Evolutionary Changes

X-Mansion

“Alert. Discovery. Mutant signature. Alert. Discovery. Mutant signature. Alert. Discovery. Mutant signature—"

“Would you shut that thing off already!” Rogue covered her ears with a groan, hating the stupid alert system Cerebro had for new mutants. It was grating! She, Logan and Storm all trudged into Charles’ office to see what Cerebro had detected, having heard their communicators go off in their rooms. Being the X-Men, they were automatically alerted every time Cerebro detected a mutant’s manifestation.

But the damn machine had been blaring for the last five minutes non-stop!

“Computer. Voice authorization: Xavier, Charles,” the Professor spoke clearly.

“Verification complete. Extrapolation complete. Identity confirmed: Katherine Pryde. Residence, Northbrook, Illinois. Age 15.”

“Another youngin’, huh?” Logan yawned, stretching his arms. “Wonder what caused ‘er to manifest.”

“A nightmare,” Charles replied solemnly with his eyes shut, concentrating with Cerebro active on his head. “The poor thing’s terrified.”

“Do we have any idea what her mutation might be?” Storm asked.

“We shall find out soon enough. And it isn’t only her.”

“You find someone else too?” Rogue asked, watching Cerebro's screen bring up a second file on another teen. A boy, one not far from the girl in the same area. He looked to be a bit older but if Cerebro was picking up his mutant signature then it must mean his powers are powerful enough to register on Cerebro’s radar.

“Yes, and they both require assistance,” the Professor determined, leaning back with a look of assertiveness. “Prep the Blackbird.”

Northbrook, Illinois

Kitty was not having a good day so far, and what’s worse is that it started in the middle of the freaking night! It still felt like a horrible nightmare. How could she have even fallen through the ceiling in the first place?

It wasn’t possible!

Right?

Right.

‘Oh man, who am I kidding?’ she thought miserably, trying to carefully sneak down the stairs with her backpack. Her parents were more freaked out than she was, which was totally not cool since it was her freakiness, not theirs, but she sort of understood why they were so weirded out.

It wasn’t everyday your kid falls through her bedroom floor straight down into the basement…

That said, she knew she was going to go insane if she stayed home. Her mom was fretting like a wet hen and her dad was trying – and failing – to act like everything would fine. Like ignoring the problem was going to help solve anything.

Looking around the living room, Kitty quietly tip-toed down the stairs and silently walked to the front door, hoping she could sneak out and try to have a normal day at school. Her fingertips and barely touched the doorknob when she suddenly heard her mom speak up from the kitchen doorway.

“Sweetheart? I thought we agreed you wouldn’t go to school today?” Mrs. Pryde asked gently, knowing her daughter was annoyed with her and her father’s hovering. “It might be better to take a day off, honey.”

“Like, what’s the point?” Kitty exclaimed, throwing up her hands. “You and Daddy won’t even talk about it and I’ll, like, totally go batty just sitting around here all day!”

“I know you’re upset, honey, but—” Mrs. Pryde trailed off disheartened. “Should you really be at school?”

“Please, mom? I just want to go to school and have a normal day,” Kitty stressed while grabbing her mother’s hands. “Dad’ll make me stay home.”

Throwing a look over her shoulder towards the stairs, Mrs. Pryde bit her lip and sighed. There was no point in forcing Kitty to be unhappy after all the misery they’d gone through last night. Giving in to her daughters pouting, she smiled softly and nodded towards the door.

“Alright, sweetheart. Go on.”

Kitty grinned and blew her a kiss, waving as she hurried down the front steps. “Love you! Bye!”

Unbeknownst to any of them, Kitty’s day was only going to get worse…

X-Jet

“I don’t understand why you only brought us, Professor?” Jean asked from the backseat of the X-Jet, watching Charles pilot the plane flawlessly. They’d left the mansion early that morning to go locate this new mutant, Kitty Pryde, but Charles had asked that only Rogue and Jean accompany him and no one else. It wasn't exactly normal, which is why they were a little bewildered by the Professor's decision. 

"Because I believe you two can connect with this girl," Charles explained. "You both had difficult manifestations at young ages, with very drastic outcomes, and in Kitty's case I believe it would do well to listen to you two instead of a boring old, Professor like me."

Jean giggled softly, "I hope you're right."

"What about the other kid Cerebro discovered?" Rogue asked from the co-pilot seat. "Lance Alvers? You said he was older but that he still goes to same school as Kitty, right? How come Cerebro didn't pick up on him sooner?"

"I'm not entirely sure why we didn't discover Mr. Alvers sooner, but if I were to guess I would assume it is because his powers manifested at a very early age. It's possible that Cerebro only located him as well because of his close proximity to Ms. Pryde. But don't worry about him for now, just leave it to me," Charles said. "For this trip I'd like you to focus on Kitty's parents. Remember, you are both models of what we're offering their daughter. Sometimes it is easier for parents to understand our cause when they see first-hand what we can offer their children."

Looking over, Rogue raised her eyebrow at Charles and waited for him to actually tell her the whole truth, because it wasn’t her shining personality that would win over anyone’s parents. There was a reason he wanted her to come, and it definitely wasn't to bond over their manifestation stories...

‘Apologies, darling. But I do need you with us to help with Mr. Alvers. His situation may be more complex than Ms. Pryde’s. I fear we may require your unique inducement’ Charles projected to her.

"No pressure..." she muttered.

"And to think we passed up a nice, relaxing mid-term for this," Jean groaned from the back.

Northbrook, Illinois

Pryde Residence

“Smiles, everyone. Smiles,” Charles coached, leading the way up to the front door of the Pryde home. “We want to make a good impression.”

“You know Ah hate socializing,” Rogue murmured, keeping to the back to hopefully let the spotlight fall on Charles and Jean. She was never great with social visits or small talk. Even school was sometimes a little overwhelming for her at times.

