Teaser: The remaining Gencats go on a hunt for their missing members, but there are more ghosts around, demanding help, and Angelo is left alone to face the 'cat's newest, and perhaps deadliest enemy.

Note1: I know absolutely nothing about the current lineup of the Hellfire Club. I am therefore making it up as I go along. Things happened differently in my universe anyway.

Note 2: I know that Artie and Leech are supposed to be eleven or something, but honestly, do they look that old to anyone here? No. So my versions are about seven or eight. I mean, they can't even read properly yet!

Everyone stared at the pathetically dangling telephone receiver, then at the four patches of empty air which had, a second before, contained two members of Generation X, the female half of the faculty, and an ex-ghost they’d all rather liked.

"Emma!!" Sean shrieked.

"Jono!!" Paige screamed.

"Jubes!!" Everett cried.

"Damn." Angelo muttered. "She was cute, too."

"Where’d they go? Where’d they go?" Sean shouted, grabbing the receiver and shaking it.

"Who did it? Who did it?" Paige sobbed, clutching Jono’s leather jacket.

"How do we get them back? How do we get them back?" Everett gibbered, running around in circles.

"Don’t worry, muchachos." Angelo said comfortingly to Artie and Leech. "It’s just one of those weird things that always happens to us. They’ll be fine."

"ANGELO ESPINOSA, HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM?!?!?!" Howled Sean, Paige, and Everett.

"Because I’m thinking with my brain." He said calmly. "Instead of my hormones."

"That’s a first." Monet observed, wandering into the kitchen. "What’s going on?"

"Telephone ate Miss Frost and Jono and Jubilee and ghost girl!" Leech exclaimed.

"Really?" Monet thought about it. "How odd."

"ODD? ODD?" screamed Sean, going purple. "They’re gone!"

"Well, yes, but that happens all the time, doesn’t it? Flashes of light, dark portals, mystical gateways, Gateway... S.O.P., really. It’s just that I’ve never known anyone to be eaten by a telephone before. It’s new." Monet explained. They digested that.

"She’s got a point, Mr Cassidy." Everett said after a moment. "People do disappear a lot around here. Usually because some supervillain kidnaps them."

"A new supervillain! One who uses telephones as his/her/its dastardly weapon against human/mutantkind, targeting innocent ghosts and coleslaw makers across America!" Angelo exclaimed melodramatically. "A catnapping fiend!" Monet giggled. Paige glared at them.

"A new supervillain, maybe. So how do we track the rat down? Were there any clues?" She looked around vaguely.

"Well," Monet suggested practically, "we might try talking to whoever was on the other end of the line." Sean stared at the receiver still clutched in his hand.

"Oh. Right." He said sheepishly. He lifted the device to his ear. "Umm...hello?"

* * *

"Oh no." Fortune whimpered, staring at the phone. "Oh no. Phone ate Creed. Creed is gone. Everyone will blame me." She looked helplessly at the dangling receiver. "And it really wasn’t me this time!"

"What wasn’t you this time?" Blake asked, sticking his head into the rec-room. "Creed’s bed ‘spontaneously combust’ again? A ‘random glitch’ destroyed all his access codes? His clothes all ‘dyed themselves’ pink?"

"No." Fortune said limply, still sitting on the floor. "The phone ate him."

"Riiiiiigghht. Where’d you send him?"

"I mean it, Blake! The phone ATE HIM! I didn’t do it!"

"Uh-huh. Whatever. You’d better bring him back before Delphi finds out."

"BUT IT WASN’T ME! I DIDN’T DO IT!!"

"What wasn’t you?" Delphi asked.

"AAUUGGGHHH!!!" Screamed Fortune, diving under the pool table.

"She says the telephone ate Creed." Blake ratted. Fortune threw an eight ball at him. She missed.

"Uh-huh. Sure it did. Fortune, bring him back. You know the rules." Delphi looked annoyed. Delphi’s moods went directly from ‘annoyed’ to ‘bloodthirsty frenzy’. Fortune quailed.

"Look, Del, it wasn’t me. Really, it wasn’t, I was right over here and he was talking to some kid claiming to be his daughter and then there was this flash and this weird noise and then he just wasn’t there and there weren’t any smoking boots or anything and I honestly didn’t do a thing and maybe it was the kid?" she finished hopefully.

Delphi lifted the receiver and put it to her ear. "Umm...hello?" quavered a male, adult, and rather nervous sounding Irish voice.

"What the f*** is going on, Cassidy?!?!?" shrieked the Oracle in a voice that rattled even Banshee’s eardrums.

"Ummm.... we were hoping ye’d know... It, er, seems that the telephone has, uh, caused Jubilee, Chamber, Danae Creed, an’ the White Queen t’ disappear."

"They got eaten by the telephone?" Delphi asked, calming down a bit.

"Well...ye could put it that way, I suppose..."

"Hang on." She covered the mouthpiece and looked at Fortune. "Well, it seems you’re off the hook - for now, at least. They had people disappear too." she went back to the phone. "Look, we’ve got no idea...yes, we’ll look into it...no, we don’t need any help...just try to stay calm and look after the students you still have, ‘kay? Bye." She hung up before the Irishman could object. "Let’s start looking, shall we? I know how upset you must be that our dear friend Creed is missing."

"Oh yeah." Fortune muttered. "Devastated."

* * *

Sean looked at the suddenly silent telephone and cursed. The students, now including Mondo and Penny as well, stared at him in surprise. "Wow. He must be worried." Monet muttered to Angelo.

"Si. Even I don’t know all those words."

"Mr Cassidy? Can I make a suggestion?" Mondo asked.

"What is it, lad?"

"I suggest we have something to eat, get some rest, and sort this out in the morning. It's only a couple of hours until dawn, and none of us are in any state to go running off after supervillains. What with getting kidnapped by Sinister, being held captive, etc. etc...."

"He has a point, sir." Monet said diffidently. "Most of us haven’t had much sleep in the last couple of days."

"Especially you. Sir." Angelo smirked.

Banshee blushed. "Er...yes, well, perhaps a wee bit of a nap would do us all good. Say - two hours. In catform, if ye please." He grabbed a bowl of fruit and hauled Artie and Leech away to receive the fastest bedtime story of their short lives. The others shrugged, and foraged around for something to eat.

