Chapter 9
POV: Rogue
Several years ago
Here Ah am, livin' in some new apartment mah momma's callin home. Things haven't exactly been the same since she got Kurt back from those monsters. He's practically still in shock and doesn't want to leave the bedroom. And my momma—who is very concerned about Kurt's decision—has been way overprotective. Ah haven't gotten to leave the apartment in weeks. Apparently, momma decided she's the only one who can go in and out of the apartment, so basically, Kurt and Ah aren't allowed to go anywhere. To make matters worse, this scared Kurt—the one who's terrified—isn't mah brotha. Not the one I know and love, that is. Ah hate what those monsters did to us, because, it's their fault that we're being forced to live like this.
Ah head into my brotha's room to talk to him, and when I enter the room, it's obvious Kurt is still recovering from the torment and scaring those creeps caused. After a short period of time—which felt like an eternity to me—Ah finally build up the courage to say something.
"Hey, Kurt." I say quietly and shyly.
"Hello, Rogue…" he moans.
"Ya know ya can call me Anna, Kurt. We are family,… remembah?" Ah remind him gently.
"I know, but it vill be a vhile before I can get used to zhat." he said, sounding somewhat close to himself.
Ah laugh lightly, and it grows quiet again. "So, ummm, ya feelin' better?"
"Ja, a little."
"Well, Ah was thinkin', how 'bout next time momma goes out, we do too?" I ask, hoping that Kurt might join me.
"No, Anna, no! Ve can't! I can't go out! Zhose men vill find me, zhey'll find us, and take us both!" he says fearfully.
"No they won't, Kurt. We're in a new place, those creeps won't find us." Ah argue.
"Yes zhey vill, Rogue."
"No. They. Won't!" Ah say in an annoyed tone.
"Yes, they will, Anna. You are not leaving the apartment in the first place." A voice says in a strong tone; Momma had just entered the room, completely catching me off guard. "
"Momma. Please tell Kurt that he's being a baby, and that it's alright to go out" Ah complain, ignoring what she just said.
"No, Anna I won't. Because as I said time and time again, you aren't allowed to go out. Neither you nor Kurt can leave, I absolutely forbid it." She frowns.
"Ah still don't see what the big deal is. Didn't we move to a new area so they won't find us?" Ah parry.
"The big deal, Anna Marie, is that I thought we were safe the last time, and Kurt was taken from us, and you were almost too! And I refuse to let that happen again."
"But it won't!" Ah say loudly, getting very frustrated. Ah know we're safe here, Ah can feel it! Ah just want to get out of the apartment!
"I know it won't, because as I said, neither you nor Kurt are ever leaving the apartment. EVER." Momma says firmly.
"That's completely unfair Momma! Just look at Kurt, he's terrified to even leave the bedroom!" I argue.
"Hey!" Kurt intervenes.
"That's enough Anna! You're 15 years old and I don't expect you to understand, but I am not discussing this any further. You two are staying here where you're safe, and that's that!" she declares.
"Ugh, you think you're keeping us safe, but, newsflash Momma! You're not! You're depriving us of life!" Ah shout, storming out of the room.
"Mutter? Should ve—?" Kurt asks.
"Not now Kurt, she needs time to cool off. When she does, then we'll talk to her."
Ah lay in my bed, bored out of my mind, tryin to think of what to do next. Ah feel so trapped in here, and Ah feel like Ah should just leave and be mah own person. But Mystique is the mother I never had, and Kurt,…oh Ah can't leave him. Ah never had a brotha before him, and he's always been there for me, and now Ah need to be there for him. Ah can't leave them, they're mah family, the family I always wished for. But Ah also can't stay here, trapped and useless, Ah gotta get outta here. If I have to stay here forever, then I should at least get to go out one last time and blow off some steam, and take a last good look at this city.
Ah hop outta bed and grab mah street clothes, mah green and white hoodie, and of course, mah gloves—can't go anywhere without those. Once Ah've out those on, I go to my window, but just as Ah'm about to open it, I hear the knob on my door turning. Great… Ah immediately run and jump into mah bed, facing away from the door, muttering "Oh no, oh no, oh no!"
