When someone says to me "Hey why don't you put yourself into an X-Men fan fic." I decided why not and did... but first I got my pens out, designed a niffty costume for myself and came up with some really fantastic powers that no one else has in the X-Men, now the problem I have is stopping.
I'm happy to say I am the second Canadian member of the X-Men.
Hey! You ever wonder what
'"NOVA" The Dawson Mutant'
looks like for real? Well here she is!!!!
I'm Nova part 1: The Dawson Mutant
Anyone you recognize is obviously Marvel's property, but I'm using them shamelessly for my own evil purposes, but I'm still not making any money by doing this.
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This is my attempt at putting myself into one of my stories, for the self-insertion challenge, but….
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I don't have the cool mutant powers I gave myself (big tears of disappointment welling up in my eyes as I write) believe me I'd love to have them if I could.
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I knocked seven now eight years off my age; yes I'm that old, but everyone tells me I'm still very immature (kooky grin) and lucky because I only look 19.
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My name really is Kim Novak, and yes I get teased about it, especially when people learn that I have vertigo so I don't like high places, now you can understand why I'm called Kobold at school and Del Creed here on the net.
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Nova is mine, all mine, because she is 'ME". So if you want to use 'ME' please ask nicely, submit a blood sample and write a 1,000,000 word explanation on what you want to do with 'ME' and then I might let you barrow 'ME'.
I'm Nova
By: DelCreed
Monday Sept. 11 Dawson College Atwater St. Montreal, Canada, mid morning:
I'm standing there in profound disbelief, just like everyone else, with smoke burning my eyes and a crowd of displaced students pressing against me trying to get a better view of the tragedy, how could this be happening? Fire drills at Dawson collage have always been just that…drills, sure notorious for their bad timing because they always happened on the wettest or coldest day of the year. Now after attending creative arts classes here for the last two years, it isn't a drill anymore, it's the real thing. My school is burning, and burning quickly because the sprinkler system never kicked in. Smoke has engulfed the entire building and flames are shooting from the third and fourth floor windows and the sound of far off sirens reaches my ears as I hear someone saying something that makes my heart plunge into my stomach.
"Man dude, there are like still people in there, I heard some teachers talkin' and one said that some of the Sci-fi club didn't leave because they didn't believe this was for real, now they can't get them out." The Sci-fi club, my friends, the only people who'd ever accepted me as I am, a dyslexic, introverted, left handed, mismatched eyed and older then anyone else in the group. They'd worked hard to crack the protective shell I'd hidden behind most of my life when I'd first joined them, they where the ones who'd made me more human then I'd ever felt before, I was no longer a withdrawn thing that didn't know how to talk to people, never had any friends. I was more open now and able to joke around with others. True they weren't aware of what I 'really' was, but they soon would, because no matter what their reaction to my biggest secret will be I'm not going to let them die in there, not when I can help them get out… I'm going to save them no matter what.
'Awe gees I sound just like a comic book superhero, where's my spandex and a phone booth?' I brake through the crowd and rush for the front doors. Jeff my consoler in the 'students with special needs' department tries to hold me back but I shake him off with an apologetic look, I have to get to my friends. As soon as I'm inside I remember why I've always been afraid of fire…it burns. I can feel the heat drying my eyes and the smoke coiling in my lungs, 'what was I thinking I'm allergic to cigarette smoke this stuff has to be ten times worse', I quickly bring up my hands to form a large water ball in them that I throw at the fire in my path, I kept tossing them till I realise 'This is like spitting on a camp fire.' And I've only made it across the upper atrium, I'm still faced with a solid wall of fire cutting me off from the C corridor where the Sci-fi club is located. Having always hidden my abilities I've never really had a chance to use them in such a big way before, the occasional water ball here and there in privet hasn't prepare me for this kind of thing, I need to think bigger then a water ball…wetter. Taking a deep breath I realise I shouldn't have, the smoke burns all the way down my throat and I start coughing. 'O.k. so we don't do that again' with a thought I form a water bubble on my back, under the backpack ('I probably should have left this outside with Jeff') right over the gill slits hidden under my shoulder blades, breathing through them will ward off passing out from smoke inhalation, that takes care of the having to breath part, now for the fire that is blocking my path. I call up the image of a cresting wave that is just folding in on itself, and I'm happy to see forming before me a tube of water now cutting through the wall of flames, like a surfer shooting the curl I quickly run through it up the C hallway to the door of the club, it is closed and they'd thought of stuffing something under it to keep the smoke out, 'looks like 'Lonnie's loud plad shirt.', but the suspended ceiling is letting the smoke into the little room anyway, I hammer on the door and my best friend Liz comes to the window coughing. "Come on, I'm here to save you guys!" 'I really have read too many comic books.' Still stunned to see me Liz opens the door and is even more stunned to see my waterworks as her boyfriend Rownan, our friends Jeek, Scott, Lonnie and Julie stumble out after her into my tunnel of water.
"You are a-" Julie squeaks, but I cut her off, there is no time for questions.
"Yes, now lets go!" I extend my waterworks through the flames that seal off the way to the back stairs, it actually feels really good to just let my powers go like this, kind of like a long awaited mental stretch, but I don't know how long I can keep this up so I hurry to pull the door to the stairs open. That is a mistake because the handle is hot… Burning hot and I singe my hand real good. For a second my water tunnel starts to collapse drenching everyone as the only thought shooting through my brain is PAIN, but I quickly stabilize the water and with a renewed vigorous swirl I try the door again, this time I wrap my trench coat (yes I wear a long black trench coat, I'm in Sci-fi we do that, it is expected of us) around the knob first before I pull the door open. By now my friends are all coughing from the smoke and leaning on each other, but we manage to get up the stairs to the back door and out of the building just as I hear an ominous crash behind us, I know without having to look that the ceiling has just caved in. The police and some teachers who are there and see us stumble out come running over to us and start asking questions as they lead us over to some ambulances to give us a shot of oxygen, as we try to answer them I disperse the water bubble from over my gills and start coughing too, so I'll blend in better.
"Was there any one else in there?"
“we don't know, we don't think there is.”
"How did you get out?" I cast a pleading look at my friends but its too late, Jeek who is standing behind me didn't catch it, and he starts telling everyone what I'd done.
"Kobold saved us, she had all this water coming out of nowhere, and she walked us through the flames to get out." I can literally hear the door to the closet of 'Mutant Secret hood' slamming shut behind me and the key grating in the lock to make it final. Around me the police and teachers all take a quick step back and I even see one policewoman put her hand down onto her gun.
'Boy, don't I feel like a hero?' Some of the students who've overheard what Jeek said start to whisper, others point and gawk; surprised that there was a mutant in school with them;
"Figures she's a member of Sci-fi." I hear one voice in the crowd saying.
"She was in my English class two terms back, I knew there was a reason she was so good a understanding poetry, being a mutant she must have cheated, probably read the teacher's mind. I failed that class." And others were beginning to murmur, as the crowd suddenly spit out a woman with a microphone, perfect hairdo and a cameraman, I quickly pull up my trench's hood to hide my face, this isn't how I want my parents to learn that I'm a "Gene Joke" I stumble back, away from the ambulance, the oxygen mask falls to the ground but the medic doesn't touch it, 'because it had been breathed on by a mutant' I think bitterly to myself.
