Disclaimer – I do not own X-Men: Evolution in any way, shape or form. They all belong to their most respected owners who have my full appreciation. Any quotes that you recognise are not mine; they belong to their respected owners.
A/N - Thanks to all of you who are baring with me as I try to keep this story updated. The lovely reviews are also very encouraging. So I hope that you are all still enjoying the story. Thanks a bunch!
Chapter eleven.
There was a bonus for this job, one that Magneto did not know about. The bonus was in the form of a Southern Belle that had caught his eye from the moment that they first met, not that he would admit it. She was a feisty one and when Magneto had asked for someone to keep an eye on the occupants of the Institute he had nearly jumped at the chance.
He lounged in a tree near enough to help if any trouble cropped up but far enough away so as not to draw attention to himself. He was dealing with mutants after all and they were very different to normal people. He should know, being a mutant himself.
His duster kept him warm as his odd coloured eyes surveyed the area, something was making him uneasy and he had learned long ago to trust his instincts. He carefully looked at the front gates and what he saw there was enough to alarm him in to taking direct action.
As silently as he could he dropped from the tree into the Institutes grounds and made his way towards the gate.
"I'm afraid dat I can't let you leave, fille" he said in a suave voice.
The person at the gate turned to face him.
"You" she hissed, angrily.
Gambit had known that someone was at the gate he just didn't realise who it was until she had turned to face him. It was the girl, Shadowcat. She was dressed in black and her eyes looked hard and cold.
"Why are you trying to break out, fille?" he asked, confused.
"It's none of your business" she ignored him and turned back to the gate, ready to phase through.
Gambit was quicker though, and grabbed her arm before she could concentrate on phasing. He pulled her away from the gates and turned her towards him. He remembered that she was the Rogue's friend, the valley girl but she sure didn't sound like a valley girl at this moment as a string of curses exploded out of her mouth.
"What's going on here?" another voice spoke.
Gambit turned to see Rogue standing beside the gate now. She had changed since he had last seen her. Her hair was longer and her eyes seemed harder somehow as well.
"The fille was trying to run away" Gambit explained, grinning.
"Magneto's lackey was stopping me" Kitty growled.
"What are ya doing, Kitty? Where are ya going?" He watched as Rogue walked over to the pair.
"I have to go back and kill him. I have to kill him for killing Lance" she spat out harshly.
Gambit was surprised to hear so much hostility in the girl's voice. Kitty noticed his surprise and phased through him and made a run towards the gate but Rogue was there.
"Ah'm sorry, Kitty" she said, reaching out a bare hand she touched Kitty on the forehead.
Gambit shuddered involuntarily as Kitty fell to the ground, recalling what it was like to be touched by Rogue.
"Since you're here do you think you can help me carry her back in or do Ah have ta do it myself?" Rogue drawled.
Gambit picked up the girl who was a lot lighter than she looked.
"Anything for you, chere" he grinned crookedly.
~*~
"She was going after Kale. She has no idea where he is but she was going after him" Rogue explained to Scott, Jean and the Professor, all of whom were sitting in the kitchen.
Gambit was leaning in the doorway feeling odd being included in the enemies conversation. They weren't enemies as much as he thought, they just had different views on the world.
"Gambit stopped her before she could phase. He made her loose concentration, what he was doing here, though, is beyond me" Rogue said, frowning in his direction.
"Gambit was just doing what he was told, chere" he grinned.
Rogue looked away, anger in her eyes.
Professor Xavier turned his chair around to face him and he took a step back.
"Why are you here, Gambit?" he asked, tenting his hands under his chin.
"Gambit, already said."
"Magneto is worried about us so he sent you to be our watchdog" Jean interrupted.
Gambit watched as Xavier frowned and Jean blushed. It was obvious that they were talking to one another telepathically.
Gambit smiled at the redhead before taking his leave.
"Take care, chere" he whispered as he ran past Rogue and out the door.
Rogue stood and was about to chase him, along with Scott.
"Let him go. He doesn't mean any harm" Xavier sighed.
~*~
Kitty woke in the med bay feeling tired, grouchy and sore all over. She tried to recall what had happened but only came up with a blur. She sensed a strong emotion of hatred and swung her feet out of bed to find Rogue phasing through the door.