Just before Momma opens the door, Ah manage to get the blankets wrapped completely around mah body, hiding my clothes. Jeez that was a close one! Ah wait, but Ah still feel her presence, watchin' me sleep. Ah lay here, not moving a muscle, hopin' Ah won't get caught or in any kind of trouble. Ah can hear her coming closer and closer to me. Ah am definitely gonna get in so much trouble! Suddenly, Ah feel mah Momma's gloved hand stroke mah hair. Ah gulp.
Then she starts speaking, "Oh my dear Anna Marie, Ah love you so very much… I will never forget the day when I found you scared and alone in the woods when you were young. You may be 15 now and will continue to grow, but to me you and Kurt will always be my little ones. I know you feel like I'm being hard on you, but what I'm doing is trying to keep you safe. I hope one day in the future you can see that. Sleep well Anna, I will see you in the morning."
She walks away, and closes the door behind her all the way.
Wow that was close. How did Ah not get caught? Ah push the covers off and go to the window. Just as Ah'm about to open it—for the second time—Ah look back and I think about what she said to me. Ah'm doubting if Ah should still do this. Ah sit on the sill and think really hard what to do. Ah look out the window. Just a few hours, and Ah'll never do it again. Ah open the window, step outside on the fire escape, and take a good look at the view. Ah pause; what should Ah do first? Ah hear screams. Well, there's my answer Ah guess! Next thing Ah know, I'm jumping down the fire escape, running towards the cries.
"Help! Please somebody help me!" a man screamed. Ah find the alleyway and find the man being assaulted by three muggers. They grab him and throw him on the floor.
"Keep screaming old man, no one's gonna hear you!" one of the muggers taunts, pulling out a knife, "And even if they do, no one ever cares about nothings like you!"
Ah just stand here, watchin' as they terrorize the man. Come on Rogue, you can do this! Ah wrap my hang around mah fist and crack mah knuckles.
"Hey sugah!" Ah shout, getting the mugger's attention, "Ah think you're gonna want to let that good man go now."
All three of the muggers turn to look at me, giving the man time to get up and hurry away. They smile wickedly. The obvious leader of the group crosses his arms, "Who needs some old useless guy and a few lousy bucks,…when we can play with you…par'neh?" he says, mocking mah accent.
"Partner? You got the wrooong state, loser." Ah say, standin' mah ground.
One of the muggers tries to grab me, but Ah immediately elbow him in the face without a second thought. The second one comes at me, but Ah punch him in the face, and then kick the ringleader to the ground.
"Had enough?" Ah taunt. Bein' overconfident is mah biggest downfall—it was somethin' Momma told me and Kurt on multiple occasions—but as many times as she told us, we'd always forget. Now is a perfect example of that, Cuz as Ah smirk down at the leader, I don't notice the other two grabbing a metal pipe. They take a swing, whacking me right in the back, and Ah'm so dazed, the leader has enough time to jump to his feet and sucker punch—well, kick—me to the ground. Ah try to get up off the ground, but as soon as Ah move, the ringleader steps on mah hand, crushin' mah fingers.
Ah scream out in pain.
"Now…where were we…?" the leader asks.
Ah stare at the three of them. Ah'll admit Ah'm a bit more scared now, but not scared enough to surrender to these punks. But bein' beat down and hit in the head has made me groggy, and lose mah sense of awareness. Ah guess Ah wasn't as ready to fight as Ah thought Ah was.
The leader is about to take another swing at me with the lead pipe, but as soon as he raised it up, something kicks him really hard in the back. So hard he practically flies and crashes into a brick wall.
"What the—?!" one of the muggers exclaims, but he's interrupted by a *THWIPP* as he is yanked into the shadows. The last goon starts to flee, but as soon as he makes a move, there's another *THWIPP* and he too is yanked into the shadows. Ah'm too groggy to move, and my head is pounding, but Ah hear the fight going on in the shadows.
One of the muggers cries out like a little girl—whomever is beating him up must have hit his 'Special spot'… Then, Ah hear another *THWIPP*.
