Chapter Two

By late the next day, Kurt was ensconced in a discreet location in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he was met by Bobby Drake, more publicly known as 'Iceman'.

If Kurt managed to find them, Blob and Pyro would be a challenge to take out. If the two were meeting friends, his odds were even worse, so he'd decided to err on the side of caution and telephoned his teammate and friend for back-up.

"So, what's the deal with Lardo and Sparky - do you think she was telling the truth?" Bobby leaned back in his chair, balancing it on the back two legs as he drank a beer.

"Ja, I'd say she was persuaded to be honest. I questioned another of the patrons this morning, just to be sure. He gave the same information, now it's just a matter of finding them here."

"How hard can Blob be to miss? He's like the size of a truck, man."

Kurt chuckled. "True enough."

"We going hunting tonight, or do you need your beauty sleep?"

"I'm ready to get this done and go home, just let me eat first. Linda's getting testy about my work schedule lately." He dug into his pre-fab meal with gusto.

"See, that's one of the many reasons I'm not married. Where does she think you are this time?"

Kurt peered at his friend over the top of his beer before answering, "Alaska."

"Alaska?! Couldn't you come up with anything better than that?" Bobby snickered. "What the hell does she think you're doing up there?"

Shrugging uncomfortably, Kurt replied, "I don't know, I might have mentioned something about helping some locals."

Bobby raised an eyebrow. "Your divorce, dude."

"What? I should tell her I've been roughing up whores in Mexico to find out where two mass murderers have gone so I can kill them? Be serious!" Kurt's tail lashed behind him in irritation; he felt guilty enough about it without this from Bobby.

"Linda's a smart girl, do you really think she buys all that guff they showed about you on 'Behind the Heroes'? She's your wife, she's gotta know you better than that, by now."

"Ja, well she knows what the X-Men do."

"But you don't tell her what you do."

Kurt was getting angry now. "Just what would you like me to say to her? 'Liebling, I know you think I'm a hero, but in reality I'm one of Erik's private assassins'. Can't you just imagine the conversation?" He shoved the remainder of his dinner roughly away. "Someday soon, we'll have finished this, und I can be just a regular team member. Until then, what she doesn't know won't hurt her."

It was obvious that Bobby had pushed his temperamental friend as far as he should. He held his hands up in mock surrender. "Okay, Kurt, okay...don't get your back up. I was just running my mouth, like always."

Kurt continued to glare at him from across the table. "Ja, well when I want relationship advice you're the last person I'll go to."

"Fair enough. My track record speaks for itself. Speaking of which, what say we find a couple of seƱoritas when we're done here, just like old times?"

"I'm married."

Bobby rolled his eyes. "Married, not gelded, or is that a part of wedded bliss that nobody told me about?"

Leaning back with his arms crossed, Kurt started to relax at his friend's bantering tone. "There are perks to make up for lack of variety."

"Yeah...I really don't wanna know. T.M.I. and all that."

Kurt chuckled. "Abby was asking about you again."

"Yeah? The hot blonde that works with Linda?"

"That's the one."

Bobby grinned lecherously. "Guess she didn't mind a bit of frostbite."

"Apparently not. You should come back with me when we're done here. Besides, Linda says you're the only one who appreciates her cooking."

"That's because I'm nice. Your wife can't cook for shit, you know that, right?"

"Ja."

"Got Tums on hand?"

"Always."

"I'm in. Couch city, here I come."

Kurt and Bobby had been close friends for years. In many ways, they were a study of opposites. Bobby's irreverent, lackadaisical and playful personality off-set Kurt's more pragmatic, cynical and sometimes volatile disposition. They worked well together, and there were few people Kurt could relax around as he could with Bobby.

"So let's catch us some bad guys. I got dibs on Sparky." Bobby stood and headed to the door.

"Try and be unobtrusive this time, ja?"

"'Unobtrusive' is my middle name."

"I thought it was 'King of Love'"

"That too."

An hour later found them in the swanky underbelly of Rio's night life.

South America, as a whole, had been largely spared the bulk of decimation experienced by most of the rest of the world. As a result, it's population had sky-rocketed, and it was an industrial favorite. Brazil, especially, was a hub of commerce and wealth in the western world.

The bars and clubs in this part of town remained open twenty-four hours a day, and they were filled to overflowing with people from all walks of life, most who preferred anonymity. Bobby, in the standard tourist uniform of khaki shorts and a knit shirt, fit right in, but Kurt kept to the shadows. He didn't want their quarry to be alerted in time to make an escape.

Raising his voice to make himself heard over the driving music and din of conversation, Kurt called out, "I'm going to the rooftops, key the commlink if you see them before I do."

Bobby nodded and continued to meander through the crowd.

Kurt sighed in relief once he was out of the chaos below. He absolutely detested crowds. The feel of so many people touching and brushing against him was suffocating to a man who'd grown up in near isolation. He loosened his collar and breathed in the night air, scouting the milling crowds. Nothing. Kurt moved to a rooftop further down and continued to peruse the masses on the street.

