Run For Your Life

"Ah the miracles of modern science!" Todd smiled as he sprayed himself with some strange cologne. "Thanks to this baby my sweetie and I can be together!"

"And thanks to it I can get my room back," Kurt groaned. "I thought Beast would never finish that formula to neutralize your scent!"

"He did seem rather in a hurry to work on it," Xi remarked. "Especially after that food fight the other afternoon."

"Well I can't say it hasn't been fun," Todd remarked.

"Mostly because it hasn't," Kurt folded his arms.

"What do you mean they're not here?" They heard Logan roar from the halls. "They should have been back hours ago!"

"What's going on?" Kurt went out with Todd and Xi.

"The Professor and the others aren't back yet," Paige told them.

"Guys…" Jubilee walked up to them holding a phone. She was crying. "There's been an accident. The Professor and the others…They're dead."

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"It looks like a car bomb," The officer in charge told Logan. He was there with Jean, Todd and Hank who had gone out to investigate. "I'm sorry." A huge burnt wreckage was off the side of the highway. Five bodies were covered under tarps.

"Well it looks like their limo," Logan sniffed. "I'm gonna check it out."

"Hey you can't…" The officer tried to restrain him.

"Trust us," Hank told him. "He can find out a lot more than you can."

"I don't believe this…"Jean was in shock. "They can't be dead!"

"I know it's hard to believe Jean," Hank sighed.

"Well maybe because it ain't true," Todd said. "Something ain't right here. This is too pat."

"What are you saying Toad?" Jean asked.

"Somebody as tough as those guys don't just get whacked like this!" Todd snapped. "Especially Kitty! Think about it, she could just phase through. I say we check this out. I'll bet you ten bucks that ain't them in there!"

"You'd win that bet Toad," Logan told them. "Oh that's the right vehicle but those bodies in there aren't X-Men!"

"How do know?" The officer asked.

"Even burnt I can tell the difference with this," Logan pointed to his nose.

"Hmmm…" Hank uncovered one of the smaller framed bodies. "And at least one of the smaller bodies is male. Since Danielle and Kitty are female and the smallest of the group…Well you can draw your own conclusions."

"You mean it's not them?" The cop was surprised.

"Told you they weren't dead," Todd sniffed.

"No but somebody sure wants us to think they're dead!" Logan grunted. "Pretty sloppy job too."

"I don't like the looks of this," Jean frowned.

"You and me both," Logan said. "We have to find them, fast!"

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It was instinctive, her phasing through the elevator just as the electricity hit. Somehow she grabbed Danielle and they passed through into darkness. She woke up in darkness. Her head was throbbing. Her entire body ached. "Where am I?"

She saw Danielle coming too as well. "Oh…What hit us?"

"Dunno…" Kitty shivered and looked around. "I think we're in the sewers somewhere."

"How did we get here?" Danielle stood up weakly.

"Must have phased us right through to the sewer system somehow," Kitty winced as she stood up. "Are you all right?"

"No…" Danielle moaned. "Kitty what happened?"

"The gas…" Kitty coughed. "It did something to us and…"

A shot rang out. "Danielle get down!" Kitty shouted shoving her out of the way. Neither was hurt but they saw three men, wearing green uniforms and carrying weapons come towards them.

"We found 'em, Anne," One said. "Two little rats in a sewer. Pretty fitting don't ya think?"

"Speaking of rats…" Danielle focused on her powers. "Aggh!"

"Nice try kid but thanks to these," One tapped his helmet. "You can't get in our heads. Fire!"

Kitty grabbed Danielle and phased through to the ground. "Where'd they go?" One shouted. "Hey! My feet!" Kitty had managed to phase their feet into the sewer floor.

"Just stick around," Kitty said as she and Danielle popped out. "I'm sure you'll feel right at home with all the other rats. OW!" She winced clutching her stomach.

"Why you little…"One aimed his weapon only to have it knocked out of his hands by a kick.

"My powers may be gone," Danielle aimed the weapon at him. "But I can still use this! Drop your weapons!" They did so. Danielle took them and threw them in the sewer water.

"Oh I don't feel so good," Kitty muttered as she leaned on the wall.

"Kitty! More of 'em are coming!" Danielle helped her up.

"Let's go!" Kitty said as they ran off, managing to climb up near a manhole.

Anne ran up with the rest of her squad. "They surprised us…" One of the trapped men grunted.

"Looks like the brats are more resourceful than we thought," Anne spoke into her communicator. "They've gone above ground! Move out!"

Meanwhile Kitty and Danielle tried to run as fast as they could through unknown alleys and back streets of the city. "Kitty I think I'm gonna pass out if I don't lie down soon," Danielle groaned.

"We have to keep moving!" Kitty shouted. "We can't give up!"

"I'm trying…" Danielle grimaced. "I just feel so sick…What did they do to us?"

"I dunno…" Kitty panted. "I can barely phase myself. But we gotta stay focused. We gotta find help."

They rounded the corner and came face to face with seven very large gang members. "Kitty…I don't think these guys are going to help us," Danielle gulped.

"Oh we'll help you Chica," One man grinned as he grabbed her arm. "For the right price."

"NO! STAY AWAY!" Danielle tried to use her powers but all she could do was scream in agony. "AGGGGHH!"

"Geeze what the hell is that girl on?" Another gang member asked.

