FIRST DAY ON THE JOB

By Yannick Lamarre

NOTE: This series takes place before the events of Uncanny X-Men #1

The moon was slowly rising in the night sky as Katherine “Kitty” Pryde walked up Graymalkin Lane, a cold wind welcoming her home. This day had nearly turned into a total disaster for her and the crew of the Sam’s Electronics store, where she was going to work starting the next day. And tomorrow, she would take steps to make sure something like this would not happen again. But for tonight, her main concern was to get to her room and have some well deserved rest. She had to be up early in the morning anyway, and be in New York for eight…

She climbed the steps leading to the front door and phased through it, entering the mansion, which she found strangely quiet.

“Guys? I’m back!” she called out.

A short silence followed, and she briefly wondered if the team had gone on some kind of mission in her absence. Kitty started walking to her room when a familiar sound got her attention.

*BAMF*

The following scent of sulfur, one she was pretty used to by now, filled her nostrils as she turned around to face the new arrival.

“Kurt, what’s—“, she began.

“No time, come on!” Kurt said, grabbing her arm and teleporting again.

Kitty didn’t have to time to reply. Already she felt the rush of the wind around her, and the sudden disorientation that usually went along with Kurt Wagner’s, the mutant X-man known as Nightcrawler, power.

When she got her bearings back, her vision quickly scanning the area around her, she knew where she was. What was left of the X-men’s infirmary. The others were here too, except for Marrow, all surrounding a small lighted table where someone rested. Questions rushed her mind. Had someone been hurt? Bad?

“Kurt, what’s going on?” she asked her longtime companion.

“Go see for yourself, katzchen, it’s better this way,” he told her.

Worries began to enter her mind as she slowly walked towards the others, and they parted to let her through. Ororo, the closest to the table, moved out of the way but put an hand on her shoulder, and Kitty saw him. Lockheed. Badly beaten up, bandaged all over, his small eyes closed tight, his small chest barely rising with his weak breaths.

“LOCKHEED! Oh no!! What happened to you?” she whispered, picking him up gently.

Nobody said a word as she held him close to her, tears filling her eyes as she saw the extent of the damage done to her friend.

“Who did this to you?” she asked the still unconscious dragon, who moaned weakly in answer.

The X-men slowly left the room, leaving the two friends alone.

“If you need any of us, we will be here for you,” Storm gently told her before leaving as well.

Lockheed, feeling Kitty’s warm embrace, started regaining consciousness, his small eyes opening slowly, his gaze locking with Kitty’s.

“Lockheed?” she called gently.

The dragon curled up in her arms, cooing gently, rubbing himself against her in delight.

“I know, I missed you too. I’m sorry I left you behind on Muir. We left so fast… I…” Kitty started to say, before breaking down in tears.

“Oh Lockheed, I’m so glad to see you again! I’m so sorry…”

The dragon rested peacefully in her arms, swirling out of consciousness again, but his condition seemed better already. After a few moments, she returned him to the small medi-table, and walked out of the room. Ororo was waiting in the hallway.

“What happened to him, ‘Ro? Where did you find him?” she asked, wiping the last of her tears from her eyes.

“It’s more like he found us. He crashed through in my attic. In this current state…” Storm explained.

Kitty nodded and left for her room. She took a small blanket for herself and returned to the infirmary. She wouldn’t leave Lockheed’s side tonight. She didn’t know what had happened to him, but it had happened because of her negligence. She would make sure Lockheed would be all right, at least until tomorrow morning. In the past he had healed pretty fast, even from severe injuries. Nothing this bad, true, but he had awakened, however briefly, from his coma, and that was a good sign, right?

She took a nearby chair and brought it to Lockheed’s side. She sat down and put the blanket over her, starting her night long vigil.

“Kitty?”

The voice cut through her sleeping mind like a ray of light.

“Kitty?” it repeated again.

Kitty groaned and opened her eyes, shifting uncomfortably in the small chair she had fallen alseep in. Storm was standing beside her, gently nudging her awake.

“What time is it?” Kitty asked, shaking her head in an effort to clear it.

