#nightcrawler x Fem!OC

[softfem-dom]

mutant file ,, fem oc

name : dolores betelohim nicknames : lola , lolita , dolly , lola dear .

alias : heaven says short form : heaven , heaveny

day of birth : 15th april 19??

height : 5,4

category : mutant (level 4-5)

abbilities : angel morphing , siren song / voice ridden mind-manipulation , dermakinesis , telepathy (weak).

residence : xavier's school for gifted youngsters.

occupation : (apathetic)student

affliction : xmen (occasionally) (since 1998)

state : 𝔞l҉𝔦v҉𝔢?

story

🖇️ early life Dolores was born in a catholic household, under the watch of a caring mother and the hand of a strict yet loving father. As soon as she was old enough to understand the world her she was taught about the love of God, the merciful being above, taken to church every Sunday and with a rosary hanging from her neck.

Pale as a white bunny, with equal curiosity for everything around her, and with eyes as blue as the sky. Her dark, almost coal-y, brunette hair only adding to the purity that seemed to coat her very being.

However, that purity didn't get a chance to last too long. When the priest from the church spotted her, looking like the ethereal esence of a divine being, he revealed himself to not be as kind as everyone had been fooled to believe.

He was part of an organization, an illegal project. To create angels on earth and, by false visual, force the christianism over the rest of religions by existent 'proof' of divine beings.

So, that fateful Sunday after church, she didn't get a chance to go back home. Snatched away with a cloth over her mouth, only to awake in some kind of rusty and old room surrounded by sharp medical props and colorful and strange vials on creaky shelfs.

She was experimented on. Mutated. To grow wings and have the melodic voice of the angels above. Completely stripped off of her own humanity to fake her into a 'divine' being to be worshipped. Surrounded by equal hate and disgust as admiration and amazement. just a prop to a cult.

🖇 xavier's school for gifted youngsters

After years of being trapped within the same walls, being forced to perform like some circus act. After years of being aressed as a divinity yet treated like a lab rat. One fateful days the alarms inside the facility went off, commotion being heard out in the halls, the armored door of her 'room' hiding her away from everything.

Then was when she met Charles Xavier and his team. She would've been scared of the blue man suddenly appearing inside of her room, with a 'poof' and a cloud of smoke, if it weren't for the cross pendant hanging from his neck. Christians were good samaritans, she tried to convince herself.

It turned out, at least that Christian was indeed a good samaritan. Offering her his hand and taking her away from it all, not caring about the wings growing from her back nor the blue in her eyes. She was for once being treated like a human being instead of like a divine being in need to be worshipped yet hidden away.

After that, she met the rest of the team; ororo, jean, charles, scott and kurt —the one who saved her. And found her home in Xavier's school for Gifted Youngsters. She was still seen as an angel within those walls. Yet not for the white wings, nor for the pure blue in her eyes, nor for the pale and perfect of her skin, nor from the melody in her voice, but for her smile and kind heart.

After she started to live out in the open, taking classes like any normal teen and playing outside, it soon became obvious the way her body rejected the necessary nutrients for growing —due to the poor conditions of the lab— and she ended up developing anemia, low iron levels.

Sooner than later, though, new people joined the team. Remy LeBeau aka Gambit, Anna Marie aka Rogue, Piotr "Peter" Nikolaievitch Rasputin aka Colossus, Robert Louis "Bobby" Drake aka Ice-Man, Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde aka Shadowcat and Logan Howlett aka Wolverine with whom she'll end up growing closer than she expected. A total contrast to see the dictionary definition of purity and religiousness attached to the hip of the sarcastic and dry-humoured man that was atheist to the damn bone.

🖇character analysis :

dear lola is an optimistic and soft girl, she is deemed extremely chill for her age —y'know puberty and all—. She seems to lack teenager hormones with how calm she is.

despite her past in a laboratory, and all the cultist stuff, she remains catholic and firm to the belief that there is a God up there that will always be there for her in the good and the bad. That's probably one of the reasons she is so close to Kurt, since they share religion and equal passion about it.

She will talk about her religion to anyone who asks or shows interest, even if she knows most people —especially teens— in the school don't give two shits if there is someone above due to their ansty teen rebellion phase she'll remain loyal in her beliefs.

She spends most of her time in the garden, the part with the tallest trees. She likes to climb the trees and spend her hours drawing or reading on the branches.

It's suspected that her calmness and relaxed nature is due to her very low iron, that has her with much less social battery and energy than people her age. She's not allergic to social interaction, but she prefers time alone or time shared in silence.

She's a very loving individual, surprisingly palyful and full of mischief. She loves helping the other teens plot schemes and pranks on the teachers —especially Scott and Logan—.

Everyone believes that the 'angel' part of her are just the white wings in her back, the ones she's always dragging on the floor because they weight quite a lot despite their feather-y appearance. But, in reality, the whole implanted 'divine' part of her is such a monstruous form that she'll never let anyone see it. The fact that she can turn in such a monstruous creature keeps her awake at night sometimes, seeing the reflection of something antromorphic and disgusting in the mirror whenever she looks at it.

Her first encounter with Logan aka the Wolverine wasn't a very pleasant one. He had been living in the school for only two or three days when he stumbled upon the sight of a supposed big bird in the branch of a tree, he wasn't thinking straight when he grabbed a small rock and threw it at the 'animal' —believing it to be something dangerous to the kids in the school—. Only to be met by the sight of a female face turning to him with wide eyes and a heavily offended expression after the loud 'thwack!' of the rock hit her in the back of her head.

She crawled up to the branches of the tree until the green leafs hid her from him and didn't come back down until it was Storm the one calling her from under the tree.

Needless to say Logan was ashamed as fuck after realizing he had threw a rock at a random kid.

After a bit of time and a cookie offering —suggested by Jean— the two of them started to get closer. With Logan freaking the fuck out the first time Lola got up too fast and fell right to the floor, damn low iron.

Despite the two of them being the total ephytomy of opposites, Logan still put up with the religious kid even while being atheist himself. He couldn't give two shits about the 'supposedly' God up in the sky —how would that even work anyways? some huge dude in the sky?—, but he never dismissed her as he never dismissed Kurt even if the two of them paired up were a total pain in the ass.

[thewritersaddictions]

X-Men Master List

Logan Howlett (Wolverine)

Wade Wilson (Deadpool)

(More Coming Soon)

Completed on: 08/15/24

Posted on: 08/15/24

X-men Tags

[nicsnort]

Trial by Fire (part 87)

A Nightcrawler/Fem!OC romance, drama, and mystery fanfic, with lots of Quicksilver thrown in for fun and even more drama.

Intro (with link to full Ao3 story) First Previous

The door to the interrogation room opened calling her attention to the agents entering. One was a tall, broad-shouldered, squared-jawed man with his brown hair in a buzz cut. The other, a dark-skinned Indian woman with her long black hair in a plait.

“Miss Hayes,” the woman greeted, “I am Agent Vasuhandra Wattal from the Department of Homeland Security, Counterterrorism Bureau, Mutant Investigations Division.”

“And I am Agent Karl Connors, we spoke on the phone.”

“Ah, yes, I remember your calls, Agent Connors. How can I help you, Agents?”

Agent Wattal sat down across from her putting a file on the table, while Agent Connors remained standing trying to use his height to intimidate her. Unfortunately for him after spending the time she had with the Brotherhood very little could intimidate her. Bedelia glanced down at the file as Wattal began placing photos in front of her. They had obviously prepared this routine so she would pay attention.

“We have evidence that shows you were harboring a member of the terrorist cell known as the Brotherhood of Mutants at your home.” The photos showed Quicksilver lounging about her house. One in particular showed him at the front door watching over her shoulder as she gave money to that Girl Scout. Bedelia glanced at the agent, her face neutral, her lips sealed and silent, waiting.

Agent Connors leaned against the table pointing at one of the photos. “And other terrorists have come and gone.” Scarlet Witch and her were eating dinner at the table on the second day Quicksilver had taken his break. Bedelia recognized it because they had made lasagna together.

Bedelia stared at them some more. They stared back. A long stretch of silence passed before Bedelia finally opened her mouth. “I may do interviews and not interrogations but I am confident you are supposed to ask a question at some point, Agents.”

“We need you to tell us everything you know about the Brotherhood of Mutants, Miss Hayes,” Wattal told her firmly.

“That still isn’t a question. Though my answer is the same. No. As a journalist, I will not give up my sources.”

“Co-operate with us now, Hayes, or we’ll return with a subpoena,” Connors threatened, placing his hand down so he entered her personal space.

Bedelia glanced up at him amused but still with a neutral expression. “Be my guest, Agents, but the answer remains the same…Is that all or do you have any actual questions for me?”

Wattal held up a hand and Connors backed off. “Why were Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in your home?”

“They were guarding me.”

“Holding you hostage?”

“Making sure I did not give up information on them and protecting me from retaliation after the Genosha article.” It was stretching the truth but in this case the truth had to be stretched. Especially, since the Brotherhood was working with the X-men for the time being. Any doubt she through on the Brotherhood may come back to harm the image of the X-men.

“There was a week when you were alone in your home. Why weren’t they guarding you then?”

“Because that was Mystique impersonating me. I was under watch at the Brotherhood base after their second attack on Genosha.”

“You’ve been to their base?”

“Yes, and before you ask me anything. No, I cannot describe it. A telepath put a block in my mind to prevent such. Even if I could I would not, as I do not give up my sources.” It wasn’t a lie. Magneto had insisted that Frost put a block in her mind to prevent the chance of the government finding their base if Bedelia broke her promise.

“And what this photo,” Connors pointed to another one. “That is Nightcrawler in your home with Quicksilver. Are the X-men and Brotherhood working together?”

“The X-men were concerned that I was being held hostage. As a sign of good faith that the Brotherhood merely wanted to keep me safe while I reported on Genosha and the article I have coming out tomorrow morning, they called a truce so to speak to have members from both groups watch me.” Bedelia had practiced embedding the lie in truth. It was hard for her still to say it but the desire to keep her sources safe was stronger than her need to tell the truth.

“Were you with the X-men and Brotherhood after the attack on the studio,” Wattal pressed. Bedelia narrowed her eyes slightly. They were getting off track of trying to wheedle her for information on the Brotherhood - she would have to be cautious about what she said.

“I have been with the X-men for the past three weeks recovering after being kidnapped by an international organization that has been experimenting on mutants which had a large operation in Genosha. You should read the report I gave to the detective or else wait for my expose in the Guardian tomorrow morning.”

Both agents looked at her in barely concealed shock. Whatever they had expected it wasn’t that. They glanced at each other communicating silently. Connors finally spoke. “Miss Hayes, could you tell us why you are defending the Brotherhood of Mutants?”

“In what way am I defending them?”

“By refusing to give us the information you learned about them.”

“I told you, come back with a subpoena.”

“And you’ll cooperate then?”

“You’ll find out.” Her tone clearly indicated she would not.

Wattal sighed. “You’re a human, Miss Hayes, we understand that you are afraid. But we can keep you safe from any retaliation. You just need to cooperate with us.”

Bedelia could not help but give a bit of a laugh. “No, you couldn’t. In the time I have spent with the Brotherhood, I have learned enough about their capabilities to know that if they wanted to kill me they would. Not even the X-men would be able to keep me safe forever.”

“Then tell us about those capabilities, so we can better defend you.”

Looking Agent Wattal dead in the eye Bedelia’s face went stone cold serious. “I will not give up information on my sources. Now, Agents, I believe we are done here.”

“You don’t get to decide that,” Connors said, anger in his voice.

“Then am I under arrest?”

“You are not under arrest,” Wattal confirmed, “but we still have questions for you.”

“If I am not under arrest I am free to leave an anytime. Nightcrawler, if you could.” Knowing Jean was keeping tabs on her she was aware that Kurt would be told. And a second after she had called there was another BAMF behind her.

“Guten Morgen, Agents,” he greeted with a friendly wave as his tail wrapped around Bedelia’s arm. “Pardon us!”

