[AN: I decided to give you guys two chapters again this week! So, here's the second one, it's longer, too. I hope you enjoy, feel free to review, message me, or just read!]
Since they'd had the formal after all the tests were done this year, instead of between them as they had for the few years before, the talk for the next two weeks would be all about what had happened at the dance and the graduation coming up.
Kerri sat in a chair in the drama room, watching the drama class practice for the play they were going to put on at the end of the week. Her students were either sitting in the rows of seats with her, or down on the edges of the lower floor, helping move props around when they changed scenes.
After all of the classes were over, and all of the students had left, Kerri walked down to the front of the room, going to Kurt's desk and sitting on the edge of it facing him. "It looks good, I think it'll look better when all of the students are together."
"Ja, tomorrow I'm going to pull all of zhe students so zhey can have a couple days of practice togezher," he told her, standing and moving closer so he could kiss her.
The door opened and Kurt quickly stepped back from Kerri, looking up as Logan said, "Maybe I shoulda knocked."
Kurt blushed, but Kerri shook her head. "Nope, just talking about the play."
Logan grunted. "Well, I just came to let you know the stage is set up."
"Oh, zhank you," Kurt told him. Logan grunted and left the room.
Kerri waved as he left, then turned back to Kurt. "So, stage is set up. Want to check it out?"
Kerri's notebook full of wedding plans became more and more complete. They'd decided to have a small reception in a small dining hall the church had, the clothes were all ready, Kurt had just picked up his tux from the cleaners the day before, and Kerri had made sure that their wedding cake order was going to be ready the day before so they could drop it off at the church.
Kurt laid back on the bed looking over at Kerri. "You're lucky, you know," he commented.
"I'm lucky? How?" She asked when he nodded.
"German veddings are usually zhree days long," he teased.
"What?" Kerri asked. "Three days?! Holy cow, what do you do for three days?"
"Zhe first day, zhe justice of zhe piece marrys you, zhen everyvone eats a big dinner. Zhe next day, before zhe vedding, zhere is a vedding-eve party, and everyvone breaks old plates in front of zhe bride and groom, zhen zhey have to clean es up." He smiled, almost laughing at Kerri's face as she stared at him as though trying to figure out if he was lying. "Zhen, finally, on zhe zhird day, you get married. Und," he smiled again. "Instead of flowers, zhe bride carries bread and salt, and zhe groom carries grain. Vhen zhey are leaving, zhe groom has to promise a party, or money, or zhey are not allowed to leave, and zhey have to toss change, like, pennies, to zhe children. Zhen it's time to saw zhe log in half-"
"Kurt, stop, you're making all of this up," Kerri accused.
"Nein, zhose are zhe German vedding traditions. Zhen, at zhe reception, zhe best man kidnaps zhe bride and takes her to a bar and zhey drink until zhe groom finds zhem." His smile got bigger as he laughed at the reaction she was having.
"That is a very complicated wedding, you're right, I am lucky..."
"Vhat are zhe vedding traditions you grew up vizh?" Kurt asked.
Kerri smiled. "Well... Gaylin is an Irish name, you know..." Kurt nodded, and she thought back. "A few of the traditions stuck. The bride puts a penny in her shoe, and she has to have- what was it, something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and the Irish penny in the shoe... the priest ties a knot around their hands, they light the unity candle, oh- and the groom has to take off the bride's garter with his teeth."
"Vhat?" Kurt asked. "Ein garter? Vhat is zhat?"
"It's like an elastic thing that you use to keep up your socks, but in this case, it's way up on your thigh," she pointed.
"Oh, ja, ein Strumpfband. Vizh his teezh?" Kurt asked, and she nodded. "I could do zhat," Kurt told her with a smile.
"And then he throws it to the men there to see who is going to be married next."
"Vait, everyvone is still zhere?"
"Yep. And the bride throws her flowers to see who is next out of the women."
"Vell, zhat vould not be as fun as if I did it vhen ve vere alone," he smiled.
"It's supposed to be funny," she told him. She rolled over to face him. "Is there any special thing you want to do?"
"Vell..." He looked over at her. "Zhe breaking plates is very important, for gute luck..."
Kerri pulled her notebook over and wrote a note. "I'll go to the thrift store and see if I can find any china," she told him.