“6 am. I thought that if you wanted to prepare properly, now would be a good time to wake you up.”

Kitty nodded and checked on Lockheed. The small dragon was sleeping peacefully, his breathing and pulse down to their regular rate. It looked as though he would make a complete recovery soon enough. Kitty smiled and gave Lockheed a brief kiss on the cheek before walking out of the room, followed by Storm.

“I’m trusting you with him today. Don’t let anything stop you from contacting me if something goes wrong, and make sure not to let Marrow near him,” Kitty told her long time friend, who nodded.

“I will take care of everything, kitten, not to worry. Just go and get prepared,” Storm reassured her.

Kitty nodded again, and starting on her way to the showers.

“Thanks, ‘Ro, I’ll owe you one,” Kitty said, looking back one last time.

“You will never owe me anything, Kitty,” Storm answered before leaving for the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Piotr Nikoleivitch Rasputin made his way slowly towards the kitchen, eager for a good breakfast to wake him up. It was almost seven, and it was in his habits to be ready for a new day before eight, an habit he had kept even after he left his russian hometown. That usually made him, Logan and Ororo the only ones up this morning. So hearing Kitty’s voice in the kitchen surprised him a little, but then he remembered she had to work this morning. At least he would be able to wish her good luck. He paused a second in front of the kitchen door, but before he could get in it opened suddenly, nearly hitting him, and Kitty came out running at a frantic pace, dressed cleanly, her hair tied back in a ponytail. She slowed down and turned around, smiling at him.

“Oh, good morning, Pete! I forgot to tell the others I’ll be late in coming in tonight. I’ve got something to do. Would you tell them? Bye!” she quickly said before starting off again.

Piotr didn’t hesitate. He quickly ran after her and caught her at the door.

“Kitty! Wait!” he asked, grabbing her arm.

She looked at him, puzzled.

“Hurry it up, I’ve gotta catch my bus.”

“Very well. I know you’re planning to do something about the thugs who attacked you yesterday. I want you to let me help you,” he told her.

Kitty’s smile vanished and she shook her head.

“Listen, I know you’re well intentionned and all, but some things I’ve got to do on my own, and this is one of them. I need to do this one alone. Please understand, and don’t interfere. Oh, and thanks for asking. It’s nice to know I can count on my friends,” she explained.

“But…” Piotr began.

“Peter, please, it’s important to me.”

Piotr nodded and Kitty’s smile returned.

“Good. See ya tonight then!” she replied before running down the Institute grounds towards Graymalkin Lane.

The moment the plane left the London ground, Peter Wisdom knew this was a bad decision. He seemed to be making a lot of those lately.

“Who are you kidding, Wisdom? You know you’re never getting your hands on the flying rat…” Wisdom thought to himself, gazing out the side of the special W.H.O. aircraft as it sped towards the United States.

He turned his eyes away, disturbed by the onslaught of memories from his time with Kitty returning to his mind. He knew for certain that by going after Lockheed, he was bound to find Kitty. The trouble was, he wasn’t sure he was ready for that confrontation yet. The file he had received clearly mentioned he had to return an alien entity which had been requisitionned in the air above London. They had run a battery of tests on him, which had probably left him in a pretty bad shape, knowing the zeal the scientists at the W.H.O. sometimes showed.

“If you ask me that’s all the purple menace deserves,” Wisdom told himself, not really meaning it.

Lockheed had put Wisdom through his lot of pain after Kitty and him had gotten together. It was safe to say Lockheed didn’t like him, but it was okay to him, the feeling was more than mutual.

Pete smiled a bit, a wave of nostalgia running over him about his time with Excalibur. There were nights he still missed those days. Most of the time he was drunk when it happened.

He shook his head clear of those thoughts and gazed outside again.

“Well, Kitty, ready or not, here I come,” he said before settling down in his seat for a small rest.

