A/N ~ And there was much rejoicing at the groovy reviews... Seriously, thanks to all for those. You really have no idea how much they are loved and cherished. Like little tiny children.
So we have... *counts* three in favour of Robyn staying alive, and three... not. Yay for my wide vocabulary. Ah well, can't please everyone.
Hootild; Glad you like Hank and Spider-Man. And as for Erik's knowledge about Peter... well, therein lies the rub. See, Erik thinks Peter's a naturally occurring mutant like himself. He doesn't know about the spider bite or any of that. So the sh... guano should really hit the fan when someday he figures out one of his acolytes is really just a plain 'ole homo-sapien - i.e. 'the enemy'.
Ezrajade; Yeah, Hank never gets a good lot in life, does he? I wonder why people feel the need to torture him so much? It's like some compulsive thing. Now where did I leave that pink dye...
Person; First off, your pseudonym made me laugh. Nothing like being descriptive. Secondly, I'm glad you appreciated the way Robyn's death was handled. Thirdly, I'm sorry you were exposed to bad fiction. There's nothing worse than persevering with a story in the hopes it will get better, only to find that, no, it's pure crap through and through. Hopefully this fic won't turn out to be like that.
Ambrosia; I suppose Robyn's death *could* be seen as a copout. Then again, since I know what happens in a few chapters' time, it's not really. The fic shall make amends. Besides which, we're dealing with an essentially Marvel universe here, and since when has any Marvel character ever stayed dead? Well, except for Cypher, but that's another matter entirely...
Remedy=Chill; You talked about Robyn's death? Where? What was said about it? Details, please. I'm nosy and shameless, and want to know what people who haven't reviewed think. ;) Plus, you're parting comment last time reminded me of Big Brother. *Shivers*
UnknownSource; Twistiness shall rule over everything, mwahahahaaaa! Ahem, or not. Mmm, Twister ice-lollies... But I digress. Like I said before, Robyn's death was something we actually had several disagreements on during production, which is how she ended up in a state of unlife and then life again. You bring up a good point about loss of innocence, so I hope people were paying attention; but yeah, Kurt not being suicidal is a good thing. Or is it...?
Krazy Xanadu; 'So how is it... that Jamie managed to survive? Did he join with Magneto right away? Or did 'e just get lucky?' Which ones? There's more than one Jamie nowadays, and nobody's quite sure which is the original. The Jamies up on Asteroid M were those rescued by Magneto when he arrived at the initial scene where the mob had beaten the one boy into hundreds of bodies. The Jamies still on Earth are either clones created afterwards by survivors, or else those who wandered off before Mags arrived and so couldn't be reabsorbed. Therefore they went and made new lives for themselves in the Big Wide World.
Yma; I noticed! Just because I didn't say so didn't mean I hadn't noticed!
Tenshiamanda; Short and sweet. Go Daisy!
Kookiedoe; Essays are evil. I've had to write far too many than is good for my mental stability. Happy you like the fic, though.
ChaosCat; Yes! A new reviewer who knows who's Marvel and who's an OC! Captain Britain is an underused character, we felt, so we included him instead of better-known characters. There's mor scope for someone barely used in the canon. Personally, I think he fits in quite nicely up there. Gives a bit of multiculturalism to the group. Hope you can review again soon.
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Twenty-first Fragment ~ 'Faith'
*******************
Mystique looked on with quiet concern. They were all so tired; so very, very tired. Even Logan had collapsed onto one of the seats, and his snores reached her ears easily, though she was at the other end of the compartment.
The details she had were sketchy, gasped out mostly by Kurt when he, Logan and the girls arrived back. She'd been horrified to see Robyn outside - even more so upon learning what had nearly happened. She had relieved her son of his adoptive sister immediately, allowing him to crash out on the back seats where Pietro usually sat.
There had still been no sign of the speedster, and though she didn't voice it, Mystique was worried.
Daisy, of course, was still firmly in Logan's cradling arms, even as the two of them slept. There had been a small driblet of blood from her nose earlier, but that had stopped now, and her face had smoothed from its unexpectedly strained expression. She had new wrinkles now, making her scales rub together as they overlapped in the creases.
It took a lot to bring out a latent mutant power so young.
Mystique sat, gently smoothing Robyn's hair. She could hear Rogue, Kitty and Lance talking outside, but their voices were too soft to make out any actual words.
Alvin had disappeared. He'd brushed past her earlier with an alacrity that was strange for him. He'd been distracted about something, that much was clear, and hadn't even acknowledged her when she'd asked what was wrong.
_He shouldn't really go off alone like that,_ she thought ruefully. _There's no telling what could happen out there._
Still, he *had* survived the trip from Ororo to Bayville unscathed, so perhaps he knew what he was doing.
Perhaps.
Robyn's tail twitched, brushing her leg and returning her to the present. Mystique jumped, and then glanced out of the window.
Pietro *should've* been back by now. It was a good thing Kurt wasn't awake. Yet another thing for him to worry about.
Despite having Logan around, it hadn't escaped anyone's notice that Kurt was the undisputed leader of their motley group, and prone to worrying about everybody and everything, right down to the smallest detail. Having the speedster vanish like this would shoot his already frayed nerves to ribbons, and if nothing else, she wanted to spare him that tiny amount of stress as long as she could. Pietro was a survivor, she told herself. He'd be okay, wherever he was, and soon be back with more medicines for poor Robyn.
Robyn. To paraphrase the song: she wasn't sick, but she wasn't well. Her fever had abated a little, and her breathing seemed easier, but she was still listless, and her furry little face was drawn and ill. Could she see beneath the fur, Mystique suspected the cat-girl was deathly pale, too. It was a miracle she was alive at all, and the shapeshifter hugged her surrogate daughter that little bit tighter in thanks to whatever deity had chosen to let Daisy's power come early.
The details as to what Daisy's ability actually *was* could be worked out later. For now, gratefulness was the only thing anyone could feel. Mystique couldn't have faced losing another daughter after regaining her first so suddenly.
The thought made her eyes travel to the door, and the warm glow of the campfire outside.
Rogue.
Something had been seriously wrong with her earlier, back in that godforsaken town, but when questioned she'd only mumbled something about headaches and waking nightmares. Mystique was worried, but had chosen not to press the subject if Rogue was unwilling to talk about it just yet.
_Perhaps I'm just making up for lost time, and lumping all my worries together._
Outside, Baby Hope started up a piteous mewling for milk, and Kitty laughed a motherly chuckle.
Mystique smiled. Motherhood was a blessing, and despite what anyone said, she wasn't going to let it slip through her fingers again. Not for Rogue, Kurt, Robyn, Daisy - not even for Pietro, though God knew he resisted her maternal advances like the plague. She couldn't blame him really, but resolved to persevere until he realised her intentions were true this time.
If he got back, that was.
No, not if - when! When he got back.
Mystique chewed her lip and carried on gently stroking Robyn's damp hair. Her children were her priority now - both biological and adoptive - and she was damned if she was going to let them down when they needed her the most.
Not this time.
*******************
Alvin sat in a pool of shadow, motionless save for the stiff breeze ruffling his hair. The wind sighed around him, and the sky overhead was lightening to a lighter shade of black. Yet he paid them no heed.
He'd gone without sleep for many long hours now, but he'd never felt less like slumbering in his entire existence. Not even in his previous life as a bank clerk, before the X-Virus hit and devastated all he knew and loved.
He'd tried to kill a child.
The realisation had struck him moments after Kurt teleported. He'd actually suggested ending her life in cold blood. Him. A preacher, and supposed advocate of living. Any other missionary would never have considered such a thing, and he hung his head in shame at the revelation that maybe... maybe he wasn't good enough to be numbered amongst the Goddess' faithful any longer. He'd been away from her lands for so long... perhaps he'd forsaken her ways after all he'd seen on this journey.
Kurt's face, so distraught and angry, haunted his mind, and he touched the mark where the elf had struck him. Kurt had been entirely within his rights to do so, of course, and in his heart of hearts Alvin couldn't really blame him for his reaction. There was a small scab now where the trickle of blood had dried into a hard crust ending just above his jawline. He ran his fingertips along it and sighed dejectedly.
"Oh Goddess," he murmured, wondering whether she'd hear him. In the Old World one had to be sincere of faith for any deity to hear. Questioning his beliefs probably wouldn't help prayer any, but still, he'd been doing it for so long now, and speaking his thoughts aloud like this helped him clear his head.
