Disclaimers on chapter 1
-*#*-
-The Brotherhood escaped after levelling a street of abandoned warehouses. Still at large, the Sena-
Having heard enough about the damage those freaks were making, Warren Worthington II turned off the television in his private study.
Today had not been a good day for him. During Senator Robert Kelly's press conference earlier today, Worthington's latest invention for hunting down mutants like those on the evening news went rampant through the public crowd. Not only was it found looking like it had shot itself, the project was shut down seeing as it was unpredictable.
Fortunately, Worthington was a patient man. He would just wait until this Brotherhood or another group of freaks attacked the Senator. In the man's rage to wipe all mutants off the world, Kelly would demand that the project be restarted, the registration act would be signed and the money in Worthington's pockets would be holding its usual capacity.
As he made to leave his study, Worthington was surprised when a jeep suddenly ploughed through the wall. When the dust settled, Worthington saw six mutants staring at him. Quicksilver, the leader of the Brotherhood who could move at light speed; Domino, a sharpshooter who could change probabilities; Toad, apparently named after his toad-like appearance and powers; Blob, a giant of a mutant with inhuman strength; Avalanche, a foreigner from across the seas who could create tremors through the supersonic sound waves his hands emitted and one other girl Worthington did not remember on their team. But was the insignia on her jacket that of the X-men?
"What do you want?" He asked as he backed away before Quicksilver intercepted him.
"You've got Kelly's ear, we want the rest of him" Quicksilver replied stepping towards the millionaire making him back up into Avalanche. "Where is he?"
"I'm not telling you anything" Worthington spat at the man before finding himself clasped in the earthquake maker's grip.
"Au contraire, you're going to tell us everything" As Quicksilver spoke the girl in the jacket bearing the X-men insignia stepped forward removing one of her yellow gloves in the process. When the girl's uncovered hand touched Worthington's cheek, he felt as if he was being drained of his energy.
~#~
Kurt stretched his arms as high as they could as he walked into the kitchen sighing in content when he felt the kinks disappear amidst a cluster of clicks emanating from his spine. Pouring himself a cup of hot coffee from the recently come to boil pot, he sat himself down at the table where Bobby was currently finishing off his bowl of cereal.
"So" Bobby muttered round a mouth full of frosted flakes before swallowing. "Did she kill you, or bring you back to life?"
"A gentleman does not discuss such things. Und when I say gentleman, I mean in how they treat the ladies not appearances" Kurt added when he saw Bobby open his mouth to comment causing the ice manipulator to pout.
"Spoilsport" He muttered before bringing his cereal bowl to his lips and draining it of its remaining milk.
Kurt shook his head. Out of everybody who experienced the explosion, Bobby seemed to be the least affected by it. Kurt was both happy and jealous of the teen because of it, happy that someone managed to stay themselves whilst jealous that the explosion took away his sense of humour and replaced it with a sense of responsibility.
"But seriously" Bobby continued oblivious to the elf's musings as he put down his bowl. "You and Kitty were awfully quiet in your room. Either you two did nothing or Josh's work force made the bedrooms really sound proof"
That got a chuckle out of Kurt. "All we did last night was hold each other close whilst we slept. Perhaps next week, you will have to use ear plugs"
Bobby laughed out loud at that. He knew that Kurt had changed but he still had that optimistic side of him that he was known for.
"Hey, remember when we first met Kitty?" He asked chuckling causing Kurt to chuckle too as the memory came to mind.
-#-
"You sure Scott won't be mad at us when we do this?" Bobby asked Kurt as they went over the plans for their latest prank. "You know how fond of that convertible he is"
"Nien" Kurt replied waving away the concern his partner in crime seemed to have. "Ve both know that Jean and him are holding candles for von another. This is just a test for him to show vhat's more important to him; a red haired fraulien or a red hot sportwagen"
Bobby conceded to the elf's logic. Apparently Scott and Jean were going out for breakfast together and Kurt had decided to prank the fearless leader in a way that would get them together if Scott played his cards right; in other words care less for the car and be content for being with the girl of his dreams.
