Yay!  It's kind of short, but I got it done in less than a week.  I just hope I can keep 
it up.  Let me know what you think!

Disclaimer:  Blah blah blah.  The X-men don’t belong to me.  So what’s new?  I do 
not take credit for creating any of Marvel’s myriad of characters.  I’m not making 
any money off of them either.  See?  It’s all good.

Revelations: Part 8
Chris Votulle, July 1997

Kali’s head was throbbing.  She just couldn’t think straight at this hour in the 
morning.  No matter how hard she tried to concentrate, her mind kept on wandering 
back to pleasant thoughts which mainly concerned being in her bed, sleeping.  She 
looked up at Scott from her position on the Danger room floor, awaiting his next 
horrific suggestion regarding her training session.  She didn’t have to wait long.

“Since fighting against artificial lifeforms has proved to be pointless, I think it 
might be best if I put you up against some real people.  I want you to fight 
Wolverine and Iceman here, and I want to make it very clear that you are not to 
gain control of the Danger room at any point during this exercise.  Understand?”

Kali was shocked.  “*Who*?”

“Logan and Bobby,” Scott replied matter-of-factly.  “Everyone on our team has a 
codename that reflects their mutant powers.  Referring to ourselves by our aliases 
allows us to remain incognito.”

“You want me to fight them?  Why?  I don’t understand any of this.  I was told 
that you would help me to gain control over my mutant powers, but it seems to me 
that you’re just teaching me how to use them to hurt people.  That’s the last thing 
that I want to do!”

This time it was Jean who spoke up.  “Kali, are you familiar at all with martial 
arts?  The martial arts are all about discipline and control.  They teach people how 
to fight -- defensively -- but they also teach how to avoid a fight.  To emphasize 
these skills, students spar against each other.  That is similar to what we are doing 
here.  Another benefit is that by fighting against each other, we better learn our 
teammates strengths and weaknesses.  That way, in the future we know what to 
expect from each other and can function better as a team.”

“Besides, it’s not us that you should worry about getting hurt,” Logan added slyly.

Scott glared at him and muttered something unintelligible under his breath before he 
continued to explain the proceedings to Kali.  “Now, Bobby and Logan are going to 
be waiting outside of the Danger room while a holographic scene is set up.  This 
will give you a chance to accustom yourself to the surroundings and find a place 
suitable to observe and track them.  Your objective is to defeat them without 
physically harming them.  This is extremely important.  Now, do you have any 
questions?”

“Why don’t I get to fight against you?”

“Because I have to observe you,”  Scott said curtly.  “Now, get ready.  We’ll start 
very soon.”

Logan chuckled as he walked out of the control room with Bobby.  “I like this kid 
already.”

* * * * *

Kali crouched in a side alley of the city streets that now occupied the Danger room. 
 True, it was a deserted city, but at least it was familiar surroundings.  She could 
cope with this much better than a jungle, or even a forest.  

A bead of sweat trickled down her cheek and she brushed it away with a trembling 
hand.  She knew that she couldn’t hide forever, but she was not comfortable with 
going out on the offensive.  The only other alternative that she could see was 
simply waiting for either Logan or Bobby to find her.  She hoped that it would be 
Bobby.  He had been very friendly to her for the three days that she had been at 
the mansion and she just couldn’t imagine him trying to hurt her, whereas Logan 
was rather frightening.  On the other hand, she didn’t really know Bobby all that 
well and having him attack her could be seriously detrimental to the  friendship that 
might be forming between the two of them.    She let her head fall back against the brick wall directly behind her 
as she tried desperately to ignore the feeling of nausea that was slowly growing 
inside of her.

She had almost succeeded in calming herself down when she heard footsteps 
coming towards her.  They were very faint, but as this was a deserted city they 
were the only noise except for the drumming of Kali’s heart.  She slowly got up 
from her position and crept further down the alley only to find herself at a dead 
end.

“Come on out darlin’, I know yer in there.  Don’t make me come in and getcha.”

