Chpt 5- Story Time, A Disturbance in the Night, and a Casualty
"I was ten years old when she came for me. I had been living with my father, his second wife, and their son, since I could remember. Daddy had light brown hair and the eyes that changed color. Ammie had deep, dark purple hair, almost black, and it reached her waist. Her eyes were a shade of purple leaning more towards midnight blue. She had a kind face that always had a smile on it. Davie had sandy hair that was a mix of blond and mousy brown. His eyes... they were so cute, all green with brown flecks in them! He was a few years younger than me... All I knew back then was that Daddy had remarried Amethyst after I was born and that Davie was half of Daddy, half of Ammie. Oh, that's the reason you're never called Ammie, 'Rantha. It would bring back too many fond memories of my stepmother. Believe me, she was much kinder than Colleen ever treated me. She was such a wonderful mother to Davie and me, while Daddy oversaw the workers in the fields.
"One day, during a storm, she came for me. She looked like you, Mira. She had the curly, light blond hair, and the same skeletal structure. But you, you have the black headband, and you cut your curls up to your shoulders- that's something she'd never do. And her eyes were blue- a cold kind of blue, like an iceberg or something like that. That's one of the reasons why I left you in safety. I felt, that, if she ever came back, and you reminded her of herself, she'd convert you right away and hope would be lost... Admit, you do have that rash edge, ready to do anything to get your way. 'Rantha's not like that- 'Rantha would be broken. She reminds me of... me, somehow, both of you do, in that way... Uhh, don't ask.
"Colleen claimed me for her own, and wanted to train me to be a witch. Yes, girls, I am a witch... we'll get into that later. She wanted me for her own purposes, as her student, her servant, her slave. I was to learn to be an Evil Witch, just like her. See, she was evil and mean, and was connected to the Dark Arts, and that was the reason my father divorced her- it's a long story, but in the end, my father couldn't last, and he, Ammie, and Davie died. Killed by the stranger, to me at least, with cold eyes.
"Before I was taken away, for punishment- I had called her 'Mom' instead of Colleen, my mistake- my soul was taken out of my body and encased in a clear casing, which was then placed on a necklace- the feeling was so heart wrenching, so painful, I was scared and I didn't know what was happening. Whoever held my soul would have complete control over me, and the farther I strayed from it, the weaker I would become, until I died.
"Luckily, I grabbed it just in time. Enraged that her daughter should defy her so, she took me to her 'school,' where I was tortured and beaten and starved and abandoned and put down verbally until I got it right. I went through Hell. I was prisoned all alone, but still I kept my resolve. I would not die. I would live. But I could not run away- where would I go? Besides, there were no doors. Every room had a password, and if you said the right one, the wall disappeared for a moment, just enough to let you through. It was quite fun to guess without Colleen in the room. Although, I was never was told the password for the main door, with good reason, in Colleen's part. Oh, I could guess for hours... And the school itself was dimly lit by torches in holders on the walls. The ceiling was high, it was all a labyrinth. The walls twisted around and some were dead ends and some never ended at all.
"One day she returned with a cellmate. My halfsister, on my mother's side- your Aunt PL. The Princess Luna I knew back then did not know how bad her fate had turned against her. I took care of my little sister when Colleen had beaten her senseless, I always was there for her. I encouraged her to live. I gave her what little remained of my strength for the day so she could prosper. I gave her the name PL, when she sometimes forgot that she was a Princess through her father, even though she was not a legitimate child. But no matter, she was always a princess to me. Although she learned so much of the Great Arts, she was so little... so young, it pained me to see her frail, brittle, and thin. She was only 2 1/2 years younger than me... I longed to see her smile. She's my baby, my little girl. As if I was Mira and PL was 'Rantha. You two have something special... just like me and PL.
"I was rarely let out into the world. If ever, it was because I could sneak out after Colleen was going to get new students. She would leave and I would sneak out beind her, she never knew... It was then I encountered Kassandra Selenite- Selene, as she was called by the people who surrounded her... and soon, by me. Yes, she's the one and only 'Auntie Selene.' Oh, I laugh at how happy you children made her... Selene lived nearby; back then she didn't have wings. She was alive and well, but not happy. See, she was a princess, and half demon, and she didn't want to be queen of her lands... therefore, later on, she ran away, but sadly she fell in a lake and drowned. She then became a ghost, and she rescued me... Unfortunately, only me. We couldn't spare to take the time to rescue PL. I beat myself up for it for years, until I went back to save her. But in the meantime, at the age of thirteen, after three long years of torture for minor crimes, I had freedom.
"Selene and I ran away to a nice little town called Cupid's Arrow. We moved into houses right next to each other, it was nice. By then I had had my training as a witch- Selene practiced the art as well- and I was quite capable in recognizing the Dark Arts, though I never practiced it myself. We met such nice people there, in C.A., such nice friends. C.A. itself has it's own story... a long, tiring one. It was there that, with the right allies, we gathered enough people to go back, rescue PL, and destroy Colleen and her school of the Dark Arts. It was there, in C.A., that Selene went from being a ghost to an angel. Oh, we had such adventures there... There we found Minuit, and Tobias, and Toodles! They went with us everywhere; later on, Toodles grew on Selene, much as she won't admit it, so I let her keep him. Minuit and Tobias I trained first, so Selene let me keep them. Oh, don't worry- Min and Toby are staying with Aunt PL while I'm with you, and Toodles is happily destroying Selene's home. Although, I'm not so sure if Selene is happily chasing him from room to room...
"I left C.A. when I was ready. I regret, now, that I haven't remained in close contact with some of the people there. Mostly people came and went, but the people whose hearts were struck by Cupid's Arrow stayed. My heart had been struck, but slowly the hole closed, and I found myself wandering from town to town, searching for something... and I had yet to figure out what.
"I came across- No, 'Rantha, at first I had lost touch with Selene and PL, but later on we found each other again, and they frequently visited- Yes, I'm getting to that. I came across a magical land called Xanth- yes, home. A travelling performance group took me in, and- 'Rantha? Why the sudden pale face? Oh, I see, the heat just came on. The sudden change in temperature must have affected both you and Mira. Anyway, they taught me that I could do anything. And if I could do anything, why couldn't I sing, dance, and act? Anyway, I quickly fell in love with the director. Christopher was so handsome... he had strawberry blond hair, and soft blue eyes... Nothing like the harshness Colleen had. 'Rantha, are you sure you're alright? Sure? Okay... you know, if you two ever need anything, I will be HAPPY to do anything within my power to make it happen... Oh, I've missed you so much... Oh yes, of course. I'll continue.
