!

This is YellowWomanontheBrink, and she is currently on the brink of disaster

(Concerning Algebra, that is.)

This is another absolutely spontaneous idea that was thrust into my head, and its going to be awesome!

Just as a little note, I will probably never, ever write another crossover. I just got so inspired and the story's been bugging me for so long that I said 'what the hell?' and got to typing it.

This is an Alex Rider and X-men crossover.

Notes on changes to characters to avoid confusion:

1. Alex got recruited earlier in this one, at age thirteen, and he got all the current missions done already, like with Scorpia and all that. He was thirteen, and fourteen then.

2. Alex deserted MI6 and got his revenge on Scorpia, hunting them down and killing them all, even the lower and supporters. He is now the world's most wanted criminal (and at age fourteen too.)

3. He is an even better contract killer than his father was posing as, and has hacked into the government's database and put in his father's picture.

4.Mutantpowersaredividedintolevels.Thehigherthelevel,themorepowerfulthepower.

5.WhenIwriteabouttheX-men,iftheyareallsuitedupandreadyforaction,I'llcallthembytheirsuperheroname(don'tknowwhatelsetocallthem),andwhentheyareundercoverandnormalandstuff,I'llcallthembytheirname,unlessIdon'tknowit.IfIdon'tknoweither,I'llgiveasimpledescription,orjustcallthembytheirsuperheroname.

That's about all.

And so…. BEGIN!

Title:Marionette

Features: Alex Rider and assorted X-men Evolution characters

Alex was crouched in the dark brush early in the morning of a rather tedious Monday. He was watching his latest Target: Dr. Charles Xavier. He had gotten a request to kill the leaders of mutant schools all over the world, his latest had been Emma Frost, a woman and her demonic mutant students had been put down neatly by Alex all in one night. That was also when it had happened.

He shook his head. He had to focus. Taking down the old paraplegic should be easy; he was confined to his chair and was faced towards him at an almost impossible angle. That was what Alex did best. The impossible.

He lifted his assault rifle with the silencer placed firmly on it. He watched Target wave goodbye to his students, his mutant students. He had hacked into Xavier's database untraced on his gadgeted laptop and found files on every single mutant that was ever in contact or sensed with Xavier's programs; their names, power's power levels, adresse, places of origin… everything. Alex had committed it all to memory. The pretty African woman nest to him with just a bit too much makeup called herself Storm, and she was extremely dangerous by his standards as she stood in the way of Alex and his Target. He shuddered.

He saw his Target lean closer to the woman and Alex listened carefully.

"There is someone here," he heard Xavier mumble, "And he is blocking me out of his mind."

SothatiswhatTargetwanted,huh? Alex thought shrewdly. He had always kept very much to himself ever since Jack died and he took his revenge. Not even the most powerful telepath would enter his mind if he did not want it done.

Now exiting the mansion was a short man with a large nose and gruff facial hair.

"Logan, do you sense anything? I can feel a presence but I don't hear anything no matter how hard I try."

The man- Logan- smelled the air rather oddly, and pointed right to where Alex was.

"Right there. He smells sour, and I don't like his intentions."

"Go check."

The man walked over to the bordering forest and started going quickly through the brush silently. Alex slung his gun back over his back and ran; Logan was much too close for his liking.

Logan… callshimselfWolverine.Invinciblemetalbones.Geneticallyalteredtomaketheperfecthumanweapon.Growsthreesharpclawsfromhisknuckles. Alex silently recited when he felt Logan crashing behind him, and he started running faster and faster in to the forest where had been hiding for days, feeling the short man behind him.Alex was fast, but this man was more adept at running through the wilderness.

He slung his gun off his shoulder and put himself into a fighting stance just as he was slammed into from the side. A scratching metal sound rang through the air. Alex was grateful just at that moment for the black face gauze he wore over his nose and mouth, and the bright blue contacts in his eyes. He opened his eyes to find three sharp sword- like protrusion inches away from his face. He ran his eyes over everything to assess the situation he was currently stuck in.

He quickly knocked out Wolverine's legs from beneath him and thrust his knee up into his stomach as he fell down.

