Chapter 3:

Okay, here we go again. I'm moving this weekend, so I hope to get this out now. Wish me luck. No, still don't own them.

Okay, just in case ages are confusing here.

Kitty, Rogue and Jubilee are 19

Peter is 24, his brother, Michael, is 26

Scott and Remy are 25

Jean is 20

Kurt is 22

Alexandra and Nicholas are old enough to be grandparents

And Ilyana is 7, going on 30

Kitty lay in her hospital bed, wearing her gloves, a hospital gown, and a sling holding up her right leg. Moira still wouldn't tell her what was wrong with her leg, how Jean was, who the new mutant was, or why Peter was still here. Not that she wasn't grateful for his timely intervention, but why did Lockheed pick him? She kept eyeing the phone, dreading making the necessary phone call to either Xavier or Logan. Oh, god, Logan, he'd bring Ororo with him, that was the last thing she'd need. She really did adore the woman, but she'd be coddled by her. Maybe Jean's injuries would divert her attention.

Kitty finally stopped staring at her cell phone and called, "Hey, Logan, it's Kitty. Look, there's been some trouble and Jean's been hurt…"

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No one had seen Logan this mad before. Storm had known him for many years and they'd been lovers at one time, but the only thing that had stopped him from storming out of the mansion and flying across the world when the phone call had come was the plain and simple fact that she'd been sitting atop him at the time. Well, that wouldn't normally stop him but the Danger Room session that they'd been involved in ended up dumping her on him and about sixteen pounds of cement on top of that. They weren't going anywhere until someone came in and untangled them. Embarrassingly enough, two of their students, Hisako Ichiko and Pixie, along with a SWORD agent that Hank had been seeing, Abigail Brand, were the ones who did so.

Brand jumped at the chance to see Hank again and tagged along. Hisako and Pixie came along to experience other cultures. They also needed to see that sometimes the gifted and talented were hated. When they arrived, Kitty was groggily coming out of anesthesia from knee surgery performed to set her broken leg. Incoherent was one word to describe the conversation that followed and they ended up getting most of the story from Lockheed who looked amused at some of the "I love you's" that kept pouring from Kitty's mouth. Kitty, apparently, was a happy drunk. Jean was on a respirator to support her breathing, but expected to make a full recovery.

Logan finally turned to the three men in the room. Mikhail, who was holding Kitty's hand, sat glaring at everyone around. Peter, who, as impossible as it sounded, was even bigger than his cosmonaut brother, sulked in the hallway, and the blue, furry stranger that had brought the girls' help lay in a bed nearby. The pointed ears and yellow eyes brought the immediate nickname, "Fuzzy Elf," as Logan introduced. It was Raven, strangely enough, that provided the translation from German into English. Until someone actually asked if he spoke English, he immediately started speaking English and the rest was history. Kurt Wagner and Logan got along famously. Once Kitty got her glasses on and got a good look at him, she liked him. Lockheed ended up sleeping with him when Kitty had her surgery.

Jean, fortunately, was taken off the respirator after a few days and was able to wave good-bye to Kitty and Kurt as Moira released them from the infirmary. Remy had continued the martial arts class with help from Captain America who wanted to stick around and make sure Jean was all right. Peter spent the next few weeks trying to talk Kitty into signing a waiver for the pictures he took of her fight with Steve. She finally gave in and he gleefully e-mailed the pictures off to the Daily Bugle, and a few off to his girlfriend.

Mary Jane's e-mail went something like this: "I envy the physique on that woman and if I find her lipstick on your collar," well the rest should best be left to the imagination. Aunt May sent back an even simpler message: "LOL".

Kitty and Jean, after she too was released from the infirmary, found themselves living with the Rasputins. Michael and Ilyana were ecstatic, Piotr was less than enthusiastic. Moira's instructions to Kitty were simple, stay off the leg as much as possible. She even gave her a pair of crutches to enforce the order, but wasn't surprised when she showed up for their meeting with Remy, Rogue, and Raven who had become aware of the situation.

"The reason we came ourselves was the fact that the genetic tests were inconclusive. We've drawn blood, taken CAT scans, and done everything that we can to ascertain why Remy can touch you Rogue. The only thing we can come up with is that the two of you are just simply compatible." Remy reached out and stroked Rogue's cheek, it had become an oddly familiar and comforting gesture. Kitty was ecstatic, her friend was no longer alone.

Kitty walked out with Raven just behind her. Jubilee stood staring at the building behind them, envious of the couple, "Why can't I get that lucky?"

Kitty laughed and turned to Raven, "It's not perfect, but at least she's happy."

Raven's dark eyes looked at Kitty before she sighed, "You won't stop trying…"

"No, Raven I haven't stopped trying," Kitty held out her hand, stripping away her glove before doing so, "Truce?"

Raven stared at her hand, knowing it was the most vulnerable thing a talent could do, so she took her hand, "Truce."

