A Brave New X-World
By: Night Elf Crawler
Chapter 2
Kitty blinked and blinked again. In all her life she had never seen anything remotely as strange as him. For some reason, his appearance didn't frighten her at all, it was probably due to his kindness that helped buffer the shock. Had she met him on the street, the circumstances would certainly have been vastly different, however given all the things that had happened to her within the last day, this was just another item to take in, assimilate, and accept. As she stared, aware he was watching her, waiting for a response, she found herself actually liking the differences in him. They fit, oddly enough, quite well.
"I know I'm quite attractive fraulein, but really. jaw dropping?"
She blushed, realizing she had been keeping her mouth open. "I'm sorry. I just. well. I guess I was a bit surprised."
"You can be frank if you'd like." He joked in good humor, putting the boots in a locker where his suit was hanging. "I have gotten a variety of reactions from those I save, from screams, to fear, and even a girl who still to this day considers me her own personal plush toy."
Kitty smiled, and a small giggle rose to her lips. "A plush toy?"
"Ja." He shut the locker with a hand and turned to face her. Now that she had gotten over the surprise of his appearance, she found herself marveling at his body. He wore a black shirt that clung very nicely to his torso, showing off the muscles beneath that were.she was ashamed to say. very toned and sleek. He wasn't huge, like the steroid pumped men on the virtual channels, but he wasn't ultra scrawny either. There was a hint of power about him, not just physical either. "She was five when I found her."
Kitty had to smile. The image of a five year old girl cuddling the blue fuzzy man was just too much to resist. "How old is she now?"
"Seven." He smiled, running a hand through his slightly sweat-dampened hair. "She's becoming quite a lovely lady." He took the heavy bag, and slung it back over his shoulders, his tail swishing to and fro behind him as he re-positioned it comfortably. "Well then. Now that you are freshened up, shall I give you the grand tour of our palace?"
"Palace?" she blinked a bit, disturbed by that. "There's a." she spotted the hint of a smile on his lips and sighed a bit. "Oh. I see."
"A bit slow on the humor, ja?" He teased putting a hand on her arm, to lead her back out. His hand was soft. not at all unpleasant, but quite the opposite.Like silk and satin. She blushed faintly. Ironically, her birthday wish HAD come true.she hadn't specified what kind of guy, and what kind of relationship.. only that she would meet a guy.
As he led her out of the small dressing chamber, she glanced about. The walls in this area WERE volcanic in nature. "Are we in some kind of dormant volcano?" she asked, touching one of the rocks jutting out just above her head.
"Nein. It's an active one."
Her jaw dropped. "A.a what? Are you nuts?"
He laughed and flashed a smile at her, his face crinkling up with laughter. "I get that reaction a lot too. But seriously, how do you think we would be able to hide the fact that there are thousands of people living beneath the surface? They do have scanners to sense heat activity, up there. The only way we can hide it, is to find a natural heat source that is known, and work around it."
She blinked. It was simple, and effective, but still dangerous. "But if it's active, how do you manage it. the fumes and heat alone would be enough, never mind the actual lava itself."
He chuckled. "True enough. If it were just normal people residing, they could not do it. however, with a combination of technology built by mutant minds, and talents related to volcanism, we can live safely."
Kitty frowned a bit at that. Even the technology of the majority of the world had found no way to suppress nature's activities. How could they manage it?
Her question was answered, as they rounded the corner of the cavern, and a gigantic inner sanctum opened up before her.
It looked like something out of a movie. An enormous metal contraption rose from the bottom, which fell beyond her line of vision, all the way up to the top of the mountain. Enormous heat radiated off of it, enough to keep the entire inner chamber warm, and penetrate beyond as well. It had beams going off and burying themselves into the rock wall like a spider web. It hummed and throbbed with a pulsing beat, something that felt reassuring somehow, like the thrum of an air car engine. The eerie orange glow that radiated up seemed more like something out of Dante's Inferno,
She couldn't tear her eyes away, and was only aware they had stopped when Kurt spoke in her ear. "It's something, isn't it? A combination of efforts. It channels the magma up to the surface, allowing for our lighting and heat, without the unfortunate side effects." He chuckled a bit.
