--===TEEN TWO: ENTER HOTSHOT===--
 
-=By Aaron Thall [thall@netset.com] and Ben Church [bchurch@su.edu] =-


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Hotshot and his friends belong to Ben Tornado, Hurricane, Rainbow, Tiger, and
Deathsparkle belong to Aaron. Everyone else belongs to Marvel Comics(used
without permission). Communicator and any mention of the Power Rangers is
copyright 1996/97 Saban Entertainment Inc.
 
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_Chapter 1_
 Will returned late that night, and in a foul mood. He had just broken up with
his girlfriend over something trivial and superficial. Or that's what he
called it. She called it a threat to human life. He had told her that he was a
mutant.
 He unlocked the door to his apartment building and stalked up the stairs. All
the while muttering insults to humans in general. Sarah in particular. He went
into his apartment and stopped dead. Much like the two bodies in the living
room.
 Will's parents were dead, slashed to pieces. He could feel his dinner rising
to the occasion but he forced it down. He ran to the phone but before he could
reach it, a voice called out to him from behind.
 "Hello Will."
 Will spun around, and faced his parents' killer. It was the most horrible
creature he had ever laid eyes upon. It's skin was a dark greyish purple, and
it wore a respirator. It's hair and fingers were razor sharp spikes.
 "Who the hell are you? Freddy Krueger?" Will demanded.
 "Good movie don't you think?" the creature replied. "No, my name is Emplate.
And very soon, I will be your master." Emplate began to advance on Will.
Enjoying the fear he saw in the boy's aura.
 Will saw his only chance of escape in the kitchen. "Don' whup me massah!" he
cried and sent a blast of heat into the gas oven. The resulting explosion
threw Will out the window.
 **************************************************************
 Jubilee jerked slightly awake at the sound of her alarm clock going off. She
blasted it and went back to sleep.
 "Jubilee..."
 She turns over to see Monet St. Croix attempting to awaken her.
 "I do not believe that Sean and Miss Frost appreciate you destroying a clock
everyday."
 "So?"
 "Get up!" Monet lifts one side of the bed and Jubilee tumbles out.
 "Get this ya little... Monet?" The mutant called M stands perfectally still.
 "Monet? Hello? Anyone home?" Jubilee frantically waves her and in front of
M's eyes.
 A voice over the intercom startles her. "Did you blast ANOTHER clock Jube?"
 "Mornin' Aaron. Monet just went inta statue mode again!"
 "Again?"
 Monet wakes with a start.
 "Emplate!!"
 "What did she say?"
 "My brother! He's attacking a mutant! I can sense it!!"
 "Where?"
 "I'm not exactly sure."
 "Jube! Get in uniform! I'll contact the others!"
 2 minutes later...
 "Ready! Where's Aaron?"
 "Right here!" Tornado walks into the room. Jubilee immediatly felt much
better about the mission. In the few short months since they had been
reunited, Aaron, as Tornado, had been in a few rough scrapes with Jubilee.
 He was always there for her now, and vice versa. They had become celebrities
after an incident involving Spider-man. The Professor hoped that their
newfound publicity would help mutant/human relations. He had been right.
Graydon Creed had stepped down, Operation Zero Tolerance had vanished
completely, and they were hailed as heroes. They were a team. Partners. And
deep down, she knows that she loves him. But she dosen't know if he feels the
same way.
 "Iniciating teleportation!" He presses the button of his communicator, a gift
from the Rangers after a joint effort against the Machine Empire. The members
of Gen X: M, Husk, Synch, Skin, Banshee, Chamber, Jubilee, and Tornado, all
vanish in bright collums of white light, not knowing that a grand adventure
was about to begin. One that would change their lives forever...
 They reappear behind Emplate, but he still senses their arrival. "How nice of
you to come! Now I can have my own smorgasboard!"
 "Smorgasboard this board you sick little...!" Tornado presses a hidden button
on his Battle Board, allowing a razor sharp edge to pop out. He throws it at
Emplate with lightning speed. Emplate barely deflects it with heat energy from
Hotshot's escape. It returns to Tornado's hand.
 "It appears it's fast food! Hellions: ATTACK!!!"
 "Here we go again!" Jubilee shouted as Vincente, Murmer, and Bulwark appeared
in the middle of the street. Right afterwards though, Murmer teleported away.
 "Wait a minute," Synch said. "Three of them against all of us? Is that fair?" 
Jubilee stared at him in amazement. "Who the hell cares?"
 "I'm just sayin' is all, does Emplate really think they can defeat us?"
 "Who can guess at my brother's motives Everett?" Monet said. "Now I suggest
that we pay more attention to-ooof!"
 "I think frauline Monet is correct." Bulwark said after hitting Monet across
the street. "Shut up and fight!"
 *************************************************
 Will drove his van as fast and as far from the explosion as possible. He
didn't know who or what this Emplate was, but he didn't want to be around if
he was fireproof.
 "Now where can I go?" he thought. "If I go north to my grandparent's
house...nah. It's remote, but I would be putting my Grandma and Grandad in
danger. Okay then, I'll go south."
 To the south was his familie's old tree farm in West Virginia. "If Emplate
find's me there, he'll have a nasty surprise waiting for him." Will had grown
up in the mountains and forests of West Virginia. He knew the area and all the
tricks of the mountain men better than the back of his hand. He and his family
had lived there untill his twin sister Rebecca had died from an allergic
reaction to a bee sting when they were 13. That had been six years ago, since
then they had moved to Burlington Vermont.
 "Just drop me off here. Sir." said an obnoxious voice from behind and to the
side.
 Will looked behind him to see who had spoken. There was a midget zombie in
his van. Will screamed and leapt out of the van, not caring what happened to
the van.
 "Hell I already blew up my apartment, why not my means of transportation?"
 Will hit the road hard, but thanks to his mutant power of blunt object
invulnerability, he was unharmed. Suddenly he heard a whimper behind him and
he whirled around, wondering what new fiend he would face next. His
ex-girlfriend Sarah was being held prisoner behind him, with a large coating
of ice covering her mouth. But what really caught his attention was the person
who was holding her prisoner.
 She was older, and pale. But her face was unmistakable.
 "Rebecca?" he murmered. "No! You-you're dead! I saw you die! You're dead!"
 "So are we." Will turned and saw a mummy and the midget zombie approaching
from behind. "What's your point?"
 ****************************************************************************
*********
 "Jube! The guy Emplate was chasing flew the coop! That must be where Murmur
and D.O.A. are!"
 "So what are we waitin' for?"
 "M! Jube and I have to take care of something! Hold the fort!" Tornado sucks
up Vincent in a whirlwind, gets close to Jubilee, and they teleport to Will's
location where...
 "Get away from me!" Will backs away from Murmur, who edges closer by the
second.
 "You heard him! Back off!" Tornado launches Vincent, who slams into Murmur.
 "Jube, make sure that guy's alright!"
 "I hear ya!"
 Jubilee rushes over to Will where...
 "Rebecca! L-let Sarah go! Please!"
 "Dude..." Jubilee begins. "There's nobody there!"
 "Who are you trying to kid??!! I see them right there!"
 Emplate must've zapped a t.p. He's seein' things! Maybe I can snap him outta
it!
 Jubilee launches a bright display of light, one that frees Will's mind.
 "Ohhhh... thanks. I think."
 "No prob!"
 Tornado flips over Murmur's head and kicks him in midleap. He lands on
Vincent, who was knocked unconscious from Tornado's manipulation of his solid
and gaseous forms. D.O.A. simply vanishes. He runs over to Jubilee and Will.
 "Hey! I just realized! You're Tornado and Jubilee!"
 "The one and only."
 "Amazing! The name's Will."
 "Alright. Will, we have to get back to the others. Fill us in on the way on
the situation."
 Tornado teleports them out.
 ****************************************************************************
*********
 "Emplate! This time you have gone too far!"
 "Well, Monet, are you going to stop me?"
 "I definitly intend to try!"
 "Bring it on..."
 ******************************************
 "Okay, so this guy who calls himself Emplate killed my parents, he was coming
after me and I blew up my apartment to get away."
 "So, that would be the short version am I right?" Jubilee asked as they
appeared back at the scene of the explosion.
 "Well we were teleporting, how much time did we have?"
 "About 30 seconds." Tornado said. "You talk fast."
 Will looked around him at the rather onesided battle going on outside his
burning apartment building. "Why isn't this attracting attention?" he thought.
 Bulwark, though not hurt was kept at a standstill by the combined forces of
Husk, Skin, Synch, Banshee and Chamber. Behind them, Monet and Emplate were
duking it out. Will began to edge his way around the battle with Bulwark,
towards Emplate.
 Emplate backhanded his sister across the face. The power he had absorbed from
feeding on Bulwark had given him strength to equal hers. Monet flew back a few
feet and into a wall. "I wonder what will happen when I feed on you." he said.
 "Yo! Asthma Boy!" Will yelled. Emplate turned to face him, and found himself
being blasted by concentrated heat from Will's hands.
 "Will no!" Tornado shouted. "He can absorb your pow-" Tornado was cut off
when he had to dodge a falling Bulwark.
 "He can absorb my pow?" Will said to himself. "What'd he say?" Emplate
blasted him with the very same heat Will had sent at him. "Oh, he can absorb
my power. I'm sorry," he said to Emplate. "Was that supposed to hurt?"
 "Perhaps this will Snack!" Emplate slashed at Will, but Will dodged easily.
 "Ha ha, missed me, missed me! Now ya gotta, nah forget it. By the way, is
that respirator nessasary, or do you just like the statement it makes?" Will
blasted Emplate again, but this time he melted a large hole in the breathing
tube.
 "Note to self," Emplate gasped. "Do your homework on a mutant before
attacking him." Emplate was helpless, he could not breath. Will approached him
grimly and looked down at his gasping foe.
 "Wait," Monet said, getting to her feet. "Don't kill him."
 "Don't what?" Will asked incredulously. He had no intention of killing anyone.
 "He's my brother." Monet said simply.
 Will looked from Emplate to Monet and back again. "I'm sorry, run that by me
again?"
 "Emplate is my brother."
