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Chapter Text

Kitty Pryde had fought Apocalypse, Magneto, Juggernaut, and plenty of other people who wanted to kill her and survived, but now she was dying--at the hands of Software Engineering II. She wondered for the millionth time why she had thought it was a good idea to go into computer science. She had finished her gen eds at the community college back in Bayville, so there was nothing to break up the monotony of all this programming.

She checked her watch, wondering if it was time to head to her next class yet, but no, she still had twenty minutes. She laid her head on the textbook page and hoped her brain would absorb the commands through osmosis.

Her phone rang, and she picked it up, glancing at the name on the screen. Pietro. That was . . . weird. She couldn't remember him ever calling her before. When did she even get his number?

"Hello? Pietro? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, everything's great. Quick question. Have you talked to Wanda in, oh, say . . . thepastthreedays?"

Her head was still full of code, so it took her a second to process his question. Her head shot up. "Wanda's been missing for three days?"

"No! She's not--not missing or anything. We just . . . we kinda had a fight, and now she's not answering any of my calls. I was hoping she might be staying with you."

"How would she be here? I live three hours away and she can't drive!"

"I thought you drove her!"

Kitty pinched her nose and sighed. "No, she's not here. Have you checked with Tabitha?"

"Not yet. I was going to check with you first."

This was not good. "Well, call Tabby. I'll try calling Wanda and see if she'll answer me." Pietro hung up before she finished her sentence. Kitty tried not to be offended. It wasn't his fault his thoughts moved so much faster than anyone else's, and he was probably worried about Wanda.

It was his fault Wanda was missing, though. What was he thinking? Why hadn't he told anyone sooner?

Her anger dissipated and was replaced by a churning fear in her stomach as Wanda's phone went straight to voicemail twice.

Wanda had never been the most stable, and ever since her real memories had started coming back, it just got worse. Pietro helped her sort through memories (after she forgave him for not telling her in the first place), determining which were real and which false, but she got easily confused, and without her friends there to help her, confusion could easily turn to anger--anger that could level a city.

Surely if something had happened, Kitty would have heard about it on the news. They weren't that far from Bayville. Still, they needed to find her soon, before Wanda or anyone else got hurt.

Chewing her lip, Kitty called Lance.

"Hey, Kitty. What's up?"

"Have you heard from Wanda? Pietro said she hasn't been home in three days, and she's not answering either of our calls."

Lance was silent for a moment, and Kitty knew the answer. "I'm going to kill him," he said. "For real this time."

She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "You can do that later. I'm really worried! There's no reason for her to think Pietro called me, so if she's just mad at him, why wouldn't she answer? What if something happened?"

Lance sighed, and Kitty stared down at her textbook. Finishing her code suddenly sounded a lot more appealing.

"Today's Friday, right?" Lance asked.

"Um, yes?"

"I'll drive down there tonight and stay the weekend. Hopefully he's called the others by now, and they're already looking for her. I'll join them when I get there."

Yes. That sounded like a good plan, so long as-- "What time do you get off work?"

"Six. Why?"

A quick mental calculation, and she nodded to herself. "I'll be ready."

"Ready for what?"

She was already halfway through a mental list of what to pack. "Ready for you to pick me up, of course. I'm, like, totally going with you."

He was silent for longer than she expected, which worried her. Did he not want her to come? Did he not want her butting in with his friends? Did he not want to spend the whole weekend with her? Did he--"

"I love you," he sighed. "You know that, right?"

Oh.

Despite the serious circumstances, she couldn't help the shy smile that spread across her face. She didn't think she would ever get used to hearing him say that--or the fluttery feeling she always got in her stomach whenever he did.

"Hmm." She twisted the end of her ponytail around her finger. "I think you might have told me once or twice. I love you too."

"I'll see you soon," he promised, and she hung up.

She packed up her laptop and textbook, and went to search out Dr. Martin. She was all too familiar with the way simple errands tended to get incredibly dangerous and time-consuming for them, and she wanted to stay ahead.

Dr. Martin was very understanding when she explained that she had a family emergency and might not be able to attend class on Monday.

It felt surprisingly natural to refer to the Brotherhood as family. She and Wanda had been tentatively friends since the battle with Apocalypse several years ago, and Tabby always enjoyed having someone to complain about the boys to. And as for the boys themselves, at some point since she and Lance had actually started dating, they had gone from tolerating her presence to . . . something she wasn't sure how to define. She settled comfortably into their banter, and they teased her as often as they teased Lance. Fred hadn't seemed surprised at all when she called asking for ideas of what to get Lance for his birthday, and Todd had helped her with some homework once when she couldn't figure out why a program wasn't working. And clearly Pietro trusted her enough to call about his sister.

Thoughts about Wanda spiraled in her mind all throughout class, and she did her best not to watch the clock the whole class. Still, she couldn't help but sneak a few glances.

When she finally got home, she kicked off her shoes, dropped her backpack in the middle of her room, and pulled out all her books. Then she tossed in clothes, toiletries, and anything else she thought she would need into it. She hesitated when she reached her old X-Men uniform.

She didn't know what they were walking into. Wanda could be fine, just stewing in her thoughts somewhere alone, or she could actually be in trouble. As Logan always told her, it was good to prepare for anything, but . . . technically she wasn't an X-Man anymore.

Being a superhero, however cool she found it at sixteen, had never been in her plan for the future. Neither had being a teacher. She had just wanted to learn to control her abilities. She left the mansion and the team several months ago with the assurance that she could always come back if she wanted, even just for a visit. She kept in contact with all her friends and planned to visit regularly, but she doubted she would ever join the team again.

It didn't feel quite right to pack the uniform, but she needed something, right? She stared at her closet, and her eyes settled on the combat boots Tabitha had talked her into getting last time they went shopping. She still hadn't worn them, but she remembered them being comfortable when she tried them on.

She wrapped them in a plastic bag and tucked them into her backpack, then dug out the black exercise pants and tank top she usually wore to the gym. The last thing she added was a lavender jacket that was comfortable and loose enough for a good range of motion, but not so loose it got caught on things easily. She smiled to herself. Not bad for something so thrown-together.

After that was taken care of, she fixed a quick supper and sat down to get as much homework done as she could before Lance got there.

When the knock sounded on the door, she shut her books, slipped on her shoes, and grabbed her backpack, then stepped out the door. She was just about to ask if he had heard from anyone else, when Lance swept her up and kissed her, lifting her feet off the ground.

This wasn't exactly how their greetings tended to go, but she certainly wasn't complaining. She let her backpack drop and wrapped her legs around him as he pressed her back against the wall and tilted her head up to get a better angle.

She could definitely get used to this.

"Not that this isn't nice," she said, pulling away, "but don't we have somewhere to be?"

"Unfortunately." He set her down, and she picked up her backpack, then turned around and locked the door.

When she turned back, she realized he was watching her with a strange look on his face. "What?"

"You sure you want to do this? I mean, you doing have to go with me."

"Of course I'm sure! Wanda is my friend too!"

He smiled at that, then gestured to his jeep. "Alright, let's go." She tossed her backpack in the backseat next to his duffle bag and climbed into the passenger seat.

The ride was long. They talked about their day for a while, then listened to music, taking turns picking a song. Finally they got tired of the music and settled into a comfortable silence. Kitty leaned her elbow on the door and let the wind hit her face. She wondered when she would start to recognize the signs and businesses they passed.

"It feels weird to be going back," Lance said.

"I'm sure." She had only been gone for a few months, but Lance had been gone for a couple years. While his friends often came to see him, he hadn't gone back to Bayville in all that time.

He glanced over at her. "You know someone might see us together, right?"

And that was exactly what she had been avoiding thinking about. "I know." He looked over again, and she sighed. "I'll just tell them the truth. I should have done it a while ago."

When she first reconnected with Lance, she hadn't mentioned it to any of her old teammates because she didn't want to cause any problems. Then when they had started dating, she kept putting off telling them again because her and Lance's track record wasn't great, and if they just broke up again in a month, there was no reason to get everyone riled up. Now it had been several months, and she just couldn't figure out how to bring it up.

It wasn't that she was scared to tell them. It was just . . . Lance's friends had been so nice and accepting (in their own way) of her when they started dating, and she knew her friends . . . would not.

"I'll figure it out," she said. He looked dubious, but she ignored him. "Besides, the important thing is making sure Wanda's okay."

"Yeah." He sighed, and she wished she hadn't said anything when his hands tightened on the steering wheel.

She sat up quickly. "So! When we get there, I guess we should find a hotel?"

"Uhh . . . I figured you were going to stay at the mansion."

"No, I am absolutely not sneaking you into the mansion."

He looked confused for a second, then turned to her and smirked. "What, you don't think I can make it?"

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "I think Logan would sniff you out in five minutes." He grimaced. "And I think your friends probably won't enjoy me dropping in on them so suddenly, so I thought a hotel was the best option."

"Yeah, you're probably right, I just thought you'd want to . . ."

She scowled. "Thought I'd what?"

He swallowed and shook his head. "Nothing." He was quiet for a moment, focusing firmly on the road, then said, "I want to stop at the twin's place first, though. I want to talk to Pietro myself, and I doubt he'll answer my calls right now."

"He probably knows you're mad at him," she agreed.

It wasn't much longer before they reached roads that looked familiar. Kitty had never actually been to Wanda's new home before, so she entertained herself by wondering what it would look like, whether it would have plants outside, how Wanda had decorated her room, and if Pietro ever actually cleaned his room.

Finally Lance stopped at a little duplex with a couple rose bushes planted out front and a little plastic playground in the back. The neighbors must have kids.

Out of habit, Kitty slung her backpack on her shoulder as she hopped out and followed Lance to the door. Pietro answered when Lance knocked, then shrank back when he saw them.

