disclaimer* I do not own the rights to any of the characters in this story, and make no claims to the artistic visions of the marvel universe. I know nothing of the sexuality of any of the creators, actors, or characters involved in the Marvel universe. Similarly, this story contains graphic descriptions of gay male sex. If you don't like that, they you should probably avert your eyes.
This story takes place in an alternate X-Men universe from the one in which the X3 movie took place. Certain events occurred after X2 which changed the timeline. Jean, Scott and Professor X are all still alive, and there was no cure. The specifics of the timeline changes will be made apparent as the story progresses.
Chapter 8 -- "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished"
"That's it man, take it all" said Pyro, as he lay back in his chair. The young man on his knees in front of Pyro took this as encouragement to swallow even more of the young mans cock. Pyro looked down into the unique icy blue eyes of Bobby Drake, as he licked the length of his shaft. Bobby slid down the thick 7" shaft until his lips were in Pyro's closely trimmed light brown pubes. He inhaled, loving the smell of the sweaty little hairs against his nose. The musky aroma was intoxicating, and it only spurned Bobby into bobbing his head up and down even faster. He enjoyed looking up at the powerful fire mutant from down on his knees. Bobby's eyes played over the hansom man's smooth fit body, taking in the tight pectorals, tennis ball-sized biceps, and the flat stomach with the little ridge down the center. He took Pyro's cock down to the root, embedding it deep in his throat. He flared his nostrils and breathed out cold air onto his lover's crotch, causing goose bumps to erupt. Pyro shuddered with the unexpected sensation. Feeling himself grow close to shooting, Pyro gripped Bobby by his dirty blonde hairs and held him tight against his groin, with his full thick length embedded in the cute boys throat. Bobby flashed his amazing ice blue eyes at Pyro, and they looked deep into each other's eyes as Pyro came. He shot rope after thick rope of cum straight into the mouth of his willing suck boy, who swallowed eagerly, delighting in the taste. He sucked on the pulsing cock, trying to draw more and more seed out of it, but at last Pyro was spent.
John leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment, basking in the post-orgasm euphoria. When he opened them, he saw Iceman standing before him, looking incredibly sexy in his black leather X-Man uniform. The suit opened at the neck, and was half unzipped, showing a teasing hint of the smooth skin underneath. The suit hugged Bobby's frame, accenting his trim body as it narrowed towards the waist. Bobby unzipped the suit slowly, and more and more of the smooth creamy skin of his torso was exposed. He peeled back the suit, and pushed it down his strong runner's legs, and stood before Pyro in only his tight pale blue briefs. Pyro admired the incredible body of his sex slave. He loved the way there was almost no hair on Bobby's body. His body was skinny but muscled, like a track and field star. His stomach was clearly defined, which Pyro was jealous of. He had small but defined arms, with the veins visible running across them. His legs were large and strong, and met his abs with a strong V of muscle which dove into his underwear. The bulge in his little blue briefs left little doubt as to how he was feeling. Bobby grinned and groped his bulge obscenely, swaying his hips just slightly side to side. He slowly slid the briefs down his muscled legs, and stood before Pyro completely nude. Bobby's 6" cock stood up straight and proud, with its fat head swollen and red. John looked at Bobby and quickly grew hard again. He made a gesture, and Bobby turned around and bent over Pyro's bed, showing off his small pert ass. Pyro took his time getting up, and walked over to Bobby after retrieving a bottle of lube from the dresser. Bobby looked over his shoulder and watched John with his bright eyes as he gently applied the cold lube. Bobby hissed as a finger slide into him, and was pulled back and forth slowly. John added a second finger after a few minutes, and widened Bobby further. After a few more minutes, Bobby was begging John to fuck him.
"Please^Åplease^ÅJohn^Å.I need you^Å.to fuck me. Please!!" He wiggled his ass back and forth to tantalize John.
