The old people at the park, each at their picnic tables in their old people "clique" groups (which were probably in place even when they were in high school, fifty or sixty or so years back) all listened to the cheerful chirps of birds in the autumn trees. One old man sat alone at a chess table, staring at the taunting line of numbers tattooed on his arm. A young girl suddenly sat opposite him.
"Care for a game?" she offered, placing her white pawns in their corresponding squares on the board.
"Certainly!" the old timer enthusiastically agreed. He arranged his black pieces on his side. "I have been quite lonely lately. A bit of company is always appreciated."
As the girl reached across the board to make her first move, her long sleeve slipped back to her elbow, revealing a row of painfully familiar numbers tattooed on her forearm.
* * *
Professor Xavier wheeled himself into a room full of mutant teenagers, four on the couch, two standing and one dangling precariously from the ceiling.
"Professor!" Ororo called, "To what do we owe this visit?"
"We have a new arrival." He replied simply.
"'Vhere?!?" Kurt shouted, flipping gracefully from his perch on the cross beam, with a cat-like twirl to his feet, landing in front of the professor's wheelchair. He was obviously excited about meeting someone new.
"She hasn't arrived yet."
Kurt sighed. He leapt to the top of the couch to pout.
"But she should be here shortly." Xavier continued, "I thought I would give you her details beforehand."
"Go ahead." Logan said, grabbing a beer from the fridge.
"She is a class four mutant."
"Wow. Pretty powerful."
"Yes. She would otherwise be only class three-telepathy, force fields, moving objects without touching them, minor psychic ability, much like Jean."
"Then why is she a class four?" Jean inquired.
"She's immortal. She cannot die unless she gives her life to someone else."
"Someone else? I don't understand." Said Rogue.
"I don't completely understand it myself. But I suppose we will in time."
"She's here." Jean informed knowingly.
"That was fast." Logan noted, sipping his beer.
Ororo stood immediately and rushed to meet her at the door, Kurt following swiftly after her. It was late at night, the stars shining brightly when she opened the door. The young girl standing on the step appeared to be no more than seventeen, with blinding blue eyes, raven hair and wearing all black, even her boots and trench coat were as black as the dark outside. In fact her eyes and pale skin were the only things that separated her body from the dusk.
The sight of Kurt widened the girl's eyes and raised her eyebrows in shock. Her gaze never left the German until Ororo took her up the stairs and escorted her to her room. "What's your name?" She asked the girl when they reached her dorm.
"Levana" she answered in a calm monotone voice.
Storm didn't like the look of this girl, nor was she fond of the way she stared at her Kurt. She left Levana in her room without another word.
* *I*
"So…" Logan began, "You and Kurt…" he paused, waiting to continue until the others left the kitchen.
"What about us?"
"You goin' out?"
"No! What's your deal, Logan?"
"So you don't even like him?"
"Hell no!"
"Right. Look, I saw that look on your face when the new girl gaped so long at him."
She looked away. "That's not what bothers me."
"Oh?"
"He stared at her too." She looked at the floor down-heartedly. Her nose crunched hatefully at the thought of the new girl. "I hope this doesn't turn into something."
"So ask him out! Keep his mind away from Levana."
"I can't do that."
"Why the hell not?"
"I just can't."
"You know he likes you!"
"And…?"
"Don't you remember what he said on the jet? 'A woman so beautiful should not be so angry,'" he mocked, striking a girly pose and batting his eyelashes dramatically.
Storm blushed. "I was so emotional, then…I barely noticed the compliment until later."
"He still said it."
"I know, I know."
"And don't think I didn't notice you staring when he took his clothes off."
"That was at the swimming pool!"
"You still stared." Her blush deepened, remembering that hot(really hot)summer day. She shook her snowy head. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Logan."
"'Night, Storm."
* * *
Germany, 1933
"Gather round, gather round!" beckoned the ring leader, from the entrance of the enormous red-striped tent. "Amazing sights and sounds! Everywhere and all around! Come and be amazed by the wonders that await you!"
