"You used to come out here as a child?" Rebecca asked, surveying the place Twister had brought them.
"Yeah," Twister replied. "Kimmy and I used to come out here a lot. Sometimes we'd spend all night in that shed over there. It got us away. It got Kimmy away."
Suddenly, Rachel screamed, cutting through the silence that followed Twister's statement. Twister and Rebecca turned around to see a large cat reminiscent of a panther standing in front of Rachel. The cat looked at Twister. He stared at it for a moment before blinking in surprise. "Kimmy?"
The cat began to shimmer, and then transformed into the blonde girl, crouching on all fours. Kimmy stood up. "How did you recognize me?" she asked.
"I don't know," Twister said. "I...I just did." He paused for a moment before adding, "You're a mutant, too."
Kimmy nodded. "I've known for about six months now. I've been hiding it from Mom and Dad. It's been hard. I...I keep thinking how easy it would be for me to just change into my cat form and rip him to shreds."
Twister forced himself not to show the surprise he felt at hearing his little sister talk so violently. Even after all their father had put her through, she'd never spoken about wanting to kill him. "You don't have to live here anymore," Twister said. "I know a place where you can go."
"I can't," Kimmy said, shaking her head. "A few months ago I would have, but not now. Now I have to stay."
"Why?" Twister asked. "I don't want you to stay here and keeping letting that man abuse you!"
Kimmy's one word answer left them all stunned.
"Magneto."
*** *** ***
Logan had been pacing back and forth in the confined space of the Blackbird for close to twenty minutes. "Think you could sit still for at least five seconds, Wildcat?" Ric asked. "You're giving me a headache."
Logan didn't sit still, but she did stop pacing long enough to give him an obscene gesture. Ric just laughed coldly and responded in kind.
Kris turned to Marie and whispered, "Am I wrong in thinking that your brother and Logan have a history?"
"Oh they have a history all right," Marie said. "They were in love once." She frowned. "I'm not sure how Logan feels now, seeing as she's with Tristan and all, but I'm almost positive Ric still loves her. You might want to warn your sister about that. They seem to be getting, um, close."
Kris dismissed the thought with a wave of his hand. "My sister's love life is not my concern. If she wants to share a man's bed, she does—despite who may have slept there before her."
Marie gave him a puzzled look, his description of Illyana not fitting how Marie herself pictured the Russian girl.
"My sister's no saint," Kris said, noticing Marie's expression. "She's not any better than what she makes me out to be—all though I can assure you at least half of what she says about me is a lie."
"You seem like a nice enough guy to me, Kristof," Marie said.
Kris smiled. "Come outside with me, Marie. I want to be able to talk to you without an audience."
Marie got up and followed Kris off the plane. Ric watched them go. "Should I trust your brother with my little sister?" he asked Yana.
"No."
From the moment he noticed Kris making eyes at Marie, Ric had been uneasy. She was still too much of a little girl from someone like that. He wanted to go out there and keep her protected, but he knew she'd only resent him for it. Marie may have been only fifteen, but she wasn't about to admit that she was anything except capable of taking care of herself.
Illyana leaned in closer to Ric, putting her mouth right against his ear. "I'm not safe to be around either," she purred, "But somehow I think you're a big enough boy to handle it."
Ric smiled slowly, forgetting all about Marie and Kris.
*** *** ***
"Did I hear you correctly?" Warren asked. "Did you just say Magneto?"
"Yes," Kimmy replied.
The five X-Men and Mac Fury exchanged glances. Apparently, they'd found something at least close to what they'd been looking for. "Kimberly," Rebecca said, "Magneto has been dead for several years. The one you speak of cannot possibly be him."
"It is!" Kimmy exclaimed. "A man as great as that can't possibly stay dead! He's come back in order to free mutantkind! We've been oppressed for too long. Even now we do not have true liberty!
"How does Magneto promise to bring you this liberty, Kimmy?" Twister asked.
She glanced around, as if making sure no one else was around. "By winning the war between mutants and humans—the war that should've been fought years ago. Alex, they can say all they want about wanting to get along with mutants, but they don't mean it! They hate us—they're just looking for the chance to kill us off once and for all!"
"And by 'they,' you mean humans, right?" Mac asked.
"Yes."
"Kimberly," Mac began, "I know living around here may make it seem impossible to believe that all humans don't hate mutants, but trust me, they don't. Lots of humans believe that they can live along side mutants. Whatever this 'Magneto' is telling you, it isn't the truth."
Kimmy stared blankly at Mac for a moment before turning back towards Twister, her eyes flashing with accusation. "She's one of them, isn't she?!" she yelled. "She's a human!"
"Kimberly, calm down," Twister said.
Kimmy turned back to Mac. "You are! I know you are! Don't even try to deny it!"
