This story is mine. Really, all mine. Well, all the characters belong to Marvel, but please don't sue me, it wouldn't be worth it. Special thanks to Luba for the beta read and to everyone who e-mails their encouragement!
Just a Couple of Kids, after all… Chapter 8"What do you mean?" Bobby asked, and Kitty could sense the surprise in his voice. "What'd you find out?"
"You were right – this isn't a traditional enemy. I'm not sure we should consider them an enemy at all, aside from hacking into our computer system. I don't know exactly who it is, you understand, but I don't think they mean any harm," Kitty replied, turning back to the results on the screen. She'd been surprised by the results of her search, but the data was conclusive. Whoever had hacked the system hadn't been doing so maliciously – they'd been looking for answers to a specific question.
"Well, are you going to clue me in, or let me die of suspense?" Bobby said plaintively, and Kitty smiled. When he'd gotten so quiet, she'd been afraid she'd really hurt his feelings, which was the last thing she wanted to do. She had to admit she probably could have put it better, but she was tired and distracted. There was no reason he should be so hard on himself, she thought, and was glad that he had apparently decided not to be angry with her.
"Can't have that," she joked. "And I guess you're entitled to be the first to know…"
"Know what?" he said, covering her eyes with his hands. "Come on, let me see…" She could feel him leaning against her back as he tried to see the results on the monitor. Laughing, she brushed his hands away, and turned to face him.
"Well, it would seem our invaders were interested in who was responsible for the recent loss of mutant abilities," she answered. "Specifically, they were trying to determine if we were the culprits. Once they realized we weren't, they began seeking data about us; who we are, what we stand for. I'm not sure, but I'd guess they're looking for allies."
"Why the Legacy data, then?" Bobby asked, confused. "And Hank's other research?"
"Think about it. If you had heard the term Legacy Virus, and that it only affected mutants, but didn't know anything else about it…"
"They thought it might refer to the cause of the power loss! Sure, and if they'd heard Hank was studying it –"
"That's my guess. Initially, I'd guess they may not have even realized they were hacking the X-Men's computer system. They were out looking for Hank's research files, to determine if the Legacy Virus was responsible. The rest was just serendipity. But who could it be?" she asked, closing her eyes. She shook her head, trying to shake out the cobwebs. While she hated to admit it, she was really getting too tired to keep going.
"Good question," Bobby answered, yawning. "I would have thought all the organized groups of mutants were familiar with the Legacy Virus; not the details, but the gist of it at least. And they'd all know that Hank was a member of the X-Men, and since they all seem to know where we live…Kitty, are you awake?"
"Huh?" Kitty answered drowsily, realizing that she'd only heard part of what Bobby'd been saying. "Oh, sorry – this always happens. Adrenaline keeps me going for so long, but then I just crash. What were you saying?"
"I was saying that I think it's time to get some sleep.
Let's get to bed, Kit."
"Is that a suggestion or a proposition?" she replied without thinking, then
blushed. The part of her that was awake gave herself the mental equivalent of
a kick in the ass. She looked at Bobby, who was standing with his mouth wide
open, and saw him pull himself together.
"I wish I thought you meant that," he replied, grinning. "But I know you don't, and I don't think I could keep my eyes open even if you did. Come on," he added, putting his hand out to pull her up from her chair. "I'll tell you what – I'll even walk you home."
Kitty laughed, and said, "And they say chivalry is dead. Hang on, let me shut things down for the night."
"Morning." Bobby corrected.
"Night. It's still dark, it's still night," Kitty said with certainty. She took the computer systems down completely, deciding to deal with getting everything back up when she was more awake. "You know, someone is going to wake me up early to answer questions about this," she said petulantly.
"Ah, there are advantages to my reputation as a slacker," Bobby joked. "I'll bet I get to sleep later than you."
"Hmmm, good point. Think it's too late to get a reputation of my own?" Kitty answered in the same vein.
"In time to not get woken up? Probably, but I can give you some good pointers if you really want some."
"I may take you up on that if I don't get some sleep," she replied, yawning broadly. She let him help her up, and turned to take one last look around the computer room.
"Not a bad night's work, if I say so myself," she said, and turned to exit the room.
