Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters, locations and concepts belonging to Marvel Entertainment. No claim of ownership is made or implied by me in using their property. No part of this work is intended for material gain of any kind. It is intended for the sole purpose of creative exercise and the entertainment of others.


The Adventures of Kitty Pryde

Issue 2, December 2005

Cover image: A large humanoid completely encased in strange, golden battle armor is lifting Kitty by the throat as she struggles to pry away its grasp. At the villain's feet Colossus lies unconscious, smoke rising from a scorch mark on his metal chest. A thought balloon over Kitty reads, "How do I fight an enemy who knows my next move before I make it?" At the bottom are the words "At The Mercy Of Anticipation!"


Kitty stands in front of a mirror, in the last stages of primping. Her hair is done up nicely and she is wearing a canary yellow dress that might leave the casual observer pondering its basic nature as a testament either to her sensible style or tragically poor fashion sense. Either way, Kitty does not seem to notice.

"I'm not nervous," she thinks.

))So tell me, Kitty,(( a telepathic voice intrudes. ))Are you dressing like a teenager subconsciously...((

Kitty scowls as she looks in the mirror at the person standing by the door.

))...or deliberately?((

Rachel Grey, Marvel Girl, is Kitty Pryde's roommate and best friend. They have a bond that spans time itself. Until now, however, she's never seen Kitty deal with the difficulties of a new romance. Or an old one, for that matter.

"Ha-ha. You're a riot, Red," Kitty says. She tries to return her attention to touching up with a few final dabs of powder. "It's been ages since I dressed up for a date. I don't exactly have a massive wardrobe."

"You could always borrow something of mine."

A moment of silence passes between them, and finally both of their faces split into wide grins.

"Ha!" Kitty laughs, feeling more relaxed. "What's so bad about me dressing up, anyway?"

"You're only going to dinner and a movie, for one."

"It's a nice restaurant," Kitty says defensively. "Besides, I want to get Peter's attention."

"You've been a couple for over a week," Rachel reminds her. "Over a month if anyone but you two is asked," the redhead thinks. "I'm pretty sure you have his attention."

"He has a funny way of showing it," Kitty grumbles. "I've dropped every hint I can think of and he hasn't so much as given me a peck on the cheek."

"So why don't you do something?"

Kitty balks. "I've tried. Every time I think about it, though I..." she turns and faces her friend with an ashamed expression. "...lose my nerve."


Somewhere in the depths of space, a tiny object cuts through the blackness.

\Emergency... Emergency...\

Back in Kitty's bathroom, Rachel puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Maybe a few dates will help you relax more."

"My dates with him last time weren't what I'd call 'relaxing,'" Kitty mumbles.

Rachel lets the comment pass. "That was when you were a kid."

"Even so, it seemed so much easier to have feelings for him back then. I don't understand why it's so much harder this time."

"You can't just pick up from where you left off," Rachel tells her sagely.

"Why not?" Kitty objects. "Kurt and Amanda did, and their breakup was ten times worse than ours."

Rachel rolls her eyes. "Oh yes," she says sarcastically. "Sooooo glad those two got back together."

Kitty smiles and playfully cuffs her friend on the shoulder. "Rachel! Be nice."

"What? I liked it better when he was with Cerise. They were a better couple."

A wry grin crosses Kitty. "Right. And your contempt for Amanda has nothing to do with it."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Rachel tries to say nonchalantly. "Besides, there really wasn't much distance between them as people when they got back together, was there? Plus, Kurt spent every waking moment after their breakup chasing every skirt he could find. You, on the other hand, are out of practice. Besides, you were fourteen when you broke up. Do you really want the same kind of relationship you had with him back then?"

"Hardly, and that's the problem. I want something more like what I had with-" Kitty stops short of finishing the sentence. "That's not something that could happen anyway. I've changed. He's changed. He still won't tell me what happened to him in Russia..."

"Aha," Rachel says thoughtfully. "I figured that might be part of it." Her voice softens. "Kitty, I won't tell you whether you should try to start over or try to start something new. You can decide that on your own. But if you're worried about him, then perhaps you should simply approach him directly about it. There's something to be said for not brooding on things."

