Random A/N: I finished my midterms Thursday! Wahaha! They're over! Thank God Almighty! Now I can get on with important stuff, like writing fan fiction.
Disclaimer: If my name was Marvel, I would own the X-Men. I do not own the X-Men, therefore my name is not Marvel.
Shout outs: Suzaka- fanfiction.net loves being weird, and eccentric. It does this to annoy me, I'm sure. But I love it anyway. Glad you like the story.
capslocke- yeah, I knew that, but thanks.
amanda- your review is so nice! Thank you! And you love all my stories?! *throws cookies and cinnamon buns at you* You are to nice. Wow, you actually went to my site? I'm in shock. I'll recover eventually. Glad you liked chapter 17 so much, hope you like this one too! I'm looking forward to your reviews. :)
Auramistealia- sorry about that, I forgot. Oops. Well, I hope you like this chapter, and I'm sorry I took so long.
StormHeart- Not a lot of Pyro in this chapter, sorry. But there is some. Yeah, I too have an affinity for his state of mind....
queen_am_I- short? I guess you mean the first chapter, right? Yeah, the first couple chapters are pretty short. A seven out of ten? Does that include the entire story, or just the first chapter?
De-Femme- your reviews are always so enthusiastic. :). I love 'em. Yes, school is stupid and time consuming. Arg. Dumb school. Who needs it? Well, some people do, I guess...Sorry you had to wait to find out what happens!
And thanks go out to my beta readers, Nightcrawler03 and KittKatt001!
Chapter 18: Es gibt etwas falsch
The assault team whirled around to face Sprite, who had stopped screaming. That was because four sharp claws were pricking her neck.
Sabertooth stood facing them, his one arm pinning the small girl to him, his other hand resting on her neck, four of his fingers poised to rip into her throat.
"Don't anyone even think of moving, or the girl gets it." Sabertooth growled.
"Gets what?" said Sprite, now five feet away from him.
Sabertooth stared dumbly at where she had been for a second, but that's all it took for Wolverine to spring.
"Need any help?" asked Nightcrawler, watching the small battle.
"Doin' fine, thanks." said the Canadian as he ducked one of Sabertooth's swipes at his head.
Nightcrawler teleported over to where Sprite was standing, rubbing her throat. Four tiny red marks now adorned her neck.
"You alright Kätzchen? Did he hurt you?"
"Nah, but I should have phased faster. He took me by surprise is all. People keep forgetting that I can phase."
"Ja, you vould think Magneto vould have informed his lackeys about our powers."
While Sabertooth and Wolverine were fighting, Jean and Shadowcat, on the other side of the skirmish, were discussing how Sabertooth could have gotten loose.
"Are you sure you phased his arm into the ground?" Jean asked.
Shadowcat folded her arms across her chest. "Yes I'm, like, sure. There is no way I imagined it!"
"Okay, okay, no need to get snippy. How do you think he got out?" asked Jean, trying to placate the miffed brunette.
"I have no idea. Unless, Magneto has invented something that can, like, phase people."
"I doubt that. Maybe he is strong enough to pull out his arm, along with chunks of cement, and then he whacked them off against the wall or something."
"If he's that strong, how come Mr. Logan is kicking his butt right now?"
"Shadowcat, use the codenames."
Shadowcat rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
"I'm going to tell the Professor what is going on, hold on," with that, Jean closed her eyes.
There was a slight muffled sound, a small squeak of surprise, that was almost lost in the sounds of Sabertooth and Wolverine fighting. Almost.
"Kitty?" Jean asked, forgetting to use the codenames. She looked around her.
"What?" asked Shadowcat coming up from behind her.
"Did you hear something?" Jean asked, still looking about for the source of the noise.
"No." said Shadowcat as she brought her combined fists down on Jean's head.
After dragging Jean's limp body into a nearby doorway, Shadowcat waved to Nightcrawler and Sprite to come through the battling rivals.
Nightcrawler took Sprite's hand and 'ported over to her. Now all three of them were in front of Sabertooth and Wolverine.
