Chapter 10

"No Kitty, it wasn't wise for me to show off and teke her bag over to her. But neither of our identities is really secret anymore, since Cassandra Nova took us all public and all, and I was hoping she would realize that we do have a clue about the whole mutanity angle"

Kitty sighed and rubbed her temples. "I understand, Ray, I just don't know if she was really ready for such a demonstration. Tact was never exactly your strong point…"

Rachel threw up her hands. "All right. I get it. It isn't like she's going to run to those assholes who were beating her up, though." She flipped on the CD player, and a straight up blues riff came on, followed by a masculine voice.

Oh momma, we got trouble coming
Oh momma look yonder if you can, look yonder if you can
I see your man a'riding home
I see he's got a pistol in his hand, got a pistol in his hand

"Ah, I see they did a song for Gambit," laughed the redhead. She didn't know too much about the thief from New Orleans, but getting caught in bed with another man's wife seemed just up his alley. She peered over at Kitty, who was chewing her lower lip as her eyes scanned the horizon. "Pryde? Kitty?"

Hello McFly!

"Wha- ouch! Not so loud!" Kitty rubbed her temples for effect. I'm sorry I spaced out- my mind just wandered a bit. I just got that feeling, you know, the "too quiet" one?

Rachel spared a longer glance. I didn't think the song was making you moon over Monsieur Lebeau. And I know the feeling- the quiet times never bode that well for X-men. I think you're just a little too wound up right now, though. There isn't a hostile thought for miles.

Yeah, I'm probably just being a little silly. The adrenaline from the fight's faded, and it's got me a little jittery.

Oh momma won't you let me out of bed
I see your man a'coming, gonna shoot me dead, gonna shoot me dead
And I don't think I'm gonna stay here no more
If you'll please just show me your back door.

So, you figure Rogue and Remy will ever stop playing those stupid games and make a choice, yea or nay? Rachel sent. Soap operas make my head hurt.

I don't know Gambit any better than you, really. As for Rogue, she seems different from the woman who was my teammate. That Rogue was all about Mississippi sass and confidence and having a good time. This "Anna Raven" woman- it's almost like she had something beautiful and lost it. I suppose, that time with Remy in Valle Soleada was exactly that for her. Now she seems fragile, somehow. I mean, she can still give better than she gets, even without the Ms. Marvel power up, but she definitely isn't that tough-as-nails gal she used to be.

Oh momma, now look what you have done
Oh momma why'd you hand me that gun? Why'd you hand me that gun?
Oh momma what'd you give me that pistol for?
Now you're man is lying dead on the floor, your man's dead on the floor

And I don't think I'm gonna stay here no more
If you'll please just show me your back door.

Rachel half-listened as she ponder the romantic lives of X-men. A flicker of light in the rear-view mirror caught her eye. "Damn! Where the hell'd he come from?"

The unmistakable flash of police car lights was coming up behind them. The cops in question gave a brief blare of his siren as he came up closer. Two rather grim looking deputies, by the looks of it.

Rachel pulled the car over to the side of the road, hit the hazards and threw it into park. I really don't think I was speeding… you think Scott has a busted tail light or something?

Kitty frowned, Scott? You're joking, of course. He does his oil changes at three thousand miles- not a millimeter more. The car's in top condition. And you weren't speeding. I wonder if Emma reported it stolen behind Scott's back?

I guess we'll see. I'll try some winsome feminine wiles first, and if that doesn't work, I suppose I can always pull out my badge and get the employee's discount.. Hey, here he comes. She raked her hands through her hair, trying to arrange it in the most casually fetching look possible. She glanced out the window and smiles brightly, "Yes, officer? Was I doing something wrong?"

"License and registration, ma'am." His voice was cold, matter of fact. Rachel had a vision of the guy watching old Dragnet episodes and trying to mimic Jack Webb. She frowned, then deliberately pulled out her wallet, opening it so that her XSE badge was clearly visible. Kitty had pulled the registration card out of the glovebox, and passed it over. Taking the documents from Rachel, the officer walked back to his car.

