Okay, a couple of A/Ns before I start writing this chapter. Someone mentioned having longer chapters, so I'll try that. Secondly, I've seen other writers try to write a German accent into the story, instead of just saying "In a German accent". Personally, I think only people who speak and understand German fluently can get away with this, henceforth, I never write in an acccent. Third, a language warning on this chapter. Enjoy.

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As the explosion rocked the building, Roy, Bob and Howard all looked towards the other side of the Gallery. The yelling of the other guards was echoing down the otherwise deserted corridors. Roy bit down on his lip hard and Howard began to whisper his prayers, being Christian. Bob, being the physically strongest of the three, made a move to run off, and Roy yelled,

"Oy Bob! You can't leave us!"

"He's right, we have a job to do here-let the others handle Shadowcat as they will!"

"You two are bloody cowards!" You realise that that bastard has murdered over 20 security guards without so much as breaking a sweat! My sister in law was one of them, so I'll be damned if I'm gonna sit here on my ass doing zip!" It was with this final haughty sentence that Bob proceeded to head over to the other Gallery. As Roy and Howard watched him leave, they all had a funny feeling of being watched. Their eyes flicked around nervously, wondering if they too should leave. Suprisingly, they both did the same thing-walked towards the Gallery entrance, watching for intruders that would come through the entrance.

It never occurred to them that Shadowcat wasn't in the building.

Yet.

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Slowly easing a pane of glass out of its frame, Shadowcat tugged on his security rope, making sure it was tied fast around the chimney. He was light, even for his age, so breaking the rope was no issue. The thief had heard the guard run off. That meant that he might only have to kill two people at most. Slowly backing into the hole he'd made in the skylight, he silently lowered himself down.

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Howard could have sworn he'd heard something, like heavy-duty metal cable. But that was ridiculous. Metal cable, pshaw, whatever. Shadowcat had already come in through the other side. But then, Howard cast his mind back to his previous training, and the one thing his instructor had enforced into them-

"Gallery thieves will try anything to get their greasy paws on what you guard. Never think anything is too outrageous for them to try. Don't forget-the thief might be a mutant."

Might be a mutant. Oh, God…

That's right, Howard.

The last thing Howard remembered was hearing the mutant's voice in his head. He wanted to scream.

But then he felt something sharp pierce his neck.

And he fell to the ground.

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Roy heard the thump next to him and screamed. Looking down at his feet, he screamed again, to see Howard was lying facedown on the ground, with a massive dart protruding from his neck. Roy wasn't aware of it, but this dart belonged to Shadowcat, and had pumped Howard's body full of a sleeping serum which acted on impact. Roy, positive his shiftmate was dead, continued to shriek until he suddenly found it very difficult to breathe. His screaming reign brought to an end, he simply fell to the floor, very much as unconscious as his friend.

"Do shut up please," Shadowcat hissed as he hit the ground. As much as he hadn't wanted to do that…the possession was still there, even if it was only a tiny bit. Checking the gallery, he noticed that he'd planned his entry position almost perfectly. Walking over to the nearest display case, Shadowcat found what he was looking for-a necklace all the way from Saudi Arabia, which had been called 'God's Blood'. A lot of people would have looked at the stone in it and said, "What an enormous ruby." But no, it was a garnet, thank you very much. This was the target, the last thing he'd ever steal.

Just like the first time, he felt nervous. A tear of relief tracked down his face, but he was still worried.

Anything could go wrong at this point.

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Nightcrawler couldn't explain it. It was just a gut feeling he had. If he could stop this thief before he killed again, he'd be doing the right thing. The killer should pay for the suffering he'd caused. Really, he should. But then a niggling voice echoed inside his head:

Dear God, have mercy on my worthless soul.

The sobbing girl said this to him during lunch. A large crowd had been in the kitchen when Nightcrawler heard it. It was so sudden, and he hadn't heard anything before that, so of course, he'd accidentally dropped the bottle he was holding…unfortunately, it went all over Logan. If it hadn't have been for the Professor's reasoning, Nightcrawler would probably be lying on the floor in pretty little blue ribbons by now.

It was only now when Kurt thought about it that he realised something. What if this was what the thief thought every time he killed?

Ever since Storm had given him the faith to teleport without having to see where he was going, he'd been doing it more often. Focusing all of his strength into the speed, he disappeared with a repeated succession of BAMF!s and he proceeded to infiltrate the Art Gallery.

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When Kurt arrived, he heard a few men shrieking.

"Idiots! You told me he'd be here!

"Sir, we swear, the bomb blast came from here!"

"Then it was obviously a set-up! What's the most valuable treasure we've got in here?"

