( a now-human Nightcrawler has just fallen mid-exercise in the Danger
Room )
Nightcrawler: Peter...?
Colossus: I thought you might be down here, Kurt. Still PUSHING
yourself, of course...
Kurt: It is difficult to explain, mein freund. You lost only a CHOICE,
a second skin which you had previously been able to don or shed at
will -- but when I first lost my tail, I had to work hard just to find
a new center of balance. I could not even walk in a straight line. And
all these extra fingers and toes... I LIKED who I was, Peter. I do not
see all of this as a blessing.
Peter: The adjustment to our new circumstances has been more trying
for some than others, but it is NECESSARY. And this manse is a crutch,
of sorts... a permanent REMINDER of what you were, keeping you from
enjoying what you have become. Perhaps you would be better served by
some time AWAY from here.
Kurt: You do not understand, Peter. This is the ONLY home I have ever
known -- that's why I volunteered to stay behind to maintain the
school and its facilities.
Peter: And we all appreciated it, Kurt. It gave us a chance to travel,
to explore other parts on our own. I saw so much art, learned so much
about so many possibilities. It was... inspiring. But I'm back now.
And it is YOUR turn to get away...
Kurt: I will THINK about it, that is all I can promise. But... (sotto
voce) ...what is that smell?
Peter: Dinner, in the oven. I am trying an old Russian recipe, passed
down by my maternal grandmother.
Kurt: YOU, cooking... ? If I had known that, I would have left the
house IMMEDIATELY.
( later, same issue, Peter, Kurt, and Kitty are reviewing a postcard
from Archangel and Psylocke at St. Moritz )
Kitty: Archangel was always a playboy with the world at his feet, but
one thing he could never, ever do was go to the beach -- unless he
OWNED it.
Peter: He certainly seems to be enjoying the freedom of his new
humanity...
Kitty: Doesn't look like he has any regrets about losing his wings,
that's for sure.
Kurt: But HOW is that possible... ? Can the opportunity to pose on the
shoreline truly be worth losing the ability to FLY ... ?!
( later, same issue, Storm at a summer camp-type-thing with Marrow,
after Marrow runs off for a date with some guy named Brad )
Storm: (thinking) - But this is truly a MIRACLE. To see Sarah so
ALIVE, so lost in the moment, instead of dwelling on the past -- has
helped me to deal with the loss of my powers better than I ever could
have hoped. The last time I experieinced this, it nearly DESTROYED me.
( Thunder sounds overhead. ) (speaking now) - Thunder, that is all. I
should have FELT it coming, should
have sensed the temperament of the climate changing. I MUST feel
something in the air -- ANYTHING -- but I do NOT. (sotto voce) And I
will never get used to feeling so little.