Lyrissa's Sparkles

Lyrissa was flying down the road at top speed. The race had started sixty miles ago, but she couldn’t tell how long that was because she had no idea how fast she was going. Not long though. Scott was leery to let her out of his sight, and demanded to be on the chase team. Instead of one person in the chase vehicle, they decided to put several after Logan had spilled the beans about Sabertooth attacking her during the last race. The team was Logan –of course- Scott, Jean, and Rogue.

She was determined not only to win, but to get through the race without even a scratch on her paint. Just to rub it in Scott’s face. Although she did respect him for not even asking questions when Jack called her Karma Jennings, instead of Lyrissa Jennings; she had forgotten to tell them that she went by her mother’s name in the races.

The track was long, and went through some tough spots. It took the same off road woods path she did on the last race, but this time they were supposed to take the path she had taken last time. It was getting dark, and keeping her bike steady wasn’t an easy task. Luckily for her, it was just as hard for the other racers, and at least four of the ten dropped. She took a chance and gunned it to get into the lead as soon as she came to a straight way. It worked she flew past the competition. She gained quite a bit of space between herself and the other racers, and once she turned the corner she didn’t see them anymore.

She came to another fork, and followed the flag down a very narrow dirt road that soon disappeared; leaving her alone, in the woods, and potentially lost. She got distracted by the situation, and dropped her bike. It wasn’t enough to damage it, and she knew for a fact she could finish the race if she got Logan and the others to help her pick it up; it was way too heavy for her to life on her own.

She tried calling them on the communicators Xavier insisted on bringing, but she had landed on hers, and wasn’t able to make contact. “Lyrissa, we’re getting a lot of static on our communicators, are you all right?” Jean asked. Lyrissa laughed her relief that Jean was able to make contact. “Dropped the bike. I’m fine, Bad Boy’s fine, but I can’t lift him. Think you guys could come out here and give me a hand?” she thought, knowing that Jean was listening. “We’re on our way. Where exactly are you?” Jean replied calmly. “Third flag off the main road in the woods, just after the right turn off.” She answered.

“The map says the track goes left there, are you sure you’re at the right turn off?”

“Yeah, I followed the flag. But it could’ve been someone messing with the track. I mean this kind of thing happens all the time.”

“Stay on your guard. You can fight in that suit can’t you?”

“Don’t know, I probably could if I had to.”

“Good, stay put. Like I said we’re on our way.”

Jean cut off, and Lyrissa stood next to her downed bike in an awkward, lonesome silence forat least ten minutes until she heard something behind some of the trees. “Who’s there?” she demanded, attempting to be as intimidating as possible. “We have a fight to finish.” A gruff voice growled from the shadows. Lyrissa’s heart dropped when she saw who came walking towards her; it was the big hairy freak from the last race. “What do you want?” she demanded coldly. “You.” He answered simply.

“Me? What for?”

“Your powers. Magneto thinks you’ll be good to have on our side.”

“I wouldn’t fight on your side if my life depended on it!”

“Funny… your mommy said the same thing.”

With that he charged her. She was in too much of a shock to realize what was going on until she was on her back with him on top of her. “How did you know my mom?” she whispered as he began choking her. He didn’t answer. “How Did You Know My Mom?” she asked with more force, kicking him off of her and standing up ready for a fight; her new racing clothes were surprisingly good for combat. “She declined our invitation to the Brotherhood.” He answered simply before charging her again. She flinched and teleported to the other side of him. “You’re a lot like her; sparkly, cute, and fragile. You’ll probably end up dying like her too won’t you?” He taunted.

“What do you mean?” she asked quietly, without letting her guard down. “Just like you, she tried to fight outside her league; it put her in the ground.” He answered. Lyrissa felt herself go cold as she let her wisps show, and trapped him with the shadows from the trees. “Did, you kill, my mother?” she asked slowly. He only laughed and broke through the shadows. She was losing the fight. She couldn’t focus, and couldn’t get her powers to work properly because of it.

