In high school, the teenage members of the X-men sat at a table outside.
"Should I go to Duncan Matthews' party? I don't think so." Said Scott.
"Are you going to finish your carton of milk?" Asked Evan.
"You can have mine." Said Jean, handing hers to Evan before speaking to Scott. "Come on, it might be fun."
"Matthews is a jerk." Scott retorted.
"Totally agree." Deker added.
"I'll be damned. I'd go." Said Kitty.
"Freshmen aren't allowed." Revealed Scott.
"Oh, Matthews is a jerk." She retorted, making Deker laugh.
"Half the school will be there. What if we stick Kurt too close? Even with the holo-projector, they'll smell his fur." Scott added.
"Hey, girls love hairy men." Kurt said before Kitty. "Right?"
"I'm, like, out of here." Said Kitty before getting up and leaving.
"Oh, yeah. She's crazy about me." Said he.
"If you say so, buddy." Laughs Deker.
"I wasn't saying that as a joke. And if Duke or Maximoff are looking for us at Matthews' party... There are other mutants at school, you know?" Said Scott.
"Yeah, just the cool ones." Says Evan of high-fiving Kurt.
"Hey, come on, Scott. There's no harm in socializing a little? Right Deker?" Says Jean.
"Huh? Oh, don't get me involved." Deker declared.
"No really, what do you think, Deker?" Scott asked, causing Jean to sigh.
"Well, if you must know. I think if Kurt wants to go, then let him go. We're only teenagers once, so why not live in the moment and have fun."
"I'm sorry, but I don't think that's a good idea." Scott sighed.
"Dude, it's just a party. Time to wag your tail." Said Kurt before jumping on the table and starting to dance, his tail then appearing.
"Hey, watch the tail." Says Scott, grabbing his tail to pull him off the table and back to his seat. "See? And that's exactly what I'm talking about."
"You pulled my tail!"
"Grow up, Kurt." Scott retorted.
"Hey, relax." Kurt said, facing him.
"You're always doing something stupid." Scott retorted.
"You always have to play the killjoy, that's no better." Kurt retorted.
"Listen." Scott said.
"No, you listen. There's a sound I want you to hear. And it's..."
Deker laid his hand on Kurt's shoulder.
"Kurt wait..."
But Kurt beamed with Deker accompanying him, having his hand on his shoulder.
"I've ruined everything, haven't I?" Scott asked.
"Oh, yeah." Jean replied.
"Yep." Added Evan.
Rogue sat under a tree reading a book about Dracula. Then she heard a poof and looked around.
"Huh?" She said before sniffing the air. "Yuck!"
She then headed for the place where the smell was. This led her to a staircase that descended into a room. Inside the room, Deker and Kurt had landed on some cardboard boxes.
"I need to work on my re-entries." Kurt groaned.
"No shit..." Said Deker, rising to his feet only to see a small problem with Kurt. "Uh, Kurt, your watch seems to be broken."
Kurt's human disguise disappeared, leaving him with his true appearance and X-Men costume.
"Oh, no!" Kurt moaned.
"Who's there?" Rogue said as she came down the stairs.
Kurt and Deker looked at the one coming down the stairs, then at a series of doors on which there was a sign saying "Stay Outside". Kurt grabbed Deker by the shoulder and teleported into the other room behind the closed doors. Kurt then looked around.
"The school janitor deserves to be fired, it's so dirty." Kurt commented.
"What is this place?"
As they walked, they failed to see the two lasers on the ground and passed right through them. All the computer screens lit up. Displaying a teenager.
"January 22, 1978. Hi, if you hear this message, you have 10 seconds before this lab self-destructs. Have a nice day. What's left of it."
The video stops and a countdown starts from 10.
"The dirty son of a..." Deker declared, without finishing his sentence.
Kurt tries his best to stop the countdown. Only 4 seconds left. Deker grabbed Kurt and forced him to look at him.
"Kurt, teleport us out of here now!" ordered Deker.
Kurt nodded and teleported them out of the room just as it exploded. Rogue, who was on the other side of the door, had to step aside as the doors exploded. Just then, Kurt and Deker appeared in the room with Rogue.
"I can't believe you forgot you can teleport." Deker reproached him.
"I'm sorry, okay? I was too busy trying to stop the explosion!" Kurt defended himself.
"Hey, hey! Are you two okay? What happened?" Rogue asked.
"Oh, hi Rogue." Hi Deker.
"The lab was booby-trapped." Kurt said.
"A laboratory?" Rogue asked, then entering the room and starting to cough from all the smoke and dust inside. "Wow. I don't know what it was used for, but there's not much left of it."
