A/N: Much angst ahead! Not a feel good chapter.
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"Happy Death Day!" Dead Girl said cheerfully to the Misfits as the appeared in the Institute's backyard.
"Hi Dead Girl." Althea said as she handed her a gift. "Happy Death Day."
"Does it strike anybody else as weird that we're celebrating the anniversary of someone's murder?" Lance asked. Todd just looked at him.
"Are you kidding? Just wait until Magneto and Mystique finally kick the bucket! Then you'll see some real celebrating!"
"Or those stinking Hellions." Fred muttered. Everyone shuffled their feet awkwardly. General Hawk suggested the Misfit's spend Halloween—also Dead Girl's Death Day—with the X-Men to take their minds of their struggles with the Hellions.
"…Well, what I meant was, we're celebrating the murder of someone we like." Lance clarified. "I mean Magneto and Mystique is a no brainer."
"So naturally you thought of it." Scott said as the Misfits approached. Instead of having the party inside the mansion and wrecking it, they decided this year to set up some tables and games outside.
As the Misfits started bickering with the X-Men, a routine they very easily picked up again after being apart for so long, a few retreated to the side-lines to engage in more intelligent conversation.
"Any word on Lina?" Rahne asked Althea, who stood next to her as most of the rest of their teams had at each other. Althea shook her head.
"Nothing much. We know—we think we know—that she's all right but we still have no idea where she is." She sighed. "I don't suppose Professor Xavier's had any more luck?" Now it was Rahne's turn to shake her head.
"He's tried, he really has, but even Cerebro can be blocked."
"I know and we appreciate it. Sorta." Althea acknowledged as a slight tremor shook the ground. "But she's been gone for a whole month. Frankly, it's getting a bit scary."
"Speaking of which." Rahne said, trying to steer the conversation to happier news. "What did you get Dead Girl?"
"Formaldehyde, courtesy of Air Tight. You?"
"The soundtrack to Corpse Bride." Rahne answered. "She really liked the movie, though she thinks that Victor totally made the wrong choice."
"She would." Althea replied. "How's Sharon doing, you still keep in touch I take it?"
"Yeah, we still email each other. She's doing all right, thanks."
"Anything new?" Althea asked.
"Well, she's finishing up her high school degree and it about to move on to—wait a minute." Rahne said, catching on. "Are you trying to get information on Lina from Sharon, through me?" Althea winced.
"Can you blame me? Does she know anything, said anything, about these other Hellions?" Althea asked eagerly. "Anything about how we can find them?" Rahne shook her head regretfully.
"Not a word. Besides, if we started trying to pump each other for information about each other's teams that would be the end of our friendship. I'm sorry." She said sincerely.
"It's all right." Althea sighed. "I was just hoping she might've mentioned something, anything…huh?" Althea looked down. Penny sat at her feet, tugging at Althea's shoelaces. "What is it?"
Penny whined and pointed at the wall of the Institute. Althea looked where she was pointing and paled.
"Um…Rahne?"
"Yeah?"
"When you guys decided to have the party out here…does that mean that you turned off the security system?"
"Well yes, otherwise the lasers would fry us." Now it was Rahne's turn to pale. "Say, Althea? Those new Hellions who've been attacking you practically non-stop and following you everywhere you go?"
"Yeah?"
"Did they follow you here too?" She asked.
"Apparently." Althea sighed as the Omega Hellions strolled up.
"Happy Halloween." Vlad grinned. "Trick or treat." He said as he sent bolt after bolt of energy all over the backyard, wrecking table, incinerating food, and blasting apart a pinata full of candy (which spilled all over the ground).
"Misfits, circle right!" Althea ordered.
"X-Men, to the left!" Scott ordered as well. "We'll out flank them." The two groups split up and prepared to hit the Hellions on both sides. At least, that was the plan.
"Now Forceflow!" Vlad ordered. The telekinetic nodded and trapped the X-Men in a dome of telekinetic energy. Even the ground was covered. Logan snarled and tried to slice his way free with his adamantium claws. No luck.
"Jean! Can you force your way out?" Scott asked her. Jean shook her head.
"He's about as strong as I am! And if I start going all out there's nothing to stop the Phoenix from taking over!"
