"Now come here like a good little monster, and I'll take you back where you belong.".

Kurt trembled as he backed up. No… no, he didn't want to go back!

"Didn't you hear me? Come here." Master's voice was coaxing, but with an underlying sharpness that promised many future punishments for his rebelliousness.

His rump hit the wall, and his shaking worsened. Despite the terror that threatened to consume him, he shook his head. No, he wouldn't come.

This threw Master off. Master tilted his head. "This little bout of disobedience has really done a number on you, hasn't it? How about this: come here now, and maybe I won't cut off the tips of your ears."

Kurt froze, and a whisper escaped him. "You vouldn't."

"Again with the speaking. Bad boy."

"You vouldn't dare touch mein ears," Kurt growled, gaining confidence. The fear was seeping away, replaced by a much hotter, much more satisfying emotion.

"I can dare to do anything I want to with you. You are my property. A fact which you seem to have forgotten."

"But you'd never take avay somezhing zhat made me different." Kurt was shaking for an entirely different reason now. "It is zhings like mein ears zhat make me scary. Vizhout zhat, I'm no good to you." Master hesitated, obviously reaching the inevitable conclusion at the same time Kurt did. "So you'd never do anyzhing to permanently harm me. I have nozhing to fear from you."

Master's grin froze into a rictus for a second, but then resumed its oily confidence. "You're right, my demon… and that's why you should come back with me. With me, you're secure. You've seen how people react when you're out in the open."

"Zhat's only because you made zhem zhink of me like zhat!" Kurt snarled.

"I did nothing but prey upon their intact preconceptions. Face it, demon: you are something out of the human race's collective nightmares. The best you can ever hope for is to embrace it and use it to your advantage… in conditions where people are less likely to fear you. Like at the carnival. With me."

It was Kurt's turn to hesitate, his yellow eyes flickering uncertainly. It was true: everyone was afraid of him, no matter what he did. It was dangerous to forge on alone… he needed some sort of protection. That was why he'd never even tried to escape the carnival. As horrible as that existence had been, at least he was alive for it.

Master saw his hesitance, and pressed his advantage, taking a cautious step toward him. "Come back with me, demon. Come back to your safe little cage. It's where you belong."

Kurt could feel himself wilt. Security. Master was offering him security, just as he always had. There was nowhere else he could hope to function. He didn't move as he felt a loop slip around his neck, ready to lead him back where he belonged.

Kurt stiffened.

Belonged?

He'd never belonged anywhere… he'd always been an outsider, even at the circus and freak shows. Something to be kept in a cage.

But he shouldn't—wouldn't—be left in a cage… cages were for animals. Verdammt, he was a person!

His head snapped up toward Master, eyes burning, and a powerful scream tore from his throat. It was a fully human sound, and it bore all his rage and terror and suppression, the sound of a human boy pushed past his limit and forced to bear things no boy ever ought to.

Something inside him tore open, and an old memory surged up through the cracks. The scent of brimstone. A possibility he'd never let himself consider. Liberation.

No cages. Never again.

Using only a vague memory for guidance, he willed himself out of the snare and away from Master. He tore through something and his stomach flipped. A brief sensation of dropping. The overpowering scent of brimstone. And then he was standing behind Master in a cloud of smoke.

In a vicious motion, he leapt upon the man's back and clung on, propelling them both forward into the wall. He wrapped his hands around Master's throat, digging in for all he was worth. The man's thick hands dropped the snare pole to pry Kurt's hands off his throat, and Kurt's tail whipped around the grab the pole, just as Master shoved him off and tossed him down the corridor.

Master turned toward him, panting heavily as Kurt clattered across the ground. With the ease of a natural acrobat, the boy rolled upright and faced his keeper. In the flickering of the light overhead, it was easy to see the new resolution in the demon's eyes.

Then, Kurt passed the snare pole from his tail to his hands, daring to stand upright. He sketched a hunched figure, and the muscles in his thighs and stomach burned with the unfamiliar exertion, but he refused to be forced onto all fours any longer.

"What do you think you're going to do with that?" Master sneered.

Kurt didn't answer. Master laughed and stalked forward. He swung a large, meaty fist, and Kurt dodged, moving somewhat clumsily on two legs. Still, he brought the pole around to whack the man in the back of the head. Master's hand came around to grab at Kurt's arm, but Kurt just had to spend a still moment to concentrate and, bamf, he was on Master's other side.

He was breathing hard now, and unsure of why, but did his best to ignore it. He swung the pole up and swiftly brought the loop down around Master's head. Master whirled swiftly, but not swiftly enough to prevent the tightening of the noose.

Kurt yanked the man downwards, sending him sprawling on the ground. Master clutched futilely at the loop around his neck as Kurt stood up straight and held the pole steady.

