Not Just A Phase

Characters: Kitty Pryde-Myers (X-men), John Myers (Hellboy) and Virginia Adams (OC NPC)
Rating: PG
Setting: Bump in the Night!Verse, Haunted House Plot
Word Count:  548

( I'm happy to be alive... )

 

Characters: Kitty Pryde, mentions of Jeremy Greer
Rating: PG-13 (one F-bomb)
Setting: Shades of Gray!Verse
Prompt: #73 Smell - Writing Table
Word Count: 801

( I know I'll never come back here. )

Characters: Kitty Pryde (X-men) and John Myers (Hellboy)
Verse: Bump In The Night
Setting: After returning to BPRD from the auction house in the Golden Army replay
Word Count: 808
Prompt: Declaration by David Cook (lyrics) (song)


( Are there any words to say that would ever mean enough? )

Characters: Kitty Pryde, Carmen Pryde (X-Men) and John Myers (Hellboy)
Setting: Bump In The Night ‘Verse, several years after HB2.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2,522

( In a time of sadness, a ray of light. )

Setting: Bump In The Night!Verse.
Timing: Between the two HB films (Part 1, Part 2, & Part 3)
Characters: Kitty Pryde (X-men), John Myers, Liz Sherman, Hellboy (Hellboy), Jack Harkness (Doctor Who/Torchwood)
Word Count: 797

Part 4 - The Beginning

( And thus the first official office pool concerning Kitty and John is born )

Setting: Bump In The Night!Verse.
Timing: Between the two HB films.
Characters: Kitty Pryde, Aroro Monroe, Logan/Wolverine, Bobby Drake (X-men), Liz Sherman, John Myers, Hellboy, Abe Sapien (Hellboy), Jack Harkness, Martha Jones (Doctor Who/Torchwood)
Word Count: 2,307

Part 2: Visitors

( Everyone wants to know... how is she? )

Mulder awoke a little after one. He'd always been a light sleeper, even when he didn't have a lot on his mind. His stomach grumbled, and he climbed out of bed slowly, careful not to wake Scully, who was sleeping peacefully beside him. He slipped on a pair of sweatpants and quietly walked out of the room. As he drew closer to the kitchen he could see light streaming from the doorway, more than just the light over the stove they kept on overnight.

He stepped into the kitchen and saw where the light was coming from. Kitty was standing in front of the open refrigerator, hand on the door, staring into it like she was watching a movie. He waited a moment, and watched her. He was struck by how tiny and frail she looked in the pale light, by how breakable she seemed. She didn't move, just stood there in her pajama bottoms and tank top, bare feet on the cold tile, shivering slightly from the cold air spilling from the refrigerator.

"Kitty, what are you doing?" he asked.

"We don't have any eggs. I need eggs." She did not look in his direction. Her voice was soft but forceful. He stepped closer, and could clearly see the container of eggs on the second shelf. He looked at her again, closer this time. Her eyes were glassy with a faraway gaze, as if she was looking at something specific at a distance.

She's sleepwalking. He'd never seen someone sleepwalk before, but he was familiar with the phenomenon. He moved to put a hand lightly on her shoulder, only for it to pass through it like she was a ghost. For a second he wondered if he was dreaming, if she truly was a ghost, then he remembered what Scully had told him about her ability. She can slide her molecules between the molecules of another object. He was fascinated by the prospect, and now was witnessing it first hand.

"Why do you need eggs?" She was obviously in some kind of dream she needed to act out. Maybe he could help.

She closed the refrigerator and walked to the stove, picking up a bowl and a wooden spoon he realized she must have gotten out of the cabinets herself. The bowl was empty, but she stirred with the spoon as if it were full.

"If I make it, he'll come back. I promised I'd make him one every day if he came home. So... so if I make it, maybe he'll come back."

"Who?" he asked, curious.

"Luke. He loved my chocolate souffle." She continued to stir, her back to him. He was almost mesmerized by the movement of her small shoulder blades under her tank. They reminded him of the wings of a bird.

Luke? "Is he your boyfriend?"

