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Next chapter is up! Hoped you liked the new students' first Danger Room session in the previous two chapters. Read away!

Mystique stood by her window and scowled.

Pyro.

If Pyro had decided to show up, that meant one thing.

Trouble.

Mystique slammed the window shut and hurried downstairs.

"Alright, I want everyone up and ready, now!" She yelled. "We've got trouble-"

She stopped talking when she realized that nobody was listening to her. Freddy was dozing on an armchair that was sagging dangerously, Lance was in the kitchen, Pietro was in the bathroom in front of the mirror primping, and Toad was presumably off annoying Wanda. This was confirmed by a loud CRASH! followed by the sound of Toad screaming and crashing to the ground in front of the house.

"Everyone in here, NOW!" She yelled again.

"Wha-!" Freddy woke with a start, the chair smashing beneath his weight. Lance popped his head into the room from the kitchen, and Toad limped through the front door. Wanda appeared at the top of the stairs.

"What is it?" Pietro looked annoyed. He was holding a jar of hair gel and a brush in one hand, and a comb and a pair of tweezers in the other. His hair was wrapped up in a towel. And, was that Wanda's foundation he quickly set on the edge of the sink?

"That's more like it." Mystique said in a calmer voice. "Now, as I'm sure you haven't noticed, one of Magneto's goons is at our doorstep, Pyro to be exact."

"Pyro? What's he doin' here?" Toad asked, taking his eyes off Wanda for a split second.

Pietro rolled his eyes. "If Mystique already knew, why would she need us?"

Toad frowned. "Maybe-"

"SCILENCE!" Mystique roared. Toad and Pietro jumped back, their eyes the size of tennis balls.

"Much better." Mystique said after a moment. "Now, I don't care what Pyro's doing here, just go get suited up and bring him here." She narrowed her eyes and glared at Toad. "I trust even you could do that."

…...

"So, what do you think?" Mandira turned around from her place in front of the mirror. Holly Storm stood nervously next to her, with a scissors in her hand. All of the new girls, as well as Kitty, were in Mandira's and Holly's room hanging out after lunch.

"Really cute!" Kitty giggled, her ponytail bouncing. "Holly, you did a really good job!"

"I hope I'm not going to regret this." Mandira turned back around to face the mirror. Her once long, hip-length straight black hair was now cut just above her shoulders. The back and sides were feathered out, and tapered in gently. Mandira's parents never wanted her to cut her hair back home, but now that she wasn't at home, she figured it was time for a change. Mandira looked a little sadly at the ground. Long, black locks had fallen and gathered at her feet. It had taken her years to grow her hair that long.

"You shouldn't, it's amazing." Ivana told her. She was sitting on Mandira's bed, which was under a window, letting the afternoon sun bounce off her own wavy dark brown hair. Cassie, who was sitting on a beanbag chair in the corner, nodded her agreement.

"Well, I guess if you all think it looks good." Mandira ran a hand through her hair. She turned to Holly. "Thanks, Holly."

The blond girl smiled. "My parents own some salons back in Florida." she said. "I've got a lot of practice."

"Well, what should we do now?" Roxaya asked. She was sitting on the rug next to Scarlett. Her dog, who was named Sandy, was right next to her. Mandira had never once seen them separated.

"Let's play some pranks!" Esme Silk grinned mischievously. She was perched on a windowsill.

"I'm listening." Yokiku turned toward her, narrowing her eyes with interest. The other girls turned toward her as well.

Esme's grin widened. "This'll be fun..."

…...

Elementro sat brooding on his bed in the room he was sharing with Mason and Nikolai. He was brooding and meditating at the same time. He called it brooditating. It gave him an opportunity to think and sort out his emotions and think. Right now, he was confused. Why was Mason being so friendly to him? He had certainly never been that way to other people. And more importantly, why was he here in the first place? He remembered what happened before he came here, but it was confused and blurry. But some fragments were clear, such as a massive, red, fire-breathing dragon. He almost remembered what the dragon's significance was, but something was in the way, like a barrier. When he meditated, he could see those fragments more clearly. But he couldn't get past that thing in the way. He got up and walked over to the window. The blinds were down. He separated them a little and peeked through, letting the sun stream into the room. Some of the other students were out in the lawns, playing baseball, it looked like. Scott and Jean were sitting on a bench under a tree. He studied them for a moment, as they sat there talking. Then, they slowly leaned toward each other and Elementro quickly shut the shades before he saw something he really didn't want to see.

That was another thing: Sharing a house with so many other people, some who he could stand, some who he couldn't. He immediately disliked Jean, because, for one thing, she almost seemed too perfect to be real. Popular, smart, pretty, star athlete, strong mutant abilities...etc. Nobody had said one negative thing about the woman. It was like she was molded to be a perfect little robot, with not even one flaw. That just irked Elementro to no end. Scott was alright, he was a little stiff and aloof, but that matched Elementro's temperament. Kurt was tolerable, maybe a little to much of a jokester. Kitty was a little annoying, but she was he was fine.

Elementro returned to his bed, but banged his arm on the nightstand.

"Oow!" he scowled. Stupid cast.

Trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his arm he decided to go downstairs to grab a bite to eat. Just as he was about to open the door, someone knocked.

"Who is it?" he asked. He quickly returned to his bed, so it would appear he there all along.

"It's me, Storm." came the reply.

"Come in." he told her. The door opened and Storm walked in.

"Hello, Elementro. How are you feeling."

"Fine, thanks." Elementro replied. He looked past Storm. Nobody was behind her. That was a good sign.

"Hmm." Storm turned around. "Elementro, come with me. I have a little surprise for you."

…...

Mystique flew above her team as a crow as the surrounded Pyro. He was standing in front of a burning abandoned warehouse. She landed on a low building across the street and reverted back to her natural form.

"What are you doing here, Pyro?" she asked, or rather, demanded. She noticed that he wasn't attacking her or the rest of the Brotherhood.

"Ah, just the people I wanted to see!" Pyro exclaimed, a broad smile plastered onto his face.

"What do you want with us?" Wanda asked.

"I just want a place to crash, darling." Pyro answered, winking at Wanda. She responded with a look of disgust.

"But we-" Freddy started to speak, but Mystique held up her hand silencing him. This might be the opportunity she was looking for.

Pyro and the Brotherhood looked at Mystique, awaiting her decision.

"Pyro, I have a...mission I need to take care of." She said. "I am placing Wanda in charge, and you can stay if you fill in her place while I'm gone."

The members of the Brotherhood looked at her with their mouths agape; they had known nothing about her mission. Secretly, she had been planning it, but this wasn't how she planned to announce it.

"Oh, really? You mean it?" Pyro beamed more widely. "We're gonna have a blast!"

Mystique turned back into a crow and departed before any questions could be asked. She needed to get ready.

…...

Elementro followed Storm downstairs. They rode in silence in the elevator down to the infirmary.

"What's this about?" Elementro inquired. But instead of answering, Storm opened the glass doors. Elementro stopped. Standing inside were Paul, Mason, and Beast.

"What's going on?" Elementro asked. Beast and Storm smiled.

"We," Beast started, "Are going to heal your arm for you."

...

Someone stood in a dark doorway, across the street from the Brotherhood Boardinghouse. They watched Pyro follow the Brotherhood inside. So far, everything was going according to plan. The mysterious person smiled and pulled their hood down lower over their face. Then, they turned around. The darkness swallowed them up, and in an instant, they were gone.

Hoped you liked that chapter. I know I didn't do a good job of describing Mandira's new hairstyle, but to be clear, it looks very similar to Storm's hair in X-Men the Last Stand. Review!