Announcements: First of all, I am SO sorry that I didn't update when I had planned to... making this update a total of three days late. Once again, sorry! One of the reasons is that was having problems saving the changes, and I wanted to add in the next announcement in addition to the disclaimer.
Secondly, I wanted to announce to everyone who has not had a chance to read my updated profile that I have found the missing notebooks in which most of the rest of this story is stored. I will begin to type them up shortly, but I am just so thrilled to have found them in the first place!
Disclaimer: I do not own X-men Evolution or the comic books, though I do have a few OCs that I created personally. Please do not take them without permission. If you'd like to borrow one, or are unsure of which characters I have created (not everyone knows all the comic book characters, and I only know of a handfull), you can post a review asking me.
Enjoy!!!
Chapter 25: Be Careful What You Wish for
Tamora sat on a stone bench, in front of her school. She wished that she was with her old friends. She had gotten an e-mail all about the infamous Julian, and longed to be with Kess and Adea to take him down a peg. Apparently he hadn't been too pleased to find out that his clothes had mildewed on the plane. She sighed, if wishes were fishes… Still, she really, really wanted to be with her friends, not out here during her free block.
Tamora picked up the book she had gotten from the library and tried to concentrate. Reading Wolf Speaker by Tamora Pierce helped calm her down. She loved these books, and she especially loved wolves. She also found it amusing that the woman had the same first name as her.
She was imagining Daine talking to her wolf friends, like Brokefang. She loved the idea of the great wolf, who was less wolf than he had ever been before. She imagined his sleek, yet slightly dirty, fur, when her mind went blank.
A wolf stood where the girl had been, looking around. With a sniff, she realized that she was near humans, and her instincts sent her running far away from the dwelling. Wolves never stayed near humans. Humans would kill her, and she could not allow that…
"Hey, Kestrel! Someone is calling for you. She said she was Mrs. Griffin," Kitty came over, holding out the cordless phone.
"Why's Tam's mom calling me?" Kess wondered aloud. She took the phone. "Hello?"
"Oh, thank goodness. Kestrel, have you heard from Tamora?" a frantic voice demanded.
"No," Kess said slowly. "Why? Is something wrong?"
"She's missing! She went to school this morning, and Emily says she never met her afterwards. Emily also found all of Tamora's stuff out near a bench. Tamora isn't that careless! And it's getting late… Tamora isn't irresponsible, either! I'm worried she was kidnapped, or something!" the mother sobbed into the phone.
"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Griffin. I hope she's okay. I'm sure she is, though. I'll tell Adea to keep an eye out for her, and we can get the Professor to look for her! If anyone will find her, he will."
"Oh, thank you so much! Call me if you hear from her, or find her, or anything!" Mrs. Griffin gasped. Kestrel heard the click of the phone.
Kess stared at the phone and hung up. Tam was missing. Tam was really missing. Oh, my God, Tammy's missing! She yelped mentally. Scrambling up, she ran from the room.
"Adea, Adea, Adea!" she yelped when she spotted the girl buried under a book in the library. "Tammy's-missing-and-her-mom-just-called—"
"What? Slow down," Adea ordered in annoyance. She got peevish when interrupted.
"Tammy is missing! Her mom just called! We need to ask the Professor to start looking for her! She's probably abducted-and-frightened-and-really-really-really-really—"
"Shut up, shut up!" Adea yelled, jumping up, much to the annoyance of the other people in the library. "C'mon, we've got to find the Professor or Jean!"
Kess nodded, running out of the library. She spun around in a circle several times, muttering, "Where is the Professor, where is the Professor," then chose a random corridor and took off.
Adea ran to the back of the library instead, and to the lift that would take her to the lower levels. Down there was Cerebro, and it could somehow find people, she remembered.
If someone was powering it with telepathy, she remembered. But no matter, maybe the professor was down here.
Kess leaned against the wall, panting slightly. One more corridor, she thought, and she'd be at the Professor's office. Hopefully. Hmm… but which one? Left or right? She stood straighter. "Eenie, meenie, miney… left!" She went to knock on the first official-looking wooden door she came to.
"Enter."
"Yes!" she muttered, shoving open the door. "Professor, my friend Tamora went missing, and she may be abducted, and could you please look for her in Cerebro? Please?" she said quickly, albeit understandably.
The Professor stared at her for a moment and nodded. "Of course. Let us head downstairs. I shall start looking for her right away."
"Thanks," Kess sighed, and smiled slightly. Well, if the Professor were looking for her, Tamora would be found before bedtime.
Adea backed up, glaring at the control pad. She wasn't authorized access, huh? But this was important! She cracked her knuckles.
"Let's see what's under your little casing, shall we? I'm sure there's a wire that can be twitched to make you open," she growled menacingly, claws shooting out of one hand.
"What are you doing?" came from behind Adea.
The cat girl swung around. Jean stood, looking down, obviously concerned by the cat-girl's behavior.
