Beastbot
"Werewolf"
(Author's Note: This is my first real X-Men: Evolution fanfic, and besides telling a story, of course, it's also meant to "get my feet wet," so to speak, since I'm planning on starting a post-Season 4 X-Men: Evolution series of my own in the near future. The idea for this story I've had in my head for a long time, and it takes place in between Season 1 and 2 of the television series—just a few days after the conclusion of "The Cauldron," in fact. None of the New Mutants have joined the X-Men roster at this time, and given how it seems that a new year of school is starting at the beginning of Season 2, it's shortly after the beginning of summer vacation in this story. Enjoy! Oh, and one last thing—I've never really known anyone from Scotland, so if some of the dialogue sounds a tad stereotypical, I apologize. TV media is really all I've got to go on here.)
"Rahne, go an' do th' dishes already!"
Rahne rolled her eyes in frustration, trying to ignore her mother. Leaning further back into the recliner, she turned up the television's volume in protest.
Her father, who had been watching the TV with Rahne, sighed and grabbed the remote away from his daughter.
"You do what yer mother says, an' quit bein' stubborn."
"I already did th' dishes today, father!" Rahne pouted, slowly—EVER so slowly—getting up and making her way over to the kitchen.
"That's because we had guests over for a late lunch, and you know it. Now get yer butt in there and quit dawdlin', dinner's been over fer three hours now."
Rahne sighed and turned on the faucet while she hunted under the sink for some dishwashing soap.
It's summer vacation, for crying out loud! You're SUPPOSED to be lazy! Why don't my parents understand that?
Finding the soap, she grabbed it and lifted her head back out—only to bump it hard on the edge of the cabinet door.
Rahne cursed softly and rubbed her head. Swallowing, she tasted a bit of blood—the sudden impact had made her bite her lip. Grrr…
Standing up, she slammed the cabinet door closed and poured some of the fluid into the warm water pooling at the bottom of the sink. After she had squeezed in what she considered to be a decent amount of the stuff, she set the bottle aside and picked up the first dish to wash.
And that was when… it… hit her like a ton of bricks.
She suddenly dropped the dish to the floor, it shattering loudly into a million different pieces. She clutched her head and grabbed the side of the counter for support, suddenly dizzy and sweating.
What… what's going on? I felt fine just two seconds ago, and I now I feel as sick as a dog!
"Rahne, what's goin' on in there?" the girl heard her father yell from the other room.
"N…Nothin' father… I just feel kind of ill, all of a sudden… I think I need t' lie down…"
Rahne thought she heard her father grumble "anything t' get out of her housework," but she wasn't in the mood to argue right now. She stumbled out of the kitchen, up the stairs, and into her bedroom. By the time she had made it to her mirror above her bed, her head was pounding so much it felt like it was going to explode. Her vision was starting to swim, as well.
What is happening? Rahne thought groggily. I don't… I've never felt this bad, all at once, before! It can't... be I'm losing a lot of blood from my lip, I didn't… bite it THAT hard… I don't taste that much blood…
Looking in the mirror, Rahne steadied herself against her bedpost and opened her mouth, just to be certain. Sure enough, her lip was barely bleeding at all anymore… What was going on?
Rahne couldn't focus her mind on anything any longer, as everything in her vision started to swirl together. Her legs buckled under her, and she collapsed onto her bed, sweating more than ever.
As she faded into unconsciousness, somewhere in the back of her mind, Rahne noted that her teeth had seemed a bit… sharper than she had thought they were… but maybe it had just been her imagination….
The first thing Rahne noticed as she woke up was that light was streaming through the bedroom window—and, as luck would have it, right into her face.
Rahne snorted and turned onto her other side. As her higher thought processes started to kick themselves into gear, she realized that she must have slept through the night. Considering how bright it was outside, it must have been early after-
Wait. Something wasn't right. Rahne felt… different somehow. REALLY different. Kind of like she was a…
Oh my god…. Pleeease don't let this be what it feels like…
Leaping up in her bed, Rahne looked at herself in her bedroom mirror and yelped.
It IS what it feels like! I must be dreaming… Please, God, let me be dreaming!
