X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutantkind
Chapter 36: Dreams and Secrets
A few days after we went to Six Flags, I was back to full strength at last, and finally back at school with friends who were of my own age. Xavier, Logan, and Ororo are absolutely amazing, but it was nice to spend a good day at school with my friends, and not a moment too soon. Second semester finals were just around the corner, and everyone was busting their balls to try and find every moment to study during the weekend. Kitty and I helped each other with every class we both had, even if they were subjects that either of us were completely unfamiliar with. I was completely lacking in mathematics, and she was none the better in biology, but we kept going till it was time for bed, and Monday would come when we opened our eyes.
"Ugh..." Kitty moaned after we exit the bathroom when we brushed our teeth and hair. "I am so not ready for finals."
"I know , me either." I said. "If I weren't such a hardass and a delinquent, I'd reach into everyone's minds and pull the answers out one by one. Hell, I'd make the guy cancel the test and take us out for ice cream and pizza."
"That would be, like, so yummy."
"Right?" I sighed as I relinquished the thought. "But I have a bit more respect for people than to take away their individuality."
"Yeah."
"But we've done nothing but study till our legs fell off, so we should be plenty prepared for finals. And if we don't know an answer, we could at least guess. What's the worse that could happen?"
"We could flunk."
"I was going for something along the lines of spontaneous combustion, but that would be pretty bad too I guess." Kitty laughed out loud before we got to her room. Rogue was on the phone with someone, and talking about a book with some kind of twist ending about a guy turning into a werewolf. A novelization of the Howling perhaps. "But before you go to sleep, be sure to go over your notes again."
"Ditto."
"Okay."
"Good night, Ripley." Kitty said.
"Good night, Kitty." I looked to Rogue, and she looked back at me while still talking. "Best of luck tomorrow, Rogue." She smiled before nodding.
"You too." She said. I smiled before closing my eyes and teleporting straight to my room. With a thought, I stripped myself to my underwear and crawled right into bed.
Later
In my bed, I was tossing and turning all night. My mind kept on going back to days long since passed, days I wanted to keep buried, but they kept returning from the grave and haunting me over and over again until I heard a strangely familiar voice cut through the darkness that surrounded me. I couldn't hear what that voice was saying until I heard a scream.
"NO!"
I awoke with a start before I jumped to my feet and went right to my bedroom door. It sounded like the scream had come from inside the house, not just in my head.
"You heard that too, huh?" I looked to my right and saw Forge walking towards me.
"Yeah." I replied.
"It kinda sounded like..."
"Rogue." I closed my door and got a proper pair of pajama pants on before rejoining Forge in the hallway towards Rogue and Kitty's room.
"Kinda reminds you of when you set your room on fire, huh?" He said. I frowned at Forge as we continued walking.
"Thanks for the reminder." I replied with a huff. When we got to the room, Scott and Jean were just about the first ones there had we not woken up too. Scott wasted no time or words and quickly opened the door to the room. Inside, Rogue was crying and Kitty was sitting right next to her, trying to comfort her and calm her down. I've never seen Rogue without her makeup before that night. She usually looked so tough, indestructible, and independent, but seeing her without her layers made me see a poor, sobbing girl who needed her friends right now.
"Rogue, are you alright?" Scott asked. "What happened?"
"Ah...Ah don't know." Rogue sobbed. "Ah was dreaming, some kinda nightmare with these... these images." She sniffed and buried her face in her hands. "So horrible."
"Yeah." Kitty said. "Her shrieking totally freaked me out. I just about phased through the bed."
"Whoa." Scott said as we all walked in.
"Finals must really be getting to you, huh?" I asked, sitting on the opposite end of the bed from Kitty.
"No, it's not the first time." Rogue said, looking to us. "Ah've had this dream before. It started when Ah moved in to the institute." I wrapped an arm carefully around Rogue's shoulders and hugged her right as Kurt and Evan walked into the room, yawning and rubbing their eyes.
"What's going on, man?" Evan asked, sleepily. "Are you guys okay?"
"Rogue had a creepy nightmare." Kitty answered.
"Whoa. Vhat about?" Kurt asked.
"Seriously. I never knew someone whose dreams could make them scream like that." Forge said.
"Ah'm not sure what they were about." Rogue said, placing a hand on her head, trying to recall the events of the dream. "A castle, and wolves, a woman..." She put a hand over her eyes and tried so hard not to cry, but the surge of emotions going through her made tears flow. "Oh, the poor baby."
"A baby?" Forge asked, looking at me. I shrugged as I rubbed Rogue's back to try and calm her down.
"Ah didn't really see his face, but Ah seem to..." Rogue's eyes slipped up from the floor and she looked directly at Kurt, making him raise a brow curiously. "know him somehow."
"Vas?" Kurt asked. "Vhy are you looking at me like that? Vhats wrong?"
"It was you!" Rogue said.
"Vhat was me?"
"Somehow, Ah just know..." Rogue put a hand to her head to focus, but looked right back at Kurt. "It was you, Kurt!"
"Vhat are you talking about?"
"In the dream, there was a baby crying, and someone...a woman Ah think. Ah couldn't see her face, but she was running, being chased..." Rogue buried her face in her hands again and almost began crying again. "And the baby was dropped into the river." I felt the warmth drain from my face. I have creepy dreams sometimes, but never something like a mother and baby being hounded and seperated so horribly.
"And you think that baby vas me?" Kurt asked. Rogue clenched her fists and huffed angrily.
"Why am Ah having this dream?!" She demanded to no one in particular. Jean placed a hand on Rogue's shoulders and looked directly at her face.
"Maybe the professor can help sort this out." She said. "But why don't we do it in the morning? It's pretty late."
"That's all right, Jean." Xavier's voice suddenly rang out. "This is important. Rogue and Kurt, please accompany Jean and Ripley to the library." We all got out of Rogue's way so that she could get to the library first, followed by Kurt, Jean, and myself before everyone else. "The rest of you try and get some sleep. In case you've all forgotten, you all have finals tomorrow."
"Man, there's no keeping anything from that dude is there?" Evan said, walking back to his room.
"Noop. World's most powerful psychic, remember?" I replied. He looked back at me with a sarcastic frown.
"Good night."
