AN- Hey! This is an idea my friend, Ruth, and I came up with at school. We decided to write it together and have spent quite a while planning it. That said, it's not going to be perfect so if anyone has any ideas or suggestions to help us make it better, it would be great if you could review and tell us. Also it's set in 1857, so if we get anything wrong please let us know! Anyway thanks for reading and we hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer- I don't own X-Men Evolution. I'm more of a closet fan. Unlike my friend, Ruth, who would probably bring a banner to school that, says; X-MEN RULE, if we let her. She scares me sometimes.
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
Summery- AU. When Kitty Pryde was affected by the mutation, her parents left to find a cure. Now left in the care of an old family friend, Professor Xavier, she finds that these powers may not be a curse after all. With the help of her two cousins and two best friends, she forms a small vigilante group and sets out to break all the rules. One bandit catches her eye, but under the stern gaze of her older sister, she finds herself fighting to prove that status doesn't matter and true love does exist. Lancitty. (Much to Ruth's disgust. What can I say? I love it!)
Characters
Kitty- The youngest daughter of a wealthy family. Often smothered by her older sister. The leader of the vigilante group.
Tabitha- Crazy cousin / Crazy vigilante / Frickin' nut-job in general.
Rahne- Kitty's other cousin. Had to come live with them when she was affected by the mutation. Youngest member of the vigilante group.
Rogue- One of Kitty's best friends. Kurt's older sister. Member of the vigilante group.
Kurt- Kitty's other best friend. Skilled acrobat. Isn't actually part of the group but knows about it and helps when he can.
Remy- Rogue's suitor. Good friends with Kitty and taught her to fight with a staff.
Jean- Kitty's older sister. Extremely over-protective and worries about her younger sister and cousins a lot.
Scott- Jean's suitor. Acts like a boring over-protective big brother.
Professor Xavier- Old family friend and Kitty and Rahne's tutor. Called "Uncle X" by Kitty and "Baldy" by Tabitha.
Logan- Grumpy gardener.
Lance- Leader of the "Bandithood." Kitty's secret love interest.
The BLOB, Toad and Quicksilver- Members of the Bandithood.
Jubilee and Amara- Jean's friends.
Jamie- Errands boy. Also knows about the vigilantes. Good friends with Rahne. Often causes distractions to allow the girls to sneak out.
Bobby- A young man trying to court Kitty.
Sam- Rahne's love interest.
Ororo- A family friend
…………………………………………………………………………………………
AN- Phew! Now, on with the story!
………………………………………………………………………………………….
Fifteen year old Kitty Pryde shifted into a more comfortable position in the tree she had perched in. Sighing, she reached into her bag, pulled out a tattered leather book and began to write.
June 1857
Dear Diary,
Mother and Father sent another letter today. They claimed that they still hadn't found a cure for the mutation that has affected myself and my older sister, Jean. I do wonder though, if they do find a cure will I take it? I do not understand how having these powers can be so terrible. Secretly, I find them exciting and unbelievably exhilarating!
Jean would have a heart attack if she heard me say that. She is convinced that ever since our cousin, Tabitha, came to live with us, I have been acting extremely unlady like. I, personally, disagree. I have always acted this way, just not in front of her. Sometimes I think that she tries too hard to be the perfect big sister. She already does an amazing job. Tabitha says that Jean worries about me. Apparently, she is afraid I will get hurt. Ever since Mother and Father left, Jean has become fiercely over-protective and I am lucky if she actually lets me leave the mansion by myself. Usually I can convince Tabby or my two best friends, Kurt and Marie, to accompany me.
Kurt and Marie are siblings and were affected by the mutation as well.
Kurt is the younger of the two and a very gentle soul. You would never see him hurt another being and is always ready to take part in my hair-brained schemes. Most of the town people think that we would make a good couple. I, however, disagree. Kurt is one of my best friends and I will admit that once upon a time, I may have had feelings for him. Now, that attraction has disappeared rapidly.
Last week we overheard Amara Aquilla saying that we were engaged. It took over five hours for us to control our laughter!
Kurt is an extremely skilled acrobat and has taught me some of his tricks. I said he should leave home and join the circus but he just laughed and said he would if I could come up with a name for his act. I suggested "The Amazing Nightcrawler!" but he didn't understand it. I pointed out that it was a stage name and you weren't supposed to understand it anyway. Sometimes I wonder if I am the only one who thinks about these things.
Marie is the older sibling. We are not allowed to call her Marie though, she insists that we call her Rogue. Unlike Kurt, she actually thinks about things and is often the voice of reason in our trio.
