Disclaimer: Sparks is mine, the others are Marvel's. Sort of. Well, the original concept belonged to Marvel, but the cat personas are mine...forget it. No-one reads these things anyway. Sadly, I am making no money from this brilliant piece of literature.

WARNING: This story contains a few...well, quite a few...okay, okay, a lot of references to sex. But it's all quite tasteful, or rather funny, and not in any way graphic or anything. I think there may be one or two swearwords in there somewhere too, but nothing extreme.

Note 3: Big thank yous here to Jelpy (who suggested the ornamental guards and from whom I received loads of support) and Krista Schneidereit, (who wrote the original 'coleslaw' scene, and from whom I got Ev's description - you'll know it when you see it) both of whom gave me a helping hand when I got stuck, and who say such nice thing about the Cats. Thanks, guys.

"AUUGGGHH!!" Angelo shrieked, sitting straight up in bed. "Noooo!" He looked around wildly, then checked under the blanket - everything seemed to be in place. "Dios! What a nightmare." he panted, relaxing a little. Everett opened the door cautiously.

"Are you okay, Ange?" he asked.

"S-si, amigo. Just fine."

"Then what was all the screaming about?"

"Uh, I just had a nightmare, that's all. Es nada."

"It didn't sound much like nothing. You wanna talk about it?"

"Not really ... Okay, okay, I was stuck in cat shape and Moira took me to the vet and I got about a million shots, and they did blood tests and all that, and then this guy leans over me holding a huge scalpel and says 'just a minor surgical procedure, you won't feel a thing' then everything goes black and when I wake up I'm... you know. Happy?"

"Urrggh." Ev shuddered. "I've had that one. Except in mine it's Wolverine, I think he caught me kissing J or something, and as I'm going under I hear him saying 'now I didn't wanta do this, kid, but I gotta protect Jubilee'. It's awful."

Angelo chuckled. "I wonder if Jono has it? I can just see Cannonball standing over the operating table holding a shotgun..." They both laughed.

*Very amusing, gentlemen, but I think you should try to get a little more sleep before the training session tomorrow, don't you?*

"Yes, Miss Frost."

"Buenos noches, Miss Frost."

*Goodnight.*

* * *

 Jubilee woke up with a start. Ever since she'd had that weird dream about defeating a demon that looked like a carebear with a girl who was her exact parallel, said girl kept popping up in her dreams. Every night. It was getting weird.

She rolled over, snuggled down, and came eye to rainbowed eye with Sparks. "EEEEEEEK!" she shrieked, jerking away so hard that she smacked into the wall. "Wha...wha..."

^It's about time.^ The slightly transparent girl snapped. ^I've only been trying to get through to you for months!^

"W-what do you mean, get th-through to me?"

^I mean talk, communicate, have a conversation with. I'm dead, remember? There's sort of a limited number of people to talk to.^

"R-really?"

^Yeah. You can only hang around seances pretending to be someone's great-aunt Matilda for so long. Illyana says hi, by the way.^

"Oookay. Am I still dreaming?"

^Nope.^

"Well- um - what do you want?"

^It's simple really. I want you to get me resurrected.^ The alleged ghost blinked the swirling rainbows that served as her eyes and smiled.

"WHAT?!?!?"

^Look, here's the situation. I'm a ghost, yeah, but not an official one. I just sort of refused to move on. Anyway, I'm coming up on the ten-year mark, which means I'll have to move on soon and I don't want to. So I need to get resurrected. Unfortunately, there are pretty strict rules about who I can communicate with, and while I love Daddy dearly, he's got all the occult sensitivity of a housebrick. But he and Wolverine are deadly enemies, and we're their respective surrogate kids, which makes us kinda parallels, so I can talk to you.^ Jubilee opened and shut her mouth a few times.

"Lemme get this straight. Sabretooth's dead kid has come to moi for help getting resurrected because we share some kind of weird reverse bond or something?"

^Uh-huh.^

"Right." She thought about it for a minute. "Okay."

* * *

"For the last time, Jubilee, you did not see a ghost!" Paige slammed the milk down on the table and glared at her roommate.

"Did too!" Jubilee glared right back.

"Did no - For pity's sake, Jubilee, there just ain't no such thing!"

"A ghost?" Angelo paused in the doorway and grinned wickedly. "Looks like I'm not the only one who had nightmares, si?"

"It wasn't a nightmare." Jubilee mumbled into her Sugar Bombs. "She was nice. Well, interesting, anyway."

"She? You had a dream about a girl ghost? Hey, if she's good-looking, you just refer her to me next time, okay?" Angelo leered as he poured himself a huge bowl of cereal.

"Might do that, amigo." Jubilee grinned at him. "She thinks you're cute."

"Really? Then one of yer's delusional." Jono commented grumpily. Jono was not a morning person.

"Don't encourage her, guys. There's no such thing as ghosts, everyone knows that."

"Says you!"

Emma listened to her student's squabbling and sighed. They had all been getting along much better since the change, but sometimes, especially in the mornings, things fell back into the old routine. Jubilee did seem quite convinced that she had seen her 'ghost', but Emma considered it more likely that it had been either a dream, or possibly some form of astral projection. She frowned as that thought occurred to her. She really didn't like the idea of someone traipsing through her school and disturbing her students, especially as she hadn't sensed anything last night, except Angelo's nightmare. Her lips twitched. Who knew? It just might keep the lads on the straight and narrow, as Sean would say.

"What're ye smilin' about, beautiful?" A voice rumbled behind her, as she felt a light kiss brush her hair. She turned, tilting her head to look up at him.

