Once there was a boy called Kurt Wagner. He was from Germany, grew up in a circus... And he was a mutant. He was born different then even most others of his species. There would be a terrible price for the way he looked though. But could he ever truly belong somewhere? Was he really one of them?

BAMF!

The titanic sound of his iconic ability roared through the space he left, louder than it had ever been before. During the actual teleporting, Kurt was not in good condition. He was in pain, and 'porting far farther than he ever had before. He didn't know what he was thinking, but he had to. He had to get his charge out of danger, and there was only one place he could think of where his charge would be absolutely safe.

He held tightly to his passenger, not wanting to let go. Not for anything. He tumbled throgh the teleportation with more determination to get where he needed to be than ever before. Maybe this could make up for his lies. One last atonement for his sins.


Nightcrawler

Not One Of Us

1

The Cost Of Secrets


Quite some time ago, Kurt Wagner was on a train. He was covered from head to toe in a brown coat and pants that went past his feet, a hood pulled low over his face. His glowing eyes were hidden under the brown cloth, and he was glad.

He didn't want to repeat what had happened a month before. He bit his lip, trying not to think about it, but the memory tugged at the back of his brain, voices from the incident cutting across his thoughts. "Sie sind nicht von uns! Sie werden nie einer von uns sein! Dämon!"

He shook his head. That was over now. Professor Xavier had told him that things would be different here. That things wouldn't be like that. He had to put his trust in the man who had saved his life. He looked around at the passengers on the train, the thought of what they would do if they peeked under his hood...

Ding! The train halted, and the passengers stood, Kurt along with them, grabbing his luggage from beside him. He tried to balance upright, rather than his usual slanted posture, so he would bring as little attention to himself as possible.

"That's him," he heard a familiar voice. He twisted his head to look at the source, a bald older man wearing a formal jacket, dark green shirt, and dress pants and seated on a wheelchair with X-shaped rims and a joystick on the left armrest. Behind him was a tall woman with dark skin and eyes, but a shocking amount of white hair. This didn't match up with her face, which identified her as late thirties at the very most.

Kurt trepidatiously approached him. "Good evening Mr. Wagner," Professor Charles Xavier greeted him in his deep baritone voice. Kurt nodded, his hood bobbing. "I'm glad you made it here safely. Did you run into any troubles?" His voice was full of genuine concern, and Kurt couldn't help but grin. It had been a while since someone had genuinely cared for him. "Nein," he said. "No troubles, just a bit of discomfort on the plane."

"That's good," he nodded. "Kurt, I'd like to introduce you to Ororo Monroe, or Storm as she likes to be called." Ms. Monroe held a hand out for Kurt to shake, and he hesitated slightly, before accepting it. She started in shock when she felt the fur of his hands, then looked at him, seeing his glowing yellow irises.

"Well aren't you interesting," she said in a bit of shock. She probably didn't mean anything by it, but the young blue mutant didn't know that. He withered inside. Already he was different, even with two other mutants in front of him. He put on a smile, though. "Everyone seems to think so," he said.

Professor Xavier was looking at him strangely. Kurt just knew the telepath was inside his head. He lifted the hood so his face was visible, trying to make his smile as genuinely happy as if could look while faking it. "So, where's this school of yours? I've heard good things. All from you, though, so that might not say much," he teased.

The paralyzed telepath led him to a long black car and got himself in. Kurt shuffled in beside him while Ororo was in the front seat, driving. As the car started up, the Professor looked at him, then raised two fingers to his right temple.

'Is there anything you want to talk about, Kurt?' Professor Xavier asked telepathically. He thought a more private conversation would encourage him to open up more.

The Fuzzy One jumped a little. He wasn't used to having a voice inside his head. Well, at least he knew there was a perfectly logical reason for it besides being insane. And that was a bald old man with paralysis and a school for mutants. See? Perfectly logical.

He shook his head and thought back. 'No, I'm just a little scared, that's all. Your students... They don't look like me. Have they ever even seen a physical mutation before? I mean, you, Miss Monroe and those other two, you look human... But as for me...' he looked at his hands that were folded in his lap.

'Kurt, I want you to know that my institute is a safe place for people like you. While your appearance certainly isn't common, Scott and Jean would never single you out like that. Your as normal as they are.'

He looked at the professor skeptically. 'People say they're open minded... Then they see me.' He mourned silently. Professor Xavier frowned. The poor boy didn't feel safe at all.

And that was the last thing he wanted.


When they got to the institute, Kurt was immediately shown to his new accomidationis. A large room with a big, comfy looking bed, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and a balcony looking down at the world below.

