I don't own the X-Men. They, and any major characters in this story, belong to Marvel,. 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, and to everyone who's been so great about providing feedback! The story's winding down – if you want a sequel, you know what to do! Just press the little "Review" button at the bottom of the chapter, and let me know!
Just a Couple of Kids, After All…
Chapter 28
(Tuesday, 10:00 a.m.)
Bobby couldn't quite understand how it had come to this.
It was supposed to have been simple; meet with the High Evolutionary, present the evidence, make an emotional plea, and have him agree to not reactivate the satellite systems Kit and her crew had disabled. One, two, three – done! And back home to spend the rest of the world's oddest vacation with Kit.
Somehow, it all went wrong when they'd arrived at the satellite.
He avoided yet another attack from a cross between a man and a tiger, and sent a stream of ice flying at its feet, freezing the creature in place. It broke free, and he concentrated for a moment, then melted and reformed behind it. Before it could react, he froze it completely.
If nothing else, Kit's part of the plan had gone well, and he was relieved; he had no urge to fight these things without his powers. The fight had begun that way; apparently they'd made better time than anticipated, and their powers had only returned several minutes after they'd been attacked. He saw in his minds eye the body of the New Man he'd been fighting when his had returned and winced, then blocked out the image. Time enough after the fight to deal with that. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blue, fuzzy Nightcrawler – that was going to take some re-getting used to - teleport out of the reach of some lizard-man. He heard Rogue yell a warning, and snapped his attention back to his new opponent, a reject from Planet of the Apes, who'd just jumped into the fray. Not for the first time, he really, really wished he was back at the mansion.
************************
(Monday, 1:45 p.m.)
When Bobby opened the door of the medlab, he was surprised to see a crowd of X-Men standing outside, and even more surprised when they began applauding.
"Hey Bobster, not bad, but I hope you're a good accountant…" Jubilee began, but Bobby looked at her and smirked.
"So you don't have to worry about me earning my living as a singer?"
"Aw, you've heard that one."
"Before you were born."
"Well, ah think it was romantic," Rogue said, coming over and giving Kitty a hug. "Couldn't miss it when Jubes came and told me. You're lucky, sugah; wish someone'd come sing to me and cheer me up."
"That's no fair, chere!" Remy protested. "Remy serenade you last year. You threw somethin' out de window."
"Ah thought it was a cat in heat," she replied, punching him in the arm. "And shoutin' out the words to "Red, Red Wine" outside mah window at two in the mornin' ain't serenadin', Swamp Rat."
"Next time I pick a different song, oui?"
"Next time ya pick a different voice, too!"
Kurt just winked at him, and gave him a thumbs up. Bobby smiled and nodded in reply.
"Bobby," he heard Kitty say at his side, and noticed that her face was white, and that she was swaying on her feet. He quickly put his arm around her to steady her and said, "You ok, Kit?"
"Just a little dizzy. I think I'm maybe not quite as fine as I though I was."
"Let's get you back to your room then," he said, and turned to the assembled X-Men. "Show's over, guys – next performance 9:00 p.m. outside Moira's room," he quipped, then turned back to Kitty as the other X-Men dispersed.
"Your room," she said shakily, and he raised his eyebrows.
"Are you sure? You'd probably be more comfortable in yours…"
"Maybe. But yours is closer, and I think that's more important right now."
Bobby opened his mouth to ask her if she thought it might be a good idea to go back to the medlab, then bit his tongue. She'd just say no, anyway. Instead, he bent down and scooped her up.
"Hey!" she protested, but wrapped her arm around his neck.
"Hey nothing. If you don't want to collapse and have Moira INSIST you go back in there," he pointed his chin toward the lab door, "you're just going to have to put up with it. Besides," he added seriously, "I need something to erase the last image I have of you like this."
"When I fell asleep in the car?" Kitty asked, looking at him with confusion apparent on her face while he fiddled with the button on the elevator. The door opened, and he carried her inside, then shifted her so he could select the floor. Once he finished, he looked down and answered her.
"No, when you collapsed on the floor of the conference room. Don't do that again, ok? I don't mind carrying you, but I prefer you to be conscious and not bleeding."
Kitty laughed, then sobered as she realized he wasn't joking. "I'm sorry," she said, reaching up to touch his face. "I didn't mean to scare you."
The elevator door opened, and he walked out, then down the hall to his room, relieved that he'd left the door open. He lay Kitty down on his bed, pushed the remaining contents of his now empty suitcase onto the floor, and sat down next to her, trying to think of what he wanted to say.
"You're mad," she said, searching his face with her eyes. Bobby stood up and started pacing.
"No, I'm not. I'm scared, I'm relieved, I'm – I don't know what I am, Kit! I just know I love you, and I thought that damn idiot killed you and it was all my fault because he was trying to kill me, after all, and then you wouldn't talk to me, and…"
"Can you come sit down?" Kitty pleaded. "You're making me dizzy."
