4
Kitty woke with a panicked start. Wildly looking around the room, she found that she was lying on the floor of a room she didn't recognize. It was rundown, wallpaper peeling off the wall, boards loose in the floor, and wood covering much of the window. She quickly got up from the ground and ran to the door. She stuck her head through the wood, looking left and right before plunging through the door and making her way down the long hallway in front of her. She kept running, looking for some way out, but the hallway kept going and going. There seemed to be a thick mist that covered the ground, and she could smell something burning.
Suddenly the mist sprung off the ground in front of her and formed a shape. Lance stepped out of the mist, holding his hand out to her. "Join us Kitty, Xavier is a fool, and Magneto is going to be the one who keeps us alive."
"No no no no," she muttered to herself. "This is not happening again, this is not real!"
"Kitty, I'm real, I'm right here. We can be together forever if you just give up on this X-Men crap. They're going to get us all killed if they keep trying to work for peace. Humans aren't going to accept us. Magneto can make sure we're the ones with the power when it's all said and done."
"Oy took carah tha compition for ya mite, little buggah won't be standing in ya way," came a call from behind her. Pyro had stepped through the smoke, and in his hands he held the limp, burned form of Bobby Drake.
"Bobby! Oh God, don't be dead!"
"'Fraid he might be, oh well!"
"Kitty, there's no point to this. Just give up!"
"This isn't real, Bobby wasn't here yet, this isn't real," she kept chanting to herself.
"Oi Avalanche, tha Sheila's nevah gunna listen to ya, she's too goody two shoes!" Pryo taunted. "Oy say we fry her up!"
"Pryo no!" Lance yelled, but he was fading back into the mist. Fire erupted from the nozzles on Pyro's arms, forming twin snakes that twisted their way to her. Kitty ran forward in fear, the flames licking at her heels as she continued her run down the never-ending hallway.
Around her the walls of the long hallway burst into flames. She tried to phase through the flaming floor, but her feet stayed firmly on top of the wood. She felt the flame snakes from Pyro crawl up her back and bite into shoulders, the burning memory coming to life once again. She could feel the back of her uniform catch, protecting her skin underneath a little but the flames were quickly burning through. The fire continued to crawl up her back, catching her large collar and then igniting her long hair. She screamed and dropped to the ground, attempting to roll the flames out. But this time the floor was burning as well, and she couldn't stop the flames.
An end to the hallway materialized out of the fog, and a red beam burst through a door that was appearing. Beams of ice followed, and just like before Scott and Bobby were there to save her. She called out to them, reaching her hand forward. But instead of blasting Pryo, Scott stood there; instead of rushing forward to help her up and cradle her in his arms, Bobby walked forward slowly and looked down at her before turning his back.
"Bobby no! Don't leave me! Stop hurting me!" Her words turned into screams as the fire around her grew once again, consuming her, while somewhere Pyro laughed manically.
Kitty woke with a panicked start. Wildly looking around the room, she saw that Dani was waking with the same panic. Kitty knew she was fine, but checked for flames anyways. All she found was the same slight scarring on back, and of course the cropped haircut she'd gotten after most of her hair had burned. She calmed down some.
On the other side of the room, Dani had burst into uncontrollable tears. "Oh God, oh God, I'm so sorry Kitty, oh God," she kept sobbing over and over with her face buried in her hands.
Kitty ran to her friend, sitting on the bed and wrapping her arms around her. "It's okay Dani, it's just a dream. I'm okay. It's not your fault."
"I can't control it, I can never control it, I'll leave, I swear, I won't make you live through that again!"
"You're not going to go anywhere," Kitty said softly as she rocked Dani back and forth. "You're here to gain control, right? Why would you leave? You're doing better at it. I can live with a few nightmares now and then if it means you stay and get the help you need."
Dani stopped crying some, wiping tears from her face. "I know you dream about it still, I can sometimes see your dreams. I knew I was losing control but I couldn't stop and I just made the nightmare worse. I'm a curse!"
