"Changes, Pt. 5"
by David (Jax)

Kitty pushed back her hair and slid into her walking pants. She flicked out the light in her room and phased out of her room and stepped down on air molecules to the gravel path next to the Xavier Mansion. She began walking briskly, enjoying her surroundings. The far reaching trees, the dark green grass moistened with morning dew, everything quiet, nothing to worry about, her mind not concerned with the wellfare of mutantkind or her teammates or her own powers. For the first time in a long while, Katherine Pryde felt at ease. Her mouth unconsciously shifted to a smile as she walked on. As she came around a corner she passed the garage, and noticed that the doors were ajar. She stared at them, unsure of why they were open. She went over slowly and closed them, looking around cautiously.

A grimace came over her face, "Stupid," she thought, "No, it's not Magneto. It's not The Hellfire Club. It's not the Shadow King. Just Gambit, he and Rogue came back late last night, after I went to bed, anyway." She walked back to the gravel path and picked up her pace once more. Kitty's mind became clouded, growing with a vague unease. Why did she suddenly feel the way she did? Because the stupid garage door was open? No, not that...something...something like her, intangible. Her face lost the smile it held, she found she had suddenly reverted to her phased form and was walking right above the path, as if prepared for a sudden attack. Her discomfort grew. Kitty stopped in the middle of the path. She listened for any suspicious sounds.

Nothing came. Kitty rolled her eyes at herself and started along once more. "You've been an X-Man way too long, Pryde," she said quietly.

It came from behind. From above. From the sides. All at once, radiating. "Hi luv."

Kitty spun around, eyes open, mutant power activated. She felt her arms and legs move into an old ninja stance Logan had once showed her, one she often used. "Pete?" she asked to the environment around her. That had been Pete's voice. Pete Wisdom's voice. The Pete whose whereabouts she was completely unaware of. Just like him, just what he used to say. exactly. "Hi luv," he would say, eyes at an angle as he rifled in his pocket for cigarette.


Kitty was angry. Pete wasn't here. That wasn't him, it was a prank. What the hell kind of joke was this? "Kurt?!" she called out. "Kurt, that isn't funny." No response, aside from birds chirping in the early morning. Kitty's slitted eyes turned everywhere. Would her friends really do that to her? They knew that wasn't the type of thing to joke over, especially Kurt. Her breath resounding hard in the silent path. She looked about her quickly. Had she heard that? Was her mind just playing tricks on her? Maybe she should have slept in today? Kitty slowly went out of her stance and began to jog back up to the mansion. Something wasn't right. She just couldn't place her finger on it, and she didn't feel the need to be by herself right now.

As Kitty hurried back to her sanctuary, an unheard laugh rose high into the air. Loudly, so loudly. Yet unheard by Kitty. Kitty was watched until she disappeared from sight, continually checking behind her, but seeing nothing. A murmur of mirth found it's way out and a sinister smile formed.

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Bobby Drake poured milk over his cereal as he sernaded Ororo who looked oddly at him. "I am stuck on BandAid brand 'cause germs dont' stick on meeeeee!" Ororo let a small grin escape as she looked up at her teammate. "No wonder your parents sent you back here."

"Ha!" Bobby laughed, "Good one." He looked up just to see Kitty Pryde hurriedly phasing through the wall, her eyes wide open. Ororo looked up at her, sensing something before Kitty even spoke. "Is something the matter, Kitty?" she asked, concerned. Kitty opened her mouth to say something, but paused. She nervously smiled a little, "Oh, me? No. Just really hungry. That's all." She grabbed the milk by Bobby and found a glass. She set the glass on the counter and poured the milk into it. She reached to pick up the glass but it stayed firm on the counter, suspiciously cold. Her eyes glared at Bobby, who sat snickering, trying to swallow his cereal through his laughs. A flash of red passed through Kitty's eyes and she stalked in front of him.

"It was you! Wasn't it?" she yelled. Bobby seemed a bit taken aback by the reaction for freezing one little cup, but he decided to play on it. "Who me?" he asked innocently.

"I don't know what your deal is," Kitty spat, sticking her finger in face,"But I'm not going to take what you pulled this morning. That kind of crap is not funny, and I'm not going to take it from anyone." Her eyes filled with spite, "Especially you."