"That's kind of how I feel too," he answered, but came and sat down. Kitty reached out and took his hand.
"How much sleep did you get last night?" she asked, looking at him closely.
"Uh, none," he admitted, rubbing his forehead with his other hand. "And I probably should if we're leaving at 7:00…I'll probably need to be up by five for the briefing."
"Leaving? For where?" she asked, puzzled, and he remembered she hadn't heard about the plans for the next day.
"The High Evolutionary's satellite. Which reminds me, Jean wants to know if you'll be ok to keep an eye on Seth and Douglock? I think she's afraid Seth'll try to talk Douglock into doing something he shouldn't. But if you can't, I'm sure she'll understand."
"No, I should be ok by then," she said, and grinned. "I'm sure we've got a spare wheel chair lying around if I really need one. Who's all going?" she asked nonchalantly, but Bobby could hear the envy in her voice.
"Not you," he replied, grinning back. "And you wouldn't be even if you weren't injured – you're the most likely to pull off the cyber-invasion. But it's Ororo, me, Kurt, Rogue, and Bets – hey, betcha Warren's loving that! And a bunch of Neo; Jaeger, Moran, Amarantha, Static – remember her from the meeting? The one who was so stiff she put Scott to shame? She apparently scrambles mutant powers; kinda cool, though I don't know how much use that'll be, the High Evolutionary's not a mutant, is he? And some other guy, I forget his name."
"I wish you weren't going," Kitty said, squeezing his hand.
"Yeah well, I kinda wish I wasn't going too," he admitted. "Much rather stay here." He let go of Kitty's hand, then laid down on the bed next to her. Seeing her wince, he sat up. "I'm sorry – you want me to go? You can stay here, take a nap…I just thought I'd get some rest while we were talking."
"No, it's fine," she assured him, and he reluctantly lay back down, yawning broadly.
"I'm wiped," he said, and heard Kitty chuckle.
"I'm actually awake," she said, and Bobby saw her grin before he closed his eyes. "We never can get our timing straight, can we?" He grunted his agreement before falling asleep.
****************************
(Tuesday, 10:05 a.m.)
Kitty was engaged in watching the screen in front of her when she heard the door open. She turned a little too quickly in the chair she was seated on, and fought to regain her equilibrium. When things stabilized, she realized Jean had joined them, and was looking over Seth's shoulder at the other station.
"How are things going here?" Jean asked.
"Fine," Kitty replied. "Douglock got in and we shut everything down about a half hour ago. So far, there have been no attempts to re-enable the nullification field, which I'm hoping is a good sign…" Her voice trailed off as she looked at Jean, hoping the older woman had some news in turn. She was disappointed when Jean shook her head.
"Not a word since they landed. Could it be related to your shutting down the systems there?"
"It is possible," Douglock inserted. "While we attempted to leave the communication systems intact, we have no way of knowing how successful we were."
"Would they have their powers back?" Jean asked. "You said everything's down, but Moira's got me wearing an inhibitor because of the baby, so I can't tell." At Kitty's curious look, she added, "She wasn't sure how the sudden return of my powers would affect the baby. She'll remove the inhibitor eventually, but wanted to make sure it was under controlled circumstances."
"That makes sense. It should have affected them almost instantly. I know it did here," she added, holding up her hand to attract Jean's attention to it, then pushing it with some effort through the arm of her chair. "It's taking a little getting used to, but I'm pretty sure everyone's powers have returned."
Seth nodded his agreement. "My own have. See?" He gestured toward the monitor of a computer they weren't using at present, and it turned on and began opening programs and typing without apparent user intervention."
"Very interesting," Jean nodded. "Well, let me know if anything happens," she added as she left the room.
"Damn it, Bobby, if anything happens to you I'll kill you myself," Kitty thought, but said nothing as she turned to listen to a question Seth was raising about her phasing ability.
**************************************
(Monday, 2:35 p.m.)
"Bobby?" Kitty asked, and was unsurprised when he didn't answer. She shifted slightly, swallowing against the wave of nausea that overtook her. "Damn, Bobby, when I told you to bring me here I thought you'd be awake for a while. This really isn't fair, you know.
"I'm not tired, either. I think I finally slept myself out. Of course, I've thought that about five times already today, and it's only two o'clock, so I'll probably change my mind in a bit and go to sleep. Probably about the time you wake up. But you need the sleep – you really do look wiped.
Kitty sighed and wriggled, trying to get comfortable, but only succeeded in rousing Bobby just enough that he turned over and threw an arm over her. She stifled a laugh; under different circumstances, she'd love to snuggle up with him, but right now she was just itching to get up. And knew she couldn't, unless she really wanted to risk falling on her face. The aborted walk from the medlab had proven that.
A scratching at the window caught her attention, and she carefully turned her head just in time to see Lockheed pull the screen out with his claws, then wiggle his way under the slightly open window.
