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"Do you need a place to hide?" You ask, stepping halfway out the door.The group of hero's glance amongst each other and you roll your eyes. "Get in here before someone sees!" You hiss, opening the door a little wider for them. The group files in. One teleporting which takes all your concentration to not flinch. You glance around quickly, only seeing one of your neighbors out on the street. "Hey Mags!" You call, waving pleasantly. The older woman only glares at you. Taking a deep breath, you close the door behind yourself and lock the deadbolt."Danke schön, fräulein." The teleporter says. He's cute in a mischievous kind of way. You give him a half-smile, "freílich."
His golden eyes seem to light up a little and he disappears from his spot across the room, reappearing in front of you. "Du kannst Deutsch?"
You start, unable to keep from jumping this time. You place a hand over your heart, "by the gods-" you murmur before letting out an embarrassed laugh. "I only know a little. My stepmom is German. She teaches it at a school nearby."
He claps, "das ist wunderber!"
You glance over at the others, taking in their banged-up state. "Here, I have some medical supplies." You turn towards the hallway.
"Wouldn't want to put you out." The gruff one says.
You roll your eyes again and walk into the bathroom, pulling a bag from under the sink. "It's not a whole lot." You say, bring it out to the dining room table. "But hopefully, it'll help." You turn into the kitchen alcove and grab some kitchen towels from a cabinet. "I only have one actual towel right now and its dirty." You say apologetically, handing the towels to the blue beast of a man.
"Why on Earth do you have such a substantial variety of medical supplies?" He asks, pawing through the bag.
You shrug, "dads a doomsday prepper." You answer. "He thinks we're heading towards an apocalypse." You set a hand on your hip, shrugging with one shoulder. "I got the job of family medic." The one with the attitude and the one with the visor share a look and you sigh. "Here." You walk to the cupboard and pull out a few glasses. "I have water and some chilled tea." You think for a moment "Oh I could make some coffee."
"Coffee, please." Says the woman in white.
You nod, "I have a little vanilla flavored left if you'd like or I have regular."
"Whatever is easiest, child." She responds evenly.
You scoff, "I'm twenty-three." You go about setting up the coffee maker as the one with attitude speaks again.
"Humans don't trust Mutants. Why are you actually doing this?" He demands.
The teleporter reprimands him, "Wolverine, she offered us sanctuary. You could be a bit more grateful."
At the same time, you flinch back slightly at his accusation. "I don't care who you are. You needed help; I helped." He just huffs in response.
"Here, let me." The German one says, taking the water pitcher from your hands and filling the rest of the glasses.
You smile at him and take down a mug for the woman's coffee. "Not to introduce myself late, but my name is Lizbeth Starling." You pull down a sugar jar before saying, "you can call me what you like though."
The German one hands back the pitcher. "Like zhe songbird?" He asks.
You chuckle, "yeah, like a bird." You fill the filter before setting the pitcher back in the fridge.
"I am Kurt Vagner." He says, extending a hand and you both shake.
"Kurt!" The one with the visor reprimands.
Your smile falls a bit as you glance over at him. "Apologies Cyclops, I couldn't introduce myself to such a pretty lady vizh my stage name." He says, winking at you.
An embarrassed blush causes your ears to burn as you say, "I wouldn't tell anyone anyway."
Kurt shrugs, "you'll have to forgive Cyclopes. He is very...by the book." He pops over to Cyclopes' side to hand him a glass of water.
The young girl with them says, "I'm Jubilee." She waves from her seat and Kurt hands her a glass of water as well. "That's Storm." Storm nods in greeting and Jubilee tosses a thumb toward another. "The grumpy one is Wolverine and the Doc's Beast." She introduces.
"Salutations." Beast greets, "you may call me Hank."
You nod, but your expression is a bit wary. "Um, aren't you a bit young to be going on missions?"
"She's in training." Cyclopes explains.
You hum in response, not really liking the answer. "I suppose things would be different..." You murmur to yourself.
"We ain't like you. Life's not all cozy for Mutants." Wolverine grunts.
"I'm sorry it's like that, although, I'm sure the apology seems disingenuous." You frown, your shoulders falling.
Kurt smiles and lays a hand on your shoulder. "Empathy spans species." He assures you.
You give him a grateful smile; you can't bring yourself to feel better about it though. They shouldn't have to make you feel better. You feel like you should apologize for every single human that's caused them grief. You weren't blind. You knew how people treated Mutants. You'd seen the protests, the hatred. It made you sick. It wasn't like anyone chose to be a Mutant. Anyone could be a Mutant, even if both parents had been Human. You felt like you had to overcompensate for the hate your own family had towards Mutants.
Hank goes about fixing up some of the cuts and scrapes he and the others had as you observe the coffee filling up the pot. You really didn't have any right to feel bad you reason, but maybe Kurt was right. Empathy spanned different species.
When the coffee was finished, you pour some into the mug you'd grabbed before. "Here ya go." You hand the mug to Storm. "Sugar's right there." You say, gesturing to a container of the stuff before moving out of the way.
"Thank you for your hospitality." Storm says with a nod.
Before you can respond, a knock on the door causes everyone to jump. You hold a finger to your lips and take the few steps towards the door. Taking a deep, centering breath, you unbolt the door and open it a bit. Just enough to see who's knocking so late at night. "Officers." You greet, immediately relaxing a bit. You open the door slightly more. "What can I help you with?"
"There were reports of Mutants in the area." One says.
You make a face, "so? Since when do people report Mutants?"
The other officer who is in plain clothes says, "since they became a menace to nice normal folk." He crosses his arms, "one of your neighbors reported you were harboring these suspects."
"They aren't criminals because of their genetics." You spit back; you were going to give Megan a piece of your mind tomorrow morning.