Her and Jean don't exactly see eye to eye, but Rogue says she can empathise. Apparently it is normal for the older sibling to worry needlessly about their younger ones. Rogue is always the one to remind me what time I am needed home. She seems to attract suitors but she always turns them down or pushes them away. The last one, Cody, went home with his tail between his legs. There is one, however, who is incredibly persistent. A young man from New Orleans named Remy LeBeau.
He spends a large amount of time at the mansion looking for Rogue and he and I have become good friends. I once witnessed him practicing a form of martial arts with a long wooden staff. When he saw my fascinated expression, he offered to teach me and I am now quite skilled fighting with it. I think Rogue is warming up to him as well.
Remy is quite unlike my sister's suitor, Scott Summers. Scott is a perfectly fine gentleman, but he is like a male version of Jean. He too, is over-protective of me and often worries needlessly. And Jean thought they had nothing in common!
When Mother and Father left on their quest to find a cure, they left me in the capable hands of their old family friend, Professor Charles Xavier. He stepped in as my legal guardian and my tutor. He is unbelievably clever and has an answer for everything. Tabby and I both have different names for him. Tabby calls him "baldy" while I call him "Uncle X." I suppose my name is politer because I have known him longer. Uncle X is the only person I know (apart from Tabby,) who considers our mutations a gift. It is very refreshing to hear that.
Oh! I almost forgot! In Mother and Father's letter, they mentioned that Cousin Rahne has been affected by the mutation as well. The poor girl is only a year younger than me. I wonder what her power is? Anyway, her parents are sending her to live with us! I think it will be good to have someone who is younger than me around the mansion. Maybe Jean will stop being so over-protective. I feel awfully sorry for her though, she has to leave her home in Scotland and come to a new unfamiliar place. We will all try to help her through this and soon she will be extremely happy here. I just know it!
One thing I don't know, however, is when Mother and Father will be coming back. I have got a feeling that they know there is no cure. They just can't stand the idea of their children being freaks. This used to really bother me but now, I have realised that no matter what happens I will always have Jean, Kurt, Rogue, Tabby, Remy, Scott and Uncle X. This is my new family and I can't wait for Rahne to arrive.
Kitty
Slamming her diary shut, Kitty leant back against the trunk of the tree. The huge mansion that she lived in could be seen out of the corner of her eye. She had managed to sneak away for a few precious moments alone. She knew, however, that it could not last.
"Kitty!"
Kitty cringed as the voice of her older sister echoed in the branches of the tree. She sounded more than slightly annoyed. Kitty cautiously peered through the leaves and caught a glimpse of the flaming red hair that belonged to Jean. Gulping, Kitty decided it might be safer to pretend she wasn't there. Maybe Jean would go and look somewhere else?
"Katherine Pryde! I know you are up that tree! I am a telepath remember!"
Kitty groaned. How could she forget that? Jean's mutation allowed her to read other peoples' thoughts. Sometimes it was incredibly annoying to have your over-protective older sister know all your plans.
"Kitty! If you are not down here in the next minute, then I will lock you in your room for the rest of your life!"
Kitty rolled her eyes at Jean's hollow threat and started to shimmy down the tree. She jumped the final branches and landed on the soft, springy, bright green grass of the field that surrounded the mansion. Under Jean's stern glare, she straightened up and smoothed the front of her dress. Widening her eyes, she put on her best innocent pout.
"Jean, I am sorry. Were you looking for me?"
Kitty crossed her fingers behind her back and hoped that her innocent, cute act would thaw Jean's anger slightly. Although Jean saw straight through her baby sister's pout, she couldn't help smiling at the sight. Kitty's innocence often made her forget about all the things that were bothering her. But if Kitty thought that she wasn't in trouble for sneaking away, she was in for a huge shock.
"Kitty, where were you?" Asked Jean. "You should know better than to leave the mansion by yourself."
Kitty bit her lip. It hadn't exactly been easy for her to sneak away. Mr Logan, the bad-tempered gardener, had been lurking about. Tabitha had been strutting through the corridors and Scott had been patrolling the grounds. She had just about wept with joy when she had found that Jean was in the town for the day. Having the Mind-Reader out of the house had made her bid for freedom so much easier. Of course, being a phaser had helped as well. Her ability to walk through walls had made many escape attempts possible.
"Kitty, you disappearing on your own is dangerous. What if you had fallen out that tree and hurt yourself?" Said Jean, as she began one of her famous lectures. "Mother and Father left you in my care and if anything happened to you, I would never forgive mysel..."
