A Secret Worth Revealing
By: Cece Williams
((Disclaimer: I don't own "XME" but I own Melanie. AN1: This takes place during the episode "Impact." It aired on August 30, 2003. Thank God for Closed Captioning. AN2: Kurt's single in this universe, and it's the summertime. Yay! Anywho, hope you enjoy it.))
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Melanie was lying on her bed in her room, reading a Seventeen magazine near the horoscopes. Her green eyes skimmed through the page until she found her zodiac sign. "'If you have pressures on your mind, dear Cancer, then today will be the day'," she read to herself, brushing a strand of reddish-brown hair from her face. She sighed but was startled to hear a poofing sound. Getting off of her bed, she walked down to where Kurt's room was, next door, and knocked on it.
"Kurt, are you all right?" she asked in her normal British accent, looking to see Kurt sitting on the bed looking at something. She opened the door a little more and saw a statue in the middle of his floor. The look on the statue's face made her scream, which also made Kurt almost lose his balance.
Kurt stood to his feet, walking to the doorway. "Melanie," he said, almost startled. "You almost gave me a heart attack."
"What do you mean, I almost gave you a heart attack?" she asked him, her green eyes as wide as the statue's. "What is that?"
Kurt's yellow eyes looked into Melanie's and he sighed, leading her into his room. "Melanie, whatever you do, please don't freak out," he answered her, sitting on the edge of his bed. He was about to answer her question when an all-too-familiar person wearing dark clothes and short deep red/white hair stood in the doorway, looking at the statue with pure hatred in her dark eyes.
"You dare bring that thing back into this house?" Rogue's voice screamed, mainly at Kurt. Melanie had been sitting on the edge of the bed as well, looking at Rogue with confusion in her eyes.
"Rogue, she can't hurt us anymore!" Kurt countered, causing Melanie's eyes to follow the person's voice.
"Speak for yourself!" Rogue said, turning around and facing the door.
Oh, no, Melanie thought, sitting on Kurt's bed, don't tell me there's going to be another argument. The tone of Rogue's voice literally told her not to get involved. Not that she wanted to be, anyway. She watched as Rogue literally lashed out at Kurt about something.
"I know you have every reason to hate her; so do I," Kurt countered, getting off the bed and walking to Rogue. "I mean, look what she's done to us."
The next words shook Melanie to the bone. "But still, she's our mother." Mother? Melanie thought. That statue is Kurt and Rogue's mother? Her eyes grew in shock at Rogue's response.
"Either you get her out of here, or I will!"
Melanie's heart was thumping inside of her chest. How could Rogue have so much hatred for that "mother?" What had that woman done? She left her questions unasked, as she didn't need to get involved with their fight. After Rogue left, she couldn't help but ask herself why did she have to hear that?
"Kurt," Melanie's tender yet confused voice snapped him out of it. "Is it just me, or do statues cry?"
He looked at what she was talking about. From the way it looked, the statue was crying. "I think you're right," he answered, holding one of his hands on the statue and Melanie's arm with the other. Then, he 'ported them to another room. Mr. McCoy and the Professor were in the room with them as they tested Melanie and Kurt's theory.
"I'm sorry, you two, but it was probably just condensation," Mr. McCoy said glumly shaking his head.
"What?" Melanie asked in disbelief, a hand to her heart.
"No; there was something more than that," Kurt objected. "I know it."
"Nothing's changed, Kurt," the Professor added to Mr. McCoy's answer. "Even if by some mere miracle that she is still alive, we can't tap into her, let alone restore her to her original form."
"It was her own morphing ability backfiring against her," Mr. McCoy finished his diagnosis. He put a hand on Kurt's shoulder, while Melanie held onto his other arm gently. "There's nothing we can do."
Kurt brushed his hand away, looking defiant. "I am not giving up!" he declared, 'porting out of the room with Melanie. He ended up 'porting them back to his room again.
"Kurt, I believe you," she said as she let go of his arm. "If she were my mother, I wouldn't give up on her, either."
Kurt looked at Melanie, his yellow eyes almost full of shock.
"I'm willing to do whatever it takes to help you," she continued, a tender look on her young face as she placed one hand on his shoulder, the other on her heart. "I'm always going to be by your side."
That spurge of hope filled his eyes. "Thanks, Melanie," he answered her.
"No problem," she answered, smiling at him. "Now, you have any ideas, or do we have to brainstorm on this one?"
"I think I know the place," Kurt answered after a few minutes of thinking. He grabbed Melanie's hand. "Hold on." Before she could answer him, he 'ported both him and her out of his room.