Rahne collapsed onto her bed, covering her eyes with her paws.
This can't be happening. I'll look in the mirror again. I'll look like I always have…
The wolf took a deep breath. Opening her eyes, Rahne looked in the mirror again and yelped louder.
I'm… I'm NOT dreaming! I need help! Mom, Dad! HELP ME!
Rahne tried to call out to her parents, but all that managed to escape her maw was a bunch of panicked barks and yips. Due to the very unusual sounds coming from her bedroom, her parents responded in just a few seconds.
"Rahne, what's goin' on in here?" Her mom said, opening the door. "Are you hidin' a dog in— AH!"
As quickly as she had opened the door, Rahne saw her mom slam it shut again, locking Rahne in her room, all by herself. Perking up her ears, Rahne stopped her panicked yipping as her mother and father conversed on the other side of the door.
"What's goin' on? What's with all th' racket?"
"I… I don't know! There's a wolf in Rahne's room, and Rahne's… she's not in there!"
"A wolf!? What… how…"
"I don't know how it got in there, but you better believe I'm gonna have a long talk with Rahne when I find her, she must be outta her mind, bringin' wild animals into the house! Lord knows how she got that thing in without it bitin' her…"
Rahne tried to yell out, No, I'M Rahne! Your daughter! Help me! But all that came out were more yips and barks.
"Well, no tellin' what damage that creature's gonna do to the room in there!" her father angrily yelled over her barking. "I'm gonna stop this now—I'm gettin' the shotgun!"
"I'll call the pound, tell 'm there's an animal in our house!" her mother said. Judging from the tone of her voice, she seemed almost in hysteria over the baffling turn of events. Not that Rahne felt any calmer.
A… shotgun? Dad's gonna kill me! I've gotta get out of here!
Turning her head from left to right, Rahne debated where to go. There was nowhere else to go except…
The window! I hate having to do this from the second story, but what other choice do I have!?
Bracing herself, Rahne leapt towards the window, wincing as she crashed through it, shattering it into a thousand pieces. She held her breath for those few moments before she hit the ground outside, hoping she wouldn't be hurt to much by the impact. Luckily, the ground she landed on was softer than usual—she mentally noted that it must have rained last night. A few of the pieces of glass from the window did manage to stick into her fur and paws, but the pain wasn't dehabilitating.
Listening to what was going on back inside her house with her wolf ears, capable of hearing things that were too soft for her to normally pick up on, Rahne heard her mom wimper after hearing the window shatter, and Rahne's father finally burst in through the door, cocking his shotgun. Realizing she didn't have much time, Rahne ran as fast as her four legs could carry her, towards the edge of the forest a couple of blocks south from her house. Crying internally—Rahne noticed that she didn't have the capacity to cry as a wolf—the human-turned-wolf wondered what in the world the future held for her, as she heard a few shots fired from her bedroom window far behind her.
Rahne ran and ran until her legs couldn't carry her anymore. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the wolf collapsed onto the ground, utterly exhausted. She perked her ears up, listening for any humans following her, but she heard nothing. She was far, far into the woods now, so hopefully no one could track her down out here.
Finally, she was safe. For now, anyway.
Too tired to think about what to do next, Rahne drifted off into a troubled, dream-filled sleep.
When she finally came to, Rahne noticed that it was night time again. She shook her head wearily, standing up and stretching her four legs. Looking around, she noticed no signs of any other animal tracks, but she did smell… hmmm….pork? She'd have to check on that later… after she got a drink of water.
Slowly padding over to a nearby creek, Rahne lapped up the water, gulping it down as fast as she could. It was strange… she had never drunk water this way before, but it seemed somehow… natural. The specific movements she had to make with her tongue, her snout, all came as second nature to her.
A few minutes later, finally satisfied with the amount of water she had taken in, Rahne licked her lips and peered up at the moon through a break in the tree canopy above. Although the moon wasn't quite full, it was nearly there—Rahne vaguely remembered hearing a weather report a few days ago mentioned that the moon would be full again in another two or three days.
Was she a werewolf? Rahne wondered. Were those old legends, which pretty much everyone nowadays dismissed as a pure myth, actually real? It was the only explanation she could come up with, as far-fetched as it seemed.
