The Flower That Blooms In Adversity (X-Men/Fantastic Four/Kurt Wagner Fanfic)

Chapter 9 - Confusion

As Darcy fell, Johnny quickly caught her and placed her gently on the ground. The others crouched next to him, frantically trying to wake her, completely at a loss to what had happened. A few moments later, a small bamf sounded from behind them, accompanied by the smell of sulfur. They all turned to look behind Ben, where the sound had come from, and saw a man standing there. After a few moments, they began to notice a few strange things about him. Blue skin, fur, and a tail to be exact, along with the fact that he had only three fingers per hand. As soon as they parted far enough for him to move through, he instantly went to Darcy's side, ignoring their confusion, and checking to be certain she was alright. Sue spoke up first, attempting to stay calm, but terrified of the man who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Who are you?" They were surprised by the German accent that came out, but then realized it had been silly to assume he was American just because they were.

"Kurt Vagner, Fraulein. Darcy called me to help get all of you home." He turned his attention back to the fallen girl, brushing her hair out of her face, shaking his head. "Oh, Darcy. Must you always be so reckless?" In one quick motion, which nearly gave Ben a heart attack, Kurt lifted Darcy easily into his arms, and spoke to the others again. "Everyone hold on, please, and I vould suggest closing your eyes. My mode of transportation tends to make people quite dizzy. Especially if any of you are prone to motion sickness." They all hesitantly did as he said, closing their eyes. But this did not prepare them for the sudden feeling of a vacuum sucking them in and then pushing them out again. They landed in the tower, and the four fell over, while Kurt placed Darcy on the couch, pulling a blanket over her small form.

"Alright, what the hell is going on? Answers, now." Ben demanded. Kurt looked at him, and the look in his eyes was less than friendly, but Ben couldn't place it.

"Zis vill be a long story. Sitting vould probably be good." Johnny sat, trusting this man already, but the other three remained standing. Kurt sighed, shaking his head, and sat beside Darcy's unconscious figure. "Your daughter is a mutant, Mr. Grimm, and a very powerful one at zat."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"She, like all mutants, has a gift. Her's is simply stronger than most and more powerful. Darcy can replicate any ozer gift or ability by simply touching ze person. Zat is vy she and Rogue are so close. Rogue has ze same ability, but her touch can paralyze anyone as soon as zey touch her skin, and can kill if contact is held for too long, hence ze gloves. Darcy is ze only one so far who can touch Rogue's bare skin wizout feeling ze consequences. She came to ze Institute about nine years ago, ten tomorrow. She finished school vith ze Professor, and teaches zose who come vith... difficult abilities to control." Ben frowned.

"Why hasn't she mentioned this before?" Kurt looked at him, reminding himself that this was Darcy's father, and holding his anger the best he could. Despite his unusual appearance, once one looked at him it was clear that Kurt was a gentle soul who was not prone to anger. So, when Johnny spotted the anger in his eyes, he instantly scooted the chair backwards and out of the way.

"I am sorry, sir, but you left her for over eleven years. You cannot expect her to tell you evryzing right avay." Ben clenched his fists tightly.

"I'm her father! She can always trust me!" Kurt replied in a calm voice, but he was anything but that inside.

"You've shown her zat she can't." Ben glared harder at him.

"Yeah? Well, this is family business, so butt out, kid." Kurt's eyes narrowed into yellow slits, as he decided to chew out the man as respectfully as he could.

    "It may be family business, sir, but you are talking to ze man who has been zere for her zis entire time. I've seen her happy, sad, angry, hurt, and betrayed. And I have watched every time she called you, and I have seen her heart break every time you didn't answer. I am sorry to tell you zis, sir, but you don't know your daughter as well as you think." Ben picked Kurt up by the front of hie shirt in anger, and the others tried to stop him. However, there was no need for them to try anything. An enormous burst of energy emanated from Darcy's motionless form, causing Ben to drop Kurt, and placing a barrier between the two as she began to move in her sleep, an expression of fear and anger mixed on her face. Then, objects around the room began to float as she tossed and turned in her sleep. Kurt attempted to reach her, but Ben blocked his way, trying to calm his daughter, or even just wake her, shaking her arm and calling her name. However, the situation seemed to grow worse as he tried, things now flying wildly around the room. Sue grabbed Ben's arms, causing his attention to turn to her as she yelled over the commotion.