FORMER SPY A MUTANT!

Westchester County, New York- One of the mutants that appeared on the scene at the bombing of St. Anne's Catholic Parish, Salem Center, was identified by eyewitnesses as Kassandra Altheim, the rogue CIA covert operations specialist responsible for the Church of Humanity massacre.

The CIA has denied any knowledge that she was a mutant and has disavowed the raid she led on the Cathedral. "It's clear now," said Director Gerald Karst, "that her reasons for overstepping her bounds were personal."

A spokesperson for the families of those lost at the Cathedral agreed, and said wrongful death lawsuits would not be filed against the government, but against Altheim herself.

Special prosecutor Emily Fitzsimmons has vowed to close the criminal investigation and indict as soon as possible. This revelation, she said, "changes everything…."

Kassandra didn't need to finish reading the article. While she appeared successful in taking heat off the government, she was still dismayed at the fickleness of public opinion. How quickly she'd gone from outed operative "allegedly" responsible for the "debacle" in Montana to rogue spy and mass murderer, all with the revelation of a genetic quirk.

"So, Zeitgeist," said Forge. "Enjoying more objective reporting at it's finest?"

"I'm just amazed at how we've managed to get the Washington Post and the Times to agree on something. So how's everything?"

"I should be asking you. I haven't been dealing with anything remotely mystical in years, you've been justifiably mad at me that whole time, and you call out of the blue asking to get together. Then you turn up and drag me here, hours before we originally planned to meet. So what dire warnings could you have for me now?"

"No warnings yet. Just a couple of questions, and you, being the government's main guy for Techint and research, should provide me with the insight I need. Quickly," said Zeitgeist, "what can you tell me about AUTEC's projects? Anything about applying the Hutchison Effect?"

"What do you know about the Hutchison effect? You never struck me as very strongly inclined toward physics."

"All I know is that it's something about using electromagnetic currents to warp time, space, or both. I only know because it's been bandied about in an attempt to explain everything from the Bermuda Triangle to how Kurt can teleport- or how I can control time. That, and it figured prominently into a couple of my favorite X-Files episodes- except those blamed Area 51 rather than AUTEC."

"And now you can say you know something else about it. The Navy's not responsible for the Bermuda Triangle phenomena. The artificial teleportation technology the military currently has wasn't developed at AUTEC, and it is still too primitive and dangerous- though I know that didn't keep your 'friends' in that cult from stealing and using it."

"That's why they resorted to some of those Mengelian experiments- they wanted to be able to teleport their troops without- without rehashing the Philadelphia incident," said Kassandra.

"And as for temporal manipulation, well," Forge smiled, "you may be happy to hear that we're not ready to replace you. Not in this time or reality, anyway. Why do you ask?"

"Some creep claiming to be from Black Ops said the Navy was again researching possible military applications of spatial and temporal warp, and wanted to send me to Andros Island to investigate, and, ah, eliminate, all possible leaks. I figured if that were true," Kassandra smiled in return, "you'd at the very least know something about it."

"Know something! At this point, all I know is this is beyond even Black Ops if this gets by me without my notice."

"I figured as much. It's like when Pete Wisdom left MI6. Somebody's going to try to wrap me up in something worse."

"You're right. Maybe we should go and check it out."

"Forge, obviously you haven't gotten around to reading the paper yet. I really can't leave the country now, not since being outed as a mutant as well as a spy. SHIELD clearance or not. But here he is. An hour and a half early. Have your people ready to move, quickly."

The X-Plane had only just landed when Forge and Zeitgeist strode out to greet Kurt. A door opened, and a small gangway descended. And nobody came out. Kassandra cautiously stepped up. "Kurt?"

No response.

"Liebster?"

Kurt turned his head and looked her way.

"Gott steh uns bei!" Kassandra gasped in horror. Instead of the gorgeous smiling blue face she wanted to see, she saw sunken cheeks, hollow, contracted eyes, a face drawn in an expression of uncontrollable, unspeakable, and uncomprehending melancholy. Like something had poisoned his very existence, making it a nightmare which he could not understand, and from which he had no hope of waking.

"Kurt, kommst du mit mir, bitte. And, uh, you may want to borrow my coat. It's… a bit cold out for what you're wearing."

He still said nothing, but his eyes widened, he tilted his head slightly, and whatever it was that made him look so foggy and gloomy seemed to clear slightly. To be replaced by a grim, almost fierce determination.

"Z!" Forge yelled, as he caught Kassandra tumbling to the tarmac. Kurt took to the air yet again. "What was going on in there?"

Kassandra picked herself up. "I just received confirmation that I really should stay put and get a hold of Charles. And you'll need to try to intercept Kurt in Miami. NOW!"

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So. The one Margali called Nightcrawler would not bring the girl, though he would deliver the Steiger boy. Strange. The boy knew how she could escape, and made no attempt to stop her. Still, this could not be considered an abject failure. He had demonstrated considerable will power, even under mind control. He just might have the strength to survive what was in store for him.

On the other hand, the girl, while not a teleporter, was still important to his scheme. Her absence would mean less likelihood that his newest recruits would survive the mission, let alone succeed. And she was a difficult, willful little brat, possibly too smart for her own good. But still, he had a couple of other options for recruiting her.

Meanwhile, Kassandra decided to take a literal time out to find out more about this timeline that had wrapped around Kurt's like the tendril of a parasitic plant. Apparently, it tangled with his before, at a couple of points very early in Kurt's life. But only recently did it seem to exercise any influence. And now that influence was suddenly overwhelming.

Kassandra followed that connection, for that's how she began to see it, back to its source, an excruciatingly long line, that led right up too…

…well, there was no use in running. This man was, after all, only one of the best dimensional teleporters she had yet encountered. She reentered time upon arriving at the courthouse.

And was not surprised to soon feel a repulsive breath down her neck. "I thought I might catch up with you here."

"And I thought you were smart enough to figure out that I want you to leave me alone,"said Kassandra, loudly and in English.

"Are you always this pleasant to people trying to help you?" said the man with an unctuous smirk.

"And how am I supposed to believe you're trying to help when you-"

"Ich bin hier," said the man, "um dich zu warnen. Dein Gel-l-l… dein Freund Kurt, was under the influence of a telepathic directive to ensure your immediate arrival at a secret military outpost due northeast of Harbor Island. His resistance, and his failure to take you with him, however, could mean the death of him and many others."

"Oh, and if I had come along with him, or if I consented to working with you, that would save them? Likely story."

"You discern the truth well. And that is a weapon you wield even more skillfully than that sword you wave around. But that is only the least of your powers, nicht wahr?"

Kassandra said nothing.

"Oh, please don't tell me you haven't explored the full potential of your abilities to manipulate time."

"Personally, I think you are too easily impressed by that stuff. The truth is most important. Like what I've been able to dig up about you. For instance, if you were who you've claimed to be for, oh, a few of our millennia now, you would have fled at the first sign of resistance."

"Rotsnaze! You are aware that if you refuse to cooperate, you may seal the fate of everyone dear to you. Do you want to be responsible for that?"

"You're the one bent on world conquest. It's your responsibility. I, on the other hand, have depositions and indictments to deal with."

The man reached toward her in a last-ditch effort. "Well, if you really trust a human justice system, that's your business. But you don't really even have to leave the country, if you'd just-"

"HÄNDE WEG!" Kassandra then felt herself dragged into the eye of a perfect temporal storm.

"Gott steh mir bei," she gasped, wrenching herself free of that abhorrent grasp as a wave of dry heat smote her.

"Gott ist nicht hier, Fraulein. Nicht in meinem Haus. Wilkommen in der Hölle."