But no, that couldn't be it… If she were really a werewolf, then she wouldn't have stayed a wolf during the day, it would only have happened at night… and she would at least be a little more humanoid… at least, that's what she THOUGHT werewolves were like…
But if I'm not a werewolf… then what am I? Rahne wondered, weeping internally. Some… freak of nature? Why did this happen? Why now? I want… no, NEED… things to go back to the way they were! I don't care what I am; I just want to cure myself of this!
The recurring smell of pork sidetracked Rahne's mind. She WAS rather hungry, as she hadn't eaten in nearly a day…
Sighing internally, Rahne followed the scent through the woods, and within a minute, she happened upon a clearing. A few yards away was a wooden fence, holding within it—just as Rahne had guessed—about a dozen pigs. Looking around, Rahne could see that she had stumbled upon a farm—a large red barn was behind the pig sty, and a house sat on the top of a nearby hill. Other pens for various farm animals littered the landscape, and plenty of chickens, sheep, and horses populated them, but there were no sign of humans outdoors—they must have retired for the night.
Rahne trotted towards the latched gate—it was a simple enough contraption, she could easily unlock it with her paws if she stood on her hind legs…
Wait, what am I thinking? Rahne stopped herself, backing up a few steps. I'd be raiding a farm, killing animals a farmer had worked hard to raise—and not even paying him for them! I can't do this!
It's either this, or you starve, another voice in Rahne's mind stated. You're a wolf now, for whatever reason, so you need to start acting like one if you need to survive. What, would you rather hunt for skinny little squirrels, spending all night just to hunt down a good meal? You've got something other wolves don't—real intelligence. You can open these gates, and get the goods inside.
Rahne snarled, drooling a little. Leaning against the gate for support, Rahne stood up on her hind legs and batted the latch open with her paws. As the gate creaked open, Rahne felt a new side of herself take over--- a feral, animalistic side that she had never felt before. Growling, she leapt upon the group of squealing pigs.
"What is it, Professor?"
Xavier looked up from the newspaper to see Jean enter the Mansion's library where he was sitting. The tall red-haired teenager was followed by Kitty and Logan. Folding up the paper, Xavier motioned for the three X-Men to take a seat on the nearby couch.
"Ah. Kitty, Jean, Logan—I'm glad you got my mental message. I need you both to go on a little excursion—it appears that something most unusual has happened in southern Scotland."
"Another Mutant?" Logan said, leaning back on the couch.
"It would appear so," Professor X replied. "A bit of news has come to my attention via an associate of mine in Scotland, a Ms. MacTaggert. She and I had done some research on Mutants in the past, and she brought a local story there to my attention."
"You have a friend in Scotland? Wow, Professor, you really get around," Kitty giggled.
"Yes, I have had quite an interesting life so far, if that's what you mean," Xavier smiled. "But back on topic, Ms. MacTaggert e-mailed me a few articles from the local papers. In one article, it details how a young girl by the name of Rahne Sinclair has disappeared recently—oddly enough, her parents found a lone wolf in her bedroom the day of her disappearance, and they chased it off their property. Another article, a week later, tells how many of the farmers around that area have had their livestock killed during the night. The police have identified the bite marks on the various corpses as from a wolf, but the gates to the pens were all closed the night before—they can't figure out how a wolf—a wild animal-- could be smart enough to open the latches on the gates."
"So you think Rahne Sinclair and this wolf are the same person?" Jean asked.
"Ms. MacTaggert and myself believe so, yes."
"Are you saying that Rahne is, like, a werewolf?" Kitty asked, a bit weirded out.
"Not exactly," Xavier answered, steepling his fingers. "If she transformed into a wolf, then she must have some method of being able to transform back—at will-- that she hasn't found yet. And since she's remained in her wolf form for so long, I'd imagine some of the wolf instincts are starting to take over her subconsciousness. I have been studying a few other cases of metamorph Mutants that Ms. MacTaggert and myself have identified around the world, and it seems to be a similar case with all of them—they can't remain in their alternate forms for too long and still hold on to their subconscious. So I can't see why Rahne here would be any different."
