Disclaimer: I
don't own anything.
BY
ANIMEFREEK
Catherine and the others quickly disembarked and headed to the nearest payphone to call the Institute. "Shit. No answer." Catherine cursed as she slammed the receiver down. "Have you tried to contact them telepathically?" Methos asked. "Yeah. Nothing. It's like looking at a TV screen full of snow. Sometimes you see a shadow or two but you're not really sure what or who you just saw. Its almost as if something was blocking me." Catherine said as Wesley slipped a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Well it won't do us any good standing around in this airport, we'd better get to the mansion." Jubilee said while slinging her bag over her shoulder. The others nodded and started walking toward the parking lot.
Remy and Catherine had taken the precaution of putting their cars in Permanent Park. While walking to the lot Wesley decided to pick up the New York Times. After reading the main headline he stopped in midstep. "Cathy, I think you need to see this." Wesley said with a deadly serious tone.
Catherine looked at the article with a deadly expression of worry. According to the article the school burned two days before. That was about the only concrete fact that they had. No witnesses, no suspects, and no deaths reported. The 'no deaths reported' part wasn't exactly comforting to any of the other X-Men present. Something like this was most likely racially motivated and if there were deaths professor Xavier had a strict set of rules governing press. Any deaths with a mutant agenda would be kept out of the public eye to prevent the school being scrutinized and to keep the mutant's family out of a media circus. Hopefully everyone was all right.
The ride to the school was for the most part quiet, aside from the occasional question from Wesley about the other immortals he would be meeting. Catherine, Wesley, and Methos were in her black Caddie, while Rogue, Jubilee, and Logan were in Remy's Explorer. Catherine was worried about the others and their reactions to Methos. As if he sensed her thoughts Methos spoke up. "What will happen will happen Catherine. I don't expect them to welcome me with open arms despite the fact that I wasn't acting of my own will. Don't worry about me, I've survived this long I'll live a little longer." Methos said with a sad sort of joking tone. "I know you're right but I'm still worried. Not only about you but also about them. I still can't sense them. God I hope they're not dead, I don't think I could take telling Buffy or the others." Catherine said. Wesley reached over and squeezed her hand. Catherine gave him an appreciatory look.
As Catherine exited the main road and neared the mansion her breath caught. There just a mile away was a small cloud of black smoke. On the drive there she was in denial. No way could the enemy, not with state of the art defense systems and round the clock monitoring, level the X-mansion. But behold, there stood what was left of the X-mansion, a fire gutted shell of its former glory. Only a few of the first floor rooms remained along with part of the main staircase and what remained of the marble fireplace in the Professor's private study. Cathy pulled into the drive and hopped out of her car. "What in the hell happened?" She questioned. Before she could think of an answer she felt the familiar buzzing of other immortals. She hoped it was her father but vigilance is one of the prices for being immortal. She had to be prepared.
Duncan and Conner were surveying the damage to the upper levels of the mansion. Much to their disappointment there was nothing left. Their little group was lucky to only have minor injuries after the attack. The most serious of the injuries were Scott's concussion and Jean's twisted knee. Duncan was just about to suggest that they leave when they felt the buzz of another immortal. Unsheathing their swords they walked through the wreckage of the house.
In the front Catherine was doing the same thing. She motioned for Methos to stay behind; she knew that Watchers could be around. It would be more trouble than it was worth if they found out the guy they knew, as Adam Pierceson was an immortal. Catherine waded through the excess water and sludge, as the buzzing got more intense. "Show yourself! Come out now!' Catherine yelled. "Okay, but I hope I look as good as when you left." Duncan said with laughter in his voice. "Dad, Conner!" Catherine yelled as she bum rushed the two of them with a beer hug. "Oh my God dad, I'm so happy to see you." Catherine gushed. "What am I chopped liver?" Conner said trying to sound put out and failing. "Of course not! You're as handsome as ever." She said. Then her demeanor changed a little. "What happened guys? I tried to contact you and got nothing. No loft number, mansion or communicator response, and no telepathy." Catherine stated. "I can't explain the telepathy, but all our equipment was either shorted out or destroyed. Beast and Bobby are working on that and we thought it wise not to go back to our home in New York until everything was settled here." Duncan said.
