Thanks to the usual accomplices in the Kitty Fan-fic loop :) who saved my ass when my computer crashed. Also to Scribe, Darqstar, Katya, and Kielle for giving this series some much needed exposure on their pages.

And on a personal note: I'm so disgusted with what they did with Amanda Sefton in Excalibur #108 (we shan't even go into the foul secretion that was #109), I'm putting my Nightcrawler and Amanda closer together as a form of not-so silent protest. Please write much unpleasantness in letter form protesting Raab's butt-brained writing to marvelmail@aol.com under the heading 'Sword Strokes' or 'Excalibur.' Am I being childish? Petty? Vindictive? Even a smidgen bitchy? Damn straight. Get crackin' on those letters.

Keesha: Thank YOU! OK, important stuff that happened last issue: Sinister is still the Van Gogh of the genetic field and banging away at his latest creation. Kitty Pryde is actually attracted to Pete Wisdom, but would rather be forcibly fucked by a pile-driver before admitting it. Pete likes Kitty, but at least he was willing to admit it to his pal, Culley. Icarus, Orlin, Jimmy, Tom, and Sharon cleared out of the lighthouse to various parts of the world and Amanda and I joined Excalibur. Oh yeah, and Brigadier Stuart's godchild is still a dog. Ok, I'm gone!

Kitty Pryde went to sleep with an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach . She woke up in a darkened corridor.

"Pssst! Hey, Pryde!" a voice hissed. "Wake up or you'll miss everything !" Kitty opened her eyes, yawned, and turned to face her speaker. A boy her own age grinned at her from under a blonde cow-lick. He was also wearing one of those God-awful New Mutant uniforms, but Kitty didn't notice. The fact that this boy, her former best friend, was supposed to be dead more or less pardoned his blatant violation of fashion law.

"Doug..." she whispered through a dry mouth. "How...?"

"Easy. You need someone to help straighten out your reason from your hormones, and you aren't willing to let Rachel do it. Now, come on. The show's about to start!" Doug Ramsey, formerly Cypher of the New Mutants, grabbed Kitty's hand and took off running down the corridor. Kitty tried to ask a couple of questions, but found that she needed all of her breath for running, and finally just kept pace with Doug. She'd find out what this was about sooner or later.

Nightcrawler was rummaging around in the kitchen when Keesha Scott, in her usual baggy pants and T-shirt, walked in.

"Guten Morgen." he greeted her, trying to slice a bagel down to toaster size without amputating one of his few fingers.

Keesha's bottle-green eyes narrowed slightly as she mulled over Kurt's cheerful words. "Huh?"

"It means 'good morning.' Wagner informed her. He decided that his attempt at bagel-trimming passed muster and shoved both halves into the toaster. "You do not mean to tell me that our dear Katzchen's not taught youanything of the German tongue!" he exclaimed in mock-horror. "How does she expect you to get anywhere in Europe without..."

"'Goo-tan morgan', already!"

Kurt winced. "Stick to English."

Keesha laughed and brushed past Nightcrawler to the fridge, routing out a container of orange juice.

"Not out of the carton." Kurt admonished, not turning his back on the toaster. For once, he intended to be able to eat one of these things without getting his daily dose of carbon along with it. He didn't even really like bagels, and figured he'd probably stop fixing them once he managed to get through the morning without burning one.

For her part, Keesha made a wry face at Kurt's back, but grabbed a glass out of the sink. "So, you two hate each other yet or what?"

Kurt turned around as Keesha took a seat on the table. "I beg your pardon?"

"Amanda and you. With the training sessions? Aw, c'mon. They're driving her totally spastic."

Nightcrawler took that as more of a slight on Amanda's abilities than a mark against his teaching skills. "She's making adequate progress." he said stiffly.

"But she's not enjoying it..."

"She still has to learn."

Keesha continued as if he hadn't spoken. "...she's trying too hard, AND she's starting to take some of it personal-like." Kurt asked her what THAT was supposed to mean. "Well... you know... you manage to toss her around and pin her with almost no trouble, so she probably feels like you're picking on her a little."

"That's ridiculous." Kurt retorted. "Amanda knows that this is necessary for her own well being... as well as that of this team."

Keesha shrugged. "Didn't say it wasn't. But maybe if she had a better background in it or if she wasn't your girlfriend it'd be going smoother ."

"We both grew up in the same environment. She's possessed of the same skills I had when I joined the X-Men." In truth, Kurt could see where this conversation was going. Still, Amanda was only a beginner. There was no reason she should be executing perfect judo throws just yet.

Keesha wasn't going to give up on her view point, though. "Aw, please. From what I can tell, you haven't done much since you joined the X-Men EXCEPT fight and add on to what skills you already had. Amanda used to be a... what was she? A pilot?"

"Stewardess."

"Right. You can imagine how much of a chance she's had to do acrobatics and stuff in that line of work. She's probably trying to re-learn stuff that used to be second-nature to her."

Nightcrawler gave a bemused smile. "And how do you know so much?"

"You don't keep the door to your work-out room locked. I've been watching." She paused. "Look, I'd just like to help, OK? Let me teach her a little street-fighting."

"Was?"

"Something not a rigid as what you're doing. It's basically anything goes."

Kurt started to answer when he noticed the column of smoke rising from the toaster behind him. "Argh!" he grumbled disgustedly. He pushed the lever on the toaster back up and two hopelessly charred bagel halves emerged from the slots. He gingerly picked them out and deposited them in the trash. Keesha watched.

"Well?"

"It's not as if I'm her keeper." Kurt responded, brushing black crumbs off of his hands. "You'd have to ask Amanda herself. Still, my distaste for you teaching a dear friend of mine the fine art of mauling aside, I don't see how working another session into her daily routine will solve what problems you claim she's having. It seems as if it would only compound it."

Keesha shrugged. "Might. But then again, it might not." Despite her unconcerned demeanor, Keesha felt a little better about having at least made the offer. She didn't enjoy feeling like dead weight any more than Amanda did, and Brian really hadn't been doing much to make either of them feel as if they were holding their own. The red-skinned girl glanced around the kitchen, as if suddenly noticing that they were the only two life- forms in it. "Where's the rest of the crew?"

"Asleep, I believe. Except for Amanda. The last I saw of her, she was going out for a walk."

"Not much place to walk around here." Keesha noted, referring to the rocky beach around the base of the lighthouse.

Kurt finally got around to pouring the coffee that he'd wanted and grabbed an apple and an orange from the fridge's crisper. "Perhaps she teleported to a more scenic area. Either way, I'm off to have my breakfast on the roof. Care to join me?"

"On the roof?"

"You can't find a better view."

"Er... no, that's OK."

"Auf Wiedersehen, then." With his usual < BAMF! > Kurt disappeared. Keesha waved one hand in front of her face to clear the air and started going through the pantry. Amazing. This place had two other teen-age girls living in it, but not any junk-food worthy of the name.

Amanda walked a little further out onto a long rock shelf jutting out into the surf. Running around the beach a few times had woken her up, but not totally cleared the groggy mists from her head. Well, she had a definite cure for that.

The stiff morning breeze coming off of the ocean hit her bare skin again and she shivered. The illusionary jumpsuit covered up the fact that she'd ditched her clothes about 20 seconds ago and protected her modesty from any blue-furred cutie that could (but had better not!) be watching. But it didn't do a damn thing to keep her warm. She glanced around and let the illusion drop. As she chanted a quick incantation, she went through a stretching routine, since that made for the easiest transition. Then she made an almost splashless dive into the choppy, freezing water.

Seconds later, a scaly mer-creature wearing Amanda's features broke the surface of the ocean. Sunlight winked from her faceted scales and turned her face and features ethereal as she leapt for the heavens.

Nightcrawler sat perched on the edge of the roof, breakfast but a abstract idea. How can one concentrate on something as paltry as food when he's within seconds of being totally hypnotized by beauty incomparable? Or chilled by a very deep concern.

When Amanda's illusionary clothing had dissipated, Kurt's natural impulse was to stare until he was caught. Before his polished swashbuckler/gentleman manners could come into play, he'd gotten a glimpse of something else. A jagged purplish-pink scar, slashed diagonally from Amanda's right shoulder to the small of her back marred the smoothness of the silky skin his fingers had caressed so many times.

'It had to have happened some time in the past year.' he'd reflected, unable to tear his eyes away from the injury. 'It looks too recent to be any older than that.'

Then she'd jumped into the water and he'd nearly ported in after her. Even in weather that was considered warm for England, the ocean around the lighthouse was never much good for swimming. Then Amanda had surfaced in her new form and he simply couldn't have looked away if he'd wanted to. Amanda seemed totally familiar with this form, though he'd never seen her in it, in all the time he'd known her. She radiated grace and power in the water, reminding him very briefly of the space-faring Acanti. Amanda was totally unaware of anything that might have been happening on land, and frankly, she didn't look as if she'd give a damn if she did know.

"Mein Gott..." he whispered, wondering how many times in a man's life was he privileged to witness something so extraordinary.

Frigid water surged through Amanda's gill slits and into her lungs, heavier and more noticeable than the brisk air above, but just as invigorating. She took another deep breath and dove straight down, trusting that her sense of echo-location would keep her from hitting any rock spurs or whatever was down here.

She could feel a reluctance to return to her human form starting to creep into the back of her mind. That was a danger signal, one of the first that she'd learned in being instructed in this type of magic. Getting lost in the sensations of another form was not uncommon. Indeed, some got into magic just so they could spend the rest of their natural lives as something other than what they'd been born. Unicorns, centaurs, chimera, harpies, werewolves, mermaids... most of those old legends were the predictable results of magicians being careless with their powers. For her own part, Amanda was glad she only had limited experience in this field. It was just too tempting.

'I'll go back in a minute.' she promised herself. 'I just want to do one more leap...' Her senses told her she was only a few feet away from hitting bottom. She turned her head back up towards the surface, flattened her arms against her sides, and pumped her tail, building up as much speed as she could. Amanda surged out of the water into a much lighter medium. For a few moments she savored the warmth of the sun on her slick skin... then she hit the water again.

'Just one more... no, I best get out of here. I don't even know how long I've been under.' With a slight exhalation of bubbles that another in that form would have recognized as a sigh, Amanda swam back to the rock she'd started from, emptied her lungs, and poked her head and shoulders above water. A swirl of energy and a few words of power later, and the only thing in the water was a shivering woman with her hair plastered to her neck and shoulders.

A second later, the only thing in the water was a shivering woman with an indignant expression on her face being offered a hand up by a furry blue mutant.