He teleported them back to the Blackbird. Scott and Jean were already in their seats waiting for them to return. As soon as Bedelia and Kurt were seated Scott fired up the engines and took off back to the manor. The trip back was short and while she spoke a bit to Kurt telling him what happened her mind was distracted. What would the government do next? Wattal and Connors didn’t seem to be debriefed on Essex. The legal ramifications of outing that company and the US ties to it were still to be felt. But for now, she would cuddle with Kurt until the calls started pouring in from other journalists trying to get the scoop on her return.

~~~~~

“ZNN Breaking news. This morning journalist Bedelia Hayes showed up at the NYPD having been rescued from her kidnapping by the X-men. Reports are unconfirmed but it also appears that the Brotherhood of Mutants, considered a terrorist organization, also played a role in her rescue. We will keep you updated with more information as it comes in.”

“I don’t think she was even kidnapped! That species traitor attacked me and ran! I bet she was safe with the X-men or Brotherhood trying to get sympathy by pretending to be taken. Those groups are now working together! I think this just goes to show how all mutants are terrorists. Were they even enemies to begin with or were all those fights staged too?”

“An insider gave us information that the Department of Homeland Security has spoken to Miss Hayes. It is believed that she was forced to write the article on Genosha by the Brotherhood of Mutants while they held her hostage. Was everything she reported a lie or Brotherhood propaganda?”

Bedelia sighed as she listened to the various reports regarding her return to society. She wasn’t surprised that Fox News was being overtly hostile to her. ZNN was keeping it neutral for the most part. And the broadcast stations bordered on neutrality but seemed to lean into the idea of the Brotherhood’s involvement too much.

“Bedelia,” Quicksilver said holding her cell phone out to her. “Its Jack Harper.” So many people had called her that Bedelia had handed her phone off to Quicksilver to filter the calls. Kurt was far too polite to tell the people that they couldn’t talk to her directly and then hang up if they didn’t accept that. Kurt was on email duty instead.

“Mr. Harper,” Bedelia greeted.

“Miss Hayes, I am glad to hear you are alive and well.”

“Thank you, but I assume this call isn’t just well wishes.”

The anchor chuckled. “Straight to the point. I respect that. I would like to offer you an interview slot this evening.”

Bedelia smirked that was just what she wanted. “I accept, Mr. Harper. But I hope you understand that coming into the studio may be difficult. My guards are more on edge than ever before.”

“You mean Quicksilver?”

“And Nightcrawler from the X-men.”

“So, the groups are working together…interesting…”

“Under specific circumstances, they have temporarily set aside their differences. I would be happy to explain further in the interview.”

“Of course. And we can have a video call interview. Do you have access to a camera and microphone?”

“Yes, the secure location I am at has the tools for an interview.”

“Excellent, the studio will send an email with further information. See you this evening, Miss Hayes.”

Hanging up Bedelia handed the phone back to Pietro. “Alright, ZNN interview tonight. Kurt, there should be an email coming from them.”

“I will keep an eye out,” he replied with a small smile. “I have a list of others who emailed too for you to review, kobold.”

“Thank you, risidhe .” She leaned over and kissed him on his furry cheek.

Quicksilver made a face at the sweetness. Bedelia had gotten used to his immature behavior around her relationship with Kurt. She also hadn’t forgotten everything that occurred while she was being held hostage. The way Pietro had looked at her during yoga, her suspicions that he liked more than he should. Bedelia had to wonder if that would ever be addressed. She certainly wasn’t going to be the first to bring it up though. Besides to her, it was a non-issue. She simply wasn’t attracted to Pietro, not like she was to Kurt. Even if she had been he had held her hostage, implied a threat to her life several times, this wasn’t one of her romance books - real relationships couldn’t start out that way.

Bedelia leaned over Kurt’s shoulders as she read the list he had compiled. His tail floated up to stroke her back while she read. “Give these seven that boilerplate reply I gave you. I’ll reply to these four myself.”

“Alright,” Kurt turned his head and kissed her cheek. Though he was putting his best face on, Kurt was worried. Going through these emails there had been so many from anonymous accounts threatening Bedelia. Some of them were from long before her return before she had been kidnapped by Essex. How often did Bedelia receive these? He couldn’t go back to examine the emails before she had released the Genosha article, were these new, or had she always received them while reporting on mutants?

“You seem troubled,” Bedelia astutely pointed out.

“I…yes, Kobold, I am happy to go over your mail but there are so many threats. I am worried about your safety.”

“What don’t think you can keep your girlfriend safe,” Pietro butted in, “if you feel inadequate I am sure I can fulfill her needs.” He bent down in front of them and wiggled his brow. “ All of them.”

“Good, I need more coffee,” Bedelia told him without missing a beat pointing to the nearly empty mug.

“I’m not your servant,” he shot back immediately.

“Ah, unable to fulfill my needs. Kurt, mo ghra ?”

“One coffee coming up, mein herz ,” his tail grabbed the mug and he teleported to the kitchen.

“That’s not--I was just--” Pietro’s ever-quick tongue became tied as he tried to rectify the situation. He scowled at how Bedelia had turned this around on him. Damn it. But her quick wit was one of the things that he found attractive on top of her bravery and intelligence.

Bedelia instantly switched the topic as Kurt disappeared. “How many death threats have I gotten?”

“Most of them, well not death threats all of them some just heavy breathing others wishing you all sorts of other bodily harm, did you want me to keep count?”

“No, no. Thank you for filtering them for me.” Bedelia couldn’t help the worry showing on her face. She knew she was safe with the X-men and Brotherhood guarding her but could she really go home? It wasn’t fair to Quicksilver or Nightcrawler or anyone else to keep her constantly under guard.

Quicksilver couldn’t stand that look on her. He darted over placing a hand on her upper arm. “Hey, you’ll be fine. We’ll keep you safe. I’ll keep you safe this time, I promise.”

“Third time the charm,” Bedelia joked with a forced smile. “I’m not worried about that, per se, those threats don’t mean anything really. It is just talk…no, I’m just thinking about the future. Even with you and Kurt, I don’t think I can go home for a while. And it isn’t fair to either of you to keep watching me, not to mention whatever would happen when this truce ends.”

Quicksilver sighed, running a hand over his hair. “We’ll work something out. You still owe your publisher three years of stories on the Brotherhood after all…” He chuckled lamely knowing that the issue was far more complicated than that.

Three years of Brotherhood stories. Technically, she had a three-year contract only. She had promised stories from an exclusive source. It didn’t mean she was necessarily tied to the Brotherhood for three years but…who else would tell their story? Bedelia didn’t want to risk any lives if she denied the Brotherhood and they decided to kidnap some other journalist. They had built up a sort of trust, she knew them, and she also knew that as a mutant they had far less to threaten her with.

“Let’s get through the Essex release before thinking of anything else,” she told him. “It is going to keep us busy for a few weeks at least with interviews and new articles…and the US government…”

“Well, if it becomes too much the Brotherhood could hold you hostage again.” He gave her a shit-eating grin.

“Don’t even joke.” Bedelia could not help but smile though.

BAMF! In a puff of smoke, Kurt appeared with a steaming cup of coffee and a small platter of vanilla wafers. “I also brought you a snack, kobold,” he announced his eye immediately noticing how close Quicksilver was to her.

Bedelia’s smile grew. Taking the coffee she place another kiss on his cheek. “Thank you. Let’s get back to work!”

_______

At the moment, this is all there is to the story as I am still writing the next chapter! In the meantime, check out some of my other work on my master list!

Fanfic Masterlist

[valkyrieofsmut]

Engel de la Gargouille   Section 1 part 5

Engel de la Gargouille (Gargoyle’s Angel)

Kurt Wagner/ Nightcrawler x Female OC

Types: Smut, Angst, Mutual pining, Pregnancy, Romance, Love, Insecurity, Long as hell…

Overall series warnings: Smut, bit of violence, swearing, German (translations provided, but I have bad grammar… Sorry native speakers…) (Will be added as they come up) Chapter warnings will be added individually as well.

A/n- Homelessness. Murder, talk about rape and dismemberment, drugging, a tiny bit of groping while drugged (having to do with a serial killer). Self hatred, thoughts of suicide. Pervert trying to be perverted, but stopped, moral dilemma.

Masterlist       Series Masterlist

Story!

Her birthday that year fell on a friday, and she had most of the library to herself where she was, as the mothers who brought their children were downstairs in the children’s section, the businessmen and women were mostly in the conference rooms, and the college students were studying on the other side of the floor.

Her nose was stuck in a book about the French revolution and other history topics, fascinated by all of the amazing things that had happened in the world that she had somehow never heard of, when a man stopped by her table.

“Hello, sweetie,” he greeted.

Angeline looked up at him in surprise, but flashed the perfect smile her mother had made her practice for hours at a time. “Hello, sir.”

“What are you doing all the way over here? Why aren’t you studying with your friends?”

Angeline flashed another smile. “I’m not a college student,” she told him.

“No?”

She shook her head. “I’m just reading, I’m not old enough to be a college student.”

“How old are you?” He asked.

“Sixte- seventeen,” she amended. “Today is my birthday,” she explained her confusion.

“It is?” He asked, and she nodded. “Do you have any plans? Dinner, with family, or friends, maybe going out with your boyfriend?”

She schooled her expression and looked down. “I don’t have a boyfriend, and… no, this is my only plan for the day.”

He sat down, trying to see her face as his eyebrows touched. “You're not going to do anything fun?”

“I-" She looked up at him, holding her perfect smile in place. “This is fun. Later, I'll find somewhere to stay for the night, but for now, I'm just enjoying this book.”

The man's brows raised. “What do you mean, find a place to stay for the night?”

Angeline held her face, not letting anything show. “I don't have a home.”

“Home- homeless? Then- you have to let me take you out for dinner tonight!” He told her with a cheery look.

“I couldn't-"

“I insist,” he told her, smiling.

He insisted, not letting her say no, and he seemed genuine enough, she told him that she'd meet him at the restaurant later, being careful to avoid being alone with him in a place where she wouldn't be able to get help.

.

She did arrive at the place he'd told her, at the time he'd told her. It was a rather nice restaurant, and she had to wait outside for him, knowing that as beautiful as she was, they still wouldn't let her in with her backpack, especially if they thought she was homeless.

She stood by the doors, near the valet, and the man did arrive, suggesting that she put her bag in his car so she didn't have to worry about it.

She accepted with a smile, and they went inside, leaving the valet to park the car.

When they were seated, he told her to order whatever she wanted.

The conversation was light, at first, but as their food arrived, he admitted to Angeline that he had a daughter a few years younger than her that he never got to see, due to his ex-wife living in another province and him having to travel often for work.

“I see her every chance I get, but it is not as often as I'd like. When you said that it was your birthday, and that you were homeless- I just thought of my daughter, and I hope that someone would treat her to something nice on her birthday, if she were in your situation.”

Angeline smiled to him. “Thank you,” she told him. “The food is delicious.”

He laughed. “I must say that I'm surprised,” he admitted.

“Oh?” She asked.

He nodded. “I said you could have anything, and you ordered waffles. Many would have taken me up on that and ordered the most expensive thing on the menu.”

Her smile renewed its vigor. “It's a tradition, one that I didn't think I'd get to continue,” she confided.

As they finished, Angeline politely sat until the man stood, but when he did, he told her, “Let me get you something for your birthday.”

“No, thank you, the dinner was enough.”

“I must insist.”

“I can't bear to think that I'm taking away money that you might spend on going to see your daughter, I've spent enough of it already,” she told him.

“It's not the money that keeps me away; it's the time. I have enough money to spare you a trinket for your birthday.”

He wouldn't accept her protest, so they walked down the street, since she was still wary of being alone with him in a vehicle.

“What would you like? A necklace? Pierced ears, with a nice pair of earrings?”

“I don't need anything like that,” she told him.

“Oh, I know. What about some new shoes?” He asked, nodding to her feet where it was obvious that her shoes were starting to wear out; she'd walked many miles in them, and had gotten them some months before, after wearing out the pair she'd ran away in.

“I could use some,” she admitted.

He led her to a store and opened the door for her. Though she tried to refuse, he bought her a few pairs of tight jeans (“That's how the kids are wearing them these days, right?” He’d asked, making her laugh) and a new pair of stylish, long-lasting walking shoes.

Afterward, they went back to the restaurant and she put her new things in her bag, thanking him many times before refusing a ride and turning toward the shelter where she was going to inquire about space for the night.

…    …    …    

The shoes she had gotten on her birthday lasted nearly a year, and probably would have lasted the whole year, but it was unseasonably cold, starting to snow and rain much earlier than usual where she now was, and Angeline had to buy another pair of shoes after the holes in the sides started letting in the cold water from puddles.

The new shoes were warm on her feet, but when she looked in her pocket, she saw that she wouldn’t have enough to stay at the motel that night.

She told the friends she had been spending time with since about the time she arrived in this providence, but they were staying at a shelter that was already full.

A man that she had never met before, who looked like he was only a couple of years older than her, walked up to them.

“Hey, George,” her friend Dillon greeted, and the two girls, Brigitte and Adalyn, waved at him, but stayed back.

“And who is this beautiful lady?” George asked.

“Hi, I’m Angeline,” she introduced herself with the perfect smile her mother had made her practice for hours every day since she was five.

“Why hello,” he greeted back with a charming smile of his own.

There was more small talk, and the girls shifted, pulling their coats closer around them. “Ah, probably time to move to somewhere warmer,” George commented before asking, “where are you all staying?”

“Oh, that shelter down there, you know,” Dillon told him, gesturing, and the girls nodded in agreement.

“I’m not sure,” Angeline admitted. “I guess I could go to the park and see if there is somewhere sheltered there.”

“No, that’s too dangerous,” George told her. “Besides, look at the clouds; it’s probably going to snow tonight.”

“Oh,” she murmured. She wasn’t from this area, the other side of the country actually, so she’d have to take his word for it.

“You should come with me,” George said. “I don’t have a lot of space, but you don’t look like you take a lot of room, I could probably fit you in for the night.”

“Are you sure?” She asked.

“Sure,” he told her.

Angeline walked down the street, waving goodbye to the others. It may be strange to people who had a home of their own and didn’t ever worry about where to sleep that she might go to a stranger’s place and stay the night, but he had been a part of the homeless community, and what they had, she had always found that they shared so they could survive together. Besides, she had been on the street for nearly two years, and felt that she had a pretty good handle on taking care of herself, plus, Dillon knew him, and Dillon was her friend; he wouldn’t let her go anywhere that she would be hurt.

They got to a small, suspect looking building that was obviously low rent apartments, and George lead her up the stairs and into the building.

They walked into his apartment and she saw that it was one room, a little crowded with a couch, bed, and a set of shelves over a small fridge and sink, and a door off the kitchen leading to a tiny bathroom.

She sat on the couch when he gestured, looking around and seeing how the apartment looked like one of those eternally dirty places, that no matter how much you cleaned, too much filth had already settled in.

He smiled and she smiled back. “Would you like a drink?” He asked, opening the fridge and pulling out a bottle of dark grape juice.

“Sure, thank you,” she told him politely, looking around around the room again as he poured the glasses.

He handed hers to her and sat next to her, sipping the cold drink.

She took a sip as well, and ran her tongue over her lips to get the rest off of them.  

“So, Angeline, how long have you been on the streets?” He asked.

“About two years,” she answered, taking another drink.

“And how old are you?”

“Seventeen,” she answered.

He nodded. “Must have been rough there for you to leave so young… Did you have trouble at home?” He asked. She didn’t answer, so he told her, “that’s why I left. My parents were so overbearing, not letting me leave the house at all, not letting me listen to English music, they would yell at me; “we speak French here!””

Angeline smiled around her mouth full of juice. “I heard the opposite from my mother; “we are sophisticated here, English!” But then she would speak to me in French about my stepfather behind his back, nasty things.” She shook her head at the memory and noticed something strange.

She blinked and looked at George as he asked if she wanted another glass of juice. “Ah, I don’t want to drink all of your juice,” she told him.

“It’s ok,” he insisted. “I have another bottle.”

She downed the last of the glass as he held out his hand for it, and handed it to him. She watched him walk to the counter under the shelf, take the juice from the fridge and fill one of the glasses before coming back to her.

She expected him to hand it to her, but he leaned over her and set it on the small table next to the couch.

Angeline’s eyes fluttered as the world seemed to double around her.

She tried to clear her eyes, but nothing helped, and she realized that she had been drugged.

A hand touched her arm through her coat, and she batted him away.

George was in front of her, smirking as he pulled her arms behind her and pulled her coat down, trapping them and her wings behind her.

She blinked desperately to clear her mind, but the doubling had turned to tripling and quadrupling, and she couldn’t make sense of his form moving in front of her.

“It’s fitting that you’re seventeen,” he told her as her head swam. “Since you are my seventeenth.”

Angeline looked at him and tried to focus. “What are you going to do?” She asked with a slur.

“My lady, it will ruin the surprise. But…” He grinned, obviously very pleased with himself. “I suppose you’re about to pass out anyway.” He pulled her shirt up to show her bra covered breasts. “First, I’ll take your body, I’ll touch you and tie you, then we’ll spend the night having fun. Or, I will, at least.” His grin was disgusting across his two faces.

Angeline blinked, realizing that her consciousness was coming back.

He obviously didn’t think that it should be, and continued to fondle her breast. “Then,” he made a motion across his neck, “it’s faster if you cut the throat; all the blood comes out faster. Then, well, I can’t just have you around here, small though you are, so then I’ll practice my surgery skills and you’ll be much smaller and easier to hide.”

Angeline’s eyes widened. “I’m the seventeenth one?” She asked, in shock that he’d done this sixteen times before and gotten away with it.

He laughed. “Yes. Your age is just so perfect, it had to be fate.”

She struggled, but couldn’t get free, her wings were trapped in her shirt, which was twisted around them somehow, and her coat made her arms pin them to her, and her tail was trapped in her pants.

Panic was washing through her.

Her healing was making her metabolize the drugs faster than a normal person, but he was going to do things to her, and she couldn’t stop him.

His fingers slid down her stomach and found the zipper on her pants, sliding it down, his fingers trying to get in to touch her, but not able to get far.

He unbuttoned her pants, pulling them down a little, and her tail shot out, wrapping around his throat.

“What the-” He stopped as he was choked, kneeling in front of her, face to face, hazy and a bit blurry in her vision.

His face started turning red, and Angeline knew if she didn’t stop, he would choke to death.

Tears of fear and panic started filling her eyes, which stared at him in horror as he got redder.

Her tail started to loosen, but then him laughing about raping and murdering, then dismembering sixteen girls and planning on doing the same to her came to her mind. She shook her head, the room still swimming a little.

She tightened her tail, and he started gasping, groping at her tail in desperation as his face turned a dark purplish red.

She could get away without harming him, but if she did he might try to do this again, to some poor girl who couldn’t defend herself like she could.

She couldn’t bear the thought, and her tail tightened as she stared into his eyes.

She saw the life leave them, a chilling sight that made her feel dirty and need to get away from the wrong feeling surrounding his lifeless body.

Her tail tossed his body away and she stood weakly, her arms working themselves free, and rightened her clothing as she looked around and grabbed her things through her nearly returned vision, quickly leaving the apartment and walking out into the street.

The snow fluttered to the ground around her, the cold air surrounding her, but she was already numb, walking down the street as though she was a hollow, empty shell that had contained the girl called Angeline.

The snow melted on her cheeks as she walked through the night, and the grey dawn sky greeted her when she finally looked up from the ground.

She blinked, not even realizing that her clothes were soaked and that she’d walked to another town entirely.

…    …    …     

Angeline turned off the water in the pool shower she’d broken into through the skylight, walking over to the changing area and drying off.

She pulled on her underwear, standing and going to the mirror to comb her hair. She looked at the mirror, her face blank and actions still stiff, even after about six months had passed since she had escaped death.

As she combed down, her comb ran over her collar bone through her hair, and she blinked at the weird feeling filling her.

But it wasn’t from the comb; it felt like there was a flap on her, like when a label starts peeling off of a bottle.

Her fingers moved over the spot near her shoulder, but felt nothing. She finished combing her hair and just stood there, staring at herself.

She’d had this feeling before, but had shrugged it off, thinking that it was in her mind. She reached over again, grabbing with her hand and mind, imagining pulling it from her as she stared at herself.

She felt like she was taking off a long coat like the one she wore to cover her wings, and suddenly- she fell to the floor with wide eyes and a horrified expression.

“What- wha- wha-?” She gasped, scrabbling to crawl backward.

What was that thing that looked like her in the mirror?!

Her face was the same, her body the same, except her feet, which had gotten longer, her toes short with claws, and now she saw the claw at the side, like an animal’s dew claw at her ankle. Her fingers had short claws, making it easy to continue using her hands, but looked normal otherwise.

She looked back up to the mirror, staring at herself, there were horns coming from the top of her head where she’d wear a headband, sweeping back over her head, she turned her head to see that they were short, but they were still there. Her eyes had darkened, still blue, but a deep blue that reminded her of the pictures of galaxies that she’d seen in the books about space in the library. She could see the fangs through her parted lips, top and bottom, and stared at them.

Hesitantly, she pulled her tail where she could see it, half expecting a spaded tail, but it was worse; two spikes, one sharp and round, the one a little higher nearly the same, but sharp along the edge, to cut. They were only about a foot long, maybe ten inches, but they still scared her.

The last part- she looked back up and slowly opened her wings. The feathers had fallen off, leaving them a dark grey black, but they were wrong.

Instead of how a bird’s would look without feathers, hers were more bat like, demon like.

She was a demon- she had changed from an angel to a demon.

“No,” she murmured.

Why had this happened?

Her hand touched the mirror and she closed her eyes, trying to pull the coat back on, wanting to look like herself.

She felt something, and dared a peek. Her wings were feathered again, her horns gone, her body back to normal.

She touched her head, trying to feel where her horns were, but they were gone. Her hand touched her head and nothing got in the way.

“I’m a demon,” she whispered. She stared at herself as she stood. “Of course I’m a demon- I killed someone…”

She stood and stared at herself, feeling for the coat again and pushing it off. Her hand touched her horn, and it was definitely there.

The memory of pestering her mother about who her father was surfaced, and she remembered her mother snapping at her that he was a gargoyle.

She had thought she was just irritated with her and telling her outlandish things but…

A tear ran down her cheek. “I’m a monster… No wonder I could kill him… That’s what monsters do…”

She stared at her body, taking in the changes that had apparently always been there, waiting for her to peel back the wrapper.

‘Maybe… maybe I should stop myself from killing before I start…’ She thought as tears flowed down her face. ‘I should just end it now… I could find a quick way, so it won’t hurt…’

…    …    …    

Angeline flinched away as a man asked if she was alright, and it took her a minute to realize that he was speaking to her.

She shook her head and walked away, wanting to stay as far away from him as possible.

She had known that adult men were pigs, most of them, anyway, but now that someone she’d thought of as not a threat had tried to kill her…

She looked up as the sun played peek a boo with the clouds, her thoughts dark and dreary.

She was probably experiencing some sort of post traumatic stress thing, even though it had been a few months, but she couldn’t seem to pull herself back to reality.

She wasn’t sure if she could trust anyone. She wanted to stay away from men- forever. She wasn’t too sure of women either.

She wandered to a park and climbed on top of a pavilion, wanting to be away from people.

She was mindlessly watching the families run around, children playing tag and swinging, running over the play equipment.

If only she could be a child, when she didn’t have to worry about things like this- but…

With her mother, she’d been shown off inappropriately at that age, too.

Angeline noticed a mother who seemed to be panicked, looking around for her child with a jacket in her hand, and looked around as well, seeing children playing, most parents close to their children, a family eating a picnic snack on a blanket, and a man leading a little girl to the bathrooms.

She did a once over again and saw that the little girl on her way to the bathrooms was one of the few without a jacket on, and inspected the man more.

He seemed to be hurrying a little, which was normal with a child who might have waited too long to tell a parent that they needed to go, but they passed the door, going to the small fenced area behind the building that hid the garbage cans from sight.

Angeline stood and pulled her coat off, giving a few strong pulls of her wings and landing next to the building, hurriedly putting on her coat and stepping around the corner.

“Excuse me,” she said, and the man froze. “Do you know this man?” She asked the little girl.

“He’s going to show me his puppy,” she excitedly explained.

“I’m sure,” Angeline said flatly, looking up at the man.

He was not intimidated by her short, slender stature. “Yes, I live on the other side of the fence,” he told her, his look telling her to mind her business and go to hell.

“Let her go, pervert,” Angeline told him.

“I think you’ve got the wrong idea.” He gripped the girl’s hand tighter.

“Now,” Angeline demanded.

He laughed at her. “You are a little dog, thinking you are a big dog. Shoo, shoo little dog,” he told her, brushing her away with his hand.

Angeline dropped her shoulders, letting her coat fall from them as her wings spread out. “Let the child go,” she told him as the little girl gasped in amazement.

The man was so startled he dropped the girl’s hand, and Angeline reached for it.

The girl came to her and took her hand, and Angeline pulled her close.

“Give her back,” the man demanded as he came back to himself.

“You’re disgusting,” Angeline told him.

“Give her back!”

“Eat shit.”

“Fine, then I’ll find another one,” he told her, making a point as though she had stopped nothing.

“What?” Angeline asked in surprise.

“Yeah, I’ll just go find another one,” he repeated.

Angeline felt the pressure in her stomach as she looked at him.

He’d just do it again.

“You’ve done this before,” she murmured, and he just smiled.

Someone needed to stop this man.

The problem was that the police would need proof that he had done the things he did, and they hardly ever got enough to charge, let alone convict…

Someone needed to stop him permanently, but what were the chances that that would happen?

Not very high, unfortunately…

But someone had to do it.

She could do it…

She could protect this little girl when no one else could.

“Your costume is falling,” he told her, pulling her back to reality as her wings drooped.

Angeline’s eyes went back to his, her wings flinging themselves out straight again.

He stepped back, startled as they moved on their own.

Her tail wrapped around his throat, pulling him to the ground at her feet.

“Angel?” The girl asked, looking up at Angeline.

The look on her face said she didn’t think Angels were supposed to do this.

Good thing she was a demon, then.

“You don’t need to see this,” she whispered as she covered the girl’s eyes and held her against her.

The man's face started darkening as he reached for her tail, and panic, fear and aversion filled Angeline's stomach.

She couldn't do this!

She couldn't do this; she couldn't kill someone- not again, she couldn't dirty her soul any more than she already had-

She nearly sobbed.

She couldn't protect this little girl, she couldn't protect the ones he'd go on to do this to, she couldn't stop the monster-

No-

She was a monster.

And if anything could stop a monster, it was another monster.

She had to stop him, she had to protect this little girl, all the little girls, from him.

She couldn't do it like this, as her frail hearted self- but the monster inside her could.

Determination filled her, and Angeline let the cloak that surrounded her go to stand in her demon form, making fear flood the man’s eyes.

Her tail tightened around the pervert’s throat and tears filled her eyes as she watched, feeling the fear well up inside her, too, at seeing the life flicker and leave his eyes.

“He will never hurt anyone again…” She tried to comfort herself.

She pulled the cloak back over her, letting go of the girl and pulling her coat to her and pulling it on.

Her tail wrapped back around her waist, where it had stayed since she’d been caught without it ready, prepared to defend herself.

Or others.

She looked down at the girl and turned her toward where her mother had now gotten a group of people looking, coming toward the bathrooms.

“Mommy!” The little girl cried as she jumped into her mother’s arms.

One of the group saw the dead body and gasped.

They all saw what the person had been looking at and gasped, hiding any children’s eyes that were present.

“What happened?” Demanded the girl’s mother.

“It was an angel!” She cried, pointing to where Angeline had been standing. “She’s gone- she was an angel mommy!”

Angeline looked down on them from the tree she was perched in. “Not an angel… Maybe a nice demon…” She murmured.

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[nicsnort]

Trial by Fire (part 81)

A Nightcrawler/Fem!OC romance, drama, and mystery fanfic, with lots of Quicksilver thrown in for fun and even more drama.

Intro (with link to full Ao3 story) First Previous

It had been six days with no progress. Every time Kurt turned off the collar Bedelia would be consumed in flames within a few seconds. Luckily, the X-men had provided her with a truly flameproof suit. It was still frustrating. Bedelia knew she should be able to control this. As much as she didn’t want them they were her powers. She knew that they could be contained, turned on and off at will, if she could do it under Sinister she could do it now. 

But it was impossible it seemed.

“I’m done,” Bedelia announced slumping to the ground.

“We have only tried three times today, Kobold,” Kurt told her. “You last twenty seconds that time. You are getting better.”

“Twenty seconds,” Bedelia snapped back. “What good is twenty seconds?! Open the doors I’m done.”

Kurt did as she asked and teleported down behind her. “Bedelia…” He reached out for her but she pulled her arm away and kept walking.

“Not now. I just need some time alone,” she told him without looking, continuing to walk away. She knew Kurt would have a hurt expression and she couldn’t bear to see it. Bedelia continued to walk. She did so without thinking of where she was going. Up the stairs, out the back door, through the gardens. Eventually, she ended up near a small pond on the edge of the trees, quite a distance from the manor and out of sight of the windows.

Alone.

Bedelia screamed. Releasing the frustration she felt. At being forced into this form, for her powers being so triggering for her, for everything that Sinister did. “Fucking bastard!”

It wasn’t often that Bedelia swore but there was something cathartic about calling Sinister every swear she knew.

“Language, language. There are children around.” A familiar voice cut through her angry breakdown.

“Pietro, I came out here to be alone.”

“I was doing a patrol and heard your voice. You have such a way with words but I’ve never heard such colorful language before.” He smirked teasingly and Bedelia forced herself to scowl.

“I was just releasing some emotion,” she told him turning back to stare out over the pond trying to ignore him.

There was a soft breeze and Pietro was standing behind her. “Sounded like it…the elf getting on your nerves?”

“Kurt? No. I just…I’m frustrated with myself. I keep trying to control the flames but I barely last twenty seconds. I just think about seeing the fire, of how I was forced to hurt people, and…”

Pietro placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’ll get it. We always do. These powers are just an extension of yourself.”

“But it is so difficult for me to think of them like that. These were imposed on me. It isn’t like I developed them during puberty like everyone else. I am - was - human that was my identity. A human who wrote about mutant issues.”

The speedster removed his hand from Bedelia’s shoulder, moving to her side instead to catch her eye. It failed as she was too focused on staring out at the pond before her. “Do you think it would have been different if your powers had manifested during puberty?”

“Of course it would be. I wouldn’t have been tortured. I wouldn’t have experimented on! I--” Bedelia’s voice caught in her throat. Still, she tried to press on. “I w-wouldn’t have h-hurt th-those people.”

A few tears leaked from her eyes. There was a breeze and suddenly Pietro was offering her a box of tissues. “I don’t think you want lobster and mac’n’cheese an hour after breakfast,” he told her as she glanced at him. A touch of red entered his cheeks.

Without consent, a watery smile came to her face. Bedelia took a tissue and wiped the tears away. “You know after my parents died the people at the hospital kept an eye on me to see if I would develop powers. It was right around when mutants became widely known after all…I remember there was a time I hoped I would. That I would get something out of the loss of my family. I wanted powers as some desperate idea that it would make up for losing my parents…” She couldn’t help but give a sobbing laugh at the thought.

 Pietro felt a conflicted frown come to his lips. If only she had awoken her powers as a teenager. If only she were a mutant. How many times had he had the latter thought? Yet, if he thought about it, if she had gained these powers when she was young the X-men would have certainly recruited her. Dead parents, trauma, and hard-to-control powers, it was right up their alley. If Bedelia had gotten these powers when she was a teen they’d be enemies. But now, now he had a chance to win her to his side.

“I’m glad you didn’t get these powers then,” he confessed quietly. Bedelia finally looked at him, confusion in her watery eyes. Pietro ran a hand through his hair, slicking it back further as he often did when he was unsure of what to say. “I mean, if you had, no one would have written those articles about Genosha. We just could have gone in and freed the mutants, but you convinced the world that the Brotherhood was in the right.”

“I think you are overestimating my influence,” Bedelia replied but her tears were drying thanks to the distraction his words provided. “I merely reported the truth, anyone could have done it.”

“Yes, but only you did. You were the only journalist ballsy enough to sneak into the place. Even without powers, you were spectacular.”

Another short half-laugh left Bedelia’s lips. “That is literally the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Pietro smiled a warm feeling inside of him at the thought that he was making her feel better. “Yeah, well, I always thought it. I just -- well, you know, with things how they were, I couldn’t really tell you that.”

Bedelia smiled softly yet in her eyes grew warriness at the thought of how things were. “I suppose. And what about now? How are things now?”

“I don’t know,” Pietro admitted, “We discovered more Essex bases. Magneto wants to take care of those and it seems the X-men will be joining us. But after that…well, I am sure Magneto has plans.”

“I’m sure he does. Though at the moment I only care if they involve forcing me to continue writing about the Brotherhood.”

“What about your contract? Three years with your exclusive source. Only a few months have passed.”

Rubbing her face Bedelia groaned internally. How had it only been a few months? It felt like a lifetime had passed since the Brotherhood had “rescued” her from Genosha. “I will write articles with the information you give me. But I will not be coerced into writing whatever the Brotherhood - Magneto - desires. If Magneto still feels he cannot trust me then I will find another source of information. I do have contact with the X-men now after all.”

“Hey, hey, no need to go that far. I’m sure he’ll see sense. You’re a mutant now after all. One of us.”

And now they had circled back to why she was out here in the first place. “I suppose all of this is assuming I can learn to control my powers so I can walk around freely.”

“I know you can,” Pietro told her confidently with a grin. “You’re just overthinking it and panicking. Well, I have to get back to my patrol…here, three minutes by the way.”

Pietro pushed something into her hand and took off. Bedelia looked down and saw it was a power-dampening collar much like the one she was wearing. Bedelia blinked slowly then reached up, touching her neck where the collar should be. There was only bare skin.

_____

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Trial by Fire (part 73)

A Nightcrawler/Fem!OC romance, drama, and mystery fanfic, with lots of Quicksilver thrown in for fun and even more drama.

Intro (with link to full Ao3 story) First Previous

Jean was in the kitchen. Pouring everyone there X-man and Brotherhood and double-shot of whiskey. The glasses were of various sizes and shapes but tonight Logan hadn’t even waited for the say-so from the Professor to go out and get the largest bottle of whiskey he could from the store. He hadn’t even known they sold them in gallons until now.

“Mind-controlled mutants,” Scott muttered. They had knocked them unconscious but had been unable to save them. They had left in such a hurry.

“All of those body parts,” Hank sighed, downing the double as a shot in and of itself.

“Such a powerful psychic attack,” Frost sneered, rubbing her head.

“All the bodies.” Storm echoed quietly.

Trance joined them and picked up a shot glass. She turned it, looking at the liquid before taking it. “They’ll weaponize that poison.” Because she hadn’t been able to bring herself to say ‘cure’. 

Kurt, who typically did not drink, drank. He grimaced. “I was so close.”

There were a few silently shed tears from some of the people, X-men and Brotherhood alike. By the end of the ten minutes, they met up in the war room after a quick check into the medical bay. 

Once everyone was seated or in a spot, the whiskey gone, the shock melting, Kurt spoke -- he felt it was his responsibility. "Bedelia was covered in fire. Not on fire...she was fire." 

Everyone stared at him. 

"Impossible." Quicksilver scoffed, but even his remark was weak, "She's human. And if all the stressors she's been through," particularly that of the Brotherhood, he thought, "haven't triggered something…"

Charles furrowed his brow at Kurt’s words and his lips came together in a thin line at Pietro’s. She had been the fire...and he had felt her mind for the briefest moment. Cerebro had captured it. “It may seem impossible but,” Charles brought up the data Cerebro had collected, “as you all know the brainwaves of mutants and humans are different and right before Bedelia was transported away…”

The holographic image that was representing Bedelia and her brain waves moved from registering as human to mutant. “I do not know how to explain it. But I suppose it is possible that she had an untriggered X-gene. She does suffer from pyrophobia, if her powers are fire-related, perhaps her mind was able to suppress her genes as a defense mechanism...or Essex has found a way to make humans into mutants…”

Beast ran a hand over his head in thought. “Either way we need to find her once more and now we do not have any leads.”

To make a human a mutant and a mutant a human...it was enough to turn anyone’s stomach. “We know there are a few other labs.” Trance suggested, “But he’ll be expecting us. He’ll have a multitude of that poison available...” More than one person glanced over at Kurt, a silent inquiry if he would be prepared for that. “We need a plan just as much as we need to target the next lab.”

Magneto had settled against the wall, thoughtful. If Bedelia was indeed turned against them while in that state of fire -- a mutant , how interesting  -- it did beg the question of her use. Magneto wouldn’t be able to kill her now. She was valuable at least as a fellow mutant now, if not a journalist. But how to control the fire for his benefit? 

Jean looked over at Beast. “Is there any other information in her works to suggest where the labs are?”

“There might be, Bedelia thankfully left us a lot of information. She has notes of possible leads and other places that she wanted to look for records as well,” Hank told Jean. “It will be days if not a couple of weeks before we have our next solid lead.”

Charles nodded, still looking at the hologram of Bedelia’s brainwaves. In essence, they are to think like a journalist. “We have another side to consider as well. As Trance said they will be expecting us...we could raid another base, look for more information, but how will they react? Essex could start moving, closing up their current labs, and finding new places to work. They may not even be in North America anymore.”

Charles looked at Erik. He had heard that thought about how to contain her. “And if Bedelia is a mutant with fire abilities we need to work on how to safely contain her...from the mutants the X-men saved in Genosha we kept their collars...it might be the safest way if we can get close enough.”

It was uncomfortable to fathom, but there was a point in what Charles said. Kurt nodded. “It might help her state of mind if she’s not...if her powers are not active.” He agreed. A glance between Kurt and Pietro sealed an unspoken deal: whoever got closer to her first would put the collar on her. 

Frost spoke up as well with something else they had not considered. “And there is the matter of the media. Her disappearance after the studio was attacked is causing a stir. Mystique could take her place, calm the waters, or let them wonder. Then when we find her that’s when we expose Essex.”

“It would benefit us to let her remain absent,” Erik continued off of Frost’s input, “for the public will be outraged when we reveal Essex...and why he had to perish.” There was a murmur of agreement.

“It would be best if we were fairly certain about the next spot. The fewer chances Essex has to wear us down, the better.” Trance commented. “Let him spread his resources...it would also give us time to figure out what the hell that poison is and how long it lasts.” The truth of the matter was simple: they would need Azazel and he was out of the game...for now.

“We can set up a schedule between our groups, Charles, to guard the school grounds.” Erik proposed. Rather, he stated it as fact, because the idea of leaving a school full of mutant children without all the possible defenses did not settle well with him. He knew no one would dare disagree.

Charles nodded in agreement to Erik’s words. It was better that the Brotherhood and X-men stay together in a sense. Essex could return at any moment and they needed to keep alert. Moving the children though wasn’t a good idea. It opened up too many possibilities and risks. Besides nowhere had more defenses than the school. Not with the X-men, not with the Brotherhood.

“Very well,” he finally said. “I believe it will be best if we all stick together until this threat has passed and given that you have lost your primary transport here would be the best. We need eyes on the injured and the grounds. Tonight those we have standing guard already will finish out the night. The rest of us should get some sleep...as much as you can, given everything.”

“There are hospital beds right now but we do have multiple guest rooms with some extra beds we can bring up from storage,” Jean added immediately, shooting Scott a look to be quiet. It was unneeded though. Even the hardened Scott Summers knew when he had to bend for the situation.

“If you find you can’t sleep either check in with the injured or find me in my lab going over Bedelia’s notes,” Hank told the group. He already knew he wouldn’t be able to rest tonight.