"It seems that Moira made quite an impression on one or two of our students." she said seriously, sliding her arms around his neck. "They've been having nightmares about certain - surgical procedures." She grinned impishly.

He chuckled. "Really? Might just keep th' lads on the straight and..." He trailed off as she collapsed against him, giggling. "What?"

"I - I knew you'd say that, I just knew it..." She got a grip on herself and wiped her eyes. "Oh dear. I think we should go and break up the riot now."

"Riot? What riot?"

"Jubilee keeps insisting that she saw a ghost..."

* * *

"This is really getting strange, D." Jubilee complained to her life-disadvantaged friend, about a month later. "First you want me to mail off that blood sample you manifested, which was totally gross, then you get me to call that weird lady in England to tell her what's going on," she paused, "although it was nice having someone believe me for a change. But why are we sneaking through Emma's files? If she catches me I am in so much trouble."

^I know, I know. This one's for your benefit too, J. There should be a file on me in here somewhere, and - yup, there it is.^ Jubilee looked at the small line of print. Rebecca Danae Creed, it read, Mutant Alpha Class. Deceased.

"That's kinda creepy. Hey, how come you're in here, anyway? If you've been dead for nine years, you died ages before the Hellions, even."

^It was part of a download from Sinister's files. I knew it was here, but no-one ever actually looked through the 'dead' files, just ran a few searches and stuff. Well, go ahead, open me.^

"Harsh." Jubilee whispered.

^Don't worry about it. It was a long time ago, you know? Right now, all I want is...^ she trailed off. Lifting her head, she seemed to listen for a moment, then her eyes widened. ^Jubilee, get out of here!^

"Wha-"

^Don't argue with me, just go! Out the window, hurry!^

Jubilee slipped out of the window, and paused, irresolute. "D? What's goin' on? Did Frosty-"

^No, it's someone else, someone bad. They're coming... RUN, J, RUN!!!^ As she turned to flee into the shadows, Jubilee felt a sharp pain jolt through her arm. Looking down, she saw a small dart sticking out of her wrist. Trank dart, she thought muzzily as the ground leaped up and rushed towards her, lucky shot...

* * *

"Mmmpppphhh." Jono mmmpppphhhed, shaking his head muzzily. It was pitch black, and he was lying on something very hard. Why the 'eck 'm I sleeping on the floor? he wondered. He tried to use his powers. Nothing. Then he heard a soft, muffled noise from somewhere nearby. Someone was crying.

"Wha? Whossat? What's wrong?" No verbal answer, but slowly a spiky little hand crept into his. "Penny? Aww, don't be scared, we'll take care o' yer. At least we ain't stuck in cat-shape this time, eh?"

(Note: Penny gained a measure of control over her density powers thanks to the original transformation spell. She can now go from diamond hard to ordinary human soft, but usually stays somewhere between the two. She hasn't spoken in human form yet, but hopes are high.)

~Speak for yourself.~ grumped a voice he recognised after a moment as Everett's. He sounded crankier than Jono, for one, had ever heard him. Not angry, just - cranky.

"Why?"

~Look, they grabbed me when I was in the shower, okay? I changed in a moment of panic and I, um, well, I just can't change!~ Jono firmly stifled a chortle. He was sure Ev wouldn't appreciate it.

"Right, o'course... Anyone else here?"

~I can smell everyone. But no Mervyn. Just something nasty, something...bad.~

"Right. Guess we just have to wait for everyone else to wake up, then. Oh, and Ev?"

~Yeah?~

"Any special reason why you felt a sudden need to take a cold, I mean, take a shower in the middle of the night?"

Any reply Everett might have made to that little comment was forstalled by a sharp click as the room filled with light. The rest of the team, as well as the two teachers, were scattered across the floor. Dragging his eyes away from Paige, who was wearing, well, not much, Jono looked around for an exit. A window. A jailor. A sign saying 'You have been kidnapped. Sorry, all our evil villains are busy at the moment, but you just stay right there and we'll get back to you.'

~That's it!~ Everett yowled suddenly. ~I smell something SINISTER!~ Jono turned to see a clear panel high in one wall, behind which stood a terrifyingly familiar figure. Around him, the others started to stir.

"Sinister, you twisted old bastard! What're you up to?" Jono demanded. It was hard to achieve dignity in an old t-shirt and boxers with little smiley faces on them, but he managed it. He glared defiantly at the fashion victim above him.

"No need to sound so belligerent, Mr Starsmore. I am simply taking advantage of a unique situation. You and your teammate's newly acquired shapeshifting ability is really quite fascinating, and I intend to study it in all the detail it deserves. Naturally, to a genetecist such as myself, the most pressing concern is whether it can be passed on."

~Passed on?~ Angelo enquired fuzzily.

"Inherited, Mr Espinosa. By your offspring."

"HOLD IT, HOLD IT, HOLD IT!!!" Jubilee shrieked. "WHADDAYA MEAN, OFFSPRING?"

"Quite simple, Ms Lee. I have no intention of harming any of you potentially productive little creatures." He grinned like a shark. "I merely intend to breed you for your hopefully more powerful, well, kittens."

"WHAT?!?!?!?!?!"

"B-but they're just kids! Ye cannae be serious, man!!" Sean turned as a small hand tugged on his bathrobe. "What is it, Leech?"

"What he mean, breed for kittens?" Leech asked, as Artie frowned and nodded. Everyone looked up, down, at Sinister, anywhere but at the two innocently inquiring faces. No-one had ever quite gotten around to explaining the facts of life to the kids. Penny looked confused too.