As the two of them discussed the finer points of how and when to fill the keyholes with chewing gum, a girl several months younger than Bobby had heard their voices as she came down the stairs and was now trying to see what they were up to by leaning over the banister. The girl was barely able to gasp as she suddenly fell through the banister and landed squarely in Kurt's arms whilst the elf in question stared at what he had caught by pure luck.
"Talk about dropping in on someone" Bobby commented as he looked to where the girl had fallen from.
"Sorry about that" the girl apologised barely audible as she was gently placed back on her feet by Kurt. "I only just got here so my powers are still not under my control yet"
"No vorries" Kurt chuckled as he recovered from the shock of a girl suddenly appearing in his arms. "Ve haff newcomers dropping in all the time"
The girl laughed at his pun and Kurt found that the sound of her laughter made his heart flutter until it nearly stopped when the girl got a good look at him yet did not seem at all disturbed judging by her smile.
"I take it you're the carefree optimistic one in the place?" She asked in good humour.
"Trust me when I say that this guy can make anyone smile, except maybe Logan" Bobby joked before introducing himself. "I'm Bobby, and your furry saviour there is Kurt"
"Pleased to meet you, boys. I'm Katherine, but in school everyone called me Kitty" the girl said turning back to Kurt and noticing he was frowning about something. "Something the matter?"
Kurt shook his head realising he had been lost in thought. "It's nothing really Kitty; it's just that...vell...vhy aren't you running avay from me?"
Kitty looked confused as she gave Kurt a look over before replying. "Why should I be running from a fuzzy elf?"
At the girl's question, both boys felt their eyes widen. Bobby mouthed what Kitty had called Kurt before cracking up and doubled over as he began laughing his head off.
-#-
"I was called that by everyone there for two weeks before it was only her that called me that" Kurt sighed remembering that whenever anyone other than Kitty calling him a fuzzy elf made his left ear twitch irritably for some odd reason.
"You also still couldn't pronounce the letter W yet either" Bobby reminded him.
"You should have heard me seven years ago when I first got here" Kurt countered. "Couldn't pronounce W's and the th syllable plus my speech was half German half English whenever the words sounded the same"
"Bet that got a few heads rolling" Bobby chuckled as he imagined Kurt trying to talk to someone not versed in the German lingo.
There was a moment of silence as Kurt finished off his coffee whilst Bobby looked round the kitchen as if trying to find any differences between this mansion and the old one.
"Say Kurt, you're not going to disappear again, are you?" Bobby suddenly asked out of the blue suddenly all serious like.
Kurt blinked several times at the question. "What brought this on all of a sudden?"
"Ever since we disbanded, or rather ever since you told me and Kitty to go home, she hasn't been the same" Bobby explained looking Kurt dead in the eye.
"She may have been able to hide it, but Kitty wasn't herself from that day on. Sure, she seemed all cheerful and that during our talks via webcam but not knowing where you were, knew that you weren't gonna be there for her, it really hurt her. When Logan told us yesterday that you were already at the mansion, she seemed to perk up. I could tell that she was back to normal when I heard her slap you, made wince just hearing it"
Kurt was dumbstruck. He knew that Kitty would have taken the separation hard, but he never thought that it would make her a shell of her former self.
"What I'm trying to say is, break her heart and I'll deepfreeze you so bad that you'll thaw after mine and Kitty's great, great grandchildren have grandchildren" Bobby finished.
"Couldn't you just say you'll freeze me until hell freezes over?" Kurt asked nearly face planting the table at Bobby's lame threat.
"Sorry, threats ain't my speciality" Bobby chuckled weakly as he rubbed the back of his head. "I just wanted to make sure you got the message"
Kurt chuckled before teleporting behind Bobby and leaning his arm on the blonde's head. "Do you remember what Kitty did to me when I accidentally used and finished the whole bottle of her favourite shampoo two years ago?"
Bobby snorted before managing to clamp his mouth shut. One of the downsides to having fur was that it took nearly a whole bottle of shampoo to clean. However, Kurt had accidentally used Kitty's favourite brand and she only knew it was him because of the blue strands of hair sticking to the empty bottle. In revenge, the next time Kurt was having a shower Kitty added some colour dye to the bottle of shampoo was using resulting in Kurt holing in his room for a week until his fur lost its pinkness. It was a pity that Kitty had managed to snap a few pictures of him before he teleported to his room.
