"Kurt wake up! Do you want to be late for training?" Scott yelled outside of Kurt's door.
"Ugh! Coming Scott…" Kurt groaned lifting his sleep heavy head up to see the clock on his nightstand, 4:23AM. "Dammit…" he sighed before lifting his acrobatic body out of bed and over to the closet in his room. All in all the room at the institute was about the size of his family's old farm house. It was a luxurious living style that he was still getting used to it.
"Kurt!" a female voice called outside of his door in a mocking fashion. The voice had an edge to it with a smooth twang at the end. "Kurt come on, if you don't beat Evan there I'll have license to make fun of you instead of him." Rouge called. Kurt sighed and slipped into his uniform before he ran a hand through is bed head. One last yawn and he was gone in a puff of blue smoke.
The underground network of rooms at the institute really was something otherworldly. Metal hallways connecting to vast rooms filled with training scenarios and the best technology that money had to offer, it really was another world compared to his family's farm made of wood and brick. Of course Kurt had been sending most of the earnings he had garnered while at the institute, through odd jobs and such, back to his mother and father who were now able to buy another field to farm. Overall he was happy, a bit overwhelmed, but happy.
The team assembled on the cold floor promptly at 4:30 AM. Scott was taking attendance as Logan, the head physical instructor, went over the last computer alignments for the training simulation. As usual Kitty and Even were the last to arrive. Kitty was late because of her hair, which admittedly did always look soft and dream-like, and Evan was late because of his sleeping habits, or as he liked to say his 'separation anxiety' from his pillow.
"Okay we are going to do warm-up runs and then go over simulation B-4." Scott announced. Groans were heard from Kurt, Rouge, Evan, and Kitty. They had been doing that simulation for the past week but hadn't been able to get it right. They were all sick of the idea of having to do it again, but only Scott and Jean wouldn't voice their complaints.
"Why? We haven't been able to do it yet! Can't we try something else?" Evan complained.
"No! You need to learn to act as a team! Kitty you need to get your head out of the clouds, Rouge you need to let them help you, Kurt you need to learn to move with the group, and Evan you just need to actually try for once!" Logan yelled clicking the computer in place and signaling Scott to start the warm-ups.
It was true Kurt was having problems keeping a team mind set. It seemed like they always left him behind in one way or another. Rouge was the only one who was willing to actually take the time to help him if he fell behind and even then he could tell it was a forced effort on her part. But, he didn't resent them; in fact he envied them more than anything.
"Okay ready? And go!" Scott yelled. The team moved forward. Kurt tried to remain on Evan's flank, his position, but Evan moved around too suddenly and erratically for Kurt to predict his movements. Whenever Kurt would teleport to where they were headed he would end up standing at a check point without Evan.
This morning was no different. By 6:30AM everyone was tired, sore, and frustrated with the simulation still unconquered.
"Why didn't you block that net Kurt?" Kitty asked angrily as they headed back to their rooms. She had gotten hit with a net while Kurt had been teleporting Rouge out of the way of a laser. She blamed him only because Evan wasn't there to nag at, he had been given extra laps for slacking off. Kurt mumbled 'I'm sorry' all the way back to the halls. When Kitty had turned a corner to go back to her and Rouge's room Rouge stayed behind and patted Kurt's shoulder with her gloved hand.
"Don't let it get to you. You did good, okay?" She asked bending closer to him to try and see if he was really okay. Kurt smiled back.
"Come on! Like that little cat could get me down! She's just antsy because Lance didn't call her back. If you ask me she needs a hobby other than boys." Kurt joked shrugging off the harsh atmosphere. If there was one thing he was good at it was changing the topic. He could talk his way out of almost any awkward moment with a few light humorous words and a smile.
"Okay, well then see you at breakfast." Rouge said turning to go to her room. Kurt sighed as he made his way back to his room for a shower. Rouge was a good person. She was harsh to most but she had opened up to him mainly because of their shared history with Mystic. They had both been her children at one point and then abandoned. In an awkward way, that made Kurt's head hurt to try and rationalize, they were siblings.
