It was quiet at the Brotherhood House when Kitty arrived in her new forester. Hesitantly she knocked on the door, and to her relief not two minutes later there stood Lance. He look relieved to see her. And not in the Save-me-from-these-idiots-I-live-with way. Something worse.
"Kitty... what're you doing here?" he asked, blocking her way with his body. He held the door partially shut, so they could talk, but short of phasing she wasn't going to be able to get in.
"Lance, something's wrong... can I come in?" she asked.
Lanced grimaced, glancing over his shoulder. "Kitty, now might not be a good time..."
"They're sick, aren't they?" Kitty said, her voice subdued.
"And I thought the redhead was telepathic..." he said, opening the door wide and allowing her in. Almost as an afterthought, he grabbed the handkerchief from his belt, where he'd placed it before opening the door, and handed it to Kitty. "Keep your mouth covered. I'm no doctor but this seems pretty bad stuff," he said, covering his mouth with his hand as he and Kitty walked upstairs and into what had formerly been Mystique's room.
With the absence of Mystique, no one was particularly anxious to take it for their own. Too many lingering memories from Mystique and Boom-Boom. That had not, however, stopped them from plundering the expensive stuff and selling it when their money had grown short.
Now it was a makeshift med ward.
Fred stood to one side of the bed, upon which lay Pietro and Todd, both with the symptoms Kitty recognized as definitely those of the plague. Coughing, high fever, and lack of energy. She pressed the handkerchief tighter against her mouth, though she wasn't sure how much protection this would give her. Belatedly she realized Lance was leaving himself somewhat vulnerable without it, and she felt a surge of warm feeling towards him for being so kind. There was no sign of Wanda.
Freddy was taking a wet cloth and with surprising gentleness for a man his size, was carefully doing his best to keep both of his roommates cool and comfortable. However, when he spotted Kitty coming in, he immediately stood, making his way over to her and Lance, hoping for better news.
"Kitty we don't know what to do... Toad and Pietro just got sick out of the blue, and nothing we seem to do is helping them," stated Lance.
"It's the same at the Institute," she replied, stepping out into the hallway with Lance and Fred, and reluctantly uncovering her mouth so it was easier for her to speak. "The Professor sent me to get you all and take any sick you had over there. We're trying to find a cure."
"Sure thing. Fred," said Lance. "Get the two knuckleheads, I'll bring the jeep around."
"Where's Wanda?" asked Kitty.
"Took off shortly after Pietro fell sick. I'm not sure where she is," replied Lance, as he grabbed his keys and all but flew down the stairs to the jeep.
"I'll try and find her!" replied Kitty, as Fred slung both Pietro and Todd over his massive shoulders and carried them with surprising tenderness down and out of the house, to where Lance was waiting in his jeep, the engine already running and ready.
"Hurry up Kitty," he murmured quietly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tabby arrived at Forge's house with little fuss, since it was only a short walking distance from the Institute. Kurt had shown her the way once when she'd expressed an interest in the out-of-time inventor boy. She'd quickly withdraw her opinion of him once she'd actually met Forge in person. This was, of course, back when she'd first been a new recruit. He was utterly immune to her charms that, at the time, she'd poured on heavily on any passing male. And more than a few females, truth be told. But Forge hadn't even expressed so much as a hint of interest, all he cared about was his machines. She had the feeling if a super model in a skimpy bikini appeared in his lab, offering him all the pleasures of heaven, he'd probably just ask her to pass him a wrench.
Tabby sighed and knocked on the door to his lab, as always surprised by how elderly his parents looked, considering Forge was physically about her age. Middleverse really did mess him up, since he'd been gone for almost thirty solid years. Now he was a kid when he should've been an adult. Shaking her head to clear her mind, Tabby stepped into his lab, watching as Forge glanced up at her, reforming his arm back into normal as he turned to greet her. He was polite, at least.