"Well, it soon turned out that Chris felt the same way about me. I had only done six shows when I realized that I was pregnant. I was overjoyed to finally have a family, a loving family. I couldn't wait to tell Chris...
"Unfortunately we were passing through the Gap Chasm at the time. Whom you know as the friendly Stanley Steamer who will let anyone cross through as long as they have a pass from Princess Ivy, was back then known as the fierce Gap Dragon, who didn't let ANYBODY pass through, no exceptions. Chris died, Miracle... your father died. He never knew. Nine months later I had turned 21, retired from the troupe, moved to a small nameless town south of the Gap Chasm, and had you, Mir. It was then that PL came again, and she helped me raise you. I was in a state of horror when I realized you had bright yellow curls. I thought you would grow up like Colleen... and in some ways, you do remind me of her. You, though, will never become like her, in the evil sense. Not if I could help it.
"By the time you were three, Miracle, I decided to go to the Good Magician. I needed to know how I could prevent you from becoming like my evil mother. I never got there. I had stopped at Castle Roogna, and there I met the new king. By then I had learned to fend for myself and saved him from some trouble or other... It's not important. It's a lost chapter in Xanthian history... Anyway, his wife had a friend, who had a niece, whose parents had died in an accident. They were too busy rasing their own children, AND ruling Xanth at the same time. Their friend had no siblings, and their friend couldn't take care of the child. 'Would you be willing to take on the two year old little girl?' they asked me. I could never turn down an opportunity to do some good, so I said yes. That's you, 'Rantha. I brought you home and you two just clicked. And... one time, when you girls were about seven or eight, Selene came by. It was then that I realized... I cannot put you two in any more danger. There is always the chance she could come by and take you away from me... I'd rather do that myself and gaurantee your safety than leave it up to chance and turn you two into Evil's minions.
"PL and I took you out of Xanth and into Florida. While in Xanth, though, you developed magic talents, besides being witches. Yes, you're a witch too, 'Rantha, even though you are not of my blood. Everyone can be a witch or wizard, or sorceror, or anyone having to do with magic, if they want it that badly, and I taught some things before I left.
"You obviously retained the magic talents even outside of Xanth, and those talents were misinterpreted as mutations. You girls can do much, much more than you can now. Powers beyond your most wildest dreams. No, I can't show you now. Tomorrow. For now, let us talk more..."
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Mara and Mir didn't have to plead with their roommates long for them to agree, it was okay for Mir to sleep in Kitty's bed, just this once. It was a special occasion, after all. When the girls finally allowed themselves to get ready for sleep, they begged their mother to sing them the lullabies.
"Mom, we haven't heard you sing for a long time..."
"But didn't your Aunt PL give you the disks?"
"Yes, but that isn't the same..." Mara said wistfully.
"Alright," Meos smiled. "Which one would you like to hear?"
"Well, Kitty and I left off last at Dites-moi..."
"We did at Fairy Tale!"
Meos laughed. "I'll try both."
With that, Meos began to sing, with the most parfait accènt... (perfect accent)
"Dites-moi
Pouquoi
La vie est belle
Dites-moi
Pourquoi
La vie est gaie...
Dites-moi
Pourquoi
Chère mademoiselle
Est-ce que
Parce que
Vous m'aimez?"
The girls closed their eyes and let themselves be caught up with the melodious music that soon began to magically accompany their mother's voice. Meos smiled before she finished the song.
"Tell me
Why
Life is beautiful
Tell me
Why
Life is gay...
Tell me
Why
Dear miss
Is it
Because
You love me?"
Soon Mara was fast asleep, and Mir barely kept her eyes open.
"Please, Mom... Fairy Tale..."
"Oh course, dear. No need to parttake in it- I will provide the illusion myself this time."
"Okay..." Mir said sleepily.
Meos quietly hummed and "dah'd" and "dun'd" the tune to Fairy Tale (it had no words), quietly ranging up and down and randomly about the music scale, the music joining in, softly creating the illusion of a princess riding through a forest, and meeting a gallant knight...
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Meos watched in horror as her mother laughed evilly in front of her. She looked just the same, filled with an evil aura that was sure to make even the bravest bear huddle up in a ball of fear. She watched her place her on the wall, in shackles, next to her daughters, both unconcious. They never had a chance.
"No!" Meos cried out, again and again, as if the words of protest were going to make the evil creature change her mind. Meos writhed about, trying to escape, to break free of the bonds that trapped her to the wall, just like Mir and Mara. She couldn't operate her magic within the bounds and chains her mother had placed on her; that she had learned with pain and horror.
She watched as her mother took out her whip and cracked it against the air, making Meos flinch.
"No! Let them go! They didn't do anything to you, please! Let them go! I'll do anything, anything you want, but please, LET THEM GO!"
Meos's mother grinned silently, as if words would never express the feeling of satisfaction, then brought down the whip upon her red haired daughter-
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"Ahhh!" Meos woke up from the terrible nightmare and realized where she was.
"Ohh... oh, I'm here. I'm in the hotel room," she gasped. It was still dark out, and she looked at the clock.
"Oh shoot... it's only 4 am! I'll never get back to sleep!" She impatiently sat back and pouted. "I hate that nightmare... Even now, she still won't let me have peace."
Meos glanced outside the window. The moon was out, reminding her of the nights she had spent playing on her father's lands, the times she had spent with Selene plotting their escape, her peaceful nights in C.A., the romantic moonlit walks she had taken with Chris, and finally, the nights she had spent watching her two young little girls sleep.
What she didn't want to tell her children is where she had been after she left. She knew Mir and Mara would ask soon... Where she really had been was in other dimensions. Weird ones, normal ones, ones in times of peace, others in times of war. Once, she had entered the mind of a young girl... She hadn't meant to take the girl captive, but once she was in there, she couldn't get out. The girl was a magnet for cases like this. The last one the young teenager had to kill off. But this girl understood Meos's situation... Finally, she let her go. Meos returned home, and she began to have the nightmares. That's when she had decided a short visit couldn't hurt.
Meos glanced out into the moon once more, drinking in the moonbeams, letting the rays purge her. Then she rose, got dressed, threw on her black cloak with glittering red trim and her sign, (a heart with a chicken's foot in it, then a cross above it with three dots near the end points), and left for the Institute.
Just a short visit.