Kitty heaves a sigh. "You may be right, Rachel. The advice sounds familiar at least."

"Oh, yeah!" Rachel suddenly says, snapping her fingers, "I almost forgot why I came up. There's a delivery for you downstairs, and I think it's from your boyfriend."

"What?" Kitty says, looking excited. She sees the wicked grin on Rachel's face and says, "Why you- You did that on purpose!"

"Would I do that?" Rachel says innocently as Kitty rushes past her.


Kitty stands at the bottom of the staircase, looking dumbfounded. A deliveryman, clipboard in hand, stands next to a pile of flowers, chocolates, teddy bears and balloons that is almost as tall as Kitty herself. A crowd of students and X-Men have gathered around the spectacle, looking curious and amused.

"...All this?"

Stan Lee does not present

Breathless With Anticipation


"It's so unfair!" Scott Lightfoot grumbles as he sulks near the entrance with his friends, who are watching with interest as Kitty signs for the delivery.

Warren Epps shows all the sympathy of a sack of rocks as he tells his friend, "It's not like you really stand a chance anyway. She's way out of your league."

"She's way out of Mister Rasputin's league, too" Ben Rice offers helpfully.

"Well, I think it's sweet the way they're back together," Alana DuBois tells them. "Just like a fairy tale."

"More like a horror show," Scott retorts. "I'd never dump her over some dumb alien."

"Pff," Alana waves away his comment. "She dumped him because he was making her feel old. It was her last boyfriend-"

"Pete Wisdom!" Warren says. "The John Steed of mutants, 'cept he's tough like Mr. Logan! It'd be so cool if he came here!"

Scott moans in agony at the comparison. "It's hopeless. She doesn't even know I exist."

"That might be a good thing," Alana tells him. "She's cursed."

"Huh?" all three boys gasp. "What do you mean, cursed?" Ben asks.

"All her boyfriends die," Alana explains. Growing horror crawls over the boys' faces as she lists off each death.

"First, Larry Bodine-"

"Who?"

"It doesn't matter. He died from some bad potato salad during a picnic at the school. It happened the very night after they met."

Alana starts to tick the victims off on her fingers. "Then Cypher was killed in a fishing accident."

"That doesn't sound very heroic," Warren mutters.

"It wasn't" Alana assures them. "Rigby Fallon, who used to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. fell asleep on a glacier and froze to death."

"Freaky," Scott says, looking especially nervous.

"That's why it's a curse," Alana responds. "And it gets worse. Pete Wisdom accidentally drove a Volvo into a missile test range and faked his death."

"Waitaminute," Warren interrupts. "How can that count if he only faked it?"

"Because he did it accidentally," Alana says, as if explaining the obvious.

"Uh-"

"Anyway, Mister Rasputin was fused to a falling satellite and they couldn't separate him from it. That's why he was cremated."

"And that's when the aliens got him and brought him back," Ben finished. "But I thought Mister Rasputin died when he injected himself with the cure for the Legacy Virus."

Alana rolls her eyes. "Yeah, a cure killed him. Who'd believe something stupid like that?"

"People die from cures all the time," Ben mumbles under his breath.

-- Editor's Note: Actually, this was how all of Maggie's boyfriends died on Northern Exposure.

"Wow," Warren says as the gravity of her description soaks into him. "That's a lot. Are you still sure being in love with her is a good idea, Scott?"

Scott looks at her as Kitty attempts to make sense of the pile of romantic gifts, and the dreamy look falls over him again. "I think she'd be worth it," he sighs.

The other three look at each other. "Hopeless," proclaims Alana.

"Sad," says Ben.

"Pathetic," says Warren.


Peter Rasputin, better known as Colossus, steps into the hall, curious about the commotion that has grown. "What's going on-?"

At that moment Kitty leaps into his arms.

"Katya!?" Peter gasps in astonishment.

"Whaddya think, you big lug? I love it!" She detaches herself from him and surveys the pile again. "It's a bit much, though, don't you think?"

Peter looks past her in greater confusion. "Katya, these gifts... I did not send them."

Kitty takes a nervous step away. Reading this, the mood among the onlookers takes a subtle shift. Still curious, but no longer amused. "But, don't be silly. Of course you sent them. Who else would send them, especially right before our first date?"

