Sam blinked as he tried to re-orientate himself. His world was spinning, and he felt an uncomfortable heaving in his stomach. When his surroundings finally settled, Sam lied hugging the ground, his head still whirling. He heard screams all around him, and when he opened his eyes, he was blinded by bright sunlight. When his eyes finally adjusted, he saw dozens of people rushing past him. Confused, Sam looked at the faces of the fleeing mob, and noticed their horrified faces.

'Sumthin' is scaring these people to holy heaven!' he realized, as he slowly pulled himself to his feet. Looking around, he noticed he was outside, standing in the middle of a grassy field. Paths and trees surrounded him on all sides, and the skyscrapers that were visible above the trees told Sam he was standing in the center of Central Park. What's more, it was broad daylight.

Scanning quickly, he noticed two blond girls lying on the grass not far from him. Magik, whose mental battle with the White Queen had gotten them tossed here, and Roulette, one of the Hellions, were both stunned, but both appeared unharmed.

Sam dodged a fleeing woman, then heard a crash come from the other side of a grove of trees. He glanced in the direction of the crash, and debated blasting over the trees to find out what was freaking out all these people. A groan from Illyana, however, made up Sam's mind, and he rushed to his teammate's side.

"Hey, girl, Y'allrite?" he asked, helping Magik to her feet.

"I'm okay, Sam," she answered, rubbing her head. "Frost almost got past my mental shields. I've never had that happen before. My head feels like the Blob sat on it!"

"From the looks of things, we're it seems t'be 'bout 3 or 4 in the afternoon, and I know it weren't no later than nine last night when the White Queen found us."

"You know how my power works, Sam. It can transport us through time and space, and I sure as heck wasn't concentrating when I tried to vamoose outta there."

Sam nodded. "Means we're lucky t'be in the same state. Just hope we havn't lost too many hours...or days."

Just then, Roulette groaned from her spot on the grass about 10 feet away.

"How ya feelin' Jenny?" Sam called to her as she climbed to her feet. "Y'all still in one piece?"

"I'm fine." Jennifer answered coldly. The Hellion looked around and noticed for the first time the panic that gripped the people in the park. "What the hell is going on around here? And why did you zap us into the middle of Central Park, Magik?"

"I wasn't aiming for Central Park, Roulette. I was just trying to get us all out of there before your Headmistress could cause any more trouble."

"It's just her way of disciplining us," Jennifer spat back. "She likes getting her point across. Besides, she probably wouldn't have even ratted you guys out to Magneto! Heck, you shoulda' been thanking her!

"That's enough outta you two!" Sam interrupted. "Let's go see what's got everyone in an uproar, then we'll see if'n we can't locate the others."

Grudgingly, the two girls nodded.

As Cannonball blasted over the trees, a girl under each arm, he saw the cause of the disturbance. Two figures down below were wreaking havok on the park, destroying statues, wrecking the landscape, and generally terrorizing the people.

Even from his altitude, Sam recognized one of the figures from the X-Men's files. "Toad," Cannonball muttered. "What in tarnation is he doin' here?"

Mortimer Toynbee, better known as the mutant, Toad, was really enjoying himself. Hopping from perch to perch, he was laughing uncontrollably at the destuction he and his companion were causing. The other individual was tougher to place. He moved so quickly, he was just a green blur, zipping here and there, wreaking havoc as he went.

"Toad?" asked Jennifer. "Why the heck would anyone want to be called Toad?"

"He's fought the X-Men a few times," Magik answered, "But he's no problem. Not much of a power, and less of a brain."

"Maybe so, 'Yana," Sam answered, "But he's got some new friend who seems t'move faster'n the devil, and you still aren't up to using your power. We gotta be careful."

"Sam, let the Avengers or Spider-man handle him, We've got to figure out how to get home," Roulette objected.

"Ain't no tellin' when any of them others will get here, Jenny," Sam shook his head. "It's up to us."

Sam returned the girls to the ground, and then blasted back into the air. Illyana may have been a bit battered, but she was hardly defenseless. Besides, she was with Jennifer, and good things had a habit of happening to that girl.

The Toad was still at it. Now he was holding a young woman by her long blond hair. A huge grin was on his face, as drool dripped from his mouth. He was saying something to the woman, who had a look of disgust and terror on her face.

Cannonball blasted in and caught Toynbee by surprise. The Toad yelped as he was plucked off the ground. The girl shrieked, probably thinking Sam was another of the Toad's friends. Sam made a few quick circles in the air to disorientate his passenger, then dropped Mortimer about 10 feet onto the grass.

"What the Sam Hill are you up to, Toad?" Cannonball asked, landing next to him.

