I'd revised this chapter quite nicely, adding in a couple of turns I wanted to use later in the story. Unfortunately, they were all lost and you get stuck with the old, semi-revised version. OO
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Katherine Darke didn't even realize she was wearing the dread she felt until she passed Kurt Wagner, a newfound friend, on her way to Professor Xavier's office. Though, she didn't even really see Kurt until he halted her hurried pace by placing a clawed hand on her upper arm.
"Miss Darke?" he paused for a beat, recieving no response. "Are you okay?"
She hardly heard him speak. Her eyes widened and she jumped a bit, instincts raging for one uncontrollable moment, till she turned to look first at his hand, then up at his face. Hers was such a numb expression, Kurt winced and dropped his hand. When recognition hit, though, she smiled warmly.
"Kurt! Hi." One arm raised to rub the back of her neck, the other shifted in her pocket.
Kurt recovered quickly enough. "Hallo, Miss Darke. What has you so upset?"
Kat had to think about it a moment. Her mind had been everywhere but there. "Oh. I've got to go talk to the Professor."
"About what? You're not leaving us, are you? So soon?" Kurt sounded sincerely worried.
She could at least practice what she'd say. She hesitated a moment, then told him of Jessop. "There's this man who- Well, wait, you kinda met him. The one who attacked us after the cops had been...Taken care of." She froze a second, peering up at him. Wait..Had he really seen that? "…In the church."
"Yes, I remember. Are you worried he will continue to search for you?"
She nodded. "My brother doesn't give up easily. He has the Darke stubborn streak"
Nightcrawler absorbed this bit of news rather well. "He is your brother?"
Again, Kat nodded.
"I think you have nothing to worry about…Once the Professor knows, he will keep an eye out. We all will."
Kurt's words were meant to reassure, but Kat still felt the urge to doubt them. She did flash a smile in thanks, though, before turning once more and heading to the Headmaster's office. He watched her for a long moment, shook his head slowly, and continued on his way.
Kat stood outside the office for a moment, collecting her breath and thoughts, before finally she sighed and pushed open the door.
………………….
Jessop Darke hadn't slept well that night. He'd waken not long after Katherine and Viikayri had left in the jet, though he'd not heard the sounds of it all, except for perhaps in his dreams. When his eyes had opened to spy a cop's badge lying next to him, and the owner not far from that, his mind had shot to almost instant alertness, and he'd made fast tracks out of there, not even bothering to check the cathedral again. He knew they'd be long gone from there.
But that didn't stop his constantly plotting mind from searching for ways to possibly locate the pair once again. There'd been no word from any of his connections, and indeed, he had many connections, though all were proving useless.
He'd thought the whole situation really rather humorous. He'd begun with his idea that turning his sister into the authorities for failure to Register, but that had gone down the tubes when the Registration Act had fallen under. He still, to this day, damned Senator Kelly to Hell.
He'd seen Katherine feed, however, and kill a cop in the process. He knew there had to be more. Turning a cop-killer into the authorities was almost better than his first plot.
Pure spite, the unquenchable thirst for revenge, drove him. That bitch had killed his wife, taken his children from him. She killed police officers who were only trying to uphold peace. She deserved to die...And if she had to serve a lifetime sentence in a steel cell until she did, all the better.
………………..
Professor Xavier leaned back into his chair, folding his hands over his lap, peering at Katherine with a searching look that continued to send chills down her spine, even though she knew he couldn't read him. At this point, anyway. There were times Anthony Boreor couldn't read her, and times he could. The concern that it would be the same with the headmaster itched at her sanity.
She took a deep breath, almost visibly wincing against the reprimand that was sure to come. Only none...Did.
"We will see if this brother of yours makes any move. So far, he cannot know yet that you have come here. Optomistically, he will give up once your tracks are covered and finding you becomes frustratingly difficult. Realistically, if he does find you here, and decides to trespass in order to apprehend you, he will be taken care of."
Kat nearly melted with relief. It was reminiscent of the moment he'd agreed to allow them to stay on as teachers. She smiled gratefully at him, though he continued to speak before she could reply.
"We take care of our own, Miss Darke. You are safe here."
She nodded. "Thank you, Professor. I...Must admit, I was a bit nervous at first. I mean, with the students here and everything…" She cast a pointed glance behind her to indicate those surrounding them within the mansion that were learning and teaching.