She laughed and turned, setting the bowl on the counter. "No, he is... was, my best friend. I told him everything I've ever done, even what I did to Jacob, and he didn't care." Her brow furrowed for a moment, and he wondered if she would start crying. "Jeremy is my boyfriend. He's gone too. He went to search for Luke and never came back."

She turned her back to him again, and he stepped around to look at her from the side. She moved her hands as if she were pouring things into the bowl, then began stirring again. "I didn't want him to go, I told him there was no point, but he went anyway." She stopped stirring as a single tear ran down her cheek. "He left me too."

He was beginning to understand where some of the sadness in her eyes came from. She cared about these boys, and it appeared that they both left her. No wonder she'd have trouble getting close to him and Scully, and Will. First her parents, then her friend and boyfriend... his heart ached for her.

"So you don't know where either of them is?" He again reached out for her, this time making contact with her shoulder. She hissed and pulled away quickly as if his hand had burned her. For the first time she looked at him, though he wasn't sure she actually saw him.

"No. I... I don't want to talk about it any more." She looked down at her feet. "I'm tired." She looked back over her shoulder toward the refrigerator. "We need eggs."

He sighed. "I know, we'll get some tomorrow, okay? Why don't you go to bed if you're tired."

She nodded wordlessly, walking slowly out of the kitchen and down the hall toward her bedroom. He followed, hoping she'd remember in her dream state which room was hers, it was only her second night there. The door was open and she walked into the room. He paused in the doorway and watched as she laid down on the floor next to the bed, her pillow and the comforter already there. Why was she sleeping on the floor? He filed that question away with what felt like a hundred others as she pulled the comforter over herself and closed her eyes. He carefully closed the door and turned, returning to his own bedroom. He'd discovered he was no longer hungry.

It was a summer night like thousands of other summer nights. A tent was set up in the backyard, and they were laying on sleeping bags in the grass, looking at the stars. Fireflies danced in the air around them, the only source of light for miles around. Crickets chirped and frogs croaked in the nearby pond. To her, this was heaven.

"Which one is that, Daddy?" she asked.

"That's Orion, the hunter. Remember the story I told you about him?"

"Yes, he was killed by a giant scorpion." She reached her tiny hand up and pointed. "And Scorpio is right there."

He reached out and took her hand in his, so small in comparison. "That's right. Now for a new one." His free hand reached up and pointed, his head close to hers. "Can you see those 5 stars there, shaped like a 'W'?"

"Uh huh."

"That's the queen Cassiopeia. She was very beautiful, but arrogant and prideful. She claimed that she and her daughter were more beautiful than all of the daughters of the sea god, Nereus. This made Poseidon angry."

"Who's Poseidon?" she interrupted.

"The ruling god of the sea. He was going to flood Cassiopeia's country unless she gave her daughter to him, so she chained her daughter Andromeda to a rock on the edge of the sea. Andromeda was saved, but Poseidon still felt Cassiopeia should be punished, so he put her in the sky amongst the stars. Because of where she is, she is upside down half the year."

"That doesn't seem so bad," she said.

"Oh, really? How would you like to be upside down for 6 months?" He tickled her, sitting up and pulling her into his arms, dangling her upside down so her hair grazed the ground. She giggled and struggled.

"Daddy! Put me down!" she sputtered between giggles.

He tickled her a second longer, then laid her back on her sleeping bag. When she'd caught her breath, a frown came over her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"If she was a queen, wasn't there a king? Why didn't he stop her from giving Andromeda away? You would never give me away, would you?" she asked quietly.

"Of course not pumpkin. It's just a story." Whatever would make her think that?

"Even if Mommy wanted to?"

"Mommy wouldn't either. We both love you very much." He pulled her into his arms, holding her close. Her little heart was beating fast, like a hummingbird against his chest.

"I love you Daddy." she mumbled into him.

Kitty sat up in bed, suddenly awake, tears on her cheeks and the smell of mowed grass lingering in her nose. How could she have forgotten about that night? Even at the age of 9 she had felt it, some part of her had known. He would choose her mother over her.

She wiped away the tears and laid back down, rolling onto her side and burying her face in her pillow. Even after three years, the betrayal still hurt. She prayed that someday she'd be able to hate them as she fell back to sleep.