John was happy to oblige, as he pulled his fingers from Bobby's ass and lined up his cock at the opening. He pushed forward firmly until the head popped past the ring. Once the head was in, John pushed his full 7" into Bobby in one smooth stroke. Both hot guys groaned together, Bobby from the thick cock filling his insides and John from the warm grip of Bobby's ass muscles. John started off slow, but soon built up to a quick, hard rhythm. The slapping noises of John's groin smacking against Bobby's ass echoed through the room. The room began to smell of boy sex as both guys built up a layer of sweat from the hard fucking. John's chest had small sweat droplets sliding down it, and Bobby's back was shiny and slippery. Bobby began to beg for John to do fuck him more, harder, faster, and John obeyed. Before long Bobby couldn't resist the urge to jerk off, and he grabbed hold of his cock. As he shot his load all over the sheets, Bobby's ass squeezed John's thick member, bringing the other boy over the edge. John shouted loudly in unintelligible words as he shot a second load deep into the ass of his bottom boy.
Pyro and Iceman fell to the bed in a mess of sweat, cum, and boy muscles. John pulled Bobby's face to his and kissed him deeply and harshly. They lay on the bed for some time as they relaxed in the wake of hot sex.
"Ok, you can change back now" said John, as he got up from the bed. He looked over at Bobby just as his features began to melt away. The medium-length dirty blonde hair changed to dark hair buzzed close to the skull. The ice blue eyes turned to deep black eyes. And the smooth runner's body shifted to that of a lightly haired wrestler with big arms and a solid chest.
"Thanks man that was really hot" said the young man, who was aptly named Doppelganger. He could change at will into anyone who he had ever touched. This touch gave him a sample of that person's DNA, which allowed him to mimic perfectly any detail of their body, including voice. He could even tell what how that person would normally behave, as he could feel their instincts inside his own mind. And in mutants, the DNA sample gave him access to their powers.
"Yea it was" replied John, who was busily getting dressed. He felt no connection toward Doppelganger; he only used the boy for sex. Since he could not get over his feelings for Bobby, he used Doppelganger to fill the void.
"Maybe next time we can do it while I look like me" suggested Doppelganger, with a wishful look in his eye.
"Yea, maybe" replied John, who wasn't really listening. Doppelganger was an attractive guy, but John really only needed him in his Bobby Drake morph. He finished dressing in black pants, a red shirt, and a black leather jacket, and headed out the door.
Pyro had a job to do.
//////////////////////////////////////////////// Back at the Xavier Institute
Hydrogue was lost in thought, deep in meditation. He had his eyes closed, and lazily followed the currents of the water molecules around him with his mind's eye. Ever since the first trial in the Danger Room two weeks ago, he found that he was much more in tune with his surrounding environment. It was as if taking on vapor form had expanded his mind, and made him understand his element to a greater degree. It had allowed him to control the water to a greater degree and with considerably less effort than previously. He felt as if there was a fundamental change in his perception, and he had yet to process what it meant.
"Hydrogue!" The word echoed towards him, distorted and difficult to understand. He opened my eyes, and looked up.
Water was all around him, in every direction as far as he could see. He got up from his seated position and stood on the bottom of the lake. He looked around at the underwater environment he had been studying for over an hour, surprised at how much less he could see with his eyes than with his water sense. A small school of silver fish swam by, utterly unafraid.
"Hydrogue!" The word sounded again. Where was it coming from? He looked up, and saw that on the surface of the water there were ripples, with several rocks falling down from where the ripples started. It must be Echo on the surface he realized. Who else could make their voice so easy to understand underneath sixty feet of water?
In response to Echo's call, he rose himself up through the water, mentally yanking himself up by the water molecules in his body. His head broke the surface, and he rose up until his feet rested on the water. He stood on the surface of the lake very messiah-like, and made the water clinging to him flow down back into the lake, making his hair and clothes perfectly dry. He looked up at the hot sun, and was glad that he put on shorts that morning. His tight white tee shirt and tan cargo pants made the perfect outfit for the late spring weather. He also liked how the tight shirt clung to his chest and accentuated his physique, making him look extra toned.
He looked toward the shore and saw Echo standing on the beach next to Rogue, whose long hair was blowing in the gentle breeze. They both smiled and waved him over. Echo raised his hand, showing Hydrogue his sneakers, which he had taken off before going under the water. He walked over and accepted a hug from Echo and Rogue before putting his shoes on.
