Nightmares and Confessions

"Well today was eventful," Hank sighed. He sat down in the library later that very night. "In addition to the cleaning up and consequences from last night's party we had two food fights, another screaming match between Rogue and Pietro over god only knows what. A minor explosion occurred when a fight broke out between Ray and Tabitha and Lockheed the dragon threw up all over a chair. Or what was left of the chair after he burned it."

"Not to mention the latest chapter in the on going love story between Avalanche-Kitty and Colossus," Logan groaned. "Every time I turn around there's some kind of drama or insanity between those three going on!" He took a beer can and started to drink it.

"Tell me about it," Ororo sighed. "Talking to Kitty about birth control was not easy."

Logan spat out his beer. "BIRTH CONTROL?"

"As a precaution," Hank said. "We did stress abstinence."

"We? Are you telling me you gave Kitty birth control pills?" Logan shouted. "And I thought Shipwreck was nuts! Why don't you just reserve them a room at the nearest Holiday Inn?"

"Logan face facts," Ororo sighed. "Kitty is a young woman now, she'll be seventeen in less than six months."

"Well some people are not gonna live to see her reach seventeen if they lay one hand on…" Logan snapped.

"Oh Logan grow up!" Hank snapped. "Both Lance and Peter refused Kitty's advances! They obviously are both thinking with a clear head!"

"There is something not right about this," Logan frowned. "I know teenage boys. Peter I can understand but what's the deal with Alvers?"

"Why do you understand Peter? Is it because you think he's a better lad than Lance?" Hank asked.

"No it's because he lives here and he knows I can sneak into his room at anytime and make sure he never touches her!" Logan popped out his claws for show. "But Avalanche…something's not right with that kid."

"Oh really?" Ororo raised an eyebrow. "A boy refuses a sexual advance from a girl and you think it's strange?"

"In Alvers' case yes!" Logan snapped. "Something is not right with that kid. There hasn't been a tremor all day. He's hardly even spoken to anyone. It's like he's deliberately avoiding people."

"Well maybe the boy needs to think," Hank suggested. "Maybe he doesn't want to cause trouble?"

Suddenly a tremor hit the entire house. "You were saying?" Logan snapped. They all ran out. Several students filled the hallway. "Now what are those two fighting about?"

"It's not me!" Peter said as he stood outside. "He's in his room!"

"Oh man you don't think…?" Fred gasped.

"Hang on Lance! We're coming!" Todd kicked down the door.

"Uh I could have just phased through you know?" Kitty frowned.

Lance was twitching violently. His powers were shaking the entire mansion. "Is he having an attack?" Pietro asked.

"No I think this time he's just having a nightmare," Todd gently tried to wake Lance. "Lance! Hey man wake up! Come on now!"

"What do you mean 'attack'?" Scott asked.

"He gets sick sometimes," Pietro confessed. "Magneto did it to him. But this isn't it."

"How do you know?" Jean asked.

"Trust me on this," Pietro frowned.

"No…no…" Lance thrashed. His eyes opened wide and he screamed. He sent a tremor that sent several mutants flying into the wall.

Scott instinctively reached for his glasses, but Todd stopped him. "He don't know what he's doing man! Lance chill out it's us!"

Lance sat there shaking, "Todd…" He whimpered. He looked like he was going to break down and cry.

"Okay what's going on?" Logan snapped.

"Lance just had a bad dream that's all," Fred told him. "It happens sometimes. Okay everybody out!"

"What?" Scott snapped. "This is our house!"

"And this is Lance's privacy," Todd started shoving several X-Men away. "Now scoot! Get outta here!"

"Maybe we can…" Ororo offered.

"There's nothing you can do," Lance told them. "I'll be all right."

"Lance let me sit with you a while," Kitty sat by him.

"Okay," Lance sighed. "But everybody else go, you guys too!" He indicated the Misfits.

"Fine," Todd remarked. "But if she makes some moves on you we'll be outside. Uh…" He managed to put the door back haphazardly. "Sorry about that."

"Lance what happened?" Kitty asked when they were alone.

"Just a bad dream…" Lance brought his knees to his chest. "A terrible dream."

Kitty brushed his hair out of his eyes and held him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No…yeah… I mean," Lance shook his head. "There's a lot of stuff going on. Seeing the kids all drunk last night shook up a few things. Lotta bad memories."

"You can tell me," Kitty squeezed his hand.

"I can't…" Lance whispered.

"Why?"

"Because I'm afraid if I tell you this you won't love me anymore," Lance's voice trembled.

"Lance please whatever it is I want to help you," Kitty pleaded. "Please?"

"Okay…" Lance braced himself. "You know I haven't exactly had the best childhood. I got beaten up a lot by a lot of my foster families. But there was this one that was bad. Really bad. It started off the usual. Nothing major. Not even a slap or a hit whenever I did something wrong. Just a little yelling. Two weeks after I moved in…something happened."

"Go on…" Kitty encouraged him, although she was afraid of what she would hear."

"This one night, my foster parents decided to throw a party in their basement. I hated the basement. It was always cold and dark…but they made me go down there with them. There wasn't much down there. Just some tools and a fridge and a table full of cigarettes and whatever dope they were using. And there was a mattress in the corner." Lance tried not to shake. "Well they told me that it was time to have a little fun so they made me drink a beer with them, and then another and then another…"

"They got you drunk?" Kitty blinked.

Lance nodded. "That's not the worst of it. I remember things being cold and blurry and then… then the next thing I knew….they were taking off my clothes and…." He broke down sobbing.

Kitty pulled him closer and held him for a few minutes. "Oh god Lance…" She sniffed, tears were running down her own face.

"Even today sometimes when I even think about…stuff," Lance tried to pull himself together. "It makes me feel sick inside. Like I'm bad and unclean…" He shuddered. "Now do you see why I just want to wait with you?"

"Yeah I understand," Kitty sighed. "Lance what happened to you wasn't your fault. I can never hate you because of that."

"There's more…" Lance closed his eyes. A tear slid down his face. "It happened twice after that. And then they hurt me in other ways. Things I don't even want to think about. I couldn't take it any more. So I decided to run away. I waited until one day when she was drunk and passed out and I was just about to make it out the door when…." He gulped. "He grabbed me. He'd managed to come home early. And he made it perfectly clear that I wasn't going to be allowed to just go."

Lance paused. "I fought him Kitty. I fought him with everything I had. I threw things at him. I remember grabbing anything I could get my hands on…a book, a barbell…a lit candle…and then a saw a wooden baseball bat. I took it and I screamed and swung it at him just as he dove for me and then…Then he was on the floor. I couldn't take a chance he'd get up and hurt me so I hit him and I hit him again and again…until…He was just lying there. That man who hurt me so badly was just lying there…"

Kitty looked at him horrified. "Was he…?"

"I don't know if he was then. Kitty you have to believe me, all I wanted was just to get away! I swear!" Lance pleaded. "I just didn't want him to hurt me anymore. I didn't mean to kill them! Honest!"

"Kill them?" A lump grew in her throat.

"The candle…" Lance shook. "One of the things I threw to get away was a lit candle. It caught fire to the drapes and…The next thing I knew I was running down the street away from the house. It was covered in flames so fast…"

"Oh god," Kitty put a hand to her mouth.

"Please Kitty don't tell anyone this," Lance gasped.

"It's a bit late for that Alvers," Jean spoke as she opened the door. All the X-Men and Misfits were behind her.

"But how…?" Kitty finally noticed that there was a hidden walkie-talkie behind the bed. "What the…?" Then she saw the one X-Man look away in shame. "BOBBY?"