Levana stared at the gargantuan circus tent, deciding whether or not to step inside. The ring leader finally retreated to the tent after coaxing as many people as he could inside. The mutant slipped through the tent's flap at the last moment, quickly sitting among the audience. She stayed and watched elephants lift actresses into the air, tigers put up with people's head being stuck in their mouths, lions leap through rings of fire, cruel displays of Siamese twins and other freakish deformities, tightrope walkers, acrobats, and clowns tormenting members of the audience, until finally she had had enough. She stood abruptly, and in that instant, the ring leader shouted deafeningly into his microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, you've seen nothing until you've seen our finale!" She paused to listen. "This man is like no other in the world!" She became curious now. The ring leader's mike arm drooped to his side, and he looked to the ground with a suspenseful snap of the fingers. The lights all blinked out at once, leaving the tent in utter darkness, apart from the spotlight, focused on the ring leader. Creating more suspense, he slowly lifted his head, bringing the microphone back to his lips, a bright gleam in his eye. "You never know…" he uttered in a deep, menacing voice, "…When or where he will appear…mysterious and dark…"
There was a poof and a shriek from the other side of the audience. The ring leader chuckled, followed by a succession of poofs and cries from different points in the audience, invisible in the lightless space. Suddenly, the lights flashed back on/ There was no one in sight but the people and the ring leader. Who could have caused those shrieks?
"Ladies and gentlemen! I give you!" The ring leader paused to hold his arms in the air. "The Incredible! Nightcrawler!"
The crowd roared as a cloud of smoke wisped beside the ring leader, then dissipated, revealing a very young man about fifteen or sixteen, wearing a ridiculous costume over his gorgeous indigo skin tone. Levana's jaw dropped at the sight of him. She was captivated by the intricate carvings across his skin, and his bright golden eyes. She felt the urge to touch him….but he was so far away…..
iI want to touch you….i
The creature's head jerked in her direction, as if he had heard her as clearly as if she had spoken into the ring leader's microphone. His arched eyebrows furrowed in confusion, his eyes staring directly into hers. Without warning he vanished again, only to reappear inches away from Levana, who had just realized she was still standing. The blue man gingerly grasped Levana's shoulders, and then they were gone. Nothing but smoke where two mutants had once been.
* * *
Levana shut the door behind Ororo, after she had stormed out of the room ('stormed' . get it?). She turned toward her suitcase that lay on the bed. She drew back in shock, at the blue demon that had not been there when she walked in. The way he draped himself across the bed in that sexy fashion of his reminded Levana of the last time she encountered the Nightcrawler. After they escaped the circus.
"So, treffen wir uns wieder, Nightcrawler."
Would you like to finish what we started?
The echo of her voice in Kurt's mind, or rather, what the echo suggested, nearly caused him to pin his former lover against the wall….with not-so-clean intentions. He gulped in resistance. "as much as I 'vould love to…" traces of Kurt's German decent were still noticeable in his voice. He gracefully stood from the bed, his cat-like balance creating not a sound but his accent as he spoke, "…Here….'ve have certain….limitations. After all, 'zhis is a school."
She smiled flirtatiously. He tried to ignore the fact that he loved the way she looked at him. "Besides…." He continued, "Times have changed 'zince…..'zince 'zhen."
"I know, I know, Schöne." She used her pet name for him, "I'm just feeling…..rather nostalgic right now. And you still have your accent too!....''Vonderful', as you would say."
"'Vell, 'zhen….perhaps for….nostalgic reasons….'ve shall make 'vone….teensy….exception…" he grinned seductively, his eyes half-lidded. "For old times' 'zake." He moved closer, slowly, with intent. His tail swinging back and fourth, pendulum-like after him.
"Nightcrawler…." Levana walked her fingers up his chest as he came closer, resting her hand on his shoulder. She held his face and brought his blue lips to hers. He pinned her to the wall, as was her previous intention.
