A/N ~ I don't know if the 'Evolution' Jean Grey has any medical abilities
like in the X-Men movies, but just for the sake of this story, she
does have them.
Chapter 10 ~ Reunion
'I think it came from over there'
"Yes, I heard voices there too. Ok, we need to get some of these branches out of the way. Right, Storm, can you move them?"
"Yes, but you'll need to hold on to something"
Kurt blinked. His vision was terribly blurry and his whole body was aching all over with a pain that he could not comprehend. He tried to get his vision into focus but his remaining strength failed him. His head slumped back onto the sodden earth and in defeat; Kurt shut his eyes, resigned to his oncoming demise. Suddenly he heard footsteps. They were distant but there were many. What were so many people doing out here in the dead of night? Then something happened that Kurt was not prepared for. A shrill, howling wind whipped through the clearing, scattering branches and rubble across the ground.
Kurt made a grab for a tree root that was sticking up out of the ground and hung on with all his might, desperately trying not to get blown against the trees behind him, whose solid trunks would most likely shatter his bones into pieces.
As quickly as it had come, the wind stopped. There were the footsteps again but they were faster this time, running it seemed. Running towards him. Fright gripped Kurt's body and he tried to get up with only one thought on his mind. He must get away, he must run. But his brain appeared to have been separated from his legs and they would not obey his commands. Kurt gritted his teeth, awaiting these strangers to approach. I shout echoed around him but he could not make out the words. A deafening ringing had settled on his ears, blocking out most of the sound around him so he was only dimly aware of what was going on.
"Hey! Over here!" It was a female's voice that yelled through the gathering gloom but still, Kurt could make no connection as to who this person could be.
"What is it?" yelled another, this time a man. Footsteps were hurrying over to where the female had shouted out.
"Oh no!" Kurt strained his ears to hear what they were saying, but it was no good. The ringing in his ears only got louder. Suddenly, Kurt felt someone kneeling down next to him. He tried to escape their touch but yet again he found himself unable to move. A hand was pressed against his forehead but. . .
"Argh!" a shriek sliced through the forest as the hand was quickly pulled away from Kurt's skin.
"Jean, what is it?"
"I-I can't touch him, Professor. He has an immense voltage running through his body that makes him impossible to hold onto."
"Struck by lightning?"
"I would guess so, Professor"
The leaves rustled upon the ground as something was driven over them. Whatever it was, it came to halt right in front of Kurt's face. He could not see it, but he could sense its presence.
"Kurt?" The ringing in Kurt's ears ebbed away a little, not much, but just enough to hear the words of the person above him. It was a man that spoke, but the voice was kind sounding and friendly. Surely this could not be anyone that meant ill to him.
"Kurt?" said the voice again "Kurt can you hear me?"
Kurt summoned up all his strength as managed to utter a feeble "Yes" in recognition of hearing the man's words.
"Storm. I need you to take Kurt back to the school. We are not yet finished here but he needs to get warmed up as soon as possible before he catches pneumonia. Cyclops, Wolverine. You shall remain here with me. I feel that there may be something around here that may lead us to what caused this. Jean, you go with Storm. By the look of his condition, Kurt needs urgent medical care."
Kurt felt himself being hoisted up into the air, but not roughly. A strange sensation then overcame him. It was a though he was flying. The night air whipped his hair about his face and he felt strangely lopsided. He knew no more as he passed out again.
~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~
When Kurt came to again, the first thing he noticed was that he could see. Plainly it was morning, or afternoon. At any rate it was definitely daytime. Kurt gazed around at his surroundings. He was lying in a single bed near to a window that had sunlight streaming through it. The walls were wooden panelling and the carpet was a pale yellow. Along the wall, there were five other beds. Only one was occupied by a young boy, no older than thirteen who was sitting upright in his bed, reading a magazine. He had untidy brown hair, a thin face and glasses.
"Excuse me?" Kurt said. The boy looked up. "Oh, you're awake. I better call Miss Gray."
"Vait!" Kurt said urgently "Virst, could you tell me vere I am?"
"You're in the school hospital wing" replied the boy with a puzzled expression "But I thought you'd already know that. I mean you are a student here, right?"
"Er-I-Vell- Am I?" resigned Kurt.
"What do you mean 'Are you'?" The boy looked really bemused by now "Why are you here, if you aren't a student?"
