Backstage Rumble

Alison ran into the back room sobbing. She didn't watch the end of the show or anything else but she could hear a lot of yelling. Ivich walked in. "Daz, you okay honey?"

"No I'm not okay! This wasn't supposed to happen!" Alison shouted. "We're not supposed to kill people for entertainment!"

"It was an accident," Hugo said as he walked in with Alexander.

"The hell it was!" Ivich snapped. "You gotta do something about Horns! You promised us it wouldn't happen again!"

"Again? You mean this has happened before?" Alison gasped.

"Couple times before you came here yeah," Ivich grunted. "Horns has a real nasty streak."

"Hey nobody kills people around here on purpose," Alexander told her.

"Didn't look like that to me," Logan growled. By now the Misfits and the X-Men had entered the backstage. Several other angry performers were there as well.

"Who invited you people here?" Hugo shouted.

"We came here for some answers," Hank snapped. "And we're not leaving here until we get some."

"Why don't you just leave period?" Rocker snapped.

"Why don't you make us?" Logan shot out his claws.

"Come on!" Rocker shouted. "I'm a professional fighter! I do this every freaking day of my life!"

"That's enough!" Alexander shouted. It stopped them from fighting. "Who are you people?"

"They're the almighty X-Men," One mutant woman sneered.

"Hey!" Pietro snapped. "Some of us are Misfits!"

"I don't care if you're with the almighty freaking Vatican," Rocker snarled. "Your kind ain't welcome here!"

"Oh that's rich coming from a mug like you," Wanda snarled.

Logan glared at X23. "We're leaving as soon as the kid gets her things."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" X23 shouted.

"Oh yes you are!" Logan snarled.

"Look pal," Hugo snorted. "She's got a contract. Legal and binding and if you think you're gonna…"

Logan pointed his claws at Hugo. "Well consider that contract broken bub!"

"And what are you gonna do?" Alexander snapped. "Go to the courts to demand custody? I'll bet your pals at SHEILD would love that!"

"He has a point Wolverine," Hank told him.

"Face it Logan," X23 looked at him. "I can't go back with you. Even if I wanted to."

"Do you want to?" Jubilee asked. "Well do you?"

"It doesn't matter," X23 said. "This is where I belong now!"

"No you don't!" Logan shouted. "You don't belong with these people!"

"Oh that's cause we ain't good enough is that it?" Ivich snarled. "You bleeding heart muties make me sick. You run around trying to do good deeds and all you end up doing is making life miserable for the rest of us!"

"Yeah like getting us exposed on national TV," A female mutant with scales shouted. "That was a brilliant move!"

"Do you know how long we were out of work because of that stunt?" Another mutant shouted. "At least before we could get around by pretending we wore masks in this town. In Hollywood most people barely look twice at the weird."

"But thanks to you jokers a lot of us were afraid to leave their apartments for weeks!" Rocker snarled.

"That wasn't our fault!" Hank snapped. "At least we don't go around killing each other for entertainment!"

"That was an accident," Hugo said calmly. "Things like that happen all the time in sports."

"Only sickos like you would think of having mutants fight each other as sport!" Tabitha shouted.

"I think you should all leave right now," Alexander growled.

"Maybe we should go…" Cover Girl was starting to feel lightheaded.

So was Logan, but he ignored it. "Not without the kid!"

Alison was shaking. Her body was starting to glow. "Why did you let this happen Hugo?" She asked.

"Look kid it's a sport! When a boxer dies in the ring who killed him? The guy he's fighting? The ref for not making him throw in the towel when it was too dangerous? The boxing commission for making sure the sport exists? The manager? Society for having a need for violence as entertainment like this? How about the audience for cheering them on as they're killing each other? Nobody's responsible. These things happen that's all."

"That is a load of bull and you know it!" Angelica shouted.

"Look who's talking sweetheart," Ivich sneered. "You're one of them army mutants. Who's to say you won't be killing people any time soon? Or one of you X-Idiots in one of your fights?"

"That's totally different," Jubilee snapped. "Those fights are because people are really in danger! We're talking life and death here, not entertainment."

"Well except when we fight with each other," Pietro said. "But even then the object isn't really to kill anyone. Humiliate them maybe…"

"You are not helping Pietro," Xi told him.

"Alison how can you be a part of this?" Hank asked. "This isn't you! You're a singer not a fighter!"

"She's whatever she wants to be right honey?" Alexander said smoothly.

"STOP IT!" Alison screamed. The light blinded all of them as it filled up the room. Before anyone realized it her power went out of control. The next thing they knew she was gone.

"Where the hell did Dazzler go?" Alexander snapped. "Thanks a lot!"

"We have to find her!" Hank shouted. "Her powers are out of control!"

"Really?" Logan looked at him. "What was your first clue?"