"Having the Phoenix loose would be more dangerous than the Hellions." Xavier said as he and the other X-Men looked on helplessly from inside the dome. "It seems the Misfits are on their own."
"The X-Men are neutralized." Forceflow reported. Vlad nodded in acknowledgement.
"Good. Now that the bystanders are out of the way." He growled looking at the Misfits. "We can attack without fear of hitting anyone who doesn't deserve it! Attack!"
"Here we go again." Angelica groaned.
Fred, with an angry bellow, charged at the Hellions. "Where's Lina? What have you done with her?" He roared.
"She's safer than you!" Megawatt said as he shocked the large Misfit with bolts of electricity. Lance started tearing up the ground with tremors as Pietro tried to rush the Hellions; having to duck and weave around the various portals Vortex kept opening in his path. Shooter started firing away as Xi and Todd tried taking on Takashi.
As all this chaos and destruction was going on, Althea faced Vlad alone. "Why are you doing this?" She demanded as she avoided his energy blasts. "Why?"
Vlad looked at her as if she were insane. "What's is to you, Wavedancer?"
"Don' t you even remember me?" Althea cried in surprise. Vladimir spat on the ground between them.
"Never seen you before Miss Frost sent me to stop you. I'd remember meeting a skanky mermaid!"
Althea felt a sharp pang that had nothing to do with the battle going on. That hurt…not so much the skank remark—though that did tick her off—but the fact that Vlad actually denied knowing her? That stung.
She felt something wet on her cheek. "Am I bleeding?" Althea asked as she tentatively touched her cheek. No, it was…tears? "You…you bastard." Althea seethed, not sure whether they were tears of sorrow or rage. "BASTARD!"
Filled with a horrifying fury she had only felt once before, Althea stretched out with her powers, gathering all the water she could to her. Ice cubes in the punchbowl, the water in the X-Men's swimming pool, even the pipes underneath the ground groaned and split as Althea summoned all the water together into a gigantic wave.
"Stars and garters…" Hank exclaimed at the sight.
Vlad just stared levelly at Althea. "So you want to kill me now? Fine. Go ahead." He said as he crossed his arms. "Of course a wave that size will probably kill everyone else here but go ahead. When has that ever stopped you?" He sneered; a snide jab at the first time Althea's powers manifested themselves, when she was in Cobra's hands.
Althea felt her resolve waver. Unfortunately, her concentration and control did too. "It's…too much!" She groaned. "I can't control it!"
"Forceflow!" Vladimir ordered. "Get us off the ground, now!" Jacques nodded and telekinetically lifted the Hellions off the ground. "The X-Men too!" Vladimir ordered. Jacques shrugged and lifted the dome with the X-Men still trapped inside off the ground as well.
The wave Althea summoned twisted, shuddered, and finally broke apart, water spilling everywhere.
"The Institute!" Scott gasped as the part of the wave hit the Institute, completely flooding it. The rest of the wave smashed through the Institute's walls and headed down straight into…
"Bayville's been flooded!" Rogue groaned.
"We are so getting sued." Kitty moaned.
"Looks like you're all washed up." Jacques said to the Misfits as they were knocked about by the water.
"Wash this!" Lance snapped as he concentrated and tried to send a wave of earth to smack the errant Hellion down. He missed, but caused Jacques to lose his concentration and ended up dropping the X-Men down onto the—thankfully—soggy ground.
"Ow! Thanks a lot Lance!" Kitty yelled, rubbing her bruised backside. But Lance's tremor had one other side effect besides annoying the X-Men. Wanda, who was attempting to hex Vladimir, was so shaken that she missed and hit Angelica. Angelica; who was trying to hit Megawatt, lost control of her powers and set a tree on fire.
Fred, who was trying to bowl over Evasia, ran into that tree and knocked it over…straight into the Institute.
"Ooops." Angelica winced as the fire spread from the tree branches to the institute.
"The institute's been flooded and set on fire?" Everett exclaimed.
"That's got to be some kind of record." Betsy said.
"Hellions, withdraw!" Vladimir ordered as Vortex opened a portal. Before anyone could stop them, they had fled.
"They got away! Again!" Fred roared as he pounded the wet earth with on fist.