She stepped backwards as he closed in on her. Just as her back hit a tree, and his oversized, claw-bearing hand was about to come in contact with her face, a red light flashed and he disappeared. “You okay?” Scott yelled as he ran over to her. “Fine, don’t scratch the bike!” she replied as she pushed herself off the tree. “We’ll try. No promises.” Logan growled before charging Sabertooth. “Get out of here. Finish the race, and we’ll meet you at Jax.” Jean ordered as she telekinetically set Bad Boy upright and started it for Lyrissa. “Heck no! He cost me the race, and has some very important questions to answer!” Lyrissa spat. “We saw the racers on our way to get you, believe me you still have time.” Scott pushed. “He’s right sugar. Besides, we can take this overgrown hairball just fine. Get goin’ and win that race honey.” Rogue added.

Lyrissa knew there was no winning the argument, and mounted up. She left her helmet behind, but didn’t care much. Her mind was now set on winning the race at all costs. She Sped through the woods down the actual track, and eventually saw the other racers ahead of her. Even better, she saw the big guy who beat her the week before.

Before long they were back on pavement, and she was able to go full speed. She saw Jax Shak coming up fast. She leaned forward and pushed her bike to its limit. She crossed the line at the exact same time as the big guy.

“Where’s your chase Karma?” Sierra asked as she walked up to her, Gambit, Storm, Xavier, and Andrew. “They had something to deal with on the jeep. They’ll be here soon.” She lied; she had just finished explaining to the others what had really happened. “Okay. Close race huh? We’re still trying to figure out who won.” She laughed before going back to Jack.

“Dey still fightin’ Sabertooth?” Gambit asked. “They were when I left, but I don’t know how long it would take the four of them to take him down.” She answered. “They are almost here. Jean just let me know.” Xavier announced. “Sweet, maybe they’ll get here in time for them to figure out who won.” Andrew clapped excitedly. “Looks like it, check it out!” Lyrissa smiled as Logan drove his jeep through the crowd and parked it next to her bike.

“Who won?” Rogue asked as they joined the group. “Don’t know yet. It was close, like whoever won only did it by a tire close.” Andrew answered. Storm started to say something but was cut off by an air horn sounding off suddenly.

“Listen up! After reviewing the six videotapes, and two pictures, and listening to arguing eye-witness accounts, we have the winner!” Jack announced through a megaphone; the whole crowd cheered. “Everybody give it up, for Karma Jennings! You go girl!” he shouted. The crowd was a mix of cheers and boos, but mostly cheers. “Yeah!!” Andrew screamed. “Congratulations.” Xavier laughed over the crowd roar.

“Here ya go Jennings, full prize money.” Someone wearing the same Jax Shak shirt Jack always wore said as he handed her a large wad of cash that was rubber banded together. “Thanks man!” she laughed as she counted it; eight hundred dollars. “This means you got at least two grand in bets!” she gasped. “Two and a half actually, it’s a big crowd tonight.” The young man smiled before going back to his other work.

“Okay, here’s how it works guys. You’re my crew, I won and got paid, so each of us gets an equal share.” She explained as she had Andrew split the money; he was always the one for math. “I still don’t see why this place is so much of a big deal to you… it just looks like a bunch of punks breaking the law.” Scott sighed over the noise of the now raging party around them. “Come on, this is just the annoying outside view. The real party is over this way.” She laughed and led them into the warehouse. “Jack! Watch my bike, and the jeep next to it. I find one scratch on either, it’s your head!” she shouted as she passed him. “Yeah, I know.” He laughed.

Inside the shack was a neon and black-lighted madhouse. “Welcome to the after-party. Which always happens during the actual party, no one knows why we call it this.” She laughed as several other people greeted her and the others. “Hey Karmmah Jennnningsh!” a very drunk young woman screamed as she leaned her full weight against Lyrissa. “Oh my god Skid, how much have you had?” she asked while suppressing a laugh. “More’n you have! Who’s your friend…?” Skid replied, switching from Lyrissa to Gambit to keep herself standing. Rogue didn’t enjoy seeing Skid all over him, but kept her composure seeing as she was drunk off her rocker. “Skid! Come on, you’re going home now. You’re… I was gonna say toasted, but you’re so far beyond that!” an older guy laughed as he pulled her off of Gambit. “Sorry sir.” He apologized before carrying Skid out of the warehouse.

“Who was that?” Rogue demanded. “Skid, and her big brother Jay. We call her Skid because she always skids across the finish line, and because the first time she raced she crashed and skidded across the pavement in front of the warehouse.” Lyrissa laughed. “She’s kind of boy crazy, but usually isn’t that bad. As soon as she found out you were Cajun though Gambit, it’d have been all over.” She added. “Why’s dat?” he asked, totally confused as to why she wouldn’t want the Cajun. “Because she hates spicy food.” She giggled.