"Jean's gone ahead to look for the machine." Shadowcat explained before they could ask.
"We weren't supposed to separate." said Sprite.
"I know, but you know Jean, got to have everything her way."
Sprite just nodded, having not known Jean that long.
Nightcrawler eyed Shadowcat curiously. Something was decidedly odd. From what he knew of this universe's Jean he didn't think she would be stupid enough to just go off by herself in enemy territory. And why hadn't Shadowcat stopped her?
"Lets go look for the machine while Wolverine takes care of Sabertooth. It will save time," said Shadowcat persuasively.
"What if he needs help?" asked Sprite, turning to look at them as Sabertooth was slammed against the wall, and then leaped back at Wolverine.
Nightcrawler had an idea. "Sprite, you stay here and see if Wolverine needs any help," Sprite looked up at him, wondering how she would help. "I'll go vith Shadowcat to find the machine."
The he said "Etwas ist falsch."
"Huh?" said Sprite.
"Why would you say that?" asked Shadowcat.
"Just a feeling, nerves I guess." he said quickly. "Lets go."
Shadowcat started walking down the hallway. Nightcrawler gave Sprite a warning look.
Sprite, confused, asked with her facial expression what was the matter.
Nightcrawler shook his head and quickly followed after Shadowcat into the unlit hallway, and was soon lost to view to a very perplexed Sprite.
~*~x~*~
Kurt stared at Pyro incredulously. Mimicking Scott, from only a hour ago, he said "Vhat are you doing here?"
Pyro removed his finger from the doorbell button. "I'm 'ere with veeery important news fer the X-Men. Are you their butler?"
"Butler? Vhat are you talking about?"
"Well, you see mate, I do not recognize you...Oy, wait, yoa'h the furry one, roight?"
Kurt sighed. "Ja, I am 'the furry one'. Vhat is it that you have to tell us?"
Pyro looked pointedly at his surroundings. "If you let me through the doah I will tell you."
Kurt heard some commotion coming from the room where the X-Men were assembled. "Then by all means, come in."
Pyro sauntered into the mansion looking smug. He stared around him, like he was on a tour. Kurt, behind him, grabbed his shoulders and propelled him towards where he could hear people talking in agitated voices. "If it's that important ve don't have time for a guided tour."
Suddenly, Scott, Evan, Ororo, and Rogue were running past him, Evan calling "Come on Kurt, something has gone wrong with the assault team."
Kurt grabbed Rogue as she passed him. "Something? Vhat vent vrong?"
Pyro grinned at Rogue. She asked "What is he doing here?"
"He said he has very important information for us."
Rogue turned her eyes on Pyro and crossed her arms over her chest. "Spill."
Noticing the look in her eyes, Pyro didn't quibble over the message like he had planned to do. "Sabertooth ain't the only one guarding the hideout. Mystique is theah also."
Rogue's eyes narrowed. "Is that all?"
"Err...yes."
Rogue grabbed the front of Pyro's uniform and pulled him after her as she headed for the door. Over her shoulder she said, "The Professor lost contact with Jean. Also, when he tried ta get ta Kitty, he found nothing. Meaning Jean and Kitty are either unconscious or..."
She didn't finish her sentence and continued dragging a protesting Pyro towards the door.
Kurt closed his eyes and thought ***Professor!***
***Kurt, why are you not with the others?***
Kurt didn't think he had time to explain that. ***Professor, Mystique is also at Magneto's hideout.***
***Oh, dear. That would explain why I can't contact Jean or Kitty.***
***What about the others?***
***I tried to contact Logan, but when I did I sensed he was very busy, and distracting him might prove fatal. I was trying to reach ~Kurt when you called out to me. Hurry and catch up with the others, later I will ask how you come upon this new information.***
The telepathic link broke, and Kurt ran to the front door. Rogue had just pushed Pyro out onto the manicured lawn.
"Is tha' anyway to treat someone tha' is trying to 'elp? Do I get at least a 'thank you'?" Pyro yelled as he straightened his orange uniform.