Kurt walked back to his room and slipped out of his uniform and into the bathroom at the far side of his room. His steps were slow as we walked past the mirror above the sink. He stood sideways, the mirror on his left, not wanting to look. Every day it was the same. But maybe today? Maybe, just maybe, he would look and see something normal. 'The definition of insanity is doing the same action over and over and expecting a different outcome.' His mind quoted. Kurt smiled at this thought of insanity. Wouldn't it be great if he had just dreamed being a mutant? Wouldn't it be wonderful to wake up in a house with five fingers and five toes? Wouldn't it be grand to not be himself?
Kurt sighed as he turned his head to face the mirror, same old face, same old skin, and the same old tail. 'Guess I'm not far enough off the deep end yet…' Kurt thought jokingly before turning on the shower.
"Kurt! We're leaving in ten!" Scott's voice echoed from the hall. Kurt was already dried off, a feat that took him longer than most due to his fur. He had just pulled his shirt over his head before dashing to the door. Just as he was about to turn the knob his body frozen, his left wrist felt too light. Kurt glanced down and saw blue, not right. He dashed over to his bedside table and picked up the image inducer slapping it on his wrist before fiddling with the buttons on the side. A small whirring noise and it was set, his tail, gone, his skin, furless and white, his eyes, two dark brown lightless orbs.
"Kurt! I, like, want to get to school this century!" Kitty yelled. Kurt could almost see the pout on her face. BAMF!
"Kurt! Don't scare me like that!" Kitty gasped, his teleporting smoke driving her back.
"Hahaha! That's why you're never supposed to rush an elf; you never know when they'll get you back!" Kurt joked making a scary face before he teleported to the kitchen.
"Kurt, there you are. But, I guess I can't get angry with you since Kitty and Evan aren't even here yet." Scott said washing his plate in the sink. Rogue was munching on some toast while Jean poured herself another glass of orange juice.
"Any of those muffins Storm made still left?" Kurt asked zooming in on the bread cabinet.
"Yeah, there should be…" Scott answered. Kurt lit up at the promise of a good breakfast. He was just about to reach up to the cabinet when Evan swooped in front of him.
"Hey!" Kurt groaned, trying to get past Evan.
"Oh! Sorry Bro." Evan said turning around to speak to Kurt. Kurt saw muffin bits hanging from Evan's mouth. Kurt pushed past him and peeked into the cabinet, nothing left.
"Evan! Kurt was going to eat that!" Jean scolded Evan, though there was little she could do since half of it was already down his throat.
"Opps! Sorry man!" Evan said before following Scott out to the car.
"It's okay." Kurt said smiling as he grabbed an apple. "Hey, hey Rogue! Know what's worse than finding a worm in your apple? Finding half a worm in your apple!" Kurt joked slapping his knee in fake amusement at his own joke.
"Eww! That's gross Kurt! God, why are all guys so immature!" Rogue ranted before getting up and exiting the kitchen.
The smile hung from Kurt's face. It had become a mold, something he could easily slip in and out of to avoid that awkward pause of embarrassment. It always worked.
"Kurt! Where is everyone?" Kitty asked, out of breath from running.
"Where were you?" Kurt asked, raising one eyebrow.
"Ahh! My hair just wouldn't, you know, like, stay down! There was this one hair that just kept popping back up! So I had to-" Kitty gasped.
"Well, as interesting as your hair maintenance is, I don't want to be late. I think Scott might seriously leave us behind one of these times." Kurt interrupted.
"So they're in the garage!" Kitty said before spinning on her platform sandals and taking off towards the garage. Kurt sighed again shaking his head with a smile on his face before teleporting to the garage.
…
"Hey Professor! Professor!" Logan shouted pounding on the large double doors in the institute's basement. It was getting late and had already been an hour since Logan had been left to wait outside with nothing more than a promise of 'this won't take long'.
"Seriously I'm leaving now…" Logan whispered harshly, though he knew he wouldn't. Logan owed too much to the Professor, but that didn't mean that he didn't get angry with the Professor's mysterious ways at times.
"Logan." The Professor's voice floated out from behind the doors. Suddenly the large doors slid apart, revealing Professor Xavier. Logan looked away, ashamed at his earlier outburst.
"Professor you're not looking to good…" Logan said leaning closer to the Professor. It was true his face was pale and his brow had the gleam of sweat. Though Logan was not a scientist, by any stretch of the word, he knew that normally cerebro didn't take much out of Xavier.