~~~~~

Fire. She was on fire. Bedelia was burning.

It consumed her. Searing her from the inside out. Burning away her thoughts, her mind. She was a burned-out shell...and that made it all the easier to control her.

Bedelia was unable to fight Sinister as he moved her around. She saw what was happening. Understood that it was wrong. But she had no will to fight it. The fire had stripped that from her...being so close to rescue and lost again had stripped that from her.

She was on the cold operating table again. Sinister was leaning over her. “I have just started your transformation. If I could express your X-gene, just think of the heights I could take you. It is a shame that your mind is broken. I enjoyed our banter...well, it would have been gone soon anyway. You are a doll now, but I am going to make you a puppet.”

________

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Fanfic Masterlist

[nicsnort]

Trial by Fire (part 52)

A Nightcrawler/Fem!OC romance, drama, and mystery fanfic, with lots of Quicksilver thrown in for fun and even more drama.

Intro (with link to full Ao3 story) First Previous

Xavier’s brows furrowed, and his smile fell into a contemplative line. He sighed, lacing his fingers together on his lap. “If we had been aware of Genosha before, we would have implemented measures and missions to save those lives as discreetly as possible. As it stands, the X-men did not know about Genosha until it was already too late- a regret I will carry with me for the rest of my life. While I do not condone the Brotherhood’s bloodshed, I do see the benefit, particularly to those mutants they saved, like Trance, of their rescue mission. The Brotherhood has saved many mutant lives, this is true, but, unfortunately, many human lives were lost.” 

Kurt was quiet, looking between the two. He noticed the shift in Bedelia and observed, taking in her behavior and words.

Bedelia was hyper-aware of every facial movement of Xavier’s. It was in the small facial features that she would see any lies; she would see where he was uncomfortable. “And what about the second attack on Genosha? You were trying to save me, I am aware, but what did you do for your fellow mutants then?”

Everything outside of Bedelia was drowned out. Even Kurt she paid no mind to. She was smelling something off, and there was a reason the best in her profession were known as bulldogs. Bedelia would not let it go.

It was a thin line, Xavier knew, between Bedelia asking questions for her own curiosity and for her job. He treated it just the same, though. “We offered refuge and rescued several mutants that we could -- just as we offered you assistance at that time as well.” The Professor was far too gentlemanly and polite to say it or even suggest it, but he knew that Bedelia might interpret that as ‘you would have seen it if you took our help,’ so he added to clarify, “I am aware of why you declined it. It was a valid concern and reason, Ms. Hayes.” 

Once he let that settle, he added, “As I have said, Erik and I have always had similar end goals...but the manner in which we approach them have always been different. Just as we did at the lab, as you may have seen from Hank, we destroyed their research without ending a single person’s life.” After a pause, he added, “In their spare time, both Hank and Jean have been making progress with being involved in the political side. For you see, Ms. Hayes, the X-men do more than fight battles on a field -- we work behind the scenes diligently.” He offered a small grin as if asking, Anything else ?

The jab at her choice Bedelia could have done without even with his clarification. Still, to know that they had rescued a few was good. Bedelia inclined her head at the mention of seeing Beast work at the lab. “Dr. McCoy’s work I am most certainly aware of though I am not a political journalist. I work the streets with the mutant population. This school is a myth for them. The work of the Brotherhood is not. Even without my articles, the Brotherhood provides networking, aid, and the like for desperate mutants. You have a better relationship with humans than the Brotherhood, but for many mutants…”

Bedelia gestured wide with a shrug. “You are heroes certainly, but you do not help.” There wasn’t even a question there. Either Xavier would respond, or he wouldn’t.

These were not new questions to Xavier, nor were the subtle and not-so-subtle accusations jarring to him. The same, however, could not be said for Kurt. The blue mutant spoke up then, his voice lined with surprise and protest, “Now, wait a second! The Professor has helped hundreds of mutants! The Brotherhood may help with ‘networking,’ but they have killed many humans and would kill even more -- does that make them ‘good’ then? And if ‘good,’ then to who -- mutants only? The X-men strives to be good to both mutants and humans.”

“Kurt…” Xavier tried to interrupt, but the man wouldn't hear it.

“If the X-men sat back and did nothing, then the Brotherhood would represent all of mutant-kind, and I, for one, am not a murderer.”

“Kurt…”

“The humans need someone to look at and realize that not all mutants are like the Brotherhood -- haven’t you noticed, Bedelia?” 

“ Kurt .” Xavier’s tone was sharp then. He didn’t need the blue mutant to speak and say something he’d regret, and he was getting close to it. Still, he understood why Kurt was so passionate now -- he was hurt. Hurt by Bedelia’s questions, the perceived attack on his home, on the school. And the suggestion that Bedelia was siding with the Brotherhood, as Kurt seemed to see it, was already doing damage. When Nightcrawler quieted, his tail flicking with agitation, Xavier sighed and looked to Bedelia. This wasn’t quite how he hoped the morning would start.

“Ms. Hayes,” he said, “I would love dearly to have more than my thirty students here. We have tried, in fact, but it just didn’t work. I can build another school; I can fill the halls with hundreds of mutant children...but I do not have the staff. It would not have the same level of quality because I cannot ask anyone else to take on the pressures of being the Headmaster of a second or third school. And the advertisement of the school would put my students at risk .’ 

‘Though I do believe in the inherent goodness in people, I am not blind to how cruel they can be. To put our school on display, to make a ‘myth’ a reality, as you suggest, would invite people to antagonize us, possibly endanger themselves with the students who struggle with control...and it risks the attention of certain governments, as you yourself have discovered can be quite cruel in the name of homeland security.’ 

‘We have assisted many mutants in the past. They do not stay, but we help. We offer resources for those we can, be it here or on the streets, but we must balance anonymity for the students’ safety and the notion of saving the world. We cannot save them all, Ms. Hayes, just as anyone in the medical profession, educational field, or otherwise will tell you.” Xavier felt heavy of heart at this, though, a reminder of their reality. 

The moment Kurt spoke, Bedelia was jolted from her hardline focus on Xavier and this line of questioning. As Kurt defended himself and the X-men, Bedelia realized what her words sounded like. While she had been trying to provoke Xavier into a response, she had forgotten about the other person in the room. With each line Kurt spoke, Bedelia felt more uncomfortable and shifted her shoulders, dropping to reflect it.

While she did hear all of Xavier’s answer, Bedelia's attention now included Kurt. The hurt expression on his face. The agitation in his body and tail. “My words,” she said carefully in response, looking more at Kurt, “were not what I think but what the mutants I talk to say. I speak to the homeless, the abused, and the discriminated against mutants across the globe. I respect what you are doing as the X-men and as this school...I just...I suppose this is the danger of being a workaholic. Everything looks like work, and it can be hard to stop yourself...I’m sorry if I offended you.”

She reached out and touched Kurt’s arm. “I know not all mutants are like the Brotherhood. I know…” Her hand drifted down to his hand and squeezed it gently.

Her words repeated in his head, not much to his pleasure or permission. "You made it sound like you owned those words." He didn't pull away from her touch, as it brought some warmth to him, but he still felt injured at the suggestion that he was no better, possibly even worse, than the Brotherhood. "We are not your enemy. We are no one's enemy." 

Xavier read the situation. "I think," he said gently, "that is enough questions for this morning. Ms. Hayes, Kurt, if you need me, I will be downstairs. And Kurt…Ms. Hayes is an excellent journalist."

Bedelia frowned with regret and shame. She had hurt Kurt, and that didn’t feel good. It was obvious to her that he yearned for acceptance. For her to have accepted him and reassured him that she did only for her to insult him inadvertently...it must have been whiplash emotionally. At Xavier’s words, she looked at him and gave a nod. At the very least, he did not appear to take offense at her words...and where she was coming from professionally. “Of course, my apologies again.”

Kurt understood what they were both saying. Still, he had a bit of trouble shaking off the hurt. To hear her speak those words...he sighed. He squeezed her hand and gestured toward the food. "Perhaps we should try to go back to enjoying breakfast…"

“I am sorry, Kurt,” she told him once again. “I’ve never really had to have boundaries between my work and personal life before. It looks like I am going to have to start making those.”

Being with Kurt would be a large conflict of interest in the future. Any story she wrote about the X-men would be suspect if their relationship got out. It would probably be best if she didn’t write anything about the X-men herself. But with the Essex story, it was going to be unavoidable. Things may get tricky with her next article. Luckily she had plenty of time to write it.

Kurt found that he was in new territory. Bedelia was interested in him, and he her… But she was a journalist. He knew on some level that she was not meant to be loyal to the X-Men despite the safety they provided. After all, they were a group of mutants. They were a group, period. Still, having met him and met them even for a short amount of time, for her to echo the others' sentiments…? And, more so, not distinguish between her opinion and the others? His heart sank a bit.

"The X-Men are not a bad group…there is no hidden agenda, Bedelia. But they are my family...and I would not be here with them if they were anything less than good." Kurt explained, his voice gentle but insistent. And they were his family, this group. 

He took a breath and nodded. "It is new territory for us all." He agreed. "But I am willing to work with it if you wish it." He smiled, his yellow eyes soft.

Bedelia nodded at his words. “Yes, I want to work with you on it. It will take time and I think there are going to be a lot of boundaries that will come up unexpectedly. But I am willing to work through them if you are. I don’t want to hurt your family; I know the X-men are good people and mean well.”

Leaning up, Bedelia pressed a kiss against his cheek. When she pulled away, there was a dusting of a blush on her cheeks. “I think you are worth the conflict of interest that you will cause me with the X-men...though that does remind me I need to call my editor. Eugene is probably worried sick about me.”

Violet flushed over his cheeks. Kurt gave a sheepish sort of smile at her kiss, feeling both pleased and shy. "I will take that as a compliment," he gave a soft chuckle, scratching the back of his head with his tail, "I am glad to be a...conflict of interest." He reached over and took her hand, squeezing it. "Eugene? Uh, sure...here, there is a landline here."

He teleported them to an office area. It was open and broad, suggesting use to anyone who needed it. There were chairs, tables, and a phone- a lobby. He nodded to her and went to take a seat.

Sitting next to Kurt with the phone, Bedelia paused for a moment, recalling the number for Eugene Goodman before dialing it. The phone rang three times before being forwarded to his secretary. “Eugene Goodman’s office; how can I help you?”

“Youngem,” Bedelia greeted with a smile in her voice. “This is Bedelia Hayes. Is Eugene in at the moment? I need to speak with him real quick about my contract.”

“Miss Hayes, please wait a moment,” the secretary replied. Bedelia waited a moment, tapping her foot in time to the music while she was on hold. After a minute, Eugene picked up the phone, his usually clipped business tone holding notes of stress. “Bedelia? How can I help you?”

“Eugene, I wanted to let you know I’m safe. The X-men have me.” Even as Bedelia told him, she wondered if he had actually understood her plea the first time they had spoken after Genosha.

She need not have wondered as he immediately sighed in relief. “Thank goodness, I was concerned when you mentioned my ex-wife.”

“I am glad you understood that. I knew there wasn’t anything you could do, but I needed someone to know. I will be working on another article for you, Eugene though I can’t promise it will be with my exclusive source. I doubt the Brotherhood will want to give me information anymore.”

“That doesn’t matter as much as your safety.” There was a softness in his voice that Bedelia had never heard before.

“Careful Eugene, you’re losing your stiff upper lip...but thank you. I have something big in the works. Possibly bigger than Genosha. It still might take a few months, but it will have to be a full special issue or a series.”

“Bigger than Genosha, how?”

“Let’s just say Genosha was one part of a larger scheme. I can’t tell you too much, but the X-men are helping me get information. After it is published, I will probably have to go to ground. You might want to start setting up precautions as well.” Outside the window, Bedelia heard a car pull up in front of the school. Glancing through the window, she saw a very expensive car park outside. A man opened the rear passenger door and got out. He was tall with impressively blonde hair, sharp facial features, and an unseasonable brown trench coat. He gave a signal to the driver, and the car took off as the man approached the stairs.

Eugene’s voice brought Bedelia back to the conversation. “I will keep that in mind. Be careful, Bedelia. You are an employee of this paper now. Don’t do anything reckless or illegal.”

“Me do something risky or illegal for the truth? Never,” Bedelia replied, barely hiding a laugh. She shot Kurt a sly grin.

On the other end, Eugene rolled his eyes. “Goodbye, Bedelia.”

“Goodbye, Eugene,” Bedelia hung up and grinned at Kurt. “That man has been trying to get me into a contract for two years because of my work, and now that he finally has me he tells me to be careful. He’s been out of the field too long. Got comfy as an editor.”

