X Men Evolution: The Next Steps

by X Paradigm

3 years after the battle against Apocalypse, the original X men return from college to reunite with the new team. As the summer begins, so do the many challenges Xavier glimpsed in Apocalypse's mind.

10. Road To Hellfire

Previously on X Men Evolution

"What are you?!"

"Growing up looking like I do, I've heard it all before ...." Kurt mumbled before porting away.

"I have a confession to make, Kurt," Amanda announced nervously. "I know you don't always .... look like this."

"You still wear your image inducer," Evan snapped.

"That means you're still hiding," Amanda argued.

"Uhhh ...., vone step at a time," Kurt whispered, covering his inducer.

"I thought your parents won't let you see me!" Kurt said.

"They can forbid all they want." Amanda exclaimed. "I'm not giving up on us. And I hope you aren't either."

[

Bayville Church – Present Day

"Bless me Fazher, for I have sinned," Kurt whispered into the small opening he had not seen in ... years, at least. "It has been ... a long time."

"It has indeed," came the familiar rumble from the other side. "What's kept you, Kurt? I haven't seen you in years."

Kurt shrugged. "Catholic school, mostly; I didn't dare sin around zhe Jesuit prof's."

The priest chuckled. "Thought I was the only one."

"I didn't forget zhis place, zhough; I --"

"No, Kurt, don't apologize." Through the grate, Kurt could see his confessor shake his head. "God gave us the ability to grow, explore, and choose."

Kurt sighed and looked down at his image inducer. "He gave us the ability to do many zhings, Fazher."

"Even to sin?" When Kurt didn't answer, the priest nodded and continued. "Is that why you're here, Kurt?"

Kurt hesitated further. "I'm ... I'm not sure vhere to begin ..." The priest waited. Kurt sighed. "I tried to do vhat felt right, and I dragged my family into trouble instead."

"The road to hell is often paved with the best intentions." After a few moments of silence, he went on. "Perhaps you better start at the beginning."

[

Xavier Institute – 72 Hours Earlier

"We're sorry; the number you have dialled is currently unavail-"

Kurt snapped the phone shut and seethed. Since her term had supposedly ended, Amanda had become unreachable. She wasn't answering her cell phone, and he didn't dare try her parents' phone; it tended to mysteriously change whenever her parents caught him calling. Where could she be?!

"Y'got a date wit' dat phone, homme?"

Kurt's expression darkened further as he heard the voice. "Not funny, Gambit. And it's not your business," he spat out as he turned to face the arrival. The reaction to X23's arrival had been nothing compared to the near-panic that erupted when Gambit had moved in. Scott had shouted at the Professor for a good ten minutes before Jean dragged him out. "Vhat are you doing here, anyvay?"

Gambit was shuffling a pack of cards. "Trying to lose de Wolverine." A brief scowl appeared. "De man needs a hobby"

"Maybe you shouldn't keep sneaking around; or up on people," Kurt pointed out, glaring meaningfully at Gambit.

Gambit smirked. "Did I forget to march and sing?"

Kurt sighed. "You don't get it do you?" The thief's expression did not change. "You just moved in vith zhe same people you tried to kill for Magneto, then kidnap for yourself. And here you are, sneaking through our house like ..."

"Sneakin's what I do," Gambit interrupted. "I'm bettin y'know why." Before Kurt could blink, the thief's hand shot out and snatched the inducer on his belt. Imediately Kurt's furry appearance shifted into his furious-looking furry form. "Ain't your little secret out by ...?"

In the next instant, Kurt appeared at Gambit's side striking him in the jaw. "Give me my induce–oof!" Kurt grunted as Gambit's foot slammed into his ribs.

"You wanna play, Crawler?" Gambit sneered, holding up a card. "Den you better be ready to deal."

--------------------

The crashes and shouts in French and German did not go unnoticed.

"That only took three days," Piotr remarked.

"You owe me 15 if it's Scott," Bobby told a scowling Jubilee.

"Isn't Scott away with Logan and the other instructors?" Jubilee retorted, wiping the grin from Bobby's face as Rogue and Piotr ran from the room.

--------------------

"Okay, homme; t'ink we've had our fun, non?" Gambit grunted while holding the enraged Kurt at bay with his staff.

Kurt just scowled and ported again, this time appearing above Gambit's shoulders. "Vhat vas zhat you said about finishing vhat you start?" he yelled as he landed on Gambit's back, driving the thief to the floor.

Gambit finally grimaced. "You say so." With his free hand, he grabbed a nearby pan.

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Piotr roared as he pried Kurt off of Gambit and pinned the thief to the floor with his foot. Then he noticed the glowing pan. "Rogue ..."

"Got it." After throwing open the window, Rogue grabbed the pan and tossed it outside.

As the explosion finally died down, Rogue turned to Kurt struggling to escape Piotr's grasp. "All right, Pete, put him down." As the large metal Russian gently lowered Kurt to the floor, Rogue turned her attention to him. "You mind tellin' me what's goin' on?"

Kurt shook his head. "Not now, Rogue." Without another work, he disappeared.

"Dat blueboy's got some temper," Gambit gasped as he sat up.

Rogue glared down at the thief. "News flash, Gambit; it takes a lot to piss him off."

"Have you not heard?" Piotr remarked as he helped Gambit to his feet. "That is one of his many talents." Gambit just grinned and shrugged.

Rogue's glare did not soften. "Funny; Ah thought his talent was stealin' people," she spat as she snatched the inducer in Gambit's hand and turned towards the door. "Or playin' 'em," she called over her shoulder as she left the room.

"Dat too," Gambit mumbled as he sat on a counter. "Were dey like dis when you showed up?"

"Do not ask me, comrade," Piotr shook his head, fighting a smile. "I did not have your talents."

--------------------

"Kurt?" Rogue called as she pushed open the door.

"I'm changing!" she heard him reply.

"So hurry it up!" She strode inside to find a fully clothed Kurt sitting on his bed, hunched over his phone. Rogue's heart tightened; the last time he'd seen him like this, he had just learned about Mystique being his mother. "You all right?"

Kurt finally looked up. "Amanda's not answering her phone."

"Oh, gosh ..." Rogue watched as Kurt punched another number into his phone. "Kurt, Ah'm ..."

"Hello? Hello?!" Kurt stood up and began to pace, his tail flicking about like a whip. "My name is Kurt Wagner; I'm trying to contact Amanda Sefton .... No, I .... But she knows who I am! .... okay, okay, I understand .... wait, please don't hang up .... Look, can you just tell her Kurt Wagner is calling? .... okay, zhank you, I'll hold."

He waited, bobbing slightly; he looked ready to hit the ceiling. "Kurt, will ya calm down?"

"Not until I know!" Kurt snapped. Suddenly, his face lit up. "Hello? Is she ....?" The energy seemed to drain from his face as he listened to the other end.

"Kurt?" asked a concerned Rogue as he slowly lowered the receiver.

"Her ... her room ..." he whispered. "She ... she moved out ..."

"Kurt?" The usually playful, friendly mutant was now gripping the receiver as though it had become his mortal enemy. "Kurt, listen ..."

BAMF!

Rogue coughed and waved away the smoke. "Oh no."

[

Sefton Home

"What are you; some kinda freak?"

Kurt's mind was far from his blue, furry appearance, one that had drawn looks of fear, of hate, or sheer revulsion his entire life, as he ran up the steps towards the house.

"Check for friends when you wander the halls looking like this!"

Amanda's house. He had only been near it once, for the dinner that had ended in disaster.

"I don't want to see that .... freak again!"

Kurt's hand was pressing hard on the doorbell before he consciously realized it. No one answered.

"I don't care what they think; they don't know you like I do!"

"Mr. Sefton? Mrs. Sefton?" he yelled. He checked over his shoulder; both cars in the driveway. Where were they?

"I'm not giving up on us!"

Kurt found himself forgetting the doorbell and pounding at the wood instead. "MR. AND MRS. SEFTON!!!" Months separated by an entire country; these discreet visits during the summer had kept him sane during his first year. Was he about to lose even that?

"I hope you aren't either."

Kurt was getting ready to port inside when the door inched open, revealing a glaring Mr. Sefton. "What do you think you're doing?"

Kurt took a breath. "Is Amanda around?"

The door didn't move. "I thought I told you to stay away."

Kurt bit back an urge to shout back. "Mr. Sefton, please; I ..."

"You've caused us enough trouble!"

"Or were you hoping to burn the place down, now?" put in Mrs. Sefton as she joined her husband.

Kurt grimaced. Thank you, Tolanski. "I only want to know if she is alright."

"That is none of your business!" By now, the Seftons seemed at least as worked up as Kurt. "Now, please: leave us alone ..."

"NEIN!" Kurt had lost to the urge. "I care about Amanda at least as much as you do; zhere is no vay I'm just valking away!"

"Mr. Wagner," Mrs. Sefton began, but Kurt wasn't finsished.

"I never had to hide from her; you have no right to make her hide from me!" Suddenly, Kurt appeared on the wall next to the door jamb, his face leaning towards the Seftons. "VHERE IS SHE!!!"

The shocked couple stared back for several seconds. "She's in Europe, with a backpacking group," Mrs. Sefton stammered.

"She never told me about any backpacking trip," Kurt retorted, his eyes locked on the couples'.

Mrs. Sefton turned her gaze towards the ground. "She asked us not to tell you ... said she needed some ... time to herself."

Kurt stared. "I don't believe you."

"That's too bad, then," Mr. Sefton snapped as he slammed the door shut.

Kurt slammed a fist against the door. Everyone was hiding away, hiding him away in mansions, churches, or image inducers. His hand went to his furry face; was this all the fuzzy man could hope for ...?

Nein. "MR AND MRS SEFTON!!" he screamed at the closed door, before he began pounding on it with his feet.

"There a problem here?"

Kurt whipped his face around and found himself confronted by two policeman, one with his hand on his holster.

"Never mind; I think I see it," the other policeman sneered. Kurt looked down towards his hand and finally realized his disguise had dropped yet again.

"Get down from the porch and keep your hands where I can see them."

"That includes the tail, freak."

Vunderbar.

[

"Tail?"

Kurt stopped himself as he realized he'd let slip the secret he'd been keeping from this man for years. "Ja, uhhh ..." he mumbled. "Zhat's ....somezhing I never confessed to."

"You have a tail?"

Kurt sighed. "I don't ..... always .... look human," he finally spat.

That admission was met by another long silence. "I see," the priest finally murmured. "Is that all?"

Kurt shook his head. "I vish."

[

Xavier Institute

"Have you anything to say, Kurt?"

Kurt shook his head as he continued to scrutinize the desk in front of him. Even while being frisked and then cuffed by the officers, then dragged through 'booking', as they seemed to call it, he had not felt so small, so exposed. For a second, he wondered if it was the Professor's telepathy. Then he reminded himself that Xavier never used his telepathy on others, unless they became an enemy ...

"No?" Xavier leaned back in his wheelchair, his hands folded and his stare never leaving Kurt. Only his cold voice gave away any sign of anger. "It is a sheer miracle that you are not awaiting trial for harassing the Seftons. And I hardly need mention what your actions have brought upon the Institute as a whole. What each of us does reflects on the entire team, not to mention mutantkind as a whole ..."

"I'm sorry, Professor," Kurt, interrupted.

Xavier was already shaking his head. "I'm afraid that won't do, Kurt; given that we're all sharing the consequences of your decisions, I think I'm entitled to an explanation at the very least."

"You know vhy," Kurt snapped.

Xavier's expression softened slightly. "Kurt, it's no secret how close you and Amanda were. But ...." Xavier glanced down at his desk as though searching for cues, "People change in ways we often don't imagine. And if Amanda has ..."

"Has vhat, Professor?" Kurt demanded, standing up.

Xavier met his gaze. "If she has decided to ... go her own way, then it's hardly for us, or you, to interfere."

"If?!" Kurt forgot how small he felt. "Vhat if she hasn't decided at all?"

"Kurt, that's a serious leap ..."

"Are you serious Professor?!" Kurt's outburst caught even Xavier off guard. "I met vone of my friends inside an alternate universe; my mozher vas our mortal enemy; I end up in zhe same house as meine schwester; your college buddy herr Magneto throws us into a fight vith a giant robot ... oh, and need I mention zhe millenium-old mutant who rose from zhe dead to end zhe world?!"

Had Xavier not been angry with his longtime student, he might have laughed; their experiences did, in retrospect, seem the stuff of the graphic novels that currently overwhelmed many of the younger boys' rooms. Then he remembered himself. "You're right, Kurt," he responded carefully. "We face many fantastic, all too real dangers. Too many, in fact, to be chasing every hypothetical situation that crosses our minds," he added as he began wheeling away from the desk.

"I am not ..."

"Kurt." Hearing the cold tone of voice, Kurt stopped. "We will discuss your probation later; for now, you are restricted to the Institute until further notice. And, from now on, you will stay away from the Seftons, and not pursue the matter further."

Kurt stood aghast. "You're telling me to give up on her?!"

"No." Xavier stopped next to Kurt. "I am suggesting that you respect Amanda as an adult." Rolling away, he added, "And I am telling you to start acting like one."

Though his fists were clenched as tight as they'd ever been, and his tail seemed engaged in a duel with the air, Kurt finally nodded. "I understand, Professor." Without another word, he turned his back on Xavier and walked through the front door, aware of Xavier's probing stare behind him.

--------------------

"So what's the damage?"

Kurt looked up from his perch on the balcony railing. "I'm not in zhe mood, Tabitha; find another partner in crime."

Tabitha whistled at Kurt's tone as she strode inside. "Brrrrrr," she announced in the lowest voice she could manage.

Kurt shot her a sour look as she joined him on the balcony. "Vhat do you vant?"

Tabitha frowned mischievously. "Well that depends; you wanna drop a few bombs in the Professor 'Thou Shalt Not Disobey''s office." After staring at a sullen Kurt for a few moments, she went on. "Or you could go finish that brawl with the Cajun, so I can watch this time; I swear, that guy is the creepiest thief I ever had to share a house with ..."

"Vill you please leave me alone?" Kurt said sharply.

"Nahh; you'll be no fun for the rest of probation. So fess up: what's going on? I heard the po's got involved."

Kurt sighed; there was no ordering Tabitha off. "You vant to know about my problems."

Tabitha shrugged. "Hey, I talked our fearless leader junior out of his rut." Holding up two fingers, she added, "Who knows; I might end up on a roll. So?"

Kurt snorted. "I can't get a hold of Amanda, and zhe Prof's telling me to stop looking."

"He didn't hypnotize you, did he?"

"No."

"Let me guess: stuck on campus?"

"'Until Further Notice.'"

"Polish the jet?"

"Probably."

"Extra Logan-sessions?"

"Vouldn't surprise me."

"No powers?"

