Unidentified Human Remains & the True Nature of Love by Amanda Sichter (PG-13)

[poilass.livejournal.com]

Fandom: X-MEN COMICVERSE
Pairing: Pete Wisdom/Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat)
Author on LJ: None, as far as I know.
Author Website: None, AFAIK, but has stories on Fonts of Wisdom
Why this must be read: Amanda has a gift for writing the X-Men as real people, exactly as large as life and no larger, who make the same idiot mistakes as everyone else. It's used to full effect in this story, where mutants, magic and government conspiracies all seem realistically ordinary enough that no suspension of disbelief is required. While it doesn't have as much of the snark that's usually what makes this pairing appealing to me, Unidentified Human Remains is a solidly plotted 'case' story that works on several levels, as Pete and Kitty try to rebuild their relationship while solving a series of vile and inexplicable murders.

Some references are made to past canon events, but I don't think they should confuse anyone unfamiliar with them.

She had spent so long amongst invulnerable mutants, immortal enemies, magical creatures, people who came back from the dead on a semi-regular basis, that she had forgotten how small a human life really was. Fragile, delicate, a tiny glowing light cupped gently within hands - so frail that a strong wind could easily snuff it out.

The murderer was a hurricane.

Unidentified Human Remains & the True Nature of Love, by Amanda Sichter.