Hello :) Thank you for reading my little story! I'm having lots of fun writing it and I hope you're enjoying reading it just as much.
Special thanks to my reviewers: xxkittyxxkattxx; halloweenbaby; blackrose5242; RogueNya; demonlrd66; AcediaRG; sailormoon846212; me; Hellfirefanatic
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Kitty's body officially hated her. Her phasing was acting sketching, occasionally making her sink down into the floor, something that often happened when she was in pain. Blood was everywhere on her, sticky and slick. She was terrified, but she was determined to be there for Rogue. She felt her way quietly through the dark halls, not quite sure where she was intending on going, just sort of hoping that Rogue would somehow guide her.
Their relationship had been rather strained at first, the girls were both trying to adjust to their new lifestyle when they first met. Kitty hated sharing a room with her at first, not because Rogue was messy or anything but because she simply made Kitty uncomfortable. Made her feel like a silly little girl who didn't realize how good she had it. And Rogue was right. That was how Kitty acted the first few months she was at the institute. Acting as though being a mutant was such a horrible thing, like the world should revolve around her and that her complaints were more important then anyone else's.
Then Kitty started becoming a team member, someone that the others should be able to rely on and trust, and she should be able to do the same in return. Something shifted and changed in her when she began the bonds that only battle brings. Kitty began actually paying attention, looking beyond herself and her own selfish feelings. She saw the wonderful people surrounding her, caring about her even though she didn't return the affection. Scott stopped being a cute older guy and became her leader, a brother of sorts who really should take time to loosen up. Storm didn't seem like the aloof goddess anymore, to Kitty she was a concerned aunt and mentor and Jean was someone to turn to for advice. And Logan stopped being the scary guy with claws and who grunts and began being like a dad, kinda. Okay, maybe not like a dad, sorta an overprotective uncle on steroids.
Kitty saw Rogue and Kurt through a different light too. She started taking the time to care about them, notice them. And they broke her heart. The two of them had every reason in the world to be angry and bitter, but never did they allow that to happen. Slowly, the ice between Rogue and Kitty melted away and eventually a friendship was created. Though Kitty had never told Rogue this, but she inspired her, more then Scott's boring motivational speeches or even one of Logan's rare 'I'm proud of you''. Every day Kitty would watch Rogue smile despite all that she faced, all the torment that simmered below the surface and she couldn't help but feel love toward the reclusive girl.
And of course, Kurt had weaseled his way into Kitty's heart also. He irritated the crap out of her, popped out of no where and made her want to bounce her head off of a door at least once a day. But Kitty began seeing past the facade, and into the man that Kurt kept hidden. And that's when her world began crashing down, only to be built up to something much more beautiful.
In the darkness of the hallway, Kitty smiled as she thought of Kurt. She wanted to see him again, to tell him that it was all her fault that his only sister was currently a body without a soul. Kitty decided that a lifeless body sounded better then being a tormented soul, though Rogue was currently both. She knew Kurt would be furious about what had happened to Rogue. As would Remy and Logan.
The thought of the three men, who didn't exactly get along under normal circumstances, coming together to avenge Rogue made Kitty chuckle lightly and also made tears sting at her eyes. Kitty should have fought harder, helped out her friend more. And now she was lost, possibly forever.
A sudden ache tore at Kitty's heart. The notion of never seeing Rogue or Kurt again pained her and she steadied herself against a doorway, trying to focus on the mission at hand and push past the emotions that made tears well in her eyes.
The air shifted around her and Kitty stilled, her blood running cold. The familiar and disconcerting feeling of someone reaching for her mind made her glance around in the dark, falling into a fighting crouch of Logan's that was painful in her condition. The mental figures were unfamiliar and she scrambled to put up her shields, though she knew it was in vain.
'This is what you came back here for,' Kitty reminded herself as her body began the ancient battle between fight or flight. 'You came back for a confrontation.'
Sudden flashes of images of Rogue surrounded her and Kitty bit back yelling out in surprise. He was baiting her, trying to make her disoriented.
'Isn't this what you wanted?' Animusereptur's voice began violating her body much like his hands had violated her only hours before. 'To see your friend.'
"Let her go," Kitty demanded, squinting in the dark. They were both at a disadvantage with the inability to see, but Kitty didn't have her own personal sonar system that could pick up on telepathic vibes.
Rogue's voice suddenly filled the hall, screams of pain echoing as Kitty cried out to her.
"Kitty!" the voice sounded so far away, yet was whispered straight into her mind.
"Rogue, it's alright! I won't leave you, you've had to many people betray you before, but I won't!" Kitty promised aloud, vaguely aware that this was disorienting her further, making her mental shields crumble as she reached out for Rogue, which in turn made her reach out for Animusereptur. He had a plan, Kitty was sure of it and baiting her like this was part of it. But her desperation to talk to and assure Rogue made her careless and clumsy.