"Ja, and – HEY!" Kurt yelled as Tabitha suddenly shoved him from his perch, launching him toward the not-too-close ground.

One second and a flash of brimstone later, Tabitha found herself faced by a scowling Kurt. "If zhat vas vone of your jokes, Tabitha ...!"

"Uh-ohhh; did you just use your powers outside the grounds?" Tabitha exclaimed, her face a picture of mock-disbelief.

"Ja, to save my bones from your ...!"

"So, let me get this straight." Tabitha struck a thoughtful pose, chin in hand, connecting elbow in her other hand. "You'll break the rules to save yourself a few broken bones, but not to save your girl?"

"Tabitha, you ...!!!" Kurt sputtered for several seconds, then snapped a few choice phrases in German.

"What'd you just say?" Tabitha asked.

"Vone: don't do therapy; you'll bring zhe crime rate through zhe roof!"

"Oh, dash my latest dreams ..."

"Two!" Kurt took another step towards Tabitha. "I'm going to hate you tomorrow for vhat you just talked me into."

"Which was ...?"

"For starters ...." Tabitha found herself enveloped in smoke before she felt Kurt's hands on her shirt.

As the smoke cleared, she coughed and waved the smoke away. Suddenly, she noticed a wide-eyed Sam, Bobby, and Ray in front of her,. "Tab ...?"

--------------------

Kurt checked his uniform as he appeared inside the hangar. Check. He then fingered a button on his inducer, activating the Kurt Wagner image he still wore out in public. Vunderbar; I look human again he thought bitterly. Finally, he glanced at the hangar. Since the Professor and most of the other seniors had taken the Blackbird to Washington ... another 'conference', apparently, where they took yet more flack from the bigots in charge .... that left him the Velocity.

He took another look at the open entrance to the hangarway and wondered if this was his best move, running out without permission. His outing with Tabitha that had landed her in jail, his meet with Mystique that had turned into a trap set by the Brotherhood .... maybe he needed some backup ...

Then he remembered Amanda, her nervous stutter when she first asked him to the dance; her wide eyes as she looked upon his true form; her stern glare as she asked why he was still hiding after the mutants went public; her cheerful, trusting smile as she swore not to give up on them ....

Without another thought, Kurt turned to port inside the Velocity. They wouldn't help him, then they wouldn't stop him either.

"Where do ya think yer goin'?"

Kurt winced. Why did plans never work for X men? "Hey, Rogue, Kitty!" he exclaimed, putting on as cheerful an expression as he could manage as he turned toward the new arrivals. "How's it going?"

Neither girl looked amused. "What are you doing in the hangar, Kurt?" Kitty asked.

"Uuhhhh ..." Kurt's mind raced; lying was never his biggest talent. "I ... think I dropped vone of my books here. Have you seen it?"

Rogue blinked. "Yer lookin' for your book ...." She looked him up and down. ".... in yer uniform?"

Kurt blinked and glanced at his uniform. "Oh! How about zhat?" he mumbled. "Better be changing, zhen. Bye!" he called as he disappeared.

Reappearing inside the Velocity, Kurt let loose the German curses he had been holding in. If he could just stay hidden until Rogue and Kitty lost interest – however long that may be – perhaps he could still sneak out and get some answers before the Professor got on his trail. Or maybe he should just make a break for it now ...

"Y'lose somethin', Crawler?"

Kurt nearly ported outside that very minute. "Gambit?! Vhat do you zhink you're doing here?!!!"

Remy shrugged. "Same as you, it seems." Strumming a deck through his fingers, he added. "My hosts have neglected to show me around, so I must pick up de slack."

Kurt shook his head. "You better get out of here, Gambit, before ...."

"Before what?"

Kurt groaned. So much for sneaking out. "Don't stop me, Rogue," he stated turning to face the two girls while an amused Remy looked on.

Rogue glared back. "Stop you from doing what?"

"You know vhat." Turning away from Rogue, he added, "I thought you knew why, too."

"I know you ain't taking the Velocity," Rogue called.

"Really? Vhy not?" Ignoring the girls, Kurt turned toward the cockpit.

"Cause yer locked out." Kurt stopped and turned to see Rogue crossing her arms. "The Professor had Mr. McCoy block your security codes."

Kurt stared aghast at his sister. Remy raised an eyebrow. Security codes? He cracked a slight smile as he slipped away from the now quarrelling siblings.

"Give me your codes, zhen!"

"No."

Rogue suddenly found her arms gripped in Kurt's furry hands. "Kurt, let go!" Kitty cried, grabbing Rogue's arms and phasing them through Kurt's.

Rogue pushed Kitty away and scowled at Kurt. "Do Ah have to put ya to sleep?!"

"Do I have to fight past my own family to find my best friend?!" Kurt threw up his hands. "Does nobody care?"

"Kurt, we do care," Kitty interrupted. "But you remember what happened last time you ran off on your own?"

"Vhat choice do I have?!" Kurt backed away from Kitty and Rogue. "Nobody's helping me here!"

"That's not true!"

Using his fingers, Kurt formed circles around his eyes. "Kurt, don't get close to anyvone." Switching poses, Kurt placed his arms on imaginary armrests. "Kurt, don't look for your own past. Kurt, don't bozher trying to save your own mozher!"

"There was nothin' to do, Kurt," Rogue spat.

"Zhat's all I keep hearing! 'Kurt, don't decide for yourself!' ''Kurt, ve don't see an answer, so vhe're giving up!'" He glared furiously at Rogue. "Is zhat vhat X men do?!" Suddenly, he snapped his fingers as though remembering something. "Or wait: you'd rather push Amanda off a cliff, now?!"

Rogue's eyes flared, a sight that hurt Kurt almost as much as the gloved fist that smashed into his jaw.

"Rogue!" Kitty grabbed at Rogue's arm as her roommate, who was reaching out as through ready to push Kurt instead. Kurt was pulling himself to a back stance, ready to defend himself against his sister ....

And the aircraft shuddered.

The trio paused in their struggle. "Uhh, who started the plane?" Kitty asked.

--------------------

"Gambit, whaddya think yer doin'?!" Rogue ordered as they arrived in the cockpit to find Remy lounging in the pilot's chair. The instrument panel in front of him had lit up.

The thief shrugged nonchalantly. "J'st seeing if dis crate actually runs."

"Like, didn't the Professor lock you out, too?" Kitty demanded.

"Locked out?" Remy scoffed. "Hah!"

Rogue shook her head. "Forget it; just turn it off, already!"

"No, Gambit," Kurt interrupted. "Leave it on," he called as he turned towards Kitty.

"Kurt, don't even ....!"

"... think about it!" Kitty finished as she and Rogue appeared outside. Seconds later, the tennis court opening began to retract, at which point the small helicopter began rising from the deck. "Ohh, boy. He just had to play pirate again ...."

"Come on!" Rogue shouted, grabbing Kitty's hand as she ran toward the helicopter.

"And she just has to make us stowaways," Kitty grumbled as she reluctantly ran after Rogue.

--------------------

Bobby looked up as the tremor ran through the mansion. "Somebody joyriding without us?"

"What for?" Jubilee grumbled, her eyes not leaving the screen as she wrestled with the controller in her hand. "Ha! You're down, Bobby!"

"Aw, man," Bobby groaned as his character collapsed.

"I warned you, Bobby," Amara put in, accepting a high-five from Jubilee.

"Ah think Bobby let her win," Sam added.

As the group began to argue, Laura, standing next to the couch behind them, blinked incredulously, then glanced at Evan who was seated on the couch. "Win? They barely moved."

Evan shrugged. "It's a game; what can you do?"

"Game?"

"Yeah; why, you want a go?"

"Why?"

"Uhhh ... for kicks?"

"Kicks?"

"You know ... or not ... for fun?"

"Fun?"

Evan rubbed his head; where was a dictionary when you needed one? "Call it training time that doesn't nearly wipe you out."

"Training?" Laura looked at the console. "I thought that was what the Danger Room was for."

Everyone in the room flinched, remembering that morning's session. Evan glanced around, then looked back at Laura. "Uhh, shut down, remember?"

"To press buttons and stare at a box?"

"Laura ...!!" Evan suddenly realized that the kids around the console had ceased their argument and turned towards them. "Any volunteers!" he called out acidly. Five wide-eyed faces stared back. "Didn't think so; come on, Laura."

As the bulky, armored mutant shuffled out of the room, followed by the glaring Laura, Amara turned back towards the group. "Is it just me, or do they make a cute couple?" They all looked horrified.

[

Velocity

"Can you switch us to stealth mode?" Kurt asked.

Remy looked at Kurt, then at the instrument panel. "Which button?"

"Zhat vone!" Kurt pointed. Remy just looked at Kurt expectantly. Kurt sighed. "Never mind." Slipping into the copilot seat, he began flicking switches with practiced ease.

Remy examined Kurt. "So, Crawler: you mind tellin' me what I just landed in de middle of?"

"None of your business." Kurt's eyes didn't leave the panel.

"Uh-huh." Remy leaned back in his chair as he continued to manipulate the controls. "Den, seeing as how I seem to be at de wheel here, why don' you tell me where did crate is goin'?"

"Where it's goin' is back home before Ah put ya both in a coma," Rogue spat out as she and Kitty phased through the cockpit.

Kurt shook his head. "No can do, Rogue." He glanced back at the two breatheless girls. "But none of you have to get caught up in this." Standing up, he continued. "I can drop you all off, and you can tell zhe Professor you tried to stop me."

"Ah got a better idea." Rogue's gloves were off now. "How about you boys take a long nap and let the ladies fly everyone back before anyone finds out?"

Kurt just shook his head.

"Last warnin', both o' ya." Rogue's bare palms were now inches from Remy and Kurt's faces.

Remy just turned and grinned at Rogue. "You really wanna see what's on dis Cajun's mind, chere?"

"Gawd!" Rogue's were now on her own reddening face.

"Forget it, Rogue," Kitty stated. "I got it." Without warning, she reached out through Kurt's chair, wrapped her arms around his midsection, and pulled him through the chair into the floor. Within seconds, Remy endured the same treatment.

"Don' even think about it, Kurt," Rogue ordered as the furry mutant tried to pull himself to his feet. "We're goin' back right now," she concluded as Kitty slipped into the pilot's seat.

Kurt nodded slowly. "Fine." The cockpit suddenly filled with sulfur.

"Kurt!" Rogue yelled as the smoke dissipated.

--------------------

"Kurt, wait!" Kurt turned around and spotted Rogue and Kitty running after him, the Velocity parked just down the street.

"Don't." He held up a hand. "I'm not coming back."

"Kurt, listen ..."

"No, you listen!" Kurt took several steps toward Rogue. "Amanda's a part of me, as much as any of you." He glared at both girls. "Would any of you wait for permission if it vas Scott, or Logan, or me zhat vent missing?"

"You just about did go missin', Kurt," Rogue retorted, crossing her arms and glaring at Kurt. "You expect us to wait?"

"I'm not missing, Rogue!" Kurt snapped. "I know vhat I'm doing!"

"So, like, what are you doing, Kurt!" Kitty asked.

"I've already told you; I'm trying to find out vhy Amanda just dropped off zhe face of zhe Earth vhen she told me only a veek before, zhat she was coming back home!"

"How d'ya know she's in danger, Kurt?" Rogue asked, her glare not softening.

Kurt sighed. "I don't, okay? I don`t know anyzhing! And I`m not valking avay until I do!"

Silence fell over the group.

"So, like, what's the plan, Kurt?"

Rogue's glare turned to her roommate. "KITTY??!!!"

"Kurt's right, Rogue," Kitty replied, crossing her arms and returning Rogue's glare. "One of my best friends would be dead now if I didn't run off after her, acting all crazy."

"Uhh, in my defense, I'm not hearing her voice ..."

"Kurt, shut up." Kitty turned back to Rogue. "I say we help him for now, then explain everything to the Professor when we get back."

"Am Ah the only one who remembers we don't have permission?"

Kitty put her hands on her hips. "This from the girl who talked me into skipping sixth period to chase Gambit and the Brotherhood?"

"Why, I'm flattered," came the distinctive drawl they all knew too well. "But I made y'both dat time," he finished as he approached the group.

"You stay outta this," Rogue ordered. "Wait – made us?"

"Vell, I'm going," Kurt interrupted as he slipped past the girls. "Anyone coming?"

"I'm in, Kurt," Kitty offered as she stepped forward. "I miss Amanda, anyway."

Kurt looked at Remy. "Gambit?"

The thief shrugged. "Pourquoi pas."

"In English? Never mind; Rogue?"

The Southerner looked at her brother of three years and clapped both hands to her forehead. "Fahne. But y'all better be ready when the Professah finds out."

"Who says he's going to find out?" Kitty said.

[

Xavier Institute

"This?" Laura stared at the flight simulator. "This ... box actually flies?"

Evan rolled his eyes. "No. It's a simulator."

"Another game?" Laura could not look less interested.

Evan rubbed his head. Where's Auntie O' and Teach when we need them?! "Look," he snapped. "Since you can't stand X Box, and both planes ... are .... gone ...." he trailed off as he found himself staring at an empty hangar.

"What?" Upon seeing Evan's confused expression, Laura looked at him with what might have been interest.

Evan shook his head. "Uhh ... Did Logan say anything about taking the Velocity to Washington?"

Laura frowned. "No; they took the X Jet ..." Laura's voice faded as several scents caught her attention.

"What?" Evan asked as she began to pace the hangar, sniffing the air.

Laura ignored him as she tried to sort out the various scents around Velocity's old parking place. Makeup, that poisonous perfume, a lot of nictoine, bourbon, and cayenne; .... what is THAT?!Her face curled as the faint stench of sulfur and brimstone reached her.

"Spyke to X23?" Evan tried. Laura paused long enough to scowl at Evan, then crouched down toward the floor. "What is it?"

Laura looked back at Evan, then held up several short strands of blue fur.

--------------------

"Say again, Porcupine?" Logan's voice growled through the speaker.

"Like I said," Evan snarled back. "The Velocity's gone, and Laura said .... who again?"

"The blue-furred teleporter, the skinny brunette, the white-faced off-limits girl, and ..."

"Gambit?"

"Yes."

Low, incomprehensible growls filled the channel, followed by a bellowing, "CHUCK!"

[

Sefton Home

"This is yer plan?" Rogue stared at Kurt, then at the all-too familiar house sitting below them.

"Like, have you heard the word, 'jailbait?"

"Watch y'language, petite ..."

"Yer one to talk, Gambit ..."

"Now, now." Remy waved a finger. "Jailbaits be de fools dat get caught." Both girls groaned.

"Ahem." Everyone winced as Kurt's voice rang out over the speaker. "Zhis is your captain speaking; do I have your attention?"

"Yeah, 'Captain'," Kitty spat. "You were saying ....?"