"Wow, Professor," he said. "Zis is... This is far too much for just me. I... I don't know what to say." His grin was genuine under his hood. Professor Xavier and Miss Monroe were behind him.

Kurt pulled down his hood, finally, letting the other two mutants see his face fully. His long indigo hair, bright golden eyes, and thin layer of fur shocked the weather controller, but not as much as the long scar over his right eye.

"This is why your here, Kurt," the Professor said. "So you can be safe and happy." As he spoke, the young mutant shrugged out of his large disguise, revealing a lean, catlike body that was slightly hunched over for valence. His legs were animalistic, with two long toes and hooked ankles. Attached to the small of his back was a long tail covered in blue fur like the rest of his body. It ended in a large, sharp arrow like shape.

Miss Monroe blinked in surprise, and Kurt smiled sheepishly. He bit his lip, his tail curling around his leg. "Um, hi," he said, waving, wiggling his fingers. Miss Monroe tilted her head, then tried for a smile. It wasn't too convincing. What in the world happened to the poor boy? She thought, trying not to stare at the line of parted fur that was his wounded skin.

Kurt tried not to flinch at her obviously fake smile. "It's a bit scary, I know. But I'm really just a harmless blue fuzzball, really." He held up his hands in a placating way and uncurled his tail, trying to make himself seem as relaxed and no threatening as possible. Of course he was no threat to the weather mutant, he just didn't want to get off on the wrong foot.

Miss Monroe smiled again, a genuine one this time. "Well, I'll just have to take your word for it." He sighed with relief internally. Now he just had to win the other seven million people on the planet over, and he'd be golden. He let his tail whip about a bit behind him, standing in awkward silence.

Finally Professor Xavier broke the silence by fishing something out of his pocket. "I have a surprise for you, Kurt," he smiled warmly, producing a watch it was a seterotypic so watch, a round face with several buttons around the rim. It was black, with a green screen displaying the time and date. It looked like something you could by at any convince store for a little over a buck.

The blue furred mutant took it and examined it. At a nod from the Professor, he strapped it onto his left wrist, unsure of what to do until the telepath reached out and pressed one of the buttons. The screen glowed greed and there was a buzzing noise. For a moment, nothing seemed to have happened.

Then, Kurt looked at the mirror on the dresser. He jumped in surprise, nearly believing he was dreaming because of what had looked back at him. He wasn't a scarred fuzz bucket anymore. Looking at him in the reflective glass was a Caucasian human kid, with blue eyes instead of gold, and no fangs appeared in his smile. His eyes went to his hands. Four individual fingers, instead of two thick ones.

"I-I'm normal!" He explaimed in utter joy.

He looked at the watch and pressed one of the buttons. The buzzing sounded again, and he looked at himself again. The return of the fuzzy demon-elf. He sighed internally. It probably didn't disguise he feel of his skin, so he would have to think of an excuse not to touch anyone... Then there was he fact that when he moved his hands, the hologram made it look like he was trying to do a Vulcan Salute.

"Kurt," Miss Monroe said, laying a hand on his shoulder, bending to look him in the eyes. "You don't need that device to be normal. For better or worse, you were born like this. But that doesn't mean you are any different than an ordinary person." She encouraged him. He smiled, taking comfort that he had gained at least one definite friend aside from Xavier.

But he looked at himself in the mirror again out of the corner of his eye. A fur-covered demonic creature looked back at him, as always. He wondered if other mutants had a hard time looking at their reflection because they weren't particularly fond of what was looking back. Because he sure did.

"Professor... I have a favor to ahsk." He said quietly. "Could you... Not tell the others what I look like. Just for a bit, until I.. Ya know, can put my trust in them." The adult mutants looked surprised by his request, and he bowed his head.

"Kurt, I assure you, Scott and Jean would never-"

"Please?" He asked. "I just want to know what it's like not to look different from ozzers," he said quietly. "Just for a little while..." The Professor swollowed. After what had happened in his final days in Germany, it was no wonder that he wanted to just feel like he looked like everyone around him.

Frowning, he nodded. "Of course, Kurt. If... If that is what you'd like. Just tell me when your ready for them to know. And try not to keep it for long. After all, secrets aren't for free. They have a price. And the longer you keep them, the higher it is. Try not to make the cost too much."


Katherine 'Kitty' Pryde.

Even Daniels.

Logan.

Rouge.

Jean.

Scott.

Hank Mccoy.

