Kitty groaned, flopping back on the large couch. She and Elizabeth had each taken their turns with the shower and were joining Rogue out in the living room. "I notice Kitty isn't hurting you so bad," Rogue chuckled at Elizabeth. Elizabeth chuckled, reaching over to rub at her shoulder. "Appearances can be deceiving," she answered her dryly. "I could always start holding back," Kitty said with a impish smile. Rogue and Elizabeth exchanged glances. "Not likely!" they both said together in a singsong tone of voice. Kitty stuck her tongue out at them. "So how are the challenges going?" Elizabeth asked Kitty curiously. Rogue smirked, and Kitty groaned loudly. "You wouldn't believe all the lame-ass fighters that are coming out of the woodwork," Kitty growled. "I mean, even Toad showed up! Toad!" she grumbled, throwing her hands up. "Tell her about Razorfist," Rogue chuckled. "Razorfist?" Elizabeth echoed disbelievingly. "As in..." "Yes," Kitty sighed, "this guy actually cut his hands off years back and then attached blades to the stumps to make himself a better fighter." "But wouldn't that make him a worse fighter?" Elizabeth said faintly. "Apparently nobody told him that," Kitty sighed. "So I'm walking with Rogue back from going shopping and he leaps at me out from the shrubbery. He's wearing what he thinks is a ninja style outfit, but it's all made out of leather," she said with a odd little smile. Rogue laughed loudly as she jumped in, "The leather was so stiff he looked like he was getting a wedgie!" "So I'm standing there doing my best not to laugh out loud at him as he gives me the usual 'I will defeat you and become the best there is' speech," Kitty said with a grin, "then he pops these fake hands off and charges right at me! I just sidestepped his charge, chopped him on the neck, and he went out like a light." "So we roll him over," Rogue smirked, "and it turns out he fell on one of his own blades. I'm just glad he didn't puncture anything important. So after calling an ambulance we're bandaging him, and he wakes up and sees the wound." "He asked me if I had claws too," Kitty sighed. "I wonder if that story will start spreading," Elizabeth laughed. "Don't even think that," Kitty said crabbily. Bishop opened the front door and came in, carrying a large sheaf of computer printouts with him. "A not-so-little gift to you from the police department," he said, dropping them on the coffee table by where Kitty sat. "What are they?" a wide eyed Rogue asked as Kitty began flipping through the sheets. "Arrivals of various underworld martial artists in Australia for the last week," Bishop answered, giving Kitty a sympathetic glance. Kitty buried her face in her hands with a loud groan. Ororo walked down the street, talking to herself. Or at least, that's what it looked like to the passerby, as she and Jean Grey had a long- distance telepathic conversation. The team telepath of the X-men, Jean had left the group around when Ororo had first joined, but over time they had developed quite the strong bond. The redhead's form shimmered a bit, but other than that she looked perfectly normal. "You and Mystique?!" Jean said with a grin. Ororo blushed, "I thought we arranged this to talk about business." Jean pouted. "You just don't want to talk about it," she pointed out wisely. Much more seriously, "We've got a handle on things in the mansion so far." "And this Cassandra?" Ororo asked her, referring to a mysterious new foe who had recently begun to trouble the X-Men. A immensely powerful telepath, she seemed to have haunted Prof. Xavier for years, a shadowy adversary who had only recently emerged into the light. "A serious problem," Jean admitted. "Posing as the Prof. she's outed the mansion," she confided to her quietly. Ororo's eyes widened slightly. "Do you want us to lend a hand?" she asked, already considering who to send and how. "No!" Jean exclaimed. "Cassandra has some very odd abilities," Jean continued, "I want to keep at least some of our people in reserve, untouched by her." "Kitty and Rogue," Ororo noted, "Rogue is naturally resistant to psionics, and Kitty is quite adept at handling psychic intrusion." "Their both first for any rescue team," Jean quietly agreed, "but not unless it's absolutely necessary. And you don't need to tell me about Kitty's psionic talents," Jean grinned sheepishly, "I've experienced them myself." "Oh, really?" Ororo raised her eye