"Try explaining that predicament to the police!" a voice jokes from within the shadows.
Ah turn and through the darkness and blurriness of my vision, Ah can just barely see one of the muggers hanging upside-down from a fire escape, his pants down—well, up—around his ankles and somehow defying the laws of gravity by staying in that position.
I hear more *THWIPPS* and the second mugger appears beside the first, strung up by his ankles and wrists so his face was in his crotch. "Now you two better be good." The voice calls.
Ah hear a laugh as a shape bounces of the walls and lands on the fire escape.
"Hey Lady?" the figure asks, and Ah stare it, "Yeah you with the white tuft. You okay?"
Ah squint, mah vision slowly retuning back to normal, and the figure starts comin' into focus. The figure—a he Ah quess—is wearing a blue and red outfit.
"Nightcrawler? That you?" Ah ask stupidly.
"Uhhhh nope, not Nightcrawler, but… Wall Crawler! Or as I'd like to call myself, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man!" the figure replies with pride and glee.
Mah vision finally clears and Ah get up, and see that the person Ah'm talkin to is not mah brotha, but indeed the web-headed Spider-Man. "Spider-Man?" Ah repeat, confused to why he is here.
"The one and only! Need help miss…?" He asks.
"Rogue. The name's Rogue. You can call me that from now on,…got it? And no, Ah don't need any help." Ah respond in an annoyed tone.
"Jeez, is that how they taught you to say 'thank you'?"
"Sorry, it's just that Ah'm goin through a lot right now and… Why am I even talking about this to you? Could ya just buzz off already bug boy?" Ah ask rudely.
"You look like someone who's been through a lot. How 'bout I give you swing home and on the way you can let things go?" he offers.
"Uhhh, no thanks. Ah can take care of mahself thank you very much. Ah do have powers you know, and they are probably better than yours by a long shot."
"Yeah, you can take care of yourself all right…" he says sarcastically.
Ah give him a dirty look.
"Look I don't want to fight or argue with you Rogue, and yeah, you do look like someone who could probably take care of yourself, so how 'bout we just—"Spider-Man start, but he stops himself, "Uh-oh! Spider-Man-Sense." He says, his vibe a little off.
"Spider-what?" I ask with a laugh. But a couple seconds later, there's an explosion followed by gun shots, and just after that, sirens.
"Told you." He says.
"What the—? How did you—?" I ask, confused by how Spider-Man seemed to know that was coming.
"I get this early warning thing I call 'Spider-sense'… Blah blah blah, not important right now…" he explains, "Listen, you said you were going through problems and had powers right? Well right now I could seriously use some help, and this could help you blow off some steam,…can you come?"
Ah hesitate, but Ah quickly realize how fun this could be and Ah look up, pumped full of energy and shout, "Hell yeah!"
"Great! Hang on!" he says, shooting a web line and swinging down, grabbing me around mah waist as he swung.
"Whoooaaaaaa!" Ah scream, never having felt this kind of rush before.
The location of the blast turned out to be a bank. All the windows are smashed, and there isn't an employee in sight. The only people who were there were crooks and criminals, all armed, and all carrying loot. Outside, three cars are ready and waiting be filled up with whatever loot the crooks can their hands on.
"Alright guys, get your hands on as much as you can. We gotta fill the trucks up as much as possible before we leave this joint." a voice says from within the bank. Then, a man in some animal costume enters the scene and all of the criminals there back away from him in fear and respect. Suddenly, he rips the door the vault door off of its hinges, "Get busy" he orders.
Spider-Man and Ah sit on the glass ceiling of the bank, watchin' everything that's happenin' down there.
"Alright, I give up, who's that guy and why's he dressed in that weird get-up?" Ah ask.
"You don't know who that is?!" Spider-Man asks, dumbfounded, "Do you live in a cave?"
"…sorta… Just tell me already." I say.
"That's Alex O'Hirn aka The Rhino! He's human, but the suit he wears gives his body super strength, and the only thing that's on his mind is mon-nay." he explains.
"Okay, okay. Ah get the picture… So how're we gonna handle this big dunderhead?" Ah ask.
