|
" What's that, Auntie Ororo?" Evan asked, poiting to a statuette. It was in the shape of an old fountain. " The quote unquote legendary Fountain of Youth." She smiled. " I always thought it's be.....I dunno...bigger." Ororo walked to the next exhibit. She loved museums. She turned back to her nephew, " Legend has it that little fountain has the power to make those who keep it young and vigorous." " Sort of like a first class ticket to immortality, eh?" Ororo nodded. Neither of them noticed a shadowy figure nearby. He listened carefully to them, but not being at all obvious. ***Later*** " Fountain of Youth?!" Pietro laguhed, " C'mon, give me a break!" " I'm very serious," the figure said. " Do you want it? Go get it. You're the master of magnetism." " Wouldn't it be interesting for the Brotherhood of Mutants to remain young and strong while the X-Men grew old and weak?" Magneto asked. " Wouldn't you like to have that advantage over them?" " What's in it for us, Pops?" A slow and sinister reply came, " Immortality." ***Elsewhere*** " Wow! I've heard all sorts of stories about that on my travels!" Kurt announced after swallowing a mouthful of burger. " I'm just repeating what I heard, Kurt," Evan replied. " I never said it was the real thing." " Oh, how interesting it would be if it was," Kurt said dreamily. He took another bite of burger, thinking hard of all the benefits such a fountain could have in good hands. " It would stink if someone used it for evil." " Kurt, don't even think about making this into a secret mission. It's just a statuette. It doesn't have any special powers." Kurt didn't reply. He wanted to, but ketchup got onto his holo-watch and he was too busy making sure he got every spot without turning it off. ***Late that night*** " Are you sure this is a good idea?" Toad whined, looking around. He tugged at the chest of his costume nervously. " If you're gonna chicken out, Toad, just stay here," Pietro scolded. " I'm not chikcening out!" " Shhh!" He hissed. " It's no big deal. With or without you, it's a piece of cake. We run in, get the blasted thing and run out." ***Inside*** Kurt teleported himself into the museum. Kitty phased in after him. " If we get caught, we are totally in deep trouble." " Ja. If we get caught," he held up a finger, " But, between the two of us, our powers have the advantage." " Security cameras, Nightcrawler, or have you forgotten?" He went silent. He proceeded, being "invisible" in the darkness. He decided his energy was better spent trying to get that statuette than arguing with Kitty. Suddenly, everything began to rumble. Pieces of the cieling came undone and cracked the cameras, smashing them to bits. Alarms, run by the electricity was cut off. Kitty turned to take in what could have caused the tremor...and was abruptly knocked to the floor. To her surprise, Pietro, who had not seen her there, fell over her. " What are you doing here?!" He groaned. " Like, hello to you too!" she groaned in sarcastic reply, pushing him off of her. Both were surprised to see each other. How was Quicksilver to know Shadowcat had beaten him to the museum....or had even been there at all? " Nightcrawler!" Kitty called, " I think we just got caught." " Outta my way!" Pietro demanded, " I got a statuette to swipe!" Before he could get up, Kitty grabbed him and tangled herself around him, making him trip again and making it difficult for him to maneuver. " Like, what....is...with...you...guys...and...this...stupid...statuette?!" Kurt stepped in front of the podium, holding the statuatte beneath it. Lance approached with Toad bringing up the rear. " Nein! You're not getting this statuette!" " Nightcrawler!" Kitty hissed, " It's...not...worth...it!" " It is!" He argued, " If it falls into the wrong hands, it would be..." he was cut off when the floor began to rumble. He tumbled over desperately searching for balance. " Quicksilver," Lance called, " Take it!" " I'm on it, Avalanche," he said, getting up, but again tripped over Kitty, who again began to wrestle him. " Oh, for crying out loud!" Toad cried, " I'll do it!" He flung his tongue forward. Kurt teleported in front of the exhibit and met the tongue smack in the face. Toad retracted his tongue with a gag and a cough, " Ack! Hairball!" Lance turned up the juice a bit. Kurt fell backwards and knocked over the exhbit podium. the statuette flew into the air. " Avalanche, you idiot!" Pietro hissed, still trying to get up. It was hard with Kitty tangling herself about him. " Get the statuette!" " Got it!" Toad announced, leaping forward to get under it. " Nein! That fountain in mine!" Kurt