"Hey Dragon! Where've you been? You didn't even come to visit me." she accused, as he flew to her side and began cooing and rubbing her hand with his head. He stopped for a moment to stare at her indignantly.
"Oh, lemme guess – Moira wouldn't let you into the medlab?" Lockheed nodded violently and hissed his disapproval.
"Yeah, Bobby's not too happy with her either," Kitty said, and Lockheed peered over her at Bobby, then cocked his head at her.
"He was tired," Kitty explained. "Apparently he spent all night trying to get into the lab and getting told off." Lockheed cooed and rubbed Bobby's arm with his head and Kitty laughed.
"Yeah, he's a good one, huh dragon? I think I'll keep him. That ok with you?"
Lockheed nodded his head enthusiastically then settled down next to her.
"I'm glad you approve," Kitty said, scratching just behind his wings.
"Me too," Bobby added sleepily, and kissed the back of her head. With a warm body on either side of her, and a real feeling of wellness within, Kitty decided that more sleep sounded pretty attractive after all.
***************************
(Tuesday, 10:45 a.m.)
They'd made some headway, Bobby decided as he took a brief glance around the landing bay and realized there were very few people standing, and nearly all of them were either X-Men or Neo. He lowered the temperature of a particularly large and fast crocodile-like man Amarantha was battling, and it slowed enough for her to blast him. She turned toward him and smiled, and he gave her a thumbs-up, much to her apparent confusion. Storm was in the air, surveying the damage, while Rogue duked it out with a large ape-like adversary that was apparently nearly as strong as she was. He raised his hand to aim an ice blast in its direction, but Moran was there already, and she and Rogue delivered flying punches, knocking the beast out. Betsy was wandering the floor, using her telepathic abilities to deepen the sleep of those already unconscious and, he noticed with a start, reading the minds of those that were marginally conscious, trying to gather information. Jaeger was just finishing off his own opponent, who looked vaguely rhinoceros-like – man, but that guy moved fast! - and Static was leaning against the fall, breathing hard and holding her side. Bobby turned to move toward her, but Kurt was faster and had bamfed to her side before he could move.
They'd all worked well together, Bobby mused as he caught his own breath, but he'd noticed one principal difference between the two groups; the Neo didn't hesitate to use lethal force, while the X-Men tried to avoid doing so. Still, it wasn't as if he could talk. He stared at the body of a cat-man on the floor and winced, seeing the shards of ice that were embedded its chest, the result of sudden return of his own powers. He was still standing there staring, allowing the ice he'd formed around his body for the fight to melt away, when Rogue landed at his side and put her gloved hand on his shoulder.
"It's ok, Bobster," she said, "It's not like ya meant to," but Bobby noticed as he turned to look at her that she looked a little green herself.
"How're you holding up?" he asked, looking in her eyes.
"Oh, fine, sugah. Ah punched me a hole through a frog guy's head, that always makes for a good day. To top it off, Ah forgot to put mah gloves on before we landed, and ah got some of that toad's thoughts when Ah connected. Seems we're all back ta normal, all right."
Bobby didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry, Rogue."
"Yeah well, sugah, it's not your fault," she replied, sniffing and shrugging her shoulders. "I really don' wanta think about it, not yet. Got enough ta handle here and now. What're we doin' next, d'ya know?"
"No clue," he admitted. "Let's go ask Stormy."
"Y'know she'll hit ya with lightnin' if she hears ya call her that, don't ya? Only Remy gets away with it," Rogue said as they walked toward the side of the room where Storm had just landed.
Bobby just shrugged and grinned. "There's a thought. Then SHE'D have to talk to the head honcho, when and if we ever find him."
When they reached the crowd that was forming around Storm and Jaeger, Betsy was relating what she had learned from the New Men she had probed.
"They really had very little information," she said apologetically. "Apparently they became confused when the systems went offline, and were unable to contact anyone for instructions – communications are completely down, by the way. We docked, and one of the lizard-things," she wrinkled her nose with distaste, "told the others to fight, so they did. That one," and she gestured toward her left, but Bobby couldn't identify which New Man she was referring to, "thought the High Evolutionary had abandoned them, but it seems to me that that was simply paranoia on his part. The others thought it likely he was in the control room when communications failed."
"It would seem that his focus, then, would be on restoring them," Jaeger said. "Do you have any information on which other systems are down?"
"Well, some of the powered doorways aren't working," Static replied, shrugging as she joined the group. "I tried to open one and see what was on the other side, but it didn't appear to have power."
Betsy nodded confirmation. "Some of them had realized that as well; I believe I can identify on the map which ones they believe aren't working."
"Please do so," Storm said, handing her the sketchy map Douglock had provided based on the information he'd gleaned from the satellite's systems, and Bobby watched as Betsy bent and began scribbling on it.
"It's obvious, I suppose," Kurt said, gesturing at his once again fur covered body and swishing his tail, "but the mutation suppression system is also down, I assume without as well as within?"
