The Challenge

"In the  name of  God !! What sort of man are ye!?" Sean got
up from the couch.

During this  stormy winter night, the team of  mutants known
as Generation  X, had  given this stranger the protection of
their home.  He was well into his forties and spoke as if he
had been living since the day time was created.

"Do not  look so  shocked Mr.  Cassidy,   you of  all people
should know  what it's  like.", he continued to speak as the
young mutants  sat around  him in  awe, "The   world that we
live in  is constantly ... POISONED by the unfit rulers that
are pampered into power!"

Emma, who  was standing  behind an  entranced Monet, reached
out to Sean with her mind, {Don't look, just listen.} Unlike
the students, these two were growing suspicious of him. {The
stranger ... I can't read his mind ...}

"Why should  men that  were born with a name be placed above
us,   who were  simply born  SUPERIOR ?!", the man turned to
face Emma, {but I can read yours.}

The kids  noticed that  he was  now occasionally glancing at
Emma  and   Banshee.  Emma  was  troubled  by  the  calmness
displayed by this individual. A puzzled Skin was now looking
at his  peers, like  someone asking  for directions. A weird
tension grew  in  the  room,  and  the  student's  attention
shifted from their lecturer to the instructors. The stranger
stopped talking and looked at Monet as she awakened. She had
a sinister  look and  her eyes  glowed with power. The young
woman rose to her feet and faced him.

"ANCIENT ONE  !!! En  Sabah Nur.",  Monet was standing, with
her feet  floating two  inches above  the   floor. "I  don't
believe we've  met before  ...",   her tone  was milder, but
there was a fury in the way she looked at the man.

Emma stood in the corner of the room, frightened by the fact
that her  powers were  not working.  Everett heard M's voice
inside his  head, telling him to get in sync with everyone's
power. Sean  let out a steel-shattering scream. The stranger
smiled.

"GNNNNN... A  WORTHY ATTEMPT!!"  he delighted at the pain he
felt, as  his body was pounded on and torn at. He closed his
eyes and  clenched his  fists. From  the inside of his chest
immerged what seemed to be a blinding pulse of light. As the
team struggled to regain their sight, his voice rang through
their minds,  {YOU THOUGHT  YOURSELVES CAPABLE  OF DEFEATING
THE APOCALYPSE  ? Pathetic  fools ...  Maybe you  should try
yourselves against  creatures of  your own foolish young age
...}. The  whole team recovered from the attack. Sean, Emma,
and Apocalypse  were nowhere  to be  found,  and  they  were
completely surrounded by trees.

"The danger  grotto ...  Are we supposed to defeat Artie and
Leach ?"

"Sorry Angelo,  we are  nowhere near  the  biosphere.  As  a
matter of  fact,  I  believe  we  are  no  longer  in  North
America.", Monet  looked at  Synch, "I  could use  some help
surveying the  landscape.", they  both floated upwards until
they were above the trees. The rest of the team gathered and
started  making plans.

                        
                        The Mission

Somewhere not  too far away, another group of youngsters hid
from the  scalding tropical  sun rays,  at the entrance of a
cave. Sarah,   Bobby,  Roxy, and   Eddie  waited  for  their
friend Caitlin to return from her exploration of the island.

Sarah Rainmaker  watched an impatient Grunge heading for the
outside, "You know, the plan was for us to wait HERE for her
return."

Roxy ran  up to him and tugged at his shirt, "Eddie... Don't
do it. Those kids are dangerous, god only knows what they're
capable of!"

"Man, I'm getn' wasted of sitting on my hands.", he casually
exited the  cave and  started walking towards a small desert
located at  the northern half of the island. "There ain't no
way I'll be stuck in there for six hours straight."

Bobby, who  had been quietly sitting against a wall, finally
spoke up, "So what exactly do we have to do?"

The two  girls turned  around, "Roxy overheard Lynch talking
with someone  a few  days ago,  it seems like the government
has  found   a  bunch  of  teens  with  self-activating  gen
factors". Roxy,  the young  woman  also  known  as  Freefall
turned to  her friend, "No, no. Apparently they are not gen-
active. Their  abilities are  thought to come from naturally
occurring  mutations".  The  three  young  people  continued
talking about  these mutants.  They wondered  about  how  it
would be  for a  six year  old kid  to  have  powers.  After
agreeing  and   disagreeing  on  various  points,  Rainmaker
finally answered  Burnout's question,  "We  are  suppose  to
bring them to this cave and wait for Mr. Lynch".