And thus the fight began.

When the kids had come home from their school and Logan still had not returned, Xavier was truly worried.

"Scott," he had told his first pupil, "Get Jean and a squad and go find Logan. He has been missing since this morning. Be very careful."

The departed to find nothing in the forest but a neatly beaten to a pulp Wolverine spread-eagled deep in the forest.

Meanwhile, Alex had rented an apartment and paid a man to act as his father during school registration. He had decided to put his spy skills in action and hid his heavy British accent- one thing that had never faded and put on a light Russian one. He would get close to those filthy mutants and take out his Target, Charles Xavier, soon enough.

The next morning, Kitty was in class doodling on her notebook while the teacher talked on and on, until the principal came in, a guy following behind him. The boy kept his head slightly tilted down.

"Oh, class! Looks like we have a new student today, Alec… I'm sorry honey, I can't quite pronounce your last name."

"Vroensiviyyi." He had a faint accent Kitty had yet to place.

"Right. Well, you can just go take a seat in the back there." She motioned vaguely to the row of empty desks in the back.

Alec looked around and quickly moved, keeping his head down, to sit behind of Kitty.

Ohmygod!

Kitty looked back at her notebook while she felt him shuffling in the desk behind her, pulling out stuff from his bag.

While the class went on, she could hear him mumbling and softly cursing in a foreign language; that was the only thing it could be, he sounded frustrated.

Kitty turned around in her seat.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes I'm just fine."

"All right."

Kitty turned around and faced the board again, not paying attention. She spaced out for the rest of class.

When the bell rang, she gathered her stuff quickly and set out to lunch. Her favorite subject of day.

School things from former periods haphazardly shoved in her locker, she looked down to see Alec kicking his locker angrily. Kitty ducked behind the turn in the hallway, having a gut feeling that she should watch him, because although he kicked his locker way too professionally, like he'd been kicking a lot of things and didn't cringe at all when his foot dented it.

"Stupid American lockers."

One good kick at the locker pushed it in completely, destroying the door. But something even weirder than a fifteen year old boy demolishing a locker had happened. The entire hallway seemed to waver transparently, like it flickered in and out of reality in perfect ripples. When the odd rippling was over, Alec froze, before flicking his eyes exactly at the wall Kitty was hiding behind. He turned around and now with a laptop bag hanging over his shoulder, made his way in the direction of the lunch room.

Afterschool, Kitty made her way home with Kurt and Bobby, deadly serious. She would definitely tell Professor X about this, she wanted to make sure that the Brotherhood knew nothing about Alec.

"So," Kurt began once they were nearly at the gates, sniggering with Bobby, "What about that new kid Kitty? You were fidgeting all class."

"What about him?"

"Didn't you see yourself? You were so uncomfortable, and you kept moving around… it was funny."

Kitty just frowned when they got inside, and walked off with her nose in the air. She entered the lower levels of the mansion, where the danger room, labs, and other private things were.

"Professor X?"

"Yes, Kitty?" he was hooked up to Cerebro.

"I think this new kid in my class, Alec whats-his-name, is a mutant. He's foreign and he got really angry at his locker and the hallway went all wavy and transparent."

"Yes, I'm picking up high levels of mutant power in an apartment downtown. An Alec Vroensiviyyi .We shall test him first though, I don't know if he's ready yet for this. I'll send Jean and Kurt tonight."

"Okay." Kitty left, slightly relieved, but still a little nervous.

Meanwhile, in his cheap but very clean apartment, Alex was testing himself. He was leaning out of the window looking down at the afternoon crowd below, hand splayed. The horrible new power that had revealed itself to Alex during his previous target was being fine-tuned to perfection.

The crowd was under his control. Visible only to him was thin little strings, thousands of them spread out from his hands connecting to the five major limbs of the body: the hands, the feet, and for total control, a cord that connected to the mind and bound them totally to his will. With spastic little twitches of his fingers, he watched them walk the way he wanted, stop when he wanted. It was like he was a puppet master and they were his marionettes. He made them all stop and cut his strings as he watched them all, slightly disorientated, go on about their lives, strings dangling invisibly behind them.

