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: I know…very late in updating and I apologise profusely. Essays and the like along with various other things. ::*::cough work cough::*:: Lol. Oh well here goes nothing…
Chapter twelve
She glared at her reflection in the mirror, feeling confused with her own appearance. There were purple smudges under each eye telling her that she needed some sleep but that didn't bother her as much as the lack of warmth in her eyes. She wanted revenge and that scared the sensible part of her mind. The part that was lost, along with her innocence, back in Kale's lab.
Kitty picked up the scissors that she had brought up to the bathroom, her hand shook slightly and she felt them begin to phase through her.
"Stop it" she muttered to herself.
Gaining control again, she grabbed a lock of her hair and began to cut. As the first lock drifted down into the sink, she felt her worries seem to disappear although she knew that that wasn't true. She just had something new to focus on.
The sound that the scissors made as they cut through her hair made her feel comforted. The soft whisper of her hair falling into the sink also had a soothing quality that almost lulled her into a daydream but with that thought she quickly shook herself back to reality. The little voice inside her head kept whispering to her, telling her that Lance was dead and it was all her fault.
She looked at her reflection again and smiled bitterly. Her hair was short now, sitting in a jagged bob just below her ears. She ran a hand through it before turning away and phasing through the door, leaving her hair in the sink in case someone wanted it. With that thought she laughed but it sounded hollow, even in her own ears.
"Hey Kitty," someone called, "What have you done!?"
Kitty turned to see Jean standing there staring at her new haircut.
"Do you like it? I did it myself," Kitty said, mocking her once native valley girl tone before walking away down the hall.
She went into her room and got suited up, ready for some practise in the Danger Room. She phased through her floor, dropping down into the lab startling Dr. McCoy and Lorna who both seemed to live in the lab these days.
"Hi, just passing through" she said with a wave.
Both Hank and Lorna looked at each other, concern evident in their eyes but Kitty didn't see this as she found herself in front of the Danger Room
~*~
Jean had rushed into the bathroom that Kitty had come out of and nearly cried when she saw all the hair lying in the sink and the scissors resting on and angle in the hair.
"What is wrong with you, Kitty?" she murmured to herself.
Turning away from the sight of all the hair she closed her eyes as if concentrating.
Professor, are you here? she called in her mind, trying to sound calm but feeling a plethora of emotions.
What is it, Jean? came the reply.
Kitty Jean replied almost wanting to mutter what else but holding back at the last minute.
I will meet you in the study shortly. I have some business to attend to his voice sounded in her mind.
Jean nodded, knowing that he could see her but it was a natural reaction. With one last look at the contents in the sink, she walked out the door and made her way to the study.
~*~
Being a mutant was a strange thing, but then again being human must be even stranger because even though he didn't get his powers until he hit puberty he was never really human. He didn't recall doing anything noticeably spectacular when he was in pre-school so he knew he must not have. Still the idea that he could have actually won every game of freeze tag always made him feel better.
"Hey Bobby, what are you thinking?" a voice roused him from his thoughts.
"Just wandering why this guy hates us so much" he told Jubilee, who had recently been allowed to come back.
Her parents had heard all this stuff on the news and decided that maybe Xavier's place was safer than their home.
Jubilee had changed since he had last seen her. Her hair was shorter but it wasn't just physical changes. Her eyes seemed darker and she didn't smile as much. However, it wasn't as if they had a lot to smile about over the last year or so. With Kitty going missing, rumours that there was going to be a new law for mutant segregation or even worse.
"Cause he's jealous?" Jubilee suggested.
"I don't know. Maybe something happened to him or someone did something to him, something that only a mutant could have done?" Bobby mused, laughing at how clichéd that sounded to him.
Jubilee caught on. "Maybe he comes from a family of mutants and he was the only one who didn't get any powers, you know. So he began obsessed with making mutants the evil bad guys and humans the superior good guys," she laughed.
Bobby joined in on the laughter before moving back into a reflective silent mode, something he never had until recently. Jubilee was silent as well and Bobby saw her look around the trees that were part of their prison. They were still not allowed outside the Institute and boredom was becoming a large factor with fights breaking out all the time and Logan making them all do extra sessions in the Danger Room.
Bobby was about to say something when he heard a strange sound.
"Did you hear…?" Jubilee began but Bobby cut her off, bringing his finger to his lips, signalling for silence.
Both of them were on alert now. As quietly as possible Bobby moved towards the trees, watching for any sign of movement, one hand held up ready to ice anything that came at them.
"Maybe it was the wind?" Jubilee suggested but Bobby knew that she was trying to relieve her fear.