"Goddess, I'm lost. I think I've strayed from your path, and I can't find the way back on my own. I remained faithful to you for so long... why is it that now I wonder about myself? About my loyalty to your cause?"
His only answer was the wind, and it spoke in a tongue he couldn't understand.
"What am I doing? Talking to myself in the middle if the wilderness... do I think I'm Jesus or something?"
It was one of the first times he'd thought about the old faiths since joining the ranks of the Goddess, and somehow it left him feeling slightly bitter. Prior to the great plague, Alvin hadn't been a particularly religious man.
Strange how an apocalypse could change a person's perspective on things.
Sickness had taken his family from him - wife, daughter, baby son. Even his old mother who had lived in the attic of their rambling detached house. He'd thought he had nothing left to believe in until the Goddess came to Earth in his broken-down town and made things green again. Faith had since become his rock, his still point, his guiding light.
_So why is it failing me now?_
He tilted his face heavenwards. "Goddess, please help me. Please. Will Kurt forgive me for what I almost did? He seemed so... so angry. Furious. He is the forgiving sort, but never before has the life of his sister been threatened so openly. I saw the betrayal in his eyes. I'm not a fool." He considered the words for a moment. "Or am I? I... oh, Goddess..." And he fell to weeping into his hands for want of anything else to say.
*******************
"Seer? Seer!" Ororo grabbed loosely at the nearest person. "Turn this chair around!"
The woman she'd caught at blinked in surprise. "What is it, Goddess? What's the matter?"
Concern made Ororo's tone sharp. "Can't you see? Turn me around, quickly. Something's wrong with Seer!"
The trio of robed followers hastily did as she bid and wheeled her back towards where the gargoyle-like mutant had dropped out of the sky. The fall hadn't been far, thank goodness, but he lay on the ground, dazed and with a strangely familiar glazed look in his amber eyes.
Ororo cursed that she couldn't get out of her chair, appreciating how Charles must have felt. "Seer? Seer, what's wrong? Is it another Vision?"
He blinked groggily at her, gaze coming slowly back into focus as she called to him. Abruptly he blinked, and was back among the living once more. "I-I felt great sadness. Pain. It was startling; it overwhelmed me, and... and I couldn't concentrate on staying in the air."
"Are you hurt?"
He shook his head. "No, but whomever it was I sensed is. On the inside. It was one of those sent out, still alive. He was... unsure of something. Something important to him. I felt him adrift. Unconnected. He feels alone amongst many."
Ororo's eyes shone, and she leaned forward despite the ache it caused in her chest. One of the wanderers yet lived? "Did you see who it was?"
Seer looked contrite. "No, all I sensed was a jumble of feelings, a few hazy images. He's done something and feels ashamed of himself. Something involving a... a child." The mutant rubbed at his head. "It was so powerful, like he was *trying* to make contact, or something."
"Perhaps he was." Ororo's face was distant, accentuating the haggard lines around her eyes. The trio of woman fussed to tuck her blanket further around her legs, and she didn't stop them. She'd learned long ago that it was useless to do so, and more often that not just hurt their feelings.
Seer got unsteadily to his feet and flexed first one wing, and then the other, checking for damage. There was none, and he shot her an apologetic glance. "I'm sorry, but I have to get back to patrol. There haven't been any hostile sightings for a few days, but that's not to say that nobody's out there."
"Yes, go," Ororo waved him away with a nod and a smile. "You can climb the Birthing Building to get gliding height. Just don't like Kathy Midwife spot you."
"After last time? No fear." Seer smiled tightly, and strode away with a purposeful air. Perhaps more so than he felt after the strange, heartrending vision.
Whoever it was out there, he wished them well, and hoped they'd be all right until they could return home again.
It was all he could do. And that was what pained him.
*******************
Lance poked the fire with a stick and watched as a few lazy sparks spewed forth to be blown away on the cool air. Morning was coming, but they let their small fire burn anyway. For the heat, if nothing else.
Hope was snuggled in Kitty's arms, firmly clamped to the young mother's breast. Lance used to think the idea of breastfeeding repulsive, but now when he looked at the two of them he instead felt an overwhelming surge of fatherly joy, and way back in the crannies of his mind a paternal protective instinct pricked his consciousness.
"You OK, hon?" he asked suddenly.
Kitty's face jerked up, surprised, but she smiled at him and nodded. Hope let go long enough to rub blindly at her nose, and then mouthed to find her food source again. Kitty laughed and helped her to it.
Rogue sat a little distance from the couple, observing them with interest. She'd probably learned more about them in the conversation they'd just had than from the copious hours of travelling so far. They were an odd couple, by her standards, but there was an underlying bond between them she was trying to puzzle out. Caught somewhere between loyalty and affection, she wondered what had ultimately pushed them to produce a child. Sure, they said they'd been afraid they were the only mutants left, but one baby? What did they expect one little babe to do for the situation?
"Penny for them?"
Rogue jolted, "'Scuse me?"
"Your thoughts," said Kitty. "Penny for your thoughts? You're very quiet, is all."
"Oh... nothing interesting, believe me." Rogue sniffed, glancing out beyond the pool of light. "Shouldn't Pietro be back by now?"
"He's a big boy," Lance shrugged. "He can take care of himself."
"I suppose. Any idea where Alvin went?"
"Alvin?" Lance screwed up his face in thought. "Actually, now that you mention it, no. Wonder where that screwball scurried off to."
"Lance!" Kitty chided, but her partner only shrugged again.
"What? S'the truth, ain't it? That guy's got more than a few screws loose. Hell, he's missing a couple of nuts and bolts, too."
"He's helping us," Kitty reminded him sternly, "And I, for one, count him as a friend. God knows we need them in places like this." Inadvertently she shivered.
"Cold?" Rogue offered the blanket she'd been wearing, rising to her feet and placing it gently around Kitty's shoulders.
"Thanks," the younger girl replied, and tucked Hope's swaddling a bit tighter.
Rogue smiled down at them, contemplating how incongruous their small scene of serenity was when set against the torn background of the vice-ridden city they'd just passed through. In a way, it was good to see such things; but at the same time it was frightening. How long could scenarios like this one last? How long would they be *allowed* to continue?
Lance poked at the fire again, drawing her attention to it. Rogue stared into the flames, lost in thought. So it startled her a little when Lance's voice cut into her contemplation suddenly.
"Hey, wuzzat?"
"Huh? What?"
"That." Lance indicated to the dusky horizon, which had lightened to a shade of grey not unlike mould.
Rogue squinted, her eyesight not much better than his. "Looks like... a dust cloud."
"Dust cloud?" Kitty repeated, perplexed, and turned. A breeze wafted into her face, blowing grains of sand against her glasses.
"Hey, wasn't that the direction Pietro went, earlier?" said Lance.
Rogue nodded, narrowing her eyes further. "And if I'm not mistaken, then that dust cloud's the little speed demon's handiwork. Looks like he's decided to grace us with his presence at last. About darn time, too."
"Is that... someone with him? It looks as if there's someone piggy-backing. Or am I seeing things?"
"Y'ain't seein' nuthin', rock-tumbler," Rogue replied firmly. "Looks like old Pie-Pie's picked up another stray. And after all he was saying about supplies, too. Hypocrite." But she was smiling as she said it.
Lance got to his feet, and together, the trio plus one baby awaited their prodigal speedster's rapid return.
"HOOOOOOO*YEAH*!" Pietro came to a halt at the camp. "We'resaved, we'resaved. LookIbroughtmoremedicineforthepipsqueak! An'Ifoundanativeguide. Youshouldseehim, hegetseverywhere."
"Jamie Madrox," said the newcomer, thrusting out a hand. "We've been looking for you, believe it or not. Your coming was fortold."
"*More* prophecies?" scoffed Lance, not shaking. Instead, he stuffed his own hands in his pockets. Travelling for so long had made him wary of strangers. Especially when they carried swords.
"*Laaa-ance*..." Kitty scolded.
"I've yet to hear one word from these things that can be proven," he sulked.
Madrox dropped to a crouch near Kitty and stared at the baby. "Her name's Hope, isn't it?"
"It's a common name," Lance defended stubbornly. "Especially in this day and age."
"I also know that out of all of you, only one person riding this bus is *not* a mutant." Madrox folded his arms. "How common is *that*?"
"Er..." Lance coughed. "You're a bit late with those medicines, Speedy."
"Wh... whaddya mean? She's not... ohmyGodshe'snotdeadisshe?" Pietro gulped, slowing down for their benefit. "... is she?"