"Vell I do not know. Nothing around here is familiar and I do not recognise anything. So I can only say that I must not be a student here."
"If you aren't I suggest you speak to the Professor about this. He needs to know that you aren't a student here and I expect you'll be asked to sign a secrecy agreement or something."
"Secrecy agreement? Vhy?" Kurt looked thoroughly anxious and puzzled as he registered the boy's confused expression.
"Blimey. Aren't you even a mutant?"
"A vhat?"
"A mutant? Oh come on, don't tell me you don't know what a mutant is."
"I've never heard of them in my life." Replied Kurt.
"Yes! You are a mutant. Look." The boy's eyes were fixed on a spot below Kurt's bed and he was pointing excitedly.
"Vhat is it?"
"Your tail. If you have a tail you must be a mutant. Either that or you're blue for no reason and you're tail is part of a costume."
"My vhat?!" Kurt was beginning to feel very scared by now. "A tail? What was the boy talki-"
"Mein Gott!" Kurt exclaimed as he caught sight of his tail poking out from between the sheets. "How did zat-? Vhy?"
"Kurt?"
Kurt looked up into the face of a pretty young redhead who was smiling down at him.
"Good, I'm glad to see you're awake. Now the Professor will be coming in to see you soon and-"
"The who?" Kurt cut across her
"The Professor, Kurt. He is coming to see you in a minute."
"I am sorry, but I do not recognise you or the name of who you speak of. Nor do I know vhy or vhat I am doing here."
"Kurt, I- What is wrong?"
"It's alright Jean. Let him be. I will let you know when we are finished"
"Yes Professor."
Kurt looked up into the face of the man who had just entered. This must be the Professor that the woman was just talking about. He was in a wheelchair and was bald but he did have the face of a typical Professor.
"Kurt?" The Professor said
"Is zat my name?" Kurt said "Everyone keeps calling me zat and yet I do not have any recollection of who I am."
"Do you recognise anyone here?" urged the Professor.
Kurt looked across at the boy in the bed and out of the door where he caught a glimpse of the redhead and a woman with platinum-white hair. He shook his head.
"No Professor. I do not."
"Do you have any recollection of what happened to you before we found you?"
"All I can remember is a flash of bright light and zat's it. Nothing else."
"OK, Kurt. Listen to me. We think you were attacked. Back in the woods but by whom, we do not know yet. Now Kurt, I would like to ask you something but if you cannot remember then don't worry about it."
Kurt nodded as the Professor continued.
"You have been missing from school for several days now, Kurt and I was wondering if you could tell me where you have been. What made you run away?"
"I-I am afraid that I do not know Professor. As I said, I can't remember anything. I don't recognise anyone though deep down I know that something about them is familiar. But I am sorry that I cannot help you, Professor."
"Then I shall not press the matter any further, but you say you do not recognise anyone. But if you do not, then why are you calling me 'Professor'? For that is what you always call me.
"I am only calling you that, because zat is vhat everyone seems to be calling you. I am sorry, but you are as unrecognisable as everyone else here."
"Ok, Kurt. I won't question you any more for now. If I were you I would try and get some rest"
The Professor left Kurt's bedside and exited into the corridor outside where Jean and Storm were waiting.
"Well, Professor" inquired Jean "Have you found out what's wrong with him?"
"I have a pretty good idea of why he is not recognising anything or anyone he sees." replied the Professor. "I think that Kurt has developed a quite severe case of amnesia, no doubt caused by the possible lightning strike. He has no recollection of who he is, who any of us are or anything at all. He didn't even remember that he was a mutant until Sam pointed out his tail and even then, Kurt was very shaken up by the fact he has a tail."
"What can we do then, Professor?" asked Storm.
"All I can ask of you is to be patient with him. He is the only one who can tell us what happened and until then, we will have to sit still"
"Professor, you do know that Kitty Pryde has been missing since yesterday?"
"Yes, I do Jean. And so it's even more urgent that we try and get Kurt to remember anything."
"But Professor, Have you any idea who did this to him?"
"It might not even be a 'who', Storm; it could well be a natural lightning strike. But still, I'd be a fool to believe that."
"Why?" the other two said in unison
"Because Erik has been tracking Kurt for some time, I felt it in Cerebro when I was trying to find Kurt yesterday"
"But what would Magneto want with Kurt?" questioned Storm "And more to the point, do you think that Kitty's disappearance may be linked?"