So, visits like this, not exactly her cup of tea.

“I know, dear. Hopefully this meeting will go smoothly and be over quickly,” the Professor mollified.

“Fingers crossed,” Jean offered, reaching out to ring the doorbell. “Maybe they’re nice?”

A few moments passed before the sound of the door unlocking reached their ears, followed by the appearance of two middle-aged people, who they could only assume were Kitty’s parents.

"Mr. and Mrs. Pryde?” Charles asked.

“Yes? Can I help you?” Mrs. Pryde opened the door completely, stepping out with her husband beside her. It seemed Mr. Pryde was less forthcoming than his wife, eyeing them suspiciously.

“I am Professor Charles Xavier," the telepath introduced himself cheerfully. "These are two of my students, Jean and Rogue. We'd like to speak to you about your daughter."

“Kitty?” Mrs. Pryde asked, a bit more apprehensive now. “How do you know Kitty?”

"If we could just come in and have a few minutes of your time," Jean stepped forward. "We'll answer any and all questions you might have about--"

"You can speak to us out here," Mr. Pryde interrupted, holding up his hand to keep them on the porch.

Rogue felt her pulse spike a bit at the man’s hardened tone of voice, her politeness meter falling a few pegs. It seemed Charles also sensed her swift change if his hand reaching out to hold her own said anything.

This was why she didn't like dealing with people...especially parents.

"Very well," Charles jumped in with that air of pleasantness about him. "I believe it has come to your attention that your daughter is going through, shall we say, a unique transition. We simply wish to help her through it."

“But how--?” Kitty’s mother tried to ask, but her husband quickly spoke over her.

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about," Mr. Pryde tried to deny.

Oh, for the love of--

"Then how would you like to explain last night’s fiasco?" Rogue asked blankly, raising an eyebrow at the suburban couple. "Or would y’ like to continue pretendin’ it didn't happen and hope it goes away? Ah got news for ya’, y’ gonna be waitin’ a long time…"

Her words surprised the couple enough to at least have them second-guessing themselves. Kitty's mother looked worried while her father just appeared to become angrier, his face reddening as he stepped closer to the trio of mutants. 

“What the Hell do you know about that?” Mr. Pryde demanded, pointing a finger at Rogue.

“Ah know more than you do about what your baby girl is goin’ through,” she said calmly, even though inside she was dying to snap and yell at the moron in front of her to shut the Hell up and just listen to them. “She’s scared, right? An’ so are you. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with feelin’ scared…but refusin’ help when your child is the one in need isn’t going to solve anything."

"I--," he stumbled over his tongue. "You don't know anything about my family! Now, I don't know who the Hell you think you are, but you--"

"We’re not your enemy," Rogue interrupted his rising rant, meeting his harsh tone head on with an equally calm facade. "So please, for your girl’s sake, do right by her and give us five minutes of your time. We can help her.”

"Honey, please," Mrs. Pryde whispered, gripping her husband’s shoulder. "Maybe they could--"

"No," Mr. Pryde snapped, shaking his head in refusal. There was a new look of consternation in his eyes now and he leveled the three mutants with a glare. "Our daughter is none of your concern, and I'd appreciate if you would leave. Now."

With that, the couple slammed the door in their faces.

Rogue sighed and turned her head to look at Jean, “’Maybe they’ll be nice’ she says. ‘Smoothly and quickly’ he says…tch.”

"With a warm welcome like that, how about next time we just call first and get hung up on?" Jean joked, leaning against the porch railing.

"Less hassle," Rogue agreed.

"A valiant effort to break through their current resoluteness, but I think this may require some persuasion on Kitty's part," Charles sighed. "Why don't you two go and see if you can talk to her at her school?"

"Took the day off an' we end up back in school," Rogue threw her hands up while Jean giggled.

X-Mansion

Logan was outside the manor working on washing off his motorcycle, cleaning the road grime and dirt off of her. His latest trip had been rough on the bike’s paint, but nothing a little turtle wax couldn’t fix. It wasn’t until he went reaching for the container that he paused, catching a familiar scent floating on the breeze…a rather unwelcome one at that.

“Now what does that furball want?” he growled, standing up. Before he could ascertain where the scent was coming from, his cell suddenly began ringing from his pocket. A quick glance had him smirking, bringing the phone to his ear.

"Did ya' get the kid?" he asked.

"Tch. What d'ya think?" Rogue sighed from the other line. "Here's hopin' your day is goin' betta' than ours."

"Wouldn't count on it, Stripes."

There was a short pause from the other end of the phone, "Trouble?"

"Big trouble," Logan grumbled. "Sabretooth’s in town. Caught wind of 'im just before you called."

"What’s Snaggletooth doin’ in town?” she groaned. "Y' need us back? Ah would rather go tussle ole’ Sabe than have to deal with anymore parents. Please need meh."

Logan chuckled and headed for the mansion, “Nah. I'll handle the furball. Chuck wouldn’t have taken ya’ if he didn’t need ya’. Leave Sabretooth to me. Y'all deal with the youngin.”

"If you're sure. But Ah'm comin' after y' if Ah don't hear from y' soon."

"I'd expect nothin' less. I gotta go, Stripes."

"Go get 'im, Wolverine."

Northbrook School

Yep. This day was definitely not one Kitty’s better ones…

To recap, she had been late to school and given a tardy. She’d forgotten her history homework at home and was unable to prove she’d finished it, so her teacher gave her a failing grade for the day. Then she’d spilled milk all over top during lunch and had spent the rest of the break in the bathroom trying to wash it out - and the air dryers were so not powerful enough to dry her shirt, which, ugh! - and someone had stolen the rest of her lunch while she was gone.

What else?

