The next chapter is here! You know, I really need to thank my reviewers for
their support. Thank you, reviewers! Hey, just remember if you have any
questions, just ask! Especially if you reviewers want to be singled out and
talked to individually. Cool, huh? Well, enjoy the chapter.
Cyclops crept quietly behind the group of four mutants sneaking away into the dark. He motioned for his companions to follow him.
Logan scowled as he walked silently behind Cyclops. Frankly, he was tired of taking orders from the uptight mutant. He glanced behind him, making sure Ben Flemming could keep up. Ben was no longer a student, but was still fairly young. Logan hoped none of Nucleo's cronies, or Nucleo for that matter, would notice the faint glow behind Ben's dark shades. Behind Ben, Peter Rasputin moved stealthily through the yard, still in his normal form so the moonlight wouldn't reflect off of his metal skin. Bringing up the rear, Tom Fulke took massive, but soundless steps. His huge form made up for his lack of speed. Xavier had ordered that Jean and Storm stay in the institute.
Nucleo and the other three mutants got into a large van. As soon as the van pulled away, Cyclops began his instructions.
"Logan, go get the X-Van! We can't lose them, or we'll fail the professor."
"What a pity that would be," Logan mumbled as he ran to get the vehicle that was used for missions.
Cyclops checked his watch impatiently as Logan rounded the corner with the X-Van. The X-Men quickly climbed inside and sped off after Nucleo.
"The radar says he's moving towards the edge of the city," Cyclops informed everyone.
"I'm perfectly capable of reading the radar," Logan grunted as he watched the road.
Cyclops ignored him and turned to the back of the van to give instructions, "Streetlights should be off right now, so if needed, you can take care of those, Outlet."
Ben nodded.
"Piledriver and Colossus, you will deal with protection in case they find out that we followed them," Cyclops continued.
Peter and Tom glanced at each other before nodding.
"And Logan does whatever he wants," Scott grumbled, "because he doesn't listen to what I say anyway."
Logan smirked triumphantly. He had finally got through to him that he was in charge of himself, not anyone else.
The van slowed down as Logan caught sight of Nucleo's van parked in an opening in the trees.
"Looks like they walked from here," Peter guessed.
"We'll have to keep quiet when we get to the city," Cyclops said, opening the door.
The five X-Men moved through the trees silently until they came to the edge of the city. In the moonlight, they could make out the shadows of Nucleo and the other three. They seemed to be waiting for something.
Roy Gunther crawled quickly along the floor of the city's grocery store. Reaching the meat section, he removed a few frozen items from the freezer and continued through the store. These weekly grocery raids had become a part of Roy's survival. He snatched a bundle of fruit and headed towards the restrooms. He burst into the men's restroom and scanned the line of stalls. He swiftly moved to the third stall from the end. The door had been removed as well as the toilet that had once stood there. Instead of replacing it, the store had only put a grate in its place. The 'Out of Order' sign still hung over it. Roy looked around and lifted the grate. He slipped into the floor and replaced the grate behind him. He continued to move through the abandoned pipe until he came to the large opening that led to the sewer. He jumped down from the opening and started down the tunnel. An occasional hole in the road above would cast light on his jet black, reptilian skin. He looked up as he reached the familiar manhole. He easily climbed the wall and lifted the manhole cover. He crawled out and immediately stopped. Someone was waiting for him.
Nucleo waited patiently, standing a few feet from a nearby manhole. He knew he wouldn't have to wait long. His allies, however, were growing restless. Mayhem repeatedly rubbed his hands together as if he was cold, while Geyser shot looks of suspicion around at everything in sight. Max shuffled his feet impatiently.
"Ah, don't worry," Nucleo guaranteed, looking at each one of them in turn, "Nucleo, Mayhem, Geyser, and Volcano will soon be joined by the Raptor."
As if on cue, the manhole cover rose from the street and slid away from the entrance. A scaly, clawed hand appeared over the side of the hole and hoisted a dark creature into the moonlight.
Roy considered going back into the sewer, but figured the strange people would probably give chase. They were probably armed, too. He decided on the offensive. Crouching, he gave a low, hissing growl, his long tail swaying menacingly. Three of the people took a step back, but one of them stood completely still. Suddenly, the man began to speak.
"Ah, so you are the Raptor."
Roy didn't know what to say as moonlight glinted off of something on the man's face.
"Don't feel threatened," the man spoke again, "I just need to make a request."
Roy put his food products down on the street and slid his forked tongue in and out of his mouth before he spoke, "What kind of a request?"
"I am Nucleo," the man said.
"I ask a question and he introduces himself," Roy thought, confused, "This should be interesting."
"I and my friends here, like yourself, are mutants."
Roy breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't had to deal with humans for a long time.
"I seek revenge," Nucleo told him.
"Let me guess," Roy broke in, "You want me to help you get revenge on humans for their treatment of you. Am I right? Well, let me tell you something, buddy, I lost a good friend to humans, but I'd rather keep as far away from humans as possible than give them reason to kill us off."
