Paradigm Shift

PARADIGM SHIFT CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies and BUSIEST WOMAN ALIVE (tm), haven't said it enough... THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) Whooo...sugar makes me type in all caps...InterNutter, TC and Maxwell Pink are wonderful for archiving. :) ProPhile...I never got around to finding a flying buttress but I jumped off the curb. Twice. And you're still special for the plotbunny. Readers/Reviewers: Big, lickity kisses for all of you. That's from the ducks. I'll just give you a firm handshake and a hearty pat on the back. Hey, I don't know where you people have been! ;)


"You want me to do what with a who and where?" Logan rubbed the bridge of his nose, biding his time. He had understood Professor Xavier perfectly well, he just did not want to do the task, if anyone bothered to ask.
"It's quite simple, Logan," the Professor sighed. "And you know it. Don't try to play dumb with a psychic."
"Sorry then." Logan blew out a harsh breath and stood, his presence filling the small room that served as the monitoring center for all the Institute's security devices. "I'll need to get some...things...together. And a little help."
"Take Storm with you. She can provide any necessary cover. And take what you need from the armory. If you get caught..."
"I know, Chuck. I've played this game before. Don't worry about me. Just keep an eye on the fuzzball and I'll be back tomorrow night with this Maker guy and we'll get everything back to rights."
The Professor nodded in assent and maintained a façade of calm until Logan stalked from the room. Only then did he let tension flood his features, creasing his brow and pinching his lips into a thin line. He had found the Maker's location only that morning and after much difficulty. He had called in every favor he was ever owed, even going so far as to contact the Morlocks1for what help they could provide. It was one of them who provided the necessary information, Caliban2 by name, coming to the surface from his tunnels and revealing the Maker's whereabouts. When asked how he was so certain, the Morlock had tapped the side of his nose and said, "The night has a thousand eyes...3 Remember that next time you're out and about, Professor Xavier."
_Somehow, _ he thought to himself, _that thought is not comforting in the least. _ He wheeled himself to the window and watched as the black SUV pulled out of the garage, no doubt with Logan and Storm inside. If all went well, things would be relatively back to normal by tomorrow night. If not... He did not even want to consider it. Kurt was a temptation to him, presenting the availability of information that should never bleed through to their world. It was, he admitted to himself, almost overwhelming, the curiosity he felt towards the teenager. _You're an adult. Act like one, _ he chided himself. A loud outcry from downstairs distracted him from his introspection. _Who says children aren't psychic? They all seem to know whenever Logan leaves the grounds... _


"You _drained _ me," Evan spat accusingly.
"You _irritated _ me!" Rogue retorted.
"You had no right to..."
"Evan, one more word out of your mouth and I am kicking somewhere that'll make you eligible for the Vienna Boys' Choir." The fight had been raging for at least ten minutes and was escalating rapidly. Amanda was sniffling on the sofa, Kurt was pacing agitatedly, and Kitty had abandoned them for her room as quickly as she good, but not before giving Kurt another kiss, quickly on the cheek this time. Rogue ground her teeth at the recent memory of Amanda's fresh round of sobs against her shoulder at that sight.
"You're being a bitch," he said.
"You don't listen!" Rogue growled, but made no move to carry out her threat.
"Klappe!" Kurt finally cried, covering his ears with his hands in exaggeration. "I need to talk to Amanda alone."
Evan gave Rogue a semi-smug look before darting past her and into the foyer. Rogue favored Kurt with an appraising glance and said, "Don't wuss out on me," before sauntering from the room.
"Kurt, why was she kissing you?" Amanda asked as soon as the door closed behind the Goth girl.
"Because she wanted to, apparently." Kurt sighed and ruffled his own hair. "Look, I know we had...something...once, but I love Kitty. I always have." He sat down next to her and took her hands between his. "I care for you, but nothing can ever happen between us. I had hoped you would understand before now, but maybe seeing this tonight was the best thing..."
"You are a _jerk! _" she said tearfully, yanking her hands from his grasp. "After all you said to me..." she sniffed, dashing errant tears from her cheeks.
_What did I say? _ "Amanda, I'm sorry..."
"I'll say!" she snapped, standing. "I never want to talk to you again!" she cried, storming past him and flinging open the door. Evan stood there, obviously eavesdropping and caught too abruptly to try and lie about it. "Evan, take me home! Now!"
"Uh..." Evan blinked at her, shook himself, and said, "Yes, ma'am!" I mean...okay..." He looked over Amanda's head and fixed a glare on Kurt. "We're talking when I get home!"
Kurt sighed and sank back against the thick sofa cushions as Evan ushered Amanda away, murmuring soothing platitudes and agreeing that yes, Kurt was being mean and no, she was not the least bit repulsive. _I think I'd prefer Hellions again. Or split ends. Yes. Split ends all over my body is much preferable to Amanda being insane. _ Kurt felt boneless with exhaustion as he eased off the sofa and plodded from the downstairs study. He mentally chided himself for not taking better care, skimping on meals and staying up too late the past several days, but he did not get far in his inner monologue. Jubilee, clad almost entirely in black save for a garishly yellow pair of sneakers, was stealthily creeping down the hall towards the massive window overlooking the back lawn. Rogue was already waiting there, peering out into the darkness with her fingers pressed to the glass. "Going somewhere, ladies?" Kurt asked, holding back a yawn.
Jubilee had the good grace to look a little surprised but Rogue maintained a cool façade as she pivoted to face him. "We're going for a walk."
"Out the back window?" Kurt asked innocently, drawing even with Jubilee.
"Yes," the Asian girl answered. "We've decided to test our as-yet-unmanifested powers of flight."
Rogue raised a brow. "Care to join us Quantum Leap boy?"
Kurt rolled his eyes. "In other circumstances, I would go with you, but frankly, I am too tired. Where are you going?"
The girls exchanged glances. "Nowhere," they said in unison.
Kurt narrowed his gaze at the girls. "Do me a favor then...when you get to nowhere and see nobody, make sure you don't get yourselves in too much trouble. I know...trust me, I know...trouble follows you everywhere."
Jubilee made an annoyed noise and said, "We're just going for a walk."
"Dressed in black. With your lockpick in your pocket," Kurt stated blandly.
Jubilee's hand snuck down to her pocket and her fingers encountered the edge of her neat plastic packet of tools. "Don't want to get locked out."
Rogue interrupted. "Kurt, go to bed. You look like shit."
"Danke, Miss America." Kurt sighed at the reminder of his tired state. "Please...don't be gone long."
Jubilee jerked her chin in a defiant manner. "We'll be fine."
Rogue offered a slight smile. "Frog princes are harmless. Mostly."
Kurt's eyebrows shot upward. "Pardon?"
Jubilee even looked confused at Rogue's comment. "Frog what? We're going to the Boar...."
Kurt threw up his hands and said, "Don't even say it. If you say it, I'll know, if I know, I'll be compelled to follow. If I follow you, I'll have to defend you and then that'll just start a whole feminist argument..."
Rogue groaned. "Go to bed. We'll be here in the morning."
Jubilee nodded. "You haven't seen us."
"Riiiiiiight," Kurt drawled, backing towards his room. "Just so you know, though, if I were to have seen you, I would have told you to just go out the back door by the laundry room. Less chance of breaking your neck that way." He let himself into his room and heard the start of a flurry of whispers between the two as he shut the door. _I'll give them until midnight...if they're not back by then, I'll go after them. _ He looked around the room with a slightly deflated air, reminded again just how far he had come from the person he was during his early days at the institute. The memories of loneliness and despair washed over him and he very nearly let the melancholy take over when something caught his eye. On the desk sat a binder, left over from summer school by the looks of it, and a cup full of pencils and pens. _It'll take forever and a day, but why not? _