"Danke schön." Kurt called out as Rogue closed the door. Kurt then took Rogue's hand and teleported to the underground hanger, where a smaller version of the jet was being prepared to take flight.
~*~x~*~
As Shadowcat led the way towards Magneto's room, Nightcrawler was contacted by the Professor.
***~Kurt, Mystique is somewhere in the building with you and I have lost contact with Kitty and Jean.***
***I know where Mystique is. I'll take care of it, don't worry.***
***Be careful. I will contact ~Kitty and warn her also.***
After the Professor broke the link, Nightcrawler began to wonder how he should 'take care of it.' Should he knock her out now, or wait to find out what she was up to? And what had she done with the real Shadowcat and Jean?
As Nightcrawler pondered these thoughts, the fake Shadowcat spoke. "Do you have the same enemies in your dimension?"
"From vhat I have seen of this universe, ja."
"So you have a Magneto, a Sabertooth....anyone else?" Shadowcat kept walking, not looking behind her as she spoke.
"Arcade, the Hellfire Club, the Brotherhood, Mastermind, your run of the mill madmen, oh the Sentinels of course...and Mystique, but I think you know enough about her."
Shadowcat turned her head to look at him, a wry grin on her face.
"Curiosity satisfied, Shadowcat?" He asked sweetly.
"Not quite." She said, turning all the way around, looking like she was about to rush him.
Nightcrawler teleported and reappeared right in front of her, his legs jutting out for a mid air kick. The shape shifter crashed into the wall, and before she had a chance to pick herself off of it, he had 'ported again. His one hand grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the wall, while his other hand grabbed her throat and shoved it also against the wall.
"Vhy don't you just phase?" he asked glibly, as he watched her expression of surprise at finding herself squashed against the wall.
"You're faster then my Nightcrawler. Must be because you're older, and had more training." She was still in Shadowcat's form.
"Could be," he said agreeably.
Mystique's eyes darted about, trying to figure out how to escape without getting herself strangled. "How did you figure me out?"
"Being in league vith a telepath has its perks, but the first clue vas that you understood my German. Kitty doesn't understand very much. The second clue vas you didn't say 'like' a manifold amount of times."
"I'll remember that next time." Mystique shifted into her own form, causing Nightcrawler to lose his grip on her wrists.
Mystique morphed into Sabertooth, and swung her fist at Nightcrawler's head. The meaty fist barely missed his nose as Nightcrawler "bamfed" away, leaving Mystique in a sulfur and brimstone smelling cloud of purplish color.
Mystique waved her hand rapidly around, trying to make the smoke dissipate so she could see. She changed into Shadowcat's form again, and when Nightcralwer's fist came shooting into the cloud it went over her new forms head, since Shadowcat was considerably shorter then Sabertooth was.
Because he had expected to hit her head, not just empty air, Nightcrawler was off balance. Mystique took advantage of this and quickly kicked out and tripped him. As he fell, he 'ported away from her, but he fell down hard where he reappeared.
The smoke left behind once again stifled Mystique, and she coughed, her eyes burning as she searched for where Nightcrawler was. Catching sight of him, she transformed into Wolverine and popped out her new claws.
Nightcrawler had the breath knocked out of him, but was able to teleport again as he saw Mystique rush towards him, the claws ready to slice him open.
When he reappeared next, he was some distance away. He was starting to feel slightly nauseated and tired, since he kept teleporting. The distance from Mystique was a delaying tactic, so by the time she reached him, he hoped, he would be ready.
But Mystique did something totally unexpected. She saw where he was, and spun around and dashed down the hallway in the opposite direction.
Nightcrawler quickly weighed the pros and cons of wether or not to follow her. If he did catch up to her, there would be more teleporting involved. Not good. But if he didn't follow her, she would get away and probably cause more trouble. Also, Jean and Kitty where missing, and Mystique was the only one who knew where they were.
This made the decision for him as he dropped to all fours and ran down the hallway after her, going at a speed far faster then most people can run on two legs.