Nucleo laughed, which gave Roy the shivers, "I don't have anything against humans. I want revenge on a mutant betrayer."
"Uh," Roy felt a little embarrassed, having expressed his feelings before learning the strange man's intentions.
"Perhaps you've heard of the man known as Magneto," Nucleo paused, waiting for an answer, "No? Well, I was taken captive by him and he intended to experiment on me. I would seek vengeance myself, but he has an army of his own and I intend to muster enough mutants to fight back. That is why I am here."
"What do you have to offer?" Roy asked. He wasn't just going to join the guy, risk his life against some experimenting madman, and not get anything out of it.
"Name your price," Nucleo smiled.
Roy didn't say anything. Now that he thought about it, he really didn't need much, "I'll join you and name my price later."
"Excellent," Nucleo's smile widened, "Now if you'll follow me, we can depart to where a friend of mine is conveniently letting us stay."
"Wait!" Roy hissed and Nucleo turned around, "I need to pick up some stuff at my 'dwelling'."
"Ah, yes, you're right," Nucleo grinned, "What is home without your personal belongings?"
Logan watched and listened while holding a long-range tape recorder.
"Looks like he's just recruitin'. Just like he said."
Cyclops still looked suspicious, "What if he's plotting against us instead of Magneto?"
"You got to be kidding," Logan stared at him, "Why're you so paranoid all the time?"
"If you're not on your toes, you're defenseless," Cyclops said wisely.
"Cut the insight," Logan raised a hand, "They're coming back."
"Back to the van," Cyclops instructed.
The X-Men quickly escaped to the van and got in. Logan started it up and pulled away, heading for Xavier's Institute.
A short time later, Nucleo, followed by Roy and the other mutants, walked out of the trees and entered their van.
"Just a quick stop and back to 'headquarters'!" Nucleo informed them.
Xavier woke from his sleep as he heard the front door open. He was relieved when Cyclops walked into his office, followed by Logan, Outlet, Colossus, and Piledriver.
"What do you have to report?" Xavier asked.
"He did what he said he was doing," Logan said, simply, "He got some lizard to join him."
"Interesting," Xavier smiled, "I must have known Erik too long. I'm starting to become suspicious of everyone."
"Always stay alert, Professor," Cyclops warned him. Yeah, that was a kind of boring chapter, but you have to lead up to the good stuff if you want a good book...right? Oh, well. I'll leave you with this quote from one of my favorite movies, Mystery Men.
Blue Raja: If you're going to eat cake...use a fork.
Shoveler: You might as well...SHOVEL it in.
Mr. Furious: People who don't close their mouth when they chew make me furious.
Cyclops crept quietly behind the group of four mutants sneaking away into the dark. He motioned for his companions to follow him.
Logan scowled as he walked silently behind Cyclops. Frankly, he was tired of taking orders from the uptight mutant. He glanced behind him, making sure Ben Flemming could keep up. Ben was no longer a student, but was still fairly young. Logan hoped none of Nucleo's cronies, or Nucleo for that matter, would notice the faint glow behind Ben's dark shades. Behind Ben, Peter Rasputin moved stealthily through the yard, still in his normal form so the moonlight wouldn't reflect off of his metal skin. Bringing up the rear, Tom Fulke took massive, but soundless steps. His huge form made up for his lack of speed. Xavier had ordered that Jean and Storm stay in the institute.
Nucleo and the other three mutants got into a large van. As soon as the van pulled away, Cyclops began his instructions.
"Logan, go get the X-Van! We can't lose them, or we'll fail the professor."
"What a pity that would be," Logan mumbled as he ran to get the vehicle that was used for missions.
Cyclops checked his watch impatiently as Logan rounded the corner with the X-Van. The X-Men quickly climbed inside and sped off after Nucleo.
"The radar says he's moving towards the edge of the city," Cyclops informed everyone.
"I'm perfectly capable of reading the radar," Logan grunted as he watched the road.
Cyclops ignored him and turned to the back of the van to give instructions, "Streetlights should be off right now, so if needed, you can take care of those, Outlet."
Ben nodded.
"Piledriver and Colossus, you will deal with protection in case they find out that we followed them," Cyclops continued.
Peter and Tom glanced at each other before nodding.
"And Logan does whatever he wants," Scott grumbled, "because he doesn't listen to what I say anyway."
Logan smirked triumphantly. He had finally got through to him that he was in charge of himself, not anyone else.
The van slowed down as Logan caught sight of Nucleo's van parked in an opening in the trees.
"Looks like they walked from here," Peter guessed.
"We'll have to keep quiet when we get to the city," Cyclops said, opening the door.
The five X-Men moved through the trees silently until they came to the edge of the city. In the moonlight, they could make out the shadows of Nucleo and the other three. They seemed to be waiting for something.