And a second after that, the only thing in the water was a sodden furry blue mutant who was being scolded by a woman in an illusionary red jumpsuit standing on the rocks.

"You... you peeping-tom!" she sputtered, putting her hands on her hips, apparently failing to notice that they passed right through the "cloth" of her clothing. "I oughta turn you into a cockroach for that!" Kurt could tell from experience that Amanda's wrath wasn't quite as bad as it seemed to be and, playing it safe, pretended not to notice. "You got me wet, liebchen. You know I hate that."

"And I'll do worse than that if you spy on me again!" "It's going to take me at least an hour to dry out properly and I'm going to smell distinctly odd until I do."

"Kurt Wagner, are you even paying attention to me?"

"And it's salt water besides. I'm going to itch."

Amanda rolled her eyes and started walking back towards the lighthouse. Her turn in the bathroom was in only a few minutes, and there was no way she was forfeiting to the next person on the list.

< BAMF! >

'Oh no!'

Amanda managed to sidestep a tackle from the front, but stood still long enough to let Kurt to 'port again and wrap his arms around her from behind.

"You're impossible." she laughed, deciding not the remind him that the clothing wasn't real. It felt good to be next to Kurt again.

"You've told me that before, and I doubt it's going to be the last time . So, am I forgiven for my transgression?"

Though she stiffened slightly, Amanda leaned back into his embrace. "Well, it really wasn't anything you hadn't seen before, so yes. If..."

"If?"

"If you tell me why you're running your hand along that scar back there ."

Nightcrawler's smile faded, but didn't remove the feather-light pressure from her old injury. "How did it happen?"

'Knew it was too good a mood to last.' Amanda thought to herself, wondering how far she should fudge the truth. The last thing she wanted Kurt to know was that she'd gotten involved in that mess up on Muir Island because she'd been looking for him.

"I was on Muir some months back when the Reavers decided to try and penetrate the place. Alysande and I got taken for... questioning. Banshee and the others sprung us, but not before we both got a few souvenirs for being less than talkative." Before Kurt could try and bring up the why's and how's of why Amanda and the Brigadier had been on Muir, Amanda took a deep shuddering breath. "It's not really something I'd like to talk about." It wasn't really a lie, but she felt guilty nonetheless. She knew that by trawling that line out, she'd effectively stopped Nightcrawler from prying any further and it made her less than comfortable to take advantage of his nature like that.

Amanda twisted around in Kurt's arms and planted a kiss on his lips.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, Fuzzy, I'd better get back inside before someone else decides to claim my allotted time in the bathroom."

"Allow me..."

< BAMF! >

"Ugh!" Amanda stumbled slightly as they re-materialized in the lighthouse's bathroom. "It's been a while since I've been through THAT! Hasn't improved much."

"My apologies." Nightcrawler sounded a little less than chipper himself . "Next time, you handle the transportation." A pause. "I'll leave you to your bath now." Not wanting to 'port again so soon, he walked over to the door. Just as his hand was closing on the knob, Amanda snagged the back of his costume. 'Outfit.' he reminded himself, slightly irked that he'd slipped and used Amanda's description.

"You know," Amanda murmured into his right ear. "it really would be a shame to have you itching downstairs while I'm up here all by my lonesome."

Nightcrawler caught onto her meaning with almost no effort. "And as English bathtubs are extremely large..."

"They can also get very lonely." She smiled impishly and let her illusionary clothing drop again, this time meaning for him to see when he turned around. "What say you let me rinse that sea-water out of your fur before it starts drying?"

"I never could resist an invitation from a beautiful lady." Now he whispered in her ear. "And, mien liebchen, as Rachel, Kitty, Herr Braddock and Meggan are still sleeping, und Miss Scott is busy deleting our food supplies, I do trust we can make this bath as long as you wish."

Amanda's laughter alone more than compensated Kurt for having to delay breakfast.

"Aw, bloody fuckin' hell..." Pete Wisdom's body was not happy with him and was letting him know it now that he was awake. He'd crept into his flat sometime just before 11 a.m., after nearly 36 hours without sleep. It was now a little after 7 the following morning. It hadn't been his plan to keep those hours of course, but a body has to work if he wants to be able to pay for his fags and booze, not to mention cover the rent. And that eating business came up once in a while too. But why, by all the devils of facisam, did he have work for W.H.O?

''Cuz the Ministry of Defense chucked me out on me ass and paved me way into that damned anthill, that's why.' Still, he was convinced that Sandie... dammit, he really did have to think up a new label for her now ... purposely sent him out into the most remote parts of England, just to see how he fared in places without roads, where escaped lunatics in kangaroo costumes thought it was great sport to see how close they could come to taking off everything above your kneecaps with concussion mines and boomerangs equipped with lasers.

"Boomerangs." snorted Pete, staring up at the ceiling and tracing the familiar stains with his eyes. "I always knew Australia'd come back t'haunt us. Lucky me own family tree didn't get shipped off with the rest o' the cheeky bastards. But if they got a complaint they should go try t'blow up the bloody Queen..." He tried to move, but his body reminded him that they weren't on speaking terms anymore. He mumbled a curse and pawed around the left side of his trench coat for the cigarettes he'd left in his inner pocket. His hand went through a large hole that had burned right through the material.

'Miserable buggers!' Pete fumed. 'They could o' just shot me in the arse! But, oh no, they had to go and vaporize me last carton of smokes!' Looking for something to occupy his attention with, Pete's eyes fell on the stack of mail that he'd picked up sometime the night before and the half-empty bottle of whiskey that was next to them.

"Just what the doctor ordered." Pete stood up quickly... and was just as quickly reminded that his body was in piss-poor condition after last night's battering. He shrugged off his coat, and half-stumbled over to the shabby armchair that both objects were in front of, muttering about how over-rated walking was. He finally sat, heaving a sigh of relief that his ass seemed to be the one area of his body that wasn't one big bruise.

'A'right, what we got here?' Bill, bill, junk, junk, junk...

"Hmmm..." he mused aloud. "From Tash. Wonder what the hell she'd been up to." He burned off the top strip of the envelope with a small hot- knife and unfolded a stylized invitation. It was definitely Tash's style . Lots of coiled whips and hearts with knives through them were embossed around the edge of the card.

< Hey, Pete! > the card read, < Guess what? I'm getting old! I'm turning 37 this coming Wednesday (that's the 18th, you brainless nit) and I intend to make sure no one leaves my house in his or her right mind once my birthday bash has run its course. You're invited, but only if you promise to be on your worst behavior. Maybe later we can do the old dance or just get drunk and curse at each other all night. Hope to see ya!

Tash the Rash >

Pete took a healthy gulp from his bottle. It seemed almost indecent that Tash should be approaching 40 and he was 18 again. He wondered if she thought about him with the same bittersweet fondness he thought of her. She'd been good. Real good. Almost worth falling for. But she'd have never stood for it, that Tash. She liked being able to screw who she wanted, when she wanted, on her own terms and any bloke who couldn't handle that had better make sure not to forget his cock on the way out. She'd seen Pete getting ready to fall for her in the year or two they'd worked together, and had booted him back down the level of 'untouchable' until he'd gotten his mind straightened out. Despite that, or maybe because of it, they'd kept in touch, but just as friends. Even their occasional intimacies had remained on that level.

While pondering what would actually make a fitting gift for Tash, Pete continued to leaf through the rest of the mail. A pink envelope fluttered out of the stack. Pete squinted at the return address. It was from Pryde.

"This oughta be good." he frowned, and slit the envelope open the same way as the first and read the more conventional invitation card inside. He hadn't the faintest idea how Kitty had gotten his address and was distinctly curious over why she'd want it anyway.

"Pete Wisdom... blah,blah... cordially invited... blah,blah... sweet sixteen... Wednesday... 18th... etc. Bleedin' wonderful." Pete swished a mouthful of whiskey around inside his mouth, clearing the last traces of morning breath out before swallowing. He gave the rest of the bottle a longing look, but set it back down on the floor. Much as the idea of simply passing out for the morning... or day... or the entire week... in a totally besotted state appealed to his sensibilities at the moment, he didn't want to make his decision while pissed as a newt, or even just weaving drunk.

Wisdom hauled his protesting body out of the armchair and made his way to the kitchen, where he paused in front of his ancient refrigerator.

"'To boldly go...'" he started, pulling open the door to the fridge. "Oh, now that's just disgustin'." True, Pete's idea of house-keeping was pretty liberal, much of it involving shoving the old dirt and junk underneath the furniture and carpet, to be eventually replaced with a new layer of dirt and junk, but even he had his limits as to what could be tolerated under his roof. Within seconds, various odds and ends of what had once been food-products, each one sporting a thriving base for penicillin, were chucked from the fridge into... or at least nearby... the over-flowing dustbin.

A quick search into what was left of the fridge's contents uncovered enough cold roast for a couple of thick sandwiches. As he sawed away at a hardening loaf of bread, Pete weighed his options. Go to Tash's party, bullshit around with some of his old chums, maybe get in a good bout of sex if Tash was in an odd mood, and, best of all, be able to smoke inside without getting any grief. Or he could trot into the midst of the super-hero clique, probably hang on the wall the entire time, and then what? Play pin the tail on Wagner?

Pete slathered mayo on two slices of bread, threw a slab of meat between them, and slapped one on top. "No contest, right mate?" he sighed, contemplating his breakfast. "So why're we having this lovely debate, eh ?"

He took a bite and chewed moodily. He knew damn well why he was waffling on his decision. Kitty. Did he really want to pass up a chance to get to know her better? Hell, a chance to just be in the same room with her? What little romance might have been possible with Tash was long over and done. Kitty was a chance for a new, if somewhat innocent, romance. And a chance well worth taking.

Pete finished his first sandwich, assembled another, and began to wolf it down. He'd just have to pick up something that would insure that Tash wouldn't think he was trying to slight her by not showing up. And while he was out, he'd also have to find something that would put him into Kitty's good graces. Pete finished his sandwich, brushed the crumbs off on his slacks, and grabbed an intact trenchcoat from the back of a chair.

"Time to brave the wilds o' the shoppin' center." he growled. "And may God have mercy on me bank account..."

Doug and Kitty's wild race ended in front of a screening room. "Entr‚es vous sil vu plait, Kit." Doug insisted, holding the door open for her. Kitty stepped in and took a seat in one of the plush, red chairs provided until she caught her breath. Doug began to whistle "That's Amore" as he set up a movie reel labeled "A. Stuart."

"Doug..." Kitty panted, "How can you be alive?! What's going ON?"

Cypher smiled at her, rather sadly. "Nothing much. It's not like I'm walking among the living anymore. Just your typical internal debate as represented by the unconscious subconscious mind." The lights dimmed and the movie started.