"Easy, we jump in and improvise! The best part about this is that it's at night and there's no risk of casualties."
In all his nonsense he keeps blabbing about, Ah realize he does make a good point; Ah don't need to worry about touchin' anyone other than the crooks.
"Good point, web-head." Ah smile.
"In that case, you ready?" he asks, putting out his gloved hand for me to grab.
Ah grab it, "You know it!" Ah say, and with that, we just jump through the ceiling.
The moment I pass through the glass, I regret it, cuz as soon as Ah start falling, Ah realize that it looked a whole lot less complicated in my head. And, of all places to land, Ah landed on Rhino…
"What the—? Get off of me!" Rhino shouts, shaking me off wildly. "Get the loot and get out of here!" he orders, "And kill them!"
As soon as Rhino says that, he and probably twelve of his men charge outta the bank, holding the loot in their hands, whereas the other half of Rhino's men pull out their guns and start firing.
"Whoa, whoa! Watch where you're pointing that thing! Don't you know that's dangerous?!" Spider-Man jokes, dodging several of them, thwipping the guns out of their hands, and knocks out seven of them.
"You're seriously crackin' jokes? Now of all times?!" Ah shout, kicking two of the crooks down.
"Come on, joking is good for the soul! Didn't you know?" Spider-Man jokes as he jumps up, bashes two of the goons' heads together and webs them to a wall.
Ah roll in mah eyes. In a matter of seconds, Ah knock out three other crook using a couple flip techniques my Momma taught me.
"Wow! You're good!" Spider-Man calls down to me from the ceiling as he thwipps up two crooks.
"Ah had a good teacher." Ah reply.
He drops to the floor, taking out one more crook, and we look down in pride at our work. But, as it would turn out, we hadn't gotten all of them. Ah feel the barrels of two guns against mah head, "It's time to give up you two." A crook says. Out of the corner of mah eye, Ah see another two men cornering Spider-Man.
"Ah hate to do this sugah," Ah say, "But Ah think we won't!" In a flash, Ah whip off my glove and hit both of the crooks in the face, causing them to black out. Meanwhile, Spider-Man had easily thwipped up the two cornering him.
"Whoa! What the heck did you do to them?! And why didn't you do that sooner?" he asks, staring down at the men.
"It's mah power—" Ah start, but I notice the other crooks we beat up are starting to come around, "Uuuhhhh, Ah'll explain later. Right now, um, shouldn't we get out of here while we still can, and go catch Rhino?"
Spider-Man notices the men coming round too, "Uh yeah, just give me a sec… When I say jump, jump!" he shouts.
"Wait, What?!" Ah shout, but without any more explanation, he thwips away, and Ah feel a bit worried he abandoned me for a second.
"Okay ready? One,…THREE!" he yells out of nowhere.
Ah whip around and see the crazy web head had webbed the broken vault door, and without warning, he swings it across the floor.
"JUMP, ROGUE! JUMP!" he cries.
Just as the door is about to hit me, Ah do a box jump up onto it, and then, using it's momentum, Ah front flip off of it, landing safe and sound, all of this in a matter of seconds.
The crooks, however, are all hit by the door and fall to floor, unconscious.
"Nice moves! Your teacher teach you that too?" Spider-Man asks.
"Nope. Somethin' mah brotha taught me."
"Cool. Okay, well this leaves 24 henchman all webbed up and ready for police, twelve more crooks to catch, three armed bank cars full of money, one angry Rhino, and a partridge in a pear tree." He trills.
"Are ya gonna keep joking all night, or are we actually gonna get some bad guys?" Ah ask, becoming more and more annoyed with his quips.
"Uhhhh, I'd like to do both! Hang on Rogue." he shouts, he grabbing me by surprise while simultaneously slinging out another web.
"Whoa! Could ya give me a little more warnin' next time?!" Ah yell as we soar through the air.
As we swing, Ah look down at the streets and immediately mah eyes find the three trucks Rhino's men are drivin' with Rhino charging down the street in the front, leadin' the way. They are plowin' down the street, people swerving to get out of the way. An' even though there are a million police cars chasin' after the getaway trucks, they honestly weren't doin' that much.
