Title: The X-Men Family

Author: Haruka

Fandom: X-Men Evolution

Rating: PG-13

Pairings: Too many to mention and they change around throughout.

Archive: Yes, but tell me where, please.

Warnings: This is an AU where same-sex relationships are accepted without question because everyone is bisexual, and corporal punishment is common as part of normal family discipline. A WIP (197 chapters so far and I'm hoping to make it at least to 200.) Loosely based on a verbal RPG plotline from August 2001. If anything is canon here, it's probably an accident.

Feedback: haruka@eastlink.ca or on list.

Summary: Mystique has reformed and reunited with her children and their father, Logan, but she still isn't completely happy.

-

The X-Men Family
By Haruka
(haruka@eastlink.ca)



The mutant named Logan, codename Wolverine, never imagined himself a family man. His life was so full of violence just by the nature of who and what he was that it seemed better not to risk others being close to him.

So how did he end up playing instructor/babysitter to a bunch of mutant kids? He wasn’t sure. But the least he could do was teach them to protect themselves so they could survive out there. And the truth was, he loved his role at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, and he loved the kids.

Perhaps more surprising was that he ended up not just being a guardian of sorts, but a father. Two of the young charges, Rogue and Kurt, had been revealed to be not only siblings, but twins – a shocking surprise to them both. To top it off, their mother, Raven Darkholme, known better as Mystique, had finally told Logan they were his biologically. Knowing better than to trust her word, Logan and the kids all insisted on medical testing as proof. They got it.

Mystique, a mutant herself, has spent the majority of her life on the wrong side, causing innumerous problems for the X-Men, the group of students organized and headed by Professor Charles Xavier. It was in his Institute where Logan and his children had been living, unaware of their familial ties, and where Mystique had recently agreed to join them.

It was a strange time for all of them. Kurt and Rogue had to get used to being siblings as well as friends and teammates, plus having their biological parents together and involved in their lives. Logan was adjusting to being a father and the reawakening of his feelings for Mystique. And as for Mystique herself ….

Something was wrong.

Her mutant name suited her well. For as long as Logan had known her, and that was a considerably long time, Raven had been secretive, and always seemed to have a hidden agenda. Since resigning her leadership of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, she had genuinely seemed to be doing her best to fit in as an instructor at the Institute. She already knew all the kids as Principal of the school they attended, Bayville High, but it was quite a different thing to live with them and participate in their training sessions. The kids hadn’t been immediately trusting – after all, she had pitted her Brotherhood boys against them more than once – but it was coming. She seemed to want to help them learn to use their powers, and was working hard to finally be a mother to her own kids, as well as build a new relationship with their father. It was because of their becoming close again that he could tell she was once more hiding something from him.

It was late, and all their charges were in bed. Mystique lay on the couch in the living room, idly flipping channels with the remote. She had forsaken her usual white dress for a pair of torn jeans and a t-shirt. Her blue feet were bare, the toenails painted red.

Logan suppressed an animalistic growl in his throat. Even when they were enemies, he’d found Mystique attractive. Her long red hair, blue skin, and completely yellow eyes were more than just exotic, and she had as tempting a female figure as any man could imagine. Knowing she’d borne two children of his only served to heighten his interest and desire for her. Being Logan, however, he wasn’t the mushy type, not the kind to shower a woman in flowers and candy. That didn’t matter to Mystique. He knew she realized he was as much animal as the Wolverine for which he was named, and she loved him the way he was.

“Nothing on?” he questioned as he entered the room. Mystique looked up, the vaguely sad look vanishing from her face.

“Hi there,” she greeted, and waved a hand toward the tv. “Nah, just the news.”

Logan seated himself in a chair and regarded her seriously. “I want to talk to you.”

Her eyebrow lifted. “What about?”

“About whatever’s been bugging you the last few days,” Logan said frankly. “I’m not the only one who’s seen it, Misti – even the kids have said you seem distracted. And anytime you think no one’s looking, you look miserable.” He paused before continuing, “Are you having second thoughts?”

“No!” Mystique said quickly. “Not for a moment. I’m glad I’m here, Logan. I love all the kids, Charles, Ororo, and Hank have been wonderful to me ….” She smiled warmly. “And of course, there’s us.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Logan insisted. “_Something’s_ been eating at you.”

Mystique’s smile faded, and even without she having pupils or irises, Logan could see the sadness re-enter her yellow eyes. “It’s ….” She sighed and looked away. “I don’t think you’ll want to hear this.”

Logan tried not to feel fear. She had just said she was happy at the Institute and with him, so he’d have to believe that. “Try me,” he told her.

Mystique sighed again and turned back to face him apologetically. “I miss the Brotherhood. Not being _in_ it,” she added hastily, “I miss the boys.” She shrugged. “Okay, maybe I was a selfish bitch while I was with them, but being here with you and the kids and coming to understand Charles’ dream –“ She blinked and Logan was shocked to see tear in her eyes – Mystique was not a crier, “I _did_ care about them in my own way, and I’m worried about them. They’re totally on their own with no supervision or means of support. Magneto will only use them – he doesn’t care less about any of them, not even his own son ….” She buried her face in her hands. “I’m afraid for them,” she said tearfully.

Logan got up from his chair and sat beside her on the couch, putting a strong arm around her shoulders. He felt both guilty and proud at her revelation. On one side he thought he should have suspected she might worry about the four boys that made up the Brotherhood. Her maternal instincts had been running in high gear since she moved into the Institute – why shouldn’t that extend to the misfits of the Brotherhood? And that was why he was proud – Mystique must truly be reformed if she was willing to jeopardize her new life by admitting affection for those kids. Any last reservations he might have had disappeared, and he nuzzled her soft hair.

“I’m sorry,” he said, apologizing for more than she realized. “I know Chuck had been hoping those kids would come around, but so far there’s been no indication they’re interested.”

“Well, for Heaven’s sake, there wouldn’t be! Not after I got through bringing them together and teaching them to be enemies to the X-Men.” Mystique wiped her eyes and shook her head. “I did it and I have to undo it, if it can still be fixed at all.” She looked at him hopefully. “Charles wouldn’t mind if we brought them here?”

“Mind? Raven, you said you understood his dream. You must realize he won’t turn _anyone_ away.” He gave her shoulders a squeeze. “We’ll tell him how you feel and get his thoughts on how to do it.”

“All right,” Mystique said, sounding relieved. He could feel the tension ease in her muscles now that she knew something would be done.

“Come on, let’s go to bed,” he suggested. “We’ll work on it fresh in the morning.”

She nodded and smiled at him gratefully. “Thanks, Wolvie.”

He scowled. “Don’t call me that.”

“Okay, Wolvie!” She giggled and darted out of the room, an open invitation to be chased. Logan gladly obliged.




Part 2

“Good morning, Jean,” greeted Scott Summers as he came out of his bedroom. He was still wearing his pajamas, and of course, the ruby quartz glasses that kept his lethal eyebeams from obliterating everything in sight. He hoped for once to make it to the bathroom first. Jean wasn’t going to compete with him – she’d be going to the girls’ bathroom down the opposite end of the hall.

Jean Grey was the most beautiful girl he knew. Tall, with waist-length red hair and a lovely, friendly face, she was easily one of the most popular girls in Bayville High. And she looked cute in her nightshirt, too.

“Morning, Scott,” she said. “Sleep well?”

“I did, once Logan and Mystique stopped chasing each other around,” he said wryly. “I was tempted to get up and watch just to see them acting like children.”

“Well, if he got her mind off of whatever’s been bothering her, more power to him,” Jean remarked. “Her distress was starting to get hard to ignore.”

Scott could understand that. With her power of mental telepathy, it wasn’t always easy for Jean to block out the thoughts and feelings of others.

She sighed now as she saw Rogue enter the girls’ bathroom and shut the door. “Well, there goes my turn. Again.”

“Sorry about that, I should have let you keep going instead of stopping to talk,” Scott apologized.

“Oh, that’s all right,” Jean said good-naturedly. “I should be used to it by now. Being the eldest never gets us the privilege of dibs on the bathrooms.”

“Never,” Scott agreed, as he witnessed the boys’ bathroom door shut firmly. Since he never saw anyone come out of a bedroom to go into it, he concluded that Kurt must have teleported directly in – always a risk, since it could already be occupied. He’d have to talk to him about that.

“Good morning, children,” said Ororo Munroe, a stunning woman with long white hair and blue eyes that contrasted with her brown skin. Once worshipped as a Goddess for her power, she could manipulate the weather, and for that reason was codenamed Storm.

“Hi, Ororo,” Scott said. “Just waiting our turns in the bathrooms.”

She glanced toward the shut boys’ door. “I’m sure that must be Kurt in there, as Evan is likely to be loitering in bed. I’ll go rouse him.” She walked over to one of the doors and knocked, then looked in, and just as quickly ducked. A long bone spike shot over her head and embedded itself in the painting on the wall behind her. “Well, good morning to you, too, Evan,” she said dryly.

“Sorry, Auntie O!” came a cheerful voice from out of Scott’s view, “I was stretching and –“

“I know, dear, I know,” Ororo said tolerantly. Scott knew that as the youngest of the X-Men, Evan still needed a lot of training to gain control over his power of rapid bone growth. Not to mention a lot of calcium intake.

“Come ON, Rogue, get out of the bathroom already!” whined another voice at the other end of the hallway. Scott and Jean turned to watch Kitty Pryde pound on the girls’ bathroom door. “I have to _go_!”

“Ah’m comin’, Ah’m comin’!” Rogue’s Southern accent answered her. “Jus’ gimme five minutes!”

“I don’t think I can WAIT five minutes!” Kitty exclaimed. “Oh, forget it! I’ll go use the downstairs bathroom!” She sank through the floor and disappeared from sight.

“Sounds like everyone is up and ready for another day at school,” remarked a bald man as he rolled down the hallway toward Scott and Jean in a motorized wheelchair.

“And hogging the bathrooms.” Jean laughed, bending to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Good morning, Professor.”
“Hey, Charlie,” Logan and Mystique came up behind him. “We need to talk to you and Ororo before breakfast, if that’s okay.”

“Certainly, Logan,” Professor Xavier said. “Ororo?” he motioned to her. “We’re going to the conference room – please join us there.”

“Of course.” Ororo leaned in Evan’s door and said something Scott couldn’t hear, then shut the door and followed the other adults, glancing at he and Jean as she passed. “You two had better hurry or you’ll be late.”

They glanced at each other and stifled a laugh. “Okay, let’s get into the Bathroom War trenches,” Scott said, and turned to go take his place in line. “See you at breakfast, Jean.”

“Later!” she called out, running down the hall as she spied Rogue emerging from the girls’ bathroom.

“Y’all in a hurry, Jeannie?” Rogue said, then looked around, puzzled. “Hey, where’d Kitty go?”

--

“When are they going to come down here?” Kurt Wagner groaned as he stared longingly at the plate of food in front of him. Pancakes. They smelled wonderful. His long tail twitched in anticipation.

“They had something important to discuss,” Scott said to boy with the German accent. “We have to wait until they get here.”

“Just a little bit?” Kurt said hopefully, picking up his fork in the three fingers of his right hand and breaking off a tiny piece of pancake.

“Uh uh!” said Jean, and Kurt’s fork pulled itself out of his hand and settled back onto his plate. “Better not do that. Remember what your father is like about table manners?”

Kurt sighed and gazed mournfully down at the plate. “Ya, I know, Jean. Thanks for saving me from myself.”

“_And_ from Daddy,” Rogue teased, Kurt stuck his tongue out at her.

“You’d think they’d known they were siblings forever,” Kitty giggled, her brown ponytail bobbing against her back.

“They were acting like that long before they knew they were siblings,” Scott told her.
“Gotta agree with the Kurt-man, though,” Evan said with regret as he looked down at his own plate. “If the adults don’t get in here soon, I’ll start eating the silverware.”

“No need for that, Evan, here we are,” Ororo said as she and the other adults entered the dining room.

“I’m sorry we took so long,” Professor Xavier apologized as he took his seat at the head of the table. “But we had some important matters to go over, and now we would like to discuss them with you.”

“Bitte, may we eat while we talk?” Kurt asked hopefully.

Logan lightly tweaked one of Kurt’s fuzzy, pointed, blue ears as he passed by. “No patience as usual, Elf?”

“But it will get _cold_,” Kurt reasoned.

“Go ahead, everyone, and eat,” the Professor told them, and sipped his coffee while the kids started to dig in.

“What’s the big secret, Professor?” Scott asked.

“No secret, Scott. This will involve all of you, so it’s necessary that you know now,” Professor Xavier said. “But I think it would be best explained by the one who brought it to my attention. Mystique.” He nodded in her direction.

“Thank you, Charles,” Mystique said, taking a deep breath. “Kids, as I told Logan last night, and then Ororo and the Professor this morning, I’m worried about the Brotherhood boys.”

“Why?!” Scott asked, instantly alert. “Are they up to something?”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Mystique said. “I’m concerned _for_ them.”

The kids looked at each other. “Uh … why?” Evan asked finally, his handsome face the picture of confusion.

“Yeah,” Kitty piped up. “They seem fine at school. As arrogant and annoying as ever.”

“Todd even dropped a dead fly on my Sloppy Joe last week,” Kurt added. “And then he ate it.”

“The fly or the Sloppy Joe?” Rogue asked him.
“Both!” Kurt replied with a grimace. “You don’t think _I_ wanted it with a fly topping, do you?”

“Mystique,” Jean interrupted, “what is it that worries you about them?”

“Several things,” the blue-skinned woman answered. “They’re alone, for one. You can bet Magneto isn’t checking up on them. And they’re flat broke. I wasn’t the most generous of people while I was with them, but at least we had food in the house. If Todd ate your lunch, Kurt, it’s probably because he was starving.” She sighed, knowing her voice was starting to crack and she hated that they were all seeing it happen.