"Hey, Ev, you think this salad is still good?"

"That’s not a salad. That’s the leftover beef from last month."

"Oh. Maybe we should just play it safe and only eat the things in the freezer."

"The only things Ah see in there are ice-cream, Frosty-Fruity-Pops, three half-toffee apples and a running shoe."

"You can have the running shoe, chica. The last Cherry Craze Fruity-Pop is mine!" Angelo grabbed it and ripped off the wrapper. Placing the red, already dripping treat in the middle of the table, he backed away, eyeing it carefully. "I’m going to eat you, little poppsie." He crooned happily. "I’m going to eat you, little poppsie. I’m going to-"

"Great." Everett groaned, locating an edible orange in the depths of the vegetable crisper. "Jono’s got him watching ‘Red Dwarf’ again." Finishing the ritual, Angelo zipped out a reel of skin, snagged the pop, slunk into a corner, and started to eat. "At least he isn’t puffing up his hair and wearing sequins." Ev, Paige, and Mondo wandered off, preferring to eat whatever they’d managed to find in private, so they wouldn’t have to share.

"You are a sad little individual, Skin." Monet observed, carefully slicing her wholemeal tunafish sandwich into four triangles.

"It perked them up, didn’t it?" He asked, coming out of his corner and sitting down at the table. "Hey, chica, did you notice that?"

"Notice what?"

"Was it just me, or did Mondo actually say something intelligent back there?" Angelo asked, licking the last of his Fruity-Pop off the plastic stick.

Monet paused in the act of transferring her dinner from board to plate. "Hmm. Now that you mention it, he did, didn’t he.... How odd." She shrugged. "Worry about it later. Goodnight, Angelo."

"Buenos noches, Monet."

When he was sure she was gone, Angelo padded over and ever so quietly opened the freezer door again. He reached in and grabbed the sneaker. Looking around furtively, he pulled a small plastic bag, containing his emergency stash, out of the shoe before replacing it carefully. Humming a cheery tune, he trotted over to the microwave. "I’m gonna eat you, little mousie...

* * *

By the next morning, Sean had calmed down slightly. "All right, students. I've had the computer linked up t' Cerebro in Westchester, and it's been running a search for Emma and the others while we were sleeping. So far, it's come up blank, so here's what I want ye t' do. Monet, Angelo, work with the computer. Look for any clues at all to what might have happened to them, and who might be responsible. Mondo, Everett and Paige, search the grounds. Y'never know with these things. I'll be getting in touch with one or two o' me old contacts, t'see if there's anything on the grapevine." They dispersed.

"Monet?" Angelo asked. "Any ideas on where we start?"

"Not really. How about you go through Sean's villain data-base, and check for anyone whose modus operandi fits the events of last night. I'll check the Newsbase for any peculiar happenings in the area over the last few days."

"Si." They got to work. Meanwhile, Everett was searching behind the house, Mondo was carefully hunting through the Biosphere, and Paige was jogging past the gate, checking out the front. So intent was she on the inside of the walls, that she almost missed the short, brown-haired woman standing outside the gate. She was scribbling something on a piece of paper.

"Uh, can Ah help ya, ma'am?" Paige asked politely. The woman looked up.

"Here." She said, shoving the note through the bars. "Read that."

Confused, Paige did as she was told. The note was very short. It said:

'Hellfire Club + Sinister = Trouble for kitties.

Hint, hint.

A Friend.

PS. What are you, thick?'

Paige looked up. The woman had vanished. Not just quietly walked away - that gravel was too noisy. Vanished. Still, a clue was a clue, and she raced back to the house, clutching the scrap of paper. "Mr Cassidy! Mr Cassidy! We've got a tip-off!!"

* * *

Meanwhile, in a place that wasn't quite Earth, nor Heaven or Hell, that wasn't the Astral Plane, nor even Limbo, but was close to them all, Gabrielle Quarezmini tucked her pen back into her pocket. "There ya go. Consider them tipped."

Illyana Rasputin sat slumped on a carbon molecule. "It's not going to work."

"Don't be such a pessimist, Yarns. It worked for our fearless leader, didn't it?" Adam Bell said cheerfully.

"Who disappeared in a flash of light only hours later. That's real reassuring, Adam." Magik sulked. Catseye smiled at her understandingly. Danae and Illyana had been friends for a long time. "Do not be afraid, Magikdemongirl. Wingfriend can take care of herself."

"I hope so." Douglas Ramsey said worriedly. He'd know Danae even longer than Illyana had, and they were very close.

"Of course she can." Irene Adler reassured him. "I've never liked her father much, but I must admit he prepared her for life - and death - quite thoroughly." Destiny smiled. She was fond of the feisty little elf, not the least because of-

"Judas?" Gaby said irritably. "Zin, I told you to keep an eye on him."

Tall, red-haired Zin Ferris shrugged. "He was here a minute ago. Geeze, Gab, it's not like he can go anywhere."

Barney Fleming was watching Paige anxiously as she rattled off her story to Sean. "I just hope they get it right." He said. "Being dead is no life."

"Dead?" Gaby looked at him in exasperation. "What is with you guys? Why the morbid obsession with death?"

Magik glared at her. "Oh, I don't know. Probably because we're dead, headcase!"

"No need to be rude about it." Gaby sniffed. "Just because you're delusional and I'm not..." She stormed off in a huff, looking for Judas.

"Leave her alone, Magik." Kevin McTaggert advised. Gaby's absolute refusal to accept that she was, in fact, dead, and had been so for more than ten years, was useful to the other ghosts. For a start, the firm belief that you had a corporeal body made the odd materialization infinitely easier, which was handy when, like today, they needed to communicate with someone and there wasn't a medium or a ouija board handy.

Danae, who was senior ghost after Gaby, had developed several theories about death. Like, say, that you couldn't take mental illness with you when you left your brain behind. When Proteus had pointed out Gaby's obvious delusional state, Danae had insisted that Gaby hadn't died a fruit-loop - she'd done it afterwards.

