Disclaimer: ::Oompa-Loompas come out and sing a clever song about how Cobra doesn't own these characters:: Oh, and I don't own the Oompa-Loompas either, for that matter.
Yeehaw, next chapter up! Spider-Man meets up with the X-Men, Magneto drops back into the action, and Cable turns up again! All sorts of spooky keen stuff for your enjoyment!
Talliecat: Welcome aboard!
Jacombo: Glad you're back. Don't worry, the X-Men will get some whooping time with the new Marauders soon.
Becca: Right, Leech. Good call, almost forgot about him. He's living at the Institute, he's not a part of the X-Men though, so I haven't really found a reason to write about him.
Goofn1: Got some good Lance stuff for ya in this chapter. You'll love it, I'm sure.
Morlin: I'm using comic Spidey, which means he's married to MJ, and uses web-shooters.
Elven Lord Mic: Unfortunately, I have not seen any of the new episodes. Sad for me, right? What that means, is that this fic sort of takes off in a different direction after the end of the third season. In this fic, the final door of Apocalypse remains safely sealed. For the time being anyway…
Ethelyn: Amanda's powers may yet surface if that's what people wanna see.
Roguechere: I will mention the team's members in the text of the stories, so don't worry none petite.
Well, that's it for ramblings. Enjoy the show!
Spider-Man scrambled up the side of the building, hopping over the lip at the top and flattening himself out on the roof just as a deadly rain of lead tore up the plaster where he had been clinging moments before.
The battle with the gun-toting men, whom Spider-Man had learned called themselves the Friends of Humanity thanks to the big advertisement splashed across their vans, had been going quite well. They had been terrorizing an elderly gentleman who ran a general store that sold to mutants, the very group of people Spider-Man's alter ego Peter Parker had come to Bayville to get pictures of for the newspaper he worked for, the Daily Bugle.
Then the bullets had started flying. Spider-Man was no stranger to dodging bullets; his agility and precognitive spider-sense were a perfect combination to escaping any gunfight virtually unharmed.
Then reinforcements in the form of two white vans full to bursting with F.O.H. members had arrived on the scene, and Spider-Man suddenly found himself facing off with more gunmen than even he could handle easily.
He had spent the previous five minutes avoiding fire, which had ended with him crawling up the side of a building and taking cover on the roof. He heard the gunfire cease. He had bought himself a few moments respite, but he didn't expect it to last. No doubt the men were already looking for a way up to the roof to finish him off.
Figuring he only had a few minutes to come up with a plan of action, Spider-Man shimmied to the edge of the building and peered over. Just as he had suspected, the head goon was giving marching orders to his men. One part of the group was being directed to take the direct approach and bust down the front door. A second was ordered to go around back and look for a fire escape or some other means of getting onto the roof. The remaining members stayed on the sidewalk to stand guard.
Spider-Man wasn't going to get a better chance. With the group divided in three, the numbers were back to a more manageable deal. If he was quick enough, he could eliminate one group before the others caught on.
The red and blue clad hero waited until the first group had disappeared inside the building. Giving them a few minutes in which to find the stairs and start climbing, Spider-Man brought his legs under him, tensed his muscles, and leapt.
Spider-Man sailed over the ledge and straight down. He landed on the ground behind the remaining group of F.O.H. members, his powerful leg muscles absorbing the impact. Before his adversaries could register his presence, he flipped forward, slamming his feet into the back on of man's head. By the time he hit the floor; Spider-Man had flipped to the side, landed on one man's shoulders, and used him as a platform to spring off of, bowling over another opponent. Leaping upwards, he spread both legs out in a split, catching two goons on the chin.
One of the F.O.H. members brought his rifle to bear. Spider-Man gummed up the barrel with a spray of webbing, backhanded the man, picked him up, and threw him into two more of his compatriots.
The group still inside the building had not yet gotten wind on the situation, but the group who had gone behind had been alerted by the sounds of battle. They came rushing back around the corner, guns trained on the wall-crawler.
His spider-sense gave him a warning, and Spider-Man jumped clear of the next round of bullets. Firing a web line across the street, Spider-Man swung over and attached himself to the building, crawling around the side to avoid more shots.