"How. I mean this is. wow.. How did you do it?"
"One of our mutants here can control magma and volcanic activity. With her assistance, and a collaboration of technology from other mutants who can build and lift such a thing, we stifled the flow of the magma, and put the device in place, then attached it. We have to keep a close eye on it, to make sure it doesn't burn a hole in another chamber and flood us by accident. We have put a lot of effort into it. It's nearly perfect."
"Wow.." Was all she could say, as they began to move again.
They followed the path down some rough stairs, through metal scaffolding, and finally to a level where she saw her first other people.
She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but what she saw did surprise her a bit. They looked like your average normal people, only a bit thinner, dirtier, and paler. They wore the same kind of suits she did, which must protect against any other residual radiation or heat the core gave off. They nodded, waved, and smiled cheerfully, as any normal individual would, as she and Kurt passed by. A few even saluted.
"Hey Kurt! Good work today!" A tall man called out from banging a hammer on the underside of a rock for something. "Boss's looking for you."
"Of course, thanks Bobby." Kurt replied, waving a hand to the man.
Kitty was then startled, to see the rock turn to ice as he pushed a hand to it, and she saw what he was doing. He was turning the air molecules of the hot cavern to ice, then chipping it off into a bucket for water. Ingenious, and simple.
He led her down more levels, where there were many homes carved into the walls of the rocks. They didn't look ultra comfortable, but they were homey, and well kept for the most part. She saw children running in and about the homes, laughing, playing, some with odd appendages, or different colored hair, some shooting blasts of different colors at each other. Her heart went out to them. those who might never see the sunlight, forever down here the expelled individuals in society.
As they made their way down, she also noticed it grew warmer and warmer. Kurt seemed to be fairly sweating under all his fur, and she couldn't blame him. SHE was hot. it must be stifling for one covered from head to toe in fur. He stopped before a metal door suddenly, near the bottom of the volcano. She glanced down, and saw the churning magma through a small window of plexi, and marveled. If mutant's powers could do this, imagine what else they could do.
The door opened on silent hinges, and she peered in. She was vaguely reminded of a Batcave, as she peered in the dark cavernous room inside. A stone table was in the center, with benches all around. It was simple, but had that 'official' look to it. There were some small decorations, as if someone had carved logos, and designs into the rock walls. It looked like something out of a movie.
As the two entered, three people looked up. One had long wild blonde hair, and claws, and looked like the type who might fit in well in caveman attire. The second was a tall silver haired man, chiseled features, and a calm look about him. The third. well the third was a woman who made the two men look like simpletons. She wore the same black outfit, but her skin was blue scales, short cropped red hair, and glowing yellow eyes that sharply resembled her companion.
"There you are." The woman spoke sharply and with a cold tone. "What kept you? The lower levels have been waiting for the rations for two hours."
"I apologize." Kurt said with a slight bow of his head. "But I was detained in rescuing a new recruit."
The woman eyed Kitty, and her gaze made the young brown haired girl squirm uncomfortably. "I see. well, I would welcome you dear, but there's not much to welcome to down here." She said, her cold tone losing a bit of it's edge. "You've just become part of a very tight society."
"Now now, Raven." The silver haired man smiled warmly. "The girl no doubt has been through a scare, don't be so harsh."
The woman sighed. "Yes, of course. I'm sorry." She waved a hand. "There's been a new development.."
Kurt's posture changed a bit, and Kitty saw he was frowning. "How so?"
"There has been seismic development and it seems multi tunnels are beginning to branch out. that and people are beginning to become sick from the increase in toxin levels."
He sighed rubbing his head. "We can't do anything about that. If we continue to let pressure build up the whole project will blow, but if we allow the air in."
"We may have to make a move."
He looked pensive, but nodded slowly. "I will start planning." He said quietly.
"It's time for us to move into society anyway." The silver haired man said with a frown. "We've gathered our resources long enough. We need to break through and conquer."
"No!" Raven said sharply. "We conquer and we are then attacked by other cities, and the very thing we fight for will be destroyed." She sighed. "We need to convince.but you know how hard that will be." Her eyes slid to Kurt. "Maybe you can use our new recruit and visit your father. If we can combine forces, and start spreading the idea through those sympathetic to our cause, we can have more chance in succeeding. It's their ideals we need to change. Even if a mutiny is required."
