_____________________________________________________________________________________

Johny Cypress was wandering around looking for any adult to take him to town for supplies for his lab. He had decided people had begun to get a little nervous with the constant psi bit he’d been pulling. Jono could get away with it seeing as he did not have a mouth available.

"Hello?" Johny said, "Where did everybody go?" He said. Finally wandering into somewhere in the academy that didn’t seem familiar. "Huh?"

"Johny! How did you get here?"

"Where?"

"You’re in the Astral Plane!"

"Uhm well I . . .I don’t know. Oh that reminds me. Will you take me to town to pickup some equipment?"

"Why do you need me?"

"Cuz I’m not old enough! Did you know you have to be 16 to buy glue in this stinkin town? Oh wait never mind, you won’t be any help."

Lina can almost hear the wheels turning as Johny stands there musing on the problem at hand.

"Hmm . . .OH I GOT IT."

"Well don’t give it to me."

"Come on Lina"

"What?"

"You’re going to town with me, and we’re going to pick up my equipment."

"But . . ."

"No butts! I know what to do! Ha Ha Ha quick to the Johny lab!" Johny begins humming the tune to the old Batman series. A few seconds later Johny and Selina arrive at a building at the back of the academy that’s run down and hardly ever used. Johny had recently set up a lab in it. As they enter the lab Johny rushes to a corner and begins rifling through all the tech-equipment he’d (stole) borrowed. After a few minutes Johny pulls out two wristbands.

"What are those?" Selina asked.

"They’re image inducers." He said as he slapped the wristbands on their wrists and flips the switch. Selina slices into the astral reality and drags Johny along to town. After a minute of walking/floating they slice back into the physical realm and into a riot.

"AHHH!!!" a pedestrian screams as her car is crushed beneath the behemoths foot.

"Bloody ‘Ell!!!" Johny exclaims falling back into his Australian accent. "The

Sentinels are patrolling again!" A second later a large humanoid machine slams through the wall of a small corner Grocery store.

~TARGET SIGHTED~ a mechanical voice boomed. Johny and Lina watch as the Sentinel reached down to snatch up a small blue girl.

"That’s it!" Johny shouted. His eyes glow bright as he concentrated for a few seconds. Sparks flew from the Sentinel’s head as Johny gave it the electronic equivalent of a cerebral hemorrhage. The Sentinel staggers releasing the girl.

Selina runs over and throws the girl and herself into a portal. The Sentinel falls to the ground with a crash and a backwash of energy.

"OK and the next contestant is." Johny said unsurprised as the other Sentinel walks through a building behind him extending its carbonadium mutant snare lines.

"Cool trick mine’s less destructive to the personal property." Johny said as the Sentinel shot a blast of energy at him. Of course still no surprise as Johny’s natural precog and semi-clairvoyant abilities work overtime. Johny teleports in the blink of an eye.

"My turn!" Johny yells smiling with excitement. "You look thirsty mate how bout some . . .BRAIN JUICE!" The psi-blast flies from his hands and rips the first layer of armor plating off the back of its head.

~MISSION TERMINATED . . .returning to base.~ the mechanical voice sounds as it’s thrusters kick in and it flies away.

"Piece-A-Cake!" Johny says to himself.

"If you’re through patting yourself on the back give me a hand." Lina says as she pulls the unknown mutant from the rip. The blue mutant rolls over in Lina’s arms groans and hurls into the portal. "EWW GROSS!!!!" Lina yells as she closes the glowing rift.

"That’s gonna leave a stain. Some mutants just can’t handle the astral plane."

From a nearby tree a pair of gleaming eyes stare out of the darkness at the goings on.

<<That’s gotta be him. Although I thought he’d be taller.>>

"Lina did you feel something?!"

"Nope. Now don’t go getting paranoid on me Johny." Johny and Lina carry the unknown mutant to an empty park bench.

"Ah Man, It looks like all that energy fragged the image inducers."

"Do you think you can fix ‘em?" Lina asks hopefully as she starts picking at the image inducers.

"Not even I, CRONOS MASTER OF ALL TIME, can fix that!!!" Johny says as he points to the lumps of blackened circuitry attached to their wrists.

"JOHNY . . ." Lina says mock menacingly.

" . . . BRAVO" a weak voice says from the park bench as the lady stirs.

"You’re awake. Johny and I thought you’d never come to. My names Selina . . .and that’s Johny."

