Thanks to:

Kurttyscogue – There will be lots of teleporting fun in this chapter!

LadyEvils – The wait for this chapter was longer, sorry! Some Lance angst here. I agree with him too about everyone forgetting that Jean was evil because she's no longer around.

XX-Goth-Gal – I hadn't thought of making Lucas/David/Ian a horseman until you said and it's too late now I guess (although he'd be a helluva good one!) Teleporty goodness right here.

Raphaella – I thought that Kurt and Mystique didn't really interact enough in Evo and I'm glad I was able to rectify that a little.

X00001 – X23 will show up in the last couple of chapters, I disliked her at first but then she kinda grew on me.

Enfant-terrible – Getting kicked off the computer sucks! My computer does that to me well enough without any outside help.

Furygrrl – Caliban was Pestilence during his time with the horsemen. As for Legacy sub-plots, I think I'd get confused, although I'd love to try something along those lines at some point. Lance angst aplenty though! And Jean will back very soon…

Rogue14 – It would have been easy for Rogue to defeat Lucas, assuming that she went to Scotland instead of Jean. And I wanted Kurt to have some more interaction with Mommy-dearest because I always love the intricacies of their relationship and although there's not much here, there's more to come!

UncannyAsianGirl – Caliban was Pestilence (although it could have been funny to give that accolade to Avalanche this time – Pesti-Lance, geddit?) and Wolverine was War for about 5 minutes not that long ago. One of the morlocks was also Pestilence at some point. I don't know what the Hulk was, but there's an image of a horseman to give even the most sturdy flaming spectral horse the shudders! I love Mystique's gun fascination, because she doesn't have any real attack powers in the comics. And I owe you for parts of the subplot so thanks for that! Incidentally, ever noticed that Toad dresses like a very grubby version of Pietro? Now THAT'S scary!

Oceanbang – Lucas will be raising his head right here! More Lance and Kitty here and there will be more Kurt/Mystique angst and probably Rogue too before the fic is done.

DemonRogue13 – Glad you enjoyed it!

Author Note: This chapter was really hard for me and you may find it a little too close to the episode. Sorry about that. But I'm back into the swing of things now! I had no intention of writing a 'Sins of the Son' chapter, but everyone was so eager to see Lucas that I added it. I apologise for the long wait for this chapter and hope you enjoy the extra-mega-long chapter that this is!

Disclaimer: When Jean read Destiny's mind, she discovered that in another world I own all the X-Men and Marvel comics and the entire universe. Sadly, in this world I own nothing more than the idea for this story. Not the stuff that fortunes are made of.

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Scott and Lance sat in the back of the X-Jet, both of them pretending not to listen as the Professor spoke to his ex-wife over the headset. The thought of the Professor having a wife they knew nothing about, coupled with a son that he knew nothing about, made them both curious.

"This is too weird," said Lance, pitching his voice low in the hope that the Professor or Storm wouldn't overhear. "The Professor has an ex-wife we didn't even know about?"

Ororo cleared her throat and glanced over her shoulder at them, clearly wanting them to drop the subject. "Why don't you two check in with the mansion, see how Kitty is doing?"

"Uh, yeah, good idea," replied Scott, embarrassed. He connected them to the Institute on the videophone and after a few moments, Mr McCoy's face appeared on the screen.

"Hey," said Scott. "Just thought we'd check in."

"How's Kitty?" asked Lance. "Flu any better?"

"No, but she's got company," the Beast informed them. "Kurt's down with it too."

"Great," muttered Lance. "If she's infectious, I'll catch it for sure."

"If she'd go anywhere near you, you'd stand a better chance," said Scott.

"Get bent." Lance scowled. "Not you Mr McCoy. I'll check in on her later."

"She'll be fine," said the Beast before the screen went dark.

Lance leaned back in his seat. He felt fine. He wasn't sure if he was glad about that or not. And it was the first time he had hoped that the big metal Russian didn't come down with something contagious. But that line of thought was dangerous and he tried to take his mind off it by debating the issue at hand. The Professor's secret son.

