1. Chapter 1

_A/N: As well as being the sequel to my earlier fic 'Why I'm Here' this story is dedicated to my self-proclaimed #1 fan Nightcrawler's Shadow._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Xmen the Movie(s) just the words below and the chapters that __**(will)**__ follow._

**Chapter 1**

Kurt breathed a sigh of relief when the last of the students left his classroom. As much as he enjoyed teaching youngsters geography and several language classes, either English to germen students or for those interested vice versa, it was definitely more taxing than his life at the circus.

Speaking of the circus suddenly reminded him that he had a private danger room session scheduled for after his last class. He may not be in the circus but for someone of his skill there was no better acrobatic training ground than a circus tent, or in this case a holographic circus tent.

[Thank the Lord and the Professor for small rewards] he thought to himself as he walked out the classroom. With the whole institute population unafraid of him he felt he did not have to teleport everywhere he went now, especially since he now knew his way around the place.

"Nice to see yer coping here" said a southern accent from behind him. Turning round Kurt smiled when he saw Anna Marie, or Rogue as she was called by the students and teachers, walking up to him.

"The lord graced me vith the patience of a saint" Kurt replied as he waited for her to reach him.

"_Ahmen_ to that" Rogue chuckled as she reached him. She saw Kurt as a brotherly figure and had several times since he came here a month ago asked him for advice on how to keep her boyfriend in line.

"How goes your relationship?" Kurt asked as he watched the students passing them.

"Ahm actually waiting for yer _shadow_ to appear so we can head off to the lahbrary to study for Miss Munroe's test on Friday"

Kurt tilted his head to the side as he deciphered the girls reply. "Mein shadow?"

"Kitty" Rogue explained.

Kurt nodded his head as he understood her meaning. Ever since that night in the kitchen nearly three weeks ago Kurt had seen Katherine Pryde, or Kitty as she prefers being called, at least several times a day whether it was in class, before or after class, the hallways, the grounds or even at night when she wanted someone to talk to.

What he did not know was that Kitty would constantly follow Kurt around stealthily like a shadow whenever she had nothing to do as well as make sure she always passed by his class on the way to hers even if it was in the _opposite_ direction. Because she used her powers to make sure she was not caught, although she would quit following if Kurt met up with Mr Logan, the only people who had managed to catch her were Rogue and Bobby when she accidently phased into the cupboard where they were having a private moment.

After calming them down and, reluctantly, explaining what she was doing the two had agreed to keep quiet about her escapades after dubbing her 'Nightcrawler's Shadow' or shadow for short. Apparently other students had noticed her constant daylight sightings near Mr Wagner as well including Bobby who, quietly, passed on her new nickname.

"Hey Kurt" came Kitty's voice from behind him making him jump. She had apparently gone through the classroom walls to avoid the students seeing how it was the last class of the day. "Enjoy your day?"

"Not vhen you are given a heart attack by von of your favourite students" Kurt replied as he tried to slow his hearts tempo.

"Nice to _see_ you _too_ Kitty" Rogue said pretending to be hurt that she was ignored.

"Oh hey Rogue" Kitty said as she turned her head to look friend before focusing on Kurt again much to Rogue's amusement. "We're about to head up to the library if you want to join us"

"Sorry Kitty, but I have my aerobics exercises to do" Kurt politely declined "Plus science is not my strong point"

"Well... Is it ok if we watch?" Kitty asked fidgeting with the hem of her black jumper not noticing the raised eyebrows of the other two.

"I would have thought a test would be more important to you Kitty" said Ororo as she walked down the hall towards them. "That is if you want to pass my test anyways"

"Well... I um" Kitty faltered under the weather witches gaze. "Yes Miss Munroe. Later Kurt"

Ororo watched as Kitty and Rogue headed off towards the library before turning her attention onto Kurt. "Before I forget Logan wants to know how long you'll be in the danger room"

""I'll be done in an hour; however von must vonder vhy _you_ are asking instead of _him_. Unless, of course, he asked you during a _private_ discussion?" Kurt suggested wiggling his eyebrows suggestively causing Ororo to blush.

"I'll have you know it was a passing favour" Ororo replied as the two started walking towards the lift to the danger room. "And there's nothing between us"

"You keep on denying yourself fraulien" said Kurt obviously not believing that last comment. "And all you'll do is lose him to somevon else and break your own heart even more"

Ororo paused mid-step to stare at the blue mutant. Despite being in his early twenties Kurt seemed to have the wisdom of someone near Charles age. Perhaps that was why most of the students went to him for advice she mused; he was wise yet nearer their age so they could talk more freely to him than the other teachers, Logan for obvious reasons.

"Are you going to follow your own advice?" she asked him she caught up.

"Vas?" Kurt replied as he turned to look at her, confusion written on his features.

"You and Kitty" she answered, watching amusedly at Kurt's surprise.

"Vas?" he exclaimed. "Me and Katzchen? She's only vhat sixteen, seventeen? At least six years younger than me"

"And how big is the age gap between me and Logan?" she countered knowing she was taking a risk saying that.

Kurt considered what she said for a moment. Due to Logan's healing ability and metallic skeleton he was rumoured to be older than the Professor himself. It would explain why he preferred to be alone although Rogue and Ororo seemed to have a positive impact on him.

"Ja, but still" Kurt said as he entered the lift "Katzchen still has her whole life ahead of her, plenty of time to find somevon she could settle down vith"

"As a wise man told me" Ororo said as she walked away "Keep on denying yourself and all you'll do is lose her to someone else and break your own heart even more"

Kurt sighed as he leaned against the wall of the lift whilst it travelled down to the designated floor. He knew that Kitty seemed to have some sort of crush on him due to the fact she tried to see him frequently throughout the day, it actually explained why now that he thought of it. He also admitted that he harboured feelings of his own for her but he did not know if they were of the sibling variety or something much deeper.

"[Oh God in heaven]" he asked out loud "[Let me find out the connection between the two of us. For now, however, give me the strength to focus on the matter at hand. Amen]

The lift dinged as it reached its destination opening to several futuristic looking corridors. Taking a moment to compose himself Kurt headed along the corridor to the danger room not noticing his _shadow_ peeking out from the back of the lift.

_A/N: R&R if possible so I know what to correct, if anything, for the next chapter. _

'_Til next week_

_Watch this space & peace out._


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimers on chapter 1._

**Chapter 2**

Kitty waited until she heard the door to the danger room close before fully emerging from the back of the lift. She was actually amazed that she had been able to follow him after being sent away by Miss Munroe.

_Guess I should thank Bobby for his timely appearance_ she thought remembering Bobby showing up after she and Rogue had reached the library and asking if he could borrow Rogue for a few minutes. _She'll probably grill me when we next meet though I bet._

Quietly stepping out of the lift she quickly made her way to the entrance of the danger room and phased through until she could just see into the room. The sight that met her was incredible. The danger rooms' solid light holographic projection system had created a real life circus tent filled with people that, at the moment, were riveted to the roof of the tent.

Looking up Kitty felt her heart racing as she watched Kurt swing from the trapeze, let go and perform a double reverse somersault with a 540 degree rotation before hooking his legs onto the next trapeze as it reached the climax of its swing and spread his arms wide to the applause of the faux crowd, including her own she realised.

As she watched the blue acrobat woo the crowd, Kitty looked back on all the times she had _actual_ conversations with him, not just a passing hello which occurred at least once a day if she could help it. One of her favourites was when she had asked him about what Germany was like and he described it to her in such a way that she was eager to see Germany for herself provided that Kurt was with her as her _personal_ tour guide.

When Kurt disappeared in a cloud of bluish black smoke to appear weaving through several pillars close together she was reminded of an event that happened not long after Kurt had decided to stay.

_~flashback~_

Kitty was currently sitting on one of the stone benches near the open field that was situated in the institutes' territory working her way through Kurt's homework assignment when she heard his voice. Looking up she saw him with a group of youngsters in the middle of a game of capture the flag, or in this case capture the elf seeing as they were trying to catch Kurt who had a navy flag with a grey X on it clutched in one hand.

"Can't von of you catch me even _vith_ your powers?" he asked them playfully.

One of the kids, Sam she believed, suddenly shot towards Kurt at an alarming speed only to create a hole in the wall behind Kurt whilst he had teleported to behind the rest of the group making them whip round to try and grab them only to be clutching smoke whilst falling over one another laughing all the while.

Kitty chuckled at his antics; no matter whether he was in class teaching or playing with the youngsters Kurt had a way of making it fun for all who participated. It was probably one of the reasons she was drawn to him she pondered as she watched Kurt dash away on all fours being chased by Rahne, a girl who could morph into a wolf and an in-between form, in wolf form.

"Best give up now Kit-Kat he probably doesn't see you as such"

Turning round Kitty came face to face with Tabitha a girl who was several years older than her with the power to make bombs earning her the nickname 'Boom-Boom'.

"And what makes you think he'll see _you_ as such as you put it?" Kitty asked.

"Well for one I prefer having fun instead of being a geek, two I'm closer to his age and three my power is way cooler than yours" Tabitha stated in a matter-of-fact way before walking off "Face it Kit-Kat you ain't interesting enough"

Kitty tried her best to ignore Tabitha's words and get back to her assignment but the damage had already been done. She just sat there staring at her assignment for god knows how long before she felt someone gently tap her on the shoulder. Looking round she saw nobody as she turned back she nearly jumped at seeing Kurt standing in front of her.

"Staring at it von't get it done faster Katzchen" he said as he sat beside her apparently oblivious to her pink cheeks.

When he did not receive a witty comeback like the last time he made a comment about something she had done, he had asked if she wrote novels for all her assignments and she replied "only if I like the subject", he turned to look at her to see that she was crying.

Vhat's wrong?" he asked putting an arm around her shoulders letting the girl lean into him.

"Am I useless?" Kitty whispered so softly that Kurt could only hear it thanks to his enhanced hearing.

"Zat depends Katzchen" Kurt answered after a moment's thought "In ze class you are von of ze top students of your year, in ze kitchen...vell lets just leave it at zat ja?"

Kitty barely managed to hold back from giggling as she remembered trying to make cookies with Miss Munroe the other day. Kurt had just come through the door as they removed them from the oven. Kurt went to take one from Kitty's tray saying that the weather witch's were probably for Herr Logan in a dramatic whisper so that all in the kitchen could hear. He apparently did not know they were fresh out the oven so when he picked one up he accidently dropped it with shock only to be further shocked when the dropped cookie bounced off the floor up to near waist level then fall down again. Kurt laughed it off saying that there had to be _something_ she could not do right. She actually blushed at the thought of Kurt thinking she did everything perfect at the time.

"I meant with my powers" Kitty explained enjoying the comfort of Kurt's arm around her.

"You see zat tree?" Kurt asked out of the blue pointing to one of the many trees in the field.

Kitty nodded not knowing what he was going on about. The next thing she knew Kurt had teleported the two of them closer to the tree and threw Kitty at it. Kitty instinctively went intangible to go through the tree landing perfectly on her feet yet instinct prevented her from going tangible. She understood why as Kurt suddenly dove straight through her into a roll before being tackled to the ground by Kitty.

"For a useless power it seems pretty useful" Kurt said despite his face being forced into the ground by Kitty's hand.

The next thing she knew Kurt had teleported them back to the bench they were sitting on. She almost thought she had dreamt it until she saw Kurt spitting out blades of grass.

"Easier to eat zan a knuckle sandwich but not nice all the same" Kurt noted. Kitty chuckled before hugging Kurt in thanks. She felt him wrap his arms round her. "Ze Lord vould not have given you zis power if he thought you vere useless Katzchen. Remember zat"

With that he kissed her forehead before teleporting away somewhere leaving a stunned Kitty with a dreamy look on her face as she touched the place where he kissed her.

_~present~_

Kitty smiled as she remembered; she had planned on not washing her forehead for at least a week if it were not for the food fight she walked into upon entering the kitchen getting covered in strawberry and chocolate sauce, she was too busy thinking about Kurt at the moment to notice Ray and Roberto until it was too late.

Bringing herself back to the realm of the living she noticed that the danger room had reverted to its original state signalling Kurt was finished. Quickly phasing back the way she came Kitty made to leave only to stop when she saw Mr Logan in front of her with an eyebrow raised.

"Enjoyed the show 'half-pint'?" he asked sounding unsurprised to see her.

Kitty opened her mouth intent on giving him a tongue lashing about calling her that when the door behind her opened revealing a profusely sweating Kurt.

"Vhy am I not surprised to see you here instead of ze library Katzchen?" Kurt asked he then turned his attention to Logan. "I take it you vant your turn in ze room Logan?"

"Wouldn't be here otherwise Kurt" Logan stated as he walked past the two.

"Herr Logan" Kurt called out. Logan stopped but did not turn round. "Fighting may distract you from _it_, but it vill still be zere vhen you get back"

Logan just continued on walking leaving Kurt frowning slightly and Kitty confused about the confrontation as the door closed. Kitty then tried to quietly slip away however she stopped when Kurt called out to her.

"Vould you be as kind as to be in your room in about fifteen minutes Katzchen? Ve have _something_ that ve _must_ discuss" With that he teleported away leaving Kitty looking paler; it did not take a mind reader to know what the _talk_ was about.

_Sorry if characters seem a bit OOC but hey, that's fan fiction for you._

_Please R&R & 'til next time_

_Watch this space & peace out._


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimers on chapter 1_

**Chapter 3**

'_Throughout history, the human race has adapted, evolved, to become the top of the food chain. But recently, evolution has accelerated, creating unpredictable changes in the fundamental nature of man. Some welcome these changes as a blessing, while others seek to stop them at all costs. William Stryker was one who tried to destroy all mutants. In the end, Stryker's plans failed, but at a tremendous cost. Now Magneto is on the run. His brotherhood decimated. And detente has settled in the conflict between homo-sapiens and homo-superior. Mutants are finding unparalleled acceptance in our culture, becoming famous, taking prominent positions in government. But there is still a threat. Some mutants still use their powers for criminal gain. Others, for vigilante justice. And as long as Magneto is free, he threatens the stability of our entire world. Thank you.'_

Hank 'The Beast' McCoy's speech on nation-wide broadcast was barely registered in Kitty's mind at the moment. She was currently pacing her room in front of the portable television worrying on what Kurt was going to say to her about her latest habit; shadowing the Nightcrawler.

If she was honest with herself she did not know why she started it in the first place. After their first meeting in the kitchen two weeks, five days, thirteen hours and twelve minutes ago (how she knew is anyone's guess) she felt somewhat elated every time he praised her for a good test or if they met in the hallways. After he kissed her, albeit on the forehead, Kitty was sure she was in love with him but unsure if he returned the feelings.

'_So what if he's twenty-three whilst I'm seventeen next month?'_ Kitty thought as she stood in front of her closet door mirror to quickly compose herself. _'I mean Miss Munroe fancies Mr Logan and he's like supposed to be older than the professor himself'_

She felt a sudden pang of sadness. Jean was the person who told her that, as well as who had a crush on him. She shook her head to rid herself of the memory.

"Just stay calm, relaxed and focused" she said to her reflection. "When he shows up you'll calmly explain why then listen to what he wants to say"

"Vould zat include suggesting help for your mental condition?" came a cheerful voice from the other side of her bedroom door

Kitty jumped and spun round at the same time that she found herself falling into her closet with a thud. Removing herself from the closets confinement she went to the door and wrenched it open after making sure she had a scowl plastered on her face.

"Zat vould be more scary if you didn't look embarrassed" Kurt observed unfazed by the look she was giving him.

Kitty gave up on trying being angry with him; she had tried several times only to discover it would last mere seconds. Walking back into her room, after letting Kurt in, she sat down on the edge of her bed whilst Kurt opted for the chair beside the window.

"I suppose ve should begin vith ze obvious question" Kurt started looking a bit nervous himself "How long have you been following me and vhy?"

Kitty nervously swallowed before answering. "About a week after that night in the kitchen and I love you"

Kurt blinked twice before chuckling weakly "I vas expecting a more elaborate answer zan zat"

Kitty found herself giggling slightly herself at Kurt's response; he had eased the tension between them whilst asking her to explain more thoroughly.

"After that night in the kitchen whenever you said something to me, whether in class or just passing in the hallways, I felt happier for some reason. Then after your lesson about why we're given these powers, when you kissed me, I guess I just fell in love with you and started following you around to find out your likes, dislikes and so on" Kitty paused for breath before carrying on "I'm sorry if I was being annoying and using my powers for something so stupid but I'm a teenager and an X-men in training not some golden child like what some people think!"

By the end of her little rant she was surprised to realise she was crying. Looking away so that Kurt could not see the state she was in Kitty was surprised when she felt his hand gently turn her head so that they were facing one another again before brushing away her tears away with his thumb.

"Ze fact zat you openly admitted vhat you did says zat you von't be an X-_voman _in training much longer" Kurt said softly to her not moving his hand from where it was "As for vhy you followed me, you could have just _asked_"

Kitty looked at him curiously.

"I don't know vhen exactly, but I have realised that you seem to have a special place in mien heart ze same as you for me" Kurt raised his hand, the one not cradling her cheek, to stop her from interrupting "However if ve are going to find out how special I vould appreciate you not becoming mien stalker"

"So if I stop shadowing you you'll get together with me?" Kitty asked sounding hopeful.

"Nien" Kurt said chuckling at the girl sudden change "You stop shadowing me and be yourself and ve'll see vere zat leads. Agreed?"

Kitty nodded grinning ear to ear like a Cheshire cat. Kurt had to stop himself from laughing out loud when he made the comparison.

'_Like a shadow yet also like her namesake' _he mused _'A _Shadowcat_. Not a bad codename actually. Maybe I should suggest it to the Professor for when she becomes one of us'_

'_Fits her perfectly Kurt'_

Kurt jumped in surprise, lost his balance and fell off the edge of the bed; he was still unused to the Professor doing that. He ignored the laughter coming from the girl rolling about on the bed and focused on the presence he felt in the back of his mind.

'_With all due respect would you mind _knocking _or something beforehand Professor?'_

'_I apologise if I interrupted you Kurt'_ the Professor said indeed sounding regretful for calling him for some reason. _'But I must ask that you come to my office immediately. I shall explain more thoroughly then'_

'_I'll be there in a minute'_ Kurt replied before getting up and turning to the now sober girl. "I'm afraid ve must continue zis conversation at a later date Katzchen"

Kitty nodded before getting up and hugging him tightly smiling when she felt him hug her back "Until next time then?"

"You're in my first class tomorrow" Kurt said as he let go of her. "So of course ve vill"

With that he disappeared in a cloud of brimstone and sulphur leaving a very satisfied teenager to fall backwards onto her bed grinning all the while.