 Once again, Will looked closely at the two. "I'm sorry I just don't see the
resemblance." Suddenly, Emplate vanished. "Whoops! It's a moot point anyway."
Will looked towards his burning apartment. "Well folks, it's been fun.
Tornado, Jubilee, it's been great meeting you. Thanks for the assist." With
that, he ran into the building.
 "Wait, where are you going?" Jubilee asked.
 But Will did not hear her. He ran up the burning steps, being sure to keep
low. The fire could not hurt him, but smoke inhalation could. "Now," he
thought. "If the asbestos I put up around my closet in case I lost control of
my powers is good for anything other than causing cancer, My guitar, and other
personal belongings should still be intact."
 Tornado and Synch quickly got to work dousing the fire and dispelling the
smoke. The rest of Gen X follows Will.
 "Yes! The asbestos did the trick!" Will begins to pack.
 Jubilee comes up to him.
 "Dude, yer parents are dead, and all ya can think about is yer guitar? Cold."
 "You don't exactly know what my life's like, do you? I've been through quite
a bit lately. I don't have any tears left."
 "I can relate."
 "You can?"
 "It's a long story."
 M walks in. "The authorities are on the way. After they have left, what will
you do?"
 "I-I don't really know."
 "You could always come with us. We're always looking for a few good mutants,
and quite frankly, you fit the bill."
 "You really think I could make it?"
 "Yes. I do."
 "I'll do it! Not like I have anything to stay here for."
 "Welcome aboard Hotshot."
 "'Hotshot.' I like the sound of that..."
 Later at the Academy...
 Banshee is talking to the White Queen about Will.
 "So he's fitting in without any problems?"
 "Aye. A few pranks, but all in all, he's doing quite well."
 "I wouldn't be too sure."
 "Come again?"
 "Tornado told me e expresses absolutely no emotion towards the deaths of his
parents. If he's hiding any feelings, it could cause him great mental stress.
And..."
 "And?"
 "And if he releases all his anger at once, with his powers, it could be
fatal." 
"Fatal to who Emma?"
 "To anyone around him." Emma replied. "I've talked to Xavier. According to
him, Will possesses great potential for power. His estimations range Will's
potenial heat output to be close to millions of degrees farenehight. That is
an extreme estimation of course. In my oppinion a more realistic estimation
would be the upper thousands."
 "My god, he could destroy anything within a hundred mile radius if his power
went unchecked. We're gonna have t' think of a way to reach him. He already
seems to have great control over his power."
 "It's his emotions I'm worried about Sean."
 ***************************************************
 Late that night, Will snuck out of his room, and headed across the campus to
the main building with his guitar. He opened the door quietly and stole into
the music room. He did not notice a stooped red skinned figure following him.
 Will set down his guitar and attempted to decide wich instrument to play
first, his guitar, or the piano. "Eeney meeny miney Moe, Larry Curly Shemp and
Joe. The guitar it is.
 Will picked up his guitar and began to play "Dust in The Wind" by Kansas.
Behind him, Penance settled in to listen to the beutiful but sad music. In the
dark, tears began to creep from his eyes.
 Aaron/Tornado walks into the room and joins Penance. As he listens to the
music, his mind is flooded with memories of his parents' deaths. He recalls
his mother and a man he believed to be his father burn to death in their home
at the hand of Magneto. He also remembers the villain Cleaver, who attacked
Gen X while his aura was malfunctioning. He sees Jubilee pull his mask away to
reveal the face of his father! He tracked his father and the kidnapped Jubilee
to the warehouse district where he fought for Jubilee's life. He sees his now
insane father activate a mechanism that would mean Jubilee's death, unless he
was there to prevent it. He left his father to save her, not knowing that he
would never see his father again. He was stabbed through the heart when Aaron
and Jubilee reached him. And the person responsible for the murder was an
assassin hired by none other than Aaron's uncle: Magneto! Aaron fights back
the tears and goes over to Will.
 I won't let him suffer the same way I did!
 "Will."
 "Tornado!"
 "Call me Aaron. I save the code name for business and the action figures!"
 "What are you doing here?"
 "I like to walk in the dark occasionally. It helps me to think. Listen, I
know what you're going through right now. I lost my parents indirectly because
of my powers too."
 "You did?"
 "Yeah. Jube's parents were murdered, although that was an accident."
 "I had no idea that-!"
 "Listen, I can help you work through the pain. When you're ready to talk
about it, my ears are open." Aaron begins to walk out.
 "Aaron!" He turns around at the door. "Thanks."
 "You're welcome Will. You're welcome..."
 Aaron exits, leaving Will with his music... and his memories... 
Will finished Dust in the Wind and then played Who Wants to Live Forever, and
Don't Fear the Reaper. Then he put away his guitar. He turned to the piano and
began to play Winter.
 He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his head. The one
they had introduced to him as Penance came up to the bench and looked up at
him, smiling.
 "You like this song?" he asked. He continued to play until the end of the
song. "Sorry Penance, concerts over. Maybe tomorrow night I'll come back and
play something happier."
 Before he left however, he took out a photograph of his family that had
survived the fire in his closet. "Goodbye mom, dad. Have fun with sis." It
comforted him to know that his sister and parents were in heaven right now,
having the time of their afterlives. He sighed and put the photo back in his
pocket.
 "Well, bed time for Bozo. I've got to rest up, training starts tomorrow."
 
The next morning...
 "And one and two, and one and two, and..."
 Will wakes with a start.
 "What the hell is that??!!"
 He gets into uniform and heads towards the source of the noise where he finds
Paige Gunthine(A.K.A. Husk) beginning her morning excercise routine with her
video.
 "Why would anyone be doing THAT at five in the morning?"
 "Beats me."
 Will turns to see that Jubilee is behind him. She obviously has only been up
for less than 2 minutes.
 "We consider it our wake up call."
 "Rather rude awakening."
 "Tell me about it!"
 Aaron walks by. They both see that he never went to sleep last night.
 "Aaron? Is somethin' wrong?"
 "No Jube. I was in the Biosphere all night thinking about all that's happened
since my powers emerged."
 "Ouch. That would take all night!"
 "What kind of things happened?"
 "I'd rather not say. It's sufficient to say that compared to me, your life's
a rose garden."
 "Aaron, maybe ya'd better get some shuteye. Yer exausted between bein' up all
night and that fight yesterday!"
 "I have things to do."
 "No ye don't Aaron." Banshee comes upon he scene. "Ye've been through quite
enough lately. Get some rest. Ye be needing it if ye intend to help Will train
t' be an X-man."
 "Yes Sean." Aaron exits.
 Banshee goes off to make sure the others are getting up.
 "Hey! Will! Ya wanna do somethin' 'bout our rude awakenin'?"
 "I have just the thing."
 Will heats up the contents of the video, melting the tape inside.
 "Hey! What happened t' mah tape?!"
 "Let's get to the biosphere before she figures it out!"
 Will and Jubilee fled to the biosphere where the rest of the team was waiting.
 "Where's Paige?" Angelo asked.
 "Well, Guthrie had something she had to take care of." Will answered
 "Someone's gonna die!"
 "Hark, that may be her now."
 "Will Davidson, you rotton little-"
 Will clapped his hand quickly over her mouth, casting an anxious glance over
towards Artie and Leech. "Look Guthrie*(see footnote), I know you're angry,
but please remember that there are small children present and watch your
language."
 He removed his hand and watched her fume silently, unable to say what she
wanted to. "Look Guthrie," Will said. "I'll make you a deal. I'll buy you a
new tape if you promise to keep the volume down when you play it. It's just
common courtesy, something I'm sure your parents must have taught you. While
you can get by on little sleep, some of us late night moody types need those
few extra minutes every morning. Deal?"
 "Deal." Paige said.
 "Way to handle the chicas amigo." Angelo whispered.
 "Well thank you Espinoza." Will said. "I do try."
 "Where's Aaron?" Everett asked.
 "Sean told him to get some sleep." Jubilee answered.
 *(I am asserting a charactor trait about Hotshot in that last section, it's
that he has a tendancy to call people by their last names. I'm sure I
incorporated it into my other stories. My explanation of why he didn't do this
earlier in the story was that he did not realy know any of these people. He's
one of those strange people that believe first names are more formal than
last. Take a look at Mulder and Scully, they are realy good friends but they
call each other by their last names as if they were their first names. Hotshot
is like that too.)
 "Well I changed my mind!" They turn and see that Aaron is right behind them,
out of costume.
 "I thought you were asleep." said Will.
 "Nope. I want to see this. Could be interesting."
 "Then let's get to it!"
 The session began as per usual. Each member of Gen X began to warm up(no pun
intended Will), and then they began to organize their excercises for the day.
"Will, we're going to be working to help you utilize your abilities to their
fullest extent today. You are supposed to make your way through the Biosphere
from front to back, and handling obsticles on the way, namely us. You have ten
minutes to complete the excercise."
 Everyone but Aaron and Jubilee leave Will for the woods.
 "We will be sure to make it so each challenge is more difficult than the
last. Good luck. Let's go Jube! IT'S SPIN DRIVE TIME!!"
 Aaron's costume appears. They teleport to a location in the woods.
 From high above, Will heard Sean's voice: "Begin... now!"
 And with that, Will began his journey into the woods...
 "Let's get ready to rumble!" Will shouted as he entered the indoor forest.
 "A word to the wise Amigo!" Skin yelled as he wraped the skin of his fingers
around Hotshot's waist. "Never give away your position!"
 Hotshot glanced over his shoulder to see Skin perched on a branch behind him.
He also noted that with only ten minutes to complete the course, he did not
have time to make him let go. So he kept going.
 "Woah!" Skin was yanked off his perch to the ground below, and draged slowly
along the dirt path.
 "Too slow." Hotshot thought. "Sorry about this bud, but-" Hotshot began to
heat up his waist. "Good thing this uniform is heat resistant." he thought.
 "Ow ow ow! Hot!" Skin could not hold on much longer and retain teh skin on
his fingers.
 "Then for gods sakes man!" Hotshot called back to him. "If you can't stand
the heat, leggo the burner!" Skin did. Much to Hotshot's relief, he did not
want to hurt any of hi new friends. Just defeat them. "There's a difference."
 Will ran on. From nearby bushes, two pairs of eyes watched. Will began to run
by.