“He can’t have his best reporter leave him so soon.” Kurt smiled. He glanced out the window, having heard the car drive away. “Oh,” he sounded surprised, “Angel’s here. Hm...I wonder why. Have you met him? Warren Worthington the...third? He’s very well-known for his family’s company.” He stood and added, “Come, fraulein, I’ll introduce you.”

When Kurt named the man she had seen from the window, Bedelia’s mouth dropped open with surprise. It was not the name Angel that surprised her - no, as an on-and-off member of the X-men, that was no surprise. It was the man’s actual name. Warren Worthington the third...the owner of the Guardian. Technically her boss. “I’ve never had the pleasure,” she told Kurt, taking his hand.

____

Next

Fanfic Masterlist

[nicsnort]

Trial by Fire (part 78)

A Nightcrawler/Fem!OC romance, drama, and mystery fanfic, with lots of Quicksilver thrown in for fun and even more drama.

Intro (with link to full Ao3 story) First Previous

Bedelia had been given the room she stayed in before. The Brotherhood had been partially staying at the manor for the past two weeks, meaning space was limited. She was glad to have a private space. Her mind was still processing everything that happened. While she appreciated Kurt’s presence, Bedelia was used to having long stretches of alone time to think. Kurt had dropped Bedelia off at her room, and she told him she would see him at dinner. He seemed sad to leave her but understood - he needed his bandages changed anyway.

His bandages. Bedelia rubbed her face at the thought of them. She had hurt him. Unintentionally, sure, but she still had injured him…and not just him. Down the medical ward, she had briefly seen the others. The ones that Sinister had made Hellfire test her powers on. Hellfire. Who was she trying to fool by using that name? Bedelia could remember everything. She remembered their screams, she remembered her screams, and she could do nothing to help herself. She had hurt so many people.

Bedelia rushed into the bathroom and emptied her stomach into the toilet. There wasn’t much in there besides stomach acid and water. Bedelia ran to the sink, splashing her face with water and rinsing out her mouth. She stared at the running water knowing there was a mirror a few inches from her. It covered half the wall above the sink counter. Closing her eyes, Bedelia shut off the water.

Her eyes still closed, Bedelia returned to the bedroom. She pulled the flat sheet off the bed and returned to the bathroom. Keeping her gaze down, Bedelia climbed up onto the counter and began tucking the sheet around the edges of the mirror. There wasn’t much room, but there was enough. After a few minutes of finagling, she secured the sheet around the mirror. Now she wouldn’t have to look at her hideous appearance…now it would only be obvious if she ever looked at her hands. Maybe she could get long gloves like Rogue’s.

Returning to the main room, she sat in the chair Kurt had occupied when she asked him to stay with her. She leaned her head back. The metal of the collar pinched her neck. She better get used to it. Bedelia knew she would be wearing this collar for the rest of her life. Unless…no. How could she ask the X-men to make Essex’s mutant cure for her? And she wasn’t desperate enough to get it from an Essex-aligned lab. But maybe the X-men would be willing to give her an image inducer like Kurt’s. At least that way, she wouldn’t have to be scared of looking in mirrors for the rest of her life.

Bedelia’s thoughts drifted back to what Kurt had said. Beautiful. She was beautiful. It still felt like a lie. Just like one, you would tell someone who had been disfigured in an accident. What else would you call this body? Bleached skin, bleached hair, black and white eyes, and that awful red ruby. Reaching up Bedelia touched the stone. She swore the chuckle of Sinister echoed around her as she did. My greatest work should look like her creator.  

This was worse than the scars on her back as a reminder of the trauma of the fire. This was unavoidable. A constant reminder of what happened. Blue fire is the hottest part of the flame but white is second. I do not believe the flesh of the test subjects will care about the difference.

A rapid and short knock on the door broke Bedelia from her train of thought. It was for the best. No need to go down that rabbit hole so soon. Getting up, Bedelia opened the door. There was no one waiting outside. As she went to close the door, she glanced down and saw a covered food tray. Kurt must have realized she had not eaten all day but still wanted to respect her request for time alone.

Carefully picking it up, so as not to see her reflection in the shining metal, she brought it inside the room. Lifting the lid, she paused as the scent of mac’n’cheese and lobster hit her. There indeed was the comfort food, still steaming, along with a small personal serving size of cookies'n'cream ice cream. Not Kurt. Quicksilver.

She wondered if this was his attempt at an apology for his callous words earlier. Even as she did, his other words floated back to her. Mutant and beautiful.  

Bedelia glanced at her reflection in the metal cover then slowly down at her ghastly white hand. Kurt gave her platitudes and Quicksilver rhetoric. Shaking her head, Bedelia began to eat.

~~~~

Kurt and Bedelia ate a small dinner separately from the rest. While Bedelia was spending time alone, Kurt had made a light picnic dinner which they enjoyed by the school’s pond together. He wanted to keep her distracted from the memories of the past two weeks. Even more than new students, Bedelia needed support for the changes she went through. Kurt was determined to do just that. 

“Do you want me to stay with you tonight,” he asked her as they looked up at the stars together.

Bedelia had enjoyed the picnic even more than Quicksilver’s comfort food solely for who had made it and shared it with her. At Kurt’s question, Bedelia sighed. She hadn’t even thought about going to sleep tonight. She didn’t know if she’d be able to. If there was a chance she would be able to sleep, though, she was sure that nightmares would be prevalent.

“If you wouldn’t mind, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep at all.”

“Do I have to tell you another story? Or should I sing to you this time,” Kurt asked with a chuckle.

A smile grew on Bedelia’s face at the thought. “I do not mind the thought of either.” Her smile quickly turned into a yawn at the thought of bed. Maybe she would get to sleep tonight.

They packed up the picnic blanket and basket. Kurt expedited their journey by teleporting them to the kitchen and then into the bedroom hallway. “I will change into pajamas and see you in a couple minutes,” he told her.

“I’ll be waiting,” she replied, slipping inside her room. Bedelia slipped into bed but by the time Kurt arrived, she was asleep. 

Kurt smiled softly and slipped under the covers. She rolled over, still half asleep, and nestled against him. Kurt stroked her snow-white hair and pressed a kiss against her pale forehead. “Guten nacht, kobold.”

The following day Kurt awoke first, the pain medication for his burns had worn off. Bedelia was still asleep, nightmares prevented by the presence of her blue fey prince. At least, he hoped that was the case. Carefully sliding out of bed, Kurt went into the bathroom to relieve himself and grab some pain pills he knew were in all the medicine cabinets. It wasn’t until he was washing his hands that he noticed the sheet blocking the mirror.

A pang of guilt and sorrow crashed through him. Guilt because he had been unable to protect Bedelia and had not thought of her needs. Sorrow once again at the idea that Bedelia could not bear to look at herself and thought herself a monster.

Teleporting into his room, Kurt searched around for his old image inducer. This one was the first, he kept it as a reminder, but it had been tossed in a box at some point. Finding it, Kurt plugged it into the wall to charge and opened up the appearance menu. When he was a teen, he once managed to get the settings to show him as a woman, he was sure he’d be able to find those settings again…and add in red hair.

After 20 or so minutes of messing with the settings, Kurt gave a nod. He was pretty sure he got it. The battery had nearly charged as well - one of the many miracles of the technology was fast charging time. Teleporting back to Bedelia’s room, Kurt saw that she was awake - and changing.

“ Es tut mir leid !” Kurt quickly turned around, his face purple with embarrassment.

Bedelia had awoken alone. She readily admitted she was upset that Kurt wasn’t there. She had woken in the night to find him with her before falling back asleep in his arms. So she began to change finding a long-sleeved shirt to cover most of her arms from her view. As she was pulling on the sports bra there was a bamf behind her. At Kurt’s hurried apology, she felt her own cheeks darken, and she quickly arranged her clothing.

“I’m decent now,” she told him after putting on her shirt hurriedly. “Sorry, I thought you went back to your room or down to breakfast.”

Kurt chuckled now and couldn’t help but find her bright red face adorable even with his own embarrassment. “I wouldn’t go to breakfast without you.”

“Oh, and here I was thinking breakfast in bed would be nice,” Bedelia winked. Then she noticed something in his hands. “What do you have there?”

“Ach, this is for you,” Kurt told her, showing her the old inducer. Not as sleek as his current one but functional. “I saw the sheet in the bathroom. I realized that I…” He sighed and caressed her cheek lovingly. “My feelings have not changed for you, Kobold. To me, you are as lovely as ever but I know that you may require time to feel that way about yourself. So, until that time I reprogrammed my old image inducer to look like your old appearance.”

Bedelia’s throat had tightened at his touch. A few tears sprang to her eyes as she realized what he was saying and giving her. “Thank you, Kurt. This means a lot…” Her voice caught in her throat, a couple of tears sliding down her cheeks.

Kurt pulled Bedelia against his chest, wrapping his arms and tail around her. He patted her back softly and kissed the top of her hair as she regained herself. Once the initial emotion was over Bedelia pulled back and kissed Kurt softly on the lips. “Thank you.”

“Of course, Kobold. Here let me put it on you and show you how it works.” Fixing the inducer on her wrist, Kurt noticed that it was big for her wrist. Another reminder to him of how fragile she was, strong yet fragile like a diamond. “That button there turns it on and off whenever you want.”

Bedelia smiled at him it meant a lot to her that he would give her this without asking. He knew her need without her having to voice it even if it went against his initial desires. “Alright,” she breathed out slowly and gave a nod before pressing the button.

There was a small electronic noise and she looked down at her hand. It was pale cream but not ghastly white. Normal. Bedelia’s voice caught in her throat. Yet she heard Kurt muffle a laugh.

“What’s funny,” she asked, looking a bit hurt.

“Sorry, but my programming skills were not the best. We will have to ask Beast to fix it.”

With a confused expression, Bedelia went into the bathroom. Tugging down the sheet from the mirror, she saw why Kurt was laughing. Her hair was bright firetruck red, and her eyes a glowing neon blue. Bedelia could not help but join in Kurt’s laughter.

_________

Next I updated Bedelia's bio with a new image and info!

Fanfic Masterlist

[nicsnort]

Trial by Fire (part 69)

A Nightcrawler/Fem!OC romance, drama, and mystery fanfic, with lots of Quicksilver thrown in for fun and even more drama.

Intro (with link to full Ao3 story) First Previous

As Storm went into action to get the kids to safety and the X-men ready, Magneto, upstairs, woke with a start. No, not Magneto -- Erik. He had stayed the night, the pair talking late, and he had slept exceedingly well for the first time in a long time. When he felt Charles shake him and processed his words, he sat up and grit his teeth. “Well then. You’re lucky I’m here, Charles.” He allowed more than a bit of his vanity to show then.

Erik got dressed, no time to think or lament how they could replicate this. As he reached for his helmet, he paused and looked at Xavier. He gave a sad, small smile, offered a warm thought, then placed it on his head. He opened the window and floated out, seeing the X-men were already outside. 

Charles rolled his eyes at Erik’s comment. Yes, lucky he was here...now he’d actually have to explain to the X-men why Magneto was here at 7 a.m. with bedhead. Getting out of bed Charles made it to his chair - still in his pajamas but with slippers on at least - by the time that Erik had finished dressing. The telepath could not help but furrow his brow with regret as Erik slipped the helm back on his head. At least, that last thought was enough to keep Charles’ worry at bay. As Magneto left Charles hurried out of the bedroom to the children. He would keep them calm and safe with Ororo until the danger had passed.

Outside Essex had already swept through the forest. They moved as a unit. Two different groups moved in a pincer towards the manor, covering all sides. The Alpha Unit had run into a mutant at the edge of the property and taken him hostage. Their orders were to capture as many mutants alive as possible. For the rest bring their bodies for dissection. 

It seemed that something had alerted the X-men to their presence. Beta Unit could see the Blue Beast and Cyclops patrolling around. Their side, on the southwest wing. They knew that there had to be more around. In the shadows of the tree line, they raised their guns with knock-out darts...and fired.

Hank heard the crunch of a branch right before the poof of the dart gun. “Here!” He called out diving in front of Cyclops. He caught a dart in his chest and felt his vision swim but it would take more than that to take him out. With a roar, Beast raced into the trees.

Having been saved from the dart by Beast Cyclops raised his hand to his visor and began shooting beams into the woods trying to break up the formation of the soldiers. He called for the others but on the other side of the manor, some other X-men were under attack as well.

The sound of the dart guns was subtle, but the air was quiet enough to catch it. That was what made all the difference for Kurt, allowing him to teleport away. He found out where they were, at least two of the soldiers, and appeared behind them. “Guten tag.” He greeted dryly before hitting them upside the head. They were down.

Jean, for her part, ran with Kitty, the tranquilizers phasing through them with ease. The guns raised high out of their reach and between Kurt and Kitty, they managed to get a couple more unconscious. The rest, however, started to fall back. 

Magneto wouldn’t have that though. The sound of metal bending filled the air. The vehicles that they had come in off in the distance warped and came rushing forward, wrapping around the men. He made his way towards Hank and Scott, beams of metal from the garden house following to retain the soldiers.

Around where Hank was sat something unique, besides signs of a scuffle -- broken branches, ripped out bush, and so forth -- but a nice sized chunk of cactus. 

Xavier was with the children in the training rooms below the school. There was a back entrance here hidden from the outside that they would use to escape if somehow the X-men fell. But he was keeping them calm. This was the first attack by Essex that they had but two years ago it was Stryker’s men and three years ago the Hellfire cultists. They would weather this battle as well.

“They have cut off these bad guys’ means of escape,” he told the students. “And nearly half the men are unconscious. None of the X-men are hurt.”

That wasn’t completely true at least for much longer as another two darts hit Hank in the chest. That much drug in his system could not be overcome. He collapsed. The last thing he saw was the strange presence of a cactus stem.

Logan had seen his ally fall and rushed over, taking no mercy on these intruders. Charles may reprimand him for it later but Essex was too much of a threat. He would show them that they were not to be messed with. The men were in full retreat now. They had not expected the X-men to know they were coming. They weren’t prepared for a ready X-team plus Magneto.

One of the men radioed ahead to tell the ones waiting with the containment vehicles to leave. The few vehicles that hadn’t been caught up in Magneto’s power sped off...Skinwalker in one of them. The Essex men continued to run. Some escaped, but many of them were unconscious around the grounds...a few dead. The attack was over only lasting a handful of minutes.

~~~~~

Magneto landed gently on his feet, his mood soured by the wake-up call. This wasn’t the way he wished to spend his morning, particularly after such a late slumber. He tightened the grip around their captured men with the cars, sighing. He wondered when the next time he’d be able to do this with Charles -- particularly since all his children were keenly aware of his presence. And yes, even Logan counted as one of Charles’ children. 

He walked over to the fallen blue man and watched him -- breathing. Good. It wouldn’t do to have one of the smart ones dead. He hovered the soldiers over and looked up at Logan, spotting the blood...a natural sight for an animal. “I trust you are able to carry your friend.” He paused though, spotting something uniquely not New York nearby. “Is that a cactus?” 

Logan growled at Magneto. He could smell Charles on him. Damn it. He thought Chuck had gotten over...how could he at a time like this?! There were more important things than the memories of past relationships going on right now. “Yeah, I got him,” Logan told Magneto lifting Hank up onto a shoulder. Hank’s long arms drag on the ground. “Looks like it...must have come off our Essex friends.”

On the other side, Kurt had just rounded up the few unconscious men and brought them into a room, pausing to tie them up. So Essex knew where they were. How? He needed to find out. It may explain how they found Bedelia’s home. 

Inside the manor, Xavier was sending the children to the dining hall promising them a longer breakfast and double dessert for what happened today. Ororo went with the children to the dining hall as Charles went to check on the other X-men. “We need to figure out how they found us,” Charles told Scott as Logan slowly carried Hank’s body over to them. 

“Bedelia may have given us up already,” Scott accused.

“Unless Kurt told her where the school was after she left us, Bedelia did not know,” Charles told Scott. “I made sure of that...Logan, did you find anything at her house?”

“Elf found a safe with a USB and a journal in it. Took them to Hank here. I think Kitty was working on it too when I got back...where is the Elf?”

“Securing the unconscious men. Let’s go in and put Hank in bed. We can figure things out from there. Erik, perhaps it would be best to check in with the Brotherhood. If they found us they may have found your hideout as well.”

Magneto listened to the X-men speak about the betrayal, the surprise. He set the men aside for now outside -- he’d interrogate them momentarily. He would otherwise ask Logan, but the man was due to temper tantrums. “As you wish Charles, I…”

Storm walked into the foyer, taking a step away from the students momentarily once she made sure the older ones were calming the younger ones. Donna had asked a question that Storm hadn’t been able to answer. “Charles,” she spoke, her voice carrying, “Where is Skinwalker?” Because like Donna, she knew the man wouldn’t leave without a goodbye.

Charles looked down at Ororo’s question. Before he could reply Erik answered the question for him. “We will get him back, tell Donna not to worry.”

Magneto frowned. “Let us hope our fellow mutant is strong enough to handle another stint with his tormentors.” He gave Charles a look, one that was easy to read as a promise for a conversation later, and left. He’d bring the men with him back to the hideout, whistling for Azazel.

Kurt teleported back to the foyer, seeing the group. Everyone was, for the most part, unharmed. It would have been far worse if they hadn’t acted first. But...perhaps...perhaps if he had been caught, he would know where Bedelia was. “Professor,” he spoke, “I was thinking. I had given Bedelia a tracker, something subtle, which stopped working somewhere in Arizona. What if...Essex had the same idea?” 

Listening to Kurt’s words the rest of the X-men there nodded. “The USB,” Scott asked insightfully. “If it was from Genosha itself...”

“Yes...The tracker disappeared around Arizona and we found this cactus on one of the men...they have to be somewhere in the Southwest. Kurt did you and Hank find anything in the USB or journal…” Mentally he reached out to Kitty who was searching the grounds with Jean still. Kitty, check the USB for a tracker. We believe that is how they found us.

Back at the Brotherhood hideout, Azazel was waiting for Magneto to call for him. Upon hearing the whistle - a latent psychic trigger created by Frost - he teleported to the manor grounds. He could smell the faint scent of blood in the air and saw the X-men bringing in unconscious bodies. “I see something interesting happened,” he commented taking Magneto’s arm and bringing him back to the hideout. “Quicksilver caught two men trying to burn down the journalist’s home last night. Frost interrogated them - they know nothing. Just hired hands through an anonymous source.”

Magneto scowled. He managed to bring with him a pair of Essex’s men -- something he had managed to sneak away with given the way the X-men were so busy. He waved a hand, plastering the two against the wall of the hideout outside. “I believe these two may be of more use...until they are not anymore. Have Frost visit with them. And prepare yourself...you and Trance will be on a mission soon.” Magneto started to walk in. He needed some time to himself, not to think of Essex, not yet, but to remember last night. “It would appear they captured Skinwalker.”