Alex felt pleased with himself. Now that he had mastered this…flaw he could get on with his life. His outburst at school could nearly have gotten him exposed. He would never become a mutant.

Bored, he padded over to his couch for a nap, he was tired and would hack more closely into the program he had discovered in the Xavier supercomputer, Cerebro. He didn't like the sound of it. Before he got comfortable, he did a round check of hi house, locking all the windows and doors securely, and drawing the curtains. He had been up all night. His eyes drifted closed.

Meanwhile, Jean and Nightcrawler (Kurt for all you slow people out there ) were across the street spying through the windows of the building. They saw him, leaning with his head on his hand and one splayed out the window. He looked really bored.

Eventually, after about a hour, he went back inside the ratty apartment building, came back, and drew the curtains. They didn't see him again for about forty minutes.

"Now?" Kurt whispered.

Jean nodded and they disappeared with a soft poof, inside the apartment.

Alex always slept with a gun. He also slept with a taser, just in case it was some common thief who thought Alex would make a good target. It never was, but he didn't like to take chances. He was also a very light sleeper.

So when he felt a presence looming over him, still semi-conscious, he lashed out furiously and stood up, ready for a fight.

Nightcrawler loomed over Alex, who was seemingly passed out on the couch. Until he found himself flung mercilessly across the bare room. Landing heavily on his back, he groaned. The boy they were sent to 'test' was standing in a fighting stance, tense and awake. He flicked his eyes between the two of the mutants. Nightcrawler poofed behind him and grabbed his shoulders, only to find himself quickly twisted and forced to the floor at an odd angle, at least until Jean threw a force field at Alex and tossed him around the room. The teen was lifted up and hoisted into the air.

Alex was floating, twisting oddly, until he spotted the telekinetic in the corner of the room with her hands posed. He wasn't going to win, they would simply take him to a place of their pleasing and have as much fun or practice or whatever the hell their reason was for interrupting his nap. He flexed and pulled out his taser, knocking her unconscious, and then turned on the blue boy, who on close examination was Kurt Wagner, a boy Alex had seen from school. The girl was Jean Grey. He had seen both their files and knew the extent of their abilities. He decided not to arouse suspicion; these were just silly high school mutants that thought it was clever to try and break into his house. He was now unrested, and sore from the fall. He pulled up simple folding chairs and belted the bodies to it as an amateur would, so they wouldn't suspect him.

When they woke up about an hour later, they curtains were open but the blinds closed, giving the white walled empty spare bedroom a grey appearance.

He would question them on their motivation.

Jean and Kurt woke to find themselves staring face to face with none other than Alec. They were belted tightly to a chair, and their shoulders hurt.

"Is this the first time something odd like that happened to you?" Jean immediately began, speaking with a gentle voice.

Alec scowled. "I don't know what you're talking about." He said in his light Russian accent.

"The electricity." She spoke softly so as not to upset him, she wanted him to go to the school that Xavier had founded.

Alec scoffed. "It's called a taser." He slid a sleek looking gun-like object from his pocket.

"So excuse if I freaked out because two masked people were breakingintomyapartment."

Jean ignored this. "You did pretty good," she began, trying to wriggle her way out of the tight binds. She nudged Nightcrawler with her foot and felt him disappear, reappear behind her, clutching her shoulders, and disappear again. Almost instantly she could feel herself in the lab, where Professer Xavier was waiting in his wheelchair.

"He's not a mutant," she began immediately. "He didn't even freak out and knocked us unconscious with a taser and tied us up."

Nightcrawler nodded. "He didn't even freak out when he saw me, in a dim room!It was weird, but nice for a second."

Xavier just nodded, silent to the jabberings of his students.

Alex immediately got to task once again and left his house when he was done the next day, laptop on his shoulder and head held timidly down. It was a Saturday that was bright and nice, suggesting Alex would see most of the people from his school hanging around the business district. He saw bright chattering girls walking to the mall, handbags on their arms and giggling loudly, and stupid guys acting as rambunctious as possible. Alex kept on walking, until he passed a dirty looking house full of dirty looking kids.