"So in other words, I'm dreaming." Kitty sighed, her excitement at seeing Doug squelched by the fact that it was going to be over as soon as her alarm rang.

"Yeah. Look what's on the screen." Kitty looked up and saw clips of her memories of Alistaire playing. Looking at them right then, she did feel a little silly. Alistaire was a brilliant man... but yeah, he did look a lot like a nerd. "So," continued Doug, watching Kitty's reaction, "what do you see in him?"

"Why? Jealous?" she asked with a smile.

"Nope. I'm all in your mind, remember? Just trying to help."

"Well... he's cute. And we're on the same level as far as intellect goes." Kitty tried to think up something else, but nothing came to mind except, "He's available." Doug laughed, exactly as Kitty had know he would. "Go ahead. Yuck it up." she scowled.

"Aw, c'mon, Pryde! Listen to yourself. And I thought I was infatuated with Betsy."

"Uh-huh." insisted Kitty, "And don't you tell me you didn't have feelings for each other!"

"We did." Doug agreed, "But that isn't the case with you and the good Dr. Stuart." Kitty looked down and bit at her lower lip. "I'm not trying to be cruel." Doug said gently, putting a hand on Kitty's shoulder as the screen flashed Alistaire tied to a totem pole in his underpants. "But he's really not interested, and you know it."

The scene on the screen changed to Alistaire and Rachel dancing as Kitty's head snapped up. She looked at the two figures moving across the ballroom floor as a wash of anger rippled across her face. "It's her fault, you now." she snarled, gesturing at Rachel's smiling face. "He won't look at me twice while she's around." Frustrated tears burned her eyes. "She's not interested in him, but she won't cut him loose either! She's probably just enjoying having him beg for scraps of her attention."

Doug sighed and switched off the reel. "That's one possibility. But did you ever think that maybe she's just watching out for you?"

Kitty brushed her sleeve across her eyes. "You're sticking up for her?!"

"Just being fair. I mean, OK, let's say she cuts Beakman up there off and tells him in the bluntest way possible, 'cuz you know he won't listen otherwise, that she doesn't want anything to do with him romantically. How do you think he's going to react? Dreams and fantasies die hard, Kitty, especially for people who don't even know that what they have is just a dream. He'd be crushed. He'd mope around, probably feeling sorry for himself, and he still wouldn't notice you. And you'd be upset, because you do care about the guy and he probably wouldn't let you help him. He'd most likely shut you out because you'd remind him of Rachel." Doug paused as Shadowcat giggled.

"Sorry." she said, "But I have a hard time equating myself to Ray."

Doug smiled and went on. "Then you'd be upset, Alistaire would be miserable, and Rachel would feel guilty. Who wins in that situation?"

Kitty sighed and nodded, seeing his point. "So what am I supposed to do ?"

"As far as Rachel's reasons, you mean? Ask her, why don't ya? About Alistaire? Get over him." Doug grinned. "I hear that Wisdom is still invited to your party today."

"Don't you start too!" Kitty exclaimed in exasperation. "Ray's already trying to shove me into his court!"

Doug reached for a movie reel with a label sporting "P. Wisdom" on the front. "Actually, I think it's more like she's trying to convince you to let him into yours."

Before Kitty could respond to that, the sound of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" sliced through the scene and brought her back to reality. Severely annoyed, Kitty reached out and phased a hand through her clock/radio, shutting off with a squawk and causing the clock to reset to 12:00am. Across the room, Rachel opened her eyes, sent a sleepy, telepathic < Happy birthday, kiddo. > Kitty's way, rolled over, and went back to sleep.

Shadowcat sighed, scooped up Lockheed from where he rested on her pillow, and took a look at her side of the room. Keesha had straightened up just yesterday, so the place still looked half-way decent. Except for her desk. Several particularly heated arguments had taken place over what Keesha considered trash and what was hard-gotten info to Kitty. The most violent had occurred when Keesha had unknowingly tossed out the results of two days hacking into the Hellfire Club's computers with those darn codes AND the letter that Wolverine had sent her from the Mansion. Especially upset by the loss of the letter from Logan, Kitty had called Keesha careless and a few less complementary words that the rest of the team would have been surprised to find in her vocabulary. At that point, Keesha had explained , at great length and at high volume, that she didn't care if Kitty got lost in the piles of processed tree pulp that covered her desk, and that she wasn't going to touch it again unless it w as a life or death situation. Kitty's response had been, "Is that a promise?" and to phase Keesha through the floor and into the room below. For two days afterwards, verbal communications between the warring factions had been sparse and Keesha's study assignments had consisted of hefty stacks of reading materials liberally peppered with ten-syllable words.

But Kitty had been able to recover the information that she'd lost on the HC and Keesha had kept her promise not to mess with anything on Kitty's desk. Keesha had even realized how much tossing out that letter had upset Kitty and had gone out of her way to be nice to the older girl. All in all, their friendship was on a rapid mend.

Shadowcat stretched, letting Lockheed drop back down to the bedclothes, and hauled herself out of bed. As she pulled on a pair of jeans and a white sweat-shirt with a two red dragon silhouettes attacking each other across her chest, she contemplated this and that. She was 16 this morning, but she sure didn't feel any different. So why should she behave any differently?

Meaning, why bring her crush on Alistaire to a halt? It wasn't as if he was stupid. He might eventually notice her.

"Ha!" Kitty smirked as she pawed around in her closet for a pair of sneakers. "When the moon turns out to be made of guacamole and Galactus develops a taste for Fritos."

"For God's sake, Kitty, can't a body get any sleep around here?" Rachel muttered from her bed.

Kitty looked up and thought for a moment. "Ray, can I talk to you about something?"

Rachel propped herself up on her elbows and looked in the direction of her roommate. "Sure. What's up?"

"What do you see in Alistaire?"

Rachel rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, not trusting what she had heard. "Why's that so important all of a sudden?"

"I've been thinking about it. And I've figured you've got to have something going for him." Kitty began to pull on her sneakers. "Every other guy who shows interest in you has wound up being cut off at the knees. Heck, half of them probably enjoyed it, just as long as they drew your attention!"

Rachel stood up and walked over to her best friend. "Truth, Kitty? He's a nice guy, but I kind of tolerate him for your sake."

"Meaning...?"

"He's never going to take the hints that either of us are sending out, kiddo. I was kinda hoping that you'd realize that sooner or later and just give up on him. I mean, if I'd told him to more or less piss off, the only thing that'd happen is that you'd get mad at me." Rachel grinned sheepishly. "And the only other way to get him to realize that I'm not interested would be to tar and feather him and toss him into the ocean out there. Maybe not even then."

Kitty was feeling surprisingly happy. Rachel had put up with Alistaire because she hadn't wanted her to feel bad. In short, she cared about her . And for Kitty, whose parents marriage had started to break up just a little after her 12th birthday, knowing that someone cared was extremely important. Kitty just couldn't feel bad about her realizations dealing with Alistaire when her best friend in the world, who wasn't known for her patience, had just admitted that she'd put up with a hell of an annoyance just to keep her from feeling bad.

Shadowcat grinned slyly. "He'd probably rationalize it as you wanting to go skinny-dipping or something." The two of them giggled.

"That was cold, Kitty." Rachel chided, smiling and trying to smother laughter nonetheless.

"I'm 16 now. Gotta keep up my image."

"Speaking of which..." Rachel stood up and re-arranged the molecules of her night-clothes into a pair of skin-tight black jeans and a red bodysuit with a pattern of three tiny diamonds cut out between her breasts. "...ready to go take on London?"

"OH GEEZ! Am I ever!" Image forgotten, Kitty hopped to her feet, grinning. She'd been looking forward to her birthday outing with Rachel for more than two weeks, but it slipped right through her mind in her ruminations about Alistaire, Rachel, and everything else.

"It probably won't be able to hold a candle to what Courtney can do." warned Rachel, remembering the grand trip that Kitty and Courtney Ross had taken on Kitty's fifteenth birthday. "I mean, we can try Paris if you want, but I don't think..."

"Ray, let's just go out and have fun, 'kay? I don't wanna be a jet- setter, I just wanna go out and be a normal kid today."

"Your wish, etceteras, etcetera..." Rachel checked her pockets, found them empty, and telekinetically plucked Brian's bank card from his wallet a floor or two up, letting it fly out of the window and hover in mid-air. "Wanna stay here for breakfast?" she asked, knowing the answer already.

"We'll grab it to go somewhere." Kitty phased them both through the wall, and let the Phoenix force carry them from there.

"One more thing, Kit."

"Yes?"

"Does that 'I just wanna be a normal kid today' extend to leaving that gorgeous car that Courtney brought you last year in her garage for another 12 months?"

Kitty laughed. "Scratch that, then. Today, I just wanna be a normal kid with her own Jaguar!"

"All right!"

As they flew off in the direction of London, Rachel made sure to snatch up the card hovering in the air in front of the lighthouse.

As Phoenix and Shadowcat took off for Courtney's, Pete Wisdom trudged through a modest sized shopping center, trying to look as if he wasn't completely lost.

'Bugger this.' he thought, as a plump lady pushing along a squalling child in a pram gave his cigarette a filthy look. 'Must be outta my bleedin' skull. I don't know this kid's tastes and aside from finding somethin' for Tash, I'm wasting me morning here.' That reminded him. He'd best get over to "Leatherworks" and pick something out for Tash the Rash.

As he browsed through the racks of whips and harnesses (for both the four and two-legged trade), Pete wondered if maybe he should just go somewhere else and pick out lingerie instead. The prices in this rot- hole were just waiting to take a chunk out of his resources. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be doing Tash any favors. Anything with less durability than leather or metal just didn't stand up to the punishment that Tash Baggins dished out. After one or two rounds in the sack, most of Tash's cloth items that were designed for intimate nights wound up in the rag-bag. She was still the only person Pete knew who washed her car with apparel from Victoria's Secret.

Pete finally found what he was looking for in the back.

'Perfect!' he thought, holding it up to the dim light in the store. Rounded aluminum studs set in the white leather of the indecent bikini shone softly back at him. Then he saw the price tag.

"Strewth!" he yelped, earning a loud "Shush!" from the little old lady looking at similar items several racks down. Pete, long since having learned that there were some things you better off just not knowing, didn't say a word to her and glanced towards the cash register. There was one way that he was going to be able to afford this and he could see that luck was with him for once, 'cuz the bloke working the register was the guy who actually owned this place instead of the part-time help. And the miserable little sod owed Pete a big favor for keeping his mouth shut. Maybe this wasn't the smartest thing to collect it on, but it wasn't as if the fat turd had any connections that'd ever really be of help in Wisdom's trade.

