Cipher's Elegy
By Cypher
Chapter Eight: Dance and Discovery
"Are you sure you won't change your mind? This dance only comes around once a year." Douglas ran his hand through his hair. Kitty had told him to keep the wild look, even at the dance, but he wanted it a bit more tame than usual.
Kurt watched him out of the corner of his eye. Hating and envying his roommate, while at the same time feeling glad that the blond's shy shell was cracking away. But does it have to be with my Kaetzchen? "I'm sure."
"That girl probably hasn't changed her mind. You could wear gloves or something."
Kurt snorted. It wasn't his hands he was worried she would feel while they were dancing. "I'll be fine. I promised to teach Jamie chess."
Douglas nodded and fiddled with his bow tie. One good thing about having diplomatic parents is you learn how to dress up pretty young. "Isn't he a bit old to just be learning?"
"That's what I said." Kurt tapped his fingers against the bed spread. His tail was currently buried beneath his covers squeezing his pillow to death. "So I thought I'd teach him."
"Well, have fun." Douglas smiled and modeled for his blue furred friend. The dance was semiformal, but he had still opted a tuxedo. Don't want to make a faux pas at my first school dance. "How do I look?"
Kurt tried to find a cutting remark in his mind, something that was ambiguous and possibly insulting. Unfortunately, looking at the grinning teen, all he could do was sigh and mutter, "Great. She'll love it."
"Thanks. I'm really kinda nervous." Douglas checked his watch. Scott had told him to be ready to go at seven. It was only six-forty. "You, um, have any advice? You have been to more than me."
Kurt shook his head and waved. "No. Just...go."
Douglas furrowed his brow, again feeling that Kurt was trying to blow off their friendship. What is with him? I'm supportive, I'm polite, I'm kind. What the hell do I have to do to get him to like me again? Now, however, was not the time to get into that, and he nodded. "Alright. Um...see you when I get back."
"Yeah, whatever."
Douglas left the room and shut the door, frowning and leaning against it. Maybe Kitty knows what's going on. Or Rouge. She is his sister. He shifted a bit uneasily at that thought. Rouge always has kinda...unnerved me, though. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he headed down the hall to the main staircase. Maybe Jean could do a quick scan and tell me. Though that's not exactly ethical...
"Worried about tonight, eh?" Bobby swatted Douglas' back, causing the older mutant to stumble a bit. "Sorry."
"Oh, um, don't worry about it." Douglas blinked and rubbed the back of his head. "Say, Bobby, do you--um, why do you have a water balloon in your hand? This is a rental, you know, and I really don't want to have to pay for this suit-"
"Don't worry. It's not for you. Roberto just has something coming to him after pulling a particular stunt during training." Bobby tossed the balloon to his other hand.
Douglas tilted his head. He had been at practice that day, but he couldn't recall Roberto doing anything overtly offending to Bobby. "What'd he do?"
"Don't you remember? When he set my outfit on fire?"
Douglas' eyes narrowed and he stared past Bobby a minute, trying to remember. Well, there was that time smoke was rising behind those trees, and Rahne laughing... "No, I don't. I don't think I saw it."
Bobby grumbled. "Well, he and Sam have been laughing about it all night. Not any more, though. Once this oil-based paint hits their heads..."
Douglas held up his hands and quickly retreated towards the stairs. "Don't tell me. I don't want to be an accessory. Just...try not to lead them to Kurt's room, kay?"
Bobby laughed and headed down the hall.
Douglas shook his head and went down the stairs, noticing Scott standing at the entrance. Kurt's room. I still think of it as his room and I'm just...visiting or something. The way he's been treating me, maybe that's what it is.
"Nervous about tonight, man?"
Douglas' eye twitched. "Why does everyone keep asking me that? Of course I'm nervous! I'm worried! I'm scared! Is everyone happy? Did everyone hear me?"
Scott placed a hand on the younger mutant's shoulder. "Hey, calm down. You just looked like you had something on your mind."