                    
                    Grunge VS The Power

It was  now  the  middle  of  the  afternoon.  Most  of  the
Generation X  members were busy working on a shelter for the
night. Gen13 already had the cave, so they focused all their
efforts on  planning and  plotting. For  some reason,  these
young people  believed they were going up against a terrible
adversary. They  had disembarked on the mountain side of the
island and  immediately found  shelter. Just  like in a war,
they even  sent  a  scout  to  gather  information.  Caitlin
Fairchild, the  strongest one  and their leader, seamed like
the logical  choice. She  had been sneaking around for three
hours, the  mountain area  was clear  of all danger. She was
now starting  to cautiously  explore the  forest section. As
all this happened, Eddie Chang just strolled happily through
the warm  sand. The  last thing  he had on his mind was evil
mutants, for now.

"That's funny Monet, he doesn't look like a horseman."

"Well, he specifically said,  OUR foolish young age."

"Hmm???", Grunge turned around to identify the source of the
whispering.

"Shhhhh ...",  Monet and  Synch hovered above the young man,
who was  now walking with his arms swinging in a ultra-macho
fashion.

"*giggle*"

"Keep it down M!", whispered Everett.

He  suddenly   pivoted,  his   fists  in  blocking  position
"Awright, come  out come  out wherever  ya are!!!!", Eddie's
face became  blank when he realized once more that there was
no one behind him. He started scratching his head.

"Eddie Chang ...", Monet chanted with a ghostly voice, "This
is your conscience speaking to you !! *giggle*".

This surprised  Synch. He  looked at M sideways. Poor Grunge
was now  running for  his life.  His arms  were extended  in
front of him, and his feet were pounding the sand.

"Monet, my aura ... it seems like that kid could be ...", he
noticed M  was still  giggling to  herself, "great ... guess
I'll take  care of it. " He flew down and landed in front of
Grunge. "Hi, I presume your name is Eddie Chang."

Before he  knew it, Synch had Eddie's fist flying at him. He
ducked it,  only to be swept off his feet. He quickly got up
and threw one of his good swings at his adversary. His punch
was skilfully  blocked and his head greeted by Eddie's fist.
Synch stepped  back only  to have his ribs machine-gunned by
blows and  kicks. He  tried to  tackle only  to find himself
being thrown five meters across the ground.

"No one  messes with  the Grunge  Master!", Eddie flexed his
biceps.

"Apocalypse made  his point, I suppose we can go home now.",
Synch slowly got up, brushing the sand off his uniform.

 "I  doubt it Everett, I don't think he brought us here just
so  you  and  that  gentleman  could  have  a  martial  arts
tournament", M was now standing beside him.

"What?", A  sheepish look  covered Grunge's  face, as he saw
Synch still  standing. "  ... the  hell?", he  looked at his
swollen fists.

Synch Leaned  to Monet's  ear, "Like  I was saying before, I
think he's a mutant."

They suddenly  realized that  this was  no time  for  casual
conversation. Monet clenched her fists as Grunge touched the
ground with  his wounded  hands.  Before  the  eyes  of  his
predators, Eddie  became a  giant monster of sand. He turned
towards Synch,  who had stepped away from Monet, and charged
him. M  stood back  watching, as  the monster  pounded Synch
into the ground.

"Hey! Are you unvunerable or something?"

"The word  is 'invulnerable',  and yes  we are.", Monet sunk
her fingers  into  Grunge's  back  and  flew  up  with  him.
Suddenly, the  pile of sand with human form started changing
shape. Monet got a sense of deja vu as Eddie's mass formed a
ball around  her. With  this, they  both fell to the ground.
Everett got  up and walked towards both of them. M was lying
down, in a trance. Eddie was next to her, barely standing.

South from there, the members of Generation X harbored among
the trees  had stopped  their planning and building. Someone
walking through the woods had got their attention.



                          

                          Predator

Four hours  had passed  by since  Apocalypse had transported
the Generation  X team  to this desolate isle.  Synch and M,
who had  left to  explore the surroundings, had not returned
yet. This  worried the  rest of the team. Gathering wood was
now at  the end  of their  list of priorities. On the sturdy
branch of  a tree,  Angelo and Jubilee guarded the campsite.
Aware  of   the  possible  presence  of  an  intruder,  they
whispered to each other.

