Catseye's First Day, a x-men: evolution fanfic

CATSEYE'S FIRST DAY

A/N: Yup! Time for another Catseye fic! This one takes place during Red Witch's "Holding Down the Fort," and is my take on what the initial reactions were to Catseye staying at the Institute while she recovered. This takes place two days after the Institute was attacked by Pierce and Doug, Everett, and Candy were killed. Red Witch's story ends on the third day after the attack when Rahne, Danny, Dead Girl, and Warren leave.

Red Witch, this is for you!

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The nightmares had started again. "Please," Catseye sniffed as she tried to wish the image out of her mind's eye. "No more…" Though she was lying peacefully enough in the Institute's infirmary, her mind was a torrent; full of fire, pain, and death.

She had been resting calmly enough…the strange man who went into her mind had dulled the pain and let her rest. But then it started up again…the screams, the cries, the crack of the bullets; they all seemed so real as the memories of the slaughter revived.

"No…no, please!" Catseye begged as she saw it happen all over again: the mutant Trevor Fitzroy slaughtering the Hellions, her teammates. Beef; killed by gunfire, Jetstream; impaled by a long sword, Tarot; her hands cut off by that same sword and then had her neck broken…

"I tried to fight…" Catseye tried to explain to the phantoms of her fallen teammates as they hovered around her. "I DID! Please! Leave me 'lone…no," She whispered as they came closer. "NO!"

"Sharon?" A voice cut through the terror. Sharon woke up…or dreamt that she woke up, she wasn't sure. It was her adopted mother, Emma Frost.

"I need you to stay here and recover," Emma gently stroked her adopted daughter's forehead. She had woken her up with her telepathy. "The danger is over now. We'll be back for you when things get better. I promise."

"Back?" Catseye asked weakly, as if from very far away.

"Yes," Emma answered, her gaze looking at some place far away. "Mother needs to go take care of things now. Hellfire Club, Sinister and now Pierce…Yes Mother has many things to take care of."

Then Catseye went back to sleep. She thought. Everything was kind of blurry. She let out a groan as her eyes fluttered, still unsure if she was merely dreaming this or not.

"Hey, you awake?" She heard someone say. Catseye forced herself to focus on that voice. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself staring into a pair of blue eyes. "Hi." A blond haired girl attached to those eyes said as Catseye groaned and tried unsuccessfully to sit up. "Sammy, you better go tell the Badger that she's up." Catseye was faintly aware of someone's footsteps as he plodded out of the infirmary. Tabitha grinned a bit.

"Welcome to Mutant Manor."

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Tabitha left Catseye but she soon found herself being watched by four adults; Logan, Roadblock, Cover Girl, and Low Light. They stood outside the infirmary and argued over Catseye's fate.

"So now what do we do now that the cat's awake?" Logan grunted as he looked to Roadblock.

"Emma left her here to stay, so we should probably leave it that way." He mused.

Logan threw up his hands. "Terrific! We lose Jesse, Everett, Autumn, Doug and what do we get in return? Another Hellion! AND one of Frost's daughters to boot; Fan-freaking-tastic!"

"Logan," Cover Girl reproached him. "She can hear you know." Logan glared at her.

"I know. Why couldn't X-Factor just take her and be done with it?"

"Take an even strain," Low Light defended Cover Girl. "She's just one kid who just barely survived a massacre and was dropped off among strangers while her 'mother' goes off on a hunt for revenge. I know this is hard but try being a little sympathetic?"

"This from you?" Logan snorted.

"This from the sole survivor of Moreausseau." Low Light glared back. "Do you think X-Factor would be a good place for her? Especially since they just want to arrest the remaining Hellions so they can still end up looking good after losing Jesse and Autumn and then losing two of their members against the Marauders?"

"Everyone chill out." Roadblock shook his head. "For now, let the kids hang out."

"What?" Logan half-roared. "You want me to let the students in with a Hellion?"

"I want you to let a weak, injured girl have some company." Roadblock's said in disgust. "Your kids are hurting, and so is she. They'll help each other out, this I guarantee!"

"It's not like she's any threat to them in her current condition." Cover Girl reasoned. "She's as weak as a kitten. No pun intended."

"And its better that the kids are with her rather than be alone and brood over what just happened." Low Light crossed his arms. "Grief is easier to handle when you spread it out. Keep it all to yourself and it can destroy you. Trust me on this, I've seen enough deaths and loss to know it."

"I know you're feeling protective of the kids right now," Roadblock said. "But they need some company there own age…and how!"

"All right already!" Logan relented with a grunt. "Send the kids down if you want. I'm going to go try to talk to Wings again. He's been in a mess since Candy died."

"Some of the kids are talking about leaving." Cover Girl sighed. "Others are wondering if the school will remain open."

