Institutionalized

INSTITUTIONALIZED CHAPTER THIRTY TWO (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies and BUSIEST WOMAN ALIVE (tm), you are superwonderful for betaing. :) The menagerie should be falling victim to the kilt-eating critters about.....now. *eg * InterNutter, TC and Maxwell Pink are loverly for archiving. :) Readers/Reviewers: The armadillos wanted to send you kisses, but they carry leprosy so they are just waving. :)

Kitty groaned softly, tasting the inside of her mouth with some dst. st. Her eyes hurt and that bothered her more than the headache. At first, anyway. "Kurt?" she murmured, aware of the pervasive quiet of the mansion. The room was very dark, darker than an ordinary night would have made it. It took her several moments to realize that the power was out, the exterior security lights that usually tinged the night with faint golraysrays were inoperative and her alarm clock dark. "Sweetie?" she said just a little more loudly. _Why am I on the carpet? Oooooh. The drinks. The sex. Okay. I'm back in reality now. And I think I'm still tipsy. _ She felt the irritation on her skin from where it had rubbed against the carpet during her recent activities with Kurt and they throbbed in concert with her head. "Remy's evil," she muttered to herself, conveniently forgetting that she had taken his drinks without asking and she had been the one to drink the beer, Remy's participation negligible in her current hung over state. Feeling as if her tongue were trying to kill her through her taste buds, Kitty shoved herself to her feet and staggered to the ensuite bathroom. Fumbling, she found her toothbrush and what she hoped was toothpaste and tried to turn on the sink only to receive the dull hiss of air in the pipes after a brief trickle of water. "Damn it!" she growled to no one at all. "Funk breath in the dark and Kurt's no where to be found...why couldn't I have nigisioision as my mutation? Phasing doesn't do me much good now..." She replaced the dental supplies on the counter and carefully felt her way from her bedroom, pausing once in the hallway. There was almost absolute silence. Not even the hum-thud of generators trying to kick on, no whispers in the dark or even more telling sounds, bespeaking teenagers and opportunity. Instead, Kitty fellittlittle dizzy at the lack of sound and sight. _Where's the stairs? Damn it...I never had to count steps. Where's Scott when I need him? He took that blind class where he had to learn how to get around...just in case he didn't have his visor or glasses one day. Damn damn damn. _ She took a few steps forward, sensing rather than seeing a deepening of the dark a few feet before her and she guessed that was where the stairs began, the slightly cooler air also an indication of the immanent decline in elevation if she was not careful. _I can always slow myself by phasing if I have to, _ she comforted herself as she took another searching step and found the top step. Slowly, she made her way down the marble staircase and breathed a sigh of relief when she reached the bottom. She had no idea how late it was but Kitty decided to risk the ire of anyone she awakened by calling out. "Hello? Hello? Anyone there? This is, like, so not funny..."
Kitty stood very still, her ears keen for any little noise as she awaited a response. Having none after several minutes, she began to feel a worm of worried fear begin to work its way from her stomach up her throat. It made her voice tremble as she called out again. "Guys? Come on! Where'd you all go?"
"Kitty? Is that you?"
Cecilia's voice nearly made her scream aloud. "Yeah...where are you?"
"By the basement stairs...the elevators are out because of the power and I had to work my way up...where is everyone?"
"I was hoping you could tell me..." Kitty blinked and winced as a flash of light sear her eyes. "Hey!"
"I found a light in the med lab but the batteries are bad. It's intermittent." Cecilighedghed and there was the sound of plastic slapping against skin as she hit the flashlight with the palm of her hand. "I heard some running and a scream and Hank told me to stay in the infirmary...that was a little more than an hour ago. The powent ent out around then...where've you been?"
"Asleep," Kitty muttered, not wanting to admit her lightwight drinking capabilities. "Maybe they're all outside..."
"Maybe...Stay still and I'll come towards you." Cecilia's feet made soft slapping sounds as she padded barefoot across the cold foyer. "Kitty, my hand is out in front of me and I may touch you. Don't scream."
"Thanks for the warning." Sure enough, fingers brushed her arm a moment later. "The front door is this way. I can see a little bit of the moonlight through the window deals."
"Sidelights."
"Whatever..." The two were out on the porch a few moments later, staring at the front lawn in some amazement. It looked as if a pitched battle had occurred, the grass furrowed deeply by tire marks, scorched patches clearly evident in the night's silver light. The fountain looked as if it had several chunks out of it and even the porch itself was damages, scored by gouges and burns. "Oh, my God..."
"What happened here?" Cecilia breathed, letting go of Kitty's hand.
Kitty blinked and gasped. "The Wagners!"
"What?"
"They were in the boathouse! Oh, my God!" Kitty took off at a dead run, ignoring her headache and the sore muscles and even the urge to vomit, tripping over ruched soil and what looked like broken bits of machinery. She did not consciously register all of it as she phased through the front door of the boathouse, only stopping when the flicker of a candle caught her eye. "Astrid?"
"Ja, it's me...What's going on Kitty?" She sounded scared and as if she had been crying. "We heard terrible noises and...and..."
Kitty was panting and aching to fall down but said, "Where are the girls? Johannes?"
"The girls were still at Rogue's party, except Erika. She's upstairs with Johannes. Where's Kurt? Is he with you? Kurt? He knows I can't see him in the dark!"
"Astrid..." Kitty took a breath and tried to speak evenly. "I don't know where anyone is. I fell asleep in my room almost two hours ago and when I woke up, everyone except Doctor Reyes and myself were gone from the house. I don't know what happened out there..."
Astrid's hand was trembling so badly the candle went out. "The power went off around seven. I found a box of candles in the drawer in the kitchenette and Johannes had matches...he went up to check on Erika and I looked out the front window to see if the power was out all over or just in this little house. I saw people all over the grass, running and yelling...I saw some blur of silver go by and then..."
The front door opened and closed, admitting Cecilia who panted slightly with the effort the walk caused her and sank into one of the barely visible chairs. "The Wagners?"
"This is Kurt's family," Kitty explained.
"Hank told me that there were guests out here... I'm sorry to meet under these circumstances."
"What circumstances?" Astrid said, sounding shakier than ever. "Kitty, what's going on? There was this black car and this...this.." She made a motion with her hand, darkness moving in darkness.
"Helicopter?" Kitty suggested.
"Plane?" Cecilia put in.
"Ja, plane....why didn't that word want to come out? It was a plane but almost entirely quiet..."
Kitty felt like falling down all over again. "This isn't good," she murmured, but not quietly enough.
"Kitty, what's going on?" Astrid demanded again, this time coming forward to shake her slightly.
"I don't know!" Kitty cried somewhat sharply. "I have no idea..."
Johannes trundled down the stairs with the surefootedness of a long time high wire performer, heedless of the inherent danger of the dark. "Astrid, calm down. Shaking her won't make her remember anything."
Kitty sighed thankfully. Her head was now officially killing her. It felt as if her brain was swimming in hot water and she did not like it a bit. "I don't know...I don't know..." She was almost ashamed when she felt hot tears slide from her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Okay. First order of business. Find Logan and the Professor. They weren't here tonight so they're reachable. I can find them."
"How?" Cecilia asked dully. "The phones are out and I don't have a cell phone."
"Someone is bound to somewhere in the bedrooms or even the rec room. Rahne has one and if she changed, she would have dropped it if it was on her..." Turning to Astrid, she asked, "Did you happen to notice a large-ish dog when everyone was running around?"
"I don't know," Astrid said, crying now. "It was so fast."
"Astrid," Kitty said, feeling not brave but suddenly calm, as if she knew exactly what she was doing, "this is the sort of thing we're being trained for here, dealing with situations like this." She did not know what situation "this" was, but she thought she sounded convincing. "Kurt is fine. They're all fine. We may get beat up a little, but we don't die." _Please let me be right. _
Johannes let out a harsh breath.e doe don't have a flashlight here. Candles only."
"I'll go back to the rooms and check for a cell phone somewhere. Let me take a few candles and your matches, just in case. You all stay here..."
There was a small eruption of protest, Johannes' voice overriding them all. "You can't go by yourself!"
Kitty forced a smile, lighting the candle Astrid handed to her along with the box of matches. "I'm a big girl, Johannes. I can do this. Besides, Erika needs you here. Cecilia's still weak from her incident earlier, and Astrid is..." The usually strong woman was on the verge of panic. "Astrid is Astrid. If I'm not back in an hour, come look for me..."