Logan put his hand over the one she had in her lap and squeezed it. “Guys, the bottom line is that no matter how you feel about those kids, they _are_ kids, just like you, and they deserve a good, safe home and decent food. The way things are now, they’ll end up using their powers to rob a gas station just so they can eat.”

“Pietro has a record,” Evan remarked, wide-eyed. “If he does something like that, he’ll never get out of jail.”

“Unless his old man busts him out again,” Kurt muttered.

“All I want is the chance to reason with them,” Mystique spoke up again, her yellow eyes pleading with those around her. “To tell them that they’re welcome to come _here_.”

“Ah don’t think they’ll do it, Mama,” Rogue said sadly. Other than Mystique, she knew the Brotherhood members better than the others, because she had been one of them. She’d never been able to bring herself to completely dislike them the way some of the X-Men did.

“I still have to try, Rogue,” Mystique said helplessly. “I owe them that much, since I’m the one who put them in that situation to start with.”

“You had help,” Ororo reminded her.

“Yes, Magneto directed me, but other than Pietro, I found the others and brought them into the Brotherhood.”

“What I propose is this,” Professor X said to them all. “We allow Mystique to approach the boys first and hope she still has some influence on them. If that doesn’t work and they still refuse, then the rest of you start to work on them. Rogue, you might be particularly helpful in this.”

“Don’t be so sure, Professor,” Rogue said with regret. “They think Ah betrayed them by defecting. Same with Mama. Ah don’t think they’re gonna listen to any of us.”

“They’re going to have no choice but to listen,” Logan said grimly. “It’s whether they’ll _hear_ us or not that’s the real question.”



pART 3

Pietro Maximoff, aka Quicksilver, zipped down the stairs to see if there was anything that could reasonably be called breakfast left in the kitchen. Moving too fast to see, Pietro buzzed from cupboard to fridge to pantry, all of which yielded the same depressing results. Nothing.

“What’s for breakfast?” yawned Fred Dukes as he lumbered down the staircase. He was as wide as Pietro was thin, but then his mutant codename wasn’t The Blob for nothing.

“Air,” Pietro replied with his usual rapid-fire speech pattern. “Topped off with air and with a big glass of vitamin-fortified air on the side.”

Fred frowned. “I need more to eat than air.”

“Hey, man, even _I_ can’t live on air!” Pietro remarked, turning a tap hopefully only to watch a single drop of rusty water leak out. “Or without water.”

Another boy with a green hue to his skin hopped into the kitchen in the same fashion that a toad might – appropriate, as his codename was Toad. He leapt up to the countertop beside the sink and looked into it. “That’s just pathetic, yo. No water even?” A housefly buzzed in front of his face and an instant later a long, green prehensile tongue had flashed out to draw it into his mouth.

“Glad _you_ can eat, Todd,” Fred said flatly.

“Man, we have to _do_ something, this is ridiculous!” Pietro exclaimed. “Any ideas?”

“We could knock over a food delivery truck,” Todd suggested. “I mean for real – Fred could topple one easy.”

“Don’t tempt me,” Fred told him.

“Guess we’ll have to go the petty theft route,” Pietro remarked. “No choice, we
have to eat.”

“You’re not doing any stealing right now, Pietro,” the fourth Brotherhood member and the eldest, Lance Alvers leaned in the doorway. He brushed a lock of long brown hair from his handsome face. “You’ve got a record. The rest of us will handle it.”

Pietro shrugged and smirked. “Hey, it’s not like anyone’s gonna _catch_ me or anything! Not even close!”

“Can’t take the chance,” Lance said firmly. “You get busted, we’ve got no guarantees that your old man will get you out again. He’s been a no-show for too long.”

Pietro didn’t say anything. He knew Lance was right. His father, Magneto, had disappeared at the same time Mystique had defected to the X-Men. He might still be around, but whether he’d step in to help him was far from a certainty. In fact, considering the conditions they were presently forced to live in due to lack of financial support, it was rather unlikely.

“Todd can swipe some wallets, I’ll see what I can do with getting change and drinks out of the payphones and soda machines.” He frowned slightly. For a boy codenamed Avalanche, it seemed like a waste of his seismic power to be reduced to robbing vending machines. “Fred, see if you can shake down a couple of wimps for their lunch money – you know, the kind too chicken to tell on you.”

The large boy nodded.

“That might get us through a couple of days, Lance,” Pietro said. “But we have to think of the big picture. We’re going to have to find a way to get more money, BIG money, and fast.”

“Well, ‘fast’ is right up your alley, Pietro,” Lance remarked. “If you come up with anything, let us know, but _don’t_ go off on your own to do it.”

“Yeah, man,” Todd said, looking at the lean, white-haired boy. “You may be a conceited arrogant jerk, but that don’t mean we wanna see you in singing prison songs in a cage, y’know?”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” Pietro assured him, grabbing his bookbag. “I’ll see you guys at school.” He was gone before they could blink.

“He’d better not get stupid about this,” Lance muttered. “Come on, let’s get going.”

--

Not a bad haul, and I’ve only been here five minutes, Todd thought as he happily thumbed through the two wallets he’d managed to lift in the busy hallway before first bell. The first one only had ten dollars in it, but the other had twenty-six. It wouldn’t pay the water bill, but it would feed them for a day. If Fred didn’t eat too much.

“What’s that you’ve got there?” a German-accented voice inquired just before the wallets disappeared from his hand. “TWO wallets? And neither one of them yours. Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

Todd turned to glare at the thorn in his side known as Kurt Wagner. They had fought before, when Todd trespassed in the X mansion. The outcome had been a draw, since both boys nearly died in the Danger Room.

And now Wagner had their food money.

Todd’s green slimy tongue shot out to try and snatch the wallets from Kurt’s grip,
but Kurt held fast to them, struggling against the powerful muscle that was Todd’s tongue.

“Are you crazy, Tolensky?!” Kurt hissed, trying to shield the tongue from public view with his own body. “The hallway is filled! Someone will see you!”

“Don’ care!” Todd answered, his voice slightly garbled from not having his tongue free. “G’me da muddy!”

Although his tail was hidden by the holographic inducer he wore, Kurt could still use it. Grimacing in pure disgust, he wound his tail around Todd’s outstretched tongue. With Kurt pulling from two sources now, Todd couldn’t hold on and he knew it. He readied his powerful legs in preparation for kicking Kurt full-force in the stomach, hoping the surprise would make him let go.

Over the intercom came Principal Darkholme’s voice, “Will Todd Tolensky,
Lance Alvers, Pietro Maximoff, and Fred Dukes please report to the Principal’s office immediately? Thank you.”

Todd didn’t realize that he’d loosened the hold with his tongue when the announcement came on and Kurt jerked the wallets from him, darting away down the hall. No doubt to return them to their owners.

Pietro appeared next to Todd. “Did you hear what I heard?”

“Yeah,” Todd said grumpily. “And Mystique’s timing really stinks.”

“Well, you oughta know about things that stink,” Pietro remarked. “Come on, let’s go.”



Part 4

Lance scowled as he leaned against the office wall. He didn’t appreciate this summons from Mystique. She had abandoned them, and as far as he was concerned, she should just leave them alone.

Fred didn’t look any happier than he did, but he _did_ look worried. Lance wasn’t worried. Mystique couldn’t do any more to them than she already had.

Pietro zipped into the office and looked around. “Mystique’s not here?”

“She stepped out as soon as I got here,” Fred told him. “Said she’d be right back.”

Todd hopped in and leapt up to perch atop a filing cabinet, grumbling, “Gonna get that furry demon boy, yep, I am ….”

“What’s the matter with you?” Lance asked.

“I had _two_ wallets in my hand, yo,” Todd lamented. “But that brat Nightcrawler ripped ‘em off!”

“He stole them from _you_?” Pietro said in surprise.

“Probably gave them back already, huh?” Fred asked.

“Doubtless,” Todd muttered.

“Well, great,” Lance said in annoyance. “Can’t those do-gooders even let us eat?”

Mystique, in her guise as Principal Raven Darkholme, walked into the office. She took note that all four boys were present, then shut the door.

“Thank you for coming,” she said, walking over to lean back against her desk, changing into her normal blue-skinned, redhaired form as she did so. “I’ll get right to the point, boys. I’ve been worried about you, and how you’re getting along.”

“You have,” Lance said flatly.

“Yes, I have,” Mystique insisted. “I know Magneto isn’t providing any money for you – you must be running low on everything, and – “

“We’re fine,” Lance retorted curtly.

Mystique sighed. This was already going badly, but she was determined not to give up. “The real reason I asked you all here is because I want to extend an invitation. I want you to move into the X mansion with me.”

The four boys were momentarily stunned into silence. Pietro regained the power of speech first.

“You’ve gotta be kidding, lady.”

“Of course she’s kidding, yo,” Todd said. “Are we supposed to start laughing now?”

“Mystique, why are you doing this?” Fred asked with a frown. “It’s not enough that you dumped us – now you gotta make fun of us?”

Mystique gasped. “Fred, I’m not doing that, I swear!” She moved to his side and touched his massive arm. “I’m afraid for the four of you, all alone in that dump with no money or adults around.”

“Where was all this concern when you LEFT?!” Lance demanded, and Mystique felt the barest hint of a tremor under her feet.

“Lance, calm down,” she said, looking into his dark, angry eyes. “I’m going to tell you the truth. I feel terrible for leaving without you, but I’ve changed since then. Being with my family and the other kids at the Institute has made me see things differently, and I know what’s most important now.” She looked around at all the boys. “I was an unfeeling bitch to you when we were together, I know that. If you’ll give me another chance and come home with me, I promise you won’t regret it.”

“I’m already regretting just coming to this office,” Lance snapped and strode forward to stand in front of her. “Give me one good reason why we should believe anything that comes outta your lying mouth.”

“Because social services is probably going to descend upon you at any moment given the conditions you’re living in,” Mystique said frankly. “Are you that eager to go back into state foster care, Lance?”

The boy winced and Mystique had to steel herself against feelings of guilt. She was hitting him where it hurt and she knew it.

“I’d rather go to jail, if that’s what it comes to,” Lance finally answered. “But that’s not gonna happen. Anyone who tries to take us away will have a fight on their hands.” He sneered at Mystique. “Anyway, what are you offering that’s any different from a foster home?”

“A _permanent_ home, for as long as you want to stay there. With your friends and other mutant children. Adults who have been through it all and are willing to help you understand and control your powers and who actually care about
_you_.” She put her hand on his forearm. “Starting with me.”

He knocked her hand away. “Don’t touch me, Mystique,” he said. “Don’t talk to me anymore, just forget I exist – should be easy, you’ve done it once already.” Lance turned and walked out of the office. The other boys followed in silence.

All right, Mystique thought resignedly. The direct approach didn’t work for
me – let’s hope the kids have better luck.

--

“So that’s the way it is, huh?” Rogue remarked as she adjusted the books in her arms. “Mama blew it.”

Kurt shrugged. “She said she tried, but they wouldn’t listen. Lance especially seemed opposed, and the others followed his lead.”

“So the best idea is divide an’ conquer, huh?” Rogue nodded. “Could work. You know what boys are like when they’re all in a group.”

“Ja – hey, wait a minute! _I’m_ a boy!”

“My sympathies,” Rogue replied, patting her brother on the shoulder. “Ah’ll see what Ah can do.”

“Same here, I guess,” Kurt said, pouting. “Although I don’t think it’s necessarily a good idea to bring them into the X Mansion.”

Rogue looked at him, astonished. “Kurt Wagner, you oughta be ashamed of yerself! Why shouldn’t they have the same opportunities _you_ do?”

“Aw, come on, Rogue!” Kurt protested. “You can’t tell me you can honestly see guys like Lance or the Toad sitting down to breakfast with us, participating in training sessions, or actually obeying a curfew, can you?”

Rogue folded her arms. “_Ah_ was in the Brotherhood, Kurt, and Ah do all those things now.”

“It’s different,” Kurt insisted. “You’re my sister. And the daughter of Wolverine and Mystique. Pietro Maximoff is the son of _Magneto_!”

“Seems to me that means he’s especially in need of protection,” Rogue replied, then sighed. “Anyway, Kurt, if you don’t think yer gonna be able to follow the Professor’s instructions in this one, you’d better go tell Mama or Scott right now so they can fill him in later.”

Kurt frowned. “You know I’ll do it, even if I have doubts. You don’t have to blackmail me.”

“Well, here’s yer chance to prove it.” Rogue nodded down the hall, where Todd Tolensky was approaching his locker.

Kurt groaned. “Why couldn’t it be anyone but Todd?”

No one ever said being an X-Man was easy, little brother,” Rogue told him. “Come on – Ah’ll go with you. Maybe if we double-team him, we’ll have a better chance.”

--

Todd opened his locker and fished out his physics book. He still couldn’t believe Mystique’s nerve.

“Hey, Todd.”

He turned away from the locker to face Rogue and found Kurt there as well. “Can’t say I approve of the company you’re keepin’ these days, Rogue,” he said.

“I love you, too,” Kurt snapped, and Rogue elbowed him sharply. “Ow!”

“Todd, Ah wanna talk to you,” Rogue said. She wasn’t one to beat around the bush. “Ah know Mystique spoke to you earlier and Ah know what about.”

Todd looked at her suspiciously. “Yeah, she talked, we listened. So what?”

“So what are you gonna do about what she said?” Rogue pressed.

“What do you think we’re gonna do, yo?” Todd closed his locker. “Nothin’.”

Rogue leaned against the lockers. “Did you even think about it?”

“What’s to think about?” Todd replied, staring at her. “You know what she’s suggesting? It’s crazy!”

