Notes: Happy Turkey Day! Here's your early Christmas present.

Monsters Like Us

An X-Men Fanfiction by

Nate Grey (xman0123-at-aol-dot-com)

Chapter 7: Penny's Legacy

The trio walked deeper into the forest for a few minutes, until Penny brought Claudette and Illyana to a halt beside a tall, thick tree. "This spot is as good as any," she decided, glancing around. Her gaze settled on Claudette, who was staring at the tree. "It is time."

At once, Claudette turned to her, and after a brief pause, they started to reach for each other when Illyana stepped between them.

"Hold it," Illyana ordered. "I still haven't fully agreed to this. Tell me exactly what you're trying to do."

Penny sighed. "Very well. We need to recreate the conditions of our mother's death."

Illyana stared at her disbelief. "Why in this world, or any other, would you want to do that?"

"We don't want to. We need to. The end result is what matters, and this is the only way to obtain it."

Illyana's eyes narrowed. "I see. And in this little reenactment, if you're the mother, that would mean that Claudette is Emplate, correct?" She turned to Claudette and demanded at once, "Show me your hands."

Claudette flinched at Illyana's tone, but made no move to comply.

Illyana took a step toward her. "That wasn't a request, Claudette, and I know you understood me. When you joined this team, you agreed to follow my lead and abide by my decisions. You also agreed to trust me, and I would like to be able to say the same about you. Now, show me your hands."

After a hesitant glance at Penny, Claudette slowly raised her hands, unable to meet Illyana's firm gaze.

Illyana stared in disgust at the two fang-filled mouths revealed in Claudette's palms. "Absolutely not. Get rid of those horrible things this instant."

"It is necessary" Penny began, but Illyana cut her off with a cold look.

"Asking her to help you die is bad enough. But in this way? It is unforgivable. No wonder you had to knock out Nicole and Monet beforehand."

"We can't risk it going wrong," Penny insisted. "We only get this one chance. You have to know I would never ask this of Claudette if there was another way."

"There is another way, and we certainly aren't using this one." It took great effort for Illyana to soften her voice as she turned back to Claudette. "You've done more than enough, Claudette, and we won't ask you to do this, too. I'll bear the burden this time. So please, put those away, and never bring them out again."

Illyana was sure that she didn't imagine the relief in Claudette's face as the younger girl closed her hands for several seconds, then opened them to reveal her unmarked palms.

"I believe I understand the problem," Illyana said, turning back to Penny. "The only way for you to access the peak of your mother's plant manipulation ability is to be on the brink of death yourself. So you need to be in mortal peril, and yet you must manage not to die before the task is completed. Do I have that right?"

Penny blinked slowly. "Yes. That's it exactly. And if we make a mistake, I could still die and fail."

"You won't fail," Illyana promised. "But you won't have Claudette draining you with the same monstrous curse that robbed you all of your mother, either. Well, I won't, at least. I have an alternate method that is far more humane."

"You know a way to kill me slowly?"

"Several. But only one in which I choose the exact moment of your death. All Claudette need do is watch, and then only if she chooses to. Her hands will remain clean. Or as clean as they can be, after what she just had in them."

Penny sighed deeply. "Thank you. It seems I'm going to die owing you a great deal. I will repay this debt, I swear it."

Illyana shook her head. "I'm curious as to how you intend to do that when you're dead, but I'll take it on faith. Let's begin."

Jubilee was still in the process of learning what she could and couldn't do as a vampire. It was, in many ways, very much like being a mutant had been. Except there was more blood involved, and far less sunlight, mainly. The fact remained that sometimes the most curious applications popped up when one least expected them to.

She'd had irregular sleeping patterns for most of her life. Initially, Jubilee had attributed this to losing her parents early on and just never adjusting properly. Later, as a member of the X-Men, she'd considered it more a useful perk than anything else. Logan had only needed to teach her so much about varying when, where, and how long she slept: much of it she'd learned simply by living on the streets.

Jubilee learned very quickly that vampires, or at least the kind she was, needed less sleep, and that it didn't seem to serve the expected purpose. Blood really provided everything that she absolutely needed to survive. Sleep had largely become a convenient excuse to avoid the sun during the daylight hours, but Jubilee found she could go days without it as needed. On the other hand, the longer she stayed awake, the more energy she used, the more blood she required, and the more likely she was to be overcome by her body's thirst. So it was still a good idea to sleep when possible, if only to limit the energy she used up and the amount of blood she needed.

But even in sleep, her body had not been merely lying idle. Jubilee awoke with a fuzzy feeling in her head, and immediately saw a vision of Claudette walking into the room, kissing her cheek, and then leaving. It did not take Jubilee long to realize what had happened, as she had been around telepaths far too long to not recognize the handiwork of one. She had no idea how her body had shared the information with her, but decided it didn't matter. She tugged on Piotr's arm, both to wake him and to free herself.

He instinctively tightened his hold on her as he came awake, then loosened his grip when he realized she was staring at him expectantly. "Too tight?" he asked.

"Nope," Jubilee replied, scooting closer to quickly kiss him, "but we've got a situation, I think. Either I had a really weird dream, or Claudette came in here last night and did something to my head, and maybe yours, too."

"I do feel... unusually dizzy," he admitted, rubbing his forehead. "In a way that has nothing to do with you kissing me, anyway," he added, causing Jubilee to smirk. "You think this has something to do with Penny?"

"Probably," Jubilee said as she swung herself out of bed. "But first things first. I say we go check on the others." She walked to the other bed and shook Doug, who displayed no signs of waking. "Either Claudette got him, too, or he's a pretty heavy sleeper. And now that I think of it, Nicole and Monet might have helped her do this, but..."

Piotr immediately picked up her train of thought. "If they had, then one of them would have come to us. Not Claudette."

"Right. So she might actually be working alone on this one." Jubilee paused to consider that. "I don't think she's ever done anything like this before. Not sure if I should be worried or proud."

"I think we can trust Claudette. But she is Nicole's twin, so I'd rather know exactly where she is at all times."

They went across the hall, only to find Monet asleep as well. Unlike Doug, she woke up the moment Jubilee shook her (a bit more roughly than she had Doug, in Piotr's opinion, though he kept quiet on the subject). Once Jubilee explained the situation, Monet did not panic. She did, however, become rather insistent, which was not really unexpected or well received.

"We need to find Claudette at once," Monet declared.

"What about Nicole?" Jubilee asked, frowning. "Or did you just forget about her?"