The plain clothed officer raises a gun like object and you take a panicked step back. However, when he pulls the trigger all it does is make a strange sound. "She's Human." He says, lowering what you take to be some kind of genetic scanner.
"We'll just check your home and be on our way ma'am." The first officer says, taking a step forward.
You square your shoulders, and grab hold of the door. "Impersonating law enforcement is a serious crime." You start shutting the door. "Come back with a warrant." The 'officer' pulls out a gun, this time very obviously the real deal. You freeze, your hand still on the door, "what the fuck is wrong with you?" You breath, "put that awa-" He shoots.
The next few moments happen so fast it's hard to fully comprehend what happens. You think you see the gun crumble to ash as you stagger back and fall.
"I've got you!" Kurt says as he catches you. He has you propped up against his knee as you vaguely hear the sounds of fighting. You touch your chest and feel the suction from the wound. You raise your hand; so much blood...
It's so hard to get a breath. I can't hear-
"Kitch-" You point because you can't get a breath in and its nearly impossible to speak.
"You'll be okay, fräulein." Kurt says softly, though his worried look says otherwise. He teleports the few feet backwards into the kitchen area. You reach over to a drawer and pull it out, scattering the contents across the floor.
Lunch bags. Your father had once explained what a sucking wound was: a wound that punctured the lung. If one didn't cover the hole with something like plastic the lung would collapse.Your hands are shaking. You can't seem to focus your thoughts, but Kurt seems to see what you’re reaching for. He pulls out the plastic bags and you take one, pressing it to the bullet wound. It sticks of it's own accord, the suction keeping it from falling. Now the fluid in the lung. Something you had learned on your own.You could drown on dry land if too much fluid filled the lungs. You had no idea how long rescue would take, or if you’d be rescued at all. "Kurt-" You whisper, your head slumping forward slightly. “Straw-"
"Vas?" He leans in to hear you over the battle going on three feet away. “Vhy-" He seems to think better of arguing with you and plucks the metal straw you’d been reaching for off the ground.
"Fortify." You mumble, taking the straw from his hand. Your hands are slick with blood and you can feel your strength draining away. You know you have to do this now, before you fall unconscious.You lean forward, desperately trying to force the straw through the exit wound, but you can't find the strength...
"Scheisse, zhis is a terrible vay to get to know one anozher." Kurt remarks before helping push the straw through the wound.
Your last sliver of consciousness fades, sending you forward into Kurt's arms.
"Kurt, we gotta go." Logan says, his claws retracting.
Kurt lifts the limp body of the girl. "Ve can not leave her-"
"We won't." Cyclopes says. "We've got to get out of here to help her though."
Jubilee makes eye contact with Kurt who looks away. "What did we do?" She looks horrified at the blood that covers both her teammate and the girl she's only just met.
While the others talk, Storm remarks, "she is a Mutant." Storm runs her hand through the pile of dirt that use to be a gun. "Why would she lie?"
Hank shakes his head. "I don't think she did lie." Hank picks up one of the scattered plastic bags and scoops some of the dirt into it. "Their scanners detected that she was human."
"We can talk about this after she gets to a hospital!" Jubilee cries. "Let's go or you won't be able to ask her!"
~
"It really is quite fascinating." Hank pontificates. "It seems the duress from being shot caused her Mutant genes to finally surface." He fiddles with the microscope he's looking into, "and the soil created from the disintegration of the gun is perfect for house plants." He concludes happily.
Kurt sighs, "but vhen vill zhe songbird vake?" He asks, fidgeting with his rosary.
Hank leans back from his microscope to observe his worried friend. He stands with a sigh and walks to the bedside where Kurt is perched on a stool. "While her quick action stopped her lung from collapsing," he takes his glasses off and pinches the bridge of his nose. "The shock of the blood loss has put her into a mini-coma."
"Ve did zhis to her." Kurt says dejectedly.
Hank sets his hand on Kurt's shoulder. "I highly doubt such a caring soul would want you to blame yourself." His hand drops to his side, "be patient my friend."
The first thing you notice is the cold, though the pain hits almost immediately after. Gasping uncomfortably, you open your eyes to a bright, sterile room."You're finally awake." A voice says causing you to turn your head to see who it is. "You've been unconscious for two days." Hank explains.You don’t fully comprehend what he's saying. "I know you..." You finally wheeze out, your throat and mouth feeling disgustingly dry."Indeed." He answers, "Hank McCoy at your service." He uses his hands to emphasize his words, like a slight bow. You try to sit up, but a burst of white hot pain causes you to whimper and give up. "What...what happened?" He pats you shoulder and checks your vitals. "Those men who followed us shot you I'm afraid." He nods to himself, "you are already well on your way to recovery because of your quick work.""My quick work?" You ask.You two are interrupted by a puff of magenta smoke, "zhey only had zhe orange juice vith zhe pulp-"He stops short when he sees that you’re awake, two glasses of orange juice clasped in his hands. He gasps, throwing his hands up and losing about half the juice from each glass. "Fräulein! You voke up!" He teleports next to Hank, his excitement evident.Hank chuckles, "Kurt here hasn't left your side since we returned." He takes one of the half empty glasses. "I'm sure he will clean up the mess he just left before reuniting, hmm?" Kurt looks back at the puddle he created on the floor and apologizes, disappearing again.
You look up at Hank, "is he always like that?"
Hank sets the glass on the side table and helps you sit up. "He has been anxiously waiting for you to wake up. I believe he is excited." Even though you’re not really using your own strength to sit up, that bud of pain still pulses painfully in your chest.
You grimace as Hank helps you relax back into a half sitting positing. "Thank you." You murmur softly. You glance around as Hank steps back slightly, "by the way, where are we?" It looks like a high tech hospital room, but you don’t think that Kurt would feel so comfortable teleporting in a regular hospital…
Hank explains, "the infirmary at the Xavier's school for the gifted." A million more questions fill up your mind, but you don’t have a chance to voice them.