"So you want us to round up the girl, calm her down, and try to get her to join the Institute, Chuck?" Logan said, cutting to the chase.
"That's about the gist of it, yes," Xavier replied. "She is obviously having trouble getting out of her wolf form, and I believe she's going to need training in order to master her powers—otherwise, it could be disastrous for her. I've chosen you three because I think your powers would be most beneficial for this assignment—Kitty and Logan, you will be able to track Rahne without getting injured, and Jean, you can get inside Rahne's mind, and try to clear away all the animal instincts that seem to have taken over. Kurt's involvement would also have been beneficial, but as you all know, he's visiting his parents in Germany for the summer, and I can't reach him."
"No prob then, Charles," Logan said, standing up and stretching. "We'll have the kid picked up within a few hours. C'mon kids, let's go."
"I've managed to narrow down Rahne's location to within a five-mile radius via Cerebro," Xavier called to the trio as they walked out of the library. "You'll find the coordinates uploaded into the Blackbird's computer."
Rahne snarled, tearing off a hunk of meat from the chicken corpse and chewing on it. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, but it was getting harder and harder to think straight.
I have to… yip ...find a way... bark, snarl …to…
Rahne's trail of thought was lost again as the wolf part of her mind completely took over, and she stuck her snout into the chicken corpse, tearing off another mouthful of meat to swallow.
Given all the voices, both a human's and a wolf's, echoing throughout her head, it was no surprise that at first, Rahne didn't notice the addition of one more.
Rahne… listen to me… you need to escape out of your wolf form! I can help you… look to your right… behind the fence to your right…
Almost subconsciously, the wolf obliged, turning her head to the right. What Rahne saw immediately caught her attention.
Standing in front of her was a red-haired teenager, dressed in a green-and-black uniform, floating a few feet above the ground.
Rahne yipped, but stopped herself from fleeing after she heard that voice in her head again.
Calm down! I'm not hear to hurt you… Listen, I know you have absolutely no idea what's happening to you, but I can help. You're not a werewolf, you're a new kind of human, called a Mutant…
Rahne's own thoughts cut off Jean's psychic message.
I'm… .NOT… a human! I'm a… snarl …a wolf!
Rahne leapt at Jean, growling, but Jean flew farther back, escaping Rahne's jump.
"Rahne, listen to me!" Jean was now talking out loud, as she found Rahne's internal animal voices too hard to listen to for long. They were maddening… no wonder the wolf-girl was so lost… "Your wolf instincts are taking over—"
Rahne was through listening to Jean, however. Growling over the fact that she couldn't reach the hovering teen, the she-wolf instead fled, running as fast as she could into the nearby forest.
"Rahne, wait!" Jean briefly considered putting up a psychic wall to block the wolf's escape, but that would only confuse and enrage Rahne more, which wasn't what Jean needed at the moment. Better let Wolverine or Shadowcat handle capturing Rahne, then maybe they could the wolf down a bit when she had nowhere to go… Jean sent a quick telepathic note to the other two X-Men nearby.
Rahne skidded to a halt as another teenage girl, this individual a bit younger than the previous one and wearing a black and purple uniform, leaped out of a nearby tree and into the wolf's path.
What… what is this!? Rahne mentally growled, finally bewildered enough to brush away some of her animalistic thoughts for a while. How can she just walk out of a tree..? Get out of my way!
Kitty made no response to Rahne's mental challenge, and instead put out her hands, muttering "Nice wolf…" as she slowly stepped towards the seething beast.
Hrrm… this one can't read my thoughts like the other one… can't… say I didn't growl try to warn you!
Rahne leapt at Shadowcat—phasing right through her. Rahne stopped for a second, looked back at the girl as she shouted for… a wolverine…?... and then the wolf quickly turned and continued on her way.
Kitty wasn't giving up on Rahne, though, and continued to run after the fleeing she-wolf. Shadowcat didn't manage to lose that much ground, since she could just phase through foliage and trees that Rahne had to run around.
After another thirty seconds or so of running, Rahne was suddenly tackled by a somewhat short, muscular man in an orange and black uniform. The man pinned the wolf to the ground, as three sharp metal claws came out of each of his hands, embedding themselves in the soil to give the man a bit more anchorage against the struggling animal.