"What's going on guys?" Hydrogue asked, looking at their big smiles. Rogue looked like she was going to explode from excitement.
"We're goin clubbin!" she squealed, her slow southern drawl almost overtaken in her excitement.
"Awesome, where?"
"Will said he knows a great gay club not too far from here" responded Echo. "So, are you in?"
"Hell yea!" Hydrogue was so psyched to go out. He had been to clubs before, but not often, and never with friends. He always had to take a bus to a nearby town and go clubbing alone when he was at home and in the closet. And besides, this would be a gay club in NEW YORK! Lights, music, drinks, boys!! He couldn't wait.
"Well let's go suga," said Rogue, giggling at his excitement. He was so cute with his big bright grin. "Get yourself dressed and meet us in the garage quick as you can."
With that, Hydrogue ran towards the mansion to his room to get ready. He tore his room apart, trying to find his best clothes. He was going to the club! Demon laughed at his gay roommate's excitement about a night of dancing like a slut. But his amusement and teasing didn't stop him from helping Hydrogue pick out an outfit.
"Alex, dude, you can't wear that. Wear something that shows more skin man, show that BODY. You may be small, but you're ripped where it counts, and if you want some guy to play your back-nine, you gotta show it." Both guys laughed at the inappropriateness of the situation.
Hydrogue showed up in the garage wearing a short sleeved black button-down shirt made of heavy polyester, which made it shiny and hang in all the right places. The top two buttons were undone, showing the top of his hairless torso, and the bottom buttons were also open, giving a peak at the bottom two inches of solid abs and dark happy trail. His dark brown hair was spiked out, but with a slightly tussled look. His strong swimmers legs were trapped in tight blue jeans which bulged nicely at his crotch and showed off his killer ass. Around his neck he wore a necklace of black strong which ended in a small marble-sized orb of perfect sapphire glass, the exact color of Hydrogue's eyes.
He found Rogue, Echo and Will waiting for him beside a beautiful black sports car. Rogue was dressed in a layered look, with a black long sleeve shirt over a white tank top. She wore her hair long, with the white streak accenting her shirt choice nicely. She wore Dark green kakis and long black gloves. Will wore a tight white t-shirt, which allowed the attention to focus on his gorgeous seafoam green eyes. The shirt showed off his big gymnast body perfectly, with his large biceps straining against the fabric. Echo must have had Rogue's help, because he was dressed perfectly. He wore a black shirt with baseball sleeves and a large graphic of a red dragon across the chest. The image wrapped around so that the tail curved onto the back. The shirt looked really cool, and showed his tall lean body very well. His black hair was gelled into a small faux-hawk, and he wore nice fitting kakis and metallic red sunglasses, very much like the ones Cyclops wears. Echo would look strange in a club wearing sunglasses, but he would look even stranger with his black eyes, so Hydrogue didn't say anything.
"Are we ready to go?" Hydrogue turned to see Bobby Drake walking over to the car, dressed and ready to go. He looked extremely hot in a form fitting sleeveless sky blue shirt. Hydrogue's eyes traveled lazily over the light skin, admiring the bulge of the bicep and the vein which was just barely visible running across it. Bobby's dirty blonde hair was spiked up, and he wore tight faded jeans with a couple of rips in them. The exposed leg skin was tantalizing, and showed how little body hair Bobby had.
The five mutants hopped into the car, with Hydrogue, Echo and Bobby in the back, Rogue driving, and Will directing. Hydrogue sat in the middle of the back seat with Echo on his left and Iceman on his right. On the drive to the club Hydrogue was trying to figure out what Iceman was coming with them. Was he gay? That didn't seem right, since he was dating Rogue. Maybe he is just going out with his girlfriend and some friends for a good time? That was probably it. Still, the thought of Bobby with a guy made Hydrogue more than a little excited, especially since their thighs were pressed together in the small backseat of the sports car.
