Family Ties:
Chapter 8
A/N: I was a reading this fic the other day, and noticed that Kurt seems to
be really mellowed out so far, and in case this is royally pissing you off,
do let me explain. As you know, I recently got the X-men 2 novel, and the
Kurt from the movie and the Kurt from the cartoon are TOTALLY different.
How? Well:
MOVIE KURT: Deeply Catholic, very polite, quiet, tends to stay out of the X-
men's way, very secure, isn't bothered by his looks.
CARTOON KURT: Young, no religion known as of yet, very insecure, smartass,
rushes into everything, hates the way he looks.
I just think that a bit of Movie Kurt has been molded into the Cartoon
Kurt. If ya don't like this, me apologize.
*****
The galloping of Kurt on all fours echoed that of the thunder outside as Bayville was unmercifully rained on. As he approached the door to Kitty and Rogue's shared room, he teleported inside. Before either girl could protest, he grabbed them both by the hand, 'ported them back out, and continued down the hall, leaving them with the message of, "Aiden's avake!"
The girls, joined by other students, nearly stampeded into the medical bay, all griping and yelling, trying to get in first. Beast was well aware of this and, with the kind of order only a teacher can use, promptly stopped all of them before they reached the door.
"Quiet," he instructed, putting a finger to his lips. "Aiden's awake, but he's still in recovery. Only a few of you can come in at a time. Kurt, follow me."
Kurt accompanied him into the med bay, feeling anxious. What if Aiden hadn't seen what had happened to Rose? What if he didn't know anything at all? What if? A lot of "what ifs" there.
Aiden was sitting up and looking fine, save for the fact he was very pale and the large series of stitches in his shoulder.
"How you feeling?" Kurt asked, giving him a smile so that he wouldn't pick up on his gloomy feelings.
"Better," responded Aiden. "I'm sore, but it sure beats laying in a stream and bleedin' to death."
"So.vhat happened?"
Aiden leaned back into his cushy pillows, looking quite distraught. "It happened so fast. A big guy came and knocked Rose out. I tried to attack him, but he shot me. I did see him walking into town before I passed out." He shook his head slowly, obviously very mad at himself for not being able to save his friend and mentor. "I'm sorry, Kurt, I really am."
"Aw, it's not your fault," Kurt said, waving a hand at the boy.
"But I could have done something. What's the use of having all these cool powers if I can't even save my friends?"
"Don't worry," Storm soothed, putting a reassuring hand around Aiden's shoulders. "You did your best, and that's all you can do."
"Thanks, Storm."
"So," Logan said, not liking this mushy moment when Rose could be hurting and crying for their help when he wasn't there. Not at all liking it. "How do we find her?"
"I have used Cerebro," Xavier said, a hint of confusion in his voice, "but have been unable to locate her. It is like something, or someone, is blocking my ability to reach out to Rose. It makes no sense."
A loud banging at the front door made them all jump. Scott rushed out and opened it to reveal a soaked Frederick and Adelaide. Both were panting and clutching coats to protect them from the rain, but it wasn't working.
"Frederick! Adelaide! What are you two doing -"
"It's Wolfgang!" Frederick cried, tears of fear and rage blending with the rain on his face. "He kidnapped Rose, and if you people want to find her, we have to hurry!"
*****
The entire team of the X-men, minus the newer recruits, raced to where the circus was.
Or rather, where the circus had been.
"It's gone!" Logan snarled as he surveyed the empty lot around him. Indeed, all of the animals, jesters, food stands, and tents had been removed, leaving behind only trash. No Rose to be seen. "Damn it!"
"There is no need to swear in front of the children, Logan," Storm told him.
If looks could kill, Storm would have been dead meat from the look Logan gave her. He was pissed, and wasn't going to bother to hide it. Rose, the woman HE cared about, the one HE was determined to get back, was gone again, and it was putting him in an extremely foul mood.
Then something caught his eye. Looking down, he spied deep tire tracks, like those left by diesels. He followed them with his gaze, where they turned off onto the road heading towards the woods. "Found somethin'." Kneeling down closer, he took a good sniff and almost instantly picked up on both Wolfgang and Rose's scents. They'd been here.
