Run Rudolph Run

"Of course my father would take them to Atlantic City!" Althea groaned as they walked into the casino. "Where else would a sailor take a depressed drunk weather witch and a bunch of hyperactive idiots?"

"Well at least we know which casino they're in," Jean sighed. "Figures they'd pick the Trump Taj Mahal."

"Personally I like Bally's better," Cover Girl said. Everyone looked at her. "What? They have a great buffet, a Wild West theme and those fun I Love Lucy nickel slot machines pay a lot!"

"You've been here before haven't you?" Scott asked her.

"One or two…dozen times," Cover Girl coughed.

"Hey, a buffet would be great," Fred's eyes lit up.

"Not now Fred…" Xavier rubbed his head. "I can't sense either Shipwreck or Arcade due to the fact that they are naturally shielded but I can sense the others. One group needs to go upstairs to the shops…"

"That's a great idea!" Kitty said.

"Figures," Rogue looked at her.

"Actually I need to get a few more gifts as well," Mr. Masters said.

"Mr. Masters?" Xavier then noticed that some people were missing and others had come along. "Wait where are Wolverine, Xi and Rina? And why are all of you here?" He asked the guests.

"He must have stayed behind to take care of Jubilee and the babies," Mrs. Masters shrugged.

"Yeah and Xi and Rina were really into that Christmas tree," Alex nodded.

"I have never been in an American Casino," Stephan's eyes glowed when he saw all the lights.

"It looks so wonderful!" Jimaine was equally awed.

"It is nice to be here and not on assignment," Matt agreed.

"We just went with the flow," Donald told him.

"Yeah man this place is awesome," Jesse D remarked.

"Fine," Xavier gave up. "Let's all split up and meet back here in an hour."

"Make it two," Matt gave a wicked grin and walked away.

"Oh no you don't!" Kurt snapped. His image inducer was on. "Come on Rogue we'd better follow him and make sure he doesn't get into trouble!"

"Why me?" Rogue muttered to herself as she followed her brother. "What about your folks?"

Kurt saw that his parents were already heading to the slot machines. "They'll be fine," He waved.

Before Xavier could say anything, nearly the entire group split up. He was left with Roadblock, Cover Girl and Low Light. "Christmas in Atlantic City," Low Light shook his head. "Now that's something I never thought I'd end up doing again!"

"Should I ask?" Xavier raised an eyebrow.

"Let' s just say Shipwreck was involved in this as well," Low Light sighed.

"I just hope he doesn't do what he did in Vegas," Cover Girl sighed.

"What did he do in Vegas?" Xavier asked.

"Let's just put it this way," Roadblock told him. "You know that saying, 'What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas?' Shipwreck practically wrote it!"

"I am definitely getting a migraine," Xavier put his head in his hand.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"This totally sucks," Kitty sighed as she walked with Tabitha, Jesse, Forge, Alex, Mr. and Mrs. Masters. "I mean we can't even look inside the casino?"

"Tell me about it," Forge grunted. "I mean I'm over 30 years old and they still wouldn't let me in!"

"Why would you want to go in?" Alex asked. "I mean it totally smells like smoke. Could hardly breathe!"

"It's not exactly our idea of a good time either," Mrs. Masters said. "That however is!" She pointed to the shops upstairs.

"Speak for yourself," Mr. Masters told her. "I don't believe it! They're packed!" Indeed the stores were full of last minute shoppers desperate for a gift.

"I guess it's true that people will go anywhere to get a present on Christmas Eve," Jesse remarked. "Hey! Look! They got a lot of Apprentice Merchandise!"

"Gee what a shock," Forge rolled his eyes. "Hey!" Immediately everyone else ran into the store. "Wait for me!"

"Cool! I want a Trump doll!" Tabitha picked one up. "Barbie needs to meet someone new."

"Well she has been in a slump ever since she dumped Ken," Jesse said.

"Did she really say…?" Alex asked Forge.

"Oh yeah," Forge nodded. "Word of advice dude, whenever Tabby's concerned…Just go with the flow. I know she's weird but…Oh wow! A Trump screwdriver! I gotta have one of these!"

"I wish I brought some money," Kitty pouted. "Those Trump T-shirts look great!"

Suddenly a brisk wind surrounded her and Kitty was wearing a t-shirt and a hat. "You look so fetching," Pietro snickered. He was wearing a very stylish suit and tie.

"Good one loon found, a half dozen more to go," Kitty grumbled as she took off the hat. "What are you wearing?"

"This is the newest fashion, Trumpwear!" Pietro modeled it. "Goes with my eyes don't you think?"

"Well at least you're not doing anything dangerous or insane," Jesse said.

"You don't think going out shopping on Christmas Eve insane?" Forge asked.

"Yeah and if you think this is safe you obviously haven't been in the dressing rooms," Pietro pointed with his thumb. "They have a forty percent off sale and…"

"FORTY PERCENT!" Mrs. Masters shouted. "Let me at it!" She charged off with the rest of the girls.