The drive to the club was only about twenty minutes long, and before they knew it they could see the bright lights of club Faqs. It was an old mill building which had been converted about ten years prior. The red bricks had been painted over in bright pastel colors, and the neon signs left no doubt as to what type of establishment was inside. There were several other clubs on the same street, and music of all kinds could be heard as they drove between the buildings. They parked about 3 blocks from the club and walked along the street toward their destination. ID's were checked at the door, and Hydrogue, Echo and Will all got bracelets put on, identifying them as under 21. Hydrogue smiled at the cute blonde doorman who looked him up and down and did not make him pay the entrance fee.
As Hydrogue walked into the club, it was like entering a new world. The music was blaring, and the bass was up so high that he could feel it echo in his chest. The lights were dim, but still bright enough to see by. There was a large bar area off to the right and another against the back wall of the large open room. There were multiple platforms where patrons could get up and dance like exhibitionists, and others were paid dancers shook their little asses in their underwear. Hot Abercrombie-style guys walked around carrying $1 shots, with dollar bills sticking out of their briefs or boxer briefs, which were all the shot-boys wore. He looked around at his friend's all of whom had big smiles on their faces. Echo looked out of place in a dark room with sunglasses on, but Hydrogue knew that with all the noise in this room, Echo could see better than anyone else could. The young mutants headed over to the bar on the far side of the club, winding their way through the thick crowd of dancers. They all started with a good strong shot to get the night going, with Rogue and Iceman (being of legal age) buying the drinks.
The night proceeded to be a fantastic good time, where they all forgot all of the strange and unsettling things that had been happening of late. Hydrogue took turns dancing alone and with each of his friends, including Rogue. He loved how much fun the southern girl was, and how she could just cut loose and have fun when the time was right. She reminded him of himself. At one point, Hydrogue took a break to get a drink from the bar, and pulled up a seat next to Bobby. Bobby looked hot with his tight shirt damp from the sweat of dancing, and his hair just beginning to glisten. Hydrogue managed to get a good whiff of the guy, who smelled like a mix of some amazing cologne and natural manly scent. Bobby got each of them a beer, and they both cooled off for a few minutes, talking just a bit, but mainly just enjoying the scene. They both got up after finishing their beers and danced together in the crowd.
"How come you came to a gay club tonight?" Hydrogue could not help himself but ask. Bobby smiled at the question.
"Can't a guy just have fun with his friends and his girlfriend?" His eyes twinkled with amusement.
"Sure he can. But that's not all there is to it is it?" Bobby smiled even more.
"Ok, I guess I can tell you. I'm actually Bisexual." Hydrogue looked at him in shock. "You're cute when you're surprised" Bobby added.
"Um, thanks. Wow, I just didn't expect it."
"Well it's not that uncommon. At least half of mutants are gay or bi. Has something to do with the need to be accepted and the empathy for `alternative lifestyles' I think."
Hydrogue was flabbergasted.
"I had no idea."
"Well, now you know." Bobby winked at his friend, and turned to face away. He gripped his shirt by the waist and peeled it up off of his sweaty torso, exposing his glittering torso to the world. Hydrogue had eyes for no one else as he watched the smooth, strong back of his friend. Bobby tucked his shirt into the waistband of his jeans, to free his hands. He raised his hands over his head and gyrated his hips slowly, in a hypnotic tempo. Hydrogue watched the round ass of the ice mutant as it wiggled in front of him, barely contained within the faded and ripped blue jeans. He longed to reach out and touch the smooth skin, to feel the heat and the sweat of Bobby's body. He watched as the sweat on the muscular back shimmered in the multicolored lights hypnotically. Hydrogue watched as a single bead of sweat traveled down the crevice between the muscles on either side of Bobby's spine, eventually slipping into the just barely visible crack of his ass. Bobby peaked back over his shoulder, his icy eyes meeting the deep sapphire eyes of Hydrogue. With their eyes locked, Bobby turned to face Hydrogue, his hips still moving rhythmically. His arms stayed over