Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

Chapter 3

The Xavier Institute

Bayville, New York

Kurt Wagner sat silently with his friends in the living room at the Xavier Institute. It had been five years since Kiara Blaze had disappeared from his life, but he hadn't changed much. Physically, anyway. His dark hair was still shaggy and shoulder-length, and he still dressed the same as always, but everyone still very much understood that he would never quite be the same.

The X-Men had spent three years searching for Kiara with aid from the Morlocks and the U.S. government before Professor Xavier finally agreed that it was time for the search to come to an end. Kurt had been furious with the professor's decision, and he continued putting up "Missing Person" fliers long after the search had been called off. It wasn't until after the professor told him that the fliers were probably useless without an updated photograph of Kiara that Kurt finally admitted to himself that the odds of him ever seeing Kiara Blaze were incredibly slim.

After that, Kurt began to focus more on his studies. He still performed pranks, although it was solely for his friends' sakes. He even dated a little, but was disappointed when he quickly discovered he was unable to connect with anyone else the way he had been connected with Kiara.

"Hey, you alright?"

Kurt looked up to see Lance Alvers – Kitty's steady on-again-off-again boyfriend and fellow X-Man – staring at him from the armchair.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kurt said, smiling. "Why?"

"You were, like, totally spacing out, Kurt," Kitty said worriedly from her spot in Lance's lap.

It was then that Kurt realized that he had been, only a moment earlier, staring out the window at the front steps of the mansion. That was the same spot where Bobby Drake had told him that Kiara had left.

"I'm fine, Kitty," Kurt said, looking back at his best friend. "Really."

"You sure?" Lance said doubtfully. "You seem strangely depressed for a guy who just finished his first of college and got a head-start on summer vacation."

"Will y'all pipe down?" Rogue snapped at them from her spot on the floor. "I'm trying to watch a movie."

"Sorry, Rogue," Kurt said, smiling at his half-sister. "We didn't mean to interrupt your horror movie marathon."

"Whatever," Rogue said, turning her attention back to the movie. "Just pipe down, will you?" She turned up the volume on the television.

"Excuse me, Kurt?"

All of the students looked up to see the professor standing in the doorway.

"I would like a word with you if that's alright, Kurt," Professor Xavier said before any of them had a chance to respond. "You should probably come, too, Rogue. This involves you as well. You are his sister, after all."

"Uh, sure," Kurt said, getting to his feet.

"You got any idea what this is about?" Rogue asked him as they followed after the professor.

"Nein," Kurt said, shaking his head as they followed the professor into his study.

"Please, sit," Professor Xavier said, gesturing to the two chairs in front of his desk.

"So," Kurt said, sitting down. "Um, what, exactly, is this about, Professor?"

"Yeah," Rogue said. "We didn't do anything wrong, did we?"

"No, of course not," Professor Xavier assured them both as he took his place behind his desk. "I actually wanted to talk to you about a young mutant girl living in Berlin, Germany."

"Oh," Kurt said, looking relieved. "Do you want me to go with you to pick her up – because we're both from Germany, I mean?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that, actually," Professor Xavier said, frowning.

"Complicated?" Rogue said. "How's that?"

"Well, you see," Professor Xavier said, leaning forward in his wheelchair, "this particular mutant is only four years old. She's a teleporter, who also displays pyrokinetic abilities."

"So you're saying that she can teleport," Kurt said slowly, "but she's a pyro as well?"

"But how is that even possible?" Rogue said before the professor had a chance to answer. "I mean, she's just a little girl. Her powers shouldn't be manifesting while she's still so young, should they?"

"While it is typical for most mutant powers to manifest themselves during puberty," Professor Xavier said, looking at Rogue, "I believe that the reason why this girl is developing so rapidly is probably because her parents –" he paused to look at Kurt "—are incredibly gifted mutants themselves."

"Her – her parents?" Kurt stammered as he sat rigid in his seat, completely unable to believe what he was hearing. He knew what the professor was trying to tell him. It all added up, but it wasn't possible – it couldn't be. It just wasn't possible.

"Yes, Kurt," Professor Xavier said still looking at Kurt, gauging his reaction. "Her parents. Would you like to see a picture?"

Kurt looked up at the professor, wide-eyed. "A picture?" he said uncertainly. "Of the girl, you mean?"

"Yes," Professor Xavier said, smiling at him comfortingly. "I have one here, and you may see it if you like."

"Give it to me," Kurt said, jumping to his feet. "Let me see it now."

Professor Xavier reached inside his desk and pulled out a large, color photograph. Kurt accepted the picture with shaking hands and sank back down into his chair.

"Oh, my god," Rogue gasped, looking at the picture over his shoulder.

"Yes," Professor Xavier said, nodding. "As you can see, she has been afflicted with a physical mutation as well."

Kurt looked up at him and then stared back down at the photograph in awe. It showed the close-up a girl's face. She was very young – probably no more than four or five as the professor had said. She was covered with thick, black fur, she had bright golden eyes, and her hair was blood-red shot through with streaks of bright yellow and black. It was her face that stunned Kurt the most, though. It was…He examined the picture more closely and was just able to make out the blurry image of a thin, black, barbed tail in the corner of the photo.