SothisisTheBrotherhood, Alex thought. Icouldhavemistakenitforacrackhouse.

A loud shattering resounded from the house, followed by an explosion, and a loud Whoooooooooo! Came from inside. All those kids were apparently living alone, and worked for a malicious mutant called Magneto. Level Six mutant.

Alex continued walking until he walked headfirst into a skinny tow-headed boy.

"Geez, watych where your going will you?"

Alex mumbled an apology. He didn't mean it, but didn't feel like stirring up trouble. The boy looked at him oddly before speeding off inside the look-alike crack house.

Alex proceeded wandering around, thinking about his task.

If I kill Charles Xavier and all his cronies, I'll never have to kill another person again. I'll never have to do any of this again.

That was why Alex, killed, assassinated, and ruined the lives of many people as a result of his actions. Freedom. And in this world ridden with mutants and corruption, at times Alex didn't mind his job. He would take them down, all the big shots, the presidents, the ambassadors, the leaders, the ones no other killer could hit, he took them down with the point of his gun, with his rifle. At the age of fourteen, he would do it all, and disappear from this world. Freedom.

Alex spotted a girl with bright blazing red hair chatting excitedly with two other girls her age. She was one who had attacked him the other night. He decided to put on a façade of fright and suspicion rather than just suspicion so that she would not suspect them.

When she waved goodbye and started to walk away, he began stalking her, and caught up with her at a corner.

"Who are you?" this he knew. "What were you doing in my house?"

"Oh! Alec!" Jean said, a little surprised at the frankness of the usually quiet boy. She tried to slip into his mind to alter his memory to find her telepathy slammed up against a wall. The block was not particularly like a wall, but like a tightly woven band she could not break down, but would have had to pull out the block, strand by tightly woven strand.

A troubled expression passed her face slightly, but then she realized her mistake. She had never been personally introduced to the boy, except for when she was informed of his mysteriously empty background by Xavier.

"How do you know my name? And what were you doing in my house? You attacked me!"

"Alec," Jean said abruptly, "where were your parents?"

This boy is smart, there's no point in lying to him. Maybe everyone will forgive me if I invite him anyway.

Alec stiffened. "That's none of your business."

Jean frowned. "Alec, I think you need to come with me."

Alex was dragged against his will to the mansion that belonged to Charles Xavier. He was immediately shoved into a small office and told to wait while Jean went off looking for Xavier. His Target. He felt the taser in his pocket and got up, stalking away silently. He had no intention of staying in just that room. Now was a perfect time for the investigation of the layout of the manor.

"Professor, this boy we were sent to investigate, the one that cerebro picked up but wasn't a mutant? He's living by himself in an apartment downtown. And we need a mind wipe. He remembers my face and he'll expose me."

"Jean, I've told you to be more careful."

"I was, but this kid's got a good memory. I would've done it myself, but… he blocked me out."

Now Xavier was surprised. "He blocked you out?"

"Yeah. I couldn't hear anything, nonetheless wipe anything."

Xavier supposed he jus discovered this boy's power. He would take a look at him himself.

"Take me to him."

This spurred an entire huntdown for the missing boy. Most of the other kids were worried about him finding the Danger Room and him getting caught in it. But when they went into the secret lower levels, they found the Danger Room completely disabled and defeated, powered down and dark. And Alec was in the Control room, calmly sitting down on a chair and examining the computers, hacking and memorizing all sorts of information. The door opened, and Alex quickly turned the screen back to the basic controls anyone could find.

"How did you get down here? It only opens for us, and everyone's looking for you." Scott asked as he came in.

Alec shrugged. "I have my ways."

"Well, Professor X wants to talk to you. He wants to invite you into the school."

Alec put an ugly face on. "I'm not a mutant."

"Yeah."

Alec turned around. "I'm not! Don't you dare even imply I'm one of.. of… you."

"What's wrong with being a mutant?"

Alec turned around again. "I'm not one, so I don't want to be called one."

Scott scoffed quietly at Alec's turned back. "Professor's in the office you were first in. I'll show you the way."