“_You’re_ crazy if you don’t take her up on it!” Kurt told him impatiently. “Do you like living in a dump so much?” He rolled his eyes and threw up his hands. “Look who I’m asking!”

“Hey, man, the Brotherhood house ain’t that bad!” Todd protested. “It’s cozy.”

“It’s a hovel,” Rogue stated. “And don’t tell me it ain’t, ‘cause Ah lived in the joint with you before it quite reached ‘hovel’ status, but it was getting there!”

“So what?” Todd dug his finger into his ear absently. “We’re okay there.”

“But you could be better. You could be sleeping in a warm bed, in a house with heat and running water, good food every day regular ….”

“And rules and adults yelling at you and curfews and grounding and spanking – “ Todd continued.

“Yer exaggerating now,” Rogue interrupted.

“He is?” Kurt asked.

“The Professor doesn’t yell, Kurt. And he’s _never_ spanked anyone!”

“That’s probably just because we can all outrun him,” Kurt said wryly. “And besides, Mother and Father – “

“Anyhow,” Rogue said quickly, “you should really consider coming to live with us, Todd. Yeah, there are rules, but they’re not unreasonable, and they’ll teach you to use yer powers to yer best advantage.”

“I already do that,” Todd said smugly. “We all do. We don’t need no trainin’.”

‘What about love?” Kurt asked quietly. “Everyone needs that.”

Todd laughed. “You sayin’ that if I move in with you, we’re gonna suddenly be all buddy-buddy?”

Kurt gnashed his fangs. “It could happen.”

“In your dreams, Wookie-Boy!” Todd made his way down the hall through the other students, leaving them behind.

“At least we tried,” Rogue said, watching him go. “An’ Ah’m not givin’ up, either. Mama’s right, they’ll be dead or in jail in a month if we don’t get ‘em outta there.” She gave Kurt a grateful smile. “Thanks for helping out at the end. Ah know it cost you.”

“Probably more than you know.” Kurt sighed.

--

This was going to be tough.

Evan really didn’t want to approach Pietro Maximoff. They had always been competitors, but had never actually been enemies until Pietro framed him for vandalism and later joined the Brotherhood. Now their rivalry was more heated than ever.

And he was about to invite Pietro to live with him.

May as well get it over with, he thought, and walked toward the blonde boy. “Hey, Pietro.”

One moment he was looking at the back of Pietro’s head, the next they were face-to-face, and Evan never saw the other boy move. “What do you want, Daniels?”

Looking at that perpetual smirk, Evan seriously doubted he could go through with this, but he was determined to try. “I want to talk to you about something.”

“Make it fast,” Pietro told him. “I haven’t got all day.”

“Don’t worry, this won’t take long.” I hope, Evan thought. He took a deep breath. “It’s about what Mystique said to you.”

Pietro cocked an eyebrow. “You know about that, huh? Well, no worries, Daniels – I wouldn’t live with you or the other X-geeks on a bet.”

Evan steeled himself against Pietro’s attitude, but it wasn’t easy. “Why not?” he asked. “What are you afraid of?”

“Afraid?” Pietro said in surprise, then laughed. “When have I been afraid of anything, ever?”

“Since now,” Evan replied. “You’re afraid to give the Institute a chance. Afraid they might actually have stuff to teach you.”

“There’s nothing I need to learn that they can teach me,” Pietro said, shouldering his bag. “I don’t need anyone.”

“Fine, but you need to eat, and if you stay where you are now, you’re either gonna starve or be thrown in Juvie Hall, and _this_ time you won’t be getting out so easily.”

Pietro scowled. “I don’t need to steal. The guys are providing just fine.”

“Okay, so _they’ll_ go to Juvie Hall.” Evan shrugged. “You’ll just be taken away by Child Welfare.”

“Nobody can catch me and you know it!” Pietro snapped.

“Do you really want to live as a fugitive?” Evan said pointedly. “Always moving from place to place, trying to keep ahead of them, never settling down?”

“I’m never stationary for long, anyway,” Pietro retorted. “You’ll have to do better than that.”

Evan snorted. “I’m not gonna beg you, man. If you don’t know a good thing when you hear it, you’re the one who’ll suffer, not me.” He shrugged. “Frankly, I don’t think it would work, anyway.”

“What do you mean by that?!”

“Think about it, Maximoff,” Evan said, tapping his head. “You’re a troublemaker. We don’t need that at the Institute. See you around, loser.” He walked away, wondering if reverse-psychology really worked. Even if it didn’t, he smiled privately, it had been fun trying.


Part 5

“Fred, will you just stop long enough to hear me out?!”

“I heard you. I’m tired of hearing you. Go away.”

Jean grit her teeth and stopped chasing after Fred Dukes. It was embarrassing and humiliating after all, and people in the hallway were already starting to snicker. Fortunately, Fred was so intent on avoiding her that he didn’t seem to have noticed. If he did, the results would be disastrous at best. Still, she _did_ need to talk to him. Holding out her hand, she concentrated on keeping his feet still with her telekinesis.

When Fred tried to take another step, he came close to toppling over, but managed to regain his balance just in time. To everyone else, it looked like he just stopped short, so nothing unusual was thought of it.

“That’s cheating,” Fred told her when she’d caught up to him.

“Whatever works,” Jean replied. “You wouldn’t listen when I asked you to stop.”

“Wouldn’t your Professor get awful upset about you using your powers in school?!”

“He’ll be more upset if you don’t listen to me,” Jean said. “Please, Fred, at least take a moment to consider coming with me and living in the X mansion.”

“Why should I?” Fred demanded. “You didn’t want me around, why should your stupid friends?”

“We’ve been over this before,” Jean said, trying hard to be patient. “I wanted to be your friend, but you took it too far when you kidnapped me.”

“Boy, you people sure hold grudges.”

Jean sighed. “The point _is_, Fred, that you’ll have lots of friends if you come live in the Institute. Plus you’ll be safe, and –“

Fred laughed heartily. “Safe? I’m already in the safest place there is _if_ that’s really something to worry about, which for me it isn’t. No one’s gonna try and bust into the Brotherhood house and leave intact.”

“There are other aspects to safety,” Jean continued. “Such as knowing you’re in a safe _house_. The four of you are going to end up getting sick or hurt and _that’s_ if Social Services allows you all to stay there much longer.”

“Stop trying to scare me!” Fred yelled at her.

“I’m not trying to scare you, you’re just living in a scary situation!” Jean exclaimed. “Fred, you of all people, are not going to be able to survive long on what food you can steal, and when you _do_ steal, sooner or later you’ll get caught, like Pietro did.”

“Pietro ain’t stealing, we won’t let him,” Fred told her. “Look, class is gonna start soon, and it’s at the other end of the school, so do you mind letting me go now?”

Reluctantly, Jean released his feet from her telekinetic hold. “Will you at least think about what I said?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Fred replied and lumbered away. Somehow, Jean doubted he’d taken her seriously.

--

Scott looked at Kitty. Kitty looked at Scott. They both looked to where Lance Alvers was getting a drink at the fountain.

“You want _me_ to go first?” Kitty said dubiously. “What makes you think he’ll listen to me?”

“You know he has a soft spot for you,” Scott told her in a whisper. “And I’ve seen you two walking to class together, laughing. You’re almost friends.”

“Stress that ‘almost’,” Kitty replied. “And I’ve never tried to talk him into doing something we already know he doesn’t want to do.”

“Give it a try anyway. I’ll come back you up if things get sticky.”

Kitty sighed. Lance was wiping his mouth and walking away now – she
couldn’t wait any longer.

“Hey Lance!” she called and jogged after him while Scott ducked behind the corner.

Lance paused and waited for her to catch up to him. “Hi Kitty.” He smiled, looking genuinely pleased to see her. “What’s up?”

“Oh, you know, nothing much,” she said, hugging her books to her chest. “What class are you going to?”

“My next one,” Lance joked.

Kitty grinned. Despite the things that had happened between them at their old school in Illinois, being around Lance could sometimes be fun. “Well, you’re going in my direction. Mind if I walk with you?”

“’Course not.”

Scott slipped out from behind the corner and began tailing the pair, ducking behind any convenient hiding place he could find along the way in case Lance turned around.

“Things have been really weird since we left Illinois, huh?” Kitty remarked casually. “It’s funny enough that we both ended up here, but on different sides.”

“Yeah,” Lance agreed. “But there wasn’t any other way it could have gone after everything came down.”

“You mean after our _school_ came down?” Kitty looked at him. “You sorta destroyed it, Lance.”

“That wasn’t my original plan, you know.”

“I remember your original plan,” Kitty said. “We probably shouldn’t talk about it.”

Lance shrugged. “Sure.”

They walked in silence for a couple of minutes, and Kitty realized she’d better get with it or Scott would step in.

“Lance,” she said slowly, “I know why Mystique wanted to see you.”

“Oh yeah?” he replied. “So be honest – isn’t it the dumbest idea you’ve ever heard?”

“No, it isn’t,” Kitty looked at him. “I think it’s a great idea.”

Lance shook his head in disbelief. “Aw, come on, Kitty, look at it from our point of view. We’ve been fighting against the X-Men all this time, why should we suddenly change our way of thinking and follow Mystique?”

“You trusted her once – if you trust her again you won’t be sorry,” Kitty said. “Lance, did you know that when the Professor came to Illinois for me, he also came for you? But Mystique got to you first.”

“No, I didn’t know that,” he admitted.

“Well, it’s true,” Kitty told him. “You might have been with me at the Institute from day one.” She grinned mischievously. “Then it would be YOU trying to convince Pietro, Todd, and Fred to join us.”

“You assume that I would fit in at the Institute,” Lance pointed out. “I wouldn’t. None of us would.”

“How do you know until you try it? _Rogue_ fit in there, and she was with the Brotherhood. And Mystique had some _real_ adjusting to do, but she had the guts to try.”

Lance stopped walking and looked at her, his eyes angry. “Are you suggesting I’m afraid?”

“You tell me,” Kitty challenged. “You have _nothing_ to gain by staying at the Brotherhood house, but you could have a whole new _better_ life at the Institute.” She touched his arm. “I’ll help you, Lance. Give me a chance.”

For a brief instant, it looked like Lance was actually considering her offer. Then he caught sight of something behind her and frowned. “Forget it, Kitty. I’d like to be with you – you’re the only one outside the Brotherhood I consider a friend. But there are just too many more reasons why I can’t.” He walked away at a pace he knew she couldn’t keep up with.

“I think he saw me.”

Kitty turned toward Scott and sighed. “Was that it?” She looked back in the direction Lance took. “I thought I had him there, Scott.”

The older X-Man patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’re not giving up.”

--

“The children are home,” Professor X said to Logan and Ororo just before the door burst open and their young charges began piling in.

“How was school?” Ororo asked her nephew as she kissed his cheek.

“All right, I guess, but Pietro Maximoff is still the most irritating, self-absorbed big mouth on the face of the planet,” Evan replied.

“I gather you had no luck with him, Evan?” the Professor said.

“We had no luck, period,” Scott admitted. “None of us.”

“The Brotherhood just won’t listen,” Jean sighed.

“No big loss,” Kurt muttered.

“Elf,” Logan said warningly.

“No man, he’s right!” Evan declared. “If Pietro comes in here, he’s gonna be rude and obnoxious – he’s not gonna follow rules or show any respect – “

“He’ll learn,” Logan told him.

“And if he doesn’t like it here, he’ll be free to leave,” the Professor said. “But first we must get he and the others here so they can see what it’s really like, and so they’ll be safe.”

Mystique came in, still looking like Principal Darkholme. As soon as the door shut behind her, she shapeshifted to her true blue-skinned form and searched the faces of everyone present. “They said no, didn’t they?” she said, making it sound more like a statement than a question.

“Don’t worry about it, Mysti,” Logan told her. “They just got started.”

“That’s right, Mystique,” Scott assured her. “We won’t stop until they agree to give it a try.”

She smiled gratefully. “I knew it was going to be tough when they left my office, but I still held out hope. I can continue to hope a while longer.”

Kurt turned toward Evan. “Will I be a terrible person if I hope they don’t come?” he whispered.

“If you are, then I am,” Evan replied flatly.



part 6

Pietro grimaced at the tv as he flipped past channel after channel. He seemed to be just doing it for the heck of it, but he could actually register every flash and whether each was worth watching or not. They weren’t. They wouldn’t have cable at all if Todd hadn’t known how to redirect it illegally. And after all that effort, nothing to watch. What a drag.

“Anything on?” Fred asked as he entered the room.

“Nah, nadda, zilch, zip, negative,” Pietro answered and tossed the remote to him. “You can look if you want.”

Todd hopped into the room followed by Lance. “You guys do your homework?” the older mutant asked.

“Yes, Daddy,” Fred replied. “Why?”

“Because if you don’t, Mystique will call you into her office again and she won’t talk homework.”

“Good point, yo,” Todd said. “Not that Mystique’s working alone on this.”

“Yeah, I had Daniels harassing me today, and this is a guy who doesn’t care less about me – he even said he’d be glad if I didn’t go,” Pietro said.

“Sounded like Blue Boy was pretty much thinking the same thing,” Todd agreed. “Ol’ Roguey tried to convince me otherwise.”

“So did Jean,” Fred admitted. “I know what kind of hypocrite she is, though.”

Lance dropped into a chair. “Kitty talked to me, too, but I saw Summers spying on us, so she was being coached.” He shrugged. “Let’s just forget it. Hey, how’d you guys do with our other problem? I got some from machines, brought some food in, too. Only snacks, though – that’s pretty much all you can get from the machines around here.”

“I lifted a couple of wallets, but you already know what happened there.” Todd shook his head. “No fair, man.”

“I shook down a couple of wimps,” Fred said. “They didn’t have more than eleven bucks between them.”

