Attention: Generation X and their villians, as well as any other mutant mentioned in this story, is property of Marvel Comics. The character Richard Cale is named after family relations. Any other reference to anything copywrighted is a chance happening.

That's What It's All About

Getting The Contestants Ready

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I. Yvette
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Yvette awoke when she heard the knock at the door. She looked at the time on the clock and saw it was morning. She lifted her head from the table she and her husband had been studying at. She also noticed that his head was on the table as well. They had fallen asleep studying. She got up and streched, to work out any stiffness in her back from sleeping, and headed for the door. She noticed that Grimore was also asleep, but she could see that his sleep was not restful. She pushed the intercom button near the door and said, "Who is it?"

The voice came through the intercom, "It's me, Jubilee. Rich said he was going to show me how to fight with a sword today." Yvette then remembered what Rich had said to her last night.

Yvette just said, "I remember now. You head over to the training room. I'll have him head over as soon as possible." She clicked off the intercom and went over to Rich. She put her hands on his shoulders and said, "Rich, it's time to wake up."

She watched as he started to wake up. As he sat up, he looked at her and said, "What time is it?" She could tell he was still tired. Part of it had to be the studying. They had even continued studying in their dreams.

She looked at him and said, "It's about 6:45. Jubilee already stopped by about the training." She watched as her husband almost bolted out of the chair he was sleeping in. She then said, "How are you going to make sure no one gets hurt?"

She watched as he pulled two wooden swords out of the closet. "This is how. I got these at a Renaissance Fair when I was in high school." Now she understood what Rich had meant about using fake swords. He then smiled and said, "Just have to think of it as fencing."

She gathered all the books on the table together and said, "Well, at least get cleaned up before you start fencing." She watched as he nodded and headed into the bedroom and closed the door. As she started putting the books on the shelves, she saw Grimore start to stur. She walked over to the cat and petted it gently on the head. "Good morning, sleepy head. Did you rest well?"

She watched as the cat stood up and stretched. "Not really. For a brief moment, I felt like something malevolent was near by." She didn't know what to think. Maybe Grimore was just having a nightmare.

Yvette picked up Grimore and started to pet him to calm him down. As he purred, she said, "Now don't worry, Grimore. There is no one here that is going to harm us. The only person who stopped by was Jubilee."

The cat looked at her and said, "Why did she stop by?" Grimore didn't know about what Rich agreed to.

She was almost startled when Rich came out of the bedroom and said, "She wanted to learn how to handle a sword." She watched as Rich came over to her and he said, "Hun, I'll see you at the test. I hope our studies will allow us to pass the test." He kissed her and headed out the door with the two wooden swords.

After he left, she put Grimore down and said, "Well, I'm going to get cleaned up. We have a test this morning." With that, she heading into the bedroom, and to the bathroom to clean up.

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II. Abcissa
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Abcissa waited in the training room. She learned most of everything here with the device Spiral had brought along. It allowed her to know all of Jubilee's memories. From all the good memories, to all the bad ones. She envied Jubilee. She was almost lost in that thought when she heard a voice say, "Alright Jubilee, are you ready?" She turned to face the man addressing her. He was the one they called Rich.

She nodded and said, "As ready as I'll ever be." She watched as he threw a wooden sword at her. She was half perplex at this. Jubilee was suppose to be learning about sword fighting, so why use fake swords.

Before she could even ask, she heard Rich say, "Now I told you we wouldn't use real swords." Now she started to worry. There were some problems with the memory transfer. Jubilee might have been able to fight it and the more current memories got muddled. She watched as he held his sword in one hand and said, "Now to start, don't let me land a strike on you."

She nodded and said, "Alright, Rich." She was almost startled when he jumped and started to swing. She now had to use her instincts. Many times, Mojo aired shows where she had to fight, and she knew how to fight with weapons.

During the course of the session, she managed to defend herself well. She could see some surprise on his face. During one attack, they were face to face when he said, "You know, Jubilee, you are either a quick learner, or you're hiding something."

She pushed him back and said, "What do you mean, Rich? I'm not that good, I'm just copying you." It wasn't true, but she had to lie in hopes she hadn't blown her cover. She watched as he prepared to stab at her.

As he began the stab motion, he said, "Well, you seem to be acting too good for your first time. Not even copying me this good can be done by a beginner."

