I don't own the X-Men. They, and all the characters, belong to Marvel, though they don't deserve them. I'm making no money off of this, either – blah, blah, blah, standard disclaimer stuff.
Thanks go out to Luba for the beta read and encouragement, to Derrick Duncan without whose suggestions this chapter would probably never have been finished, and to everyone who's been so great about providing feedback!
Just a Couple of Kids, after all… Chapter 12When Kitty finally came out of the mansion an hour later, she found Bobby throwing a duffel bag in the trunk of his car.
"Any problems?" she asked as she walked up, juggling a large duffel of her own, her laptop, and a cooler.
"Hey, let me help you with that," Bobby said, grabbing the cooler just as it began to slip.
"Thanks – I had everything balanced until I had to open the door," she said, putting the duffel in the trunk and setting the laptop case down on the ground. "Kurt asked if he could keep your laptop, so I grabbed mine instead," she added. "I figured the cooler was the easiest way to get the equipment out of the building without any awkward questions."
"Good idea," Bobby said, hefting it into the car's backseat. "What'd he have to say about the rest of it?"
"Just the usual warnings to be careful," she lied. Actually, Kurt had had quite a bit to say on the subject, enough to make her realize just how blindly she was jumping into what could easily be a trap. Only her assurances that this was only a reconnaissance and her promise to do some more investigating en route convinced him not the alert the rest of the team, or, at the very least, insist on coming along himself. "He did insist we check in regularly, though – not on the mansion's phone," she added quickly, "just on his cell."
"Makes sense," Bobby replied as he rearranged things in the trunk to his liking. "If there's one thing I've learned over the years from Scott, and I admit I learned as little as possible if only to piss him off, it's how important it is to keep communications open with whoever's backing you up. By the time you need backup, it's usually too late to call for it."
Kitty nodded her agreement, marveling again at how much the X-Men managed to underestimate Bobby. She'd seen many of her teammates, both among Excalibur and the X-Men, barge into unknown situations without giving a thought to whether or not backup was available, let alone how to communicate with them. She'd been known to do it herself, she had to admit, though she liked to think she'd matured past that point.
"So, what did you tell everyone?" she asked finally.
"Oh, pretty much what we'd agreed," Bobby replied, shrugging. "I threw in that if it got too late, we'd probably crash at my parents' – I figured that would explain the duffels, and keep everyone from worrying if we weren't back by morning."
"Good idea," Kitty said, getting into the car and pulling her laptop out of its case.
"Yeah, well, Hank gave me kind of a funny look, like he does when he figures I'm up to something, but he didn't push it. I don't know – it feels kinda weird, going off by ourselves. No spandex, no team leader – I haven't been on many missions like this, and the last time was when Scott sent me and Sam Guthrie to infiltrate Graydon Creed's presidential campaign. That – well, it didn't turn out so well," he finished weakly, and Kitty realized that was when his father had been beaten nearly to death. "I guess you did a lot of this type of thing with Excalibur?" he asked hopefully as he backed out of the parking space and began driving out the gate.
"Well, not a lot, but some," she admitted, remembering the Dream Nails mission she'd gone on with Pete at the beginning of their relationship. She continued quickly, trying to distract him from thinking too much about the results of his last "solo" mission. "Kurt was never the type of team leader Scott or Ororo was – he was a lot more laid back, but then, Excalibur didn't usually have the same type of problems that the stateside teams always did. Up until the end, we were always accepted by the British – they treated us kind of like their own version of the Avengers. It was kind of cool," she confided. "I mean, people weren't running from us screaming 'Ahhh – mutants!' they were more likely trying to flocking us trying to score Kurt or Rachel's autograph. Sometimes even mine," she added, laughing. "But not when Rachel was around. I hadn't realized just how bad the 'mutant situation' had gotten here. I mean, I'd heard, but it wasn't the same as living it. I really miss England. I even went to boarding school there for a while, if you can believe that. When my classmates finally found out I was a mutant, they thought it was cool. The only thing they were upset about," she said wryly, "is that I hadn't told them sooner. And that I wouldn't give them any juicy gossip about Brian and Meggan."
"Yeah, I know the feeling. When I was with the Defenders, or even the Champions, we were more public, and not everyone on the team was a mutant. I wonder sometimes if that wasn't a better way to go – it seems we did a lot more for human/mutant relations as just plain heroes than as 'mutant heroes'."