hissed, porting forward, pushing Toad backwards. In an automatic response to the blow, Toad spit out goop at him and at his feet. It made Kurt slip and land on his back on the floor. Toad then launched his tongue again, grabbing the statuette. Kurt growled into his chest as he got up, wiping the goop from his face. He teleported into the air and latched himself onto Toad's tongue, trying to pry it loose from the statuette. To his surprise, Toad was able to hold him up, but such strength is limited. Toad's jaw began to cramp and his tongue was getting sore and tired from the fuzzball at the end of it. It was finally just too much. He dropped his tongue with Kurt at the end of it still. *Crash!* A flash of light surrounded them. They shielded themselves. The others stopped what they were doing and watched in shock! Finally, when the light faded, the statuette was in pieces! " Nightcrawler!" Kitty screamed. " Toad?" Lance and Pietro called. A brief moment went by before everyone could focus again. It felt like an eternity in slow motion. And what resulted was a shock as well. Toad and Kurt sat before them on the floor. They were no longer the pesky freshman and witty sophmore they were moments ago. They had regressed....to toddlers! No more than three years of age! They sat there, bewildered. Their costumes lay empty beside them, as they had shrunk out of them and sat naked there. " What happened?!" Kitty cried out. In the distance, they could hear sirens. " Quick!" Lance ordered, " Grab em and let's get outta here!" " Way ahead of you!" Pietro replied, zooming past them at top speed, grabbing the tots, making them seem to dissappear into thin air, and out of the museum. Kitty grabbed Lance and quickly phased him and herself through walls and outside brush to get away as fast as possible. ***Later, not TOO far away*** Lance, Pietro and Kitty looked at the toddlers sitting on the grass. " Man, what do we do?" Pietro asked, beginning to hyperventilate. Lance handed him a paper bag and crossed him arms. He casually replied, " We could dress them." " Right," Kitty scoffed, " We already broke into a museum, why not a baby clothing department store? You are, like, so totally lame." " Calm down." " Why?!" Pietro squeaked, almost popping the paper bag. Lance pointed to the tots, who looked up at him oddly, " You'll scare the babies." " I'm so totally dead," Kitty moaned. The tiny, fuzzy, three-year-old Kurt stood up and toddled over to her, raising his arms, " Up, Kitty." She glanced down at him a moment and instinctively picked him up. Pietro finally calmed down and put the bag in the trash, having an idea of his own. " Why don't we just use some of my old baby clothes? Got a bunch of stuff in the attic. My dad refuses to throw anything away." " You have baby clothes?" Kitty asked. " Yeah. All my old baby stuff is in the attic. We could bring down a bit of it and decided what to do from there." " Must be akward having Magneto as your boss and your daddy." Lance laughed. " Shut up, Lance!" " Both of you shut up!" Kitty chimed in. " Let's, like, just do what Pietro suggested. We can't just leave them naked like this." ***Pietro's Room*** " This is you?" Kitty asked, picking up a picture on the bedtable. Pietro peered over to her and looked at the picture...two children sitting on each knee of a woman. " Yeah." " How old were you here?" " 'Bout four I think." " Who are these girls?" " Well the woman was my acting mother. As for the girl on the knee...she's my sister." Kitty wanted to go on talking, but a rumble attracted their attention to a groaning Lance. " Lance, stop!" Pietro hissed, " You'll wake my dad!" " Hold still, you little fungus!" Lance growled, trying to get the pajama bottoms on Toad. He squirmed and muttered sensless protest, wacking his "attacker" with the rattle Pietro had handed him. Kurt, on the other hand, sat quietly on Pietro's pillows, dressed in a pajama set with a picture of a dalmation in a firetruck on the front. He sucked on the spade of his tail as a normal child would his thumb. Kitty stroked his hair. It was soft and smooth. She smiled, thinking how cute and kitten-like he was. He glanced up at her with his yellow eyes and cooed. She stifled a giggle and looked around. Pietro certainly held nothing back when it came to cleanliness and organization. His room was like spotless! Everything in it's proper place and smelling fresh and clean. No clothes hung out of his dresser nor were there any scuffs on the carpet. In fact, lines could still be seen in the carpet from where the vaccum had met it. The bed, even with the tots on it, was neatly made, no