“Ange, get up! We gotta go!”

Angelo groaned and rolled over on his bed. To his surprise, Monet was nowhere to be found. Jubilee’s voice could be heard all around the school. “Ange, come on!” With a heavy sigh, Angelo forced himself to get up and glanced toward the window. The sun was already high in the sky.

Angelo threw on his uniform and ran downstairs. The others were gathered at the base of the steps, talking among themselves. “About time you got down here,” Jubilee mumbled, popping her gum.

“Good, we’re all here,” Monet said. “I’ve just received a call from Dr. McCoy. Two dangerous mutants are on the loose somewhere in Snow Valley. We’re going to bring them to justice.”

“All in a day’s work,” Ev commented, stretching his arms. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen some action.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” Jubilee noted, patting Ev’s stomach. “You’re starting to put on a little weight there.”

Ev ignored her and asked, “Anybody we know?”

Monet shook her head. “The X-Men know nothing, except that one of them is incredibly strong.”

* * * * *

“Are you sure about this, Pitt?” Timmy asked. “We don’t know who lives here.”

Pitt snorted. “Doesn’t matter. They’ll have to go through me if they want you.”

“Don’t you think of anything but fighting?” Timmy wondered.

Pitt paused. “I’m hungry,” he said after a while. Timmy sighed and followed Pitt up to the large iron gate.

Pitt never even slowed down. As he forced the bars wide open, a silent alarm sounded within the Biosphere. Not that it mattered. The school’s sensors had picked them up a mile away, and Generation X was already gathered within the Biosphere.

“Keep your eyes open,” Monet had warned them several times. Chamber & Husk were assigned the north sector, Synch & Jubilee the east, Gaia & Mondo the west, while M & Skin took the south. Leech & Artie had been safely hidden in the communications room, where they could monitor the rest of the team.

Timmy, as usual, lacked Pitt’s confidence. Everywhere they went, Pitt’s warrior-like nature kept them in trouble. This made Timmy naturally suspicious of everywhere they went. This place was no different. “Maybe we should just leave,” he suggested.

Pitt was beyond listening to the boy at this point, though.

“Pitt, I really don’t think this is a good idea,” Timmy said, a little louder this time.

Pitt, even with his heightened senses, easily ignored the young boy.

They had just entered a large clearing when a slight rustling sound was heard. Pitt froze and glanced around cautiously. Timmy stopped just behind him, peering at the surrounding bushes. Pitt’s claws slowly extended from his hands, and a low growl began to build in his throat. Two teens emerged from the bushes, stopping a few feet away from Pitt.

“Chica, that thing is huge!” Angelo whispered.

“Probably hungry, too,” Monet replied. “Artie & Leech will direct the others here. Until then, we’re on our own.”

“This is just great,” Angelo muttered. “I’m barely getting over amnesia, only to have this guy put me in a coma? Life officially sucks now.”

Pitt growled and walked towards them. “Stay back, Timmy,” he warned.

“Pitt, there is no need to attack them,” Jereb stated.

“Quiet, Jereb!” Pitt shouted. “I must ensure Timmy’s safety!”

“Either Timmy’s the kid behind him, or he’s one olive short of a martini,” Angelo whispered.

“I’d say both,” Monet added. “But it only makes him more dangerous. Keep your guard up.”

Angelo looked at her, then at the enormous Pitt, and back at her. “How?!”

“Enough talk, Earthlings!” Pitt said. “We fight now!” He leapt towards Angelo, intending to rip him to shreds.

“Caramba!” Angelo shouted, falling back. His fist instinctively shot out, landing flush against Pitt’s left cheek.

Though he hardly felt it, Pitt paused and stared at the boy in wonder. “What kind of humans are you?” he questioned.

“They’re not normal humans, Pitt,” Jereb said. “They’re mutants, humans with extraordinary powers.”

“No, Jereb,” Pitt argued. “They’re dead humans with extraordinary powers.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Angelo murmured as Pitt began to close the distance between them. “Any ideas, chica?”

“Just one,” Monet said. “Stay behind me. Only one of us is invulnerable, and the other’s really important to me.” Before Angelo had a chance to think about that, Pitt charged, smacking both teens to the ground with one blow. Monet landed on top of Angelo, knocking the wind out of him. She pulled off a few pieces of her shredded uniform and sighed. “I actually liked this one, too.”

* * * * *

Mondo silently traveled through the Biosphere, only half his body above ground. Gaia rode on his shoulders. “See anything yet, big guy?” she asked.

“No such luck, my friend,” Mondo replied. “These intruders seem to be very elusive.”

Gaia was just about to add something when a loud roar was heard. “Sounds like somebody found them,” Gaia said, closing her eyes. “It’s M & Skin. Let’s go.”

Upon entering the clearing five minutes later, the pair found M slugging it out with Pitt. “Looks like The Hulk has a cousin,” Gaia said, “but I don’t recognize him from the files. Think Monet can handle it?”

Mondo shrugged. “She’s always so confident. Didn’t you say Skin was with her?”

Gaia took a second look, only to find their teammate missing. “Well, he was here,” she said at last.

Truth be told, Angelo was still around. Just not in plain sight. Soon after the battle had started, he’d gone in search of the mysterious blonde kid. It took him less than two minutes to find the boy, who had hidden behind a nearby tree.

“Hey, kid. You don’t really want to fight us, do you?”

Timmy shook his head. “Pitt likes to fight. I can’t stop him.”

“I figured,” Angelo smirked. “C’mon, let’s go see if we can’t talk to him.” He held out a hand.

Timmy stared at it for a few seconds before finally taking it. “Okay. But Pitt’s got a bad temper.”

“You think?” Angelo asked in mock disbelief.

When they got back to the clearing, the rest of Gen X had arrived. They now had Pitt surrounded, but their powers were having little or no affect on him. “Puny Earthlings!” he shouted. “You really think you can defeat me?!”

“Pitt, stop!” Timmy cried.

Pitt froze and glanced over at Angelo and Timmy. “TIMMY!” he shouted. “Get away from him!” Pitt charged through the circle of teens and quickly pulled the small boy away. Then he growled and advanced on Angelo, who quickly backed up.

“Easy, big guy. Nobody’s gonna hurt the kid,” Angelo muttered uneasily.

“No,” Pitt said as he raised a clawed hand. “You’re the only one that’ll be hurt.”

Before he could strike, Monet grabbed Pitt’s arm. “I won’t let you hurt him,” she growled, tossing Pitt into a tree.

“You’re a brave and stupid female,” Pitt replied. “I’ll enjoy finishing you!” He rammed into Monet, sending her crashing into the underbrush. Before she could move, he was on her, slashing like mad. “You’ll pay for trying to hurt Timmy!” Pitt roared in anger.

“Madre de dios,” Angelo whispered as he ran up to the enormous monster. “Even Monet shouldn’t be able to take that without a few wounds!” Not knowing what else to do, Angelo leaped onto Pitt’s back, using his extended skin to tie up the monster’s arms.

“What is this?” Pitt cried.

“Hopefully, a way to keep you off Monet until she gets up,” Angelo muttered, though it didn’t look like she would.

Pitt only smiled. “Brave, but stupid.” He squatted, just before launching them both high into the sky.

“Caramba!” Angelo cried. “What are you doing?!”

Pitt said nothing as they eventually changed course, gaining more and more speed. By the time Angelo realized his plan, it was too late. They slammed into ground, with Angelo taking all the impact of Pitt’s weight.

Pitt instantly got up and scooped up Timmy in one arm. “We’re out of here,” he said, leaping into the air again. Within seconds, they were gone.