DISCLAIMER: I own Derrick Bolris. Cobra and G.I. Joe belong to Hasbro. The Misfitverse this fic is set in belongs to Red Witch, and so do Althea Delgado/Wavedancer, Trinity, and Lina Chakram/Dragonfly. Everything else belongs to Marvel.

Chapter 11: Runaways VS X-Men

"You're Molly Hayes, right?" Scott said to the young girl as Spider-Man swung away, Morbius hefted onto his shoulder. "You need to come with us."

"What do you want with her?" Nico demanded, preparing to cut herself again.

"Calm down," cautioned the red-haired girl. "My name's Jean Grey. My friends and I are from the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters. It's where we teach mutants like Molly, people born with—"

"You can drop the condescending tone, lady," Gert snapped. "We know what mutants are."

"Hey!" snapped Scott as Rina went to Logan's side. "Jean wasn't trying to be condescending!"

"Funny how things turn out, huh?" Chase smirked.

Derrick stepped back slightly, hoping the X-Men wouldn't notice him. Even if they did, he was prepared. No matter how many times they would come to him, he would always refuse to join them. But was it right to let this young mutant girl be recruited against her will?

"Please," Peter said. "Your comrade belongs in a safe environment, where she can be taught to use her unique powers to help make the world a better place."

"Actually, from what I've heard about Bayville," Karolina interjected, "I don't think it's a really safe environment for mutants."

"Besides," Nico said, "you X-Men have been doing your thing since you were our age. But the world is still as screwed up as it's ever been, in case you haven't noticed."

She narrowed her eyes.

"Give us one good reason why we should turn Molly over to the 'League-of-Those-Who-Can't-Do'," Nico said darkly.

"I'm afraid you don't have much of a say in the matter," Ororo said. "You're not Molly's legal guardians."

"Storm's right," Scott agreed. "Molly needs structure and discipline, and she can't get either from a group of runaways."

Molly had little to say. She merely stared at Logan with a faraway look in her eyes.

"Wol…Wolverine?" she stuttered.

"You're not taking her, one-eye!" Chase snapped. "Molly's not just our muscle, she's our friend!"

"Get away from the kid, bub," Logan ordered.

"Can I touch your hair, Wolverine?" Molly asked excitedly. "My friend Karolina says you use gel, but I think it just grows that way 'cause you're a mutant like me! I used to have a poster of you in my bedroom when I was little because you're really cool and—"

Logan lunged at the Runaways, unsheathing his claws.

"GET AWAY FROM THE RUNT!" he roared.

Molly suddenly began to scream, overwhelmed by terror. She screamed so loudly, in fact, that Logan and Rina immediately began clutching their ears.

"Way to go, Wolverine," Scott groaned. "Molly, we're not going to hurt you. We just want you to join the X-Men."

Molly only continued to scream.

"For cryin' out loud, runt, you ever heard of heightened senses?" Logan growled. "Come on, just stop screaming…"

With one final scream, Molly lurched forward and punched Logan in the stomach. With her mutant strength in effect, Logan went soaring into the air, flying clean over a building and completely out of sight.

"Okay, that's it!" Scott said while Rina stared wide-eyed in the direction Molly had punched Logan. "We need to subdue her, now!"

"Not if we can help it!" Nico vowed, again pricking her finger. "When blood is shed, let the Staff of One emerge!"

"Guess it's barbecue time!" Chase cried, Fistigons blazing with fire. Behind the Runaways, Derrick charged electricity into his hand.

"Just calm down!" Ororo ordered. "We don't want to have to hurt any of you!"

"Personally," Karolina said, floating into the air as she spoke, "I think you should worry more about yourselves."

Scott fired off an optic blast, but Karolina countered with a beam of her own. The two attacks collided, and a power struggle took place between them. While Karolina and Scott were attempting to outdo each other, the remaining Runaways and X-Men were also dueling.

Chase and Jean briefly stared each other down before the latter made the first move.

"Please, all we want is to help Molly," Jean pleaded. "Just let us help her."

"Let me think about that," Chase said before pointing his fists at Jean immediately afterward. "Uh, no!"

Chase released a massive wave of fire, but Jean managed to contain it in a telekinetic bubble.

"You really shouldn't try and fight a telekinetic," Jean smirked, condensing the bubble and extinguishing the flames. "You never know what they can do with their powers."

Despite Jean's display, Chase still rushed at her, ending up levitating in the air from more of Jean's telekinesis. Jean managed to retain her concentration despite the rumble of thunder from the rapidly darkening sky.

