loud as she was, I bet everyone heard her.  I heard the front doors burst open and slid off my bed to look out the window.

Rahne was pulling off her tee top overshirt (she had a tank top under it) and attracting a pretty good crowd.  When she finally got the top off, she swung it like a sling and threw it over the fountain statue.  Then she did an about face and ran back screaming her head off.  About halfway she turned into a wolf and started baying.

Mr. Logan appeared a couple of minutes later, took the shirt off the fountain and looked inside it.

"DOOLITTLE!"

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Because of the new arrival of our..errr…comrades, we had to buddy up our rooms.  Since I had a fairly large room, both Rahne and Jubes roomed with me.  Amara got Jean, Kitty got Rogue.  Wanda got her own room.  The boys all had to buddy up too, but that's besides the point.

"What the hell is this THING?!"

Everyone was gaping at the jar Mr. Logan was holding up.  Even the Alcolytes and the Brotherhood was there. The thing Mr. Logan was referring to was the thing that went down Rahne's shirt.  To my credit, I didn't know what it was either.

It was like a spider, except it had ten legs.  They had to put it into a jar because it kept running off and Pietro didn't want to keep touching it because he was freaked out by it.

It was kinda cool looking though.

"Well?!" Mr. Logan was glaring at me.

"I've never seen that thing before in my life!" I defended.

"Not surprising."  Mr. McCoy wandered in holding a piece of paper.  "It's not native here."

"What is it, mate?"  The Aussie looked at the jar with morbid fascination.

"Order Solifugidae.  The common name for it is a Sun Spider or a Wind Scorpion, because it runs so fast.  They are usually found in the southwest, but they are sold at petshops for food."

"Then what is it doing here?"  Again, Mr. Logan was glaring at me.  I glared back.

"Do you think I bring strange creatures that I have no idea what they are home?  No! I do not bring home giant spiders so they can sit in my friend's beds."

Bobby grinned from the back.  "This would be such a cool prank if you had actually meant it to happen."

I raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Logan?  Can I borrow the nice spider?"

"No.  No more trouble tonight.  We'll deal with this thing in the morning."  He gestured to the jar, then handed it to Mr. McCoy.

"Alright."  Mrs. Monroe stepped in.  "Everyone back to bed.  We have a mission tomorrow."

Jubes and Doggy, back from heaven knows where, fell in step beside me as I followed Rahne back up to my room.  I think Rahne was mourning the loss of her tee shirt. 

When we got back there, Jubes immediately started tearing up her covers.  Rahne did the same.  I assume they were looking for more spiders.

"Hey Dan."

"Yeah Rahne?"  I looked up from putting my pillows back on my bed.

"You didn't….."

"Noo."  I took a deep breath.  " The only things that come into my room on a regular basis, that I know of, are bats, Doggy, several cats, the odd bird, and a couple of rodents that will be staying away."

"Oh good."

We all settled back down on out respective beds and allowed silence to fill the room.  A thought struck me.

"Jubes."

"Dan."

"Where'd you learn to dance like that?"

Something that sounded remarkably like a scottish girl choking back laughter was heard under the silence.

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I was a spy.

Herman was hanging out underneath my jacket (blue) and Doggy stood next to my hip.  And above me, a flock of doves sat cooing and generally looking like normal doves.  But they were with me.

The building I was spying on was about six stories tall, with red brick all around.  Every once in a while, if you looked real close, you could see someone pass by the tinted windows.

At my mental signal, Doggy went off to 'chase' the doves, sending them flying in all directions.  I 'ran' after my dog to make it look like I was having trouble with him.  He ducked down an alleyway with me in pursuit.

Once we were turning into another alleyway that completely blocked the sight of us from the building we were spying on, I jumped onto a dumpster and managed to wriggle my way up to the fire escape.  Doggy had to stay below, but I gave him the official job as lookout.

I climbed the fire escape up to the top of the building, and signaled out to my flock.  They had positioned themselves all over, effectively covering all bases without looking suspicious.

Taking a deep breath and stabilizing myself mentally, I contacted the professor.

'Everything is in place Professor.'

'Good job Danny.  Tells us if anything happens.'

I mentally agreed and turned my attention back to the flock.

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Magneto glared out the window.

"You make a serious decision here Charles.  Our future lies in the balance. Do you really think that little girl has what it takes?"

"You'd be surprised Magnus. She is very trustworthy.  And with her gift, she makes a most excellent spy."

"Truly the ability to speak with animals is a wondrous gift."

 "Yes."

Everyone else on the flight looked nervous.  All of the teams sat in the jet, waiting for the signal.

'Professor.'

Xavier looked up startled.  Magneto looked at him. "What is it?"

'Professor?'

'Danny? What's going on?'

Xavier nodded to Magneto. "It's Danny."

'I've got vans moving out of the building.  All of them have some guys with hard artillery in them. Is that what you.'

The connection broke off so suddenly Xavier didn't realize that it was gone at first.

'Danny?'

Magneto watched his old friend.  "Charles?"

"Something is going on.  There are vans pulling out of the building, and I've lost Danny.  She may be in danger." 

"Then what ah we standin around heah for? Let's go!"  Rogues voice carried, carrying with it everyone's sentiments. 

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I never knew you could fall off six stories into a dumpster and hurt nothing but your pride until today.

The shots were still going off.  I had begun to suspect something when the flock had to move because the guards were taking potshots at them, but I hadn't realized that there were others behind me, aiming.  I was lucky I was so clumsy.  I had been walking towards the stairwell when I tripped over air.  The bullet went right over me and murdered a flowerpot someone had left outside.