"She's sick…" Kitty gasped, realizing at the moment she couldn't escape the grip of the gang member who held her. "Need a hospital…"

"Don't worry," Anne cocked her weapon as her squad appeared. "I have your medicine right here. Hand over the girls and you won't get hurt."

"Listen woman, this here's Panther's turf," The leader snarled as he whipped out his weapon. "Nobody demands nothing from us! We rule here!"

"You got lotta balls lady to try and order us around," The another gang member snarled.

"This has been fun and all but this is taking way too long," One Purist snapped. "Look pal we got a schedule to keep. Those two are muties. So why don't you do the right thing for once in your life and hand 'em over!"

"Muties huh?" The gang leader grinned. "That makes 'em even more valuable."

"All right how much to you want for 'em?" A Purist asked.

"Johnson!" Anne snapped.

"Look we don't have time for fun and games," Johnson snapped. "We still have that freak school to take out so why waste time with only two? Just pay 'em off. Maybe they can find even more muties for us."

"You can't seriously be thinking of negotiating with trash like this!" Anne snapped.

"That is not the right attitude lady," The Gang leader snarled.

A thought ran in Kitty's head. "What do you expect from a Purist?" She told him.

"Shut up freak," Anne hissed.

"They're not exactly the most tolerant group you know?" Kitty went on. The gang did notice that all the Purists were white. "Who's to say after us you're next?"

"I said shut up!" Anne shouted.

"Girl got a point," A gang member shouted.

"Yeah I don't see no brothers in your little GI Jerk outfit," The Gang leader narrowed his eyes.

"Think about it," Kitty said. "They believe anyone whose genes aren't pure should be dead. And they've got a pretty narrow definition."

"You're not gonna listen to that little mutie witch are you?" Anne shouted.

"Oh and you think I should listen to a white witch like you?" The Gang leader snarled.

The gang members holding Kitty and Danielle shoved them aside to the back of the wall in the alley. "Let's give it to 'em Reg!" One shouted.

"Fine…" Anne snarled. "We'll do this the hard way…"

At the last instant Kitty grabbed Danielle and phased her right through the wall in the building behind them. Fortunately the room was empty and they kept running through another wall, trying not to think about the sounds of gunshots they heard. They finally made it out to another street. "This is a nightmare…" Kitty moaned.

"They said they were gonna take out a freak school…" Danielle was sweating. "Kitty they're gonna attack the Institute!"

"I know," Kitty panted. "We gotta warn them somehow and fast!"

Back in the alley Anne allowed one of her men to put on a bandage on her arm. "Can't believe they got away!" He grunted. "Your arm's fine by the way. Only grazed."

"Too bad we can't say the same for Hackers, Smith and Croen," Another grunted as he idly kicked the dead body of one of the gang members. "But at least we avenged their deaths."

"Yeah but the freaks got away," Another snapped. "We gotta get out of here before the cops come! I can hear their sirens now."

"Those girls took out three of my best men," Anne snarled. "Not to mention getting me wounded. Now I'm really ticked off! Forget what Stryker wants, those freaks are to be terminated!"

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"Now where are we?" Danielle grunted. "You think we'd find more people in a city. Even if it is after dark."

"I dunno," Kitty panted. "But we have to get help somewhere…"

"I…can't…" Danielle passed out and lay on the ground.

"No! Danielle! Come on!" She tried to get her up but couldn't. Then she saw a police car. "Hey! Stop! Stop!" She ran in front of it. "STOP!"

She was half phased into the front of the car. "Oh god Harry what the hell…" They stopped.

Kitty fell back. "My friend…She's sick." She pointed to Danielle.

"Oh my god…" One officer got out of the car and went to check on Danielle.

Kitty's knees buckled and she fell to the ground. "I can't move…" She whimpered. "It feels like I'm being torn apart inside…"

"Okay Harry call for an ambulance," One cop told his partner. "We gotta…"

CRACK!

The cop turned around and saw that his partner was slumped over in the front of the cop car. Anne reloaded her pistol as her team covered her. "End of the line ladies…"

"Who the hell are you and what did you do to my partner?" The cop whipped out his pistol.

"He's merely knocked out," Anne said. "Hand over those muties and we'll leave."

"Hell no," The cop snapped. "I'm not letting two sick girls get taken by scum like you!"

"Fine," Anne pulled the trigger. To Kitty's horror the cop fell to the ground dead.

"Why?" Kitty screamed. "He was human! He didn't do anything to you!"

"He will serve our cause much better as a martyr…" Anne grinned as she pointed her weapon at Kitty. "Another victim of mutant aggression."

"I may be a mutant…" Kitty's eyes were wet with tears but stone cold, "But you're an inhuman monster!"

"And you and your friend are just a couple of dead muties," Anne cocked her weapon and prepared to fire.

Only to have it shot out of her hands. "Who…?" She screamed in agony just before a figure leapt out of the shadows and punched her in the gut. "Get him!"

"Yeah right…" The man scoffed as he leapt over the men with the agility of a ninja. A flash of steel rang out. To Kitty's amazement the man used a sword to slice the weapons to pieces and then proceeded to slice up the attackers.

Everything grew fuzzy around her; she could barely make out his features. She noticed he had long sandy brown hair, a beard and an eyepatch over his left eye. Then she felt nauseous and fell into blackness amid the sound of gunfire.

What happens next? What is Stryker up to? Who is Kitty and Danielle's savior? Is he friend or foe? Find out in future chapters!