"We're gonna need a ride."
*****
Rose could only watch in despair as the trailer she was in wheeled away from her only hope of escape, and towards suffering.
She knew that self-pity would get her nowhere, and, thus, tried to escape. But despite her best efforts of loosening the ropes binding her were futile every time. Wolfgang, sitting across from her, watched this with high amusement. So confident was he that she was trapped, he didn't even make a move to stop her attempts. He had lowered the lights, in what Rose guessed he thought was a romantic mood. Typical; he hadn't changed one little bit, and still had no knowledge of women.
When even Rose felt there was no hope, he smirked and strode over like he was the overlord of all he saw, and not just the ringleader of a literally unknown carnival. Fritz, driving the truck, was either ignoring all going on behind him or was too dumb to know. Rose suspected the former.
"Ah, my sweet little flower," cooed the ringmaster, stroking his fingers around her chin, an ugly grin painted on his face. "We finally have some time to ourselves. How nice, how nice."
"Vhat do you plan to do vith me?" she demanded, twisting her face out of his grasp. "I still have friends in this show; you can't hide me forever in your trailer."
"Oh, they know already. I told them, and paid them to keep their traps shut." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick wad of twenties, making a fluttering sound when he flipped them swiftly through his fingers. "Anyone can be bought."
"I can't," she replied defiantly.
He chortled, a deep and throaty sound that finished in a sort of purr. Putting all his weight on the arms of the chair, he stared hard into her eyes, bathing in the utter terror he saw in her scarlet pupils.
"We'll see about that."
He leaned in closer until there was only centimeters of space separating his face and hers. Her breath simply intoxicated him, and excited him just like it had ten years ago. It had been so long before someone could do that to him. Only Rose. Only Rose.
"Vhat do you plan to do vith me?" Rose repeated in the same harsh, demanding tone. Most guys he knew would have hated to be talked to like that, but it only added to his burning fever of ecstasy.
"Together we shall build an empire! Two powerful mutants combined in a moment of passion, along with other mutants, will create an army with which we shall fight off humanity, and finally take what is ours! The Earth!"
"Passion," scoffed she. Their meetings, at least for her, had been nothing like that. "And I seriously doubt that you, of all people, could rule the vorld."
He gave a toothy, cat-like grin, baring all of his teeth in ferocious smile, as he began to settle his weight onto hers, feeling a primal and raw need rise up in him. "Start believing, love."
*****
Although Wolfgang had disabled both Cerebro and Xavier from contacting Rose, and vice versa, he had not taken in consideration the Blackbird. It surged through the sky, emitting the characteristic loud crack of a sonic boom as it broke the sound barrier.
Storm sat at the pilot's chair, her eyes the color of milk as she cast a fog out in front of them and clouds beneath, both serving to hide the jet from sight. In less than half and hour, Frederick pointed out the large line of circus vans on the practically abandoned road winding through the woods.
"Set 'er down, Storm," Logan growled, already unbuckling his seat belt, forgetting the fact that they were still over a hundred feet up in the air. After all, when one has a healing factor, you don't have to worry about breaking both your legs on impact.
But, considering how much that would hurt, powers or no powers, he smartly waited for her to park the Blackbird on the top of a hill. It was so late in the night, and nobody was going to be on the road right now, so the plane was perfectly safe from being discovered.
Everyone started to run, fly, and teleport as fast as they humanely could. Fear for your loved ones is a pretty good motivation.
*****
Aboard Wolfgang's personal trailer, Fritz started to fidget and tightened his grip on the wheel of the truck. Nature was calling, and it wasn't about to stay on hold.
"Boss?"
Wolfgang snarled as he turned from Rose to the front of the truck. "What?"
"Er, I gotta go."
"What?" Wolfgang's left eyebrow shot up; he obviously wasn't sure if the man was trying to be funny or was even stupider than I thought.
"I gotta go. Bad."
"Oh, fine! Stop the truck, we'll catch up with the others soon. And hurry, damn it!" he added in a fierce growl that sent the manservant running even faster than his bladder. Good thugs were so hard to find these days.
