NOTE:~ means telepathic communication. * means personal thought. [ ] means cyberpathy or computer-generated speech.

Bill Shade was not, by anybody's reckoning, an intuitive boy. Cunning, even imaginative about certain topics -- yes. But intuition was simply not his strong point.

So perhaps he could be forgiven for not sensing when his twin brother, Tom, had fallen in love with one of the most seemingly unlikely people. "We'd better tell the headmasters about you," Tom blushed to Cathy Daystar.

"Dude! Why didn't you tell me about the... ooh, hot one, nice taste... girlfriend?!" Bill whispered. A deathstare from the incensed Cathy silenced him.

"That's why," Tom glared. "Tact isn't your thing, is it, Bill?" He followed Cathy to the common room and left Bill to fume, not noticing his brother's lunge.

As he caught up to Cathy, she smiled wryly, "He's a pig, but a nice-looking pig. At least one of you got the brains in the pair."

"Then p'rhaps, Tom, y'can explain just what yon lass is doin' alone in th' dorm with ye?" Sean asked from the dorm's open doorway. Cathy's eyes widened slightly.

"Sean Cassidy? Teacher of Generation X? Siryn's father? Survivor of Krakoa, the rescuer of Japan at the cost of your own powers, the slayer of Emplate?" Cathy asked. She smiled demurely at Sean's raised eyebrow (the right one; the left had suffered nerve damage when Emplate had savaged Sean's left eye 6 years earlier). "I'm Cathy Daystar, Dani Moonstar's cousin and foster daughter," the girl continued. "I'm an X-fact fanatic. I grew up on X-Force and X-team trivia, and later online gossip about the X-teams. That's where I met Tom. He 'ported me here through cyberspace. And I'm a mutant -- single-track tepe, animals only. I've got control when I'm only around a few critters, but I'll never be a cowgirl. Herds of animals overwhelm what little shielding I've taught myself. I'd like to enroll."

She took a deep breath and concluded, "We only kissed, and Tom didn't intend to teleport me here. Please don't get angry with him."

Sean chuckled in reply. "Well, any cousin o' Dani's... go see Miss Frost t'register. An' call Dani! She's prob'ly worried sick." The teens ran off whie Sean called after them, "An' stay outta each others' dorms when we teachers aren't present!" *Och, kids,* Banshee thought with a chuckle. *Still, they didnae lie or try t' wriggle outta it. An' another student'll be good.*

"You did WHAT to cyberspace?!"

Emma barely hid her surprise (and pleasure) at Tom's news. Students who exceeded their self-imposed limitations such as Tom had were her favorite type to work with. "We'll explore it more tomorrow, Thomas. As for you, Cathleen, welcome to the New Mutants. Mr. Cassidy and I agreed that the 'Generation X' title was a bit trite for such a diverse, positive group," Emma said.

Cathy merely nodded. Her efforts to shield her thoughts from Emma were both amusing and a bit unexpected by the telepath. *But she is Danielle's cousin, and even after X-Force, Mirage has a low opinion of me. Some bridges take longer to build than others,* Emma reminded herself.

"May I go join the group heading to the mall, ma'am? I'll need some clothes to fill in until Dani ships my stuff from Colorado," Cathy asked.

"Go ahead," Emma dismissed them. They left, the sound of Emma's pen following them out:

Emma stretched and checked Cerebro's automatic scanning array. Her eyes widened to see a totally new neogenetic signature in, of all places, Cincinatti, Ohio. ~Illyana! Please come here before you teleport to the mall,~, she sent.

The irate Siberian teleporter materialized before Emma with Luna, Soraya, Cathy, Gailyn, Tom, Charles, Nate and Joe. "Tom was introducing the newbie," Illyana pouted.

"You can talk when you do get to the mall," Emma said. "Please teleport to Cincinattti and check into this new mutant."

Frank and Rachel teleported to the war party, fully dressed, albeit with wet hair. "Good to see we're not late," Ray smiled.

"Is that really Franklin Richards?" Cathy whispered to Tom with wide eyes. "Dani told me he's... y'know, all-powerful."

"Frank? Sure, he's an Omega, but he's a down-to-earth guy," Tom shrugged. "Just don't get too familiar with him at first when Ray's around -- she's really into him. And he feels the same way."