wrinkles and looking comfortable. " I feel like a teen parent," Pietro sighed, sitting on the edge of his bed, between the two tots. Toad, who was finally dressed in that cute ducky pajama set, crawled over and released his tongue, licking the side of Pietro's face. He twisted his face at the tot a second then smiled with a sigh, muffling Toad's hair, " Thanks for trying to cheer me up." Lance and Kitty glanced at him in silence. Neither could offer any comforting words of wisdom. A sudden thump brought them to alert. " It's my dad!" Pietro gasped. He spun around, " Kitty, get the rugrats and hide!" Kitty grabbed Kurt and Toad and shoved them under the bed, following soon after. Toad twisted his face at her, not enjoying being tossed around. Kurt, on the other hand, snuggled up next to Kitty, tail still in mouth. He cooed as he nuzzled up to her. She was expecting to battle the evil dust bunnies from Hell, but found under the bed was just as clean as the rest of the room. Even under his bed was vacuumed. Also, three shoe boxes were neatly arranged under the bed, a pair of shoes neatly placed in each. " Geez," she whispered, " for a freaky kid, he, like, sure is super clean." Pietro and Lance turned to the door. It opened and in walked Magneto. " Pietro? What are you two doing? It's three in the morning." " We're...uh...." Pietro gritted his teeth. Gast at everything...but the one time he truly depended on his mind to swiftly come up with a lie, it failed him. Lance tried to help him, " Just...uh..." no more successful. " We were just talking about that fountain of youth statuette and got a little carried away," Pietro finally said, his voice crackling and shakey. " Weren't you going to get that statuette tonight?" Magneto asked. " We were very unorganized," Lance defended. " We have to rethink our plan of action." Magneto glanced at Pietro, who was pale and sweaty all of a sudden. " Is everything alright, Pietro?" " Fine!" He squeaked. He looked at an imaginary watch on his wrist and babbled out swiftly and almost without a breath, " OH! Look at the time. I'm sooo tired. Got a big day ahead of us tomorrow, I could really use the rest. Ready to call it quits, isn't that right, Lance?" He elbowed Lance, so fast that it was felt, not seen. Lance tried to let Pietro's words catch up to him sink in and went on stuttering, " Uhm, yeah. Exhausted. Could sleep like a baby." Kurt let out a sudden coo. Kitty gasped and shoved his tail back into his mouth. Pietro and Magneto looked at Lance. He replied with a nervous smile, " Just like one." Magneto turned to leave them, feeling somewhat unsatisfied and suspicious. A sudden burp escaped Toad. Kitty covered his mouth. Pietro and Magneto looked at Lance again. Again, he smiled nervously. " 'Scuse me." Magneto turned again but stopped short, turning back to the boys, " You two aren't taking drugs are you? You'd tell me if you were taking drugs right?" " Dad!" Pietro whined, "We're just tired is all. We don't do drugs, they're nasty. We may be the bad kids on campus, but we're not stupid!" His father looked at him and gave a laugh, " When I was your age, this was the kind of thing I did when I was hiding pretty girls in my room." Pietro and Lance's eyes grew wide. Had they been found out. " Should I check under the bed or in the closet for the lucky ladies?" " No!" Pietro squeaked out a scream....sounding just like a little schoolgirl. " Seriously, we're tired," Lance said somewhat calmly. " We've had a lot on our minds." " Alright," Magneto shrugged, finally leaving, closing the door behind him. Everyone let out a relieved sigh. Lance patted Pietro on the back, wondering if he was going to throw up, or something. He sat down to keep his cool. Kitty phased herself and the tots through and onto the bed. " I didn't realize you were, like, such a totally neat guy," She smiled. He looked to her and smiled with conciet, " Thanks. I always thought I was kinda cool." " Your room, man," Lance muttered, " You're a neat freak." He crossed his arms. Pietro smiled and laughed sheepishly. Everyone turned to the tots yanking on a plush elephant Pietro had taken from his shelf for them to play with. " So," Kitty began, " Like, what do we do now?" " I say we get some sleep." Pietro sighed, his eyes beginning to shut. " If these two are anything like they were when they were teenagers, we're going to need all the rest we can get to handle them. They'll most certainly have more energy than us." " I like that idea," Lance smirked, giving Kitty the eye. She twisted her face at him, " Don't EVEN think about it." " I think we should let those