Once back at the base with their catch, Kurt was given his holowatch and pushed out the door by Gambit, who ordered him not to come back until it was nighttime. Kurt obeyed numbly, activating the watch and going to the park. He sat at the bench where he had had his talk with Todd, and he suddenly realized he hadn't heard from Todd since then.

But again, he found he didn't much care. The only thing he wanted right now was to be back at the base. But why did he want to be there? To watch as Scott got his just desserts, or to save the other mutant?

Both cases whirled in his mind, and he found it horribly difficult to choose between them. He wanted to see Scott suffer as he had suffered. He wanted him to see that he wasn't always right. That he could be wrong sometimes.

But at the same time, he didn't want Scott to think he had abandoned him. After all, Kurt still liked him in some deep corner of his mind.

Kurt fidgeted, wanting to relieve this terrible tension inside him. It itched at him; this indecision, this uncertainty. He wanted to cause pain, yet at the same time, wanted to prevent it. His mind was caught in a violent tussle between his normal kind side and his newer sadistic side, both struggling for dominance.

He bent over, holding his head. It hurt him physically, giving him a pounding headache. Why was it so difficult? Such a choice had once been easy for him, but now…

Kurt struggled with the Nightcrawler within him, trying to make things black and white again, but it was all a mix of grays and red. He was confused, tired and in pain. Scott's optic blast still ached where it had knocked him against the tree. He wanted to forget about this for a while. Just wash all thought away.

Then his head snapped up, Nightcrawler whispering to him. He wanted to get rid of his worries and he knew exactly how. He quickly got up, and then walked down to the end of the park, where the trees were thicker and denser. Perfect. He memorized the place, to return to later, and then carefully 'ported himself downtown. Luckily, despite the fact it was about noon, Kurt was able to snag three young men who had been lounging around an alley. He grinned as he snuck up behind them and shrunk them.

For a while, he let them look around them confused. Kurt perched above them, holding his chin in his hand, grinning. They were so cute! He then purred softly and they looked up at him. In unison, they froze. Kurt felt his tail start to twitch were it was hidden curled around his waist. That powerful feeling was flooding through him again, pushing out all other thoughts. It was so nice. No more worry, no more bothers. Just power and hunger.

Kurt smiled down at the three guys, and one of them passed out. Kurt heard footsteps coming, and grabbed the two guys, his tail wrapping firmly around the unconscious one, and 'ported them to his spot in the park. Upon reappearing, Kurt spent over twenty minutes making sure that he'd be left alone. He was in a center of a round circle of bramble bushes, their thorns old and long. They'd be alone. He put his catch down and turned off his watch.

One of the teens, wearing a black t-shirt, was sitting up, his back to Kurt, asking in serious confusion, "Dude, what's going on?"

One wearing a red jacket was shaking their third companion, asking, "Matt? You alive there, dude?"

'Matt' sat up, holding his head as he moaned, "Ohh… My head…"

Kurt then grinned, and purred, "It would have been nicer to leave him asleep."

All three heads turned to look at him. He was lying on his side, concave to them, his head resting sideways on his crossed arms. He grinned, showing his fangs. Predictably, the three teens let out a loud cry of surprise in unison, though it was just a loud squeak to Kurt. He just grinned, his tail flicking near his preys. 'Matt' stared at the barbed tail, then up at Kurt, taking in his fur and blue skin, and asked shrilly, "What the hell ARE you?!"

"I'm a mutant." Kurt replied calmly.

"A mutie?!" Matt repeated. He suddenly seemed angry and shouted, "Back off, you freak!"

His two companions were cowering, one of them hissing, "Matt! Shut up!" fearfully as he watched the giant before them. Kurt grinned at them, and they crouched lower, like they were trying to sink into the ground.

Kurt's golden eyes blazed as he felt his hands quiver. Just think: A simple move on his part, a swat or a stamp, and he could easily kill them. The power went to his head like a drug and he began to purr thicker, his tail flicking faster, and his toes clawing at the ground. Kurt suddenly snapped his tail forward and wrapped it snugly around Matt's waist.