"Umm...er...now isn't a good time, lad. Someone'll explain it to ye later." Sean looked back up at Sinister. "You," he stated with deep conviction, "are a very sick man, Essex."

"Naturally. Don't worry. I won't watch."

* * *

Jono looked at the wall. He looked at the floor. He looked at the wall again, and then, just for the change, stared at the ceiling. Across the very small cell, Jubilee was doing the same thing. Eventually, she sighed and looked squarely at him.

"Well. This is, like, seriously awkward."

"Mmhm." Jono agreed, still squinting determinedly at the ceiling.

Sinister hadn't merely been content with locking them up in very small cells in arbitrarily designated pairs. He had concocted some sort of catalyst which sent all the females into frantic pheromone production, whatever shape they were in, which meant that now not only were a bunch of teenagers in semi-solitary confinement with a reasonably attractive member of the opposite sex, but everyone was suddenly feeling very hormonal. Turning cat only made things worse. Cats are wonderful animals, but they aren't exactly known for their self control.

In an attempt to encourage them, Sinister had forgone cameras in the actual cells, and had kindly allowed them to keep what little clothing they had. The cells were equipped with food, water, and a rudimentary toilet, and they had been given twenty-four hours to, umm...get on with things. After that, if they refused to co-operate, experimentation would start on the kittens.

In a brief genuflection to decency, Sinister had put the teachers together.

Meanwhile, in the other cells...

*

Paige and Mondo were pointedly ignoring each other.

*

"Look, M, this isn't my fault, this wasn't my idea, and believe me I don't like it either." Synch was desperately grateful to Jono, good, kind, decent Jono, who had parted with his t-shirt in order to preserve what was left of his friend's dignity.

"I suppose so. But don't get any ideas!"

"Wouldn't dream of it."

*

Angelo was furious. What did Sinister think he was, some kind of cradlesnatcher? Penny probably didn't even know where babies came from! He patted her carefully on the head, and kept pacing. When he got his hands on that sleaze...

*

~Wonder what going on.~ Leech commented. They were in a cage, in some sort of lab, but they'd been fed, which was good.

~Don't know.~ Artie replied.

 *

I could tell you what was going on in the teacher's cell, but I'm too polite. Some people just have no willpower.

*

^Hey, J, s'up?^ came a wonderfully familiar voice. Well, sort of voice. Danae couldn't really talk, she just projected her thoughts into Jubilee's brain.

"D! Am I glad you're here! Can ya help us get outta here?"

"Uh, Jubilee? Who're yer talkin' to?" Jono asked in a worried voice, watching his cellmate talking animatedly to a patch of empty air.

^Can I help, the girl says. I can do anything, remember? Well, anything that doesn't require a body or vital signs.^ Danae grinned cockily.

"Shut up, Jono. Oh, Danae? This is Jono. Dude, you can't see her, but standing here we have a dead member of the infamous Creed family. Don't worry, she's much cooler than the others."

^Why, thank you, Jubilee. I do try.^ Danae beamed and buffed her nonexsistant nails on her imaginary shirt.

"Yer famous ghost, eh? Jubilee, this really ain't the time..."

"Look, jerk, she says she can get us out of here, so quit complaining!" Jubilee snarled. She turned back to the more intelligent part of her audience. "How?"

^Not me, you. Sinister's way too smart to build a cell he can't get out of, and I just happen to know how he does it. See that row of rivetty things on the bottom of the door? Press the third one, then the fifth, then the second.^ Jubilee did so. The door swooshed open. Jubilee quickly beaned the guard with a handy water bottle.

"Wot the 'eck?"

"See? I was right. Now pick your jaw up off the floor and let's get outta here." Jubilee straightened up and headed off down the hall. At the corner she turned and grinned at him. "Oh yeah, and Jono?"

"Yeah?"

"She says nice boxers."

Jono gritted his teeth, face flaming, and marched down the corridor. "Fine. Whatever. Let's just find the others and get out o' here."

^Um, Jubes? I sort of need your help now.^ Danae said awkwardly.

"Our help? For what?"

^Er...I'll show you.^

* * *

 "Let me get this straight, sunshine." Jono said carefully. "That," he pointed through the window of the observation room, "is the cloned body of yer invisible friend, and now she wants us to wake her up, before we go lookin' fer the others?" He absentmindedly finished locking the three guards and lab assistant into a closet. After all those training sessions in the biosphere, combined with cat reflexes, it hadn't been any contest.

"Er...yeah." Jubilee looked at the still body on the table in the lab. "She made me send off a manifested blood sample a while back, an' I guess this is where it ended up."

^I'm sorry about this.^ Danae said sadly. ^I thought I'd be able to reanimate myself. But it doesn't seem to work that way. I mean, the body's there, and it functions, but I just can't get in!^

"So what do ya want us to do?"

^I don't know. I was hoping you could think of something.^

"What's goin' on? What's she saying?" Jono demanded.

"Look, as close as I can follow this, the body is functioning fine, but the mental doors are locked or something. D just can't get inside. If we can figure out how to get her mind back into her brain or whatever, she'll be able to help us."

"Do we want her help? She's a Creed, gel, being nasty's their hobby. She could be leadin' us into some sort of trap." Jono saw the look in her eyes and backed away hastily. "Okay, okay. She's a bloody saint here to help us. It just seems a bit too convenient the way her body just happens to be here and she just happens to know you and all of a sudden she just happens to need us to help her. I mean, what was she goin' ter do if we hadn't popped by?"

