Soon the team had scattered itself throughout the lighthouse.
Williams, Betsy and Illyana were fishing Watts out of the pantry.
Brian had gone to bed.
Kitty and Forge were chatting with Beast on the communication system and Lucy had slipped out to the deck for some air. Wilson joined her and smiled politely.
"Tell me something…" Wilson smiled. "You ever see anything odd around here?"
"Like what?" She asked, wondering what his idea of odd might be.
"About this big." He held out his hands. "Purple with wings?"
Lucy smiled. "He breathes fire too, but… I wouldn't mention him again. Not everyone has seen him and no one who does wants to risk trying to explain him to the people who don't know about him. You'd look kind of crazy, you know…" She smiled. "Plus it's fun. He's always sneaking around and eventually everyone's gonna see him."
Wilson nodded. "I was surprised. Talking dragons, I did not see coming."
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Talking?" She asked.
And Wilson felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. Maybe you shouldn't mention him talking until someone hears him… He reasoned. "I'd swear he said 'look'." Wilson said with a smile.
Lucy shook her head and smiled. "Probably just a noise that sounded like that." She told him. "He says 'creak' too but I think he's just imitating the floorboards and trying to blend in. It's not real talking though. Just noises."
Pretty song… the words drifted through Wilson's mind. No, I know it. He can talk.
Wilson shrugged. "Guess I can't be right all the time, hunh?" He said with a smile. "Want to see something cool?" He asked.
Lucy shrugged. "Sure."
And Wilson closed his eyes.
He relaxed his body until he almost couldn't feel it anymore and he thought, passionately, about Betsy.
Suddenly it happened. A twittering series of notes began to chime. They sounded like an old fashioned Chinese tune. The notes were watery and 'twanged' as they sounded.
Wilson let the song continue. The soft notes plinking away while some soft rumbling 'drumming' seemed to rise behind it and then – the drumming and the notes began to intertwine, complimenting each other and passing dominance of the tune back and forth even as some soft, sweeping strings like violin sounds rose through the tune and made it whole.
Lucy stood amazed on the deck as the little snaps of light began to flicker and dart around her in time with the music.
"I slept real good while everyone was gone and I woke up making noises like this. Then… As I was falling back to sleep I realized I could do it on purpose if I'm almost asleep. Or just relaxed enough I guess."
Lucy watched in awe. "But… But what are you doing?" She asked.
He shook his head and shrugged sadly. "Haven't the faintest notion myself." He leaned out on the rail and watched as his power began twinkling lights over the ocean so that they would burst over the water and reflect off its surface.
Back inside Tabby watched carefully for her chance.
Williams looked Watts in the eye and Watts scowled. Williams turned on the pocket tape recorder Forge gave him and smiled. "You had this coming all along Millie." He said softly. "And now the world's going to know why." Williams pressed 'record'. "Come clean Millie. Confess everything and take your punishment like a man."
Williams handed the recorder to Betsy who simply held it out towards Watts.
Williams watched it sink in and Watts began to speak.
"When I was seven I stole a pile of silver dollars from my neighbor. They were extremely valuable. Worth tens of thousands of dollars but I was never caught. Still have them too in my wall safe at home. Ruined the people I took them from though. And then, when I was seventeen I had the guard at the Grouters Banking center bring me a bag of money. He went to jail naturally. I think he died in there. Then there was …"
And he began talking faster and faster until there was no way for them to follow everything he said. They simply let him go and recorded it all for posterity.
Illyana opened a portal and she and Betsy herded Watts thought it while he rambled, looking back and forth between them as he spouted his confession as though seeking out an attentive ear and disbelieving that they were ignoring him.
And then… Tabby pounced. "Williams…" She said. "Jamie… " She smiled a tight lipped little smile. "I can see that you've got Watts' power at the moment. But Kitty said it might fade, right?"
"Right." He agreed.
"She also said you were helping a lot of people tonight." Tabby's eyes were searching his for a moment.
"Sure." He agreed.
"Want to help one more?" She asked hopefully. "It's bit of a drive."
He shrugged. "Sure. Who?"
She smiled slightly. "My uh… step-sister." She said softly.
And then someone cleared his throat behind her and she jumped. It was Alistaire. "Take my car." He told her, handing over the keys. "You'll cut a good bit off your travel time."
Her eyes lit up slightly. "Thank you Alistaire. Again." She took the keys from him and Alistaire's mind retreated for a moment.
Again? He wondered and then his mind darted back to the first night he had met her. You got me out… Her words trailed through his mind. Oh… right. Again.
He smiled wide. "Go on. Before they want to haul him off to the states or something." He gestured to Jamie who smiled sheepishly in guilt.
Tabby nodded and jerked her head towards the door. "Lets go." She smiled. Jimmy… I don't know if this will work… But I'm going to try!
And Williams followed her quietly down the stairs and out to where Alistaire's car sat quietly parked.
Wilson and Lucy watched them go while enjoying the cool air and the quiet moment.
Inside Forge was laughing with Beast about Williams' 'rogue-tendencies'. Kitty was shaking her head in surrender to the laughter around her.
Kurt flexed his shoulder. It was bruised and sore but he could move it and so it probably wasn't broken. And then he glanced over to where Rachael and Jean had been standing. They were gone.
Rachael's door was slightly closed and Kurt could see movement through the crack by the hinges. He smiled. I can't believe Jean came all the way here to meet Rachael. She must have flown. There's no jet downstairs.
He leaned back. It will all feel better in the morning. He told himself. It will.
Emma lowered herself in to one of the chairs and stared at Kurt.
"What is it Emma?" he asked with a smile.
"You have Watts. Soon you'll have a full confession of everything he knows about the Hellfire Club…" She shrugged. "I think it's time I switch sides."