Professor Xavier sighed as he sensed both boys looking at the back of his head and knowing that he owed them some kind of explanation after dragging them away from the Institute. "Alright, her name is Gabrielle Haller. Yes we were married – briefly – many years ago. And yes, we had a son I knew nothing of until today."

Lance realised that the Professors tone sounded exactly like his own when he was angry about something, nothing like the calm, measured tone he'd used the previous day when he'd been reassuring the boy about the images that Jean had left in his head.

"And now…he's been kidnapped."

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"A-CHOO!"

Crash!

"AAA-CHOO!"

"Gross!"

"A-CHOO!"

Bang!

"Must you imbeciles destroy my house!"

Mystique surveyed the damage. So far, Fred had sneezed himself through a door, Todd had left trails of slime all over the floor and between Tabby and Wanda, all the furniture had exploded. It didn't help that she felt lousy herself and every time she sneezed, she changed shape briefly. It had scared the hell out of the girl scouts who'd come to sell them cookies.

"A-CHOO!" Toad sneezed, a trail of slime hitting the window and beginning to slide slowly south. Looking at it made Mystique feel ill. Ws this the reason she'd returned to the house?

"Toad, get out of my sight!"

"I'm gone," said Toad, hopping up the stairs with the glass of juice he'd come down for.

"AAA-CHOO!"

Mystique winced as the ceiling shook. That one had to be Blob. He could probably trash the house all on his own.

"Here you go Raven," said Forge, entering the living room with a tray balanced with orange juice and chicken soup. He'd somehow avoided coming down with the flu that plagued her and she was beginning to resent it.

"It's about time," she said irritably.

"A-CHOO!"

Smash!

"TABITHA!"

"I'll deal with it," said Forge soothingly. He rested the tray on her knees and went up the stairs to attempt to nursemaid the other mutants. Mystique growled as she contemplated the structural damage that could be done by a group of teens with explosive powers and the flu. She just hoped the X-Men were having an equally bad time of things.

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Scott and Lance glanced through the missing boys things, examining the room for any indications of where he might be. Scott picked up a snow globe; shaking it absently and watching the flakes fall. "Man, remind me never to disappear. I'd hate to have strangers going through my stuff like this."

"Why?" Lance set down the picture he'd been looking at and smirked. "You got something to hide?"

"Not nearly as much as you have," replied Scott, not noticing that the other boy's attention was no longer on the conversation.

A small boy was peering around the door, watching what they were doing. Lance walked over to him. "Hey…"

The kid looked up at him and fled.

"Wait!"

Scott looked around. "What is it?"

"A kid. A boy." Lance went into the hallway and saw nothing. He walked further down the hall, wondering if the kid had maybe ducked into one of the other rooms but not wanting to pry. Before he could call out again, Gabrielle stepped into the hallway.

"Uh, who's the kid I just saw?"

"That's Ian. David found him living on the street, he's been with us ever since."

Scott walked up behind Lance. "Has he said anything at all about David?"

Gabrielle shook her head. "No, but…Ian doesn't talk. As far as I can tell, he knows nothing."

Lance frowned. "Maybe a telepath could get a better answer. We should see if the Professor could get anything out of him."

Scott nodded. "You see if you can find Ian, I'll speak to the Professor."

Lance hurried off in the direction of the front hall, surmising that Ian might have left the house to hide from them and hoping that the kid would have stayed nearby. It was what he would have done at the same age. As he stepped out of the front door, he saw a shadow moving away from the house. A part of him thought it was too large to be Ian, but then logic took over – whom else could it be?

"Ian? Hey, wait!"

Lance ran after the shadow, away from the house – then a wall of flame sprang up, circling around him and cutting off any chance of retreat. Lance growled as he saw a teenage boy approaching him, wearing leather pants and a white shirt. Rolling his eyes back in his head, Lance attempted to knock the boy off balance with an earth tremor.

That guy has to know where David is…

The boy staggered slightly, then rose in the air above the shaking ground. Lance realised he was in trouble, but before he could send a message to the Professor, the boy narrowed his eyes and sent a psychic blast at the X-Man, causing him to fall to the ground unconscious. The flames dissipated, their purpose served.