Kitty debated for almost two hours about it, but in the end, she found herself hurrying down the hall to Kurt's room as if her feet had a mind of their own. She knocked urgently, softly, and said, "Kurt? You awake? It's just me..."
There was a scuffle and the sound of a drawer closing and then the door opened. "Katzchen? It's after midnight..."
"I know...I just couldn't sleep...can I come in?"
She looked so nervous and forlorn that Kurt could not resist. Against his better judgment, he opened the door wide and let her into the room. She edged past him, not meeting his curious gaze, fidgeting with the tie to her robe as she came to rest in the middle of the room. "So, what is it, Kitty?" he asked, closing the door quietly. "Are you still thinking about earlier?"
She did not know he was referring to the incident with Lance. She smiled slightly and cocked her head to one side. "Yeah, actually, I was..."
_Oh, no, _ Kurt thought with an inward groan. "I meant...I meant, are you okay after Lance and..."
"Kurt," she said wearily, not moving from her spot on the floor, "I don't want to talk about Lance, the Boardinghouse, any of that... " She finally looked him directly in the eye. "Kurt, I don't know how to feel right now. Before all...all of this happened," she made a vague gesture indicating his apparent defiance of most laws of physics, "I sort of kind of liked you a little bit more than I let on...and then I started like you a lot more than I let on. Then you go all Star Gate on me and I don't know...am I feeling this for you or am I feeling it for him and are you him and is he you and..." She sighed. "I've just gone cross eyed."4
Kurt laughed a little at that and stepped tentatively towards her. "I'd like to think, for my...counterpart's....sake that you liked him and not me...if that makes sense." He shrugged. "Tell me about your grandfather," he said, partially out of curiosity and partially to change the subject.
"Can we sit down?" she asked, yawning widely. She was suddenly more tired than she had expected, but unwilling to leave his company just yet.
"Sure," he said, ushering her to the desk chair. She sat and arranged her robe to cover her knees as he settled cross-legged on the bed. "Talk away, Liebes."
"I know what that means, you know. It's the same in Yiddish, almost." She smirked and said, "I don't think I mind too much."
"Good," he said, smiling toothily. "You'll have to get used to it if things go as they're supposed to, the Kurt you know is going to call you that quite often."
Kitty blushed and ducked her head. "Do you really want to know about Magneto?"
Kurt debated that mentally. "Ja, I think I do." He leaned forward as she began a fragmented tale of her life as he knew it, some details glaringly different but most the same. He did not mean to doze off as she spoke, but he did. And he did not notice in the night when she crawled into the bed next to him.
"Sorry, Fuzzy," she muttered to his sleeping form. "I'm so tired..." _I'll deal with it in the morning...Oooooh. He's warm... _
1 Raise your hand if you don't know who the Morlocks are...
2 So off canon it's not even worth going into, lol. Caliban, to be bare bones about it, can detect any mutant within a 25 mile radius. I'm not going to detail his history and all, but if you're into that sort of thing and want to know more (I sound like a PBS special), http://comicscentral.tripod.com/xmen/c/caliban.htm
3 Old song. Bobby Darrin, I think.
4 Random Austin Powers moment.