"If you don't mind we've all set up camp in Raven's Keep until the mansion is rebuilt and the security is set up again." Conner said. "And if you don't mind I'd like to introduce you to some new people in my life." Catherine said with a grin. Duncan and Conner put on wary faces as they walked toward the front. New people were definitely not their 'thing', especially when it came to anyone who shared characteristics in common with Amanda. Catherine winked at them. That didn't help ease their nerves.
Wesley stepped forward, against Methos' advice, when he heard the sound of water splashing. "Cathy! Is that you?" He shouted. Duncan and Conner looked at each other and said at the same time, "Cathy?" "Since when do you let people call you Cathy? Remy doesn't even call you Cathy and he's your brother." Conner stated. Catherine smiled and said, "Remy prefers not to call me Cathy and anyway Remy is not my Wesley." Who's Wesley? Conner and Duncan asked themselves.
(Raven's Keep)
The mood was tense as they all drove back to Raven's Keep. The immortals were glad to see the real Methos back, but unfortunately a lot of trust was going to have to be earned back between them. Catherine caught some of Conner's stray thoughts and shook her head. They are going to coddle me until I'm at least 300, if I'm lucky. She thought as she pulled up into the driveway of her new home. Duncan and Conner seemed to like Wesley, but that was probably because he was the exact opposite of Bobby 'Iceman' Drake. Bobby could try a saint's nerves sometimes and for two very mature immortals this kid was just plain annoying.
"Okay guys we'll put your things in the foyer until we can settle whose room is whose." Duncan announced. "Until then I think we need to introduce Professor Xavier and the others to our new friends." Catherine said.
Duncan and Conner directed the others to Cassandra's smaller study where the Prof. and Beast were surveying the plans for the new mansion. Catherine stood in the doorway and smiled at the pair for a second or two. She never thought she'd miss the eggheads so much. "I heard that Catherine." Xavier said with a smile. "I didn't think that you wouldn't." Catherine said smirking. "Hank? Earth to Hank. Its me CAMM." Catherine said in a singsong voice. Beast was deep into the diagrams when he finally noticed someone was talking to him. "Ahh, Catherine! My favorite science student, it is so good to see you. We've missed you dearly." Hank said as he crushed her in a bear hug and tossed her into the air like a rag doll.
"Hey Hank leave some for the rest of us. My Cathy! All mine." Bobby said trying to imitate a small child's voice. He was now practically groping her, much to the dislike of Duncan and Wesley. "Ahem. I'm Wesley." Wesley said. At this Bobby began to get a little possessive. "I'm Bobby. I'm caring that you're Wesley…Why?" He said. "You're caring because that's my girlfriend that you're groping." Wesley said sounding rather peeved. Bobby responded by hugging Catherine tighter. Wesley was about to say something really rude but Catherine sensed it and broke Bobby's hold just in time to cover Wesley's mouth.
"Bobby this is Wesley, my boyfriend, Wesley this is Bobby my ex-boyfriend." Catherine said as she introduced them. The tension was mounting. "Hmm, and I thought I was going to be the only one causing tension." Methos said redirecting everyone's attention to him. Catherine could see that it was a gesture from him to her. "You." Bobby said as he formed something that resembled a spear made of ice in his hands. Bobby's arm reared back as he prepared to use the weapon. In a blink of skill and speed Catherine brought out her sword from seemingly nowhere and sliced the ice weapon in half. With a deadly spin she leveled her sword between Bobby's eyes. "Drop it." She said in a tone that again resembled Conner's tired tone.
"Cathy, have you lost it? He tried to kill you." Bobby said while staring at her sword. "Okay listen up. The Shadow King tried to kill me, not Methos. It's Catherine to you until you start acting your age. Now I think you owe both me and Methos an apology, after all everyone here is a guest in my home." Catherine accentuated her point by lowering her sword and giving Bobby a look that just said, 'Apologize or I won't speak to you unless I have to.'
