Chapter Five: Superior Break
Kitty and K cut through Canada on the way North. The trip itself was an eye opener for Kitty. The section of Ontario they used for a 'shortcut' was nothing but flat farmland on all sides - for hours, though when they crossed out of Canada into Detroit, it really was like going into another world - one of all concrete and broken old buildings. They were barely in the city though before K turned, immediately shot up I-75. To Kitty, the gritty dirty city reminded her of the dirtier, more dangerous parts of her own hometown of Chicago, had Chicago been all but abandoned in spolts.
Kitty had always heard about some of Michigan's sights, considering how well off her parents were - but it was always as a vacation spot, and until they were with the Motor City hours behind them, she simply didn't understand it.
"Time to leave the trolls behind," K said as she tipped her chin up, and moments later, the massive bridge came into view. The yellowish towers peeked out of the deep green of the rolling hills leading up to it, visible for miles before they got to it. They crossed the bridge around sunset, and the straits were glowing in the evening sun. the water below the bridge was like a mirror.
Kitty had to admit to herself that she indeed felt like she was in a different country once they'd gotten into the K's turf of the 'Superior Peninsula' - it even smelled better. They picked up some dinner outside of St. Ignace as they motored down US 2 hugging the lakeshore for a good long while. Though, Kitty was a little unnerved as there was no map in the car. Eventually, they made it to the cottage, off a paved road that turned gravel, then down a two track, and a beaten path that turned into a mostly overgrown trail. It was well after dark.
The rustic cottage was small, but cozy. K was surprised to find that not only had Bill gotten her message, but he'd dusted the place and stocked the fridge for her. Kitty was already falling in love with the little cottage. The place was covered in cedar shakes, and there was a creek right next to the house that they used a little footbridge to cross. But when Kitty saw the slowly turning water wheel that was attached to the cottage, she nearly squealed. To her it looked like something out of a painting.
"It's really not much in the dark, Kitty. Wait until morning," K told her, sighing as she sat down.
As nice as it was at Xaviers, it really felt good to be in her own place again after oh, so long. The girls brought in the bags and K started a fire in the pit outside on the deck. She warned Kitty to stay away from the railings as they pulled out a quick snack to reheat over the fire. As they ate their late dinner, the travel started to catch up to them. They quit feeding the fire and as it dwindled, the lonely howl of wolves echoed closer and closer to the house, finally surrounding them and making Kitty nervous.
"Don't worry," K told her. "They won't come near the fire. They know people are trouble." Even though even Kitty could hear them trotting through the woods around them. After they settled down, K asked if she was ready to go in, and Kitty nodded eagerly. She could fall asleep on the deck if it weren't for the wolves. When K doused the remains of the fire, the women went in and locked up.
"It's hunting season," K explained. "You never know who's wandering where they shouldn't be."
Late the next morning, Kitty woke up to the smell of coffee and she sleepily made her way down the stairs, eyes half open. When she got out to the kitchen and got a mug of coffee, she turned toward the large windows in the living room and her mouth dropped. The entire wall of windows on that side of the house overlooked a large lake that seemed to go on for miles, the trees on the opposite side looked fairly small from where they were, though Kitty was sure that was not the case. It was beautiful there, and the sound of the water outside and the creaking of the waterwheel added to the ambiance of the deep piney smell of the woods. She pulled up a chair as K brought her some breakfast.
"Oooh. What's this?" Kitty asked as she glanced down at the little folded up triangles covered in red berries and whipped cream.
"Old family recipe," K told her as she took a drink of coffee "Nothing better in the world for breakfast." One bite and Kitty was sold.
When Kitty turned her head to look out at lake, shimmering in the morning sun, she couldn't help but tease. "No wonder I had to watch the rail," she said wide eyed at the beauty of the place around her.
"I'm glad you like it. I hope I can get Logan out here one of these days," K said with a little smile as she watched a loon swim across the lake.
"You didn't take him here yet? Why not? He'd love it!" Kitty declared in a tone of near disbelief.
"We were going to for part of the honeymoon, but that kinda got – wrecked," she explained. "Haven't had a chance since. I was going to bring him, but you needed a break more than he did."
