Hello, again! Well to my dear Raven-takes-Flight, thank you so much for all the help and guidance that you have provided for me. And for the awesome O.C.'s!  Anyway on with the chapter and I don't own anything but my sanity the bit that's left anyway.

"Very well done, my pets." Sebastian Shaw commended as he surveyed his team.

Shinobi sat on a long black leather couch dressed in a tuxedo complete with bow tie. Benazir lounged next to him with his arm around her shoulders. She wore a stunning ruby red halter dress that made her look like the devil in disguise.

Game stood in a corner also in a tuxedo with Siena draped on his arm and like usual, she went all out with a fiery orange dress.

Andreas, tux clad and handsome as ever, sat in an overstuffed chair with Reeva on his lap in a golden gown that brought out the green in her eyes. Andrea wore an ice blue number while her escort, Fabian, like the other boys wore (you guessed it) a tux.

Trevor, as usual, was going stag.

Emma and Selene dressed accordingly to their roles as White and Black Queen respectively.

"What do we do now, Father?"

"Now we wait."

The party lasted long into the night and soon only the only the group of teens remained.

"We did very well today."

"Oh, come on, Sebastian. Admit it, we kicked ass."

"Eva's right. The X-Men were totally unprepared. Fools."

"Yes, Andreas, but they won't be next time and then we will have ourselves a real challenge."

"Well said, Game, well said."

"In order to fight these new enemies, we will need new additions to our team."

The adult population of the Xavier Institute sat in Xavier's office for a 'top secret' mission, which meant that all the kids were at the door listening.

"These," Xavier said as he passed files around the room, "are our new recruits. Hank, you and Storm will take an early flight to Holland tomorrow morning. Logan, you will take a select group of children of your choice to Vegas tonight."

The adults nodded in agreement and silently left the room. The students who had once been at the door quickly disbanded leaving no trace behind…or so they thought.

The flight to Vegas was quiet due to Logan's threats of extra danger room sessions added on to the ones ordered by the Professor and the one that they got for listening on 'things that ain't none of your business'. Logan sat in the cockpit with Rogue, the only student that he could stand at the moment, while Ray, Jean, Kitty, and Kurt sat in the passenger seats.

As soon as Logan landed the jet, he walked back to where the others were unbuckling.

"Let's get one thing straight. There will be no gambling whatsoever. If you have to go in to get this kid fine, but no pit stops at the poker table," He said with a pointed look at Ray, "Are we understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright. This," He said as he pulled out three copies of the same photograph, "is Ava Cash. She has the ability to control all monetary objects, which is why she may be in a casino. If you see her, act nice and keep her where you are and call me. Do not move from that spot till I get there. Alright, let's go."

Ray looked down at the picture of the mutant they were sent to recruit. She had long blond hair that was covered by a crimson red bandana (think comic book Elektra) with bangs that fell into her dark jade eyes. She wore a black shirt with ¾ sleeves and a white skull and crossbones over her heart along with a pair of dark blue jeans.

"I heard zat zey have an all you can eat buffet!"

Ray's concentration was broken by the German mutant's enthusiastic remark. Ray let out a sardonic laugh and said, "Blue is there any time that you don't think about your stomach?"

Kurt looked at him and gave him a wry smile. "No."

The two were still laughing when Kurt suddenly stopped and nudged Ray. "'Ey isn't zat her?"

Ray looked down at the photo and then back at where Kurt was pointing.

"Yep. That's her."

"Alvight I'll call Logan and you keep an eye on her."

Ray nodded and began to walk towards his target. He smirked where he saw where she was sitting at the poker table.

Ava Cash looked up when the young man sat down next to her at the table. He was younger around eighteen with blond hair and orange bangs that he gelled to stand up. He was wearing a pair of jeans with a white shirt and a blue overshirt.

"You're a little young to be in a casino, aren't you?"

She turned to face him and with a cold smile replied, "Aren't you?"

The man shook his head and raised his electric blue eyes to meet hers. "So how did you get in?"

"My father owns the place."

"Ah, that would explain it. By the way, my name's Ray."

"Ava."

Ray nodded and noticed a small coin pouch strapped to her belt.

"Whatcha got in there?"

Ava followed his eyes to the bag and looked at him like he was a moron. "What do you think?"

Ray bit his tongue to stop himself from smarting off. 'I have to be nice to this girl.' He repeated like a mantra in his head.

"I apologize. I didn't mean to offend you."

Ray smiled internally when he saw her blush.

"No, I'm sorry. It's just I'm not fond of questions with obvious answers."

Ray smiled and was about to say something especially witty when Kurt interrupted him.

"Ray, who iz your friend?

Ava's smile faltered a bit when Ray's friend appeared. Sure he was cute and all, but there was something about Ray and now…well no use crying over spilt milk.

"Kurt, this is Ava…"

"Cash. Nice to meet you, Kurt."

"The pleasure is all mine, frauline (spelled correctly?). Ray, Logan and the others are here."

Ray nodded and turned back to Ava. "Come on, I'll introduce you to them."

Ava felt herself stiffen. "No. I don't mean to impolite but I don't just run off with every hot guy I meet. Sorry."

Ray was surprised by her brashness. 'Well at least she's honest."

"Sure. I tell you what. I'll bring my friends over here and then you can decide whether you can trust me."

Ava smiled. "That I can live with."

Several hours later, on the other side of the country, Charles Xavier answered the telephone.

"Hello?"

"Chuck, we're comin' home with the girl."

Charles let out a sigh of relief. "Very well, Logan. See you in the morning."

With that, Charles hung up and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"I only hope that Ororo and Hank will do so well."

Okay, well I don't really feel so great about this chapter, but the next one will be better. School starts in 10 days so expect a lot of updates over the next couple days. Much Love, Echo 