Notes: Takes off from the events of New X-Men 116, "E is for
Extinction," and the end of Uncanny X-Men 398, "Poptopia." Props to
Grant Morrison for Xavier's opening lines.
 

"I feel that it's finally time to put an end to masks. An end to hiding our gifts
behind secret identities and ill-fitting clothes. Ladies and gentlemen, my name is
Charles Xavier, also known as Professor X, and I am a mutant..." The
television droned on in the never-ending coverage of CNN Headline News, but
Kitty Pryde no longer heard the words.

Her small cell phone dropped from nerveless fingers after her tenth attempt to
call the mansion. All circuits were busy, the cloying operator's voice told her.

"My God...." she whispered, watching the images on the screen of ranting
protesters and burning effigies of mutants in front of her former home. One
sign read 'God hates muties,' she noted, a tear sliding down her cheek. "My
God, why?"

>*<

It seemed an eternity had passed since Kitty had walked out these doors,
vowing to never return. But I have to know, she thought, studying the old
wood while protesters shouted hate to her from the gates of the estate. I have
to know.

The door swung open, unaided by any visible hand, and startled Kitty from her
thoughts. It was an old horror movie trick, yet as familiar as she was with
mutant telekinisis it gave her the chills.

Welcome back, Katherine.

The voice came from everywhere, but nowhere, and was only inside her head
as she stepped inside.

Professor, Kitty thought back at him. Where are you?

She received no answer but a vague impression that she should go to the
study. Her short boot heels echoed on the hardwood floor as she walked down
the empty halls. CNN's exclusive footage had shown the school full of young
mutant students, with more arriving every day as news spread, but Kitty saw
not a soul.

She paused to knock on the partially-shut door, almost taking an involuntary
step back as it too swung open without assistance. She stilled the butterflies
beating against her stomach and entered the room with a forced smile on her
lips.

"Hey, is it teke practice hour-" she stopped short when she realized the room
was empty. "The hell?"

She looked around the dark-paneled study, even checking behind the door
when a polite throat cleared from the hallway made her jump out of her skin.
"Hi, Kitty, what can we do for you?"

She spun, her reflexes bringing her hands up in defense before her brain
registered the voice. "Jean?"

The tall redhead gazed at her from the hall, unaffected by Kitty's reaction.
"Didn't mean to scare you," she said, clasping her hands behind her back.
"How have you been?"

"Been better," Kitty replied, relaxing her stance. "You?" Jean was in a
form-fitting black and yellow costume, more of a uniform than the colorful,
unstable-moleculed outfits she was used to. The woman carried herself
differently as well; her head tipped back to look down her nose at the world.

"Great," Jean smiled, showing a bit more tooth than Kitty liked. The smile
faltered a bit as an object bounced off the house with a deafening thud, eliciting
a cheer from the front gates.

"Yeah, so I see. Where's the professor? I 'heard' him earlier. I thought he
wanted me to come in here, but..."

Jean's smile reasserted itself. "He is ... indisposed right now. But he'd like to
see you as soon as he can. We're all happy to see you, Kitty."

"Where is everybody? This place is like a tomb," she said, rubbing her chilled
arms as she joined Jean in the hallway.

"Oh, busy. We have so many students now that it's hard to find a free
moment," she raised her hands to the empty halls.

"Huh. Well, I need to talk to the professor, and I came to see if everything was
okay, with the, ah-" she jerked a thumb toward the front door and the gate
beyond "-wackos out there."

"Oh, them. We just ignore them. They'll get bored and go away eventually,"
Jean took Kitty's arm, leading her away from the front of the house. "Let's get
some coffee and wait for the boys, okay?"

"Sure, but when will the prof-"

"The field team should be back soon, and you can visit everybody. You know,
since Ororo and the others left we were just so shorthanded that we started
pulling up the reserves..."

Kitty nodded, tuning out Jean's voice, and allowed herself to be lead to the
kitchen. Something is very wrong here, she thought, steeling herself to not get
involved. I can't afford to, she told herself.

>*<

"Muties go home! Muties go home!" The voices, dimmed by distance, chanted
from the front gates.