Kitty smiled to herself, realizing that K had gotten her out to let her breathe rather than steal away with Logan again. While K watched the local news on the small television in the kitchen, Kitty really took in all the details of the cottage, more than a little flattered that K had taken her instead of her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. K was sure to tell Kitty to stay where she was as she got up and opened the door, letting in Bill, who greeted her with a hug, anxiously looking around the cabin, expecting to see Logan standing there. He was shocked when instead he saw the lovely little brunette girl at the table.
"What happened to your man? You didn't break him already did ya?" Bill joked.
K teasingly flipped him off as he hung up his jacket. "Not yet. Kitty here needed a break more than he did. Come on, grab a cup. Thanks for stocking up for me. That was really thoughtful."
Bill blushed as he helped himself, knowing where K kept everything and sat down with the women, his back to the door so he could look at the lake.
"So you're just here for a few days, eh?" he asked, watching K for a reaction.
"Yeah, I needed to get a break. They're workin' me like a dog there, Bill. In a week, they start up riding lessons every day of the work week, and now there's a club on the weekend for trail rides too. Never worked so damn many kids at once."
Bill just laughed. "Well you must be enjoying it," Bill reasoned. "You only ever bitch about the lessons when they're going really well. So, you probably got it comin'."
Kitty was enjoying their conversation of pure picking. It was all very easy and relaxed.
"You girls going to come on down to the bar then while you're here?" he asked.
K shook her head quickly. "No. I don't need to get chased down all the way back. Just want to stick around and get some air and winterize the place myself. I really appreciate you keepin an eye out for me. I'll find a way to pay you back one of these days," she told him as he waved her off.
"Forget it. Just don't ever sell this place to one a them down staters and we'll be just fine," he told her as he finished his coffee. "Well, guess I'll leave you girls to whatever you're going to do. I'll see ya in a couple days, ya?" he asked, K nodded as he took care of his mug then let himself out. "Oh, one more thing, eh? There's some real stupid apple-knockers hangin' round. Watch out for them, wouldja?" Bill told them, looking a little worried.
K nodded her head as she set down her mug. "Will do, Bill. Thanks for the warning." With that, Bill tipped his hat to Kitty as he left.
But the names were too much, and as Kitty was helping herself to some more pancakes, curiosity overcame her and she just had to ask. "What's an apple-knocker?"
K just started laughing before explaining the varieties of 'outsiders' that came to the upper in search of the great northern wilds.
"Logan! Wait!" Jean called out as she ran to catch up to him. The team had gone on a pick up mission, and although it had seemed like an easy one, they had run into trouble from the MRD.
Scott had been injured, Kurt had been nearly captured and Logan had to drag both of them and the incapacitated pick up out of the trouble zone and fly the plane back, not to mention that getting back to Westchester was a mess. With the MRD on their tail he couldn't just fly straight back. It was a wild goose chase that took them hours to return from.
He wasn't mad at anyone in particular – well, no one there, and no one on the mission. He had already shaken the MRD from their tail when he got a message from Fury asking if they wanted help getting away from them. He thought about what K had told him about her suspicions, not to mention the device of unknown origins that had been so recently taken out of her. So Fury's timing of the call had Logan hot. Fury and SHIELD had not taken a stand one way or the other on mutants. It was likely that if they did, it wouldn't be in their favor. That, or maybe this was just payback for K not cooperating with him. Either way, Logan thought he should have jumped in sooner or just stayed the hell out of it. This too little too late bullshit was going to get Fury his ass handed to him.
"Logan, where are you going?" Jean asked when she finally caught up to him.
"Need some air. Goin' for a ride," he growled back, the tension was palpable.
After she gave him an appraising look, she handed him a com-link. "Just in case," she told him "K would kill me if anything bad happened to you."
That was just enough to get Logan to smirk a little. He was feeling fairly disposable at that moment, but when he took the com he looked at his ring, rolling it on his finger with his thumb and thinking of the woman that put it there. Much of the tension seemed to wash away. "Thanks, Jeannie." he said quietly, most of the heat gone from his voice.
That in itself was enough to set Jean back. "Are you still going?" she asked as he stood there looking at his hands.
