Disclaimer: I don't own The Phantom of the Opera in any of its mediums. Nor do I own X-Men: Evolution.

Thank you, lalalala, for your singular word of praise.

Again, I implore: reviews would be nice! And I've changed the summary to make the story sound more interesting.

Chapter 3: The Singular Attitude of a Plate of Sandwiches

Gulping slightly, Todd did as he was bid and came forward, shuffling his feet along the threadbare carpet. When he reached Lance, the rock shaker took the plate of PB&J from his hands and carefully set it on the ground, directly beneath the attic door.

Tugging on Todd's sleeve, he motioned for the Toad to step back with him. Todd attempted to turn around and flee, but Lance grabbed his shoulders and directed him.

"Here, you walk like this...watch Freddy. Keep your eyes open. Make sure no one's hiding behind him."

This last statement caused Freddy to whip his head around frantically. He nearly lost his balance, but grabbed the banister, saving himself from a nasty fall.

Ignoring Fred's near-tumble, Lance and Todd walked towards the stairs, back-to-back, slowly and carefully. Lance's eyes never left the plate of sandwiches, lying innocently on the carpet.

When the pair reached Freddy, Lance motioned for them all to step back down the stairs until they were almost out of sight. They then grouped together in a small clump and stuck their heads around the edge of the wall, first Freddy's then Lance's then Todd's. All three boys faced the attic entrance, all eyes on the gaping hole and the plate below it.

"Okay." Lance whispered. "This is the plan. Eventually, our mystery man is gonna see that the attic door is open, and he'll come down for the sandwiches. Because desperate times call for desperate measures, I'll risk knocking the house down--"

"The house ain't gonna collapse, man!" Todd muttered fiercely.

"--and start a big tremor." Lance continued, ignoring Todd. "That'll knock the guy off his feet. Then you slime him, Toad. Get him in the eyes so he can't see. Lastly Freddy, you sit on him."

"Gotcha." Fred smiled, glad to be the final key element in the procedure.

"And then we'll have him!" Lance finished triumphantly, still not taking his eyes off the plate. "Any questions?"

"Yeah. What the hell are all you loser-boys doin' up here???"

All three heads whipped around.

Tabby was standing seven steps below them, leaning against the wall. Her arms were crossed, and her expression was that of contempt, annoyance and curiosity, all rolled into one. In short, 127 pounds of bitch-slushie with platinum hair. And a severe lack of patience.

"I asked you guys." Tabby said again, frown making her already ugly face even more horrible to behold. "What are you doin' up here?"

"Shhh!!" Freddy said, frowning and putting a large finger to his lips. "We're waiting to see who'll come out of the at--"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Todd's terrified squeal scared the bejeesus out of everyone. But as Lance turned around to look in the direction Todd's trembling finger was pointing, he felt his blood turn to ice.

The sandwiches were gone.

Leaping up the few steps and racing down the hallway, Lance skidded to a halt in front of the attic door. Todd stuck next to him like a shadow, shaking with fear and occasionally emitting strange, high-pitched whimpers. Freddy followed behind equally fast, though carefully, so as not to accidentally put a hole through the floor with his foot. Behind him, Tabby sashayed up the stairs at a leisurely pace, stopping at the top of the stairs to stare down the hallway at the boys, one eyebrow raised.

Suppressing his desire to turn and run, Lance knelt down next to the plate.

Every last sandwich was gone. And despite the rim having earlier been smeared with crumbs and Todd's peanut butter-y fingerprints, the entire plate was now spotless. It looked as if it had been doused in hot water and wiped clean.

And on the middle of the plate was a small piece of paper, folded in half. With hands that shook slightly, Lance reached down and picked up the paper. It was the same type of paper as the notes on the fridge. And upon unfolding it, Lance saw both the red ink and handwriting were the same as well:

My thanks, Monsieurs. The soda?

The message was short, but effective. Reading over Lance's shoulder, Todd ceased his whimpering and emitted a grating moan, similar to the moans made by Romanian peasants who have founds signs of Dracula in their town square.

And without a word, the Toad turned on his heel and began bouncing frantically towards the stairs.

"W-where are you going?" Lance called, voice weak with shock.

"To get soda!!!!" Todd shrieked, not turning his head. He leapt past a startled Boom-boom and quickly descended the stairs, his sneakers making loud thumping noises on the steps.

"Dude?"

Lance looked up at Freddy, towering above him. The Blob's face was pale, but he looked almost thoughtful. Which to Lance seemed an odd thing. Freddy rarely spent his time thinking.

"What is it, Fred?"

"D'you know how fast Pietro moves in seven seconds?"

Lance shook his head. "No man, I don't. I mean he moves fast, but I don't know the mathematical details." He looked down at the plate again, and at the note in his hand. "So, how fast does the speedster move in seven seconds?"

"I dunno either." Freddy said. "That's why I was askin' you. But I've seen Pietro move, and when he does something under ten seconds that involves running more than a few yards, he makes a breeze. Sometimes a pretty powerful one. But we barely had our backs turned for five seconds, and in that span of time someone took six sandwiches off the plate, then cleaned the plate, and wrote a note to leave on the plate. With no breeze."

Lance felt goose bumps rise on his skin. Freddy's deduction was absolutely accurate, and in addition to canceling Quicksilver out as a suspect...it had also suggested that whoever was in the attic wasn't an average everyday human being.

"I got the sodas!"

Todd's shout pulled Lance out of his thoughts as the skinny mutant came racing up the stairs, a cold, plastic bottle of Dr. Pepper clutched in each hand.

"Here!" He said upon reaching Lance's side, breathing heavily as he held out the two bottles to the rock shaker. "Put them on the plate, then let's lea--"

"Hey, soda!"

Without warning, Boom-boom popped up behind Todd, and snatched the Dr. Pepper out of his left hand before he could protest.

Twisting open the cap, she winked and took a quick swig.

"Thanks!" Tabby smiled evilly, then turned and walked back down the hallway, then down the steps.

There was a moment's silence. Then Todd let out a high-pitched shriek, similar to the one he had emitted upon turning around and seeing the plate empty.

Dropping the other soda on the floor, he raced down the hallway and nearly slammed into the wall. As Toad scrambled down the stairs, Freddy and Lance looked at each other, than raced after him.

tbc.