"Now that was for something small" Kurt continued knowing that Bobby had remembered judging by the look on his face. "Imagine what she will do to me if I break her heart"
Both Kurt and Bobby winced. The two of them knew that when Kitty got mad it was best to run away before being used to vent off steam, if you were the reason she got mad you had better have a will and testament drawn up before she sunk her claws into you.
"Point taken" Bobby acknowledged praying that Kurt was not stupid enough to do that. "Say, where is she anyway?"
"Probably just getting up" Kurt shrugged. "It is only eight in the morning, and Kitty never was an early riser on a weekend"
~#~
Kitty had no other choice than to open one eye when she rolled over and could not feel the soft fur of her new boyfriend sleeping beside her. Seeing the bed devoid of her fuzzy elf, she grumbled something about early risers before deciding to get up herself. Quickly gathering her clothes and making her way to the bathroom across the hall, Kitty allowed herself to look back over last night as she left the warm water flow over her.
-#-
"As you can see, the place is basically just a replica of the old mansion" Kurt commented as he gave her a tour of her new home.
Kitty nodded as she looked around. The place had a certain nostalgic feel about it despite being new and it made her feel slightly uncomfortable.
"Feels like I never left yet at the same time like I just arrived here" Kitty noted as she squeezed Kurt's hand tighter.
Kurt understood what she mean, having experienced it himself when Joshua gave him, Logan and Hank a tour of the place when it was just an empty building.
"You'll get used to it eventually" He said whilst squeezing her hand in reassurance.
The two of them continued through the mansion until they stopped in front of one of the bedrooms.
"Here is your room milady" Kurt said in a gentlemanly way as he opened the door to Kitty's room. "It's bare for the moment, but once we've got everything sorted I'm sure you'll have-"
Kurt stopped mid speech when he realised that he was talking to himself. Looking round Kurt realised that Kitty had apparently walked off or phased through the floor probably to find Logan and Hank and ask about what they've been up to or interrogate Joshua. He was therefore surprised when he entered his own room to find Kitty sitting on his bed as she tested its firmness.
"Uh what are you doing?" He asked confusedly.
"Testing how comfy the bed is" Kitty answered the 'duh' was unsaid but the way she said it definitely implied it.
"That I can see I was actually referring as to why you are in my room" Kurt specified.
"You mean our room" Kitty corrected. "There is no way that I am letting you get away from me after being separated for a year"
"But... why?" Kurt asked as he sat down beside her. "Like you said, we haven't seen each other in a year. Plus the way we parted was me practically yelling at you to go home"
"And you were punished accordingly" Kitty smoothly replied neglecting to tell him that her hand smarted from slapping him as she straddled his lap surprising Kurt slightly but placing his arms round her waist all the same. "Kurt, I've had feelings for you since before the explosion but I never thought that you would reciprocate them. Now that I know you love me to, I just want to make sure that, every day I wake up, what happened before was not a dream"
Kurt nodded in understanding as he hugged Kitty tightly before moving back slightly so that he could gaze into her sky blue orbs as a grin appeared on his furry features. "I hope that's not your only reason"
Despite feeling the blood rush to her cheeks, Kitty smiled back at the grinning elf. "And if it isn't?" She asked coyly only to feel herself melting as Kurt pressed his lips to her own.
-#-
Kitty sighed contently as she finished getting her clothes on. The only downside she could think of her new relationship with Kurt so far was that he was not beside her when she woke up. Then again, Kurt had always been an early bird. She would have to remember to either hold him more tightly tonight or tie his tail to her, that or just ask him to stay in bed holding her until she woke up herself.
"Buongiorno, Piccina" Joshua greeted her as she stepped out of the bathroom. "I hope you managed to...sleep well last night"
'Boy did I' Kitty thought to herself understanding the feline's meaning. "It was a little uncomfortable to get used to in the beginning, but in the end it was extremely pleasant for both of us"
Kitty managed to refrain from giggling out loud at the look on Joshua's face. The poor guy seemed to having trouble figuring out if she was referring to getting to sleep or being intimate. As much as she wanted it to be the latter, Kitty and Kurt had basically just fallen asleep in each other's arms. There was always tonight and beyond she reasoned.