With his best shit-eating grin pasted on his face, Pete strolled over to the counter. "Well, if it ain't me good mate Barns. How's life been treatin' you?"

The plump, balding man behind the counter looked up from a handful of receipts, started to look away, and did a double take so quickly that he almost gave himself a case of whiplash. The expression on his face as it dawned on him who Pete was a few notches below terrified.

"Aw, Christ..." he moaned despairingly.

"C'mon, Barns. Can't be you've forgotten me already." He put his arm around the shorter man's shoulders in a friendly manner, arm poised so that it could be turned into a chokehold if necessary.

"Wisdom, there's better than eighty pounds in the register. Take it and get out, PLEASE!"

"You wound me, Barns, you really do. Fact is, you can pay me off with this little bauble for a lady friend o' mine." He held up the article. "Think you can buck it?" Pete was almost disappointed when Barns dropped the item in a bag and handed it over without a fight. He'd been looking forward to watching the wanker squirm while his sordid little past was dredged up. Ah, well. Leastways Pete was getting what he wanted. "Thanks . Try t'grow a bleedin' spine sometime, will you?" OK, easy part was over. Pete walked out

of the shop, bracing himself for the ultimate challenge: shopping for a teen-age girl.

"This is going to put a serious strain on our relationship, Fuzzy." yawned Amanda Sefton, pausing in her work to rub her eyes. "I never did share your enthusiasm for crack-of-dawn calisthenics." She yawned again, this one greatly exaggerated, to show her instructor just how tired she was, in the hope that he'd take pity on her just this once. As usual, it didn't work.

Nightcrawler hefted the other end of the balance beam that Amanda was trying to move off of the gym floor. "Actually, liebchen, both you and the sun have been up for several hours now."

"Same difference." Since Kurt had advised her that an outfit (Amanda couldn't help but think 'costume') that didn't restrict her mobility was a good idea, Amanda was wearing her usual sorceress garb: a belted tunic of silvery-white cloth over black stretch pants and half-inched heeled boots that echoed the color of the tunic. Kurt was in his usual black, white, and red skin-tights. Amanda had jokingly pointed out that his costume hardly seemed to fit the description of non-restricting. He'd countered by reminding her that his OUTFIT was of unstable molecules and was a lot less hindering than it seemed. Besides, his natural agility would have gone a long way towards compensating even if it hadn't been.

"I REALLY hate these sessions." Amanda added morosely as they set the beam off to one side.

Seeing her glum look, Nightcrawler patted her shoulder reassuringly."You'll get the hang of it. How hard can it be for half of the greatest acrobatic act in all of Germany to master simple fighting techniques?"

"Silver tongued devil."

"Most assuredly. And as the learned other half of said act, it's my pleasure to teach you." He indicated the now unobstructed mats on the gym floor with a flourish. "Enough chatter. Let's see how you're doing in basic hand-to-hand."

As their training for the day started and Kurt observed Amanda's responses to his attacks, he drew up with the answer of, "As well as can be expected." While Amanda was far from hopeless, she was nowhere near Kitty's level or even Kurt's, and he didn't fancy himself as more than a fair combatant. But considering Amanda's experience, or lack of thereof, it wasn't bad at all.

But Amanda didn't see it that way. While Kurt saw her as making reasonable progress, she continued to compare herself to his skill and to Kitty's and found herself severely lacking. She would constantly tried to push herself past her skill level and then get frustrated at her seeming lack of progress. Their training sessions would always go downhill from there. And this morning, Kurt was none too relaxed himself ..

Seeing Amanda's scarred back had reminded him of how vulnerable she'd be in a fight. True, her magical talents were quite diverse, but she simply didn't have the benefit of the rigorous bouts of combat-training that the ex-X-Men had, the near-invulnerability of Captain Britain, and her magic paled beside Meggan's elemental shape-shifting, as erratic as it was. It didn't help any that he loved Amanda completely. Hauling her into a combat situation was the last thing he wanted, but yet he was almost totally responsible for making sure she was prepared for such situations. He couldn't afford to go easy on her any longer.

For the third time that morning, Kurt feinted towards Amanda's left, waited until she committed herself to following through on her return move, and swept her feet out from under her. This time, she didn't bother rolling back to her feet.

"Liebchen..." Kurt ventured, tapping her on the shoulder with his tail after waiting a minute or so for her to get up, "this is hardly an effective fighting stance."

"Hilarious." she grumbled, still not making a move to get back to her feet. "Kurt, remind me again why I have to do this."

"In case you ever have to forcibly remove yourself from a situation in which your powers are neutralized." he explained for the umpteenth time.

"Yeah, yeah." Amanda sighed, finally picking herself up and facing Nightcrawler again. "And if nothing else, I'll at least make a good target while someone else sneaks up behind the bad guy."

"Have a little more faith in yourself." Kurt encouraged her, going into a fighter's crouch.

"Easy for you to say." grumbled Amanda as she launched herself at him. For another hour, they sparred. Amanda continued to make a beginner's mistakes, so naturally, her body came into full contact with the mats on a frequent basis. This didn't do anything to alleviate Amanda's frustrations, despite Kurt's assurances that she was doing fine. But finally...

"I GIVE UP!!!" she yelled up at Kurt from where she was splayed out on the floor again. "I can't fight! I've never even been in a serious fist- fight before and if I ever do try and go with you guys for anything bigger than getting a cat out of a tree, I'll probably wind up getting the entire team killed!" She stood up and limped towards the stairs.

"Amanda, wait..." Kurt teleported in front of her. She tried to push past him, but he put his hands on her shoulders and managed to keep her in place. "Tell me what's really bothering you."

"What's really bothering me is the fact that I'm supposed to be a productive member of this team and I haven't done anything except test the resiliency of the padding in this room!"

Amanda wasn't sure what she'd been expecting his reaction to be, but it hadn't been for him to start laughing softly.

"Well, I'm glad you think it's so damned funny!"

"Nein, nein. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed." he apologized, "But you're not thinking clearly right now. One reason is rather obvious; you expect too much of yourself at this point. And I think the other is that you don't have anyone of your own skill-level practicing." His mind turned to Keesha and her offer. Maybe he should find a way to bring it up after all...

"You mean someone as clumsy as I am." she snapped.

"Hardly. But being the only one really training, you feel your mistakes are that much more obvious and you work harder to try and get through them." He grinned again. "You should have seen the new X-Men's first few times in the Danger Room. We blundered many a time, but everyone... I take that back, ALMOST everyone... was new to it, so we didn't worry much about looking professional until we were sure that the verdammt room wasn't planning to pick us off for good. You should have seen me scrambling for the high-ground that first day." Amanda had to grin at that. Kurt noticed and released her shoulders before continuing in the same vein. "In fact, I didn't even learn much about hand-to-hand combat until Wolverine finally decided that it was just a matter of time before I met someone who didn't find the smell of brimstone deterrent enough to keep from separating my head and my neck. And believe me, when I agreed to learn, I hit the mats much harder and more frequently than you do. Not to mention the ground and several trees."

"Ow." Amanda winced.

"Well, he did pull his throws when it came to trees." Kurt admitted. "But if I can learn, so can you. After all, you're the one with the vicious streak..."

Amanda jokingly held a clenched fist underneath her boyfriend's nose. "Care for a demonstration?"

"Thumb on the outside of the fist, or you'll wind up breaking it." Amanda glanced in surprise at her fist. Her thumb WAS... Then she was flat on the mat again.

"KURT!"

Nightcrawler's yellow eyes all but glittered as he smiled down at her. "So goes the lesson, grass... Whoops!" Amanda grabbed his tail and tripped him with it. "That's a personal foul, you know."

"Can it, Blue. Seriously, isn't this enough for one day?"

Nightcrawler shook his head and became serious again. "Of course not." He took a deep breath, trying to find the words to voice his earlier thoughts without making Amanda feel as if she needed protecting. Having her attempt to take off his head once was enough for one day. "Amanda, I can't say that I'm totally happy with the fact that you decided to join the team. A part would have been very sad to see you leave, but I would have felt that you were safe... or at least safer than you would be as part of Excalibur. But you decided to stay and accept the risks that come with this lifestyle. That means that you'll be attacked, shot at, and have large pieces of stationary objects thrown at you on a regular basis. And that concerns me tremendously."

"I'm not exactly thrilled about it myself." Amanda commented dryly.

"Good. Then you realize how important it is for you to have every advantage possible in a fight. Not that your powers don't give you an edge, but still, I'd feel much better if you knew how to defend yourself without them. You must take these sessions more seriously." He walked out on a limb in the conversation, hoping that he wasn't treading on a sensitive subject. "Perhaps if you'd known some of these moves a few months ago, the Reavers would not have been able to take you so easily."

He'd been expecting a rather violent reaction from her, but she kept herself steadily calm. When she turned to him, her eyes were cool jade.

"If I'd fought back any more than I did, Kurt, I'd have had my head blown off. Being passive was the only thing sensible thing I could have done in that situation."

Kurt didn't agree with her, but he didn't argue either. He hadn't been there, so he didn't know. Maybe she'd had no other recourse. He changed the subject.

"Amanda, no matter how much I seem to make light of this, it is no game . To be blunt, unless you can learn to defend yourself, you are not a part of this team." He caught her eyes with his own. "If something were to happen to you because you were unprepared... I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself. Verstehen?"

"I understand, Kurt." She got to her feet and pulled Nightcrawler up too. "So, are we going to sit on the floor and talk, or are we going to make me into a model Excalian?"

"The latter, of course." He paused, a thoughtful expression flitting across his face once again. "One more thing. How would you feel about learning... I think the term is 'street-fighting.'"

"What?"

"Ask Keesha about it. Now, try not to put all of your weight on your left leg this time..."

"YAHHHHHHHHOOOOO! Floor it, Kitty!" On the driver's side of her car, Kitty Pryde laughed and tried to drag her best friend back into the car.

"Ray, will you get back in here?! I've just gotten my license, and I don't want to have to start flashing it to cops on the first day!"

Rachel turned and stuck her tongue out at Shadowcat. "There's no one for miles, Kit! It's not like we're in the heart of London or anything!" Rachel took another deep breath of country air. "Ah! You know, you never realize how hard it is to be a mode of transportation until you're not the one doing the carrying!"

"Rachel Summers, get back in here before I roll up that window!" Kitty couldn't stop laughing. She and Rachel had been totally irresponsible and care-free all morning. The car's trunk was carrying the evidence of four hours worth of shopping (thirty minutes of which Rachel had used hanging around Babbages talking to that Tom guy they'd met before while Kitty had thoroughly examined the new software). Kitty couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun.