"It will." Logan promised. "It'll be right here waiting for when Xavier and the others come back. That's a promise!"

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Catseye sat alone in the infirmary, drawing her knees up under her chin and hugging them. She'd never been this alone. Not since she'd lived on the streets as a stray when she thought she was a cat. The Hellions were dead and who knew where her mother was?

She looked up when someone knocked on the door. "Can we come in?" Catseye didn't say anything she just sighed. The door opened and in came Alex, Lorna, Sam, and Tabitha.

"Hey." Tabitha said to her again as she sat herself down on the end of the bed. "What's new pussycat?"

"Tabby…" Sam looked at her. She shrugged

"Sorry. Couldn't resist."

"It okay," Catseye said in half a whisper. "Do you, do you know where…" She left the question hanging there.

"Sorry." Alex shook his head. "We don't know where Emma went. She took Monet, Evan, and Yvonne with her though. I think she went to hunt down Sinister and the Hellfire Club for what happened to the Hellions."

"It…it wasn't a dream," Catseye murmured to herself. "Mother…left me here. Alone." Her eyes started to water and she looked away.

"Aw, please don't cry." Sam winced. "Ah hate to see a girl cry. 'Sides, if you start then we'll probably start again." Catseye stopped sniffling long enough to look confused.

"What do you mean?"

"That's right, she was asleep for all the…excitement." Alex winced. "The Institute was attacked two days ago by Donald Pierce and his men. They tried to blow up the place."

"One-arm Pierce?" Catseye fairly hissed. "Mother hates him."

"In that much, we agree." Tabitha growled as she clenched her hands into fists.

"We…lost some friends of ours because of it." Alex looked away.

"I sorry." Catseye whispered. "Catseye lost teammates too."

"I'm sorry too." Sam said gently. "We all are. We know how hard it is to lose friends." Catseye paused and looked down.

"They not friends like your teammates were friends. I not think they really like Catseye."

"Well that was their problem then. You seem like ah really nice person." Catseye smiled at that.

"Really?"

Lorna nodded. "He's right. I know first hand how good people can end up, well…among less than pleasant company." She said in a rueful tone.

"I've heard of you." Catseye said to her. "Monet said a lot of nasty things about green-hair." Catseye commented. "Jealous, I think. She not like Magneto, also."

"One of the few things I could agree with her on." Lorna said bitterly. "But you know what?" She asked Catseye, who shook her head. "We've got the coolest colored hair in the whole Institute." Lorna smirked, making Catseye smile.

"What about Betsy?" Aelx asked.

"She dyes it, doesn't count. We're all natural." Lorna said as she threw her arm around the cat-girl.

"Come on, why don't we all head upstairs? It's kinda cold down here." Sam shuddered. Catseye nodded. After a quick look to their girlfriends to make sure that they didn't get the wrong idea, Sam and Alex held out their hands to help Catseye up. She still had one arm in a sling; the one Fitzroy had cut with his blade.

"Catseye feel week." She mewed as that had to help walk her out.

"It's no problem; you'll feel better in a real bed anyway." Alex assured her as they headed up the stairs into the Institute proper.

"But first you should probably meet the others, you'll probably be staying here a while." Tabitha added. When they reached the top of the steps Catseye went rigid with shock.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Soldiers here." Catseye looked nervous. "They come to take Catseye away?"

"Hmm? The Joes?" Tabitha looked incredulous. "Not a chance. They're here to protect us after…" She looked pained. "Well, after."

Jubilee, Danielle, Betsy, Tim, Paige, Amara, Ray, Madelyn, Danny, Taylor, and Jamie were sitting in the living room. The only remaining New Mutants not there were Rahne and Dead Girl. The two girls were feeling particularly horrible after the events surrounding the death of Doug Ramsey…a death they had both witnessed first hand and both felt guilty for.

"Everyone," Alex called to get their attention. "This is Catseye. She'll be staying with us for a bit. Catseye," He said to her. "Meet everyone."

Amara snorted in thinly veiled disgust. "Great thinking Havok. We no sooner find a Hellion spy in our midst and he gets free thanks to another traitor, we end up with another Hellion!"

"Amara, that's not fair." Paige looked at her. "She was dying and needed help. Besides, she has nothing to do with Roberto and Starla."

"Who?" Catseye asked.

"See?" Paige said.

"Whatever." Amara stood up and walked off.

"Sorry about her." Tabby apologized to Catseye. "She caught her boyfriend Roberto doinking another student named Starla. She was vapid, obnoxious, shallow…like a more extreme version of Monet."

"Is that even possible?" Catseye blinked.

"Apparently." Tabby rolled her eyes. "Roberto turned out to be spying for the Hellfire Club. We caught him, but Starla busted him out and they escaped together. This happened right before your mother and the rest of the Hellions came to us."