_~#~_

_R&R_

_& 'til next time_

_Watch this space & peace out._


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimers on chapter 1_

**Chapter 4**

When Kurt teleported into the Professor's study he noticed that he was not the only one needed in this meeting. Ororo was standing by the Professor whilst Logan was leaning against the far wall looking angry about something. Standing near the door was Piotr Rasputin one of the more new additions to the Xmen team.

"I apologise for asking you to come here on short notice but I have an urgent mission for you of the utmost importance" the Professor said sounding somewhat regretful for what he was asking of them.

"Well don't keep us in suspense Chuck" Logan said.

"Just because Bobby saved your life means you have to snap at us Logan" Ororo scolded him getting an angry huff in reply.

Kurt and Piotr looked at one another before turning away both containing their laughter at _the_ Wolverine being saved by a recently official Xmen. They were brought back to the matter at hand by the Professor coughing.

"As you all well know over one month ago Stryker infiltrated the institute and kidnapped several of our younger wards as well as several key components from Cerebro in order to complete his own"

"Excuse me Herr Professor" Kurt interrupted "Forgive me if I am wrong but it sounds like you vant us to recover zees components you speak of"

The reactions that followed his statement were mixed; Logan's head snapped to the Professor's as if mentally asking if what he was asking was true, Ororo stared at the floor, Piotr due to his non involvement looked slightly confused whilst the Professor seemed to look more depressed than before.

"I know that place holds more sorrow for some more than others" at this he inclined his head to Piotr who nodded in reply "But if we are to stop Magneto then I shall need Cerebro's assistance"

"But didn't you say that head peace of his hides his presence from that people finder of yours?" Logan asked.

"Yes, however we all know that he has several followers that are always with him including a former student of ours"

"Yeah whatever" Logan said waving away his explanation "Either way I'm in"

"As am I" Piotr said.

"I'll go too" Ororo said.

Kurt took a deep breath before saying "I vill go as vell"

The Professor bowed his head to them "I thank you for doing this. However be careful, we do not know what perils still remain there"

~#~

Kurt gave a troubled sigh as he finished putting on his uniform. This was the first time he had worn it since he had tried it on several weeks back when he agreed to join the team as well as his first official mission. Walking over to a small desk where a tattered and time worn bible laid Kurt knelt in front of it clasping his hands together in prayer.

[Oh Lord in heaven] he began [Shepherd me as I walk through this path of darkness and lead me to the light that awaits me at the end. Amen]

He had barely finished before there was a knock at his door. Opening it he found Bobby, Rogue and Kitty standing in his doorway.

"We heard that you guys are going back to Lake Alkali. Is this true?" Bobby asked whilst the two girls marvelled at Kurt's uniform.

"Ja. It is true" Kurt replied sounding depressed about going.

"Why wasn't I asked? I'm an Xmen too!"

"Ve vere asked because our abilities are crucial to zis mission" Kurt explained although he was wondering himself why Bobby was not invited. "And if all of us vent on von mission zen zere vould not be anyvon in case anozer comes up"

"But what about you?" Rogue asked "Despaht yer coping betah than others that place must be lahk hell to ya, no offense"

"Non taken" Kurt said before putting a hand on her head "And I expect you to be on your best behaviour vhilst I'm avay"

Rogue swatted his hand away smiling all the while "Yer mah brothah _not_ mah mom"

"Zen vhere is our _resemblance_? You look and speak nothing like me" he teased.

"You kidding? She's bad enough as it is _without_ inheriting your skills and personality" Logan said coming up behind them making the three teens jump. "Anyway if you want something to do Popsicle you and Stripes can make sure Half-pint stays _here_"

"Hey!" exclaimed Kitty finally tearing her eyes off of Kurt to glare at the older man "Just cuz I'm smaller than you mean you can call me names!"

Logan just chuckled as he walked away towards the lift leaving the three teens with Kurt.

"I must go as vell" Kurt said preparing to teleport before quickly looking at Kitty "And ze only shadow I hope to have zere is mien own"

Kitty bowed her head whilst the other two quietly chuckled at what Kurt meant. "Just...be careful okay? Like rogue said that pace must be a real nightmare for you"

"As long as ze Lord vatches over me" Kurt said placing his hands on her shoulders "I vill be fine. Auf wiedersen"

With that he quickly kissed Kitty on the forehead before teleporting away leaving three teens in the hallway outside.

"Hope they'll be alraht" Rogue said as they headed off down the hall towards the common room.

"They'll be fine" Bobby said as he put his arm round her waist pulling her closer to him. "I just wish I was going with them"

"Did you _not_ hear what Kurt said about simultaneous missions?" Rogue asked him playfully digging him in the ribs before squealing slightly as Bobby retaliated by tickling her with the arm he had wrapped round her.

"Speaking of Kurt" Bobby said "Reckon we'll have to call you 'Nightcrawler's _wife_' soon kitty? Kitty?"

The two turned round when the girl did not reply only to see she had disappeared.

"Yah don think she's...?" Rogue left her question hanging.

"Nah! She's probably just waiting in his room for him to return" Bobby said although he was not sounding so sure himself.

"Ah hope yer raht" Rogue muttered as the two continued off down the hall.

~#~

"There you are" Ororo said when Kurt suddenly appeared in front of her "Did saying goodbye to Kitty take more effort than thought?"

"At least I'm confronting mien love troubles" Kurt countered "Have you talked to Logan yet?"

Ororo just chuckled as she went up the entrance ramp to the Blackbird. Following Kurt saw that Piotr was already here whilst Logan was just coming through the doors to the hanger now. Noticing the stench of brimstone in the air Logan headed into the jet before closing the doors.

"Let's go before we get a stowaway" he said as he sat down in the co-pilot's seat propping his feat on the board.

Within minutes the Blackbird was tearing through the sky towards Alkali Lake with its _five_ passengers.

_~#~_

_R&R_

_& 'til next time_

_Watch this space and peace out_


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimers on chapter 1_

**Chapter 5**

The flight to Alkali Lake did not take long. However for Logan, Ororo and, to some extent, Kurt every second they got closer to their destination tore at the still open wound that had yet to start healing from their last expedition there.

For Logan, despite going through both world wars and a few others aside, the death of someone he cared about or loved left a hole in his heart that even his healing abilities could not heal. If he was honest with himself he knew that he felt attracted to Jean more than just a partner or friend however he also knew that she was involved with someone else and it was probably better that way rather than watching her grow old whilst he lived on.

For Ororo Jean was like the sister she never had with the only thing closest to family being the weather witches nephew Evan Daniels who was once at the institute until his powers manifested a physical change in the boys appearance forcing him to join the underground camp called the 'Morlocks' a group of mutants with similar appearances to him and Kurt. Ororo and Jean had became friends when they first came to the institute and had helped each other throughout their training. They soon went their separate paths; Ororo focused solely on teaching the latest generation of mutants whilst Jean hooked up with Scott then later on took Kitty under her wing seeing that she was not faring up as well as others. The two had remained close friends until she sacrificed herself so that the others could get away. Ororo had begun recovering by talking to the Professor and sometimes Logan whilst he was resting himself after a severe danger room session; it was through him that she learned of Kitty's sudden fascination with Kurt.

Kurt, despite not knowing Jean as long as many of the other mutants biding at the institute, felt guilty at the thought that he could not have saved her. Had tried, desperately, to teleport outside in order to bring her back in both before and after the jet had been repaired and airborne however the psychic woman had used her powers to block his own. All he could do was offer a prayer in her honour at her send off before spending a week pondering on what he should do next before joining the ranks of the Xmen.

'_May you finally be at peace Jean Grey'_ He thought to himself before Ororo's voice caught his attention.

"We should be there any minute" she stated sounding like she was struggling with her own memories of her fallen friend.

Looking out his window Kurt could just see the remains of the dam that had once housed the base of a madman and his equally insane son that had nearly wiped out all mutant-kind. It was almost surrounded on all sides by water that had spread to cover several acres of the barren countryside that had surrounded the complex. A sudden noise from the control panel caught everyone by surprise.

"Vhat's happening?" he asked as he walked up to the pilot and co-pilots seats.

"For some reason Stryker's defence nets are online" Ororo explained. "Probably activated during the flood"

"What can we do?" Piotr asked from above Kurt's shoulder making the teleporter jump slightly.

"Return your seats to their full, upright positions" She answered mostly to Logan who still had his feet propped up.

The two standing passengers barely got back into their own seats before Ororo banked the Blackbird to the left in order to evade the missiles that were targeting them. Their relief was short lived as the missiles circled round in pursuit of their prey.

"Why do they always have to be _smart_ missiles?" Logan asked sounding annoyed as he watched the four blinking dots on the radar coming back towards them .

Ororo apparently agreed with him as she conjured up a sudden lightning storm to take out the missiles in one swoop allowing them to get away safely.

"I can't get around for another pass unless someone can get inside and deactivate them" Ororo told the group.

"I got it" Logan said as he started to get out of his seat before Ororo stopped him with her next sentence.

"I can't get you close enough" she said shaking her head.

"I can do it" Kurt found himself saying. Apparently it surprised Ororo as well.

"It's too dangerous. I can't let you" Ororo told him. It was mostly for Kitty's sake; she did not know if the young girl could take losing another person precious to her in the same place as the last one. Kurt seemed to be reading along the same lines.

"I'll keep that in mind" he said before teleporting down to the ground.

As the Blackbird flew over the dam as it sped off to get to a safe distance something seemed to detach itself from the bottom of the jet and sink into the crumbling structure.

"I made it" Kurt radioed in as he appeared in the remains of the spillway

"Good" Ororo's voice cackled over the radio. "The scanners are indicating that the defence systems are being powered by generators in your area, take those out and we'll come in to join you"

Kurt looked about the area he was in; the spillway had numerous cracks in the walls as well as pipe holdings and other pieces of shrapnel sticking out of them. In short Kurt was in his element. Within minutes he had nimbly made his way to an intact corridor, save for the hole in the floor he came through, and was starting to make his way to the door at the far end when something dropped through the ceiling into the floor without leaving a mark or rather _someone_.

~#~

'_This was a bad idea'_ Kitty thought to herself as she curled up in the small space where the front landing gear was stored.

The girl had barely managed to clamber up the front landing gear and squeeze herself into what space was provided before the jet took off for Alkali Lake. It was actually not to be Kurt's shadow as everyone had teased her about, which she knew that Bobby was behind, but rather to see the final resting place of her big sister Jean.

Kitty was startled from her musings when the jet suddenly banked to the side almost sending Kitty into the low ceiling of her current quarters. She was starting to feel scared when she heard an explosion come from, she had assumed was, behind them. Slightly panicking at not knowing what was happening Kitty phased her head through the hatch in the floor to see what was going on. She apparently had bad timing as the jet suddenly shot off in a burst of speed Kitty, unable to grab anything in time, was sent plummeting into the stone structure.

'_I am so in trouble when they find me'_ Kitty thought as she stopped her decent after passing through an empty corridor.

Cautiously sticking her head back out to see if the coast was clear Kitty then pulled the rest of her body out of the concrete and was about to make her way to the door at the far end when she heard someone cough behind her. Turning slowly, as if to prolong the moment, she came face to face with an angry Nightcrawler.

'_Definitely in trouble'_

"Didn't I say that the only shadow I vanted to see here vas mien _own_?" Kurt asked or rather growled at the poor girl who had paled significantly upon seeing who had caught her.

"I-I just wanted-just wanted to see-to see..." Kitty tried to explain but instead collapsed to her knees as began crying.

Kurt sighed deeply before wrapping the girl in his arms. He knew she had probably only come to see the place where Jean had died, however the impact on her was greater than imagined. Yet now was not the time to be sentimental; there was work to be done and quickly too. Gently getting the girl onto her feet he led her by the hand down the corridor to where the door was. It was then that he noticed the small computer panel attached to the wall beside it. With _small_ touch-screen buttons.

"It seems you vere meant to be here after all Katzchen" Kurt remarked as he looked from his hand to the computer screen and back. Kitty tried to back away but found it useless as Kurt had already placed her in front of the console. "Think of it as a vay to lessen your punishment"

Kitty took a deep breath before unlocking the door. As the slab of iron slid open Kitty felt a smile appear on her face before disappearing at what lay behind it; two guards wearing protection suits and wielding what looked like tazer spears. Behind them lay the door to the generator room.

"I vas afraid this vould happen" Kurt said as he stepped in front of Kitty who noticed that he was trying to steel himself for what lay ahead. [God in heaven forgive me for what I must do]

The next second he had teleported behind the first guard and kicked him into the other guard sending both to the ground. Kitty saw her chance and ran to the control panel next to the doors to the generator room and began initiating the unlocking sequence trying to ignore the sound of Kurt fighting the two armed men. Upon finishing typing she wheeled round to see a third guard come at her. Without even thinking she phased through him before sending a swift kick to the guards hindquarters propelling him into the wall knocking him out. Turning back to Kurt she saw that he had finished with his opponents making her smile slightly knowing that he was okay.

"Better not get over confident" Kurt said as he came up to her. "There is a lot more to come before ve go home"

Kitty nodded before the two of them headed through the door to the generator room unaware of what lay ahead.

~#~

_R&R_

_& 'til next time_

_Watch this space & peace out._


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimers in chapter 1_

**Chapter 6**

A thin arm stretches out to press a button opening a panel hidden in the shadows of the base engulfing the area in light. By the time the light fades the panel had closed with no sign of the person opening it anywhere around.

~#~

"This place gives me the creeps" stated one of the soldiers plundering the base.

"Tell me about it" His partner said; the two of them were carrying a container between them. "I've been having these nightmares"

"_Me too!"_ The first soldier remarked. "And I've been _awake_ for some of them..."

The two soldiers' voices fell quiet as another soldier, most likely of a higher rank, walked over to them.

"What's your status?" He barked at them.

"A few hours, sir" The second one replied.

"Well hurry it up. The sooner we get out of here the better"

It appeared that even with their special suits that all the soldiers presently in the base were experiencing weird nightmares that no one could explain. As if a ghost with the ability to create illusions was haunting the place. An alarm suddenly echoed throughout the base along with red lights casting the area surrounding them in a reddish glow.

"What is that?" One of the guards asked looking round.

"Probably just a rat in the spillway" Another one reasoned. "The place is crawling with them"

The higher ranking officer however did not shrug it off as 'just a rat' as he reached for his radio flicking a switch he spoke into the mike.

"Keep those generators powered up until you finish salvaging all Sentinel materials" He ordered as his men began to hustle at a quicker pace in order to leave the complex as soon as they finished their prime directive.

~#~

Through a deep crack in a wall of the hallway just off the generator room a pair of yellow eyes could be seen. Seconds later the rest of the Nightcrawler revealed himself when he teleported into the room whilst Kitty slipped through the wall itself. However she was devoid of her cheerful nature at the moment.

'Kurt, what did you do?' Storms voice crackled over the com-link. 'I show major activity in your area'

"Looks like ve drew a little too much attention to us" Kurt said shooting a glare at Kitty who looked down at her feet; despite letting her tag along he had yet to truly forgive her.

'We? Us?' The weather witch asked sounding confused before she connected the dots. 'Don't tell me Kitty's _there_ with you'

Kitty gulped there was a sharp edge to that last transmission indicating that Storm was angry with her as well. She was about to speak when Kurt suddenly grabbed her wrist and teleported both of them onto one of the overhanging pipes above them as a guard came round the corner.

"Can ve talk about her punishment later?" Kurt asked sounding a bit agitated he heard Storm sigh before talking again.

'Stick to the shadows from here on out if you can. We'll be with you soon' with that she cut the link between them.

Kurt took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before turning to the stowaway. She was regretting coming with them now more than ever as well as believing that any kind of relationship between herself and Kurt, and her place in the team, had plummeted into the negatives.

"Hop on my back and keep quiet if you don't vant to gain a few new holes" He said as he crouched down in front of her so she could put her arms round his neck. The girl complied mutely not feeling the slightest bit thrilled that she was hugging her crush.

"I apologise in advance if the feeling becomes too much to bear" He said in a more gentle voice before teleporting them both to the other end of the hall.

~#~

"Half-pint managed to get onboard?" Wolverine asked half admiring her for managing to stow away without him noticing whilst the other half formed up dangerous yet none life taking punishments for the girl. The three remaining members of the team sent on the mission to Alkali Lake were trekking through the forest from an empty field just outside the defence net.

"I'm afraid so" Storm regrettably confirmed. "I guess Kurt hasn't had time to talk to her yet"

"He did" Wolverine said. "Both me and him caught the brat whilst she was watching him act like a monkey and I heard him ask her to be in her room shortly so they could talk, and I do mean _talk_"

"Then why is she here?" Colossus asked bringing himself into the conversation.

"Of course!" Storm exclaimed suddenly making the men jump slightly. "Why didn't I see it before?"

"See what?"

"Jean..." Storm uttered apparently unable to continue her explanation. She did not need to as the others had looks of understanding etched on their faces.

"Well I don't care if she followed for love or family she never had" Wolverine growled. "Next time 'Crawler goes anywhere mission wise that girl will stay beside Chuck, and assuming she still wants to stay, I'll make sure she's too busy to even think about him"

Storm and Colossus exchanged worried looks. They remembered what Wolverine had put Bobby and Rogue through when he caught them together one time when he was in one of his moods, the kids looked dead on their feet for a week.

~#~

The three guards in the control room for the generators barely had time to register what was happening before a blue skinned mutant teleported above one of the guards and slammed his clasped hands into the back of his head knocking him out. The second guard was about to charge in when he felt something grab his feet and pull him so he was knee high in solid concrete. Dropping in stun rod as he tried to free himself he did not get the chance to scream as a girl rose up in front of him with _his_ weapon and shocked him into unconsciousness. Whilst that was happening the blue mutant had grabbed the third and had teleported around the room with him before throwing him at the girl who latched onto his wrist and using a judo throw sent him head first through the floor to land in a heap on the level below, out for the count.

"Let's get these generator panels online" Kurt said apparently refusing to acknowledge the help Kitty gave him making the girl lose the small smile she had gained.

'_Just like our last fight'_ Kitty thought remembering Kurt shoot down her happiness at winning her first real fight by telling her not to get cocky without even complimenting her achievement.

Heading over to the main access panel Kitty started accessing the generator control system and activated its command panels. A few seconds later a window opened with the word 'online' flashing. Unfortunately that was not the only window that opened; the blast shield covering the control rooms view to the generators was opening loudly.

"Uh-oh" said Kitty unable to form a better sentence.

"That's going to draw attention" Agreed Kurt as the two watched the soldiers beyond the window rush towards the control panels to the generators whilst several rushed to their location. "Remember our talk about powers?"