his head, his biceps popping out and shining with sweat and some glitter that had been thrown into the air. His armpits contained very little hair, and what was there was short and blonde. Hydrogue drank in the thin and muscled runner's body, and felt his own cock grow fully hard in his shorts. Iceman danced over towards Hydrogue, slowly growing closer and closer. Alex reached out and put his hands gently on Bobby's swaying hips, and guided the two crotches together. Both boys moaned softly at the feel of each other's erections against their own. Bobby reached down and slowly undid the buttons of Alex's shirt, then letting it hang open, showing off his smooth swimmers chest and hard, lightly defined abs. Bobby then put his arms on Alex's shoulders, holding them close together. He leaned forward as the two young strong checks touched, the sweat making them slide along each other's muscles. Bobby whispered in his ear "Marie and I have an understanding. Since I can't really fuck her without her being fully dressed and wearing a condom, and I can never kiss her, than I can play with any boys I want. She is still my girl, but the position of my boy is still up for grabs." Bobby grinned as he ground his groin into Alex's, loving how big the other boy's felt. Alex's heart pounded in his chest as Bobby grew closer. Both pairs of blue eyes were locked together, and then closed as their lips pressed together. The kiss was soft and tender, but conveyed a powerful need. The boys held each other close, the feel of each other's warm bodies enhancing the moment exquisitely. Hydrogue could feel his pulse pounding in his ears, all time seemed to stop, and the world became centered on only the two of them. The very room seemed to shake around them as they grew closer.
No wait, the room really WAS shaking. The floor lurched violently, and the music came to a screeching halt as people screamed. A pressure front hit, popping everyone's ears. Iceman and Hydrogue pulled apart suddenly, looking around for the source of the disturbance. Hydrogue's water sense flew out around them, bringing him more and more information from the surroundings. He felt nothing out of the usual until he could sense the entire block and then he felt it, an ABSENCE of water. There was a large area where water was flying away from at high speeds. `What would cause that?' he wondered. Then it hit him. FIRE. A LOT of fire.
The two young X-Men took off for the entrance, knowing their duty in a time of crisis. They met Will, Echo and Rogue on their way out.
"It was an explosion" explained Echo, "at the end of the street." They ran out the door, and then they could see it. A large building a block down from the club has been turned into an inferno. The building was a large 3 floor warehouse which had been heavily renovated, making it look clean and new. Flames billowed from every door and window, and a column of black smoke rose into the sky. A crowd was gathering at a safe distance from the building, watching as the brick construction fell into destruction. The young mutants ran towards the building to see what they could do to help. As they approached, the remains of the sign above the entrance became visible.
MUTANT REGISTRATION CENTER
Someone had blown up the registration center. Hydrogue was struck by the fact that this attack must have been made by a mutant in protest of the new legislation. But even though the attack had been made in the interest of protecting mutant rights, Hydrogue was disgusted by it. Destruction and death were not the right ways to protest what the government did.
Will, Echo, and Rogue turned to crowd control, trying to keep everyone calm and safe. Several members of the crown tried to run toward the building to help, but Will used his commanding voice and gaze to convince them otherwise. Echo used his powers to amplify their voices to address the entire crowd and calm them. Iceman and Hydrogue ran towards the building, shedding the shirts that had been barely hanging off of them. The crowd gasped as ice covered Bobby, and as Alex turned into a being of pure water. Several people yelled anti-mutant slurs, but were silenced by Will.
Waves of cold leaped from Iceman's hands toward the flames, clearing the entrance of fire. Hydrogue produced fire-hose-like geysers from his hands, quickly putting out the fires. Both mutants entered the burning building, protected by their ice and water forms. While putting out the largest fires, they came across several bodies of workers and government officials. Iceman used his freezing powers to secure some of the damaged structural supports, trying to buy the two men time to search for survivors.