"This is insane!" Ah shout over the wind.
"No kidding" Spider-Man says loudly, "Lucky for us, I've dealt with O'Hirn before."
He starts swingin' lower and lower, gettin' closer in range to the trucks. Then, he takes one big swing—me holdin' on for dear life—and flips through the air, simultaneously shoot webs from both arms, completely coverin' both of the rear tires on one of the trucks. It immediately loses control and starts flippin' forward, headin' straight towards a group of civilians, but just before it got close to them, Spider-Man soars through the air again, rapidly shooting webs, creating one giant one that catches the truck just in time.
"Nice web shootin'" Ah say as he slings out another web.
"It's what I do." He jokes.
"That's one down, two to go." Ah say, "Plus one angry, running Rhino."
"Yup!" he looks at me, "See you in a sec!" he shouts, and then, with no more warnin' he throws me towards one of the trucks, sending me right through the doors—which the goons had conveniently left open—while he swung and landed on another. As ah fly through the doors, manage to kick down a goon in the process. Two of the goons put their guns—automatics—right against mah head and Ah instinctively elbow the one on mah right and kick him outta the truck, and then reach back with my left arm, grabbing the other one by his head, flipping him over and onto his back.
"Hey what's going on back there?" the last crook yells, and turns around, "The girl dead ye—?" he stops talking when he sees Ah'm the only one standin'.
"Oh sh*t!" he yells, and points his gun at me. Before he does anything else, Ah pull off mah glove again, and brush his face. That was a very stupid move… The goon slumps forward onto the steerin' wheel and the truck serves out of control. Ah try to grab the wheel to gain control again, but Ah can't. Lucky for me—although Ah'll neva admit this aloud—the webhead comes swinging through the passenger window.
"You called?" he says, thwipping the brakes to the floor.
"You're really not gonna let this go, are ya?" Ah ask in an annoyed tone.
"Nope!" he says, obviously smirking beneath his mask, "Stopped the other truck by the way." He points to a truck parked beneath four goons webbed upside down.
Bullets start hitting the windshield sending shards of glass at us as we duck down.
"That was close." Spider-Man says, peaking over the windshield.
Ah stare at him an' notice his suit shredded in a couple areas, "Oh no, your suit!"
"Ugh… looks like I'll be up late sewing again." He frowns, "Doesn't matter right now, we gotta take care of—"
"SPIDER-MAN!" a voice shouts from beyond us. Right on cue, Rhino comes chargin' at us, sendin' more bullets at the truck.
"Oh boy… you wanted your warning, Rogue? Well here it is! Hang on!" Spider-Man shouts, grabbing onto me and jumpin' out of the windshield, swingin' right around Rhino.
When we land on the ground a ways away from Rhino, Ah loose mah balance and Spider-Man grabs me. Unfortunately, mah ungloved hand touches his skin. He cries out in pain. Ah only touched him for a brief second, but it was enough to gain some of his powers and get memories that were on the top of his head, to come zoomin' through mah mind; a strange spider biting his hand, an old man dying on the ground, a pretty red headed girl standing in a doorway, and a bunch of echoing words…Something about power and responsibility…
"Oh man, Ah'm so sorry Spider-Man! Ah did not mean to do that." Ah say quickly, snapping mahself out of his thoughts.
"No biggey, just forget it." he says, "Come on, let's take down this horn headed freak show!"
With Spider-Man's powers, Ah become stronger and can jump higher. "Cool! This is fun!" Ah shout, "But how come I can't shoot webs like you?"
"Uhhh lets take on the Rhino first" he answers.
"Take him down? Please." I call as we run at the charging Rhino, "This guy's nothing compared to Juggernaut, who, by the way, Ah've fought." What's embarrassing is that right as Ah say that, Rhino smacks me aside, sending me towards Spider-Man.
"Nothing huh?" Spider-Man laughs.
"You two are pissing me off. I'm outta here." Rhino shouts, as he turns and starts plowing down the street, knocking aside cars and destroying everything in his path.