Just then she was tackled from behind and hit the ground hard. She didn’t have time to react before Logan pulled the guy off of her and pinned him against the wall. “Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I’m sorry.” He squealed quickly, holding his hands up in surrender. “Dude, what was that for?” Lyrissa demanded as Storm and Rogue helped her up. “A quick twenty?” he answered nervously. Immediately a large group of people erupted in laughter. “Ya see, they bet I couldn’t get away with tackling you with your crew standing around. They were going to bet I take this guy down, but I’m glad I didn’t try because he would’ve tried to kill me and that would be bad.” He explained. “Hey Logan, why don’t ya put him down and let him get his cash. I say we let him get away with it.” She laughed. He grunted and let go of the boy’s shirt. “Thank you! Thank you so much, I’m sorry. I won’t tackle any of you, for any amount of money. I promise, thank you!” he beamed graciously before running back to the laughing crowd.

Lyrissa led them into the party, and before long they were having a great time. Even Scott, and Xavier had joined the party. Everything was going great until someone cut the music and blew an air horn. “Time to go!” Lyrissa yelled nervously to her group; she grabbed Logan by the hand and took off, grabbing Storm as she ran. “Get in the cars, and move. Who cares where you go just get the heck out!” she ordered over the panicking crowd. “What’s going on?” Jean asked, unsure of the situation. “COPS!!!!!” someone screamed as sirens got closer. “Oh man, oh man just go!” someone else screamed.

Lyrissa jumped onto the bike and fired it up as Scott, Jean, Storm and Logan jumped into his jeep, and everyone else got into Scott’s car after Rogue grabbed his keys. The three vehicles fled the scene with several others as arrests started being made. “Roadblock ahead!” Xavier announced as they drove. Lyrissa knew where a great place to hide would be, and turned sharp onto a different road. Logan and Rogue following close behind.

They came to a wide alley and she cut the engine. Both cars pulled in and shut off. “That, was close.” Jean breathed as she got out of Logan’s jeep. “Shh, it still is.” Logan snapped quietly; he was listening to the cops who were very close to their hiding spot. Lyrissa picked up on his cue and thickened the shadows around them to better hide the cars and bike. They hid for at least fifteen minutes before Xavier announced it was safe to continue home.

“Next time Lyrissa, I’m staying here. I’m sorry, but that just isn’t my idea of a good time.” Scott said as they walked up to the living room from the garage. “Yeah, that usually doesn’t happen. Every once in a while the cops crash our party, but not a whole raid like that. Something else was up.” She sighed. “We all could have been arrested. We must be more careful.” Storm commented. “We were being careful as far as that place goes. But I get what you’re saying. And none of us are going back for a while. That place is gonna be hot for a while, and Jack won’t have another race for some time.” Lyrissa stated.

“Hey Spawkles! Did you win?” Allie asked excitedly as they all entered the living room. Beast was sitting on the couch watching cartoons with her, Jubilee, and several other kids. “Yes I did.” She smiled. “YEY!!” Allie squealed, jumping up and down.

“We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news. A mutant rally was shut down tonight by the NYPD at an abandoned warehouse. Let’s have a look at some footage captured by an undercover officer who attended the event.” A man’s voice announced through the television. “The footage you’re seeing is of the illegal race held during the rally.”

“Oh my…” Hank gasped. “Mutant Rally!?” Andrew yelled. “And there we are… right on camera, ditching the scene. This is so bad… guys I’m sorry.” Lyrissa said quietly. “It’s okay. We didn’t know any of this was going to happen.” Jean sighed as they watched the broadcast play out. Eventually Lyrissa fell asleep leaning on the back of the couch, listening to the report and everyone’s reactions.

She woke the next day to hushed voices around her. She couldn’t quite hear what they were talking about, but whoever it was didn’t want to wake her up. She heard what sounded like Dante laugh, and Max and Andrew hush him. “I wouldn’t do that, if ya know what’s good for ya.” Logan warned from somewhere in the room. “W-we weren’t gonna do nothin’ Mr. Logan.” Dante gasped; she heard something hit the ground right behind her head. “Get outta here and leave her alone boys. I don’t wanna have to hurt ya.” He growled. She heard the unmistakable sound of his claws, and the two younger boys gasp before fleeing the room. “Awe come on, we did stuff like this all the time before we came here. She wouldn’t be mad for long, and usually just retaliates with another prank.” Andrew said as he too left the room.