 "Gotcha!" Hush and Chamber leap out at him. Husk has diamond skin, protecting
her from the heat. Chamber fires at Will.
 "Whoa!" Will pulls free of Husk's grasp and sets a couple dead trees on fire.
They fall, blocking Husk and Chamber from following him.
 "Blast it!"
 *Of all the ruddy! C'mon Gel, we gotta put out the fire before it sets the
entire Biosphere up!*
 "Ah'm with you!"
 Will runs on...
 ****************************************************************************
***********
 "Five minutes down Jube."
 "Hey, Aaron, do ya see smoke over by Paige and Jono?"
 "I've already checked with them. They have the situation under control."
 "So what do we do?"
 "Wait and see. Besides, M and Synch are up next."
 ****************************************************************************
***********
 Will continues his quick pase through the woods.
 Five minutes left! Gotta hurry!
 Suddenly, two flying figures rush in and knock the wind out of him.
 "Surrender Hotshot!" says M.
 "You can't win!" adds Synch.
 "Maybe you're right, maybe I'm in over my head..."
 M and Synch black out.
 "Or maybe I'm putting you to sleep by turning up the heat. Later!"
 Will heads to the end of the woods.
 "Looks like I'm in the clear!"
 "Wrong!" Jubilee comes out of the brush and begins to fire on him. He erects
a heat shield, which takes most of the punishment. He fires a flame jet, but
Jubilee pushes it back with her plasma bursts. And then, he hears the click of
a pulled trigger directly behind his head.
 "Check and mate." Hotshot turns to see Tornado standing behind him, his
finger on his gun's trigger. "If this had been powered, you would now be dead.
You lose."
 "Aw #$@^!"
 "First rule of thumb: Always watch your back. It can save your life."
 The rest of Gen X come sout of the woods.
 "Nice try. But you still have a lot to learn."
 "I'm a fast learner. Just ask any of my teachers." He saw the rest of Gen X
coming towards them. "Hey Espinoza, how are your fingers man?"
 "They're okay amigo, not to worry."
 "Um, sorry about those trees."
 "Don't worry, no harm done." Chamber answered.
 "Say, Thall, is that some sort of laser gun?"
 "Yes it is, why?"
 "Well I was just wondering if it realy would have hurt me."
 "I'd rather not put it to the test if it's all the same to you."
 Monet approached him and shook his hand. "I for one am impressed. No one else
has been able to defeat me so quickly."
 "M's impressed?" Jubilee exclaimed. "Does this mean the world is coming to an
end?"
 No sooner had the words left her mouth when something crashed through the
glass ceiling of the biosphere.
 "The sky is falling!" Will cried.
 ****************************************************************************
************
 "Everything is going as according to plan."
 "Excellent Emplate. And no member of Generation X suspects anything?"
 "Not even Tornado."
 "Excellent. Hurricane and Deathsparkle are iniciating the next step of our
plan."
 "I can't wait to feed on that new Gen Xer!"
 "You will have a long wait indeed."
 "We had a deal!"
 "Exactly. We had a deal. No longer." Emplate is thrown through a wall. He
fades out.
 "You'll regret this!"
 "I'm sure. But not until Tornado trembles at the might of Magneto!!"
 ****************************************************************************
************
 "Hurricane!"
 "Long time, no see. Nice to see you again Tornado!"
 "Oh yeah?"
 "Yeah. Now I know that I have the privelige of killing you!"
 Hurricane throws fastball tornados in all directions, hammering some members
of Gen X.
 "That was a really bad move on your part pal!" Tornado slams Hurricane.
"OXYGEN DRAIN MAXIMUM!!"
 The explosions rock the alternate Tornado. Plasmoids rain down from where
Hurricane crashed in.
 "Deathsparkle too? Geez Louise! First Emplate, and now these guys? What next?
Howard the Duck?!"
 "Not now Jube!"
 Will finally moves from where he had been watching. He turns up the heat on
Hurricane with flames.
 "What's this? a candle! I just love blowing out candles!" Hurricane snuffs
the flames. He then grabs Hotshot by rthe shirt and prepares to deliver the
killing blow.
 "How thick is your skull?" Will asked.
 "What?"
 "I mean like, is it thicker than mine?"
 "What does that have to do with-"
 Will slammed his head forward into Hurricane's nose. Hurricane released him,
momentarily caught off gaurd. Will followed through with a blow beneath the
belt, and quickly turned on Deathsparkle.
 "Not to be rude babe," he said. "But the Evil Twin Bit has been done to
death."
 "Babe?!" Deathsparkle screamed. "Nobody calls me babe! Nobody!"
 "Another cliche!" Will said, dodging a blast form her hands. "I don't believe
this! What are you, a comic book character or something?" He dove ender yet
another blast, and swept her legs out from under her.
 "Okay, I think I've bought us some time." Will said.
 "I don't believe this," Jubilee said. "Deathsparkle never goes down so
easily!"
 "The taunt." Will smiled. "Works every time. Just ask Spid- Er, that guy in
New York with the smart mouth*."
 *(Will is intensly Arachnophobic, so much so that even the mention of the
word spider terrifies him.)
 "You mean Spider-Man?"
 Shivers go down Will's spine.
 So... this new guy doesn't like spiders, eh?
 Hurricane pulls out a holoimagizer and activates it, making him look like a
giant tarantula.
 "Oh Hotshot..." Hurricane says in a mild singsong voice. "Time to die."
 Will sees the disguised Hurricane and becomes paralyzed with fear. Hurricane
fires his hook launcher and ties up Jubilee. He drags her close to Will. He
holds them up by the shirts.
 "Yo! Lemme go ya little!"
 "Not just yet."
 Deathsparkle walks up to them.
 "D, how'sabout we save face?"
 "Gotcha!" Deathsparkle reaches for their faces, her hand glowing. Tornado
tries to reach them, but Hurricane erects a solid air forcefield stronger than
his aura.
 "NOOOOOO!!!!"
 Waitaminute! My aura can't protect me from energy assults, so maybe
Hurricane's is the same too!
 Tornado pulls out his gun and fires. The blast penetrates and vaporizes
Hurricane's holoimagizer. He returns to normal(so to speak). The ropes on
Jubilee loosen, allowing her to blast Deathsparkle.
 "D! It's time we got out of here!"
 "Right Lover!" She gets close to him. "Bodyslide by two!" They vanish. Will
finally comes out of his self induced hypnotism.
 "Are you guys alright?"
 "Yeah Aaron. But what was all that 'bout?"
 Tornado sees a piece of paper on the ground. He picks it up.
 "What's that Thall?"
 "It's a message... from Magneto..."
 "My aren't we the popular one."
 "'Dearest Nephew,'"
 "Nephew? What is everybody here related to a bad guy?" Aaron looked up
sharply.
 "Will, why don't you go check on the others?"
 "Uh, yeah," Will said sheepishly. It had not occured to him that Thall would
be so sensitive about the subject. "Why don't I do that." Will started off.
"Come to think of it," he thought. "I suppose I would be too."
 "What's up Aaron?" Jubilee asked. "That wasn't just about his joke."
 "Well, it was in part Jube." Tornado replied. "But mainly it was this." he
handed her the message.
 "Dearest Nephew," Jubilee read. "It would be in your best interests not to
trust your newest recruit. I know you have no reason to trust me, but if you
meet me in the town square of Burlington Vermont, I will prove it to you."
Jubilee looked up from the message. "Burlington Vermont, that's where Will's
from isn't it?"
 "Yeah." Tornado looked thoughtfully at Will, who was helping Paige to her
feet.
 "Puh-leez and a half Aaron!" Jubilee could not believe that Aaron would
believe that Will was a traitor on the word of Magneto. "This is so obviously
a trap, that I'm not even gonna bother ta say Duh!"
 "You just said it Jube."
 ********************************************************
 Magneto sat back in his throne, smiling. "By now," he thought. "My nephew is
reading my message. Oh the _irony_ of it all."
 ********************************************************
 Several hours later...
 "Aaron, I still can't believe that yer actually goin' ta meet Magneto! Can ya
say 'death wish'?"
 "I don't have a choice Jube. If I don't go, he'll turn on the citizens of
Will's hometown! Besides, I've alerted the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the
X-men, and every other team I could think of! I just don't know why Magneto's
working with Emplate, Hurricane, and Deathsparkle! It dosen't add up!"
 "Thall." Hotshot enters the room. "I wanted to apologize for earlier."
 "No harm done. But you have to learn to overcome those fears of yours. They
could mean the difference between life and death."
 "I know. So where are you going?"
 "I can't say. It's family business."
 "I see..." Tornado exits the room.
 "Will. I'm worried 'bout Aaron! I think we should go after him!"
 "I agree. So let's go!"
 *****************************************************
 One hour later...
 Tornado teleports in, directly in front of Magneto. He lands in a crouched
position, back turned. He rises and faces his uncle. He fails to notice one of
Gateway's portals open and Jubilee and Hotshot coming out.
 "I'm here. Now what kind of trap is it this time? The first time, you sent an
assassain to tamper with my aura! The next, you try to force me to join you by
threatening Jube's life!"
 "Nothing like that this time. It's something different altogether!"
 A loud rumble startles Tornado, Jubilee, and Hotshot. A large Magnetic bubble
encircles the town and lifts it into the air. Inch by inch, the small town
rises above the clouds. The town begins to change. It becomes metallic, with
large towers and spikes.
 "I redirected your teleportational beam to bring you here. Welcome to New
Avalon. I do hope you survive the experience!!!"
 From her hiding place, Jubilee accurately sums up the situation. "Oh #$%!"
 Chapter 3
 Tornado whirled around at the sound of Jubilee's voice. "What is she doing
here?" he thought. Unfortunately, Magneto heard her too.
 "So, you did not come alone after all Nephew." he said, drawing Jubilee out
of the shadows with a magnetic bubble.
 Jubilee noticed right away that Magneto hadn't noticed Hotshot. She hoped
that he would have the sense to lay low. The fewer people that Magneto knew
were here, the better.
 Hotshot drew back into the shadows. "So that's Buckethead eh?" he thought.
