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

Lucas tore through his dresser drawers, searching for the cutoff shorts he'd worn for swimming back in Kentucky. *At least, when girls were around th' swimmin' hole,* he thought. *Ah knew ah shoulda brought more shorts, but noooo, New England's cold in fall n' winter. Doofus! Luna'll think y're a dope...*

Luke had prided himself on being a tolerant, semi-worldly boy, having been exposed to tales of the world outside Cumberland whenever Sam or Paige had visited home. The real thing, though was quite different; a giant dog, a girl from India, a poker-playing sprout of a boy, a headmistress who dressed like one of Joelle's fashion models. But Luke had tried to fit in without compromising who he was, and to his relief the other Mutants were (mostly) friendly folk who'd taken to him quickly.

The other guys had shown regret about Luke having to room alone (he appreciated their attempt to include him in their circle, but secretly he was enjoying not having to share a room). Only Bill had been a jerk, but Lucas had found Bill was a jerk to everyone anyhow, so he didn't let the phaser get to him. And then there was Luna, who had been the first of the Mutants to help Lucas out. *She convinced me t' stop beatin' myself up over what happened t' Chuck,* Luke smiled...

He thought back to that dreaded August day, when Rachel's psi-scream had drawn the entire campus to the biosphere control room. Sean and Emma had quickly and efficiently organized the students into a triage squad. The still-twitching Wolverine was taken away to an iso-lab, where automated sensors had confirmed the adamantium bonding procedure was working. With Logan secured, Moira and Emma had begun work on Charles, leaving the Mutants to fret in the cafeteria. Frank was no doctor, but he knew enough about basic medicine to tell the others the situation was bad.

"It was like... oh, God, like a car wreck, I guess," Frank had moaned over his lunch tray. Rachel had recovered her composure, but to everyone's surprise Soraya was sobbing uncontrollably in the shelter of Cathy's arms. Her cries tore at Lucas, who had actually seen a horrible combine accident on a neighbor's farm a few years earlier.

"An' it's my fault," he had mumbled.

The others turned to their newest member with looks of shock and denial. "How!?" Luna cried.

"If y'all hadn't come f'r me, that adamantium'd still be in Sabretooth, an' Mr. Logan wouldn't've hit Charles so hard," Lucas gulped. "He mighta been able t' brainfry him or somethin' -"

"And Chuck would've ended up on the end of bone claws!" Luna cried. "Lucas, I don't know you very well yet, but I know you're not to blame for what happened! If Chuck hadn't had that adamantium to stun Mr. Logan with, he might've been hurt a lot worse than just getting shoved into a wall! You probably indrectly saved Chuck." She had taken his hand and smiled weakly, adding, "I appreciate your concern, though. We all do - RIGHT, Bill?"

Luna glared at Bill, who had been cursing about "why do we need that hayseed" ever since the Mutants had returned from Ohio. "Yeah, yeah, whatever...," Bill muttered.

"Thanks, Luna," Lucas sighed. "Ah 'preciate y'all tryin' t' make me at home."

"Hey, dude, you're one of us," Nate smiled. "Don't worry 'bout bein' the new kid... "

*An' they've really been good friends,* Lucas thought. He sighed as he found a photo among his belongings - a photo of his best friend, who had vanished in a weird incident in July. *Jeb,* Lucas remembered his older brother. The Guthrie children were divided into two different age groups. Sam, Paige, Joelle, and Josh were young adults by now, while Jebediah, Lucas, Delilah and the twins, Ezekiel and Naomi, were teens. Jeb, only a year older than Lucas, had been a pal as well as a sibling.

*Until he up n' dis'peared in that lightnin' storm in July.* The X-Men Red (Sam's team) and X-Men Black (Paige's team) had scoured the farm, only turning up an odd temporal energy field which blocked any attempts to psychometrically divine what had happened to Jeb. *Mebbe, once ah get a handle on mah powers, I c'n try t' find him. Ah know Sam n' Paige're still tryin', but mebbe th' plants 'round th' barn 'saw' somethin',* Luke hoped. He jumped at a pounding on his door.

"Yo! Luke! We're gone in three, felgen!" Nate yelled. Luke had yet to understand every slang term Nate used; there was a post-20th-century patois among mutant populations which had worked its' way into the vocabulary of the mutant upper classes, despite contempt and scorn from those upper classes' elders. "Felgen," for example, was a fusion of "fellow genetic," and was meant as a friendly greeting between mutants. Luke simply appreciated being referred to in such a manner, and din't try to remember what each term meant.

He stuck his head out the door and shrugged. "Ah can't find mah swim trunks - y'all'd better go on without me," he said.

The other guys visibly slumped. "That ranks!" Nate growled.

Bill slowly grinned and elbowed Frank. "Y'know, you and the hayseed are about the same size..." he smirked.

Lucas gulped; he wasn't sure about wearing anything but boxer trunks. "I do have 5 or 6 spare suits - you could keep a pair, Luke," Frank said.

"Um... ah s'pose ah could try 'em," Lucas relented. *Ah'm gonna die - not from some supervillain, but from embarassment,* he thought as Frank rooted around in his swimming supplies...

The girls had assembled on the quad and waited for the boys. Lockjaw had had to be threatened with a ban from poker before he would leave Luna, and the Cassidys had taken Gareth into town to see the latest release from Blaire Movies, Inc. Emma had decided the teens could travel to San Tropez without supervision, and had cited "stomach flu" as the reason she turned down Soraya's offer to have Emma accompany them.