"The children have been through a lot. They know how to handle themselves. And their abilities. I wouldn't worry about them. What you might want to begin concerning yourself with is preparing your lesson plans. You'll be working with Ororo at first, but once you have adjusted to our manner of teaching and the curriculum, you will eventually be getting your own classroom so that we can better divide up the classes. Once this happens, it will make things much easier for both you and Storm."
"Storm?" Completely at a loss, Darke racked her memory. "Oh." Recognition and realization dawned gently on her, as did wonder. "Professor? Can I ask another question?"
He nodded and gestured, speechlessly pressing her onward.
"Why is she called Storm? And Scott…Cyclops?"
For a few moments of stony, thoughtful silence, Darke was afraid he wouldn't answer, or perhaps reprimand her for over-abundant curiosity. It became apparent that he wasn't going to chastise her for her question a moment later, but he still debated on his words. Finally, he spoke.
"Miss Darke, what are the gifts you possess?"
A question for a question. Only fair, she reasoned.
"You really want to hear it, Professor? Do you have time? It's kind of a long story."
Again, Charles nodded and gestured for her to answer. It was obvious that he was a man used to not requiring many words to get his point across.
She took a deep breath and prepared to tell the story she'd not mentioned since she'd sat Viikayri down nearly three years ago, when they were both still in college.
"I have a blood deficiency. Disorder. Whatever. I'm not sure what exactly to call it. Neither do the doctors I gave up on seeing when I was seventeen. Anyway, for some reason, when I hit puberty, my blood cells began to produce, die off, and reproduce at an extremely high rate. Because of this, my immune system and healing rate are fast. Incredibly so, in fact. They're miracles, both of them, to those doctors."
At this, Charles nodded approvingly, and Kat could see the gears turning in his head. She gulped and continued. "But this also leaves me with a low red blood cell count. Really low. Irreplaceably low. With my blood as it is, I could go into a sort of diabetic coma without finding a replacement. And the amount of surgeries I'd have to have…Well…" She chuckled nervously. "Let's just say the kind of insurance that could pay for those doesn't exist."
She paused for a moment, unsure of how to continue. The next part was fairly simple. To her, anyway. Simple, but pivotal. To the professor, she could easily be seen as a monster. Charles leaned forward, a question in his eyes.
"So then, how do you get the red blood cells you need to stay well?"
Again, she gulped. "From…Others."
One brow lifted. Suddenly, Darke felt as though she were quaking where she stood. "Others." It wasn't a question for clarity, it was a statement. And a demand for an explanation, as he so skillfully and frequently executed.
"Yes. Others. Professor-"
"Please, call me Charles."
She nodded, her throat desperately dry. "My blood wasn't the only thing to change once I hit adolescence. My bone structure changed in solidity, and my teeth…Well…If you hadn't noticed…" She flashed a quick, toothy grin, in part to keep her from collapsing into a shaking heap.
The brow lifted again. He had noticed her canines' length and shape, though hadn't focused on them before. Now that he saw them…Well, damn, they were nearly as long as Viikayri's, without overtaking her upper lip.
"You're a…" He hesitated to say it, for once very uncertain.
"Vampire, Professor."
That same damned brow lifted again.
"In more ways than one." She paused once more, until given gestured permission to continue. "My internal clock is also abnormal. On average, I am required to sleep about fourteen hours, at most, for every three days. During those three…Sometimes four, days that I am awake and active, my mind remains completely alert. There's no fatigue, even if I don't get fourteen hours of sleep. Sometimes, I only need six. It just depends."
"Insomnia?" He was being very quiet. Uncomfortably quiet.
"I've thought about that. But I don't think so, because it's not that I can't sleep, it's just that I'm too awake to sleep."
The silence from her that followed seemed to indicate that she was finished. When he inquired with a glance, she shook her head. There were two more things that left no doubt in her mind that she was what so many in this day and age referred to as a 'mutant'. She raised her hand before her, focusing far more intently upon it than she needed to. But it was a distraction from the critical gaze of the professor, and she welcomed it. After a moment, her cat-like talons formed from her fingernails.
Both brows rose this time, but the glimmer of amusement didn't reach Darke's eyes. "These…I can't explain. I don't know how it happens, though Viik thought it might have something to do with my hyper-reproducing blood. Super growth, or something. But that can't explain their shape."