He sped around a sharp corner and almost collided with Sprite and Wolverine who were staring behind them after the retreating figure of, who they thought was, Nightcrawler.
Wolverine nearly skewered Nightcrawler with his claws, since he generally didn't like people ramming into him. But he was able to identify Nightcrawler, before his right hand claws made four new breathing holes in his neck.
"I'm guessing that was Mystique then?" asked Sprite, staring after the no longer visible shape shifter.
"Ja," said Nightcrawler as he slowly stood up, staring at Wolverine's claws, that were still uncomfortable close. "Did the Professor tell you about her?"
"Yeah, do you know why she is here?"
"I unfortunately did not get to ask that question Kätzchen."
Wolverine drew his claws back in. "She's probably just guarding this place, like Sabertooth was." He did not sound so certain though.
"Have you located Jean and Shadowcat?" Nightcrawler asked.
"No, we thought it was best to find you and Mystique first."
"Lets go back to where Sabertooth, the real Sabertooth, attacked. That's when they disappeared, so they should be around that area." Wolverine said, leading the way back down the hallway.
"What about the machine? I don't mean to sound callous or anything, but we're closer to it, then we are to Jean and ~Kitty." Sprite pointed out, wanting to get this mission over with before any more unpleasant surprises showed up.
Suddenly the Professor was inside there heads. ***Are you all alright?***
***Yeah, Chuck, we're fine, but Jean and Shadowcat are missing*** Wolverine sent back.
***The backup team has found them. They are alright, just unconscious. The plane is right outside the entrance way. Have you found the machine yet?***
***We're almost there***
***Hurry and get it. Magneto might be back at any moment***
***Right***
"Okay, lets go get that machine."
~*~x~*~
Kitty woke up strapped into a seat. Her head jerked up and she glanced frantically around her before she saw Kurt seated by her. Then she relaxed.
"Hey, what happened?" she asked, resting her head back on the head rest of the seat.
Kurt smiled at her. "Danke Gott," he said sincerely, "You're awake."
"Yeah, are you going to tell me what happened, or do I have to guess?"
"Vhat do you remember?"
Kitty closed her eyes. "I was talking to Jean, and then I was whacked on the head. Then nothing."
"The Professor thinks that Mystique must have knocked you and Jean out." Kurt motioned with his tri-fingered hand to where Jean sat, also strapped into the seat, so she wouldn't fall out. Scott was sitting by her, waiting for her to come to. The Professor was also by Jean, but he looked like he was talking to someone via mind link. Kitty didn't see Ororo, Evan, or Rogue anywhere.
"Mystique? She was there?"
"Ja, Pyro came to the mansion to varn us, Gambit hadn't known she vas going to be there."
"What about Mr. Logan? And ~Kurt and ~Kitty?"
"They're fine, they are getting the machine now." The Professor said, opening his eyes. Suddenly his head swung around so that he was facing the front of the plane. Kitty couldn't see anyone approaching through the window shield, but she knew that didn't mean someone was not coming.
Scott noticed the abrupt change in his mentor also. "What's wrong Professor?"
"Magneto is back."
~*~x~*~
Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Sprite stood in front of Magneto's room.
"Vant to do the honors?" Nightcrawler asked Sprite, bowing slightly.
"Oh no, after you," answered Sprite.
With a flourish Nightcrawler turned the handle and pushed open the door.
~~~~~~~
Translations: Es gibt etwas falsch- basicly, "Something is wrong" or "there is something wrong" It can't be translated word for word.
danke Gott- "Thank God". I think you could figure that one out for yourself, but you never know.
Eight pages! Huzzah! That was my longest chapter ever. We're near the end now! I'm hoping a can wrap this story up in two (very long) chapters, but we shall see. But because of how long I want them to be, it will take awhile for me to write them. That, and I still don't know exactly how I'm going to end this story. I'm also horrible at updating, as I'm sure you have noticed.