Finally, when he realized that the mutant boy wasn't administering a slow death by strangling, the man turned his head and peered up at Kurt from his spot on his knees.

"Now you know vhat it feels like, ja?"

The man started to get up. "What the hell are you-URK!" Kurt had jerked the pole, sending the man sprawling on the ground again.

"Now you vill listen to me," Kurt said steadily. "I am not your property. I am a person. Und as such, claiming to own me is slavery, vhich I am given to understand is illegal."

Master started to say something into the concrete, but Kurt gave the pole another tug, silencing him.

"Furthermore, you vill call off zhe dogs. I don't care how: claim you caught me. Or found me dead. I don't care. But if I ever hear of you siccing animal control on me again, I vill hunt you down and show you vhat eight years of repression can make someone capable of."

Master had stopped struggling, breathing heavily and watching Kurt out of the corner of his eye.

"Now I am going to leave, und you vill find a new act, und ve vill never see vun anozher again. Because if ve do, I vill put you on zhe news for an entirely different reason. Do ve understand vun anozher?"

Master—no, the man who had been Master—stared up at him for a long time. Kurt held the gaze, daring the man to respond with anything but agreement.

At last, the man gave a miniscule nod, his face grim. Kurt nodded back, but hesitated before letting go. A nasty voice in the back of his head wanted him to pull the noose. Strangle the man who had caused him so much pain. No one had to know.

Something of his thoughts must have shown, because the man's eyes suddenly glinted with real fear for the first time. That was what made the decision. He slipped the spade of his tail under the noose and flipped the loop off the man's head.

"Be zhankful vun of us is human."

With that, he ran through his mental map of the mall around him. Suddenly, he understood the purpose of his spatial sense. He could sense where he was in relation to other places he'd been… and he suddenly knew how to get there. He remembered a particular spot in the mall, where he felt safe and happy, and knew exactly where it was… east and up.

He gave the man one last look. The man was no longer meeting his gaze, but instead bore a defeated slouch.

Kurt almost smiled. Then, bamf; he was gone.

He reappeared a moment later in the back of the dark, vacated movie theater. Then, his strength suddenly fled him, and a different kind of darkness swallowed him up.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Scott had always prided himself in being a role model for the rest of his team. He was dependable, focused, and, above all, mature beyond his years.

Therefore, despite how much he might have wanted to, he did not say, "I told you so."

The team had reluctantly followed when he led them on a mission to keep tabs on the Brotherhood. They had sat with minimal eye rolling while he'd given them their assignments. They had even humored him by allowing him to bring their uniforms in the car when they headed to the mall.

Scott was used to this sort of behavior, and was proud that the younger trio had lasted as long as they had that day (though, judging by the size of her shopping bags, he suspected that Kitty had snuck away from her post more than once). They had nothing riding on this; as far as they were concerned, Scott was freaking out because a bit of blurry security tape had shown what might have been the Blob stealing a dyed monkey. As Lance had said that very morning: what on earth would the Brotherhood want with something like that?

Only he and Jean had heard the Professor's suspicions that the "dyed monkey" or "demon" (depending on the source) was actually not an animal, but a mutant. Cerebro apparently had yet to detect the mutant (and it wouldn't until the mutant used his powers), but Professor Xavier was fairly confident all the same. If the Brotherhood had, in fact, gotten their hands on another mutant, the X-men would lose their number advantage. Scott was familiar enough with strategy to know that a single piece could change the entire game.

Jean, on the other hand, seemed to take a different view of the situation. In her view, this was a rescue mission. To her, the Brotherhood had obviously kidnapped the mutant… Scott wasn't so sure, but he wasn't about to voice his doubts aloud. First, it wasn't as if Jean—with her powers—wouldn't know his feelings anyway. Second, showing disparity between the two more mature members might make the younger trio even less agreeable.

However, the Brotherhood did nothing all morning except the standard petty mayhem. It irked Scott to see them get away with effectively destroying an elevator, but it wasn't his right to call them out on it. They were there to learn something about the missing blue mutant, not harass the Brotherhood for going about business as usual.

Eventually, even Scott was forced to give up, and everyone regrouped at the food court. Ten minutes later, the Brotherhood descended upon their table. Fifteen minutes after that, Scott was watching the Brotherhood walk off after both teams had been escorted off the premises by security.

"So can we go home now?" Rogue grumbled, but kept her two shopping bags close at hand.

"Yeah," added Kitty. "I've, like, totally spent all my allowance."

Scott kept his eyes on the retreating figures until a warm hand fell on his shoulder. He turned, and relaxed as he regarded Jean's warm smile.

"Let's go, Scott. We can try again tomorrow."