She is drawn back, the desire to answer her own question compelling her to check. The pile of gifts proves to be daunting as she fishes for some way to identify the sender. Finally she spots a small card stuck to a bouquet of roses.

Kitty seizes the flowers and waves them at Peter. "Found it! Last chance to fess up and admit what a wonderful person you are." Plucking the card with satisfaction, she opens the plain white square and reads the inscription aloud.

"A small tribute of my undying love. Signed: Your Secret Admirer."

"Secret admirer?" Alana says quietly. She, Ben and Warren look meaningfully at Scott.

The preteen looks blankly at them for a moment before saying, "Oh, come on! Like I could ever afford all that!"

Peter approaches Kitty and places a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Katya, I am sorry."

"It wasn't you..."

Back in space, a small craft drifts helplessly amidst the emptiness. Its golden surface is smooth and shines off the light of distant stars. It is clearly damaged on one side.

\Navigation systems non-functional. Atmospheric breech imminent.\


"I don't want it," Kitty states, looking disgusted with herself. "Any of it."

"Katya..." Peter says, trying to soothe her.

"This so humiliating," Kitty thinks. "Why did something like this have to happen right before our date? And in front of everybody."

"I didn't mean what I said earlier, about loving it," she tries to assure him. "When we get back I'm going to have all of it burned."

"I'll go find Lockheed!" Scott says as he leaps forward and bolts up the stairs.

Warren, Ben and Alana watch him leave with stunned expressions for a moment. "Uh, we'll help move everything outside," Alana says, and the other two follow her to the pile.

At that moment a voice speaks from behind everyone. "Ah, everyone's here. Perfect..."

They turn and see Emma Frost watching them with an imperious expression. "...That makes it easier for me to pick out some volunteers to wash the Blackbird."

As if by magic, everyone instantly remembers they have pressing business elsewhere, leaving the Headmistress alone with Kitty and Peter.

"Isn't this sweet," Frost says with a disdainful sniff. "Our little Kitty, nervous as a schoolgirl." She gives Kitty's dress a studied glance. The large bow in the back does not go unnoticed.

"And dressed like one too. Shall I have someone fetch you a lollie?"

Kitty stares daggers at Emma. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm driving you two lovebirds to the restaurant."

"Come again?"

"I'm going to be your chauffeur, silly," Emma responds.

"You've heard that I can drive, haven't you?" Kitty says with a glower. "I've been doing it since I was fifteen."

"Of course, dear, but sadly, all the cars on the lot are unavailable at the moment, except mine." Emma's lips twist into a mockery of a sisterly smile. "And seeing as we've become so close since your return, why, I insisted on helping out."


Kitty's scowl deepens. "I have seriously got to get my own car."

"Why, Kitty, that's a splendid idea. I'll ask Scott to take you to the toy store first thing tomorrow."

"Do you think you could save the jokes until after our date?"

"Ever so sorry," Emma brushes past Kitty to trace her fingers along a box of chocolates. "Don't know what came over me."

Kitty snatches a plastic cupid from the pile and moves toward Emma while her back is turned. As she pulls her hand back, she thinks, "I wonder how hard I'll have to shove this to get it all the way up her-"

Peter moves in to prevent the argument from getting worse. "Katya, please," he says, snagging the cupid from her hands and replacing it to the pile in one smooth motion. He takes a corsage from the pile of gifts and removes it from the package. Gently pinning it to the bodice of her dress, he says, "I really don't mind." Whether he means the gifts, or Emma, he leaves unspoken. "Let's just go and have a good time."

Kitty looks up at Peter's deep topaz eyes and her angry face can't help but soften. She sighs with resignation. "That sounds like a good idea," she concedes.

None of them notice a small spray of fine powder drift from the corsage and onto Peter's suit.

Later, as they drive away from the mansion, Peter notices Kitty gazing thoughtfully out her window. "Katya, why are you staring at the baseball field?"

"Hmn?" she says, look at him. "Sorry, just thinking..."

Her eyes drift back to the window, and Emma's car cruises past the front gate.


Later...