"He never works alone anymore though. So there must be others here, including
the Terrible Two, Hurricane and Deathsparkle. Jubilee and Tornado will
probably have their hands full dealing with the polarity prince. So it looks
like it's up to me to draw off the heat." Hotshot paused, realizing what he'd
just said. "Ba dum ching!"
 Suddenly someone tapped on his shoulder. "One of these days I'm going to have
to stop letting people sneak up on me." he thought. He turned to face, his
sister Rebecca. "Oh bloody hell. Not again."
 ***************************************************************************
 Emplate contemplated his plan and deemed it good. Which was a good thing
considering the fact that he'd already put it into effect. Emplate had
retained just enough of a hold on Hotshot to know when he'd arrived on the
scene. He'd dispatched his newest Hellion to fetch and recruit him.
 The first time had been a false, telepathic projection of the boy's sister.
But now she was real, flesh and bone, power and all. The process was taxing
and painful. Which was why he'd only done it twice before in the cases of
D.O.A. and Murmur.
 Through his rapport with Rebecca, he sensed that she had found her brother.
"How touching." he thought. "Hot and Cold, together again."
 First they would defeat the double crossing Magneto and his minions. And
then, Emplate began to giggle to himself when he thought about what would
happen then.
 ****************************************************************************
 "What is it this time Uncle? World Domination? Revenge? Mass destruction?"
 "A test actually. I want to know how the world will be able to survive seeing
you crushed by this city. I challenge you to beat the city and it's puzzles."
 "Have you been talkin' ta the Mad Thinker?"
 "Hardly. If you succeed, then I will return you and be on my way. If you
fail, I will destroy humanity from here."
 "Some choice!"
 "Silence! Be wary of Hurricane, Deathsparkle, and my Acolytes. Let the games
begin!"
 "No games!" Tornado races forward in an attempt to grab his uncle. He goes
directly through him.
 "Do you think me foolish enough to directly confront you? Foolish child! The
hologram was meerly to welcome you. Now I do hope that this challenge is to
your liking."
 ****************************************************************************
**********
 "Rebecca? How could you possibly be here?" Will begins to rub his eyes.
"You've gotta be another hallucination!"
 "No Will. It's really me! I was lured here by Magneto so he could use me to
force you to turn on your friends!"*
 "So how did you get here?"
 "I escaped his followers and stumbles into you just now. I say we give this
jerk what he has coming! Are you with me?"
 Will looked deep into the very core of his being.P "Yeah. I am."
 *(Rebecca's part of any conversation is signed. Rebecca has been mute from
birth, and is an expert at sign language, as is Hotshot.)
 "Well then brother dear, shall we?"
 "Let's shall sister, let's shall." Hotshot smiled. "By the way, what shall we
call ourselves? I mean, I've got a code-name. How about you?"
 "Um, call me...Freezer Burn."
 "I like it. Hot and Cold, from one extreme to another." Hotshot's eyes lit up
with a sudden inspiration. "Freezer Burn, I'd say it's time for the X-Tremes
to kick some ass." As they went off in search of the Acolytes, Hotshot
suddenly realized; "I never did ask her how she came back from the dead. Oh
well I'll worry about it later. Besides, after taking a look at teh files on
some of the X-Men and their enemies, people come back from the dead all the
time!"
 ****************************************************************************
***********
 "So where do we start?"
 "Right here!"
 "What do ya mean Aaron?"
 Jubilee turns and see two spiked walls closing in.
 "Oh. THAT'S what you mean!"
 Tornado fires bee stinger tornados at the walls, but they have no effect.
 "Blast!These walls are being pushed by magnetic power! I can't unscrew them!"
 "So what does that mean?"
 "It means I have to use the new maneuver I've been working on! Get down on
the ground and cover your head!" 
"Aaron?"
 "JUST DO IT!!!!" Jubilee gets down. Tornado pulls out his Battle Board and
pops out the spikes. He presses the communicator. He vanishes in a bright
flash of white light. The light flashes around the room, going from wall to
wall. Slash marks appear on the walls of the room, and spikes fall off. And
then, the walls crumble. The light returns to where it originated from and
became Tornado once more. Jubilee gets up.
 "How did ya do that?!"
 "I've been working on the communicator for quite a while. Making slight
improvements here and there. That was the latest."
 "Awesome! Let's rock this joint!"
 "Hold it!" He presses his communicator. Nothing happens. "I just attempted to
teleport out. The shield only allows teleportation inside this floating
deathtrap! We will have to get through all the traps to escape!"
 "That's a bad thing, right?"
 "Very bad."
 Hotshot and Rebecca run up to them.
 "What are you doing here? And who's..."
 "I came with Jubilee! And this is my sister Rebecca."
 Introductions are made.
 Suddenly, Tornado's gun sounds an alarm.
 "Strange," he says as he checks out is weapon's scanners. "This says that a
major threat's right in front of me! But it's only us. This magnetic field
must be messing around with the circuitry." He returns the gun to it's holster.
 "We don't have any time to lose Thall!"
 "Agreed! Let's move out!"
 "Say Jubilee," Hotshot asked. "Are your fireworks heat based?"
 "Pretty much. Why?"
 "Well in case we run up against Deathsparkle, I wanted to know if her blasts
could hurt me." At that moment, a sudden blast of fireworks from a nearby
building, threw him across the street. When he landed, he noticed that though
his uniform shirt had suffered, he himself was unharmed. "Well that answers
that question."
 "It's that time again." Tornado said.
 "Time to expel noxious gases from our bodies?" Hotshot asked.
 "Uh, no."
 "Time to wear our unmentionables on the outside of our clothes like a certain
super hero who shall remain nameless?"
 "Nope."
 "Time to learn todays moral?"
 "Uh, uh. IT'S SPIN DRIVE TIME! Hotshot, me and Jube'll take care of
Hurricane, do you think you two can handle Deathsparkle?"
 "Just watch us work Tornado."
 "Then let's do it!"
 Hotshot ran towards Deathsparkle. "Here I come baby, comin' to get ya!"
 "Baby?!" Deathsparkle blasted at him, but he dove to the ground to avoid it.
 "Well you're certainly acting like one!" Hotshot turned his dive into a
handspring that brought his feet slamming into Deathsparkle's chest just as
Freezer Burn froze the ground under her feet.
 Deathsparkle went down hard. "Had enough?" Hotshot asked. Deathsparkle
literally snarled at him, as she began to rise.
 "You're surfing the crimson wave aren't you." Hotshot mocked her. 
"The only crimson I'm gonna see is the blood from yer soon to be melted
faces!!"
 She tackles Rebecca and reaches for her face. She fires above Will,
dislodging a heat resistant cage, which fall on him, trapping him, and keeping
him from Rebecca. Deathsparkle touches Rebecca, and Will can hear steam.
 She's freezing the air around her face! She's alright for the moment! But she
can't last long! And if I fire, it'll only help Deathsparkle!
 Tornado leaps above another of Hurricane's laser blasts, and in doing so,
sees Rebecca's situation.
 "Jube! Rebecca needs you! Hurry!"
 "I hear ya!" Jubilee runs over to her.
 "You're all alone now!"
 "So are you Hurricane!"
 "Good point. DIE!!!"
 "Good one! Comic book material? Or did you come up with it on your own?"
 "I just can't figure out which one of you annoys me more! The hothead, the
firecracker, or you!?"
 "Pick a hero, any hero! I won't look!" Tornado leaps up and fires his laser
gun, making a circle of singe marks around Hurricane's feet.
 "Nice shot."
 "I thought so too!" Hurricane launches a barrage of fast ball tornados. "I
think I have an answer to my question." says Hurricane as Tornado almost
effortlessly dodges all his projectiles.
 "And that answer would be?"
 "Y-O-U." 
"I'm flattered!"
 "And soon to be splattered!" Hurricane uses a holo imagizer to make himself
invisible. Masking the changes in air pressure, he proceeds to hammer Tornado
continually, like he's a punching bag.
 "Now as long last, I'll be rid of you! D and I'll take your places, and we
can live happily ever after!"
 Tornado doesn't respond. Hurricane feels a slight breeze.
 So there you are!! I've got you now!!
 Tornado's Battle Board, which Aaron had been separated from earlier in the
battle, rolls directly behind Hurricane's feet. Tornado fires once with his
gun, making Hurricane leap back. He steps onto the board and falls flat on his
face. He becomes visible once more.
 "Now about that happy ending..."
 ****************************************************************************
***********
 Deathsparkle continues to attempt to melt Rebecca's face.
 "Yo! Over here!" She looks up just in time to see a plasma burst hit her in
the face. Deathsparkle reels from the attack. Jubilee fires at the cage
holding Will, breaking the lock.
 "Thanks Lee."
 "Don't thank me yet!"
 Deathsparkle rushes at Jubilee in near insane anger. Jubilee rolls backwards
and pushes her over her head with her feet. Deathsparkle lands with a loud
thump.
 Will runs over to his sister.
 "Are you alright?"
 He looks at her face, afraid to find out what's left.
 She nods. He sees that she is perfectly alright, with no trace of injury.
 "We still gotta get ta Hurricane!"
 Hurricane flies in and lands next to Deathsparkle. Tornado calmly walks in,
spinning his Battle Board on one finger. "It slices! It dices! It minces! It
minces(what the hell does minces mean anyway Jube? Never mind)! It's GINSU
TIME!!!"
 "Y-you're crazy!!!"
 "Boy," says Jubilee. "Now that's the pot callin the kettle black!"
 "D! Get us outta here!"
 "Right Lover!" They begin to bodyslide out.
 "We'll be back! And you'll be dead before the day's through! We still win!!"
 "Yeahh, sure. Okay. Whatever!" says Jubilee as they vanish from sight
altogether.
 Tornado checks his gun. "Funny. The warning light's still flashing. Must have
been damaged during the fight." He replaces it into the holster. Together, the
four mutants journey deeper into New Avalon.
 ****************************************************************************
*********
 "It's a good thing those two showed up when they did." Emplate mentally
follows their progress.
 "If they hadn't, Tornado would now know that Rebecca isn't exactly on their
side! But those two did attack, so now, I can still watch as they destroy
Magneto, and then watch as she destroys them!!! Who said 'revenge is a dish
best served cold' was right!!!!!"