He took a few moments to answer. Suddenly, taking off in a huff didn't seem like the greatest idea. His gaze wandered up and scanned the fence line. Something felt off. "Nah. I'm just gonna head down to the danger room instead," he said calmly, handing the com back to her. He turned and started to walk back toward the center of the mansion before he let his paranoia take over. "Jeannie, turn on the security system."
She was shocked. It wasn't like him to be paranoid like this. His paranoid was usually a totally different direction. Mentally she reached out, shocked when she found the mental signatures of several platoons worth of soldiers loaded for bear near the perimeter of the estate. She called out to the few students that had arrived early to be sure they were indoors immediately and when all of the kids and staff were clear, she armed the system. Not half an hour had gone by before it was triggered.
Kitty and K were floating on the lake near K's cottage, clad in their bikinis, catching some sun in the dog days of summer. It was probably one of the last days that they'd be able to dress like this - at least at the cottage. The weather service had forecast a massive thunderstorm for that night, and K was sure it would get cold and stay that way after it passed. But that didn't mean they couldn't enjoy today.
Their peace and quiet was rudely interrupted suddenly by a wolf whistle coming from not too far into the woods. Kitty gasped but K lifted her head slowly in the direction of the man approaching. He was downwind, so she didn't smell him sooner and it had her biting back the growl in the back of her throat. K leaned up on her elbows as Kitty sat up all the way, trying to cover herself a bit.
"Well hot damn. Two pretty little things way out here in the woods. God, I love it up here," the stranger said, his rifle over his shoulder. "How bout you girls come on over here and get friendly?"
Kitty smelled suddenly nervous, but K simply looked him up and down over the top of her sunglasses. "How bout you get the hell off my property before something bad happens to you, mister?"
The man chuckled. "Why don't you kick me off then, honey? I always wanted to wrestle with a bikini girl," he replied, grinning obnoxiously.
K considered it a moment before picking up the cell phone next to her on the dock. "Bill, you think you can come by? We got one of those jackass trespassers here giving us a hard time. …. We're floating in the lake. …. Yeah, he's an ugly cuss. …. Alright. Thanks Bill." K hung up the phone and laid back down without looking as if she was paying the least bit of attention to the stranger.
The man, insulted, stared at her like she'd lost her damn mind. "You really think callin' your boyfriend is gonna scare me off?" He took a few steps towards them when K looked at him again.
"No, in fact I'm hoping it doesn't," she replied calmly.
Kitty leaned in close and whispered quietly to K, taking advantage of K's hearing. "Are you trying to do this no powers?" K just nodded once, and Kitty easily understood her reluctance.
Still, K sat up and leaned close to Kitty to respond. "Unless something bad happens, then just let me deal with it. Keep safe," she said very quietly. Kitty nodded in response.
The creep had taken to looking for a way to get to the two women, who had floated out well away from the shoreline. Two more men showed up behind him and they talked amongst themselves. One of them pulled out a small pistol and shot the inner tube K was on, as the little woman swore up a blue streak and called him every name in the book. Kitty fell off hers and the two were in the lake, treading water. He'd actually shot K as well and she thanked her stars it was her rather than Kitty.
"Why don't you two come on over this way," one of them said, leveling his rifle at the women.
Kitty was nervous, ready to phase out in an instant as K leaned close and told her to be ready to go for the dock. She was going to try to wait for the guys to show until another one dropped his back pack and started to make it clear they weren't going anywhere. Yeah, these guys thought they knew how this was going to unfold.
"Boys, really. You don't want to do this. Just walk away now, while you still can," K told them.
"We're not afraid of your little friend. We'll just shoot the SOB when he shows up. People go missin' up here all the time. Now come on out now." The biggest of the men directed.
K took a deep breath and started to swim towards the shore. When her feet hit the bottom, she stood up and started to walk out, hands at her side. The three men were smiling, and the one holding his rifle up let it slip as she approached them. When the closest one reached out to touch her, she broke his wrist and wrenched the gun from his hands, throwing it over her shoulder into the water as she began disarming the interlopers at a quick pace. The biggest one got a hold of her after he lost his gun, and was holding her tightly to him, trying to get her under control, but that really just wasn't in the cards.
She reached up as he tried to get her arms pinned, and gouged out one of his eyes, making him drop her, though he backhanded her as she fell. The last one rushed her to find Kitty's fist in his throat before he could make contact with K. The three men stumbled off the way they came, one of them swearing to come back with friends.