"I hear you. I think sometimes the Professor's dream got warped somewhere along the way. Instead of separating mutants from humans, just think how much could have been achieved if we'd integrated instead? Oh," she conceded, "no doubt some of us would have ended up heroes in any case – I can't picture Ororo or Scott doing anything else. But, well, look at Cecelia Reyes. I met her a while back, and you can't tell me she doesn't accomplish more as a doctor than she ever would have as an X-Man."
"Or Hank. Damn, think of all the scientific accomplishments he could have piled up by now if he hadn't been pulled away from his lab every five minutes to fight the mutant menace of the day," Bobby added.
"I think – well, I think that's what the Professor originally wanted," Kitty mused, setting her laptop aside for the moment. "He wanted to train mutants in how to use their powers, and I agree with that – an untrained mutant can be as much a menace to him or herself as to anybody else. But he wanted humans and mutants to live together in peace.
"There were just sooo many distractions, so many menaces out there, that the dream turned reactionary. Instead of teaching us to live among normal humans, we ended up trying to protect them, and that set us up as something apart, something different. And the more those differences were accentuated, the more normal humans saw us as a threat."
"Yeah, well, not much of a threat anymore," Bobby joked.
"But they still see us as one," Kitty replied sadly. "Look at those idiot FOH guys who set the mansion on fire last month. What was the point? We're no threat – or at least, no non-traditional one, we've got Shi'ar weaponry stashed away, but we're not about to use it any more than the average guy with a hunting rifle is going to go on a killing spree. We're not even mutants anymore. But they still came after us, and I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't used the danger room technology to create a holographic dragon –"
"Hey, that was you?" Bobby broke in, grinning. "Hank told me about that. Pretty cool."
"Yeah, well, I figured it was an easy way to get them to
disperse so we could put out the fire before anyone got hurt," Kitty said
blushing. She picked up her laptop and
began hooking it up to her cell phone for an internet connection. "The point is, they felt threatened."
"Wasn't that the idea? I mean, a holographic dragon would spook most people, if it looked real," Bobby said.
"No, I mean they felt threatened just because they knew we'd been mutants. Let's face it – most people don't know any mutants, or they don't know that they do. Do your customers know you were Iceman?"
"A couple of them do, but they don't care – and they're the type of people who probably come to me because they know I was Iceman," he admitted. "The others – well, some may suspect – I was pretty high profile when I was with X-Factor, I did most of the media relations after we thought Warren died. Everyone else was too wrapped up with their own problems," he added when she looked at him, surprised. "But I'd guess the rest don't. I haven't seen any real reason to advertise it – it really doesn't have much to do with accounting."
"Exactly. And I'll bet that even most of those who saw you with X-Factor don't put two and two together. After all, mutants are evil menaces out to destroy the world, not accountants, or doctors, or scientists."
"So you're saying that if Xavier hadn't turned us into a mutant task force, so to speak, mutants wouldn't be perceived as a threat? I don't know if I can go along with that – there are mutants who are threats, after all," Bobby replied, shaking his head. "Keep in mind Magneto, and Sinister, and Apocalypse, and all the rest of them haven't exactly been great advertising for mutantkind."
"No, I realize that. But if more of us had been out there as publicly known mutants, and people knew us as being just regular people despite that, it might have had a more positive effect that all the fighting and hiding we've done over the years."
"Makes sense. Doesn't really matter now, though, does it? I mean, the High Evolutionary took care of all that – boom, no more mutants."
"No, but it's something to keep in mind for later. Who knows how this will play out? That's why I'm taking advantage of the downtime to get my degree. I don't really plan on going back to the X-Men full-time, no matter what happens," she confided. "Being Shadowcat was fun, but I think I can do more as Kitty Pryde. How about you? Given the choice, would you go back to being Iceman?"
Bobby fell silent for a few minutes, and Kitty could see he was really giving it serious thought. She pulled her laptop back into her lap and connected to the mansion's systems, and began a cross-reference check between the address she'd received in the e-mail message and the mansion's databases to see if there was any information that would give her an idea as to what they were heading into. Finally, Bobby answered.
"No, or at least, I don't think so. I never really wanted to be Iceman. Oh, it was a kick now and then, and hanging with Hank was always fun, but being an X-Man was never something I really wanted to do. It just kind of happened, and I got wrapped up in it. I might miss it sometimes, but I'm actually happier doing people's accounts than I was saving the world every few days. Of course," he joked, "if the world really needed saving, I'd probably feel a bit different about it. But being Bobby Drake is a lot more satisfying than being the Iceman, even if I do have to remember to fill the ice cube trays like everyone else."