Kitty and Peter step out of the car, which has pulled next to an upper scale restaurant named "Don's"

"Don't stay out too late," Emma says before she drives away. "You know how cranky Kitty gets when she's up past her bedtime."

And with that, the car and Emma are gone before Kitty can respond.

"Sheesh, do you think she got lost enough times?" Kitty grumbles. "It's almost like she was doing it on purpose."

"It was a pleasant enough drive," Peter says tactfully. "Let's go inside."

A few moments later Kitty is standing in front of the podium, looking furious. "But we had reservations!"

The host is nonplussed by her outrage. "Indeed, but that was for an hour ago. I'm afraid we had no choice but to give your table away."

"But it wasn't our fault!"

"Miss, there's nothing I can do." The host is professional enough, but she already looks bored. "Our reservation policy is quite clear."

"Well, how soon before you can seat us then?"

The host pointedly nods toward the large assembly of people near the door. "At least an hour, Miss."

"But we have tickets to a movie that starts in an hour and a half!"

"Perhaps they'll be willing to rewind the film when you arrive," the woman says, her sympathy clearly exhausted.

Kitty growls in frustration. "Never mind," She grabs her date by the hand and leads him out. "C'mon Peter. Let's just find a place on the way to the theater."

As they step out of the restaurant and look down the stretch of highway, they are faced with a less than encouraging sight. Between them and the theater is a stretch several miles long littered with cheap motels, car dealerships and not much else. Even the sidewalk is broken up by patches of unpaved gravel.

"Great."


"You really bought tickets in advance?"

"What? You know how much I like pirates."

Kitty and Peter walk along the side of the highway together. The large gravel stones crunch noisily beneath Peter's feet, but Kitty carefully maintains a four inch distance between herself and the ground by phasing. It also helps keep Peter from seeming quite so enormous next to her.

The day has grown dim around them as night offers its daily caress. The sunset is blocked by their surroundings, but they can still see an orange glow in the distance.

"Sorry I made a scene back there," Kitty offers.

"No need," Peter assures her. "In the past, I have done far worse."

"Heh," Kitty chuckles, though she knows it was not a joke. "Guess after all I've been through I should know better than to let petty problems like that bother me."

Peter looks thoughtfully at the sky. "I do not believe that is true. If grand things were all that troubled us, we would not be people. We would be gods."

"I knew we shoulda stayed in Asgard," Kitty jokes.

Peter does not laugh. He simply continues to gaze toward the horizon.

Kitty looks at him with concern. "Peter?"

"Sometimes..." he says with a touch of melancholy, "...the mundane things make all the difference in the world."

Kitty's expression gains a touch of alarm.

The soft glow of the upper atmosphere nearly obscures the craft as it draws closer. Soon the edge of the craft blossoms with fire. Within moments it is completely engulfed in a frightening coat of red heat.

\Warning... Warning...\

Kitty's stomach growls. "Think we're almost there?"

"Very nearly," Peter assures her.

"It's a half hour until the movie starts. Guess we'll have to share a bucket of popcorn for our- Hello!"

As they crest a small hill, they see a sign not far ahead. Perched atop a thick pole, the sign promises "Food and Cocktails" in the dark building it is next to.

"Works for me," Kitty says. "Maybe we can get some quick happy hour fries or something."

They veer off to enter the bar, unaware that next to the glowing letters, another part of the fluorescent tubing has failed to activate. Though crudely formed, it still manages to assume the shape of a female silhouette.


The bar is dimly lit and enshrouded in a thick layer of cigarette smoke. When the pair enters, they are immediately greeted by a friendly woman. "Hi there! May I see your ID cards, please?"

Kitty is taken aback by the abruptness of the request, but pleased with the prompt attention, so she begins digging through her purse. Peter hands his card over, but as it's returned to him his eyes suddenly bulge in shock.

"Katya?"

"Just a second Peter," Kitty says as she continues fishing for her card. "It's so dark in here I can hardly see anything," she thinks.

"But, Katya…" Peter presses, nudging her shoulder for emphasis.

"Hold on. Found it!" She gives the card to the greeter and smiles at Peter. "Sorry, what did you want?"

"Perhaps we should go somewhere else," Peter tells her quietly.

Kitty takes her card back and drops it in her purse. "Why? Let's just find a seat and-"

"Oh."