"No way am I apologizing Catherine. You shouldn't even be within a mile of him." Bobby said his anger growing. Not only was he mad at her for trusting Methos, but also he was still carrying a torch for her. Like he told McLeod, he'd always love her. "Bobby…I'm not going to argue with you, but I'll tell you one thing. No one here except for my father should have an opinion on who I choose to be around." Bobby glared at her and barged out of the study. "I'll talk to him." Beast said. Catherine held up her hand in a stopping gesture. "Don't bother it won't do any good."
Buffy hung up the phone with a puzzled look on her face. "Still no answer?" Xander asked. "Nope, nothing." Buffy answered. "I wouldn't worry, it's probably the phone lines or something. They'd contact us if something happened." Xander said trying to reassure the worried slayer. "Yeah I guess, but I can't shake the feeling that something big is or has already happened." Buffy said. Lately it had been too quiet in Sunnydale. It had been almost two weeks without seeing Glory or even one her many demon and vampire helpers. Even Spike was out of the loop on this one. Normally she would have thanked God for all the peace and quiet, but things were too quiet. She couldn't help but think it was the calm before the storm. Even Giles and Cable were on edge. In truth the only people who were enjoying the quiet where Anya, Xander, Willow, and Tara. Not being able to get in touch with the X-Men only made Buffy tenser.
"Hey maybe I can get in touch with Joe. He gave me his card before we came back, said some stuff about the watchers needing new blood." Xander said. Buffy stared at Xander. "Xander, you're great." She said. "I know. Do I get a lollipop?" Xander said grinning. Buffy rolled her eyes and went back to trying to call the school.
In the corner of the Magic shop Domino sat and listened. She didn't like the quiet either. **I don't like this. Something is going down. ** She thought, while trying to make heads of tails out of some magic passages in one of Giles' old books. **I hate research. This is Xander's job. ** She thought as she decided to march across the room and drop a really heavy book in his lap.
A tall blonde woman with semi-curly locks strolled down a darkened alleyway with a frown that marred a very beautiful face. If anyone had ever seen her she would've seemed awfully out of place. A beautiful blonde wearing a short bright pink dress and shoes in the middle of a dark dingy alley, but this woman was something different, something decidedly dark. As she turned and surveyed her surroundings a man stepped out of the darkness. He had an average height, graying hair, and almost gray eyes. With a disarming smile he stepped toward her. Any other woman would have been frightened by the darkness in his gaze, but not her. She embraced darkness. She was darkness. "You're looking for something and so am I maybe we can help each other." He said with a raspy voice and deadly smile. The woman began to circle the man getting a better look at him. She could feel his power radiate towards her, it was almost her equal. She noticed the scar across his neck. That explains the voice. She thought. "Perhaps we can help each other." She said ever so sweetly.
Two days had passed and things weren't any better between Bobby and Catherine. Xander had gotten in touch with Joe Dawson about not being able to get in touch with the X-Men. Joe didn't like it but Catherine and the others agreed that Buffy shouldn't be told about the attack. She had her own responsibilities and couldn't come running to protect Dawn every time something dangerous happened. Catherine hated that decision because she'd come to respect Buffy greatly, but she agreed with the Prof's reasoning.
"Dawn will never learn to defend herself if she knows Buffy is always going to leap in and protect her." Xavier said. "I understand Professor, but I don't like keeping this from Buffy and Dawn is the only family she has left." Catherine said. "But you have the responsibility of being her teacher. Buffy would coddle her and I know that is something you hate yourself. She has to be self-sufficient." Xavier argued. With a sigh Catherine ceded, although she hated secrets, but maybe this secret was for the best. **At least for now. ** She thought.
The other X-men were starting to warm up to the idea of having Methos as a houseguest. Dawn was the first to make him feel welcome by showing him around the large estate. If Dawn were any other kid she'd worry about her but she did have a vampire as a kind of big brother figure, an immortal couldn't hurt. Orroro would occasionally be found having a guarded conversation about art with him and Hank kept trying to get Methos in his makeshift lab for tests. (Much to the dislike of Methos.) He'd been a doctor once and in general found most of them to be quite annoying, but for the sake of a shaky peace he was civil and hid when Beast was in the vicinity.