"Good night, buddy."Rogue walked out of the room with Jean's caring hands on her shoulders before Kurt and I followed them to the library. When we got there, Xavier was sitting a few feet from the couch where Jean and Rogue sat, while Kurt and I both grabbed a couple chairs. When we sat down, Xavier asked Kurt a few personal questions about his family.
"I've always known that my parents adopted me, but they never told me anything about being fished from a river." Kurt said.
"Don't worry, Kurt. We'll sort all of this out." Xavier said before looking to Rogue. "Rogue, since this was your dream, I think I shall start with you." Jean placed a hand on Rogue's back and looked at her with a pleasant smile, giving Rogue the comfort to start Xavier's probing. I got up from my chair.
"Sit here, Rogue." I said. Rogue walked over to the chair and sat down as I went and sat upon the sofa with Jean. Xavier rolled up to Rogue and put his hands near her face to focus on her mind.
"Now just relax, and try to remember the dream." He said.
"You sure this isn't gonna hurt?" Rogue asked.
"Yes. Now please, just concentrate." Rogue and Xavier closed their eyes, and from their pained facial expressions, I could tell that whatever Rogue had dreamt about wasn't at all pleasant. A baby being lost to the river was obviously a horrible thing for anyone to dream about, but it would seem that there was more besides that. Rogue said that the baby and his mother were being chased by wolves, but I couldn't tell if it were just wolves that seperated the woman from her child, and many questions plagued me. What on earth were a woman and child doing in a castle surrounded by wolves? Why was she running? And from what, or whom? And what did this dream have to do with Kurt? I looked at Kurt with worried eyes. If there was something that Xavier discovered, something dark, I'm not sure that a sweet, sensitive guy like Kurt would be able to handle it. And I could've sworn that from my own telepathy I heard a familiar name, but couldn't quite hear it. And for some strange reason, a feeling of dread crept over me. After a few short minutes, Xavier and Rogue opened their eyes.
"Well, did you see anything else?" Kurt asked.
"Apparently, Rogue, this dream of yours isn't a dream at all. It's repressed memory." Xavier said, placing a hand to his head. "Not of your own imagination."
"But, vait, then why is she having it?" Kurt asked. "Shouldn't it have been my dream?"
"Yeah, Professor. What's going on?" Rogue said.
"Maybe it's because Rogue touched Kurt." I said.
"Yeah, back vhen we first met, remember, Rogue?" Kurt said. "You must've gotten those memories from me."
"You were only an infant in the dream, but it could be possible that you have dormant memories that far back." Xavier said. Kurt quickly pulled up a chair and eagerly sat down.
"Probe my mind, Professor. Maybe there's more. Maybe I've got memories of what happened later."
Yes, that might help, but not tonight. There's been enough excitement for now." Xavier began rolling away when Kurt stood up and began following him.
"But Professor..." He begged. Xavier abruptly stopped.
"Tomorrow, Kurt, after school. I promise." Xavier said before exiting the room. Kurt sighed before I stood up and hugged him from behind.
"It'll be fine, Kurt." I said. "It's only until a little while later." Kurt placed a hand on mine and held it tightly.
"Kurt..." Rogue said, standing up and walking towards Kurt and I. "Ah swear that if Ah knew before..."
"It's okay, Rogue. Really" Kurt said. Rogue smiled a bit as Jean stood up.
"Come on, guys." Jean said, leading us out if the room. "We'd better get to bed before finals start."
"You had to remind us and kill the mood, Red?" I said. Jean and Kurt chuckled and Rogue smiled a bit bigger as we each went to our rooms, determined for the day ahead of us, but not as much as Kurt.
The Next Morning
After difficulty of getting back to sleep the other night, I had awoken to the revolting blaring of my alarm clock. Stretching and yawning, I brought myself a pair of pajama pants and a white T-shirt and put them on before I vanished down to the kitchen for a bowl of cereal to get me started on the day. I had only opened the box when a shot of brimstone went through my nostrils.
"Ew!" I said, Turing around to face the blue elf responsible for the horrible smell. "Not in the breakfast room when I'm trying to eat, dude!"
"Sorry, Ripley." Kurt said. "I'm just so excited! I vant the day to go on as quick as possible so I can figure out Rogue's dream vith the prof."
"And you will, just stop moving so fast. You'll make yourself dizzy." I poured some of the sugary cereal into a bowl before adding the milk and sitting at the table. "So, how do you think you'll do on the finals today?"
"Man, forget the finals. I'm finally going to find out vhere I come from." Kurt grabbed the cereal and milk from me and began pouring them both into a bowl at the same time.
"I wouldn't. I know how important the past can be, but you can't forget about the present. You'll mess up your future if you do that."
"I know that, but still."
"And are you sure that you want to know where you come from? You may not like what you may find."
"I don't care. I need to know who I am."
"And I get that, but you know who you are, we all know who you are. You're Kurt Wagner, the incredible Nightcrawler. No one else would be more annoying sometimes if you weren't." Kurt was about to take a bite of cereal when he placed the spoon into the bowl and sighed.
"I know, but it's still nice to know where you come from then to not know at all, you know?" I sighed and placed a hand on Kurt's, squeezing it gently.
"Yeah, I do. And whatever answers you get, I hope they're the ones you want." I said. Kurt smiled before placing his hand on top of mine. "After all, you don't want to repeat the school year again, right?" Kurt smirked before playfully flicking my forehead.
"Esel." He said before teleporting away with his bowl of cereal, making me cough loudly.
"Likewise, I'm sure!" I called out, thinking he could hear. I took another bite of cereal and nearly vomited. Brimstone had gotten everywhere in my food. The milk and remaining wet cereal had streaks of black in it. "Oh, gross. Kurt!" I took my bowl to the sink and began rinsing it out, trying not to gag on the putrid smell of sugar, wheat, milk, and brimstone when I noticed Logan walking in the halls in his uniform. I placed my bowl in the sink and followed him to see where he was going. After a few steps, he stopped and sniffed once.
"I'm going on a solo mission for the prof. Don't ask me about it, Rip." He said.
"Well, you can't blame a guy for being curious." I replied, walking in front of him, but he stepped right back behind me towards the elevator before opening it and walking in.
"It ain't any of your business, kid. So just butt out until I get back." As the door closed, I looked directly at his face.
"I'm holding you to that." When the door closed, I vanished to my room to get ready for school, but my curiosity was about as potent as the horrible taste in my mouth.