Danae and Proteus, having been dead the longest, were the closest thing any of them had to an authority on their current state of what they called 'Unofficial Death', and the fact that for as long as anyone could remember they had both been determinedly trying to get back wasn't lost on anyone.

Handing themselves over to Sinister hadn't been a first choice for anyone, but given the option, all twelve of them had decided to take the chance. This could well be their one chance to get back to the lives they'd left unfinished, they knew that. Danae had volunteered to go first, since the whole thing had been her idea. Now the rest of the League for the Preservation of Unlife, as they had jokingly named themselves, huddled around to watch as Generation X unwittingly prepared to give them the same chance at life.

* * *

"I’m not denying that it’s a bad idea to take the muchachos along. I even think that we should leave someone to keep an eye on them. I’m just not one hundred percent sure why everyone thinks that that someone should be me!" Angelo snarled in the wee small hours of the next morning. The remainder of the team were assembled in the front of the house, except for Penny, who had disappeared into the biosphere the night before, and hadn’t been seen since.

Sean tried to explain. "Y’see lad, I have to go-"

"Not arguing with that."

"And we’ll be needin’ Ev to mimic Shaw’s powers-"

"Fine."

"And Monet’s super strength-"

"Okay. Them I understand. But why can’t Mondo or Paige stay?"

"Paige insists."

Angelo looked at the grim-faced southerner and decided not to argue that point. "Mondo?"

"We might need him too." Sean offered weakly.

"Ang’lo doesn’t want to stay with Artie and Leech?" Leech sniffled. Artie’s big eyes filled with hurt tears. Angelo gave Sean a dirty look.

"It’s not that, amigos, it’s just that I wanna go after these guys too, you know? But I wanna spend time with you, really." Artie smiled and created a hologram of Angelo reading a story to the boys. "Yeah, okay, story it is." Angelo gave in. If looks could have killed, however, Sean Cassidy would have been singing in a heavenly choir before the kids had finished dragging their reluctant babysitter into the biosphere.

"Are you sure that this is a good idea, Mr Cassidy?" Monet asked with some concern. "Just Skin?"

"Are ye volunteering to help, lass?"

"Uh, no, no, I’m certain that he will be able to manage. Besides, we are leaving Penny, too. Between them they are certainly capable of defending the children." Monet said hurriedly.

"Glad ye agree, lass."

"Mr Cassidy?"

"What is it, Mondo?"

"Just out of curiosity, do we have a plan?"

"Uh...o’course we do, lad. We’re goin’ to go to the Hellfire Club and tellin' those fiends in semi-human form to give them back. Now, we’ll be wantin’ to get there fast, which means flying, so Monet, ye carry Mondo, Ev, ye carry Paige." They departed, leaving behind only a puff of dust and a fading mutter.

"I notice he isn’t carrying anyone."

* * *

A short time later, they landed outside the Hellfire Club's headquarters. "So, Mr Cassidy, now what?"

"I told ye, we go in there and tell those-" Monet yanked the deceptively calm Banshee back from the door.

"Sir? Not wanting to criticize, but that is not much in the way of a plan." She tried to reason with him. "I doubt that they are simply going to hand our missing companions over to us without a murmur, even assuming that this is where they are."

"But..." Sean trailed off. "We could try." He said plaintively.

The four students looked helplessly at him. He was obviously in no shape to be giving orders. Mondo shrugged.

"We might as well." He said. The others turned their stares on him. "Well, since we're here." He explained.

The door opened. A tall, cadaverous man stared down at them with an expression of deep disdain on his face. "Yes?" He said contemptuously. "Did you knock?" His tone said they'd better not have. It then went on to imply that they had no business being on these steps, and should remove themselves before someone decided to have them removed, probably in pieces. It was a marvelously expressive tone.

Fortunately, the cats were immune, having heard the exact same tone from Emma numerous times. "We were just about to." Monet said resignedly. "We need to speak to the members of the Court."

"Oh?" The tone didn't believe a word of it. It was well aware of the proper scheme of things, and knew precisely where four teenagers and a dazed-looking Irishman didn't belong, which was anywhere near the Court. Its companion in snobbery, a raised eyebrow, was quite prepared to call security if they didn't go away immediately.

"Yes." Monet said firmly. "A member of the Club, a very senior member, has inexplicably disappeared. The Court must be notified immediately." Monet's voice had a tone too. And not a mere tone, but a Tone. It spoke with the authority of one who knows that her Blood is Blue, and knows that she is speaking to what is when all is said and done, a servant, and it said that if he did not show them to the place they wanted to go to with all speed, he would shortly find himself at the unemployment office, minus his ears.

The man wilted under the sheer force of that Tone. "Yes ma'am." He submitted. "This way, ma'am."

He led them through long halls and ornately decorated rooms, until eventually they came to the room where various members of the court lounged, sipping expensive wines and playing convoluted games. "What is it?" Shinobi Shaw looked up. "Ah. Emma's little proteges. And they've delivered themselves into our hands, have they? How very obliging of them." He smirked.

"Emma is missing." Sean said bluntly. "Along with two students and a friend. Do ye know anything about it?"

"Sorry." Madelyne Pryor shrugged, sipping her blood-red wine. "Why would we concern ourselves?"

"I rather thought you might." Monet played her hole card. "Since the friend is one of Sinister's little 'projects'. As you were."

Madelyne sat up, setting her glass down with a soft, deliberate click. "Explain." Her voice was hard and very cold.

"Danae is a clone of a girl who died nearly ten years ago. Apparently, he's being a little more careful this time." Monet clarified. "We rescued her from one of his labs the day before yesterday." She looked the Goblin Queen straight in the eye. "We know what she is. And what she is, is our friend. Her genetic history doesn't matter."

"What does this have to do with us?" Madelyne asked. Her voice was harsh, but her eyes were pained.

"We have received information to the effect that the Hellfire Club, or one of its members, is working with Sinister in this matter." Monet's voice was cold, disguising any sympathy she might have felt for the older woman. Whatever her faults, Madelyne had been brutally mistreated by Cyclops and the other X-Men, betrayed over and over again until she went mad, and eventually died. But Monet had her own friends to worry about.

