Now listen up, you've got alot to learn
And if you dont learn you dont eat,
But if you're tough, and always use your head,
You'll be right at home on the street.
When you got talent everything is free,
Watch how we do things oooh I gaurentee
You're gunna see how the best survive
We make an art out of staying alive
If you do just as you're told
These are streets of gold.
Every boulevard is a miracle mile,
You'll take the town, and you'll take it with style,
If you play it brave and bold,
These are streets of gold.
To live from week to week
You need technique,
So you'll practice every day.
The only rule, is "thou shall not get caught",
Get what you can and then get away.
Remember all the places you can hide,
Remember we are always on your side.
Youre gunna see how the bets surivive
We make an art out of staying alive,
If you do just as you're told,
These are streets of gold.

  "Ready, short stuff?" Tabby's voice cut into Jamie's far off thoughts as she pulled him into their planning circle outside "Dixie's Grocers".

  "Alright, here's the plan." Lance's voice was in such a whisper that the four of them had to lean forward to hear what he was saying. "Heres the plan. Tabitha, you and Freddy take one of Jamie's clones and pull an S15 on asile nine." Tabby and Fred nodded, and Jamie could see a hint of clear joy in their eyes.

  "Toad, Short stuff, you guys disable the alarms. Pietro and I will handle the rest." Toad just nodded and added a "Ya, yo." for good taste, while Jamie on the other hand, darted his eyes around nervously.

  "Hey, yo, calm your jets. We ain't gonna get caught." Todd reassured him as Tabby playfully pinched him to reveal a multiple.

  "Alright...lets go!" She whispered, and the Brotherhood(and JUNIOR brotherhood) members all scattered to their assorted places. It was just a matter of time before their plan be taken into action.

  "So um...how do I do this?" Jamie asked, staring at Todd disabling the alarms.

 Todd's hand slippd at the voice.

  "Um, well...just, pull some wires yo, it don't matter which ones."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Positive."

 Jamie shrugged and looked at the bundle of wires before him. He couldn't pull the red...red had always been his favorite color. Blue was Bobby's favorite color. There was a silver wire, a white wire, and a brown wire left. Silver was too expensive to pull...and white was too plain. So he'd pull the brown.

  "NO!" Todd whispered urgently as he reached down to pull the brown. "Anything but the brown, blue, silver, and WHITE, yo!"

 Jamie put his hand on the red one.

  "This one?"

 Todd nodded and stood up casually.

  "Just pull it and our job is DONE, yo."

 Jamie nodded and yanked the wire, causing a small smark.

  "Good..now lets go wait at the car, man."

{While that small peice of lovliness was being held, at the same time, ruckus was being made in asile nine.}

 Tabby and Fred smirked as they finally caught up with Jamie's small multiple. He was in the candy section, big surprise.

  "Hey KID." Tabby changed her voice to gruff and full of attitude, as she strutted up and turned the twelve year old around.

  "Give us all your money, kid. NOW."

 The multiple gave them the wide eyes of a child, and backed up slightly.

  "N-no...GO AWAY!"

 Fred squinted his eyes and stepped forward as the Jamie stepped back.

  "Don't mess with us, kid, just give us your MONEY."

 Crashing hard against a shelf, and making some of the food fall to the ground with a dozen thuds, the multiple darted his eyes around for help.

  "SOMEONE HELP!"

 That received a wack in the head, courtesy of Tabitha.

  "Hey kid, shut up!"

 And the kid shut up.

 But not before an aged worker, about 40 or so, appeared behind them.

  "Is there a problem here?" She asked, looking from Fred and Tabby to a frightened looking Jamie.

  "Yah..." Tabby started slowly. "Yah, there is a problem here. That little pipsqeak..." She jerked her thumb towards the multiple. "Won't give us his money!"

 The grocery store employee stared at her, blinking.

  "E-excuse me?"

 Tabby glared back.

  "You heard me. So are you gonna arrest him, or what?"

  "Perhaps you should come with me..."

 Tabby immediately threw up her gaurd.

  "I'M not going anywhere." And daintily punched the woman square in the nose.

  "Young lady!"

  "OH my gosh!"

  "What IS the meaning of this?!"

 A crowd of shoppers who happened to witness the last part of the incident crowded around the fourty year old woman.

  "She...she tried to ROB this poor, innocent KID!" Tabby exclaimed, forcing tears into her eyes. "Of all the nerve!"

 The people around her, a steadily growing group, all nodded in agreement to her, shouting things like, "You tell her!" and "Right on!" There was even a "You GO girl!" shouted through the crowd, which happened to be said by a small elderly man in a motorized shopping cart.

 The multiple in question caught on quickly.

  "Can I have my money back, miss?" He asked, poking the fallen (and unconsiece) woman with his shoe.

 There was a gust of wind through the crowd, and everyone shivered. Nobody ever thought the gust of wind was two teenage boys and a shopping cart, grabbing anything they could off the shelves.

  "Here, kid." Tabby reched into the pocket of the woman and pulled out a wad of bills. "Is this how much you had?"

 Sniffing and rubbing his eyes pitifully, the multiple nodded.

  "That's my money, all right. I've been saving that up for MONTHS."

 There was a chorus of "aww"s throughout the group as Tabby handed the multiple the wad of bills, and, for effect, him hugging her around her torso.

  "Meet out at Lance's jeep, give him that money." She whispered softly and urgently to him.

 The multiple nodded.

  "Thank you." His voice was soft and sweet, like a small angel's would be. Than he ran off torwards the door and exited.

  "We need more people like YOU in the world, young lady." The small elderly man in the motorized shopping cart commented before handing her a five dollar bill "for her troubles". The others around him nodded in agreement and each handed her a dollar bill, whether it be a five, one, or ten she was not sure.