"According to Mr. McCoy, I have an IQ off the chart and my neurons shoot off three times greater than a normal human's. I always have something on my mind. Tons on my mind. It's just how I am, okay?"
Scott's mouth turned up in a small, quirky grin. "You're really nervous about tonight, getting riled over something so small."
Douglas leaned his head back and rubbed his temples. "At the risk of sounding like Kitty, like duh!"
Scott laughed and patted Douglas' shoulder. "You'll do fine, man. Just relax."
Easy for you to say. You've been doing popular things since...what, you were ten?
"Here they come. Stand tall and smile."
Douglas nodded and did as Scott said. The attempt to look good was compromised, however, when his jaw hit the floor.
Kitty was slowly descending the stairs, wearing a simple strapless cyan-aqua dress with white arm-length gloves. Her hair was done up without the usual ponytail, and, and Douglas was pretty sure he spotted some sparkles around her almond eyes. Wow...
Jean wore a more conservative, and traditional, emerald dress with matching gloves, her hair hanging freely. She went over to Scott, who extended his arm.
Kitty stopped a few feet from Douglas and smiled, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "You look, um, very handsome."
Douglas tried, for the life of him, to get his brain to work, to say something intelligent and complimentary. All he could manage, though, was, "God..."
"Douglas? Are you, like, okay?"
His eyes roamed over Kitty's outfit once again. "Oh God..."
"I think you fried his mother board." Scott chuckled and patted Douglas' back, jolting the blond mutant. "Come on, man. Pull it together."
Douglas blinked a few times and nodded. Blood rushed to his cheeks and he looked away, shakily holding up a corsage. "H-here. Th-this is for you."
Kitty took it and put it on, knowing Douglas wouldn't know he was supposed to. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thanks. Come on, let's go get in the car."
Douglas nodded again as Kitty took his arm and led him out the door. Oh God...she's gorgeous...and all you can do is remember to be shy. Great, Douglas. Really great...
~*()*~
Kurt watched the whole exchange from within the shadows at the top of the stairs. While on one hand, he was laughing at Douglas' reaction, on the other he knew he would've reacted just as badly. She really did look great. Why couldn't she see that I'm a nice guy...and ask me out? His tail swished dangerously near to a vase. Little blond jerk.
"Gang way!"
Kurt yelped and teleported to the central chandelier as Bobby practically ran into him on his way down the main staircase. "What's going on?"
"Can't talk now gotta run!" Bobby was smirking as he spoke, but he failed to slow down.
Kurt scratched his head, then saw the reason for the hasty retreat. Roberto and Sam, both covered with some sort of paint, were barreling after him. In Sam's case, he was practically flying. Wonder what that was about.
"Kurt? Are you going to teach me or what?"
Kurt craned his neck practically 180 degrees and spotted Jamie in the doorway to the rec room, a box of chess in his hands. He teleported next to the youngest mutant and put on a grin, even though he really didn't feel it. "Of course, Jamie. Now, where should we play?" He winced as he heard a crash emanate from the kitchen. "Other than the kitchen?" Those three get into as much trouble as me without even trying that hard.
~*()*~
Douglas shifted nervously as he, Scott, and their respective dates entered the school gym. Being his first dance, he wasn't sure what to expect. The fact that Kitty looked so good, and that she hadn't let go of his arm since they got in the car, wasn't helping to calm his mind down enough to formulate a plan. I should've read more on dating. Or maybe asked the Professor for some advice...
"Like, this is so much better than last year." Kitty pulled Douglas towards the dance floor.
Dance...oh god. I haven't done any research on dancing! True, he knew how to slow dance, and do all the respectful ones played at diplomatic banquets, but the fast paced music currently playing certainly didn't seem to fit the criteria for those types of dances. I'm going to look like an idiot. Swallowing audibly, he waved his arms feebly, trying to mimic Kitty.
Scott practically hit his forehead. "Poor kid. Doesn't he know how to dance?"
"Apparently not. But I'm sure he'll figure it out soon enough. I mean, he knows all those moves Logan taught him. He just needs to...redirect how they're used." Jean tossed her hair over her shoulder.