Oh right, the bane of her entire existence, Riley and her bestie Amy, had tried to shove her into her locker just before P.E. and she’d somehow gained a freaky stalker boy, one that had somehow made the whole building shake, claiming to be just like her!

Like, how was this even her life!?

Outside the school on the field for P.E., Kitty was ironically paired up with her mean-girl foes to do the long-jump…because of course that was her luck. As she waited for their coach to give direction, she could have sworn she felt eyes on her. A quick glance around the campus field showed no signs of anyone watching her particularly, but the hairs on the back of her neck were still standing straight up.

Weird.

“Pryde, you’re up!” the coach yelled, blowing her whistle to start them off.

‘Awesome…’ Kitty groaned internally, preparing herself at the starting line. She was never the best at athletics, having been more of a bookworm most of her life, and this stupid exercise was a prime example of her lack of prowess.

‘You got this. You got this. You got this!’ she chanted inside her head, taking a running start towards the barrier as fast as her legs could carry her. ‘You got it. You got this. Youuu—so don’t got this!’

Yeah…face-planting into the sand? Not really her best attempt…

Behind her sprawled form, Kitty could hear Amy and Riley cackling with laughter at her blundering failure. The two girls, unlike her, were actual athletes and crowed for her to watch and learn and how it’s done.

“Watch and learn, kitty cat,” Riley taunted, readying herself for the long-jump.

Kitty rolled her eyes and moved off to the side, crossing her arms. Those two besties always felt the need to show off.

“Whatever,” she muttered, taking a look around the field to see what else was going on while she waited. Across the turf, she noticed two unfamiliar faces near the stadium bleachers that she didn’t recognize at all. Were they new students? One was a tall, slender redhead who somehow managed to catch her eye, waving at her. The other was a touch shorter with mix-matched hair and covered from head to toe, rocking the soft goth look.

‘Isn’t she hot in all that?’ Kitty wondered, kindly tossing them both a wave in return.

Suddenly, the ground began to violently shake and rumble, causing students to scream and panic from all around the field. It was like an earthquake!

“Woah--!” Kitty waved her arms to balance herself, looking behind her just in time to hear Riley scream in terror as she was somehow lifted into the air in a mound of sand! Watching the scene unfold in horror, Kitty turned to catch a glimpse of something – no, someone – standing on the roof of the school. Looking up, she was horrified to see it was the same boy from earlier and his eyes were locked onto her own. He waved at her, as though beckoning her to come over to him and the other boys standing behind him.

Oh no…

Swallowing thickly, Kitty knew he must have been responsible for whatever just happened and felt a surge of fear race through her. This was, like, totally not her day!

Turning on her heel, she raced across the field towards the other building to escape the madness unfolding around her.

This whole day has been nothing but a nightmare!

Beside the bleachers, Rogue and Jean both stood on the sidelines as the school faculty raced out to see how bad the damage was, checking on students and surveying the turf. Only they knew what had really happened, having seen Lance and his buddies on top of the building across from them. It would seem that Alvers could somehow manipulate seismic activity - if that lovely sand pit display said anything - and the kid clearly wasn't too concerned about using his abilities in public. 

How nice...

“Now Ah see what Xavier meant,” Rogue groused.

“Clearly Lance isn’t worried about hiding,” Jean sighed, shaking her head while following Kitty’s path as the young girl took off. “You want me to go talk to her?”

"Nah," Rogue stated, pushing off the wall and stuffing her gloved hands in her pockets, leisurely following the young mutant’s trail. “Ah got ‘er.”

Of all the things Rogue expected to find when she went looking for Kitty, discovering the young girl vandalizing the theater room was not one of them, but there was the kid throwing a massive tantrum.

No chair seemed to be spared from her rage, either…

"You alright, sugah?" Rogue asked, watching Kitty jump at the unexpected intrusion, turning to face her with a look of sheer anxiety.

"Like, who are you? That ‘Rah-Rah’ Riley a friend of yours or something? Because I had nothing to do with what happened on the sand pit!" Kitty floundered, stepping away from Rogue and keeping the set table between them.

Rogue raised an eyebrow, gesturing to herself. "Do Ah look like someone who runs around with the Daddy-issues cheer squad?"

"Well...no," Kitty admitted quietly. “I guess you kinda don’t.”

"Listen, Kitty," Rogue began, keeping a short distance between them so she didn’t scare the younger girl. "Ah know y' had nothin' to do with what happened out there and Ah also know what you're goin' through."

"You, like, don't know anything about me!" Kitty denied testily, crossing her arms. "And neither does that weird guy who caused the earthquake!"

"Lance?" Rogue asked, leaning against the arm of the theater bleachers. "Ignore him. This ain't about him, girl, it's about you."

"...what about me?"

"Those powers you're dealin' with," Rogue sighed. "The ones that are drivin' ya' crazy? They're your mutant powers manifestin', sugah."

"M-mutant?” Kitty gaped, shaking her head. “But I...I'm not--"

"You are. An' you can't deny it, no matter how much you'd like to...trust meh on that. Now Ah’m gonna lay on some hard t’ swallow facts, but Ah know beatin’ ‘round the bush ain’t gonna do you any favors, mah doll. Those powers? You can either ignore 'em, an' they'll destroy you, or you can learn to use 'em and control ‘em so you can live ya' life just like every othea' young teen your age. That's where meh an' mine come in."

"Rogue's right, Kitty.”

“Jesus--!” Rogue jumped, turning to see Jean walking towards her. “Wear a bell!”

“Sorry,” Jean smirked. “But really, Kitty, Rogue’s telling you the truth. We can help you because we're like you. We have gifts just like you do."

Kitty eyed them both with suspicion but still seemed set on denying her current predicament. “Tch, you’re both, like, crazy or something! Mutants? They don’t exist.”