"France Leclair with channel seven news, we heard there where survivors here." I want to yell that the survivors are on an island in Madagascar, go look for them there, but I can't speak or I'll draw her attention my way. "Is it true? I've just heard, that they where saved by a mutant? Which one of you is the mutant?" she waves her micro in Jeek's face eyeing the orange streaks in his black hair, "Are you the mutant? What are your powers?" I know I should stand up and say that I'm the mutant not Jeek, but I take advantage of the distraction to runaway just as the woman asks, "Did you set the fire to show off your powers?" I hear a woman call out 'Stop' and I'm sure its the woman cop who'd put her hand on her gun as she'd looked at me before, so I just run faster. I know they can find me if they want to, this is school they'd have addresses on everyone, course I might be lucky and my address has burnt right along with everything else (I found my happy thought maybe I can fly now… nope not one of my powers). I can't run fast enough, this stocky 5.8' 155 pound body of mine wasn't built for speed so I have to think of a way to go faster. Its funny how memory works because a picture of the skateboarder who'd almost run me down yesterday suddenly flashed before my eyes…
'Could I?' Crossing my fingers I picture a flat-water bubble under my running feet, it worked I'm suddenly flowing forward. I brace my legs apart for balance as I'm carried along by the water, like a water skimming bug skimming the surface of a pond 'This is so cool!' I quickly look back, yes still being followed but with this waterslipping trick I've gained more distance between them and me. I decide to duck down an ally on St. Catherine St to shake them off only to find that the end is blocked off and I'm trapped with no wear to go, so I duck behind a dumpster and use my other power to shrink myself down till I can fit under it, it smelled like hell and looks even worse (because you have to realize that no one ever cleans under a dumpster). Footsteps run past me, pause as they look for me behind the dumpster and continue on, I'm safe for now, then I jump and hit my head on the underside of that trash bin, as my pager goes off, sure its on the vibrate mode and doesn't give me away but I'm always surprised whenever that thing starts to buzz in my pocket. I check and see its someone at home who wants me to call in A.S.A.P. thankfully when the alarm went off I'd slung my backpack on in stead of leaving it in the classroom, it has all my money and stuff in it (To think I might have left it behind with Jeff). When I shrink down anything I'm wearing shrinks too. I quickly fish out a quarter and a bus ticket, then taking off my trench coat I stuff it into my pack, step out from under the dumpster and put the pack on the ground then return to my normal size. I pick up my mini sized pack and quickly stuff it into one of the pockets on my loose jeans and sneak out of the alleyway and hope that the police won't recognize me without the black trench and yellow and black backpack. I walk quickly down St. Catherine Street and into a restaurant to use a payphone to call home. The phone only rings twice before my mom picks it up.
"Hello?" I love the way she dose that, no matter what's happened, if she's mad, happy or has just finished telling you to clean your room for the ninth time, my mom can answer the phone in a nice, even, calm, pleasant voice (hey maybe she's a mutant too).
"Mom, you paged me, I guess you heard about the school hu?" I ask her.
"No, I was calling to remind you that Serge (Serge may be my step-father, but to me he is my dad. That other guy, the one mom was married to when I was conceived, but was divorced from when she was five months pregnant, well he is just a genetic downer who sends me and my older sister Nancy an email from time to time, for my last birthday he sent me an email with a whole sentence in it, asking how my sister was.) and I are going out this afternoon and I might not be here when you get home. What happen at school?" I swallow.
"It… well it burnt mom, there was this really big fire and it went, well it went … Whoosh!" There's silence "Mom?"
"It went Whoosh! Are you okay? Where are you me calling from? You left the cellular here again and you know Serge wants you to have it with you at all times-" I cut her off quickly."
"Mom I'm fine, well I swallowed some smoke and burnt my hand, but its' my right hand so I'm fine, honest, but mom… we'll need to talk when I get home… I… I have to tell you something." She pauses then speaks in 'that' voice again, calm and even, I hope she still sound like that after I tell her what I have to.
"Where are you now? Can you come home?"
"I'm at a payphone, don't worry I'm on my way home right now, and mom if you hear anything on the news wait till I get home before you freak or get up set about what you hear, like you said I forgot to bring the cellular again." I hang up and hurry down the street to the bus terminal where I catch the 45 just as its about to leave the door. I'm really not looking forward to this talk.
********
High noon, time to confront your fears
I make it home without any trouble and quickly enlarge my backpack as I walk down the pathway that passes behind the bank near my house and pull on my trench coat as I run up our front walkway, I notice that my dad's car isn't here yet, and as I guessed my mother is there waiting for me by the door, she's dressed up ready to join my dad the moment he arrives home. My dog, a black pug named Raven, is also waiting for me. So after Raven's usual welcome home lick, her welcome home hug, and her show-me-you-are-sorry-you-left-me-to-go-to-school scratch on the belly, I look up at my mom but stay sprawled on the carpet with Raven sniffing me to see if I've done her wrong by seeing any other dogs while I was out.
"Hi." 'What can I say to her?' She is standing there looking me over before she speaks.
"I saw the news, about the fire, they said that some people from that club of yours were trapped inside and that a mutant… a mutant rescued them, I- I'm thankful you're safe, that you made it out okay, but should the school be letting mutants in with the regular students?" She asks me and my heart falls. "They're said to be very dangerous, in the states the government wants to lock them away… for their own good."
"I was in my watercolour class, I got out before the fire reached the front of the school." She looked at my hand with its angry red burns that I'm keeping away from Raven and I swallow. "I wasn't trapped in the club with my friends." I take a deep breath, stand and lift my hands up in front of me to create a small waterfall from my right hand into my left palm. "Mom… I was the mutant that went in and got them out." She staggers slightly and I reach out to help her, but I'm afraid she'll pull away from me, hate me for what I truly am. She must see my fear because she takes my unburnt hand and we walk slowly into the living room and sit on one of the couches, when she hugs me I know she can still love me, even like this. It all comes out, after seven years of hiding who I really am from her, what I really am, I tell her everything about me. How I'd discovered my sizing power on Halloween when I was thirteen, when I was holding a mini chocolate bar wishing it could be a bigger, regular sized one and that it had started to get bigger till I'd dropped it. I'd picked it up again and tried making it bigger again, then had made it smaller then it had been to begin with, and how I'd realised I had to touch what I wanted to size, that I couldn't just think the thing bigger or smaller. I can see that she didn't really understand so I call Raven over. "I can't change part of an object's size," I explain "I need to increase or decrease the whole object." I put my hand on Raven and for a moment she shrinks back to the size she was when she was a puppy, then I make her as big as a Doberman. Mom sits back her eyes wide.