"She thought she could wake herself up." Jubilee said defensively. "She's only just realised that she can't."

^I thought I could do it because I've done it before.^ Danae explained, Jubilee passing her words on to Jono. ^I mean, I've possessed living people before. I know I shouldn't except as a last resort, and it isn't much fun, but I thought my own body would be easier! But it's just like trying to possess a table or a chair.^

Jono thought about that for a minute. "Maybe that's coz yer clone's a vegetable o' sorts - no offense. From the look o' things in there, it ain't got any real brain functions at all. Everything's bein' run by machinery."

^I don't under- oh, I see. You think that the act of possession requires a functioning brain in order to be successful?^

"Er...I think she said whoever it is must need to be alive b'fore she can get inta their head. Probably."

"If she did, then I reckon she's right. So now all we need to do is get inside a room with more security precautions than the bleedin' Tower of London, and induce brain activity in wot's essentially a mutant shaped potato. Simple." He sighed. He just knew that Jubilee was going to be stubborn about this, and he couldn't honestly blame her. The girl, assuming she existed, and he had just about accepted that, had been trying hard to help them. Besides, he of all people, who had spent far too long with part of his body missing, couldn't help being sympathetic towards someone who'd lost the whole thing.

"We are GOING to help, Starsmore." Jubilee said flatly. She cocked her head for a minute. "Danae says she can get us in, and she thinks there's some sort of device in there which'll let us use our powers, but that's the best she can do. By the sound of it, she's been hangin' here for a while, watchin' herself grow."

"Sounds like fun..."

* * *

"That's it!" Angelo snapped, stopping in the middle of the room. "We are out of here!" Penny looked at him blankly from where she crouched, huddled in a far corner. She obviously had only the vaguest idea of what had been happening.

"Penny, your powers respond to your emotional state, right? Even when you don't mean them to?" She nodded uncertainly. "Now, since I'm not spread out like a grey jellyfish, just dripping a little around the edges, and Jono didn't look like he was going to fall over dead, it's a fair bet that it's only consciously activated powers Sinister's whateveritis affects. I know this isn't going to be very nice, muchacha, but I want you to concentrate on how tired and scared you are. Don't think about using your power, just focus on how important it is that we get away from this place before something terrible happens. I'm sorry, but this is the only way I can think of to get out." Penny shrank back into her corner, then straightened up, gritting her teeth, and nodded grimly. Angelo felt terrible, but he just could not think of anything else to do. Well, nothing that he'd let himself think about, anyway.

Penny slowly darkened, seeming to draw the light into herself as her molecular structure grew denser. Angelo moved away cautiously. A minute later, fingers harder than any diamond ripped through the door and two shadowy figures slipped down the hall, watched by unseen eyes. There was an unconscious guard there too, but no-one paid any attention to him.

* * *

^Skin and Penance have escaped.^ Danae reported a minute later. They had compromised on priorities - Jono and Jubilee focusing on the equipment, while Danae went to look for their friends. ^And I know where the others are.^

"That's great, D!" Jubilee exclaimed, bouncing up and down excitedly as she relayed the message. Jono firmly glued his eyes to the panel he was working on.

"Er, yeah, that's great. Uh, listen, sunshine, maybe you'd better go and get the others and show them the way here, eh? I've got Security disabled, but frankly I got no idea wot most of the rest of this stuff is.We'd stand a better chance o' getting out with yer friend if we all work together."

"Okay, that makes sense. Just try not to lose yer self-control when ya see Paige, huh?" Jubilee grinned wickedly and skipped out. Jono breathed a sigh of relief, and gave his hormones a stern lecture before getting back to work.

^Um, Jubes? Isn't this whole hormone boost thing affecting you at all?^ Danae asked curiously as they hurried down a suspiciously empty corridor.

~Nope. Willpower. I just think of what Wolvie'd do to the poor guy and there's no problem.~ Jubilee had changed forms in order to save time, since cats move faster than people. She saw Penance standing over yet another guard, and Angelo, who was also in cat shape, at the end of the hall, standing right outside the door of the first room Danae had indicated was being used to house prisoners. For some reason, though, Danae had been a little reluctant to say who was in there.

~Hey guys, I ...~ The pheromones hit. She stared at Angelo. He stared back. They changed forms faster than they ever had before, both blushing furiously. "Uh yeah, well, like I was sayin', we gotta get that door open." Jubilee mumbled.

"Errr, si, si. Penny?" Penny gave them both a puzzled look, then obligingly ripped open the door. Everett and Monet were sitting in opposite corners of the small room, with their backs to each other.

"Ev? MONET? No way!" Jubilee shrieked. "I am not seeing this!!"

Ev looked up, to see his best friend and his girfriend standing in the doorway, both looking decidedly pink in the face. "You're not seeing anything! Why do you and Ange both look so guilty?"

"It's not what you're thinking, amigo. We just ran into each other thirty seconds ago. Absolutely nothing has happened betweeen me and anyone, I swear!" Angelo looked at him earnestly. "That sleaze Sinister put me in a room with Penny!!" Everyone looked horrified.

Meanwhile, Penny had found another door. Her friends Paige and Mondo were inside, so she opened it to let them out. They looked very cross. Penny wondered why everyone seemed so on edge - had she missed something? She hadn't understood much of what the sinister-thing had said, but that was when everyone had started being upset, and then she had been taken away and had a needle stuck in her arm, which had made her feel funny for a minute before her system rejected it. Oh well. Jubilee would probably explain it to her later. Jono and Paige were the ones who looked after her, and that made her feel soft and happy inside, but Jubilee was the best at explaining things.