Bobby looked wonderingly at Ororo, who looked as perplexed as he. "Look, it was just a little joke, I cross my heart and hope to die to never do it again. All right? Jeez."

"A little joke?! I heard you had a bad sense of humor, but I guess everyone put it mildly. You're just perverse, doing things like that to people. How do you even know about that? About Pete? How'd you even follow me?"

Bobby's eyes grew and he looked confused, "Um....following you? Look, all I did was freeze your class to the counter, I'm sorry. Just trying to break the ice, if you pardon the pun."

Kitty stood up straight, her eyes ripping through Bobby. "Fine. Lie. Whatever, just don't think you can get away with things like th-

Bobby interjected, standing up, "Look, I don't know what you're talking about, with this Pete and following you crap, I really don't. I just think you need to calm down."

"Well I have some advice for you, too," she yelled, grabbing the vase from the center of the table, "Like me to phase it up you--"

Ororo stood up quickly and stepped between the two. "Kitty! Bobby! What is all this hositility for? Your words are becoming lost in the others, you need to form a steady communication, not just for now, but from the team.

"There won't be any from me," Kitty quickly said, "I'm done with him." She spun around and phased out of the kitchen. Ororo looked wonderingly at Bobby, "I didn't do anything! I swear!" he cried. Ororo sighed, he wasn't lying. She went off to find Kitty.

Bobby scratched his head and pulled his pajama "KARATE!" shirt down. He sat back down at the table, sullenly stuffing cereal in his mouth. The kitchen door swung open and Marrow skulked in behind Rogue, who ruffled Bobby's hair, with the safety of her leather gloves preventing her mutant power from activating.

"Mornin', Bobby," Rogue greeted. Bobby gave a small grunt of acknowledgement. Rogue stopped and looked playfully at Bobby, "Since when did you go neanderthalic on me, honey? Enough men like that already."

Bobby sniffed the breath hard out of his nose, "Ever since that Shadowkitty decided to make me some bad guy, she went crazy on me this morning." Rogue's face scrunched in confusing glance. "Kitty?" she asked, "Our Kitty?"

Marrow smiled grimly as she sat at the table and poured sugar into her empty bowl, "The kitten broke, wish I was here to see it." Rogue turned her head to give Marrow a don't-tread-there look. "What'd you do, Bobby?"

Bobby stood hurriedly up, slaming his chair back and knocking Marrow's bowl of sugar clattering to the ground, "Nothing!" he shouted, "Why are you all assuming I did?" He didn't bother for an answer, he shoved the kitchen door open and left. Marrow smiled. "Yes, watch them all come apar--" she began. Rogue cut her off, shooting her an icy glance, "Don't even finish that sentence, Sarah." Marrow slitted her eyes, and looked at Rogue, staring hard at her, upset about her friend. Marrow sat back quietly and went back to pouring sugar into a bowl, not wanting to be on Rogue's bad side...today.

*************************

Remy's head was heavy. Heavy with pain, with cloudy images, blurred colors. He groaned and tried to roll over, only to find his arms were latched tightly above him, as were his legs below him. He tried to take in a deep breath, to clear his mind. And it worked...rather wonderously, if he thought so himself.

The sun lit the white sands beneath his uncovered feet. Water rolled gently across the sand, as a wafting breeze caught him and threw his hair waving. He leaned back against the sand, feeling the delicate crunch under him. He became aware of the figure next to him, as they rubbed their hand across his bare chest. Whispers of love and contentment catching his ear and flying through his mind as lightly as the breeze. Where was he? Did it matter? No, not when it was like this. When it all felt so good, so pure. He turned around to return a kiss of love and utter happiness to the love lying next to him, and what he say made him cry out.

His love, false. She lay, her face mangled sinisterly. She reached out for Remy and scratched hard across his chest, leaving parallel lines of blood across his body. He was suddently entraped by the binds again, tighter now, threatening to cut off the blood flow. "No!" he cried to ears not listening. His love grasped his hair tightly and slammed his head down, down back into the pain, back into the vague, unclear movements, back into unconsciousness.

