Chapter 3: Beyond Control

Jean moved in to comfort Kurt as his frustration overwhelmed him, but he balked in pain. Cassie, whose telepathic powers were far more erratic than Jean's own; felt a wave of suffering from him in her own arm. This sudden burst of stinging caused her to lose her mental grip on his teleporting powers. He looked at her; he knew he could use his powers and looked ready to bolt.

"Kurt," Cassie held out her hands, pleading, "please we just want to help you,".

He cocked his head, a look of curiosity, in her direction. The way that she had used his name; as though he were about to jump from a tall building, caused him to pause. It was as though she cared for him, cared about what happened to him. That she wasn't her to judge him.

"Eincerstanden," he agreed with a nod, gazing intently at her, almost in examination. Cassie stepped away from Storm, towards Kurt; being careful of his wound she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Will you let Dr. Grey look at this?" She smiled at him

"Doktor Grey?" his face lowered, embarrassed at directly addressing anyone. He found speaking to them as a whole was easier than talking to one specific individual. However he still looked her in the eyes through his thick black lashes.

God, those should be outlawed, she thought as she directed him over to Jean, where she quickly backed away. Storm snickered at bit to herself as the heat gradient in Cassie's face became higher as her blushed from the blue mutants' gaze.

Kurt lead them up a metal spiral staircase, he had chosen a choir loft as his living area. From the look of the place Cassie figured that he had been there for some time. He had converted an old alter into a functional, if uncomfortable looking bed. All around the bed, in places of honor were circus posters with depictions of him as the "Amazing Nightcrawler". Kurt walked over to his bed, leaning against it, awaiting their orders.

At Dr. Grey's nod, Kurt began to take off his jacket, but was finding it very difficult and painful. The girl, who Dr. Grey had called Cassandra, stepped up beside him.

"May I help you?" Her voice was barely above a whisper and sent chills that raised the small hairs down his spin on end.

"Ya..please. I would apr…..appreciate that," he stammered. The sudden closeness of a woman made him very ill at ease. He felt like a beaten dog, wary yet still willing to befriend another person showing him kindness.

Cassie slipped off his long trench coat, folding it, as he unzipped a thrashed looking leather vest. She came back around to his front and helped him with a worn sweater. She felt his tail graze her shins, even through her boots. He couldn't seem to keep it still, whether it was from nerves or not Cassie couldn't tell. She raised her eyebrows as the wound was revealed. The gunshot hadn't merely grazed him, as the papers had indicated, but had entered his shoulder and barely missed his clavicle.

"As I suspected, very deep," Jean talked to herself, "Kurt, we will have to remove this right away. Will you lie down on your bed? I'm going to use my powers to take out the bullet, then Cassie you can close the wound, can't you?" Jean's voice was icy when she turn it towards Cassie and it hadn't slipped her attention. Cassie nodded and stepped away to give Jean some room.

"I'm not overstepping my bounds am I?" Cassie whispered to Ororo.

"No, love, Jean's a bit touchy lately. You're doing great, I am very proud. You seemed to gain a lot of confidence since we left the mansion," the taller woman smiled at her. Cassie nodded in agreement.

"I think it's the uniform,"

"I think that it's because our new friend trusts you, maybe because you are closer in age." Storm started to say more, but was interrupted by the frantic voice of Jean and a scream of pain from Kurt.

"Cassandra, I need you. Now," Jean called urgently, all malice gone from her voice. Cassie turned from Ororo and hurried back to the makeshift bed. "He's tensing all his muscles around the bullet. If I try and extract it under these conditions I could do irreparable damage to his arm," Jean looked frustratedly down at Kurt's arm.

"I'm sorry, it just hurts so very much," Kurt whimpered, fresh blood flowing down his bare, blue arm. Jean gave his hand a reassuring squeeze before giving it over to Cassie.

"What do you want me to do," Cassie made eye contact with Jean.

"Calm him, relax his muscles enough for me to take out the bullet, if you think that you can do it," the last was said obviously as a challenge. Jean knew that Cassie didn't have as much control of her powers as she did.

"I'll do my best," she slipped her other hand over his own. He was shaking all over; a few tears from the torture had escaped from his eyes. Cassie smiled down at him, showing her set of elongated, canine teeth and she internally cursed herself for it.

Kurt took slow, deep breathes as Dr. Grey gave Cassandra his ill formed hand. The burning from the bullet had subsided. Cassandra gave him a warm smile, showing that a few of her teeth matched his own. Abruptly, clouds entered her already gray eyes as she stopped smiling; her face was full of dejection and she looked away. He grasped her hand a bit tighter, trying to give her that same feeling of kinship she had just given him only moments ago.

Cassie had always been ashamed of her feral, animal-like features. The cat eyes and double fangs were not her only shame. When provoked Cassie showed a fighting ability that almost rivaled Logan's carnal ferocity; earning her the nickname, Tigress. She even had a growl like a cougar that frightened many of the children at the Institute. But when Kurt returned her smile, revealing his own, fuller set of jaggedly sharp teeth; she relaxed her breathing and started to concentrate her work on him.