The New York skies have seen plenty of strange things. The city of superheroes has its share of flying super beings, good and bad, along with the many flying gadgets or homebase that have also shared its sky. But there’s one thing that still makes the New York city populace look up in wonder. It’s been seen in a lot of places, and still draws awe everywhere it goes. The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. Appearing early in the morning, it has remained motionless above the Empire State Building ever since, waiting for something. All attempts by the local officials to contact it via radio or other conventional means have been useless. It remains silent, waiting, making everyone who knows what it is and what it’s capable of doing nervous, and those who don’t curious.

Kitty entered the back door of Sam’s Electronics, like she’d been asked to do the day before, five minutes before eight. Already a few of her fellow workers were there, some already busy at their various tasks. Most she had first seen the day before, and there was only one she didn’t recognize. A black woman, who looked her age, was busy setting things in the shop in front, and the guy she had first seen with a wielding mask on was missing. Everyone else was pretty much at the same spot she had first seen them. Sam Young, the owner of the place, came to meet her.

“Ha Kitty! Right on time, that’s good!” Sam welcomed her, shaking her hand and showing her where she could hang her jacket.

“I can’t thank you enough for giving me this job, Mr. Young,” Kitty said, hanging her jacket and looking around the place.

“After what you did for us yesterday, it’s my pleasure. And call me Sam. Come on, I’ll present you to the people you’ll be working with from now on,” Sam replied, first bringing her to a computer where a young man, probably a few years or so older then her was busy working on solving a bug in a program.

“Jonathan, get back in this world and welcome the newcomer,” Sam said to the man, who looked up from the computer screen and turned his chair around to face them.

“Katherine Pryde, meet Jonathan Niles, our resident computer whiz. Jonathan, Katherine Pryde,” Sam presented.

He had brown hair and a pair of glasses that looked a bit too big for him. He seemed to study Kitty up and down for half a second before turning back to his computer again.

“Hey. Hope you didn’t bring other weirdos with you this time around,” he simply said, seeming to completely dismiss her as he got back to work.

Kitty contained the dozens of snappy comebacks that came to her mind and simply grinned.

“You know, I’m somewhat of a computer genius too,” she stated to Jonathan, who barely paused a moment to look at her again.

“Good for you. Now I’ve got work to do,” he replied.

“Ignore him. He’s known for wanting to keep people away from him,” Sam mentionned to Kitty before dragging her to the small table where a young redhead was looking through some papers.

She looked up as they approached her.

“This here’s my daughter, Rachel Young. She helps me around with the paperworks when she isn’t at school. Rachel, this is my new employee, Katherine Pryde.”

Rachel got up from her chair and seemed hesitant as to what to do next, so Kitty took the initiative and presented her hand.

“Hi, pleased to meet you, Rachel,” Kitty said, smiling warmly.

“Umm– Hi. Katherine,” Rachel responded, shaking Kitty’s hand before sitting back down again.

“Call me Kitty,” she warmly said, trying to reach Rachel, who was obviously shy.

“Okay… Kitty,” Rachel responded, and Sam smiled behind the two girls.

Rachel didn’t have much friends, and kept to herself a lot. A friend like Kitty could be good for her. Kitty had guessed the girl’s age at around 13. And she remembered all too well what she had gone through at that tender age herself. The girl looked pretty shy too, and that was something she was now determined to help Rachel with.

“Meli, get over here, I’ve got someone here I want you to meet,” Sam called at the woman at the front of the shop, who hurried to the back of the shop.

The woman smiled at the sight of Kitty, and Kitty did so too. She seemed friendly enough.

“Hey! My name’s Melissa Heartridge. You?” Meli presented herself, extending her hand for Kitty to shake.

“Katherine Pryde. You can call me Kitty,” Kitty said in kind, accepting Melissa’s hand shake.

“So you’re the new one, huh? Welcome aboard! Want to share lunch this noon?” Melissa asked.

Well, this wasn’t what she really expected, but making a new friend so fast was certainly a good thing.

“Hey, sure!” Kitty answered.

After I make a call to the mansion to see how Lockheed is doing, that is.

“Hey Sam, sorry I’m late…” came a voice from the back of the store as the backdoor opened again.