"Girl’s as scared as a kitten, Red, an’ she’s diggin’ 'er heels in," Rogue joked softly. "Betta' show her."

"Watch me for a second, Kitty," Jean said, focusing her power. She swiftly levitated one of the theaters props up off the ground and weaved it around their heads, watching the young girl’s eyes widen in awe at the display.

"H-How did--how'd you do that?" Kitty whispered.

"The same way you can phase through solid objects. My mutation,” Jean explained, setting the prop back down. “Our mutations are our gifts.”

Kitty scoffed and looked away, clenching her fists despairingly, "I don't have any gifts...just this stupid curse."

"It's only a curse if you let it be, Kitty," Jean stressed. "I was exactly like you. One day I woke up and suddenly had this power, and believe me, I hated it too. I wrecked my entire bedroom on accident after having my own freak-out. Everyone is scared when their mutations start, right Rogue?"

Rogue chose to ignore the pointed look Jean tried to throw her, “An’ we ain’t gonna talk about meh, let’s just say Ah thought Ah was goin’ coo-coo fo’ Coco puffs…”

"Look, I didn't ask for any of this! I don't want this so-called gift! It's hard enough just being normal, you know? And why should I believe you anyway? This can’t be anything but a trick!" Kitty cried, backing away from them. “You’re lying!”

"You do believe us," Jean sighed. "I know because of my other ability."

"O-other ability?"

"Jean--" Rogue warned, knowing the young girl wouldn't react well to the telepath looking into her mind.

"I...I have the ability of telepathy. That means I can read your thoughts," Jean explained gently, feeling the wash of emotional torment coming from the terrified girl in front of them. “That’s how I know you believe what we’re telling you, even though it scares you, but you do believe us.”

"No! No, no—this isn’t real!" Kitty cried, wiping her eyes. "It’s not real! Just leave me alone!"

Dashing out of the theater set, she stormed out the door in tears, leaving Jean and Rogue behind. In the ensuring silence, both mutants wondered what to do next to try and help the young girl.

"Could ‘a slid into that one betta', Red," Rogue murmured, disheartened.

"We have to help her, Rogue," Jean pleaded, blinking back her own tears from the torrent of emotions she’d received from Kitty’s mind. "She's so scared."

"Let 'er go for now. She ain’t ready.”

"But--"

"It ain't over yet," Rogue assured. "But pushin' the girl ain't gonna win us any favors. Besides, she ain’t the only one we’re here for. So, what do y’ say we go find us an Earth-shaker?"

Lance Alvers stood in the empty hallway of the school waiting - somewhat – patiently for any sign of that cute girl he’d met that morning. He was almost certain her name was Kitty, but every time he’d tried to get a chance to talk to her, she ran away from him. His original goal had been to try and talk to her, maybe get her on his side a bit and maybe, just maybe, see if she would snatch the mid-term answers from the administration office for him and his boys. He'd seen her power in action after watching her fall right through the locker door. How awesome would it be to have that ability at your fingertips?

What better way to steal anything than to just walk anywhere you wanted?

Checking his watch, he tapped his foot and looked down the hall once again. Where on Earth could she be?

“Waitin’ for somethin’?” a southern voice spoke out from behind him.

Jumping slightly in surprise, Lance jerked around to find a pretty girl standing beside the lockers. She wasn’t exactly his type, but he did have to admit she was very beautiful with that wild hair and those pretty smoky eyes. He’d never seen her around though.

“Just waiting for a friend,” he shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets. “You new here? Can’t say I’ve ever seen you before.”

“Y’ could say that,” she said. “Ah’m Rogue.”

“Lance,” he offered.

“Ah know,” she smirked. “In fact, Ah know your name is Lance Alvers and y’ got ya’ eye on a cute little brunette. Kitty givin’ y’ the run around?”

Stepping back in surprise, Lance narrowed his eyes and really took a moment to look Rogue over. Something about her was making his gut speak up, warning him that even though she wasn’t a danger, per say, she was definitely dangerous.

And that’s when it suddenly hit him.

“You’re like me,” he stated, his eyes widening in excitement. “You’re a mutant, aren’t you!”

“Say it a little louder, Ah don’t think Brooklyn heard ya’...” she deadpanned.

“This is great!” he continued undeterred. "I can't believe I found two of you in one day!"

“Lance—”

“We can both talk to Kitty now! She’ll probably like you more since you’re a girl too.”

“Lance.”

“And together we can start a new crew and drop those losers—"

“Lance…”

“I can’t believe this! We’re gonna be unstoppable--!”

“Lance!”

“What?”

Rogue pinched her bridge and took a breath, knowing the kid was excited and had probably had a tough upbringing thus far, but she could already tell what kind of path he was on.

“Look, Ah know havin’ powers can be an incredible feelin’, but the road you’re travelin’ ain’t a good one, sugah. Usin’ those gifts for your own selfish gains won’t fill that emptiness inside you. And Ah’m sorry, darlin’, but causin’ landslides ain’t gonna make you any real friends, just a bunch a’ hanger-on’s that either fear you or wanna use you for your mutation.”

Lance scoffed and waved her warning off with a sneer, “What do you know? Your power is probably weak or somethin’. You’re just jealous of mine, aren’t you.”

Rolling her eyes, Rogue pointed to her outfit with a raised eyebrow. “Y’ think Ah’m wearin’ this many layers in this heat for the fun of it?”

“It’s not that hot.”

“It’s 82 degrees outside!”

“…maybe it’s a little warm,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “But I still say you’re wrong. We’re outsiders, Rogue. We’re not normal! So why shouldn’t we use our powers? Who cares what the rest of the world thinks?”

“See that? That attitude right there?” she countered roughly, pointing at his chest. “That tells meh y’ are only thinkin’ about yourself. News flash, kid; you are not the only mutant on the planet. That means your actions can have lasting consequences for other mutants.”