She heard Logan sigh as he walked closer to her. She finally decided to open her eyes and saw him bent down next to her picking up a bag of markers and glitter pens. “Mornin’.” He smiled as she sat up. “What were the boys about to do this time?” she asked seriously. “They were about to draw all over ya with these. I stopped ‘em before they started. They always like this?” he answered. “Yeah, I take it Dante’s fully recovered then? They wouldn’t start a prank without him.” She laughed. “Recovered enough. C’mon, breakfast’s ready.” He replied and helped her up. “Thanks, but I’m not all that hungry right now. Where’s Uncle Charlie? I wanna talk to him.” She sighed tiredly. “He’s in the War Room lookin’ over some footage from last night. If he ain’t there he’s usin’ Cerebro.” He answered. She nodded her thanks and left the living room where she had fallen asleep the night before.

She was relieved to find that Xavier was in the War Room, and not Cerebro. He, Hank and Storm were watching the footage closely to see what had happened that night. “Ah, good morning Lyrissa. Did you sleep well?” Hank asked as she sheepishly entered the room. “Yeah, thanks.” She smiled.

“Uhm Uncle Charlie? Do you think I could talk to you when you get a chance?” she asked nervously. “We could talk now if you would like.” He smiled warmly. “It’s kind of personal, I was wondering if we could talk alone?” she replied, still quiet and unusually nervous. “Of course. Will you excuse us?” he nodded to Storm and Beast. They both smiled and nodded, and Lyrissa and Xavier went up to her room to talk.

“Uncle Charlie, how… how did mom die?” she asked softly as she sat on her bed across from him. “I knew you would be asking these questions again eventually.” He sighed, “I’m assuming you would like to know everything that led to her death?”

Lyrissa nodded anxiously.

“Well to begin with, your mother was a mutant. Her mutation was very similar to yours; the only difference is that she was also telepathic. Magneto wanted her to fight alongside the Brotherhood because she was also very strong with her abilities. He approached her several times, and she refused. She also refused to join the X-men. She chose to remain neutral, to avoid putting you in danger.

“Magneto sent one last invitation, to be delivered by Sabertooth. He cornered her one night when she had taken you for a walk through a park when you were very young; you were hardly a year old. She went into a fury when he threatened you, and defended you with her life.” He stopped when he saw her sparkles fade again. The shadows in the room seemed to thicken as well.

“Please, keep going. I want to know…” she whispered; she was fighting back an ocean of tears.

“She fought well, and won the fight. Unfortunately she was unable to stop him from seriously injuring her. He had delivered a series of very deep lashes with his claws, and she lost a lot of blood in the park.

“I had sent Logan, Hank, and Scott to help her, but they arrived too late. All they could do was bring the two of you back here. Hank worked on her day and night trying to save her, and your father stayed in the infirmary with her from the day he walked through the door. We lost her three days later.”

“Sabertooth… killed, my mom…?” she asked as tears rolled down her face.

“Yes, he did. I’m sorry Lyrissa.” He tried to console her the best he could, but knew it wasn’t going to do much good at the moment.

“He killed her, and I walked away from the fight… I could’ve … I… Why didn’t anyone tell me? Why didn’t you at least tell me she was a mutant like me?!” she demanded. Her voice broke as she started to yell.

“Calm yourself Lyrissa, you are losing control.” He directed calmly. She listened and laid back on the bed, covering her eyes with her wrists as she tried to calm down. “Uncle Charlie,” she whimpered.

“Yes?”

“Would she have died if I wasn’t there when she was fighting? If he attacked her just by herself, would she have survived?” she was still crying quite hard as she spoke.

“It’s impossible to say. I can say, with great confidence, that it is not your fault. None of it.”

“What if-”

“No Lyrissa, that’s enough. She would not have wanted you to be burdened with this so. She would want you to learn from it, and become stronger than she was; so if Sabertooth ever attacked you, you would be able to defend yourself in the way she couldn’t.”

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. “Is everything okay in there? Its kind of… really dark out here.” Jubilee asked through the door. “Everything is fine Jubilee, don’t worry.” Xavier answered. “Sorry…” Lyrissa sniffled as she regained control of her powers fully and put the shadows the way they should be.

