Bayville Belles
By Little Byrdie
*****
Chapter 9: The Games Up
*****
The Xmen were all gathered in the lounge room, the hot summer day forcing them to retreat into the cool air conditioned room.
Kurt and Bobby were playing a game of cards on the floor, Kitty was sprawled out on the couch typing on her laptop and Rogue was curled up in a recliner reading a novel. The TV was turnt on but no one was really interested in watching what was on.
At that moment Jean and Scott stormed in, both arguing. Something they had been doing ever since Scott had went out with another girl.
"Scott, your being immature. I didn't know you were in the shower or else I wouldn't have flushed."
"You knew I was in there! I'm not paranoid! Ever since I went out on a date with Betsy-"
"She has nothing to do with this! This is about you and your paranoia."
"I nearly got burnt to death! Jean you need to get over it."
"Get over it!?! Well excuse me but-"
"Shh." Kitty quickly shushed the pair as she dove for the remote and turnt up the TV. The room was silent as the voice of the News Reporter filled the room.
"-and in other news, multiple artefacts and inexpensive jewels have been stolen from museums all over New York. Mutants have been blamed for this occurrence as no trace has been found of any thieves-"
"Yeah, that vould be right. Blame mutants as alvays." Kurt grumbled, loosing interest in his card game and noticing Bobby switching a few cards from his hand and the table.
"You don't think it would really be mutants, do you?" Kitty asked thoughtfully, frowning. "They did say no trace was found."
"Yeah but Kurt's right. People will always find something to blame mutants for." Rogue pointed out. "The police are too thick to find any evidence so they automatically draw conclusions."
Kitty shrugged and looked back down at the laptop screen, resuming her typing. "Maybe your right."
Scott sighed and shook his head. "Maybe we should go see the Professor about this. There is a possibility that mutants could be involved."
Jean snorted and walked out of the room, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Well why don't you go ask him, Scott? Since your the leader of the team and all. I always have to do your dirty work, well not this time!"
Scott ran out after Jean, his voice carrying into the room. "That's not true Jean! You never do anything but be Miss Perfect!"
*******
"You sure their ready?" A familiar voice asked over the phone.
"Of course they are. No evidence have been found yet. They obviously can hide their tracks well. That telepath... Psylock."
"Betsy." The voice quickly corrected.
"Emma, you shouldn't be getting too attached to your student. I knew this would happen. If you can't cope with it I could always replace you with-"
"No! I mean, no. I'm fine. Please, I'm just a little tired."
"Very well. You'll be moving onto the technology we need tomorrow. Understand?"
"Perfectly."
*******
"But I don't understand, why do we need to steal that?" Betsy asked in a confused voice.
Emma shrugged and sighed slightly. "Orders from above. Best not ask questions."
Betsy nodded, understanding her meaning instantly. Emma had just informed the team that tonight they would be breaking into the nearest government building and downloading a file from the computer. Betsy had been trained to do this, so she would be the one to do this why the others distracted security officers.
It had also been decided that Betsy would render any officers in her way unconscious and Ali would go with her to do her thing with the cameras.
Emma bit her lip watching the four girls chat. She knew what would happen tonight and she felt slightly guilty about what she had done, but knew that in the long run it would help them.
******
"Okay, Xmen. Suit up. Logan, you will be going with them, I don't know how dangerous these people will be." Professor Xavier said to the gathered Xmen after he hang up the phone. He had received an anonymous tip off that the bandits that had been robbing museums would be attacking the LAO Centre.
"But Professor, why a government centre? Their only targets so far have been museums." Jean asked, confused.
"I know, but it appears that their target has changed. They are after some information, but what, I don't know. That's what we're going to find out. Move out, Xmen."
*******
"Alright." Psylocke murmured, placing a pair of headphones over her ears and plugging the end into a computer. Watching the screen, she clicked on an icon and began typing in her hacker codes.
