AN: Meet the last chapter of the story. Yes, I have left lots a lot of things open, but use your imagination! This is your story too, people! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading my first X-Man fanfic as much as I enjoyed writing it! ^_^ Long live Kitty and Colossus fics! ^_^V

Chapter Five: Night

"Allow me to help you with that, Katya," Peter said as he took a box of cookies from her and hid them in the topmost shelf, directly at the back where only the tall could reach them. He smiled down at her, feeling his job had been well-done. "Now only we know where they are. We can eat the bag tonight when we stay up all night. Again."

She crossed her arms and pouted. "I could have done that you know. I could have floated up there," she protested, feeling like he was picking on her for being short.

Peter seemed to read her mind. He scooped her up in his arms and held her like he was going to carry her away. Which Peter often considered doing. She was just so tiny compared to him! He wanted to carry her away and. . . .

She suddenly clutched her head, tears running down her cheeks from pain. He was confused, and then he felt it too, falling to his knees. His mind felt like it was trying to explode. He couldn't seem to concentrate. There were flashes of white running across his vision.

Katherine curled up beside him, clinging to his shirt and biting her lips to keep from screaming out loud. Inside her mind, she was begging for whatever had caused this to stop. Dimly, through the screech that rang through her ears, she could hear the screams of the other students, but she could do nothing to stop it. Whatever this it was. . . .

Taking a deep breath, her choked words finally escaped her trembling mouth. "P... Peter? What's happening to us?"

He couldn't seem to understand how she was talking. He wrapped his arms around her and held her against his chest, as if she were a teddy-bear that would lessen the pain he had, or vice versa. He wanted to protect his Katya. And his Snowflake. But there was no way he would be able to get to his little sister now. He knew he wouldn't be able to get his legs to work.

"Illyana. . . ."

Kitty understood. Her fingers were shaking, the sobs coming freely. The pain intensified as she tried to concentrate on using her powers. But she didn't know why. Why?

Slowly but steadily, they began to float. They managed to raise an inch before the pain grew too intense and Katherine lost control of her powers. They crashed back to the kitchen floor. Compared to the pain in her mind, the bruises they received from landing were nothing. "I... I'm sorry. I tied. . . ."

"I know," Peter said.

Katherine pressed her lips to his, too weak make it a real kiss. "In case we don't. . . ."

His tears seemed to vanish as he opened his eyes to look at her. "I know." Peter began to pray the pain would end soon, if only if it ended in death.

Then, abruptly, it did.

They remained curled up on the floor, breathing heavily. Nothing made sense. The world was shaking around them. Colossus was the first to move, standing up on shakily legs. He had to hold himself up by leaning on the wall. His legs were so weak he could only shuffle. "We need to go check on the others."

She began to follow him. Even in her weakened state, she still had the lightness of a dancer's footsteps and that same gracefulness. Katherine moved slower than the large Russian, taking two steps for every one of his feeble ones. "What was that, Peter? Was it some type of a weapon? A... I don't know why, but I thought I heard a voice. It asked me to show myself. It called me a friend?" Kitty placed her hand on his arm to stop him. Her hazel eyes were serious, but her face made her look vulnerable. "It was a mutant, wasn't it?"

Peter's blue eyes looked sad. Had Katherine not known any better, she would have guessed his best friend had just died. He nodded. "Da, Katya. It was the Professor."

After everyone had been calmed down and had been reassured that the occurrence would not repeat, all the students headed to bed, tired by the experience. Alex and Quicksilver were so tired they had slept through the whole scenario. Peter and Katherine, who had checked on all their fellow students, were practically asleep already as they walked to their bedrooms.

"Goodnight, Katya," Peter said, shutting the door without looking behind him. As if in a trance, Katherine didn't even blink as she phased through the door, following him into his bedroom. Peter collapsed on the bed, and she followed suit, curling her body around his as she put her head on his chest.