The door's latch clicked open unexpectedly. "Levana, I wanted to apologize-" Storm stopped her explanation for coming in without knocking to gape at Kurt, who had pulled back in surprise and ported back to the bed. "Shtorm…it's…not…."
"Kurt….it's okay…" she stammered, holding back tears. She sped from the room, slamming the door behind her.
"I'm so sorry…" Levana said. "I…"
"Hush." Kurt interrupted. "It's not your fault."
Ask her not to hate me…..
He nodded, and ported from the room, the remnant smoke curling around Levana's face before evaporating.
Ororo stomped into the kitchen where Logan still snacked on Doritos, watching the flat screen. He quickly switched it off as he saw Storm chuck a char, bracelet on the table, and slump into the chair with her face in her hands.
"Storm! What happened!" Logan worried. "Did you apologize?"
"She doesn't deserve it!" She snapped.
Logan carefully stepped across the tile and sat anxiously beside her, taking note of the dark clouds swirling ominously outside. "Were you gonna give that to her?" he motioned to the mangled charm bracelet. She could only nod, her lip quivering.
She took a deep breath and said, "He was….kissing her…" she bit her lip, and it began to rain outside the window.
"Aw, Storm," he laid his muscular arm across her shoulders. "So they have a romantic past, big deal."
She shook her head. Lighting flashed.
"You're just overreacting, Stormy. Just talk to Kurt about it. Clear the air. It'll be alright."
"You really think so?" she looked at him hopefully.
"'Course I do. This was all just a misunderstanding. You just have to make in an 'understanding.'"
"Thanks, Logan." She hugged him with a grateful smile.
A pair of yellow eyes glared with rage and their embrace. Now if Kurt had decided to drop in and eavesdrop a few seconds earlier, he would've heard their conversation, but we all know that never happens.
* * *
Storm stepped slowly up the mansion stairs, and made sure she knocked before entering this time, on Kurt's door.
"'Vhat?" came the pissy reply.
"It's me."
A growl emanated from behind the door.
She opened the door to a moody elf, perched on a swivel chair with his back to her. His three-fingered hand clenched his writing desk, and his spear-tipped tail flitted and darted about, twitching in frustration.
"Kurt…."
"'Vhat?"
"I'm really sorry."
He released the desk and his tail relaxed, but his body was still tense with anger as he spun in his chair to give her a piercing yellow glare. "Don't hate her." He pleaded.
She bit her lip.
"It 'vasn't her. It 'vas me."
"What do you mean?"
"I…" he blinked, searching for words, "I….'zeduced her…pinned her to 'zhe 'vall…"
"Don't take the fault for her, Kurt."
His eyebrows furrowed disapprovingly, but then he breathed a sigh of defeat, shaking his head. "Fine, fine. She spoke….she said-"
"I don't need to know. But I heard that you two had some sort of…past? Back in Germany?"
"Ja…"
"Wait, wait. So she speaks telepathically, correct?"
"Often when she needs to say some'zhing she does not 'vant o'zhers to hear."
"I see. Where did you two meet?"
"'Zhe German circus. She interrupted my act."
She giggled flamboyantly.
"Knock knock." Logan rapped on the open door. "Lights out, guys."
Kurt snarled at him, though the wolverine took no notice.
"Thanks, Logan. Goodnight."
"'Night." He left the doorway to knock on others' illuminated bedrooms.
"Goodnight, Kurt."
"Yeah."
Does she hate me?
Kurt heard Levava's voice in his ears as Storm ruefully shut the door, the thump of her footsteps proceeding down the hallway.
Shtorm doesn't hate anyone. She can't. he thought, knowing she could hear him.
She's still not too fond of me.
Give it until morning. She'll get over it.
How can you be sure?
I know Shtorm. She has likely forgiven you already. She has a soft heart. Trust me.
Okay. Goodnight.
"Goodnight."
From under her bed covers she gazed up at the demon who appeared at her bedside in a flash of smoke. He leaned in for a passionate kiss, then whispered, "Meine Liebe." And was gone again.