"Hey... Tabby, isn't it?" he said with a smile. "Come on in... what can I do for you?"
"We've... got a bit of a problem on our hands, tool-boy," she said. "Tell me... you feelin' alright today?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh my god," whispered Amanda, placing a hand over her open mouth as she saw Kurt.
To describe him as sick was a dreadful understatement. He looked half-dead. His skin was covered in sickly green lesions that were easily visible through his fur, and his fur itself was stiff and clumpy, like it hadn't been washed in ages, and he was absolutely still. If not for the shallow intake and outtake of breath, assisted by a respirator, he might've been considered dead already.
Amanda watched him silently from behind the glass screen, unable to fully comprehend that her energetic, healthy boyfriend and this sick, dying individual could be one and the same. But they were.
And she had to help.
"Amanda... Amanda wait!" shouted Xavier, as Amanda practically tore open the door isolating the sick from the healthy and rushed in, barely managing to avoid being snagged by Scott and Bobby as she moved into the infected zone, beyond where they could safely follow. Hank, inside but protected in his suit, made his way to try and brace the door but he was too late, and she was already in. There was no chance of preventing infection now, as he reluctantly let her pass by his massive frame to the much smaller, spiny frame of Kurt, lying motionless on his bed.
She barely heard the sounds of confusion and chaos in the background from the Professor and the others, she had eyes and ears only for Kurt.
"Kurt... oh god I'm here Kurt... please be alright..." she cooed softly, stroking his forehead and brushing back his long, dark blue locks of hair. To her surprise, the gentle gesture caused his eyes to flutter, though his eyes were the blank stare of someone still very much unconscious. But at least he was still alive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kitty found Wanda in the backyard of the Brotherhood house, sitting on the porch in one of those hanging rocking chairs-benches. That was what she was doing now... rocking back and forth, back and forth, slowly... staring out at the snow-covered ground blankly.
Kitty barely paid any attention to the gigantic snowman, nor its little snow-buddy. Nor the snow-angels in the ground. Not even to the rather cute heart drawn in the ground by booted feet, with the initials 'W' & 'T' crudely drawn out. Evidently, neither did Wanda. She just continued to stare blankly ahead, her eyes unfocused as she rocked back and forth in her chair.
"Stay away," hissed Wanda, once Kitty started to get too close.
"Wanda?" asked the little pony-tailed girl, tentatively moving towards the sullen goth swinging from the chair. She moved quietly, after all, Wanda had once been known for having a very fierce temper. The multiple Todd-shaped marks in the wall indicated she still had no objection to using her powers recklessly. "You alright?"
The mutant girl known as the Scarlet Witch snapped her head up, her eyes opening wide all at once as she turned to regard Kitty, who slipped her back foot an inch or so into the ground, ready to vanish completely if Wanda attacked her.
"My brother and my..." she stuttered. "One of my friends is dying. Of course I am not alright," she replied darkly.
"Wanda come on... we're taking Todd and Pietro to the infirmary at the Institute. We're gonna get them help. But you gotta come too, we're not sure if you're infected or not..."
"I -am- infected," she replied sullenly, folding her arms trying to ignore Kitty.
"All the more reason you should come with us," replied Kitty, making her way over to sit on the banister separating the porch from the backyard, sitting down right in front of Wanda. "Come on, I'm sure the Professor and Beast can find a cure..."
"Go away," grumbled Wanda. "I don't want to talk about it. I'm not going and that's final."
"But..."
"GO!" she roared, blue energy crackling around her hands and her eyes, as Kitty stumbled backwards and landed in an awkward heap in the snow, just beyond the banister. Without wasting a moment, Kitty scrambled to her feet and was off like a shot, running away.
Wanda didn't even watch her go. She just kept staring ahead, waiting... until the symptoms would start to appear. She couldn't face anyone now, not after the way she'd been infected. She felt a heat on the back of her neck, but that was from embarrassment, not the illness.