"You're not a curse. We all have times where we can't control our powers. I woke up in the basement last week, remember?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Kurt still teleports randomly when he gets sick, Rogue can't touch anyone yet, Jean still hears other people's thought when she's trying not to, even the Professor has times where he's overwhelmed! No one is going to get upset at you because you're still learning. And as long as they're accidents we'll be okay."
"Of course it was an accident Kitty, I would never—"
"I know you would never hurt me Dani. Or anyone else for that matter. We're best friends, I think I know you."
Dani smiled, and hugged her friend back. "Thank you Kitty."
"What are friends for?"
After a moment Dani noticed something. "You're shaking!"
"Huh? Oh yeah. Wow. Guess I'm a little more shook up then I thought."
"I'm sorry. I know you're still scared of fire, and there was so much because of me."
"Actually, I don't think that was it."
"What else would it have been?"
Kitty looked embarrassed for a moment.
"Let me guess, Bobby?"
Kitty just nodded.
"Jung said 'The dream is a little hidden door in the innermost and most secret recesses of the soul.' So what do you think soul is telling you?"
"Jung? When did you start reading psychology?"
"After I got here. My powers are dreams, figured I'd do some research. Plus I kinda want to be a psychologist."
Kitty laughed a bit and laid down on Dani's bed. "Well Dr. Moonstar, what do you think, am I nuts?"
Dani laughed with her. "I think you've got a very serious case of crushitus, but you're too scared of Bobby hurting you or being like Lance to do anything about it."
"Ugh, Lance, even out of my life he's giving me a headache. What's your prescription doc?"
"Well, I say, you just have to realize that Bobby isn't Lance, and that you should give him a shot. You should at least start talking to him again. Hiding behind you being 'mad' at him because of Saturday is just stupid."
"So I should just ask him out?"
"Are you kidding! You should flirt mercilessly with him until his head explodes or he makes the first move! You can't just make things easy for him, against the Girl Code."
Kitty laughed some more. "Finally some good advice. Jean and Rogue have been driving me nuts with their teasing and then 'you'll figure it out' talk."
"Well, they don't know you like I do."
"Yeah, weird psychic bonds and such."
"Exactly!"
Kitty gave out a yawn, which prompted Dani to yawn. They both laughed some more. "Guess we should try and get some sleep," Kitty said, "we still have a few more hours until morning."
They climbed into their beds and closed their eyes.
"Kitty?" Dani asked after a little while.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you again. I don't know if I'd make it here without you."
"What are friends for?" Kitty asked, drifting off to sleep as she did. She had a pleasant dream, one of castles and dragons and knights in frozen armor.
-------------
Logan took a moment on his trek to smell the dawn. There were plenty of times he found his enhanced senses to be a burden, especially living in a mansion full of hormonal teenagers. Despite being a loner by nature he did enjoy company from time to time, but he found himself leaving the mansion more often then he normally would, just to avoid the smells. There were plenty of times he found his enhanced senses to be useful, like on this trip. His ability to track and to sense those things around him others might not had kept him alive just as much as his healing factor. There were, however, few times he found his enhanced senses to be a joy.
To many, dawn was a refreshing moment. The beauty of a sunrise combined with the calmness of the morning left one with a sense of peace. To Logan, it was exhilarating, the smells and sounds of life reemerging from slumber, the excitement of the air as the sun heated the molecules into motion again. Around him, flowers began to open, the plants began to soak in the sun, birds began to sing, and all seemed right in the world. It was more prominent out here in the wilderness, as he stood along the ridgeline of a valley, but even at the mansion he tried his best to be outside, usually in the woods or at the gazebo, when the sun first peaked over the horizon.
