I own nothing! And here it is! The chapter which my beta (Chicaalterego) was holding hostage as of the last chapter! After much revision and a horrible time with German accents, it is ready to be unveiled. Tadaa!
Daniel Williams, former hero and self-entitled failure and traitor is empty from the inside. He meets nothingness feeling number than ever as his weakened body falls to the floor, and the debris begin to settle.
Chapter 25: Broken Trust
Kurt pulls in a deep breath, teleportation having stolen his air, and glances around the interior of the place that Mr. Williams convinced him to teleport to. The massive room is dark, and smells of oil and other mechanical scents. He notes it immediately as odd. Wrong. He had gotten the impression that this was supposed to be a garage, not a warehouse –from the borrowed mental image he had used to get himself there.
At first, nothing seems wrong besides that detail. Kurt assumes that the place looked a lot more eerie in the dark than in the memory. He glances around, thankful for the cat-like eyes his mutation granted him which allow him to see a faint gleam, like that of a light reflected against a chrome surface. Suddenly, a new series of sights and sounds change his perceptions of his surroundings.
First, a multitude of small lights, seemingly ordered in groups of two light up. Next, a soft whrrrr fills the air, increasing in volume while Kurt attempts to process his surroundings as his eyes finish adapting to the darkness. A creaking, groaning, clanking sound echoes around the warehouse as the spots of light start to point in the same direction: him.
It takes Kurt longer than it should have for it to click that the metallic surfaces kissed by faint moonlight have humanoid shapes. Familiar ones at that.
Sentinels.
The realization shoots a ray of terror through Kurt's soul. His eyes flash to the side, seeking Mr. Williams' face. His lips part to deliver this pronouncement, but the warning dies a quick death –it doesn't even have time for the first sound to come out of his lips. He doesn't want to believe what his eyes tell him. Mr. Williams' face is hard. Set. His body is tense, and his guilty eyes dart towards Kurt, seeking… forgiveness? What for? The lack of surprise as Mr. Williams glances towards the massive automatons that surround them reveals the answer.
Betrayal unlike anything else Kurt has ever felt sears through his heart. His teacher, the man who helped him every time he asked, who didn't seem to mind that he was a mutant, whom he'd thought didn't mind him… He recalls the few times Mr. Williams flinched at his teleportation. Kurt had been amused then, feeling smug that he was able to ruffle the teacher's feathers.
He wasn't amused anymore. This last revelation of Mr. Williams' allegiances had thrown a new perspective on the issue: Mr. Williams was terrified of his powers; the flinches should have been a clear proof of his rejection of them, of him as a mutant.
"Vat?" His voice is a croak of shock, stunned by this revelation. A part of Kurt is surprised he can be stunned by something that has been so commonplace in his life: rejection, betrayal.
Mr. Williams gives him a sorrowful look and for a moment Kurt hopes that he was forced into it. The hope lasts until Mr. Williams says, "I'm sorry," in such a tone Kurt can't help but acknowledge he is doing this of his own volition.
Mr. Williams had known this would happen. He knew what would be there, and took Kurt there anyway. Had he in part faked his insanity to move closer to them? Kurt releases his arm, anger surging through his body –he wants to hurt the traitorous teacher, but a moment later Kurt sees a sentinel fires a beam of lethal light, and he barely has time to dodge it, much less punch Mr. Williams.
"I thought you were our friend," Kurt shouts from the awkward crouch he had landed in as he dodged. Mr. Williams flinches. Kurt hopes his words convey the depths of his disgust and hatred for him, a man whom they'd offered a home to, a man who had gained their trust and friendship, then stabbed them in the back.
Kurt swears to himself that he will personally make him pay for this betrayal when the right time comes. For now, though, he focuses in his mental picture of the interior of the jet. Then, he lets his power build. The world shift around him with a pop of displaced air.
…
Teleportation over, Kurt finds himself in the main section of the stationed jet. Everyone is there, talking in a buzzing hum so loud the trademark pop sound of his power is muted.
The jet vibrates ever-so-slightly under his feet, showing that it is ready to depart any second, but Kurt doesn't notice it much. He is too absorbed within his own shock, too overcome by silent anger. Nobody notices him for a short time –crouched as he is –but eventually they do notice him; one voice calls for him, then every eye is on him.
