Title: Shadows and Nights
Chapter: Finding the Cat
Words: 3,408
Pairings: Mainly Kurtty. Hints of Robby and Jott.
Raiting: Teen-High Teen
Setting: X-Men universe.
Disclaimer: *Looks up from monitor at Video Camera* Nah.
Summary: Similarities seem to make friendships closer. Kurt never thought anyone would understand him, but all those thoughts went away when he met a certain girl. Will she be able to help him? Or better yet, will he be able to help her? Kurtty.
Authors Note: Okay so chapter 2! I got four fabulous reviews for the first chapter! :P So thank you .Freak., Sunny, Shai-Phlinn and animefan0000012345! Ya'll get brownies! Well I won't keep ya waiting! Oh and BTW I will be using information from the second X-Men movie in this too. :P
'Scott, Jean. Please come down to my office, cerebro picked up another mutant. I need you two to go and retrieve her.' Professor Charles Xavier sent his telepathic message to his eldest students. Awaiting their arrival in the generously decorated office. The whirring of his electric wheelchair came to life as her positioned himself behind his desk.
Just as he placed his hands on his desk a red read and brunette came into the office. The red head was a young woman, wearing a dark navy jumpsuit with a lime green 'X' on it. Along with a sort of face mask that only covered the sides of her cheeks and the top of her forehead. The man who looked to be in his late teens had a sort of single lensed visor going across his eyes. Along with a dark navy jumpsuit but a gold 'X' across the front instead.
"So, where are we headed this time Chuck?" The guy asked, although it wasn't in his nature to call his mentor such an informal name. The red head simply rolled her eyes.
Professor X simply smiled at the name. "You two will be headed to Chicago, Illinois. Our new mutant is a runaway, so it may be tough to find her. Although her powers are not that threatening, still take caution." The two nodded before running off to buckle up in the X-Jet.
The sound of engines warming up alerted the two that the prep was about done. "Okay we're all set for launch Scott." The girl smiled briefly at her companion.
~*0*~
It was dark. Very dark and cold.
She was running through a dark wood. Something was chasing her. But no matter how fast she went it was always right there. Waiting for her to trip and fall down to the damp earth. her eyes widened in panic as her body began to tire. Her lungs screamed and her bones shook. But she kept going, fear and adrenaline being her fuel.
The monster was a large black shadow. With glowing purple eyes and large white fangs. It seemed as if it had five large spikes coming out of it's back. It seemed as if there were random cobwebs thrown about the creatures body. Also black, only seeing them depending on your angle. Large bat like ears were on top of its narrow dragon like head. It's legs were like a wolf's, long and limber. With giant paws with talons on the end. A long lizard like tail whipped out behind it.
The tree's began to thicken, making the young woman slow her pace just slightly. The beast was still hot on her heels not slowing down for a second. Just gliding right through the trees. As if they weren't even there.
This made the girl wonder. If it wasn't getting affected by the trees. Maybe, just maybe it wouldn't be able to touch her. Suddenly a large amount of courage went through her. She was in a clearing. Finally she stopped running and turned to face the beast. It was right there. About 10 feet away. She looked up at it's face which was still a dark shadow.
"You don't scare me. I don't think you can even lay a ...paw on me!" She yelled.
The creature growled. But started to change form. Causing the girl to become confused. Her eyes widened as the shape became framiliar.
It was her.
A black shadow of her. With white glowing eyes and a creepy smile on her face. "Oh why should I scare you? I am merely you, well you on the inside."
She shook her head. "T-That doesn't make any sense! What would you even be to me? I don't get it!"
The shadow came towards her. "I'm your powers. You are a mutant my friend. I am the one inside of you that controls you abilities."
"M-mutant? What powers!" The girl was curious. Was this the reason why she was finally able to get away from her father?
Her question was answered. "I was the one that got you out of that house. But my work it done. You have full control now. Goodbye."
Just like that. the shadow vanished.
"WHAT POWERS?" Katherine Pryde yelled into the cold early morning air. It had been about three days since she got away from her father and she had made it as far as Chicago. She had camped at bus stops and parks. At the moment she was at a small playground, when she had woken up from the frightful dream she had fallen off her bench.
Luckily no one was there, saved from embarrassment the hungry and fatigued Kitty stretched and continued to walk along the streets. Trying to find anywhere that she could get some food or maybe a nice shower. Just to her luck she spotted an old motel. Maybe they'd let her wash up real quick.
A small bell dinged as she stepped into the small lobby. It had dark stone floors and wood paneled walls. Maybe ten years old by the look of it. A small lady who looked to be in her late fifties sat at a counter. Rings of keys were behind her. The woman had dark brown hair with some grey stragglers popping out at random places. Over all she looked very bored.