"We'll help you." Madelyne said softly. A murmur of protest rose behind her, but she hushed it with a freezing glare. "Sinister's experiments are too dangerous. What if he were to clone the Inner Circle?" That thought spread a chill throughout the room. Madelyne reached out and telepathically probed every mind in the room, excluding Paige, Everett, and Mondo, but including Monet and Sean.

* * *

"And the princess killed the evil prince, and married the monster, and they lived happily ever after." Angelo said, closing the book firmly. Artie, Leech and Penny sighed happily.

~Nice story.~ Penny purred. Artie and Leech nodded.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Angelo asked. Please not another story, he prayed silently.

~Eat?~ Penny said hopefully.

Artie project an image of four cats playing in a sprinkler.

"No." Leech was firm. "Leech wants to watch people move in across road." Artie nodded enthusiastically. Penny, on the other hand, shrank down against Angelo's side.

"You don't want to, Pen?" A shake of the head. "I'll tell you what. I'll set you up in the kitchen, with some mince, and we'll go watch for a while, that okay?" A nod. "That's what we'll do, then."

* * *

Madelyne's eyes flew open. "Shaw!" she hissed. Everyone looked at Shinobi.

"Him?" The White Rook said skeptically.

"That lad couldn't so much as look at Sinister without wetting himself." Sean agreed.

"No, not that one." Madelyne said impatiently. "Sebastian."

"He's dead." Shinobi said disbelievingly. "I killed him myself."

"You wish." Madelyne snapped. "Everyone act naturally, chat, drink, tear each other's arms off, whatever. You, Frost's flunky and the infants, come with me." She swept out of the room.

"Flunky? Flunky? I'll flunky ye, ye-" Sean fumed as Mondo dragged him along behind the Black Queen.

"Not now, Mr Cassidy." Monet interrupted.

"And just who is the teacher around here?" he demanded, stopping in the middle of a ballroom. "I'd appreciate if ye'd remember just who's in charge, miss."

"Then start thinking!" Everett snapped. Everyone looked at him in surprise. "Jubilee, Jono, Miss Frost and Danae are all in danger, in case you'd forgotten. They could be dead for all we know. If we have to take crap from the Goblin Queen to get them back, we will. If we have to be polite to Sebastian Shaw, we will. And if we have to kiss up to Sinister himself, then we will do that too, is that clear?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Come on."

* * *

~Leech can't see anything.~ the smoky blue kitten with blue-green eyes complained, squirming a little further through the barred gate.

~Tough. Stay put.~ The thin, rather scruffy grey tabby hauled him back by the tail. ~You know you're not supposed to go outside the grounds unless the teachers say so.~

~Artie no see either.~ Complained the other kitten, blinking his pale blue eyes. ~An' can go out if you let us. You in charge. Banshee said so.~

Skin paused for a moment to consider that thought. It was true. He had, technically, been left in charge. No way in the world he was going to let the kids go outside, but he didn't think he'd mind giving them permission to play Revenge of the Aardvark on the really big computer system, which they always wanted to do, and then he thought he'd consider letting them have apple fritters and ice cream for dinner, with pizza with everything for dessert, which they would like, and after he'd tucked them in, he grinned, he might just give himself permission to remove the block Sean had put on the R-rated movie channel on cable.

~Angelo?~ Leech prompted.

~Yeah?~ He knew it the minute the word slipped out. He realised, that split second too late, what he'd inadvertently done. Of course, by then the two kittens were out and running down the driveway.

* * *

"Hi." Everett said calmly. Sinister and Sebastian Shaw stared at him. So did everyone else. "I'm just not in the mood for the whole heroic banter thing, okay?" He said testily. "Let's just make them give them back and go."

"Wh-" Sinister started, but Shaw interrupted.

"You're going to make us-" Was as far as Shaw got before Mondo interrupted him in turn.

"Hold on a minute." He said, his brow crinkling thoughtfully. "We all just escaped from Sinister, right?"

"Aye, that we did, lad." Sean agreed. "So?"

"Wh-" Sinister said again.

"But he let us go, didn't he? Wasn't that what Jubilee said?" Mondo ignored him.

"Well, yeah..." Ev said, uncertainly.

"So why would he go to all the trouble of snatching them again?"

"WHO?" Sinister howled. He blinked, and hastily resumed his aloof, dignified attitude. "I mean, who's missing?"

"Emma, Chamber, Jubilee, and the girl we rescued from your lab." Monet clarified. Sinister immediately swung around and slapped Shaw.

"You...you...cheat! You lost the bet, fair and square!" He raged. "You pitiful worm, I'll-"

"It wasn't me! And what do you think you could do to me if it was, anyway?" Shaw poked Sinister in the stomach.

"I'll flatten you, you rotten cheater!" Sinister screamed, kicking Shaw in the shins. "You're a smelly loser."

"Hah! I am rubber, you are glue, it bounces off me and sticks to you." Shaw sneered, punching Sinister in the nose. "Nerny-nerny-ner-ner!"

Sinister pulled Shaw's hair. "You're a meany, Sebastian!" He whined. "I'm gonna tell Apocalypse on you!"

The five Gencats and Madelyne Pryor stared at the bickering villains, then started to back away slowly.

"There is definitely something weird going on around here." Paige muttered.

* * *

~I didn't mean that! Get back here!~ Angelo raced after the two kittens, mentally kicking himself and swearing in Spanish. Leech was bounding happily across the road, Artie a few feet behind him. Angelo screamed quietly and ran even faster. Not the road, not the road...

A truck the size of a small moon came barreling around the corner. Leech was almost across, on the other side of the road. The truck would have had to really swerve to hit him. Artie, on the other paw, was right smack bang in the middle of the truck's lane, and had frozen in panic. Angelo was racing the truck to that helpless, fuzzy little body.

ZOOOOOOOzoooooomOOOOOOOM.

The truck roared on. On the other side of the road, Angelo unclenched his jaw from Artie's scruff and privately considered fainting.

~Ang'lo is a hero.~ Artie proclaimed in awe.

