Ok this is my first FanFic. This is a reupload of the first chapter. So please be kind when you read. I'm still trying to get the hang of how this works. I think that I have everything spaced out right. This system is a little different and will take me a bit to get used to. This is how it was set up when I first tried to load it. I hope that I fixed everything. If I missed something let me know and I'll try to fix it. I do not own the X-Men. I wish that they were real. I think it would be a blast to meet them. So now that you know I'm a nut you know what to expect from this story. Please review and let me know how to make it better. I'm not that good at accents so I'm not even going to try. Have fun reading and I'll try to post more in the next few days.
Kurt was keeping to the shadows as he always did. There was no need to keep to the shadows. This was not a mission and he did have his image inducer, so he looked like a normal 20 something guy. All of that did not matter to him. He knew what he was and he also knew what people thought of him. They saw a demon straight out of hell. Kurt did not see the pale skin that the image inducer projected over his blue fur. He saw the three fingered, three-toed demon with a tail that he knew he was.
What he failed to see was the look on the face of the girl hanging on his arm. She had a happy dreamlike smile that few got to see. It only came out when she was around Kurt and even then she tried to hide it. This girl was Kitty Pride and she had had a crush on Kurt for a while now. She thought that it was a secret that no one could tell. She tried to act normal around Kurt but everyone could tell that she liked him, everyone that is but Kurt. Kurt never thought down the lines of love. How could he when he looked the way he did?
The third member of this party was walking a few steps behind having a good laugh at his friends and their messed up love lives. This third member was Bobby Drake, aka Iceman. He was just happy that it was not his love life that made him laugh. He had had more ups and downs with his last girlfriend than he ever had on one of his ice slides. They had just broken up and Bobby didn't want to sit around the house anymore so he talked Kitty and Kurt into going to the Fair that opened a few days ago in Salem center. It was not a very good fair. It had all the normal rides and games. They had just ridden on the tilt-a-whirl and Kurt still seemed a little dizzy. Kitty then saw a tent that offered old tintype photos. Kitty dragged Kurt over to have a picture taken of them dressed as people from the Wild West. Kitty picked out a green and gold striped dress with a very low-neck line that caused Kurt to blush and Bobby to let out a few catcalls. Kurt picked out a suit that was dark brown with a silk type vest and he wore a gun belt around his waist and a big hat on his head. When the picture was done Kurt asked that Kitty not show it around, and of course she agreed. That did not stop Bobby from sneaking back and getting a copy for himself. He had the perfect prank in mind and the photo was the last thing he needed to pull off his master plan. When Bobby caught up to Kitty and Kurt he was able to pick up the end of an argument about where they should go next.
"Kurt I want to go to the fortune teller's tent. I think it will be fun. Don't you want to know what the fates have in store for you? I know that I do." Kitty said with a pleading look on her face that almost always swayed people to her way of thinking.
"No, Kitty I don't want to know what the fates have in store for me. Some things should be left to the unknown. I know better than to play with the fates. If they wanted me to know something I would have a vision or something." Kurt said this with a little more force than Bobby thought was needed.
"Hey guys. What's the big deal? I'll go with Kitty and we can meet back up by the fried dough vendor in 20 min. or we can just go to the fried dough vendor right now. What do you say?" Bobby put an arm around both of his friends and tried to walk to the food stand in question. Kitty lit up at Bobby's offer.
"Sure lets go to the fortune teller and Kurt can stand around and think about the meaning of life or something." She took Bobby's arm and dragged him over to the tent. Bobby gave a last longing look at the fried dough stand and then went inside the tent with Kitty. Kurt stood out side the tent with a small smile on his face from the antics of his friend. Did Bobby ever think of anything but food? Well, food and cartoons were the most common thoughts on Bobby's mind. But as far as Kurt cared that was just Bobby.