"We are home, you stupid bastards. Why don't you go home?" Kitty muttered
to herself, trying to shut out the voices and the occasional crash of breaking
glass as hurled bottles shattered on the drive.

She shut her laptop with a soft click when she heard voices from the hall. She
had been left alone, finally, after hours of small talk with Jean and Scott, in a
stuffy side room and was happy for the distraction from her dark thoughts.

They had both acted strange. She could understand Scott's behavior, she
supposed, since he had just returned from the dead, so to speak. Usually it was
Jean who died and returned on a regular basis, but there was something odd
about their behavior beyond the role reversal. They should have been thrilled to
be reunited, and if not thrilled to see Kitty they should have at least been less ...
odd.

When the screaming started she lept from the sofa. Running to the study, she
immediately saw the source of the panic. A young girl writhed in one of the
overstuffed chairs of Xavier's study while another girl stood over her, eyes
glowing white. So here are some of the charming new students, she thought.

"Stop! Stop it, you're hurting her!" Kitty skidded to a halt in the room, ready to
physically pull the aggressor away when a white-clad figure stood up from a
shadowy chair, blocking her way.

"You still lack manners, Miss Pryde," the White Queen said, her eyes flashing
like cold diamonds. "These are my students, right girls?"

"Yes, Miss Frost," the girls replied in unison, their voices high and sing-song.
The girl in the chair had ceased her cries and now stood beside her attacker.
They were of like height, with matching short white hair and slightly glowing
eyes. Kitty shuddered. They look like the children from that 'Village of the
Damned' remake, she thought.

"You are dismissed, children," Frost continued. "Be sure to practice, and I will
see you tomorrow. Perhaps we will have no unwelcome interruptions then."
She cast a hard glance at Kitty as the girls filed out, twinned smirks creasing
their faces.

"You were teaching them? What was that, psychosis induction 101?" Kitty
planted her fists on her hips, unwilling to bow to the queen. "Does the
professor know just what ­- and how -- you're teaching them?"

"That was psychic defense, Katherine," she said. "God knows Charles never
taught that to any of you properly. Perhaps you should start classes here again,
I see college has not improved you."

"I see age has not improved you, Frost."

"Oh, still the tempestuous child," she sniffed. "You cut me."

"Yeah, speaking of which, when will you stab them in the back? And why did
you decide to park your broomstick here again anyway? "

"Oh, but I have seen the error of my ways. I've found a happy new home in
the bosom of the Dream. But what of you? It's no wonder you've come
running back to this madhouse, considering your appalling lack of social skills."

A familiar voice from the hall stopped Kitty's retort. "Ah, ah, ah, ladies, we're
all on the same side, are we not?"

Frost looked beyond Kitty into the hallway, a rictus of a smile on her face.
"Why Father Wagner, I didn't recognize you without your customary aroma."

Kitty twisted to look over her shoulder. Kurt leaned against the doorway, arms
crossed over his chest and a cool expression on his face. "It's a pleasure to see
you again too, Emma."

"I believe I found your wayward kitten. Would you like me to declaw her for
you?"

"Thank you, but that will not be necessary. Your talents are required by the
professor, Miss Frost. Now."

"Very well." Frost regarded Kurt for an instant, her eyes sweeping down him
before she turned her gaze to Kitty. "If you change your mind about the
etiquette lessons, dear Katherine, you know where to find me." She paused,
waiting a moment for Kitty's sneering reaction before gliding from the room.

Kurt moved aside to allow her passage, then turned to Kitty with an amused
expression.

Kitty glared at Frost's back. "Why is she here?"

"She's one of us now, you know that. She lost her students and Magneto in
Genosha and has decided we are her only option for now."

"I've never trusted that woman, Kurt, not even when she headed the
Massachusetts Academy. She was in the Hellfire Club, and she's tried to kill us
all, many times. Ugh. Bitch." Kitty stole a glance to the hall, knowing full well
Frost didn't need to be physically present to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"And there are just too damn many telepaths around here now," she muttered.

"Definitely that, Kaetzchen," Kurt snickered in sympathy. "But Emma has given
her word, so we will trust her, for now."

"You know, you're the only one who still calls me kitten without me kicking
your head in," she replied conversationally.