“Do I look like I’ve been crying?” she asked Xavier once Jubilee had left. “Yes, very much so.” He smiled humorously. “Great.” She groaned as she went over to the mirror. “Think I can cover it with make up?” She asked hopefully. “I’m sure you can. Shall I leave you to it then?” he asked calmly, but happily. “Yeah. Thanks Uncle Charlie… it means a lot.” She sighed. “Any time my dear. If you ever need anything…” he smiled as he left the room.

She was still having a hard time keeping her composure, but knew that if she stayed locked up in her room all day that everyone would suspect that something was wrong; she was trying to make them think she was just fine, crying in her room all day wasn’t going to do the trick. She put on enough makeup to make her look somewhat normal, and lay down on the floor to wait for her bloodshot tearstained eyes to return to their normal state as well.

She woke up to another knock at her door; she must’ve fallen asleep while lying on her bedroom floor. She groaned and rolled onto her stomach before pushing herself off the floor enough to open the door. Then she flopped back down and waited for whoever it was to walk into her room.

“Spawkles!” Allie gasped; followed by what sounded like Logan’s grunt. “She’s, fine kid. Knock it off!” he said with a faint growl. Lyrissa couldn’t help but to smile at the way they were fighting. Allie wanted down so she could check on her, and for some reason he was trying to keep her in his arms. Eventually, he growled and dropped her; she landed on her back and started crying.

“Logan!” Lyrissa scolded as she picked up the crying four year old. “She bit me.” He stated flatly in his defense. “She’s four.” She retorted.

“Doesn’t give an excuse to bite.”

“Getting bit doesn’t give an excuse to drop little children.”

“Sure it does. If she bit ya right now would ya keep holdin’ her?”

“No, but I wouldn’t drop her!”

“I wouldn’t bite Spawkles, she’s nice! Not like you Wogan. You’we a meanie!” Allie scoffed as she blinked away the last of her tears, and continued to pout in Lyrissa’s arms.

“Yeah, he is. He can’t help it.” Lyrissa smiled as she walked past him and down to the kitchen. She heard Logan growl and storm off in the opposite direction behind her; she couldn’t help but to laugh.

“She’s up! ...Wait, did Logan wake ya? He did didn’t he? I’m gonna have to hurt that man one of these days.” Rogue sighed when she saw Lyrissa and Allie walk into the kitchen. She was sitting at the table watching Gambit and Jean argue. “Yeah, but I didn’t want to be asleep anyway, so it’s okay. What’s going on down here?” she laughed. “Gambit wants to make somethin’ Cajun for dinner, but Jean says his gumbo ain’t kid friendly. I gotta agree with her, that stuff gets pretty hot after a while.” She answered. Lyrissa chuckled as she sat down next to Rogue, holding Allie in her lap.

“What’s wrong Al? You’re kind of clingy today.” Lyrissa asked quietly. Allie hadn’t let go of Lyrissa since she picked her up; it had been hugs and snuggles since. “Allie, come on honey. I know something’s up.” She pushed when she didn’t answer her question. “I was sweeping, and had a scawy dweam.” She whispered, hugging Lyrissa around the neck. “Well, do you wanna tell me what it was about?” she asked. “There was a lady, she looked like you, and was holding a little baby. A big hairy man came up and stawted fighting with her. Then he gwabbed the baby, and she hit him. They stawted fighting mowe, and then she was on the gwound bweeding. I think he killed you!” she answered, starting to cry.

Gambit and Jean stopped arguing when Allie told about her dream, and Rogue just sat there staring sympathetically. Lyrissa’s hair lost it’s sparkle when she realized what it was Allie had dreamt. “Should I get the Professor?” Jean asked quietly. Lyrissa nodded and held Allie tighter in response to her crying. “He just told me about that night… you think she picked up on it?” she asked Rogue and Gambit. “I don’t know.” Rogue sighed. “She so small, I can’t see why she have to deal with all dis now. Why don’ she get her powers when get older like everyone else, eh?” Gambit asked; it was clear he cared about Allie as much as everyone else, and hated seeing her hurt just the same. “I don’t know Gambit. It isn’t fair.” Lyrissa replied.

