"The Friends of Humanity....are being their usual charming self," Chloe remarked as she shook her head as her eyes fixed onto Harry and Gwen. "The good news is that I'm going to see what I can do to expose their crusade."
Harry smiled at her. "Play your cards right and you might have your turn."
Chloe smiled, she intended to do that and even more. The blonde without the headband made her way into the chambers.
"Friends of Humanity....are being their usual charming self," Chloe remarked as she shook her head as her eyes fixed onto Harry and Gwen. "The good news is that I'm going to see what I can do about to expose their crusade."
"Mutants, humans, we're all people who deserve a fair shake," Harry said as they made their way down from one level towards the sitting room.
"Right, some of us are good, some of us are dicks, that's just the way things are," Chloe remarked as she placed her hand on her cheek. "I didn't want to believe racism could be this prolific in the 21st century."
"Sadly, some people fear what is different from them," Gwen sighed as the trio kept walking down the hallway.
"So how's your work at the lab?" Harry asked her.
Gwen's face contorted into a slight ghost of a smile and she proceeded to let him in on what he wanted to know. "Well so far things are going pretty well, at least there has not been any more mysterious scientific projects that blew up in my face."
"Nine times out of ten that could kill someone," Chloe said in a completely serious voice. "It's just as well that you get super powers off of it."
"Well, I'm still working out the kinks, although Harry, thank you for making sure that I didn't go insane from the sensations," Gwen commented as she leaned forward and kissed him.
"So how was your associate at the school?" Harry asked them. "You know, Doctor Fine."
"Well....I know you don't trust him and he does seem to have come out of nowhere," Chloe remarked to him and an eyebrow raised as Harry waved his hand and motioned for her to continue. "So, I was curious with what he did, I mean he says he's done a lot of things, wrote books, given college level lectures, and debated on several of the problems of the world."
"But did he really?" Harry asked.
Chloe decided to smile widely as she dropped the bombshell on him. "Actually, he's pretty much everything that he says he is. I couldn't believe it any more than you did, but it's the truth. The guy's done everything that he said he has."
Harry placed a hand on his hip and wondered about this. There were times where he doubted even the official facts.
"He does have a hobby where he collects model cities in bottles or so the grapevine states, but....I don't think that's anything to be too alarmed by," Chloe concluded.
Harry's eyes narrowed as he ran over the scenario in his mind combing it for something suspicious.
"Maybe not," he said as he ran his fingers through his hair.
Harry felt that there was a few times where it seemed the questions kept getting changed. His green eyes flashed with amusement as he thought about everything that transpired.
"Gwen!" Kitty called her from the next room.
Gwen saw that her clothes was in disarray, so there was no question what her and Harry were doing before she got here. The blonde's grin got even wider as she placed a hand on her hip and kept thinking about everything that could have happened and then having it done to her.
While she was here, she intended to score herself a piece of Harry as well.
"Hey, Kitty, long time, no see," Gwen told her with a wide smile across her face.
Kara, Jean, Rogue, and Rachel all filtered in with Wanda as well. Harry and Chloe hung back with each other.
"Are you sure about going up against the Friends of Humanity this heavily?" Harry asked Chloe and the blonde's mouth curled into a smile.
"Yes, Harry, I'm sure, that I'm sure," she told him and there was so much conviction present in her eyes that it was amazing. Their eyes met each other. "Would you sit down and let the Friends of Humanity stomp you over?"
Harry shook his head.
"That's different but...you know there are indirect ways to hurt the Friends of Humanity," Harry remarked as he stepped towards her. "And you figure that if enough pressure gets put on that school by lobbyists, the Torch will shut down due to lack of funding."
Chloe had not really considered that.
"Which means, someone else should fund it, that way the administration at the school can't have any pull over it," Harry informed her and Chloe's arms folded over each other.
"So are you offering?" Chloe asked to him. "What's this going to cost me?"
"Nothing for now, just make sure that mutants get a fair stance, although if some of us do something stupid, we should get called out on in but it should be a balanced stance," Harry said to her.
"Lois got so many death threats for her last article that compared The Friends of Humanity to the KKK," Chloe said to him and there was a smile that crossed her face. "And she didn't even sugarcoat it."
"Jameson doesn't back down, he'll go toe to toe with Creed," Harry told her and Chloe smiled. "So, are you looking forward to the Dazzler concert?"
"Yeah, Harry, I really am," Chloe admitted, trying not to seem like she was too excited. "Although I wonder....there's been rumors that there's someone who is trying to get the concert canceled."
"Why?" Harry asked her looking for an explanation.
"Well, there was an equipment malfunction at the last concert and a couple of the backup dancers were burned," Chloe told him with a grimace. "They were okay, but what if it's a fan next time?"
Harry had to agree about that, what if it was a fan?
"I don't believe in something like that being a coincidence,' Harry told her.
"You wouldn't....but I kind of agree with you," Chloe replied as she leaned against the wall.