"It's about time y'all showed up!" Paige snapped, marching out into the hall, followed by Mondo. The other four who were standing in the middle of the hall arguing, looked around in surprise.

"Oh, hi Paige. Look, Ev, I was locked in with Jono and we-"

"WHAT?"

"Like, chill, Guthrie. I was tryin' to say that we escaped, okay, well, Danae helped us -"

"Jubilee," Monet interjected, "insists that her ghost came and showed them the way out."

^I am not Jubilee's, I'm mine, and I found you all, and you need me to get out so you'd better be polite, Jubilee, tell them!^

"The GHOST? Oh, great, yuh finally lost it, huh Lee?"

"No, I didn't, and as I was saying-"

"You leave her alone, Paige. If J says she sees someone, then she sees someone."

^Hey, I like him. He's Everett, right? Lookin' good there, J.^

"I think we should have very stern words with this Sinister person."

"Si, Mondo. Let's kill him!"

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" Jubilee shrieked. They all stared at her in shock. "Let's save some time here. Did anyone...you know?" They all shook their heads. "Good. Does everyone want to get out?" They all nodded. "Great. Then we - where's Penny?" Penny hurried around a corner, clutching a cage in one hand. She'd gotten a lot softer already. "Oh, she's found the little guys. Good job, Pen. Now we just gotta find Frost 'n Cassidy and- whaddaya mean, you won't tell me where they are? D, we don't have time for this!" Everyone watched in fascination as Jubilee listened to nothing for a moment, then turned a deep, brilliant pink.

"Uh, I think we'll find them later, guys. Let's go."

* * *

Generation X trooped into the lab. Jubilee looked around. "Man, I know I left Jono in here somewhere..."

"Yeah, yeah." came a muffled voice from under a console. "I'm down 'ere. Think I've found that thing yer friend was talking about..." A shimmer seemed to fill the room for a moment, then dissipated with an odd tingling sensation. *Yup, that's it. It'll only work in this room, but.*

There were assorted exclamations of relief and whatever as everyone's powers kicked back in. Monet walked over to the still body lying on the table, hooked up to various monitors, and looked it, and them, over critically. "Interesting." She observed. "So you claim that this body was grown from a blood sample?"

"I guess." Jubilee shrugged. "That's what D says happened."

"We reckon the vegetable 'ere needs to get woke up afore the dead gel can possess it." Jono supplied, his accent getting worse as it often did when he was stressed. He stood up, and it was revealed that he was wearing some sort of orange jumpsuit. "By th' way, I found a cupboard back there with some o' these things in. Should be enough for everyone." There was a mad dash for the back of the room. Monet ignored it and continued to stare at the monitors.

"Uh, Monet? I think I, like, speak for everyone when I say, put some clothes on!" A lump of orange cloth hit the Algerian girl in the face.

"That was uncalled for, Jubilation. My attire is of secondary importance to our escape, and since you refuse to leave without your...friend, my first concern is to find a way to animate her. The male half of our contingent are simply going to have to exercise some self control."

"Hah! Like they'd be checkin' you..."

"And what precisely do you mean by that?"

"HEY!" Angelo yelled. Everyone turned to look at him. "Look, I know we're all a little," he glanced at the kittens, "tense right now, but arguing isn't going to help. Let's just grab the chica, grab the teachers, and go, si?"

"He makes it sound so easy..." Jono grumbled. "Look, Ange, we can't just 'grab' the clone, orright? Those machines are keepin' it alive. Unhook 'em and - Danae's back at square one."

^Don't you even think about it!^

"Okay, okay. So how are we going to wake her up, amigo? With a kiss?" Angelo looked at the tiny, pretty face. "I'll volunteer."

^Won't work. Sounds like fun, cute stuff, but it won't work.^ Jubilee giggled.

"What?"

"Um, nothing. I don't think that'll work, Ange."

"Damn."

"I think I may have an idea." Monet offered.

*Yeah? Like wot?* Jono lapsed back into his long-time habitual psi-speech.

^Is he talking? I can't hear psi-talk!^

"Since none of know which, if any, of these machines can be used to stimulate higher brain function, I believe we should simply bypass them. If I can use my psi-powers to link with the body's mind, hopefully Danae can use me as a contact point to facilitate her entry." She looked around at the blank faces and sighed. "The machines aren't going to be any use, but if I read her mind she might be able to go through me."

^I'm not sure about this, but I suppose I don't have any alternatives. Tell her it's okay with me.^ Jubilee relayed the message.

They tried it.

Eventually Monet lifted her hands from the clone's temples and slumped against the table. "I don't think I can do this." She admitted wearily. "I almost had it for a moment, but I just don't have the power necessary." Jubilee's eyes filled with tears.

"B-but ya can't just give up! She needs us!" She looked around helplessly, then hid her face against Ev's chest and started to cry. He hugged her fiercely.

"We won't give up, J. Monet, if you can't do this alone, then how about if you, me, and Jono all work together? Maybe the three of us working together can make the difference."

"It's worth a shot." Jono agreed. They positioned themselves, Monet and Jono each with one hand on the body's forehead, the other grasping one of Everett's. They closed their eyes and concentrated.

There was a clap of thunder...

There was a flash of light...

* * *

Jubilee sat up, shaking her head dizzily. What had happened? Monet, Jono, and Ev had been trying to activate Danae's body... Ev! She looked around, and spotted him lying half under the table. She crawled over to him, and touched his shoulder, as he groaned and blinked watering eyes.