He snorted. "Thanks. Don't I even get a hello before I'm mutilated?"

"God, I'm sorry. I've been on edge all day. Hi, Kurt."

"That's better," he laughed, engulfing her in a hug. "It's been too long,
Kaetzchen."

She smiled again at his pet name for her -- how long had it been since she'd
heard that? -- and squeezed him tight. "It has, Kurt. How are you?"

"Well, I'm here, and that's saying something these days. Have you looked
outside?"

"Yeah, well, that's kind of why I'm here. No one will talk about it, and I haven't
been able to see the professor. What the hell happened?"

"That's rather what we're all wondering, Kaetzchen," he said in a low voice,
directing her to the sofa in the room she had abandoned moments ago.

"It's really weird around here, Kurt," she said, folding her legs beneath her and
settling back into her spot as Kurt perched on the opposite arm of the soft
sofa. "The professor hasn't said a non-telepathic word to me, Jean and Scott
are funky, that Frost woman is here -- and what happened to Hank?"

"I think Hank is the easiest to explain if you can believe it. He's mutated further.
I just pray I don't follow that route. Ach, I'd look horrible as a cat." His grin
was forced. "Emma has also mutated further." He shrugged, sliding down onto
the seat of the sofa. "Scott has been ... distant ... ever since his return, and that
seems to be causing problems between he and Jean. Beyond that, I don't know
about them. As for the professor ... Kitty, I just don't know why he revealed
us." His black leather uniform creaked as he tucked his knees under his chin.

Kitty realized he was uncomfortable talking about the professor. It was time to
change the subject.

"I like the new duds," she said, rubbing his jacket sleeve. She traced the yellow
piping. "Those are much spiffier than spandex."

He returned her smile, relaxing. "They are a bit more stylish, aren't they? Care
to try?" He peeled his jacket off and handed it to her.

She took the jacket with a mischievous grin, standing to shrug it on. It was
overlarge and smelled faintly of jet fuel and brimstone. "These are pretty cool,"
she said, zipping it up and inspecting the stitched gray 'X' on the chest.

"Feel at all tempted by that, Kaetzchen?" He teased, settling into a more
comfortable position.

"Hah, not bloody like-" Kitty stopped short, noticing the tiny white chip in the
collar of Kurt's black turtleneck. Wait. Emma said 'Father Wagner.' She
crouched in front of him, touching her own throat with a hand. "So you are a
priest now?"

His own hand flew to the collar. "Ach, no." He studied her for a moment. Her
brown eyes were huge, flicking between his face and collar. "Not yet, anyway.
After I left the team last year, I went to the church. After I was hurt, attacked
by those verdamnt Neo, I came back part-time until ... until Peter died..."

Kitty nodded, fighting the familiar pang of loss -- and rage -- at her former
lover's name. Her hand stole out from the collar of his jacket, catching his hand
and holding it as her friend continued.

"I fell apart. I left the team right after you came for his ashes, and almost left
the church too, but in the end that was what held me together. After Genosha,
I got a call from Scott. Hearing the dead speak again brought me back." He
smiled at her, his eyes far away in memory. "Now, I'm marginally in charge of
the field team. I try to study whenever my duties permit." He shrugged.

"Oh," she replied, at a loss for words. "Are you really happy with this? Oh,
hell, it's none of my business."

"Nonsense, Kaetzchen, of course it's your business. We're still family, ja?" A
grin crinkled his eyes. "Yes, I think this is the right path for me, but I am
having trouble reconciling the values of the church with the realities of the
team."

"So much has changed, Kurt. I just can't believe it sometimes," Kitty said,
sliding back onto the couch beside him. She felt his arm around her, drawing
her close, and leaned her head back on his shoulder, thankful for the friendly
contact while she could get it.

"I know," he said, squeezing her shoulder. "Now, what have you been up to?
You've heard enough of my nattering. Is academia as exciting as you'd hoped?"

