Femme Fatale

Summary: After X1 through whenever. Kris is the younger sister of Iceman. She comes to the Institute after learning of her mutant abilities and getting into a huge amount of trouble. There she meets Pyro and things really get interesting.

Disclaimer: I own nothing... But I sure wish I did!

(-X-)

A/N: Hi all! Sorry for the long wait. Time has been catching up with me. There's been so much to do. I hope the wait was worth it for you.

(-X-)

"Passing through." Right. Kris had known –somewhere deep in her fogged brain several nights before, when Logan had returned- that Logan "passing through" was not going to happen the way he wanted it to. With Mr. Summers holed up in his room, they needed someone to head up Danger Room groups with Storm. She just couldn't do it all alone.

So, that was what happened. Professor Xavier asked him to take over for Cyclops and Logan didn't have it in him to refuse. Alex would have if he'd been asked, but Professor X knew that he had enough to deal with. Lorna, though calm most of the time, had a tendency to freak out and Alex was the only person who could calm her.

So Logan it was. Logan, Storm, Kitty, Bobby, Rogue, Pete, and Kris were being practically slaughtered by the new program that Professor X had recently created. Technically they were all supposed to be working together, but teams always emerged. Storm and Logan were one; obvious because they were the leaders. Somehow, Rogue and Pete had ended up on one side of the room while Bobby and Kitty ended up on the other. Kris somehow avoided the teaming. She was more of an individual player anyway.

Sometimes, however, that wasn't the best course of action. Having someone watch your back wasn't always a bad thing, Kris had to admit. She would have given anything for John to be the one at her back, but that wasn't going to happen. Anyway, the point was, Bobby, Kitty, Pete, and Rogue were fairing much better than she was at the moment. She was bruised far more than usual (even though this was a new program, she noticed that the others seemed to be getting along just fine given that they were being slaughtered).

Kris made her way to the top of a particularly high pile of metal and stopped for a moment to catch her breath and to map out her surroundings. Logan and Storm were clambering up from behind a pile of charred and twisted metal. Just then, a fiery ball raced past Kris's head; the force on the air around her knocked her off of her feet.

Groaning in pain, Kris tried to sit up. Having landed on her left side, her arm and ribs weren't exactly enjoying that idea all that much. Massaging her wrist, Bobby and Kitty caught Kris's eye. They were having a moment that was a little to tender for her liking. Damn it, Bobby! She thought, What the hell is wrong with you? She wasn't the only one to notice, she saw. Rogue was frozen in place, staring at the two.

"Shit…" Kris mumbled. Rogue had a hard enough time as it was, not being able to touch people. She didn't have a normal relationship with Bobby and Kris knew that she desperately wanted one. Kris had noticed when she returned from what had come to be known by some as her "mountain getaway" that there was something different about Bobby and Rogue. They were spending far less time together than they had been and Bobby had been spending a lot more time around Kitty.

And, again, she wasn't the only one who noticed. Rogue had definitely noticed and not just because she and Kris, who had hung out a lot since Kris's return, had spoken about it. Pete, too, had noticed. It was strange to Kris that she seemed to be the only one who noticed that he was nursing a serious crush on Kitty. And by serious, Kris meant that he basically worshiped the ground Kitty walked on and would cut off his own arm if she asked him to.

Kris finally brought herself back to the situation around her and stood, speeding off of the pile towards the rest of the group. She slid to a stop near Pete and heard Logan call him over. Storm protested as Pete took Logan by the waist and collar and threw him towards their attacker. Standing up straight, Kris crossed her arms. Well, this session is over… She thought.

Within seconds, a metal head came crashing at their feet and Logan reappeared, "Class dismissed." He said. Storm did not look happy. Kris gave him a little half smile as she shook her head. What he had done was completely not part of the exercise… However, she was glad to be finished. She really needed a relaxing shower.

The room returned to normal and Kris, along with the others, exited the room and entered the girls changing room with Rogue, Storm, and Kitty. Kris found that, as she changed back into her clothes (she would shower in the bathroom down the hall from her room), she couldn't really look at Kitty for too long. She didn't hate Kitty, she didn't dislike Kitty; Kitty was her friend. One of the only people who had given her any respect since she got back. But, though she didn't know it at that moment, she had a deep, simmering anger in the pit of her stomach and Kitty was the cause.

