MsN: Catching the Curse or The New Mutants Meet Don Knotts

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In which the New Mutants stay absurdly late to lay in wait for their prey so they can spring their trap and end his shenanigans.

It had taken the New Mutants a couple hours to come up with a suitable plan to capture someone who couldn't be seen. The fact that the trouble-maker didn't know that they were on to him. What Julian Keller could not figure out was why he was doing it. The boy was in the play too and had just as much to lose from the production being shut down as anyone else. Because of his behavior, the New Mutants were now laying in wait, ready to spring a trap and bring the 'king's guard' to something that resembled justice.

The plan was simple in itself. They had Kare talk to him about the special rehearsal tonight for some of the key characters, just to make sure things were right for when her parents arrived. Then, the team would hide, laying in wait with paint filled water balloons by the switch board that had the trap door controls while Julian and Angel waited- doing their best to look like they were sharing a private moment on center stage- directly over the drop. When the culprit tripped the controls, he'd get pelted with paint and the lights would get brought up. Then they'd corner him and get to the bottom of this whole mess. Once the trap was sprung, it was Julian's job to make sure paint didn't hit the set pieces- it would be a shame to have to repaint them.

The plan was fool proof, but Julian knew from his days as part of The Lords that even the best laid plans can go very wrong.

For her part, Angel might have looked like she was snuggled under Julian's shoulder, gazing at him like he was her entire world. Well, today that wasn't even close to the case. She kept some attention on him but she was also paying close attention to the area around them; she wasn't willing to end up with the trap being sprung on them.

Snuggling under his chin, Angel glanced briefly at the darkened area in the back that was well away from any potential paint splash. In the dark, she'd set up one of the video cameras and had set it to record moments before they'd gotten into place. Right now, all it had recorded was Julian and Angel mock making out (less mock than was probably needed, actually) but if everything happened the way they thought it would, it would catch everything that happened on film. This wouldn't make a difference if they didn't have proof to give someone. Angel grinned into Julian's shirt - her dad would be proud.

Catseye had a water balloon in each hand, and was holding one in her tail for good measure. She was watching the stage expectantly, sniffing liberally for any sign of the sneakybadboy. Distracted by the hunt, however, she wasn't paying a lot of attention to the balloons, or her claws. One of her balloons let out a squelchy sound and exploded, splattering paint on the catgirl and the person on either side of her.

"Catseye!" Yvette let out a whispered protest as green paint coated her entire side. "Be careful!" The worst part was, she couldn't move from where she was, since it would potentially scare off their target.

Eyes wide in surprise, Catseye sent an apologetic look at Yvette. "Catseye is sorry, SharpSkinGirl!" she whispered back.

Callie groaned in the dark. Her legs were killing her from crouching so long; standing later was going to be a pain she decided. "Guys, what happens if he doesn't show?"

At that moment, on the other end of the stage, Joe entered quietly. He left the door propped behind him for a quick getaway once he finished his work. Now all he needed to do was find someone to injure enough that he would have a part to play. He slowly made his way toward the stage, surprised that there weren't that many people around. He spotted a couple of them off to the side, chatting with each other quietly, but the lack of action around the stage made him move more cautiously. Each footfall sounded like a cannon blast in his mind, his nervousness over hurting someone sending more adrenaline into his system than the first time he'd snuck into the girl's locker room after cheerleading practice.

Finally he was past the curtain and out into the open stage, the area he'd soon be discovered in when the same curtain rose and the Deans saw him perform...perform...well, perform some part. In the middle of the stage was the pretty-boy who was playing Demitrius and the uber-hot redhead he was supposedly dating were cuddling in the middle of the stage. Joe watched them intently, a surge of jealousy hitting him in the pit of the stomach, coveting to be where Demitrius was now. Then, he noticed that the two of them were standing directly over the trap door. An invisible grin spread to the corners of his face and he started toward the lever. All he had to do was give it a quick pull and he'd be in the play.

He was moving faster now, chuckling lightly as he went. Of course, anyone who heard it would dismiss it as a trick of the auditorium's aesthetics, so that didn't matter. Neither did the fact he was moving recklessly, shifting the curtains as he passed them, which would be rationalized as a trick of the airconditioning. He was being sloppy and he knew it- but if he didn't move fast ,there was no telling how soon they would move from the trap door and he'd miss his opportunity. Finally he was there, the lever in front of him, his hand reaching out to it- everything was coming together for the first time in weeks. There had been enough pranks, now it was time for the curse to be realized, for it to be respected. He gave the lever a tug.

At first Yvette thought her eyes were playing tricks, seeing what she'd been focused on for so long. But no, the lever was definitely moving, all by itself! With a gulp, she hurled the paint bomb she held, hoping the others would take her cue and continue the barrage. The balloon struck something, outlining a person's hip in lurid yellow paint.

Meggan raised an eyebrow distractedly as a few drops spattered her arm. Her own hot pink balloon bomb was still held in one hand, ready and willing to be thrown. She cocked her head and took a step closer to Yvette's side, as she heard the other girl's balloon strike something.

