A/N Don't own X-Men or the song 'Sympathy' from the Goo Goo Dolls.

Chapter IV: Sympathy

Stranger than your sympathy

This is my apology

I'm killing myself from the inside out

And all my fears have pushed you out

I wish for things that I don't need

All I wanted

And what I chase won't set me free

All I wanted

And I get scared but I'm not crawling on my knees

Oh yeah everything's all wrong yeah

Everything's all wrong yeah

Where the hell did I think I was?

The person hovering over her head grinned, continuing to speak as the clawed hand remained on her face, jutting into her skin slightly just enough so it wouldn't puncture but enough so if she moved at all, it would rip her face apart.

"Seems you've made a cozy little living space here for awhile, haven't you? But, of course, you couldn't get away from us for that long." The man smirked, waving a hand in the dim light of the streetlamps coming through the window and exposing what it was. It couldn't quite be classified as a hand, because all that was there was a double edged sword him replace of his hand and forearm. In this gesture, the clawed hand let go, Victoria not willing to scream at this point because if she did they'd probably slit her throat in an instant. "Hopefully you didn't cozy up to too many thing, girl. For whatever this thing told you, it's all a lie."

"He's not a thing!" she chocked in a harsh but fearful whisper. "His name is Kurt."

"Kurt?" the man grinned, coming close with his jagged metal teeth shining. "Is that what he named himself?"

She shook her head. "N-no...His family named him..."

"Family?" he laughed, the other figuring chuckling slightly in amusement. "I guess it's worse than we thought! Girl, no mutant has a family, you of all people should understand this."

"But he did! In the circus..."

"The circus? You mean the village roadside freak show?" he proclaimed.

"Don't make fun of him!" she yelled, shaking her head. She was still too weak to sit up, but if she could, she would've capped him a good one in the jaw. "He's like me...He understands..."

"Absolutely nothing, girl. Besides, have you even told him who you are? What you have done? I'm sure he would understand then. Maybe we should tell him...just as we drill his heart from his chest."

Her eyes widened, knowing they weren't kidding about that last part. "No, please...Don't hurt him..."

He continued on as if nothing had happened. "Stryker wants another mission from you. He wants you to go and destroy an electrical plant connected to more than half the city. Also, he wants you to be more careful with the clean up, unlike the last two assignments."

She twisted her face up. "And what if I refuse?"

The man pointed with his sword hand to Kurt, "Then he dies. Oh, and I suggest leaving unnoticed, because if he follows we're going to have to get rid of the witness."

The claw-handed person came to the side, picking up her hand and putting a hundred dollar bill in her hand. "Go to the nearest inn and we'll come and find you in three days time, on the dawn of the twenty fifth," the woman said, turning away a moment later and jumping back into the shadows.

The man remained, still grinning menacingly at her. "You're lucky Stryker still wants you alive, or I myself might have sliced those sarcastic lips off your face." He turned away, following his comrade out of the church.

Victoria stuck out her tongue, trying to make the best of the situation by mocking him somewhat, but it would change nothing. She rolled to her side, struggling to come up with an answer that would salve this. All her mind was good for was being a clean slate for ideas, and the only answer to this...was to leave...

As the morning came around, Kurt woke up in thinking that everything was as it had been when he first fell asleep. But it wasn't, for was he looked around, Victoria was not there. Instead, he heard footsteps coming from ground level, gazing off the beam to find she was not only walking to the entrance doors, but with her long coat floating securely behind her. He figured that since she was fine, he'd surprise her in trying to make her laugh. Kurt transported down in front of her, making her jump back, however her face was less amused than he had pictured it being.

"Kurt, what are you doing up? I thought you were sound asleep," she said.

"Same here. I mean...Look at you! You're all better! Vhat are you doing up?"

"I just thought I might pray before..." she stopped, remembering she wasn't supposed to say anything, but couldn't help herself either way. "Before I left."

The smile spread over his face dimmed, wondering if he caught that last statement right. "Vhat?"

"You heard me...I s-said...I'm leaving..." She stalled for a minute, her throat becoming tighter with every second she had to stand there, staring at his face. "I wanted to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for ever walking into this church and asking you for help. I'm sorry...for ever bringing you into this..." Victoria wanted to just walk past him, to leave and never have to look back. She knew, though, that was never meant to be.

He stopped her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Bring me into vhat?"

"I...I can't tell you..." she said, stepping aside and beginning to walk on. "You don't want to know..."