Kitty felt silly wafting across the lawn with the candle lit like some Gothic heroine on the moors. Hot wax spattering the back of her hand, she blew out the taper as she started the slightly uphill slope towards the back door, noticing the glint of moonlight on metal chunks in the grass. The smell of freshly turned soil mingled with a lingering scent of exhaust and burning motor oil as she reached the brick patio. _What the Hell happened here? _ She paused, trying to reach out with her mind to Jean and the Professor but found only disconcerting silence. Fighting the urge to cry in panic, Kitty phased into the house and lit the candle anew, it's small circle of orange-yellow light illuminating only a few feet around her, just enough to make the shadows seem more menacing and the light less comforting. _Be brave, little toaster. _1 She thought that she heard someone moving ahead of her and froze, but it turned out to be only her imagination as she reached out tentatively and felt only empty air where she thought there would be a person. The journey to the rec room was slow, Kitty stopping every few feet to listen and peer, waiting for someone to leap out and declare it to be the best practical joke ever and make her nearly wet herself in fright. She actually almost hoped for it as she realized that the house reminded her of a haunted onee cre creaks and squeaks of the foundation settling and the walls groaning with the weather changes disguising disembodied voices. _Stop scaring yourself, Kitty! Better yet, tell Kurt you won't watch the Late Night Creature Feature with him anymore! _ She did not even let herself think that Kurt may very well be dead as she shone the candle in the rec room. The detritus of the party was everywhere...streamers, plates, cups, melting ice cream and the massive bowl of punch all testifying to the fact that yes, people had been here recently. Kitty swiped the nearest cup and took a drink, thankful that it was not spiked this time, before turning to head up the stairs.
The upstairs bedrooms proved bare of cell phones until she reached Lance and Todd's room. _Ugh. This is gonna be gross... _ Sure enough, dirty clothes littered Todd's side and Lance's was bare except for a half-nude poster of a blonde porn star and some papers scattered across his bed. The room smelled of a mixture of Lysol and damp, the latter of which she attributed to Todd and the odd fact his mutation made him smell slightly of water at all times. Closing her eyes, she fished through a half-open drawer and came up with her long-sought prize, an older model cell phone. Barely suppressing a whoop of joy, Kitty turned it on and sent out an immediate prayer when it worked and had a signal. She dialed the Professor's "Don't call this number unless it's dire and I mean someone dead dire" number and waited. And waited. After the tenth ring, a woman's voice answered. "Hello, Kitty...What took you so long?"
1 It's a children's thing, The Brave Little Toaster.