"Oh." He rubbed the back of his neck. "You, uh, didn't have to come all the way here. I mean, she'll probably be back soon." The way he avoided their eyes said exactly how much he believed that.

"Just let us in," Lance said, and, to Kitty's surprise, Pietro stepped out of the door without a word. They followed him into the living room, but no one made a move to sit down.

"So what happened?"

Pietro glanced at the ceiling, then his shoes. "I, uh, I might have brought up therapy again."

Kitty winced, then looked at Lance. He frowned, but she knew he couldn't fault Pietro for that. Wanda needed help. That much was obvious, but after so many years locked away, it was easy to see why she couldn't--wouldn't--trust the people who could help her.

"When was that?' Kitty asked.

"Early morning three days ago. I had just gotten back from work at the gas station. She got mad and said if I didn't want her around that much, she'd just leave." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heel, slowly speeding up. "I called the others, but none of them have seen her."

"Right, of course not," Lance grumbled. "It's a little late to go looking for her tonight, but I need you to think of all the places she usually goes to. We'll try to find her in the morning."

Pietro crossed his arms. "Yeah, yeah I'll think about it." He glared at the backpack on Kitty's shoulder. "And I guess you both just want to crash here for the night. Geez, can't give a guy a little warning." He zipped into the kitchen to check the fridge.

"Actually, we were planning to--" Kitty began, but Pietro continued, louder.

"Most people actually have the decency to call and let you know they're coming over, but not you two!"

"We're just going to stay in a hotel--"

"I mean, if I had some warning, I could have picked up some groceries, but now everything's closed, so I hope you like cereal!" He sped down the hall, then back again and thrust a pile of blankets at Lance with enough force to make him stagger back a couple steps.

Kitty tried one more time. "You really don't have to--"

He was even louder this time. "But I guess, since you're my teammate and teammate-in-law, I'll just have to put up with it."

Kitty turned to Lance, who managed to untangle himself from the pile of blankets. "So I guess we're staying here?"

He shrugged, as though he didn't have an opinion, but she knew him better than that. "Up to you."

She grinned and dropped her backpack on the floor. He smiled back and dropped the pile of blankets beside it, searching through to find a sheet, which he spread over the couch.

Pietro appeared in front of Kitty and jerked a thumb down the hall. "You can use Wanda's bed since clearly she's not using it." That felt a little strange, but he was right. She wasn't using it.

It was late, and she was tired, so she carried her backpack into Wanda's room and got ready for bed. When she came out, Lance had finished making up the couch, and he and Pietro sat in the kitchen talking.

"I'm going to bed," she said, coming over to the table and leaning over to give Lance a kiss.

He squeezed her hand and smiled. "Good night."

"Bleck! You're killing me," Pietro complained.

Kitty grinned. "Why? You want a kiss too?"

He pointed at her. "Don't even threaten it."

She laughed and left the room. "Good night, boys!"

As she settled into the bed, she could still hear the boys talking in the kitchen and dishes clinking as they fixed a snack.

She liked living by herself, but she sometimes missed the little sounds of someone else's presence. The noice was rather comforting, and she soon drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Kitty woke to a scream.

Having lived several years in a house with a dozen other kids, it took half a second to realize it was an excited scream, not an I'm-in-danger scream, but since she was already awake, she decided to get up anyway.

The sight that greeted her when she reached the living room made her laugh. Lance was still lying on the couch, with the blankets pulled over his head, and Todd was sitting on top of him, bouncing.

"Lance is back, yo!" he cheered.

Lance rolled over, knocking Todd to the floor. "Ge'off me!"

Todd looked up at the sound of Kitty's laughter. "And Kitty-Cat! You're here too!" He bounded up and over to her.

"We know," Pietro complained from the kitchen.

"Maybe you knew, but we didn't!" Todd gestured to him and Fred.

"I didn't know I get such an enthusiastic greeting too," Kitty laughed.

Todd shrugged. "You're cool. Especially now that you left those X-geeks."

"Are you here to find Wanda?" Fred asked.

"That's the plan."

"Can't you guys be quiet?" Lance complained. "Why is everyone up so early?"

Kitty shook her head. "It's not that early."

"It's Saturday!" She decided to ignore him and headed into the kitchen to ask Pietro where the cereal he had (kind of) offered them was.

Something exploded.

"Seriously?" Pietro complained as the front door opened too easily considering it had been locked a moment before. "Destroy Mystique's house all you want, but this is my place."

Tabitha ignored him as she came inside. "Hey, is Lance here? I thought I saw his car outside. Unless someone stole it, of course. He makes it so easy."

A pillow smacked her in the face, and Lance sat up. "Fine! You guys win! I'm up!"

Tabby picked up the pillow, dusted it off, then threw it back at him. "Does Kitty know what a charmer you are in the mornings?"

Kitty grinned. "You forgot he lived at the mansion for a while. I got to witness all his early morning cheer in Logan's training sessions."

Tabby whirled around. "Kitty! You came too!" She ran over and hugged the other girl, then turned back to Lance. "Alright, what's the plan?"

He rubbed his hand down his face. "I don't know. Am I allowed to eat first?"

Tabby sighed heavily. "I guess."

Kitty thought breakfast sounded like a great idea, so she joined Pietro in the kitchen. To her surprise, the counter was already covered in not only cereal, but also several packages of bread and bagels, a jar of peanut butter, a jar of jam, and a stick of butter. Pietro stood at the stove with a carton of eggs next to him, glaring at the eggs in his pan, probably for not cooking fast enough.

"I thought you just had cereal."

Pietro turned his scowl on her. "Yeah, but I went to the store this morning before you two lazybones got up."

She opened a bag of bagels. "Thank you." He pretended not to hear and turned back to the stove. She picked up the still-wrapped stick of butter and turned it over.

Pietro glanced over at her. "It's kosher, if that's what you're looking for." She grinned and unwrapped it.

The others crowded into the kitchen and fixed themselves some food while Pietro grumbled about being eaten out of house and home. When they all sat down around the table, Pietro pulled out a piece of paper and set it on the table.

"I put together that list you asked for."

Lance nodded and swallowed his food. "Okay, first thing is we know she's gotta be staying somewhere, so one of us should go around to the motels int he area and ask about her." He frowned. "Kitty, you should probably do that. If one of us boys go, someone might call the cops on us."

"Hey, what about me?" Tabby asked.

"You need to go somewhere I can trust you not to blow anything up."

Tabby put her hands on her hips. "I find that offensive."

Kitty stared down at her bagel as the bickering voices faded. A horrible thought had popped into her head, and she wasn't sure if she should say it. She tried to pull herself back to the conversation around her.

"I guess I'll go check out the music store," Tabby was saying. "I've taken her there a few times, and she says it helps her calm down."

"You don't--" Kitty broke off and chewed her lip. Everyone turned to look at her. "You don't think she would have . . . have left Bayville, do you?" She regretted her question as soon as she looked up at the five stricken faces staring at her.

"I'll ask around as the airports," Pietro said quietly.

Lance grabbed the list lying on the table. "The rest of us can split up this." He scanned it, then frowned. Kitty stood up and circled the table. She leaned her hand on the back of his chair and read over his shoulder.

A cafe, a park, and two clothing stores she liked. That was it.

Pietro winced when they looked up at him. "She, uh, she still doesn't go out much."

Lance dropped the list and left the room. No one said much as they put away the food. Todd, Pietro, Fred, and Tabby left to begin their search. Kitty took a quick shower, then found the phone book and made a list of all the motels in the area.

"I'm leaving," she told Lance as she slipped on her shoes. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah." He didn't look up as he flipped through the phone book.

She chewed her lip, then walked over and threw her arms around him. He looked up, startled, then smiled and hugged her back.

"I love you," she said softly.

"I love you too."

The first few motels went smoothly. No one had seen anyone matching Wanda's description in the past few days. The next one was far too expensive, and Kitty walked right past it. The manager at the next one watched her suspiciously until she left, but she was fairly sure the receptionist's assurances that Wanda wasn't staying here were true.

The familiar streets began to stretch to three times their length, mocking her. The sun moved further across the sky every time she glanced away, and with every address she scratched off her list, she could feel her anxiety rise.

What if they couldn't find Wanda? What if she was actually in trouble? What if what if what if?

She crossed off the third-to-last address with no information and no phone calls from the others, then started down the road to find the next.

"Hey! Hey, Kitty-Cat!" Kitty turned and found Todd hopping over to her. "You found anything?"

She shook her head. "I guess you didn't either?"

"Nah. I hung around the place till it closed, but nuthin'."

Kitty held up her list. "I've only got two places left."

"Oh."

He joined her on the way to the next hotel, then waited outside while she went in. "Anything?" he asked when she came back out. She shook her head.

"Hey, doesn't Professor Baldy have some sort of supercomputer that can find mutants?" he asked as they kept walking. "Think he'd help if you asked pretty please?"

Kitty shook her head. "It'll only work if she's using her powers, and since her powers aren't exactly subtle . . ." Todd nodded.

If only Cerebro worked like that. If only--

She stopped walking. "Wait!"

Todd jumped back and looked around. "What? What? Is something wrong?"

"No, no, I just thought of something!"

His shoulders sagged. "Don't scare a guy like that!"

"Sorry. I just remembered that one of the Morlocks can locate mutants!"

Todd gaped at her for a second, then asked, "What's a morlock?"

"A group of mutants who live in the sewers. Evan lives with them, and I know he'll help! Come on!" She turned on her heel and rand down the nearest alley.

Todd hopped after her. "Daniels? Y'know, I kinda wondered where he went. You sure he'll help us?"

