Witches, Warlocks & Soulswords ch 2

Pete Wisdom didn't want all of Excalibur in on this one. Black Air was dangerous, and mostly he didn't want Kitty hurt. He'd left her a note, telling her that he would be back soon. He had slipped through the halls silently, undetected. He had taken every precaution. And Kitty was still waiting for him at the hangar.

"Where are we going?" she asked brightly.

"'We' aren't going anywhere. You're going back to bed and I'm going to visit some relatives."

"Liar. You really need to take some lessons on how to lie well. You're not very good at it."

Pete sighed and tried to think of a way to keep her home.

Kitty smiled. "Amanda saw you sneaking around. She told me, I came. You're not getting rid of me." She arched an eyebrow teasingly and Pete smiled.

"You're right, luv. I'm sorry. Would you mind going to get me a six pack before we go though?"

Kitty wiggled her finger. "Do you really think I'm going to fall for that, Wisdom? I hope not. I already got some." She grinned and held up the bottles.

Pete sighed. He really wasn't going to get out of this one.

***

Three hours later Pete landed the plane, Kitty at his side. He swiveled in his chair, pinning Shadowcat with a look. "Listen here, Pryde. You do what I say, stick close and don't get into any trouble. Got it?"

Kitty smiled. "Sure, Pete. Got it."

Wisdom didn't feel much better. He stared at her for just a minute more, then turned and walked out of the jet. Pushing a button he watched as the plane disappeared, the cloaking device taking over. He waited for Kitty to catch up to him, then started toward the building. The thing wasn't very large when looking at it from the outside, but Pete knew that looks could be deceiving. Most of the complex was underground. This was where they held things captive. Normally there wasn't anything worth their time, but Frost's mother was well worth the time and energy, especially if they had something they needed done.

Pete glanced at Kitty, took a deep breath, and started into the building.

***

Amanda clutched the table as the draw began. Whoever was doing it didn't have any clue as to what they did to everyone else who relied upon the field. The drawing ceased after a while and she stood back up. Taking a deep breath she looked back at the note.

Hey guys, Pete and me went to visit Black Air about Pete's fam. Later!

Kitty

Amanda picked up the paper and took it back to Kurt's room, he'd want to see this. First, Margali was found beaten, then Kitty and Pete go missing. Great. This was just great. She sighed and opened the door.

"Hey Kurt, you'll love this!"

***

Kitty phased through the door, breaking the electric lock. She smiled and opened it for Pete. After two and a half hours here, and still unable to find anything, the sight of computer consoles and screens was something wonderful. The sleeping guard lurched to his feet, trying to pull out his gun. Kitty sent one kick his way and the man lay on the floor.

"What now?" She whispered in her boyfriend's ear.

"We have to find me aunt. She's most likely being held here some place and--" He stopped suddenly, watching the output of a security camera. "Plan change. We gotta find me cousin."

Kitty gaped. On a wall in a cell, strapped to an unidentifiable contraption was a young man, chained up by hands and feet, unable to move. His body was surrounded in a yellow glow, the black marks on his face that curled from the outside corner of his eyes and down his face onto his neck pulsed red. Long black hair was wet with sweat and his breathing was labored. Hanging in front of him, surrounded in his glow as he tried to hold onto it, fading in and out of reality, sang the soulsword.

***

Kurt hurried down the hall, his fur still damp from a rushed shower. He was suddenly grateful he didn't have hair to dry off anymore.

What had those two been thinking? He wondered again. They'd left quickly, taking one of the smaller jets and leaving little but a note. He knew they were going to help Pete's family, but that was all. Knowing him they were probably all secret service agents getting shot at or something of the sort.

When he reached their version of the ready room most of the team was already assembled. He took a deep breath and smiled. "Here is what we know about Pete's family." He put a disk in the large computer and downloaded what was on it. "We don't want to really hunt Kitty and Pete down, I just want to make sure they aren't in over their heads. The fact that Pete tried to leave without Kitty says a lot about the mission. If they need our backup, we'll be there. But they're big kids and don't need us holding their hands. Now," he turned to the screen, pulling up files as he spoke. "Amanda, you called Pete's father this morning?"

She nodded. "He grumbled about being woken up and said he didn't know what family was in trouble. He hadn't heard about it. He also gave me a list of relatives, and told me which ones were most likely in trouble."

Nightcrawler nodded and took it, scanning the list. "All right then. Let's start finding out where these people are."

***

Kitty pulled herself back up as she heard two men coming around he corner. Phasing through the ceiling she shook her head at Pete. "No good. That corridor is well traveled."

He swore and puffed on his cigarette. "All right. You go down this way." He pointed to a map, outlining a path with his finger. "I'll go this way."

She nodded and phased through the wall, leaving Pete alone in the room.

He took another drag on his smoke before putting it out on the console and leaving the room. He hoped Kitty was all right. He hoped his cousin, Rick, was all right too. Not that he looked it, hanging from that bleedin' wall. He smothered a cough and snuck into the passage way. He'd sent Kitty in the safest direction, knowing that she didn't know what patrols and things were like around here. He'd worked in this complex, years ago, true, but at least he had some idea.

***

Kitty phased through a door, just enough to see what was on the other side. Three guards. She stepped through, still phased, and waved.

"Hey fellas! I seem to have lost my way. Could you tell me how to get to the little girls room?"

As one they raised guns and went to shoot, but she moved quickly and disarmed two of them before they had a chance. Last thing she needed was to raise an alarm. Watching them, she supposed that they would have been great fighters, and might've even stood a chance against her. Too bad for them she was phased.

The last guard, seeing how the battle was going, didn't bother shooting at Shadowcat. He just shot into the ceiling, making as much noise as possible.

Kitty called him a git and knocked him out as fast as she could. She phased through the next wall, and into a weapons armory. She started poking around, certain that they wouldn't find her since she'd not used a door. On racks and shelves and walls were guns of all makes and sizes, Genoshan collars, a small techno-organic rat in a container, vials of diseases, whips from the eighteenth century and many unrecognizable things. Kitty shuddered and stayed phased.

She went down, knowing the boy was below her a few floors, and found herself in a holding cell. She swore and ducked as something ugly came at her, then fell through another level and into a pool. She walked up, through several sharks and strange looking sea things, then hit the edge and climbed out. In her phased state air was too heavy to breathe, she phased through it, so she was quickly getting light headed. She *had* to unphase. As she did, sitting on the edge of the pool, the click of a gun could be heard behind her.

"Don't move."

Kitty smiled, her back to the man, and phased again. "Or what?" She asked, turning.

He pulled the trigger and she felt the shot jerk into where she was, then rip her back into a solid state. She choked on a scream and almost fell into the water, caught by someone's telekinetic field.

"Good thing we were able to track her," said a dripping female voice.

"Right. Good thing we have anti-mutant guns." There was laughter, she heard it dimly, and then silence.

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