Survival of the Fittest

"I can't believe this…" Jean was in shock after listening to Margali explain the whole story. All the X-Men and Misfits were there listening to what Margali had to say after returning to the mansion.

"Believe it," Margali told her. "We are dealing with an ancient and powerful race. One that clearly has an agenda in Bayville."

"But what could a bunch of wolves want here?" Logan asked.

"Rahne?" Hank asked.

"No, she's merely a bonus," Margali shook her head. "They want her blood."

"They're going to kill her?" Kurt gasped.

"No, I said that wrong," Margali corrected herself. "They want her as breeding stock."

"Dude that's sick!" Bobby shouted.

"It's their way," Margali shrugged. "The fact that she can transform into a wolf is merely a bonus for them."

"Do you think she knows…?" Sam began.

"No, she probably assumed that they were like her," Margali sighed.

"It still doesn't explain why she turned on us like that," Jubilee said. "I mean she was all snarling in our faces."

"I agree," Ororo said. "Rahne has always been a quiet girl. She's never given us any real trouble."

"Sometimes it's the quiet ones you gotta watch out for," Shipwreck pointed out. "I mean she's a teenage girl. With those hormones racing sooner or later you gotta expect some kind of explosion if you get my drift."

"Perhaps she was feeling a bit overlooked?" Hank surmised his hand on his chin. "You must admit some of you seem to need more…attention than others."

"Hey! I don't go out and ask people to use me in their schemes to take over the world," Rogue defended. She looked at Kitty. "However…"

"If this is another crack about my personal life…" Kitty glared at her.

"Well you gotta admit Kitty you do tend to bring a lot of drama into this house," Tabitha pointed out.

"Look who's talking!" Kitty snapped. "You cause more trouble than…"

"SHUT UP!" Danielle snapped. "This is why Rahne left! We were all so busy fighting and obsessing about ourselves we didn't even notice she was having problems!"

"The kid's right," Logan admitted. "So let's stop blaming ourselves and find her before this Aiden character gets her into deeper trouble."

"That goes without saying but where?" Roberto asked. "Where do we start looking for a bunch of wolves in Bayville?"

"Well since those guys wanted us to sell them our house I think the real estate agency they work for is a start," Amanda said.

"Sell your house?" Kurt looked at her.

"Two of them came to our house trying to buy it," Mr. Sefton took out the card and handed it to Scott. "I should have known it was too good to be true!"

"Look at this Warren," Scott showed him the card. "Lobo Real Estate. An extension of Lobo Technologies."

"I really need to talk to my father about the family business," Warren groaned as he read it.

"Wait a minute," Doug said. "Lobo…Spanish for Wolf? Does that ring a bell?"

"Even I knew that and I'm lousy at languages," Bobby agreed.

"I knew there was something off about Maximus Lobo the second I saw him," Logan growled.

"You probably would have known for sure if you had smelled him," Xi said.

"Kitty, Arcade find out how much property Lobo Technologies owns in Bayville," Scott told them. "Not to mention anything about the company you can find."

"Got it," Kitty nodded. She and Arcade went to the computer in the corner of the room.

"This shouldn't take long," Arcade cracked his knuckles.

"The first thing we need to do is find Rahne," Xavier frowned. "I'll use Cerebro to pinpoint her powers."

"Or we could just go to Lobo Tech's office in Bayville," Kitty said. "Take a look at this!" She pointed to a picture. "The Vice President is the guy Rahne ran off with!"

"That's the same guy who was at our house the other day," Amanda said. "I'm sure of it."

"Hold on," Arcade punched in some numbers. "I got it. Take a look, here are all of the properties owned by Lobo Tech. They increased over forty nine percent after the riots!"

"All the streets that burned down Lobo Tech bought," Kitty said. "And then some. Look at the map here. The ones in red are what Lobo Tech owns."

"That's more than a quarter of the town," Kurt remarked.

"Looks like your Dad's friends have been busy Angel," Lance whistled.

"This is far worse than I feared," Margali frowned. "Of course. It all makes sense now."

"What? What does this all mean? Am I missing something?" Bobby asked. "What makes sense?"

"There's only one thing a wolf covets above all others besides his freedom," Margali told him. "Territory." She pointed to the map. "And they are planning a hold right here in Bayville underneath our very noses."

"In other words the wolves are literally at our doorstep," Hank looked at the figures. "Oh my…This is not good."

"I really need to talk to my father and my lawyers…" Warren groaned.

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

"I can't believe it's all over," Rahne sighed as she put her head in her hands. She was in an office with Aiden and Maximus Lobo. "I mean, I thought they would understand me and…"

"Dear child," Lobo spoke soothingly. "It's all right. You're with your own kind now. People who truly understand you."

"I hate to say I told you so love," Aiden put his hand on her shoulder lovingly. "But deep down you had to know you weren't like them. You are a wolf trapped in a human world. You could never truly be happy with them."

"I guess not," Rahne sighed. She looked at Lobo. "So…You're like me too?"

"There are plenty of us like you child," Lobo laughed. "My little brother wasn't lying."

"Brother?" Rahne's ears picked up.