Kurt gave her a slightly disbelieving look. "Emma… If you think …"
She shook her head. "I think… I'm a fool Kurt." She shrugged. "I took your advice and I cleaned up my act. So much in fact that the rest of the club started to question me. But I did it. I've done nothing outside my own company since your warning. I swear it."
Kurt eyed her.
"I wanted to quit before but… It's all I know anymore." She dropped her head. "But it's not what I want anymore. So… I want to cut a deal."
Kurt nodded absently. "Okay… how about this… I freeze and seize all your assets and holdings. We let the legal and accounting guys from downtown go through the books to see if you're telling the truth. In the mean time I'll push for… five years community service."
"What?" She looked outraged. "Five years without my…" And suddenly she thought of Watts and where he was right about now.
She dropped her head and crossed her arms. "Do… Do I get my company back?" She asked.
Kurt sighed slightly. "I don't know yet." He let his gaze linger on her until she looked up to meet his eyes. "But if you do get it back it'll be cleaned up. Nothing illegal or even suspect. You understand?"
She nodded, feeling small and weak.
"If you serve out your community service… All of it… With no new charges the whole time…" He sighed and she perked up noticeably. "If, and I mean this IF you do it all… Yes. I'll return your company and it's holdings minus any suspect assets." He let out a long, slow breath. "But I expect you to help with the club. Watts' testimony might not be enough in every case. I might need another witness."
She nodded her compliance. "With one exception." She said softly.
"Which is?" He eyed her warily.
"Sebastian Shaw." She said finally. "The Black King." She shrugged. "Don't ask me to testify against him or to set him up. I can't do it. I owe him my life twice over and I just … can't."
Kurt nodded. Secretly he didn't want to give her this leeway but inside he felt himself turning away from the idea. You wouldn't testify against Logan. He told himself. Or Xavier… And they could both easily end up on trial …
"Fine." He said softly. "I won't ask you to betray him. But I have to warn you…"
She raised her hands in surrender. "I'll catch him, hold him or guard him once you've got him. But… I can't do anything more."
Kurt looked away slightly. "You had better make yourself useful Emma." He looked back at her. "Honestly. You're walking away light here. You know that, right?"
She nodded. "So… my community service…"
Kurt nodded. "You're here with us for now. Excalibur could use a telepath, I'm sure."
She glanced down the hall. "Is there someplace I can relax?" She shrugged. "It's been a rough day."
Kurt smiled despite himself. "Sure. Use my room tonight and I'll stay in Tabitha's with her. Tomorrow we can rearrange the storage rooms and free up another bedroom."
She smiled softly. "I always thought I'd end up in your bed."
Kurt glanced over his shoulder and then leaned over towards Emma. "We have to be a little more professional now Emma." He told her. "Tabby and I are kind of involved… I think. And she's already aware of most of what's passed between us."
"Most?" Emma asked.
Kurt nodded and winced. "I left out the kiss behind the curtains at the press conference last year."
"So she thinks we've only flirted in the astral?" Emma said, her small smile looking very sly.
"Ja. And I think that's for the best for now." He said with a long exhale. "She loves me." He said softly. "She'd take that very personally – the idea that while I was working to get her out of jail I was also kissing you…"
She smiled. "Well, I hope you don't mind that I really enjoyed it." She reached in to her sleeve and pulled out a small bulbous object and tossed it through the air to him while she stood up. "I guess I don't need this to remember you by if I'm sleeping in your bed." She smiled.
He caught the object with his good hand and smiled. "My image enhancer. You carried it with you?" He looked back to her, his eyes searching. "Since you stole it?"
She stepped closer and gently caressed his face with one hand. "You've no idea." She whispered softly. "It kept me honest… And it kept me afraid." She smiled. "I thought that unmasking you to the public would run you in to the ground. But I was wrong. You made it work." She shook her head. "How did you do it?"
Kurt's mouth fell open slightly. "Do you mean to tell me that you didn't drop that girl from that roof?"
She smiled. "Why would I do that? You were about to be exposed in a negative light. Why would I want to give you the chance at a public 'save' like that one?"
"I saw a woman dressed all in white. She walked away while the girl was falling." Kurt looked up in to her eyes.
"Must have been Illyana. She was the White Princess. And the only person of the white court you might confuse with me. She never told you?"
Kurt shook his head. "No. Not a word."
Emma smiled at him coyly. "Well you wont have that problem with me. I'll tell you anything I think you need to know."
Kurt smiled slightly. "Like what?"
Emma cast him a long lingering look. "For starters I sleep in the nude." She whispered. "Care to tuck me in tonight?" She put on an enticing smile. "While Miss Smith is off running her errands?"
Kurt met her seductive gaze with a cold, hard stare. "Good night. Emma." He said with an air of finality.
She pulled off her jacket to reveal her ample breasts and bare mid-drift. She was wearing only the barest of essential tops. It was a white leather push-up model that unsnapped with two small silver clasps positioned right between her breasts.
"If… you EVER change your mind…" She told him. "If you're ever less involved or … more enthusiastic…" She smiled wryly. "You don't even have to ask me…" She breathed in a horse whisper. "I'll always be waiting."
"Emma…" He cautioned. "I'm serious. About Tabitha."
"I can respect that." She smiled, tossing her coat over her shoulder. "But I don't have to like it." And she took two bold steps towards Kurt's room and unfastened her top as she went.
It fell off her with ease as she tossed it over her shoulder as she crossed the room. "Good night. Mr. Mutant Advisor." She whispered from behind him. "Dream naughty things about me."
Then with a soft 'whump' of the closing door – she was gone.
And Kurt let out a long, deep breath that he didn't even realize he had been holding in.