Kurt pops back into being, the cup full again but held by his tail, which you’re pretty positive you haven’t noticed up 'til then. He apologizes for the mess again as Hank picks up his juice and heads back to a desk across the room.
"No need to apologize. I can understand your excitement." He replies good naturedly.
Kurt mops up the spill and sets the mop aside before moving over towards you. "I am so very happy you voke up." He says, setting the cup on the table without even glancing at it.
You can't stop yourself from staring, curiosity getting the better of you. "Cool..."
He glances at the glass and rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, "sorry, I vasn't zhinking."
"Sorry?" You smile, though it comes off as more of a grimace. "First off, the fact that you can do something that delicate with your tail is literally cooler than anything I could even hope to do." You wince, wrapping an arm around your chest. "Second, may I please have a drink of your juice?"
His cheeks turn a slight purple, "oh of course. You must be parched." He pulls a stool over and holds the glass to your lips.
It's enough to embarrass a girl, getting treated like this. You may have blushed, you just hope he won’t notice.
After downing half the glass he pulls it back, "Breazh little Songbird." He says, a worried smile on his face.
You gasp for air, immediately wincing in pain and curling in on yourself. "Sorry, I didn't realize-" You try to apologize, but he shakes his head.
"Relax, you're okay." He says, brushing a strand of hair from your face.
You wrinkle your nose at him, "you must think you're funny still calling me songbird."
He laughs, "you did say ve could call you anything." You roll your eyes and his smile fades, "actually, it is us zhat should apologize." He says sadly, looking down at the floor.
"What are you talkin' about?" You ask, sinking back onto the bed again. "As far as I know, none of you did anything wrong."
Kurt sets the glass back on the side table, obviously trying to prolong his time looking away from you. "Ve are zhe reason you vere hurt at all."
You have to roll your eyes and scoff, "Kurt listen up." You demand in a tone that causes him to look up at you. "I brought you into my home. I back talked those people at the door." You pause to take a painful breath. "Also those guys were asshats who only hurt me to hurt you." You wrinkle your nose. "They'll get what's coming to them."
Kurt looks stunned and in the following silence Hank says: "Told you,” from across the room. You can hear the smirk in his tone.
Kurt glances at him and then back at You. "You really don't blame us?" He asks in astonishment.
You bring a hand to your forehead, "the guy with a gun shot me, not you." You reiterate.
Kurt sighs, "I am relieved you aren't upset."
"May I ask a question, Ms. Starling?" Hank asks, tapping a pencil on the desk top.
You look over at him, "yeah, course you can. So long as you call me Liz or Lizzy or literally anything that isn't Ms. Starling." You’re only half-joking. You hate it when people called you by your full name.
He nods, "of course, Lizzy, how did you know to treat such a drastic and uncommon wound?"
"Oh..."
He walks over to the end of the bed. "You were able to identify the issue and find a temporary solution." He nods, "you even made sure your lung wouldn't fill with fluid."
The spotty memory of Kurt holding you and shoving that straw through the bullet hole comes back into focus, "damn."
"Vas?"
You shake your head. "When I was little my dad used to make us act out apocalypse scenarios. He'd-" You wince, trying to relax so you don’t jolt your wound again. "Make us walk around the house with AK-47's-" You notice how horrified both men look and you wave a hand; desperate to not think about it too hard, "anyway," you say, looking away. "I was designated medic. Dad ran me through the ringer with fake scenarios." You shrug a shoulder, "I know how to make tourniquets and all sorts of stuff..." You trail off when you catch sight of their faces again.
"Your father put you through all that?" Hank asks, aghast.
You nod, hesitantly, "yeah, I think I was eleven or twelve?"
Kurt takes your hand, "zhat must have been so confusing and scary for you." He says with a frown.
You smile slightly, "aw, don't even worry about it. I'm a big girl, ya know? I'm just glad I could actually use that knowledge instead of passing out." Kurt seems to notice that the smile seems forced, it doesn't reach your eyes and he rubs his thumb over the back of your hand to comfort you.
Hank's eyebrows shoot up and he nods appreciatively. "A fair point, most wouldn't have stayed conscious. Let alone cognizant."
Kurt point's out, "she didn't."
"Hey!" You say annoyed. "I stayed awake long enough to get the job done." Kurt gives you a look. "What?" You ask.
"You stayed avake long enough for me to get zhe job done." He corrects.
You roll your eyes, "sir, you would have held me while I suffocated to death." You retort.
Kurt starts to argue but Hank snorts, "okay Kurt, let's allow her some rest."
Three days later and you’re still stuck in the hospital bed. Kurt keeps you company most of the time. Jubilee, who it turns out is only 13, often comes to chill with you, but the truth is you’re going stir crazy. You absolutely abhorred being taken care of and you can’t even make it into the bathroom without help. You haven’t seen the Sun since before you'd met your new friends. To top it off, everyone seemed to dance around why they'd taken you to their base instead of an actual hospital. You
felt you might know why. You’d been attacked for letting Mutants stay in your home. It would have probably taken too long to try and explain to doctors what had happened. Even then the X-Men might have been accused of hurting you. Besides, I hate hospitals.
When Kurt leaves to grab lunch, you finally can't take it anymore. You swing your legs over the edge of the bed. You chest still hurts badly, but you were just so tired of being stuck under the awful fluorescents. Hank had taken out the IV drip yesterday so at least you don’t have to drag that around.
You push yourself up, your left arm practically useless. In the event that you did use it the pain was staggering. So you focus on using your right arm to support yourself as you carefully lower your feet to the floor. The tile is cold, but that wasn't about to stop you.
Kurt pops into the room with lunch at the same time that you put the rest of your weight onto your feet. "Fräulein-voah!" He tosses one of the lunch trays into the air, catching it with his tail while he catches you in his free arm.
