StarShinobi here! Sorry about the long wait; I needed a little inspiration and the right mood to write this chapter. It is very dark, you have been warned. I also learned how much of a loser I am; I had to LOOK UP SLANG WORDS to write this chapter. How lame is that?!\

Disclaimer: ...Really? Every time...(huffs) x-men isn't mine...

Warnings: VIOLENCE, STRONG LANGUAGE, DON'T FLAME ME ABOUT THESE TWO AREAS, YOU HAD A HEADS UP!!

"Be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it."

-Unknown

His prayer was cut short and his heart nearly stopped. The footsteps were getting closer…

His breathing increased to a rate near hyperventilation. His heart began to race a million miles a second. He curled into himself and pushed himself against the crates in an attempt to make himself disappear. Maybe they won't find me, thought Kurt, hoping with all of his heart and soul that he would be right.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped. Kurt held his breath and listened for anything that could tell him what was about to happen. "Hey, dog," he heard a new voice whisper, "I think there's something back here."

Kurt's heart stopped and he suppressed the scared whimper that threatened to escape his lips. "It's probably a rat, man."

"Then it's gotta be a big ass rat," said the first, no longer quieting his voice. Kurt looked down and knew why they thought there was a big rat, his tail was flailing on the ground, kicking up dust from the floor and making a loud scratching sound. He grabbed the offending appendage in his hand and squeezed it tight to control it. Verdammen, halt den Mund und halten noch (1)! He screamed in his head.

He heard the footsteps resume, coming at him once again. He had never hated his tail and disfigured body as much as he hated it right now. It was about to get him caught.

"Well, what if it's a raccoon? Those muthafuckas got rabies, g!"

"In that case, bro, we'll get a li'l target practice with J-rod's lumber (2) then, aight?"

That was it. Kurt knew they were about to find him and he wasn't about to be taken without a fight. He uncurled his body and put himself in a crouching position, making him able to move at a moments notice. He put his hands on the ground, preparing to lunge at whoever looked over the boxes, hopefully stunning the group enough to allow him to escape.

Kurt watched intently as he saw the golden, spiked hair come into his view over the boxes. He tensed his muscles, and the moment the teen's green eyes were on him, he jumped forward, causing the young man to yell in shock.

Kurt used his acrobatic skills to jump onto the blonde's shoulders and use him as a springboard, getting more length out of his jump but still leaving the gangster unscathed. He hit the ground running on all fours.

"What the hell is that?" yelled one of the guys.

"It's a mutant!" yelled another.

Kurt ran towards the door. As he approached he started to run on two feet. He was home free! He placed his hand on the door handle and began to turn it when something grabbed his tail and pulled for all they were worth.

Kurt couldn't help but yell at the excruciating pain he felt. The person had twisted it and pulled, not only hurting his tail, but his back as well. He turned to try and get loose, but was only able to turn half way before something hit him in the gut. The breath was knocked out of him and he was almost positive he felt on of his ribs crack. He fell to his knees where he was met with a fist to the face and a kick to the side.

He fell to the ground, a position Wolverine had told him he should never find himself in: at the feet of a mob. He tried to get back up, only to catch a kick to his right arm and another punch to his left collar bone, pushing him back down to the ground. He began to try to crawl away though he knew he could never get away from the mob, it was just a last, desperate effort to try and get away from the pain that wracked his body.

Punches and kicks continued to barrage him until someone stepped on his tail, stopping him from crawling any further. He pulled himself into the fetal position, covering his face with his arms as the assault continued. He was just about to pass out when they suddenly stopped.

"Ah," mocked one of the voices, "look J-rod, mutie's too tired to fight back no more."

"Looks like you were right after all, Slim," said J-Rod, a bald, muscular boy who was obviously an all brawn and no brains type, "that is one big ass rat. Look, fucka's got a tail 'n everything." He stomped hard on Kurt's tail, causing him to push his face into the floor and scream in pain again.

"That bastard attacked me, dog!" yelled Slim, who was rightfully named. He was a skinny white boy with droopy pants, a white beater, and a large silver chain hanging from his pants. "Coulda killed me."

"Suck it up, Slim!" yelled a fourth gangster, a tall black boy with braided rows in his hair.

"Screw you, Demitri!" he yelled back.

Kurt felt himself being pulled up into a sitting position. He tried to struggle, panting as he tried, but the one they called Demitri came over and helped his 'homie' control him, grabbing one of his arms and forcing it behind his back. "Damn, Regg, he's furry," said the fifth and final member of the mob in disgust.

Regg, a muscular black boy with small brown eyes and short brown hair, grabbed Kurt's chin. Regg was obviously the one in charge as he was dressed a bit more upscale than the others and had that respected air about him. He looked Kurt in his eyes. The mutant looked in pain, but there was still a great amount of determination in those yellow orbs.

"Mayor's thinkin' about payin' people to catch mutants like him," said the fifth boy behind Kurt. "They're thinkin' about five G's per."

Regg's eyes went wide as he looked up at his lackey. "You serious, Brett?" Brett nodded his head. "Aight, we might as well make sure demon-boy here don't skip on us before we can cash in on 'im."

Kurt felt Brett and Demitri drag him over to a pipe and tie his hands behind his back using some spare rope from one of the crates. Pain radiated from his chest as he tried to breath and a sharp pain shot through his back as he tried to move his tail.

"J-rod," said Regg, "I think you need some battin' practice." Kurt's eyes went wide and his head shot up at the comment that only brought maniacal laughter from the rest of the gang.

Kurt watched as J-rod dragged his wooden bat on the floor as he approached, creating a haunting noise that echoed in the large warehouse. He lifted the bat onto his shoulder as if getting ready for a pitch and Kurt closed his eyes to ready himself for the blow. He heard a whoosh and then felt the pain as the hard wooden object connected with his left arm.

Kurt was barely able to scream before another blow hit him on his right side, the sound of cracking bone creating an eerie, echoing melody with his agonized yells.

Slim ran forward and grabbed Kurt's tail as he pulled something out of his pocket, flipping it open. Kurt cried out as Slim had grabbed the part of his tail that was causing the pain to run through his spine. He felt something pierce the skin halfway up his tail.

Tears were running down his furry face. "Halten! Bitte! Ich tat nichts! (3)"

"Speak English, Demon," said Slim.

"Ich bin nicht ein Dämon!" Kurt cried. "I am not a demon!"

Kurt felt Slim run the knife down his tail to its tip, but before he could yell from that, J-rod brought the bat down on his left collarbone, breaking his slim bone.

Kurt's mouth opened in a silent scream, but he could make no sound come out. It hurt, it hurt so much. He would give anything, anything for it to stop. Suddenly, a ring of fire surrounded him and the gangsters.

"What the hell," yelled Regg, "who started the fire?"

None of his guys answered. "Let's bounce!" yelled Demitri.

"What about mutie over there?" yelled Slim.

"Leave 'im," said J-rod. "Dude ain't worth it!"

Kurt watched with heavy eyes as the thugs ran out the door just before it was engulfed in flame. His heart began to race again in panic, but his body was in so much pain he was unable to act pn it.

He saw a figure starting to form in the flames and suddenly, he regretted thinking anything.

So, I know that was very angsty, but if you read the earlier chapters, you should know it has it's place. Reviews are always welcome and ideas are as well. I'll try to update soon, but I need to put some work into my CSI fics pretty soon here too. My beta is getting impatient :).

BTW, sorry again for the bad slang!

Translations

1- Damn it, shut up and hold still!

2- Slang for a baseball bat

3- Stop! Please! I didn't do anything (I did nothing)!