Lance stepped back as Rogue advanced on him, feeling a spike of uncertainty run up his spine as she continued to berate him.

“What happens when y’ break the law an’ people find out what y’ are? They ain’t gonna see some punk-ass kid playin’ around with his powers, they’re gonna see a mutant using his mutation and it’s gonna scare the fuck outta’ them…and not all of ‘em will react kindly. You don’t believe meh? Look at a history book. People can barely handle skin color or gender…how do y’ think they’ll react to us?” she asked, delineating the harsh truth the best way she believed. “This ain’t some grand winnin’ streak Fate dealt us, Lance. We’re genetically different from others - that’s all - and what we choose to do with our mutations is solely up to us. So, y’ can either learn to control ‘em, maybe even do some good and take control of your life, or y’ can be a menace and continue to let those gifts and your emotions control you, and then when you become a danger to the rest of us and put our safety in peril, it’s gonna be meh an’ mahfriends that stop you.”

Her veiled threat was not missed, given how Lance cowed for a moment, but it seemed her words went in one ear and out the other. He pulled himself away with a sneer before turning away, ignoring everything she’d tried to get through to him.

“Whatever,” he muttered. “Your loss. Just stay out of my way.”

Watching Lance storm off, Rogue sighed and pulled her cell out of her back pocket to call Charles. It would seem her ‘unique inducement’ wasn’t gonna cut it this time. Some battles you just can’t win.

‘Pft. Kids…’ she sighed, holding up her phone. “Hey. We’re gonna need anotha’ plan. And meh thinks ya’ might wanna have anotha’ chat with Kitty’s folks.”

Back in Bayville...

Logan was also not having a good day.

He’d been tracking that no-good overgrown pussycat for over an hour now and still, now in the heart of Bayville, he’d somehow managed to lose Sabretooth’s scent again. The smells of the city were messing with his senses. One second he was hyper focused on his trail only to then be bombarded with the overpowering scent of smog and garbage. It was only serving to irritate him more.

It also didn’t help that he had two nosey tails following him!

Standing on the top row of a parking garage, Logan glanced over the side to see Scott and Kurt parked on the street below, clearly lost and out in the open.

Who the Hell picks a candy apple red hotrod as a tail car?

“We really gotta work on the term inconspicuous,” he grumbled.

A tailwind blew up from behind him and a fresh scent wafted towards him, the rotten stench of viscera and predator filling the air along with the growing resonance of a motorcycle approaching.

Finally.

Not a moment later, the overgrown rat appeared around the last corner of the garage on a gaudy chopper. Elongated claws gripped the handlebars, aiming the bike right at the Wolverine.

“Lookin’ for me, runt?” Sabretooth growled from his chopper, revving the engine. “We’ve got unfinished business.”

Logan snarled, unsheathing his claws, “Bring it on, pops.”

And like two gladiators rushing one another, the two ferals charged with ill-intent and malice. It was always like this, always had been. Some of Logan’s earliest memories were of Sabretooth hunting him down like an animal, spouting off drivel about their intwined destinies, never going into detail nor explaining why he had it out for Logan’s head. All the larger mutant had ever done was engage Logan in bloodthirsty fights that always ended with one or both of them mutilated.

Shit got old real quick…

Over the past decade, Logan had come to call Sabretooth his nemesis, for no other reason than lack of a better word for the furball. The only other person who seemed to fight Sabretooth as often as he did was Rogue, but that was only because the other feral had deemed her a good tussle, so to speak.

Which was another reason Logan didn’t always mind these bloody encounters with the other mutant. With Sabretooth, he could let go and not worry about holding himself back.

He could be the animal he truly was.

“Yer’ getting’ slow, Bub!” he snarled, slicing clean through the front of the chopper, sending Sabretooth flying over the front wheels and over the edge of the parking garage.

Dashing over to see where his opponent had gone, Logan chuckled when he noted where the destroyed bike had landed, the resounding ‘crunch’ of metal-on-metal echoing through the street.

“Not my car!” Scott cried loudly.

“Lesson learned!” Logan yelled down to them.

His amusement was cut short as the floor beneath his feet suddenly began to crumble, violent bursts of concrete flying up to cut his bared skin as an SUV broke through the broken cement to send him flying backwards.

It could never be said that Sabretooth wasn’t strong as Hell…case in point.

Cars began flying through the roof of the garage, causing the concrete to collapse in on itself and send Logan tumbling down to the floor beneath. He groaned painfully when a large chunk of cement and rebar crashed down on his spine, knocking the wind from him long enough for Sabretooth to slam a truck into him!

“Son of a--!” he raged, gasping as he was pinned and wedged between the vehicle and the garage pillar.

“You can't change fate, Logan,” Sabretooth snarled viciously, baring his fangs in a macabre grin. “One shall fall by the others hand!"

"Don't feed me that fortune cookie crap!" Logan sneered, trying to shove the truck away. Damn it all, he hated to admit that the other feral was – perhaps – just a little bit stronger than he was.

"Eyes up, Hairball!"

Scott and Kurt had arrived, both dressed in uniform and Scott quickly blasted Sabretooth with an optic beam, releasing his hold on the truck and freeing Logan.

Sabretooth soared through the air before slamming into a van, crunching the door beneath his massive bulk. The two teens went for the attack, Scott blasting the feral again and Kurt…well, he tried his best.

“Take this!” the little blue mutant bravely crowed, throwing a punch at Sabretooth’s chest only to be knocked back onto the ground with a huff!

“And I call you a runt,” Sabretooth snickered towards Logan, eyeing the small blue teen while licking his canines. “Get lost, brat. Unless you wanna end up a snack.”

Kurt gulped nervously and quickly skirted backwards, teleporting to a safe distance behind Scott.

