Chapter Nine: Serious Business
Kitty opened her eyes, noticing that it was very early in the morning. She got on her feet, the feeling seeping back into her body. She saw that while Alison was still sleeping, Rogue's bed was empty.
She smiled at the fact that she didn't have to open the loud, squeaky door. She phased right through, looking for the bathroom where she could wash the sleep out of her eyes.
When she made it to the bathroom, her eyes still half closed, she phased right through the door, and then found herself staring right at Rogue, a towel around her body.
"AHH!" Rogue screamed. "Kitty, what the heck are you doing here? Didn't you notice the sign on the outside of the door? It said 'occupied.'"
"Sorry!" Kitty apologized. "I'm half-asleep, and it also doesn't help when you can just phase through everything."
"It's alright. Just make sure before you do that again. We might be sisters, but you don't need to see everything."
"Got it. Meet you at breakfast."
Once Kitty had gotten to the kitchen, she noticed the tall boy, Piotr, standing not far from her. She wanted to talk to him, but knew she'd become very shy in the middle of the conversation.
But before she could continue thinking on what she'd do, Bobby appeared in front of her, smiling brightly. "Morning," he greeted.
"Hey. I'm surprised that so many of us are up right now. Usually everyone's still asleep, you know?"
"Yeah, I know. Where's Rogue, by the way?"
"She's getting done with a shower right now. I accidentally walked in on her, too. She should be down here soon."
"I'm right here," came Rogue's voice. Kitty looked around Bobby and saw her standing there. "What's going on, Bobby?"
"Well, did you hear?" Bobby asked her.
"Hear what?"
"The Professor's holding some sort of a banquet or dance for us. He's doing it to help us learn more about the other students. Since there's also a dance, I wanted to ask you if you'd like to come with me?"
Rogue stood there, mesmerized, staring far off. Finally she said, "Yes. I'd love to go with you to the dance."
"Great! I can't wait!"
"Hey, there's one more thing, Bobby. I need to tell you this before we dance."
"What's that?"
"You can't kiss me." Rogue bowed her head, sad. "The last boy who kissed me-"
Bobby put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, no need to tell me. I understand," he told her. "We all have our powers. After the dance, I wouldn't mind talking about it. You wanna go for a walk outside?"
"Sure!" Rogue smiled at Kitty as she walked away. "See ya later, Kitty!"
But Bobby turned his head over to Kitty. "Hey, do you need someone to have as a date, Kitty? I might be able to get someone for you, if you want."
"Sure," Kitty said. "But not many people know me."
"Are you kidding? Everyone knows you now! Especially since Professor X told the whole school about you guys becoming members of the X-Men. Anyway, let me see if I have a friend around here." Bobby looked around the kitchen and the living room to find one of his friends. Another smile crept across his face. "Hey, Piotr, come over here!"
As soon as Bobby called his friend's name, Kitty froze. She stayed that way as the tall boy came over.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Have you met Kitty?" Bobby asked him. "She's looking for someone to go dance with at the banquet tomorrow night. Would you like to have her as your date?"
Piotr looked over at Kitty, who was doing her best to smile, despite the fact that she was nervous enough to start shaking. She felt as if her knees were about to buckle underneath her.
"Yes, I would," he said. "Would you like to go with me, my lady?"
"Y-yes," Kitty answered. "I would love to, Piotr."
"Good. I shall meet you at the bottom of the stairs tomorrow night, my dear. I hope to see you, soon." He took her hand and kissed it, then walked away.
Kitty's smile became bigger and happier. "Hey, Rogue, I'll see you later. I'm gonna go find the right dress for tomorrow night! Woohoo!" Kitty ran off to their room, shouting out in happiness.
"I guess she's really happy," Bobby said, staring off at her. "Is she always that way?"
"Yep, that's Kitty for ya," Rogue explained, smiling at the fact that Kitty had gotten the chance to have the boy she was in love with.
As Kitty ran up the stairs, she ran into Alison, who was staring at her strangely.
"Why're you so happy, Kitty?" Alison asked.
"Well, it turns out we're having a banquet tomorrow night, and there'll be a dance," Kitty said. "Anyway, I got asked out by that tall boy I ran into, and now I'm going to find the perfect dress!"
As Kitty ran up the stairs, Alison was left there to wonder what she would do for the party, and who she'd be going with.
When Kitty reached the room, she found Logan standing there. "Hey, Logan!" she greeted. "What's up with you?"
"Nothing much. You hear about the party, Kitty?" he asked. "You seem as excited as a girl would be."
"Yeah! I've already got a date, too!"
"What's this date's name?"
"Piotr Rasputin. He's Russian, and I think he's the tallest guy in the school. Do you know him?"
"Yes. He's about two years older than you are. He's definitely a good kid, too. Have you met him before?"
"The last time I met him, I got really nervous, and when he'd left, I ran into a wall by accident."
Her last few words left Logan standing there with his mouth half-open.