"Oh, hello Kurt." You say weakly, clutching your chest in discomfort.
He sets the trays on the table, "scheisse, vhat vere you zhinking?" He demands, guiding you back onto the bed.
"I'm tired of being stuck in this bomb shelter." You whine, "I haven't seen the Sun since I got here!" Mortifyingly you can hear your voice crack as tears threaten to breach the edge of your eyes.
Kurt frowns, thinking for a moment, "okay, let me check somezhing." He says. Teleporting before waiting for your answer.
You rub your forehead, breathing deliberately in and out. You really, really don't want to seem like a cry baby. Recovering from a gun shot was probably the least of most Mutants worries, but it’s hard to remind yourself of that. They have all been so nice to you. You really didn't have a reason to feel like you weren’t wanted, but you can’t help but as if you’re intruding on a safe space.
Kurt pops back into the room, "okay, zhere is no one in zhe library. Zhere is a big vindow, ve can have lunch zhere if you vant." He offers.You look up at him teary eyed despite your efforts, "really?"He smiles gently, "of course Songbird, here." He slips his arms under your legs and wraps the other arm, carefully, around your back, picking you up. You have to bite your lip to keep from whimpering. "Hold on." He warns and you wrap your good arm around his neck.The next moment, a cloud of magenta smoke is billowing from around you both, as you look around the new room. Something you'd noticed about Kurt was that his teleportation left the faint scent of sulfur, but also sandalwood and myrrh. It was a warm, comfortable smell to be honest. It also comforted you to know you’d be able to tell if he teleported behind you."Wow." You say simply, looking around the two story library. "This place is beautiful." He smiles, "ja." He sets you down gently in the picture window. "I'll be right back." He pops off again and you sigh, turning towards the Sunlight. Kurt was gone a bit longer than he wanted to be, but he'd spilled their drinks when he'd had to catch you and he needed to replace them. When he finally does come back, you don’t seem to notice him, which gives him the rare opportunity to quietly observe you. Your back is to him, hands resting open on your knees. You face is lit up by the Sun and Kurt listens to your soft voice as you seemingly, finish a prayer."...thank you for gifting me a second chance," you pause and chuckle, "even if I never wanted one before." You sigh and sit, basking in the warmth. From behind the Sun makes it appear as if you have a halo and Kurt has to shake his head clear. "Are you just going to stand there, Wagner?" You finally tease.He flinches, clearing his throat, "you're devout?" He asks with genuine interest, finally setting the tray down on a chair next to the window.You smile warmly, sleepily, your face turned towards him so half is illuminated by the sun and half is set in shadow. "Probably not in the way you're thinking." He tilts his head in response and you hesitate. "I'm..." you look away, uncomfortable.Kurt sits next to you, "I von't judge you." He assures you and you turn to him, the Sun spilling across your face again. "I promise."You search his face for a moment before looking back out towards the grounds. "I'm pagan."He leans back a bit, "really?" It wasn't what he thought you’d say, but it wasn't something he’s worried about either. He wonders why you seem so hesitant to tell him. The United States was supposed to have freedom of religion. That included pagans, so why were you scared?You smile sadly, closing your eyes and enjoying the Sun. "My main goddess is Inanna." You chuckle, "and I was sort of forced to honor Apollo at my alter.""Forced?" He asks curiously.You turn back to him, "you know Harry Potter?""Like zhe books?"You nod, "yeah, well people do quizzes and all to see what house they'd be in right?""Ja?"You turn back to the window, "well there's this other series called Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Fans do the same thing but with whos your godly parent." You shrug a shoulder. "My siblings all joke that I'm a child of Apollo."Kurt pulls a face, "vhy vould zhey do zhat?"You spread your hands out, "supposedly, children of Apollo are like the sunflowers in a garden." You grin and look down, reminiscing Kurt assumes. Then you say, "my sister once said that she thinks my smile makes others happy." You laugh, "then they gifted me a statuette of Apollo and I didn't want him to get annoyed with me so he's on my alter now."You go quiet, enjoying the sunshine again.Kurt picks up a sandwich and offers it to you, "vhat are zhese gods in charge of?" You flash him a smile and he catches his breath. He often finds others smiles to be their best attributes, but yours is almost disarming. He felt incline to agree with your sisters assertion. "Thank you," you set the plate on your lap.He smiles back, "of course."You take a bite of your sandwich and think for a moment. "Apollo is the god of the sun, healing, and music. Inanna..." You trail off, looking for the words.He inclines his head towards you, "she is hard to describe?" He asks, taking a bite of his own lunch.You looks down at your plate, your smile melancholic. "Inanna is the oldest deity archeologists have record of." You pause and look up, thinking, "historically speaking, she's the first deity we have mention of." You take a deep breath, "she is...complex.""I understand." He says with a nod, "zhe higher power is often beyond understanding."The two of you sit in silence for a while, eating your lunches. You finally clear your throat, "when I started working with her, I thought she was just an ancient love and fertility goddess." When you look down again your hair slips from behind your ear, curtaining your face off. "Her communication with me is different.""You can communicate vith your gods?"Without looking up you nod, "in a way. It's more like feelings...sudden bursts of inspiration...I was lighting her alter candle on a random day and the realization that she wasn't just love as we often minimize it today..." Your words start to come faster, almost frantic, as if you think you’ll be cut off before you can explain yourself. "She's the love mortals have for existence and all it is; life and death, growth and decay, earthquakes and stability. Everything life has to offer and out ability to come back from all of it." You sigh through your nose. "Inanna is the love for ourselves..."Kurt takes a moment to reply and even then he only manages to say; "voah..." He often feels that his God is the same, but he isn’t always sure how to put it into words. While he’s contemplating however, he notices mushrooms start to grow on the wood behind you and his eyes widen a bit.You worry your hands, "sorry." You finally say.He focuses on your face again, "vhy vould you be sorry?" You wrap an arm around your chest. Great, now I just scared the cute boy with my spiritual crap. I shouldn't have said anything. "I-I don't normally talk about this, ya know?" You chew your lip, "I...I didn't mean to ramble on and make you uncomfortable." You can't bring yourself to look at him."No, no please," He touches your shoulder gently, "look at me fräulein." It takes you a moment to work up the courage. You’re worried about what you’ll see. When you finally do look, he seems very serious. "You may talk to me any time. I vill be happy to listen. Besides, I asked." You nod a little, hesitant still. "Vhat if I rambled on about mine? Hmm?"