"Could this mission have anything to do with Rogue's dream?" I thought. "With Kurt?"
Elsewhere
Professor Xavier sat in the front office of Bayville High, directly sitting from the desk of the head administrate of the school, Raven Darkholme, or as she was known as to some, Mystique. Xavier had sensed that from the reaction Rogue had to seeing the infant Kurt Wagner drop into the river in her dream meant something more, something deeper than just a simple disturbance from seeing a baby nearly drown, it was the grief and despair of a mother who had lost her son. And now, that mother was quickly revealed to Xavier, but not as such to her son.
"You've been carrying a terrible burden for many years, Mystique." Xavier said. "Rogue's recent contact with you seems to have given her some of your darker memories; nightmares about a very unfortunate incident involving an infant." Darkholme straightened herself up in her seat and glared at the professor.
"You're fishing." She said "You know nothing."
"I know about your relationship with the boy, Mystique. What I don't know is what Magneto did to him. Why did you run that night?" Darkholme stood from her chair and walked to the bookcase, seemingly sorting the books, but masking a painful discomfort from the past.
"Dear, dear Charles. How incredibly frustrating for you to realise that that amazing mind of yours knows so very little, really." Xavier could detect the walls she was obviously putting up, and strove to dig deeper.
"What were you two up to in that dreary castle?" Xavier asked. "Was it worth the loss of your son?" Xavier hit a raw nerve within the mysterious woman, making her drops her book in shock, and her mind instantly flooded by memories of what happened that night. She couldn't handle them again, and she never thought she would need to ever again, but this man, this pathetic little man insisted on bringing it back. And this angered her so much that she could hardly contain herself.
"Get out!" She demanded, turning around and pointing towards the door. "Get out now!" Xavier closed his eyes for a moment before turning around towards the door before stopping abruptly.
"Just in case you're curious:" He said. "he turned out to be a very fine lad." Xavier left the room, leaving Darkholme furious, and with a growing sensation of despair and overwhelming grief. A tear flowed down her cheek and landed on her desk before she wiped the others from her eyes and sat down to finish her work for the day. Outside of the school now, Xavier had memorized the coordinates of the castle from the flashbacks Mystique experienced and was now ready to share them.
"Logan, I've got the coordinates." He said telepathically. In the hangar of the X-Mansion, Wolverine sat patiently in the cockpit of the X-Men's jet, the Blackbird, ready to fly for the exact location of his mission. With a mental nod to the professor, he dialed in the global coordinates into the jet's GPS, which immediately began to map an aerial route to its destination.
"Fire away." Wolverine said as the jet hummed to life and flew right out of the hangar, and out towards the open sea.
Later (Ripley's POV)
After school had finally got out for the day, I thought that I would be stressing the most about if I had gotten the score on my finals that I would need to pass the quarter, but instead I was more concerned about what Xavier and Kurt discover in that castle in Rogue's nightmare.
"Hey, hey, hey." Kitty said, looping her arm with mine, startling me a bit. But I plastered a smile and walked with her.
"Hey, Kitty." I replied.
"Man, finals were, like, so easy. And it's all because of you, little big mister."
"I'm glad I could help." Kitty raised a brow and looked right up at me.
"Are you okay, Ripley?" She asked. "You seem, like, not there." I sighed before looking back at her.
"I'm not." I replied.
"What's going on? Is this about what happened last night?"
"Yeah. I can't help but feel a bit...I don't know, scared probably, for Kurt. I'm worried that if Xavier probes his mind, I'm not sure there should be things that he should know."
"Maybe, but it could also help him figure his life out."
"Maybe."
"Hey, Rippy! Kitty!" A voice called out. We looked at where the voice was coming from and saw that the Brotherhood Boys were walking right towards us, making Kitty and I cringe. And not because we were threatened by them, but they were just really annoying.
"What do you want?" I said.
"So how'd you guys do on your finals?" Pietro said.
"Not that it matters, because Mystique will be giving us a much better grade than all of you losers." Fred said.
"Right from the horse's ass." I said.
"You X-Nerds must think you're so smart." Tolensky said.
"Like, duh." Kitty said. "My grade point average has been over 90% ever since, like, fifth grade."
"And mine has been...not as impressive, but still a good 89% at a nice A-, in comparison to, what, a lazily achieved 40, 50% average with a D?" I laughed under my breath and crooked my neck. "Giggity." Kitty laughed under her breath, but the boys glared daggers at us.
"D+. So, hah!" Lance said.
"Hmm, I see. Viagra." I whispered to Kitty, who laughed loudly.
"You'll see. We'll be running this school real soon." Pietro bragged. "And you'll be nothing but...MMPH!" Using my telekinesis, I pinched his lips shut. Pietro's mouth was beginning to run faster than he could, and that was really annoying by itself, and his mouth wasn't any less as such.
"Look, you guys are making too much an effort to be assholes, and you're tripping over your D's, so why don't you just leave us and save us all the trouble? 'Kay?" I released Pietro and shoved him backwards with my mind. Pietro fixed up his shirt before huffing at me.
"Let's beat it." He said.
"Giggity." I said, making Kitty laugh again. The Boys growled at us with a sneer before going a different direction in the hallway. We walked around the next hall towards the nearest exit where we'd meet the rest of our friends.
"Well that was annoying." Kitty said.
"Yeah, but at least the day's almost over." I replied.
"Agreed." We turned a corner and saw Scott and Jean together with Rogue right beside them. They were talking to this younger kid who looked like he dropped a few things by accident.
"Hey, Scotty, Jean, Rogue." I said, making them look towards me.
"Hey, Ripley. Kitty." Scott said, handing a book to the kid as Jean walked towards us.
"How were your finals today?" She asked.
"They were, like, a total breeze." Kitty said. "I feel like the hard part is over for me."
"Me too." I concurred. "I wonder if I'll ever even use any of those math questions in life."
"We could, considering what we do outside of school." Scott said.
"Huh, that's true." Kitty said. Rogue frowned with a small huff before looking down at the floor. I placed a hand on her shoulder, making her look at me.
"You okay, Rogue?" I asked.
"Still kinda shakey, but Ah'm fully ready to get more answers to that dream so Ah can stop having it." Suddenly a classroom door opened, and Kurt emerged with a quick stride. "Speaking of which, you mind if we speak alone?"
