Don't own the X-men. If I had the travesty that inspired this story wouldn't have happened. Takes place minutes after the end of Uncanny X-force 24 so spoilers for that and X-Force and Wolverine and the X-men in general.

Betrayal

"Bobby…huff…huff…wouldja…huff…just stop for one SECOND!" Kitty screamed at the retreating back of Bobby Drake as he stomped across the grounds of the Jean Grey Institute.

"I need to find Warren!"

"No you don't! There is nothing about what just happened that makes me think you need to find Warren. If anything I think you need to cool off about ten levels."

"Temperature joke. Punny."

Kitty finally caught up to him and grabbed him by the arm. "Listen Drake. If you don't stop and talk to me I will revoke whatever limited make out privileges that I've granted you in the last few days."

Bobby rounded on her with a look in his eye that caused Kitty to retreat back a step. "I need you to not find this funny right now okay? I am legitimately bothered by what just happened and I need to find Warren."

Kitty sighed and laced her arm through his, slowing his frantic pace to a quick walk. "That wasn't our business to know," she said quietly.

"Well we know it now. And there are two options…kill them both or tell Warren for my own catharsis."

"Ooh…big word."

Bobby glared at her, "Kitty…"

"Right. Sorry."

The pair entered the building. Bobby opened his mouth to ask Doop for Warren's location, then immediately thought better of it and turned to the briskly walking Sam who offered the pair a wave.

"Samson!"

Cannonball chuckled, "Yes sir?"

"Where's Worthy?"

"Last Ah checked he was foldin' your laundry."

Now it was Kitty's turn to glare as Bobby sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "It's not what you…what really was happening was…he used to make me do it!"

"You will tell him he doesn't need to do that anymore."

"Yes ma'am."

"Good boy." Kitty stood up to kiss him gently on the cheek. Bobby still tinged pink whenever she did so…he was still in a mild state of shock that there was some semblance of a relationship between them. As his attention began to drift more towards Kitty his breathing became less labored and some of the anger in his heart began to flow out. Kitty noticed the dissipation of angst on his face and squeezed his arm gently.

"Can we rethink this now? Is all of this necessary?"

Bobby sighed, "Look Kitty…I'm not going to…tell him anything. I just…I feel like there are things that he needs to hear from me, in case he does start to remember. I want him to know that there's always going to be someone on his side."

Kitty looked up at Bobby as he stared off. She had never really been friends with him or Warren before coming to the new school. Sure she thought he was funny, and definitely cute in all of the ways that Peter wasn't, but she primarily hung out with "her" generation of X-men. Kurt. Logan. Ororo. She had been on a team with Scott and Hank but she never really had understood the dynamic of the originals, save for the pedestal they all, appropriately, put Jean Grey on. Where she had become the surrogate kid sibling to her first team, the boys of the original five had grown up that way. They had been isolated from the rest of civilization and were forced to grow together through their teenage years. If anything their bond was stronger than any of the other friendships on the team, and she had never really understood that until she had been around Bobby. She noticed some of his tendencies. How when he was bored he would just sit and watch Hank in the lab. How every week he called Scott's cell phone to say hello, and STILL referred to him as "boss-man" each time. And now how frantically he was willing to defend his best friend Warren from anything, even though no one had the heart to tell him that Warren wasn't Warren anymore and, barring a miracle, probably wouldn't be again. Kitty had a family before she came to the X-men, it had just gotten bigger, for Bobby, these people were everything.

"Do you think she'll follow?" Kitty asked.

"If she has any sense she won't. She was going after Logan right when we left."

Kitty shook her head, "Even objectively, that was nuts. It's been what?"

"Less than a month."

"Jeez."

One hour earlier

"So then he MELTED me?" Bobby demanded.

Logan chuckled, "Yep. Your crazy ass dropped me on a bomb and shot Wade across five blocks. Had to be done."

Bobby pawed at the ground glumly, "I would've wanted to meet crazy evil me."

"He was scum." Nightcrawler said.

Logan threw an arm around Bobby, "Would've been like lookin' in a mirror, kid. 'Cept he liked his prostitutes."

Bobby and Kitty sat around one of the tables in Cavern X. Bobby didn't really like being there, but Kitty told him that it was better to have the channels of communication open with Logan; things would be less messy down the line because of it. For her part, Kitty was still apprehensive being around this other Kurt, and the relish with which he told the story of his killing of the alternate dimension's Iceman won him no brownie points in Bobby's eyes either.

"Today's a catch-up day with Wings right?" Logan asked curiously. "How'd it go?"

Bobby shook his head, "Nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada."

"You'll crack 'im. I know it."

Kitty put a hand on Bobby's shoulder, "We all know it."

Logan hid a smile. He hadn't seen this coming…but he also knew if anyone could get the Popsicle to his full potential it was Kitty. He liked the hell out of Bobby, always secretly had, but the kid was as simple as they came. Stick a pretty girl in front of him and he'd jump through whatever hoops you wanted him to. And he could begrudgingly admit that he'd probably be good for Kitty too.

