Somewhere I Belong
Chapter 6
The first few weeks of life at the Institute were slow for Shay. Her first day was jam-packed, first meeting the other kids - she already knew about half of them from the three in the common room her first night, then being tested by Mr. Hank McCoy - an extremely nice man who looked about as normal as Kurt, finally sitting with Xavier to pick out classes she could begin taking the following week. She'd never been to school, but she was relieved to know she wasn't as dumb as she thought. Turned out that all the books Shay had read while with the Morlocks stuck with her.
They still didn't help with her math skills though, seeing as how she had no clue what Mr. McCoy was trying to teach her, both in class and on the side. Hank, along with Xavier and Ororo, were all helping Shay by tutoring her in the basics.
So when her time wasn't being spent in class or being tutored, Logan had her and the other older students working in the rightfully named "Danger Room."
The whole room was a machine, programmed to different levels of intensity to kill anyone who entered. Shay had watched the other X-teens face the machine on a fairly regular rotation. Normally they'd go in a group, usually led by Scott, though he was called Cyclopes when in the room. Kurt became Nightcrawler, Kitty was Shadowcat, Evan was Spyke, Logan became Wolverine but Jean and Rogue kept their normal everyday names, Shay didn't know why though.
She felt no need to make an alias for herself. Shay was one of the last links she had with Callisto and the other Morlocks, and she didn't want to lose that connection.
Shay'd actually been inside the Danger Room, once, and she's almost lost her head three times that day. In one on one sparring, Shay could handle herself perfectly, which wasn't surprising to her, but when there were others around who she also had to keep an eye out for, things got complicated.
On that one occasion, she'd been doing fairly well. Pulling her wings closer to her body, she had tucked under a long tentacle that had been sticking out of the wall about ten feet above her head. As she had straightened, Nightcrawler flashed in beside her and had shouted, "Having fun?"
Shay had been so shocked by the sudden intrusion that the next swing of the tentacle had caught the edge of her shoulder, missing her head by a few inches. It knocked her straight into Nightcrawler, causing them both to hit the ground. The lesson learned: Be ready for anything.
This time though, there was no Danger Room, no mechanical tentacles, and no 'team members' to keep an eye on. The only thing Shay had to concentrate on was her own body and her partner's actions.
Logan stood before the group of teens, arms crossed. His face held a smile, not a normal site on the tough guy's face. "Just a little sparring today," he said in his gruff voice. "Find a partner and work on simple attacks, the less powers used, the better."
Shay stood towards the back, she too with her arms crossed over her chest, watching the X-teens pairing off with friends. She barely knew anyone at the Institute yet, and it was showing as the pairs moved towards the area that had been set up for the sparring.
From behind her, Shay heard someone approach, but she didn't turn to look. She didn't have to; an all too familiar voice spoke up.
"If you promise not to pull my tail, I won't pull your wings."
A small smile spreading across her face, Shay turned to see Kurt's yellow eyes gleaming at her. "What about my tail?"
"Well, that's up for grabs."
"Ya think you can handle me?"
It was Kurt's turn to smile. "Piece of cake."
Shay laughed this time, and the two found a mat towards the back, standing across from each other.
Kurt's smile never left his face as he crouched down in his normal defensive position. Shay opened her stand, turning her back foot slightly for support. She'd seen Kurt in action against the Danger Room; he was tough. But, then again, he hadn't grown up with a daily routine of keeping himself alive like Shay had.
The others around them had already started, and Shay could hear Logan making his way through the pairs, pointing out loose stances or weak attacks. "Ready?" she asked Kurt as she brought her fist up before her. She kept one low; the other positioned close to her face for protection.
"Yep," Kurt smiled up at her.
Shay shook her head, her smile fading from her face as she concentrated on Kurt's movements. Not wanting to be the first to move, Shay watched Kurt as his body tensed and he moved quickly, bringing a foot up for a straight kick. Shay swung an arm down and blocked it, thrusting her other arm out she hit Kurt in the chest, knocking him back from her.
With a BAMF, Kurt was gone from Shay's vision, but she heard the second BAMF from behind her, then Kurt's arm was around her waist, hulling her up off her feet. Shay gave a grunt and rocked her weight forward while spreading her wings, throwing Kurt off balance again. Shay dropped to her knees and flipped Kurt over her head. She heard him hit the mat and she sprang back up again.
"Rogue, watch your stance," Logan pointed at her feet as he passed by. A grunt from the back of the room caused him to look up. Kurt lay on the mat, though he was quickly climbing back to his feet. Shay was waiting above him in the perfect defensive stance. Logan watched her for a second as she rocked back and forth on her feet.