"Yes!" She stopped at a grate in the street and held out her hand. "Hold my hand."

"Oooh, you sure Loverboy won't mind?" He grabbed her hand.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," she teased, then phased them through the grate.

They landed in ankle-deep water, and Kitty was very glad she had worn her boots. "Oh, nice!" Todd said. "Very homey." She glanced over at him, but couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "Do you know where we're going?"

"Nope!" She set off straight ahead.

"Cool."

Kitty didn't know how long they wandered under the city, but for a long time the only sounds were their splashing steps and the traffic above them. The tunnels were dark already but soon the sun had set too far behind the buildings to reach the grates above them. They pressed their hands against the wall to keep moving in the right direction, and Kitty grabbed Todd's hand again, only to make sure they didn't get separated. Definitely not because the dark made her feel completely alone and separated from the rest of the world.

Something flickered ahead, but when she blinked, it disappeared. A few seconds later, it flickered again. Light.

"Who's there?" a voice asked. It was deeper than she expected, and it echoed strangely down the tunnels, but she recognized it anyway.

"Evan?"

The light shifted suddenly and glared in her eyes. She shut her eyes at the sudden brightness. "Kitty?" She heard splashing footsteps coming towards them, and the light shifted away again. When she opened her eyes, she could see Evan holding some sort of flashlight. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "And with . . . Toad?"

"Evan! I'm so glad to see you!" She threw her arms around him, which was a little awkward around all his armor plates.

He hugged her back. "It's good to see you too, but I thought you were at school!"

"I was, but then there was . . . a problem. That's why I'm here. I need your help. You told me before that there's a mutant here who can find other mutants, right?"

"Yeah, Caliban. Why? Is someone missing?"

"We can't find Wanda anywhere," Todd said. "And I mean anywhere, yo. We've been looking all over today.

Evan frowned. "Wanda? But--"

"What's going on?' There were more footsteps, than someone else stepped into the light's circle.

Wanda.

"You're here!" Kitty shouted at the same time that Todd said, "Sweetums!" They both ran over and hugged her.

"Get off me, Toad!" Wanda shoved him away, but grudgingly accepted Kitty's hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you! Do you know how worried everyone's been? You haven't been answering any of our calls--"

Wanda's brow furrowed. "You called me?"

"Only, like, a million times!" Kitty was fully aware she sounded hysterical, but she didn't particularly care. "Have you been here the whole time?"

"Most of it."

"She was helping me with something," Evan said. "We didn't know you were looking for her, though."

"What were you working on?"

Wanda and Evan shared a look, then Evan said, "Maybe we should wait and tell everyone at once."

"We need your help," Wanda explained.

Todd propped one arm against the wall and gave a charming grin. "All you have to do is ask." Wanda rolled her eyes.

"So you're coming back now, right?" Kitty asked. "Pietro's been so worried--"

"Right. Yeah, I'm coming back."

"Good!" She hugged her again. "I missed you." Wanda softened a bit and smiled.

"We should probably head back before it gets any later," Evan said. "I don't know where you two even came from, but I know a much shorter way to get back."

He led them down several tunnels, and then, much sooner than Kitty expected, he climbed up the wall, pushed a grate aside, and climbed out. The two girls followed next, and then Todd. As soon as she got out, Wanda started walking home, but Evan waited for the other two and then put the grate back. Todd caught up with Wanda and started talking, and Kitty fell into step beside Evan.

"It really is good to see you," she said. "I've been wanting to come back and visit for a while, but I just hadn't done it yet. Then Wanda disappeared, and I, like, totally freaked out--"

"Yeah, I get it," Evan said. "But when did you join the Brotherhood?"

"I didn't join the Brotherhood. I just . . . I was helping them. To find Wanda."

Evan grinned. "Uh huh. That's how it starts."

"Oh! I forgot to call Pietro!" She pulled out her phone and found his number.

"Didyoufindher?" he asked before she could say anything.

"Yes, we did! She was with the Morlocks."

"But she's coming home now, right?"

"We're on our way right now."

He sighed in relief, and Kitty thought that if he'd just let Wanda see how worried he was, they wouldn't argue so much. Of course, that would require Pietro actually expressing his feelings, which was about as likely as Wolverine and Sabertooth suddenly becoming best friends.

"Are the others with you?" Kitty asked.

"Yeah, everyone but Todd. We can't get a hold of him."

"Oh, sorry. He's with me and we didn't have reception earlier. We'll be back soon, though. Tell the others."

"Yeah." He hung up, and Kitty ignored Evan's amused look as she put her phone away.

When they got back, Wanda walked up to the doorstep, but stopped at the door. She didn't pull out her key, or even knock. Evan looked at Kitty, who shrugged.

The door flew open, and Tabby dragged Wanda inside. "They're back!" The others filed in.

"Oh, good," Pietro said. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, and Kitty sighed. This was not going to be fun. "Not that you bothered to tell me or anything. I'm only your brother. Why would I want to know where you are?"

Wanda stormed past him and into her room, then into the bathroom and slammed the door and locked it.

"You're seriously just ignoring me?" Pietro shouted through the door. The shower started running. "Oh, real mature!"

Kitty decided now was a good time to slip behind him and join Lance by the other wall. Evan followed as quietly as he could.

"Fine! Not like I care!" Pietro sped into his own room and slammed the door.

The others all looked at each other. "Are they always like this together?" Evan asked.

"Yeah," Kitty said.

Tabby rolled her eyes. "Pretty much."

"Every day," Lance sighed. "Try living with them."

"Eh, sometimes they're worse, yo," Todd said.

Fred winced. "Like when we tried to throw them a surprise birthday party."

Kitty gaped at him. "You did what?"

"We thought it was a good idea at the time," Todd protested.

Kitty whirled around and looked at Lance, who raised both hands defensively. "I was not a part of this. That happened after I left."

They were quiet for another minute, then Fred stood up. "Anyone else hungry?"

"I'm going to go change first," Kitty said. The others went into the kitchen, but she went into Wanda's room to change. Then she phased through the bathroom door. "It's just me, Wanda," she said. "I'm washing my clothes and I thought I'd wash yours too."

"Thanks."

Kitty hesitated a moment, but when nothing else came, she scooped the clothes off the floor, phased back into the hall, then joined everyone else in the kitchen. She tossed the dirty clothes into the washer, then searched the cabinets to find the detergent. By then, everyone had pulled out everything for sandwiches and fixed some supper.

Kitty fixed her own sandwich, then glanced around the table. There was only one open chair left, which she wanted to leave for Wanda. She walked around the table and sat on Lance's lap.

He choked on his food. She smacked his back a couple times, then asked, "do you want me to move?'

"No, no, definitely not."

"Good, cause I wasn't planning on it." She smiled, then happened to glance at Evan, who gave her a pointed look. "What? I'm, like, being helpful! There aren't enough chairs." He rolled his eyes.

"So, Evan." Tabitha propped her elbow on the table and leaned her chin in her hand. "Not to be rude or anything--" Lance snorted. "--but what exactly are you doing here?"

"We're helping him." Everyone turned to Wanda, who stood in the kitchen doorway.

Pietro zipped by, sending Wanda's hair flying. She scowled and pushed past him to get to the kitchen cabinets, where she pulled out a mug and a tea bag. "Wait, wait, wait. Did I hear that right? Did Daniels come to me for help?"

Evan glared. "The Morlocks are in trouble, and they need your help. All of you."

Pietro shrugged. "Maybe you shouldn't have gotten in trouble."

"Unlike some people, we don't go looking for it, but we're mutants. Trouble comes looking for us anyway."

"So why come to us?" Lance asked. "Why not ask the X-Men?"

"The X-Men . . . don't exactly like my methods."

"What a shocker," Todd muttered.

"Tell them what happened," Wanda said.

Evan nodded. "A few weeks ago, I ran into this girl--"

"Oooh, a girl." Todd grinned. "Daniels has a girlfriend."

"Not like that! She's a mutant and she needed help. I brought her to the Morlocks. It was clear she was in some sort of trouble, but she didn't volunteer information, and we didn't ask. Four days ago, we sent a group out to get supplies. She volunteered to go because she can blend in a little easier than most of us. Callisto and I . . ." He sighed. "We thought it was fine. We let her go, but the group didn't come back. When we found the other members, it was clear they had been attacked. They were all in bad shape, and if we hadn't gotten there when we did, none of them would have made it."

The room grew silent as he continued. No one felt like making jokes anymore. "One of them woke up just yesterday and told us about the attack. Another group of mutants they didn't recognize came looking for the girl. They took her, and when the others fought back, they left them nearly dead."

Evan looked up at Lance. "The rest of the Morlocks, they're not fighters, and they shouldn't have to be. Usually Callisto and I are enough to protect them, but this time . . ."

"We need to help," Wanda said, leaving no room for argument as she sat down.

The story was a sobering one, and Kitty definitely wanted to help, but she got the feeling there was more to it than they were telling. "So why did you go to Wanda first?"

"Uh . . ." Evan glanced over at Wanda, who was pointedly not looking at him. "I just happened to run into her."

Kitty frowned at them, and watched as Wanda stirred her tea, then pulled out a spoon that looked like it had twisted itself into a knot. She glared at it, then dropped it back into her cup.

"So do you know where they went, yo?" Todd asked.

Evan nodded. "Caliban was able to track her, and Wanda and I scouted the location today. It looks like an abandoned office building, but there's an awful lot of guards there to be abandoned. The top floors are definitely empty, so I think they must just use the first floor, or a basement if they have one."

Kitty yawned. This was a very serious and important conversation, but it was far too late to be having it. She leaned back against Lance, and he chuckled. "I have to agree with Kitty. I think it's a little too late and we're all a little to tired to do anything tonight, but if you give us the address, we'll meet you there in the morning."