two stay on the bed." Pietro advised, " They'll probably sleep better. Me and Lance will sleep on the floor on this side. Kitty, you can stay on that side of the bed. My floor is clean so you should be okay." " Can we modify?" " Lance!" Kitty scolded, slapping him across the face. Pietro smiled, too tired to laugh. Kurt released his tail and swooshed it gently from side to side. He crawled onto Pietro's lap and put his hands on his face, making him look him straight in the eye, " I gotta go potty." ***The Next Morning*** The sun was flooding into the room. Everything became warm. The birds chirped outside and the faint rum of cars could be heard in the distance. Pietro and Lance slowly woke up on the one side of the bed, on the floor. Kitty, who was supposed to be sleeping on the other side of the bed, ended up waking up under the bed. She remembered scooting herself there in case Lance tried anything funny. Kurt and Toad stayed under the cover on the bed, the plush elephant between them. They woke up, one after the other and peeked outside. They both screamed wildly and began to jump on the mattress, demanding breakfast and cartoons. " Now what?!" Lance gasped, jolting upward. Pietro got up slowly and turned up to the tots. " Captain Planet is coming on!" Kurt cheered. Toad leaped up and pushed him over on his back to the mattress, " No! I wanna watch Johny Quest!" " Man, what is his obsession with Johny Quest?!" Lance whispered harshly. Pietro gave a silent shrug. He saw Kitty get up on the other side of the bed and proceeded to evaluate the situation. " I think," he said, " perhaps we should split the chores up. This way, everything will get done. We need to give them a bath. They are still a little dirty." " Neat freak," Lance chuckled, " Bet you'll wanna wash your sheets too? `Fraid you'll get a bed-bug?" Pietro cast a dirty glance, wanting to reply, but held the idea instead on the back of his mind and continued, " We'll also have to give them breakfast. This way they'll at LEAST be fed." " I suppose I could make breakfast," Lance shrugged, " I'm a good cook. Really." " I...." Kitty looked at the two. She got nervous at the thought of bathing them. It would be cute now, but what of when they went back to normal? She could never look at either of them the same way again, " oh, I'll just....like, wash your sheets for you, Pietro, and....whatever." Pietro sighed and walked over to his bed. Both toddlers looking up at him with smiles. " I suppose then, I have bath duty." He squeaked a rubber ducky to keep their attention. " Hey, Pietro, like, how hard can it be?" We're talking about toddlers, here." Yes, toddlers. Pietro thought. But these aren't your everyday three- year olds. ***The chores*** Kitty started up the washing machine while Lance turned on the stove. Pietro remained upstairs, drawing a luke warm bath. He undressed both tots and prayed this would be easier than he had hoped. " Okay, you two," he smiled nervously, " Bathtime." They looked at him as if he were psycho. Both glanced at each other and bolted from the bathroom and into the hall. This was one nightmare the other two hoped to avoid. Being as both Toad and Nightcrawler had very strong legs and a great bound for distance, it'd be impossible to catch them. But, Pietro, on the other hand, had the advantage. He zoomed from the bathroom and, in a quarter second, was at the end of the hall. The two tots were surprised and tried skidding to a stop, but ran into his legs. He was unphased by the tap. He scooped them both up and plopped them into the water. It was quite difficult. Toad splashed about, trying to get out of the tub on one side of Pietro, while Kurt furiously swooshed his tail about, splashing Pietro in the face as he tried getting out on the other side. Speed, again, was to Pietro's advantage. He ended up, however, just as wet as they were when he had finished. He dried them off and put clean clothes on them. " Breakfast, now?" Toad asked. His eyes were wide and bright. " Yes," Pietro grunted, shoving the shirt over Toad's head. It was a nice outfit for a toddler. Elastic denim pants and an old red and white Transformers t-shirt. He then turned to Kurt, who seemed more than happy to have some extra cover on his body. He was put in green sweatpants and a white long-sleeved shirt with an oriental dragon on the front. " What are we going to have?" Kurt asked with a smile, cocking his head to one side. He swung his tail around and began sucking on it again. " I dunno," Pietro shrugged, " Guess we'll just have to find out what Lance is gonna poison us with." ***Breakfast*** French toast, scrambled