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"A-CHOO!"

Splat.

"Toad! Use a tissue!"

Mystique smirked slightly at the sound of Forge trying to take care of the rest of the Brotherhood. She knew they were all going crazy confined to their rooms with nothing to do, but she wanted to sit out her sickness with full use of the television and none of their complaints about the channels she chose to watch.

Not that there was much on during the day. She flipped through the channels, finally settling on a chat show where the guests had about seven teeth between them and seemed about to beat each other over the head with their chairs. She'd just gotten into the discussion, apparently the husband had run off with the wife's now-pregnant daughter, when –

Bamf!

Mystique glanced over to the centre of the room where her son had just appeared, fast asleep. Hanging onto his tail was a wet and dishevelled Kitty Pryde.

"Shadowcat. Isn't this a surprise. Nice pyjamas."

"Mystique!" Kitty attempted a smile that looked more like a grimace. "Uh, the thing is that uh, Kurt has the flu and he keeps teleporting – we'll just get out of here."

Kitty began dragging Kurt towards the front door by his tail. Mystique debated making it difficult for the girl and decided she didn't have the energy. At least she knew where the bug that struck down her team had come from.

"AAA-CHOO!"

Wanda had been attempting to go downstairs for a glass of juice when the sneeze caused her to lose control of her powers, a hex bolt flying into the hallway and blasting Kitty. With a shriek, Kitty began beating on her smouldering hair. Mystique, witnessing the whole scene as she watched the girl leaving, began to laugh. Kitty glared at her, opening her mouth to shout…

"A-CHOO!"

Bamf!

Wanda glanced disinterestedly at where the two X-Men had been just a moment ago before going into the kitchen. Forge hurried downstairs, rather alarmed to hear his formally fractious lover in hysterics.

"Are you OK Raven?"

Mystique grinned at him. "I'm suddenly feeling much better."

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Lance opened his eyes to see two punks looking down at him. Realising that his wrists were shackled behind his back and his ankles were similarly restrained, he tried to sit up, wondering what his best course of revenge might be – working out how he got there could wait until after he'd beaten some one up. The punks walked away as Lance managed to use a rock to lean against, hoping it would give him some leverage to get into a sitting position.

Unexpectedly, the shackles around his wrists fell off. Pulling his hands from behind him, Lance tried to rub some feeling back into them. Looking up, he saw the same guy who had psychic blasted him back at the house leaning against the wall, smirking.

"Who are you?"

"Some one like you." The shackles around Lance's ankles flew across the room, the boy not seeming to have anything to do with the action. "A mutant. But my friends call me Lucas."

"I don't know how the hell you got me here," snarled Lance, the realisation that he didn't know where here was making him even angrier. "But you made a big mistake."

Lance started toward Lucas, clenching his fists, intending to kick the crap out of him. Lucas gestured contemptuously in his direction and suddenly Lance was unable to move. A psychic blast knocked him over backwards, although this time the energy wasn't so intense and Lance managed to remain conscious.

"Come on, the fun's just starting. People come here and they never want to leave. I think you'll like it here too Lance."

"I don't think so." Lance sat up, wondering how the hell he could take a mutant he couldn't lay a hand on, eyeing the wall Lucas leant against. Maybe a localised earthquake could bury him.

"Of course you will. No one here cares that you're a mutant. No more taking care of a girlfriend who doesn't need you anymore. No more worrying about who you are and who you were supposed to be…"

"You've been inside my head!" Lance stood up, fists still clenched but knowing he couldn't get anywhere near Lucas before the boy stopped him, probably couldn't bring the wall down before he picked up on the thought.

Lucas took a step forward as Lance headed for the exit. "Stay."

"You might be able to stop me from kicking your teeth down your throat, but you can't stop me from leaving."

"Well, actually I can."

For the third time that night, Lance found himself at the mercy of Lucas's powers, this time flung against the wall.

Lucas headed for the stairs. "I can do whatever I want, but you'll stay because it's the only way you're going to find David."

