Just as Pietro was about to explain his idea, Kurt poofed in the room. "Hey Kitty I was going to ask you...Ahh!" He shrieked upon seeing Pietro. He stood in a combat position, ready to fight the silver-haired boy.
Kitty jumped in the way. "Kurt don't!" She yelled. "He's not here to fight!" "Kitty! Why are you here with that kein gutes schwein!" Pietro got offended by what Kurt said. "Hey! Who are you calling a no good pig?"
Both Kitty and Kurt were surprised. Kurt started off. "You understood me?!" "You understood him!" Kitty followed up immediately.
Pietro just folded his arms and stood tall with his nose in the air. "Of course I did. My father is German. Sometimes he mumbles stuff in German so I learned to speak the language years ago so I could understand what he was saying." "How come we never heard you speak it before?" Kurt asked. "Because I didn't have the need to. And why do I owe you an explanation anyway?" He yelled.
Kurt was in a disarray. "So if you're not here to fight, then why are you here?" Kitty answered for him. "I have a confession to make. You see Kurt, after our battle last night with the brotherhood, Pietro sort of like, came over." Kurt was now full of perplexity. "Why would Pietro need to come back?"
Pietro spoke up for himself. "Listen blue boy, I really didn't want anyone to find out about what was going on so you're just going to have to wait just like everyone else." "What are you up to?" Kurt demanded to know. "I'm not 'up'to anything! Now if you don't mind, Katherine and I have something very crucial to discuss." "Katherine? Who's Katherine?" Kurt asked confused. Pietro gaped. "Are you kidding me! You mean to tell me you live in the same house as her and you don't even know that Pryde's full name is Katherine?! Unbelievable!" "Well she never told anyone." Kurt confessed.
Kurt caught sight of the syringe in Pietro's hand. "Kitty! Watch out he has a needle!" He panicked while grabbing her hand. "No! Kurt! It's not what it looks like!" Kitty shouted and then phased through Kurt's hand. "What do you mean it's not what it looks like! I think he's trying to trick you so he can inject you with something!" "KURT!" Kitty yelled fed up with his anxiety yet flattered by his protection of her. "He's not here to use that thing on me!"
"You see, that is exactly why I didn't choose you to help me find out what Magneto was up to!" Pietro intervened. Referring to Kurt's irrational behavior. "What do you mean?" Kurt asked. Pietro slapped his forehead with his palm. "Great!" he said after doing so. Pietro cleared his throat again. "Listen my little blue fiend, I can't exactly tell you what's happening right now. But I will say this. Katherine and I are trying to prevent something very big and evil from happening. So far we managed to postpone two events that was supposed to happen. Right now, we're partners in crime and after all of this is over, we can get back with our lives, got it?"
Kurt was scratching his head. Kitty knew Kurt wasn't going to leave without a clear statement. "Pietro, why don't we just tell him. We'll just keep it between us." She suggested. Pietro places his fists on his hips. "Why would you want to do that?" Pietro asked calmly. "Because he's a friend and I think it's about time that we tell someone." "That may be, but I think you're trusting the wrong person here."
"Hello, I'm still here." Kurt acknowledged himself. Pietro gave in because he needed to tell Kitty his other plans for the needle. Pietro and Kitty went over the whole story, though Pietro was reluctant.
After they finished telling their wild adventure, Kurt was in wide-eyed wonder. "You mean to tell me that Rogue was Mystique this whole time!" Kurt yelled. Pietro placed a hand over his mouth, "Shh! Keep it down." he spoke a little above a whisper. Kurt continued speaking while facing Kitty, "So what are you going to do now?" Pietro stood up straighter. "I was just about to get to that." Pietro said before clearing his throat. "Now as I was saying, before blue boy over there showed up, I have a better idea for this syringe. After we figure out a way to rescue Rogue, we're going to alert everyone about this situation. If my father has no hostage, then he has no leverage. Right?"
Kitty and Kurt nodded. "Good." Pietro continued. "All we have to do is go back, save Rogue, sabotage the machine, grab the blueprint so Magneto can become oblivious on what do do; bring Rogue back here and hide her. Use this syringe on Mystique, alert everyone, have Rogue pretend that's she's Mystique and lure Magneto out here, and then BAM! Magneto would be helplessly cornered. And he wouldn't know what hit him!"
