Disclaimer: The characters used herein are the property of Marvel Comics.  I don't make money on this.  Got it? I want it to be known that I'm blaming Indigo and Tappy for giving me the idea for this one.  *nyah*  Tappy gave me the idea, and then Indigo gave me the idea of how to set it.  This story is a sequel to Indigo's "The World is a Playground" where the X-Men and Excalibur get deaged by a hexed-up satellite ray.  X-Force and GenX are still their normal ages.
Okay to Pop-up, but no MST.
Feedback?  Please?
Cheers! - Twiller

by Twiller

It had certainly been an interesting few weeks at Xavier's.

It had all started when the X-Men and Excalibur had tried to stop a sattelite filled with technology based on Forge's power-neutralizing tech.  The satellite had launched, and in an attempt to stop it, the Scarlet Witch had hexed it.

And turned it into a deaging ray.

The X-Men and Excalibur were now all deaged to an age range from infants to teenagers, based on how long they had been exposed, and how close they had been to the ray.

For a while, the deaged X-Men were just that: the same people in deaged bodies.   But slowly, over a few weeks, their personalities had regressed to the age level of their bodies.  Subconsciously, they knew that they were supposed to be older, but they were starting to act more and more like the children their bodies existed as.

Since Generation X and X-Force had not been exposed to the ray, they were left with the unenviable task of taking care of ten to fifteen...well...X-Babies.  This made for some rather amusing happenings...

"But a Da Costa does NOT change diapers!"
"'Berto, I love ya like a brother, but Ah am gonna kill ya if ya don't just hold that corner down for me!"

"Wolvie, I mean, like, this was embarassing enough when ya were half-dead in the Outback, but now it is SO gross."

The pair that drew the most laughs, however, were the teenage Wisdom and the infant Moira McTaggert.

*burble*
"Bloody 'ell, McTaggert, you spit up on me on purpose, didn't you....DIDN'T YOU?"
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

A few weeks had gone by, and the mansion had settled into a semblance of routine.   A chart had been drawn up, deatailing whose turn it was to change whom on a given day(a lot of trading of shifts and favors went on to avoid pulling Logan-detail), and things had gotten relatively calm. Then came the holiday that makes parents everywhere shudder in fear.

"I believe today is the occasion of All Hallow's Eve, when childen, such as ourselves, customarily garb themselves in ghoulish cosutumes and partake of large amounts of sugary confections so as to make themselves ill almost to the point of regurgitating said sweets."
"Huh?"
"Hank means it's Halloween!"
"Can we go trick-or-treating?"
"PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE?"

A number of looks were exchanged between the members of X-Force and Gen-X.
~Well, wot could it hurt?~
"Famous last words, Starsmore."

The cheering kiddies ran their way down to the room where the costume machine was.   The children decided that they wanted to go as themselves.  Making miniature versions of their usual costumes, however, presented problems.

"I'm sure you push THIS button."
*WHOOP*  *WHOOP*
"Then again..."
"What about that dial?"
*whirr*
"Oh, that costume would fit just fine.  If you were Cain Marko..."
"So turn it the other way."
*whirr*
"Somehow, I don't think Rogue is a size 1/8."
*ZARK*
"Okay, who forgot to make Scott a visor?"
"Ewwwwww...Da-ni...lookit what Emma's wearing..."
*sigh*

Finally, all costumed and ready, the large party prepared to leave the grounds.

"Um, has anyone seen Kitty and Pete?"
"Last I saw, they were upstairs in Kitty's room..."
"KITTY!  PETE!  QUIT NECKING AND GET DOWN HERE!"

A scowling Pete and blushing Kitty made their way down the stairs.  Wisdom patted down the rumpled black suit he was wearing ("I refuse to cater to some silly soddin' Yank holiday just 'cos I'm fourteen again." had been his excuse).  He scowled further.

"Bloody 'ell.  I'm out of fags."
~So?  Why don't you just find some more if it's so important?~
"Oh right, Starsmore.  I'll just nip down to the corner store and ask 'em for a pack.  I'm bloody fourteen, remember?  Like they'll believe any of my ID..."
"Do any of those IDs have your real name anyway?"
"Shaddup."

The group finally assembled, they left the grounds and began to make their way down the street.

"I still do not understand the significance of this ritual.  It is hard to maintain security off the grounds."
"Would ya relax and 'ave some fun, Pup?"
"I do NOT 'have fun'."

Several raspberries were offered to the young Bishop.  Finally, the miniature X-Men reached the first house.

"TRICK OR TREAT!"
"Well, aren't YOU cute.  What are you supposed to be?"
"We're the X-Men!"
"Isn't that nice.  I love that white streak in your hair, little girl. How did you..."
"DON'T TOUCH ME!"
"What????"
"Um, sorry, ma'am."
"Well, here's a candy bar for you, and you, and you, and you, and...my, there certainly are a lot of you..."
"Well, um, uh...we're from that school down the street."
"Oh, you mean that Xavier's school?  I thought it was a private college or something like that..."
"Well, actually, uh, they run a private school for young children as well..."
"Oh, okay.  Well, have a nice night!"

At the end of the night, the children were bouncing off the walls on sugar buzzes, and the older ones were tired out of their minds. Finally, someone got the idea of locking the children in the Danger Room to work off their energy.  After posting a spotter, the rest collapsed on the couches in the rec room.

"Remind me never to do that again."
~Just think.  Two months until Christmas.~
"Bugger."

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