Rogue then looked to her left and saw something that hadn't been destroyed. She walked over to it and picked it up.
"What are you doing here?" Kurt asked.
"Ha, you're one to talk. At least I didn't blow up the lab." Rogue retorted.
Kurt then saw that Rogue had something in her hands.
"Hey, drop it."
Kurt and Rogue then tried to take the device out of the others' hands.
"Back off, rookie. Who said you were in charge here?" Rogue retorted.
Rogue managed to free herself from Kurt's grip and moved away from him. The device began to light up and fired something at Kurt, trapping him in a bubble.
"What?"
"Wait, Kurt!" Said Deker, running towards the bubble to push Kurt out, but it was already too late when the bubble closed and Kurt and Deker were both gone.
Rogue gasped, then threw the device away from her. She then ran back to where they were before disappearing.
"They're gone."
The bubble opened again inside the school and Kurt and Deker looked around.
"What happened?" Kurt asked.
"The real question is, where are we?" Said Deker.
At that moment, they could see the students appear and disappear from where they stood. Then they saw Evan and Kitty walking and talking.
"Man, Scott needs to relax. "
"Yeah, but Kurt needs to know when to stop."
"Kitty? Kitty!" Said Deker, trying to touch Kitty's shoulder but his hand went right through her. "What the hell?"
"What's happening to us?" Kurt asked.
Toad can be seen outside looking at an insect. He then licked his lips, but before he could eat the insect, a car horn sounded and Toad looked up and found himself facing the front of a car that stopped inches from his face.
"Ah!" He shouted, lowering his eyes. "Oh. Oh, my lunch."
Director Darkholme got out of the car.
"You need to stay away from this area, Mr. Tolanski. If I see one drop of drool on my new car, you'll be in detention for life. Is everything clear?" Says she as she pulls away.
"Oh yes. We're very clear." Toad replied.
Rogue came out of the room with a broom, at the end of which was the device she'd found. She headed for a dumpster and went to throw it in, but it hit the edge and bounced off the floor several times and landed at Toad's feet.
"Oh. What's that?"
"Don't touch it!" She says.
"Why not?" Crapaux retorted.
"It's no big deal. Just don't touch it."
"Oh, what's the matter? Little Rogue in trouble?"
Rogue picked up the device.
"Trouble? No. There's just two less X-men to push around." She said, tossing the device into the trash.
"Say what? You mean you fried two of those guys with that thing? Great!" Says Toad, reaching for the device.
"Hey, don't touch it. You got that, swamp breath?" Rogue asked as she walked away, guilt at having made her only friend and the only person with whom he could have real human contact disappear.
"What's going on? Is it Toad Abuse Day?" Toad asked himself as he took the device out of the garbage can and looked at it.
He then pressed a button and the device began to light up. He dropped it and climbed a tree. The device then made the dumpster disappear.
"Cool."
In the school corridors, Scott and Jean were chatting.
"So, do you think I should apologize to Kurt?" He asked.
"Well, what matters is what you think." Said Jean.
"You have to admit, he makes far too many fools." Scott retorted.
"So what? Is it worth losing a friend over?"
"By the way, have you seen Deker? I haven't seen him since he beamed down with Kurt."
Before Jean could answer Scott, two guys emerged from the boys' bathroom.
"Ah! Ghosts! We just saw ghosts!
"Ah! Hairy blue demon!
"I'm outta here!"
They passed Jean and Scott.
"I warned him." Says Scott as they enter the bathroom. "Kurt?"
He then came out of the bathroom.
"Wasn't he here?" Jean asked.
"No, he wasn't. You'd better contact him. Tell him to stop. And if you could contact Deker and find out where he is." Scott suggested.
Jean then handed Scott her book and she then placed both hands on her temples and tried to find/contact Deker or Kurt.
"Hmm. Scott, I can't find any trace of Kurt or Deker." She said.
Unaware of the two friends, Rogue hid to the side of some lockers.
"It's as if they don't exist." Jean said.
"Try again. They must be somewhere."
"I'm sure they are. I'm not getting anything. They've disappeared completely." Jean sighed.
"Or someone did something to them." Said Scott, then looking down the hall to see Fred and Lance walking toward them.
"What are you looking at, Summers?" Lance asked.
"Where are Deker and Kurt?" Scott asked.
"Heh. Yeah, as you'd expect." Said Fred.
Scott then ran to Lance.
"Scott, no." Said Jean.
Scott then grabbed Lance and pushed him against the lockers.
"I said where are they?" Scott growled.
