Chapter 2:

Arrival

Bayville High was a buzz with activity as most high schools are at the end of the day and Kitty Pryde couldn't be happier. The weekend was here with a vengeance. There were at least five parties this weekend and she planned on attending every last one of them since her teachers had been kind enough to void her of homework. Very cool. She'd have to drag Rogue along, as well. No reason to show up like some kind of loner, even if she didn't have a date.

"Hey, Kitty!"

Kitty knew exactly who was running up to catch her. Kurt, her fuzzy-blue stalker. Well, not really, but close enough. She turned to face him, "Hey, what's up?"

Kurt was catching his breathe, "Nothing...really."

'Then why are you here,' Kitty couldn't help thinking knowing full well the answer,

"Yeah same here. Got much homework?"

"Nah, my teachers showed me some mercy."

Kitty thought it over quickly and decided to make Kurt's day, "Does that mean you'd like to come with me to a party or two this weekend?"

Kurt nearly passed out, let alone was capable of comprehensive speech. After several attempt however he just nodded his head.

"Great. See you at the institute." She walked away from a still stunned Kurt who merely stood their until Evan came along to wake him from his daze.

"Dude, what's up with you?" Evan asked after watching his friend stand in the nearly empty parking lot for a good five minutes.

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"Canius, can we change the station, please?" Jade begged from the driver's seat.

"No. Oldies are good for you." Canius replied for at least the tenth time. They had been fighting over the radio since they had left two days ago. Canius personall hated oldies just as much as Jade, but he loved watching her squirm. Simple pleasures. Driving non stop like they had been would have taken its toll on a pair of humans, but two Hybrid needed little blood and sleep was a luxury that could be forsaken if need be. Sunlight bothered Jade more than Canius, but it was hardly fatal. If it got to be too much for her, they would just put the top up. They were now passing through the Chicago area since Jade drove like a bat out of Hell. They'd been pulled over three times already, but the police were only human. "Meals on wheels", is what Jade called them and normally Canius would agree, but they were in a hurry and a dashboard video camera sees everything, even what the cop can't remember, so Canius merely manipulated their cognitive process into believing they made a mistake in pulling them over. At this rate, the two of them would be in Bayville, New York by tomorrow night. And both of them were getting pretty sick of drinking stale blood from a bag.

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Rogue sat at her desk putting more thought into her math homework than she knew she should be. She tapped her pen against the book pages feeling the urge to just rip them out of their binding just so she didn't have to do it. It was only Friday after all, and besides, what kind of fucked up teacher gives math homework over the weekend? One that deserves not to get anything back is who. That train of logic was enough to pospone the work to a later date. She put it all together in a pile on her desk. She laid down on the bed getting ready to take a quick nap when Kitty walked into the room.

'There goes that plan,' Rogue mourned her lost rest.

"Hey Rogue, guess what?" Kitty perkier than what should be healthy, as usual.

'I'm getting a new roommate? God, this is like the Odd Couple, like the Professor did it just for kicks,' venom riddled the thought but she only said, "What?"

"You're coming to a party with me this weekend," Kitty threw her books on her bed and sat cross-legged on the end.

Rogue glanced at her from her reclined position on the bed, 'Oh for the love of…', raising an eyebrow as she responded, "Is that so?"

"You bet. Kurt going too and I haven't talked to the rest of the yet, but believe me I'll get them there. And I just knew you'd be the hardest to persuade, so I came here first. Plus, you're my roommate so it all kind of worked out." Kitty smiled the smile of the Devil's advocate.

Rogue assessed her options; one, she goes to the party without putting up a fight, maybe has a little fun meets a boyh she can't make out with and is miserable for the remain of the week end. Two, she fakes illness or something and gets out of it, free and clear. Or three, she holds Kitty's hand until she either lapsed into a three day coma or died. She dwelled on three and finally opted for two. As her mouth opened to lie to Kitty, something happened, and it had to be the weirdest feeling she has ever had. It was feeling that if she skipped this party, that something of the not so peachy keen nature was going to happen.

"I'll go," Rogue said, surprising everyone in the room to the point of widening eyes.

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Canius had apparently been wrong about a few things and right about few more still. Jade didn't drive like a bat out of Hell, no, it was just outside of the Chicago that she'd started driving like that. She went from her normal rate of 90 mph to her insane rate of 140 mph. She had even driven on the wrong side of the road a few times to get around the "slow-pokes". Apparently, Canius had underestimated Jade's ambition to get some fresh blood in her. She had just taken a big gulp of the bagged goods when she slammed and the gas petal, exclaiming, "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!". As he pulled into the Bayville Motel 6, he complimented her timely manner , but rejected her methods. Jade simply stuck her tongue out at him.

She parked the luxury sedan in a space next to the main office, "I'll go get us a room."

Canius heard a faint sound of anxiousness in her voice which was never good with Jade. It normally ended in a police investigation. Especially since Jade had just altered her visible appearance to look like an twenty year old African-American female. In response to this change, he increased his auditory capabilities to the point were he could hear what was going on inside the office without seeing it. A small bell rang as Jade opened the door, making Canius wince in pain, and the desk attendant turned to look at the late night arrival.

"May I he.." his question was cut short as Jade pulled the .45 caliber Glock from her back waistband and pointed it at the clerk.

"Oh, Jade…" Canius muttered as he heard her chamber and fire a round. The gun was internally silenced, a gift for her 21st birthday, and all that was heard was a slight psst! Assuming from the sounds of cracking bone followed by a squishing sound, Jade had shot the person in the head causing instant death. He then her Jade licking the still warm blood from the wall behind the cooling associate, savoring the experience. Canius had heard enough. He returned his hearing to its natural state, pondering the consequences of this little incident. Police. Questions. Overall irritation. Canius just sighed, knowing full well that Jade just needed to have a little sinister fun every now and again. Didn't they all? But she could have at least waited until tomorrow night when they were going to track down the mutant threat in this town and possibly wipe it off the map. She could have all the fun she could handle then, but she just needed her cheap thrills. The driver's side door opened and the normal Jade hopped in.

"I hope two queens is okay." She said it as if she had just been laid, which was another one of her traits Canius hopped he wouldn't have to deal with on this trip. Her mesmerizing sensually came in handy at times, but this was not one of them. He'd have to lay down the law about that.

"Jade," he said simply. The one word carrying a lecture's worth of guilt. Jade brushed it off like a flake of dandruff.

"What? I needed blood he had it. I took it. End of story." Jade started the car.

"There are better ways than that. I want you to justify this."

She knew a serious voice when she heard it, "Well, if you were listening in on the whole thing then you must have heard what I did after right?"

"I could only listen to so much."

"I figured we wouldn't want a whole bunch of people hanging around the motel in case we need to do whatever right? So I crossed his wires a little."

"A little like how? You didn't….oh Jade." Canius put his face in his hand and shook his head. If a creature was already dead and was bitten by darkness, the result was what modern society would call a zombie. Completely loyal to its creator and just as brainless. "You zombied the guy?"

"Yeah, he just needs to wear a hat. And that way we can ensure that the "No Vacancy" sign stays lit with someone to back it up and after everyone that's already here as checked out, there won't be a soul around. Cool, huh?"

Canius didn't say a word since he was now staying in a hotel with another vampire/werewolf and a zombie running the front desk.

He should have come alone.