Rogue's Kiss

(Authors Note: I am in no way an autopsy expert. All facts pertaining to when the time of death occurs were pulled directly from my ass.)

It was a wonderful night for Rahne St. Clair.
A full moon filled the sky and forest in silver light, making bright pools of light and deep shadows. The air was clean and pure with only a smidge of that pollution that she had come accustomed to smelling since she had left her little town in Scotland.
It would have been a perfect night except for the vampire she was currently chasing through these woods.

She could smell it. Hell, she could almost taste him on the breeze pushing through her nose and into her panting lungs. She was a big hulking wolf, crashing through low hanging branches and snapping twigs under powerful paws. She didn’t always look like this. Just on the full moon when her transformation was at its strongest did she grow to be this size. At the other end of the spectrum she looked like just any other normal female wolf, maybe a little small for her size.

She was starting to close in. she could hear the vampire ahead of her, running faster then any man but not faster then her. She was lucky, she had been told that vampires could have a lot of different powers when they were turned but speed was not in this one arsenal.

It was a good thing she had speed in such good doses. It had kept her alive back when her powers had first manifested at 14 on a full moon. Back in Scotland they had been sitting around a roaring fire while their da told ghost stories of banshee’s and the wee people. Lately strange things had been happening around town. People swearing they saw ghosts walking up walls and the like. Her da had thought it a grand idea to tell some stories. Maybe if he hadn’t been it would have gone differently. It wasn’t like in the movies, the full moon didn’t break out from behind a cloud to shine on her. It was very cloudy outside, the night dark, perfect for ghost telling. Her father was just getting to a gruesome part when Rahne had felt the pain in her head. It started there and spread slowly through her body, lighting it on fire. She probably screamed because suddenly her family was on her, holding her down as she thrashed. Her body began to stretch in agonizing inches, ripping her clothes to shreds. All her muscles felt as if they might burst through her skin! The on time she heard herself scream was when a clawed hand, covered in red fur rose in front of her face.

It took her a second to realize it was her own hand.

Her family backed away from her in terror as she became the werewolf for the first time. Her father stepped forward and bellowed for her to get out of his house. He reached for the rifle that had been kept over the mantle, that he sworn to them as green children he had shot a leprechaun right in the bottom for cheating him, and turned it on her.

That’s when he shot her.

His hand was shaky and the bullet caught her where the neck meets the shoulder and she screamed again, only this time it came out as a full on roar that shook the house. She couldn’t even remember turning and jumping through the window, shattering glass that didn’t cut her thanks to the tough pelt of fur. She instinctively raced to the forest and hid in its comforting trees and shadows while an armed mob started in the streets. Lighted torches lit the crowd as they headed into the forest on the hunt.

She still doesn’t know how she survived that night. Her new senses kept her aware of where they were and if there was a chance of being caught. But still…it was a lot of luck.

She woke up naked and cold by a tree, shivering and crying even before she awoke.
For the next 3 weeks she was a run away on the streets of Glasgow. She made it there on foot, stowaway and trade.

And she had no possessions to trade with. Only her body and what it could do.

But she made it there and disappeared in the crowds, able to hide what she was most of the time. There would be times when she would be forced to change by fear, anger, or some other strong emotion. At these times it was like there was an animal inside of her trying to get out. Once a young fellow had tried to rape her in an old factory too close to the full moon. The change came too fast her to control and when she had regained control. She found pieces of him everywhere but not enough to make up a whole body.

That’s when she had tasted the blood in her mouth and down her throat. When she threw up whole pieces of him came out where she hadn’t bothered to chew. By this time she knew she was a mutant and hated everything about it.

At the end of her three week on the streets of Glasgow she had been out of money and needed new clothes after her last set were shredded again and she was forced to wear a dirty and shit stained blanket she found in a dumpster. She was desperate and hungry. A bad combination.

It was night and she had been waiting for a while with a knife in her hand in the entrance of an alley with no lights. Waiting for the right person to pass by. Maybe if she had not been half insane with hunger and filth she would not have chosen the black woman with the braided white hair and dark haired boy that was with her.