"Let go of me." Said Lance
"What did you do with Deker and Kurt?"
Fred then grabbed Scott from behind.
"Let go of my buddy, the squint!"
"Put him down!" Jean ordered.
"Back off, Red, or I'll shake you. Lance threatened.
The lockers began to shake. A crowd of students formed and began chanting "Fight" over and over again. But before any of them could come to blows, Principal Darkholme put a stop to it all.
"What's going on here?" She asked.
"We weren't doing anything." Said Fred.
"Yeah. Summer went completely crazy for no reason." Added Lance.
"Oh, I have a reason." Scott declared.
"Uh, Scott..." Jean began.
"Quiet. You two in my office now." Darkholme ordered.
Kurt and Deker could be seen reappearing after Kurt tried to teleport.
"Okay, wherever this is, I can't teleport us out." Kurt said.
"Shit."
"Ah, this is just too weird."
Something teleported over their heads and Deker pushed Kurt out of the way so he wouldn't be hit. Deker then pulled out his claws and sliced the thing in half.
"It's raining furniture!" Kurt commented.
"How did a desk get here?" Deker asked before seeing a plate that had been on the desk when it fell. "Damn, it's Darkholme's desk."
In the normal world, Toad had fun using the device.
"You see the desk, you don't see the desk. You see the chair, you don't see the chair. So, let's see how you like my new teenage office policy." Toad laughed.
Toad then heard Principal Darkholme speak and jump out the window.
"I don't care how much influence Xavier has with the school board, I'm going to get... What?" Said Darkholme as he entered the office to find it empty, which also surprised Scott and Jean. "What happened here? Who took my furniture?"
She ran out of the room. Scott and Jean headed for the open window and saw Toad using the device on Principal Darkholme's new car.
"I bet I know what happened to Kurt and Deker." Said Scott.
Deker and Kurt were strolling along when suddenly Principal Darkholme's car appeared above them. Kurt quickly grabbed Deker and they teleported away.
"Scott, look!" Jean said.
Scott then turned and saw Deker and Kurt for a few seconds.
"It's Kurt and Deker! O-or their ghost." Said Scott
"No, I had a brief mind-reading. It's like they're stuck somewhere." Explained Jean.
"I think we'd better talk to Toad."
Kurt and Deker were once again visible in the gym. They heard someone walking behind them. Kurt teleported above him. Deker turned around and saw that it was the same one from the video in the lab.
"Wow. Where did you two come from?" He asked.
"Relax." Kurt said as he jumped up, surprising the teenager.
"What are you, exactly?"
"Don't let my appearance fool you. I'm a harmless blue furball. Really." Kurt reassured before recognizing the boy. "Hey, I know you."
"Yes." Deker realized. "He's the one we saw on the computer screen just before it exploded."
"Uh, yeah. My name's Forge. So, you found my lab, huh? What's with the Halloween costume?" Says Forge.
"It's not a costume, I'm human. But I'm a mutant. I know I look strange, but..." Kurt said before teleporting behind Forge. "...there are some advantages."
"I thought I was the only one!" Said Forge before transforming his arm into a mechanical arm that, at first glance, could do many things. "So, what can you do?" He asked Deker.
Deker simply pulled out his claws.
"Super cool! Have they always been metal?"
"As long as I've had them, yes." Deker replied.
Toad was pursued by the X-men. Scott fired his eye beams at Toad. He jumped over the beam, turned and fired a beam from the device at the X-men.
"Shadowcat, get down!" Jean shouted.
Kitty then headed for the ground to avoid being hit by the beam. The beam hit a water fountain and teleported him into the gym where Forge, Deker and Kurt were.
"Ah! Someone's really working your gadget." Kurt said.
"This gadget is a transdimensional projector. My science fair project in 1978. But when I launched it, it created this pocket dimension I call the Middleverse. I got caught in the beam myself, and I've been here ever since." Forge explained.
"78? But you still look..." Kurt began.
"Like I did back then? I know you did. I just can't explain it. They closed my lab and locked it after the accident. Everyone was completely panicked when I disappeared." Says Forge.
"So there's no turning back?" Sighs Deker.
"Not without help from someone on the other side. And I think Kurt might be able to help us with that. I might as well tell you that I can't wait to get home."
Just then, the three hear girls laughing, they walk past them and into the women's locker room.
"So... How far does this Middleverse extend?" Kurt asked.
"Alas, it stops in front of the girls' locker room. Frustrating, huh?" Forge replied.
"Depends on who it's for." Deker commented.
"Oh, I bet if it was Rogue, you'd be watching."