Azazel raised an eyebrow at the news. Skinwalker captured? He had just assumed he was going to spend the day with Donna at the school to make sure she was comfortable. Trance would not be happy at all. “I will let them know.”

~~~~

At the Brotherhood base, Frost was raping the minds of the two Essex soldiers that Azazel and Magneto had brought with them. The men it seemed had some training to resist telepaths and now an annoying song about a baby shark was on repeat in her head. Still, their minds would not hold out and she had already confirmed that there were several Essex bases in the Southwestern US. An hour passed and she had narrowed down the locations to four. Four possible bases. If she had more time Frost would have continued to destroy these men’s minds to narrow down the information further but she felt Xavier via Cerebro tapping on her mind.

What Xavier? You know this is highly unorthodox. I thought we had an agreement.

My apologies, Emma, Erik is wearing his helmet. We have narrowed down an area for search for Essex. I believe it is necessary to arrange battle plans together. We do not want miscommunication in this.

Very well, Xavier, I will tell Magneto...did you two enjoy the night together?

We will have these talks at the manor. Goodbye Emma. As much as possible on a telekinetic connection - Xavier hung up.

Emma sighed and made her way to Magneto’s office. After informing him of Xavier’s offer Magneto told her to gather the Brotherhood. Not all the members of the Brotherhood were here though and perhaps that was for the best. Sabertooth had wandered off as he often did, Avalanche had left after being disciplined for bringing the lab down on them, and Riptide had left to investigate a building suspected of being Essex-aligned in Asia last week. For the Brotherhood members that were present, it took half an hour for them all to arrive battle-ready.

With Azazel’s powers, they were back at the mansion soon after. Trance had dressed with care, her mind focused on Skinwalker, on his health, his life. She hoped he would hold off just long enough for them to find him. She had her hair tied back and her knives at her waist. The X-men were ready and prepared as well.

They sat down in their would-be war room. The tension in the room was thick. Nightcrawler crouched in a chair, but he was antsy, moving, tapping his fingers and twitching his tail. To see Azazel so calm, the difference was distinct. Emma relayed the information she had gathered from the men, pinpointing a couple of options for the labs. 

“It would be best if we split up.” Magneto decided, having entered without his helmet and taken his seat across from Charles. To be next to him would be...too tempting.

“Yes, from Emma’s information and ours we can rule out one of the possible labs but that still leaves two,” Charles concurred. While metaphorically Erik sitting on the opposite side of the table to him worked, Charles believed that having the Brotherhood here already bridged some of the old gaps. Perhaps Erik would be more open after this, more willing to work with the X-men and their goals than simply destroy the humans.

“Two locations and two groups,” Xavier said, “But perhaps it would be best to have members from both groups in each location. It will keep us honest with each other about what we find.

“You don’t trust us, Charles,” Magneto asked, even as he did so he concurred. If their groups were to work together, they’d work together in this operation.

Xavier looked at the mutants around them. “I think a teleporter should be on each team. I can keep the other teams informed of each other via Cerebro.”

Two teams, that made sense. Kurt nodded, saying a quiet prayer that he should be the one to find Bedelia. Jean and Logan agreed to go with Kurt. Trance commented that she would join Azazel and Beast -- a group that she was oddly interested to see how it all played out. Storm would join them as well, while Magneto, to balance out Pietro staying with the others, would go with Kurt’s group -- it was only fitting to have himself there to look out for the Brotherhood’s best interest.

They laid out the plans. The first group: Nightcrawler, Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean, Emma, Magneto. The second: Azazel, Beast, Quicksilver, Trance, and Storm. They had the two labs down and tentatively held an agreement. Most, of course, would be fluid as the layouts were still unknown. 

Then they were off, with the Professor being their guardian angel of sorts.

Team One reached the lab under the cover of the night. Nightcrawler would teleport some of them in while Emma and Jean would provide a more subtle, front entrance. Magneto, Wolverine, and Cyclops would be on alert to attack or defend. Nightcrawler felt his stomach turn to lead. He was nervous, uneasy. The first floor was easy enough, a simple lobby and the like. It looked like a doctor’s office, but Kurt knew the next several floors would be far more morbid. 

“I’ll check the minds of the scientists, see where they hold their people,” Emma told the group.

_____

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Fanfic Masterlist

[nicsnort]

Trial by Fire (part 86)

A Nightcrawler/Fem!OC romance, drama, and mystery fanfic, with lots of Quicksilver thrown in for fun and even more drama.

Intro (with link to full Ao3 story) First Previous

Bedelia sat in the Blackbird holding Kurt’s hand. While he was not going into the police station with her he was coming along for moral support. He would be waiting in the plane watching for disturbances outside and keeping Jean and Scott up to date on any trouble. While Magneto had promised that the X-men would be alone in returning Bedelia to society everyone knew a Brotherhood member would be watching. Trance had conveniently left this morning with Azazel and only Azazel returned. Not to mention that once the knowledge of Bedelia’s return reached the ears of the federal government everyone expected them to stick their noses in the case and who knew how quickly they would show up.

It was nearly six weeks to the day that Bedelia had been taken by Essex. Bedelia had fully recovered physically from her torture and Hank had successfully removed the control gem from her forehead. The friend of the X-men and occasional member of the team Forge had made her an image inducer that could withstand her heat if she had to use her powers. Forge had also messed around with the power-suppressing collar and realized that he could reduce its size and bulk. While the collar was hidden by the image inducer, it had still been obvious to anyone who touched her around the neck. Not to mention, its weight occasionally caused Bedelia pain. Now it sat around her neck like a choker necklace. Still, an emergency safeguard against her powers if she lost control.

“Are you ready, Kobold,” Kurt asked as Scott landed the jet on top of the building across from the police station.

“As much as I could be,” Bedelia replied squeezing his hand. “Which is to say, not at all but I have to. Just like the interviews, except with possible legal consequences.”

“You did nothing wrong, there will be no legal trouble.”

“Not from the NYPD, yes, but it is about time that I talk with the Feds about the Brotherhood. As I said before and is my right as a journalist I will not be turning them in or giving information but that does not mean I will not face legal consequences. Particularly, as I reveal one of the largest crimes in the history of the US government with my newest article. Eugene has assured me it will be released tomorrow morning. Enough time for the press to learn I have returned and details to leak as to what happened.”

As he often found himself doing, Kurt stared at Bedelia amazed. She was so brave. This was a different bravery than the X-men. Instead of running to battle and risking her life directly for others, she put herself in front of the world. The X-men were able to hide away and had a measure of anonymity even if they had revealed their names to the world. Bedelia did not. She had already faced consequences for this bravery and was willing to do so again. This time though Kurt swore he would keep her from harm's way.

“Ready, Bedelia,” Jean asked as the portcullis lowered for their exit.

“Ready,” the journalist replied with a nod. Together Jean, Scott, and Bedelia headed outside. Kurt watching from the window and listening in over the radio.

The New York air smelt of sweat, piss, and rot even in the early morning. After spending so long away from the city center Bedelia had forgotten how bad the scent could be. She walked, flanked by the two X-men, toward the NYPD central office.

In the early morning, there were few people around. A moment of peace between the chaos of the previous night's arrests and the day’s typical bustle. The secretary was fixated on the computer in front of her going through a pile of paperwork. Bedelia approached and waited silently until the woman noticed her.

“Yeah,” she asked not immediately seeing the X-men standing behind Bedelia - or completely numb to the sight of superheroes.

“I have information about an ongoing case. A missing person’s case.”

“Do you know the case number?”

“No, I have the name of the missing - Bedelia Hayes.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember that one. Hang on.” The secretary called someone over the phone. “An officer from missing persons will be out in a moment to take your report.”

“Thank you,” Bedelia told her stepping away from the counter. She waited with her hands behind her back for a full five minutes before the officer arrived. Jean and Scott - no at this point Cyclops and Phoenix - stood resolute on guard for threats. Bedelia wasn’t concerned this early in the morning.

Her back was to the open space as she examined a wall of the city’s most wanted when the officer arrived. “You the ones with that info on the Hayes case?”

“Yes,” Cyclops replied. “I am Cyclops of the X-men. We found her. Miss Hayes?”

Bedelia turned around and smiled at the officer who held a large coffee in his hand. “Good morning officer. I am Bedelia Hayes. You’ve been looking for me.”

“Christ,” the officer swore looking between the two X-men and Bedelia. “I’m gonna need more coffee, aren’t I?”

~~~~~~

It had been three hours. Bedelia sat in the interrogation room patiently being interrogated for three arduous hours. Honestly, she had not expected the cops to be so confounding. It wasn’t that she thought they would readily accept the story of her rescue but the part they seemed to have the problem with was her kidnapping.

“As I have repeatedly said, yes. It was not the anti-mutant terrorists who attacked the studio who kidnapped me. I was kidnapped by men in paramilitary gear working for an organization known as Essex Corporation.”

“And this completely unknown organization wanted you why, again?”

“Because this organization was working with the Genoshan government to experiment on mutants. They wanted revenge for my journalistic efforts and to stop me from looking into them.”

“And why did they kidnap you and not just kill you?”

“From my understanding, it was because they wanted to experiment on me.”

“Because you’re a mutant?”

“I had an unexpressed X-gene according to what I overheard. Their experiments activated it. But this has nothing to do with my kidnapping.” Bedelia sighed deeply frustrated. This was the sixth time she told this story.

“Hey, don’t get hostile. I’m just trying to understand,” the Detective snapped.

Bedelia resisted rolling her eyes. Ah, yes, a classic NYPD move. Accusations of hostility at the smallest sign of pushback. Many of her fellow journalists had heard multiple accounts of this behavior, but it was strange being on the receiving end of it. “Of course, Detective, my apologies. It is just hard recounting such a difficult experience so many times.”

She had barely even told him the details of what happened but a pitiful expression on her human-looking face tugged on his heartstrings. If she hadn’t been wearing the inducer or heavens forbid that she had been a person of color, she doubted that the look would have worked. Yet, she saw the Detective soften. “I understand…I have enough to add to the report for now but I need to escalate this. You said they took you out of state, this is an FBI issue now.”

“Thank you, Detective.” Finally.

There was a knock on the door and a uniformed officer stuck his head in. “Some Feds are here, they want to speak with your victim there.”

“Fucking Feds found out already? I haven’t even filed the report to bring this to them. Tell the FBI to wait.”

“It isn’t the FBI, they said they’re Department of Homeland Security.”

Bedelia felt her eye twitch with stress. She couldn’t get a break, could she? While it was expected that they would show up at some point Bedelia had hoped it wouldn’t be until later in the day or tomorrow. They must have had eyes on her file and were waiting for any updates.

The Detective sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Alright, fine. Stay here, Miss Hayes.”

Leaving with the officer the Detective left Bedelia alone in the interrogation room. She wondered if there was anyone on the other side of the one-way glass. Suddenly, there was a BAMF right next to her. Bedelia shrieked with surprise and fell off the chair. Or she would have if Nightcrawler’s tail hadn’t shot out to stop her.

“Sorry, Kobold,” he apologized. “Jean has been keeping mental track of you. She said you were alone. I was worried.”

Bedelia laughed, mostly at herself for the fright. “I am fine. Just tired. I didn’t expect them to need me for this long.”

“Do you need water,” he asked offering a bottle.

Gratefully, Bedelia took the bottle and drained half of it in a single go. “Thanks. The Feds are here if Jean didn’t overhear that bit. Homeland Security. There is a chance they might want to move me to a federal building.”

“We will keep an eye out,” Kurt replied with a nod. He tilted his head as though listening to someone speak. “Ach, they are coming. Love you, kobold.”

He pecked her on the cheek before bamfing off. Bedelia could not help but smile. While his concern for her had been annoying a couple of times she did love it. Maybe because it was Kurt, the man she loved, doing it.

_____

Next

Fanfic Masterlist

[nicsnort]

Trial by Fire (part 85)

A Nightcrawler/Fem!OC romance, drama, and mystery fanfic, with lots of Quicksilver thrown in for fun and even more drama.

Intro (with link to full Ao3 story) First Previous

Right on time, Xavier’s chair could be faintly heard. His voice was clear. “I believe she said she wanted to discuss with you and me, Erik.” There was a gentle tone to it, but it was firm still. Their eyes met. It was a moment of understanding. 

Kurt walked behind Xavier, glaring at Pietro.

Bedelia was glad he agreed. Though in some ways his lack of pushback worried her. That worry was partially assuaged when she heard Xavier roll up behind them and address Magneto. He had arrived quickly thank goodness. Bedelia turned to look at them and smiled comfortingly at Kurt. She was glad he was here but could tell he was upset.

“Xavier, I am glad you could join us,” Bedelia greeted, stepping back to make room for him and Kurt. “As I was about to say. The first thing that needs to happen is my return to society. It is my understanding that my kidnapping is well known and a missing person’s case is open. Before I can publish this story I must return. I assume the circumstances of my kidnapping would make my return of public interest. There will be media attention. I will have to reveal that I have been safe for a month but in recovery. When asked what happened I will have to reveal that I was experimented on and tortured. I will reveal Essex.”

She let that sit for a moment before continuing. “With that, I believe a data dump will be necessary. Taking all the information we have gathered on Essex and releasing it for other journalists to comb through. We can remove the information on the cure and what might be dangerous to mutants. But with a data dump, my words can be verified and other connections that we have overlooked can be made. As the data is released I will release the first article. Right now I have five planned out to be released one per week through the Guardian. So as much as I will be receiving attention I will use that to direct their attention to the Essex Corporation.”

Magneto’s eyes brightened at the mention of five articles. It seemed she had done more than make out with Nightcrawler. “It is a sensible plan,” he agreed, “and it will garner a significant amount of attention from all sides. I will have someone from the Brotherhood review the data as well before it is displayed – another pair of eyes to ensure nothing harmful to us is missed.” Us. Mutants. That included the journalist now. How delightful. “Perhaps Azazel.”

“And Hank will of course assist in this,” Xavier added.

“Of course,” Erik continued, “there is the obvious question of how you will show yourself to the public.” Her appearance he meant. “And, something vital, security. It wouldn’t do to have five articles to release if an anti-mutant group were to shoot up your nice home, after all.” 

‘Harmful to us’ Bedelia should have expected it. Magneto wanted to protect the Brotherhood and would probably try to remove more information than needed. At least he was on board with the larger idea. Having Azazel and Hank look over the data was acceptable at the very least. It was really Magneto’s second comment that Bedelia was worried about. He was correct, she was going to need protection. In a way, Bedelia was about to become one of the most well-known mutants in the US…and that was not an idea she enjoyed.

“We will have the X-men keep close to Ms. Hayes in shifts. And as for appearance,” he looked up at Bedelia, “Hank and I have been working on a small image inducer for you, to use if you wish. It may not be as sophisticated as Hank’s or Kurt’s, but it will do just fine.”

Xavier’s words were more than comfort. At hearing they had already started work on an image inducer Bedelia could not help but smile. “Thank you, Xavier. I believe an inducer would be for the best…as I mentioned earlier to Kurt. To suddenly reveal I am a-a mutant,” she stumbled slightly in stating that identity, “when I had clearly told everyone I was a human before is going to be difficult enough. But to appear like-like this…I think it is best avoided.”

Magneto was tempted to tsk at Xavier – always hiding, always ashamed, always scared of the humans. The falter in Bedelia’s tone, it caught his attention. “The transition can be challenging, particularly of those with great powers too grand to contain in appearance…but the sooner you accept it, the happier you’ll be.” He said matter-of-factly. “Isn’t that right, Nightcrawler? At least, that is what your father believes.”

His eyes rested on Kurt who bristled at the mention of Azazel’s blood relation to him. Bedelia cleared her throat trying to regain control of herself and redirect the conversation. 

“I have no issue with protection and gladly accept. Thank you. I think another issue at hand is the story we are going to tell and how I am going to return.” Bedelia looked between Magneto and Xavier ready to take in the reactions of both men. “Are we going to reveal your groups have been working together?”

“Erik, every person takes their own time in their own journey. It is not for you or me to dictate how fast they travel it.” It sounded, by Xavier’s tone, that they had discussed this more than once before. “In regards to revealing our partnership…”

“We should. The sooner we do, the better. Reveal Essex’s corporation for what it is and explain how that horrifying act has brought us together – an act so heinous…” Erik stated firmly.

Xavier sighed softly. “Eventually, it is likely that we will, but the timing is to be determined. While the Xavier Institute is not a widely known location…”

Something flashed in Erik’s eyes. “We could stay and patrol as needed – we already were against Essex, we can against the hateful humans.” A hopeful proposition perhaps. 

"Yes, I am inclined to agree. I think it would be wise to reveal that the X-Men and the Brotherhood have been working jointly after the news about Essex has been released." Who could fault Xavier for that, for trying to maintain their tentatively good impression and reputation with the public? Once Essex was revealed, it would offer a sympathetic look at why the two groups teamed up.

“I can guarantee that I will be asked where I was. It is better if I do not lie, especially to the police and federal agents who are sure to be asking me. Saying that I was recovering at the X-men base should satisfy most questions and if I am asked where precisely I was, well…” Bedelia shrugged. “It is true I do not actually know the address. But as it seems you both agree on the matter generally, I will say I was rescued by the X-men and the Brotherhood who combined forces to take down Essex…I will not speculate on the future of the alliance if asked.”

Who knew how long this would last after all? Though it did bring up the question of the ‘guarding’...this alliance, her being guarded by both groups was a band-aid. It wouldn’t last but no one seemed to want to discuss what would happen when that band-aid was ripped off.

“The question of how I should be returned is relevant too. As I walk into the NYPD do I have a visible escort from both sides? Or would sticking to the shadows be better?”

"For now," he glanced at Pietro, then looked at Erik, "it should be prudent that Ms. Hayes returns with one of the X-Men at her side."

Erik gave Xavier a look that suggested a heated and possibly unpleasant name he had for Xavier, one of which involved "cowardice". "The public will be disgusted by the company before and after the truth about Essex comes out. If I should have one of my men as a guard as well, it will not drastically alter the public opinion once it's been revealed."

"It may take away from the story at hand though." Xavier cautioned. "If the news outlets are too focused on the Brotherhood's hand in this, that will give them the ammunition to focus on that even after the Essex story is out. Ms. Hayes needs to appear as the center of the story and as much of a victim as she has been -- apologies, Bedelia."

The "hm" Eric made was his agreement, however reluctant he was. 

Bedelia looked between the two men once more. It was a good thing they were working this out now and things were still generally amicable between the two groups. “I understand…then I think it is best for a more discreet but known X-man to escort me into the NYPD. Scott or Jean perhaps.” She glanced at Kurt with an apologizing expression before continuing.

“It will better focus the attention on me initially…for the media interviews and outside of talking to investigators we can return to our usual guards from both sides. But keeping the Brotherhood out of official investigations and out of sight of the government is probably for the best…given all the warrants.”

Bedelia could do little about the warrants but she was beginning to wonder if Magneto was going to demand stories of her going forward. Their original “agreement” had been decided on with an axe over her head, when she was still human. But now she was a mutant…and Magneto was likely still wanting her to change the reputation of the Brotherhood. After Essex and all of this was over - would he want her to continue writing about their actions? If the Brotherhood continued with their plans and ways from before the tides of favorability would turn against them quickly. And how was she going to write about the X-men if at all? But those weren’t the topics at hand.

If there was any doubt that Eric and Pietro were related, the smirk they both had on from the mention of warrants would have been the perfect reminder. So similar. Xavier nodded, focusing back on the woman before him. "Jean will be an appropriate partner in your return, I agree. There should be little need for further people at that time. Do you have any other concerns?"

Kurt looked ready to remark, but he knew this was not about him, that it was something bigger than the dislike between him and Pietro. 

Xavier’s support in this was paramount and a blessing to Bedelia. His consideration of her concerns was much needed. Even as a mutant, there was no way she would have been able to get Magneto bend as much as Xavier had. This was a tenuous compromise but at least it was a compromise that was workable for both groups and Bedelia. Bedelia knew though that Xavier would not always be here to mediate between her and the Brotherhood. She would need to earn more of her own respect and leverage.

“We can iron out details after Dr. McCoy removes this awful gem. The final topic I believe we must discuss is my living arrangements. I want to stay in my home. Unless there is a viable threat I do not believe I should be at the manor here, or the Brotherhood base. If there is a viable threat I believe whoever is guarding me should take me to a predetermined location so there is no confusion from the other side.” As much as she hated that idea of him being correct Magneto was correct, she couldn’t stay at the manor. A gilded cage was still a cage.

"A predetermined location can be arranged -- it would certainly limit any issues should something like before occur again. I have a safe house in the northeast area of Canada." And the only reason he was alright with sharing this? Because it was a place that he and Xavier had shared a lifetime ago. 

Charles gave a nod. "I agree that your cabin would be on neutral grounds. As I am sure you are aware, Ms. Hayes, we will have to guard your home heavily at first. There will be many people who feel one way or another about your mutation."

"If that is it, Professor," Kurt said after a pause, "I can take Bedelia to Hank." Did his tail hover near her arm? It did, and he did not apologize for it. 

 "That is fine by me. If the trips to the cabin become too frequent we can consider a temporary apartment for me until the pressure is off," Bedelia conceded.

She looked around the others making sure no one had any other comments. Internally she was giddy. This had gone splendidly. "I have no final concerns. We should plan for my return in a couple of days then."

Nods all around and Bedelia made to leave. Then Kurt wrapped his tail around her arm and teleported them inside. "Kurt," she exclaimed with surprise a bit of anger in her voice as well, "we could have walked!"

"Yes, but then we would have had Quicksilver near us longer," Kurt said matter of factly. He gave her a look of apology as his shoulders relaxed, finally able to take a breath now that they were away from him. "I am grateful that it went so well. I was concerned that it would not." They were outside of Hank's lab. 

Bedelia sighed at his response. Quicksilver was the least of her concerns but Kurt was overly wary about him. To Kurt, Pietro was the one who held her captive. He might have been her jailor but Bedelia knew that he was the best among the Brotherhood in a sense - truly devoted to the cause sure but not a bloodthirsty psychopath...Wanda wasn't too she supposed.

"I understand, but being able to walk away of my own accord is important to me. So much has been out of my control lately and I had some control in that talk then you took that away by teleporting me." Reaching up she touched his cheek and smiled gently, she wasn't truly mad. "I know you meant well, rishide. Your concern means so much to me. Just give me a warning next time."

There was a look of softening to his face that suggested that he understood what she meant now. He gave a sigh, partly from her touch and partly from what she said. “I see now what I had taken from you without meaning to. You are a strong woman, even before your mutation showed. I know you can handle yourself, I just…don’t want you to get hurt again, kobold.” He returned the hug, feeling a warmth travel down him. “I will be more conscious of providing you the space and will you need.” He promised as they stepped back. The red gem caught his eye as he did. “For now, let us see Hank.”

_______

Next

Fanfic Masterlist

[nicsnort]

Trial by Fire (part 84)

A Nightcrawler/Fem!OC romance, drama, and mystery fanfic, with lots of Quicksilver thrown in for fun and even more drama.

Intro (with link to full Ao3 story) First Previous

Since she and Kurt had gone back to her house and fetched her laptop Bedelia had been itching to work. She had compiled all her data on Essex, going through the mountains of evidence the X-men and Brotherhood had rescued from Essex bases. When this story launched it had to be perfect. And that time was quickly approaching.

Ever since accepting her appearance, Bedelia had been doing better in controlling her powers. She could now spend several hours without the collar - well the collar turned off. Beast had modified it to engage if her skin temperature reached more than 120 degrees. So while the collar still sat around her neck it was currently not active. Today, Beast was going to perform the surgery to remove the red gem. But today Bedelia had something else on her mind as well. It was time to discuss with Xavier and - regretfully - Magneto about returning her to society.

It had been well over a month since she was kidnapped by Essex, over two weeks since she was rescued, it was high time that Bedelia made her return. But she was sure that both men had their opinions on how to do so and what happened to her afterward. Bedelia still held out a bit of hope that Magneto wouldn’t force her to “work for” the Brotherhood. She was a mutant now, no longer “threatening” as a human, one of them.