But she did.

She grabbed the boy who was closer to her as they passed and pulled him in, quickly putting the blade of the knife to his throat before he could struggle too much. In her haze she didn’t notice the feeling of fur under her fingers. She just needed the money.

The tall woman turned slowly as Kurt was pulled into the alley to look straight into Rahne’s eyes in the shadows. The woman’s eyes were blue and fading to white as she watched!

The tall woman slowly approached Rahne and her hostage. She was dressed all in black with a long leather coat that went to her knees. Rahne started to think she had made a mistake.

In a cold voice that froze her middle, the white eyed woman softly said, “let him go now.”

The boy she was holding spoke in a German accent. “I would listen to her if I were you.”

Neither of them were scared in the slightest, even the boy with a knife to his throat! Rahne tried to keep her voice steady and failed when she said, “nae! Give me your wallets both of you!”

The woman simply said, “Kurt.” The boy she was holding suddenly disappeared in a cloud of foul smoke leaving a very surprised Rahne clutching air. She heard something like a muffled pop behind her and turned to see the boy there behind her.

She was trapped now between them? What were they going to do? She started to panic, which of course made her start to change. Her body started to change, growing reddish fur, her teeth becoming sharper in a mouth that lengthened becoming more of a muzzle. The transformation over-extended her already over worked and under-fed metabolism. The world first started to spin then went dark.


When she woke up she was very disoriented. Not so much because she had no idea where she was but by what she was lying in. a bed. With an actual mattress! And it didn’t stink of piss or shit. She was surrounded in a cocoon of warmth that reminded he of her old comforter at home. When she opened her eyes she found herself lying on her side, curled up under a soft blanket and looking at a luxurious hotel room. Or so she thought anyway. Rahne slowly started to sit up and immediately became dizzy again. She breathed for a few minutes till it passed and looked around her. It was definitely a hotel room and a rich on at that! Elegant furniture was everywhere and it had a balcony over on one wall. It was all so nice!

What made it not so nice anymore was when she saw just how many weapons were in the room. On a huge, square glass table she saw assorted knives, guns, long silver spikes and other things that she couldn’t even recognize. She got out of the bed and new wave of nausea took her. When it passed she noticed she was naked and very clean. She managed to blush when she pieced together that someone had bathed her. She grabbed a big white robe that hung on a chair beside the bed as her mind took off. Was it those two she was met the other night? Why would they bring her here? And what was with all the weapons? Were thy going to kill her? Her mind teemed with questions as she walked over to the table and picked up one of the knives. It had a curved handle and a serrated edge on one side. Her eyes went wide looking it all over.

Behind her a door opened. She spun around and saw the boy she had grabbed the night before enter holding a tray of food on one hand and kicking the door closed.

“Hey!” he said cheerfully walking into the room and speaking in the same German accent. “Glad to see you’re awake! Ororo said you would be hungry when you woke up so I got you some breakfast.” He placed the tray on a smaller table a little away from Rahne who still stood frozen where she was.
The boy’s smile faltered a little and asked,” um, are you planning on using that?” pointing to the knife she still clutched.

Rahne stared dumbly at it for a moment be didn’t put it down. She forced herself to talk and what came out was, “which one of you bathed me?”

The boy blushed a deep red and seemed to find the curtains shading the window door to the terrace interesting. “It was Ororo. I wasn’t in the room.” He added quickly and took the lid of the tray of food. When the scent of eggs, bacon, toast and sausage hit her sensitive nose her stomach cramped so hard she actually moaned. She didn’t move though.

Rahne watched as the boy got it and backed away from the tray a good distance. Rahne slowly, even though her stomach wanted her to run, walked over to the try and looked down at it, still holding the dagger. She sat down and lookedthe the boy, making sure where he was and put the weapon down. For the next two minutes all her attention was on devouring the meal on the tray, leaving nary a trace.