"Logan, we need to ready the team, so prep the jet." With that the Professor sent Logan away.
"I didn't think she would do this…" Xavier said letting his overworked head fall into his hand.
…
"Everyone please assemble and come to the X-jet" the Professor's voice boomed into each of the student's heads.
Kurt rolled off of his bed where he had been reading a book for class, The Lord of the Flies, 'seriously' he thought, 'that guy must have been on a drug trip when he wrote this…' Kurt quickly changed into his uniform and teleported down to the basement level where everyone else was assembling.
"What do you think we're doing?" Kitty asked as she and Evan walked in.
"Kicking-butt and taking names, of course!" Evan yelled the smile of a Christmas day child planted on his face.
"No! I mean really!" Kitty said, her eyes getting frustrated at Evan's lack of answers. Kurt was well beyond trying to figure out what the Professor had planned. Even when the Professor explained it to them the situations would always change. No use trying to grab an invisible string.
"Everyone! Listen up! We are going to Michigan tonight! There is a mutant that we need to find! The Brotherhood is also there, so, be careful and above all else work as a team!" Logan shouted signaling them to board the jet.
"How did Lance and them get to Michigan so fast?" Kitty asked, her face heating up when she said Lance's name.
"Well, they weren't in school today…" Kurt offered.
"Well, duh! But, like, how did they know to go there?" Kitty retorted, this time aiming the question for the Professor.
"This is a mutant that Magneto and I have been watching for some time. He finally decided to make his move tonight and we need to stop him from getting to her before convinces her that she should go with him." Xavier answered.
"Enough questions! You have your orders now let's move!" Logan shouted. Kurt could tell he was eager to have a second round with Magneto.
Everyone climbed in and buckled up as Logan took the controls.
"This mutant must be something big for the Professor to come with us…" Kurt heard Jean whisper to Scott as the jet took off. Kurt had always enjoyed riding in the jet, the smooth sounds of the air whipping past them coupled with the slight vibrations from the roaring engine served to rock him into a half sleeping state. He felt comfortable like this.
"We're landing in ten minutes so everyone get ready!" Logan yelled over the speaker system.
"Now, you need to exercise caution when approaching this mutant." The Professor explained, "She is very unstable and most likely will not trust us right away-"
"If at all…" Logan's voice whispered over the intercom followed by a, "Damn! Sorry Professor." Before the speakers clicked off.
Kitty and Evan giggled at Logan's mistake while Jean and Scott seemed to get nervous. Rogue had sat next to Kurt and while she looked anxious, there was no other hint of emotion in her face.
Kurt envied her ability to keep up a poker face. He was sure that the fear and unease of this new mutant showed on his.
The jet landed in a large park and the team got off the jet, Logan sniffed and snorted out the cold air in a huffed breath. Kurt tried to keep himself warm by moving his body around, shifting his stance as they waited for orders.
"Why can't we have jackets?" Kitty moaned out, shivering.
"Because, within ten minutes of running you would be overheated. Just let your body get used to the air, you will be moving soon." The Professor explained as he wheeled out of the jet.
"You're coming too Professor?" Scott asked taking a protective stance towards Xavier.
"I have to. Don't worry about me just focus on the team; it will be a difficult task to bring her down." The Professor said putting his fingers to his temples to get a reading on the beings around.
"What did he mean 'bring down?'" Rogue asked Kurt in a whisper as the Professor concentrated. Kurt too had been wondering about the Professor's word choice. Usually he fought for peace and non-violence whenever he could, yet he had clearly said to 'bring her down' a term usually coupled with acts of violence.
"I'm not sure…" Kurt answered his brow furrowing. Was the mutant dangerous enough to need to be sedated? Kurt thought of Juggernaut in his watery tube. Juggernaut had been deemed too dangerous to be kept conscious for more than a few seconds; would this mutant be like that?
"Okay, Scott, take Kurt and Evan with you and swing to the left. Jean you take Kitty and Rogue with you and go to the right. We are going about fifty meters to the north into a relatively residential area. Keep hidden and try to stay away from the people as best you can. Logan and I will follow your groups and when you have cornered her I will sedate her. Her name is Natalie and she can sift object through her body, do not let her touch you. We are unsure of whether or not she can take in living things and I don't want any of you to test that theory tonight." The Professor explained, once more rubbing his temples.