eggs and bacon. Pietro set several books on two of the chairs, allowing the tots to sit comfortably at the table. Kurt climbed the chair and crawled into his spot. Toad glanced at his spot and made it one one great leap from where he stood. Halfway through breakfast, the conversation began. " As sweet as this family thing is, Pietro, we can't keep pretending nothing is wrong. We're lucky today, no one's home but us. But, what about tomorrow? Next week? Tell me then? I don't think your dad's gonna believe either the truth about the statuette nor that you suddenly come up a teen parent." " Lance is right," Kitty agreed. " Like, this isn't a picnic. We need to, like, get them back to normal." Pietro kept his eyes to his plate. He remained silent and stirred his eggs with his fork. " You're enjoying this!" Lance blurted out. " You are seriously getting off on this! Aren't you?!" Still, no answer. Lance knew Pietro listened, heard, understood everything said. His silence simply confirmed the accusations. " I want to go to the zoo," Toad said out of nowhere, " I wanna see the apes and tigers." " I wanna see the elephants," Kurt chimed in. The two began to argue. " Hey, now you two knock it off right now," Pietro warned, " Or you both will be spending time sitting in the corner." Lance shook his head, still not quite believing that Pietro was enjoying this whole ordeal. Kitty stifled a laugh. " But, he started it!" Toad whined. " Did not!" " Did too!" " Enough!" Pietro interrupted, " I don't care who started what. Both of you, stop it." Both tots looked at him, surprised for a moment, but then fell silent and continued their breakfast. " Wow," Kitty whispered. She then turned back to Lance, " We need to get that statuette. Maybe if we can get it back together again, they'll grow up." " Kitty, they weren't grown up when they were grown up," Lance pointed out. They looked at the two. Toad was reaching over to grab something from Pietro's plate. He recieved a gentle slap for the trouble. He backed away, sniffed back a sob, then took a sip of juice. " I can't keep this a secret either," Kitty sighed in defeat. " I, like, have to tell someone." " I agree," Lance nodded. " Anything beats this. I feel like I'm in some wierdo sitcom. Eck! Three Mutants & the Babies." Kurt whacked Toad with his tail. Toad, in return, tossed a handful of scrambled eggs at him. Pietro warned them yet again, " The two of you better behave, or I'll set you down for your nap!" ***Xavier's Mansion*** " Well, Kitty," Xavier began, " I'm am quite angry that you pulled a stunt like this. However, I am also very glad you told me." " Like, Professor, what do we do?" " If it was the statuette that did this, we should aquire it. Perhaps it can be repaired. What is so special about it, anyway?" " It's a statuette of the Fountain of Youth," Pietro explained, " Supposedly, those who possess it are immortal and remain forever young." " I can see why you'd want it then," Xavier said, arching an eyebrow at him. " But, Kitty, why would Kurt want it so bad?" " He didn't say, Professor. He just kinda, like, dragged me along, y'know?" " Great," Lance said, shrugging, " So we get the statuette. But, what about the rugrats?" He pointed them. Toad sat quietly, for a change, in Pietro's arms. Kurt was on the floor with Evan, who was encouraging him to roughouse with him. " Evan, stop it," Pietro hissed, " I just got him calmed down." Evan replied with a sarcastic sort of look. " Pietro?" Toad called, looking up to his face, " I wanna go to the zoo still." When Kurt heard those words, he jumped up and leaped off of Evan's chest, surprisingly, knocking him backwards, " Me too! Me too! Me too!" Pietro sighed and shrugged, " I suppose I could take them out for a while. Keep them out of your hair." The tots cheered. " Yeah, Pietro," Lance said, still quite aggitated, " Go! Play Daddy some more! Y'know, there are more effective ways of getting children than magically making them with broken statuettes!" " Hey," Evan broke in, surprisingly, in Pietro's defence, " He's right, Lance. Perhaps taking them out will wear them out. Then, they won't be so rambunctious when you bring back that statuette." He turned to his old rival, " I'll go with you. Don't think you can handle both of them in a public place." Pietro crinkled up his face, " I can too!" He suddenly stopped himself from bringing up another "contest" and sighed, " But, why waste the energy? Fine." " Great," Scott said, finally speaking up, " then it's settled. Evan, Pietro, you keep them out of trouble and Lance, Kitty, you'll come with me. We'll get the