"Speaking of, where's Betsy?" Bobby asked. "I figured the easiest avenues to work with Warren were the other originals and her…he'd have the most memories of us."

Logan shrugged. "Her and Pepe le Pew got back from whatever they were doin' right before we did. Saw her for a minute and she wouldn't talk about it…said she needed to debrief and went to go talk to him."

Bobby's face hardened. He loathed Fantomex. Never in his life had he seen Warren insecure until the minute that Jean-Phillipe had joined the team. He didn't like it.

Logan rapped once on the table and stood up. "C'mon…let's go get them. Betts will want to see a friendly face. Looked like she'd rather eat dog shit than talk to JP again."

Logan led Kitty and Bobby through the tunnels to Fantomex's quarters and knocked once on the door. No answer. He knocked again harder, but this time there was the sound of glass shattering and something like a growl.

"The hell's going on in there?" Logan asked. Kitty and Bobby both shrugged. Logan knocked once more and after only an increase in noise as a response opened the door. Immediately upon peering inside, three sets of jaws hit the floor.

In the middle of the room was Fantomex's king sized bed. The bed itself was not interesting, but rather the two inhabits, one of which was the bed's owner, the other was Elizabeth Braddock. The shattering glass was made by a wine bottle on the floor, and based on the way the two were moving from the neck up, it wasn't hard to guess where the growling started.

"Oh. My. God." Kitty shouted. She moved to hide her eyes, but then abandoned this idea all together. Instead she opted to stand directly behind Bobby with her eyes facing the door.

"Alors!" Jean-Phillipe shouted ripping his face away from Betsy's to look over her shoulder. Betsy quickly followed his gaze and moved away from her teammate.

"What are you DOING in here?" Psylocke demanded.

Logan had the decency to avoid making eye contact and chose to only mutter under his breath, "That's messed up Betts." On his way to turn away he caught Bobby's eye. The younger man's hands were clenched and his jaw was jumping. He reached behind himself to detach Kitty's arms from his wrists and took a step forward.

"You. Piece. Of. Shit." Bobby snarled moving towards the bed.

Fantomex began to struggle to pull at least some of his clothes on.

"Look Drake. I don't know who you think you are but…"

Before he could even finish Bobby had punched him square in the draw with an iced over fist. As Fantomex stumbled back, Bobby grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him to the ground. By this time, Kitty and Logan had the sense to throw themselves between them as Bobby still tried to get to him.

"You are dead, man. You're fucking dead. I swear to GOD!" Bobby said pushing against Logan. "Get out of the way! I'm gonna kill him."

"I came in here."

Bobby froze and turned to follow the voice, half expecting it to come from someone else…but there was Betsy.

"What?"

"I came in here. Intentionally."

Bobby's eyes widened and he swayed on the spot. Kitty gripped his shoulder while Logan pulled Fantomex to his feet.

"I'd wait over there if I were you."

"Betsy…how could you possibly…"

Betsy shrugged, "I wanted to do it. So I did it."

Bobby looked at Kitty at a loss for words, "I don't even know what to…"

Kitty was looking at Betsy coldly, "You told us you loved Warren."

"HE HASN'T EVEN BEEN GONE A MONTH!" Bobby bellowed.

Betsy nodded unfazed, "I still love Warren. But he's gone. Jean Phillipe has been open in his attraction to me, so I chose to sleep with him."

Bobby rounded on Fantomex, "What the hell did you do to her?"

"I'm not really inclined to answer anything you may want to know Drake."

"Jean-Phillipe," Kitty said dangerously.

"I've done nothing to her. On the mission we just returned from Betsy was forced to give up her capacity to feel a number of emotions, particularly guilt and sorrow, in order to complete our task. My guess is she no longer was weighed down by her feelings towards Worthington, so she chose to engage in a purely physical tête-à-tête."

Bobby laughed harshly and started pace the room, "No sorrow, huh? Well let's see if I can fix that." He stepped right up to Betsy, who was still naked, so that her face was only inches from his.

"I've had pieces of gum on my shoes that I respect more than I do you right now. You can't feel sadness or guilt? So that allows you to do whatever you want? What about love, you can't feel that? I thought you loved Warren Worthington." He turned to the rest of the group.

"Y'wanna know what Betsy and Warren talked about before everything happened?" He turned back to her, "I know…because he told me. He took her out to a plateau. He asked her how she felt about spending one more year with the X-men, and then leaving and getting married." Kitty covered her mouth with a hand and Logan looked at the ground. "Y'know what she said? She said there was nothing more that she wanted to do. She said he was the only person she saw herself with for the rest of her life, and she wanted to have kids and a future with him. That she had never loved anyone else more than she loved him." He got right in her ear.

"Less than a month."

"And y'know what else? For the first time after I found out about this, I'm glad he's gone. Because you didn't deserve him. Warren Worthington is one of the greatest people I've ever met. And if you think that the fact that you can't feel sad anymore makes this whole thing ok, then I don't want you anywhere near him even if he gets his memory back."

Betsy opened her mouth to say something but Bobby held up a hand, "No. I'm done here." He turned on his heel and began to walk out, with Kitty following. Before he reached the door he stopped and pointed at Fantomex, who was still rubbing his jaw.