The hall was clearing out. Finishing her coffee she looked at Kurt and smiled. They were alone except for Rogue and Toad at the other end of the table. “Kurt, I know this is something we have been putting off talking about but...I need to go back to my life. I can’t stay missing much longer.”

When Bedelia smiled at him, Kurt felt his heart melt a bit. This beautiful, smart, driven, strong woman was his girlfriend. They were together. So when she started to talk and he heard ‘putting off talking about’, for a moment, his stomach dropped -- but oh, no, it wasn’t a breakup. But any sense of relief he felt was washed out by the tension in his body replacing that joy. Back to her life? Back to…? 

“I...but the dangers…” And, well, he rather enjoyed living with her like this. But her safety took over any bit of his feelings. “I suppose I could stay near you, make sure no one tries anything.” And it was difficult to tell if ‘no one’ meant Essex’s followers, the political adversaries...or the Brotherhood. 

“Of course rishide,” she told him, squeezing his hand. “I’m going to have even more attention on me than I did before. I would appreciate someone looking out for me and I can’t think of anyone better.”

Bedelia kissed Kurt softly and heard Toad gag from further down the table. “Let’s find Xavier. I’d rather talk to him first about getting back out there rather than the Brother--”

It would be just her luck that there was a rush of wind as Pietro stopped behind their chairs. Her smile tensed at the arrival of the Brotherhood member before she looked at him. “Good morning, Pietro.”

The breeze that signaled one of his least favorite persons, Kurt felt irritated -- the warmth of the kiss dampened from the mutant’s very existence. “Quicksilver,” Kurt murmured, glaring up at him. 

Pietro wasn’t looking at Kurt, he had eyes only for Bedelia. Ever since speaking with her by the pond, his affection had only grown for her. No longer confined by the mistake of her being a human. “Morning.” He greeted her back. “Couldn’t help but overhear you mentioning getting out there again. You going all natural?” 

Kurt scowled. Bedelia internally sighed. Of course, Pietro had overheard her comments to Kurt. Or else Toad had sent a mental communication to Emma. Though Bedelia was unsure if that particular Brotherhood member was currently at the school. While Bedelia knew she should help keep the temporary peace between the two factions, a big part of her just wanted to tell Pietro to piss off...especially with that question.

“That depends,” she answered him with a small smile. “I believe an image inducer like Kurt’s would be for the best. Me suddenly being a mutant with such visible mutations might cause some trust issues since I had declared my humanity previously…But yes, I am tired of sitting around. More evidence isn’t going to help my story out at this point. I have more than enough. Once this gem is out of my forehead I think it is time for me to return to society.”

“Yeah?” Pietro rested his forearm against the chair next to her. “Figured you’d be preaching for her to embrace her beauty, Fuzzy.” 

Kurt felt his jaw tense and his fists clench. He tried not to get baited further though. “I think easing the truth to the public is for the best. We can ask the Professor for it.” He was determined now to get it for Bedelia out of spite to Pietro. What did he think he had a right to comment on whether Bedelia showed herself naturally or not? 

“Hm, guess so. Anyway, the quicker we discuss this with the Head Honchos, the better -- getting tired of this school.” Pietro shrugged.

“Yes, I was hoping to discuss this with them today.”

“I’ll go tell Magneto. I expect he’ll call to see you soon, Bedelia.” He gave her one more look before zipping away.

Kurt shook his head. “I can tell the Professor to talk to us with Magneto.” Because he didn’t trust that man for a second not to take advantage of a moment alone with the journalist. 

Yet before he could think to teleport away or share a thought through their link, Quicksilver returned. “He said he’ll see you outside now.” 

She was about to agree with Kurt and ask him to get the Professor when Pietro returned. God, the man was too fast for comfortability. Bedelia clearly remembered how she savored but also dreaded every second without him when he held her hostage. That level of stress was something she never wanted to experience again. Second only to speaking with Magneto alone...Pietro being nearby didn’t count.

“Right, well, Magneto can wait until Xavier arrives as well,” Bedelia told Pietro. She stood and smiled at Kurt. “Could you get him, please? I’ll wait out in the foyer.”

The couple minutes or so that Kurt would be gone would give Bedelia a moment to collect herself...and in a way gave her a moment to gauge Pietro. The man was emotional and it had been easy for Bedelia to get a read on him while they were together. Regarding Magneto she wanted Pietro on her side. He might not stand up to his father and leader in the moment of confrontation, but she knew she needed an advocate of some sort for when she wasn’t in the room. Pietro was her best bet for that.

Kurt glanced at Pietro, clearly unhappy that he’d have to leave Bedelia alone with him. Still, it was something that would come up a few more times in the near future...much to Kurt’s displeasure. Better to let her have it the first time on grounds that were more of her favor than neutral. 

Pietro rolled his eyes at Kurt’s glance before he teleported away. He waved his hand to clear the smoke. “Ugh…So you’re really ok with returning to the cameras to defend your story?”

Bedelia walked towards the foyer the moment Kurt left. She was setting the pace going forward. Maintaining what control she could was key in what was to come. As she walked Bedelia considered Pietro’s question. Was she okay with it? Yes. Was she ready? Well, that remained to be seen.

“The truth must be defended,” she told him. “I am not comfortable with the idea of being the story but I know I will be when I return. I want to use the focus that will be on me to bring forward the story on Essex. I’ve been considering that a data dump would be beneficial. Once I publish the first story, releasing the data online for other reporters to go through. I can still make my reports but the information would be available for others to start following the trail as well.”

It was something she mentioned to Beast and Xavier yesterday. With something as complicated as this, more eyes would be better. “Keeping the cure and other formulas out of the dump of course. There is no need for that information to be widely spread.”

There was the added benefit as well that loved ones of those kidnapped and lost might be able to find some closure. It had crossed Bedelia’s mind that a non-profit organization might need to take up that charge. Helping the victims of Essek and their friends and families was something beyond her and the mutants at hand.

“There are other ways the truth can be defended.” Pietro pointed out. He followed her with ease though his legs were aching to move quicker and he soon took the lead. There was without doubt a sense of power the woman had beyond the actual powers. There was protection she got from being here, sure, but now she seemed to have pull and she would have it with Magneto. Not enough to string him along, but certainly something more than a request for a glass of water. 

Bedelia had not meant to keep walking. She had intended to wait in the foyer like she told Kurt. Yet perhaps it was the conversation or a remnant of when she had to follow Pietro around that compelled Bedelia to walk out the side door when he opened it for her. She was nearly to the gardens, Magneto’s back registering in her mind when she realized what she had done. 

“I’ll give you a tip,” he said as he spotted Magneto in the near distance, “don’t ask for the stars and the moon right away. Be realistic.” Meaning, don’t ask to be free of the Brotherhood - his father wouldn’t have it.

Pietro’s words caught her attention causing her lips to thin. He was right and she understood what he meant but it didn’t make it any easier. “So, I’ll ask for the sun,” Bedelia replied with a small smile. It was as much of a joke as she could make at the moment.

When Magneto saw Bedelia and his son, the former so significantly different, he nodded. “Good morning, Ms. Hayes.”

Bedelia noticed that Magento was wearing his helmet. At least she didn’t have Frost prying around inside her head and telling him what she thought this time. Though she was aware that this was more likely a defense against Xavier. His greeting sent an automatic chill through her but at least he was calling her by her name...she wasn’t just the ‘journalist’ anymore. It was an improvement albeit a slight one.

“Morning, Magneto,” she greeted with a neutral tone. A good morning at this point it was not. This was the first time she was seeing him up close since the talk in the park...and the first in good lighting. His age now was obvious. He must have been in his late 50s or early 60s, a bit older than Xavier. His eyes spoke though beyond those years. In this light his relationship to Pietro and Wanda was obvious. “I admit I am surprised you were ready to meet so quickly.”

She was trying to delay meaningful talk until Xavier arrived. Magneto’s eyes were examining her as well. The modified Genoshan collar that was a failsafe if she burst into flames again felt heavy around her neck.

Magneto gave a shark’s smile. “The early bird as they say,” he said nonchalantly. “I take it that you wanted to discuss the future living arrangements? You did not enjoy being tethered to our place, I cannot imagine you would enjoy this school..even if Nightcrawler is here.” 

Oh, yes, he had to hear an earful about the new couple from Pietro. It started with the ‘I can’t believe that happened’ to 'I can’t believe that happened’, to the point where Magneto wondered if he should speak to his son about it in private. But given that the journalist was no longer human, it wasn’t that embarrassing. If Pietro’s persistent affections could win the journalist over, all the better.

“I do not enjoy being restricted in my job,” Bedelia told him, lifting her chin slightly. “Nor being under constant observation while doing it.”

Bedelia let that sit for half a moment before continuing. “My reason for wanting to speak with you and Xavier today is to discuss the future, yes. My return to society and how to break the Essex article. Just like the original Genosha article, there is one chance at breaking the story and it has to be done correctly.”

Magneto couldn’t help but smile a bit. Oh no, of course not. “Which is why you’ve been a freelancer.” He remarked, agreeing. No, she wasn’t the type to be tied down...which made him wonder if Nightcrawler understood that. But that would be a tidbit for his son to mull over. “Given how successful your first story was, I am inclined to agree. This one must be done just as well. And how do you propose that happens, Ms. Hayes?”

_______

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Fanfic Masterlist

[nicsnort]

Trial by Fire (part 80)

A Nightcrawler/Fem!OC romance, drama, and mystery fanfic, with lots of Quicksilver thrown in for fun and even more drama.

Intro (with link to full Ao3 story) First Previous

Bedelia rubbed the band that held the image inducer to her wrist. Kurt was having his bandages changed and the wounds examined; she was down in the hidden basement of the school waiting for him. But right next door was the medical wing where all the victims of Essex were being treated. She wanted to look in on them. Their screams of pain haunted her but if she saw they were recovering maybe they would fade.

Breathing out slowly, Bedelia steeled herself. The inducer was on. They wouldn’t know it was her. The doors wooshed as they slid open. Soft beeps from the medical equipment greeted her. There were no X-men or Brotherhood inside, thankfully. It seemed all those rescued were currently resting. 

Bedelia walked along the beds looking over the resting mutants. There were fewer than she would have hoped, less than 20, but saving some was better than none. Silently she examined the bandages of a few, she could see the glisten of burns poking out at the edge of the wrappings. The one she was nearest to was a young girl, a little over 18 years of age by appearance. She had webbed fingers, gills, and a shaved head with traditional Pacific Island tattooing on her lower chin.

Unbidden, the memory of this girl screaming flashed through Bedelia’s mind. Sinister had forced Bedelia to “make roasted fish” for him. It had been an exercise in control. To see if she could lower the temperature of her flames. 

The man on the bed next to the fish-like girl had burns over his chest. A victim of her fireball. He only survived because Sinister still had plans for him and granted him rudimentary medical treatment.

So many were injured by her flames. Her powers.

Mouth set in a determined line Bedelia marched out of the hospital wing. Kurt was standing outside of the nurse's office, his hand bandage free. A small smile came unbidden to her lips at the sight of Kurt, mostly healed from her flames. She reached out and took his previously bandaged hand. Her fingers ran along the shiny, healed flesh. “You are healed from the wounds I caused you. I have faith that the others will recover from what Sinister forced me to cause. And I want to make sure I do not hurt anyone else. I want to train my powers.”

Kurt, who had been surprised to see Bedelia’s determined expression, was even more surprised at her statement. He was glad she agreed, so she could better protect herself, but the sudden turnaround from a couple of days ago was shocking. “Are you sure, Kobold?”

“Yes, I looked in on my - on the victims of Sinister’s control - I don’t want that for anyone else. I need to make sure I can control my powers if the worst happens.”

With his other hand, Kurt reached out and brushed Bedelia’s hair, gently pushing it behind her ear. “We will go slowly, and I will help you the whole time.”

Kurt led her to the changing rooms and fetched her a spare uniform so as not to ruin her clothes. Once Bedelia had changed, he brought her up to the control room of the Danger Room and showed her how everything worked. He explained the features of the Danger Room. “I will show you one of my training routines, ja? We will not start you with anything so extreme but let me assure you that this room can handle anything.”

The technology was amazing. Bedelia thought as Kurt explained the “hard-light holograms” it seemed similar to the image inducers but on a grander scale. Combined with other technology, it was the greatest marvel she had ever seen. This technology could change the world. At Kurt’s offer, though, all of that was pushed from her mind. A chance to see him working out? Of course. “Will you wear your uniform,” she asked with a small smile.

The tips of Kurt’s ears went purple from the way she asked that. “I can…do you like my uniform, Kobold?”

The shy smile grew, and Bedelia blushed slightly. “Perhaps, it does show off your figure nicely…and I haven’t ever really had a chance to see you perform in it yet.”

Oh, dear. Kurt was blushing as well. “Then, I shall put on a grand private show for you, Bedelia.”

He bamfed away and returned in a couple of minutes wearing his distinctive uniform. Bedelia reached out and ran a hand down the red V, stopping at its inner crux on his stomach. “You look very dashing in this, rishide . I never told you before, but Nightcrawler has always been my favorite X-man. You hardly ever appeared in photos, there was such a mystery about you. I wanted to know more.”

Kurt shivered a bit at her touch. He returned the gesture by placing a hand on her hip and pulling her in. “A mystery? I suppose I am a man of mystery.”

Leaning in, Kurt pressed a soft kiss against Bedelia’s lips. It was short and left both of them wanting more. However, both were aware of their surroundings; this was not the place for prolonged displays of affection. “Now, to show you how I am not only mysterious but incredible! Time for a performance not seen since the Munich Circus!”

Kurt’s tail pressed the button to start up his training routine. A synthesized voice echoed in the booth and down below, “Starting Nightcrawler Showoff Routine.”

He chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “I forgot I named it that.”

Bedelia laughed as well and turned to watch the Danger Room as Kurt bamfed down to the center. A series of platforms, swings, rings, and poles appeared within the room from all sides. Lights within the Danger Room flashed different colors, a few becoming spotlights that focused on Kurt. Bombastic circus music began to play. Within the music, a man’s voice rang out, “For our last act, a series of high-flying acrobatics. A thrilling display of ariel maneuvers performed by a devil with a heart of gold. And all without the safety of a net! Introducing the Incredible Nightcrawler!”

There was an explosion like a cannon, and Nightcrawler began the routine. Bedelia watched, amazed, as he twisted and turned in the air. He leaped from pole to pole, rotated on the rings, and flew from swing to swing. It was a display, unlike anything Bedelia had seen before. Then a series of hoops appeared in the middle of the room. The lights dimmed, and the voice rang out again, “And now for the final stunt. Nightcrawler will soar through seven consecutive rings. Each ring is only half a meter in width; any error on either side will risk severe injury as these rings will also be aflame!”

Bedelia’s eyes widened as the hoops lit up with fire. Her heart rate skyrocketed with worry. No, he was going to be hurt again. She couldn’t see him with another burn. Down below, Nightcrawler swung around a bar, gaining momentum as a drum roll began. Then silence as he launched himself forward, propelling through the rings with perfect precision. Landing on a platform, he bounced up into a full standing position, arms wide as the soundtrack played false applause from a roaring crowd.

As the room reset, Nightcrawler teleported back up to the control room. He was grinning broadly, his chest heaving from the exercise. “Did you enjoy the show, ko--”

He was cut off as Bedelia ran to him and began to look over his body. “Kurt, you aren’t hurt, right? The fire didn’t get you? You aren’t burned again?!”

Kurt’s heart dropped as he realized what the last part of his act did to her. “I am fine, Bedelia. No burns. I promise.” He pulled her into a calming embrace.

Bedelia clung to him tightly, her heartbeat slowly returning to normal. “I am sorry,” she told him after a minute.

“There is nothing to apologize for. If anything, I should apologize to you, kobold. I did not consider your trigger.” Kurt placed a kiss on the top of her head as he stroked her back calmingly. “You know, I used to be scared of that trick. When I was learning it, I did burn myself a few times, and each time I failed, I learned to be better the next time. Now I feel no fear.”

Bedelia smiled into his chest. “Is that your way of telling me not to worry about you getting burned?”

“Is it working?”

“A little.”

Kurt pulled away slightly and looked down at her puffy eyes. He wiped the tear streaks away with a comforting smile. “You do not have to do this now. You can wait to train.”

“No, no,” she replied stubbornly, though her voice wavered slightly from worry. “If I don’t do this now I’ll just keep putting it off. I need to do this.”

With a nod, Kurt kissed her forehead and teleported them both down into the danger room. “I have the remote for the collar. When you are ready I will turn it off, and I will turn it back on if you need me to.”

Bedelia nodded and Kurt teleported back into the observation room. Over the speakers, he said, “collar off in three…two…one…”

As Kurt counted down Bedelia centered herself. She could do this. She had control over the fire. It couldn’t hurt her. But to see it crawling over her body again…and she could hurt someone else. What if the Danger room couldn’t contain her? What if it melted the collar?! Bedelia started to breathe heavily as she tried to control her rising panic. But as the collar clicked off the flames sprung to life on her body. She screamed and clutched her head, curling into a ball.

Up in the control room, Kurt heard her scream and instantly turned the collar back on. Her flames snuffed out in a flash. Teleporting down to the Danger Room he saw Bedelia, the X-men uniform half melted, her skin glowing white from under the dark clothing. Kurt grimaced as he realized that they had forgotten about the image inducer, it sat on her wrist even more melted than the suit.

“I won’t hurt them. I don’t want to hurt them,” she muttered to herself. In her mind flashed the images of Sinister’s victims, the ones he forced her to burn. “Don’t make me hurt them.”

“Kobold,” Kurt said sitting next to her. “You won’t hurt anyone. You are safe. He isn’t here.”

Bedelia fell into his arms sobbing. Kurt simply held her, stroking her back comfortingly but letting her feel her emotions. Eventually, Bedelia’s tears ran out and she was able to take herself out of her traumatic memories. Sniffling she looked up at Kurt. “Thank you. You are so amazing, Kurt.”

“It is my fault, Kobold. I shouldn’t have let you train after getting triggered earlier…I-” Kurt felt his voice catch in his throat. Guilt starting to bubble up. Guilt that he had kept away with worry and anxiety while she was kidnapped. “I should have protected you. He never should have gotten you. This is all my fault!”

His grip changed from a comforting hold to a desperate grasp. He didn’t want to let her go, she had been taken from him too many times. Bedelia let him cling to her and he muttered a mixture of prayers in German and English before landing on a soft chant of “I’m sorry”.

“I don’t blame you,” she finally said as his voice faded away. “Kurt, it isn’t your fault. It is all my fault for looking into Essex and Genosha in the first place.”

She shifted in his arms so she could look at his face. “It is not your fault I was taken. But you saved me. It is because of you that I am here…that I am safe.”

Kurt closed his eyes placing his forehead against her own. “Thank you. You are amazing, Bedelia.”

A smile came to Bedelia’s face as she closed her own eyes. “I was wrong. I’m not ready for this right now. But I think I will be if you help me…and maybe with some - a lot - of therapy.”

They both laughed lightly before pulling away, still holding each other in their arms. “Please, don’t blame yourself, Kurt. As a fellow Catholic, I understand holding on to that guilt but it isn’t your fault. He would have gotten to me one way or another, he wanted me to experiment on. If it wasn’t using those extremists as a distraction at the studio it would have been a raid on my house or at another press stop.”

“I’ll try, Bedelia. But…well, as you say, us Catholics like to hold on to our guilt.” They both shared a laugh again. Their heightened emotions had passed enough that they were able to realize the position that Bedelia was in. Her suit had melted clean off the front of her chest.

Kurt stared for a half-moment as his brain processed the image before snapping shut. “Mein Gott! I am sorry! I-” He teleported her into the changing rooms. Letting go he teleported away grabbing a bathrobe from his closet and returning - covering his eyes.

Bedelia’s face was a bright pink by the time he returned. Nearly as pink as the magenta robe he was holding out to her. Taking it, she hurriedly put it on. “I’m decent.”

Looking down at her hands she saw the paper-white color of her flesh. Pulling up the sleeve of the robe she fully realized how destroyed the image inducer was. Kurt quickly took her hand in his. “Don’t worry Beast is making you one. This was just temporary.”

“But it was your original one, right? A keepsake. I destroyed it.”

“Ja, but I’m not upset. I am glad that it was able to help you for just a few days.” Leaning in Kurt placed a kiss against her forehead. “Let’s get you back up to your room and get you some proper clothes, ja?”

______

Next

Fanfic Masterlist

[nicsnort]

Trial by Fire (part 79)

A Nightcrawler/Fem!OC romance, drama, and mystery fanfic, with lots of Quicksilver thrown in for fun and even more drama.

Intro (with link to full Ao3 story) First Previous

“You want me to what,” Bedelia asked disbelievingly. She sat across from Xavier and Beast in the lab downstairs. Beast had wanted to examine her properly and run some tests on her to track the changes that she went through. But when Xavier arrived, he had suggested the most insane thing.

“Ms. Hayes, I know what I am recommending may sound ridiculous, but you cannot rely on the collar. If it were to fail, you need to know how to control your powers.”

“I understand the logic, Xavier, but I--” Bedelia cut herself off trying to find the correct words. She was terrified at having the collar removed. Seeing her body of aflame, hearing the crackling fire around her. She wasn’t that. She just wanted to be normal. “I don’t want to control the power. I want it gone. The depowering agent Sinister made, you have the formula from his computers, can’t you give it to me?”