"Half brother actually," Aiden explained. "We had the same mother. It's a long story."

Maxwell entered the room. "They're here," He grunted.

"The X-Men?" Rahne gasped.

"Stay here," Aiden told her. "We'll deal with them."

Scott, Jean, Kurt, Kitty, Bobby, Rogue, Remy, Peter, Hank, Warren, Rina and Logan walked into the building. Margali was with them. "Are you sure she's here?" Bobby asked.

"She's here all right," Logan frowned. "And she ain't alone."

"Rahne come out! We know you're here!" Jean called out. "Rahne!"

"Rahne," Margali called out. "Aiden is not who you think he is! He has been deceiving you!"

"Looks like we've got company…" Logan growled as several large wolves appeared around them, coming out of the offices.

"I have heard a rumor about businesses going to the dogs but I had no idea…" Hank began.

"It's not like we thought they were going to make this easy," Warren told him.

"Hey, if they wanna throw down, that's fine with me," Bobby cracked his knuckles.

"Well if it isn't the infamous X-Men," Lobo strode out with Maxwell and Aiden. "I'm honored."

"We've come for Rahne," Scott told them. "And we're not leaving without her."

"I think that's her choice don't you?" Aiden sneered.

"I agree," Jean said. "So why not let her choose when she has all the facts?"

"Or maybe you're scared of her hearing the truth about you?" Remy snarled. "Like how you attacked Amanda and her parents when they wouldn't sell you their house?"

"What?" Rahne revealed herself. "That's impossible! Aiden would never do something like that! Tell them!"

"Yeah Aiden, why don't you tell her how you guys have been plotting to take over Bayville the moment you heard about the riots?" Scott said. "It must have been easy to buy up all those streets that were damaged."

"Not to mention dirt cheap," Remy added.

"You've been buying out the homes of the humans so you could live in them yourselves, right?" Bobby asked.

"Not exactly," Lobo looked at him. "But I'll give you an A for effort."

"No," Hank frowned. "You're buying the homes and land for other mutants. Making Bayville some kind of beach head."

"Congratulations Beast," Lobo grinned. "The way you deducted that I would swear that you were almost lupine."

"It's a win-win situation," Aiden told them. "We get the land and our allies get a secure home. What's wrong? I thought you'd be happy living in a town full of mutants? Think about it, with mutants in the majority the mutant bans would be gone. You'd be free to go anywhere you please, as long as you're willing to abide by a few…conditions."

"You're not in this alone are you?" Scott reasoned. "Who are you working for?"

"That's for us to know and you to find out," Maxwell told them.

"Preferably to not find out," Lobo said.

"Wait a minute…" Rogue frowned. "I recognize these guys! These are the same kind of wolves that were working for Magneto! Kurt remember a long time ago when I first picked up Mystique's memories? How she was being chased by wolves?"

"You don't mean…?" Kurt looked at them.

"These look like the exact same wolves as in her memories," Rogue said. "I'm sure of it!"

"What?" Rahne gasped.

"Don't listen to them," Aiden told her. "They'll only confuse you."

"You're the one trying to confuse her!" Kitty snapped.

"So you're working for Magneto…" Scott was shocked.

"He made a pact with us long ago," Lobo told them. "We both hate the humans who have hunted and oppressed us. Why not join forces against them? Or would you rather have the land bought by the Hellfire Club?"

"What are you talking about?" Warren asked.

"Didn't you know that the Hellfire Club and it's Inner Circle are grabbing whatever land they could get their hands on, doing the same thing we are?" Lobo grinned. "Especially since they have designs on Worthington Industries."

"I never heard anything about that!" Warren shouted.

"Oh that's right, I forgot…" Lobo twisted the knife. "Daddy doesn't talk to you much any more, does he? You have no idea what's been going on behind your back."

"Wait, you didn't say anything about working with Magneto," Rahne looked at Aiden.

"Why shouldn't we have an alliance with a fellow mutant?" Aiden asked using his most charming smile.

"Oh that's a laugh!" Remy said. "Especially since you guys really ain't mutants!"

"Rahne, these are not humans who can change into wolves…" Margali called out. "They are wolves who can change into humans!"

"What?" Rahne gasped. She looked at Aiden. "Is this true?"

"Is there truly a difference between a human who is part wolf and a wolf who is part human?" Aiden asked grabbing her arms. "We are both creatures trapped between two different worlds, neither fully belonging to one or the other. Rahne, you know what I am saying is right. You're not like them. You're one of us!"

"No, I'm not!" Rahne broke away from him. "I don't lie and deceive people!"

"Oh please," Aiden sneered. "What about those secret hunts you went on? You've been keeping that a secret long before we met! You've been hiding the animal you are from everyone, even your so called friends!"

"We all have a part of ourselves that we prefer to hide from others, even those we are close too," Hank lifted up his head. "Rahne, look at me. Can you honestly say that I don't know what it's like to have a beast inside me? One that needs to escape every now and then."

"But does your beast know what it's like to taste blood? To hunt and kill?" Aiden twisted the knife. "Rahne does." She hung her head in shame.