A click, loud enough to startle them, sounded through the trees.
"Jubilee, run back to the mansion and fire up as many fireworks as you can" Bobby told her in a whisper.
He watched her eyes widen but she did as she was told, running back the way they had came.
Bobby watched as fireworks exploded in the sky and he hoped that they would realise what was happening. He turned back just in time to see someone explode out of the bushes and run straight at him. Swearing in surprise, he stepped back and shot of a blast of ice in the direction of the person.
Someone else stepped out and Bobby could see that they were dressed in army fatigues and that they had familiar looking weapons. The were the same guys that had attacked them when Jean and Rogue were talking to that lady in Chicago.
"Damn it" he yelled but at the same time he created an ice slide and began to make tracks towards the mansion.
~*~
Jean was sitting in the study when she saw a series of fireworks explode into the sky. At first she thought that Jubilee was playing around but she looking out the large windows and saw her running towards the mansion as fast as she could.
Jean then looked towards the small area of trees and saw Bobby sliding towards the mansion as well. Right behind him cam several men dressed in army clothes.
Professor, someone is attacking the Institute she called a warning before opening the windows with her mind and floating outside to help.
She lowered herself and set up a protective field around Bobby since he was closest to the danger.
She did that just in time as a series of small explosions occurred around him. They were firing at him but it didn't seem as if they were bullets as a strange cloud of gas appeared.
"Jean, look out" Jubilee screamed and Jean turned around sharply to find three men standing behind her.
"Well hello again" one of them said and grinned widely.
Jean watched as he raised his gun and fired at her. This time, though, she was ready for this and she raised a hand, watching as the small dart stopped in its tracks before turning around and hitting the same man in the neck. He dropped to the ground instantly
The other two men looked at her and raised their weapons as well.
"Don't" she sighed but they didn't listen.
By the time that the others got there all three men were on the ground, fast asleep, but they were not the only ones there. Men surrounded Bobby and Jubilee was not faring much better.
Scott instantly went into leader mode and began to give orders, which everyone followed as they were trained. Jean watched as he blasted some of the men that surrounded Bobby. A wall of flame erupted around another. Out of the corner of her eye, Jean saw Amara moving towards Jubilee and Bobby.
The other students had rushed out to help protect the Institute and their friends. Lorna had appeared and any gun within a small radius of her had been forced to the ground. Jean smelt brimstone and saw Kurt porting everywhere, leaving a series of unconscious people in his wake.
Rogue was having a similar effect but there were still more people coming in from somewhere.
"Where is the professor?" Jean called to Scott.
He replied by shrugging his shoulders.
"They have Rogue" Jubilee yelled in a panicked voice.
Jean looked up startled and saw one of the men carrying Rogue's limp form but before he could get very far a shadow fell from the trees and the guy fell to the ground. Jean smiled in relief as she saw Gambit pick up Rogue and carry her back towards the Institute.
"STOP!" a voice yelled.
Everyone, even the students stopped and Jean saw the Professor appear at the front door but she was surprised to see Magneto there as well.
"What is going on?" Scott hissed in her ear.
She shook her head to show that she didn't understand.
"Ahh, the infamous Professor Xavier and his arch rival Magneto" a cruel voice taunted.
Jean watched as the soldiers moved back and formed what seemed like a protective line. Then she got her first glimpse of Aidan Kale.
~*~
His brother wasn't at the lab or so they told him. Apparently he had gone out to look for more people that suffered from the X-gene. So Josh was free to roam the small area that his brother had designated safe for him.
He was able to walk easily now, with much less pain but he couldn't go on long walks. He still got tired easily.
It was on one of these walks that he realised that he didn't even remember what kind of things he could do with his X-gene. He knew that some people could create fire and some could manipulate water. He also knew that some could even read other peoples mind but he had no idea what he could do.
So know he sat on his bed, glad to be no longer hooked up to all the frustrating machinery, and searched his memory. He had tried this numerous times before but this time he was desperate to find the truth.
As always, he recalled a girl with long dark hair and a charming smile but then he hit a blank wall.
"Damn it" he yelled to no one.
He stood up quickly and felt dizzy, as he reached back to sit down the bed moved on its wheels. Startled he tried to regain his balance only to fall back and hit his head on the bed.
He sat on the ground stunned for a bit when memories that couldn't be his seemed to swarm into his mind.
"Kitty" he muttered and that opened a new section of his mind.
"I' m not Joshua Kale" he growled, realising how stupid he must have been to believe that he was that idiot's brother.
He stood up, held out his hands making his eyes roll back in to his head and make the ground shake.
He smiled grimly…
To Be Continued…