"Kit, step on that gas before I do it for you!"

"Well, at least then I'll be happy. You'll have to get back in here to reach the pedals!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Ray, don't you..." Rachel Summers telekinetically slammed the gas pedal all the way down to the mat. "...DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEE!"

The car continued to barrel down the road.

It was almost noon when Meggan opened her eyes, wincing at the strong sunlight flooding through her bed-room windows. Oh, but her head ached. She put a hand up to her cheek and felt the painful swelling of the bruised flesh on her cheek and around her eye.

'My fault.' she thought miserably. 'If wouldn't say such hateful things , Brian wouldn't get angry and he wouldn't have to hit me.' She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the little hand-mirror on her nightstand and broke down sobbing.

Kurt had just been being kind to her all of this time. She was ugly! She was! Her snippy little face was swollen black and purple, her breasts were great graceless balloons stuck to her chest, and she was a horrible, ungrateful, stupid cow! How could she have said such horrible things about Brian, the man who loved her and had given her a home? Just because he came home late from Courtney's didn't mean anything. And what if it did? Brian wasn't her husband, he was free to do what he wished. But why wouldn't he want her anymore? She tried to please him, to satisfy his needs... even when he came back at night smelling of that awful liquor that she couldn't put a name to. But he never tried to please her anymore. Just did what he wanted and rolled over to sleep afterwards, if he bothered with her at all.

At her side, Brian rolled over in his sleep and Meggan's sobs cut off with a frightened gasp. She'd almost woken him up! She quickly pulled on her favorite orange jump-suit and flew out of an open window. The noise of the door might wake him.

Meggan entered the kitchen by flying into the window in the observatory and making her way down from there. Keesha, Widget, and Lockheed were already at work hanging streamers and balloons.

"'Morning..." The girl looked up and saw Meggan's battered face. "Meggan?" she asked, as if not sure she had the right person.

'I know I'm hideous.' Meggan thought, looking down at the floor. 'She doesn't need to keep staring.' As soon as that thought went through her mind, Meggan felt that creeping across her flesh that meant her shape-changing powers were at work.

Surprised, she grabbed a plate from the cupboard and looked at her face in the bottom of it. Her face looked as it always had. She looked up at Keesha, smiling... only to have her happiness greeted by the grimmest of looks.

"What happened?" Keesha demanded, party preparations forgotten.

"Oh, you mean that silly mark!" Thinking of her hideousness wasn't the only thing that forced a fake lightness to Meg's voice. "Well," she started in a tone that she hoped sounded both confiding and slightly embarrassed ,"Brian and I were... you know..."

"Screwing around?" Keesha's attitude said as plain as words that she didn't believe Meggan for an instant. "Let me guess, girl: you two got so into it that you both rolled out of the bed and he fell on top of you. And that's where you got the shiner you just covered up." Meggan gaped. The young Morlock had all but stolen the words from her mind. "Not all of the Morlocks in the tunnels were there by birth, Meg." Keesha explained. "Some of us were running away from somewhere... or someone. I know all of the stories and excuses that get made-up."

"I'm not." Meggan shrugged, cringing on the inside. "That's what happened."

Keesha simply turned back to her work while Meggan prepared her breakfast. Anyone who would lie for the scum that beat them when there was no help to be found was to be pitied. But anyone who would lie to stay in a relationship like that when she was surrounded by friends had the kind of weakness in them that she scorned. Keesha would be willing to help when Meggan got scared or smart enough to admit that there was a problem, but until then, she wasn't going to offer a helping hand that would just be slapped away.

In the meantime, she had work to do. Rachel and Kitty were due back in a few of hours and they hadn't even started on the menu.

Pete Wisdom was unusually proud of himself. He'd done it, and he felt that he'd done it well. He'd picked out two gifts for Pryde and was surprised at how easy it had been. One, a small diary with a sky-blue unicorn galloping across the cover, had been more or less and impulse buy. After all, weren't young girls supposed to like to write down their private junk in these things? From Pete's own hazy recollection of his early teens, they did. 'Course, things did change. For all he knew, the girls of today liked to scrawl their preferences on the wall of the boy's john.

The smaller box was the one he was counting on to light up Pryde's face . It contained a broach in the shape of a white tiger pulling itself together for a pounce, or maybe a quick sprint. The animal's two dimensional body had been chipped from pearly-white moonstone in pains- taking detail from the hollow of it's flank to the up-curled end of it's tail. Two emerald chips gleamed from the two slanted niches that served at it's eye-sockets.

'She'll go bloody nuts over it.' he reassured himself for the twentieth time. If he hadn't been so busy reassuring himself, he might have noticed that he'd been going through his Marlboros at twice his usual rate.

Everything was wrapped and ready to go. All he had to do was find some way to get Tash's package to the party, which was easy enough.

'I ain't answering that damned phone.' Mitch Culley swore to himself, concentrating on the newsprint in front of his eyes. 'It's been a bloody terrific day. Even Mabel ain't but mildly pissed at me. And if I pick up that devil's own machine, it's going to be someone or something out to ruin me day.'

The phone continued to ring. Culley continued to ignore it.

On the twelfth ring, Mabel strode into the room and picked up the receiver.

"MITCH! S'for you!"

Culley sighed. "Thanks, love..." He took the receiver like a man condemned. "'Lo?"

"Culley? It's Pete."

"Praise be. I'm a ruddy fortune teller now."

"How's that?"

"Nothin'. What'cha want?"

"Did you get an invite to Tash's party?"

Culley glanced around, making sure that his wife wasn't still in the room. "Yeah. I'll be leavin' in an hour or so. Least I'll get there on time. Gonna let Mabe think I've gone pubbin'."

"Great. You can pop by my place on your way."

"An' why's that? You strung up for a ride again?" No answer. "Hey, Pete !"

"Yeah, I need a ride, but it's outta your way. I need you to pick up somethin' for Tash. Can't bring it meself."

"Why not, dare I ask. Don't tell me you two..."

"Christ, no! I wouldn't get stuck in that situation again! Just got somethin' better to do is all." This time, the silence came from Culley's end of the line. "Culley?"

"Ye've bloody flipped."

"Prob'ly. You comin' or 'ave I got to call someone else?"

"Yeah, I'll stop by."

"Thanks, mate. I owe ya one."

"You owe me twenty, but somehow that always seems to slip your mind when I need you t'lie to Mabe for me." They hung up.

Pete stared at the phone, struck dumb for one of the few times in his life. He'd thought that he'd gotten over the hump after the shopping. He'd even found a way to get Tash's present to her on time.

But he didn't know where Excalibur's lighthouse was. He'd met Kitty three times, tops. Except for the last, which had been a visit to see how his arm was healing up, each time had been marked by the two of them going for each other's throats. Verbally anyway.

Wisdom looked longingly at the bottle of whiskey now sitting on the counter in the kitchen, shook his head, and sighed. Some days just wouldn't go right if you paid them. He picked up the phone again, wondering exactly how much more he was going to go through before Kitty's party.

"All right, young lady. Enough is enough! Hand it over!"

"ARF!" The end of a dressy, flat-heeled shoe vanished underneath the bed of Brigadier Alysdane Stuart.

"For the love of..." Alysdane crawled under her bed and grabbed the shoe. A brief tug-of-war followed, with the Brigadier as the obvious loser as her godchild scrambled out the other side, still clutching her trophy in her jaws.

'Stop it!' Alysdane wanted to scream. 'You're not a dog! You're NOT!

For God's sake, at least pretend that you can understand what I'm saying !' But instead she continued to demand the return of her footwear.

"Alysande Whyp! Give me that shoe!"

There's really no telling how long this might have gone on if the phone hadn't rung. The mutant Alsatian dropped the shoe and ran over to the phone. The annoying ringing was all but drowned out by an equally annoying salvo of barking.

"I hear it!" Brigadier Stuart yelled, adding to the din. "I'm coming! I'm coming! Just hold down that racket!" She hauled herself out from under the bed and ran for the phone. "Yes, you're a wonderful guard. I'm certain the phone was threatening my honor." She picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Sandie? That you?"

Alysdane nearly hung up. "Wisdom, you've got the devil's own gall calling me here."

"I don't want to fight right now, Sandie." Pete had to literally force himself to say the next words. "I need to ask you a favor."

It was just as well that they were speaking over the phone. Much unpleasantness might have ensued if Alysdane had laughed in Pete's face.

"Oh, that's a good one, Wisdom. Remind me to put you on PR detail after Hayes' next assignment." Captain Hayes had a reputation for getting his man, but usually managed to leave a rather big mess in the process.

"Yuck it up, you sadistic witch, but I need to beg a ride to Pryde's party this evening."

Alysande whined softly and tried to get at the phone.

"You're serious." Alysdane tried to shoo her godchild away. The last time they had both gotten tangled up in the phone cord had been no picnic. "She actually invited you?"

"Is that so damn bloody hard to swallow?" The irritation in Pete's voice brought it closer to a growl than usual.

"Yes."

"You're not baiting me into a sparrin' match, Sandie. Can I have a ride or not?"

Grateful that Wisdom couldn't see the sly, darn near baneful, smile spreading across her face, Alysdane spoke into the receiver. "Sure, Wisdom. Just give me your address and I'll pop by to pick you up on my way over."

After scribbling Pete's location onto a napkin and hanging up the phone , Alysdane laughed to herself, earning an odd look from Alysande.

"Nothing, Al." she smiled to her living companion. "Just I didn't tell Mr. Wisdom who else I'll be delivering to Kitty's celebration." Her grin faded away and she sighed. "I just hope having those two in the same building doesn't ruin the poor girl's party. Your 16th is supposed to be memorable, but not as being a cold war battlefield. Still, there's a long-shot that they'll behave."

'Optimistic thoughts are absolutely wasted on those two!' Alysdane hunched further over the steering wheel and did her best to tune out the snarling in the back seat as she drove. 'Serves me right for agreeing to this...'

"Look, you arrogant young snot..."

"Shove it up your arse, you doddering old fossil."

"Arr-ooo-ooo! WHURF!"

"Mind your bloody tongue 'fore I rip it out and feed it to you!"

"I'd give you a good whalin' for that remark, Thomas, but sockin' you'd be like hittin' a bag fulla cottage cheese."

"I've enough muscle to break a damned bit o' matchwood like you across my knee!"

"You can't even light a soddin' fag without your hand shaking. Truth is , I thought your ticker gave out years ago."

"Don't you two think..."

"BUTT OUT, STUART!"

