[center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/869707967803588689/871039795793653800/kitty_banner_full.png[/img][/center] [indent][indent][sub][color=#c9b142][B]Location:[/B][/color] [COLOR=gold][i]The Xavier Institute[/i] - [I]Westchester, New York[/I][/COLOR][/sub][sup][right][color=#c9b142][b]Multiverse Mayhem Tie-In: X-Men/New Mutants[/b][/color][/right][/sup][/indent][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][sub][indent][indent][color=#c9b142][B]Interaction(s):[/B][/color] [@Bounce][/indent][/indent][/sub] [indent] The silence was deafening. A turn of phrase Kitty had never fully grasped before, yet, as she and the rest of her squad hunkered down in a random two-story home in Middle Village, Queens, understanding hit her. It had already been three minutes since Dani had given the order to hide. Kitty, Sammy, Bobby, and Dani had dashed to the nearest house while Cherub remained unseen in the clouds. The X-Man had ordered the kids to the second floor where they were to remain out of sight until the danger passed. From her hiding spot in a small bedroom, Kitty could hear Sammy's heavy breathing. The boy's rapid, shallow pants sounded like thunder to her ears. Or maybe that was her heart pounding against her chest like the call of a war drum. Whether it was fear or excitement or a mix of the two, she felt the adrenaline coursing through her at breakneck speeds. "Careful," came the whispered tones of Dani over the radio. "I can hear them getting closer. They may just pass us by—" Kitty yanked the communication device from her ear as it abruptly lit up with piercing static interference. From across the hall, she heard the pained, whispered cursing of Sammy as he undoubtedly suffered the same auditory assault. The aliens must have jammed all electronic communications, Kitty realized. That cut her and the boys off not just from Cherub and Power Pack outside but also from Dani a floor below. She didn't like that. The timing was too convenient, cutting off comms right as they were being used. Slowly creeping toward the nearest window, Kitty eased part of the blinds up just enough to peek through. No sign of the little guys, but that didn't mean much. She knew they could either be just out of sight or on another side of the building. The mutant girl chewed her lip as she slowly lifted the blinds another centimeter. Everything in her being screamed for her to go out there. To join in on the action. To find whatever the aliens were using to jam their radios and disable it. To regain the upper hand. To get herself and the others killed, Kitty's rational brain argued. There were too many of them, she knew, and despite what Kitty told herself the young mutant had to admit she wasn't ready. Not alone. She needed to get to Dani downstairs. Together the two of them could— Movement outside caught Kitty's eyes. There! One of the aliens. Barely two feet tall it seemed, it skittered into view suddenly from beneath her. They didn't look too scary, she realized. Almost like those puppets from that old Gremlin movie. A second entered her vision. Then a third. Each seemed to run away from the house's front entrance. It wasn't until a fourth creature scurried away from the building that Kitty realized what was happening. They were fleeing. Something had sent them running; had put fear into their hearts, assuming they had any. Kitty's lips twisted into a grin. It was Dani. No, Mirage, Kitty corrected. The X-Man must have been using her mutant powers to manifest fear and influence perceptions to chase the aliens away. "What's happening out there?" Kitty nearly jumped out of her skin as she spun around at the unexpected voice. Bobby was at the entrance of the room, Sammy practically cowering behind the older boy. Bobby nodded toward the window and opened his mouth to speak again. Jamming a finger to her lips, Kitty glared at him. "Too loud," she mouthed out the words slowly. "They're leaving. We might have a chance to slip out soon. Or fight back." Kitty wasn't sure how many of her unspoken words were picked up or understood from either of the two boys. She held up a finger to indicate for them to wait, then returned her attention out the window. More of the aliens were in sight now. Many more. At least two dozen by her count. They had all converged roughly a hundred feet away across the street. They were pointing wildly at the house she and the others were in, gesturing with their long, bulky alien firearms. Even if she could speak their language, they were too far away to make out what was being said but one amongst the large group was shouting into a palm-sized, silver sphere while staring daggers at the house. "He doesn't look happy," Bobby said, now moved right behind Kitty to peer through the crack she had made in the blinds. Kitty sighed internally and grit her teeth. The guy just couldn't shut his mouth even at a time like this. It wasn't worth getting into it with him right now, though. At least it seemed like all the aliens were far enough away that Bobby's voice wouldn't be picked up. Besides, if Mirage actually [i]had[/i] done something to put the fear of mutants in the aliens then their position was already known. Now it was just a matter of sneaking back downstairs, regrouping with their mentor, and heading out the back. Kitty looked over her shoulder and beyond Bobby. "Sammy," she remained quiet and cautious as she spoke. "We're going to get out of here now. Those things are distracted for the moment so let's move quickly and carefully." "Kitty," Bobby tried interjecting but the girl ignored him. "I want you to head right for the back door, but don't open it until we're all there with you just in case any stragglers are covering the exit. I can move around quieter so I'll find Mirage and meet back up with you at—" Louder this time, "Kitty!" She whipped around incredulous that even Bobby Drake could be so stupid as to raise his voice like that in such a situation. She stopped dead in her tracks before scolding him, however, as she caught the look on his face. Bobby's eyes were wide and cast with fear. The infamously calm and cool teenager was shaken by something. That was when Kitty realized Bobby had lifted the blinds more than halfway, creating a perfect view outside of the aliens. As well as a perfect view of the inside and the three of them for the invaders across the street. "What are you [i]doing[/i]?" She began to ask incredulously, reaching out to grip his arm and pull him away from the window. Instead, she instantly pulled her hand back the moment it brushed against his skin. It burned. Not with heat but with the shock of sudden and intense cold. Frost collected against the boy's skin as it almost appeared to crack and resolidify as a whitish-blue hue. "Bobby?" Her voice was unsure now. Kitty had never once seen her classmate use his abilities in all the time he had attended the Institute. Standing taller, wisps of steam rising from his frigid body, Bobby shouted just two words before the world flashed white. "Get down!" [center]* * *[/center] Deafening silence turned to cacophonous violence as a random, two-story home in Middle Village, Queens erupted in a massive flare of blinding energy. [/indent]