"I'd even expect more from you. Unfortunately Warren will probably forgive her. You won't get that privilege, and the second he gives me the okay I'll be back. Count on it."

Now

Kitty and Bobby walked through the corridors of the staff residence until they reached Bobby's room where Warren was calmly folding Bobby's laundry and putting it in his drawers.

"Warren?" Kitty asked tentatively.

Warren looked up from the clothes and grinned brightly, "Headmistress Pryde! How are you today?"

"Fine Warren, Bobby's here too."

"Professor Beautiful! I've almost finished your laundry." Kitty made a strangled noise and glared at Bobby.

"Just Bobby today. 'Kay War?"

Warren shook his head, "The other students call you Professor Drake, so I shall as well."

Warren turned back to the laundry. Bobby sighed and walked over, stopping Warren's hands. "Can you stop for a second?"

"You told me you needed me to do this for you."

"I was joking. Please, just stop."

Warren held up his hands and looked at Bobby, his brow furrowed, "Is all well Professor Drake? You do not seem as you usually are."

Bobby ran a hand over his face. Kitty could see he was reaching a breaking point. "Not War, all is not well." It was coming. A solid month of having a man who looked and sounded like your best friend, but he's nowhere to be found.

"Would you like to share it with me?"

Bobby got up to pace, his face screwed up, "I just. I want to talk to Warren, man. I just want…I just want my friend." He turned around for a second and made a noise. Kitty got up but Bobby waved her off.

"Have I…have I done something wrong?" Warren asked.

"No Warren, you haven't," Kitty said soothingly, still looking at Bobby.

"I've tried to remember. I have." Warren said frantically.

"We know. We know." Kitty said. Her eyes were beginning to sting.

Bobby finally turned around. Tear tracks were burned into his cheeks and he squatted down on his haunches and looked up at Warren.

"I know you say you don't remember. I don't know if you ever will. But I need you to know this, and to keep it with you if you come back. You're my best friend. You're my brother. No matter what happens, I would do absolutely anything for Warren Worthington the Third and nothing will ever change that. Hell or high water nothing could stop me from being your best friend. You will ALWAYS have me. Do you understand me?"

"Yes Professor Drake I do but…"

"Just say 'Ok Bobby' Warren. Please?"

"Okay Bobby." Warren whispered. Bobby's face strained one more time but he managed to get up and walk out the door.

"Will he be well?" Warren asked.

Kitty smiled sadly, "As soon as you are. Goodbye Warren." She rose from Bobby's desk chair and followed him out. She tracked him down the hall and around a corner where he sat leaning against the wall. She leaned up against it and eased down to sit with him.

"What she did isn't love. And nothing you say to me can make me think otherwise." Bobby said, staring straight in front of him, "But go ahead. Justify away."

Kitty shook her head and lean against his shoulder, "No. You're right."

"Shocker."

"You said it, not me."

Bobby chuckled and wrapped his arm around her. "Promise me something?"

"Sure."

"I care about you Kitty. A lot. But I'm not gonna say you know what til I mean it. Like how I mean it about Warren, and Hank, and Scott, and Jean. Where it's not about sex or gender, but it's about two people who are willing to do anything for each other. That's how I mean it and I don't want you to think I have that for you until I really do; even though, knowing you, it won't take too long. So if this keeps going, don't say it til you mean it either."

Kitty leaned to kiss the top of his head, "You got it. You're a pretty easy person to feel that for too Frosty."

"Shocker."

"You said it not me."

"Do I still have my makeout privileges?"

"I think we can work something out."

The young lovers did not notice, as they became wrapped up in each other, that down the hall a lone figure stood watching them. And as the winged blonde man left Bobby's room and brushed by her, without a second glance, Elizabeth Braddock put her face in her hands, and cried.

Obviously spoilers for Uncanny X-force 24, which, clearly, ticked me off. This was originally going to be a Bobby/Betsy blowout but it turned into more of a Bobby/Warren friendship and Bobby/Kitty romance-ish. I'll just say I hate Betsy and Fantomex, and I think it's SUPER contrived. I think it would make sense if Betsy said that Fantomex was right about the fact that she didn't still love Angel or if she hadn't flown memory wiped Angel out to that rock to try to get him to remember him wanting to marry her and whatnot. They said she lost her capacity for sadness but I don't know how that correlates to her just hopping in the sack with Fantomex. I hope it was a one-time deal and she's just being self-destructive out of inability to deal with all of the stuff that's gone on. For some reason it seems like Angel and Iceman can never be happy at the same time and it's a bummer. Apparently she goes to the school in Uncanny X-Force 26, but I think it would be too much to ask for to hope for some kind of exchange between her and Bobby.

Also, Bobby may be a little aggressive in this one but I take Bobby to be someone who puts loyalty above anything and when something harms his friends he flips out. That's all, R/R. And PS for those who have read and enjoy my work I've been working on a big project that I'm about halfway through the first installment of and have many more planned. Things always get a little crazy around this time and once the summer comes I think it'll get done fairly quickly.