“Well, damn,” Lance said with a sigh. “Petty theft just ain’t what it used to be.”

“Guess I’ll go to bed, nothing else to do, and maybe I won’t think about being hungry.” Pietro started to speed out of the room in his usual way, but the lights went off suddenly and the other three heard a loud smack in the darkness. “OW!”

“You okay, man?” Lance got up, peering around, seeing nothing.

“No!” Pietro exclaimed. “Would you be okay if you ran into a doorway going faster than the eye can see?!”

“What’s with the lights?” Fred’s voice could be heard. “It’s not even rainy out, no interference or nothing.”

“I’ll bet the company turned them off,” Todd commented. “We got three notices of non-payment already.”

Lance sighed. “Todd, you’ve got better night-vision than we do. Go get the flashlight from the kitchen so we can at least get upstairs and go to bed. We’ll worry about the light bill tomorrow.”

--

Something stank. Lance came half out of his sleep-drugged consciousness and coughed. Something really stank badly. Probably his roommate, Fred, had let one go in his sleep again, turning the bedroom into a literal gas chamber. Lance coughed again and opened his eyes, then regretted it as they instantly began to tear. Something was thudding repeatedly on the roof – was Todd hopping around up there?

The smell wasn’t dissipating. If anything it was worse. Lance sat up, preparing to heave a pillow at Fred’s head for trapping him like this, when he was suddenly seized by a coughing fit. His eyes didn’t just water now, they burned, and the strong smell had turned acrid and asphyxiating.

Oh God, he realized suddenly. There was a FIRE in the house!

“Fred!” he yelled, scrambling out of bed. He grabbed the other boy’s arm and shook it. “Fred, wake up! Fire!”

“Wha - ?!” Fred started coughing before he could ask Lance what was happening. He tried to maneuver himself out of bed. “What’s that noise?!” he cried as the thudding became rumbling. It seemed to be all around them.

“I’m not sticking around to find out!” Lance coughed and stumbled to the door in the dark. He was about to open it when he remembered to test it first with his hand. Not hot. He jerked the door open and ran out into the hall.

It was like being delivered into a waking nightmare. The smoke was so thick he couldn’t breathe. “Fred, come on, HURRY!” he yelled and began pounding on the other bedroom door. “Pietro!” he shouted to be heard over the rumbling that was now becoming a steady roar. “Todd! Fire! Come on!”

The door opened instantly and Todd stood there, wide-eyed and frightened. “I can’t wake Pietro up!” he cried. “He won’t open his eyes! I ain’t sure he’s breathing, Lance!”

The older boy ran in and realized quickly that Todd was right. He couldn’t tell in the dark if Pietro was breathing or not, but he sure wasn’t waking up. He pulled the slender blonde up over his shoulder. “Get out of here, Todd, go!” he ordered. “Fred, you too, hurry!”

Todd didn’t hesitate and sprang down the hallway in gigantic leaps, coughing and wiping his eyes. Fred was coughing, too, but when part of the ceiling collapsed over them, he still caught the beams and kept them in the air so Lance could pass under with Pietro.

“Watch the banister!” Todd bellowed from the staircase. “It’s on fire! Hurry up, you guys! It’s all over the place!”

“Todd, get OUT!” Lance yelled. “Don’t wait for us!” His throat was closing in on him and his eyes hurt so much he could barely force them open. Not that it mattered – the fire provided the only light to see by, and the heat radiating from it hurt his eyes as much as the smoke.

Their progress down the hall had taken too long - the staircase was almost totally engulfed in flames. Lance couldn’t see Todd anymore and hoped he’d followed his orders and left the house. At least one of them would make it.

“Lance, gimme Pietro!” Fred commanded and then Lance felt Pietro’s weight leave him. Almost instantly, he fell to his knees – he was blacking out.

“Fred,” he wheezed, trying to tell him to get Pietro to safety. Barely conscious, he felt himself being lifted and thrown over Fred’s shoulder, the force of impact nearly making him vomit.

Then they were moving. Quickly. From his backwards, upside-down position, Lance saw the fire – Fred had to be running through it, carrying both he and Pietro. Fred was nearly invulnerable to impact, but did his mutant power include resistance to fire?

Fred gave a shout as he burst out the front door. Lance felt a blast of cool air and shivered involuntarily.

“Fred!” Todd was practically screaming. “You okay?! Are _they_ okay?!”

Fred grunted something that sounded like, “I’m fine,” and deposited both boys on the ground. Fighting the blackness that seemed determined to overwhelm him, Lance looked over in time to see Todd pounce on Pietro and plant his mouth on the unconscious boy’s. Oh _man_, Todd, it’s no time for _that_! he thought through a fuzzy haze.

“Lance!” Fred was saying from his other side. “Breathe, man, get fresh air into your lungs!”

Lance tried to inhale and began to cough instead. Todd was pushing on Pietro’s chest now – what the hell was he doing? Past them, Lance could see the house – their house. A solid wall of flame.

A siren came from far away.

“Gotta … go,” he gasped, struggling to suck air in and sit up at the same time. “Social Services … Child Welfare ….”

Dizziness overwhelmed him and he collapsed, unconsciousness finally claiming him.


part 7


When Lance next opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a monstrous, blue, hairy, fanged face just inches above his own. His eyes widened and he tried to scream, only to find an oxygen mask contained most of the sound.

“Professor, Lance is awake,” the monster said in a shockingly familiar voice. “Lance, I’m Mr. McCoy, your chemistry teacher. I’m a mutant, too, and I live here at the Xavier Institute. I wear a holographic inducer like Kurt’s at school.”

This … animal … was Mr. McCoy? Lance tried to get his mind around that while registering the rest of what he’d said. “I’m in the Institute?” his voice sounded weird through the mask.

“The four of you were taken to the hospital first, but in view of your being mutants, we felt it would be safer for you to be here in our infirmary. The Professor had a friend on the inside arrange transfer immediately. We couldn’t risk them putting a stethoscope to Pietro’s chest and hearing his heart beat 28 times a second, now could we?” Hank knew the poor kid had to be afraid and confused, even if he’d fight not to show it. He glanced toward Charles, who moved up alongside Lance’s bed.

“Lance, I’m Charles Xavier, and this is my Institute. You and your friends are welcome to stay here as long as you like.”

“Are they okay?” Lance asked, ignoring the offer for the time being.

“Fred is fine – his power kept him from harm. Todd suffered from smoke inhalation and a couple of minor burns. He gave Pietro mouth-to-mouth and CPR at the scene and saved his life – he’s breathing on his own now, and his heart rate is back to his norm, although he has yet to regain consciousness.” The Professor sighed. “With the way Pietro’s body operates, the smoke affected his system much faster than it would anyone else. It was fortunate you all got him out when you did.”

Remembering the flames surrounding them, Lance couldn’t help but agree. He coughed, grimacing. He didn’t like the mask. “Can I take this off soon?” he complained.

“Hmm, you can probably try going without it now.” Hank removed it and gave him a pointed look. “But you let me know if you find yourself short of breath, understand?”

Lance nodded, grateful to be free of the obstruction. Now he could prop himself up on his elbows and look around. Pietro and Todd were on beds nearby. Todd seemed to be sleeping peacefully without an oxygen mask, but Pietro still wore one, and was hooked up to monitors besides. One of them beeped at a speed that was all but incessant. “Is that his heart going like that?” he muttered.

“Yes, and I believe that’s normal for him,” Hank answered. “Amazing, isn’t it?”

“Where’s Fred?”

“We offered him a regular room,” the Professor answered. “He didn’t need to be in here, but he seemed tired. None of you got much sleep.”

“What time is it?” Lance frowned. It was weird, not having any sense of where or when he was.

“Almost six in the morning. The fire was estimated to have begun around midnight,” said the Professor. “The children will be up in another hour. You may stay in here longer if you wish, or you may get some more sleep in a regular room like Fred. If you’d rather stay up, you may join us for breakfast.”

“I want a shower,” Lance said. If he had to face the X-geeks sometime in the next little while, he at least didn’t want to smell of smoke.

“Certainly. As soon as you feel comfortable up and walking, you may use the bathroom here in the infirmary.”

Hank nodded. “Don’t lock the door. I’d rather you weren’t too far away from help this first time, in case the hot water makes you feel faint.”

Lance was about to give a snappy retort to say that he wasn’t THAT weak, but a wave of dizziness passed over him and he bit back the words. “Uh, okay.”

He took it slowly, but within half an hour, Lance had showered and changed – although he was uncomfortably aware that the clothes were probably Scott’s, since the fire destroyed everything he had. Hank insisted on checking his vitals one last time before allowing him to follow the Professor into the heart of the mansion.

“This will be your room,” the Professor told him, moving aside so Lance could enter.

Although he’d known from Pietro and Todd that the place was plush, he hadn’t known the bedrooms were palatial. They were huge! There was a fireplace and a balcony with French doors – it was like a suite in a fancy hotel.

“Thanks,” he said guardedly. “But I don’t know how long I’ll be staying.”

“It’s yours for as long as you want it,” the Professor said. “Lance, look at me.”

Aw, _man_! Why did grownups always pull this stuff? Reluctantly, he
turned to look down into the Professor’s eyes. This guy was the most powerful telepath in the world. He could be reading his mind at any time and there was nothing he could do about it.

“I want you to feel comfortable here, but that is something which can only come with time,” Professor Xavier told him. “You know Mystique wanted you here – right now Logan is barely able to hold her back from coming to see you all, but is doing so at my request. I want you to know she’s not the only one. You’re very welcome here.”

Lance had forgotten about Mystique. He wasn’t crazy about having to listen to her lie about how much she missed them and how she cared. Adults never meant crap like that. Even the Professor was probably just repeating the same spiel he always used. Like the other foster homes he’d been in, the ones in charge made money off having him stay. Hell, with all his kids, the Professor was cleaning up in _that_ department.

“Yeah, thanks,” Lance replied, figuring he’d play along for now. The main thing was to get Pietro up and around before they could make any decisions about where to go.

“I’m going to tell the children what happened as soon as they’re up,” the Professor continued. “Breakfast is at eight – you may occupy yourself however you wish until then.”

Lance watched him leave and wondered, now what? He was curious about the rest of the house, but didn’t want to run into the other kids as they started getting up. They might think he was there to cause trouble and attack him outright – he wasn’t physically up to a fight yet.

Resignedly, he shut the bedroom door and headed for the bed. Maybe he’d just get another hour’s sleep while he could.



Part 8

Did we do something wrong?” Rogue whispered to Kurt as they sat down on the sofa and waited for the rest to arrive.

“I don’t know,” he admitted, rubbing his yellow eyes. “I can’t imagine any other reason for a family meeting right after getting up.”

The Professor nodded toward Hank as he entered. “That’s everyone then. How’s Pietro, Hank?”

“I am gratified to say that he has regained consciousness,” Hank reported. “He was showing signs of stability returning overall – I don’t want to leave him alone too long in case he attempts to get up too quickly.”

“Professor,” Scott said, looking confused. “Why is Pietro here? What happened?”

“The Brotherhood house burned down last night,” he replied.

Kitty gasped. “Oh no! The boys - ?!”

“They’re all here and are doing well. Only Pietro’s condition remained a concern, but fortunately he seems to be recovering.”

“Man … and I was just arguing with him yesterday,” Evan said in disbelief. Ororo put an arm around him.

“What caused the fire, Professor?” Jean asked. “Do they know yet?”
“Yes, it was an electrical fire,” the Professor answered.

Logan snorted. “Considering the condition that joint was in, I’m not surprised.”

Professor Xavier nodded. “Indeed. Fred confirmed that the lights went out just before they went to bed, but they thought it to be the fault of the power company cutting them off.”

“Mystique, are you okay?” Scott asked her. Everyone looked toward the blue woman, who sat by Logan, her hand in his.

“I’m dying to go running up there to see them,” she admitted. “Charles and Hank felt they should have a little time to adjust first.” She sighed, shaking her head. “I just wish they had listened to us yesterday – they would have been spared the terror of the fire.”

“Things happen for a reason, Mystique,” Ororo said gently. “Because of the fire, the boys are all here, which is what we wanted. Now we need only make sure they feel welcome.” She glanced down significantly at her nephew, who looked wounded.

“Hey, Auntie O, you don’t think I’d really be mean to a guy who nearly died, do you?”

She smiled and kissed his cheek. “Of course not.”

“They’re going to need clothing,” Jean said.

“Yes, and we’ve already borrowed some from the clean laundry,” the Professor said. “Scott, Evan, Kurt, your clothes will fit Lance, Pietro, and Todd until we’re able to get them some of their own after breakfast. We’ve nothing ready-made that will fit Fred, but Ororo is sewing something basic that he can wear in the interim.”

“And I’d better get back to it or the poor boy will have to wear a sheet like a toga.” Ororo stood up. “I should be done by breakfast so he can join us all there. I’ll see you then.”

“Thank you, Ororo,” Mystique said.

The beautiful blonde woman nodded and smiled, then left the room.

“You may all go now and get ready for breakfast,” Professor Xavier said.

Jean glanced at Scott as everyone got up to go. “What are you thinking?” she asked.

“Can’t you tell?” he joked.

She gave him a Look. “Very funny.”

He chuckled and then sighed. “I was just thinking this was going to be weird.”

She nodded. “You’re not kidding.”

--

“Will you please hold still?”

“I’m tired of being still! I was unconscious for hours – I’ve been still long enough!”

Hank rolled his eyes skyward and prayed for patience. Young Pietro was undoubtedly the most difficult person he’d ever attempted to treat. He’d been fine … until he woke up. Then he was so impatient to get out of the I.V.s and monitors that he very nearly pulled the connections off himself until Hank stopped him and did it properly. Now there was no holding him back.