I hope this chapter turned out coherent, because I wrote most of it at 12:00-1:00 in the morning. But I seem to get ideas to write mostly when I should be asleep, or studying. This is very inconvenient. Oh well, at least I get some refuge from writers block
~:b~
roguehobbit
Disclaimer: If my name was Marvel, I would own the X-Men. I do not own the X-Men, therefore my name is not Marvel.
Shout outs: Suzaka- fanfiction.net loves being weird, and eccentric. It does this to annoy me, I'm sure. But I love it anyway. Glad you like the story.
capslocke- yeah, I knew that, but thanks.
amanda- your review is so nice! Thank you! And you love all my stories?! *throws cookies and cinnamon buns at you* You are to nice. Wow, you actually went to my site? I'm in shock. I'll recover eventually. Glad you liked chapter 17 so much, hope you like this one too! I'm looking forward to your reviews. :)
Auramistealia- sorry about that, I forgot. Oops. Well, I hope you like this chapter, and I'm sorry I took so long.
StormHeart- Not a lot of Pyro in this chapter, sorry. But there is some. Yeah, I too have an affinity for his state of mind....
queen_am_I- short? I guess you mean the first chapter, right? Yeah, the first couple chapters are pretty short. A seven out of ten? Does that include the entire story, or just the first chapter?
De-Femme- your reviews are always so enthusiastic. :). I love 'em. Yes, school is stupid and time consuming. Arg. Dumb school. Who needs it? Well, some people do, I guess...Sorry you had to wait to find out what happens!
And thanks go out to my beta readers, Nightcrawler03 and KittKatt001!
Chapter 18: Es gibt etwas falsch
The assault team whirled around to face Sprite, who had stopped screaming. That was because four sharp claws were pricking her neck.
Sabertooth stood facing them, his one arm pinning the small girl to him, his other hand resting on her neck, four of his fingers poised to rip into her throat.
"Don't anyone even think of moving, or the girl gets it." Sabertooth growled.
"Gets what?" said Sprite, now five feet away from him.
Sabertooth stared dumbly at where she had been for a second, but that's all it took for Wolverine to spring.
"Need any help?" asked Nightcrawler, watching the small battle.
"Doin' fine, thanks." said the Canadian as he ducked one of Sabertooth's swipes at his head.
Nightcrawler teleported over to where Sprite was standing, rubbing her throat. Four tiny red marks now adorned her neck.
"You alright Kätzchen? Did he hurt you?"
"Nah, but I should have phased faster. He took me by surprise is all. People keep forgetting that I can phase."
"Ja, you vould think Magneto vould have informed his lackeys about our powers."
While Sabertooth and Wolverine were fighting, Jean and Shadowcat, on the other side of the skirmish, were discussing how Sabertooth could have gotten loose.
"Are you sure you phased his arm into the ground?" Jean asked.
Shadowcat folded her arms across her chest. "Yes I'm, like, sure. There is no way I imagined it!"
"Okay, okay, no need to get snippy. How do you think he got out?" asked Jean, trying to placate the miffed brunette.
"I have no idea. Unless, Magneto has invented something that can, like, phase people."
"I doubt that. Maybe he is strong enough to pull out his arm, along with chunks of cement, and then he whacked them off against the wall or something."
"If he's that strong, how come Mr. Logan is kicking his butt right now?"
"Shadowcat, use the codenames."
Shadowcat rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
"I'm going to tell the Professor what is going on, hold on," with that, Jean closed her eyes.
There was a slight muffled sound, a small squeak of surprise, that was almost lost in the sounds of Sabertooth and Wolverine fighting. Almost.
"Kitty?" Jean asked, forgetting to use the codenames. She looked around her.
"What?" asked Shadowcat coming up from behind her.
"Did you hear something?" Jean asked, still looking about for the source of the noise.
"No." said Shadowcat as she brought her combined fists down on Jean's head.
After dragging Jean's limp body into a nearby doorway, Shadowcat waved to Nightcrawler and Sprite to come through the battling rivals.
Nightcrawler took Sprite's hand and 'ported over to her. Now all three of them were in front of Sabertooth and Wolverine.
"Jean's gone ahead to look for the machine." Shadowcat explained before they could ask.