"What if you could have it both ways, though?" Kitty asked, curious. "Would you want to go back to being a mutant, even if you didn't rejoin the X-Men, or would you stay baseline human?"
"Hmmm, good question. Being a mutant was a drag in some ways – and no, don't ask, because I'm not going into that" he answered mock-seriously, wagging his finger at her, and she had to laugh. "Seriously, though – I guess I would go back. I got used to me that way, you know? I feel kinda like someone else now. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing – no one complains about the temperature going down when I'm in the room anymore – but hey, I was used to that. I don't know, am I making any sense?" he asked, glancing at her. "I don't exactly miss being a mutant, per se, but I miss being the me I was used to being."
Kitty pretended to think about it seriously for a moment, as if she were trying to make sense of what he'd just said, until she saw that Bobby was getting a little uncomfortable. She grinned, and answered, "Yes, of course you make sense. I feel the same way. Being a mutant was part of who I was, both the advantages and disadvantages. And there were definitely disadvantages," she added laughing. She saw Bobby glance at her, his eyebrows raised. "Hey, I'm not telling if you won't!" she objected, blushing.
"Maybe some other time," he said, and she saw he was blushing too.
"Yeah," she agreed, relieved. "Anyway, my abilities were a part of what made me, me. I feel kind of cheated by the whole thing." Just then, her laptop beeped, and she glanced down to see the results. "Hmm, interesting…"
"What is? What're you doing?" Bobby asked, trying to glance at her laptop and keep his eyes on the road at the same time.
"Trying to get some more info on our would-be hosts," she replied. "I patched into the mansion's systems. It seems Cerebro picked up some anomalous readings from the area once or twice."
"Mutants?" Bobby asked.
"Inconclusive. The Professor couldn't decide how to classify them – they didn't match any known signature, either mutant or alien. He marked it for future investigation, but apparently never got back to it."
"Not surprising," Bobby replied, shrugging. "The guy's got to have a 'To Do' list longer than mine during tax season."
"No kidding. Anyway, I'm checking police reports now, and I think I'll check the FOH database too."
"You can get into that?" Bobby asked, amazed.
"Sure, their security sucks.
I broke in after the last attack to see if they were
planning anything else, but apparently they'd don't keep that kind of
information in their computer systems. I
got a list of all the mutants they knew about, though, including some we
didn't."
"What'd Jean say?" Bobby asked.
"Oh, the usual invasion of privacy crap, and how the Professor would have been disappointed in me," Kitty admitted. "As if he never snooped where he wasn't wanted. I noticed she kept the records, though. No, our buddies with the FOH don't have anything," she added, glancing at the screen. "Not much from the cops, either; just a couple of reports of 'suspicious looking individuals'."
"Any details?" Bobby asked.
"Not really. Fascial tattoes are mentioned, but that's about all. They kept an eye on things for a few days, but when nothing happened they apparently lost interest."
"When was that?"
"Earlier this month. The Prof's notes are a couple of years old, though."
"So, the questions are, one, are they the same people, giving the time between the two reports, 2) if so, have they been there all that time and no one noticed, or did they leave and come back for some reason, and 3) what do they want with the Legacy virus info and the X-Men, especially if they're not mutants?" Bobby said, counting them off on his fingers.
"Don't know," Kitty answered, shutting down her connection and closing her laptop. "We're getting close, though – how about we go and check things out?"
"Sounds like a plan," Bobby answered, pulling over to the curb. He looked at the crumbling buildings around them, and grimaced. "Lousy neighborhood for a walk, though. You'd think self-respecting computer hackers would have a better address."
"Yeah, well, everyone falls on hard times once in a while, I guess. Look at some of the places Magneto's hung out over the years."
"Good point. Hey, do you think if I left the car unlocked someone would be so kind as to steal it?" Bobby joked.
Kitty pretended to consider it carefully, then answered. "Doubtful. They'd probably just take my laptop, and I'd guess it's worth more than the car," Kitty replied, climbing out and looking around. "Besides, we'd have to walk home, and I'd really rather not."
"And another good point for the lovely lady," Bobby said, making a point of locking his car doors. He held out his arm for her, and she linked hers through it. "Shall we?"
