It is your reviews that make these chapters come so fast. LOL. To think I was only planning on updating once a week.

There's a song in this chapter (Because it's not Glee without at least one bit of music) that has had a word or two tweaked to fit the situation perfectly.


Chapter 7:

Bonding

~*~*HUMMEL*~*~

Kurt didn't really know how long he had stayed in bed, thanks to him unplugging his alarm clock, turning off his phone and the small fact that their was never any day light. So when he heard someone banging at his front door, he had no idea who it was and he didn't care. He stayed hidden in his room, curled up in the fetal position on his blood soaked bed, where he knew he was safe and where people were safe from him.

He never found out what happened to that drunk man, but he knew he was seriously damaged, damaged from Kurt. He had never been violent before and the first time he reacted, albeit against his will, he shattered bones and tried to kill. And that thought scared the life at of him. That's all Kurt thought about for however long he had become a recluse because every time he shut his eyes, he could see the man go limp in the vines. He made himself sick at the knowledge that he could do that to another human being and the realisation that he would have to do that to 12 others, even if they weren't really human and only stars, scared him to death.

He didn't think he could control himself. When he ran back to McKinley, he had stripped out of his bloody clothes and threw them in the trunk of his Navigator, leaving him to drive home in only his boxer-briefs. He had planned to run straight into the shower once he arrived at his house, but was shaking so much that he collapsed on the couch and when all adrenaline faded from him, he burst into a fresh wave of tears that didn't stop for way too long. His father had come home from work to find him like that; petrified, sobbing and blood stained. But his dad never asked what was wrong or asked how he had ended up in that state, which Kurt was extremely grateful for. Burt just checked him over for any injuries and held him tightly in his arms as Kurt broke down. It was only after he kept apologising for several minutes that he truly remembered what he had done and once he did, he fled to his room, to escape his dad.

Because if Kurt was able to destroy one person, he could destroy any. The situation was so out of his control that he didn't trust himself around his father in fears he would kill the only parent he had left. His dad still never asked what had happened, probably hoping for his son to open up in his own time, and luckily left him alone in his room, only knocking on the door to make sure he was alright or to offer food, which Kurt managed to croak out one word responses. He knew he shouldn't worry his dad so much, especially with his heart condition, but he thought this was better then the possible alternative.

Finally, the banging on the front door stopped and Kurt felt himself relax a bit, unaware of how tense the knocking had made him. But just as he was beginning to float back down memory lane to the same recollection that poisoned his brain in recent times, a clicking and squeaking sound brought him crashing back into the present.

~*~*PROTECTORS-OF-LIGHT*~*~

"You boys would suck without me" Santana declared as she took her hair clip out of the lock and throw open the front door of Kurt's house. She sauntered into the pitch black space and squinted her eyes to try adjust her sight, but with no success. "Little help, Puck?" she asked.

Puck gave her a quick nod and pulled out his lighter from his back pocket and flicked it into ignition and then held his hand over the open flame for the blaze to transfer to his palm, illuminating the room.

"How do we know he's even home and isn't trespassing illegal?" Blaine asked as he cautiously stepped through the opening of the Hummel household and gingerly looked around the living area.

"Trespassing was legalized the day I was born" Santana answered with a shrug and walked over towards the stairs. "Maybe he's in his room?" she questioned as she started making her way up the stairs.

"He's in the basement" Puck frowned with confusion as he stepped over towards the door closest to the staircase. "Why is he in the basement?"

"How the fuck do you know that?" Santana asked as she descended the steps and pushed Puck out of the way and reached for her hair clip again to fiddle with the lock on the door.

"I can feel his body heat from down there" Puck answered as he stepped aside to let the Latina do her thing. He couldn't explain it, as he had never felt it before, but all he had to do, it seemed, was concentrate on the boy and he was able to pick up his heat and the general direction in was coming from.

"Wanky" Santana remarked and smiled widely when she heard to tell tale click and pushed the door open. "Kurt?" she called out from the top of the stairs that led down into the pitch black room. "Puck?" she asked and was granted his fire to give her light and she began to make her way down the steps, with Puck and Blaine closely behind.