“All right,” Hank surrendered. “I guess if you’re well enough to fight me, then you’re well enough to get up.”

“Great!” Pietro jumped off the bed.

“Yahoo, the prisoner is sprung, yo!” Todd declared from where he’d been watching on his own bed. He leapt from there to land at the entrance to the infirmary just as Lance and Fred appeared there. “Hey boys! Pietro’s back on his feet!”

As if to prove it, Pietro sped to Todd’s side, grinning. “Time to blow this pop stand!”

“I can’t go anywhere,” Fred told him, spreading out his arms to indicate his outfit. It was a very basic tunic and a pair of shorts. “This is all I got to wear right now. The white-haired woman threw it together so I could go downstairs, and later they’re gonna get clothes for us all, but I don’t wanna go anywhere in it until I have to.”

“Besides, where would we go?” Lance said in a grumble. He hadn’t been able to sleep earlier because he’d been tossing and turning, wondering what their options were. The depressing conclusion was that they had none. “The Brotherhood house wasn’t much, but at least it was a place to crash. We don’t even have _that_ anymore. And Child Welfare will pick us up in no time if we try living on the streets.”

“Who wants to do that, anyway?” Pietro made a face. “Excuse me, but I’m used to a roof over my head, not the top of a cardboard box.”

“I can’t go long without food,” Fred admitted.

“I can live anywhere, even in a dumpster if I gotta,” Todd remarked. “But I ain’t gonna be the one to break up the Brotherhood, so if you guys are staying, I’m with you.”

“So I guess we’re stuck here for now,” Lance sighed.

“That’s the spirit!” Hank joked, clapping Lance on the back, nearly sending him reeling. Two big hands steadied him. “Sorry about that,” he apologized. “But seriously, despite your trepidation, you may discover that your arrival here was most fortuitous.”

“Huh?” Fred said. “Is he speaking English?”

“Nah, he’s speaking Teacher,” Lance answered.

“Hello boys,” Professor Xavier said as he arrived. “Pietro, I’m glad to see you up and around, we were concerned about you.”

“I’m fine,” Pietro replied.

“He is,” Hank concurred. “They have all come through their ordeal physically unscathed.”

“Very good,” the Professor said. “We’re going to have breakfast now, if you would like to accompany me to the dining room.”

“Mmm, breakfast!” Fred said eagerly.

Lance wished he could say that he wasn’t hungry, but the truth was he couldn’t remember the last good meal he’d had. He knew the case was the same for the others, too.

“Let’s go,” he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

--

“They’re coming,” Ororo told everyone as they sat at the dining room table. “Charles just contacted me.”

Mystique sat up straight and grasped Logan’s hand. “Relax,” he told her. “They’re here, the hard part’s over.”

“I’m not so sure,” she said. “They didn’t come by their own free will. They’re trapped by circumstances. I just want them to feel welcome enough so that they decide to stay.”

“Good morning, everyone,” the Professor greeted as he entered the dining room, Hank following. The Brotherhood boys hovered in the doorway uncertainly.

Mystique smiled. “Come in, take a seat.”

“Over here, Lance!” Kitty waved to the eldest boy. He looked relieved to see her and went to take the seat by her. The other boys found seats as well.

“Boys, I’m sorry about what happened,” Mystique said earnestly. “But I’m glad you’re here.”

“Nice o’ you to take us in for now, yo,” Todd remarked.

“You _are_ allowed to stay, you know,” Scott said. “You don’t have to make it sound temporary.”

“We know,” Pietro answered. “We’ll think about it.”

“Where _else_ would you go?” Evan murmured.

“Evan,” Ororo scolded.

“Nah, he’s got a point,” Fred admitted. “We don’t have any other choices now.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Rogue told him. “Yer here and yer welcome here, so shut up.”

Todd grinned. “Roguey hasn’t changed.”

“After breakfast we’ll show you around – there’s a lot to see here,” Jean said.

Kurt looked up, wide-eyed. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“What do you mean?” Jean asked him.

“Well, they just said they might not stay,” Kurt said, not meeting anyone’s eyes. “They were our enemies … you want to show them all the secrets of the mansion to use against us later?”

“What secrets?” Pietro laughed. “Both Todd and I have already been all over this mansion, Blue Boy. You won’t be showing us anything we haven’t seen.”

“Don’t be so sure of that, Pietro,” the Professor told him. “And Kurt, that remark was uncalled for.”

Kurt bit his lip. How humiliating to be rebuked by the Professor in front of Todd Tolensky.

“Look, we ain’t gonna cause any trouble here,” Todd said. “At least, we ain’t gonna use nothing we learn here against you.”

“You didn’t have to help us,” Lance muttered. “We’re not so low that we’d take advantage like that.”

“How about when you needed help at survival camp?” Evan pointed out. “While Scott was busy getting you out, Fred and Pietro took advantage of the distraction to go after the flag.”

“This is different!” Pietro insisted. “You not only took us in, you saved me from being discovered as a mutant at the hospital. So for that, we owe you – no funny stuff.”

“There isn’t any reason for you to consider the X-Men your enemies, anyway,” Mystique said. “I was wrong to do so myself. Give them a chance to show you why.”

“We sorta have to,” Fred said. “Right now, we’re stuck here.”

“Well, there’s always Child Welfare,” Logan growled.

Lance looked up, paling. “No!” he said vehemently, then when he realized everyone was staring, he tried to compose himself. “I mean … don’t call them. Please.”

“We won’t, Lance,” the Professor assured him gently. “Don’t worry.”

There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments, which Kitty finally broke. “Hey, I just thought of something! With you living here, Lance, we can do our Chemistry homework together in the lab!”

“In _my_ lab?!” Hank squeaked.

“It’s _your_ homework!” Kitty reasoned.

Everyone laughed and the awkward moment passed, but Mystique knew she wouldn’t soon forget the panic she’d seen in Lance’s eyes at the mention of Child Welfare.



part 9


The first day together at the Institute didn’t look like it would be an easy adjustment for the Brotherhood _or_ the X-Men.

“Get out get out get OUT!” Jean screamed at Todd as she telekinetically threw him out of the girls’ bathroom and into the opposite wall.

“No reason to get violent, yo,” he muttered, rubbing his head. “How was I s’pose to know anyone was in there?”

“Try looking at the ‘occupied’ sign.” Rogue pointed to it as she stopped beside him. “And anyway, this is the girls’ bathroom – the boys’ is down the hall.”

“Well, shoot, anyone can make a mistake,” Todd grumbled and hopped down the hall toward the other bathroom just in time for Kurt to teleport into the doorway and shut the door in his face.

“Hey!” Todd yelled.

“Neener, neener, neener!” Kurt taunted from inside.

“I hate when he does that,” Todd muttered. “Fuzzy gecko’s gotta die.”

“Todd, are you almost ready?” Mystique asked. “We’re supposed to be
taking you clothes shopping.”

“I _will_ be, if I can ever get in the bathroom!” he complained.


“Clothes shopping?” Kurt said suddenly from behind the door. “May I go, too, Mother?”

“Only if you’re bringing your own money,” Mystique said. “You have plenty of clothes, Kurt.”

“You want your only son to be trendy, don’t you?”

“Did someone say ‘clothes’?” Rogue darted over. “Ah wanna go! The
goth store got a new shipment in, and – “

“Rogue, we need to get clothes for the _boys_,” Mystique said firmly.

“Yeah!” Todd said. “Unless you really want me walkin’ around nekkid, Roguey.”

“Ugh, forget it,” Rogue said scowling.

“Are we goin’ or what?” Lance asked as he came down the hall. Pietro zipped up alongside him.

“As soon as I get in a bathroom, yeah!” Todd complained.

“There’s another one downstairs,” Pietro said helpfully.

“Good thing!” Todd remarked and hopped up onto the banister. “I think
Fuzzball in there needs more fibre in his diet – he’s takin’ forever!”

“Maybe if I didn’t have an _audience_ I’d be faster!” Kurt yelled.

Pietro watched Todd leap off the banister and land neatly on the ground below, then head off in search of the other bathroom. “You think I should have told him that Kitty’s already in there?” he grinned.

--

Lance frowned and looked out the window of the X-van. He’d thought that when Mystique said she was bringing the four of them shopping for clothes that it would be just that – the four of them. He didn’t know that along with Mystique and Logan, that Scott and Jean would be going. The other kids had to sit this trip to the mall out, much to their dismay. Lance was sorry he couldn’t have switched Scott for Kitty – what was he doing here, anyway?

“Here we are,” Mystique said, pulling into a parking space.

“This is just great, yo,” Todd whined. “We get to go shopping with Principal Darkholme.”

“Yeah,” Fred griped. “What if kids from school see us?”

Mystique glanced over her shoulder through the glasses she wore in her principal guise. “Maybe they’ll realize you have an ‘in’ with the principal and will never harass you in school again.”

“Yeahhhh,” Todd said slowly, nodding. “That could work.”

“Hmmm.” Fred looked thoughtful. “Yeah, maybe.”

“Why do _I_ have to be here?” Logan grumbled, arms folded. “I hate the mall.”

“You expect me to supervise an outing with six teenagers alone?” Mystique said in amusement. “Some big brave man you are.”

“Don’t give me that, woman. You could handle an army of teenagers alone.” Logan got out of the van. “Come on, brats, move it.”

“He has such a way with kids, doesn’t he?” Scott grinned at Jean as they left the van.

“I figured it would take four of us to accompany the four of them,” Mystique explained. “They may not want or be able to shop at the same stores.”

“Good point,” Logan allowed, glancing in Fred’s direction. “We’ll have to get that one to ‘Big N’ Tall’.”

“I’ll go with him,” Jean volunteered.

“Where do you shop?” Scott asked Todd.

“Thrift shops, man! Whaddya think – I’m made of money?”

“Forget the thrift shops this time,” Mystique said. “You need a new wardrobe, all of you.”

“How about starting with Christian Dior?” Pietro piped up.

“How about starting with Sears?” Logan said firmly.

--

Half an hour later, Logan was trying to keep from growling out loud. He had lost him again.

With Scott and Jean looking after Todd and Fred, and Mystique having opted to take on Lance, he had been left with Pietro. Or maybe, he thought sourly, left _behind_ by Pietro was more like it.

From the moment they got into the mall, he’d been playing ‘catch up’ with the little speed demon. Every time he got close, the kid would catch sight of another store window he was interested in checking out and was gone again without warning. Then Logan would be stuck trying to locate him by scent, and that would have worked fine except that the boy would move again before he reached him.

“I didn’t know this trip to the mall would end up a training mission in tracking,” Logan muttered, looking left and right. His nose suddenly told him Pietro was close, but he couldn’t see him.

“What’s taking you so long?”

“Rrowrr!” Logan spun around, fists poised to pop his adamantium claws. Pietro was already two feet out of reach, having reacted instantly.

“Whoa, man! A little jumpy, aren’t you?”

“Don’t _ever_ sneak up on me,” Logan warned through gritted teeth. “I nearly sliced you in half.”

“You wouldn’t have touched me,” Pietro said blithely. “Anyway, listen – I’m seeing some stuff I want to look at, and you’re seriously slowing me down.” He threw an arm across Logan’s shoulders before he could stop him. “Here’s the deal – you hate the mall, right? And I hate excess baggage. So you just give me the money and I’ll do my own shopping and you can leave the mall if you want and do your own thing until we have to go back, sound good?”

Just listening to Pietro speak in that rapid-fire way of his could make someone dizzy, Logan mused. And while the white-haired hummingbird could talk circles around most people, he himself wasn’t so easily duped. “I can’t give you the money – it’s credit, and I’m _not_ giving you free access to the Professor’s credit.”

“How come? Don’t trust me?”

“Trust has to be earned, kid,” Logan told him frankly. “Maybe after you’ve shown you _can_ be trusted, things will be different.”

Pietro put his hands on his hips. “And just how am I supposed to do that if you don’t give me a chance?”

“Look, I’m not going to hold a debate with you,” Logan said in annoyance. “We’re going to get you some clothes but you’re going to slow down to _my_ pace, got it?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Pietro retorted. “Be sure to prod me awake every so often. I’m bound to doze off.”

“Sure, kid. I’ll prod your backside with the flat of my hand.” Logan took a firm hold of Pietro’s arm. “But for now, _we’re_ going shopping, whether it kills us both or not.” He started walking away, pulling the slender boy with him.



part 10


“I hope Logan and Pietro are all right,” Mystique remarked as she and Lance left a store.

“Pietro will be fine,” Lance said. “He can cover every store in the mall and be at the exit in less than five seconds.”

“But Logan can’t, and he’s the one with the money,” Mystique pointed out.

“Provided Pietro _waits_ for money,” Lance remarked. “He can do a snatch-and-grab and get out so fast that none of the detectors will even register it.”

Mystique realized that was probably all too true. “Well, he’d better not, because _we’ll_ register it if he shows up with anything that hasn’t been paid for.”

“Tolensky, get BACK here!”

“Try to keep up, yo!”

“Maybe I would if you didn’t leave me carrying everything!” Scott came into view with bags tucked under both arms and two more in his hands. He noticed Mystique and gave her a weary look. “Todd decided he _likes_ shopping.”

“We’re making good time!” Todd came over. “How’re you doing?”

“Pretty well,” Mystique said. “It’s not hard to shop for a kid whose wardrobe consists mainly of jeans and t-shirts.”

Scott chuckled and nodded at Todd. “Him, too.”

“Well, excuse us for not going in for the preppy look,” Lance muttered, eyeing Scott’s decidedly preppy attire.

“Come on, Alvers, we weren’t making fun of you,” Scott said easily. “Don’t be so sensitive.”

“We may as well all head for the drugstore together,” Mystique interrupted. “They’ll need personal items like toothbrushes and all that.”