Between the cigarette smoke and the endless insults emerging from the mouths of Dai Thomas and Pete Wisdom, Alysande's barking, and Alistaire's futile attempts at peace-making, the Brigadier was about two minutes from driving the car off of the nearest bridge. From between gritted teeth, she'd been stalwartly muttering a line from her childhood reader for nearly twenty minutes now:

"Heroism consists of hanging on for one moment longer. Heroism consists of hanging on for one moment longer. Heroism consists..."

"I can't understand a single word o' your drunkin' slurring!"

"Get the lard out of your damn ears and listen, then!"

To hell with it.

Alysdane pulled her car off to the side of the road and slammed on the brakes. She reached over into the glove compartment of the vehicle and pulled out a powerful-looking sidearm.

"THOMAS! WISDOM! Out of the damn car! NOW!!" Casting 'Wot the bloody hell...?!' looks at each other, the two men climbed over Alistaire to stand on the shoulder of the road. Alysdane stepped out of the car and leveled the gun at both of them. "Now hear this. I don't give a tuppence about how much bad blood's flowing between the two of you, how much you two hate each other, or even how much pleasure it would give one of you to see the other dangling in a hangman's noose. All I care about is that we are going to a young girl's sixteenth birthday party. It's the only one she'll ever have, and I won't have the two of you acting like snotty gutter-children and ruining the whole affair.

"If I hear one more discouraging word pass between the two of you between now and the end of the evening, I will find a way to make it look as if the both of you somehow managed to ACCIDENTALLY land in the Thames with high-caliber bullet-holes through your upper and lower heads! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!"

Alysdane hadn't risen to the rank of Brigadier through the kindness of English military. Those tones that could send grown men scrambling about like startled hares didn't much phase either Pete nor Dai. But they did let them know that she meant business. With snarls of assent and a plethora of dirty looks, they got back into the car.

Feeling much better, Alysdane took her seat, buckled up, and resumed driving.

"OWWW!"

"Hold still!"

Ray, that hurts!"

"Grrr!"

"Lockheed, hush!" Rachel snarled back, batting the little dragon from in front of her face. Her tone softened as she spoke to Kitty. "I'm sorry, kiddo. This any better?"

Kitty looked into the mirror. A brunette Bride-of-Frankenestien, the results of Rachel's teasing her hair for the past forty-five minutes, stared back. "ARRRRRRGH! I'm not going downstairs looking like this! I'm staying up here 'til I'm twenty!"

Rachel sighed. "Being cosmic power incarnate doesn't impart me with intimate knowledge of hair-styling techniques. Maybe if we beg Kurt nicely..."

"Kurt is not doing my hair!"

As if in answer there was a knock on the door. "Frauliens? Are you decent?"

"Speak of the devil."

"No!" yelled Kitty in reply to Kurt's inquiry. "I don't want anyone to look at me!"

"The guests have arrived, Katzchen."

Kitty's voice went from the most bleak despair to faint hope. "Is Courtney here?"

"Ja."

"Send her up! This is a matter of life or humiliation!"

Ten minutes later, Courtney Ross looked up from her work.

"Really, Katherine, this look does suit you best. You should listen to your friend here more often."

Kitty sighed and looked into the mirror. Her large, expressive eyes, a shade or two of darker brown than her hair, took in her image with something akin to hopelessness. Her hair was soft, fluffy, and fell past her shoulders in gentle waves. The light-brown color was broken only by chestnut highlights. At her neck, the silver Star of David that she'd worn for as long as she could recall winked darts of light whenever she moved. A sequined, form-fitting dress of dark blue halted just above her knees, exposing her well-toned calves and satin heels the same shade as her dress. For looks and smarts, Kitty Pryde could have easily held her own in just about any company in the civilized world.

Shadowcat groaned and buried her face in her hands as she beheld her reflection. "No matter what I do, I'm just the girl in the plain, brown- wrapper."

Rachel and Courtney exchanged glances. "You want to do it, or should I? " Rachel's look asked plainly.

Courtney placed her hands on her hips and spoke briskly to the younger girl. "Katherine, I for one think you look lovely. So does Rachel." She glance over at the purple creature perched on top of Kitty's computer terminal. "So does Lockheed. When you walk down to the party below... the one being held in YOUR honor I might add... you are going to take the breath right out of the lungs of anyone who knows you." Now she lay a hand on the young girl's shoulder. "But even if you were Medusa reborn, there's not a single person here today that would think ill of you. You're a confident, intelligent woman and an all-around good person. And that's going to last longer than your looks will anyway. Now, out with the lot of you! We've kept everyone waiting long enough as it is!"

Kitty smiled shakily, Rachel casually changed her own outfit to one modeled after Kitty's but done in blood red, and the four of them left the room for the activity downstairs.

Pete Wisdom was trying his best not to get drawn into any of the conversations buzzing around him, but some people just couldn't take a hint.

"I hear your the Brigadier's favorite whipping boy." Brain Braddock was trying to strike up a conversation with the only other man in attendance who had made sprinting for the booze his first activity upon walking through the door.

Pete muttered a mouthful of syllables that might have been an affirmative or a curse dating back to the erection of Stonehenge.

"Must be hard, working under a woman like that."

Pete ignored the obvious remark that could have been drawn out of that and continued to stare at the far wall and wish that this wanker with the silver spoon up his ass would leave so that he could stew in peace.

"That's the problem with women and power. They let it go straight to their heads."

Pete began to look about desperately for another conversation to butt into. Anything was better than a one-sided conversation with the Grand Poo-Bah for Ye Olde Royal Order of Neanderthals. He caught sight of Kurt and Amanda chatting with Alysdane.

"Sandie!" he hailed the Brigadier and quickly stepped over.

"Oh, God." The Brigadier tried to pretend that she didn't see him. As usual, it didn't work.

"Who's this?" Pete asked, indicating Amanda. "Don't think I've met her."

"Amanda Sefton." smiled the sorceress, extending a hand. "You must be Pete Wisdom."

Pete glanced over at the Brigadier. "Me reputation ran ahead of me, I'm guessin'. So what's your malfunction?"

Amanda's smile froze in place. "Beg your pardon?" Behind her, Kurt started to contract one of his hands into a fist. He caught himself and tried to relax.

"Your genetic malfunction. I think that's the popular term for it now. Ya know, your reason for running with the spandex crowd."

Surprisingly, Amanda relaxed again. "Actually, I'm a sorceress, not a mutant... as far as I know, anyway. As for my reason for getting involved with the hero biz, he's right here." Amanda gave Nightcrawler a fond glance. His own expression was something like pleased surprise as he slipped an arm around her waist.

Before the conversation could go anywhere else, Alysdane happened to glance at the top of the stairs. "Here comes the birthday girl." she said softly.

Wisdom looked up at Kitty as she began to descend the stairs and all of the remarks he'd been about to make about how slim picking must have been while Amanda was shopping for men flattened themselves on his tongue.

Pryde was stunning. No other word for it. He'd thought she was just cute before, but now... Self-doubt flooded the young Englishman like a dark tide. This girl had the looks and the brains to get whatever and whoever she wanted in life and HE was thinking of starting a relationship with her? He'd a better chance of being struck by lightening.

Pete took a deep breath and tried to clear those thoughts. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. But he'd hold off on asking for a bit...

"Ray!" Kitty hissed as the three women them descended the stairs. "Everyone's staring!"

"Of course they are! You look great, Kitty!" From Kitty's shoulder, Lockheed warbled an agreement.

"I feel like a... a raven around peacocks!"

"I always liked ravens myself." commented Courtney from behind them. "Smartest of all birds, I believe, and beautiful creatures to the properly appreciative eye."

"Look out, kiddo." grinned Phoenix as team-members and guests alike pressed forward with their good wishes. "Here comes your adoring public."

Kitty's thirteenth birthday had been bitter-sweet, as her parents had been trying their hardest to keep the crumbling foundation of their marriage hidden from their daughter by making it an all-out affair, and not succeeded in hiding it from Kitty's keen observations. Her fourteenth had been a slightly depressing affair, since she hadn't even been on Earth when it took place. True, the X-Men had thrown her a party when they'd all gotten back to from outer space, but her parents hadn't come, despite the Professor's invitation. In her heart of hearts, Kitty still felt that it had been because neither one wanted to take the chance of being in the same room with the other. And while Kitty liked and admired Courtney, and her birthday with the glamorous banker had been a wonderful lark, it wasn't the same as being with people who were closer to you than your real family.

Kitty'd had a real birthday celebration saved up for some time now, and the fates were finally going to let her cash it in. With a sudden, brilliant smile on her face, Katherine Pryde hurried down the rest of the steps to meet her friends and team-mates, who welcomed her with open arms and warm hearts. Still, a not-so-small part of her mind registered disappointment that Pete Wisdom was hanging back.

Shadowcat's confidence lasted until most of the party food had been consumed and it was time to open gifts. There was just something about having to be the center of attention that stripped away Kitty's confidence like cheap paint. Not only that, she was never sure how to react to receiving gifts. She didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but she didn't like masking her own.

But there was no way to avoid it. Besides, these were all her friends. No one was going to hate her if she didn't jump up and down and squeal in delight or didn't smile QUITE wide enough when she opened their gift.

Kitty managed to look a bit more eager than she felt and started on the stack before her.

Before she could rip into the first one, Kurt struck his forehead with the heel of his hand. "Dunce!" he exclaimed and BAMFed away. He reappeared about three seconds later carrying a package. "A thousand apologies, Katzchen! This came for you in the mail yesterday and I didn't think to put it with the others."

Her curiosity aroused, Kitty accepted the package and looked at the address. Her smile could have put the sun to shame.

"It's from Stevie!"

Lurking towards the back of the crowd, Pete felt something inside of him shrink down. Stevie? She must mean Steve. Steve who?

"Stevie Hunter?" asked Amanda. "I remember her. She was your dance teacher, wasn't she?"

Pete let out a relieved breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Yeah!" Kitty responded, struggling with the heavy-duty cardboard box. "She remembered my birthday. Now if I can... *urg*... just get through this darn packing." Kitty paused. "Oh, yeah." She phased her hand into the box and withdrew a card and a pair of brand new toe-shoes. The card read: "To my most graceful Kitten, who grew into a beautiful Shadowcat. Happy Birthday, Kitty. Love, Stevie."

Kitty found herself blinking hard to keep her eyes from overflowing. Stevie'd had so many students, yet she'd remembered her...

"Are you all right?" asked Brian.

"Yeah, fine." Kitty smiled, though her eyes still glistened. Hoping to distract from her reaction, she quickly picked up the next gift and unwrapped it. In the background, Pete watched. From where he stood, it looked as if Kitty had gotten a pretty good haul.