"I wouldn't," Mac said, keeping her voice calm and steady. "I am human—but I'm not going to try to hurt you."
Kimmy ignored the last part of what Mac Fury said. The girl lunged forward, transforming into a cat in midair. Moments before she reached Mac, Kimmy fell to the ground, changing form back into a young girl as she did. Twister ran to his sister, picking her up, and seeing that she was unconscious. He panicked for a moment, before noticing the steady rise and fall of her chest, indicating that she was still breathing.
"What happened to her?" Twister asked.
"She'll be fine as soon as she wakes up," Rachel said. "I'm sorry Twister. I just couldn't stand there and do nothing while she attacked Mackenzie."
"It's all right," Twister said, standing with his sister still in his arms. "I'm glad you did something."
"Me, too," Mac said. "Thanks."
Rebecca put her hand on Twister's shoulder. "Let us get Kimberly back to the Blackbird. She can rest there, and maybe when she wakes up, we can get some answers."
*** *** ***
"What did you want to talk about?" Marie asked Kris once they were outside the Blackbird.
Kris moved close to her, staring down into her eyes. "How beautiful you are."
Marie blushed. "I'm afraid that wouldn't be a very long conversation."
Kris pushed a strand of Marie's hair behind her ears. "Don't you realize you're gorgeous?"
Marie looked down. "I've never really thought of myself that way." There was a brief silence before she added, "Guys never seemed to notice me."
Kris gently took hold of Marie's chin so he could meet her eyes. "I certainly noticed, Marie," he said huskily.
Marie's legs felt so weak that she wondered if the only think holding her up was Kris's hand on her face. "You...you did?"
"I want you, Marie," he said. "I want you to be my girlfriend." Kris leaned down to kiss her, then suddenly pulled away. She was about to ask him what was wrong when she saw the "scouting group" plus one addition coming towards the Blackbird.
"What happened?" Marie asked Rebecca. "And who is that Twister's carrying?"
"I will explain it all in a moment," Rebecca replied. "Come on the Blackbird with us."
Kris and Marie followed the others onboard the plane.
*** *** ***
"So let me get this straight. Twister's a native of Wills Point, and he has a sister who just happens to be a follower of the guy we were sent here to find?"
Rebecca nodded. "That is pretty much the story, Billy."
"Well isn't that all very convenient," Marie muttered under her breath. Ric elbowed her, and she glared at him.
"When Kimberly wakes up, I believe we should attempt to find out all we can about this so-called 'Magneto,'" Rebecca said.
"I'll talk to her," Twister said. "She trusts me—or at least she used to."
"That would probably be for the best," Rebecca said.
"So does anyone actually have any sort of plan to follow?" Vicky asked. The X-Men stared at her blankly. "Riiight."
"Alex?"
Twister jumped at the soft sound of his sister's voice. "Kimmy's awake," he said. "I'm going to go talk to her."
"Alex?" Kacie asked as soon as Twister left.
"It is his name," Rebecca said. "Although I get the feeling he would rather we continue to call him Twister."
"It must be hard for him, coming here," Billy said. "The few times he talked about his home he never described it as a happy place."
"It is hard on him," Rebecca said. "It reminds him of how much he feels like he does not belong."
"He belongs on the X-Men," Rachel said.
Rebecca looked through to where Twister was kneeling by his sister's bedside. "Sometimes I am not sure how certain of that he is."
*** *** ***
"Um, Nate, has the mansion ever been this quiet?"
Cable paused for a moment and realized he heard absolutely nothing. "No."
Angela closed her eyes and tried to locate someone in the mansion telepathically. She opened them again. "No one is here."
"It's nine A.M. on a Saturday, and they're teenagers," Nate said. "They've got to still be here. Most of them shouldn't even be awake yet."
Angela tried again, and then shook her head. "No one."
It was then that Nate noticed a note stuck to the door. He pulled it off and read it. "Gone to Texas with a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to fight 'Magneto.' Be back soon. X-Men."
"What?!" Angela exclaimed. "Let me see that."
Nathan handed her the note so she could read it herself. "We leave them for a month and look what happens!"
"We need to try to find them," Cable said. "At least make sure they haven't gotten themselves into trouble."
"Nate, my love, do you know these kids? Of course they've gotten themselves into trouble! It is what they do best, after all."
Nathan swore under his breath. "Do you think they took the Blackbird?" he asked. "If they did, I could, just try to contact them on it."
"It's worth a shot," Angie said. "Come on, let's see if the hangar's empty."
Nathan and Angela were just about to walk off, when they heard a knock at the door. Cable opened it to the last person he expected to see.
Victor Creed snarled at Cable. "Where the fuck's my daughter?"
*** *** ***
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