Evan sat up straighter. "Really? You'll actually help?'

"I told you," Wanda said.

"The Morlocks helped me after the mansion was destroyed," Tabby reminded him. "I'm not going to sit around and let them get attacked."

"Wanda already said we're helping, so we're helping," Todd said.

Fred nodded. "We're a team."

Pietro grinned. "Hey, you actually asked for my help. There's no way I'm turning this down, and there's no way I'm letting you forget it, either."

Chapter Text

It was still early morning when they reached the old office building, but as Lance stared at it though Todd's old binoculars, he couldn't shake the feeling that he and Kitty weren't going to get home that evening.

"Are there any other doors?" Lance asked. "I only see one."

"There was another, but it's boarded up tight now," Evan said. "No one's getting in that way except Kitty."

"And do they have any other mutant prisoners?"

"Not that I saw, but I never got closer than this."

Lance grimaced. "Right. So we have to assume there are." He stared at the door, blocked by several armed guards. He was sure there were even more on the inside. "Kitty, can you get Pietro and Todd inside through the back wall?"

"Right now?" she asked, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder. Lance tried not to stare. He had been very aware of the fact that she was not wearing her X-Men uniform, and instead wore an outfit much closer to what the rest of them wore since they'd grown out of the costumes Mystique had given them. He was trying very hard not to think about the implications of that.

Lance shook his head and put the binoculars down. "Not yet. The rest of us will charge the front door, then on our signal, you guys go in. You and Todd look for the girl. Pietro, you look for any other prisoners. We'll keep the guards distracted and try to meet you inside."

"No problem."

Lance looked at Evan, then remembered this was technically his job, and maybe Lance shouldn't have been giving the orders.

Evan shrugged. "It's your team. You know them best. Besides, I tend to work alone now."

Lance couldn't help but smirk at that. "I bet Papa Wolverine's so proud."

Evan laughed. "Logan? Absolutely. Auntie O? Not so much."

"So what's the signal?" Pietro asked.

"Oh, you'll know it when you hear it," Tabby said.

"That's what I was afraid of," Todd grumbled.

Kitty, Pietro, and Todd slipped away. Lance watched them through the binoculars until they rounded the corner of the building. "Okay, they're in position. Everyone ready?"

"Aye aye, Captain!" Tabby gave a two-finger salute.

Lance rolled his eyes. "You know, the problem with living so far away is I forget how annoying you all are."

Tabby patted his shoulder. "Oh don't worry. The feeling's mutual."

Evan snickered. "Oh, yeah. Starting to feel just like old times now."

"You callin' us the X-geeks?" Fred asked, and Evan grinned.

"Let's go!" Tabby called, then started running to toward the building. The other's followed her lead. "Hey, boys!" She called, waving when she reached the guards. "I've got something for you!" She tossed a couple handfuls of cherry bombs at them.

Boom.

The guards turned their guns on her, then the guns fell apart with a wave of Wanda's hand. As Lance had guessed, more guards poured from the door and formed a protective semi-circle in front of the building.

"Yeah, I don't think so." Lance held up his hands, and the ground roiled under them, knocking them off balance. "We need another door! Boom Boom--"

"I got it!" Evan shouted, running past him and shooting a circle of spikes into the wall. "Blob, give me a hand here!"

Fred took off running straight for the wall, then crashed into the circle, putting all his weight on his shoulder. He crashed through, and Tabitha and Evan followed him inside.

"Let's go," Lance said to Wanda. She swept her arm, and all the guards' guns went flying. Well. That wasn't terrifying at all.

They ran into the building, then hesitated. It really did look abandoned. Random half-walls that didn't make sense without the original furniture jutted into the room. An old, heavy desk no one had cleared out sat in the middle of the floor, and several doors were scattered around with signs saying "restroom" or "stairs"--

"Down the stairs," Lance said, and the two of them ran to the door. As they ran down, he heard something explode, then Tabby's cackle, and knew they were going the right way.

They spilled out into a stark white room with several identical doors lined up down the walls. Several halls branched off from the main room. Fred, Tabby, and Evan were already there, fighting off another group of guards.

The building was too tall and old, and Lance knew shifting the ground too much would bring the whole thing on top of them. He couldn't use his powers here, but he could hold his own in a hand-to-hand fight. The only problem was--

One of the guards pointed a gun at him.

He froze. However many fights he had been in in his life, this had never come up.

Or had it?

A voice that sounded suspiciously like Wolverine's echoed in his head. First, get out of the line of fire. He reached for the guard's wrist and shoved it up. Get a good grip on the weapon. He slid his hand up until he could grip the actual gun. Now break his grip. He twisted. The guard yelled and let go. He stepped away and pointed it at the guard. He was probably holding it wrong.

The gun in his hands trembled, and for a second he was afraid his hands were shaking, then it flew up into the air and joined all the others Wanda had collected. Each one fell apart into several pieces, then dropped back down to the ground. The guards started to retreat.

"Spike!" Kitty called. Lance looked up and saw her and Todd running down the hall. "She's not here!"

Pietro dashed past them. "No one is. Whole place is cleared out. They knew we were coming."

"That's not quite true," a deep voice said from the far side of the room. "We knew someone would come, although I assumed it would be that group of sewer rats."

They all turned and saw a group of men standing at the entrance to one of the halls. The one in front looked like a vampire from an old movie with his white face, weird eyes, and dramatic cape with a collar taller than his head. The group behind him all wore similarly garish and dramatic outfits, which, compared with the all-black uniforms of the guards, suggested they were probably mutants.

Seriously, the colorful, superhero-like costumes had appealed to him too . . . at seventeen. Dark, comfortable clothes were much better for blending in, and they didn't stain so easy.

Evan took a step towards the vampire. "Say that again!"

The vampire ignored him. "So this is Mystique's Brotherhood I've heard so much about."

Todd joined Evan. "Yo, we don't work for Mystique no more! We do what we want!"

The vampire looked amused. "I'm sure you do. But since that now involves destroying my labs, I'm afraid I'll have to leave you to my Nasty Boys." He turned around and walked down the hall, waving to the group around him.

Fred looked over at Lance. "Did he just call them nasty boys?"

Lance didn't have a chance to answer, because Evan attacked them, shooting a wave of spikes at the group. Just before they reached their targets, the man with the pink hair and a striped purple and yellow jacket (seriously, why?) sucked in a breath--and yelled.

It was like nothing Lance had ever heard. Noise rattled around in his head until his ears went numb. The vibrations rattled the room and sent every one of them falling to their knees. Evan's spikes fell uselessly to the ground.

Lance clamped his hands over his ears and tried to make it stop. The sound waves pounded against him even as he curled up to shield himself. His head ached, his teeth rattled, and still the noise continued.

The ground under him shook. He needed the noise to stop. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt.

The ground rolled, and the sound cut off abruptly. His ears rang.

He sat up, and realized a large chunk of the ceiling had fallen just in front of the other group of mutants. He had done that.

Oh.

Oh no.

The building was still trembling, but he wasn't doing it. Another chunk of ceiling fell, and he could see the nasty group or whatever they were called running down the hall they had come from.

So there was another door. They had just missed it.

More of the ceiling fell, and Lance realized they had to let the group escape. Kitty and Pietro might be able to follow them without dying, but the rest of them couldn't. They needed to get out the way they came as fast as they could.

He made it to his feet and reached for Wanda's hand to help her up. Then he looked up and saw Kitty running for the hall the others had escaped down.

The last few guards fled after their employers, and Kitty ran after them. One of them grabbed for her as she passed, but she ducked under their arm. Her head turned, and she didn't see the guard ahead of her turn around and pull out his gun.

"Kitty!"

He didn't hear the gunshot, but he heard her scream.

Someone yelled her name. It wasn't him, because he just kept saying, "please please please," over and over as he ran to her. He didn't know who he was begging.

He knelt next to her, then froze when he saw the red stain spreading across her jacket and heard her gasping. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't a doctor. He couldn't help her. He couldn't get her out. He couldn't--

Someone balled up a jacket and pressed it to her side. "I need your help," Evan said, remarkably calmly. "We need to get her out of here, but she shouldn't move too much. Here, put your arm under her legs. I'll try to keep her steady as you pick her up."

Lance did everything Evan told him. "Move down." "Stop!" "Okay, get your arm under her shoulders." Kitty was unconscious by the time he finally stood up and carried her out. That couldn't be a good sign.

When he got out of the building, everyone else was there, except--

"Tabby ran ahead to the hospital," Fred told him. "She went--" He started to point, but Lance cut him off.

"I know where it is." He started walking as quickly as he could without jostling her too much.

Thankfully, the hospital wasn't far. He made it inside and heard Tabby shout, "There she is!"

A nurse ran over and helped him transfer her to one of those rolling beds. He asked Lance several questions about what had happened. Lance hoped his answers made sense, but he couldn't remember them. They wheeled her away, and another nurse directed him and Tabby to some seats where they could wait.

He couldn't shake the feeling he wouldn't see her again.

Chapter Text

Todd, Fred, and Wanda joined them in the waiting room a few minutes later. As Wanda sank into a chair, Lance realized how pale she was. She pulled her feet into her chair and hunched over.

She shouldn't have to be here. She hated hospitals. She hated doctors. He . . . he should help her. Talk to her. Make sure she was okay.

But . . . he couldn't.

The lump in his throat choked him, and he knew he wouldn't be able to speak. And even if he could, he couldn't think of anything to say. His thoughts just kept spiraling around Kitty, just a few rooms away.

What if they hadn't made it in time? What if the doctors couldn't help her? What if he hadn't done enough? What if she--

"Lance!"