"We weren't supposed to separate." said Sprite.
"I know, but you know Jean, got to have everything her way."
Sprite just nodded, having not known Jean that long.
Nightcrawler eyed Shadowcat curiously. Something was decidedly odd. From what he knew of this universe's Jean he didn't think she would be stupid enough to just go off by herself in enemy territory. And why hadn't Shadowcat stopped her?
"Lets go look for the machine while Wolverine takes care of Sabertooth. It will save time," said Shadowcat persuasively.
"What if he needs help?" asked Sprite, turning to look at them as Sabertooth was slammed against the wall, and then leaped back at Wolverine.
Nightcrawler had an idea. "Sprite, you stay here and see if Wolverine needs any help," Sprite looked up at him, wondering how she would help. "I'll go vith Shadowcat to find the machine."
The he said "Etwas ist falsch."
"Huh?" said Sprite.
"Why would you say that?" asked Shadowcat.
"Just a feeling, nerves I guess." he said quickly. "Lets go."
Shadowcat started walking down the hallway. Nightcrawler gave Sprite a warning look.
Sprite, confused, asked with her facial expression what was the matter.
Nightcrawler shook his head and quickly followed after Shadowcat into the unlit hallway, and was soon lost to view to a very perplexed Sprite.
~*~x~*~
Kurt stared at Pyro incredulously. Mimicking Scott, from only a hour ago, he said "Vhat are you doing here?"
Pyro removed his finger from the doorbell button. "I'm 'ere with veeery important news fer the X-Men. Are you their butler?"
"Butler? Vhat are you talking about?"
"Well, you see mate, I do not recognize you...Oy, wait, yoa'h the furry one, roight?"
Kurt sighed. "Ja, I am 'the furry one'. Vhat is it that you have to tell us?"
Pyro looked pointedly at his surroundings. "If you let me through the doah I will tell you."
Kurt heard some commotion coming from the room where the X-Men were assembled. "Then by all means, come in."
Pyro sauntered into the mansion looking smug. He stared around him, like he was on a tour. Kurt, behind him, grabbed his shoulders and propelled him towards where he could hear people talking in agitated voices. "If it's that important ve don't have time for a guided tour."
Suddenly, Scott, Evan, Ororo, and Rogue were running past him, Evan calling "Come on Kurt, something has gone wrong with the assault team."
Kurt grabbed Rogue as she passed him. "Something? Vhat vent vrong?"
Pyro grinned at Rogue. She asked "What is he doing here?"
"He said he has very important information for us."
Rogue turned her eyes on Pyro and crossed her arms over her chest. "Spill."
Noticing the look in her eyes, Pyro didn't quibble over the message like he had planned to do. "Sabertooth ain't the only one guarding the hideout. Mystique is theah also."
Rogue's eyes narrowed. "Is that all?"
"Err...yes."
Rogue grabbed the front of Pyro's uniform and pulled him after her as she headed for the door. Over her shoulder she said, "The Professor lost contact with Jean. Also, when he tried ta get ta Kitty, he found nothing. Meaning Jean and Kitty are either unconscious or..."
She didn't finish her sentence and continued dragging a protesting Pyro towards the door.
Kurt closed his eyes and thought ***Professor!***
***Kurt, why are you not with the others?***
Kurt didn't think he had time to explain that. ***Professor, Mystique is also at Magneto's hideout.***
***Oh, dear. That would explain why I can't contact Jean or Kitty.***
***What about the others?***
***I tried to contact Logan, but when I did I sensed he was very busy, and distracting him might prove fatal. I was trying to reach ~Kurt when you called out to me. Hurry and catch up with the others, later I will ask how you come upon this new information.***
The telepathic link broke, and Kurt ran to the front door. Rogue had just pushed Pyro out onto the manicured lawn.
"Is tha' anyway to treat someone tha' is trying to 'elp? Do I get at least a 'thank you'?" Pyro yelled as he straightened his orange uniform.