Kurt nodded, and smiled, bowing suavely. "It shall be done, mother dear."
The two smiled, and then turned, obviously set on going back to whatever they had been involved in. Kurt turned and took Kitty by the arm, leading her out the doors back into the hot chambers beyond.
Kitty gave him a curious glance. "Who were they?"
"Our fearless leaders." He answered with a chuckle. "Raven Darkholme, my mother, is the magistrate. She was one of the first, along with Eric Lensherr, the other gentleman there, who created our way of life here. Together they organize our system, deal with problems that arise, and set our laws."
Kitty nodded a bit. She wasn't surprised to hear the woman was his mother, the resemblance was striking between the two. "She said, 'talk to your father'. who did she mean?"
At that his eyes turned a bit harsh. "Ah. Well you see there is quite a story behind THAT." He sighed, and turned a corridor, leading her away from the heat and into semi-darkness, only lit by a torch here and there. "My father is a senator."
Her mouth fell open and then closed again. A senator? One of the rule- makers, had a mutant son, and a wife.. "How.?"
"It's not a pretty story." He said, still sounding bitter. "But if you must know. my father apparently knew nothing of my mothers'. status. Her ability is shape-shifting, and she would have been perfectly safe not being known as a mutant, the alarms only detect one using their powers. If a mutant does not use them, they cannot be found. Well. she became pregnant with me, and in giving birth, not only did the truth be known about my mutant status, but she lost possession of her powers, and shifted to her normal form in her pain. Of course everyone noticed this who was present, and on duty as mutant enforcers. My father was able to hush it up for enough time to allow her to escape, however, they caught her anyway and we were both expelled to the surface, and the whole issue was hushed up as not to embarrass my father. However, he was greatly mortified by the whole experience, not in his political career, but the fact that he had loved my mother dearly, and upon finding out the truth, he realized that his bias had changed, and he disagreed with the system." His eyes turned to her as she listened attentively, without interrupting. "Thus, we have an internal source. He's currently in the running for Magistrate of the city. We were hoping that should he win the election, some rules might be changed. but given the situation now." He frowned. "We have to make drastic actions."
Kitty glanced down at her shoes as they walked. So much information in such a short time. She wasn't sure where to stand, even on her own two feet. "So. what are you going to do?"
"I don't know yet." He admitted with a small smile. "I will think on it. we can't be hasty, any rash actions will ruin every chance we have. I may have to visit my father tomorrow and have a talk with him."
"Is that bad?" She asked, noticing he had a sour look on his face.
"We. don't get along as well as I would like." He admitted with a sigh. "While he's sympathetic to mutants, he still finds the idea of mutants running around with loosed powers a bit. disconcerting. That and I still find it hard to believe he would stand by as his wife and son were thrown outside to die. I haven't spoken with him in five years."
She blinked a bit and lowered her gaze. "Oh." She had been so wrapped up in the happiness of her family, that she never paused to think that others might have it at odds with theirs.
They both rounded a corner, and came unto a small room that looked like someone's living room, small carpets with holes in them, or stains lined the stone floors, some battered pillows on the benches that served as couches, and a few torn paintings, all items appeared to have been salvaged from garbage. He stepped in and all her hopes were suddenly dashed to pieces. "Liebchen, I'm back!"
A beautiful dark skinned girl stepped out from a doorway just beyond the room, and her face brightened upon seeing him, and she dashed forward, throwing herself into his arms. "Welcome back.you were gone long, I was beginning to get worried."
Kurt smiled and leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her comfortingly, and nuzzling her neck a bit as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Ah, you worry too much Amanda. You know I'm careful."
"Yes but." she trailed off, and blinked over at Kitty, her gaze momentarily turning sharp and hostile. "Who's that?"
"Ah." He separated from her arms, but kept a hand at her waist. "Liebchen, this is Kitty, I found her outside today. Kitty, this is my betrothed, Amanda."
****end chapter two****
author's note: bwahhahahaa I'm going to leave it at that so I can start at a new place ^-^ So, imput?