Spidey knew that if this kept up for much longer, one of two things was bound to happen. He'd get hurt, or some innocent would. He had to end the battle before the second option happened.
The arrival of a third van caught his attention. He inwardly groaned at the thought of having more gun waving lunatics running around. But as it came closer, he noticed a few differences between it and the vans belonging to the F.O.H.
For starters it was black, not white. And on closer inspection, it was revealed to be heavily armored, and it had obviously had some special modifications done to it. It screeched to a halt and the doors flew opened, spilling its' brightly costumed contents. Spidey wasn't quite so sure he was saved just yet; bright costumes didn't automatically mean good guys.
A sound from above caught his attention next. Glancing up, he saw a hybrid helicopter/jet thingy land on the building across the street. Once its' rotors stopped spinning it unloaded its' own crew of costumed strangers, who began to make their way to ground level.
"Well, things just got a whole lot more interesting." Spider-Man mumbled to himself.
Avalanche stepped out the X-Van's driver's seat, followed by the rest of his Silver Team. He was slightly apprehensive about the coming fight. This was his first mission as a Team leader, and he hoped he didn't screw up and get one of his teammates killed.
Lance glanced up at the roof and watched as Banshee's Gold Team disembarked from the Velocity. The Irish mutant began issuing orders like an old pro. Sucking in a breath, Lance turned his attention back to his team.
Shadowcat, Polaris, Magma, Spyke, Cannonball, and Boom-Boom stood by, awaiting his instructions.
"Alright guys remember, we're going up against normal humans. They're armed, but it's nothing we can't handle. Just remember to go easy on 'em. Nothing too serious, right?" He directed a meaningful look at Tabitha.
Tabby rolled her eyes. "Don't worry Lancey, I won't lose it."
"Right. Let's go." Silver Team made their way over to the Friends of Humanity, who raised their weapons at the sight of them.
Polaris raised her hands and grabbed some of the rifles in her magnetic grasp. With a tug, they were torn from their owner's hands. She then balled her fists, reducing the guns into hunks of twisted metal.
Magma powered up to her flame form, which startled some of the F.O.H. members so much that they forgot they were holding weapons. Firing off small jets of flame, she melted the barrels of their guns, rendering them useless.
Cannonball blasted into flight, barring down on a small number of adversaries. They fired at him, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off his kinetic envelope. He slowed down as much as he was able to before he actually crashed into the men, if he hit them at full force, he smash their bones into a fine powder.
As it was, he managed to slow himself enough that he only knocked them aside roughly. A few of them would likely suffer broken bones, but nothing they wouldn't live through.
On the roof above, Gold Team was preparing to descend to street level, when the part of the F.O.H. group that had originally gone into the building looking for Spider-Man emerged onto the rooftop.
A few tense moments passed while the two groups stared each other down, then the Friends of Humanity identified them as mutants and opened fire.
Colossus stepped to the fore, shielding his teammates with his armored body. Banshee rose above the group, using his sonic scream to disorient the F.O.H. members. The X-Men were unaffected, thanks to the Beast, who had provided them with special ear plugs that would filter out Banshee's sonic attack without impeding their hearing.
While their opponents were incapacitated, Toad and Nightcrawler sprung into their midst, knocking out one thug after another with powerful kicks and acrobatic maneuvers.
"Havok, Marrow, Bishop! Get down to the ground an' help out Silver Team, we'll finish up here!" Banshee shouted as Colossus strode into the enemies and began knocking them out. He knew that Avalanche's team would be facing greater numbers and might need the assistance.
Marrow and Bishop moved immediately to comply, used to taking orders from the older mutant. Havok hesitated only slightly, before accepting the order and following his ex-Marauder teammates, though he stayed a few feet back from them, still slightly uncomfortable in their presence.
Down below, the Silver Team were holding their own. Avalanche shook the ground beneath some of his attackers' feet, throwing off their aim. Bullets shot harmlessly into the sky as the gunmen fell onto their backs.