"Trying to … get … in?" the bold statement turned into a question under Jean's stare.
"Why?"
The simple question made Adea feel very silly.
"My friend's missing, and I thought you or the professor was in there, and I know this thing finds missing people," she began, feeling like a stupid five-year old instead of the junior she was.
"You know Cerebro can only find mutants. The electricity in their brains is much higher than normal people so Cerebro can find them easily. Tamora is human, and therefore –," the sound of wheels on the stainless steel flooring made Jean look around.
"And so here we are," he finished what appeared to be a one-sided conversation as Kess walked beside his chair. He punched in the pass code, had his retina scanned, and laid his hand on the scanner on the door.
"Welcome, Professor," said the pleasant female computer voice as the doors slid open.
"Please, come inside," the Professor motioned to Kess and Adea. Jean followed, frowning.
"I thought Cerebro couldn't find non mutants, Professor?" she asked.
Kess paled. "Can't find non mutants?" she asked. "But – you said – but Tammy – but –"
The Professor sighed. "We can try to look for her. Her thought patterns might be picked up. If she were in a lot of trouble, she would be thinking loudly."
"Yes. Thank you," Adea said happily. "Should we go now?"
"That would be for the best. Thank you for alerting me. I will let you know if I find her."
Adea sighed. "Well, come on, Kess. Nothing we can do now," she led the way back to the elevator. Kess followed mutely.
The wolf sniffed, smelling the faint traces of humans. She'd run far today, and yet she still smelled the creatures who meant her kind harm. She would find a place to hide, so she could not be found.
She was so tired… The run had exhausted her. Night would be the best time to run. Humans slept during that time, and she could see fairly at night. The full moon shed light down as well.
She didn't know how she knew what she knew about the race called humans. She knew they feared her kind, but she didn't know how she knew how she knew. Had another wolf told her? And why couldn't she remember her mother? Who had fed her when she was a cub?
The she-wolf ran, as fast as she could. She would run until daylight slid over the land, even though she would be even more exhausted. She would sleep during the day, and find another place at night…
In a warehouse a man said pouring over a computer screen, trying to determine his next move. Charles had new students, and probably powerful, if untrained. He glanced at a report that Gambit had handed him, about a Spanish boy who had apparently made several people in his village kill themselves and had disappeared shortly thereafter. Not one of Charles' usual stock, but if he was there that could prove very dangerous.
Erik Lensherr sat back with a sigh. He needed to know what Charles had. He needed to know as soon as possible.
She sat lazily. It had taken a few days, but she had found a nice place to call home. She sniffed, searching for prey, when a strange scent caught her attention. It smelled almost human, but there was something oddly familiar about it.
Pack? The wolf wondered. She headed in the direction of the familiar scent…
Kess wandered through the trees, kicking up stray pine needles beneath her sandaled feet. Ten whole days since Tammy had gone missing, and the Professor had been unable to find her. In a way, that was good – it meant that she wasn't in too much pain… or it meant that she was too incapacitated to be thinking.
Her mind shied away from the roads that thought led to. Trees. Yes. Think about trees. Nice, tall, lovely, earth-rooted, water-absorbing… Hey, is that a wolf?
She smelled the person who could be Pack. It was a human girl, from what she could tell. She stepped towards her, thinking, If she is Pack, then she won't be afraid…
Kess backed up slowly toward the edge of the forest, reaching for all the water she could reach. There was the lake… that was closest. The pool water was easiest to use, since it was more tame and malleable, but it was farther away. She bit her lip, thinking at the top of her lungs, PROFESSOR!!! THERE'S A WOLF IN YOUR WOODS!!!
The human girl backed away. It, strangely, hurt. The wolf became almost intolerably angry, and snapped. She leapt at the human girl, snarling angrily…
Kess called all the water within range and flung it at the wolf as it charged. The wolf was shoved several feet beyond the circle of trees. While it lay stunned for a moment, shaking it's head, she tried frantically to scramble up the nearest tree.
Rose saw the jet of water, and dashed for where only Kestrel could be. She'd been doing a late night check-up on her garden, but that wasn't as important as Kestrel's safety. She saw the wolf getting to it's feet, and growling. Rose did the only sensible thing, and wrapped the wolf in invisible vines.
The wolf snapped at the invisible ropes to no avail.
If only I was heavier, like a horse…
The wolf suddenly transformed into a huge draft horse, which was a lot harder to hold than a small wolf. The horse was still struggling against the bonds, hate oddly in its eyes.
Rogue led the group outside to help Kestrel with the wolf when she saw a draft horse fighting Rose's invisible bonds. She stared as it shape-shifted into a small bird, only to remain trapped by Rose's bonds.
Rogue sped up, knowing that the best way to end the mess as the bird started transforming at a rapid pace in between several different types of animals. She yanked off a glove, and touched the creature, which had just turned into an elephant.
The elephant froze. When Rogue pulled away her hand, it shuddered, transforming as the girl fainted.