"By the way" Kitty continued as the two of them made their way to the kitchen, "Sorry about walking off like that when we first met"
"It is fine, Piccina" Joshua waved away her concern. "Amour always has more priority than amitie"
Kitty blinked in confusion at the once successor of one of the most financial businesses known to date. "How many languages do you know?"
"English, French, German, Italian, some Latin and Spanish" Joshua replied. "Familiar with any?"
"You kidding?" Kitty snorted. "I have to keep asking Kurt to repeat whatever Kurt says in German into English, sometimes more than once for the same sentence. I think he just does that to annoy me now that I think about it"
The two of them continued to ask questions about each other until they reached the kitchen where Kurt and Bobby were apparently discussing something about the big cats.
"He's as fast as a cheetah and agile as a leopard, going by what I saw when I first met him" Kurt said to Bobby niether noticing who was behind them.
"If he's anything like you, he'll also be stealthy so that adds the panther to the mix" Bobby added. "And isn't a jaguar supposed to be powerful grip wise or something?"
"Considering how far that Mardy flew when he kicked him, we'll just say he has a jaguar's power and his strength is from a Lion"
"So we've got a cheetah, a jaguar, a leopard, a lion, a panther...what about tiger?"
Kurt thought about it for a second. "Cunning?"
The two of them looked at one another before shaking their heads in sync. "Nah/Nien, appearance"
Kitty could no longer hold it in and laughed at the two of them. Seeing them discussing something then simultaneously shaking their heads and agreeing to something else at the same time reminded her of all the times they planned their pranks. Her laughter brought the two of them to realise they were not alone and turned to the doorway where they saw Joshua and Kitty standing there.
"Don't mind us Josh, we're just talking about which of the big cats you got what from" Bobby said earning a glare from Kurt making him realise he was not supposed to say that as the other two made their way to the table.
Before anyone else could say anything Beast suddenly appeared in the doorway looking concerned. "Would you four mind coming down to the basement? We have a problem brewing"
~#~
"Rogue!" Bobby nearly shouted when he saw who was in the briefing room with Logan.
"I knew you'd come back" Kitty exclaimed as she went to hug her best friend before both Bobby and her were stopped by a look from Logan. Rogue meanwhile, was staring at Kurt in disbelief as if she was not expecting him to be here.
"Everyone get suited up" Logan ordered them. "I'll explain everything on the way"
Everyone apart from Kurt complied with the order whilst the elf stared at Rogue in concern. Did he imagine it, or did he see shock flit across her face for a brief instant?
"So, ah hear you're thah big cheese around here now" She said as she walked up to him and gave him a quick hug. "Or at least one of 'em"
"I handle matters that Logan can't handle, which is anything that doesn't include tearing something to pieces" He whispered the last part in her ear causing her to snort.
"Well regardless of thah chain of command, yah better listen to thah man's orders" she said as she pointed in the direction of the locker room.
When Kurt disappeared and left Rogue all alone in the briefing room, did she finally let the worry show on her face. She never expected to see Kurt; she had thought that Logan was trying to reunite the X-men. She was actually going to regret this.
~#~
"So the Brotherhood's gonna attack Kelly at his press conference?" Iceman asked disbelievingly after Rogue had finished explaining what she had done last night with the group as the team headed towards the warehouse the press conference was being held at in the MRD chopper they had procured.
"If those Dummkopfs even succeed in injuring him, that registration act of his will be put through before the week is terminar" Tigerhawk stated.
"Then we'll just have to stop them before they do" Wolverine said. "Regardless of what they think of us"
"Something doesn't feel right about this" Nightcrawler muttered as he thought over what Rogue said. "But I just can't pin it"
"You're just afraid you'll mess up in front of Kitty" Iceman joked as he coated himself in ice whilst Nightcrawler raised an eyebrow at him.
"Says the teen who probably hasn't exercised at all since his last mission" Nightcrawler teased back.
"Come on boys" Shadowcat said stepping between them. "Don't go fighting over me now"
"Can it you three!" Wolverine growled at them wiping the grins off their faces. "This is no time to be kidding about"
"Looks like somebody didn't get their coffee this morning" Iceman muttered to Nightcrawler.