Kitty, stay very, very calm. You're early impression- the "too quiet" one?

Yeah? What about it?

You were right. Those cops are wearing scramblers. I can't read their minds.

"This… may not have been the brightest of ideas." The armored face of Colossus slid into a sheepish grin as he pulled himself from the wreckage. "I had forgotten how fast he is."

As he had those many years ago, Cain Marko's response to being doused with a glass of beer had been as immediate as it was brutal, hurtling the young Russian through the wall into the men's room of the bar.

"Now he has regrets," Kurt Wagner exclaimed as he somersaulted over another blast from his opponent, "Black Tom" Cassidy. The cousin of his former teammate Banshee had not been present for the original fight, but had been a late addition by Piotr to give his furry blue friend his own challenge.

"Stand still, will ye!" the thick Irish brogue barked out. "Half-devil ye may be, but I'll blast ye yet."

"A thousand pardons, Herr Cassidy, but I prefer my tail un-singed," laughed Nightcrawler, bamfing to and fro, "And might I say how lovely it is to see you in your, shall we say, less arboreal form?" Grabbing a fallen pool cue, he teleported behind Black Tom. "And now, we duel! Have at you, base villain!"

"You're plenty strong, kid. I'll give ya that. But you still ain't got what it takes to beat me!"

Colossus realized quickly that despite dramatic increases in both the strength and durability of his armored form, he was still no match for this Cyttorak fueled Juggernaut. Standing there and trading haymakers was a quick way to get himself buried under tons of rubble. Pausing for just a split second, he jumped on his opponent's next punch. His hands shot up, catching the fist and redirecting his energy into one of the judo throws Scott had drilled into him, sending Marko flying through the air.

Picking himself up and casually dusting himself off, the Juggernaut growled, "Never figgered you for that wussy shit, Russkie. Ain't you gonna fight like a real man?"

Cords of organic steel tightened in Peter's neck, then relaxed. Not allowing himself to be goaded into something rash, he spoke quietly, "Sticks and stones, tovarisch…"

"…Won't hurt half as much as my fists!" With that, Marko pounded the floor with both hands, producing a shockwave that sent Colossus flying. He charged after his fallen foe, seeking to press his advantage.

On the other side of the bar, Nightcrawler was enjoying himself. The close quarters had negated Black Tom's long-range effectiveness, and while the pool cue was not an ideal weapon, it was enough to leave multiple welts and bruises on the Irishman's face and arms.

Cassidy, by contrast, was rather annoyed. "Cain, ye great big blasted fool," he shouted as his partner's ground strike threw him off balance, "Are ye tryin' t' bring the place down around our heads?"

"For shame, Black Tom! Daring to ignore me like this!" Nightcrawler mocked, striking his enemy's cudgel away with a strike to the thumb knuckle. A succession of bamfs, a right cross, a left jab and an uppercut put the villain down. "I hardly call this a workout, Peter. Banshee should be ashamed to be related to such a glass jaw. Would you care for a hand with your dance partner?"

"Nyet!" Colossus said, taking another horrendous roundhouse from Juggernaut. "This is my fight, win or lose!"

"Oh, you're gonna lose, boy!" Marko was grinning as he backhanded Peter through the bar itself, smashing countless bottles and mirrors. "You are definitely gonna lose."

Up in the control room, a solitary figure watched the spectacle with mixed emotions. It was surreal, watching the events of so long ago replayed like this. His head turned at the sound of the door behind him sliding open.

Ororo Munroe, best known as Storm, the leader of the XSE, walked in regally. She glanced down at the simulation, and then stared deeply into the eyes of the real Cain Marko, a bit concerned.. "It isn't about you, you know. Little brother feels he has some ghosts to face. He broke Kitty Pryde's heart that day. Logan was going to take him to task over it, but saw you and used you to beat some sense into him."