Kitty silently walked towards the desk. "Can I help you?" The lady asked automatically, making Katherine jump a bit.
She got a bit closer to the counter. "D-Do you think there's any way I could use a shower? I didn't run away from home," Although in a way she really did. "You see I got lost... and my phone fell in a foun-"
"Go upstairs, room 106," A key with a small tag attached to it was tossed to her. "You can wash up in there. Then I'll bring you a snack." Kitty looked up to see the woman smiling at her. "I have kids sweetie, I compleatly understand."
"Thank you!" The young mutant smiled for the first time in a long while. This woman was so nice. She raced up to the room and went to take a shower. The hot water was one of the best things ever to Kitty at the moment. She stepped out when she finished and quickly grabbed a white fluffy towel. Venturing back into the room she got dressed and laid on the bed. She didn't even notice that she was slowly dozing off...
CRASH!
The sound make the teen jump up. Taking in her surroundings she remembered that she had gone to the motel. Where was the lady? Didn't she say she was going to come up soon after she got washed up? Fear began to creep into Kitty's system as she heard loud pounding foot steps coming up the stairwell. Suddenly there was the sound of moving metal. Whoever it was, was checking all the doorknobs!
Kitty looked in fear as she saw she had forgotten to lock the door in her haste to shower. The stomping stopped then. Right outside her door. Slowly the knob started to turn. freezing Kitty on her place in the bed. The door swung open.
Standing there was a tall and well built man. He was wearing a ski mask, grey sweatshirt and jeans. He was gruff looking and smirked when he saw the young teen in the room. "Well what do we have here?" He drawled and stepped closer. Causing Kitty's hear rate to speed into overdrive.
"S-stay back! I'm warning you!" She bluffed. Oh she really was a bad liar.
The man walked up until he was leaning towards her a mere two feet away when-
Kitty found herself on the counter downstairs. "What?" Despite her confusion she heard the man cry out with anger and confusion. She jumped down to run out only to her horror see the nice woman on the ground. A small amount of blood pooling around her.
Holding back tears she bolted out onto the streets. Desperately trying to get as far away as possible.
~*0*~
The Blackbird landed and two teens stepped out. Now in normal attire -they had changed on the plane- they headed towards the city and away from the secluded area they had landed their jet. "Jean you got anything yet?" The man in red shades -Scott Summers- asked his comrade.
The red head turned to him and shook her head. "Too many people, it's hard to trace even one person in this city." Both mutants continued to walk down the streets of Chicago. Hoping they could find the new mutant before something bad happened.
Suddenly Jean saw a small store. But it wasn't just any store, it was the CUTEST little diner she had ever seen. "Scott!" She piped excitedly. "We have to go there! Now!"
Cyclops walked up to see what she was looking at and inwardly groaned. "Can't this wait for another day? If you haven't noticed we're on a mission?" He honestly wouldn't mind having a late breakfast with Jean. But he was in his 'Leader Mode' at the moment. Talking more time in sight seeing than working on their initial objective just wasn't in his mindset.
"Oh come on! I know just really quick." She smiled up at him.
Okay maybe the new kid could wait half an hour...
~*0*~
"Watch it!" Another lady yelled as Kitty Pryde ran around corners desperately trying to get as far away as possible. 'Where do I go? That lady was so nice! She even told me she had kids! What if she had grandchildren? How will I ever be able to live this down? It was my fault, he had probably seen me go in. He's probably one of those creeps you see on T.V. Taking kids and teens and doing terrible things to them...'
When Kitty finally stopped she noticed she was in a park. It had a large cement courtyard with potted plants and trees assembled in a pattern. She noticed then in the middle of the large area that sitting on a bench was a girl. She was sitting there playing guitar. There was something about her that made Kitty want to go over and investigate. But that would be rude, so she just sat and enjoyed her playing for the time being.
"I am not a pattern to be followed
The pill that I'm on is a tough one to swallow
I'm not a criminal not a role model
Not a born leader I'm a tough act to follow
I am not the fortune and the fame
Nor a sane person telling you to forfeit the game
I came in the ring like a dog on a chain
And I found out the underbelly's sicker than it seems"
Kitty noticed that the girl had an accent. Was it British? No it's not British... what is it? gah now I need to know- Oh! It's Australian! The girl continued to sing. Her white hair tipped with black shined with a sort of grime as she smiled down at a young boy who put a dollar in her case. Her playing became a little more dramatic, but not by much. The volume escalated a bit while she strumming became a little more intensified.
"And I'm not a robot
I'm not a monkey
I will not dance even if the beat's funky
Opposite of lazy far from a punk
Ya'll ought to stop talking start trying to catch up motherfucker
And all the people say
Ahhhhh Ahh Ahhh Ah Ahh Ahh Ahhh"
The young mutant wished that she had something to give the girl. She seemed to be about her age. Maybe in a situation somewhat similar to her own. A small group of people had gathered near her to listen to her play.