"Kitty, you stubborn stick, leave!" Rogue's voice still had tinges of pain in it, though urgency and irritation seemed to be the overall tone. Her voice hitched at the end and cries of repressed pain made Kitty cringe.
The voice was moving away from her, down the dark hall, trailing away from her like smoke. Kitty sprinted after it in the dark, calling out, crying for her to hold on.
"Rogue, don't leave me!" Kitty yelled as she ran, ignoring her bodies protests to her sudden charge, the cuts on her body tore open with the movement of her muscles and limbs. She suddenly collided with a sickeningly familiar figure that held her tight and terror seized her heart as Rogue's essence completely left her.
Kitty immediately began fighting against him as he pulled her close to his body, pressing her between the wall and his repulsive body. Kitty began to phase herself but stopped as she felt the same familiar scratching.
"Not again!" Kitty wailed in frustration as her skin split open, spilling her blood once more. She was torn between feeling bitter pain and absolute repulsion.
"Then let's try a different approach," He hissed in her ear.
Kitty's world clouded around her, a thick, hazy fog filled her and she tried to cling to comprehension. A sense of suffocation gripped her, refusing to let her go as she fought. His mind was in hers, not just reading it or probing it, but filling it, drowning out her own voice of control. Every secret in her mind and every emotion she was feeling merged with his, binding them together as Kitty lost herself.
Kitty heard someone screaming and tried to form the words to reassure Rogue that it was alright, that it would be okay. The screams only got louder and Kitty was suddenly aware that Rogue wasn't screaming at all, that it was actually herself that was making noises that should only be made by the condemned who dwelled in hell. And then the pain set in, and her screams only got louder as her body stopped being her own, becoming a puppet for him to play with and use.
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Amara stilled, a scream ripping through the otherwise quiet night. The girls turned back towards the asylum, listening with pained expressions. They hadn't made it far through the woods, just to the other side of the lake, the unconscious bodies of Rogue and Wanda prevented a quick escape.
She watched as Jean flinched and turned away from her friends, steeling herself against the screams. Amara knew that she was preparing herself to make yet another hard decision. She knew it was nesscary, that Kitty had gone back in there knowing what she would be facing, but still it felt so wrong to leave them behind.
The screams died out and Jubilee made a small whimper, reaching her hand out to the asylum as though trying to lend her strength to their lost friends.
"Let's keep moving," Jean said firmly, her voice brooking no argument on the decision.
Rahne looked as though she wanted to disagree, but closed her mouth and hugged her arms to her chest. Amara placed a hand on her shoulder.
"They'll be fine, they're strong," she said, brushing a strand of blood soaked hair off of Rahne's forehead.
"I know," Rahne sighed. "Let's focus on getting us out of here."
Jean nodded as she telekinetically lifted Rogue and Wanda.
"I don't know which way we should go, I can't use my telepathy to find a town. He'll pick up on my mental vibes if I do," she grumbled as she accidentally knocked Rogue's head off of a low hanging branch. "Oops, she's not going to like that."
"I think I can hear a road a few miles ahead," Rahne offered, her wolf senses keener then the rest of the girls. "If I'm in wolf form I can be there in a few minutes and scope it out."
"Alone?" Jubilee shook her head firmly as she stumbled over a root. "Un-uh."
"I'll be fine, he can't read my mind if I'm in wolf form so if he sees me, he'll think I'm just a wolf," Rahne pointed out. "At least we'll have a direction to go. We could end up lost in the woods if we keep going like this."
Jean sighed and wrung her hands slightly, causing the levitating girls to twirl gently in the air. "Fine, go and come right back."
Rahne nodded and slipped into her wolf form, leaving her pajamas behind at Amara's feet.
"Let's stop here and wait for her," Jean said lowering Wanda and Rogue carefully. They knelt by the lake and kept quiet, silent in their own thoughts and to nervous for conversation.
Amara took Rahne's dirty clothes and dipped them into the cool lake water, scrubbing the fabric together in the attempt to rid it of Rahne's blood, sweat and tears. And also of the disgusting sweat of their kidnapper. The thought of him touching her and her friends brought a surge of disgust through her and she cupped water in her hands and splashed her face, trying to clear her thoughts and clean herself.
The other girls had now joined her, trying to rid themselves of his feel and touch.
"He didn't-" Tabitha began, trying to ask the question gently. The girls understood what she was getting at and shivered lightly.
"No, not me at least. I don't know what I would have done if he had," Jubilee answered briskly, setting about the task of cleaning Rahne's pants. "It's like I can just feel him on me." she hissed viciously.
"Same with me," Jean cringed.
"At least he didn't totally destroy us," Tabitha offered weakly, scrubbing at her neck which sported dark bruises from where his hands held her tight.
