Disclaimer: I do not own and am making no money from the X-Men. Vixen belongs to her creator Corrinth. Blaze is mine. That is all.

Scene Two

With a twitter and a tweet, a coppery-coloured songbird burst out of a leafy bush and popped right up into the crystal blue sky. Its little wings beat furiously to gain elevation, whilst all the while it continued to sing merrily. All was right with the world, Bayville basked in sunshine, and a five-a-side soccer match was about to begin at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters.

From the direction of the mansion came the first team, dressed all in white and looking as serious as their adolescent faces would allow. That was until Iceman got his feet tangled under him and tripped, barely recovering in time to stop himself landing flat on his face. The gangster-cool image was instantly gone as the other four boys; Berserker, Cannonball, Roberto and Nightcrawler, all burst out laughing. Bobby looked sheepish, rubbing the back of his hand with his palm, but he took the laughter good-naturedly. After all, they were a team, and as a team they were thoroughly expecting to be beaten by the opposition.

Out on the soccer pitch, Beast wore the whistle of referee for his sins. Beyond him were the opposition. A moody Rogue wore a green goal-keeping jersey and white 'keeper's gloves. In front of her net stood the black-clad, two-man defence of Shadowcat and Boom Boom. Kitty stood with one hand on her hip, whilst Tabby popped chewing gum noisily. Midfield was a sultry redhead who was busy tying back her long curls into a ponytail. The fire-elemental Blaze had formerly played for her school team, as had the team's striker Jean Grey. Jean cupped the match ball between her hands in the centre circle, pressing firmly on it to see how solid it was.

The girls' team looked to have everything; pace, aggression, experience and skill. The boys shouldn't have had a snowball's chance in Hell, except the girls had a serious Achilles' heel. The truth was they just were not getting along.

With the formality of the coin toss out of the way, the teams lined up for the kick off. There was a small crowd watching, who obligingly cheered as Bobby's foot connected soundly with the ball and the game was on. Magma, Jubilee and Wolfsbane were there, along with Scott, Gambit and Angel who had been bullied into attendance by their girlfriends Jean, Blaze and Rogue respectively. Little Jamie and his friend Golan made up the rest of the crowd and it was Jamie who led the cheering most enthusiastically.

From the kick off, Iceman and Berserker ran a nice one-two up the pitch towards Rogue's net. Jean peeled off to mark Cannonball who was making a dummy run up the right. Tabby and Kitty found themselves backing up, trying to hold their line. At the same time Rogue was calling for them to move out, close the boys down and get the ball back. By this time Berserker had the ball and was readying himself to skin Tabitha. Tabby gulped, preparing to tackle Ray, but she never got the chance. A redheaded streak scythed in between Tabby and Ray, putting the ball straight into a metaphorical Row Z.

Play stopped for the throw-in, as Jean telekinetically retrieved the wayward ball. Blaze picked herself up from her last-ditch tackle. "Alright Tabs?" she asked Boom Boom, who was glaring.

"I had that covered!" Tabby protested.

"No you didn't," Blaze disagreed, turning and jogging away for the restart.

All of the boys, barring goalkeeper Kurt, pushed up the pitch for the throw in deep in the opposition half. Cannonball took the throw in, and Roberto leapt like a salmon to head the ball down. "Mine!" yelled Rogue, claiming the ball as she flung herself out to grab it. Kitty, temporarily struck deaf, ignored Rogue and went to kick the ball clear. The ball bounced away up the park, but Kitty had to use her phasing powers to slide through her 'keeper rather than into her.

"Oops, sorry Rogue."

"Ya will be," Rogue replied tartly.

"I like, totally said sorry!"

"Yeah an' Ah like, totally said mine!"

Kitty tutted and stalked away, with Beast shooting Rogue a warning look. His attention and theirs was quickly called away though as the girls pressed forward through Jean and Blaze. Silky skills on the right wing helped Blaze nutmeg Roberto, then showboat past Cannonball with a deft flick on to Jean. Jean pressed onwards until she came up against Berserker and Iceman together. Kicking the ball back to Blaze, Jean skimmed around the boys on the left to wait for the pass back. Blaze meanwhile had gone for glory. Whilst Jean screamed "I'm open!" Blaze sidestepped Nightcrawler who had come off his line, and took a shot. The angle was too acute and the ball bounced away harmlessly for a goal kick. As Nightcrawler bamfed after the ball, Jean turned on Blaze.

"I was wide open Blaze, why didn't you pass it to me?"

"I thought you were off-side," lied Blaze, who truthfully hadn't even considered setting up her teammate. Jean didn't have an answer to that, but Rogue had a retort for every occasion.

"Truth is neither o' ya could hit a barn door with a banjo."

"You'd know," Blaze quipped back, "coming from banjo-country yourself and all that."

"What's that supposed t'mean?" objected Rogue, but she never got an answer as Kurt launched the ball back into play from the edge of his penalty area. Kitty and Tabby both closed in, eyes glued to the ball as it soared toward them. So intent were they that neither saw the other and they crashed into each other. Both girls tumbled down and the ball bounced away. Roberto seized the opportunity and tapped the ball to Iceman who slid the ball past Rogue's outstretched hand and into the net. The crowd went wild.

"Hey!" Kitty and Tabby glared at each other accusingly, whilst Jean stalked past dejectedly. "It only takes one of you y'know," she told them.

"We know," chorused Kitty and Tabby.

Jean and Blaze went to the centre circle for the kick off, passing the ball between them whilst Tabby made an overlapping run on the left. Jean tipped the ball out to her, only for Iceman to scythe Jean down in a tackle so late it was practically the next day. Beast blew his whistle for a free kick, but Jean stayed down, rolling around on the floor in apparent agony. Bobby and his team-mates surrounded the ref, pleading his innocence. In the crowd Scott was on his feet in protest at the injury to his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry Bobby," Beast shook his head, "I'll have to book you." A yellow card was produced, whilst boos from Scott indicated Cyclops at least thought the punishment should have been a sending-off. Meanwhile Blaze had fetched the ball and was standing over the writhing Jean.

"I'm confused," Blaze said quietly. "You're holding your knee and your head, but I'm sure all Bobby did was stamp on your foot, so where exactly are you hurt?" Jean immediately stopped feigning injury and glared at Blaze, who offered a hand to get Jean up. "That's simulation," Blaze said seriously, "you're lucky Beast didn't book you for it."

"What do you want?" Jean snapped, unhappy that her acting was so obvious.

"I'm taking the free kick," Blaze told Jean. "Go hobble over there somewhere and look hurt for a bit."

"I want to take it," argued Jean, reaching for the ball.

"Nuh-uh," Blaze waggled a finger at Jean. "Don't make me tell tales to the ref."

"That's blackmail!"

"Yup," agreed Blaze. "Now go away, you're cramping my style."

Reluctantly Jean hobbled away, and anyone who was watching closely could see that the leg she was limping with kept changing. Meanwhile the boys lined up in a three-man wall in front of Kurt's net. Roberto peeled off to mark Kitty who had come running forward. Tabby came to stand with Blaze over the ball, but they were fooling no one about who was taking the free kick. Beast blew the whistle. Blaze took a run up and blasted the ball forty yards into the top right corner of the net. The netting billowed as the ball struck it, just as Kurt hit the floor without even getting a fingertip to the ball. 1-1…