Thank you for the reviews!


CHAPTER SEVEN

"Do we know where they've been taken?"Bobby asked. He felt Rogue's hand in his and was grateful for the presence. He suspected she was as worried about Kitty as he was.

"I flew all around the place,"Warren answered. His tone was defeated. Kitty's kidnap had clearly hit him hard. Jubilee looked equally worried about Gambit. As for Dazzler…She looked as though she was hoping no-one would notice her, but their gazes kept flicking to her anyway. "I tried to find them. But there were so many cars driving away from the area…I had no way of knowing which one they were in."

"You did everything you could,"Jubilee reassured him.

"We should have anticipated this,"Xavier said quietly.

"Then why didn't you?"Wolverine snapped.

Storm shot him a warning look before addressing her mentor. "You had no way of knowing, Professor. It was right sending most of us to stop Tribune, we couldn't have known this was a diversion."

"Is that what we're saying?"Rogue asked. "That these people who kidnapped Kitty and Gambit are working with Tribune?"

"It's a possibility,"Xavier confirmed. "Or they may simply have been taking advantage of the situation."

"Why do you think they took them?"Jubilee asked nervously. "Do you think they mean to…hurt them? Kill them?"

"If they were going to do that, they'd have just done it there and then,"Bobby argued. "There was no-one to stop them." He hadn't meant the comment to be directed at Dazzler but he saw her close her eyes briefly and wince. The fact that she had been there and could have tried to stop them still weighed on her.

"Then they are holding them,"Bishop pronounced. "We must rescue them."

"But where are they holding them?"Cable asked.

"That is a question we must all consider,"Xavier replied. "I…would like you to leave me alone for a while." There was a series of surprised looks but no-one objected. They all filed out of the room.


Storm saw Dazzler making a beeline towards her room as soon as she left the office. She hesitated for a moment and then hurried after her. "Ali, wait!"

Dazzler stopped and glared at her but looked close to tears. "Why? So you can tell me how much I messed up?"

Storm shook her head. "I wasn't going to tell you that."

"Then what, this is some sort of pep talk? You tell me it doesn't matter?"

Storm sighed. "I just thought…you might need someone to talk to."

Dazzler sagged. "That girl, Kitty, she tried to make me feel better before all this. And when she needed me…I hid. I could have helped her, her and Gambit, and I didn't."

Storm laid a hand on her arm. "But you will do. We all will. You panicked your first time in the field, that happens to the best of us. You just have to move on."

Dazzler shook her head. "I'm not cut out to be an X-Man."

"You have to be. Kitty needs you to be."


Rogue stopped in the doorway of Warren's room, the room he shared with Kitty. To what extent they'd shared it the past few months was a matter of debate. There were rumours that he'd been spending nights in one of the empty guest rooms. "Do you want to talk?"she asked.

Warren looked round. "Is Bobby with you?"

"No. He thought…"

"What, that I'd jump down his throat if he tried to tell me he's worried about Kitty? He's probably right." Warren shook his head. "I have been so busy obsessing about what happened between them. They both told me what happened, you told me what happened but…I don't know. I can't help thinking that a bit of them must have enjoyed it."

"Does it matter? Kitty loves you."

"And I love her. And I've spent the last few months making her life miserable and now…now I'd give anything to have her again."

Rogue stepped over to him and took his hand gently in hers, hoping that any reassurance she gave him was not without foundation.


Donovan and Eli escorted Kitty and Gambit down a corridor. The pair had been blindfolded and stumbled as they were pushed along. "Where are you taking us?"Kitty demanded.

Donovan looked at Eli. "Why do they have to keep talking?"

Gambit could sense Kitty tensing up next to him and touched her arm gently. "Easy, cherie,"he said quietly. "The time will come."

When the group reached a room, they stopped and removed the captives' blindfolds. And as they saw where they were for the first time, they found themselves face to face with Tribune, his metal form towering over them.

Tribune regarded the pair for a few moments before turning to Donovan and Eli. "Everything went according to plan?"

Eli nodded. "The other X-Men didn't follow us. No-one saw anything."

"Excellent."

Kitty gaped in astonishment. "You're that guy that was on the news, the one who was smashing up the city. How did you get this lot to work for you? I thought they were with that Friends of Humanity bunch."

A noise emerged from Tribune's faceplate. Although it was as distorted as the rest of his speech, it was recognisable as a dirisive snort. "So you fail to understand. As I would expect from sub-humans such as you. Perhaps I need to show you." The faceplate slid back and the helmet of the armour retracted, to reveal the face of the man inside the armour. Graydon Creed. "The Friends of Humanity have decided a new approach is needed. It's up to us to show the world what mutants really are. And you are going to help us."