“I’m not sure Todd uses a toothbrush,” Scott glanced at Todd’s green-toothed grin.

“He will now,” Mystique said firmly. “Which reminds me, we’d better get some strong soap for when we get him into the bath.”

Todd stopped dead. “BATH?!”

“Believe it or not, after awhile you get used to his smell,” Lance said.

“I don’t think we can wait that long,” Mystique said dryly. “I know _I_ never got used to it when I lived with you, and Logan has a very sensitive nose. Only his healing factor keeps him from blacking out around Todd, I’m sure.” She looked down at the green-hued boy. “Besides, you’re not going to put on clean new clothes when you’re filthy.”

“Never said nothin’ about having a _bath_,” Todd complained.

“Hey, everyone!” Jean greeted as she approached with Fred, who was carrying several large bags. “We’re just about done, how about you?”

“We’ve still got to go get stuff in the drugstore.”

“All right, we’ll go with you,” Jean said and smiled at Fred, who blushed.

“Did you model all your new clothes for her, Fred?” Lance said mischievously.

“_No_,” Fred snapped at him.

“Well, some of them he did,” Jean corrected. “Just when he wasn’t sure he liked them.”

Todd and Lance snickered, and Fred casually took a firm step to his right, knocking Lance over on top of Todd.

“I think we asked for that,” Lance groaned.

“Speak for yourself, yo! And get offa me!”

“No sign of Logan and Pietro?” Jean asked.

“I’m afraid not,” Mystique replied. “I just hope they come back together.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Scott said, nodding toward a point behind Mystique. Everyone turned, and the Brotherhood boys started laughing.

Logan was heading their way with a determined stride. Over his shoulder bounced Pietro, whose elbow was braced against Logan’s back as he propped up his chin on his hand. He looked as if he’d been riding that way for a long time.

“Well, you two look like you’ve had fun!” Mystique said, trying not to giggle.

“Oh yeah, I had a ball running after the fastest kid on Earth,” Logan growled.

“And I’ve had a load of laughs being humiliated all over the mall like this!” Pietro snapped.

“Your own fault,” Logan told him. “I warned you not to take off on me, and this is the only way I could always know where you are!”

“Did you actually get any shopping done?” Jean asked.

“Yeah, it’s already out in the van,” Logan said.

“We’re all going to the drugstore to get them toothbrushes and such,” Mystique told him. “Are you coming or did you already take care of that?”

“Are you kidding? At the pace _he_ shops?” Logan asked dryly. “We’ve
done that and everything else. We just came back in to tell you that we’d be out there.”

“Why couldn’t you leave Pietro out in the van instead of carrying him though the mall again?” Fred asked.

“Tried that – he was back inside the mall before I’d even left the van.” Logan glared at the boy over his shoulder. “Believe me, _this_ was the only way. See you all out there.” He turned and walked away, Pietro following not of his own accord.

Scott grinned at Jean. “Is it safe for _us_ to laugh now?”

“I hope so!” she said, and proceeded to do so.

--

Kurt loved his balcony. He could comfortably perch atop the railing and look out over all of Bayville. It was a wonderful view.

“Hey, Kurt!” Rogue greeted as she entered his room. Perfect balance or not, she didn’t want to startle her brother into falling off the wrong side of the railing. She crossed the room and joined him on the balcony, leaning her arms against the railing he crouched on. “Any sign of ‘em yet?” she asked.

“No,” Kurt replied. “Should be soon, though. You know how Father hates the mall.”

“Sure do,” Rogue agreed. She enjoyed the view for a couple of minutes, then looked at her twin. “Kurt … you know, yer going to have to try harder to welcome the boys. They’ve been good so far, and you got scolded by the Professor at breakfast.”

“Don’t remind me,” Kurt groaned, his blue tail twitching behind him.

“Well, that or worse is going to happen again if you don’t shape up.” She turned around and leaned back against the railing. “Besides, Kurt, they ain’t that bad. And don’t you think they deserve some consideration after what they’ve been through? Imagine being in a house afire ….” She shivered. “Gives me the willies just thinking about it.”

“I _am_ sorry for what they’ve been through, Rogue.” Kurt regarded her seriously. “Pietro nearly died – you think I don’t know how serious that was?”

“Then you’ll be nicer to them?”

He sighed. “Yes, of course.”

She patted his arm with her gloved hand. “Thanks, little brother. Now if we can just convince Evan to go along with it – “

“I’d leave that to Ororo,” Kurt said with a wry grin. “She’s probably already talking to him about it.”

--

“I’m _sorry_, Auntie O!”

“Sorry isn’t good enough once the words have been spoken aloud, Evan,” Ororo told him firmly. “People don’t forget when unkind things are said, so it’s best not to say them at all.”

“It wasn’t just me!” Even said defensively. “Kurt did it, too!”

“And you know what the Professor thought of _his_ behavior,” Ororo pointed out significantly. “You promised you would try. I expect you to stand by your word.”

Evan sighed in defeat. He really _did_ want to make his aunt proud of him. It was just hard to remember that where Pietro Maximoff was concerned. Not that he wasn’t as shocked as anyone else to hear about Pietro’s near-death experience. He’d never wish death on Pietro or anyone else.

He just didn’t want to _live_ with the guy.


part 11

Pietro zipped from the bags on the bed to the closet and drawers and back again. He repeated the process until everything was put away. Despite there being several full bags, the entire job was finished in only a couple of seconds.

He turned to leave then stopped. There was a really nice stereo system in the room that hadn’t been there before. What was up with that?

“You unpacked already?” Lance remarked as he leaned in the doorway. “Never mind, that was a stupid thing to say to _you_.”

“Yeah, it was,” Pietro agreed. “Hey, Lance, look at this.” He waved a hand at the stereo. “This wasn’t here when I left.”

“There’s one in my room, too.” Lance walked over and sat on the bed. “I don’t know if he does this for everybody or if he’s just trying to bribe us.”

“Well, he’s welcome to try, if it gets us a nice set-up like this while we’re here!” Pietro turned on the stereo and tuned the radio to his favorite station. “Great sound!” he said appreciatively, turning up the volume.

“See you found the stereo, yo,” Todd remarked as he hopped in the door, landing beside Lance on the bed.

Fred walked in after him. “We’ve all got them, I guess.”

“Why would he buy _us_ stereos?” Todd wondered out loud.

“Why would he buy us a whole new wardrobe?” Lance countered. “He’s
got money and likes showing it off maybe. Or ….” He sighed. “Maybe he just feels sorry for us.”

“Ugh,” Fred said with a frown. “You think so?”

“Who knows?” Pietro shrugged. “Let’s face it – our situation _is_ pretty pathetic.”

“Not as pathetic as seeing you being carried around by Logan!” Lance laughed. “How’d he manage to get hold of you, anyway? You losing your touch?”

“No way!” Pietro scoffed. “But he caught me coming out of a changing room and then wouldn’t let me go for the rest of the afternoon.”

“It sure was funny!” Fred chuckled.

“Oh yeah?” Pietro said. “How about you tell us what it was like modeling clothes for Jean?”

“I _didn’t_!” Fred insisted. “She was just there when I came out wearing them. It’s not the same!”

“Sounds the same to me,” Todd remarked. “Hey, Lance, did Mystique say anything when you were shopping?”

“Yeah, she said stuff like ‘you don’t want any colour but black? This is like shopping with Rogue!’”

“I thought she’d try to have a heart-to-heart with you or something,” Todd said.

“I was worried about that, too,” Lance admitted. “but she didn’t say anything except about shopping.”

“Sounds suspicious to me,” Fred remarked. “She hasn’t said much of anything since we got here.”

Pietro zipped over to the stereo and checked out a few more buttons and dials. “That’ll change,” he predicted. “She’s building to something.”

“Maybe not,” Lance said. “She’s already got us here – not much else to say.”

“I’m just wondering how long until they put us to work, yo,” Todd said grimly. “They ain’t giving us free room and board for long.”

--

Kurt paced in the hallway. He knew the Brotherhood were all gathered in Pietro’s room, and he should just walk in there and apologize to them as a group and get it over with.

“Hey Kurt-man, what are you up to?” Evan asked as he skateboarded over to him.

“About two feet over my head in trouble,” Kurt said miserably. “I have to go apologize to the Brotherhood.”

“Whoa, that bites!” Evan told him, shaking his head. “Well, good luck!” He started to leave.

“Hey, wait!” Kurt grabbed him, sending the board skidding down the hall. “Wasn’t Ororo upset with you? Don’t you have to apologize, too?”

“Well, not officially, no,” Evan said. “I just have to be nicer to them.”

“Same here! I just thought it would be a good start to apologize.” Kurt threw an arm around Evan’s shoulders. “And it would be _so_ much better if we both went in together, don’t you think?”

Evan looked at him. “Except I wasn’t planning to go in at all!”

Kurt’s tone turned pleading and he clasped his hands together. “Oh, _please_, Evan. I’d really appreciate it, and think how proud your aunt would be!”

Evan sighed. “Oh, all right. But if Maximoff says anything, you might want to get me out of there.”

“Just be positive and don’t let him get to you.” Kurt knocked on the door.

“Yeah, you remember that when Tolensky starts in on you, which he will,” Evan murmured.

Pietro opened the door and looked surprised, then suspicious. “What do you guys want?”

“To talk to you, all of you,” Kurt said.

Pietro smirked. “Okay, come in.” He moved aside. Evan glanced at Kurt and they walked into the room.

“What’s goin’ on?” Todd asked, frowning. “What d’ya want, Fuzz Boy?”

Kurt steeled himself. “I came to apologize for my behavior at breakfast. We both did.” He nudged Evan, who avoided Pietro’s gaze.

“Uh, yeah, that’s right.”

The Brotherhood boys exchanged amused looks. “Okay,” Lance said finally, “so who’s forcing you into this? Mystique?”

“No, I haven’t spoken to her about it,” Kurt answered. “I just felt badly about it and wanted to say so.”

“What about you, Daniels?” Pietro pressed. “Did you come here of your own free will, too?”

Evan folded his arms. “I don’t like you, Pietro. Chances are I never will. But you’ve been through a really bad time and it was low of me to kick you while you were down. So yeah, I’m here by choice to apologize for being a jerk earlier.”

The smirks on the Brotherhood’s faces faltered. Their expressions turned uneasy.

“Uh, okay,” Pietro said, and this time he was the one avoiding Evan’s gaze. He waved a hand in dismissal. “We accept. You can go now.”

“Come on, Evan,” Kurt pulled the other boy out.

“What the hell’s going on here?” Lance muttered.

--

“I trust the shopping trip was successful?” Professor Xavier said to Logan and Mystique as the couple dropped into chairs in the kitchen.

“It was,” Mystique replied. “The boys got the essentials, and enough clothes to last them a while.”

“While you were away, I arranged delivery of stereos for them,” the Professor said. “The other children have them – they should as well.”

“Something else I made sure we got for them that the others have are suits,” Mystique said. “I don’t think any of the four of them ever owned one.” She smiled wryly. “It took some doing just to get Lance to try one on.”

“Did you remember bathing suits?” the Professor asked.

“Yes.” Mystique nodded.

“Yeah, I got one for the Hummingbird,” Logan growled. “He gave me an argument, though. Told me he preferred skinny-dipping.” He folded his arms. “I don’t know if he was serious or not, but I told him if I saw his naked butt anywhere near the pool I’d make it match Mysti’s hair.”

The Professor gave him an amused look. “Threatening the boy on his first day with us might be detrimental to the welcoming process.”

“My thoughts exactly!” Mystique chimed in, giving Logan an indignant look.

“Tough,” Logan said, unruffled. “I know who the kids are and that this is going to be a big adjustment for everyone, but there’s no point in giving them any wrong impressions. While they’re here, they’re no different than any of the others, and if they screw up, they gotta pay the piper.”

“I agree,” Professor Xavier said. “But at least give them a little time to get used to the idea that this is their new home and they’re wanted here.”

“He’s right, Logan.” Mystique touched his arm. “If these boys feel at risk so early on, they’ll bolt. I know they will.”

Logan looked between them frowning, but finally heaved an impatient sigh. “All right, all right, you win.” He stood up and looked at them seriously. “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you don’t lay down boundaries right away, they’ll be crossing them in no time and they can’t be held accountable. Besides, if you _really_ want them to feel welcome, I think treating them just like the others and not like guests is the only way to go.” He walked out.

“I guess setting him up with Pietro was a bad idea,” Mystique said with a sigh of her own. “Of the four of them, he’s the most consistent smart aleck. And Logan’s not used to having children run from him – successfully.”

“On the contrary, Raven,” the Professor smiled at her. “I can sense that Logan actually likes Pietro, but he _is_ concerned about his fitting in here.”

“Oh.” Mystique looked thoughtful, then smiled a little. “Thank you for telling me, Charles. I love him, but sometimes it’s impossible for me to tell what he’s thinking.”

“I didn’t read his mind,” the Professor told her. “It’s merely an impression.”

“Your instincts are better than most.” Mystique grinned. “That’s good enough for me.”


Part 12

Todd hopped down the hallway, humming to himself. It had been a good
day overall. They were living in a place that had running water and electricity, had been given lots of new clothes and great stereo systems. He missed the numerous flies and other insects that provided quick snacks at the Brotherhood house, but there again, they were allowed 24-hour access to the fully-stocked kitchen here. He knew Fred was in ecstasy over that. And to top it off, he’d gotten to laugh at Pietro’s embarrassing ride over Logan’s shoulder. It didn’t get much better than that.

“Hey, Todd,” greeted Scott casually as he came down the hall toward him. Which reminded Todd that driving Scott insane on the shopping trip had also been a lot of fun.