The Professor is the one who notices that something is wrong first. Kurt ha drooped, shoulders hunched with weariness, eyes sad, body more than a little tense. Nobody says a word. There is something in the way his body shake that still their tongues. Finally, Hank breaks the silence. "Kurt? What happened?"
Another shudder runs through Kurt's form, the words from his lips cutting through his soul as he murmurs, "He wasn't our friend," and the acceptance that comes from words spoken out-loud shatter the brittle façade that kept him from appearing broken.
He straightens slightly, anger feeding a new resolve, and Kurt goes from sad to demanding. "Ve need to leaf. Now. Ve need to change vere ve're going, too. Ve need to leaf!" His voice comes in quick tones overflowing urgency and hinting at a barely contained fury. He can see the bewilderment that spreads through the small crowd, both from the words spoken and the terrifying face he doesn't know he is making.
"What's going on?" Ororo asks, startled, "Why do we need to change locations?"
Kurt stands up numbly, walking with shaking steps to the nearest chair, where he promptly sinks, uncaring of the odd angle he lads at. He doesn't want to speak of the matter, but they need to know. "It vas a trap. Zie place I took us to vas filled vis Sentinels. Sentinels he knew vould be there. He vas nefer our friend. He vas only around to… He might have guessed vere ve are going. Ve need to change destinations. He probably told zie government all zey needed to know about us to destroy us."
A ripple of disbelief runs through the surrounding people. Hank is, once again, the first to say something. "He…he what?"
"He betrayed us. I took him to zie place he vanted to go. It vas a varehouse. It vas filled vis sentinels." Kurt repeats the facts, the words coming easier this time.
It might be the adrenaline still filling his veins, but it seems to him like everything around is moving in slow motion, so he had a first row seat to see the horror, fear and betrayal –emotions that mirror his own- coming to life in the face of his friends.
Thunder sounds from outside the windows of the jet, and the jet sways as the threat of several tornados and hurricanes Ororo must have unlashed as the control of her power slips for a moment rises. The light of the impromptu electrical storm flashes ominously, making dark, threatening shadows dance on the somber face of Logan. The Wolverine clutches his knuckles, adamantium claws sprouting out of white-knuckled hands a second before he slashes a–thankfully non-vital—part of the jet.
"Calm down, my friend," Professor Xavier speaks soothingly, getting nothing more than a growl in response, before the powerful mutant stomps all the way out of the main room –presumably to the small storage room where he might find something to punch to better vent his anger.
Hank checks the mess that is left on the wall of the machine, and informs everyone that radio wouldn't work for the duration of their flight… not that they need to know the use of such apparatus to know that mutants all over the city (and the world) will be getting butchered by the government's newest weapons.
After Wolverine's outburst, things calm down enough for one of Kurt's friends, Jamie, to come up with a positive theory… well, more like an indignant cry born of naïve denial "He couldn't have betrayed us. I'm certain!" he looks around looking for support "Why would he betray us? He always accepted us! He helped us and-"
"He took me zere!" Kurt snaps.
"You can teleport! Maybe he wanted you to warn us!" Jamie snaps back. His hands ball into fists and his eyes glitter with anger. "Maybe he was forced by somebody, like mind-control. Or he was tortured! Or he was tricked into it! He wouldn't have taken with him someone who could teleport if he meant to harm us!"
"He meant it, Jamie, I could see it. He knew zie truth and nobody forced him to take me zere!" Even as Kurt says it, he feels a weak seedling of hope sprouting inside his heart that he forces himself to quash. Jamie's words are irrational. Kurt cannot let himself hope. He must not. And he mustn't let the others hope in vain, lest the truth hurt them all the more.
"How did he look, then?" Jamie has crossed his arms.
"Guilty. Sad. Like he vanted me to see things his vay." Kurt can describe the emotions he saw on Mr. Williams' face. He has memorized them. He isn't sure he will ever get the picture out of his head, keep it from playing over and over again.
"See? He had to! Otherwise he wouldn't feel guilty. Besides, he wouldn't betray us. He's teaching me algebra, and that doesn't scream 'I hate mutants' at all. Stop lying!"
Kurt wants to agree, but he is not lying. Not even to himself. Denial is something Kurt wishes he call on command, but he has never been good at it. A life being rejected by humans has made it impossible to shield himself with ignorance. He opens his mouth to respond to Jamie's rage, but clamps it shut. He didn't have it in him to destroy Jamie's bubble of hope. Kurt knows Jamie will accept it eventually, like many of the others –more experienced at being at the receiving end of discrimination- have.
