Logan joined Kurt and Kassandra for lunch, and was very interested to hear from Kurt about Kassi's heroics at St. Anne's. He was also glad to see the Elf was back to doing one of the things he did best- embarrassing the Little Elf.
"Kurt's exaggerating slightly," Kassandra protested.
"Slightly," Kurt smiled. "But the truth is that Bobby, Jean-Paul, Annie, and I would not have been able to do a thing had not Kassi seen this coming."
"Speaking of that," said Kassandra, as she got up and cleared her place, "I see myself being late for Alex's appointment if I stick around here any longer. Could we perhaps meet at the hangar in a couple hours?"
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"I can't really say much about Alex, Onkel Charles, even if he did sign the release form. But I understand the root of the questionable judgment he's been showing of late. He's still trying to piece his own life together in his own way. Even if he had broken up with Lorna before the bombing, she represented a connection to his old life. If he was going to go back to life as an X-Man, it only made sense in some way that he get back together with her, as well. Not the best reason to rekindle that flame, especially given Lorna's state of mind, and how Alex is still dealing with a major, but perfectly understandable, side-effect of Annie's care."
"Which is-" said Charles as he helped Kassandra pack.
"Remember the story Mama told, about her experiences treating war wounded? 'Sometimes the quickest way to a wounded soldier's heart-"
"- is through his IV.'" Charles smiled, recalling that that story ended with Kassandra and her siblings embarrassing their mother by arguing about how many impulsive marriage proposals she had to turn down at a patient's bedside. "But speaking of Lorna, I was also hoping she could talk with you about her own emotional instability."
"It won't happen, Onkel Charles. At least not at this point. She's not just angry with me for not coming to the wedding. I sent her on a violent mission in Montana. I might as well tell you that much. And besides that, I think she also blames me in part for my inability to prevent Genosha's latest disaster."
"Well, that at least provides some additional insight regarding her behavior."
"I can only tell you what happened to her, Onkel Charles. You're by far the best for helping her sort out her feelings about all that. And until we figure out which of these recent events have traumatized her most, I'm afraid we cannot properly help her."
"Do you think she'd consent to my probing her mind?"
"Absolutely. And this may seem a bit of a gamble, but if you detect any biochemical imbalance…"
"Lorna will need medical help, of course."
"And, strangely enough, she will likely insist that Annie help out. Which I think may be a good sign."
"Well," mused Charles, "it certainly is at the very least an interesting suggestion. But speaking of gambles, I am also concerned about the recent developments in your relationship with Kurt."
"I know," said Kassandra. "I warned him about the best and worst case scenarios, and so far, we are still in agreement that this is worth it."
"Are you?" said Charles, pointedly. "I know you've always had the most affectionate regard for him, even as a friend, and so the possibilities that you'd both be hurt as a result of this relationship must make you feel terribly conflicted."
Kassandra abruptly powered up, silently telling Charles that he hit a raw nerve. "I'm not just a missing link to Kurt's memories, and there's no way I can be an 'Annie' to him either. We discussed it. We chose to take the chance. And I'm doing all of what little I can do to ensure the best possible outcome."
Charles took her into his arms as he'd often done on those occasions when he was not just Professor Xavier, but the longtime friend of Kassandra's parents and honorary Onkel to her and her siblings. Except she was no longer the baby of the large family of Altheims that often invaded his mansion. Nor was she the newly fatherless teenager whom he helped rescue from the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. "It's all right, Kassandra. You can power down. I don't need to read your mind to understand.
"And now I do believe you are about ready to leave, right?"
"Except for one thing," said Logan, as he and Kurt entered the hangar. "I don't believe the Little Elf's given me a proper hug."
"And I wouldn't dream of leaving without making sure you got one."
Logan ran his hand up Kassandra's right arm. "Good as new already, eh, kid?"
"Ja, except when it's about to rain. So I guess you've given me another neat new power." Kassandra planted a kiss on Logan's cheek. "I'll see you soon."