Scott suppressed a sigh, but nonetheless led everyone to his car and helped the others load their bags in a way that somehow still gave everyone somewhere to sit. It was more difficult than it really should have been… he blamed Evan's weakness for all things electronic, Rogue's addiction to Goth Topic, and Kitty's… Kitty-ness. Eventually, they got it figured out and headed off.

And then, while Evan and Rogue were arguing over which of Evan's new CDs they would play on the ride home, Scott was so preoccupied with telling the both of them that he wasn't going to be playing anything from Evan's stack that he nearly missed the van speeding in the other direction.

The cop cars following it were rather difficult to miss, though, since their sirens were on full blast.

Scott stopped mid-sentence and watched the speeding procession. One animal control van followed by three police cruisers… all heading in the opposite direction. Toward the mall.

Scott made a split-second decision at the next stop-light, screeching into the left lane and pulling a U-turn while the left-turn signal flashed from yellow to red. Then, he gunned his car, glad that he'd opted for a fast and sleek sports number. It made it much easier to dodge through traffic after speeding police cars.

As they pulled up in the mall parking lot, Evan whispered, "Whoa."

Things had changed drastically in the last couple minutes. Multiple police and animal control vehicles were parked in front of the mall. Meanwhile, hundreds of people milled around the parking lot… some heading for their cars and others just standing to gawk at the police cars.

"This, ladies and gentlemen," Evan supplied, "is what it looks like when shit hits the fan."

"I'll say," Kitty said. "Like, what are the chances something big would happen right after we left?"

"Considering the Brotherhood left at the same time," Scott said with a frown, "I'd say pretty good." He steered his car carefully through the crowds. There was no possible way they'd get in through the front… not with all these police cruisers around.

He was still pretty confused about what the Brotherhood was up to. Apparently, they'd set the demon mutant loose in the mall, then left. He wasn't sure what they were aiming for, but he intended to find out.

Scott parked the car off to the side, away from the police line and the arriving news crews. "All right."

"Wait, wait," Rogue drawled. "Let me guess… 'suit up'?"

Scott gave her a Look.

"Come on," Jean prodded, ever the mediator. "We need to get him before the authorities do."

Everyone nodded, and they picked up the bags that hid their uniforms. Then, they headed over to the side of the mall and Kitty let them in the way only she could.

A quick visit to the bathrooms later, everyone was suited up and ready for action… whatever kind of action was waiting for them. The mall was completely empty, except for the distant movement of the occasional security, police, or animal patrol.

"Okay. Outline time," Scott said, and everyone waited attentively in a service hallway. That was the benefit of uniforms: it put everyone in battle mode much more willingly. "There's a blue, furry humanoid somewhere in this store, possibly mutant and possibly hostile."

"Mutant?" Rogue gasped.

"You, like, never mentioned anything about that!" Kitty added.

Evan raised his hand. "I'm more concerned about the 'possibly hostile' part."

"Our mission," Scott continued as if he'd never been interrupted, "is to find and subdue him before the authorities do. If he is, in fact, a mutant, then we have the Professor's permission to extend an invitation to join the Institute."

Looks were exchanged, but everyone remained quiet this time.

"We can't afford to be detected, so we have to tread cautiously. Two groups: one heading north and the other south. Rogue and Evan, I want you to stick close to Kitty. Kitty, if you hear anyone coming, take all of you through the nearest wall."

"Like, duh."

"Jean and I will be scouting the other side of the mall, and will stay in psychic contact. If you see a sign of our target, give a shout and your location."

"Got it," said Evan.

"See ya," Rogue said with a wave, and the trio was off.

Scott watched them for a moment, until Jean gently steered him off in the other direction. "Don't worry. I can hear the patrol officers… they're almost done with their sweep."

"And they haven't found him?"

"Not yet."

"What happens if they don't find him?"

Jean paused, closing her eyes and putting a hand to her temple. Then, she opened her eyes and turned to Scott. "They're going to keep the mall locked up and wait a couple hours for the 'animal' to give them a trail to follow."

Scott raised an eyebrow. "So the mall will be completely empty in a couple minutes?"

"If they don't find the mutant, yes."

Scott felt his smile tugging at his lips. "I think I smell the Professor in this."

"Or maybe we're just incredibly lucky."

"Tell the others to lay low until the mall's cleared out. Then, we can search unhindered."

Jean closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again. "Done. Come on, let's go find somewhere for us to 'lay low' too."

She led him into a clothing store. Being led into a private, secluded spot by the girl of his dreams… Scott found little reason to protest.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

….rumblerumblerumble….

Kurt groaned and flopped over, and heard cardboard crunch as he rolled on top of something. He idly wondered what cardboard was doing in his cage… had some kid been throwing things at him again?