"Vhat about you?" Kurt asked.
"The unity candle is really important," she told him. "Showing that your lives are joined."
Kurt took her hand and wove his fingers between hers as he smiled at the thought. "Ve vill have to get somevone to make some hochzeitssuppe, too, for zhe reception," he told her.
"A special soup? Do you know anyone who can make it? Or have a recipe?" She asked.
"Vell, I remember helping my mozher making it vhen people got married in zhe circus," he told her. "It takes a long time..."
"Hm. We need some...What did they call it... Um- oh, colcannon, too," she said.
"Vhat is zhat?" Kurt asked.
"It's a potato dish, kind of like garlic mashed potatoes with cabbage," she told him.
The week passed, and on that Friday, the school gathered together to watch the drama class's performance in an assembly.
"It was great," Kerri congratulated Kurt and the group when the clapping had died down and most of the students had gotten up and made their way out.
"Thanks!" The students were smiling, laughing, coming down from the excitement of performing.
Kurt pulled her close and kissed her on the cheek. "It vas great. I zhink ve should do zhis every year," he said.
"I think it's a good idea," Kerri agreed, smiling.
"So, it's Friday, und, school is over," Kurt said, his hand slowly moving over hers. "Let's go out and do somezhing."
"Ok, what do you want to do?" Kerri asked.
Kurt waved and said goodbye as a group of students passed, going to enjoy the weekend that had just started, before he answered her. "Let's go to zhe movies."
After deciding what movie to see and arriving at the theatre, they got snacks and found seats, Kurt preferring sitting near the back.
Kerri laid her head against his shoulder as they watched the heroes of the movie fight an unknown monster, although it had already been revealed to the audience that it was a werewolf. They were also sure that another monster was in their midst, hiding somewhere.
Kurt leaned down and kissed her on her cheek, moving closer to reach her lips. Kerri turned to him, and they missed a few minutes of the movie.
When the credits rolled, they left and went back to the school, and Kurt walked Kerri to her room.
They got to her door and she turned to him. He looked around, making sure that no one was around before he leaned in and kissed her.
Kerri kissed him back, feeling the heat starting to raise as his tail wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer.
Kurt pulled away and put his forehead against hers and said, almost in a whisper, "Ich kann es kaum erwarten, zusammen mit euch sein." {I can hardly wait to be together with you}
Kerri smiled. "I can't wait, either."
The last week of classes came at last, and Kerri sat at the front of her class.
"So, what are your questions for our open discussion?" She asked.
"What was it like?" One of the girls asked.
"What was what like?" She asked, confused.
"Sex," the girls said, like it should have been obvious.
Kerri's eyebrows rose. "Um, that's not really a question about being an adult..."
"Yeah it is," another student said.
"Tell us," they started demanding.
Kerri was silent for a moment as she thought about it. "I guess it does sort of fall under the 'adult' category..." The class fell silent as they waited for her to speak. "Who else has questions about sex?" They all raised their hands and Kerri's hand moved to her face, rubbing over her eyebrow. "Um... Maybe that's a topic for a whole day... I know, write down your questions and I'll look for some answers," she told them. "But for today, let's talk about questions that aren't about sex."
After the class, Kerri looked at the list of questions she needed to research and blushed. Some of them were quite descriptive, and there were things that she'd never thought about.
She was sitting at the desk at the front of the library, looking up answers between a few reference books and Google, when Kurt walked up behind her without her realizing he was there, and looked over her shoulder. "Ah, doing research for zhe honeymoon, liebling?"
Kerri jumped and blushed, putting her hand over the screen. "Uh, no," she stuttered. "I- it's for-"
Kurt smiled and his tail pulled her hand away to see what she'd been looking at. "Oh, wow..."
"Yeah... It's... For my class... They had questions about sex, but, well, you know I'm not very experienced..." She blushed.
"Neizher am I, aber," he shook his head. "Zhis looks very advanced..."
Kerri bit her lip and looked up at him. "I think my students are more experienced than me... How awkward..."
Kurt clicked on a picture to read the description.
"Is that one even possible? I mean, physically?" She asked.
He smirked. "Vell, I could move like zhat, aber, maybe not an average man..."