"I can't say I like bein' the patsy." Cain said, "And it don't make me feel too good to be reminded that I was one of the bad guys once. Besides, I do miss that bar."

Scramblers? Where the hell do Boondocks rent-a-cops get equipment like that? Kitty's brow furrowed as she sent the thought. I knew property taxes were high in New York, but the sort of budget required for that sort of hardware tends to bring out spades, torches, the whole angry voter mob thing.

Rachel nodded. She stopped the CD player and depressed a hidden button on the steering column. The digital display changed, revealing a radio scanner. She tapped a few keys, scanning the radio spectrum for local transmissions. She frowned, then tried more exotic bandwidths. This is taking too long. I'm going to see what's up.

She opened the door and slid her long legs out. She poked her head out and called back to the sheriff's deputies, "Is there a problem, officers? Can I help in any way?"

"Get back in the car, ma'am." The reply was curt, even angry, but there was a definite element of fear at the edges. The two men were clearly talking to each other softly, their faces tense and impatient.

I don't like this, not one little bit. If they thought the car was stolen, they would've arrested us by now. I get the feeling our little prom dates from before went screaming home to mommy and daddy bigot. I'm a bit surprised at the speed of the response.

I agree, Kitty. They're clearly waiting for something, and I'm not sure we want to be here when it arrives. Rachel's green eyes were slightly unfocused, indicating to her friend that she was searching the immediate area for threats. If there's anyone else out there they're wearing scramblers as well. I've got one more trick I want to try. Hold on… and let me know if our friends back there notice anything.

At first, Kitty felt nothing. Rachel's body seemed to glow with power, and a Phoenix symbol manifested over her left eye. There was a tingling sensation- very slight, and it felt as if the car shook the tiniest bit. "Rache- Rachel? Are you ok?"

"This… isn't the easiest thing…" she spoke, haltingly, her voice rough with the strain, "…I've ever done."

Kitty thought she could see the grass ripple against the gentle breeze. She looked over at her best friend, seeing the beads of sweat forming on her brow, and how tightly her jaw was clenched. She couldn't imagine how much a strain she was under, but decided that they were better off just facing the enemy, and turned to tell Rachel to stop before she pushed herself too far.

Before she could say anything, Rachel let out a scream of pain and slumped in the driver seat. "Rachel!" she cried out, turning to her and quickly checking her pulse and other vital signs. A quick glance back told her that the deputies were no longer waiting. They had climbed out of their vehicle and had pulled their weapons. They were yelling at her to put her hands up and exit the car.

Rachel coughed, twice. Blood was trickling from her nose, and her eyes were wide. "Kitty," she managed, "look out… they have us… surroun-!"

Turning her head around at the warning, she saw groups of armored soldiers moving in, wielding heavy ordinance. Several of the soldiers were pointing shoulder-mounted particle weapons at the Mazda.

The tremendous force of the blows between the two titans was taking a serious toll on the hard light hologram of the bar. Several load bearing walls had taken hits, and the whole structure was creaking dangerously. Kurt looked around, and while most of the "patrons" had left, he decided to keep in the spirit of things and teleport the remaining civilians out to safety. He even chose to save Black Tom, leaving him trussed up, even if the program did not include authorities to pick him up.

Inside the rapidly deteriorating structure, Colossus and Juggernaut were locked in fearsome combat. Peter was using all of his training, judo from Scott, some aikido Logan had shown him, even some ninjitsu techniques from Kitty, and was somewhat proud to see that he was, for the most part, holding his own. The blows that connected, however, were wearing him down. For every punch he deflected, another seemed to connect, pounding his body again and again.

With his last reserves, he went on the offensive. He fired off several jabs into the midsection of his opponent, staggering him. A triple punch to the jaw allowed him space enough to grab the mop of red hair and pull it down into a hellacious knee strike. This put the mighty Juggernaut on his back with a boom that echoed all the way up to the control room. Peter grabbed a leg and slammed his foe down into the ground, and then again. Finally, he reached down to grab the ripped shirt of the clearly dazed Cain Marko.

