Well, I hope you enjoy reading as much fun as I had typing this up!
X-Court: Reunion
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It's the day after Kitty had received the horrid news; Kurt had died from the gunshot wound in his court hearing. She had spent quite a lot of time with him lately; they had both grown closer, and though he had let it slip, even in German, that he loved her; she had only pushed him away playfully and never responded mutually. Now, she will never have that opportunity.
With a heavy heart, she grabs a photo of herself being pranked on by the fuzzy elf, packs a backpack full of essentials, and makes her way to the balcony. She steps onto the railing and gracefully descends to the ground, before releasing a heavy sigh and heading off. She needs some time to think.
"Janda? Janda, are Kurt Wagner's guardians here?" Ruffling the papers in the clipboard in her hand, she searches out a fellow nurse. "Ah, there you are."
"Yes, Giselle?" Janda answers, not realizing she was being called upon.
"Janda, have you seen Kurt Wagner's guardians?"
"Oh.. yes, I have. I told them the news already." Her face looks a bit solemn.
"If that's so.. why the face? I would think it a happy moment for a patient to recover from a gunshot wound and go home the next day. Rather amazing, if you ask me."
Suddenly, Janda looks fairly confused. "..Recover? Kurt Wagner? But he died yesterday, didn't he?"
"I should hope not; I just spoke with him today. He wants to see his girlfriend.. Kitty Pryde."
Janda puts a hand to her head. "Oh my god I must have mixed him up with another patient! I told all his friends that he was dead! Oh god, I know I mess up sometimes but this is really bad.."
"Janda I hope you're joking," Giselle replies, but can tell by the look on her face that she's not. "Oh goodness. I'll go call them right away."
The ringing phone echoes through the strangely quiet mansion. At hearing the news, everyone had lost some spark; their day was just missing some fun--even the newer recruits. As usual, Ororo is the first to pick up the phone. Even with an ache in her heart, she answers as though the day is going on as normal.
"Yes, Xavier Institute?"
"Hello. this is Giselle Bira with Bayville hospital. There has been a mix-up, and I apologize for the confusion. Kurt Wagner is alive, and ready to come home today."
Ororo, the calm and composed, drops the phone in shock. She doesn't even hear the voice from the receiver, sounding distant due to it hanging s close to the floor. "PROFESSOR!" she yells out, completely forgetting Professor Xavier had flown to Germany to bring Kurt's parents in. For the terrible news, to discuss funeral arrangements, and the like. "JEAN! SCOTT!" With a commanding tone to back up her voice, she summons the main troops in, then tells them the wonderful news. "Scott, gather the others. Jean, go get Kitty!" Storm herself runs off to get everyone.
Kurt awakens for the second time since being admitted to the hospital. His lung injury has made him tired and weak, chronically it seems. Even after sleeping for hours, he would awaken tired, drained; he would immediately call his nurse back. The first time he had spoken with Nurse Giselle, he learned that he had been rushed to the hospital, taken to surgery, and left to rest. His family went home for some rest as well. He was extremely relieved to find all charges against him had been dropped. After all, they could not charge him with murder if the victim appeared in court, could they? After it all sank in though, he had a few bites to eat before drifting off to dream.
Awake now, he calls for Nurse Giselle again, and asks for food, explaining that one little IV isn't enough. "Please. I need to get my energy back."
Upon food arrival, he looks at the food in distaste. "It.. there's not much here, it looks.. euchh." He pushes it away, and leans back against the pillow, looking pained and nauseas at the same time. "I'm not hungry anymore. Danke," he adds, giving a weak smile for his nice nurse before drifting off once more.
"Are you sure you can't find her?" Scott asks Jean, who has done several mental searches and employed all X-Men in searching for the mysteriously missing Kitty.
"No, Scott. We're all searching; nobody knows where she could have gone. Maybe she wanted to go for a walk," she says, trying to come up with where Kitty could have gone as they make their way to Kitty's room. "She really was close to him, maybe she wanted some--" She stops as she sees Kitty's nightstand. "Oh, no. She always keeps her favorite book and photo on her nightstand; they're both missing. She might have ran.."
"What?" Scott says in surprise, looking at the nightstand. "She couldn't.." He pauses, and sees her drawer slightly out. He opens it, and finds a couple coins in the bottom, along with an empty envelope, with monetary figures counting up. She had been saving money for quite a while, it seems--though now the envelope is empty. "She's gone all right.. We have to tell Storm, and Logan. Maybe he can help track her."
"Right. But remember.. don't tell Kurt. We can't stress him out right now." Scott just nods, then heads off with Jean to find the adults.
Kurt is awoken by noise in his room, and groans softly before opening his eyes. "Vas? No, later.." he mumbles, closing his eyes again.