"Go ahead." Rogue ran from us towards Kurt at a high speed.
"Hey, Kurt! Wait up!" She said, getting his attention. "What's the rush?"
"Don't you remember?" Kurt said. "The prof is going to do more digging after school today."
"Yeah..." Rogue shuddered at the thought of the dream. She knew that Kurt wanted the answers to his past more than anything, but like me, she felt apprehensive about what the details would unlock.
"Kurt, are you sure you want to know?" She asked as they reached Kurt's locker.
"Vhat? Of course I do. Wouldn't you? I mean, haven't you ever wondered who your real parents are?"
"Ah guess so, yeah. Well, sometimes..." Rogue always knew that she was adopted at a young age, but she found great strength in that so it seemed like Irene Adler, her Adoptive mother, was her entire life. "but Irene was always such a good mom to meh. Ah mean, she can be real strict and all, but..."
"My adoptive parents vere always great too, but I always felt like they vere keeping something from me." Kurt shut his locker after getting what he needed and walked with Rogue some more. "Vhenever the subject of vhere I came from came up, they vere always vague, but they never said anything about vhat happened in your dream." Kurt was beginning to get emotional, and Rogue could sense it.
"Maybe they didn't know, or may they were just trying to protect you."
"How? By hiding my own past from me?" Kurt's outburst caught everyone's attention, and we could tell that we needed to get to him. Scott and Jean said goodbye to the kid as we went to attend to our friends.
"Kurt..." Rogue said, trying to calm him down.
"No." Kurt interrupted. "Maybe you can live without knowing, but I have to know the secrets of my life." Kurt went to his watch and switched off the hologram that held his human disguise to his normal blue self, startling us all. Luckily for him, the halls were already empty, save us X-Men and the kid, who had his face in his locker. "I'm outta here!" In a whiff of brimstone, he was gone.
"Man, what was that about." Scott asked as we walked right up to Rogue.
"He's still really worked up about last night." She replied. Indeed he was. I couldn't help myself from listening in. The events from last night were pretty intense, and if Logan were preparing for something related to them, I had to be on my guard for Kurt's sake, and be attentive so I could do so if needed.
"Ah, well, we'd better go find him." Scott said, walking towards the exit with the rest of is in tow. I followed along beside Rogue.
"Are you okay, Rogue?" I asked. "That seemed like an intense conversation."
"Ah'm fine, thanks. But let's just worry about finding Kurt first." She replied. I nodded before the kid Scott and Jean helped caught my eye. He was watching all of us walking by him with a familiar gaze that made my skin crawl.
"You guys go on ahead." I said. "I'm going to see if Kurt's still somewhere on the grounds."
"Okay. We'll meet up with you later." Scott said.
"Later, Ripley." Kitty said. I smiled and nodded before looking back towards the boy, who had suddenly vanshed. I raised a brow and looked around for any sign of him, but none were present. I walked around to a different hallway and could've sworn I saw him, but as soon as I raced after him, he had completely disappeared. I knew who was good at disappearing as suddenly as they appeared.
"Batman" was a good thought, but this was the twisted reality I lived in without one such as him. Almost as twisted as Mystique.
Outside
"Are you sure about this?" Pietro Maximoff asked as Principal Darkholme handed him a large sealed envelope from behind the bleachers. "I mean, I've seen what kind of defenses they have at that place."
"Don't worry, you're fast enough." Darkholme said. "You should be able to get in and out of there undetected." Pietro looked at the envelope with a raised brow.
"But why is this so important? I mean what are you telling that blue-furred freak?" Darkholme glared at Maximoff with a clenched fist at hand, but quickly eased her anger to remember her current endeavor.
"Never mind." She said, sternly. "That's none of your business. Just deliver it to him." Pietro raised a brow at her before he sped off quickly to his task.
Meanwhile
Xavier was sitting in the command center of the mansion when he got the call. Wolverine had arrived at the place where Rogue's dream took place, and it was as dark and drear as her visions.
"It looks like this is the place, Charles." Wolverine said. "I'm gonna set the jet down in the woods somewhere and continue on foot."
"Good." Xavier said. "Let's hope that we can find so answers."
"Right. Logan out." Xavier leaned back in his chair, anxious to hear answers to the horrific mysteries of his student's past when a sudden presence streaked across his mind. Upon closer concentration, he uncovered the identity of the sudden new mind.
"Quicksilver." He thought. In the front room of the house, Kitty was sitting at one of the chairs, reading one of her favorite novels when a sudden breeze swept through the room, blowing her book shut.
"Hey, who left a window open!?" She demanded. Meanwhile, Kurt was in his room and hanging upside down from the ceiling while looking at a picture of himself as a child with his parents. After looking upon this picture, he had begun scratching his head about wether or not he really wanted answers after all.
"Maybe Rogue and Ripley were right." He thought. "Maybe the details of my past aren't something I should figure out. Maybe they vere right to protect me." Suddenly, a quick knocking came from his door, pulling him away from his thoughts. He dropped from the ceiling and teleported midair right outside his door. But no one was there. Kurt raised a brow before teleporting back inside his room to see a large envelope, right at the foot of his door. He picked it up and opened it before pulling out a piece of paper with a message written on it.
"If you want to know the truth, come to the new mall construction site at sundown. Come alone." He read aloud. Kurt still felt like he needed to keep things in the past, but this letter was his ticket to finally discover the truth at last. But because of how sneaky this letter was given to him, he became skeptical about if it were legit, and not some sort of trap. Kurt walked over to his desk and placed the envelope inside the top drawer with the note on top. He sighed once before looking at the sun, which was just now beginning to touch down on the horizon.
"Why not." He said, vanishing from his room just as another knock came from his door.
"Yo, Kurt!" Forge said. "Professor X says he might have some answers for..." Forge looked around the room and noticed that no one was there. "Uh, Kurt?"
Elsewhere
Pietro had stopped alongside a stretch of road just a few feet on the city limits of Bayville when he decided to take a phone call. He knew that something was up with Mystique, and he needed someone higher up than her to file in a complaint.
"...and that's what the note said." Pietro said. "I'm telling you, she's gonna meet that little blue creep tonight. And that Wolverine guy and the Blackbird were gone just like you said."
"Hmm, as I feared." The dark voice on the other line said.
