Set just after the conclusion of IS3.
Contains spoilers and a crossover with Black Ink.

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Nightcrawler Unmasked

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Kurt looked nervously at the camera, then at the man sat across from him.

"Just relax." Joseph "Robbie" Robertson offered with a slight smile. "I'll make this as easy as I can for you and if you remember, I interviewed Clark after his identity was revealed. Plus, we're not doing this one live, so there'll be no problems if you do something like faint."

"Faint?!" Kurt echoed, unsure whether to be annoyed or reassured, then a familiar arm snaked around his shoulders.

"Relax, Kurt." Amanda smiled as she pulled him into a one-armed hug. "You faced my parents, this is nothing compared to that."

Kurt nodded, remembering the absolute terror he had felt as he deactivated his holo-watch for the first time in front of Amanda's parents.

"And like then, I'm here too." Clark said from where he was sitting between Kurt and Robbie, angled to make it clear that he was on Kurt's side and clad in a smart pair of trousers and white shirt. Kurt finally relaxed enough that his spine actually managed to touch the backrest of the sofa that he and Amanda were perched on.

"Ready when you are, Robbie." Peter called, having insisted that he be the one to control the cameras. "We're rolling, so start whenever and we'll cut the starting point accordingly."

Robbie nodded. "Thank you, Peter. Kurt, just relax for now while I do this. Starting in three… two… one… Good evening, I am Robbie Robertson and welcome to a special episode of the Daily Bugle Online. Tonight I am joined by several guests. Clark Kent, also known as Superman, Amanda Sefton, a student from Bayville High and the newest publicly revealed superhero, Kurt Wagner, also known as Nightcrawler of the X-men.

"Kurt's identity was revealed during the unfortunate incident that resulted in the death of Tyrone Dietz. Kurt's actions have been described as being the only thing that stopped the situation descending into a bloodbath as he used his teleportation to remove those he could see as being at risk while simultaneously bringing in reinforcements to subdue and capture the gunmen. Already there have been calls for Kurt to be awarded the Medal for Valor."

"Was? Aber ich weiß nicht verdient!" Kurt gasped, then he blinked a few times. "Sorry. I… I don't zhink zat I… I vas juzt… All I did vas vat vas needed."

"If I may." Clark interjected. "What Kurt did was he used his power to remove as many civilians from the area as possible while bringing in reinforcements at the same time. Every person he brought in was, in one way or another, effectively immune to gunfire, allowing them to concentrate on ending the threat while Kurt continued to evacuate as many of those at risk as he could."

Robbie nodded. "As expected of an X-Man."

Kurt's jaw dropped slightly as Clark nodded.

"Kurt is one of the youngest X-Men, but he has earned his position. Should he decide to move on, both the Avengers and Excalibur, the United Kingdom's equivalent, have expressed a strong interest in him joining their ranks."

Amanda gave Kurt a quick squeeze as he fought to come to terms with the new information Clark had provided.

"I believe that Kurt looks rather different in the field." Robbie noted. "Is he a shapeshifter like Mystique?"

"No." Clark said with a sad smile. "Due to the actions of a being known as Azazel, Kurt's power was forcibly manifested when he was very young and includes a physical change. Growing up, Kurt realised that most of the people at the time would not accept him due to his appearance, so he used hooded tops, a scarf and other tricks to hide from them. I took it a step further by giving him a holo-watch, changing his appearance to what he would have looked like had his power not manifested as it did."

"I found out by accident, but by then, I'd already noticed how nice Kurt was." Amanda chimed in. "I like having a boyfriend as unique as Kurt, blue is my favourite colour and I'm proof of what Scott said, chicks love the fuzzy dude."

Kurt fought down his laughter at the final part of Amanda's statement while Clark grinned.

"Inside joke." He explained in response to Robbie's confused look. "Blame Cyclops. He's the one who came up with it during a pep-talk for Kurt."

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"Well, that didn't go too badly." Clark smiled as he stretched in his chair. From across the room, Robbie glanced up with a smile, then returned to helping Forge and Peter edit the several-hours-long recording down to something that could be transmitted.

"You were wonderful." Amanda smiled at Kurt, then she glanced at her watch. "And we're going to be late! Clark, sorry, but we have to go!"

"Ack! Ja, ze meal!" Kurt gasped as he leapt off the settee, turning to offer Amanda a hand as she rose. Amanda let him pull her to her feet, then she embraced him as they vanished in a cloud of smoke that was quickly whisked away by the air-conditioning system.

"Wow, he's better at going places than Tele-Girl." Peter noted as Clark strolled over to join them.

"Jenny has a longer range and can carry more people, but if she and Kurt ever went head to head, he'd probably win." Clark supplied. "He's been able to teleport almost from birth, it's something that he can do reflexively whereas Jenny has to actually concentrate."

"So, Kurt's faster at teleporting." Robbie mused as he selected one of the sequences playing out before him.

"He is." Forge agreed. "I've measured both of their powers. From a strategic viewpoint, Tele-Girl has the advantage. From a tactical viewpoint, Kurt is way better."