Betrayal is common in a mutant/human relationship, whether it be friendship, parenthood, or love. So all mutants, even the more sheltered, eventually learnt to recognize it. And for a mutant so deeply familiar with being shunned and stabbed in the back, there is no mistaking the framework of emotions displayed in that warehouse. Had Mr. Williams been under control, he would have never felt guilt or sadness.
Ororo, interrupts his train of thought. "Do you really think we need to change locations again?"
"He was with us long enough to learn all he needs to know. He can tell zie sentinels, or whoever controls zem, vere he thinks ve'll go." Jamie looks ready to crusade for Mr. Williams again, but Kurt doesn't give him the chance "If ve're found, ve all know vat could happen." His final words remind those who had forgotten of the potential danger in being found. Experimentation. Nobody is willing to risk it after the reminder of what is left unsaid.
"Where should we go?" Ororo turns to Charles, the man who all the X-men trust to always come with the right answer.
Charles closes his eyes in contemplation "How about Maine?" he proposes as he opens his eyes to look around.
Hanks seems to think for a moment before saying, "Maine's got a low population, so it wouldn't be a safe place to be for long, but we should have time to regroup for a bit there."
"Vere in Maine vould ve go?" Kurt asks. "Any locations in mind?"
The door of the room opens and a decidedly ruffled Logan makes his way in, his blue hair peppered with bits of foam that probably came from the training mats they would undoubtedly need to replace. "Anywhere in northern Maine would work. Not much up there, just a bunch of UTs." Logan says. "I got my fav'rit spots, but most of'm ain't great landin' areas. If yer careful, ya kin find a good spot, though. They've got some runways."
The consent was both unanimous and unspoken; the teachers burst into activity, making sure their trip to Maine goes smoothly.
Kurt looks away from them all, not bothering to know who is doing what, and even when some of the students of the Xavier institute are tasked with one thing or another, they leave him be until they are ready to depart , only interrupting his musings to remind him he ought to buckle up.
Soon everyone is in their seats, ready for takeoff. Kurt breathes in soft, quiet breaths, and closes his eyes. Flashbacks of darker times surface, at Jamie's asking why Mr. Williams would betray them. As far as Kurt is concerned, a human doesn't need a reason to betray a mutant.
/
"Demon! It's here, in this church."
Kurt races away, wishing he could be anywhere but 'here' as yet another mob chases him away from his refuge in a church. He remembers a girl he thought was his friend, one who told him she liked him… only to tell the townsfolk of his hiding place.
He turns several random corners before he finds himself in a cul-de-sac, heart pounding as the crowd moves closer, closer, closer. He doesn't know what to do. He can't climb away, he realizes. The dead end has a cover with piles of junk underneath. He covers himself and hopes they go away. They don't.
A minute passes before the people find him and drag him out. He closes both eyes and prays to God, to the saints, to whoever up there that was listening, to keep him for harm –or at least prays to be granted the ability to survive what will come.
His eyes reopen, everything remains the same. Even God has deserted him. He watches as a fist rushes towards his face, near paralyzed with terror, wishing he was anywhere but here. A sensation reaches him when he latches to the memory of near river where he often found a feeling of peace. He feels himself trigging something before being wrapped into a dizzying, stomach-churning sensation. Suddenly, he is drops into the river, the water both drenching him and drowning him as the force of the flow pulls him down.
Kurt struggles to the surface and realizes what happened. It feels so surreal, but the blood and pain in his body –born from a few well-aimed rocks— make sure to remind him this is real. He isn't dreaming. He shudders in the icy water, and eventually pulls himself ashore. He survives, but he still feels that a piece of him is left behind in that church, where laughter of a fake friendship built the illusion that the world could be a bright place for someone like him.
/
Kurt pulls himself out of his reminiscences of the past. A betrayal which would have lead him to his death if he hadn't teleported that first time. It had taken a long time for him to control that power, but it had finally panned out when Charles came and offered the opportunity to learn and a place to belong. Charles and his students were among the small number of childhood friends he'd ever had that didn't betray him.