"Nicole isn't the one who put me to sleep and left the school. Besides, I can sense her sleeping down in the rec room."

Jubilee narrowed her eyes. "You know, I could check on her, if you like. It wouldn't be any trouble. I mean, she's not my sister or anything, but I could totally make time to see if she's okay."

"Your poor attempt at sarcasm is noted but not appreciated, Jubilee. And if you are implying that Claudette would ever leave Nicole if she wasn't safe, then-"

"I will check on Nicole," Piotr interrupted. "Perhaps when I return with her, you two will be done arguing, and we can all look for Claudette, Penny, and my sister together."

Monet blinked as Piotr left. "Illyana is missing as well? Why didn't you mention that earlier?"

Jubilee rolled her eyes. "Monet, please keep up. You're the resident telepath right now. Can you or can you not sense who all is here?"

"Yes, I can. However, I wasn't looking for Illyana. She isn't my concern right now."

"Yeah, well, since everyone not accounted for is either asleep or in cahoots with Claudette, maybe she should be. We can ask Petey when he gets back with the twin that you weren't worried about."

Monet took a deep breath. "Fine, Jubilee. What offense do you imagine I've committed this time?"

"It's like you're not worried at all about Nicole!" Jubilee cried.

"Yes, as in it seems that way to you. However, as usual, you could not be more wrong. Of the two of them, Nicole is generally the most responsible. Which isn't really saying much in certain situations. Besides, Nicole does not possess the power or the skill to catch me unaware and knock me out, and until today, I thought the same of Claudette. That is why I am more concerned about Claudette presently: Nicole is here and safe, while Claudette is out there, exceedingly powerful and with Penny at her side, rather than Nicole. Nicole knows when and how to make Claudette stop, Penny does not. Claudette could unintentionally harm Penny, herself, and many more. Nicole is childish, impulsive, and sometimes unreasonable, but she knows her limits, and more importantly, she knows how to handle Claudette. Penny doesn't, and at the moment, I don't trust her at all."

Jubilee shook her head. "And once again, you've totally missed the point, Miss Perfect."

"Which is what?"

"I know you love Nicole. That isn't the problem. The problem is that you're not showing it at all. How do you think she's going to feel when Petey is the one that comes for her, instead of her big sister? Or are you more worried that she'd be disappointed if it was you and not him?"

Monet shook her head. "I do not have the time or patience to argue over what you see as my bad habits, Jubilee. Unlike you, I actually do have sisters to look after."

"Well, unlike you, I actually have been looking after your sisters, and think of them as my own," Jubilee responded. "So I know what it looks like when someone shows them love."

"Simply thinking of them as your sisters doesn't make you family."

"You sure? Then why is Petey with Nicole, and Claudette with Penny right now? Monet, I know it must suck to have them push you away, but that just means you push back even harder. I bet if you just showed them some love, they'd stop fighting you as much as they do. Just try it, I'm begging you. And so are they."

Monet did not respond, and at first Jubilee thought she had simply stopped listening. But when Piotr returned, carrying Nicole in his arms, Monet immediately snatched her away, much to everyone's surprise.

"Monet, I'm fine," Nicole said quickly. "Claudette just knocked me out. It wasn't anything serious."

"She took Penny off to die, and you don't consider that serious?" Monet demanded.

Nicole's face fell, and she rested her head on Monet's shoulder. "Yeah, I do. But what were we really going to do? Keep Penny locked away for the rest of her life, and never trust her not to run off? We couldn't do that to her again. If she's happier this way, maybe... maybe we have to let her go. Maybe Claudette saw that when we couldn't. She knew I wasn't there yet, so she didn't include me."

Monet shook her head slowly. "How can you be sure, Nicole? Penny might have tricked Claudette into this."

"Do you have so little faith in our sister, Monet? I've been in her mind. She would never betray us, and she isn't so easily fooled. If she's helping Penny, it's because she believes it is for the best. Claudette had a bond with Penance that even I didn't completely understand. There's no trick involved, only trust. Claudette will return to us unharmed. If you believe nothing else, believe that."

"But watching someone die is harmful to the soul," Monet insisted. "Helping them do it, even more so. I never wanted that for either of you."

"And we love you for that," Nicole replied at once. "Monet, it's okay for you to think of us as your kids. We don't mind that, much. But we aren't your baby sisters anymore. We can think for ourselves, and you have to give us room to do that. I don't like what Claudette did, either, but it was her choice. No one could have talked her into it, not even Penny. If you knew how she felt about death, you'd know that she would never want that for anyone. She must be helping Penny because she doesn't view this as death, but something else. What, I'm not sure, and she may never be able to explain it. But I think they'll both be happier this way."

"So you're suggesting that we don't even go after them?" Monet asked, unable to keep the accusation out of her voice. "We just leave Claudette to whatever fate Penny has in store for her?"

"That would be my vote," Doug said as he walked into the room with Ferog clinging to his back. "But it's nowhere near as bad as you make it sound, Monet."

Jubilee frowned at him. "Hey, I just tried to wake you up!"

"Apparently all you had to do was have this guy chew on my arm," Doug replied, showing them the bite marks from Ferog's teeth. "I have to admit it worked all too well, though."

"Did he have a message from my sister?" Piotr asked.

"I have no idea," Doug admitted. "I do speak demon, or at least some types of it. But Ferog doesn't actually speak any language I'm familiar with. Mostly it's just groaning and screeching. Feel free to try your luck, though."

Piotr extended his arm, and Ferog immediately latched onto his forearm, crawling up to his shoulder.

"He's probably just reacting to Illyana's scent," Monet said dismissively, turning to Doug. "And what exactly did you mean, we should just leave them?"

"Claudette gave me a dream when she put me to sleep," Doug answered. "I don't think she wants us to go looking for her. I think she'll come back or call when she's ready. I mean, Nicole is with us. If Claudette wants to call us, she will."

"For the last time, this isn't about what Claudette wants!" Monet snapped. "It's about what's best for her! I don't care if I'm the only here who feels that way! I'll go after her alone if I have to!"

"And when she knocks you out the same way she did here?" Doug asked. "What good will it have done?"

Monet looked embarrassed, if only momentarily. "Then at least I'll be with her."

"Would you be this worried if it were me out there, Monet?" Nicole asked. "Because if you're only upset because you think Claudette doesn't know what she's doing, I'm telling you now, she's going to be really mad at you. She'll think you don't trust her. You really don't want her to feel that way."

"We'll address how she feels about it after she's safely back with us."

