The Alley was a massive tunnel buried far beneath Manhattan, created during the cold war terror as a refuge for humanity. Instead it was abandoned, until it was discovered and used by the outcasts of our society. Now, it was choked with smoke, and filled with the anguished cries of the many wounded and the dying. The Morlocks, a small band of outcast mutants, had lived here in peace until just a few hours ago. Then, the assassins known only as the Marauders came. A group of ruthless killers, they had slain the men, women and innocent children of the Morlocks without any hesitation or signs of mercy. Until the X-men arrived to try and stop them. Shadowcat frowned to herself, pushing her long brown hair out of her eyes. Her dark blue costume helped conceal her in the corner shadows, giving her a much-needed moment to catch her breath. Things were not going well for the X-Men, not well at all. These guys were very, very good, and her friends were just barely managing to hold their own. She saw Rogue stagger, falling to her knees, from what she couldn't see. The Marauder who called himself Harpoon saw his chance, raising his namesake weapon to toss at her. Once it left his hands it would become a bolt of pure energy, 'Enough energy to kill the X-man, surely.' he thought to himself with a sinister smile. He drew his arm back, and threw it with all the force he could muster. Kitty saw it coming and did the only thing she could think of to do. She grabbed Rogue from behind, phasing them both in the desperate hope that the energy bolt would pass right through them both harmlessly. It didn't. Kitty's scream of pain echoed off the walls of the Alley, chilling the hearts of all the X-Men who were present. A few days later, Rogue leaned against the life support capsule that Kitty floated in, her black bodysuit stained and dirty, the outfit she wore over it just tossed on hurriedly. She reached up, wiping at her eyes as secretively as possible. She hoped no one had see her crying, she didn't want to loose the tough girl reputation she had earned. 'I let my guard down,' she thought to herself fiercely, 'and she paid the price.' At first, it had just seemed that the energy bolt only trapped Kitty in her phased state, but that was only the beginning. She was growing more and more out of phase, to the point where her body would eventually loose it's ability to hold itself together. She would die as her component atoms scattered to the four winds. "Why, Pryde?" Rogue whispered softly. "Why did you go and do that for someone you still just barely know?" she finished. She remembered how rough her arrival to the X-men had been, with Kitty one of the few neutral members. She waited to see what Rogue would do, which to the desperate young woman had felt like a gift from the gods. She turned her head and started in surprise. Kitty was kneeling down in the capsule so that she was crouched down right there beside her. Kitty smiled gently at Rogue, and her mouth formed the words carefully, exaggerating them so Rogue might understand. 'I'm just glad Mystique taught me to lip read,' a teary eyed Rogue thought to herself. "You're my friend," the nearly silent Kitty said to Rogue simply. Rogue smiled a bit as she remembered that moment, a hale and healthy Kitty Pryde walking by her side down this crowded street in Germany. Kitty had eventually been cured by the unlikely alliance of Dr. Doom and Reed Richards, but her long period of recovery had separated her from Rogue's team of X-men. It was only in the last few months that they had both actually been on the same X-team, together again. They were in this unlikely place because of a urgent message from Mystique that she was in some kind of trouble. Rogue and Nightcrawler felt an obligation to go, as she was, in a way, both of their mothers. But Rogue felt a great deal of relief having Kitty along with them as well. A feeling she didn't let herself examine too closely. "Thanks for taking me with you," Kitty said with a cheery smile. "Visiting foreign lands, seeing the tourist spots, and the opportunity to get away from the weirdness back at the mansion for awhile is great." "Not a problem, Pryde. I'm just glad you're willing to help me and Kurt deal with our little family problem," Rogue answered her honestly. 'And it's always nice to be with you,' she added to herself silently. "It may not be so little," Kitty cautioned her with a shrug. She then looked towards Rogue thoughtfully, "I know this is really personal for you and Kurt. I was wondering why you agreed to let me come along?" Rogue looked a bit surprised at that, a bit at a loss for words. Finally, she unconsciously echoed the words Kitty had used with her so long ago, "Because you're my friend." But somehow, those words didn't seem to be quite enough...
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