Glancing to the side, Lance watched as Kitty phased up through the ground, Boom-Boom in tow. Tabby formed a cluster of her time bombs, tossing them at the feet of some unsuspecting goons. The small bundles of energy went off, causing the men to jump and howl in pain as their boots were burned away. Spyke took advantage of their distraction to knock them senseless with a bone club.
Lance was about to turn his attention back to his own opponents, when he noticed an F.O.H. members sneak up behind Kitty, intent on splitting her head open with the butt of his rifle. Lance tried to shout a warning, but a pair of arms grabbed him around the neck from behind. His vision was suddenly filled by a man who slammed the butt of his rifle into Lance's gut.
The breath left Lance in a rush as his body attempted to double over by reflex, but was prevented by the arms holding him upright. Through swimming vision, he saw the rifle descended towards Kitty, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.
At that point, a red and blue fist flashed seemingly out of nowhere and connected with the side of Kitty's assailant's head. The rifle blow went wide and the thug toppled to the ground, out cold.
Lance was immensely relieved, but the feeling was short lived when he noticed the business end of an assault rifle pointed at his face. He tried to call forth his powers, but he was still too woozy from the blow to his stomach.
He squeezed his eyes shut just as the gunman squeezed the trigger. A bright light flashed by his face, and Lance waited for his world to end.
When he could still feel his heartbeat ten seconds later, he knew something was up. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a bewildered F.O.H. member standing in front of him, holding the smoking remains of his rifle.
Looking to his left, Avalanche saw Havok, his hand still glowing, standing with Bishop and Marrow. Alex had evidently saved him with a well timed plasma-blast.
Marrow formed one of her "bonemeranges" that she had become famous for during training sessions and hurled it at the man holding Lance. The projectile struck home and knocked him out. Lance dropped to one knee, sucking in air. He waved a thanks to his saviors.
Lance knew, as he stood to rejoin the battle, that he had something to tell Kitty tonight.
Shadowcat was slightly aware of a presence behind her. Turning her head, she just caught a glance of the rifle butt on a collision course with her head. She wouldn't be able to phase in time!
Before the blow could be struck, the red and blue stranger they X-Men had come to help in the first place swung down from his hiding spot, dispatching her attacker with a quick punch.
"Th-thanks." Kitty said, blinking at the speed with which he moved.
"No problem. Though I think I should be thanking you, little lady." The stranger said as he casually knocked out two more goons with a graceful back flip into a double spread kick. "You and your friends showed up in the proverbial nick of time."
The last conscious F.O.H. member was taken down when Bishop landed him a solid blow from one meaty fist. The Silver Team gathered around the stranger as the rest of Gold Team made it down from the roof to join them.
"Well, like I told your friend, thanks for the assist. But just who are you people?" The stranger asked.
"We're the X-Men. Or some of them, anyway." Kurt said. "I'm called Nightcrawler. This is Banshee, Colossus, Toad, Havok, Marrow, Bishop, Avalanche, Shadowcat, Polaris, Magma, Spyke, Cannonball, and Boom-Boom."
"Uh…well, I know I'm never going to remember all of your names, but it's nice to meet you anyway. I'm your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Um, take me to your leader?"
"So…Spider-Man, was it?"
Xavier sat behind his desk, looking up at the man his students had brought home. Rather than sitting in a chair, the red and blue clad superhero had opted to cling upside down to the ceiling.
"That's what they call me." He confirmed.
"Well, I must say, your appearance here is quite a surprise. I'm quite puzzled as to why my supercomputer Cerebro did not pick up on your mutation right away."
"Maybe that's because I don't have a mutation."
Xavier raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Then, how exactly are you sticking to my ceiling?"
Spider-Man shrugged. "Got bitten by a radioactively enhanced spider."
Xavier blinked. "I…see. So you weren't born with your powers?"
"Nope."
"Most interesting. And the webs?"
Spider-Man removed one of his gloves, revealing a device that was clamped around his wrist, with a small extension over his palm. Spider-Man touched the extension, and a thin web line shot forward, coating a corner of Xavier's desk.
"It's not actually webbing, but a chemical mixture designed to simulate it. I have to make more periodically to restock my supply."