Alex nodded, even though he knew the way perfectly fine,

When he was seated in a chair opposite Xavier, he took a quick analysis if the room, and watched the man in the chair carefully. Charles Xavier. The most acclaimed telepath in the world, hundreds of mutant contacts, and students. Alex checked his mental net and built up another layer around it as he could feel an odd sensation in his head.

"I'm not a mutant."

"Are you sure? Nothing strange happened to you? You were found out by Cerebro several times."

Alex shrugged.

"May I see your mind for anything recent?" he extended his forefinger tenderly and touched Alex's forehead, and was met by a complicated block, he searched around for a couple of seconds before he found his arm twisted painfully around. Alex could break both his arms if he wanted in this pose.

"Don't touch me," he hissed, forgetting his role for a second before dropping heavily into a chair.

Xavier realized he was being very brash, and despite the fact most abandoned mutants were glad to be accepted somewhere, there was occasionally the odd one, like this boy.

"Anyway," he said, changing the subject, "Here at this academy you will be trained to control your abilities and—"

"I'm not a mutant."

Xavier looked up from beneath his folded hands.

"Excuse me?"

"I said, I'm not a mutant. Don't call me that."

Alec's dark eyes were cold. Xavier decided not to push into it.

"Well, you can't live on your own. You are invited to stay here."

"I don't want charity. I've been on my own, and I'm fine."

"If you get caught by the police, you'll get quite a load of problems on your hands."

Alec scowled at the bald man.

"I'll work her, for a wage or something. I don't need money. I wonder how you keep such a large place clean. I'll cook or something."

"Agreed." Xavier was quite certain that Alec did not like people from his silence and avoidance of people.

And thus he let the enemie in.

Alex shuddered in bed, his dreams torturing him. All his acts, his targets, he couldn't forget, he wouldn't forget. This was his punishment, his endless punishment, and he could never let go.

It had all started with Scorpia.

They had come for him, and everyone associated with him.

It had started a long time ago, with his parents, and then Ian.

They progressed. Jack, Tom, even the nicer agents from MI6. Ben, Mrs Jones, even Smithers for god's sakes.

Then, just to eliminate all familiarity, they bombed his school, destroyed the former boy, who wasn't happy anyway. They destroyed Alex Rider, MI6 agent who couldn't kill in cold blood.

Thus, Alex Rider, out for revenge was born.

Whenheaskedforhelpfromthesecretservices,hewouldgetnone.Hewasn'tanagentanymore,andtheywouldnotofferhimanything,beingunderage.

He had no money, no guardian, nowhere to go. He poured himself into his revenge on Scorpia.

He gave them quick merciful deaths, even the mutant ones, working his way up to the leader, shooting each and every single one of them in cold blood. He annihilated Scorpia, one by one, by himself.

Leave no evidence, but MI6 knew exactly what sort of monster of a child they had released into the world when Alan Blunt turned up dead on their doorstep.

Alex Rider was officially a criminal, and a dangerous one at that.

Then the assignations began.

Dictators fell from their thrones, presidents were deep in their graves.

Alex knew he was righting wrongs of unjustified people.

But it stabbed at his heart, and he felt he couldn't live with himself.

After taking down the most heavily humans in the world, the requests for taking down the most mutants, the ones the government was helplessly hopeless against, Alex took them down, quietly efficiently, and mercilessly.

One fast shot, exactly to a place that would kill.

He never missed, because that was cruel to his target.

At first, it was just single people and mutants, then he ended up taking down entire organizations.

His latest was Xavier.

He kept seeing the dead faces, their blood on his hands.

Alex woke in his small dim room. He never let the dreams take him too far. He grabbed the hand that was coming towards him and twisted it.

"Auggh!"

It was just one of the students.

"What do you want?"

"Dude, you were making the weirdest noises, and I came to see if you were okay…"

He backed away slowly, and left the room.

Alex was breathing hard, covered in cold sweat, haunted by the victims he'd taken. He slipped under his drenched sheets and fell into a restless sleep.

The next morning, everyone woke to a wonderful smell, drifting up from downstairs. It was 8:45, and they all came down to eat after they'd dressed and showered after a long argument.