"How will the Prof sedate it? Does he have a gun or something?" Evan asked Scott as they began to walk up a small poorly lit road.
"No, dummy, the Professor can use his mind to send her into an unconscious state." Scott explained, putting emphasis on the 'her', obviously bothered by Evan's 'it'.
The road was littered with small piles of snow and fields of frost. Kurt thought it must be at least 2am by now; hopefully most of the people in the area would be asleep.
The air was indeed cold, but just as the Professor had said a few minutes of them jogging down the street and he was sweating.
"Whoa! Look at that!" Evan shouted stopping in his tracks at a poorly lit street corner. Kurt could see the splintered large wooden fence not ten feet from them.
"Shut up Evan!" Scott scolded him, taking an aggressive step towards Evan, "did you forget the Professor told us to-" Scott's rant was cut short by what he and Kurt saw.
"See? Weird huh?" Evan asked as Kurt and Scott took tentative steps towards the odd mass that was sitting in the hole of the fence. Upon closer inspection Kurt saw that the malformed lump was a mixture of metal, sticks, and other unidentifiable objects. All in all it looked like a modern art piece formed with intense heat and a twisted artist's mind.
"Do you think it did this?" Evan asked looking from Scoot to Kurt.
"I-I don't know but from what the Professor told us it does seem like she would be capable…" Scott answered returning to his soft jog up the street. Kurt and Evan fell in line behind him. Unease swept through Kurt's mind. This mutant was strong, and obviously out of control.
"Head West! We found the Brotherhood!" the Professor's orders slammed through their heads. Usually the Professor was gentler with his telepathic orders, but this sent a trill of pain up Kurt's spine and propelled him to his left, following Scott, down a narrow dirt road that lead to a large ancient barn surrounded by a dark field.
"Jean?" Scott yelled. Kurt could see her form floating above the barn as she threw an abandoned tractor with her telepathy at a sliver blur whizzing around below her.
"Scott! Help! The Brotherhood is already here! They chased the girl out to the house in the field!" Jean yelled finally hitting her target with a rundown muffler.
Kurt heard Pietro's muffled grunt as he struggled under the weight of the old piece of metal.
"Hah! Not so quick now are you!" Evan yelled as they ran past Pietro, who in turn shouted obstinacies back.
"Quiet Evan!" Scott yelled picking up their pace as they raced to the large broken house in the field. Jean flew above them as loud booms and cracks reached their ears.
Kurt's breath flew behind him as he sprang forward. He felt the soil rock beneath him and heard Evan hit the ground from the unexpected shifting of the earth. 'Damn, why can't Lance learn to control himself?' Kurt thought as he picked up his pace springing in from of Scott. There was a town not half a mile away, they would eventually feel the tremors and come to investigate, just what they didn't need.
"Kurt, go around back!" Scott yelled motioning for Evan and Jean to follow him to the front of the house.
The long grass tickled Kurt's racing figure. It nearly engulfed him, leaving only his head to poke out over the dried meadow. As he ran around the house he realized how massive the thing was. Though it was obviously decaying, what with half of the roof already caved in, it still held an old world charm in its three stories of ancient white washed wood.
"She's in the house!" the Professor's words were frantic and left an aching in Kurt's head. It took a lot to shake up the Professor and it scared Kurt to think that a mutant of the Professor's caliber was fearful of what Kurt was supposed to head off.
"Stop!" Jean's hysterical voice called as a large boom was heard at the other end of the house. Kurt crouched down as debris flew around him. A large beam landed not three feet from him with a sickening thud. He jumped up to see the house trembling. It looked so strange. The whole thing was literally shivering back and forth, as though it was trying to warm itself from the cold air. The unnatural shuddering only lasted a few seconds though before the rest of the roof collapsed sending a loud cracking sound through the cold night air. 'Someone had to have heard that…' Kurt thought his head turning from the house to the small town they had run past in the distance. He longed to run into the fight he could hear from his weeded hiding spot. But, he had to stay hidden here in case the mutant escaped the house and he needed to chase her.
"Get back here you stupid bitch!" Lance bellowed from the back door of the crumbling house. Kurt perked up and watched as the grass parted to his left. And he was off. His speed was unmatched, except by Pietro, and he felt the adrenaline rush coarse through his body as he spurred himself forward.