"Yeah, but he may need someone to tell him that."
"I'm sure Kitty will. Eventually."
Truth be told, Kitty's eyes were currently closed, completely absorbed in the rhythmic beat echoing around her. Douglas stared at her, watching her dance, then his face hardened a bit and he looked around. I can do this. For Kitty. Just...think of it as one of Wolverine's fighting lessons. Study the basic moves, and extrapolate from that. Unfortunately, the dance moves seemed more erratic than any fight moves, but Douglas was able to discern a rough pattern. His mind began constructing dance moves from it, giving him an idea of what to do. Okay...here goes nothing.
~*()*~
"Checkmate."
Kurt scratched his head. "You're sure you've never played before?"
Jamie grinned and marked another tally on a piece of paper. "Yep. But it's not as hard as I thought it'd be."
Either he's lying, which I doubt, or I've gotten really rusty at playing. Kurt bet it was the latter. It had been years since he'd played. And now I've lost, what, ten bucks because of it?
"So why didn't you go to the dance?"
Kurt frowned and began setting up his side of the board again. "I just didn't want to. Besides, what if she wanted a goodnight kiss? She'd feel my fur right away."
"There's nothing that says you have to kiss a girl, is there?"
Kurt shrugged. "It's customary, I think. It was just more of a hassle than I wanted to deal with." And I didn't want to spend the night watching the girl of my dreams dance with my roommate.
"Oh." Jamie set up his side of the board as well. "Is...did you and Douglas have a fight?"
Kurt blinked and stared at Jamie. "Why?"
"It's...I've noticed Douglas seems a bit down, and when I suggested he talk to you, that seemed to depress him further. So...are you two having a fight?"
Kurt rested his chin on his hand. Well, it's having the effect I want, but now I've upset Jamie. "Not really, no. We've just...got some differences. Like Rouge and Kitty, ja?"
Jamie crossed his arms and rested them on his lap. "Well, um, could you try and be a bit friendly? I don't like seeing either of you upset."
"I'm upset?"
Jamie nodded a bit. "It...just seems like you are."
Kurt raised his eyebrows. I didn't think it was that obvious, not even to telepaths. Of course, Jamie was like an adopted brother. Like I could hide something from family. Before he could respond though, Bobby barreled through the room, two enraged mutants on his tail.
Sam, in his haste, knocked Jamie off his seat, causing four replicas to appear as he landed on the ground.
Kurt sighed and shook his head. "Looks like we can't even play here."
Jamie glanced at his multiples, and all five nodded their heads simultaneously.
~*()*~
"You were like, so cool tonight. I didn't know you could dance like that."
Scott and Jean exchanged an amused glance, while Douglas shrugged sheepishly. Neither did I, to be honest. I swore I was going to pull something, or step on your toes or some dumb thing. It was nearly eleven, and the dance had gone fairly well. After his initial awkwardness, Douglas had managed to figure out enough dance moves to keep up with Kitty. Of course, once he had, the slow songs began, where his diplomatic dance lessons became useful. It took a couple dances, but his blush at having Kitty so close to him, even resting her head against his shoulder, finally dimmed down to a reasonable shade that it was practically unnoticeable.
Scott had kept a close eye on the two of them, especially Douglas, and made sure they didn't get too close, but also to make sure Douglas was okay. After they had seemed to get comfortable, though, he had turned his focus on Jean. They're pretty mature. Nothing to worry about there. He did worry a little when around ten the two of them vanished for nearly a half hour, but Jean made contact with Kitty and discovered the two of them just went on a quiet walk in the fresh air. After that, though, Scott decided they should head home. Especially because of the young mutants.
So, here they were, back at the Institute and walking towards the main entrance. Scott and Jean walking ahead of the younger dating pair. Kitty was once again holding onto Douglas' arm, and this time Douglas wasn't speechless or stunned. He was smiling. Quite broadly. Scott and Jean inside when they reached the front door, but Kitty hung back, not wanting to go in just yet.
