Several Months Ago.

"CHASE, NO!!"

Molly pleaded as the German Shepherd Puppy wriggled free from her grasp and proceeded to lap and paw at her face without mercy. The young girl giggled and snorted as best she could as her new pet, one that seemed overburdened with a need to display affection, nuzzled at her face with a cold and wet nose.

Young Ms. Jubilation Lee, on the other hand, had more than one reason to be amused. This was just one of them. For the first time in a long time Jubilation was entirely pleased with herself and the world around them, Molly’s squeals of delight was just the icing on top of today’s especially tasty cake.

One she fully intended on keeping all to herself.

Finally, after a few not so subtle manipulations, the Jeep, their prized Jeep, was all hers. Or at least, the wheel was, and lets face it, as far as she was concerned that was all that mattered. She hadn't stopped smiling in at least three hours, the open road before them, the guys snuggled away in the back, and the gleeful giggles of Molly riding shotgun beside her.

"Having fun there, squirt?" she asked, taking her eyes off the road for just a moment. Not that it mattered as she drove at a leisurely; if much faster than they should be, pace along the open, desert road. The window was open beside her, one elbow leaning out, the wind blowing through her hair that protruded out from beneath her well worn cowboy hat.

Life was good, providing she ignored the whole homeless, fugitive thing. Details.

"NOOOOO!!" Molly cried out and yet her continued, fitful giggles betrayed the truth. Chase, the German Shepherd Pup, was now sticking his head out of Molly’s own, open window, the wind blowing his oversized ears down flat against his little cranium.

"You are one evil Chica," Angelo commented absently from the back seat, his attention temporally distracted from the Gameboy in his hands. When it came to gaming there was only one school for Espinosa, and that was old school.

"Oh please!!" Jubilation all but spun around in her seat, completely ignoring the empty road before them as she turned to face Angelo. For a few moments it seemed as though only her utter belief that the road was still there was the only thing keeping them on it.

She knew exactly what Angelo meant, her not so subtle manipulations to get the group voting her way. Her over feeding of Jono and her Puppy shaped bribe for Molly had done the deed. She had their votes, and now she had her Jeep. Angelo and Everett could just read it and weep.

"I am officially the dispenser of Puppies of Rainbows," Jubilation declared, Chase making a small yelp as if in agreement, "I should have angel wings".

"Well, you don't," it was Everett’s turn to speak up from the back seat in an unhelpful manner, or so Jubilation thought. As the day had gone by, both of them had been handing out nuggets of wisdom. Not so fast Jubilee, they would say, watch out for that truck, they would insist; only one of them had managed to keep quiet.

That, she suspected, was purely because Jonothan Starsmore was asleep again, the Bum. He stayed in bed longer than any of them this morning and now he was already snoozing. She would give him a hard time but since he had voted for her and all, she would give him a free pass.

For today anyway.

"And neither do we..." Everett continued. If he was honest Jubilations driving habits frightened him just a little bit "...so could you just, maybe, keep your eyes on the road!?!"

"Oh please." Jubilation shrugged in a nonchalant manner, once again turning her head around to the back seat and entirely ignoring what was in front of them, if only for a few moments.

"It's not as though there's anything...OH CRAP!!!"

A sigh of contentment escaped the lips of Monet St. Croix as she gently swallowed the first sip of a freshly brewed tea. She closed her eyes and leaned back into her fine, leather backed chair, the furniture adjusting to accommodate the whims of her slender frame. It was but a fleeting moment of contentment, the fine scents filling her senses and warming her throat, and yet it was a moment she enjoyed none the less.

It was a lesson she had come to learn through experience, one must enjoy life’s little pleasures while one could. You could never be certain when such pleasures would come again, especially at times like these, especially on days like these.

Opening her eyes with another sigh, this one carrying a note of reluctance, she turned her gaze out the wide window of her office. The mid day sun was shining brightly, casting all of the estate in a warm and welcoming glow. It was an Estate that she was intimately familiar with, although it had never been seen from this vantage, nor had it been seen with the same eyes she possessed now.