"You don't want to see him when he doesn't get his beer" Nightcrawler whispered in return.
~#~
"We got X-men!" Toad hollered down to Domino from where he was perched on a billboard once the MRD chopper the X-men were flying flew past.
Domino grinned before jumping from the roof of the building she was on and landing on the fire escape stairs. Hanging from the rail by her legs alone, Domino aimed her rifle at one of the windows to the ware house and fired all but one of the golf ball sized BB pellets in the clip at it. Smashing through the glass, the balls ricocheted from one overhanging light to the next causing mass panic in the crowd below.
As the MRD soldiers outside ran in to see what was going on, the chopper containing the X-men arrived.
"We're too late!" Rogue exclaimed causing Wolverine to growl.
"Shadowcat, phase us in!" He barked.
"Better hold on to something" She advised before phasing herself through the bottom of the chopper until all but her hands were hanging out from under it.
Putting all her concentration into phasing the chopper and its passengers, the MRD soldiers down on the ground gaped as the chopper went straight through the wall so that it was hovering inside the warehouse.
"Go, go, go!" Beast barked as he kept the chopper hovering.
The X-men needed no second telling. The moment the side door to the chopper opened, the X-men jumped out one after the other bar Nightcrawler who teleported out and Iceman who created an ice slide and went flying over the soldiers head distracting them from the rest of his teammates freezing several of their weapons as he went.
The moment Tigerhawk landed he performed a capoeira flare that sent several soldiers to the ground. Using the momentum of his last move, he then did two spin kicks one after another sending two more solders down. Wolverine, whilst not as fluid as Tigerhawk, was cutting down MRD soldiers just as effectively whereas Nightcrawler was a blur as he teleported from one soldier to the next after punching, kicking or throwing them into one another creating mass confusion among the troops. One of the guards he sent flying would have struck Shadowcat if she was tangible but instead went through her and slammed into the soldier she was fighting.
Whilst the fighting was going on inside, Domino had set her sights on the chopper Beast was piloting and firing her last shot at it. The chances of that steel sphere hitting the chopper in the right place to cut its engine were a million to one, but with Domino's power to change probabilities all bets were off as it struck bull's-eye.
Realising that he was going down, Beast jumped out of the chopper whilst Nightcrawler teleported into it and teleported it outside where it crashed into the ocean. Teleporting back inside before impact, Nightcrawler went down on one knee as he regained his breath. One soldier noticed this and aimed his rifle at him only to gasp as Shadowcat phased through him taking the gun with her before using it as a bat to knock him out.
"Remind me again, why I'm always saving your tail?" She asked the furry mutant as she helped him get back up.
"Because you like what it's attached to?" Nightcrawler asked uncertainly before suddenly darting forward and punching the soldier that was about to strike Shadowcat from behind.
Meanwhile, whilst Tigerhawk and Beast finished off the remainder of the soldiers, Wolverine scanned the now empty building.
"There not here" he muttered seeing none of the Brotherhood or Rogue. "X-men, let's go!"
Seconds later, Nightcrawler had teleported Wolverine and Beast into an abandoned alley just outside whilst Iceman suddenly came out the wall on his ice-slide with Shadowcat and Tigerhawk hitching a ride
"We were set up" Wolverine growled as they took off down the back alleys towards the mansion. "The Brotherhood used Rogue"
"More like Rogue tricked us" Tigerhawk said with a heavy heart. "She disappeared the moment we started fighting"
"Does this mean she's our enemy now?" Iceman asked hoping he was wrong.
"I hope to God she's not, but circumstances suggest otherwise" Nightcrawler answered.
~#~
"Nice job" Domino complimented Rogue when the former X-men entered the Brotherhood's hideout.
"Yeah, in one fell swoop you set up the X-men and proved your loyalty to the Brotherhood" Quicksilver added. "Welcome aboard"
Rogue just grinned, feeling that she finally felt where she belonged.
-*#*-
Sportwagen=sports car
Buongiorno, Piccina=Good morning, little one
Amour=love
Amitie=friendship
Terminar=finished/over
-*#*-
Review if possible & 'til next time
Watch this space & peace out