"Stop acting so childishly!" Ororo barked at Nico, eyes glowing. "At least consider the good the X-Men have done!"

"What good?" Nico retorted. "All you've done is get yourselves banned from every place in Bayville. Sunburst!"

Nico pointed her staff at Ororo, which then fired an orb of energy greatly resembling the sun. The orb exploded in front of Ororo, sending the X-Woman sprawling across the ground.

"Witch, one," Nico smirked. "Weather witch, zero."

Not all the Runaways and X-Men were fighting, however. Gert simply sat on the sidewalk with her fingers plugged into her ears.

"Wake me when the fight scene's over," she said to no one in particular. "Old Lace, where are you…?"

Derrick looked at Gert on the sidewalk, and then at Rina. The closest thing he had to a friend was looking back and forth between the X-Men and Runaways. Her conversation with Derrick led her to realize that not everyone would want to join the X-Men, regardless of what her teammates would believe. So, she did something that many would consider out of character for her.

"Room for one more?" she asked, sitting next to Gert.

Of course, the X-Men's target was not unattended. Peter towered over the young girl, though Molly was completely undaunted.

"I'm sick of everyone trying to be my freakin' babysitter!" Molly snapped. "I can take care of myself!"

She rammed her fist into Peter's metal side, but it only resulted in her hand being hurt.

"You're a very headstrong little girl," Peter said, "but though the headstrong may win many battles, only the strong of heart will survive the war."

He reached for her.

"Come," he said, "we must return to—"

"Ahem," a voice interrupted.

Peter looked up in time to be struck in the face with a bolt of lightning. Derrick stood a short distance away, electricity crackling through his hand.

"If she doesn't want to join, she doesn't want to join," Derrick said. "Get it through your thick skulls."

"That was so freakin' cool!" Molly cried happily. "Are you a mutant, too?"

"Molly, was it?" Derrick said. "Being a mutant isn't a walk in the park, actually."

"I'm from LA," Molly said. "Not a lot of people hate mutants there. It's a lot better than this stinky city."

"Really?" Derrick asked.

"Yep!" Molly nodded.

"So…can I go back with you?" Derrick asked. Could Los Angeles be the special place he had been looking for?

"I'm gonna have to ask Nico," Molly replied, "but I want you to! You get to freakin' electrify people! That's so cool!"

Karolina suddenly fell next to them, grunting loudly on impact. Chase followed soon after. Nico aimed her staff, Molly put up her fists, and Derrick charged up again.

Their opponents were still ready. Scott adjusted his visor and Jean put her fingertips to her head. Everyone, aside from Gert and Rina, was ready for an all-out brawl.

"ENOUGH!" a telepathic voice boomed in the heads of all combatants.

The X-Men, Runaways, and Derrick looked down the street, and found the source of the telepathic cry. Wheeling onto the scene was none other than Charles Xavier himself, with Old Lace in tow.

"Stop fighting immediately," Xavier commanded sternly. "X-Men, I'm very disappointed in all of you."

"Old Lace!" Gert cried, rushing to her dinosaur. "How'd you find her? You're a telepath, right?"

"Indeed I am," Xavier said pleasantly. "But I must confess that I didn't find your dinosaur. Rather, she found me."

Old Lace allowed Xavier to stroke her face.

"You should be proud of Old Lace," Xavier said with a smile. "She's much more intelligent than many people may initially believe. I myself learned quite a bit from her."

He turned to the X-Men.

"For instance," Xavier continued, "when Old Lace found me, she taught me that a search for lost souls could be more successful if one waits for the souls to come of their own accord instead of hunting them down. The next time a new mutant reveals itself, I suggest you all remember that."

"Ye…yeah, okay," Scott sighed. He then turned to the Runaways. "Sorry. I guess we let our job go to our heads."

"I'll say," Derrick snorted.

"If you ever need a favor, simply ask," Xavier offered.

"Well…we do need a ride back to LA, since Dracula copped out on us," Nico said hesitantly.

"Yes, I believe we can arrange that," smiled Xavier.

"Nico, can we bring this guy with us?" Molly asked, pointing to Derrick. "He's a mutant, too! And he fried Colossus' big tin face when he tried to grab me!"

"Molly, don't you remember?" Karolina said. "The last time we brought a boy back to the Hostel, he tried to eat us."

"What?" Derrick asked, slightly stunned.

"Don't ask," Nico sighed.

****

We're actually coming close to the end, now. This fic is actually shorter than I thought it would be. Go figure.