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"He
who has a thousand friends
Has not a friend to spare,
While he who has one enemy
Shall meet him everywhere."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Chapter Nineteen: Watch Out For the Bumper Cars
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A bag of wrapping paper and foil bows tucked under her arm, Nat tiptoed up the front steps and into the house. She glanced around for a moment, feeling oddly as if she were on some sort of clandestine spy mission, and dashed up to Kurt's room to stow their things under his bed. Thinking better of it, she plopped down on the floor and started wrapping the gifts from Kurt and herself, seated cross-legged on the carpet with the decorated paper and the packages spread across the floor before her. It took only a few minutes of wrapping to get everything together, and Nat put the parcels and the leftover wrapping supplies underneath his bed.
It was Kurt's job to get the cake into the house without Kitty seeing it. This should have been easy, considering the fact that he could simply think himself into the kitchen, but it resulted in far more mishaps than anyone could have predicted. Assuming incorrectly that the pantry would be empty, he 'ported in only to find Kitty looking for something to eat. When she noticed him and screamed in shock, throwing a banana at his head, he'd dropped the cake and almost smashed it to a paste on the floor, only to narrowly catch it just before it hit the ground. Inside the packaging, the frosting was a little smudged, but the cake itself was intact, and his next task was to explain to Kitty what he was doing.
Kitty picked up the now-bruised banana and pulled off the peel, tossing it into the trash bin and munching on the fruit. She pointed at the box. "What's that?"
Kurt stared at Kitty, eyes wide. "It's...shoes. Ja. My new shoes."
She raised a single, thin eyebrow in a questioning look. "A large, pink box of...shoes?"
"Vat other kind of box vould they put large, pink shoes into?" He grinned, shrugging slightly.
"So, why were you, like, bringing your new shoes into the pantry?"
Kurt's yellow eyes went even wider. "They...like it in here."
"They like it in here."
"Ja."
"Your large, pink shoes like it in here."
A long, awkward pause hovered in the air. "Uh-huh."
She blinked again, staring at him with a strange expression on her face. She nodded slowly and started backing away. Behind her, Evan had showed up and was stifling a torrent of laughter with the back of his hand. "Riiight... I think I'll be going now. I hope your...shoes...like their new home." She rolled her eyes and disappeared out into the kitchen and down the hall, leaving Kurt to let out a huge breath that he'd been holding.
"What's goin' on?" asked Rogue, appearing from the living room just as Evan lost his battle against the sheer stupidity of the entire situation and dissolved into giggles, bracing himself against a shelf and almost toppling a row of canned soup onto the floor.
Between gasps for air, he managed to get out, "Apparently, Kurt's new shoes are in the cake box."
"Ah can' believe you, Kurt Wagner. Just one little job we give you, and you almost manage tah ruin the entire surprise!"
Kurt raised his hands in defense, looking blameless. "It vasn't my fault! I thought you vere supposed to keep Kitty busy until ve got everything into the house."
Rogue shrugged, looking slightly sheepish. "Does that mean she isn't allowed tah eat or somethin'? How was Ah supposed tah keep her from getting' a freakin' banana if she wanted one?" She rolled her eyes, snatching the box out of Kurt's hands and placing it gently on the shelf. "Now, we have tah get goin' pretty soon, so beat it on outta here and get ready!"
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The amusement park was a land of vivid colors and flashing lights, smelling of cotton candy and cinnamony elephant ears. Nat, who hadn't been to one in probably five years, was awe-struck and thrilled, and found herself clutching Kurt's arm with all her might, the events of the morning almost forgotten. Kitty was given the go-ahead to choose their activities for the evening, much to Evan's displeasure, and they spent the first hour at the roller rink. By the time she decided that it was time to move on to the rides, Evan was sulking about wanting to go on the Mind-Bender and Nat had more bruises on her butt than she had ever thought possible.
Once they were outside the confines of a building, they tended to scatter. Evan went toward the coasters and thrill rides and Jean was trying to convince Scott to go through the haunted house. Rogue stayed with Kitty, who stood there with a huge grin on her face, staring at a young man running the target booth. Kurt shook his head.
"That's Steve Twinby. Step back. I think her head is going to explode."
Nat giggled, tugging on Kurt's hand like an eager child. "Oh, let her drool. It's her birthday. Besides, I want to go on the rides!"
"Ja, ja, calm down!" He laughed and submitted to her excitement, letting her lead him from booth to booth, ride to ride. She won a goldfish and two stuffed animals at the pond, and Kurt stood there looking surprised, but he smiled warmly when she gave him a pat on the cheek and offered him one of her prizes.