"Angelo... Look over there."

A few  meters away,  a young woman had revealed her location
by accidentally  stepping on  a large  branch. She  was  now
looking around her with concern.

Skin nodded slightly in agreement, "Si, si. I see her."

"You stay here. I'll go speak to her ..."

Jubilee felt  Angelo's extended  skin pull  her back  as she
attempted to climb down from her post. She untangled herself
and looked at him protestfully. Her anger quickly dissipated
as she noticed worry in his expression.

"Not a good idea."

"What's wrong Ange?"

Angelo pointed  at the  young woman  who was  now headed for
their campsite,  "Tell me  gringa, on our last camping trip,
why was Monet getting on your nerves?"

"Well, I  kept on tripping on roots'n twigs while Ms Perfect
just broke  everything her  little invulnerable  feet didn't
avoid. What  does this  have to  do ...",   Before she could
finish asking,  the answer  hit her like a hard knock to the
head, "She's looking for us, isn't she?"

"So, that  makes one skin slinging, tree climbing mutant and
his sparky  sidekick against  one super-strong  and probably
invulnerable chica.",  He smiled at Jubilee, "Looks like the
odds are in our favor. Eh?"

Jubilee smirked  and jumped over to the tree on their right.
She looked  at their  presumed pursuer and raised her hands.
Angelo gave  her a  knowing look  and got into position. She
stretched out  her arms  and let  out a  stream of  blinding
pyrotechnics. Taking advantage of the girl's disorientation,
Angelo jumped  down from  the tree and used the epidermis of
his hands  to cover  her face.  This was  a trick  they used
against Monet  during many  battle simulations in the danger
grotto. Despite  the hours  these two spent working on their
timing, it  never worked.  This little  ambush  was  not  an
exception to  the rule. Gasping for air, the gen-active teen
swung Angelo  around like  a lasso. Jubilee watched in shock
as she  stretched and  rolled his skin around the trunk of a
tree. Caitlin  was beginning  to feel  the effects of oxygen
deprivation and  Skin was  finding it  harder and  harder to
concentrate. She  reached for the skin wrapping her head and
pulled on it, uncovering her mouth.

She filled her lungs with air, "Tell me stranger, what would
happen to you if all this skin was to TEAR!?"

Skin's eyes  widened, and  he immediately loosened his grip.
He tried  to retract his skin, but it was too stretched out.
Jubilee cursed furiously from her branch.

"Leave him  alone you  overgrown girl  scout on steroids! Or
I'll personally climb down and adjust your nasty tude!"

Caitlin quickly  freed herself  and tied  Angelo up with his
own skin,  she looked  up and spotted Jubilee, "Brat! You're
next..."
 
                        
                        Outnumbered

The situation  looked grim  for  our  two  stranded  muties.
Afraid of  tearing into  shreds, Angelo  dared  not  move  a
single inch.  Jubilee would  gladly lend  him a hand, but it
was just so much safer up on the tree. Fortunately for them,
the cavalry was present.

{Good show,  Luv. I  guess it's  time for  you  to  test  MY
worthiness and right to exist.}

Caitlin's attention suddenly shifted to the voice ringing in
her mind.  She turned  away from  the tree,  leaving Jubilee
alone.  To  her  surprise,  she  was  now  facing  two  more
opponents. Paige stood a few feet behind Jono, with her arms
crossed.

"Leave them alone! Ah swear, if anything happens to..."

Fairchild started  walking angrily  towards her,  "You'll do
WHAT !? For YOUR information, they just tried to KILL me!"

{That will  be about  far enough  ...}, Chamber  put out his
arm, blocking her passage.

The powerful  teen looked at him from the corner of her eye.
Something in  her snapped.  She grabbed  his leather jacket,
"You have  a mouth,  don't you?  Why  don't  you  loose  the
turtleneck and  start communicating  verbally! I'm  sick  of
surprises! And  I don't  want to  hear you  talking into  my
head!!", with  her  free  hand,  Caitlin  got  hold  of  the
material covering  Jonothon's torso.  "What  the  ...",  she
panicked slightly as her fingers pierced the cloth. Her hand
effortlessly penetrated  what should  have been  muscle  and
bone. It  tore through  the bandages, exposing the flames of
his psionic chamber.