"Ah... sort of..."
"Shit, no!" he swore, and those who could see them were surprised at the sudden tears that sprang to his eyes. They shone in the weak new morning light, and his throat bobbed uncertainly. "No, no, *no*! I can't be too late! I*can't*be! I'mthefastestmutantalivenothingcancatchme, Ijust*can't*betoolate!"
Kitty took pity on him. "You're not. Robyn's alive."
"Say what?"
"She's alive, dipwad. No thanks to you taking so long, though." And Lance fell into the entire story, whilst Pietro and Madrox listened, open-mouthed.
"A miracle," the latter gasped at the end. "The Lord must have heard your prayers and sent down an angel to heal his Chosen! Praise be to Him!"
"Oh great, another nutball."
"La-ance!"
Lance grumped, folding his arms and thinking rebelliously, _Looks like we exchanged one religious weirdo for another._
"Who's this?" demanded a gruff voice.
He turned to see Logan stepping out of the bus, supporting a tired looking Kurt. It appeared they'd awoken at the jubilant shout heralding Pietro's return.
Madrox introduced himself quickly, whilst Pietro sniffed, asked about both Daisy and Robyn, and then rattled off about Mutie Town.
"Andhesaysit'sjustformutantswithnohumansoranything, an'there'slotsoffoodandwater, andtheyallworktogetherandthey'rewaitingforthismessiahorsomething, andtheysayI'minaprophecyinsomebookan'I'mimportant ::gasp:: heseemsreallyinterestedinmebecausehethink'sI'mamessiah, andIthinkhe'snutsforthinkingthat, butitdoesn'tmatter - "
"Hold up there, squirt!" Logan growled, bringing him to a screeching halt. "Now, what in the hell is a 'Mutie Town?"
At a speed they could understand, Madrox explained. Mutie Town was a poor man's Lands of New Hope, replete with its own purported deity - though, he admitted, their 'Lord' hadn't come down to fetch them, yet. It was a haven for any mutant seeking shelter in the wastelands hereabouts, and filled to bursting with the remnants of Mutantkind not taken by hatred, hunger or the virus.
By mutants, with mutants, for mutants.
"Place got a healer?" Logan asked tersely, obviously thinking of the children. Daisy was weaker than a newborn kitten, and Robyn still had sickness clinging to her like a wet limpet. Not to mention the general exhaustion making the rounds amongst their ranks. Elf in particular wasn't looking too hot, and Raven still needed some weight on her if she was going to...
He shook the thought away, avoiding her eye through the window to boot. No time to think of things like that. Survival first.
Madrox nodded at his question. "We have one main healer, and a few kids whose powers are just growing in if needs be." Then he blinked at Logan. "Are you the steward?"
"'Scuse me?"
"Two dance eternally, steward of six walks road of holes."
"Hey, wasn't that your prophecy, Mr. Logan?" said Kitty. Lance harrumphed, and she neatly elbowed him in the ribs.
Logan nodded, satisfied. This kid had shown a lot of guts coming into their camp when he knew they were all mutants. Quoting that titbit had, though not completely convinced the terminally suspicious mutant, certainly gone a long way to convincing Logan of his sincerity.
"Which way is this Mutie Town?"
Smiling, Madrox gave some rough directions.
"Hmm, seems it's on our way anyhow. Awright folks, let's get movin'."
They started to pack up, gathering the newly acquired medicines and kicking sand on the fire.
Suddenly, Kitty cried out. "Hold on! What about Alvin?"
"Can't afford to wait 'round here too long, Half-Pint," Logan said with a glance at the bus. "We gotta get movin' *now*. Time ain't exactly on our side. We can spare a few minutes, but unless God Boy pulls his socks up an' joins us, we can't afford to wait for him."
"But he's all alone in the wilderness. We can't just leave him there," she persisted.
"He's only a human," said Madrox in a bemused tone of voice. Logan shot him a curious, almost annoyed glance, but said nothing.
"Look, Kitty-Kat," said Lance, "he was wandering the wilderness alone when we found him, right? He'll be fine."
"No, he won't." Kitty tilted her chin at where she heard his voice. "You might not believe me, but I think something's wrong with him. He's never not told us where he's going before, and when he left, his breathing was so heavy - he was really upset about something."
"Oh, for God's sake, Kitty," Lance snapped, "the guy was a complete nutter! We're better off without him anyway."
Kitty looked horrified. She turned in Logan's direction, knowing Kurt was standing by his side. Kurt was the voice of reason and their leader. He wouldn't just leave one of their own alone out there with raiders and whatnot about. "Kurt," she said softly, "please, we have to find him."
"He wanted to kill Robyn," Kurt said, equally soft. "That's why he ran off. He wanted to give her a mercy killing. As far as I'm concerned..." his voice turned oddly harsh, grating unpleasantly in his throat, "as far as I'm concerned, he can *rot* out there!"
A dreadful look passed over Kitty's face. It was full of pity, shock, and disillusionment, all mixed up and splashed about her features. Then it was replaced by one of anger and determination.
"Fine," she said, very quietly but very firmly. "If you won't go look for him, then I will."
"Kitty!" Lance exclaimed. "You're blind, you can't - "
"I can do exactly what I want to do, Lance Alvers! I can still call out, and I can still hear, and that's enough. If any of you want to help me, you can. Not that I expect you to. Sometimes," she curled her lip in an expression they'd never seen on her face before - one of disgust, "I feel like I'm the only sighted person here."
With that, she grabbed the twisted, stout stick Alvin had previously been using for a staff and, clutching Hope to her chest, staggered off into the wasteland, calling his name.
"Kitty! Kitty, come back!" Lance started after her, but felt someone catch his arm. He looked back to see who it was.
Kurt stared soulfully at him, golden eyes huge and pleading. "Don't," he said, but was prevented from saying more by Lance roughly breaking loose and rounding on him.
"I'm not leaving her to wander alone out there!"
"I wasn't suggesting that you do," Kurt replied calmly, not a waver to his voice. Kitty wasn't yet out of sight of the campfire, and his nocturnally enhanced eyesight had no trouble picking her out from the gloom. "I meant that *I'd* go fetch her. My eyes, you see," he indicted to them. "They're better in the dark."
Lance regarded the elf for a moment, looking between him and Kitty. Then he sneered.
Kurt took an involuntary step back at the older boy's tone, and behind him Logan arched an eyebrow.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you Freakshow? Just you and her alone out there? Don't try to deny it. I know your little game. Ever since we joined your stupid party you've been trying to take her away from me. You thought I hadn't noticed? Well, I did. Every single little thing you did, said, every look you sent her way - *everything*. Forget it, Fuzzy. Kitty's my responsibility. *I'll* go after her. I don't like this Alvin character, but if *she* wants to look for him, then that's exactly what we're gonna do! *Without* you or your patchwork friends!" And he turned on his heel and pounded after Kitty into the darkness.
Rogue started to go after them, but, fast as lightning, Logan was at her arm, pulling her back. He shook his head and nodded at Kurt's slightly dazed expression.
"Dissent in the ranks, Stripes. We go after them, then that rock-buster's liable to do somethin' stupid, like abandon the group altogether."
Rogue frowned. "He wouldn't, would he? That's pure idiocy! There's safety in numbers."
"I've seen his type 'afore, kid. He feels threatened by the Elf, like Kurt's tryin' to take his place with his girl. She likes Kurt - quite a bit as it happens - and he's just tryin' to make sure she don't forget about him for someone else. Natural reaction, but could cause problems if we don't handle it right."
Rogue turned back to the murk where the couple and child had vanished. "But we can't just leave 'em out there. It's too dangerous. *Hope's* with 'em, for God's sake!"
Logan patted her arm and gestured back to the bus. "Who said we were leavin' 'em alone completely? Watch Daisy for me, will ya?"
He slid off into the shadows, silent as the grave and twice as ghostly. There was no chance either Kitty or Lance would spot or hear him, but he'd be there all the same.
Rogue chewed her lip for a moment, and then swivelled to face Kurt. "Come on," she said gently. "Let's go see how Momma and the girls're doin'. Pietro, you and your new friend'll hafta wait a minute until they get back. Watch out for em."
Pietro hopped from foot to foot, agitated and eager for the off. "But how long will they *be*?" he demanded, and looked at the sky. "It'll be morning soon. Travelling in the daylight's dangerous enough as it is, and you know it."