Ice cream cones in hand, they found a place at a picnic table where the cake and gifts were spread out, Ororo dozing under a tree a few yards away, and left their new trophies there so they could go on the rides. Nat stood on the seat of the picnic table for a moment, surveying the area around her. She caught sight of Evan, looking pale and unsteady as he teetered away from the Mind-Bender, and saw Kitty flirting with Steve as Rogue won dozens of stuffed animals at the target game. She couldn't see Jean and Scott anywhere. For a few minutes she watched the people milling about, playing games, riding rides and eating junk food, relishing this delightful world of normalcy and fun. The morning remained a tiny nagging kernel of memory in the back of her head, one that she readily pushed away as Kurt took her hand and they set off for the bumper cars.
On the way, they managed to gather up most of the others, but Scott and Jean remained missing. Evan was still looking a little weak and peaked, so Rogue of course wanted to know if he'd like to go on the Tilt-o-Whirl with her, and he gave her a withering look that made her laugh. Kitty was happily clutching a violet cat that she had "won" at Steve's booth, almost skipping as they approached the line. Kurt dispensed ride tickets from a massive wad stashed in his pocket, and they boarded the cars.
Nat and Kurt quickly grabbed a car together, and Kitty and Rogue shared another. Evan, however, decided at the last minute that he was still a little too queasy for even this mild ride, and stood at the railing waving at the others every time they passed.
Kurt and Nat's car revved forward and started moving with a little jerk, making Nat screech and laugh wildly as she bounced against Kurt's shoulder. She went to grab the wheel and found his hands already there, so she pushed them aside only to have him do the same, both of them shrieking with laughter. They grappled for a moment, their car spinning in place and springing off of the other cars and the walls of the ride. Rogue and Kitty shot past, ramming into their car hard enough to send them spiraling backward toward a large group of other cars.
There was a moment in time that seemed to freeze, to stand immobile with frightening clarity. Kurt's arm came free from the wheel and swung outward in a large arc as if he were trying to capture his balance, his wrist smashing against the railing with a sickening crunch of shattering circuitry and dead-handed flesh. There was that strange bending of light, that mysterious shimmer, and briefly, almost too quick to be seen, the other drivers caught sight of a strange-looking creature in the seat beside the dark-haired girl. Nat gasped, feeling her pulse momentarily jump, and she vaguely heard Rogue yelp something that she couldn't make out. The world gradually fell silent around them, and Kurt glanced at her, his eyes broad and glittering with fear.
And he was gone, in a little puff of pinkish smoke.
It was as if there had been an explosion. Some people were trying to scramble away from the car that Nat now sat in alone, a few coming forward as if to help her. She struggled with her safety belt for a moment, her eyes blearing with tears that welled up and spilled before she could stop them. When she managed to get up on trembling legs, there was so much movement around her that she thought for a moment that she was hallucinating, that she was about to faint and tumble forward.
She leaped down and caught a glimpse of Kitty's pale, frightened face, felt the younger girl's small hands hauling her to her feet. Rogue was looking anxious, and the three girls glanced at one another as the others emptied the ride. They moved to the railing where Evan was waiting, a terrified expression on his face.
"Wh-where do you think he could have gone?" Kitty stammered, shaking slightly.
"The mansion, maybe?" Nat asked tentatively, grasping at the only straw she could think of.
Rogue and Evan shook their heads, and Rogue explained. "He can't 'port that far. His maximum range is only a few miles and we're way more than that from home. I don't think Kurt knows which way to go to get home anyway."
Nat was shaking hard now, and Kitty put her arm gently around Nat's shoulders. "It's totally going to be okay. Kurt knows his way around. I'm sure he, like, knows a place where he can hide until we find him and get out of here."
"Do you think maybe he's at the car?" Evan asked.
"Good! That's good. We should check there first." Kitty licked her lips. "I'll check the car. Evan and Rogue, go check the bathrooms. Nat, go tell Storm what's going on, and see if you can't find Scott and Jean. We'll all meet back at the table in twenty minutes."
There were nods all around, and they scattered, running in their assigned directions. Nat spotted Scott by the carousel, and he bounded over to her with Jean close behind. His shoulders were tense, and Jean looked terrified. Scott grasped Nat by the forearms, shaking her to try to calm her. Fretful tears poured down her cheeks, her voice choked and strained.
"Nat! We heard there was an accident at the bumper cars. Isn't Kurt with you? Where the hell is he?"
She drew in a shaky breath, a sob escaping her. "I-I don't know! We can't find him, and his holowatch was destroyed. Oh, God, we just have to find him! What if..."
Jean took hold of Nat's shoulder, pushing Scott gently out of the way. "Everything's going to be fine, Nat. This isn't the first time that his image inducer has gone on the fritz in public. He's probably well hidden at the moment. All we have to do is find him, and I've got that covered."
