Author's Note:

Hey, everyone! What is up? Sorry I haven't updated, but you know that I can't   resist a request! Well, as the story is starting to wind down, as of three or four  more chapters, I'd like to say that once the story is finished I will be re-writing everything into the same format and correcting editing and stuff. Someone mentioned that every part is in a different font, which I'm not liking, and a different size, which I am also not liking. So, by request, I will be re-doing this and sending it out to different sites! V-kewl, no? Well, I am also in the process of writing a BUFFY FIC!!! Yeah Buffy! So, now that I've shamelessly promoted my other fanfic, let me say three words before you go off and read the chapter. Spike. Is. GORGEOUS!!!!!!!

Title: Disappearance

Author: Soli

Rating: PG-13/R for angst

Coupling: Kurt/Kitty, a little bit of Scott/Jean

Summary: When Kurt is kidnapped, the rest of the X-men have to save him….before it's too late

Dedication: This particular chapter is dedicated to the following people-

Molls- For being one of my best friends and always supporting me. Thank you for understanding my love of cartoon guys and for always just being you. I know exactly what I'd do without you (like, having food, for one J) but, honestly, I'm always proud to say you're my friend.

Suzy Q- Thank you for always telling me how it is, for all the late night (and illegal) talks, and for always giving me a little piece of your floor to sleep on.

Cathy & Chach- My comedy reliefs. I honestly think I would have thrown half the school out the third floor window had you two not been there to help me see the humor in everything. I am a happier person and more obnoxious than ever, to the relief of the half of the school I wanted to throw out the third floor window.

Lacey- One of my bestest friends in the whole wide world. I don't think I've fought so much with anyone as I have with you. I also don't think I've stolen so much mac & cheese from anyone like I have from you. I will always cherish your friendship, your love, and the way you laughed so friggin' hard when you told everyone how I talk in my sleep. I love you!

Taber- For all the times in Glee where you kept me sane with your first soprano impressions, for all the hugs you've given semi-willingly, and for the time both you and Molls told me how adorable I was on crutches. I love you too!

Jeremy- My little annoying brother, thank you for all the two times you've record Buffy for me, even if you did forget to push the record button or decided DBZ was much more interesting instead. 

Chapter 8: Losers Weepers

"Hell on Earth. H.O.E. It all fits,"

Professor Xavier smoothed out the flyer for the hundredth time, barely concealing his excitement. His hopeful students sat around the table along with Wolverine and Storm.

 "Professor, are you sure? I admit, it would be a rather large coincidence, but…" A worried Storm refused to finish her sentence. Her eyes were as hopeful as the others but there was also a sense of realism in the blue orbs. She was not going to put all her eggs in one basket. Not this time.

" No, I'm not, but I am fairly certain," The Professor turned his wheelchair around to turn on Celebro's screen.  Although he could not see their faces, Xavier could feel the confusion radiating for their minds.

" For the past month, as you know, I've been unsuccessfully trying to track Kurt's whereabouts. Night after the night Celebro came up with the same result; nothing," His hands were flying over the keyboard now, and a dark blue base outlined with light blue building structures came into focus on the screen.

"Then, last night, I wondered if maybe I was going about this all wrong. That maybe it wasn't Kurt I was supposed to be tracking. Maybe it was someone else," Three red dots appeared on the screen. Two were together in the upper part of town, but the three was near downtown and moving at a rapid pace.

"Yes, that is Quicksilver you're seeing," Evan shut his mouth. The red dot was slowly approaching the downtown area known more as the slums. Slowly moving downwards, it passed an abandoned building, a soup kitchen, a…

"Hey, where'd he go?" Evan demanded. The red dot had completely vanished.

"Exactly, Spyke," The Professor agreed. " Where did he go? This is only a recording of what happened last night. I waited for about twenty minutes, and then this happened."

With a few clicks of the keys, The Professor fast-forwarded the recording until the red dot emerged. But this time, the dot was moving more slowly, not even at a fifth of the previous speed. The Professor clicked away, and a zoom in of Toad materialized in the upper right hand corner.

" Yes, odd, I know," The Professor turned back to the mutants behind him. "I had no idea where Quicksilver had disappeared to and where Toad had appeared from. Thanks to a little hunch, I found out exactly what the problem was," He turned back to the keyboard.

