Disclaimer: The X-Men, Excalibur, and their lieu of friends, enemies, and
people in between are in no way mine, not even in my dreams.  However, Blue
(or, as he’s better known as Andre), Haitus, and  Jeremy Maxielle ARE.  What
da ya know! If I keep it up, in thirty years I might get me own book!   

 Lost Cries  
 by Jason Lewan  
 Part 1: Missions of Love  

 "Welcome to Excalibur, Neophyte and Andre!  And Andre, I love that outfit!"
Meggan complimented.  "I’m so glad you joined!"  Andre and Neophyte stood in
front of all of Excalibur at the kitchen entrance.  Neophyte was wearing his
old Acolyte outfit, having not yet thought of anything else to wear, but
Andre was wearing a deep, navy blue outfit that went all the way to his feet
as pants and his arms as a T-shirt.  He wore navy blue gloves that covered
mostly everything that the main body piece didn’t.  Navy blue collars stuck
up around his neck.  Grinning, he looked fantastic in the outfit.  It matched
his blue eyes, dyed blond hair, and brown goatee.  Meggan glowed, glad to
find someone else with similar fashion interests.  "It’s so simple, Andre,
yet so complex.  It looks so great on you!"   

 Neophyte grumbled, knowing nothing of fashion, while the rest of Excalibur,
used to Meggan’s fashion excitement, just ignored her.   

 "Thanks, Meggan," Andre glowed.  "But you can call me by my codename, Blue."
  

 "Oooo," Meggan cooed.  "A good codename, too."   

 "All right, that’s it," Pete said, slamming his hand on the table.  "Let’s
just GO!" He pointed to the door.  Pete had been impatiently waiting ten
minutes for the two new members to get ready to leave and find Kitty.  He
didn’t like sitting around on his bum while his girlfriend was lost somewhere
across the globe.   

 "We won’t be taking the door, Pete," Illyana smiled, used to Pete’s
attitude.  "I’ll be taking us, remember?"  

 "Right, right," he mumbled.  "Let’s just soddin get out of here, okay?!"  

 "Good-bye Meggan, and have fun holding down the fort with Moira!" Blue said.
  

 "Oh, I will, thanks Andre!" Meggan smiled, eyes twinkling.  She liked this
new member, and was glad he was going to join full time.  "Bye guys!"  She
waved to them, hoping desperately that they would find Kitty.  She knew Kitty
could more than take care of herself, but she was still praying for her
well-being.  Who knows where she could be?  

 Meggan turned around.  Oh well, she thought.  I can’t go with them, and I
can only pray they’ll find her.  I hope everything will turn out all right.
 I really hope…. 

 A twinkling, musical sound emitted from the next room.  Turning, Meggan’s
brow arched.  It sounds like a toy, she thought.  What is that thing?  

 Heading towards the cause of the sound, Meggan steadily got up and walked
into the next room, ready for anything.  Instead, she saw nothing.  Only a
noise from the room.  Looking around, she wondered where it was coming from.
 Turning so she was facing the door to the room, she turned again.  Somebody
was behind her.   

 Sitting there, peacefully, humming to himself, was a boy, levitating two
feet above the ground, cross-legged.  Eyes shut, he was humming along with
the jack-in-the-box he had in his hands, and a small smile crept across his
face.   

 Staring, Meggan’s eyes widened.  What is this?! she wondered.  Who is this? 


 The boy slowly opened his blue eyes and looked strait at Meggan.  The
jack-in-the-box fell to the floor and disappeared when it hit it.  The smile
beginning to form on the boy’s face disappeared.  Instead he frowned, sadly,
and his eyes hinted at his despair.  Reaching an arm out towards her, fingers
stretching in Meggan’s direction, he whispered.  "Come play with me."  

 The sadness that filled the room was absolute, and Meggan could feel it.
 She could feel her body change to the sadness, and, not noticing it, she
began to sob.  Her hair grew long and black, and she grew shorter and less
built.   

 The boy smiled, and Meggan was glad to see him so happy.   

 He ran over to her, and grabbed her.  "Mommy!" he shouted.   

 Hugging him back, Meggan realized he wasn’t there.  It was like he was a
ghost or… 

 Meggan’s eyes darted to the wall, and she realized she was no longer in the
room she was originally in moments before.  Glancing quickly around, she
wondered desperately where she was.   

 The boy stepped back from her.  He pointed at her accusingly, and shouted,
"You’re not my mommy!"  He disappeared, and Meggan was left, all alone, in
the strange room.   

 Looking around, she again wondered where she was.   

**In the Past** 

 Kitty woke up with a start.  It was chilly, and she was a little farther
from the fire than she was before she went to bed.  Looking around with her
arms hugging her shoulders, she wondered what woke her up.   