Setting her tea aside, the fine china making a quite clink, she rose to her feet and slowly paced to the window, her hands held loosely behind her back. The rising, and soon to be falling, sun cast its gentle rays across her sculptured features, highlighting the beautiful young woman for what she was. It felt so long ago now, the time before today.

When she had last been here, when she had called this place home, she had been another woman, she had lived in another body, even her name was not the same. So much had changed since then, she had changed, as had the one who had once owned this office. One who would no longer be welcome here.

Her own plans were in motion, Monet St. Croix no longer satisfied with being the pawn in another’s scheme, and yet, as progress pleased her, some pieces were moving in most...inconvenient ways, only the latest of which was her first, and so far only, guest at her new estate.

She had not been entirely surprised to find the traveller gone come the morning dawn, her former mentor had always pursued his own path, and yet she found herself displeased none the less. She had enough worries as it was; tracking down her former classmates was proving more difficult than she had planned. For all the trouble they were in she expected it too be far easier.

'Low Profile' was not a trait they excelled at.

Adding one wayward dwarf to her list of missing associates was not how she wanted to start her day. Monet St. Croix sighed for a third and final time, her frustration mounting as she gently pinched the bridge of her nose between finger and thumb.

Would it have been so hard for him to have left some form of message before departing, even if it had been in his own, cryptic way?

Yes, apparently it had been.

She could only hope that the mans nature would continue to hold true, that he did not act on impulse and that all actions, no matter how small, held a higher purpose. A purpose within a game that none but a few could see. For now she would have trust him with the puzzle she had started building, and hope that he knew where the pieces should fall.

If she possessed the power to incinerate those on the opposite end of her wrath with fire from her eyes, then no doubt the reclusive Mutant would already be charred beyond recognition. As it was, and perhaps fortunately for the eternally silent teleporter, she did not. Instead her natural abilities burst and popped around her in a multi coloured lightshow to reflect her irritation, a lightshow that was distinctly more erratic than usual.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?!" the young woman demanded to know, all but tapping her foot in her impatience for an answer. For his own part Gateway seemed nonplussed, the short mutant sat contently with his legs crossed, his aging and withered features set in a solemn frown, his white hair and beard catching the breeze.

It was almost as if Jubilation Lee were not standing before him, demanding answers. It was almost as if, not moments before, a Jeep had not just skidded, almost entirely out of control, too narrowly avoid him. It was almost as if he did not care about how close to death he had just come.

It was almost as if the diminutive, dark skinned, Mutant was yet to even notice anyone else was there. Something that Everett Thomas found hard to believe.

"Alright Jubes," Everett attempted to calm his excitable friend down; clearly the direct approach wasn't working. "Let me try, ok?"

"Fine, fine," Jubilation waved her hands in a dismissive manner before stepping away, folding her arms across her chest and turning her back on the short Mutant. She was irritable, she knew that, but she totally had a right to be!! What kind of sane person would just sit in the middle of the road like a total Tool!?! The only reason he was still alive was because her awesome driving skills!! He should be thanking her!!

She quietly grumbled these sentiments to herself as her attention was drawn to her prize possession, the Jeep in question. Her mad, last second skid turn had spiralled them out of control for several yards, fragging one of their tires in the process. Fortunately the anonymous Canucklehead that had donated their ride had also seen fit to donate a spare. One the boys-Jono and Angelo-were busy changing.

Something they seemed overjoyed to be doing.

"Alright," Everett began, keeping his own tone even as he focused all of his attention too the sitting mutant, bending his knees so the two could look eye to eye without one having to look up to the other. It was perhaps a good idea; providing the Aborigine mutant in question had his eyes open to begin with.

"It’s Gateway right?" Everett asked, trying to open a dialogue. He had actually met the other Mutant before, if only briefly, but he could hardly claim to know the man. From what he understood he was reclusive by nature and rarely, if ever, talked. He wasn't even sure if Gateway was his real name. He somehow doubted it, but it would do for now.

"That was a pretty risky thing you did..." the young man tried to push although he continued to receive no real recognition of his presence "...I’m guessing you wanted our attention right?" For a few moments Everett watched for any sign, any hint that Gateway would recognise his presence, would provide some form of answer, he received nothing.

