Chapter Eleven:
In between open boxes of lo mien and half eaten platters of General Tao's chicken, Remy skillfully dealt a new round of cards to the other X-Men around him. His expression was only a little smug, his pile of Swedish fish openly challenged by Rogue, whose own winnings so far were well earned. Bobby and Peter both looked a little unhappy, since neither of them had won a round yet, while Mary and Kurt were middling in their share of the sugary sea creatures.
"Alright," Remy said with a grin, "Now that we are nearing time for dessert, the stakes for our little Swedish friends have risen, no?"
There was a general chuckle as the others picked up their cards, though Remy's constant witty banter and taunts were beginning to annoy those that were losing. The Cajun only fed off of their glares, however, hoping to stir up a real challenge from his teammates by instigating them.
"Quit babbling," Rogue shot back with a grin, "Finish dealing so I can win the rest of your fish."
"You think so, chere?" Remy asked with a flirtatious grin, "Remy does not give up his little Nemos so easily..."
The others stared at him a moment with confusion.
"Little Nemos?" Bobby asked and grinned, before leaning over to Rogue, "Was that supposed to be dirty or not?"
Rogue laughed and smacked Bobby on the arm playfully. Peter was frowning as he stared at his cards, and Mary seemed to be losing interest in the game all together since it took Remy ten minutes just to banter and deal.
Only Kurt seemed distant from the dinner conversation, glancing at the clock almost every minute. He had tried not to seem too nervous when they all sat down for dinner, waiting anxiously for Storm to return, but as the first hour ticked onto the second, he could not help but feel disappointed that her X-Men duties had kept her busy tonight. His tail waved slowly back and forth behind him, he picked up his new hand of cards and stared at them indifferently.
Rogue was sitting to his left and she noticed his low mood when she glanced at him. She saw him sneak another peek at the clock and touched his arm reassuringly.
"Don't worry," she whispered to him under the general banter, "She'll get here."
Kurt gave her a grateful smile, but then sighed heavily, "I don't know...whatever they were going to investigate...it seemed very important..."
"Well..." Rogue added, nudging him and grinning, "If not...she'll have to give you a rain check. Oh, and that terrible pun was...so...completely...intended."
Kurt smiled, but still looked disappointed. The one time he actually found the courage to finally invite Storm on a semi-date, and she was drawn away by duty. But, that was one of the things he liked about her. Her conviction, her dedication to who she was and her role as part of the X-Men...it was almost intimidating...
Not almost... Kurt thought to himself, and sighed again.
The others were beginning the new round when Kurt put down his cards neatly and stood up.
"I think..." he said softly, "I will go get something more to drink. Does anyone else need anything?"
A round of 'no thanks' and other replies circled through the small group, and then Remy leveled a finger at Kurt menacingly.
"But hurry back, ami," he said, sounding quite serious, "Thirst will not save your fish from my grasp..."
Kurt chuckled and shook his head as he headed out of the small lounge toward the kitchen.
As Mary watched him go, she felt a strange sense of warning rise up in her mind again. She frowned, and thought back on the previous night's dream. She had awoken with the same dread then...the same inner sense of warning...but was it real...or was she simply mistaking a real dream for one of her visions...
"Mary?" Peter called to her, and she glanced up at him, "It's your bid..."
"Oh, sorry," she replied, and tried to focus on the game as the small nagging voice in her mind repeated its warning.
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Faith stood among a short row of trees and glanced around in frustration.
The demon had moved fast, and she had lost the main trail. She crouched low in the heavily foliage and closed her eyes. With a few deep breaths, she refocused her mind and tried to let her instincts tell her tired body which way to go next. She had scaled a tall stone wall to enter the grounds of Xavier's School for the Gifted, and she could see many windows in the large building begin to glow as the remaining light in the sky faded away.
A school full of lively, healthy children certainly would have been a prime target for the demon she was trailing, so she decided to give the grounds a quick sweep search before she moved on. She stood and ran quickly, silently, toward the school. She moved quickly up the first set of stone steps she found and moved stealthily toward the outer wall.
Faith stopped before the first window she came to, and glanced inside. The only light in the room was from a television set. There were several children sitting on a sofa, the oldest could not have been more than twelve or thirteen, and they were happily surfing through the channels in search of suitable cartoons. Faith smiled a little bit as she watched two boys wrestle for the remote and heard the others laughing at their antics.
Moving along the wall, Faith found another window, and heard people talking loudly inside. She peered in, and saw a group of adults sitting around a small table and playing cards. She wondered for a moment if they were the teachers or faculty, but since she did not sense or see the demon, she continued her sweep down the wall.
Finally, she came to a set of four windows which bowed out slightly in the middle. When she looked inside, she could tell the room was a kitchen, the dim light reflecting dully off the wide silver refrigerator. She did not see anyone at first, until suddenly she heard a soft sound and saw what looked like a cloud of dark smoke settling near the kitchen's main entrance.
Her pulse quickened as she saw a pair of yellow eyes staring out from the shadows. The figure did not seem to notice her, and turned its back to the windows. She could not tell what it was doing, but she did see a long tail stretch upward from its back and circle toward its head.