Elsewhere
"Good work, Pietro. Now I need you to do something further for me. Get the others and intercept Nightcrawler before he gets to Mystique. She must not tell him what he wants to know." Pietro's anonymous contact was lurking in the shadows of the main control room of his dark castle when an alarm on his monitor signaled his attention. He looked and on the screen was the image of the Blackbird setting down in the forest. He narrowed his eyes in frustration. His secret base had been compromised, by Xavier and Wolverine of all people. "Excuse me, I have to take care of an unwanted guest."
Outside
Miles away from the castle, Wolverine had emerged from the Blackbird and jumped straight from the cliff he parked the plane on before beginning his trek to the estate. He cut through many bush and borough without any problem from any other wildlife, not a wolf in sight, before reaching the plateau the castle was built upon. Any roads leading up to the castle were either destroyed, kr there simply weren't any to begin with, but to Wolverine it didn't matter. Unsheathing his claws, he dug them into the cliffside and began to pull himself up, higher and higher. As he got closer to the top, the cliff became less and less sheer, so he got to put away his claws and climb normally with his hands until he reached the precipice and pulled himself up. He took a few cautious steps forward, sniffing around for any signs of possible danger, but the cost seemed clear. He grunted before he stormed the entrance of the castle, following his nose up a flight of stairs to the right of the front doors. Right as he reached the top of the stairwell, he was greeted by a violent barrage of electricity. An obvious trap that he didn't detect. Ignoring the pain the best he could, Wolverine looked around for the source of the blast and saw a generator with two focused laser pointers directed straight at him. He unsheathed his right claws and stabbed the right one in its center, immediately destroying it with a small explosion, and stopping the electric barrage. He limped forward, holding his numbed arm when two turrets emerged from the walls near the ceiling. As they started up, Wolverine unsheathed his other claws to ready himself for other oncoming threats when he looked up and saw the turrets starting up and aimed right for him. One turret shot a concentrated laser blast at him, which he dodged, compelling the CPUs inside the turrets to unleash a barrage of rapid fire, and then compelling Wolverine to sprint right under the path of fire. He somersaulted forwards before maneuvering himself between the spaces between the walls towards one turret. He roared outwardly as he sliced it off and kicked it towards the other turret, destroying them both before he hit the floor. He took cover behind a stone beam and looked around his environment before a lingering odor hit his senses. He looked back towards a wooden door where the smell was coming from and grunted before charging the door and kicking it down as he entered the room. Wolverine looked around the room and determined that it looked to be a laboratory, at least it was. Every piece of equipment was smashed to bits, and there was a lot of broken glass scattered across the floor. Wolverine was nearly blown away by the complexity of the technology, but was completely blown away by a familiar horrible smell. He sheathed his claws back as he walked deeper into the room. He was about to do a thorough search when his radio sounded off.
"Wolverine, report." Xavier said. Wolverine grabbed his radio from his pocket and held it to his mouth.
"It looks like I was expected." He said. "I think this place was some sorta..." He took in a few more sniffs to clarify. "DNA testing lab or somethin'. And it looks like whoever ran this place took off recently. Real recently." Wolverine didn't notice it at first, but there was a silent beeping going off in the room. He looked over to its source and nearly dropped the radio when he saw a bomb latched onto the wall of the room, with only eight seconds left on the timer. "Sorry, Chuck, I gotta sign off. Now!" He turned around and sprinted straight down the hallway towards the nearest window as the bomb suddenly went off, just before he jumped from the window's ledge. When the bomb exploded, Wolverine landed right in front of the entrance and began running when debris began to fall. He managed to find a quick pathway from the castle when the castle began to fall apart and split directly down the middle.
Meanwhile: Bayville (Ripley's POV)
Pietro had hung up his phone and was about to run away when he suddenly froze right in his tracks. I floated down from the tree I was perched in and walked right in front of Pietro with an angry glare in my eyes. I had my suspicions about what Mystique was doing, and I knew that if she had a message, she would have someone who could deliver it quickly without any problem. And that someone was Quicksilver. I had flown high above the school grounds to scope him out, and sure enough I saw his white streak rush through the city and right towards the Mansion. I was about to meet and beat him there, but he took off far too quickly for me to catch up. Luckily, he stopped long enough to take a phone call. Luckily for me. Because I was seething with anger at the foul intruder. I didn't catch the full conversation with the mystery man on the other side, I could swear that he almost sounded familiar to me, but for now all that mattered was what Quicksilver was doing at my home.
"Would you mind telling me what the fuckshit you were at my house, Maximoff?" I demanded. All that came from him was a familiar groaning noise I hadn't heard since my powers emerged, when I first used them on Kyle. I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. "All right, I'm going to let you go so you can speak. Try to run, and I'll burn your feet into muck." My eyes flashed once as Pietro limped over, weakly.
"I would've cooperated if you would've just asked." He said.
"Right. Now talk. What were you doing in my house?"
"I was making a special delivery for the old lady to blue boy."
"What for?"
"It wasn't any of my business." My eyes glowed bright with blue flames, making him squirm. "She didn't give me the details, I was just a messenger boy!" I grabbed him by his shirt with my mind and held him close to my face by the back of his head with my hand.
"If Kurt is hurt is any way..." I threatened.
"He isn't! Come on, let me go!" He complained. I glared at Pietro before I released him from my hold, making him limp over for a brief moment before speeding off elsewhere. I was compelled to do the same, and flew straight home as quick as possible. As soon as the mansion was in my sights, I flew straight to my bedroom window and opened it from the outside before entering the institute.
"Kurt!?" I called out as I rushed out of my bedroom. "Kurt!"
"Ripley." Xavier's voice rang out.
"Professor, I think Kurt's in trouble."
"We know." Scott said, walking up to me with Jean by his side. "We're going to search his room." I followed Scott and Jean right to Kurt's room.
"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Jean asked.
"I'm not sure exactly." Scott replied. "Though the professor thinks that Pietro gave Kurt a visit earlier." Jean widened her eyes in surprise for a moment as she looked at Scott.
"Quicksilver? Here?" She said. "But how?"
"Hey, you know how fast that guy is. And I guess he could slip right by defenses with no problem."
"Could and did. He was here alright." I said. Scott and Jean each raised a brow at me.
"How do.." Scott said.