"Arrrgghh. My head, my poor head... I'm never doing that again, I don't care how much you like her..." he whimpered. Jubilee hugged him and kissed his forehead to make the headache better, as the others began to stir. Except for the kittens, who had fallen asleep some time ago and apparently hadn't noticed a thing.

"Did it work?" Monet said anxiously, clutching her head and trying to get her eyes to focus. Jubilee stood up and looked at the unmoving body.

"I don't think so." She said sadly, as the others gathered around to see. Suddenly, the body's eyes opened, and she sat up. The sheet that had been draped over her slid down. Blushing furiously, she grabbed it and wrapped it tightly around her.

"Yes, that proves it." She sighed in a clear English accent with a faint lilt to it. "I'm back." A huge grin spread over her face. "I'm back! We did it!" Everyone cheered, and Jubilee hugged her new friend. Danae sniffed, and her eyes went wide. "Holy...I don't know what Sinny gave you guys but whoa! Pheromone central!"

"And you detected this howwww?" Monet asked suspiciously.

"Hyper-senses. Electro-magnetics, advanced intellect, and low grade empathy, too. On the down side, I have a seriously short attention span, I'm a complete klutz, and my eyesight's lousy. But enough about me. You going to introduce everyone, J, or do I have to do that myself too?" Danae was evidently not the shy type.

"Uhh, yeah, right." Jubilee dragged her attention away from Everett. "Guys, this is Danae. She's...uh...I'll explain the details later. Danae, say hello."

"Hello. I sort of already know you guys. I've been hanging around for about a month. It's nice to have you actually looking back at me instead of right through me, though." She grinned, and swung her legs off the table. She promptly tripped over the sheet, and fell flat on her face. During the fall she managed to disappear.

"Ummm...Did she say anything about teleportation?" Mondo asked uncertainly. Angelo leaned over and lifted one corner of the sheet. A small pale yellow cat blinked at him.

~Well. That's a first.~

* * *

Sinister smiled in a way that would have given a rabid tyrannosaurus serious second thoughts, and patted the console happily. On the screen, generation X were trying to figure out what had happened. He hadn't anticipated their interest in the clone, but it would certainly make for some interesting results, especially since she seemed to have acquired their shape-changing abilities. He settled back in his chair. Yes. Everything was going very well.

Pity he hadn't had time to wire for sound.

* * *

~I can see! It's a miracle!~ Danae squeaked happily, racing around the room looking at things. ~I can see DETAIL! I can see that Jubie's shoelace is untied! I can see that Angelo has hairy feet and Paige hasn't shaved her legs for a while! Jono's eyes are brown! Artie has a pink nose!" She tripped over her own feet, and smacked her own pink nose on the floor. ~Ouch.~ The kittens giggled, having woken up in all the fuss. Angelo looked embarrassed, and Paige looked offended.

"But how did this happen?" asked Jubilee for the third time.

~Who CARES? We can think about that later. Let's escape now!~ Danae said logically. She paused. ~How do I change back? Never mind, I'll just stay this way. I'm blind as a bat without my powers anyway.~

"Let's just go find the teachers now, eh?" Jono suggested. He blushed a little. "They, ahh, should be okay with that now, right?"

~I'm going to be really impressed if they aren't.~ Danae said wickedly. ~Let's go see!~ She led the way.

 Several minutes and a few guards later, they found themselves outside another cell, seemingly identical to the others. Danae looked at it, then looked at the Gencats. ~Uh, guys? Any suggestions on how we handle this?~

"Yup." Jubilee banged on the door with her fists. "YO, BANSH, FROSTY! PUT SOME CLOTHES ON, WE'RE COMIN' IN!" She looked at her friends' slightly shocked expressions. "What?"

~Tactful.~

"Yeah, whatever." She counted to sixty and opened the door, allowing two rather pink teachers an exit.

"What precisely were you implying, Jubilation?" Emma asked icily, tugging at the hem of her short lacy nightgown.

"Implying? Would I imply something? We KNOW. D walked in on you. Sorta." Jubilee smirked happily. Sean looked around at the student body, the question almost visibly hovering on the very tip of his tongue.

"Don't worry, Senor Cassidy." Angelo joined in on the smirking thing. "We all...restrained ourselves."

"Er...aye, that's good. Who is 'D'?" Everyone pointed to the small yellow cat who was currently amusing herself by patting at the guard's lax fingers. Sean stared at her. She stared back.

~Hello, Mr Cassidy. Nice robe.~ If any cat ever smirked, this one was doing it.

"Who the hell are you?" Emma demanded. Paige clapped her hands over the kittens' ears and glared at her.

"Miss Frost! What kinda language is that ta use in in front of the kids?"

"They'll live. Well?"

~You remember that ghost Jubie kept saying she saw? That was me! I've been resurrected.~ Wide innocent green eyes looked up at Emma. ~Sorry about, er, you know. Believe me, if I'd known, I would never have looked.~ Both teachers went a brilliant scarlet.

"Yes, well, we'll discuss all that later." Sean mumbled. "F'r now, let's just get out o' here, eh?"

"Okay, Mr Cassidy." Sean sighed bitterly. Even Everett was smirking.

* * *

Two hours later, they were back in Jubilee and Jono's original cell, sharing out the last of the food.

"I can't believe this." Paige moaned. "This whole place is like one big maze! Except mazes usually have exits."

"Are you quite certain that you know of no other exits, Danae?" Monet asked for the fifth time. Danae glared at her.