"Danke schön." Kurt called out as Rogue closed the door. Kurt then took Rogue's hand and teleported to the underground hanger, where a smaller version of the jet was being prepared to take flight.
~*~x~*~
As Shadowcat led the way towards Magneto's room, Nightcrawler was contacted by the Professor.
***~Kurt, Mystique is somewhere in the building with you and I have lost contact with Kitty and Jean.***
***I know where Mystique is. I'll take care of it, don't worry.***
***Be careful. I will contact ~Kitty and warn her also.***
After the Professor broke the link, Nightcrawler began to wonder how he should 'take care of it.' Should he knock her out now, or wait to find out what she was up to? And what had she done with the real Shadowcat and Jean?
As Nightcrawler pondered these thoughts, the fake Shadowcat spoke. "Do you have the same enemies in your dimension?"
"From vhat I have seen of this universe, ja."
"So you have a Magneto, a Sabertooth....anyone else?" Shadowcat kept walking, not looking behind her as she spoke.
"Arcade, the Hellfire Club, the Brotherhood, Mastermind, your run of the mill madmen, oh the Sentinels of course...and Mystique, but I think you know enough about her."
Shadowcat turned her head to look at him, a wry grin on her face.
"Curiosity satisfied, Shadowcat?" He asked sweetly.
"Not quite." She said, turning all the way around, looking like she was about to rush him.
Nightcrawler teleported and reappeared right in front of her, his legs jutting out for a mid air kick. The shape shifter crashed into the wall, and before she had a chance to pick herself off of it, he had 'ported again. His one hand grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the wall, while his other hand grabbed her throat and shoved it also against the wall.
"Vhy don't you just phase?" he asked glibly, as he watched her expression of surprise at finding herself squashed against the wall.
"You're faster then my Nightcrawler. Must be because you're older, and had more training." She was still in Shadowcat's form.
"Could be," he said agreeably.
Mystique's eyes darted about, trying to figure out how to escape without getting herself strangled. "How did you figure me out?"
"Being in league vith a telepath has its perks, but the first clue vas that you understood my German. Kitty doesn't understand very much. The second clue vas you didn't say 'like' a manifold amount of times."
"I'll remember that next time." Mystique shifted into her own form, causing Nightcrawler to lose his grip on her wrists.
Mystique morphed into Sabertooth, and swung her fist at Nightcrawler's head. The meaty fist barely missed his nose as Nightcrawler "bamfed" away, leaving Mystique in a sulfur and brimstone smelling cloud of purplish color.
Mystique waved her hand rapidly around, trying to make the smoke dissipate so she could see. She changed into Shadowcat's form again, and when Nightcralwer's fist came shooting into the cloud it went over her new forms head, since Shadowcat was considerably shorter then Sabertooth was.
Because he had expected to hit her head, not just empty air, Nightcrawler was off balance. Mystique took advantage of this and quickly kicked out and tripped him. As he fell, he 'ported away from her, but he fell down hard where he reappeared.
The smoke left behind once again stifled Mystique, and she coughed, her eyes burning as she searched for where Nightcrawler was. Catching sight of him, she transformed into Wolverine and popped out her new claws.
Nightcrawler had the breath knocked out of him, but was able to teleport again as he saw Mystique rush towards him, the claws ready to slice him open.
When he reappeared next, he was some distance away. He was starting to feel slightly nauseated and tired, since he kept teleporting. The distance from Mystique was a delaying tactic, so by the time she reached him, he hoped, he would be ready.
But Mystique did something totally unexpected. She saw where he was, and spun around and dashed down the hallway in the opposite direction.
Nightcrawler quickly weighed the pros and cons of wether or not to follow her. If he did catch up to her, there would be more teleporting involved. Not good. But if he didn't follow her, she would get away and probably cause more trouble. Also, Jean and Kitty where missing, and Mystique was the only one who knew where they were.
This made the decision for him as he dropped to all fours and ran down the hallway after her, going at a speed far faster then most people can run on two legs.
He sped around a sharp corner and almost collided with Sprite and Wolverine who were staring behind them after the retreating figure of, who they thought was, Nightcrawler.