Suddenly the entire screen was filled with little red dots. Some were moving in a two by two line and were racing all over. Some were going as slow as if they were moving through snowbanks. And some just didn't move.

And then there was a large perfect circle in the slums area, which didn't have a red dot anywhere. Not. One. Speck.

" Oh my god," Jean could barely breath. The Professor nodded.

" They were clever. They knew the X-men had gotten used to the idea that they could never pull off the perfect plan. They used it to their advantage." The Professor's expression was grim. "They thought we wouldn't give them a second glance, or even a first."

"They were right,"

    ***************************** 

             How many days has it been? How long have I been sleeping? Am I really awake?

            This place. This place is…what? Is it home? They say it's home. No, not they. Him. Him, there's only him. Who's he? It's…not clear. Nothing's clear. I can't see anything. I can't…I can't make out who's out there.

 I think I'm dying.

            Is that bad? I don't remember. I don't think it is, because…because there's a place…a good, warm place, with…with sunshine and…and…what are they called? Fluffies? No, that can't be ri- clouds. They're called clouds. And there are angels and…and beds and warmth and good things. I think I would like it.

            I think I felt something. I don't know, I haven't felt anything in so long. The things…that they threw, the…the…things that they threw at me. They used to hurt. Why don't they hurt anymore? Or maybe they still do. I'm not sure.

            Are they still here? The hum…humans. That's what they call themselves. Humans. Am I human? No, no not…not human. Something else? What?  I…I don't know.

            Is it night? I don't know. It's all so gray. Gray is a color. Everything is gray. I'm so tired. Maybe, maybe it's time to go to sleep. Or am I asleep now? I don't remember.

            But I'm so tired…so very, very tired…

                        ***************************** 

            She had seen him again.

            It had been a little after the bell rang and she had been headed towards the Physics lab when she saw him outside the Geometry room.

            He had been leaning heavily on the lockers and looked absolutely exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes and his lower lip was bleeding. His hair was dirty and messy and the ever-present baggy pants were ripped.

            Never had a boy looked so good.

            She had started to call his name, first softly, in shock, and then with a desperate ring to her voice. The busy crowd didn't notice that she was racing through their arms and legs and backpacks. She never tripped, never fell, was never pushed back. But he was still so far away.

            "Kurt!"

            The crowds were receding now. The bell was poised to ring, waiting for the perfect moment, when a junkie was just about to light up a joint, where a nervous computer whiz was just about to ask out the prom queen, where a bunch of rowdy headbangers were so close to making it to class on time.

            And little Kitty was just about to have her Kurt again, when the shrieking sound of vibrating metal forced her eyes to jerk up in surprise.

            When she looked back, he was gone.

            "Ms. Pryde?" She didn't turn around. I won't cry, I won't cry, I won't…

            "Ms. Pryde, I'm sorry, but did you come looking for Evan? He's not in this class this period, but if you'd like…." The teacher prattled on beside her, but Kitty was not there. She was gone, lost in her own mind, trying to find the scent of brimstone that she knew wasn't there.

            I won't cry, I won't cry, I won't cry…

                        ***************************** 

            "Tonight. It has to be tonight," Scott Summers poked at the paper bag. He couldn't eat now. Not now, when they were so close.

            Across the table, Kitty nodded. Up until now, Scott never noticed the yellow pasty look her skin had taken on, or how her eyes were always tinted red. He did now, though. He noticed everything now.

            "Tonight?! Scott, are you crazy? We need a…a plan, we need help," Jean slipped her hand into his and forced him to raise his covered eyes to hers. "We need more time,"

            Scott jerked away. How could she? She, of all people… calm down, Scott.

            Were those his thoughts or hers?

            "We've had time. Too much time. We've had the past three months to bring Kurt home, and we still haven't," He looked away. It hurt, knowing Kurt had been in trouble for the past few months and that he, Summers, had done nothing. God, it hurt.

            "We need a plan, Scott," was Jean's gentle, yet firm, reply. "Yes, we have let too much time slip by, but that means we can't mess it up now. One wrong move, and we could lose Kurt again, maybe for good,"

            "No," Kitty blinked at the sound of her voice. Since when had it become so hoarse?