As Hydrogue emerged from the inferno holding the first living survivor, all shouting stopped. He laid the burned figure on the ground far from the fires, but sufficiently apart from the crowd. He could tell that the victim was a woman from the gentle features of her face, but she was devoid of hair and a large amount of her skin was blackened and blistered. He reverted to his flesh and blood form, and trued to help her. She was still breathing, but barely. Her lungs were dry and filled with smoke, and would soon fail. He reached out with his powers, infusing her lung cells with water, revitalizing them. He did his best to clean out the soot from her airway, and soon her breathing improved. With water, he was able to restore some of the woman's lost blood volume, and he used ice to stem bleeding from a wound on her leg where she had been crushed by a fallen wall. Increases in the water volume of her skin cells helped some of them stay alive longer, and eased some of the pain. He came out of his trance, noting that though he had helped her stay alive, she would have a long and difficult road ahead of her. He looked over and saw 3 new bodies laid out by Iceman, one of them still alive.
"Rogue!" Hydrogue called, beckoning her over. "I need to stay here and try to keep these people alive until the ambulances arrive. I want you to absorb some of my powers and help Bobby put out the fires." Rogue looked back at him uncertainly. She always feared using her powers, due to her complete lack of control. "Please Rogue. Only take a little, enough to be able to shoot water from your hands. You CAN control it. I believe in you." Rogue nodded, and her uncertainty turned to resolve. She pulled off one of her long gloves and touched Hydrogue lightly on the cheek with her fingers.
He was completely unprepared for what it would feel like. At first, nothing happened at all. But after about 2 seconds, his body burned as thought it was on fire. His breath caught in his lungs, his eyes opened wide, and the blood vessels in his face bulged out. He could feel his energy flowing out of him through the connection of Rogue's finger, and he knew that if she held on too long, he would die. But Hydrogue had more power than anyone Rogue had ever touched, and the few seconds she held the connection did not even put a dent in his power reserves. She pulled her finger away, and Hydrogue shrank back in reflex. Within moments, his face was restored to normal, and he blinked back the stars behind his eyes from the pain. He looked up at Rogue, who was breathing slowly and deeply, her eyes closed tight. She opened them, and Hydrogue was surprised to see them the same hauntingly bright sapphire color as his own. They looked rather striking on her, he had to admit. Rogue's hair dampened and clung to her head and shoulders, and her skin began to glisten with accumulated moisture. She had a serene, calm look on her face, as though she were standing on a sunny beach. She smiled at him briefly, glad to know that he was all right, and letting him know that she had control. She ran off towards the building to help as Hydrogue continued to aid the survivors.
Hydrogue worked his way slowly among the burn victims, doing his best to keep them alive. He was aided by Will, who used his powers to mend some of the wounds. Unfortunately he did not have the control or the strength to simply command all of the injuries to heal, but he could close bleeding wounds, mend the simple broken bones, and even once restarted a heart.
By the time the fire department, police, and ambulances had arrived, the mutants had pulled all the bodies from the building, and extinguished the majority of the fire. Hydrogue looked up from the last of the survivors to see the myriad of flashing lights with the arrival of the emergency vehicles. Having done all the work he could do, he rose from his kneeling position, pushing off the ground for leverage. He winced as his hand encountered something sharp, and as he stood he looked at his hand. He had cut in on a shard of glass form the explosion, and his hand was sliced open wide. But instead of blood, pure, clear water poured from the wound, running down his arm and falling to the ground. He looked at the wound in disbelief, not understanding what was happening. He wanted to cut to go away, and in an instant it closed and vanished as though it had never been there.
What the hell was going on?
Before Hydrogue had an opportunity to consider what had happened, the police approached the scene.
Several officers approached the crowd, both to contain the situation, and to take statements from any witnesses. A flood of EMT's rushed towards the area where all the burn victims were laying. The wounded were prepped for transport as soon as they were determined to be safe to move, while the dead were placed into black body bags. Hydrogue and the others were then approached by a pair of young police officers, one a tall and handsome man with dark hair, the other a broad shouldered but nonetheless pretty blonde woman. They looked the group up and down, as if sizing them up. The male officer began speaking.
"Mind explaining to us what happened here?"
"Well," began Rogue, "we don't really know what happened. We were inside one of the clubs when the explosion happened. We rushed out here to help out, that's really all we know."
"Really" asked the female cop. "5 young mutants just happened to be in the area of a terrorist strike on a Mutant Registration Center?" She seemed skeptical.