Nicole frowned at her. "Put me down, please. You're turning back into that Monet that doesn't stop to consider our feelings, and I don't like you very much right now."

"No," Monet replied stubbornly, tightening her grip on Nicole. "If you can't or won't even give me any evidence that Claudette is safe, I don't have to consider either of your feelings. My ultimate concern is to keep you two safe. I'll worry about your happiness after I'm sure you're still healthy."

"You know I would know if Claudette were hurt or scared!"

"I also know that since Illyana isn't here, it could take minutes or longer to reach Claudette. Minutes she may not have, if she really needed us."

Ferog shrieked, loudly and abruptly, startling everyone. But what followed was even more startling, as he began to speak in Illyana's voice. "Monet, you can relax. Claudette is perfectly safe at the moment, and shall remain so. I give you my word."

"Your word means nothing to me!" Monet spat. "Bring my sister back this instant!"

"That's impossible, I'm afraid. Well, not impossible, but incredibly inconvenient. We are in the middle of something here."

"Is no one else wondering why Ferog sounds like 'Yana?" Jubilee demanded.

"That's easily explained, Jubilee. I placed a portion of my soul in Ferog. I did say that he no longer had his."

Piotr's face fell. "Snowflake, you said you wouldn't do this again."

"Brother, I didn't want to, but I found it necessary. I did not think I could trust Monet not to interfere once she was awake, and it appears I was right. You may feel the need to restrain her, and I wouldn't oppose it."

Monet threw them all a dark look. "I dare any of you to try it!"

"There's no need to threaten them, Monet. I've made it quite impossible for anyone to leave the school. If you've tried any of the exits, you should have noticed a crimson barrier. It's designed solely to keep you in, and will remain until we return."

"Is Penny still alive?" Nicole asked softly.

There was a long pause. "Yes," Illyana said eventually. "For the moment. You have a message for her?"

"Tell her that I do love her, no matter what she thinks. And that Claudette will want to hold her hand at the end."

"I will tell her, Nicole," Illyana promised. "We should be done within a few hours. In the meantime, I think you should all let Douglas tell you about his dream."

"What good will that do?" Monet demanded.

"It will provide you all with a much better idea of why Penny feels the need to die."

888999000

"This really hurts," Penny noted from her spot on the ground as Illyana lowered the Soulsword again.

Illyana nodded as she carefully drew the blade across Penny's arm, leaving a very noticeable cut. "It's supposed to. Cyttorak's power isn't really intended for delicate work. Just be glad that it is able to make my Soulsword capable of cutting non-magical entities like yourself."

"So your deal with him is a good thing?"

"In many respects, yes. In some others, not so much. You don't have to concern yourself with it."

Penny stared at her. "Why not? We're friends, aren't we?"

Illyana blinked. "I... yes, I suppose we are. But you are going to die."

"So that means I can't worry about you?"

"It means that you have enough to worry about, Penny. You should be focusing on the task ahead of you and nothing else."

"I'm a St. Croix, Illyana. That means I'm a professional multitask worrier."

"Still, as you keep pointing out, we only get the one chance. I would rather get it right."

"Don't worry," Penny told her with a pained smile. "I know what went wrong the last time."

"Enlighten me," Illyana invited.

"Mother wasn't in control. She was desperate, heartbroken, and unable to focus properly."

"And you will be?"

"Yes," Penny replied. "If this works like you say it will."

"It will. The wounds will open and close on my command. You shouldn't die before I allow it." Illyana hesitated for a moment. "Maybe you should talk to Claudette before we go any further. Just in case you don't get another chance."

"It's fine," Penny assured her. "Claudette has been my confidant longer than any of you realize. She knows how I feel. That's why she's helping me, and why she's the only one I trusted with this."

"Then let me rephrase: talk to Claudette before we go any further. Even if you have an understanding, you're going to be dead, and then it'll be too late for anything. I won't have that on my conscience."

Penny sighed. "You're almost as bad as Monet, you know. You'll make an excellent big sister."

Illyana smirked at her. "Was that a compliment?"

"Merely a statement of fact, fearless leader."

"You said you weren't rejoining the team."

"Fearless co-conspirator doesn't have quite the same ring to it. And you are helping us in part so the blame won't fall solely on Claudette. No one is going to believe she talked you into it."

"I've done worse things, so I can live with this. But only if I know Claudette has closure. Nicole will hold me responsible for all that happens to her twin here. I will, as well."

"It won't be bad. You'll understand soon enough," Penny promised. She looked toward Claudette, who was standing a few feet away, and beckoned her closer.

Claudette came hesitantly, her blank gaze traveling over Penny's body and lingering on each wound.

Illyana began to step away to give them a few moments alone, but was surprised when Claudette seized her hand firmly.

"She doesn't want to be alone," Penny explained, taking Claudette's other hand. "Not now."

"I won't leave, Claudette," Illyana promised, but the strong grip on her hand did not loosen at all.

After a few moments, during which Illyana was sure much was said via the telepathic link between the two St. Croixs, Penny sighed and nodded. "Let's continue, Illyana."

"Fine. Brace yourself." Illyana tightened her grip on the Soulsword, forcing herself to watch as Penny's wounds opened and began to bleed, slowly but surely.

Once Doug finished revealing the details of his dream, no one spoke right away. He had at least expected Monet to continue doubting him, but she seemed to have retreated into herself, and had wrapped an arm firmly around Nicole's shoulders on her bed like a lifeline. Nicole was tolerating this rather well, but then Doug imagined that Monet hugged her sisters so infrequently that Nicole would never do anything to prevent one.

Piotr was seated on Claudette's bed with Jubilee, who now held Ferog in her lap. No further statements from Illyana had come via the little demon, not that they had exactly been expecting updates.

It was Nicole who finally broke the silence with a somewhat odd suggestion: "I think we should all cuddle."

Doug stared at her, certain he'd heard wrong. "Excuse me?"

"It always makes me feel better." She turned to Monet, who seemed just as hesitant as Doug. "Want to?"

"I'm not sure this is the best time, Nicole," Monet replied.

"It's the perfect time," Nicole insisted. "I cuddle best when I'm worried. Anyway, you never cuddle with me anymore."

"Because you aren't a child."

Nicole pouted. "So? Claudette and Jubilee still cuddle with me."

"And before you start calling it kid stuff, Monet," Jubilee added, "I'll have you know that X-Men are some of the best cuddlers around. Or they used to be, anyway."

