With Great Power - an X2 ficlet
Apr. 14th, 2012 09:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
phasing_catCharacters: Kitty Pryde and Piotr Rasputin
Setting:X2, the night of the Mansion invasion
Word Count: 590
Kitty was cold. The ground was hard underneath her, the tree she was leaning against rough and scratchy against her back. It was dark where she had snuck away from the light and the heat of the fire, and away from the group. After Pete had taken a head count it had become clear that they were missing more than a few of the children. Kitty's friends were gone, too - Rogue and Bobby and even John. She had waited until the ones who slept had drifted off before sneaking away.
Now she sat, legs pulled up to her chest, and cried. She had done the best she could, running through the house, saving everyone she could, sneaking them out one by one and down into the tunnel. She'd even carried one or two who had been too scared to move on her back. She had been training for years to prepare for any type of adversarial situation, but nothing could have prepared her for an invasion into their home. The mansion was supposed to be the safe haven they all needed. She didn't understand how this could have happened, or why. Who would want to harm innocent children? They weren't hurting anyone there. The Xavier Institute was the one place they had to be with others like themselves - a place where they could be happy and live without fear of being judged. That peace and comfort had been shattered in the middle of the night, and she feared that it could not be regained.
She dug the toe of her shoe into the ground as if punishing the dirt would make her feel better. She should have hated them, but she was angrier with herself than anyone else. What good was this ability if it couldn't help the people she cared about? What was the point if she couldn't save everyone? She didn't know if they were scared, or hurt, or even alive. Worse, there was nothing she could do to help them if they were. She was needed here. The younger kids were frightened and while Piotr was the oldest, Kitty was one of the oldest left after him. She had just turned sixteen the week before, but three years at the Institue made her feel much older than that. She was responsible and mature and she prided herself on being someone the teachers trusted. Now she felt as if she had betrayed that trust and let everyone down.
She picked her head up at the sound of footsteps coming toward her. She used the sleeve of her shirt to wipe her cheeks, but did not get up. Whoever was approaching was coming from the direction of the camp, so she felt certain it wasn't another soldier. Still, she was prepared to phase if need be.
Strong arms pulled her into an embrace; arms so big they could only belong to one person. He said nothing, simply pulling her into his lap and holding her. Fresh hot tears fell down her cold cheeks. She buried her face in his shirt to muffle the sound of her sobs and cried until she couldn't cry any more. Tomorrow they would act as if this had never happened, and she would be strong again, because they would need her to be. She would never thank him, because there were no words to thank him enough for the gift he had given her - a safe place to, for the first time since her ability had manifested, just be a kid.
Setting:X2, the night of the Mansion invasion
Word Count: 590
Kitty was cold. The ground was hard underneath her, the tree she was leaning against rough and scratchy against her back. It was dark where she had snuck away from the light and the heat of the fire, and away from the group. After Pete had taken a head count it had become clear that they were missing more than a few of the children. Kitty's friends were gone, too - Rogue and Bobby and even John. She had waited until the ones who slept had drifted off before sneaking away.
Now she sat, legs pulled up to her chest, and cried. She had done the best she could, running through the house, saving everyone she could, sneaking them out one by one and down into the tunnel. She'd even carried one or two who had been too scared to move on her back. She had been training for years to prepare for any type of adversarial situation, but nothing could have prepared her for an invasion into their home. The mansion was supposed to be the safe haven they all needed. She didn't understand how this could have happened, or why. Who would want to harm innocent children? They weren't hurting anyone there. The Xavier Institute was the one place they had to be with others like themselves - a place where they could be happy and live without fear of being judged. That peace and comfort had been shattered in the middle of the night, and she feared that it could not be regained.
She dug the toe of her shoe into the ground as if punishing the dirt would make her feel better. She should have hated them, but she was angrier with herself than anyone else. What good was this ability if it couldn't help the people she cared about? What was the point if she couldn't save everyone? She didn't know if they were scared, or hurt, or even alive. Worse, there was nothing she could do to help them if they were. She was needed here. The younger kids were frightened and while Piotr was the oldest, Kitty was one of the oldest left after him. She had just turned sixteen the week before, but three years at the Institue made her feel much older than that. She was responsible and mature and she prided herself on being someone the teachers trusted. Now she felt as if she had betrayed that trust and let everyone down.
She picked her head up at the sound of footsteps coming toward her. She used the sleeve of her shirt to wipe her cheeks, but did not get up. Whoever was approaching was coming from the direction of the camp, so she felt certain it wasn't another soldier. Still, she was prepared to phase if need be.
Strong arms pulled her into an embrace; arms so big they could only belong to one person. He said nothing, simply pulling her into his lap and holding her. Fresh hot tears fell down her cold cheeks. She buried her face in his shirt to muffle the sound of her sobs and cried until she couldn't cry any more. Tomorrow they would act as if this had never happened, and she would be strong again, because they would need her to be. She would never thank him, because there were no words to thank him enough for the gift he had given her - a safe place to, for the first time since her ability had manifested, just be a kid.