Robbie nodded, then tapped a couple of controls. "Quiet please… Tonight on Daily Bugle Online, an interview with an X-Man. The hero of Bayville High, Nightcrawler. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good." Forge noted. "I assume you want it cleaned and put over the standard Daily Bugle icon?"

"Hmmmm… can you put the X-Men logo on the back of the Bugle icon so that it's visible as it spins?"

"Copying the file and doing it now." Peter said as his fingers flew across a holo-keyboard.

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Kurt and Amanda appeared on a circular paving stone set just off the path to the front door of her house, the smoke rapidly dispersing from around them.

"Come on, Kurt." Amanda laughed as the front door opened to reveal her parents. "They're not going to eat you, you know."

"Ja… sorry." Kurt apologised as Amanda almost dragged him forwards. "I'm ztill not used to…"

"It's fine." Margali said from the doorway with a slight smile. "Just as long as you don't start trying to eat each other…"

"Mu-uuuuum!" Amanda protested as Kurt blushed so hard that it was visible through his fur. "You know we're still too young for that!"

"I know, dear." Margali laughed as she waved the duo inside. "I couldn't resist."

"I'm very glad I got Dad's sense of humour instead." Amanda sighed dramatically.

"You know we both approve of your taste in boyfriends." Margali said as she caught them both in a brief hug. "Why else would we put that target in the front garden for you to use? It's not like we were worried about him teleporting into your bedroom, now, was it?"

"Mu-uuuuum!"

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The van doors opened to disgorge its occupants and the entire school yard seemed to go silent as one of the figures emerged, looking very different to how he normally did.

"Kurt!"

Kurt turned and only just avoided being knocked over by Amanda's glomp.

"You were only away from him for ten hours." Alex laughed and Amanda stuck her tongue out at him even as she relaxed her grip.

"Leave them alone." Jubilee half-scolded as she watched with a smile. "It's cute."

A massive wave of cheering and applause interrupted them and Amanda tightened her grip on Kurt as their fellow students flooded round, each of them trying to shake Kurt's hand or clap him on his shoulder.

"Vat ze?"

"You're a hero!" Alex shouted over the noise. "Get used to it, Kurt!"

Kurt gave the older boy a look of betrayal before he and Amanda were swallowed by the jubilant crowd.

"Heh, how long do you reckon before he simply teleports out of there?" Spyke laughed and Alex shook his head.

"He can't, not without risking accidentally costing someone a hand or so. Nope, he's stuck in there."

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"uuuuurgh."

Xavier managed to hide his smile as Kurt staggered into the Mansion, only managing to stay upright due to the support that Amanda was giving him.

"I assume that things did not go too badly?" Xavier offered as innocently as he looked and Kurt gave him an exhausted glare before Chris stepped up.

"You look knackered." He commiserated. "Let's get you to a seat."

Xavier found his self-control strained as he fought to not laugh at the sight of Chris picking up the larger boy and floating down the corridor with Amanda half-jogging to keep up.

"Oh dear." A new voice said and Xavier half-turned to see May Parker smiling after the departing youngsters. "Poor Kurt looks like he's been dragged through a hedge backwards. They must be making quite a fuss of him at school, but why not the others? They've been in almost as many scrapes as him."

"I believe that it is because the scrapes, as you put it, occurred elsewhere." Xavier mused. "He willingly unmasked himself by using his power in order to save lives and the students saw it. They know of the sacrifice that he made in order to save as many people as possible, so…"

May slowly nodded as she followed Xavier's logic.

"Mrs Parker, Professor." A new voice said and Charles smiled.

"Clark, welcome back. How did the meeting go?"

"Not bad." Clark shrugged. "Although being with two of my alternates was quite odd."

"What were you doing?" May asked curiously.

"Helping to set up some of the Black Ink equipment." Clark shrugged. "I got to talking with Superboy… Timothy Black, and did you know that Mr Black is the dimensional-counterpart of young Harry Potter?"

"Wait, Harry?" May gasped. "The Youngest Avenger?"

Clark nodded. "I talked to Mr Black about it and he's agreed to let me tell you and Martha, but asks that it doesn't go any further. He's also noticed that Ilyana and Amanda are both untrained witches, he's offered to see to their magical training as their magic bloomed too late for traditional magical schooling. He said something about his daughter helping out…"

"I'll have to speak to them about it." Charles noted.

"I'd recommend waiting until tomorrow." Clark smiled. "Amanda, at least, will be too distracted tonight."

"Perhaps I had better call her parents and offer to let her stay over tonight." Charles mused. "Or maybe… could you fly over and explain the situation to them? And maybe pick up some clothes for her in the process."

"Not a problem." Clark grinned. "I'll be back soon."

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Author's afternote - Timothy Black appears in Terminal Justice and was Timothy Hunter (from the Books of Magic comic series) before he was rescued and blood-adopted by Mr Black and Kara.
All of the Mr Black stories can be found in the BLACK INK community (link in profile)