The Sword Redrawn
by Starsinger
Poor Kitty, she's been abused by a lot of people lately, I just hope she survives everything! No, still don't own them.
Kitty lay in her bed, the vent breathing for her, her eyes firmly closed. Movement outside the door caught her attention as her eyes fluttered open
"None of those that you killed and hurt matter, nobody cares for them, huh, Bub? I got news for you, they did!"
Kitty's mouth moved, no sound came out as Logan continued, "No, look at her. Look at what you did! I hope this haunts you for the rest of your life." He hauled the man back out the door as Kitty sat up. She pulled her laptop out of a drawer and started work back on the homework she'd been missing while laid up in the hospital. Kurt thought they would have cut her some slack since she'd been hurt. Unfortunately, she'd had no such luck.
Minutes later Logan returned, "That was a little dramatic, don't you think?" Kitty typed.
Logan softened, he couldn't be upset around her, "No, what happened to you was dramatic. So, when are you getting off that?"
"Soon, I hope. Is there any chance of my getting out of here today?" Logan knew what she meant.
"Let me ask Moira if she'll let you out. It's a nice day."
Minutes later the good doctor returned with Logan, "I'm going to do one better, I'm taking the tube out today." Kitty's eyes lit up as she let the head of the bed down. She was so tired of that infernal machine. The tube finally came out and Moira handed her a cup of juice for her throat. "Yuir voice is goin' to be a little hoarse, that should pass with use. Take the usual precautions, Logan, I dinnae want her to catch a cold."
The juice felt good sliding down a parched throat. She'd had enough of IV feeding as well. Logan grinned at her, "Well?" he asked.
Kitty's voice creaked after long disuse and a foreign object being stuck down it for well over a month. "Good," she croaked.
Logan sighed, it was good to hear her voice again. "I've got an idea," he walked over to the hospital phone. "Hey, Ororo, is everyone there? Yeah, okay, put it on conference," he hit the speaker button on the phone.
Kitty cleared her throat, "Hi everybody!"
A welter of voices sounded over the phone before Ilyana's voice finally cut through, "Kitty, is that you?"
Kitty laughed, it sounded as rusty as her voice, "Yeah, it's me. Moira took the tube out today. How's it going?"
Someone laughed, "Terrible, I'm beginning to appreciate your place on the team, Kitty. You'd better get back here soon."
"Soon as I can," Kitty promised.
"Sugah, is that really you?" Rogue's strained voice came over the phone. That dreadful day was indelibly imprinted into her mind. She turned to check on Kurt who had taken a hit when she heard a scream behind her. The whole world seemed to slow as she watched Kitty crumple to the ground. She bent down to turn her over and was immediately struck by the fact that Kitty wasn't breathing. "Storm, she's not breathing," Storm checked her pulse before she began mouth-to-mouth. "Scott, Kitty's not breathing!"
"Yes, Rogue, it's me, honest. It's really good to be heard. I'll be back soon as I can, promise."
XXXXXXXXXX
For Rogue that just wasn't fast enough. She packed a quick bag and was on her way out to fly to Muir Island when she ran into Scott. Upon hearing that Kitty was talking he quickly organized a group, all right everyone, for a field trip, even talking his wife into coming with them. The last year had brought a roller coaster of emotions for Scott. He and Madeleine had married a few months after they met and she gave birth to a son, Nathan.
The trouble was that she didn't want him to stay with the X-Men, she wanted him home, with them. Xavier's heart attack and the return of his long lost love, Jean Gray, were not helping matters any. Fortunately, she genuinely liked Kitty and was more than willing to go for a visit. After Xavier had his heart attack, he left for space, leaving Erik Lensherr in dubious charge of the school, and had not been heard from since.
Moira sighed when she spotted the plane coming in for a landing, "Kitty, you're about to be invaded!" She warned.
Kitty looked up from the book she was reading and decided to move into the chair. Moira didn't want her overexerting herself, even though her legs worked just fine, even if she was a little wobbly from not using them overly much. She even met them outside after much fussing by Moira. She couldn't help but laugh at the almost overwhelming questions that came out of so many mouths at once. "Geez, guys, I'm not the only invalid here. I'm sure Peter and Kurt would be hurt by your indifference, especially you, Ilyana."
Everyone laughed as Ilyana blushed. Peter limped over as Kurt high-tailed it in their direction. Moira had forbidden him to teleport until he was fully healed. It was a restriction that he didn't like, but he lived with it. Laughter was a rare commodity, and was a welcome sound. Maddie surprised Kitty by plopping Nathan down in the chair with her. The baby started bouncing up and down in Kitty's lap; fortunately, the stabilizers on the chair worked very well. Kitty reached under his chin and tickled it causing the baby to laugh. Kitty leaned back in the chair, basking in the warmth of her friends' attention, wishing it could last forever.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Dallas, it was now a dirty word. The X-Men had gone to battle in Dallas and died. Kitty, Kurt and a recently re-emerged Rachael were the only ones left of the X-Men. Lockheed looked at her, concerned as fresh tears welled from her eyes. She looked up at Kurt and Brian Braddock, "So, you want us to help form a new team, here in England?"
Rachael looked up, "What in the world would we call it?"
Kurt grinned, "I can only think of one word that would be appropriate, Excalibur."
I never saw the comics in which the X-Men died in Dallas (I'm from the Dallas Fort Worth area), and I don't remember what the exact circumstances under which Excalibur was formed. I'm going to go through at least one of my favorite cross-dimensional capers in the next chapter as they visit merry old-England.