Today
Kitty lay on the ground, her stomach knotting so tightly that she wished she would just faint and get it over with. It was getting worse and she desperately reached for her cell phone though her pain. As her fingers gripped the smooth plastic, two things happened at once, her stomach gave one final wrenching quench, and she disappeared in an explosion of smoke and sulfur.
***
John gasped as a shiver ran down his body, his stomach constricting in response. He desperately wished that he had found Piotr before his sojourn into the bathroom. Maybe he had gotten a hold of some kind of virus. Piotr knew a bit about medicine and probably could have helped, but what to do now. He could barely move and it was getting worse. John didn't like pain as was evident by the grimace on his face. He sighed heavily before accepting that he was dying of misery. He smiled at the thought of the funeral pyre they'd erect for him. He was still smiling when a cloud of smoke overcame him and sulfur filled the bathroom.
***
Rogue lay on the ground, not feeling the pine needles and rocks poking her in her back. She two felt the stomach pains. She wondered somewhere in her pain fuzzied mind if this was a new side effect of her mutant power. She hoped not, she had enough problems as is. A smirk crossed her face. Logan would be pissed when he saw that she scratched his bike. He wouldn't hurt her or yell; he'd just stand there with a glare and huff like a girl. She always found that amusing. Maybe if she found the strength to ignore the pain and get up she'd look forward to it. Rogue moaned when a stomach cramp became really painful. A smoke filled, sulfur-smelling world surrounded her and as she disappeared the thought occurred to her that she was finally going to pay for her sins.
***
As the smoke dissipated a floating figure came to be seen by the car. It appeared to be a girl, but you could see through her like a ghost. She just hung there in the air, not moving, seemingly lost in thought. Kitty looked about her. Normally when you get teleported by Kurt you feel nauseous for a while, but when she had transferred to this state that feeling had been taken from her, along with everything else. She felt no hunger, no pain, nothing.
Kitty smiled, some would have said that wasn't such a bad thing. She hated it. She would love for just once more to know the pain of a paper cut, or a cramp. But no, she felt nothing, and in turn she was nothing.
She had to find Rogue. Something was wrong here. She should have teleported in during a party, when she, Rogue, and Pyro had been alone together, the very night Phoenix would first strike out. Kitty raised her arms to the sky, and in response she slowly began to rise into the air. She was shifting out of gravity's reach, and in turn her molecules slowly began to separate, and scatter to the winds. In this state she could be spread out over great areas, and find things or people faster. It was not teleportation however; she could not be everywhere at once. On the contrary, she could only stretch her molecules so far. It was like being a spirit, being involved in everything in a certain area. She could invade and reintegrate herself in any place of that area. It made her a great spy, or so Genoshan officials had thought.
Kitty felt a pang of satisfaction at that. She had by herself hunted down and destroyed the officials in the most brutal way possible, and she regretted none of it.
***
John rose from where he had lain on the floor. He looked about him and didn't recognize his surroundings. That was bad. He pulled himself to his feet and swallowed over the pain in his throat. His stomach turned over as he tried to walk.
"Let's not do that again," he muttered out loud. He jumped when someone proceeded to bang from inside the next room. He walked through the door and proceeded to stub his toe on a table. "Shit!"
"John, you 'kay in dere?"
"Fine!" John shouted back, though he had no idea who he had been speaking to. He waved his hand over the wall, finally hitting the switch. As the room flooded with light, he slammed his eyes shut. As he slowly adjusted to the light, he grimaced. He knew where he was now, and he couldn't have wanted to be elsewhere any more than he did at that moment.
He was in his quarters at Magneto's lair (somewhere inside him the inner child snickered at the thought of a 'lair'), and he had no idea what day it was. He walked to the dresser in the corner and opened a drawer. He snickered as he saw that his old costume was in it. He had been so geeky at the time of designing it. Who would want to run around in skintight clothes? Unless you were a girl it just wasn't right.
After pulling on a pair of loose fitting black pants, he pulled on a white wifebeater. Glancing in the mirror he knew he'd need to cover his face. His scar was prominent in the bright light. He strode to the closet and pulled it open. A black, flame covered hoody was on a hanger. He pulled it on and quickly left the room. The place brought back too many memories. All the times he had spent in their playing with his lighter, or just watching a candle flame, it was too much. When you can't have something, it doesn't stop you from yearning.