"What is taking - oh, hEEEEEEHAHAHA!!" Illyana giggled uproariously as the guys approached. Lucas was six shades of red as he walked up in a green swimbrief.

"Ah... f'rgot my other trunks," he mumbled, wrapping a towel around himself.

Luna, in a yellow one-piece, smiled and whispered, "Ignore 'Yana. You look great."

Lucas slowly smiled and said, "Really?" Illyana rolled her eyes and teleported the teens to Limbo, where she began to scry their destination. *Why they can't just admit they're in love - HUH?* she thought.

"Oh, boy - guys, San Tropez is under a hurricane watch," Illyana sighed. "Anyone else know where there might be another place to party?" She set the scrying pool to "channel-flip," and gasped in excitement as it stopped on a neon-light-filled sight.

"'Madame Tanaka's 24-Hour Wave Park,'" Frank said. "It'd be late night in Japan, but if it is 24 hours... "

"Cool! Maybe they'll have sushi!" Nate grinned.

"Eugh - you're not a loudmouth, Nate, but you are gross," Ray sighed.

"Anyone got any cash for this place?" Chuck asked. "These suits aren't exactly made to carry money."

"That's what you get for not wearing boxers," Bill scowled.

"Aren't you obsessing a little over swimwear, bro?" Tom frowned.

"Yeah, Shade... you're a little misogynistic for such a macho guy," Joe sneered.

"What're you sayin', Bailey!?" Bill yelled. The boys nearly came to blows before a wall of grass seperated them.

"Will y'all calm down!?" Luke called.

"Thanks, Luke - nice to see at least one guy here is using his head," Gailyn smiled wryly. "Relax, Shade - you're not gay. I can testify to that. Besides, Joe, misogyny is not a sign of homosexuality. Don't be such bigots."

"'Testify to that'?" Joe asked. "HOW!?"

Gailyn merely winked, as she ran her fingers through Bill's hair. "A girl's gotta have a few secrets," she grinned.

Illyana whistled shrilly and conjured up a pile of yen notes. "It's real, Frank - I keep a stash of cash from every country, just in case I get lost," she grinned. "We don't have to worry about counterfeiting."

"Let's ride," Frank agreed.

Illyana teleported them to Madame Tanaka's, where a young woman with short black hair greeted them at the main entrance. Ray, Nate, Chuck and Illyana did a double-take as the woman grinned. "Yukio!?" they yelled.

"Hey, guys - welcome to my latest attempt at an honest living!" the X-Men's longtime ally grinned. "'Madame Tanaka', at your service. For you, this place is free anytime. Your teachers know you're here?"

"Of course," Illyana smirked.

Yukio nodded and greeted those New Mutants she didn't know. She and Soraya gasped as they locked eyes. "Teacher!!" Soraya laughed.

"TEACHER!?" the other New Mutants yelled.

"How'd you guys think a little rich girl from the Bombay towers learned to survive on the streets?" Soraya grinned.

"I was running a number on the government when this little runaway came stumbling on my deal," Yukio smiled. "She was an eager student, and after 6 months I found she was ready to fly. You're a mutant too, huh?" Student and teacher reminisced, while the other kids hit the water.

Cathy let herself float, and reached out with her powers to sense the sealife surrounding Yukio's island. *That's weird... there's something UNDER the island,* she thought. She focused, and skimmed the surface of a large, scaly mind. *It's reptilian... and big... and we're in Japan... OH NO!!!*

Cathy sat bolt upright in the water and grabbed Tom's arm. "Guys - I think there's a monster lizard under the island!" she yelled.

The kids gulped, as Yukio paled. "Oh no... I shoulda known better than to buy anything from the Ministry of Energy," she sighed. "Is it awake? Sometimes these creatures are just babies. Japan's loaded with hidden giant monsters, left over from the energy tests Fujikawa performed after the war to supplement national energy supplies... "

"I don't think we're in trouble," Cathy reassured their host.

"Still... I'd better call Sunfire and Big Hero 6 first thing in the morning," Yukio smirked. "Thanks, Cathy. Now -what!?"

Yukio grabbed a pair of binoculars and looked into the night. She focused on a speedboat heading away from the island, and cursed violently in Japanese when she saw an insignia on its side. "What does HYDRA want here?" she growled. She checked her contract with the Ministry of Energy, and dug out a "History of Supervillains" which she'd pilfered from Viper a few years before.

"Lessee... 'Fujori Island'... the site of a HYDRA Japan attempt to interfere in a SHIELD biohazard storage site... foiled by Nick Fury personally...he cited his presence in the op as mandated by a desire to ensure 'that damned lizard never gets loose again'..." Yukio read aloud. She thought for a moment and asked, "Why would Nick Fury get upset over one monster... unless..." Her eyes bulged as she yelled, "Somebody get me down to the beach NOW!!! If HYDRA left a bomb, we're in it deep!"

The kids left the pool and joined Illyana and Yukio's teleport to the beach. As they appeared, a bomb blast made them wince. "Uh, oh," Nate gulped, pointing to a giant creature rising from a fissure left by the bomb...

NEXT: He's BAAAAAACK...

On to Part Eight

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