The girl was lying, face down, on the grass. Her clothes were completely wrecked. Her pants were shredded, and there was a hole where a tail must've been. Her shirt was in tatters. It was obvious that this girl had come a long way.
Rogue turned around and told the boys to leave, right this second. Behind her, Rogue could hear Kestrel walking back up towards them.
Kess stopped and gasped. "Tammy!" she rushed forward. "Oh, what happened to you! You're… you're… not very decently dressed," she took off her jacket and draped her friend in it, turning her over. "You are very lucky you just missed that mad animal who just came charging through… here… oh, crumbs. You… attacked me? Oy vey."
Jean came over and picked Kestrel's missing friend up. She brought her into the building, and down to the Infirmary.
Tamora yawned. "I was having a very weird dream…" she commented softly, then opened her eyes. "Kestrel, what are you doing in my bedroom?"
"Uh… your bedroom? This isn't even a bedroom."
"Not a bedroom?" Tamora wondered, turning her head over to see what her friend meant. She saw all sorts of things that pronounced that this was a, not a bedroom, and b, that this was a hospital room of sorts. "Where am I?"
"The Institute. Welcome to your new home for the next few months. And why did you attack me?"
"Kestrel, why would I attack you? You're one of my best friends. And why would I be staying at the Institute? I'm not a mutant," Tamora pointed out.
"You are now. And I don't know why you attacked me. I was hoping you would tell me that."
"Kess, I can't be a mutant. For one thing, no one else in my family is a mutant. For another, I would know if I was. And three, even if I was, I wouldn't attack you." Tamora was adamant in this.
"One. You're the oldest of your brothers and sisters, and it just pops up in families without warning. Two, you would not know until your mutant ability was triggered. And three, I would know if you attacked me. It's not something you forget very easily."
"Kestrel, if I have a mutant ability, then why don't I remember having it?" Tamora said sagely.
"After affect from the shock of having Rogue absorb you?" Kess offered. "She touched you, you know, to make you stop trying to trample me."
"She –what? Rogue does what, exactly?"
"She absorbs people's life force – you know, psyche, memories –," Kess began.
"She absorbed my memories?!" Tamora yelped, leaping out of bed as a blue furred man walked over.
"You still have them, silly. She just has a copy of some of them. As I was saying, she also temporarily absorbs mutant powers."
"She has a copy of my memories. Rogue has a copy of my memories. Someone has a copy of my memories," Tamora said, her eyes huge, her face absolutely frightened.
"Please calm down," the blue furred man told her kindly. "Everything is all right. Now, what are you worried about?"
"SOMEONE HAS MY MEMORIES!!!!"
"And why should that be a problem? You still have them, too, I believe," the man asked calmly.
Tamora went white. "It's my business," she said quietly.
"Well, Rogue can't help what she takes from people. She would only have the most recent memories you had. She's also absorbed someone who went through a concentration camp, so whatever you had in your head can't be that bad in comparison," he told her, still in his "everything's okay" voice.
"But what if I was thinking about older memories recently?" Tamora asked, her face still white.
"You'll have to ask her," he answered. "But I should warn you, Rogue's never been… forthcoming with the memories she's absorbed."
"Okay…" Tamora said slowly. She wasn't sure she wanted to ask the girl Adea's described as being 'untouchable, literally' and 'prickly.'
"I'm still wondering why you attacked me," Kestrel pointed out.
"I didn't attack you! I don't even know how I got here! The last thing I remember is being outside on one of those stone benches in front of Essex High School!" Tamora cried. She couldn't help herself. Life had gotten so complicated all of a sudden. How else could she explain how she'd gone from school to the Institute in about –.
"What's the date?" Tamora asked quickly.
"Uh…" Kess thought, her brain momentarily stunned by Tamora's outburst.
"October 3, and I assume you know the year," the blue man said.
Tamora gaped at him. "October 3? I missed my mom's birthday! And my brother's!"
"And most of your school week," Hank commented.
"I hope you didn't have any projects that needed doing, not that it really matters now," Kess grinned.
"Oh, my god. I'm so dead. My mom must be furious!"
"I think scared out of her wits would be more accurate. I believe that the Professor is calling her as we speak," Hank corrected.
"Oh, yeah, maybe. But I didn't mean to! I don't even know what I did…" Tamora sank onto the bed, putting her face in her hands. What's happening to me? she wondered.
"Well… yeah. But… your mom will get over it eventually. Besides, if you're looking at it from the bright side, you'll be with me and Adea for the next couple of months," Kestrel said brightly. "Or you could look at the downside of things and say that was a bad thing."
"Hanging out with my friends is not a bad thing," Tamora said through her hands. She began wondering if this was how Kitten felt sometimes: out of place in a human world.
:We have a slight situation. Everyone, please report to the grounds,: a telepathic voice called. Tamora jumped.
Kestrel looked at her friend, and saw her transforming into a small dragon.