Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 21:18:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: P G <phoenixfire543@yahoo.com>
Subject: New at Mutant High: Chapter 8

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...please...John....I need you....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...."  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..." 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.  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