"Oh, it's okay," she said, twirling a strand of her short, chocolate brown hair
around a finger while she decided how much to tell him. "I'm the youngest
student in the upper-level classes, and they treat me that way. I'll graduate
before half of them, and then what? Grad school? Law school? And after that?
No one knows that I'm a mutant, and now thanks to what's going on I can't
tell anyone. I can't relate to my classmates and their problems." She tugged her
hair, pulling at a curl absently. "Just like the other times I've tried to be
'normal,' I can't fit in. I've seen and done the most amazing things, sometimes I
even know more about a subject than my professor. But I can't say a word. I
don't dare. It's hard."

"I can imagine. My routine advice is to be yourself, but I guess that's the
problem. You can't be."

"Exactly. I thought that if this truly is the only place I fit in, I could always
come home. But this isn't home anymore."

"I'm wounded," Kurt said, only half in jest.

"Sorry Kurt, that's not what I mean. You seem to be the only friend I have left
here, and the world gets a little bigger and scarier every day."

"You're right. Sometimes I wonder myself what happened to us," he said, his
voice soft and far-away.

They sat that way for a long while, listening to the never-ending chants of hate
from outside the unsure safety of the mansion gates.

>*<

Tapping away on her laptop, Kitty lay engulfed in the soft blankets of the bed
in her old room. She had not planned to stay at the mansion, but the crowds
outside and her long chat with Kurt had deterred her from leaving until late into
the night.

She looked around at the familiar dark walls and furniture. It had been
surprising and a little painful when Kurt had opened the door for her to see
nothing had been changed since she left. Nothing, yet everything. Her posters
still hung on the walls, her computer still sat on its desk. The only thing
missing had been her clothes, which she had asked be sent to her new school.

Jean's borrowed shirt felt strange, as though the telepath's secret smile still
clung to it. Kurt's uniform jacket hung from the back of her desk chair, and for
a moment she considered putting it back on. It was cold in the room, but the
jacket and its silvery 'X' was a part of her life now dead forever.

She pulled the blankets closer and listened for the now-familiar shouts from the
gate. They seemed to have given up during the night, but she didn't doubt that
they would return soon. Predawn light filtered through the heavy curtains and
she looked at the clock in amazement. She hadn't slept all night.

I should have brought Lockheed, she thought. He'll be pissed I didn't come
home and trash my closet. Plus... I wouldn't feel so damned alone... Lockheed,
the small, dragon-like creature that Kitty had found on an alien world long ago
was still one of her closest companions.

I may as well get up. I have to talk to Xavier before I go, she thought. Damn
him, he didn't even give us a choice before he 'came out!' Anyone who has ever
gone to this school will be fair game once reporters start digging. I can't
afford to be exposed, not now...

But aren't complications half the fun of the game, Shadowcat? The thought
came sudden and unasked-for.

Kitty sat upright in the bed, cutting off her scream by instinct alone.
"Professor?"

Is that you? Why are you listening to me? Kitty thought at him, enraged by the
intrusion. Where are you?

She was answered by silence.

Raising her internal shields, shields taught to her by the professor, she shook
with anger and fear. What was that? Had she imagined it?

I did not imagine that! Do you hear me, professor?! Again she got no answer
from her mentor. What the hell is going on here!?

There had to be something deeper than the coldness and inconsistencies she
was seeing. She made her final decision, focusing her will to try one last time
to contact the professor.

Professor! I came to talk to you.

Nothing.

Very well. I tried, but you won't listen. You never listen. Not really, not when it
counts.

Nothing.

"Useless," she gritted. Leaping from the bed, she yanked her jeans and Kurt's
jacket on. Jerking her door open, she thumped barefoot down the hall to Kurt's
room. Pausing at the door, she knocked twice and waited for his sleepy
inquiry. The knock echoed down the empty hall, and she zipped the jacket
against the cold, fingering its 'X.' "It's me. Get decent, I'm comin' in."

She phased through the door, feeling the familiar surge of powers long-unused.
The room was dark, but she found Kurt by the round glowing eyes floating
above the bed. The eyes blinked, nonplused by her intrusion. "What's the
matter, Kaetzchen? Are you okay?" He questioned, his last word dragging into
a yawn.

"No." She flipped on his bedside light, prompting a hiss from her friend. I owe
someone an explanation. Maybe I owe it to him more than Charles. "I need to
tell you why I'm really here."

