Chapter 25:
"Hello Pussy," Lance smirked with an evil grin. She knew exactly what he was thinking, the nerve of him. Her anger burst as she landed a blow to his face, but he shrugged it off with ease and caught her arm, despite her struggling. My powers have their drawbacks, she thought as Peter, who had been fighting Lance before her, landed a punch to his chest, causing the ass-hole to lose his grip.
"Hello greasy!" Peter shouted.
The two of them exchanged a single glance. It was at that minute that she began to realize what he meant to her, and what she meant to him. With one look, Peter Parker was able to convey a message that asked if she was okay. They were in the middle of a war zone, and he was worried if she was okay.
Why couldn't I have met him sooner? She thought. Why was I given this curse? I would've had a normal life if not for...well...this...She sprinted forward, pulling a child out of the way of one of Pyro's fireballs, and simultaneously disabled the maniac's machine temporarily with a swipe of her hand.
"You bitch!" Pyro screamed as he discovered that his mechanism wouldn't fire. "You have any idea how long these took to make?"
"Several years," she remarked, "given your level of intelligence." She lashed out with a fist, landing a blow strait in his jaw. Distantly, she was aware of Peter and Captain America circling each other. I couldn't really help him before...I'd just get in the way again, she thought as she saw Quicksilver run towards her in a streak of grey.
One that was interrupted by Rogue body-checking him at supersonic speed. And that's when she noticed her friend was flying.
"What the hell?" Kitty shouted skywards.
"I borrowed these from Miss M as she tried to arrest your boyfriend," Rogue smirked devilishly before she punched a flying car away from a fleeing civilian. "And they're dead useful."
"He's not my boyfriend!" Kitty screeched as she phased through a nearby explosion. "For the last time Rogue!"
Right, because you make a habit of repairing half-destroyed pieces of clothing for people. And asking them to stay with you when you're clearly upset. Rouge smirked as Sabertooth thundered towards them. Wanna tag-team him?
You go high I'll go low, Kitty replied as she slipped into the ground as Rogue slammed her fist into Sabertooth. With a mighty crash, the behemoth fell to the ground, allowing Kitty to pull him halfway through.
I was actually talking about Parker, said Rogue devilishly, but I guess it works on bad guys as well.
Shut up and hit something! Kitty replied as a mutant with scales ran towards her. She stopped her attacker with a solid kick to the stomach, increasing her density to reinforce the blow. Her powers couldn't affect the force of a blow, but they gave them more stopping power if she concentrated enough.
"Looks like my little pussy's all grown up!" Lance Alvers growled as he rose from where he had been lying on the ground. "Time to come and play." He was to fast for her with his left uppercut landing perfectly on her chin. Two more punches to the face followed before she managed to reorient herself enough to phase through an attack. With controlled fury, she launched a mighty kick his way, but seismic tremors shook the ground and she lost her balance and crumpled to the ground. Within a second he was on top of her, with an evil gleam in his eye. "Deja-vu, isn't it?"
"Hey sugar!" Rogue snapped as she dived strait for Lance, grabbing him and tearing him off of Kitty. "How bout you pick on someone your own size?" Kitty shook her head, trying to rid herself of the thoughts that penetrated her mind. And that's when she saw it.
Ever since day one, Logan had insisted that every X-man candidate learn to recognize battlefield hazards. He would have them run obstacle courses filled with traps such as nets and landmines that sprayed you with paint. He'd also warned them about snipers, and taught each and every one of them how to spot one by looking for the reflection on a scope. He even taught them how to guess it's intended target using rudimentary math. So she was able to see exactly who the sniper was aiming for.
"PETER WATCH OUT!"
Pain. That's what came next. Unbearable pain. Like fire, it spread across her body, igniting every nerve. A wordless scream of pain escaped her lips as she felt her body begin to fail her. She couldn't feel anything at all. She tried to move her legs in an attempt to stand. She couldn't. She tried to move her arms, but they failed her. Her fingers barely obeyed her commands as they flexed weakly. So weakly, like never before. If only that idiot bobby hadn't started all of this...
She had thought that finding out about her mutation was the worst thing that would ever happen to her, but now she knew differently. This was the worst pain she had ever experienced. And maybe it's the last...she thought as voices sounded off. They all seemed so distant to her, she couldn't focus on any one of them in order to figure out who was the speaker.
I'll stay with her, you guys rendezvous with the professor. Who was speaking to her? It sounded like Peter's voice. But he's not a telepath...she thought as she felt something dig into her shoulder. The world moved by in a series of blurred colours. All she could make out was a large black blotch looking down on her. More voices followed, these ones spoken verbally.
"Can you here me hun?"
"What's her name?"
"Katherine Pryde."
"Come on..."