When they reached the bottom, Blaine flipped the light switch and the room, which turned out to be a makeshift bedroom, came into full view. The room was grey and clinically clean, with a black couch that was located under the only window in the room, a vanity full of cosmetics, another door which presumably led to the en suite, a desk filled with paper work and a queen sized bed. But the most noticeable thing about the room wasn't the bundle under the duvet but an awful odour that filled it.

"What is that smell?" Blaine wondered aloud as they approached the bed tentatively. "Smells like rusty copper or something"

"Wake up Hummel" Santana said loudly and pulled harshly at the duvet. "Get your arse out-" the rest of her sentence died on her lips to make way for a gasp, which was echoed by Puck and Blaine.

Kurt lay there, curled up within himself, on a sheet soaked in blood. He looked paler than usual, which was a feat in itself, dressed only in boxer-briefs and he was trembling as he stared blankly at the wall. His green-blue eyes were bloodshot and decorated with dark grey circles, his lips chapped and his hair was matted with drying blood.

"That's it" Santana decided in an voice of authority. "Blaine, you help me take Kurt to the bathroom, Puck, strip the bed and find new bedding" she demanded as she stepped around the bed and bent down so her face was inches away from Kurt's, yet he seemed to just look right through her. She lifted her hand on instinct and began stroking his sweaty forehead. "Hey, stop that" she said softly as tears start to fall gentle from his eyes. "We've got you, OK? We're gonna look after you" she whispered her promise and then looked up at Blaine and nodded.

With a bit of effort, Blaine managed to pick Kurt up in his arms so he was cradling him into his chest and slowly walked over to the en suite with Santana in toe. "We're going to get you washed up, alright" he told the blood stained boy and was grateful when Kurt seemed to acknowledge him by pressing his face into the crook of Blaine's neck.

As Santana turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature, Blaine placed Kurt back onto his feet in the middle of the room. Giving his most dazzling smile, Blaine ran his hand quickly under the torrent of water and made his bubbles appear. "Their really relaxing, trust me" he convinced the bloody boy and smiled wider as he watched Kurt's gaze focus on them parading the room. "Kurt, I'm going to take your underwear off so you can shower, OK?" he asked cautiously.

"Puck?" Kurt whispered and it came out thick and hoarse as if he hadn't spoken in days.

"Don't worry sweetie, he's in the other room, we wont let him in" Santana promised and watched as Kurt gave a faint nod to Blaine and then turned away once Blaine began fingering the waistband of his black underwear. "Do you want one of us to stay with you while you shower?" she called over her shoulder.

"Santana" Kurt mumbled.

Santana turned over and nodded her head for Blaine to leave them alone, which he did respectfully, and walked over to a naked Kurt and ushered him into the shower. "Is the temperature alright?" she asked when Kurt walked under the stream of water and grimaced as the fresh clear liquid turned pinkish as it coursed over the blood stains. When Kurt's head slowly bobbed up and down in affirmative, Santana spoke again. "I'm coming in with you to wash your back and because you also look close to passing out" she decided and began unbuttoning her blouse and shrugging it off her shoulders. "Hope you don't mind sharing a shower with a crazy lesbian" she tried to lighten the tension and breathed a sigh of relief when Kurt giggled and sniffed quietly.

"You know, not trying to freak you out or anything, but minus the hair, you look spookily like Brittany from behind" she smiled as stepped out of her underwear and joined Kurt under the water.

"Should I be complimented or frightened?" Kurt asked in a cracked voice as he reached over and picked up a wash cloth with shaking hands.

"Both" Santana laughed and began to clean away the blood from Kurt's pale shoulder blades.

"Are you not going to ask what happened? Kurt asked as he turned his hand around to look into Santana's compassionate eyes. That's all that Kurt found there, no hate, no mocking pity and no nastiness. Just empathy.

"Not yet."

