Number Four - Am I Blue?

First Published: May 2002
Stars: Nightcrawler
Writer: Devin Grayson
Art and Colors: Udon, Long Vo, Charles Park and Saka of Studio XD
Letters: Randy Gentile
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Associate Editor: Brian Smith
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
Pages: 23

For more information about this comic, including scans of the first four pages visit Toon Zone!

Summary

Cut to Bayville High. As Kurt’s walking through the corridors, he hears some students referring to him as one of the ‘freaks’ from the Xavier boarding school. He tells Spyke this, who doesn’t give too much about not being popular – they can kick butt… Class begins, and the teacher tells the students they’re going to have to write an essay, about what they can be at home – but not at school.

Cut to the Danger Room, later on the same day. The team is conducting an exercise, and while their coordination is… well, basically non-existent, Kurt (still under his holo-guise) lets Jean know he finds it hard to fulfill the impossible expectations everybody seems to have of him – which gets to Jean. When the Professor asks the team how everything went, Scott reports the mission eventually succeeded, even though the team coordination didn’t go well, key points in the exercise weren’t overcome and Kurt’s reluctance to participate without using his image inducer hindered his agility.

As the team goes to dine, Scott notices Jean doesn’t seem to be okay. As he asks her what’s the matter, she admits Kurt’s outburst about her ‘struggling to be perfect’ got to her. Scott tells her he thinks Kurt was wrong: he tells her he thinks she’s doing well, living up to the expectations of everybody. That she is an example to the others. As Jean thanks him, Scott feels kind of embarrassed.

Later on the evening, we find Kurt mulling about his essay. He just can’t find anything to write down. Kitty enters his room, and asks him if she can borrow his history book, as she left hers in her locker. As he gives her his book, she asks him if he sleeps like that – still using his image inducer. He laughs, and tells her he doesn’t. As Kurt goes to sleep, he turns off his image inducer. He begins to dream.

Kurt finds himself in the corridor of Bayville High. As he is greeting his fellow students, his image inducer suddenly fails, and he finds himself facing his fellow students naked. They all laugh with him, and begin to chase the ‘furry blue elf’.

Kurt awakes abruptly. He grabs for his holo-watch, and activates it. He then tries to get to sleep again. The next morning, Wolverine is holding some morning gymnastics. Everybody has to stand on one leg and ‘be a tree’, but Rogue is having difficulties staying straight, and she falls over. When she says Kurt she is ‘so not a tree’, he tells her none of them are but that she still could pretend. As she snaps back and Kurt himself falls over, the Professor enters the gym and asks Kurt if he could talk to him for a second. As they are alone, he asks Kurt if something isn’t right. Kurt responds he hasn’t slept well, upon which the Professor asks him if it’s because of nightmares. As Kurt asks how he knows that, the Professor explains him he couldn’t ignore his nightmare that night. Kurt tells the Professor he thinks they’ll go away, and the professor reminds him there will always be help if he wants to talk about him.

Cut to a street. As the others had already left for school, Kurt and Kitty have to catch up with them. Kurt tells kitty he hasn’t finished his essay yet. As Kitty tells Kurt about how the Institute made her change, Kurt notices a gang of dropouts heading for them, but before they can run, they’ve been encircled. As they begin to get rough, Kurt warns them to leave them alone. When the guys ignore him, and one tries to get Kitty’s schoolbag (wielding a knife), Kurt de-activates his holo-watch and utters his threat again, this time as his ‘blue demon’-self. The thugs freak out and run away. As Kitty congratulates Kurt on his action, telling him they were so scared, he responds they were scared of his ‘stupid, ugly, blue elf-demon face’. Asking him why he said that, Kurt responds the gang of dropouts running away is one reason. Kitty tells him he’s mistaken, that she likes him, because he’s weird, but also one of the sweetest, funniest and most normal guys she knows… and because blue’s her favorite color.

Cut to Bayville High, and as Kurt enters the classroom he overhears the conversation between two fellow classmates: one has dyed her hair blue, and the other one likes it. As they’re joking about how their hair looks when they wake up, Kurt suddenly knows what to write in his essay.

Back at the Institute, the Professor asks Storm and Wolverine their opinion about the students. Wolverine tells him Rogue doesn’t yet know how to fit in, while Storm voices her worries about her nephew Evan being too overconfident. When he asks them about Kitty, they both tell him she won’t be any problem. The Professor then voices his confidence about Kurt being able to fit in.

Cut to Bayville High, and the English lesson has finished. As Kurt reminds Evan not to talk about their missions there, the teacher calls him back in. She tells him it’s okay to voice his feelings at school too. When he asks her what she means by that, she tells him he can talk about it if he’s feeling depressed. As he tells her he’s feeling fine, she shows him the essay again. “What can I be at home that I can’t be at school: BLUE”

As he assures her he’s doing alright, Scott calls him as he’s just received a message from the Professor.

Summary written by Nikko for -

Beyond Evolution Copyright © 2004 Denaill.