"Kitty!" a startled shout came from the village square, Kitty and Raven travelled over to find Logan observing Yoshi's class. "Why haven't you done something about this?" he asked caustically.

"I did, Logan, ask the village."

"Their form is all wrong. How did you teach them?"

Raven laughed, "It took ten minutes but she took them all down."

Logan grinned, "My turn."

"Be nice," Kitty said before heading back to the headman's house. She needed a break and wanted to spend it with Mikhail. Instead, she ran into Piotr, he was everywhere. She couldn't get away from him, "What do you want?" she asked crankily.

"Are you going to rest?" he asked rather solicitously.

Kitty's face softened, "Yes."

Inside Kitty groaned as she could feel the sudden waves of anger rolling off him, "Why do you treat my sister like that?"

Astonished, Kitty gaped at him, "Like what?"

"The first day you got here, you ignored her when she asked you about your rucksack. Now, you're thumping her on the head with a stick, and she comes home with an awful lot of homework."

Kitty stared at him, "I was busy trying to get everything in the car before I talked to her about Lockheed. Everybody gets thumped by that stick, even Remy, and she's not even one of my students, oh, forget it," she muttered. She didn't even bother going around him, she just went through him. He stared at the space that she had just occupied, more than a little stunned that she could just ignore him like that. He seethed even more.

Kitty flung herself on the couch in front of the television and put her hands over her eyes. "Are you in the habit of throwing your crutches on the ground?" a voice asked.

She smiled at Michael as he wandered into the room, "No, I just had yet another argument with your brother. He is the most aggravating man I've ever met."

Michael laughed as he sat down beside her and drew her into his arms, "You didn't hear the stories I heard about my parents. I understand they could make the paint peal off the walls. Are you sure you're not having feelings for him?"

"Other than wanting to strangle him? No!" Michael laughed softly as he bent down and softly kissed her. She relaxed into it as he moved down to her neck and nibbled. He began to stroke her soft curves before they both heard a disgusted noise behind them.

They turned to find Ilyana standing there with her arms crossed over her chest, "Get a room!" she declared before storming off.

"How old did you say she was? Seven or thirty?" Kitty asked. Michael laughed.

"I don't suppose…" he asked. She shook her head, still not ready. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers again, secretly thrilled when she opened her mouth and allowed him to deepen the kiss. He also kept his hands in publicly acceptable places.

Peter exited the house, confused over the tumult of emotions rushing through him. He'd been told all his life that his parents would accept whoever he brought home. What he wasn't prepared to accept was the sudden surge of jealousy he felt when he saw Michael with Kitty. "Why don't'cha just admit you're not gay?" a sudden voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked up and saw Jubilee standing in front of him, "I mean, you do have the hots for your brother's girlfriend," she said, pointedly looking at his lap. He blushed a deep red as she thrust one of the books in her hands at him.

"Da, I enjoy women. Grigorii and I hang out," Peter said, referring to the man who would be referred to as the court dandy in old Europe. "My parents don't question me. I've had the freedom of not being pressured to find a girlfriend and settle down."

Grigorii appeared out of nowhere, "Did I hear my name said in vain? Girl, you have wrestled out our secret. What should we do with you?"

Jubilee stared at him for a full half second before laughing, he was so typically gay. "Your secret is safe with me. You know, I know someone in New York who'd be perfect for you."

Grigorii stared at her, "Give me a few days, I'll figure out who you're compatible with. Keep your friend in mind!" He said as he left without a backwards glance.

Piotr shook his head, "If he had a mutant power that would be it. He can tell who belongs together within seconds. Before you ask, he won't tell me. What is up with that?" he asked, pointing at Brand and Hank.

"They met during a mission off-world that went very badly. They lost a lot of people. I'm not entirely sure what they are, but they seem to have come to some sort of understanding."

Moira had promised that she could get off the crutches in two weeks. Two long interminable weeks later, Moira took away the hated things. Before she left she admonished, "I'll be back in two months. That brace is not to come off when you're not in bed!"

Meanwhile, Michael continued his pursuit of Kitty, Scott of Jean, and Remy of Rogue. Kurt Wagner proved to be popular, both as a ladies man and as a babysitter. He and Hank hit it off immediately, and unfortunately, Kurt thought of himself as suave and debonair. Which meant, since Brand had an obvious attraction for the blue fuzzy type, he tried his wiles on her. Brand was amused, Hank was horrified. Jean and Kitty took Hank aside, "Look, he's not really serious." Kitty said.

Hank looked down at her contemplatively. "You're sure? When are they taking to the States?"

"When they take Piotr back for testing," Kitty said. "Xavier said in about three months."

Fortunately for Hank's piece of mind, Brand returned to the Peak soon after. It was soon after that one of Mikhail's old girlfriends, Natasha, returned, with surprising news: she was pregnant.

Hmmmm, what to do, what to do?