Lucas disappeared out of Lance's sight, leaving the other boy to think about what he'd just heard. Being thrown around by this Lucas character made his blood boil, but the mission was to find David. So he'd just have to search the place, find the kid and hope that the others worked out where to look for him before he had to confront Lucas again.

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"A-CHOO!"

Bamf!

"Oh no…"

"…Through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil…"

The vicar was pointedly ignoring the sudden intrusion by the graveside. The mourners were less focused, the whispers beginning as the blue furry boy continued to snore and the girl in the pink pyjamas hung on to his tail and attempted to look like she'd just dropped by to pay her last respects.

"…Thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff…"

"Kurt!" hissed Kitty, yanking on the boys tail.

"A-CHOO!"

Bamf!

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Xavier glanced around worriedly. Lance had defiantly been there, the displaced ground and the tremor they had all felt within the house suggesting that he had used his powers – and yet he was gone, vanished without a trace.

Scott wheeled a motorcycle down the ramp of the X-jet as Storm arrived back. The Professor turned to the woman. "Storm, anything?"

"No sign of Lance or the boy, but I did spot the glow of some fires burning toward the cliffs."

"Oh, that's probably McFadden Castle," said Gabrielle dismissively. "Teenagers have been using those ruins for parties."

"I'll go over there to look for him," said Scott.

"Right," said Xavier. "But be cautious. Three people are already missing, we don't need a fourth."

"I will Professor." Scott revved the bikes engine and roared off.

Xavier watched him go before returning his attention to Storm. "In the meantime, let's search for Ian. I believe he knows more than he's letting on."

Scott rode the bike up to the castle, finding it easily when he saw the glow of the fires in the distance. As he approached the ruins, he could hear loud heavy metal music and see stragglers from the party. It occurred to him that under normal circumstances, Lance wouldn't have needed kidnapping to get him to a place like this.

As he left his bike at the entrance and walked further into the ruins, the people around giving him amused glances. Belatedly, Scott realised how out of place he looked. He certainly didn't fit in with the people here.

If only Rogue were here…

He shoved the thought away. Rogue might blend in better, but there was something strange going on that made him glad she wasn't. Besides, she was at school.

Spying a break in the wall that seemed to lead further into the ruins, he went in that direction surprised to see Lance lurking in the shadows. Before he could ask the other boy what the hell he was doing hanging around a party instead of helping them search for the Professors kidnapped son, Lance pulled him out of sight of the crowd.

"Ow!"

"Shhh. Stay out of sight."

"Alvers, what are you doing here?"

"David's here someplace."

Scott frowned. "But how did you get here?"

"I was following Ian and…look, it's a long story. But David's been snatched by a mutant, Lucas."

"Then it's time I introduced myself."

Scott strode out into the crowd of partygoers. Lance pulled a face. "Shit, what an asshole!"

Lucas turned his attention from the girl he'd been chatting up to Scott. "Ah, I see the Professors favourite student has come to crash the party. Up for some fun?"

"Listen Dracula, kidnapping two people isn't my idea of a good time."

What a dork thought Lance. But Scott's show of bravado just might have distracted Lucas enough for him to make a move…

"Well then." Lucas gestured toward Scott and the boy flew into the wall. "Is that entertaining enough for you?"

Lucas was in the centre of the crowd, away from any walls. Lance concentrated on the ground beneath the boy, hoping to open a fissure and drop him in – but Lucas was already wise to his plan, throwing him into the wall beside Scott. The momentary distraction was enough for Scott to unleash an optic blast, which bounced harmlessly off a psychic shield Lucas easily erected. Another psychic blast rendered both boys unconscious.

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"A-CHOO!"

Bamf!

"GAAAH!"

"Oh, uh, excuse me!" Kitty turned her back quickly as the guy zipped up his flies and fled the urinal. Blushing furiously, she began yanking on Kurt's tail in the hopes of waking him up.

"Kurt! Kurt, we're in the men's room at school! Wake up and get us out of here before…"

The door swung open. Kitty looked up and realised that the day just couldn't get any worse.

"Uh – hi Principal Kelly!"

"A-CHOO!"

Bamf!

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Lance was getting tired of waking up not knowing where he was or how he got there.

