"There you go Blob," Blaze spoke to the photograph. "You never looked more at home." She applied the last piece of tape with a flourish and stepped back to admire her handiwork. The side of an unwatched donut stand on the upper tier of the mall was now a veritable shrine to Blob.
"This all your work, Cherie?" A familiar voice sounded impressed over her shoulder. Blaze turned to smile up at Gambit, holding up her palms as though accused of something.
"I didn't do it, nobody saw me, you can't prove anything," she replied.
"Non? It was good work, sneakin' in an' outta the Brotherhood house without nobody knowin' you was there," the Cajun folded his arms across his chest and grinned.
"I'm an artist," Blaze enthused with an elaborate wave of her hand that sent the bracelets around her wrist tinkling. "No risks are too great for my work. Actually, apart from the smell in Blob's room, I didn't spot any risks…" She shrugged, matching his grin with one of her own. They were interrupted though as Kitty arrived at a run.
"Blaze, you'll never guess whose just… Oh," Kitty saw who Blaze was talking to and backed up a step. "Is he threatening you Blaze?"
"Nah, I was just telling him about the photos of him we've got up at mine and Vixen's apartment." Blaze chuckled as Gambit suddenly looked slightly worried, "Who's just what?"
"Right…" Kitty didn't seem convinced, but she made herself shrug her uneasiness off. "It's the Brotherhood, they just got here. They're gonna like, totally flip when they see the photos!"
"Right on time," Blaze smiled. "The coffee shop will just have put out a new batch of pastries. You coming Cajun?"
"Wouldn't miss dis for anyt'ing," Gambit grinned again, indicating that Blaze and Shadowcat lead the way. Kitty obliged still scowling, whilst Blaze's eyes were sparkling. The three of them leant over the balcony railing, looking down on the Brotherhood as they marched into the mall. Pietro was in the lead, Wanda flanking her brother to the right, Lance to his left. Toad leapt past them all, cutting in front of a mother and small child and greeting them with a loud "Boo!" The child wailed, the mother scooping her up and running unashamedly from the mutants as Toad cackled. The Blob marched in behind the group, clutching his stomach as it rumbled loudly.
"I'm starved," the oversized mutant grumbled. "Can we hurry this along?"
"You're always starved Blob," Avalanche grouched. "Why can't you just…" His words were cut short as Quicksilver stopped in front of him, jaw open and an aghast look on his face. On the balcony Blaze accepted a high-five from Kitty as both girls laughed heartily. Lance stormed forward, ripping a photograph of himself down and screwing it up into a little ball. The building shook slightly as his eyes rolled back in his head.
"Who did this?" Quicksilver asked coldly. Toad hopped over to another section of wall, this time devoted to the greenish mutant.
"Hey," he exclaimed, "I'm cute even when sleepin'! Watcha think Wanda?"
Wanda wasn't listening, her eyes scanning the crowd that was gathering around the mutants for any sign of who might be guilty of the photographs. The Blob scratched his head absently, reaching out to pull down his mug shot with the other hand. Quicksilver switched into overdrive, running off round the mall as fast as he could, pulling down photos as he went. He'd just started work on the upper levels when his sister's raised voice stopped him in his tracks. "There!" Her finger pointed straight at the Cajun and his companions. Quicksilver was on them in a flash.
"You think this is funny," he accosted Gambit. "When I tell my father about this…"
"Nothin' to do with me," Gambit mimicked Blaze's earlier gesture, holding up his hands up and smiling, "but I can't say the same for the ladies."
"Such a gentleman," Kitty sniped sarcastically as her and Blaze began to back away from the angry Quicksilver, now backed up by his team.
"I think we'd best be going," Blaze grabbed Kitty's wrist and began to lead her towards the steps to the lower level and the exit. Quicksilver cut them off, eyes glinting with anger.
"You scared X-geeks?" he spat as his team fanned out behind the two X-Men.
"In your dreams," Blaze bristled, opening her fist to reveal a fireball sitting on her open palm.
"Sorry boys, we don't have time to stop and play," Kitty said, grabbing Blaze and dragging her through Quicksilver via her mutant power. The two girls ran towards the main exit as the Brotherhood made to follow. Gambit's hand on Pietro's shoulder stopped the angry mutants just in time.
"Easy. You losers really need to get a sense of humour, or do you t'ink you're ready to take on the X-Men again?"
"There's only two of 'em," Blob grumbled as Toad nodded sulkily.
"What the…" Wanda exclaimed as she watched Blaze and Shadowcat try and leave. The mall doors slid open normally enough, but as the two mutants tried to walk through them, something violently pushed them back. As though electrocuted, the X-Men hurtled backwards across the polished floor. The girls landed in a heap without even a scream. Then they were still. Wanda didn't turn as the Brotherhood came to stand besides her, watching with shock plastered to their faces. "That doesn't look good."
