Author's note: OK, there's some confusion about my universe's setting. I'm placing this series after Red Witch's fanfic, "The Great Misfit Island Adventure" so as a result, Lina had never met the X-Men in "I Hate New People"! My Misfit-take deviates from Red Witch's universe after the X-Men and Misfits parted ways after "Tremors of the Past". So basically, though Lina/Dragonfly joined the Misfits, she never got a chance to meet the X-Men and the Misfits ran into Lina some other time after the events of the island adventure and adopted her before the X-Men could. In other words, my story is an AU of an AU! In short, I've changed it so that Lina joined the Misfits after "The Great Misfit Island Adventure" and she never ran into the X-Men in the first place! And yes, there was a reason for her to come in earlier than Red Witch wrote in, but I thank Red Witch especially for being gracious and wonderful enough to allow me to write her universe this way!
Jean: Gee, an alternate universe of another alternate universe? How original…
Quiet you. Enjoy this chapter everyone!
CHAPTER 4: Unwelcome Reunions
"I don't believe this!" shouted Roberto as he looked back at Justin and Lina, "You're Misfits!"
"Misfits?" Now it was Razor's turn to be confused as he looked at the Joes, Althea, and the ex-Brotherhood before resting his eyes on Justin and Lina. He had heard about them from Scott, Jean, Tabitha and Kurt, but unfortunately, all four of the testimonial accounts were incredibly conflicted and opposing each other, making it hard to determine the real truth. And considering this was the first time the kat had ever seen or met G.I. Joe and the Misfits, he didn't know what to feel. And the very same could have been said of Lina and Justin towards the X-Men.
"Of course! Why not?" Cyclops griped, throwing his hands to the sky, "Whenever there's trouble, the Misfits always have to come and make things worse for us!"
"Shut up, Summers!" snarled Lance, "We're not in the mood!"
"You shut up, Rock-Head! Why don't you go wreck another building or set another fire after beating someone to death?" snapped Gambit.
"That was a cheap shot, you jerk!" Quinn yelled, having half a mind to zap Remy with her psychic lightning.
"Watch it, you un-housebroken, Cajun sewer rat!" growled Scarlet Witch, her hands glowing, "I don't care how mad Rogue gets, but cross that line again and I'm gonna ram your cards so far up, you're going to permanently shuffling five-stud hands out of your mouth!"
"Wolverine?" Spirit gaped a bit, "Did you…did you get your hair shaved off or what?"
"I don't want to talk about it, Spirit!" growled Logan while shooting a sheepish Kitty a death glare and wishing to God that the damn hairball didn't teach the kids how to make their own glovatrix weapons.
"So what are you doing here, Toad?" Amara asked, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning, her voice hard and immensely defensive, already anticipating the worst reasons possible. The frog-like Tolensky immediately took it as a condescending insult.
"What business is it of yours, yo?" he stated shortly, "We have as much of a right to come here as you do, Princess Prissy!"
"Hey, don't speak to me like that, bog-breath! I'm royalty! And we have more of a right to be here than you since we're usually the ones to clean up the messes you Misfits make in the first place!"
"Royalty? You? HA! A royal pain is more like it! And keep in mind that every royal family has a few illegitimate, inbred embarrassments!" snapped Brittany.
"Watch it, kid, or you're gonna find a time-bomb lodged in that big beak of yours!" Boom-Boom threatened, already jumping to her friend's defense as Amara started shrieking at the Delgado Triplets, hysterical at the insult to her noble lineage.
"Just you try it, psycho-witch!" challenged Daria.
"Can't you keep your Misfits under control? They're causing a scene!" yelled Storm, already at her wits' end and aggravated at the yelling.
"Excuse me?" shot back Cover Girl, offended at the insinuation that the entire fiasco was by fault of the Misfits and the Joes, "We could say the same to your students, Ororo! And unlike you, we don't keep kids on leashes!"
"I'm warning you, Pietro, stop making funny faces at us!" Ray snarled, charging up.
"And what are you going to do about it, Sparky?" Quicksilver taunted, blowing a raspberry.
"Why you little - !" the red-and-yellow haired electric mutant snarled before he tried to tackle him but without success.
"Get 'em, Lockheed! Burn him alive!" screamed Kitty, pointing Pietro with a finger and sending her roaring pet dragon on the speedster's tail.
"Stormy!" cheered Shipwreck as he eagerly hugged Ororo from behind, nearly glomping her with a very affectionate and groping bear-hug, "Missed ya, Stormy! Aren't you glad to feel, uh, see me?"
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY CHEST, YOU PERVERT!" Storm shrieked as she broke out of the hold and started walloping the G.I. Joe sailor on the ground with her fists.
"There is no way you Misfits already got new recruits, at least not ones who were in the right mind!" Jean shot accusingly.
"And just what do you mean by that, Red?" snarled Althea, ready to punch the telekinetic's proverbial lights out.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I use too big of words for you to even understand? What I meant was that you probably blackmailed Dragonfly and Whitelighter into joining your little sorry troop because there's no way on God's green Earth that their parents would have opted you nutcases over the X-Men!"
"Keep shooting that big mouth of yours, and you're going to have a matching big dent in your head!" Wavedancer snapped, waving a fist to Jean's face which immediately sent off another furious bickering match.
"Do you guys really want to get into something like this?" Dragonfly asked worriedly Razor, Whitelighter, and Iceman from the sidelines. They were the only ones who were not taking part in the heated verbal assault. Jake raised an eyebrow, deadpanned.