He had to admit, after nearly being in a hit and run accident and being tossed around like a sardine in a can...he was a little irritated that the cause of it all wasn't being very receptive. Even his patience was being tested.

"Maybe he wants a ride?"

Everett almost jumped out of his skin as little Molly's head suddenly appeared barely an inch from his own, startling him with her suggestion before he had even realised she was there.

"MOLLY..." Everett began, quickly regaining his composure "...I asked you too stay in the Jeep".

"But I couldn't!!" Molly became wide eyed and defensive, dramatic hand gestures helping to explain her case. "Chase needed to Pee!!" she motioned to the panting German Shepard Pup at her ankles as if displaying her evidence.

"Is the squirt right?" Jubilation forced herself back into the proceedings, tapping her foot with her hands on her hips. She continued to glare at the sitting and almost entirely docile Gateway but at the very least her Fireworks were no longer fizzing and popping around her head. "You looking for a ride, is that it?"

For a moment nothing happened, only the roguish yap from the pup called Chase daring to break the silence. Then, perhaps inevitably, the Aborigine mutant opened one of his eyes, apparently seeing them for the first time.

"Well...fine..." Jubilation folded her arms across her chest "...not that you should need one but whatever, fine...but if you want a ride then you need to get off your little hiney and get in yourself." she pointed towards the Jeep in question. "Because I know for damn sure I’m not carrying your skinny butt into it!!"

Gateway finally opened both eyes, blinking several times to wipe away the effects of a long and deep meditation. With a practiced motion he retrieved the Bullroarer that lay by his side and began to twirl it in a wide and rapid motion above his head. Before the others could even react a small storm of white lighting was summoned above him and, with a crack of otherworldly energies, the short and mysterious Mutant was suddenly gone from sight.

Only the quite swirling of dust was left in his wake.

"...Well...erm..." Jubilation began, not quite sure what to say after the sudden departure of the X-Men’s long time ally "...I...guess...we could have carried him..."

"BLOODY HELL!!"

The startled yell of Jonothan Starsmore drew all their attentions, quickly discerning the cause of his surprise. Gateway had indeed left, and yet, he had not gone far. His teleportational talents had transported him across the vast distances of both space and time... depositing his diminutive frame, still cross legged, onto the back seat of the Jeep.

He had promptly returned to meditation.

"OH...COME...ON!!" Jubilation exclaimed "That is just plain LAZY!!"

"This is so LAME!!"

Molly felt the overwhelming need to complain as she clutched the remote control in both hands, lamenting the fact that it was doing her no good. The day had been going so well, first she got a new Puppy (who was currently feeling the need to publicly "clean himself" like the icky boy he was), then she met a new friend and now she and her Posse of Mutant Runaways had found a cosy Bed and Breakfast to crash in.

As far as pit stops went, this one was way better than the stinky motels. First of all, they almost all had their own rooms; she only had to share hers with Jubilation, who, as of this morning, was her new favourite person. Next was a Bathroom that was clean, plus they had beds that were equally so and most awesome of all she hadn't seen a single bug, insect or icky creature trying to inhabit the place she was planning to sleep in.

Except for the boys of course, but they had their own rooms anyway so they didn't count.

The only pit fall, the only downside to her day, was the TV. The same TV that supposedly had cable!! The same TV that, no matter how much she wished otherwise, insisted on picking up nothing but static and vaguely fuzzy images. She couldn't even get sound!! Lame, so very, very lame.

Molly frowned, entirely dissatisfied with her lot in life.

"Ahem."

Molly looked up as the short man with a white beard seemed to clear his throat, the elderly dwarf sat, crossed legged, on the bed next to her as she was. Young Ms. Hayes wasn't quite sure yet what to make of her new friend the others called Gateway. He mostly seemed really quite, and for some reason, mostly naked. She had offered to let him borrow one of her shirts and yet he had politely declined with a wave of his hand. Wasn't he cold?

She furrowed her brow in confusion as he opened eyes and silently held out his hand, apparently expecting her to set the defective remote control onto his open palm.

"Well...alright..." she was hesitant to hand it over. On one hand, he might be able to get Cable to work, on the other; she had already called dibs...what if he didn't give it back!?!