"You zapped me?" she asked in disbelief.
"You were going crazy, Kitty. You've been hanging round with Logan to much" Rogue replied angrily.
"I just wanted out of here" she said as memories started to come back.
"Your Cajun boyfriend helped you" she muttered, crossing her arms angrily.
"He is not my boyfriend" Rogue emphasised each word by jabbing the air angrily.
This made Kitty grin.
"Girls. Please stop arguing" Dr. McCoy asked calmly.
"Sorry" Kitty muttered under her breath.
She knew that she had changed and although she liked some of the changes she wished she could go back to being her old self. Her slightly naïve self but herself none the less.
She stood up on shaky legs and walked around the room twice to make sure she wasn't going to collapse. The whole time Rogue was watching her.
"I'm all right, you know" she muttered.
"Ah know. We are friends though and if you want to talk to me. Well ah'm always here" Rogue replied.
Kitty looked at the girl who had been her roommate for the last few years. She recalled how different they had been and how often they had argued and now…they were very close friends. The Goth and the valley girl. An interesting combination.
~*~
Charles Xavier looked out his window into the night and frowned. Things were not becoming any easier and with a maniac like Kale out there hunting for them it didn't seem as if it would ever be safe for his kids. Kitty was not the only one showing signs of frustration or anger. Scott was constantly worried and Jean had come to talk to him on many occasions.
The rest of the students were trying not to let their frustration get the best of them but he knew that he couldn't keep them locked up in here forever. They would have to face the Kale and the world soon.
He turned away from the window and that was when he felt that he wasn't alone.
"Eric. How are you old friend?" he asked.
"Charles, you know that you will have to face him sooner or later" replied a deep voice.
"I know. I just don't know what it will do to my kids" he answered honestly.
"They are strong, just like my own. They will be able to handle anything that is thrown at them" Eric said.
Charles finally turned around and watched his old friend hover in the room.
"Why is it, then, that you sent one of yours here to keep an eye on us?" Charles asked, a slight grin crossing his face.
"These kids are my future as well" Eric replied calmly.
~*~
Joshua was walking now. Well, if you could call, stumbling every five seconds followed by a series of shuffles, walking. Wearing the hospital clothes wasn't making his day any better either. There was no back to them and he had to make sure no one would enter and see him from behind. It wasn't one of his dreams to flash the world.
He tried once more to shuffle around the room but he felt to tired and he slowly sunk towards the floor. His memory wasn't coming back either. He couldn't recall any of his childhood and he certainly couldn't remember Aidan being younger than he was now.
Nights were the worse, though. That was when the dreams would come and they would terrify him or confuse him. At this point he didn't know what was worse: being scared or being terrified.
He often dreamed of earthquakes and he would wake with curiously painful headaches. There were other times that he would dream of a strange boy with white hair who was always running really fast. Then there was the girl, Kitty. She wasn't only in his dreams, he could remember her. Well he thought he could remember her.
He sat there on the ground for a while waiting for the pain to subside and for him to be strong enough to get back to his bed. It wouldn't do to have Aidan walk in while he was lying here on the ground. He might get angry at him and for some strange reason he was terrified when Aidan got angry at him.
Once he felt strong enough he slowly stood again and shuffled back to bed, crawling in carefully, taking care not to aggravate his wounds. He didn't want to be stuck in bed any longer than he absolutely had to be.
~*~
Sam Guthrie watched all the younger students play in the back yard of the Institute. They had started an impromptu game of tag, mutant tag to be exact and it was fun to watch. His sister, Paige, was 'it' at the moment and she was doing a pretty good job at chasing all the others around the small forest.
Amara and Bobby were lounging next to him, enjoying the last warm rays form the sun.
"So where do you think this guy is?" Bobby asked.
"Ah really don't know" Sam replied in his soft Southern voice.
"The others are really worried. That's why Logan has been giving all of us extra lessons" Amara said as she removed her sunglasses.
"Yeah, I noticed. Do you think this guy will try and attack here?"
"Ah hope not because that will just bring us some more bad publicity for being mutants" Sam said, sitting down with a frown on his face.
"We can handle him, though" Amara said with confidence.
Sam just shook his head and went back to watching the game.
To Be Continued…