Author's Note: Thanks to those of you who reviewed. It really gave me inspiration to keep going. J And I do apologize for any inaccuracies in the flashbacks, as I am attempting to write them without the comic books in front of me, so… Any thoughts/criticisms on those would, of course, be much appreciated! And now, on with the show…

Chapter One: No Escape

"The past is always waiting to entangle and deflect us," announced the smartly dressed woman who went by Professor Thornton. She moved quickly along a wall covered with large whiteboards, scribbling the quote out before turning back to survery the students in the large lecture hall, which was completely filled up.

Philosophies of Life, from Aristotle to The Wachowski Brothers was one of the most popular courses at NYU.

Of course, most students thought the course would revolve around learning about the Matrix. But really, it was so much more than that.

And most were pleasantly surprised.

This was generally Kate's favorite class, but today she squirmed rather uncomfortably. Perhaps it was the quote, or perhaps, the dreams she'd had the night before. More memories of the X-Men, and of the things she used to be. The things she used to do.

The people she used to love.

Still loved. But she had moved on. She couldn't watch them slip away. Couldn't mourn those who'd already left.

"A large part of our life is rooted in the past," Professor Thornton continued. "Many philosophers have theories on how the past affects us. One thing they all seem to agree on is that who we are and what has happened to us are two closely intertwined things. The past is still, for us, a place that is not safely settled.

Michael Ondaatje, Canadian novelist."

Kate felt herself tuning out the lecture as her dreams from the night before penetrated her thoughts.

One of the things she had dreamed about had been her first meeting with Magneto. The point when she'd really begun to realize how much she cared about Piotr, and how easily she could lose those she cared about. Her mind took her back to that night yet again.

The air crackled with electricity as… Piotr disappeared into the water. It could have been anything, but she'd known something was wrong, and that it had been Piotr even before she'd seen Logan pulling him out of the water.

Logan had smelled him, of course.

"Piotr!" she screamed, running towards him. And then there was a blur of CPR and rescue breathing, acting on instinct, and on Logan's commands.

"Don't die, Piotr," she prayed silently in between administering rescue breathing.

After what had seemed like hours but was most likely minutes, he coughed.

"Kitty?" he sat up, looking around, confused. And then his eyes fell on the other X-Man at his side. "Logan?"

Without realizing what she was doing, she threw herself at him, grabbing him into a tight hug.

And then she released him, trying to fight the blush.

"Don't ever do that again," she admonished, still trying to hide her embarrassment over the brief moment of contact.

"Kate? Are you in there?"

"What?" she snapped to attention as she finally heard the person calling her name. Gina. She'd met the girl that first year in the dorms. Somehow she had managed to get a room to herself-the Professor's connections, no doubt. But Gina had spent most of her time in there anyway.

And still, she had no knowledge of Kitty Pryde. The only person Gina knew was Kate Pryde, the woman that had emerged when Kitty Pryde had been put aside, having had her heart broken too many times to continue.

Sure, Kitty had made Kate who she was today, but she had moved on. She hadn't been Kitty for a long time.

And it had been even longer since she had been Katya…

"So, are you up for hitting the library? Finals are just around the corner…"

She stared blankly for a moment, unable to give the conversation her full attention.

"Finals…" she repeated slowly, thinking. No, she wasn't up for the library. She just wanted to go home and take a nice hot bath, meditate on the memories, as her therapist had suggested she do when the past threatened to overtake the present.

At the moment, neither one quite seemed real. All that had happened with the X-Men had been too incredibly insane to feel real, and yet those people had been her family, and those experiences remained the most vivid in her mind.

And now? Life was about as 'normal' as it could get. She had a small group of friends, a nice mix of girls and boys who came from upper middle class non-mutant homes. None of them knew about her history with the X-Men, nor about her own mutation. She also didn't flaunt her genius status, as it was all about being normal. Becoming just another face in the crowd.

Was it real?

Sure didn't feel like.