"Oh. Catseye not know about that." She said as she sat down.

"Emma didn't either so we believe you." Betsy blew her hair out of her eyes.

Danielle sighed. "We're all in the same boat now anyway. You've lost the Hellions and we've lost the main team and a third of our own."

"I've been meaning to ask." Jubilee spoke up and looked to Catseye. "Just why did the Hellfire Club let Sinister send some creep to, well…"

"Hellions supposed to kill Leech." Catseye answered as she looked down. "We refused. We hid Leech, told Hellfire Club he was dead. Bevatron told Sinister. THAT'S how they found out. And why they wanted to kill us."

"Isn't this just special?" Tim rolled his eyes. "The Hellions get double-crossed by a traitor, we get double-crossed by a traitor. They take in someone they shouldn't have and we take in someone we shouldn't have. They get killed. We get killed."

"What do you mean 'take in someone we shouldn't have?'" Alex demanded. "Letting Catseye stay here was the right thing to do."

"It was Alex who convinced Logan to let the remaining Hellions in so you could get treated." Lorna told Catseye.

"Really?" Catseye looked at Alex with wide eyes. "Thank you…" Alex looked embarrassed.

"Well, you should also thank Lifeline. He's the Joes' medic; he's the one that saved you." Alex explained. "He has healing abilities."

"So he was man in my mind? Make Catseye feel better?" She asked. "Mother never liked humans much, 'specially soldiers."

"Yeah, well no offense to your 'mom' but she's got some pretty warped ideas." Madelyn snorted.

"Not the right time Madelyn." Cover Girl sighed as she walked in, fresh from feeding Tadpole the baby Misfit.

"Catseye, this is Cover Girl. She's one of the Joes." Sam pointed out. Catseye couldn't help shrinking back a bit when Cover Girl held out her hand.

Not really put off Cover Girl moved off to the side. "You have really pretty hair." Cover Girl said as leaned on the arm of the couch, next to Catseye. "Has anyone ever told you that?" Catseye cocked her head to one side in confusion. "Honey," she sighed. "I know it's scary to trust humans when they've treated mutants so poorly. But listen to me. Not all humans are bad, just like not all mutants are good."

Unbidden, the face of Trevor Fitzroy rose from her mind. His ugly, leering smile as he brutally murdered Beef, Jetstream, and Tarot. Teammates all. "Catseye know." She whispered hoarsely.

This was the second massacre Catseye had lived through. The first was done by Stryker's Purity organization against the Massachusetts Academy, though the mutants had given far better than they had got; and the second was Fitzroy's slaughter of the Hellions. Attacked once by humans and once by mutants…what was left?

Cover Girl provided the answer. "When you were still recovering, the Institute was attacked. Pierce and his men tried to plant a bomb…in the infirmary where you were still unconscious. They were going to blow up the entire school," Cover Girl continued. "But they were also going to kill you as you slept." Catseye's eyes widened. She hadn't heard that! No wonder her last nightmare seemed so real!

"He would have too if had been for one very special woman." Cover Girl told her. "Her name was Candy Southern; a human woman. When Pierce wanted to shoot you, she put herself between him and you. She delayed Pierce long enough for Wolverine and Angel to come in and stop him. But he killed her before he left. I wish you could've met her." Cover Girl sighed. "I know you would've liked her. All the kids around here did."

"What I'm trying to say is," Cover Girl continued. "Is that not all humans or mutants are alike. We're all individuals. As a matter of fact, I knew a group of mutant youth who were brought up to mistrust and fear humans…until they were betrayed by their 'fellow mutants' and cast aside. It was humans who helped them through it and humans who became their new families. Those mutants were the Misfits." Cover Girl told her. "If they can do it, so can you. Just something to think about."

"Catseye?" Jamie asked. "Sorry, I don't know your real name."

"It Sharon."

"Well, Sharon, I don't know about everyone else." Jamie started again. "But with how bad everything's gotten, well, it'd be nice if one good thing came from all of this. So…I can't speak for everyone else, but I'm glad you're here." Ray rolled his eyes. No one paid him any mind.

"Smart kid." Betsy smirked. "Doesn't mean he doesn't have a point though. Considering that the rest of the world is going to hell in a hand basket, I'm willing to let bygones be bygones…scratch a few enemies off our list anyway. It's long enough already!"

"Agreed." Catseye nodded.

"Great!" Alex said as he stood up. "Going to be an interesting story to tell the others when they get back."

"If they get back." Ray muttered. Alex shot a glare at him but didn't respond.

"Let's get dinner started." Sam got up as well. "You want to join us Sharon?"

Catseye nodded.

It was a while after she finished talking and had gotten something to eat that Catseye was walking up the stairs to her new room, when she passed by a closed door and heard muffled cries and shouts coming from the other side. She slammed herself against the door and it gave way. Catseye burst into the room just as the person thrashing about in their bed—in the grips of some nightmare—bolted up.

