Author's Notes: Done! Whoo!
Epilogue:
"Katherine Pryde," Professor Xavier chided. "Please tell me there is a reason that you're no longer in the Blackbird."
"It didn't really go with my shoes so I traded it in?" Kitty grinned sheepishly.
"Kitty…"
"Either that or Magneto and his scaly girlfriend decided to confiscate it," Kitty cut in quickly.
"So they've escaped?" Cyclops said darkly.
"Not exactly." Kitty smiled.
"What do you mean, child?" Xavier asked.
"Promise you won't get mad, Professor?" Kitty asked.
"Kitty…" Xavier raised an eyebrow.
"I kind of thrashed the Blackbird by phasing through it," Kitty explained.
Professor Xavier blinked, stunned.
"Am I in trouble?" Kitty asked.
"You did good, kid," Wolverine said.
"I did?" Kitty blinked.
Wolverine just grinned as he ruffled the young girl's hair.
"Where's Rachel?" Kitty asked.
Wolverine didn't respond. Instead he pulled a cigar out of his pocket. Nightcrawler fingered his rosary and began to mumble in German.
"She had to go," Scott said. "She said she'd be back with us again in a few years."
Kitty shot Cyclops a curious glance, but she didn't argue his answer.
"So what do we do now?" she asked.
"The police have already detained Sabretooth," Xavier answered. "Knowing Mystique, she'll probably put on a civilian disguise and be picked up by an ambulance. And Erik… Erik will escape like he always does."
"And you're okay with that?" Cyclops spoke through gritted teeth.
"There are several things that happened today that I'm not okay with," Xavier replied levelly. "But we have accomplished what we set out to; Erik will not murder Graydon Creed this day. We should go home."
The group walked in silence as Logan led them to Scott's car. Xavier shimmied into the passenger seat and while Scott was putting his mentor's wheelchair into the trunk, Kitty shuffled towards the bald man.
"Professor?" she asked. "Are you okay?"
The older man forced a smile to his lips and shook his head.
"I am continually amazed at how little I truly know," Xavier murmured.
"Rachel's dead, isn't she?" Kitty said. "You don't have to lie to me just because you think I'm a kid."
"I was overconfident," Xavier replied. "I thought I was strong enough to calm two struggling minds at once. Erik didn't mean for it to happen. One look at his face told me that much."
"Alright, we're ready," Scott said. "Let's go."
Kitty nodded and hopped into the backseat.
Outside the walls of the school on 1407 Graymalkin Lane, the acres of the estate's land were relatively quiet. The students were content to stay inside or play on the basketball court. Only the permanent residents found a need to venture out into the woods and discover a small brook, if only to escape the monotony of daily life.
"Twinkie?"
Hank McCoy's head turned slowly towards his friend's voice. Scott Summers held two of the plastic wrapped golden delicacies in his hand. Scott sat down next to his hulking friend and forced a Twinkie into Hank's furry paw.
The only reaction that Hank gave was a flit of his steel blue eyes as they focused on the confection. Scott tore open his Twinkie wrapper and crumpled it up into one hand. He ate in silence.
"Professor Xavier knew what I was going to do all along, didn't he?" Hank said finally.
Scott looked over at his old friend. The once familiar planes of Hank's face were ravaged with tufts of blue-gray fur and his features had taken on a more apelike appearance. Scott searched for the right words, but ultimately decided to remain quiet.
"If he knew, then why didn't he try to stop me?" Hank asked.
"Would you have listened?" Scott asked.
"I suppose you're right." Hank sighed. "Besides, it's not like anyone knew what that prototype would do."
"Does Warren know?" Scott asked.
"Yes," Hank replied. "I told him to take my research to Dr. Essex if he feels like it. I don't care anymore."
"What are you going to do now?" Scott wondered.
Hank carefully peeled the wrapper from his Twinkie. "I don't know," he admitted.
"I'm sure the professor would love to have you back," Scott said. "But you and Trish probably have plans."
"Trish," Hank muttered glumly before he stuffed the entire Twinkie into his mouth. "She left me."
"What?"
"She left me," Hank repeated. "She said something about not being able to be with someone who couldn't respect himself."
"What do you think about that?" Scott asked.
"Well, if she was telling the truth, then it's no more than I deserve," Hank decided. "But if it's a paltry excuse to ditch a blue furred gentleman, then to hell with her."
"You don't sound too convinced," Scott noted.
"It's the least of my problems," Hank chuckled bitterly. "I need to reason out a way to take a shower without clogging the drain now."
"You don't mean-"
"I don't want to bore you with my troubles," Hank insisted. "I should feel lucky that I'm still alive. But I wonder what kind of a life I'll have now."
"I don't understand," Scott murmured.
"I used to be able to hide," Hank explained softly. "I used to be able to pretend that I was just Dr. Henry McCoy. Now, there's no Hank in sight. Now, I'm just a beast."