~Yeah!~ Leech agreed, in between washing his friend's left ear. ~When he runned between the wheels, it was...~ he searched for a suitably impressed word. The Ninja Turtles provided. ~Awesome!~

~I don't want to think about it.~ Angelo whimpered, feeling his fur crawl at the thought. ~Don't either of you ever, ever, EVER do this again!~

~We won't.~ they chorused guiltily.

~Ang'lo want a drink?~ Leech offered hopefully. ~Leech smells water over there.~ Before the frazzled teenager could collect himself enough to speak, the tiny kitten bounded off again.

~Ohhh, noooooooooo. I can't cope with this with a cat brain.~ Angelo looked around, making sure that no-one was around, and changed back to human shape. "Okay, where'd he go?"

He looked around. He was standing outside the gate of the mansion across the road from Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters (Massachusetts campus), where three moving vans clustered around the front door. There were another six at the side door. A loud, unpleasant looking woman was ordering the movers around, with what looked like a permanent sneer on her face. Just as he turned to look outside the wall, he heard a terrified wail from just inside the garden.

* * *

Madelyne blinked and rubbed one hand over her forehead. The two supervillains had given up on the fight, and were sitting in opposite corners sucking their thumbs and sulking. "I'm sure I don't want to know," she sighed. "but do you have any idea what just happened?"

"I'm afraid not." Monet said, still looking a little stunned. "Still, while they seem indisposed to fight - well, to fight us, anyway, mightn't it be a good idea to search the place?" There was general agreement and they split up, Monet and Mondo going off with the Black Queen while Synch, Husk, and Banshee stayed together.

<Wrong direction, wrong direction!> Screamed eight ghostly voices in an unheard chorus. <Back this way!> Finding themselves ignored, as usual, they sighed and focused back on Sinister and Shaw.

Of the eleven remaining ghosts in the League, Cypher and Proteus were busy possessing the supervillains in order to keep them from interfering, Gaby had wandered off somewhere, Judas had gone with her, more or less against his will, and Catseye had been sent off to find them. Destiny, Magik, Adam, Barney, Zin, and Tarot were hanging around supporting the two possessors, who weren't enjoying the experience at all.

They waited for their rescuers to come back. If it were possible, they would simply have possessed one of them and hauled them over to the right spot that way, but possession could only be effected when the subject was unwary and unguarded. The five interlopers to Sinister's domain were much too suspicious. Thus their only hope lay in Gaby getting back in time to provide another hint.

Gaby strolled through a wall, blinking at them in mild offence. "Whaaat?" She complained. "I was having fun!"

"I wasn't." Judas muttered, slumping against a wall. Well, not really, because he was completely intangible, but he slumped in a generally wallish direction, just out of habit.

"You weren't supposed to be." Gaby pointed out. "It was meant to be educational. You know, to teach you that mutants are people too? That hunting them with guns and long pointy things is a fairly unfabulous way of spending a Friday night?"

"Says you." He snarled.

"Judas, dearie, you are a mutant, remember? Doesn’t that change anything in that screwed up little wart at the top of your neck?" Zin sighed.

"Oh, shut up." Judas said crossly, going behind a bench to sulk.

"Okay, Gabbers, you were right. They are thick. We need you to give them another little hint." Adam grinned.

"How little?" Gaby asked.

"You think taking them through the holographic wall, showing them the right door, and telling them what they have to do would be too subtle?" Barney complained. He was only fourteen and had been quite unhappy with the whole death concept.

"Be nice." Tarot reproved him. "You forget how limited one is with an ordinary brain. They lack the clarity of the thoughts of the dead."

"Again with the dead thing!" Gaby complained. "So what do you want me to do again?"

<Just walk through that holographic wall there and take the second door on the left.> Destiny instructed. Gaby wandered through to have a quick sneak peek at her destination, and was back exactly two and a half seconds later, panting, which is no mean feat for someone who doesn't breath.

<That room's full of bodies!> She squeaked.

<DUUUHHHHHH!!!!!>

* * *

"LEECH!!" Angelo screamed, spinning around. He was just in time to see a blue streak of lightening hurtle up a small tree, pursued by what looked like a cross between a bulldog and a hippopotamus. A big hippopotamus. It was snarling and frothing at the mouth, and leaping up at the tree. One or two direct hits, and it would probably snap the thin trunk, Angelo judged as he grabbed Artie and vaulted the gate, using his skin to haul himself over. Jumping down, he stared at the huge dog, tucking the remaining kitten into his pocket as he tried to figure out how to get Leech down in one piece. The dog lost interest in Leech, and headed straight for the interloper on the ground.

"Young man!" Came a cultured, and annoyed, voice from behind him. He turned to see the snotty looking woman standing a few feet away. "Might I ask what you are doing on my property, harassing my Miffy?"

MIFFY!? That monster!?! "Umm, buenos dios, senora. I'm Angelo Espinosa, I go to the school across the road." Angelo smiled his best smile. She didn't seem impressed. "I, uh, my kitten just ran across the road, and I followed him in here, and your dog chased him up a tree."

The woman sneered. "I was under the impression that we would be living near a respectable private school for the gifted. Evidently I was misinformed."

Angelo kept his temper with a truly heroic effort of will. Racist snob. "Oh, it is. It's very exclusive." He assured her. "If I could just retrieve my kitten-"

"Indeed? Would that be the kitten I see peeking out of your pocket?" The woman asked acidly.

"Uh, no, this is...Smoky. The one up the tree is Smurf." Angelo lied. He pointed. "If you'd call your dog for a minute, I could get him right down."

"I don't see anything." She said, obviously not believing a word. "It seems to have wandered off. I expect you'll find it's at home." She opened the gate. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have great deal to do." The dog growled. Helplessly, Angelo was hustled outside.

He crossed the road, making a production of it. He shoved the gate open, and looked around. The woman was gone, although the dog was still staring out at him suspiciously. Good. "Artie? Listen close. I want you to change back and run up to the house. Grab Penny, and come back here as fast as you can, but don't go outside the gate." Without waiting for an answer, he set Artie on the gravel and raced back across the road. He reached up, grabbing the trailing branches of a tree that were hanging over the wall. Pulling himself up, he changed form in a screen of branches, before looking around warily.