"Okay then. Anyway, the next time I go on a patrol, would you like to come with me? I think Xavier said you, Alison, and Rogue can wear your costumes the next time you go."
"Sure. But at this moment, I need to get a dress ready for tomorrow night! It's now or never, ya know?"
Kitty phased right through him and into their room. As Logan looked at the bedroom door, he shook his head and muttered, "Kids these days."
Rogue was excited for Kitty, knowing how much she deserved it. But one thing that was stuck in her mind was their first mission, how Kitty had been injured by the Sentinel. She hoped that for their next mission, that never happened to either of them again, and that it would never happen to Alison.
She turned to Bobby, who was surveying the garden around him.
"When do you think you'll become one of the X-Men?" she asked.
"What?" He stared at her strangely. "I don't know. I would love it, but I'm not sure right now."
"Well, that's quite alright, I guess. It's different, with me, Kitty, and Alison being the only teenagers on the team. And of course, Kitty's the youngest of us all, so I'm sure she feels the weirdest. I just want more of those who are around our age. Understand?"
"I do," he said. "I'm not really ready for this kind of a question. I need to think on it a little more." He laughed a little, and then went back to staying silent.
"I understand. So what's your story, Bobby?"
For a minute, Bobby didn't know what to say. It was hard for him, as this moment was the longest he'd spent with a girl, other than his own mother.
But before he could say anything, both he and Rogue saw Kitty coming over with the tall boy.
"Hey Kitty," Rogue greeted with a smile. "Is this the boy you've been talking about?"
"Yes," she answered. "This is Piotr." She looked over to Bobby. "Do you two know each other at all?"
"Yeah, me and Pete are roommates," Bobby said. "I'm glad to see he's finally gotten himself a date." He smiled at them both. He, Rogue, Kitty, and Piotr laughed.
And then they saw Logan coming over, Alison next to him. He was actually smiling, though.
"Hey Logan," Bobby said. "What's up?"
"I need to talk with the girls," he said. "I'm sorry if I'm coming in the middle of something. It's just that the Professor needs to speak with them, and then they can come back to you two."
"Does it have to be now?" Kitty complained. "I'm having too much fun!"
"Unfortunately, yes," Alison answered. Both Kitty and Rogue looked at her with a strange expression. "I'm just going off what Logan's saying." She gave them a smile.
"Yes, anyway, just come with me, and then you can come back to being with your boys," Logan said, going back to being a little gruff.
The girls followed him, with Kitty and Rogue looking back at their dates, who were still smiling.
When the girls were gone, Bobby just said to Piotr, "Does Logan always have to spoil the fun?"
Piotr just shrugged.
The girls and Logan made their ways to Professor X's office. He sat there at his desk, seeming unhappy to the four of them.
"Is something wrong, Professor?" Alison asked.
"Yes," he answered. "The President has just recently announced that all mutants in the United States must present themselves to screenings in their areas to be classified."
"What?" Kitty exclaimed.
"That's insane!" Rogue said. "What if the mutant who has these powers is not trying to be dangerous, but has powers that actually are?"
"Unfortunately, here at the school, there are many mutants such as that," said a voice behind the girls.
They turned around to see Logan standing by Storm, Jean Grey, and the men they knew as Scott Summers and Hank McCoy.
"Who do you mean specifically?" Alison inquired.
"Almost all of us," Professor X continued. "But out of what I know, it seems the most dangerous mutant here would be you, Rogue."
"Me?" Rogue said. "How am I the most dangerous? How is that even possible? I can't be!"
"You can take the powers of other mutants by touching their bare skin," said Scott. "We're not coming against you, but it's true."
"And there's the possibility of you killing others," Jean said. "Scott's right. We are trying to help you, but it's hard to keep trusting other sometimes. We used to have a student who went to Magneto when something went wrong. Now he is known as Pyro."
Kitty put her hand on Rogue's shoulder, trying to comfort her friend.
"What do we do, Professor?" Kitty asked. "We're not subjecting all of the students here, are we?"
"No, we're not, but we wanted to tell you in the case of them coming here and trying to see what we mean by 'A School for the Gifted.' Now, you girls can return to the celebration if you so wish to. I just needed to explain this so that you will be ready when something like this comes up."
The girls got up, unable to believe it. Kitty still had her hand on Rogue's shoulder, refusing to believe that she was the most dangerous mutant in the school.
She was the one mutant there that she trusted most, and she wouldn't allow others to label her as someone who could kill others!
"Don't worry about what they say, Rogue," Kitty said. "I'll keep trusting you no matter what happens."
Rogue looked over to Kitty and smiled happily, and then hugged her. She loved Kitty like a sister and loved that she was still seeing the good part of her, while the others seemed to only see the worst side.
As they returned to the celebration, they saw most of the mutants had left, either too tired or bored to continue. But the girls returned to their dates and tried to see what they could do.
One of the last things Kitty remembered before falling asleep at one of the tables was that she had kissed Piotr intensely, with Rogue, Bobby, and Alison watching and cheering them on.