She thought as she reached out a hand to the handle she could just step away, although he was already there, taking her wrist with his three fingered hand. Softly he whispered, "But I need to know. Vhy do you vant to leave?"

Victoria smiled, shaking her head. "I don't...But I know if I stay here, I'll only kill myself with all the happiness you bring." He said nothing after that, Victoria swinging the door open with tearful eyes. She ran down the snowy sidewalks, not really caring that people were staring at the sheet wrapped around her head. Kurt stared from out of the crack when the door did not shut tight, staring after her in question as she disappeared into the crowded streets...

Stranger than your sympathy

I take these things so I don't feel

I'm killing myself from the inside out

Now my head's been filled with doubt

It's hard to lead the life you choose

All I wanted

When all your luck's run out on you

All I wanted

You can't see when all your dreams are coming true

Oh yeah it's easy to forget yeah

You choke on the regrets yeah

Who the hell did I think I was?

Victoria did come to the nearest inn, (a very, very cheap hotel, more accurately), and walked through the broken, creaky door, almost being trampled by a horde of kids and a mother just trying to keep up to get out. The place looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a while, or at least the front office, where the paint was beginning to peel and there was dirt and mud all over the carpet. There was a woman sitting at the front counter, reading a magazine and chewing bubblegum with her mouth open. As Victoria approach the lady looked up with her wrinkly face, covered with more make up than she had thought possible.

"How can I help ya, hun?" the woman said with a choppy voice, seeming as if not to notice her wrapped head. Maybe it was a normal around here.

"I'd like a room please," she said quietly, reaching into her pocket for the hundred dollar.

"Sorry, all out," she said somewhat loudly, ringing in her ears. "No rooms left I'm afraid. Big convention downtown."

"Don't you have anything open?" she asked, worrying that this might pose as a problem.

"Nope...Unless you'd be willing to sleep in the boiler room!" she laughed at this, but Victoria remained serious.

"How much?" she questioned, and the woman stared.

"Wait, you're serious? I could always recommend another of our ot-"

"No, this is fine," she interrupted, putting the money down on the table. "Keep the change, I don't care. Just give me the key."

"Okay..." she reached under the desk, grabbing the key and handing it to her. "Just take your time kid. I'll give you a week, okay?"

"More than I need," she said, taking it from her and following the signs to her room.

When she got to it, she just happened to see a cockroach rushing past, but really didn't care much about it. She opened the rusty door, seeing the shelves of extra blankets and pillow the maids would use in the other rooms and decided to make the best and spread some of them out over the concrete floor to be more comfortable. Victoria wasn't even that tired, but all she wanted to be left alone and sulk in her misery. She put her head in her dried blood hands, crying her heart out in her sadness.

Everything had been so fine, life for once in her life had been so good to her, and if only she hadn't been the person her past knew her as. It wasn't like she had done the things she had on her own will, that madman Stryker had done it. He created that serum to control mutants to do his bidding, no matter how much they tried to resist it. Though she tried running away from it all, there would always be one of his loyal minions to stop her. She had never met a mutant that was kind to her...Not once, just because she was born this way and not just 'emotionally changed' like them.

Until she met him.

He had been so warm and accepting, that at first she couldn't believe it was true. His kindness was like a dream come true, his friendship like the world she never expected to have. Everything was so...so perfect...Until her luck ran out, and they found her again. She did such a good job at assassinations that they just couldn't quite grant her freedom, no matter if she wanted it to stop. But, she mocked herself for ever thinking something like that could ever happen. Who did she think she was, believing she could live a normal life? Such a foolish notion...

She winced at the pain of her life, praying that one day she might actually be granted mercy...

A few hours after dusk, Nightcrawler emerged for the first time in a long while onto the street, ducking behind alleys and away from the light where people might notice him. He wore the collar of his coat up high with a hat covering most his face in shadow, the sides of that hat luckily falling over his ears. Kurt had no idea where to start, but knew he had to find her. If he didn't, everything he had worked for would be a failure and his friend that he had tried to help might not be around to witness Christmas.

He wore a pair of gloves that should've fit regular people's hand to make him seem more normal, approaching just a few people to ask if they had seen anyone wearing a sheet over their head. Most said no, but others said they had seen someone earlier like that, heading east, though they didn't know where they were now. He said his thanks and moved on, and eventually came to a lady dealing with five little kids. Kurt wondered if he should ask, but knew he should help when the many packages she had in her arms feel everywhere when she slipped on a patch of ice. Her children scrambled about as he approached, beginning to help her pick up the mess.