He reared back to throw his strongest punch, but, seeing unfocused eyes and lack of comprehension, released his grip.

"Bad mistake, Russkie," muttered the Juggernaut, "Ya shoulda finished me when you had the chance."

Peter threw the punch with all his remaining might. Marko caught it, and with a slight twist, exposed Peter's jaw. With one uppercut, the fight was over. Peter's giant body flew through the last remnants of support, and the building came down upon the two warriors. Nightcrawler 'ported up to the control booth, narrowly escaping the debris.

"Vas? What happened?" He looked around, shocked to see Storm and the real Juggernaut up in the booth with him. "Had I known we had an audience, I would have demonstrated far more savoir faire." He turned to Juggernaut and said, "Um, this wasn't really about you-"

"Don't bother, elf" Cain cut him off, "Storm already explained things to me. I was even starting to root for the kid there. Needs to develop more of a killer instinct."

From behind, a tentative knocking on the door caught their attention. "You ordered us pizza?" Kurt quipped, "How thoughtful of you!"

He strode over to the door and touched the panel, causing it to open. A teenage girl with brown hair was standing there, fidgeting in her Inuyasha t-shirt she was wearing over her training uniform. Her eyes grew slightly wide at the sight of the blue furred mutant before her.

"Yes, fraulein- Hailstorm, is it not?"

"Y-Yes, Mr. Wagner. I'm, um, I'm looking for Ms. Munroe for my lesson, " the girl responded in a nervous, southern accent.

Storm's throaty voice laughed, "My apologies, Haley. I've lost track of time. It looks like Mr. Wagner and Mr. Rasputin are just finishing up their own exercise." Glancing at the T-shirt, she added, "And I thought we had already discussed proper attire for training sessions?"

"Sorry, Miss Munroe," Haley said, sheepishly, looking down at the shirt.

At that, there was a rumble from the danger room floor. Amid the clouds of dust a large figure arose from the mound of rubble. The Juggernaut tossed some sections of the ceiling away and walked off.

Storm hit the cancel button, and the scenario ended. Colossus lay prone on the floor, not moving. Haley gave out a concerned gasp, and with a bamf, Kurt was at his friend's side with a medical kit. There was little he could do when Peter was in his armored form, not here, so he prepared himself to teleport the massive form to the medlab.

"No, my friend. I yet live." Peter's face creaked into a wan smile. "Is it me, or is the Danger Room more… dangerous now? I do not remember being hit so hard before, except perhaps by the real Juggernaut."

Kurt let out a sigh of relief, "Scott had told us it was a little tempermental. In any event, I hope you have gotten any hostility out. You will need to be at your best to have a chance at victory! Can you get up?"

"Da, just give me a moment." With a flash of energy, sinews of organic steel once again became flesh and blood. Several bruises, invisible in his changeform, were now blossoming over his face and body. He winced, "Ah, just as the original fight. How little has changed."

Kurt noticed that Ororo, Cain, and the girl Haley had made it down to the floor of the Danger Room. He whispered to Peter, "Ixnay on the Uggernaut-jay ight-fay."

Peter blinked at him uncomprehendingly as he struggled to his feet., then noticed the approaching figures. "Ah, Comrade Marko. I do not wish you to misunderstand what I was doing just now. It was not about you…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know! Jeez, kid, I'm not gonna blow my stack and start wrecking the place." Cain smiled, " If you ever do want a rematch, though, I'm fair game. It might be fun to see how far we've both come."

"I will keep that in mind, tovarisch."

With that, Peter, Kurt and Cain exited the room, to give Storm and her pupil.the opportunity to practice. They could hear Storm begin her lesson.