"That was the idea, wasn't it, Spike?" Rax inserted. Bobby glared at him, but unfortunately the young Neo either didn't see him or pretended not to. He wasn't happy about Rax's presence, but apparently Salvo hadn't been able to get to New York in time for the rendezvous, and Jaeger had substituted Rax in his place. "When are we going to get on with it, anyway? You people talk everything to death. Small wonder you never accomplish anything. Though I notice for people who claim they never kill there are a number of bodies lying around who bear the marks of your powers, not ours," he added callously.
"Little boy, shut your mouth or I will shut it for you," Psylocke commanded in a very cold tone.
"You and how many others?" he countered, then froze as Psylocke approached him with a psiblade in her hand.
"Psylocke! Leave the ill-mannered child alone," Storm commanded, and Betsy reluctantly turned back to the group after keeping her glare focused on a now squirming Rax for a few moments longer. "I will have you know that the X-Men NEVER take lives casually, and I for one mourn the deaths of all those who perished here. It was just so unnecessary," she added, shaking her head sadly. "Perhaps there is something we could do? Burial is impossible, but they should be honored in some way."
"Honored? What's the matter with you idiots? They tried to kill you! I don't understand why we don't just finish off the rest of them!"
"Rax, I don't feel-"
"Rax! That will be quite enough," Jaeger ordered, then turned his back on his nephew and ignored him completely. Bobby nearly laughed at the shocked expression on Rax's face; apparently he wasn't used to being rebuked so abruptly, though from what Bobby had seen of him he should be. "You were saying?" Jaeger addressed Kurt.
Kurt shrugged. "Well, given that various systems are down, and the time we've spent fighting here, I think it unlikely that the High Evolutionary isn't aware of our presence. That being the case, where is he?"
The door behind them whirred open, and a low voice said, "Attempting to discern the reason for your presence."
As one, the X-Men and Neo swung around to see a massive man in faded red armor and mask enter the room. Without hesitation, Rax launched himself at the High Evolutionary.
"I avenge the Neo!" he shouted as he dove at the man, knife in hand. Out of the corner of his eye, Bobby saw Moran tap Rogue's bare face, then fly off to intercept her teammate just as the High Evolutionary turned his head to view his attacker. He raised his hand, and both Neo froze in mid-motion, shocked expressions on their faces, then appeared to crumble to dust.
"Stop!" Storm shouted as both the X-Men and the remaining Neo moved to attack. "We did not seek a confrontation," she said to the High Evolutionary.
He glanced around at the dead and unconscious New Men, and then at what remained of Rax and Moran. "It would appear otherwise."
"No less than your people deserve, but we didn't begin the fight. We will finish it though, if that is what you want!" Jaeger said coldly, pulling his own knife and brandishing it.
"He's right, you know," Bobby heard himself saying, and stepped forward to address the Evolutionary himself. "They started the fight, and if it weren't for our powers returning none of them would be dead. Which is your fault, after all, because you turned them off in the first place."
The High Evolutionary looked at him as if surprised by his words, and Bobby mustered every bit of courage within him and stood his ground. "Is that how you see it, then? I attempted only to equalize the playing field, and give humanity one less reason to hate and fear."
"Then you failed," Bobby said. "They still hated us. All you did is remove our ability to defend ourselves and others. Hate crimes against former mutants are at an all time high, and I understand that most of the mutates in Genosha are dead – the former magistrates simply butchered them. And that's not all. Did you even know about the Neo? Or did you just decimate them as a side effect?"
The High Evolutionary turned his attention to the members of the Neo who were present. "You are not mutants, then?"
"No, we are not," Jaeger said angrily. "We harmed no one, and the humans did not even know we existed, so your assertions that you acted for the well-being of all are obvious lies. You callously slaughtered us, just as you now slew my nephew and my spouse's niece who sought only to stop him. Why?"
"He attacked," the High Evolutionary replied simply. "I thought she was moving to assist him."
"You made a mistake," Bobby said, realizing that this would be a great opening. "You made several, actually. You didn't know about the Neo, and many of them are dead as a direct result of your actions, including Moran, who was trying to stop Rax. Mutants died as well; no as many, but that doesn't make them any less dead. My girlfriend's father was dying of adamantium poisoning when we left; his mutant healing factor was the only thing keeping him alive for years, maybe decades. It's not that I'm taking the deaths here lightly," Bobby said, gesturing at the bodies on the floor, and noticing that those of the New Men who had regained consciousness were making their way unobtrusively toward the exits. Others entered, and began ferrying out the bodies of the dead. "Which is, I'd guess, more than you can say…"
"I will accept the blame for those deaths that occurred immediately; I did at the time," the High Evolutionary stated. "But the good of the many –"
"Outweighs the good of the few. Yeah, I've heard it before, but who's benefited? You thought that suppressing the X-gene would give humanity one less reason to fight; instead, it just made it easier for the normal humans to kill us. That's why we're here. We've corrected one of your mistakes by disabling the nullification system," Bobby added, growing in confidence as he realized that he was still alive, something he hadn't really expected once he began speaking. "You're not a god, but you tried to act like one. What gave you the right to decide what was best or us, and for all humanity? You may be nearly omnipotent," and he gestured at the piles of dust that had once been Moran and Rax and sent silent thanks to the writers of Star Trek: TNG for inventing Q, "but you're not omniscient. You made a mistake, and we paid the price."