~Yes, Monet, quite certain. As I said before, the only exit I was aware of is the one now concealed behind several metres of concrete. Now shut up and let me go back to sleep~ She ostentatiously turned her back on the Algerian girl and rested her chin on Jubilee's arm.

Jubilee didn't notice this, since she was asleep. So were Mondo and the kittens. The others were carefully spaced around the room, so as to have no physical contact with anyone else. Pheromones, it appeared, had a cumulative effect. Turning cat was now completely out of the question for anyone except the kittens, who were too young, Penance, who seemed to be in a similar situation, and Danae, who hadn't been exposed for nearly as long as the others. Turning human was not an option for Danae, as, since Banshee had taken the last coverall and Emma was wearing her sheet, she would reappear stark naked, and it had been unanimously agreed that that would not be a good idea at all.

"So what? We just wait until Sinister comes and get nabbed again like good little prisoners?" Jono said grumpily. They all sat in silence for a minute, trying to come up with an alternative.

"Guys? I've been thinking." Jubilee said without opening her eyes.

"Really? Looked more like yer was sleepin' t'me."

"That too. Look, Sinny's a scientist in a wacked out kinda way, right?"

"Have ye got a point, lass?"

"Actually, yes." She sat up. "Paige said we were in a maze, remember? Scientists put animals an' people in mazes to see what they'll do. Which probably means that that whole makin' little us's was just Sinny's clever way of leavin' us alone in here. Well, 'cept fer those guards, but they weren't exactly Mr Bad Clothes Lifetime's usual standard. I bet they were just there to make things seem normal 'r somethin'." Jaws dropped, Everyone stared at her.

"That could very well be it. Why didn't anyone think of that?" Emma said, looking surprised.

"Anyone did, Frosty." Jubilee snapped, feeling hurt. Just because she had a little bit of an attitude, why did everyone assume that she was dumb?

~First rule of lateral thinking.~ Danae yawned. ~Never discount the obvious. You guys were so busy looking for a complicated answer that you went right past this one.~ She looked at them with twinkling green eyes.

"Well, you didn't figure it out either." Paige said defensively.

~Wasn't thinking about it. I was thinking about the suspicious lack of exits. Now I know Sinny, and he always has to prove that he's cleverer than anyone else. There is an exit, I'll bet, one that he could find in our place but that he thinks we can't. Bloody egomaniac.~ She rose, stretched, and padded out the door. ~Coming?~

 They came.

* * *

Another hour later, they stood in a nice, roomy circle around a largish drain in the guard's toilets.

"You've got to be kidding." Everett said for all of them.

~Do you have any better ideas?~ Danae snarled, her nose wrinkled. There was a decidedly foul odour emanating from the opened grating. ~Clever bastard, isn't he?~

The drain was a good fit for a cat, but a human would be out of the question. In order to escape, they would have to transform, which meant that they would have to...fight their instincts. Without the incentive of being partenered with the wrong person, too. Everyone avoided everyone else's eyes.

"I suppose we don't have any choice." Emma sighed after a moment. "Difficult as it will be, we will simply have to hope that we will retain enough of our human personas to control ourselves." Jubilee, considering what had happened earlier, was impressed that Emma managed to say all that with a straight, and unblushing, face.

Nobody moved. There was distinct lack of furriness happening. Danae looked around and sighed. ~On the count of three?~

"It's easy for you. You weren't drugged." Paige mumbled.

~So? I've been inhaling your air for the last three and a half hours, it's kind of a moot point by now. On three?~

"Okay, okay. One, two... two and a half... two and three quarters... two and eight tenths..."

~Jubilee!~

"Three!"

There was a soft pop, as air filled all the space which had a moment ago been filled with human. Everyone waited for someone else to say something. Eventually, Everett broke the tense silence.

~You know what this is like?~

~What?~

~It's like in ordinary high-schools, when you get dragged in and given the sex-ed talk. You know, when they're pointing at the diagrams and you know the answer but you'd rather die than say anything?~

~Ya hit it, Ev.~ Jubilee agreed. She looked around. ~Um, Ange? Ya gonna open yer eyes now?~

~No.~ Angelo had his eyes clamped shut and his paws over his head. ~Ladies first. When you're gone, then I'll open them.~

~Wimp.~

~You handle this your way, Starsmore, I'll handle it mine.~

~One of us should go down first.~ Sean said, looking into the black vertical tunnel. He looked at Emma. As he turned away, Danae and Jubilee looked at each other, and dived into the drain.

~J!~ Everett yelled, leaping at the opening to be firmly swatted aside by his teacher. Before Sean, or anyone, could say anything, there were twin splashes and a beautifully chorused shriek echoed up to them.

~YYYYOOOOOOOWWLL!!!!!~ came two voices. There was some muffled splashing, and a few imaginative curses. Then they seemed to have changed. This was immediately apparent...

"UURK! ICKY YUCKY BLEURK PTOO!"

"GROSS! YURK POO URGLE GAAAAAAAH!" (These are more descriptions of noises than actual words)

"What did I just step in?"

"What do ya think?"

"Oh, disgusting!"

~Are ye alright, lassies?~ Sean called worriedly.

"If standing sternum-deep in a river of crap is your idea of fine, Mr Cassidy, then yeah, we're peachy." Danae sounded like she was trying to talk without actually breathing.

"EEWW, I got it in my mouth! Look guys, this is going to be tricky, but yer gonna hafta change form the minute ya come out of th' pipe, or ya gonna be swimming."

~Can we swim?~ Angelo asked without opening his eyes.

"Considering the alternative, you'd better hope so."

~Si, good point.~

~Danae? Are you indending to stay in human form?~ Emma asked.