“Yo, Summers, whazzup?” Todd started to go by him, but Scott dropped a hand on his shoulder that stopped him in mid-spring. He looked up at the X-Man curiously. “Something wrong?”

“Not a thing, but could you come with me for a minute?” Scott invited. His expression was friendly, so Todd decided he wasn’t in any kind of trouble.

“Sure, guess so.” He followed Scott down the hall. “Where’re we goin’?”

“Just in here,” Scott stopped and opened a door for him. Todd hopped in, then froze.

They were in the bathroom, and right in front of him was a steaming bathtub filled to the top. The edge was lined with soap, shampoo, scrub brush, and other horrible things Todd didn’t want anything to do with. He turned back to face Scott, only to find the older boy had locked the door and was rolling up his sleeves.

“We can do this the easy or the hard way, Todd, but either way, we’re going to do it.”

“No way, man!” Todd leaped for the door, but Scott grabbed him around the waist and they both crashed to the floor.

“Lemme go, lemme go, lemme go!” Todd yelled, struggling in Scott’s grip.

“Not on your life!” Scott told him. “Maybe your buddies can stand being in close proximity of your smell but one of the household rules here is you can’t make people dizzy by standing near them!” He lifted Todd bodily and headed for the tub.

“Then let ‘em buy noseplugs, yo!” Todd’s tongue shot out and wrapped around the doorknob, keeping Scott from bringing him any closer to the tub.

“Let GO, Tolensky!” Scott ordered as he fought against the power in Todd’s tongue. Man, that thing was strong!

“Ith oo thay tho!” Todd replied evilly and released the doorknob. Startled, Scott lost his grip on him and fell backwards into the tub with a splash.

Todd sprang for the door. A bright red beam slammed into him from behind, throwing him against the wall. By the time his head cleared, Scott was standing over him.

“As I said,” he repeated through gritted teeth, “either way, we’re doing this.”

“Would you mind stepping back a bit, yo?” Todd grinned sweetly. “You’re dripping on me.”

--

Rogue stopped in the hall as she was passing the bathroom. It sounded like two people were fighting in there.

“Ororo!” She flagged down the blonde woman as she came upstairs. “What do you think is going on in there?” She pointed to the door. A shout, a couple of thumps, and a splash were heard from behind it.

Ororo smiled. “Scott is giving Todd a bath,” she explained. “We unanimously agreed it was a necessity.”

“And how did poor Scott get stuck with the job?” Rogue grinned.

“We figured if Logan had to do it, Todd would end up in many tiny pieces.” Ororo shrugged. “Scott is leader of the X-Men. Sometimes that is accompanied by unpleasant responsibilities.”

Another splash, a crash, and the distinctive sounds of Scott’s eyebeams came from inside the room.

“Get OVER here, Tolensky!” Scott yelled.

“Stop takin’ my pants off, pervert!”

“Let’s just leave them alone,” Ororo suggested. “Scott will do fine.”

Rogue had her doubts, but walked away from the bathroom door, despite the high-pitched scream she heard.

--

It was almost ten o’clock that night, when Logan realized something was missing. He and Mystique were on the couch in the living room, she comfortably nestled under his arm as they watched a movie. Jean was curled up in an armchair, studying from her binder during commercials, while Scott was stretched out on the carpet, his head propped up on one arm, totally engrossed in the movie.

“You know this runs past eleven o’clock and there’s school tomorrow,” Mystique mentioned to the kids.

Scott looked up apprehensively. “So far past that we’ll have to miss the end?”

“There’s always the VCR,” Logan remarked.

“But then we’ll have to go to bed and lay there, sleepless, wondering how it turned out,” Jean said.

“You could have told us it ran late at the beginning an hour ago,” Scott complained. “I was looking forward to this after what I went through with Todd.”

Jean giggled and he shot her a dark look.

“Relax, you can both stay up until the end,” Mystique said. “I plan to, and I have school tomorrow myself.” She glanced at Logan and noticed he was frowning. “Oh, come on now.” She nudged him teasingly. “It won’t hurt them to stay up an hour past bedtime.”

“It’s not that,” he said. “I had the feeling something was wrong in the house and I just figured out what it is. Two scents are missing. Fred and Pietro.”

“Curfew is in two minutes,” Jean remarked, glancing at her watch.

“It would be,” Logan said, giving Mystique a sideways glance, “if anyone had told them there _was_ one.”

“Well,” Mystique said uneasily, “they might not be too late. They know there’s school in the morning.”

“They’ve been four kids living on their own for a while,” Logan said. “I doubt they cared much about curfews and bedtimes.”

“They’ll have to get used to it if they’re going to stay here.” Scott shrugged, then when there was no response, he looked between the two adults. “Won’t they?”

“Yes, of course, they’ll have to live with the same rules as the rest of you,” Mystique said. “We’re just waiting for them to feel more at home.”

Scott and Jean exchanged a glance. “And until then … what?” Jean asked.

“Until then,” Logan said, “Mystique and the Professor want us to cut them
some slack.”

“I guess that makes sense in a way,” Scott said slowly. “It’s not like they _asked_ to come here. But if they choose to stay ….”

“Yeah.” Logan nodded. “Exactly.”

“And when does the transitional period end so that we all know they’re equal members of the household?” Jean asked.

“_That’s_ what no one’s sure of.” Logan smirked.

“Very funny,” Mystique said. “We’ll know when the time’s right.”

“Well, I’d say the time’s right when they come through that door,” Logan hooked a thumb at the foyer. “We can’t have those kids coming and going all night, Mystique. They don’t know the curfew this time, fine, but one chance is all they get.”

--

It was just before one a.m. when Pietro and Fred walked in the front entrance, only to run straight into Logan.

“Whoa!” Pietro jumped back instantly. “Have you’ve been standing here all night?”

“Someone had to wait for you two pinheads,” Logan growled. “You know what time it is?”

“Time to go to bed, I hope.” Fred yawned.

“Oh yeah, it’s that, all right,” Logan agreed. “But I’m talking about the time by the clock. It’s one in the morning, and you’re both three hours late for curfew.”

Fred and Pietro glanced at one another. “Three hours?” Pietro said incredulously. “Curfew in this place is at _ten_?! No wonder the kids here are so boring!”

Fred shook his head. “No one told me about any curfew.”

“No, they didn’t,” Logan said, gritting his teeth. “So I’m telling you now. Curfew at ten, bedtime at eleven on all school nights. Both are an hour later on weekends. There are usually pre-breakfast training sessions on weekdays, so believe me, you’ll be grateful for the rest.”

“Training sessions?” Pietro said dubiously. “Why would the Brotherhood attend X-Men training sessions?”

Logan stepped forward and pushed his face into Pietro’s. “The Professor may be generous to a fault, bub, but this ain’t no hotel. You stay here, you’re gonna be no different than the other kids.”

Pietro didn’t move back again. His mischievous blue-grey eyes turned
icy, making them look to Logan disturbingly like his father’s. “Lance is right about adults. We’ve barely washed off the smoke and you’re already making demands on us. Well, don’t worry, _bub_ - we’ll be out of your hair fast enough. Come on, Freddy.”

Logan watched the two boys go upstairs and gnashed his teeth. He hadn’t expected that reaction, but apparently Mystique and the Professor had. Neither of them was going to be happy about this. He didn’t want to think that he might have rushed things a little, but that was certainly what _they_ would think.

“Damn,” he muttered.



part 13

“Lance? Hey, Lance, wake up!”

He didn’t _want_ to wake up. He’d had an erratic sleep the night before to say the least – awakening while it was still dark out didn’t fit the plan.

But it was Pietro shaking him and the speedster normally would know better. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes. Not only Pietro, but Fred was there. Over Fred’s shoulder was a snoring Todd.

“Guys,” Lance muttered, “I’m _really_ not in the mood for a slumber party.”

“This is an emergency,” Pietro told him. “Freddy and I just got waylaid by Logan at the front door. He’s talking stuff like curfews and training sessions, Lance!”

“What time _is_ it?” Lance squinted at the bedside clock. “Oh man!” he groaned and laid back down. “It’s not even one-thirty! Go to bed, morons!”

“Lance, you’re not listening!” Pietro exclaimed. “He expects us to become X-Men!”

“Whazzup, yo?” Todd asked sleepily from over Fred’s shoulder. “Why’s the world upside-down?”

Lance moaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Okay, what’s this about again?”

Pietro recounted the scene at the front door. “You were right, man,” he said grimly. “They don’t really care about us – they’re just trying to recruit new X-Men.”

Lance sighed. “That didn’t take long.”

“We’re the Brotherhood!” Fred said. “Just ‘cause we don’t have a house of our own anymore don’t change what we are!”

“They’re trying, though.” Todd looked up. “Summers made me take a _bath_, yo! You guys never did that!”

“Don’t mistake that oversight for approval, Todd,” Lance said wryly. “It took a long time to get used to your stink.”

“It’s all part of it,” Pietro said firmly. “We can’t stay here – we gotta go, and right now.”

“Forget it.” Lance lay back down and pulled up the blankets. “In case you’ve forgotten, Pietro, we _have_ nowhere to go. And I’m not gonna go out into the streets tonight because Logan wounded your ego. We can talk about it in the morning. Go to bed.”

“Yeah, take me back to bed, Freddy,” Todd said. “I wanna catch some more Z’s.”

Fred sighed and carried Todd out. Pietro hesitated, then zipped out the door himself. Lance pulled the blankets over his head and tried to go back to sleep.

--

Evan made his way to the bathroom after the morning training session. He needed a shower – it had been a hot, sweaty workout. He was just about to step inside when a gust of wind nearly blew him over, and the door shut in his face.

“Pietro!” he yelled, realizing it could be no one else.

“Relax, Daniels!” Pietro called out from inside the bathroom. “This’ll be the last time!”

“What did that mean?” Evan wondered out loud.

--

Logan walked into his bedroom, shedding his Wolverine uniform as he went. He was tired and grouchy. The kids had performed all right, except for a slight miscalculation by Nightcrawler that had cost his team some time. Logan regretted that he’d shouted at the elf for it – the hurt look on the kid’s face would haunt him until he saw him again. And he knew it wasn’t the session that bothered him. It was having to tell Mystique that he’d blown it with Pietro.

“Good morning!” she greeted him as she made the bed. “How’d it go?”

“Pretty good,” Logan said, and eyed her with mock disapproval. “You just dragging your blue butt outta bed now?”

“Hey, I didn’t have to be at the training session, and I was up late, too.” Mystique went over to the bureau and began brushing her long red hair, glancing at him in the mirror. “Is something else wrong?”

“Well … there’s something you should know …,” he started to say.

Mystique jumped suddenly and cocked her head. “Yes, Professor,” she said, giving Logan an apologetic look. He waited. Mental contact from the Professor could come at any time, he understood that.

“All right,” Mystique said finally and turned to Logan. “He wants to see me, I’m sorry.”

Logan nodded. “It’s okay, you go ahead. I’ll talk to you later,” he told her, hoping later wouldn’t be _too_ late.

--

Lance wasn’t surprised to find that Pietro hadn’t changed his mind from the night before. The other boy was flighty, but also stubborn.

“So after breakfast we’re outta here, right?”

Lance looked over at Pietro. He’d just finished having a shower and getting dressed. He’d expected this, but not so soon. The blonde must really have been shaken up by the argument with Logan.

“I don’t know where you expect us to go,” he said. “Have you given it any thought at all?”

“Well, not exactly,” Pietro admitted. “But we’ll find something.”

“Pietro, you were the one who said you were used to having a roof over your head,” Lance reminded him. “Hey, you think _I_ like this? Having to depend on our _enemies_ to provide for us? It sucks!”

“Then let’s go!” Pietro exclaimed. “We’ll find a place to stay somehow!”

Lance sighed. “You really don’t know how the system works, do you? In order for us to stay here, the Professor must have taken on custody of us through Social Services. He’s too straight-arrow to take kids into his house without going by the book.”

“So he’s our foster father or something?!” Pietro squeaked. “But you asked him not to go to Social Services! And you knew he already had?! That doesn’t make any sense!”

“I didn’t want to be put back into the system, that’s what I meant.” Lance looked at him. “I still don’t. And you don’t either, trust me. It would eat you alive, Pietro.”

“What do you mean?” Pietro scoffed. “I’d eat _them_ alive!”

“I don’t think either one of you would survive,” Lance remarked. “Look, maybe we ought to talk to the Professor about what happened last night and find out exactly where we stand. Then we can decide about leaving. Let’s get Todd and Fred.”

--

The Professor looked up from his conversation with Mystique and glanced toward the door. “The Brotherhood are here,” he said.

The knock followed a moment later. “It’s us,” Lance’s voice was heard saying. “Can we come in?”

Mystique went over and opened the door for them. “Hello, boys,” she greeted.

“Hey, we didn’t know you were here,” Pietro said warily.

“I can leave if you like,” she offered.

“Doesn’t matter,” Lance said. “We came to talk to the Professor.”

“Come in, boys,” Professor Xavier invited.

They filed in and Mystique closed the door, staying inside with them. If no one was kicking her out, she was going to remain.

“Is something wrong?” the Professor asked.

“I didn’t want to get into this so soon, but it was gonna happen sooner or later,” Lance said resignedly. “Fred and Pietro got told off by Logan last night over some curfew issue and talk of training sessions came up and ….” He shrugged.

“You want clarification. Understandable.” The Professor nodded.

“I can’t believe Logan did that after we asked him not to!” Mystique growled.

“You can’t?” the Professor said in amusement. “My, you and Logan _have_ been apart for a long time.”

“Well, I hoped he’d at least wait _one_ day!”

He said you expected us to be just like the other kids,” Pietro said accusingly.

“Well,” Fred interrupted, “he said that we had to follow all the rules and stuff.”