You look back out to the sunlit garden. You’d always enjoyed other people talking about their beliefs. "I'd be happy to listen." You say, turning back to him and smirking slightly. "Can I guess first though?"
He scoffs pleasantly, "guess?"
You nod, "you remember how I said my step mom is German, right?"
He nods, "ja."
"She is also a very devout Catholic." You shrug a shoulder, "her whole family is as far as I know." You pause before continuing, "of course, you could be some other denomination-"
He cuts you off, "you're correct." A small smile lighting up his face, "alzhough, I don't know if being Deutsch is zhe connecting factor. You know of it zhough?"
You look away from him, your smile a little bitter I knew it. "Yes." You sigh, letting your face fall neutrally as you turn back to him.
He frowns, "I'm sorry if-"
"Oh, no." You wave a hand, "it's just...I was hoping-" You shake your head Get it together Lizbeth. You only just met him, maybe he won't be like James...You flash him a tight smile, "aw it's nothin'." You adjusts yourself on the seat so you’re actually facing him and not turning awkwardly. "Please, ramble on." You say.
He searches your face for a while and you wonder if he's going to ask what the hell you mean, but you’re interrupted by the door opening.
Both of you glance over to see an older man in an odd motorized wheelchair. Wait, I'm sure I've seen him before.
"Ah, Lizzy." He greets. Kurt stands up and you try to follow suit, "please, stay seated." He says easily.
"Um, are you Professor Charles Xavier?" You ask.
The old man nods, "yes, I'm sorry I haven't had the time to greet you properly."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
You shake your head, “no, I understand. I’ve seen some of your speeches on TV.” You say. “You’re a busy man.”Charles nods, “I wanted to reiterate that you have a place here-“ he cut himself off and looks at Kurt, “no one told her?” His tone is almost accusatory.You look at Kurt and he looks back at you worried before he says, “Hank zought zat she should be more healed-““What are you talking about?” You demand, cutting Kurt off. It was rude, but you were getting a little anxious.Professor Xavier sighs, “Lizbeth, you are a mutant.” It feels like going through the first few stages of grief because while you’re sure that they aren’t kidding, you can’t help but say, “ that’s kind of a cruel joke.””It iz no joke, songbirdt.” Kurt says softly, gesturing to the now abundant mushrooms. They have started to surround you, even growing on your legs and arms. The cushions are covered in them too.You cry out vigorously, rubbing your legs to get them off. “Stop it!””Lizbez please, calm down-“ Kurt tries, his hands held in a placating gesture.You stand trying to get away from the growth, but your legs betray you. Kurt catches you again, but you shove him away, falling. “Don’t touch me!” You hardly register Kurt pained expression. You’re panicking at this point; you can’t seem to calm down. Your breathing is coming in short painful bursts. You crawl backwards trying to escape the ever growing mushroom field until your back hits the corner. you bury your head in your knees and cry.Part of you registers that Kurt and Xavier must be speaking to each other, but their words are overpowered. There’s an odd pulsing that you think maybe you can hear, but you know you can feel. You look up slightly, looking at a few of the little mushrooms that have grown on your arm. You could swear you could tell that the mushrooms were communicating. At least that’s what it seems like. Not talking, but still communicating.”Lizbez?” Kurt asks from the edge of the growth. You look up at him and you can hear the mycelium snapping off as you move.”sorry…” you say weakly.Kurt teleports next to you, careful not to step on anything. “don’t apologize. We should’ve told you vhen you voke up.” “Lizbeth,” Xavier says “ there’s no need to fear this. We can teach you to control it.”You brush your hand down your arm, watching the mushrooms, fall to the ground and disintegrate. “it was real, wasn’t it?” You ask.Xavier nods, “yes. The gun did turn to dirt though, as of now, we aren’t sure if you have a kind of transmutation ability or something else.”The three of you watch as the mushrooms slowly start to disintegrate away. Kurt wraps an arm around your shoulder. “I know it iz very shocking…”You shake your head, “I just…I thought…don’t you have to be like, going through puberty, or whatever?” You finally ask.”Normally yes. However, there was an argument to be made that severe, physical or mental stress could force a mutation.” The professor explains. “With the emergence of your abilities. There is now hard evidence that physical stress can cause a mutation as well.”You lay your head back down on your knees, “my parents are going to kill me.” You say softly.”You vere already living on your own.” Kurt says, “maybe ze von’t care.” he comforts.You shake your head, “you don’t understand. That apocalypse I told you about?” You tilt your head to look up at him and see his face fall.”Oh.” He squeezes your arm a little tighter.”For now you should rest. Get your strength back and we will continue from