The voice sounded strangely familiar, but she just couldn’t place it.

“I’ve come to expect it from you, Ramsey,” Sam said to the newcomer.

Kitty froze, the name and the voice suddenly screaming at her. She turned around to face the arrival, and her eyes grew wide at the sight.

“Doug?” she whispered, a sense of disbelief washing over her.

Sam looked strangely at Kitty for a second, seeing her surprise in her eyes.

“Hmm, Mike, this here’s Katherine Pryde, she’ll be working with us from now on. Kitty, meet Michael Ramsey, our electronics expert.”

Michael Ramsey approached Kitty, his hand extended.

“Hey, pleased to meet you, Kitty,” Michael said, smiling with a charm she’d only seen on the face of a certain Cajun.

Looks like Gambit’s got competition.

Kitty slowly extended her hand to grab Michael’s, still in shock. He looked just like Doug. The differences were so few, from farther away she’d never notice them. Same haircut, same posture, but this one wasn’t as shy as Doug had been. He was also a bit taller.

“You okay?” Michael asked her. “I knew I had an effect on girls, but this is extreme.”

At that, Melissa laughed and returned to the front of the store.

“The day you have an effect on me, Mike, is the day I retire from the dating business,” she added sarcastically.

Kitty shook her head clear from the shock and finally got thinking again.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Sorry about that, you look like someone I knew…” Kitty explained, images of both Cypher and Douglock coming to her mind.

“Oh. Well, pleased to meet you nevertheless,” he said.

Kitty nodded.

“Same here.”

“Well, that’s it, folks. What do you say we get to work? Kitty, I’ll show you what I want outta you,” Sam said, clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention.

Kitty nodded, and her first day of work began.

Noon, a small fast food restaurant two minutes away from Sam’s Electronics.

“Geez, guys, had I known you’d all be joining us I’d have reserved ourselves a lodge or something,” Melissa commented as they all sat down at a large table.

“You really think we’d let you the pleasure of chatting with Kitty here on your own?” Michael said, smiling at Kitty.

Jonathan kept silent, having brought with him a desktop he was busy on. Rachel had also joined along, thanks to Kitty convincing her, but she hadn’t said a word yet.

“You guys make a fuss like this every time a new employee comes in?” Kitty asked.

“Only when she’s smart and pretty,” Michael answered.

“Speak for yourself,” Melissa replied. “Naw, new employees are something rare at Sam’s. I was the last one in, 6 months ago.”

“A dark day that was,” Jonathan dryly commented.

Melissa ignored the comment and took a bite out of her hamburger.

“Well, you go to school?” Michael asked her.

“Yeah, Xavier Institute. Pretty irregular schedules,” Kitty answered.

Michael looked at her.

“My cousin used to go there.” he said, his voice almost like a whisper.

“Yeah, I knew him. Might have seen you at the funeral,” Kitty replied, regretting the words immediately.

Why in the world had she said that?

“Yeah…” Michael said, looking away.

Silence fell on them for a few seconds, and Melissa was the one to break it.

“I go to E.S.U. myself. I work to get myself some money to pay for my future apartment. Still at my parent’s for now.”

“I work to get myself in school,” Michael explained in turn.

“If only you had the brains along with the money,” Jonathan added. “I work for the challenge of it all. Finished school a while ago.”

“What about you, Rachel?” Kitty asked the shy girl at the other end of the table.

“Oh, um, I’m still in junior high… I only help my dad around,” she answered before returning to her own meal.

Nobody spoke for a moment as they all chose that instant to eat a little. They continued chatting about their various lives afterwards, complete with Jonathan’s instant comments, but Kitty was careful not to reveal anything about the X-men part of her life. Before they all returned to the shop, she called the mansion to get some news about Lockheed. His condition had stabilized, but he hadn’t woken up yet. As if he was waiting for her. Kitty had hanged up and had returned to work. And after that, something even more important had to be dealt with.