Inside the tent there were three people sitting around a table with only a few candles burning to give off light. The tent was dark and had a red tint to the light given off by the candles. Bobby felt a little strange sitting there. There was a dark presence in the tent that almost made it hard to breathe. Kitty did not seem to feel it. She sat listening to the instructions from the old woman across the table from her. The woman wore the standard out fit of a scarf wrapped around her head and big gold hoop earrings, an off the shoulder peasant blouse and a long flowing skirt. She handed Kitty the cards and told her to shuffle them and then hand them back. When Kitty had done this the old woman started to deal out the cards. This was just the normal reading, there is a dark man in your future and he will come and take you away from all your problems. Bobby was not that impressed but Kitty seemed to like what she was hearing. Then as the old woman was about to had the cards over to Bobby; a young girl dressed head to toe in white with a veil hiding her face came running into the tent from the back and slapped the cards out of Bobby's hands.
The old women turned eight shades of red and grab the young girls arm and started to shake her. The girl said nothing through the whole encounter, but Bobby noticed that the Dark feeling was gone the moment she came in the tent. "Priestess why did you stop my reading. I was only half done with these two people. How dare you strike the cards out of his hands! You know what this interference will cost you." The old woman snapped out still shaking the girl on every other word. Still the girl said nothing. Kitty had already gotten to her feet and turned and walked out of the tent. Bobby could not wrap his mind around this. Why would Kitty just leave like that and why was he just sitting there and not trying to help this girl? Then he saw the eyes of the girl under the heavy white veil. They were the palest lavender; with such pain and hopelessness that Bobby wanted to cry for her. That look got him to his feet and he was reaching for her other arm when he felt this push against his mind and body.
The next thing he knew he was out in front of the fried dough vendor with a dreamy Kitty and a puzzled Kurt. "How did I get here? Why does Kitty look so out of it? I have to get back to that tent. I have to save that Priestess girl." Bobby rushed all his thoughts running into one long blur.
"What are you talking about? Who is this Priestess girl and what happened in that tent?" Kurt was calm and steady in the middle of Bobby's breakdown. Kurt had never seen his friend so up set before. Bobby tried to protect the world but he also knew that something's were not his problem to fix. Bobby told Kurt what he could remember of the past 15 min. but for some reason his brain felt a bit foggy. "I'm going to take Kitty home and have Hank and the Professor take a look at her. I have a feeling that someone was messing with both of your heads. Will you be ok for a little while? You promise not to try to save the day or to try to find that Priestess girl. I want Jean or the Professor here when we find her." Kurt had already gathered Kitty in his arms and was preparing to teleport home.
"Sure no hero stuff until the big guns gets here. How dumb do I look? Wait don't answer that. I'll be a good boy and wait for you to get back. Now go and take care of Kitty before she drools all over you." Bobby sits down on a near by bench with his arms crossed and a look of annoyance on his face. Kurt poofed away in a cloud of smoke and brimstone, while Bobby got to his feet and headed over to the tent in question. So Kurt thinks that I'll just sit around and let something happen to that poor girl. I don't think so.
Bobby enters the tent only to find that there is no one there. He slips out the back way that he had seen the girl enter from earlier. To his surprise this back entrance opens out on to the living area for the people working the fair. There were tents and RV's all over the place. How am I going to find her in this maze? He thought to himself.
He started walking around looking in some tents and peeking in windows. He was just about to give up and head back to wait for the rest of the gang to get there when he heard something that he could not believe. There was an auction going on. This auction was not for a table or chair but for a person.
"We have a prize tonight men! Our seer has told me that our own High Priestess is to be on the block tonight. The powers have sent a vision that Priestess needs to be shown the penalty for interfering in a reading. You all know the rules. You are bidding for a single night with her. She will have to do everything that you ask of her with out question. Now I will be taking bids for five nights. Highest bid gets the first night. Any questions on how this will work? None. Good. Lets start the bidding at $100."