 "I didn't know you watched Star Trek. Sir." D.O.A. said.
 "Is that where that's from? What word from the front?"
 "The Hellions have found the Acolytes and are prepared to engage on your
word. Sir."
 "There are far to many to take all at once. Tell them to try to take them one
by one."
 "It shall be done. Sir."
 "D.O.A.?"
 "Yes? Sir?"
 "Stop doing that."
 "Of course. Sir." His grin got even wider.
 Emplate sighed.
 D.O.A. giggled inwardly. His will had been subjected by Emplate a long time
ago, and his only method of rebelling against him was to annoy him the only
way he knew how. He also knew of the other's struggle against Emplate's will.
Vincent pretended to be enjoying himself to throw Emplate off guard, but deep
down, he just wanted to go home and live a normal life. Or failing that, be a
super hero and help people. The same went for Bulwark and Rebecca. Murmur was
the only odd man out. D.O.A. believed he would probably have turned to evil on
his own had Emplate not intervened.
 Of all of Emplate's thralls, Rebecca stood the best chance of freeing
herself. She had only just fallen under his control and therefore had the most
will left. He had pretty much lost hope for himself, but he hoped that one day
Vincent and Bulwark were able to free themselves the way that Penance and
Synch had.
 "Please free yourself Rebecca. Save yourself..."
 ****************************************************************************
************
 Elsewhere, in New York...
 "Reed," asks Susan Richards, "Why aren't we going to assist Tornado and
Jubilee against Magneto?"
 "I'm afraid that his shield is far too strong, even for Ben."
 "Says you."
 "And with Johnny away on another mission, we'd be at less than full strength.
Not even Thor can break that field of magnetic energy."
 "I might be able to!"
 "No Sue! We can't afford unnecessary risk at this moment. I'm afraid that our
two young friends are on their own."
 ****************************************************************************
************
 "Careful guys! This room's sensors are heat sensitive!"
 "Not a problem!" Hotshot raises the temperature of the room to confuse the
scanners. The four mutants quickly cross the room.
 They look behind them to see that Uniscone is entering the room.
 "Rebecca! You know what to do!" She quickly lowers the rooms temperature,
allowing the room to target the Acolyte. Razor blades, spikes, spears, lasers,
sonic blasts, and gunfire quickly put the Acolyte out of action.
 "This is so easy!"
 "Jube, this is way to easy!"
 "So what are ya sayin'?"
 "I think we're about to find out!" 
The four heroes turned to find their way blocked by four huge metal statues.
 "Uh, um, okay." Hotshot said. "This could turn out to be a problem." The four
statues resembled four of the X-Men: Wolverine, Colossus, Gambit, and
Nightcrwler.
 Hotshot eyed the Wolverine statue warily. "I'm not to worried about the
others, but Wolverine's claws could cause me serious damage."
 Freezer Burn tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to face her. "Let me
handle that one." she signed. "I can't be harmed by sharp objects."
 "No! It's way too dangerous! It's my fault that you guys got involved in
this, so I'm taking him!"
 "Thall..."
 "Don't bother trying to talk me out of it! TELEPORT ATTACK!!" Tornado
vanishes in a bright flash of light and before anyone can say anything, the
light is flashing around the Wolverine statue. Sparks fly for a moment, but
when the smoke clears, Tornado stands on top of a pile of dismembered statue
bits.
 "AWESOME!!!!"
 "LET'S DO IT AGAIN!" Tornado vanishes again. The light whirls around the
statues, making Gambit topple onto Nightcrawler. The beam streaks for
Colossus. The statue raises a fist and hits the beam of light head on. The
beam splits upon impact, reforming on the ground into a very weak Tornado.
 "AARON!!" Jubilee turns him over to see that other than being drained from
the experience, as well as having a bloody lip, he's alright. But Jubilee also
sees that he needs time to recover.
 "This ain't good!"
 The remaining two statures begin walking towards Jubilee, Rebecca, and Will,
while the Colossus statue prepares to step on Tornado and crush him like a
bug. 
Chapter 4
 Hotshot thought quickly, and then broke from the group. "Here I come to save
the day!" He dove to the ground and shoved Tornado out of the way. Colossus'
foot crashed to the ground directly on top of Hotshot.
 "Yo Hotshot!" Jubilee called. "You okay?!"
 "Uh, could someone maybe, you know, get this mushugena thing off me?" a
muffled voice answered from underneath Colossus.
 "Well, we've sort of got our own problems right now!" Jubilee said, dodging a
swipe of the Nightcrawler statue's tail. "Can't you melt your way out?"
 "Well I could, but then I take the chance of drowning in molten metal. I
suppose I could hold my breath that long though. Give me a minute."
 Jubilee blasted Nightcrawler in the head, knocking it off it's feet.
Unfortunately the statue proved every bit as agile as the real thing. Beside
her, Freezer Burn encased the Gambit statue in a large block of ice.
 "That ought to hold him for a while." Meanwhile, she subconsciously fought
against Emplate's control.
 There had not been much air in the hole created by the statue's foot to begin
with. Will only hoped he could hold his breath long enough to escape the metal
pool he was creating. Unfortunately for him, the statue was aware of his
actions and was grinding him deeper into the ground as time went on,
increasing the distance and time it would take him to get out.
 "Air.......getting thin." he thought. "Must........reach........utility belt.
Ah flippant to last eh?"
 Suddenly, a blast of red light knocks the Colossus statue into the
Nightcrawler statue.
 "Aaron!" All eyes turn to see Tornado replacing his gun into it's holster.
 "Will! Slag the sucker!"
 Hotshot blasts the statue full force, melting it, but freeing Gambit
inadvertently.
 "That wasn't exactly what I hoped would happen."
 "Sorry!"
 "Tell your sister to make twenty icicles!"
 Will does. Tornado sucks them into a giant whirlwind. He directs it at the
two remaining statues, which become filled with holes from the icicles
puncturing them at such high speed and unusual angles.
 "Aaron! They're still comin'!"
 "Let's finish them off Jube!"
 "I hear ya! Sparkler..."
 "... Tornado!" They bring their hands together, allowing their powers to
interact. They fire the result at the two statues, blowing them away.
 Jubilee looks at the pool of melted metal that was once the Colossus statue.
"What a mess!"
 "I got it covered Jube!" Tornado shapes the pool with his aura, and rebecca
cools it.
 "Nice!" They walk on. As they leave eyesight, Jubilee looks back at the
statue. It now is in the shape of Tornado, Jubilee, Hotshot, and Freezer Burn
doing a group high five. At the statue's base is a message: "Teamwork and
friendship always win the day."
 From their vantage point, Hurricane watches as they continue on. "Teamwork
eh? They might just have something there! Beware Tornado, I'm coming for you,
and you won't live to see today's sunset!" As they went on their way, Rebecca
tapped Will on the shoulder to get his attention.
 "What's on your mind sis?" he asked.
 "Tornado does know I can hear right?" she signed. "I mean, I'm mute. Not
deaf."
 "Actually, he might not. He just saw you use sign language and made a fairly
understandable assumption." Will turned to Tornado. "Hey Thall,"
 "Yeah?"
 "For future reference, anything you guys want to say to Rebecca you can say
yourselves."
 "She can read lips?" Jubilee asked.
 "No, she can hear you."
 "What? D'oh! I'm sorry Rebbeca."
 "That you are Tornado!" an annoyingly familiar voice cried from behind.
 "Hurricane!" Tornado said. "Don't you ever give up? We just keep kicking your
ass!"
 "Not this time windy." The remaining Acolytes emerged from concealment.
Tornado noticed that in addition to Uniscone, Voght and Scanner were missing.
 "We took out Uny," he thought. "But what happened to the others?"
 Rebecca knew.
 "Look," Hotshot said to the Acolytes. "It's people like you what cause
unrest. When is old bucket head gonna realize that he's the reason that
mutants are being persecuted! Not to mention the fact that by turning into
another Hitler, he's betrayed everything he ever believed in!"
 "Care to explain that little bit of reasoning?" Cargill asked.
 "If you can't figure it out, I ain't gonna waste no more breath on you."
 ****************************************************************************
************
 Elsewhere...
 "The Hellions have eliminated two of the Acolytes. Sir."
 "Excellent."
 "And Freezer Burn, along with her brother, have downed Uniscone. Sir."
 "Wonderful! But what of the other Acolytes?" "They, along with Hurricane and
Deathsparkle, are confronting Tornado and his friends, as well as Freezer
Burn. Sir."
 "This is highly unexpected. Tell the Hellions to go and stop the Acolytes.
And, if possible, bring Tornado, Jubilee, and Hotshot to me."
 "Why? Sir?"
 "I hunger..."
 ****************************************************************************
***********
 Outside the bubble...
 "This aura of evil shall fall! So says Thor!!" The Asgardian god hits the
magnetic bubble once more with Mijolnr. The bubble flickers for a second, but
it holds.
 "Hold it Thor," says Captain America, "Brute force alone won't help us get
through."
 "But we must Captain!" says the Scarlet Witch.
 "I know Wanda."
 "My sister might be able to provide us safe passage. Can you do it Wanda?"
asks Quicksilver.
 "I will try Pietro."
 "Be careful. We don't need to bury any Avengers today."
 "I am fully aware of that. But you must remember, my father and my cousin are
in there! And I refuse to lose any more family!"
 And with that, the Scarlet Witch begins to cast a hex, while the other
Avengers, and the world, hold their breath...
 ****************************************************************************
************ 
(the following are scenes form the homes of television viewers who are
witnessing this ground breaking event that even now is taking place.)
 "Huh huh, that Hotshot dude is cool. He like, makes fire and stuff."
 "Yeah, cool. Heh heh, fire, fire fire fire!"*
 *****
 "Hey kids! Huh huh-"
 *STATIC*
 "Not this time windy."
 "D'oh! Okay who changed the channel? Ooh, there's some potato chip crumbs on
the floor. Mmmmmmmm, potato chips."**
 ****
 "Oh good lord, they're at it again."
 "Oh my god, the producer's gonna kill me!"***
 ****
 "Cue the guest star."
 *STATIC*
 "Not this time windy."