"Are you OK?" Kitty started to ask, shock on her face when K got back on her feet, blood trails on her side where the man holding her had jammed a knife into her ribs.
"I'm fine." she replied as she tried to recover how her suit should have been sitting on her.
Kitty considered her answer and nodded. "Yeah, Logan would have never gotten that close before they started shooting," Kitty said, with K nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, because – boobs," K replied, irritated at how this 'relaxing weekend' was going down. "Now we have to get dressed and meet the guys when they show. They won't be called off now." Before she could stand up fully, she heard Bill's voice shout down from the house for her.
"It's fine – they're gone now. Sorry to bother you," K called back as she wrapped a towel around herself, trying to wipe away any blood that might be on her.
"You sure? We can stick around in case they come back," Bill offered, worried at the state of her. From the expression on his face, it was pretty clear that he'd seen the tail end of things. One of the taller men took off his hat as Kitty walked up, still putting her towel around herself.
"No, we got this. But if it makes you feel better, we'll meet you guys for a bite a little later. We're going to pack up tomorrow," K replied, pulling her wet hair up off her shoulders into a sloppy pony tail. One of the men she didn't know was watching the two women maybe a little too much as Bill spoke for the group.
"That sounds great. Be nice to grab a beer with ya before you go," he said, waving to Kitty as they turned to leave. "Just call if you have anymore trouble – but I'd get dressed if I was you."
K laughed it off but when she turned to face Kitty she pulled her face into a grimace. "Let's get this going. If we do this right, we can cut out tonight before those jerks get back. I don't want to have to deal with bodies if I can help it," K said, wiping the dirt off her face and rushing for the shower.
In the cottage, Kitty packed her bags, ready to go on K's word. When K slipped from the shower, she dried off quickly and grabbed some clothes out of her dresser, slipping into a worn pair of blue jeans and a white tank top, pulling Logan's brown flannel around her shoulders to finish her look off. Kitty smiled when she saw the shirt. She'd bet just about anything that it still smelled like him, and her suspicions were only confirmed when she caught K turning her head into the collar of the shirt, eyes closed as she inhaled deeply.
When they were both ready to go, K threw their most necessary bags into the back of the Jeep. She had a feeling that they'd need to get out quick after the bar.
Back in Westchester, it appeared as though the intruders were part of Hydra. The one that had crossed the wall and gotten fried was wearing their insignia, anyhow. Logan left, planning on finding out from Steve what the story was, and why they were attacking the mansion. Steve had no insight in the matter, and Tony's only suspicion was that the computer system had been available to them long enough that they knew who K was now, and what she'd done to Viper.
But Logan wasn't expecting it when he got back from the Avenger's tower to find that the X-Men as a whole had packed up his things and moved him out into the boat house.
"You guys need some privacy. It's too easy for anyone to bother you when you're here in the house. We thought we'd make it so everyone had to think about it before interrupting you two," Scott told him as he handed over the keys. "It's not a distancing thing. It's a 'there are innocent children here' thing." He was smirking at him as Logan cautiously took the keys.
"Except Charles and I, of course," Jean teased. "We can still interrupt you anytime."
The bar had ended up being a normal night out for the guys, the festivities a little more loud with the boys in the bar posturing, trying to impress Kitty. They'd started up on K, until she stood on the bar and announced that she was now married. The groans around the bar had Kitty laughing, until from the back of the room one of the guys shouted out 'I don't mind if you don't, honey!'
K rolled her eyes as the big Finn pulled her off the bar, and tossed her over his shoulder.
"Hey! Damn it!" K shouted, slapping him in the side as hard as she could, making him yelp and let go, with K slipping to the floor. The party continued, but with Kitty at it's center, getting worn out from all the attention they were laying on her. She tried to follow K's advice on not leading them on, but it seemed that any tiny bit of kindness or politeness was translated into attraction.
At the end of the night, Kitty found herself getting dragged out of the bar by K, both of them waving at the boys as they climbed into Logan's Jeep, ready to pack up and head back. They were almost back to the cottage to finish packing the last things and lock up for winter when they hit a road block. Stopping short of the two trucks blocking the road, K spotted several men in front of them. Before she could get the jeep into reverse, headlights flipped on behind them.
