No one could say how it happened.
No one could pinpoint exactly who threw the first fist.
All Ray knew was that this punk wanted a piece of him, and he wasn't about to disappoint.
Blows were exchanged, and the punk was soon bleeding from a broken nose, while Ray had yet to show a mark apart from some bruised knuckles. Though he hadn't wanted to fight (a rare occurrence, to be sure) he knew his rights, this was legally self-defense.
Especially when his buddies jumped him.
When they did, Ray tried to fight them off without using his powers. Not out of a respect not to hurt them, but because he didn't want a lecture from Kelly, the Prof AND Logan. But when push came to shove, Berzerker lived up to his name.
Trouble is, his powers didn't.
A fist the size of a Buick slammed into his gut and he fell to his knees as the others started to kick, finding him suddenly defenseless, unable to fight back. Ray cursed, coughing up blood at a particularly well placed kick to his stomach. He groaned and rolled over onto all fours, trying to crawl away, but to no avail.
Ray was a good fighter. You had to be, if you lived with the Morlocks, however briefly. And he'd gotten even better under the training sessions from Wolverine, not that he'd ever admit it. But ultimately he was no good against an entire gang of punks ready to rip him apart.
Which is why he was grateful his friends showed up.
"Leave him alone!" shouted Tabitha, slamming her knees into one of the punks rather... sensitive... regions and pushing him into a locker, away from Ray. Bobby and Sam grabbed another one by the shoulders and yanked him back, restraining his arms from causing further conflict. The others wisely choose to flee, leaving Tabitha to help Ray to his feet.
"The nerve of those guys, jumping you all at once like that," she stated angrily, still chewing on her gum.
"They got worse," grumbled Ray, rubbing his bruised knuckles.
"Well come on you guys quick, the bus is leaving," stated Bobby. The others quickly followed his lead, barely getting on board the yellow school bus as the doors slammed shut. The mutants, as always feeling uncomfortable surrounded by large numbers of non-mutant, hostile people, found themselves walking all the way to the back, passing a number of seats that to an untrained eye would -seem- open, but the instant they tried to sit down, a backpack would magically appear in. It was the way things were going to be, they'd learned to accept it.
Didn't mean they liked it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kurt and Amanda finally arrived, and Scott took off in the convertible. Jean had already left with her passengers, since they wanted to get back to the Institute as soon as possible in case the Professor had found out anything. Leaving Scott with the dubious privilege of transporting two passengers in the backseat who couldn't keep their hands off one another.
"Hey Kurt, where did you say Amanda lived again? Kurt...?" he asked, glancing back. They looked like they hadn't even heard him.
"KURT!"
"Vas?" said Kurt with a jump. "Oh right, her house... down ze next road, turn left on 3rd street, it's a two-story blue house... can't miss it," he said, then immediately returned to lip-wrestling with Amanda. Scott gave an exasperated groan, but obligingly followed Kurt's directions.
Since the incident with Toad at the Sefton's place, Amanda had been adamant about seeing Kurt again. After a very long talk with her parents, during which she explained about Kurt and Toad, what little she knew about other mutants and the X-Men, she'd been allowed to see and date Kurt again. Though for their sake he avoided visits.
And then the road before them exploded.
The blast went off without warning, and Scott's quick reflexes jumped into action as he slammed on the breaks to avoid the worst of the blast, but the red convertible still caught some of the worst of it, nearly flipping over as Scott struggled to keep it under control, very grateful he'd had everyone buckle up before he'd left the parking lot at Bayville High. He grumbled, unbuckling his belt and standing up, scanning for signs of what had caused the incident.
Suddenly a trio of soldiers, swat team of some type, swept out from between nearby homes, surrounding the vehicle, aiming their weapons. Scott jumped and rolled away from the car as a taser line was shot just over his head, narrowly avoiding him as he rolled back to his feet, watching the other soldiers anxiously, waiting for their next move before he bolted for it.
Kurt had also managed to avoid a similar taser aimed at his head, ducking back down into the car and shielding Amanda with his own body.
"Amanda, run!" shouted Kurt, giving her a push as he leapt forward, drawing the soldiers attention. They fired, and he leapt out of the way, landing in an awkward crouch.
Verdammit. I'm not as agile as I once was, he thought, steadying himself. Ah well, I can work with what I have.
"Kurt!" Amanda shouted. Two more soldiers had driven up in a black van, opened the door and grabbed her, hauling her inside. Kurt gasped in shock.
"Amanda!" he shouted, leaping forward. The two soldiers tried to get in his way but a well placed kick and punch took them out. The driver of the black van gunned the motor and started to take off, heading in the opposite direction. Kurt cursed again, loudly, in German, glancing around. He couldn't teleport and get her, and he wasn't very fast now that he could only run on two limbs properly. A cry and a grunt caught his attention, and he turned, seeing Scott was still struggling with the remaining soldiers.