"Yes, we were" stated Will, clearly annoyed. "And luckily we were, since it took you quite awhile to get here. All these people would be dead by now if it wasn't for us."
"Yea ok." The male cop did not seem convinced. "If you could all just give us statements, and your names and addresses, you can be on your way."
The mutants grudgingly gave their statements, eager to get home. The anti-mutant sentiments coming from the crowd were growing worse by the moment. As they walked past the crowd on their way to the car, things came to a head. A blonde guy in his mid twenties came to the front of the crowd.
"Get out of here you FREAKS!! How dare you kill humans who are better than you! Next time I see you I hope the soldiers are marching you and all the rest of the mutants into the gas chambers!"
"We didn't kill anybody, we saved those people!" Rogue was pissed. Luckily the blue had faded from her eyes, because she might not have been able to control the water powers she had borrowed from Hydrogue.
"This is why we need to catalogue and cage all of you freaks, because you're like animals!" The yelling built from the crowd until the words were indistinguishable from each other, but the hate in their voices was clear.
"SILENCE!" Will yelled as loud as he could. The entire crowd stopped talking, and an eerie silence fell over the entire scene. Will continued, trying to talk the others down. "We do not want a fight; we just want to go home. We did not destroy that building, or hurt anyone. We do not want to fight^Å." His words were suddenly silenced when a rock flew form the crowd and struck him between the eyes. Will stumbled back with his hand at his face, blood seeping past his fingers. The crowd of humans cheered at the injured mutant, and several others searched for rocks and debris from the explosion to throw. As a large broken brick flew towards Hydrogue, he instinctively reached to the water molecules in the air, and used them like ropes to stop the object in midair. The use of mutant powers only enraged the humans further, and more objects were thrown.
Echo stepped forward and screamed with the full force of his powerful lungs, "STOP IT!!" He amplified the sound with his powers, and the force of the sonic boom caused many members of the crowd to rock back to catch their balance. The few objects in the air at the time of his yell were knocked off course and fell to the ground harmlessly.
The crowd surged forward, taking every defense as another excuse to beat the mutants to the ground. Hydrogue knew he had to do something, and scrambled to find a way out. In desperation, he prepared to do what he had only thought about doing before and had never attempted. He reached out with his powers and pulled his friends towards him by the water molecules of their bodies. The 4 mutants rushed toward their friend, and the moment he was in physical contact with all of them, Hydrogue began his plan. He touched each of his friends with his water sense, visualizing their molecular makeup in his mind. He focused his normally wide-spread water sensing abilities on the bodies of his 4 friends and his own. All at once, he used his powers to dissolve all 5 bodies and pull them into the air, traveling away from the mob. To the humans, it appeared as if the group of mutants had turned to mist and blow away in the wind, and they stopped where they were, fearful of attack by the `evil' mutants. But, in fact, the young mutants were racing across the city at the speed of thought in the form of water vapor.
In the blink of an eye the mutants crossed the 20 miles from the club to the mansion, where they all suddenly appeared in the main lobby, soaking wet.
"Dude!" Will shouted. "What the hell?"
"What just happened" Rogue asked, much more composed than the others.
"Well," began Hydrogue, "I kind of just, teleported us all back to the mansion."
"You can do that?" Echo was surprised, which was rare for someone who can hear everything said within a mile of him.
"Apparently." With a flick of his mind Hydrogue lifted the extra water off of the group to dry them off.
"Wait, you've never done that before?" Iceman looked nervous.
"No, but I've been considering how it would work for quite some time now. Since the body is almost entirely water, I just dissolved all the cells into water and moved the whole solution form one place to the other, and reassembling you. It actually wasn't very hard; the only trick was keeping all of you separate from each other."
Nobody seemed particularly reassured by that explanation.
Further talk was interrupted when Storm raced into the room, followed quickly by the Professor in his chair.
"What happened?" Storm had an incredulous look on her face. She explained that the Professor had felt the tension in the city, and she herself had felt the incoming students facing towards the mansion. They had not known what the disturbance in the atmosphere was until they saw the 5 students standing in the foyer of the mansion.