She sped out of the changing room and back to her bedroom without speaking to anyone. She pulled her robe out of the closet and grabbed the small basket with her shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and razor off of the inside of the closet door and placed them on her bed. She stripped off all of her clothes and threw them in her clothes hamper, pulled on her robe, grabbed her basket, and headed out the door. She thanked heaven once again that the bathroom was only at the end of her hall. She really didn't want to walk too far in her robe.

Well, to be honest, she wasn't really comfortable with walking down to the bathroom as it was. What she wanted was something like the teachers, Logan, and guests (such as Alex) got: their own bathroom attached to their bedrooms. Granted, Kris knew that this was not going to happen so long as she was a student, but she could dream.

(-X-)

After what she considered one of the best showers she'd had in a while, Kris sat on the chair in front of her vanity, brushing out and drying her hair. She decided that she needed a hair cut in the near future; her hair was starting to get too long. For some reason she felt that she wanted something extreme… Like a pixie cut! No one would be able to believe that Kris, now commonly called Elvira (shockingly, not another one of Jubilee's ideas), had something as cute and feminine as a pixie cut. Kris didn't understand it. She didn't like pink or frills, but that didn't make her any less feminine than any of the other girls.

Turning off her hair dryer, Kris thought for a moment. Why should she care what anyone thought about her hair? Why should she care if people wouldn't refer to her as anything other than "Elvira"? This wasn't any different than high school before she was a mutant… The thought stopped Kris short.

This was absolutely the same. It was like she'd been transported back to high school in Boston. She thought that for once she had found a place where she fit in. Well, she fit in and she had friends, but she still had most of the school against her, "Shit." She mumbled as tears welled up in her eyes. Leaning forward, Kris rested her hand in her hands as she cried. Kris was not one to cry.

Kris felt like a complete blubbering idiot for crying and it only made her cry more. Taking a moment to breathe, Kris leaned back in the chair she was sitting in. With everything that had happened in the past couple of months, Kris was surprised that she hadn't completely lost her mind.

A knock came on the door and Kris took a moment to better compose herself, "Come in," She said once she was somewhat satisfied with her appearance. Rogue entered, "Hey, what's up?"

"I think Bobby might want to be with someone else…" She mumbled in a low voice after closing the door behind her.

"What?" Kris asked, disbelief in her voice. She knew, though, that Rogue had a point. Bobby's behavior could only lead her to a few conclusions.

"I mean, maybe I'm being paranoid, but I've seen the way he's acted around Kitty and…" She shuttered and took a breath, "Even around some of the other girls and… I know I'm not the easiest person to date, but…" She shook her head, "He's the only guy I can imagine being slightly okay with the way that I am… If I lose him I don't know what would happen."

"Rogue, if Bobby breaks up with you because of your ability, then that's his prerogative… I, for one, would probably never talk to him again." Kris assured her, "Besides, you're not the only person to see what he's like with Kitty. I don't think she'd do anything but… I don't know. You got a really shitty hand of cards dealt out to you. But, you will know one thing. Whoever you end up with, and you will end up with someone, will love you for you."

Smiling, Rogue said, "Thanks Kris." Kris gave a small bow, "Now what's wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?" Kris asked innocently.

Shaking her head, Rogue said, "Kris you've obviously been crying." Kris cursed herself, "What happened."

Sighing to herself, Kris said, "I've just been stressed out. Finding out I'm a mutant, getting together with my brother's best friend, telling my parents, Alkali Lake, losing said boyfriend… Everything that's happened up to and including my "mountain getaway" has just been wearing on me. Having Bobby around is great, but he doesn't really get it. No one does. No one can really understand what happened there. I was happy, but now I'm miserable that I was happy. I shouldn't have been happy around them."

"You're mind was tampered with, Kris. No one blames you."

"Sure…" Kris said, "I don't know. I don't care about what happened when I was there but… I just wish I could help Lorna. She must be so scared."

Nodding, Rogue replied, "Yeah, I know what you mean."

Kris nodded back but she couldn't help but think, I don't think you do. Only Kris, Professor X, and Alex knew fully what had happened to the two of them in Mario's puppet hands. Only the three of them knew everything that Lorna knew as the truth and what Kris would have been willing to do.

"I just want to know how to make her better." Kris replied, "That idiot who did it to us sent Professor X a message about how to fix it… Unfortunately his idea was for her to see Alex."

"That only made it worse." Rogue said, "How could he think…?"

"I don't know." Kris replied, "Now the dipshit is dead, so we can't even make him help us!"

"How'd you get pulled out, anyway?" Rogue asked.