I then decided that running down the fire escape would take too long.  Not a smart idea, but I was being shot at and I panicked.  I jumped off the building and landed in the dumpster.  I stunk, but I wasn't dead.

I hoisted myself over and out of the dumpster, falling on Doggy in the process.  His growls were cut short when bullets started raining above us.  We booked it out of there.

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The groups attacked the vans on the sidestreets.  But soon after that, everything went bad. 

As it turned out, the vans were a trap.  As soon as they were attacked, the doors flew open and stun guns started blazing.  Rogue managed to grab one guard, absorbing the memories.

"It's a trap!  There's nothin' heah, we gotta go!  We're the targets!"

At the sound of her confession, a sort of mass retreat broke out.  Flyers took to the air.  Kitty grabbed a couple of people and phased them through a building.  Others took off on foot.  The attack broke off so suddenly there was no time to organize a pursuit on the guard's part.

But that didn't stop them from calling others.

*^**^*^*^*^^^*^**^*^*^^*^*

It was a good thing Doggy and I ate our wheaties this morning.  I don't think we would have been able to keep this pace any other way. Our pursuers were about a half a block behind us, having finally shown themselves.  Not that it would help them anyway.  Me and Doggy were only just started.  And we were picking up speed fast.

They were still shooting at us, but they must have had awful aim, because they weren't hitting us.  Well, they weren't now.  I think something bit me in my side, but if it was a bullet, it must have only grazed me.  I knew Herman was safe, he had moved to the front of my shirt, so he wouldn't get hit by a stray bullet.

Grinding metal up ahead caused me to think of Magneto.  As far as I knew, he was the only person who could bend metal like that.  He totally destroyed one of the danger room claws.  My hopes were raised-

-only to crash through the ground.  It was not Magneto, it was an eight foot tall robot with tentacles coming out of it's back.  It had armor and claws and teeth….

………Oh crap…….

"AHHHHHHH!"  My impression of Jubes was one of a kind.   I turned to see the guys with the guns, turned again to see a brick wall, then turned all the way around to the street of busy cars.

This did not register because I was between a robot and a hard place.  I took my chances and hauled my jaywalking butt across the road.

Everybody breaks for dogs, but do they break for the freaky kid who can talk to animals?  Nope, they just run her over.  Plenty of her where she came from.

After almost getting hit for the third time while someone politely stopped for Doggy, I began to spout a whole rainbow of new language.  At least the guards behind me were having as much trouble.  I managed to make it to the edge of the last lane and was almost home free when somebody blindsided me and tossed me into a couple trashcans in the side. 

Again, I was saved by trash. Doggy was by my side when I got up and limped off into the alleyway, away from the guards who were stuck in the middle of the road, and the robot that was practically breathing on my neck.

It occurred to me that I had a snowball's chance in hell of getting away from that thing.  I was hurt, helpless, and the only weapon to my name was a big wolfhound.

I swore softly under my breath and looked over my shoulder to see the robot not two feet away.  My blood froze in my veins while my heart started beating like a jackhammer.  Then it leapt for me.

"Oh Sh—!"\

A flurry of fire swept past my shoulder and hit the robot square in the chest.  It fell backwards, the front metal plate all destroyed. 

But it wasn't quite done yet.  It started moving forward again.  This time electricity went past my shoulder and went into the robot via ruined breastplate.

It exploded.  And being as close as I was, I was tossed backwards like a Danny rag doll.

I landed hard on my back.  Everything was swirling around me.  It was hard to get a bearing.

"Danny!  Wake up!" 

My eyes cleared enough for me to determine that it was Ray standing over me.  He saw me awake and looked immensely relieved.

"We've got to get you out of here.  There's more.  Let's go."  Ray dragged me to my feet, and I did my best to follow the people that were running around me.  My right leg hurt badly, or more specifically, my knee, and it was hard for me to keep up. But I managed to pull myself together enough to pull off a flat out run.

As my eyes cleared, I could tell that something had gone badly.  The fireslinger, whom I had thought to be Amara, turned out to be the Aussie.  The only people from the institute were Sam, Rogue, and Ray.  Lance and Wanda from the brotherhood and the aussie pyro from the alcolytes were the others.

Our jagged course somehow took us to an airfield.  There was a plane getting ready for takeoff, sitting there like the holy grail or something. 

"Get on the plane!"  Lance hauled forward, causing the rest of us to speed up.  Doggy decided to show him real running and blitzed past him over to where the open baggage compartment door was located.  He jumped in, and made his way to the back while the rest of us followed suit. 

We hid ourselves around the old ladies carpet bags and thirty day business trip bags, hoping against hope that more of those things didn't decided to pull a slasher (movies with the axe wielding murderers) movie type thing and jump in with us.

I guess we should have been wondering about the plane, because the baggage door suddenly closed and it started moving.  Everybody was silent as we all felt the pull of gravity fall away.

"Ah doan't suppose we cahn stop this plane."  Rogue poked her head out from beside a hideous flowered bag.

"I can.  But I don't think you guys will like the results."  Wanda struggled to get over a pile of bags, totally ignoring Sam's helping hand.

"Can't you guys call your boss? I mean, luv, you sheilahs got the guy who can tell what's going on in some joeys mind three hundred miles away!"  Aussie boy was fiddling with his lighter as he addressed Rogue and I.

"I tried that already!  Nohbodies answerin'!"  Rogue's hair was all messed up.

"Well," I managed to croak out as I tried to get up without squashing Herman, "I guess we're taking a road trip."

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Alright!  Third chapter done!

Oh, and if you're wondering, there is such a thing as a Sun Spider.  I found a picture on the web, but it's not showing up.  If you put Sun Spider in google, you'll get it within the first five sites. 

Freaky looking thing.

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