Kerri shook her head. "I have to stop looking at these, they're too, confounding." She stood, running backwards into Kurt, having not realized he was so close.
"Ah, liebling," he said, surprised, as he caught her. "Careful." His words blew his breath across her ear, making her shiver. She closed her eyes, her breath catching in her throat. "Kerri?" He asked, wondering at her silence.
"Uh, um, yeah?" She asked, her body distracted and focused completely on where he was touching her. She knew it was because of the information and images she had been studying, trying to get information for her class, but the tingles still thrilled through her.
Kurt didn't say anything for a moment, distracted by the heat he felt coming from Kerri. "I- I came to get you for dinner... Shall ve go?"
The day came, and Kerri told her class, "Ok, I did some research into the questions you guys gave me about sex... And I came up with some answers. Some of them I can't answer, because this is school, and there are rules, but the other ones, I have answers for you. So, first," she took a breath for courage. "Sex can be nice, it can be great, or it can be just ok, or even horrible. It depends on what you're looking for, who you're with, and technique."
"What do you mean?" One of the boys asked. "How can it be all of those things?"
"Well," Kerri started. "If you are with someone you don't know, if you're nervous, if your expectations are too high, or you're not ready yet and are being pressured, those can all lead to just ok, possibly horrible, times. If you're with someone you trust, you feel comfortable, the time is right, those can all lead to nice or great, depending on technique, if enough of those factors line up, it could be amazing."
"How many men, um, partners, have you had?" One of the girls asked.
Kerri's face turned red and she could feel the heat as she looked away. "I- I've only had one... That's why I did research to get you these answers..."
"What was it like for you? What factors did you have?" One of the students asked.
"Well," Kerri tried not to blush too hard. "For factors, we were in love, we didn't pressure each other, and we trusted each other..."
"But, what was it like?" Another student asked again.
Kerri took a breath before telling them, "it was kinda awkward, but nice..."
The students all looked around at each other. "Awkward how?" One of them asked.
"Well, it was something new that neither one of us had done before, so we weren't quite sure where to go right away, and, like anything else, I'm sure it takes practice to get the hang of- not that I'm saying you all should practice-" Kerri was cut off by her nervousness, not sure about what she was allowed to tell them about this subject in the first place. "Look, just wait until you're ready, don't do it because it's cool or you want to impress some one. Just wait until you're ready," she told them, sounding a little exasperated at trying to express herself.
# # #
Kurt moved closer to Kerri where she laid on his bed and wrapped his arms around her. "So, liebling, how did your talk go vizh your classes today?"
"It wasn't so bad at the end of the day, but the first couple were hard," she told him.
"I can imagine it vould be hard to talk about vizhout having a lot of experience," he agreed, then leaned closer to get ear. "Aber, ve vill fix zhat after zhe vedding," he whispered, and she could feel his mischievous smile as her face heated.
"Kurt, you're so naughty," she told him.
"Maybe a little," he told her, pulling her against him. "But only because I love you."
"I love you, too," she told him, cuddling back against him.
"Only two monzhs until ve are married," he told her, kissing her neck.
"I know," she said. "Are you nervous yet?"
"Nein." Kurt kissed her again. "I'm excited. Soon you vill be mine, forever," he told her. Kerri smiled and cuddled against him as she toyed with her ring. His hand moved to her stomach and pulled her closer. "Vhat about you?" He asked.
"I'm excited, too," she told him.
"Gute," he told her, holding her as close as he could, preventing her from writing any more in her notebook.
"Mmm, Kurt, I'm falling asleep," she told him after a while.
"Good, me too," he told her.
"I should go to my room," she mumbled.
"Nein," he told her, nuzzling into her neck.
"Kurt, I can't stay in here all night."
"Vhy not?" Kurt asked.
"So we don't slip," she told him.
"I just vant to hold you vhile ve sleep, und see you first zhing in zhe morning," he told her, his breath tickling her shoulder.
"You can come see me in my room when you wake up," she told him.
"It's not zhe same," he said.
Kerri managed to turn over and kissed him. "Good night, Kurt," she told him, pulling away.
"Ok," he sighed, letting her go and standing to walk her to her room.
Friday finally came, and the seniors were prepared for graduation, in dressy clothes and graduation gowns, their caps pinned in or held in their hands.