As Bobby looked around he saw the leering faces of the men about to bid and the look of greed on the face of the man running the auction. The heavyset man that had been talking reached behind him to pull Priestess to the front for the men to get a better look at her. The veil was gone now and Bobby could see her face. His mouth was hanging open with what he saw. She was no girl like he thought. She was a full-grown woman. She looked to be about 22 years old, close to the same age as Bobby. She had long straight dark brown hair that reached her lower back and fell around her shoulders to hide her face. That face was the most striking thing about her. She had large eyes that had a look of knowing and seeing too much for her age. It was the same look that Jean and the Professor could get at times. She had a small nose and mouth, framed by high cheekbones. She was pale but that did not seem surprising after seeing what she was forced to wear. Her dress had been torn in a few places and had dirt stains along the hem and right side. It looked as if she had been dragged over there. Bobby never once heard her say anything. She just looked at the ground with a blank look on her face. That blank look was far worse than the hopeless look he saw in the tent.
He had to do something. He had to save her. That thought kept beating in his head. He had to save her. It was almost like his life depended on hers. Then just as he was about to rush forward and take her away she looked up at him and just shook her head. That stopped him in his tracks. He wanted to move but his feet would not listen. This was more than he could take.
Why would she not let me help her? Then he got a picture in his head of a tower with flames around it. It looked like the card that he saw in the tent during Kitty's reading. What did that card mean? Some thing about danger and trouble, I know that much. Well of course there would be danger and trouble if I tried to save her. People have so little faith in me. I think I can save one woman from a bunch of carnie people.
With that decided Bobby got his feet to move and he sneaked over to the side of the auction area out of Priestess's line of sight. If he were going to save her than she would have to not get in his way. He iced up his hands and got ready for a fight. When the bidding got going and people were not paying attention to Priestess Bobby made his move. He lunged forward and dragged Priestess into the shadows with him. He started to run with Priestess a few steps behind. They came to a fork in the row of tents and Bobby wanted to head back to the open fair grounds but Priestess took off in the other direction. Bobby ran behind her watching for any pursuers. That was when he heard the roar of the man running the auction. He was yelling at everyone to find her and the man that found her would get a free night with her. That was all Bobby had to hear.
He tried to force her back to the main fair grounds. She would have none of it. She ran to the animal pens. She stopped in front of the cage of a wild wolf. It was a beautiful animal, Gray and black fur and piercing eyes that looked far too intelligent to be a mere animal. It was a look that Booby had seen on Logan's face a few times. Priestess reached out for the wolf and he stuck his muzzle through the bars for her to pet. She turned to Bobby and pointed to the lock. He understood what she wanted but why she was so hell bent on freeing a wolf was beyond him. He did as she asked and froze the lock and popped it open. That was when the wolf lunged at him and pined him to the ground. Bobby did not move afraid of doing anything that might cause the wolf to attack. Priestess walked in front of the wolf and looked it dead in the eye and pointed off to the right side where there were voices moving in their direction. The wolf moved off of Bobby and Priestess held a hand out to help Bobby to his feet. When Bobby got to his feet he looked at Priestess and she just nodded and pulled him toward the fair grounds, with the wolf a few steps behind.
When they reached the bench in front of the fried dough stand Priestess sat down and folded her hands in her lap. The wolf sat at her feet under the bench out of sight. Bobby was stunned. Why was she sitting there like noting was wrong? They had to get out of there.
She just looked at him with those eyes of hers and he knew that she had a reason for sitting there. Then he caught a flash of a vision from her. She looked shocked. He knew that she did not mean for him to see that and what he saw made him reach for her. He saw the man from the auction coming out of one of the tents with a gun in his hand. A shot is fired and Priestess jumps in the way to save Bobby. How could he let her do that? How could she be willing to do that for him? She did not even know him.