"Uh..." Said Deker before pointing at Kurt with his index finger. "Touché."
"Ha! Done." Forge said, drawing the attention of the two X-Men.
"What's the matter? Kurt asked.
Forge then showed what he was working on.
"This little baby will alter the phase frequency of your teleportation powers."
"Uh, my English is a little limited." Kurt commented.
"You'll be able to teleport to the real world." Forge simplified.
"Ah. Right, then. Then why didn't you say so, directly?" Said Deker.
"Great!"
"But only for a few seconds. These batteries don't have much power. Nevertheless, with a bit of luck, you'll be able to tell someone how to reset the projector to get us back." Forge explained.
"Oh, I just hope they don't think I'm joking." Kurt sighed.
"Considering all the stuff they've sent here, I think they'll believe you." Deker hoped.
In the real world, Toad was in a tree and the X-Men are right in front of him.
"Beat it, I'm warning you." Toad threatened.
Scott then fired a beam at the tree branch Toad was on, knocking him to the ground. Jean used her powers to catch the device in mid-air before it hit the ground.
"That's it, I'm outta here." Toad said as he tried to flee, but Evan shot a spike at Toad, pinning him to the tree.
"Why don't you stay a while?"
Scott then approached Toad.
"Now, tell us what you did to Deker and Kurt.
"I didn't do anything." Toad confessed.
"He didn't. I did it." Said Rogue, leaning against a tree, making them notice her presence. "If you all want to find the imp and Deker. You'd better let him go."
She then showed them where it all happened.
"This is where it happened."
Scoot then bent down and picked up Kurt's watch.
"If you've hurt them, I'll..." he began.
"You start threatening me, and you'll never find your friends." Rogue declared, regretting having to use her friend as leverage, but she didn't like Scott's attittude at the moment.
Kurt, Forge and Deker could see everything that was going on.
"Wow. Calm down, Cyclops."
Kurt then approached Scott.
"Yeah, Cyclops. I keep telling you." He says.
"Folks! We've deconstructed this mysterious contraption." Says Kitty.
"It uses an obsolete computer language dating back to the late '70s." Added Evan.
"This device emits a low-frequency wave pulse that seems to vanish into thin air."
"And what exactly does that mean?" Scott asked.
"Well, we think the pulse trapped Kurt and Deker in another dimension." Replied Evan.
"Okay. Well, then, let's throw this out." Said Scott.
"What! Damn it Scott, I promise you when I come out you'll have my fist in your face!" Jura Deker.
"No! No! They've got it all wrong. If they destroy the projector, we'll be stuck here forever." Forge said in an alarmed tone.
"So what are you waiting for? Get Kurt ready for his trip so he can tell them not to destroy it!"
Scott placed the device on a table and walked away from it.
"Everyone stand back. I'm going to use all the power. This could get complicated." Said Scott.
"Uh, you know, I could just, like, go through the gadget and, like, short it out quietly." Kitty suggested.
Scott and Evan simply looked at her.
"That's true. Forget I brought it up. (To Jean) What's with the guys and the explosions?" Kitty commented, making Jean laugh.
"Forge, hurry up. They're going to destroy the projector any minute." Kurt said.
"It's done. I think this will make you visible for a second. But I was in such a hurry to set it up..." Forge began to explain.
"Just tell him what to do, we're running out of time!" Deker shouted.
"Press that button and teleport. Tell them not to destroy the machine. They have to reset it instead, but you've only got a second before the battery burns out."
"Well, I'm off."
"Good luck Kurt." Says Deker.
Kurt then teleported back to the real world.
"What?" Scott said.
"Reset. Don't..." Kurt said before disappearing as quickly as he'd arrived.
"You saw that, didn't you?" Scott asked.
"He's still alive. So that means Deker's still alive." Rogue said hopefully.
"What did he say?"
"He said, 'Reset. Don't...". He wants you to blow that thing up." Evan insisted.
"I swear, these guys are like obsessed." Said Kitty.
"Uh, it sounded more like a warning to me." Kurt retorted.
"Do you think they understood?" Asked Forge.
"I just hope they believe Kurt." sighed Deker.
"A warning? From the idiot himself? No, come on. Shred the moron.
"Okay, I'm switching targets. It's Evan I'm going to hit." Deker commented.
"You've got a bad reputation, Kurt. commented Forge.
"No, I don't. Nightcrawler's a joker, but even he knows when it's time to get serious." Scott retorted.
"Yes!"
"If he'd wanted me to destroy that device... why didn't he say, 'Don't reset' instead of 'reset', then 'don't...'?" Scott added. "I think he wants us to put an end to this."
