Hi, I decided to skip straight to Episode 4 since 2 is mostly about Scott, Jean and Rogue and 3 is just Kurt and Tabitha. Fliss will eventually have her own little arc, a few in fact, but not till later on in the story. I'll give you a hint though; it involves Sinister and a LOT of family issues, in separate parts though. Angie's introduction will be within the next few chapters hopefully.
Anyway, enough talking, on with the story.
SuperminionXD
P.S. before I forget, thank you so much for all the reviews, I don't think I've ever had so many reviews for a whole story as I have for the past two chapters! Keep them coming! And if you must criticise, at least be nice about it, otherwise I will be forced to compare you to my brother, and trust me, that is a comparison you don't want made.
Tears prick my eyes as I stare through the gloom at the photo on my bedside table. It is of my family. Though seeing them over the summer was nice, it wasn't the same. I miss the way it used to be. In the centre of the picture stand my parents, smiling and happy. I stand between them, also smiling. Something I haven't truly done since that day. David stands off to one side, scowling slightly. He's always been a bit mean to me, but it was worse over the summer. He kept on saying how he was better than me and how he should be the one going to the Institute. Of course he still doesn't know its true purpose, but I can't help finding his comments hurtful. Finally there is Sam, his arms wrapped tightly around Mummy's knees in a playful gesture; he of all of them has changed the least.
'Students, please I must ask you to gather downstairs immediately' The Professor's telepathic summon interrupts both my thoughts and my drawing and I rushed downstairs, still wearing my pink nightie.
"I apologise for the late hour, but I've just received an urgent summons from Captain Stone" The Professor explains. Stone, why does that sound familiar? I ask myself.
"Stone… from the Penitentiary?" Scott asks, answering my question. I remember now, wasn't he the guy who took Juggernaut.
"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, we're not talking about another Juggernaut Breakout are we?" Evan confirms my suspicions.
"No, at least not yet" Professor Xavier assures us, "But his containment unit has begun to fail"
"We'll be suited up and ready to go in five" Scott tells him, "Gang, let's move!"
"No, I'll be going alone" Professor X corrects, "However with Ororo away in Africa and Logan out on the open road somewhere, I'm faced with a dilemma. Which means Scott, Jean, I'm placing you both in charge, can I count on you?"
"Without a doubt Professor" Scott assures him
"We'll hold down the fort here" Jean agrees, "You just worry about your brother"
"Yes, Thank you" Professor thanks, "I'll see you in a few days"
He slides out of the room to prepare for his trip. The rest of us make to go back to bed.
"Ok, since we're already up, how about starting the day with a bit of Danger Room calisthenics, what do you say?" Scott suggests enthusiastically, his answer is equally unenthusiastic as everyone continues their way back to bed. I follow too, but since I was already awake, the chance of my going back to sleep is small.
The morning is… eventful to say the least. It's obvious no-one got much sleep after the Professor's meeting. Except for the New Mutants, who are just as crazy as ever. Despite their objections, Scott and Jean managed to convince them that just because the instructors were away didn't mean they didn't have to go the school. The complaints are enough to give anyone a headache. The school day is much more relaxing in comparison. Unfortunately that causes me to fall asleep three times during class. I haven't been getting much sleep lately. And now Kitty has this ridiculous idea that we should have a party while he's away. This is not going to end well.
"Yeah! While the Professor's away…" Evan exclaims
"… the kids can play!" Kurt continues for him, instantly annoying me by reminding me of the Cat-clones' tendency to complete each other's sentences.
"And play it loud!" Kitty finishes, bumping her locker shut with her hip.
"Yeah!" Kurt agrees enthusiastically.
"Reality check people, Scott and Jean" Rogue reminds them, the trio look dejected.
"Yes, a problem" Kurt admitted, "But what are X-men if not problem solvers, right?"
I sighed, this was definitely not going to end well.
I winced at the volume of the music. It feels like the whole building is shaking! I still can't shake the sense of foreboding, that something bad is going to happen. As if answering my thoughts, a small beeping comes from the device on my Holo-band. I shut the door to make sure no wondering party guests could see me then removed the band to see the small screen. It shows a small image of Rogue's face.
"X-men, get down to the sub-levels, there's something going on here!" She ordered. I immediately grabbed my uniform and changed into it before putting my band back. It still projected the original image so I'd look normal to the party guests until I got down to the lift. We all congregated outside the Danger Room.
"See, somebody's started up the Danger Room! I can't even get the door open!" Rogue explained.
"I'll just shut it down from inside!" Kurt proclaims before disappearing in a puff of smoke. We wait in silence, the alarm still blaring. Nothing happened.