If the disease didn't kill the slimy Toad, I'll do it myself, vowed Wanda.
Although, another thought came to mind as she ran a finger along her lips. It hadn't been all -that- bad...
"Oh damnit. I guess I can always kill him later," she cursed, getting to her feet and running around to the front of the house. "Wait for me!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scott sat alone, outside, at the Gazebo.
He couldn't stand it anymore. Walking up and down amongst friends, watching them cough and gasp for air, watching them fall unconscious as the disease worsened. It hurt especially to see Kurt, with the sickly lesions growing on the normally hyperactive elf who'd become almost a little brother to him (an annoying little brother, to be fair).
But what'd hurt most was Jean.
Mercifully, she'd fallen unconscious shortly before arriving back at the Institute, being carried in Ororo's arms. She couldn't feel, couldn't see, what the virus was doing to her body. She had all but shriveled to a former husk of herself in mere hours, and already Scott could see dark bruises forming on her skin where lesions would soon appear. Even her flaming red hair, so captivating, was fading. She was dying, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to save her. Not even be an anchor for her, like all those times he'd been before, when she'd had power 'blips' or surges. He was utterly helpless, and it frustrated him to no end.
So it was that, without a word to anyone, he'd left the med ward, wandered outside. No one had stopped him. They'd understood… or at least thought they did. He needed to be alone with his pain, that at least was evident. So it was that his fists clenched around the marble railing of the gazebo so tightly his knuckles turned white, as he cast his perpetually red-tinted gaze skyward.
It was happening all over again. First he'd lost his family in a plane crash, now he was about to lose Jean as well.
A single tear escaped from underneath his ruby-red sunglasses, dropping down onto the jagged rocks below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wow, that bad huh?" asked Forge, once Tabby had finished explaining the situation to him.
"And its spreading. We're not sure how but Leech already got sick. So its not just us at the Institute. So we need to get you back to the Institute and tested, before you get sick," replied Tabby, for once all serious. It was that, more than anything, that convinced Forge.
"Yeah sure... just let me grab something and we'll get going," he said, immediately diving back into his piles of tools and gadgets, as Tabby made her way upstairs to wait in the hallway.
"Alright," said Forge, reappearing the hallway with a backpack slung over one shoulder. Tabby raised an eyebrow.
"What's in there?" she asked, as she and Forge stepped outside, the young native American calling out to his parents he'd be back soon, he was heading to the Xavier Institute. They were used to it, since Forge kept irregular hours with his job and all and his visits to the Institute to assist with Cerebro and the school's security features.
"Just something I wanted to tinker with while I was visiting," he said, hoisting the pack over his shoulder and setting out on foot with Tabby walking close behind, back to the Institute.
"Not another one of those zapper ray thingies, is it?" she asked, putting a few more feet of distance between her and Forge.
"Nah. Just an Gamecube I wanted to tinker around with," he replied. "I think I found a way to push the games to a whole new level."
To that, Tabby had no possible reply.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back at the Institute, things had calmed down, though the situation had not been improved all too greatly. Kitty and the Brotherhood had arrived a short while ago, and those sick had been quickly placed inside the rapidly being filled up quarantine room. Several of students with more advanced marks of the disease, Kurt, Sam and Jamie, were being moved in isolation to the level below to make room.
Of the Brotherhood, Todd and Pietro were the worse, and Todd was sent below with the worse subjects of the virus. Fred had also fallen ill along the way, though he had yet to show any symptoms of the virus. Kitty, Lance and (surprisingly) Wanda were all safe, for the moment. They all volunteered to help, and Xavier put them to work where he felt was best, though in truth he was very much out of his league. So was Hank. Though a brilliant chemist, he was no pathologist. Logan might've known something about how to deal with diseases, but he had yet to return from his ride.