there.” Xavier recommends.”I’ve got to go home though. I have to get back to work and like my siblings are probably freaking out.” Xavier nods, “I understand your confusion and your anxiety. I’ll send someone down with a phone later.” He turns his wheelchair. “Kurt could you take her back to the infirmary?” With that he leaves the room. As he exits, you notice a girl with red and white hair at the door.”Hanks freaking out professor, wonderin’ where that girl went.” She says, with a strong, southern accent. He reassured her and she closes the door behind him, leaving Kurt and you alone in the library.”I am sorry ve didn’t tell you.” Kurt says again.Exhaustion hits you suddenly, “no based on my reaction. It was probably the right thing to do.””You aren’t angry?” he asks.You sigh, “Mr. Wagner, would you please relax? If I was angry, you’d know.” He nods picking you up again bridal style. Your head rests against his shoulder. “If anything, I’m the one who should be sorry.””Vas?””I was…scared.” You say softly. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or anything.”Kurt chuckles, “no hurt feelings, Bez.” he teleports back to that awful sterile room.”You two are going to send me into cardiac arrest.” Hank accuses immediately after you appear.Kurt sets you down carefully and you say, “it’s my fault. I just needed to see the sun.” You tell him. “Kurt was just making sure I didn’t fall on my face.” Hank shakes his head, “well, at least you aren’t any worse for wear.” He walks over to you. “May I check your bandages?”You nod, “honestly,” you say, wincing as you pull off your borrowed shirt. “I’m not gonna lie. It’s really uncomfortable today.” That would be because you’ve bled through your bandages again. You’ve been way too active and of course, Kurt blames himself.Hank tells both of you off the entire time he’s re-bandaging you. He’s able to put more of that special medicine on the wounds though. Supposedly it would make the wound heal quicker, but Kurt always left the room as soon as Hank brought it out.”Lizzie, I promise you will get better much sooner than most humans, but you have to take it slow.” Hank says again. You sigh, “I understand…I was just frightened.” You explain tiredly. Kurt only comes to see you once over the next couple of days. It hurts a little, but you don’t have any reason for that. He doesn’t owe you anything, you’re just lonely. Jubilee helps you get time off of work and also get in contact with your siblings. That way they know you’re alive at least.”How’d it go?” She asks, taking her phone back. You sigh, “they were really worried. They also refused to believe that I had just spontaneously gone on a trip.” You roll your eyes. “They said I didn’t have the money for that.”Jubilee laughs, “wow, I can’t believe they’d call you it out like that.””Oh, I can believe it.””So…” she starts, slipping her phone back into her pocket. “Did you decide if you’d stay or not?”You look over at Dr. McCoy’s desk and sigh. “I can’t. I’ve got an apartment and a job and I’m trying to put myself through college ya know?” You shake your head. Jubilee worries her lip, “but we don’t know anything about your powers, and the first few months are always the hardest.” She touches your hand, “you don’t have to be alone in this.”You smile a little sadly, “it’s just another roadblock.” You pat her hand. “don’t worry.” Jubilee scoffs, “are you kidding?” She takes your hand and both of hers. “It’s kind a hard to not worry about a person when I literally watched them get shot for me.”You feel your face heat up, “it’s not that big of a deal-“She cuts you off, ”Lizbeth you brought a bunch of hurt and hunted mutants into your home. Tried to defend them and got shot. That’s a big deal.” You sigh again, fidgeting with your free hand, “OK, all right, I get it.” You say embarrassed.She gives you a look, “here how about I find some other people to introduce you to?” she hops up and heads towards the door.”Oh-“”Don’t worry,” she says, “ I know you’ve been stuck alone for like a week and a half. You must be bored, we’ll bring a game.” Then she’s gone.You can’t help but sigh. All you really want to do is sleep in your own bed. Read a book or something maybe? You really aren’t interested in a ton of people trying to convince you to stay. After a couple of minutes alone, you groan loudly just because you’re annoyed that you are still stuck in this room. Almost immediately, the door is open again and that gruff one from before peaks his head in. “You alright?”You give him a confused look, “have you been sitting outside the door this whole time?”He steps in standing at the end of your bed with crossed arms. “McCoy had some urgent business. Had to go without warning.””So…you’re the babysitter?” You ask.He chuckles, “somethin’ like that.” The both of you are stuck in awkward silence for a minute or two before he says, “what you did was stupid.”You can’t help but laugh, wincing as you do. “Yeah, that’s probably fair.” “We coulda handled it.” He says that gruff way of his. You nod, “I know I just wanted to help.” He grunts an acknowledgment, “you need anything?”You shake your head, “Thanks anyway, Wolverine.””Just Logan, kid.”