Chapter 2
Kitty blinked and blinked again. In all her life she had never seen anything remotely as strange as him. For some reason, his appearance didn't frighten her at all, it was probably due to his kindness that helped buffer the shock. Had she met him on the street, the circumstances would certainly have been vastly different, however given all the things that had happened to her within the last day, this was just another item to take in, assimilate, and accept. As she stared, aware he was watching her, waiting for a response, she found herself actually liking the differences in him. They fit, oddly enough, quite well.
"I know I'm quite attractive fraulein, but really. jaw dropping?"
She blushed, realizing she had been keeping her mouth open. "I'm sorry. I just. well. I guess I was a bit surprised."
"You can be frank if you'd like." He joked in good humor, putting the boots in a locker where his suit was hanging. "I have gotten a variety of reactions from those I save, from screams, to fear, and even a girl who still to this day considers me her own personal plush toy."
Kitty smiled, and a small giggle rose to her lips. "A plush toy?"
"Ja." He shut the locker with a hand and turned to face her. Now that she had gotten over the surprise of his appearance, she found herself marveling at his body. He wore a black shirt that clung very nicely to his torso, showing off the muscles beneath that were.she was ashamed to say. very toned and sleek. He wasn't huge, like the steroid pumped men on the virtual channels, but he wasn't ultra scrawny either. There was a hint of power about him, not just physical either. "She was five when I found her."
Kitty had to smile. The image of a five year old girl cuddling the blue fuzzy man was just too much to resist. "How old is she now?"
"Seven." He smiled, running a hand through his slightly sweat-dampened hair. "She's becoming quite a lovely lady." He took the heavy bag, and slung it back over his shoulders, his tail swishing to and fro behind him as he re-positioned it comfortably. "Well then. Now that you are freshened up, shall I give you the grand tour of our palace?"
"Palace?" she blinked a bit, disturbed by that. "There's a." she spotted the hint of a smile on his lips and sighed a bit. "Oh. I see."
"A bit slow on the humor, ja?" He teased putting a hand on her arm, to lead her back out. His hand was soft. not at all unpleasant, but quite the opposite.Like silk and satin. She blushed faintly. Ironically, her birthday wish HAD come true.she hadn't specified what kind of guy, and what kind of relationship.. only that she would meet a guy.
As he led her out of the small dressing chamber, she glanced about. The walls in this area WERE volcanic in nature. "Are we in some kind of dormant volcano?" she asked, touching one of the rocks jutting out just above her head.
"Nein. It's an active one."
Her jaw dropped. "A.a what? Are you nuts?"
He laughed and flashed a smile at her, his face crinkling up with laughter. "I get that reaction a lot too. But seriously, how do you think we would be able to hide the fact that there are thousands of people living beneath the surface? They do have scanners to sense heat activity, up there. The only way we can hide it, is to find a natural heat source that is known, and work around it."
She blinked. It was simple, and effective, but still dangerous. "But if it's active, how do you manage it. the fumes and heat alone would be enough, never mind the actual lava itself."
He chuckled. "True enough. If it were just normal people residing, they could not do it. however, with a combination of technology built by mutant minds, and talents related to volcanism, we can live safely."
Kitty frowned a bit at that. Even the technology of the majority of the world had found no way to suppress nature's activities. How could they manage it?
Her question was answered, as they rounded the corner of the cavern, and a gigantic inner sanctum opened up before her.
It looked like something out of a movie. An enormous metal contraption rose from the bottom, which fell beyond her line of vision, all the way up to the top of the mountain. Enormous heat radiated off of it, enough to keep the entire inner chamber warm, and penetrate beyond as well. It had beams going off and burying themselves into the rock wall like a spider web. It hummed and throbbed with a pulsing beat, something that felt reassuring somehow, like the thrum of an air car engine. The eerie orange glow that radiated up seemed more like something out of Dante's Inferno,
She couldn't tear her eyes away, and was only aware they had stopped when Kurt spoke in her ear. "It's something, isn't it? A combination of efforts. It channels the magma up to the surface, allowing for our lighting and heat, without the unfortunate side effects." He chuckled a bit.