statuette." ***Later, at the zoo*** " I noticed you've been taking this whole thing positively," Evan chuckled. " So, what Lance said was true, wasn't it? You're really enjoying this? You don't want to give them up, do you?" Kurt gave a tug at Evan's arm in one direction. A holo-watch was designed to fit that tiny wrist. Toad, on the other hand, had Pietro's arm and pulled in another direction, peering at the apes. " Well," Pietro said slowly and rather quietly, " Yes and no. I wouldn't mind. I guess not, anyway. I suppose I'm sort of used to this kind of thing. I always played the daddy when I had to play House." " You, Pietro? Play House?" Evan laughed. At this, usually Pietro would have defended himself rashly. But, as he had mentioned, he felt he wasn't up to wasting his energy. Besides, it would be a bad example to set. " My sister, Evan," he reminded, " She had her dolls and plush animals. She loved playing House. But, when there was no one for her to play with, I was the only one convenient enough to annoy. I always got stuck playing with her. So, I sort of have a knack of it. The rest, just swift improv." " Not too shabby," Evan admitted. " I couldn't have handled it this well." Ah, sweet victory. Pietro thought to himself with a smile. Finally something Evan has admitted Pietro is better at than he. But, this whole thing, as much as it perhaps should of, brought no satisfaction. He wanted to be a good example at the moment. " Elephants!" Kurt screamed, trying to pull Evan along. " Tigers!" Toad added in, yanking Pietro in the opposite direction. " Elephants!" " Tigers! " You two calm down right now, or we'll just turn around and go home!" Pietro scolded. Both got quiet immediately. ***Museum*** Kitty, Lance and Scott, dressed in their costumed, looked in through the skylight. People were inside, below, cleaning up the mess made the previous night. " So, like, do we have an idea or what?" Kitty asked. " How are we going to get past those people, oh fearless leader?" Lance chimed in sarcastically, " Quicksilver would have been useful about now." " He's, like, too busy playing daddy." Kitty sighed. " No matter," Lance continued, " I got it covered." He held out his hands and the ground began to rumble. Initially, the tremore did no damage, but the workers inside began to panic, running to take cover. " Good work, Avalanche," Scott nodded, " Shadowcat, get us down there." " Like, you serious? From here?" " Yes, from here," He scoffed. " Okay. Like, you're the group leader." She took hold of the guys and phased through the skylight, and dropped. Luckily, she had Cyclops and Avalanche to break her fall. " Did you have to let us drop like that?" Lance groaned under her. " Like, yell at Cyclops!" Kitty hissed, " He told me to." They got up and walked themselves to the broken statuette. " Geez," Kitty gasped, " What a mess we made. Like, it's smashed to bits." " Oh, Shadowcat, it's not that bad," Lance chuckled, " It's only broken into five pieces." Scott turned away from them and reached for the new cube of glass. Lance grabbed his wrist, " Hold it, Slim. Don't forget about fingerprints." " Like, no persperation," Kitty smirked. She phased her hands through the glass and collected the pieces. " What are you doing?!" A man yelled from a few feet away. It was one of the workers! Lance turned to face him and started yet another tremor, tripping the worker and bringing to the floor, unconscious. " Avalanche!" Scott scolded. " Stop it, Cyc! He's fine!" " Like, I have had enough of this! Lets get out of here before, like, we get caught again!" ***Xavier's Mansion*** " Where are they?" Scott sighed. " They should be here by now." " Relax, Slim," Lance chuckled, arms crossed, " It's not like he's toating around yer average three-year olds. They have a rambunctious pain in the butt Toad and Kurt the fuzzy circus boy. Cut them some slack, man." At that moment, the doors opened and in skipped Kurt and Toad with balloons in hand. Behind them dragged Pietro and Evan. They looked exhausted. " It's about time," Scott scowled. Evan looked at him evily and pointed a finger to his face, " May you have children, one day, Scott, who act just like these two act." " We are about to finish putting the statuette together again," Xavier said calmly. Toad walked up to him and rested his chin on the arm of the wheelchair, " You've got a shiney head." Xavier overlooked him and returned his attention to the statuette. Pietro kept his eye on the toddlers. He was quiet and solemn. " What's wrong, Pietro?" Lance asked. " Don't think of it as losing a couple of kids. Think of it as gaining back your