The table was set neatly and simply, and was filled with the most tasteful breakfast they'd seen for a while.

Oatmeal and scones, with orange juice on the side.

And Alec was shuffling out of the kitchen, head down.

"Wow, man, you didn't have to do that!"

Scott came up and slapped Alec on the shoulder gratefully.

"I'm not gonna be a charity case here. I'll do something here, even if it is as taskless as cooking. Just wash your own plates please, because I'm not your maid, and I don't want to be late."

He quickly shrugged off Scott's hand and marched silently and purposefully out of the door.

"What's his problem?" Jean asked inquiringly.

Scott shrugged. "Dunno. He came yesterday and was all over the place, and really quiet. He got into the danger room, and figured out how to turn that thing off. He was really relaxed. It was strange. Now, apparently he can cook too."

"That's right he can! This stuff is great!"

Kurt was leaning back in his chair, mouth full of food.

"Don't eat it all!"

And so a normal morning began.

Alex walked slowly and purposefully, intent on getting to school. His laptop hung on his shoulder, and he was well armed indiscreetly. He was licking the remaining sugar quickly from his fingers so they wouldn't be sticky.

Much to the surprise of most people, Alex actually enjoyed school, being that when he was a spy it was his only link to his normal life and as his current life, well, there was no need to be an uneducated killer was there?

He quickly settled into his routine and fell into the background scene, where everyone forgot his name and that he even existed.

Even at the academy, Alex was careful not to insert himself into the lifestyle of these kids. He hung out in his room, snuck out when he needed to leave, and cooked behind the views of most of the mutants that called the Academy home. Everyone seemed to have forgotten Alec Vroensiviyi, the forgein kid who lived with them. That was just the way he liked it. All except for, of course, Dr, Charles Xavier.

One uneventful summer morning, when everyone relaxed at the thought of no school, Alex was in his room, when everyone was suddenly called, and before Alex even knew it, they were suited up. Curiosity got the better of him.

"What are you guys doing?"

A boy with blond hair answered. "There's a mutant wreaking havoc a couple of miles away from here, and from what I've heard, she's from the brotherhood and a level 5 mutant. He shuddered and moved on.

Alex watched him leave as they all suited up, and disappeared into a jet. The situation must have been serious, because in the several months he had been in the Xavier household, only certain groups set out for most situations.

He snuck into his small plain room and pulled out plain clothing, turning on the TV to the news to see the mayhem that would be sure to be reporting.

It sure was. On the screen, he saw apartment buildings falling, government tanks and weaponry and the enormous robots designed to destroy mutants did more harm than help. Fires were raging and people were screaming, running in front of the cameras and trampling each other in their utmost fear. The reporter herself was terrified, trying to compose herself.

"It's mayhem… the current rate of dead and injured are unknown at the moment, but it is redicting"

The screen went fuzzy but not before a horrendous scream from the reporter was recorded, and commercials abruptly came on.

Alex grimaced.

He knew exactly where it was happening, in a city not too far off. After changing his clothes and pulling a thin gauze over his face to hide his appearance, he went down to the airlift, which the residents of the mansion didn't think he knew about, and hacked into a tiny, agile one-person jet and flew off.

Perhaps the Xavier had overestimated the capabilities of the X-men, as they were each locked into battle with a powerful individual from the Brotherhood and the guys that work for Magneto. The strangest thing about them though, was their zombie-like demeanor and each of them had bright purple pupils. They also seemed more interested in major destruction than their opponent.

Unseen by the fighting and fleeing people below, a delighted woman was standing, fists glowing and bright. She was standing high up on a building, next to Magneto, who was floating slightly above the bar. He was testing her powers, which seemed to be quite potent, but she was reaching her limit, keeping control of over fifty people and their powers. She was however, giggling madly and delightedly.

"Wow! This is awesome! They are all under my control! They're all mine!"

Magneto said nothing but "Nice Julia." He was secretly making certain his helmet was on, so she couldn't even think of trying her power out on him.

The girl named Julia grinned. "Ooh, there's another one! He just came in that plane!"