"You have evidence to support your claims?" the High Evolutionary asked.
"We do," Storm said.
"We do as well," Jaeger added.
"I will consider your words," the High Evolutionary said. "Wait here." He turned and left the room.
"What do we do now?" Bobby asked, and rolled his eyes as Storm serenely sat down on the floor.
"We wait."
Bobby grumbled to himself as he sat down on the floor, "Seems like I've been doing a lot of that lately…"
*************************************
(Tuesday, 7:20 a.m.)
Bobby was sitting on the shuttle, lost in his own thoughts and pulling at the collar of his uniform, which wasn't quite as comfortable as he remembered it, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Rogue, and waved her into the seat next to him.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Not much, sugah. You?"
"The same." They sat silent for a couple of minutes before they both turned to each other and began talking.
"Ah just…"
"I wanted to…"
They both stopped, then burst out laughing, gaining them a dirty look from Betsy, who was trying to sleep in a seat across the aisle.
"Ladies first," Bobby said gallantly.
"Ah just wanted ta tell ya, I'm real glad you and Kitty found each other."
"Thanks," Bobby replied. "Remy's not all that bad, either," he added grudgingly.
"Hey, comin' from you, that means a lot. Ah think.." Rogue said, her eyes twinkling.
"Ouch!"
"Nah, I just mean ya wanted to skin him alive last year…"
"Yeah well, I don't have that many friends who put up with me," Bobby replied, grinning. "I guess I didn't like seeing one of them all upset."
"Yeah well, we have our ups and downs, ya know? But Ah guess I'll keep him around for as long as he wants ta stay."
"What d'you mean?" Bobby asked, concerned. "I got the impression you guys were doing better…"
"Well, it's just - ah was all for this whole thing, seemed the right thing ta do, but now it's all comin' home," she added, wiping her hand across her eyes. "Ah kinda doubt that when mah powers get turned back on they'll all of a sudden be under control."
"Maybe they will?" he said optimistically, but he understood what she was saying. All too well, in fact. "Oh, knock it off," he told himself firmly. "It's not as if your problems are in the same league as Rogue's. And we talked about it…" But he was having a hard time convincing himself. Instead, he turned back to Rogue.
"I don't know quite how to say this, but – maybe it's time you start really working at controlling your powers? I mean," he added, holding up his hand as she was about to protest, "REALLY working at it? You've told me Carol could, right? So it's got to be possible."
"Yeah, maybe," Rogue replied, without much hope. "Not real thrilled about knockingout my teammates tryin', though."
"Well, if you need a lab rat, I volunteer," Bobby offered. "I've got some natural protection, after all – I can always ice up in a hurry if I feel you start drawing energy out."
"Thanks, Icicle – I may take ya up on that. Meanwhile, at least Ah'm outta the mansion – that Arakasi guy kept starin' at me, and it was freakin' me out. Not sure why, either," she added, puzzled. "He kinda looks familiar – no, more like he sounds familiar - but Ah can't figure out where from."
"Hmm, that's weird," Bobby said, suddenly remembering the conversation he'd walked out on in Jean's office. "He was asking Jean about you too. Or having Domina ask, anyway."
"What'd he say?" she asked curiously.
"I don't know," he admitted. "I was kind of worried about Kit, so I left."
"Ah'm kinda surprised you came along."
"Yeah," he said disconsolately. "Me too."
Then Kurt joined them and began tickling Rogue, and the conversation turned to other things.
**************************************
(Tuesday, 3:58 p.m.)
Kitty, having been abandoned by Seth and Douglock hours before, was dozing in her chair in the computer room, her head pillowed on her arms, when she was abruptly awakened by a knock at the door. Startled, she phased through the table in front of her, landing on the floor with a bump as she instinctively solidified. Rubbing her now-bruised arm, she gingerly stood up, shaking her head in irritation before being painfully reminded of why that wasn't a good idea right now. The knock repeated, and she made her way to the door and opened it.
"You ok, chere?" Remy asked, looking at her with concern. She thought absently how much more like himself he looked with his eyes restored from gray to their normal red on black color as she carefully nodded, then braced herself for bad news.
"What's the matter, Remy? I don't think I've ever seen you come in here before, so I know this isn't a social call. Has there been any report from the team that went to the satellite?"
Remy chuckled. "Leave it to le Chat to come to the point. Remy jus' come to tell you Stormy call. Dey all fine up dere; well, a couple Neo not fine, but all ours are. Dey jus' waiting for the High Evolutionary t'decide what he want to do."
