UnX-pected Changes

by Moonchampion

Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, or any of its original characters. Nor do I have any type of claim to those characters. However, the characters of my creation belong to me, and cannot be used without my permission.

Xavier’s students stood in the center of the main hall, as all four of Mystique’s pupils descended the stairs. Quicksilver began to run down the thin banister of the stairs as the Toad leaped along the wall. Scott clenched his teeth as their rivals came closer. Could things possibly be any worse? Their home had been invaded and trashed, and their teachers, their friends, were going to die. Scott Summers could feel the weight of the world on his shoulders, as he thought I’m only a kid.

"It is a pity, that you children must meet your end so soon," said Mystique with a smile of satisfaction on her face. "I’m afraid the game is over."

After hearing her words, a smile began to spread on Scott’s face. "You’re wrong, Mystique. The game is just beginning," said Scott. "Kurt! Kitty! Hide-n-seek!" After hearing those words, the blue-furred Kurt Wagner placed his hands on the shoulders of Scott and Jean. All three disappeared in an explosion of sulfur and brimstone. At the same time, Kitty placed her hands on Evan, and the two students started to phase through the floor.

Mystique clenched her hands and teeth in anger. She released a small roar of annoyance. "Find them, now! Do not let them escape!" The four boys began to look around the main hall, hoping to find a clue. "Not here, you idiots! Search the house! Look upstairs, in the basement, around the back! Look everywhere, but not here!" The four boys scrambled from the main hall after Mystique’s explosion.

Kurt, Scott and Jean reappeared, from a cloud of sulfur and brimstone, outside the Danger Room. A few seconds later, Kitty and Evan joined their friends after emerging through the wall. A smile began to appear on each of the teens’ faces, once they realized they had avoided the danger of capture, or worse.

"Scott, that vas really awesome!" exclaimed Kurt.

"Yeah, but what are we going to do now?" asked Kitty.

"We’re going to do exactly what I said," replied Scott. "We’re playing hide-n-seek. First, we change. Everyone grab your field suits."

They all scrambled towards the lockers outside of the Danger Room, and pulled out their field suits. Scott, Evan and Kurt all began to pull off their shirts and kick off their shoes. They only paused as they heard both Jean and Kitty clear their throats. When the boys looked up, they noticed that both girls stood watching them with their arms folded.

"And just where do you expect us to change?" asked Jean.

"Vat is wrong with changing here?" asked Kurt with a smile growing on his face.

"You’re not that lucky, elf," replied Kitty.

"Step inside the Danger Room," said Scott. "You’ve got two minutes. After that we’re coming in whether your ready or not." Kitty scoffed after hearing Scott’s comments, and disappeared into the Danger Room. As Jean followed she pushed Scott’s arm. "I was only kidding."

"You were?" said Kurt, confused by Scott’s change of plans.

Scott slapped his forehead in disbelief, and Evan keeled over in silent laughter. Jean shook her head and disappeared into the Danger Room as well. In less than two minutes, both the girls and boys were in their training suits, and inside the Danger Room.

"Okay, this is the plan," said Scott. "We need to split up and pick these guys off one by one. Kurt, you and…."

"Vait!" exclaimed Kurt. "If ve’re going to be fighting, shouldn’t ve use our code names?"

"Code names? This ain’t Mission: Impossible!" replied Evan.

"Please?" continued Kurt. He had his hands clenched as if praying for Scott to reply in his favor.

"Fine," said Scott reluctantly.

"Ja! Now, ve’re cooking!" replied Kurt.

"Anyway – Nightcrawler, I want you and Shadowcat to lead whoever you can inside the Danger Room. Use the training programs to help you keep them busy. The rest of us will head upstairs, and try to lure them out of the house before they cause anymore damage. Everyone be careful. Let’s move."

Cyclops, Jean and Spyke headed for the exit, leaving Kitty and Kurt alone in the Danger Room. "So, how are we supposed to get one of those guys in here?" asked Kitty. "I mean it’s not like they’d be stupid enough to just waltz right into our little trap." Kurt shrugged his shoulders and smiled. Kitty sighed, "Oh you’re a big help."

The doors of the Danger Room opened again. This time the Toad and Avalanche stepped into the room. "Well, look what we found," said Avalanche. "Don’t tell me that you left me for some blue furball."

"Hey!" shouted Nightcrawler. Kitty held up her hand to hold Kurt back.

"Remember the plan," she whispered.

"Hey vhy don’t you come and say it to my face. Unless you’re – how do you American say? – a shaking cat," said Kurt.

"You mean a… forget it," said Kitty.

Avalanche had started to rush towards the two teens. The Toad leaped after him, "No, wait! Don’t go in there!" He was too late. The doors shut behind him.

"Computer, began Training Sequence 9," said Kitty. "And activate security lock-out." Red lights began to flash, as the floors and walls came to life. Large guns and other devices began to attack. Avalanche and the Toad bean to fight for their lives.

"That’ll show them," replied Kitty.

"Kitty, look out!" yelled Kurt. A massive wooden block had swung from the air and smashed into Kitty from the left. The impact sent her soaring against the far wall. She began to stand up, but she was still dizzy from the hit. She started to shake her head to eliminate the dizziness. "Kitty!"