"Come on, Rogue, we gotta stop him!" Spider-Man yells, thwippin' up into the air.
"Right behind you Web Head!" Ah run after Rhino and jump, landin' on top of his shoulders.
"GET. OFF!" he shouts.
Ah smirk, and pull off mah other glove, "Nope sugah! Ah don't think Ah will!" Ah shout, and place both of mah bare hands on his face.
Rhino stumbles and slows down a bit, but the suit is somehow lessening the effects mah powers should have on him, giving him enough strength to throw me off.
"AGH!" Ah scream, collapsin' to the ground. Ah've never touched more than one person at a time before. Ugh, too many people in mah head! Spider-Man's good-guy attitude clashing with Rhino's villainous thoughts…it's like a war up there.
The poundin' in mah head is makin' it hard to see, but through the blurred spots, Ah see Spider-Man swing in and thwip Rhino's suit, trying to hold him back.
"Come on, Spider-Man!" Ah yell.
Spider-Man seems to be slowin' Rhino down significantly, but not enough. In an instant, Rhino jerks forward and Spider-Man loses his footin', sending him flyin' a couple blocks down. Rhino furiously turns towards me and snorts angrily. Uh oh. Ah scramble to mah feet blindly. Come on, shut up in there! Ah gotta fight this guy! Ah can't focus, the pain in mah head is excruciating and Ah can barely stand. Rhino is still coming straight at me, and Ah'm failing at moving out of the way. Ah stumble back over mah heels, but just before Rhino is about to hit me, Ah find the strength to stand and hit him back.
"What are you?!" Rhino shouts, looking down at the dent Ah made in his armor.
Ah've finally suppressed the war in mah head. Ah have control of the powers, and the combined strength of Spider-Man and Alex O'Hirn has made me super strong. Ah look down at mah hands, ball them into fists, and look back Rhino, smirking, "Ah'm a mutant!" Ah shout proudly, charging towards him. Ah'm still nowhere near as strong as Rhino's suit makes him, but at least Ah can put up a fight now!
Ah charge at Rhino, aimin' to punch him right in the face, but just as Ah'm about three feet away, Ah find mahself glidin' through the air. Spider-Man, ragged and tired, had swooped in and grabbed me.
"What was that for Web Head?!" Ah shout.
"I saved your life!" he replies.
"You dumby, Ah gained super strength after Ah touched you two! Didn't ya see the dent Ah made?"
"Oh…" Spider-Man adjusts his grip on my waist, "Well in that case, get ready to take a real good whack at him!"
Ah smirk as he swings back towards Rhino, and once we get close, Spider-Man throws me down at Rhino like he did with the trucks earlier.
"BOMBS AWAY!" Spider-Man shouts as he throws me.
He threw me at just the right angle, because as soon as my fists make contact, Rhino goes flyin' through the air. "AAAARRRRRG!" he yells.
Just before he hits a buildin', a web snatches onto his suit, pullin' him back in the other direction, and as he goes flyin' this time, Spider-Man shoots webs all over him, coating Rhino's entire suit with webs.
Spider-Man drops beside me, "Nice punch, Rogue." He laughs as we both watch Rhino skid to a halt in front of a pizza parlor, completely immobile.
"Nice webs,…Spidey." Ah reply, walking towards Rhino. Ah've heard many people call Spider-Man 'Spidey' before, but Ah'd never thought Ah would.
The owner of the pizza parlor rushes out to meet us, "Tha-that was amazing! Thank you Spider-Man and—"
"Rogue." Ah smile.
"—and Rogue!" the owner says happily,
"No problem, man." Spidey replies.
"You know what, you two probably won't get the recognition you deserve for your bravery, so I'm going to give you free pizza, and you can come back and get more free pizza, FOR LIFE!" the owner shouts happily, "Stay here." He runs inside.
"Thanks for persuading me to do this Spidey, this really did blow off some steam." Ah say, lookin' up at him."
"Thanks for coming." He replies.
The owner runs back out, holding two pizza boxes, one for Spidey, one for me, "Enjoy!" he grins.