Roy Gunther crawled quickly along the floor of the city's grocery store. Reaching the meat section, he removed a few frozen items from the freezer and continued through the store. These weekly grocery raids had become a part of Roy's survival. He snatched a bundle of fruit and headed towards the restrooms. He burst into the men's restroom and scanned the line of stalls. He swiftly moved to the third stall from the end. The door had been removed as well as the toilet that had once stood there. Instead of replacing it, the store had only put a grate in its place. The 'Out of Order' sign still hung over it. Roy looked around and lifted the grate. He slipped into the floor and replaced the grate behind him. He continued to move through the abandoned pipe until he came to the large opening that led to the sewer. He jumped down from the opening and started down the tunnel. An occasional hole in the road above would cast light on his jet black, reptilian skin. He looked up as he reached the familiar manhole. He easily climbed the wall and lifted the manhole cover. He crawled out and immediately stopped. Someone was waiting for him.
Nucleo waited patiently, standing a few feet from a nearby manhole. He knew he wouldn't have to wait long. His allies, however, were growing restless. Mayhem repeatedly rubbed his hands together as if he was cold, while Geyser shot looks of suspicion around at everything in sight. Max shuffled his feet impatiently.
"Ah, don't worry," Nucleo guaranteed, looking at each one of them in turn, "Nucleo, Mayhem, Geyser, and Volcano will soon be joined by the Raptor."
As if on cue, the manhole cover rose from the street and slid away from the entrance. A scaly, clawed hand appeared over the side of the hole and hoisted a dark creature into the moonlight.
Roy considered going back into the sewer, but figured the strange people would probably give chase. They were probably armed, too. He decided on the offensive. Crouching, he gave a low, hissing growl, his long tail swaying menacingly. Three of the people took a step back, but one of them stood completely still. Suddenly, the man began to speak.
"Ah, so you are the Raptor."
Roy didn't know what to say as moonlight glinted off of something on the man's face.
"Don't feel threatened," the man spoke again, "I just need to make a request."
Roy put his food products down on the street and slid his forked tongue in and out of his mouth before he spoke, "What kind of a request?"
"I am Nucleo," the man said.
"I ask a question and he introduces himself," Roy thought, confused, "This should be interesting."
"I and my friends here, like yourself, are mutants."
Roy breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't had to deal with humans for a long time.
"I seek revenge," Nucleo told him.
"Let me guess," Roy broke in, "You want me to help you get revenge on humans for their treatment of you. Am I right? Well, let me tell you something, buddy, I lost a good friend to humans, but I'd rather keep as far away from humans as possible than give them reason to kill us off."
Nucleo laughed, which gave Roy the shivers, "I don't have anything against humans. I want revenge on a mutant betrayer."
"Uh," Roy felt a little embarrassed, having expressed his feelings before learning the strange man's intentions.
"Perhaps you've heard of the man known as Magneto," Nucleo paused, waiting for an answer, "No? Well, I was taken captive by him and he intended to experiment on me. I would seek vengeance myself, but he has an army of his own and I intend to muster enough mutants to fight back. That is why I am here."
"What do you have to offer?" Roy asked. He wasn't just going to join the guy, risk his life against some experimenting madman, and not get anything out of it.
"Name your price," Nucleo smiled.
Roy didn't say anything. Now that he thought about it, he really didn't need much, "I'll join you and name my price later."
"Excellent," Nucleo's smile widened, "Now if you'll follow me, we can depart to where a friend of mine is conveniently letting us stay."
"Wait!" Roy hissed and Nucleo turned around, "I need to pick up some stuff at my 'dwelling'."
"Ah, yes, you're right," Nucleo grinned, "What is home without your personal belongings?"
Logan watched and listened while holding a long-range tape recorder.
"Looks like he's just recruitin'. Just like he said."
Cyclops still looked suspicious, "What if he's plotting against us instead of Magneto?"
"You got to be kidding," Logan stared at him, "Why're you so paranoid all the time?"
"If you're not on your toes, you're defenseless," Cyclops said wisely.
"Cut the insight," Logan raised a hand, "They're coming back."
"Back to the van," Cyclops instructed.
The X-Men quickly escaped to the van and got in. Logan started it up and pulled away, heading for Xavier's Institute.
A short time later, Nucleo, followed by Roy and the other mutants, walked out of the trees and entered their van.
"Just a quick stop and back to 'headquarters'!" Nucleo informed them.
Xavier woke from his sleep as he heard the front door open. He was relieved when Cyclops walked into his office, followed by Logan, Outlet, Colossus, and Piledriver.
"What do you have to report?" Xavier asked.
"He did what he said he was doing," Logan said, simply, "He got some lizard to join him."
"Interesting," Xavier smiled, "I must have known Erik too long. I'm starting to become suspicious of everyone."
"Always stay alert, Professor," Cyclops warned him. Yeah, that was a kind of boring chapter, but you have to lead up to the good stuff if you want a good book...right? Oh, well. I'll leave you with this quote from one of my favorite movies, Mystery Men.
Blue Raja: If you're going to eat cake...use a fork.
Shoveler: You might as well...SHOVEL it in.
Mr. Furious: People who don't close their mouth when they chew make me furious.