“Stay outta’ this!” Logan roared, leaping towards Sabretooth to finish his fight.

The two ferals grappled and rolled around the parking garage, knocking into cars and causing alarms to blare nosily, uncaring of the damage they were both causing.

“The Professor is not going to be happy about this,” Scott whispered, continuing to watch the two older mutants duke it out. On top of the destruction, there was also blood everywhere and to be honest, it looked like someone had been murdered.

If nothing else, it would be interesting to see what the News would have to say about this mess.

Logan finally managed to get the upper hand and sent Sabretooth flying into the open elevator shaft with a hard kick to the chest. The other feral went over the edge and fell down the darkened shaft, his bellowing groan the only evidence he was even still there before the dust started to settle.

Good riddance.

Clenching his teeth, Logan looked down at his own wounds and noted that they were healing quickly, but that didn’t mean they didn’t hurt like a bitch. That damn cat had managed to slice into his belly and knick his lower intestine. Not to mention the damage he’d done to his suit.

“You good, Wolverine?” Scott asked from behind, he and Kurt finally making their way over to join him.

"What the heck are you two doin' here?" Logan growled, poking the older teen in the chest. “You should be at school.”

"We were just trying to help out," Scott said, holding up his hands. He knew better than to argue with Logan or test the man's ire, especially when he looked like that.

"We showed that overgrown furball!" Kurt cheered, looking down the elevator shaft where Sabretooth had vanished. "We are the X-Men!"

Logan glared at the boys, "I don't fight your battles, so don't fight mine, kid."

Kurt just grinned, "You love us."

“Yer’ not gonna think that when I tell Chuck you digbats played hooky.”

Northbrook School

How Kitty found herself caught up in this situation, she wasn’t entirely sure, but somehow, she’d allowed Lance to convince her to use her powers to help him. Maybe it was his cuteness or his charm, either way, Kitty had let herself be ushered into breaking into the locked office building.

Walking through walls, on purpose, was way cooler than falling through floors!

“Did you see that! Did you see me!” she exclaimed with pride, letting Lance inside the now unlocked door. “I did it! Did you see!”

“I saw!” Lance encouraged her, sharing in her excitement. “How’d it feel? Pretty great, right?”

“It felt amazing,” she confessed with a touch of trepidation. This was all so new to her and things were moving so fast, but she had to admit to herself that it felt incredible.

“You’re making it yours, Kitty,” he stated. “Once you learn how, nothing can stop you.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, only now she was wondering why exactly Lance had asked her to try and walk through that specific office. “But why here? I mean, like, there’s a bunch of other ways I could have tested it out, right?”

“Sure, and we will, but I need something from here first,” Lance smirked, walking over to the main computer and flopping onto the chair. He was so stoked! With Kitty’s help, they could get anything they could ever ask for. Without needing to study, school would be an absolute breeze now.

“What do you need?” she asked hesitantly, coming up to the desk to watch him curiously.

Opening up the computer’s files, Lance found the test answers with ease and started the process of transferring them to a floppy disk. “Mid-term test answers. All of ‘em are here and accounted for. We’re gonna make a killing selling these!”

Kitty went quiet for a moment, her wide blue eyes darting around the room wildly when the reality of what she’d done set in. “That’s what this was all about? You…you used me to cheat?”

“Don’t think of it as cheating, Kitty,” he breezed over her worried tone. “Schools use standardized tests like these to keep people like us down, we’re just evening the playing field. Why not get a little payback for our trouble? Other kids will pay out more than you can imagine for these answers.”

“But it’s wrong, Lance,” she implored. “Think about what you’re saying. It isn’t a logical argument! You can’t blame the school—”

“I can blame anyone I damn well please!” he growled, glaring up at her. “What’s this place ever done for me, huh? You don’t get it because you’re one of the goodie-goodie students who has everything handed to her on a silver platter! Meanwhile, the rest of us don’t get that option.”

“Handed to me?” she scoffed, feeling her own ire rising. “I’ve worked hard and studied my entire academic career to be better, Lance! I never claimed to be smarter than anyone else, and just because we’ve had different upbringings doesn’t give you the right to call me names! I have nice parents, a big house, sure, but I’ve never had anything handed to me. I worked for it! I’ve never cheated on anything and I’m not about to now.”

“You don’t know anything about me!” he argued, feeling his own defenses rise. “You don’t know what I’ve been through. You don’t know what it’s like to have your own parents call you a freak and ship you off like you’re trash! You don’t know what it feels like to be thrown into foster care and dumped in half a dozen different houses with a bunch of other kids who try to bully you – beat you – all because you’re different!”

Kitty’s eyes softened, even as her heart pounded anxiously in her chest. She could see how much the boy in front of her was hurting. He’d been through a lot, but that still didn’t mean any of this was right, and she knew that sometimes accountability felt like an attack when the person responsible is not ready to acknowledge how their behavior may affect others.

“Lance,” she whispered. “I’m sorry for what you’ve been through, b-but…but just because your pain is understandable, doesn’t make your behavior acceptable.”

“Kitty Kat’s right, Lance.” A new voice spoke up from the darkness of the room, startling both teens! From the corner of the room, beside the row of filing cabinets, stood Rogue. She was leaning against the wall looking completely at ease, watching them both.

“Rogue? Like, how’d you get in here?’ Kitty gasped, looking around as if to find another door.

Rogue raised an eyebrow and held up a key ring, “Ah had a sneakin’ suspicion what y’all might be gettin’ into, so Ah borrowed the Principal’s keys.”

“Borrowed?” Lance asked.

“It’s only stealin’ if ya’ don’t plan on givin’ ‘em back,” Rogue shrugged. “Stealing would be what you’re doin’.”

“You’re not gonna stop us,” he snapped, pocketing the disk.