The whole school filed into the ballroom, which still had the stage set up, and sat down in the chairs set up across from it.
The ceremony was nice, the speaker was inspiring, the students walked across the stage and shook all of the teacher's hands, getting their diplomas and going back to their seats.
After a little more talking, the seniors finally got to stand and throw their caps.
Everyone there started slowly making their way into the dinning room for snacks and drinks, still celebrating, the seniors almost floating across the floor.
Kerri and Kurt sat together, waving and chatting as the students passed, congratulating all of the seniors.
When the day was finally over, everyone was glad when their heads hit their pillows, all of their energy sucked out by the excitement.
The next few days were filled with madness as teens ran around the school with unstructured time, playing in the pool, in the rec room, in and out of the halls, outside, everywhere.
Kerri had started by sitting on Kurt's bed, but she was slowly moving down, a little at a time.
Kurt looked up from where he was putting rice in small bags and tying them to see her laying down, her pen standing up in her unmoving hand. He put the bag he was working on down and laid next to her. "Liebling," he whispered, but she didn't move. He gently pulled her closer, holding her against him, and the pen fell from her hand. "Liebling," he whispered again, but she still didn't answer. He held her closer and kissed her shoulder, smiling as he started drifting off as well.
Kerri woke in the morning, surrounded by warmth. She smiled and cuddled into the warmth. Kurt's arm shifted while his tail tightened around her. She opened her eyes and looked around and realized she was still in Kurt's room. She moved to get a little more comfortable, and Kurt groaned, pulling her closer.
"Kurt," she said, then cleared her throat. "Kurt," she tried again. She tugged his tail gently and said his name again, making him jump in surprise.
"Vas, vas ist los?" He asked sleepily. {what's wrong}
"Nothing," she told him. "I just want to get up."
"Mmm, nein," he told her, nuzzling back into her neck. "I vant to hold you longer." Kerri smiled at his sweetness and let him hold her close.
About two weeks into the summer, the X-Men were relaxing, doing their individual things, when they were called.
Kurt teleported himself and Kerri to the hanger with a Bamf, filling a small area with sulphuric smoke. They boarded the jet and waited as everyone else assembled, strapped in, and they took off.
They flew as Scott filled them in. "Dr. Randalf has created something new, something like what he brought to the school during the formal. We're not sure exactly what it is, but from first looks it looks- human..."
Kurt cringed at the thought of meddling with human DNA, and Kerri ran her hand down his arm.
When they arrived, they saw the thing. It was about five stories tall, compared to the building it was by, it was very deformed, but a human shape could be made out, and they saw Dr. Randalf, standing on one of the buildings, giving the thing orders.
The team left the jet, leaping into action; Nightcrawler and Kerri flitting from place to place, pulling bystanders out of the way, Cyclops assessing the situation and giving orders, Jean blocking it's path to keep it from wandering into more people, Beast stood in the background with a small computer taking notes and observing, Wolverine jumping forward, trying to slice into its flesh to kill it, but, of course, it started draining his power, and Jean had to pull him back.
Cyclops shot an eye beam, and it sizzled into it's skin.
"Stupid! You stupid, pathetic, idiotic, piece of shit DNA mutt!" Dr. Randalf yelled from the roof he was on. "Use your armor! Don't let them hit you!" The creature seemed to shimmer as something like a force field appeared around him.
Cyclops fired another eye beam at it, but it stopped short, fizzling out. Jean tried to fight down the force field, but had to keep stopping to block the creature's path again. Wolverine leaped at it again, trying to get through the force field, but he was stopped as well. He stayed with it, though, following it and attacking at it's legs as it moved.
Nightcrawler paused, checking the area around the creature. "Ve are good over here, as long as ve can keep zhat zhing from moving to a completely new area," he said over the communicator as Kerri landed next to him.
"It's clear over there," she told him, wiping her brow.
"Thanks, Nightcrawler," Cyclops said, and they could see another eye beam fizzle out.
"Nightcrawler, Coyote, we could use your help, I'm trying to stop it, but it keeps breaking through," Jean called to them over the communicator.
"Nothing is working against this thing!" Cyclops cried out in frustration as another beam fizzled.
Kerri leaped into the air, flying toward the biggest part of the commotion, and Nightcrawler teleported to meet them there.