“Kobold,” Kurt said softly, touching her shoulder in comfort. “It is not permanent.”

“Then I’ll take it every day. I don’t care--”

“And the files Hank found show it has deteriorating effects on the cellular structure if taken regularly. It has a high risk of cancer and may outright shorten your lifespan. It is not safe as a permanent measure,” Xavier explained. He rolled his chair forward and took her hand comfortingly in his.

“I know this is a difficult situation, and I am not suggesting you do this training today. Take time to recover. But is it not better to learn to control your powers now in a safe environment than to be forced to contend with them later if the collar fails? There is no guarantee we would be able to stop you again.”

“Professor,” Kurt hissed, displeased that he’d make that sort of dire warning. Even so, Kurt knew he was right. He’d barely been able to get to Bedelia this time—next time, who knew what would happen? Though Kurt would fight against the world to prevent a “next time” from happening, it was still a possibility.

Bedelia pulled her hand from Xavier’s hold with another sigh. He was right, and she knew it. “Alright, I’ll try it, but only to learn how to control the flames on my body. I am not going to use these powers to fight.”

“Of course. Kurt, you know how to operate the Danger Room. Use it whenever she is ready. Otherwise, I encourage you to rest, Ms. Hayes. The Brotherhood and X-men are still at a truce. You will reside here until you are fully recovered.”

“Thank you,” Bedelia replied. With a nod, Xavier left. At this point, Beast had finished setting up the machine needed to examine Bedelia’s condition.

“The main issue is that gem in your forehead,” he told her, gesturing for her to sit in the X-ray chair. “The files I retrieved did have sparse information, but I want a look myself.”

Bedelia did as instructed, Kurt hovering near Beast the whole time. The X-ray machine swirled around her, taking a comprehensive photo of her skull. After a few minutes, she was free to stand. “While those develop, I will recalibrate the image inducer…unless you want to keep the hair?”

“I’d prefer my normal - I mean old - hair color, if it isn’t too much trouble,” Bedelia replied, handing over the image inducer. She caught sight of her image in a nearby mirror and quickly looked away.

Beast noticed the behavior from the corner of his eye. “Kurt, could you run and get us all some drinks? I am parched. Coffee if you could?”

“Coffee would be nice,” Bedelia told Kurt as well.

Any protest that would have been on Kurt’s lips at the thought of leaving Bedelia alone disappeared at her request for coffee as well. “Of course, I will be back soon.”

A few short moments later, Beast had adjusted the image inducer to better reflect a pre-powers Bedelia. “Here you are,” he told her, handing the inducer back over.

Bedelia quickly put the device back on and returned to looking normal. A visible wave of relief came over her face as she did. “I know it can be hard at first,” Beast told her softly, “but it does become easier to look at yourself in the mirror. One day it will just become normal.”

She looked over Beast with curiosity. “You weren’t born like…with fur?” Kurt had told her that he had been born with his appearance. For some reason, Bedelia thought Beast had been too. She’d never seen an image of him without his fur and fangs.

“Quite the contrary. I was born with larger-than-normal hands and prehensile feet but other than that, I was quite a handsome lad. It is actually my own fault that I look this way now. I made a formula, an attempt at a mutant cure. It had the opposite effect and caused a secondary mutation; it made me a true beast.”

“How long did it take to become comfortable with it?”

“Comfortable? A few years, even now, I occasionally wish I could look normal again. But to accept it, to be able to look at myself in the mirror? A couple of weeks. I only was able to because I let my friends help me. I saw how they accepted me despite my new differences. You do not need to force it, though. You are not on anyone’s schedule for acceptance apart from your own.”

The words of Beast touched Bedelia in a way that Kurt’s, and especially Quicksilver’s, had not. She still felt like her appearance and powers were not right. They were not her. But Bedelia understood. It would take time. Just like all things, it would take time. And for once, Bedelia was not alone to work through the trauma.

~~~~

Pietro darted around the school’s campus, double-checking the perimeter. Even with Sinister gone, it did not mean Essex was defanged. They knew where the school was, and so long as the truce - as tenuous as that was at the moment - held, Magneto had ordered him to guard the area. The only thing that made it tolerable was knowing that he was keeping an eye on Bedelia as well.

It had been a day since the journalist had awoken. He’d kept his distance, knowing that she was in a delicate state. Not wanting to deal with the tears. Naturally, it wasn’t because he had to work out how relieved he was that she was safe. How that now she was a mutant, those buried thoughts of ‘if only’ now were a possibility…

Still, Pietro had known well enough that he had to play his cards right if he were to woo her to his side. To the Brotherhood’s side. So he’d left a tray of comfort food for her and her favorite ice cream. Just a reminder of everything he had done for her. 

Today he would find the opportunity to speak with her without that blue elf. And it was just his luck that he found the chance as she was reading in the library, the elf gone making them a nice private lunch. Sickening. But it worked in Peitro’s favor.

“Whatcha’ reading,” he asked, zipping behind Bedelia, causing the pages to rustle from his wind. Pietro leaned over the back of the chair, looking down at her book nosily.

Bedelia jolted at the sudden voice but soon realized she was in no danger. She tilted her head up and was surprised at how close he was. It was a bit annoying. What did he even want? “History book, about British colonialism in the Caribbean.”

“So, you do read stuff besides trashy romance novels.” 

“Yes, are you going to sit and talk or am I going to have to crane my neck to look behind me?”

Good, she knew why he was here. Well, she always was quick to catch on. Pietro quickly moved into the chair next to her to look at her better. It was then he realized that she was hiding herself, pretending to be human. He frowned. “They gave you an image inducer,” he commented as neutrally as he could.

Bedelia sighed slightly. She knew this was coming. “Yes. It is so I can get used to everything and not be worried about every reflective surface I come across.”

That made sense, Pietro begrudgingly conceded, especially how she reacted yesterday. “Well, at least it hides that collar I know you’re wearing.”

Bedelia grit her teeth at that response. There had been a reason she was avoiding the Brotherhood members at the manor, and this was it. She knew what it must mean to them, to all the mutants, here that she was refusing her power in such a way. That she had such a vehement rejection of her mutation. Even if the X-men were more understanding, she knew that it went against their ethos. “Yes, well, it is probably the only thing letting me keep my mind and not go into a dissociative state.”

“Right, can’t have that after everything we went through to get you back.”

There was an awkward pause before Bedelia spoke up. “Thank you for the food yesterday. I don’t think I had eaten for about a day before that.”

“Yeah, well, as you said, don’t need your mind to go, and you needed it before when stuff happened.” He didn’t want to mention Pyro by name. Pietro’s brow furrowed for a moment as he looked at her. While he had hidden a few tools around the kitchen to delay the elf he knew he was running short on time. “Listen, about the attack on the studio. I should have gotten you out. It’s my job to protect you, and I keep failing.”

It stung to admit failure, especially in such a way, but after speaking with a few others in the Brotherhood, he knew this was the right course. Make her sympathetic to him, and women loved apologies. Nothing to do with the regret he actually felt - did not feel - at all…

Bedelia was taken aback by Pieto’s words. She was expecting him to sprout some more propaganda and rhetoric until Kurt returned. Not be this vulnerable. Sighing deeply, she closed the book to fully look at him. “I do not blame you. You took care of the immediate threat. No one could have known that Essex was waiting outside for me…trust me, I’ve been through all the “if only’s” while stuck inside my own mind the past two weeks.”

Pietro opened his mouth to respond but thought better of it. Instead, he looked at her for a long moment, his face going dark as he thought about Bedelia being experimented on. “How much do you remember,” he asked carefully. There was a softness to his tone he did not intend to reveal.

“All and nothing,” Bedelia told him, running her hand through her hair. “It's like remembering watching a movie because I know it was my body, but I wasn’t in control. It wasn’t me yet it was…I remember everything up until I passed out from the collar.”

A shame. Pietro was hoping he would be able to play up his role in her rescue if she didn’t recall. Instead, he took a sympathetic route. “Being mind controlled is never enjoyable, but Sinister won’t be a problem anymore.”

Bedelia’s mouth went dry as she asked what was on her mind. “I vaguely remember. His voice suddenly stopped. Did the Brotherhood…is he dead?”

“Yes,” Pietro told her bluntly. No need to sugarcoat it. “I watched Magneto drive a beam through his body myself.”

There was a long silence from the journalist before she muttered, “Good.”

The statement was soft. Almost as though Bedelia had not intended to say it aloud. And to Pietro, it was a victory. She was glad that Sinister was dead, that he had been killed by the Brotherhood. With all the firm mortality of the X-men - especially the elf - it was a wedge that he could use to pry them apart.

Of course, it was at that moment Kurt returned to the library. The mutant froze at seeing Pietro sitting across from Bedelia. He put his hand on Bedelia’s shoulder. Immediately she reached up and covered it with her own, which gave Kurt a small dose of relief. “I have finished making lunch. Should we eat Kobold,” he asked her, looking down so he didn’t have to look at Quicksilver any longer.

“Yes, I’m starving.”

“See you at dinner, Bedelia,” Pietro said pointedly as if he had not noticed that the elf was trying to keep Bedelia away from everyone - especially him. With that, he zoomed from the room. 

The moment Pietro was gone, Kurt felt more comfortable. “What did he want,” he asked not bothering to hide the bitterness in his tone.

“He sort of apologized for letting me be captured by Essex, but I feel like he was testing the waters for if I would still write about the Brotherhood.”

Kurt frowned; he didn’t like that idea. Not just that the Brotherhood still wanted Bedelia to write for them but that they were harassing her about it so soon. “Let’s get away, ja? Eat lunch.”

Bedelia stood from her chair and took Kurt’s hand with a soft smile. Getting away sounded perfect. “Where to? The pond again?”

Her touch was a boon, washing away the worried thoughts Kurt had. “You’ll see,” he told her before teleporting them to their castle. The tree house he had taken her to before when they believed the Brotherhood was trying to take her back. He had cleaned out the leaves and set up a blanket with pillows for their comfort.

“Kurt, this is perfect,” Bedelia exclaimed, climbing up to stick her head through the entrance to the tree house. “A castle fit for a fey prince.”

“And for his princess,” Kurt told her, climbing up through the window. Bedelia laughed at the sight and finished climbing in. Together they settled in for lunch.

____

Next

Fanfic Masterlist

[nicsnort]

Trial by Fire (part 77)

A Nightcrawler/Fem!OC romance, drama, and mystery fanfic, with lots of Quicksilver thrown in for fun and even more drama.

Intro (with link to full Ao3 story) First Previous

The moment she spoke, the two men, who had been prepared to start an argument, immediately looked over. “Bedelia!” Kurt called out and, though Hank wouldn’t be happy, teleported next to her, leaving behind his IVs. Pietro stepped forward, quiet but attentive to the woman on the bed. Kurt glared at him briefly before taking her hand.

“Bedelia...what do you remember?” 

Pietro, however, was interested to see how she’d react once everything came back to her. “That was a hell of an insider story.” Because if he didn’t act unbothered and casual, he wasn’t sure how he’d sound -- the excitement that the journalist was a mutant, that she was one of them…the relief that she was safe…

Her thoughts were still a bit fuzzy...But all of that disappeared the moment Kurt was at her side. Her attention was fully on him the moment he took her hand. What did she remember? Bedelia’s hand tightened on Kurt’s. Her brow knitted together in pain. Fire. Pietro’s callous words were almost a blessing. She shot him a look. It was a pained and slightly angry expression. He’d never been that callus in the past. What happened to the man who was understanding about her past trauma? Who had clumsily bought her food after Pyro’s attack? She didn’t expect him to be comforting her but...

Bedelia closed her eyes before looking back at Kurt. Her eyes took in the attempts to cover up his burns. “I remember enough...there was so much fire…” With Kurt’s hand in hers, she could feel the bandages. “How did you stop me?”

Kurt’s tail snapped up sharply as if wanting to reach out and smack the man. What was his problem? In truth, Pietro didn’t fully know, not yet. He hadn’t fully reconciled that he had liked the journalist in a way he shouldn’t -- what a shame she’s human -- and now that she was like them, she was a mutant...well, that wasn’t something to mull over now. 

Kurt had to make a conscious effort not to wince at the squeeze of her hand, at the faint pain he felt from the burns. It was worth it though to be with her. His scowl from Pietro had softened. “With a collar from Genosha.” He reached up with his free hand and lightly touched it, his thumb brushing over her neck. “It’s been modified by Hank -- it’s temporary until…” It felt strange that they hadn’t said it, not yet at least. That she was a mutant.

“Until you have control of your gifts.” Pietro finished for him and stepped closer to lean against the bed. “It was between me and the blue boy here to get the collar on…”

“It’s a lot to take in.” Kurt frowned at Pietro. He was trying his patience. 

A Genoshan collar? No wonder her neck felt so heavy. Kurt’s touch against her neck felt nice though, cool compared to her skin. She looked at Pietro as he stepped over to them. Against his pale skin, she saw the signs of tiredness. But gifts he said...gifts?

Bedelia shook her head. “No. I’m not...I can’t…” Sitting up, her sore body protesting, she looked to Kurt her eyes pleading. “There has to be a cure, right? A way to reverse what he did to me?” If Bedelia had been in her right mind she would not have used the c-word. But what else could she use at this moment? This wasn’t her. She wasn’t a mutant!  “I’m human!”

While Kurt had gently placed his hand over her shoulder, preventing her from jostling any of the wires -- an irony that wasn't lost to him since he had left his behind -- he froze when Bedelia spoke of being ‘cured’. He didn’t respond right away, reminding himself that she was in shock, that she had become a mutant under great distress, that she had been traumatized and experimented on. Still, it hurt him.

Pietro, however, did not have his tongue-tied. He was matter-of-fact, pleased but not excited. “Not anymore. Not ever, it seems. You had the x-gene all along, Bedelia. The running theory is that you didn’t change when you were under stress as a kid because your body suppressed it, from...well.” 

Kurt seriously wondered if it would be worth teleporting Pietro away somewhere and tied up with only his boxers on just to keep him busy. “This is a lot to take in, Bedelia.” He said again, hoping that…

“The psycho was working on a cure, Azazel took a hit, but it faded after a while thankfully.” Hoping that Pietro wouldn’t say that part.

Her mind was racing. The memories of what Sinister did to her starting to flood back. The medical torture. The sickening ‘care’ that he showed her as he changed her body to his whims. The stories he told her as he worked with painkillers - usually - but still conscious as he cut into her.

Had the X-gene all along. Yes, that is what he said to her too. It was an anomaly that he hadn’t seen before. He wanted to see how “great” she became. She clutched at her own arms her breathing unsteady and rapid. Bedelia’s nails dug into her flesh.

When Pietro mentioned a cure, her eyes snapped to him. There was desperate hope in her eyes. There was a cure! But even as that hope came it was dashed. Tears pricked at her eyes. Bedelia wiped them away...and froze. She stared at her pure white skin. Cognizant of it for the first time. Her eyes widened in shock.

“No,” she muttered. Looking at her other hand she felt the tears spring to her eyes once again. What did he do to her?! “I want a mirror.” Yet at the same time she didn’t. But...she had to know. Her voice was pained and stressed but…she looked at Pietro, her eyes hard even with the tears in them. “Get me a mirror.”

This wasn’t good. Kurt glared at Pietro who, annoyingly, seemed to be focused only on the journalist. Professor, he sent out a thought, We might need Hank or Jean downstairs. The collar would keep Bedelia’s power of fire down, maintained, and controlled, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t have a severe reaction to what she was going to see. 

“Bedelia,” Kurt said urgently but gently as Pietro went to get a mirror, “You’re still you. You are still the amazing, clever journalist I met. This doesn’t…”

Bedelia was still in a state of shock. If she was a computer she would have been lagging. She was barely able to register Kurt’s words. Though she did not know it, it was probably best that Kurt didn’t say anything about her looks. He focused on her mind. Subconsciously, it would help but her conscious mind for now was still focused on her hands.

But Pietro returned and gave her the handheld mirror he had ‘borrowed’ from Kitty’s room. Jean, we might need your help...now! He didn’t want Bedelia to hurt herself in whatever reaction she’d have -- he’d sooner have her hurt him, to hit him to express what he knew would be a devastating and overwhelming sensation of anger and self-loathing. He wanted to hug her tight, to keep her against him, but instead, he held onto her hand tightly. 

The mirror was presented to her. She didn’t even thank Pietro as she slowly tilted it to look at her face. Horror stared back at her. A ghastly face of snow white freckles ash grey, black where the whites of her eyes should be, white irises, black lips...and a shining red gem in her forehead. She looked like him.

Slowly Bedelia touched her face. Her fingers trailed over her lips in horror. “I’m...he…”

The mirror dropped from her hand. “I’m a monster.” The state of shock was very quickly being replaced by a state of panic and fear.

“What did he do to me?! Oh god!” Bedelia clutched at her head driving her nails into her skin. “Why?! My skin! Freckles!”

She felt someone touch her and she jerked away.

Jean had hurried down to the medical wing the moment she heard Kurt’s mental call. She arrived just as Bedelia was starting to lash out as Kurt and Pietro tried to calm her. From the cabinet, she grabbed some sedatives. If needed she would use it but she would see if the other two could calm her otherwise.

All through the night, Pietro had kept running the question through his head -- how was he going to get the journalist back? The mutant journalist, at that. It was a question for the Brotherhood but it was something of a selfish one too. And he was pleasantly surprised to see an answer to his question.

While Nightcrawler had experience in being rejected for his looks, this took him off guard -- this was the perfect time for Pietro to step in. If he was reading her reaction right so far, she might even be the one who put a wedge between her and the blue boy, all without Pietro not lifting a finger!

Kurt had pulled back, wincing from her remark. A monster. How many times had he thought that himself? How many times had he been called that, wished for a cure himself? And yet he felt like he was drowning, unable to find the right words, grasping at straws as he tried to stop her from hurting herself. “Bedelia, stop! You’re not, you’re not a monster...you’re…”

But Pietro, quick as ever, beat him to it. There was no panic, no rush in his voice, just utter sincerity. “You're beautiful.” He grabbed her other arm firmly and laced his fingers through Bedelia’s, gently but firmly keeping her from damaging her skin further. “You’re a mutant and you are beautiful.” 

It was more the firm and steady touch than Pietro's words that drew Bedelia’s attention. It grounded her at the moment. Beautiful. The word reached her. Mutant and beautiful. His steady grey eyes held her gaze. They were strangely calming.

Kurt felt like his voice had been stolen from him. “Hank will get the gem off.” He managed, his accent twisting his words as he scrambled to do what Pietro was doing, but he was nowhere near as smooth. “It’s alright, Kobold, you’re still the Bedelia we knew before.”

Kurt’s words slowly reached Bedelia’s mind as well. They would help her. Kobold. Fire spirit. Her body engulfed in flames. She couldn’t help but tighten her hands at the thought, inadvertently squeezing Pietro’s hand.

For all that Pietro had in his charm, he did not have that struggle of self-acceptance that Kurt had, that Bedelia would need. Pietro still took the squeezing of his hand as a sign of success though. He made a noise that signaled agreement. He had made some gains with her just now but he knew not to push it. No, if he played his cards right…he could have her at his side.

Jean put the sedatives down. The situation had passed. But, she eyed Pietro cautiously, the Brotherhood member was treating her in a way that was troubling. It wouldn’t be the first time they had taken advantage of a mutant in a vulnerable moment. The X-men would have to keep an eye on him. Jean certainly knew Kurt would.

Bedelia’s gaze finally broke from Pietro as she looked down at her lap. Her hand, pale white in Pietro’s normal skin tone firmly held...and the other gently clasped in Kurt’s dark blue bandaged one. “But just look at me,” finally said in a soft tone that was barely hiding her emotional turmoil. “I’m a fre--” 

Her eyes were on Kurt’s hand as she nearly said the word. She glanced up at Kurt regret in her eyes as she realized how awful her words had been up until this point...and the concern in his gaze brought her back the rest of the way. It calmed her tumultuous mind.

“I’m sorry,” Bedelia told him quietly.

Kurt's heart hurt not from the near utterance of the word, but because Bedelia thought of herself as it. He reached out and gently brushed her hair back, squeezing her hand. "I know how it can feel. I know how you will compare yourself to others...I know that it will hurt when you see yourself in the mirror in passing at the start...I know how you'll try to cover up. But I also know...even though it will be hard, accepting yourself will make you stronger. Because you are not a freak...you are Bedelia Hayes and you are as amazing as you are beautiful." 

The soft touches of Kurt were what Bedelia truly needed. Pietro’s firm grasp and sincere words were needed to draw her out of her state of shock and panic. But it was Kurt that knew how to speak to her. That calmed her soul. It made her feel better. Reminded her that she was safe, that everything would be okay.

Bedelia didn’t register Pietro’s grunt of agreement. Her whole focus was on Kurt. His face - handsome despite its strangeness; his eyes - kind and beautiful despite their oddity. If she could find him handsome...well perhaps one day she could accept herself as well. It was far too soon to do that. The trauma to fresh. But the possibility was there.

Jean stepped up and moved the mirror off the bed with her powers. It was probably best not to tempt Bedelia into a downward spiral by staring at her reflection. “Bedelia,” she said gently, “we didn’t want to disturb you last night but we should probably change you into some other clothes. If that suit can be removed, we weren’t sure. Do you need help undressing?”

Her gaze regretfully leaving Kurt Bedelia looked to Jean. “I don’t think it is attached…Yes, that would probably be for the best. Thank you.” She pulled her hand from Pietro’s and pulled back the covers. Kurt helped her out of bed his tail wrapping around her to steady her as she stumbled slightly.

Jean looked between the two men and gestured for both of them to get back as she started pulling the curtain around Bedelia’s bed to give her some privacy. “You Kurt can get back into bed,” Jean told him, “you are still recovering.”

Pietro made a grand show of covering his eyes with both hands and turning away, walking away a little to give them privacy. Though, of course, he could easily turn and glance and none would be the wiser -- well, almost. But now wasn’t the time.

Kurt, reluctantly unwrapping his tail from her, hesitated. It wasn’t that he wanted to see Bedelia change -- not that he’d be against it, but he was a gentleman -- but he didn’t want to return to bed. It was an obvious reminder that he had been injured through absolutely no fault of Bedelia, but it may cause guilt. “I’m fine.” He waved his hand and turned away, trying not to sway. He was tired, but he felt certain the IV had helped with rehydrating him overnight.

Jean rolled her eyes at Kurt’s response but knew the German was stubborn - especially where Bedelia was involved. Going around to Bedelia’s back Jean helped her lift up the collar and unzip the suit. There were bruises and what looked like small puncture wounds but otherwise she looked fine. The burn scar from her youth was barely visible on Bedelia’s back now, just visible due to the different texture of the skin.

Bedelia felt relief as the suit was removed. She was able to get it off her arms well enough but she felt the sensors that Sinister had plastered to her skin pull off harshly leaving bright pink marks at her pulse points. Jean had to help her get the suit off her legs. Wolverine had bruised her back with a blow and it hurt too much to bend over.

“Here,” Jean said, handing her a pair of sweats and a grey X-tank along with underclothes. As Jean was helping her into the clothes Bedelia reached out mentally.

“How badly did I hurt Kurt?”

Jean’s brow furrowed and she glanced back at the blue mutant. “Not as badly as you are afraid of. He lost some hair, eyebrows - as you can see - and he’ll have the bandages for a week or so...but he’ll recover. Worse were a few first-degree burns…” Jean wondered if she should mention the 2nd degree burn on his hand from the first encounter. “Though his hand was worse. When we first tried to rescue you, when you first developed your powers, he grabbed your arm and hurt himself pretty badly.”

“And how long ago was that?”

“A little over two weeks.”

Bedelia suddenly felt faint. Two weeks? All of that in only two weeks? Jean steadied her. “It's alright. You can take all the time you need to recover.”

The new mutant nodded and sat on the edge of the bed to put her shirt on herself. When it was on Jean touched Kurt on the shoulder to let him know he could turn around. Let Pietro keep waiting. “I’m just going to do a basic medical check up but on the exterior, you are relatively unharmed,” she told Bedelia hovering over a stethoscope.

“Yeah, one of his first improvements was my healing,” Bedelia commented softly, almost regretfully. Was it better or worse that she was already healed physically? She felt like she was missing a step in the torture. Her eyes went to the curtain where she had seen the other mutants recovering. They had been through much worse and without the “benefit” of Sinister’s genetic tinkering they were still healing...many healing from burns that Sinister had forced her to give them.

Bedelia’s eyes moved back to look at Kurt...yet she couldn’t help but let them linger on his bandaged hand. “Are you...how are you feeling, rishide ?”

Oblivious to the conversation that was held, Kurt listened to the rustle of the suit and the softer hush of the sweats. He had to remind himself to take a breath, to calm down. He had heard that Magneto put an end to Sinister, but he still wanted a shot at him just for the damage he did to Bedelia. But that wasn’t like him.

No, he would put all his effort and focus into helping Bedelia heal. That was the only thing that mattered now. That, and he would keep her safe from the Brotherhood. It would be trickier, but he would. 

At the tap, Kurt turned around and smiled a little to see Bedelia, pale as she was, in the sweats. He reached out with his tail and gently wrapped it around her arm, a loving touch. “I’m feeling happy for the first time in weeks with you here.”

“Not for long, Blue Balls,” Pietro said as he turned around, “We still need to discuss her future as a journalist...now more than ever, right Bedelia?” 

Kurt’s hand flinched as he tried to keep from punching the man. It wasn’t like him at all, but...it was awfully tempting. “Get out. You’re going to upset everyone with your big mouth.” 

A true smile came to Bedelia’s face at Kurt’s words. He was happy. She made him happy. And Bedelia was happy too at least for the moment with his tail wrapped around her arm and his sweet words in her ear. Pietro’s words were a cold bucket of water over her head.

Jean stepped back watching carefully as Bedelia stood to face Pietro. It was only Kurt’s tail around her wrist that kept Bedelia’s true anger at bay. Still, there was a fire in her eyes - if there hadn’t been for the collar that would be literally true. “I’m sorry, wasn’t the problem the Brotherhood had with me that I was a human and therefore untrustworthy? Perhaps, this is a blessing since Magneto won’t be holding an ax over my head anymore.”

Even as she spoke though Bedelia was starting to wonder the same thing. Not about her relationship with the Brotherhood...though Pietro was right it did need to be discussed. But about how this would change her journalism. She had been kidnapped after an interview and gone for two weeks. What had happened during that time? Were people apart from the mutants looking for her? Did people think her dead?

Pietro held up his hands in mock defense. “Hey, don’t fire the messenger -- I’m just saying, don’t get too comfy. I know you well enough to know you’d never be happy to sit still in this cushy little mansion. Now more than ever you are a voice for the mutants.” But it did worry him just a little, of their hold on her. Their ‘contract’. Their deal.

Kurt scowled, his teeth flashing. Pietro shrugged. “Anyway...food for thought.” He gave Bedelia a wink and then was off. Kurt, however, was still tense.

They couldn’t even be given a brief respite, could they? “Don’t worry about that arsch mit ohren .” He paused and translated. “A, uh, butt with ears. You are safe here, Bedelia. You need rest...not just your body, but your soul. The Professor will ensure you’ll get it here.”

It was surprising how often Pietro’s words cut to Bedelia’s heart. In the bluntest forms, he usually did have a good point. Even if his words were crass in doing so. It was for the best that he took off. With Pietro gone Bedelia relaxed. “A butt with ears,” Bedelia could not help but laugh. The promise of rest though...it was tempting. “Thank you, Kurt...and thank you, Jean.”

Jean gave a nod. “You should rest some more but as far as I can tell you are in good enough physical health that you don’t need to be here.” Her eyes went to Kurt and she sighed. The man had become so stubborn when it came to Bedelia. “Kurt, if you don’t strain yourself you can leave for a bit - but come back to rest the moment you don’t feel well. You are still recovering...and drink water. Both of you!” With her powers, Jean levitated over two glasses of water from the bedside table.

“Garden,” Bedelia asked with a hopeful smile, taking her glass and downing it quickly. It was the only place she could think of that might be peaceful enough. And she wanted to see the sun. She wanted to go back to the place where Kurt and her had been the first time he rescued her. The fairytale land of the rose garden by the fountain.

The idea of being out of here was a great one. Not that Kurt didn’t feel bad for the other mutants who were recovering, but it was best to get some distance for everyone. And, truth be told, he wanted to be alone with Bedelia. He took the water and drank it quickly. “Mhm.” He agreed to Jean’s order. When it was done, he set the glass aside and said, “Let me know when Hank finds a way to remove the...gem.” 

The garden was perfect. He couldn’t think of a better place than that. He took Bedelia’s hand -- white, pale against his blue one -- and he stepped forward to place his other hand around her waist. Not possessive, but comforting, for him and her. And with that, their eyes met, black to yellow, and then they teleported.

Next thing they knew, there was a soft murmur but overall silence around them. The sun was rising, warming the area, and the sound of the wind brushing over the roses, the trees, and several bugs chirping. It was pleasant right now, warm without needing shade. Kurt didn’t release her yet, holding her close to him instead. He reached up and caressed her cheek with his fingertips. “There are black roses and white roses, you know…but you’re still more beautiful than either of them.”

At his words, his compliment, a few tears fell from Bedelia’s eyes. “I...I don’t feel beautiful,” she confessed. Her hands were on his shoulders and she stepped in a bit closer to him, wanting comfort. “It feels like you are lying when you say that. Just saying it to make me feel better.”

One of her hands slid up to touch his uninjured cheek. “You are handsome, Kurt. You look natural even with your fur, skin, and tail. It is just you...but this isn’t me. I’m not...I’m not supposed to look like this…”

Kurt gave her a sympathetic smile and leaned into her touch without hesitation. "It is only because it is so new. It's shocking, I know, but you will adjust." He brushed away her tears before he reached up and gently ran his finger down a lock of hair. "The beauty I speak of is more than just your appearance, Kobold. It is your fierce spirit, your determination, your kindness...all of that makes up your beauty -- the way you look is just icing on the cake." 

Kurt hesitated then, wondering, thinking if this was the best way to explain his thoughts. "If you had the x-gene all along...if it hadn't been for the house fire, it would have been a different stressor. You would have become a mutant. You may not have looked exactly like this, but...who is to say you wouldn't have looked similar? You are strong, Bedelia," he said steadily, "and you will adjust and own this. I will be here to help with that, even if all I can do to help is to hug you if you'd let me." He leaned forward and did something he had wanted to do for weeks -- he kissed her gently but with passion.

Bedelia willfully gave into the kiss. It felt so good. It was what she needed. The physical confirmation that she was safe, that Kurt was here, that it wasn’t some sort of hallucination. And in many ways, the touch cemented what he said in her mind. It wasn’t about her looks. Hell, he’d gone out with her when she had bright green hair. Her hands moved to the back of his head and Bedelia pressed herself against him. 

“Kurt,” she sighed with desire as they parted. She wanted...she wanted more but knew that they should not. He was still recovering...from the injuries that she gave him...that was a guilt she pushed away for now. “I missed that…”

Bedelia hugged him gently, feeling his tail wrap around her. “I knew you would save me, rishide .” Her voice was barely more than a whisper but it didn’t need to be louder. “That thought was the only thing that kept me from giving in to him completely...I…” She didn’t want to say it yet. She loved him. But now wasn’t the time for the confession.

“It will take some time for me to come to terms with everything...but you are right and I am glad that I have you with me this time to deal with it.”

Kurt held her tightly against him, the slightest tremble in his frame. She was really here, really safe. He inhaled slowly, enjoying her scent that mixed with the flowers. “I will be here through it all with you, I promise.” To hear that she had survived only knowing that he’d come...he kissed her again. “I’ll always be here.” He unwrapped his tail from her and reached out to a nearby rose bush, snapping one off. He tore off the stem to get rid of any thorns before placing it in her hair behind her ear. “The color suits you.”

His sweet words, gentle touches, and kisses helped to melt Bedelia’s worries away. Here in the garden, there was nothing but them and the flowers. It was a sanctuary.

A blush came to Bedelia’s face turning her cheeks a very vibrant red. Nearly matching the rose. He had given her another rose. And this one...this one was even greater in meaning to her. “I think blue suits me better,” she told him, stroking his cheek. “But I suppose I cannot wear you in my hair.”

Thinking of repeating the past though. Bedelia eyed the bench they had fallen asleep on last time. She could see that Kurt still looked tired from the stress and he was still recovering. Leading Kurt over to the bench they sat. Leaning against Kurt’s uninjured side Bedelia closed her eyes. Soon she was dozing off, just like before.

____

Next

Fanfic Masterlist

[nicsnort]

Trial by Fire (part 76)

A Nightcrawler/Fem!OC romance, drama, and mystery fanfic, with lots of Quicksilver thrown in for fun and even more drama.

Intro (with link to full Ao3 story) First Previous

Charles could feel the mixture of relief, joy, confusion -- for Bedelia was a mutant, after all, but one of something that had traumatized her when she was a child -- and something else that radiated loudly in his thoughts. It was a mixture of concern, but it was also a sort of protectiveness that was mingled with anger. We will not let the Brotherhood take her, Kurt. You need to rest as well. Do not worry for now. Both of you will need time to recover.

Kurt gave a sheepish look to the older man. He nodded. He hadn’t realized he had been projecting, but it was to be expected. As he calmed down, he realized he was exhausted...and burnt on several parts of his body. It was worth it though…

Down below the mutants were just finishing putting an end to the Essex guards. They were either knocked out, severely injured, or dead. The question slowly began to rise in the X-men’s minds about what should happen to the unconscious guards. Inside the building, Logan was finally getting up from his position in the corner. His seared flesh knitted back together slowly and he was in a great deal of pain. 

“Fucking hell,” he swore driving his claws into the wall to stave off the pain.

The Brotherhood members had returned to the floor and were looking over the mess. Azazel was impressed. So much destruction. Hellfire was a far better pyrokinetic than Pyro ever was. He almost wanted to reintroduce them to each other and see what happened.

Scott and Jean looked at the Brotherhood members. “What happened,” Scott asked.

The scent of Logan’s burning flesh still filled the air, making stomachs churn. As they approached the group, Trance spotted a guard groan and shift, clearly waking. She took out her knife and made to end his life...but she saw a flash of blue and knew Beast was there. Internally sighing, she put her knife away. 

“Sinister will no longer be a problem,” Magneto stated confidently. “Beast, were you able to destroy the information?” He was all the more glad that he wore his helmet, keeping his thoughts to himself -- because I am the only one with his formula now. 

Hank had pulled all the information he could from the computers. There was too much to get everything and he doubted that the computer database even had all the information the Essex Corporation had gathered over the years. He hurried down to where the others were though and was hit with the stench of burnt flesh. Charles hadn’t said anyone was badly injured. Upon seeing Logan though the smell was explained. Poor man.

At Magneto’s question, Hank raised an eyebrow briefly. “The virus I installed is wiping the hard drives now.” Better not to mention the data he had retrieved on the USB. Data on Essex’s technology, his formulas...the “cure”, not to mention the files on the mutant experiments and other Essex Corp locations. Those the X-men would take care of themselves.

Outside Charles Landed the Blackbird next to the X-jet. “I do not sense any other guards in the buildings. And the rescued mutants need medical attention. We should withdraw.” He told everyone he was able to.

Inside the X-men gave a nod. “If that bastard is dead,” Logan growled, “then let’s move out.”

It took a moment for the group to be teleported back into the jet with just Azazel, taking a few trips. Trance was in the first group. As she waited for the others to arrive, she, like the others, looked over to Kurt and Bedelia, who was out. The question of what would happen next hung heavily in the air. 

Hank and Jean started to tend to the mutants who were badly injured, taking a general baseline and working with what they had on the jet. Magneto sat next to Charles and removed his helmet, his secret settled in deep and locked away. “Let us return, Charles.” There was a sliver of sadness in his tone that was meant only for Charles. After all, it was unlikely they would continue to co-exist...though he would welcome Charles with open arms if he did. 

The travel back to the mansion was quiet and quick. When they arrived at the mansion, the activity increased. Bedelia and Kurt were taken to their own corner of the medical bay, the injured mutants filling the other beds. Skinwalker, still injured but well enough, had returned to help. Trance stayed to help with the unconscious mutants. While the others helped the injured mutants Charles and Erik gave each other a look. With a nod, they headed up to Charles’ office.

In the office, Charles took out his hidden stash of whiskey and poured them both a double. Silently he positioned himself in front of the electric fireplace, cold at the moment, Charles could smell the smoke on Erik’s clothes. He knew that a fire wouldn’t be the best idea at the moment. “So Essex is gone,” he stated simply. The man, not the corporation.

Quite a long time ago, Erik had learned that if he didn’t want Charles to know something, he simply did not think of it. Rather, he thought of it as something in passing, something pointless, a thing not to worry or be concerned about. And so he thought of the five vials that would be his next focus as something minuscule, like that of an empty can that he walked by.

Erik took the whiskey he poured and sat near him, studying the unnatural fireplace because it lacked a true fire. “Sinister is gone.” He confirmed, his tone even and his expression neutral. Still, Charles knew him well enough to know he was satisfied, relieved, and even a bit proud.

Erik was hiding something. Charles would not press to find out what though. At least not now. He was telling the truth about that monster’s death and that was the most pressing issue. If Erik had let him live for some reason...well then the man that Charles knew was well and truly gone.

“We have saved mutants from a grave threat. We saved Bedelia. We have shown that we are stronger together despite our disagreements...but where does that leave us, my friend?” Would the Brotherhood continue to work alongside the X-men to root out the corporation wherever they may be? Or was this the end? What would happen with the journalist? Was this even a conversation for tonight? Should they not be celebrating?

Oh yes, the Brotherhood and X-men did well together when they had a shared enemy -- despite the fact that they had growled and stalked around one another while at the school like territorial hyenas. Perhaps they needed another common enemy...but where to find one? Where to grow one? Erik took a drink of the whiskey, letting the burn down his throat be his focus for a moment. 

To have every night be like this...Erik set his glass down and looked at Charles. The conversation, as well as the next one about the journalist, who was of far more worth now, would be a stressful one. Which, given their recent mission, Erik made an executive decision. He stood and leaned forward, resting his hands on either of Charles’ armrests of the chair and switched the topic with a kiss that promised more shortly.