"Did she say what happened? I was getting worried when we didn't hear from them," Kitty said. The room began swimming suddenly and she swayed, to be stopped by Remy grasping her elbow.
"I t'ink you best sit down, chere," he said, and helped her over to the chair. "Still dizzy, neh?"
"Here and there," she admitted as she sat down. "It's getting better. Anyway, what did Storm say?"
"Bobby's fine, Kat, don't fret," he said smiling. "Made an impression, the way Stormy tells it."
"And Rogue?" she asked, and saw the smile fade a bit.
"She fine too," he said. "Got her powers back and all."
Kitty wasn't sure what to say. "I'm sorry…"
"Nothin' to be sorry 'bout," Remy said, standing up and shrugging. "We work t'ings out, we always do. An' mebbe her nightmares stop now. Dat be good, dey get her upset."
"Nightmares? What nightmares?" Kitty asked curiously.
"She don't know,' he replied, shrugging. "Or she don't say, anyway. Jus' says it's somet'in to do with when she was a kid, but she don' know what 'cept dere's a big explosion. I t'ink she know, but don't want to, you know? Anyway," Remy continued, changing the subject, "got a message from Henri for you, too. Says Cailin workin' on Piotr, he be ok but he might not be able to change form no more when she done wit' him. Remy, he t'ink that might be a good t'ing, no?"
"Yeah, it'll be easier for me to kick his butt if he's flesh and blood," Kitty agreed, seeing the twinkle in Remy's eyes. "It'll probably be better for him, too."
"Dat's what Henri say. He also say, if I find you here I should tell you he come and drag you back to the medlab if you don't go get some sleep in a bed. Now, I take you back to your room so I can tell Henri I did my job, and you sleep dere, non? Or Henri tell Bobby, and he kick my butt when he get back."
"I really should…"
"Get some sleep in a real bed, no' a chair," Remy finished, pulling her to her feet. "De computers, dey not going anywhere. Not'in' be happening any time soon, and we hear first, right? So you go t'bed," he said in a tone that brooked no disagreement.
"Why is it people keep telling me that?" Kitty protested, but laughingly accepted Remy assistance in getting to her feet. She let him take her back to her room, but instead of going to sleep, she began pouring over the schematics Douglock had left for her at her request. Humming to herself, she smiled. Maybe she'd have a surprise for Bobby. She thought she remembered Rogue saying his birthday was coming up soon…
****************************
(Tuesday, 5:15 a.m.)
Bobby trying to sneak out of bed woke her in the morning, and she glared at him accusingly.
"Sorry," he said, shrugging, a sheepish grin on his face. "I tried not to wake you."
"That's why you're being glared at," she countered. "Did you think I wouldn't want to say goodbye?"
"I…well, I…I was going to leave a note…"
Kitty raised her eyebrows, and he shrugged again and sat back down on the bed.
"It's not I didn't want to say goodbye, Kit, I just figured you needed the sleep…" he said, reaching out and running a hand down her face. Unable to stay angry, she leaned into it instead.
"I know. And it's sweet, but I'll need to get up soon anyway. And I wouldn't want you to leave without a goodbye," she said, smiling. If she had to be honest with herself, she was scared. Not the normal just-before-a-mission nerves she knew most people experienced, but really frightened. She'd come so close to losing him just days before, what with Piotr's attack, her own brush with the Legacy cure, and her own stubbornness, that she wanted him with her now, not off into danger without her. But she bit her tongue, knowing he needed to go, both for the team's needs and his own.
She marveled once again at how far they'd come in the brief time they'd known each other. Looking into his eyes, she felt like she could see into the real Bobby Drake, the one behind the mask he kept up that fooled so many people. And she liked what she saw there. In fact, she liked the whole package – she enjoyed the practical joker who wasn't too embarrassed to karaoke her in the middle of the medlab as much as she liked the sensitive, intelligent guy she'd discovered within.
They'd spent the previous afternoon dozing and chatting in turns, though they'd emerged in the evening for supper (she didn't have much of an appetite yet, but she managed some soup) and to answer the good natured harassment of their friends over Bobby's performance that morning and their subsequent disappearance. Finally, when she'd gotten tired again, they'd gone back to her room. She'd made a hesitant suggestion as to how they could spend the rest of the night, but a few minutes later it was obvious to them both that she really wasn't up to any sudden movements and they'd gone to sleep instead. Which brought them back to where they were, now…
"Well, so where's my goodbye?" Bobby quipped, raising his eyebrows and grinning expectantly. "Gotta get going, you know – gotta save the world before breakfast and be home by lunch!"
"High opinion of yourself today?"
"Hardly," he said, the façade dropping. "Kit, are you sure…"
"Yes, I'm sure," she replied, rolling her eyes. "And Logan is sure, and Jean is sure, and…"
"And Betsy complained that she really didn't want to trust her fate on my ability to refrain from telling the High Evolutionary knock knock jokes," he said nervously.
