Kitty Pryde is resting at Summers Cove, trying to recover from her injuries, more or less guarded by Lockheed, Gambit and ‘Ro. Kitty catches herself thinking in Japanese, as she is more and doing lately. It seems to become her natural language like intangibility has become the normal state of her body. At least that’s what she believed until the fight at Summers Cove. Those wounds were a nasty shock.
Suddenly, a splatter of blood falls on her face. Surprised, she opens her eyes to see Lockheed and ‘Ro slain by claws, Gambit is next in front of her eyes. The Wolverine clone has found her and threatens her. Before he is upon her, Kitty phases through the bed and the floor. Downstairs she finds the Starjammers crew, as well as Jean Grey, dead.
Wolverine has caught up and slashes her back. He suggests she see them as showing her the way. She slashes back with the natural claws she’s developed on her left hand as well as the Adamantium claw on her right. She keeps cutting, figuring to do so until there is nothing left to heal.
Someone cheers her on. She turns around to see an evil and completely feral version of herself that she might develop into. She refuses to believe this is the shape of what she’ll become. That’s not her and yet-- She loses consciousness, muttering that Logan was her friend. What has he done to her.
end of the dream
Kitty wakes up with a scream. Gambit rushes to her side. She babbles everything seemed so real. He comforts her that the nightmare is over and they are all safe. If he says, so, she sighs, knowing it isn’t true.
At Xavier’s, Rogue and Nightcrawler are practicing in the Danger Room. As Rogue gets Kurt out of a deathtrap, Mystique warns them they cannot rely anymore on their former abilities. Kurt swings to safety and tells his mother (now sporting a new black and gold costume) she needn’t remind him of his new capabilities. She notices something is bothering him. He tells her she has made her peace with Rogue, but his questions remain unanswered. Rogue too insists she trust them. Surely Alaska showed them, Mystique begins that she has moved beyond empty promises and gestures. Not nearly enough, Kurt replies, but it’s a start.
She thinks to herself that she kept her secrets for the same reason she joined the X-Men, to keep her son safe! Is Destiny laughing at her, at how her past mistakes have come to haunt her? Irene warned her this day would come, but never gave her a hint how it would end. She told herself she stayed clear of Kurt all his life to keep him safe. Now everything’s changed, he and Rogue are both at risk. Whatever the cost, she has to find a way to save them.
Back at Summers Cove, Kitty makes use of houseguest Robyn Hanover, who happens to be a psychiatrist, to talk about her problems. Kitty tells Robyn she faced scarier guys. How many left scars? Robyn asks. Sikorsky agrees that the fight was recent, yet Kitty’s wounds have healed substantially. Robyn warns her that her mind works at a different pace, perhaps the way to deal with her memories is by going to where it all started. She needs closure. Then she can feel safe again.
Until another clone shows up, Kitty silently figures. She can feel Jean’s eyes on her. Can she read her thoughts or just her body language? Kitty heads outside the house where Jean is waiting for her. Kitty assures her she is okay. As much as any of them, Jean replies. Has she done something wrong? Is she angry? Kitty asks. Of course not, the other woman assures her. She’s just concerned. Kitty has taken some hard hits. She wants to help. “Trust me, red, when I need it, I’ll yell.” That’s what Logan used to say, and the way he used to say it, Jean muses.
Terrific, Kitty thinks as she steps into the forest. Not only is she thinking like Logan she is stealing his lines. Her life just gets better and better. Except she’s not really sure its hers anymore.
Gambit looks after her, concerned, while ‘Ro is playing tag with Nate. For the next round, she figures, she knows the perfect place to hide.
As she makes her way through the wood, Kitty recalls the first time they met and fought the Marauders. She was nearly killed by Harpoon. This is twice now that Sinister’s goons left their mark on her. She doesn’t want there to be a third.
She kneels down, finding some bone claws. Here’s where the Wolverine clone tagged her and where Remy killed him. Sabes shattered his one set of claws… What happened to the body? She takes a look around and senses a faint blood trail. No surprise. Logan’s survived near death wounds. Why not his evil twin?
She hears something and unsheathes her claw. Someone downwind. She jumps at the stranger to find Gambit! He rolls with her attack and suddenly she is under him. He orders her t get a hold of herself before someone gets hurt. She babbles she thought he was. She was afraid. He assures her she’s safe.