He could see Leech on a high branch, clinging desperately with all four paws, and hear him crying loudly in the way of a very frightened baby cat who isn't sure anyone's going to come. Angelo's heart ached at that pitiful noise. Determinedly, he crawled out along the branch. If he jumped from here to that branch there, then to that one, he would be able to get into Leech's tree without touching the ground, and hopefully without attracting Miffy's attention.

No sooner thought than done. When he was only one jump away from Leech, he called out very softly. ~Leech? It's okay, nino. I'm coming to get you.~

~Ang'lo?~ Leech whimpered. ~Leech no can change back. Leech is too frightened.~

~I know. That probably wouldn't work anyway.~ He jumped across, and crept out onto Leech's branch. A moment later, they were sitting in a branch in the trunk, while Angelo washed the trembling kitten and purred reassuringly. After several minutes of this, Leech was calm enough for them to try to leave. Picking him up by the scruff, Angelo braced himself, and leaped for the nearest branch. From there, he made it to a tall tree quite near the wall. Just one more jump, and they'd be over the wall and safe. He jumped.

He missed.

~Are you all right, Leech?~ He asked anxiously. It hadn't been that big a fall, but he wasn't sure if Leech had gotten his feet under him in time.

~Leech okay.~ He mewed.

~Good. Don't look now, but there's the dog. We're going to have to make a run for it.~ Anglo said very calmly. Then he grabbed Leech by the scruff and ran as though all the hounds of hell were after him. Bobbing around by the skin of his neck, Leech couldn't make a sound as they hurtled towards the gate, but he could her Miffy's barking and snarling getting closer. On his own, Angelo could have outrun even this dog easily, but carrying a kitten he stood no chance.

With one desperate leap, hearing Miffy's jaws snap shut behind them, the older cat passed between the bars of the gate and raced across the road without slowing down. He didn't stop until they were inside their own gate, where Artie and Penny were waiting anxiously.

~We're safe!~ Leech gasped when Angelo dropped him on the driveway. ~We got away. Bad Doggie did not eat us!~

~Not all of us, anyway.~ Angelo said weakly. He looked over his shoulder at his tail, which was an inch shorter and bleeding heavily. He sighed, and flopped over on the gravel in a dead faint.

* * *

 <They're coming back! Quick, everyone ready?> Destiny said. Sinister and Shaw slumped over unconscious as Cypher and Proteus evacuated quickly, joining the general dash to their carefully cloned bodies. Only Gaby stayed behind, waiting to act as general tipper-offerer yet again.

Sean's group came around one corner, just as Madelyne's came around another. "Anyone find anything?" Sean asked hopefully.

"No." Monet sighed. "We seem to have been misled."

Paige's jaw dropped as she saw a familiar woman leaning patiently against a wall. "Hey! It was you who gave me the note!"

"Guilty." Gaby inspected her nails.

"But there's nothing here!" Sean complained. "We could have been out there looking for them instead of wasting out ti-"

"You've been looking in the wrong place." Gaby walked calmly through an undistinguished patch of wall. "Second door on the left." Her voice drifted back.

General attention was attracted, however, by Madelyne's sudden cry. She was doubled over, her hands pressed against her temples. "Ms Pryor? Are you all right?" Mondo asked, reaching out to steady her.

"I remember..." Madelyne gasped, eyes blank, then she looked up suddenly. "What did she say? Second door?"

Grabbing Mondo and Paige, the two closest Gencats she marched through the holographic wall into a narrow, brightly lit corridor. The second door on the left was locked. It was very locked. There were four combination locks, three passkey locks, a voiceprint activated lock, and it was a pretty good bet that there were bolts on the other side.

"Who wants to get the door?" She asked. Mondo shrugged.

"I will." He walked into the door, absorbing the thick steel. When he stepped through, there was a Mondo shaped hole in it. "Here you go. Oh."

Monet tugged the remains of the door out of the way and they crowded through. The contents of the room were a rather phenomenal shock to all but one of them. There were twelve gigantic tubes running from floor to ceiling. One was open and empty. The other eleven were full of a slightly cloudy blue liquid, and in each one a body drifted.

The one who wasn't surprised was staring at the empty tube with a look of absolute horror. "Danae!" Madelyne gasped. "Where is she?"

"Don't worry." Mondo reassured her. "We retrieved her earlier. She's the clone who's missing."

"Oh." Madelyne calmed down slightly. She looked around. "Hi guys!" she said brightly to the empty air. "Sorry I haven't been in contact, but I sort of forgot about you in the stress of being resurrected so unexpectedly."

Meanwhile, Paige wiped off the small window in the front of one of the tubes, and screamed. Everett grabbed her shoulders as she stumbled backwards. "What is it? What?" She pointed a shaking finger. Everett looked up, and saw Catseye face to face for the first time. To be fair, he did squeak a bit at the sight of the dead Hellion.

Madelyne was still talking to no-one. "-and it's all been a bit hectic since then. But when I saw the headcase it all just came back." She smiled. "So what happens now?"

Monet put her hand up. "I suspect we must do as we did with Danae. They need us to provide access to the bodies. Ms Pryor, will you assist us?"

"Of course." She listened for a moment. "They say I'm a strong enough telepath not to need the physical contact, if you and Synch boost me."

"I'd wondered how we were going to manage that." Monet observed. "Shall we begin?"

<What's going on?> Gaby asked. <What are you all babbling abou- Eeeeeeeeek!!> She squeaked as Destiny was sucked into the trio's linked hands and vanished.

<Did you see that? Did you huh did you see she just went poof and disappeared and she's gone and what are they doing?> She asked Adam. Adam didn't have time to answer before he too, was sucked into his new body. Madelyne, a much stronger telepath that Jono, was making the entire procedure much easier and faster, only needing a minute or two to open the psychic channels.

<Hwaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!> Gaby hwaa'd, watching her friends getting sucked into the weird tubes. In a few minutes, she was the only one left. Madelyne turned to her. <Ohhhhhhh, no. Not me. I dunno what you're doing but I'm out of here!> Gaby yelled, running for the door. Too late. She was being grabbed and sucked into something arggh help no I don't wanna....

There was a loud click.