Amanda had, thankfully, not caught the disease from her unprotected contact with the others. This led Xavier to believe that perhaps his earlier theory had been correct, that only active x-genes were susceptible to infection. Still, Amanda refused to leave the Institute (or even Kurt's side) and they had to take precautions. Thus, like Bobby, she was now given a containment suit and asked to assist in the caring of the students below, easing the work load of the others. Hank in particular was now free to actively study the virus and work to find a cure, though with little success.
And so Professor Charles Xavier realized that this situation was beyond his control. And he began to make some phone calls.
Author's Notes:
Awww, wasn't that sweet of Lance, protecting his pretty kitty? I thought so. I also through in a tiny bit of insight into what I imagine the Tabby-Forge friendship must be like. And of course more of Amanda. Is that not totally what she would do? Now things are really beginning to heat up, as the symptoms of the disease get even worse. And this... this is only the beginning. Kinda makes you wonder who Xavier is going to call. Any guesses? By popular request, an Evolized Moira MacTaggert will appear later on in the story. I suppose it only makes sense, because I'll be needing her in future stories and yet even more sequels of 'Nullification' and 'Infection.'
Todd fan: Of course Forge. I haven't forgotten him (unlike the Evo writers. He just vanished after second season). And yes it will be interesting with the Morlocks and especially Callisto, I only hope I write it out well.
Sandoz: Of course not. Like 'Nullification', I must now gather everyone together and build towards a super climactic battle! As for Kitty at the Brotherhood, didja like? I thought you would. And yes, someone seen on the Evo episodes. You are so close its scary.
Nessie6: Oh I agree, anything is better if its well-written. Even some Romy's. And yeah its been done to death, even before he appeared on Evo. So have the Kurtty's. Pietro's here, Pyro is coming. He needs appropriate build-up (so he looks foolish in a good way) later.
Rogue Witch: But Evo Callisto's nicer! Plus I'm a Callisto/Evan fan, and Spyke'd never let Auntie O beat up his girlfriend. Therefore, argument at most, no catfight. Catfight to come later between, hmmmmm... I'll think of something. Maybe Rahne and Jubilee.
Rogue14: Oh I will. But glad you're enjoying it none the less. And I'll keep writing more chapters, but you should too! Write!
DoubleL27: Wonderful, I knew I had a good audience. Speaking of "the Professor" or Colonel Wraith, as I prefer to call him... who ever said he was dead? No one! Double-check the end of Nullification. But you are closer than you could possibly imagine as to whom is the villain of this story. Glad you like my development of X23, I'm rather proud of what I've done to her too.
UnknownSource: Well we all know that some people just plain don't like mutants. Except the elderly farming couple we saw on the news, who don't know what they are. Oh, this virus is definently more deadly... just you wait. But you have touched upon the reason the regenerative mutants were all taken out of the picture. Not coincidental by any stretch of the imagination. Don't worry I'll give some character insight shortly. I just don't want to do too many or have them become repetitive.
OpticRed: Scott is not affected. I have my own fiendish reasons for keeping him healthy. I said among the new recruits, those three aren't affected, although I shouldn't have mentioned Bobby since he's a full X-man now (see 'Weapon X24'). Don't worry, questions always good. Helps me fix any mistakes I make.
Elrohirthewriter: I promise nothing. Leech's fate hangs in the balance, as do all the mutants. Thanks for the comment, I greatly appreciate such for I am always overly critical of my own work. And yes I'm glad you liked the girl's reactions. Believe me, I could've taken all the X-Men (plus New Recruits) and done something similar.
CrypticIdentity: Answer your question? That's how Amanda reacted. Though we never do think things through when we're in love do we? Seriously, do we? I wouldn't know. And yes I'm glad you liked my portrayal of Leech's mom. For some reason she keeps reminding me of my aunt, so she's easy to write.
Snitter in Rivendell: Patience, my friend, patience. You know how I work. I love doing character insight. I just don't want to do too entirely too much of it, dontcha know? Glad you like the introduction of Leech and Amanda though.
