Disclaimer: The Gen.X crew, or whatever there's left of them, are all creations of Marvel Comics, including
Franklin, Artie, Leech and their two teachers, Emma Frost and Sean Cassidy. His cousin, Black Tom
Cassidy, is also owned by Marvel Comics. Elizabeth is our creation, and is owned by us of Vision
Comics... The Blue Lady and the Man-Thing(???) are also creations of Marvel and are also owned by
them. That is all, on with the show! Comments and letters are begged for at lama1@videotron.ca

LITTLE ELF'S NOTE: It's been a year of Gen.X!! How are we celebrating? Well, besides our letter
page launched last month, watch for the FIRST Gen.X Annual coming soon featuring Elizabeth and Jubilee!
Don't miss it! It's plotted by Tom and written by me ! And the conclusion next month to our first in-book
multipart story line! Don't miss it!!


PAPA CLAUS'S NOTE: Yeah well Cloud said it perfectly. It's been a year ! I myself can hardly believe
that. It seems like only few months ago I started a series about Marvel's teenage mutants. Few things came
up, as you know and mostly I decided I couldn't do this series any justice, so I gave it happily to Cloud.
Since then he's been not only a great writer, but a faithful employee (my only employee if you don't count
certain other writer, who quit). It has been a pleasure to work with you Cloud, and your ideas are great, but
remember I'm always there to sharpen your thinking a bit ;) Look out for even more Cloud, as he will
co-write Vision's third series with me. What it is, well we'll keep it a secret, but it'll debut on Visions 2nd
Anniversary in May.

And as for Gen. X itself, well there is heaps of exciting stuff coming up for our young mutants. I would tell
you what, but that wouldn't be as much fun ;) Look out for a new member, and some very interesting guest
stars, look out for the biggest thing to happen to Gen. X since their formation, another teenage hero group.
Who ? Where ? Just wait and see, but believe me, the arrival of the new team will rock the whole Vision's
universe. And of course there is the 1999 Gen. X Annual, coming out in May, just in time for Visions 2nd
Anniversary. It's plotted by me, and scripted by Cloud because I was just dying to write my own creation,
Elizabeth again, and it will be also staring Jubilee, in a well very interesting and weird story. And what's
more, unlike the real Marvel Annuals, it's actually going to be in continuity and it's going to have impact on
the ongoing series ! WOW ! How much more can you ask for ?! But wait there's more ! Hhehe. Okay just
kidding. There is more, but you'll have to wait and see it yourselves. Once again thank you Cloud, you're the
man, and I've said too much all ready, so without much more ado here's Gen. X #12.

GEN.X #12
December 98
Gen. X celebrates one year in business with:


Black and White Part 2
"Ladies Night"
Little Elf: Cloud
Papa Claus: Tom


Up to an hour ago, everything was fine in Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Massachusetts.
That was before something caused for one of the students, Angelo Espinosa, also known as Skin, to
decide to suddenly leave the institution. That was before another of the students, manipulated by the
cousin of one of the teachers, Sean Cassidy, went mad and attacked the rest of them, effectively
bringing down all of them except for the three female members of the team residing inside the school,
Generation X. And now, as the school is surrounded by an unbreachable wall of vegetation and the
two teachers are separated from their students, is where we pick up.

"MONDO! Why are you doing this?", Jubilee shouted at the tall mutant standing before the three of them.

"Yeah! I thought you were our friend!", Elizabeth added.

This wasn't the first time she was faced with betrayal. It still hurt. She'd have to do something about this
soon. But now wasn't the time.

"Girls, we've got to work as a team to give us a chance, and not let ourselves suckered into a solo fight like
with the others.", Paige said, standing between the two others.

Mondo didn't say anything, but for a second Jubilee thought she saw something pass through his eyes. Was
it real, or her imagination? Before she could find out, Mondo struck as the earth below the three remaining
members of Gen.X suddenly rose and tried to swallow them again, separating the three in a different
direction. Mondo was trying to split them up, Husk realized. For a second she was sent through the air and
she landed hard on her back. She rolled out of the way of the incoming earth wave and stood again. She
looked around for her two teammates, but she couldn't see them.

^Damn it, we have to work as a time or we're done for...^, she thought angrily.