"It sounds like you need more Twinkies." Scott smiled.
Hank shook away his thoughts. "Indeed," he agreed. "You seem awfully chipper all things considered."
"I think you're right," Scott said.
"I'm relieved," Hank confessed. "I was afraid that you would never be able to move on after Jean. Do you think you're ready to start dating again?"
"No." Scott shook his head as he stood up. "Jean's out there somewhere. I know that now. I just have to find her."
"Bobby, please," Rogue pleaded.
Frustrated, the girl pounded her fist against the door to the cafeteria's massive freezer. On the other side of the door, huddled in a ball, Bobby shook his head fiercely.
"I just need to be by myself," he insisted. "I'll come out when I'm ready."
"You can't hide in there forever," Rogue muttered.
She gave the door one final punch before she shuffled away, defeated.
Inside the freezer, Bobby sighed, exhaling the frosty air. Tears had frozen on his eyelashes as his panic had mounted. His hands were blocks of ice, he had just about grown to accept that, when the ice flesh had spread up his arms and to his shoulders. It was devouring him.
Dr. McCoy had told Bobby that it was an extension of his abilities and he could control it, given practice. But Bobby had spent the past few days watching the ice blindly consume him and he had grown more pessimistic. Why should he believe a man who accidentally turned himself into a furball?
Bobby had heard stories about other mutants. Mutants whose powers made them pure biokinetic energy, so powerful that their human bodies couldn't contain it. The lucky ones lost body parts or were willful enough to mold new forms out of the remaining energy. Bobby couldn't help but imagine that something similar was happening to him. He shivered.
Rogue would be back soon, he could count on that. In the meantime, Bobby needed to collect his thoughts. He brushed the pile of crumpled up pieces of paper next to him over by the box of hot dogs. Bobby started again with a fresh sheet of paper. The first part was easy.
"Dear Mom..."
"Professor, do you remember your mother?" Kurt asked.
"Of course I remember my mother," Professor Xavier replied. "Why do you ask?"
"I never had a real mother," Kurt lilted. "I was taken in by gypsies in a traveling circus because of my unique looks. Margali Szardos was a good woman, but I often wonder what a real mother would be like."
"Sometimes, Kurt, you can't measure a true mother based on blood," Xavier replied.
Kurt nodded his head sadly. "No, I suppose you cannot."
"Kurt," Xavier began, but was interrupted by the trill of his office phone. "Excuse me for a moment."
"Ja." Kurt slunk down into a large leather chair.
"Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters," Xavier greeted. "Ororo? It's good to hear from you, my dear. What?"
The older man's hand shook around the receiver. Kurt made his way to his mentor and offered a steady hand on Professor Xavier's shoulder. Charles Xavier was oblivious to his student's concern.
"That's impossible," Xavier murmured into the phone. "Ororo, are you positive? Of course, it just sounds so… unreal. I'll send Scott immediately."
"Herr Professor, are you alright?" Kurt asked.
Professor Xavier set the trembling receiver down and stared holes into the wall. "That was news from Cairo," he said weakly.
Hank gathered the Twinkie wrappers into a pile and brushed the clutter into a wastebasket. He opened the drawer to his desk and pulled out a fresh Twinkie. He supposed that he didn't need to watch his figure, he was the most attractive man on the planet covered with thick swatches of blue fur.
Hank heard a knock on the door and grumbled a"Come in" between the Twinkie in his mouth.
"I'm not disturbing you, am I, mein fruend" Kurt asked as he entered.
The Twinkie grated against Hank's dry throat as he swallowed. So much for being the most attractive man on the planet covered with thick swatches of blue fur, he thought.
"No, I was just moping" Hank replied.
"A package arrived with your name on it." Kurt motioned to the box in his hands. "It's from a Mr. Forge."
"Thank you." Hank collected the package from his friend.
"And showering is not as difficult as it first seems" Kurt advised. "You will get the hang of it."
"Thank you, Kurt" Hank answered crisply.
Kurt grinned. "I'll be on my way now."
Hank ignored Kurt as he exited. Instead, the man used a claw to open his package. Hank chuckled to himself when he noticed that the box tucked between the brown paper was metal and covered with various buttons. As delicately as he could with his newfound thick, clawed fingers, he pressed a button labeled, "Play."
Forge's dry, gravelly voice began to resonate in the room as clearly as if the man had been standing next to Hank.
"Hank, I wanted to thank you for lending me those prostheses to research," Forge began. "They've placed me years ahead of my work. As a token of my gratitude, I've enclosed inside this box something I like to call an 'image inducer.' I heard about what happened to you and hopefully this will ease your suffering."
The message ended with a quiet beep and once again the room was empty save for Hank. He pressed another button and the box slid open.
"Image inducer, eh?" he murmured as he passed the device over his hands. "Interesting."