"Like us. I understand -- I'd get mad quick if some bimbette tried to move in on you," Cathy grinned. Her eyes widened as Illyana teleported the New Mutants away.

Emma nodded and rechecked the Cerebro array -- and paled to see nine familiar biosignatures appear beside the neogenetic signature. ~Sean! OhmiGod --I've sent the students to their deaths!~ she mindscreamed...

As Illyana scryed the Mutants' destination to lock down her teleport, the Summers and Baileys discussed their summer vacations. "So how did your powers kick in?" Ray asked Gailyn.

"We were at Tara in Ireland on July 17, and the grans let us sleep out," Gailyn began. The other New Mutants listened in as she wove the scene with the skill of her Celtic roots: a moonlit night, the unearthly aura surrounding the ancient seat of kings, and then...

"These faeries started dancing! Somehow, their dance triggered our powers," Gailyn blushed. "They weren't wearing much..."

Illyana jerked her head over and began to laugh uncontrollably. "July 17?! Tara?! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" the nature-witchling howled. "That was one of my parties!! Oh, this is rich!! All we were trying to do was sweep up the mana generated by Highsummer Night. And have a little fun..."

She teleported the blushing Baileys, with the other Mutants, to an alcove in a bus terminal. "There's our guy," Illyana nodded. She pointed to a blond boy with a duffel sack and a worried expression. "Hey... doesn't he remind you of... oh no!" Illyana made a face of mock horror. "Another Guthrie!! They're everywhere!!" she giggled.

The boy suddenly looked up at the nearby mutants, and began to smile. He strode over and asked Rachel, "Y'all are th' New Mutants, aren't y'? Ah rec'gnized some o' y'all from Sam an' Tab's scrapbook. Ah'm Lucas, Sam's seventh siblin'."

"Oh cool!" Luna smiled. "Welcome to the team, Lucas -- Miss Frost was right. This was easy," Frank said. Before introductions could be exchanged, however, a scream rang from the main entrance.

The teens looked over to see a van with federal markings being torn apart by a blond man in a tan and brown costume. He plunged into it and began freeing the prisoners within. "Hey, guys -- f'r once, Sin ain't the one savin' your butts!" a primally savage voice scraped across the Mutants' ears. Frank, Ray and Charles cringed in recognition -- and fear.

"Sabretooth," Frank said. All of the others, even Soraya, winced. "But if he's freeing people who Sinister abandoned -- oh hell!" The prisoners could be seen leaving the van while Creed tore inhibitor collars from their necks. They grinned cruelly and moved to attack the few bystanders who hadn't fled when Sabretooth had tossed aside his trenchcoat "disguise."

"MARAUDERS!!" Nate yelled in rage.

Scalphunter, Prism, Arclight, Harpoon, Riptide, Scrambler, Vertigo, Sabretooth, and Blockbuster turned with even wider grins of anticipation. "It's the brats who put us away years ago! And no Sinister to spoil our payback," Scalphunter called. "So let's work out the kinks of incarceration," Riptide giggled insanely.

"Frank..." Ray said warningly.

"It's us or those innocent people, Ray," Frank replied. "Luna! Evac the civs! The rest of you -- pair off where you can. Chuck, avoid Prism -- he can reflect energy attacks. Let's go, people!"

The New Mutants rushed forward while Luna tore ahead and rescued the remaining humans. She barely avoided Creed's infuriated slash. "Kill 'em!" he howled.

"Works for me," a voice replied from within Tom. He gasped as Bill phased out from within him. "Nifty trick for someoue with no tact, huh?" Bill grinned. He heat-blasted Blockbuster, who swatted at the boy.

"Hold still, you verdammt brat!" Michael Baer snarled. His grimace of rage twisted into a silent gasp of agony as he contacted with Bill -- and passed through him.

"Holy crap! My phasing affects this dip like Dad's does!?" the boy grinned. Baer collapsed in a heap.

"Look out!" Tom yelled.

Harpoon had found a discarded knife and charged it up as a makeshift energy weapon. "Tell your ancestors -- AIERGH!?" the Inuit cried, as he was teke-punched into a nearby support.

Nate grinned and ducked Arclight's attempt at an air-carried shockwave. "Ah, the sound of beaten scumbag," Nate snickered.

"Or beaten punkass," Phillipa Sontag growled. She struck the floor and tried to disperse the kids. The fliers lifted those who could not, and only enraged Arclight further. "Get back here!" she shouted, milliseconds before a pair of handcuffs wrapped themselves about her wrists.