Monet still looked reluctant, so Piotr intervened. "Your sister is only asking you to hold her, Monet. You don't know what I would give to hear the same from mine."

"You shouldn't wait for her to ask," Nicole said at once. "She shouldn't have to. No one should have to." As if to prove this, Nicole stood up and went to Jubilee, who welcomed her with open arms. "You missed your chance, Monet. Now you have to cuddle with Doug."

Doug scowled at her. "Sure, make it sound like a punishment."

"You can wait for Illyana to get back and ask her to cuddle with you, Doug. Peter, you can cuddle with us."

"Hold on. What if I want to cuddle with you guys?" Doug complained.

"You're not allowed. Jubilee's spoken for. And if you really want to cuddle with me, you can wait until Claudette gets back. It's almost the same. She'd enjoy it more, though. And she might get jealous if she saw me cuddling with you." Nicole grinned at him. "And there's always Monet."

Doug glanced at Monet awkwardly, and without a word shuffled over to Piotr, who draped an arm around him with a smirk. Thankfully, Monet seemed more relieved than insulted by this.

Hope Summers had been raised by a soldier. She was used to not sleeping through the night. She rarely allowed herself to, truth be told. So when Kitty Pryde shook her awake and said she was needed, Hope simply stood up and followed.

At first, it was nothing out of the ordinary. Hope followed Kitty to Cerebra, the mutant-detecting computer that had by now become a very familiar sight. The X-Men had long been in the business of finding, educating, and protecting new mutants, and Cerebra was often the first step in the program. Hope was often the second: simply by touching a newly manifested mutant, she could bring their power under control, make it her own, and potentially use it better than they ever could. She was typically deployed with a highly experienced X-Man, so that explained Kitty's involvement.

However, Hope saw right away that Cyclops was nowhere to be found. Instead, Emma Frost was standing before Cerebra's massive globe display, while the three Stepford Cuckoos sat at the console, one of them wearing the interface helmet.

"We have a bit of a situation on our hands, Hope," Emma said without turning around. "Cyclops is currently at a press conference with the Avengers. Hopefully, this matter will simply be a happy footnote in the log by the time he returns."

Hope's gaze went to the glowing blip on the globe, clearly labeled as being in Westchester, New York. "You seem concerned. How is this any different from what I normally do?"

"Because this X-gene activation is not just in New York. It's at the Massachusetts Academy, which means Illyana's team is involved. That she didn't call us means she wants to keep it private. She knows better. We can't ignore even a single new mutant in this day and age. So why she thinks we wouldn't respond to two is beyond me."

"There are two?" Hope asked in surprise.

"Yes. And knowing the history of the team, I'd bet several of my millions that they're another set of St. Croix twins, and that their powers are substantial, varied, and unstable. So I need you to get this done, quickly and quietly. Cyclops won't appreciate this becoming a scene, and Illyana won't appreciate you making it one. However, I don't expect her to be entirely cooperative, so I'm sending Dani Moonstar with you."

Hope frowned. She had... issues with Dani. Some of Dani's friends had gotten hurt providing a distraction while Hope had first arrived on Utopia, and Dani had never really gotten over it. Some people had even died. Blows had been exchanged, but Utopia had come under attack before anything was settled. Emma either didn't know about their issues (highly unlikely), didn't care, or was viewing this as a chance to force them to patch things up.

Kitty seemed to pick up on this, because she cleared her throat and said, "I could go with them."

Emma spared her a frown, clearly thinking what Hope was: that Kitty and Illyana had parted on bad terms, and that including her was a bad call. That begged the question of why she was volunteering to go at all. Hope figured it out a moment after Emma seemed to: Kitty wasn't going for Illyana. Kitty was going for her ex-boyfriend Peter. That still didn't make it a good idea, but if things did get dicey, having a teammate who could become intangible might be a real help. Especially if things went sour with Dani again.

"Fine," Emma answered after a long moment. "Pixie is with Cyclops, so you'll need to-"

"Excuse me, Miss Frost," one of the Stepford Cuckoos interrupted, "but we have a situation at the transport bay. Colossus is there with a small demon. They appear to have teleported in, and are awaiting Hope's arrival."

Emma scowled. "Oh, now they're just showing off."

Five minutes later, Hope was in the transport bay, trying to decide what she should say. As far as she knew, Illyana and Piotr held no grudge against her personally, though she wouldn't have been surprised at all if they took issue with what she represented. Dani apparently had, and so had many others. Hope decided to keep it simple and straightforward: she walked right up to Piotr and offered her hand. "Hi, Peter."

"Hello, Hope. It's nice to see you again." He looked at her hand, obviously hesitant. "Is this okay?"

"Is what okay?" she asked, genuinely lost.

"Me touching you."

She stared at him. "What?"

"I'm sure you've been told what I have inside of me."

"Yes," Hope said slowly. "What does that have to do with you offending me by not shaking my hand? Because that's what you're doing, by the way: offending me."

"I don't mean to. But we may not exactly be... compatible."

Hope frowned at him. "Peter, it's a handshake, not a marriage. I think I'll survive. What you really mean is that you don't want to get your Juggernaut germs on me, right?" He didn't answer right away, and it was hard to tell in his organic steel form, but Hope got the distinct impression that he was blushing. "Oh, you big silly. Look, you're not contagious. Even if you were, I've touched Bastion, and I doubt you've got anything worse than he does. Now shake my hand, before I take your power and beat you up with it. Don't think for a second that I won't."

Definitely blushing this time, Piotr carefully shook her hand. Hope thought about tapping into his power and giving him a good squeeze, but decided she'd teased him enough for the time being. "So, do you want to tell me how Illyana ended up with two new mutants on her hands?"

"It wasn't really her choice. The situation is... complicated."

"Well, if I'm expected to uncomplicate it, some details would be nice. Can you at least tell me their names?"

"I don't know their names," Piotr admitted. "I was sent here before I could find out. Illyana insisted. She wanted me here before you left."

"Sounds like she hasn't changed much," Dani commented as she walked over with Kitty. "Peter, why did she send you and not Doug?"

"Doug is busy right now," Piotr explained. "The two new mutants aren't exactly speaking just yet. Anyway, Claudette didn't want him to leave, and Illyana agreed."

"How young are they?" Hope asked.

Piotr paused to think. "Between six and ten, I guess, but I don't think that's why they aren't talking yet. As I said, it's complicated, and Illyana can probably explain it best." He tried not to be obvious about it, but his gaze drifted quickly to Kitty and then away. "You're all coming?"