Kitty barely had a chance to realise what he meant as he grabbed her wrist, teleported to the entrance to the control room and threw her so she went sailing through it feet first into the closest soldier who went flying between the other two knocking them over the rails on each side. Unfortunately her landing was not as graceful as the last time. Slowly she got up trying to ignore the pain in her rear from landing too hard and headed towards the nearest generator panel where Nightcrawler was making quick work of the guards.

Having had enough of typing Kitty ran into the first soldier and went through the control panel for the generator making it short circuit and deactivate the generator whilst the two went plummeting down to the floor below.

"The first generator is off" She called up to Kurt when she got out of the floor whilst the soldier lay on the floor beside her, limbs akimbo like a bug on a windscreen.

"Just von more to go" Kurt replied as he appeared beside her.

They made short work of the second generator using the soldiers own guns against them thanks to their powers before Kitty repeated what she did to the first generator. As they began to make their way towards the rendezvous point a line of soldiers blocked their path.

"You're not getting out of here alive!" One of them said aiming his machine gun at them.

~#~

"Sounds like quite the party in there" Wolverine commented as he heard the sounds of gunfire, teleporting and screaming coming from the sealed door in front of them. "Reckon he can take care of himself?"

"He took on White-house guards and only gained a graze from a bullet did he not?" Colossus pointed out.

"You two are _not _helping here" Storm scolded the two. "Kurt's not a fighter plus he has Kitty's safety to worry about as well"

"Don't see why he should care about her after this" Wolverine scoffed earning a glare from the weather witch that could rival his own.

"I'm going to pretend I _didn't_ hear that" She hissed at him.

Any further conversation was cut short as the door hissed open revealing a frowning Nightcrawler.

"Ah, looks like you can take care of yourself" Wolverine stated before sniffing the air. "Half-pint?"

Kitty peaked out from the edge of the doorway to receive disapproving frowns from the rest of her comrades causing her to pull back.

"I don't know if I'm cut out for this" Kurt whispered as he sighed heavily. "It goes against my peaceful nature"

"_Suuuuure _it does" Wolverine drawled as he took note of the soldiers on the floor.

"Leave him alone! He's not like you!" Kitty threw at Wolverine glaring at him before hiding again.

"Kurt, I hate to ask more of you" Storm began agreeing with Kitty "But I need you and Colossus to recover the _psychic interlink_ and the _core emotion filter,_ our missing Cerebro components"

"The _what?_" Wolverine asked not believing what was being said. "_Emotion filter_? You're making those up right?"

Storm just gave him a look that said 'do as your told, no questions asked'. "_Logan_ and I will find out who these soldiers are and what they're doing here"

"Make sure that's _all_ you do" Nightcrawler commented smiling weakly as Storm did the same feeling slightly better seeing as the pacifist could still make jokes before turning to the tag-along.

"As for you young lady-" She began a stern look on her face before Nightcrawler intervened.

"She vill be of much better assistance to me and Colossus in retrieving the..."

"_Psychic interlink _and _core emotion filter" _Kitty whispered to him.

"_Them_, providing she does vhat I _say_ not vhat I _do_" He added mostly for Kitty's sake.

Storm could see his point and decided to allow Kitty to go with them. "Fine. But that doesn't mean you're off the hook"

Kitty nodded enthusiastically before following the guys with unnatural skin whilst Storm and Wolverine headed in the opposite direction.

"What did he mean about checking out what these _pirates_ are up to is all we do?" Wolverine asked as they walked along the abandoned hallway.

"Not a clue" Storm said, a bit too quickly for Wolverine's liking.

_~#~_

_R&R_

_& 'til next time _

_Watch this space & peace out_


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimers on chapter 1_

**Chapter 7**

The wiry body stretched its thin arm out as far as it could in order to flick the switch nestled amongst the forest of wires and circuitry. Within seconds of completing the action lights on the many panels throughout the dark cavern it was in began turning on indicating that the creation his father had built so long ago yet remained incomplete was still operational. Bathed in the light Jason Stryker allowed himself to integrate with the sentient being; his father's dreams were far from completion but completed the will be.

~#~

"You okay?" Wolverine asked Storm who was leaning against the wall to keep herself up whilst she tried to steady her breathing.

"It's...it's this place" Storm began trying to keep her composure in front of the Wolverine. "I don't like being this far underground, it upsets my powers"

Unfortunately Wolverine had been around longer than her so he was able to discern truth from fiction with apparent ease, although her explanation was a definite possibility.

"You're _claustrophobic_"

Despite his soft tone when saying it, it did not go down well with Storm.

"No I'm not!" She exclaimed before walking on quietly ahead as if to prove him wrong whilst at the same time buy her some time to stop herself from blushing at being found out.

"It's alright Storm. I'm good at keeping secrets" Wolverine called out to her. _'Wonder if the others are having better luck than us?'_

"Here it is" came a voice from the end of the corridor the two X-men were traversing. "This should reroute power to the machine"

Coming round the corner Wolverine and Storm entered a room that had two soldiers and what appeared to be a large robotic head around three to four metres tall and at least over two metres wide. The fact that the head was yet to be complete did not seem to register with them as they could not help but wonder how big it was when put _together_.

**Mutant DNA detected.**

**Capture protocols initiated.**

The deep yet deadpan voice of the machine alerted the two soldiers and an electric humming was heard as they activated their weapons whilst Storm took to the air. Wolverine just unsheathed his claws as he prepared himself for a fight; he would ask questions later.

~#~

'_Don't leave me again!'_ Nightcrawler froze when he heard that voice grabbing the attention of Kitty and Colossus.

"Do you hear that?" He asked as he clasped his hands to his ears as if to muffle sounds that only he could hear which was apparently the case judging by the confused looks the two were throwing him as well as Kitty's look of worry. "The whispering, it's getting louder"

"I don't hear anything" Colossus remarked whilst Kitty rushed to Nightcrawler's side.

"STOP IT!" He yelled suddenly causing Kitty to fall backwards in fright.

'_You left me to _die_!'_

"No, I...I didn't mean to" Kurt tried to explain as images of what happened the last time he was here flashed before his eyes.

"Kurt, what's wrong?" Kitty asked as she crouched down beside her kneeling boyfriend-to-be trying hard not to cry at what was happening to him.

"It...It's nothing" Kurt spoke after a few moments before standing. "Let's move on"

Kitty remained where she was as the other two started walking off. She was trying desperately not to cry after Nightcrawler just brushed her off as if she was not there. _'He's not _that_ mad at me, is he?'_

"Katzchen?" Nightcrawler called out to her from down the corridor. "Are you alright?"

'_Like he's one to talk'_ she thought as she got up and ran over to where the others were. They eventually came upon a locked door that not even Colossus' _knocking_ could open.

"I can't break it!" He uttered clearly surprised that something could survive one of his blows.

"Perhaps it was made of the same stuff that Mr Logan's claws are made of?" Kitty suggested receiving approving nods from the guys.

"Even so, a locked door must have a _key_ somewhere" Nightcrawler mused as he looked about for a computer console.

"It's probably on the inside and whoever's out here radios in to ask them to open up" Kitty observed catching onto the same train of thought Nightcrawler had and mentally jumping up and down when she saw him nod in agreement.

"Then how do _we_ get in?" Colossus asked.

"Maybe I can disable it from inside" Kitty spoke rather quickly before phasing through the door.

"Katzchen, vait!" Nightcrawler called out but it was already too late.

"She doesn't have a com-link on her, da?" Colossus asked a now furious Nightcrawler who was pacing the width of the corridor whilst muttering in German.

[God in heaven that girl is going to be the end of me!] Nightcrawler muttered under his breath. [I thought I specifically told her _not_ to get over confident! Blasted teenage hormones!]

"Kurt?" Colossus asked nervously. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Vait here until the door is open, I'll have you inside in a moment"

With that he teleported off leaving Colossus to wonder if Kitty would ever be able to win the pacifist's heart.

~#~

As the dust settled from the robotic head exploding, the two X-men started to look around for clues to help them know what they were up against. Whilst Storm hacked away on a nearby computer Wolverine started looking over the remains of their opponents. Rolling one over he caught sight of their coat of arms on one of the soldiers shoulder.

"**HYDRA**" He muttered before turning to Storm. "Ever heard of them?"

"No" Storm replied the name not ringing any bells in her head. "What about **'The Sentinel Program'** ring any bells for you?"

Logan shook his head as he approached the monitor she was at which currently showed schematics for the giant head they just destroyed by overloading its energy input along with detailed notes about the for mentioned project. "Stryker was into a lot of dangerous stuff, could be anything. We should keep going"

The two left via a giant hole in the wall created by the explosion and came upon what appeared to be an abandoned laboratory. One that was very familiar to Wolverine.

"Logan, what is this place?" Storm asked feeling a bit nauseous after seeing a man sized tank in the middle of the room with an array of different needles connected to hoses that were attached to a vat of bubbling metal like ooze.

"Stryker's very own incarnation of hell" Wolverine explained a slight hardness to his voice as he looked at a wall full of X-ray photos of where the boiling hot adamantium metal was to be injected into his skeletal structure before it solidified instantly. "I was his main _attraction_"

Storm almost shivered visibly when she understood what he was talking about. It took all her will power not to fly up when he unsheathed one of his claws. "These are my _souvenirs_"

He then slowly walked towards the tank not believing what he saw. _'Not even _she_ could survive that'_

_She_ was Lady Deathstrike. She was or rather still is a woman all too similar to Wolverine. She had a healing factor, metal claws and skeletal structure same as him and she was currently _above_ him severing a live wire that fell into the tank of water that Wolverine currently had his claw in allowing the electricity to surge through his metal bones and effectively render him unconscious.

~#~

Kitty carefully phased out of the wall she was currently in and hid in the shadows of the wall opposite the control console she was looking for.

'_All that time shadowing Kurt paid off'_ she mused as she watched the one guard walking towards her position. She waited as patiently as she could for the guard to come within her reach.

Just before the guard came within inches of her position Kitty suddenly felt an arm grab her round the waist whilst another clamped itself over her mouth before disappearing in a cloud of blue smoke. Neither of the _two_ guards walking round in opposite directions were any the wiser to what happened.

"Are you actually using that head of yours vhen you plan your moves?!" Nightcrawler whispered furiously in Kitty's ear as the two dangled from an overhead light by Nightcrawler's feet and tail the only thing preventing Kitty from falling was his grip around her waist. "How many times must I tell you not to get over confident before the mission is through?!"

Even if his hand was not covering her mouth Kitty could not speak for fear of screaming at where she was just now. Noticing how quiet she was Nightcrawler teleported them back to the shadows she was in before being snagged.

"Vait until they pass von another" Nightcrawler advised. "I'll let you choose vhich von you go for, I'll take the straggler"

Kitty nodded before forcing herself to calm down; despite Kurt's harsh words he had prevented her from alerting the guards to her presence and the others so his anger was justified. The moment the guards' backs were to one another she pounced. Neither guard knew what hit them and all too soon Kitty was hacking the control panel allowing Colossus to enter the room Nightcrawler and herself were in.

"Uh Nightcrawler?" Kitty asked hesitantly catching his attention. "The computer shows that the chamber where we get the parts are blocked by some sort of shield"

"Can it be deactivated from here?" Nightcrawler asked as he looked over Kitty's shoulder at the monitor.

"Only the shields for _that _shield generators" Kitty replied suppressing the shiver she got when he unintentionally breathed down the back of her neck. "Hopefully if you destroy them then we'll have a clear break for the Cerebro chamber"

Kurt nodded before handing the girl his com-link. "You guide, ve break"

"Don't you mean 'I seek, you destroy'?" Kitty asked smiling slightly.

"Mine's sounds less barbaric" Nightcrawler replied smiling himself before teleporting to Colossus' position.

Kitty allowed herself a small chuckle before focusing on the task at hand; she had already gotten two strikes today, a third would send her out of the team shattering her heart in the process.

_~#~_

_R&R_

_& 'til next time_

_Watch this space & peace out._


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimers on chapter 1_

**Chapter 8**

The guard flew a good twenty feet before slamming head first into the wall taking him out of the fight. The rest of his squad were fairing no better against the demon and the man of metal known better as Nightcrawler and Colossus respectively.

Nightcrawler was currently teleporting between several soldiers striking one of them at least once before teleporting to another and landing a blow to him. Colossus on the other hand either just ploughed through them or used them as projectiles as he did that last one.

"Everyone still standing regroup in front of the generator, they'll have to get through us first!" One of the surviving soldiers barked as the others obeyed. Several seconds later on the other side of the generator Colossus appeared after charging through it.

"Fourth generator destroyed" Nightcrawler said into the com-link Colossus had given him.

'_According to the computer the shield around the DCC is now disabled'_ Kitty's voice sounded through the com-link. '_Get to the corridor entrance and I'll meet you guys there'_

Switching off her com-link Kitty made a quick copy of all the data she had been able to hack into whilst her teammates were busy destroying the generators and saved it onto a floppy disk which she stashed in her pocket before phasing through the floor. She almost died of embarrassment when she fell out of the ceiling and landed in Kurt's arms.

"Nice of you to _drop in_" Kurt said sounding as surprised as she was at what just happened. Kitty just nodded unable to use her voice as she phased herself out of his arms.

"Th-there...um...there should be a...uh...a door at the end of this...this corridor" Kitty stammered as she tried to lower her heart rate.

"Lead the vay _fraulien_" Kurt said as he swept his arm before her in a 'you first' gesture. "If you are _sure_ about it"

Seeing the teasing grin on his face as he added that last comment Kitty pretended to be offended by it by sticking her chin out before walking past him hearing him chuckle as he followed but continued to ignore him. Inside however she was practically jumping up and down; there was still a chance and she had just increased the odds of her getting together with him.

'_Focus!'_ She mentally yelled at herself. _'The mission is _not_ complete yet!'_

"Pardon me for interrupting your daydream" Nightcrawler began. "But vhat does DCC stand for?"

Kitty turned round to face them before answering with a nervous grin. "Dark Cerebro Chamber"

#~#

"Why don't we just put a bullet through him?"

"Deathstrike says he's a healer, only way to be sure is to turn him to ash"

Wolverine slowly opened one eye as he awakened from his impromptu nap. Looking round he saw he was in the old holding pens he was kept in with other healer mutants. If what he heard was correct from the two guards he was about to be put in the incinerator Stryker had installed to remove the weak from the bunch.

Deciding that the only way to find out where Storm was to do it the old fashion way he quietly got to his feet and snuck up on the guards before unsheathing his claws.

"Did you hear that?" one of the guards asked turning round only to receive a swift death.

The other guard tried to reach his radio only for Wolverines claw to firmly attach his hand to it causing him to scream out loud before Wolverine's other hand clamped over his mouth.

"Tell me where your boss is and I'll make it quick!" Wolverine snarled.

"Sh-she's in the hanger! On the other side of the testing centre!" The soldier cried before being silenced permanently.

The testing centre was where Stryker burned the healers time after time to see how fast they could heal. The winners got to live longer whilst the losers got to finally rest; a win: win situation in the eyes of those who had lived as long as him. The sounds of approaching footsteps put Wolverine on guard; there was no way that he could walk there without drawing attention.

'_I gonna need a cool head to tackle _her_ again' _He reasoned. _'Might as well let off some steam along the way'_

The moment the door opened the Wolverine pounced.

#~#

Kitty swiftly walked down the corridor towards the entrance of the 'Dark Cerebro Chamber' as she decided to call it looking over her shoulder to make sure that Colossus and Nightcrawler were right behind her now and again; she knew she was on her last chance and she did not want to blow it. She also did it to make sure that Kurt did not suddenly stop like he did not long after Storm and Wolverine left them.

"If you're that worried about him then you should talk about it" Colossus advised after she looked over her shoulder for the tenth time making her jump.

"The last time I tried he _ignored_ me" Kitty whispered so that Nightcrawler could not hear.

Before Colossus could come up with a reply they had arrived at their destination; the Dark Cerebro Chamber. Seeing the small panel next to the door Kitty went over to it and typed in the access code only for the computer to deactivate half way through.

"Nooooo!" Kitty whined as she slammed her fist against the console. "With the power out I can't get us in"

"Let us see if I can" Colossus stated before walking up to the door and digging his fingertips into the space between the doors and started to pull in opposite directions.

Kitty's eyes widened as she watched the hairline crack between the doors slowly become more noticeable as the door was opened. She jumped suddenly when she heard Nightcrawler's voice speaking to no one.

"You're just a figment of my imagination!" He said pointing at a spot above them. Kitty slowly stepped up to her crush in hopes of not surprising him before he spoke again. "You vere trying to _destroy the vorld_!"

Kitty had no idea who he was talking to or what he was talking about but decided to intervene before he had a repeat of last time.

"Kurt, come on" She said gently as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "We've got to get going before we're discovered"

As if saying the magic word a nearby door opened revealing several soldiers.

"Too late! Get the parts; I'll hold them off as long as I can!" Colossus yelled holding the doors open wide long enough for Nightcrawler to grab Kitty and leap through the door before it slammed shut leaving the soldiers to try a few rounds with the mutants' version of Mike Tyson.

Inside the chamber Nightcrawler and Kitty made their way to the interface where the parts were located before stopping as the whole chamber began to shake.

"That doesn't sound too good" Nightcrawler stated as he looked up to the ceiling before quickly grabbing hold of Kitty and teleporting them to the entrance just before a large plate collapsed where they were once standing covering the interface.

"_Not_ a problem" Kitty said as she made to move forwards again only to realise Nightcrawler's grip on her had just tightened. Looking up at the roof again she gasped as three robots at least forty feet tall appeared through the hole in the ceiling. "_Big_ problem..."

#~#

Storm tried to get a hand out of the container to prevent Deathstrike from slamming the lid down.

"Stop struggling!" She snarled as she finally managed to close the lid and lock it preventing the weather witch from escaping.

"Witch!" she muttered before her sixth sense warned her of another person behind her.

"This is between us!" Wolverine said before dropping into a fighting stance. "Let her go!"

Deathstrike smirked as she allowed her nails to elongate into lethal claws. "Haven't we been through this already?"

Neither of the two failed to notice the sudden wind that stated to blow fiercely through the hanger. As the flashes of lightning darted throughout the place Wolverine remembered the conversation he and Storm had had about her being claustrophobic and her powers being upset by it. As he watched the forming F3 hurricane he realised that instead of it being one or the other it was actually a mixture of both; whenever in small spaces she got scared and lost control of her powers.

"Yeah!" He answered the only mutant asides Sabertooth to survive a fight with him. "But it looks like we're gonna do it again!"

The next second, before either Wolverine or Deathstrike could react, the pair of them had been sucked up into the twister and sent slamming into the ground. Quickly recovering Deathstrike charged at Wolverine driving her claws into his chest. Wolverine countered by driving one of his claws through her abdomen in a crude uppercut using the force to throw her back into the twister.