They then found themselves near the Brotherhood. Well, almost, actually. He had teleported her into the woods, just barely enough for her to see the house. "This is your plan?" she asked him in a whisper.
Kurt pulled one of his furry fingers to her mouth, silencing her. "Wait here," he told her, 'porting out of her sight. He 'ported himself to a window, seeing a familiar face. "Wanda!"
Her answer was a blast to knock Kurt off the windowsill and to the ground. He landed with a thud on the hard ground.
Finally ignoring Kurt's order, Melanie ran out to him. "Kurt!" she said, kneeling next to him. "Are you okay?"
"Never better," he answered her.
Wanda looked outside at the two mutants. "You've shouldn't pop in front of people like that!" she told him.
"Yeah, it's annoying," Kurt and Melanie said in unison, standing to their feet together.
"But I need to ask you a favor," Kurt continued.
"What?" Wanda asked, staring mainly at Melanie.
"Please, can you arrange a meeting with Agatha Harkness?" he asked.
Wanda's face softened a little, looking at Kurt. "All right," she answered.
Another hour went by, and Kurt and Melanie, along with the statue of Mystique, Kurt's mother, were in the gazebo overlooking the ocean. Kurt was pacing worriedly inside it while Melanie sat on one of the railings, looking out towards the path to the gazebo.
"Kurt, stop pacing like that," she said, her green eyes looking at him. "You'll wear a hole in the floor."
"I can't help it," he answered her. "What if she doesn't show up?"
"She will," she answered him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It could be traffic problems, you know? That could be why she's a little late."
Kurt was about to answer her when he looked out and saw a cloaked figure walking towards them.
Melanie smiled at him. "See? Told you she'd show up," she said.
"I was afraid you wouldn't show," Kurt said to the cloaked lady. She placed her hands on the statue.
Melanie jumped off the railing and stood beside him, showing her support for the blue fuzzy elf.
"Well, can you help her?" Kurt asked pleadingly.
She took off her hood and Agatha looked at him. "No…" she began. Looking behind them, she added, "But she can."
Kurt and Melanie looked behind them. It was Rogue.
Agatha then began explaining that Rogue was there to "end the torment," in her words. "If your mother is alive, only you can save her. Rest your hand against the stone, and absorb the mutation."
Melanie's eyebrows rose in confusion and concern. "Huh?"
"Hold on, now," Kurt popped in, waving his hands in confusion and concern. "Is it even safe? What if she -"
"A moment's all it will take," Agatha answered him. "It will free Mystique long enough for her to use her own powers."
Rogue looked mystified, an unlikely emotion on her usually dark face. "You're serious? I'm the only one who can save her?"
Kurt looked up at her. "Rogue, it's the right thing," he said to her. "You know it is."
"No, I … I won't do it," she said and started to storm off only to have Kurt stand in front of her.
"But if you don't help her, this will haunt you for the rest of your life," Kurt countered to her.
Melanie looked at Kurt. She could see that he was determined to help his stone statue of his mother; either that; or he looked like he was pleading with her, whichever came first.
The next move that Rogue did freaked her out. Screaming, Rogue shoved the statue out of the gazebo, heading for the rocky cliffs. Adrenaline kicking in, Melanie slid down the wall of rock, shouting, "I'm on it, Kurt!"
Kurt saw the stream of reddish-brown hair fly down the cliffs. He 'ported himself to a ledge; unfortunately, it was the wrong one. The statue was where Melanie was. Before he could shout out a warning, the statue knocked itself at her ribs.
Melanie heard a few cracking noises and gasped in horror as she saw the statue break and disintegrate. She fell down the rest of the way; the last thing she saw was Kurt's face, his wide yellow eyes filled with shock and possibly horror at what had just transpired in front of him. "Melanie!" he choked out.
A stray piece of the destroyed statue hit the left side of her head near her temple before she landed sharply on the sand. That knocked her out; her eyes closed as her head lulled to her side.
Kurt, his adrenaline running through his veins, 'ported himself down to the sandy stretch of land and saw the disintegrated statue. The sight that horrified him more was Melanie. Her reddish-brown hair covered part of her face, her left arm was bruised up, and she didn't look alive. He ran over to where she was and knelt next to her. "Melanie?" he asked her, turning her head to face him. He saw another injury he missed; the top left side of her head was bruising, and she was bleeding from that.
He looked up and saw that the other two had walked off. He looked back at the unconscious girl and 'ported them back inside the mansion, in the infirmary. When the Professor saw them, he looked at Kurt. Mentally, he asked him, "Kurt, what happened?"