 "What is that?! That's not part of the show! Could someone get my some
coffee?"****
 (*: Beavis and Butthead, **Simpsons, ***Murphy Brown, ****Muppets Tonight. My
apologies to all of you who think I just got way too silly for this story.
This is Ben's part (my part, I'm Ben) and I take all the credit- er, blame for
that section.)
 *****************************************************************************
 "Cap, there's someone coming!" Hawkeye said.
 "What? Who?" 
"I don't know, I've never seen them before."
 "Okay, Zach," Jasmine said. "We're here, so how are we supposed to get
through a magnetic shield that the Avengers couldn't get thorough?"
 "Excuse me," Cap said. "But do you kids mind telling me who you are and why
you're here?"
 "We're friends of one of the people trapped in there." Carrie said.
 "We thought we could help." Rebbeca added. "You see, we're mutants."
 "Indeed?" Hercules asked. "What are your powers?"
 "Well, Zach can control machines, Carrie can heal any wound or other physical
ailment, Jasmin can control electricity, and I can elongate my fingernails
into razor sharp claws." Rebecca explained. "We saw what was going on, on
T.V., and thought we could help. Though if Thor couldn't get through then I
guess not."
 "Don't be so sure." Cap said. "Electricity and magnetic forces are related.
Jasmin just might be able to do it."
 **************************************************************
 Hotshot suddenly noticed something. "What the? A camera?" He looked into the
lens. "Hi mom!"
 "Quit clowning Hotshot! Code names from here on out people!"
 "What's wrong Tornado? Don't feel like smiling for the camera? Maybe we
should just tell the viewers at home that Tornado is really-"
 Loud explosions stop Hurricane's words in his throat. He sees Thor and Jasmin
striking the field with electricity. He also sees Power Pack and the Fantastic
Four arriving.
 "NO!! What are they doing?!"
 "I think that this is our last chance! The cavalry has arrived!"
 ****************************************************************************
************
 The Smartship Friday hits the field with magnetic bursts, while Powerhouse
and Energizer hit it with Power Balls. Inside, Mass Master and Lightspeed
watch anxiously.
 "Friday," asks Lightspeed, "can we really get through?"
 "We have to try Julie. Jack, you had best go check on the others."
 "I'm goin'! I'm goin'! Not like there's any action in here anyways!" He
transforms into a cloud and joins the other assembled heroes.
 "Jack! What is Power Pack doing here?" asks Reed Richards.
 "'Nado and Jubes saved our family once! We owe them one!"
 "Fine. But you four had better be careful!"
 "Yessir!"
 ****************************************************************************
************
 "I just love this anarchy! Hellions: ATTACK!!!!"
 "Sir, what about Freezer Burn?"
 "You had best not worry D.O.A., I am going to over see the success of this
venture personally."
 "Of course... Sir."
 ****************************************************************************
************
 Avalon...
 "What is happening?!"
 Magneto watches as his plan begins to come apart. The Avengers, Power Pack,
and the Fantastic Four, along with a few unknown mutants are attempting to
breach the shield, Tornado and his allies are making fools of Hurricane,
Deathsparkle, and his Acolytes, Uniscone and two of his other followers are
missing, and even more importantly, New Avalon cannot withtand all this
punishment!
 "I have had quite enough! I will destroy my nephew myself!"
 And with that, he leaves his chamber.
 ****************************************************************************
************
 Tornado throws Frenzy into Deathsparkle, while Jubilee tricks Hurricane into
blasting the Kleinstock Brothers. Freezer Burn easily defeats Cargill with a
firey assist from Hotshot.
 "This is way too easy Tornado!"
 "I know Hotshot! But I don't see how this situation could get worse!"
 The Hellions appear.
 "Then again..."
 The Hellions begin to attack the Acolytes.
 "This is way weird Aaron!"
 "I know Jube! Why would Emplate help us?"
 ****************************************************************************
***********
 "Keep it up!" Jasmin and Thor blast the shield again. It begins to buckle.
And then it falls.
 "IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!!!"
 "AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!!"
 "POWER PACK ATTACK!!"
 The teams of heroes enter the city. They quickly reach the scene. Captain
America runs over to Tornado, who had been thrown back by one of Hurricane's
kicks.
 "Stop them, but be careful with the Hellions! They don't have a choice!"
 "Will do Son!"
 "Captain America? Is that really you?"
 "It is."
 "I've always wanted to meet you Sir. It's an honor."
 "Same here. So you're the one who stopped Onslaught eh? Good work."
 "Thank you. Now let's kick some Acolyte butt!"
 But before they can reenter the free-for-all, all the lights flicker. All
machinery stops, and all eyes look up.
 Magneto has arrived... 
"This should be interesting." Hotshot thought. "Can even Magneto defeat this
many?"
 Jasmin's heart leapt when she saw that Will was all right. She had been the
most worried of all of his friends when she'd heard about the explosion at his
apartment. She had also been the only one who had really been happy when he'd
broken up with his girlfriend.
 "Personally," she thought. "I think he could have done much better than that
racist witch Sarah."
 "Together again eh?" Zach muttered to Will. "Think we can take this guy?"
 "Guess we'll find out."
 Zach suddenly recognized the girl standing next to Will. "Um, Will, I thought
your sister was dead."
 "Well, it's kind of a long story." A horrible thought occurred to Will. HIs
sister had said that she had been brought back to life by Emplate. She claimed
to have broken his control and was helping them defeat Magneto's followers,
but the Hellions had also attacked the Acolytes. He shot a suspicious glance
at his sister. And Tornado's scanner had said there was a threat nearby. His
attention was drawn to his sister's hand. She was signing to him.
 "Will, Emplate doesn't know sign language, and he is too busy to notice that
his hold on me is broken. Or that his hold on the other Hellions has weakened
significantly. I don't know why this is, but please believe that I am now
truly on your side."
 Will had no time to reply as Magneto chose that moment to snatch him up in a
magnetic bubble.
 "So, this is my nephew's new ally. You were not supposed to be here, but as
you are his newest friend, you will be the first to die."
 "Better dressed men than you have tried Adolf."
 Magneto raised an eyebrow, and tightened his fist.
 Despite the pain of having the iron in his blood manipulated, Will smiled.
"Struck a nerve Mein Furher?" he asked. "What no grand speech? Could it be
that for once, the Master of Magnetism has nothing to say?"
 Once again, Magneto tightened the bubble.
 "Aaah! The hurting, bad thing, bad thing!"
 "Will!" Jasmin could not stand to see her friend hurt anymore. She lashed out
with everything she had at Magneto.
 "Foolish child!" Magneto crushed the vertebrae in Hotshot's neck, and dropped
him.
 "Oh no!" Jasmin and her friends rushed to where Will had fallen.
 "Get back!" Carrie said. "Give me room!" She placed her fingers carefully on
his neck and felt for a pulse.
 "I'm not dead." Will murmured in a fake british accent.
 Carrie slipped her hand under Will's neck and her hand began to glow. "This
may take a while." she said. "Give me some cover."
 Zach spotted the machinery all around them. "No problem."
 Magneto watched as one of the many cameras pointed at him. "Smile buddy!" one
of the new mutants cried. "You're on Candid Camera!"
 Magneto found himself being assailed by every weapon he had strategically
placed in the area at once. He did not even do so much as bat an eye, and the
machinery came apart. He encased Zach in a small bubble.
 "And you shall be the second to face my wrath!"
 "NO!" Explosions rock Magneto from inside his bubble. He falls to the ground.
He looks up to see Tornado advancing on him.
 "This is the last straw Uncle! This is a fight between you and me! No more
bystanders to threaten or kill. Just you and me!""
 "Agreed. However-" Magneto's words are cut short as a block of ice appears
around his head. The newly healed Will turns to see his sister grinning
triumphantly.
 "REBECCA! DON'T!" He tackles her. Tornado crushes the ice on his uncle's head.
 "Are you alright?"
 "I will recover. But be wary! The girl is one of Emplate's Hellions! I had
believed the boy to be as well at first, but I now know that to be false."
 "So you knew he was here all along? Those traps were for the two of them?"
 "Exactly."
 "Then why didn't you just say so?"
 "Emplate is near. He seeks not only revenge, but Avalon and New Avalon as
well. And with all of you here, he can eliminate a good number of Earth's
protectors as well."
 Will holds his sister's arms to her sides. She almost grins as Magneto
screams in pain.
 "WHAT THE?!" Emplate slowly rose from the ground, intangible, but he was
quickly becoming tangible, and with Magneto in his hand.
 "I CAN FEEL IT! THE POWER! I NEED NOT WORRY ABOUT FEEDING ANY LONGER! NOR DO
I NEED FEAR THE LIKES OF ALL OF YOU!!! I AM NOW A GOD!!! BOW DOWN TO YOUR
MASTER... OR DIE!"
 He throws Magneto aside like a side of beef.
 "This is as bad as it could possibly get." 
Chapter 5
 While Will stood shocked at this disastrous turn of events, Rebbeca (his
sister Rebecca not his red haired friend Rebecca who from now on will be known
a Becky to avoid confusion.) broke away from him. Will turned on her, as she
began to freeze the air around him.
 "You lied to me you *#$%!" he snarled. "You're not my sister! My sister never
lied to me!" Suddenly, Murmur was at his side.
 "Remember," he said. "No matter where you are, you're never more than three
feet away from a spider."
 Will froze for a moment, contemplating the implications of that statement.
Then, fighting his fear down, he smiled. "Three's good enough for me." he
said, and back handed Murmur across the face.
 "Alive or dead," Will said to his sister. "I will make you my sister again."
Will turned, heat literally radiating from his body, forcing many people back.
"EMPLATE!"
 "What do you want mortal?" Emplate asked. "I'm busy getting used to this
newfound power-"
 "Shut up!" Will blasted Emplate's respirator, throwing Emplate off guard.
Will knew that in a moment Emplate would create a magnetic field to compensate
for the loss, but he didn't intend to give the gasping villain time.
 "Don't let him get used to his new power!" Will shouted. "Every one attack
him hand to hand! Now!"
 Taking advantage of Emplate's predicament, many heroes did just that. Thor
hit him with his hammer, Thing began to pummel him with his fists, Cap hit him
with his shield, Becky slashed at him with her claws, Hawkeye would have fired
arrows, but he could not get a clear shot. Many other heroes rushed to join
the fray.