And so Kassandra boarded the X-Plane with Kurt yet again. But this time, Kassandra flew.
"So," said Kurt, as he strapped in. "Will you be returning soon?"
Kassandra sighed. "Nein, Kurt. I think I'll be seeing all of you again soon- in court. The prosecution will want to hear from you, Warren, and Logan in particular regarding how cavalier I've been about sharing information."
"You know," said Kurt, looking a bit uncomfortable, "It's just as well you're flying. All this talk about the investigation just makes me want to take you far away from it all. Maybe on some Caribbean vacation."
"Well, if I could leave the country, I'd prefer an African vacation- going back home to Keetmanshoop and regrouping with the family. Then I'd take you north of Swakopmund. We could explore the ephemeral rivers and the shipwrecks of the Skeleton Coast. Besides, didn't you only just get back from the Caribbean?"
"Ja. And it was amazing. So much history. I could not see it all and not consider bringing you back to have a look. And just think of how nice it would be visiting Port Royal, Tortuga, or the Pearl Islands. Or if you'd rather, we could just find some uncharted island off the Bahamas, inhabited only by the two of us- mein' Geliebte und mich. And I would fly us there now if I could."
Kassandra blushed. "Kurt, du bist unmöglich."
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Kassandra unpacked the last of her things and tried to make her humble little apartment presentable. She then walked over to a nearby cybercafe to catch up on email. And set up a new account, as she really should no longer have .gov at the end of her address. The next day, she would at the very least have to buy a new computer.
"Spam, spam, spam, spam…." Kassandra sang under her breath as she repeatedly hit delete. Ah, here was something completely different. "Your future employment," read the subject line. From "unknown address." She deleted it. A few better emails awaited her reading. She printed those to reread later, then returned to her table.
"After days of not being able to reach you by phone, I now see you've deleted the email I just sent you. It's almost as if you were trying to ignore me. And you know that was bound to stop working. After all, I'd been watching you."
Kassandra remained standing, staring at the man who was now sitting, uninvited, at her table. He spoke German in a low, smooth voice with an accent she could not place. And while he could cut a fairly dashing figure, Kassandra found him somehow repellent.
An instantaneous glimpse into this person's timeline revealed nothing. Okay, so the man's jet black hair and trim goatee were real. But that was not enough truth to go on at the moment.
"Es tut mir leid. Did I invite you to sit with me?"
"Strange. I thought you'd be friendlier to someone who has so much in common with you, especially since I'm only trying to help salvage your career."
"Ganz bestimmt," said Kassandra, icily. "And if you'd been watching me, you'd know that the success of my last mission depends now on NOT salvaging my career."
The man leaned in and whispered in English, "Black Ops."
Kassandra was unimpressed. "So? It's not as if I hadn't worked with them before."
"So… many different nations, companies, and organizations not sympathetic to our cause are interested in information and weapons from AUTEC. The Naval base on Andros Island has resumed researching military applications of the Hutchison Effect. This information will prove cataclysmic in the wrong hands. We need you to investigate and eliminate any possible leaks. You could keep doing what I know you do best under the best possible cover, you'd have the full immunity you seem to want so badly, and this should not interfere with your current objective. Your mission will succeed, you will be able to continue as what you've called a modern privateer, and you'd get a chance to see the Bahamas, wenn wollst dumit dein' Gel-l-l… dein' L-l-l-" here he suddenly started stammering like Billy Zane in that Tales from the Crypt movie. He just couldn't bring himself to say that word.
Kassandra stepped out of time again. This time, visibly. "Okay, now I think I know enough about you. Completely dishonest except when you need to be manipulative. You think I'm a complete idiot? In Jesus Namen, hau ab!"
The man did not move. "Now I know you tend not to use your Lord's name lightly, but I will not leave. And I do not take kindly to being called a liar."
"Ach, fahr zur Hölle!"
"Uh, Miss," said a nervous manager, "This is a no-mutant establishment. I'll have to ask you to-"
Kassandra disappeared, leaving a wad of bills on the table.
"-uh… leave?"
4