He looked up. Tabitha was kneeling in front of him. She put her hands on his knees, grounding him. "Breathe. You're shaking the whole building, which isn't going to help. Just breathe. She'll be okay."

"How--how do you know?"

Tabby's calm mask slipped then, and he could see her fear in the tightness around her mouth. "Because she has to."

He swallowed. "Wanda--"

"Freddie's got her. She's okay. You just worry about you. Breathe."

He did his best to match her slow breathing, but it was hard to focus. He kept replaying the moment Kitty got shot, wondering what he had done wrong. He had made a mistake, he was sure of it. She had been working with the X-Men for years and had never been hurt this badly, and then the first time working with him . . .

The X-Men.

They didn't know.

They didn't even know she was in town, and now he had to tell them--

"Tabby, I need your phone."

She gave him a strange look, but pulled it out. He took it and flipped through her contacts until he found the one he was looking for. He hit call before he could lose his nerve.

"Hey, kid, what's up?" Wolverine asked when the ringing stopped.

"It's Lance," he blurted out. "The hospital at the edge of town--you should come. It's Kitty. She . . . she . . ." His throat tightened again, and he couldn't continue.

There was silence on the other side, and Lance wondered if Wolverine was plotting his murder. "I'll be there." He hung up. Lance handed Tabby's phone back.

"It's not going to be good when he gets here," she said.

"I know, but he needed to know."

"Yeah."

She stood up and found her own chair, leaving Lance alone with his thoughts once more.

He shouldn't have let Kitty come back to Bayville with him. He should have told her to stay home.

Of course I'm coming with you!

Then again, would he have been able to make her stay? He already knew the answer to that. She had known it would be dangerous to help Evan, and she had decided to go anyway. They all had.

Wait. "Where's Evan?"

"Waiting outside," Todd said. "Think he was worried they'd kick us all out. Pietro's out there too. He didn't want to have to sit inside so long."

Lance wanted to hit something. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that Evan, who had been friends with Kitty longer than he had, couldn't even wait in the hospital with them just because his mutation was more obvious. It made him sick.

Sooner than he expected, Lance heard a familiar voice asking for Kitty Pryde. The nurse told him she was in surgery, and he could take a seat down the hall. Lance braced himself for all the questions Wolverine would throw at him.

The footsteps sounded wrong, but it didn't really register until hands grabbed the collar of his shirt and hauled him out of his chair. "What did you do?" Summers' voice was hard.

"I didn't do anything!" Lance protested.

Kurt appeared over Summers' shoulder, wearing his image inducer. "Scott, maybe we shouldn't--"

Scott pushed him away. "If you didn't do anything, then why is she here?"

"It was my fault."

All three boys turned at Wanda's words. She stared down at her hands. Lance's stomach twisted as he realized this was why she had been so quiet the entire time.

Summers let go of Lance, who stumbled back into his chair. "What do you mean?" He took a step towards Wanda, who shrank back further, and Lance might have hit him right there and gotten kicked out if Fred hadn't intervened, standing up between Summers and Wanda.

Sure Fred was a big guy, but when other people called him intimidating, Lance just had to laugh. He'd seen him cry over too many sappy movies. Now, though, he could see it, and he knew that if he were Summers, he'd turn around and leave right then.

Summers was either braver or more stupid than Lance had given him credit for. He faltered a step, then straightened up.

"It wasn't her fault," Lance said quickly, before things could escalate. "It wasn't anyone's fault. Kitty . . . she knew what she was getting into."

Summers rounded on him again. "Are you saying it's Kitty's fault?"

"That's not what I said!"

Summers opened his mouth to reply, but a hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Sit down, Slim," Wolverine said.

"But, Logan--"

"I said sit down."

Summers sat, and, slowly, Fred did as well. Wolverine crossed his arms and surveyed the group. "Now, I don't care who blames who. I wanna know what happened."

"She got shot," Tabby said bluntly. Everyone turned to her.

"Shot?" Kurt shrieked. "How did that happen?"

"We were helping Evan," Lance said. "One of the Morlocks was kidnapped a few days ago, so he asked us to help free her. They must have known we were coming, though, because she was gone when we got there. We managed to get out, but one of the guards pulled out a gun, and--Kitty, she didn't see it in time. She--she couldn't phase . . ."

Summers crossed his arms. "If that's true, where's Evan?"

"Outside. With Pietro."

"Really? Then why isn't he in here?"

"Why do you think, Summers?" Kurt flinched, but Summers either didn't notice or didn't care.

"Maybe . . . maybe I should go outside with Evan," Kurt said.

Summers still clearly didn't believe Lance's story. "But if Evan needed help, why didn't he come to us?"

Oh no. There was no way Lance was getting into the middle of that. "Maybe you should ask him."

"The guys you went after . . ." Wolverine said slowly. "What do you know about them?"

Lance shrugged. "Not much. It was a group of mutants I've never seen before."

"Their place was totally creepy." Tabby shivered. "Like some sort of underground lab. Definitely nothing good going on down there."

"The leader, he looked like a vampire or something," Lance continued. "And not like he was just dressing up. His skin was way too pale, and his eyes were . . . weird."

"Sinister," Wolverine growled.

Tabby shrugged one shoulder. "Not exactly the word I'd use, but sure."

"No, that's his name. Mister Sinister."

Tabby scoffed. "Creative."

"Mr. Alvers?"

Lance turned around and saw a nurse standing in the door. Weird. He couldn't remember giving any of them his name. "Yeah?"

"Miss Pryde is awake and asking for you."

He shot to his feet, and everyone else sat up straighter.

"Is she okay?" Wanda asked.

"She's in pain and it will take some time to heal, but she'll be fine soon enough."

Lance heard a collective sigh as he started to follow the nurse out of the hall, then stopped. He looked back at Wolverine. "Maybe you should--"

"Just go, kid. She wants to see you, not me."

That might be just because she didn't know Wolverine was here, but Lance decided not to argue. He followed the nurse down the hall and to a room. The nurse knocked, then strode in without waiting for an answer, but Lance hesitated at the door. He could see her lying on the bed, eyes closed and so still. She looked asleep. Asleep or--

She turned her head, and he could breathe again. Her eyes cracked open and she smiled when she saw him. "Lance."

"Hey." He stepped into the room, grabbed one of the chairs by the wall and set it beside the bed. The nurse finished checking . . . whatever she was looking for, and she left the room.

"How are you feeling?" Okay, that was a stupid question.

Her eyes closed again, and she wrinkled her nose. "Like I've been shot."

He froze. Did she not know what happened? She was still clearly recovering from whatever drugs the doctor used to put her under. Was that confusing her?

She opened one eye and looked at him. "That was a joke. You can laugh."

"That's not funny!"

Her lips twitched as she closed her eyes again. "Sorry. Guess I should wait a week or two."

"It won't be funny then either."

Her hand slid out from under the blanket and to the edge of the bed, reaching towards him. He wrapped his own hand around hers. "Is everyone else okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, they're fine. They're all sitting out in the hallway waiting to see you."

Her smile grew. "Really?"

"They were all pretty worried."

"I guess you should go get them then."

"Right now?" He didn't want to leave her yet, and he really didn't want to know how Summers would react if he came back out just to bring the rest of the Brotherhood to her room.

She squeezed his hand. "Not yet. Stay another minute."

He smiled. "Okay." She settled back into her pillow, and he reached over to brush her hair out of her face. After the stress of the past few hours, the quiet moment was exactly what they both needed, and he didn't want to ruin it.

But she needed to know what happened. "I have a confession to make."

She didn't open her eyes, but her lips twisted into a frown. "That doesn't sound good."

"Tabby, Wanda, and the boys aren't the only ones here to see you."

"They aren't?"

"No." He had to just get it over with. "Wolverine, Summers, and Kurt are here too."

She was so silent and still that for a moment he thought she had fallen asleep. Then, "Is this a joke?"

"I wish."

Her eyes flew open. "Why are they here?"

Lance rubbed the back of his neck. "I--I panicked, okay? And I thought they should know."

And they're out there now?"

"Yes."

"With the others?"

"Um, yes?"

She groaned and closed her eyes again. "I should have just told them months ago." She turned her head and looked up at him. "Are you okay?"

He knew she didn't just mean physically this time. "Me? I'm fine!" Well, he was now anyway.

"And everyone else?" She narrowed her eyes. "And don't you dare lie to me. I'll ask Pietro too when he gets in here."

Okay, that was just unfair. "They're fine. I mean, Wanda's not . . . not great. She thinks it's her fault you, well . . ."

"That's ridiculous!"

"I know. I'm sure she'll feel better when she knows you don't blame her."

Kitty pursed her lips, and her eyes drifted over to the window. "Will you send Logan, Scott, and Kurt in here? I want to go ahead and talk to them, preferably before anyone gets into a fight."

He must not have done a good job keeping his face straight, because as soon as she looked back at him, she frowned. "Lance . . ."

"It wasn't a big deal," he said quickly. "We didn't actually get into a fight."

"What happened?"

"Summers just . . . heard Wanda say what happened was her fault, and kinda got mad." She scowled, and he hurried on. "It was fine. I mean, Wolverine got him to calm down before anything else happened. Otherwise I think Freddie would have sent him through a wall, but that's, um, not the point." He was doing a terrible job explaining. "Sorry, maybe I shouldn't have called them."

She sighed. "No, I'm glad you did. This would be even worse to explain later."

"I'll go get them." Her hand tightened on his as he stood up, then she let go. He left the room and shut the door again, then walked back to the hall where everyone was waiting. He looked at Wolverine, who had clearly been waiting for him. (Could he hear him coming down the hall?). "She wants to see you. All three of you."