He looked around the corner before heading for the exit. He had the back up plan in the back of his mind, and he knew it would take a while to hitch hike there. Rogue had chosen a secluded but well-known spot to meet if they got separated. He hoped she was already there or on her way. The plan wouldn't succeed without the full team.
Behind him two shadows remained still in the shadows. Red eyes stared out from the darkness, while a stray way of light caught the shine of metal on the chest of the other shadow. "Remy tol' you somet'in' was wrong."
"What does this prove?"
"Dat he be sneakin' out. Aren' you curious?"
"No."
"Well, Remy is, an' you comin' wit'." Remy, a.k.a. Gambit pulled Colossus, a.k.a. Piotr, towards the door. "We jus' wanna see what he doin'."
"That's what you said when we followed him to Monoco."
"But it was fun, non?"
"No."
***
Rogue sat on the ground for a few seconds before rising agilely. Looking around she could tell that she was nowhere near a main road, or town for that matter. Her extra senses told her that it was deep midnight, almost three a.m. It also told her that there wasn't a person nearby, or animal for that matter.
She walked to the motorbike in the middle of the road. It was a little scratched but still workable. There was a helmet lying in the grass a few feet away but she scorned it. When you could heal at an expediential rate, why worry about safety? After setting the bike to rights she climbed on and gunned it.
First things first, she would have to find out where and when she was. There were lights about two miles down the road and Rogue sped toward them. Her stomach was settling thanks to the combined efforts of her healing mutants. When she had found out where she was she would head for the meeting place to get a hold of the rest of her team.
Rogue pulled into the gas station and looked around. There was no one else there, which said that there were no immediate threats there. She walked to the cashier and gave him a smile she knew was designed to baffle and flatter. "Hi, sugah. Ah was wonderin' if you could help meh. Ah'm lost."
The cashier, who had to be eighteen, stuttered when he spoke. "Y-y-y-ou're in Bay-bay-bay-ville."
"Really? Why thank ya honey. Do you know what day it is?"
"It's T-T-T-Thursday the fif-fif-fif-fif-fifteenth of July."
"Thanks, you've been a real help to meh." She gave him a big grin and walked back to her bike. Inside she was seething. They were a month early! This would trouble things up immensely. Turning her bike away from Bayville, she set out to find Pyro, and Kitty. She decided she would deal with everything and everyone else later.
Kitty lay on the ground, her stomach knotting so tightly that she wished she would just faint and get it over with. It was getting worse and she desperately reached for her cell phone though her pain. As her fingers gripped the smooth plastic, two things happened at once, her stomach gave one final wrenching quench, and she disappeared in an explosion of smoke and sulfur.
***
John gasped as a shiver ran down his body, his stomach constricting in response. He desperately wished that he had found Piotr before his sojourn into the bathroom. Maybe he had gotten a hold of some kind of virus. Piotr knew a bit about medicine and probably could have helped, but what to do now. He could barely move and it was getting worse. John didn't like pain as was evident by the grimace on his face. He sighed heavily before accepting that he was dying of misery. He smiled at the thought of the funeral pyre they'd erect for him. He was still smiling when a cloud of smoke overcame him and sulfur filled the bathroom.
***
Rogue lay on the ground, not feeling the pine needles and rocks poking her in her back. She two felt the stomach pains. She wondered somewhere in her pain fuzzied mind if this was a new side effect of her mutant power. She hoped not, she had enough problems as is. A smirk crossed her face. Logan would be pissed when he saw that she scratched his bike. He wouldn't hurt her or yell; he'd just stand there with a glare and huff like a girl. She always found that amusing. Maybe if she found the strength to ignore the pain and get up she'd look forward to it. Rogue moaned when a stomach cramp became really painful. A smoke filled, sulfur-smelling world surrounded her and as she disappeared the thought occurred to her that she was finally going to pay for her sins.
***
As the smoke dissipated a floating figure came to be seen by the car. It appeared to be a girl, but you could see through her like a ghost. She just hung there in the air, not moving, seemingly lost in thought. Kitty looked about her. Normally when you get teleported by Kurt you feel nauseous for a while, but when she had transferred to this state that feeling had been taken from her, along with everything else. She felt no hunger, no pain, nothing.
Kitty smiled, some would have said that wasn't such a bad thing. She hated it. She would love for just once more to know the pain of a paper cut, or a cramp. But no, she felt nothing, and in turn she was nothing.