The teen froze, then struggled, shouting and cursing. He pushed strongly at the tail wrapping tightly around him, trying to squirm free, but Kurt just shut his eyes, purring deeply. Matt's struggles were so light, so teasing against his skin. It was wonderful! Kurt's eyes snapped open and he winked at Matt, licking his lips. Matt didn't notice. He was too busy cursing and wriggling to notice he had moved closer to Kurt's mouth. But he noticed pretty quickly when Kurt blew on him, his warm breath rushing over him. Matt stopped shouting and looked up, and his expression was priceless.

Kurt grinned and sat up, lifting Matt high above his head. He licked his lips again, exaggerating the motion, and Matt's eyes grew huge. The blue mutant then purred loudly and released his hold. He caught the small body perfectly, snapping his teeth shut quickly on the frantic struggles. Kurt lay back down, rolling lazily to his back as one hand rubbed at his stomach and the other clutched at the ground, his nails leaving deep ruts in the soil. He whimpered, feeling the power wash over him, fill him, envelope him. He felt the tiny, weak struggles against his tongue, and it was absolutely wonderful. But then they began to fade, and Kurt quickly opened his mouth. He swore he could hear Matt gasping for breath when he gave in to his urge and swallowed hard and fast, snapping his mouth shut.

Kurt was silent for a minute, but then the struggles started, and he arched his back upwards, writhing in pleasure. He'd forgotten how GOOD that felt! Kurt wriggled; his blue hand rubbing so hard at his stomach that he thought he'd either bruise himself or rub the fur off. He could feel the squirms moving down into his body, and the sheer power drove him mad. Despite the fact he'd done this before, Kurt experienced everything as if for the first time. He gasped out in delight as the squirming body was pushed down completely, and then the wriggles and squirms increased. Kurt rolled to his side, still rubbing, as he whimpered blissfully.

But then he heard squeaks, and opened his eyes reluctantly.

The other two teens were clutching tightly to each other, and looked terrified. Kurt felt his mouth water as he swiftly grabbed them both in his fist, panting softly, "You two are perfect…"

"Let us go!" one of them pleaded, while the other cried, "PLEASE!"

Kurt was tempted to just finish his meal quickly, but he had always been a sucker for playing with his food. He rolled to his back and placed the two teens on his stomach. They struggled to stand, and Kurt giggled since the motion tickled him. He felt them shaking, and sighed deeply, drinking in the scent of their fear, so thick and potent, like heady wine.

Nightcrawler was in control, and Kurt had no problem with it. It was so nice to just let someone else have the responsibility. To follow instead of lead. And the best part was Kurt was getting all these wonderful sensations and he wasn't worrying about anything! No worries, no burdens!

Kurt then suddenly rolled to his side, spilling the two teens onto the grass. He leaned over them and while they struggled to run, Kurt's head dropped and angling his mouth, snapped it shut on the slower teen's waist, his fangs cutting deeply into his side.

The teen howled in pain and his friend spun around at the sound. Kurt kept his head up about four inches from the grass. The poor little teen wriggled madly, two powerful and sharp fangs buried deep in his left side, holding him off the ground. The kid cried out, tucking up his legs instinctively as he reached down and tried unsuccessfully to dislodge the foot-long fangs that had so easily punctured his body. Kurt tasted rich coppery blood on his tongue, felt it trickling down his chin, and with a whimper, snapped his teeth together. There was a slick, sucking sound and the kid fell into his ready palm, missing his right side below the ribcage. The pale bone of his hip was open to the world. Kurt chewed the tiny bit of meat delicately, savoring the taste, his tail swishing happily and eagerly in the grass.

The surviving teen watched in shock as Kurt chewed and swallowed, then went for the rest of the sobbing teenage, popping him into his mouth and chewing loudly, the cracks and snaps seeming to echo. As he began licking his hand clean of blood, Kurt rolled to his back, rubbing hard at his stomach as his purring shook his body. He heard soft sobbing and rolling a little, saw the last teen, instead of trying to run, had sat down and was crying brokenly. Kurt knew he should be feeling guilty, but instead, he got on all fours and circled the kid, asking smoothly, "Well, well. Only one left!"