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Meanwhile, at the Brotherhood, Evil things are known to use the night to their advantages. So of course Mystique was up, interrogating this "wonderful, new type of mutant" Magneto had been raving about that afternoon.
Anything to defend her title.
Mystique glanced with fake casualty at the newcomer and shifted in her chair. She crossed her legs and examined her briefly but without overlooking the details. The newcomer wore a black winter cloak lined with a shining yellow trim. There was some sort of embroidered pattern near the right shoulder, some sort of star inside a circle, with squiggly lines raying from the points. Her sleek snow boots barely showed from underneath the cloak. Her hood was covering her face, but Mystique could barely make out dark gold ringlets escaping the darkness inside. Her skin would surely blend in with the snow, it was so pale. Her long nails were painted black with rhinestones glued in the middle, and her hands were covered in the most elaborate jewlery, gold and diamonds and silver, precious gems. One hand, though, held a thin whip.
"So, Miss..." Mystique paused, waiting for a name, but there was no reply. "Oh, I see. Magneto hasn't given you a name yet. Well, for now, names aren't important. Have you been approached by a certain 'Charles Xavier' yet?"
The woman shook her head no.
"Excellent," Mystique smiled. This was their new secret weapon (... after the last ones had been tried and failed so miserably.) "Let's see what you can do." Mystique sat back to watch. This should be interesting.
The woman rose and slowly pointed a smooth finger at Mystique. Suddenly black energy emitted from it, and Mystique dodged out of the way just in time. The wall behind her had a hole in it the size of Delaware. (Or maybe Idaho...)
But the woman wasn't finished. The woman changed shape, so that she now looked like Mystique. The expensive pen in Mystique's hand began to rise straight into the air. It dropped as the woman began to perform all sorts of types of powers, all at once. This woman did everything! Mystique was amazed.
"Okay! Okay, I get it. You'll be a wonderful asset to the Brotherhood!" Mystique watched carefully as the woman changed back to her natural form, sat down and watched Mystique watch her.
"Do you have any potential enemies?" Mystique continued.
The woman hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook her head. Mystique couldn't see through the darkness of the hood the evil grin the spread along the woman's lips...
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"Miracle? Amarantha?" Meos crept to their beds, her cloak sweeping about her, her hood pulled up over her head. "Mira? 'Rantha?"
She paused to stare. In the moonlight, their faces were bathed with pale rays, their hair surrounding their heads in perfect disarray. They softly breathed as they slept, and Meos couldn't help but stand there and love them both...
"Hold it right there!" Suddenly, the lights came on, and Mir and Mara woke up to a cloaked figure whirling around and lots of confusement.
"Wha... what?"
"What's going on?" The sisters sat up and looked at Kitty, with Katherine at her feet, poised and ready to strike at any moment, and Kurt. They were standing by the door, ready to fight to protect their friends.
"Oh dear... I fear there's been a mistake," Meos said.
"'Mystique?' Did she, like, say 'Mystique?'" Kitty gazed in wonder at Meos.
"What? Mother, vhat do you vant here? Hau ab!" Kurt glared. (Hau ab= get lost.)
"No, no. She didn't say 'Mystique.' She said 'mistake!'" Mir got up and approached Meos.
"I bet it would help if you lowered your hood, Mom." Mara hugged her mother as she lowered her hood. Dark red rings escaped the encasement of the hood.
Kurt and Kitty stood there with embarrasment.
"Oh my gosh! I am, like, SO sorry, Miss Meoskite! I didn't know- we saw a figure, like, going into the room, and we were worried-"
"Ve apologize, Miss Meoskite. Ve presumed..."
Meos laughed, and the sisters smiled. "Oh, you are Kitty, are you not? And of course, you are Kurt. Please, if there are any apologies to be made, they shall be made by me. I probably shouldn't have come so late at night, I just wanted to check up on my baby girls... and, please, call me Meos!"
"Mom, we're not babies... although I did miss you!" Mara grinned and hugged her mother once more.
"What exactly are you guys doing up so late anyway?" Mir asked.
Kurt and Kitty blushed.
"Ohhh! Kitty, tell me! What happened? What did you guys do? Oh come ON Kitty, before everyone else wakes up!"
"Nothin happened, Mir..." Kitty said shyly. Kurt looked at the floor.
Meos looked from her daughters to their friends. "I think it is my time and place to leave... I'm so sorry to have raised such confusion, you all must be tired. Goodnight, girls, I will see you later on today."
"Goodnight Mom!" the sisters cried out in unison and hugged their mother goodbye.
Meos then, after a wink to Kurt and Kitty, disappeared. That's it, just simply... disappeared. Nothing fancy, no smoke, so mist... just, gone.
They all blinked.
'Dude..." Kurt said.
Mir breathed in sharply with a gasp and turned to Kitty.
"Kitty! Tell me what happened!"
"Nothing happened! Go back to sleep." Kitty demurred but Mir grabbed her arm.
"Kitty!" Mir looked at her friend with sparkling eyes.
Mara glanced at Kurt. "I, too, am kind of curious as to what you two were doing up so early..."
Kurt blushed. "It vas nothing like zat!"
"What were you doing, then?"
"Talking! We were, like, talking, okay?"
"About?..." Mir let go of Kitty's arm expectantly.
Kitty sighed. "Avalanche asked me out."
"What?!"
All the girls grimaced with disgust. "EEEEEEEEEW!"
"Yeah, that's what I did... almost."
"So what are you going to do?"
"What do you mean, Mara? Of course she's going to tell him off. She can't stand the guy. Right?... RIGHT?"
"Well..."
Kurt turned to Kitty. "Zat's vhat ve vere just discussing. I'm glad ve vere both up and in the common room vhen ve vere..."
"Kitty, why didn't you tell us?"
"At first I didn't tell anybody. It was a decision I needed to make for myself-"
"What is there to decide!?" Mir said, outraged.
"Ahem! I meant, whether to, like, politely tell him that I don't want to date him, or to, like, tell him how I really feel."
"Oh... don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry. Anyway, I couldn't sleep, so I went down to the common room to see if I could find anything to do, when I saw Kurt-"
"I wasn't able to sleep either- I don't know vhy." Kurt shrugged.
Mir and Mara exchanged smirks but said nothing.
"And then we got to talking, and then everything just sorta... escaped. THEN, like, your mom came-"
"By ze vay, ve're REALLY sorry about zat!"
Mir rolled her eyes as Kitty picked up Katherine, who by then had lazily lied down, now that the threat was gone.