Kurt sighed, catching all their attentions. "Not long," he said. "I know Logan. He'll make sure they find Alvin quickly, even if they don't know he's there, watching over them. He has his ways," he added, cutting off Pietro's question before he even had chance to voice it. "Come on. Perhaps Mama will know which of these medicines are good for Robyn now. Daisy too. Calling on her mutant abilities so young has drained her."
He hefted the remainder of the supplies onto one shoulder and headed into the bus. Those remaining exchanged a curious glance, and then Rogue followed in silence while Pietro and Madrox hunkered down to wait and talk of Mutie Town some more.
*******************
Kitty heard the whistle of the wind, felt the hard, bare earth underneath her worn shoes... and the heavy breathing of Lance.
"You came," she said shortly.
"I... I couldn't leave you on your own, could I?"
"You would've left Alvin." It was less of a statement, more of an accusation.
"Yeah, but - dammit, I love you, Kitty. I love you more than anything else in this whole fucked up world! Sometimes I do stupid things, yeah, but... I never ever wanna hurt you. If I'm a jerk, if I'm dumb, I... I need you to bring me around. And you always do, and I'm always here, because I love you, and whatever happens that'll never change. Ever."
She allowed herself a tight smile. "Now you make it sound like you're the blind man and I'm the guide."
A pause. "Maybe you are," he said at last. "Just not in the normal sense."
"Well then," she said briskly, "I'd better lead, hadn't I? Just try to be quiet so I can hear properly, K? And Lance?"
"Yeah?"
"Whatever happens, I love you too. Just so you know."
Together the tiny family searched, unaware of the dark shadow stalking them, adept as a hunting cat on the prowl. Logan's breath barely stirred the dust motes dancing in front of his calloused, worn face.
It was Kitty who eventually found Alvin. She discovered him by the soft sound of his earnest prayers.
"Alvin..." she called, and the broken man turned to face her.
"Go away," he said softly, so soft that Lance had to strain to hear.
No so Kitty. "Alvin, we're not gonna just leave you out here all alone. Come back with us. It's time to leave."
"I'm not worth any more than that."
"Yes, you are. We'd be lost now if it weren't for you. Alvin..." She bit her lip, not really knowing what to say. Aside from his devotion to Ororo, she realised that none of them actually knew very much about Alvin. They didn't know what made him tick, what he thought of the world, how he felt when they passed through torn, wounded places. He'd never spoken of his life before four years ago, and none of them had even seen fit to ask him about it. He was a mystery. A mystery sitting right there in the middle of them all this time.
_What kind of people are we?_ she wondered, slightly shocked at the group who, though they'd only spent such a small amount of time together, she'd already come to call friends. _Are we so wrapped up in what happened to Mutantkind that we neglected to bother ourselves about the human in our midst? Alvin's been so good to us, and we never even asked him who he really was. What he thinks..._
"Alvin, please. Come back with us. We need you - "
"No, you don't." The preacher's voice was hushed and strained, and there was a strange undertone neither she nor Lance had ever heard him use before. He sounded... unsure of himself. And broken. So terribly, terribly broken.
Both of them blanched, and though she couldn't exchange glances with him, she turned her face to where she knew Lance was looking at her.
Kitty cleared her throat. "Why? Why wouldn't we want you, Alvin? Tell me."
He didn't answer for a second. Then, "Has he not told you, then?"
"Who? Told us what?"
More silence for a second. Then he whispered, "I tried to kill her."
Kitty sucked in a breath of air through her teeth. "Robyn?"
"I tried to kill a child." He didn't appear to have heard her. "In cold blood. I... I knew how to do it; had it all planned out in my mind. I never flinched. Not once. Not until after he'd knocked some sense into me, at least. She's what - four? Maybe five years old? I was going to kill a baby."
Kitty felt Lance's hand twitch towards Hope, and she resisted the urge to bat him away lest she draw Alvin's attention to the movement.
"My own son was her age when he died," Alvin went on. "The plague took him from me - took all my family from me. I felt so lost without them... and I was willing to put Kurt through the same ordeal. I was willing to let her die in his arms, just like Timmy died in mine..."
Kitty's heart split a little more as she listened to him, and she swallowed. Hard. "Alvin." She took a step forward and heard him skitter away slightly, shale and loose stone moving under his clothes. "Alvin, I'm sorry. We didn't know about... your family. But tonight, you did what any doctor would've done, given the circumstances. Robyn was in pain. You just wanted to help alleviate it." She couldn't bring herself to tell him that Robyn had died, even if the little girl had had such a miraculous recovery as well. "Alvin, please. Kurt was just upset. He wasn't thinking... clearly. Emotions do things to a person. That's what caused all this mess, remember?"
She waved a hand around at the tattered landscape. Fear, hatred, and panic - they'd all gone into making the world what it was. They'd all scarred the land. And, to some extent, so had love. The scientists who created the X-Virus had done so with their own loved-ones in mind. They'd been trying to protect their children, their parents, their siblings, their lovers...
Fear had killed the Earth. So had hatred.
So had love.
Hope grumbled in Kitty's arms, and she turned to Lance. "Here, take the baby." He did so, and she knelt by Alvin's side. This time he didn't move away, and she could *feel* that his eyes were turned away from her without having to see them. "Alvin, please. Kurt's only human, like you. We all make mistakes. We all get emotional. It's just a part of who we are - what makes us people. You can't expect yourself to be right all the time."
"But she's... a child..." he murmured, still not looking at her.
"Four years ago, I was just a child. I was fourteen years old when all this started. Alvin, you did the best you could, just like everybody's done. We all cope in different ways. You wanted to help, to take away pain. Sometimes... sometimes *that's* the only way to do it. It's not a pleasant notion, but it's the truth."
Alvin heaved a deep sigh. "Your words make sense," he said slowly, as if mulling them over. "But it's not only that."
"Do you mean Kurt? 'Cause, he's, like, the most forgiving amongst us." She crossed her mental fingers a tad, and hoped Kurt's generous nature would extend to this occasion too, just as it had done with his mother.
However, Alvin shook his head. "I fear that he won't forgive me, but that's not why I can't come back with you. I deserve no more from him."
Kitty's brow puckered. "Then... what is it? What's wrong?"
"I can no longer lead you to the Lands of New Hope. I'm not worthy. I've... I've lost my faith."
Kitty looked at Alvin with eyes that could no longer see. "Lance," she whispered, "Give Alvin the baby."
"But Kitty-Kat..."
"Give Alvin the baby, Lance," she said again, in a suddenly steely tone that brooked no argument.
Slowly, reluctantly, Lance passed little Baby Hope to Alvin and, equally reluctantly, Alvin took her. He tried to resist, but Kitty's blank, sightless stare bored into him like a knife, and he found himself obeying despite himself.
Hope was light and warm, and snuggled against him just like his own son and daughter had once done.
"Now, Alvin," Kitty continued, "I want you to do something. I want you to look at that baby, and I want you to tell her that this has all been for nothing. That there's no hope, none of her namesake left in the world. That mutants and humans are bound to fight forever more until we wipe each other off the face of the Earth. I want you to tell her that there's nothing left that can give her life any joy or happiness. I want you to tell her there *is* no life, that there *is* no hope."
Alvin faltered, caught by the baby' questing hand as it caught at the front of his robes. "I... I... can't..."
"Exactly. Because you still have faith. Not a faith in a Goddess or a magical realm, but a faith in a dream. A dream that there's some way to make things better; that, one day, humans and mutants can live together, and we can heal the harm we've done to this world."
"But it... it's too hard." Alvin's eyes were fixed on the baby's. "There is so much hate, Miss Kitty. So much death. You've seen it, perpetuating even after the war's over. Why should we even try? It's so hard to imagine that we could ever succeed against all that we've seen."
"And maybe we never will," replied Kitty softly. "But if we give up all faith, all hope, then we'll fail straight off. Fall at the starting gate. Perhaps, just perhaps, if we just keep trying, then we'll succeed. And if we don't... well, at least we tried. That's got to be worth something. To us, if no-one else." She reached out and laid a hand on his, fumbling to find it until he guided her. "Faith is fundamental, Alvin. You don't need some dressed up deity to have it. Faith in yourself - *that's* what makes us stronger. That's what'll make sure we survive this trip and earn the right to start over."
His hand tightened on hers, and Alvin looked up.
To Lance it seemed that the dark cloud had passed his face, leaving it bright and as bathed in sunshine as the distant horizon. Alvin beamed up at Kitty with an almost adoring look, releasing her fingers and getting to his feet.
"Take me back to the others," he said resolutely. "I'm ready to go home. I'm ready to *lead* you home."