 Will ran forward to join them, but he was stopped by his sister. She grabbed
his arm and encased his feet in ice. Will immediately began to melt it. He
could see the pain, and conflict, and grief in her eyes. She did not want to
obey Emplate but she had no choice.
 "Don't worry Rebecca." Will said. "If you're in there, don't worry. Once
Emplate is dead you'll be free of his control. Maybe you'll die again, but
you'll be free. I won't let him insult your memory."
 "Excuse me," Aaron said. "Did I just hear you right? You intend to kill
Emplate?"
 "It's the only way Thall." Will replied. "Believe me I wish there were
another, and if you suddenly think of another before he's dead, I will
personally rush in there and save his worthless excuse for a life. One way or
another, his hold on these people dies tonight." Will pulled a small metal
cross on a chain that he'd been wearing around his neck out from under his
shirt. "Tonight I'm gonna pray for a lot of souls. Mostly mine, and his."
 "There is another way!"
 "Then what?"
 "We need all the telepaths we can get! Or maybe Doctor Strange! Also, I know
for a fact that Emplate can't hold that kind of power forever! He's running on
borrowed time! We just have to wear him down! If you can slow him down, I can
help your sister!"
 Tornado looks in Freezer Burn's direction. She falls unconscious.
 "I'm going to Doc Strange! Help the others hold the fort! But save a little
of him for me!"
 "You got it!"
 "I'm outta here!" Tornado teleports out with Rebecca. Hotshot joins the fray.
 "You are only succeeding in making me ANGRY!!!!!" Emplate throws everyone off
with a magnetic burst. Metal comes out of the walls, trapping Hawkeye, Thing,
and the Scarlet Witch. The Human Torch, Hercules, Powerhouse, and Energizer
get to work freeing them.
 "Fall back people!" orders Captain America. "We can't fight him without a
plan! We have to regroup!" The heroes follow him, all but Jubilee and Hotshot.
They hide near Emplate during the confusion.
 "He's gonna pay big for what he did to my parents and my sister! Thall had
better hurry if he wants to see Emplate survive this experience!"
 Jubilee watches Will as his anger grows.
 Hurry Aaron... please hurry. If ya don't get here pronto, we'll have twice
the trouble!
 ****************************************************************************
************
 The Sanctum of Dr. Strange...
 Tornado teleports in with the unconscious Rebecca.
 "Welcome Tornado. I have been expecting you."
 "Am I really that predictable Doc?"
 "No. But the all seeing eye of Agamotto told me you were coming. And now we
must find the root of her problem."
 Tornado lays her down inside an enchanted circle.
 "Let the Eye tell the true tale of Rebecca Davidson, and through that tale,
the cure."
 ****************************************************************************
**********
 Back on New Avalon...
 "Things have just gotten a lot worse!" Jubilee looks on as Emplate reaches
for Magneto once again. Suddenly, Magneto was no longer there. "What the?"
Emplate started.
 Quicksilver arrived at Cap's side with Magneto in hand. "Are you all right
father?" Quicksilver asked.
 "I am recovering Pietro. My thanks. What happened?"
 "Emplate fed off you. Where are Jubilation and William?"
 "I'm...not sure." Quicksilver said. "I cannot see them. Did they not retreat
with the rest of us?"
 "No, they didn't." Cap said.
 "Chill out dude." Jubilee warned.
 "I'm working on it Lee. Cap was right we can't attack him without a plan."
Hotshot replied. "Okay Davidson," he thought. "Calm, calm, count to ten, take
a deep breath, think happy thoughts. Okay, there." the fire (no pun intended)
in his eyes died somewhat. "Besides, blasting him would do no good, he'd only
absorb it." 
"Which would be why you had everyone attack hand to hand."
 "Exactly."
 "Incidentally, what was your plan?"
 "Basically to take him out before he got a chance to catch his breath."
 "Nice plan."
 "Thanks."
 *'Scuse me Guv,* a telepathic voice said. *This the right place for the fight
of th' century?*
 Generation X, the X-Men, X-Force, Excalibur and X-Factor had arrived on the
scene.
 "This thing just keeps getting bigger." Cap thought.
 "Alright people, we have a very dangerous situation here. Emplate may be
going on borrowed time now, but he still has enough time to kill millions of
innocent people down below!" Cyclops performs admirably with his ability to
state the obvious.
 "Agreed." M flies in close. "But there is no point to all of us risking our
lives."
 "So what are you suggesting?" asks Mr. Fantastic.
 "I will confront my brother alone. I might be able to convince him to give up
and seek help."
 "Sounds like a suicide run ta me." Wolverine leans against a wall.
 "True, but it is our best option." She flies off, with the prayers of the
world on her shoulders...
 ****************************************************************************
***********
 Back at Dr. Strange's sanctum, the all seeing Eye of Agamotto begins to
reveal Rebecca's secrets. William Alexander and Rebecca Cushing Davidson were
born on December 19, 1978 of Johnathan and Heather Davidson. They were born
within 30 seconds of each other, witth Will being born first. They were
identical twins.
 Ever since birth, the twins were inseparable. If they were separated by a
distance of more than a foot, they would both start crying incessantly until
reunited.
 As they grew older, their tolerances for distance began to grow, but neither
could remain away from the other for long. Both had blond brown hair and green
eyes, and were both about the same height. One difference between them
however, was that Rebecca was mute.
 When they reached the age of 12, both their mutant abilities manifested
simultaneously, resulting in the death of some nearby trees, but no one was
hurt.
 At the age of 13, while Rebecca was off by herself (an event which rarely
occurred) she was stung by a bee, and died of an allergic reaction.
 Back at the house, Will jumped, claiming that something had stung him, and he
immediately left the house to search for his sister. He found her almost
immediately, but they were unable to reach a hospital in time.
 "Wait a minute," Aaron said. "You're getting all of this from her mind right?"
 "Correct."
 "Then how can she know all this? She was dead."
 "Because," Strange told him. "They are a very rare, and special kind of
siamese twin, they are joined...at the soul. Now let us hear the rest.
 Will was plagued with guilt and self recrimination, believing that had he
been with her, he could have gotten her to a hospital sooner. He felt, as if a
part of him had died with her, indeed, it had.
 At the age of 14, Will attempted suicide, and was kept in a mental
institution until he was 15. Although he was a model patient, he was watched
closely, and a month before his release, he underwent hypnosis.
 While under hypnosis, unknown to the therapist, Will was visited by the
spirit of his dead sister who asked him to live, for the both of them, and not
to grieve for her, because someday they would be together again. 
He took her at her word, and from then on he had a new zest for life, he was
released. He threw himself into everything he did, and developed a
photographic memory. He developed an interest in music and quickly became an
expert at many instruments.
 For 5 years, Will and Rebecca were happy, for although she could not touch
him, ever since the hypnosis, she could be at his side. Also because of his
experience, although having no specific religion, Will developed a strong
faith in God.
 Recently however, things have taken a turn for the worse. Rebecca was ripped
from Will's side and was forced back into her body and forced to do the
bidding of Emplate.
 "I can figure out the rest: Emplate decided to get Will too, and at the same
time, work with Magneto to get a shot at Gen X. When my uncle betrayed him, he
stuck her on us as a spy. When we reached Magneto, she showed her new colors."
 "Exactly."
 "And because of her special link to Will, he's the only one who can save her."
 "I am afraid so."
 "Thank you Doctor. Now I know what to do."
 "I wish you luck my young friend. But remember, the fate of this world now
rests on two pairs of shoulders: your's... and Hotshot's."
 Tornado teleports her and himself out.
 "May the great Vishanti watch over you."
 ****************************************************************************
***********
 M flies closer to Emplate's location.
 This is it Monet. You can, as Jubilee would say, talk the talk, and now it is
time to walk the walk.
 "Monet! Wait!"
 She turns and flies back to Tornado, who has just teleported in.
 "Aaron! What did you learn?"
 "I learned that you have to reestablish the link between Rebecca and Will.
It's the only way to free her from Emplate's power. I'll keep him busy. Tell
the others telepathically to get down to the surface and evacuate the area for
twenty miles, just to play it safe."
 "Done." They look up to see the Fantasticar, a Quinjet, the Blackbird,
Friday, and several other craft fly off, with the flying heroes close behind.
 "One question before we enact this plan: Why should I be the one to link
them? Why not Xavier or Miss Grey?"
 "You know Emplate."
 "Then let's, in the vernacular, kick butt and take names!"
 "I could not have said it more eloquently myself Monet. Let's rock!"
 ****************************************************************************
************
 M and Tornado reenter Emplate's new throne room. They see the Hellions,
Hurricane, and Deathsparkle all being held in a wall magnetically.
 "If you don't let us outta here right now Emplate, I'll rip outta here and
make you eat that respirator!!" Hurricane struggles to no avail. Tornado sees
that a band of metal is covering Deathsparkle's mouth.
 "You aren't going anywhere. I need your power. Soon, very soon, my newfound
power will leave me, and therefor, I need the two of you, and my Hellions. I
will feed on you and gain your power, again, and again, and again!!"
 M looks to the left to see Jubilee and Hotshot watching the frightening
scene. Tornado lays Rebecca down and signals Will and Jubilee to join them.
 "Jube, I need you to keep an eye on Monet, Will, and Rebecca while I handle
Emplate. Will, lie down next to your sister, and be ready to fight Emplate's
control directly. Monet, do it!"
 Will lies down, and Monet begins linking their minds together. Tornado moves
closer to Emplate.
 "Ah, Tornado! How nice of you to join me for dinner!"
 "I'm not here for a social call Emplate! You've messed with my friends,
you've messed with my family, and you nearly tore loving siblings apart! AND
NOW YOU'RE GONNA PAY!!!!"
 "And you intend to stop me?"
 "You bet I do! And you know I can do it!"
 "It's your funeral."
 Emplate lowers himself to the ground, and the final duel begins.
 ****************************************************************************
***********
 Will finds himself in a place of darkness.
 "Where am I?"
 "You are inside your sister's mind Will." He turns to see a ghost Monet next
to him. "I am your guide in this mission. You must defeat the monster that has
taken your sister's mind. If you defeat it, she will be free. If you fail, all
three of us will die."