"Kill them! Kill them, you giant moron! Pick them up and crush them!" The creature let out a half groan half grunt in annoyance as Dr. Randlaf yelled at it, as he had been doing the whole time. "You stupid lump of genetics! Kill them!" Dr. Randalf shrieked in rage as the creature started to follow his demands, but only able to do so slowly.
The creature's fist swung down towards Wolverine, who didn't try to get away, just put his claws up to try and get through the force field, but it didn't help; the fist hit him, knocking him to the ground. Wolverine got back up, attacking it's legs again as it shuffled a little.
Kerri and Nightcrawler fought to keep the direction the creature was trying to go, keeping it away from more people. Kerri focused, bringing up an image of thorny bushes, something the creature wouldn't want to step on.
"Keep going!" Dr. Randalf screamed. "Don't stop! It's not real, you stupid experiment! Kill them! Keep going and kill them!"
The creature had apparently had enough of Dr. Randalf's abuse, and bellowed in anger, reaching out and picking him up. It shook him around a little as the X-men watched, not sure what to do, since they couldn't hurt the creature. It threw Dr. Randalf on the ground, stamping it's foot on him, making Wolverine stare as blood squished from between it's toes.
After a moment, the controlled movements that it had shown before with Dr. Randalf's direction stopped, and it seemed to be a child in a temper tantrum, stomping and picking up things to throw at the X-Men, making them have to keep three steps ahead of where it was aiming.
Kerri leaped into the air, flying around it's head. "Come on, follow the birdy," she called, zig zagging as it tried to grab her, following her away from the populated area it had been trying to get to.
"Good plan, Coyote," Cyclops said. "Keep it moving south, where it's already been cleared, Nightcrawler, keep it clear, Beast, can you find anything that will help us take this thing down?"
"I haven't been able to find any way, unless we can get that force field down," Beast answered.
Kerri ducked behind a building out of the creature's sight, breathing heavily. Nightcrawler appeared next to her. "Are you alright, liebling?" He asked. She nodded, wiping her arm across her forehead.
Kerri's eyes shot up as the creature stepped closer, still looking for her. She sighed with a little relief as it stepped past, and her eyes drifted to the building it had just disappeared around, the Empire state building.
Nightcrawler watched as well, turning back to her and sighing.
A random memory surfaced in her mind, something she had heard in elementary school. She looked up to the top of the building again. "I have an idea," she whispered.
"Vhat vas zhat?" Nightcrawler asked.
"I- I have an idea, can you get me to the top of that building?" She asked, pointing.
"Ja, vhat are ve doing?" He asked.
"I have to see when we get there," she told him.
He wrapped his arms around her and teleported a couple of times to get to the top of the building, landing on the roof, but not letting her go. "Vhat now?"
Kerri pulled away and looked over the edge of the roof, down at the creature. "I remembered something I heard when I was young; that if you dropped a penny from the roof of the Empire state building, it would crack someone's skull and kill them," she told him.
"Ah, do you have a penny hidden in zhere somevhere?" He asked, looking over her body suit.
She smiled, almost laughing. "No, I have to figure something out, I just need a minute..."
Thoughts flew through her head, what could she drop from here to kill the creature? She did the math in her head, based on the loose visual idea of him being five stories tall, he was roughly ten times the size of a normal human, plus the force field, she'd need something heavy, something that would fall with enough force to get through all of that.
She wasn't paying attention to the chatter on the communicator, but Nightcrawler leaned over to her, saying, "Liebing, I have to go help zhem, I vill be back vhen I can." She nodded, squeezing him before he teleported away.
Kerri went back to thinking as she watched the creature wandering. Something heavy, something big-
No, not big, heavy, but not big, something that would focus the weight in a small area- something dense- something like lead.
Kerri looked around the roof, not expecting any lead, but hoping there was something she could use, a loose pipe or something with a focused point she could change into lead.
Of course there was nothing, it was amazingly well kept for a roof.
'A sword,' she thought to herself. 'I could make a sword, that would be good, pointed, weight focused, from this height-'
But, the question was, how would she make sure to hit it? Even if the others kept the creature in one spot, there was no guarantee that it would hit in the right spot, or hit it at all, it could go stray and hit one of her teammates- it could hit Kurt, and anything that involved that chance was not worth the risk. She looked over the edge again. It needed some sort of guiding system-
Kerri felt a sudden flood of uselessness fill her.