"Kid… you've gotta… get this under control!" Logan grunted.
Rahne continued to scratch and bite at the man's hands and shoulders, but no sooner did she take her teeth and claws away than the wounds closed up again…
….What… is snarl going on here!?
The she-wolf continued to struggle as Jean and Shadowcat caught up with Wolverine, but it was no use—Logan was too strong for her. Finally, tired of trying, the wolf simply growled and stopped struggling. She had hoped this would convince the orange-and-black costumed man to get off of her, but no such luck—he wasn't taking any chances.
"Rahne, you need to stop and listen to me!" Jean pleaded. "Something was triggered in you a few nights ago that turned you into a wolf. Find out what that was—whatever it was—and trigger it again! You have to turn back into a human, or your wolf instincts will consume you!"
There's… I went to sleep! Rahne thought, realizing that these costume-wearing … Mutants?... weren't going to give up until she did what they wanted. I didn't snarl think or do anything!
Was there any emotion you felt before that, though? Anger? Excitement? Sadness? Jean sent back to her.
I was… snarl angry at… my parents…
That's it, then! Jean smiled. Your period of heightened anger triggered your transformation! Calm yourself down, Rahne—you've got to reverse this!
Calm growl down!? I'm a WOLF! You snarl people bark came out of nowhere and hunted yip me down!
Rahne, please! Jean mentally pleaded. I'll explain everything soon enough—right now, you've got to get our of your wolf form. Concentrate, Rahne! Calm yourself down!
The wolf snarled, but visibly tried to calm herself down.
Think of the ocean, Rahne… a summer's day… anything that can calm you down! The she-wolf thought to herself.
After a few moments, Wolverine felt something shifting underneath his form. Getting up, he saw the wolf start to change into something more humanoid... a furry, canine-like humanoid…
"Grrrrrrooowww! This…. Hurts!" Rahne growled, as her mouth morphed back into a form capable of speaking English.
"The Professor said she might go under a lot of pain the first time she went back…" Shadowcat told Jean.
"I know," Jean said. "Rahne, you're doing it! Try to ignore the pain! Focus! You can do it!"
The wolf-creature shrieked in pain as the fur receded into her skin and her face became more human again, revealing, finally, a fully clothed, red-haired girl that seemed a little younger than Shadowcat.
"You did it, Rahne!" Jean said, running up and briefly embracing the girl, who was breathing heavily.
"I… I did it…" Rahne said finally, tears running down her cheeks.
"I know you've got, like, a LOT of questions," Shadowcat said. "I certainly did at first. We'll tell you all about it on the way back to the X-Jet."
"The… X-Jet?" Rahne asked.
"Trust me, that's gonna be the least of your questions once you learn about us," Shadowcat smirked, as Logan helped Rahne up and the group made their way back to the X-Jet.
Rahne briefly recalled her first encounter with the X-Men as she waved goodbye to her friends.
So much had changed since then, it was hard to believe she had only been at the Institute for about ten months. She had left her family to join the Xavier Institute… went through rigorous training… met many other friends, each with unique powers of their own… and now, the existence of Mutants had been made known to the entire world.
But now, sadly, it looked like her adventures were coming to an end.
Rahne looked through the rear window of the car at the rapidly receding figures in the distance, still sadly waving goodbye to her. Logan, Kitty, and Jean—the three who had rescued her from being stuck as a wolf forever—were there, along with Professor Xavier and a new friend she had made more recently, Roberto.
It's funny. At first, I had wanted to stay with my parents. Now, I can't imagine life without the X-Men…
As the car turned a bend, a cluster of trees finally obscured the Institute and the X-Men out front. Rahne sighed and turned around in her seat, back towards her parents sitting in the front of the car.
I tried to convince them this was the place for me, I really did. Not that I can really blame them for wanting to take me home… During a time of crisis such as this, I suppose most parents would want to keep their kids close by…
But still, it didn't feel like it was the right choice. She wanted to help others with her powers, not be shut up in a house for the rest of her life. Rahne looked once more towards the direction of the Institute, and promised herself that somehow, some way, she would find her way back into the world of the X-Men once again.
The End