Ah ha! There was Pyro, and while there was no sign of Fred Dukes with him, if Kurt's eyes weren't deceiving him, that was Jon Bloom down there, better known as 'Avalanche'. That was yet another one Kurt could strike from his list, if things went well. He keyed the communicator to alert Bobby, then waited.

There was really no question of the outcome. They had the element of surprise, and Kurt wasn't the kind of man to let that go to waste.

It wasn't long before Allerdyce and Bloom made the fatal mistake of moving to a less populated area. While Bobby moved in from the streets, Kurt teleported to his chosen prey from above, landing neatly on Bloom's shoulders and driving him to the ground with the sudden extra weight.

"Guten Abend mein Herr! Say goodbye to your little firefly friend!" With that, Kurt teleported away again, taking Bloom's head with him. The look of startled horror was now permanent. Bloom's body wavered uncertainly for a few moments before collapsing at Pyro's feet.

"The hell...?!" Pyro screeched, readying a burst of flame and searching the darkness for his friend's assailant.

Bobby tapped him on the shoulder. "Over here, Sparky." He encased Pyro's hand in ice, dousing the flames and following with a frost-encrusted left hook, snapping the other man's jaw with a pop. Pyro tried to set the tarmac underneath them alight, but it was too little, too late. The flames sputtered and went out.

Allerdyce writhed in pain as Bobby knelt down, smiling. "Now I'm going to freeze your brain. Feels kinda like eating ice cream too fast, but a lot worse, or so I'm told." He winked. It took no more than a matter of seconds to accomplish, and Pyro's skull cracked outward like an exploding melon from the internal pressure.

Kurt watched from a short distance away. He was still holding Bloom's head, and blood dripped from his elbows. He looked at the face, mouth still wide in a silent scream. "Just vasn't your night, vas it Jon?"

It was a no fuss hit - just the way Kurt liked them. They dumped the bodies with little fanfare and decided to call it a night.

"Shall we continue after Dukes tomorrow, mein Freund?"

"Nah, that Delores chick I talked to said he kept moving. Got into some kinda trouble and bailed on Allerdyce and Bloom."

"Did she say where?"

"Nope."

"Verdammt!"

"Don't worry, we'll get him. You know he'll turn up again."

"Ja."

After another day of Kurt's doggedly determined, but ultimately unsuccessful searching, they gave up and caught a flight back home.


"Hey!" Linda's face lit up at the unexpected sight of her husband sitting in the living room when she walked in. "I didn't know you were coming home already! And you brought Bobby!"

Kurt greeted her with an embrace and a tender kiss. "I wanted to surprise you."

She grinned from within the circle of his arms. "Well, you did. Long time, no see Bobby!"

"Lin! What's shakin' babe?"

"Not much. Abby'll be glad you're in town."

Bobby waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "And I'm glad to be in town."

"You know, I really should warn her about you."

"Me? What's there to warn her about?"

Linda shook her head and chuckled. "Never mind. Are you boys done saving the world for now?"

"Ja, at least for a few days." Kurt nuzzled her neck, wrapping his tail around her calf.

"PDA man, PDA - very unwanted public displays of affection."

"Can it Bobby, this boy's mine for the next few days. And this isn't public, this is my living room." Linda quipped.

"Yeah, well, do I need to talk a walk or something?"

Kurt contemplated Bobby's suggestion. "Would you? OW! Why did you hit me?" He smiled down at his wife.

"Don't be rude, you can wait mister."

"Ja, ja...always with the waiting."

Linda laughed. "Aw, poor neglected baby. Are you guys hungry? I can make that stew you liked so much, Bobby. I think I have the stuff for it here."

Bobby and Kurt exchanged looks.

"Liebling, why don't you call Abby, und see if she wants to meet us in town for dinner?"

"Okay, sure. I'll make it for you tomorrow, then." Linda smiled brightly in Bobby's direction.

Kurt hid a smile at the look on Bobby's face.

After dinner at one of the more upscale restaurants in town, the four of them decided to go to a popular night club. The other three were talking animatedly amongst themselves, and Kurt sat back, listening with a smile on his face. His wife really was one in a million, and he told her so after Bobby pulled his date up for a dance.

Linda smiled, kissing the palm of his hand. "What brings that on?"

"Nothing in particular. I was just thinking how lucky I am."

She leaned over to kiss him. "You're a charmer, is what you are."

"Ja?"

"Yep. So does that mean you missed me?"

"I always do." He pulled her closer in the booth so he could drape his arm across her shoulders.

She snuggled into the crook of his arm. "So whatever happened in Anchorage must have gotten bad, if you had to call Bobby in."

"Nothing we couldn't handle, und nothing to worry about."

She looked up at him, her expression unreadable. "Would you tell me if it were?"

"Ja, of course." It felt like something gripped his heart and squeezed as he gazed into her trusting brown eyes.

"What is it, what's wrong?" She smiled, brushing her fingers over the tattoo on his face.

He looked at her for a long moment before replying. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong, Schatzi, I'm just tired." He glanced away, looking down at her hand on his arm, the wedding band glinting in the low light.

"If you were tired, why didn't you say so? We could've stayed home."