He was now more determined to protect her than ever. That was when he heard Kurt pop up behind him. Bobby spun around and started to throw an ice shield up. He thought the pop was the gunshot. At the same time Priestess jumped to her feet and hugged Bobby for dear life. That was when the gunshot went off. There was nothing anyone could do. The bullet hit Priestess in the back and she fell to the ground. The wolf took off after the gunman. Bobby reached down to get Priestess. As he lifted her up his hands were covered in blood. Bobby looked about to lose it. He handed Priestess over to Kurt. He did not ask any questions he just teleported back to the mansion to get Priestess medical aid. Bobby took off after the wolf. He had a new thought running wild in his head. He had to save the wolf. When he caught up to the wolf he had the gunman backed into a corner. Bobby walked up to the wolf and tried to pull him away. The wolf only growled and moved closer to the gunman.
"Come on guy. She wouldn't want you to get hurt going after this creep. Come with me and I'll take you to her. I'll take care of him." Bobby said in what he thought was a calm tone of voice. The wolf seemed to understand. He backed off a few steps and waited to see what Bobby would do. Bobby did the only thing he could think of. He froze the guy from the shoulders down. Then he turned to the wolf and led him back to the bench in front of the fried dough vendor. It was odd how everything kept leading him there. Bobby didn't have much time to think on that. Within minutes the rest of the X- Men were there.
The rest of the night went in a blur for Bobby. Scott took charge and had Kurt and Logan take the gunman to the police. Jean went with them to help get a confession out of the man. Scott, Gambit and Bobby took the X- Van back to the mansion so that they could hide the wolf and a bloody Bobby from the police.
Scott then went back to get Jean, Kurt and Logan. Kurt had teleported too many times that night and was grateful for the ride. The only topic of conversation was Priestess. They all had heard the story from Kurt and Kitty. Kitty was resting back in her room. They seem to think that Priestess had used a little too strong of a mental push to get Kitty out of the tent. She would be fine in the morning. The same might not be said for Priestess. She had been shot in the back and it hit her lung and collapsed it. Hank was working on her now. Then there was Bobby. Bobby seemed so lost when they left him. It was a side to Bobby that no one had ever seen. He went right down to the medlabs and waited to hear from Hank. He would not talk to anyone or even look at anyone. Rogue was with him when Scott left to pick up the other three X- Men.
"I sensed a great loss from Bobby. It was like the light was taken from the world. I never felt loss like that. It was more than I could take. I had to break off contact with him. I also got a feeling of guilt over what had happened. From what you told us, Kurt, there was nothing Bobby could have done," Jean said from the front of the van.
Kurt took his eyes off the passing county side to think. "There was something more going on than what I could see. That Priestess woman lunged at Bobby before the gun went off. It was almost as if she knew what was going to happen. I have a feeling that Bobby knew as well." Kurt returned his eyes to the window with a thoughtful look on his face.
"If he knew what was going to happen why the hell did he let her get shot." Scott said from the front. He was more scared that one of his friends might have been hurt than angry that Bobby had not protected this Priestess woman. Jean put a hand on his arm and sent him a wave comfort. She understood why he said what he said but she could not let him take his fear out on poor Bobby.
Then Logan piped up from next to Kurt with a thought that had been bothering him most of the night. "What do we know about this wolf that was with them? It seemed a little to smart for a normal wolf. The way it looked at me was more than an alpha wolf thing. How do we know that this woman is safe to have around? No offence Jean but I'm not too sure I like having a telepath around that could do what we think she can do. I saw Kitty and that had to be one strong push to knock down her mental shields that way and why did she effect Bobby the way she did?"
Jean thought about what she had been able to see in Bobby's mind. "I think that she's ok to have at the mansion. From what I picked up from Bobby she tried to protect him at every turn. The wolf is some how connected to her. I'm not sure how but from what Bobby could see she has a way of talking to it. The most we can do is wait and see what she has to say when she recovers. The Professor is very interested in her. He has felt a few strange telepathic calls over the past week. He thinks that Priestess might have been making them but he is not sure, it is a kind of telepathy that he has not encountered before." The rest of the ride back was spent with each person lost to his or her own thoughts.