Anticipating the  explosive effect of Fairchild's act, Paige
stepped away.  Suddenly, small  beams of light poked through
his chest  cavity. Jubilee jumped down from the tree and hit
the dirt.  Before she  had  time  to  react,  Caitlin  found
herself being  propelled through  the air. A large explosion
surging from Chamber's body tore at her clothing and blasted
her away from him.

"OK... Time  out ...", Caitlin sat up and looked around her.
Her uniform  was partially  disintegrated and  her legs were
buried into the ground.

"Please oh  please ... Talk to me Espinosa ...", Jubilee was
throwing earth and leaves on Angelo, who had caught fire.

Brushing dirt  off the  remnants of her uniform, Caitlin got
up, "So,  you guys were born with these ...",  she walked up
to Angelo and quickly covered him with dirt, "... powers?"

"GnnnnSi ssssenora  ...", Angelo  agonized as Jubilee slowly
cleared off the dirt and untied him from the tree.

"Yep, that's right. But they only manifested when we were...
like... a  little older.",  Added Jubilee,  as she untangled
his knots.

"OK... That  makes sense.",  Caitlin looked at Chamber, "Our
Intelligence reports  must be  incorrect. You're all gen-13,
or at  LEAST gen-12.  But If you were really working for the
government, I  think you  would  be  better  at  using  your
powers.", she looked at Paige, who was partially husked into
a body  made of  wood, and  frowned, "Something is not right
here."

                      
                      Getting In Sync
                              
Over on the rocky side of the island, Everett carried Grunge
on his back. Eddie's powers had behaved unpredictably during
his fight against him and Monet.

"It's like  I'm telling  you, dude.  That's not  the way  it
usually happens! I change into stuff! I don't shape-shift!"

"I believe you ... Now, are you strong enough to walk?"

"Sorry stranger, I don't think so... By the way, what's with
your friend?  I mean,  she came  to and  then simply ignored
us."

"Monet?", Synch  stopped walking and put Grunge down. He sat
down on  a boulder,  "Well that's  a question  that  I  keep
asking myself. And before you inquire about her knowing your
name... Let's  just say  that in this world, there are a few
precious things that she doesn't know."

"Alright dude...",  Grunge sat  up and looked at Synch, "You
and your  super-chick are not the bad guys. If you were, the
last thing you would do, would be to help mgnnnnnnn!!!!"

Synch watched in horror as Eddie began to convulse. From the
pores  of   his  skin   erupted  small   metallic  worm-like
creatures. As  they exited his body, they wiggled around for
a while  and then  turned to  sand. Everett cursed under his
breath,  he   sure  could  use  Monet's  powers  right  now.
Unfortunately, synching with her was next to impossible when
she was  in catatonic  state. His  feelings of  helplessness
were suddenly interrupted by the activation of his aura. His
body started floating upwards.

"Hello Mr. Mutant, my name is Roxy."

Three teenagers  stood behind Everett. To their displeasure,
they noticed  their unconscious  friend.  Roxy  frowned  and
looked at Ev.

"Look, there's a perfectly good ... aarghhhhhhh!", before he
could start  explaining himself,  Synch found  himself on  a
collision course with the rocky surface of the mountain.


                  
                  The Beginning Of The End

They struggle  to break  free, in  vain. The  force that  is
binding  them   to  the   metallic  wall   of  this  strange
cylindrical room,  seems to  be also dampening most of their
powers. All Sean and Emma can do is communicate psionically.

Emma: {Sean...}

Sean: "Gnnnnnnnnn.! Ooff... Gnnnnnnnnnnn..."

Emma: {SEANNN!!!}

Sean: "Ach  lass... Ye  cannae see?  I'm  tryin  t'break  us
free..."

Emma: {Look...}

Their surroundings  brighten, as images begin to form on the
screens of four giant monitors. Floating back-to-back in the
center of  this metal-tile  prison, they form a cube. On the
side that  is facing  them,  our  two  heroes  can  see  the
projection of one of their students.

Sean: "It's Monet... Haven' another one o'her spells."

Emma: "She's... making some kind of ... sand castle?"

Sean: "Gnnn... Uh ? You stopped using yer telepathy?"

Emma: "It's  easier this way, and Sean ... I've noticed that
we're about  fifty feet  above the  ground. With  our powers
diminished, breaking free isn't a great idea."

