Chapter 24: Recovery Mission
When Kurt woke up that morning, he woke up alone and in his own room. He stretched, stiffly from laying in one spot all night. He took off the shirt he had slept in and saw that the bandaged around his chest were completely red. Paranoia set in almost instantly and he began to unwind the bandages quickly. As he unwound, Kurt kept an especially sharp eye out for the wound, but even after the last bandage had been removed, he found none. He smiled and whispered, "Thank you, Alara."
He walked over to his bathroom and bamphed inside. He slid the glass door open, almost hopefully, but it was empty and as he took a shower, he pouted and wondered where she could have gone. Kurt walked out of his room an hour or two before breakfast and started his search. As he explored the halls of the institution, he heard voices in the kitchen.
That sounds like Professor Xavier. And Logan. And Jean. And Scott. And… Kitty? Vhat are they all doing talking so qvietly? Kurt thought.
He crept closer to the doors and listened in on the conversation.
"She never came back last night. The security cameras caught her running down the street at about nine o'clock," Scott informed.
"I still don't understand why she ran away," Logan muttered.
"It's because she felt alone here. For some reason she felt like she had been abandoned," Xavier replied. "That's all that I can sense from her. I can't get a precise location on her, but she's somewhere in this city. I have a feeling she wants to be found. Otherwise, her block would be much, much stronger."
"Then why don't we, like, go search for her?"
"Because she doesn't want to be found quite yet. She wants someone that she knows to find her. Someone she trusts," Xavier replied.
"Who would that be?" Jean asked.
"Someone who's actually standing outside the door at this very moment," Xavier answered as Kurt's eyes widened. "Kurt? Could you come in here?"
Kurt stepped in sheepishly. All eyes were fixed on him. Logan's grip on the counter he sat on tightened and Kurt could almost see part of his claws sticking out of his fists. Kitty stood in the corner, her eyes still slightly red from crying. Jean and Scott stood next to Xavier, who sat directly across from Kurt.
"Y-y-yes, Professor?"
"You know what I'm going to ask you Kurt."
"But vhy me? I should be the von who she trusts least of all!"
Xavier grinned, but Logan's eyes widened and his grip got so tight on the counter that it started to crack.
"Why shouldn't she trust you? What did you do?" Logan growled.
Kurt started to shake.
"I… I… I…"
Kitty stepped forward.
"I kinda asked him out and he was like, 'I don't know. I like Alara.' And I was like, 'Come on. It'll only be for a few days.' And-."
Logan cut her off.
"Why only for a few days?"
"Uhm…."
Xavier looked at Logan.
"Is that really a necessary piece of information Logan?"
Logan grumbled, "No. I guess not."
Xavier shot him a glance of amused annoyance.
"Mr. Logan, I'd watch what you were thinking. It's not polite to call someone an old geezer when they can read your mind."
Logan's cheeks turned slightly red, but he still glowered at the floor and muttered.
"Now Kurt," Xavier continued, looking towards him. "I think you might know where she went. And I also think that you are pretty sure of your guess."
Kurt nodded and Logan looked up.
"Where does he think she is?"
Xavier smirked slightly.
"She's at the Brotherhood's house."
Logan's grip tightened even more on the counter, causing it to break off into Logan's hands. He almost lost his balance, but recovered, dropping the hunks of ceramic to the floor and brushing his hands off on his jeans.
"What would she be doing over there?" Logan rumbled, trying not to yell.
"She made friends with the one they call Quicksilver," Scott replied.
"MAXIMOFF? THAT LITTLE SCUM BAG? WHY WOULD HE EVEN TALK TO AN INNOCENT LITTLE GIRL LIKE HER? HE'LL USE HER AND THEN GET RID OF HER! HE'LL TREAT HER LIKE GARBAGE! HE'LL-."
"Logan. Calm down. It's all right. Kurt is also sure of another thing if I'm not mistaken that would ease your worries."
Logan looked over at Kurt with flames dancing in his eyes and he growled, "What?"
"S-s-she's got a strange effect on people… vell, men… she gets close to. Vhen she touches someone who she really cares about, it seems like everything vill be better and nothing could go wrong. But most important of all, she makes them feel very… vell, calm. Almost as though it vas your mother holding you. Only if she vants the person to feel anything different vould it change. But othervise, she is just someone you'd vant to snuggle vith. Like a teddy bear."
"Only she's an off-limits teddy bear," Logan growled, ferociously.
Kurt suppressed a smile.
She's not off-limits to me Logan. She already hugged me and through that she told me that she vas mine. As you Americans like to say… neener neener neener, Kurt thought. He turned slightly pale as Xavier began to chuckle and Jean turned slightly pale and wrinkled her nose. Logan noticed their reaction and turned to glare at Kurt.
"What were you thinking just now Kurt?" he grumbled.
"Umm… Nothing," Kurt lied.
"I think you should go find Alara and bring her back," Scott said to Kurt.
"Yeah," Kitty agreed. "Before Logan, like, kills you."