"You can do that to anything?" I nod and pick up a little, red, scented candle from one of the end tables and increase it too. Then I decrease Raven because she's trying to sit on my lap. I continue telling her how it had taken longer to discover my second power. 'Waterworks' as I call my ability to conger up water from nowhere and control it, everything from making water balls to just filling my mouth with water when I'm thirsty and want a quick drink (Very useful when you are eating crackers, or don't want to drink from a public fountains). As I tell her about this I create a little water bird and let it fly around us. I'd discovered this ability the summer I was fourteen, mainly because we don't have a pool… and people who do have pools surround our backyard on all sides. We don't have one because:
On account that my dad, Serge, had a daughter who'd drowned when she was three, so if he never sees another pool it won't never be too soon, and
We don't have the place for a pool, because of the city codes that say it had to be five feet from the fence and ten feet from the house…yada, yada, yada.
So there it was one of the hottest summers on record and I was sitting there staring at our little bit of not-enough-room-for-a-pool grass listening to everyone around me doing cannonballs into their pools, it was a twisted kind of Chinese water torture as far as I was concerned. All I could do was just imagine jumping into a pool with all that cool water all around me, I'd shot the grass another evil look as I'd wiped the sweat from my face, when I noticed that the ground was slowly sinking down and that there was water coming up, making the yard a soggy mush as the ground sank lower and the water came up higher and higher, but the grass really looked bad and I knew that a hole full of muddy water wasn't going to go unnoticed by anyone around the house, so I'd panicked as I tried to think the water away, thankfully the grass had come back up, well most of the way and the water had all gone, I'd sighed waving a hand in the air in relief and had dropped my first water ball on my head... and yes the water was cold. I tell her how I'd been able to really use my power for the first time today and that without it I never could have saved my friends.
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" she finally asked.
"I'd heard about mutants when I was in elementary school before I knew I was one, the older kids would whisper about then, about how everyone hated them, how people where afraid of them, I didn't want you or anyone to be afraid of me." She asks many more questions and I answer them the best I can and then tell her about the less them pleasant reaction of the teachers, police and other students back at school after I'd saved my friends. "Mom I think anything that had our addressed on it burnt and no one from school has a clue where I really live (My dad isn't a really social guy with people my age, so I hang out with my friends at school or in town, never at home) anyone who has my phone number can be told that they have the wrong number, no one will know." She nods and hugs me once more and says that things will work out, but she doesn't look too confident.
"I guess everything they were saying on the news and everywhere else about mutants all being evil and out to take over the world, isn't true. Well not all of it anyway, your one and there is no way you could be evil (unless I;m fighting with my sister)." She sits back and looks me in the eye then says hesitantly "Kim." I look up at her.
"Yes mom?"
"Don't tell Serge, until you really have to." I nod and think it's a good thing I didn't tell her about the gills on my back just yet. I'd discovered those in Florida when I was fifteen and caught in the undertow of a wave unable to come up for air. My dad's car pulls up and I wave the water bird into one of the potted plants by the window, as my mom watches me. "So that's why I never have to water the plants." And she smiles.
********
Monday Sept. 11 Greymalkin Lane Westchester New York
12:00 pm
The shrill sound of Creibro's alarm startled the young man who was sitting alone in the war room, in a chair precariously balanced on it's two hind legs, he promptly fell over backwards and lay there for a moment catching his breath before creating an ice block to rub on the back of his head as he stood up.
"Ouch, that smarts." He grumbled as he tapped the keyboard to call up the report that would tell him why the alarm had just sounded. Scott Summers, known as Cyclops leader of the X-men walked into the room followed by a big, blue furred man and a colourful, bubbly teenager.
"Robert you're injured," Beast observed. "Where you perhaps attempting to recreate you're infamous 'one legged chair lean over'?" Hank inquired seeing the ice cradled to his friend's cranium. Sighing he looked into the blue eyes and pulling out a pen light from his lab coat's pocket and quickly shown it right into Bobby's eyes. "It would seem that you have forgotten the concussion you suffered the last time you attempted that particular manoeuvre, so I'll repeat myself, do not do it again."
"Chairs have four legs for a reason Bobby, use them." Scott added as he looked at the screen. Bobby seeing that Scott was gearing up for a lecture quickly pointed at the screen in hopes of distracting Scott's attention, and it worked.
"Ceribro has picked up a strong sign of mutant activity in Montreal, Quebec Canada." He informed the frowning leader of the X-men, his best friend and his fellow prankster Jubilee (who was up from Snow valley visiting for a long weekend). "Hay sparks flip on the news for that area would ya?" he asked Jubilee. Soon they where all watching a broadcast on CNN about the largest English CEGEP in Canada burning down (Funny that the largest English CEGEP is in the province known worldwide for its 'Speak French or leave' demonstrations), they where about to change the channel to check another news program when the news anchorman said the magic word that had Scott rushing to press the record button on the computer counsel.
"…And eyewitnesses report that the trapped students, members of the Dawson Science fiction and Fantasy association, where saved by a mutant, a mutant who fled from police shortly after the rescue and is still at large somewhere in the city." (Ha! I live off the island on the south shore) For a moment on the screen appeared footage of a large building with smoke and flames rolling out of it's windows (hey I burnt my school down for you, so I'm milking it for all its worth) and then the camera cut suddenly to a group of people who where standing by some ambulances, they where being given oxygen, then the camera was zooming in on them just as many of the people in the group quickly took several large steps back from the black coated youths, many with sudden looks of shock on their faces. The film then showed a woman reporter running and shouting questions at the group.
"France Leclair with channel seven news, we heard there were survivors here." She said loudly "Is it true?"
"Shows what she knows the survivors are on an island in Madagascar." Bobby commented. Scott shot him a 'look' as Jubilee sniggered and Hank rolled his eyes and turned back to the broadcast.
"I've just heard, that they where saved by a mutant? Which one of you is the mutant?" she asked waving her micro in a young man's face eyeing the orange streaks in his black hair, "Are you the mutant? What are your powers?" the young man looked stunned as he tried to stammer and shake his head at the same time. The woman then asked, "Did you set the fire to show off your powers?" As soon as she ask this the tall, hooded figure at the back of the group turned away quickly from the searching camera's eye and was then running away from the reporter. The camera quickly followed, zooming in on the running figure in the billowing, black trench coat, who was now being chased by a female police officer who had drawn her gun and looked ready to use it.
"They're going to shoot the person who saved people from dieing in the fire?" Jubilee looked shocked. "Gosh ya got ta love this world, different place, same face. Its always the mutant's fault so shoot to kill." She muttered sitting down in one of the many chairs around the table. Scott just watched shaking his head as the news anchor reappeared on the screen.
"No doubt by again using mutant powers the individual was able to avoid capture and has not been found. The authorities ask anyone who has information to contact them. Further more when she questioned the students our reporter was surprised to find that no one had any comment on the identity of the alleged 'Dawson mutant'. One student even said simply 'If being a mutant means that you can save people who would have died, then I can't really see what is so bad about being one.' We will keep you posted on any further developments concerning this story. Till farther notice all classes at Dawson College are cancelled, students are urged to contact the school, via this number, and bring in proof of registration so that all their lost records can be refiled promptly." Scott pressed the summoning button and sat down in his usual chair to wait for the rest of the X-Men to arrive. Within moments People started pouring in, some in uniform Bishop (who come to think of it is never out of uniform), Storm (who could call up her uniform, using what power I have no idea but she can) and Rogue (because hers covers her from head to toe). Some not in uniform, Logan, and Remy (all sweaty from trying to kill each other by playing one on one basketball) Marrow (sauntered in like a queen), Joseph and Jean (one in a pink frilly apron covered in flour the other blushing a apologizing).