Sean: "ACH!! Pinned to the wall like bloody flies!"

The giant  cube which  is floating a few feet away from them
makes a  quarter rotation.  Facing them  is now the image of
their incarcerator.

Apocalypse: "INDEED!! LIKE the INSECTS that you are!"

Sean: "So...  Why don't  ye come out of YER HIDING PLACE AND
TRY T'GIVE US A SWAT!!!! Mister, I promise ye, once I rescue
the lads, ye'll!..."

Meanwhile, in another far away place ...

PAF! THud  ...! Once again, Bobby collides with the mountain
wall. Usually,  Burnout has  no trouble  maneuvering in  mid
flight... Today, gravity is playing tricks on him.

Freefall: "... you ... MIMICKING SON OF A B*TCH! Don't think
I don't know what's going on here!"

Synch: "Whatever  you say  ... _Mother_.  I promise  I'll be
good..."

Roxy feels the gravity field around her change sporadically.
Her body  shifts back  and  forth  in  mid  air.  For  every
gravitational shift made by this mysterious foe, she reaches
out with her power and neutralizes it.

Freefall: "GUYS!!! Get the hell out of ..."

Synch hurls  a fireball  at her. Roxy dodges it. Glancing at
her two fallen comrads, she curses under her breath.

                           
                           T 4 5

Jubilee: "...  so, like  ... I knew this guy couldn't handle
my powers,  right?   Everyone  was  juuust  freaked  when  I
started pissing him off... So after he supped on me, he just
totally lost it... because he just couldn't handle my ..."

Fairchild: "ahem... Sorry Jubelle..."

Jubilee: "That's Miss Lee!"

Paige: "Don't  you pay  no attention to her Caitlin. We awll
call her Jubilee."

Fairchild: "Well,  I was  wondering... How did you manage to
carry these powers around without having corporations try to
exploit them?"

Skin: "Well  chica, back  where we  come  from,  no  one  is
interested in exploiting our powers."

Chamber: {Yea,  instead the  plonkers just  go around hating
us, hunting us down, wanting us dead, fearing us...}

Fairchild: "Oh my... That's terrible, I had no ..."

Jubilee: "HELLOOOOO!!!!  I believe  I was  in the  MIDDLE of
something over here!"

Fairchild: "Sorry,  sorry... I  interrupted...  You  tricked
that Emplate guy into absorbing your unstable power?"

Jubilee: "Yep.  I sure  got us  out of  a tight one... Kinda
reminds me  of this  one time  when I  was hanging  with the
xmen..."

Paige: "OH  MY!!! Ha  have a  great idea!  We could all take
turns at  describin our  powers, out loud. And maybe... even
go into how we experienced them for the very first tam."

Skin: "Hey Jono, why not tell us about your story?"

Chamber: {There's nothing to tell...}

Paige: "Jonothon  darlin, you know keeping stuff all bundled
up insad ain't gonna do you no good."

Chamber: {...}

Paige: "Jono dear... You know these things will just blow up
on you, sooner or later..."

Skin: "Jono amigo... Can I throw some salt on the wound too?
Our gringa friend here seems to be having sooo much fun..."

Fairchild: "So,  your exploding  power is fueled by negative
emotions, like angst?"

Jubilee: "Well, he wouldn't be the first one. *laugh*"

Chamber: {Actually  luv... I  once thought  my power was the
best thing that existed in me.}

Jubilee: "Yep,  that's right!  What would  I do  without the
hideous hole  disfiguring my  whole upper body... geee, what
made change your mind !?"

Chamber: {It  was before...  the incident.  I  knew  it  was
inside of  me... It was like suddenly I had the energy to do
all I  ever wanted...  My parents  worried  when  I  stopped
eating, they had no way of knowing...}

Skin: "Mui fascinating amigos, I would love to stay and chat
but  someone  should  start  looking  for  our  two  missing
companions."

The uncanny  teens keep talking as Angelo dashes towards the
sandy part  of the  isle.  He  glances  back  and  continues
running.  Anything,   to  avoid  that  particular  topic  of
conversation.

                      
                      Everyone Loves M

How to  ward off  the adversaries  waiting for  them on this
desolate isle,  how to  keep warm  at night, how to keep the
team morale up. After only a few hours on this strange land,
Monet knows  enough not  to  worry  about  these  particular
problems.  Oblivious  to  her  surroundings,  she  picks  up
handfuls of  sand and  carefully adds  them to  her  castle.
Completely unaware  her distant  spectators, she carries out
her secret ritual.