Kurt faltered, then put down the microphone. "Vell .... I'm still vorking on zhat ...."

"So what: yer gonna knock on their door again, and hope their moods' improved?" Rogue asked skeptically.

"Not exactly." Kurt glanced at everyone. "I vas ... kind of hoping ... vone of you would."

"Kurt, what makes you think they know anything?" Kitty asked.

Kurt began pacing the deck, his tail switching at full speed. "I just know it. Zhe vay zhey vere acting, zhe looks on zheir faces ...." he paused, staring at something before him. "It's zhe same look zhe Professor alvays got whenever I asked about my life." He shrugged. "I know, it's not much ..."

"Okay." Surprised, Kurt turned to face Kitty and Rogue, both of whom were looking at him expectantly while Remy leaned back in his seat, a pack of cards in hand and an amused smirk on his face. "But that doesn't help us here," Kitty continued. "The whole town knows we're from the Xavier Institute; why would they tell us?"

"Nobody's that charmin'," Rogue deadpanned. A scoff from Remy drew her scowl. "What?"

Remy began slowly shaking his head. "How little y'all know."

--------------------

"FBI?" Margali Sefton looked at the badge, then back at the tall man in the doorway. "I don't understand ..."

"Honey? Who is it?" came her husband's voice as he came down the stairs.

The casually dressed, blue-eyed stranger offered a hand to Mr. Sefton. "Jacques Cartier, Federal Bureau of Investigations."

"FBI?" Mr. James Sefton's eyes narrowed. "Is something wrong?"

Cartier shook his head with a slight smile. "Hopefully not; I'm just checking up on a report we got about your daughter ..."

"Amanda?" James' hand pulled away from Cartier's and retreated to his pockets. "What happened?"

"That be my reason for visiting." Folding his hands behind his back, Cartier continued. "We got an anonymous call from someone on campus yesterday." Cartier glanced at the Seftons as their muscles tensed and their faces closed up. "Word was that she cleared out some time ago, without a word to anyone."

Both Seftons looked at the ground for several seconds. Finally, James spoke up. "They send agents to chase every .... rumour now?"

Cartier shrugged. "You know how it is these days; better safe then sorry, with the ticking clocks on these kinda cases and all ..."

"Ticking clock ...?" Margali, as casually as she could manage, placed her hand on a nearby coffee table. "Is our daughter missing ....?"

"Oh, no, no, no," Cartier assured, holding his hands up. "If we were that far, it'd be more than just me on the job; hell, we could have a dozen agents combing the school till we find her trail ...."

"You can't!" James blurted out, his eyes wide behind his glasses. Immediately, he put an arm around his wife and continued. "I mean ... it's a little early for that, isn't it?"

"Of course!" Cartier nodded. "Just covering the bases for now; I don't suppose she's here, is she?" he added, grinning slyly.

For some reason, Margali was unable to resist smiling herself. "No, I'm afraid not."

"Well, can't win 'em all." Cartier pulled a notebook from one of his many jacket pockets. "But, since you seem to know where she is ..."

"Well ...." The nervous expressions returned.

"You got a phone number, mailing address, any way to reach her?" Cartier continued, pulling out a notepad. "I promise you: one conversation with her, and I'll be gone."

"We're not supposed to ...." Margali exclaimed before catching herself.

"Not supposed to what?" By now, all the humour had fled Cartier's face as well. "There something you want to tell me?" Margali just shook her head, drawing a furrowed brow from Cartier. "There something you don't want to tell me?"

"I think you should leave, Agent," James said roughly, stepping between his wife and the investigator.

"Mr Sefton, please," Cartier put a hand on James' shoulder; surprisingly, James felt not the slightest desire to push him away. "I'm here to help, and I'm getting the feeling that you need some, but ..."

"You can't help us," Margali stammered.

"We don't know anything, anyway," James added grimly.

Crossing his arms, Cartier stepped back and stared at the couple. "Maybe you could tell me why you don't want anyone looking for your daughter."

--------------------

"Vell?" Remy frowned at the blue-furred mutant hop impatiently before him. "Did zhey say anyzhing?"

Remy just nodded and brought a lit cigarrette to his mouth. "Dey told me she never came back from de Academy." He shook his head as he began pulling the blue contacts from his eyes. "J'st dropped outta sight wit'out a word."

"Zhat's it?!" Kurt demanded, grabbing the collars on Remy's jacket. "Zhat's all zhey told you?!"

Without blinking, Remy lifted a small photograph before Kurt's face. "Dey got dat a few days later."

Kurt snatched the photograph, only to freeze as he noticed the image on it.

A scantily-clad Amanda, chained the ground, stared back at him. Underneath the image blazed the words DON'T LOOK FOR HER

[

"I take it you didn't obey."

Kurt's head snapped up. "Are you serious, Fazher?!"

"It seems to me that, if you wanted to keep her safe, the smartest choice would have been to ..."

"Back off? Go home?! Leave her vith zhose .... people?!!"

"Kurt, there are times in our life when taking matters into our own hands creates more problems than solutions. Sometimes, its betterto simply put our trust in God than in our own choices."

Kurt shook his head. "I'm sorry, Fazher; I don't believe zhat."

"You don't believe in ...?"

"I mean I don't believe in sitting and vaiting; zhere are times ve have to do His vork ourselves."

"Yes." The priest did not sound convinced. "How did that turn out for you?"

[

Blackbird – Near Washington

"Do I have to say it, Chuck?" Logan growled.

Xavier rubbed his temples. "No Logan, I can hear it already," he sighed.

"So? Are we going after him?" Scott asked, fingering his glasses.

"Wait a minute," Jean put in. "How do we know it's Gambit who took them?"

"Let's see," Scott snapped. "He's done it before, he just worked for Magneto, and, of course, we just welcomed him into our house."

"None of that proves a thing," Ororo put in coolly.

"What more do you want, Red; did you expect him to leave a note?" Logan demanded.

"Enough!" Xavier cut in. After a measured glare at his fellow instructors, he continued. "Whoever is responsible for this can wait. For now, our primary focus must be finding out where they are."

[

Velocity

"Boston?!" Kitty was beginning to feel as though they were dug a hole deep enough to emerge at the opposite end of the globe. "We're flying to Boston?!"

Kurt just nodded as he checked the instruments. "It's vhere Amanda vent to school."

"A Harvard gal?" Rogue asked.

"Nein; some place called zhe Massachusets Academy, just outside zhe city."

"Didn't ya say she moved out?"

"Ja, but she never came near Bayville; someone here must know where she vent."

"So dat's de play, hmm?" Kurt started upon hearing Remy's voice; the thief had barely said a word since they had taken off.

"Ja, vhy?" Kurt shifted in his seat to glare at Remy. "You know somezhing you're not telling us?"

"That'd be a change," Rogue mumbled. To surprise, instead of a joke or grin, she got a very cool stare from the Cajun.

Kitty shook her head and looked directly at Gambit. "Seriously, Gambit: do you know something about what we're getting into here?"

Remy shook his head. "About our photographers, or de seaside city, I know next to nothing, 'cept dat m'Guildmaster always told me to stay away from dat area."

"Why?"

"Never told me." Pulling a deck of cards from his pocket, Remy began to shuffle in earnest. "But I can tell dis much: whoever we dealin' wit here, dey either managed one helluva bluff, wit' yo' femme's help ...."

"She vouldn't do zhat!" Kurt shook his head sharply and focused his attention on the viewport.

Remy snorted. "Can never tell wit' de ladies. But, if dey ain't bluffin', den dey holdin' all de cards, and we all about to join de table." Leaning towards the pilot seat, he fixed his glowing red eyes on Kurt. "You sure you wanna play their game, homme?"

Without looking at the thief, Kurt reached for a dial in front of him.

"Kurt ...?" Rogue began to ask.

"I heard him," Kurt answered brusquely. "And, if someone's playing games ...." He shook his head. "Zhen zhey already have me." He twisted the dial.

The Velocity lurched forward.

[

X Jet

"Anything?"

Jean looked up from the display as Xavier wheeled into the cockpit. "Yeah; they're still on the move." Looking back at the display, she added. "In a hurry." She looked back at Xavier. "Professor, why didn't you tell us about the beacons on the aircraft?"

"That doesn't matter now; can we reach them?"

Scott nodded. "Eventually; they do have one heck of a head start on us," he added glumly.

"Then we'd best not waste a moment."

[

Massachusetts Academy – 2 Hours Later

"Ya sure this is the place?" Rogue frowned.

"Uhhh, yeah," Kurt mumbled, staring at the sight before them. "I zhink ..."

What stood before them looked as though it had belonged in the eighteenth century. Around a large, Victorian-style mansion lay an array of wood cabins, small lakes, and fields filled with busy young adults. At one end lay what could have been a small Colisuem; elsewhere lay a white building that appeared to be from the Wild West.

"Uhh, is this place, like, a school or a museum?" Kitty asked.

"Amanda dis say zhe place vas old-fashioned," Kurt murmured.

"You look lost!" An young woman with longand a lean figure. "You with the summer group?"

"Um, no," Kurt quickly replied. "Ve're visiting a friend of ours; Miss ..."

"Jennifer, please." The woman smiled easily. "I only assist here; only the professors use their last name. So who are you looking for."

"Amanda Sefton; is she here?"

"Amanda?" The woman's easy smile faded. "She didn't say anything about visitors."

"Vell ... ve vere going to surprise her," Kurt managed. Remy shook his head, hiding a smirk.

"Well ... I'm not supposed to let anyone in without permission; maybe we could call her ..."

"Oh, come now, mams'elle," Remy stepped in, taking Jennifer's hand. "You wouldn't be meanin' to spoil our good friend's day by draggin' her out to de gate, now, would you?" His eyes glowing behind the sunglasses he'd donned, Remy brought her hand to his face and kissed it lightly.

Jennifer blushed and looked away. "Well ...."

"What did you just do?" Rogue demanded once the group had let themselves inside, leaving the suddenly lovestruck girl at her post.

"I got us inside, cherie; you was expectin' more?"

"Leave it, Rogue," Kurt cut in.

After one more glare at Remy for good measure, Rogue returned her attention to Kurt. "Okay, so what now?"

"Ve split up," Kurt responded immediately. "Amanda vasn't invisible; somebody had to have seen her."

[

X Jet

"How do ya wanna handle this, Chuck?"

Xavier looked over at his scowling instructor. "Logan?"

Logan's claws were already out. "If Gumbo's got 'em? I don't think we covered kidnappin' in our house rules, so we might have to improvise ...."

"That can wait until we know something more," Xavier said firmly.

"Just askin' in case; you mind if I start by ...?"

"Professor?" Jean called from the cockpit. "I think they've stopped."

[

Massachusetts Academy

This place is too wierd, Rogue thought thought as she wandered outside. So far, no sign of Amanda, just a lot of sights the creeped out even her, Rogue of the X men, who taken on hypnotists, cyborgs, and immortal gods in between school terms.

From outside, the place had struck her as some twisted version of an old-style community. As she wandered about the grounds, however, she could see people sporting suits, hair dyes, cell phones, and other gifts of the so-called modern age.

Then why all these .... living museum's? Rogue wondered as she stared at the scantily-clad toiling away in yet another field. Not far from the field lay a small crowd, gathered around what seemed to be two near-naked men wrestling in the mud ....

God! Rogue pulled her gaze away from the scene. After all she'd seen in the past few minutes, she doubted she could hate this place any more ...

"I said no!"

Rogue's head snapped toward the shout. Never mind.

"Sorry, babe; didn't hear you," a larger boy grinned as he pushed the girl behind a building.

Rogue glanced around; no one had even glanced toward the shout. You gotta be kidding, she thought as she ran after the pair.

--------------------

"Hi, I'm looking for Amada Sefton," Kurt explained to the large kid in front of him. "Do you know her?"

"Nah," the kid grunted as he stuffed another chicken wing into his bulging cheeks. "She doesn't hang around my type."

"Do you know vhere she does hang out?" Kurt pressed.

The kid's large forehead wrinkled. "Why you looking for her again?"

Kurt shook his head. "Never mind," and hurried around the corner, looking for a safe place to teleport.

After staring after Kurt for several seconds, the kid picked up his cell phone and punched in a number. "Hey, Don? It's Harry."

--------------------

"Is this seat taken?"

Several cold stares went Kitty's way as the conversation around the table died. She almost shivered.

"Who the hell are you?" hissed a dark-haired, pale-skinned girl in dark leather.

"Nightshade," cut in a scantily-clad blonde surrounded by three identical-looking girls. "Manners."

"She must be new blood," stated one of the triplets.

"We haven't seen her before."

"We would have remembered."

"Unless ...."

"Girls," the blonde interrupted in her rolling accent. Immediately, the three girls stepped back and cast their stares toward the ground.

"Uhhh ...." Kitty mumbled. "New blood?"

--------------------

"Dat's right," Remy told the dark-haired woman seated before. "I received word about dis remarkable school, mam'selle ....?"

"Tessa." The woman's set face did not change. "And you're here because ....?"

"I simply wish to enroll," Remy replied, flashing her a smile. "Trouble is, paperwork ain't my forte, so I thought I'd come her and ask how one get's started on dat."

[

X Jet

"Where are they?" Xavier asked.

"Boston." Jean pointed to the glowing dot on the radar.

"I don't get it." Scott adjusted his heading. "What are they doing there?"

[

Massachusetts Academy

"I'm just looking for a friend of mine," Kitty insisted. "Miss ...?"

"Emma. And just who would the 'friend' be?"

"Amanda Sefton. Have you seen her?" Emma's eyes flickered towards the trio behind her. "My height, brown hair, dark skin, brown eyes ....?"

"Well, that put's her at my polar opposite, doesn't it?" Emma scoffed. "Why is it you're looking for her again?" She leaned over the table and stared at Kitty

Kitty frowned. Great; I just have to run into the White Prom Queen in some medieval school. "Never mind; I better keep looking," she quickly replied, backing away from the table.

Turning around, Kitty was about to allow her contempt for the group show when she noticed a short girl with red hair, loose-fitting clothing, and a tight, worried expression staring at her. Immediately, a curious expression overtook Kitty's face.

At the same moment, the girl turned and began walking away.

--------------------

Kurt had ported into nearly a dozen hallways before he found someone who would talk to him.

Or, rather, they found him.

"Oh, hey!" Kurt managed as several boys crowded behind him,.

"Didn't see you come in," deadpanned a short, stocky boy with faint sideburns and black hair combed back, who had planted himself in the middle of the hallway.

Kurt stifled a curse. Of course they hadn't; he'd teleported inside, hoping no one had seen him. "Ehh ... I'm easy to miss," he tried, offering a nervous smile. So much for sneaking about.

--------------------

"Leave her alone!" Rogue shouted, grabbing the tall boy's wrist and elbow and spinning him toward the wall.