"My."

"God."

Kitty's eyes are riveted to the center of the bar, where several large stages are arranged around barstool seating. Large metal poles sprout from each stage and extend all the way to the ceiling. On one of the stages a very bored looking woman is spinning around the pole while dressed in a skimpy bikini. Peter's face has turned beet red and he is making a heroic attempt to look deep inside his own shirt.

Kitty shrugs. "Nothing to be done about it. Let's find ourselves a table."

"But Katya, you know what type place this is, da?" Pete whispers uncomfortably.

"I've been to a couple," Kitty admits as she zeroes in on a table that's far enough from a stage to satisfy her.

"You have?!" Peter says with astonishment. "When?"

"I don't really want to talk about it," Kitty says through clenched teeth.


"Here's your water and your menus," their waitress says. Peter has his back to the stage, but still looks dreadfully embarrassed.

"I'm not sure I can do this, Katya," Peter tells her.

"Relax, Peter," Kitty says dismissively. "It's not as bad as you think. Most of the time they aren't dressed much worse than Betsy or Emma."

"I am not sure that makes me more comfortable," Peter says.

Kitty takes a sip of her water as she watches Peter squirm. Trying to change the subject, she says, "I wonder if those kids were serious about getting Lockheed to burn the gifts."

Back at the Mansion…

"Pull!"

A teddy bear soars into the sky. As it dangles on the zenith of its rise, a jet of flame strikes it, nearly reducing it to ashes before it even hits the ground.

"Awesome!" Warren says.

"This is so immature," Alana complains. Her arms are crossed, but she does not stop watching the spectacle.

Lockheed hovers in the sky as he awaits his next target.

"Let's do these chocolates next!" Scott says as he grabs a box. "Hey Lockheed, think you can get them all if I throw them with the lid off?"

"Yah!"

Back at the bar, Peter is uncomfortably silent. Kitty watches him continue to get embarrassed until it becomes almost painful.

"Come on, maybe the theater has hot dogs or pizza," Kitty offers.

"Da. Thank you, Katya," Peter says with obvious gratitude as he hastens from his seat.


They leave the bar and find that the region they are heading toward shows more signs of habitation. At the very least the sidewalk continues uninterrupted for a longer stretch. Large fences ahead surround a power company's substation.

Kitty watches Peter, who seems lost in thought, until she can no longer bear it. "Hey, something's bothering you. Out with it, okay?"

"I do not wish to upset you, Katya," Peter says reluctantly.

"This is upsetting me, Peter. Whatever it is, you should talk about it."

Peter's steps slow, as though the burden of his thoughts is dragging him back. He looks at her and says, "Katya, can you be honest with me?"

"What? Of course, Peter. W-what's this about?"

"I have been thinking-- When you found me, when you saved me, you did not have a man who loved you." He does not state it as a question.

Kitty's eyes widen in confusion. "What?"

"It is not right," Peter asserts. "It has brought me great joy, coming back to you, but it is not right..."

Peter takes one of her hands. "...that you have been alone."

Kitty starts to get flustered. "What? Don't be ridiculous. I-"

"No, Katya. This troubles me. It has been very long since I died. Has not one man asked you on a date in this time?"

Kitty's eyes narrow. "Wait, are you serious? You're having a problem... because I was single when I found you?"

"No, Katya. I am simply concerned that I might have been responsible somehow. It is hard not to think this. You have not so much as dated anyone since that Neo boy while we helped repair the High Evolutionary's space station. You should have had better than that, even if it meant that I could not have you."

Kitty squints in genuine confusion. "What are you talking about Peter? What Neo? And I haven't been to that space station since we defeated Mr. Sinister."

"Of course you have, Katya, I was there with you, and--" Peter's lips tighten. "You are changing the subject. What I am trying to say, Katya, is that I must make something clear to you if my death somehow had anything to do with this: I do not wish for you to ever deny yourself happiness in this way. Not in this world, where things can change so quickly."

Kitty stares at him in shock. She turns away before he can notice the moisture building in her eyes. "Why are you telling me this?"

Behind them, what looks like a star grows into a small ball of fire.