Sean: "I  do nay  know if  this is appropriate, but the lass
has quite a talent for picking her time t'space out."

Emma: "Well  Sean, no  one's perfect. No matter how powerful
Monet is, we must realize she lacks experience."

Sean: "Ye'r  right 'bout that, lass. And her tendency t'keep
to herself does nae hel..."

Their attention  shifts to  the middle  of the  room, as the
display cube  starts to  change. The  glass shatters and all
the circuitry oozes out as if it were alive. Before the very
eyes of  our headmasters,  the metal mesh quickly takes on a
humanoid form.

Apocalypse: "And  then, there  is the  matter of the company
she keeps..."

Sean: "Grrrr!..."

Emma: {Sean,  getting aggressive  now is a waste of our time
and energy!}

Sean: "Uh?..."

Emma: "I  think it's time we stop playing games, Apocalypse.
What do you want with Generation X?"

Apocalypse: "I want them to EARN their place in the world as
the superior beings that they are... Or DIE trying!"

Sean: "I'll  be honest  with ye,  sir. We  cannea care  less
about yer wants. We have our hands full enough trying to get
the kids ready for a world that hates them."

Apocalypse: "Yes...  It seems  to me like your lives consist
of one burden after another."

With a  simple gesture,  he activates  a series  of  viewing
screens. The  cylindrical surface  that was  once all  metal
tile, is  now mostly covered with images of the generation x
team.

Emma: "Why thank you Mr Nurr. I was missing the view."

Sean: "Look  lass! Seems  like M  built  a  device  of  some
sorts."

Emma: "With sand?"

Apocalypse:  "AH,  I  see  you  have  located  one  of  your
burdens."

Sean: "I  know very  well that in a world ruled by the likes
of yerself,  the lass  would be judged unfit t'live! I won't
even try to explain my concern for her, since it's obviously
beyond yer comprehension!"

Apocalypse: "Oh  but you  are so WRONG. In such a world, she
would be RULING by my side! LIKE me she is SUPERIOR, even to
mutants!"

Emma: "Could the two of you keep it down? It's enough that I
can't DO anything to help my students... The least you could
do is let me WATCH them!"

Apocalypse: "?...?"

Sean: "*Gulp*"

Emma: "Look... There's Angelo. He found her."

The mutant  known as Skin eagerly runs towards his teammate.
His joyous  expression fades  when he  sees the state she is
in. He  sighs to  himself. Even  if it  does not provide him
with  human  interaction,  Monet's  company  does  invoke  a
certain feeling  of safety. He welcomes the afternoon sun as
it throws his shadow against the sandy ground. He sits down.

                  
                  But Synch Is Such A Jerk

A few  meters away  from Gen13's hiding place, Rainmaker and
Burnout are  entrenched behind  a pile  of boulders. Next to
them, lies their unconscious teammate.

Burnout: "Shouldn't we be helping out?"

Rainmaker: "I  think Roxy  mentioned something about the guy
mimicking our  powers. You  did notice that she has tried to
keep the fight as far away from us as possible?"

Burnout: "... makes sense. So what do we?..."

On the other side of the mountain, Roxy is on the prowl. She
is determined  to make  him pay for what happened to Grunge.
_Her_ Grunge.  With her  power, she  turns over  every rock,
exposes every opening. It is not too long before she notices
that something is out of place. Blocking the entrance to one
of the  few caves  on the mountain side, is a large boulder.
She tries to move it out of the way, but it won't budge.

Freefall: "Not very smart, mister!"

The flames  of fury  in Roxy's eyes dissipate and give place
to a  sinister glow.  She thinks of all the possibilities. A
nice little  cave-in could do the trick. Or she could simply
wait him out. Outwitting her foe, she uses her power to push
the boulder,  instead of pulling it out. The entrance to the
cave is  now completely  sealed. She  knows that  sooner  or
later, he  will run out of breathable air. She pushes in the
rock like  an assassin using a pillow to muffle the life out
of a victim. She suddenly feels a hand on her shoulder.

Freefall: "Wha!?"

Rainmaker: "It's me, I..."

