Disclaimer: y'all know the drill. Trent's the only character that belongs to me.

A/N: Sorry this one took so long, folks. I really will try to update on a more regular basis after this. You see, the main problem is that I'm also working on another X-men fic, and that's taking up half of my writing time. (Psst--go read it! It's called Don't Stand So Close to Me--read it, read it!)

Enjoy and then review!


Chapter 5

Trent was barely able to stop herself from bursting out laughing as she left the confused and pissed off X-men to ponder what the hell was going on. Man, she loved messing with their minds like that! She could already feel how very different each of their reactions were to her: Logan very much pissed off, Storm flustered, suspicious but amused, and Rogue caught between anger and laughter.

But I shouldn't have done that, Trent though, and her grin disappeared. She wasn't used to talking with humans as opposed to vampires and witches, and she'd forgotten--they didn't know she was a telepath, didn't know anything about her or her abilities, and she wanted it to stay that way. Better for them not to know that she was probably more powerful than their entire team; much better for them not to know that she was half demon, half healer who was guilty of murder and worse, who was currently being hunted by an entire secret society of ruthless killers. She'd have to be careful in the future, not to give them any more clues about her telepathy--or anything else.

She turned her attention back to the pile of blue fur before her. Kurt was covered in sweat and a few splashes of vomit lingered around his mouth. His fists were clenched, and his tail was lashing around. She could feel the waves of pain, both physical and emotional, emanating from him, and for a second she reeled backwards, overwhelmed.

What the fuck did that vampire do to him? He had been sick before, sure, had vomited plenty, but he hadn't been in this much pain. Cautiously, Trent reached out and tilted his chin upwards, revealing what could only be described as a hole in his neck, gushing blood. Trent cursed, and then cursed more--how could that prissy little redneck not have noticed this?! That vampire, when he grabbed Kurt, must have bitten him, and bitten him bad: Kurt had lost a lot of blood, not to mention that the vamp's poison' had reacted with his natural sickness, putting him in tons of pain and very possibly killing him--even if it hadn't interacted with the pain he was already in, he was losing blood fast, and Trent could feel him swirling in and out of consciousness.

She looked around for the redhead--Jean--that had been acting as nurse, but she was nowhere to be found. No doubt the righteous X-men wouldn't approve of her method of saving his life, but was there really any alternative right now? As gross, shocking and horrifying as the rest of them and Kurt probably found it to be, it was the only way of saving his life right now.

Swiftly making up her mind, Trent grabbed Kurt and slid him onto her lap, mentally soothing him to be calm, cradling his head with her left hand and using her teeth to make a quick cut on her wrist. Giving a silent prayer to the goddess that this wouldn't get her into too much trouble, she gently lowered her wrist to his mouth, letting just a few drops fall to his lips, and then, as he started swallowing, lowering her hand further to let him have a steady stream of her blood. She could feel her veins gently throb, and her mind slowly give in to the rhythm, the ancient ritual...

What in the flaming hell do you think you're doing?! Trent jerked back to alertness at the sound of the Canadian's voice, and her first thought was, Oh, shit. So much for not revealing any more about herself or her past.

All the X-men were surrounding her. Wolverine had his claws out and was looking seriously pissed; Storm and Cyclops looked simply shocked, while Jean looked like she was about to faint and Rogue was caught between revulsion and fascination--because, despite Trent's...unsavory methods, Kurt was getting color back into his face, was breathing easier and had stopped sweating.

Trent quickly let go of his head, wiping her bleeding wrist--which was already healing over--on her pants while swiping the palm of her other hand over Kurt's mouth, cleaning up any excess blood. As if she could hide what she was up to now.

I'll repeat Wolverine's words: Just what do you think you're doing, Ma'am? Scott's words were icy and obviously intended to be intimidating and commanding. Not for Trent. She had slipped out of hundreds of scraps and sticky situations merely by being cool and collected, and this one was no exception.

Ms. Jean Grey, may I ask you a question? Startled by Trent suddenly addressing her, Jean only nodded. How on earth is it that, in even preliminary examinations, you failed to see-- she tilted Kurt's chin up, exposing his neck,

Most of the X-men gasped in some of the way, and Wolverine growled. What the hell happened ta him?

Kurt must have been bitten by that vampire when we were fighting--he lost tons of blood, and he was sick already--it made him far worse.

Wolverine growled again. That don't explain what you were doin' ta him, darlin'.

I was giving him blood.

He was drinking your blood! That's... that's.. an abomination! Apparently Red can't keep her hotheaded yowlings to herself anymore, Trent thought. Self-righteous people were so annoying.

It's not an abomination--it was the only way I could--

Ms. Raven, I'm a doctor! (A/N: So I fucked around with the comic continuum a little here. So shoot me.) You could have called me, you could have staunched his wound, you could have--

No, I couldn't, Trent snapped. He was dying! I had to act fast!

So you--you-- Even Wolverine couldn't bring himself to talk about it. That's disgusting, you probably made him worse! He finally yelled.

Oh, like you're some expert, you big lunkhead--

You should have called me, I was just in the other room--

Everyone, calm down--

At least I'm not some sicko who enjoys--

Kurt's eyes fluttered open, and he looked around groggily. Why is everyone shouting?

There was a silent pause, and then things were even worse.

Kurt, she was trying to--

Save his life, that's all!