"Yeah, I know, I was there, remember? And Kurt told her to act her age," Kitty replied in a no-nonsense tone. "And then Rax made some stupid comment, and Seth threatened to punch him. I kinda wish he had," Kitty said speculatively. "I'd pay admission to see that."
"Yeah, me too," Bobby replied, grinning at the memory of Seth pulling Rax out of his chair by his collar. Kitty saw him glance at the clock, and knew he was going to have to scramble to be on time for the final mission briefing. Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself to her feet, prepared for the head-spinning and nausea of the evening before. She was relieved when it didn't come as she'd expected, and crossed the small space between herself and Bobby of her own accord.
"Feeling better?" Bobby asked as she stood in front of him, smiling.
"Definitely," she replied. "Sure you have to leave now?" she joked.
"Unfortunately," he said with a grimace. "But I'll be back soon…assuming, that is, that you guys don't blow up the satellite with us on it."
"Hmmm, I think I can promise that," she said speculatively, then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He joined in enthusiastically, and when they finally broke apart she said, "Ok, you've convinced me; I'll make sure they don't explode the satellite, no matter what."
"Well, THAT's a relief," Bobby replied.
"Take care, ok?"
"You too."
Bobby turned and walked to the door. Glancing over his shoulder, he said, "No blowing up the shuttle, either…"
"Oh maaaaan, you NEVER let me have any fun!" she said, and could hear his laugher as he left the room and continued down the hall.
The rest of the morning had been uneventful. Douglock had hacked into the satellite's systems without any difficulty, and she and Seth had gotten busy disabling the relevant systems while Douglock, at her request, downloaded some data she was interested in. And then they sat back to wait…
She hated waiting. It made her feel helpless, a sensation she wasn't accustomed to and which made her more than a little irritable. But she stayed in the computer room, even after Seth and Douglock had gone, just in case there was anything she could do that would make a difference.
With a lot of time on her hands, she'd finished her homework and e-mailed it off to her professors along with a note that she'd been in an accident and wouldn't be back for a few days. One had replied, which she found gratifying, saying that he hoped she'd be feeling better soon and reminding her that she had a project due the following week – let him know if she'd need an extension.
She played around with her newly-returned powers, trying to regain her control. While part of her was thrilled that she was back to what passed for normal for her, the return of her powers caused her to do some serious thinking about what she wanted to do next.
"What AM I going to do, Lockheed?" she asked the dragon, who was curled up on a pile of printouts on the desk. He raised his head slightly, acknowledging her, and cooed to encourage her to continue.
"Do I stay here? I can't say I really want to be here anymore, not really. What's left for me here? Oh, Kurt's here, but he's busy most of the time – I wonder if he'll continue at the seminary now that he's a fuzzy elf again? Probably not," she mused, still amazed that he'd began his studies there at all, despite the knowledge that he was deeply religious. "I don't think Kurt's got what it takes to be a priest, somehow – and I'll bet Amanda would agree! But really, who else is there? This isn't my team anymore. The knee-jerk reaction we all had when we disbanded Excalibur and returned to the X-Men just doesn't make sense to me now, if it ever did. And it's not like I want to go back," she added as Lockheed pointed at the picture of Excalibur's old lighthouse that hung on the wall. "Like I told Bobby, I just don't think I want this type of life, not anymore."
"And then there's Piotr. I really don't want to be around him; I mean, I hope he makes it through the Legacy cure ok, and that he gets the help he needs, but he's used up all the chances I was willing to give him. Did you know, Ororo actually asked me if I planned to go down to the holding cell and see him? I didn't even trust myself to answer. Oh, I've got a few things to say to him, but after that – well, let's just say if I see him any time in the next five years it'll be too soon. I just don't trust him anymore, Lockheed, not around me, and definitely not around Bobby. But since he'll obviously be staying, he's going to be hard to avoid."
"But what else can I do? No responses to the resumes I sent out – of course, the mail delivery here is so erratic that that doesn't mean much, and people don't exactly take messages well, but still, you need a job to get an apartment. And Xavier's is paying my tuition…yeah, I know Dragon," she replied in response to an exasperated look from Lockheed. "They DID offer me a scholarship at NYSE, so it's not like I need Xavier's to pay the tuition bills, but I do need a job. Maybe I could move in with one of the girls in my class? I'll bet Logan would lend me some money to get started – it goes against the grain to ask though."
"Or I could move in with Bobby…" She sat up abruptly, causing her to wince at the pain that split through her head. She really had no idea where that idea had come from. Even when she'd dated Pete she'd kept her own room and made do with visiting – although visiting in Muir Island was a simple matter of phasing through a few empty rooms between her room and his. She just hadn't felt ready for that type of commitment; there was something awfully final about giving up her own space and sharing someone else's. But now…
Lockheed was nodding encouragement, and she carefully shook her head, grinning at him. "You sure like him, Dragon – I wonder why? But anyway, it's not like he's even asked, and I'm not sure I'd agree if he did. Logan and Jean are going to need help with the baby, and I've got responsibilities here…oh, stop that now!" she laughed as Lockheed rolled his eyes at her. "Ok, I won't rule out the idea. But I refuse to sponge off him or Logan, so let's see what kind of jobs are online, ok?"
