Chapter Seven: Problems Arising

The three of them finally returned to the X-Mansion. Kitty was shivering terribly, her teeth chattering harder than ever.

"Are w-we there y-yet?" she asked.

"We are," Logan told her.

Rogue put Kitty's arm around her neck to help her with the broken ankle. "Come on, I got you," she said.

"I'll be parking this thing," Logan told the girls. "You know where the infirmary is, right, Rogue?"

"Yes, I do."

"Good. Take her there and I'll meet you guys. Xavier should be there by now."

As he piloted the Blackbird away from them, Kitty turned to Rogue. "I-I'm so c-c-cold," she told her.

"I know. Come on, I got you. Just hold on to me as we get up the steps here." Although it was a little painful for the both of them, they finally made it.

As they entered the foyer, some of the students looked at them strangely, wondering what was going on.

"Are you guys okay?" Bobby asked.

"Yes, we are," Rogue told him. "Kitty doesn't do well in the cold, so she's freezing up right now. That's all."

Rogue and Kitty finally reached the infirmary, where Professor X, Storm, and Jean were waiting for them.

"There they are," Professor X said. "Oh dear, Kitty, you're turning blue! What happened?"

"I'll explain once we get Kitty warm and Logan returns," Rogue said to him. "Please, just hurry!"

"Jean, go get a warm blanket!" Professor X commanded. She ran over to a cabinet and took one out.

As Jean draped it around Kitty, Rogue laid her down on one of the infirmary beds. At the same time as she did so, Logan appeared in one of the entranceways.

"Now tell me, what happened?" Professor X asked.

It was Rogue who began explaining the events.

"After Kitty took out four muggers to save a woman, she and I decided that I'd come and get her in about 30 minutes, and by then, her teeth had already started chattering. I guess she saw this robot on the dock, and when she went to check it out, it came to life and realized somehow that she was a mutant. She asked me to come and help, and when I arrived, it realized that I, too, was a mutant. I told Kitty to run, but the robot hit her. When she landed on the ground, her ankle broke and she fell down into the river."

"Where is this robot now?" Jean asked her.

"I took its head off. I got Kitty out of the river, met up with Logan, and now we're back over here."

"Did either of you see a name on the robot?" Storm asked.

"Y-yes," Kitty said. "It s-said T-Trask In-Industries. I d-don't know w-what that m-means, though."

"I know what it means," Logan said. "It means that they're at it again."

"Who?" asked Rogue.

"Bolivar Trask and William Stryker. Both of them made me into the Wolverine. They gave me these claws."

"I know what this creature is!" Professor X gasped. "It's a Sentinel! It's meant to attack mutants! But they shouldn't have been released already! Whoever put it out there tonight must have known one of us would be around the docks."

"Well, th-they s-succeeded there, d-didn't they?" Kitty said. "Of c-course, it had t-to be m-me."

"I understand how you're not very happy about this, Kitty," Logan said. "I think we all do. But Rogue would probably understand most of all."

"I think I have something that might help with your ankle," Storm said. She went over to a medicine cabinet and took out a small gray bottle that seemed to be made out of metal. "This is Elixir. It is a very powerful substance, and it heals almost anything as soon as it is drunk." She handed it to Kitty.

Kitty took off the cap and sipped a little bit of it. She felt a small amount of pain suddenly and realized that her ankle was back in its right place. It was no longer broken.

"Thank y-you," she said to Storm. "ACHOO!"

After Kitty's sneeze, Rogue smiled at her.

"Of course, while it does not help with a cold, it is said that this Elixir can even bring people back from the dead," Professor X explained. "Let us just hope we never have to use it for that purpose."

"And remember, this is the only time you must drink it," Jean told them seriously. "We might need it for others."

"Thanks, g-guys," Kitty told them again.

"Now, we must go make sure the children are in their beds for curfew," Xavier said to Jean, Storm, and Logan. "Last night they stayed up and partied. Of course, only Alison was there with them out of you three. Did you two go to bed that early?"

"Yeah, we didn't feel like partying," Rogue admitted. "As soon as we got into our beds and turned out the lights, we were both out of it. I guess Alison returned while we were both still asleep."

"Alright, then. That's very much understandable. You two may go to your room now. Make sure you stay warm, Kitty."

As Rogue and Kitty walked up the stairs, Rogue held Kitty close. "You alright?" she asked. "It must've been scary when the robot was chasing you."

"Y-yeah, it w-was," Kitty told her. "I'm g-glad you were th-there for me, Rogue." She noticed that her teeth were not chattering as much anymore.

"Well, if you ever have something like this happen to you ever again, just remember last night. That's all you need to do. I'll say it one last time: I won't leave you, no matter what happens, no matter the consequences. Since you're my little sister, I need to take care of you."

"ACHOO!" Kitty sneezed again. "Sorry. When I fell into the river and started freezing, I must have caught a cold." She sniffled. "I hate it when this crap happens. If only I could phase out of this."

Rogue laughed.

They reached their room's door. When they entered, they saw Alison on her bed, typing away a message to her parents on her computer.

"Hey guys!" she greeted. "How's it-" She saw Kitty. "What happened to you?"

"I fell into the river," Kitty told her. "I caught a cold after Rogue helped me out."

"Well, that must've really sucked," Alison blurted out. "Luckily, before leaving, I got to take out a guy planning to rob a jewelry store. What did you guys get to do?"

"I stopped four muggers from mugging a woman," Kitty explained. "The last one got really scared of me when I phased through the wall and appeared where he'd gone to escape. Pretty much every one of them was either knocked out or on the ground."

"I helped a pretty little Kitty out of water," Rogue joked.

"Really?" Kitty said, frowning. "You're lucky I don't feel the best, because I would seriously kick you right now. You'd really deserve it."

"Hey, lighten up. Hopefully you'll be back on your feet by the time tomorrow rolls around, you know?"

Kitty sighed, confused on what was happening in the world around her. She just hoped that she could actually get a good night's sleep without waking up in fear like she had the night before. Although she'd appreciated Rogue helping her through it, she didn't want to make Rogue do anything else for her.

"Hey Kitty," Rogue said from her bed. "What is it that your parents do?"

"My dad is a clerk, and my mom helps teach kids with mental disabilities. I don't know what's happening with them right now, because I haven't seen them in so long."

"It seems that way, doesn't it? I think it's only been less than 2 weeks, though."

"Huh? Are you sure? Wow, it definitely feels longer."

"So are you going to bed right now?"

"Yeah. ACHOO!" Kitty shook her head, finding it so hard to believe that she'd gotten sick. "I just hope I don't do that for the rest of the night. Sorry if it keeps anyone up."

"No problem," Alison told her. "I've had to deal with those kinds of things myself. I just hope you feel better tomorrow, because I was planning for us to hang outside with the both of you. How's that sound?"

"We can't, Alison," Kitty told her. "It'll be raining again tomorrow. I hope that doesn't dampen your spirits way too much."

She saw Alison look as if she'd been defeated and knew how much she wanted to spend with her friends. Kitty smiled and promised herself that she'd help Alison have a great day.

"Alright, I'm off to bed," Rogue finally told them. "I'm wiped after today. What about you, Kitty?"

"What do you think?"

"I'm tired, but probably not as much as you two," Alison explained.

Rogue turned off the lights for them. As Kitty closed her eyes and fell asleep...

"AH-AH-ACHOO!"

"Really, Kitty? Really?" came Rogue's voice in the dark. "Try to not be so loud!"

"Sorry." Kitty finally drifted off to sleep, although she was still scared from the fight with the Sentinel and how easily it had hurt her. She just hoped it never happened again, to her or to anybody she loved.