"I honestly do not know, Storm. But I wish that I did."
Chapter 10 ~ Reunion
'I think it came from over there'
"Yes, I heard voices there too. Ok, we need to get some of these branches out of the way. Right, Storm, can you move them?"
"Yes, but you'll need to hold on to something"
Kurt blinked. His vision was terribly blurry and his whole body was aching all over with a pain that he could not comprehend. He tried to get his vision into focus but his remaining strength failed him. His head slumped back onto the sodden earth and in defeat; Kurt shut his eyes, resigned to his oncoming demise. Suddenly he heard footsteps. They were distant but there were many. What were so many people doing out here in the dead of night? Then something happened that Kurt was not prepared for. A shrill, howling wind whipped through the clearing, scattering branches and rubble across the ground.
Kurt made a grab for a tree root that was sticking up out of the ground and hung on with all his might, desperately trying not to get blown against the trees behind him, whose solid trunks would most likely shatter his bones into pieces.
As quickly as it had come, the wind stopped. There were the footsteps again but they were faster this time, running it seemed. Running towards him. Fright gripped Kurt's body and he tried to get up with only one thought on his mind. He must get away, he must run. But his brain appeared to have been separated from his legs and they would not obey his commands. Kurt gritted his teeth, awaiting these strangers to approach. I shout echoed around him but he could not make out the words. A deafening ringing had settled on his ears, blocking out most of the sound around him so he was only dimly aware of what was going on.
"Hey! Over here!" It was a female's voice that yelled through the gathering gloom but still, Kurt could make no connection as to who this person could be.
"What is it?" yelled another, this time a man. Footsteps were hurrying over to where the female had shouted out.
"Oh no!" Kurt strained his ears to hear what they were saying, but it was no good. The ringing in his ears only got louder. Suddenly, Kurt felt someone kneeling down next to him. He tried to escape their touch but yet again he found himself unable to move. A hand was pressed against his forehead but. . .
"Argh!" a shriek sliced through the forest as the hand was quickly pulled away from Kurt's skin.
"Jean, what is it?"
"I-I can't touch him, Professor. He has an immense voltage running through his body that makes him impossible to hold onto."
"Struck by lightning?"
"I would guess so, Professor"
The leaves rustled upon the ground as something was driven over them. Whatever it was, it came to halt right in front of Kurt's face. He could not see it, but he could sense its presence.
"Kurt?" The ringing in Kurt's ears ebbed away a little, not much, but just enough to hear the words of the person above him. It was a man that spoke, but the voice was kind sounding and friendly. Surely this could not be anyone that meant ill to him.
"Kurt?" said the voice again "Kurt can you hear me?"
Kurt summoned up all his strength as managed to utter a feeble "Yes" in recognition of hearing the man's words.
"Storm. I need you to take Kurt back to the school. We are not yet finished here but he needs to get warmed up as soon as possible before he catches pneumonia. Cyclops, Wolverine. You shall remain here with me. I feel that there may be something around here that may lead us to what caused this. Jean, you go with Storm. By the look of his condition, Kurt needs urgent medical care."
Kurt felt himself being hoisted up into the air, but not roughly. A strange sensation then overcame him. It was a though he was flying. The night air whipped his hair about his face and he felt strangely lopsided. He knew no more as he passed out again.
~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~
When Kurt came to again, the first thing he noticed was that he could see. Plainly it was morning, or afternoon. At any rate it was definitely daytime. Kurt gazed around at his surroundings. He was lying in a single bed near to a window that had sunlight streaming through it. The walls were wooden panelling and the carpet was a pale yellow. Along the wall, there were five other beds. Only one was occupied by a young boy, no older than thirteen who was sitting upright in his bed, reading a magazine. He had untidy brown hair, a thin face and glasses.
"Excuse me?" Kurt said. The boy looked up. "Oh, you're awake. I better call Miss Gray."
"Vait!" Kurt said urgently "Virst, could you tell me vere I am?"
"You're in the school hospital wing" replied the boy with a puzzled expression "But I thought you'd already know that. I mean you are a student here, right?"
"Er-I-Vell- Am I?" resigned Kurt.
"What do you mean 'Are you'?" The boy looked really bemused by now "Why are you here, if you aren't a student?"
"Vell I do not know. Nothing around here is familiar and I do not recognise anything. So I can only say that I must not be a student here."