When she was done she looked at her company who was sitting in a chair watching her.
“Why did you bring me here?” she asked.

“You fainted in the alley,” the dark haired boy said, blue eyes holding her brown. “We couldn’t leave you. When was the last time you had eaten?”

Rahne found herself answering, “five days.” She refused to eat from the garbage as some of the street kids did. There was just something in her that wouldn’t let her do that. Maybe it was her da’s influence, the one who had shot her clean through. He had left a scar on her but she still couldn’t get the pride he put in her out of her mind.

“Whoa!” came the wondrous reply. “Five days? That is a long time! I no wonder you fainted. I would
be almost dead! Oh! And how rude of me. My name is Kurt Wagner” he got up to shake her hand but when he saw her hand close over the handle of the blade he sat down again. “Um, what’s your name?”

She hesitated but answered, “Rahne St.Clair.” after a brief, uncomfortable pause she asked, “how long do I have to stay here?” she was secretly hoping until at least lunch.
Kurt’s eyes widened in surprise. “We’re not forcing you to stay. Ororo just went out to buy you some clothes. If you want to leave you can. I just hope you’ll wait for some clothing first.” A steady blush lighted his cheeks up as he spoke and examined the tops of his shoes.

“Okay,” she answered a little more at ease. She guessed that people who plan to kill you don’t blush when they mention you’re naked. She looked over at the weapon-laden table and asked the burning question.

“Who are you people?”

Kurt looked over at the table too and sighed. After a second he said, “its best if we wait for Ororo to come back to explain, if she want to even explain at all.”


The next twenty minutes was spent in growing ease and conversation. Rahne told him about how she ended up on the streets and her mutation. Kurt totally floored her when he revealed that he and the woman were both mutants as well. He fiddled with the fancy watch he had and abruptly became a blue furred demon with yellow eyes that made Rahne gasp. He reactivated the holo and just became a boy again. She was going to ask about the watch when the suit doors opened and the white haired woman strode in carrying two shopping bags. When she saw that Rahne was awake she didn’t smile but set down the bags and sat at the table right across from the girl, locking ice blue eyes on the girl.

Rahne thought those eyes looked so dead.

She reached for the dagger again only to have it snatched from under her hand by the woman. When the woman named Ororo finally spoke her voice was calm and appraising.

“What has Kurt told you about us?”

Admittedly she didn’t know much. Kurt had just said they were from America on some business. The woman gave a satisfied nod and went on.

“What do you know about vampires?”

For the next couple of hours the woman, also known as Storm, told her everything about them and the demons of the night that the hunted, how her nephew was killed by one, how they had come here cause they had heard some were hunting in Scotland.
Eventually everyone got hungry again and they ordered lunch, asking the food be left in the hall, Rahne thought for obvious reasons. She dug into the food when it arrived having a lot more to chew on then just food.

“Okay,” she said around a mouthful of food. “Lets say I believe all this about vampires being real. Why are you telling me? Its not like it makes a difference me knowing. When I go back on the streets, I’m more liking to get killed by another street kid then some blood sucker.”

“First, do not talk with food in your mouth,” Ororo recited. Some habits die very hard. “Second, I am telling you because I would like for you to join us.”

The food the Rahne had been in the middle of swallowing immediately got stuck and she began to cough. Kurt was up like a shot, whapping her on the back while Storm held a slightly amused look in her eyes.

When her face went from blue back to pink Rahne stammered, “wha-what? Why?”

“Because I see great strength in you. Surviving on the streets, attacking us…”

“Don’t confuse stupidity with strength,” Rahne interrupted.

“I’m not,” Storm went on. “ And your not. Besides with your keen senses and strength you would be invaluable in finding and killing them.”

Storm stopped talking and let Rahne think for a moment. If this was all true then she was being offered a once in a lifetime here. As well as never being hungry or cold.

Rahne looked at the woman and asked, “Can you help to control my mutation more?”
Storm almost smiled. “That, I can more certainly do.”