"It's okay, Kurt, Kitty. Anyway, continue."
Kitty nodded. "Well, Kurt had been walking me back to the room, since I was pratically falling asleep..."
"Voilà. Here ve are. As zey say, 'ze rest is history.'"
"Hmm... So, what do we do-"
"Amarantha!" Mir's eyes widened and she slammed her hand over her sister's mouth. "Mara, you- you... don't you dare!"
Kurt and Kitty looked at each other, confused. Mara opened her eyes wide and nodded vigorously.
"Now, when I let go, DO NOT finish the question..."
Mara looked skeptically at her sister, then nodded. Mir pulled her hand away...
Both sisters heaved a sigh of relief.
"THAT was close."
"I'm sorry! I forgot!" Mara said, upset.
"Okay, vhat's going on here?" Kurt asked.
"We can't ask that question."
"What question?"
"The one Mara almost asked!"
"That's not helping!" Kitty put her hands on her hips. Mara laughed and shook her head.
"I guess it doesn't matter. But whenever we ask that question, things ALWAYS go wrong! It's a family curse. There's another phrase we can't say... I wanna go- "
"Mir!"
"I got it! Don't worry. Anyway, we can't say 'home' after that either, we'll.... Gee, I dunno what will happen! We never questioned Aunt PL's word..."
"Oh brother," Kurt commented. *Zese girls go off topic vay too much,* he thought.
"Yeah." Kitty agreed.
Kurt shifted his feet nervously. "So, I'm going to go to bed now. Good night... umm, Kitty, I'll talk to you later."
With that, Kurt BAMFed to his room. The three girls glanced around at one another, then shrieked with excitement.
"Oh, Kitty, he TOTALLY adores you!"
"Kitty you HAVE to go out with him, don't put yourselves under this torture!"
"Oh, it's just like Romeo and Juliet!"
"West Side Story!"
"Romeo!"
"Maria!"
Mir and Mara laughed and started to mock waltz with each other. Kitty turned away.
"It's not that easy..."
*Girls, I suggest you go to sleep. Cerebro had detected a new mutant, and unfortunately, we didn't get there in time. There will be a long day tomorrow in training.*
"Professor! Exactly how long have you been listening?" Mir cried out.
*Good night, Miracle. Amarantha; Kitty.*
Miracle pouted.
"Of course, Prof," Mara said warmly. "I'm sure we would need our sleep regardless. I suppose, now, that Mir and I will go back to our... regular sleeping arrangements, no?" Mara raised an eyebrow at her sister. Mir glared back, but then gave up.
"Fine. Kitty, you are saved by the Prof. Good night, see you all in the morning!" she said roughly. Mir waved good night to her sister and Kitty, then stormed out the door, turning off the light as she went. Mara and Kitty looked at each other in the darkness and shrugged.
"Goodnight, Kitty," Mara said warmly.
"'Night Mara," Kitty said with a sigh. She, Katherine, and Mara once again soon fell asleep to the sound of the disk running it's usual lullabies...
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Mir yawned and stretched as sunlight streamed through the room. She looked at the nightstand next to her bed but then remembered she had destroyed the alarm clock with much joy months earlier. Mir sleepily got out of bed and walked over to Rogue.
"Rogue.." she whispered. No reply. She reached out and shook Rogue's shoulder. Rogue turned over and sighed, still asleep.
"Wait... what am I whispering for? Oh wow, last night was exciting..."
"Huh? Wha? Oh, it's you. Wait, why are you in here? I thought..."
"Oh come on. I'll explain to you at breakfast. Meanwhile, it's your turn to go first."
"Ohh man..."
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After breakfast the subject of Kitty and Kurt's potential romance was soon filed away in Miracle and Amarantha's minds, as their training commenced.
"Come on, Everlast. You can do it," the Prof said, Storm by his side. (AN: As much as I love her character, she can't do anything important in this scene.)
He had her trying to make a stuffed toy purple dinosaur last through Wolverine's slashing, with Jean telepathically moving it all over the place.
Everlast sighed. "I'm sorry Prof... My heart's just not in it."
"Neither would mine, if I had to defend THAT," Rogue commented from her personal training area.
"Who asked you?" Cyclops asked from behind her.
"Why are you so touchy?"
Jean whispered, "He's the one who donated the thing."
Silence. It took a lot of willpower for all of them not to burst out laughing.
Meanwhile, Miracle fought with Rogue and Cyclops. Rogue had placed her hands on him, and Mir had to heal him while Rogue had her hands on him, AND both of them had to dodge the dangerous fire, if they didn't want to get burned. Not that they couldn't heal themselves after, but, still...
Kitty had to move through Kurt without either of them fainting... if she could catch him, since he was dodging the spears thrown by Spyke.
All in all, things were going pretty well.
Suddenly, the Prof's watch beeped. He looked at the group and clapped his hands.
"Okay, everyone, break!"
All at once everyone stopped with sighs of relief. Rogue put her on gloves, while Scott put his sunglass back on and chatted with Mir quietly ("I loved that dinosaur!").
Wolverine withdrew his claws, while Jean relaxed. Mara sighed, "Sheesh..."
"Oh man, I'm beat," Spyke complained.
"Ohhh..." Kitty collapsed in a heap of exhaustion, combined with the fact that she had gone through Kurt WAY too many times.
"Kitty!" Kurt rushed over to her.
"Well... at least her recouperation time is getting better... gradually," The Prof said as Kitty opened her eyes and sat up.
"Oh... Kurt?"
"Ja?"
"Oh." Kitty closed her eyes and rested against Kurt. His eyes got big and wide, and he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her.
Rogue nudged Mir as she watched. Mir smirked and looked at Mara, who glanced back, then watched the two. Soon the whole room was watching the couple.
"Maybe Kitty should go rest in her room," the Prof approached them.
Kitty looked up at the Prof, her arms wrapped around Kurt's neck. "Can Kurt take me, then?"
"Now, Kitty, I don't like everyone taking advantage of poor Kur-"
"Oh, I don't mind, Professor!"
"Besides, aren't you, like, totally teaching us about teamwork all the time?" Kitty said, batting her eyes with emphasis.
The Prof sighed. "Oh, alright."
Kitty giggled as Kurt gathered her in his arms and BAMFed away.
1...2...3!
"Awwwwwww!" All the girls said together. Wolverine rolled his eyes and looked at Scott, who winked.
"Well, somebody had to see this coming," Spyke said.