 Sighing, she stood up, watching the dawn.  It was beautiful here, but cold
in the mornings.  And hot all day long.  Oh, when will I be home? Kitty asked
herself.  When?  

 Interrupting her ponderings, the source of the noise that woke her up
repeated the sound.  A large thumping that shook the earth.  Kitty turned her
head in it’s direction, immediately becoming intangible.  "Oh, no, not
again!" she muttered.  "Jesus, where’s Ka-Zar when you need him?"   

 Turning on her heels, she ran in the other direction, but not before the
tremendous Tyrannosaurus Rex stomped on the area she was previously standing
on.  "Leave me alone!" she shouted hopelessly to the dinosaur.  Running
intangibly while she held her breath, she gained some lee-way from the
dinosaur.  Before long, though, she found it impossible to breathe in the
short stops she gave herself, and finally just stayed tangible altogether.   

 Running through the forest faster now, she glanced back and saw the
Tyrannosaurus Rex running after her.  Or not really after her, just running,
it seemed.  It hadn’t yet even noticed Kitty.  Realizing this, she phased
again, and the dinosaur ran right through her and deep into the forest.   

 "I’ve really got to learn to chill when it comes to those big guys," she
said to herself.  "And I’ve got to learn to shut up at times like these."   

 Sighing, she made her way through the forest.  "But why did I have to get
stuck in the Savage Land?!" she finished.   

**Present Time** 

 "Liebchen, I think we are in trouble," Kurt commented.   

 "Think?  I know," Amanda corrected.   

 Moments ago, they had stepped into their hotel.  Now they were facing a lieu
of armed and angry looking men.  Jumping into action, they attacked, going
off in different directions.   

 Kurt’s moves were pure experience and instinct.  Amanda tried to recall some
of the things the varied members of Excalibur had tried to show her, but
mainly just attacked them with her magics.  They didn’t seem to have much
defense against it.   

 Before she even noticed, one of the soldiers grabbed her around her neck and
pointed a gun to her face.  Eyes staring behind her, she barely saw him out
of the corner of her eyes.  Readying to teleport, she grinned.  "Don’t move
or I’ll shoot you," he ordered her, and her grin spread.   

 "Sure you will," Amanda laughed, ready to teleport.   

 Before she even could, a collar was slipped on her neck.  Grinning again,
and thinking it was a mutant power inhibitor and therefore it wouldn’t work
on her, she readied to teleport.   

 Before she could teleport herself away, she was teleported away by the
collar into a cell full of sleeping gas.  She fell asleep instantaneously.   

 Kurt, wondering where his lover went, grew angry with rage.  "Where is
she?!" he shouted, teleporting around the room and attacking man after man.
 Nonetheless, the room was full of them, and Kurt didn’t see them all.
 Before he could notice, a man to his side tried to attack.  Dodging the
attack, Kurt stepped backwards and went to punch the man.   

 A collar snipped around his neck and he was teleported away, just like his
girlfriend.   

 "Good job, guys," one of the men commented.  "Now let’s clean up here and
get the hell out of here."   

**** 

 "How long, Dougie?" Rahne asked.   

 "Not long at all, Rahne," Douglock said.  "Merely twenty minutes until this
trip ends and we arrive at the mansion.  Sound good to you?"  

 Rahne grinned and nodded.  "I’m glad we’re heading over there to talk to
them.  It’s been awhile since I’ve visited, and they need to hear about
Peter’s death in full detail," Rahne said, glancing sadly at her hands in her
lap.  "Sad as it is."   

 They sat in silence for five minutes, Douglock checking the necessary
precautions.  Rahne just sat there, staring at her hands and thinking sad
thoughts of the past.   

 "Rahne?" Douglock interrupted the silence, turning from the board after he
set it on auto-pilot.   

 "Yes, Dougie?"  

 "Why did it happen?"  

 Rahne’s eyes narrowed curiously.  "Why did what happen, Douglock?"  

 "Why did he have to die?" Douglock burst out, tears brimming at his eyes.   

 Rahne reeled mentally.  No one had thought of Douglock’s feelings during
this.  They had expected him to be sad, but not this sad.  He was acting like
any normal human being, and sometimes it was hard for Excalibur to remember
that under all those wires and the outside appearance of Doug Ramsey, lay a
real boy.   

 Rahne hugged him as he cried, patting his back, until they made it to
Westchester.   

 A dark, cloaked, shiny figure dodged away from the plane and into the woods.
 Last time, the figure thought, breaking into this place wasn’t so hard.   

 For the X-Cutioner, this time would be.   

 To Be Continued  

 NEXT!!!! Shadowcat SOLO!!!!!  

 As always, 24-7, comments, suggestions, questions, remarks, criticisms, and
the like are loved and cherished at PhaserBob@Aol.com