She parried the stab and said, "Like I said, quick learner."

She was surprised when Rich made a circular movement and the sword flew out of her hands. She was almost startled as Richard said, "Or you did this before. I saw something that bothered me. During that move where we were close to each other, I saw some strange images. Now I want to ask you what you did with Jubilee."

Now Abcissa had a problem. This boy knew what was happening. She started towards the sword she had dropped, but he stopped her. She looked at him and said, "Rich, it is the real me?"

Rich shook his head and said, "No, something is wrong. You look like Jubilee, but you're not. Now what have you done with Jubilee?"

She just nodded, she had a back up plan. She looked at Rich and said, "Spiral, I need some help." She saw Spiral appear behind Rich.

She watched as Rich turned and said, "What was ..." Spiral hit him hard with three fists. He collapsed to the ground unconscious.

She watched as Spiral said to her, "Let me guess. He figured out who you were?" She nodded and Spiral said, "Well, get the others like planned. Mojo has plans for this one and Jubilee." She nodded and headed off to the exam room. That was the best place to catch everyone.

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III. Paige
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Paige sat at her desk, looking at the clock. It was soon time to start the test, and Emma and Sean agreed that the test wouldn't start until all the students were present. The only two missing were Rich and Jubilee. She fingered her test again, leaving it face down and said, "Emma, when are we going to start this exam?"

She watched as Emma glanced up at the clock and said, "In two minutes, regardless if Rich and Jubilee get in here." She watched as Emma looked over at Yvette and said, "What possessed Rich to train Jubilee to use a sword?"

She listened as Yvette said, "Jubilee came to us after the training session. She asked Rich to show her some basic skills. I don't think it would have taken this long." Paige noticed that at that moment, Jubilee came walking in the door.

Emma just looked at her and said, "Jubilee, where have you been, and where exactly is Richard." Paige was wondering that as well.

Paige noticed that Jubilee must have been nervous, because she seemed to be toying with her earring. Paige wondered if Jubilee considered them lucky earrings or something. She heard Jubilee say, "He had to put the fake swords back, but he said he'd be here soon."

Paige just sighed and said, "Emma, Ah hope we all don't have to wait again." She noticed that some of the others nodded in agreement, but others didn't nod. They didn't want to appear to have an advantage.

She heard Everett say, "Emma, couldn't you give Rich a few extra minutes after time is up for the exam." Paige had to agree that is sounded like a sound idea.

She was surprised when Sean just said, "An excellent idea, Everett. We'll do that lad. I'll take note of when Rich enters. Everyone, begin." Paige went to her test and noticed that Jubilee had finally sat down. Paige knew that Jubilee was the only one who wasn't up late studying. She had heard Jubilee in her room when she got back from studying with Jono and Angelo.

As Paige looked over the questions, she started to yawn. Maybe the late night study session hadn't been a good idea. As she yawned again, she heard several others yawning as well, with the addition of a psyonic yawn from Jono. She went to look over at her teachers and said, "Sean, Emma, could we.." She then noticed that both were asleep. She looked around to noticed that everyone else was nodding off, except for the one person who had gotten sleep, Jubilee. Soon enough, she couldn't fight it and succumbed to sleep.

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IV. Abcissa
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Abcissa looked around as everyone was sound asleep. She had done it. She turned off the devices in her earrings and watched as Spiral appeared again. Her multi-armed associate looked around and said, "You did well, Mojo will be pleased with you."

She nodded and said, "That's what I must do, serve Mojo." She didn't like it, but Mojo had yet to make her do anything she hated. As she looked around, she said, "Does Mojo want me to stay with them?"

She watched as Spiral nodded and said, "Yes, you are to stay with them. When Mojo explains everything, you must make sure they are all forced to join Mojo." She nodded and Spiral then said, "Mojo has gotten some good ideas from the Cale boy, and you might not be alone. You might have a stunt double."

Abcissa smiled and said, "That sounds good." She hated the fact Jubilee had dodged this fate, but now she was going to be forced into it. She watched then as Spiral created a portal and started putting Generation X in the starting room. As she watched, she said, "Spiral, how long until they all wake up."

Spiral looked at her and said, "About 1 hour, plenty of time for Mojo to try to convince those two to give up." This made Abcissa happy. Although she was a slave of Mojo, now she could start exacting revenge on Jubilee.