"There's the Egyptian headdress's in Gallery 12, and the "God's Blood" in Gallery 7."

"Send 4 guys out to Gallery 7-it's smaller-and everyone else goes to 12. You got that?"

"Yessir." Kurt BAMF!ed away once more and arrived at a door marked 'Gallery 12'. Pushing the door open, he peeked in to find nothing. Shadowcat must be after that "God's Blood." Quickly pulling the door shut, he underestimated the amount of strength he'd need to open it and the Gallery sign fell off the door. This gave Kurt an idea. He teleported to Gallery 6, took the sign and teleported to the door to Gallery 7. It took a matter of seconds to swap the door signs, and once he was done, he opened the door and let himself in.

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Shadowcat stared greedilly at the "God's Blood", relishing every tantalising second of this final heist. Rather eager to get out as quickly as possible, he smashed his fist through the glass case. He knew this would trigger the silent alarms, but hopefully he'd be out of there by the time the guards could investigate it. But as Shadowcat pocketed the looted booty, he heard a faint noise outside the door, similar to a BAMF! noise. Frowning, Shadowcat wondered what sort of guard technology it could be, but eventually dismissed it. Looking around the Gallery one final time, he noticed some shards of glass with his blood on it. Big no, no. The last thing he needed was his DNA on American files, so he collected the blood stained glass into a pile on the floor with his mind. The glass swirled into a grotesquely stunning tornado, which swept out through the roof.

That's when he heard the door click open. Time to go.

He grabbed the rope with both hands and tried to haul himself up, when he felt the "God's Blood" slipping out of his pocket. In his panic, he reached out for it with his good hand, leaving his injured one to cling to the rope. That hand gave out instantly. With a yelp, Shadowcat slipped off the rope, adding a new level of pain to his bleeding hand with the rope burn and the landing on his back.

And that's when Nightcrawler ran in. Shadowcat was lying on the floor groaning in pain, and Nightcrawler skidded to a halt. Each person was unable to see the other clearly, so there was a bit of confusion.

"Shadowcat?" Without warning, Shadowcat vaulted off the floor and hurtled into the startled Kurt, slamming his head into a wall. Kurt retaliated by teleporting behind Shadowcat and grabbing him in a headlock.

"Don't make me hurt you, sir." Nightcrawler hissed. Shadowcat's answer to this was elbowing Kurt's stomach-hard-and fleeing back to the rope. With little effort, he jumped clear out of the skylight with one bound, turning as he went, and Kurt tried to catch his breath.

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Once Shadowcat made it to the roof, he drew a shuddering gasp. BV had gotten him again! Damn him to hell! And just keeping him out was getting to be a huge energy drain. He'd have just enough energy to get back and present the boss with "God's Blood", and then, he'd need to rest. But being chased by some European guard who moved that damn quick would be a challenge.

BAMF!

Shadowcat was prepared this time, but when he spun around, he couldn't find his assailant.

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He attacked with a passion he never knew he possessed. Anything to stop Shadowcat. Tackling the rather willowy thief wasn't a problem. He was very light. Nightcrawler threw a couple of wild punches, and one landed on Shadowcat's face. But Nightcrawler felt his body go numb, and he suddenly found himself suspended in midair, being held up by a transparent force. Just like the one Jean had once used on him in the Boston church…

Shadowcat pulled himself off the ground, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Now that the moonlight was behind Nightcrawler instead of in front, he saw his features more clearly. His hair was rather long for a male, tied up tightly at the back and with sharply defined features. The curves of his body showed no evidence of physical strength. Shadowcat was swaying a bit, being weak and losing control. Shadowcat hadn't punched Nightcrawler; BV had. Slowly regaining any control he had, Shadowcat faced the victim of his enhanced psychic abilities and decided the end of the line wasn't worth it.

"Are you with the police?" He grunted gruffly. Nightcrawler tried to look the thief in the eye, but he was wearing shades. At night?

"N-no. Shadowcat, please, I need-"

"To apprehend me? Well, you don't have to worry about that. I didn't kill anyone tonight. And I'll never do that again." With round eyes, Nightcrawler stared in awe as Shadowcat shoved a hand into his pocket and suddenly, Nightcrawler hit the ground. At the same time, Shadowcat lobbed something glittering red towards Nightcrawler and it skidded in next to his tired body. "Be a saint, and put that back in the Gallery, mate?" This accent was different to the first one; lighter, and it wasn't American. It sounded British, but not British at the same time.

But Nightcrawler had no more time to think of Shadowcat, because he jumped off the roof.

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I know this chapter was very jumpy in POVs, but I want you opinions anyway.

See y'all.