"How. I mean this is. wow.. How did you do it?"
"One of our mutants here can control magma and volcanic activity. With her assistance, and a collaboration of technology from other mutants who can build and lift such a thing, we stifled the flow of the magma, and put the device in place, then attached it. We have to keep a close eye on it, to make sure it doesn't burn a hole in another chamber and flood us by accident. We have put a lot of effort into it. It's nearly perfect."
"Wow.." Was all she could say, as they began to move again.
They followed the path down some rough stairs, through metal scaffolding, and finally to a level where she saw her first other people.
She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but what she saw did surprise her a bit. They looked like your average normal people, only a bit thinner, dirtier, and paler. They wore the same kind of suits she did, which must protect against any other residual radiation or heat the core gave off. They nodded, waved, and smiled cheerfully, as any normal individual would, as she and Kurt passed by. A few even saluted.
"Hey Kurt! Good work today!" A tall man called out from banging a hammer on the underside of a rock for something. "Boss's looking for you."
"Of course, thanks Bobby." Kurt replied, waving a hand to the man.
Kitty was then startled, to see the rock turn to ice as he pushed a hand to it, and she saw what he was doing. He was turning the air molecules of the hot cavern to ice, then chipping it off into a bucket for water. Ingenious, and simple.
He led her down more levels, where there were many homes carved into the walls of the rocks. They didn't look ultra comfortable, but they were homey, and well kept for the most part. She saw children running in and about the homes, laughing, playing, some with odd appendages, or different colored hair, some shooting blasts of different colors at each other. Her heart went out to them. those who might never see the sunlight, forever down here the expelled individuals in society.
As they made their way down, she also noticed it grew warmer and warmer. Kurt seemed to be fairly sweating under all his fur, and she couldn't blame him. SHE was hot. it must be stifling for one covered from head to toe in fur. He stopped before a metal door suddenly, near the bottom of the volcano. She glanced down, and saw the churning magma through a small window of plexi, and marveled. If mutant's powers could do this, imagine what else they could do.
The door opened on silent hinges, and she peered in. She was vaguely reminded of a Batcave, as she peered in the dark cavernous room inside. A stone table was in the center, with benches all around. It was simple, but had that 'official' look to it. There were some small decorations, as if someone had carved logos, and designs into the rock walls. It looked like something out of a movie.
As the two entered, three people looked up. One had long wild blonde hair, and claws, and looked like the type who might fit in well in caveman attire. The second was a tall silver haired man, chiseled features, and a calm look about him. The third. well the third was a woman who made the two men look like simpletons. She wore the same black outfit, but her skin was blue scales, short cropped red hair, and glowing yellow eyes that sharply resembled her companion.
"There you are." The woman spoke sharply and with a cold tone. "What kept you? The lower levels have been waiting for the rations for two hours."
"I apologize." Kurt said with a slight bow of his head. "But I was detained in rescuing a new recruit."
The woman eyed Kitty, and her gaze made the young brown haired girl squirm uncomfortably. "I see. well, I would welcome you dear, but there's not much to welcome to down here." She said, her cold tone losing a bit of it's edge. "You've just become part of a very tight society."
"Now now, Raven." The silver haired man smiled warmly. "The girl no doubt has been through a scare, don't be so harsh."
The woman sighed. "Yes, of course. I'm sorry." She waved a hand. "There's been a new development.."
Kurt's posture changed a bit, and Kitty saw he was frowning. "How so?"
"There has been seismic development and it seems multi tunnels are beginning to branch out. that and people are beginning to become sick from the increase in toxin levels."
He sighed rubbing his head. "We can't do anything about that. If we continue to let pressure build up the whole project will blow, but if we allow the air in."
"We may have to make a move."
He looked pensive, but nodded slowly. "I will start planning." He said quietly.
"It's time for us to move into society anyway." The silver haired man said with a frown. "We've gathered our resources long enough. We need to break through and conquer."
"No!" Raven said sharply. "We conquer and we are then attacked by other cities, and the very thing we fight for will be destroyed." She sighed. "We need to convince.but you know how hard that will be." Her eyes slid to Kurt. "Maybe you can use our new recruit and visit your father. If we can combine forces, and start spreading the idea through those sympathetic to our cause, we can have more chance in succeeding. It's their ideals we need to change. Even if a mutiny is required."
