Author's Note:

This fanfic is in response to a challenge the InterNutter has on her web page. (Go to http://cat.devil.com for details. I believe it's on her "miscellaneous" page. Check out her other stuff while you're at it, too. She's got a lot of neat stuff.) While this story may not what she had in mind, I hope she enjoys it.

Please review and give me useful feedback. You don't flame me, I don't flame you. (And believe me, I can get very creative...) This story is still open to massive re-writes. I'm having issues with the fact that it seems so contrived...

Standard disclaimer: I don't own the X-men and I'm not making a dime (or even a nickel) off this story.

Radical Nike

Part Two

The next morning saw a droopy elf at the breakfast table. He had been excused from the morning training sessions so that he could recuperate.

He still managed to pack away half his body weight in food, however.

Scott Summers and Evan Daniels watched in awe as Kurt reached for his ninth helping of hash browns.

"K-man, I can't remember that last time I saw you pig out this bad," Evan said around a mouthful of bacon.

Kurt didn't answer. He was never very talkative when he was actually eating.

"How long did Logan work you last night, Kurt?" Scott asked, earning a pained sideways glance from the teleporter, who swallowed audibly.

"Five hours." He resumed eating.

Evan whistled. "Did he let you have a break or anything?"

"Does he ever?" Scott responded for him. "Hey, Kurt, you may want to take some of that to go. We have to leave in ten minutes if we're going to make it to school on time."

Kurt paused. "I'll just 'port. That way I have at least another thirty minutes, ja?"

Scott frowned. "You know you're not supposed to do that. What if someone sees you? It seems like everyone at school is high on the 'Bayville Demon' lately."

"I'll be okay. I've got a couple spots that are out of the way. If it helps, I'll won't even 'port directly to school. Happy? Now excuse me, but I'm still starving. Herr Logan wore out my reserves last night."

He returned to his gorging.

"I didn't know Kurt had reserves, man," Evan mumbled as he stood up, ignoring his napkin and wiping his hands on his shorts instead.

Scott shook his head. "Just be careful, Kurt. None of us want to have to save your blue butt, you know."

At school, Sylvan was carefully tracing a series of circles and other shapes on the floor of the chemical closet with salt water, murmuring under his breath. He didn't want to hurry and botch the job, but he didn't want one of the teachers to catch him either. It had been a simple matter to pick the lock and he knew that Rhave was keeping watch outside. He had pilfered the chemicals to make a smoke bomb just in case he was caught. A prank was more believable than sorcery.

The circle was laid down and he carefully dripped some of his own blood (courtesy of his Swiss Army knife) discreetly on the floor where it wouldn't be noticed. The spell didn't call for it, but he figured that it would help. After putting on a band-aid, he knelt and placed his jar under the bottom shelf where it was hidden by the shadows, but still within the circle's range. On the outside of the jar, he had copied the gypsy letters. A few blue hairs lay in the bottom.

If this worked right, the jar would take the most fitting shape to hold the demon, which was how he and Rhave would know if the spell worked right.

Rhave knocked on the door and hissed, "First bell just rang. Hurry up!"

Sylvan straightened up and carefully exited. "I just finished." He locked the door and shut it.

"Now what?" Rhave asked as they casually walked away.

"Now we just check back periodically to see if the jar changes shape. When it changes, we'll know it worked." He rubbed his hands gleefully, showing purple-stained teeth.

"Brill, just brill." Rhave rolled her eyes.

Further down the hall, Kitty Pryde was having a conniption.

"EWWWW! Someone, like, slimed my locker..." she squealed. She shook her hand in the air in a vain effort to get rid of the gross substance. Nearby, she could hear Pietro Maximov and Todd Tolansky sniggering.

"Youreallyshouldcleanyourlockeroutonceinawhile,X-geek," Pietro taunted, appearing next to Kitty between blinks. "Justbecauseyoucanmakelikeaghostdoesn'tmeanyoushouldleaveectoplasmallovertheplace." He smirked and vanished in blur. Todd kept grinning at her.

"Go away, Todd. I know you did it, you creepo."

"It's nice to be appreciated, yo. I do good work. Too bad that freakazoid blue-boy is getting all the credit." Todd's voice and posture gave little doubt that he didn't mind at all. "Later, foo." He slammed his hand against the locker next to hers, making Kitty flinch, hopping off to his homeroom.

Kitty carefully shut her locker door and headed towards her homeroom. Fortunately, her teacher was already present.

"Ms. Lewis, could I have a hall pass? Someone, like, trashed my locker and I really need to clean it up."

Ms. Lewis absently pulled out a slip and signed it. "If it takes longer, let me know before homeroom ends, Kitty."

"Thanks!"

Kurt was hurrying past when she stepped back out into the hall. It was hard for her miss him in a crowd, even when he was wearing his hologram. Like now. "Kurt!"

No matter where he was going, Kurt always had time to stop and talk to Kitty. Tardiness was never an issue when Katzchen was involved. "Ja?"

"You have homeroom with Mr. Griefe, right? The new chemistry teacher?"

"Um, ja." What in the world?

"Toad slimed my locker and I need to, like, sanitize it. Mr. Griefe has a key to the chemical closet and, like, I was wondering if you could see if he'd open it for me so that I could get something to clean my locker with." She was holding her left hand away from her body like it was diseased.

"Sure, Katzchen. Uh, what's wrong with your hand?"

"Like, Toad secretions." She shuddered. "I'm going to run to the restroom to grab some towels and get this gunk off of me. I'll be, like, back in a few minutes."

Kitty rushed away. Kurt promised to make reparations upon the green one at a near date and made it to homeroom just in time to beat the bell.

He explained the situation to a sympathetic Mr. Griefe, who handed him a hall pass along with a set of keys.

"Go ahead and help her out. She'll be done that much faster with another set of hands to assist," he smiled good-naturedly.

"Thanks, Herr Griefe!" Kurt chirped and bounced out the door, not even dropping his books off at his desk.

Rogue, who was sitting inside the classroom, shook her head and flipped the page of her novel and murmured "What a spazz."

Kurt approached the chemical closet, automatically scanning the area.

Relax. You're here on legitimate business today. There is no need to avoid attention.

Kurt frequently used the closet as a safe spot to teleport to in times of need. It smelled so strongly in there that no one would notice the smell of sulfur unless he had been in there recently.

Turning the key in the door, he stepped in to find the cleaning supplies. The door shut behind him immediately.

His eyes were immediately drawn to a small, shadowed corner under one of the shelves.

Was that a— Wait-a-minute...Who would leave a cookie jar in the chemical closet?

It was probably full of rat poison or something. He shuddered at the thought of rats crawling around the basement of the school. Knowing this school, they were probably as strange looking as he was. (1)

Nevertheless, his curiosity would not be satisfied until he had had at least a tiny peek. He could almost feel like he was impelled to do so, even.

Kurt crouched down and dropped his backpack. He carefully picked the cookie jar up, lifting the lid.

He noticed the odd script on the outside a split-second before he felt his body implode.

The cookie jar hovered in mid-air for a moment, the lid sealing it shut. Then it gently flew back down to its hiding spot beneath the lowest shelf.

His hall pass fluttered to floor like a clumsy feather, on top of a tiny drop of drying blood.

-------

Author's Note:

(1) Sorry, InterNutter, but I just couldn't resist...