A.N.: Hey guys! I survived the move and am stealing my aunt's internet to post this. I'm not sure how I'll get Wednesday's chapter up, it may be late! I hope you enjoy this chapter, a little bit of action, ooher!

Let me know what you think!

Holy water cannot help you now
Thousand armies couldn't keep me out
I don't want your money
I don't want your crown
See I've come to burn your kingdom down.

-'Seven Devils', Florence + The Machine

CHAPTER NINE

X.x.X

"What's happening?" you ask when you arrive back at your room to find Peter rooting through a drawer and pulling out his X suit.

"Juggernaut. He's on a mass bank robbing session, he's broken out of the secure facility he was in."

"I'm going with you," you state and Peter grabs the suit and heads out the door. You follow him and frown when he replies.

"Like hell you are."

"What's the problem? You need X Men, I'm an X-Woman, problem solved."

"You're not going, Kitty."

"You can't tell me what to do, Peter, I've faced him before," you throw back sharply, eyes narrowed.

Peter rubs the back of his neck, frustrated. "And you only lived because of Jimmy. He's an unstoppable force, Kitty," he reminds you and you glare at him.

"Therefore you need more people to stop him."

"Kitty, please stay at home," he pleads and you shake your head.

"You're not leaving without me. I'm going with you, whether you like it or not."

By this stage you've both reached the rest of the team who were going- there would be quite a turn out for Juggernaut, it seemed, with Storm and Logan already there and Jean and Scott fast approaching. "Are you coming?" Storm asks you, and you say yes the same time Peter says no.

Storm looks at you both oddly- assuming it was a lovers spat, probably- and Logan intercepts. "Suit up, Kid."

Peter looks at him in dismay. "You can't be serious."

"As the plague," Logan deadpans, then sighs. "She's good. We could use her."

"Kitty's always been defence, that's what her powers lend to," Peter points out and you catch Logan's eye for a second before you have to look away.

"Not anymore," he answers shortly, and within five minutes you're suited up, debriefed and sitting on the jet.

X.x.X

It's ironic, you can't help but think as you crouch behind a car to catch your breath, that your first defeat in battle is now completely whooping your ass, even with six against him.

No amount of training in the Danger Room has prepared you for this- there isn't the chaos there was at Alcatraz, the distraction of the battle raging outside or Jimmy there to help you stop him.

You phase quickly as Storm is flung through you and lands on the asphalt just behind you. You scramble to help her up and she winces, breathing heavily.

"We can't stop him, nothing is working," your mentor breathes and you peek over the car at your enemy. Juggernaut is currently facing off Jean, who is trying to contain him enough to at least slow him down. You examine the situation quickly and an idea dawns on you.

"He's not that strong, that's not part of his mutation," you mutter, eyes flitting to Juggernaut again. "He must be on some kind of juice or something."

Storm's face lights up in recognition as she sees where you're going with this. "The helmet."

You nod and launch yourself onto the hood of the car. "If we can detach his helmet, we might be able to slow him down." Storm signals Jean as she falls back, unable to keep Juggernaut down any longer. Logan steps up immediately, claws out and snarling, slashing at him. Jean's head snaps in your direction, having heard the thoughts you and Storm were projecting. She nods and shuts her eyes momentarily, and you feel her power wash over you all as she informs every one of the idea.

The ground shakes slightly as Peter collides with Juggernaut in metal form, and you can't help but wince. However you keep going- fretting won't get the job done.

You're all giving it everything you have but it isn't enough, you and Scott are trying to keep him away from any civilians, him blasting anything that gets close to them and you protecting anyone who finds themselves in the way. You've just grabbed a child that was about to be hit by a piece of debris and phased until it had smashed to a stop behind him, ushering him back to his mother as you hear an almighty 'clang' and Peter is flung through the air, smashed through a window and he doesn't get up. Your heart pounding, you yell "Peter?!" into your comms and get a grunt in response, and knowing he's alive lifts a weight off you.

You scan around for your team, scattered to the wayside. Scott is currently the only one left standing, his beams bouncing off Juggernaut's helmet without doing much damage as he stalks towards him. Jean is limping towards them- it looks like her ankle is broken by the way she's walking- her hands outstretched, repelling any beams from bouncing towards anyone. Storm is stirring somewhere nearby, Logan crouched by her side.

With his back to you, Juggernaut is closing in on Scott, angrily swotting Jean to the side like a fly. "Is that all you've got?" he sneers and as Jean cries out you're already powering towards him when he lunges forward for Scott's head. You propel yourself off the bonnet of the closest car to its roof and wrap yourself around Juggernaut's neck, your thighs clamped tightly on him as you deftly fiddle with the locks on his helmet. Feeling him reach for you, you jerk back hoping to gain enough momentum to throw him- you may not have much weight, but Peter had taught you to use what you had, and speed was normally on your side-and his helmet sways slightly but there was still one lock you hadn't managed to pry lose. Desperately you twist as you fall to try and catch the lock but his hand shoots out and catches you by the throat, immediately pressing you into the wall, knocking your head so hard you see stars.

Your breath is taken away sharply and you bring your hands to his to try and alleviate the pressure, your feet dangling above the ground.

"You're what? The grand reveal? A little girl?" he sneers, squeezing tighter. You claw at his hands with one hand and let the other fall to his chest. He glances at you and barks a laugh. "What are you going to do, little girl? Hit me? Go crying to your friends?"

You glare at him and ground out "Drop dead." Then with all the force you can muster, you push your hand into his chest and through his rib cage and grab his heart.

He wasn't expecting that, you can tell from the expression on his face and his pressure on your throat loosens slightly, enough for you to say, "Let me go, now."

He grunts and loosens his grip and you land on your feet with a thump, gasping for air. You keep your hand in his chest, the rest of your body phasing every time he tried to grab for you. You squeeze even harder, watching his skin pale and his knees buckle, and for the first time you see fear in Cain Marco's face. He falls to his knees and Scott says sharply, "that's enough, Kitty."

You don't even look at your teammate, instead keeping your eyes trained on Marco. "Look at the destruction he's caused," you say flatly, a sick fascination overtaking you as watch the life drain out of Cain Marco, his heart thumping irregularly in your hand. "Is it enough?"

Scott's voice tinges with desperation as the others start to regroup around you. "That's an order, Kitty." When you don't let up, he barks "Kitty, stop."

"You're a bad person," you whisper to Juggernaut as he looks up at you, wide eyed. "I would be doing the world a favour."

But, you realise, you wouldn't be doing yourself any.

You glance back at the little boy you'd rescued, looking at you in wide eyed horror. You'd gotten that look before- being a mutant meant it was part of daily life. But never for any real reason. Never for anything you had done.

Shaking your head, give a final squeeze until Juggernaut's eyes shut and he falls to the ground as you phase your hand out of him.

"He's passed out and all yours," you inform Jean as you reach to unbuckle the last lock and take off his helmet before walking away past your team who are looking at you like they don't know who you are.

And they don't.