"Kurt you goof, it's us!" Bobby walks up to Kurt's side. "Man, they really got you, huh?" Kurt looks up at his first visitor, and lets out a tired sigh. "Hallo Bobby," comes his voice, tired and forced. Even Kurt can't believe it's his own voice.
"Remember everyone, Kurt is still very tired, so let's not make him talk too much."
Everyone agrees, and Rogue walks up. "Hey Blueboy," she says, and reaches out for his hand. "How ya feelin'?" Kurt just lets out a smile. "Better.. home," he responds. "Vith Kitty," he adds, and his face instantly cheers up a little. "Where..is she?" He looks over at the crowd. Being a mutant, Kurt is given his own room; good thing too, for his visiting crowd.
"What? She did not va.. vant to come?" He says, taking a breath while talking. He had seen the slightly worried looks on their faces.
"Uh, no Kurt, she.. wanted to stay home," Evan says, lying rather quickly for everyone.
Kurt looks at Evan's face and at the others, then up at Rogue. "Somesing is.. wrong.. you are not tell..ing ze truth," he says, and sits up a little bit, his breathing growing slightly more labored.
"Kurt, relax, everthing's going t'be all right, we'll find her s--"
Rogue is cut off as Kurt suddenly sits up straight in the bed. "Where is she?! Where is she! Is she okay? Vas she kidnapped?!" He suddenly keels forward slightly, struggling to breathe in his sudden fit. With head spinning, he falls to his side--luckily, Rogue is there to catch him. "Kurt, calm down! She's fine! She just went for a walk, she--"
"You don't know vhere she is," Kurt says through a hazy mind, and suddenly teleports away. Very bad for his condition.
Kitty has found her way by now, quarter of the way through New York. She is sipping on a McDonalds cup full of water, glad that she can stop in at any McD's for a free refill. That though, is the last thing on her mind. Upon reaching a movie theater, she phases through the walls to get inside, to a dark theater, and sit alone in the back. A place where nobody can see her tears in the darkness; nobody can hear her near-silent sobs amidst the loud volume of the film. After a few hours of resting, she emerges from the theater, continuing her walk out of New York. Where she's going; she's not exactly sure yet. First stop however; her parents'.
Professor Xavier speaks with Kurt's parents in German, thanking them for coming on such unfortunate terms, only to receive a message moments later from Jean, contacting him from Bayville Hospital. [Professor hurry, Kurt is alive but very weak, and he just teleported to search for Kitty--she thinks he's still dead and she ran away!] Charles puts a hand to his head, relaying this news to the Wagners, before using the X-Jet for a trip to the hospital.
[Jean, scan for them. Do you sense either of them]
Jean tries, several times, but picks nothing up. [No Professor, they're both out of my range]
[Relax, Jean. I'm on my way. We'll send everybody out in search teams. Tell Rahne to get Kurt's scent; that will be especially useful.] With an okay from Jean, Xavier soon arrives.
After teleporting several times in search of Kitty, first to the mansion to her room; Kurt is exhausted. He's in the school, in the biology room; he mentally thanks nobody in particular that it's Sunday. With a weak coughing fit, he lays on the floor, needing to rest once again. He'll get up.. in.. a few.
He reawakens thanks not to being well-rested, but from the shivering. Though he is covered in blue fur, his only protection right now is a light blue hospital gown. Even though he is low on energy, he teleports to the lost-and-found area, and picks out some clothes that will fit him. Normally, a person would head to the cafeteria for food, especially one as hungry as he right now; however, that teleport had done him in, and he weakly clims into the clothing bin, drifting off once more.
Walking this far without incident, Kitty figured she should be fine the whole way. She didn't count on a few mutant hunters following her just out of town. Sly and silent ones they were, well armed as well. She takes a sip on her water again, stomach growling slightly. She hadn't eaten since breakfast, and she left after lunchtime with no appetite.
"Hey, you're a mutant, ain't you?" Kitty kept walking, hoping acting oblivious to avoid them.
"Yeah, you're that Kitty girl. Look, we really don't like mutants, especially around our town," he says, not older than 20.
"Then you'll be happy to know I'm getting out of town," she replies, not seeming very nervous.
"What, without saying goodbye?" The guy grabs her arm, but she simply phases through him..and into the ground, where they really can't find her.
WIth some cursing, they search for her for about five minutes before surrenduring the task. They know when they've lost; besides, there are other mutants in this town.
Monday morning arrives; the sound of the janitors unlocking the school doors can be heard faintly through the halls. Kurt's ear twitches and he stirs, grunting as he sits up in the mess of clothes. Tired as he was, he had managed to snuggle himself down into the clothes, as though zipped up in a sleeping bag. "What time is it.." he thinks out loud, and spots the clock. He makes the time out, then crawls from the clothing cocoon; he needed to get to the cafeteria--his stomach was hurting from the hunger.