"Joseph, I'm sorry about the flour, if you really want to bake cookies to send to Luna I'd be happy to help, with out powers." Jean offered. Professor Xaiver was still away visiting Mure Island and Scott didn't think he needed to be contacted yet about this situation, and the professor had told Scott that he was quite capable of making any decisions that needed to be made, even choosing new students he thought would benefit from training.
"Gumbo here doesn't know it Slim but ya just saved his life, I was about to wipe the court with him." Logan shot Remy a satisfied look, that the Cajun just rolled his eyes at as he shook his head and mumbled.
"Dan tes reve cher." [In you're dreams dear]
"I want you all to see this and tell me what you think." Scott played the part of the interview he'd caught and watched their expressions, which ranged from rapped attention from most of the viewers to disinterest and chair spinning from Marrow. The recording finished just as Bobby and Jubilee join in the camp of the chair spinners. Clearing his through and staring at the three spinners Scott asked "I think four of us will be enough to handle this one, so who wants to come and check this new mutant out with me?" Everyone looked at someone else.
"Montreal is in Quebec and that's Canada, don't that like make it Alpha Flights call Cyclops?" Rogue asked. Logan huffed in his chair and shook his head.
"They've been disbanded." He said rubbing his head.
"AGAIN!" Everyone at the table shouted.
"How many times has that happened now?" Storm asked.
"Too damn many, but I got a real bad feeling it's for good this time." Logan scowled, he'd been on that Canadian team before joining the X-Men, and he wondered how the Canadian government could keep doing this to it's people, Alpha Flight was all Canadians had for protection against super powered evilness. "I don't mind a trip North of the border, I'm in if we can stop on the way back for some beer." Scott thought it over and nodded. Jean smiled at Scott and everyone knew they where talking mind to mind.
"I shall join you too." Storm decided, secretly she was wondering if she'd catch a glance of singer Celine Dion, her plants where big fans of her music. So in the end it was Scott, Jean, Storm and Logan who would track down the 'Dawson mutant' and it was also decided that Gambit would fly a pouting Jubilee ("But I want to meet the new kid") back to school, because she had class tomorrow (ya, her school hadn't been burnt down for plot reasons <Snigger> maybe later).
*******************
In Montreal;
They decided to checkout the school first to see if Wolverine could pick up the mutant's trail.
"Ho sure, tons of water, smoke, burnt out building, and over 10, 000 kids and I'm suppose to sniff out one mutant." He snarled sarcastically. Raising his voice to a falsetto. "Let's get Wolverine to sniff through the dirty, charred mess maybe he can find the Lindburg baby." Storm soothed him and said,
"Just do your best, Logan" The Blackbird hovered over the back courtyard of the burnt out school, cloaked in stealth mode, and Storm flew out as with her T.K. powers Jean lifted Logan and Scott down. They landed away from the eyes of the people who where still walking around the sight. They where all dressed in civilian cloths trying not to draw anyone's attention to themselves and Logan soon spotted the place the ambulances had been parked on the news report. But as he'd said too many kids, too much smoke and burnt smells had covered any sent that might have been there. He shook his head then held up his hand for silence, he heard…voices…talking about mutants, he turned and jogged quickly towards where they where coming from. What he found was a group of young people, most of them dressed in black trench coats, sitting on the ground and sprawled over each other, kinda like a basket of puppies. He signalled the others to follow him as he crept over to kneel beside a hedge that kept them out of the puppies' sight.
*********
On the other side of the hedge sat some of the Sci-Fi club members, Liz (Of the magic pencil, who can draw like an angel) and her boyfriend Rownan (Theatre student, who has to wear tights for class), Julie (A.K.A. Little Julie, with a persona so sweet she'll rot your teeth), John (At one time president of Sci-Fi), Frank (A.K.A. Cameraman, known to ambush the unsuspecting and shoot with video), Jesus (Called so because of his long hair and beard), Satin (because He'd walked in to the club years ago and been asked "who the hell are you?" and had promptly replied "I'm Satin" and the name had stuck, also a theatre student, but he likes wearing the tights, and will show them upon request, most likely a mutant with the power of charisma), Ian (The ruling G.M of many a Sci-Fi roll-playing game) and Patric (A total, Tina Turner fan, diva and self proclaimed bitch, but he was the first who took me under his wing and had no trouble saying many times "Kim you are being stupid," or "Look you are twenty years old you can stay out later then ten o'clock, you suck, get a life").
"…Kobold's a mutant, I'd never guessed. She was just… well okay I guess being twenty and only looking sixteen is strange but what you guys say she did with the water, I wish I'd seen it." Ian said wishfully. Julie raised an eyebrow at him.
"Ian, we where trapped in a burning building and choking on smoke, you didn't want to be there, trust me." The others who where there agreed with her. "I just don't know how she knew we were in there."
"I think I know," Everyone looked at Frank. "I was going to the hookah store with Kin when the alarm went off and you guys said it was just a drill, that you were staying inside, you told me to close the door so no one would see you. When we got back and saw the fire we asked around if you'd come out, some teachers asked us more questions and I guess maybe Kobold heard about you guys." They where silent till Rownan spoke up.
"So then she comes charging into a burning building after us and had to reveal to everyone what she 'is' to save us." Rownan stated in awe. There where murmurs of agreement. "What did she think she was? A comic book superhero, she could have died coming in to get us out." Liz held him tighter.
"I knew she was out of touch when I found her, remember John you thought she was a hopeless cause and would never fit in, but she wasn't doing too bad once I shook her world up a bit and dusted off the cobwebs." Patric huffed "I looked out for her and she was happy to just simply Roll-play being a Gangrel in our Vampire LARP, and a Bonenawer in Rosie's Werewolf game, when here she was able to do all these cool things for real. I wonder what she can really do?" Visions of how he could use Kobold's powers danced in his head. "I tried calling her home but her mom, and I know her mom's voice, said I had the wrong number." Then he tapped him self in the head. "I even spent Christmas Eve at her house, but I can't remember how to get there, because I never caught that second bus, her dad picked me up at the south shore bus park."
*********
That was all Jean needed to hear, it wasn't one of her favourite means of getting information, actually it was an out and out violation of privacy, but they needed to find this girl… Kobold, (what kind of name was that?) as soon as possible, so she slipped into Patric's mind, and blushed bright red, her eyes going wide. Scott through their mind link wasn't spared either; his jaw unhinged and hit the ground as he gasped for air. It took but a moment for Jean to find the memory of last Christmas eve tucked away in the young man's sorted mind, he likes to wear dresses and… ho my. Jean was tempted to look at Patric's memories of Kobold, to see just how he had helped her, but decided that the less time spent in this man's mind the better. So now with the route to Kobold the Dawson mutant's house firmly clutched in her mental grasp Jean slipped out of the man's head, but had to return a moment later to reach in and drag Scott out.