"We'll be at this for _eternity_!" Wolverine muttered as his healing ability kicked in.

Because both of them were so similar it would be like watching to see which paints colour faded away first. Noticing the container holding Storm prisoner about to fly by Wolverine took a gamble by jumping back into the vortex and used his claws to break the top of the container before sailing into the wall by the strong winds before they faded.

"Storm?" Wolverine called out to the open container that lay motionless on the floor several metres away. "You all right?"

He nearly jumped when she floated up and out of the container eyes pure white and lightning crackling about almost angrily to match her mood which was nothing short of livid. "It's not _me_ you should be worried about...it's _her_!"

With that she sent forth a bolt of lightning at Deathstrike sending her flying out of the hanger doors before falling out of the air exhausted into Wolverine's waiting arms.

"I gotcha" He whispered gently to her as he carried her out of the hanger.

"I told you" She chuckled wearily not complaining about him carrying her. "I'm _not_ claustrophobic"

Wolverine just stayed quiet; she needed the satisfaction of proving herself right and he did not want to have _another_ shocking experience.

#~#

Nightcrawler could not help but enjoy himself as he darted around the edge of the chamber using the broken rails and panels that were sticking out of the wall to literally run circles around the three giant robots that were trying to shoot him whilst Kitty slowly crawled _along through_ the bridge to reach the interface and grab the components.

Suddenly feeling bold Nightcrawler teleported onto one of the robots shoulders. The other two aimed at it and fired simultaneously destroying only the robot but not the mutant.

"Clumsy machines" He muttered from his perch underneath the interface. "Katzchen?"

His vision was suddenly blurred by a mane of black hair as Kitty stuck her head out looking away from him. It disappeared before reappearing beside his head.

"You ok?" She asked.

"For the moment" Nightcrawler replied. "How much longer do you need?"

Kitty's head quickly ducked back in before reappearing a few seconds later. "If I grab them and run: a minute"

"Vhen you run make sure it's out the door!" Kitty nodded.

"Only if you- Look out!"

Whilst the two were talking small seeker drones had floated to their position. Kitty barely had time to pull her head back in whilst Nightcrawler teleported out of the blast range of the seekers self destruction. Reappearing near the top of the chamber Nightcrawler waited for the remaining seeker drones to hover nearer the remaining robots before teleporting to one of their shoulders. Upon hearing the numerous beeps that indicated they had initiated their self destruct mode he quickly teleported away whilst the blast destroyed one and damaged the other.

"They don't think much do they?" He said to no one in particular.

Meanwhile Kitty had managed to grab the components and had phased herself out of the interface and started to run full tilt toward the exit. She completely ignored the remaining drone, phasing right through it, and phased through the door almost getting flattened by a guard Colossus had just punched.

"Sorry Kitty" He apologised as he held the remaining soldier off the ground by his neck.

A large boom emanated from the room she just left as Colossus knocked the remaining soldier's lights out. Quickly pounding the door several times he bust down the door to reveal an unscathed Nightcrawler. Relieved Kitty quickly wrapped her arms round his waist whilst he stroked her hair soothingly.

"Impressive" Nightcrawler complimented upon seeing the soldiers' bodies litter the ground as well as the force he _opened_ the door with.

"You too" Colossus remarked as he looked about the chamber. The whole place was strewn with remains of robots.

"We've got what we came for" Kitty said after she reluctantly detached herself from Nightcrawler to reveal the interlink and the filter. "Let's get out of here"

The two men nodded before Nightcrawler placed a hand on his teammate's shoulders and teleported the three of them to the surface.

#~#

"Where does it lead?" The commanding officer asked the soldiers who had found the shaft.

"We don't know" one of them answered. In truth the pair had stumbled upon the hatch purely by accident.

There could be valuable equipment down there, let's check it out" The CO said before opening the hatch.

The squad wandered through the cavern that lay beyond the hatch for several minutes.

"We must be directly under the lake" One of the soldiers muttered as they reached a ledge viewing over a vat cavern. Directly in the centre of the cave lay a massive machine with lights in its centre glowing brighter every second.

"What is it?" one of the soldiers asked.

"The 'Master Mold'" The CO answered as he started backing away. "It's online!"

As the giant monstrosity started to move the CO barked an urgent order. "Get out, NOW!"

Unfortunately as the Master Mold rumbled into life the cave started to cave in; the squad never made it half way to the entrance before being crushed.

#~#

Ororo was finally starting to feel better by the time she and Logan reached the Blackbird. The sudden sound of helicopter blades drew their attention to a field not far from where they were. The moment Logan saw Deathstrike climb into one of the helicopters he knew what he had to do yet part of him felt terrible about it.

"I'm sorry Storm" He said as he let go of her shoulder. "But I'm not letting her get away _again_"

Ororo just nodded as she watched him run up to the ledge and leap off it and cling to the underside of a rising helicopter. Logan braced himself for what he knew would be a long trip as Ororo's last words echoed in his ear making him smile for some unknown reason.

_Just come back in one piece_

As the helicopters faded into the distance Kurt, Piotr and Kitty appeared in a cloud of blue smoke.

"Did you get the Cerebro parts?" Ororo asked only for Kitty to show her the said parts. "Then let's get back to the school"

"Ve vere attacked" Kurt said as Kitty grabbed one of his hands with her own; the shock of what she had just accomplished just starting to kick in. "By robots, giant robots"

Ororo wondered if they were similar to the robot schematics she had found on the computer so she asked what they looked like. Kurt just pointed behind her whilst Kitty clung to his other arm. Turning round Ororo saw what could only be described as a robot as tall as Manhattan island was long.

_~#~_

_R&R _

_& 'til next time_

_Watch this space & peace out_


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimers on chapter 1_

**Chapter 9**

"Good work" The Professor said to Ororo and Kurt who were waiting outside the original Cerebro chamber back in the mansion for him to exit after reconnecting the parts he had asked them to retrieve. "It must have been hard returning to a place that holds so many unpleasant memories"

'_You have no idea Professor'_ Kurt thought as he suppressed a shudder as he remembered his last two times there before the recent one.

The first when he had been captured by General Stryker and taken there in order to receive the injection that made him like a mindless servant and attack the President; he still had nightmares even now of attacking them without being able to control his body. The second time was when he returned leading the remains of the X-men in order to rescue the Professor himself as well as a dozen younglings from the mad mans grasp and losing Jean Grey as she sacrificed herself to save them. And this time...

"Something is going on there Professor" He said out loud. "There were soldiers, robots..."

The Professor cut him off. "General Stryker had so many different agendas, it's impossible to know everything he was up to there"

"But vhat about Jason?" Kurt asked. "He came to me in a vision"

_#~#_

"_I'm talking to you Kurt" Jason taunted him as he hovered near the ceiling._

"_You are just a figment of my imagination" Kurt said pointing at the spectre unaware that Kitty was cautiously walking up to him._

"_No I'm not, I'm real" Jason countered his face contorted in anger. "And you left me to die!"_

"_You vere trying to _destroy the vorld_!" Kurt responded._

"_And I'll do it again! Finish what Daddy started!" The spectre stated proudly. "Just watch me!"_

"_Kurt, come on" Kitty's gentle voice came from beside him as she placed a hand on his shoulder whilst the spectre disappeared. "We've got to get going before we're discovered"_

_#~#_

"Residual effects from the mind control, it will go away in time" The Professor explained making Kurt jump when he discovered he had been day dreaming about what happened. "I suggest the both of you go get some rest whilst _Kitty and I_ have a talk up in my study"

As he added that last comment he turned to look at the bare wall on his left as did the other two to see Kitty walk out of the wall looking rather bashful for having been caught by the Professor. Kurt was the least surprised out of him and Ororo whose face showed surprise clearly on it.

"Von of these days Katzchen your curiosity vill do to you vhat it did to your namesake" Kurt said as he shook his head before teleporting to his room in much need of a prayer to god to help him in his current situation.

Both Kitty and Ororo stared at the spot he had just been feeling sorry for him before Ororo left as well leaving Kitty alone with the Professor.

#~#~#

Kitty sat nervously on the edge of her seat as she waited for the Professor to speak. He was currently meditating, as they called it whenever they saw the Professor using his powers, looking over what she had done from her point of view having already seen what had happened from Kurt's point of view when he was thinking about the vision of Jason appearing before him.

'_I'll probably be stuck with chores for a month'_ Kitty thought before gulping when a sudden thought struck her. _'Or at least until Mr Logan comes back and sinks his claws into me'_

'_You'll be happy to know that Logan is _not_ the one who will be punishing you Kitty'_ Came the Professor's voice inside her head making the girl squeak as she jumped then fell through the seat in fright. She quickly got up and sat down again whilst the Professor watched with hidden amusement.

"Now before we go any further, I want you to tell me something" The Professor began. "When you defeated those soldiers how did it feel?"

Kitty shuddered. She was still trying to get over what she had just done even with Kurt's help on the flight home.

_#~#_

_Kitty clung tightly to Kurt's arm as she watched the giant robot float away. Adding that to all the guards she had taken out, some even worse, coupled with her escapade in the dark Cerebro chamber and the times Kurt was angry with her; Kitty could not help but tremble visibly whilst trying to prevent the tears from over flowing._

_Seeing that the girl could barely move, Kurt gently pick up the traumatized teen and carried her into the jet. Kitty did not protest instead she wrapped her arms securely round his neck as she began to cry unable to hold back any longer. Kurt was apparently expecting that to happen as he sat down in a seat near the back of the Blackbird and began to rub her back soothingly whilst she cried into his shoulder._

"_Now you understand vhy you vere supposed to stay vith the others" He whispered once she had started to calm down. The girl just nodded unable to use her voice for the moment._

"_I feel terrible" She mumbled making Kurt strain even his sensitive ear to hear her. "Yet I feel worse knowing that it's much more so for you"_

_Kurt managed a small smile as he hugged her. "I thank you for the concern, but I suggest that you rest for the moment as I'm sure the Professor vill want to see you vhen ve arrive"_

_Kitty did not need to be told twice; her eyelids were already closing. The last thing she felt was Kurt kissing her on the forehead._

_#~#_

"That will do Kitty" The Professor said making the girl blush when she realised he had just watched the same thing she was thinking about.

"I assure you that was _all_ I saw" The Professor said when Kitty opened her mouth again making her blush even more. He waited patiently until the girl before him managed to get her blush under control before continuing.

"Usually when one of you wishes to join the ranks of the X-men we, or rather I, make sure that your missions are not so _disturbing_ until you are seen as being ready enough to comprehend what's happening" The Professor began. "Now despite your foolish attempt to pay respects to Jean as well as ignoring an order from one of your betters I am proud to say that you did a marvellous job back there"

Kitty could not believe what she was hearing. Unless she were dreaming the Professor had just congratulated her on an unofficial mission.

"There is a problem however" The Professor said pausing for a moment to let his words sink in. "We do not know if you want a code name or if you just want to keep your usual name"

Kitty sighed with relief before realising what he meant making her drop her gaze to the floor in embarrassment.

"I was thinking of having a code name Professor" Kitty said softly. "But all I could come up with was _Sprite_ or _Spectre_ because of my abilities"

The Professor chuckled softly before offering one of his own. "Might I suggest _Shadowcat_? It certainly fits you better than your suggestions if you'll pardon the rudeness"

Kitty was silent as she thought it over; she was definitely like a shadow the way she managed to move about and people often referred to her as curious as her namesake. After thinking it over for several minutes she smiled before nodding.

"Very well then _Shadowcat_" The Professor said whilst smiling proudly at her like a parent whose child just accomplished something amazing. "May I suggest you go rest up like the rest of your team, I will call you when the time comes. Until then goodnight"

"Goodnight Professor, and thank you" Kitty replied before getting up and walking out the door, waiting until it closed before squealing quietly. _'I made the team! Oh Kurt is _so_ going to like my codename I just know it!'_

'_It was Kurt who first thought of that name Kitty'_ The Professor said in her mind making her jump. _'You will find him in your room waiting for you to hand out your punishment'_

Whether Kitty heard the last part of the message was unknown as the moment she heard the Professor say Kurt was in her room Kitty quickly dashed through the corridors to reach her room. She did not even bother to open the door just phasing through startling Kurt who was watching the door waiting for her to return.

"Und I thought it vas just the Professor who needed to learn how to _knock_" He joked seeing the look of happiness on the girls face. "Might I ask vhy the sun is shining in the middle of the night?"

"I'm one of you!" Kitty exclaimed as she jumped into Kurt's arms whilst he looked at her confusingly.

"You do not look at all _similar_ to me let alone _being_ von of me" He joked already knowing what the Professor was going to talk about. "_Danke Gott_"

Kitty tried to look offended when she slapped him but was so happy that she just gave him a light pat on the chest before hugging him again.

"Thank you for the name" She whispered.

"Think of it as a gift to congratulate you on becoming an _X-Voman_" Kurt chuckled before reaching behind him and picking up a book that was on the seat he was just sitting on. "Und here's another"

"What is it" Kitty asked as she examined it; it was a book of German short stories that had only a hundred pages in it.

"Your _punishment_" Kurt said as if it was obvious ignoring Kitty's shocked expression. "You must translate all the stories in it from German to English, only then vill ve go any further"

Kitty's features went from sad to happy so fast Kurt almost wondered if she had multiple personalities.

"You mean...?" Kitty began unsure how she should continue.

"Ve shall just have to vait und see" Kurt said quickly leaning down and kissing her on the lips before leaving the room via the door. "Sveet dreams _liebchen"_

Kitty was unsure how but she had managed to reach her bed before her legs gave way and her mind went blank as she fainted on top of the covers.

_~#~_

_**A/N: **For those who don't know Sprite was Kitty's first codename when she was first introduced in the Xmen comics back in the eighties._

_R&R_

_& 'til next time_

_Watch this space, peace out & happy festivities._


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimers on chapter 1_

**Chapter 10**

"Class dismissed" Kurt said half-heartedly when the bell rang signalling the end of the period. It had been nearly two days now since the mission and he was amazed that nobody had asked him what was wrong and from the look of it he might be able to get through the day without anyone asking.

"You okay Kurt?"

Scratch that.

"I've been better" Kurt answered Rogue's question as he turned to the younger girl. "Returning to places that hold the horrors of one's past tends to open old wounds as well as make new vons"

Rogue shuddered as she remembered what had happened the last time. She could barely handle seeing Jean sacrificing herself to save them yet the person in front of her had been able to return to the very place that started the events that had happened over a month ago twice and was only now starting to feel the negative effects.

"On the subject, do you know how Katzchen is coping?" Kurt asked. "I've barely seen her since ve got back vhich is a surprisen und I'm starting to vorry"

Rogue snorted before jerking her thumb at the back of the room. "See fer yerself"

Looking in the direction Rogue pointed out Kurt raised his eyebrows as he saw Kitty sleeping peacefully in her seat her face buried in her arms.

"Ever since the morning after ya'll got back she's been stuck in the lahbrary whenever she ain't got classes, something about a punishment exercise"

Kurt groaned. "Und she is sleeping now because she spent the night finishing it off I presume"

He knew she would have put the punishment to the top of her to do list but he did not know that she would have gone to such lengths to finish it. Walking over to the sleeping beauty Kurt carefully pressed the tip of his prehensile tail into Kitty's lower back directly on her spine before dragging it right up her back. The act made Kitty arch her back so quickly that she nearly toppled backwards off of her chair only prevented so by Kurt grabbing her feet and pulling in the opposite direction bringing Kitty's chair back onto four legs whilst the girl herself looked round trying to figure out where she was.

"As much as ah'd like to see the girl get punished by her favourite teacher" Rogue grinned as she walked to the door of the classroom. "Ah promised Bobby ah'd help him with something after class"

"Try not to absorb too much of him during your _studies_" Kurt jokingly advised making the girl blush before she vanished out the door.

Kitty meanwhile had managed to get her bearings and was able sneak away through the back wall whilst Kurt was occupied. Unfortunately when she emerged on the other side she saw Kurt leaning against the wall on the opposite side making the girl blink before quickly poking her head back through the wall to see an empty class. Pulling her head back through she turned to face a blank wall and no Kurt.

"Looking for somevon?" Kurt asked from directly above her making the girl gasp out loud as she took several steps back whilst looking up to see Kurt hanging from the rafters by his tail.

"For someone who is supposed to be a man of god you sure have a devilish side" Kitty joked before realising what she said. "I'm sorry I didn't mean-"

"No offense taken" Kurt interrupted as he teleported to the ground before turning more serious. "How are you coping vith your acceptance over vhat you did the other day"

Kitty shrugged. "I haven't really thought about what happened at the lake since we got back, haven't had much sleep either"

"So your actions in class, or lack thereof, have told me" Kurt said as he walked off towards his quarters. "I suggest an early night und finish vhat's left of your assignment tomorrow"

"Not gonna happen" Kitty said making Kurt stop in his tracks.

He barely had time to turn round before Kitty had pushed both the book he gave her and several sheets of paper into his chest. Quickly browsing through it Kurt saw that she had translated it word for word.

"Well?" Kitty asked nervously as started fidgeting with the hem of her jumper.

"Very impressive" Kurt admitted as he finished leafing through it. "A few grammar errors but othervise a perfect translation"

"That's not what I meant" Kitty whispered.

Kurt looked up at the girl to see that she was closer than before and looking at him with a hopeful gaze in her eyes. He chuckled weakly.

"I vas hoping you vould take longer to finish this so I vould have more time to prepare myself" Kurt said sounding slightly nervous himself.

Kitty giggled slightly before she slowly placed her arms round Kurt's waist thankful that the corridor they were in was now empty. "Sometimes its best _not_ to prepare and just jump right in"

"You are the expert on leaping vithout looking I'll give you that" Kurt said as he gently pulled himself out of the girls grasp. "However some things, like our...relationship, require time"

Kitty, who had started to feel upset at Kurt pulling away from her, felt elated when Kurt spoke of them having a relationship before suddenly realising why Kurt was being so uncomfortable. "You've never had someone _like_ you for who you are let alone _love _you"

The next thing she knew Kurt's tail had wrapped round her ankle and was then teleported into his room landing softly on the bed whilst Kurt landed on the bedpost crouched like a gargoyle.

"I apologise for the sudden trip" said Kurt as he jumped off the post and sat down on the edge of the bed. "But I figured you vould vant an explanation somevhere more private"

Kitty nodded before getting herself more comfortable beside Kurt waiting patiently for him to explain. Kurt took a deep breath before starting.

"As far back as I can remember I've been all alone in this vorld. I vas abandoned on the steps of a church not long after I vas born und grew up following the teachings the reverend of that church showed me hence my peaceful nature.