Dazzler stood nervously at the doorway, her eyes darting up and down the hallway making sure no one was coming down the corridor, her fingertips already glowing softly as she stood ready for action. "Hurry up Psylocke." She called over her shoulder. She felt as if something was going to happen and wanted to get out as fast as possible.
"Relax, Dazzler." Psylocke chided, leaning back in the chair as she watched the download in front of her. "Give me about five minutes."
"Five minutes. Right. What could go wrong in five minutes." Dazzler asked herself as she attempted to relax.
Is was at that moment Psylocke almost fell off the chair in shock. *Psylocke! You there? We've got big problems.*
*Not so loud Marrow. What is it?*
*Uh... Someone came to pay a little visit.*
*Uh oh.*
*Yeah. Uh oh is right.*
*******
Marrow barely dodged a laser beam as she flipped through the air and took cover behind a wall. Pressing her back against it, she craned her neck trying to get a glimpse of her attackers. Sliding across the wall slightly, she jumped when she bumped into someone. Swinging around, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was only Skids.
"Whoa, jumpy are we?" Skids asked with a lopsided smile.
"We got company Skids." Marrow said, ignoring her friends comment. "Xmen." She continued, wiping a glob of sweat off her forehead. "I took down the Iceman. But now my element of surprise is spent and they know we're here."
"Great." Skids groaned, looking nervous. "Without Psylock here, we're dead you do realise."
"Yeah. I sent her a telepathic message, but she asked that we keep them distracted why her and Dazzler get out of there."
"Alright, distraction it is." Skids said, balling her fists and walking out from behind the wall. "Hey! Xmen! Want to pick on someone? Pick on me!"
Cyclops immediately swung around and shot another laser beam at her. It hit the thick shield she quickly weaved and reflected off it, hitting Wolverine who shot backwards and slammed into the wall. "Watch it, Shades." He growled, picking himself up.
"Sorry." Cyclops said distracted. Phoenix shot her hands forward and stopped, frowning. "There's something stopping my telekinesis, I can't get a hold on her!"
"You'll have to do better then that!" Skids jeered. "Now Marrow!" She allowed her shield to weaken as Marrow shot a few sharp bones out with her remarkable aim, Shadowcat screaming as she phased through two.
"You Okay, Shadowcat? Rogue asked from where she had taken cover.
"Yeah," She answered, her face paling from the shock. "I phased. Doesn't look like Phoenix was so lucky." She indicated to Phoenix who had a bone embedded in her shin.
"Jean!" Cyclops yelled as he dove for her and helped pull her away to safety. "Don't worry, we'll get it out." He reassured her.
"That's it." Rogue said, standing up and running towards the two girls. "When you hurt mah friends, you go down." She hit something solid and fell over backwards. "Ouch." She sat up and looked at the air confused. "They've got shields up. Nightcrawler!"
"On it." He said and teleported in, grabbing Skids and teleporting away with her.
"Uh oh." Marrow said as the shield disappeared the same time Skids did. Rogue pounced on her and grabbed her face, absorbing her. Marrow opened her mouth to scream but didn't have time as she blacked out.
******
Dazzler and Psylocke stood entered the foyer, looking around at what was happening, not having been noticed yet. Rogue was standing over an unconscious Marrow and Nightcrawler was teleporting Skids around the room. She finally was able to twist herself around and slug him, forcing him to drop her. She hit the ground on her feet and walked forward two steps before falling down, obviously dizzy.
"Great." Psylocke grumbled. "Dazzler, distract them." She melted back into the shadows. About time her ninja training came in handy.
"What? Me?" Dazzler asked, turning around looking for her but noticing she was gone. Gulping, she stepped forward, her voice wavering. "Um... stop that."
Shadowcat was the first to notice her. "Ali?" She asked, confused. "What are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Rogue snorted, stepping forward. "Ah absorbed that other girls memories. She's a part of this. She was just pretending to be friends with you Kitty."