Kitty turned her attention to Kurt, who was now approaching her. His eyes had nothing but fear inside of them. Kitty turned her head to see a giant blade coming towards her. She held up her hands , knowing that there was nothing else she could do. She was too weak to phase, and too dizzy to move. Kurt dove towards Kitty. There wasn’t enough time. Kurt bamfed right before Kitty’s eyes. The next thing she felt was her head hitting the concrete floor.

"Oww!" yelled Kitty as she instinctively grabbed her head. She looked up to find herself on the floor of the Danger Room’s control room. She also found Kurt lying on top of her exhausted. "Get off!"

"Are you okay?" asked Kurt. She noticed the concern in his eyes. He extended his hand to help her up. She reached for it, and he pulled her to her feet. Kitty started to wobble and collapse, but Kurt caught her and held her in his arms.

Kitty shook her head to rid herself of the remaining dizziness. She looked into Kurt’s eyes, and noticed an even more concern in Kurt’s eyes. She brushed his blue hair from around his face and smiled, "Thanks, Elf. You saved my life." Kurt smiled as Kitty began to stand on her own once again. "Listen, I know that I’ve been a little impolite towards you lately, but that’s going to change now. From now on…."

Kitty stopped as she looked at Kurt’s face, and saw that his lips were puckered. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I am vaiting for my kiss, for rescuing you," explained Kurt with his lips still waiting for the kiss.

"Oh get real!" said Kitty with light laughter. "Come on, let’s go." Kitty was already halfway out the door.

Kurt sighed and began to follow her out the door. Then, he stopped and pressed a few keys on the control panel. "Ten minutes should keep you two busy long enough," he said. Then, he rushed out the door after Kitty.

Evan placed his foot on the top landing of the staircase. Everything was quiet, and he seemed to be alone. He cautiously stepped over the scattered debris, peeking into each room searching for any of Mystique’s students. All of the rooms were empty, but trashed all the same.

When Evan came to the end of the corridor, there was another flight of stairs that led to Storm’s greenhouse. Evan slowly crept up the stairs, and into the greenhouse. The sunlight shone brightly through the glass. Evan started to walk around the room.

The temperature seemed a little cooler than the last time he visited the room. It felt as if there were a slight breeze in the room. Suddenly, Evan felt something push him down and disappear with a gust of wind.

"Come on, Evan," said a voice. It was Quicksilver, but he managed to dash out of sight. "Do you think that you could for once give me a challenge?" Suddenly, Quicksilver made another pass by Evan and sent him to the floor once again.

Evan stood up and managed to fire a series of his bone spikes after Quicksilver. Quicksilver managed to avoid these with ease, as he simply sidestepped each one of them. "Tell me, Evan, what kind of name is Spyke? I mean it sounds like a dog’s name. You know, I think I’m going to teach you a few tricks. Let’s see, how about heel!" Quicksilver sped off in Evan’s direction, then he leaped into the air and kicked Evan in the chest.

The impact drove Evan to the floor, and forced him to roll back a little. "Man are you dense or what? I tell you to heel, and you roll over! Well, let’s see if you can get this one right. How about play dead?" Quicksilver again charged off towards Evan as fast as he could.

Evan saw his chance. He quickly created a long thin bone spike. Just as Quicksilver reached him, Evan sidestepped and extended the long spike. Quicksilver didn’t have time to stop. As Quicksilver hit the spike, he was clotheslined. His head hit the floor hard enough to leave him unconscious.

Evan stepped over Quicksilver and shook his head. He grabbed some duct tape on one of the shelves, and began to tie Quicksilver up. As Quicksilver started to come to, he began to moan. His mouth, as well as the rest of him, had been rapped in duct tape. His eyes fell upon Evan filled with hate.

"Well, it looks like it’s my turn to teach you some tricks, Peitro. Let’s try this one: stay." Quicksilver began to squirm on the floor as Evan disappeared down the flight of stairs.

Scott and Jean entered the hanger cautiously. It appeared to be empty, with the exception of the Blackbird. The Professor and the others had taken a commercial flight towards Los Angeles. The two teens started towards the Blackbird, but stopped when they heard the someone moaning. They searched the entire area, and eventually their eyes fell upon Kitty, who was lying on her stomach on the floor.

Scott and Jean ran towards her immediately. Scott kneeled to her side and started her over. Kitty’s eyes fluttered open. She placed her hand on the side of her head. She winced in pain as her hand touched it.

"Kitty, what happened?" asked Jean.

"I don’t know," she replied. "I came in here and someone hit me from behind pretty hard."

"Where’s Kurt?" asked Cyclops.

"Kurt?" said Kitty appearing confused. "Well, he…."

Kitty was interrupted as the Blob emerged from nowhere and grappled Jean. He started to squeeze the life out her, holding her as tight as he could. Scott rose to his feet and prepared to fire his optic blast at the Blob. He couldn’t get an open shot at the Blob, not without hurting Jean. Scott looked at Jean again, she was unconscious and turning blue. Finally, the Blob dropped her and focused his attention on Cyclops.