Kurt began to connect the dots in his head. "Oh! Now I see why you didn't tell anyone. They'd give themselves away too early and you wouldn't be able to trick your father!" "Now you're talkin!" Pietro exclaimed.
Kitty was impressed. "So like, when did you come up with this?" "Well I couldn't have done it without you Pryde. If you would have gone to that construction site, then this baby here wouldn't be in my hands." "So what are you going to do if Mystique finds out you didn't use the syringe on me?" Kitty inquired. "That's the point! She won't find out. I just need you to play possum. Let her believe that you were injected, and then we got her. But we need to rescue Rogue in order for any of this can be done."
Kitty raised a brow, "But Pietro, you said it yourself that if we took them from that hidden lair that Magneto would get suspicious. You know like, somebody must have knew what he was up to in order for them to be saved, right?" "I know. That's why we're going to make it look like they broke out."
Kurt made a suggestion, "Ooh! Maybe I can teleport us there. Get them out and then be back." Pietro folded his arms, "If I'm not mistaken, aren't you allowed to go places as long as you know where you're going?" "Yes, that's true." "Well then you're out of luck because that island we were on, is remote." "Perhaps you could show me a map." Pietro threw his fists back on his hips, "What part of 'remote' don't you understand?! It's not on a map!" "Oh. Right."
Kitty saw Kurt looking a bit down. "Well hey, at least he tried okay. It wasn't a really bad idea, it's just that he doesn't know where to go." Kitty said, cheering Kurt up a bit. "Yeah whatever, but we have to get a move on." Pietro stated getting a bit impatient.
"But first!" Kurt shouted. "I'm hungry and I want to get something to eat." "Me too." Added Kitty. She walked out the door and headed to the kitchen.
Kurt looked back at Pietro before walking out the door. "Would you like something back?" "Nah. I'm fine. I'm just gonna go back to the brotherhood while I wait." "Please! You can wait downstairs with us." Kurt said, not really wanting Pietro to leave. "Why would you want me to stay?" Pietro asked feeling a bit weird. "Because." Kurt said, "If we're going to do this together, then I think we should know a little more about each other."
Pietro raised a brow. "You don't want me to leave, do you?" Pietro said with a sardonic grin. "Well, it's kind of nice having you here as a friend and not an enemy." Kurt smiled. "You do know I just agreed to this because I want to save my sister, right?" "Of course. But it feels great that you can trust us to help you. Which make me wonder; how come you didn't tell your friends at the brotherhood?" "Because they don't know how to do anything right! When was the last time we ever won a battle? And I don't mean the time at the mall because it was all Wanda."
Kurt was pensive for a moment. "Well...you have a point." "I'm glad you see it my way." Pietro said with a smile. Kurt reverted back to a previous subject. "But really, come downstairs with us and get something to eat. You'll need the energy." Pietro frowned. "You do know that there are other people down there right?" "You mean the others?" "Who do you think I'm talking about?" Pietro asked becoming irritated. "Well just stay here, I'll bring you something back." Kurt poofed away.
Pietro thought to himself, This is what you get when you're too nice to people.
When Kitty and Kurt got downstairs, they greeted the rest of the X members who had just arrived no more than two minutes ago.
The Trip
The nuclear solution Forge used to power the boat got them far at a fast rate. The best thing about the island was it wasn't too far from the United States. Rogue broke the silence that was hanging overhead, "So can ya tell me how Magneto was goin' to use this stuff?" She asked Forge. "The mutant gene has an abnormality in the DNA code. Also called an X gene. If you radiate the nuclear solution and point it toward a mutant, the radiation wave will coincide with the gene to either enhance or deplete their powers. You see, we don't work like other people. Because we already have an abnormality, it won't affect us. But if it's used on humans, then their normal DNA cells will become abnormal. Because they don't have an X gene, they either mutate or don't survive at all."
Gambit interrupted the conversation, "Ya'll better quicken up the chatterin' because we're comin' up on land." Gambit steered into a boat yard with tons of other boats on the docks of New York. As soon as they sailed to land, they hopped off and began looking for transportation. "This is my queue." Gambit said cracking his fingers as he spotted a motorcycle.
Forge would have liked to tag along, but he decided to go his separate ways. "Gee, thanks guys for the save. But I have to be on my way. And rogue, tell everyone back at the institute that I said hi." He said and then walked away, waving at Gambit and Rogue.