"Why are being so nice to me?" he whispered as he turned his head back to the front and continued to scrub himself clean.

"Because you're one of us" Santana answered as her wash cloth wiped at the small of his back. "You look like you need a friend, someone who could possible understand what your going through" she bent down to clean the back on his thighs. "Because I was a bitch the other day and I'm sorry" she continued. "And because I really wanted to shower with you" she teased.

Kurt chuckled loudly at the last part, actually chuckled and for the first time in days, a smile stretched across his face. "This is officially the weirdest thing I've ever done"

~*~*BASEMENT*~*~

"How is he?" Puck asked as he walked back down the stairs with fresh bedding to see Blaine sitting on the couch with his head in his hands.

Blaine looked up and shrugged. "I don't know. Pretty messed up by the looks of it." he shook his head remorsefully "I've never seen someone in such a state. We should have found him sooner"

"It's not like we could have known, Dude" Puck replied as he began feeding the new duvet into a fresh cover. "Just gotta let the little man know that we are all here for him from now on. I've never seen so much blood before" he shook his head to clear the image from his brain. "Was it his?"

"I don't think so. I got him completely naked and their wasn't a single scratch on him" Blaine replied and then rolled his eyes when Puck cocked a brow. "Get your mind out of the gutter, it was the most platonic situation ever"

"You got something against my boy's body or something?" Puck teased as he began fitting a new sheet to the mattress and nodded gratefully when Blaine came over to help him.

"Your boy's body is fine, trust me. It just wasn't the most appropriate time to stand back and admire and even if it was, I wouldn't touch him like that." Blaine shrugged as he began feeding pillows into their cases.

"Why not?"

"Because you pretty much said it yourself, that body belongs to you" Blaine answered bluntly and received a frown of confusion from Puck because of it. "I mean, yeah, Kurt has sex with people, but it's obviously meaningless and no feelings would be there. His body; meaning his physical form, mind, soul and feelings, is reserved for you and no-one else, whether he likes it or not. He knows you can't and won't claim it and he understands and accepts that, but it doesn't change it"

"Wow, that's deep, man" Puck sighed deeply and throw the duvet over the freshly made bed. "I couldn't imagine being in love with someone and them not loving me back. Heck, I'm not even sure I've actually been in love properly."

"Trust me, it's a powerfully thing, good and bad, but I agree with you that unrequited love is probably a killer. I just feel so bad for him, and you as well. The guilt must feel pretty unpleasant" Blaine muttered distantly as he concentrated on smoothing out all the wrinkles and fluffing the pillows.

"Yeah, it's confusing as fuck, Dude" Puck huffed and walked over to the couch and collapsed backwards onto it. "like I care about the little guy, but I can't work out if I'm feeling this way because I actually want to be his friend or if I just feel guilty and I'm forcing myself to care to ease the guilt"

Before Blaine could answer, the bathroom door swung open and Santana and a healthier looking Kurt emerged, clad only in towels. Both Blaine and Puck stared at them as they moved across the room to the wardrobe.

"Santana, I leave you for ten minutes and you get naked?" Blaine laughed at the girl, who threw a wink over her shoulder back at him and then went back to raiding through Kurt's clothes.

But Puck wasn't staring because of the randomness of Santana's nude form, hell he wasn't even staring at Santana at all. Puck couldn't take his eyes of Kurt's flawless skin. Not a cut, scratch or blemish tainted the ivory flesh of Kurt's surprisingly toned torso, nothing to show any indication of injury at all. Just droplets of water, slithering down his lithe back and disappearing under the towel that hung dangerously on the boys sharp hips.

"Puck?!" Santana's agitated voice broke him out of his staring and he blinked hard and looked around at her. "Huh?"

"I asked what you did with the old bedding?" Santana repeated as she frowned at the previously spaced out man. "Are you Ok?" she asked him as she pulled on one of Kurt's tops and was satisfied when in fit snugly.

"Oh, um.. I burnt them, I hope that's alright, Kurt?" Puck asked, not that it made a difference because the deed was already done and the ashes of the remains lay in the garbage can outside.