"No! That's a lie!" Dazzler fumed, but paused. "Well, okay. At the start it was, I'll admit. But. Well I thought we could still be friends..." She trailed, off looking at the ground.
"Yeah, sure. You ain't nothing but a-" Rogue's jaw dropped suddenly and she slumped to the floor, revealing Marrow behind her, brandishing a long bone. "That's what you get for knocking me out." She growled.
Wolverine, growled and shot his claws out, heading for Marrow but hit something solid. "Oh, no you don't." Skids said weakly, kneeling where she was on the ground, her arms outstretched and her nose wrinkled in concentration.
"Dazzler! Take Nightcrawler down!" Marrow called, remembering what happened before.
Dazzler looked slightly unsure of herself but hurled a ball of light at him. She was surprised when it hit him full on and disorientated him. "Wow." She said, looking down at her hands. She didn't notice until too late when Shadowcat pounced on her , phasing her halfway through the ground.
She screamed and squirmed uselessly when she realised she couldn't move her legs. "Get me out of here!" She said, clawing at the ground in attempt to get herself out.
Cyclops stood up and frowned at her. "What are you doing here? I thought you were-" He stopped suddenly as Psylocke chose that moment to reveal herself and rose her arm up, a purple psy-blade erupting from her palm. "Sorry Scott." She murmured before stabbing it into his head. He looked stunned but fell to the ground, landing with a heavy thud.
The room was silent as everyone looked at Psylocke, wide eyed.
"I didn't know you could do that." Dazzler murmured in a small voice, looking stunned.
"Okay team, let's get out of here!" Psylocke said, helping Skids to her feet and walking to the door.
"Hello! What about me?" Dazzler complained, trying to get out again.
"Gotcha." Marrow said, grabbing her arm and pulling. Pausing, she flipped a bone out and used it to get her loose.
"Are we going to stop them?" Shadowcat asked Wolverine. He shook his head and turnt to her. "Help the others. We'll deal with them later."
******
By Little Byrdie
*****
Chapter 9: The Games Up
*****
The Xmen were all gathered in the lounge room, the hot summer day forcing them to retreat into the cool air conditioned room.
Kurt and Bobby were playing a game of cards on the floor, Kitty was sprawled out on the couch typing on her laptop and Rogue was curled up in a recliner reading a novel. The TV was turnt on but no one was really interested in watching what was on.
At that moment Jean and Scott stormed in, both arguing. Something they had been doing ever since Scott had went out with another girl.
"Scott, your being immature. I didn't know you were in the shower or else I wouldn't have flushed."
"You knew I was in there! I'm not paranoid! Ever since I went out on a date with Betsy-"
"She has nothing to do with this! This is about you and your paranoia."
"I nearly got burnt to death! Jean you need to get over it."
"Get over it!?! Well excuse me but-"
"Shh." Kitty quickly shushed the pair as she dove for the remote and turnt up the TV. The room was silent as the voice of the News Reporter filled the room.
"-and in other news, multiple artefacts and inexpensive jewels have been stolen from museums all over New York. Mutants have been blamed for this occurrence as no trace has been found of any thieves-"
"Yeah, that vould be right. Blame mutants as alvays." Kurt grumbled, loosing interest in his card game and noticing Bobby switching a few cards from his hand and the table.
"You don't think it would really be mutants, do you?" Kitty asked thoughtfully, frowning. "They did say no trace was found."
"Yeah but Kurt's right. People will always find something to blame mutants for." Rogue pointed out. "The police are too thick to find any evidence so they automatically draw conclusions."
Kitty shrugged and looked back down at the laptop screen, resuming her typing. "Maybe your right."
Scott sighed and shook his head. "Maybe we should go see the Professor about this. There is a possibility that mutants could be involved."
Jean snorted and walked out of the room, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Well why don't you go ask him, Scott? Since your the leader of the team and all. I always have to do your dirty work, well not this time!"
