The Xavier School- later Wednesday... Pretty much Thursday
Clint
Clint groaned as he came back to consciousness, muttering about the freaking Breakworld once he'd remembered what happened. He looked around for Kitty and Kruun, frowning when he didn't see either of them, but then he saw Peter, and that got him moving. "Peter?" he said, eyeing all the blood. "What happened?"
Peter
Peter grunted as he tried to sit up and realized how bad an idea that was. "Kruun sent Kitty for help," he managed. "He has some issues."
Clint
"I'd say he should join the club, but I don't really want him at the meetings," Clint said, kneeling next to Peter and trying to find the source of the bleeding. "You look like you're having some issues as well. Do you know where Kitty went?"
Kitty
And because she had great timing, that's when Kitty came running over from the school, holding a medical kit. And while she was clearly relieved to see that Clint was at least awake and looking okay, there was still a giant guy bleeding all over. She knelt on the other side of Peter with the kit and asked Clint, "You okay?"
Clint
"No worse than usual," Clint said, and while he was also concerned about Peter, there was something much more pressing that he noticed immediately. "You're holding things."
Kitty
There was also a good amount of blood on her uniform, but she was hoping he'd think that was from when she was getting stabbed to trees.
"Yep. Long story," she said, opening the first aid kit and working quickly to find what she needed. "But we are not going to have time to explain yet."
Clint
Clint didn't need a full explanation now. Reaching over and giving Kitty's arm a squeeze - her actual, solid arm - was enough to satisfy him for now. "What do you need me to do?" he asked. "I'm a little dazed, but I've fought feeling worse."
Kruun
"Ahem."
Logan's bloody and unconscious body landed next to them, his claws still out. And there stood Kruun with his knife out, apparently ready for another round.
Kitty
Kitty looked at Clint and said, "I need you to get out of his way."
Clint
Clint wanted to fight, he really did, but he also wanted to live, and he'd promised Kitty he'd follow her orders if necessary. So he backed up, putting some distance between himself and Kruun, and watched Kitty's back.
Kruun
"You're no longer a ghost," Kruun said, looking down at Kitty. "Of no matter."
He swiped at her with the blade, but Kitty was already diving into the ground. He couldn't get to her there, so he looked to the one person who might get her to come out. "You can hide, but if you want your mate to live, you'll have to come out."
Kitty
"I'm sentimental, Kruun," Kitty told him, only her face poking out from the ground. If he went after Clint, she really was going to have to come out. "But do you really think I didn't sound the alarm before coming here?"
Psylocke
Behind Kruun, Psylocke was waiting with her swords up, with a team consisting of Storm, Angel, Namor and Dr. Nemesis backing her up. "The Breakworlders are all in custody. It'll be better for them if you peacefully joined them."
Kruun
"My people have nothing to do with this. I acted alone," Kruun told them. "And you may note I'm not making a final thrust at the cursed Powerlord. This game is over. I ask you to respect my people-"
Kitty
"Of course you're not throwing a final attack!" Kitty snapped, coming back out of the ground as people began going to check on Logan and Peter. "You've already got your revenge. You took his powers when you injected that 'cure.'"
Kruun
"No," Kruun said, and bowed his head. "The cure was a grand working. For my shame, I am no great weaponsmith, and I had crude materials and scant time. A poor facsimile, He will recover within days. More's the pity."
Clint
"Oh yeah, a terrible pity," Clint said bitterly, coming out from where he'd hidden to stand by Kitty. "It looks to me like you didn't accomplish much of anything."
Kitty
"Except spill a lot of blood," Kitty said, reaching for Clint's hand. It was probably a bad time to note that this was the first time she'd actually been able to touch him in months. "And he didn't work alone. His lady, Haleena, knew."
Clint
"You sound like you know where she is," Clint said with a hopeful tone. It was helped a lot by getting to squeeze Kitty's hand.
Kruun
"Don't you dare threaten her," Kruun said fiercely. "You will not take her."
Then he reached for something in his belt, and disappeared in a huge puff of yellow smoke, leaving a lot of confusion and Dr. nemesis yelling about hating ninjas, which was insulting to at least three parties present.
Kitty
Though she didn't really want to, Kitty let go of Clint's hand and took off towards the school again. She knew what Kruun was going to find, and she had to mitigate or this was going to get way worse.
She went back to the infirmary, where things were smashed up, but it looked pretty empty. "Kruun, I know you're here somewhere. I just want to talk."
Kruun
"So do I," he said from around a corner, holding a vial. "This is another child's toy of my people. A simple yet potent nerve gas. The play is rough on the Breakworld. I'll take Haleena and leave."
Kitty
"No, Kruun," Kitty said gently, to a guy that had been stabbing her for fun earlier. "Haleena's not going anywhere."
Kruun
Kruun pulled the knife out again. "Then you will face the consequences of-"
Kitty
"You don't understand," Kitty told him, and pointed to an area further in the infirmary.
Kruun
Suddenly having a sinking feeling, Keuun rushed in the direction she'd pointed with Kitty following, and found Haleena lying lifeless on the floor in the middle of a circle.
"I don't understand."
Kitty
"She killed me with a blade just like yours," Kitty explained. "She made the circle... I'm guessing it's how you arranged for Peter and Scott to be resurrected. Life-force transfer. She brought me entirely back. Made me whole. She gave me everything. And what it left her..."
Clint
Clint had trailed behind Kitty far enough to not draw Kruun's attention, but close enough that he could hear her. When he heard what Haleena had done though, he closed the distance between them, staring at her. "Seriously?" he said, putting his hand on her arm.
Kitty
Kitty nodded, and said, "I'm okay now, I promise."
She'd be more reassuring about it, but given that Kruun was finding his wife or girlfriend or whatever dead, it was probably not the time.
Kruun
Kruun ended that moment by putting his fist through the nearest glass he could find, and dropping to his knees. "Haleena... Oh, Haleena. The ancients cursed us just by letting us be born," he said. "Oh, Pryde, I was wrong. What you X-Men did is nothing. Only now is my world destroyed."
With that, he slammed his fist into the circle, and after a flash of bright light, he fell over, motionless.
Kitty
The X-Men got there just in time for that, and there was a moment of uncomfortable silence.
"I don't know about anyone else," Kitty said, "but I have no idea what to do next."
[NFB, NFI, OOC okay. Preplayed with the always awesome so_hawkward, and taken from Uncanny X-Men #538. Warning for character death, yes again.]