"If you aren't I suggest you speak to the Professor about this. He needs to know that you aren't a student here and I expect you'll be asked to sign a secrecy agreement or something."
"Secrecy agreement? Vhy?" Kurt looked thoroughly anxious and puzzled as he registered the boy's confused expression.
"Blimey. Aren't you even a mutant?"
"A vhat?"
"A mutant? Oh come on, don't tell me you don't know what a mutant is."
"I've never heard of them in my life." Replied Kurt.
"Yes! You are a mutant. Look." The boy's eyes were fixed on a spot below Kurt's bed and he was pointing excitedly.
"Vhat is it?"
"Your tail. If you have a tail you must be a mutant. Either that or you're blue for no reason and you're tail is part of a costume."
"My vhat?!" Kurt was beginning to feel very scared by now. "A tail? What was the boy talki-"
"Mein Gott!" Kurt exclaimed as he caught sight of his tail poking out from between the sheets. "How did zat-? Vhy?"
"Kurt?"
Kurt looked up into the face of a pretty young redhead who was smiling down at him.
"Good, I'm glad to see you're awake. Now the Professor will be coming in to see you soon and-"
"The who?" Kurt cut across her
"The Professor, Kurt. He is coming to see you in a minute."
"I am sorry, but I do not recognise you or the name of who you speak of. Nor do I know vhy or vhat I am doing here."
"Kurt, I- What is wrong?"
"It's alright Jean. Let him be. I will let you know when we are finished"
"Yes Professor."
Kurt looked up into the face of the man who had just entered. This must be the Professor that the woman was just talking about. He was in a wheelchair and was bald but he did have the face of a typical Professor.
"Kurt?" The Professor said
"Is zat my name?" Kurt said "Everyone keeps calling me zat and yet I do not have any recollection of who I am."
"Do you recognise anyone here?" urged the Professor.
Kurt looked across at the boy in the bed and out of the door where he caught a glimpse of the redhead and a woman with platinum-white hair. He shook his head.
"No Professor. I do not."
"Do you have any recollection of what happened to you before we found you?"
"All I can remember is a flash of bright light and zat's it. Nothing else."
"OK, Kurt. Listen to me. We think you were attacked. Back in the woods but by whom, we do not know yet. Now Kurt, I would like to ask you something but if you cannot remember then don't worry about it."
Kurt nodded as the Professor continued.
"You have been missing from school for several days now, Kurt and I was wondering if you could tell me where you have been. What made you run away?"
"I-I am afraid that I do not know Professor. As I said, I can't remember anything. I don't recognise anyone though deep down I know that something about them is familiar. But I am sorry that I cannot help you, Professor."
"Then I shall not press the matter any further, but you say you do not recognise anyone. But if you do not, then why are you calling me 'Professor'? For that is what you always call me.
"I am only calling you that, because zat is vhat everyone seems to be calling you. I am sorry, but you are as unrecognisable as everyone else here."
"Ok, Kurt. I won't question you any more for now. If I were you I would try and get some rest"
The Professor left Kurt's bedside and exited into the corridor outside where Jean and Storm were waiting.
"Well, Professor" inquired Jean "Have you found out what's wrong with him?"
"I have a pretty good idea of why he is not recognising anything or anyone he sees." replied the Professor. "I think that Kurt has developed a quite severe case of amnesia, no doubt caused by the possible lightning strike. He has no recollection of who he is, who any of us are or anything at all. He didn't even remember that he was a mutant until Sam pointed out his tail and even then, Kurt was very shaken up by the fact he has a tail."
"What can we do then, Professor?" asked Storm.
"All I can ask of you is to be patient with him. He is the only one who can tell us what happened and until then, we will have to sit still"
"Professor, you do know that Kitty Pryde has been missing since yesterday?"
"Yes, I do Jean. And so it's even more urgent that we try and get Kurt to remember anything."
"But Professor, Have you any idea who did this to him?"
"It might not even be a 'who', Storm; it could well be a natural lightning strike. But still, I'd be a fool to believe that."
"Why?" the other two said in unison
"Because Erik has been tracking Kurt for some time, I felt it in Cerebro when I was trying to find Kurt yesterday"
"But what would Magneto want with Kurt?" questioned Storm "And more to the point, do you think that Kitty's disappearance may be linked?"
"I honestly do not know, Storm. But I wish that I did."