"A hater or an obsessed stalker who got turned down hard?"
They turned around and saw Kitty standing there.
"Bedazzled is going to be the best show on Earth, I can't wait to see it,' Kitty said to them with a wide smile crossing her face.
"I'm glad to see that your excited," Harry told her and the group made their way towards the sitting room where they were going to hang out for a night and watch a movie.
They entered the room and Kara was sitting on the couch. Harry took a seat next to Kara and Kitty sat down on the other side of Harry. Jean and Rachel were on the chairs on the left and Rogue and Wanda were in the chairs on the right. Amara walked in to join them, along with M'gann and Megan and more chairs manifested for them.
"Magic's a really wonderful thing, isn't it?" Gwen asked Chloe.
Amara sat down, she got news back from home that her father was ill but she decided not to think about that too much. After all, her father was someone who was made of an iron will and would not back down from anything, so he would beat this illness. She had no reason to think that it was too serious.
"Is the movie about to start?" Amara asked.
"Yeah, you didn't miss anything," Harry told her and she smiled.
"Great," Amara said in a joyful voice.
Wanda was glad to be here among friends and she thought that these were the simple pleasures that most people took for granted. Yet, she cherished them after her time in the asylum.
"So, how's Peter doing?" Harry asked Gwen.
"He's going after some guy named Herman," Gwen told him.
"What kind of criminal is called Herman?" Kara asked her curiously.
"I don't know, that's what Peter's told me," Gwen remarked as she shrugged her shoulders.
Chloe smiled. She figured out the Spider-Man thing a long time ago but....that was going to be Peter's business and not her's.
The movie started and the group relaxed, eating popcorn merrily.
"Harry, there's a call, someone is here to see you, it's urgent."
Lily's voice called him and Harry excused himself.
Jean sensed that there was something happening now and she followed Harry as well, with Rogue, Rachel, Wanda, Kara, and Kitty trailing behind them as well.
"Where Harry Potter goes, several women follow," Chloe commented and Gwen smiled. "Not that I blame them."
Harry walked his way to see what was happening and who was going to come calling with him at the Stronghold.
A young woman stood outside the corridors of the office and awaited for the person that she was going to meet to come and meet her. She crossed her arms and proceeded to tap the fingers of her right hand nervously along her left forearm.
She was a fairly tall woman, there was an oriental caste to her face with purple hair framing it and she had alluring purple eyes as well. Her lips were plump and quite kissable, and tanned skin. She had a nice chest that was wrapped in a tight black t-shirt that showed her toned stomach. A pair of tight leather pants wrapped around her supple ass and she shifted herself as she flickered her eyes forward. The young woman waited patiently for him to arrive.
Her name was Elizabeth Braddock. The twenty year old British Woman swayed herself back and forth as she placed her hands on her hips. She was part of a British team of super heroes that had since broken up, pretty much a UK equivalent of the X-Men.
Right now, she was waiting for the young man that had made waves around the world and she bit down on her lip as time ticked by.
'Well, he doesn't seem to be one to leave a woman waiting,' she commented as she watched. She was the pinnacle of female perfection and she heard rumors, whispers of what he was like and how he was the dream of many women.
She noticed that his school was made of nothing but females, which was interesting. Then again, Betsy figured out that he liked what he liked.
"Miss Braddock I presume?"
The young British mutant turned to face him, her eyes blinking as she got a look at him, traveling up and down his body, using her eyes to give visual stimulation as her heart pattered within her chest. The woman's smile widened as she took a few seconds to really appreciate what he had to offer. There was one thought that popped into her mind.
'Absolutely gorgeous,' she thought to herself as her smile widen but she cleared her throat and her eyes focused on him as she turned towards him, doing her best to not get lost in his eyes.
"Sorry, just got lost in my thoughts for a moment, yes, Mr. Potter, I'm her," she remarked as she placed her hand onto his in a business like manner and shook it.
"Please, Harry," Harry told her as he leaned forward and gave a kiss to her hand.
She felt flushed but managed to recover pretty quickly as her heart continued to flutter within her chest.
"Yes....then I insist that you call me Betsy," she told him as she continued to struggle with not getting lost in those green eyes and never coming out of them.
There was a moment where she paused and looked over her shoulder, leading Harry into the other direction. He decided that introductions would be in order as he proceeded to lead everyone into the office era.
"This is Wanda Maximoff, Kitty Pryde, Kara Potter, Jean Grey, and Rachel Grey," Harry stated to Rachel as he pointed out the five girls that followed him all the way there.
Betsy smiled, she figured that someone like this young man would have an entourage. "A pleasure to meet you all."
Hands were shaken all around as she cleared her throat and now Kara was the one to jump in.
"So....what's on your mind?" Kara asked her and Betsy was quick to jump in with the thought.
Betsy's smile widened over her face.
The group sat down and Betsy took the seat across from Harry. The rest of the girls took a few seats.