He smiled. "It's all right, besides, Bobby would've driven us both crazy with his boredom."

"Speak of the devil, here he comes..."

"Are we interrupting you two lovebirds?" Bobby flopped back down into the booth opposite, pulling Abby with him.

"Nein, not really."

"Hey, Kurt, how come you're not asking this pretty lady of yours to dance?"

Linda snickered. "Him? Dance? I thought you'd known him practically forever, surely you know he has two left feet."

"Yeah, I know. Fred Estaire he ain't." Bobby grinned. "I was kinda figuring you might've worked on that."

"You can only help those that want to be helped." She playfully nudged her husband in the ribs.

Kurt shrugged, smiling. "I just have no talent for it, I'm sorry Liebling. If you want a dance, you'll have to settle for frozen toes rather than smashed ones."

"There's my cue. C'mon gorgeous, let's make your old man jealous with our awe-inspiring moves on the dance floor." Bobby took a giggling Linda by the hand and pulled her up.

Kurt flagged the waitress down for a refill and watched his wife as the two walked away. It never ceased to amaze him that she was his - that of all men, she'd chosen to love him. Her mischievous eyes and wide smile had captivated him from the first moment he'd laid eyes on her. Her effervescent personality had sealed the deal. He knew he was in love by the end of second date. He knew he wanted to marry her by the end of the week.

She made him forget the grim past and the pain of it. With her, he remembered that there was more to life than struggle and hardship. Linda made him look to the future and see something good in it, for the first time since he'd buried his boy-self that night in the shade of a Hawthorne tree in Germany, in the wake of blood and flames.

He'd do anything to ensure the safety of that future, even if it meant killing. Was she not worth it? When this was over, and the threat was removed - then he could be the man reflected in her eyes.


Out amidst the crowd of other dancers, Bobby and Linda kept up an easy banter.

"So, Bobby, have you been making sure Kurt behaved, or leading him into temptation?" She grinned, mischief sparkling in her eyes.

"Leading him into temptation? What am I, Satan?" Bobby chortled.

"Nope, just a horrible flirt with an eye for trouble - something my husband once had in common with you."

"Once maybe, now he may as well be a monk when he's away from you."

She chuckled. "You sound so disappointed."

"Well, part of the fun factor has kind of disappeared from our boy's club, thanks to you, missy." He winked playfully.

"You could always settle down yourself - make some nice girl like Abby happy."

"Abby, a nice girl? Damn, the definition must've changed when I wasn't looking."

She swatted him on the shoulder. "You know what I mean."

"Nuh unh...Robert Drake ain't marriage material, thanks."

"Oh, you'll come around one day, wait and see. You just haven't met the right girl."

"Nope. I'm a happily confirmed bachelor, sweets. Besides, how can I meet the right girl when she's married to my best friend?" He grinned rakishly.

"You're impossible!"

"Nah, just incorrigible, at least according to my therapist. She's pretty hot, too."

"Ugh!"

Linda's giggles tapered off into a strained silence. Finally, she said quietly, "Bobby, I'm worried about Kurt."

"He's a big boy, he can take care of himself."

"I know that. I mean, I know he's been doing this sort of thing for years and all. It's just..."

"You're his wife so it's your job to worry? Make sure he doesn't mix plaid and stripes, wears clean socks and doesn't get the shit kicked out of him by some bad guy in spandex?" He teased her, smiling.

Her smile was half-hearted. "I guess." She shook her head. "No, it isn't that. It's that it sometimes feels like...like I don't really know him." Linda finished softly.

"What are you talking about? You guys are the most sickeningly in-love two people I know."

"Of course I know he loves me, and I love him - but it feels...God, I don't know. It feels like he's keeping something from me, like there's something he doesn't want me to know." She pinned him with her gaze. "Where were you both this week, really?"

Bobby shifted uncomfortably, glancing over to where his friend was sitting. "Kurt told you, we were on moose duty. C'mon Lin, don't be silly. The X-Men are on the news all he time...what could he possibly hide from you? I mean it ain't like the guy could be mistaken for anybody else, walking down the street." He tweaked her nose.

She smiled, but looked unconvinced. "I suppose you're right. I'm probably acting like a typical wife."

"Yeah. That's okay, you're entitled to." Bobby grinned.

Her eyes flickered to where Kurt was. "I just wish he'd talk to me. You know, about real things. Things like what really happens on all these missions. Things like his mother and the fact that she's barely spoken to him since he told her we were getting married."

"You don't want him to talk about Raven, trust me. Nobody talks to him about that woman."

"Why? I don't understand. It was obvious how hurt he was when she didn't come to the wedding. Why would she do that to her own son?"

"Because she's a self-serving bitch?"

"Bobby!"

"It's true. The farther she stays away from him, the better off he is."

"She's his mother."

"That's just biology, sweets."

"I've only met her once, and that was strained, but she wasn't awful or anything. She's really that bad?"

"'Fraid so." Bobby chuckled and ham-handedly changed the subject. "The elf is gonna get jealous for real if we don't go sit back down."

They both knew better, but she let it slide and they returned to the table, all smiles.