freedom." " I guess I sort of bonded." He gave a shrug, " As teens these two were the biggest pests I could have ever known. But how can you not love them like this?" " Pietro," Kitty growled, " We are, like, totally going to get them back to normal. Do you understand me?!" Kurt turned and saw the plush elephant still on the floor. He crouched down to play with it. Toad took a great leap over to him and yanked the elephant away. Kurt began to scream and cry. " Mine!" Toad hissed. " You stupid-head!" " I'm not a stupid-head!" " Are too!" He started to cry again. Toad stuck out his tongue and blew rasberries at the fuzzy elf, who in return, grabbed his tongue and gave it a good yank. In a desperate attempt to free himself, Toad grabbed Kurts tail, and yanked. Both screamed and cried at each other as they yanked at one another. " Alright, fine," Pietro finally sighed in defeat, " I'm over it. Put them back to normal." Xavier placed the last piece of the fountain statuette together and held in place for it to stick. A flash of light surrounded the tots and within moments, fizzled out. It was over. They were there now, teenagers again, but still in the position. Toad's tongue being yanked by Kurt and Kurt's tail being yanked by Toad. " Let go of my tail, man!" Kurt demanded. " You let go oth my tun thirst, you thuzzy gecko!" They stopped suddenly, noticing everyone staring at them. They released each other and returned to their crouching positions, trying to figure out how they got here in the first place. It suddenly dawned on them that there was a draft. The baby clothes has been ripped apart at the growth and they were there, naked again. Kurt let out a squeak and grabbed the plush elephant back, covering himself. Toad released his tongue to grab the balloon and used it as cover. Both blushed and felt their insides churn. Kurt teleported to the safety of his bedroom, where he could be as clothed or naked as he desired. But, Toad wasn't so lucky. " Uhm," He squeaked out, " Anyone got a robe I could borrow?" ***Later that night*** Kurt lay back on his bed. He was dressed in his shorts, which he usually slept in, and a maroon bathrobe. His fur was still very warm and wet from the shower he had had not more than ten minutes ago. Kitty sat next to him, watching television with him. They were waiting for the previews of the video cassette to pass so they could watch the movie. " That was very embarassing!" Kurt sighed, " I'm glad I can't remember it all." He sipped the hot chocolate from his red mug. " But, Kurt, you were, like, so totally cute as a kid." Kitty laughed, " Like a little fuzzball." " This was the means for you to admit that I'm cute?" Kurt asked, acting offended. He may or may not have been. It was hard to tell. He sighed, however, with aggitation. He was tired and, sort of grumpy. " Kurt, like, why was that statuette so important to you?" Kitty asked suddenly, " I mean, if we weren't there, like, the Brotherhood would have had a field day. But, really, why was it so important for you to try and get it?" Kurt remained silent a moment. He gathered his thoughts to explain. " People have been searching for that fountain for as long as the tale existed. Everyone wants to do something different with it, whether it's good or bad. The power of that tiny statuette is almost as imense as God. It has within itself the power of life and renewal; of health and healing. I suppose, thinking this fountain finally became public, I became as selfish as the Brotherhood." He stopped and took a breath, " Imagine all those who would not have to die of some silly illness we cannot cure. Imagine all the terminally ill children who could have a chance at a normal life without pain and medication." " So, like, you wanted that thing so bad for, like, nothing?" " Not nothing. Everything." He replied, face solemn. He sipped his hot chocolate again to wet his throat, " It's sort of like Robin Hood. I wanted that fountain, true, for my own personal gain, but, in harnessing such power, it was for the benefit of others as well. It was a stupid plan, I guess. Immature and like a faery tale. But, this one didn't exactly end happily ever after with all good and innocent creatures getting everything that would make them happy and healthy." Kitty was now quiet. The whole time she had been annoyed at his obsession and it was his plan to use the fountain in the hands of good and just. It was quite a noble thought, no matter how unrealistic. " I suppose I learned my lesson. I can't help everyone. I suppose I should stick to helping myself and those close to me." Kitty couldn't help herself. She