Jubilee tore at her already battered shirt, soaking the liberated strip in the water. She then knelt over Rogue, pulling aside Remy's trench coat. Her fingers grazed against her pale skin and Jubilee flinched, expecting the draining that came with the contact.
"Rogue's always wanted to touch," she mumbled, carefully dabbing at the healing cuts on Rogue's chest. Her body looked mutilated and beaten, the deep and long cuts surely would have killed her, if they hadn't been a mutant's doing.
"Yea but I doubt that she wanted her soul in exchange," Tabitha pointed out bitterly.
"I don't know if I'll ever feel safe again," Amara closed her eyes tightly, reliving for a moment the dreadful times when Animusereptur would touch her. His heavy breathing, crushing weight on top of her, his bruising hands.
"Amara," Jean said firmly, yet her tone was gentle.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to project," she said, trying to draw her emotions back in, to bury the pain.
"I know, but we can't give off any strong emotions, we can't even think too loudly, he'll find us," Jean reminded them. "I think once we find that road, we'll be far enough away so-"
A wolf's cry ripped through their whispered conversation and the girls heart froze. They all jumped to their feet and listened closely.
"Rahne!" Jubilee called out into the trees, not caring who heard her. She began to run to the sound of the cry, and Jean lunged forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her back.
"Damn it!" Jean cursed. "He found her! How could he have known it was her? Stay here, and stay together. I'll be right back, and if anything happens to me I'll send out a message. If I'm not back in five minutes, leave. Get as far away as possible."
She levitated in the air and out of sight a moment later. The girls tried to gather themselves, Jubilee and Amara pacing as Tabitha sunk on to the ground next to the unconscious Wanda and Rogue.
"Not Rahne too! This is just like a horror movie, picking us all off one by one," Jubilee cried out in frustration, kicking a nearby tree.
"Sweetie, this is worse then a horror movie. This is a psycho rapist with mutant abilities and a serious case of sadism and he's coming for us," Tabitha said harshly.
Amara cringed as the words carelessly left her mouth. "Tab, please."
"Sorry, I know, it's not helping," Tabitha sighed as she squinted into the night, absently drumming her fingers on Wanda's limp arm.
"It's fine," Amara assured, though her skin crawled. On her island home of Nova Roma, she grew up worshiping and respecting the virgin Roman Deities, specifically Vesta, the virgin goddess of fire. When she got home, if she got home, she would have to make a sacrifice and offer it to her Goddesses. Juno would not be happy with her failing to protect herself and her purity.
The three sat in silence for the next few minutes, scanning the trees for their missing friends as their concern began building.
Amara shook her head as sighed.
"Five minutes is up," she mumbled as she motioned for Tabitha to help her drape Rogue across her shoulders.
"Hey," Jubilee hissed, nudging her in the side. She pointed towards the trees and stiffened, falling into a quick defensive position.
"See something?" Tabitha asked as she mimicked her movements.
Amara pulled Jubilee behind her and turned into her blazing form, lighting up all the dark shadows that lurked around them. She knew it was a risky move, practically a giant arrow pointing at where they were hidden but if Animusereptur had already spotted them and was moving in for an attack then they had better be ready.
Amara took a moment to enjoy the wonderful burning sensation that coursed through her, her powers were finally unbidden and free. She still felt a little weak since Rogue had drained her, but other then that she felt better then she had in days. She clapped her hands together and forced her body to glow more brightly. The brilliant glow from her body broke through the darkness and her three missing friends stepped forward, shadows playing across their faces. Rahne was still in wolf form, her fur bristled and Jean was levitating off the ground her red hair swirling around her. Kitty looked almost sickeningly amused, like she was watching a rodent slowly die, an expression on her face that Amara had seen too much of these past few days.
"Are you alright? He didn't find you?" Jubilee asked cautiously, backing away slightly.
"On the contrary, I found you. How rude of you to have left my party, just when it was getting to the good part," Kitty's mouth spoke, though it wasn't her voice. It was the same voice that had whispered sick things in the girls ears as they cried.
The girls gasped and backed away, readying their powers.
"Stop controlling them you sick bastard!" Tabitha demanded as she produced a fistful of bombs. Rahne growled and snarled as she began circling her as Tabitha froze, not willing to hurt the innocent girl.
Amara looked for an opportunity to take down her friends without hurting them. It was impossible really, her powers, like Jubilee and Tabitha, were simply destructive and damaging. If only Jean were herself, then she could telepathically disable them. Kitty were Kitty and not a puppet, then she would be able to phase her fingers through their head and render them unconscious without too much harm and Rogue could simply drain them. But the fact remained that the only way the girls were getting away from their friends was with a lot of damage and a possible, and highly likely, forest fire.
A wonderful and very familiar sound filled Amara's ears and her eyes immediately scanned the sky as her heart leapt in joy. Two jets could be seen in the horizon, flying fast as the wind around them picked up. Jubilee squealed in elation and grabbed for Amara's but the girl quickly stepped out of reach.