Mortimer simply looked at him, stunned. Sam sighed at the pathetic creature. Illyana was right, he was no threat.

"Okay, Toad..." Sam began to speak, but was suddenly hit hard in the face. Before he could react, he was hit again, and again. In fact, the flurry of blows that rained down on him seemed to come from all directions at once. Sam was on the ground and battered in a matter of seconds, and he never saw what hit him.

With his whole body aching, Sam looked up through blurred vision at his attacker, who had finally stopped moving. At first, all he saw was a green blur, but as his vision slowly cleared, Sam's eyes widened in astonishment. Standing in front of him, a cocky look on his face, was the mutant Quicksilver.

At first, Sam thought he had been the victim of a mistaken identity. He knew Pietro would never attack him deliberately. However, as he studied the speedster's face, the truth suddenly dawned on him. Pietro looked much younger than Sam remembered him. What's more, his face had an angry look to it that far surpassed Quicksilver's usually annoyed expression. It actually frightened Cannonball a bit.

The clincher, however, was Quicksilver's outfit. Almost identical to his gray and silver one in style, Sam had seen pictures of Pietro in this green costume. As a matter of fact, Pietro had been younger in those pictures. This was the uniform Quicksilver had worn when he first encountered the X-Men as a member of Magneto's first Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

'My Gosh...' Sam thought as the full truth of the situation came to him. They hadn't just missed a few hours....Illyana had sent them hurtling years back in time! He was face to face with the X-Men's first foes.

'I don't care of he is younger,' Sam thought to himself. 'Quicksilver was never truly evil.' With that, Sam decided his best defense against the fleet-footed mutant might be to reason with him.

"Pietro, wait..." Sam tried, but it came out much weaker than he had expected. Out of the corner of his eye he could spot Magik and Roulette rushing to his aid, but whatever he had said, it had some effect on Quicksilver. Pietro's face went white until it almost matched the color of his hair.

"What did you say?" Quicksilver asked Sam, his astonishment quickly turning to anger. "How did you know my name, X-Man?"

Now it was Sam's turn to be confused. X-Man? What did he mean?

"Quicksilver, What the heck are you doing?" Illyana asked, as realization slowly dawned on her face. "We're your friends." she said quietly, as if to convince herself.

"Another one?" Pietro raised his eyebrow. "So, Xavier is expanding his roster? Well, it does not matter. You X-Men are no match for us!"

Now Sam understood. Their New Mutant uniforms were patterned after the costumes worn by the Original X-Men. Those same X-Men that Quicksilver and the rest of the Brotherhood of Evil mutants had fought. Pietro had marked them as enemies as soon as he'd seen them.

"Get a life, Speedy!" Roulette said, tossing a black disc at Quicksilver. The speedster took off towards the girls, but unluckily caught his foot on something, and fell head first to the ground, his ankle twisted.

Jennifer giggled as Pietro fumed. She never saw the drop kick from the Toad which hit her square in the back and sent her sprawling to the ground, the wind knocked from her. Mortimer then smiled evilly at Illyana, and tried to grab the blond girl.

"C'mere, pretty...." Toad grumbled.

"Gross." Illyana said calmly, teleporting herself out of the Toad's reach, and reappearing instantly behind him. "Looking for me, ugly?"

The Toad turned, laughing madly, to see Illyana standing there facing him, but she was not alone. A monstrous demon crouched on either side of her. The creatures, one red and one green, were smiling and drooling. Both had horns and snouts, and the red one had a long forked tail and devillish wings. Mortimer quieted immediately.

"Can we eat him, boss?" One demon asked.

"Yeah, c'mon, pleeeease....." The other begged, jumping up and down in excitement.

Toad turned his back and ran, hopping high into the air. Magik made a motion with her hand, and the demons took off in pursuit like thoroughbreds out of the gate. Just as they reached their fleeing prey, Magik gestured again, and the creatures disappeared in a circle of light. Toad remained, curled up in a ball in the middle of the field, whimpering.

Magik admired her work for a second, then decided to leave Toad where he was. She walked over to Sam and knelt down by her friend, who was now at least sitting up. His left eye was beginning to swell.

"How ya doin' hotshot?" Illyana asked.

"Been better," Sam shook his head to clear the cobwebs.

"This isn't over yet, X-Men," the the two New Mutants didn't recognize the voice, but when they turned, both of them immediately identified the speaker.

Jason Wyngarde, a.k.a. Mastermind peered down at them. The collar of his brown trenchcoat almost concealed his face, but the mutants had sat through enough old videotapes to recognize both Mastermind and his other teammate as well. Wanda Maximoff, The Scarlet Witch, was already rushing to her fallen brother's side.

