Bearing only a trench coat and hat, Hank McCoy carefully made his way down the street. With his head facing towards the ground, away from the crowd, he was hoping not to bring attention to himself.
"I only wish I could find the one behind these attacks," he muttered.
He was so deep in thought he neglected to take notice of the group of people starting to mill about the area where he was heading towards. Someone bumped into him and he turned with a regretful smile.
"I'm sorry about that," he apologized.
"Sure you are mutie!" the man cried.
That got everyone's attention and they began to crowd around him. Whispering began to buzz about the group. Some people were curious while others were clearly outraged.
"Get out of here! You've never been wanted around here!" a woman's voice rang out.
"Yeah, go back where you belong!" a man yelled out.
The screaming and hollering heightened until he felt something connect with his back of his head, knocking off the hat. He twirled around to see it was a partially consumed drink of pop. Others followed suit and tossed random pieces of garbage at him. Hank covered his head with his arms and closed his eyes, trying to protect himself from the onslaught.
"Please listen to me!" Hank tried to tell them.
"If we did, you'd probably sic your friends on us. We're not taking that chance!" someone else yelled.
A growl came from the nearby alleyway and the group fell silent. Hank slowly turned his head enough to see who had arrived but a flash of red flew above him. He twirled around to find a giant cat standing on all fours between him and the crowd.
"I suggest everyone back off or else I shall hurt someone," she hissed.
"Get lost! Neither one of you are wanted around here!" someone yelled at them.
The crowd became even more outraged with the new arrival. They continued with their insults as she climbed to her two hind feet.
"Come on, let's get out of here!" she growled at him.
Hank appeared startled, unable to speak. The newcomer immediately took notice and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him away from the scene.
"Are you deaf? Get your feet moving!" she yelled at him.
She jumped over the group's heads, quickly followed by Hank. He followed her into the alleyway and they rushed through to the other side, leaving the crowd behind in a cloud of dust. The two of them came to rest near a dumpster.
Hank turned towards his new companion and got a better look at her. The first thing he noticed was the completely dark red fur toned down to a normal red with orange strewn within it. She calmly stepped to the edge of the building and gazed over the crowds milling about in the streets.
"Who are you?" he posed.
She glanced towards him and gave a disbelieving laugh. She rolled her eyes slightly as she fully turned back towards him and crossed her arms.
"I think I'm the one who just saved your furry little butt," she replied.
"No, no, no! I'm trying to ask for your name. Do you go through this every time you talk to a member of the opposite sex?" Hank questioned with a smile.
Her features softened, giving a smile before reaching her hand out towards him. He took it and they shook.
"I'm Katastrophe, otherwise known as Katherine," she introduced.
"The Beast, otherwise known as Hank McCoy. Thanks for the help back there. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come along," he replied.
"I've heard of you and your association with the X-men. I'm curious to know what brings you to this area," she wondered.
She leaned forward, an almost playful look on her face. He slightly narrowed his eye, noting almost immediately that she did not give a last name. The one thing he had immediately taken notice of was the slight southern accent she gave off. In the back of his mind, he was certain that he had heard it somewhere before but where he had indeed heard it was eluding his memory.
"I was…looking for someone when I ran into that crowd," he finally told her.
He wasn't lying and he wasn't about to tell her everything just yet. Hank carefully looked over her and gave a sigh. He did have to admit one thing: she did help him with the crowd back there.
"Well next time, better take the hidden road. I find it works better around this part of town," Katastrophe told him as she leaned up against the wall.
"'This part of town'?" Hank repeated.
"Most people around here don't like mutants and ones with more obvious abilities, like you or me, get their hatred like there was no tomorrow," she explained.
Beast began to open his mouth to say something but he immediately thought against it. In fact, he was a bit unsure what to say. He felt like he had a kindred spirit with this young female mutant. He gave her a smile as she began to carefully move into the street.
"Where are you going?" he wondered.
"We should leave. We are going to be spotted if we stay here for too long. Are you coming?" she told him.
He quickly grasped her elbow before she could leave. The cat glanced back towards the blue furred mutant with a hard look. Her muscles tensed up in reaction to anything that he might've have planned.
"I need to get somewhere that's not far away. Do you think you can lead me there safely?" he asked.
Katastrophe gave him a smile, inwardly knowing that she had him right where she wanted him. She relaxed a bit before looking around at the people milling around nearby.
"Come on, let's go. Show me the way," she told him.
She held out a hand, indicating for him to start moving. Along the way, Hank began to explain where he was going. As soon as Katastrophe heard where he wanted to go, she couldn't help but give a laugh.
"That's a dangerous place to go. Whoever's behind those attacks there may not take kindly to the likes of us either," she said.
Once they arrived at the park, Katastrophe looked around the area. She crossed her arms and gave a look around.
"It's such a peaceful place. I should come here more often," she sighed.
"Better wait until this situation is over. The person behind these attacks might start attacking mutants before we know it," Hank told her.
She nodded and turned to leave until a hand grabbed her elbow. She quickly turned her head around enough to see Hank giving her a smile. Her eyes gave a sense of slight surprise and she quickly inhaled.
"Um…Katastrophe…when can I see you again?" he stammered.
Her muscles eased up at the question and she gave him a wide smile. Katastrophe glanced back towards the buildings surrounding them in the distance.
"Do you know where the Fatina Café is located?" she wondered.
He nodded in response, the smile widening upon his face.
"Meet me there tomorrow at 11 am and don't forget to write," she told him.
She slipped her arm from his grasp and she quickly made her way out of the park and disappeared from sight. He felt a connection with her unlike the other X-men.
'Maybe I'm getting a little emotional but there's something about her I like. Perhaps it's because of her physical appearance and we have that in common,' he thought.
He turned his back towards the gate, never noticing two figures watching him from a distance. Katastrophe had her arms folded in front her as a man stood next to her. The man changed into a familiar blue-skinned, red-haired woman. Mystique turned her attention towards her friend and they both snickered.
"Good work Mystique. Now I've managed to get myself noticed and into his sights. The next step is to plant seeds of distrust and then have them turn against each other," the cat snickered.
TBC…