"Hey!" hissed a voice nearby. Looking towards the voice, Rogue started as she noticed the 'victim', now sporting long purple hair and ... was that a tail?! .... standing up glaring at Rogue. "I'm not into three-ways; find your own partner."

Rogue clenched her fists, praying to wake up from this wierd dream. "Have you forgotten the last minute?! He was trying to ...!!!"

"She wanted it rough," the boy groaned as he pulled himself up ...

Rogue immediately turned beet red and focused on the girl. "Will you tell Prince Charming to pull his pants up?!"

"That wasn't Sharon's plan ..."

"Shut up, Manuel." The girl stared at Rogue. "You must be new here."

"Don't get excited," Rogue snapped. She glanced around, as though seeing the school for the first time. "What kinda school is this?!"

--------------------

The Academy is no mere school, Mr. LeBeau," Tessa told Remy. "We offer a new way of life, a new experience." She leaned back in her chair and continued to study Remy, her face still a blank slate. "A different way of viewing the world, and your own self."

"Kinda got that impression," Remy replied, aping Tessa's posture and expression. Two could play at this game. "What I don't know is where de door is."

Tessa did not blink. "There are many doors. All of them, however, require certain ... committments before one receives the key."

"What kinda commitments?"

[

X Jet

"Can you narrow down the location?" Xavier's face had tightened up along with his voice.

Jean nodded as she began twisting dials. "Hmm; that's out of the way."

"Where are they Jean?" Xavier demanded.

"Uhhh ... Northern Boston, somewhere in Snow Valley ...."

"The Berkshire Mountains?" Ororo cut in.

Jean looked back at Xavier, who looked as though Apocalypse had paid him a visit. "Uhhh ... yeah."

"Professor?" Scott glanced at Xavier. "What's going on?"

[

Massachusetts Academy

"He looks lost," put in a large Native American boy. "You lost?"

"How'd you guess?" Kurt laughed.

"We oughtta help him out, Sab," piped up a taller blonde with mechanical arms. "How about it?"

"Well, he is lost."

"In our dorm?"

"Happens all the time, don't you remember?"

"Right, right," 'Sab' nodded, his eyes still on Kurt.

--------------------

"Wait!" Kitty called as she caught up to the shorter redhead. "What's your name?"

"Marie-Ange Colbert," the girl mumbled, her eyes still on the ground. "They call me Tarot."

Kitty took another breathe. "I saw you running earlier."

"You were chasing me."

"Yeah." Kitty took another breath; she was so out of shape. "I'm Kitty; I ran after you because ... well ... because you were running." Tarot continued her scrutiny of the ground. "You ran when I mentioned Amanda's name; do you know her?"

Tarot finally met Kitty's eyes, her own full of tears. "It's you, isn't it?"

--------------------

Tessa shrugged. "Depends on the individual; every student has their own challenge to face before enrollment." She gave Remy a hard look. "What exactly were you told about us?"

Remy shrugged. "J'st dat it was like no ot'er school." He paused, wondering how much he should pretend to know about the school. "Said you could do t'ings here dat couldn't be dreamt of in de Ivy League."

Tessa pursed her lips. "It's true that our Academy has a more .... liberal view on human interaction than most others. Nonetheless," she added, holding up a hand, "this is hardly a background for anarchy; we have our own rules, with the ... harshest penalties for infractions."

"Rules?" Remy frowned. "I seen de .... activities outside; what 'rules are dere?'"

--------------------

"You're not one of us; then why are you here?" asked Manuel.

"Make it quick," Sharon grumbled, rubbing at her long fingernails.

Rogue didn't hesitate. "I'm lookin' for Amanda Sefton."

"Sefton." Sharon hissed. "Not that I blame you, but that's only for exhibitions ...."

"Sharon!" Manuel snapped. Turning his gaze back towards Rogue, he continued. "What do you want with her?"

Rogue felt a strange urge to confide in this good-looking boy. "Her boyfriend's lookin' for her; we're gettin' her out of here."

"Sab Shaw? He's actually leaving?" Manuel's face suddenly matched Rogue's confusion.

--------------------

"Let's make this easy," Sab smiled and indicated the door at the end of the hallway behind him. "The exit is that way."

"No kidding? Thanks, guys! Have a nice life!" Kurt exclaimed as began heading towards it, only to realize the boys hadn't budged. "If you could just let me ..."

--------------------

"Scott, put everything you can spare into the engines," Xavier ordered. "Everyone else, I suggest you get into your uniforms."

"Professor ...?"

"NOW, Scott!" Xavier snapped. "We need to be there hours ago, understand?"

"It's them again, ain't it?" Logan grunted.

"I think so."

"Who?!" Scott demanded.

--------------------

"You ask a lot of questions, Monsiour LeBeau." Tessa crossed her arms. "May I ask another one?"

"By all means, mam'selle," Remy bowed his head. "Who knows; I might even answer," he grinned.

Tessa did not smile. "Who exactly referred you to us?"

Remy smiled, and leaned toward Tessa. "Just between you and me, her name's Amanda Sefton."

The stone expression stayed. "I see."

--------------------

"Shaw?" The little color in Rogue's face quickly drained as she thought of Kurt.

"Yeah, this year's Black King ... ohhh ..." Manuel looked at Rogue. "You have no idea who I'm talking about, do you?"

"Who are you again?" Sharon hissed.

--------------------

"Uuhhhh .... who's me?"

Tarot now clutched a deck of cards. "I see things; A catlike ghost ... or maybe a ghostlike cat .... "

"Huh." Beats half-pint.

"But she didn't come alone; the disappearing demon, the devil that destroys, the leech ...." Tarot's breathe quickened. ".... they all came looking for her .....!"

Kitty blinked. She's not far off ... If she had the energy to spare, Kitty knew she would be getting worried. "Are you talking about Amanda?"

--------------------

"I'm asking, Mr. Lebeau," Tessa stated as she reached under the desk, "because the Academy does not take referrals; in fact, students are strictly forbidden to recommend our school to anyone."

"Really?" Remy frowned; something was tugging at the edge of his awareness; not from Tessa, but nearby ... "How much trouble is she in?"

Tessa folded her hands on top of the desk. "You misunderstand; our students do not even hear of us."

It was getting awfully noisy behind him.

"Not until we choose them."

Remy smiled. "Ahh. Dat why you invited de entourage behind me?"

--------------------

"Is zhere a problem?" Kurt demanded.

Sab glanced at the other boys, then shrugged. "Tell you what; I'm in a good mood today, so why don't you just show us your student card and we'll send you on your way."

"My ... Ohhhhh," Kurt managed. Immediately, he began searching through his pockets while his mind searched for a solution. "Funny ... I must have left it in my dorm ..."

"Uh-huh." Sab stared at Kurt. "Then how did you get in?"

--------------------

"Never mind; I gotta go," Rogue stammered, backing away.

"Wait a minute ..." Manuel reached out and grabbed her wrist.

--------------------

"Marie." The smaller girl was pacing about the building now, her white-knuckled hands squeezing the deck. "Tarot. Do you know where she is?"

"She didn't fit in here; she was too nice to everybody." Tarot took a shaking breath. "She was the only person who told me I wasn`t crazy, that I wasn't a freak ...!"

"Crazy?"

Tarot bit her lip. "Sometimes I see things on my card; things about to happen." She shook her head fiercely. "I don't know what most of it means ...!"

"What about Amanda?" Kitty interrupted. "Do you know where she is now?"

The head continued to shake. "No ..... no, not again ...."

--------------------

"Uhhh, funny story ..."

"Never mind; I'll show myself .... hey!" Without warning, Sab's hands were on him. "Vhat are you ...?"

"Our job," Don stated, pulling a small pad out of his pocket. "Campus Security."

--------------------

"Let go!" Rogue snapped.

"Just following the rules," Sharon snapped. "All outsiders gotta see the Mistress!"

"Don't worry; she'll take good care of you," Manuel smiled. For some reason, Rogue couldn't bring herself to doubt him.

--------------------

"You have to get out of here," Tarot gasped.

Kitty blinked her suddenly heavy eyelids. " But ..."

"You're not going to find her! You're ...!" Tarot trailed off as she stared past Kitty. "No ....!"

--------------------

"Hmmm." Remy glanced at the men behind him, then at Tessa. "Dey here to escort me out?"

Tessa shook her head. "I suggest you avoid fighting; your chances of avoiding injury will be much higher."

"In a fair game." Remy stood up, one hand still on the chair. "Let me even de score."

--------------------

Manuel jumped as the sound of the explosion reached them. "What ..."

Immediately, the pleasant feelings fled Rogue, replaced by her disgust with the place, her fear for Kurt, and, more than anything, how mad she now was.

Manuel barely had a chance to cry out before the gloved fist slammed into his jaw.

As Manuel fell, Rogue heard a now-familiar snarl behind her, and instinctively spun, arcing her heel towards the sound in a hook kick.

Unfortunately, the kick missed high, as Sharon was now crouched on the ground, her mouth set in a snarl baring long, filed teeth.

"Don't even think ...."

Sharon pounced.

--------------------

"You hear that?"

Sab's grip lessened slightly as he turned toward the sound. "Someone's gonna .... aagghhh!" he suddenly cried as Kurt's heel slammed into his chin.

"Goodbye," Kurt called as he flipped back, and ported in midair.

--------------------

Remy dived to one side as the chair exploded, only to find himself amidst another crowd. Never a short game he thought as he whipped out his staff.

--------------------

"Wait ...." Kitty moaned as Tarot turned away and began to run. She was so tired.

"Hush," whispered a cold voice behind her. As Kitty dropped to her knees, the woman continued. "Sleep ...."

[

"This was a school?" For the first time in all of Kurt's many visits, the priest sounded shocked.

"Not exactly ..."

[

X Jet

"Another school?" Scott risked a look at his professor.

Xavier nodded, his expression dark. "Yes. Before I even found either of you, I was in contact with others who ..." he looked at his lap, ".... I believed had a similar mission."

"You mean helping mutants?"

"That's what I thought; together, we decided that there should be a second school; another haven for mutants, just in case .... the worst occurred."

"I was your age, then," Ororo put in. "Several of my classmates transferred to the new school."

"So why haven't we heard from them?" Scott frowned. "I don't remember them appearing on the news; or helping us out in any way."

Xavier sighed. "We had a falling out."

"Y'ask me, it was more like a blow-out," Logan grunted as he joined them in the cockpit, rubbing his extended blades together. "They locked their doors, burned their welcome mats, and, for good measure, gave me a little ... reminder."

Jean was sure she could not turn any paler. "Why?"

Xavier rubbed his forehead. "I don't know; they told me they had found a new student living on her own; someone named Selene, I believe." He shook his head sharply. "Within the week, they cut off all contact. We tried paying a visit, much as Kurt seems to be doing now."

"Professor?" By now, even the skies looked grim to Jean. "What did they do?"

"Long and short, Red," Logan snarled, clenching his fists. "They don't like visitors, and they don't pull their punches when they deal with 'em."

Behind his visor, Scott's eyes widened. "Kurt ...."

[

Massachusetts Academy

"Rogue!"

Rogue gasped as she turned toward the voice. Since the tussle with Sharon, which had ended with the girl unconscious and herself sporting a tail, sharpened nails, and a strange desire to find a ball of string, she had been running, trying to stay out of sight. One mob this month was more than enough for her.

"Vast ....!" A pair of yellow eyes widened before a blue furry hand reached out and pulled her behind the nearby building.

"Kurt!" Almost forgetting her deadly skin, Rogue grabbed her sibling in a fierce embrace. "Are you okay? What happened?!"

"Me? Vhat about you?" Kurt looked his sister over.

"Cat trouble." Kurt continued to stare. "Couple o' kids tried to drag me into their detention." Rogue shuddered.

"Must run in zhe family." Kurt rubbed his shoulders. "By now, zhe whole school's probably looking for us."

"Well, can you get us outta here?"

"Ja, I zhink so." Kurt peeked around the corner of the building. "Vhat about Kitty and Gambit?"

"Gawd." Rogue suddenly turned cold at the thought of her roommate and, well, Gambit in the middle of the loony bin she had just explored. "We gotta find 'em."

Kurt nodded. "Ve just better stay out of sight; vith Sab and his posse on zhe prowl ...."

"Sab?!" Rogue looked back at Kurt. "Sab Shaw?"

"He didn't give me a last name .... vhy?" Kurt asked, noticing Rogue tighten her lips.

"Nevah mind," Rogue quickly replied, turning away from Kurt. "Any idea where .... ack!" Kurt had ported directly in front of her. "Kurt, Ah thought Ah ...!"

"Who's Sab Shaw?" Kurt crossed his arms.

"Ah don't know; Ah never met the guy!" Rogue insisted.

"You know his first and last name; vhere did you hear it?"

"Kurt, now ain't the tahme ....!"

"For vhat? Zhe truth?" Kurt took another step toward Rogue. "Vhat are you hiding from me now?"

"Kurt." Rogue shook her head, her eyes already brimming with tears. "Don't ..."

Kurt grabbed Rogue's arms. "WHO'S SHAW?!!"

"AMANDA'S BOYFRIEND!!!!" Rogue yelled back.

The furry arms dropped like stones.

"Kurt, Ah'm sorry ...." Rogue tried as he slowly turned away. "Kurt?"

Kurt could barely hear her. There was only one voice he was hearing now.

"Did you know blue is my favourite colour?"

Kurt stumbled away from Rogue; even porting seemed too much for him. His memories of Amanda, , the hopes she'd brought him, everything that been crashed by Rogue's two words.

"I want them to meet the real you anyway!"

Kurt forced himself to take a breath. The real him?! Had he ever come close to knowing the real her all these years?! Or had it been all lies?

"They don't know you like I do!"

Kurt shook his head. I didn't know you either, Amanda.

Then he looked across the yard. Or maybe I did ... then ...

Rogue followed his gaze. "Kurt, don't ...."

Kurt disappeared.

--------------------

Sebastian Shaw looked over his shoulder as the scent reached him. "You people are hard to find," he smirked.

[

X Jet

"Charles, that might be difficult," Hank replied warily.

"Why? You've informed everyone, have you not?"

"Oh, yes," Hank looked over his shoulder at the assembled students. "And believe me; they're ready and raring to go, but ..."

"We don't have time to debate this, Hank; just see that they're ready within the hour!!"

"And get them there how?" Hank demanded. "In case it slipped your notice, we're short all of our aircraft, and to get there in the time you're talking about ...!!!"

"Taken care of, Furball," Logan growled, snapping his own cell phone shut as he joined Xavier at the comm. "I called in a favour."

[

Massachusetts Academy

"So you are one of the X men." Shaw made a point of looking Kurt up and down, the smirk still on his face. "Why am I not impressed?"

"I'm not here to impress you." Kurt's face held tight glare he rarely wore. "I vant to know vhat you did to Amanda."