"Please, Professor?" Kurt said, looking up from the picture and at the professor. "Who is this girl – what is her name?"

"Her name, Kurt, is Mischa Wagner," Professor Xavier said, "and she is your daughter."

"She's his what?" Rogue said in shocked disbelief.

"My daughter," Kurt said in a quivering voice. He looked at the professor. "Then that would make –"

"Kiara Blaze her mother, yes," Professor Xavier said, nodding. "I am currently working on trying to obtain a copy of Mischa's birth certificate, but I'm not one-hundred percent sure she was born in a hospital. Even so, they may have laws against these kinds of things in Germany –"

"Wait a minute," Kurt said. "Is Kiara alright – she's with Mischa, isn't she? Are they together?"

"I would assume so," Professor Xavier said, "but I don't know for certain. Cerebro has still been unable to pick up on Kiara's signature, but I have been looking for her ever since I discovered Mischa."

"Who cares about Kiara?" Rogue said before Kurt could respond. She looked at her brother. "She's got a daughter that may be yours, and she's kept it from you for five years – well, then, screw her. Hell, we don't even know if this girl really is your daughter. She could just be someone who looks like you."

"You're kidding, right?" Kurt said, scowling at her. "She's got my eyes, my tail, my powers – you can't just explain all of that away, Rogue."

"Fine then," Rogue said angrily. "You want to be a daddy so damn badly?" She jabbed Kurt sharply in the chest as she spoke. "Then let's go to Germany, get a paternity test, and demand full custody – if she's really yours, that is."

"Which she is," Kurt said.

"Is that something you would like to do, Kurt?" Professor Xavier said as Rogue opened her mouth to retort. "If so, then you would probably need a lawyer."

"What?" Kurt said, looking at the professor. "You mean what she just said –" he gestured to Rogue "—I don't know. I need to be alone. I need some time to think."

Then he stood and teleported out of the room, taking the picture of his daughter with him.

Once Kurt was in his bedroom, he didn't bother checking to make sure that the door was closed. He stormed across the room to the desk where his computer was and pulled open the bottom drawer. Then he searched through it angrily until he found what he was looking for: A picture of him and Kiara, standing together in the hall that led to the grand staircase, kissing.

Kurt stared at the picture for a moment – taking in the kiss that Kitty had photographed five years ago – before he threw it down on his bed. Then he sank to his knees and placed the picture of Mischa next the picture of him and Kiara.

"This is why you left me?" Kurt said finally after a very long moment of silence. He focused only on the picture of Kiara as he spoke, blocking out the image of his fifteen-year-old self. "Because you got pregnant? Why didn't you tell me – I could have helped you. I could have helped you take care of her – she's just as much mine as she is yours! What makes you think you have the right to keep her from me?"

"Uh, Kurt?"

Kurt looked up to see Bobby Drake standing in his doorway.

It was then that Kurt realized that he was on his feet, panting heavily, and that he had been shouting at the top of his lungs only a moment earlier.

"Are you okay, man?" Bobby said, letting himself in and closing the door behind him. "I could hear you shouting from down the hall."

Kurt stared at Bobby, who had been the last person to speak with Kiara before she left and a strange sense of jealousy rose up inside him. After a long moment of silence, Kurt sighed and said, "Yes, I'm fine, Bobby."

"Yeah?" Bobby said. "So who were you yelling at….?" His voice trailed off as his eyes fell on the picture of Mischa. He snatched it off the bed and stared at it, shocked. "Kurt, who is this girl – she looks just like you."

"Her name is Mischa Wagner," Kurt said, taking the picture from him. "And, apparently, she's my daughter, but she's living in Germany with her loving mother."

"Her mother?" Bobby said. "You don't mean – Kurt, is Kiara Blaze this girl's mom?"

Kurt nodded. "She is," he said, picking up the picture of him and Kiara. "I just don't understand why she never told me. I mean, I would have helped her – I want to help her take care of our daughter…" His voice trailed off as he stared down at the picture of Kiara.

The two of them stood awkwardly for a moment. Then Bobby sighed and said,"Look, Kurt, when Kiara left five years ago, she told me she had to go because something bad had happened and she didn't want you to be a part of it. I think that, maybe, she was just trying not to force into something you weren't ready for. She probably thought you were better off not knowing. Does that help at all?"

"Nein," Kurt said, shaking his head. "Mischa is my daughter and nothing gives Kiara the right to keep her from me." He looked up at Bobby. "I mean, I missed everything because of Kiara – Mischa's first words, her first steps. I should have been there for all that and because of her mother, I wasn't."

"Are you serious?" Bobby said in a tone of angry disbelief. "You were only fifteen – twos year older than I was. You weren't ready for a daughter – and listen, Kurt, you didn't see Kiara's face the day she left here. She was heartbroken. She didn't want to leave the Institute, but I really think that she left because she your best interests at heart and you can't hate her for that."

Then Bobby turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him.