A/N: Okay, I decided to combine two chapters together to give ya one big one. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.
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Chapter 4: Enter Jack
He sat there at his desk, looking up at the clock. He figured Kurt would be walking, based on how long it was taking him to arrive. Taking in a breath, the professor knew that Kurt would want to think things over and he better do the same. After all, not only could the blue teen be in danger, but every student in the manor.
The reason the Professor needed to see Kurt was simple in contrast to the situation. When they had invited Kurt to the institute, they had been warned of his past. His parents had briefly told them of a period of three years, in which Kurt was not in their care. He had been taken. They knew by whom, but could only give a little information. Kurt would have to provide the details.
Letting out the breath, Charles Xavier placed his finger tips on his temples. He had decided that Storm, Hank, and Logan should know about their newest threat. And it would be easier for them to hear it all from Kurt rather than have the professor explain it to them. Once all three of them had acknowledged his invitation, the man sat back in his chair and waited for the boy to come.
-(XME)-
They were almost there, just a few more minutes. It had been a long day and the girl was ready to set foot on land. She was also excited to be performing again. How she missed soaring through the air. Doing flips and turns with ease, amazing the crowd at the same time. Then they would do the test, the one that she loved the best. Where they would slide a piece of paper under feet with ease. Proving that she never touched the ground. And it was true. She was born flying and she would stay flying. That is why they called her Robin.
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Letting out a short breath, the teen curled up his three fingers and gently knocked at the door. Hoping no one would answer and that he would be able to leave, a even larger sigh escaped when he heard the professor's voice. "Come in."
Being out of character, Kurt shyly opened the door and stepped in. The blue demon looked around the office and saw that Xavier had called Storm, Wolverine, and Beast. He understood why and simply took a seat in one of the dark chairs. The three teachers were standing.
"I believe you know why I have summoned you here, Kurt." The teen shook his head and looked up at the professor. "Good, then you know I must ask you of your time within the circus." Again Kurt simply nodded. The professor did not expect him to be his usual self. After what he was told from Kurt's adopted parents, he knew that the boy would not be entirely cooperative. Not wanting to share his pain with others. That's what made Kurt a good person. He cared for others and didn't want them to be troubled with problems. Well, not the complicated ones anyway. Like any teen, the blue demon didn't mind the spotlight once in a while.
"What's this all about Chuck?" Wolverine asked from his standing spot by the wall. "Is the elf is some kind of trouble or something?" The rough Canadian may act tough, but in truth he cared much for the students at the manor. Even though his love was a tough love, showed in training and survival tests in the danger room.
"No Logan, at least not at the moment," the professor replied. When Wolverine went to ask something else, the older man stopped him with a simply hand gesture. Then he directed his eyes towards the uncomfortable looking teen. With a nod of his head, "Maybe Kurt should explain what is happening. It would surely answer many of your questions." All of the adults were silent, as they too turned their gaze to Kurt.
-(XME)-
He had outdone himself this time. The entire room was covered with the web. The windows, the couch, the bed, the dresser, and everything in between. All of it, now sticky and white. It looked horrible.
Pulling up his orange goggles, the man surveyed the room. She was going to kill him this time, but that was okay. At least she would be coming after him, which was what he wanted. Nodding his head in satisfaction, the man turned to leave the room. As one of his insect like hand reached for the door knob, the door flew open. All of his arms went up in surprise and the four extra eyes on his forehead shot open.
"You!" A finger with a red nail pointed at the man accusingly. "Hov many times do I have to tell you-" the Russian stopped and looked behind the man. Her face whet from angry to completely enraged and ready to kill. "My rroom!" her accented voice howled. "Von vhat did you do?" Von simply shrugged and placed a cocky smile on his hollow face.
Growling and showing her fangs again, the woman clenched up her fists and held them shaking at his sides. "Relax Catrina, it vill easily come off. I zink…" All six eyes looked up at the ceiling while his six arms all crossed in front of him. A loud his was heard and then a yowl from an angry cat. This was soon followed by the shout of Von Spiderwick, as Catrina Volvilov chased him out of her cabin.