Shaw's face seemed to light up. "Oh; that's all?" He glanced around at the students that had begun closing in on Kurt. "And I'm supposed to know because ....?"

Kurt continued to glare at Shaw, then reached into his pocket and tossed the photograph towards Shaw.

Shaw glanced at the photograph. "Ohhh, I get it now." Aiming the photograph at Kurt, he continued. "You're Sefton's knight in blue, furry armor?" He laughed at the thought, drawing giggles from the students nearby. Within seconds, the laughter had spread throughout the entire crowd.

Kurt did not even crack a smile. "Just tell me vhere Amanda is, and I'll leave you all to .... vhatever it is you do around here," he grimaced.

Shaw laughed again. "Hey, pawns! I think this plush toy just gave a challenge!" The laughter spread again.

"Challenge?" Kurt shook his head. "Your title means nothing to me; just give me Amanda."

"Well maybe you haven't figured a few things out." The mirth fled Shaw's face. "This isn't your preppy, pampered hotel with handouts and free admission; up here ...." Shaw shook his head. "Every day is a fight."

"There's no giving around here; no holding back," added Emma.

"We gotta earn all rewards here," mumbled Harry, stuffing another donut into his mouth.

Kurt looked toward the crowd, then towards Shaw. "Is zhat zheir rule or yours?"

Shaw laughed, then followed Kurt's gaze. "HELLIONS! WHAT'S THE WORD?!" he suddenly roared.

The response was immediate. "NO LIMITS! NO RESTRAINTS! AND ABSOLUTELY NO MERCY!"

Shaw sneered at Kurt. "Believe me now?"

Kurt snorted humorlessly. "Didn't say I cared."

"Oh, right, I forgot: you're the X men, on call to hold the hand, clean up the mess, and wipe the nose for any human bigot crying uncles; is that it?"

"You don't know us at all."

"Oh, please," Emma scoffed. "You lot appear on the sodding news so often, there's precious little we don't know about you."

"Don't believe everything you hear."

"And what do you know about us?" Shaw countered, raising an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

Kurt blinked. "Frankly, I'm not interested."

Shaw threw up his arms. "And yet here you stand, high horse and all." His brow furrowed. "All right, tell you what: you and the skunk-head go out whatever way you came in, and we'll forget the whole thing. Fair enough?"

"I'm not leaving vithout mein freundes." Shaw looked at Kurt with what might have been astonishment. "All of zhem."

Shaw snapped his fingers, cueing the students closest to Kurt to move in and grab his arms.

Except Kurt wasn't there anymore.

Instead, he was right next to Shaw, grabbing his arm before porting again.

"My turn to talk," Kurt began before pushing the shocked Shaw to the roof he'd ported to. "I grew up vith zhis face; I vas dodging mobs like yours before I learned how to talk." He ported again, appearing directly next to Shaw before shoving him to the ground. "Mobs don't scare me anymore; now vhere did you put my friends?"

Shaw spat on the ground as he pulled himself to his feet. "Thanks for sharing." He looked directly at Kurt. "Here's my quid quo pro."

"Nobody here has what you call friends. And you know why?" Shaw glared at Kurt. "'Cause they don't exist. They're out of date; meaningless; frauds; today's worst joke." He took a step toward Kurt. "Do you realize how easy it can be for someone to ... just forget the people they call friends?!"

Kurt crossed his arms. "Gambit. Kitty. Amanda. Vhere are zhey?!"

"Here, we don't buy in. We don't bother with friends; they either die or move on anyway!" Shaw threw out his arms. "I figure; why get drawn in? Everyone has enough to handle with themselves; why stack up the drama with anyone else?"

"Vhere?!"

"Don't believe me? Here's an example." Shaw held up the photo of Amanda. "When she first came here, all she ever talked about was that blue fuzzy dude. But, it was only a week before she started leaving that cheap photo in her room." Shaw grinned and began pulling off his rumpled jacket. "And only another month till he didn't get mentioned."

Kurt's eyes glowed.

"Truth is, X Man, she was pretty tired of the baggage you came with." Shaw threw his jacket on the floor and began loosening his shirt. "I don't know whether it was the face, the fights, the parents .... hell, I didn't much care." Shaw continued to leer at Kurt. "What can I say? She needed an alternative, and I gave her one." Shaw paused to study Kurt's glowering face. "What? You want details?"

Before Shaw could blink, Kurt was at his side, driving a furry fist into his jaw.

--------------------

"Show him, Sab!" Don yelled.

Still hiding behind the nearby building, Rogue muttered a few choice words. Remind me to kill that fuzzy once I save him from his mess. She took another peek. Assuming I can sneak past that crowd ...

Her thoughts did not go unnoticed.

In the midst of the crowd, Emma Frost glanced over her shoulder as the strange psychic impression hit her. "So predictable."

--------------------

Shaw grunted as Kurt's spinning heel slammed into his jaw, spinning him full circle before he finally collapsed. "You demon," he gasped, climbing to his feet.

Without a word, Kurt dove towards Shaw. Ready this time, Shaw grabbed Kurt's arms and twisted, hurling his opponent over the edge of the building and toward the ground.

Shaw grinned and bowed slightly toward the gathered students below. Before he could straighten up, something slammed into his back, driving his bow the rest of the way to the ground. "Not yet."

--------------------

Rogue suddenly felt very heavy.

It wasn't often she gave her weight much thought; other than some not-too-flattering photos displayed the day mutants were outed, and her more recent spill in the basement of the Brotherhood home, her size rarely bothered her.

Then again, it had never driven her to the ground like a dead weight.

Rogue grunted in surprise and pain as the ground seemed to slam into her suddenly immobile body. Who ...?!

"There's a good boy, Leland," cooed a soft voice behind her.

Never mind. Rogue gritted her teeth and tried to lift her head.

"I think she's still awake," mumbled the boy still behind her. "Are you in her mind, yet?"

"Yes ... it's rather crowded .... oh, don't bother saying it, Leland; brute force it is."

Before darkness claimed her, Rogue could have sworn she saw diamonds.

--------------------

A furry foot lashed out, catching Shaw in the side of the face as he tried to struggle to his feet. By now, blood seemed to run from Shaw's blackened eyes, mouth, and nose.

Kurt found himself unable to care.

Violence was not something that came easy to him; as a born-again Catholic, he had been raised learning the concepts of sin and the danger of temptation. He had fought when he had too, but never with this almost desperate urge to hurt, to draw blood, to assault without mercy. It was one thing he'd never understood about his adopted sister; how she could hate their mother enough to try and utterly destroy her. She had wronged and betrayed him as well, yet he'd never found himself hating her as Rogue obviously had.

Now, as he straddled an unresisting Shaw and began raining blows on his still-smirking face, it occurred to him that maybe he was no stronger or better than his sister;

Mystique had simply missed. Shaw hadn't.

Grabbing Shaw's blood-soaked collar, Kurt glared at Shaw. "I'm not a demon; but I can be one." Pulling Shaw to his feet, Kurt continued. "Vhat's it going to be?"

Despite his lips being cracked in several places, Shaw smiled. "Whoo! I think I was wrong about you; you'd fit right in here; what do you say?"

"Wrong answer." Sulphur filled Shaw's vision.

"Ve're two miles up!" Kurt shouted as he gripped the now-falling Shaw. "I can stop our descent, if you tell me vhere you put Amanda!" He waited several seconds as Shaw continued to leer without a word. "Keep playing zhis game, it'll be your last vone!"

Shaw began to laugh. "And here I thought you were one of the good guys."

Kurt looked at the approaching ground then at Shaw. The good guys .... His grip began to soften.

Without warning, Shaw grabbed Kurt's wrists and effortlessly threw Kurt away.

Panic suddenly filled Kurt's being. On instinct, he ported toward the ground, then frantically began scanning the skies for Shaw ...

He was already looking too high.

Shaw's body slammed face first into the ground, with only a muffled thud marking the impact.

No. That moment, Kurt forgot his disgust with this school, his simmering anger at the Professor, his fear for his friends; all of it was overwhelmed with his horror at what he'd done. Mystique, I've made you proud.

Running towards the prone, unmoving Shaw, he noticed none of the other students had moved. "Vhat's wrong vith you people?!" he yelled as he knelt next to Shaw. They all stood and stared, several trying to suppress their snickers. "He needs ...!"

"Whoa ...." came an all-too familiar voice below him. Shaking his head, Shaw sat up before an astonished Kurt. "That tingles!"

Suddenly, Shaw's fist slammed into Kurt's gut with more force than he'd felt all his life, driving him through the air, into something hard, and into blackness.

--------------------

Several hours later, the lighting hadn't improved; Kurt could not see a thing, and the only signs that he was conscious were the faint breeze ruffling his fur and the straps of leather tied tightly around his limbs.

"Don't struggle."

Kurt jerked his head about, even though he could see nothing through the cloth. Ignoring the soft, cold voice, he began to pull at the straps.

The sudden, stinging pain as something struck his chest put a stop to that. "Don't make me repeat myself."

Kurt, despite the pain coursing through him, closed his eyes and focused on the power that had come naturally to him since childhood.

"And don't bother trying to 'port'," the woman continued, a slight sneer in her voice. "I know something of that accursed realm you sneak through; rest assured, I have those doors shut tight."

Kurt looked toward the voice, gasping through his pain-wracked chest. "Wh-who are you?"

He heard a slight rasp that might have been a chuckle. "Ohh, I've been called many names. To those pagans on those godforsaken island, I was a goddess. To those hypocritical emperors and the mobs at their feet, I was the devil herself." She was circling him now, her voice rising.. "To another self-righteous mob with their pitchforks and stakes, I was a witch that needed to be purged." Kurt suddenly felt a cold hand cupping his furry chin. "Now, I am known to my charges as 'Mistress.'"

And I thought the Xavier Institute was insane. Kurt took another wheezing breathe. "Vhere are mein freundes?" The lady released his chin and continued to circle. "Vhat have you done vith zhem? Vhat have you done vith her?!!!"

Another slap on the chest greeted him. "What makes you think you have the authority to interrogate me?" He could hear her walk away from him. "This isn't your school, X-Brat; you are the intruders here; you brought this on yourselves!"

"You ... took Amanda ..." he retorted hoarsely.

"Took her?" There was no mistaking the laugh that reached Kurt's ears now. "Boy ... she came to us! She was looking for somewhere to hide; we never bothered asking why." She stepped back toward Kurt again. "If it helps any, she turned out to be one of my best pupils."

"You're lying ..."

"You seem so certain ....." The voice trailed off as though she had heard something in the distance. "You fell for her .... how stupid of you."

Kurt looked away. "Zhat's none of your business."

"Come now; no one has secrets here; can you say the same about Xavier?"

Kurt couldn't find a reply; after all, Xavier never had gotten around to telling him about his past ....

"You know," the woman continued, "if you desperately wish to see Amanda, there may be a way in ..."

"Vhat?" Kurt asked, a little too eagerly.

"Ohh, it won't be easy; some rather painful penance will be required; a year's probation, i'd say...."

"Vait," Kurt interrupted. "You vant me to join your school?!" Kurt almost laughed. "X men. In your little .... Hell?"

A short laugh escaped Selene. "Hell is simply the prison we build in our minds when we cannot live with our own actions." Her voice remaining even, she continued. "And you should know that several of my children were Xavier's; at least until they abandoned that pathetic way of living; if you can call it that ...."

"I don't believe you." Kurt looked away from Selene's voice. "And I'm not interested; I'm not who you think I am."

"You look like someone who cast my student from a certainly fatal height, after beating him within an inch of his life, if not for his .... unique stamina," she purred. "You looked like a killer."

"I'm an X man ...!"

"And yet you are running from them!" Selene chuckled. "Are you sure you are still one of them? Is that what you still believe, when they haven't even followed you here?"

"I know I'm not interested in your offer," he spat.

"You rest your faith in strange places, Wagner." The voice now rose. "Why do you insist on remaining a foot soldier for a telepathic megalomaniac who won't even share your own past with you?!"

Kurt snapped his face back towards Selene. "Vhat do you know about my past?"

"Quite a bit." A cold hand rested on his chest. "There are no secrets here; here, you can find your answers instead of waiting for them. Here, you have a chance to assert your own will, instead following someone elses. And ..." Kurt could feel cold breathe hit his face. "Amanda would be yours, once you were strong enough to take her."

Take her.

Kurt closed his eyes, thinking about the months he'd been separated from Amanda; about how empty he'd felt when he thought he'd lost her.

He thought about what Selene was offering; a way to see Amanda again, to be with her, to ...

Take her.

Kurt looked towards Selene's voice. "I've looked like a demon all my life."

"That's no shame around here."

Kurt turned away. "But I zhought I could be somezhing else; somezhing better, more ... human." He snorted, remembering the years of hiding, the mobs, the shocked looks. "I thought maybe I deserved it, for looking zhe vay I did. But I kept telling myself I vasn't zhe demon."

"Hmm. And what were you out in the schoolyard."

Kurt took a deep breathe. "A monster."

"Yes ....?" Her voice was rising.

His face tightened. "I don't vant to see it again."

The woman was silent for several seconds. "Not even for your Amanda?"

"My Amanda isn't who you're talking about." Kurt didn't blink. "She doesn't belong here eizher."

"How very disappointing."

Without warning, pain lanced through every nerve in Kurt's body, drawing a scream from him. "Would you like to step down yet?" Kurt just gritted his teeth and looked away. "No? Not in this lifetime?" The pain hit him again, for another ten agonizing seconds. "Your choice; I will simply wait for the next one." Something hot pressed into his shoulder. "In the meantime, you owe us some more answers."

Kurt finally began to scream.

--------------------

Shaw looked up as Kurt's scream reached him. "Well, that only took an hour," he muttered, fingering his bruised nose.

"Poor baby."

"Shut it, Emma," he snapped, glaring her way. Hearing snickers to his left, he sent his glare toward Harry and Donald. "What?"

Harry shrugged, while Donald grinned back at him. "We were just remembering today's entertainment."

"Not everyday we see the Black King get owned by an X Man," Harry mumbled.

"Maybe you weren't paying attention," Shaw grumbled, clenching his fists. "That freak was mine."

"Oh, please," Emma scoffed. "The furry had you on the ropes the whole time."

"Bull!" Shaw was on his feet now. "He was done the minute he laid his hands on me!" He glared at the other three. "Don't forget that."

Donald and Harry quickly looked away, while Emma rolled her eyes and leaned back. "So, moving on; what do you think she'll want to do with the other three?" she asked, indicating the three bound forms next to the building.

Shaw shrugged. "Don't know; might have a few ideas of my own, though ....."

"What's going on?"

Shaw glanced over her shoulder. "Nothing, girl; Inner Circle business."

"No pawns allowed!" Emma snapped, her eyes narrowed.