*****
"Stop," Beast whispered fiercely as he spied a large man walk out that Wolverine had confirmed held Rose inside.
"What the heck is he -" Rogue started, but when Fritz unbuckled his pants and did what all things did, she got her answer. The girls all turned away politely, Kitty blushing madly.
A sigh of contentment could be heard from Fritz as he relieved himself of that afternoon's six-pack of Pepsi. When he started to make for the truck, he didn't even have time to gasp as a blue demon suddenly appeared in front of him. With a toothy grin, Nightcrawler latched on to him with hands, feet, and tail, and teleported the man right on top of a tree.
And left him there, which wasn't all that fun for Fritz; he was afraid of heights. So he did what any other grown, mature man would do.
He screamed for help.
*****
Rose heard the scream, as did Wolfgang. She knew it could only mean one thing; the X-Men had come. A thought of horror crossed her mind; what if Wolfgang hurt them? The thought of Logan, of Kurt, of anyone in her new family hurt made her sick to her stomach.
Wolfgang wasn't happy either; his powers of telepathy told him who had come, how many, and just what they were capable of. But the thing that was really aggravating him was all these interruptions! Some people were just too darn nosy.
"Be right back, love," he said, pinching Rose's cheek as he left. When he walked out, he was slightly disappointed; only kids, and a few weak adults. Pitiful.
Seeing Wolfgang, the man he instantly identified as Wolverine gave a throaty bone-chilling howl and charged him like a mad bull. Wolfgang smiled; he had more courage than brains.
A simple sweep of his hand sent Wolverine flying over twenty feet back. The others were instantly on guard, and attacked with all their might, but they had been beat from the very beginning. Not a single one managed to take more than five steps before being slammed into a tree or into the ground by telekinesis, or to be rendered unconscious by telepathy. Glad to see that every single X-Man was defeated, lying helpless and hopeless on the road, the ringmaster turned elegantly around and headed back for the truck. Giving Rose a purely evil glance, he turned the truck on, ignoring Fritz's desperate cries for help, and floored it. Nothing would come between him and his dream.
NOTHING!
*****
The X-Men lay on the asphalt of the highway, some moaning, others silent. Only one was able to see Wolfgang drive away with Rose in tow down the road. Only one was able to pick himself up and chase after as fast as his body could take him.
That one was a very pissed, very determined Wolverine.
*****
The galloping of Kurt on all fours echoed that of the thunder outside as Bayville was unmercifully rained on. As he approached the door to Kitty and Rogue's shared room, he teleported inside. Before either girl could protest, he grabbed them both by the hand, 'ported them back out, and continued down the hall, leaving them with the message of, "Aiden's avake!"
The girls, joined by other students, nearly stampeded into the medical bay, all griping and yelling, trying to get in first. Beast was well aware of this and, with the kind of order only a teacher can use, promptly stopped all of them before they reached the door.
"Quiet," he instructed, putting a finger to his lips. "Aiden's awake, but he's still in recovery. Only a few of you can come in at a time. Kurt, follow me."
Kurt accompanied him into the med bay, feeling anxious. What if Aiden hadn't seen what had happened to Rose? What if he didn't know anything at all? What if? A lot of "what ifs" there.
Aiden was sitting up and looking fine, save for the fact he was very pale and the large series of stitches in his shoulder.
"How you feeling?" Kurt asked, giving him a smile so that he wouldn't pick up on his gloomy feelings.
"Better," responded Aiden. "I'm sore, but it sure beats laying in a stream and bleedin' to death."
"So.vhat happened?"
Aiden leaned back into his cushy pillows, looking quite distraught. "It happened so fast. A big guy came and knocked Rose out. I tried to attack him, but he shot me. I did see him walking into town before I passed out." He shook his head slowly, obviously very mad at himself for not being able to save his friend and mentor. "I'm sorry, Kurt, I really am."
"Aw, it's not your fault," Kurt said, waving a hand at the boy.
"But I could have done something. What's the use of having all these cool powers if I can't even save my friends?"