Vhen I vas fifteen the reverend passed avay und I vas forced to flee from those he had protected me from eventually running into the Munch circus who gave me my nickname and shelter in return for the audiences I gathered during their shows. Unfortunately four years later ve vere forced to disband vhen a bunch of mutant haters disrupted our show trying to capture me, I vas able to escape them und managed to find shelter in a torn down church vhich I called home until not long ago.

The first person to like me vas Frau Munroe who saw me as somevon trying to go through life peacefully like herself, she became mien first real friend. The next person vas your best friend Rogue, after I saved her life she alvays looked up to me for comfort und guidance especially vhen she felt that her powers vhere stopping her from having a more intimate relationship vith her boyfriend, she became mien loving sister in a sense. Und then there is you..."

Kitty, having found herself on an emotional rollercoaster as she listened to Kurt's tale, felt her heartbeat quicken as she looked into the glowing yellow eyes that were focusing on her.

"Ever since ve first met you have tried to get to know me better than both Frau Munroe und Rogue, on a more personal level if I may be so bold" Kurt added causing Kitty to blush. "You vant to know the real me und at the same time make me feel that I am not alone. Yet despite how close ve are getting I am afraid of vhat might happen"

Kitty smiled softly as she sat beside him leaning against him whilst he draped his arm round her waist.

"I guess I can cope with a slow relationship seeing as it's you" Kitty said as she took Kurt's other hand in her own. "But if we ain't in a real relationship by the time I'm eighteen I'm hooking up with Piotr"

Kurt chuckled as he took his hand out of Kitty's and stroked her cheek gently. "Just because I'm not truly ready for a relationship does it mean I can't start von"

Kitty's face went beet red at his statement before feeling bold and started to move in as Kurt lowered his head closer to hers.

_~ Could all X-men please head to my office immediately~_ The Professor spoke in their minds causing them to jump apart as if electrocuted.

_[For the love of God!]_ Kitty cursed in German. _[We were so close!]_

_[Now you know how I feel when he does that]_ Kurt stated making Kitty jump again as she remembered who the language teacher was at the mansion. "However if he is asking all of us to meet then it must be important"

Sighing in frustration Kitty made to leave for her own room before Kurt caught her shoulder. "He said _all_ X-men liebchen"

The two of them laughed at her forgetfulness before Kurt teleported them away. The next second they were both in the Professor's office where the rest of the team minus Logan was waiting.

"I apologise for the sudden announcement but there is some pressing matters I have been alerted to" The Professor began. "Cerebro has detected two mutants both using their powers to cause havoc. This was further proved when I received two calls from separate police forces in the areas where they are.

"The first one, James Madrox with the power to duplicate himself, has taken the Brooklyn Bridge and is planning to blow it up with explosives he had stolen earlier. The second one is former student John Allerdyce who is currently setting fire to a power plant several states over"

"I'll handle John" said Bobby as he stepped forward. "I'm the only one who can stand against him"

"I'll go with him" Ororo said as she stood beside him. "As backup if needed"

Kurt sighed heavily before speaking. "I shall go to Brooklyn to take care of Herr Madrox"

"Whilst I focus on taking care of the bombs that he's already set to blow" Kitty finished. _~We're the ultimate infiltration team cause of our powers~_

_~I have to agree with you on that Kitty~_ The Professor said before addressing them all. "Be careful all of you, there has been enough lost already and I'm sure none of us wants to lose someone else"

*#~#*

Logan sighed in frustration as he finished off another batch of guards. He had wound up in Japan near some fortress but had to get off early before he was noticed so was only just arriving.

_~On your own again Logan~_ The Professor's voice sounded in his head. _~Have you learned _nothing_ from our time together? ~_

"Deathstrike's a link to my past, the only one _left_" Logan explained sounding slightly desperate. "I've gotta do this"

_~At what cost? We need you here~_

Logan breathed deeply before looking ahead as if imagining the Professor was standing right in front of him. "I promise, Chuck, I'll come back and help when all this is finished"

With that he set off towards the castle whilst the Professor pulled his mind back. He knew Logan was a man of his word and, if he was not mistaken, he had made a promise to someone else that was special to him that he was also going to keep.

_#~*~#_

_Quick side note: my profile page has been updated to provide several MC stories that will be started this year that said_

_R&R_

_& 'til next time_

_Watch this space & peace out_


	11. Chapter 11

_Sorry for the delay of this chapter I had a nasty cold, my laptop had a troublesome virus & I seem to be lacking the motivation to finish this fic. Irksome because I prefer finishing what I start._

_Excuses & explanations done with, you can check chapter 1 for the disclaimer, please enjoy._

**Chapter 11**

Atop the highest building at the site John Allerdyce aka Pyro was thoroughly enjoying himself as he sent fireball after fireball down onto the buildings below. He was glad that he decided to take up Magneto's offer, hiding like a coward like all the students at his former school made him feel weak whilst now he could show the world how dangerous and powerful he could be.

"That's enough John!" said a familiar voice. Looking down to his right he saw his once friend and classmate now enemy speeding towards him on a path of ice that he was creating.

"Where's Rogue?" Pyro taunted remembering the girl who had stopped him from having fun with the cops when Bobby's younger brother ratted on them. "Your girlfriend not here to fight your battles for you?"

He then sent a fireball at Iceman to prove his point forcing the ice manipulator to create an ice shield to prevent the flaming projectile from hitting him.

"I can't let you do this" Iceman said before launching an ice grenade at John who just melted it before it could reach him.

"You can't stop me!" John declared raising his hands above his head and, with the help of his new flamethrower backpack, generated a giant fireball from which birds made entirely of flame emerged and started to make their way towards the buildings their master targeted. "If I were you I'd get out of here, right now!"

Iceman ignored the pyromaniac and instead chased after the firebirds.

'_Those fires are fuelling his powers'_ Iceman though as he wiped out several birds with his ice beam before looking at the carnage Pyro had made before he arrived. _I'll have to put them out to stop him'_

And so Iceman began his dangerous task of extinguishing the fires that were situated on the building that Pyro was sending forth his reign of terror whilst at the same time taking out the firebirds he was creating and ignoring the taunts he was spewing.

Meanwhile near the perimeter of the plant Storm watched as the two former friends and classmates fought it out feeling helpless at the moment. She had promised Iceman that she would only jump in to help when he asked for it after Nightcrawler had reasoned to her that it was their fight and only they could finish it. She only hoped that the outcome would not be her worst nightmare.

Iceman circled the building Pyro was on after extinguishing the last of the fires. He was slightly confused as he knew that if he wanted to Pyro could have easily set the whole site ablaze _before_ they arrived so the question that was burning in the back of his mind was _why_ was he here? As if answering his question the Professor suddenly contacted him via mind-link.

_~The plants fittings are made of adamantium, the strongest metal on Earth~_ The Professor explained. _~Magneto wants to steal it to create devastating weaponry~_

'_Giving Pyro the excuse to create some mayhem in the process'_ Iceman added. "Do you know what it's for?"

_~I'm working on that~_

"Who are you talking to Bobby? The Professor?" Pyro interrupted as he began taunting Iceman again. "Is he telling you what to do? How's he say how you should handle _this_?!"

With that Pyro launched a salvo of firebirds and sent them down the main coolant tunnel to the reactor.

"They're heading for the reactor Bobby!" Pyro called after the Iceman as he went speeding after them on his ice slide. "You'll never catch them all! But I bet you'll try!"

Seeing as he now had a clear field once again Pyro decided that he might as well create a _warm_ welcome for Iceman if he did succeed although he was not hoping he did but even so he wanted an excuse for more blazing destruction. A sudden rumble of thunder disturbed him from his musings before he suddenly found himself drenched in a heavy shower.

"Must you always wash away my fun witch?!" He yelled at Storm who Iceman had asked to keep Pyro occupied until he had dealt with the problem at hand.

"I just thought I'd keep you company until Bobby gets back from cleaning up your mess again" Storm answered knowing full well it would infuriate Pyro further before making lightning strike near his feet forcing Pyro to jump to the side.

*~#~*

On the Brooklyn suspension bridge Jamie Madrox who had dubbed himself Multiple Man due to his ability to make copies of himself was busy arming the latest of bombs his _clones_ for lack of a better word had set up all along the bridge. He was no demolition expert but he knew that the amount of explosives he had stolen would be enough to cripple the bridge for quite a while.

The clone that was currently arming the bomb did not notice the dark blue prehensile tail that was snaking its way down towards him until it tapped him on the shoulder. By then it was too late as he was teleported into the air and punched and kicked several times before falling through the air into the river below whilst Nightcrawler teleported back onto the bridge in the middle of several Multiple Clones.

_[They are not real just copies of one man]_ Kurt muttered like a mantra. _[Not real just copies, not real just copies]_

He then quickly teleported between two of the Clones, punching one and kicking the other then teleported above another Clone grabbing him and throwing him into the back of another Clone whilst the remaining Clones tried to fire at him without shooting their brethren. All the while Nightcrawler was forced to remember his fights at the White house and Alkali Lake.

Whilst that was going on Shadowcat had emerged from the ground and was now in front of the bomb and had already disarmed it at the press of a button.

"Why do I always get the easy jobs?" Kitty asked herself. It was not that she wanted to have a better role in the current mission but in both this mission and the one to Alkali Lake she had much easier tasks to complete next to Nightcrawler who despised fighting yet was doing most of it due to powers and skills.

"Took the words right out of my mouth babe" Said a Clone who had managed to avoid Nightcrawler's assault and was walking towards her arms open in order to grab her.

Shadowcat smiled sweetly at the Clone before grabbing its open arms and pulling him towards the steel beam the bomb was connected to as hard as she could. Shadowcat then phased herself through it but made sure that the Clone was solid so that the Clone was slammed face first into the beam. The Clone took several steps backwards as if trying to keep its balance before succumbing to the forces of gravity and keeled over into unconsciousness before fading away.

Shadowcat stared at the spot where the Clone had been before heading over to where Nightcrawler had finished off the remainder of Clone's that were now starting to fade away as well leaving just the two of them on the bridge section.

"How are you coping?" She asked Nightcrawler softly when she reached him noticing that he was looking ashamed of himself for doing something that was against his nature again.

"That is a bridge best crossed _after_ ve cross over this von" Nightcrawler weakly joked although the small smile that crossed his features was forced.

Shadowcat giggled as she smiled as well before deciding to put in her suggestion. "Why don't I help you take care of the Clones before disarming the bomb? That way it will be less strenuous for you"

For a brief moment Shadowcat thought that Nightcrawler was about to kiss her for her suggestion judging by the look on his face yet before she could confirm it it was hidden by his mask of discomfort.

"Focus on deactivating the bomb _then_ help me take care of the Clones liebchen" Nightcrawler ordered.

"Yes _sir!_" said Shadowcat as she mock saluted him before giving him a quick peck on the cheek as she took hold of his arm and teleported the two of them over towards the next bomb.

The Clones did not know what hit them almost literally as they were knocked out before they could see what was hitting them and by the time the did it was too late. Within five minutes Nightcrawler and Shadowcat had gone through half the bridges length and had taken out all the bombs along the way.

*~#~*

"Should have laid off the sushi for lunch boys" Wolverine muttered as he left the gatehouse, which floors were littered with the bodies of HYDRA soldiers, and into the courtyard where there was many more soldiers waiting for him obviously alerted by the screams and gunfire from the gatehouse.

"One of you against all of us?" one of the soldiers scoffed.

"Your right doesn't seem fair does it?" Wolverine asked before moving forward quickly and burying one of his claws into the soldier that scoffed head. "Me kill all of you? Yeah, I think I can handle that"

Wolverine then took the moment to throw himself into the mass of stunned guards swinging his claws this way and that cutting through steel, clothing, flesh and bone as if they were wet paper. Within minutes he had taken out all the guards as well as giving some of the bamboo plants a trim. Before he had a chance to plan his next move the main door to the building opened allowing more guards to come out. Wolverine barely had a chance to hide himself before they appeared.

"Armed with some kind of knives, wearing black leather and _really angry_" One of the guards finished saying before he looked around at the remains of his fallen soldiers. "Better send some more guards"

"You guys just keep popping up don't cha?!" Wolverine said as he pounced on the three guards from his hiding place taking them by surprise and out within seconds.

As he headed through the now open corridor Wolverine had a chance to wonder what the others were doing at the moment. The elf was probably praying to try and atone for his sins not that Wolverine blamed him the guy was a man of god after all despite his looks, Shades would still be mourning over Jean's death, Stripes would be trying to deepen her relation with the walking freezer whilst the half-pint would be watching the elf from the shadows no doubt, Chuck would probably be in his people finder searching for Magneto's minions and as for Storm-. Wolverine stopped in his tracks as he realised that he had no clue what the weather witch did in her spare time and it annoyed him to no end for some reason.

Continuing on Wolverine came out of the corridor to find himself in what could only be described as a zen garden although with all the HYDRA soldiers about there was not much peace to it at the moment but there was going to be a lot of pieces scattered about once he was finished.

_#~*~#_

_I know that I still have the whole final part of the game to novelize before I'm finished but I figured I'd say this now before I forget. At the end of the game Kurt can no longer put up with the fighting he has to do as an X-men so he leaves so I'm at a bit of a conundrum as of how to finish this. I figured that you guys could help I'll throw up a poll at the start of February with several choices as to how to end it & you can vote for the one you thinks best. Feel free to say what you think in your reviews as well if you want._

_R&R_

_& 'til next time_

_Watch this space, peace out & good luck to all those doing prelims or midyear tests for those who aren't in the UK!_


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimers on chapter 1_

**Chapter 12**

The six elite HYDRA soldiers braced themselves when they saw two sets of three claws pierce through the lock of the main door of the Warrior's Dojo. As the doors opened one of the soldiers quickly activated the force field leading further into the castle. Once fully open the intruder, Wolverine, strode forward towards them claws still unsheathed.

"This room is to be your tomb, intruder" One of the soldiers said as he raised a pair of lethal katanas.

Wolverine just scoffed. "You six and a big ugly door? I like them odds"

The Katana wielder charged towards Wolverine bringing both katanas down simultaneously in a lethal double chop only to freeze up after Wolverine had cut straight through the blades leaving him with just the hilts. Before he could react he was then relieved of both his duty and his head. The remaining soldiers charged in pretending they did not see their comrade fall so easily to the intruder. Pretty soon all but one was defeated.

"E-even if you kill me you won't get passed the force field" The last soldier said as he charged forward and impaled Wolverine with his spear.

Wolverine looked down at the spear that protruded from his stomach and out his back. Instead of removing it out he pulled it through him bringing the soldier as well until they were inches apart.

"You think a little force field is going to stop me?" He asked before stabbing the soldier in the chest with one set of claws whilst he sheathed his other set so he could remove his new body piercing.

Walking over to the shielded door Wolverine embedded his claws into the framework in which the shield was being generated from causing it to overload and short out leaving a defenceless door and a tingling Wolverine due to the shock. As he made his way deeper into the castle he noticed that Deathstrike's scent was becoming stronger and he could hear voices up ahead.

"Do you remember any of it?" Asked an unfamiliar voice.

"Only bits and pieces" Answered a more familiar one.

'_Deathstrike'_ Wolverine thought as he peered round the corner to see a large room in which two people currently inhabited. He could see Deathstrike kneeling on the floor in front of someone wearing authentic looking samurai armour.

"I'm disappointed Stryker's dead, I would have liked to kill him myself" The samurai said as one of his hands clutched the sheathed katana bound to his side. Wolverine smirked as he realised he had beaten someone to the punch although technically Stryker drowned, untouched by his claws.

"I failed you Samurai" Deathstrike continued looking ashamed of herself. "I allowed myself to become his pawn"

Two things we have in common Wolverine mused as he looked on. The person Deathstrike called Samurai walked towards her and gently raised her chin to eye level.

"You were captured and fought valiantly, all is forgiven" He said as Deathstrike rose and placed her hands on his chest. "Tell me what happened at Alkali Lake"

Deathstrike took a moment to compose herself before continuing. "The Master Mold...It's loose"

Samurai took a moment to digest the information as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It will go for the inhibitor in Hong Kong" He mused before the sound of a breaking vase interrupted them. Turning to where the sound emanated from he saw a familiar face staring down at the broken crockery at his feet.

"Whoops" Wolverine said although he sounded far from being sorry. He was actually getting tired of the talk and was eager to find out about his past and get back to the rest of the team back in the US.

"Logan!" The Samurai growled enforcing his beliefs that his past was connected with them somehow.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked in a teasing voice. He had secretly wanted to say that after witnessing the elf say it to a couple who were doing something other than studying in the library.

"Go!" Said Deathstrike as she stepped forward unsheathing her claws in the process whilst talking to the samurai. "I'll meet you in Hong Kong when I finish with him"

The samurai looked like he wanted to argue against it but thought better of it. He quickly disappeared through a secret door whilst Wolverine unsheathed his own claws.

"Let's find out who has the sharper claws!" He said before charging forwards.

It became immediately apparent that both of them were evenly matched if it were not for being of different sexes it would seem as if they were one and the same. As their fight brought them up to the first floor balcony Wolverine grabbed Deathstrike and threw her as hard as he could down to the centre of the ground floor.

"It will take more than that to kill me" She smirked as he wounds began to heal themselves.

Wolverine said nothing. Instead he cut the rope that anchored the massive lantern that hung over head to the ceiling. It collapsed on top of Deathstrike and sent both through the floor to the lower levels.

"Try that one on for size darlin'" He called over his shoulder as he made his way towards the runaway samurai.

*~#~*

Iceman urged himself to go faster as he made his way to the exit of the reactor. He had managed to subdue all the firebirds by turning one of the main chambers near the reactor into a giant freezer effectively wiping them out but at the same time causing the bulkhead to automatically close hence his urgency to escape. He went shooting out of the tunnel like a cork seconds before the bulkhead sealed itself.

"This is crazy" He said as he turned to where a drenched Pyro was attempting to hit Storm with his fire birds only for them to evaporate into mist as they tried to bear the rain Storm was sending in their direction. "You'll kill thousands of people if this reactor blows John"

Pyro turned to glare at his rival. He had wasted most of his energy due to Storm's taunts and was now force to reveal his trump card.

"So? Magneto says its either us or them!" He said before raising his arms up and manipulating the flames of the blast furnace in one of the cooling towers into a giant fire serpent which then coiled itself round the outer wall of the tower. "No more playing around Bobby! This place is gonna go up with the help of my new friend!"

"That thing is going to burn down the entire plant!" Iceman said as he passed by Storm on his ice slide.

"If it destroys enough of those containers it will kill minions" Storm agreed as she eyed the many toxic containers scattered around the plant.

"I'll deal with his friend you make sure those containers don't get destroyed" Iceman ordered currently forgetting the chain of command for a moment as he sped off towards the giant serpent.

