<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>  Name:</strong>       Nightcrawler<br/>  <strong>Affiliation:</strong>  Resistance<br/>  <strong>Location:</strong>   Cairo, About 31 kilometers Above the City<br/>  <strong>Tags:</strong>          Open<br/><br/></span></span><hr/><br/>(http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/balloon.png?w=470&h=214)<br/><br/>The conversation went threw his mind once again as he opens the door of the absolutely tiny capsule. He'd be lying if he said he never saw something like this happening, but he never imagined that one day he'd be doing this and that it could save the world.<br/><br/><em>Half,</em>was all he'd managed to say at first- he felt so helpless. The numb horror of it all. In two days this monster had wiped out half of the human race, who could do such a thing?<br/><br/><em>We know this Apocalypse character likes Egypt. Maybe he's from there, I don't know. We just know he's there a lot and he's up to something even bigger. We need to find out what, and stop him if we can. Who's with me?</em>someone had said. Wolverine, he thought. Kurt wasn't paying as much attention to that as he should of. Just. Half.<br/><br/>Someone said it was suicide. The defenses were too solid and the X-Men weren't as a rule known for Stealth. They talked of automatic weapons systems and patrolling soldiers and ship security- even flying someone in seemed too risky. A flying person was small enough that they wouldn't show up on any radar system but people notice people that fly- it's just in how the brain works.<br/><br/>But then an idea started to form. Even the best Ground-based Radar was useless at finding things above 26 kilometers even if they aren't small as a person, and Kurt does turn invisible when the lighting isn't so good.<br/><br/>The last hold-out of this desperate plan was Rogue. That didn't surprise him. Half-Sister by Adoption, Family was Important.<br/><br/><em>Kurt, this is Suicide.</em><br/><br/>The way she said it actually gave him a moment's pause- but only a moment. No, he's the only one who could do this and it not be suicide. Tiny Capsule on a Balloon, all way too small and much too high for any known Radar system, looking out at the curve of the world. Up here was so beautiful- he takes a moment to enjoy the view of Cairo just before Dawn.<br/><br/>He gave a quick prayer, then it occured to him that he could only think of one person- human or mutant- that jumped from higher and he, unlike Kurt, had used a parachute.<br/><br/>"<strong>&lt;With all due respect, Herr Baumgartner, but I think 31 kilometers without a parachute or a safety crew on the ground tops 39 kilometers with them. Though if you're still alive I'm willing to discuss it,&gt;</strong>" he quietly chuckles as he gets to the edge of of the capsule. Nothing but a pressure suit to help a bit with the thin air and the heat, designed to degrade when there's enough oxygen outside the suit that he won't need it.<br/><br/>Then an old feeling returns, a return to memories of a simpler time. He imagines the crowds back in the Circus. He speaks into the suit a little louder, knowing nobody can hear him. Not shouting it though. It was silly, there was no way Apocalypse and his forces could possibly hear him but he most certainly keeps it on the downlow.<br/><br/>"<strong>&lt;Ladies and Gentlemen&gt;,</strong>" he speaks in German, "<strong>&lt;Tonight the Incredible Nightcrawler will be performing without a net. . .&gt;</strong>"<br/><br/>Last check. Suit, Tail, Sword, Sword, Sword, Image Inducer with full charge. Check. Check. Triple Check. Check. At least it feels like they were there. His invisibility power had kicked in back in the capsule. He breathes. . .and pushes off into the void above the African Continent.<br/><br/><em>Kurt, this is Suicide,</em>he remembers again. This time the memory keeps going.<br/><br/><em>You and I both know it's not a Suicide mission until Logan gives you a beer, Sister.</em>Kurt had joked, discretely. It was serious, no argument there. He'd hugged his sister. He had Faith that in the end God's will would be done, but he hoped neither of them had to die for it.<br/><br/>Of course, when Logan chose that moment to walk in with a couple beers- and not the thin water that passed for American beer either- the tone got even more somber.<br/><br/><em>You don't have to do this, Elf.</em>he'd tried as he handed one over.<br/><br/><em>Yes I do.</em>Kurt had simply answered.<br/><br/><em>Yeah you do. But I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't offer.</em><br/><br/><em>Thanks for the thought, Logan.</em>Kurt had answered as he broke off to leave the room. They had old Forge projects to de-mothball and preperations for a jump to make.<br/><br/>Falling so fast now, he high was he? Still invisible, an altimeter would be useless. He just had to go by sight to the ground. He had to be past halfway now. Right on target, the city was growing underneath him.<br/><br/><em>Kurt, if you don't make it- anything you want us to do for you?</em>Rogue had asked him.<br/><br/><em>Besides Avenge my death like the first of God?</em>he had cracked a quip as they got ready to close the capsule and get the balloon going. Storm could give the gentle encouragement to the winds for the trip.<br/><br/><em>When you stop Apocalypse, Light a Candle for me- and if Wanda shows up, tell her I'm sorry. My journal will say why.</em><br/><br/>Nocturne. It's strange really, meeting your daughter years before she's conceived. Time Travel was involved. He wondered if her timeline was even going to happen now. He wished he could apologize to her too, but odds are she didn't exist anymore. Or never would, really.<br/><br/>The ground was coming up so fast now. He had to look down and watch closely now. This had to be timed perfectly- too soon and he'd get unwanted attention, too late and Kurt would be able to ask God personally why all this was allowed to happen. He panics for a moment- he was still invisible but he'd leave a sign in the air- the plan was to fall next to a Minaret to block view of it from more angles but Apocalypse's forces had smashed them. He wasn't even a Muslim and he thought those things were beautiful. Alright, improvise. Look around real quick, plan ahead, the ground is coming up so fast. . .<br/><br/>BAMF!<br/><br/>Within just a few meters of the street a small cloud of some sort of brimstone just appears. It's before dawn, nobody should of seen it.<br/><br/>And there lies the secret of how he could make it without a parachute. Kurt found out long ago that he couldn't shed speed when he teleported. He always came out with the same inertia as he went in- but he didn't have to have the same direction.<br/><br/>One block down, next to a 3 story building, a cloud of the same gas appears- Kurt now not falling downward but launched upward. It doesn't take but a fraction of a second to match the height of the building, but now he's not speeding up to Terminal Velocity by Gravity but being Slowed by Gravity. BAMF!<br/><br/>He reappears next to a two story mansion, this time it takes a little longer and once again when he aligns with the roof- BAMF!<br/><br/>BAMF! An apartment building.<br/><br/>BAMF! Another house. Yes, this should be slow enough now.<br/><br/>BAMF! He grabs a broken streetlight as he goes by, swinging around it like a true circus trapeze artist. With a feeling a triumph, he settles on top of the light- stopping to catch his breath if nothing else.<br/><br/>Nightcrawler rolls his neck, smiles- one of the greatest feats he's ever accomplished and the whole point was that nobody saw it. The powers for Stealth but the heart of a showman. The lord had a wicked sense of humor. Kurt swings to the next light, jumps to a wall, and begins his quiet mission to save the world from Apacolypse. Something tells him he just did the easy part.