Chelsea was sure those muties should have gone down, especially that psycho blurry thing waving that sword around. She had emptied an entire magazine and had just reloaded. And there was no way she could have missed at that range. But now her dad's gun was suddenly in the hand of the first freak who should have died. It didn't look blurry anymore, but still seemed no less dangerous. Chelsea looked over to Tom and Rick. Their faces said the same thing. All were imagining what it must feel like to look for the last time into the eyes of an angry bear or lioness. Of course that thing would kill in defense of its own life and kind. Chelsea also claimed to fight for her own kind. But she never knew what that really meant until now.

"Kassandra-" said the blue devil-looking thing.

"You would have killed him…, me…, all those people in the church..., and you dare compare me… to a dangerous predator?" the lady said through labored breathing. Ooh, the comparison seemed more apt by the second. The lady jumped off the mangled hood, stepped over to the passenger side. "Glock 18… nice weapon… used by law enforcement…" She then glanced over to the blue guy. "…not by ex-feds."

Some other guy suddenly descended before them. "The police are on the way already, non?"

"Ja," said the blue guy. "And Kassi looks like she needs medical attention. Again."

"Get her back to the church then. I'll keep an eye on these delinquents."

"Thank you, Jean-Paul," said the lady. It suddenly occurred to Chelsea like a thunderclap. If these mutants were mere animals, she and the guys would have died, whether by sword or by the gun that was turned upon them. Supposedly, what set humanity apart was the ability to reason, to not be under the constant and exclusive sway of animal instinct. If that was indeed the case, then….

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"Nice job getting the fire out, though I don't know how you did it," said the fire chief.

"It's a gift," said Iceman.

"The criminals were apprehended, and there were no major casualties." The chief looked over to the one person who seemed to have it worst. A blue man was holding her through a vicious coughing fit while a nurse administered oxygen. "Amazing. I guess miracles do happen."

"If you call mutant intervention a miracle…" said Bobby.

"I would," Father Dinh interrupted. "I mean, how did you come by your mutant gifts and the conscience to use them well? Now, Chief, is it safe to go in?"

"I wouldn't recommend holding Mass in there today, Father," said the fire chief, "though you'll probably want to get some things out, right?"

"Yes. And since the weather's pleasant enough, and the news cameras are gone, we might as well have Mass out here. Kassandra, are you up to providing some music?"

She nodded, pulling the oxygen tube from her nose. "I'm feeling better now, Father. Danke, Annie, Kurt."

"Good. We'll move the piano out here, and your friends are welcome to celebrate with us if they like."

Jean-Paul was about to say no thank you, as he hadn't felt welcome in a church since he couldn't remember when. Kassandra suddenly grabbed his hand. "You know, you have at least as much right to be here as anyone else," she whispered.

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"Ich muß zugeben, Kassandra," Kurt said in a low voice, as he and Kassandra walked together after Mass. "I worried a bit about the safety of having Mass outdoors, especially after this."

"I must admit I was more worried when the TV stations showed up. At any rate we were as safe as Jean-Paul being out of his closet. Or you going out without your image inducer."

"That brings up another point. There's a reason why I usually prefer attending Mass at the home for the blind. There, I can just be another member of the congregation. Here, even if the parishioners did welcome me, too many still looked at me strangely."

"Ich verstehe," Kassandra admitted. "But I don't think this is just the case with mutations. Even the most truly open-minded people may need time to get used to the various things that make people different and see people for who they really are. I know I do."

"Du!" said Kurt, astounded. One of his few surviving memories of Kassandra from before his encounter with the Church of Humanity was of how utterly unfazed she was by his appearance when they first met. "I thought your ability to peek into people's pasts would actually make you better at that!"

"Ja, und nein. I can see people's actions, events in their lives, and sometimes strong thoughts. But I can also see how their actions tie into and relate to other things that happen, and I can lose sight of a person's individuality if I don't maintain strict control. Those kids- I didn't just see troubled and insecure young individuals. I saw everything their behavior represented..," Kassandra choked back tears. "…and what it would likely escalate to if we didn't stop it. Killing them would have come all too easily to me if I didn't anticipate even worse consequences."

"Ja," said Kurt, a little nervously. "The Gospel reading really hit a nerve with all of us today, but I noticed you seemed particularly affected."

"That parable of the unforgiving servant- I always had trouble with that one. And it takes constantly reminding myself to remember that vengeance is not mine to take. This is no easy cross to bear, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

"But none of us were meant to bear our crosses alone, Kassandra." Kurt was amazed at just how alike opposites could be. His cross was how people saw him. Kassandra's was all about how she saw people. He then recalled to her words that had often given him comfort. "Jesus sagtet, 'Kommt alle zu mir, die ihr euch plagt und schwere Lasten zu tragen habt. Ich werde euch Ruhe verschaffen.'"

"Kurt, I wonder if you've been quoting that to Logan." Kassandra threaded her arm through his and leaned her head against him. "Just before I left for Montana, he said, 'I don't get what you and the Elf get out of your religion, but whatever it is, it'll keep you human. And I don't think you'll ever be alone as long as you hang onto that.'"

"Eigentlich, I've been quoting that to myself quite often lately."

"Gut." Kassandra didn't tell him about a particular timeline she'd begun to see- virulently, opportunistically, and parasitically entwined around Kurt's, but she had to say something. "I think we'll both need to be especially mindful of that over the next week, Liebster."