Roxy's attention is drawn to her companion for fraction of a
second. Unfortunately for her, enough time for her adversary
to strike  back.  The  boulder  quickly  flies  out  of  the
mountain wall.  As she  pushes the  boulder back,  Rainmaker
summons an enormous thunderbolt that shatters it to pieces.
For what seems an eternity, both parties slug it out.

Freefall: "take this!!!"

Rainmaker: "I'll try to control those rocks with MY powers."

Freefall: "What?"

Rainmaker: "They're more unpredictable"

Synch: "Ouch! What's wrong with you!?"

Freefall:  "YOU'RE   RIGHT!  The   cyclonic  winds  you  are
generating are too randomized for him to neutralize:)"

Synch: "Ouch!"

Rainmaker: "Try  creating a  zero gravity  zone in  front of
him!"

Freefall: "... here goes."

Synch: "Ouch, ouch! quit it!"

Freefall: "OUCH!! Sarah!"

Rainmaker: "Sorry,  it IS rather unpredictable. Now create a
gravity field behind him, making it grow outwards..."

Freefall: "There."

Synch: "Arghhhhhhhh!!!!"

Freefall: "YES!"

They both watch as their nemesis struggles to keep the cloud
of rocks  from hitting him. He suddenly lowers his defenses.
Roxy feels  her need  for revenge  purged as  a few boulders
accelerate towards the stranger's head and...

Rainmaker: "... they bounced off him..."

Freefall: "They BOUNCED off him?"

Rainmaker: "...  except for  that one... It broke into three
pieces..."

Synch: "I  think it's  time we  put an  end  to  our  little
battle. Sarah,  Roxy, meet two of my good friends, Monet and
Angelo."

Rainmaker and Freefall: "eh eh *gulp*"

Skin: "Hi  there chicas,  I suppose  you're  both  Caitlin's
friends."

Rainmaker and Freefall: "... Yes..."

M: "Am  I correct  in assuming  that this little skirmish is
connected to the current condition of Mr Chang?"

Rainmaker: "uh-uh, right."

Freefall: "WAIT  A MINUTE!  He hurt  my friend, real bad. He
HAS to pay!"

M: "Your  friend's injuries  are the result of him trying to
use his morphic abilities on techno-organic matter."

Rainmaker: "What's techno-organic matter?"

Skin: "A bunch of creepy tiny microscopic robots that try to
assimilate you.  Bet  you  guys  don't  have  this  in  YOUR
universe."

Freefall: "In our what!?"

M: "ahem...  As I  was saying,  by gaining the properties of
the techno-organic  sand, Eddie turned part of his body into
something that  tried to assimilate him. The effort required
for him  to purge  his system  was what  caused the physical
trauma. Not an attack made by my teammate."

Freefall: "Are you sure?"

Synch: "Excuuuse meee! Do I look like some psy..."

From a distance, young man runs runs towards the party of
confused teens.

Skin: "Is HE a friend of yours?"

Rainmaker: "Oh, that's Burnout."

Burnout: "It's Grunge, he's coming around."

M: "Great,  I'll fly  him over  to the  campsite. Angelo and
Everett, you lead the others there."

Synch: "No problem M. We'll be with you in a minute."

                          
                          Allegro
                              
The red  sun slowly  retires  behind  the  western  horizon,
signaling the  end of  the day.  Similarly, our young heroes
retire from  the hardship  and conflict  that made  up their
introduction to one another.

Husk: "...so  ah tore  out mah  own skin  only to discover a
whole new  body underneath. It was the most beautiful day of
mah entire life!"

Fairchild: "Wow...  Just like a fairy tale. I mean, although
I do  enjoy my  powers, the  way I  got  them  wasn't  as...
romantic. As the scientists gave me stuff to trigger them, I
got real  sick. I  would spend entire evenings awake in bed,
nauseating and hurling."

Jubilee: "Gee Caitlin, I can't wait to hear YOUR story."

Fairchild: "Well, I didn't mean to..."

The rustling  of leaves disrupts the social gathering. Monet
slowly lowers herself and Grunge to the ground.

Chamber: {Welcome back luv.}

M: "Caitlin, your teammates are on their way. And guys, I've
arranged for transportation back home."

She gracefully lands while holding on to Grunge.

Grunge: "Ohhh,  gosh! Do  I have  to? I mean, it's not every
day that  I get  to fly under da stars with a doll like you.
Let's do it again!"