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Before Kurt could begin talking, the Professor looked past him and at the door. "You may join us if you wish, Kitty." Just as he said this, Two arms, then a face fazed through the wall and Kitty Pryde was standing next to Kurt in the chair. The blue demon simply looked up at her, a small smile on both their faces. Now he felt much more comfortable than before. "Please, take a seat Ms. Pryde." Giving a shy smile to everyone, the brunette took her place next to Kurt.
The blue teen smiled at her before turning back to the professor and everyone else in the room. "Alright, I guess I vill tell you now."
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The boat would be docking soon and the crates and carts unloaded. Many men would hop aboard the ship and split into groups to carry crates. It would be at this time that he would shine. Without any trouble, the man would lift a crate up and carry it off the ship. This would awe the crewmen as it had awed the people whom came to see the circus back in Germany.
However, Urs' mutation was not his strength. He had worked for his strength and that was why he was happy to show it off. Hours and hours of training and exercising had paid off for the large man. And his brute strength also increased the power of his mutation. He could create sound waves. Waves strong enough to knock a building over. These waves were created when he banged his fists together.
Thinking of his power, the large man looked down at his knuckles. Flexing them back and forth he remembered how he almost lost his power. Then he remembered who had almost taken it away from him. Growing angry, Urs suddenly became impatient and wished that the ship would hurry up and dock.
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"My mutter alvays tried to hide my appearance. She did not knov hov the people in the town vould react to me. I zink she vas afraid to see me hurt," everyone in the room was quiet and they listened carefully to the teen's story. His happiness at seeing Kitty had been lost as his voice took on a more solemn tone. "Hovever, zese zings do not last…"
"Mutter! Mutter! Can I please have some?" the woman turned around to see her son pointing at a shelf just out of his reach. On it were was a jar of peppermint sticks. Seeing the boy, the woman rushed over to him and took his three fingered hand in hers. Crouching beside him, she gently lowered his hand while the cloak fell back over it.
"You must be careful Kurt," with a quick glance around the store, she saw that no one had seen. Or if they did then they were not taking any action. "Someone may see." She whispered to the boy under the hood. His golden eyes were the only feature of her son that she could not hide.
A small voice that belonged to a young child spoke from underneath the cloak. It was a sad as if the child had thought he had done something wrong. "I'm sorry." The boy put his head down, not wanting to look into his mother's eyes. Kurt was ashamed of the way he looked and the way he made his mother worry. Why did he have to be this way. It wasn't fair to her, or to him.
Knowing what her child was thinking, the woman placed a soft hand on his cheek. "Hey, it's alright. It's not your fault that this vorld isn't as excepting as we want it to be," with a gentle move, the woman brought the child's head up. Looking into his fantastical eyes, "Besides, I like you just ze vay you are."
This seemed to perk the child up as he brought his head all the way up to look into the woman's eyes. "Fur and all?"
"Fur and all," Kurt's mother said while tapping his nose with the tip of her index finger. "Now, vhat do you say ve finish up zis shopping and go see your vater." Kurt nodded excitedly. He loved to see his father's work and say hello to everyone there. Even though they did not see his face, the people at Mr. Wagner's work enjoyed having the child around. His innocent nature seemed to cheer every one up.
Taking one of the jars of peppermint and placing it in the basket, the woman was done with her shopping. She had the basics, bread, milk, butter, cheese, and then she grabbed a few treats for the family. Snacks like a box of cookies, and some candy for Kurt.
As the woman was paying the cashier, she suddenly felt a tug on her jeans. Looking down she saw a small cloaked figure standing by her side. "Mutter, can I go to vater's nov?" Thinking about the request from Kurt, Mrs. Wagner decided that it wouldn't be such a bad idea. Saying that the boy could go, she could not help but smile as Kurt gave a small cheer and started to run for the door. "Vatch for traffic!" she called out after him as he opened the glass door.
A quick turn and a wave was all she got as a sign that he had heard as he ran into the street.
Wanting to make sure he made it all the way, the woman watched her son stop at the sidewalk and look both ways. Seeing that no cars were coming, the boy began to walk quickly across the road. Kurt never ran in the street, remembering what his mother had told him. However, on this day, the woman wished he had ignored her warnings and had just sped across to the other side.