“Remember what Ah told ya’ before, Lance? This is what Ah’m talkin’ about,” she urged him to listen. “Kitty’s right. Everything you’ve been through, it ain’t fair. None of it is. You were branded a lost cause early on for no othea’ reason than bein’ who you are…and nothin’ can ever truly erase that pain, sugah.”

“What do you know about it?” he growled.

Rogue narrowed her eyes right back, “Ah may be kind, but that does not mean Ah haven’t been through Hell a’ mah own. Don’t you dare think for one second that you ever have the right – better yet, the audacity – to judge a stranger simply based on their goodwill, Lance Alvers. You think you’re the only one who’s got pain an’ baggage? Join the damn club, kid. But don’t you ever think your trauma outweighs someone else’s or is more valid than another person’s. How you choose to react to it, is your decision.”

Lance seemed to pause, some of his fire receding, an undistinguishable emotion flashing across his eyes as he processed her speech. She may have been the first person to say anything that deep to him. It was also the first time he’d ever really had his own pain thrown right back at him.

But just because she was right, didn’t mean he had to accept it.

“Shut up,” he grunted, feeling his own rage simmering. “Just shut up!”

“Truth hurts, mah doll,” Rogue voiced gently, but unwaveringly. “But it doesn’t make it any less true. Learn that lesson now, Lance…learn it well.”

All of a sudden, the door exploded inward and crashed against the wall, with Kitty’s parents and Jean filing in one after another.

“Get away from my daughter!” Mr. Pryde demanded.

“Lance, stop this,” Charles beseeched as he rolled into the room behind them. “Please. Let us help you.”

“No one can help me!” Lance argued with irritation. "I don't need any help!"

“We can, if you would only let us.”

“Stop!” the frustrated teen lashed out, his powers awakening and causing the room to shake.

Rogue eyed the ceiling and wondered if the building’s structure would hold up against Lance’s mutation. If not, they should probably have an escape plan ready for the next 60 seconds.

“Kitty! Get away from him!” Mr. Pryde cried to his daughter, trying to get closer to the due across the room.

"Far enough, old man!" Lance jerked his hands up to focus his power, seemingly pushed over the edge and seeking out a target for his rage. The tumbling bookcases fell straight down on top of Kitty's father, pinning him to the floor, nearly hitting Charles as well.

And that’s enough of that.

"Far enough is right," Rogue growled, lifting the fallen shelves off Mr. Pryde while keeping herself between the rogue mutant boy and Xavier. "Stop him, Red."

Jean quickly used her powers to catch Lance mid-step, halting him in his escape even as he struggled.

“What the--!” Lance faltered, unable to move. “How did you—!”

“Ah told you, you put othea’ people in harms way an’ meh an’ mah friends would be the one’s t’ stop y’,” Rogue explained testily. “This is exactly what Ah was tryin’ to get through that thick skull a’ yours. You've lost your way, an' Ah can't blame you for that, but Ah won't stand by an' let you take Kitty down with you."

Sliding off her glove, she carefully brushed her fingertips across Lance’s cheek just long enough to drop him. “Ah'm sorry, darlin'…but some lessons have to be learned the hard way."

Kitty covered her mouth in shock at the whole situation, blinking back tears as the reality of what she'd gotten into hit her. Her parents rushed over to her and wrapped their arms around her, trying to comfort their daughter while Jean and Charles dealt with Rogue and Lance. 

"You okay?" Jean asked softly, helping Rogue up. 

"Ah'll be fine," Rogue murmured, shaking her head as unwanted memories that were not her own began to flash through her mind. She was used to it, but for the first couple of hours after touching someone were always the hardest. 

"An ambulance has already been called," Charles informed them. "Jean, would you please move Lance for us so we can adjoin outside. I'll take care of everything else."

"Yeah," the redhead nodded, carefully using her powers to slowly move Lance up off the floor and lead them outside. Kitty and her parents followed, still reeling from everything that had happened, leaving Charles and Rogue for last. 

The Professor looked up at Rogue in concern, "Are you sure you're alright, dear?"

Rather than answer immediately, Rogue rubbed her temple and swallowed a few times. To be honest, she wasn't, but...desperate times and all that.

"Not really," she admitted. "But Ah will be." 

"Let's get you home, then."

Outside the school, now that everything seemed to have been worked out, Charles sat with Kitty and her parents discussing the future. It would appear that with the insanity of the day’s events, Mr. Pryde had come around to the idea that Charles was Kitty’s best hope for learning to control her new mutation.

"Kitty, I'm sorry," Mr. Pryde said, holding his daughter’s hand. "I tried to pretend everything was fine, but I...I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm learning how to deal with this just like you are, and I’m sorry if I made you feel like any of this was your fault. I didn’t know how to help you through this, and I made mistakes. I know that now…"

“Professor Xavier says he can help me, Daddy,” Kitty squeezed his hands. “I trust them to do it. But I won’t go if you aren’t convinced either.”

Mr. and Mrs. Pryde shared a solemn look, silently leaning on one another for comfort. “It isn’t that we aren’t convinced, honey. We’ll miss you, that’s all. You’ve never been away from home and with everything that’s happening, well…I guess I’m just scared.”

“I’m scared too,” Kitty whispered, wrapping her arms around her parents to hug them both tightly.

Charles watched the loving family with a small smile, happy that everything worked out in the end, for the most part anyway. He was proud of the girls for their work and for their fortitude, but a sense of dread continued to eat at the back of his mind.

“You’re worried about the boy,” Rogue murmured next to him, her gaze trained not on the Pryde family, but on the ambulance loading up a very dazed and sickly-looking Lance Alvers across the way. They’d covered him with a shock blanket and bought whatever story Charles had given them about what happened. In her own mind, Rogue had already filed Lance’s persona away behind a wall, but she could still feel the radiance of anger simmering in the far recesses of her mind.