"Come on, Kurt!" Kitty pleaded out loud before phasing through the door. A second later she falls back out of the door, Evan catches her. "Kurt's been hit!"
We all place out hands on Kitty's shoulders as she phases us through the door. The Danger room is a mess, blue lasers flying everywhere and Kurt in the centre, on the floor. The guns immediately direct their fire at us. I fly up into the air just in time for the beam to hit the ground I had been standing on. I dodged several spinning disks and blasted some more with my Photon-blasts. Then whoever was controlling the room tries a different tactic and I am soon flying to escape a vicious tentacle. I rectify that problem by flying in a loop-the-loop, causing the tentacle to tie itself in a knot, before blasting it. The guns begin unfolding from all the sides of the walls and the floor.
I've never seen this level before! I look round while I'm dodging to see that Kitty is now lying prone on the floor, and Rogue and Evan are already carrying Kurt. I dart down to join them. Then suddenly the floor we're standing on lowers to become a trench and a large metal ball is ejected from the wall! They roll round from both directions! We're trapped! Well, they are, I almost forgot I could fly. I dive to pick up Kitty and fly out of the way; meanwhile Kurt wakes up and ports the other two to safety. The trio appear beside me in the air for long enough to touch me and we are all ported out of the Danger Room.
We re-appear in an empty corridor so we run along the corridor to find out who's behind this, or at least contact someone. Then all of a sudden there is an alarm of some sort and more lasers start firing on us.
"Are you sure we left the Danger Room?" I ask, aware of the Room's holographic properties.
"Yah!" Kurt replies, "I think!"
We kept on running, dodging from side to side to avoid the lasers. I quickly took to the air. We are all forced to stop suddenly when some branch-things fold out of the wall and burst into flames. The flames whirl after us as we hightail it back down the corridor only for another fire-branch-thingy to deploy.
"We're cut off!" Kitty screams. Kurt grabs Evan and ports them away while Kitty drags Rogue and I through a wall. I pull them up and we phase through the ceiling into a control room. Scott and Jean are there, looking at a screen with a spectacled boy playing on Cerebro.
"I think He's one of Kitty's friends" Scott comments
"Yeah, he calls himself Arcade" Kitty confirms, also alerting them to our presence, "He's a computer game nut!"
"Obviously a Party Guest" Jean accuses, looking extremely annoyed.
"I said it was a bad idea" I speak up
"What! No you didn't!" Evan protests
"Uh, yeah, but I don't know how he got into Cerebro" Kitty defends
"We'll worry about that later, let's just get him out of there" Scott decides.
The figure on the screen suddenly perks up and seems to be waving at us.
"He's seen us!" Kurt exclaims. Then all of a sudden electricity fills the entire room and the shock causes me to fall to the ground. I manage to stand up and run from the room behind everyone else. Scott takes out the last camera as we open the door to Cerebro.
"Man! These players are good!" the Computer-Geek compliments.
"You don't know how good" Rogue replies before absorbing the boy, causing him to slum onto the floor.
"Ow, don't be mad guys, I'm sorry" the boy apologised once he came around back upstairs.
"You wanna tell us what you were doing in there?" Scott asks, in full interrogation-mode
"I couldn't resist! Such an awesome mainframe, man!" He defends, "That game rules!"
"Game?" Jean exclaims
"Yeah, and the players rocked, they had these really cool powers and…" He grins, I almost laugh, I'm surprised he hasn't noticed they look like us. Though since both Kurt and I have out Inducers on he probably wouldn't recognise us. But the others are recognisable.
"Wait, are you telling us that…" Rogue interrupts
'He knows nothing more' the Professor interjects telepathically, 'He believes it was all a computer game'
"Mr Torque, a Taxi is waiting outside to take you home" the Professor informs the boy out loud.
"I'm sorry, Professor" Scott apologises once the Taxi has pulled away, "I accept all the blame"
"I'd say there's plenty of blame to go around" Professor Xavier concludes, "Even extending to a mystery guest"
"What you mean Arcade?" Jean asks
"No, someone else, someone who orchestrated all of this, including my trip away, just to gain access to the mansion" He explains
"So it was all a set-up?" I conclude nervously, not entirely sure of the connotations.
"So now it's up to us to find out who it was" Scott announces
"And what they were after" The Professor finishes.
"What if they've already got it?" I ask
"The chances are they probably have" he concludes
"That's… bad" I say sadly.
"Yes, Fliss, it is"
I feel sad at the thought of losing the people I had begun to think of as a family more than my actual family.
So, yeah, I updated, sorry it isn't as long as normal but there wasn't much to write about this episode.
Bye for now,
SuperminionXD