The kid scooted around on his butt, trying to keep Kurt in front of him. Kurt kept stalking, crooning, "And your friends were so tasty. I can't wait to see how you taste!" The kid whimpered, tried to back up, but found his way blocked. Kurt curled up around the kid like a cat, the warm tail-barb cradling his back, bringing him closer to Kurt's face as he purred, "Well, there's only one way to find out, right?" Kurt licked his lips when there was a sudden streak of green and the kid vanished.

Kurt's head jerked up just in time to see Todd grinning at him, up in the tree's higher branches.

Kurt wanted to feel mad, but then again, there were still a few weak struggles inside his chest, so he lay down, indulging in them and watched as Todd jumped down next to him, giggling in a muffled tone at the squirms in his mouth. Todd then tipped his head back and gulped hard, then fell to the floor panting softly. Kurt grinned and whipped his face with his tail gently, saying in an accusing tone, "You stole my dinner."

Todd stuck out his green tongue at him, but then curled up tightly, moaning in pleasure. Softly, he panted out, "Ohh… Fu*k yeah… No wonder you just suck 'em down like that." He hugged himself tightly, mumbling to himself.

Kurt grinned at him, and gulped down some air before asking, "What are you doing out here?"

Todd shrugged, answering, "I was bored. No one's at home."

"What?" Kurt sat up a little, trying to ignore the scrabbles inside him.

"No one's home." Todd repeated. He then moaned again, soft and low, rubbing himself.

Kurt felt a soft guilt pat at his brain. He shouldn't be here. He should be trying to help Scott and the others. But then again, those wriggles felt so nice…

No! Stop that! He sat up, holding his head. He tried to think, but the Nightcrawler kept trying to distract him with thoughts of blood, of live food…

Kurt tried to push him out, trying to think. He felt that nagging thought in his mind again, urging him to go back to the base. But at the same time, the hungry portion of his body urged him to slip into a crowed subway car and have a proper feast. He struggled again, trying to think.

"Yo, fuzzy. You okay?" Todd's voice brought Kurt back to the present. He snapped to look at him. Todd then regarded him curiously, saying, "You're whimpering. It's kinda annoying."

Kurt glared at him, and sat up. He felt anew the motions inside him, and was suddenly irritated by them. Kurt tensed his muscles and belched softly, releasing all the air. The scrabbles began frantic, then swiftly faded. Now able to think, Kurt curled up on the grass and thought, long and hard while Todd lay next to him, not paying any attention to him.

Kurt looked down at his blue hand, and idly turned his hologram back on, putting on the mask. He stared at the now-pale skin for a very, very long time, his thoughts rolling back and forth, both sides trying to sway him in their direction.

One side said for him to take care of his best interests, to preserve his own life.

But the other half reminded him of past ties and friendships.

Todd suddenly realized that the sun was gone and opened his eyes to see Kurt standing over him. Todd stared, saying, "What?"

The teleporter then said firmly, "Todd, get up. I need your help."

Todd gasped reflexively as Kurt's 'port left him feeling a little sick. "Where are we?" he asked, shaking his head a little. They were in a small room with a bed and desk. Todd didn't recognize it. Kurt pushed Todd backwards, towards the bed, hissing, "Quiet. We're in the base. Now stay here and keep out of sight. I'll be right back." and ran out, shutting the door firmly behind him.

The frog mutant shrugged and sat on the bed, waiting. He didn't wait long before there was a noise outside the door. Todd quickly crawled under the bed, watching as a pair of boots walked in. He hardly dared to breathe as they walked about, the person gathering things around the room. They came to the bed and Todd flinched, but then they turned and the bed sagged as someone sat down.

Todd huffed silently, waiting for them to leave, hoping they didn't notice him.