“As are you,” Charles noted, trying to project calmness into her conscious to ease her worry. “Darling, I know I often magnify our ambitions to offer guidance and enlightenment to those who need it most, but the actuality of trying to safeguard everyone we come across is impossible, though not a reflection of our own fallibility…but as you said before, dear, truth can be difficult to accept, and the truth of the matter is that we cannot save everyone.”

Taking a deep, calming breath, Rogue watched the EMT’s load Lance up into the ambulance. The kid was lost, no doubt, but that didn’t mean he was a lost cause. Anyone can find the light if given the chance.

“Just because someone stumbles, an’ loses their way, doesn’t mean they’re lost forever,” she said.

Beside her, Charles looked up at her with nothing but pride shining in his soft, brown eyes, and he nodded proudly.

“Well spoken, darling.”

Back at the mansion, Rogue left Jean and Charles to show Kitty around her new home and disappeared into the garage for some peace and quiet and rubbing down her motorcycle with a fresh coat of wax was just the ticket. The whole day was catching up to her and she needed some time away from the others. Absorbing Lance had given her a minor headache, even if she hadn’t held on for long.

Poor kid was probably sleeping off a major migraine of his own.

The first sight that greeted her when she stepped into the garage was the totaled sportscar Cyclops coveted, completely beat to Hell and back. Gaping, she stared at the mangled car trying to figure out how in the world that happened!

“To answer the question I know yer’ gonna ask, Sabretooth dropped a chopper on it,” Logan stated from behind her, jerking his thumb at the wrecked corvette.

Ahh.

“Ah don’t know whether that answers mah question or just raises more, sugah,” she deadpanned.

“You’ll find out soon enough. So, I take it everything worked out with the half-pint?" Logan asked.

"Oh sure," she sassed, ticking off her fingers. "If ya' call dealin' with ignorant parents, snobbish cheerleaders, a rogue mutant boy an' school vandalism workin' it out. Yeah…it worked out fine, then."

"At least you got the kid here, Stripes," he pointed out. "That's more than we can say for a lot a' youngins."

Rogue sighed, reaching for the turtle wax on the shelf before walking over to her bike. "It ain't Kitty Ah'm worried about."

Logan walked over to grab another rag to help, giving her a few seconds to gather her thoughts. He’d caught the run-down from Charles earlier on the entirety of their mission.

"The boy?" he asked.

"Lance," she nodded. "Ah've got a bad feelin' he'll be in Mystique's crosshairs soon enough. His mutation is too powerful to pass up. He might fall in with her simply because she don’t have any rules. I got a good dose of his memories, Logan…the kid’s been through Hell jumpin’ home to home and dealin’ with foster care. I’ve been there and Ah remember how terrifyin’ it can be."

“He bein’ abused?” he rumpled, knowing that if the answer was a definite yes then come Hell or high water, they’d find a way to get the kid in their hands.

“Not anymore…” she murmured. From what she’d seen from Lance’s burst of memories, he’d been in two situations where he’d been physically assaulted by a foster parent and was immediately removed from the home, but there had also been another placement that did not end well for him. A house in a city, no bigger than a small apartment from the look of it and filled with far too many kids. Lance had been one of the youngest there, ostracized as the newcomer and bullied to the point of injury by the older children.

That had been when his mutation first began to get him into trouble.

He had unintentionally hospitalized a few of the other kids when he’d lashed out and brought half the house down. It had been written off as an accident, faulty foundation or something along those lines it seemed, but the true cause had been Lance retaliating after one of the older boys had blackened his eye.

Children could be incredibly cruel…

“He’s just strugglin’ to survive, Lo. No one should have to go through that,” she said. “He’s lost, an’ he don’t know any betta’.”

"We'll help the kid if we can," Logan offered, nudging her shoulder. "But for now, focus on what you accomplished. Ya’ got the half-pint here, sounds like a successful day to me.”

Rogue cast him a weary smile, holding up her fist.

“Take the win?”

Logan smirked, bumping her fist with his.

“Take the win.”

From inside the house, they both snickered when they heard Charles’ voice echo through the open doorway.

“What do you mean you skipped school!?”

Back in Northbrook...

The beeping of a heart monitor was the only sound breaking the tense silence of the hospital room Lance found himself in. He’d woken up in a daze, confused and feeling like he’d been run over by a truck, poked and prodded by nurses and doctors asking him questions he couldn’t even answer.

Whether that was out of respect for Rogue’s words or fear, he couldn’t really say.

Now, he was stuck waiting for his foster family to finish filling out paperwork or whatever, nursing a killer headache and sipping on his third box juice.

‘Remind me to never get on Rogue’s bad side’ he thought, rubbing his temple. He couldn’t even recall what had happened between him being stopped by the redhead – Jane, or something – and waking up in the hospital. They told him he’d passed out, yet no one could tell him why. It had to have been Rogue’s power, something to do with her skin, but what?

Whatever it was, girl packed a serious punch…

The sound of the door opening made him glance over, catching sight of a single nurse stepping into the room. She closed the door behind her and threw him a mild grin.

“Lance Alvers, I presume?”

Swallowing, he nodded and watched her step closer to the bed, “Yeah?”

“I believe you and I have something in common,” she smirked. “What if I told you I could help you out of your – unsatisfactory – situation? We could help each other.”

“Help how?” he asked warily.

“Simple. For starters, I can remove you from your current foster home. After all,” she said, leaning her hands on the end of the hospital bed. “Those humans will never understand you like I can.”

Lance watched in disbelief as the woman’s skin transformed and morphed from pale white to a deep turquoise and snake-like yellow irises gazed into his own slightly terrified brown.

“You’re a—” he started.

“A mutant,” she finished. “Like you, Mr. Alvers. Now, why don’t you and I have a nice, quiet chat?”