"Maybe. But I'm going to make a bet that the kid's never killed a human," Logan growled. "And that's a whole different ball game."

"Wolverine and I have done far worse than you can ever imagine," Rina told her. "Did the X-Men turn us away?"

"Rahne I'm sorry if we've been ignoring you," Kitty called out. "We didn't know you felt this way. But you don't have to run off with him. We can work this out. Just come home. Please."

"Forget it X-Man," Aiden growled. "She belongs with us! She's ours! Get them!"

The wolves charged at the X-Men. Even though the X-Men and Margali's magic kept them at bay, they were clearly outnumbered. "These puppies play rough," Remy grunted at he sent several charge cards at the wolves.

"Yeah but so do we," Logan grunted as his claws sliced at the side of one of the wolves.

Aiden saw Kitty easily phase through two wolves. However before Kitty knew it she was blindsided by Aiden and knocked down before she had a chance to escape him. Aiden shifted into half wolf form and was about to pounce.

Just then Rahne changed into her half wolf form and knocked Aiden aside. "Stay away from my friends!" Rahne snarled at Aiden.

"They're not your friends," Aiden stalked her. "You are one of us now…"

"NO! I'M NOT!" Rahne gathered up her courage and changed into a full wolf, charging him. However Aiden was larger and more experienced as he changed and batted her aside easily.

Rina and Danielle put themselves between Aiden and Rahne. "Back off!" Danielle snapped while Rina flashed her claws at Aiden. "As some friends of us would say…BAD DOGGY!"

Using her powers Danielle sent a huge wave of fear at Aiden. Enough to make him whine. But he recovered snarling. However he didn't recover so quickly from Peter's armored punch. "Stay away from my friends!" Peter shouted.

"I must say you X-Men are quite amusing," Lobo laughed from where he stood. He had been watching the battle with amused interest. Several more wolves appeared. "But to be honest, I've had enough of this game. Go ahead and fight all you like. You…"

Just then the sprinkler system went on. "What the devil?" Lobo blinked as he stuck out his hand. "Why is the sprinkler system on?"

"To make this easier!" Althea shouted as she created a huge wave of water to crash through the office. She and Todd were riding on a broken door.

"Hang ten!" Todd whooped as the wave crashed over several wolves.

"Such a tragedy," Pietro mocked as the rest of the Misfits appeared. "It seems that someone turned on every faucet in the buildings. From the bathrooms to the office kitchen there's water, water everywhere…"

"You!" Lobo snarled at them. "AAHHH!" He was brushed aside by a huge wave.

"You really didn't think the Misfits wouldn't show up to the party did ya?" Lance called out.

"Sorry we took so long," Fred threw two unconscious wolves down. "But you know how hard it is to stop a dog that wants to play fetch?"

"Still wanna fight?" Logan flashed his claws at the soaked wolves.

"I'm game," Althea stood on top of the wave with Todd. Using her powers the huge wave of water stood still towering over the wolves.

Lobo had had enough. "Enough!" He ordered. "Stand down." The wolves did so.

"It's over Lobo," Scott said.

"Is it really?" Lobo raised an eyebrow.

"We know about your plans for Bayville," Margali said. "You're finished."

"And what will you do? Go to the authorities and tell them that werewolves are plotting against the town? Even if you had proof they wouldn't believe you," Lobo chuckled. "Keep the female for all the good it will do you. She could never truly be one of us anyway."

"Aye and I never will," Rahne glared at Aiden. "I'm an X-Man and that's where I belong!"

"Then I suggest you go with your friends," Lobo took out a cell phone. "Before I call the police to report some mutant vandalism."

"That's right," Maxwell stood up. "We own this building. You're the ones who are trespassing here."

"And soon we'll own Bayville," Aiden snarled as he reverted to human form. "And there's not a thing you can do to stop us!"

"Don't be too sure about that," Scott glared at him. "We'll finish this another time."

"Come on Misfits, let's blow this joint," Althea leapt down from the wave. The X-Men and Misfits slowly filed out the building. "Oh and by the way, you guys need a bath."

As soon as she closed the door the giant wave in the middle of the room collapsed, flooding the entire building. "NOOOOO!" Lobo screamed.

"Ooh, that's gonna be tough to get out of the carpet," Pietro winced.

"Did you guys find anything in their files while we were fighting?" Logan asked the Misfits as they headed back to the Institute.

"Not much," Althea took out some papers. "Hate to tell you this but this all looks pretty legal to us."

"We didn't exactly have a lot of time to look," Wanda said. "Even with you guys distracting those fleabags."

"They're obviously too smart to hide anything illegal in their own building," Lance said.

"Or they know how to work the system so that they don't have to do anything illegal," Logan said. "But right now, let's go home." He looked at Rahne. "You okay kid?"

"Yeah," Rahne looked heartbroken. "I…"

"Forget about it," Kitty put her hand on her shoulder. "Like you're the first girl to go crazy over a cute guy."

"Yeah but this isn't going to go away," Rahne looked at the building.

"Something tells me our fight against Lobo is only just beginning," Warren said.

"And right on our front doorstep, how convenient," Kurt rolled his eyes.