She had to find Rogue. Something was wrong here. She should have teleported in during a party, when she, Rogue, and Pyro had been alone together, the very night Phoenix would first strike out. Kitty raised her arms to the sky, and in response she slowly began to rise into the air. She was shifting out of gravity's reach, and in turn her molecules slowly began to separate, and scatter to the winds. In this state she could be spread out over great areas, and find things or people faster. It was not teleportation however; she could not be everywhere at once. On the contrary, she could only stretch her molecules so far. It was like being a spirit, being involved in everything in a certain area. She could invade and reintegrate herself in any place of that area. It made her a great spy, or so Genoshan officials had thought.
Kitty felt a pang of satisfaction at that. She had by herself hunted down and destroyed the officials in the most brutal way possible, and she regretted none of it.
***
John rose from where he had lain on the floor. He looked about him and didn't recognize his surroundings. That was bad. He pulled himself to his feet and swallowed over the pain in his throat. His stomach turned over as he tried to walk.
"Let's not do that again," he muttered out loud. He jumped when someone proceeded to bang from inside the next room. He walked through the door and proceeded to stub his toe on a table. "Shit!"
"John, you 'kay in dere?"
"Fine!" John shouted back, though he had no idea who he had been speaking to. He waved his hand over the wall, finally hitting the switch. As the room flooded with light, he slammed his eyes shut. As he slowly adjusted to the light, he grimaced. He knew where he was now, and he couldn't have wanted to be elsewhere any more than he did at that moment.
He was in his quarters at Magneto's lair (somewhere inside him the inner child snickered at the thought of a 'lair'), and he had no idea what day it was. He walked to the dresser in the corner and opened a drawer. He snickered as he saw that his old costume was in it. He had been so geeky at the time of designing it. Who would want to run around in skintight clothes? Unless you were a girl it just wasn't right.
After pulling on a pair of loose fitting black pants, he pulled on a white wifebeater. Glancing in the mirror he knew he'd need to cover his face. His scar was prominent in the bright light. He strode to the closet and pulled it open. A black, flame covered hoody was on a hanger. He pulled it on and quickly left the room. The place brought back too many memories. All the times he had spent in their playing with his lighter, or just watching a candle flame, it was too much. When you can't have something, it doesn't stop you from yearning.
He looked around the corner before heading for the exit. He had the back up plan in the back of his mind, and he knew it would take a while to hitch hike there. Rogue had chosen a secluded but well-known spot to meet if they got separated. He hoped she was already there or on her way. The plan wouldn't succeed without the full team.
Behind him two shadows remained still in the shadows. Red eyes stared out from the darkness, while a stray way of light caught the shine of metal on the chest of the other shadow. "Remy tol' you somet'in' was wrong."
"What does this prove?"
"Dat he be sneakin' out. Aren' you curious?"
"No."
"Well, Remy is, an' you comin' wit'." Remy, a.k.a. Gambit pulled Colossus, a.k.a. Piotr, towards the door. "We jus' wanna see what he doin'."
"That's what you said when we followed him to Monoco."
"But it was fun, non?"
"No."
***
Rogue sat on the ground for a few seconds before rising agilely. Looking around she could tell that she was nowhere near a main road, or town for that matter. Her extra senses told her that it was deep midnight, almost three a.m. It also told her that there wasn't a person nearby, or animal for that matter.
She walked to the motorbike in the middle of the road. It was a little scratched but still workable. There was a helmet lying in the grass a few feet away but she scorned it. When you could heal at an expediential rate, why worry about safety? After setting the bike to rights she climbed on and gunned it.
First things first, she would have to find out where and when she was. There were lights about two miles down the road and Rogue sped toward them. Her stomach was settling thanks to the combined efforts of her healing mutants. When she had found out where she was she would head for the meeting place to get a hold of the rest of her team.
Rogue pulled into the gas station and looked around. There was no one else there, which said that there were no immediate threats there. She walked to the cashier and gave him a smile she knew was designed to baffle and flatter. "Hi, sugah. Ah was wonderin' if you could help meh. Ah'm lost."
The cashier, who had to be eighteen, stuttered when he spoke. "Y-y-y-ou're in Bay-bay-bay-ville."
"Really? Why thank ya honey. Do you know what day it is?"
"It's T-T-T-Thursday the fif-fif-fif-fif-fifteenth of July."
"Thanks, you've been a real help to meh." She gave him a big grin and walked back to her bike. Inside she was seething. They were a month early! This would trouble things up immensely. Turning her bike away from Bayville, she set out to find Pyro, and Kitty. She decided she would deal with everything and everyone else later.