Sighing, Kris thought for a moment, "Promise not to tell Bobby?" She asked. Rogue raised her eyebrow, "Promise or no deal. And if I find out that you did, in fact, tell him after you promised not to, I will kill you. Painfully."

Rogue thought about the idea. She clearly wanted to know, but she didn't want to have to keep something from Bobby. On top of that, she was pretty sure that Kris's threat would be followed through, "Okay," She finally said, "I promise."

Taking a deep breath, Kris nodded, "Um… John and I… Well…" She sighed and ran her hand through her hair, "We were about to have sex." She said in via telepathy. Rogue's eyes popped, "I was going along with it and then everything came back to me. I don't know how and I don't know why, but at that point something took over and I was me again."

"So you didn't actually sleep with him?" Kris shook her head no, "Oh thank God…"

"Tell me about it. Can you imagine me trying to explain to the Professor, or anyone for that matter, what happened if I had?" Kris asked, "Talk about uncomfortable."

"And if Bobby had found out…"

"He would be the least of my worries," Kris said, "That's why I said it telepathically. If anyone found out, even though we didn't do anything, it would be all over the school in a heartbeat that we had. And if we actually had… I would never be able to show my face around here again. Not because of what people would have thought but because that's not who I am. I mean, damn, John and I were together for just a few months. I don't rush into that stuff."

"You weren't you." Rogue said.

"I know…" Kris replied, "But still… It's hard to think about." Rogue nodded, "Why are boys so difficult?" She asked. Rogue laughed slightly, "I mean, seriously, how hard is it to find a nice, sweet guy who loves you and would do anything for you?"

"You mean like Pete would for Kitty?" Rogue asked.

"Oh my God, you noticed too?" Kris asked.

"How could I not?" Rogue retorted, "I thought I was the only one who had though."

"Me too. No one else seems to get it."

(-X-)

After talking about Pete and Kitty for around an hour, Rogue gave Kris a careful hug and the two went down for dinner. They saw Storm, who asked Kris to bring something down for Alex and Lorna after she was finished. Kris complied.

She piled up two large plates with lasagna and garlic toast and headed down to Lorna's (and, unofficially, Alex's) room. She knew that Lorna was probably asleep so Kris covered one with tin foil to keep it warm. Lorna would wake up sooner rather than later (she almost always did. It was impossible to keep her asleep for long) and Kris knew that she would be really hungry.

Kris used her elbows to push the elevator buttons and open the doors that she encountered. Alex wasn't surprised to see her come into Lorna's room; she was the other person beside him and Professor Xavier who knew the code into the room, "Hey. Dinner's on." She said simply, placing the plates on the desk.

Alex sat on Lorna's large, plush bed. Her head was in his lap and he was stroking her hair, "Thanks." He grunted.

"Don't you think you're being a masochist?" Kris asked, "You're constantly down here, just watching her."

"What do you want me to do?" Alex asked, "Just leave her here alone? Even if she thinks I'm a delusion, even if she thinks that she killed me," he shuttered at the thought, "she's happier when I'm around. That's all I want." He sighed for a moment, "I can't believe the asshole couldn't think of something else to do… He manipulated what was supposed to be the happiest moment of our lives. If I ever get her back, there is no way in hell she'll marry me."

"You don't know that…"

"But I know Lorna." Alex said, "She'd feel so worried about this nightmare coming true, she couldn't accept." Tears slipped down his face as he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.

Kris didn't know what to say. She couldn't, in good conscience, refute him. He certainly did know Lorna better than she did and Kris couldn't say that she wouldn't do the same were she Lorna's position, "I wish I knew what to do to bring her back."

"Don't put that on yourself." Alex said, "You were unconscious when he did it to her." Kris nodded sadly, "Oh… Did you hear? Scott ran off."

Kris's eyes widened, "He did what?"

Alex nodded, "He's gone. Apparently Logan caught him as he was leaving and he blew him off. He's been so depressed since Jean… I hope he doesn't do something stupid. We argue a lot but he's still my brother."

"I know what you mean." Kris said, "My brother Ronnie, the one who called the police on us…" Alex nodded; he'd heard the story, "I hate that little bastard's guts, but he's still my brother and I love him. I want to punch him in the balls, but I think I can understand why he did it."

"You can… How?"

Kris shook her head, "A girl's got to have her secrets, Alex."

"Uh-huh…" Alex said with a critical eye.

"You'd better eat; your lasagna is going to get cold."

"Yes mother."

Kris rolled her eyes with a smile, "And make sure Lorna eats. She'll starve herself if we let her."

"I know." Alex said sadly.