Kali searched desperately for a way out, but she couldn’t see in the darkness of the 
alley and she didn’t want to give away her position by illuminating it.  Finally, her 
hands came upon a fire escape and she quickly climbed up it’s ladder.  When she 
reached the top she could just barely make out Logan walking underneath her.  She 
ran across the roof of the building and jumped off, landing neatly in the middle of 
the main street of the holographic city.  She wasn’t out of the clear, but she could 
function better in the well-lit, spacious area.

Logan emerged from the alley and assumed a fighting stance.  Kali froze, waiting for 
him to make the first move.  He began to circle her slowly, eyeing her up and 
down.  After what seemed like an eternity, he lashed out with a kick to her ankles 
that was meant to sweep her off of her feet.  However, he didn’t account for her 
quick reflexes and she neatly jumped out of the way.  He began to attack her more 
earnestly, but she continued to avoid every blow to her direction.  As Logan’s 
strategy became more complex, so did Kali’s defensive maneuvers.  Her leaps and 
twists were remarkably inhuman.

Logan was beginning to lose patience.  This *kid* was evading his best moves as if 
he was an amateur.  To make it worse, she wasn’t even trying to fight back in her 
own defense.  She was simply avoiding him; as if she was taunting him.  He lunged 
at her with all of his might and she jumped up in the air, did a backflip, and landed 
safely on her feet.

Wolverine took a few steps backwards and snarled.  He looked at Kali 
suspiciously.  There was something wrong about her.  Something about the way 
she moved, the shape of her face, the gleam in her eye.  He couldn’t quite place her, 
but he had the sneaking suspicion that he’d fought her before.  There was 
something uncannily familiar about her and he was determined to find out what it 
was.

Kali made a move to leave the scene, but was stopped by a low growl coming from 
 Logan’s direction.  Obviously, she was not going to get out that easily.

*SNIKT!*

Three bone claws were extending from the back of each of Logan’s hands, pointed 
in her direction.  He started to move towards her and, instinctively, her hands 
changed shape to produce claws of her own.  He swung at her, but she managed to 
block the shot and then quickly dove out of the way.  As soon as she got back on 
her feet, Logan was running at her again.  He jumped at her -- arms outstretched.  
She barely had time to duck, but somehow she managed it and Logan went flying 
into a pile of crates.  Kali lost no time and started to run as Logan tried to regain his 
bearings.

She turned down the first street that she came to and ran full tilt into... Bobby?  It 
had to be Bobby since he was the only other person in the room, but he sure didn’t 
look like the Bobby that she knew.  He was composed entirely out of ice.    Once she got over her initial 
shock, she continued running, realizing that Bobby would be no help to her.  

“Wait a minute there.  You’re not going to get away that easily,” Bobby said 
playfully.

  Kali did her best to ignore him and 
continued running.  However, the ground beneath her turned to ice and she slid on 
it most ungratefully, landing hard on her face.  She brought herself up to her knees 
and rubbed her cheek gingerly.  

As she sat there the ice began to rise and take form.  Bars of ice began to close 
around her, creating a cage.  She tried to pull down one of the pillars of ice, but it 
wouldn’t budge.  A feeling of helplessness overcame her.  For a brief moment she 
was a little girl again, looking through the bars of a cage at the man who killed her 
parents.  An intense feeling of rage boiled up inside of her and she looked at Bobby 
with renewed fury, although she did recognize him as Bobby once more and not 
some kind of monster.  She let the energy pour out of her body as heat directed at 
the bars of her prison.  They soon began to melt, but she wouldn’t cease the energy 
flow.  She had created a shield around her and as long as she kept it up Bobby 
couldn’t reach her without becoming a puddle.

Bobby directed several ice daggers at her, but they all melted before they could 
reach her.  His frustration was obvious as he fired a blast of solid ice her way.  It 
was a little too much for her to handle and she had to drop her shield in order to 
fire direct heat towards the ice.  This created a stalemate between the two of them. 
 Each was concentrating on maintaining their power, but neither was progressing 
any further.  