"I'll pass, young kitten. I already get enough of that from the adamantium-clawed badger back at home," he quipped dryly. The insect-girl smiled at the joke.
"Call me Lina," she said as she offered a hand to the older kat, "My name is Lina, and I don't think there's a need to be so formal to each other."
So her name's Lina, Bobby thought to himself, interested.
It was like that for several minutes until General Hawk's voice rang out forcefully, nearly roaring.
"ATTEEENNNNN-TION!" barked the G.I. Joe general, and surprisingly, all the mutant teenagers from both the Misfits and the X-Men ceased their arguing as they all turned to the source of the voice in the background, either for full respect of the drill command or because the shout had startled them. Even the adults had ceased their arguing, and Storm released her hold around Shipwreck's neck, abandoning her attempt to strangle the annoying sailor. Not too far off was a slightly exasperated General Hawk and alongside him was the Joe pilot Wild Bill and two strangers wearing long, brown trench coats, a short-haired blond woman and a white-haired, worn-out man. Both of the newcomers were looking at the mutant and army troop with a mixture of amusement and discomfort.
"That's enough! Misfits, Joes, AND X-Men, stand down!" There was a respectful silence, and not even Pietro tried to tempt fate.
General Hawk then turned to Professor Xavier with a bit of concern as he said, "Is anyone from your team hurt? We can get immediate medical attention if you need it."
Professor X was a bit taken aback by the offer, but then he nodded gratefully. He should have known that even in times of discord, General Hawk knew what was more important than petty team rivalry and squabbling. On cue, a panting and struggling Rogue managed to appear in view while trying her best to support a still-armored Colossus who was leaning weakly and heavily against his teammates with an energy-scimitar growing out of mid-section, giving off a short, crackling burst of yellow energy every once in a while and causing Piotr to be in extreme and caustic pain as his entire lower body was matted with red, dried blood, staining his metal skin. Colossus was truly in a bad fix and steadily declining.
Rogue cried out as the Joes, X-Men, and Misfits rushed over, "Professor, Peter's hurt! And he's gonna get worse if we can't help him! We gotta get help, quick!"
"Isn't Lifeline with you?" Sam asked the Misfits and Joes worriedly. Xi shook his head, disconcerted.
"We didn't bring him with us when we went to go try to track down Live Wire! And I'm pretty sure he went to do a re-con mission with Tunnel Rat, Alpine, and Quick Kick over at India to check on the tsunami victims! We can't get him in time!" he confessed helplessly.
"Can't you pull it out, Rogue? Why did you leave it in Tin-Grin? He's getting worse because the thing's still in him!" Lance asked, truly and sincerely worried about Piotr. True, he wasn't fond of his rival, but he truly didn't want to see him die. Rogue shook her head, troubled.
"I tried, but I can't break it! The stuff the spear's made out of is just as hard as Logan's adamantium, and if I try to yank the stupid thing out, it'll cause Peter even more pain! I don't want to rip out a chunk of his chest along with the dumb thing! The stupid javelin's wielded to his metal armor! It's stuck! And because it's stuck, Colossus can't morph back to his human form! And if we don't hurry, he's gonna lose even more blood!"
"It's an energy scimitar, Rogue," murmured Blind Master as Piotr sat weakly on the grass, his face green even despite the shiny alloy covering his visage, "I can sense it. The energy being released from the head of the weapon is what caused it to embedded itself so thoroughly into Peter. The energy must have melted through his steel armor so that it would be practically impossible to extract without killing him."
"Peter, hold on!" Shadowcat said, her hands shaking, as she grasped the handle of the scimitar and phased it out of his body. It worked, but now his wound started to bleed even harder.
"Let me," Justin said automatically as he knelt down next to Kitty and gently laid a glowing hand on Piotr's left side, allowing the soothing light to wash over Colossus' senses before the sunlight healed the metal-skinned mutant in a matter of seconds. Piotr blinked as Justin shyly removed his hand from Piotr's body. It was good as new, and there wasn't even the faintest hint of a scar where the scimitar once was previously stabbed through. Even the gouged indentation within his steel shell was made whole again. Kitty was sobbing with relief and joy.
"Oh Peter!" she cried as she hugged the Russian X-Man around the neck. She was so sure that he was going to die, and she wouldn't have been able to bear it if she lost him. She was now bawling as Piotr sighed, relived, as he hugged Kitty back.
Justin was staring at the now-disappeared wound in Piotr's side before turning to Blind Master and asked, "Whoa…how did I…how did that happen! I thought I was just going to heal Colossus' flesh wound, but I didn't think it…it'd…it'd fix up his metal armor!"
The Professor raised his eyes a bit at Justin's exclamation as Blind Master said, "I suppose it is because the steel armor from Peter's mutant powers are part of his cellular structure, and thus, is really organic steel, a metal that is not like other compounds you're used to. And since your healing powers can help heal any flesh wound or injury, it must also work on Peter's steel skin since it is a part of his flesh and blood."
"It is the best explanation so far, but seriously Whitelighter, your healing powers seem to be growing more than up to par," murmured Roadblock as he examined Piotr's side thoroughly, only to find it satisfactorily safe and that the young mutant was no longer in any immediate danger. All the X-Men and even the Joes and some of the Misfits were looking glad.
"Xavier, is there anyone else who was injured heavily?" Hawk asked.
Professor X shook his head as he said, "No, General Hawk. Except for Colossus and Razor, not even the New Mutants have been heavily injured. A few bruises and cuts and burns, yes, but nothing that requires immediate and urgent medical attention."