"We'll see how brave you new X-Men are when you are brought face to face with Magneto himself," Wyngarde boasted.

Before Sam and Magik could react, the ground itself split open, forming a gap between them and Mastermind. Molten lava sprung forth from the chasm, causing Wyngarde to retreat further from the pair. Both New Mutants recognized the power signature, and spun to see a familiar face.

"Back away from them," Amara threatened Mastermind, her body glowing with molten lava. "I swear by Jupiter, none shall harm my friends while Magma lives."

Amara stood about 20 feet away from Cannonball and Magik. Next to her, the mutants recognized Manuel de la Rocha, Empath, as he helped his fellow Hellion, Jennifer, back to her feet.

"Magma!" Sam's excitement was evident in his voice.

"Did she have to bring Empath with her?" Illyana grimaced in disgust at the Hellion's name.

"Momma always said not to look a gift horse in the mouth, 'Yana," Sam replied. "If'n Amara and Manuel are here, maybe the others are as well."

From her brother's side, Wanda Maximoff realized they were being beaten by this new group of X-Men. She could care less for Mastermind or the Toad, they were both disgusting individuals in her opinion, but these strangers had hurt her brother. Pietro was all she had, and she would not allow anyone to hurt him.

"I cannot allow this to continue!" Wanda yelled, rising to her feet. She pointed a finger at Magma, Empath and Roulette.

"Magma, Watch out f'r the Scarlet Witch!" Sam shouted. "Her Hex power makes awful things happen!"

Amara was too busy wreaking havoc with the earth itself to notice the Scarlet Witch's attack, but the Hellions were not. As soon as she noticed Wanda's attack, Roulette created a white glow around the three, her signature "good luck" aura. All of them held their breath for a moment, waiting for something completely crazy to happen, as was usually the case when either mutant used her probability manipulation powers. When nothing occurred, it became evident that the girls' mutant powers had cancelled each other out.

The Scarlet Witch watched in awe when her hex had no effect. Her power had never failed her before. However, she didn't get to contemplate long, as something from above her knocked her hard to the ground. The Toad had been hiding in a tree above the siblings, and now, laughing, had dropped from his perch, right onto Wanda.

Still grinning, he hopped over to Empath, and rubbed his head up against Empath's thigh like a big dog. "I did good, didn't I?" he asked.

"You did very well, Toad" Manuel answered coldly, his glowing eyes signalling the poor wretch was completely under his control. "Now, get away from me." Mortimer blinked and looked around in confusion as Empath's power wore off.

"Toad! You traitorous bastard!" Quicksilver screamed. Pietro had always been hotheaded, and seeing his sister beaten by their own teammate had put him over the edge.

Mortimer's eyes went wide with terror, "Pietro....No, I...." he stammered, then turned and leaped into the air, trying to get as far from Quicksilver as possible. Pietro, injured ankle and all, zoomed off in pursuit.

The battle over, Amara walked over to her teammates, followed by Manuel and Jenny. Sam was standing, now, though he was still a bit wobbly from the beating he suffered at Pietro's hands.

"We did pretty good, if I do say so myself!" Illyana declared. "I can't wait to get back and tell Maggie how we beat up his first gang!"

"Forget about that, Magik," Jenny spat. "Can you get us home or not?"

"Take it easy, Roulette," Sam answered. "We can't go until we've explored a bit more. What if the others are stranded here as well? If'n we leave, they'll never get home."

"So, what, Cannonball?" Manuel spoke up. "We can't be sure they're even here! I say we get out of here before somebody more dangerous than Magneto's lackies show up!"

"Ah can't believe you would leave your own teammates, Manuel," Sam shook his head. "Ah won't go until Ah'm completely sure that no New Mutants or Hellions are stuck here."

"Fine, Sam, you can play the hero all you want," Manuel threw up his hands. "But we need to get back!" He turned to face Illyana.

"Don't even try it, Empath." She said before he could open his mouth. "You know your power won't work on me, and if Sam says we are staying, then we are staying till he says otherwise." She turned and stared into Manuel's brown eyes, "Unless you want to test me?" Empath turned away from her gaze almost immediately. "I didn't think so."

"Good," Sam nodded. "Then it's settled. Okay, Ah'll cover the park from the air, Amy, you 'n Manuel....."

"More of Xavier's brood? Will he ever learn?" Sam was interrupted by a deep male voice from behind. The five young mutants turned slowly...and came face to face with The Master of Magnetism, himself.