Barely twenty minutes later, they both awoke. Peter opened his eyes first, and found Katherine still asleep beside him. She looked so innocent that way. His hand itched to paint her. Katherine Pryde was, without a doubt, his muse. And yet he thought he might still be asleep. How many times had he dreamt of cuddling with her? Of falling asleep while watching a movie with her so that he could wake up and carry her off to her bed?

Those are dangerous thoughts, Peter, a voice said in his mind.

The voice was crisp and cool. The large Russian could almost detect a layer of pain behind the voice. The owner had been hurt recently, and was tired. The Professor!

Lifting her head, Katherine knotted her eyebrows, wondering why Peter was staring ahead blandly. Then, he spoke out loud, and she knew. The students were so used to communicating out loud that even when talking with someone who was telepathic, they still used verbal communication. It was a habit many of them would have to break if they wanted to become a member of the X-Men.

Professor? Katherine thought, forcing herself not to speak with her voice. Professor, where are you?

"You are injured, tired," Peter said. She realized he was speaking out loud not out of habit, but so that she knew what was being said. His blue eyes darkened, even though the Professor would be able to see the disapproving expression. "If you are injured, you should not speak to us over a great distance. It is too much of a strain for you. You should be resting."

She elbowed him. "Professor Xavier, are the other professors there with you? Is everyone safe?"

He didn't answer at first. She knew he was contemplating. Those are questions that should be answered person to person, in a group. This information is not mine to dispense to whomsoever I please. Everybody needs to know the events that have occurred over the past few days, not just my eldest students.

No, I need your help. I need... I need your powers, Katherine. The man who led the attack against the school was Stryker. A political man. He has great influence over the President. It is time we talked to the President, Kitty.. Talked to him as mutants. But for that, we need proof. I need you to get that proof.

"M... Me?" she stuttered. Katherine felt like the most important person in the world at that moment.

Peter nodded understandingly. "You are the logical person to ask, Katya. You can walk through walls. No security system can catch you, unless someone sees you. Quick in, quick out, and what's done is done. Nobody would be the wiser to what had passed."

"But that's stealing!" she protested. "I want to become a student so that I can use my powers for good, not for stealing! I'm not a thief!"

I understand. This is a moral dilemma that only you can answer, Katherine. But know that whatever you decide to do, I will be behind you. I will support you both as a teacher and as a friend, Kitty. But please try to understand it from my side. We cannot accuse Stryker of his crimes without proof, Katherine, and we cannot leave its collection to the authorities. They have been corrupted, like the military. The proof would disappear, and people may die as a result. Kitty, Stryker kidnapped me so that he could use my powers to destroy mutants everywhere. I know you have felt the affects of my actions, and for that I apologize. You have no idea how sorry I am.

Except she did. Both she and Colossus could hear the sadness in his voice. They were his students, his hope for the future: he never wanted to cause harm to any of them. It made them realize exactly how bad things must have been for the X-Men. For the Professor's feelings to leak through his telepathy like that. . . .

Katherine sat up on the bed. She stormed to her bedroom, Peter hot on her heels. Her stride was purposeful, her brown eyes filled with only anger and determination. Sitting at her dresser, she put a hair elastic in her mouth and began to brush back her hair, pulling it in a ponytail to keep it out of her face. What do I have to do, Professor?

Images and instructions filled her mind, being drawn directly from Xavier's mind. She knew where she had to go, what she was looking for. Anything the Professor knew about the building was suddenly part of her mind, too. And she knew she couldn't do it alone.

"Not by myself," she told him. "Never by myself. I could never do it all alone, Professor! I need help." She glanced at Peter, blocking the doorway. "I need his help. We make a good time, Peter and I. I need someone to watch my back while I'm hacking into the computers, Professor. Let Peter come with me, please!"

I never said he couldn't.

Katherine could have cheered in response.

But how will you get into the building, Peter? Even I have my limits.