brows. "Not long after I re-joined the X-Men, I started to worry that 'Ogun's mind might be hiding within Kitty, like some kind of psychic landmine. Without her permission, I went into Kitty's head to try and check," Jean admitted to her ruefully. "Kitty may admire you, but I rather doubt that she let that intrusion go unpunished," a smiling Ororo noted. "That's something of an understatement," Jean agreed. "I had thought I slipped in unnoticed, but in a matter of seconds I found myself trapped, a demon masked ninja standing right in front of me!" Jean shook her head, "Kitty took the mask off and untied me, then she asked me what I was doing in her head." "And then she kicked you out?" Ororo asked. "No, then she opened her defenses and let me scan to my heart's content," Jean laughed, "But not until she gave me a lecture about asking before going into someone's mind." "I can easily imagine that little conversation," Ororo softly laughed. She gave her a curious glance, "So what did you find?" "Anything that was left of 'Ogun's personality in Kitty's head was completely under her control," Jean shrugged. "Including his psionic gifts?" Ororo asked, looking rather startled at that idea. Jean smiled, "If so, she doesn't choose to use them." The two walked along silently for a few moments, "So what's going on between you and Mystique?" "You aren't going to let that go, are you?" Ororo said ruefully. "Yes, I'm seeing her," she said softly, "but I'm not certain where this is going." "She's an honorable woman," Jean noted, "but not above using deceptions for her own reasons. Watch yourself, please." "I think she's being honest," Ororo answered, "and Rogue agrees." "I hope so," Jean answered, "for your sake." She paused, then hesitantly asked, "Do you ever regret breaking it off, between us?" "Occasionally," Ororo admitted quietly, "but I promised myself that I'd respect the vows you and Scott exchanged." "Me, too," Jean answered. She smiled, "But now that you're taken, I find myself tempted once again." "I am not taken," Ororo answered with as much dignity as possible. "Don't bet on it," Jean grinned. "It's getting a bit late over here," she sighed, "and Scott will be back soon. I'll contact you again, as soon as I'm able." "See you soon," Ororo wished her as the slowly fading Jean waved farewell. Heather paced the apartment, talking to her brother on the cellphone. "And then my powers yanked me right into her mind!" The athletic blonde paused, heard his reply, and scowled. "No, I did not check to see if she was really interested in me while I was in there! I was a bit too busy making sure I saved her life," she growled. The doorbell rang, and Heather turned to answer it. "Obviously, I know where your mind is, Davis. Right in the gutter. I'll see you when you get home," she finished, closing the phone with a snap. She pulled the door open, and stopped. Sage stood there out in the hallway and gave her a little smile. The dark hared, pale woman looked rather nervous, her eyes completely hidden behind her shades. "Did I come at a bad time?" she asked Heather quietly. "No, no," Heather fumbled, stepping aside, "come on in." She frowned slightly, "How did you know where I live?" "You're listed in the phone book," Sage answered her quietly. Then she softly said, "I wanted to thank you." "I thought you did," Heather blinked. She was obviously a bit thrown off by Sage being in her apartment. "Sit down, please. Would you like something to drink, I have soft drinks or spirits" Heather decided to fall back on her hostess duties. "Yes, please, a soda would be nice" Sage smiled gently as she sank down into the soft couch. Heather opened up the refrigerator and took two cans out, carrying them back into the living room in front of her. Sage sat on the end of the couch, looking around nervously. Heather put the can down on the coffee-table in front of the couch, then decided to give Sage a bit of room. She settled on the other end of the couch, "It's all right, Sage. I won't bite." Sage picked up the can, cradling it in her hands. Her glasses slid down a bit, revealing troubled eyes. She looked over at Heather, "Do you know the risks you were running? If Lady Mastermind had won, you'd have died, too!" "But she didn't" Heather smiled, "and you're all right. That's the important thing." Sage looked clearly startled by that answer.
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