Scott's fist shot out and slugged one soldier across his chin, unprotected by his dark helmet, but the man didn't go down. He returned the favor, and Scott did, as they took careful aim with their tasers this time.
Kurt leapt forward, flipped himself and landed both feet square in the soldiers back, sending him flying into the ground with a mouthful of pavement. The other turned, but Scott lashed out with his leg, sending him onto his back as well. Quickly Scott grabbed his opponents taser and used it to knock him out.
The sudden revving of an engine caught his attention, and he turned just in time to see Kurt tearing off in his car.
"KURT!" he shouted, partially angry Kurt had taken off without him.
And partially angry he'd left his keys in in the first place.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amanda struggled whole-heartedly against her captors, fighting like a crazed animal. She'd picked up a few martial arts moves from Kurt over the past few weeks, but it was to no avail as the captors pinned her down with sheer weight and size. Suddenly the van shudder, veering crazily to one side before being brought under control.
"We have company!" cursed the driver.
"Lose him!" shouted back one of the troopers, moving ahead and undoing the safety on his gun, leaning out the passengers side window.
Amanda shifted in the grasp of her final captor, the big guy, and looked through the rear-view window. It was Kurt, in Scott's convertible, chasing after them. He'd come to rescue her!
With a sudden, decisive movement she slammed her foot down hard on the soldier still holding her, and he instinctively let go. She leapt forward and grabbed the door, sliding it open to see Kurt there once more, alongside her. He glanced at her, beckoning her to leap into the convertible as he brought it in close against the black van again.
Amanda was scared, she wasn't used to this, but she had total faith in Kurt.
She jumped.
Landed right in the backseat as Kurt flipped the car into reverse and executed a flawless U-turn in the middle of the street, as the slow, less nimble black van had to circle around at the intersection behind them. Amanda grabbed Kurt around the neck, holding onto him and crying gratefully.
"Oh Kurt I was so scared..."
"Ja liebchen, I know..." he replied, reaching back with one hand to pat her arm to comfort her as best he could, keeping his eyes on the road. "Come on, ve'll pick up Scott and zen get back to the Institute... you'll be safe zere."
Amanda nodded, sitting back down and buckling up as Kurt sped off back to where there stood a very irritated Scott Summers, arms crossed. As soon as Kurt arrived he nudged him into the back again and took his rightful place in the drivers seat.
"We've got company!" said Amanda, pointing over the back. The black van had returned, and out the passengers side was one of the soldiers, with an AK-47. Bullets rained down, and the two mutants and humans in the red convertible ducked down as they sped off, navigating the streets, running red lights and stop signs all their way back to the Institute, where Scott pushed the door-open switch on the inside of his car, and the gates obligingly opened, closing shut as soon as they were on the Institute grounds. Scott brought his car to a slow stop at the front door, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Come on in Amanda, ve'll get you something to drink, it may help you calm down," said Kurt, escorting his girlfriend into the Institute, holding open the door as a proper gentleman.
Scott started to follow, then glanced back at his car, his prized possession. Fire scorches from the explosion, bullet holes in back, one tired had gone flat, and the left side was a dented mess from where Kurt had slammed into the black van. To say Scott was only a little annoyed was to say that Quicksilver had only a little ego.
But more importantly, he wondered, who were those guys... and why had they been attacked?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Excellent... all is going according to plan."
"We've already obtained two more subjects sir."
"Good work. Place them in containment. We'll deal with them soon enough"
Authors Notes:
I know more than just the core X-Men (Scott, Jean, Rogue, Kurt and Kitty) attend school, since we've seen Amara and Tabitha there, so I figure the only one they really keep home schooled is Jamie, since his power isn't under his control yet. For the Brotherhood, I doubt any of them attend school anymore (Todd, Lance and Fred 'cause they were expelled and Wanda and Pietro 'cause they couldn't be bothered). Same with the Acolytes. They seem to have bigger concerns than psychic's exams.
Todd Fan: Wow, that means a lot coming from an accomplished fan fiction authoress. I imagine you'll like what's to come, so stick around.
Elisabeth Braddock-Grey: Glad you like it. Thanks for being such a very frequent reviewer, your input is always welcome.
Rogue14: In due time, my dear.
Unknown Source: Interesting guess, and surprisingly you're the first to think that. I won't answer directly, of course. But I will say that I've evolized (hehe, I made up a term) two of the old X-Men characters for my story. Did a little tinkering of my own as well, but everyone is the way they are in Evolution. Rogue'll be along, but who's she gonna kiss? Scott's with Jean now, and Remy's no where to be found (plus, aren't they kinda enemies?)
Mss4Maverick: I'm taking my time with Rogue because she is my favorite character and I'm trying to keep her in character.
Optic Red: Of course, of course... though I am posting a little faster since I see how much everyone is enjoying this story, but I can only do so much with my studies getting in the way.