Peter walked closer to Katherine, giving her a gentle kiss. He hugged her as he answered the Professor. "Katherine can get me into the building, Professor. She has the ability to transport other people with her, as long as there is physical contact."

Really? This will need further developing at a later date. Now, the rules. Do not kill. Do not be seen. Do not take anything except for the needed files. Do not use your powers recklessly. And remember everything I have taught you. Now, I will let you two in on a secret. Katherine, you are still very young, and I hope I am not wrong in hoping you are mature enough for this responsibility.

Downstairs, there is a. . . .

He was offering her such a great chance that she had to be honest. "We already know, Professor. That's what the people who attacked us were after. The computer system named Cerebro. I had to float down there to escape them, and Pietro and I had to go down there to make sure there weren't anymore guards anywhere." She lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry for disobeying your orders."

Under the circumstances, child, you are forgiven a dozen times over. But I know what you don't about what's downstairs. Take the elevator. . . .

The two teenagers did as Professor Xavier had told them. They began heading to where Katherine had seen the lab, but stopped. They turned to face the wall. Buried in the cracks between the wall, and nearly invisible to the naked eye, was a tiny switch. Katherine had to flip it, because Peter's fingers were to large.

The door swung open, revealing two new suits. The larger one was made of black leather, accented by red and yellow lines. The second was also black, with accents of blue. The second one had a small mask, feminine in design.

"Not much to look at, are they?" she asked. She pulled out the smaller suit. "At least Superman had some colour in his super-hero costume. What do we get? Wannabee Batman outfits. Still... it could have been pink."

He grinned at her. "I like how our costumes get to hang beside each other. Go on, ladies first. I wanna see what you look like in fitted black leather."

"Peter Rasputin, I swear the American boys are turning your usual back-water, Russian, honest little boy personality into a pervert," she teased. She went to change, but stopped, and came back blushing.

Leaning against him, she couldn't help but smile when she looked deep into his blue eyes. "I'm just doing the now in case I don't have the courage to do it later." She kissed him gently on the lips, his mouth soft against hers. Her skin began to grow chilled as her cheeks heated up. His strong arms lifted her off the ground, pulling her close as he deepened the kiss, showing her all the emotion he had always tried to convey in his paintings.

She pulled away when she felt dizzy. Katherine took a deep breath, trying to get oxygen into her body. She kissed him again, little kisses that landed like feathers on his mouth, cheeks, and chin. "Good luck, Peter."

"The same goes to you, Katya."

Quickly changing into the outfit, the struggle she had to put up to get into the skin tight leather suit and mask was well worth it when she saw Peter's face. His jaw dropped and he stared at her from head to foot. He was completely speechless. Katherine grinned. She felt like she was drop-dead gorgeous, even though half her phase was covered. Under her mask, she blushed, and then she leapt into his arms, kissing him again. He had obviously managed to get into his suit easier than she had hers, because he was already changed. While they kissed, she phased them through the air unto the floor below them. Their teachers were going to come and pick them up in the jet.

"You look amazing!" he told her, unable to keep his eyes anywhere else but on her.

"So do you." She couldn't get over how good he looked in his uniform. His hair, if possible, was even darker than his suit. She brushed it out of the way of his eyes. His muscles showed through his outfit, and Kitty wanted nothing more than to have him wrap his large arms around her and tell her that she didn't need to break into a building.

But the choice had been hers, and now her bed was made.

The wind blew their hair on end as it began to land, eclipsing the sky with its massive shape. Peter looked at Kitty. "I have a codename already. Colossus. Professor Summers is Cyclops, Professor Munro is Storm... you should have one too. But is calling you Kitty really such a nickname, or would you prefer to be called something else?"

She thought back to the events of the past few days. She was not the same person she had been three days ago. She was no longer a kitten in many ways. She was a cat. A cat who was deeply in love, and who could turn invisible in the darkness. Katherine smiled.

"I'm Shadowcat."