*******************
To Be Continued...
*******************
So we have... *counts* three in favour of Robyn staying alive, and three... not. Yay for my wide vocabulary. Ah well, can't please everyone.
Hootild; Glad you like Hank and Spider-Man. And as for Erik's knowledge about Peter... well, therein lies the rub. See, Erik thinks Peter's a naturally occurring mutant like himself. He doesn't know about the spider bite or any of that. So the sh... guano should really hit the fan when someday he figures out one of his acolytes is really just a plain 'ole homo-sapien - i.e. 'the enemy'.
Ezrajade; Yeah, Hank never gets a good lot in life, does he? I wonder why people feel the need to torture him so much? It's like some compulsive thing. Now where did I leave that pink dye...
Person; First off, your pseudonym made me laugh. Nothing like being descriptive. Secondly, I'm glad you appreciated the way Robyn's death was handled. Thirdly, I'm sorry you were exposed to bad fiction. There's nothing worse than persevering with a story in the hopes it will get better, only to find that, no, it's pure crap through and through. Hopefully this fic won't turn out to be like that.
Ambrosia; I suppose Robyn's death *could* be seen as a copout. Then again, since I know what happens in a few chapters' time, it's not really. The fic shall make amends. Besides which, we're dealing with an essentially Marvel universe here, and since when has any Marvel character ever stayed dead? Well, except for Cypher, but that's another matter entirely...
Remedy=Chill; You talked about Robyn's death? Where? What was said about it? Details, please. I'm nosy and shameless, and want to know what people who haven't reviewed think. ;) Plus, you're parting comment last time reminded me of Big Brother. *Shivers*
UnknownSource; Twistiness shall rule over everything, mwahahahaaaa! Ahem, or not. Mmm, Twister ice-lollies... But I digress. Like I said before, Robyn's death was something we actually had several disagreements on during production, which is how she ended up in a state of unlife and then life again. You bring up a good point about loss of innocence, so I hope people were paying attention; but yeah, Kurt not being suicidal is a good thing. Or is it...?
Krazy Xanadu; 'So how is it... that Jamie managed to survive? Did he join with Magneto right away? Or did 'e just get lucky?' Which ones? There's more than one Jamie nowadays, and nobody's quite sure which is the original. The Jamies up on Asteroid M were those rescued by Magneto when he arrived at the initial scene where the mob had beaten the one boy into hundreds of bodies. The Jamies still on Earth are either clones created afterwards by survivors, or else those who wandered off before Mags arrived and so couldn't be reabsorbed. Therefore they went and made new lives for themselves in the Big Wide World.
Yma; I noticed! Just because I didn't say so didn't mean I hadn't noticed!
Tenshiamanda; Short and sweet. Go Daisy!
Kookiedoe; Essays are evil. I've had to write far too many than is good for my mental stability. Happy you like the fic, though.
ChaosCat; Yes! A new reviewer who knows who's Marvel and who's an OC! Captain Britain is an underused character, we felt, so we included him instead of better-known characters. There's mor scope for someone barely used in the canon. Personally, I think he fits in quite nicely up there. Gives a bit of multiculturalism to the group. Hope you can review again soon.
*******************
Twenty-first Fragment ~ 'Faith'
*******************
Mystique looked on with quiet concern. They were all so tired; so very, very tired. Even Logan had collapsed onto one of the seats, and his snores reached her ears easily, though she was at the other end of the compartment.
The details she had were sketchy, gasped out mostly by Kurt when he, Logan and the girls arrived back. She'd been horrified to see Robyn outside - even more so upon learning what had nearly happened. She had relieved her son of his adoptive sister immediately, allowing him to crash out on the back seats where Pietro usually sat.
There had still been no sign of the speedster, and though she didn't voice it, Mystique was worried.
Daisy, of course, was still firmly in Logan's cradling arms, even as the two of them slept. There had been a small driblet of blood from her nose earlier, but that had stopped now, and her face had smoothed from its unexpectedly strained expression. She had new wrinkles now, making her scales rub together as they overlapped in the creases.
It took a lot to bring out a latent mutant power so young.
Mystique sat, gently smoothing Robyn's hair. She could hear Rogue, Kitty and Lance talking outside, but their voices were too soft to make out any actual words.
Alvin had disappeared. He'd brushed past her earlier with an alacrity that was strange for him. He'd been distracted about something, that much was clear, and hadn't even acknowledged her when she'd asked what was wrong.
_He shouldn't really go off alone like that,_ she thought ruefully. _There's no telling what could happen out there._
Still, he *had* survived the trip from Ororo to Bayville unscathed, so perhaps he knew what he was doing.
Perhaps.
Robyn's tail twitched, brushing her leg and returning her to the present. Mystique jumped, and then glanced out of the window.
Pietro *should've* been back by now. It was a good thing Kurt wasn't awake. Yet another thing for him to worry about.
Despite having Logan around, it hadn't escaped anyone's notice that Kurt was the undisputed leader of their motley group, and prone to worrying about everybody and everything, right down to the smallest detail. Having the speedster vanish like this would shoot his already frayed nerves to ribbons, and if nothing else, she wanted to spare him that tiny amount of stress as long as she could. Pietro was a survivor, she told herself. He'd be okay, wherever he was, and soon be back with more medicines for poor Robyn.
Robyn. To paraphrase the song: she wasn't sick, but she wasn't well. Her fever had abated a little, and her breathing seemed easier, but she was still listless, and her furry little face was drawn and ill. Could she see beneath the fur, Mystique suspected the cat-girl was deathly pale, too. It was a miracle she was alive at all, and the shapeshifter hugged her surrogate daughter that little bit tighter in thanks to whatever deity had chosen to let Daisy's power come early.
The details as to what Daisy's ability actually *was* could be worked out later. For now, gratefulness was the only thing anyone could feel. Mystique couldn't have faced losing another daughter after regaining her first so suddenly.
The thought made her eyes travel to the door, and the warm glow of the campfire outside.
Rogue.
Something had been seriously wrong with her earlier, back in that godforsaken town, but when questioned she'd only mumbled something about headaches and waking nightmares. Mystique was worried, but had chosen not to press the subject if Rogue was unwilling to talk about it just yet.
_Perhaps I'm just making up for lost time, and lumping all my worries together._
Outside, Baby Hope started up a piteous mewling for milk, and Kitty laughed a motherly chuckle.
Mystique smiled. Motherhood was a blessing, and despite what anyone said, she wasn't going to let it slip through her fingers again. Not for Rogue, Kurt, Robyn, Daisy - not even for Pietro, though God knew he resisted her maternal advances like the plague. She couldn't blame him really, but resolved to persevere until he realised her intentions were true this time.
If he got back, that was.
No, not if - when! When he got back.
Mystique chewed her lip and carried on gently stroking Robyn's damp hair. Her children were her priority now - both biological and adoptive - and she was damned if she was going to let them down when they needed her the most.
Not this time.
*******************
Alvin sat in a pool of shadow, motionless save for the stiff breeze ruffling his hair. The wind sighed around him, and the sky overhead was lightening to a lighter shade of black. Yet he paid them no heed.
He'd gone without sleep for many long hours now, but he'd never felt less like slumbering in his entire existence. Not even in his previous life as a bank clerk, before the X-Virus hit and devastated all he knew and loved.
He'd tried to kill a child.
The realisation had struck him moments after Kurt teleported. He'd actually suggested ending her life in cold blood. Him. A preacher, and supposed advocate of living. Any other missionary would never have considered such a thing, and he hung his head in shame at the revelation that maybe... maybe he wasn't good enough to be numbered amongst the Goddess' faithful any longer. He'd been away from her lands for so long... perhaps he'd forsaken her ways after all he'd seen on this journey.
Kurt's face, so distraught and angry, haunted his mind, and he touched the mark where the elf had struck him. Kurt had been entirely within his rights to do so, of course, and in his heart of hearts Alvin couldn't really blame him for his reaction. There was a small scab now where the trickle of blood had dried into a hard crust ending just above his jawline. He ran his fingertips along it and sighed dejectedly.
"Oh Goddess," he murmured, wondering whether she'd hear him. In the Old World one had to be sincere of faith for any deity to hear. Questioning his beliefs probably wouldn't help prayer any, but still, he'd been doing it for so long now, and speaking his thoughts aloud like this helped him clear his head.
"Goddess, I'm lost. I think I've strayed from your path, and I can't find the way back on my own. I remained faithful to you for so long... why is it that now I wonder about myself? About my loyalty to your cause?"