"Aww!" teased the Blob. "Is the little boy going to cry because I hurt his little girlfriend. So, what are you going to do about it pipsqueak? Cry or try to fight?"

Cyclops ran at full speed towards the Blob. Just before the Blob could get his arms around Cyclops, the X-Man slid between the Blob’s legs. The Blob stood up and turned around. Cyclops was nowhere in sight. The Blob began to walk around the hanger searching for his opponent. Where could he have possibly gone?

The Blob had walked to the back of the Blackbird. Suddenly, he started to here a rumbling coming from the engine’s exhaust. The Blob only had the chance to look briefly, because a dark cloud of smoke burst from the exhaust. The Blob was completely blinded. He began to walk blindly across the hanger rubbing his eyes.

"Hey, Fred!" called Cyclops. The Blob turned in the direction the voice had come from. He had just managed to clear enough of the smoke from his eyes to see a powerful optic blast headed directly towards him. The blast carried the Blob into the air and against the wall, where he lay unconcious. "Whew!" sighed Cyclops. He turned and ran back towards Jean.

She was still blue. Scott checked her pulse. It was faint, but still there. Scott began to perform CPR. After a few breaths, Jean began to breathe on her own. Scott began to lift her into his arms. "Kitty, help me get her to the infirmary." There was no reply, and then, Scott turned his attention to his silent teammate. "Kitty?"

Kitty was standing and staring at Cyclops with an evil smile on her face. She had a some sort of gun pointed at him. Then, her face began to change. In fact, her entire body began to change. Her skin turned blue, and her hair red. "Mystique!" cried Cyclops.

"Very good, boy," said Mystique. "You would have made an excellent addition to my team. You’re a natural born leader. You’re calm under pressure, and able to outwit you opponents, no matter the disadvantage. It’s a shame to have to put such talents to waste. However, I doubt you would join me. Am I correct, Mr. Summers?"

Cyclops stared at her silently with a frown upon his face. "I thought so." Mystique raised the gun and prepared to fire at Cyclops. "Farewell, Mr. Summers. Don’t worry, your friends will all join you shortly."

Suddenly, a fire extinguisher went off. Mystique covered her eyes, trying to keep the CO2 from blinding her. Cyclops took the opportunity, and blasted Mystique with an optic blast. She fell to the floor unconscious, and the gun clattered out of her hand. Scott searched the room to find who used the extinguisher.

"You," said Scott. His eyes fell upon the Rogue mutant the X-Men didn’t manage to reach. Scott began to take a step closer, and noticed that she took a step backwards. He stood his ground. "Thank you. Listen, why don’t you come with us. We can help you. Please trust me."

"I… I can’t," said the Rogue. She started to run for the door, but before she could reach it, the other X-Men emerged through the entrance. The Rogue stopped, and stared at them with fear.

"And just where do you think you’re going, missy?" said Evan.

"Spyke, let her go. She helped us," said Scott.

The three X-Men, guarding the door stepped aside. The Rogue looked back at Scott, who was smiling. "Whenever you’re ready, we’re right here for you," he said. The Rogue turned back towards the door and disappeared through it. "Nightcrawler, prep the Blackbird for flight. It looks like we’re going on a little road trip."

"What are we going to do about all the bad guys?" asked Kitty.

"Let’s…" began Cyclops, as he focused his attention on Mystique and the Blob. They were gone. "Wait, where are they? Where did they go?"

"Who?" asked Evan.

"Mystique and the Blob," responded Scott. "They’re not here anymore. They were both down, before you guys showed up."

"How is it possible for someone that big to just… disappear?" asked Kitty.

"I don’t know, but we can’t worry about that now," said Scott. "Let’s get Jean aboard the Blackbird. I think she’ll be okay."

"Where are we going?" asked Kitty.

"Road trip," responded Scott.

Professor Xavier sat in his seat and stared out the window of the plane. "They’re beautiful aren’t they, Charles?" asked Ororo. The Professor, remained silent and stared out of the window. "Charles?" she said again.

"I’m sorry, Ororo," said the Professor. "I suppose my mind is otherwise occupied," he responded.

"You’re worried about the children, aren’t you?" she asked.

"Yes, I am. We’ve never left them alone, and gone this far away. I just…" said the Professor. He stopped immediately as if something were wrong. He shut his eyes and grabbed his head.

"Something wrong with, Chuck?" Logan asked as he sat down next to Ororo.

"I don’t know. All of a sudden, he just got quiet," replied Ororo.

The Professor’s eyes exploded open, filled with disbelief. "No, it can’t be," he said with disbelief. "Not him! Not now!"

"What is it, Charles?" asked Ororo. "Who is it?"

Suddenly, the metal of the plane began to squeak, as if it were being crushed. The Professor glanced out of his window. Ororo and Logan peered through the glass as well. They each saw a man, surrounded by some aura of energy. He wore a red suit and red helmet, each trimmed in purple. He also wore a purple cape, which gently flowed with the winds. The Professor turned to his companions, with no hope in his eyes, "It’s Magneto."

TO BE CONCLUDED…