Douglas pondered the wisdom in this move. Last time they had stood outside the front of the Institute, he had nearly broken his nose walking into the glass. I've matured a lot since then. I won't make the same mistake again.
"So, like, I had a wonderful time. Thanks for coming."
Douglas took Kitty's other hand as he faced her, still smiling. "Thanks for asking me. I...don't think I'd ever have gotten up the nerve to ask you."
Kitty swung their arms lightly. "I was glad to."
Douglas watched her for a minute, just admiring how her face seemed to glow in this light. I think...this is where I kiss her. Feeling more confident then he had a month ago, he leaned down slightly.
Kitty, already knowing this was going to happen, decided not to wait for him, and quickly closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his neck as their lips met.
Douglas tensed momentarily, but slid his arms around her waist, his eyes closing. This is...so much better than last time and--is that her tongue?
Neither teen broke the intimate contact for a long time, not even when Ororo came out to see what was keeping her from locking up. It took the Professor mentally telling all students to turn before Kitty hesitantly broke the contact, panting.
Douglas, as out of breath as her, gave her an odd look, before noticing one of their teachers standing there with her arms crossed. Feeling yet another blush rise up his cheeks, though not from shyness, he smiled at Kitty. "Um...goodnight."
"Yeah...goodnight."
Both teenagers said nothing more and headed for their rooms.
Ororo shook her head and locked the front door. "To be young again..."
~*()*~
Douglas glanced over the edge of his book to look across the room at his sleeping roommate. The blue mutant was practically burrowed in his blankets, his tail twitching over the end over his footboard and his arms wrapped around his pillows. Except for a few abrupt twists every now and then, he seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Lucky stiff. Douglas ran a hand through his hair and glanced at his book. It was a recent book his museum friend had sent him, this one detailing Exodus as a count in France. Why a God would be in France impersonating some count when he could be ruling tribes in Egypt, I'll never know. Turning off the reading lamp he had on, he got up and set his book down only long enough to put on his robe, and quietly slipped out of his room, heading for the library.
Normally he wouldn't be up at two in the morning. His internal clock was usually set to shut his conscious mind down at midnight. One at the latest. But tonight, tonight he just couldn't. Not with everything that had happened. The way Kitty had looked, the way their dancing seemed to elevate them to the clouds themselves, and the kiss. What a kiss. He hadn't been kissed like that ever, and now his heart, his adrenaline, every part of his body was in overdrive, and he couldn't shut it down, no matter what he did. Having finished his homework (and received a sleepy glare from Nightcrawler until he stopped tapping his pencil against his math book), he had turned to Finnegan's Wake. Mr. McCoy had suggested reading it a while ago, and Douglas eagerly devoured the enigmatic text.
Actually, it was rather simple when you realized that it wasn't a bunch of different dialects, but a completely new language. What an ironic twist at the end. That James Joyce was a genius. Still, something about that had nagged at him. Not so much the book, or the language, but the style seemed...eerily familiar. After rereading parts of it, he returned to the book of Exodus he was studying. There were...startling similarities. At first Douglas wrote it off as coincidence, or his mind not being fully awake. It had been hours since his last infusion of caffeine, after all. But there was more. Far more.
So, now having finished the latest book, he was bringing it to the library where the rest of his books on the Exodus mystery had ended up. Part of him still advocated that this was some sort of biblical mentioning with some poorly written personification. Still...there's just too many coincidences. Maybe it was an Egyptian God that...that some French guy discovered and adopted the persona of. That seemed more plausible.
Entering the library, he shut the door and turned on the light. No one's here. Good. Setting the book on the table, he scanned the bookshelves and pulled out his other books, opening each to where they mentioned Exodus. Then he grabbed one final book, an atlas. It's impossible for this thing to be in all these different regions without some sort of focal point beginning. I'm going to find that point if it kills me. Taking a seat and opening the Atlas, he hesitated. It wasn't an old atlas. In fact, it was brand new. I'll buy the Professor a new one. Trying not to wince at how he was desecrating a literary object, he ripped out the maps of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East and set them before him. Pulling out his pencil, he began reading over the ancient texts.