"I didn't know you could do that with a banana." Scott said gently rocking back and fourth, still in shock as Jean refused to tell Logan what she'd seen, and she made a note to wash their minds out later, well she would after she'd tried that thing with the whipped-cream, that had looked like fun. Once back on the Blackbird Jean guided Storm to the girl's house, Scott being still a little too shaken up to fly anything bigger then a kite. "Jean did you see what he did with the Banana?" Jean decided to do a little mind cleaning early, it wouldn't do to go into an unknown situation with Scott traumatized like this.
**********
I have to admit that I'm feeling very edgy, I've been sitting here on the couch for hours, true… expecting fleets of police cars to pull up at your house at any moment can do that to you. Okay I have to relax and think positive thoughts.
'….'
Nope not working. A sound at the front door has me on my feet and quickly glancing out the window to see who's there. Now who would have ever guessed that I'd be relieved to see my sister Nancy standing there with her usual look of 'Well-open-the-door-already-stupid!' I undo the lock and relax for real now, her boyfriend Mike is with her, so she'll be nice to me.
"Where is mom?" Nancy asks once they are inside. 'And hello to you to sis.'
"Dad came and got her I think they went to see Denis'." She shrugs and walks off into the kitchen as Mike smiles at me and asks.
"Hey Kim how's it going?" What should I answer him 'Ho fine I just revealed to the world I'm a mutant, and the cops are going to come arrest me soon.' So I shrug and tell him.
"Ho I'm fine, my school burnt down this morning and I'm expecting company, everything is perfectly human- I mean normal." I mutter and start to slink off towards the stairs to hide in my room, no one would think of looking for me there, even if they do I could just hide in one of my messy piles that my mom is always yelling at me to pick up.
"Ya right, your school burnt down, you shouldn't joke about those kinds of things." He says as he goes off to join Nancy in the kitchen. I've just reached the middle of the stairs when Raven starts to bark in the kitchen, and I watch as she comes rocketing through the entrance to slam her whole body into the storm door (and people wonder why pugs have flat faces), with such force that the man and two women on the other side of it step back, as if there wasn't a sheet of glass between them and my little snarling Tasmanian devil. I guess that Nancy and Mike are on the porch out back by now; I know she won't answer the door, and in this situation I don't want her too. I walk slowly back down the stairs to the door and tell Raven to hush; she ignores me, and keeps barking and clawing at the door. I push her back with my foot as I open the door and ask nervously in French.
<<"Can I help you?">> (Yes I can speak French, but I'm writing it like this because I don't want to have you scrolling all the way to the end of the story to figure out what I wrote, aren't I thoughtful).
#Scott that is Kobold, she is the one we're looking for.# Jean tells her husband when she sees the girl who answers the door. Kobold stands about 5.8', has dark blond hair and for a minute her eyes look green, but then she shifts and suddenly they are grey… no they are blue well one of them is blue and the other is green now. Jean wonders if Remy is going be happy that another 'Strange eyes' might be joining the school. The man looks down at Raven, clears his through and asks in English.
"Do you speak English? Is she dangerous?" #We should have brought Gambit, he could talk to her.# Scott thinks to his wife. I smile as I look at Raven too, and then shake my head.
"Yes, I can speak English and French, Quebec is suppose to be bilingual, but a lot of French people have forgotten that over the years. And her, " I point at Raven "this dog is a lamb in wolf's clothing, but she'll keep doing that till you say hello and pat her. Can I help you?" I ask again with the muscles in my stomach clenching. Do they send plane cloths officers to arrest you for being a mutant?
"Yes, My name is Scott Summers and this is my wife Jean and our friend Ororo, we are from Xaiver's School of higher learning in Westchester New York." Colour me I'm surprised, Dawson only went Whoosh this morning and already other schools are trying to pick me up. "We are here to speak to you and you family about what happened today at your school." I can feel my face go white as he speaks, they know it was me.
"Look I don't know what you are talking about, I… I'm not a-" (And the cock crowed a third time and Peter realized what he'd done) Just then Nancy comes to stand behind me, she is smiling as she asks them.
"What happen at my sister's school? Would you like to come in?" My eyes go wide 'No' my mind shouts but being well raised I automatically step back and Raven, the little traitor, starts to wag her tail and coo up at them (to understand this you have to own or know a pug, they can coo like pidgins when they are happy). The tall black woman with white hair reaches down and pets her.
"Why, she is just adorable. What breed is she?"
"Raven is a pug, they are native to Tibet. They were used to predict earthquakes, 'course she's slept through the two we had here." I answer automatically; my mind is on what Nancy is asking the man with the funky red glasses. Scott having assumed that all sisters are 'close' and tell each other everything that happens in their lives was unaware that this did not apply to Nancy's relationship with her younger sister.
"We detected your sister's power signal with our computer this morning, when she used her powers to save some of her fellow students that had been trapped inside her burning school." Nancy looked shocked as she levelled her eyes on me. "We are here to offer her help with her mutant powers and offer her a place at our school."
"Power signal? Mutant powers… School? Kim? Kim you… you're one of those freaks they talk about on T.V.? A mutant like on Jerry Springer's show? I always knew there was something wrong with you, but to be one of those mutant monsters." She looks at me, "You wait mom and Serge find out, and they'll kick you out for sure." The three people at the door stared in shock at the woman who had seamed so nice only a moment ago, and then Mike comes up to Nancy and puts his hand on her shoulder.
"Nancy, Kim isn't a freak, she just needs help." He said quietly looking at me. Ho, I know what being given "Help" means, I grew up being helped with my learning disability, ya helped right into the dumb class and left there my whole life to rot, where all you ever learned from teachers was "Sit down, shut up, and don't bother me." I never wanted that kind of help again thank you very much.
"We are here to help your sister, but not the kind of help you are thinking of," The red haired woman, Jean, stepped over to me. 'Funny I'm really bad at remembering names but these people just seamed so familiar to me that I had no trouble at all remembering their names.' "We want you to learn to use your powers to help humans and mutants, like us." She said as she telekinetically changed her cloths into her costume, and seeing this Storm did too, as Scott wished he could do the same, but asking to use the bathroom to change wasn't an option right now. "We are mutants too, not monsters." She shot Nancy a look. "With your act of courage this morning, we are hopeful that you will want to join us at our school and learn to use your powers wisely and help us to work for better mutant human relations." (Suddenly I'm having flashes of becoming a Jedi like my…) I'm shocked to say the least, until this morning I was the only mutant I knew, now I'd just met three more. I was about to ask them some questions when my dad's car pulled up into the driveway. 'Things are really about to get interesting once mom and dad met these people.'
**********
Twenty minutes later, Living room, my house.
It is incredible but here we are, my parents, three mutants and me, all sitting down in the living room talking over tea (that all rhymed J) and coffee about this school of theirs for mutants in New York and I'm being asked to join it. It sounds really good too, small classes, all the help that I need with my studies there at my finger tips (a Dyslexic's dream come true), and the chance to flex my powers without the fear of being hunted down if someone sees me. My mother is still very hesitant to let me go and is asking Mr. Summers ("please call me Scott.") some very pointed questions.