"Krissy"

"How are you feeling?

"Alright under the circumstances but where are my shades." She says as she shields her eyes and begins rummaging through her pockets for her shades.

"What’s wrong?"

"It’s TOO DAMN bright."

"But the sky is overcast today."

"Well my eyes are sensitive so they pick up on a whole lot more than most people’s do." Krissy says as she pushes herself up onto her elbows. Her hands still groping around brush up against a pair of mirror lens shades and slips them on. "So what're you kids doing here? She asked with a weary smile.

"The usual shoppin, hangin, and savin cute blue chicks from mutant hunter robots. Since you just got off work how bout you come with us." Johny gestures towards the now crumbling corner market.

"Well I have nothing else to do today so let’s go."

The private phone lines rings at the Xavier's School for the Gifted. A redheaded man in a Celtics jacket runs to answer it before the machine starts the voice mail message.

The machine begins its message proceeding to speak with an Australian accent.

A beep sounds from the other end of the line followed by a lady giggling.

"Johny you're crazy." The lady laughs.

"My name is Kristen and I was told to speak with a Mr. Sean Cassidy to tell him that I'll be bringing my stuff in tomorrow?" Sean reaches for the phone but Kristen hangs up before he has the chance to talk. The next day the members of Generation X, minus the band of renegades, gather in the foyer awaiting the arrival of a new student and teammate. Paige stands beside Jono rehearsing her welcome to Xavier's speech for the fifteenth time since breakfast.

Everett, the mutant known as Synch, speaks up. "Mr. Cassidy what do you know about the new student. You haven't told us much about her."

"That's becausin I don't know lad." He counters. "Why donnae ye ask Johny? He seems to know 'er." Ev turns to Johny for answers as Emma and a tall blue lady walk in carrying two bags. She drops them on the floor as she steps through the threshold.

"I'm Krissy Thompson and you must be Mr. Cassidy. It's nice to meet you." She says walking over to shake his hand.

"Please call me Sean." Sean begins to start introducing but is interrupted by Paige.

"Welcome to Xavier. I'm Paige. The bald guy over there is Everett. The one in the corner is. . ."

"Down gel!" Tremere says as his eyes begin to shimmer. Paige visibly slows down and her exuberance drops a notch or two as she continues.

" . . . Monet. The lazy one on the couch is Gaea. The one beside me in all black is Jono. The gray gentleman sitting on Jono's left is Angelo." Angelo leans back in his chair dazed by the appearance of the blue skinned beauty.

"One of my favorite colors besides blue is gray." Krissy says as she turns winks and blows a kiss at the gray skinned mutant causing him to fall over backwards. Paige turns to introduce Jubilee and others but is stopped by the look that passes between Krissy, Johny, Kat, and Jubilee.

"We've already met. And Mr. Johny Cypress what's wit that voice mail. Who looks like a Smurf hmm?" Johny smiles sheepishly.

"So where ya from chica?" Angelo asks wanting to find out more about the blue skinned beauty.

Krissy’s voice wavers as she answers, "Uh . . .here, there. So where’s my room?"

"I’ll be glad to show ya to your room." Jubilee pipes in before anyone could offer. Krissy and Jubes snatch up the bags and leave the room.

**Sean something’s going on here I just know it.**

**Ack, yuir jus bein paranoid Em. Ye need to get a hobby or sumthin.**

**Krissy’s emotions flickered when Skin mentioned where she was from and then a very large and very powerful psi shield blanketed her mind. I think our little group of misfits have something up their sleeves, especially Miss Lee. I’m gonna get to the bottom of this.**

**Do wat ye want I’m goin to take meself a wee nap bef’re dinner. Wake me if’n there’s a Sentinel attack.** Emma gives Sean an evil look as he walks off.

Upstairs Jubilee and the others gather in Krissy’s new room to help her unpack and to fill her in on current events.

"Johny?! What was all that cloak and dagger stuff about?"

"I didn’t want Emma poking around in your head. A few seconds and she would have known everything, things dealing with your father and your joining our little group."

"Besides, the more shielding we throw up around you the more curious Frosty gets. She’ll probably end up taking you to see Xavier."

"I get it Jubes a free guided tour of the Xavier mansion for the new enrollee. Real smooth guys." A knock at the door startles them as a tall man in a black suit coat complete with tails walks into the room.