“Do you think you should be exempt for some reason?” The Professor asked curiously.

“For a good reason!” Todd piped up. “We’re Brotherhood, not X-Men!”

“You’re young mutants, and this is an institution where young mutants learn to control their powers in safety,” the Professor explained. “Becoming X-Men is not a requirement, but we want you to be as capable as you can be in using your powers to help others and protect yourselves at the same time.”

Lance laughed . “Help others? Why would we want to do that instead of helping ourselves?”

“You’ll have no reason to ‘help yourselves’ in the way that you mean it,” Professor Xavier remarked. “All your needs are provided for here – you won’t want for anything, I assure you.”

“But we have to play it your way, don’t we?” Pietro said, folding his arms. “We have to obey all the rules and the curfew stuff, and go to bed when it’s barely dark and get up at the crack of dawn ….”

“It’s not _that_ extreme, but yes, there are rules to ensure the safety and well-being of all the children.” The Professor regarded them curiously. “Don’t you think you deserve to be protected as they are?”

The boys looked at each other. None of them understood what just happened, but Mystique did, and silently cheered the Professor.

“I’m sorry this wasn’t made clear at the outset,” he was saying. “Perhaps Logan had the right idea after all, but I feared you might misunderstand if it was brought up immediately.”

“So it’s true, what Lance says?” Todd asked. “You’re our guardian, legal and everything?”

The Professor shook his head. “No, I’m not, Todd. A guardian _was_ appointed, and with my approval and backing, but it was not I.”

“It was me,” Mystique told them.

The boys gaped at her in genuine shock. “_You_?!” they said in unison.

“Did you think I was lying when I said I wanted to look after you?” Mystique asked, then sighed. “Of course you did and I don’t blame you.”

“Mystique wanted very much to be named as your guardian, otherwise I _would_ have done it myself,” the Professor said. “And now that you’re aware of the full situation, did you have any other questions?”

The Brotherhood exchanged looks. They had no questions, but a lot to discuss amongst themselves.



part 14

“Kurt, wait up!”

Kurt stopped in the school corridor and waited for Evan as he slipped through the crowd of before-classes students. “Hi Evan, what’s up?”

“I just wondered if you knew what was going on with the Brotherhood,” Evan said. “Pietro said something weird this morning like he wasn’t going to be around long. Then at breakfast he and his buddies hardly said two words.”

“Hmm, they _were_ quiet,” Kurt agreed. “But do you really think they’d leave already after the Professor bought them all those clothes and all?”

“I’m just saying how it sounded.” Evan shrugged.

“Hey!” Kurt said suddenly and pointed. “There they go!”

Sure enough, Evan could see the four boys going into the stairwell.

“Should we follow them?” Kurt asked.

“Of course,” Evan replied.

“We might be late for homeroom,” Kurt warned him. The hallway crowd was thinning – the bell was about to ring.

“No choice, man,” Evan said helplessly.

“All right.” Kurt waited until the only students left besides themselves were at the other end of the hall. He grabbed Evan’s wrist and teleported them both to the hidden spot under the stairs in the stairwell.

The Brotherhood were lounging around right over their heads.

“Well, there’s the bell,” Lance remarked with a sigh. “I’m going to be late for Chemistry.”

“Whoa, and you’ve got McCoy for your teacher!” Todd said with a laugh. “You’ll be hearing about it at home tonight!”

“That’s what this meeting is about,” Lance said. “_Is_ it our home? Are we staying there? And if we’re not, where _are_ we going?”

“I couldn’t follow what the Professor said,” Fred admitted. “He made it sound kinda good there.”

“It _is_ good in some ways – even I can say that,” Pietro told him. “The question is – is it worth it?”

“Well, let’s weigh the pros and cons, yo,” Todd said. “Pro – it ain’t the streets.”

“Con – rules,” Pietro said promptly.

“Pro – food and lots of it,” Fred pointed out.

“Con – adults _all_ the time, including Mystique,” said Lance.

“Con – the fuzzy gecko,” Todd said, making a face.

Under the stairs, Kurt gasped and started to get up. Evan held him back.

“Double con – Daniels,” Pietro sneered.

Evan let go of Kurt and started to get up himself.

“Pro,” Fred said quietly, “Safety. From hunger, cold, and Social Services.”

The other Brotherhood members said nothing for a few moments. Kurt and Evan remained still and waited.

“Pro,” Lance’s voice had softened. “Kitty.”

“That’s a pro for _you_, man, not for us,” Pietro told him.

“I don’t care,” Lance said stubbornly. “For me it’s a factor.”

“Con – BATHS!” Todd declared. “Big con there, guys!”

The other three looked at each other. “Pro – baths!” they said in unison.

“Hey!” Todd protested.

Kurt and Evan covered their mouths to stifle their laughter.

“Okay, look, guys,” Lance said. “We could keep going on like this forever. The thing is, we’re not gonna know what it’s really like unless we try it, and seriously, we don’t have any other options right now.”

“I guess if the X-geeks can take it, we can.” Fred shrugged.

“Yeah,” Pietro said thoughtfully. “Why should _they_ live in all that comfort while we live in squalor?”

“Because comfort comes with a price,” Lance said. “And we have to be willing to pay it. That’s what _they_ do with the rules and stuff. Maybe some of them don’t like that part of it, either.”

“So I guess we’re going back?” Todd said with a sigh. “Although, considering the bath thing, I think I’m making a bigger sacrifice than any of you.”

“We sacrificed long enough smelling you, little buddy,” Fred told him. “It’s our turn now.”

“Okay,” Lance said, with an air of finality as he stood up from the step he’d sat on. “Now that we know we’re going back, I have to deal with being late for McCoy’s class.”

The four of them left the stairwell and Kurt and Evan came out from hiding.

“That was enlightening,” Kurt commented.

“And infuriating and aggravating,” Evan added. “I’d love to punch Pietro in the nose if he’d hold still long enough.”

“Ja,” Kurt agreed. “I can’t believe they decided to stay, even knowing about the
rules and curfew and all.”

“That’s only half of it, though, Kurt,” Evan reminded him. “They’ll never be able to _follow_ the rules, which means they’ll have to deal with _punishment_.”

Kurt grinned in understanding. “And _then_ they’ll leave!”

The two boys shared a high-five.

--

At lunch, Lance headed for the cafeteria, his book bag over his shoulder. With any luck, he’d be able to use part of the next hour to get some of the extra homework done that Hank had assigned him for being late.

“Lance, wait!”

Since it was Kitty calling him, he waited. She ran over, her expression concerned. “Would it be okay if I sat with you?”

Was she kidding? “Sure,” he said, knowing he’d never get the homework done now, and not really caring anymore.

They went inside and got their trays, then sat down. Kitty regarded Lance worriedly. “You were so quiet at breakfast this morning, and then you were really late for Chemistry. Is anything wrong?”

“The guys and I had to talk over some stuff,” Lance explained. “It’s okay now.”

“Really?” she asked, then smiled in relief at his nod. “I was afraid you were thinking of leaving already.”

He grinned. “You didn’t want me to leave?”

Kitty blushed and averted her gaze, stirring her pudding with a straw. “Well … it would be different if you had a good place to stay instead, but you don’t, and I don’t want you to go out on the streets. No one should live like that.” She shrugged. “Besides, none of you have really given it a chance yet.”

“We decided we’re going to,” he told her. She looked back at him and beamed.

“Good then. You might like it, you know.”

“Maybe,” Lance said noncommittally, but with a smile. “We’ll see.”

--

“Hi guys!” Kurt greeted as he and Evan sat at a table where Scott, Jean, and Rogue were already eating.

“Well, if it ain’t Johnny-come-lately!” Rogue remarked. “Where were you that you missed the first twenty minutes of homeroom this morning, Kurt?”

Scott looked up. “You were late?” he asked.

“Uh, ja,” Kurt admitted, giving Rogue a dirty look.

“Ah wondered if you and Pietro had a fight or something, since he was late, too.” She chuckled. “Although he was a good deal faster arriving than you were!”

“So what kept you so long, Kurt?” Scott pressed.

“I … well,” Kurt glanced at Evan, who shrugged. He wasn’t going to incriminate himself if he didn’t have to. “I saw Pietro and his friends were going somewhere as a group just before the bell, so I followed them. They sat around in the stairwell and talked about whether or not they were going to stay.”

“Where were you?” Jean asked.

“Under the stairs,” Kurt admitted.

“Ah didn’t realize they were still thinking of leaving,” Rogue said with a frown.

“They were, but they decided not to,” Kurt answered. “They don’t like the rules and curfew and stuff, but thought they would try it out. They know they don’t have anywhere else to go right now.”

“Not exactly a great reason for staying, is it?” Scott said.

“Looks like one of them might have another reason,” Evan said, nodding toward where Lance and Kitty sat together. “Lance even said he wanted to stay partly ‘cause of Kitty.”

“How do you know what he said, Evan?” Jean inquired.

“Uhhh, okay. I was there, too,” he admitted.

“I hope Kitty is careful,” Jean said with a sigh. “I’m not so sure Lance is trustworthy.”

“I’m more worried about what they’ll be like during training sessions,” Scott said. “Will they work with us or against us?”

“If they work against us, it’ll only be once before Father stops them,” Kurt said knowingly.

“We’ll find out how it goes after school,” Rogue predicted. “There’s gonna be our first joint training session then.”



part 15

After school, the Brotherhood boys were surprised to find Mystique waiting by Lance’s jeep in the parking lot.

“What’s going on?” Lance asked. “Is your car on the fritz?”

“No, I can’t leave yet, I have paperwork,” she said. “I just wanted to tell you two things. The first is that I know you were late to homeroom this morning. Why?”

“Probably because you’re the Principal,” Todd quipped.

“Not why I know,” Mystique said, rolling her eyes. “Why were you late?”

“We were talking,” Lance said. “It won’t happen again, don’t worry.”

“Hmmph,” Mystique said. “The strange thing is that Kurt and Evan were late, too, and for the same length of time. Were they with you?”

“You don’t think we’d voluntarily spend twenty minutes with either of them, do you?” Pietro asked.

“I suppose not,” Mystique answered. “All right, the second thing I wanted to mention was that there’s going to be a training session when you get home, so get suited up as soon as you get there and don’t give Logan any trouble.”

“Is it okay if we give the X-kids trouble?” Fred asked hopefully.

“No,” Mystique told him firmly. “Trust me, Logan will be watching you closely at first, so he can assess your skills and experience. Do yourselves a favour and listen to his instructions carefully and show him your best.” She paused. “Make me proud,” she added.

The boys stared at her for a moment, then they climbed into the jeep in silence. Any students or staff around were treated to the rare sight of a warm smile softening their Principal’s usually-stern expression as they drove away.

--

Logan, wearing his orange and black Wolverine uniform, waited for the kids to assemble. Mystique had said she’d tell the Brotherhood that they were expected to attend the training session, but who knew if they’d show up for it.

To his surprise, they did, and on time at that. They were lined up with the others already.

All right, he thought, first step accomplished. Now to see what they can do.

“Okay, Cyclops, Jean, you two are sitting this first run out,” he said. “There are two identical obstacle courses. I want the two remaining groups of four to compete to see who can find and bring back the four handkerchiefs you’ll find tied at various points on both sides. I’m timing how long it takes both groups to get all the kerchiefs _and_ all members back here. Now GO!”

Quicksilver and Nightcrawler both disappeared instantly from sight and all the others took off at a run. He saw Rogue, Spyke, and Shadowcat wind their way through the course, avoiding and/or destroying the traps along the way. Toad, Blob, and Avalanche weren’t doing too badly themselves, but a pattern began to reveal itself.

“They don’t know how to work as a team,” Cyclops commented, watching them.

Wolverine nodded in silence. Cyclops had hit it on the head. The Brotherhood were doing okay, getting around or putting the traps out of commission, but none of them seemed to know what each other was doing. Avalanche destroyed a laser, nearly taking Toad down with it. Then Blob broke through a wall that popped up and almost crushed Avalanche with flying debris. Toad took to bouncing off the walls and got so far ahead the other two couldn’t keep up. But then, Quicksilver was already long gone, and ….

“Here ya go.”

Four kerchiefs dangled in front of Wolverine’s face. Quicksilver smirked at him.

“All done already, huh?” Wolverine took the kerchiefs. “Kind of slow time for you, wasn’t it?”

“I’ve been standing here for two minutes. It actually took me about five seconds to run the course – there was a tough knot in one of the kerchiefs.”

Wolverine tried not to look startled. Could the kid really have been there that long without him realizing it?

“It’s true, Wolverine,” Professor Xavier said as he came over. “I saw it from the control room.” He looked at Quicksilver. “However, I also saw you leave your teammates completely unaware that the kerchiefs have already been gathered, and thus they’ll waste valuable time searching for what isn’t there.”

Quicksilver frowned. “Nah, they’ll know I did it. They know how fast I am.”

“But for all they know, you were taken down by a trap,” Cyclops told him. “They might be looking for you in case you’re hurt.”

“They know I can take care of myself.” Quicksilver insisted. He looked around. “Didn’t Fuzzball come back yet?”

“Nightcrawler?” Jean said. “No, he’s still out there.”

“But he must have gathered the kerchiefs by now,” Quicksilver remarked in confusion. “Why didn’t he teleport back here?”

“See for yourself.” Wolverine pointed. Quicksilver looked back toward the course. There was Nightcrawler, teleporting to each of his teammates, showing each one to a central meeting place. Once they were all there, he teleported the whole group of them back and handed Wolverine the kerchiefs. He scowled when he saw Quicksilver. “We lost?” he said sourly.

“No, you won,” Professor X told him. “Quicksilver’s teammates are still out there.”

“At least they’re getting through the course,” Cyclops remarked, then shook his head. “They could do it more efficiently