"Yeah, I don't swim that well - oh, right. Don't worry, my wings are protecting my modesty."

~Good.~

One by one, the Gencats dived resignedly into the soupy mess. Since it was over Artie and Leech's heads anyway, they remained in cat form, riding on Sean and Jono's shoulders. They slogged along, in no particular direction, Jubilee leading Danae, who really was blind as the proverbial bat without her powers.

She stopped after a minute. "This is ridiculous. I'm changing back. Will someone carry me? Not you, J, you're too short." She considered. "Monet is busy helping Miss Frost with that twisted ankle she got when she landed, Chamber and Banshee are taken, if Husk gets her powers back I'll fall off, Synch is Jubilee's..." She changed form, hanging onto Jubilee's arm, then scrambled up onto Angelo's shoulder. ~Guess it's you and me, cute stuff.~

Jubilee smothered a giggle. Evidently what had happened in that dream hadn't all been her imagination. (For those who STILL haven't read Pizza Dreams, Danae got Angelo into a pretty enthusiastic liplock, in order to distract him long enough for Jubie to knock him out.) Danae winked at her.

* * *

Sinister watched as they struggled out of the sewer outlet, looking around. They were on the outskirts of a reasonably large town, and would presumably, if he knew the White Queen, soon have both clean clothing and a ride home. He chuckled quietly and switched the monitor off. Then he looked at the shadowy figure standing in on corner.

"It seems that I have won our little bet. They have escaped within the time allotted, and none of the students succumbed to their...urges."

"Indeed, your fortune has been great. But do you not regret the loss of your little project?"

"Not really. I can always grow another, now that the process has been sufficiently tested. And I now have samples from Generation X as well. But fortune had little to do with it, my friend. I have only the highest respect for Xavier's students."

"Of course. And the stakes?"

"At your convenience..."

* * *

Leech tugged on Emma's arm. She turned and smiled at him. "What is it, dear?" They were home, safe, clean, and free of overwhelming urges - everything was, in fact, back to what passed for normal. Not that all of it had been bad...

"Miss Frost, where do babies come from?" he asked. Artie nodded and projected a question mark. She froze in fear. This is what the deer feels like when it sees the headlights...she thought.

"Umm, well..." Sean came up behind her and dropped a kiss on her head. She grabbed him and shoved him towards the two little boys. "Here! Sean, the boys have a question for you." She escaped into the kitchen.

"What is it, lads?" He smiled.

"Where do babies come from? You said to ask at a good time..." Leech looked up at him inquiringly.

"Sakes, lads! Er - well, there's a mummy and a daddy - and, um -" Sean stammered. Angelo wandered in, and looked at the red-faced teacher.

"What's going on?" he asked, opening a can of soda and taking a swig.

"Leech and Artie want to know where babies come from." Leech explained. Soda sprayed all over the room.

"Oookay." Angelo said, after coughing and choking for a minute. "It's really very simple." He leaned down and whispered something to the boys. Their eyes went wide.

"Thanks, Angelo!" They hurried out of the room.

In the kitchen, Emma started dinner while Jubilee dialed a special number. "Hello, Lady Oracle? I know this sounds a little weird, but I've got someone here who needs to talk to your drooling fleabag-" Danae kicked her friend in the shin. "Ouch, I mean Mr Creed... Oh, you've already sent someone to get him? I guess that's why you're the Oracle...Yeah, we all got back fine, thanks..." Leech and Artie walked into the kitchen, looked at Emma, and screamed.

"What? What's wrong?" she asked in alarm, as Sean and the older boys rushed in.

"Don't do it, Miss Frost!" Leech wailed, clinging to her right arm. She looked at him helplessly. Jono walked over and knelt beside the two.

"Wot's wrong, Leech? I thought you liked coleslaw. 's the one thing she's good at."

Artie glared at Emma, who was glaring at Jono, while Leech sniffled. "Poor little baby..." he whimpered, looking at the dismembered cabbage. Everyone looked blank.

Sean turned to Angelo. "Ye didn't tell them that- when they asked about babies, ye didn't say-" Whatever else he might have said was lost in the gales of laughter echoing around the room. Eventually, as the hilarity subsided, and Everett, glaring at his chortling friend, tried to reassure the boys, there was a harsh voice on the phone.

"Yeah? Whaddaya want?" Jubilee quickly thrust the phone at Danae. She took it and spoke hesitantly.

"Umm, hi Daddy...'s me.." There was a gasp and a thump on the other end of the line. After a second, the Oracle's accident prone friend, Fortune, picked up the phone.

"Wow, he fainted! What'd you say?"

"Umm, hello, mainly."

"Hang on, I'll get him back for you." She moved away from the phone, and yelled at him 'Hey, droolboy! Wakey-wakey!' she kicked him a couple of times, then went back to the phone. "Yeah, his eyes are open, he'll be with you in a minute...hey!" There was another thump.

"'Becca? I-is that you, darlin'?"

Before anyone could say another word, a brilliant flash leaped out of both ends of the phone, and when it cleared, Emma, Jono, Jubilee, Rebecca Danae Creed, and her doting parent had all disappeared.

The End (for now)

Look, if you want to know what happens to the disappeared ones, you'll have to wait for the big crossover project I've got planned with Yatzel, Lynx, and my sister Diamonde. In the meantime, I suggest you check out some of their fics so that you won't be completely lost when it's done. As for Sinny's 'bet', what he won, and from who - if enough people e-mail and ask me, I'll tell you, MWAHAHAHAHAHA!