"What a gentleman," Kitty said, smiling, and took his arm. She let it go abruptly as her cell phone rang, and she groped through her bag for it.
"Hi Kurt, I was just about to call you," she said, rolling her eyes at Bobby's crestfallen look. "Yeah, we're here – check your mail, I sent you all the info I could find, which admittedly wasn't much. We're just going to take a quick walk past, then see if we can find somewhere to camp out and observe. Shouldn't be a problem – lots of abandoned buildings around. Yes, we'll be careful. Yeah, he's here," she said, and held out the phone to Bobby. "Kurt wants to talk to you." He took it, and she had to smile at the one-sided conversation, her mind filling in the blanks automatically in a German accent.
"Yeah, doesn't look too bad – lousy neighborhood, but not a dangerous one I'd guess."
("You have a lot of experience with dangerous neighborhoods, mein freund?)
"Well, I've seen a few, and this doesn't look like one. No gang signs, no one driving by and shooting – just abandoned."
(You do realize you could be walking into a trap, don't you?)
"As Jubilee would say, 'well, duhh'. C'mon Kurt, I've been doing this at least as long as you have. We'll be careful."
(And take care of Katzchen?)
"Of course. I want a chance to take her somewhere nice – as second dates go, this isn't really a great setting, you know? Look, I gotta go before she takes off without me. We'll call back later, ok? Bye," Bobby said, hanging up before Kurt could give any more unsolicited advice. Kitty was trying so hard not to laugh that she was biting her lip, but Bobby just grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "Gotta love big brothers, huh?"
"Yeah, well, he means well. C'mon, let's go," she said, slipping her arm back through Bobby's. They'd walked about a block when she heard another phone ringing. Shrugging, Bobby pulled out his cell phone.
"Hello?" he said, and grinned. At Kitty's puzzled look, he mouthed "It's Hank" before turning back to the call.
"Yeah, I'm still here – no, we haven't gotten there yet. Huh? Yeah, I know it shouldn't take this long – we made a wrong turn." Kitty grinned at that. Apparently Hank was an even bigger big brother than Kurt.
"No, I'm not trying to be evasive," she heard, turning her attention back to what Bobby was saying. "Why do you say that?"
"No, Hank, I am not up to anything. C'mon, would I lie to you?"
"Ok, yes, I would, but no, I'm not. Look, I'm on a date here, guy. I'll talk to you later, ok? Go play with your microscope or something, will you?"
After a pause, Bobby laughed and said, "Yeah, I'll tell her. Bye." Hanging up the phone, Bobby turned to Kitty and said, "Hank says to tell you that whatever we're up to, take care of me." Shrugging, he added, "I never could pull anything over on him.
"Want to place a beg that he's heading over to ask Kurt what we're up to by now?" Kitty asked, laughing.
"No bet," Bobby replied, grinning.
Suddenly, they heard a scream.
"Look!" Kitty shouted, pointing at a small figure hanging from the broken railing of a fire escape, about five stories from the street. "Hang on!" she shouted, and took off at a run, vaguely aware that Bobby was right behind her. She reached the building, and jumped up to reach the bottom of the fire escape, swinging her legs up onto it in a move that would have done a gymnast proud. She dropped the ladder down for Bobby, and began climbing up quickly. "Just hang on – I'll be there in a second," she called to the figure, which she now could see was that of a young girl, maybe eight or nine years old. When she finally reached the landing from which the child hung, she leaned over the edge, stretching out her arm. "Just grab on," she said, and the girl did. Kitty pulled her up to the landing, hugging her to her and stroking her hair, as Bobby came up behind them. She realized something wasn't quite right when she noticed that the child, far from crying or shaking as she'd expected, had stiffened suddenly, reached inside her coat and pulled back.
"Take this, spikes," the girl snarled, the red tattoes on her face clear despite the dim light, and sprayed what looked like an aerosol can right at Kitty's face.
"Bobby, look out…" Kitty said as she fell to the metal landing. She didn't even realize when Bobby fell too, right on top of her.
Another figure climbed out the window, and clasped the young girl's shoulder. "Good work, Cailin. Now, run along inside."
"What about the spikes, Domina?" the girl asked, looking down at them. "They weren't so tough, but the lady was fast, and seemed pretty nice."
"I'll take care of them," Domina assured her, and watched the girl climb back in the window. "I have some plans for our new 'friends'," she added, as a man climbed out to join her, and they began pulling the unconscious pair into the building.