"Hey! I was here first!" Pietro snapped and followed them.

"This is nuts," Alex groaned. "I can't believe they're acting like this over…"He turned and saw his father grabbing several things.

"Wow! Only sixteen bucks for a set of Trump golf balls!" Mr. Masters crowed. "And a Trump spatula!"

"Hey hands off that remote controlled Trumpmobile!" Jesse snapped at Forge.

"No way!" Forge snapped back tugging at it.

"And to think my brother wants me to live with these people…" Alex groaned.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Spyder! Get off the chandelier!" Jean snapped.

Jean, Hank and Scott had cornered Spyder near a section of the Taj Mahal. "This is fun!" Spyder swung on it.

"Yes it's also pure crystal!" Hank told her.

"Get down right now before the thing…" Scott began.

SNAP!

CRASH! SHATTER! TINK!

"Breaks…" Scott winced as pieces of chandelier lay on the floor.

"Wow," Spyder blinked. "Good thing I jumped off in time."

"Well that looks expensive," Hank gulped. "Everyone let's move along before security catches us."

"Don't worry about that," Spyder told them as they left. "Storm took care of it along with Shipwreck."

"What did they do?" Scott asked her.

"I dunno, I was in the bathroom at the time," Spyder shrugged. "I was helping Pietro steal toilet paper so he could TP one of the plaza suites. But whatever they did they sure made a lot of them cry. And some of them smelled like they were smoking."

"Oh lord…" Hank moaned.

"What about Multiple, Trinity and Arcade?" Jean asked her.

"They said they were gonna play the slot machines," Spyder told them.

"How? They can't get into the casino. They're underage." Scott asked.

Ray and Bobby ran from around the corner. "Uh hey guys!" Ray gasped, surprised to see them so soon.

"All right, what destruction have you two caused?" Scott glared at them.

"Nothing, we were just looking around," Bobby said defensively.

"Looking around where?" Hank folded his arms.

"Uh the upstairs rooms," Ray scratched his head. "Hey did you know someone TP'd the penthouse suites?"

"We were mildly aware of that," Hank said. "What's that in your pocket?" He took out something from Ray's pocket. "Shampoo?"

"You were stealing shampoo?" Jean asked.

"Would you believe they were for gifts?" Ray asked. "Hey at least I wasn't wrecking stuff like Bobby!"

"Shut up!" Bobby snapped. "All I did was look around at the upstairs pool."

"You froze the pool didn't you?" Hank looked at him.

"Yeah," Bobby went for the truth. "But nobody was swimming in it anyway. I just figured some people might enjoy an indoor ice rink."

"Okay if I start yelling at you guys now I'm not gonna have a voice left when we catch the other idiots," Scott groaned.

"Speaking of which I think I have discovered the location of some more of our missing companions," Hank pointed to a huge Chinese restaurant inside the casino. "There seems to be a loud commotion inside."

"And where there's trouble you can bet Shipwreck is at the bottom of it!" Jean said as they ran in. They stopped when they got inside. "Or not."

Inside Lockheed was happily blowing fire and chasing several waiters. Several chefs seemed to have some kind of betting ring on the outcome. At the bar Polly was singing up a storm while gulping down a drink whenever he could. "Come fly with me! Let's fly! Let's fly away!"

"Well the parrot is close enough," Scott groaned.

"Oh look, Lockheed just set a couple of Christmas trees on fire," Hank sighed. "Why is it no matter where we go there is mass destruction?"

"Hank that is not true," Jean snapped. "It doesn't happen all the time!"

"Well it happens quite a large percentage of the time," Hank said as they went to retrieve the stray animals.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"It's Christmas at Ground Zero! Just seconds left to go! I'll duck and cover with my Yuletide lover underneath the mistletoe!" The demons sang as they trashed the Purist base in the city of Denver.

"I am sensing a pattern here," Peter remarked. "But this still is not right."

"You're right," Illyana grinned. "We have neglected to visit the leaders of the FOH and the Purists. Good thing I decided to check my list twice."

"This is so naughty and not very nice…" Peter sighed.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Meanwhile back at the mansion…

"Jamie and Angelica will be so surprised when they see you," Jinx said to her guests as they walked into the mansion. Behind her were Jamie's parents and Angelica's father.

"Yes nothing like a wonderful Christmas…" Mrs. Maddrox began before she noticed the state of the mansion. "Holiday?"

There were wrapping papers, tinsel and ornaments everywhere as well as crayon markers. Claudius and Barney were happily running around chasing a very harried cat. Xi was climbing the Christmas tree in the library. Jubilee was sobbing while Rina was telling her plans for revenge. "Then we can use their intestines to make decorations," She said.

"Oh thank god you're here!" Logan moaned.

"What happened?" Jinx asked Logan.