His only answer was the wind, and it spoke in a tongue he couldn't understand.
"What am I doing? Talking to myself in the middle if the wilderness... do I think I'm Jesus or something?"
It was one of the first times he'd thought about the old faiths since joining the ranks of the Goddess, and somehow it left him feeling slightly bitter. Prior to the great plague, Alvin hadn't been a particularly religious man.
Strange how an apocalypse could change a person's perspective on things.
Sickness had taken his family from him - wife, daughter, baby son. Even his old mother who had lived in the attic of their rambling detached house. He'd thought he had nothing left to believe in until the Goddess came to Earth in his broken-down town and made things green again. Faith had since become his rock, his still point, his guiding light.
_So why is it failing me now?_
He tilted his face heavenwards. "Goddess, please help me. Please. Will Kurt forgive me for what I almost did? He seemed so... so angry. Furious. He is the forgiving sort, but never before has the life of his sister been threatened so openly. I saw the betrayal in his eyes. I'm not a fool." He considered the words for a moment. "Or am I? I... oh, Goddess..." And he fell to weeping into his hands for want of anything else to say.
*******************
"Seer? Seer!" Ororo grabbed loosely at the nearest person. "Turn this chair around!"
The woman she'd caught at blinked in surprise. "What is it, Goddess? What's the matter?"
Concern made Ororo's tone sharp. "Can't you see? Turn me around, quickly. Something's wrong with Seer!"
The trio of robed followers hastily did as she bid and wheeled her back towards where the gargoyle-like mutant had dropped out of the sky. The fall hadn't been far, thank goodness, but he lay on the ground, dazed and with a strangely familiar glazed look in his amber eyes.
Ororo cursed that she couldn't get out of her chair, appreciating how Charles must have felt. "Seer? Seer, what's wrong? Is it another Vision?"
He blinked groggily at her, gaze coming slowly back into focus as she called to him. Abruptly he blinked, and was back among the living once more. "I-I felt great sadness. Pain. It was startling; it overwhelmed me, and... and I couldn't concentrate on staying in the air."
"Are you hurt?"
He shook his head. "No, but whomever it was I sensed is. On the inside. It was one of those sent out, still alive. He was... unsure of something. Something important to him. I felt him adrift. Unconnected. He feels alone amongst many."
Ororo's eyes shone, and she leaned forward despite the ache it caused in her chest. One of the wanderers yet lived? "Did you see who it was?"
Seer looked contrite. "No, all I sensed was a jumble of feelings, a few hazy images. He's done something and feels ashamed of himself. Something involving a... a child." The mutant rubbed at his head. "It was so powerful, like he was *trying* to make contact, or something."
"Perhaps he was." Ororo's face was distant, accentuating the haggard lines around her eyes. The trio of woman fussed to tuck her blanket further around her legs, and she didn't stop them. She'd learned long ago that it was useless to do so, and more often that not just hurt their feelings.
Seer got unsteadily to his feet and flexed first one wing, and then the other, checking for damage. There was none, and he shot her an apologetic glance. "I'm sorry, but I have to get back to patrol. There haven't been any hostile sightings for a few days, but that's not to say that nobody's out there."
"Yes, go," Ororo waved him away with a nod and a smile. "You can climb the Birthing Building to get gliding height. Just don't like Kathy Midwife spot you."
"After last time? No fear." Seer smiled tightly, and strode away with a purposeful air. Perhaps more so than he felt after the strange, heartrending vision.
Whoever it was out there, he wished them well, and hoped they'd be all right until they could return home again.
It was all he could do. And that was what pained him.
*******************
Lance poked the fire with a stick and watched as a few lazy sparks spewed forth to be blown away on the cool air. Morning was coming, but they let their small fire burn anyway. For the heat, if nothing else.
Hope was snuggled in Kitty's arms, firmly clamped to the young mother's breast. Lance used to think the idea of breastfeeding repulsive, but now when he looked at the two of them he instead felt an overwhelming surge of fatherly joy, and way back in the crannies of his mind a paternal protective instinct pricked his consciousness.
"You OK, hon?" he asked suddenly.
Kitty's face jerked up, surprised, but she smiled at him and nodded. Hope let go long enough to rub blindly at her nose, and then mouthed to find her food source again. Kitty laughed and helped her to it.
Rogue sat a little distance from the couple, observing them with interest. She'd probably learned more about them in the conversation they'd just had than from the copious hours of travelling so far. They were an odd couple, by her standards, but there was an underlying bond between them she was trying to puzzle out. Caught somewhere between loyalty and affection, she wondered what had ultimately pushed them to produce a child. Sure, they said they'd been afraid they were the only mutants left, but one baby? What did they expect one little babe to do for the situation?
"Penny for them?"
Rogue jolted, "'Scuse me?"
"Your thoughts," said Kitty. "Penny for your thoughts? You're very quiet, is all."
"Oh... nothing interesting, believe me." Rogue sniffed, glancing out beyond the pool of light. "Shouldn't Pietro be back by now?"
"He's a big boy," Lance shrugged. "He can take care of himself."
"I suppose. Any idea where Alvin went?"
"Alvin?" Lance screwed up his face in thought. "Actually, now that you mention it, no. Wonder where that screwball scurried off to."
"Lance!" Kitty chided, but her partner only shrugged again.
"What? S'the truth, ain't it? That guy's got more than a few screws loose. Hell, he's missing a couple of nuts and bolts, too."
"He's helping us," Kitty reminded him sternly, "And I, for one, count him as a friend. God knows we need them in places like this." Inadvertently she shivered.
"Cold?" Rogue offered the blanket she'd been wearing, rising to her feet and placing it gently around Kitty's shoulders.
"Thanks," the younger girl replied, and tucked Hope's swaddling a bit tighter.
Rogue smiled down at them, contemplating how incongruous their small scene of serenity was when set against the torn background of the vice-ridden city they'd just passed through. In a way, it was good to see such things; but at the same time it was frightening. How long could scenarios like this one last? How long would they be *allowed* to continue?
Lance poked at the fire again, drawing her attention to it. Rogue stared into the flames, lost in thought. So it startled her a little when Lance's voice cut into her contemplation suddenly.
"Hey, wuzzat?"
"Huh? What?"
"That." Lance indicated to the dusky horizon, which had lightened to a shade of grey not unlike mould.
Rogue squinted, her eyesight not much better than his. "Looks like... a dust cloud."
"Dust cloud?" Kitty repeated, perplexed, and turned. A breeze wafted into her face, blowing grains of sand against her glasses.
"Hey, wasn't that the direction Pietro went, earlier?" said Lance.
Rogue nodded, narrowing her eyes further. "And if I'm not mistaken, then that dust cloud's the little speed demon's handiwork. Looks like he's decided to grace us with his presence at last. About darn time, too."
"Is that... someone with him? It looks as if there's someone piggy-backing. Or am I seeing things?"
"Y'ain't seein' nuthin', rock-tumbler," Rogue replied firmly. "Looks like old Pie-Pie's picked up another stray. And after all he was saying about supplies, too. Hypocrite." But she was smiling as she said it.
Lance got to his feet, and together, the trio plus one baby awaited their prodigal speedster's rapid return.
"HOOOOOOO*YEAH*!" Pietro came to a halt at the camp. "We'resaved, we'resaved. LookIbroughtmoremedicineforthepipsqueak! An'Ifoundanativeguide. Youshouldseehim, hegetseverywhere."
"Jamie Madrox," said the newcomer, thrusting out a hand. "We've been looking for you, believe it or not. Your coming was fortold."
"*More* prophecies?" scoffed Lance, not shaking. Instead, he stuffed his own hands in his pockets. Travelling for so long had made him wary of strangers. Especially when they carried swords.
"*Laaa-ance*..." Kitty scolded.
"I've yet to hear one word from these things that can be proven," he sulked.
Madrox dropped to a crouch near Kitty and stared at the baby. "Her name's Hope, isn't it?"
"It's a common name," Lance defended stubbornly. "Especially in this day and age."
"I also know that out of all of you, only one person riding this bus is *not* a mutant." Madrox folded his arms. "How common is *that*?"
"Er..." Lance coughed. "You're a bit late with those medicines, Speedy."
"Wh... whaddya mean? She's not... ohmyGodshe'snotdeadisshe?" Pietro gulped, slowing down for their benefit. "... is she?"
"Ah... sort of..."