  "Thank you, THANK you, I don't deserve this, well, actually I do, THANK you..."

 The crowd dispersed, and Tabby felt a strong gust of wind through the already open automatic doors.

  "Let's go, Freddy." She grinned, linking her arm through his as they left the supermarket, an applause following them.

 Reaching Lance's jeep, she grinned to see the rest of the group sitting lazily, looking bored.   "What took you so long?" Pietro asked, examining his perfectly shaped nails (they always happened to just...stay that way) with a bored look on his face.

  "Well," she grabbed the multiple by the arm and swung him around in a dance. "This GENIOUS helped us get MULAH as well as grub!"

 The multiple held out a large wad of bills, as did Tabby.

  "Way to GO!" Jamie cried out in a happy voice, giving his multiple an approving look.

 Lance could only stare at the wad of bills in amazement, as could Pietro. When he finally spoke, he looked at Jamie, his face expressionless.

  "Well," His tone was unreadable. "I hate to tell you this, kid, but..."

 Jamie, his multiple, Tabby, Fred, Todd, and Pietro all leaned forward with wide eyes.

  "...YOU'RE PART OF THE BROTHERHOOD!"  The cheers echoed through the parking lot of Dixie's Grocers. Jamie was part of the team.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~ ~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  "He's been gone a long time, Professor." Scott murmered, his hands on his hips as he stood in the Professor's office, pacing, sitting, pacing some more.

  "Just calm down, Scott, he will come back." Despite the Professor's calm words, he too, had a look of distress shadowing his face.

  "What are we gonna do?" Scott started pacing again. "What if someone hits him?"

 Professor Xavier pursed his lips and pressed his hands together, surveying Scott.

  "Scott, why don't you visit the elementery school?" Casting a glance at the clock on the wall, he continued. "It is almost time for them to be released."

 Scott stopped pacing and stared at the Professor as the idea dawned on him.

  "Alright, Professor, I'll check it out."

 And he exited the office. Walking along the red carpet down the hall, Scott barely payed attention to anyone that passed him. This had never happened before, no one had ever just gone...MISSING.

  "Hey Kurt, wanna come for a joyride?"

 Kurt, who had been lounging on the chandeleir, ported down and fell into step beside Scott, all the while turning on his holowatch.

  "Vhere are ve going?" He asked, hopping into the passangers seat without a care or worry.

 Scott started up the engine and turned out of the drive through the gate before answering.

  "The elementery school."

 Kurt stared at him with interest.

  "Vhy...?"He asked, before it dawned on him. "To see if multiple is zare?"

 Scott nodded and sighed.

  "I'm just...worried, you know? What if he's somewhere, hurt, and we don't know it? You know the Professot can't find people if they're hurt..."

 A two fingered hand on his shoulder. Scott looked up. Kurt was looking sympatheticly at him.

  "Scott, I vould just stop vorrying. He's probably fine." He grinned. "Maybe he just vent out for a burger. I've been in zat hospital ward, you should see ze food Ororo tries to make your stomach digest! It's painful!"

 Scott managed a small smile at Kurt's attempts. What is they didn't find him...and someone found out his mutant power? What if he was locked up somewhere, helpless, unable to escape...

 STOP it Scott. He ordered himself. You're overreacting again. Kurt's probably right.

 He parked his car carefully, a small ways away from where children got picked up. A ways away, there was a beeping sound over the large speakers sticking out of the walls, (probably for those who had gym that last period). A stream of kids automatically burst from the doors of the school, and Scott decided that he wouldn't be surprised if the whole wall crumbled that very moment. There were so many kids...how would he ever find the one he was looking for?

  "He blends vell, ja?" Kurt's voice interrupted his thoughts, bringing him with a disturbing bump back to painful realtity. Nodding, he stared into the crowd once again, spotting a group of kids. One of the kids was Jamie.

  "Over there!" Scott grabbed Kurt's shoulder and pointed to the group of kids.

  "Vell, should ve...talk to him?" Kurt asked as Scott fixed his glasses nervously.

 They had no chance, though, because as they were talking, Jamie bid goodbye to the group and parted slightly, jogging easily while wearing his not very full backpack, with a destination. Scott's eyes focused on the jeep he hopped into before they drove off with a loud schreech.

  "Alvers..."He groaned angerly, and Kurt just looked surprised.

  "Multiple...joined...ze brotherhood?"

 Scott shifted the car and backed it out as fast as the law could allow. Zooming through the street, he turned to Kurt.

  "The professor will fix this."

*********** ***********

  "But Professor..."

 Professor Xavier fiddled with a pen on his desk, somehow managing not to scream at the stares Logan, Jean, Ororo, and Scott were giving him.

  "I am just saying, Scott, that we cannot force Jamie to come back. He has to do it on his own."

 Logan pointed to Scott.

  "For once, I agree with Shades. I think we should force the little runt to come back. Theres no way he's gunna be better off stayin' with a lot like that, you gotta thinka your OPTIONS."

 Jean and Ororo nodded at this statement, but Professor Xavier still held his ground.

  "There are other ways in getting him to return to us besides force. He will see soon enough that perhaps the Brotherhood is not the place for him..."

  "What about his parents?" Ororo interrupted. "They think he is resigning here. Charles I beg to reconsider."

 Professor Xavier shook his head.   "According to what I have traced, his mother has no idea that Jamie had ever come here to begin with, and his father did not either. They both assumed that had run away."

 Everyone in the room simply blinked.

  "So I suppose we just wait." Jean geussed, biting her lip. "Well, common, it's dinner time."