"Hank would love to know the formula, I'm sure." Xavier said, reaching out to touch the sticky substance. It felt exactly as he figured a real spider's web would.
"So this school of yours is a training ground for mutants?" Spider-Man asked as he replaced his glove.
Xavier nodded. "That's correct. Mutant powers generally manifest themselves around puberty. The purpose of this institute is to teach young mutants how to control and master their powers, and how to use them against mutants who would use their powers for evil purposes. It's also to provide them a safe haven from those who…don't understand them."
"Like those guys I was fighting earlier when your students showed up to save my bacon?"
"Exactly. The Friends of Humanity are a perfect example of mankind's intolerance of us."
"I always hoped our kind was above that kind of stuff."
Xavier smiled. "Regardless, I continue to hope for a peaceful future between our species. In the meantime, do you require a place to stay while you're in town? I'm sure we could accommodate you."
Spider-Man shook his head. "No, it's alright. I've got a hotel. It'd be pretty hard for me to stay here, I'd have to keep my mask on all the time. Guys gotta have his secrets."
"Of course, however…" Xavier fished around in his coat pocket until he came up with a business card. He held it out to his guest. Spider-Man shot out a web line to retrieve it. "If you need the X-Men's assistance, just call that number."
"Thanks Professor." Spider-Man tucked the card into his boot. He then crawled across the ceiling and onto the wall. Crawling down until he reached a window, he opened it and slipped out. Giving one last wave to Xavier, Spider-Man departed the mansion. He still had to go back to the scene of the battle to get his clothes and camera.
"Jameson should pay a fortune for those shots. Wait a minute, this is ol' JJJ I'm talking about. I'll be lucky if I get enough to pay next weeks rent."
Kitty searched the mansion floor by floor. She hadn't seen Lance since they had gotten back from the battle with the Friends of Humanity. She could tell something was bothering him, but she couldn't find him to find out what.
Phasing her head through the rec room door, she saw Gambit, Pyro, Cyclops, Colossus, and Psylocke playing a game of poker. From the looks of things, Betsy was beating the pants off the boys, a fact that seemed to annoy Remy to no end.
"You sure you ain't usin' you're psychic powers cher?" Remy asked as Elizabeth won yet another hand.
"Why Mr. LeBeau, are you accusing a refined lady like myself of cheating?" Betsy asked as she collected her winnings, which was comprised of nearly all the contents of her opponent's wallets.
"Let me tell you, ol' Remy be playin' dis game a long time, an' he ain't never been cleaned out like he has by you. Somethin' not right."
"Yer jus' not used ta losin' Swamp Rat." Rogue said from the couch, where she was engrossed in one of her books. "Ya should learn ta accept it, its good fer ya."
Remy grumbled and began to deal the next hand.
"Hey, have any of you guys seen Lance around?" Kitty asked, remembering why she had come here in the first place.
The others looked at her and shook their heads or shrugged their shoulders. Betsy closed her eyes halfway for a moment and concentrated.
"He's out on the grounds, near the fountain, I think." She said at length.
"Thanks Betts." Kitty said. She pulled away from the door and hurried out the front door. Crossing the yard towards the fountain, she spotted a figure sitting under the elaborately carved angel. Just as Betsy had said, it was Lance.
"Lance, are you, like, alright?" She asked as she approached.
Lance jumped, startled, and turned to face her. "Oh, Kitty hey. I didn't hear you."
"Sorry." She sat down on the stone edge next to him, looking up at him. Lance looked back at her with a look she couldn't quite identify. "So, what's up with you. I haven't seen you, like, all day since we came back from the fight."
Lance sighed and looked away from her for a few moments. When he looked back, his eyes were shinning slightly.
"I…I almost died today, did ya know?"
Kitty gasped, her hand shooting to her mouth. She hadn't known. "W-when?"
"Right around the time when Spider-Man saved you from the guy. I almost got shot. Alex saved me, but if he had been a second later…"
He didn't finish his sentence, but Kitty realized where he was going. Her eyes filling with tears, she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.
After a few moments, she pulled back enough to look him in the face. "But he wasn't, and you're still here."