She closed her eyes and wrinkled her brow in thought, and a shiver ran through Nat's frame. She was calling Kurt, searching for him with her mind. Suddenly, her eyes fluttered open, a tiny smile playing across her lips. "He met up with Kitty near the café, and they 'ported to the car. He's fine, but they need the keys so they can get inside. The others know, so they're meeting back at the table."
Scott nodded curtly. "Let's go. Nat, go meet Storm and the others, and then hightail it back to the car. It's about time we got out of here."
Nat smiled gratefully and took off again with a feeling of relief blossoming in her stomach. The tears continued, tears of joy and still a few more of fear. There was still so much that could go wrong, and all she could do was pray that it didn't. As she neared the picnic area where Storm and the others were now waiting, a psychic voice interrupted her frightened musings.
"Everyone! We have a major situation! We've got F.O.H.! They came out of nowhere, and we can't fight them off alone! Get down here, now!"
Nat heard the gasps of the others as she approached them, staring in confusion at their expressions. Storm grabbed Nat's wrist, and there was a strange swirling mist that formed above their heads and expanded as if it were alive. Storm suddenly hovered upward, shooting above the massive gray cloud, and Nat screamed, seizing the woman's waist and holding on for dear life.
"I've got her! The rest of you, go! Now!"
Nat buried her face in Storm's streaming white hair, sobbing and terrified. The ground below was blotted out by the cloud, which was beginning to rumble with thunder, and it almost looked like they would be caught in the soft, cottony mass if they fell. She knew better than that, however, and was fully aware that if Storm dropped her she was likely to be skewered on the Ferris wheel.
By the time that they had been flying for about a minute, although it felt like a lifetime, Nat had dropped out of and back into consciousness and was feeling calm but drained. Through a dry throat, she managed to stutter out the question that had been lingering on her tongue.
"Wh-what's the F-F-F.O.H.?"
Storm tightened her grip on Nat's shoulders. "The Friends of Humanity, child. Mutant haters. They live for opportunities like this one. There." She pointed, and Nat glanced down to see what she was talking about, but had to press her eyelids shut as a wave of nausea swelled up within her at the sight of the parking lot so far below. Storm descended quickly, her feet touching the pavement gracefully. Nat clasped her for a few seconds longer than she had to, and let go feeling unstable and frail.
Not more than ten yards away, Scott and Jean were valiantly standing off against a small swarm of rough-looking men and a few equally rough-looking women. Scott's shoulder was bleeding but he seemed to be holding his own quite well, and Jean was tossing several of them backward with a carefully aimed blast of teke. They recovered quickly and approached, only to have the same thing happen again. One man lay on the asphalt, a large hole blasted in the front of his shirt and his chest badly bruised from a small sampling of Scott's eyebeam. Kitty was crouching over a dark silhouette on the pavement, and Nat screamed when she realized what it was. The strength that had left her legs from flight temporarily flooded back into her body, and she raced over, collapsing beside Kitty and the strange, human-shaped lump.
Kurt lay insensible on the ground, his forehead bleeding profusely, there was a piece of bloody wood beside him, the tool of one of the men who had attacked them. His chest was rising and falling, but weakly, and she flung her arms around his neck, pulling him across her lap and inching closer to the side of the car and the partial protection that it provided. Kitty glanced at her, nodded slightly, and turned back to help the others.
Nat didn't notice when the others showed up, panting from the run, and wasn't able to pay much attention to the brief fight that ensued. At one point, Scott flew past her and slammed into the car door, but he rose quickly and was back in action. She didn't observe Storm's fantastic display, but felt the cold air on her back and ignored it. She didn't see Rogue's take-down of two men at once, but heard the sound of air escaping their lungs. She never turned to look, never really cared about what was happening behind her, only concerned with the fact that Kurt was injured and she couldn't see his laughing eyes. His face was dark and shadowed except for the bright smear of red above his left eyebrow. He fidgeted slightly and gave a little moan, and her sob of relief was drowned out by the shout of one of her teammates.
The entire encounter probably lasted less than five minutes, and no one else was hurt, but to Nat it felt as if they had been fighting for a lifetime and she had lost everyone dear to her to a bloody death on the pavement. She put her shaking hand on Kurt's chest, and felt his breath there, but it didn't make her feel much better. His head had begun to move slightly from side to side and she tried to hold him still in case he went into convulsions.
By the time they were in the car and making their way home so Logan could take a look at Kurt's injuries, he had already woken up and was speaking in sentences, although they sounded a little slurred. His eyes were clear and he could answer questions easily, but Nat was still too petrified to say a word. She sat in the back seat with his head in her lap, unmoving and unable to think.