At least he still seemed to be in McFadden Castle. A glance around showed no sign of Scott, but looking up he could see Lucas silhouetted in a hole in the ceiling, the only way to leave the room.

"I know what you're thinking, and you can't."

Lance glared up at the boy. "I can't what?"

"You can't avalanche your way out of here. Not without bringing the entire mountain down on your head, not to mention all those innocent people out there."

A stone slid over the opening, cutting off the last of the light and all hopes of escape.

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The car slid silently through the dense fog, carrying the worried inhabitants further into the night, searching for a little boy. Xavier peered through the windshield. "Visibility's getting worse by the minute. Storm, can you clear the way?"

Storm's eyes went white as she used her powers to thin the fog – revealing Ian standing directly in the cars path. With a gasp Storm yanked the wheel over to the side, the car skidding off the road and coming to a halt, apparently not fazing the boy at all.

Gabrielle was out of the car as soon as it stopped, running into the road and dropping to her knees before him. "Ian! What are you doing out here?"

"It's all right Ian." Xavier had manoeuvred himself into his wheelchair and made his way over to them. "We just want to find out some information."

Storm frowned as she saw Xavier's face, apparently not liking what he found in the boys mind. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure. Something's blocking my efforts to reach in – almost like a mutant power."

The Professor touched Ian's head and received a series of jumbles images…

Fire, David, Ian, McFadden Castle, a teenage boy called…Lucas?

Xavier pulled his hand away. "McFadden Castle. They're at the ruins."

Ian turned and ran away, heading toward the ruins. Gabrielle began running after him, calling his name, Xavier and Storm following – until the boy paused, glancing back at them, a wall of flame erupting between him and his pursuers.

Gabrielle backed away, shocked. "He's a mutant!"

"Yes," replied the Professor sombrely. "And worse, I'm afraid his loyalties are with David's abductor."

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Lance glared at the walls of his prison. His eyes had adjusted to the gloom, but it only told him that Lucas had been right, it would be almost impossible for him to use his powers to free himself.

Almost impossible.

One wall seemed less solid than the others, suggesting that it lead to another part of the ruins rather than the mountain. It was either try that or sit in this room until some one decided to free him, or he rotted.

A slight tremble caused a few chunks of the wall to fall, revealing light at the other side. Smiling at the vindication of his theory, Lance hit the wall with another tremor, larger pieces of the wall plunging down, revealing another chamber.

Waving the dust away from his face, Lance climbed through the gap in the wall and saw a teenage boy cautiously uncovering his head. The face was familiar; the same boy smiled out of the portrait that dominated Gabrielle's living room.

"David?"

The boy frowned. "Who are you?"

"Uh, a friend of your fathers."

David snorted as he got to his feet. "What? You mean he actually came?"

"Yeah," replied Lance, looking around and spotting what looked like a grate in the ceiling. "But right now we have to get out of here."

Climbing onto one of the fallen rocks, he managed to jump up and grab the grating, pulling it out of its moorings. Another leap and he grabbed the side of the hole, dragging himself up and out, hanging over to pull David up.

Lance realised he was lost. "Any idea how to get out of here?"

"I made it out once, but it was by accident. We go until we hear music."

They walked on a while in silence, Lance listening out for any distant strains of songs. "Damn, if I could just get a signal to your dad…"

"Yeah, like he cares."

Lance frowned. "He does. He's a good guy. You just don't know him."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Your moms. She never told him about you. Look, perhaps you ought to talk to them about all this."

"He never knew about me?" David scowled as the sound of the party was finally heard. "Right. Lucas says he's one of the most powerful telepaths on the planet – how could he not know?"

"Maybe he was busy worrying about the people he did know about," muttered Lance guiltily, before the last question caught up with his brain. "Wait – Lucas knows about the Professor?"

"That's what all this is about," replied David. "So he can go brain-to-brain with the great Charles Xavier."

"That's why Lucas wants us here," said Lance. "We're bait!"

David shrugged, apparently not caring.

Hearing the music, Lance indicated to David. "Come on, we're close. We have to get out of here and warn the Professor about Lucas."