Wolverine nodded and stood up, then glanced over at the door. Todd hopped off his chair. "I'll go get Blue Boy." Summers grimaced, but didn't protest. He and Wolverine left the room.

"Third door on the left," Lance said as they passed, then he sat next to Wanda. "How are you doing?"

"Fine." She crossed her arms and sank further in her chair. "I'm not the one who's hurt."

"That's not what I meant." She said nothing. "Listen, what happened wasn't your fault. Kitty doesn't think so either."

She glanced at him, then her eyes darted away. "I want to see her."

He sighed. "I know. Just give them a minute first. Kitty was worried they might start something if they stayed out here much longer."

"I can't imagine why," Todd said, coming back in with Kurt and Pietro. "I bet she had one person in mind in particular, and his name starts with "S" and ends with "cott".

Kurt winced. "He's just . . . worried."

"And we aren't?" Lance asked, then regretted it. He didn't want to fight with Kurt too."

Kurt ducked his head. "Todd said I could . . ."

"Third door on the left."

Kurt nodded, then scanned the group. "Aren't you going?"

Todd shrugged. "We'll see her later."

Kurt frowned. "But--"

"Just go, Blue," Tabby said. "We can wait our turn."

Still, Kurt hesitated. He glanced over at Wanda, who seemed to be trying to melt into her chair. "Do you want to come?"

She looked up and stared at him for a long moment. "What?"

"Do you want to come with me? I'll make sure Scott doesn't say anything."

Wanda pulled her arms tighter across her chest and stared at him as though the offer were a trap. Then she breathed out slowly and stood up. "Yes." Kurt smiled and led her down the hall. Lance breathed a sigh of relief when they left. Hopefully seeing Kitty would help Wanda.

He looked over at Todd. "You told Evan she's okay, right?"

"Yeah. Told him she was out of surgery, you talked to her, and she wanted to see the X-geeks. He left and said he'd come see her when we get her back home."

That was assuming she wanted to go back to the Maximoff's place. The mansion actually had decent medical equipment rather than a bottle of ibuprofen and a box of bandaids. Not to mention the people she actually considered family.

Chapter Text

"Hey, Half-pint."

Kitty smiled when Logan walked into the room. The nurse had helped her sit up, and she was grateful she didn't have to look up at him. "Hey."

"I didn't know you were in town."

Well, if that's all the accusation she got, this would be a much easier conversation than she anticipated. "I wasn't planning to stay long. And I definitelywasn't planning to go to the hospital."

"Kitty, what were you thinking?" Ah yes, Scott would definitely not take this so well as Logan seemed to be.

"I was trying to help my friends and protect someone. That's what we do, isn't it?"

"But why didn't you get us?"

"Because Evan asked the Brotherhood for help, not you. It wasn't my choice to make. Besides, you've never liked working with them anyway."

"So, what, you're joining the Brotherhood now? What happened to you?"

"What do you mean what happened to me? I'm not joining the Brotherhood, but they are my friends, and that doesn't mean there's something wrong with me."

He sighed. "Listen, I know you always liked Lance, but--"

"Not just Lance! They're all my friends!"

He crossed his arms and shook his head. "I don't get you. It's like you've forgotten everything they did."

"Oh, like we were perfect? We were kids, Scott! All of us, and we all messed up, and that doesn't excuse them, but it doesn't excuse us either!" She wanted to cross her arms, but as soon as she shifted, pain shot through her side, and she decided against it. The heart monitor beeped faster, just in case anyone hadn't realized yet that she was angry. She took a couple breaths to calm down.

"If you're just going to complain about my life choices, then I don't want to talk to you right now."

Scott gritted his teeth, but walked to the door. He stopped as he opened it and said, "I hope you feel better soon."

"Thanks. And, Scott . . . I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

He nodded and left. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Well, that went about as well as I was expecting."

"Hmm." Logan agreed.

She cracked her eyes open and peeked at him. "Are you going to get mad at me too?"

"Nope. I just wanted to tell you you can call me whenever you need to."

She sighed and tilted her head back. "I know, but like I said, Evan asked for our help, and I thought we could handle it."

"Bad luck comes to us all, kid. Sometimes we walk away from something we probably shouldn't have, and sometimes a simple task goes all wrong." She smiled and reached over to take his hand. He squeezed hers.

"Sooo, you're not going to lecture me about going out with Lance?"

Logan sighed. "I don't like it, but you're an adult. And, well, it's pretty clear he cares about you." He frowned. "But he hurts you, and I'll take care of it."

She gave a slight smile. "Don't worry. I think he knows."

"Besides, I always thought you and Rogue had more in common than you thought."

"Yeah, I guess that's true." She sighed, turning to the window. It had been a while since she'd seen Rogue, and she missed her.

Wait.

She jerked her head back to look at Logan, wincing at the pain. "You knew about that?"

He rolled his eyes. "Half-pint, if you still lived at the mansion most of the time, I would have learned about your secret boyfriend a long time ago."

Oh, yeah.

"Ooh, secret boyfriend?" Kurt poked his head through the door. He wagged his eyebrows. "Are we interrupting something?"

Kitty grinned. "Kurt!"

"It was hardly a secret," Wanda said, stepping into the room after him. She leaned against the far wall and crossed her arms. "Not when you guys are always practically on top of each other."

"We are not!"

Wanda rolled her eyes, expressing her feelings as loud as if she had shouted them. Kitty noticed she wouldn't look at her, though. She just leaned into the wall and twisted her rings.

Kurt sat on the end of the bed. "So how long are you in town? And why didn't you tell us you were coming?"

Kitty groaned. "We were supposed to leave today so we can get back to work and school, but obviously that's not happening now."

"Will you come back to the mansion?" Logan asked. "We can take care of you there."

"I can't. Not right now. Besides, I do have to go back to school as soon as I can, and if I even, like, set foot in there right now, they won't let me leave for months."

Logan frowned, but nodded. "Well, if you're sure you're okay, we should be heading back home."

"What?" Kurt protested. "But I only just got here!"

"And you can visit her again later." Logan grabbed the back of Kurt's shirt, making the image-inducer flicker. "Let's go."

"But Logan--!"

Logan turned around. "Call if you need us." Kitty nodded. "I'll send in the other kids."

"Thank you."

"I'll come visit later, Kitty!" Kurt called.

"You better!"

As silence returned, Kitty glanced over at the room's only other occupant. "Wanda--"

"I'm sorry," Wanda interrupted. "You wouldn't even be here if it weren't for me, and I was the one who decided we would help Evan, and--"

"Wanda, it's not your fault! I decided I wanted to come along, and I was the one who wasn't paying enough attention."

Wanda swallowed and stared out the window. "You were supposed to be at school."

"Yeah, but what are friends for if not to look for you when you go missing?" Wanda's lips twitched, then she turned back and both girls grinned at each other.

"You know," Tabby said, pulling her feet up onto the end of the hospital bed. The nurse definitely wouldn't like that. "Next time you want to know if we all love you, you can just ask." Kitty grinned.

"Does it hurt?" Freddy asked.

Pietro rolled his eyes. "She got shot, Freddy. Of course it hurts." Lance winced.

"Actually, they gave me a lot of pain medicine," Kitty said. "So it doesn't hurt much unless I move . . . or breathe."

"Oh, that's fine then," Todd snickered. "Just don't breathe."

"Todd . . ." Lance began.

"Sorry, sorry."

Kitty looked like she was biting back a grin. "I can't laugh either."

Todd rolled his eyes back and dramatically fell to the floor. "Oh no. Guess I'll have to stay away. I'm too funny for my own good."

Lance rolled his eyes and nudged Todd's arm away with his shoe. "You're certainly something."

A sharp knock at the door startled them all, and a nurse walked in. "Miss Pryde, I have some things to go over with--" She broke off as she looked up at the room full of people, including Todd still lying on the floor. "Oh." Todd smirked and sat up, bounding into the chair next to Wanda.

"It's fine," Kitty assured her. "Whatever it is, they can hear it too."

"Are they family then?"

"No," Lance said, at the same time that Wanda said, "Yes."

Tabby snickered at the nurse's confusing, then grinned and shrugged. "Kinda?" Oh yeah, that definitely cleared things up.

Everyone turned to Kitty, who was clearly trying not to laugh. "They're sort of family, and they're the ones I'm staying with now."

"Wait, what?"

Everyone turned to look at Lance. Todd raised and eyebrow and chuckled. "I don't know if you noticed, but she's kinda been staying at the Maximoff's place with you the last couple days."

"I know that, Todd! But don't you want to go back home?"

Kitty frowned. "Back to my apartment? I don't think that's a good idea, and I definitely don't want to ride in the car several hours tonight."

"No, I mean to the mansion."

"I told you already, I am not sneaking you into the mansion, and after how things went with Scott earlier, I wouldn't think you'd want--"

"That's not what I mean, and you know it!"

"Um--" the nurse began, but Todd interrupted her.

"Just give them a minute. They'll be done soon. They just like arguing."

"We do not!" they both said. Todd stepped back and raised his hands over his head

"I told you already that I didn't want to go to the mansion," Kitty said. "So why would you think I suddenly want to now?"

"Because your family is there! Your friends! And they can take better care of you there."

"You're my family too! Just what do you think we're doing, Lance? Do you think I'm just dating you for the fun of it?" That . . . had definitely crossed his mind, but there was no way he was admitting it. She was waiting for an answer, though, and his silence was definitely not it.

"I love you, and I'm staying with you," she said firmly.

It was hardly the first time he had heard her say those words, but it was the first time it really hit him that she meant it. She loved and wanted him.

"Soo . . . we good now?" Pietro asked, breaking the silence.