Reaching the cafeteria, he browses his options. He chooses the easiest first; the milk. He easily downs a dozen cartons before seeing what else is available. Most everything is refrigerated and would need cooking or warming up; but he finds some more quick options--fruit. Bananas, apples, pears. At least the fruit will balance out the milk in his digestive system.
The janitor cleans up the mess of clothes, blaming it on prankster kids who should just stay home. Luckily, that is the only trace of Kurt he finds, as his morning duties are in the other parts of the school.
Feeling some energy return to him, Kurt grabs another pack of bananas, teleporting out of the school. Glad he had picked out a hoodie, he pulls the hood up to conceal his head, and takes a deep breath as he heads off to find his love.
By Tuesday, the mutants had all been searching the surrounding states; Kitty had taken a rest in a small town and was sitting on a stump, staring off at the scenery. She pulls out the photo or she and Kurt and stares at it, only for a drop of water to fall on it. She holds it close, looking up for rain; but it was her own tears. She sighs and puts it away and puts a hand to her head, wishing that for the moment, it would rain.
Her wish is granted, but it is in the next county over; Kurt, who had managed to travel farther in a shorter amount of time thanks to his teleporting, is now forced to take shelter from the woods he had been traveling in. He spots a tavern in the distance, and runs there two-legged. Teleporting put enough stress on his injured body; running four-legged would be much worse.
Arriving inside, he gets several strange looks. His feet are obvious, he keeps his tail concealed; but he can't completely cover his face or hands. "I'm just here til the rain stops," he says, and heads to the bar. "Vater please."
After getting a sip of water, the sound of chairs screeching the floor are heard. Kurt lowered his head a little, hoping he wouldn't be the target of-
"Ah, a mutant, coming into our bar? I don't think so. You better have money to pay us," one man says, pulling the hood down. People gasp at seeing his whole face. Naturally.
"But.. water is free," he protests, and the man laughs.
"Not for the water, for coming into our bar!"
"But.. I have no money," Kurt says, hoping the man will let go of the hood soon.
The man yanks on the hood a little, and Kurt grits his teeth. "No worries. We'll get our money's worth from you." Kurt suddenly teleports away, leaving the hood behind. Better to be without a shirt than be shot. He was no fool; he heard that gun click.
Shivering as the rain hit him, he walks off. His chest bandages are becoming very soggy very fast.
Kitty looks up as she feels a few real raindrops. The clouds had moved into town and would take a few hours to fully pass over. She just sits there, really not caring if she gets sick.
After half an hour, she suddenly feels heavy breathing on her neck. "You're going to get sick out here," comes the German voice; she snaps around to see Kurt, shirtless, bandages slightly loose, having some trouble breathing. "You are hard.. hard to track down, Kitty," he manages, and shivers. He'll be the sick one if they don't get indoors soon.
She stares at him, and even in the rain, her newly-forming tears are obvious. "Kurt!" She leaps up and pulls him into a tight hug, and he wraps his furry wet arms around her. "Kitty, they said..you ran, and I..came after you," he wheezes.
She pulls back from him with a smile, but it fades as she looks him over. "Kurt, like, are you all right? COme on, let's get you inside!" She puts his arm over her shoulders to help him into a small, nearby store.
The store is filled with handmade country-style items, rustic items and handmade stained glass. The owner looks up in surprise, and sees not a mutant, but an injured boy. She quickly grabs a chair from the store display and a blanket from the back. "Are you two all right? You'll catch your death in the rain," she says, and puts some water in the microwave for hot chocolate.
"I'm all right as I'm with Kitty," Kurt says, though he's still shivering. Luckily, his body is focusing completely on shivering, and his breathing has evened out. "Th-Thank you, though."
Kitty quicky calls the X-Men to tell them she's found Kurt, and to give them their location. She hangs up and returns to Kurt. "Is there anything you want Kurt?"
"Ja, Lockheed," he says jokingly, speaking of Kitty's stuffed dragon. Kitty giggles and just focuses on helping Kurt to warm up until the others arrive.
So it ends, the woman being thanked for her kindness and hospitality, and all returning to the institute. Kurt spends a few days in the Infirmary, and everyone can tell he's feeling better when he begins joking how he's glad he was shot--he could get out of Danger Room Sessions with Logan. For a few days, he was completely pampered; he objected a little, but otherwise, welcomed the attention after that ordeal.
Though this ordeal ended, they knew they would still face much more together.
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Ah, what a good and slightly sappy end to the story. Enjoy all!