He took a few more moments to enjoy the day before her scent drifted into his nose again. He was close to her now; she was just around the bend if he was correct. Picking up his pack, he began to again walk the direction his nose led him. Walking carefully around a large outcropping of boulders, he saw a cave opening next to the narrow path, and her scent was strong all in this area. He could see the marks in the rocks where her claws had been used for climbing, and the breeze that flowed into the cave and back out carried her fresh scent. If he wasn't mistaken, she was asleep.
Knowing that simply walking into the cave would be deadly, even to him, he pulled off his pack and sat down outside the entrance. He opened one of the many pockets in the backpack and pulled out a small stove and some carefully wrapped food and began to cook some breakfast. The smell of cooking food and his scent would alert her to his presence if she couldn't see him when she woke, and hopefully would keep her from lashing out in surprise. It wasn't too long before he heard stirring in the cave, followed by the quick shuffle of someone scurrying and the sound of blades being unsheathed.
"Relax kid," he called out, "it's just me. Why don't you put those things away and come out here for some breakfast."
Logan could make out a figure cautiously making its way to the cave entrance, and then she stepped out fully into the morning sun. She was still wearing the same combat suit from when he first met her, though he could see some tears here and there. Other than that, she was clean and healthy looking, despite living in the wilderness for the last year.
X-23, seeing and smelling that he was indeed Logan, retracted her claws and stepped closer. "What are you doing here?" she asked curtly.
"Cooking us some breakfast, what does it look like? Bet you could use a good meal."
"I do all right," she said, though she sat down across from him and watched as he mixed a variety of preserved meats and spices together, adding beans last. He pulled some bread out of the pack and toasted some of the slices on the edge of the small pan. When it had all mixed together into an unrecognizable brown mass, he scooped it out onto the toast and handed her one.
"Shit on a Shingle, used to live on this stuff back in the War. Eat up, tastes better then it looks."
"What war?" she asked, taking a bite and finding it good. She began to eat with a much more vigor.
"World War II, only war I know for sure I was in, though I pretty sure those bastards who brainwashed me sent me into a few others."
She nodded and continued to eat. When the food was gone he took some water and a small bottle of soap out of his bag and set the pan to soak. They sat in silence for a while, looking down over the valley below from their high perch.
"You sure know how to pick a view kid."
"I like it. I find it," she struggled to find the word, "peaceful?"
"Yeah, peaceful's a good word for it."
"I missed you," she said, almost reluctant to reveal such a personal thought.
He was stunned for a second, then gave her a small smile. "Missed you too kid. I worry about you, out here by yourself. Spent some time here when I broke free of Weapon X, it's not easy."
"I do all right. Why did you come now?"
"Wanted to come sooner. Hell, wanted to get you to come back with me after that Hydra mess. Charles thought it best if we kept our distance, to better hide you from people like Hydra or S.H.I.E.L.D." She nodded, and he continued. "But he felt, after everything that's happened, it was time we checked in on you. Your conditioning and mutation makes it hard to track you with Cerebro, same as me, so I'm here in person."
"What happened?"
"Bad guy, Apocalypse, tried to take over the world. Lots of people are upset about that, looking to blame all mutants. And a place like this has enough crazy yokels coming through it for us to get a little worried someone might get the idea that mutants were hiding in a place this remote."
"I could handle them."
"Know you could, darlin', but if a few hunters here and there go missing, it brings it a lot more people lookin' for them, and even you couldn't handle them all. So I'm here offering you an invitation to come join the Institute."
"That's not a good idea."
"Hydra's pretty much dead, what's left is no match for the X-Men, and I can handle Fury when he comes knocking on our door for you."
"I like it here."
"Kid, you can't live your whole life alone, and if you're like me, it'll be a long life. Sooner or later you're going to have to be around people, and the Institute is the best place you're going to find to help you adjust to the world."
"I like it here."
"Kid, you're as stubborn as the Runt!" came a roar from above them.
"Sabertooth!" Wolverine growled, popping his claws out. X-23 followed his lead. They both looked up to see Sabertooth clinging to the side of the cliff above them, just downwind of both of them.