Kurt hummed in response, not even turning around to look at him as he pulled on a pair of surfer shorts and climbed on top of his freshly made bed. "Thanks guys. Santana for the shower and you boys for the bed" he sighed and then became extremely interested in a particular spot on the wall. "I guess you want to know what happened?"

And then Kurt filled them in on what occurred when he left Sam's on Thursday afternoon. He said about how the drunken homophobe approached him, who Santana confirmed as Drew Deann, and about how he was stabbed which activated his powers. He recalled how vines smashed through the concrete and crushed Drew and how Kurt had tried to save him but didn't know how. He learnt that Drew wasn't dead but it a critical condition in hospital and was reassured by Santana, Blaine and Puck that, although it got out of control, it was an act of self defence and the man deserved what he got. And he told them that his abilities included the power to heal himself and the blood over his body and sheets were a result of him testing how far he could push it.

"That's weird, apparently there was no other blood or knife at the scene according to the police report, just Drew's body" Blaine frowned once Kurt had told them everything and he himself had swallowed his guilt for calling Kurt a monster to his twin.

"With a helping hand from a spirit long gone?" Puck asked as he recalled the part of the prophecy that they had no answer to. "There were no witness' and no time to clean up the mess before the ambulance came, and if the police found Kurt's blood at the scene and traced it back to him then Kurt would have been arrested, and we would have been a man down and as the prophecy said 'divided they fall, together they fight'"

Everyone turned to face him with open mouths and wide eyes and surprisingly, it was Kurt who broke the silence. "That was really smart, Puck" he said in awe.

"Don't act so surprised" he grinned in return and gave him a cheeky wink before he could stop himself, then mentally chuckled and watched as a blushed flooded Kurt's pale face and travelled down his long ivory neck and lean, bare chest. "Hey Kurt" he quickly said, snapping him out of another prolonged stare. "I'm sorry for what I said. I should have respected your problem with straight men and not attacked you because of it"

"It's alright, it wasn't your fault, I can see my it would of irritated you" Kurt replied, shocking himself by being able to carry out a conversation with the boy that had his heart. "It's my own personal issues and I need to get over them" over you, he thought silently. "We're a team so we need to get along or at least respect one another, because I honestly wont be able to do this mission without you guys"

"Hug it out?" Puck teased and held his arms out in front of him. "I promise not to bite" he added before he could stop himself.

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Kurt replied as flatly as he could while trying his hardest to squash the excitement coursing through him at the opportunity in front of him.

"Probably. I didn't get a sexy shower like you and Lopez so I stink, no doubt" Puck laughed and lunged forward, grabbing Kurt in his arms and toppling on top of him. "Oh, Kurt, is that your knee in my abs or are you just pleased to see me" he teased and squeezed tighter.

"Oh my Gaga" Kurt squealed with laughter as he tried to wriggle out of an admittedly very comforting embrace. It was the first time he and Puck had ever touched each other physically, and although it was completely platonic, it still felt amazing. Fuck 'all or nothing', Kurt thought, if I can get hugs like this, I'll easily settle for being his friend. "Get off me you brute, you're suffocating me here" he laughed and tried to escape again, with little success.

"All muscle, Baby"

Both boys were too busy rolling along the bed to notice Santana and Blaine watching them, then turning to each other to share a knowing look. Santana pointed at them and made a love heart symbol with her hands, causing Blaine to nod and giggle silently and then mouthed 'Bet Puck falls in love with him before we save the world' and Santana nodded enthusiastically in agreement before becoming poker faced suddenly when the boys broke apart.

"And Kurt, we know you're scared, but we all are" Santana stated as she watched Kurt breathing deeply as he came down from his fit of giggles. "But I have a plan to get us all into the right mindset" she smiled and walked across the room to her bag and pulled out her Ipod. "We all love music right? So we are going to sing these stars a message. B, Puck, you're familiar with 'Pat Benatar' right?" she asked as she plugged her music player into Kurt's sound system and smiled when both boys nodded slowly with frowns on their faces. Then she turned to Kurt. "and what self-respecting Homosexual doesn't know Blondie'?" and then she pressed play on a mix she had created a couple of months back.