“Lyrissa, could you bring Allie up to her room please so that I can speak with her?” Xavier asked telepathically. “Sure thing Uncle Charlie” she answered before standing up. “Where ya goin’?” Gambit asked her as she walked towards the door. “Uncle Charlie wants me to meet him in her room so he can see about helping her.” She answered and kept walking.

Xavier had requested to be alone with Allie while trying to talk her through what was happening. Which worked perfectly, because Scott had set up group training in the Danger Room, and wanted her and Andrew to join in.

“All right, I have it set to start in five minutes. If Lyrissa isn’t down here by then, we’ll have to go on without her.” Cyclops announced. “She’s coming.” Jubilee assured. “Actually, she has just arrived.” Storm smiled as Lyrissa rushed through the door, trying and failing to fix her hair. “Sorry! I couldn’t find my shirt, and then I couldn’t find my shoe, and things just didn’t want me down here.” She sighed. “It’s fine, so long as ya can keep up, Sparkles.” Wolverine smirked.

“We still have a few minutes before the round begins. Our goal is to stay in as long as possible. If you’re down for more than five seconds, you’re out.” Cyclops explained to her as she looked around the Danger Room. “Cool, we doin’ teams or everyone for themselves?” She asked. “I vote teams!” Andrew shouted; Cyclops hadn’t announced that part to anyone. “All right, but let’s decide teams quick. We’ll be starting soon.” He sighed. “Boys versus girls!” Andrew decided. “Yeah! That sounds awesome.” Jubilee agreed. “Hey, don’ we get a say in dis?” Gambit asked as Rogue and Jean paired off and got ready for the match. “Girls stick together bub.” Wolverine sighed.

“Level six environment commencing.” The computer announced. “Here we go!” Rogue shouted confidently.

Suddenly the once-empty room turned into a thick jungle. Lyrissa, who was just standing next to Storm and Jubilee, was now on her own. “Lyrissa, where are you?” she heard jean ask. “The Danger Room I think… other than that I don’t know.” She thought back sarcastically. She looked up just in time to see Rogue fly over the trees and dodge a small explosion; Gambit had found her, which meant the guys were close. She ducked down to the ground, and moved as quietly as possible towards where she saw Rogue land.

“Not so fast Sparkles!” Andrew shouted as he tackled her from the side. “No you don’t!” she yelled as she rolled to the top of the match. They continued wrestling for quite a while, each rolling off the ground before the five seconds were past. The match had moved quite a ways, and before either of them knew it they bumped into Wolverine. “Need some help kid?” he asked Andrew as he grabbed Lyrissa by the shoulder. “Pin her! Pin her! Pin her!” he chanted excitedly. Lyrissa retaliated by kicking him hard between the legs as Wolverine grabbed her.

She struggled in his grasp before remembering she was wearing a jacket; she pushed up against Wolverine and then ducked down out of it. “Holy crud…” Andrew gasped when he saw her. She was wearing her black racing pants, with her new purple boots over them, and a tight fitting sports tank top that matched them. It showed her curves perfectly, and accentuated the fact that her breasts were actually a little large for her build. Even Wolverine stood and stared for a second before snapping out of it and charging her.

She got scared and teleported, causing him to miss. He charged again, and she kicked him in the side, taking him down. Much to her dismay, he stood back up before she could hold him down. “Ya ain’t gonna win Sparkles.” He smiled. “Says you.” She retorted as the match continued. Unlike the last match they had, he wasn’t afraid to hurt her this time. It made it a lot more fun for her. He threw her into a tree, grabbed her and pinned her hard against the ground, using his entire bodyweight to keep her there.

“One…” he counted as she struggled. “Two….” She started yelling at him as he held her down. “Three… you’re gonna have to do better than this girlie. Four…” she screamed at him, and teleported on top of him. “Not what I had in mind, but it’ll do!” she laughed as she pushed him down as hard as she could.

“One…” she mocked. “Two…” she was laughing as he continued to fight. “Three… what’s the matter Wolverine? Four…” she was just about to hit five when Andrew knocked her off of him with his powers. She yelped as the two of them came at her. Andrew tackled her and held her feet down while Wolverine took care of the rest of her. There was no escaping this one, and she couldn’t teleport on command yet.

“Hey, two against one just ain’t fair boys! I shoulda known ya’d play dirty.” Rogue sighed as she picked them both up and flew them into a tree. “Thanks Rogue!” she laughed. “No problem sugar, like Wolverine said earlier us girls stick together.” She smiled and picked Lyrissa up.