Wolverine nearly skewered Nightcrawler with his claws, since he generally didn't like people ramming into him. But he was able to identify Nightcrawler, before his right hand claws made four new breathing holes in his neck.
"I'm guessing that was Mystique then?" asked Sprite, staring after the no longer visible shape shifter.
"Ja," said Nightcrawler as he slowly stood up, staring at Wolverine's claws, that were still uncomfortable close. "Did the Professor tell you about her?"
"Yeah, do you know why she is here?"
"I unfortunately did not get to ask that question Kätzchen."
Wolverine drew his claws back in. "She's probably just guarding this place, like Sabertooth was." He did not sound so certain though.
"Have you located Jean and Shadowcat?" Nightcrawler asked.
"No, we thought it was best to find you and Mystique first."
"Lets go back to where Sabertooth, the real Sabertooth, attacked. That's when they disappeared, so they should be around that area." Wolverine said, leading the way back down the hallway.
"What about the machine? I don't mean to sound callous or anything, but we're closer to it, then we are to Jean and ~Kitty." Sprite pointed out, wanting to get this mission over with before any more unpleasant surprises showed up.
Suddenly the Professor was inside there heads. ***Are you all alright?***
***Yeah, Chuck, we're fine, but Jean and Shadowcat are missing*** Wolverine sent back.
***The backup team has found them. They are alright, just unconscious. The plane is right outside the entrance way. Have you found the machine yet?***
***We're almost there***
***Hurry and get it. Magneto might be back at any moment***
***Right***
"Okay, lets go get that machine."
~*~x~*~
Kitty woke up strapped into a seat. Her head jerked up and she glanced frantically around her before she saw Kurt seated by her. Then she relaxed.
"Hey, what happened?" she asked, resting her head back on the head rest of the seat.
Kurt smiled at her. "Danke Gott," he said sincerely, "You're awake."
"Yeah, are you going to tell me what happened, or do I have to guess?"
"Vhat do you remember?"
Kitty closed her eyes. "I was talking to Jean, and then I was whacked on the head. Then nothing."
"The Professor thinks that Mystique must have knocked you and Jean out." Kurt motioned with his tri-fingered hand to where Jean sat, also strapped into the seat, so she wouldn't fall out. Scott was sitting by her, waiting for her to come to. The Professor was also by Jean, but he looked like he was talking to someone via mind link. Kitty didn't see Ororo, Evan, or Rogue anywhere.
"Mystique? She was there?"
"Ja, Pyro came to the mansion to varn us, Gambit hadn't known she vas going to be there."
"What about Mr. Logan? And ~Kurt and ~Kitty?"
"They're fine, they are getting the machine now." The Professor said, opening his eyes. Suddenly his head swung around so that he was facing the front of the plane. Kitty couldn't see anyone approaching through the window shield, but she knew that didn't mean someone was not coming.
Scott noticed the abrupt change in his mentor also. "What's wrong Professor?"
"Magneto is back."
~*~x~*~
Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Sprite stood in front of Magneto's room.
"Vant to do the honors?" Nightcrawler asked Sprite, bowing slightly.
"Oh no, after you," answered Sprite.
With a flourish Nightcrawler turned the handle and pushed open the door.
~~~~~~~
Translations: Es gibt etwas falsch- basicly, "Something is wrong" or "there is something wrong" It can't be translated word for word.
danke Gott- "Thank God". I think you could figure that one out for yourself, but you never know.
Eight pages! Huzzah! That was my longest chapter ever. We're near the end now! I'm hoping a can wrap this story up in two (very long) chapters, but we shall see. But because of how long I want them to be, it will take awhile for me to write them. That, and I still don't know exactly how I'm going to end this story. I'm also horrible at updating, as I'm sure you have noticed.
I hope this chapter turned out coherent, because I wrote most of it at 12:00-1:00 in the morning. But I seem to get ideas to write mostly when I should be asleep, or studying. This is very inconvenient. Oh well, at least I get some refuge from writers block
~:b~
roguehobbit