"Unless some of us are unwelcome?" Kitty asked in a clear challenge.

"Illyana did not seem concerned about which X-Men I brought back, and she knew Hope would be among them, so I assume you are all welcome. If I'm wrong, we'll find out together." Piotr turned his head slightly. "Ferog?"

At once, a small, ugly, green demon crawled onto Piotr's shoulder, clearly having been clinging to his broad back the entire time. Ferog looked at each young woman for an instant, and then a portal opened up around their feet.

"Maybe they're not going to talk," Jubilee was saying as the group walked into the kitchen. "Maybe they're both autistic like Claudette."

"Don't even joke about that," Monet snapped, then looked up to see Piotr, Hope, Dani, and Kitty crowded around the doorway. "Oh. Welcome, everyone. Sorry if we don't seem more hospitable, but it's been a very trying time for all of us."

No one was really listening to Monet, and for good reason. Seated between her and Jubilee at the table was a sleeping young boy. He was very obviously naked: a blanket had been draped over his shoulders, but this left plenty of his bronzed skin on display. The family resemblance between he and Monet was very striking, and if everyone present had not known better, they might have mistook him for Monet's son.

"I'd like you all to meet my nephew," Monet added, lightly touching the boy's shoulder. "Nikolas Sean Everett Rasputin St. Croix."

"Is it really necessary to tell us his whole name?" Kitty asked.

Monet looked offended. "I should think so. He just received it, and I haven't had a chance to present him to anyone else."

"You make it sound like he was just born or something," Dani muttered.

Jubilee smirked. "You actually just missed the birthday party. We had cupcakes and everything."

"I told you it was complicated," Piotr sighed as Dani and Kitty exchanged looks of disbelief.

Hope knelt down beside Nikolas, her eyes trained on his face. "Did he not want clothes?"

"We tried to give him some," Jubilee admitted. "They all burst into flames as soon as they touched his skin. We were only able to talk him into the blanket because it doesn't cover him completely. Little dude does not like to be confined."

"Perhaps a different approach might be useful." Hope looked at Monet. "May I?"

Monet nodded. "But keep in mind that we don't have too many spare outfits at the moment."

Hope gently placed her hand on the boy's head. Nikolas opened his eyes slowly, and they took on a distinct orange glow as he stared at Hope curiously. After several moments, Hope removed her hand, and Nikolas smiled briefly before closing his eyes again.

"Well, he's not going to wear anything else today, but there's a very good reason for it: he's absorbing heat," Hope said. "His power, it's... light. Not control over, or manipulation of, just... light. I don't know how else to explain it. The important thing is that he's stable and comfortable. He'll accept clothes when he's ready, but you may want to get him some mesh tops and shorts. He's going to love sunbathing. In the nude, most likely, so be warned." She paused and added, "He mentioned a sister. Where is she?"

"Basement, with 'Yana, Nicole, Claudette, and Doug," Jubilee replied. "Oh, I guess that makes her power dark. That explains a lot, actually."

"Such as?" Hope asked.

"Why she followed 'Yana to the basement at all, why she would only wear black, and why she won't eat anything except raisins and licorice. Doug's trying to get her to talk, since Nicky here got bored with him and fell asleep. It wasn't going well last I checked. Maybe she doesn't like his hair."

"Because it's light?" Kitty guessed. "Then why would she follow Illyana anywhere?"

Jubilee rolled her eyes. "I dunno, Pryde. Probably the same reason all those demons do."

Kitty blinked. "Oh. Well, there is that."

"Cassie, honey? Want some more raisins?" Nicole asked, giving the little box in her hand a few shakes.

The girl seated next to her on the basement floor did not answer with words, but she did extend her cupped hands quickly enough to show that she was still very hungry. But that was likely going to be an issue, until they found something she would eat beyond raisins and licorice. And Monet had taken away the licorice and insisted on the raisins after a while.

Illyana could already tell that Cassandra Jubilation Paige Rasputin St. Croix would always be a real handful, and not just because of her long name. She was moody, silent, and already very much spoiled. Illyana couldn't decide if it was because she was the female twin, or because of the two, she was the one that most resembled Claudette in both appearance and mannerisms. Like her brother, she had not spoken at all yet, but in this case Illyana felt sure it was simply a matter of choice: Cassie didn't want to talk, and clearly would not need to for some time. Either Nicole or Claudette was at her side constantly, so that when she did finally give them a better idea of what she wanted, they would be able to bring it to her immediately.

The problem was that Cassie already knew what she wanted, she just wasn't willing to communicate it so clearly. At least, not to her family. Not yet.

Illyana had come to the basement to get away from all the noise and excitement of the twins' birthday party. Within minutes, Cassie had followed her, clothed in a set of academy issued black t-shirt and matching jeans, both emblazoned with a gold X. Thinking she'd wanted to be alone, Illyana had started to leave, but Cassie had tried to follow her then, too. Not willing to argue with a girl that wasn't even a whole day old yet, Illyana had selected a corner and planted herself in it, trying to seem as unapproachable as possible. It usually worked, but nothing about that day had been usual, so of course Cassie hadn't taken the hint right away.

Cassie got away with touching Illyana the one time, but after that Illyana made it very clear that she didn't go for that sort of thing. At least not with people she didn't know well. Cassie had wisely backed off. But only a few feet. This made it clear to Illyana that Cassie wanted to be around her, for some unknown reason. So long as Cassie remained quiet and still, Illyana supposed she could accept this, for the moment.

But then the older twins had come marching in, worried about their new niece. Claudette had insisted on bringing a platter full of food from the party, all of which Cassie had ignored upstairs, and thus continued to ignore in the basement. Illyana understood why now: all of the food had been brightly colored. Cassie had mostly frowned at it and then turned away. Nicole, frantic with worry that Cassie wouldn't eat, had begun pulling together every sort of food she could find in the school. The raisins had been a happy accident: Cassie spotted a lone piece of raisin toast, picked out the raisins to eat separately, and took a single bite of toast before dropping it to focus on the raisins. It just so happened that most of the darkly-colored foods in the school were either chocolate-based or loaded with sugar, and Monet had refused to let anyone give Cassie the lion's share of it. "I have absolutely no desire to test whether or not she has a healing factor by giving her a mouthful of cavities," Monet had stated firmly. So far as Illyana knew, Jubilee could at that very moment have been upstairs mixing a huge pot of black food coloring in the hopes that Cassie would accept food that wasn't dark-colored naturally. Monet had of course protested Jubilee's initial idea of drowning all of the food in milk chocolate, but it was pretty clear that Cassie at least wouldn't have minded the chocolate by itself.