Lance said nothing, so Kitty turned to Pietro. "Unless you decide to kick me out," she said. "I guess I should have asked you that first."

"You're staying," Wanda said firmly.

Pietro shrugged. "It'd be a hassle to move you somewhere else now."

Todd stood up on his chair and peered at the papers in the nurse's hand. "So what did you want to tell us?"

"Umm . . ." She stared around the room. "I, uh, I have the discharge paperwork that needs to be signed, and also a set of instructions for . . . whoever she's staying with about medications and how to care for her at home."

She pulled out a set of stapled pages, but clearly had no idea who to hand it to. Pietro snatched it up, flipped through it too fast to see, then tossed it to Lance.

"Says you're not supposed to move too much and you need to stay home," Pietro said pointedly.

"I know. You don't have to rub it in."

"So does that mean she's free to go now?" Lance asked.

"We need to go over this paperwork, but after that, yes," the nurse said.

The paperwork took forever, but eventually it was finished, Kitty was transferred to a folding wheelchair, and Pietro had picked up both Tabby's and Lance's cars so they could all drive home. (He still didn't have a driver's license since he kept failing the driving test, but no one bothered to point this out.)

Kitty sighed when they arrived back at the duplex. "I'm so glad to be back."

"Yeah, me too," Lance said as he picked her up and carried her inside.

As soon as Pietro got the door open, Wanda ran to the couch and fixed it up for Kitty to stay there, and Pietro dragged the palate she had used the night before out of Wanda's room.

"Hey, Lance, where do you want this?" he called.

"Mind if I sleep in here with you?" Lance asked, and Kitty smiled and shook her head.

"Beside the couch," he called, and Pietro nodded and dragged it over.

"Do you want to sit or lay down?" Lance asked when they reached the couch.

"Lay down. I'm already tired again."

"Yeah, I think I need a nap too."

He got her situated on the couch, then he and Wanda hovered around to make sure she didn't need anything else. After she assured them multiple times that she didn't, they all decided Kitty had the right idea and went to their respective beds to sleep.

Lance laid down and pulled the covers up over him. As he rolled over on his side, Kitty let her hand hang over the side of the couch. He reached over and squeezed it, and a minute later, he was asleep.

Chapter Text

Lance woke to a knock on the door. It took a second to remember it wasn't his door, but then he rolled over and decided to go back to sleep.

Unfortunately, neither of the twins got up to answer it, and the knocking started again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he grumbled, shoving the blankets away. He glanced over at the couch. Kitty was still asleep, which was good. She probably needed it.

He opened the door, then immediately winced as the setting sun shone directly into his eyes. He slapped a hand over his eyes and tilted his head down. "What do you want?"

Now that the glare was gone, he could vaguely make out four figures on the steps, but he focused on the one in front, whose face was definitely blue. "If you're here to see Kitty, you'll have to come back later. She's asleep."

Kurt's tail swished back and forth. "Um, actually we're not here to see her. Well, we are, but that's not the only--"

"We want to help," a girl said, stepping forward and elbowing Kurt out of the way. Lance squinted to try and make out her face. It was that friend of Tabby's. What was her name again?

Then her words caught up with him. His brain was still foggy from sleep, so maybe he misheard? "What?'

"We heard about Sinister and the Morlocks, and we want to help," the girl, Amara, said.

Okay . . . there was something he was missing. There must be. The X-Men didn't just help the Brotherhood. That wasn't how it worked.

"Why?"

"People need to know you can't just mess with the Morlocks," the tall boy behind Amara said. "They're our friends too."

"And . . . we thought you might need more people," Kurt said. "Since Kitty . . ."

Lance frowned. He didn't like this, but Kurt was right. If they were going against those other mutants again, they would need more help.

"I don't know." He folded his arms. "Is Papa Wolverine gonna show up and yell at my team for dragging his precious kids into this?"

"No," the tall guy assured him. He shifted, and Lance got a better glimpse of his hair and earrings. Ray. "We told him where we were going, and he said we're old enough to decide for ourselves."

"Well, most of us told him," Amara said with a pointed look at the kid in the back. Lance's stomach dropped. Surely they hadn't actually let--

"I go out with you guys all the time!" Jamie insisted.

"Oh no," Lance said. "Absolutely not. You are not coming with us to fight Sinister."

"What, why? I'm seventeen!"

"Yeah, so not an adult."

"I'm the same age as you when you started fighting!"

Oh. Oh that was a terrifying thought.

"I still said no." Lance put his hand on his hips and shot the kid the look that always shut Pietro up when they argued. "I'm not going back to Wolverine and telling him I let his kid get hurt. The rest of you, it's Evan's decision, but I don't know when he's coming back. Pietro said he left to figure out where Sinister's guys took that girl."

"Lance, what's going on?" Wanda asked behind him.

He turned around and stepped out of the door, jerking a thumb at the group. "They just showed up and said they want to help."

Wanda blinked blearily, then her gaze locked on Kurt. "You want to help find--help fight Sinister?"

Kurt rubbed the back of his neck and his tail swished back and forth. Lance narrowed his eyes. Was he . . . blushing?. "Um, ja? If you, uh, want help that is."

Wanda frowned at him, then shrugged slightly and turned around, leaving the door open.

"Uh . . ." Kurt looked over at Lance. "Does that mean we can come in, or . . ."

"That's as close to an invitation as you'll get in this house." Kurt grinned and cheerfully led the others inside.

Lance shut the door and turned to Wanda. "Maybe we should get Pietro up and tell him--"

She waved her hand, then a thud and a yelp came from Pietro's room. "He's up." Lance sighed. He probably should have just gotten him up himself.

"What was that for?" Pietro asked, running into the room. Then he noticed the others. "What are they doing here?"

Lance shrugged. "Helping apparently." Pietro rolled his eyes and ran into the kitchen, grumbling about uninvited guests and nobody ever telling him anything.

"Ignore him," Lance said.

Amara looked over at Kitty, still asleep on the couch. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine. Just sleeping off the medication."

Another knock sounded at the door, and Lance looked at Kurt and raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? How many of you are coming?"

Kurt raised his hands defensively. "It's not us."

Lance frowned. The knocking grew more insistent, and he cracked the door open, then realized it was just Evan, and opened it further. He opened his mouth to ask why he wanted to beat the door down, but Evan stepped inside and interrupted.

"Caliban said they've moved her to the docks. We need to move now, or they could leave and we'll never be able to rescue her!"

Lance turned around to make sure everyone heard, then he noticed how pale Wanda had grown. "Wanda?"

"We need to go," she said, grabbing Kurt's arm and practically hauling him out of the room. "Pietro!"

"I know, I know, I'm coming!" he shouted from the kitchen.

"We're going too," Amara told Evan.

"Good, we need more people."

Lance crossed over to the couch, and knelt beside it. "Kitty, hey, Kitty."

"Mmmph."

"Kitty, wake up a second."

"Why," she groaned.

"We're going after Sinister again. We can't wait. Jamie's staying here with you, so tell him if you need anything."

"Hey!" Jamie protested.

Kitty's face scrunched up. "Jamie? What's he doing here?"

"He, Kurt, Amara, and Ray came to help out. The other three are coming with us. We'll be back soon."

He tried to stand up, but she grabbed his arm. "Wait. Be careful."

"We will," he promised, then kissed her forehead.

Jamie sat on the end of the couch and folded his arms, clearly sulking. Lance pretended not to notice. "Lock the door behind us." Jamie nodded.

Lance joined everyone else outside and did a quick head count. "Okay, Kurt, can you teleport Pietro to the docks? I need you both to scout ahead and see what you can find. The rest of us will take the car."

"It'll take a couple trips," Kurt said, "But I can do that." He held out his hand, and Pietro reluctantly took it. The two vanished in a cloud of sulfurous smoke.

Lance pulled out his keys and started his car. Evan climbed into the passenger seat, and Amara, Ray, and Wanda piled into the back. "Wanda," Lance said, "Call Tabby, Todd, and Fred and let them know where to meet us."

When they reached the docks, Pietro zipped up to the car and Kurt appeared in a puff of smoke. "We didn't see anyone here," Pietro said, "So they must all be on the boat already."

"But how do we know which one?" Ray asked.

Pietro pointed at one of the boats. "I saw one of the guys who attacked us boarding that one, but then they pulled up that thing you use to get up on the ship--"

"Gangplank," Kurt said.

"Yeah, that. Anyway, we're not going up the normal way."

"Yay, boats," Amara muttered. "My powers won't work for long.

"Yeah," Lance said. "Mine aren't going to be any help."

A car horn honked, and everyone jumped. Tabby's car pulled up, and she leaned out the window. "Did someone call for a rescue team?"

"Just get out here," Lance called. She grinned and parked, then she, Todd, and Fred climbed out. Lance scanned the group, thinking. "Kurt, can you get us up on the ship?"

"I can, but only a couple at a time."

Lance nodded. "Take Pietro and Tabitha first. Tabby, you be as loud and distracting as you can without sinking the ship, got it? And Pietro, we need you to take out the weapons before anyone gets hurt." No one else was getting shot on his watch. "Then take Wanda, Ray, Fred, and Todd. You guys will also be a distraction. Then Evan and I can go look for the girl." He turned to Amara. "We need to make sure they can't leave until we're done. Can you--"

She grinned. "I got it." She ran to the edge of the dock, raised her arms, and he watched as fire coated her body, turning her form into a dark silhouette. Lance looked back at the group and realized Pietro, Kurt, and Tabby were already gone. Kurt appeared again, and then Wanda and Ray vanished. A few seconds later, sounds of a fight broke out on the ship. Kurt appeared again and grabbed Fred and Todd.

Evan and Lance looked at each other. "You ready?" Lance asked. Evan nodded.