"Which reminds me…" Storm broke in, seriously angered, as she and Wolverine glared at Boom-Boom, Magma, Sunspot, Cannonball, Lockheed, and Multiple, "What are you five doing out of the Mansion? If memory serves me correctly, you all were supposed to be back at the X-Mansion with Beast and Forge."
"Uh…heh-heh?" Sam smiled weakly as he and the other New Mutants cringed at the death glares Ororo and Logan were giving them. Logan made a furious reminder to do a Level 15 Danger room session with them for the next two weeks along with barricading their windows with barbed wire and sealing the troublesome kids in their respective rooms with brick-walls. Ray was snickering gleefully in the background.
"Roberto's in trouble, Roberto's in trouble…" he sang vindictively.
"Oh shut up!" Sunspot snapped, wishing he could risk a sun-spot beam of energy directly into Bezerker's mouth, but he didn't want to add more reason for the Professor and the adults to ground him. Razor looked torn between exasperated and worried, but upon seeing how the kids were about to get punished anyway, the kat then spoke gently with padded discipline.
"Look, all of you, I know you all have been trained to fight against thugs worse than these H.A.T.E. guys, but you all could have been seriously injured or killed, and you don't know how much that would have pained us to see that. We are glad that nothing happened and that you hearts were in the right place, but please understand, we don't want to see what happened to Chance happens to you kittens as well. Don't mind, Logan, we're all just glad nothing fatal occurred."
"Don't lessen it, hairball!" snapped Wolverine, now angrily turning on Razor, "These kids did wrong and they know it! As such, they get put on probation and punishment, and we certainly don't need someone like you to try and encourage this kind of half-assed behavior!"
"I'm just trying to soften the blow, Logan! And the kids aren't going to feel much better with you holding the threat of certain death over their heads!" snarled Jake, now baring his fangs and instantly defending the New Mutants, his eyes slit dangerously. It was slightly humorous to see a kat shorter than Wolverine try to put the senior X-Man in his place as they both glared daggers at each other angrily.
"Um…the cat guy is one of your X-Men, right, Xavier?" Quicksilver asked, a little befuddled.
"As much as Logan says otherwise, yes, Pietro," sighed Xavier tiredly, rubbing his temples. Meanwhile, as Kitty composed herself and controlled her hysteria, she and Piotr then noticed Lance staring forlornly at the sidelines, half-smiling like a damn idiot and hoping that she would also be glad to see him too. Granted, he was a little jealous of Colossus, but Lance was extremely and truthfully glad that Justin was able to get to him on time. His gaze met Kitty's blank face and wide, blue eyes, and for a brief instant, Lance felt his spirit leap as he expected Kitty to smile and say that she was glad he was safe too, maybe even give him a hug. After all, wasn't she as relieved to see him out of harm's way as he was of her? He would have been out of his mind with anxiety if Shadowcat was the one who had been injured by H.A.T.E.
The crowd then grew morbidly silent as they watched the unavoidable, immanent disaster.
Lance then started to get a little uncomfortable. C'mon, Kitty, just one hug, one exclamation of joy, one gesture to show that he was still important and treasured in her life, that she didn't care about his past or what had been revealed months ago, that she loved him despite it all.
Kitty just stared at him.
Just one thing to show that he was on the same level as Piotr.
Kitty then looked down at the ground so that Lance couldn't see the tears welling in her eyes, but she made no other move to greet Avalanche.
Just one small act of something special, something affectionate.
Kitty bit her lip.
Anything to display that she still cared.
Kitty's pony-tail fluttered limply in the wind, her body still.
Anything.
Kitty then looked at Lance with apologetic…pity.
Anything except that.
"I…Lance…it…"
Kitty forced herself to speak what her heart was telling her, despite the tears that were threatening to leak from her eyes as she confessed finally, "It…it just happened. I'm…I'm so sorry, Lance. I made my choice."
It took several seconds after that before it came to Lance as her words registered and burned into his brain like the most searing, red-hot metal brand dipped in acid. He felt his heart plummet to his feet before crashing into a million pieces. He grew so numb and stiff, he could have had an exact replica carved out of ice, and the statue would have had more warmth than what Lance would have been feeling right there and then. The Misfits and some of the X-Men inhaled sharply, pained. Cover Girl looked as if she was ready to cry. Bobby then felt incredibly low, the guilt multiplying on his shoulders ten-fold, reminding him that he was the one who was directly responsible for the two parting in the first place. Though Scott was relieved, thinking that Kitty had certainly made the correct and better choice…he had to admit he felt pained for Lance; it was a hard blow for anyone to take. Althea noticed a triumphant Jean mouthing "thank you" while rolling her eyes to the sky, and Wavedancer nearly had to force herself to not pound Jean into the ground right there and then, her body twitching.
The triangle had finally collapsed…and two may had been spared, but one was demolished.
Jean and Piotr grew tense, expecting Lance to cry out with rage, to mindlessly invoke his tremors and rage and rant and complain. They expected something violent, something that was typical of a petty hoodlum. To their surprise, Lance did none of these.
Lance simply looked…crushed.
"I'm so sorry, Lance. I didn't want you to get hurt this way," Kitty emphasized, her voice nearly whimpering and breaking down. Lance just looked at her hollowly, like he was devoid of any emotion in his soul, as if he was a lifeless wanderer.
"You'll get it over it," Lance muttered hoarsely, sadly, as he turned around and stiffly walked away.