He blinked again. "Okay. Why are you really here?"

She began to pace, determined to get everything out before he could wake up
enough to interrupt her. "I came to talk to the professor, but he obviously
doesn't care anymore. So I'll tell you. You won't like it, but at least I know you
won't judge me before I'm through. You're my friend, Kurt, and so I'm also
telling you because we may not be friends soon. I want you to know why."

"What?" She watched him snap to attention, all sleepiness gone. "What does
that mean?"

"I wrote a letter to the professor months ago, a letter telling him I was through
with the X-Men," she said.

"So what? We've all quit at one point or another, myself included."

"I quit because I wanted a normal life, I wanted to be with normal people.
Well, now I have been." Her voice was bitter.

His eyes narrowed, studying her. "And what's wrong with that?"

"I've seen normal people, and I've had enough. What I didn't tell you about
school was the thoughtless hate I've seen in so many of my classmates. The
future is there, it's those students, and they want us dead. I have to do
something."

"You know you are always welcome to come back, regardless of your letter to
Charles. We'd be happy to have you. If the mansion bothers you, you can
come with us."

She ceased her pacing, her eyes boring into his. "No, that's not what I meant.
During the wee hours at school, I surf the Web a lot. Most everyone does. I
have seen many, many websites that spout hate, and I've tried to stop them,
but it hasn't worked. I hack them, take them down, and more spring up. I'm
not the only one looking at them. How many more people are learning to hate
us because of these sites? And those sites are just a symptom of a larger
problem.

"Kurt, I'm beginning to think maybe Magneto was right all along. We can't live
with them, the only thing we can do is stop them from harming us. It's us or
them, my friend."

She saw the alarm in his face. "My God, Kitty, this doesn't sound like you."

"Maybe not, but none of you are the same either," she lowered her voice,
looking around the room for a moment. "There's something wrong here. With
the professor, with Jean and Scott, maybe with you too."

He thought for a moment. "We've been under a lot of strain since Genosha ...
and since the professor's little revelation," he shrugged. "It's probably just
stress. It's you I'm worried about now."

"It's something deeper than stress. I don't know what, but remember I warned
you. Watch your back."

He shook his head, unable to believe anything was amiss. Anything but her. "I'll
take that under advisement. Just what are you planning, Kitty?"

"I can't tell you. Let's just say I think Magneto's reasoning was sound, but his
methods were ... flawed." Her eyes lit up as a thought occurred to her. "You
can always come with me."

He shook his head and she steeled herself. Now he would try to talk her out of
her plans. She had to resist. "No, Kitty," he said. "I've chosen my path. I
thought you had too. I hate to see you go down this one. It almost destroyed
Peter, you know that."

She didn't allow the jab to hurt. Her smile was cold. "But I'm not Peter."

>*<

An hour later, at dawn, they stood near the estate's gates. As she had figured,
the protesters were returning. The sight of two mutants so close was enough
to whip them into a frenzy of chanting. Signs bobbing up and down, they
hoisted a stuffed effigy of Xavier into the crisp air.

"Look at them. Disgusting." Kitty's mouth twisted in anger as she stared them
down.

Kurt pulled his jacket close, trying to shut out the chill that was mostly in his
heart. "They're ignorant, Kaetzchen. It's our duty to educate them, and there's
only one way to do it. You know what it is, no matter what you say. Are you
sure you won't reconsider?"

"No. We've tried the Dream, Kurt, and it's become this nightmare." She
gestured at the crowd, turning to her friend one last time. "It's time for another
way. Please don't try to stop me."

He sighed, his eyes sad. "I can't stop you from leaving. I won't. It's your life,
your choice. But know that I will not allow you to harm anyone. Even if it
means-"

"I know, Kurt. I know," she cut him off. "You won't hear from me again, at
least not like this. I've found my purpose in life, now it's time to fulfill it.

"Goodbye, Kurt," she said, phasing through the gates. The hushed protesters
fell back from her like a plague, but she phased straight through the crowd of
humans as if they weren't even there.

Kurt broke the eerie silence of her passing. "Perhaps, to her, they're not
anymore," he said to no one. "My God."