As far as interacting with others, Cassie so far had not shown a clear preference for any of her aunts. She had already begun to associate Nicole and Claudette with food delivery, however, and turning to them was a clear sign that she was hungry. Monet had earned a very notable frown when she took away the licorice, but Cassie would at least look at her briefly if she was in the room. Cassie had not reacted at all to Doug, who had tried several languages on her (and considering this was Doug, "several" was more in the neighborhood of several hundred). Illyana believed this was solely because Cassie had known, at a glance, that he was not related to her, possessed nothing that interested her, and therefore was entirely unimportant to her. Beyond that, Illyana suspected that Cassie could speak any language Penny had, which at least covered English and French, which had been Doug's first two tries with no success. Illyana had not said outright that Cassie was simply refusing to speak, but at the very least she paid attention and understood when Nicole talked. Also, Claudette had hugged Cassie and petted her hair a few times, which Illyana took to be the chief way they communicated: Cassie hadn't even allowed Nicole to do that much, possibly because she already knew that Claudette wasn't actually going to talk to her aloud, while Nicole had never really stopped doing so.

"She's not talking," Doug said suddenly.

Illyana glanced at him, having forgotten he was even there. "No," she agreed. "But she understands. I know she does."

"Okay." It was a sign of his trust in her that he didn't question how she knew, and Illyana appreciated it. "I wish she would talk, though. I mean, it would be okay if she was autistic, too, but we at least need to confirm that. The sooner the better."

"I don't think she's autistic. I think she's spoiled and bratty and-"

Cassie's cool gaze slid over to her with an almost audible snap.

"She understands," Doug agreed. He fired off a series of sentences in rapid French that Illyana did not completely follow. She got the basic idea, however, when Cassie's cheeks glowed and she hid her face in her knees, while Nicole smirked at him with her eyebrows raised.

"I don't think comparing her beauty to that of a goddess is going to make her less spoiled, Douglas," Illyana sighed.

"No, but it goes a long way in reassuring me that she isn't autistic, so that's something. Which reminds me, where did Claudette disappear to?"

"Back upstairs in the hopes of finding something else Cassie will eat, no doubt. Monet was tactless, but she did have a point: they can't just keep feeding her sweets. Not unless converting sugar into energy is part of her mutant power, and trust me, new mutants are rarely so blessed."

Doug was about to agree when Claudette reappeared in their midst. Hijacking Illyana's power had become something of a hobby for her by now. Illyana would have been annoyed, except that this often took the stress of teleporting the others off of her, so in that respect she didn't mind it one bit. Of greater importance was the fact that Claudette was carrying a tray loaded with food... and it was all very black. And not all of it in the way that it had merely been dipped in food coloring, either. Before anyone could stop her, Claudette set the tray down in front of Cassie, grinning as if she had just had the best idea ever.

Cassie picked up what seemed to be a thin slice of meat, positively dripping with some black liquid. She stared at it, and then at Claudette. Illyana had to inwardly applaud this: Cassie at least suspected this was not normal food presentation.

As if to prove the meat safe, Claudette tore off a piece and ate it herself. When this only left her with stained lips, Cassie began to eat as well. She did not appear to be enjoying the meal, but she was clearly hungry, and this was the most halfway appealing and varied food she'd been shown in the past few minutes. And she would have to talk to complain, so there was that as well.

Nicole joined them, looking a little green. Claudette presenting her with a soggy, black loaf of wheat bread did not help, but Nicole at least sniffed it before making a face. "Well, that explains the smell."

"It's not old, is it?" Doug asked.

"I think it would be impossible to tell even if it was, Doug. Between the soy sauce and the food coloring-"

Doug winced. "Both?"

"Don't look at me! I'm the good twin!" Nicole cried defensively.

Claudette frowned at her.

Nicole wasn't backing down. "Well, I am! I'd never feed you this stuff! The worst thing I ever gave you was too much cotton candy, and you asked for that!"

They were still arguing (Claudette telepathically and Nicole aloud) when Hope Summers appeared on the stairs. No one else seemed to notice her, at first. Illyana did because Cassie abruptly stopped eating and scooted closer to her. As close as she could without actually touching her, frankly. It was a clear sign in Illyana's eyes, so for the moment, she suspended her no touching rule and draped a reassuring arm around Cassie's shoulders. Cassie seemed to appreciate it, if the way she shrank against Illyana's side was any indicator. While Illyana could guess as to why Cassie might not want to be around Hope, this was more than simple dislike: she was afraid of Hope, and she had been afraid of no one else so far.

Hope picked up on this and kept her distance, but it was clear why she was there. "Illyana, are we going to have a problem? You know I'm only here to help, even if you didn't ask."

Illyana glanced at Cassie, who was frowning at Hope. "I assume you've already helped Nikolas, so thank you for that. You are welcome to stay the night, but you will not be touching Cassie until and unless she permits it. Right now, I can assure you, she wants nothing to do with you."

"She doesn't know what I can do for her."

"Actually, I think you're wrong. I think she knows exactly what you would do, and she doesn't want that."

Hope frowned. "Then I need for her to tell me-"

"Go away."

Everyone froze.

Cassie spoke again, this time reinforcing her words with a telepathic echo so they could not be mistaken. "Go away!"

Hope stared at her, less surprised and more concerned. "Cassie, I won't hurt you. I promise. Ask your brother."

Cassie shook her head firmly. "I don't need to. I don't want to touch you. I don't want you to touch me. I just want you to leave!"

Hope extended her hand. "I can help you control your power, if-"

What little light there was in the room vanished, leaving them all in total darkness. When she spoke again, Cassie's voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. "I have control. I don't need help. I want to be left alone. Leave!"

Hope sighed. "I can't do that, Cassie. For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Her body burst into flames at once, but flames that only surrounded and provided light, and did not burn.

Cassie shrank back, clinging to Illyana, who moved the younger girl behind her.

"I won't say it again, Hope," Illyana stated calmly. "You won't touch her unless she wants you to. She doesn't, so you have no further business here."

"You'd really risk her power slipping beyond her control, without knowing what she's fully capable of?" Hope shook her head. "I'd hoped the rumors about you were wrong, Illyana. Are you really so eager to watch the world burn?"

"I made a promise to her mother," Illyana replied. "I intend to keep it. I won't let anyone interfere. Maybe I can't exactly kill you, not really, but I can hurt you badly, if you force it. I can make you wish you were dead. All I need is a reason, Hope. Cassie is reason enough."