~~~~

Bedelia’s sleep was dreamless though more importantly nightmare-less. She slept through the night and late into the day. Her body was exhausted. Hank had told Kurt that she would likely sleep most of the day. Bedelia’s body - while the external wounds from the experiments were not severe - had been through a great deal of trauma.

Around noon Kitty came down with food for the patients. A couple were awake and feeling well enough to eat for themselves. Most needed to be put on IV bags for nutrients and calories. She had a plate of food for Kurt as well. His burns were not serious but his eyebrows, hairline, and eyelashes were all but gone. One of his eyes was swollen and puffy from the heat of the fire. A couple of areas of skin were darker than normal and blistered... 1st-degree burns. Nothing as bad as the first time he was burned from grabbing her arm.

While Kurt slept better than previous nights knowing that Bedelia was safe and just a yard or so away from him, he still felt tired when he woke up. His body needed to rest and recover. His arm was healing up nicely from the first encounter, but the rest of him, while it was not as severe, needed time as well. He was glad that a double dose of over-the-counter medicine helped that though. It made the pain a dull ache.

When he woke, he looked over to Bedelia who, to his relief, was still asleep. Was she dreaming of anything? He knew Hank hadn’t given her any sort of medication for sleep, only things for any low pain and a round of antibiotics, as the others had received. He was content to spend the first half hour just observing Bedelia and looking over the other mutants they had rescued. It was quiet, minus the beating of the machines, and it was what he needed. 

Bedelia was a mutant. That was a shock for anyone at any age, but to be forced into her powers like that? He knew that would be a trial to get through. And her appearance..she was beautiful to Kurt regardless. She was still Bedelia to him, the dedicated journalist who loved romance novels and had a big heart and an even bigger mind. But he knew it wouldn’t be so simple. Hadn’t Kurt struggled with his own self-acceptance for decades? But he would be there for her through it all.

“Hey, Kurt let’s pretty you up a bit,” Kitty told him with a smile. Fake lashes and some eyebrow penciling would have to do. At least it would be less shocking for Bedelia when she woke up. Kitty’s eyes went to Bedelia. Ash white skin and hair...they hadn’t even removed the suit that Essex put her in. It had some mechanical components that they were worried it was connected to her gem somehow...Hank was going to examine her when she woke.

Normally he would have grumbled at being her make-up dummy -- but when she showed him a mirror of what he looked like, he grimaced and understood. Bedelia was going to be going through a lot without the added shock or guilt of what Kurt looked like. 

As Kitty left she nearly ran into Pietro, if she hadn’t phased at the right time she would have. She had seen the eyes of Pietro on the journalist. If he wasn’t so awful and if Kurt wasn’t her friend Kitty would have been amused. But even if the Brotherhood member was pining after Bedelia the woman was Kurt’s. Kitty didn’t see a world in which the journalist would leave for Pietro. Luckily there were other mutants in the medical wing it would keep the two from fighting lest both of them lose face...or at least Kitty hoped.

When Kitty left, Kurt noticed movement where there shouldn’t be. Kurt glanced up and frowned. “What are you doing here?” He was closer to Bedelia than Pietro was, but knowing the man’s speed, it was a moot point.

Pietro looked hard at Kurt, then at Bedelia. “She looks better.” He had paused purposely to imply the obvious, then added, “From last night.” 

Kurt scowled. This was the last thing she needed when she woke. “Yes, we saved her. Now she’s healing. So you can leave.”

The bickering of the two men was what Bedelia needed to start waking up. Somehow it was that bit of normalcy - or what had become normal for her - that touched the edges of her consciousness. Her breathing was the first to change as she slowly awoke. Deeper, stronger…

What happened? That was her first thought. Why was she so...heavy? Yes, her neck felt heavy. Her throat was dry. She tried to swallow some spit but couldn’t. She could hear the beeping of the medical devices...no...please...no more experiments…

But then Kurt’s voice. “We saved her...”

Saved? Bedelia’s face scrunched up. Pietro said something. Pietro and Kurt? Slowly her eyes fluttered up revealing the white ceiling of the hospital room. Not Sinister’s white face. Turning her head to the side she saw Kurt laying in another hospital bed and Pietro standing near it glowering at the blue mutant.

They were both here? Not captured...the memories of last night - Kurt holding her, being on the jet - they came back filtering in like the details of a dream. A smile came to Bedelia’s face as the two exchanged a few more tense words. “Still fighting over me,” she asked, her voice weak and croaky from dryness. How long had she been gone?

______

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