As the music filled the room, Blaine laughed and jumped to his feet to join Santana

Blaine:
Hit me with your best shot
Why don't you hit me with your best shot?

Santana:
I'm gonna get ya', get ya', get ya', get ya'

Blaine:
Hit me with your best shot
Fire away!

Santana:
I'm gonna get ya', get ya', get ya', get ya'!
One way or another, I'm gonna find ya'
I'm gonna get ya', get ya', get ya', get ya'
One way or another, I'm gonna win ya'
I'll get ya'! I'll get ya'!

Puck jumped up to join the other two, who were dancing around the room and playing imaginary instruments.

Puck:
Well, you're the real tough cookie from the prophecy
Try breaking little hearts, like the one in me
That's OK, let's see how you do it
Put up your dukes, lets get down to it!

Blaine:
Hit me with your best shot
Why don't you hit me with your best shot?

Santana:
I'm gonna get ya', get ya', get ya', get ya'

Blaine:
Hit me with your best shot
Fire away!

Santana:
I'm gonna get ya', get ya', get ya', get ya'!

Puck:
You come on with your come ons, you don't fight fair
But that's OK, see if I care!
Knock me down, it's all in vain
I'll get right back on my feet again!
(Santana: That's right!)

Blaine:
Hit me with your best shot
Why don't you hit me with your best shot?

Santana:
I'm gonna get ya', get ya', get ya', get ya'

Blaine:
Hit me with your best shot
Fire away!

Santana:
I'm gonna get ya', get ya', get ya', get ya'!

Santana sang as she grabbed Kurt by the wrists and pulled him off the bed and pointed for him to sing. Kurt looked around at the three of them, throwing away their troubles for a moment and just being teenagers and, rolling his eyes, Kurt joined in.

Kurt:
And when the lights are all out
I'll follow your ass downtown
See who's hangin' out...

Blaine and Puck:
Hit me with your best shot
Fire away!

Santana and Kurt:
I'm gonna get ya', get ya', get ya', get ya'!

Protector's of light:
Hit me with your best shot!

As the song finished they all fell onto Kurt's bed in fits of laughter as for the first time ever, they finally felt like a team. United by fate, fighting as friends.

~*~*MCKINLEY *~*~

Kurt turned off his engine as he parked up outside McKinley on Monday morning and turned to face the others in the car.

"How superhero-ish are we. Teenage students by day, Saviors of the world by night" he laughed along with Blaine, Puck and Santana as they all jumped out of the vehicle. "Even though it's technically night, all day every day" he add and stared in confusion as Sam Evan's bolted up to them.

"Guys" Sam gasped for air as he ground to a halt in front of them, damp and sweaty. "You need to see this, NOW!" he demanded and grab hold of Blaine's arm and dragged him into the school at a run. The others shared a puzzled look and quickly followed them into the building and down a packed out hall to the cafeteria. As Sam burst open the doors, he marched them right up to a caramel skinned girl with dark purple hair, who looked like she could pass as a distant cousin of Santana's or something. But Santana had never seen the girl before and neither had Puck, Kurt or Blaine.

"Her name is Jamie" Sam panted for air as they stopped right in front of the girl, who seemed to find the whole spectacle rather amusing. At the bewildered looks on the others faces, Sam added "Look at her neck"

All four of them averted their gaze from Jamie's face, down to her neck. And there, on her collar bone, was a tattoo like marking that strongly resembled the head of a rabbit. As realisation kicked in, the teens tensed up and looked back at her smiling face.

"You're a star!" Puck exclaimed.

"And you're dead" she growled as her face morphed into an evil grin and her eyes turned blood red.


Song: Glee Cast - Hit me with your best shot / One way or another.

Next Chapter: Showdown with the rabbit marked star.