"So David did Emma take the bait." Lina asks.

"Sure’n she did gel. But there’s a catch only two of us’ll be’a goin with ya to the Xavier Mansion. I think that Jubilee and Johny should go. Everyone’ll expect her to be’a goin to see Mr. Logan also Johny knows the grounds better’n anybody else."

"Krissy while you’re in the computer I’ll be setting up a suitable diversion to keep the other X-Men busy. This should give you enough time to meld with the computers allowing you to sufficiently download all of Cerebro’s files."

"While I guess that’s it then." Krissy says as a voice interjects from the shadows. Everyone looks up to see ShadowDancer’s form erupting from amongst the other shadows.

Johny’s eyes flicker as he passes out.

<<The guards usher him into a darkened room except for a chair in the middle of a circle of light. "Uhh where . . .YOU! What do you want from me!?" The straps are tightened on the chair and the guards leave him. A person floats before him. A person he knows to be a psion, he can feel the pressure on his mind. The psion moves towards him the only part of the hooded psion can be seen is the sinister curl of his lips into a devilish smile.

"Heh heh, how can ya not know me? Look at my face." The short hovering psion draws back his hood lower it for the prisoner to see. A bright flash erupts before Johny’s eyes.>>

He awakens to Jubes and Krissy leaning over him staring with questioning faces.

"Johny! Are you alright!?

"What happened?"

"I d-d . . .don’t know."

"Come on, are you alright?" Jubilee asks. He can see the concern in her face and also a bit of fear.

<<Out of the entire group Jubilee is the only one that had her brain picked by all 36 psions. Something is going on here but until I can find out what exactly and place my finger on it I’ll just hafta keep it to myself.>>

He comes back to himself as he realizes that Jubilee is still looking at him.

"Yea I’m alright. Let’s just get going."

Not a word was said as Sean wheeled the van into the garage of the Xavier Mansion.

<<I had me doubts ‘bout their havin sumthin up their sleeves. But now I’m not so sure.>>

"Ye pack a heathens better behave yuirselves. I’ll be back later I’ve gotta run a few errands." Johny smiles at this seeing with his precog sense an image of Sean throwing back a few mugs Foster’s with one of his INTERPOL buddies at the local pub. The group enters the mansion and is greeted by Wolverine, Beast and Cyclops. The group stares at the X-Men for a moment sizing them up going over their plan mentally.

"Welcome to our humble home Ms. Thompson. I am Dr. Henry McCoy the burly fellow to my left is Logan a.k.a. Wolverine . . ." The two tp’s in the group begin to thoughtcast to Krissy.

**I’ve got Wolvy.**

" . . .the Una-eyed gentleman to my right is Scott Summers a.k.a. Cyclops."

**Johny you take Cyke. Krissy you’ve got fuzzy. He shouldn’t be to hard to handle.** A mental snicker comes from Reality Shock.

**RRRiyght!!!**

If you’ll come with me we’ll begin the tests to discern your physical health, mental health, etceteras. Krissy and Beast exit leaving Shock and Jubilee with Wolverine and Cyclops.

**LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE.** Jubes catches the thought, from Shock, smiles and nods.

"Mr. Summers where are the other X-Men?"

"Well Johny. Gambit and the others are waiting for me in the Danger Room. You can come and observe while we run through a few training exercises. Logan will you or Jubilee be joining us."

"We may be along later. Jubes and I need ta talk." Shock and Cyke head down the corridor to the Danger Room leaving Wolverine and Jubilee alone.

"How bout you and me go for a walk old man and I’ll show the old dog in you a few new tricks." Wolverine gives a low growl at Jubilee calling him old. As they head for the door, **TAG YER IT!**, Jubes sweep kicks him taking him down and bolts for the door leading the woodland part of the grounds.

<<RRRHAAAUUUGH!!!! Maybe I am getting old. But yer gonna pay for that one kid.>> Laughter intrudes on his thoughts followed by a familiar voice.

**Heh heh heh, I don’t think so. This is gonna be fun.** Snikkt, Wolverine unsheathes his claws stalking out of the mansion.

**Time for Phase II.**

Johny sits in the control room half monitoring the mock battle as the thought hits him like a runaway train.

** "RRRiyght!!!" ** Shocks eyes glow as a hazy green aura surrounds his now pupil-less eyes. The Danger Rooms lights flicker and go out only to come back on. The scene has changed to that of a cemetery. An Arm reaches up out of a grave grabbing at the leg of an unsuspecting Cyclops.