There was a shuffling sound. The person was reading some papers, muttering to himself. After about ten minutes or so, the person got up, walking to the side of the room. Todd breathed a soft sigh of relief as the feet headed towards the door, but then they turned back, coming to the bed. Todd froze, thinking he'd been too loud, but the person just fiddled around in the bedside table drawer. Something was withdrawn and then the person went back on the bed, this time lying down, their feet lifting up and out of view. Then it was silent.

Todd was frozen, scared to move. What if the person woke up and found him as he was trying to escape? He shut his eyes, trying to be absolutely still and silent. He hoped Kurt would get back soon. Until then, he'd be still and quiet and undiscovered…

"Regarde moi ça…"

Todd's eyes snapped open. A man was leaning over the side of the bed, staring at him with red and black eyes. He was smiling in a really bad way as he said smoothly, "Salut."

The discovered frog mutant had only one thing to say in response: "Oh sh*t."

Kurt crouched in the shadows, watching. Magneto, Sabertooth and Pyro were all around the machine, looking it over. Nearby, sitting on the floor looking drugged, were several of the X-Men. Kurt looked and quickly counted: Scott, Jean, Kitty, Rogue, Evan, Bobby, and Jubilee. Seven people. The rest must have escaped.

Then he heard talking and crouched down, out of sight. Magneto left the machine and approached the X-Men, asking, "Well, Cyclops, have you considered my offer?"

Scott was still drugged, but still awake enough to answer firmly, "Yeah."

"And what is your answer?" Magneto looked smug.

Scott straightened, saying loudly, "Same as last time: NO."

Magneto's smile flickered and faded as he scowled. Kurt quickly scanned the area. Nearby, he saw the Brotherhood, minus Todd of course. Pietro was leaning against the side of the machine, grinning smugly at the captive X-Men. Kurt felt rage build up looking at Pietro. The kid just didn't learn, did he? Kurt then found himself licking his lips. Maybe he'd fix that at a later date. But then he looked at his former-teammates and knew he had to help them, banished or not.

Like a lizard, he began to creep down the wall towards them, silent as a shadow. He crept up to them, glad to see that no one had noticed him. The blue mutant blended into the shadows perfectly and was hidden behind the X-Men and quietly, slunk to Scott's back, nudging him. Scott turned and instantly found Kurt's tail covering his mouth, keeping him silent. His expression was confused, but then he saw the blue mutant and it hardened.

Kurt then muttered, "Next time, listen to me, okay? It would have made this a whole lot easier." The others had noticed Kurt now, but all were silent. Kurt then removed his tail, and said softly, "Listen quickly. I can't teleport you all at your current size. I'll kill myself and you included so…" He then gulped hard. Why was this so hard to say? He then crouched low to the floor, as if embarrassed, saying, "So I'll have to shrink you. I won't hurt you, I swear it!"

The X-Men all looked at each other, then at Scott, who was stiff and unreadable.

Kurt was about to plead again, when he heard metallic footsteps. Colossus was coming. Kurt quickly 'ported away, up to his hiding spot, looking down and thinking. Suddenly, he heard the door bang open at the other end of the room and everyone looked to see Remy walking towards them, marching a tied and gagged Todd.

Kurt stared and began to curse softly. No, no, no! The plan was ruined! Todd was supposed to help him get them out but now Kurt would be alone in his maneuver. That could complicate things.

Remy grinned, saying, "Look who I found in my room." Todd struggled, but the Cajun had a firm grip on him. He wasn't going anywhere. But then Kurt's blood froze as Remy continued, "He was in my locked room. I think you know as well as I do what's going on here."

Magneto picked up on this at once and quickly spun around, shouting, "Nightcrawler? Where are you?"

Kurt remained silent and Remy called out, "Come on, Bleu. Don't make this hard."