leaned forward and gave him a tight hug. He was somewhat dumbfounded by the sudden action. She then released him and peered at a picture Pietro had given her before taking Toad home for clothes. " Vas ist das?" " Well, I was able to talk Pietro and Evan into taking pictures of you and Toad at the zoo. I, like, thought it would, like, be fun to laugh at and tease you with. But, I, like, think I lost my humor in your speach." Kurt leaned over to look at the picture, curious about the dimeanor, " Hey, I was cute. Hey, is that really Tolansky?" " Yup." " He wasn't too shabby looking himself. Wonder what happened." The two let out a weak laugh. Kurt didn't remember much of the experience. Nor was he all too thrilled about not being able to have things the way he wanted, but, he was glad that he was his old self again, that he was home with people who cared about him, and that he had made an impact on the lives of both sides. ***Pietro's Room*** " You were quite a frisky kid, Todd," Lance admitted. He didn't reply. He was still very sour about having to come home in a bathrobe to get some clothes. " I think I about bonded," Pietro said quietly. His attention was on those same pictures. He was sure he took many to split them up equally. His legs were covered as he settled himself into bed, leaned back on his pillows. Still, Toad did not reply. " Oh, come on, Toad," Lance laughed, " Don't take it that way. Least they actually agreed to give you a bathrobe to wear. I don't think it'd be so easy walking home naked." " I didn't exactly have the best of childhoods," Toad finally said, sounding a little down and upset. " And, how could this have been any better? I was always picked on as a kid, and geez, how I hate the idea of picking up those old habits again." " Toad, we still pick on you." " Lance, give him a break, will ya?" Pietro sighed. He shrugged, pretending he had done nothing wrong. Pietro glanced back at Toad on the floor next to Lance, " If it is any consolation to you, Toad, you weren't such a bad kid. Yeah, you and Blue-Boy had your moments where I thought you were going to kill each other, but, you guys were, dare I say it, kinda cute." " Oh yeah," Toad said sarcastically, " Cute. Doing those things one only does as a child. Blowing bubbles in my milk, picking my nose, eating cockroaches..." " Now, you still do that last one," Lance interrupted. Pietro set the pictures on his bedtable and turned onto his belly. He leaned down to be closer, face-to-face, with his friends, " It wasn't that bad. Believe me, if you were a pest, I'd be the first to tell you. But, you weren't a pest, you were a kid. Believe me, I wasn't too much better when I was that age....course I didn't have the tongue thing going. Hey, I kinda gained a little respect, if anything. It certainly isn't easy trying to keep kids like you and Nightcrawler in the right." Toad slowly formed a smile, " Yeah. I guess my childhood had some benefits. I mean, I'm not a perfect kid, and I'll be the first to tell you that. But, I think I turned out okay." " Questionable," Lance muttered. Pietro speedily slapped him upside the back of the head. He turned back to Toad, " You should feel lucky. Even if only for a day, at least you had a second chance to do something with your childhood. There are a lot of things I'd love to do over. Wish I had such an opportunity." " Won't be able to, now that those X-freaks hid the statuette." Lance mumbled. Pietro ignored him and continued, " However, some things are better remembered and cherished." " Yeah, you're right," Toad nodded. " Eck," Lance interrupted again, " Is this what having a sister does to a guy, Pietro? Ick, thank God I am an only child." Pietro looked offended. " I think it's kinda nice," Toad said in his defense. " So, are you still going to try for that fountain?" Pietro sat back into his original position. " No. I think we should drop the whole idea. I mean, I'd rather enjoy what I have of this life instead of trying to cheat God for something as idiotic as taking down the X-Men. I think growing old may give us the opportunity to grow our abilities in ways we can't imagine as teenagers. Besides, if I were to defeat the X-men, I'd feel better knowing I did it, and without the help of some stupid token. All in all, immortality isn't worth destroying the quality." Toad gave a nod, quite content with that decision. Lance shrugged. He liked the idea of being god-like, but saw the genuinity in Pietro's point of view. The three decided immortality wasn't worth it and each returned to their projects. " Has anyone seen my yellow crayon?" Toad asked. END | ||||