"I know, but…it got me to thinking. If I had…you know, I wouldn't have gotten the chance to tell you…tell you…"
"Tell me what?"
Lance closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. His face had gone slightly red, but he seemed determined to get the words out.
"That I…I love you."
Kitty stared dumbly at him for the next few minutes, bouncing his words around inside her head, making sure she heard what she heard. "You…you…?"
Lance nodded.
Kitty, forgoing words, as she wasn't able to formulate any anyway, planted her lips on his with enough ferocity to knock him off the edge of the fountain and onto his back on the ground.
They stayed like that for quite some time, until they both felt a chilling sensation in the air around them.
Breaking their kiss, the pair looked up just in time to see an out-of-season pile of snow land on their heads.
They clambered out of the pile, turning angry glares on the young Bobby Drake, who was standing by with an impish grin on his face.
"Had to make sure you guys didn't get too carried away."
"You're dead, Popsicle!" Lance yelled.
"Ah crap!" Bobby formed a hasty ice slide and made his escape. Lance pursued him, the ground shaking as he ran, with Kitty bringing up the rear, promising many painful deaths, most of which involved an ice cream scoop, a rubber chicken, a nutcracker, or some combination of the three.
Sinister always spent a lot of time in his laboratory. But over the past few days, he had been in there longer than was normal even for him. That was to be expected, he had great work to do.
He studied the glass cylinder that ran floor to ceiling, and the figure that floated within among a greenish ooze. It had grown much in the last seventy-two hours. It now had recognizable limbs and a head. In just a few more days, it will have grown as much as if it were a normal fetus in it's' mothers womb for nine months.
Sinister was pondering what to call his creation when he heard a disturbance coming from upstairs. The ceiling shook, knocking bits of plaster loose. Sinister thought nothing of it, probably just Rictor flexing his muscles.
When the shaking failed to stop several minutes later, Sinister began to grow concerned. The shaking was then punctuated by shouting, and footsteps running to the door to his lab.
It flung open and Rictor's voice called down. "Boss! It's Magneto!"
Sinister scowled. How had that deluded fool managed to find him. Rising from his chair, Sinister mounted the stairs to the main level and strode through the mansion he and the Marauders had acquired.
Sounds of battle could be heard coming from the front lawn. Upon reaching the scene, Sinister saw his Marauders locked in combat with Magneto, his son Quicksilver, the animal Sabretooth, and a newcomer Sinister didn't recognize. He wore a yellow, purple, and black armored costume with a yellow cape. He had fine, chiseled features, and lustrous, black, shoulder length hair.
The newcomer was swerving back and forth through the air, discharging energy bolts at the Marauders, holding them at bay.
"So Magnus, finally come calling have you?"
Magneto held up a hand, and his Acolytes ceased their attack. The Marauders also stopped at the arrival of their leader.
"Ah, you must be Sinister. I've heard so much about you from Sabretooth here. Used to be friends, did you?"
"Used to be." Sinister growled, casting a red-eyed glare Sabretooth's way. The big mutant seemed to flinch inwardly, but returned the glare with equal ferocity.
"Oh, where are my manners. Have you met my newest Acolyte?" Magneto gestured at the newcomer. "I'd like you to meet Bennet DuParis.
"Better known as Exodus."
Bishop strolled into the entrance foyer of Xavier's mansion. It had been amusing to watch Psylocke clean house at the poker game. Obviously the Cajun had never come up against an opponent who could keep up with him, and had insisted on dealing hands until he had nothing left to wager.
Bishop was almost to the kitchen when a knock came from the mansion's front door. Noticing that no one else was around to answer it, Bishop crossed back to it and pulled it open.
He was greeted by the sight of a futuristic looking rifle pointed directly between his eyes. Bishop followed the rifle's barrel back to its owner. He took in the close cropped silver hair, the glowing left eye, and the metallic left arm.
"Ah Hell."
"Hello Bishop." Cable said, and pulled the trigger.
Alrighty! Another chapter down. Score. Who knew Betsy was that good at cards? And Magneto's most fanatically loyal Acolyte has made his appearance now! And what will become of poor Bishop? Stay tuned to find out! Until next time, Cobra awayyyyy!