Whether Storm was perturbed about being bossed about or not she focused the bulk of the heavy shower into a wide ring around the serpent effectively stopping any and all firebirds from reaching a single toxic container.

Iceman meanwhile attacked the serpent with a combination of his ice-beam and ice-grenades until the serpent finally collapsed crumbled to ashes. He then turned his ice-beam onto Pyro forcing him to create a shield of fire.

"John, why don't you just give yourself up?" Iceman asked sounding tired as he continued to fire his ice-beam. "Maybe I'll put in a good word for you"

"Surrender?!" Pyro snorted. "I know how the government treats mutants! They either want to cure you or kill you!"

He launched a massive fireball at the other coolant tower creating a big explosion.

"Not a chance!" He yelled before hi tailing it out of there whilst Iceman and Storm tackled the blaze with their powers. By the time they had finished Pyro was long gone.

*~#~*

From his vantage point, the Multiple Clone had a clear shot at the girl who had finished disarming the bombs and was now helping the teleporter finish off his brethren. He would have preferred to shoot the teleporter first but it was too difficult to predict where it would reappear next. The girl however would only phase when she was about to get hit but there was no way she could activate her power before she was shot through the head.

As his finger began to put pressure on the trigger as he centred the guns crosshairs at the back of the girl's head the gun suddenly disappeared. Before he could comprehend what had happened something struck him hard on the back of the head.

"Stop this before I really have to hurt you" Nightcrawler growled to the original who was standing not far from his position. He had been fortunate enough to see the moons reflection of the scope of the gun and went to investigate before it was too late.

"The only thing you're hurting is our feelings!" Multiple said as he aimed a pistol at Nightcrawler's head and fired only to shoot bluish black smoke.

Nightcrawler reappeared above Multiple and attempted to strike him upside the head with his fists only to miss as Multiple split into several copies and had now surrounded Nightcrawler between them. Multiple and his clones then tried to hit at the same time only to once again hit a cloud of smoke. Whilst Multiple and the Clones were coughing and spluttering Nightcrawler took the chance to disarm the original and throw the gun over the edge.

Seeing that the situation was looking bleak, Multiple ordered his Clones to keep Nightcrawler occupied whilst he ran over to where the last of his bombs were stashed only to stop in his tracks as he saw only the handles of the bag that contained his bombs sticking out of the ground. At that moment Shadowcat, who had been hiding in a crate beside the bag after making her way up to Nightcrawler's location and taking care of the remaining bombs, suddenly came out of hiding and kicked Multiple square in the jaw before he could react.

Before Shadowcat could press her advantage a Clone had grabbed her roughly from behind and pushed her towards the fence at the edge of the construction site expecting her to phase through and fall to her death or not phase and get knocked out then knocked up. What he was not expecting was Shadowcat to run up the fence, flip then kick him into the fence knocking him out instead whilst she landed in Nightcrawler's arms.

Quickly teleporting Nightcrawler then used the momentum Shadowcat had gained to launch her feet first at Multiple. Before impact Multiple split himself in two and both he and his Clone grabbed Shadowcat by the arms as she flew between them. They realised too late that they had been tricked as the moment they grabbed her Shadowcat phased them ankle deep into the concrete before going solid again and landing on her feet whilst Nightcrawler dealt the knockout blow to the shocked Multiple.

"I did varn you" Nightcrawler said after regaining his breath as he looked down at the unconscious mutant whilst Shadowcat phased him out of the ground.

It was only when they had handed Multiple over to the police and was currently sitting near the back of the Blackbird did Kurt lose his composure as he looked back over what he had done. He sat there head in his hands shaking uncontrollably as he felt himself turning into the monster that many assumed he was at first sight. Not even Kitty's attempts to calm him down seemed to work when she placed herself in his lap and placed his head against her chest in a comforting embrace.

"We only knocked him out" Kitty whispered as she ran one of her hands through his hair in a soothing way. "It could have been worse if we did nothing at all and let him live"

"I know liebchen" Kurt whispered. "But it doesn't make this pain any easier to bear"

Kitty sighed as she continued to hug him. Deep in her heart a feeling of dread started to form as she realised that, if things kept going the way they were, Kurt might be leaving the X-men and her for good.

_#~*~#_

_But that is for you to decide. A poll is up for what you think what should happen. There are several choices but you only get one vote so use wisely. Voting ends...when I get to the part where the game ends (when that'll be I've got no idea)_

_R&R_

_& 'til next time_

_Watch this space & peace out_


	13. Chapter 13

_Disclaimers on chapter 1_

_The poll is heating up with two of the choices being the most possible so far._

_Oh & for _**5 Tailed Wolf**_ -inhales deeply- the reason the chapter is exactly like the vidoe game version of the movie is because this whole fic is a readable version of the video game version of the movie just like the summary says this is a readable version of the video game version of the movie. -gasps for breath- just not in those exact words & with a few twists of my own. Pretend I said that real quickly & you might get a laugh out of this paragraph._

**Chapter 13**

"What will happen to him?" Professor Xavier asked his guest referring to the picture of the captured Jamie Madrox in the recent edition of his preferred paper.

"Secretary Trask is the one to talk to about that" Hank McCoy answered as the two of them sipped tea in the Professor's private study. "Since Magneto's escape, Homeland Security has a _new system_ for dealing with mutant criminals"

Hank 'The Beast' McCoy, a fellow mutant covered in blue fur and looked like his namesake. However, like Kurt, Henry's personality was the complete opposite of his appearance; instead of being a furry version of Logan he was a man of science and politics and had recently became Secretary of Mutant Affairs on the Board of Defence.

"Your students put on quite a show, Charles" Hank admitted after having another sip of the steaming beverage. "I'm impressed by how much you've taught them"

It was then, that he noticed the looked on Charles' face. "What troubling you, old friend?"

Upon realising that his mind had wandered elsewhere, Charles looked at Hank apologetically before broaching the subject that had been on his mind since his team had returned from Alkali Lake with the Cerebro parts. "What do you know of the _Sentinel program_?"

"Only what they let me see" Hank replied as he put his cup down before explaining. "One of Stryker's projects, from years ago, even before _Weapon X _went online"

Weapon X. The name given to the project which was based at the, once operational, research facility at Alkali Lake. Its goal was to find mutants with regenerative ability and put them through what could only be described as torture as they were burned continuously to see how quick they could heal themselves before being burned again for even longer. Eventually there was only one survivor, one James Howlett, who was then put through a painful operation where boiling hot adamantium was surgically grafted to his skeleton. When the operation was over, James now had a metal skeleton and claws; the only drawback was that he lost his memory.

Not long after, James managed to escape and apparently spent the rest of his life travelling the world under a new name until he met a girl who was unable to have skin contact with anyone without stealing something from them. They were last seen leaving a bar on the outskirts of a Canadian forest before their method of transport mysteriously crashed and blew up taking them along with it.

"We never thought he got it past the design stage"

"But he did" Charles interrupted.

"Yes" Agreed Hank, "An underground group called **HYDRA** helped him design and build the prototype. A _'Master Mold', _a factory that can produce robots he called _Sentinels_. Designed to hunt mutants"

"And where is it?" Charles inquired only for Hank to shake his head.

"We don't know" He replied regretfully. "It has shielding that is resisting even our most advanced tracking systems"

Charles Xavier leaned back in his wheelchair as the information was absorbed. The 'Master Mold' was a large robotic stealth bomber that could strike at anytime, anywhere. "God help us all"

*~#~*

It was an upset and very worried Kitty who phased through the door to her room and all but collapsed onto her bed before crying her eyes out. After returning to the mansion she had helped her rather shaken and disturbed boyfriend, of sorts, into his own room only to be asked to leave. At first she tried to reason with him that she could help ease the pain like what he had done to her several times now until Kurt told her to leave in an uncaring way before teleporting her out of the room then teleporting himself back inside.

She was so out of it when she returned to her own room, that Kitty did not notice Rogue and Bobby had came in until the former had, carefully, wrapped her in her arms.

"Whit's wrong with yah girl?" Rogue whispered as she rubbed Kitty's back in a comforting manner. "Ah ain't seen yah as bad as this since..."

Her voice trailed off, not wanting to upset the girl in her arms. The last time anyone had seen Kitty so upset was when the rest of the mansion, once they had all returned from their hiding places, had been told by the Professor that Jean had died sacrificing herself to allow the others to escape. Kitty had been devastated and was not seen out of her room for nearly a week before suddenly showing up for breakfast looking as if nothing had happened. Coincidently it was also the day that Kurt became a teacher.

"It's Kurt" Kitty whispered before explaining what had happened both at the Brooklyn Bridge and what had just transpired moments ago.

"Maybe he thought that your way of helping him was to..." Bobby's suggestion was lost in his throat when both girls glared at him with looks that could kill. "Or maybe not"

"Ah think thaht victory of yers has got yer blood pumping in thah wrong direction" Rogue stated getting a giggle out of Kitty. "Sides, Kurt's a man of God. They'll only get frisky _after_ they tie the knot"

"So a little after Kitty's eighteenth then" Bobby shrugged whilst smiling.

"Hey!" Kitty exclaimed as she pulled herself out of Rogue's grip as the other two laughed before smiling slyly. "It'll be during the week _after_ my eighteenth no less"

Bobby and Rogue stared at the girl in shock before all three of them started laughing uncontrollably. After several moments Kitty wrapped an arm round her friends' necks and pulled them to her in a three way hug.

"Thanks guys" She mumbled.

"Yer too important tah Kurt fer him to just abandon yah unlahk some other guys ah know" Rogue whispered in the girls ear. "Just you wait. He'll fahnd some way of getting over this problem of his. Count on it"

*~#~*

Pressing a hidden switch, the Silver Samurai watched as his emergency teleporter started to glow with white light as it became active. As he stepped onto the plate and became engulfed in the light it was emitting the teleporter pad suddenly went dead as someone behind him sunk his claws into the hidden mechanism permanently deactivating it.

"Is she dead?" The Samurai asked Wolverine who was pulling his claw out of the lantern where the switch had been placed.

"For now I guess" Wolverine shrugged if Deathstrike could survive being over filled with liquid adamantium before it set inside her then a little drop through a building with a giant chandelier pressing down on top of her would be little trouble. At least that was what he thought.

"How do you know who I am?" Wolverine then asked in return. Since he had answered the Samurai's question surely the Samurai would be honourable and answer his in return.

"I know _all _about the Weapon X program" The Samurai answered without turning to face Wolverine. "Stryker even used some of our designs for your _improvements_"

"Another of Stryker's cronies" Wolverine scoffed.

"You know nothing about what Stryker was really doing" The Samurai retorted as he finally turned to face his foe.

"Enlighten me"

"**HYDRA **went into business with Stryker to build the Sentinels" The Samurai began. "It wasn't in our interest to turn them against mutants. But he had other plans"

"So you went to Alkali Lake to activate them" Wolverine assumed.

"_Fool!_" The Samurai infuriated by the accusation as his left hand clenched around the scabbard of his katana. "I'm a mutant. The activation of the Master Mold was a mistake"

"Then you've got to know a way to shut them down" Wolverine snarled as he unsheathed his claws and launched himself at the Samurai. "That's what's in Hong Kong, isn't it?"

Before Wolverine's claws could connect, Silver Samurai activated a short range teleportation device he had on himself allowing him to escape being skewered, for the moment at least.

"Tell me" Wolverine growled before charging towards the Samurai again. "What's in Hong Kong?!"

As he brought both sets of claws down on him, the Silver Samurai quickly drew his katana in a way that deflected them and deal a lethal blow to Wolverine's face. At least it would have been if it were not for Wolverine's steel skeleton and regenerative ability. Never the less, it gave the Samurai the chance to launch a counter offensive forcing Wolverine to fall back several paces.

"Give up!" The Samurai said as he delivered a direct hit to Wolverine's mid-section. Fortunately because of his steel skeleton once again, Wolverine was thrown backwards whilst his diced organs repaired themselves. "I can read your every move"

The next moment it was him that was flying as Wolverine ran at the Samurai allowing the katana to run him through right up to the hilt and punched him with such force that he went flying, taking the katana with him which scraped along Wolverine's metal spinal cord giving him a very bad vibe.

"Did you read that?" Wolverine mocked, feeling uncomfortable by what the katana did to him as it left his body.

"You will never defeat me that way" The Samurai declared as he teleported to behind Wolverine and tried to strike him with a viscous backhand only to narrowly avoid one of Wolverine's claws. His teleportation device however, was damaged.

"You ain't goin' to disappear on me again, are ya?" Wolverine asked as he rolled out of the way of Silver Samurai's katana.

The battle between the two warriors continued for several more minutes until Wolverine saw his chance. As the Silver Samurai attempted to stab him he positioned himself so that the katanas blade went between one set of claws. He then flicked his wrist whilst kicking the Samurai making person and weapon went in separate directions.

"Defeated?" Silver Samurai groaned. "But how?"

Wolverine actually chuckled as he sheathed his claws and walked towards the semi conscious warrior. "You don't get it, do ya? You can keep on slicing me, but I'll just keep comin' back! I'm your worst nightmare' rich boy"

Silver Samurai groaned once more before succumbing to darkness.

*~#~*

_~Logan, I'm surprised you _didn't_ kill him~_

Trekking across the field from the collapsing fortress, Logan stopped where he was and dropped the unconscious Silver Samurai before staring at the space before him as if imagining Chuck's face being there.

"I got a soft spot for anyone Stryker messed with" He stated with a look that said 'got a problem with it'.

_~Except Lady Deathstrike~_ The Professor noted. _~You killed her _twice_ now~_

"Yeah, well" Logan shrugged before coming up with an answer. "You gotta mix things up"

He could actually picture the wry grin on Chuck's face before his usual mask took over again. _~And what of the Sentinels?~_

"Turns out he was actually trying to stop it" Logan explained.

_~But it's too late~_

"Here's the good news" Logan nearly smiled when he realised he knew something Chuck did not; for the moment. "**HYDRA **has something in Hong Kong that can stop him that can stop them. The bad news, the Master Mold is already on its way there"

*~#~*

Several minutes later, the Professor wheeled out of the Cerebro chamber looking determined but tired to see Ororo waiting for him.

"You're pushing yourself too hard Charles" She scolded him when she noticed the fatigue in his features as well as the slight appearance of dark rings forming under his eyes from lack of sleep.

"Kurt was right" He said after recovering from the surprise of being mothered by one of his first students. "Jason is alive"

Despite looking unsure, Ororo gave her mentor the benefit of a doubt. "Kurt says he helped him in the tunnels"

"Jason is at war with himself" Xavier surmised. "I had a student once with a similar problem.

He neglected to tell her that Jason _was _that student. "Assemble the whole team then set off for Hong Kong, and pass by the Okinawa islands en route to pick up Wolverine. I have to return to Cerebro to make a much needed call"

Ororo nodded before moving quickly to the Rec Room where the rest of the team, sans Kurt, where discussing what had happened during the return to Alkali Lake to several X-men wannabe kids who were staring at them with rapt attention. The kids were currently listening to Kitty's tale of how Kurt literally danced around three giant robots whilst she was trying to secure the parts required to repair Cerebro.

"Suit up you lot, we've got work to do" She ordered. "And I mean all of you"

"Even Kurt?" Kitty asked worriedly as their audience left them.

"I'm afraid so" Ororo replied sharing her concern for their blue skinned pacifist.

"But he's not recovered yet from our fight at the Brooklyn Bridge!" Kitty protested getting sounds of agreement from the rest of the team. "There's no way he can handle another mission yet"

"I guess this is vhat they mean by 'no rest for the vicked' then" Kurt's accented voice said from behind them making Kitty wheel about to see a tussle haired Nightcrawler standing in the door frame.

"Are you sure about this, Kurt?" Ororo asked. She was concerned that Jason's spirit lingered in the Master Mold and would eventually haunt Kurt again until insanity this time.

"You vould not have said 'und I mean all of you' othervise" Kurt pointed out.

Sighing in defeat Ororo lead them towards the lower levels. Kitty slowed her pace so that she would be at the end of the line with Kurt.

"But what if doing this is the final straw for you and you just leave?" Kitty asked trying to hold back her tears as she gripped Kurt's arm. She nearly gasped when she felt his tail wrap itself around her waist.

"All ve can do is pray for the best liebchen" Kurt whispered back as he wrapped an arm round her shoulders. "Und I apologise for the vay I treated you earlier"

Kitty found that she did not have to force the smile that sprung to her face before quickly kissing Kurt on the cheek as a token of forgiveness. "Try that again and you'll see that Logan is not the only one with claws"

Kurt chuckled before turning his gaze to Ororo. "Speaking of whom, vhen vill ve see Herr Logan again?"

"We're going to be picking him up on our way to Hong Kong" Ororo answered.

"Then vhy aren't you making us hurry up so that you-I mean we can see him again?" Kurt joked causing the rest of the team to snigger.

"A word of warning Kurt" Ororo advised despite the smile at knowing that Kurt was not totally wracked with guilt and the like. "I may not be God, but I can still bring down the thunder"

*~#~*

_~Eric. Eric, can you hear me? I need you help~_

Eric Lensherr opened his eyes and gazed at a spot in front of him as he pictured his old friend and nemesis in front of him.

"Your intrusion at the plant has cost me dearly" Eric replied slowly crossing his arms as he remembered the rage that Pyro was in when he returned from his mission. "Why do you think I will help you now?"

_~The Sentinels are headed to Hong Kong. They're programmed to _kill_ all mutants ~_ Charles explained to his old friend. _~My students are on their way to get a device to stop them, but I fear they might not be strong enough. Our only hope lies in our joining forces..._again

Eric quickly manipulated his metal helmet, which was placed on his desk in front of him, to rise up then place itself firmly on his head. The fact that Charles would ask for help himself tugged at his heart, for he knew that despite being enemies Charles still considered him his friend and partner in the fight for mutants; their ways of going about it were obviously the only reason that separated them.

"I will consider it, old friend"

_#~*~#_

_R&R_

_& 'til next time_

_Watch this space & peace out_


	14. Chapter 14

_Disclaimers on chapter 1_

_**A/N: **__I know I should be updating 'From the Start' first but yesterday apparently was author Nightcrawler's Shadow's birthday so I decided to throw this up as a late present for her._

**Chapter 14**

Storm cursed as the pursuing Sentinels managed to stay on the Blackbirds tail after another attempt to shake them off. The team had already picked up Wolverine and were just passing over the Great Wall of China when a dozen of the giant robots that would have been better suited to one of Japan's anime films had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started shooting at them.

"I can't shake them!" She cried as she attempted to avoid another salvo of machinegun fire only to curse again when she felt the Blackbird shudder as several rounds found their target.