Scott then picked up the device and looked at it.
"Uh, 'intensity parameters', 'power regulators'. Uh, 'beam width', 'restart'."
He then pressed the button to restart the device and the device fired a beam and it opened and the X-men could see Deker Kurt and Forge.
"Hurry up! Beam up!" Scott said.
"Hang on! Come on, let's go!" Said Kurt.
"We can't! The batteries are dead. We need another power source." Says Forge. "The portal won't last much longer. It's now or never."
"What's the matter? Go!" Says Scott.
"Another power source? Kurt! The car!" Deker realized.
"Good thinking, Deker! Come on!" Kurt, teleporting with Forge and Deker with him to the car.
"What are they doing?" Evan asked.
"I don't know, but I hope they hurry." Said Scott.
"There they are! And they've still got that infernal contraption I told you about!" Says Toad.
"Rogue. Mystique sent us to find you. So, are you with us or with them?" Said Lance.
"Mystique? Are you working for her?" Scott realized.
"Hey, Summers, you've got your friends, I've got mine. But this is none of my business. Figure it out!" Rogue said before leaving.
"Okay. Give us that, losers." Said Fred.
"Or it'll shake up real bad!" Says Lance.
"The projector stays with us. X-Men, keep that portal open." Scott ordered.
Lance then stamped his foot on the ground, making everyone tremble. Toad, Lance and Fred ran straight at the X-Men.
Kurt, Forge and Deker could be seen a few yards from the car.
"Great ride. But where's that power source?" Forge asked.
"Look at that." Kurt said, pointing to the car.
"That's far, man!" Said Forge as he began to work on the car.
"I swear, this buddy's lingo is so lame." Kurt commented.
"Well, it's from the '70s." Deker added.
After some Forge manipulation, he was now in the now moving car.
"Are you sure this will work?" Deker asked.
"No."
"Go for it, Kurt!" Said Deker.
"You don't have to tell me again." Said Kurt, then starting to drive the car then he teleported them.
"Okay, enough warming up. Time for the big smashes." Says Fred.
Just then, everyone hears a car horn sound and just then, the car pulls out of the gate
"Yee-haw!" Shouted Forge as Kurt charged straight at Fred, who stopped the car.
"Whew. Good thing I'm the Blob." Fred sighed.
"Yeah, you betcha." Said Toad.
Lance then sees that the device is broken.
"Come on, guys. The party's over." Says Lance.
"We're back, bitches!" Deker shouted victoriously.
They then exited the cellar, watched by Rogue who was hidden behind a tree. She sighed with relief to see that Deker had returned.
The X-men and Forge chatted outside near Scott's car, Evan holding his jaw.
"Hey, you're welcome to come sleep over for a while, Forge. Xavier's cool, you'd like him." Scott argued.
"Thanks, but I'd better get back to my parents. I'm 20 years late for curfew." He said before turning to Kurt, "Thanks for bailing us out."
"No worries." Kurt smiled.
"Hop in, we'll give you a lift." Scott offered.
"That won't be necessary. It's only a few blocks."
"Okay, but if you need help, call me." Scott said, handing him a piece of paper with his number on it.
Forge accepted and walked away. Everyone then climbed into the car. Scott then looks at Kurt.
"Uh, you're going to have to hide until we fix your watch." He says.
So it's true. You're really ashamed of me." Kurt gasped comically, making Scott laugh.
"By the way, about our little fight, it was my fault." Scott admitted, shocking Jean and Kitty.
"No, that was my fault too." Kurt also admitted.
"Maybe..." Scott sighed. "Maybe you're right. I take things too seriously. I need to relax a little.
"Oh, Scott. Not you." Says Jean.
"Check his temperature. Mr. Military is getting weaker." Joked Kitty.
"Yeah. And I could probably tone down the nonsense a bit."
"Oh, look at you two. Making up and being friends again. It's almost enough to make me cry." Deker joked.
"Oh, welcome back, you two. Okay, so, now, how about we go home, suit up and do a Level 3 training simulation in the Danger Room?" Scott proposed, making everyone groan.
"Is it too late to go back to the Middleverse?" Deker asked.
"Middleverse?" Kitty asked.
"That's what Forge calls the pocket dimension we were locked in." he explained.
"Funny name." Said Scott. "In that case, who wants to go to Duncan Mattews' party."
"Okay... I think my bike's still in the parking lot." Said Deker before leaving the car and running to the high school motorcycle parking lot.
"I think this hatred for Duncan is stronger than we imagined." Scott said as their friend pulled away.