Something hit him, then another something hit him before Joe could even feel the lukewarm liquid sliding its way down his side. He reached down and touched it, bringing a brightly colored palm back up in front of him. Then it hit him, not another balloon, but the realization that he could actually see his palm while he was invisible. A few seconds later another balloon popped on his back and he turned around, trying to flee. "Oh, crap, not good!" was all he could say as he made his way toward his exit.

"Quick, he is trying to get away!" Yvette called out to the rest of the group, even as she hurled another balloon at the fleeing, multicouloured shape.

"Oh, paint boy is so not going anywhere," Angel muttered, pushing away from Julian, knees bent and a moment later she was airborne. She could fly faster than people could run so it wasn't much of a contest to see who would reach the exit first. Twisting in mid-air, she now hovered with her arms over her chest right in front of the door. "Don't even think it."

Joe stumbled backward, feeling another ball of paint impact on his chest. The girl that had been making out with Demitrius in center stage was wreathed in blue fire...no, it was more like she was blue fire- and she was terrifying. He turned, starting to go the other way only to also find it blocked as well. He desperately searched for a path out of the ambush, but wasn't having any luck, "Crap, crap crap." continued as the chorus to a steady stream of obscenities he was muttering, finally having been caught.

"Guys, hold your fire," instructed Callie as she stood in front of the colorful figureless person. As soon as Angel had taken flight she had moved to secure that it wouldn't be able to leave the area. They had the trickster contained, and that was the important part. "We have him, or her, or it, and there's no way they can escape." Catseye was right, there had been someone messing with the play, and now whoever that was they could stop. She stared down at the blob of colors, arms crossed over her chest. "You're not going anywhere," she informed it calmly. "You should probably just show us who you are now."

The hesitation couldn't be helped as Joe took one last look around for an escape route. He sighed as a slight feeling of queasiness overtook him, there was no other way out except their mercy. "Okay, you win." Where once was an invisible figure outlined by paint, there suddenly appeared a pale, slightly pudgy boy with a large nose and curly hair- who also happened to be stark naked. "Please don't tell my mom," he begged.

Karolina flew over from the back of the theater where she'd been watching (there was nothing inconspicuous about a girl who glowed after all) and settled down in front of him with a towel, which she'd meant mostly for wiping off the paint and not useful for covering anything vital, and her Flip camera. "First of all, ew, clothes. Second of all, YouTube. We're telling everyone." The fact that it was a bluff made it no less effective. She was, after all, a pretty decent actress.

Yvette had let out a muffled gasp as Joe had become visible, rapidly turning around and covering her eyes. "Please with the clothes first?" she managed, sounding mortified.

Callie sighed and crossed over to where Julian was standing. It wasn't as if Joe was going to escape now that they knew who he was. She stood toe to doe with the other Xavier's resident and held out her hand expectantly. "Julian my good sir. Coat. Please."

Julian raised an eyebrow and looked between the pink girl and the painted boy a few feet away. "You mean this costume coat that I had custom made for this show? No way, I'm not ruining it with day-glow paint."

"Julian. Give me your coat. How would you feel if you were the one standing naked and covered in paint?"

He rolled his eyes and shed the expensive shell. He held it out to her and once it was gone, crossed his arms over his chest- leering at invisible boy.

"Thank you Julian." Callie gave him a sweet smile as she turned on her heel and headed back to where their mischief maker was situated.

"Good thinking, Callie," Karolina said with a smirk. She tucked her camera away and put her hands on her hips, "But I don't think that he should get anything without apologizing first. He's caused a lot of problems around here and he totally took advantage of the curse. That's way bad stage etiquette." Sure he was naked but what did she care? She wasn't interested in him like that.

Joe's hands had already moved to cover himself and a healthy shade of red was coloring his cheeks and chest as Karolina gloated over him. "Okay, fine, I'm sorry, whatever- just, please, let me have the coat." This was the most embarrassed he'd ever been and Joe would have given anything to be able to turn invisible again, but he knew they might take that the wrong way.

From her angle, Angel had one hell of a view of the backside of their prankster. In self-defense, she'd clapped both hands over her eyes. "Oh. My. God. Dude, what kind of power gives you the ability to go invisible but not take your clothes with you? Seriously now, there are things I never needed to know! EVER." Sighing, still making it so she couldn't see, she landed and extinguished the flame. "So now what do we do with Naked Boy here?"

Joe gave a meek smile and tilted his head ever-so-slightly, "You could always let me go, right?" He took a half-step toward the door, "That's still an option, if I promise to stop the shenanigans."

While Callie considered this to be a fine deal (afterall he hadn't actually done anything to hurt anyone) she had a feeling that the rest of her cast mates would not be as open to the idea. "I don't know," she said slowly looking around at her friends. "What do you guys think?"

Karolina shrugged, "I have my assurance." She patted the pocket with the video camera, "If you're all willing to forgive, I'm in." Forgetting, on the other hand, was not in the cards. Karolina believed in non-violence resolutions. Shame was very non-violent.

"Okay, okay," Joe pulled the coat around himself so that none of the paint- which was quickly drying against his skin- could be seen. "What do you guys want?"

Julian stepped forward, a broad grin on his face. "First off, you're going to get out of here and you're not going to be sabotaging the play. After that, well, I have an idea...."