"NO! It should've been me!" Rahne screamed as she sat up in bed. "It should've…" She murmured as she looked around in the dark. "Huh? Catseye? I guess you woke up."

"So did you." She blinked. "Why all the shouting?"

"Look, just go away." Rahne told her. "I don't want to talk about it. It's…" she sniffed. "…too much."

"I thinks I know what you're going through." Catseye said quietly as she closed the door behind her and sat on the far side of the bed. "I am knowing how you feel."

"You think so?!" Rahne shouted at her through tears. "I lost friends of mine! And one boy…maybe the only boy who ever though of me as something as more than a friend! You DON'T know how I feel! H-he," she hiccupped. "He was shot by my bastard of a father as I stood frozen…and helpless. He fired at me, but Doug took the bullet for me…as I watched like a coward!" Rahne sniffed. "Just like what happened when Sam took a bullet meant for me during Lobo's speech. Only Doug wasn't so lucky to be some immortal 'External' and get to come back from the dead! That's twice—TWICE!—someone else suffered on account of me. How can you possibly understand that?"

"Because Catseye failed too." She said softly, so softly that Rahne had to lean in to hear clearly. "Against Purists…against Fitzroy. If I had been better fewer classmates die, fewer teammates die, maybe." Catseye half-turned away. "Mother left me here because I was hurt, not good enough again. Now wherever she is…Catseye isn't there to help. And that is my fault, just like it my fault Mother was in a coma. I couldn't help then either. Firebird had to fix mother. And now…" Catseye trailed off.

"…Now what?" Rahne asked in spite of herself. Catseye turned back around. She'd started crying too.

"They told me that a nice lady named Candy died to save Catseye. She wasn't a mutant. She had no weapons. Yet she stood up to evil One-Arm Pierce for me…she didn't even know me! Why did she do that?" Catseye raised her one good arm in an encompassing gesture. "Why?"

"It's who she was." Rahne answered sadly.

"And who was Doug?" Catseye countered. "So you see…I do know what it like. To know that others die for you; to think that maybe everyone would be better off if you did die."

"I…I just wish Moira was here." Rahne sniffed. "She's the one who adopted me: she's my mom."

"Catseye adopted too…and I wish my mother was here also." Catseye murmured sadly.

"I just want to go home." Rahne closed her eyes. "I need some time away from this place."

"That might be good for you." Catseye nodded. "But you will come back…yes?"

"Maybe." Rahne replied. "I think so. I just…need some time."

"Time good." Catseye nodded. "Just not take too long. And try not to be miserable. Friends don't let friends be miserable."

"All right…" Rahne hiccupped before yawning. "I'm going back to sleep."

"Not have anymore nightmares?" Catseye asked.

"Maybe not. Not after we talked." Rahne said sleepily.

"Okay then…nighty-night." Catseye whispered as she got up and went to the door.

"Sharon?" Catseye turned around just in time to hear Rahne call her. "In case no one else said it…welcome to the Xavier Institute."

THE END

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A/N:

Thanks for reading! I want to thank RW again for introducing me to Catseye. I first read about her in RW's stories and liked her so much that I went out and hunted down every comic where Catseye appears…even as a ghost or illusion! The fact that she appears as a phantom or mirage about as often as she does alive is testament to how minor a character she was…and how much I like her!

I wrote this piece because I LOVED that Red Witch wrote her into "Days of Our Mutant Lives" and "Holding Down the Fort" as first a guest at the Xavier Institute and then a Misfit! I loved it! Of course given the large cast of characters Catseye still hasn't had that much screen time…not that I'm complaining RW! I mean I would love it if she did but I'm not going to jog your elbow when you've already put her in like this! Of course, I wouldn't MIND if you did write her more…but I won't bug you! Unless you want me to, then…

Catseye: Dumb author have bad case of verbal diarrhea.

How can I have verbal diarrhea when I'm typing?

Catseye: How can you have argument with character you're writing?

Rahne: Better yet, how can he LOSE an argument to a character he's writing? Ah hah! Figure THAT one out!

Shut up.

Rahne: Makes me just as glad that Red Witch had me go to back to Muir Island for a while. If she kept me around with Sharon in the same scene this loser would lose it!

Catseye: What can he lose? Author have no life and no mind left!

Hey! I don't have to take this from you two!

Rahne&Catseye: Says you.

Waitaminute! If you're characters that I'm writing then you can't think anything I don't WANT you to think! So you don't really think I'm dumb! Hah hah!

Rahne: Ooohh. Okay, then by that logic YOU think you're dumb!

…D'OH! That's IT! I'm getting out of here before I humiliate myself any further! I mean it! I'm leaving right now! Right in the middle of this very