Scott ran out after Jean, his voice carrying into the room. "That's not true Jean! You never do anything but be Miss Perfect!"
*******
"You sure their ready?" A familiar voice asked over the phone.
"Of course they are. No evidence have been found yet. They obviously can hide their tracks well. That telepath... Psylock."
"Betsy." The voice quickly corrected.
"Emma, you shouldn't be getting too attached to your student. I knew this would happen. If you can't cope with it I could always replace you with-"
"No! I mean, no. I'm fine. Please, I'm just a little tired."
"Very well. You'll be moving onto the technology we need tomorrow. Understand?"
"Perfectly."
*******
"But I don't understand, why do we need to steal that?" Betsy asked in a confused voice.
Emma shrugged and sighed slightly. "Orders from above. Best not ask questions."
Betsy nodded, understanding her meaning instantly. Emma had just informed the team that tonight they would be breaking into the nearest government building and downloading a file from the computer. Betsy had been trained to do this, so she would be the one to do this why the others distracted security officers.
It had also been decided that Betsy would render any officers in her way unconscious and Ali would go with her to do her thing with the cameras.
Emma bit her lip watching the four girls chat. She knew what would happen tonight and she felt slightly guilty about what she had done, but knew that in the long run it would help them.
******
"Okay, Xmen. Suit up. Logan, you will be going with them, I don't know how dangerous these people will be." Professor Xavier said to the gathered Xmen after he hang up the phone. He had received an anonymous tip off that the bandits that had been robbing museums would be attacking the LAO Centre.
"But Professor, why a government centre? Their only targets so far have been museums." Jean asked, confused.
"I know, but it appears that their target has changed. They are after some information, but what, I don't know. That's what we're going to find out. Move out, Xmen."
*******
"Alright." Psylocke murmured, placing a pair of headphones over her ears and plugging the end into a computer. Watching the screen, she clicked on an icon and began typing in her hacker codes.
Dazzler stood nervously at the doorway, her eyes darting up and down the hallway making sure no one was coming down the corridor, her fingertips already glowing softly as she stood ready for action. "Hurry up Psylocke." She called over her shoulder. She felt as if something was going to happen and wanted to get out as fast as possible.
"Relax, Dazzler." Psylocke chided, leaning back in the chair as she watched the download in front of her. "Give me about five minutes."
"Five minutes. Right. What could go wrong in five minutes." Dazzler asked herself as she attempted to relax.
Is was at that moment Psylocke almost fell off the chair in shock. *Psylocke! You there? We've got big problems.*
*Not so loud Marrow. What is it?*
*Uh... Someone came to pay a little visit.*
*Uh oh.*
*Yeah. Uh oh is right.*
*******
Marrow barely dodged a laser beam as she flipped through the air and took cover behind a wall. Pressing her back against it, she craned her neck trying to get a glimpse of her attackers. Sliding across the wall slightly, she jumped when she bumped into someone. Swinging around, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was only Skids.
"Whoa, jumpy are we?" Skids asked with a lopsided smile.
"We got company Skids." Marrow said, ignoring her friends comment. "Xmen." She continued, wiping a glob of sweat off her forehead. "I took down the Iceman. But now my element of surprise is spent and they know we're here."
"Great." Skids groaned, looking nervous. "Without Psylock here, we're dead you do realise."
"Yeah. I sent her a telepathic message, but she asked that we keep them distracted why her and Dazzler get out of there."
"Alright, distraction it is." Skids said, balling her fists and walking out from behind the wall. "Hey! Xmen! Want to pick on someone? Pick on me!"
Cyclops immediately swung around and shot another laser beam at her. It hit the thick shield she quickly weaved and reflected off it, hitting Wolverine who shot backwards and slammed into the wall. "Watch it, Shades." He growled, picking himself up.
"Sorry." Cyclops said distracted. Phoenix shot her hands forward and stopped, frowning. "There's something stopping my telekinesis, I can't get a hold on her!"