If only she could be bold, if only she had courage like Helenia had had. If only she could be strong, protect the person she loved, the people she- maybe not loved, but certainly liked, she'd started thinking of Logan as what she imagined a godfather would be like, taking care of her and continuing teaching and training her to take care of herself, Kitty and Piotr, her best friend and her beloved, Jubilee, whom she had a soft spot for, the other kids, who hadn't even had time to start their lives-
Kurt. She loved him so much, and she'd pull him out of danger when she had the chance, attacking sometimes, but mostly running. All she ever did was run. She couldn't even get the nerve to do something to save his life- too afraid for her own.
Kerri clutched the railing at the edge of the roof, her body sagging. She felt hollow. She was selfish, so selfish. He'd protect her, he'd do something, she was sure. She felt a prickling as tears were trying to grow and blind her. She held tighter to the railing at the edge. She wished that Helenia was there, she might have been able to help, or do something, like she had done before.
She had to do something.
She had to do something.
Something!
Anything...
There was a cloud of smoke as Nightcrawler appeared. "Liebling, are you still ok?" He asked, going to her.
It felt like a sudden inner strength filled her. She had to save him. She would do anything to save him. Anything. Bar none. "Yeah- fine," she smiled to him, but turned and looked over the edge of the roof to hide the tears trying to force their way out. "I have an idea, the penny thing, but, with a twist. He's too big and protected for a penny, so if we can get something heavy and sharp with enough force-" She stopped and inconspicuously wiped her nose.
"Vhat? Vhat do you need, liebling?" He asked.
She glanced at him and pointed down below. "I need you to get the others to get the creature there and keep it there," she told him.
"Vhat are you going to drop on es?" He asked in confusion.
"Something heavy and sharp, I thought a sword would work, maybe lead or cast iron-"
"Zhat's dangerous!" Nightcrawler exclaimed. "It could go anyvhere!"
"I know, that's why I'm going to guide it," she answered, still looking down at the street.
Kurt grabbed her shoulders, roughly turning her to face him. "Nein! LIebling ich verbiete es! You can't do zhat! You could get hurt!" {no, I forbid it}
Kerri's eyes widened as he held her. "Kurt, it's ok," she told him, her hand moving up his arm to his face, ruffling the fur on his jaw a little. "I only have to guide it to him, just make sure it gets there."
"How vill you get avay?" He demanded, staring into her eyes intensely.
"I have wings, I only have to get close enough to make sure it'll hit it, then I can get out," she told him, leaning close to his chest, her hand moving to the back of his head as her other wrapped around him in a hug. "It'll be ok," she said again, trying not to cry. "I'll get in, get out-" She squeezed him. "It'll be ok," she told him again. "I love you."
"I love you," he told her. "Vhat do you need me to do?" He asked.
"I just need the rest of you to get the creature to the bottom of this building and to keep it there," she told him.
He pulled back and stared at her for a moment before bowing his head and sighing. "I vill do it. Ve vill get it in place and keep it zhere," he told her.
She made him pause by gripping his face. "I love you, Kurt. It'll be ok," she told him again. He nodded and she created a sword before she let him go so he could teleport.
Kerri took a deep breath and swung the sword in a test before she changed to a private channel and pressed the button on her communicator. "Logan?"
There was a moment of silence before there was a crackle and some background noise. "Yeah, what do ya' want, Kid?"
"Logan, did Kurt explain my plan yet?"
"Yeah, he's explaining it to the others now," he told her.
"Good. I- Just... Just keep him down there," she told him, her voice quieting as she asked.
There was silence for a moment before he answered. "Yeah. You got it, Kid."
Kerri waited until she got the ok that the creature was below her, looking near invisible to her, even with her amazing eyesight. She took a breath, holding it for a moment before she hoped over the fence and stretched her wings, letting herself tip forward and fall face first.
She started falling, and though she knew it would take less than ten seconds to reach the ground, she swore they were the longest ten seconds of her life.
She held the sword pointed downward in front of her, her wings tilting to keep her on track as she aimed toward the top of the blob she knew was the threat. It moved a little, but she automatically kept track on her target.