Celtic...Egyptian...Arabic... Douglas made marks on the three maps, each pinpointing a specific region the texts spoke of Exodus as being. He made some minor marks each time the apocalypse was mentioned as well. Interesting. This mentions the apocalypse in China, and Egypt, but never the Middle East. Maybe Exodus is the apocalypse. Except he's not mentioned in China anywhere. Ah well. A mystery for next time. He did make note that there was a mention of the apocalypse in the Tibetan Alps. Maybe there's some info in Tibetan mythology. Returning to his task, he made the final mark on the map, in France. Alright, let's see... He blinked. This...can't be right....can it?
Grabbing a thin paperback, he used its binding as a straightedge and drew straight lines from all his marks on the map, especially the three major references, in the direction where it indicated the origin of Exodus was. France... His hand shaking slightly, he extended the lines until they intersected. The book...it mentions Exodus right outside of the main mountain range, and according to this map...it's right next to the intersection! There, on the makeshift map he had jumbled together laying on the desk, revealed the origin of Exodus rested in the French Alps. French Alps...French barron..was...was that a clue to the truth, left by someone who knew it? He quickly grabbed the book and flipped through it, eyeing the author and trying to remember if he had read any other research books by the same person. No...I've never heard of this person before. He...he must've figured out the truth. But...but why keep it hidden? Unless...unless there was something in the mountains...something he didn't want the world to know about yet.
His blue eyes lit up for the second time that night. Of course...how could I have been so stupid! All the books made reference to a great Temple, far away a from worshipers and dissenters. A sanctuary of sorts that was said the Exodus came from, and that the apocalypse was sometimes said to be seen in. A place where the end of the world could be viewed. They probably mean some sort of painting or hieroglyph, but this...this must be the location of the Temple of Exodus! I've found a God that influenced at least three cultures and hasn't been discovered yet! Grinning like an idiot, Douglas stood and hurried for the door. He had to share this discovery with someone. And with luck, the Professor will let me go and check it out. This would be so cool, if I actually discovered a new mythological figure, or even better, an ancient temple undisturbed...or practically undisturbed.
And, as often is the case with sudden discoveries, the energy Douglas seemed to not be able to get rid of drained away, and he yawned. No...no...need to tell someone...well, maybe a little rest first. He fell onto the couch near the door, resting his head on his arm and closing his eyes. Yeah, just a quick five minute rest. Then I'll get Kitty...or Kurt...or Scott...
A minute later, the excited blond had fallen asleep.
~*()*~
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Author's Prattle: Woohoo! Yet another chapter out (sooner than expected). Chapter nine should be out very, very quickly, as I started it the same night I wrote half this chapter (inspiration struck at midnight...why can't it be like that during the day?). Sorry if the dance seemed corny or anything. Having only been to my prom, and only on my own, I had to wing it. This is also my first hetero romance, so I'm...having some difficulty with this. Fortunately, my beta's had a few relationships, ne? Ne.
Speaking of my beta, she gave me a few more ideas, so this fic just gained two or three more chapters with yet another plot twist. *shrugs* Ah well. Just means the sequel has been pushed back a little further. If they flow as easily as this one did, it won't be long before I finish. And for those of you who have figured out the main villain, what's going to happen, all of that, don't spoil it for the others. I will say that some Acolytes will appear briefly, but that's it.
Disclaimers, disclaimers. Quite a few this chapter. Let's see...I don't own X-Men Evolution, it's characters or settings. I don't own Cipher or the main villain, either. They both belong to Marvel. I also don't own any of the locations, languages, or mythologies mentioned. Yes, I am changing the original history, but it's author's perogitive with creative license. I also don't own Finnegans Wake, nor have I ever read it. I just know of it, and how crazy it is, and that James Joyce is a (disturbing) literary master.
Hmm...I believe that's it. Keep an eye out, cause things will start speeding up pretty quickly now that the truth is starting to seep out. Muwahahaha! As always, reviews are welcome, and enjoy!