"Natalie! Please stop!" Kitty yelled about twenty feet behind Kurt. The rest of the team was tailing him as well. Kurt followed the dark parting of the tall grass in front of him. Suddenly Kurt heard a scuffled stop ahead of him.
"Hey! Stop running already!" Logan shouted. His gruff voice came from the same place of the abrupt stop. Had Logan caught her?
Kurt burst from the grass to find a barren section of the meadow. It was here that Logan was slowly approaching a figure cloaked in an oversized coat. Kurt stood stark still, not wanting to scare her away if Logan really had calmed her in some way.
"Whoa!" Kitty grunted as she ran into Kurt's back, sending them both sprawling forward into the hard dirt. Kurt spat out the rocky chunks of earth that had forced their way into his mouth as Kitty rolled off of him.
"What the he-" Logan began. Kurt saw him turn his head to face the racket Kurt and Kitty had just made when Logan was suddenly thrown into the air. Kurt watched him fall to the ground, barely able to catch himself as he landed.
"Natalie! Please you don't have to do this, we won't hurt you…" Jean said stepping into view from the other side of the clearing. Kurt's eyes swept back to where Logan had been standing not seconds before. In his place there was a large malformed boulder. His gaze swept to the figure standing behind the boulder, he could barely make out a long mass of flowing hair in the darkness. His face fell to the ground and then he saw them, two little bare feet shifting behind the boulder. 'It's freezing out but she doesn't have shoes?' He asked himself shaking his head to clear his wandering thoughts.
"It's okay Natalie… We really won't hurt you…" Jean's calm voice floated into the cold air. She was slowly stepping closer and closer to the figure hidden in the shadows of the moon.
It only took a second for everything to fall, literally fall. A surge went through the earth and shook the team's balance sending them sprawling to the ground.
"Move it kiddies!" Lance yelled running over the still shaking ground past Kurt and towards the girl.
It was a split second decision, one that he really should have thought over, really should have remembered the Professor's warning, 'Don't let her touch you.' But instinct took over and Kurt teleported next to the dark figure and wrapped an arm around her before teleporting again.
The loud Bamf of his return teleport sounded from the nearby woods. Kurt still had his hand on her arm. She was surprisingly small, her head barley reaching his shoulders. He released her suddenly realizing that he was touching her, the previous warning jumping through his head. The second he let go of her she was off, running into the woods. Kurt swore softly before turning to run after her.
He wouldn't have seen it. He wouldn't have even noticed if the moon hadn't escaped from its cloudy prison just then, he wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't whipped her hair back in that instant. But, all of those things did happen. And in a second he saw the long pearly white stands of her hair glow in the moonlight, bringing a painful memory to the surface of his mind.
"Natalie!" Jean shouted as she and Scott ran into the woods whipping past Kurt's frozen figure. He was in a state of shock. Could it be?
"Kurt, man, come on! Why did you let her go?" Evan shouted as he ran past Kurt. Kurt shook his head, trying to put the scarred memories to rest. He began running and teleporting through the forest after her.
There were tons of mutants with white hair right? Heck, Strom for one. 'There is no way, just no freaking way…' He chided himself. But his pace quickened as he teleported around a tree. He was nearing the rest of the team. They had her cornered near a large river that roared with gushing water and deep rapids.
"Natalie, just calm down, we can talk this out…" Jean said trying again with a soft approach. Kurt stopped short of the river looking to his right at the girl. The moon was still shining and he could easily see her long white hair flowing in the chilled breeze. Her face was obscured by her wild hair, though, leaving Kurt to sift his weight to try and get a glimpse. His every fiber wanted it to be true. He wanted it to be her, to be his Nym.
"See, we won't hurt you Natalie…" Jean said talking another step closer. They had the girl cornered against the rushing river, its rapids shouting of watery graves for those that would try to cross it.
The movement was slick, fluid. The girl's left hand went to a nearby fallen tree that dangled over the river while her right hand shot out towards Jean. It resembled a hose. The kind that Storm used to water her gardens behind the institute. The wood from the tree in her one hand flowed out of her other one, straight at Jean. The stream of distorted bark hit Jean like a battering ram, sending her flying back to the ground. In a flash the girl had turned on her foot and leapt onto the dead tree, backing herself out to its thin limbs that dangled over the river.