Peter reaches over and lifts Kitty's chin so that she is looking at him again. He gently brushes a tear away. "Because, Katya-- your happiness is important to me. Because seeing you happy is one of the few things that made life after my sister died bearable. Because I love you, and even though at times I have doubted it, or pushed it aside because you wished me to-- I have never stopped loving you."

The ball of fire behind them has grown so large the two of them seem to be bathed in light.

Almost of their own will, Kitty's lips come close to his. "Peter..."

"Katya... LOOK OUT!!!"

Peter abruptly shoves Kitty away and transforms into the metal form of Colossus. The very next second a flaming object the size of a motorcycle smashes into him. He is knocked back several yards, but the object itself bounces and skids a few meters beyond that. It crashes through the side fence to the substation, which drapes itself over the object like a mesh blanket.

"Peter!" Kitty shouts. She is a bit off balance, but unhurt.

When Colossus rises, his shirt is in tatters, both from the act of transforming and the collision. The spot on his chest where the faint powder from Kitty's corsage had landed begins to let off tiny wisps of smoke.


The flames die down, revealing the object to be a vaguely egg shaped golden craft. The heat leaves it tinged with red as it smolders and occasionally crackles.

Kitty runs to Colossus. "Peter! Are you okay?"

"Da," he assures her. "And you, Katya?"

"I'm fine. Look! Something's happening!"

"By the White Wolf!" Colossus yells as they watch the egg begin to tremble.

With a sudden CRACK! The egg splits down the middle, releasing a hissing jet of steam. The pair watch, stunned, as the two sides split and collapse and shift around until it takes on the form of a large humanoid in golden armor. The helmet is wide, like an overturned bowl, and the forearms resemble thick baseball bats, with no hands to be seen. The arms are functional enough for the alien to rise to its feet and throw the fence aside. It turns and seems to regard the two of them. It holds its arms at waist height, in a guarded pose, and odd, garbled electronic noises transmit from the helmet.

"Stay back, Katya!" Colossus yells as he charges the armored alien.

"Peter, no! We don't know if it's dangerous!"

"Or how dangerous," Kitty thinks. "Why's he being so aggressive all of a sudden?"


With Colossus thundering toward it, the alien goes into motion itself. A slot toward the end of one of its arm-pods opens and a long, thin device slides out. The device crackles with energy before erupting into a long, green energy whip. It flings the whip at Colossus and it snakes toward him with deadly accuracy. He is suddenly stopped in his tracks as the whip wraps itself around him and unleashes a massive jolt.

"Arggggghhhh!" Colossus cries as the energy surges through him.

The whip retracts, a small thread dangling from the arm-pod, still ready for another strike.

Colossus, unable to cope with the damage, collapses onto his back with a low groan.

The alien moves toward him, leaning in as it reaches the other arm close to his chest. The electronic garbles become more pronounced and excited as it nears him.

A large rock suddenly nails the alien square on the helmet. It bounces harmlessly off the golden surface, but it's enough to make it pause on its approach.

"Hey, you stupid Metroid reject! Get away from my boyfriend!"


Kitty runs toward the alien. "Have to get Peter away from it," she thinks. "Can't risk a slugfest, it looks too tough. Just phase in, grab Peter and phase out."

The alien lifts its arm and flings the energy whip at her. Kitty tries to sidestep it, but the long tendril changes direction the moment she does, and savagely rams through her phased body.

"Yeow!" Kitty shrieks as she is knocked back by the surge. She lands on her rump a foot away.

"That hurt!" she thinks, eying the alien and the whip. "Better be more careful."

Something above her goes "sproing" and Kitty feels something shift on her head. She looks up and sees that the electricity has broken her hair from its careful styling and left it an unkempt, frizzy mess.

"Oh, you're dead," Kitty mumbles.


"I guess the direct approach is out," Kitty thinks as she plans her next move. "Maybe if I come from the side..."

The alien returns its attention to Colossus, but the moment Kitty gets too close it sends its whip lashing out and Kitty only just escapes a second shock.

"Oops, not that way," Kitty thinks and changes direction. The whip cuts her off yet again.

Zak!