The metallic mutant then chuckled nastily and said quietly, "Oh he'll come. If he doesn't…" He gestured and Scott flew forwards, his metallic bonds on his ankles and wrists dragging him over the ground. Magneto then used his powers to hold Scott upright and a knife slipped out of a hidden scabbard and floated in front of Scott's throat. Magneto then said confidently, "I'll pass the machine on this pathetic mutant and just kill him."

Kurt remained in the shadows, thinking to himself, 'He won't do it… He won't do it…'

Magneto then said, "Very well…" and then knife began to move closer to the exposed throat.

"NO!" Everyone looked up as Kurt 'ported down in front of Magneto, saying quickly, "I'm here! Don't kill him!"

"Why?" The mutant questioned. "He abandoned you. He banished you, Nightcrawler. He rejected you. The one who you said yourself was your friend."

Kurt suddenly looked strange, like he had just realized something. Scott gulped nervously as Kurt slowly stood up, thinking, his tail swishing back and forth.

Magneto then laughed very softly, saying, "Seems you were gravely mistaken." He lowered Scott to the ground and walked forwards, putting his hand on the blue mutant's shoulder, saying gently to him, "He's not your friend, Nightcrawler. He never was. He pretended to be, for all this time, but really he was just using you. Your teleportation and your new powers make you unbeatable and he just wanted those powers for his team, knowing he was weak against them." He saw the yellow eyes glow and he added with emphasis, "He used you."

Scott saw those eyes turn cold and predatory and felt fear flood through him. Quickly, he pleaded, "Kurt! You know he's lying! Don't listen!"

But Kurt walked out of Magneto's grasp to kneel in front of Scott, saying firmly, "No. I am listening. And know what?" He stood up and smiling, exposing his fangs as he purred, "I like what I'm hearing."

Magneto then backed up and crossed his arms, saying softly, "He's yours."

Scott felt sweat break out over his body as Kurt looked at Magneto and then back to Scott, grinning very widely. His tail was whipping back and forth in a way Scott had only seen when Kurt was really, really excited or nervous. No… Kurt wasn't planning on…

He scrabbled backwards a little bit, away from the blue mutant, whimpering fearfully, "Kurt… Kurt, please…" He heard his voice, how pathetic and shaking it was, noticed how the other X-Men were protesting, but right now all he could focus on were those fangs, sharp and white and dangerous as Kurt grinned at him. Kurt kneeled in front of him again, practically straddling him, purring, "You never accepted me, did you? You were always scared of me. Well, let's give you a good reason for that." He smiled broadly and Scott shut his eyes, shivering.

Suddenly Scott felt his bonds disappear and he got up, bolting. But then he froze an instant later, looking at the blue tail blocking his path. The barb was bigger than he was! He gulped and turned, looking up at Kurt, who was purring loudly. Scott backed up to have his back against the barb and pressed himself against it, trying to phase through it, but obviously couldn't.

Now he knew why Pietro had been so scared. He felt so weak, so helpless. For someone used to being in charge, being reduced to a mere insect was quite a shock. He then saw the predatory glow in those yellow eyes and was amazed at how fast this change had come on.

Or maybe it wasn't fast at all. Maybe Kurt had been planning this for ages now.

Scott couldn't tell and just quivered as Kurt's purring vibrated him to his bones. He knelt and pleaded, "Don't hurt me…" His voice was so weak!

The blue demon before him chuckled softly, promising, "I'll be quick."

"I don't want to die…" Scott whimpered as Kurt grabbed him gently, holding him firmly so he couldn't escape.

The teleporter chuckled and crouched, purring at his catch, "No one does." He winked at Scott and then lifted him up, over his head and released his hold slightly. Scott let out a cry of pain as he suddenly found himself dangling from Kurt's fingers by his left ankle. He looked down and immediately wished he hadn't when he saw Kurt licking his lips. He tried once more to try and plead, but then he was harshly shoved into hot darkness.

Scott tried to kick and struggle, but there was no room! He cried out as he felt pain nip at his arm and distantly realized that one of Kurt's fangs had just barely grazed him. While he clamped his hand over the slight wound, he cried out for mercy, but the only thing he got was a heart-stopping compression.