Kurt groaned as he slowly came to his senses. He was still a little groggy, but that would wear off soon enough. Opening his eyes, he looked around him. He was sprawled on the bed in a 'room' with three walls of solid metal and a fourth made of glass. Decorating the cell were the bed, hanging off one wall, and a tray of food near the door. At the sight of food, his stomach promptly began trying to leave his body and make its way over to the tray; what he saw next effectively quelled his hunger.
There were people outside the glass. Watching him. One of them the blue lady he'd seen at the Kayle house. The others, he didn't recognise. One, dressed in red and purple clothing, smiled at him as he noticed Kurt waking up.
"Greetings, Mr. Wagner," came a metallic voice through the speaker set above the door. "Or do you prefer Nightcrawler?"
Kurt glared at him and didn't answer. Mentally he thanked God that his holowatch was still active. Eventually, the silver-haired man spoke again. "I am Magneto, and this place is my humble home. You are, for now, a guest here. You may as well speak to us... we don't want to alienate you, and if you won't give us a chance..."
Kurt sat on the bed and crossed his legs. "Where am I?" he asked softly.
"Asteroid M," beamed Magneto, pleased that Kurt was speaking to him. "The heart of the Brotherhood of Mutants."
Kurt was unimpressed. "And is there a reason you have brought me here, mein herr? Or did you simply want a new pet and did not think you could adequately care for a hamster?"
Magneto scowled at him. "You're insolent, Nightcrawler. I don't like that."
"I'm in a cage. I hate that."
"Why?"
Kurt looked at him coolly. "Would you like it?"
Magneto shrugged. "Then perhaps you'd like to find a way out of there? Because I can easily open the door..."
Kurt didn't even move. "At what price?"
Mystique spoke up. "A fair price, Nightcrawler. Alliance from you and reason to believe that you can be trusted."
Kurt sighed and lay down on the bed. "Then I am not likely to get out of here any time soon," he replied mildly. "Ambushing me, shooting me, and putting me in a cage... these are not particularly effective ways of earning my allegiance."
"And if we had not, would you have even considered our offer?" countered Magneto.
"Perhaps." Kurt rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. "So... if you are so eager to gain my trust, you must have a special interest in me... why?"
"You know the answer to that," Magneto answered.
"Remind me."
Magneto bit back an exasperated sigh. "Your... talents... are extremely useful to you. And, by proxy, anyone with whom you lend those talents. Therefore, you are an extremely useful individual to your allies – and potentially lethal to your enemies."
"I don't kill people."
Mystique blinked. "But what about the agents from -" she said without thinking.
"Mystique!" Magneto cut her off furiously. "That is enough!"
"Too late," called Kurt from inside the cell. "Now, mein herr, how do you plan to earn my trust after taking me prisoner and letting slip that you have connections within Genetex?"
"We have no such connections," corrected Magneto. "Those files were stolen. What was in them, however, was interesting information... for example, I was not aware that you had a shapeshifting ability..."
Kurt frowned. "Vas?"
"Your files, and the information provided by the other members of the Brotherhood, have you listed as looking markedly different from how you do at the moment. Care to explain?"
Kurt raised an eyebrow. "I wear a mask, mein herr. That is something you cannot offer me, and yet another reason for not joining mit your goals."
Magneto narrowed his eyes. "Take the mask off," he ordered.
"Nein."
"Do it, or Sabretooth will remove it for you," he grated.
Kurt glanced at Sabretooth and shrugged. "Well now... at least your threats are not empty..." removing his watch, he stood to allow his tail to wriggle free behind him. "... but you are still not making me a friend."
Magneto waved a dismissive hand. "That will come later. For now, I would like you to meet someone – someone who can not only identify with you, but perhaps give you a reason to join us after all..." he turned to Mystique. "Fetch Megabyte," he ordered.
Mystique didn't move. She was staring transfixed at Kurt, unblinking.
"MYSTIQUE!"
She started, then looked at Magneto. "Yes... ah, Megabyte. Yes, of course." She left, and Magneto shook his head in confusion. He turned to Sabretooth.
"What was that about?"
In his cell, Kurt echoed those same sentiments inside his own head.
What had been so startling for her?
The next morning at the Institute, by chance a Saturday, began unlike many others, in that Kurt was not up immediately after dawn and irritating those he came into contact with. No-one thought anything of it, however; the males of the Institute were simply glad of a sleep-in, and Kurt was so deep into disgrace with the women that they weren't surprised in the least that he seemed to be avoiding them. This state of no-one caring where Kurt had gotten to lasted well into morning.
At around eleven, Logan finally gave up.
"Alright, where'd the elf go?" he asked the general assembly of mutants crowding the living room. "Usually he's up at dawn, and this is just gettin' ridiculous..."
Kitty snorted. "If that little blue moron shows his stupid little face around here for the next week, I promise you're, like, gonna know about it from his screaming..."
Scott winced. "I'm guessing he did something wrong?"
Amara sniffed. "I don't want to talk about it..."
Jamie piped up from the sofa. "He was gonna take Amara to see a movie at seven last night, but when he wasn't back by eleven she went to bed. Now the girls are gonna kill him if they see him again." Everyone stared at him, silent. "What? It's not my fault if people forget I'm in the room when they talk..."
Hank shook his head. "Actually, Jamie, I was startled by your claim that Kurt had not returned by eleven o' clock last night. The operative question being raised that if he did not return by then, when did he return?"
Ororo spoke up. "In fact, has anyone seen Kurt at all since yesterday?"
When no-one answered, Charles gave an uneasy frown. "Bobby, would you check his room please?" As Bobby left, he spoke to the others. "Now, since I have been unable to locate him via telepathy, and it's rather out of character for him to stay hidden totally... is anyone willing to tell me what's going on?"
Rogue and Kitty looked embarrassed. "Well, um..." Kitty began.
Rogue cut in. "It's... kinda private, Professor. Kurt ain't exactly eager for people to know where he was last night..."
Logan grunted. "We ain't lookin' for excuses. Where's the elf?"
Evan sighed. "Okay... he went out with a girl from school. Vicki Kayle."
Over the table, Amara made a choking sound. Jean was about to ask if she was okay when the Nova Roman ran from the room. Jean sighed.
"I'd better see if she's okay," she decided aloud and rose from her seat and left the room, and the conversation, behind her. She was walking down the corridor when the phone rang nearby. Stopping, she answered.
"Hello? Jean Grey speaking..."
The voice on the other end was shaky. "I don't have much time, so listen."
Jean blinked. "Who is this?"
"Shut up. All you need to know is that Kurt has been taken by Magneto. The Kayle family is dead, and Kurt is a hostage on Asteroid M. When you arrive, I'll be gone. You have to help him."
Jean was stunned. "Hey, hang on, who are -" the caller hung up. Jean looked at the phone for a moment, then replaced the receiver. Then she sprinted for the living room to tell the others.
On Asteroid M, Mystique rose from the chair she'd been sitting in as she spoke to Jean. She was still in shock from seeing Kurt – her son was supposed to be dead. She'd seen him get washed over the waterfall, she'd searched the area for him but hadn't found him... this was impossible.
Yet it had happened.
Mystique rose to unsteady feet and headed for one of the exits fromAsteroid M. She'd done all she could do.
Now she had to get out before Magneto discovered what she'd done...