Gambit looked at Rogue in a caressing gaze. "Well Cherè, it looks like it's jus' you an' me now." "Then let's get goin'" Rogue said while putting her hands on her hips. They waited until the coast was clear. When the owner of the Motorcycle turned his back, Rogue and Gambit salvaged the opportunity to jump on and ride off with it. Gambit was the one who was driving.
He was going at a high speed to make it to where they had to be. Rogue was the one giving him directions to the mansion. "Ya know Rogue, you and ah make good embezzlement partners." "Don't even think about it Gambit! This was a one time deal, so don't expect me to be doin' this again any time soon." "Sounds to me like there's gonna be some other time." "Stop picking my words apart! Now turn right." Rogue shouted to him. "Whateva' you say Cherè."
"Shouldn't Magneto's guys be back at that island by now?" Rogue asked. "Ah would reckon so. But Ah'm glad we aren't there to see the looks on their faces." They continued at break speed as they headed for the mansion. At the speed they were going, they would end up there in no time.
At the Lair
The remaining Acolytes had returned to see a very distraught and aggravated Magneto. "No! How could this happen?! First Gambit decides to betray me and now they have escaped!" He yelled while banging his fists on the wall. He was so enraged that the others only dared to get close to him.
Sabretooth wanted to know what happened as well, so he managed to utter his question. "So, how did they escape?" Magneto whirled around to the group and gritted his teeth. His eyes filled with an intense disturbance. He asked while yelling to the top of his lungs, "Did any of you have anything to do with them escaping?! Sabretooth! You were responsible for locking up Rogue! And you, Colossus was responsible for locking away Forge and Gambit!" Magneto was being irrational.
Colossus and Sabretooth put on an innocent look and held their hands up in defense. Colossus bravely started off. "I had nothing to do with it. I do exactly as you say." Magneto didn't have an inkling of trust for them since Gambit. Magneto squinted his eyes in a shrewd manner before rebutting against Colossus's statement. "Fine, but there's only one way to find out."
Magneto used his powers to grab some of the torn metal from Rogue's cell and wrapped his cohorts in it; he brought them to the main control room. The table was no longer there and most of everything in that room was destroyed. He brought them over and stood them next to the computer then released them from the metal. Magneto began to type in codes which allowed him to bring forth the security system. "These videos from the surveillance will help me determine who helped in their escape. Whomever it is, they shall feel my inscrutable wrath!"
As he was fast-forwarding through the video, he saw as Gambit entered the room where the prisoners were held. As it continued on, he saw a flash of unmistakeable white hair. He stopped the video from fast-forwarding and set it to rewind. He played it and saw his son, Pietro walk into the room. Magneto furrowed his brows trying to decrypt the the situation. The other Acolytes were struck with confusion as well.
Magneto watched from beginning to end of the secret affair. Magneto became just as furious and furious still still as each second of the video played. When it ended, he smashed the computer controls. "Pietro! Why?! Why would you betray me?!" He shouted. "You've ruined my plans! Now you've forced me to do this the hard way." He said low and formidably horrendous.
As he began gliding out, he was halted by Pyro's question. "So do you still want us to spread the satellites?" "Of course. And do it quickly. I have a visit to make." With that he exited the lair. The main questions Magneto had on his mind was: 'How did Pietro find him? And why was he there with a member of the X men?' He entered into his sphere and headed towards New York. "He'll pay dearly for under-minding me." Magneto said to himself out loud.
Back at the Mansion
Kurt and Kitty were in the kitchen with everyone else, eating. When Kurt saw Rogue come in, he began to fumble. He was eating his burger weakly while staring at Rogue, who he now know is Mystique. Kitty bumped his shoulder with hers. When she got his attention she whispered. "Like, don't stare. You'll give us away. Just act natural." "I'm trying, but Mystique is just sheer evil." He whispered back. "Well don't think about that now. I know it's not going to be easy, but believe me when I tell you I felt the same way." Kitty explained. Kurt nodded in agreement and finished eating his burger.
Bobby and Jubilee were discombobulated on whether to go to the beach with Kitty and Kurt, or to the construction site With Rogue, Scott and Jean. "Hurry up and make up ya minds already." Rogue yelled. Bobby said with an obvious confused expression. "I'm trying to. But this decision is hard because I want to practice and prove myself and to everyone else that I can get through rigorous training without being the first one to be eliminated.