Topside, the car containing Xavier, Storm and Gabrielle pulled up and they got out, ignoring the glares of the crowd. Xavier led the way through the ruins, to where Scott was hung to a wall by his wrists, an iron mask over his head.

Xavier gasped. "Scott!"

Storm and Gabrielle undid the manacles and Scott fell to the floor, taking off the mask hurriedly.

"Are you alright Scott?"

"I – I think so. But I don't know where Lance is – "

"Don't worry. I sense he's close."

Lance chose that moment to emerge from the ruins, David close behind him. The blonde boy took one look at his mother and went over to give her a hug.

"Where were you Alvers?"

"You just had to get in his face, asshole."

"I didn't see you doing anything."

"Screw you. You know how many walls I got thrown into today?"

Gabrielle stepped back, her hands still on David's shoulders. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine mum."

Gabrielle looked nervous as the Professor wheeled himself over. "Uh, David, I'd like you to meet Charles Xavier."

David took a step toward the Professor and extended his hand. "Father."

The Professor smiled, taking the boys hand. The moment he did so David shrank back, his body seeming to ripple and morph, shrinking – and suddenly Ian was where David had been previously. Flames encircled the group, the partygoers shouting in alarm and fleeing the ruins.

Scott gasped. "Ian? You're David?"

Ian snatched his hand away from the Professor and covered his face, his body once again changing form. Scott and Lance both scowled as they recognised Lucas standing before them.

"Sometimes, sometimes not. Very vexing actually. But now that I'm here, I'd like a little quality time with my dad!"

Scott, Lance, Storm and Gabrielle were flung through the flames, landing relatively unharmed on the other side. Storm was the first to her feet. "Charles!"

…no wait let me handle him…

Within the flames, Lucas used his powers to pull the Professors wheelchair closer. He leant down and grinned. "Let's bond, shall we?"

The other four waited anxiously, wondering what to do. Neither Lance nor Scott's powers would do much against the flames and Storm didn't dare risk a downpour. The Professors son was obviously incredibly powerful and with Charles still in the circle, there was no telling what Lucas would do if agitated.

Lucas's voice rose, remonstrating angrily with the Professor. Rocks began falling from the ruins, Scott blasting a few that came too near and giving Lance an accusing look, although he knew the other boy had nothing to do with it. He blamed it on habit.

They all heard David talking within the flames and the Professor replying, although they couldn't make out the words. Then everything went quiet. A few seconds later the flames died, revealing David lying on the floor before the Professor, who was sank down in his chair. But he found the strength to wheel over to David, the others crowding around.

Xavier looked worried. "D-David?"

David slowly got to his knees, looked up at the Professor – and morphed into Lucas.

"No!" Xavier gasped. "Where's David?"

Lucas got to his feet and shrugged. "You sent him away, along with Ian!"

Gabrielle stared at the person her son had become. "What did you do?"

"Exactly what I brought him here to do!" Lucas floated up into the air. "You were the only one strong enough old man. The only one who could get rid of the others. And you did it! You set me free!"

Lucas flew straight up into the air, vanishing from sight. Gabrielle watched him and covered her face, beginning to sob quietly as the Professor hung his head, contemplating what this failure had cost him.

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The Beast watched as the four passengers left the X-jet, looking sombre. He approached Xavier before the man could leave the hangar. "Good to have you back Professor. If there's anything you need…"

"Yes, thank you Hank," replied Xavier curtly before wheeling off. Scott decided to go and find Rogue, heading off toward the Danger Room where most of the students had a session scheduled with Logan. Lance considered going to check on Kitty, knowing that he ought to try making some peace with her, but put it off briefly to go after the Professor.

Lance saw the Professor heading into his room and hesitated for a moment, knowing that he probably wanted to be alone but wanting to help. The door wasn't closed properly and he let himself in, seeing Xavier out on the balcony. He went out there, intending to say something supportive, but in the end he could think of nothing and remained quiet, expecting Xavier to tell him to leave.

"Do you know what the tragic part is?"

Lance shrugged, surprised that the Professor had said anything.