Kurt appeared between them, grabbed both their arms, and then the world vanished in a puff of smoke.

A fight materialized around them, involving the mutants they had seen back at the lab, and several guards. The guy with the pink hair who had stopped them before stumbled around, clawing at the slime that now covered his face. Lance was glad Todd had taken care of him so quick.

Lance and Evan pushed their way through the crowd and found a door with a ladder down into the ship. Evan climbed down first, then Lance. When he reached the floor, Lance glanced up to make sure no one was following them, then the two boys ran down the corridor of boxes.

No, not boxes. They were cages.

Every one of them was empty, so the boys kept running until the path split in two. "I'll go left," Lance said without slowing, and Evan ran right. The boxes turned the corner and ran back the other way, but all of them seemed to be empty.

No, wait. The one all the way at the end held a small figure. Lance slowed his pace. "Hey, kid, you okay?"

The figure looked up, and he realized she was much older than he had originally thought, just folded in on herself. She was probably fifteen, sixteen? Her face looked vaguely familiar, but he was fairly certain he had never met her before. Her hair was shaved, but he could still make out a rather distinctive shade of green that matched her eyebrows. He would definitely have remembered that.

"Who are you?"

He knelt down to try to look less intimidating. "I'm here to get you out. I'm, a, uh acquaintance of Evan's."

She perked up. "Evan's here?"

"Yep." He stood up and turned around. "Hey, Evan, I found her!" He turned back to the crate and scanned it, but he couldn't find a door, lock, or set of hinges. "This is . . . weird." The whole thing was wood. If he had a hammer, he could pull the nails out, but he had nothing.

Wait . . . those weren't nails. They were pegs. Was this whole thing made of wood?

"You found her?" Evan turned the corner.

"Evan!" the girl called.

"Lorna!" Evan stopped a few feet away from the crate and held his arm out. "Get back."

She huddled against the far end, and he shot several spikes into the wood until it splintered. Lance kicked it several times until he got a hole big enough for the girl to crawl out of.

She stood up and ran to Evan. She was a little taller than Evan, but when Lance realized just how skinny she was, he decided it might be worth it to go back up and join the fight if only to punch this Sinister guy in the face.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

She glared at him (why did that feel so familiar?) and lifted her chin. "Of course I can." He felt bad she felt so insulted, but looking at her sunken cheeks and stick-thin legs, he thought it was a reasonable question.

"Okay, let's go find Kurt." Evan led the way back to the stairs and pretended not to let the girl lean on him. Lance followed.

He was halfway up the ladder when he heard Lorna scream above him. "No, Evan!" He reached the top and saw that Evan had been dragged into the fight with a man who seemed like he was half gorilla or something. Evan seemed to be holding his own just fine, so Lance grabbed Lorna's arm and tried to lead her away to Kurt.

"No!"

"Evan's fine," he promised. "Come on, we need to get out of here. Evan will come too."

"NO!"

The ship started to rock harder than it had before, and Lance knew this wasn't natural. "Hey, hey, what are you doing?"

She screamed again, and suddenly all the broken guns Pietro had left on the floor began to float. The knives the guards were using wrenched themselves out of their hands. The floor of the ship began to twist under their feet.

"Wanda, stop, or you're going to get us all killed!" Tabby shrieked.

"It's not me!" Wanda said.

At that moment, Lance realized exactly why Lorna looked so familiar, and why Evan had gone to Wanda first when she disappeared. And he knew if he didn't calm this girl down quick, things were about to get a whole lot worse.

He grabbed both her arms and turned her towards him. "Evan is fine. He's fought much tougher people, and he'll be okay, but if you don't calm down and stop messing with this ship, he and all my friends are going to die, and we won't be able to get you home. I need you to breathe and let go of the ship, okay? We're going to get you and Evan out, but you've got to stop messing with he ship."

She took a deep breath, then another. Slowly, slowly, the ground settled under their feet and the guns and knives fell.

"Kurt, get over here!" Lance shouted. Kurt appeared beside him. Lance shoved Lorna's hand in his. "Get her to Amara, then come back for the rest of us." He looked back at Lorna. "I'm going to help Evan now."

She nodded slightly, then she and Kurt vanished. Lance picked up one of the knives on the ground, then ran for Evan--right as he slammed the gorilla guy into a wall and knocked him out.

Evan turned around, eyes growing wide as he scanned the crowd. "Lorna--"

"Kurt took her."

He nodded, and Kurt appeared between them, grabbing their shoulders, and suddenly they were on solid ground once again. Kurt disappeared again, and Lance looked around for Amara.

She still stood on the edge of the water with Lorna beside her. A line of rock broke the surface of the water, just beyond the ship. As he watched, the wall grew up. "Amara!"

She turned, and he ran over to her. "Kurt's getting everyone else out, so can you get rid of the wall now? We want them to leave." She nodded, waved her hands, and a loud crack sounded in the air. The surface of the rock sank back under, and the water swirled over it.

Lance turned back, checked to make sure Kurt had gotten everyone back, then turned to Lorna. "Can you do one thing for me?" She nodded. "I want you to push them as far out as you can. Hopefully they'll get the message and they won't come back to Bayville."

She turned to the water, held up both her hands, then screamed as she shoved her hands out. Suddenly the ship moved, faster than he thought possible, skimming through the water. Well, that was definitely a message.

Lorna swayed slightly, and Lance reached out and grabbed her just as she was about to fall. Wanda and Fred ran over. "Get her to the car," Lance said, and Fred scooped her up and carried her to Tabby's car. Wanda and Amara started to follow, but Lance grabbed Wanda's arm to stop her.

"You knew," he said. "You knew who she is."

She glared. How did it take so long for him to figure it out? Sure the Maximoffs' complexions were several shades darker than Lorna's and they all had very different colors of hair, but now that he was looking, all three of them shared the same nose, and that glare was identical.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

"Wanda, I hope by now you've figured out you can trust me."

Her frown deepened, but then she finally said, "I didn't know until Evan told me. He was going to tell her first, but then she disappeared, and he thought I should know."

"What about Pietro? Does he know?"

"Not yet. I haven't told him."

"It won't take long for him to figure it out himself. You should tell him soon."

She looked away and twisted one of her rings. "I know."

Lance threw his arm over her shoulders and grinned. "Come on, let's get home."

They all went back to the Maximoff's place, and when they got in, Kitty looked up from the card game she was playing with Jamie (and Jamie and Jamie) and said, "You're home!" Lance smiled and dropped onto the couch beside her before anyone else could claim that spot.

"Oh, yeah," Pietro said. "Now you're just calling this place home. Just move in, why don't you? Bad enough that you just drop in without letting us know."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Jamie, throw a pillow at him for me. The doctor said I'm not supposed to move too much."

Jamie frowned and tilted his head. "But wouldn't he just move out of the way?"

"Stop being so logical." She turned to Lance. "So everything went alright?"

He gestured to Lorna walking in the room. "See for yourself."

Kitty's mouth fell open when she saw her. "Oh, wow." Lorna frowned and shrank back, but then Kitty smiled. "Your hair is, like, gorgeous!"

Lorna shook her head. "It's not. They cut it all off."

It'll grow back, though. And it's such a pretty color!" Lorna smiled slightly, but continued to stand by a wall.

Wanda walked over to her and pointed at a chair. "Sit." Lorna blinked. "Sit," Wanda said again. "I'm going to get you some food." Slowly, Lorna obeyed, and Wanda headed into the kitchen.

"How old are you?" Kitty asked.

Lorna pulled her feet up into the chair and tilted her head down, speaking to her knees. "Eighteen."

Blood rushed in Lance's ears. Eighteen? He thought she couldn't be more than sixteen.

"So you live with the Morlocks, right?" Kurt asked.

Lorna shrugged. "I didn't have anywhere else."

"I want you to live here," Wanda said, coming back into the room with a sandwich, which she held out to Lorna. The room fell silent, and Pietro gaped at her.

Lorna lifted her head to peek over her knees. "Why?"

"I just do." Wanda paused, then said "If you want."

Lorna stared at her, then slowly took the sandwich. She took a bite and chewed it. When she swallowed, she said, "Maybe."

"Do I get a say in this?" Pietro asked. Wanda grabbed his arm, then hauled him outside. Everyone stared awkwardly at the shut door.

"Why don't we all play a game?" Ray asked, collecting the cards from all three Jamie's and Kitty.

"Hey!" Jamie complained. "I was using those!"

"I like card games!" Fred said, sitting with them. Kurt, Amara, Todd, Evan, and Tabby joined them, and Lorna watched from her chair.

Kitty looked at Lance and patted the spot on the couch right beside her. "Come here."

"Ugh, moving is too much work."

She frowned. "You know I can't move. Just get over here." He grinned and slid over. He wrapped his arm around her, careful not to touch her bandages, then leaned his head on hers.

Pietro ran inside, stopped in front of Lorna's chair, and said, "You're staying." He pointed at her, then dashed off to Wanda's room.

Wanda followed him inside, shaking her head. She and Evan exchanged an annoyed but amused look. "Only if you want to," Wanda said.

Kitty looked up curiously at Lance. He mouthed, I'll tell you later.

She nodded and settled against him. "When are we going home?"

"I think it's a little late to go now," he said, "And besides, I'm too tired to drive, and you need to stay somewhere we can keep an eye on you."

"So stay a few more days then?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'll have to ask for time off work, though." He frowned. That would be hard to explain.

"Just tell them there was a family emergency, and I'm sure they'll understand," she said. "That's what I did."

He watched his--their--family sitting in the middle of the living room, bickering over the rules to whatever card game they had decided on, and he smiled.

"Yeah, you're probably right."