At first nothing happened, Gateway not even batting an eye as he held the remote in hand, gazing off into space at the great unknown. Molly resisted the temptation to poke him in the shoulder, she did, however, lean a little closer to check if he had fallen asleep. It would be pretty rude if he had.

Then, suddenly, the fuzzy images upon the screen fluttered, fizzled and then...clarity!!

*...Oh Beast...*

Molly squealed and clapped her delight as sound quickly joined the animated characters now clearly visible on the TV screen. The static was gone, cable was online, Molly couldn't be happier.

"YOU ROCK!!" Molly declared in no uncertain terms as she wrapped her arms around the diminutive frame of Gateway. For his own part Gateway remained silent, remote control still held loosely in his hands, only a small smile broke his almost always sombre expression.

For just a moment, a single moment, all was well in the world.

The sun had fallen beyond the horizon several hours previous, light fading from the world to be replaced by ever lengthening shadows. Talons of midnight black had stretched out across the land, casting all beneath its grasp, covering the small, quite and peaceful town under an impenetrable veil of night.

Across this small patch of inhabited land, almost all were sleeping soundly, tucked away safely in their beds. The horrors that lived beyond the eyes of men could not reach them, could not disturb them during their peaceful slumber. The insidious touch of a wicked will could not haunt them, not while they slept in a comforting quilt of dreams, awaiting the coming dawn.

Almost all, that is, save one.

He stumbled on, his one arm braced against the wall providing at least some certainty that he knew where he was going. His body was drenched in sweat, covering every inch of his near naked skin, a pair of shorts his only clothing. He was burning up, it was as if his skin itself had been set afire.

He almost stumbled and fell, narrowly avoiding a face first dive to the floor as he made a sudden and unexpected turn through the an open door and into the bathroom. With an almost wild swing of his arm he slammed the door shut behind him and quickly flashed on the light. He hissed and covered his eyes as the sudden burst of light from the bulb above blinded him just as surely as the night time darkness had moments before.

It reminded him, in passing, of Jubilation Lee's damn camera.

Adjusting to the new found light, however sudden and harsh it had been, he took a few, faltering steps forward and grasped both hands around the sink. He felt dizzy, nausea filling his chest and causing his head to swim, the desire to fall now greater than ever. Still he stood, determined to keep his feet, until, finally, inevitably, he wretched.

With a violent motion Jonothan leant forward and vomited the contents of his gut into the sink in front of him, a great explosion of half digested food, stomach acid and bile. For a moment, as he stood leant over the sink, his shoulders shaking, his head light, he actually felt good, he felt relieved. He felt content. He felt cold.

After a few, deep and calming breadths, he opened his eyes, the light no longer as harsh as it had been before. The sight that greeted him was not a pleasant one; it did not take much to convince him to remove it from sight. Turning on the tap he drowsily watched his undigested meals as they slowly spiralled the drain and thankfully disappeared.

After collecting a small pool of freezing water within his palm, Jonothon generously splashed his own face, the harsh stimuli cutting through his every nerve. He looked up, tired eyes peering into his reflections own, staring at his haggard face.

The night had not been kind to him. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes, his hair was damp and slick, greedily clinging to his scalp while days of unshaven stubble covered his chin.

His chin, Jonothon managed the barest of smiles as he ran his fingers down his own, rough features, his newly restored face. He closed his eyes and remembered the terrible scar he had once carried, the damage caused by his own power, the affliction that had made him both more, and less, of a man. A scar that was now a memory.

A scar he had not lost until it was far to late for...

An increasingly familiar sense of agonising and white hot pain suddenly ripped through his brain and tore at his every fibre and nerve without mercy. Only now, only this time, it didn't end as quickly as it had begun, not even as the crimson blood began to run from his nose and drip down his stubble coated chin. No, now it persisted as a lance of terrible agony ripped down his entire spine and throughout his nervous system.

Generation X 23: Chamber stands on the edge of a crossroads, but does he stand before a moment of rebirth, or at the brink of oblivion? In either case, is there anything Angelo Espinosa and Molly Hayes can do to prevent it?