The visitor, who had remained in the shadows, crossed her arms. "Didn't know you were meeting here; who're they?" she asked, pointing toward the bound X men. Rogue, the only one conscious, widened her eyes as she recognized the voice.

"Ohh, don't go pretending you don't recognize them," Emma said snidely.

The girl looked at Rogue, who was glaring furiously back at her. "So they are here."

"Yeah, Selene's with the fuzzy one now ... hey!" Harry exclaimed as Donald shoved a metallic elbow into his rib. Seconds later, another scream was heard.

"Oh." The girl stood silently for several seconds. "Well, tell her I said hi."

"I doubt she'll care," Emma sneered.

"Ooohhh, step back," Donald whispered.

"Do you ever quit?"

"Diamonds never yield."

"They do with the right force."

"Are you offering?"

"No." The shadows hid her scowl. "Some of us actually sleep at night." With one more glance toward the screams, she turned around and headed for her dorm.

"Sweet dreams!" Emma called after her.

"None from you, I take it?"

Emma scowled at the retreating figure.

"And they call themselves the 'fairer sex'," Shaw mumbled.

[

X Jet

"Massachusetts Academy?" Logan had never thought it possible, but, over the vid link, Fury's scowl seemed to deepen. "Your school has a nose for trouble, Logan."

"So you know about them."

"I make it my business to know, Logan. I don't do all my work when you're around."

Logan scratched at his suddenly itching knuckles. "So who's your source?"

"Need to know." Tossing away his used-up cigar, Fury reached into his pocket and continued. "And, right now, all you need to know is that my jets are at the school and ready to ferry your kids over." Placing a new cigar in his mouth, Fury glared at Logan. "Just gotta ask: am I gonna need extra forces for this mutant school-game?"

"We're not goin' for a throw-down, Patch," Logan growled. "Just to be clear, we're gonna ask nicely."

"I feel better already," Fury deadpanned. As he lit up, Fury added. "Oh, and one more condition: your clone sits this one out."

[

Xavier Institute

"WHAT!"

"Sorry, Laura." Hank shrugged helplessly. "Fury was adamant; either you stay home or we don't get our ride."

SNIKT

"I'm not afraid of Fury," Laura growled, aiming her claws toward Hank.

Hank sighed. "I don't doubt that; however, given that we're sharing this extremely dire mission with our former compatriots, who I need not mention are also your former adversaries, in addition to the fact that the general lack of knowledge concerning your existence (or lack thereof,) is one of the key reasons SHIELD is not pounding at our door, it is absolutely essential that, for the sake of this mission, and our comrades who depend on this mission, that you cease and desist, be a good girl, AND STAY RIGHT HERE!!!!"

Laura stared at Hank without a word, her arm still frozen in place.

"Glad you understand," Hank cheerfully stated before patting Laura on the shoulder and racing outside toward the descending helijets.

Laura stared after him. What am I supposed to do?!

[

Massachusetts Academy

"Wretched, stubborn, excuse of a human being!"

Shaw looked up as Headmistress Selene stalked into their gathering. "Mistress ....?"

"That plush toy is boring me all too quickly."

"Really?" asked Emma. "It sounded like a blast ..."

"He screams, then stares, then screams and stares again; he won't beg, won't even say a word ...."

Shaw discreetly put a finger to his lips, right before Donald asked, "Do you wish a ... rest, Mis-"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Selene declared, firing a life-draining blast toward Donald. "I haven't rested for thousands of years; why ever would I start now; I'm trying to enjoy myself!" Donald was too busy gasping for breathe to continue.

Others were not so busy. "So he knows nothing?" Emma asked, looking almost bored by the scene.

"Were you listening, child?" Selene's fingers and eyes shifted toward Emma. "I said he wouldn't talk." She took a step toward Emma. "What he knows, or thinks he knows, however ...?"

Emma's face shifted from boredom to contempt. "I tried; he has mental blocks in his brain. First-class."

"Xavier." Selene narrowed her eyes. "I thought you were past him; "

"Oh, I am far past him," Emma sneered. "But there is still no living telepath on the planet more powerful than him. I can remove these blocks; it will simply take more time."

"How much?"

"Maybe we don't need her," Shaw cut in smoothly. "I mean, Donald here isn't the only one here with buttons to push."

"They push back, man ...."

"Bring it on." Shaw turned back toward the two women. "You taught us yourself, Mistress: everybody's got a weak point, something we can exploit. Correct?"

"You have been paying attention." Selene crossed her arms, her expression now thoughtful. "Where's the bitch Sefton?"

[

"Sounds as though you landed in Hell."

Kurt scoffed. "Close enough."

"And you never found her, did you?"

"No."

"Well." The priest's voice had risen. "I hate to repeat myself, but I did mention the dangers one invites when taking matters into their own ..."

"She found me."

[

Kurt?

Kurt moaned and rolled his head away from the noise.

Kurt, wake up.

He was dreaming. That was the only explanation. No way he could possibly be hearing ...

"KURT!!"

Kurt gasped and opened his eyes. When he noticed the shadow bending over him, instinct took over and he pushed himself upward, tackling the figure and driving it into the ground.

"Kurt, stop!"

Kurt froze upon hearing the voice. It couldn't be ....

Kurt's thoughts were interrupted by a shove from the figure beneath him, which sent him rolling several feet before coming to a full stop. Taking a pained breathe, he raised his eyes toward the figure, praying what he'd heard was real ... "Amanda?"

"Oh god, Kurt ..." The beautiful face that he'd been missing for the past few months was suddenly very close to him as she wrapped him in a tight embrace. Unable to form any coherent thoughts, Kurt returned the embrace, despite the flaring pain in his ribs and shoulders.

"Are you all right? Did she hurt you?" Amanda demanded, pulling slightly away from Kurt to look him over while keeping her hands on his shoulders.

"How ..."

"John warned me; said some Xaviers were being held on campus."

"Campus ...?" Kurt stared back at Amanda as his memories of the day returned to their terrible coherency. "Vhat's going on, Amanda?"

Amanda shook her head. "It's a long story," she answered as she rose to her feet.

Kurt pulled her back down. "I can vait."

"No, we can't!" Slipping an arm under her shoulder, Amanda pulled Kurt to his feet. "She could be back any second now; we have to get out of here!"

Kurt pulled away. "Rogue and Kitty ...."

"They're with the Inner Circle, along with some other guy." Releasing him, Amanda fixed him with a pointed glare. "Kurt, we can't help them ourselves; we need to get in touch with Xavier and get the X men over here ...."

"I need," Kurt snapped, glaring back at Amanda, "to know who I'm talking to."

He had never seen her look so hurt. "Kurt?"

"It's been a month, Amanda; a month since you've even said a word to me, since you even pretended to know I existed." Kurt crossed his arms as he backed away from Amanda, his lip trembling slightly. "And it took only took me a few hours of zhat to hear about your new teacher and ... and your new boyfriend."

Amanda's arms seemed to drop. "Giving up on me now, Kurt?" she asked, tears rimming her eyes.

"Vhat's to give up on?" Kurt stopped backing away. "I don't even know you anymore!"

Amanda looked away. "You don't want to know, Kurt ..."

"But I do!" Kurt snapped. "Have I ever kept anything from you?!"

Amanda stared at Kurt for several seconds before turning her back on him and walking away.

"Amanda ..." Kurt called, but shhe was already stopping and pointing toward the way she had come.

"Have you seen this place, Kurt?" Kurt nodded. "Have you lived here?" Amanda stepped toward Kurt. "This isn't the Institute; do you know what it takes to survive a single day here?!" Amanda had never looked so angry.

Kurt looked at Amanda, his face ashen. "Vhat ....?"

"No, don't ask, Kurt; you don't want to know." Amanda shook her head and turned away from Kurt, wrapping her arms around herself. "You don't want to know what they do here; what I've done ....!!!" Her shoulders began to shake.

Words escaped Kurt for the moment; instead, he walked up behind Amanda and put a furry hand on each of her shoulders.

Amanda shook her head sharply. "Kurt, no ...."

Ignoring her, Kurt moved closer and wrapped his arms around her.

"Kurt," Amanda mumbled, struggling half-heartedly against his embrace. "Let go; I'm done ...."

Leaning toward her, he whispered into her ear.

"Have I ever given up on us before?"

Her face tightened as the tears flowed freely. Suddenly she twisted in his hold, burying her face in his shoulder and wrapping her arms around his back. "I wish you did."

Kurt shook his head. "Sorry; no can do."

Amanda chuckled into his shoulder, then looked up at him. "You know blue is still my favourite color?"

"How sweet."

Kurt's blood went cold as he looked towards the voice.

"You ask me, child, it's positively sickening," remarked the older woman standing at the head of the crowd, all dressed in black tights and plastic, expressionless masks, that had gathered at the edge of the woods.

"It's Selene," whispered Amanda, looking as though the school dance demons were paying another visit.

Without a word, Kurt tightened his hold on Amanda and closed his eyes.

Selene sighed. "Leaving already? Without even a farewell?"

Kurt shook his head. "Not to you," he growled.

"She didn't mean you."

Kurt whipped his face around and was confronted by a glaring Shaw with another crowd of masked students behind him, several groups dragging ....

Kurt released Amanda and stared in horror as the kids shoved three bodies before him. To his left stood a bruised and bloodied Remy, with his arms tied to a shaft pinned across his shoulders. Next to him lay Rogue, her deadly hands tightly in heavy cloth and bound behind her back. Finally, next to Rogue lay Kitty, who wasn't bound at all; she seemed to be in a coma.

Kurt spun toward Selene. "Vhat did you do to zhem?!"

Selene shrugged. "We defended ourselves. Your friends, much like you, were trespassing on our grounds, harassing our students, never mind destroying our hall!" She cast a malevolent glare at Gambit, who stared back impassively.

Kurt looked back toward his sister, his best friend, his .... well, housemate. "You don't vant us here? Fine; kick us out already; ve von't come here again ...."

"Oh, it doesn't work that way here." Selene slowly shook her head. "Hasn't your girlfriend clued you in, yet?"

Kurt looked over at Amanda, who had her hands behind her back and her eyes cast toward the ground. "No one leaves the Mistress, Kurt." She was already backing away towards Selene's group. "Not without soft shoes handy."

Soft shoes ...

"No?" Kurt looked back at Selene. "Watch me."

"Take him."

The rough hands were on Kurt before he could convince his still-pained body to move. Desperately, he swung his still-free legs about, downing several others before those limbs were seized also.

Selene walked up to the struggling Kurt. "You have five minutes for fun; then, he is to be left to me. Understood?"

"Yes, Mistress," they all replied in unison, seconds before the first fist crashed into his jaw. And then an elbow followed, knocking him from their collective grip and into the ground. And then the blows continued.

Though she wasn't allowing it to show, Amanda Sefton was afraid. Showing fear, or any emotion that wasn't demanded of you, made you a target in this place. Since her parents had sent her here, buying into the so-called 'sanctuary', she had quickly learned how to blend in, how to bury the Amanda Sefton she had grown up as so that Amanda Sefton could survive.

Now, as she watched her fellow classmates whoop and yell as they attacked the prone, helpless Kurt, she began to wonder whether she'd survived at all.

"Full of surprises, aren't we?" Emma remarked as she stepped behind Amanda.

Amanda shrugged. "I grew up in Bayville, Emma." She crossed her arms behind her back and turned slightly. "We lived with surprises."

Without warning, a shimmering beam shot from Amanda's hands, striking Emma in the midsection and driving her back into the crowd. Immediately, she turned and fired a flurry of mystic blasts toward Selene. Without waiting to see them hit, she ran towards the mob assaulting Kurt and fired toward their heads, driving them to the floor.

A battered Kurt looked up in time to see Amanda, his grilfriend that he'd come to rescue, gesture towards the group behind her before the entire crowd itself seemed to swim out of focus. "Woah."

Amanda's head snapped toward him. "Kurt?" She rushed over and knelt next to him. "Are you ...?"

"Zhat ..." he breathed weakly, "vas too cool."

Amanda grinned. "More to talk about?"

"Deal. After ve leave."

"Dea ....." Amanda's reply was cut short as her expression twisted and she began to scream.

"Pathetic." Selene walked up next to Amanda, gesturing slightly. "I've spent lifetimes perfecting what I've shared in class." She gestured again, drawing another spasm from Amanda. "After all these years, you dare attack your teacher?!!!!" She sharply cut through the air with her ridge hand, and Amanda dropped to the ground.

Amanda gritted her teeth and rolled to face Selene. Energy gathered around her hands.

"Oh, spare us." In the next instant, Amanda was facedown on the ground, her body shaking from Selene's latest attack.

Kurt shuddered at the sight and pulled himself to his feet.

Selene knelt next to Amanda. "It seems you're in need of a new teacher." Amanda's eyes widened.

As though sensing her fear, Kurt lunged with unexpected speed. "LEAVE HER ALONE!"

One of the masked figures stepped in his way, and was rewarded with a furry elbow to the bridge of the nose. The figure fell, and two more fell in behind him.

Selene grabbed Amanda by her hair as she gestured toward the ground in front of them. "Sshhh, I think they're waiting." Sulphur began forming around Amanda.

Panic overrode Kurt's being. "NO!" he yelled, knocking another attacker to the ground and running toward the two women.

Selene pulled Amanda's face close to hers. "Anything to say, child?"

Instead of answering, Amanda locked her eyes on Kurt as he struggled with another pair of students. "Kurt ..."

"AMANDA!" Kurt screamed as he drove a furry fist into another attacker's jaw and raced towards her.

Selene finally noticed him. "Oh, for the love of ..." She made another gesture.

Kurt's nerves seemed to catch fire as Selene's attack hit him. He screamed, and doubled over, clutching his stomach. For scant seconds, all coherent thought fled his mind. Everything he'd learned, from his parents, his priests, his instructors at the Institute; every idea he'd committed himself to; every person he'd committed to; even his reasons for coming to this hellish school; all of it blurred behind the intense pain.

For a second.

Then he looked at Amanda.

That second ended.

Gnashing his teeth, Kurt took another step.

Selene sighed. "And I used to pray for long nights." She tightened her hold on Amanda's hair. "You're late, anyway."

Amanda reached a glowing hand out towards Kurt as the sulphur around her continued to build. "Kurt, I...."

And then she was gone.

The same instant, Kurt strength gave out and he collapsed. Where Amanda had lay, where the sight that had filled some of his happiest memories, that had driven him into Selene's blast, there only remained the ground beneath her and a few wisps of sulphur.

Gone ...

He didn't look up as Selene approached. "Vhat could you vant from me now?"

He could almost feel her studying him. "Nothing, actually." She then looked towards her gathered Inner Circle. "They're all yours." Without another glance, she turned and stalked back into the darkness.

Shaw smirked and looked around at his fellow members. "Any takers?"