"I'm on fire right now, remember?"
The possessed Kitty looked up with a grimace. "I was right, they are coming." She sighed and fixed the three girls with a bitter glare.
Amara's mind suddenly began to throb and she clutched it as she crumbled to the ground. She'd been around enough to telepathy to know that this wasn't your average psychic kick in the brain, it was something more, evasive and domineering. A presence seeped into her and Amara opened her mouth to shout but found very different words leave her in a very different, and chillingly familiar, voice.
"Well my ladies, how about we give our new guests a proper welcome?" What really frightened Amara was that she watched in helpless horror as her friends, all of them save for the two who were still unconscious, nodded in agreement. They each wore a similar expression, much like the one Kitty had had, and Amara was sure that her own face mirrored theirs as well.
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All his life seemed to come down to this moment in time. Ray recalled fighting apocalypse and even that paled in comparison to how this felt. This energy, this adrenaline, this anger thrilled him and scared him as the jets looked for a place to land. Ray was simply ready for this. The lights in the jet flickered for a moment, the high speeds that Magneto and Storm had forced them to travel at was taxing to their inner mechanisms.
"Damn it Mags," Logan cursed impatient;y from the pilot's seat. He fiddled with his headset, and spoke gruffly into the mic. "Just land the damn jets!"
The guys around him were already out of their seats, preparing themselves as Scott went over his battle plan.
"I'll be leading a team into the asylum and attacking Animusereptur while another team goes in and gets the girls out," Scott said looking over at his friends. For his team he needed people with moderate resistance to telepathy and was inwardly debating who should go. "Kurt, lead the other team to get the girls. Grab them and port right into here. Jamie, Sam and Bobby, provide cover for him."
Kurt nodded, while he wanted to fight Animusereptur himself, he wanted more to find the girls and end this terror for them.
"And I'll be taking Roberto, Ray and Remy," Scott said as the three boys nodded. He had picked those three because they were fighters and their all four of their powers combined could pack an awful big punch. "The Professor will be fighting him telepathically so hopefully that won't be a problem for us." Scott said, nodding to their mentor. The Professor was sitting with his eyes closed, a grim look on his face. He exchanged a grim look with Storm who narrowed her blue eyes in comprehension.
"And what'll Logan be doing?" Sam asked as he nodded to him.
Logan looked over his shoulder with a hard look. "Coming with you. Think I'd miss a chance to rip this man to shreds?"
"That sounds like a wonderful idea. Can't we just go in there and kick his ass?" Roberto demanded as the jets shook slightly.
"No, we need a plan," Scott said firmly. "If we don't he'll take us down easily."
"It's taking too long to land," Remy said impatiently. He walked over to the door and wedged his bo staff, charging it until the door fritzed out and fell to the ground below.
"And here we go," Bobby said as he jumped the 15 feet to the ground, the other guys following after. They landed on the ground in front of a lake, the only light coming from the full moon that filled the night sky and also from an eerie glow coming from the trees, like someone had lit a giant bon fire. The bon fire grew larger and the light spread across the lake, and the source of the light was coming from a very familiar figure from a close distance.
The orange glow cast lit up the area around the guys and what they saw made their hearts flood. The girls stood at the other side of the lake, or in Jean and Kitty's case, in the middle of the lake. They looked beaten up and bloodied, tired and sad. But they were alive.
The guys nearly crumbed with relief, with absolute elation that the girls were still alive and in one piece. Remy was the only one who didn't cry out in joy, his heart breaking as he found that they were missing one southern bell. She was gone, not standing there and glaring at him. Anger pooled in Remy's gut. He knew Rogue was injured, he could feel it. And he was going to make Animusereptur pay.
"Liebes!" Kurt choked out, spreading his arms out for Kitty as an invitation to come to him, to let him be her rock through this time of need.
"Elf, don't," Logan warned from behind them, having finally landed the jet. The Professor and Storm were next to him, both looking crestfallen and bitter.
"What do you mean don't?" Bobby demanded.
The Professor sighed and shook his head. "It looks as though we'll not only be fighting Animusereptur, but our girls as well. They are his psychological prisoners right now."
The guys grimaced as they shook their heads.
"No! We can't fight them! They're too weak right now and we might end up killing them," Ray said as the wind swirled around them, Storm already in the air.
"We have no other choice," Logan said.
A wolfs howl broke through the night, coming from the sweet and gentle Rahne. This seemed to signal the attack for the girls and they all rushed forward, about to fight a battle that neither side wanted to win, but couldn't afford to lose. Their deepest friends had now became their darkest enemies.
Once again, thank you for reading. This chapter was more like a transitional chapter, the next chapter will have a lot more action and a lot of Remy goodness! no one messes with Rogue and gets away with it ;)