"Short version, Storm and Shipwreck are on a bender," Logan moaned. "And I wish I was with them…"

"What's going on?" Mr. Jones asked.

"Jubilee is depressed about her parents, Xi got hyper on cookies again," Logan moaned. "Then the babies woke up and started chasing the cat and opening presents and don't get me started on what Rina wants to do to the FOH!"

"Oh my…" Mrs. Maddrox blinked. "Where is everyone else?"

"Chasing down Storm and Shipwreck in Atlantic City!" Logan moaned. "Help me please!"

"Wrap up kitty! Kitty!" Claudius and Barney squealed as they chased the cat carrying wrapping paper.

"TIMBER!" Xi squealed as the Christmas tree fell over. "I'm okay…I think…"

"I feel so alone!" Jubilee sobbed. "WAHHHHHHH!"


"Decapitation is also fun," Rina went on.

"I have no idea what I'm doing!" Logan looked like he was about to cry. "I never liked the holidays before and now I've got all these kids that are either upset or crazy or both and everybody left me alone and I need a drink!"

"I think we have our work cut out for us," Mr. Jones winced.

"Note to self, Kill Shipwreck…" Jinx groaned. "This is probably all his fault anyway!"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Meanwhile somewhere else…

"Oh great," Peter grumbled. "We just squashed another Santa!"

"To be fair it was an accident," S'ym told him. "How were we supposed to know that statue would give?"

The mutants and demons were on top of a large building overlooking the pandemonium below. "Yes and he should not have been outside without his pants on," Illyana said.

"I don't think that was really Santa boss," One demon said. "It looks like one of those hospital administrators dressed up like Santa fooling around with that nurse."

"No Gronk? You think?" Illyana asked sarcastically.

"Look at it this way," S'ym shrugged. "Now Creed will have something new to talk about in therapy."

"Well hanging him upside down on a statue which broke and falling three stories on top of a Santa making merry with a nurse would traumatize anyone," Peter shrugged.

"Hey look! That's not Santa! That's a chick!" S'ym pointed out.

"Yeah and that nurse is a guy in drag!" Gronk said. "Hey look at all the reporters!"

"I knew they were ambulance chasers but I had no idea…" Peter said. "Wait a minute! I know that Santa in drag! That's Ms. March!"

"Who?" Illyana asked.

"Ms. March an old…acquaintance of ours," Peter groaned. "She is not very nice."

"That guy running up to her doesn't like her much either," Gronk said. "Looks important. Must be her boss or something."

"Not anymore," Illyana looked through her binoculars. "If my lip reading is correct he just fired her."

"I think we should be going now…" Peter gulped.

"I still think the job we did on Stryker was better anyway," S'ym waved. "Nothing like a little fire and brimstone to scare the bejezzus out of religious nuts."

"Can we go home now?" Peter whined.

"Not yet," Illyana created another portal. "Just a few more stops to make…"

"I was afraid you'd say that…" Peter moaned.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Burke we're supposed to be looking for the others!" Rogue snapped as she caught up to him. "Not looking for a date!"

"I'm just trying to look up an old friend," Matt flashed a disarming smile.

"Nice try but it's not gonna work on me," Rogue told him. Kurt ran up to them. "Kurt did you find anything?"

"Yeah, I found out Spirit's a fan of the Miss America Pageant," Kurt groaned. "He's off trying to get tickets. Says he knows somebody."

"I should ask him if he can get extras," Matt thought.

"What's that on your tuxedo?" Kurt pointed to a dab of white on Matt's sleeve.

"Strawberry Shortcake," Matt said. "It's a real cake with lots of cream and strawberries. Very good actually."

"The Misfits are chowing down in the Deli," Rogue rolled her eyes. "We thought we should get out of there before the food fight escalated."

"Dare I ask how it started?" Matt winced.

"Let's just say I now know what happens to the runners up on the Apprentice," Rogue told him. "Did you find anyone else?"

"My parents are still playing the slot machines," Kurt groaned. "Kitty's parents and their significant others are trying to beat each other at the blackjack tables. The Blind Master is hitting on some showgirls…"

"And he's being very successful at it," Rogue blinked as the Blind Master walked by with four gorgeous showgirls escorting him.

"I must ask him for some pointers," Matt was impressed.

"Come on, let's go find the others," Rogue grabbed his arm and started dragging him. "Let's check out this banquet hall."

No sooner had she said that than the doors opened. Three very familiar figures popped out. "Oh no," Zanya growled. "Not you! Anybody but you!"

"Mystique? Zartan? Zanya?" Rogue's jaw dropped.

"Rogue? Kurt? Burke?" Mystique was stunned as well. She was in her old Principal Darkholme disguise with the exception of wearing a well made black maternity dress.

"Oh no…" Zartan moaned.

"Of all the rotten luck..." Matt groaned.

"What are you doing here?" They all shouted at each other.

Don't you just love holiday reunions? Then you'll love what's coming up next!