She cradles his head closer only wanting to follow her instincts but he gently rebuffs her. Don’t they both want this? she asks surprised. He asks if she is the person making that choice. There is a lot of confusion in her head. She’s just a kid and this is the kind of choice you can’t call back if you realize later you made a mistake. Is she ready to trust her instincts, body and soul? She runs away ashamed, feeling he is right.
Back at the X-Mansion, Scott is playing a round of basketball with Daisy Dugan. Scott wonders why there is no news from Alaska yet. She tells him no news is good news and to get his head in the game before she knocks it off. Not sure he likes how her new pal, Sabretooth, is rubbing off on her… She shoves him aside before he can score a goal, reminding him she was one of Fury’s best soldiers long before she met Victor.
Scott falls and Daisy apologizes. Except the fall knocked something loose like old memories, and Scott suddenly realizes he knows Robyn Hanover from when he was a kid at the orphanage. If that’s really her that can’t just be a coincidence, can it?
Meanwhile, in Alaska aboard the Starjammer, Kitty works the computers. Having slipped back into Japanese, she wonders whether she will ever be free of the nightmares. She tracked Wolverine to Anchorage but lost him down on the docks. She figures he’s slipped on a boat. And soon after she monitors reports of a missing fishing boat that shows up abandoned off the coast of Japan. With a sense of where to look she uses the Starjammer’s scanners to register Wolverine’s genetic signature and gets a solid trace.
She wonders why he is there. Does he know about Mariko? She’s Kitty’s friend as well as Logan’s She owes her a lot. She won’t let him hurt her! However, Mariko doesn’t take her calls. Kitty wonders if she is furious with the X-Men for what happened between Logan and Jean.
She wants to enter the Skimmer when Nate runs into her. He asks if she knows where Lockheed and ’Ro are. Hasn’t seen them, Kitty apologizes and tells him he hasn’t seen her either, okay? She’s slipping out to check on a friend. It’s a grown up thing, she will be back soon. Nate offers to come along. She thanks him, but his dad and Granddad would kill her. As she starts the Skimmer Nate sees ‘Ro and Lockheed inside at one of the windows. ‘Ro makes a shush sign.
Soon the others wonder where Kitty is. Jean can’t get a lock on her telepathically and asks Dr. Hanover. Robyn explains that Kitty has been dealing with posttraumatic stress, but never said anything about running off. She hasn’t any clues.
Jean thinks to herself she wouldn’t be able to tell. Robyn has strong mental barriers for a regular psychiatrist.
Gambit points out that he hasn’t seen ’Ro or Lockheed since before supper. Kitty can handle herself but if anything happens to ‘Ro that’s on his shoulders.
Jean addresses Nate. She saw him playing with ‘Ro earlier. Does he know where she went? Nate hesitates. Kitty made him promise. Jean and Gambit urge him; it’s important!
Kitty lands the cloaked Skimmer atop a building in the estate of Clan Yashida. Kitty plans to warn Mariko, then look for clone Wolverine. However, she notices a familiar scent aboard the Skimmer. She finds ‘Ro and Lockheed and asks for an explanation. ‘Ro tells her she was playing with Nate; she didn’t know Kitty would steal the Skimmer. Then they decided to come with her to cover her back.
She seems properly apologetic and Kitty recalls how many times she was in exactly the same situation as ‘Ro.
She phases them outside and explains where they are, then orders ‘Ro to follow her lead and do as she told. Yashida is a friend, right? ‘Ro asks. Kitty hopes so. Mariko and Logan were in love, almost got married. She doesn’t know how she feels abut the bond between him and Jean. But if Wolvie is after Mariko she has to be warned.
‘Ro asks what kind of room they are in. Household temple, Kitty explains, it’s where you keep representations of those you cherish. She spent a lot of time in a place like this. She takes up the sliced picture of Logan. She’d been possessed by Logan’s old teacher Ogun. He tried to make her a master assassin. Logan helped her find her way back. And now he is as much part of her soul as Ogun. She’ll likely never be free of either of them. Question is who’s the dominant ghost in here? And when the karmic dust finally settles, will there be any room left for her?
Kitty hears footsteps and voices. She orders ‘Ro to stay close and quiet as they eavesdrop. She spies the meeting outside between Kenuchio Harada aka the Silver Samurai, Mariko’s half-brother and Matsu’o Tsuaraba, a premier Oyabun of the Hand. If these guys are friends, as Kitty just witnesses by their discussion, the X-Men are in big trouble…