Kurt nodded, and smiled, bowing suavely. "It shall be done, mother dear."
The two smiled, and then turned, obviously set on going back to whatever they had been involved in. Kurt turned and took Kitty by the arm, leading her out the doors back into the hot chambers beyond.
Kitty gave him a curious glance. "Who were they?"
"Our fearless leaders." He answered with a chuckle. "Raven Darkholme, my mother, is the magistrate. She was one of the first, along with Eric Lensherr, the other gentleman there, who created our way of life here. Together they organize our system, deal with problems that arise, and set our laws."
Kitty nodded a bit. She wasn't surprised to hear the woman was his mother, the resemblance was striking between the two. "She said, 'talk to your father'. who did she mean?"
At that his eyes turned a bit harsh. "Ah. Well you see there is quite a story behind THAT." He sighed, and turned a corridor, leading her away from the heat and into semi-darkness, only lit by a torch here and there. "My father is a senator."
Her mouth fell open and then closed again. A senator? One of the rule- makers, had a mutant son, and a wife.. "How.?"
"It's not a pretty story." He said, still sounding bitter. "But if you must know. my father apparently knew nothing of my mothers'. status. Her ability is shape-shifting, and she would have been perfectly safe not being known as a mutant, the alarms only detect one using their powers. If a mutant does not use them, they cannot be found. Well. she became pregnant with me, and in giving birth, not only did the truth be known about my mutant status, but she lost possession of her powers, and shifted to her normal form in her pain. Of course everyone noticed this who was present, and on duty as mutant enforcers. My father was able to hush it up for enough time to allow her to escape, however, they caught her anyway and we were both expelled to the surface, and the whole issue was hushed up as not to embarrass my father. However, he was greatly mortified by the whole experience, not in his political career, but the fact that he had loved my mother dearly, and upon finding out the truth, he realized that his bias had changed, and he disagreed with the system." His eyes turned to her as she listened attentively, without interrupting. "Thus, we have an internal source. He's currently in the running for Magistrate of the city. We were hoping that should he win the election, some rules might be changed. but given the situation now." He frowned. "We have to make drastic actions."
Kitty glanced down at her shoes as they walked. So much information in such a short time. She wasn't sure where to stand, even on her own two feet. "So. what are you going to do?"
"I don't know yet." He admitted with a small smile. "I will think on it. we can't be hasty, any rash actions will ruin every chance we have. I may have to visit my father tomorrow and have a talk with him."
"Is that bad?" She asked, noticing he had a sour look on his face.
"We. don't get along as well as I would like." He admitted with a sigh. "While he's sympathetic to mutants, he still finds the idea of mutants running around with loosed powers a bit. disconcerting. That and I still find it hard to believe he would stand by as his wife and son were thrown outside to die. I haven't spoken with him in five years."
She blinked a bit and lowered her gaze. "Oh." She had been so wrapped up in the happiness of her family, that she never paused to think that others might have it at odds with theirs.
They both rounded a corner, and came unto a small room that looked like someone's living room, small carpets with holes in them, or stains lined the stone floors, some battered pillows on the benches that served as couches, and a few torn paintings, all items appeared to have been salvaged from garbage. He stepped in and all her hopes were suddenly dashed to pieces. "Liebchen, I'm back!"
A beautiful dark skinned girl stepped out from a doorway just beyond the room, and her face brightened upon seeing him, and she dashed forward, throwing herself into his arms. "Welcome back.you were gone long, I was beginning to get worried."
Kurt smiled and leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her comfortingly, and nuzzling her neck a bit as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Ah, you worry too much Amanda. You know I'm careful."
"Yes but." she trailed off, and blinked over at Kitty, her gaze momentarily turning sharp and hostile. "Who's that?"
"Ah." He separated from her arms, but kept a hand at her waist. "Liebchen, this is Kitty, I found her outside today. Kitty, this is my betrothed, Amanda."
****end chapter two****
author's note: bwahhahahaa I'm going to leave it at that so I can start at a new place ^-^ So, imput?