She had too. The next gift was a collection of software from Rachel and Keesha, who was feeling a bit out of place.

The Morlock wasn't used to parties like this. Birthdays for her people were usually small affairs between parents and maybe a trusted friend or else totally over-looked. she tried to look as if nothing bothered her and turned back to watch Kitty open the rest of her gifts.

"Oh, wow..." breathed Kitty as the cloth wrapping fell away from Amanda's gift. A crystal figure of a 10-inch tall Shadowcat with a tiny Lockheed on her shoulder glittered, even in the gentle lighting of the room. While Kitty exclaimed over her gift, Kurt leaned over to his lady friend and whispered in her ear.

"Liebchen, it's a wonderful gift, but if it explodes, I'm going to scream!" Amanda hesitated between blushing and smacking Nightcrawler, and finally just ignored his comment, but got her dig in when Kitty opened Nightcrawler's present of the complete set of ElfQuest hard-cover graphic novels.

"Want me to get out the Magic Markers and color them all blue?" she asked, tweaking his ear playfully.

Kitty thought that Meggan's gift of furry white slippers and a matching flannel robe was cute, but had to be polite about Brian's choice: a porcelain doll. The princess doll was well made and obviously expensive, but Kitty hadn't played with dolls since she was seven, and even then nothing this fragile. All the same, she managed to keep from being awkward about it.

Alysdane and Alistaire gave Kitty an especially hard to find memory upgrade for her computer. Kitty couldn't help but wonder if the twins had given joint gifts as kids. Somehow, she couldn't see the strong- willed Alysdane and the more quiet Alistaire being able to agree on a single gift.

Courtney's gift was a small envelope. Kitty looked a little puzzled, but opened it. A Polaroid picture of a black and blue speed-boat fell out. Kitty picked it up and studied it.

"Like it?" asked Courtney, grinning broadly.

"Sure but..."

"Good. It's being delivered tomorrow."

Kitty laughed and gave Courtney a hug. "Do I get a plane next year?"

"Maybe if you're good." replied the older woman, still grinning.

Dai's gift to Kitty was the exact same type of diary that Pete himself had brought. Wisdom was so busy fuming about it that he didn't notice that Kitty brought out the same polite routine she had with Braddock.

When Pete saw Kitty finally picked up the flat, rectangular package that he assumed was the journal he'd gotten her, he had to squelch a vapor of nervousness. Bloody hell, he hardly knew her, so he couldn't be expected to give her something deep and meaningful, but it was worse that it was going to be a repeat present that she hadn't exactly flipped for the first time. Pete wished he hadn't used his last cig in the Brigadier's car. Instead, he took a large swallow from his drink.

Kitty read the card ("Many happy returns. Open the sodding thing already. Pete.") and smiled. So Pete Wisdom did care about her a little. Maybe it could grow to be more than a little. He really was handsome, in a grungy sort of way. And he did have at least a small streak of decency, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. Kitty got through the last of the wrapping, cleared aside a good amount of wrapping tissue... and paused in open-mouthed surprise. As if in a daze, she lifted a white, metal-studded, leather bikini out of the box. The assembled throng gaped .. Even Rachel, known for wearing a costume designed to carbonate the hormones of the average male, couldn't find words.

Pete choked and did a spit-take, spewing his drink several feet in front of him. Of all the stupid, booze-affected gits! He'd given Culley the wrong bloody package!!!

Before he could do anything to explain or escape, a firm hand grabbed his elbow and...

< BAMF! >

Pete Wisdom and Nightcrawler appeared on the beach in front of the lighthouse. Kurt released his hold on Pete. The Englishman staggered a few feet away and vomited.

Knowing the unsettling effect that his teleporting had on passengers, Nightcrawler wouldn't have normally brought someone with alcohol in their system along on a jaunt. Certainly not without asking their leave first. But this was not what Kurt Wagner considered normal circumstances.

"That was perhaps the most tasteless display I have ever seen." Wagner snapped, making no effort to hide his anger.

"If you think that was bad, wait around. I think I've got more to bring up." gagged Pete, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.

"You know exactly to what I am referring!" snarled Nightcrawler. "That. .. gift that you chose for Kitty was totally inappropriate at the very least! Giving such an item in public would have been a stretch were the two of you... Gott forbid... in a relationship. But this..." Pete started to speak up, but Kurt recovered his tongue first. "I do not know if the obvious has registered in your mind yet, Herr Wisdom, but Kitty is a young girl in a highly unusual life-style. Yes, she has more common sense that many adults that I know. And dealing with an abundance of pain and heart-ache has matured her beyond her years, but she is still a child, nonetheless. I will not see her innocence sullied by..."

"Now hold on just one damned minute!" Pete broke in. "If it ain't too much trouble for you to shut up an' step down off o' yer soapbox, I'd like to explain meself, all right?" Wagner nodded grudgingly, though his body language indicated that it was going to take one hell of an explanation to sway his initial view of Pete's intentions. "First off, the tart harness weren't meant for Kitty. I admit that I ain't got much in the way of good taste, but I ain't enough of a bastard to give something like that to a girl that young."

"Ah, how silly of us. I suppose we all suffered a mass hallucination? Or perhaps that was a gift from Alistaire?"

Pete began to REALLY wish he had a cigarette. Blowing a cloud of smoke into Wagner's face would have done a lot to make up for the entire evening. "It was a soddin' mix-up, OK? That contraption was meant for an old friend of mine.

"Second, I don't give a toss if you approve o' me or not. Apparently Kitty does or she wouldn't've invited me. And I do know that she's a young girl. In case it's escaped your eagle eyes, Kitty and I ain't that far apart so far as age goes. I may not have a chance in hell of bein' anything other than a friend to her, but I'm sure gonna try. And that's all I'm sayin' on that.

"Now I've got a certain birthday girl I need to explain meself to, so sod off."

Before Kurt could stop him of object, Pete pushed past him and back into the lighthouse.

'Whatta bloody mess.' he snarled inwardly. 'Chances with Kitty are all shot to hell... Tash is going to want me guts for garters... Culley's gonna be riding me about this for months...' As he re-entered the living room, his thoughts ground to a halt. The usual noise of Nightcrawler's teleport sounded especially loud as the blue mutant appeared behind Wisdom.

Kitty was seated on the couch, trying to get a rein on her hysterical laughter. Every few seconds she would almost get it under control... then she would look back at the bikini on the table and surrender to her giggles again. Keesha, leaning against the far wall, was smiling broadly as she alternated between playing with Alysande and watching Kitty and Courtney had the oddest little grin on her face, but just about everyone else still seemed to be in mild shock. Pete's entrance gave them something to focus on at least. Fortunately, Kitty got to him before Brian, Dai, or the Brigadier could.

Kitty walked up to Wisdom and gave him a hug. "Pete, I..." Her lips trembled and she gave up holding it in. She burst into laughter again. "N-never... hahaha... in all my life..." She finally gave up trying to explain and just said, "Thanks." once she managed to go for a full thirty seconds without laughing.

"Uh... Yer welcome." 'I think.' he added mentally, unsure if one's gift sending the recipient into hysterics was a good sign or not. Before Pete could think of anything more intelligent to say, Kitty had managed to totally compose herself and walk back to the rest of the guests, whom had begun to recover just a bit.

Pete started to follow Wagner's example and rejoin everyone else when a set of nail-like objects drove themselves into his left ankle. Pete cursed loudly and began to shake his leg in an effort to dislodge seven pounds of hissing, growling purple dragon from his person.

"Lockheed!" Kitty exclaimed in surprise.

"Bloody hell! Someone get him offa me leg before he decides I taste better charred!" Lockheed growled in response and dug his claws in along with his teeth.

Meggan, the closest to the two combatants, managed to get Pete to hold still long enough for her to coax Lockheed off. Cooing innocently, the small purple alien snuggled up to Meggan's bosom, giving Pete a malevolent glare when the elven woman turned to Kitty to tell her that Lockheed seemed fine.

As content as Lockheed seemed with Meggan, he offered no objections when his team-mate passed him over to Alysdane so that she could assist Amanda with helping Pete hobble over to the kitchen so that they could take a look at his ankle.

The Brigadier stroked Lockheed's warm, dry head and murmured phrases such as "Good dragon.", "Served the rotter right.", and "You're a cute li'l beastie." to Lockheed by way of disciplining the dragon. Lockheed chuckled and snuggled closer to his new-found comrade-in-arms.

"Ugh, I'm glad that's over with!" Brian Braddock walked with Courtney Ross on the beach as they waited for her private helicopter to come pick her up.

Sat-yr-9, an inter-dimensionally misplaced double of the recently (and secretly) deceased Courtney Ross*, gave the man whose arm she was hanging on a glance. *(see Excalibur #5)

"Oh, really, Brian!"

"Not to slight Kitty or our guests, of course, but these... these get-togethers are always more trouble than their worth."

"Spoken by someone who is used to attending large, formal, and dandruff-dull dinner parties, my sweet."

Brian smiled. "Why Courtney, have you...?" Whatever Brian had been about to say was cut off by a small explosion of brimstone. "Nightcrawler! What the devil...?"

"Excuse me, Herr Braddock, but I must talk to the lovely Miss Ross."

'Courtney' smiled sweetly at Brian. "This won't take a minute, I'm sure ."

Kurt and Sat-yr-9 walked a few yards off.

"So," 'Courtney' asked briskly, "What is it we need to talk about?"

"Meggan." Kurt said bluntly. "Do you realize the effect that your relationship with Brian is causing her no small amount of distress."

'Of course.' Out loud, Sat-yr-9 gave a small sigh. "I was afraid it would. But what do you expect me to do about it, Nightcrawler?"

Kurt fingered the cuffs of his formal outfit for a moment. Interfering in established relationships was not something he was comfortable with. But Meggan was his friend and team-mate, and he couldn't stand to see her so miserable. "To be honest, I thought perhaps you and Brian could be a bit more... discreet."

'Courtney' smiled sadly. "There's not much more we can do, I'm afraid. Excepting special occasions like this, I don't even come over to your lighthouse, so Meggan rarely has to see Brian and I together. I don't approve of Brian seeing me while he's still living with Meggan... but he is one of my dearest friends, if not the dearest. I do love him and I won't send him away.

"Don't worry, though, Nightcrawler. This can't go on forever. Either Brian will leave Meggan or that poor girl will eventually put 2 and 2 together and leave him." She paused and took in Kurt's disapproving face . 'Good.' she thought. 'The more irritation he finds here, be it Meggan's whining or the condemnation of his comrades, the more it will drive him to me. Enough of this. I have to find Rachel and quickly, before my chopper arrives.'