“Who all is left anyway?” Lyrissa asked as she and rogue flew above the jungle. “Jean took Cyclops down, but Gambit got her; I got him good though. Wolverine got Jubilee… so the only girls left in this are you, Storm, and me. The boys have Andrew, Beast, and Wolverine.” She answered.

“Wow… so with the two of us here, that means Storm’s alone wherever she is.”

“She’s hidin’. We’re gonna pick her up, and pick those boys off one by one.”

“Rogue, it looks like the guys have a different plan!”

Before Rogue could figure out what Lyrissa was talking about, she flew the two of them into a very large net that was hanging from two trees. “Not cool man!” Lyrissa shouted to no one in particular. “And so the hunters have become the hunted.” Beast smiled as he hung upside down from one of the trees. “Please forgive my quick departure, I believe we have a game to win.” He added before running off.

“Rogue, we aren’t pinned, does this count?” Lyrissa asked. “I don’t know.” She answered. “The net doesn’t count as an out, unless they are actively trapped by an opponent guys!” Cyclops’ voice boomed through the jungle from the control room. “Oh yeah!” Lyrissa cheered as she and Rogue struggled with the net.

She screamed suddenly as she saw Wolverine flying at her from the corner of her eye. She grabbed Rogue out of reflex, and again teleported accidentally, taking them quite a ways above the potential fight. Rogue caught Lyrissa as they started to fall, and flew off. “I keep forgettin’ ya can do that.” She smiled as they sped off to find Storm.

“It was just Wolverine back there, we could’ve taken him.”

“We’re leavin’ Storm alone in a cave. She wasn’t happy with the cave to begin with, fightin’ Wolverine would just make her have to stay there even longer.”

“A cave? Yeah, that sounds like something Storm would hate.”

“It’s a big cave though, at least she has that.”

Suddenly the Danger Room shut down. Revealing Andrew and Wolverine standing in a corner, Beast sitting in the middle of the room, Storm Sitting in another corner, and Lyrissa and Rogue hovering above everything.

“What’s goin’ on?” Wolverine demanded, “We were winnin’!” he added. “Like hell you were, there’s three left on both sides!” Lyrissa retorted. “Listen guys, we have trouble.” Cyclops interrupted sternly. “Meet us in the War Room.” He added before leaving the control room. “We’ll finish this later.” Andrew smirked as he ran for the door. “Uh huh.” Lyrissa laughed after Rogue set her back on the ground.

Everyone sat around the table in the War Room as Xavier explained the situation. Magneto, Mystique, and Sabertooth had broken into the Friends of Humanity headquarters, and were causing quite a stir. Xavier ordered that Lyrissa and Andrew stay behind on the mission to stop them from killing any members of the FOH; for the first time Lyrissa found herself arguing endlessly against his decision.

“You are not ready for this. Especially with your new found hate for Sabertooth; you will get yourself killed.” He stated firmly as she followed him down the hallway begging him to let her go.

“But Uncle Charlie, I can help.”

“You are asking, only so you may have a chance to fight Sabertooth. You’ll end up fighting him in pure hate if I allow you to go; my answer remains no.”

“He killed my mom! I deserve to hate him for it!”

“I understand your anger, Lyrissa. Please understand my decision, and stop arguing with me.”

“Let me go, and I’ll stop arguing Uncle Charlie, he deserves to die anyway!” She stopped walking and covered her mouth at what she had just said. Even Professor Xavier didn’t expect her to admit that she wanted to kill him. “I… I didn’t mean to say that… I didn’t even mean to think it.” She whispered; her comment was directed more to herself than Xavier. “I know. Now do you see why I am having you remain here?” he replied in the same tone a father would after a grueling argument with his teenage daughter. She just nodded and followed behind him silently.

Her head was spinning with thoughts. Imaginative memories of her mother, images of the crash with her father, everything that had happened in the labs, remembering the day she ran away from the X-men the first time, the first time Jean, Storm, and Rogue threw ice cream and movie night; she was drowning in chaotic thought. Xavier had started to read her mind, but stopped out of respect for her privacy after seeing some of the things she was thinking. There was a conflict in her mind, between pure hate and fear of everything around her, and the same childish view of the world she had when he first met her. Even he couldn’t tell who was winning.