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Ororo quickly finished brushing her teeth and threw some water on her tired face. No word yet from Logan, Hank, and Peter. Not that she really should expect any- it had hardly been twelve hours since they left this morning. Even though she knew she shouldn’t, Storm knew she’d stay up for hours waiting on them.

At least she had something productive to do. Storm had been pondering over the kiss she had shared with Logan and the one he had secretly given her before he left to find Malaka. To be honest, she couldn’t believe he really could possibly lover her. There were only two things that were certain: she was madly in love with him and he was a fabulous kisser. The last thought made her smile to herself.

Storm heard her door creep open and she let out a deep sigh. Someone must have had a nightmare. Slipping a bath robe over her nightdress, she headed toward the bathroom door. To her surprise, her nighttime guest had already made it there.

“Excuse me, Ms. Monroe, but I have something to speak to you about.” Kuhio stood tall in the doorway to her bathroom.

“Kuhio, I didn’t…what are…what is it you need,” she stammered in shock.

“Sorry about the time, but I couldn’t have anyone overhearing.” He pulled the door shut and to Storm’s horror, twisted the lock. “I want to tell you a story.”

“Wouldn’t you feel more comfortable moving into my room,” suggested Ororo. The only exit of the small bathroom was through the door he had just locked.

“Surely this isn’t causing the claustrophobia to set is,” he smirked. Or at least tried. His damaged face only proceeded to make him look in pain.

“How do you know about that?” asked Storm suspiciously.

“Its all part of the story,” Kuhio said calmly. “Once upon a time, there was a handsome man who lived in Cairo. He had a beautiful face and all of the women wanted and loved him. There was only one thing that this man truly desired- a child. A beautiful, powerful son. You see, this man was a mutant and he wanted to marry another powerful mutant who could give him mutant children.”

“Kuhio, I have no idea where this is going…” whispered Storm, her heart pounding in her chest. Kuhio continued as if she hadn’t spoken.

“One dark and stormy night, fate interfered. The rain brought him a white haired wonder. Not only was she a pure child, she was a mutant.” Ororo’s breath caught in her throat. “He wanted to lover her forever, but the little bitch had other ideas.”

“Oh, goddess.” She took a step back, only to find herself up against the sink.

“She used her powers to smite him. Her lightning burned the beautiful man’s face and ruined the rest of his life,” snarled Kuhio, taking a step towards her. “No one will look at me or touch me because of how ugly I am. People laugh and point at me on the street.” He closed the distance between them.

“Get away from me,” gasped Ororo, drawing herself into a fighting stance.

“But I told poor little Malaka how you sold him to me. I became his confidant and he told me all about you. Your likes and dislikes; all of your fears. Are you still scared, Ororo?”

“You lying bastard.” He reached out to touch her face, but she caught his hand, twisting it so she could shove him into the mirror. It shattered all over the floor.

“This is a small room and all your nightmares are closing in on you.” He plucked a piece of glass out of his hand. She still could not make it to the door. “Because you lose control when you are boxed in- sometimes your powers even fail you, don’t they?”

“Your mind games won’t work on me,” she spat back, trying to calm herself down. He was right- the bathroom was small.

She made a sudden break for the door, only to have her own arm twisted back. Falling to the ground, Ororo heard her arm snap and felt an electrifying pain shoot through her body. The scream that escaped her lips was muffled by his attempt to climb on top of her to hold her down. However, a large gust of wind blew him back. Storm scrambled for the lock, but just as she touched it, his large arm encircled her neck.

She elbowed him in the groin, but all that accomplished was to send them both spiraling down into the bath tub. Clearly Kuhio had been taught how to fight on the streets, but he had forgotten so had she. She arched her back quickly, slamming her head into his chin and was met with a satisfying crunch. He yelped, blood spraying all over the two of them.

Ororo tried to get up, but the only thing within reach was the shower curtain and it came tumbling down on top of them. In confusion, Kuhio rolled on top of her, but this time she was ready- kicking out, she nailed his kneecap. Another scream came from the grown man as his knee shattered. Never-the-less, his hand found it way to her throat and it was then she noticed the tight quarters. The bath was narrow with both of them in it and the curtain covered the top, incasing her completely.

“Feeling it now, bitch?” Kuhio spoke in Swahili and tightened his hold on her neck. This caused her to gasp even more with the air around them seeming to tighten. Ororo could hear the winds howling around the mansion, clanging against the walls to get to her; the thunder echoed loudly with her heartbeat and she knew that meant the lightning was close. “Losing control?”

“Never.” Swahili was foreign on her tongue, but she still remembered parts of the language. “If we were anywhere else, you would be dead.”

“You won’t release the weather on me?” Ororo shook her head. She couldn’t; not with the children still around. They had to be scared and some of the younger ones needed her comfort. If she brought on the lightning now, it could damage the school, because her powers were barely in her hands. She could kill not only herself, but anyone unlucky enough to be in the way.

She couldn’t speak, but she closed her eyes, not allowing Kuhio to get satisfaction in her tears. Slowly she began to let go of the weather- something Charles had taught her the very first time she had lost control due to her claustrophobia years ago. It didn't matter now if she lived or died; Ororo was beyond that point. All she could think about was those children downstairs, the ones she might hurt if she let her fears get the best of her.

"That's right...give up," slurred Kuhio. He could hardly move, not just because of the tight space, but Ororo had hit her mark with that latest kick. His knee was on fire and he knew something had broken. Kuhio pulled the shower curtain tighter around them; the only way he was going to win this fight was if she lost it completely.

"No...please no..." Ororo tried to fight off all the memories, all the pain of her past. It was overwhelming: the small space took her back to the day her parents died and in the back of her mind she could still hear her mother's cries; his body pressed against hers was too familiar to the end of her childhood.

"Storm?!" came a loud voice from her bedroom. As much as she wanted to, she could not scream or call out for help. Everything was getting darker- he was slowly cutting off her air supply. "We're coming in! Bobby break the door!"

"Kitty! I'm not going to break down her door!" Bobby argued, clearly in a panic.

"Just do it, Bobby," came Rogue's unusually stressed voice. "Go ahead Kitty."

Apparently Kitty morphed through the door because in the next second, Storm heard her cry out. The young girl dove into the bathtub, pulling Ororo through to the next floor down. They gently landed on the floor with Ororo gasping for air and silent tears streaking her bloody face.

"Storm?" Kitty asked quietly. The woman in question pulled her knees up to her chest clutching her broken arm. Everything hurt: her arm, head, face, hands, legs. "What happened?" All she got in reply was a shake of white hair. She let her sit quietly for another moment.

"I...goddess..." choked Ororo.

"I'm gonna go help the others." Kitty stood up and was about to leave, when Storm cried out.

"No, wait, I can't be alone." The girl nodded, kneeling down once again at the shaking woman's side.

"Ok...I'm here." Kitty seemed unsure of what to do. Usually it was Storm who was the comfort and loving speaker.

"I need..." She closed her eyes tightly, trying to concentrate on what she wanted to say. Her thoughts were whirling and she seemed disconnected from her body. "Logan...call Logan...tell him to-"

"They called just before we noticed something was wrong. They found Malaka and told us to go check on you. That's when the storm came and we knew that like something had happened to you." Kitty rubbed small circles on her leader's back. "They're coming home."

"I need him home, Kitty."

"I know, trust me, I know." Storm took a shaking breath before blacking out completely.





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