She motioned toward the smoothly flying jet.

Magneto snorted and held his arm out, causing the plane to follow hisa powers orders, bending it into twisted shapes until it exploded. And then he heard a sharp guncock.

He looked and saw a blond boy with a gun held up to Julia's head.

"Magneto?"

He had a heavy British accent. Magneto nodded, unworried. This boy was armd with bullets. And bullets were metal.

"How'd you get behind me so fast!"

Julia was smiling, head bent backward to look at the masked boy.

"Do you want to know about my power? I can control anyone! Especially mutants! They're the funnest, because they can blow stuff up."

The boy said nothing.

"I bet I can control you!" She spun around, aiming her hands at his face, and was met by his fist clutching her wrists.

Magneto then wrenched the gun from the boys hand with his powers, and let Julia to do the rest.

She was not good at hand to hand combat.

He watched as she was beaten up, tackled, and watched as they fell from the top of the building.

Ohwell, he thought,that'sanotheronegone.

Alex clutched the girl as she fell, and they were lucky enough to land on a fire escape, and then he followed her as she lost control of her power and her 'zombies' were released, proceeding to flee the scene into perfectly smooth metal spheres that flew off into the air.

He watched her coldly as the smoke cleared.

The only thing remaining were the x-men and the monstrous robots, still stomping around.

He ran after her, the demolished, buckled streets barely hindering him as he ran through and over them.

"Sir! Please leave the area! It's dangerous here!" He could hear the high pitched voice of Kitty as she took off after him.

"That's the girl that was controlling them!"

Now Alex could hear the rest of the older x-men taking off after him and Julia and groaned out loud. They thought it was him!

He slammed abruptly to a stop as Julia turned around and held out her hand, glowing purple.

"Let's see how you like this, boy!"

The rest of the x-men watched in horror as Rogue was suddenly pulled forward, glove off and hands outstretched, pupils bright purple.

"It's not him, it her!"

Someone just had to point out the obvious.

They thought it was all over as she touched his neck A groan slipped out, and he dropped to his knees, face covered so they couldn't see his reactions. It was obvious, though that he was not unconscious as he should have been when he flipped Rogue over and threw her into the girl, whose hand s immediately stopped glowing.

"Ughhh!"

The boy clutched his head, and shook himself off. He stood up, and much to the X-men's shock, pulled out a gun and aimed it precisely at her head, right between the eyes.

"Whoah! Stop!"

Cyclops ran forward and froze suddenly as he saw another gun, pulled out in a split second, pointed between his eyes.

"You murderer. You sicko. You disgusting mutant."

The boy with the guns had a distinctive British accent, and was talking down to the girl at his feet.

"For that, I'll let you live, and I hope you suffer."

He shot her quickly, twice in the legs and disappeared into an alley lined with rubble.

"Follow him!"

Shadowcat and Nightcrawler quickly obliged, setting off after the nimble boy, who was leaping over rubble that Shadowcat just ran through.

Alex cursed to himself as the two kids he knew as Kitty raced down the alley towards him.

Until of course, Kurt popped right in front of him, causing him, in his speed, to slam right into him.

Alex cursed aloud at that point, and set off in the other direction, only to run into Kitty. They were sucky fighters, that he had in reassurance, and took his stance. It was over pretty quick, and he only aimed lightly for their pressure points so that they were unconscious rather than dead.

He ran out of the place of destruction, disappearing into the crowds of weeping people.

Damn mutants. Damn, damn mutants.

Alex laid his head against the cold wall of his room, breathing hard. There was a tight stabbing pain in his calves and ankles. He had pushed himself too hard, and the others would be curious if he limped.

As if summoned by his thoughts, he could hear the roar of the jet as they arrived. Alex changed his clothes and ran out to the front of the house to see them. He held his uaul frown.

He was horrified to see the girl he had shot being carried in a stretcher down to the lower levels of the house.

"What happened to her?" he asked, though he knew perfectly well what had happened.

"Some psycho shot her. She couldn't properly control her powers, and it was causing mayhem, so we're going to train her."