            "We can't," She tried again, but that hoarseness was still there. Deciding that what she had to say was much more important, she continued.

            "We can't lose Kurt again. It's got to stop. All the worry, all the memories, all the…" Suddenly, the loose pink thread on her sweater became painfully interesting. She was going to say "visions." Instead, "It's got to stop." Was her final say. Jean looked at her, motherly instinct kicking in. Kitty only averted her eyes.

            "So, what do we do, then?" Evan, silent until then, was fiddling around with an empty carton of milk. He made sure not to look at anyone but his hands and the soggy house he was making from the red carton. Rogue watched him, her bagged lunch suddenly not interesting anymore.

            "I don't know," Scott made sure to glare extra long at Jean, who only glared back.

            "Listen. Why not tonight we think out the situation. We need to know everything about Kurt's whereabouts, like if it could be booby-trapped or anything. Once we find out all we need to know, we'll launch the rescue mission," Once again, Jean stole away Scott's authority as team leader and made known that she was now in charge. Evan nodded. Scott and Kitty said nothing. Rogue glanced up and nodded her head slightly.

            Please, like they really care, Jean blinked. Was that really her thought?  

            Of course they wouldn't. Why should they? I'M the only one who really understands. ME! God, I should've done something earlier… "Scott," The name left her lips before she knew what she was saying. Scott didn't look up. But in her head…

            What now? It was Scott. But, not the one she knew. There was something…different. Colder. Very, very unhappy.

            "Nothing," she said out loud. This time Scott did look up. Shock slowly turned to anger and jean was hit with a full blast of it.

            "You were reading my thoughts," It wasn't a question but a quiet, cold statement.         

            "I'm getting another milk," Evan nearly flipped over the bench in his haste to get away. Jean spared him a helpless glance before turning back to Scott.

            "Yeah, Ah think Ah'm gunna…Ah….hell, Ah'm jest gunna go," and Rogue was gone. Kitty paid no attention to the fleeing friends. Rather, she was staring across the field, looking oddly at something. Scott didn't notice this time. He was too enveloped in his own rage to realize that Kitty's lips kept forming the same name over and over again, before she finally got up and raced towards the bleachers.

            "It was an accident, you were-"

            "You don't trust me, do you." Jean winced again.

            "Honestly? No, I don't. But I didn't-"

            "You don't trust me. You read my mind because you think I'm gonna plan some big rescue tonight and leave you out of it!"

            "Yes! No! Scott, that's not what-"

            "No!" Thwack! The sound of a wooden lunch bench hitting the sidewalk caused the birds in the next tree over to fly away in fear. Scott slammed both palms on the table as Jean recoiled in fear.

            "Stay out of my mind, Jean. And stay away from me," he added before storming away.

            Jean could only stare at his retreating backside. What was happening to the group? Scott was growing angrier, Kitty was always silent, Evan and Rogue were running away all the time…

            And her. Jean. She knew she wasn't the leader, never tried to be. Well, maybe sometimes, when Scott obviously wasn't doing his job. But how could she help him lead, if their group was falling apart?

            She hadn't read Scott's mind. She would never do a thing like that. Never. So why was he suddenly all accusing?

            It was because she had told him 'no.' Scott had wanted to rescue his best friend ASAP, and she had told him 'no.'

            But we don't have a plan! She thought, desperately. How can we save Kurt when we don't know how?

            She hated the Brother Hood. Hated them with every miniscule bit of hate in her body. Her family was falling apart because of them. She was losing Scott because of them.

            She wished everything could go back to being the same before. She wished none of this had ever happened.

            She should've known better. Wishes don't come true.

            Not for her.

            *****************************

            It wasn't him. Once again, for the God knows umpteenth time, it wasn't him.

            It hadn't hurt as much as last time. This time, she had been able to cry.

            It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair it wasn't fair, it…there's a note sticking out of my locker.

 Yellow paper, with her name on it. It was crumpled, like whoever wrote it only had time to stuff the note into the ventilation cracks. But, who…

            Kitty,

Outside the gate at the mansion. 1:00 tonight. Come prepared.

-Evan

"Evan?"

*****************************

As always, Read and Review!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Check ya later,

Soli