"He told me himself." I interjected. "He didn't want to, but given the proper persuasion, I found him very easy to talk with. He didn't say much, but it was enough for me to be worried." As we went through Kurt's room, Jean opened up the top drawer of Kurt's desk and found a note lying on top of a recently opened envelope. She grabbed the piece of paper and read it to herself before silently gasping.
"Oh no." She said, flashing the letter to both Scott and I. "Scott, Ripley, look at this." Scott took the paper from her hand and read it as I looked over his shoulder and read it over myself.
"Get the others." Scott said. "We gotta move."
"On the double." I replied, teleprting out of the room with Scott and Jean running behind me. We all knew then and there that Kurt was in big trouble, and we had to get to him soon before it was too late.
Elsewhere
Right as the sun touched the eastern horizon, Nightcrawler suddenly appeared where the note said to meet and touched down on the ground of the construction site. He slowly walked forward to survey the area and any sign of his mysterious pen pal.
"Okay." He called out. "So I'm here now."
"Hello, Kurt." Nightcrawler turned around and saw a woman wearing a layered cloak and gloves, the woman whose description matched perfectly with how Rogue described her.
"It's you." Nightcrawler said, walking towards this woman. "You're the one from Rogue's dream." As he walked closer, the woman seemed to back away a few inches with every step he took. "Who are you? Why won't you show your face?" The woman hesitated, but she raised her hands and grabbed the hood off of her head, revealing herself as the blue-skinned woman known to the X-Men as Mystique.
"You already know me, son." She said.
"No!" Nightcrawler yelled in disbelief. "No, it's impossible!" Mystique reached out towards him and tried to speak to him, but nothing, not even a breath came from her. She had awaited this day for so long, had so many plans, explanations, truths about both her and her young son, but she couldn't find the words to say them. "Vhat happened to me?! Vhy didn't you...?!" Suddenly, the reunion was cut short by a large, hulking Blob, who growled as he touched down from the unfinished floor of the new mall, right in between Mystique and Nightcrawler. Mystique was furious at Blob for interfering with her family matters.
"Get out!" She demanded, tightly grabbing Blob's shoulder. Blob simply grunted and shrugged her off before advancing closely to Nightcrawler. From behind the X-Man, Toad hopped up to him with a smug grin, followed by Avalanche, and then finally by Quicksilver, the obvious mastermind of this little betrayal.
"Welp, that's as far as you're gonna get, Blue Boy." Quicksilver said, leaning against Blob's arm. "This conversation is over."
"Get out of here, all of you!" Mystique yelled.
"No can do, boss lady. We've got higher orders." Quicksilver snapped his fingers, compelling the others to attack Nightcrawler. Toad gave himself the first opportunity and whipped his tongue at Nightcrawler, but missed him completely when he teleported onto the hook of some construction equipment. He slurp ed his tongue back into his mouth and sneered at the blue elf.
"I got em." He said, jumping straight at Nightcrawler before he teleported again, making Toad lodge himself in the hook. Nightcrawler reappeared on another floor of the mall and looked down at Mystique with a furious glare.
"Vhat sort of game is this, Mystique?!" He demanded. Mystique opened her mouth to try and explain that this ambush what nothing to do with her, but Toad wound up swinging backwards too hard and too fast for her to even get a syllable out of her mouth and crashed directly into him, knocking him several feet from the air and into a pile of sand. Nightcrawler tried getting up, but he blacked out from the intense fall as the Brotherhood surrounded him.
"Huh, that was easy." Quicksilver said.
"Forget about us, Kid Flash?" The Brotherhood looked behind them and saw the X-Men all lined up for battle, with Cyclops at the front of the line.
"Because with the X-Men, it always gets harder for creeps like you." He said.
(Ripley's POV)
After mine and Cyclops' opening dialogue to the inevitable fight, Toad jumped right to the front of the Brotherhood with a battle ready look on his face.
"Get em!" He yelled. One by one, the Brotherhood charged after someone from our team. Toad went right after Spyke and tried to get him with his tongue, but Evan kept on dodging it until he produced a huge spike from his arm that resembled a staff. Toad shot his tongue at Spyke again, but this time, he hadn't counted on his tounge sticking so easily to the bine spike.
"Hey, Wart Man, lick this!" Spyke shouted, tossing a screaming Toad at a pile of junk, knocking him out. Meanwhile, Blob had charged at Shadowcat to try and body slam her or something, but he must have completely forgotten about her powers, because the moment he got close to her, she phased right through his chest and tripped him up right into an empty cement mixer. Cyclops walked up the incapacitated Blob and turned on the machine. He smiled in success as the Blob began spinning uncontrollably from inside the mixer, though he wished he could've seen his face as he was screaming curses and begging for the mixer to stop. While everyone was off distracting the Brotherhood, Jean was trying to use her telepathy to get Nightcrawler to wake up. It wasn't really working as we could see, but he suddenly began to stir, compelling Jean and myself to lift him up and into my arms.
"Huh...vha-" Nightcrawler slurred.
"Easy, Kurt. I've got you." I said.
"Get this!" Avalanche said, clenching his fists and making the ground shake violently before stomping his foot, making the entire skeleton of the mall begin to drop pieces of debris all around us. "Because it's time to rock and roll."
"Rock and Roll this, creep!" Rogue shouted as she tackled him down to the ground without her gloves. Using my telekinesis, I held Avalanche down long enough so that Rogue could get all the power from him that she needed. While Rogue and I had Avalanche indisposed, Cyclops was having some slight trouble in trying to nail Quicksilver with his blasts. And the speedster was mocking him for it with taunts and sometimes violent slaps to the head.
"Jean, Ripley, I could use a hand here!" Cyclops called out.
"How about two?" I said, looking at Jean, who nodded in understanding. We both put our hands to our temples and concentrated on Quicksilver. He kept on moving forward for a few feet before he began levitating.
"Hey, no fair!" He shouted. Cyclops blasted at Quicksilver once more, and nailed him right in the chest, making him rocket right towards another sand pile with a crash. I walked right next to Cyclops with a smirk aimed directly at Quicksilver.
"Fairs fair when you're kicking ass." I said, looking right at Cyclops who offered me a high-five, which I gladly accepted. A few feet away from us, Rogue had absorbed enough of Avalanche to knock him out for a few hours, and gotten the power to finally demand answers to from the woman responsible for this mess.