Rhane Sinclair, Ray Crisp, Tabitha Smith, Sam Guthrie, Amara Aquilla, Jamie Mardox, Jubilation Lee, Bobby Drake, Roberto De Costa. That was how many people didn't know his true appearance the following year. The price for his secret had become high. Way, way high. Over the course of events, he had learned to trust every last one of them with his life. He was Scott's honorary lieutenant in the field, Even's partner in wreaking prankster havoc. He, Kitty and Wolverine had been on so many missions together they might as well have been a subgroup of the X-Men.

And he still hadn't shown his true face.

At first it was because he was afraid how they'd treat him. Now it was out of guilt. After he didn't reveal his secret during the incident that changed Hank from a relatively cool high school science teacher into what looked like a Sasquatch that had jumped in a vat of blueberry colored dye, he thought he might tell them. But... It had been so long... Would they ever trust him again for keeping something like this for such a long time?

He was being a coward, and he knew it. He very much knew that the price of his secret was most like far, far more than he could pay. But... He had to. He knew that as he loaded himself onto the jet on their most recent mission, their unholy deal with the devil to conspire with the Brotherhood to find Magneto.

The Brotherhood weren't model citizens, but they weren't evil. Just... Out on the wrong path. And jerks. But far from actually evil. Their members, Toad, Pietro, Wanda, Blob and Lance, had all shown good qualities at some point.

And they were honest, at least. The brotherhood seemed to never keep secrets for very long. At least, not that Kurt knew of. He sat against the leather seats of the X-Jet, looking at his holographic ally disguised self.

I'll tel them after the mission, he decided. I'll... I'll tell them everything. He swallowed. "You all right?" He whipped his head up to find Kitty Pryde, or a Shadowcat, sitting next to him in her X-Man uniform. She put her hand on his, which was fine for him side both were gloved. She wouldn't feel his skin. "I know its a bit weird working with the Botherhood, but it's, like, not the first time."

He nodded. "Ja, I remember. Zough I certainly don't want the Juggernaut to make a repeat appearance." Kitty smiled as the plane lifted off. Kitty was one of Kurt's closest friends in the X-Men alongside Scott. But the moments was ruined for them by Toad's snickering, then saying, "No PDA on the plane, yo," while smirking at them.

Kurt scowled at his Brotherhood counterpart, but said nothing. There was a mission to be done. Stop whatever Magneto was doing, find Logan, keep mutant kind safe. Then he could reveal his secret to his friends, like he should have a long, long time ago.


In the X-Mansion grounds, someone watched the plane take off. He smirked with amusement, perched on the gate. He was in a typical gargoyle pose, but with a tail exactly like Nightcrawler's curling under him to where the arrowhead end was under his right knee. He was clad in a black suit with a red scarf in the pocket. He was covered in fur like Kurt, but his hands and feet were normal and his fur was red. His hair was slicked back and black as his clothes. A long scar, identical to Kurt's ran over his left eye.

"So, this is what he spends his days doing," he mused aloud. His voice was gravely, and inflected with a Russian accent. His time was considering, as if he was talking about meeting a four year old. "Cute. Infantile, but cute." He let his tail swing behind him a few times, before smirking again as he took a deep sniff of the grounds. "So, you again," he muttered. "Wonderful. It'll be one great big family reunion."

He looked at the X-Jet disappearing in the blue sky, and tilted his head. "I'll watch for a bit. See what my old comrades are doing before I borrow one of their pawns."

"Bamf?" A voice said in a questioning tone. He looked to see what looked like little chibi versions of himself, about eight of them, standing at various positions along the gate and in the trees. They didn't have clothes, but if there was anything indecent, it was well covered by course, blood-colored fur.

The mutant rolled his eyes. "No, you cannot raid the girls' rooms. I swear I got rid of your perversions when I turned you red. What does it take to get your minds out of the gutters?" The creature that had spoken shrugged sheepishly.

"It doesn't matter," the mutant shook his head, and took a look back at where the X-Jet had disappeared into the sky. "But the time of hiding is about to be over. For mutants... And for you, Kurt." With that, he disappeared in a cloud of red and black smoke, compleat with a bamf. The little look-alikes did the same.

It was almost exactly like Kurt's teleporting, but accompanied by a hellish screech.

Hello, my name is the Rumbling Night Cutter. I have written for HTTYD before, but I had an idea for X men and this was the easiest continuity to fit it into. Sol how was it. And if your wondering about pairings, well, I'll keep it a surprise.

Also, this happens in the episode Day of Reckoning, when The X-Men and the Brotherhood team up against Magneto. Everything after that changes. Ok? Ok. But comic fans know who that was on the Institute's gate. To be clear, it's the version of him from First Class, but with fur. I loved his design on the movie. But anyway, I'll leave you for now. Don't forget to review!