If You Thought the First Day Was Bad…
"Another day, another gauntlet," Kitty muttered under her breath as she walked with the other Xavier students through crowd. This time several parents and protesters were lining the sides of the walkway. There were reporters there as well.
"I hope you're happy!" One cheerleader snapped. "Our school's become a circus because of you!"
"They should go back to the circus where freaks like them belong!" Another cheerleader shouted.
"You know us freaks," Tabitha snapped back. "Anything for attention!"
"Tabitha…" Jean warned.
"Hey nobody said anything about being a doormat," Tabitha told her.
"We're trying not to escalate the situation," Jean warned her. Just before she dodged a book thrown at her.
"I'd say that's a little too late," Amara grumbled.
With all the commotion following the mutants no one noticed two teenage boys standing nearby. They looked very determined. "They're going to pay…" One student muttered softly to another.
"Yeah and we're gonna be heroes…" The other nodded. "They'll be glad when those freaks are gone."
Two hours later at the beginning of third period Kitty and Peter were in art class. "That's really good Peter," Kitty remarked. It was a painting of a ballerina.
"Thank you," Peter grinned.
"Yes…" The art teacher walked by and frowned. "Quite…interesting. I suppose." She walked away.
"She's mad because she can't find a fault in it," Kitty smiled.
"Mr. Lebeau can't you even draw a simple straight line?" The art teacher harassed Remy. Rogue was sitting next to him.
"Well isn't that why I'm here? To learn?" Remy cocked an eyebrow.
"You'll both learn manners! Detention for the both of you," She snapped.
"I didn't say anything!" Rogue snapped.
"You rolled your eyes at me young lady and I use that term loosely," She huffed. "Keep arguing with me and I'll send you to the principal!"
Rogue kept silent until she moved away. "I'd like to send her to…" She grumbled something inaudible.
Remy and Rogue moved over to Kitty and Peter. "Sorry," Peter apologized. "I think she is taking out her frustration of me on you."
"Don't worry about it," Gambit waved. He looked at the painting. "That is good. You…" Then he shifted his eyes. "GET DOWN!" He shouted.
"Remy what…?" Rogue turned around and noticed that two teenage boys in the class were pulling something from their coats.
"DIE MUTIES!" They shouted as they each pulled out a gun and fired.
"NO!" Peter armored up and deflected the bullets. They bounced off to the sides of the walls. Students were screaming all around them.
"Take that!" Remy grabbed a few playing cards from his deck and charged them. He threw them at the feet of the two boys. They exploded, blinding them. Both Remy and Peter took the opportunity to disarm them.
"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" A security guard ran in. He drew out his gun. "GET DOWN ON THE GROUND! ALL OF YOU!" He pointed at the mutants and the two teens.
"But they…" Kitty started to protest when the guard shoved her against the wall.
"NO!" Peter growled and grabbed the guard by the arm.
"Peter! No! Don't!" Kitty shouted. "Don't do it!" By then another guard ran in. "Just put him down! Nobody got hurt!"
"Somebody call the cops!" One student shouted. "The mutants started another riot!"
"I think those morons with the guns started it!" Rogue snapped pointing at them.
"ALL OF YOU! PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEADS! NOW!" The second guard threatened them with his weapon.
"And to think I was wishing I could get out of gym next period," Rogue grumbled as she did so.
************************************************************************
Later that evening after a hectic afternoon downtown at the police station Kitty, Rogue, Peter and Remy returned back to the mansion with Ororo and Warren. "Are you guys okay?" Paige cried as she ran down to meet them.
"Did they really arrest you guys?" Amara asked. "I don't believe this! How could they do that? What happened?"
"Simple," Rogue said bitterly. "Two yahoos tried to shoot us in the middle of art class. Remy and Pete stopped 'em only to have the security guards blame us for the whole thing!"
"Well at least we know the cops aren't pressing charges," Warren sighed.
"Yeah it only took four hours to convince 'em that we were innocent," Kitty grumbled. "After they saw the security tapes!"
"There are security tapes in school?" Paige's eyes widened.
"Yeah turns out they put them in there secretly so that they could spy on us," Tabitha told her. "I found out all about it while you guys were in the big house."
"Technically they weren't arrested," Ororo told her. "They were just taken in for questioning."
"I can't believe they tried to pin this on you kids!" Logan snarled. By now the entire mansion was there to meet them in the foyer. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"We're fine," Kitty sighed. "A bit shaken but we've been through worse. I just want to forget this day ever happened."
"I'm afraid that is going to be impossible," Xavier sighed. "Already the news is capitalizing on this incident. I can't believe the two of you used your powers in school after being expressly told not to!"
"And what were we supposed to do?" Remy snapped. "Let those jerks shoot 'em?"