She spent the next few hours sending out resumes while monitoring the satellite's systems, until she finally fell asleep at the computer.
*************************************
(Tuesday, 6:15 p.m.)
They'd been sitting around for hours, and Bobby was bored.
It was too quiet, he decided. The Neo were talking quietly among themselves now, thought they'd been arguing earlier. Neither Jaeger or Static had had much to say to the X-Men since the High Evolutionary had left, although Amarantha had come over for a while and asked him some peculiar questions about dating customs amongst spikes that had made him distinctly uncomfortable until he realized she was referring to her brother and Jubilee. But Jaeger had had little to say when Bobby had walked over to talk to him, no doubt still upset about the deaths of both heirs apparent although he had said that he didn't hold the X-Men responsible.
He'd never gotten along exceptionally well with either Ororo or Betsy, and really had little to say to either; nor, apparently, did either of them have much to say to anyone else, though he'd heard Betsy and Kurt discussing the news in Britain and some gossip regarding people Kurt had known when he'd been with Excalibur.
Kurt had bamfed back to the shuttle for food about an hour ago, and had obligingly brought back some cards, but Bobby's attempt to start a game of poker had fizzled out under Ororo's disapproving glare when he discovered that only Rogue and Kurt actually knew how to play, although Amarantha had been willing to learn. One of the New Men had come in a while earlier and requested the evidence Ororo and Jaeger had promised, and Bobby had taken the opportunity to go back to the shuttle and retrieve it, welcoming the change of scenery even if had only lasted a few minutes. After he'd returned with the files, she'd thanked him and left, and they hadn't heard anything from the High Evolutionary since.
So now he was sitting and playing solitaire, which he really preferred to play on the computer, while Rogue and Kurt chatted.
It left him with entirely too much time to think. And thinking wasn't something Bobby really felt like doing right now.
He was worried about Kitty; he knew Ororo had spoken with Jean, who'd assured her that Kitty was doing fine, but he had an inner conviction that if she was resting at all, it was only because she'd fallen asleep in front of a computer again. And worrying about Kitty reminded him that he had to get back to his 'real' life in a few days, definitely by the beginning of next week, which made him wonder how their relationship would work long-term with her in Westchester and him in Port Jefferson. He was just reassuring himself that it wasn't as if they were going to be cross-country from each other when the door opened, and the High Evolutionary entered.
"I have reviewed the data you brought," he said before anyone even had time to react. "It would appear that you are correct; the experiment was a failure. It is clear that humanity will find differences even when there are none."
"Experiment?" Jaeger asked, coldly. "My people lie dead, and you refer to it as a failed experiment?"
"I regret their loss, but there is nothing I can do to restore them. I assure you, however, that their deaths were unplanned. Had I known of your people, I would have adjusted the nullification system to exclude them. You are correct; the Neo pose no threat to humanity; indeed, it would appear that you pose a greater threat to yourselves than you do to humans. It is something you might wish to consider before your clans begin the next round of warfare."
"I will relay your concerns to our Domina. But change comes slowly to us," Jaeger said in a cold tone of voice.
"No more or less slowly than it does to humanity," the High Evolutionary stated, shaking his head. "In any case, you may all leave with my assurances that I will not reinitiate the systems your people so adroitly disabled." He turned and walked out of the room, and the door closed behind him.
"That's it?" Bobby asked of no one in particular. "What do we do now?"
"Herr Drake, I should have thought you the last person to raise that question. We go home. What you do once we get there is entirely up to you."
*******************************
(Tuesday, 10:45 p.m.)
Kitty heard the door of her room open, and opened her eyes. "Bobby?" she asked, trying to focus.
"Who else?" he replied as he set his bag down on the floor and walked over to sit down on the bed. He was still wearing his blue and white spandex uniform, and she admired the way he looked in it. While she may have decided she didn't want to be a full-time X-Man anymore, there were definitely things she was going to miss.
"Well, you know, I 'do' live in the middle of an X-Men migration pattern," she joked, taking his hand, which was cold. Given some harassment she'd heard him receive from others, she assumed it was his natural state. She resolved to invest in some sweaters and an electric blanket. "How'd things go?"
"Details tomorrow," he said, leaning in closer. "But all the X-Men returned intact, and the High Evolutionary more or less apologized for the failed experiment."
"Experiment?" she choked, but was cut off before she could say anything else by Bobby, who held up his hand.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Better," she assured him, then yawned.
"I'm sorry I woke you," he said contritely. "Want me to go?"
"No," she assured him. "And I'm not THAT tired…".
"Good," he said smiling. "Because neither am I."