"Shit, no!" he swore, and those who could see them were surprised at the sudden tears that sprang to his eyes. They shone in the weak new morning light, and his throat bobbed uncertainly. "No, no, *no*! I can't be too late! I*can't*be! I'mthefastestmutantalivenothingcancatchme, Ijust*can't*betoolate!"
Kitty took pity on him. "You're not. Robyn's alive."
"Say what?"
"She's alive, dipwad. No thanks to you taking so long, though." And Lance fell into the entire story, whilst Pietro and Madrox listened, open-mouthed.
"A miracle," the latter gasped at the end. "The Lord must have heard your prayers and sent down an angel to heal his Chosen! Praise be to Him!"
"Oh great, another nutball."
"La-ance!"
Lance grumped, folding his arms and thinking rebelliously, _Looks like we exchanged one religious weirdo for another._
"Who's this?" demanded a gruff voice.
He turned to see Logan stepping out of the bus, supporting a tired looking Kurt. It appeared they'd awoken at the jubilant shout heralding Pietro's return.
Madrox introduced himself quickly, whilst Pietro sniffed, asked about both Daisy and Robyn, and then rattled off about Mutie Town.
"Andhesaysit'sjustformutantswithnohumansoranything, an'there'slotsoffoodandwater, andtheyallworktogetherandthey'rewaitingforthismessiahorsomething, andtheysayI'minaprophecyinsomebookan'I'mimportant ::gasp:: heseemsreallyinterestedinmebecausehethink'sI'mamessiah, andIthinkhe'snutsforthinkingthat, butitdoesn'tmatter - "
"Hold up there, squirt!" Logan growled, bringing him to a screeching halt. "Now, what in the hell is a 'Mutie Town?"
At a speed they could understand, Madrox explained. Mutie Town was a poor man's Lands of New Hope, replete with its own purported deity - though, he admitted, their 'Lord' hadn't come down to fetch them, yet. It was a haven for any mutant seeking shelter in the wastelands hereabouts, and filled to bursting with the remnants of Mutantkind not taken by hatred, hunger or the virus.
By mutants, with mutants, for mutants.
"Place got a healer?" Logan asked tersely, obviously thinking of the children. Daisy was weaker than a newborn kitten, and Robyn still had sickness clinging to her like a wet limpet. Not to mention the general exhaustion making the rounds amongst their ranks. Elf in particular wasn't looking too hot, and Raven still needed some weight on her if she was going to...
He shook the thought away, avoiding her eye through the window to boot. No time to think of things like that. Survival first.
Madrox nodded at his question. "We have one main healer, and a few kids whose powers are just growing in if needs be." Then he blinked at Logan. "Are you the steward?"
"'Scuse me?"
"Two dance eternally, steward of six walks road of holes."
"Hey, wasn't that your prophecy, Mr. Logan?" said Kitty. Lance harrumphed, and she neatly elbowed him in the ribs.
Logan nodded, satisfied. This kid had shown a lot of guts coming into their camp when he knew they were all mutants. Quoting that titbit had, though not completely convinced the terminally suspicious mutant, certainly gone a long way to convincing Logan of his sincerity.
"Which way is this Mutie Town?"
Smiling, Madrox gave some rough directions.
"Hmm, seems it's on our way anyhow. Awright folks, let's get movin'."
They started to pack up, gathering the newly acquired medicines and kicking sand on the fire.
Suddenly, Kitty cried out. "Hold on! What about Alvin?"
"Can't afford to wait 'round here too long, Half-Pint," Logan said with a glance at the bus. "We gotta get movin' *now*. Time ain't exactly on our side. We can spare a few minutes, but unless God Boy pulls his socks up an' joins us, we can't afford to wait for him."
"But he's all alone in the wilderness. We can't just leave him there," she persisted.
"He's only a human," said Madrox in a bemused tone of voice. Logan shot him a curious, almost annoyed glance, but said nothing.
"Look, Kitty-Kat," said Lance, "he was wandering the wilderness alone when we found him, right? He'll be fine."
"No, he won't." Kitty tilted her chin at where she heard his voice. "You might not believe me, but I think something's wrong with him. He's never not told us where he's going before, and when he left, his breathing was so heavy - he was really upset about something."
"Oh, for God's sake, Kitty," Lance snapped, "the guy was a complete nutter! We're better off without him anyway."
Kitty looked horrified. She turned in Logan's direction, knowing Kurt was standing by his side. Kurt was the voice of reason and their leader. He wouldn't just leave one of their own alone out there with raiders and whatnot about. "Kurt," she said softly, "please, we have to find him."
"He wanted to kill Robyn," Kurt said, equally soft. "That's why he ran off. He wanted to give her a mercy killing. As far as I'm concerned..." his voice turned oddly harsh, grating unpleasantly in his throat, "as far as I'm concerned, he can *rot* out there!"
A dreadful look passed over Kitty's face. It was full of pity, shock, and disillusionment, all mixed up and splashed about her features. Then it was replaced by one of anger and determination.
"Fine," she said, very quietly but very firmly. "If you won't go look for him, then I will."
"Kitty!" Lance exclaimed. "You're blind, you can't - "
"I can do exactly what I want to do, Lance Alvers! I can still call out, and I can still hear, and that's enough. If any of you want to help me, you can. Not that I expect you to. Sometimes," she curled her lip in an expression they'd never seen on her face before - one of disgust, "I feel like I'm the only sighted person here."
With that, she grabbed the twisted, stout stick Alvin had previously been using for a staff and, clutching Hope to her chest, staggered off into the wasteland, calling his name.
"Kitty! Kitty, come back!" Lance started after her, but felt someone catch his arm. He looked back to see who it was.
Kurt stared soulfully at him, golden eyes huge and pleading. "Don't," he said, but was prevented from saying more by Lance roughly breaking loose and rounding on him.
"I'm not leaving her to wander alone out there!"
"I wasn't suggesting that you do," Kurt replied calmly, not a waver to his voice. Kitty wasn't yet out of sight of the campfire, and his nocturnally enhanced eyesight had no trouble picking her out from the gloom. "I meant that *I'd* go fetch her. My eyes, you see," he indicted to them. "They're better in the dark."
Lance regarded the elf for a moment, looking between him and Kitty. Then he sneered.
Kurt took an involuntary step back at the older boy's tone, and behind him Logan arched an eyebrow.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you Freakshow? Just you and her alone out there? Don't try to deny it. I know your little game. Ever since we joined your stupid party you've been trying to take her away from me. You thought I hadn't noticed? Well, I did. Every single little thing you did, said, every look you sent her way - *everything*. Forget it, Fuzzy. Kitty's my responsibility. *I'll* go after her. I don't like this Alvin character, but if *she* wants to look for him, then that's exactly what we're gonna do! *Without* you or your patchwork friends!" And he turned on his heel and pounded after Kitty into the darkness.
Rogue started to go after them, but, fast as lightning, Logan was at her arm, pulling her back. He shook his head and nodded at Kurt's slightly dazed expression.
"Dissent in the ranks, Stripes. We go after them, then that rock-buster's liable to do somethin' stupid, like abandon the group altogether."
Rogue frowned. "He wouldn't, would he? That's pure idiocy! There's safety in numbers."
"I've seen his type 'afore, kid. He feels threatened by the Elf, like Kurt's tryin' to take his place with his girl. She likes Kurt - quite a bit as it happens - and he's just tryin' to make sure she don't forget about him for someone else. Natural reaction, but could cause problems if we don't handle it right."
Rogue turned back to the murk where the couple and child had vanished. "But we can't just leave 'em out there. It's too dangerous. *Hope's* with 'em, for God's sake!"
Logan patted her arm and gestured back to the bus. "Who said we were leavin' 'em alone completely? Watch Daisy for me, will ya?"
He slid off into the shadows, silent as the grave and twice as ghostly. There was no chance either Kitty or Lance would spot or hear him, but he'd be there all the same.
Rogue chewed her lip for a moment, and then swivelled to face Kurt. "Come on," she said gently. "Let's go see how Momma and the girls're doin'. Pietro, you and your new friend'll hafta wait a minute until they get back. Watch out for em."
Pietro hopped from foot to foot, agitated and eager for the off. "But how long will they *be*?" he demanded, and looked at the sky. "It'll be morning soon. Travelling in the daylight's dangerous enough as it is, and you know it."
Kurt sighed, catching all their attentions. "Not long," he said. "I know Logan. He'll make sure they find Alvin quickly, even if they don't know he's there, watching over them. He has his ways," he added, cutting off Pietro's question before he even had chance to voice it. "Come on. Perhaps Mama will know which of these medicines are good for Robyn now. Daisy too. Calling on her mutant abilities so young has drained her."