But then there's going to the beach, having fun, and not worrying about this kind of stuff. So I think I'm going to spend some time at the site and then head over to the beach. Or maybe the beach first and then the site." He said, still indecisive. Rogue summed it up for him frustratedly. "How 'bout ya go to the site first and then relax later."
Bobby put his index and thumb to his lips and cogitated. "You have a point Rogue. I'll go the the site and then to the beach." He repeated after her with a better attitude. Rogue just smacked her palm against her face.
Jean said she was kind of stuck on the same situation as Bobby. But doing target practice with Logan was enough for her to vote on going to the site as well. Jubilee agreed and then said, "That way I can work on this new technique I've been practicing. And I can perfect my Jubilation attack. I couldn't wait to try that out in the danger room. Sadly, the danger room is busted and luckily we have Rogue to make a good suggestion."
Kurt and Kitty were the only ones who begged to differ. Kitty made sure no one was looking when she whispered in Kurt's ear, "Is Pietro still upstairs?" "I asked him to stay, but I don't know if he's up there." "Could you check for me?" "Sure. Be right back." Kurt poofed away.
Just as he left, the others turned their attention to Kitty. Jean started off. "Kitty? How come you don't want to go. It'll be good training. After all, do you want to stay here with Logan doing target practice?" Kitty's face turned red, then she looked at Rogue. She broke her stare by glancing back at the others. "Um, I want to have some time to relax you know. Besides, I have a ton of homework to do. So I don't want to slow you all down. You go on ahead."
Scott came forward to exchange a few words. "Well if you have time to go to the beach, Don't you think you can swap just for today? The rest of us will be working on our skills and we'd be happy if you'd join us."
Kitty raised a brow. "You know, I believe most of you want to practice because you like, got humiliated by losing to a mindless machine. And what better to make yourself feel better than by going to some old construction site to give yourselves some kind of reassurance. Well, I don't need to reassure myself because I didn't lose to a probe." she crossed her arms.
Kurt poofed back in the midst of the conversation. When he was back in his seat, he saw that everyone was starring at Kitty. "What did I miss?"
No one heeded Kurt's question. Jean didn't understand Kitty's outburst. "Kitty? Why are you acting so erratic? We all have our opinions about why we want to do things, but you just can't put other people down because you disagree." Jean sorted out. "Well everyone around here keeps like, bugging me and asking me to go to the construction site. No matter how many times I say no, everyone just keeps asking. Why are you guys so persistent?" Jean frowned. "Kitty, where is all of this coming from?"
Kurt interrupted the confrontation. "Listen people. Jean is right, we all have our own opinions. But Kätzchen explained to me that...that she... uh". He stuttered trying to rack his mind, looking for the perfect excuse. Kitty cross her fingers hoping that he would find something really good to say. He finally said, "...She has to memorize a whole section from a story in German."
Kitty smiled nervously and nodded her head quickly in agreement. Jean, Scott, Bobby, and Jubilee gaped for a minute. Bobby was the first to speak. "Gee Kitty, If I were you and I had to memorize a passage in German, I'd make a run for it."
Jean spoke up. "I'm sorry Kitty, I didn't know you were this frustrated. I kind of understand why you would want to go to the beach instead. But how come you didn't tell us?"
Kitty said the first thing that came to mind. "Because Kurt here actually knows how to speak German and I needed his help. I was afraid if I told you guys, that you would have high expectations for me and I'd let you all down. So I wanted it to like, be a surprise."
Rogue entered the conversation, "So when are you going to the beach?" She asked Kitty. "I don't know. But Kurt and I have work to do so..." She grabbed Kurt by the arm and continued. "...Come on Kurt. We have to get like, really, really busy."
With that, they were gone. Scott turned to everyone else and said, "Don't worry about Kitty. She'll be fine. She gets this way when she really has something on her mind. So forget what she said. Now let's go and get in some training before Logan finds out." His last sentence was enough to get everyone moving.
Rogue on the other hand, wanted to make sure Pietro and Wanda showed up at the right moment. And after that, her job would finally be done. Then I can get away from these snot-nosed brats. She said to herself. She only wished she could inject Kitty herself. But since going to the construction site was her idea, she had to stick to it so no one would suspect her of anything. She walked out the door and headed out with the others.