All the girls giggled.
"I was ten years old when she came for me. I had been living with my father, his second wife, and their son, since I could remember. Daddy had light brown hair and the eyes that changed color. Ammie had deep, dark purple hair, almost black, and it reached her waist. Her eyes were a shade of purple leaning more towards midnight blue. She had a kind face that always had a smile on it. Davie had sandy hair that was a mix of blond and mousy brown. His eyes... they were so cute, all green with brown flecks in them! He was a few years younger than me... All I knew back then was that Daddy had remarried Amethyst after I was born and that Davie was half of Daddy, half of Ammie. Oh, that's the reason you're never called Ammie, 'Rantha. It would bring back too many fond memories of my stepmother. Believe me, she was much kinder than Colleen ever treated me. She was such a wonderful mother to Davie and me, while Daddy oversaw the workers in the fields.
"One day, during a storm, she came for me. She looked like you, Mira. She had the curly, light blond hair, and the same skeletal structure. But you, you have the black headband, and you cut your curls up to your shoulders- that's something she'd never do. And her eyes were blue- a cold kind of blue, like an iceberg or something like that. That's one of the reasons why I left you in safety. I felt, that, if she ever came back, and you reminded her of herself, she'd convert you right away and hope would be lost... Admit, you do have that rash edge, ready to do anything to get your way. 'Rantha's not like that- 'Rantha would be broken. She reminds me of... me, somehow, both of you do, in that way... Uhh, don't ask.
"Colleen claimed me for her own, and wanted to train me to be a witch. Yes, girls, I am a witch... we'll get into that later. She wanted me for her own purposes, as her student, her servant, her slave. I was to learn to be an Evil Witch, just like her. See, she was evil and mean, and was connected to the Dark Arts, and that was the reason my father divorced her- it's a long story, but in the end, my father couldn't last, and he, Ammie, and Davie died. Killed by the stranger, to me at least, with cold eyes.
"Before I was taken away, for punishment- I had called her 'Mom' instead of Colleen, my mistake- my soul was taken out of my body and encased in a clear casing, which was then placed on a necklace- the feeling was so heart wrenching, so painful, I was scared and I didn't know what was happening. Whoever held my soul would have complete control over me, and the farther I strayed from it, the weaker I would become, until I died.
"Luckily, I grabbed it just in time. Enraged that her daughter should defy her so, she took me to her 'school,' where I was tortured and beaten and starved and abandoned and put down verbally until I got it right. I went through Hell. I was prisoned all alone, but still I kept my resolve. I would not die. I would live. But I could not run away- where would I go? Besides, there were no doors. Every room had a password, and if you said the right one, the wall disappeared for a moment, just enough to let you through. It was quite fun to guess without Colleen in the room. Although, I was never was told the password for the main door, with good reason, in Colleen's part. Oh, I could guess for hours... And the school itself was dimly lit by torches in holders on the walls. The ceiling was high, it was all a labyrinth. The walls twisted around and some were dead ends and some never ended at all.
"One day she returned with a cellmate. My halfsister, on my mother's side- your Aunt PL. The Princess Luna I knew back then did not know how bad her fate had turned against her. I took care of my little sister when Colleen had beaten her senseless, I always was there for her. I encouraged her to live. I gave her what little remained of my strength for the day so she could prosper. I gave her the name PL, when she sometimes forgot that she was a Princess through her father, even though she was not a legitimate child. But no matter, she was always a princess to me. Although she learned so much of the Great Arts, she was so little... so young, it pained me to see her frail, brittle, and thin. She was only 2 1/2 years younger than me... I longed to see her smile. She's my baby, my little girl. As if I was Mira and PL was 'Rantha. You two have something special... just like me and PL.
"I was rarely let out into the world. If ever, it was because I could sneak out after Colleen was going to get new students. She would leave and I would sneak out beind her, she never knew... It was then I encountered Kassandra Selenite- Selene, as she was called by the people who surrounded her... and soon, by me. Yes, she's the one and only 'Auntie Selene.' Oh, I laugh at how happy you children made her... Selene lived nearby; back then she didn't have wings. She was alive and well, but not happy. See, she was a princess, and half demon, and she didn't want to be queen of her lands... therefore, later on, she ran away, but sadly she fell in a lake and drowned. She then became a ghost, and she rescued me... Unfortunately, only me. We couldn't spare to take the time to rescue PL. I beat myself up for it for years, until I went back to save her. But in the meantime, at the age of thirteen, after three long years of torture for minor crimes, I had freedom.
"Selene and I ran away to a nice little town called Cupid's Arrow. We moved into houses right next to each other, it was nice. By then I had had my training as a witch- Selene practiced the art as well- and I was quite capable in recognizing the Dark Arts, though I never practiced it myself. We met such nice people there, in C.A., such nice friends. C.A. itself has it's own story... a long, tiring one. It was there that, with the right allies, we gathered enough people to go back, rescue PL, and destroy Colleen and her school of the Dark Arts. It was there, in C.A., that Selene went from being a ghost to an angel. Oh, we had such adventures there... There we found Minuit, and Tobias, and Toodles! They went with us everywhere; later on, Toodles grew on Selene, much as she won't admit it, so I let her keep him. Minuit and Tobias I trained first, so Selene let me keep them. Oh, don't worry- Min and Toby are staying with Aunt PL while I'm with you, and Toodles is happily destroying Selene's home. Although, I'm not so sure if Selene is happily chasing him from room to room...
"I left C.A. when I was ready. I regret, now, that I haven't remained in close contact with some of the people there. Mostly people came and went, but the people whose hearts were struck by Cupid's Arrow stayed. My heart had been struck, but slowly the hole closed, and I found myself wandering from town to town, searching for something... and I had yet to figure out what.
"I came across- No, 'Rantha, at first I had lost touch with Selene and PL, but later on we found each other again, and they frequently visited- Yes, I'm getting to that. I came across a magical land called Xanth- yes, home. A travelling performance group took me in, and- 'Rantha? Why the sudden pale face? Oh, I see, the heat just came on. The sudden change in temperature must have affected both you and Mira. Anyway, they taught me that I could do anything. And if I could do anything, why couldn't I sing, dance, and act? Anyway, I quickly fell in love with the director. Christopher was so handsome... he had strawberry blond hair, and soft blue eyes... Nothing like the harshness Colleen had. 'Rantha, are you sure you're alright? Sure? Okay... you know, if you two ever need anything, I will be HAPPY to do anything within my power to make it happen... Oh, I've missed you so much... Oh yes, of course. I'll continue.