"Don't worry," Storm soothed, putting a reassuring hand around Aiden's shoulders. "You did your best, and that's all you can do."
"Thanks, Storm."
"So," Logan said, not liking this mushy moment when Rose could be hurting and crying for their help when he wasn't there. Not at all liking it. "How do we find her?"
"I have used Cerebro," Xavier said, a hint of confusion in his voice, "but have been unable to locate her. It is like something, or someone, is blocking my ability to reach out to Rose. It makes no sense."
A loud banging at the front door made them all jump. Scott rushed out and opened it to reveal a soaked Frederick and Adelaide. Both were panting and clutching coats to protect them from the rain, but it wasn't working.
"Frederick! Adelaide! What are you two doing -"
"It's Wolfgang!" Frederick cried, tears of fear and rage blending with the rain on his face. "He kidnapped Rose, and if you people want to find her, we have to hurry!"
*****
The entire team of the X-men, minus the newer recruits, raced to where the circus was.
Or rather, where the circus had been.
"It's gone!" Logan snarled as he surveyed the empty lot around him. Indeed, all of the animals, jesters, food stands, and tents had been removed, leaving behind only trash. No Rose to be seen. "Damn it!"
"There is no need to swear in front of the children, Logan," Storm told him.
If looks could kill, Storm would have been dead meat from the look Logan gave her. He was pissed, and wasn't going to bother to hide it. Rose, the woman HE cared about, the one HE was determined to get back, was gone again, and it was putting him in an extremely foul mood.
Then something caught his eye. Looking down, he spied deep tire tracks, like those left by diesels. He followed them with his gaze, where they turned off onto the road heading towards the woods. "Found somethin'." Kneeling down closer, he took a good sniff and almost instantly picked up on both Wolfgang and Rose's scents. They'd been here.
"We're gonna need a ride."
*****
Rose could only watch in despair as the trailer she was in wheeled away from her only hope of escape, and towards suffering.
She knew that self-pity would get her nowhere, and, thus, tried to escape. But despite her best efforts of loosening the ropes binding her were futile every time. Wolfgang, sitting across from her, watched this with high amusement. So confident was he that she was trapped, he didn't even make a move to stop her attempts. He had lowered the lights, in what Rose guessed he thought was a romantic mood. Typical; he hadn't changed one little bit, and still had no knowledge of women.
When even Rose felt there was no hope, he smirked and strode over like he was the overlord of all he saw, and not just the ringleader of a literally unknown carnival. Fritz, driving the truck, was either ignoring all going on behind him or was too dumb to know. Rose suspected the former.
"Ah, my sweet little flower," cooed the ringmaster, stroking his fingers around her chin, an ugly grin painted on his face. "We finally have some time to ourselves. How nice, how nice."
"Vhat do you plan to do vith me?" she demanded, twisting her face out of his grasp. "I still have friends in this show; you can't hide me forever in your trailer."
"Oh, they know already. I told them, and paid them to keep their traps shut." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick wad of twenties, making a fluttering sound when he flipped them swiftly through his fingers. "Anyone can be bought."
"I can't," she replied defiantly.
He chortled, a deep and throaty sound that finished in a sort of purr. Putting all his weight on the arms of the chair, he stared hard into her eyes, bathing in the utter terror he saw in her scarlet pupils.
"We'll see about that."
He leaned in closer until there was only centimeters of space separating his face and hers. Her breath simply intoxicated him, and excited him just like it had ten years ago. It had been so long before someone could do that to him. Only Rose. Only Rose.
"Vhat do you plan to do vith me?" Rose repeated in the same harsh, demanding tone. Most guys he knew would have hated to be talked to like that, but it only added to his burning fever of ecstasy.
"Together we shall build an empire! Two powerful mutants combined in a moment of passion, along with other mutants, will create an army with which we shall fight off humanity, and finally take what is ours! The Earth!"
"Passion," scoffed she. Their meetings, at least for her, had been nothing like that. "And I seriously doubt that you, of all people, could rule the vorld."
He gave a toothy, cat-like grin, baring all of his teeth in ferocious smile, as he began to settle his weight onto hers, feeling a primal and raw need rise up in him. "Start believing, love."