* * *

Angelo blinked muzzily. He was in a box, and there were two strange people bending over him. One of them, a nice looking woman with threads of grey in her hair, rubbed the top of his head gently. "How are you doing, stripes?" She asked. He mewed weakly. "You see, dear?" The woman said to the other person, a young girl with wavy brown hair and blue eyes. "It was a nasty bite, but little Tiger here will be fine. You did the right thing bringing him in so quickly."

"That's good." The girl whispered, stroking him softly.

"Now, what did you say your name was, dear?" The woman said kindly, picking the box up and walking out into a big, bright room that smelled of a lot of different animals, nearly all of them sick or hurt. She put him down on a bench.

"P-Penny." The girl stammered. It couldn't be...

"Penny what?"

"Penny...Lee." She whispered. It was! Penance! All soft, and talking!

Another woman, older, wrote it down. "And From the Xavier School, you said. Did you come alone, dear?" she asked.

"Th-the teachers are a-away." Penny said innocently.

"They left you all alone?" The older woman said sharply.

~No.~ Angelo miaowed, sounding as unhappy as any cat coming out of an anaesthetic might. ~But he got bitten by the dog too and he's at the doctor. You're meeting him there.~

"An-Angelo is looking after us." Penny repeated obediently. "He got b-bitten too. He's at th-the doctor. I'm s-supposed to m-meet him there."

"Ah. Well, off you go, Penny." The woman smiled, mollified. "Remember, don't feed Tiger until tomorrow, and give him the tablets for three days. We'll send a bill to the school. Bye-bye now!"

Penny picked the box up. "B-bye." She whispered. She pushed the door open, and they were out on the street. They were in Snow Valley, Angelo realised. Penny hurried along the pavement, avoiding the few people on the street.

~Penny? I'm amazingly impressed, but how did you do all this? How did we get here?~

She stopped outside what looked like an elementary school. He felt his box plunked down on something. "I r-rode m-my bike." She said proudly. She lifted him very carefully into the basket on the front of the old bike Chamber had bought her.

~Tell me about it.~ He settled down on the soft blanket that lined the basket. She kicked up the stand and started to ride.

"W-well, you c-came through the g-gate with L-leech in your m-mouth, and th-then y-you fainted." She stuttered, swinging around a corner. "Y-you w-were bleeding all over, s-so Artie s-said we sh-should t-take you to a d-docter, but w-we couldn't, b-because you're a c-cat, so Leech said to t-take you to the v-vet. They couldn't c-come, 'cause they don't l-look normal, so I g-got as s-soft as I could, and I w-went normal, and s-so I brought you." The nervous stammer seemed to be fading. Angelo guessed that it would fade altogether when she'd had more practice speaking.

~And when did you take up talking in humanshape?~ He asked, looking over the side of the basket and enjoying the feel of the wind in his ears.

"J-just now." She smiled shyly. "I h-had to, s-so I did. It just c-came."

~That's great!~ He let loose a happy yowl as the wind nearly blew his eyelids inside out. ~Go faster!~

Penny pedaled hard, zooming down the hill, both of them enjoying the wind in their faces and the feeling of being about to take flight.

* * *

In the big tubes, the panels in front of the bodies' faces popped open. A wash of odd-smelling nutrient fluid sloshed out, lowering the level enough to let the clones breath, and not all the choking noises were from inside the tubes. The Gencats drew back, their feline instincts prompting them to observe, waiting to see what happened before making any moves.

The tubes were arranged in a vague rectangular formation, framing the door, with a large console in the middle of the floor. Four tubes were lined up, facing the door. From the left, they contained Cypher, Catseye, Tarot, and Magik - all of whom, of course, the Gencats recognised. They did not, however, recognise the short, dark haired boy (Adam), the tall reddish-haired one (Proteus) or the skinny blonde (Barney), who were in the three tubes lined up on the left. The tubes on the right contained an attractive woman in her twenties (Destiny), a pretty redhaired girl (Zin) and the top of a brown head (Gaby). The one next to the door on the left apparently contained a blonde gargoyle (Judas) - obviously an extreme physical mutation. The one beside the door to the right was, as previously stated, empty.

"Did it work?" Someone asked. Before any other inane comments could be made, an irate and very damp voice made itself heard.

"Okay. Now, I want to know two things. One, what is going on? Two, why is this tube too big?!"

"That's Gaby." Cypher grinned. "Alive for one second and she's fussing already."

The top of a brunette head turned in his direction, a small pair of hands grabbed the edge of the panel and pulled, and a pair of irate brown eyes appeared and stared daggers at him. "Bite. Me." The words were clear and distinct.

"Ummm..." Tarot's voice was shy and hesitant. "Has anyone...noticed that...we're...not wearing anything?"

Half a dozen heads went down, then came up rather more slowly. Destiny had already noticed, Catseye didn't bother, not really caring about it one way or the other, and if Gaby lowered her head, she'd drown. "Oh dear." Irene said resignedly. "Madelyne, dear, do you think you could use your influence to find us some clothing?"

Madelyne nodded and left. Everett and Monet trailed along, just in case, while Sean, Paige, and Mondo continued their silent, wary observation of the clones. Everyone wondered what to say next. In the sudden silence, a steady sloshing sound could be heard. Gaby was rocking determinedly back and forth, trying to splash enough of the nutrient fluid out of the tube to get her bottom lip above the surface. She was now approximately 4'10" in height.

"Is it just me, or has Gaby shrunk?" Illyana asked with interest, craning her neck to see. She looked down at the tube which encased her. "Oh, f**k that." She snorted and, summoned her armour and soulsword. The tube was sliced open, and Magik stepped out in a flood of slightly luminescent blue liquid. She took a couple of steps, then paused, an odd expression crossing her face.

"What's wrong? Has it just sunken in that ye're back?" Proteus spoke for the first time.

"No." Illyana answered distantly, not moving. "It's just that this armour chafes a bit when I've got nothing on underneath."

Meanwhile, Gaby had looked down inside her tube. "AUUUGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! @#$%&#@%!!!!!!" She shrieked. "I'm in the wrong body!!!!" There was a round of sniggers from her fellow ex-ghosts. She glared at them. "It's not funny! This one doesn't even fit!!"