The second I woke, I knew something was wrong.  I felt hard concrete under me, and cold metal around my ankles.  My body was sore and aching.  I discovered bruises on my arms and back with no idea how I got them.  As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I surveyed the sparse room around me.  No furniture, no decoration, just a floor, ceiling, four walls, and the chains holding me in the center of it all.  It must have been designed just for me - not enough leeway to reach the walls.  I phased through the floor to find nothing but earth underneath.  I couldn't help but laugh at the shackles around my ankles, what amateur thought they could hold me?  I screamed in pain when I tried to phase through them, the room spinning around me.  It felt like my entire nervous system was being attacked with a thousand knives.  I was wrong - only someone with extensive knowledge would know I can't phase through adamantium.  There was only one explanation - Sabretooth.  I cursed myself for going home and not listening to my instincts.  He'd obviously taken great care in bringing me here, I thought to myself, as more bruises presented themselves.

The door opened and I looked up to see his giant hulking frame nearly blocking out the light behind him.  He flicked a switch on the wall and I covered my eyes, harsh fluorescent light flooding the room.

"Good morning little Kitty.  Sounds like you discovered your shackles - a little souvenir I picked up from Alkali Lake before the dam collapsed.  I trust you slept well considering the sedative I slipped into your drink." He grinned, making me wish I could slam my cast into his face.

"How's your chest?" I smirked, seeing the corner of a blood-soaked bandage peeking out from underneath his shirt.  "That musta hurt."

He growled, stepping towards me menacingly and brandishing his claws.  I scrambled backwards on my hands and knees as far as the chain would allow.

"What do you want with me?" I spat out, frustrated. He had me, and he knew it. My mind scrambled for a way out, finding nothing.

"Today's Wolverine's birthday, didn't you know?  I like to leave him presents on his special day.  I had planned on leaving your bloody and broken body on his doorstep, but after our little encounter in the alley I had to change my plan.  Today, you're bait, and when he comes to rescue the poor little kitty, I'm going to kill him.  And you get to watch."  He snarled and laughed, turning off the light and slamming the door shut, leaving me in the darkness.  Logan wouldn't fall for such an obvious trap, would he?  Of course he would, he thinks he's invincible.  He'll think he can save me and avoid the trap.  Cocky bastard.

I lost all concept of time in that dark hole, drifting in and out of sleep as my mind kept searching for a way out.  The sound of the door opening roused me, and I moved as far away from it as I could, expecting the beast again.  Instead, Logan stepped in quietly and crossed the room, whispering.

"Hey kid, are you ok? Are you hurt?" he asked.

"I'll be fine.  Dammit, Logan, why'd you come? You know it's a trap!" I replied.

"Of course I know. And I couldn't leave you here.  Besides, if I can't outsmart that mangy mutt then I deserve to have him kill me." He grinned, holding up a set of keys. "I already found where he was hiding these." He unlocked the shackles and helped me to my feet.  I winced as we walked to the door, my body feeling like I'd been run through a meat grinder.  He swept me into his arms and carried me out, up a long flight of stairs into a small cabin, then out the door and outside.  We were surrounded my trees as far as I could see.  The sunlight would have blinded me if it hadn't been filtered by the thick greenery overhead.  I could hear birds chirping, and water running nearby, but no cars, no sign of civilization.

As he set me on my feet, he asked, "Can you walk?"  Before the words were barely out of his mouth, Sabretooth tackled him from behind, both of them rolling into a giant oak, snapping it like a twig.  It fell towards me, and I let it phase through me and slam into the ground.  I stepped out of it, rocks and twigs digging into my bare feet until I phased them too.  I looked on in horror as they slashed and tore at eachother, all claws and blood and anger.

"Kitty, run!  Follow the river, there's a town a few miles downstream. Go!"

I started to argue, opening my mouth to shout back at him, but knew it was useless.  I couldn't help him, I'd barely been able to defend myself from the monster.  I ran towards the sound of the river, regretting every step I took.  Just as I started down the hill toward the water, I heard an ear-splitting howl from behind me.  I turned to see Logan's claws buried in Sabretooth's midsection, a grin on his face.  I couldn't help but smile, and whispered to myself as I took off.

"Happy birthday Logan."