"No! Natalie come down!" Kitty pleaded running towards the girl. The girl didn't even perk up at her name; instead she took another step back, the thin tree branch creaking under her. The wind shifted ever so slightly bringing the girl's hair around to blow behind her. That was when Kurt saw them, two milky red eyes, set in a sad downward stare.
"Nym!" Kurt screamed out, his lungs going empty from the force of his voice. The girl's head shot up instantly, she looked right at him, her eyes wide with shock. Abruptly, the tree gave one last groan before the branch broke all together.
Time didn't stop, it moved, but barely. Kurt watched as seconds became hours. The branch broke and her face crumbled as her body began to fall. She was looking right at him, her brow knit together not in fear but an ancient regret that Kurt had tried to push out of his mind.
He didn't even really feel himself teleport, didn't feel his mind tell his body to do it. Suddenly he was next to her, falling with her towards the river. His arms wrapped around her and he felt his feet hit the icy water before he teleported again, sending them both falling onto the springy grass near the edge of the river.
"Kurt? Are you okay?" Evan gasped, hovering over him. Kurt felt her body in his arms, so small, so small and still. Still? It was true she hadn't moved since they had hit the ground. Kurt quickly rolled her head towards him, her limp neck sending him into panic.
"Get away from her! Remember what the Professor said?" Kitty yelled grabbing Kurt's arm and pulling him from her. Kurt struggled against Kitty finally pushing her away before he leapt back to Nym's side. He put his hands on her face feeling her cold sweaty skin.
"Is she…?" Evan asked looking over Kurt's shoulder.
"No! No! Sh-she can't!" Kurt cried out putting his head down to her mouth, he could feel it. He could feel the air slowly slipping in and out of her lips, she was alive.
"She's okay, just unconscious I think…" Kurt explained taking his head away from her mouth to inspect the rest of her. His hands immediately flew to her head, checking her for any serious injuries. As his fingers drifted to the back of her head he felt a warm sticky liquid coat his hand. She was bleeding.
"Help! Help her!" Kurt shouted at his team, cradling her in his arms. Logan jogged from the edge of the forest with Rogue following him, limping slightly from his earlier encounter with the girl.
"Move it elf." Logan grunted as he bent down over the girl and shoved his hand over her wound. Kurt watched in horror as Logan roughly turned her this way and that.
"Stop it! You'll hurt her!" Kurt shouted putting himself between her and Logan to stop Logan's inspection.
"Relax! She's fine the cut on her head ain't even that deep." Logan said moving away from her, shaking his hands of her blood. Kurt grabbed her again and pulled her close to him.
"Come on! We need to get her back to the Professor before she comes to." Logan ordered, rubbing his hurt side before stalking back through the forest.
"Kurt? Do…do you know her?" Kitty asked taking a step away from him.
"Enough! We need to get back." Scott said harshly, one of Jean's arms slung over his shoulders to help her hobble back through the forest. Evan followed them hurriedly. Kitty moved away from him slowly, distrust in her eyes. Kurt couldn't believe how they were treating her, just because she had hurt them in her misplaced fear. Heck, tons of other mutants had attacked them before! Many of them now lived at the institute!
"Rogue can you help me? I don't want to move her head too much." Kurt asked pulling one of Nym's limp arms over his own shoulder, trying to keep her head still. Rogue didn't move at first, she just stood there, her arms wrapped around herself, a guarded expression on her face.
"What's wrong with you! She's hurt! Are you going to help me or not?" Kurt yelled, frustration breaking his patience. Rogue jumped back from his words but stepped closer to him, carefully taking her other arm and holding it away from herself. Kurt huffed angrily before he snatched Nym's arm out of Rogue's light grip and cradled Nym in his arms. He hadn't wanted to carry her this way, her neck lolled around too much for his comfort. He began his angry walk back through the forest, Rogue followed behind him, not saying a word. Kurt glanced over his shoulder to look at Rogue. Her expression shocked him. Her eyes were facing downwards and her mouth was set in a pouting grimace. It was an expression he knew all too well that re-opened old wounds; it was a look of disgust.