"You'll have to do better then that!" Skids jeered. "Now Marrow!" She allowed her shield to weaken as Marrow shot a few sharp bones out with her remarkable aim, Shadowcat screaming as she phased through two.
"You Okay, Shadowcat? Rogue asked from where she had taken cover.
"Yeah," She answered, her face paling from the shock. "I phased. Doesn't look like Phoenix was so lucky." She indicated to Phoenix who had a bone embedded in her shin.
"Jean!" Cyclops yelled as he dove for her and helped pull her away to safety. "Don't worry, we'll get it out." He reassured her.
"That's it." Rogue said, standing up and running towards the two girls. "When you hurt mah friends, you go down." She hit something solid and fell over backwards. "Ouch." She sat up and looked at the air confused. "They've got shields up. Nightcrawler!"
"On it." He said and teleported in, grabbing Skids and teleporting away with her.
"Uh oh." Marrow said as the shield disappeared the same time Skids did. Rogue pounced on her and grabbed her face, absorbing her. Marrow opened her mouth to scream but didn't have time as she blacked out.
******
Dazzler and Psylocke stood entered the foyer, looking around at what was happening, not having been noticed yet. Rogue was standing over an unconscious Marrow and Nightcrawler was teleporting Skids around the room. She finally was able to twist herself around and slug him, forcing him to drop her. She hit the ground on her feet and walked forward two steps before falling down, obviously dizzy.
"Great." Psylocke grumbled. "Dazzler, distract them." She melted back into the shadows. About time her ninja training came in handy.
"What? Me?" Dazzler asked, turning around looking for her but noticing she was gone. Gulping, she stepped forward, her voice wavering. "Um... stop that."
Shadowcat was the first to notice her. "Ali?" She asked, confused. "What are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Rogue snorted, stepping forward. "Ah absorbed that other girls memories. She's a part of this. She was just pretending to be friends with you Kitty."
"No! That's a lie!" Dazzler fumed, but paused. "Well, okay. At the start it was, I'll admit. But. Well I thought we could still be friends..." She trailed, off looking at the ground.
"Yeah, sure. You ain't nothing but a-" Rogue's jaw dropped suddenly and she slumped to the floor, revealing Marrow behind her, brandishing a long bone. "That's what you get for knocking me out." She growled.
Wolverine, growled and shot his claws out, heading for Marrow but hit something solid. "Oh, no you don't." Skids said weakly, kneeling where she was on the ground, her arms outstretched and her nose wrinkled in concentration.
"Dazzler! Take Nightcrawler down!" Marrow called, remembering what happened before.
Dazzler looked slightly unsure of herself but hurled a ball of light at him. She was surprised when it hit him full on and disorientated him. "Wow." She said, looking down at her hands. She didn't notice until too late when Shadowcat pounced on her , phasing her halfway through the ground.
She screamed and squirmed uselessly when she realised she couldn't move her legs. "Get me out of here!" She said, clawing at the ground in attempt to get herself out.
Cyclops stood up and frowned at her. "What are you doing here? I thought you were-" He stopped suddenly as Psylocke chose that moment to reveal herself and rose her arm up, a purple psy-blade erupting from her palm. "Sorry Scott." She murmured before stabbing it into his head. He looked stunned but fell to the ground, landing with a heavy thud.
The room was silent as everyone looked at Psylocke, wide eyed.
"I didn't know you could do that." Dazzler murmured in a small voice, looking stunned.
"Okay team, let's get out of here!" Psylocke said, helping Skids to her feet and walking to the door.
"Hello! What about me?" Dazzler complained, trying to get out again.
"Gotcha." Marrow said, grabbing her arm and pulling. Pausing, she flipped a bone out and used it to get her loose.
"Are we going to stop them?" Shadowcat asked Wolverine. He shook his head and turnt to her. "Help the others. We'll deal with them later."
******