Fairchild: "Grunge!!! Sorry Monet, he's just like that."

M: "I know what you mean."

She glances at Jubilee.

Fairchild: "Monet,  your friends say that you sometimes like
to tell tales of your past."

M: "Really, they said that?"

Jubilee and Husk: "*chuckle*"

Fairchild: "Yes, they told me you were a great story teller.
I would love hear about your adventures."

Husk: "Well,  we were  all talking  about the  origin of our
powers. But you could choose another topic if you want to."

Chamber: {I think we should wait for the others first.}

M: "You  know, Chamber  is right.  It would be very rude not
wait for them. Non?"

From far  away, emma watches with a machiavellian expression
on her face. She knows that every time Monet is honest about
her past,  she looses  an arm.  She wonders  how her student
will talk herself out of this one. May be if she...

Sean: "Ye know what Emma?"

Emma: "Uh... What?"

Sean: "There  may have  been a  purpose to  all o'this. Just
look at them... Meeting other mutants just like themselves."

Apocalypse: "WHAT!?"

Emma: "Look, it's Angelo and Everett."

Apocalypse: "What do you mean, Mr Cassidy?"

Sean: "I  mean, this  is great for the kids. Learning how to
get along  with others,  overcome differences.  The lads are
more mature than I gave them cre..."

Apocalypse: "HOW DARE YOU! BEGONE!!!"

A blinding  flash of  light transports Emma and Sean back to
Xavier's school for gifted youngsters.

Sean: "Was it something I said?"

Emma: "Forget about it Sean. The kids will fill us in on the
details when they return, *sigh*."

Back to our uncanny teens...

Freefall: "... so, no hard feelings?"

Synch: "Hey, you didn't do anything I wouldn't have done."

Freefall: "Thanks! *wink*"

Burnout: "So  when do  we get  started? I can't wait to hear
Monet tell her story."

M: "Guys, I would love to stay but the longer we remain her,
the more  unstable my  techno-organic transportation  device
becomes. Generation X should leave at once."

Jubilee: "Guys,  sit down. The only thing that's unstable is
M's tendency to be honest with us."

Rainmaker: "That doesn't sound good."

Grunge: "Yea! Like, where's our story?"

Husk: "Look  M, ah realize you're sensitive about your past.
We're sorry  bout what we did, but it's no reason to just up
and leave.  We spent  the whole  day fightn  each other.  Ah
think the  least we  could do  is spend one naght talkin lak
good friends."

Fairchild: "What about you Angelo? I'd love to hear yours."

Skin: "Let  me see,  I was  born, I grew lots of skin, and I
joined Xavier's School for young weirdos."

M: "*sigh* Fine, here goes. I'd like to tell you about... My
present incarnation."

To everyone's  awe, Monet  St Croix does the unexpected. She
reveals the...  TRUTH about  herself. She  tells them a tale
about a young heroine who is forced to sacrifice her life to
save  the   ones  she  loves.  About  her  battle  with  the
villainous Doomsday.  About how  her body  had died  but her
essence had  remained intact.  She tells  them about how she
was later brought back to life without her super powers...

M: "...  so I finally defeated the Cyborg Monet by vibrating
my arm  at the  speed  of  sound.  It  was  no  small  feat,
considering I had just regai..."

Jubilee: "ahem, I wanna hear Angelo's story again!"

Fairchild: "Monet, what's kryptonite?"

Rainmaker: "Do the sun's rays still fuel your power?"

Burnout: "Why does Marius Luthor hate you so much?"

Jubilee: "THE END"

Synch, Rainmaker, Grunge and Husk: "ahem!"

Jubilee: "What?"

M: "You realize you are not the narrator. Oui?"

Grunge: "Hey  dudes, look  at me!  My skin  is all  grey and
gooey!"

Skin: "Rassum, frassum..."

Husk: "Here you want a potato chip?"

Rainmaker: "Yes, thank you. munch, crunch crunch"

M: "So  as I  was saying,  thanks to me everyone bla bla bla
bla bla bla bla..."

Fairchild: "Bla?"

Jubilee: "Bla!"

Chamber: {Bla bla bla bla bla.}

Grunge: "Bla bla bla dude!"

The End

All GenerationX characters are owned by Marvel Comics
All Gen13 characters are owned by WildStorm