"Rogue, over there!" Jean said, pointing to the how retreating Mystique.
"Ah see her." Rogue replied, running after her. I looked at the distance between Mystique and Rogue, and I felt like there wasn't quite enough time for Rogue to reach her. My eyes flashed for a moment, and Rogue was a few feet in front of Mystique. Rogue was startled at how sudden she appeared before she heard me speaking to her mind.
"Get her, Rogue." I said telepathically. Rogue smirked before she stepped out right in front of Mystique.
"Not so fast! Kurt and Ah have a few questions that you need to answer!" Rogue said.
"I'm afraid it's too late for answers." Mystique said, walking away from Rogue. "Far too late." Rogue clenched her fists tightly, making the ground quiver.
"Not so fast!" She shouted, stomping the ground once, making the ground shake and bend, and making a few construction vehicles surround and box in Mystique. She gasped out in surprise before she quickly turned into a raven and flew away, leaving her cloak behind. Rogue looked down at the cloak in disappointment before looking at the retreating Mystique, and realizing that any answers that would've come from her were now completely sealed off. Maybe forever.
Later
A whole night after the Brotherhood's ambush, Kurt was back on his feet, but he wouldn't come out of his room for the entire day. So far, the only other whose been to his room that morning was Rogue. And it made sense because the events of the past couple days had happened to both of them, and it seemed to me that they were now much closer. Perhaps even closer than a brother and sister. The rest of us had no idea how to process the new information about Kurt's heritage, particularly myself. Mystique was, is, his mother. I had a hard time getting my mind around it. She was a sadistic, twisted, and really one of the most horrible people I have ever met in my young life, and Kurt, one of the sweetest, most innocent guys I ever met came from her. But then again, most of the best of people in the world have come from people who were the exact polar opposite. Most of the X-Men have said this about me on different occasions, and it might've been true, but I was far to modest to acknowledge it. But the whole afternoon, I couldn't stop thinking about Kurt, especially after Logan came home from his secret mission to the castle in Rogue's dream. He only wanted to tall about what he'd seen with Xavier, Scott, and Jean, the elite of the team, but after some convincing, he shared with me as well. And I almost wished he hadn't. From what Logan described, what they castle was actually a very large genetic splicing and testing lab. And it made me sick to my stomach just to even imagine what horrors that place had. The genetic testing equipment, specifically designed to meddle in someone's basic structure, to change them into something they don't know, or want to know, chilled me to the bone. But Logan was just as surprised to learn the connection between Mystique and Kurt. Xavier, Scott, Jean, Logan, and myself were sitting by a nice fireplace so that we could all discuss things.
"So, those dreams of Rogue's were really Mystique's?" Logan asked.
"I'm afraid so." Xavier said. "Rogue must've absorbed them when she touched her. Mystique may very well be the boy's mother, but any answers that we may seek are now long gone."
"And the lab?" I asked Logan. "Was there really nothing left?"
"Nothing." He said. "Whoever was there didn't want us knowing what happened there, but before it went kaboom it looked like the kind of place Dr. Frankenstein might've been comfortable in."
"Ugh." I muttered.
"Genetic experimentation on mutants. I can't believe that he would ever go that far." He sighed before leaning back in his chair. "And poor Kurt." Logan stood up from where he sat and looked up at the ceiling, and I buried my face in my hands.
"Rip?" Scott asked. "You okay?"
"It's just that I don't know what to think about this, and I can't even imagine what must be going through Kurt's head right now. I thought I had it bad when it came to my dad, but to come from someone like Mystique? And now with all this illegal genetic testing, and to think that Kurt might've been violated by a place like that, I just..." I sighed and rubbed the back of my head before Logan put a hand on my shoulder.
"I know, Rip." He said. "Believe me." Scott and Jean looked at each other with conflicted expressions before Scott leaned forward.
"So when are you going to tell Kurt about all of this?" He asked. Xavier stayed silent. I could tell that he didn't know how to process all of this either.
"I'm not sure the elf needs to know any of this, at least not yet." Logan said. "Some of this stuff could be pretty damaging."
"God." I said, floating in place and curling myself into a ball. Scott and Jean took each other's hands and held them tightly as they looked into each other's eyes. I have always known that Mystique had a mysterious superior, whom I knew that Xavier was trying to keep from us by name, and probably for good reason, but what I still couldn't comprehend was the question as to why after the loss of her son would she still stay loyal to him. And above us, I could feel Kurt and Rogue thinking the exact same thing. I wished so desperately that there could be something that I could do for Kurt. Anything at all, and sitting around in the dark certainly wasn't helping at all in my book.
"Excuse me." I said, vanishing from the room and reappearing right under Kurt's balcony. I looked up and saw that he was perched right on the edge, and floated slowly upwards to talk with him, but quickly ducked under when I saw that Rogue was there with him.
"I still can't believe it." Kurt said. "Mystique...is my mother."
"Listen, Kurt." Rogue said. "Who really knows? Ah mean she really is one screwed up lady, so maybe she's just messing with you?"
"I guess, but there is a certain resemblance." Rogue placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder to comfort him.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean anything. Let's just wait until the prof can find more answers. Then you'll know for sure."
"Somehow...I think he's keeping something more from us."
"Maybe, but if he does, Ah'm sure he has good reasons for not telling you anything."
"Yeah, sure." Kurt and Rogue looked back at the horizon, and I looked up at them with the most sincere affection that I could hardly contain my tears.
"Listen, Kurt, Ah really do know what you're going through." Rogue said. "We'll both keep looking, and maybe we'll find our answers some day. Okay?" Kurt gave Rogue a hopeful smile.
"Okay." He said. Rogue smiled back at him before giving him a playful punch to his shoulder.
"Hey. It's almost time for school, Ah have finals, and Ah still have to get ready. And so do you." Kurt looked back at Rogue with another smile and sighed.
"Thanks, Rogue." Rogue smiled right back at him, but as she walked away, a stray tear found its way out of her eye. She wiped it away before stepping out of Kurt's room, leaving him still perched on the balcony with a deep sigh. I closed my eyes as more tears poured out. I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to know everything, no matter how gratuitous the details were, for Kurt. I quickly vanished to my room and got cleaned and dressed as quickly as I could before grabbing my backpack and teleporting right to the school.
