"He's worked with, and even has been linked with, some of the hottest women in superheroics. And yet Nightcrawler remains alone. We explore why and the rumors of his latest heartbreak next, on VH-1's Behind the Heroes…"
Ororo blew into the rec room with an armful of paperwork. "Logan, have you seen Kurt? We've got an assignment just for him."
"Sure, 'Ro. Didn't want to see the rest of his show, so he stepped out to get some air. You might find him out climbing trees or somethin'."
"Good. Thank you, Logan."
Logan watched some commercial shilling some books on the Elf's various exploits, then decided Kurt showed some good sense, leaving. It was fun, watching about his upbringing in the circus, and the times they had when they first joined the X-Men. But Logan could understand all too well Kurt's discomfort over media coverage of his rather convoluted love life. He didn't want to see it, either. They'd talk about Amanda. He never cared for her involvement in that touchy-feely magic stuff. They might mention that Cerise chick that stole the Elf's breath in England. They might mention that Kurt had his golden eyes on Ororo at various points. That idea put Logan on edge. And they most likely would talk about the Little Elf. This separation was not like any of the other times they'd spent apart. Logan knew this time they were both hurting. The Elf was, however, beginning to cope with that. But on the other hand, Logan's nose in the mailroom said Kassandra was not holding up as well, for that… and other reasons. Before his mood could be any further darkened, Logan turned off the television and stepped out.
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The assignment was to investigate a crime, the cold viciousness of which would have turned Kurt's stomach had it not so seriously provoked his sense of justice. Thirteen patients killed in Metro-General's psychiatric unit. Thirteen innocent children killed. And the only one who seemed to have any crisis of conscience about it was Barney Franks, the security guard who somehow just had to take a bathroom break right before it happened. Kurt tried to save him from burning in an apparent spontaneous combustion. Franks pushed him away.
So once again, someone Kurt wanted to save, to protect realized what Kurt never seemed able to even entertain- that he could not save everyone and would only hurt himself- and pushed him away. The familiarity ached liked like a healed fracture before a bad storm.
This left the only remaining witness, Seth Walker, a traumatized child, the sole survivor of the atrocities. He was somehow unwilling or unable to talk. Indeed, the only one who volunteered any help was that night nurse.
Christine. He could like her. And he saw that the feeling was already more than mutual. But she couldn't help with everything. The way Barney Franks had died smacked of something mystical. And Kassandra said that Jimaine needed to explain something to him, anyway, so….
"Let me guess. You want my help with that little boy," said Jimaine/Amanda/Magik/whatever identity she claimed at the moment. Of course she was right as to at least this one reason why Kurt would visit her all of the sudden. He had, up until then, what appeared to be a policy of maintaining a substantial yet amicable distance from this particular ex-girlfriend.
Kurt also understood why Kassandra said Amanda disliked her hypocrisy. They both had their ways of getting people to speak openly without being upfront themselves. So Kurt told her all about Seth Walker, even about the piece of knotted string Christine noticed in his constant grasp. That got Amanda's interest like nothing else. Perhaps this boy had his own secrets to protect- among them that he was the rare variety of mage born with his powers.
"Now, Kurt, I'll tell you about binding spells, if you'll tell me about…"
Oh, nein! She wasn't going to tease him about his current love life again, was she? She knew about Kassandra, obviously. "Gehst du nicht dort! Show some respect to the brokenheartedIf you want to pry, ask about someone who isn't such a 100 pound elephant in the room, bitte!" Kurt thought, desperately.
"… Nurse Palmer, was it?"
Okay, he could handle that, for now. But perhaps he should establish some new boundary. If he was going to deal with Amanda again, discussing the love life would be off limits from here on out.
Amanda had just seen Kurt off, when the last voice she expected to hear addressed her. "I know respect for me had nothing to do with it, Jimaine, but thank you for not mentioning me to Kurt."
"Wie-?"
Kassandra stepped out of the many thick shadows that so filled the sub-infernal realm the woman who once mistook her for a rival now ruled. "One of our operatives went rogue, so while I'm allowed to use my powers and examine reasons to present as to why my superiors should let her live, I thought I'd send a phase form here to make sure you'd be kind to Kurt. Between you and me, we've both done a number on the poor man, and I just did not want to see any old wounds reopened."
"Warum bist du hier, wirklich?" Amanda asked, suspicion freezing her voice to near absolute zero. "You know I'd rather not talk about you, anyway."
"Das ist wahr wohl." Kassandra nodded. "However, you had an opportunity to be honest with Kurt about a matter that I can see will put him and a lot of other people dear to him- and you too- in mortal danger, and you couldn't see fit to give him fair warning."
"He won't see how it's relevant," Amanda sniffed. "You know what it's like trying to warn him of anything. And if it's that important to you, why don't you tell him?"
"It's your responsibility. But I'll tell him for you if you want."
Amanda looked down through half-closed eyes upon the irate wraith. "You're bluffing. You don't even know what's happening."
"Oh?" Kassandra stepped forward, glowering. "Even if I didn't, I see only two more chances for you be honest with Kurt for once in your life without circumstances pushing you to it or someone else blabbing."
"And are you going to tell him how you're getting involved, besides calling yourself his 'guardian angel'?" Amanda demanded, her voice sounding ever more like chips being chiseled off a block of ice.
"You can check the timestream yourself, Jimaine," Kassandra seethed. "And you'll see that the blood of Winzeldorf will be on you hands if you don't tell Kurt, soon, what you have done. A friendly warning for you, not a threat. Now you know how much I'd love to stay here and chat, aber Ich habe arbeit."
Kassandra disappeared. Auf nimmer wiedersehen, thought Amanda, as her Pinot Noir poured another glass of itself for her, and she sat back down with her book.