Remy was too tired to moan as he slipped into the disconcerting darkness, unable to see the figure standing meters away from him, smiling widely. The unseen conductor of his nightmare. They dramatically stepped off, their feet echoing off the empty walls. They were going away, once more, leaving Remy LeBeau alone in his own prison.
*************************

Marrow quietly peeked her head into the room, satisfied no one was in it, she slipped it. She shut the door quietly behind her and took in her surroundings. The bed lay unmade, recently slept in. She brushed her hand across the uncovered mattress, still able to feel the warmth. She looked slowly at the desk on the other side of the room, her eyes going over the small sketches and drawings. Unfinished workings into his inner soul. Almost like himself; small, unobtrusive, beautiful...with great detail. Marrow let a small smile escape her lips. She scoruched down and picked up a pair of shorts that lay on the floor, a large red X on the side of one leg. She moved to lay them back where she found them until she her footsteps down the hallway.

She froze, her eyes wide open. Instead of taking the offensive, she slid beneath his bed, his shorts unknowingly clutched tightly in her hands. She tried to slow her breathing as the door opened.

Piotr entered his room, drying his hair off with a towel from the shower he had just taken. He walked to his dresser and pulled out a light red shirt and some sweat pants. He motioned to untie his robe.

Marrow watched him from under his bed, only able to see his calves on down. She saw the robe hit the carpet with a light thump and heard the rustle of cloth against skin. Marrow's eyes widened further and her breathe quickened. Leave, leave, just go.....

Piotr gave his damp hair and slight tousle and walked out of his room, to get something to eat. The door shut behind him. Marrow lay under the bed, unmoving for many minutes after his departure. She slowly scooted out from under the bed, hands tightly latched upon his shorts. She thought about placing them back, but deciding she didn't really want to. She quietly snuck out of her room and went to hide for the rest of the day, so she wouldn't have to see him.

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Kitty sat on her bed, hurriedly flipping through the newspaper, only reading the headlines, but not understanding them. She was pissed, and she didn't care. The knock at her door came three more times before she responded to it.

"What?"
"Kitty, it's me, Ororo. Do you mind if I come in? Kitty flipped through one more page, accidentaly tearing it. "If you want..." she said slowly. The door opened and Ororo entered, silently sitting on Kitty's bed. There was a silence between them, as Kitty pretended to read an article about illegal cock fighting. Ororo stroked Kitty's hair, letting strands sift through her long fingers.
"Are you okay now?" Ororo asked, her perpetual calmness not lost on Kitty.
"Just dandy," Kitty replied, her voice edging on sarcasm. Ororo sighed and placed her hands in her lap, "Could you tell me what happened?" Kitty snorted, "Iceman didn't tell you?"

"No, Bobby didn't, because he doesn't know what happened, kitten." Kitty turned to face Ororo, "You believe him?" Ororo shook her head, "Bobby has never given me a reason to doubt him, I asked him personally and he told me. He doesn't have any idea what happened to you this morning. Tell me?"

Kitty scratched at her head, "It was so weird, Ororo. I was out on my morning walk, and then out of nowhere, I heard Pete. Just like that, bam. Just like he used to sound, back when we were still together."

Ororo frowned, that was odd. Bobby wouldn't have known about Pete. Neither Kurt or Logan were cruel enough to do something like that, and Piotr was out of the question. Marrow perhaps? She didn't seem to have taken a strong likely to Kitty, but how would she have know about Pete? No wonder Kitty was upset by it all. "You're sure? You did hear it?"

Kitty nodded, "Yeah. I know I did. I wasn't even thinking about him or anything. I haven't for awhile...so, it wasn't Bobby then?" Ororo shook her head, "No. He seemed a bit upset that he was even implicated. Perhaps, when you feel up to it, you could apologize?"

Kitty nodded, "Guess I better, huh?"

******************

Bobby's room was perfectly clean. Spotless, shining, even. Bobby stood at his desk, spraying a lemonly scented spray upon it and sweeping his arm across with a paper towel. He finished, looked down at the desk and repeated his earlier actions. It Hank could see him now, he'd be laughing. Bobby scowled, knowing. He only cleaned anything when he was angry. Hell, the entire mansion had looked like a model home after he and Opal had broken up. Bobby heard the knock at his door and growled out a, "Go away."

Kitty stood outside Bobby's door, unsure of what to do. He was a resident funny guy, right? Kitty ran back to her and found an old ruler and pulled off one of her sheets. She walked back to outside Bobby's room.