That very night Rahne went out with the two into the streets. She watched them load up on weapons and was given a few of the er ser spikes as well. Kurt, also Nightcrawler, was without his disguise. When he was he was very hard to see in the dark and kept disappearing in puffs of smoke as her and Storm walked. Eventually he appeared in front of them with a solemn look.

“Body,” was all he said and pointed to an alley not to far up ahead. Storm told him to watch the entrance as his two companionlkedlked into the dark.

A bunch of trashcans were bunched in the and when the looked over them Rahne immediately turned away and threw up all the food she had eaten that day with such relish.

Behind the trash bins in the cramped space lay the mutilated body of a toddler. Rahne could only tell that by the size of the tiny corpse that it was still a child. The naked body was horribly torn apart, muscles and organs showed in deep gashes along its length. The face was ravaged beyond recognition, as well as the genitals so the sex couldn’t be told. There was no blood though. That seemed to make it all the worse…

Rahne felt a strong hand catch the collar of her coat and pull her back over struggling. Storm forced the young girl to face over the garbage cans even though her eyes were squeezed shut.

“Open your eyes and take a look at what it is we hunt,” came the insanely calm voice. Rahne was shaken until she complied, opening her eyes as tears started to course down her cheeks.

“The real measure of any creature is how they treat others,” Storm spoke. “It has always been that way. We know from police reports that this child went missing two days ago on the other side of town. For two days this girl, Clara Gibbons, has been in the company of this monster and was killed just tonight. You can tell by the edges of the wounds that haven’t hardened.” Storm said if she was back in a classroom, teaching her students how to solve a science problem.

“There is no blood on the wounds,” she suddenly stated followed by the question. “Why?”

At first Rahne didn’t answer, could only sob quietly in the woman’s grip until she was shaken again and asked why.

“Be-because it took all the blood…” Rahne hitched out the answer.

“Correct. So what does that tell you about the wounds?”

The answer immediately came to Rahne even though she tried to reject it with all her heart. But it was still there.

The hitches quieted down to nothing and she whispered, “they happened after the babe was already dead.”

“Correct again.” The hand loosened and lay on the girl’s bare neck lightly. “That’s the kind of thing we’re dealing with. It’s not just another type of human that needs blood to live and has no other choice. They can live off other kinds of blood but choose not to and do things like what you see here.”

Storm turned with Rahne and left the alley, an arm around the shell-shocked girl and rejoined Kurt who watched her with sad eyes.

“Now the only question…” Storm said turning to her. “…is what you want to do about it?”


And that had brought her here, to these woods a ways from Glasgow where they had tracked the demon. Storm had called this a right of passage, that if she couldn’t kill the thing on her own then she had no place with them cause you never know whne one or all of the others might fall and have to go on alone. Kurt had been there with his sword, giving her a hopeful look of luck as she headed into the woods and forced the change she felt just under the skin this full moon.

She had quickly picked up the scent and chased it, getting so close. She could see it now, a dark shape darting through the wood ahead of her. It was fast but she was faster. In a mighty pounce she tackled the thing. Her nose was filled with its nauseas sent of blood and gore. It struck out at her and tore 4 scores of blood along her side. She roared in pain before her powerful jaws dropped down and clamped onto its neck.

The two tore at each other. The vampires red eyes blazing in fear, rage, and pain as it clawed at Rahne’s flanks. The werewolf never let go of its hold though and worked on the neck, tearing it open bit by bit until the head fell away from the body. The huge wolf stood over the headless body, panting and with blood on its muzzle. It watched as the body and head aged rapidly before her, eventually turning to bones and then dust.

The wolf Rahne let out a great howl of triumph and a dark figure dropped out of the sky and let down beside her. With a huge amount of effort Rahne changed back to her human form. Scratches covered her body and there was blood around her mouth. She wiped at it absently with the back of her hand, smearing it.

Storm came forward and gave the naked girl her bundle of clothes and addressed her solemnly.

“Welcome, hunter.”

Rahne took the clothes with a smile.