"Lance, wait!" Wanda called out, trying to console him into halting, but the geokinetic just gave her the cold shoulder and ignored his teammate as he continued walking away, away from the X-Men, the Misfits, and the Joes. All three of the groups along with Maggie, Hawk, and Commissioner Gordon just silently watched him as he disappeared in the distance and amid the various, flaming wreckages and desecrated rubble. Both Toad and Quicksilver threw Bobby deepest looks of the harshest blame and loathing before they took off worriedly.
"We'll watch out for him, yo," Toad said, but one could notice the last few words were viciously formed in a snarl at most of the X-Men as he hopped away after the fast, sliver blur of Pietro dashing off tailing Lance. Most of the crowd was extremely pained at what just occurred.
"Lance," whispered Wanda as she feebly held a hand to her chest, for once, her face displaying feelings of the utmost sympathy and sorrow, a completely new façade to her usual stony, mask of irritation or rage. She sniffed to herself. Justin clasped his hands in front of him worriedly while biting his lip as Lina was unconsciously rubbing her tanned arms together in awkward nervousness. Xi was stony; he truly did not know what to say or do in a situation like this. Althea summoned every bit of her steel nerve to not cry as she stared down at the ground, a hot ball of helpless sadness growing in her throat as she felt her eyes prinking from welling tears and clenched her gloved hands tightly into fists. If it wasn't for General Hawk being here, she would have beaten Iceman within an inch of his life. And the female Misfit leader was not the only one with those sentiments. Daria, Quinn, and Brittany were already promising certain death in their devious, quick minds as they bared their respective teeth and growled at Bobby and Kitty, their hands twitching ever so slightly and dangerously. Fred looked ready to rip someone apart with his bare hands. And surprisingly, some of the X-Men were also having very low thoughts of Iceman.
"Well I hope you're happy, Ice-Cube!" snapped Tabitha reproachfully, angry tears running down her face. Amara just numbly held a hand over her mouth in shock. Rogue actually mirrored the look of sadness on Wanda's face as she lightly held on to Gambit's hand that was soothingly clamped on her shoulder. The Southern belle's grim face just glanced down at her feet, downcast. Kurt looked like he wanted to go with Toad and Quicksilver but then decided against it; he wouldn't have been welcomed there anyway and Lance wouldn't have appreciated the gesture of pity…especially from an X-Man. Jamie was glaring at Bobby with absolute hate and wondering if he could manage to get away with shooting Iceman with his glovatrix. Bobby shivered under all their withering gazes. Then Spirit started walking in the path Lance took.
"Spirit?" Low Light asked softly.
"I have to go and be there my son. He needs me right now," the Native American G.I. Joe said softly, and knowing that was more important, General Hawk gave a single nod. Yet before he left, Spirit glared piercingly at Bobby and then…at Kitty.
"As much as I respect your decision, Shadowcat," he said, his voice a bit clipped, "you could have let down Lance a bit more gently than that."
Storm's voice was cold as she addressed the Joe soldier, "I daresay you hardly have any right to tell Kitty about making the wrong choices. It's her decision, not yours, Spirit."
"Don't put words in my mouth, Ms. Monroe," Spirit said, his voice, if possible, even colder than Storm's as he clarified, "I never said she made the wrong choice. I said I wished she was more understanding of Lance's feelings when she told him how she felt about Peter. I highly doubt even you could argue against that request for consideration."
Storm's nostrils turned white with anger at being rebuked, but Razor placed a restraining paw on her shoulder as Spirit then abruptly left. Kitty then started sobbing uncontrollably as Piotr then got up from the ground and drew her close to his chest, rubbing her back soothingly and gently.
"Shhhhh…" he whispered tenderly, "You made the right choice, Kitty. I'm proud of you."
Kitty didn't answer as she clung to Piotr, the image of Lance's broken and devastated look in his eyes and face haunting her mind and heart.
There was an uncomfortable silence until Logan coughed, hoping to change the subject.
"And who exactly are your friends, Hawk?" Logan said gruffly.
"Not one for pleasantries, are you?" Maggie Sawyer quipped sardonically as she continued, "I'm Chief Maggie Sawyer, leading officer of the Special Crimes Unit in Metropolis and my friend is Commissioner James Gordon of Gotham City."
"Chief Sawyer!" gasped Scarlet Witch in surprise, remembering the name from the news broadcast about the recent alliance with H.A.T.E and the Friends of Humanity.
"Commissioner Gordon? The guy who's friends with Batman!" Sunspot piped up eagerly as he and Multiple had glassy, awed, and amazed looks on their faces. It wasn't much of surprise, considering that every one of the X-Men knew that Roberto and Jamie were very big fans of the Dark Knight of Gotham and would spend countless hours arguing with Sam, Ray, Amara, and Forge that Batman was many times better than Superman in all levels (which also resulted in many unforgettable incidents of damage to the Mansion). Gordon chuckled despite himself.
"I see that supposedly well-kept secret is well known, even in vigilante mutant teams," he smiled.
"Actually, it wasn't hard to figure out," piped up Jamie, "It was easy to guess that the two of you were close, considering that Batman supported you when you were framed by Two-Face a long time ago and how even though many charges were made against the Bat-team for crimes of vigilantism by the D.A., you always seemed to make sure that those allegations never made it to see the light of day. It just seemed obvious that you supported Batman since you never really spoke against him and that he made your jobs a lot easier."