Bobby was about to start polishing the knobs on his drawers with a toothbrush when he saw an arm phase through his door, holding a make-shirt white flag, waving back and forth. Bobby tried to hide his amusement. "Can I come in now?" the voice from outside asked. "If you dare," Bobby said, mock-ominously.

The doorknob turned open and Kitty stepped inside, sans surrender flag. "Hi."

"Hi."

Kitty's eyes scanned Bobby's room. "So...into cleaning?" she asked, hoping to spark some conversation. Bobby looked around at his oft-dirty room, now sparkling, "Yeah," he lied. Kitty pushed back her hair and looked at the ground, Bobby looked at her feet. Silence pervaded the room. "Look," Kitty suddenly spoke, "about earlier. I'm really sorry. I blamed you for something that wasn't your fault. It was just really weird is all, and I needed someone to pin the blame on. You were just trying to nice. Jeez, bet you don't think too much of me now..."

"No," Bobby quickly said, looking up at her. "No, I don't. It's okay, don't feel bad about it. Just a mistake is all." Kitty's headed nodded, "A big one. I'm really sorry."
Bobby stepped closer to her, "Don't be, please. We're all a team now, right? It's stupid to think we're all going to be happy-go-lucky around each other every single day. I mean, even the Brady Bunch had their spats."

Kitty laughed, a smile across her face, "You're equating the X-Men to the Brady Bunch? That's a first." Bobby grinned, his own self coming back. He looked at Kitty, serious now. "Think you could tell me what I was accused of?"

Kitty's face fell down a little, Bobby noticed. "You don't have to, if you don't want," he hurriedly got out, "I mean, it's none of my business." Kitty flicked the fingernail polish on her nails off, "No, it's okay. It's just...a long story. Goes back to ex's and stuff." Bobby grimaced, "Been there, done that."

Kitty looked knowingly at Bobby,"Sucks huh?"
"Ooooh yeah," Bobby responded, he looked to Kitty, "Tell you mine if you tell me yours?" Kitty agreed, "Sure." Bobby sat on his bed and scooted over to make room for Kitty, "Pull up a pillow, then. The first X-Lonely Heart's Club comes to order."

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Ororo looked at the wall clock and smiled. Logan saw it, "What?" he asked.
"Kitty and Bobby. They got into a bit of an argument this morning, they've patched things up now. Been talking in his room for about two hours now."
Logan's eyes slitted, that didn't sound good. Ororo looked at Logan, mouth open, "No," she said, "Not what you think. They barely know each other, besides it's far too soon since Kitty broke up with Pete. She's not ready for anything like that."

Logan frowned as he stuck a cigar in his mouth, "That's when it always happens, darlin'."

***********************
Kitty laughed and hit Bobby softly with a pillow,"No way. You did that?!" Bobby grinned but noddly grimly, "Yeah, I'm not exactly the best boyfriend material. Runs with the territory when you're an X-Man." Quiet descended upon the room.

"I don't believe that," Kitty said queitly, "Just because of what we do, what we work for, that we can't have our own lives, to fall in love and get married. Scott and Jean have it, why can't the rest of us?"

Bobby looked up, "Yeah. I want to believe that too...it just sounds too good to be true sometimes, though. First you find a person you think you can get along with, hope you have a few good dates, tell her that you are not only a mutant, but part of a mutant group working towards mutant/human peace, and see if she ditches you right then, and then wondering if you can really blame her or not."

"I don't think everyone's like that," Kitty said, touching Bobby's arm, "Some people understand. Opal did."

"Opal was one in a million, and you know that I managed to screw that up."

Kitty sighed, and took Bobby's hand in her own, "It's not all hopeless for us, I promise."

Bobby sighed and looked at Kitty, "It's weird. It's like I've known you for such a long time, but I've only met you once or twice, and we didn't say more than two words to each other."

"I was here when you were off at college and when you came back, I was over at Excal-"

Kitty was cut off as the image of Professor Xavier loomed large in Bobby's room, as well as in Marrow's hiding spot, Piotr's gallery and Rogue's room, where Rogue, Logan and Ororo were.

"Come to me, my X-Men. Come to the war room, there is a matter of grave danger we must attend to."