But it didn't hurt. Not the way being 'real' had.

She finally realized that Gina was waiting for an answer.

"I doubt I'll stay long, but I'll walk you to the library. Besides, you know how this campus is after dark. Not exactly the place to be walking alone."

"You'll be walking home alone if you leave early," Gina pointed out.

"Yeah… I'll figure something out," she said, wanting to change the subject. She wouldn't exactly be in too much danger walking home alone, as she had had full martial arts training in a few different types of martial arts.

Thanks to Wolverine, among others.

"So, where has your mind been lately, anyway? New boyfriend?" Gina asked as they made their way around the science building, heading towards the library.

"No! Why do you always assume that some guy's put my head in the clouds?"

"I don't know," Gina replied, shrugging. "I guess I just figured that since you haven't been on a date in the two years that I've known you, if some guy came along that turned your head, he'd be dreamy enough to distract you, like, well, like you've been lately."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Kate replied. "But, I'm concentrating on my studies right now…

And I can't afford to get in the position to lose anyone else, she thought silently.

As they rounded the corner, the atmosphere seemed to change. Not really, but something… a leftover gut from her years as a 'superhero,' perhaps. Something told her that this wasn't right.

And before she knew it, an attractive boy was heading towards them. His gaze was directed straight at Kate.

And then, suddenly, his arm raised, shifting into something metallic as he pointed at her.

"Gina, look out!" Kate screamed, on instinct grabbing her friend and phasing both of them through the wall of the science building.

She pulled Gina to the ground as an explosion sounded and a large hole was punched in the wall above them.

"Oh my god," Gina said, staring at her in shock.

"Gina, now's not the time," Kate hissed. "You need to get out of here. He's not after you. He's after me."

"Because…" Gina made a motion with her hand, that Kate could only guess signaled the walking through the wall.

She was right. That was why.

The thing that had attacked them was different from the others she had come up against, but she could only guess they had evolved. An ironic choice of words for things that were created to wipe out those who were 'more highly evolved,' as the Professor referred to them.

The thing was a sentinel.

Only, it appeared to be human.

Most likely was human.

A cyborg, probably unaware of what had been done to him.

But there was no time to ponder the sentinels. She had to get Gina out of there safely.

"Yes. Now, keep your head down and go. I'll draw his fire."

As Gina gave her one last concerned look and then crawled away, Kate stood up and slipped through the wall, ducking as soon as she emerged on the other side, a rain of bullets just barely missing her.

She cart wheeled sideways, attempting to evade the fire, using her speed and agility to avoid them.

But the nearby buildings were getting destroyed, and if anybody were to walk by…

"Why do we fight, Storm? It seems pointless, like it's a losing battle."

"We do not fight to win. We fight because it's the right thing to do, because it's the only thing we can do."

"And what about Piotr? And Illyana? And…" she trailed off, unable to list all the friends and companions she'd lost. It was too painful. "They died because they fought. Is that right?" she finished.

"Of course not. But it's a fact of life. Everyone dies, unfortunately. And to die bravely, to die fighting for the cause, that is true honor."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another person approaching the scene. She wondered what they were doing, and if they realized the danger they were walking into. But already, she was moving again, attempting to draw the fire away from the person.

They had to be alright.

And then her speed faltered. She felt something zing towards her, piercing her leg. And another, tearing into the flesh below her shoulder blade.

She attempted to hold back a shriek of pain as she sank to the ground, waiting for the sentinel to finish the job.

But that never came. As the dim lighting in the area began to fade to black, she thought she heard more shots being fired off, but none hit her.

And then there was a crunch, and a thump.

And then she was being lifted up. Was this what dying felt like?

"Katya?" a familiar voice, thick with a Russian accent, broke through the black. But she couldn't see him. Couldn't see anything.

But he was dead. Gone.

Was she dying?

A/N dun dun dun… dontcha hate cliffhangers? This isn't the end, I promise!