Kurt felt as though a warm blanket had rolled over him as Cassandra closed her slitted eyes. She moved one of her hands onto his bare shoulder just next to his open wound; gradually he became no longer aware of any pain or feeling there. His shoulder and arm felt very numb and he closed his eyes, in a mood of great relaxation and slowly drifted towards sleep.

"Go, Jean," Cassie whispered through gritted teeth in intense convergence of thought. Jean held her hand above the entry point, her eyes closed in well determined focus. After a few moments a flattened, twisted disc of metal was floating in mid-air under her hand. Cassie could hear Jean's voice, but very far away as though she were under water.

"Cassandra, I want you to try and knit his muscles, but only enough for him to have some use of his arm. Don't over do it," Jean stepped back from the two, giving Cassie room now.

Cassie opened her eyes only enough to see her work. She found Kurt nearly asleep with the yellow of his eyes only barely visible through his dense lashes. Cassie attached all her thoughts to his shoulder muscles and by shear will of the mind urged the rips and tears together. She felt a deep thrill as more and more of his tissues formed together. The air itself was seemingly spinning and whirling around her. She kept going when part of her mind screamed for her to stop and a presser in her head grew. As the hole began to close Cassie started to feel lightheaded. She slowly began to release her hold on him and he started to wake up. She was felt dizzy and gripped the alter for balance. Jean and Ororo were in such deep conversation that they did not notice her falter.

Kurt opened his eyes to see Cassandra swaying and her nose flowing with blood. He sat up with a swiftness garnered from his years as an acrobat. He grabbed around the waist and quickly located a clean, white handkerchief from his stash under his pillow.

"Here, Fräulein," he held on to her back as he tried to wipe the blood from her face. She was starting to lose consciousness as Storm noticed the predicament and ran over to the girl. Kurt was holding the bloody kerchief under Cassandra's nose, trying to awkwardly hold her in a semi-standing position.

"Damn it, Cassandra, I told you not to over do it!" Jean yelled as she and Storm took her from Kurt. Kurt jumped up and offered his bed to them. They placed Cassandra on it and Jean checked all her vital. "Stupid girl, she'll be fine," Ororo turned to Kurt saying.

"Will you watch her, we need to contact the Professor," seeing his confusion she continued, "He is our boss, of sorts, a mentor. We need to inform him of our progress and the situation." Kurt looked down at the unconscious girl and acquiesced. He watched the older women walk down the stairs and turned back to Cassandra. He dipped a fresh kerchief in some water and started to fully clean off her face as she stirred slightly.

"What, what's going on?" She could taste blood along her lips and cursed as she struggled to sit up.

"I think you should lie still, fräulein, at the least for a moment to regain yourself," Kurt placed his hand on her arm to impede her movement. She had to stop herself from growling at him and satisfied herself with a loud grumbling noise. Kurt walked over to a basin of water and rinsed the kerchief, returning to finish the job of cleaning her off. She started to protest, but he gave her a glare; his eyes wide and his face stern, that sent her into silence. He completed his project gently, barely touching her face with his cloven hands.

"I think you can stand, you look less," he paused thinking of the proper words, "as though you are going to faint... again," he gave her a gentle look and offered his assistance in standing up. She sat on the edge of his bed, her legs too short to touch the ground. She placed her hands on his shoulders and used them to regain her footing. They passed through an awkward moment; their bodies nearly touching, before she saw that they were alone.

"Where are Jean and Storm?" She asked finding his eyes as she took a few caution filled steps away from the warmth of his body.

"They went to talk with the...." He appeared deep in thought again before finishing his statement, " Professor,"

"Oh," her face scanned the room "Were they angry with me?" She was unaware of Kurt as he watched her meticulously.

"Dr. Grey appeared upset, but more, I hope, for your safety," He took the spot she had vacated on his bed. He fell silent, following her line of sight to his belongings. "Are you sure that you are all right? You did pass out," she nodded her head in response. He didn't know that this happened every time she pushed her powers farther that her body was ready to go. The benefit was that after each time she could go farther and work herself a little harder than before. She walked around his room, examining things as she went, coming to a stop next to Kurt. She gave his strange scars a glance before she began to trace one on his left arm, purely on an impulse. His face shot up to look at her face, his eyes wide.

No one had ever touched him like this, slow and almost with an inquisitiveness he had never seen before. He ached from the lack of human contact. He could never remember any woman ever touching him quite like this before. Nearly every part of him wanted to respond to what her hand was doing to him. Somehow, by the mercy of God, he found the strength to resist the temptation.

Cassie pulled away, her face scarlet, as Kurt jumped down onto the ground and crouched away from her. She was thankful that Storm and Jean were not here to witness the horrible transgression she had committed. Cassie had rarely felt this ashamed of her strong, feline sense of curiosity. She hated herself for overstepping the bounds of the man who had just so tenderly taken care of her.

"Kurt, I'm....I'm so sorry. I didn't mean any harm, they're just so beautiful," she said, desperately, with a sudden hoarseness in her throat.