"Gabrielle..." Irene sighed. "If you ever paid attention to anything besides your music and your 'surveys', you know that that is your body. Or a clone of it."

"It can't be mine! It's too small." Gaby insisted.

"I'm younger too, in case you hadn't noticed." Irene pointed out. The others nodded in agreement. Gaby grabbed the edge of her window and hauled herself up so she could look around. Everyone stared back at her, completely serious. She whimpered.

"Oh no, I get it! I've been gotten like that poor white-haired guy always is!!" She wailed. "I've been de-aged! I don't wanna be......." She trailed off. "How old am I?"

Mondo peered at the little screen on the front of her tube. "It says here that you're fourteen." He offered helpfully.

"Thanks. I don't wanna be fourteen again!" The wail resumed. Several people covered their ears. "I didn't like it the first time!!"

"What have you got against being fourteen?" Barney demanded. "It's a perfectly good age!"

"Naah, you're only saying that 'cause you've never been older." Gaby disagreed. "Back me up guys, fourteen is one of the most unfun years of life." There was general agreement. Barney muttered under his breath.

"At least it's life, unfun or not." Cypher shrugged. "It's just lucky for us that Sinister couldn't resist getting his hands on eleven new mutants...no pun intended, guys." He added apologetically, as several of his friends groaned in protest.

"Meaning..." Gaby asked suspiciously.

"Meaning he got handed eleven free samples of mutant DNA and couldn't resist trying them out." Illyana said grumpily. "What did you think we were doing with all the little bottles, swearing blood-siblinghood?"

"Eleven mu - Oh my God, I'm a mutant?!?!? Why didn't somebody tell me?!?!" Gaby shrieked at the top of her lungs. "Come on, guys, that's not the sort of thing you keep a secret!!"

"Well, if you ever paid any attention to us, you'd have known!" Illyana snarled. It's not our fault you're a-"

"Children, please." Irene interceded. "What will the nice cat-people think of us?"

 The nice cat-people in question were suddenly the object of intense scrutiny. "Hello." Illyana said noncommittally.

"Hello." Sean responded, equally wary. The two stared at each other. Gaby hauled herself up to look again.

 "Are you two gonna sniff each other's butts or something?" She asked conversationally.

"That's dogs, Gaby." Illyana said, not dropping her gaze.

"And we're in humanshape just now, anyway." Sean added. His gaze, too, remained fixed. There was a challenge going here.

After a moment, Illyana dropped her gaze, deferring to the older man. Catseye purred approvingly. "Magikdemongirl? Open tube for Catseye?" She asked hopefully.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. Hold still." Illyana sliced the tube open. Catseye stepped out and stretched happily.

"How do you feel, Sharon?" Tarot asked. "Does your body feel right to you?"

"Catseye feels fine, Tarotfriend." Catseye assured her. She looked around at the Gencats, who all had their eyes shut. "What is wrong?"

"Oh, right, physical bodies again. You don't have any clothes on, Cat." Cypher said after a minute.

"Silly." Catseye said disapprovingly as she obligingly shifted to her cat form. ~Are cats. Shouldn't worry about clothes.~

"Sorry, lass. Humanity's a hard habit t' kick." Sean apologised. "So......what do ye all plan t' do now?" He received a unanimous blank look. "Now that ye're alive, I mean. What next?"

"Errrrrrrrrr......" They all looked suddenly worried. "I don't think we'd actually gotten that far." Adam admitted ruefully.

"I had. I'm going to find Raven." Irene said firmly.

"And I'm going to take back control of Limbo." Illyana added. "Belasco's not going to know what hit him."

~Catseye will live with MotherFrost and be one of her kittens.~

"I was hopin' tae see me mum again, try and set things right between us." Kevin McTaggert said shyly.

"I want to see my son." Doug announced firmly. The cats boggled. The ghosts sighed.

"Ye want to WHAT? Lad, I never knew ye had a...that ye'd..." Sean stammered.

"He means Douglock." Illyana smiled tolerantly. "He was created from Doug's and Warlock's genetic whatever, so technically he's Ramsey Junior."

"The fuss he makes over robo-boy has to be seen to be believed." Gaby informed them. "I mean, I've seen proud parents but he's incredible!"

"What about you, then?" Doug asked, a little annoyed. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to get a job, save up a bit of cash, and go straight home." Gaby insisted. "America's okay to visit, but I don't wanna live here."

"Hate to break it to you, headcase, but you're fourteen now, remember?" Judas broke his sulk for a minute to say snidely. "No-one's going to hire you - not legally, anyway. You'll have to go back to school."

"What? School? WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" And off went the wail again.

"Besides, you're going to have your hands full keeping Judas over there on the straight and narrow." Illyana pointed out. Gaby and Judas looked at each other in utter horror.

"WHAT?!?!?!"

"You're responsible for him, remember? Just because we've been brought back to life doesn't mean you get out of it." Illyana was firm.

"But...but he's a bastard!" Gaby wailed.

"That's not my problem." Illyana turned back to Sean, who was looking at her inquiringly. "Don't ask."

Zin sighed. "Barney and I were both pretty new at this death thing. We have families to get back to." She grinned at the younger boy. Danny nodded.

"I'm not sure how I'm gonna get back to Australia, but." He admitted. Everyone swung around to look at the one person who had yet to speak.

"I...don't really know." Tarot said shyly.

"Don't worry, Marie-Ange." Illyana said comfortingly. "You're my best friend, remember? I'll take care of you. You can come with me and live with Excalibur."

"How touching." Judas sneered, then relapsed into his sulk.

"Well, for now at least, I think it might be best if ye came with us to the school." Sean suggested.

"Good idea." Irene agreed. "As soon as Maddy gets back here with our-"

There was a small clap of thunder.

There was a fairly bright flash.

There was a descending scream, of the sort most often heard just after the roller-coaster goes over the highest peak in the track.

Sflink.

"-clothes..." Irene finished, staring at the tangle of bodies that had suddenly appeared on the floor in front of her.

Jono cursed.

Emma winced.

Jubilee and Danae had had a reasonably comfortable landing on Sabretooth, who was wheezing loudly. Danae looked at the collection of tubes.

"Hi, guys!"