Oh god, you're so pale--

Kurt, sugah, how're ya feelin'?

All right, everyone, let's just calm down--

Will you all just SHUT UP?! That last exclamation came, surprisingly, from Storm. The normally calm weather goddess looked flustered and tired, and was glaring at all her shouting teammates, very much annoyed.

Trent barely had time to notice that he was pale again when the fuzzy elf pitched forward. She got a bucket underneath his head just in time.

Oh, man. Jean had been splashed again. What's wrong with him?

Trent shrugged. Beats me. He was sick like this when I first took him in--at first I thought that it was just dehydration combined with a couple nasty concussions, but it's much worse. There's something wrong with his psyche, as well.

Bleary yellow eyes met icy blue ones. Trent... was...? She brushed his face with the palm of her hand, mentally urging him to sleep. He was only too happy to comply.

Logan continued to glare at her, and Trent noticed that he hadn't bothered to retract his claws. What kind of sick person are you, he growled, That the first thing you think of when you see a man in pain is feeding him human blood?!

Ouch. That one stung. Trent glared at Logan, and was pleased to see a slight shiver go down his spine when she turned the full brunt of her anger on. Question my methods if you want, you blowhard idiot, she snapped, but I might remind you that if it weren't for me your friend wouldn't even be here. she turned her voice to the rest of the X-men. What is it with you people? I fought off a gang of drunk mutant-haters to save your friend and teammate, I brought him to my apartment, saved his life and nursed him for three days, fought off an entire army of vampires that wanted nothing than to string him up by his entrails, and I saved the life--although now I'm wishing I hadn't--of your resident surly asshole and I don't even get a simple thanks? You people sure are hard to please!

She could see Scott ruffle, almost as if he were an angry cat, puffing himself up to seem more threatening. Now wait just a minute-

Oh, shuddup for a minute Scott, y'all know she's right. Trent blinked. She hadn't expected help from Rogue, of all people.

The southern belle glared at her fellow teammates. She saved Kurt's life, and what her reasoning was, ah don't really know, but she saved his life and she helped us get out o' that mess up in her apartment. Don'cha think we at least owe her a thank you,' and probably an apology as well? She turned to Trent, her face apologetic and pissed off. Ah'm sorry, miss, my teammates have habits of jumpin' in with both feet stuck in their mouths. Ah hope you'll excuse

Trent stared for a second, nonplussed. Giving herself a mental shake, she brought herself back to the moment. Um. Yeah, sure. No problem.

The plane lurched, and Trent had to grab the still-unconscious Kurt by his tail to keep him from sliding off the bed. Goddammit, Scott! snarled Wolverine. Who the hell is flying this thing?!

Scott stared, and then started. he yelled before dashing back to the bridge, eliciting groans from everyone in the room. So much for leaving the plane on autopilot, muttered Jean.

Ororo walked over to the window, gazing out at the countryside below. We are coming up on the mansion now.

The... mansion? Trent quickly scanned Ororo's mind, and blanched when she saw the details of where they were taking her. She was going to some old, rich guy's mansion? Worse yet, this old white guy was one of the strongest telepathic minds on the planet. Well, this should be interesting, thought Trent grimly. She didn't exactly have a ... history of getting along particularly well with people whose telepathic powers rivaled her own. In fact, the few strong telepaths that she'd spent time with would most likely describe her as a paranoid, grouchy, violent, aggressive bitch' whenever she was around them. Couldn't say they were wrong, either.

So she was a bit of a control freak when it came to people poking around in her mind. Why couldn't people just accept that? She hadn't meant to slice through that one telepath's kidneys, after all...

Ororo's soft African lilt jolted her out of her wanderings. We're going to be landing any moment now, so if you could, um, wake Nightcrawler-Kurt? I'm sure the professor will want to talk to him.

Trent looked down at Kurt, and turned bright red. He was asleep in her lap, curled up like a small child or puppy would curl up in its mother's lap, and worse yet, she had been absently stroking his hair while her mind wandered. Horribly embarrassed, she gave Kurt a rude shove in the shoulder, almost sending him off the bed.

He blinked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

We're almost to your weird-ass house, fuzzball. Wakey wakey.

Kurt sat up and immediately groaned, putting his head in his hands. I feel horrible, he moaned.

Yeah, well, don't we all. Come on, I'm sure your teammates' will be wanting to know that I haven't permanently injured you.

He gazed blearily at her. Teammates... ?

The X-men, remember? Oh goddess, please don't tell me you have amnesia on top of everything else.

I... remember. He shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs from his brain. Where... where are we?!

Trent sighed. She didn't have the patience for this right now. We're in your little X-jet,' all right? Now look, we're almost there--you're gonna have to stand up and walk, okay?

Kurt nodded. He stood up, his knees wobbling, and immediately started falling back towards the bed. Trent jumped up, supporting him.

There ya go. Easy does it... here, lean on me, I'll help you walk...

All conversation stopped in the bridge of the Blackbird as the X-men watched Trent escort their teammate in. His arm was around her shoulder, and she was supporting him with both hands, giving encouraging comments and helping him along in an almost nurse-like manner.

Trent seemed to be aware that she was being stared at, and her head snapped up, glaring at the X-men. she snarled.

Scott turned his gaze from her to the landing pad. We're here.