Alex wanted to snort and scream in frustration all at the same time. They had assumed it was an accident. An accident, and she enjoyed it too.

Alex kept his demeanor as the crowd of kids brought in more injured mutants.

Meanwhile, as the kids were being brought in Rogue watched them all. She thought back to the boy she had touched, the one who had resisted her. She didn't get anything except, slight flashes and names that left quickly. A flash of bright red hair. Alan Blunt. Guns, and crocodiles and a man that smiled fondly at Alex.

Why had she just called that boy Alex?

Her memories were all jumbled up as she tried to make sense of the partial memories she had received.

Alex…Alex…Alec…?

Why was she thinking of Alec?

This made no sense to her.

"Rogue…"She looked up tosee Scott leaning next to her against the wall, brow furrowed.

"Alec, I don't like him. He was way too cold for someone who just saw a girl dragged in with both her legs shot up." He shuddered. "It's as if he was dissatisfied with something."

Rogue looked at the older teen.

"The shooter, when I touched him, I got a few of his meories. His name is Alex something. I don't know why he didn't pass out, or why I didn't get everything. That's a relief, but its as if I was being blocked. Like their was a screen blocking me."

"What?"

Jean butted her head into the conversation.

"Like a net?"

"Yep? Real complicated, and I only got snippets and stuff."

Jean frowned. She had felt something exactly like that.

"Rogue?"

"Hmm?"

"I think that boy was Alec."

New chapter;

It was the middle of the night, and Alex crept from his room so as not to be seen. He snuck into the medical ward, and looked at the girl strapped to the bed. She was pretty young, 18 or 19 perhaps, and had light brown hair cut close to her neck. Her face was wide and her nails were painted bright pink. She suddenly opened her eyes.

"y-yo-you!"

Alex put a finger up to his lips and realized he had just given himself away as her shooter. Her, being the girly- girl that she was, screamed at the top of her lungs, Alex acted as if he had no idea what the heck she was talking about.

Xavier came in, flocked as usual by Storm, and this time, also by his oldest students Scott and Jean.

"Alec… or is it Alex?"

Alex said nothing, but looked Jean, the one who'd spoken directly in the eye.

"I don't know what you are talking about," he said coldly.

"Give it up Alex. You were found out. Did you shoot this girl?" Xavier asked seriously.

"He shot me! He's the one who shot me! Except the other guy had a different accent." Julia had leaned up in her bed. "And now I can't walk! I won't ever walk!" She raised her hands and aimed it at Jean. The redhead's pupils glowed purple and Alex was suddenly slammed up against the wall and pinned by her telekenisis. He couldn't even move his hands.

Xavier simply moved his chair forward a little. "Are you Alex Rider?"

At that moment, Alex knew all hope was lost. Rogue… the girl had gotten slightly past his barriers, but enough to get his actual name. He wondered exactly how much the teen had found out about him. He speculated as to whether keep up his façade. He decided to drop it. Mabye then they wouldn't keep him in a telekinetic bound. He knew that this particular mutant… Jean Grey… she was a level six mutant. He didn't want to try her.

"Alex Rider? The guy from the FBI's most wanted show? That guy looked about forty," Storm inquired out loud, though her face was trained intently on Alex.

Alex said nothing, but looked out just as dangerously at Storm as she did him.

"Fine." He said, dropping the timid demeanor and accent he'd been acting as for the past several months. "I shot her. But she's a menace. She took over the entirety of Magneto's lackeys and used them to wreak havoc. I should have k-k-killed her." He always hated exterminating his Targets, and whoever happened to deserve his wrath.

"It wasn't her fault, she just needs a bit more practice and—"

"Like she's doing now? Jean's under her control." It occurred to her that none of the others could see the purple pupils but him.

Xavier rolled over to his student and examined her eyes carefully. "Jean, snap out of it he commanded, to no avail.

"Julia, relax. Lashing out with your powers is not the correct way to handle a situation as such—"

He was suddenly slammed against the wall, chair and all, by Julia's control. Lucky for Alex, this distracted Jean for a moment and he lashed out, slamming himself against the wall, and pushing off to land on his feet,