"What will you do with her? Are you going to exploit her… her powers at this 'school'? Will you be able to protect her from people who don't understand her? We've always kept her close to home." Jean remembered Patric's words about how Kobold, 'no it's Kim her real name is Kim, how Kim had been when he'd first met her, introverted and unable to communicate with other people near her own age and Jean guessed that she'd been kept a little too sheltered at times, but she understood that this often happened with children who had learning or physical disabilities, and she sent this thought to Scott (who had finally fully recovered from his earlier trauma J).
"Mrs. Belair we'll teach her to live in a world that fears our kind." He answered her sincerely as he held his wife's hand. Till now my father sat there in silence, since his earlier outburst of 'why me' and,
“This is Jack Novak's fault, he did this, he gave her screwy gene, this never would have happened to her if she was my child.” It hadn't been pretty sight. You see my dad is a very controlled man; he tries to provide and protect his family with all that he is and if something happens to one of us he feels responsible for it. Once I broke my kneecap and had to be in a cast for a month, he'd been very mad… at first I thought he was mad at me the way he shouted and slammed around, but as time passed I realized he was mad at himself because he hadn't been there to keep me safe. I know it's a weird way of thinking, but it also shows that he really loves us a lot. Mom eventually got him to calm down and relax. As I listen to them talk I glance over at the living room window and gasp, there is a short man in a flanelshirt looking in at us. He sees me looking at him and smiles at me; I don't think he smiles a lot because it looks more like a sneer.
"Um... Sir…Scott, sorry to interrupt but is he with you?" I ask looking back at the short man at the window. Scott looks up and nods then looks at his wife.
"Logan just wants you to know that the place is safe and that there is a corner-store just one street over and that he's going off to buy his… um …to make a perches." #He found his beer# Jean told Scott, then Scott told me.
"Kim you're observant, not many people would have noticed Logan at the window."
"I've watched people, for a time it was how I learned how people act together." (This just shows you I didn't have many friends before Sci-Fi took me in) Now my dad decides to ask a few questions about the cost of the school, what kind of things would I need to go there and just what would I be learning.
"Your school is too expensive for us right now, because we'd have to pay for it in American money, our Canadian money is only worth half of what yours is." When Scott told him about Professor Xavier's scholarship fund dad looked doubtful. "Why would he pay for Kim to go to his school?"
"The Professor wants mutants to learn to control their powers and help set an example for mutant/human relations, we have a sister schools in Massachusetts for younger mutants, and one in Scotland with a home like environment for those who need more help with their powers then we can offer." Scott explained and I thought about asking to go to the school in Scotland for a moment, my friend Colin was from Scotland, and even if he was living in England right now maybe I'd get to see him again if I went there (He wears a kilt!J), but it was really too far away and I knew dad wouldn't agree to having me that far from home. During all this Raven had been spending her time flirting with Scott, who'd been ignoring her, well she wasn't going to take it anymore. With a leap she landed on the couch between him and Jean and rolled over to show him her belly as her lips fell back in a toothy grin, her tail wagging happily. Scott looked down at her in surprise and Jean smiled as he reluctantly gave Raven's belly a small pat.
"Well looks like Raven is ready to go to New York." I said brightly. Suddenly all our attention was drawn to the window where the short man, Logan, looked like he was dieing of hysterics at the sight of Scott and my dog. The laughter caught Raven's attention and she looked at the window, and was quickly jumping off the couch and slamming face first into the bow window and barking obstinacies at the man who'd dared invade her territory. My mom looked at Scott, got up and asked the man to come in.
"Thanks, name's Logan." He said offering one of his big paws. "Quite a guard dog you have here." Raven was dancing around him and he scooped her up into his arms and she started to lick his face happily till she decided she'd had enough and had a little snarling fit to be let down. "Has a temper too." He said as he quickly put Raven down (If he hadn't she'd have nipped his nose) and he followed my mom into the living room to join us.
********
I can't believe it, they said yes. I'm going to the "Xavier's School of Higher Learning" in Westchester New York, hey I'll be able to see all my friends that I met when I was working as a production assistant one summer. Wait till Scooter and Mike find out that after years of trying to get me to come to New York for a visit, that I'm going to be living near them now. Then I stop myself, better ask if I can see them first. Right now I have to concentrate on packing because they are waiting for me down stairs. Everyone except Logan who went back outside after muttering something about marauders and looking out for any other people who might have picked up on my power signal and try to take me away too. The first thing I pack is my laptop and all it's bells and whistles, if I have to go away I'm taking my `Sims' (The Sims is an evil, nasty game that will suck away all your free time and even some of your not free time and give you nothing but a god/goddess complex in return) with me. My Rocket eBook (Have to remember to pack the cradle and charging cord for it), palm pad, Zip and all the disk and Cd ROMs that I need. I grab all my socks and underwear, and then sort out my favourite T-shirts, pj's, jeans, sweaters and shoes (I'll wear my trench coat and hiking boots to leave). I know I don't have to bring my comic book collection and I look longingly at my stereo cupboard, can I bring my music? I poke my head out the door and call out to my mom.
"Mom, what should I bring?" She comes to the stairs and gives me the 'you should have picked up your room look.'
"Pack the cloths you'll need, the things you can't live without and if you think of something you want we'll send it to you." Mom is a wise woman. Two large suitcases of cloths, a backpack full of knitting, needle work, my Tarot cards and runes, a large box of computer gizmos and a packed up sound system (dad gave me new speaker cord because I had to leave the originals tacked to the wall) later I think I'm ready to go. Jean picks up Logan, a pile of boxes that look like cases of beer, my stuff and flies them up into the air to their plane that is 'Cloaked' in the baseball field of a nearby park. Scott turns to me and asks.
"Do you have everything you want?" I smile.
"I just need to pack one last thing… Raven come on lets go get your toys, bed and chow boxed up." He looks stunned for a moment and stammers.
"You are bringing your dog?" I look at him; he wants me to leave Raven. Ororo puts a hand on his shoulder.
"Scott the dog is charming and friendly, long have I thought that we at the mansion have needed some four legged companionship, and this one is already house broken." She pointed out gently. Raven chose that moment to sprawl at Scott's feet and show her belly again, I always knew she was a smart dog. Now I'm almost ready to go but I need to say good-bye to my family, so I start by calling my big brothers. Derek, the first-born, lives in Toronto and I'll call him at work.
"Hello."
"Hi, Day its Kim, I'm calling to say good-bye I won't be home for a while so I wanted to let you know what's happened to me." I tell him about my powers, how I'm leaving to go to a school that will help me use them for the good of humanity, and ask him to say good-bye to his wife Michelle and my nephew Noah for me. After a long stunned he says calmly,
"Kim, God blessed you with powers and I know he knew what he was doing, you'll be in our prayers." He took that well; so then I dial up my other big brother, Warren, who is also at work.
"Warren Wegerek please." I wait a moment for him to come to the phone; he works at a car dealership as the head mechanic.
"Yellow."
"War, its Kim, I'm fleeing the country and wanted to say good-bye to you and Dominique."