The rest of the day had gone by smoothly enough. Kitty got a good grasp on what she had to do pretty quick. It wasn’t all that completed. She handled the maintenance of the various computer systems that didn’t really need repairs, only a checkup. Something she thought was way under her abilities, but it was fun to hang around with the others at the back of the shop. When two or more people showed up at the counter she also had to help out Melissa, something she really didn’t mind doing. When six came by, she quickly said good bye to everyone and hurried off to the same nearby fast food as before, where she grabbed a quick supper then changed in the washroom, putting on more regular clothing. A pair of jeans and a white T-shirt. She needed to look casual if she wanted her plan to work. She had heard of the F.O.H. meeting taking place tonight to commemorate the passing of Graydon Creed.

“No big loss,” she thought, checking herself up in the mirror.

And what better way to get information on the F.O.H. then by joining the Friends? She untied her hair, using an hairbrush she had in her purse to place it differently, and put on glasses, giving her an entirely different look.

“Well, this looks good enough,” she told the reflection.

Satisfied, she put all the extra clothings in the backpack she had taken with her that morning and walked out.

“She will come,” the man told himself, staring into the darkness surrounding him.

A mask waited on the desk behind him. Tonight he would not use it. He would not need it to have the necessary impact. Tonight Kitty Pryde’s soul will be his to play with. The man smiled, but the looks in his eyes contradicted that smile. His eyes showed sadness.

“Hey you!” a voice said behind her, and somehow Kitty knew it was addressing her.

She turned around, and a large, muscled man towered over her, inspecting her.

“Yeah?” she asked.

The man had a clear F.O.H. insignia pinned on his jacket. She was standing in a room full of others like him, and she realized just then that if her plan went sour she’d have to fight through a good 200 men in order to escape. Not good odds.

“Where’s your badge?” he asked, pointing to his very own pin.

“I’m here to join the F.O.H. I’ve heard tonight was a good time to do that,” she said, keeping her calm.

“There’s no way for him to know you’re a mutant,” Kitty reminded herself.

The man smiled and nodded.

“It’s always good to meet new members. Since we lost our beloved founder, Graydon Creed, we…” the man began.

“Oh please…” Kitty thought sarcastically.

As he continued his glorification of Graydon Creed, Kitty looked around the rest of the place. Guards at the entrance. Guards at the backstage doors. Small windows too high to reach. Guards on each side of the stage. The place was well protected. Getting out for anyone else would be hard. Except for her, that is. All she’d have to do is phase through a nearby wall and, if she was lucky, no one would be the wiser.

The lights dimmed a little, and a spotlight appeared on the stage. Everyone stopped talking, as all turned their attention to the front. A man, hidden by the obscurity, walked to the center of the stage, but didn’t enter the circle of light just yet.

Kitty wasn’t really paying attention. She was scanning the crowd for anyone she’d recognize, any clue as to who would have been after her. But when the speaker stepped into the light and first spoke, she looked up, and nearly died of shock right there, her heart skipping a beat as she recognized just who it was up there.

“My friends, tonight we have gathered here to once again pay honor to our founder, the magnificent Graydon Creed, but before we do so, I must sadly announce to you that there is a traitor among us, one who does not belong here…” the man said.

Kitty didn’t hear him anymore. She couldn’t hear anything, or move a single finger. She was paralyzed, her eyes fixed on the speaker.

“For that person among us is a mutant…” the speaker continued.

She didn’t hear the increasing whispers in the crowd, or the anger that was rapidly spreading among them. She didn’t notice as the spotlight slowly began scanning the crowd, heading for her.

“And SHE IS…” the man announced.

“Dad… It can’t be…” Kitty whispered, reality sinking in, her world spinning totally out of control.

Kitty’s father, Carmen Pryde, pointed out his own daughter among the crowd. The spotlight fell on Kitty, who was barely aware of what was happening.

“…THERE!” Carmen Pryde finished.

Kitty fell to her knees as all around her the world went mad.

NEXT ISSUE: What in the world is going on? Kitty surrounded by the F.O.H. on all sides, Lockheed awakens, a surprise unwanted rescue and the arrival of Wisdom at the mansion! All this and more in our next amazing issue!