Kitty's eyes went wide. They had them trapped. K turned off the jeep, pulling the com link out of the glove box and handing it to Kitty.
"When I say, you take that com and run. Run straight into the woods, as far and fast as you can. Phase out and get out of their reach. Call for help if I don't come get you in an hour's time, alright?" K told her, hand on the ignition switch, ready to fight if need be. Naturally, Kitty started to protest. "No. You will run. Logan will never forgive me if you end up hurt on this trip. Please." K took off the soft brown flannel and handed it to Kitty. "It's getting cold out there. Keep warm."
Kitty stared back at her in shock. "No! I'm going to help you. I'm trained too. These jokers don't have a chance between us." She set the shirt down on the backseat, with the com next to it. K sighed, and grudgingly agreed, stepping out of the Jeep to confront the strangers.
"I don't know who you are, but we're just trying to go home. I don't want any trouble fellas," K said calmly, walking towards them, the doors of the truck behind them slammed shut after four more men piled out of it.
They didn't say a word, just rushed them, grabbing K by the elbows and slamming her into the jeep's hood face first, holding her wrists together behind her back before one of them ziptied her hands together. She tried to sit up only to have one of them bash her in the face. Kitty panicked, rushing for her and when one of the men grabbed at her, Kitty phased through him, not even thinking of any consequences.
"She's a mutant!" one of them shouted as they rushed around Kitty. "I'll bet the other one is too – get 'em!" Several of the men headed for K while she was too punch drunk to do anything. Kitty ran through them to K, trying to help her, unable to get a hold of her as they threw K face down over a dropped tailgate. One of the biggest men pinning her in place by the back of her head as he tried to grab at Kitty.
"Think you can hurt my brother and get away with it?" the big man barked at K. "He lost an eye because of you."
"And the handsy creep deserved it," K said back, getting a punch in the ribs for her trouble that ended with the big guy hissing as he'd broken his hand and K smirked at him.
Kitty was shouting at the men to back off when she got punched the instant she became tangible. They knocked her to the ground, and several men rushed her too. When Kitty's screamed, K snapped out of her hazy fog from the hits she'd taken. As another of the men grabbed her leg and pulled her closer to himself, she popped her claws through his stomach and began to truly wriggle her arms to the front of her.
Red hot rage washed over her as she hacked and slashed her way through the group of assailants starting with the man that was hauling a very panicked Kitty toward his truck while she screamed and kicked, unable to focus in the chaos enough to implement her powers. When K rushed forward and kicked Kitty's captor in the head, Kitty stayed back against the jeep and watched, if nothing else to avoid K's claws as she practically danced through them, doing her best to keep the injuries non-fatal. When she was finally done, she collapsed, covered in blood and shaking as the last one fell, trying to staunch the bleeding. Kitty recognized the crash to reality and cautiously went to her side.
"K?" Kitty said quietly, watching her mentor's new wife carefully as she tried to find her way back to sanity after the first real berserk moment Kitty had ever witnessed from her. She knew it hadn't happened in training sessions. And when Kitty knew it was probably safe, she helped K to her feet, leading her to the passenger side of the jeep, where Logan kept a knife in the glovebox. She quickly cut the ziptie as K stared at her bloodied hands.
Kitty maneuvered around the trucks - going off road to avoid them - and finished the drive to K's cottage, leading her inside and helping her strip down and get into the shower. As K melted to the floor of the shower, and the blood washed off her, Kitty sat on the sink, waiting for K to pull it together.
When the thunder rumbled overhead, sense seemed to flood back to the little woman. "I've got it now," K promised as she scrubbed herself clean, then dried off in her bedroom, dressing and packing the remainder of her clothes for the trip, leaving only a change or two behind.
Kitty grabbed her last bag and they walked out to the jeep. K tossed her bags into the back of the jeep and hopped in the driver's seat without another word said. They'd driven for nearly five hours before K finally spoke, asking if she was alright and apologizing for getting her hurt. But Kitty was shaking her head in disbelief.
"I'm fine," she promised. "I mean … a couple bruises, but for as far as weekends off go - I've had much worse."
But that simply wasn't good enough for K, and she was irritated with how it had gone so far south - and for how it was all because the timing was so spectacularly bad.