The Commissioner clarified a bit, "Keep in mind…Multiple, I believe your name is? I never said anything of the sort to say I favored Batman. I admit, we call on him when there's trouble we can't handle and the Batman is easy enough around Gotham's police forces to know we won't haul him to jail at the first chance we get, but there's no public statement on record stating that I believed Batman is above the law or that we both have a more-than-professional acquaintanceship."
Roberto then smiled as he pointed out, "We know…but it's what you didn't say that convinced us. Not condemning or declaring Batman and the Bat-team as dangerous vigilantes and law-breakers is a slightly indirect and discreet way of supporting them. And if you two weren't close to begin with, then Batman wouldn't even have entrusted you to call on him with the Bat-signal in the first place."
Gordon's smile became even wider as he raised an eyebrow, impressed. Despite being teenagers, these kids were incredibly sharp.
Cyclops was slightly wary, his expression guarded as he asked, "So you're not against mutants on the same note?"
Maggie said, "Kid, despite what the media likes to hype up, Gordon and I can think for ourselves, thank you very much. And after dealing with real dangers like the Joker, Intergang, and the aliens from Apokolips, dealing with mutants isn't a bad thing. In fact, Gordon and I agree with Hawk that you kids may be one of the best things for the planet and that groups such as H.A.T.E. and the Friends of Humanity don't have the world's best interests on their agendas."
Jean smiled with ease and touched appreciation before she got a reading of their thought patterns, and her face fell a bit in sympathy as she asked, "I take it not a lot of people agree with you on that sentiment, especially since Tonka and Creed's recent alliance and establishment of their headquarters in both Gotham and Metropolis?"
Maggie's face showed a grim smile as she repeated, "Like I said, Ms. Grey, we can think for ourselves."
"Even though Commissioner Gordon in on the verge of being unfairly suspended from his position at Gotham City by the Gotham City Council?" Jean asked quietly.
"What?" Now it Hawk's turn to be grim as he looked at Maggie and Gordon. This was news to him. Maggie seemed a bit irritated as she gave Jean as dry look for involuntarily being a blabbermouth.
"You know, it's generally polite to not read people's minds and blurt out personal problems like that."
"I'm sorry," Jean sincerely apologized, horrified at what she had just done, "I…I didn't mean to! It was an accident! I just…still have some problems controlling my telepathy."
Maggie sighed before saying, "Understandable, considering how you had a power surge with your mutation back at Bayville High School several years ago."
"You know about that! Das gibt's nicht!" Kurt blurted out, taken aback.
Commissioner Gordon nodded as he explained, "Since we have close ties to the Justice League, Nick Fury from S.H.I.E.L.D. decided that it could prove beneficial if both Maggie and I had been briefed on some of the additional crises revolving around the world, and some of the files that were given to us was based on accurate data gathered about Charles Xavier and the X-Men with their special abilities along with the Hellfire Club and Magneto and his Acolytes. And it took some convincing considering that we've known General Hawk personally for quite a while, and he needed to pull some strings with us to ensure that we could use the briefings to help inform the Justice League of any mutant-related problems such as Magneto and the Hellions should they become a world-threat."
"Really? Doesn't take much of a genius to know how these bubs could use that kind of info for the wrong reasons." Now Wolverine's voice was cold, almost snarling, as he glared at the two cops with suspicion. Undaunted and now annoyed, Maggie just fearlessly glared back.
"As unbelievable as it sounds, Wolverine, not all cops are against you, and if Hawk and Nick Fury can entrust that information regarding you and the X-Men along with the Misfits, then I think there's a good reason on why Gordon and I were allowed to do so. And before you get on your damn high-horse and say how we're on different sides and such and how the X-Men can handle problems the law cannot, let me remind you Gordon and I have worked alongside Batman and Superman and the Justice League, heroes that definitely trump your agendas as the X-Men. While you fight for mutant-human peace, the League fights for the peace of the whole galaxy for all races, both Earthling and extraterrestrial. Not to sound vain or outlandish, but there are things and freedom-fighting groups that are certainly more reliable and impressive than the X-Men or the Misfits. The Misfits and Joes have no problem admitting that, so there's no way in hell you shouldn't either! Get this into your thick skull, Wolverine, that just because the X-Men are doing something incredibly noble and for the good of the world doesn't mean that you're all gods on pedestals!"
General Hawk then turned to Logan and the Professor before Logan could explode with his temper and said, "Xavier, I know you may have some reservations about entrusting outside people, and representatives of the law for that matter, but you can take my word for it. Maggie Sawyer and Commissioner Gordon are good people, and it's fortunate enough to have them on your side instead of the general public anti-mutant consensus. Especially since the Justice League is worried enough about all three of our groups."
"Really?" Althea asked, touched, surprised, worried, and actually a bit humbled to tell the truth.
"Wow, can you believe it? They like us! They really like us! We're actually important to the Justice League!" Fred marveled to Lina excitedly as there was general, excited whispering and chit-chatter all around. Some, however, like the Professor, Logan, Low Light and Cyclops were a bit dubious and disbelieving.
"So, who're the new guys?" Tabitha asked, pointing to Whitelighter and Dragonfly, "We kinda already know who your code names and stuff, but we don't know much about them."
Some of the Misfits seemed incredibly reluctant to speak by this request, but Shipwreck shrugged it off as he stepped forward and explained, "These are our two newest recruits for the Misfits, Whitelighter and Dragonfly. But their real names are Justin Moore and Lina Chakram. They joined the Misfit team shortly after the…after we kinda took a break from each other. And while we're on the subject, who's the cat-guy? We've never seen him before either."