BAM
Half a dozen people file in following Jubilee. “Logan are you going to join us?” She asks.Logan grumbles some thing and leaves the room again. You watch him go and turn to the new group of people. “Jubilee don’t you think that this is a bit much?” She glances at the group and then back at you, “Nah.”Someone sets up a card table next to the bed as the room is a-buzz with movement for the next few minutes, chairs and beds are moved and everyone gets settled. “What are we playing?” you ask. It’s kind of amusing to watch everyone and you can’t help it, a smile creeps onto your face.“Poker?” offers one you haven’t met. He’s playing with a deck of cards, well more like showing off.The redhead from the other day scoffs, “Remy, ain’t nobody gonna play against you in poker.” She says.”I’ve never played to be honest.” You admit. His eyebrows raise, “well, we’ll just haf’ta do something to fix that chere.” His accent is so familiar, but you’re having trouble placing it.Jubilee shakes her head, “we aren’t playing that boring stuff.” she sits a set of Cards Against Humanity on the table. “This is what we’re playing.” You smile, “I love this game.” Jubilee grins.”Oh no, not again.” The one called Cyclops says. “There is way too much inappropriate-“”Lighten up Scott.” Another says, and you hold up your hand.”I’m sorry I don’t want to seem rude, but could y’all tell me your names?” You gesture around. “I just haven’t met most of you.” Jubilee laughs, “that’s not rude.” She points to the redhead first. “This is Rogue.””Pleasure sugah.” She says.The ones with the cards winks at you, “the name’s Gambit, mon amie.””Out of uniform, you can call me Scott.” The uptight one says.The redhead next to him smiles, reaches a hand out and shakes yours, “Jean Grey. Glad we finally get to meet you. Jubilee and Kurt have talked a lot about you.”You glance at Jubilee and she shrugs. “Where is Kurt anyway?””He went with Hank.” The other girl says. “ I’m Kitty by the way.”You nod, “it’s nice to meet you all. Sorry it’s in a hospital room.” You joke.Rogue scoffs, “do ya know how many of us ‘ve been in your shoes? It’d be weirder if we hadn’t met you here, sugah.” The next few days continue like this, though you finally get the go ahead to start walking again. It is exhausting. Logan and Jubilee help you often. Logan is a total softy though, he’d probably kick your ass if you said so. The time with Jubilee is filled with gossip. Now that you knew more of the people in the mansion she can finally give you the lowdown. “Scott and Jean are married, but-“You raise your eyebrows, “there’s a but?”Jubilee scoffs, “girl there’s always a but! Logan and Jean have a history!” She half whispers. “You’re kidding.” You say finally sitting down.Jubilee shakes her head, “nope though they’ve seemed to figure it out now.”You shake your head, “that’s some serious drama right there.”She continues, “let’s see who else?” You laugh, “it’s like you were waiting for this.”She nods, seriously, “you have no idea. Kitty’s busy so often and no one else really talks about the juicy stuff.” She says.You can’t help but laugh, “probably because they’re saving the world.”Jubilee rolls her eyes, “well yeah,” she blows a bubble and pops it. “But come on I mean anytime Gambit and Rogue interact. It’s like watching an old married couple.” “Are they together then?” You ask.She shakes her head, “nothing official. She’s got mad anxiety because of her abilities.” You nod, and she turns to you. “Speaking of powers…” she says. “I don’t even know how to like, call them up.” You try to argue. She thinks for a minute, “well when I wanna use mine, I just kind of imagine them.””Imagine them?” You ask in a disbelieving tone.She nods, “yeah, like…” she looks around the room. “Here.” She hopes up and grabs the clipboard off of Hanks desk, sitting it in front of you. “Try with this.”You roll your eyes, “Jubes this isn’t gonna work.” “Come on, all you have to do is try.” She encourages.You take a deep breath and look at the board again. “Just imagine it?” You ask again. She nods. You chew on your lip and raise your hand over the clipboard concentrating on it.Nothing happens, well, except for the damn mushrooms. They start to spread out around Jubilee and you like a giant fairy ring. ”Whoa.” “Wait, stop!” You take your hand back from the board and frantically look around the room, reaching out to rub them off the ground. Jubilee grabs your hands, “hey calm down.” she locks eyes with you. “You’re in control.” It must be something someone else told to her, she seems to believe it completely.You nod and take a couple of controlled breaths. The growth stops. “It did that last time too.” You explain.”You’ve done this before?” she asks.You sigh pulling your knees up to your chest. “not on purpose.” You pluck one of the mushrooms off the floor. Instead of disintegrating like before it grows onto your hand.”Does it hurt?” She asks. “Naw, but it definitely feels weird.” You tell her. She picks one up to see for herself, but it disintegrates away. “That’s weird.” You say. “I wonder why I can pick them up and you can’t.”Jubilee shrugs, “don’t know, maybe because they’re yours?” You brush the mushroom off your fingers, and as it falls a disintegrates. “I wonder if you can make other things grow too?” She pulls a face. “But when it first happened, you like totally turned that gun into dirt.” You shrug, “maybe it’s got to hurt me or something?”Jubilee smacks a fist into her other hand, “like a defense mechanism!”You shrug again, “yeah maybe?”She stands up, “well once you’re feeling better, we can try it out in the danger room.””Or not.” You say. “Once I’m cleared I have to go home.”She pouts helping you stand back up. “It’s really not safe for us ya know? Especially when we don’t know how to use our abilities.” You sigh, “at least let me get all my drama in order.””Wait so you’re coming back?” She asks, the mushroom starting to fade.You nod, “yeah, the whole mushroom thing is going to make it hard to like keep my job and stuff.” You twirl a piece of your hair. “I just got a find someone to take care of my cat.”Jubilee nods, “that’s something you told your sister, right?””Yeah, I told my sis to go check on her.””Aw man.” She complains. “we didn’t even get to meet your cat.”You laugh, “I’ll make sure to send a video or some thing.” By the end of the week, Professor Xavier agrees that you’re well enough to head back home. The plan is to fix any loose threads back in your home state and then come back to the school. Professor Xavier has explained that you’ll even be able to continue your college courses, which takes some of your anxiety off your shoulders. You give your number to Jubilee with the agreement that should anybody else want it they can have it. Then you head on your way.Now it’s a few days later. Jubilee along with Morph and Gambit sit in front of the TV talking. The three haven’t really been paying attention until an announcement interrupts their show.
”Breaking news, in a small town located in Kentucky a mob has broken into the home of a local woman. She is accused of dangerous mutant abilities. We go live to the scene.”