"Domina – I think we've been detected!" shouted a tall young man, jumping up from his seat in front of the computer console. He turned to his companion, who stood behind him in an obviously makeshift base of operations. He could see her anger through her face paint, and cringed.
"Shut it down, Seth, before they can trace the signal," she replied impatiently. "I thought you assured me our scans were undetectable?" she added as he bent to the keyboard.
"They shut down on their end. And as for our scans being undetectable, they should have been. At worse, the Spikes should have thought there was an unusual amount of activity from their Muir Island facility, but then, they have technology I've never encountered before," he answered defiantly. "I warned you about that. And it is remotely possible that their systems specialist detected something unusual, and investigated. I'd seen no sign that anyone was managing the system, but that could have changed."
"Nevertheless, I expected more of you. No matter," she continued, brushing aside his objections. "We've prepared for such an eventuality. You are certain they weren't responsible?"
"Positive. They were affected just as we were, though with less disastrous results. Apparently, this attack was not aimed at the Neo alone. They know who's responsible, but they don't seem to be taking any steps to retaliate. Perhaps they would be allies?"
"Perhaps. It is a sad day when the warriors of the Neo are reduced to seeking aid from Spikes, but then, we are no longer what we once were," she said, pounding her fist on the table, and making the equipment wobble. "But know this: Those responsible will pay for the lives lost, with the assistance of the Spikes or without it. I am Domina, and I swear it. They will pay."
Kitty finished undressing, took out her contacts, and lay down on her bed, her arm pillowing her head. They'd actually done it – or nearly done it, anyway. The system still needed to get a final fix on the hacker's origin, but that wouldn't take long. Yawning, she briefly considered going to the terminal on the desk across from her bed to start the search running again, then remembered she'd shut down the systems. She thought even more briefly about sending off an e-mail to Jean with her findings, then squashed that idea as well. Much better to get some sleep; she opened her eyes to peer nearsightedly at the clock on her nightstand, and stifled an exhausted giggle as she realized it was about four in the morning.
Definitely an interesting 24 hours, she decided, finding it hard to believe that it wasn't even that long since her conversation with Kurt. So much had happened since then, it hardly seemed possible that it had all taken place in less than one day. Turning over, she felt a thud on the bed next to her, and reached out her hand to scratch Lockheed's dry neck.
"Hey Dragon, where've you been?" she asked, and was answered but a soft snort. "Ok, I know, you've been here; it's me who's been gone. But hey, I've been busy – it's not like I was trying to avoid you." Lockheed snorted another reply, and settled down under her hand, wiggling here and there to take best advantage of her scratching.
"You wouldn't believe what's all happened today, Lockheed," she said, yawning and pulling the dragon closer, where he snuggled against her contentedly. "I'll tell you all about him – uh, I mean it – when I wake up," she added, and fell asleep.
Bobby stood outside Kitty's door for a moment, then turned and walked back to his old room. Considering how seldom he was there, he knew he should really clear his things out and make the room available for someone else, but he never seemed to get around to it. But sometimes procrastination paid off, he decided as he rummaged through his desk and found a piece of paper and a marker. He scribbled for a moment on the paper, grabbed his tape dispenser, and walked back to Kitty's room. Hanging the sign he'd made on her door, he stood back to admire his work for a moment, then went back to his room. He stripped off his clothes and threw himself on the bed, falling asleep almost instantly.
At quarter after six, Logan walked up to the door of Kitty's room. He'd missed her last night; he'd been hoping for the opportunity to do some serious talking, but he'd heard she was out with Drake. It hadn't been as big a surprise as it would have been if he hadn't had his discussion with Jeannie earlier1, but he still had to wonder how that came about. His hand was poised to knock when he saw the sign on the door, and he chuckled to himself. It said:
"Genius asleep. Wake her, and suffer the consequences. All those seeking answers to the question of life, the universe and everything, please contact her trusty assistant.
Sincerely,
Robert Drake
Genius's Assistant"
"Well, Drake, maybe I was more right than I knew, when I told Jeannie Kit knew how to pick them," he said to himself. "If nothing else, your heart's in the right place." He considered waking Drake to ask him his intentions regarding Kit and give him a good scare, but decided that the sign had earned him some slack. He could always shake him up later, he reflected, as he turned to leave. His talk with Kitty could wait, too. It wasn't as if he was going anywhere.
1 To be chronicled in a later companion story.