"This is Razor," Rogue said as she jerked a thumb to the kat-being in question, "He joined us not too long ago, and he's our newest teacher for the New Mutants along with helping the Professor keep the mansion intact."
"Nice to met you all finally," Razor smiled warmly, "And the name's Jake. Jake Clawson. It's only fair since you've told us your names."
"Clawson?" Low Light frowned, thinking it was a bad pun.
"Jake Clawson? That sounds…familiar," murmured Fred as he tried to remember where he had heard that name before. Razor then spotted the G.I. Joe jet in the distance before turning to Wild Bill with a huge grin.
"Nice turbo-jet. I'm guessing from the outer-appearance…a modified Skyhawk with turbofan engines?"
Wild Bill's face beamed, appreciative that someone else was as much as into aircrafts as he was. He said, "Yeah, you bet! Worked on that baby for the past several months! Glad you noticed the effort, Razor!"
Meanwhile, Dragonfly was treating a serious burn on Ray's left forearm by spitting a wad of her silk on the X-Man's exposed skin, and to Ray's pleasant surprise, the burn was slowly lessening in pain and the pad felt cool and a bit soothing.
"Wow…uh…thanks, Lina," Ray said appreciatively as he blushed slightly, though one could tell that the teen was starting to like Dragonfly.
"So, you're a medic for the Misfits, Lina?" Sam asked a bit stupidly.
"I hope so, but Lifeline and Bree said it'll take a while and a lot of training to be fully qualified," Lina said amiably enough.
"So…do you like being a Misfit?" Ray asked hesitantly, and though the question was innocent enough, Lina was a little wary of the morbid interest in Ray's blue eyes when he asked that. Thankfully, she heardGambit yelping in pain in the background and dove for the interruption.
"Excuse me, I have to tend tosomeone beforeWanda and Trinity send him to the intensive care unit," she smoothly sidestepped the discussion as she made her way briskly through the group of New Mutants to help out. Ray, Roberto and Sam just gave her thoughtful looks at her back.
Meanwhile, the grown-ups were discussing the matter about Live Wire and H.A.T.E.
"But why would H.A.T.E. and Live Wire attack us?" Low Light asked, confused, "I mean, we're not aliens and even the Friends of Humanity have known better not to mess with either of us like this! And after dealing with those cretins, judging by all the weapons they had immediately on hand, they were ready for us, no question about it!"
Shipwreck added, extremely worried, "And those landlubbing assholes were low, even for them! They waited until we were in plain view before they tried to ambush all of us, and they had absolutely no remorse or second thoughts about using it on these kids!"
"My God," Maggie murmured, her face going pale.
"Cowardly bastards!" growled Gordon. Law or no law, Gordon himself would have gladly given up his position if he could take out Creed and Tonka personally. Trying to ruin someone politically or socially and attacking trained soldiers is one thing…but to try to kill children was a whole new low altogether.
"Which is why I am hesitant to bring people of the law into this matter," Xavier clarified, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly, "Please forgive if I say I am hesitant to trust your word that you care about human-mutant relations and that you wish to help us as well, but considering the dangers arising, I cannot take many chances. Even though the Justice League is a noble and virtuous group, there are those in the government that closely work with them that would not think twice to try and manipulate my charges or attack us in any way possible."
"What about Live Wire?" Maggie asked.
"She got away," Cover Girl explained, "We almost had that witch, but then some strange woman popped up and blasted us back before taking off through some portal and disappeared with Live Wire in thin air!"
"It must have been a boom-tube, a portal that leads the alien races of Apokolips back to their home planet," exhaled Hawk wearily, "but to tell you the truth, I'm now even more worried about H.A.T.E., especially with this jack-assed stunt they tried to pull. Xavier, I hate to make things worse for you, but I think H.A.T.E will try again, and with an arsenal like this, your X-Men might not be so lucky next time."
"I know," Storm said wearily, "H.A.T.E. is certainly starting to show that it is a far more formidable and unpredictable threat than Creed and Reverend Stryker are. By the Goddess, these weapons are almost impossible to even comprehend!"
"And what troubles me is that not even the military or similar organizations like S.H.I.E.L.D. have weaponry this advanced," Blind Master commented as he gingerly turned the energy-machete in his hands, feeling the pressurized forces surrounding the plasma-blade pushing against his hand.
"That's odd," murmured Maggie as she frowned at the two energy scimitars in Cover Girl and Blind Master's hands, scrutinizing them with her eyes.
"What's wrong, Maggie?" Gordon asked.
"I can't put my finger on it…but there's something about these weapons from H.A.T.E. that seems strange. I don't know why, but I could have sworn I'd seen them before…"
"Can't we arrest them?" Xi asked, popping in the conversation, "I mean, H.A.T.E. attacked us and tried to hinder an army investigation! Surely we can arrest them on those charges?"
"I don't like to tell you this, Xi," Roadblock answered, "but considering it'll be our word against theirs, those accusations aren't going far and high. With H.A.T.E. having so much support and standing, their lawyers will use anything in their books to make it a soft landing. They'll just get a slap on the wrist at most, while H.A.T.E. and the FOH get to strut off and boast."
"Which is why I'll send a convoy of G.I. Joe to stand guard at the X-Mansion until we can do something to stop H.A.T.E. permanently. Until then, you better keep your students indoors and increase the defenses around your home, all right? We both want the kids to stay safe, especially since Apokolips and Darkseid's involved in this. I'll brief you and the other adults later tonight with more of the information along with Gordon and Maggie. Just go back before the Bayville and Gotham and SCD until get here; we'll try to explain why you were here and make sure they understand the truth."