She had to find the others. She took off with that goal in mind, burying down the grief she felt at the thought
that it might be too late.
****

Banshee fell to his knees, his eyes wide, completely shocked by the sight before him. Three of his
students, of those whose responsibilities where his, were now hanging dead from the wall of a cave, killed
because of him. By someone wanting vengeance on him.

"Ye see, cousin, what ye've brought upon them by humiliating me all these years?", the voice of Tom said
from behind him.

Sean Cassidy turned slowly around, rage showing in his face. Black Tom finally showed himself, coming out
of a vine wall at the end of the cavern and slowly walking toward him.

"They're dead because of ye, cousin, and what ye've made me go through all those bloody years!", Black
Tom continued. "The others are dead too. Blood on yer conscience...", he added again.

"ENOUGH!" Banshee screamed.

The shock of the screamed made the cavern trembled and sent Black Tom to the floor. Sean leapt in the air,
still screaming.

"I'll kill ye, for this, you damn bloody bastard! Ye're not getting away with it this time!", he shouted before
landing literally on top of Black Tom, not even noticing his disfigured face, caused by the Legacy Virus.

"I dinna think so!", Black Tom responded, triggering his mutant power.

Vines shot out of the wall and tried to grab Banshee, who, blinded by rage, never saw them coming. He
was too occupied hitting on Black Tom. They grabbed his arms and pulled him off his cousin, bringing him
to the ground. Black Tom rose, cleaned his face from the blood the hits had caused to spill with his back
hand and kicked Banshee who was still on the floor.

"Ye're daft if ye think I'll let you defeat me now! I've waited too long for this moment!", he said, before
bringing his foot to his Banshee behind the head.

The downed Irishman fell to the ground and stayed there, unconscious.

"There. Now to take care of those wee kids and Frost...", Black Tom mentioned as he once again vanished
in the vines.
****

The White Queen walked slowly around the vegetative hallways the school had become, her mind
piercing through the telepathic haze that had formed around the building. She could sense the three girls out
there, but wasn't strong enough to send an psychic call. The best she could do is home in on them and head
for their approximated location. And someone was coming her way... Fast. She stopped at her corner, her
currently limited psychic awareness allowing her to know at the last second going around it would make her
run into one of her students. Jubilee came running at a breakneck speed, looking around for the others,
passing right at the spot Emma would have been had she continued to walk that way. Jubilee stopped cold
when she saw her, and her legendary motor mouth went into action.

"Ms. Frost! All right! You've got to help us! Mondo went bezerk and attacked us and, well, like, Angelo
was leaving and Mondo slugged him first, and the first thing that came to all of us was to run but then
somewhere along the way we lost Synch and then...", she immediately started to say at a tremendous rate.

"Jubilee, stop talking and lead me back to where you came from. I'll pick the information I need from your
mind as we go.", the White Queen said.

Jubilee nodded and started running the opposite direction while Emma, piercing once more through the
telepathic haze, scanned through Jubilee's frantic thoughts to get the information she needed. When they
arrived outside the school though, nothing waited for them but the wall of vines.

"They were here, Ms. Frost, I swear! We were trying to find a way to...", Jubilee began again.

For some reason this was really affecting her. The betrayal, maybe? Or the fact that Synch might be dead?

"I know, Jubilee. But they evidently aren't here anymore. We'll have to go back inside to find them.", Emma
cut in.

Jubilee looked at Emma.

"Can't you scan for them? You know, with your powers?", Jubilee asked, hopeful.

The White Queen shook her head.

"Something's blocking me. I could barely sense you when you came in running."

"We have to find them, Emma, they have to be somewhere inside.", Jubilee said, regaining her composure.

She started to walk back to the opening. Emma watched her go for a second before following.

"You follow my lead, Jubilee. Oh, and don't call me Emma.", she said, stepping in front of Jubilee.

Jubilee, surprised at the Queen's reaction, shrugged and followed the White Queen back into the school.
****

The small tree house in the Biosphere.

"I think we should get the help of Mr. Cassidy and Ms. Frost.", Franklin suggested to his two friends, Artie
and Leech, as they waited around the Blue Lady, who was slowly recuperating her strength.

Artie nodded, and the image the whole Generation X team appeared in the air.