"I lost him, before I even found him."

"Don't lose hope Professor," said Lance. "Someday we'll find him again and you'll be there for him like you are for us."

"If Gabrielle had been honest with me, if David had been honest with her, this whole situation may have been avoided." Xavier stared out across the grounds of the mansion. "Pride can be destructive Lance. Why don't you go and talk to Kitty?"

"You want me to do it now?"

"Sometimes later is too late."

Lance took the hint and left the Professor to his own thoughts, heading off toward Kitty's room. He put his head around the door, expecting her to shout at him or perhaps turn her back – he deserved it after the way he'd behaved – but the room was empty. He frowned, trying to decide whether he should wait for her to return, then heard the familiar bamf! from Kurt's room down the hall, followed by a crash, and went to investigate.

Nothing could have prepared him for the scene he walked in on. Kurt was trying to defend himself as a dirty, sodden Kitty pummelled him with a pillow.

"School! Downtown! In the park! At a funeral! The Brotherhood house! I can never show my face in Bayville again!"

Feathers escaped the pillow as it smacked Kurt in the face.

"OW! What? I've been here – OW! – all day! You're delirious!"

The thrown pillow knocked him off the bed. Kitty clenched her fists and growled, turning on her heel to leave and almost walking straight into Lance.

"Is this a bad time?"

"I don't have anything to say to you, you jerk." Kitty shoved her way past him and stormed into the hall.

"Kitty, wait." Lance caught her arm. "I – I came to apologise."

"And?"

"And I'm sorry."

"So now you've apologised. Leave me alone."

Kitty went into her room and Lance winced as she slammed the door. He followed her, walking straight into her room and causing her to hastily yank her pyjama top back down halfway through pulling it off.

"Get out!"

"I have to talk to you now. It can't wait."

"You're sorry, I know."

"Yeah. I shouldn't have gone off at you like that."

"Damn right." Kitty put her hands on her hips. "I just wanted to remember something good about Jean. There might not be much, but it's all the epitaph she has and you didn't have to gloat."

"I wasn't gloating, I was just – angry. Remember when I told you that Jean showed me what our lives would have been like without her?"

"Yeah."

"I couldn't get it out of my mind. Seeing us hate each other like that tore me up inside. And I took it out on you. I went to see the Professor to see if she'd just made it up to screw with my head, but he said that Destiny really foresaw all that and what she showed me was true."

"I don't know why it has to matter so much to you," said Kitty. "It might have happened, but it didn't. Can't you just let it go, feel grateful that it didn't happen?"

"I tried, but…it was hard. I kept thinking that I owed what we had to some one trying to hurt us, from me trying to use you and maybe I didn't deserve to be happy from something that began that way. But today, we went to track down the Professors son and we lost him. The Prof's devastated that he didn't even get a first chance, let alone a second. And I don't want to be left regretting that I lost you because my feelings were hurt. I guess I'm asking you for a second chance."

Kitty looked at the floor. "I'm sorry too. I should have taken you more seriously when you said it was upsetting you."

"I'm going to think about it like you said, be thankful that I got a second chance. Uh, talking of second chances?"

Kitty went over and wrapped her arms around him. "You know I always forgive you in the end."

"I depend on it." Lance rested his head on hers briefly and wrinkled his nose. "Uh, I'll let you get on with your shower now Pretty-Kitty. You're a bit, uh, ripe. You need any help scrubbing your back?"

Kitty stepped away from him and punched him, feigning fury. "You tell me I smell then try to get me into bed?"

""Ow! No, just into the shower – OW!"

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Egypt.

The sky flashed, a bright light revealing the Eye of Ages above a pyramid. The sand blew in the breeze as the Eye opened and a beam emerged, striking the top of the pyramid and knocking away thousand-year-old brickwork. Beneath the historic tomb, a strange metal construction with a flat top. The Eye of Ages set down atop it. The panels on the side slid open, Apocalypse floating out, his hands ablaze with blue energy. The energy transformed into lightning, connecting together to form a sphere around the pyramid. The final bricks crumbled away, the pyramid entirely formed of metal within the confines of the third dome.