The Professor nodded in agreement.
"Misfits, let's go," Wavedancer commanded stonily and with that, the army mutants stiffly left the X-Men wordlessly, still sore emotionally. Well, most of them.
Justin was still looking at Jake, almost staring really, and quite rudely too. Jake narrowed his eyes a bit in confusion as he gave the Misfit a very puzzled frown, not even sure why Justin was behaving so oddly. Upon seeing the frown, Justin blushed and mumbled a soft apology before averting his gaze. Xi was one of the last ones to leave until he noticed that Justin was still lingering.
"Whitelighter, you coming?" Xi asked from the distance. The sentence brought the chubby boy back to reality as he snapped back to consciousness.
"Um…" Justin blushed as he gave a small bow to all of the X-Men before smiling sincerely, "Glad to meet all of you finally. Take care."
And with that, Justin took off to join his friends and G.I. Joe. Professor Xavier slightly raised his eyebrows in attraction as he brought his fingers together in front of him and continued to rest his gaze on Dragonfly and Whitelighter.
"Interesting," he said finally.
Bobby wasn't even listening. He kept staring at Dragonfly who was walking away side by side with Fred and Wanda, the sun radiating softly over her brown shoulders and white bobbed hair like a halo of radiance while giving her wings an utmost sheen of sparkling crystal. Lina, then sensing that she was being watched, turned her head slightly to see that her eyes met Bobby's, and politely, she gave a small smile and waved a bit with her hand.
Lina. Angelina Chakram. Angelina 'Dragonfly' Chakram.
Angelina Drake. Lina Drake. It did have a nice ring to it.
"She's beautiful…" whispered Bobby to himself.
000-
"Lord Darkseid," the loyal yet grotesquely deformed figure of Desaad intoned in a monotone, lifeless voice as he bowed to his master, "We have gathered the necessary information from the battle of the X-Men and Misfits with H.A.T.E. on Earth, and we have discovered the ones with the most potential for your plans. We are awaiting further instructions, my Lord."
"Are you sure these mutants you speak of have been concluded to contain the capabilities of what I need for this force of the cosmos, Desaad? I do not need to remind you what shall befall upon your pitiful body if you are not exceedingly sure about these mutants."
"I am sure, my Lord. I dare not disappointment my liege and mentor, oh blessed One of Apokolips. I shall bet my life on it!"
"Then be it so, worm," Darkseid said coldly before coming to his absolute decision, "then tell Big Barda and Granny to lead the other Female Furies along with our two newest acquisitions and begin to Phase Three: Recruit. When the time is right, strike both the X-Men and Misfits and bring back the chosen ones here to my realm. Do not leave the third dimension of the planet Earth until each and every one of the six mutants is securely captured and do not linger. Execute the phase as swiftly and cleanly as possible, and tell my servant to destroy any evidence of our involvement with the mutants and G.I. Joe on Earth; we do not wish for those fools from the Justice League to be made aware of our plans. Do not bother trying to kill them all. Wipe out any who becomes a threat, but I want those six alive and well for the fourth phase. Do I make myself clear, Dessad?"
"So be it, your Excellency. Your will be done," and with that, Dessad left the royal chambers of the throne room, leaving the alien leader to continue to plot and plan, lost in his morbid and pleased thoughts of power and conquest and the very control over the living will of all life itself. Darkseid smiled maniacally to himself as he gazed within the shining, ruby surface of the enormous icosahedron crystal in front on him, the red hues and beams playing across his face, grotesquely marring it into the look of an insane, Satan-incarnate, his eyes glowing with the damning powers of the Omega Effect.
"Soon …so very soon," Darkseid chuckled.
000-
"I can't believe you talked me into this," groaned Batgirl to herself as she rode on the shoulders and back of the blonde-haired, rosy-cheeked Supergirl. Kara In-Ze flew the both of them high in the skies, the cold night air tearing at their capes and respective tresses in the clear, starry, sky.
"Hey, we already decided that flying would be the best and fastest way there. If I tried flying there with my super-speed, I'd doubt you'd be able to withstand all the Gs it'll put on your body. Besides, I didn't hear you putting up much of an argument," Supergirl shot back in a smug-tone.
"I was too anxious thinking about what sort of trouble and chaos Live Wire would cause to even think much about arguing over transportation method, but at times like these, I wish we had a teleporter like Robin's friend, Raven," Batgirl sighed. Barbara Gordon was already in her trademark black and yellow uniform complete with cowl while Kara was in her red, white, and blue apparel, and as soon as the coast was clear, both Barbara and Kara made their way to Bayville as quickly as they could. At first, Barbara wanted to take a bus or an airplane to the town where the X-Men resided, but Kara shot that possibility down, saying it would be easy for the wrong people to trace their footsteps, not to mention that it would raise some questions on why Barbara, not even an official detective of Gotham City, would be arriving at a scene where Live Wire and the X-Men were converging at. Despite being the Commissioner's daughter, she would have no authority or jurisdiction there, and as such, it was far better and easier if Batgirl and Supergirl arrived at the New York municipality incognito.
"Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your flight on the Supergirl Express and be sure to leave all trays in the upright position. A meal of cold air and whatever bugs that'll be splattered against your teeth while flying at speeds in the hundreds will be served shortly," Supergirl threw out with good humor, but Batgirl could tell that the alien was nervous.
"Har har, funny," the masked vigilante said dryly before adding, "God, I wish I wasn't doing this, that we weren't going to fight Live Wire and the Female Furies alone if they're in Bayville."
