Fractals

Fractals Chapter Seventy One (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST WOMAN ALIVE ™, Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta…one year down… InterNutter, TC, Maxwell Pink and Dracena are loverly and wondermous for archiving/hosting. :) ProPhile: So close… Morgan: *tackleglomp * Readers/Reviewers: About three more to go… thanks for reading/reviewing as you can. Happy New Year!


Rahne was silent the entire trip back to the Institute, her mother barely a ghost in her memory. Todd tried once to speak to his friend but was met with stony silence. It was nearing dark by the time they turned up the blacktop road leading home and he could not take one more second of it. He pulled the car over to the shoulder with a lurch and a disturbing grinding noise as he put it in park and turned to Rahne. “Well are you gonna tell me what happened or am I gonna make somethin’ up to tell everyone else? Like they made you Pope or somethin’?” He smiled hopefully, trying to get some sort of reaction from her.
Rahne sighed and folded her hands in her lap, staring at her nails. “No.”
“No?” He raised his brows, making a “go on” gesture with his hands.
“Just… no.” She shifted to look him full in the face and he winced to see how hard she looked, as if she were made of rock instead of blood and bone. “Please don’t ask me again.”
Todd nodded slowly and shifted the car back into gear, ignoring the metallic grating noise and loud pop that resulted from his actions. Uneasy silence fell again as they rolled up the gates and waited for them to swing open. “Whoa…what the fuck?” Six news vans sat parked in a neat row, steam rising from their hoods in the cooling night air. “This ain’t right…”
Rahne groaned. “Today was the day. Bugger.” She fidgeted uneasily in her seat and Todd had the distinct feeling she was going to whine in a very canine fashion at any given moment. “I can’t do this… I don’t want to do this…”
Todd parked the car again, this time shutting off the engine. “I’ll turn my back, kay?” He got out of the car and made a point of turning away and staring at one of the massive old oak trees dotting the grounds.
Rahne frowned in momentary confusion, then enlightenment. Sliding out of the passenger side, she sighed. “Todd, running away isn’t going to help my problems any…”
“I know,” he shrugged, still not looking at her, “but you don’t hafta deal with all the shit at once, ya know? No one’s gonna wanta interview a big dog…” He shrugged again, shoving his hands in his pockets. “It’ll give ya some time alone to…er…deal with stuff…” He heard her crunching in the leaves and gravel of the drive and tensed momentarily. He was still uneasy about expressions of friendly affection and was debating whether or not to hug her or gently push her away to prevent his face from bursting into embarrassed flames. He was saved from either decision by the feeling of a warm, wet tongue on his hand. Rahne, or Wolfsbane now, stared up at him, her tail slowly wagging. “Dude…that takes getting used to…” He was not sure but he thought she might have smiled. “Okay… boy and his dog, act one…”

“What do you mean, you don’t know where my mother is?” Kurt snarled, grabbing Sean by the arms and shoving him against the wall.
Kitty and Jean grabbed their friend, pulling him back. Sean, anger barely in check, bit out, “I didn’t even know she was there! Cecilia said she left here with Logan after calling her to babysit! Check with Logan!”
“…who is also missing,” Jean sighed. “Damn it…” She rubbed her fingers over her temples and sighed again. “Emma and the Professor have this spin control underway… We can send someone…”
“No,” Sean snapped. “Forge is still there, still caught up in this. This isn’t done and I’m not about to send anyone else in.” He glared at Kurt. “I appreciate the fact that you’re upset but…”
“But nothing,” Paige cut him off. “Jono is gone too. Did any of you even notice?” She looked as if she had been crying, her face red and damp, her eyes shining bright. “No! You didn’t even check!” She flailed her hands as she half-spoke, half-shouted, her raised voice drawing attention from the handful of media types in the downstairs study.
Kurt growled, his holo doing nothing to hide his now-lashing tail and the flurry of blue fur shed as he moved. “Meine Mutti is missing! She’s trapped there with Magneto and Mystique and God only knows who else!” He did not react to Kitty’s tentative touch on his back but remained stiff, shaking, his breath hissing through his teeth and heart pounding so hard she worried for him as she felt it through his shirt. “I’m going back. FUCK what any of you say!”
Sean’s eyes widened at this but he did not chide him for language. “Kurt…”
“I’m going with him!” Paige spat. “No one cares about Jono but me and I’m not going to just let him be thrown away because you people…”
“Don’t finish that,” Jean hissed. “We’ll get Storm and Beast. We’re not going in there alone.” She ran her fingers through her hair agitatedly and made a soft growling noise of frustration low in her throat. “Damn it… I wish they’d hurry up… He’s got his shields up…”
“Maybe…I can help?”
All eyes turned, mostly angrily, towards the new voice. A very tall, handsome man stood in the doorway, fidgeting with his glasses. “Who are you?” Kitty demanded. “This is a private conversation…” She narrowed her eyes. “Aren’t you from the Daily Planet?” She moved protectively in front of Kurt. “Go away!”
“I’m Clark… Clark Kent. I work for them true, but…” He moved closer, smiling slightly, “I think I’d be of some help to you here.”
“I doubt it,” Sean said tensely. “Thank you all the same.”
Clark raised a brow. “You’d be surprised…”