"Kim, what are you talking about?" I tell him about the school burning, my powers, being asked to attend a special school in New York and that mom and dad are letting me go. "They're letting you go… You're a mutant, for real, this isn't one of you're stories you're writing is it? (I have a habit of telling people things to see how they'll react and I then write their response into my stories Eg: Telling Mike that my school burnt down) What can you do?" I smile at Scott, Ororo, and Jean who has just came back to get us.
"Well Warren, I can make things bigger or smaller, make lots of water come out of nowhere, control it and I… " I want to tell him I have gills, because I know it will weird him out to know I can breath under water but I still want to keep it to myself for now. "I can make things out of water like birds that really fly." He wishes me luck and to come home soon because he wants to see me make water fly. Jean is looking at Scott.
#Water and size control, Scott we don't have anyone who can do that on the team, with unlimited water Bobby could really cut loose with her around.#
#Hope he isn't allergic to dog hair.# Scott grumbled.
#Why? Oh how cute, it will be nice to have a dog around the house, and no one is allergic to Hank, so I don't think there'll be any problems.# Scott choked back a laugh.
#I'll tell Hank you said that.# Nancy and Mike came out of the den where they where watching a movie, he hugs me and tells me to be careful, then Nancy looks at me and says.
"I over reacted, I was surprised, and everything I've ever heard about mutants made me forget it's still you, even if you can do strange things. Do well in school." Mike must have been talking to her. She hugs me too and I look up at the door to my room and create a water hand to test and make sure I locked it properly, my things have a way of walking off on their own sometimes and mom had put a key lock on my door some years back.
"I'll do fine, you be careful to, if I was given powers this world must really be messed up." I joke as I turn to dad. "Dad you remember to relax sometimes okay, you are too serious." I'm about the only person who can actually get away talking to him like that without him getting his feathers ruffled.
"Kim if you want to come home, at anytime, you call me and I'll come get you. I love you." I always get choked up when he says that to me, he always had a 'thing' about saying the words, he'd rather buy you stuff then come out and say the 'L' word, so each time he dose I keep it in my heart like gold.
"I'll miss you too dad, you know the botanical gardens is still open, you and mom should take the time to go see it soon." I say as I hug him tightly (and I'll miss you most of all scarecrow) then turn to say good-bye to my mom. As mom hugs me she says.
"Guess this means I'll have to start watering the plants now." Everyone laughs, as I return her hug I try to reassure her.
"Mom I'll be fine, you'll see I'll get so good Alpha Flight will be begging me to join someday." Scot cleared his through and told us,
"They have been disbanded." Stunned Mike, Nancy, Dad, mom and I all say together.
"Again!" As I'm about to pick up Raven I look over at my mom who is bent over patting her, mom looks sad. When I think about it I maybe her youngest kid but Raven is her baby, so I walk over to Scott and take the box of dog things out of his hands and put it down.
"We won't need this, Raven wants to stay with mom and dad. She insists only dad knows what she wants to eat from the table and that she is too old to start over in a new place." My parents watch as I hug my blackbird good bye and put her into my dad's arms. "Don't feed her too much from the table." I tell him. "I'd never be able to give her all the attention she is use to, go to classes and study too." One last hug to everyone and we walk down the front steps and in a moment I know I have to tell Jean that I have a thing about heights. She put me down and looks at me. "Sorry, I know it sounds funny but you see… The actress Kim Novak was in the movie 'Vertigo" and this Kim Novak-" I point at myself "has vertigo." They are very understanding and were ready to walk to their plane but I tell Jean to fly them out I'd be able to keep up. "Because I learned an new trick today." I form the water bubble under my feet and start to waterslip down the street keeping an eye on those who are being flown to the waiting plane. I make the bubble thicker, about three feet high and find that I can ride it like a surfer.
"That looks like fun, and she's really moving on that thin'" Logan commented "She's going to be a quick learner, too bad Jubie is going to be disappointed that she is still going to be the youngest member on the team.
**************
The X-Men's Blackbird, somewhere over New York State
Flying doesn't scare me; I've been flying (in an airplane) since I was two, on trips to Michigan to visit my Bio. Dad (back when he acted like he wanted to see me), but this plane was amazing. It was able to land and take off without a runway, had a hospital type area in the back and a hole in the floor that was used by 'The Fliers' on the team. Scott had called ahead when we'd taken off and I'd heard him ask someone named Rogue to ready a room in the 'Lady's side' of the mansion, and a voice had come back,
"It's a girl! Bout time we got us some reinforcements around here. We had some excitement down here ourselves we'll fill you in as soon as you get home, um… in privet" She sounded distracted… very distracted.
"When we arrive you'll meet the others," Jean was telling me "and we'll get you settled into your room in the woman's wing."
'Others, wow more mutants, wonder if they'll mind my strange looking eyes.' I ask myself remembering once when I'd been in a library and a woman had actually warded me off with a sign to protect her from the evil eye. "Will I have to share a room?" Visions of people taking my things like my sister did made me squirm. (Nether a barrower nor a lender be, for neither side is happy with the interest -Shakespeare)
"Naw, everyone has their own space, that's what keeps us from tryin' to kill each other everyday. So, how ya get from a nice name like Kim to a name like Kobold? What is Kobold from?" Logan called over from his seat. I can't help but smile.
"I was sick of hearing 'Kim this' 'Kim do that' Kim, Kim, Kim so I named myself Kobold about five years ago, found it in a dictionary; its a mischievous, house dwelling, German fairy. Perfect name for me 'cause at the time I didn't get out of the house much, 2/8 of my ancestry is German, and I wanted to be mischievous, but I never got up the nerve to do anything. When I went back to school I was told to stay away from the Sci-Fi club during the tour, so I went and joined the next day, thus fulfilling my mischievous quota. When I walked into the club the first time they asked my name, I said it's Kim, and they said 'Sorry got one of those, choose another name.' So I said Kobold and they looked shocked and asked if I really wanted to be known as a 'dog faced gremlin' and we've argued about it ever since, I loved the controversy, so even if I'm the only Kim in Sci-Fi now I keep using Kobold." I wonder what my friends where doing… now that I'm gone.
"So do you want us to call you Kobold or Kim?" Scott asked. I guess Kim would do, and Kobold was for another life, but there was something I'd been thinking about.
"Mutants… some mutants, like the ones I've seen on American TV, give themselves new names, to go with their powers right?" They all nodded "Well I think I want a new name too, would that be okay? I mean I could use Kim in public but when I'm me I could use a name I want? There is this mutant team and they have cool names, Cyclops 'cause he wears this eye band and shoots beams out his eyes, Wolverine a mutant with claws, Iceman is an obvious choice for one of them, and then there is the doctor guy who was with the Avengers who calls himself Beast, but he looks like a big, furry, blue, pumped up Grover." Jean and Ororo Smiled as Logan choked on a laugh and Scott nodded.
"You can have any name you want, but from the way you are asking I think you've already given your mutant self a name." This guy is smart.
"Ya I did, I want to avoid being called something lame like Squirt, Splash or Starfish, So I played around with my Name 'Kim Novak' and remembered how once an automatic writer, said that there where no K's in heaven's alphabet, so I wrote my name down and crossed out the K's and that is how I discovered my Mutant name." There was silence and then Ororo raised an eyebrow.