"Melanie … she's not moving," he answered telepathically.
Mr. McCoy looked at Kurt, who was still holding Melanie's lifeless form. "Follow me," he said, walking to a table. Kurt 'ported both Melanie and himself to where he was supposed to go.
After Kurt laid the girl on the bed, the Professor grabbed his shoulder. "I'll let you know when we're done," he said gently to the blue German.
Kurt nodded, walking out of the room, his yellow eyes filling with tears. He was too upset to catch them as they fell down his face. "Melanie, please be all right," he said to himself, looking in the window on the door like a little child wanting a puppy in the pet store window.
"What about Melanie?" a familiar voice asked from behind him.
He turned around, seeing the youngest in the X-Men, Jamie, looking at him. "Oh, Jamie, it's just you," he said.
He saw the saddened look in Kurt's yellow eyes. "What's wrong, Kurt?" he asked him. "Where's Melanie?"
Without a word, he pointed at the door behind him.
"Melanie's in there?" Jamie asked him, his voice rising in shock. "Is she going to be okay?"
"I … I don't know," Kurt managed to answer, trying to hide the fact he was crying. "I wish I knew right now."
"What happened to her?" Jamie asked him, and as Kurt gave him the story of what had happened, his eyes grew wide, as he always thought of Melanie like she were his older sister. "Oh, my God. Kurt, I'm so sorry, man. Just remember, we're here for you, okay?" Emphasizing his point, he created several copies of himself.
Kurt nodded; smiling although the sheer thought of losing Melanie was killing him inside. "Thanks, Jamie," he answered.
He nodded. "Man, I saw Melanie in several missions before," he said. "She's one tough cookie, and I don't mean one of Kitty's cookies, either."
"You didn't have to remind me," Kurt said, leaning against the wall. "She still wants me to taste more of her cooking."
All five Jamies rolled their eyes. "I know what you mean," they all answered at one time before joining himself back together.
They stayed outside the door talking for another couple of hours until the Professor wheeled back outside. "We managed to stitch her up," he started before meeting their eyes. "But she's not out of the woods yet."
"Is she going to be all right?" Kurt asked him.
"She's in critical condition right now," he answered. "You can see her, but she's still unconscious; there's no telling when she'll wake up after that fall she took earlier."
"How bad off is she?" Jamie asked him.
"Six broken ribs, four sprained, she broke her left arm and twisted her right ankle," he answered the younger boys. "And she still has that concussion. She's beaten up pretty badly."
Jamie put his hand on Kurt's shoulder. "You should go in and see her," he told the blue boy. "I'll let the others know what happened."
Nodding, he walked up to her bedside and sat in the chair next to her bed on his feet. Despairingly, he looked at her. She had a bandage around her ribs, her left arm and her ankle in a cast, and there was a bandage around her head. She looked pitiful, and he knew it. He didn't want to see her in this condition any more than the other way around. "Melanie," he said, brushing her bangs from her eyes. "I had no idea this would happen to you."
A knock came on the wall, and Kitty phased herself through it. "Jamie told me…" Her voice stopped as Kurt turned around and she could see pain in his eyes. "Kurt, is she going to be okay?"
"I hope so," his answer came from his choking throat. "It should be me in that bed, Kitty."
The answer shocked her; there was only one reason why Kurt would act that way, especially towards a girl. "Kurt, you sound like you're…" She held a hand to her mouth, almost realizing the truth first-hand. "You sound like you're in love with her."
"What?" he asked her. "No way; you've got it all wrong." Kitty shrugged, telling Kurt that she was going to bed. After wishing her goodnight, he turned back around at her. "You just take care of yourself, okay?" After that, he 'ported back to his room and got ready for bed. After lying down on his bed and closing his eyes, he went to sleep.
He was sleeping soundly until he was rudely woken at 3:00 AM, according to his clock by his bed. "Kurt, come on, man," a warbled voice called his name.
Sleepily, he answered, "If it's any more of Kitty's cooking, I'm not tasting."
The person raised his eyebrow and shook Kurt more. "Kurt, I'm not telling you again to wake up," he said, finally pulling him off of the bed by his tail.
After his eyes opened, he saw a face. "Scott, you pulled my tail again!" he said, standing up. "What's the big deal?"
"It's about Melanie," he answered. "She just slipped into a coma."
"What?! Melanie's in a coma?!"
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((Man, what a bad way to end that story, huh? Well, don't worry; the fate of Melanie's life is in the next story. R&R, please?))