"Who!?" Arclight shouted. A hubcap struck her in the chest, followed by a radiator and a few pistons from the ruined van. Charles was sweating as he pummeled the Marauder; multiple maglevitations pushed his concentration to the max. As Arclight finally collapsed beneath a manifold, Soraya looked at her first friend among the New Mutants with a suspicious eye.

*Those powers, that hair... he couldn't be related to HIM, could he?* she thought. A blur of light from the corner of her eye made her duck in self-preservation.

"Damn!" Prism spat. "Well, I can still amp the UV lights and cook you with a laser." He began to charge up, but Soraya countered with a darkfield. Prism screamed as the field engulfed him.

"Sweet Brahma!" Soraya cried.

She released Prism, only to find him in a fetal position muttering, "Don't shatter me, don't shatter me..."

"What did I do?" she asked no one in particular. "Oohh... " Nausea struck Soraya while Vertigo approached with a chunk of metal from the van.

"Say goodnight - what?! Gett'm off me! I hate bugs!" She screamed as a horde of cockroaches crawled over her.

Cathy helped Soraya to her feet and smiled in satisfaction. "Witch," the Cheyenne yelled at Vertigo. "Tom! She's yours!"

Tom's eyes flashed, and the terminal's automated luggage cart slammed into Vertigo. She flew into the comatose Blockbuster, whose invulnerability knocked her out.

"This isn't happening!" Riptide shouted. He began to spin, but a storm of garbage bombarded him. At the same time, he grabbed his head and screamed.

"Choke ME , will you?" Rachel yelled back. "Tell Sinister to find himself another gene-line to pick on!"

"Tramp! I shoulda boosted all of you brats into death!" Scrambler shouted.

He reached for Rachel, but Gailyn leapt in front of him. "Back off - OWWW!" she cried. Where Scrambler touched her, a red glow began to erupt.

Joe convulsed with a blue glow and reached for Gailyn. "Let her go!" he shouted at the Korean.

Scrambler released Gailyn in incredulity. "I don' feel so good," he muttered. His prison coverall's left side erupted in flames as his right side began to gather ice. The twins looked at each other and grinned. "Pyrokinesis?" Joe asked Gailyn. "Yep - cryokinesis for you?" she asked him. "YES!" they cheered, and kept up the invisible temperature assault upon Kim Il Sung. He screamed and passed out from the combined attack.

Scalphunter had been scavenging among the guards' bodies for weapon parts. Before he could draw a bead upon any of the teens, he paled to see a giant blue creature with horns and an insanely large battleaxe appear from a stepping disc. "M'lady?" the troll asked Illyana.

"Go to town, Ulmark," Illyana shrugged.

"This one merits not a trollish battle," Ulmark sniffed. He backhanded Scalphunter into another pillar and bowed. "Didst that suffice, m'lady?"

Illyana grinned and teleported her man-at-arms back to the Seelie Court of Limbo. "You, as always, rock, m'trollish pal," she waved. "Who's left - FRANK!?"

Illyana's face contorted in a rare look of horror as Sabretooth lunged for Franklin. The boy spun, but not in time to avoid Creed slashing his left side and tearing away a swatch of his "Earth: 70 Percent Water" t-shirt. "You don't want to do this, Mr. Creed," Frank begged, dodging another swipe. "I can't control my powers...!"

"So? All y'got is astral projection an' precog," Creed sneered. "Bye-bye, pretty boy..."

He lunged as Frank held up his arms and howled, "NO!"

Creed was thrown across the terminal as if struck by the fist of a deity. His skeleton seemed to flash from within, and as his organic form flew, a mocking metallic pile of bones appeared before Frank. The boy hit his knees in shock.

"I... I teleported him, but not his adamantium," he breathed. Rachel rushed to him and checked his pulse and brow.

"'Yana! Get us gone, now - Frank's in shock!" she called.

Charles carefuly gathered up the adamantium with a disgusted look and thought, *Was it like this when Dad tore out Mr. Logan's adamantium? At least Frank didn't mean to do it...* The teens teleported before the roar of police sirens reached them.

NEXT: Frank faces his powers! The mall at last! And the fate of that darn adamantium -- but at what cost to which New Mutant!? Guest-starring... oh, like you can't guess...