It was hard to describe Sam's feelings at that moment. He had heard all the stories of atrocities committed by Magneto. He had also had several converstions with the X-Men regarding the Master of Magnetism. The fear and respect was evident in all of their voices, even the courageous Wolverine, whenever Magneto's name was brought up.

When Magnus had taken over as Headmaster of Xavier's school, sure Sam had been wary. After all, who hadn't read all about Magneto's horrible acts of terrorism and murder? But then Sam had met Magneto himself, and had even served as a student under him; he had formulated his own opinions. To Sam he was a very fair, if stern, man, who had made a few mistakes in life. But now he was face to face with this younger Magneto, and...well, Sam suddenly understood what all the fuss was about.

As he watched Magneto floating there, inches off the ground, encased in a magnetic bubble, Sam could sense many things beneath the Master of Magnetism's icy blue-grey eyes: Intelligence, passion, anger, commitment to his cause, and.....madness. This man would crush them all in an instant if given a reason, and he had the power to do it.

"He spoke to you about his dream, didn't he?" Magneto asked the youngsters, spitting the word "dream" like it was a curse. "It can never happen, you know. Never."

"Magneto," Empath said, stepping forward. Sam could tell from looking in Manuel's eyes that he too was seeing Magnus in a different light. "There seems to be a mix-up. You see, I am not..." Manuel was cut short by Illyana's elbow to his stomach.

'Just like Manny,' Sam thought, 'Willing to sell everyone out if it means a better position for him.'

"You seem to have defeated my Brotherhood," Magneto said calmly, ignoring Empath's remark. "You will not find me so easily dispatched."

'Great,' Sam thought. 'We're toast.' He was about to scream for Illyana to get them out of here...maybe not home yet, but anywhere but this very spot. His thought was interrupted by a bright red beam of light that caught Magneto in the side, causing him to grunt as his magnetic force field wavered.

The mutants all spun to see what was to Sam the greatest, and at the same time the strangest, sight he had ever witnessed. Charging onto the scene were the original X-Men themselves. Sure, they were younger, Iceman couldn't have been any older than Doug was now, but there was no mistaking their identities.

"Hold it right there, Magneto!" Cyclops said, manually adjusting his visor as he prepared to fire another optic blast. Marvel Girl was close beside him, as was the Beast, furless, and leaping into the frey. Angel flew in circles above them, while Iceman hurled snowballs from his perch on an ice slide.

All five wore their original uniforms: black and gold with cowls, similar to what Sam, Amy and Illyana had on now. Only Iceman strayed from the look. His body was covered in ice (he was out of the snowman stage Sam had seen pictures of), but he wore the same yellow boots his teammates had on over his icy exterior, making for a bit of a comical look.

"Hey, check those guys out!" Iceman yelled to his teammates, pointing at the New Mutants. "I didn't know we had a fan club!"

Sam and the others watched as the X-Men and Magneto fought to a standstill. Sam was amazed at how the X-Men, despite being about the same age as the New Mutants were now, could work so well as a team. They actually had Magneto on the defensive. Cyclops, who was coordinating the whole thing, would alternate distance attacks with Iceman and Marvel Girl, and when Magneto adjusted his shields to parry, Angel and Beast would take advantage of the openings to get close enough for their own attacks. Finally, Magneto had had enough.

"I grow tired of this, X-Men," The Master of Magnetism declared. "I have nothing to gain here, so I will be on my way. Be assured, we will meet again." With that, he hovered into the air on a magnetic wave, and soared away.

The X-Men looked tired, but nonetheless, they had driven Magneto off. Now they were free to turn their full attention to the newcomers. Sam and the others stared back at them, still not beleiveing who stood in front of them.

"Gosh," Sam broke the silence, approaching the X-Men. "Ah don't know what to say. Thanks for...."

"Hold it right there," Cyclops held up a hand in warning. "How about we start with you telling us who the heck you are, and where you got those costumes?"

'Wow, even as a young'un Scott's all business,' Sam thought.

Angel flew in and settled to the ground in between Amara, Illyana and Jennifer. "It must be my lucky day," he said, flashing his GQ smile. "It's not every day we get to rescue three gorgeous blondes!"

"Watch were you put those wings, fly-boy," Roulette snapped back, as Illyana snickered at his remarks. Amara looked absolutely appalled that somebody she respected and looked up to would talk to her that way, even if he was almost ten years younger than she remembered.

"Enough, Angel," Cyclops scolded. "Okay, everybody," he glanced at each of the New Mutants and Hellions. "It's time to start talking."

Sam sighed as he met the gaze of the young Scott Summers. 'Well,' he thought. 'This is sure going to be interesting.'

To Be Continued...