"Why isn't it trying to hit me anymore?" She thinks. "It's just forcing me away while it tries to do whatever it wants to Peter. Well, I still have a few tricks. Let's try from above." Kitty uses her phasing ability to allow herself to airwalk, rising higher with each step so that she can come at the alien from above.

Zak!

The whip catches the tips of her toes, jolting her just enough to make her drop back to the ground.

"Damn! Maybe a feint..." Kitty bolts to the left and when she sees the alien lift its arm she leaps to the right, only to find the snaking coil of energy barring her path and forcing her to withdraw.

"It's like he knows every move I'm going to make!" she thinks. She looks around at the electrical generators and transformers nearby and gets an idea. "But maybe he doesn't know why I'm making those moves, or what'll happen when I do."


"Hey! Come and get me!" Kitty yells, trying to draw its attention away from Colossus, who is still lying on the ground, stunned.

Kitty dashes close to the square units of the substation, with their coiled poles sticking out like quills. She passes a large sign warning of high voltage. "I'm coming Peter!" she thinks. "Just hold on!"

As expected, the alien fires its whip at her again, but Kitty is so close to the power unit that the tendril brushes one of the coils and a massive surge of amps courses along the length and sends sparks shooting from all the joints of the alien's armor.


"Gotcha!" Kitty says with glee. She charges directly at the alien. "Didn't like that, did you? I don't think you'll like what happens when I phase through electrical systems very much, either!"

Kitty leaps through the alien's chest. The armor, already damaged from the power surge, goes haywire as her phasing ability disrupts all the electrical systems within. The electro whip completely shorts out, leaving only a charred tip at the end of the device.

The alien falters, driven backward by its own out-of-control system, leaving Kitty free to run to Colossus.

She drops to her knees and hovers over him, cradling his head in her hands. "Peter? Are you okay? What was it trying to do to you?"

As she leans over, more of the dust from her corsage drops onto his body and sizzles along the metal skin.

Colossus' eyes suddenly spring open.


"Eahhhhhhh!" Peter yells, lashing out with his fists. Kitty is caught by surprise and is struck in the stomach by his flailing limbs. The blow sends her flying away from him and she lands with a heavy thud several feet away.

"Peter, uhnnnn!" Kitty says weakly. Her head swims with pain and her vision goes blurry. She can barely see the metal titan rise to his feet and close on her, his face twisted in a strange fury.

As he looms over her, Colossus raises his fists to crush her. Kitty realizes what is happening just in time to weakly lift a warding arm. "Peter, no!"

Just then the alien drives itself into him, knocking them both away from her.

Colossus is the first to recover and grabs the alien by the shoulders, his hands leaving dents in the armor. "Kill… you…" he barely manages to enunciate.

"Shake it off," Kitty thinks. "Help Peter and get away from that thing." She struggles to lift herself up. "Figure out how to make my legs do what I tell them."

The ends of the alien's arms split open, like the claws of a crab, revealing a white ball of energy inside the tip of each one. It lifts both arms to Peter's chin and his face twists into a grimace as he shrieks in pain. It's enough of a distraction for the alien to seal its arms again and pound him twice to break his grip.


"That's right," Kitty thinks. "One foot after the other. Man, Peter hits hard. He's gone berserk. What did that thing do to him?"

Colossus takes a wild swing at the alien, but it dodges easily. He attacks again and it swerves out of the way.

"It still knows what to expect. No time to take it down, I have to snap Peter out of it and get him back to the mansion. We can restrain him there… if we have to."

Kitty takes a deep breath and charges at the two combatants. Her dress is in tatters and the dirt and sweat have left her hair lank. She looks terrible, but determined. When she gets close enough she hurtles herself in the air and reaches her hands out.

"Sure hope this works," she thinks.

At the moment her fingers touch Colossus' face, she phases him, forcing him to suddenly stop in mid step. He struggles to move, but Kitty's power locks him in place.

"I'm sorry Peter. This is for your own good." Kitty turns her head and glares at the alien. "You can't touch us," she warns it. "All the commotion you raised is sure the bring the police, and the X-Men, and maybe a few ONE Sentinels. They'll be here soon, so if you're a smart alien you'll make tracks!"


The alien steps up to Kitty, seeming to regard her and the enraged Colossus behind her. It makes a few more sqaurbles.