Kerri felt the sword growing heavier as she worked through her tiredness to change it into lead. She felt a metal moving up her arms, then her stomach. It moved along her legs and tail, up her back, but she kept her wings and head clear of it, needing her guidance system until the end.
She felt tears run up her face, and she blinked hard to clear her vision, determined that this was going to be it, nothing else would be needed to kill this thing. She felt a sob raise in her chest, but stifled it, trying to focus on her target.
She was close, now, she could see the team working to keep the creature in one spot and the details around. "Kurt," she murmured. "I'm finally going to be strong, for you... You'll be ok," she whispered as she let the metal cover the rest of her.
Kurt looked up at the creature's head, desperately trying to keep the thing where Kerri needed it to be. She sounded like she thought they'd only have one shot at it.
He looked over to the others to make sure they were ok, and they seemed to be ok, distracting the creature, he could only hope it didn't move at the last second.
He dodged out of the way as a chunk of street flew in his direction, getting somewhere safe before looking up again. He saw Kerri falling, and a thread of panic tugged at his insides, but he pushed it down. This was the plan. It would be ok.
Kurt dodged again, appearing on the other side of Wolverine, and looked up again.
Something was wrong.
She shouldn't be that close to the creature, she should be breaking now, spreading her wings to stop herself, getting away...
It was almost like she wasn't going to stop-
Sudden panic took over his body as realization broke through. "Kerri! NEIN!" He yelled, about to leap forward and teleport to her, get her out of the way.
"Elf!" Wolverine called, grabbing him and pulling him back. "Stay here! We need you here!"
"Nein!" Kurt fought, trying to get out of Wolverine's tight grasp as he sank one hand of claws into the side of a building, making it so there was too much for Kurt to teleport. "Nein, Kerri! Bitte! Gott im Himmel, bitte nicht!" he cried out. {please, god in heaven, please no}
Wolverine tried to turn so Kurt couldn't see what was about to happen, telling him, "don't look, Elf, you don't need that image."
But Kurt turned and watched over his shoulder. The sword tip, still gleaming and sharp, hit the force field, which sparkled and seemed to shatter, then, it entered the skull of the creature, sliding in to the hilt. But it didn't stop there, it kept going, down into the creature's brain, which in itself would have killed it, but Kerri's now metallic body also crashing through the bone and tissue matter made sure there was no way it was surviving.
"NEEEIIINNN!" Kurt yelled. It was a soul shattering scream of horror at seeing a loved one die in front of you, and it made the air thick with pain as the team watched the creature's body tilt, dead weight over taking it as it fell to the ground, Kerri's bottom half sticking from the top of it's head.
Kurt pushed at Wolverine, who let him go as he looked away, and ran to the corpse, getting to the head and putting his hand on Kerri's metal leg. "Kerri," he called to her. "Kerri!"
Cyclops and Jean stood back just a little. "Kurt, I'm so sorry," Jean said, walking closer to him.
"Ve have to get her out," Kurt said. "She von't be able to breazh, ve have to get her out." He started pulling at the statue like leg.
"Kurt..." Cyclops started, but stopped at Jean's hand on his chest.
They worked together to get her unstuck from the creature's head, finally pulling her out to lay uncovered on the ground.
She was completely covered in metal, not lead, like most of the sword, maybe brass, they weren't sure.
"She completely turned herself," Cyclops said, looking herself over. "Has she ever done that before?"
Jean shook her head. "Not that I know of."
"I think she's really gone this time," Cyclops said quietly.
"Nein, she's not," Kurt said.
"How can you tell?" Cyclops asked.
"She can't be," Kurt told him. "She can't be."
"Kurt, I'm sorry, but even if she's inside of there, and not entirely metal, there's no way she'd survive the fall," Cyclops told him.
Kurt stood angrily. "Ve need to get her back to zhe med lab. Hurry!"
Beast hit the base of the sword, breaking it. "We'll be able to lift her, now. Lead is very dense, making it extremely heavy for not a lot of surface area, which, I'm sure, is why she used it, but it's very brittle, easy to break."
Wolverine finally approached the statue that was formerly Kerri and picked it up, heading toward the jet. "Come on, we can argue back at the mansion, we gotta get outta here."