"I think that's the least of our problems." Xi said as he pointed to the bedraggled and furious X-Men.
"You crazy lunatics! You wrecked the Institute!" Jean yelled.
"So, it's not like it's the first time or anything." Pietro pointed out, which was exactly the wrong thing to say.
"You're a bigger menace than the Hellions!" Rogue exclaimed.
"At least they tried not to hurt us, which is more than you creeps did!" Amara yelled.
"It's not our fault! Maybe if you guys had actually tried to help us out instead of just sitting behind that force field—" Todd accused.
"So that's why you little freaks wrecked our home? It's not our fault we were trapped in that dome!" Scott roared.
"Oh yeah, well it is your fault we haven't found Lina yet!" Fred said, too angry to be logical.
"Maybe we should just leave Lina with them! She's probably in better hands anyway!" Bobby yelled back. Astonishingly, things somehow managed to get worse. The X-Men and Misfits descended into an angry brawl, even fiercer than the fight that had just gone on between the Hellions and Misfits.
"That's enough!" General Hawk bellowed as he teleported into what remained of the backyard. "Roadblock just filled me in. I know that as bad as things are, that blaming each other wont help! These things happen. It's no one's fault."
"That's not true." Xavier cut in, surprising everyone. "You knew that the Hellions might attack." Xavier accused. "You knew the presence of the Misfits here would make the Institute a target! And don't bother trying to deny it! I can sense your thoughts!"
"What? But the anti-telepath blockers…" Shipwreck said, pointing to what appeared to be a flesh covered band-aid on his head.
"Gradually become less effective over time." Xavier revealed before turning back to Hawk. "Well?"
Hawk sighed. "Yes. I knew it was a possibility but I didn't think they actually would. The Institute is too well defended! Well, usually anyway…" He glared at Xavier.
"Don't you dare attempt to blame the Professor for this fiasco!" Storm threatened, storm clouds gathering. "You put our students in danger!"
"The Misfits needed some time away!" Hawk said. "To be able to relax, to be able to be safe!"
"What about our students? What about their safety? You were willing to sacrifice their safety just so the Misfits could relax?" Hank yelled. Logan stomped out of the mansion.
"CHUCK! The phone is ringing off the hook! They mayor is screaming at us, lawsuits are pouring in and some lady called saying that she wants to consider shutting the school down and taking the kids!"
"WHAT!" The X-Men shouted before glaring furiously as the Misfits and Joes.
"I think we all need to take a deep breath and relax…" Roadblock tried to start.
"You can talk about relaxing!" Bobby yelled at him. "It's not your home that's on fire and flooded! Our home is ruined and the Institute might be closed down for good just because Althea couldn't hold her water!" Bobby snapped. Althea, her cheeks blaring red, looked down. The Misfits, rallying to her defense, prepared to beat the snot out of Bobby but the X-Men—who more than outnumbered the Misfits—prepared to defend him.
"You jerk! Althea was trying to save you guys!" Wanda yelled.
"You mean like she tried to save Sam, Tabby, and Paige that time at the beach?" Kurt shot back. "The time she almost killed them?"
"She didn't give a damn about us! She just wanted to pound that Red Nova guy." Roberto said, which was too close to the truth for Althea to be comfortable.
"You're as bad as the Hellions!" Scott shouted. "No, I take it back, you're even worse! At least they don't pretend to be our friends or allies!"
Althea closed her eyes. That hurt.
"General Hawk." Xavier said stonily. "Give today's events I don't think it wise for the Misfits or GI Joe—any of you—"he said, pointedly looking at each and every one of them. "To come back to the Institute or its environs. Ever."
"If any of you louts so much as set foot in Bayville again or try any of your stupid pranks..." Logan growled. "We'll treat you like you were the Acolytes or Mystique. Got it?"
This was hardly the first ban the Misfits had received from GI Joe, but this time not even Pietro, Trinity, or Shipwreck seemed bold enough to want to test it.
"Come on guys." Althea said, turning away so no one would see her face. "Let's go home."
As the Misfits teleported away from the ruins of the Xavier Institute—possibly for the last time—as lone figure stood and watched.
"Operation: Divide and Conquer." Emma Frost smiled. "Complete."
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