Race to Save the President

by Starsinger

Nope, still don't own these characters

Flashback

Kitty just laid there, the cryo techs poked and prodded her. It reminded Logan of nothing more than watching her being measured for her coffin. The techs wore full protective gear, the virus was apparently very contagious among their people, and no one was taking any chances.

A voice suddenly broke the silence, "Is she still with us?"

"Yeah, her eyes are tracking us," the other responded. "Let's go ahead and hook up the medicine, at this point I don't think it could hurt. It might help." The first tech lifted up her head and placed another mask over her mouth and nose. It soon flooded with a brownish substance that caused another fit of hard coughing.

They turned their attention to Lockheed whose listless body hung limply in their hands. That hurt too, Logan had hoped Lockheed would stay and wait with the rest of them, but the bond between them was apparently too strong. The dragon was dying.

"God this stuff is nasty," came Kitty's faint voice. The tech holding Lockheed nodded and placed him on her lap as the other packed up their stuff. There was nothing more they could do until she died. Logan pulled up a recently vacated chair.

"Hey, I always thought you and Peter would get married."

Kitty smiled at him, "Well, I always pictured that happening a little differently." She rested her hand on Lockheed's small form. "Do me a favor."

"What, Punkin'?" he asked, a lump forming in his throat.

"Take Peter out tonight and get him drunk. So drunk, that you need a cab to get there much less coming back. Drink a round to me, I'll be watching."

"I have no doubt you will be," he whispered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Three months later he met Larissa and Lucia. Larissa wrote Peter soon after hearing of Kitty's death and suggested that they get together when she and Lucia visited Chicago. Peter immediately grasped at the idea that he still had family and arranged to have them stay nearby with Kitty's mother, Terri. Terri was delighted and played Grandmother/Babysitter to Lucia.

Logan met her when he and Kurt showed up to find Pete Wisdom trying to pummel Piotr into oblivion. He found Lucia to be a bright and charming little girl, while Larissa was charming and lovely. She even laughed when Kurt tried to be a ladies man, as usual.

Larissa was a journalist who worked with Pravda On-Line since Boris Yeltsin shut down Pravda that same year. Her main take was the tracking of mutants by the government and other organizations within Russia. Having a cousin who was a mutant was a contributing factor to this decision. Her husband died of the Legacy Virus three years ago, prompting her to keep tabs on the X-Men. Geneticists had all ready informed her that Lucia carried the X-Gene. While that did not mean she would be a mutant, it was very likely that she would.

Three weeks ago both Logan and Peter received e-mails saying that she was being followed, and believed she was in danger, and then nothing. She seemed to just drop off the face of the Earth. It took a little while, and a lot of questioning of neighbors, but Logan finally managed to track down her whereabouts to a cabin near Lake Baikal in Siberia. Larissa had been tortured by two of the same mutants responsible for the attack on Muir Island. The result was Wolverine felt no remorse when he attacked. You did not mess with family, his family.

The kidnappers and Lucia were alive, Larissa was not so lucky; her dying wish was that Piotr take care of Lucia. He called Xavier's and they came out to get them. As he relayed most of this story to those sitting around the table, he studied the little girl sitting in Kitty's lap. She told them that what she heard had been snatches. Mystique and someone else who could like anyone else, was inside the place the President lived.

"That doesn't mean they'll attack the President," Logan concluded, "but given their history, I don't think we should take any chances."

Silence descended. Wisdom spoke, "I have a friend in the Secret Service. I'll contact him and see what I can find out."

Moira spoke, "I'll watch recent footage of the President's entourage, see if I can see anything."

"I'm going to bed, and taking Lucia with me," Kitty announced, with a tired sigh. Her fatigue was evident in that she was using her chair; she rarely used that in the mansion anymore.

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Daniel Wyzchenko was not entirely sure how he got conned into this, but later that day, he found himself in Washington DC taking a tour of the White House with his "wife" Kitty and "daughter" Lucia. They were lucky it was his day off. He met up with them at the airport and they checked into their hotel room. Kitty and Lucia would share a bed while he slept in another. He even borrowed Peter's wedding band to make the look complete.

Thanks to Professor Xavier, Lucia now spoke fluent English, and the "family" set off for one of the many tours given at the White House. Kitty rode in her scooter with her metal crutches in the back, and Lucia skipped alongside the both of them. They looked nothing more than the typical American family.

"You sure they'll notice?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, I'm fairly well known as a mutant. I'm not sure if they think I'm dead or not. I saved President Kelly's life back when he was still a senator. That should count for something."

Danny's eyes darted around, taking in his surroundings as their tour guide approached their group, "Danny, relax, the biggest reason we chose you is you're a cop. You should be able to deal with anything that comes your way," he nodded, not completely reassured.