Her vision became washed with white as she felt herself moving again, faster this time. More voices filled her overloaded ears as she twisted and turned. A new sensation began to fill her body, like a glass of water on a hot day. The feeling spread through her body. Not negating the pain entirely, but cooling the sensation.
Please. There he was again. How was he doing it? Peter Parker was not a telepath, yet she could hear him in her thoughts.
Is it just leftover from Jean's link? She thought weakly. No, Jean's not here...and I don't know where here is...it's not the jet...
I..I...can't go through this! Not again!Despite the unbearable pain, Kitty felt an intense wave of emotions wash over her. Or is it the anaesthetics...? Please don't die on me Kitty. Something sharp drove into her body as her head began to feel like it was going to explode with a swarm of bees spilling out as more voices filled her ears and a white light blinded her.
"She's lost a lot of blood. At least a gallon..."
"...through her small intestine...ecol i bacteria..."
"...scalpel..."
"Doctor, some of the nurses are talking...they're saying she's..."
"She's hurt, Marion. From what the EMT's said it was a high-calibre bullet. Now let me remove it."
"Dr Tamale...she's..."
"From what I heard, Spider-man gave this girl his own blood in order to save her. That tells me one thing, that he cares about her. He's saved countless lives, so I'm gonna do my absolute best to save hers, so that I can pay him back. Even if it's one person at a time...now come on girl...don't die on me..."
A bright white light filled her eyes. All sound faded out for a second, coming back much clearer than before. But she could tell she wasn't in the operating room anymore.
Kitty found herself outside Midtown High school, of all places. It was the middle of may, judging by the amount of clothing the students where wearing. Voices trailed off in a thousand different conversations. But they all seemed muted compared to one in particular, which was coming from behind her.
"...so Gwen, I was thinking...do you wanna...I don't know...get a bite to eat or something...?" a sixteen year-old Peter Parker asked a blonde-haired girl he was walking next to.
"Or we could go out on a real date like you're trying to ask me out on but are just to scared to," the girl, Gwen smiled as she patted him on the cheek. "How about you swing by my house tonight, if your Aunt lets you, and my Dad can give you the old boyfriend shake-up you enjoy watching."
"Great!" Peter said sarcastically. Gwen...Kitty thought as she watched the events play out before her. Why does that name sound so familiar... She continued to mull as the scene changed before her, and she was now in a mildly lavish dining room. Not as lavish as Xavier's office, but still above average when compared to most.
"So tell us a little about yourself, Mr Parker," said a man who was sitting at the head of the table. Peter gulped once he spoke. "I'm kidding!" the man smirked as he sliced into the meatloaf before him, "You think I'd put you through all that when you and Gwen have been in the same classes since grade one?"
"Well..." Peter pretended to mutter, "I... yes."
"Just remember that I know where to bury the body so no one will find it." the man smirked as the woman sitting next to him, presumably his wife, slapped him on the shoulder. Everyone at the table smiled, including Gwen.
"I know, Mr Stacey," Peter smirked as he cast a glance at Gwen. Gwen Stacey...Kitty thought as the scene changed again, Dr Connors mentioned her to Peter during his spiel. Why? She got her answer in a more graphic way than expected.
"GWEN!" Peter shouted as he lifted a large chunk of debris, much to large for any bodybuilder, let alone a sixteen year-old. But he paid no attention to his secret as he checked for signs of life desperately on the broken and bloody body before him. She watched as he became elated as her eyes fluttered open. "Gwen..." he sobbed happily.
"Peter...?" Gwen said, very faintly as she raised a hand to his face. "I..." Her hand became limp, along with the rest of her body as all signs of life receded from her. Kitty didn't need to see the expression on Peter's face, because she could feel it in her heart. She couldn't quite explain it, but she could feel everything he felt, and wasn't able to comfort him the slightest.
It was at that moment that it donned on her how similar her own situation must have been for Peter to experience. He had to go through the entire spectrum of emotions again, something nobody should have to. She shed a tear as she gazed down at the man before her, and everything dissolved and was replaced again.
"...know what you've done!" Peter roared as he slammed his fist into a man's face. Kitty now found herself in a warehouse at night. Only two other bodies were present, Peter and the man he was attacking. "You killed her!" He finished with a mighty kick to the man's kneecap, shattering it. The white-haired man spat blood as Peter grabbed him by the collar and tossed him into a wall.
"...you gonna do about it?" the man sneered, "toss me in jail?"
"I'm gonna rip your fucking head off," Peter growled menacingly as he started to choke the man. And that's when a heavy gloved hand clasped his shoulder.
"We don't do that, son." Captain America said sympathetically. Someone flicked a light-switch, causing all the shadows to retreat back to where they came from. And that's when she recognized the warehouse. It was the same one he had taken her to to help her with her injured arm. And as Peter released the man and descended into tears, she thought about why he chose that particular building as a hideout. To serve as a reminder, perhaps?