Kurt was half way across the rode when his ears picked up something. Standing there, the boy tried to hone in on the sound. Looking down the road, Kurt soon saw what the noise belonged to. Fear struck his heart and took over his limbs as a black car came racing down the street. Two police cars were close behind it, their sirens blaring and lights flashing. The driver was too busy looking back at them that he did not see the cloaked child directly in his path.
The blue boy couldn't move. The thought of what to come was too much, as the fear had taken over. Watching as the grey bumper got closer and closer, he suddenly thought of the hood. He didn't know why, he just did. Later he would be grateful for the sudden thought as the grey, shiny metal took up his full vision.
"Kurt!" the woman screamed as she tore out of the store. The black car was stopped in the middle of the street where her son had once been standing. There was no sign of Kurt and this only added to the turning of her stomach and the twisting of her heart. If she wasn't sick by the time she got to the car, then she was close to it.
Falling to her knees as soon as she reached the vehicle, which the driver was now getting out of. The woman leaned down and peered under the car. When she did this, what she saw surprised her. There was nothing on the road. No blood, no body, no cloak, nothing. Just the cement and the faint smell of… sulfur?
"Mutter, vhy are you looking under ze car?" snapping her head up, the woman felt like her heart had jumped out of her chest as all the worry left her being. There, up on the hood of the car was a very curious looking Kurt Wagner. His spaded tail was whipping in the air, as the adrenaline rush he had gotten was controlling it. A small smile was placed on his face, showing just a bit of his tiny fangs.
"Kurt," the woman whispered his name this time. Her arms flung up and she grabbed the child from the hood of the car. As she pulled him into a tight embrace, the hood of the cloak fell back. Holding him close and rocking the now confused child, the woman kissed his head and let her tears go. "You're okay… you're okay."
That's when she heard the many people murmuring. A crowd had gathered around the car without her noticing. Now they were whispering to each other and pointing at the child in her arms. Some were sneering, others plainly shocked, and some were frightened at the sight.
Looking up at the many faces of friends, the woman couldn't believe what was happening. Then she heard a call from the crowd, as her husband raced over to his family. Helping his wife stand, the man placed an arm around her shoulder as she held Kurt in her arms. Making their way through the crowd, the small family did not notice the empty eyes watching them.
"Zat night, a man folloved us home. He claimed to have seen ze whole incident and vas vondering if I vas alright. vhen he did not react badly to my appearance, my parents velcomed him to dinner. Unfortunately, ze man was not concerned about my health, only about my ability. So he took me in the night.
"I could not teleport avay because zat vas ze first time I had ever teleported." Everyone was silent. No one had known that Kurt's mutation had developed at such an early age. Of course, it was not all a surprise to the professor. He knew that Kurt's mutation was there ever since he was born. His blue fur and odd features proved that.
"What, like, about the man that took you?" Kitty asked. Kurt looked up at her. Then he looked into the eyes of every person present. Xavier sensed some hesitation, as if talking about the being would make him appear. But then, the feeling went away as Kurt opened his mouth to speak.
-(XME)-
The ramp fell onto the concrete dock from the bow of the ship. Crewmen scrambled aboard to unload the carts, crates, and animals. As different teams worked at unloading, the main acts for the circus began to leave the ship. They walked in a group with Robin and Cartrina in the front and Urs and Von following behind. All of them were lead by one person.
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Hard shoes tapped against the metal of the ship. White fingers pulled tightly on white gloves to make sure they were secure. A golden tipped cane hung from the man's arm. A dress coat covered a white shirt, as black pants loosely clung to the man's skin. A top hat sat upon the man's dark hair, as his eyes and brow were shadowed by it.
Stopping at the top of the ramp, the man waited until the group of performers stopped beside him. Lifting up his head, removing the shadow from his face, the man revealed cold, dark eyes that seemed to belong to a dead person. They shined with malice as a cruel smile spread across his mouth.
He was the ringleader of the circus. The beast master, the host, the mad man whom ran it all. He was the one whom had put fear into his followers, ensuring their loyalty. He was the one whom had tormented and tortured his greatest star, Nightcrawler. And now he was back. Back to retrieve what he thought rightfully his. He was Jack.
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