For Shay, her larger-then-normal, gargoyle-like feet gave her an advantage over her enemies. The stability they provided kept her upright when most would fall. The first few times with her father… It only took the first few times for her to find out.
"Come on Kurtie, let's have it," she teased as she switched feet.
Kurt laughed as he turned to face her again. "You're quicker then I thought," he smiled. This time he didn't crouch down, but stayed at Shay's level, staring her in the eye. "It's nice to know if you break my back, you can fix it again."
Shay smiled and pushed some of her hair out of her face. "If you say please, maybe." Kurt laughed, then slide around, causing Shay to get a little off balance. Kurt dropped down and spun a leg out, catching Shay's legs. Her gargoyle feet didn't keep her up this time. He swiped them out right from under her, ending with Shay hitting the mat hard on her back.
The breath whooshed out of her and Shay closed her eyes. Her head was spinning slightly. She felt someone kneeling on top of her. Shay's mind flashed. She remembered back when she was eight and she forgot to clean her room one night. Her father busted into her room and slapped her down, called her a damn freak, and dropped down on her. His fists hit her chest, her stomach, her head…
"Elf! What's going on?" Logan called as he pasted by another pair. He'd watched Kurt swipe Shay to the ground, then dropped down on top her to hold her, but Shay wasn't struggling.
"I don't know, Logan. I think it knocked the wind out of her." Kurt's eyes showed his worry as he looked between Shay and Logan.
Her father's breath was warm with the smell of beer. His fists were like rocks, beating against her arms as she tried to protect herself. He wouldn't stop. She cried and screamed, but he wouldn't stop. His weight was crushing her chest, she ached, she shook with fear, but deep down she felt something boiling up inside her, something that was building with every hit, every kick, every slap he'd ever given her. The something was begging to be let out, for her to take out on with everything he'd ever dished out to her.
It was her rage, her angry, her frustration, everything hateful thing she'd every felt and kept inside of her over the 15 years she'd been beaten and tortured by her so-called father. Unfortunately, for Shay, it was not her father who was perched atop her and also unfortunately for Kurt, he was he and not daddy-dearest.
Logan crouched down next to Shay and Kurt. "Shay," he said loudly. Her eyelids were flickering softly, and every few seconds her face would turn to a grimace. Other then that she was still.
"Is she going to be ok?" Kurt asked quietly, still crouched above Shay's body. Rogue and Jean joined the small pow-wow around Shay. Most of the other sparring pairs had stopped, but they stayed on their mats, watching from a distance.
Logan opened his mouth to reply when Shay's eyes popped open, except, her eyes were almost crazed. They darted between Kurt and Logan, but she didn't really see either. To Shay, she saw her father, drunk, blood-shot eyes with a murderous glimpse to them. But this time, she was old enough and tough enough to fight back.
A growl erupted from her and Shay pushed with all her strength at her father above her. He flew back and off her, rolling onto his back. Shay was on her feet in a second, rushing towards him. She began to drop her knee dead center in his chest when suddenly, BAMF, he disappeared.
Someone else grabbed her from behind, wrapping two strong arms around her, a familiar voice shouting her name in her ear.
Kurt appeared beside Logan, a little shaken. "Shay, STOP!" Logan shouted again and he released his hold, but kept his hands on her shoulders, turning her around to face him. Her eyes looked straight at him, he realized she finally recognized who he was.
"Logan," she said. Her mouth opened, but no more words came out. What was happening? Where was her dad? "I- My-," she stammered.
"Shay, what in the hell is going on?" Logan demanded. Catching his anger, he took a breath. "Are you ok?" he tried again.
Looking past Logan, Shay saw Kurt and it hit her what was going on. She'd been sparring with Kurt and he dropped her, knocking her out for a second. When she came back around, she was cornered, just like in her childhood…
"Oh god, Kurt," Shay said as she took a step back from Logan, his hands falling off her shoulders. "I'm sorry," she said softly, then fled the Danger Room.
Logan and Kurt watched her go, Kurt rubbing his shoulder where Shay had shoved him.
"What was that, Logan?" Rogue spoke up from the side.
"I don't know Rogue, but I think Shay wasn't in the Danger Room for a second."
****Notes****
I can't write a German accent, so it's a good thing y'all already know what it sounds like. Just imagine that's what's coming out of Kurt's mouth, ok? Umm, yeah, Shay's a pretty screwed up kid, could ya tell? This will kinda tie in with other things later, especially with the sequel I've already got started. The next chapter will actually be only a few hours after this all happens, so don't worry.