"Oh when they come for me
Come for me
I'll be gone
Oh when they come for me
Come for me
I'll be gone
Oh when they come for me
Come for me
I'll be gone..."
There were some claps from various people as things began to clear out. The girl jumped down from the top of the bench where she had been sitting and went to see what she had gotten. Kitty was about to tap on her shoulder-
"I suppose you don't have any green?" A thick Australia accent addressed her making her jump a small bit.
Kitty shook her head, then realized that was stupid since the girl wasn't even looking in her direction. "No, sorry. But that was good by the way. What s-"
"When they come for me. Linkin Park." She turned and smiled. Pupiless lime green eyes met with Kitties own light blue orbs. "Nice ta meet'cha. Names' Max." She stuck out her hand and Kitty took it lightly, to her surprise her skin felt rough... almost scaly.
"Don't freak shela." Her voice lowered. "I know you're a mutie. A mutant." Katherine's eyes went wide.
"How did you know!" She was comepleatly perplexed by how this girl had known. "You can't normally tell. Well with my ...powers."
"From one mutant to another. I can just tell now. It's all in the appearance." She smiled. "I'm sorry mate. But I gotta get to my next set up before that blasted Luke takes it again. Nice meetin' ya. Hope it all goes well with whatever you plan on doin'."
Kitty watched her go away but noticed just as she slid into the shadows that her skin turned ebony and a tail slid out from it's hiding place. The girl looked like a lizard! Max smiled at her before she compleatly vanished from sight. 'there are mutants everywhere... so that's what I am. A mutant. Well... that's definitely a new one. Does this mean that I'm some sort of superhero? Oh gosh but where do I go now? Not home, that's for sure. I guess I can just go wander around again until an idea hits me...'
~*0*~
"I told you that would be fun Scott!" Jean Grey smiled as they exited the small restaurant. The food had been absolutely WONDERFUL! She could tell they had both enjoyed the down time. Even without her telepathic powers. "Ah, well now we really need to double time on that mutant. The professor still needs to talk to her about staying at the institute. We're just the first step."
The continued down the streets asking random people if they had seen the girl they were looking for. Xavier had given them a description. But it seemed as though no one had seen her. "Can this girl just walk right through people without being seen or something?" Scott had finally exclaimed.
"Uh Scott," Jean pulled on his sleeve. "Her power is phasing. She can literally walk though people and things."
The young man mumbled something about telepaths and continued down the sidewalk. Jean only smiled and hurried after her friend.
"Thank you!" Jean smiled at the middle aged man as she walked back over to Scott. "Someone saw her over at a park. Before you say it. the park is just around the corner." She grabbed his hand and pulled his in the direction of the park.
It was a relatively small area. A cement court yard with various plants and a circular bench in the middle. The whole thing was outlined by about twenty feet of fresh green grass. One side had a large forest that went probably to a bigger park.
"This is the place." Jean sighed. 'At least it's a small area. But she could have already left by now...'
Scott started walking around looking for any trace of the girl. Asking some people along the way. "Well thanks anyways." Him and Jean met up near the bench. "People said we just missed her. I bet she couldn't have gotten far... There!"
The duo turned fully to see a girl in a pink jacket and blue jeans with chestnut hair in a pony tail turn the corner and out of their line of sight.
"Come on Scott! Let's go!" Jean started running across the street. Scott followed curtly after her.
They pushed though a small crowd and saw the girl walking along. Looking curiously up at tall buildings as she went. "Hey! Wait up!" the telepath called out. Causing the girl to turn around.
"Who are you?" she asked when the two finally caught up.
Jean smiled. "We're from the 'Charles Xavier institute for Gifted Youngsters'. Listen we know you're a mutant. At the institute we can help you control your powers. It will give you a chance to have a normal life. You can still go to public school and live at the mansion. We're like one big family there."
Kitty had almost screamed with joy at the school part. She had never been to school. Well she went up until seventh grade. When her father decided to pull her out. She had kept her self occupied by reading her mothers old math, science and art books. Along with other stories. It was one of the only things her father had let her do on her own free will. Although she never got any new novels to read.
"You had me at public school. I'm in." Kitty smiled. This is what she would do now. Although she may not know these people at all. The girl could tell they were good people, she would be taken care of and protected. For once in her life she would finally have a family.
Authors Note: Okay how do you guys explain 58 views and 4 reviews? Please come on people! It doesn't even take that long! Oh and Max was my OC. I thought it would be fun for her to have a appearance in this real quick! :P Check out her story!