Before Hope could act, Claudette moved past her, planting herself directly between Hope and Illyana. Nicole joined her, and so did Doug.

Hope stared at them all. "None of you realize what you're really doing here. She could be dangerous."

"Says the mutant messiah who can use any power she wishes," Doug pointed out with a smirk. "We have more experience with St. Croix genetics than you do, Hope. No offense, but you're out of your league on this one. And even if we couldn't all defeat you, the fact that we're willing to try despite knowing that should mean something."

"I'm not so sure about that," Hope replied. "Maybe you don't understand what my touch is like, Doug. I touched Nikolas. I know him inside and out. I know his thoughts, his dreams, his fears. I know what he'll one day become, and I know exactly what he is now. One touch told me all that. And it also told me that as powerful as he'll one day be, Cassie will be even stronger. She'll always be the stronger twin, and she'll always be the most dangerous. I don't think she genuinely wants to be. But I also don't think she has much choice. You really need to let me touch her. I can temper her power, make it safe for her to use."

"You mean restrict her," Doug corrected, instantly reading the half-truth in Hope's words. "Seal away part of her power temporarily."

"Yes," Hope admitted. "She is dangerous. This will protect everyone, her included. It isn't fair, but it is what's best."

"This isn't about Cassie being dangerous," Nicole disagreed. "This is about you not trusting us to keep her in line. Well, if that's what you think, then screw you! After the hell that Penny lived through, you really think we'd be so careless with her children? If you have so little faith in us, then you should have brought a lot more X-Men. Because it's going to take more than just you to lock me up again, Hope."

Hope smiled sadly. "You can't see the big picture because you love her so desperately, Nicole. This isn't about you, it's about her, and the rest of the world. Mutants are an endangered species as it is. We can't afford to have even one running loose that might make us all extinct."

Illyana stepped forward, moving in front of her team, and stated very clearly, "We already told you: no touching. So you can either leave or fight, but boring us to death with a speech won't work."

"No," said a voice from the stairs. "No fighting."

Nikolas appeared on the stairs, leading Monet by the hand. He still wore no clothes, but still had a blanket draped loosely around his shoulders.

Hope smiled and stepped back, gesturing for Nikolas to join her. He did so happily, taking her hand in his free one. "Nikolas, please talk to your sister. Explain to her that I only want to help her, the way I helped you."

With a nod, Nikolas released their hands and approached Cassie, who finally drew herself up to her full height and moved into the open to face him. Her face remained expressionless, but Nikolas greeted her with a bright smile.

"My sister, my twin," Nikolas said. "Hope will not hurt you."

This statement brought a very clear reaction to Cassie's face: sadness. "You are my brother," she whispered with regret, "but we are no longer twins. You let her change you. Now it is too late." She shook her head and backed away, running to Claudette, who embraced her at once. "Would you have her 'fix' Claudette, too? I love her as she is, and would let no one alter her. But you have changed who you are, without even trying to be who Mother meant for you to be. I am as she made me, and I choose to stay that way."

Nikolas shook his head. "Mother spent her existence afraid of what she had become. Thanks to Hope, I will never know that fear. My powers are firmly under my control now."

"That's because they've been weakened. And when you finally do reach your peak again, you'll be entirely unprepared. But I will have spent years learning the full extent of my true power, and you will never be my equal. Hope hasn't made you better. She's just made you easier to control, and I pity you." Cassie shook her head. "Go with her. I can barely stand to look at you now." In more ways than one, she turned her back on him.

Nikolas reached out for, possibly only intending to grasp her shoulder. Cassie, however, apparently took the gesture another way. There was a blur a movement, a soft cry of pain and dismay, and suddenly everything fell into place with undeniable finality. Nikolas had fallen back into Monet's arms, his palm bleeding heavily, and his eyes wide with shock and understanding. Cassie had lowered herself into an all too familiar crouch, her entire body now covered in solid black, razor-sharp armor, so much like her mother's. Her fingers, now expanded to twice their original length, still dripped with her brother's blood.

An instant later, the armor was gone, and Cassie was left staring at the blood on her hand. "Never try to touch me," she said slowly, "without my permission. I may not have all the control I need, but I have enough for now." Her gaze slid to Hope. "You've ruined my brother, and I'll never forgive you. You're responsible for him now, and I think you should both leave."

Monet and Hope stood up as Illyana walked into the kitchen the following morning. Nikolas remained seated at the table, picking at his cereal with unfocused eyes.

"I've spoken to Cassie at length," Illyana said. "Her position has not changed, and honestly, I think that may be for the best. Keeping the twins together would clearly result in more harm being done to one or both."

"So you want to split them up," Monet voiced, looking upset.

"The next cut might be in a vital place," Illyana replied, gesturing at Nikolas's bandaged hand. "Cassie still loves him, but until she is willing to learn to like him, they are better off separated. I suggest that you take him to Utopia where his power can be properly explored, and so no further interference will be considered necessary."

"I was only trying to help," Hope insisted.

"Of that I have no doubt. But what you managed to do instead was turn them against each other. I think they could do with a little less of that kind of help." Illyana paused and smirked. "You know, Douglas told me there was a reason why the St. Croixs remained unfinished X-Men business for so long. Now I finally understand why. They were never the sort of mutants that could be properly handled by the X-Men, at least not to begin with. I don't intend to make that mistake with Cassie."

"You're suggesting you know better than I how to raise her?" Monet challenged.

"Of course not. But I had some ideas, and Cassie seems receptive to them so far. More importantly, she seems to really like some of Nicole's suggestions. We're thinking of taking a little field trip to calm everyone down. Nowhere heavily populated, of course, but it will give Cassie a chance to stretch her legs and do some sightseeing."

"You plan to take a newly born, untrained mutant girl out into public?" Hope asked in shock.

Illyana beamed at her.

"No, she didn't say that," Monet added, quickly catching on. "She never said it would be a public place, anyway. It could easily be some demon-infested dimension."

Illyana looked offended. "I wouldn't do that. Cassie isn't nearly old enough, for one thing. Maybe once she's legal, but certainly not now."

Monet glared at her. "If you don't intend to let the X-Men help, exactly who are you going to let help?"

"Your problem, Monet, is that you've been associated with them for so long that you fail to recognize there are others who can help mutants. It all depends on who you know, and fortunately, Nicole is far more people-friendly than you are."