Keeping her cool as the Blackbird started to nose dive, Storm managed to keep the Blackbird on a steady decline onto the Kowloon Highway. The landing however, was not as fortunate as everyone was thrown forward when then Blackbird skidded nearly half a mile down the highway before finally stopping.

"Everyone okay?" She asked the rest of the team.

"Und I thought mien first flight on this jet vas terrifying" Nightcrawler commented, remembering Rogue being sucked out of the Blackbird when it was struck by a missile and himself bravely teleporting out into the open sky to retrieve her before it was too late, whilst he let go of Kitty who had literally jumped into his arms the moment the Sentinels appeared.

"Robots" Wolverine muttered as he picked himself up off the floor, one side of his face badly bruised from when he face planted the console on the way down already starting to heal. "I _hate_ robots"

As the team made their way out of the burning Blackbird, many more Sentinels flew overhead.

"We'll never make it to the inhibitor in time" Shadowcat noted as she watched the robots fly towards where the inhibitor was located.

"I can make it to **HYDRA**'s building" Iceman said confidently. "I just need you to distract them while I get out of here"

Both Storm and Nightcrawler looked at Iceman as if he had grown two heads. Wolverine however voiced his opinion.

"Listen _kid_" He said sternly. "I like your enthusiasm, but it's too dangerous out there"

"I might surprise you" Iceman countered coolly as he stood his ground.

Wolverine stared at the young man intently. Whilst he was concerned for his well being, he was mostly worried about what the effect would be on Rogue if he had to tell her that her boyfriend died due to his overconfidence. As several Sentinels started to approach them, he made up his mind.

"Okay. Get going"

"Und take Katzchen vith you" Nightcrawler added before iceman could leave. "Her powers vill definitely be useful to you more than us at the moment"

Shadowcat looked like she was about to disagree but held her tongue as she realised he was thinking more about the battle at hand rather than her safety. Quickly grabbing onto Iceman as he slid by, the two of them made haste towards the target building. Several Sentinels noticed what the two mutants were attempting to accomplish and made to stop them. Instead it was them were stopped as Nightcrawler had teleported Wolverine onto one of the Sentinels shoulders allowing him to cut the robots head off whilst Storm took out the other one with a massive bolt of lightning.

"You sure letting Half-pint go with him was better than letting her stay here?" Wolverine asked when he and Nightcrawlerreappeared on the ground.

"Both of us vould have been too vorried about the other to fight efficiently" Nightcrawler replied before quickly teleporting the two of them out of the way of a Sentinels gunfire.

"On the subject, are _you _okay with this?" Wolverine then asked indicating the Sentinels.

Kurt grinned before teleporting onto one of the Sentinels near the neck joint and quickly teleported away again with a handful of exposed circuits. Without the circuits the Sentinel fell like a stone and crashed into another Sentinel, destroying both.

"They are just machines, clumsy vons if anything like the three I fought back at the lake" Nightcrawler replied confidently. A loud boom of thunder made both men jump before a deep fried Sentinel crashed down in front of them.

"If you two are finished boasting" Storm called out to them from above. "I could use some help here"

*#~#*

Shadowcatmanaged to prevent herself from screaming when Iceman made a sharp turn as he went round a bend.

"Sorry!" he apologised when he felt her nails dig into his back through his suit. "This is the first time I've had a passenger with me"

"Well, better me than Rogue I guess" Shadowcat replied as she phased the two of them through a centre support pillar for the tunnel they were going through. "Just focus on what's in front of you and I'll watch your back"

"Bet you wish you were watching Kurt's back, or somewhere lower on him" Iceman joked before suddenly swerving when his passenger struck him in the back with such force that he nearly lost his balance.

The two of them emerged out of the tunnel to see the building they were looking for as well as three Sentinels flying away from it. The middle one started to speed away whilst the other two flew off to either side.

"That thing's got the component!" Iceman exclaimed as he turned to chase the middle one. "We have to stop it, and fast!"

"Right!" Shadowcat shouted in his ear.

"No need to shout!"

"No! _Turn_ right!" She repeated before moving the hand that was creating the ice slide to the right and through a building thanks to her powers whilst the Sentinels that were chasing them crashed and blew up. "The Sentinel with the inhibitor took the tunnel that we took and it goes to the right before opening out into a plaza area"

Sure enough, within seconds of coming out of the building they just went through the Sentinel carrying the inhibitor showed up. Icemen took no time to freeze up its rocket boots before swooping in and nabbing the inhibitor before it crashed into the ground. With their mission complete, the two rookies headed back to the crash site wondering how they were fairing.

~#*#~

Colossus sprinted full speed at Nightcrawler without his armour. Upon collision, Nightcrawler began to roll onto his back before teleportingboth himself and Colossus, who quickly activated his power into the air in front of another Sentinel then kicking the Russian toward it. The human cannonball tore straight through the head of one Sentinel and slammed into one behind it with the force of impact sending it crashing to the ground and out of the fight.

Wolverine meanwhile was holding on for dear life whilst Storm whipped up a tornado around him. Suddenly letting go he went shooting out of the tornado like a bullet, claws unsheathed, and went straight through two Sentinels before getting stuck in a third one's chest plate. Using his claws to help him climb up, Wolverine tore off the head of the third before jumping down to where the others were waiting for him.

"Remind me to ask Chuck about getting a few programs with these babies in them when all this is over" Wolverine said sounding like he had fun.

"And I thought you said you hated robots" Storm said smiling at the man's childishness.

"I don't know about hating them" Nightcrawler said before pointing into the sky. "But that von is an exception"

Looking where their teammate was pointing they saw a massive Sentinel that was at least twice the size of their smaller brethren and undoubtedly had twice the firepower as well land not far from where the Blackbird had landed. Before they could contemplate on how to deal with it Iceman and Shadowcat had returned only that the giant Sentinel was in their way. Instead of trying to pass it from a distance, Iceman made his ice slide pass over the top of it.

Nightcrawler almost gasped out loud when he saw Shadowcatdive off the slide and into the metal behemoth causing it to short out as she phased herself down and into the concrete below whilst the Sentinel fell face first into the ground. She barely had enough time to phased herself out of the ground and go tangible before she was wrapped in Nightcrawler's arms.

"Don't ever do something that reckless ever again!" He whispered into her hair whilst she began to blush at the close contact and his protectiveness. "You are going to give me grey hair _und _skin before mien time in this vorld is up"

"Sorry" she mumbled as she slipped her arms around his waist. "But at least you know how I feel whenever I see you during your gymnastic exercises' doing something rather risky"

Wolverine shook his head as he watched them before stiffening when a familiar scent invaded his nose.

"You smell that?" He asked as he unsheathed his claws. He suddenly leapt at someone stepping out of the shadows only to suddenly stop in midair.

"Always leaping before you look" Magneto said in a bored tone as he and Sabertooth came out of the alley into the sights of the other X-men who prepared themselves for a fight before Xavier intervened.

_~It's all right X-men. He's on our side~_

Warily, the team stood down whilst Wolverine fell down when the master of magnetism released him from his grasp and focused on the sphere shaped inhibitor.

"Don't be nervous" He said in a monotone voice. "We are all after the same thing"

'_Yeah, for now'_ Wolverine and several other members of the team similarly thought as they watched their nemesis float into the air and headed towards the Master Mold which had arrived during the X-men's fight with the smaller Sentinels.

They watched in awe as he tore through the ranks of Sentinels that had gathered after sensing his presence. As he got closer to his goal, a piece of unnoticed shrapnel cracked off his head sending him plummeting down. Fortunately he had got the inhibitor close enough that it automatically activated and sent the Master Mold crashing into the sea near their location.

Nightcrawler, like the man of god he was, quickly teleported underneath the falling Magneto and caught him before teleporting back onto terra firma where the nemesis forced himself out of his grasp and walked away.

"Okay, let's do this" Wolverine said assuming the role of leader for the moment. "Ororo, you and Piotr try and get the Blackbird repaired; Kurt, work your way to wherever Stryker's controlling that thing and take him out; Popsicle, you and Half-pint find the main reactor and take it out"

"Vhat about you?" Nightcrawler asked.

Wolverine quickly glanced at the retreating backs of Magneto and Sabertooth before turning back to the elf. "I've got some...anger issues to take care of"

_*~#~*_

_The end is nigh! The poll is still open! & I don't know what else to say so-_

_R&R_

_& 'til next time_

_Watch this space, peace out & __**Happy **(late) __**Birthday Shadow!**_


	15. Chapter 15

_Disclaimers on chapter 1_

**Chapter 15**

The giant Sentinel floated upwards at a steady pace whilst scanning for intruders with a fine tooth comb. Nestled amongst the cables wide enough that it would take three grown men to wrap around one, a pair of glowing yellow eyes watched the metal behemoth continue on its accent before emerging from his hiding spot. As soon as the coast was clear, Nightcrawler carefully stepped out of the shadows and took in his surroundings.

With its large cables and futuristic looking circuit boards, the Master Mold made him feel like he had been shrunken to atom proportions and placed inside a laptop. It did have its merits though; the protruding metal bars and the odd cable dislodged from its moorings allowed Nightcrawler to progress with the ease of his gymnastic abilities teleporting only when the gap was too wide, he miss-timed his jump or when a Sentinel came by.

"You're doing well so far" A childish voice from just over Nightcrawler's shoulder that was all too familiar to him said.

"Not well enough, apparently" He mused after teleporting away from Jason to a ledge at least ten feet away from him. It was the same spirit that had tortured him back at Alkali Lake so he had reason to be on guard.

"Don't run. I want to help" Jason pleaded.

Kurt was caught off guard. He was expecting the spirit to taunt and terrorise him with what he had done instead of begging like a child. Now that he thought about it, whilst Jason still had that childish tone he had when speaking back at the lake it had none of the hatred and malevolence that it was supposed to be laced with.

"Why?" Nightcrawler asked warily.

"Please Kurt. I just want to be free...for once in my life" Jason said sounding very tired all of a sudden as if he was fed up with his life. "I need to be free of _him_"

Not just as he finished speaking did Jason disappear through a now open door. Nightcrawler stared at the spot where the spirit last resided for a moment before walking through the opening apparently trusting the spirit, for now.

Proceeding through, Nightcrawler found himself at the edge of a deep chasm. The chasm was not sheer though as various sizes of cables, antennas and metal beams protruded and stuck out leaving the chasm a veritable playground for one such as him. There were also seeker drones, small football size and shaped robots that sought out unwanted company, floating about he noted.

"They're watching, searching, you must be careful Kurt!" Jason said as he appeared beside him. "This is the path but you mustn't let them see or hear you"

Nightcrawler actually grinned before skilfully making his way through the near bottomless chasm to where Jason was now waiting for him. Asides a few near misses with the drones and a near deadly shock from a live wire, Nightcrawler arrived at the spirit's side hardly out of breath. The spectre however, suddenly disappeared as a Sentinel suddenly floated down from above.

"He sees you! He knows you're here!" He yelled as he disappeared into the wind.

**[Mutant DNA detected. Analyzing...] **Nightcrawler quickly teleported away before the massive robot could properly scan him only realising too late that he just revealed what it was scanning for. **[Mutant ability Identified: Reconfiguring tactics for teleportation ability]**

Nightcrawler realised that this Sentinel would be harder to beat than the ones he fought at the lake as he moved about evading the robot's laser beam. He attempted to repeat what he did to the Sentinels he fought just outside the Master Mold but all he got out of that was an electric shock when he tried to remove a plate covering its circuitry. With no sign of any seeker drones around to aid him, Nightcrawler risked teleporting to the ceiling just above the Sentinel's head. Predictably, he was shot at yet only the ceiling was struck as he had teleported away allowing the debris to cascade onto the Sentinel effectively crushing it.

'_Not so tough now, eh?'_ Kurt thought before he followed his spiritual guide further into the belly of the beast as the saying went. After another five minutes of slinking and sneaking, Nightcrawler found himself at his destination.

"I knew you could do it!" Jason said as if congratulating his hero for saving the day again. Nightcrawler could not help but smile inwardly as the child reminded him of what Kitty was like before the talk he had with her before going to Alkali Lake.

"It will be over soon" He said to reassure both Jason and himself. "Don't worry"

An evil laugh suddenly burst forth from the centre of the chamber they were in. Lights were suddenly turned on allowing Nightcrawler and Jason to see the controller of the Master Mold seated in a chair amongst a jumble of cables and monitors with a group of Sentinels surrounding him like a group of body guards.

"Oh he should be very afraid. And so should _you_!"

Nightcrawler could not believe his eyes. Floating behind him was Jason's spirit yet seated before him was Jason's body still alive and kicking as well as glaring at him and spectre Jason with pure hatred and malice. This had to be the _he _the spectre beside him was talking about earlier.

"Leave him alone!" Spectre Jason yelled as he floated in front of Nightcrawler as if to protect him from his dark side.

"Silence you pathetic weakling!" Dark Jason said. Nightcrawler suddenly noticed that Dark Jason was not sitting but actually strung up by several cables that he thought were attached to the monitors and was several feet above the ground. "Sooner or later, I'll find a way to purge you from my mind and be rid of you"

Nightcrawler had no idea what the puppet like person meant, but it did not mean that he would just let the spirit of one lonely boy get wiped from existence.

"Have faith child" He said strongly as he stood his ground before the approaching Sentinels. "Katzchen und Bobby will help us soon"

*~#~*

"This is crazy" Iceman said as he and Shadowcat carefully picked their way along one side of a giant chasm inside the Master Mold. "We have no idea _where_ the core is"

"And whining about it _helps_?" Shadowcat asked refraining from just pushing the ice manipulator over the edge literally before he pushed her over the edge mentally.

She was also, for the first time in her memory, jealous of Kurt for his powers as well as his aerobic skills and could just imagine him already at his destination tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for her to finish her objective. She was too busy thinking that only when Iceman pulled her into an alcove between two cables, did she hear the sounds of thrusters coming from approaching Sentinels.

'**Orders received, unit proceeding to Sentinel Control Core'**

Shadowcat and Iceman look at each other in surprise and disbelief.

"Well, that's convenient" Iceman said as he created an Ice-slide and took off after the Sentinel.

"Too convenient" Shadowcat said sounding suspicious as she held onto Iceman's back.

"Hey, never look a gift horse in the mouth" Iceman threw back. "Or as your boyfriend would say 'ask and ye shall receive'"

"And here I thought you were just whining" Shadowcat mused. "And if you're wondering why I'm not hitting you for that boyfriend comment, expect it to happen when we're back on solid ground"

Iceman would have grinned if it we not for the fact that that last part was said with less gusto than usual whenever they teased her about it. He mentally kicked himself when he realised that she was still worried about how much longer Kurt would be staying with them, or at least with her. Yet something in his gut told him that this was probably going to be the last time Kurt would stay with them regardless of the outcome and if he felt that way, then it was safe to assume she did as well.

After navigating the tunnel, and many Sentinels and other defence systems, the two X-men found themselves in a chamber that could not help but make them think that they were in _Star Wars episode 6: Return of the Jedi _as a large pillar shaped chain of plasma energy was linking the roof and floor of the chamber. There were also numerous Sentinels hovering about as well indicating that they had found their target.

'**Core Chamber breached. Mutant infiltration, Positronic control core in jeopardy. All functioning units defend the core'**

As well as the Sentinel stating the obvious.

"Go for those inhibitors surrounding the core!" Shadowcat ordered as she immediately made the two of them go intangible seconds before they were shot at. "It should overload the system and cause it to explode!"

"Roger Gold Leader, I'm already making my run" Iceman joked imitating what had happened in the film as he started to make his way round the edge of the chamber, taking out the inhibitors en route.

"I can't keep us like this forever!" Shadowcat warned clearly not in the mood for Iceman's childishness.

Fortunately, Iceman had just finished putting the last inhibitor on ice and the two of them were now high-tailing it to the nearest exit. Taking a huge risk, Iceman suddenly made them charge straight towards a dead end. Shadowcat barely had time to make them intangible before they went through the wall and reappeared outside the Master Mold.

Iceman whooped before bringing them down near the crashed X-jet lay. When they were twenty odd feet from the ground, Shadowcat struck Iceman hard on the back of the head causing him to stop making the slide and plummet straight down and _into_ the tarmac. When they reappeared several seconds later, Iceman looked rather pale.

"Don't ever do that again" He said weakly as he clung to Shadowcat to keep himself upright.

"Likewise" Shadowcat replied shoving Iceman off of her and walking towards Storm and Colossus who had just finished repairing the X-jet. _'Please come back to us Kurt'_

*~#~*

Nightcrawler quickly teleported out of another Sentinel's blow. The strike made a crater whilst he reappeared behind a pillar on the opposite side of the room. He had been using all the tricks he knew that worked on them, yet no matter how many he took out more took the place of fallen.

"I'm not sure I can keep this up much longer" He said as he paused for breath. Just the act of teleporting too many times was starting to wear out his stamina.

"Yes you can!" Spectre Jason said encouragingly. "You have to, I believe in you!"

'**Alert! Sentinel Control Core destroyed. Global shutdown imminent'**

"Took them long enough, even so good work you two" Nightcrawler muttered too busy being distracted by Dark Jason's yell of disbelief and the collapsing Sentinels' to notice Spectre Jason clutch his chest in pain. "Now, my turn"

Nightcrawler teleported closer from where he was previously, only to stare in amazement at where he had reappeared. Dark Jason had used his powers of psycho-kinesis, the ability to create illusions that can be on par with the Danger Room depending on the wielders skill, to make the central chamber look like Nightcrawler's worst fear; hell, the supposed place he visits between disappearing and reappearing during teleportation.

"_**Haven't you always known Kurt? Secretly, in your heart?"**_ Dark Jason asked menacingly. He was now a giant flaming head atop a massive tower-like torch in the middle of a barren wasteland full of flaming geysers and demons that looked all too similar to Nightcrawler. _**"Your power is not a **_**mutation**_**; it is a **_**way station**_** to the realm of the dead"**_

Nightcrawler stood paralysed as he stared around him. Despite knowing that this was an illusion, it was all too real and all too close to home for him. Clenching his eyes shut he prayed in a mixture of both German and English as if it would deliver him from this nightmare.

"KURT!" Nightcrawler's eyes flared open before instinctively teleporting to avoid being struck by several demons. Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw the girl who had claimed his heart standing next to a strange crystal pillar. "Destroy these crystals! They're the cores memory banks, without them he'll be beaten!"

"Katzchen?" Nightcrawler muttered before realising. "Nien, _Jason_"

Seeing how his dark counterpart's illusion was affecting Nightcrawler's psyche, Spectre Jason used the same psycho-kinesis power to appear as the girl Nightcrawler held dear to him most. The move worked and Nightcrawler, despite figuring out the deception, called on his reserves of stamina as he moved about with the fluidness that had been burned into the muscle memory of his body and took out the crystals Kitty/Spectre Jason had pointed out.