"Oh, thank you, sir. I've just been so flustered today," she stated, lining the bags on her arms and stacking the packages up again in her hands.

"Aren't ve all? I've just been looking for someone. You wouldn't possibly have seen a woman, about five seven, wearing a wrapped sheet over her head?"

"A sheet on her head?" she laughed, shaking her head. "No I don't believe I have."

"Oh vell, vhatever," he said, handing her the last bags on the ground.

"Well, thank you again, sir," she began, one of her pesky kids coming up from behind and getting the bright idea to pull his hat off to be playful. "I hope you find the person you-" She stopped as the kid began to run around, smiling gleefully and not realizing the situation at hand.

"Look, mommy, an elf!" the little girl who had been clinging to her side said, pointing.

Kurt smiled without showing his teeth, keeping his eyes low in trying not to frighten them anymore than they probably were. He stood up, turning away without another word to find the nearest alley to hide it, just incase she decided to call the police or something. However, he must've been losing touch on what people were bound to do, and was instead stopped when the woman spoke.

"Hey, wait, you forgot your hat!" she yelled to him, jerking it away from the little boy and stumbling after him. Kurt turned around, the woman handing him his hat wear her quickly put it back on. She smiled, nodding her head. "So...You're a mutant?" she asked, and he nodded. "Wow...You guys are a lot nicer than most people say."

"Just like regular people, I guess. Some are good, some are not so good."

"Yeah...But, hey, you know what? Now that I think about it I believe I did see someone with a wrap over their head walking into my sister's work. Umm...I think it was bluish, uneven around her whole head except where it showed her eye?"

"Yes, zat's her!" he said excitedly. "Vhere's you're sister's vork?"

"Oh, it's just a block that way. It's the only hotel down there so it shouldn't be too hard to find. It's a big pink building!"

"Zank you, zank you so much!" he said, shaking her only free hand and beginning to run in the direction she pointed to.

"No problem! Merry Christmas!"

"God Bless!" he shouted back.

The woman turned back in the way she was going, the little girl continuing to look back as she walked on with holding her mother's skirt.

"He had a funny voice," the little girl said, the little boy who had stolen his hat before running in circles and agreeing with her. The mom reached out a hand, grabbing his ear.

"And you, young man, are in big trouble! You know better than to steal something!" she scolded.

"Aw, but mom!" he whined, tugging to get away but it was no use to a mother's grip.

"No buts! You just hope he finds the person he's looking for or Santa might not get you any presents!"

"Mommy, was he one of Santa's helpers?" the little girl asked, and the woman paused in thought.

"Yes, I guess you could say that," she replied, smiling as the snow continued to fall in the approaching twilight.

When he had reached the pink, crummy hotel, he entered through the same creaky door she had, coming up to the counter the wrinkly woman was sitting at, reading a magazine and popping her bubblegum loudly. Luckily the lighting was low, so she couldn't see what pigment his skin was, (although he didn't think she could see too well either).

"Sorry, hun, we're booked," she stated before Kurt could even say anything.

"Vell, I vas vondering if you had seen anyone vith a sheet over zeir head come in here."

She looked up at him, raising a eyebrow that was barely there. "Yeah, I saw someone like that. Why?"

"Is she still here?"

"Of course. It's like she wouldn't leave. She kept asking for a room, any room, and finally settled for the boiler room."

"Vhere is zat, ze boiler room?" he asked politely.

"Over there are to your left. Can't miss it, it's a crappy green metal door."

"Umm, Zank you zen..." he said quietly, walking away as the woman flipped a page on her magazine.

"No problem kid."

Kurt quietly walked through the hall, coming across the rusted green door. He could kneel down and looked inside since the corners were all rusted through, seeing a figure sitting there. Knocking on the door, he heard no responds but opened the door nonetheless, finding Victoria with her hand in front of the burner for warmth.

She didn't even have to turn around to know who it was, because he was the only person who would be looking for her.

"Hey Kurt..." she whispered, her shivering breath evaporating into the air with it.

Stranger than your sympathy

All these thoughts you stole from me

I'm not sure where I belong

Nowhere's home and I'm all wrong

And I wasn't all the things

I tried to make believe I was

And I wouldn't be the one to kneel

Before the dreams I wanted

And all the talk and all the lies

Were all the empty things disguised as me

Yeah stranger than your sympathy

Stranger than your sympathy