"We kind of, had to flee from a mob" answered Bobby, looking a bit embarrassed. Together, the group explained everything that had happened that night. They explained their reaction to the explosion, how they had attempted to handle the crowd, and how they had been received.
"Well," began the Professor, "you certainly seemed to handle your duty properly. You responded to a crisis, and helped everyone you could. You used your powers to their fullest for the situation, and that is admirable. Unfortunately, you were also taught the lesson we must all learn, that sometimes no matter what you do, others will blame you for anything that goes wrong. Do not blame yourself for the reactions of the police or the mob tonight; they are not under your control. But keep this lesson in your hearts, because it embodies what we fight for."
With that, the Professor dismissed his young X-Men, and everyone turned in for the night, as it was quite late.
It seemed to Hydrogue as if he had barely fallen asleep when he was roused from bed by the sound of Psionic's voice in his head.
<Hydrogue, wake up.> Hydrogue sat up straight in bed, startled out of sleep.
<What is it? What time is it?>
<Its 8am. You need to come down to the lounge, there's something you need to see.>
Hydrogue groaned, but got out of bed. He dressed as quickly as he could in a pair of loose black pajama pants and a plain, tight white t-shirt and ran down to the 1st floor lounge. Upon arrival, he saw a large cluster of students staring at the television, which was showing the national morning news. On the screen was a female reporter, with a picture of the burning Mutant Registration Center behind her. As he approached, he could hear what she was saying.
"For those just tuning in, there was explosion late last night at Mutant Registration Center #16 in New York City. The fire department has been unable to locate any source for the fire, which leaves many with the conclusion that the explosion was caused by a mutant. Several young mutants were in the area at the time of the explosion, and though many blame them for starting the attack, it is undisputed that they pulled survivors and dead alike out of the blaze. The total death count is holding steadily at 23, though there are another 11 people in critical condition in nearby hospitals. The victims are almost all humans, most being government officials or part of the medical team on station for the registration process. However, it has been determined that 3 of the victims were mutants, though only 1 is still alive."
The image of the reporter was replaced by images of Hydrogue, Echo, Will, Iceman, and Rogue in their attempts to put out the fires and control the situation.
"These 5 young mutants faced an angry mob after the emergency vehicles arrived, as many believed that they were the cause of the explosion, though this has not yet been proven. The situation escalated to violence, at which point the group of mutants simply vanished into thin air', according to eye witnesses. Two of these mutants, codenamed Iceman' and Rogue', are fairly well known as members of the X-Men', a renegade group of mutants who fight for mutant rights. They claim that they support peace between humans and mutants and that they oppose mutant supremacist and terrorist groups such as the Brotherhood of Mutants, led by the infamous Magneto. Many believe them to simply be a different type of mutant supremacist group. The other 3 mutants present are unidentified at present, and the Department of Mutant Affairs has confirmed that they are not on any registration lists. This attack came as the first of a massive coordinated strike, with a current count of over 27 Mutant Registration Centers destroyed all over the United States, including 4 others in New York. The federal government has promised a swift reaction to this attack, thought a White House spokesperson declined to give details."
After the last announcement, the news moved on to local weather, leaving the room in silence. As Hydrogue looked up, he saw every student in the room looking at him.
"I can explain^Å" he started, but was interrupted.
"There's no time" said Echo. "They are here. Trucks, helicopters, large vehicles, all coming down the road toward the mansion." The whole group rushed to the windows which showed the large open area at the front of the mansion. Sure enough, no fewer than 6 helicopters hovered above the mansion, and dozens of trucks, vans, and armored vehicles pulled up in front.
"They've come for us all"
////////////////////////////////////// Ok guys there it is. I hope it has been worth the wait. I had hoped to get further than this in this chapter, but I realized that everything needed more explaining than I had originally thought, so it will be taking 2 chapters.
As I have said before, I will continue to write, but it may take me some time. I am in the middle of finals at school, and am also moving into a new apartment, so I am a busy man. Please be patient, and in the meantime, please email me with any questions, comments, or requests at phoenixfire543@yahoo.com
Lots of love to my readers - Matt