They remained like that for a few moments when Kali saw Bobby’s eyes open 
wide and focus somewhere behind her.  She turned her head, still maintaining her 
heat, and saw Wolverine running towards her with his claws extended.  He made a 
flying leap at her head, but she reacted quickly by flashing an intensely bright light 
at him through her eyes.  He was instantly blinded, but the momentum that he’d 
picked up was too great for him to stop and he continued towards Kali.  She threw 
herself at the floor and Logan flew directly over her, only to crash right into 
Bobby.  The two of them tumbled to the ground and landed in a confused heap.

Kali stood perfectly still for a moment, gaping at the two men on the floor before 
she began to laugh hysterically.  It was the first time that anyone there had heard 
her laugh and, as it was rather unexpected, they stared in shock not knowing what 
to do next.  Kali herself didn’t really know what was so funny, but she couldn’t 
stop from laughing.  It felt surprisingly good and she didn’t want the feeling to end.

The city-scape disappeared and the window to the control room was once again 
revealed.  Kali did her best to control her laughter as she looked at Scott’s stern 
face, but for some reason he just seemed to make the situation even funnier.  Tears 
began streaming down her face as Bobby and Logan stood up, trying their best to 
look dignified.

“I’m sorry.  Really.  I just can’t stop.”  She put her hand to her mouth and pursed 
her lips together, but a few squeals of laughter managed to surface despite her 
efforts.

Scott only looked mildly annoyed.  He was rather impressed by her performance 
so he let it slide.  “Okay, I think that’s enough for today.  Bobby and Logan, 
you’re free to go.  Kali, I’d like to see you in the war room with Jean in 
approximately five minutes.”

Kali nodded and followed Logan and Bobby out of the room, not trusting herself to 
say anything.

* * * * *

Rogue sat at the kitchen table with Joseph, eating a bowl of oatmeal, when Kali 
walked in looking extremely exhausted.  “Well, it looks like Scott put you through 
quite a workout this mornin’.  Have a seat, shugah.”

Kali sat down after grabbing a glass of water and began to drink greedily.  She 
smiled.  “Thanks.”

“So, how was you’re first training session?”

Kali shrugged.  “I don’t know.  I thought I did pretty well, but Scott just chewed 
me out about how unstructured I am and how I have a lot to learn.  He’s scheduled 
me for several more sessions already.  I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to 
living here.”

“Does that mean that you’ve finally decided to stay?” Joseph asked.

“Well the way I see it, I don’t really have another choice.  It’s living here or living 
on the streets. I feel so edgy here though.  I can’t really explain it.  I’m just not 
used to being around so many people on a regular basis.  Does that make any 
sense?”

Rogue nodded.  “Sure it does.  You’re just people shy -- that’s all.  Give it a little 
time and you’ll grow out of it.”

“I hope so,” Kali replied unconvincingly.

“Now don’t talk like that.  Ya’ve got ta think positively if you’re gonna get though 
this.  I know -- why don’t we go out somewhere and draw a lot of attention to 
ourselves.  Maybe a karaoke bar or somethin’.”

Kali cringed.  “No thank you.  I don’t think I’m quite ready for that.  Besides, as 
soon as I’m done in here I’m heading back to the Danger room.”

Joseph began to laugh.  “Already?  I would think that that’s the last place you 
want to be right now.  You look like you’re ready to drop.  Why push yourself 
further?”

“Oh, I’m not going to train.  Dr. McCoy said that I could spend some time there 
studying the computer and all of it’s inner workings.  I’ve never come across such 
advanced technology before.  It’s truly fascinating.”

Rogue rolled her eyes.  “Just what we need.  Another scientist type -- no offense.  
Ah’ll just take you’re word for it, okay?”

Kali smiled.  “Don’t worry.  I wouldn’t dream of boring you with all of my 
computer dribble.  Besides, all of this is probably commonplace for you by now.”

“Yeah, I suppose it is.  Oh well.  Have fun anyway -- if ya can call it fun.”  Both 
Rogue and Joseph got up to leave, having finished their breakfast.  “Ah’ll see ya 
later on, sugah.  Bye!”  She waved at Kali and exited.

Kali quickly finished her glass of water and grabbed an orange before heading back 
to the Danger room.  

    Source: geocities.com/soho/studios/1400