Anna, their guide, started them moving through the tour, careful to point out the access ramps so Kitty could more easily through the building. Sure enough they were approached by the Secret Service halfway through the tour, and moved to another room. "What, I can't enjoy a vacation," Kitty protested half-heartedly.

"Mrs. Rasputin, your presence is disturbing to the President and his family. You are a well known mutant…" the rest of his words were lost as memories flooded back into her mind. No one had called her by her married name before now. She wasn't even sure what it was before.

"Peter…" she whispered. Danny looked at her funny, convinced that they were in trouble. They were shown into an office where the President and several of his staff waited. President Kelly looked up and was about to say something when Kitty's bag started bucking. She grabbed it before it fell off her scooter and opened it up. Lockheed flew out of the bag and went straight at Kelly. It seemed he was about to attack the President when he started scratching and biting the secretary standing next to him. "Skrull!" Kitty shouted as the rest of the X-Men burst into the room.

"Protect the President," Scott shouted as Colossus and Wolverine move into position. Hank stood nearby, inhibitor collars in hand.

Jean and Emma moved to take the President and the rest of his entourage out of the room when Kitty went flying out of her scooter, taking out Kelly's Chief-of-Staff. Landing on top of him she banged his head into the carpet screaming, "You took away my life!" managing to stop most of the action in its tracks, as the man under her hands dissolved into Mystique's unmistakable form. "I was married; we never even had our wedding night!" Tears streamed down her face as they watched, Magneto sucker punched the assassin, taking him out in one swift move.

Kitty's sobs continued as she lifted her head and looked at Hank, "Give it to me," she demanded. He looked at her, confused, "The collar, Hank, give it to me." He handed her the collar and she snapped it around Mystique's neck. "Now, if you'd do me a favor, help me up, my legs aren't cooperating." The President reached down and scooped her off the floor, depositing her safely on the couch where Lockheed joined her.

Magneto approached Mystique, and fear entered her eyes. "You deserve nothing less than the sentence you gave, Kitty, Mystique," he whispered, using his powers to levitate her off the ground. The other mutants and Moira rushed over to try and stop him, but a voice kept him from doing so.

"Leave her to the courts, Erik," Kitty said, quietly. "I still believe in Xavier's dream, and since I am the wronged party, I want to see her in court." He let go of her as she crumpled to the ground, several Secret Service Agents took her into custody, and the assassin as well. Brand later collected him for appropriate charges in another part of the galaxy.

President Kelly seemed to mull over the mutant question in his mind when suddenly he motioned for one of his bodyguards to come over. "Bob, take Mrs. Rasputin and her husband to the Lincoln Bedroom. I believe they are in for a long overdue night together." Kitty's eyes brightened at the words and she pushed herself off the couch. She grabbed her crutches and headed out the door Peter in tow and his wedding ring in hand.

"Well," came Moira's wise words, "at least she grabbed the right Peter," setting off laughter around the room.

The President cleared his throat, "I don't know how to thank you. After everything that's happened, I'm surprised that you would do this."

"They didn't do it for you," the voice came from Danny, trying to hold onto Lucia with one hand. "They did it for a future that they hope would come true. To be honest, Mr. President, so do I. These are good, honest people, just trying to make their way in life. I could do worse than to have more friends like them." Moira nodded in agreement.

He sat down on the couch, "Then let's talk."

"First thing's first," said the Brit in the group. He knelt in front of a young woman in the room. "Callie Wyzchenko, will you marry me?"

She stared at him in stunned silence. Finally, Danny came over and nudged her, "Well, say something, or he's going to think you don't like him anymore."

"Yes, Pete Wisdom, I'll marry you," she whispered, tears in her eyes. He pulled out the ring and slipped it on her finger and they kissed.

"Well, I think this calls for a celebration," proclaimed the President.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The door closed behind them as Kitty maneuvered to the bed, "You'll have to be a little patient with me, and my legs are giving out."

He approached her hesitantly, almost afraid to touch her, "Katya, are you sure…"

She looked up at him, "Peter, I remember begging you not to ask me to marry you that you'd widowed in a matter of hours but you persisted. You loved me, and I, I still love you. I have never been more sure of anything in my entire life." He gathered her in his arms, giving her a long, passionate kiss. Words were soon superfluous in the moment.

"Well," he finally said as he broke the kiss, "as long as you're sure." Her reply was a throaty chuckle as they tumbled into bed.

First off, this isn't the last chapter; I promised everybody a happy ending, so let's get Pete and Callie married and all four of them off on their respective honeymoons. I'm sure there'll be plenty of volunteers to look after Lucia while they're gone. Oh, Madripoor Rose, I have a confession to make, I borrowed Larissa from your story Bloodline: Soul Survivor. Hope you don't mind. I'll be giving credit to reviewers in the next chapter, so get your licks in now!