Bayville High
From her office window, Raven Darkholme looked down at all of the little students coming up from the front to begin their school day when she took notice of a young girl, whose mother had taken the time out of her morning to see her daughter get to school safely herself. As the girl walked out of the car, she said goodbye to her mom and told her that she loved her. The affection between a mother and her child stabbed her heart like a red hot needle. She always knew that if she had the chance to try and obtain that kind of familial bind with her son, it would be close to impossible. Especially with the events of yesterday happening as they did, all hopes seemed dashed that she could've at least gotten to know Kurt. Darkholme leaned her head against the glass and sighed full of grief. Suddenly, a knock came across her office door.
"I'm busy!" She shouted.
"Too bad."
(Ripley's POV)
Darkholme turned around sharply when I made my presence in her office known and frowned for a moment before taking in a deep breath and sitting down at her desk.
"What is it, Mr. Davidson?" She asked.
"It's Ripley." I replied.
"Of course. My apologies, but I don't feel it fair while I'm your principal. So I insist that you will refer to me as Ms. Darkholme, Mr. Davidson." Darkholme sat down and crossed her hands on her desk. "Please, sit if you wish." I took a seat in the chair and crossed my legs. "Now, why have you chosen to visit me now after our...previous joyous encounter with each other?"
"Because I have a few questions that I want you to answer. Questions that I need to know for your son's sake."
"You're really so presumptuous that you think you have the authority to ask me for something so important. Especially when it comes to matters that aren't of your business."
"Kurt is one if the best friends I've ever had in my entire life. My pathetic, long sorry-ass life. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be alive to come groveling at your feet, and I intend to repay him tenfold for everything he's done for me." I looked right out the window and imagined the police tape webs that lined the outside of where my previous home had been. "I love him, and if you love him too, at all, you will tell me everything right damn now, Darkholme. If someone else knows, perhaps then you and he wouldn't be so alone." She sighed before straightening herself in her seat and placing her hands on her head. "I can handle it. I've been through hell and back my entire life and when my powers emerged, I thought I actually died and went there. Whatever it is you're keeping locked in, I can handle just as I still do my own darkness." Darkholme rubbed her eyes in annoyance before looking me in the eyes with a more composed posture.
"Very well." She said, crossing her hands across her desk.
"And I want to speak to the woman who gave birth to him, not a facade." I said. Darkholme sneered at me before she shifted into her normal blue-skinned self.
"Speak." I leaned forward in my chair and braced myself for anything that she might've said that could've terrified me.
"What were you doing up in that dreary castle?" I asked. As soon as I asked that one question, as she went on and on with every gruesome detail of what had happened in the lab, I nearly regretted asking at all, but I held on for Kurt's sake. I had to know everything so that he wouldn't have to. With every detail, I could hardly hang on to every part of them without my mind trying so hard to forget what had made me incredibly uneasy. After about an hour of time had passed, Mystique was finished with the graphic tale of Kurt's past with her, and I was right on the verge of tears.
"Oh my God." I said. "How...how could he?"
"He must never know." She said.
"Don't worry. He won't know until you want him to. And for your sake, the day when he finds out had better be on the far side of heaven or hell." I wiped my eyes to prevent the tears from falling before looking directly at Mystique. "But for what it's worth, letting him go could've possibly been the best choice you ever could've done for him. He got the chance of a normal life."
"Nothing is normal about our lives, Ripley. It's why we are set apart from humanity."
"Perhaps, but it was as close as he or anyone could ever have."
"Are we done here?" Darkholme asked. I shook my head, making her glare at me. "What else could you possibly want?"
"I never had the strength to do so before without feeling the need to dismantle you limb from limb with my mind, but now that I know who you are to Kurt, and how sad you really are, it would be in poor taste to do it. I want a few quick answers for my own, Darkholme. For everything you've done to try and get me on your side." Mystique leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms.
"Fine." She said. "Ask then."
"Did you murder my boyfriend Kyle?" I asked, bluntly.
"No."
"Do you know who was responsible?"
"Yes, but not by name. He appears to us, and we haven't the slightest clue how to find him."
"Who's this we? You and who else?"
"My superior."
"The one who mutilated Kurt?"
"Yes."
"Who is he?"
"I can't say."
"Can't, or won't?"
"Yes." I glared daggers at Mystique, who smirked wickedly at me. She was still playing with me while I was interrogating her, and after she spilled her guts to me. I couldn't really understand why she was still acting like this after laying everything on the table, and she was still so elusive as ever, but I strangely found myself near satisfied with her answers.
"All right." I said.
"All right?" She repeated with a raised brow.
"That will be enough for now." I stood up from my chair and turned around before looking back at Mystique. "Kurt's favorite color is red, he's a complete goofball, his favorite food is anything sweet, he loves the dark because of how serene the world is, and he prefers to be in the company of friends and family than he does being alone as anyone would. Probably like his mother." I walked away from Mystique before she stood abruptly.
"Ripley." She called out. I turned and looked at her once more. "Thank you." I vanished from the doorway and appeared directly in front of her, my head ablaze in blue, and slammed my hands on her desk, making her flinch.
"I'm not doing you any favors, Mystique. Do not thank me. Understand?" I said before my flames went out. I walked towards the door and right out of her office as she went back to her disguise. As I walked through the halls, I kept thinking about her answers. I could detect that she was entirely truthful the entire time we were sitting together, and while I knew that while she had some involvement in Kyle's death, she wasn't the hand who ripped his life away from him. But this superior of hers was nearly directly responsible. It was because of this...trade for me, what he wanted that he didn't have, and what he did to try snd ensure my delivery. But what could've possibly have been worth the price of Kyle's life for me of all people? Could it have been because of my powers, or was there something else about me they wanted? I didn't want to even try to imagine. But I found some comfort in knowing that whatever happened, the X-Men were there for me as we were for Kurt that day.
End of Chapter 36
A/N: Welp, I couldn't get this story done by the next New Year's. Oh well. Better luck this next week. Thanks you guys for all the reviews, faves and follows, keep it coming and you'll make Ripley and I very, very happy. Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year, and all that good stuff and stuff. And BTW, Esel in German basically translates as "jackass". Perfect for Christmas, don't you think? Stay tuned for more when Ripley helps Wolverine pursue