FicWad

With the very future of the world threatened the X-Men will have to fight the bigotry aimed at them as well as their own prejudices. A continuation of X2.

It wasn't Trish's fault. She didn't know. She didn't realize that on the other end of the table sat an evolutionary freak.

She offered a hesitant smile. "I'm Rachel."

"No." Charles Xavier seemed to be searching for the correct words. "Telepathically, I'm the more powerful. But those psionic shields she erected are far more complex and effective than any I've ...

Logan turned back to his beer. He scowled when he realized it was empty. "I still say she smells wrong," he grunted.

The golden haired playboy chuckled. "I gave up on being 'brilliant' a long time ago," he replied. "I much prefer the shape of a woman's hip to the shape of a DNA strand."

"Perhaps he was never held enough as a child," Mystique suggested. "Indeed," Erik Lehnsherr agreed.

"Maybe Hank had been singing Britney Spears in the medical bay," Scott suggested. "He likes to do that."

"Will the professor get mad?" Rogue smiled. "It's a little late for that." Bobby shrugged.

"Shut up!" Scott demanded. "You have no right to talk about Professor Xavier. You ran off like a coward years ago."

"You are too good, Katya," Peter murmured, a feeble attempt to buy himself more time.

"You'd assume wrong then, my friend," Hank replied. "Trish isn't quite tall enough to blacken my eye. She cracks ribs."

"Forge?" Hank's glasses slipped down his nose. He ignored them. "As in the middle-aged Cheyenne gentleman named Forge?" Rachel gaped at the doctor. "You know him?" she managed finally.

"Victor, you're late," Mystique said. "I thought something tragic had happened. A pity."

"Is that all you've got?" Pyro challenged. "Big talk for a weakling who can't even create his own fire," Iceman countered.

So he thought he'd show off? After all, he was only toying with untrained students, not actual X-Men. When had Bobby grown a spine?

"Well?" Professor Xavier's tone was stern. Rogue stepped forward. As the group's eyes fell on her, she faltered and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Logan, I'm serious," Scott's voice insisted. "We've got a schedule to keep, so we aren't going to wait around for you and Chuck," Logan said. "You two are welcome to join the party."

Creed knocked over his glass of water as he stumbled backwards. His face had drained of color, but his expression was disgust, not fear. "You..." Graydon snarled.

All hell had officially broken loose.

"I've dreamed of killing you," she whispered in his ear.

Maybe I wasn't the best behaved six year old on the planet," Cyclops said. "But to become a father at that age?"

"Did he shoot you in the head?" "Yeah." Wolverine nodded. "It's getting to be a habit."

"Ah, Kitty Pryde, girl genius! She has the ability to make a weapon of mass destruction out of a toaster." Kitty yawned. "So what kind of job does she get? Chauffer. Professor Xavier is a jerk."

Professor Xavier set the trembling receiver down and stared holes into the wall. "That was news from Cairo," he said weakly.