Outside Dis Guy's, Inc.

“Hammer, Rod Hammer.” Hudson dropped to one knee and feigned shooting at a target. He followed that up with humming the James Bond theme. “License to kill. And to thrill.”

I rolled my eyes. Professor Xaiver rolled his eyes. Hudson gave a goofy grin.

“OK, you’re set with your disguise, I’m going to be Guy Smiley,” I said.

“Guy Smiley? Isn’t that a game show host?” Xavier asked.

“No, I think it’s a Muppet,” Hudson laughed.

“No it isn’t,” I answered.

“Of course it is,” Hudson continued. “I remember seeing him with Cookie Monster once.”

“Well how would I know if Guy Smiley’s the name of a Muppet? Do I look like the maintainer of the Muppet Wiki? It’s just a good name is all.”

“Pshyah, right,” Hudson chortled.

“Don’t use that name Jon,” Professor interceded. “Use John Smith as your moniker.”

“What? No, that’s not going to work,” I answered. “She’ll sniff that one out right away.”

“John Smith will work because it’s so generic that no one will suspect that it’s a fake name,” Professor Xavier replied.

“John Smith, ha ha,” Hudson laughed. “So who’s gonna be Pocahontas?”

“I happen to like that movie,” the telepath insisted.

“Come on, I don’t wanna be John Smith,” I said. “Tell you what, let me be Joe Purple. That sounds good to me. I'm Joe Purple.”

“You’re not Joe Purple,” Professor growled. “Another X-Man undercover on another mission is Joe Purple. You’re John Smith.”

“Fine,” I conceded begrudgingly. “Let’s just do this.”

“OK gentlemen, it is imperative that this mission goes smoothly without a hitch,” Professor Xavier announced. “Mystique is a wily character and if she gets the feeling that something’s going down, she’ll either bail before you can nab her or take it out on you.”

“Oh, I’m ready for her,” Hudson answered smugly.

“Yeah, I’m getting tired of all this waiting,” I agreed. I agreed with Hudson? Ugh.

“As I was saying,” Xavier continued. “We all have to make sure we’re on the same page, got it? Let’s synchronize watches.”

“I don’t have a watch,” Hudson shrugged.

“Me either,” I shrugged.

“Very well, I will synchronize my watch,” Xavier checked the timepiece on his wrist.

“Oh wait, I do have a chronometer on my Wristcomm,” I held up my left arm to show. “It’s connected to the InterN.E.T, so it’s time is always right and I don’t have to set it.”

“Well bully for you,” Xavier replied dryly. “We’re ready to go. Remember the plan, Hudson you go in first, Jon you follow in ten minutes.”

“Check,” I answered.

“Roger,” Hudson answered.