Any response was cut short as something exploded in their midst, knocking them in all directions.

Tossing away the remains of the broken shaft, Remy rushed over toward Kurt and gave him a shove. "You awake dere, homme?" Kurt didn't move. Remy shrugged. "Your funeral; by de way, y'femme's a helluva shot." Without pause, he leapt to his feet and ran towards Rogue and Kitty.

Kurt looked at where Amanda had been, his mind suddenly racing. The sight of Amanda reaching out in her last moments. Reaching out for ...

Remy ran as a glowering Shaw rose to his feet. "You slimy, inbred, backwater hick!" he sputtered.

Reaching out ...

Remy's boots slammed into Shaw's midsection, a move that only seemed to spur the shorter mutant on. Without pause, Shaw grabbed at Remy's legs and swung him around.

Kurt blinked. She'd been reaching past him.

Gambit grunted as several steel fingers wrapped around his throat and lifted him off the ground. Quickly, he grabbed at Donald's metallic shoulder.

Kurt looked at the broken, discarded shaft. She'd been aiming at Gambit.

Donald howled as his shoulder exploded, separating his arm from his body. "Do you know what that cost me?!!!" Instead of answering, Remy swung the now glowing arm into Pierce, sending him catapulting back into the woods.

Kurt looked back towards the fight. In her last moments, Amanda had used the last of her power to give them a fighting chance.

Remy grunted as Harry's attack hit him, driving him to the ground like a dead weight.

What about standing by your friends? Kurt looked at his helpless teammates, then at the ground he'd sat upon the entire time.

Shaw gave Remy a kick in the ribs. "He is heavy," he chuckled.

"And you called my power lame," Harry mumbled.

"How about mine?"

Harry blinked as he found a furry demon dropping onto his large frame. By instinct, he aimed his force upward.

He instantly regretted it.

"Hey! No fair; get off!" he grunted.

"You're .... not .... making ..... zhat .... easy!" Kurt grunted, straining to lift the extra weight he suddenly carried.

"All right, all right!" Harry moaned as he let go.

Shaw shook his head. "This is just embarassing," he muttered before he stepped toward a still-prone Remy. Suddenly he found himself surrounded by sulphuric smoke. "Hey! What ..."

BAMF!

"... do ..."

BAMF!

"... you ..."

BAMF!

"... think ..."

BAMF!

"... you're ..."

BAMF!

"... doing?!" Shaw finished as the sulphuric smoke finally cleared. Looking around, he immediately realized he was nowhere near the Academy.

"Better get back to school," Kurt remarked as he leaped off the tall building he had left Shaw on.

"Hey!" Shaw snarled as Kurt vanished yet again. Where am I?

--------------------

"Gambit!" Rogue hissed. As the thief turned to face her, she jerked her head to the left. "We got company!"

Remy looked toward the approaching mob of masked students. "Hmm; and here I thought y'just wanted my attention, chere."

Rogue shook her head in disgust and frustration. "This is the last tahme Ah leave th'Institute with you!"

"Aww, chere," Remy replied, side-stepping toward her while keeping his eye on the crowd. "I ain't dat easy to get rid of," he grinned. Quick as a snake, he reached out and brushed the back of his hand against her cheek.

Rogue suddenly felt very warm ....

"Hey! I ain't finished with you!" Harry yelled as he fired another attack at Remy, driving him to the ground.

"Dis gettin' old," Remy mumbled into the dirt.

Harry ignored him. "You'd make a nice hole in the ground, or maybe .... HEY!" Any thoughts brewing were forgotten as the cloth formerly on Rogue's hands blew up in his face.

Now Harry's hands were at his own face. "AAAGGHHH! My face! You skinny, skunk-headed skank! Oh god, I gonna sue, I'm telling you, I'll have my lawyers on your goddamned front steps and on your phone, hell they'll practically live there ..... ugh ...." The rant ended in a faint groan as Rogue's bare hands touched his face.

As Remy climbed to his feet, he noticed Rogue clutching her stomach, moaning. "Man; what does this boy eat?"

"Attends, chere." Rogue quickly forgot her newfound weight as she noticed the crowd closing in, and shifted her focus on her newly absorbed powers. She held up a hand.

The effect was immediate. Several students amidst the crowd staggered and tripped over their newly dead-weight feet. Others simply collapsed onto their backs as the force hit them. Those not bearing the full brunt of the blast were tripping over the rapidly forming building pile of bodies in front of them.

"Schwester?"

"Kurt!" Rogue quickly turned to find her panting brother clutching an unconscious Kitty in his arms. "Are you all right?"

"Ja." He looked over at the struggling crowd, then at Kitty. "I don't know about Kitty, though; ve have to get out of here."

"'Bout tahme you said that," Rogue snapped, placing a hand on his arm. "C'mon, Gambit ... Gambit?" She looked around.

Remy was on the ground, clutching his head and groaning as though a sudden migraine had come over him.

Rogue's eyes widened. "The psych-AAAHHH!!" she screamed, grabbing her own head as the headache hit her. Seconds later, Kurt received the same attack and dropped Kitty as he began to claw at his skull ...

Less than a minute later, the only movement came from Emma as she slipped out of the nearby bush and surveyed the semi-conscious X men. As she approached them, she noticed a drooling Remy prop himself up on one elbow.

"Continue your pathetic little plan, and I'll see to it that you spend the rest of your rapidly shortening life lusting after the hogs in our bloody farm," she threatened.

A pair of slender, cold arms wrapped around her waist from behind. "I knew I kept you around for something," Selene murmered, her cold breath on Emma's neck.

"Mistress." Emma swallowed nervously. "What do you require?"

"Gather the others; I want them to see this."

--------------------

"CHILDREN!" Selene bellowed at the gathered students, torch in hand. "Students! Devotees! You all know why you came here." She stalked back and forth like a caged animal. "You sought freedom from fear; you wished for opportunity without servitude; you prayed," she hissed, gripping the torch tighter, "for deliverance from that fickle, decadent miserable excuse for civilization." She swivelled to face the students. "Have I not answered your prayers?"

"Yes, Mistress!" came the scattered shouts throughout the crowd.

"HAVE I??!!!!!!" she shrieked, her eyes flaring.

"YES, MISTRESS!!!" the crowd roared.

"That's more like it!" Turning her back on the crowd, she stared at something the students could not see. "But there is a price. I do not bestow gifts as a parent would spoil their child through generosity." She glared back at the crowd. "My generosity must be earned! Fought for! Taken!" She looked from face to face. "What's the word?!"

"NO LIMITS! NO RESTRAINT! AND ABSOLUTELY NO MERCY!"

"Well said!" Seeming to calm slightly, Selene rested the lit torch on her shoulder and walked slower. "But words alone do not satisfy me; talk is cheap, and talk alone is an emptiness without even a shell to speak of." She aimed a torch towards students at the front of the crowd. "What I expect from you are your actions."

"What is your request, Mistress?" someone from the crowd shouted.

Selene grinned and stepped to the side, allowing the students to see the four X men bound to the ground. "These are the X men that infiltrated our schools this very day; the same that invaded your dorms, destroyed our hall, and tried to kidnap one of our own!" She leered at Kurt, receiving a cold glare in return. "So tell me: what should we do with them?"

"Send them home." Silence fell as Selene darted over to the crowd, her eyes flaring.

"Who said that?!" she demanded. Suddenly, her glare focused on her longtime Apache student. "Proudstar?"

The young Apache's guarded expression did not change. "They don't belong here; I say we wipe their memories and send them ...."

"Send them where?" Emma interrupted. "Back to their home? Back into the hands of the world's most powerful telepath?"

"I thought you were."

"That's enough!" Selene snapped as Emma's eyes flared. "Time for him later." She stepped back. "How about it? Do we send them back to the world, after all they've seen here, all they know about our sanctuary?"

As the crowd roared its response, Rogue threw a glance towards Kurt. "Are these people insane?" she hissed as she strained against her bonds.

Kurt simply stared in front of him, his eyes dull. "Does it matter?" he asked.

"I say we get rid of them here," shouted Shaw. "Leave no trace behind."

"How?" someone in the crowd asked.

Shaw smirked. "We need gasoline."

Selene grinned. "That's more like it."

Rogue, seeing the crowd run off, gave her bonds another desperate tug. "Ugh!" She looked over at Remy. "Any luck?"

The Cajun grimly shook his head. "'M outta plays."

"Kurt ....?" Rogue looked over at her brother only to find he wasn't even trying. "Hey!"

"I heard you," Kurt snapped.

"Then why ain't you ...?!"

"Because ve're not getting out!" Kurt snapped, then looked back at the sky, his expression torn. "Ve're stuck here; trapped ... because of me." He looked back at Rogue. "I'm sorry."

"Save it," Rogue snapped. "I ain't waiting for them." She strained against the rope.

Suddenly, something struck the ground near Kurt's wrist. As he instinctively jerked his hand away, he realized that the rope binding that hand had been severed by the ....

Kurt began to laugh as he picked the knife up and began cutting at his other bonds. "You know I don't deserve this," he called out.

Remy raised an eyebrow. "Who he talkin' to?" Rogue shrugged.

As Kurt began working on his friends' bonds, a distant John Proudstar glared at his companion. "You sure about this? If anyone ..."

"Just keep your head down, and your mind shut," the figure hissed. "It's up to them now."

"Can you get us outta here now?" Rogue asked as she carefully drapped Kitty's arm over her shoulder.

"I zhink so; ve just better ...."

"They're running!"

"Go, go, go!!" Kurt snapped, grabbing Kitty's other arm.

The four quickly ducked behind a nearby building and hurried toward the other end. Already, however, the campus was alive with shouts.

"They've escaped!"

"Where'd they go?"

"Quick; find them!"

Remy peeked around the corner of the building. "Good time to port, maybe?" he suggested.

"Can you see zhe main entrance?"

"Oui. Can we – uugghh!" Remy grunted as something slammed into his gut.

"I like this staff," Manuel remarked as he stepped into view, casually wielding a long, silver quarterstaff. "I got them!" he yelled. "They're ... hey!" he snapped as Remy's shoulder slammed into his midsection, driving him into the wall and knocking the staff to the ground.

"Rogue ..." Kitty moaned, raising her index finger. Rogue glanced behind her just in time to see a stone-faced Tessa bearing down, knife in hand. Quickly, she shoved Kitty at Kurt and twisted her body, moving herself out of the way while driving her forearm into Tessa's wrist and knocking the knife off course. Without slowing, Tessa flipped the knife in her hand and slashed toward Rogue. Acting on instinct, Rogue grabbed the forearm and twisted it in an arm lock Logan had taught her.

Kurt, still holding the weakened Kitty, took another look around the grounds while Remy and Rogue struggled with their opponents. Already, the shouts were getting closer.

What Logan had never covered in their sessions were scenarios when her opponent spun, following Rogue's twist, and drove an elbow into her spine. Much as Tessa was doing now. Grunting in pain, Rogue spun her body sharply, bringing her leg up in a blind spinning wheel.

Remy fired another couple shots into Miguel's ribs, feeling the second one break bone. As his opponent sagged against the nearby wall, Remy crouched and picked up his staff. "Didn't no one teach ya 'bout stealin' from ...." His quip was cut short as Miguel dove into him, knocking the staff away and Remy into the ground.

Tessa was quick; without pause, she swept her knife towards Rogue's head. Ducking to avoid it, Rogue was ill-prepared for the slash to her shins. Gritting her teeth, Rogue dove forward and rolled towards the glint she had spotted near the struggling Remy and Miguel.

After several minutes of rolling around and clawing at his opponent, Miguel finally found himself above his opponent's back. Grunting with effort, Miguel drove his elbow into Remy's spine, driving the thief to the ground. Without hesitating, Miguel rolled on top and wrapped an arm around Remy's neck. "One charmer to another," he hissed.

Tessa lunged, only to to be met by the discarded quarterstaff, which Rogue had snatched and swung toward her before holding it between them. Pausing, Tessa began to circle the downed, bleeding Rogue.

Grunting with effort, Remy reached up with his legs, hooked them around Miguel's neck and pulled, hurling the stunned Puerto Rican several feet away.

Before Tessa could calculate her next attack, brimstone filled her vision.

"Come on!" Kurt yelled, a still-weak Kitty in one arm and a limping Rogue in the other. In seconds, Remy was at their side, grabbing Rogue's arm and slinging it over his shoulder as they fled the students approaching from all directions.

"You ready to port or not?!" Rogue yelled, scowling at her latest predicament.

Kurt pointed in front of them. "I have to see zhe entrance; vhen I give zhe vord, grab on and I'll ...." Whatever he was going to do was soon forgotten, as the three suddenly tripped and stumbled over feet that suddenly could no longer support them.

"You'll what?" Emerging from the surrounding darkness, almost as though she was formed from it, came Selene, her eyes and fingers glowing like polished ebony.

Within the minute, the escapees lay at the center of a circle of students, all waiting for the 'event' they had been promised.

"Did you bring it?" Seeing the large cans in several students hands, Selene nodded curtly. "Use it up; let's not waste any more time tonight."

Kurt coughed as the foul-smelling liquid was dumped upon him, soaking his fur and the ground around him.

"I wonder how they sneak away this time," Harry observed.

Donald snorted. "Yeah. Right."

Kurt looked around at his coughing friends; friends he'd talked into this trip, brought into this hellish academy.

The air itself seemed to glow as each student lit up their torches.

Remy snorted. "So much for m'hiding place ..."

Rogue, still clutching Kitty to her, shot him a scowl, then turned it back toward Selene, who was now approach with her own torch.

Crouching next to Kurt, she gazed at the group for several long seconds. "You know, executions are a hobby of mine. Someone facing their last hour, minutes .... seconds," she shuddered, "their souls are wide open. Only then, do we see the person they have been hiding their entire life." She looked eagerly at each of them. "I don't suppose you have any last words to share?"

Remy scoffed quietly. "Dat mean's dinner outta de question, chere?"

Selene chuckled, then looked at Kurt and Rogue. "Anyone else?"

Rogue narrowed her eyes, then spit in Selene's face.

The woman did not even blink. "If that's what you have to say ..." She stood up and turned her back on the group.

Kurt looked around at his friends. "I'm sorry."

"WHAT'S THE WORD??!!!" Selene yelled.

"NO LIMITS!"

Kurt reached out and took his sister's hand; after hesitating a moment, she squeezed back.

"NO RESTRAINTS!"

The eager crowd surged forward, torches raised.

Kurt stared upward and began mouthing a prayer.

Seeing no one looking, Remy quickly crossed himself.

"AND ABSOLUTELY .... "

" ... forgive us our trespasses ..." Kurt mumbled.

".... NO ....!"

The students reared their arms back ....

And thunder shook the grounds.

Shaw froze. "Is this somebody's joke?"