"And there's still no response from the Watchtower?" Supergirl asked, troubled.
"None, and wherever they are, they're still missing. The last I checked, Batman and the others were trying to ask those two Bang-Babies named Static and Gear to try out for part-time membership, but ever since then, I can't reach them. I guess they must be really busy if they haven't kept a direct link to the Watchtower's communications. This certainly isn't the first time this happened."
"Gee, and to think that they didn't even consider even asking us to join the League first before they turn to a pair of unknown teenagers to offer membership. How typical of my cousin," Supergirl growled darkly. Batgirl was silent, but she understood Kara' frustration. Superman and Batman had openly and staunchly denied the two girls membership to the Justice League, saying that they were both still in need of dire training and maturity, things that were essential if Batgirl and Supergirl wanted to bear the whole weight of the world on their shoulders. And frankly, they weren't ready for it. Batgirl just silently respected their decision, although on the inside, she was a bit irritated at her mentor's point of view. Even after they had dealt against Joker, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, and hell, even Live Wire from a past excursion and not to mention her expert cyber-hacking and computer skills that could put the knowledge of all the members in the League to shame, Batman still didn't trust her enough. And it stung a bit. Supergirl was less gracious. For over two months, she raged, argued, threw screaming fits, pleaded, even managed to get Jonathan and Martha Kent, Superman's adoptive parents, to side with her, but in the end, Superman stood firm. And even after that, Kara wouldn't even speak to her cousin for over three weeks before she gave up, seeing how her "punishment" wasn't really affecting Superman enough to change his mind.
"Maybe it's a good thing that they're so preoccupied then, especially if since they're not available, they can't really object to us if we did the right thing and just ran the investigation by ourselves in place of their absence," Batgirl smiled to herself.
Kara then looked at her friend over her shoulder with a very mischievous and naughty grin before saying, "And what they don't know won't hurt them, of course."
"Of course," Batgirl giggled before continuing in a serious tone, "But let's just hope that the X-Men, the Misfits, and G.I. Joe won't be too unwelcoming and hostile when we arrive to help them out with Live Wire and Darkseid's minions."
"From what I've heard when the Justice League have kept tabs on all the mutant affiliations here on Earth, the X-Men, G.I. Joe and the Misfits have experienced their shares of abnormal stuff, so I'd doubt we're the strangest thing for them to deal with. And besides, they're mutants! They couldn't possibly object to us being there to give them a hand with this whole thing. Maybe we'll be just what they need to help them deal with Apokolips," Supergirl suggested.
"I just it was just more than the two of us. Couldn't you contact Jason Blood or perhaps Aquaman to see if they could help us out?"
Kara exhaled wearily as she shook her head, explaining, "I tried already. Mr. Blood is on a mission in some sort of weird dimensional plane with Dr. Strange and his apprentice along with Doctor Fate and some good demon named Hellboy to investigate some sort of disturbance in the mystical-continuum. They won't be back for a while from what I've been told because this baddie is supposed to be a doozy. Some immortal sorcerer named Rasputin or some other. And Aquaman refused to help out because he doesn't want to get involved. Trust me, you don't want me to repeat the exact words he used of what he thought about helping out with topsider problems. What about you? Nightwing and Robin could be a great help."
"Nightwing went to establish himself in another city and we've lost contact with him for a while. In other words, we don't contact him; he'll contact us. And Robin is with the Teen Titans over at Jump City, and they're investigating a strange occurrence with Brother Blood's sudden disappearance from maximum security along with the Titans East. So, we're on our own pretty much and if anything, the Misfits and the X-Men will have to take what they can get."
"Hey, an army of two heroes is better than nothing, you know."
"I hope you're right," Batgirl replied, "But who know what Darkseid and his Female Furies are even planning? Unlike a lot of the nuts we've chased after before, Darkseid isn't nuts and he isn't foolhardy…which makes him even more dangerous, the fact that he is guaranteed to succeed in his plans and that he's meticulous and cunning enough to make sure that it gives him and Apokolips a good boost. That means whatever he's planning is something big, something that could possibly be too big for any of us, even for the Justice League, to handle."
"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough," Supergirl stated, leaving it at that. She really didn't want to divulge into this dreary subject any longer.
Yet the important question on their minds was that would they even be standing when they did.
Author's notes: Before you kill me, let me say I'M A LANCITTY FAN! I'M A LANCITTY FAN! Don't kill me! Besides, if you kill me, you won't be able to see this fanfic finished! I'll be dead so I won't write future stories!
Readers: Nuts...
Bobby (sarcastic): Gee, that's such a shame…
Besides, if you're going to kill anyone, kill BOBBY! HE'S the one who broke up Lance and Kitty in "Tremors of the Past"! Kill HIM! HE'S responsible!
Bobby: HUH?
Red Witch: Hey, he's right!
Readers: GET HIM!
(Bobby runs out screaming while reviewers chase him down with clubs, flamethrowers, and sharp/pointy objects)
Anyway, hope you enjoyed the drama! Check back next Friday for the chapter titled "Thorny Olive Branches" where we take a break from the action and get a chance for Razor to meet the Misfits more personally while Lina and Justin visit the X-Mansion, despite Xavier having "ulterior" motives. Until then, read and review! Constructive criticism welcome! And on a final note: YAY! Kingdom Hearts 2 trailer is out and the Disney worlds in the game included Mulan and Jack Sparrow from "Pirates of the Carribean"! (Sorry, but I'm a KH fanatic)