"I'm sorry to sound so insensitive to poor Meggan, but that is how it will be." 'Courtney' finished. "Now, I've said my good-byes to Kitty, but where is that stunning young red-head? I have a few words for her concerning our shy little Shadowcat."

"Rachel is inside." Kurt responded coolly. It was obvious that his opinions of both Courtney and Brian were not what they had been a few minutes ago. Sat-yr-9 turned away and walked quickly towards the lighthouse.

Rachel Summers leaned against the fender of Alysdane Staurt's car and listened.

"I'm at the end of my rope, Miss Summers." the Brigadier said softly, so as not to be overheard by the Alsatian in the front seat. "I've tried all I can think of. Alysande either doesn't understand or she doesn't care and nothing I say seems to have any impact on her. She hasn't reverted to a human-being once since her rescue... and I'm worried."

"I can see why." Rachel replied. During the entire evening, Alysande Whyp had done nothing unremarkable. She'd been a perfectly behaved dog. There lay the problem. She'd apparently felt no need to change into her human form in the company of strangers anymore than she did with her godmother.

"I was wondering if you might work with her." Alysdane said, getting straight to what was on her mind. "At least find out if she even remembers who she is."

Rachel agreed without any misgivings as Courtney came up to bid the Brigadier and Rachel adieu.

"Nice view, ain't it?" Pete commented, trying not to send everything in his head jumbling out at once.

Kitty Pryde, standing at his side on the observation level of the lighthouse nodded. "Mmm-hmmmm." She reached down and stroked the cool, smooth stone of the tiger brooch riding over her left breast. It was beautiful and though she'd only owned it for a little over an hour, she loved it. Of course, the giver might have had something to do with that.

When she'd gotten ready to open it, every eye in the house had been trained on Pete. If a condom or a pair of edible panties had emerged from the box, Kitty was certain that Brian, Kurt, Lockheed, and Alysdane would have all gone for Pete's jugular at the same instant.

Kitty hadn't been able to tell what the object nestled on the cotton of the jewelry box had been for a moment, since the shades of the cotton and the stone were rather similar. Once she'd seen the nearly glowing eyes, however, she'd been able to define the rest of the face and body.

"It's beautiful." Kitty had whispered, almost afraid to touch it. She'd been certain that if she had, she'd drop it or somehow wreak it.

Remembering how she'd come within an inch of asking Pete to pin it on her, Kitty grinned. That probably wouldn't have gone over to well with some of the other party-goers, such as the four still glaring suspiciously at Pete. She'd finally lifted it out and managed to fasten it to her dress without drawing blood.

She continued to stroke the cool stone. The solid feeling of the little piece of jewelry gave her a bit of courage.

"Pete?"

"What?"

"About earlier... Silly as I was, I really am glad you gave me that bikini."

"Eh? Howzat?" Pete was more than curious now. He'd never gotten a chance to explain the little mix-up that must have occurred back at his apartment when Culley had picked up what both men had thought to be gift meant for Tash.

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed... but I can be a little insecure about my looks sometimes. Especially when I'm around Rachel and every guy in Creation shows up just to drool over her."

'Why does everyone on this damned team assume I can't see beyond me own nose?!' Pete wanted to yell. Instead, he just nodded.

"Well, when I opened your gift, the first thing that went through my mind was 'Hey, me and Ray are going to be a matched set now.' And just for a second, the idea of wearing that get-up went across my mind. That's what set me off, you know. It was just too ridiculous to keep up for more than a second or two at a time. I mean, even if I had Ray's bod, I just wouldn't be me in those kinds of clothes. And all that worrying I've been doing just seemed so silly. I guess I was mostly laughing at myself." Her lips quirked in a half-grin at the memory. "I just wanted to say thanks properly, I guess."

'All right, Wisdom. Now it comes down to it. Let her think you've had this great insight into her character or let her know you fucked up royally.' Pete ran a hand through his unruly hair and muttered to himself.

"Something wrong?" Kitty asked.

More muttering.

"Oh, that bad, is it?"

Pete managed a semi-chuckle. "Worse. Look, 'fore I go trippin' over me tongue, I gotta tell you somethin'. About that harness... well, it weren't meant for you." He tensed himself for an explosion.

"Well, duh!"

"Say what?"

"I know all about that. You told Kurt, Kurt told Rachel, and Rachel told me. information travels fast around here, Pete." Kitty grinned slyly. She felt sure of herself, washed along on the kind of confident high that she rarely felt outside of an on-line environment. "I was waiting to see if you'd try to tell me, though. Now what was this about tripping over your tongue?"

'Couldn't keep your mouth shut, could you mate?' "Well... ah..." Pete looked up. Kitty thought he was looking to the stars for romantic inspiration and all but melted. Wisdom kept up his fervent wish for a drink and a smoke for another millisecond and sighed. "Look, I know I'm wastin' me time, but I'm going to go ahead an' say it. Pryde, you're one of the most beautiful girls I've ever laid eyes on and you've got more than your fair share of brains to back it up. I'm guessin' you consider me your friend or somethin', seein' as how you invited me here and all, but... that is... aw, hell. Would you like to go out with me sometime or what?"

"I'd like that, Pete. I really would."

Pete's eyes flew open. "Well... well, that's wonderful!"

"Pete Wisdom! You smiled!"

"Don't let it fool you. It's just gas."

"That's a shame. It looked kinda nice on you. Out of place, but still nice. And there it goes again!"

A loud honking floated up from the beach and Pete's grin faded away to be replaced by his usual scowl.

"That'll be Sandie. Guess I'd best be goin', 'less I want to be demoted to janitor." Pete headed towards the stairs and cursed softly under his breath as he put too much weight on his injured ankle. Sefton had patched it up somehow and had made him drink some sort of pain killer that tasted like paint thinner and rat shit, but the there was still a twinge here and there.

Kitty moved up behind him silently and lay her slender fingers on his shoulder. Pete stiffened at that gentle touch, savoring it. He could feel her eyes on his back. "What?" he asked finally, turning around.

"You're missing a part of the classic formula." she said expectantly. "Moonlight, a lady's favor, and..."

Pete grinned, his fondness for Kitty growing with every passing moment. He put his arms around her and gave her a solid kiss. Her response was what you'd expect from a (mostly) innocent 16-year-old girl. Willing to go a bit beyond, but not sure how, and settling for a simple locking of lips. It was amazing, but after so many experienced women, Kitty's kiss was a refreshing change to Wisdom.

He decided that Alysdane could honk until the damn horn blew up in her face. He'd show when he was good and ready. 'Another few seconds of this oughta make riding home with that car full of sods half-way bearable.'

Sat-yr-9 smiled as Brian gallantly flew her up to meet with her helicopter. Everything was going fine, up to and including her aside "mission."

As 'Courtney' had hugged Rachel good-bye, she'd "accidentally" scraped one of her rings against the younger woman's skin. Not enough to draw blood, of course, but enough to be felt and to warrant an apology. And more than enough to trap a small sample of Rachel Summers' epidermis under the delicately wrought gold of the ring. Enough to give Sat-yr-9 a bargining with a certain Nathaniel Essex.

'Now,' she thought as her pilot flew her home. 'I have half of what I need from them.' She smiled lasciviously, recalling the strong arms of Captain Britain wrapped around her body that night and on other occasions. 'And the other half will come to me, eventually.'

Pete limped into his messy pit of an apartment floating on a cloud of contentment. OK, so his ankle was a little worse for wear. And maybe Dai Thomas was going to have a sniper waiting for him tomorrow morning. Alysdane would definitely be making his work hours a bloody living hell. And Tash was probably... well, lingering on Tash was going to ruin his good mood. But in spite all of that, Pete Wisdom was as happy as a clam. The promise of fresh romance tends to have that effect on people. Pete didn't have much in his apartment to work off his slightly energetic state, so with nothing else to do, he began to clean the place up.

As he lifted a stiffening shirt that had originally been white, now dark with coffee and various other stains, off of his phone, he noticed that the "messages received" light was blinking on his answering machine ..

"Lovely. Wonder who wants me dead now." All the same, he pushed the replay button and listened while he transferred things from one corner to the other.

"This is Pete Wisdom and your timing rots. Leave the bloody message already and make it short..." < BEEP! >

Tash's voice, husky and sensual even through the ratty speakers of Pete's old answering machine, delivered her message.

"Figures you wouldn't be home. Too bad. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated the diary." The empty bottle of gin that Pete had been hopefully peering into slipped from his fingers and thudded to the floor. "I haven't had one since I was a girl back in grammar school. You know Wisdom, beneath that smoke-wreathed shell that you push to the fore all the time, there's a really sweet, sensitive guy. Don't worry. I'll keep it to myself. 'Ta."

"It's just been bloody well proven. Some shithead up there is just waitin' ta see how many changes of fortune I can take 'fore I crack." Pete muttered, dumping a small mountain of dirty laundry and empty coffee mugs in a corner, presumably to be sorted through some time later that decade. "Well, I got news for you, sunshine. I'm gonna celebrate." And with that, Pete grabbed the bottle of whisky still sitting on the counter, collapsed onto his sofa and got down to some serious celebrating.

"Amanda?"

"Hmmmm?" The mass of blonde hair on Kurt's other pillow rolled over, revealing Amanda Sefton's sleep-blurred face. "Wha's wrong?"

"What you told Herr Wisdom tonight about your reasons for being with Excalibur... Am I the only reason?"

Amanda smiled wearily. "No, but you're defin'ly in the top five. Get some sleep 'fore I call off tomorrow's trainin' session." She cuddled closer to him under the covers and was asleep again before he could answer her. Kurt finally followed suit, not quite sure if her answer was what he'd wanted to hear or not.

It was late enough to be almost early. Everyone in the lighthouse was asleep, save Meggan, who was huddled on the roof, unmindful of the cold night winds. She was hurt and confused again. Her face hurt and so did her arm, from where she'd hit the wall, but that was the least of it. What had made Brian so mad this time ? She didn't understand. He'd something about her sudden enchantment with Wisdom and then he'd hit her. All she'd done was help Mr. Wisdom into the kitchen when Lockheed had bitten him. She'd come right back out. Why'd he been so angry with her? Why didn't he love her any more?

Meggan put her head down on her knees and cried, even as her shape-changing abilities covered up the newly-formed bruises.

Next Issue (which won't be anywhere near as long as this one, hopefully) : Guest-stars galore! A merc with a mouth, a southern belle, a blue shape-shifter, and whole herd of... dinosaurs? What the...? Oh, well. At least it'll be interesting.