Kurt attempts to steer away his mind from the memories of the old betrayal, but Mr. Williams' actions are like salt being poured on emotional wounds that never quite healed. For a moment, as self-doubt rears its ugly head and wonders if it is his fault for being a mutant, he wonders how he could be so stupid as to trust a human again. He feels like he should have known better and that it was all his fault he let the traitor hurt them all when Kurt should have known better than his peers. They were all in a danger that could have been prevented if he had acted different, if he had known Mr. Williams wasn't the man Kurt thought he was.
Dark thoughts continue to circle in Kurt's head until his body detects the change of pressure inside the cabin, and the tell-tale sounds of the jet getting ready to land. The jet rolls a bit, shaking a bit as the wheels touch ground, then it stops.
Kurt straightens out, feeling alert now that they ware touching ground, but then the jet starts moving once more, and it soars up. The confusion over the whole thing is dispelled when Kitty slips through the wall –they must have stopped to pick her up. She sits at an empty spot by his side –both sides of him being available as the gloom he is exuding makes the others keep an unconscious distance from him.
Kurt doesn't speak until he is addressed with a cheerful "Hi, elf! Been busy studying up for finals?"
Kurt is pulled out of his sadness with her cheer. "Yes, Kitty. I've been fery, fery busy. Studying for zie finals is horrible." He manages to find enough happiness to pull a weak grin.
"Well, isn't it great to know that all your hard work on that can now be wasted?" Her voice is suddenly too cheerful.
"Yes…I mean NO!" He starts to agree with her, but then realizes what she's saying –the surprise of what he almost agreed to cutting the depressive atmosphere like a knife.
He gives her a false glare. She bursts into laughter at his expression of exasperation. "Why so glum?"
Immediately, Kurt is reminded again of Mr. Williams' betrayal, and his lips purse into a thin line. "Did you hear about Mr. Villiams?" He asks.
"Oh. Yeah. I didn't think that would happen."
"Neizer did I."
"Has he woken up yet?"
"Vat?" Kurt is confused. "Vhy do you say zat?"
Kitty's head tilts to the side with puzzlement. "Remember? He went off his rocker? Lost it completely and passed out for a while?" She waits for him to understand.
"Off his rocker? Vat does zat mean?" Kurt enquires. He's heard the expression before, but doesn't remember its meaning.
"Insane. Nuts. Crazy. Pick a meaning." Kitty smirks, teasing him with her expression about his poor knowledge of English idioms.
"He did vake up. But you didn't hear about vat happened later, did you?" Kurt asks, understanding of her unhampered cheer coming to him at least.
"Nope! Do I want to know?" Her tone says she's curious. He wishes the explanation he has to give her was a different one.
"He voke up and told us he had a friend zat ve could take him to, since ve veren't sure about vat to do vis him. He called zie friend and had me teleport him zere. It vas a varehouse, filled with sentinels." Kurt pauses to take a fortifying breath before continuing "I don't know how many, just zat zere vere a lot. It vas a trap, and I fell for it. I teleported away before I could be a dead Nightcrawler." He manages to force a tight smile at the end.
"Mr. Williams —our teacher Mr. Williams— tried to kill you?" He can see her making the same connections he did, horror spreading across her features.
"Yes." His voice is a little numb.
"I though he didn't hate mutants." Kitty frowns.
"Look, I know vat I saw. You don't believe me? Fine." Kurt's voice rises with anger. His eyes narrow.
Kitty takes a step back. "Sorry! It's just a shock." She slumps back into a chair. "He taught me to drive and he was so nice. Why did he do this?" He can see the beginning of tears in her eyes. He remembers that Danielle reported Kitty had been a weird, emotional mess lately. He suspects that it's because Danielle is dating another girl. Danielle doesn't see it that way. He disagrees. But at the end it doesn't really matter, what matters is that Mr. Williams' betrayal ought to hurt Kitty –which is a damage made worst due the fact that the traitor spent more time with her than any other of them.
Kurt gives her a hug and lets her lean into him. She sobs, all the pervious cheer gone. After a while, they break out of the closeness. He flushes when he realizes that her small breasts had been pressed into his uniformed chest. He might be mostly over his crush on her, but that doesn't mean it'll ever fully go away.
She snorts at his blush and flicks him on the shoulder teasingly. He pouts but doesn't give a verbal response and the interaction doesn't go beyond companionable silence, both taking comfort on the other's presence.
Please remember to write a review! Reviews are almost as awesome as my beta reader, and both inspire me! Thanks for the many reviews of the previous chapter!
-MiaulinK