Faith ground her teeth with satisfaction, and pushed one window open quietly. The demon-like figure did not move as she lifted the bottom pane upward into place. The scent of brimstone wafted from the room. Faith kept her eyes locked on the vague creature in the shadows...and drew the long knife from her belt.
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In his office on the second floor, Xavier was pouring over ancient texts and Cerebro's most recent information about the day's disturbances. He glanced up, and stared out of his window over the dark lawns.
A sudden sense came to him, a vague presence on the school's grounds that he could not easily lock onto. He closed his eyes and concentrated...
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Remy was leaning forward on his elbows, smirking evilly at his competitors as he glanced around at them with his intense red eyes.
"While we wait for Monsieur Wagner to return..." he said, "...why don't we make out bets a little more interesting? Gambit is quite confident that the fates are blessing him tonight with such an impossibly excellent selection of cards...so who would like to challenge fate? Double or nothing...winner takes all...what do you say?"
Bobby and Peter looked very uncertain, thinking the fates had left them Swedish Fish-less for the night, but Rogue narrowed her eyes at the confident Cajun and called his bluff.
"Okay, Mr. LeBeau," she replied confidently, "Double or nothin', if you think luck's gonna be on your side this round. What do you say, Mary? Do you see fortune in Remy's future?"
Rogue glanced to her right, but Mary was staring at the door to the hallway again.
"Mary?" Rogue called again.
"Oh, sorry..." Mary replied, without turning around. There was something wrong. She knew it...the voice in her mind was becoming more urgent. Warning her...warning them...about what?
"Are you okay?" Rogue asked with a frown and Mary nodded slowly.
"Yeah," she said and then glanced over at the others, "I'm sorry...my head's just not in this game. I think...I'm going to...go check on Kurt..."
Her voice was soft and distant. Rogue stared at her and wondered with alarm if Mary might be staring to have another seizure. Dr. McCoy was out with Storm and Cyclops, so Rogue considered calling to the Professor. But, Mary quickly stood up and headed out into the hall.
Rogue turned back to face forward in her chair, feeling worried and hoping the doctor would get back soon...just in case.
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When Kurt reached the kitchen door, he was thinking of Storm. When they had met, when they had been in the base at Alkalai Lake, the past nine months since then...and he was smiling softly. He had been with her, outside the Dark Cerebro, and she had told him she had faith in him. She believed in him and that he could get them safely through the heavy metal doors where the Professor had been held prisoner. She believed in him, and he had done it.
Kurt stood just outside the kitchen door and grinned just before he vanished. A moment later he reappeared on the other side and glanced around the kitchen with satisfaction. He was getting better at teleporting without a visual mark, as long as he was familiar with where he was going.
He looked around the room one more time, making sure there were no students lurking around who might have witnessed his antics and then he grinned again. He hoped Storm would not be too upset when he told her about his 'practice jumps' from room to room, but he doubted she would mind.
Kurt turned toward the cabinet where the sodas were kept and opened the two wooden doors with his hands. He used his dexterous tail to grasp a bottle and lower it to the counter below. He decided to grab a few more and bring them back to the party. If he could not save a round of poker for Storm, at least he could offer her something to drink when she arrived.
With his mind completely preoccupied with thoughts on the weather goddess, Kurt did not hear the kitchen window open and he did not hear the Slayer step slowly toward him.
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Faith could see the demon more clearly now. Apparently, its form had solidified almost completely since the sun had set. She could easily target its head and neck, even in the dark room, and its tail moved rhythmically back and forth.
Her mind was completely locked on her target. She did not notice the room was not filled with the chill that normally accompanied a demon. She did not notice the figure's features, its eyes lacking the terrible hate and anger a true demon would have had.
The idea of a mutant never cross her raging mind, as her fury at the murders and at her inability to save the other victims blinded her to her own true intuitions.
Her fingers flexed around the knife's gilded handle and she wrapped both hands around it as she raised the knife over her head and aimed for the demon's neck.
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Mary was walking forward quickly. Her heart was racing with unexplained terror as she paced toward the kitchen.
She doesn't know he's not the one...
The thought played over and over again in her head.
Kurt's in danger...there's someone here...Kurt's in danger...
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Xavier opened his eyes and inhaled sharply, sensing the Slayer.
As his mind locked on Faith's, he felt all thoughts leave her except for one. The darkest one...the deepest one...the most primitive of instincts...
In her mind, he saw a Slayer...he saw all the Slayers...racing backward over the centuries...until there was only one...there was only the first...her wild eyes staring at him through the flames of a campfire...only wanting to protect...only wanting to save...only wanting to kill...
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Mary was running now.
Danger...danger...Kurt's in danger...and she doesn't know he's not the one she looking for...
"Kurt!" Mary screamed out to him suddenly, "Kurt! Run! Get out!"
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A soda bottle fell from the counter and shattered on the floor as Kurt started in surprise at the sound of Mary's urgent voice echoing from the hall.
"Kurt! Run! Get out!"
He took a few steps forward in confusion, just as Mary burst through the heavy wooden door. It slammed against the cabinets, and Kurt nearly jumped back when he saw the horror on her face.
Mary was staring over his shoulder at the blade of a knife, which glinted as light from the hall spilled into the room.
"Look out!" she screamed pointing behind him.
Kurt spun around with quick reflexes and saw the blade's wielder plunge the weapon down toward him.
BAMF.