Morph grimaces, “oh, no.”The scene that follows is that of a horror movie; screaming people and a bonfire of what seem to be books. Various cries of ‘burn the witch’ and ‘kill the mutant’ can be heard.The camera is focusing on a familiar figure; a girl in her pajamas. She’s on her knees with a preachers hand knotted into her hair, blood cascades down her face.Jubilee, gasps, jumping to her feet.”Vat iz going on?” Kurt asks as he and Beast walk into the common room.”Some hicks got ahold of your songbird.” Morph explains.”Bez-“”Oh, my stars and garters.” Beast reaches for Kurt, but he’s gone in a flash of magenta smoke. You haven’t even been back for a week. You were sleeping. You’d only just gotten the blood out of the grout and you were still talking to your boss to see if you could have an indeterminate break with the potential of coming back eventually. You just got “a full ride to an exclusive school” so you couldn’t miss out on the opportunity. Bubbles was snuggled on your back when the door broke. You only had enough time to grab her and quickly squeeze into the water heater closet.You can hear things breaking, people hollering. You’re scared. Why are people in your home? What do they want? The door slams open, flooding the little closet light. “There you are, freak!” A man yanks Bubbles out of your arms and she hisses. Another grabs you by your hair, dragging you from your hiding spot.”Let go of me!” You scream, but someone hits you in the face. The pain sends you into shock for a moment. Long enough for two people to grab your legs and arms dragging you outside. At some point you’re able to get your sense back enough to struggle, forcing them to drop you. Before you can scramble to your feet however, someone yanks you back by your hair causing you to whimper.”The Devil takes all forms! Often in the least likely of disguises his evil works can be found!” A familiar man’s voice yells out and the crowd answers him. You claw at his wrist, and he throws you to the ground. “Snake!” he spits.You make it to your hands and knees before something snaps over your back. You cry out only to have it hit your back again, and again knocking the air out of your lungs. It hits you several more times before you feel dirt spread across your back. You crawl forward on your hands and knees again and glance up at the crowd. “Help me!” You beg reaching out. You watch a woman pick up a stone and hurl it at you. It catches you just above the eye and blood pours down your face. Wait you recognize that woman. She was in James’ church. That damn cult that preached the end times. You never thought they would actually go this far. Is this really happening? It has to be a bad dream…The preaching continues for sometime, followed by rocks being thrown. Half the time they turn to dirt before hitting you. The other half miss you. Honestly, you feel like you aren’t there. Like all of this isn’t happening to you. When they started burning your books and your artwork, you don’t even fully comprehend it. Then that man grabs your hair again, yanking you up to see another man gut your cat in front of you. The world comes into sharp focus then, a cry, ripping through you, as not only the man holding your cat, but the preacher decayed into dirt. Their skin becomes veined and almost seems to chip away and crumble as it falls into their respective piles. You hear the crowd cry out but you crawl over to Bubbles. Picking her up, you let out a sob. An awful, painful, throat tearing sob. Blood covers your hands as you hold her against your chest.”Monster!” Someone screams.”Burn her!” Someone kicks you in the back sending you towards the bonfire. You feel the heat on your face as you lay there. What even is the point? No one is going to help you, these people want you dead.A rope is forced down your head and around your neck. You’re dragged to the side. Some part of you knows this is really really bad, but you don’t try to stop it. Not at first.Then you feel yourself yanked up by your neck. First to your knees, then to your feet. Whatever part of you is conscious yanks at the rope as you’re lifted off your feet.”Get back!” a voice hisses. Though you’re suffocating, the familiar smell of sulfur and incense cuts through the blood and smoke. Kurt is crouched on the tree branch above you. You can see that he’s breathing hard. Did he teleport all the way here? You wonder. Your vision is starting to go dark. “Do you see? She summons demons to defend her!” A woman cries.You wonder if he’s actually real or if you’re imagining him. He looks down at you, his face twisted with an emotion that doesn’t seem natural for him. His tail darts out and cuts the rope, causing you to fall, but at the same time he drops, catching you and teleporting away. The next moment you’re in a field and Kurt collapses to his knees, next to you, his breathing erratic. You pull yourself up to your hands and knees, looking at the ground. You’re coughing, a hand at your throat. You tear off the rough remains of rope. Tears well up in your eyes, “what did I do? By the gods-“ your voice is ragged. “Bez” Kurt reaches out a hand to you, touching your shoulder. He never teleported so far, so fast, he’s exhausted. You burst into inconsolable sobs, your hands digging into the dirt. Kurt glances around hurriedly as a circle of decay, spreads out from you, causing the crops to disintegrate. “What did I do?” You sob out.”Nozing. Humans, zhey are scaredt of us.” He moves closer to you, trying to catch your focus. His uniform is starting to decay, but when he reaches out for you again, you swat his hand away.”I-I killed those men! By the gods, they were right-“ your voice breaks, “I am a monster-“Kurt can’t bear the pain you’re feeling and, despite his anxiety, pulls you into a hug. “You are no monster.”Kurt doesn’t feel hate very often. At least he tries not to. Watching Lizbeth fall apart in her hometown, tortured in front of a crowd who called for her death? That almost did it. Kurt can’t find words that feel right. He often relies on his beliefs to guide him and help others, but he is so angry. More angry, even, than the worry he has for his songbird. The two of you sit there for a long time; Kurt holding you against him with you crying. Even after you finally stop crying the two of you stay like that. “Fraulein, I am so sorry.” He finally tells you.You don’t respond and Kurt wonders if you’ve fallen asleep, but you sit back. “What did I do to deserve this?” Your voice is monotone and rough, as if all of your emotions seeped out with your tears.Kurt takes your face in his hands, turning it to look at him. “Lizbez,” he says, “look at me.” It takes you a moment to turn your eyes towards him. “You didt nozing. Do not believe so for a moment.”You shake your head once, pulling away from him and taking in the area of destruction around them. “You should’ve left me.” Your back is to him now, and he has to look away.”Nightcrawler? Come in.” A voice buzzes over his COM’s.”Zis iz nightcrawler, go aheadt.” He answers.The Voice buzzes indistinctly and comes back, “We have a lock on your location. We’re coming to you.”You don’t say anything else, just sit there silently staring at the damage you caused. Kurt can’t bring himself to say anything else so the two of you are silent until the jet lands next to you in the field.Jubilee runs down the walkway to her, “Liz!” She stops short when she sees your condition and the area. “Oh my God.”You stand up and turn to her with a smile that doesn’t reach your eyes, “I suppose it won’t be the end of the month.” You try to joke.Jubilee wraps, her arms around you and cries into your shoulder. “I was so worried.””We all were.” Gambit says, dropping his coat over your shoulders.