"Well, it soon turned out that Chris felt the same way about me. I had only done six shows when I realized that I was pregnant. I was overjoyed to finally have a family, a loving family. I couldn't wait to tell Chris...
"Unfortunately we were passing through the Gap Chasm at the time. Whom you know as the friendly Stanley Steamer who will let anyone cross through as long as they have a pass from Princess Ivy, was back then known as the fierce Gap Dragon, who didn't let ANYBODY pass through, no exceptions. Chris died, Miracle... your father died. He never knew. Nine months later I had turned 21, retired from the troupe, moved to a small nameless town south of the Gap Chasm, and had you, Mir. It was then that PL came again, and she helped me raise you. I was in a state of horror when I realized you had bright yellow curls. I thought you would grow up like Colleen... and in some ways, you do remind me of her. You, though, will never become like her, in the evil sense. Not if I could help it.
"By the time you were three, Miracle, I decided to go to the Good Magician. I needed to know how I could prevent you from becoming like my evil mother. I never got there. I had stopped at Castle Roogna, and there I met the new king. By then I had learned to fend for myself and saved him from some trouble or other... It's not important. It's a lost chapter in Xanthian history... Anyway, his wife had a friend, who had a niece, whose parents had died in an accident. They were too busy rasing their own children, AND ruling Xanth at the same time. Their friend had no siblings, and their friend couldn't take care of the child. 'Would you be willing to take on the two year old little girl?' they asked me. I could never turn down an opportunity to do some good, so I said yes. That's you, 'Rantha. I brought you home and you two just clicked. And... one time, when you girls were about seven or eight, Selene came by. It was then that I realized... I cannot put you two in any more danger. There is always the chance she could come by and take you away from me... I'd rather do that myself and gaurantee your safety than leave it up to chance and turn you two into Evil's minions.
"PL and I took you out of Xanth and into Florida. While in Xanth, though, you developed magic talents, besides being witches. Yes, you're a witch too, 'Rantha, even though you are not of my blood. Everyone can be a witch or wizard, or sorceror, or anyone having to do with magic, if they want it that badly, and I taught some things before I left.
"You obviously retained the magic talents even outside of Xanth, and those talents were misinterpreted as mutations. You girls can do much, much more than you can now. Powers beyond your most wildest dreams. No, I can't show you now. Tomorrow. For now, let us talk more..."
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Mara and Mir didn't have to plead with their roommates long for them to agree, it was okay for Mir to sleep in Kitty's bed, just this once. It was a special occasion, after all. When the girls finally allowed themselves to get ready for sleep, they begged their mother to sing them the lullabies.
"Mom, we haven't heard you sing for a long time..."
"But didn't your Aunt PL give you the disks?"
"Yes, but that isn't the same..." Mara said wistfully.
"Alright," Meos smiled. "Which one would you like to hear?"
"Well, Kitty and I left off last at Dites-moi..."
"We did at Fairy Tale!"
Meos laughed. "I'll try both."
With that, Meos began to sing, with the most parfait accènt... (perfect accent)
"Dites-moi
Pouquoi
La vie est belle
Dites-moi
Pourquoi
La vie est gaie...
Dites-moi
Pourquoi
Chère mademoiselle
Est-ce que
Parce que
Vous m'aimez?"
The girls closed their eyes and let themselves be caught up with the melodious music that soon began to magically accompany their mother's voice. Meos smiled before she finished the song.
"Tell me
Why
Life is beautiful
Tell me
Why
Life is gay...
Tell me
Why
Dear miss
Is it
Because
You love me?"
Soon Mara was fast asleep, and Mir barely kept her eyes open.
"Please, Mom... Fairy Tale..."
"Oh course, dear. No need to parttake in it- I will provide the illusion myself this time."
"Okay..." Mir said sleepily.
Meos quietly hummed and "dah'd" and "dun'd" the tune to Fairy Tale (it had no words), quietly ranging up and down and randomly about the music scale, the music joining in, softly creating the illusion of a princess riding through a forest, and meeting a gallant knight...
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Meos watched in horror as her mother laughed evilly in front of her. She looked just the same, filled with an evil aura that was sure to make even the bravest bear huddle up in a ball of fear. She watched her place her on the wall, in shackles, next to her daughters, both unconcious. They never had a chance.
"No!" Meos cried out, again and again, as if the words of protest were going to make the evil creature change her mind. Meos writhed about, trying to escape, to break free of the bonds that trapped her to the wall, just like Mir and Mara. She couldn't operate her magic within the bounds and chains her mother had placed on her; that she had learned with pain and horror.
She watched as her mother took out her whip and cracked it against the air, making Meos flinch.
"No! Let them go! They didn't do anything to you, please! Let them go! I'll do anything, anything you want, but please, LET THEM GO!"
Meos's mother grinned silently, as if words would never express the feeling of satisfaction, then brought down the whip upon her red haired daughter-
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"Ahhh!" Meos woke up from the terrible nightmare and realized where she was.
"Ohh... oh, I'm here. I'm in the hotel room," she gasped. It was still dark out, and she looked at the clock.
"Oh shoot... it's only 4 am! I'll never get back to sleep!" She impatiently sat back and pouted. "I hate that nightmare... Even now, she still won't let me have peace."
Meos glanced outside the window. The moon was out, reminding her of the nights she had spent playing on her father's lands, the times she had spent with Selene plotting their escape, her peaceful nights in C.A., the romantic moonlit walks she had taken with Chris, and finally, the nights she had spent watching her two young little girls sleep.
What she didn't want to tell her children is where she had been after she left. She knew Mir and Mara would ask soon... Where she really had been was in other dimensions. Weird ones, normal ones, ones in times of peace, others in times of war. Once, she had entered the mind of a young girl... She hadn't meant to take the girl captive, but once she was in there, she couldn't get out. The girl was a magnet for cases like this. The last one the young teenager had to kill off. But this girl understood Meos's situation... Finally, she let her go. Meos returned home, and she began to have the nightmares. That's when she had decided a short visit couldn't hurt.
Meos glanced out into the moon once more, drinking in the moonbeams, letting the rays purge her. Then she rose, got dressed, threw on her black cloak with glittering red trim and her sign, (a heart with a chicken's foot in it, then a cross above it with three dots near the end points), and left for the Institute.
Just a short visit.