Catherine and the other immortals couldn't help but be amused by this. Bobby was decidedly anything but civil and refused to anywhere near Methos and barely acknowledged Catherine. Methos and Wesley saw what this was doing to Catherine and decided to have a talk with Mr. Drake. They cornered him in the gardens.
"Mr. Drake we have to talk." Wesley said sounding oh so British. "You're hurting Catherine and making this situation worse than it has to be." Said Methos bluntly. "She cares for you deeply. You're the first person she ever loved and you won't even talk to her. She thinks you hate her because she forgave Methos." Wesley said a little angrier. "Catherine isn't like us. Her skin isn't as thick as an immortal's should be. She's the kind of person who opens her heart to everyone around her and that makes her all the more vulnerable." Methos said. At this Bobby's demeanor softened.
"She thinks I hate her? I could never hate her; I just want to keep her safe. I love her." Bobby said. Wesley should have been jealous, but for some reason he was thankful. He was thankful that someone like Catherine had people to love her. He could only imagine what life without her family would be like for her.
"Well if you love her, tell her. Realize what she's realized and move on." Methos said. With that said Bobby walked toward the mansion to Catherine.
Catherine and Dawn sat together looking out one of the huge bay windows that faced the cliffs and beach below. They were taking a break from Dawn's studies and were just enjoying the view. Catherine and Dawn were trying some of the concentration spells. It was Catherine's belief that Dawn's true powers would manifest if she could 'collect' the 'misplaced pieces' of what she was and put them together. Catherine and the Professor surmised that when the monks shaped Dawn into a human form they basically separated the source of her power to different points in her body, the most important part would be her mind. If they could conquer and control that then Dawn would have complete access to whatever powers she had.
Catherine and Dawn were about to start again when Bobby knocked at the door. "Come in." Catherine said quietly. Bobby slowly walked in and asked, "Catherine can I talk to you?" "Sure. Dawn that'll be all for today, I think the Professor would like to see you before dinner though." Catherine said. Dawn sighed. "Go. I know Physics may seem boring next to magic but it's a necessary subject." Catherine said smiling. Dawn rolled her eyes and left.
"You're a pretty good teacher." Bobby said. "Thanks, I like teaching. So what do you want to talk about?" Catherine queried. "About Methos, You, me, Wesley." Bobby said. Catherine was about to say something but Bobby stopped her and motioned for her to sit on a large couch in the study. There was silence as Bobby looked around and tried to find the right words.
Catherine was staying in Cassandra's old room, which connected with the large study that held all of her texts and journals. As he thought he knew this was where she belonged. She belonged with Wesley one of the few people in the world that could understand her many sides. "Catherine I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hurt you, by not trusting you and your judgment. It's just that I want you to be safe. Please don't think I hate you, I love you." Bobby said looking deeply into her eyes. Catherine realized something when she looked into Bobby's eyes; she'd broken his heart. The one thing she thought she'd never do to anyone. "Bobby I love you too, I always will, just not the way you want me to." Catherine said as she touched his face with the palm of her hand and brushed away a tear.
Bobby placed his palm over hers and held it there as he brushed her hand with a kiss. "Well then I guess this is goodbye." Bobby said as he closed his other arm around her waist and closed his lips on hers. Catherine was in shock for a second but soon relaxed into his kiss. There was always something burning about Bobby's kisses, but know that she had Wesley they seemed incomplete no matter how much passion he put into them. They soon broke the kiss gasping for air. "That was nice." Catherine said. "No. That was goodbye." Bobby said. "Bobby? Promise me you'll be my friend." Catherine pleaded as he began to get up. "I promise. Now promise me something. Promise me that if your heart says it's right that you'll come back to me." Bobby asked. "I promise." Catherine said as he left her study.
Catherine wiped a tear from her face. "Goodbye Bobby." She said to thin air.
Okay here is the latest part. My apologizes to those I kept waiting in suspense. If I make any mistakes writing this please forgive my spell check and me. (Just see how many mistakes you miss when you stay up till 3 am typing.) Anyway tell me what you think. I thrive on input. Just don't be so picky and enjoy the story. I'm guessing you know whom the bad guys are by now and yes I am evil for teaming those guys up against our heroes.
