Fractals

Fractals Sixty Eight (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST WOMAN ALIVE ™, Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta… How was the marathon-o-movies? *G* InterNutter, TC, Maxwell Pink and Dracena are loverly and wondermous for archiving/hosting. :) ProPhile: Catch up yet? Morgan: *tackleglomp * Readers/Reviewers: Gack. I’m slow this week. Sorry. About four chapters left… *glomp *

Astrid could barely breathe. She was scared, she admitted to herself, but more than that, she was furious. She decided, as she fiddled with the antique lock on the inside of the door, she would kill Logan slowly, starting with knives, moving up to heavy artillery. The ruckus outside had stopped and a strange, stiff silence had fallen. She swore to God and her ancestors that, if Kurt had so much as a split end on his fur that had not been there before, she would gut every last person responsible with her bare hands. The door swung open with a faint squeak of protest and Astrid inhaled sharply. Burning fabric and wood stained the air with a smoky scent and a fine white dust was settling over everything, even down the side hall where Logan had seconded her. She steeled her nerves, shoving her hair behind her ears, and stepped out into the hall. She took a breath and strode towards the ball room. She had the briefest glimpse of it before Logan had shoved her into the narrow room masquerading as a study and it had not been pretty. Chaos had already begun and was spreading through the people in the ballroom like a disease, growing worse with each transmission. Now, it was silent and that scared her more than anything. People were not silent if they were alright. People were quiet if they were gravely injured, if they were dead…
“Mutti!”
Astrid nearly screamed as Kurt dropped down in front of her. His eyes shone brightly in the dark hall. He was nearly invisible save for the orbs peering at her. “Don’t scare your mother like that!”
“What are you doing out here?” he hissed, pushing her back towards the room. “It’s too dangerous…”
“Kurt,” she replied sternly, quietly, “I am your mother. Do not order me around.” A soft cracking noise sounded behind them in the ball room and she pressed a finger over her lips, indicating silence. Kurt narrowed his eyes and held his hand up, stopping her. “Kurt,” she said softly. “If you do not move, I will ground you.”
Kurt blinked and stepped back automatically, just enough to give his mother an opening before he realized he was reacting on instinct. He closed his eyes and growled at himself, darting after her, catching up to her as she reached the ballroom proper. “Mutti, wait back here…”
“What…what happened?” She stopped, her knees going a shade weaker than was healthy. “Kurti, what is all this?”
He sighed. “I don’t have time to explain, mutti… Just please…PLEASE…stay hidden…” He shoved her gently back down the hall but paused. “Or…not.” He grabbed her by the elbow and in a blink he had them both across the ballroom, behind an overturned table. Voices rose from the direction they had just come from, moving closer.
Astrid winced. “Warn me, please,” she breathed. “Ugh…” She tried to shake off the wave of disorienting nausea but found it only growing worse as Kurt tensed beside her, obviously agitated. “What is it?” she hissed.
“Magneto…” He licked his lips, his fangs bright, sharp pointes against his red tongue. “I’m going to kill him.” He slid down next to his mother and sighed. “The others… they’re below us. He had something… some way of blocking them, even without the collars… I don’t know… he didn’t see me…” He was shaking slightly, his eyes watering. “At least, I think he blocked them…” He could not think of any other way to explain it. He had seen the door fall away and his friends revealed to the reporters. He had seen Wanda unleash her fury on her father, the horrible burning spreading from seemingly within the walls… Tabby had taken out at least three people and he was not sure if they had survived the blows from her explosions or if they were just rendered unconscious… It had been a hideous blur, things happening so fast he did not even have time to do more than be seen by a handful of people with cameras and watch as Professor Xavier was dragged, apparently knocked out himself, by Scott into the corridor off the ballroom opposite him. Magneto stopped talking for a moment and whoever was with him made a hmmming noise in response.
“Just a moment, Nathaniel…”
Kurt’s eyes went wide as he stared at his mother. Teleporting would be a dead give away but if he did not… The table spun away from them, crashing against a near wall, exposing them to their ersatz host’s amused gaze. Astrid was on her feet, fists clenched at her side in an instant. “Guten Tag, Magneto,” she purred, her right fist a blur as it came into contact with the old man’s nose. Blood spurted red and rich across her sleeve and his shirt front.
He hissed, his fingers splaying across the bleeding orifice, holding up his other hand to stop Nathaniel from approaching. “You’re just in time to join the party,” he purred sweetly. “The others are awaiting your arrival, I’m sure…” He grabbed Astrid’s arm, pulling her flush against his chest. “You can try and teleport us both, Kurt, but I doubt your system will allow it. I know you’re weak…you need sustenance and rest. You can have both, if you would join your friends. They’re in a lovely little meeting space downstairs. Most of the media is there. Mystique is moderating. It’s going quite well. I’m afraid I’ll have to bill Charles for the damages here though…” He sighed and grinned through bloody fingers. “I’m sure he’ll comply. He is nothing if not compliant these days…”
Astrid twisted in his grasp, stomping her full weight down on his foot and spitting at him at once. “You are scum,” she growled. “A bully!”
“And you, my dear,” he growled, “are less than charming.” He shook her once, hard, before turning his attentions back to Kurt. “You have a choice. Go now, take her with you and never come back. Or go downstairs and…assist your friends with their first foray into the public eye.”
Kurt bared his teeth. “Bastard.”
“Mmmm… no, I know who my real parents are, Kurt…” Magneto’s edged smile cut Astrid to the quick. “Nathaniel, get him cleaned up and take him to join the others. Astrid and I have some talking to do…”

A/N Next chapter… WTF? *ahem * Things will be explained., the press conference will occur and Remy shows up… and just where *is* Jubilee?