Betsy drew in a deep breath and prepared to tell her tale of how she got here.
"It was three nights ago....there was a suspicious figure that was sneaking around," Betsy explained and Harry raised an eyebrow. This was not something that was completely out there, so he continued to listen to her explanation. "This figure, suspicious that he might have been, I thought he was just some common thief at first. I was running the museum overseas after my parents died and after my brother had his accident."
Harry nodded to indicated that he understood and lifted his hand, telling her to continue.
"He had red hair, dressed in a trenchcoat, and he had playing cards which he super charged and used to blow the doors open," Betsy commented to them and there was a second where Jean gasped in recognition.
"Gambit," Jean breathed and Rogue's eyes narrowed.
"I wonder what he's after," Rogue mused as she frowned.
Wanda's eyes narrowed until they were nearly slits as she thought about it but Harry reached under the desk and gripped her hand in a warning manner. She relaxed a tiny bit but she was still keeping her eyes narrowed. "It's my father, he's the one that's after something."
"So this Gambit....who is he with?" Betsy asked in a curious tone.
"Have you ever heard a mutant called Magneto?" Jean asked her and the redhead slid back as she pushed her hair out of her face so she could properly look Betsy in the eye.
"Yes, I've heard of him," Betsy said to her as she drummed her fingers on the table and there was a second where she wondered.
Harry was wondering what Gambit and perhaps by extension Magneto could be after. He knew that before he joined the Acolytes, Gambit was a thief, he was someone who worked for whoever shoved the most money underneath his nose. His green eyes narrowed a tiny bit as he mulled it over.
"Is there anything of value in that museum?" Harry asked her.
Betsy's nose wrinkled as she tried to think about it. The woman placed her hands on the desk and smiled. "No, nothing of true value, a lot of junk, but I don't think there's anything that could be of great value to anyone other than insane collectors."
"Hmm," Harry remarked.
"What do you mean, hmm?" Kitty asked.
Harry decided to elaborate on what he meant by the sudden "hmm." "Well, there are many times where there's junk out there, but one man's trash is another man's treasure."
"And the objects that seem to be the least valuable are really the most valuable," Kitty confirmed with a swift nod and Harry smiled back at her.
"Now you've got the picture," Harry said with a smile but there was another blipping that came over the equipment at the Stronghold.
He reached off to the side and picked up the communicator and Storm's image popped up.
"Hey, Ororo, what do you need?" Harry asked Ororo.
"We have a problem, it appears that an old enemy of ours has resurfaced," Ororo commented.
"Would this have to do with Gambit's sudden desire to steal something from a museum?" Harry asked her.
Ororo's head nodded as she gave a smile, at least half of one. "Yes...it might be....it's him, it's Mesmero."
Harry recalled the last time Mesmero was there, he put several of his girls under his thrall and they narrowly escaped.
'And when there's Mesmero, there's Sinister,' Harry thought and there was no question about it, there things were going to get intense.
"So, is there something going on that I should know about?" Betsy asked him.
"Plenty, but we'll explain on the way," Harry told her and he turned towards her. "So, how's your hand to hand?"
Betsy smiled. "I think I'm competent enough."
Harry nodded, they were going to need all hands on deck, because he feared that the Marauders could be involved in this. He reached over and grabbed the communicator. "Zinda, get the plane ready, we're taking a trip."
"Well this is a match made in the fiery pits of hell," Harry commented in a dead pan tone of voice.
It was the X-Men in the form of Nightcrawler, Iceman, Storm, and Beast. Harry noticed that there was one member of the team that was conspicuous with his absence but there was no use to speaking of him. Charles Xavier had joined the group as well.
"So, I guess this is a collaborative effort between all of us," Magneto commented and Wanda's eyes flickered towards him.
Harry placed his hand on her shoulder, warningly and Wanda's eyes watched her father, she tried not to back down but there was a few seconds where she kept her eyes locked onto the figure ahead.
He would sooner have Wanda blast him but there was enough chaotic energy that he could feel in the air for his liking, so there was no use in complicating things.
"We're going to have to work together, as I believe your dream is," Magneto said as he turned to Xavier. "Be warned this is only temporary."
Harry hoped that this would not turn into a pissing contest between the X-Men and the Acolytes and his girls all looked nervous that would happen as well.
'Well, let's hope things don't get too bad,' Kara thought to them.
'Who are we kidding, things could get pretty bad,' Jean projected as she nervously bit down on her lip as she stood on her heels. Her eyes surveyed the situation and each instant of the dire situation was getting worse.
There was no question about this, this could go from bad to worse in no time flat. Jean's expression flickered rather prominent and frustration could be seen dancing through her eyes.
"So, what was Gambit after exactly?" Harry asked.
"He says he doesn't remember," Domino told as she stood rigid, ready to attack.
"It makes sense, the last time Mesmero showed up, we had nothing but blank spots in our mind," Jean recalled, it was not her finest hour.