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

He jumps back sending an optic blast as the creature grabbing for him. The blast sends bits of rotting flesh and dirt flying into the hair of Gambit and Storm. Something in the shadows catches Gambit’s eye. He charges a card bathing the area in light revealing the moving shadow to be a hideous purple blob-like creature. He flings the card at it without thinking. The blob swallows the card in one gulp. Seconds later purple goo covers every X-Man in the room.

"YUCK!"

"ICK!"

"EWW!"

"Computer end program, now!"

The X-men stand before a fork in the road. Out of the mist booms an eerie voice raspy like steel wool rubbing against a blackboard. "WELCOME TO THE WELL OF THE DEAD ENTER AT YOUR OWN PERIL." The wind picks up whipping around the startled X-Men.

"Gambit don't t'ink we're n Kansas no more. Now wat mon ami."

"Don't anyone get excited we're still in the Danger Room. Remember we can handle anything that the system can throw at us." An owl sits perched on a rotting tree watching over the wayward group of trespassers. Cyclops watches as the bird opens it's mouth and begins to speak with the same raspy voice they'd heard before.

"I SHALL DEVOUR YOUR SOULS AND YOU'LL BE DEAD BEFORE DAWN." A blank stare comes from its large eyes as it keels over dead. Storm turns to Cyke.

"I don't like this Cyclops."

"I know how you feel."

Shock sits hunched over laughing at the heroes on the screen scurrying around like frightened children. <<I think I'll go get a snack but before I do I may as well check in with Jubes and keep an eye on how Krissy's doin.>> He sends a thought to Jubes and begins shimmering out of phase and abruptly stops. <<WHAT AM I THINKIN? I better tape this for the others.>> He punches the record button and phases outta the room.

______________________________________________________________________

"Jamar!?" Jubes says in a slight whisper. "Are you there?"

"Yes Jubes." He replies back in kind.

"May I come in."

"Anytime no need to ask. I trust you." Shadow Dancer opens his mind completely and connects with Jubilee. The loneliness he had felt earlier disappeared as their minds become one.

"I need a shadow shield up quick." Jubilee vanishes in the swirl of shadows. Wolverine steps out of the bushes into the clearing. His eyes dart back and forth.

<<Now that’s new. I never had someone's scent just vanish. There's usually a trace even under dirt, cologne, and water.>>

A super heated dagger whizzes by Wolverine singeing the top of his mask. **Ya give up yet old man? Heh heh.** Wolverine's ears pick up the singing of blades behind the telepathic taunting. The blades send him wheeling across the clearing as some of the blades ricochet off rocks or pass through trees. He moves dodging the three knives aimed at his back barely ducking in time. One knife ricochets off of an outcropping of rocks. Super heated steel passes overhead ripping the last of Wolverine's mask to shreds.

"Yer good kid but I'm the best."

"Oh yeah!?"

A sound catches his ear. But doesn't register in time to help him avoid the kick to his mid-section. Jubilee moves leaps out of the shadows attacking with a vicious series of kicks, strikes, and plasma bursts. Wolverine leaps into a tree as Jubilee explodes the ground around him.

Beast has Krissy strapped to a diagnostic bed as a faint yellow light flows across her body giving her skin a greenish hue. As it flows across her for the fifth time it suddenly stops.

"That's bazaar."

"What is it now?" Krissy replies a bit frustrated.

The occupants of the Danger Room are wandering along the outskirts of an abandoned ranch when they are suddenly attacked by headless scarecrows and large metallic fire breathing lions.

"This is getting loonier than one of those Saturday morning cartoons."

"Everybody spread out. We have no choice but to play this out till the Danger Room sequence ends."

"Well f’r howeva long that’ll be sugah." Rogue takes to the air as the lion pounces.

<<Hmm! Now let’s see what these people have to eat. There better be some munchies.>> The door to the walk in freezer slides open. The room is stocked from floor to ceiling with food. <<Whoah! It’s the motherload. Are these guys expectin Apocalypse to drop by for dinner or what.>> Johny excited with his discovery begins to construct a monster sub topped off with a side of Chesee Poofs.

KRAKABOOM!!!!!!

The tree that Wolverine had been perched on exploded in a shower of sparks and flames. Long flaming projectiles erupt everywhere.