Jean suddenly cut off as she noticed her sister had stopped listening halfway through. Instead, Kitty had turned to face the dusty road that ran along the far side of the field. It was usually deserted but from time to time an odd traveler would ride past. Right now, however, deserted was not the word to describe it.
An old man was crouched down in the middle of a group of mounted riders. Kitty knew from her lessons with Uncle X, that the men on horses were bandits. She also knew that she had to do something to help. The old man was on his knees being held by sword-point, while the bandits raided his belongings. When he yelled out for help, one of them back-handed him across the face. Kitty felt Jean's grip on her arm tighten as she tried to pull her little sister away from the confrontation. The old man screamed for help again and Kitty quickly made up her mind.
She phased out of Jean's grip and started to run. She could hear Jean screaming at her to get back but she paid no attention. Picking up a long stick from the ground she desperately ran through all of the moves that Remy had taught her. She leapt over the fence that marked the end of their estate and took a defensive stance in front of the old man.
The bandits looked quite amused at the sight of a young girl trying to stop them. Kitty sized them up. There were four of them and they were all wearing masks so she couldn't make out any distinguishing facial features. Two of them instantly stood out. One was amazingly big, his enormous frame made the others look tiny. It was hard to tell whether he had a neck or not.
"He looks like a... a... a Blob!" Thought Kitty, for lack of better words.
The other was crouched in a squat, making him look like a frog. Kitty wrinkled up her nose as the pungent scent from the 'frog' hit the roof of her mouth.
"Forget frog." She thought to herself. "Toad suits him better!"
The other two men she had trouble placing. She suddenly remembered something Remy had told her during one of their lessons.
"You can figure out a lot about someone from their stance."
The third man was very slim and his white hair could be seen over the top of his mask. He stood there with arrogance radiating with every move he made. Kitty took a dislike to him immediately.
The last man caught Kitty's attention. His well chiseled body and rugged looks made her gasp inwardly. His eyes held a sparkle that she had never seen before in anyone else and he stood with such confidence, she was sure he was the leader of the little group. Kitty silently remprimanded herself for thinking such unlady like thoughts. It would save Jean the trouble of doing it.
"Now, this probably isn't the best idea." Said the Blob. "See, we don't want to hurt a young lady such as yourself."
Arrogance nodded.
"I agree. It's probably best if you went home and pretended you didn't see anything."
Kitty shook her head and tightened her grip on her makeshift start.
"Alright then." Said the Toad. "We'll just have to make you move."
Three of the men launched into an attack. Kitty quickly used her staff to block a punch from Toad and used her acrobat skills she had learnt from Kurt to dodge a hit from Arrogance.
"He really needs a new name." Thought Kitty to herself as she back-flipped to avoid another hit. "God, he is fast."
She swung the staff round and it hit Toad in the face. He fell to the ground unconscious and his teammates stared at Kitty in surprise. Speedy, the newly named Arrogance, turned to the leader and gaped in shock. The three bandits still standing, exchanged a glance and rapidly clambered onto their horses. The Blob grabbed hold of Toad's motionless body and rode off, Speedy following close behind. The leader hesitated and locked eyes with Kitty. She felt a shiver go down her spine and she swore she saw him smile.
"The name's Lance Alvers." He informed her, before urging his horse to follow his fellow bandits. "I never caught yours."
"Kitty!" She yelled after him. "My name is Kitty Pryde!"
"Half-pint!"
The gruff voice of Mr Logan shook Kitty out of her daze. She spun round to see him, Jean, Scott and Tabitha running towards her. Jean put on a spurt of speed and rushed up to her. She hugged Kitty tightly.
"Don't ever do that again. Do you have any idea how foolish that was? You could have been hurt!"
Remy watched as Kitty tried to break out of Jean's hold.
"Dat was some pretty fancy moves there, petite. But your soeur is right. Those men could have hurt you."
Kitty finally broke free and glanced around.
"Where did the old man go?" She asked. "He was right here a minute ago."
"He ran off as soon as you started fighting." Said Tabitha. "Which I have to say was pretty fantastic even if not very lady like."
Scott glared at Tabitha.
"No, it was not fantastic. Kitty could have been killed by those men. What she did was very foolish and she will not do it again. Agreed Kitty?"
Kitty just nodded, suddenly feeling incredibly weary. Jean noticed this, however, and decided that they'd had enough excitement for one day.
"Come Kitty, we should go home and get all this dust and muck off you. Rahne should be arriving tomorrow."
Kitty nodded again and started to follow Jean towards the mansion. Her thoughts wandered, however, to a young rugged bandit with sparkling eyes.