"The keys to weather manipulation, Haley, are focus and control. Yes, you have a question?" They couldn't hear the girl's whisper. Ororo spoke again, "Yes, Kurt is a very handsome man. However, now is not the time to think of it- it bespeaks a lack of focus. First, I would like you to start with a stiff breeze…"

The door shut, and a grinning Nightcrawler led his friend to the nearest healer to have his bruises attended to.

"Mutants! Exit the car with your hands where we can see them! You have five seconds to comply!" The police car's loudspeaker blared the warning, and the troops around them all aimed their weapons.

"Rachel…?" Rachel! Kitty saw her friend was still dazed from whatever telekinetic stunt she had pulled. It didn't leave them much time, and fewer options. She wondered how they had identified them, and so quickly too.

She tugged on the door handle and prepared to get out. She called out, "My friend is injured- she needs a moment or two."

An armored man stepped forward, brandishing a pulse rifle and a megaphone. "She has one minute, or we vaporize you both."

"What have we done wrong?" Kitty challenged him. "We're just out for a ride. We haven't committed any crimes. We weren't even speeding!"

"You were born!" the man spat into his megaphone. "But if you want to play it all legal, there was the assault on five minors half an hour ago at the edge of Johnson's Woods. We also have suspicious of a mutant based attack on one Gerald Rickman of the Gas & Stop off Narrows Road." Seeing Kitty's confusion, he continued, "Yeah, when I came in for my coffee, poor Gerald told me all about how he got sick after you two stopped in. He'd called in to 'Our Modern Crusade', and they told him that you muties can make a man puke his guts out just by thinking about it. After talking to my daughter, we also stopped by one Katie Trela's, who confirmed our suspicions that you were mutants."

Kitty tensed… the guy was monologuing like a B-list villain, but there was something else. She put her hand on the car and glanced in to see Rachel stirring behind the wheel. A few more seconds, that's all they needed. Even these racist jerks wouldn't fire on a federal badge, would they?

The man continued, in an off hand manner, "Oh, and your minute is up. OPEN FIRE!"

Twelve blazing streams of focused plasma converged on Scott's car. Pulse rifle fire came in sustained bursts. Two shock grenades were tossed in, kicking up an explosion of dirt.

"CEASE FIRE! Squad B, switch to infrared and move in to see if they're still alive somehow. Squad A, cover them. Go!"

They moved in teams, cautiously approaching the car, weapons at the ready. Peering through the settling dirt cloud, they were shocked to see a slight brunette girl holding onto a completely unscathed car. She didn't look happy. Inside the car, the red headed girl looked even more upset.

Rachel Grey had recovered from her stunt, and she was angry. They had attacked her. They'd attacked her best friend. They'd tried to ruin the finish on her father's car. Power flowed through her body. She casually opened the car door and stepped out. Contemptuously, she picked up the soldiers that had surrounded the car and slammed them together. Weaponry flung through the air into a giant ball above her head.

"How dare you!" she screamed, "You've attacked a Federal Agent! That's a crime, and I'm just the one to take you in. Those scramblers sure are pretty- making you immune to telepathy. Well they don't do jack against telekinesis!" Several dozen scramblers ripped off the soldiers' ears and joined the expanding globe. "And such shiny armor shouldn't be wasted on morons like you- let's see if I can't turn it to better use!"

Marvel Girl, intoxicated with pure telekinetic fury, flicked armor off piece by piece. Simultaneously, she pulled in the remaining soldiers into a growing heap of humanity.

Rachel! Kitty called out to her along the telepathic link. Rachel stop! You've made your point!

Rachel frowned, then nodded, a wicked smile on her face. Almost. I just have one more thing to do.

The ball of equipment spun around and compressed. It glowed brightly, seemingly catching on fire. It then exploded slowly, splitting off into dozens of pieces. Each segment flew to one of the soldiers or deputies, forming a set of handcuffs and leg shackles.

"We'll give the FBI down in the city a call to come pick you jerks up. I'm sure we'll see you all in court!" She smiled winsomely, "Shall we go, Kitty?"