The combined efforts of the destroyed memory banks and the explosion caused by Iceman and Shadowcat caused Dark Jason to cancel the illusion as his body was flung from his moorings. Apparently the dark side of Jason had been destroyed also as when he looked at Nightcrawler the pacifist saw the face of a scared child with no trace of evil about.

Despite being unsure as whether or not it was just a trap, Nightcrawler tried to make his way towards the fallen child only to stop when a pillar fell on top of him barely missing Nightcrawler in the process. Vainly, Nightcrawler tried to move the fallen pillar only to be surprised when it suddenly rose. Surprise turned to dread when he saw who lifted it. Ignoring Nightcrawler's protest, Sabertooth flung the demon across the room before picking up Jason's fragile body and disappearing.

"Watch out! Sabertooth is nearby!" Wolverine said as he suddenly emerged from an overhead vent to land beside Nightcrawler who was just getting up.

_[A bit late for that] _Nightcrawler mumbled in German so that Wolverine did not get what he said. "He took Jason"

"So that's what Magneto was after" Wolverine muttered. He had seen Sabertooth and Magneto walk away whilst he was giving the rest of the team their orders and grew suspicious so he tailed them. "Let's get him"

_#~*~#_

_Gott en Himmel, it's nearly the end! This may be the last chance to vote!_

_Vote & review if possible_

_Watch this space & peace out_


	16. Chapter 16

_Disclaimers on chapter 1_

**Chapter 16**

Sabertooth jumped, dodged and weaved his way through the collapsing corridors of the Master Mold towards the nearest exit carrying the comatose Jason. Coming out of the corridor into a large room, he stopped suddenly when he saw who was waiting for him.

"How'd you find me?" He growled baring his fangs for all to see.

"Well maybe if you _bathed_ once in a while, I wouldn't be able to track you so easily" Wolverine answered.

A feral grin appeared on Sabertooth's face as he put the unconscious Jason on the ground. "I have time to play, little man"

"Oh, I was hoping you would say that" Wolverine said indeed sounding happy as he sported a feral grin of his own.

As the two were sending death glares to one another, Nightcrawler quickly dropped down from where he was hiding and grabbed Jason before teleporting over to beside Wolverine. Sabertooth did not even bat an eyelid. All his attention was focused on his arch rival before him.

"We've got him, now let's get out of here" Nightcrawler said.

"I'm not going anywhere" Wolverine stated his gaze never moving off of Sabertooth. "I've got unfinished business"

"What?!"

"Get out of here!" Wolverine yelled. "This is my fight!"

Seeing that there was no other way to try and convince Wolverine to back down, Nightcrawler secured his grip on Jason before teleporting away leaving the two rivals to fight all they pleased.

"I'm top dog!" Sabertooth declares as he launched a vicious left hook that sailed wide over Wolverines head when he ducked down to avoid the blow.

"Yer just another victim" Wolverine chuckled as he buried one set of claws into Sabertooth's leg causing the blonde behemoth to go down on one knee for a moment before Wolverine's knee collided with his face and sent him flying backwards.

Obviously not beaten yet, as Sabertooth got up his fist collided with Wolverine's chin in a lethal uppercut that made the X-man hit the roof before landing hard on the ground. Waiting until Sabertooth got closer, Wolverine sprang up and embedded both sets of claws in Sabertooth's stomach then head butted him several times before he was thrown across the room.

"Why don't you go ahead and jump off, save me the trouble" Wolverine remarked as he stood up in time for Sabertooth's fist to connect with the side of his head and send him face first into the wall the impact sounding like a large bell gonging due to his skeleton.

"Why jump when I can send you flying instead?" Sabertooth sneered as he made to stomp on Wolverine's head.

A large section of the chamber wall suddenly broke free to reveal the outside world and cause Sabertooth to stumble long enough for Wolverine to roll out of harm's way. Before he could recover, Wolverine drop kicked Sabertooth sending him flying towards the open part of the room.

"Bring a parachute, bub?" Wolverine asked before drop kicking him again sending Sabertooth over the edge. After waiting a moment to allow his regenerating to complete, Wolverine dived after his arch rival.

Sabertooth was just getting up when he heard the sound of his arch rival crash landing not far from where he was.

"This is it runt" He said as he waited for Wolverine to pick himself up. "Just you and me, the last dance, to the death"

He had barely finished his declaration before Wolverine had slashed him across the face twice with his claws. After retaliating with a vicious backhand that sent him stumbling backwards, Sabertooth shoulder charged Wolverine before swinging both fists upwards and sending Wolverine head over heels. Managing to land on his feet, Wolverine dealt out a punch-punch-kick combo that sent Sabertooth to the ground. Before he could get up, a large piece of debris fell on him.

"Face it bub, you're outclassed" Wolverine said waiting for Sabertooth to appear from under the rubble.

He did not have long to wait before the rubble went everywhere as Sabertooth stood up with a primal roar that echoed throughout the Master Mold.

"Time to take out the trash" Wolverine said before charging in, only to be sent flying back the way he came from a blow from the enraged Sabertooth.

As their battle raged on, the platform they were standing on was gradually beginning to give way. Only when Sabertooth took a step back to avoid a blow from Wolverine and only to find there was no ground to step back on, did the two of them realize their predicament. As he fell over the edge, Sabertooth managed to grab hold of Wolverine's leg sending both of them plummeting to the depths below.

*#~#*

Kurt had just reappeared before the X-jet when Jason's spirit materialised before him.

"Stop. Leave me here to die"

Kurt was about to protest when he realised that the child's heart was on its last breath. As a man of god, he knew it was only right to respect a dying person's last wish.

"I'm sorry I could not save you" He said with a heavy heart.

"But you did save me" Jason reasoned as he started to fade away. "We both knew that it had to be this way"

Behind him, the Master Mold began collapsing in on itself causing all to watch as what could have been the Harbinger of death for all mutants disappeared in a curtain of smoke and explosions. With their attention elsewhere, Jason Stryker faded from existence leaving his last word floating in the wind.

_Goodbye_

"Auf Wiedersehen mien Kind" Kurt whispered as he hugged the still form of Jason before resting him gently on the ground. "May the lord grant you better fortune in your next life"

"Amen" Said Kitty as appeared at Kurt's shoulder and rest one of her hands on his shoulder. Now looking around, Kurt realised that Ororo, Bobby and Piotr had gathered round without him noticing and had their heads bowed as if in prayer.

"And so it ends" Magneto said as he started to rise from the ground. "Tell your beloved Professor, that the score is settled"

Kitty glared at the man. Was his heart so small that he did not care about the death of one of his kind, or was he upset that he had just lost what could have been a powerful asset for his own goals?

"When next we meet, X-men... it will not end in such pleasantries" Magneto declared as he disappeared over the tops of the buildings.

*#~#*

"Well, look at you. Well, if I were you, I'd get comfortable. Something tells me you're gonna be here for a while..."

Sabertooth could only glare and snarl at Wolverine's retreating back as he lay pinned to a slab of concrete by several iron supports that were sticking out of his shoulders and bent at an angle to prevent him from getting up.

*#~#*

Kitty watched from a distance as Kurt made his way into the Professor's study. She knew that she was supposed to have quit the habit of being his shadow but because he had been quiet throughout the trip home and had not even tried to tease both Ororo and Logan when the latter reappeared, she assumed the worst and what she just saw was confirming her deepest fear.

"You're leaving" She heard the Professor state as she reached the doors to his study making her inhale sharply. Professor Xavier was never wrong when he stated something out of the blue.

"I am not suited for this life Professor" She heard Kurt explain. "I am a simple man"

"Our doors are always open to you" The Professor said.

Kitty knew that despite the Professor's wish to grant every mutant sanctuary, he would respect their wishes instead of trying to convince them to stay. Not wanting to hear anymore, Kitty ran off in the direction of Kurt's room knowing that he would be there before leaving. She only had to wait a few minutes before he appeared not looking at all surprised to see her.

"I'm sorry Katzchen" He said quietly the look on her face obviously telling him that she knew. Unable to hold it in any longer, Kitty burst into tears as she wrapped her arms tightly around Kurt's waist.

"Can't you just stay here as a teacher?" Kitty pleaded unable to look him in the eye at the moment.

Kurt wrapped his arms around the crying girl before explaining. "Since before I decided to stay here I have been feeling burdened. After my first mission and I took another life, that burden has continued to increase. If I stay here any longer, I do not know if I would be able to cope"

"But I'm here!" She argued. "I could help you cope with it!"

Kurt shook his head sadly. "Remember what happened after the fight on the bridge? We both don't want a repeat of that, I'm sure"

Kitty slowly looked up at Kurt's face, not caring how bad she looked. "But I don't want to lose you" She whispered.

Kurt leaned down and gently kissed Kitty on the lips. "As long as you hold my heart, you will never lose me"

Despite knowing that this might be her last night with him, Kitty could not stop the blush that was appearing on her cheeks. Untangling her arms from around his waist and relocating them round his neck Kitty pulled Kurt's head down for another kiss and only pulled away when air became scarce.

"That had better be the same vice-versa" She whispered.

"Would we be doing _this_ otherwise?" Kurt asked letting a small smile appear. Content with his somewhat cheeky retort for an answer, Kitty kissed him again as she pulled him towards his bed.

When Kitty woke up the next morning she was not surprised to see that she was the only one in the bed. Sitting up, Kitty immediately noticed the red, white and black uniform on its hanger on the back of the wardrobe door. She was slightly perplexed as to how smoothed it looked because she knew that he was still wearing it when sleep finally took over her; her own uniform looked quite dishevelled when she looked down at it.

With a deep sigh, Kitty got up and made her way to her own room to freshen up. Today was going to be hard enough but because Kurt was popular with the students, particularly the pre-teens, it was going to be a whole lot harder.

*#~#*

_Will he return? Will we never see him again?_

_I don't know, you guys are voting for it._

_This is your last chance to vote so review, vote & 'til next time _

_Watch this space & peace out_

_PS- The coming soon section of my profile has been updated to include two new fics. PM me on what you think of them if you wish._


	17. Chapter 17

_Here it is. The outcome you, the readers, have decided. Man, I'm starting to sound like one of those X-factor/American Idol/etc show presenters prolonging the moment the winner is pronounced after a live vote final._

_In reverse order- Ah just check the results on my home page after reading the chapter (or before if you prefer it)._

_Disclaimers on chapter one_

**Chapter 17**

The silence of the female locker room for the X-men did nothing to help Kitty to collect herself as she finished suiting up. Any other day she would welcome it yet the events that had happened after the Master Mold battle kept on flashing before her eyes with her love's departure always being the starter point as if his departure had triggered it; just like the last time.

Two weeks. Although to be more accurate, it had been fourteen days and around seventeen to twenty three odd hours since Kurt had left them. At least, that was the reality of it. To Kitty it seemed more like her lifetime and the lifetimes of her descendants for the next century had already passed.

After the rest of the mansion had learned of Kurt's departure morale seemed to hit an all time low and it only got worse for the X-men as they went down three more.

First was Scott. He had gone AWOL on a journey to Alkali Lake where Jean had sacrificed herself. When Logan and Ororo had arrived due to a strange yet familiar sensation later on, all they could find of him was his ruby quartz shades the rest of him seemingly wiped off the face of the earth. The only bright spot at that moment, was finding Jean alive but unconscious near where they found Scott's shades.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Jean was there in body only; her soul and spirit were replaced by her dark side _Phoenix_an entity that had been inside her and had been slowly awakening ever since she had logged into Cerebro to find Rogue whilst the Professor was in a coma. Jean's sacrifice allowed Phoenix to rise and take command of her body. Upon confrontation at Jean's former residence before Xavier found her, Phoenix killed Professor Xavier despite his valiant efforts, wiping him from the world the same as she did to Scott when they reunited briefly at Alkali Lake.

The death of their mentor was a crushing blow to not only the X-men and the rest of the mansions residence, but to the Brotherhoods leader Magneto or Eric Lensherr. Yet instead of participating at his best friend's funeral, Magneto used his death as the stepping stone he needed to commence open war with humanity starting with the lab that had created _the cure_.

The day following Professor Xavier's funeral, Rogue left the team. Although more insignificant than devastating than everything else that had happened, Kitty felt that she was partly to blame for the girl's departure.

Since Kurt left, Bobby, along with Rogue, had attempted to help the girl out by being her shoulder to cry on and had even went as far as turning the water fountain into a small ice rink so she could skate about and forget all her troubles even if for one moment. However, the moments of closeness Bobby and Kitty had together, despite knowing that their relationship was platonic friendship, had hardened Rogue's resolve to take the cure and rid herself of her powers and enable her to have skin contact with others again, particularly with her boyfriend.

And now, as evening approached, she was suiting up for what could possibly be hers and the X-men's last battle. Fate seemed to be against them still as they would also be fighting Jean. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Kitty walked out of the locker room to where the others were waiting. She was not the last to show up as Logan and Mr McCoy were only now walking out of the men's locker room apparently discussing what they were up against.

"There are only six of us Logan" Bobby interrupted the tone of his voice showing the fear he was trying to hold back.

Logan turned to look at the ice manipulator before quickly looking at Piotr and Kitty and seeing the fear in their eyes as clear as day. He knew they were scared, yet the fact that they were still standing before him proved that they were also ready.

"Ein, zwei, drei, vier, funf, sechs...sieben" Said a familiar German voice at the end of the corridor. "I knew your history marks were not good Bobby, but I did not know you were failing math as well"

Kitty's head had whipped round the moment she had heard the German word for one almost not believing what she had heard until she had seen him with her own eyes. Standing at the end of the corridor and looking like a great weight had finally been taken off his shoulders, Kurt looked expectantly at them all as if waiting for someone to say his name or faint. Instead, he was rewarded with a black missile colliding with his chest and seemed to permanently attach itself to him.

"Nice to see someone missed me" Kurt gasped as he tried to recover from the impact. Kitty just tightened her grip round his waist as she cried into his chest too overcome with emotion to speak at the moment.

"So this is the famous Kurt Wagner, the amazing Nightcrawler I've heard all about" Hank said as he stepped towards the blue elf, after Kurt had teleported closer to prevent from separating from Kitty, and shook his free hand. "Nice to see a _familiar _face at the mansion"

"Likewise" Kurt replied instantly getting the furry beast's joke.

"You better be here to help rather than wish us luck Kurt" Logan said in a gruff yet happy voice ignoring the glare Ororo was sending his way.

"Had I known what was going on since I left, I would have gotten here sooner" Kurt replied causing Kitty and Ororo as well as Logan to look at him in surprise.

"You mean you're okay with what's going to happen?" Ororo asked disbelievingly obviously shocked with the change in the once quiet pacifist. "You'll be fighting a small army with the rest of us"

"All the more reason for me to help you" Kurt countered curtly.

Logan shook his head; whatever the elf did since they had last met apparently did wonders to him. "Well whatever the reason, if you're with us then suit up we'll meet you in the jet. Your uniform's still in the locker room"

"_Still_?" Kurt asked curiously.

"It was either there or in Kitty's closet if we tried to get rid of it" Bobby explained sounding much calmer than before as he followed the rest of the team towards the X-jet's hanger.

Kurt wisely decided not to ask what had happened when they tried to get rid of it. Looking down at the girl who was still attached to him, Kurt gently tried to release himself from Kitty's grasp only to find that she would not budge.

"You're not going to let go anytime soon for fear of me disappearing again aren't you?" Kurt asked gently receiving a nod in reply. "If I take you into the locker room with me and talk whilst you have your back to me, will you let me go?"

"Promise you won't go away again?" Kitty asked meekly speaking for the first time since he had returned.

"I promise" Kurt answered softly before leaning in for a quick peck before teleporting into the locker room.

"So...what have you been doing since we last saw each other" Kitty asked as she complied with her part of the deal and turned round, as slow as she could, whilst Kurt began to remove his faded grey hoodie showing Kitty he had nothing on underneath.

"Are you familiar with St Ignatius?" Kurt asked as he pulled the hoodie over his head before realising his audience had yet to look away.

"Isn't he the guy who lived in a cave and searched for penance through starvation and self torture?" Kitty asked after finally looking away from Kurt with a satisfactory smile and pink cheeks.

"Self flagulation" Kurt corrected. "I found an unblemished piece of countryside, spent a week there coming to terms with what I had done these last few months. Normally the whole ordeal should take around a month, but given that what had happened only transpired not long ago it did not take as long"

"So the rest of the time was spent getting there and returning here, right?" Kitty concluded trying to sneak another peak behind her.

"Eyes forward Miss Pryde" Kurt warned causing Kitty's head to quickly turn to the front again. "Where's Rogue by the way"

"Left" Kitty answered glumly. "The appeal of being able to have human contact with someone else was too overpowering, I guess"

"It's her choice I suppose, and she'll still be my little sister of sorts regardless" Kurt reasoned before catching Kitty trying to sneak another look and motioned for her to look away again despite wearing his uniforms trousers now, albeit unfastened.

"Don't see what the point is" Kitty huffed. "I'll be seeing _that_ sooner or later"

"Given that your eighteenth birthday is still more than a year away, it will definitely be later" Kurt pointed out as he fastened his belt.

"Then promise me you'll only wear boxers or briefs to bed please?" Kitty asked resisting the urge to turn round again. "You know I'll just sneak into your room regardless of what you do to keep me out come night time"

She could hear Kurt chuckle behind her before his arms wrapped round her waist from behind. "Only if you promise to wear something decent to bed yourself liebchen"

"Deal" Kitty quickly replied before turning around in Kurt's arms and pressing her lips to his.

It was with great reluctance that they pulled away before Kurt teleported the two of them onto the X-jet where the others were waiting for them.

"That took quicker than I expected" Logan grunted whilst Ororo brought the aircrafts engines online.

"Save the day now, kiss and make up afterward" Kurt replied.

"Sounds like a plan" Logan chuckled in agreement.

"That reminds me" Kurt whispered in Kitty's ear. "Have Logan and Ororo...?"

"Not yet" Kitty whispered in reply as she sat down in the nearest seat and strapped herself in.

"Then it looks like my work is not done yet" Kurt mock sighed causing Kitty to giggle.

"I'm glad you're back, Kurt" Kitty said softly as the X-jet speared skyward her hopes and morale seemingly skyrocketing now that her love was back with her and judging by the calm looks Bobby and Piotr sported, they were glad he was back also.

Kurt smiled warmly. "So am I liebchen, so am I"

_*#~#*_

_**FIN**_

_*#~#*_

_An end to one of my longest fics (I'd say longest but another fic of mine's still going on)_

_Thank you all for voting, reading & reviewing. I hope you'll stay tuned for future fics._

_So until next time_

_Watch this space & peace out!_


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