"He's got a point Charles," Logan said. "Those punks went beyond shoving and name calling. They brought guns into the school! A freaking gun! Even the cops can't fault them for that!"
"The police don't," Xavier said. "The school board is another story. I've just gotten a phone call. Since both of you used your powers on school grounds you two are expelled from Bayville High."
"But it wasn't their fault!" Kitty protested.
"I know…" Xavier sighed. "Nonetheless the school board is adamant about their decision."
"Hey don't worry about it Petit," Remy waved. "I was never much for schooling anyway. I prefer the school of life. At least I went out with a bang."
"That's not funny Gambit!" Scott told him.
"Well," Peter shrugged. "It was nice while it lasted. At least I can do some schooling here, right?"
"What about those jocks that had the gun?" Scott asked. "What's going to happen to them?"
"Obviously the police are looking into it," Xavier sighed. "They were arrested and suspended from school."
"SUSPENDED?" Rogue shouted. "They brought a gun into a school and fired it on us and they only get suspended? While Gambit and Colossus used their powers in self-defense and got expelled? What the hell happened to the no-tolerance rule?"
"I guess it doesn't count if a gun's used on a mutant," Scott said bitterly.
"They aren't coming back to school either and criminal charges have been filed against them," Xavier pointed out.
"And how much you wanna bet the court system let's 'em walk?" Remy snapped.
"You don't know that," Logan told him.
"Yeah maybe they'll get time for putting human students in danger," Tabitha said sarcastically.
"This stinks!" Rogue made a fist and pounded it into the wall. Her super strength made a hole. "Yeah I know I made a hole! I don't freaking care right now! I'm gonna go take a walk!"
"Rogue!" Xavier tried to say something.
"Actually Charles considering the fact that I almost fried that lousy detective she showed admirable restraint," Ororo interrupted him with a warning.
"I'll go talk to her," Logan said. "Maybe I can help diffuse some of that pent up rage."
"In other words more of the mansion is going to be trashed," Hank chuckled as Logan left the room.
"I wish I could trash those f----ing jerks who did this to us!" Kitty shouted at the top if her lungs. She ran out of the room.
Everyone was stunned. "Wow…" Tabitha whistled. "And people complain about my language!"
"Kitty's language is the least thing you should be critical of now," Jean told her. "She just said what we were all thinking!"
"You were thinking the F-word?" Tabitha looked at her. "Man you really are stressed."
"Well none of us have exactly had an easy time since we went back to school!" Jean snapped. "There's only a handful of people that are willing to be nice to us at school while everyone else screams at us. We're looked at like we're some kind of escaped criminals by the teachers and treated like such! There are protestors and people waving guns at us and we can't use our powers to defend ourselves! Not to mention the media treats this whole thing like a circus! It's enough to drive anyone nuts!"
A chorus of murmurs agreed with her. Xavier sighed and put his hand to his temple. "You're not all handling this the way I thought you would."
"Excuse me Charles but how the hell are you supposed to handle things when people are trying to kill you in your own school?" Hank snapped.
"I didn't mean it like that," Xavier sighed.
"Well it sounded like it," Warren accused him.
"I'm just saying this…adjustment is going to be harder than I anticipated," Xavier sighed.
"Yeah it's hard to adjust being afraid to go to school everyday!" Bobby snapped.
As various students and teachers vented Peter left the room and went upstairs. Kitty was in her room throwing her pillow around and kicking it. "Attacking the pillow I see?"
"Well I didn't want to trash any of my stuff!" Kitty told him. Tears running down her eyes. She collapsed on the floor sobbing.
"Shhh, it's going to be okay," Peter sat down next to her.
"This is so unfair!" Kitty shouted.
"I know," Peter put his arm around her. "But there is nothing more we can do. I only regret that I can no longer be in art class with you."
"I wish I got expelled too," Kitty sobbed. "Then I wouldn't have to go back there!"
"You cannot let them beat you Kitty!" Peter held her chin. "Do not give them the satisfaction."
"But…"
"Someone has to stand up to them," Peter told him. "Someone has to tell them that we will not go away and hide in fear. I know you can do this. In many ways you are stronger than I."
"I don't feel like it right now," Kitty sniffed.
"You can do this," Peter told her. "Do it for me if nothing else. Do not let them win."
"I'll try," Kitty sighed as she lay next to him. "I'll try."
************************************************************************
"Is it me or is the crowd even bigger today?" Tabitha grumbled as they got out of the van the following day.
"Well the X-Men were always good with publicity," Bobby told them. "Oh great! Look what they put up!"
"Oh god…" Kitty's heart dropped when she saw the banner outside school. It read: TWO DOWN, ELEVEN TO GO.
"And another day in Hell begins…" Rogue grumbled as they walked past the crowd into the school.