A moment later, he remembered everything, and he smiled.

He pushed himself up off the cinema floor, making faces at the various bits of theater food that had stuck to his fur. He brushed them off as best he could, groaning over the gum that was stuck to his ankle.

…rumblerumblerumblerumble…

Was?

Kurt paused, pulling himself up onto the backs of the seats to look around, but the movie theater was in the same state as when he'd passed out: dark and empty.

As to that… he wasn't entirely sure why he'd passed out, but he had a pretty good idea. He could remember, now, the one time he had used his ability before: a terrible night full of fire and terror that he had been recalling in nightmarish snippets for years. Now, he understood how he'd escaped that terror… even though his parents hadn't.

He could see their faces now, haggard and bruised by the people who had once been their neighbors. They had given everything for him, just so he could escape. It nearly hadn't worked, until the fire had become too much. The next thing Kurt knew, he was somewhere else, and then he'd slept for a very long time. When he'd woken up, he was in the wagon of a fortune teller at a Bavarian circus.

He wondered how long he'd been out. His muscles were achy and he'd never felt so hungry, but something told him he hadn't been unconscious very long at all.

…rumblerumblerumblerumble…

Kurt quirked an ear. There was that sound again… heavy and low, like the earth itself was growling nearby. And now that he listened, he could hear shouts, too. And crashes. And a high-pitched squeal.

Todd!

Kurt barely dared to hope as he scampered toward the entrance of the cinema. Had they actually come back for him?

Carefully, he wove his way out of the mall theater, the sounds getting louder with every door he passed through. It wasn't long before he recognized the noises as the sounds of a fight. It sent nasty memories coursing through him, and his steps unconsciously slowed down in anticipation of more pain. Several times, he'd hear a nasty blow or a crash and stop entirely… but then he would hear Lance shout, or Todd screech, and he would forge on again.

Soon enough he was working his way through the main part of the mall, following the sounds. He turned a corner and then swiftly hopped back into concealment. He had located the battle, and he didn't need to see it up close to know it was far above his own abilities.

Zzzzzzzip. Zzzzzzzip.

Whoosh!

Blam.

Zzzzzzzzip.

"Knock it off, Pietro!" someone shouted.

"Why-don't-you-make-me-Daniels?"

"Fine: I WILL!"

Kurt winced as the speedster gave a pained yelp.

He had to do something. They wouldn't have been here if not for him.

He turned and climbed up, over, and onto the second floor balcony. Then, staying low, he crept toward the sounds of the fight, peeking out to see where everyone was.

The food court was a mess. The floor tiles had long, cracked lines running through them, and over half the tables had been pushed over or smashed. Scorch marks and little bony spikes were scattered around, seemingly randomly.

The easiest form to see was Freddy, who was swinging his meaty fists at a girl who seemed to go right through them. Pietro lay in a pile of upset tables, looking dazed. Tabitha stood on a table and made motions that looked like she was blowing kisses at a boy with spikes sticking out of his arm, except her kisses were round and exploded on impact.

Lance was the one who had been making the rumbling sounds. His eyes rolled up in his head, and a crack sped across the ground under a girl with a white stripe in her hair. The girl nearly lost her balance and tipped forward, but caught herself on one hand and used that to propel herself toward Lance as soon as the ground stopped shaking. Todd was busy hopping circles around Summers, who had a hand to some sort of visor, and kept zapping long red beams at the dodging opponent.

As Kurt watched, another person stepped into view from below his balcony, one hand to her temples while the other gestured toward an iron food court chair. Kurt's eyes widened as the chair lifted off the ground and went soaring toward Fred, who had chased the untouchable girl over to Pietro's table pile.

The chair hit its mark, clonking Fred hard across the head. Fred paused in his attack, blinking ponderously. Then, his eyes rolled up in his head, and he toppled inevitably onto Pietro, who gave a panicked "Hey-wait-OH-CRA-OOOMPH!"

Lance was subdued by the white-streaked girl and promptly tossed on the pile, freeing all three girls to go after Boom Boom.

The blonde had chased her prey into hiding behind an overturned table, but this unfortunately distracted her. A plant pot flew by all on its own and swept the legs out from under her.

"Hey! I was standing here!"

She whipped around just in time to be pinned to the ground by the white-striped girl's heavy black boot. The girl cracked her knuckles and smirked over at Summers. "Finished takin' out the trash, Scott?"

"Just about." Summers sent one well-aimed beam right into Todd's butt, making the pale boy squeal and scramble for cover deeper in the chaos. Todd fled the scene while Lance groaned vaguely and Pietro made some muffled angry sounds.

It was not a happy scene.