"If that's some kind of language, I have no idea what you're saying," Kitty says matter-of-factly. "Don't get too close, or I might tip over and phase right through your precious suit again."

A small compartment in the chest plate slides open and flips over to reveal a small view screen. At the same moment a small device emerges from above its shoulder and projects a thin beam of light onto Colossus.

The view screen activates, showing a close-up view of the steel man's chest. It zooms in further until there is a clear image of the metal on his body being eaten away.

Kitty's eyes widen and she looks at Colossus. "Some kind of corrosive. Is that what's happening to you?" The display has zoomed in even further, showing the atomic models of several strange compounds. "Change back, Peter!" Kitty urges when she sees this. "You have to change back to make the pain stop!"

Colossus is unable to respond. He continues to struggle in place and growl in frustration.

The alien utters a few more clicks and the beam of light transfers to the corsage on her chest. It zooms in on it, faster than before but enough to show the same compound contained within the decorative flower.

"That's where it came from?" Kitty's response is immediate and decisive. She rips the corsage out of her dress and flings it to the ground in front of the alien.

The alien, true to its previous display of reacting before an action is taken, has an arm-pod at the ready. It projects a wide red laser across the corsage. When the display zooms in on it again, it is slightly wilted but free of the compound.

"Okay, then," Kitty muses. "I think we've officially resolved the language barrier issue." She pauses for thought. "Should I trust it?" she glances at the look of torment on Colossus and imagines what agony the mysterious corrosive must be causing him. "I don't have much of a choice, or much time."

She carefully steps to the side, keeping her hands on Colossus and her eyes on the alien. "I'm going to unphase enough to let you do your thing with the laser, but don't try anything else!"

The alien approaches Peter, lifts an arm-pod and projects a wide red laser across him. The spot where the dust had landed is wiped clean, revealing untarnished, shining steel.

The job complete, it stands, steps back, and turns away. Jets of fire spring from its back and it takes to the air, flying away until it is no more than a tiny speck of light in the distance.


Kitty watches the alien depart and then looks at Peter with deep concern. "Peter? Are you okay?"

"Uhnn," he groans. Slowly his metal form dissipates into flesh, and he seems to sag under his own weight. Kitty has to brace herself to support him.

Kitty hesitates before caressing his cheek. "Are you… feeling yourself?"

"Katya, what happened?" Peter manages to say.

"Oh, the usual. What date with you is complete without a sudden, random attack? Can you walk?"

Peter climbs to his feet and shifts back to human form. "Da. Thank you."

Kitty looks at the destruction around her, then back toward the mansion. "Can't stay out like this," she observes. "I'm not in much of a mood for a movie anyway. Let's just go home."

At that moment it suddenly starts to rain. Kitty doesn't even gasp in shock as she becomes drenched, both her hair and her clothes clinging limply to her.

"I really need to get my own car."


In an abandoned warehouse, the alien stands beneath the remains of a large sun window. Shards of glass are littered around it.

\Translation systems on-line. Language analysis complete. Overall damage is seventy percent.\

The arm pods detach from the armor and slide away, revealing thin but muscular arms with slender hands and fingers. It reaches up and presses a button near the base of the helmet. Two jets of steam shoot from the sides before it reaches up and lifts the helmet off.

The face revealed, the alien is an exotic looking woman with a wild mane of hair that resembles an owl, or the wings of a butterfly. The hair starts dark green at the top, becomes a stripe of light green at the center, and is white along the bottom. At the back is a round topknot of solid white hair. Her eyebrows have an odd arch to them as she looks around.

"Guess that means I'm trapped here for a while," she calmly muses.

Meanwhile…

"Aren't you done yet? It's way past your bedtime!" Rachel yells at Scott and Lockheed

"Last one!"

"Well, hurry it up!"

Scott grabs the final gift, a small plastic singing heart and winds his arm back for the throw. "Ready, Lockheed?"

The toy flies into the air, and as Lockheed's fire breath rushes toward it, tiny writing can barely be seen along the seam. It reads "Murderworld Novelties."

Next: The Mutant With One Red Shoe. Guest starring Pete Wisdom!


Notes:

This story takes place right before New Excalibur #1