"Yeah, all of them can help us.", Leech agreed.

"All right! Hmm... One of us should stay and watch over the Blue Lady. What do you guys want to do?
Stay here and watch over her or go get the others?", Franklin asked.

"Me and Artie will stay here. You go find the others, Franklin!", Leech said.

Artie nodded to show he agreed with the repatriation of the work. Franklin nodded and left, stepping
solemnly down the steps leading to the Treehouse and heading for the entrance of the Biosphere. He was
about to open it when it burst open on its own, from the outside.

"Heyyyy!", Franklin exclaimed before falling on his back.

Standing before him were the very exhausted, very battered and very frustrated and very tired Elizabeth and
Husk.
****

Somewhere in the head of a worried young man.

"PAIGE!!!!", he screamed. Screamed. He had his own voice.

He was complete, not broken by powers he didn't want. One. But his love, being attacked by...

"JONO!!!"

She was coming for him, running. Scared. Chased by a monster. No, a friend. Chased by Mondo. But he
is powerless now. He can't help. He gave up his powers to be whole and safe. And...

"HELP ME, JONO!"

She was running for him. She wanted him to save her.

"Paige, run! I can't save you!! I..."

I have to get my powers back! I can save her with my powers! And his powers came back and he used
them on Mondo, blasting him apart. And he held her. But his powers exploded, first burning his upper
torso, but then hitting Paige full force. She flew through the air and crashed farther away, half her body
ripped off. Dead.

"NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!", Jono shouted, screamed, as the energies inside him built again.

And exploded one last time. Destroying him completely. Then silence. And his name again...

"JONO! Wake up man! JONO!", came a voice, piercing the darkness.

Familiar, but so distant.

"Come on, Jono, snap out of it!", it said again.

Jono's eyes snapped open, and reality sank in. He was chained to a rocky wall. In an underground cavern,
from the looks of it. He... felt dizzy when he used his powers to break out of the school. Mondo was
chasing them.

*What... What happened?*, he finally asked, getting his bearings as well as he could.

"Finally, you're up! Probably the same thing that happened to the two of us. Knocked down and captured
by Mondo...", Synch explained.

"I don't understand a thing, mi amigos, why did he do this?", Angelo asked, mirroring the question on all of
their minds.

"Perhaps I can help ye understand.", a man said as he appeared from an opening in one of the cavern's walls.

"Who the hell are you?", Synch yelled out.

Black Tom Cassidy slammed his cane against the youth's face. A cut appeared on his cheek, from which
blood began spilling.

"The name's Tom Cassidy. Cousin of Sean.", Cassidy still answered.

"The twisted one?", Angelo dared to ask.

Black Tom's eyes darkened as he turned to face Angelo. His scared face, more tree like then human, sent a
chill of fear down Angelo's spine.

"I guess I am now in body, if not in spirit.", Tom Cassidy answered, ignoring for now the insult.

*Why... Why are you doing this?*, Chamber found the strength to ask.

"At last, a smart question!", their captor said, turning once again to look Chamber in the eyes.

"This is about revenge and setting the score with me cousin before I die. Ye see, I've contracted the Legacy
Virus. And I decided it was time to settle the score with my cousin. Even if it meant getting it through you.
He thinks ye've all been killed. His spirit will be crushed before his body is. And then, I'll choose you to
leave my legacy on this world. I'll shape ye all to become like me. "Twisted", like ye said, and then when I'll
die I'll unleash ye to wreak havoc on the world."

"You're sick if you think we'll go along with that.", Everett spat out, his jaw hurting like never before.

"I did it to Mondo already, didn't I?", Black Tom remarked.

"What did you do to him?", Skin asked.

"It's not important what I did, is it? And besides, once this is done I'll no longer need him. Not smart
enough for my taste. I'll kill the wee lad once ye're all mine...", Tom apparently decided, turning around to
leave. "And that'll be soon enough..."

With that, Black Tom returned wherever he came from.

"Bastard." was all Synch could say.

"Well, mi amigos, what do you say we get out of here?" Skin pitched in.

"Yeah, it should be easy enough. He's more then underestimated us here. Jono?"

Jono nodded. They were getting out. He was going to save Paige, even if it was the last thing he did.

ONTO PART B OF #12