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Meanwhile, at the Brotherhood, Evil things are known to use the night to their advantages. So of course Mystique was up, interrogating this "wonderful, new type of mutant" Magneto had been raving about that afternoon.
Anything to defend her title.
Mystique glanced with fake casualty at the newcomer and shifted in her chair. She crossed her legs and examined her briefly but without overlooking the details. The newcomer wore a black winter cloak lined with a shining yellow trim. There was some sort of embroidered pattern near the right shoulder, some sort of star inside a circle, with squiggly lines raying from the points. Her sleek snow boots barely showed from underneath the cloak. Her hood was covering her face, but Mystique could barely make out dark gold ringlets escaping the darkness inside. Her skin would surely blend in with the snow, it was so pale. Her long nails were painted black with rhinestones glued in the middle, and her hands were covered in the most elaborate jewlery, gold and diamonds and silver, precious gems. One hand, though, held a thin whip.
"So, Miss..." Mystique paused, waiting for a name, but there was no reply. "Oh, I see. Magneto hasn't given you a name yet. Well, for now, names aren't important. Have you been approached by a certain 'Charles Xavier' yet?"
The woman shook her head no.
"Excellent," Mystique smiled. This was their new secret weapon (... after the last ones had been tried and failed so miserably.) "Let's see what you can do." Mystique sat back to watch. This should be interesting.
The woman rose and slowly pointed a smooth finger at Mystique. Suddenly black energy emitted from it, and Mystique dodged out of the way just in time. The wall behind her had a hole in it the size of Delaware. (Or maybe Idaho...)
But the woman wasn't finished. The woman changed shape, so that she now looked like Mystique. The expensive pen in Mystique's hand began to rise straight into the air. It dropped as the woman began to perform all sorts of types of powers, all at once. This woman did everything! Mystique was amazed.
"Okay! Okay, I get it. You'll be a wonderful asset to the Brotherhood!" Mystique watched carefully as the woman changed back to her natural form, sat down and watched Mystique watch her.
"Do you have any potential enemies?" Mystique continued.
The woman hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook her head. Mystique couldn't see through the darkness of the hood the evil grin the spread along the woman's lips...
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"Miracle? Amarantha?" Meos crept to their beds, her cloak sweeping about her, her hood pulled up over her head. "Mira? 'Rantha?"
She paused to stare. In the moonlight, their faces were bathed with pale rays, their hair surrounding their heads in perfect disarray. They softly breathed as they slept, and Meos couldn't help but stand there and love them both...
"Hold it right there!" Suddenly, the lights came on, and Mir and Mara woke up to a cloaked figure whirling around and lots of confusement.
"Wha... what?"
"What's going on?" The sisters sat up and looked at Kitty, with Katherine at her feet, poised and ready to strike at any moment, and Kurt. They were standing by the door, ready to fight to protect their friends.
"Oh dear... I fear there's been a mistake," Meos said.
"'Mystique?' Did she, like, say 'Mystique?'" Kitty gazed in wonder at Meos.
"What? Mother, vhat do you vant here? Hau ab!" Kurt glared. (Hau ab= get lost.)
"No, no. She didn't say 'Mystique.' She said 'mistake!'" Mir got up and approached Meos.
"I bet it would help if you lowered your hood, Mom." Mara hugged her mother as she lowered her hood. Dark red rings escaped the encasement of the hood.
Kurt and Kitty stood there with embarrasment.
"Oh my gosh! I am, like, SO sorry, Miss Meoskite! I didn't know- we saw a figure, like, going into the room, and we were worried-"
"Ve apologize, Miss Meoskite. Ve presumed..."
Meos laughed, and the sisters smiled. "Oh, you are Kitty, are you not? And of course, you are Kurt. Please, if there are any apologies to be made, they shall be made by me. I probably shouldn't have come so late at night, I just wanted to check up on my baby girls... and, please, call me Meos!"
"Mom, we're not babies... although I did miss you!" Mara grinned and hugged her mother once more.
"What exactly are you guys doing up so late anyway?" Mir asked.
Kurt and Kitty blushed.
"Ohhh! Kitty, tell me! What happened? What did you guys do? Oh come ON Kitty, before everyone else wakes up!"
"Nothin happened, Mir..." Kitty said shyly. Kurt looked at the floor.
Meos looked from her daughters to their friends. "I think it is my time and place to leave... I'm so sorry to have raised such confusion, you all must be tired. Goodnight, girls, I will see you later on today."
"Goodnight Mom!" the sisters cried out in unison and hugged their mother goodbye.
Meos then, after a wink to Kurt and Kitty, disappeared. That's it, just simply... disappeared. Nothing fancy, no smoke, so mist... just, gone.
They all blinked.
'Dude..." Kurt said.
Mir breathed in sharply with a gasp and turned to Kitty.
"Kitty! Tell me what happened!"
"Nothing happened! Go back to sleep." Kitty demurred but Mir grabbed her arm.
"Kitty!" Mir looked at her friend with sparkling eyes.
Mara glanced at Kurt. "I, too, am kind of curious as to what you two were doing up so early..."
Kurt blushed. "It vas nothing like zat!"
"What were you doing, then?"
"Talking! We were, like, talking, okay?"
"About?..." Mir let go of Kitty's arm expectantly.
Kitty sighed. "Avalanche asked me out."
"What?!"
All the girls grimaced with disgust. "EEEEEEEEEW!"
"Yeah, that's what I did... almost."
"So what are you going to do?"
"What do you mean, Mara? Of course she's going to tell him off. She can't stand the guy. Right?... RIGHT?"
"Well..."
Kurt turned to Kitty. "Zat's vhat ve vere just discussing. I'm glad ve vere both up and in the common room vhen ve vere..."
"Kitty, why didn't you tell us?"
"At first I didn't tell anybody. It was a decision I needed to make for myself-"
"What is there to decide!?" Mir said, outraged.
"Ahem! I meant, whether to, like, politely tell him that I don't want to date him, or to, like, tell him how I really feel."
"Oh... don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry. Anyway, I couldn't sleep, so I went down to the common room to see if I could find anything to do, when I saw Kurt-"
"I wasn't able to sleep either- I don't know vhy." Kurt shrugged.
Mir and Mara exchanged smirks but said nothing.
"And then we got to talking, and then everything just sorta... escaped. THEN, like, your mom came-"
"By ze vay, ve're REALLY sorry about zat!"
Mir rolled her eyes as Kitty picked up Katherine, who by then had lazily lied down, now that the threat was gone.