He hefted the remainder of the supplies onto one shoulder and headed into the bus. Those remaining exchanged a curious glance, and then Rogue followed in silence while Pietro and Madrox hunkered down to wait and talk of Mutie Town some more.
*******************
Kitty heard the whistle of the wind, felt the hard, bare earth underneath her worn shoes... and the heavy breathing of Lance.
"You came," she said shortly.
"I... I couldn't leave you on your own, could I?"
"You would've left Alvin." It was less of a statement, more of an accusation.
"Yeah, but - dammit, I love you, Kitty. I love you more than anything else in this whole fucked up world! Sometimes I do stupid things, yeah, but... I never ever wanna hurt you. If I'm a jerk, if I'm dumb, I... I need you to bring me around. And you always do, and I'm always here, because I love you, and whatever happens that'll never change. Ever."
She allowed herself a tight smile. "Now you make it sound like you're the blind man and I'm the guide."
A pause. "Maybe you are," he said at last. "Just not in the normal sense."
"Well then," she said briskly, "I'd better lead, hadn't I? Just try to be quiet so I can hear properly, K? And Lance?"
"Yeah?"
"Whatever happens, I love you too. Just so you know."
Together the tiny family searched, unaware of the dark shadow stalking them, adept as a hunting cat on the prowl. Logan's breath barely stirred the dust motes dancing in front of his calloused, worn face.
It was Kitty who eventually found Alvin. She discovered him by the soft sound of his earnest prayers.
"Alvin..." she called, and the broken man turned to face her.
"Go away," he said softly, so soft that Lance had to strain to hear.
No so Kitty. "Alvin, we're not gonna just leave you out here all alone. Come back with us. It's time to leave."
"I'm not worth any more than that."
"Yes, you are. We'd be lost now if it weren't for you. Alvin..." She bit her lip, not really knowing what to say. Aside from his devotion to Ororo, she realised that none of them actually knew very much about Alvin. They didn't know what made him tick, what he thought of the world, how he felt when they passed through torn, wounded places. He'd never spoken of his life before four years ago, and none of them had even seen fit to ask him about it. He was a mystery. A mystery sitting right there in the middle of them all this time.
_What kind of people are we?_ she wondered, slightly shocked at the group who, though they'd only spent such a small amount of time together, she'd already come to call friends. _Are we so wrapped up in what happened to Mutantkind that we neglected to bother ourselves about the human in our midst? Alvin's been so good to us, and we never even asked him who he really was. What he thinks..._
"Alvin, please. Come back with us. We need you - "
"No, you don't." The preacher's voice was hushed and strained, and there was a strange undertone neither she nor Lance had ever heard him use before. He sounded... unsure of himself. And broken. So terribly, terribly broken.
Both of them blanched, and though she couldn't exchange glances with him, she turned her face to where she knew Lance was looking at her.
Kitty cleared her throat. "Why? Why wouldn't we want you, Alvin? Tell me."
He didn't answer for a second. Then, "Has he not told you, then?"
"Who? Told us what?"
More silence for a second. Then he whispered, "I tried to kill her."
Kitty sucked in a breath of air through her teeth. "Robyn?"
"I tried to kill a child." He didn't appear to have heard her. "In cold blood. I... I knew how to do it; had it all planned out in my mind. I never flinched. Not once. Not until after he'd knocked some sense into me, at least. She's what - four? Maybe five years old? I was going to kill a baby."
Kitty felt Lance's hand twitch towards Hope, and she resisted the urge to bat him away lest she draw Alvin's attention to the movement.
"My own son was her age when he died," Alvin went on. "The plague took him from me - took all my family from me. I felt so lost without them... and I was willing to put Kurt through the same ordeal. I was willing to let her die in his arms, just like Timmy died in mine..."
Kitty's heart split a little more as she listened to him, and she swallowed. Hard. "Alvin." She took a step forward and heard him skitter away slightly, shale and loose stone moving under his clothes. "Alvin, I'm sorry. We didn't know about... your family. But tonight, you did what any doctor would've done, given the circumstances. Robyn was in pain. You just wanted to help alleviate it." She couldn't bring herself to tell him that Robyn had died, even if the little girl had had such a miraculous recovery as well. "Alvin, please. Kurt was just upset. He wasn't thinking... clearly. Emotions do things to a person. That's what caused all this mess, remember?"
She waved a hand around at the tattered landscape. Fear, hatred, and panic - they'd all gone into making the world what it was. They'd all scarred the land. And, to some extent, so had love. The scientists who created the X-Virus had done so with their own loved-ones in mind. They'd been trying to protect their children, their parents, their siblings, their lovers...
Fear had killed the Earth. So had hatred.
So had love.
Hope grumbled in Kitty's arms, and she turned to Lance. "Here, take the baby." He did so, and she knelt by Alvin's side. This time he didn't move away, and she could *feel* that his eyes were turned away from her without having to see them. "Alvin, please. Kurt's only human, like you. We all make mistakes. We all get emotional. It's just a part of who we are - what makes us people. You can't expect yourself to be right all the time."
"But she's... a child..." he murmured, still not looking at her.
"Four years ago, I was just a child. I was fourteen years old when all this started. Alvin, you did the best you could, just like everybody's done. We all cope in different ways. You wanted to help, to take away pain. Sometimes... sometimes *that's* the only way to do it. It's not a pleasant notion, but it's the truth."
Alvin heaved a deep sigh. "Your words make sense," he said slowly, as if mulling them over. "But it's not only that."
"Do you mean Kurt? 'Cause, he's, like, the most forgiving amongst us." She crossed her mental fingers a tad, and hoped Kurt's generous nature would extend to this occasion too, just as it had done with his mother.
However, Alvin shook his head. "I fear that he won't forgive me, but that's not why I can't come back with you. I deserve no more from him."
Kitty's brow puckered. "Then... what is it? What's wrong?"
"I can no longer lead you to the Lands of New Hope. I'm not worthy. I've... I've lost my faith."
Kitty looked at Alvin with eyes that could no longer see. "Lance," she whispered, "Give Alvin the baby."
"But Kitty-Kat..."
"Give Alvin the baby, Lance," she said again, in a suddenly steely tone that brooked no argument.
Slowly, reluctantly, Lance passed little Baby Hope to Alvin and, equally reluctantly, Alvin took her. He tried to resist, but Kitty's blank, sightless stare bored into him like a knife, and he found himself obeying despite himself.
Hope was light and warm, and snuggled against him just like his own son and daughter had once done.
"Now, Alvin," Kitty continued, "I want you to do something. I want you to look at that baby, and I want you to tell her that this has all been for nothing. That there's no hope, none of her namesake left in the world. That mutants and humans are bound to fight forever more until we wipe each other off the face of the Earth. I want you to tell her that there's nothing left that can give her life any joy or happiness. I want you to tell her there *is* no life, that there *is* no hope."
Alvin faltered, caught by the baby' questing hand as it caught at the front of his robes. "I... I... can't..."
"Exactly. Because you still have faith. Not a faith in a Goddess or a magical realm, but a faith in a dream. A dream that there's some way to make things better; that, one day, humans and mutants can live together, and we can heal the harm we've done to this world."
"But it... it's too hard." Alvin's eyes were fixed on the baby's. "There is so much hate, Miss Kitty. So much death. You've seen it, perpetuating even after the war's over. Why should we even try? It's so hard to imagine that we could ever succeed against all that we've seen."
"And maybe we never will," replied Kitty softly. "But if we give up all faith, all hope, then we'll fail straight off. Fall at the starting gate. Perhaps, just perhaps, if we just keep trying, then we'll succeed. And if we don't... well, at least we tried. That's got to be worth something. To us, if no-one else." She reached out and laid a hand on his, fumbling to find it until he guided her. "Faith is fundamental, Alvin. You don't need some dressed up deity to have it. Faith in yourself - *that's* what makes us stronger. That's what'll make sure we survive this trip and earn the right to start over."
His hand tightened on hers, and Alvin looked up.
To Lance it seemed that the dark cloud had passed his face, leaving it bright and as bathed in sunshine as the distant horizon. Alvin beamed up at Kitty with an almost adoring look, releasing her fingers and getting to his feet.
"Take me back to the others," he said resolutely. "I'm ready to go home. I'm ready to *lead* you home."
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To Be Continued...
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