After thanking the owner for the pizza and waiting until we could see the police gathering on the scene, Spidey swung us up onto the roof of a building, and now we sit here, eating pizza and talking.
"So you and your mom are having 'issues', huh?" he asks, taking a bite of pizza.
"Ah love her to death and Ah can't imagine a world without her or mah brother, but how she's been treatin' me lately? I just hate it!"
"Rogue, don't leave your family." He says, starin' at me through his mask, dropping every bit of the joker attitude, "Trust me on this…"
Ah open mah mouth to say something, but he raises up his hand to silence me, "Rogue, please listen. I lost someone very close to me because I got mad and left them. Like you now, I was mad at them and I walked out… I ended up losing that person because I was being too selfish. Don't make the same mistake I did."
"Yeah bu—" Ah start, tryin' to remake my point, but he interrupts again.
"Yeah, but nothing." He says, "You're family should be your number one priority, and you should never leave them before you have to. And not only that, but you shouldn't hate anyone, Rogue. Hating is the last thing anyone should do. Being angry? Yeah, you can always be angry, everyone has feelings. But, hating? Especially the ones you know you love? No! You're so much better than that, no one should be able or capable of having that much anger and rage toward something or someone. Especially about how your mom treats you. If I were you, I'd try to patch things up right now before things get worse." He says.
After giving it less than a moment's thought, Ah realize he's right, Ah couldn't leave them. Mystique is my mom, and Kurt's my brotha,…I'm not leaving them. Not now, not ever!
"You know what? You're right! Thanks for the fight, the fun, and especially the pep talk, Spider-Man. Now if you'll excuse me, Ah gotta go home now!" Ah say, standin' up.
"Anytime. You want a lift or…?" he starts to offer, but without a word, Ah use the powers Ah got from him and jump away.
After 30 minutes of jumpin' around, Ah finally make it back to the alleyway behind the apartment we're livin' in. Ah look around and see the muggers that Spider-Man thwipped are gone and probably already on their way to jail. Ah climb the wall towards mah window and sneak in back into mah bedroom. Ah pull off mah street clothes and look at the clock. 1:45 AM. Oops, Ah was out much later than Ah wanted to be… Agh, Ah'm dead tired now. Ah collapse in mah bed and close mah eyes, and in seconds Ah'm asleep.
As Ah wake up this mornin', Ah feel all of what Ah did last night catching up to mah body painfully. Patching things up with Momma is the only thing on mah mind, so despite all mah soreness, Ah get outta bed and head to the kitchen, hopin' Ah'll see her there. But, surprisin'ly, Ah find Kurt out of his room, and in the kitchen, a smile on his blue face.
"Kurt? You feelin' okay?" Ah ask.
"Ja, I feel so much better now." He says, soundin' on the verge of laughter, "I no longer feel frightened now that I have a good confidence booster…"
"That's great! What happened? What made you change your mind?" Ah ask.
"Sorry to interrupt this brother/sister moment, but do tell me Anna, how did you sleep? Any problems at all? Because you look a bit sore" Momma asks, walkin' into the room and interrupting our conversation.
That was a weird question… but as confused as Ah am, Ah answer the question normally and calmly, tryin' to maintain the peace, "Uh, it felt great."
"Oh really?" she asks, raising her eyebrow, "I imagined you would be, but if you're not then would you care to explain this?" she holds up a newspaper with the lines 'SPIDER-MAN AND GIRL IN GREEN STOP RHINO'with a picture of me and Spidey standin' next to Rhino as the owner of that pizza parlor had gone to get us the pizzas.
Crap… Ah drop my head, realizing Ah'm a goner, and that this rift between mah Momma and Ah would nevah go away, but just as Ah think it's all over for me, Kurt starts laughing his head off.
The argument that went down made WW1 and 2 look like minor misunderstandings, and it ends with me getting' grounded, but on the upside, things started getting better,; Kurt wasn't scared anymore, Momma realized she couldn't keep us locked away forever, and things in general just seemed a bit lighter despite my punishment. All family issues were finally patched up, but this? This was never gonna be let go… Ever.