*****
Although Wolfgang had disabled both Cerebro and Xavier from contacting Rose, and vice versa, he had not taken in consideration the Blackbird. It surged through the sky, emitting the characteristic loud crack of a sonic boom as it broke the sound barrier.
Storm sat at the pilot's chair, her eyes the color of milk as she cast a fog out in front of them and clouds beneath, both serving to hide the jet from sight. In less than half and hour, Frederick pointed out the large line of circus vans on the practically abandoned road winding through the woods.
"Set 'er down, Storm," Logan growled, already unbuckling his seat belt, forgetting the fact that they were still over a hundred feet up in the air. After all, when one has a healing factor, you don't have to worry about breaking both your legs on impact.
But, considering how much that would hurt, powers or no powers, he smartly waited for her to park the Blackbird on the top of a hill. It was so late in the night, and nobody was going to be on the road right now, so the plane was perfectly safe from being discovered.
Everyone started to run, fly, and teleport as fast as they humanely could. Fear for your loved ones is a pretty good motivation.
*****
Aboard Wolfgang's personal trailer, Fritz started to fidget and tightened his grip on the wheel of the truck. Nature was calling, and it wasn't about to stay on hold.
"Boss?"
Wolfgang snarled as he turned from Rose to the front of the truck. "What?"
"Er, I gotta go."
"What?" Wolfgang's left eyebrow shot up; he obviously wasn't sure if the man was trying to be funny or was even stupider than I thought.
"I gotta go. Bad."
"Oh, fine! Stop the truck, we'll catch up with the others soon. And hurry, damn it!" he added in a fierce growl that sent the manservant running even faster than his bladder. Good thugs were so hard to find these days.
*****
"Stop," Beast whispered fiercely as he spied a large man walk out that Wolverine had confirmed held Rose inside.
"What the heck is he -" Rogue started, but when Fritz unbuckled his pants and did what all things did, she got her answer. The girls all turned away politely, Kitty blushing madly.
A sigh of contentment could be heard from Fritz as he relieved himself of that afternoon's six-pack of Pepsi. When he started to make for the truck, he didn't even have time to gasp as a blue demon suddenly appeared in front of him. With a toothy grin, Nightcrawler latched on to him with hands, feet, and tail, and teleported the man right on top of a tree.
And left him there, which wasn't all that fun for Fritz; he was afraid of heights. So he did what any other grown, mature man would do.
He screamed for help.
*****
Rose heard the scream, as did Wolfgang. She knew it could only mean one thing; the X-Men had come. A thought of horror crossed her mind; what if Wolfgang hurt them? The thought of Logan, of Kurt, of anyone in her new family hurt made her sick to her stomach.
Wolfgang wasn't happy either; his powers of telepathy told him who had come, how many, and just what they were capable of. But the thing that was really aggravating him was all these interruptions! Some people were just too darn nosy.
"Be right back, love," he said, pinching Rose's cheek as he left. When he walked out, he was slightly disappointed; only kids, and a few weak adults. Pitiful.
Seeing Wolfgang, the man he instantly identified as Wolverine gave a throaty bone-chilling howl and charged him like a mad bull. Wolfgang smiled; he had more courage than brains.
A simple sweep of his hand sent Wolverine flying over twenty feet back. The others were instantly on guard, and attacked with all their might, but they had been beat from the very beginning. Not a single one managed to take more than five steps before being slammed into a tree or into the ground by telekinesis, or to be rendered unconscious by telepathy. Glad to see that every single X-Man was defeated, lying helpless and hopeless on the road, the ringmaster turned elegantly around and headed back for the truck. Giving Rose a purely evil glance, he turned the truck on, ignoring Fritz's desperate cries for help, and floored it. Nothing would come between him and his dream.
NOTHING!
*****
The X-Men lay on the asphalt of the highway, some moaning, others silent. Only one was able to see Wolfgang drive away with Rose in tow down the road. Only one was able to pick himself up and chase after as fast as his body could take him.
That one was a very pissed, very determined Wolverine.