"It's okay, Kurt, Kitty. Anyway, continue."
Kitty nodded. "Well, Kurt had been walking me back to the room, since I was pratically falling asleep..."
"Voilà. Here ve are. As zey say, 'ze rest is history.'"
"Hmm... So, what do we do-"
"Amarantha!" Mir's eyes widened and she slammed her hand over her sister's mouth. "Mara, you- you... don't you dare!"
Kurt and Kitty looked at each other, confused. Mara opened her eyes wide and nodded vigorously.
"Now, when I let go, DO NOT finish the question..."
Mara looked skeptically at her sister, then nodded. Mir pulled her hand away...
Both sisters heaved a sigh of relief.
"THAT was close."
"I'm sorry! I forgot!" Mara said, upset.
"Okay, vhat's going on here?" Kurt asked.
"We can't ask that question."
"What question?"
"The one Mara almost asked!"
"That's not helping!" Kitty put her hands on her hips. Mara laughed and shook her head.
"I guess it doesn't matter. But whenever we ask that question, things ALWAYS go wrong! It's a family curse. There's another phrase we can't say... I wanna go- "
"Mir!"
"I got it! Don't worry. Anyway, we can't say 'home' after that either, we'll.... Gee, I dunno what will happen! We never questioned Aunt PL's word..."
"Oh brother," Kurt commented. *Zese girls go off topic vay too much,* he thought.
"Yeah." Kitty agreed.
Kurt shifted his feet nervously. "So, I'm going to go to bed now. Good night... umm, Kitty, I'll talk to you later."
With that, Kurt BAMFed to his room. The three girls glanced around at one another, then shrieked with excitement.
"Oh, Kitty, he TOTALLY adores you!"
"Kitty you HAVE to go out with him, don't put yourselves under this torture!"
"Oh, it's just like Romeo and Juliet!"
"West Side Story!"
"Romeo!"
"Maria!"
Mir and Mara laughed and started to mock waltz with each other. Kitty turned away.
"It's not that easy..."
*Girls, I suggest you go to sleep. Cerebro had detected a new mutant, and unfortunately, we didn't get there in time. There will be a long day tomorrow in training.*
"Professor! Exactly how long have you been listening?" Mir cried out.
*Good night, Miracle. Amarantha; Kitty.*
Miracle pouted.
"Of course, Prof," Mara said warmly. "I'm sure we would need our sleep regardless. I suppose, now, that Mir and I will go back to our... regular sleeping arrangements, no?" Mara raised an eyebrow at her sister. Mir glared back, but then gave up.
"Fine. Kitty, you are saved by the Prof. Good night, see you all in the morning!" she said roughly. Mir waved good night to her sister and Kitty, then stormed out the door, turning off the light as she went. Mara and Kitty looked at each other in the darkness and shrugged.
"Goodnight, Kitty," Mara said warmly.
"'Night Mara," Kitty said with a sigh. She, Katherine, and Mara once again soon fell asleep to the sound of the disk running it's usual lullabies...
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Mir yawned and stretched as sunlight streamed through the room. She looked at the nightstand next to her bed but then remembered she had destroyed the alarm clock with much joy months earlier. Mir sleepily got out of bed and walked over to Rogue.
"Rogue.." she whispered. No reply. She reached out and shook Rogue's shoulder. Rogue turned over and sighed, still asleep.
"Wait... what am I whispering for? Oh wow, last night was exciting..."
"Huh? Wha? Oh, it's you. Wait, why are you in here? I thought..."
"Oh come on. I'll explain to you at breakfast. Meanwhile, it's your turn to go first."
"Ohh man..."
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After breakfast the subject of Kitty and Kurt's potential romance was soon filed away in Miracle and Amarantha's minds, as their training commenced.
"Come on, Everlast. You can do it," the Prof said, Storm by his side. (AN: As much as I love her character, she can't do anything important in this scene.)
He had her trying to make a stuffed toy purple dinosaur last through Wolverine's slashing, with Jean telepathically moving it all over the place.
Everlast sighed. "I'm sorry Prof... My heart's just not in it."
"Neither would mine, if I had to defend THAT," Rogue commented from her personal training area.
"Who asked you?" Cyclops asked from behind her.
"Why are you so touchy?"
Jean whispered, "He's the one who donated the thing."
Silence. It took a lot of willpower for all of them not to burst out laughing.
Meanwhile, Miracle fought with Rogue and Cyclops. Rogue had placed her hands on him, and Mir had to heal him while Rogue had her hands on him, AND both of them had to dodge the dangerous fire, if they didn't want to get burned. Not that they couldn't heal themselves after, but, still...
Kitty had to move through Kurt without either of them fainting... if she could catch him, since he was dodging the spears thrown by Spyke.
All in all, things were going pretty well.
Suddenly, the Prof's watch beeped. He looked at the group and clapped his hands.
"Okay, everyone, break!"
All at once everyone stopped with sighs of relief. Rogue put her on gloves, while Scott put his sunglass back on and chatted with Mir quietly ("I loved that dinosaur!").
Wolverine withdrew his claws, while Jean relaxed. Mara sighed, "Sheesh..."
"Oh man, I'm beat," Spyke complained.
"Ohhh..." Kitty collapsed in a heap of exhaustion, combined with the fact that she had gone through Kurt WAY too many times.
"Kitty!" Kurt rushed over to her.
"Well... at least her recouperation time is getting better... gradually," The Prof said as Kitty opened her eyes and sat up.
"Oh... Kurt?"
"Ja?"
"Oh." Kitty closed her eyes and rested against Kurt. His eyes got big and wide, and he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her.
Rogue nudged Mir as she watched. Mir smirked and looked at Mara, who glanced back, then watched the two. Soon the whole room was watching the couple.
"Maybe Kitty should go rest in her room," the Prof approached them.
Kitty looked up at the Prof, her arms wrapped around Kurt's neck. "Can Kurt take me, then?"
"Now, Kitty, I don't like everyone taking advantage of poor Kur-"
"Oh, I don't mind, Professor!"
"Besides, aren't you, like, totally teaching us about teamwork all the time?" Kitty said, batting her eyes with emphasis.
The Prof sighed. "Oh, alright."
Kitty giggled as Kurt gathered her in his arms and BAMFed away.
1...2...3!
"Awwwwwww!" All the girls said together. Wolverine rolled his eyes and looked at Scott, who winked.
"Well, somebody had to see this coming," Spyke said.
All the girls giggled.