With a leap, Sabertooth landed on the path on the other side of the cave opening. He stood from his crouched position and laughed. "Knew you'd lead me right to her Logan. Relax Runt, this ain't between you and me today. I've got some things to say to the little lady."
Logan snarled and stepped in front of her. "Any part of you that tries to touch her, I cut off bub!"
"Like I said Wolverine, I'm not here for a fight, I've got some things to talk to her about. I've got a message from Magneto for you, girl. He says if you're tired of being tortured by humans and want to live your life, there's a place for you on Avalon."
"Yeah, as Magneto's little assassin, right? Don't listen to him kid, he and Magneto are both crazy."
"Maybe we're crazy Logan, but crazy is leaving a bunch of kids to get killed by mobs of humans and their machines. It's coming Logan and you know it. Magneto's going to save mutant lives while Xavier's going to let himself get crushed trying to be a pacifist crybaby. That what you want to happen to you kid? Killed 'cause you're a mutant? Someday we'll be in charge, but you might not make it that long alone or with Xavier; you need to think about your future."
"I don't care about mutants and humans; I just want to be left alone."
"You really think you'll be left alone here? Someone will find you, either put a bullet in your head or make you a mindless machine again, send you out to kill people. At least this way you can kill who you want, like all the people who would use you 'cause they're too weak to do their own dirty work."
"Like Magneto kid," Logan said. "He'll have you doing the same thing, 'cept he'll make it your choice. All he wants is to rule the world, and he'll use anyone and everyone to get there."
"Tell Magneto if he comes near me he's dead!" she said, waving her claws to emphases her point. "I'm not going to be anyone's weapon anymore!"
Sabertooth just laughed at her outburst. "Let me tell you Baby Runt, metal claws aren't going to do any good against Magneto. Offer still stands, if you ever find a couple of Sentinels knocking on your cave."
A metal sphere rose from the valley below, and opened right next to Sabertooth. He climbed in and pointed at Logan. "Kill you later Runt."
"Me and my friends will be waiting Creed," Logan said, brandishing his claws.
With one last roaring laugh, Sabertooth sat down and the sphere closed. It hovered a moment then soared off into the sky.
Logan sheathed his claws and turned to look at X-23. She stood firm, staring into the sky where the sphere had disappeared from sight.
"You made the right choice kid," he said.
"Are you going to fight him? Are you and the X-Men going to stop Magneto?"
"Always do."
"Then I'm coming with you. I'm tired of people using me. And he'll keep trying to."
"I don't want you joinin' up for that reason kid. I want you to come to help be a normal person, not another fighter."
"Sabertooth said to think of my future, and I am," she said, walking back into the cave to get the rest of her things.
Logan smiled a bit as he was filled with pride for his young clone.
-------------
That afternoon in the War Room, the X-Men sat with the Professor, Beast and Storm as they discussed recent developments.
"I just received a message from Logan," Xavier said, coming back into the room after having briefly left. "He and X-23 have reached the Velocity and are on their way back from Canada."
"Professor, not to get off topic, but is it a good idea to bring X-23 here? Not only is she a danger to us herself, but there are plenty of people looking for her that could come here."
"And we will deal with them accordingly Scott. She deserves as chance at a normal life more than anyone, and we are just the ones to help her achieve that. Now, the other thing of note is that after he had found X-23 they were assaulted by Sabertooth."
"Sabertooth, are they all right?" Jean asked.
"Yes, they're fine. Sabertooth did not attack, but rather delivered a message from Magneto, an invitation for X-23 to go to Avalon."
"Like the Brotherhood were trying to give to Alex," Bobby said.
"Yes, it would seem Magneto has begun quite the recruitment drive," Xavier said.
"Professor," said Scott, "do you think he really could be trying to create a paradise for mutants? Expanding the Brotherhood from a group of thugs to a mutant community?"
