Disclaimer: I do not own anything X-men related bar the words below. OC included. Would've been a great B-day presie.

Many of you may recognise this as the original chapter 14 from From the Start.

Chapter XIV

It had been a week since Kurt had told Bobby and Kitty about being recruited as a member of the X-men team and there was still no hint or clue that what he was doing to celebrate was coming to fruition or had already happened. There had also been less sightings of the blue skinned elf in question.

At first, Kitty, among all the other students once they heard the news, had thought that he was devoting time to training himself. But when the days passed by and the only time the elf was seen was at meal times they had all reached the same dreaded conclusion: someone was going to get pranked.

Being Kurt's best friend since practically arriving at the school, Kitty knew the elf well enough to know that when he pranked someone it was talked about for at least a week afterwards and the receiver would always be paranoid for at least two weeks for fear of him striking again. As of yet she had not been targeted for one of his pranks but something inside her told her that she would be struck eventually.

Right now however, Kitty was currently heading across the grounds out front towards the garage where she and several other students her age were to be given their first driving lessons. As she neared her destination, Kitty saw Scott wheeling his motor bike out of the garage with Jean walking beside him.

As she watched the two instructors chatting, Kitty could not help but wonder how a relationship with Kurt would work out and if it would be anything like the pair before her. The latter she quickly dismissed. Kurt was one of those people who went wholeheartedly into whatever he did head first damn the cosequences and Kitty was sure that, when he became a teacher, he would make sure that the students would enjoy it. If anything, Kitty doubted she would have nothing short of a smile on her face when she got together with him.

Kitty quickly shook her head to remove the thoughts buzzing inside before Jean or the Professor picked up on them, accidentally or not. If they ever got into a relationship, it would be as unpredictable and out of the blue as the blue skinned elf that had teleported away with her heart.

Looking back at the couple before her, Kitty noticed that Scott was now looking at his bike with concern and Jean staring at him in mild amusement. The next moment, with a roar of the engine, a large cloud of confetti- for lack of a better word- belched out of the bike's exhaust pipes.

Scott stared at the cloud with his lower jaw slightly ajar whilst Jean, Kitty and all the students who were on the grounds to witness the spectacle were all doubled over with laughter at the site. It did not take a genius or a telepath to know who was responsible even with Scott's yelling.

"DAMN IT, KURT!"

*/#\*

Kitty shook her head at John's antics. She was currently sitting at a table in the food court of a history museum that the school had funded a field trip for along with Rogue, Bobby and John who was currently toying about with his lighter in front of two teenage boys, brothers judging by their similar appearances and the fact that one of them called the other his brother, who had asked him for a light.

She knew that the four of them were probably in trouble already for sneaking away from the main group, but seeing what was starting to transpire now Kitty was regretting following them more than ever. She was stuck between wishing for the power to turn back time and for Kurt being here with them but seeing as his inducer was still unrepaired he had to stay back at the school.

"C'mon, John" Bobby said trying to be the mature one seeing as Kitty was not giving the guy one of her lectures about showing off. "Quit showing off"

"You're just saying that 'cause I'm impressing the girls more than you" John scoffed turning his attention away from the two teens long enough for one of them to swipe his lighter out of his hand.

"Hey!" He exclaimed quickly standing up before being blocked by the guy's brother. "Oh that's real cute!"

"Not so tough now, are you?" The teen in front of him taunted as his brother began igniting his cigarette.

The next second it was the brother exclaiming as the lighter and cigarette was suddenly snatched from his hand at such a speed he was left with just the butt of it. As one, the two brothers and the four mutant teens turned towards the snatcher only for them to freeze up. Standing there in his usual get up of white button up shirt with rolled up sleeves, tight fit black jeans and rose tinted glasses, Stefan Wagner gave them a look that could make a speeding locomotive stop in its tracks.

Despite having the same last name, he and Kurt were not related although that did not stop Kurt from calling him brother from time to time. He had been enrolled into the school via his late grandmother's will a couple of months ago and was immediately classed as a cold hearted snob by the rest of the students, not that he cared. Apparently however he was a bit of a softy inside, no matter how much he denied it, judging by the fact that he never tried to stop Kurt from calling him brother or that he was taking Kurt's place in the field trip.

"Shouldn't you four be with the rest of your group?" He asked in his stoic tone that revealed none of his apparent annoyance at playing babysitter.

None of the four were able to look Stefan in the eye. It was not the fact that one of his powers was the ability to induct illusions through eye contact, getting snake like eyes during activation, he just seemed intimidating whenever he asked a question directed at someone specifically.

"Hey!" One of the brothers said to Stefan. "You owe me a smoke"

Stefan glanced briefly at the brother before flicking the piece of cigarette he had in his hand at him, striking the forehead, then tossing the lighter back to John. The four students immediately got the hidden message to get back with their specified group and left. Stefan was about to follow when the other brother stood in front of him.

"Think you're tough, do you?" One of them asked Stefan.

"Think you can actually beat me?" Stefan countered pushing his glasses further up his nose fully aware that Kitty had noticed what was going on stayed back to help, not that he would need it.

'We interrupt this program to bring you this important news broadcast. Earlier on this morning the President was targeted for an assassination attempt by a mutant'

Stefan's head quickly swivelled towards the nearest television that was broadcasting the bulletin. Seeing this as an opening, one of the brothers tried to slug him one in the face only to balk when his fist was caught centimetres from Stefan's face.

Kitty was not surprised. She had seen Stefan catch an elastic band fired at him point blank by Kurt when the elf tried to surprise him. This was his other power: the speed and crushing power to rival a snake lashing out and crushing its opponent with its powerful jaws. That coupled with his snake like eyes gave him the codename Asclepius; star of the serpent bearer.

"Do that again, and your hand will never touch another thing" Stefan promised releasing the fist but still looking at the television which was going on about a mutant attempting to assassinate the president but failing and barely escaping with a fatal wound.

"Stefan" Scott called out to him. "Time to go"

"Yeah, yeah" Stefan replied stuffing his hands in his pockets and following his superior.

*/#\*

"In my opinion, Magneto's behind this" Scott said as he paced the Professor's study.

"Given that, out of the remaining members of the Brotherhood, Mystique may be able to pull off something like this, she can't do anything more than gather Intel on how to bust Magneto from his plastic cell" Kurt pointed out from his perch on the window ledge. "Plus she's still recovering from our battle last month"

"Kurt's right, Scott" Xavier agreed. "For Eric to do something like this would be irrational and only hurt his goal of mutant prosperity"

"You mean superiority" Scott corrected as he sat down beside Jean.

Xavier nodded in acceptance. He had known Eric Lensherr long enough to know that if the magnet manipulator had his way it would have been well publicised and by his hand as well.

"Well, whoever's behind this will allow the government to reintroduce the Registration act" Ororo put in.

"And possibly put every mutant under arrest, regardless of age, race and gender" Kurt added shivering at the thought. "This is making me feel like we're re-entering World War two. Except its us mutants instead of Jews this time"

None of the others needed to say anything. It was a unanimous silent agreement.

-*/#\*-

And so the adventure continues and the war crawls even closer. For those curious, OC Stefan won't be making much appearances; this fic is focused mostly on Kitty & Kurt's path through the trilogy, although I might make the game a flashback course for the third part of this fic.

If you wish to see this fic continued after I finish one of my current on going fics, there is a poll now out.

Now if you'll excuse me, there's a B-day cake with my name on it

Later days!