 Will sees an evil, monstrous creature of grayish purple slink closer towards
him, with Rebecca deep inside it. It's eyes glow a demonic red. And deep down,
Will knows that it is hungry. 
"Okay, M," Will asked, backing away from the monster. "Two questions, one:
who's mind am I in, and two: what will happen to Emplate if and when I kill
that thing?"
 "One, you are in between your mind and Rebbeca's, you are in the link between
you. And two, he should just lose control over her."
 "Alrightie then, I think I can handle the rest. This could get corny, you
might not want to see this." 
"What do you mean, corny?"
 "You'll see, I watch a lot of action movies."
 "Oh, I see."
 Meanwhile, the monster had drawn even nearer, sensing the strength of the
link, and of Will. Will concentrated, and suddenly, instead of his Generation
X uniform, he was wearing gleaming armor. In one hand, he held a long sword,
and in the other a large gun.
 "This link ain't big enough fer th' two of us." he growled at the monster.
"There can be only one!" With that, he leapt at the monster.
 The monster swiped at him with long claws, but they scraped harmlessly
against his armor. Will discarded his gun so he could hold the sword in both
hands. He blocked another blow, and returned it. His sword bit into the
creature's arm.
 ******************************************************************
 "AAAAAh!" Emplate screamed. "What's happening?"
 "You're being forced to fight two battles at the same time Emplate." Tornado
said. "Can you handle it?"
 "This... this is your doing!"
 "Good guess. Have you ever considered trying out for "Jeopardy"? I hear that
crazed, marrow sucking, genetic vampires week is coming up."
 "Very funny. DIE!!" Emplate slices at Tornado, sending waves of magnetic
energy flying.
 "Watch it!" Tornado dodges the magnetic energy and delivers a devastating
kick to Emplate's face. "You might hurt yourself!"
 Emplate flies back into a wall. He gets up and charges Tornado. Tornado runs
back, runs forward, leaps forward, and delivers a quick series of kicks as he
follows Emplate back to the wall, one foot after the other. "HYPER KICK
MAXIMUM!"
 As Emplate nears the wall, Tornado does a quick backwards flip, kicking
Emplate in the chin.
 I have to keep this guy busy! If I don't, Jube, Will, Monet, and Rebecca pay
the price!
 "EMPLATE!!"
 Both Tornado and Emplate turn to see Magneto flying in once more.
 "Pay back time!"
 Tornado looks out of the corner of his eye to see that Hurricane and
Deathsparkle were freed by the magnetic wave Emplate released.
 "Aw ?@$#! Now I'm stuck between a rock, a hard place, and two broken mirrors!"
 As Tornado quickly turns to keep his enemies in sight, they begin to
advance...
 Chapter 6
 "You will pay dearly for your crimes against me Emplate!" Magneto encases
Emplate in a magnetic bubble.
 My uncle shouldn't be able to do that to Emplate unless...
 "HIS EXTRA POWER IS GONE!!!"
 If they kill him, Will, Monet, and Rebecca are done for, and I'll be next!
 "Save some of him for us!" Hurricane leaps up and prepares to rip off
Emplate's respirator.
 "NO!!!" Tornado fires his hook launcher and pulls Hurricane down.
 "What the hell are you doing?! After all he's done to you today, I'm
surprised you aren't helping us!"
 "And sink to your level? Not a chance! I can't believe I'm saying and doing
this, but if you want to kill him, you'll have to go through me first!"
 "Fine by me!" And with that, Hurricane, Deathsparkle, and Magneto let loose
with powerful blasts of energy.
 Tornado was barely able to save himself with an air pressure shield. As it
was he was merely thrown back into the wall. "Yo Jube! A little help here?"
 "No problem Aaron!"
 ********************************************************
 Will was gradually getting the hang of fighting psionically. He'd ditched the
sword and gun after making extensive use of both, and now held a light saber.
 "You are right." Monet said. "This is getting corny. And unoriginal."
 "Aw come on." Will said. "The design is totaly different." The hilt was that
of a huge broadsword. Only the blade resembled that of the weapons from Star
Wars.
 "Besides." Will thought. "Emplate is apparently no longer as distracted as he
used to be. This monster heals almost as fast as I can inflict damage. But
with a light saber, I can inflict so much more damage, maybe I can finally
finish this thing off!"
 The monster smashed it's claws against his armor and this time, scratches
appeared. "Definitely getting stronger. I'm really getting tired of this. When
I joined Generation X, half the reason was to go someplace safe. If and when I
get out of this, I'm gonna retire to that nice peaceful tree farm in West
Virginia my family owns."
 "If you survive."
 "Yeah. IF I survive."
 ****************************************************************************
******
 Rebecca watched from the void as Will continued to battle the creature.
 "I have to get free and help him!"
 "Rebecca..."
 "Emplate!"
 "I need you! I am under attack! Come immediately!"
 "NO! I won't come! You've manipulated me long enough! Just get out of my
life! Get out of my sight! And GET OUT OF MY MIND!!!!!!"
 The sheer force of Rebecca's newfound free will forces Emplate from her mind.
 "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! YOU CAN'T!!!!!"
 He vanishes from sight.
 ****************************************************************************
*****
 "What's happening to the creature?"
 It begins to scream in silent pain.
 "Quickly Will! Finish it!"
 Will brings the weapon down on the creature, beheading it, and making it
vanish as well.
 "I-I-I DID IT!"
 "We must hurry back to our bodies!"
 "Let's go!" There is a bright flash of light, and then there is silence...
 ****************************************************************************
************
 Tornado and Jubilee land with a thump. They had been attempting an aerial
manuever when Magneto had hit them dead center with an energy blast.
 "That hurt. Lots."
 "I kind of figured that out Jube! There's no way we can take all three of
them at once!"
 "BOY!!!!!"
 They can only watch as the three villains advance on them.
 "This isn't exactly how I pictured goin' out Aaron!"
 "Me neither! Jube, before they get any closer, there's something I have to
tell you!"
 "What?"
 "Well... it's just that... we're good friends, right?"
 "Yeah. So?"
 "And good friends can be really close, right?"
 "Yeah..." 
"It's just that I-" Tornado is interrupted by a blast of flame that shields
them from the three mutants.
 "Will!"
 Hotshot joins them.
 "Where are Monet and Rebecca?"
 "Not now!"
 "I say it's time we finished these guys off once and for all!"
 "Right!"
 "Let's do it!"
 Tornado makes a giant whirlwind and sends it over to Jubilee. She fills it
with plasmoids and passes it to Will, who fills it with fire and passes the
whirlwind back to Tornado.
 "YO! HURRICANE! UNCLE! HERE'S MUD IN YOUR EYE!!!" He throws it at the three
villains and fires his gun into it. It strikes in the blink of an eye and
sends them reeling.
 "We'll finish this another day Tornado!"
 "On our terms!"
 Hurricane and Deathsparkle body slide out.
 "You have won this day nephew, but there shall be other battles to be won. In
the end, I will win the war!"
 Magneto raises his field and flies off.
 "Where's Emplate?"
 "He vanished when you showed up! The Hellions too!"
 "So why aren't we falling to Earth?"
 "My uncle might be a villain, but he's no sore loser. It's being slowly
lowered to the ground."
 As though in response to Tornado's words, the floating island once called
Avalon 2 settles back onto the ground, where S.H.I.E.L.D. agents begin to come
in to take over.
 "Now where are Monet and Rebecca?"
 "Monet's unconscious."
 "And your sister?"
 "Rebecca's..."
 Tornado and Jubilee await his next word, as does the world, still watching
through the cameras. 
"Going to be fine. She's sleeping right now. The battle against Emplate's
control took a lot out of her."
 Jubilee smiled, as did Tornado. "I'm glad this has worked out so well for
you." he said.
 "You're glad, I'm ecstatic!" Tornado could truly say he'd never seen him so
happy.
 ******************************************************************
 "So you're really leaving huh?" Tornado said. He and Jubilee had come to see
Will and a newly recovered Rebecca off. Outside, a storm had come, and it was
raining quite hard.
 "Where are you two headed?" Jubilee asked.
 "Well, first we're gonna go up to our Grandparent's house in Vermont, for a
little family reunion. Then we'll probably go to live on the old family Tree
Farm in West Virginia."
 Jubilee could not help laughing. "Just you and your sister alone in West
Virginia huh?"
 Will realized what it sounded like and laughed with her. "Oh your mind is in
the gutter Lee." Sobering a little, Will addressed Aaron. "Thall, if any of
you guys need help, just call."
 "Gladly. If you'll give me a number where you can be reached."
 "That would help yes." Will took a slip of paper out of his pocket. "Here,
it's got the number for the farm, and my Grandparents' house."
 "Well, see ya Will." Jubilee said. "You too Rebecca."
 Once farewells were completed, Will and his sister strolled out into the rain
to the waiting taxi.
 Epilogue...
 Three weeks later...
 Jubilee walks into the rec room and collapses into the nearest sofa.
 "Man! What a week! Twelve hours o' trainin', and then a major exam! And I
thought that child labor was illegal!"
 "It is Jube." Aaron walks into the room.
 "Aaron, how can ya just take all that and still be standin'?!"
 "It's all about discipline Jube. But I might have something that'll make you
forget your troubles." He produces a poster from out of nowhere.
 "What's that?"
 "A little souvenir from that incident with Will and Rebecca."
 He unrolls the poster. Jubilee's eyes go wide, and then she begins to grin.
 The poster is of the statue Tornado and Rebecca made from the molten metal
back on New Avalon. Jubilee takes hold of the poster and sees that the statues
are in a group high five.
 "Read the inscription at the base Jube."
 "It says the same thing as before."
 "Look again. Near the base of the statue."
 She squints to read the second message.
 "'Nado, Jube, thanks for everything. Hope to see you soon. Will and Rebecca."
 She looks up at him.
 "Do ya really think we'll ever see em again?"
 "I'm counting on it Jube. After all, friends forever."
 "Yeah... friends forever..."
 They both turn to the window and watch as the sun sets.
 "Goodbye Will. See you soon."
 And then the sun disappears...
 THE END
 
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