Within seconds, the 'joke' was on all of them, in the form of a torrential downpour that drenched both the students and their torches.

"Our lucky night?" quipped Donald, staring at his shorting-out limbs.

Selene shook her head. "Luck," she muttered, pointing toward two shapes descending from the sky, "is a fool's errand." In the next insant, Jean Grey and Ororo Munroe had joined the prone shapes in the middle of the crowd.

"Hey! Late arriv-" Harry began before being knocked back by Jean's telepathic shield.

Suddenly, the entire crowd found it's attention drawn by the bright sparkles drawing a circle around them. Those students who looked closely could almost make out the tube of ice mirroring its path. Those who strained their eyes could also make out the small, humanoid forms forming and dropping to the ground.

A sudden onslaught of noise then drew all eyes toward the gate. There, balls exploded in mid air; electricity crackled, inhuman growls were heard, sticks and balls of fire glowed ...

"Uhhh .... the apocalypse come early or something?" Harry asked, his face twisted in confusion.

"Shut up," Shaw hissed. "It's the Xaviers!"

Selene shook her head, looking almost bored. "I take it you started your invasion early, Xavier?" she called.

I am not here to invade. The crowd collectively shivered as the voice rang through their heads.

"Then show yourself and stop hiding like a coward!" Selene hissed.

Very well.

At first, only the reddish glow and the glint of adamantium could be seen, then Xavier rolled slowly out of the shadows, Scott and Logan at his side.

His narrowed eyes set forward, he appraoched the crowd. "Don't even think of it, Emma," he warned as he neared the glowering blonde. Scanning the crowd, he nodded toward the Apache boy. "John." A glaring John Proudstar tightened his grip on his knife.

Finally, he stopped in front of the tall woman at the head of the crowd. "Selene, I presume?"

"I see you know me," Selene sneered.

"Yes; and you, no doubt, know who I am."

"Indeed." Interlocking her fingers, Selene rested her hands in front of her. "Then you know whose school grounds you're .... sitting upon."

"I do." Xavier finally broke eye contact with Selene and looked toward the center of the crowd. "And we both know you are detaining several of my students on those same grounds."

"My grounds, Xavier." Selene shook a finger towards Xavier. "If you have a complaint, I suggest you call-"

"The police? I have." Xavier crossed his arms and leaned back, his eyes locked on Selene again. "I was told they are still under orders to avoid this area."

Selene shrugged. "Then I can't help you -"

"Oh, you can. Easily, in fact." Xavier leaned toward Selene. "Release my students, and we will walk away, without breathing a word of what we saw."

Selene laughed. "You are behind, Professor." Pointing towards her crowd, she glared at Xavier with a sudden ferocity. "Your students came to my school, harassed my students, and destroyed several of my buildings."

"And they will be punished," Xavier interjected. "But not by you."

"Why not?" Selene grinned wickedly. "Does your lightshow put you in charge, here?!" She snapped her fingers.

Immediately, the crowd began to move toward Xavier. Jean, still struggling to maintain her shield, cast a worried look at Ororo, who rose from checking on Kitty, readying her powers.

At the entrance, the rest of the gathered X men surged forward until Hank raised a hand.

Outside the walls, Nick Fury cursed under his breath and signalled his squads, waiting for the first blow.

Near Xavier, Logan extended his claws and growled, while a stone-faced Scott put a hand to his visor.

Xavier, in contrast, barely moved, except to put a hand to his temple. Multiple? It's time. Before he removed his fingers, a ring of torches flared up, surrounding the crowd of Hellions with fire.

Xavier glared back at Selene. "You should know very well my X men are capable of much more than a lightshow," he stated.

Selene harumphed. "You think we're afraid? HELLION'S? ADVANCE!" The crowd began to move faster.

"This needn't go any further, Selene; release my students now," Xavier insisted while sending mental warnings to all his gathered students not to strike first.

"Absolutely not!" Selene snapped. "Not in this lifetime, not in the next, or ..."

"You will." Xavier's brow furrowed.

Selene suddenly stopped and stared at Xavier, looking aghast for the first time. "You wouldn't dare," she breathed.

Xavier simply raised his chin and continued to stare.

Selene held that stare for several long seconds, then snorted. "Fine. But if I so much as dream that any of yours come within sight of my school ...."

"Mistress ..." a shocked Shaw began.

"Back to your rooms, or join me in my chamber," Selene snarled. Within the minute, except for her and the X men, the grounds were empty. She waved dismissively at Kurt, Kitty, Remy, and Rogue. "They're all yours."

Xavier's gaze did not leave Selene. "Logan? Scott?"

"You got it." The two men hurried over to Jean and Ororo. "Come on, Elf," Logan grunted, draping Kurt over his shoulder. He then looked over to see Ororo pulling a bleary Remy to his feet. "Hey, Chuck, don't suppose we can leave them an offering for the trouble .... Hey! All right, all right," he grumbled, rubbing his suddenly aching head. "Lets go."

---------------------

Though unseen, the Inner Circle members watched while the unwelcome X men backed through the gates and towards their jets. "Not a moment too soon," Emma observed.

"No." Selene glided silently into the room. "And it won't last."

"Why won't they leave us alone?" Harry demanded.

"Does it matter?" Selene shook her head. "The real question is: what do we do about it."

"We reach outward." Shaw stated from his corner in the room.

Emma glared. "You know that's against our charter ..."

"No limits, remember?" Shaw stood and approached the group. "I say it's time we stopped waiting for them to knock on our door, and started making sure they stay away to begin with."

"We've had this discussion before, Sebastian ..." Selene began.

"And they came back," Shaw snapped. "Again, despite your policy, Mistress," he sneered. "I think we'd better have that discussion again."

Selene's darkening glare now turned toward Shaw.

[

X Jet – Several Hours Later

Though miles away and hours ahead, Xavier had a glare to match.

"I hope I don't need to describe how disappointed I am in all of you," he began, facing the four heavily-medicated, but conscious, students. "Your actions were reckless, impulsive, and, above all ...."

"Dangerous?" Kurt wasn't even looking at the Professor; something else seemed to have his attention.

"Yes." Xavier looked from face to face. "Now: must I probe all of your minds to discover the architect of this excursion?" Almost reflexively, his eyes settled on Remy.

Noticing this, the Cajun mutant smiled and spread out his arms. "Now, who else could do such a t'ing, Professor?"

"Is that a yes, Gambit?" Xavier did not look amused.

Though his eyes flickered toward Kurt, the Cajun shrugged. "What can I say; must be a creature of habit ...."

"Shut up, Gambit," Kurt snapped. Finally facing Xavier, he went on. "It vas my fault; and you can read my mind if you don't believe me."

"No .... Professor ..." Kitty whispered, still weak from Selene's attack.

"Easy," Rogue coaxed, patting her roommate on the back. "We tried t'stop 'im at first, but we ended up goin' along with it."

"Why?"

Rogue looked down at her knees. "It looked like she was in trouble."

"I see." Xavier's face and tone seemed to hold more ice than Bobby on his best day. "And this is why you decided to hijack one of our aircraft, trespass on another school's grounds, harass its students ....?"

"Harass?" Some animation, in the form of anger and disbelief, had finally entered Kurt's face. "Zhey kidnapped Amanda; and now zhey ....!" his face tightened.

Xavier's expression softened slightly. "Then why wasn't I told?" Instead of answering, Kurt looked back out the window. "I see."

"Why you defending them, Professah?" Rogue interrupted. "Did ya see the place, Professor? Did ya see what they were doin' there?!!!"

"I did indeed, Rogue; and yes, it was apalling. But it is not our school, and not our place to dictate ..."

"Not our place?" Rogue stared at Xavier, not believing what she was hearing. "Whose side are ya on, Professor?"

It was as though a shadow fell across Xavier's face. "In the hours since we left, I have received several calls from the Boston school board, along with one of it's law firms, both threatening action. I am already trying to deal with the Seftons and Bayville police concerning Kurt's charges, plus inquiries from the FBI about a .... Jacques Cartier?" Remy found himself fighting a smirk. "I owe explanations to Fury and SHIELD, who we had to rely on for transport due to missing vehicles. On top of all that, I must soon explain to your families why all of you received such grievous injuries while under my care!" Ignoring Rogue's scowl and Remy's contemptous snort, he maintained his renewed glare. "I don't have the luxury of 'sides.' Because of your thoughtless actions, I, and the school, will soon find ourselves in the middle of all too many of them!"

"So where dis goin'?" Remy inquired, leaning back against the bulkhead. "Back out on de street?"

"It would make you the first." Xavier shrugged. "But no; since you all received a fairly harsh lesson from your excursion, I think I can settle for probation, this time. For starters ...."

[

Xavier Institute – Several Hours Later

Minutes after the aircraft returned, a heavy silence filled the mansion. The memories of lit torches in the hands of the sociopathic students, the attacks and tortures visited upon Kurt, Kitty, Remy, and Rogue ... those memorie seemed to cast a shadow that followed every student home.

By the time the two aircraft reached the Institute, Kurt, Rogue, Remy, and Kitty found themselves facing over a month of running extra Danger Room sessions under Logan, cleaning the vehicles, and the majority of other house chores. All after they were sufficiently recovered from the Academy's unique punishments, of course.

The other students, as though sensing the hostile mood that had descended upon Xavier, were in no mood to try and draw his attention to them during lights-out, and thus fled to their assigned rooms. Fearing sleep after what they had seen, they turned their books, iPods .... anything to stave off the memory before submitting to their dreams.

The only exception was Laura, whom Logan found asleep in the rec room with her claws impaling what might have once resembled one of Bobby's game controllers. Without a word, Logan discreetly extracted her spikes and gently lifted her off the couch.

Even the infirmary remained silent. Not wishing to add to the tension even his non-psychic mind could sense, Hank focused his full attention on dressing his patients wounds.

Rogue and Remy had sustained only cuts and bruised, except for the gashes in Rogue's legs. Hank focused on these first, taking care to close the curtain and block the nearby Remy's view.

Kitty, though virtually unmarked, still had barely the energy to lift an arm. Hank hooked her up to IV's, hoping rest would restore her stolen energy.

Kurt himself was a mess; in addition to the bruises he had received at the hands of Shaw, his body sported a number of white patches where Selene had burned him, red lines giving away the use of her whip ... Hank shook his head as he tried to process what he was seeing. Even Logan with the Danger Room at the highest levels had never caused such extensive injuries.

What was more troubling than these injuries, however, was the fact that Kurt did not appear to notice them. Instead, he stared in front of him, at something only he could see. Even Hank's reflex hammer brought only the slightest wince.

Hank glanced in the direction Kurt was staring. All he could spot was his furry hands, still resting on the image inducer he still wore. He looked back at Kurt. "I'm sorry about,"

"Don't." It was the first word Kurt had said since his rescue.

Sighing, Hank went to work on the burns. "You know," he remarked, "whatever you're staring at there, I doubt you'll find what you're looking for."

Kurt slowly shook his head. "It's a little late for zhat," he whispered, making two furry fists.

Hank shrugged. "You never know," he replied, dipping a cloth in a jar of clorophorm. "Depends on which way you're looking."

Kurt finally looked at Hank before the clorophorm entered his lungs, gently easing him back into darkness.

[

Bayville Church - Present Day

"Is that what you seek here?"

Kurt looked at the lattice in surprise. "Vhat did you zhink I vas here for?"

"To seek out His Mercy?"

Kurt's eyes narrowed. "'As high as the heavens are above the earth'?"

"Indeed." The priest nodded. "But it does not extend below." A slight sigh could be heard. "I'm afraid you and your kind are beyond forgiveness."

"My kind?!"

"You know, one of my congregation asked me if Satan himself could ever seek forgiveness." The loathing in the priest's voice, which Kurt could only glimpse before, was now all he could hear. "I told him that some sins, some blasphemies are beyond forgiveness; that God cast him into the lake of fire not only because he had committed those sins; but because ... it was in his nature."

Kurt shook his head. Was he hearing this? From the man he'd confessed to since he had come to Bayville? "How can you say zhis?"

"God is merciful; but he is also just." The man's shoulders briefly rose. "There were alway some that had to be cast out of the Kingdom of Heaven."

Kurt stared at the lattice as though he'd never seen it before. "I zhink I ... better go." Quickly, h stood up and began walking away.

"Go where?" the priest called. "This doesn't change what you are." A clanking was heard as the priest burst out of his confessional. "You're a devil, Kurt; a bringer of woe! However you lie, however you hide .... !"

Kurt finally cast a hurt look back towards the priest. "Goodbye ... Fazher Stryker."

[

Xavier Institute – Later that Evening

Xavier looked up from his book as the knocks reached his ears. "Who is it?"

The door inched open and a blue, furry, and very nervous face peeked through. "Professor? If you're not too busy, or ...?"

"No, of course not, Kurt; come in." As Kurt slipped inside, Xavier closed his book and rested his hands on the desk, his expression carefully neutral. "What is it?"

Kurt shrugged. "Image inducer ... on zhe fritz," he mumbled, quickly dropping the device on the desktop.

"Hmm." With one eye still on Kurt, Xavier picked it up and gave it a cursory examination. "I don't see any signs of malfunction," he noted, offering it to Kurt, who was now shifting in his chair. "Is this why you wanted to see me?"

Kurt took a deep breath. "No; I'm here because ...." he paused, glancing towards the nearby window where his reflection peered back at him. "Because I don't vant it back."

Surprise came rarely to Xavier, but it did come. "Kurt, are you certain ....?"

"It isn't me, Professor." Kurt looked back at Xavier. "I thought it vas zhe best gift I could ever hope for. Then I found myself running off to hide everytime it vent on zhe fritz; sitting in class, vondering vhen it vould drop and blow my cover." He chuckled mirthlessly. "I vore gloves for my dance vith ...." he blinked several times as the name caught in his throat. "And I nearly abandoned everyone when our secret got out, because I could!" He shook his head sharply. "It vas like zhat," he continued, pointing at the inducer, "zhing just became a reminder zhat I vasn't human; zhat I couldn't go out in public vithout ... lying."

Xavier was silent for several seconds as he picked up the device and held it in the air. "Kurt, going public this way means you're more likely to draw the wrong kind of attention; much like the kind you experienced back home." Despite his warning, Xavier's expression remained neutral. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

Kurt just looked at the inducer for several long seconds before pushing it away. "Zhis is who I am," he stated before standing up. "And I'm sick of hiding."

BAMF!

END

Author's note

A thousand apologies for the unbearably long wait; I won't bore you with any excuses, and I promise to try to shorten the wait time for the next chapter; this was unforgiveable.

Anyway, I'm still interested in thoughts on this story, even though I don't deserve responses. By the way, what Xavier really said to Selene must remain a mystery for now; use your imaginations.

Next up: some old debts can never be repaid, especially when family is involved on both sides.