In her years as a mother, Susan Richards had learned one very important rule: never trust a smiling kid. Especially not when they possessed a portion of her DNA. Franklin had, thankfully, mostly grown out of the stage where he felt the desire to lie to her. Valeria, unfortunately, was not only smack dab in the middle of that phase, but had arguably invented it and held the patents on it as well. Worse, Valeria's lies tended to be less of the "I snuck a few cookies before dinner" type, and more of the "I accidentally armed a nuclear warhead and have it stashed in my closet" variety. Still, they were both good kids, or at least they made a genuine effort not to do anything that someone might consider blatantly evil.

In other words, Susan made a point of checking on the kids several times every hour. Of course, her definition of "the kids" had been under near constant revision since the start of Future Foundation, as her own children were almost never alone anymore, and certainly not the only child-like personalities Susan now had to deal with. But she was nothing if not flexible, and even if her kids were annoyed by her frequent checks, Susan preferred to err on the side of caution, especially if it kept their home intact, or at least less damaged than had become expected.

There were, for example, very well established rules on any of the kids having friends over. While the Baxter Building certainly had plenty of space in it to accommodate visitors, the fact was that many of the typical visitors were either mutants or various other beings with superpowers, so each one had to be carefully considered before they were allowed entrance.

For example, there was the St. Croix rule: no more than one St. Croix in the building at one time. This had come about when it was discovered that Valeria and Nicole had secretly been e-mail pen pals for almost a year before Franklin made his parents aware of it. And he had only done that because Valeria had threatened to give Nicole permission to marry Franklin if he told on them. Apparently terrified at the idea, Franklin had remained silent until he overheard Valeria actually invite Nicole over. He had promptly gone to his parents, told them everything, and then hid in a pocket dimension of his own making until he was reassured that Nicole was not coming over. Ever. Valeria had pouted about it for almost two weeks, but was allowed to remain in contact with Nicole solely because Reed felt that having a semi-regular idea of what Nicole was up to could only be a good thing for everyone involved. And apparently, Nicole was still hoping that Franklin would come to his senses one day and agree to marry her. Franklin, on the other hand, was perfectly happy that his parents still considered him not ready to date, and he still had a tendency to vanish for hours any time Nicole's name was mentioned.

But it was firmly understood that Nicole should call first, and that she should speak to an adult in that call and obtain permission from them to visit, before she actually set foot in the building. And, according to the rule, that she should come alone. It wasn't that they had anything against Claudette. All things considered, they would have preferred Claudette to be the one visiting: she was quiet and marginally better behaved, anyway. She also had no romantic interest in Franklin, although she had once engaged him in an intense series of chess games that lasted six hours with no bathroom breaks, and so their play had to be closely monitored.

Susan was scanning the morning news reports for anything that might require her attention when Nicole poked her head into the room.

"Hi, Mrs. Richards!" Nicole said brightly, beaming at her.

Susan immediately abandoned the news search. "Nicole, honey, what did we talk about?" she asked sternly.

"I know, I know!" Nicole said quickly, looking nervous as she slipped into the room. "But it was an emergency and I knew you guys were the only ones I could ask for help!"

"And you didn't call first because?"

"I just knew you'd say yes! And it was sort of a time-sensitive emergency!"

Susan took a deep breath and released it. "What's your emergency?" she sighed.

Nicole relaxed somewhat. "I was pregnant. Well, with child. And now I'm not. Or still sort of am."

Susan stared at her hard. On the very long list of things that she never wanted to have to do with Nicole, educating her about sex was at the top of the list. Of course, there was always the chance that Nicole was joking. Her jokes did tend to be horribly unfunny, as she usually told them when she was anxious and trying to hide what she would no doubt soon be in trouble for. "I need you to tell me exactly what happened, Nicole. I can't help or make any sense of this until then."

"Okay," Nicole replied. "My other sister Penny died and left me and Claudette two kids to take care of, so now we're aunts, only they're less kids and more little people, but Nicky's going to stay with the X-Men, and we need a place where Cassie can learn all about herself, and I thought here would be great, so please don't send us away?" She ended this with a pleading stare that had surely melted many hearts.

Susan was thoroughly unimpressed. "That would work better if you hadn't opened with the pregnant joke. I'm having a hard time thinking of you as cute or a kid right now."

"Please, Mrs. Richards!" Nicole begged. "Cassie needs us, and we need you!"

"Define 'us' for me," Susan demanded at once.

Nicole hesitated. "Me and Claudette. But the team would want to visit."

"What team?"

"There's Jubilee and Peter and Doug. And Illyana is our leader, except when she's being a lying sourpuss, but we're working her through it so that she only lies to everyone else for us instead."

Susan recognized all but one of the names, having taken several calls from the X-Men over the years. But the ones she did know sounded like bigger complications, and only made her less comfortable with Nicole's presence. "So long as they're not all here right now, I... what?" She had noticed the telltale way Nicole's face had fallen.

"Maybe I should have called first," Nicole murmured sadly.

Susan bit back the urge to groan, which was sorely tested when Jubilee also stuck her head through the doorway. "In our defense, we did tell Nicole to call first, but she said you guys were cool with uninvited guests," Jubilee added.

"No, I said they could easily handle uninvited guests," Nicole corrected. "You should see the laser grid they've got in the-"

"Stop talking," Susan interrupted. She pointed firmly at Nicole. "You will round up all of your... friends, put them in one room, and see that they stay there. No, the room cannot be Franklin's. I'll get some snacks for everyone, and then we can discuss if anyone will be staying."

Spider-Man's upside-down head appeared just above Jubilee's. "Hey, Susie! They followed me home! Can't I keep 'em? Lookit, they're so cute..."

Susan glared at him. "You've officially taken this 'friendly neighborhood' gimmick a bit too far."

Concluded in Chapter 8: Night and Day

Illyana reaches an understanding with Reed Richards, which is to say that no one gets kicked out (much to Franklin's horror). A crisis forces Penny's twins to work together.

Endnotes:

I am admittedly not really a true fan of the Fantastic Four, but something about Spidey in white just speaks to me.

I do not imagine it would be all that difficult for Valeria and Nicole to meet. As often as Leech seems to get kidnapped, I would think keeping current contact info on him at all times would be a must for anywhere he ever officially lived, just to make sure he hasn't gone missing to turn up as a pawn in an evil plot yet again. Aside from that, Franklin himself is a former Massachusetts Academy ward and a rather powerful mutant, so I suspect the St. Croix twins would want to stay in touch with him, as well.