"Indeed, it cannot. Kat, there is something that has been tugging at my mind for just a few moments. How do you intend to obtain the blood cells you will need to avoid going into the coma?"
She bit her lip. "I don't know, Professor. But the teachers, and the students, are safe. I promise."
"That, I don't doubt." He was himself again, and the thought that he may have considered Darke a threat to the staff and children clearly seemed obsurd to him. "It is you that I am concerned about."
"Yea. Well, don't be concerned. I have my ways, and they won't involve the school. I've taken care of my problem for a long time on my own." I'll continue to do so.
The last, firmly-said statement did not reach Charles' ears, but rather, his mind. He seemed unperturbed, as so many had been nonplussed when she'd chosen to reveal the ability she possessed to project her thoughts. Instead, a half-grin played at one corner of his mouth as he tilted his head forward, only slightly. Can you receive thoughts as well? Read minds?
No. Only when they are sent as you just did. Silence had filled the room, but the communication continued all the same.
He nodded, and his thoughts drifted back to what she'd said. He did trust her judgment, but the lingering worry for her would remain. Her answer to his first question, however, did assist him in answering hers. After having sized her and her gifts up, he decided she could be made aware of the X Men. Perhaps one day, she would see fit to join them.
"Ororo and Scott are part of a mutant team known as the-"
"X-men." Realization dawned almost painfully on Darke. "So that's what X means. Xavier?"
"You've heard of us, then?"
She snorted her brief laughter. "Yeah. Most have."
He shrugged. "I did not think we could be kept covert for long. Perhaps it is better that we are known."
"Maybe." Darke wasn't sure she was ready to consider this yet. She was having more than a little trouble with reality at the moment.
"That is why they are also called Storm and Cyclops. They are the names that they operate under. And have adopted as their own."
Slowly, she nodded. "I understand. Thank you, Professor."
He nodded again, smiling, and gestured to the door.
"I'll get right to work on those lesson plans, then." He hadn't thought her a monster! He'd accepted her! She was happy, almost giddy, as she stepped out the door, turning to find Kurt just beyond it.
Stiffening as she nearly collided with him, she smiled a moment later when she was able to see who he was.
"Relax. You must learn that." He grinned back down at her, hands on his hips. "All is well, then?"
She nodded, relief shaking her.
"As I thought it would be. You must have more faith, Darke." His hand slipped into his pocket, and for a moment, he fingered the rosary that always rested there.
A smile drifted across her features, and she stepped from in front of him and dismissed herself with a wave. "I'll talk to you later, Kurt. I've got lesson plans to draw up." Her excitement couldn't be hidden.
"Right then. You get to those."
……………………
Kat found her companion just where she thought she'd be. The mutant was sitting in her own room, at her desk, tapping a pencil against her head. The younger teacher almost hated to disturb her, but as she crept up behind Viikayri, the professor's sharp ear pivoted in place to face Kat herself. Normally it was a rather unnerving gesture, but Kat smiled when Viik didn't look up, for that was an invite. Viik's super-sensitive nose probably scented her approach from across the mansion. Not moving her glare from the paper before her,Viik shifted in her seat a moment before finally speaking.
"So?"
Kat grinned widely. "It's okay! He says he'll keep an eye out, but he thinks I'll…Well…We'll be safe here. And…" she sat down at the edge of her friend's bed before continuing. "Viik, get this. I told him about my abilities. Everything, even the disorder."
At this, Viikayri looked at her with a critically raised brow, but said nothing, only waiting for Kat to continue.
"He doesn't care. In fact, he's worried I won't find the sources I need. I think." Kat paused at this, a thoughtful expression taking over her face.
"Doesn't it concern him that you have to kill in order to live? Or at least…Almost kill?"
"I didn't exactly say that part…But I think he assumed it. I mean, he's anything if not sharp as a needle. He'd have caught on…Wouldn't he?" Kat glanced up to Viikayri from the floor with a hopeful look in her eyes. Viik didn't try to humor her. She knew that to do so would only anger her younger friend.
"Possibly. I don't know, Kat. We'll have to wait and see. He doesn't seem the type to stand by and allow someone to die."
"Mmmm," was Kat's thoughtful reply.