Xavier placed his fingertips together and leaned forward on the table, resting his lips on the side of his hands. "Many years ago, when Erik and I were still working together, we often discussed the possibility of creating an isolated haven for mutants to come to. I eventually came to believe that mutants would have to have more contact with humans to ensure the peace that we seek, but Erik was always adamantly against isolationism. He felt that mutants should never hide because of who they are. It leaves me very puzzled as to what he is attempting now, and that worries me. Thus far my Cerebro scans have found nothing, and the many contacts I have provided me with no information beyond what you found out in Hawaii."
"So vhat do ve do?" Kurt asked.
"For now, I'm afraid we must wait. Until we can gather more information we are forced to let Magneto play his hand as he sees fit."
The meeting was dismissed not long after that. Bobby was walking down the lower level's hallway, talking with Scott about the Brotherhood when he tripped. Catching himself before he fell to the floor, he looked back to see Kitty smiling at him with her foot out. "We need to talk Icee."
"Uh, catch you guys later," he said to the others.
"Ja dude," Kurt said with a wink, and he and Scott continued down the hall.
"Kitty, glad you tripped me, well, okay, maybe not the tripped part, but I'm glad you're talking to me again."
"Yeah, me too."
"I've been trying to tell you for the last few days how sorry I am for the way I acted Saturday. You were just trying to help. I was angry and should have been thinking better."
"I understand, but it hurt, you know? It reminded me too much of the way Lance used to treat me."
He winced at that. "God, I'm so sorry Kitty."
"It's all right, I forgive you for it. I know you aren't normally like that or that angry, like he is."
"I'm not, I'm chill, you know me. I swear I'll never be like that to you again."
"Good. And just so we're clear," she pushed herself off the wall and stood very close to him, looking up into his eyes. "If you ever treat me like that again, I'll phase of parts of your body you'd really miss."
"Yes ma'am."
Her face remained stoic, but in her head she was grinning at his discomfort. She did decide to give a little smile and relax things again. It was time to move on to more entertaining ideas she had. "Relax Bobby, just don't be a jerk and you'll be fine. But listen, there was something else I wanted to talk to you about."
"Sure, what's up?"
"I was wondering, um," she let herself look nervous, "if you weren't busy, and didn't mind spending some time with me..."
"Yeah?" He kept his face inviting, but inside he was practically cheering at the prospect of not having to make the first move.
"I could use a partner," she said.
"A partner? For what?" He had won, the crowds went wild.
"Tomorrow, I need a sparring partner tomorrow. You're still taking private lessons from Logan right? I have one right after you, so if you can stay late we can spar. Blocking punches from a guy with metal bones is leaving too many bruises on my arms for my taste."
The crowd in his head celebrating his victory and sat in the stunned silence that came from suddenly having the win pulled away at the last second. "Uhhhh, yeah," he said at last. "I can spar."
"Good, see you tomorrow, I've got tons of homework to do." She left him standing there dumbfounded and walked down the corridor with a huge grin. She was sure to add a little extra shake in her hips, just for him.
She rounded the corner and found Jean, Dani and Rogue waiting for her.
"That was bad," Jean said simply.
"But so much fun!" Kitty answered with an even bigger grin.
-------------
Lance walked past the leaving Sabertooth on his way into Magneto's chambers. The large man gave him a growl and a shove on the shoulder. Lance thought about doing something, but knew he didn't stand a chance against a guy who went toe to toe with Wolverine for fun.
Magneto's office was almost completely metal, from furniture to metal sculptures made by the Master of Magnetism himself. The room's owner stood at the window that overlooked much of the city of Avalon. He was wearing a simple black jumpsuit without the read armor he usually donned. "You wanted to speak with me Avalanche?"
"Yeah, I want to know more about what it is you're planning. You send me out with the others to go recruit Havok, and then send Sabertooth to find X-23. We all came back empty handed. Why are we trying to recruit people Xavier already has ties to? There are plenty of mutants out there who need our help who don't have the Professor watching over them. Why aren't we getting them on our side? And why was I standing on a beach in Hawaii talking to Cyclops when I should have been burying him? Or why am I letting a crowd of humans push us around?"
"You didn't question my orders while in the field, you followed them. Why do you question me about them now?"
"I want to know what game you're playing Magneto. If I'm supposed to be leading the Brotherhood-"
"What on Earth gave you the idea that you were leading this Brotherhood," Magneto said, turning at last away from the window to look at him. "We are no longer the ragtag bunch of misfits I placed in Bayville. We are all mutants united together. Remember that. You are merely a member in that larger order of this. Yes, you have been given several assignments as a field leader, and in both missions you have failed to bring me the person I sent you to recruit. If you dare hope to reach the position I know you are vying for, you had better carefully examine why you have been a failure to me. I will not tolerate it for much longer."
"Failure? All I've done is followed your orders, but you keep sending me on missions I can't possibly finish. Kitty Pryde and Alex Summers are two people who will never join us, because of you!" Lance could feel his anger growing and the ground beneath him began to shake. Part of him tried to stop, know that Magneto would easily destroy him, but the ground continued to shake.
Lance felt a foot kick him in the back of the knee. The ground stopped shaking as Lance felt his leg give out. He collapsed down and someone grabbed his hair, forcing his head back. A knife reached his throat as he looked up into what appeared to be only shadows. He could feel the knife pressing against his skin, and a drop of blood rolled down this throat and chest. The shadows parted, revealing what could have been a beautiful woman. Lance had seen her around, though always at a distance, but she was easily recognizable. She was a young Asian woman, no more than twenty, with long purple hair. She wore a skin tight black body suit, and over her left eye was a red, blade shaped tattoo. She would have been the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, if it wasn't for her eyes. The dark violet eyes held no emotion, no sense of life.
"Hold Revanche," Magneto called, "many powers are connected to temper, and Avalanche here has a short one. He meant no harm."
The woman pulled the knife away from his throat and helped him to his feet. He turned to look at her, only to see her disappearing once again into the shadows until it was as if she had never been there.
Magneto walked over to him and handed him a cloth to wipe the blood away. "I rescued Revanche her from a criminal organization known as the Hand, where they were experimenting on her to create the perfect assassin. She has been traumatized by the incident, she doesn't talk, but she does write and know sign language. She has told me she is honor bound to protect my life, and swears to find revenge against those who would harm mutants the way she has been harmed. With her powers to blend into shadows and mental protection comparable to Wolverine's Weapon X conditioning, she is the perfect body guard. I am truly sorry you had to meet her in this manner, but she is very protective of me."
Lance could tell Magneto was being both sincere in his apology, but also using the incident as a lesson on how well protected he was. Not only did he have his own power, but he had a ninja lurking in the shadows whose sole job was to protect him.
"It is people like her who we fight for Lance, people like the girl she was before the Hand forced her into servitude. We fight for those mutants who cannot defend themselves, and we give them this sanctuary. We recruit those with the power to help defend our fledgling haven, and one thing Charles has done well is associate himself with powerful mutants. If we can sway even one to our cause we will be better prepared to defend ourselves. But even without Havok and X-23, I believe we have the power to complete the next part of my plan."
He led Lance to the door, his arm over his shoulder in a fatherly gesture. "Get some rest Avalanche, we soon make our move and I will have great need of you."
Lance, temporarily mollified, decided it was best to leave. Magneto closed the door with a wave of his hand and returned to the window. Shortly thereafter, the shadows in the room opened and Revanche stepped out.
"Watch him Kwannon. He is too valuable to us to have him doubting now."
With a nod, she stepped back into the shadows, and Magneto was alone with his thoughts.
A/N: I give you a long chapter now because it will be a few days before I can write again; I am in the process of moving. But never fear more will be on its way next week. Hope you enjoyed. Feel free to make suggestions, comments or ask questions.
Up next: Kitty and Bobby get physical, X-23 adjusts horribly to life in the mansion, and more!