"Kim Novak… Im Nova… that is… so simple yet it is brilliant, it is you in a new light." I'd told my mom this morning about Im Nova, and she had thought it was a cool way of making a name too.
"Well Nova, if you look out the window to our left you'll get you're first look at the school." I followed the direction he was pointing in and gasped. The mansion was big, the lawn was big, there was a lake and…
"Are those woods part of the school?"
"Yup, they go around the whole place." Logan said looking happily at the woods then at me.
"Scott quick turn around please, I need my camping gear, why didn't you say there where trees here… is that lake okay for swimming?" By then they where laughing and promised that I'd find all the camping gear I'd ever want in the mansion. "I can't help it, I love the woods, and with my Bio. dad ignoring me for the last two years I have no way of seeing them anymore, he… he lives in the Adirondacks… Lake Placid." Logan was curious.
"That is a real beautiful aria, you learned to camp up there?" I nodded "You ever been to the top of a mountain and seen the Ski Jumps?" I smile.
" Logan, my bio dad… he built those ski jumps. I went on a class camping trip for gym early this spring and got 94% but I think it was because I stuffed the teacher with food." As we talked Scott and Ororo landed the plane in the hidden hanger that I later learned was under the school.
Go onto part two
For disclaimers please see part one of Im Nova
#Warning# this part is a little more violent (it is only one sentence, but Someone dies, and there is two or three colourful words) and shouldn't be read by very young children.
I started writing this at about 10:00 Pm and when I finished it I looked and it was 6:25 Am (so I'm going to bed 'night all)
Nova is mine, all mine, because she is 'ME". So if you want to use 'ME' please ask nicely, submit a blood sample and write a 1,000,000 word explanation on what you want to do with 'ME' and then I might let you barrow 'ME'.
Im Nova Part 2: Civilize the mind make savage the body
By DelCreed.
Scott, Jean, Ororo and Logan had just taken off in the Blackbird when Joseph called out that lunch was ready and it being such a nice, sunny September day everyone decided to eat outside on the back patio. Gambit was going to bring Jubilee back to her school after the meal.
"Pass the chips please Hank," Henry McCoy passed the bag to Bobby. "Pass the mustard please Hank," he passed the mustard bottle to Bobby. "Pass the potato salad please Hank." Sighing Hank reached out and took Bobby's plate, and loaded it with food then handed it and everything Bobby would need to eat, napkins, fork, knife, glass of soda etc… that was on the table near him back to Bobby, Bobby smiled. "Thank you." Jubilee giggled and Hank realized that Bobby's motives all along had been to be served his meal instead of having to get up and serve himself. Everyone was digging in when suddenly Bishop looked up and reached for his gun.
"Something is wrong." Everyone looked at him.
"Bishop like chill dude, it's a nice, sunny day, no bugs and we have some really good eats on the table." Jubilee smiled but then her eyes went wide "Bish is right there is something wrong."
"What do you mean, its nice and quiet, its not like body snatchers are thinking of slithering out of woods to come and get us." Bobby joked as he froze Bishop's gun in a block of ice. "What could possibly spoil this moment right Han-" Bobby's words where cut off by a howl and a scream of terror. Around the side of the mansion a small, thin, balding man came running towards them.
"Help me! Save me! He's going to kill me! He is right behind me!" Then suddenly the little man was sprawled on the ground with something big, blond and snarling on top of him.
"Wrong, he's right on top of ya." The Blond thing taunted his prey.
"SABRETOOTH!" The X-Men all yelled.
"Let him go Tooth." Jubilee yelled as she was about to run and 'Paf' him in the face, but Gambit tripped her and then grabbed her arm.
"You stay here, Logan be killin' us if anythin' happen to you." He hissed.
"Let him go!" Snarled Sabretooth at them. "You gatta be kiddin' me I hunted this little shit all the way from Nevada, Sinister doesn't want his little Ex-toy talkin' to ya, so I was sent to break it." As he spoke he picked up the man and looked at the X-Men. "Transplant here is dyeing slowly from liver cancer, thought he could make up for his past by spillin' Sinister's beans to you and earn himself a pass through the pearly gates. Not going to happen"
"Noooo!" Bobby yelled, thinking of everything this man could tell them about Sinister plans. Sabretooth raised his arm up high and extended his claws
"Say good night Grace." But as Tooth was raising his arm Bobby had iced up and shot forward to grab the little man away from the psychopath, for an instant both Iceman and Sabretooth where touching the mutant Sinister had named Transplant for a good reason, and an instant was all Transplant needed to make the man who would kill him pay for his crimes. Sabretooth's claws plunged into the weak man's chest and crushed his heart, at the exact same instant that the mutant died there was a burst of light and both Bobby and Sabretooth where blasted back to land unconscious on the ground and the man's small lifeless body just seamed to disintegrate before the stunned eyes of all who watched.
"Bobby!" Hank was quickly swinging over to his friend. "Bobby!" It was no use Iceman was out cold (I just had to say that, sorry). Hank gently picked him up and carried him to the Med-Lab only pausing to tell Joseph, Bishop and Gambit to carry Sabretooth down to the Med-Lab too. "We'll need to contain him."
*************
"Ho, Ho my head, who spiked my Dr. Pepper?" Bobby paused. What was wrong with his voice? It felt all gritty and rough. He raised his arm… Hu? Well he tried to raise his arm to rub his head but for some reason he was tied to the bed, and the smells in the room where so strong. He cracked open his eyes a bit… the light was very bright, but he didn't close them. 'The Med-Lab? Why am I tied down in the Med-Lab? Is Hank getting kinky on me or something?' Turning his head Bobby spotted Hank leaning over someone in another bed… What had Sabretooth hurt someone else, for some reason Bobby just seamed to know that the man Tooth had been hunting was dead. Clearing his thought he called out to his blue buddy. "Hey Grover what's the big idea of strapping me to the bed? You afraid I'd fall out something buddy?" Hank swung around and starred at him.
"I'm too busy to see to you right now, so why don't you just shut your mouth and stay silent." Hank went back to looking at the person in the other bed.
"Gosh, Blue I'm sorry, who's hurt? Gambit, Rogue?" He saw Hank tense up. "Its not Jubes is it… oh gosh it is… is she okay? Logan is going to kill us if you can't fix her and Frost… I don't even want to think what she'll do to us." Hank was frowning at him.
"And since when are you concerned about Jubilee? Every time you've ever seen her you've wanted her dead." Bobby was shocked.
"Hey, Hank are you okay? Your talking really weird, not at all like my Twinkie run buddy." Bobby was startled to see Hank cross the room in a single leap to land by his side.
"What did you say?" Bobby wasn't so sure he wanted to say anything with Hank acting funny. Hank was leaning closer and looking into his eyes now. "Bobby?"
"Yes Hank" Hank seamed to stagger backwards. "Oh, sorry you put onions on my burger before the whole Sabretooth thing went down, guess my breath is ripe hu?"
"You… you are… Bobby, but then who-." Stammering and shaking, `guess someone spiked his Dr. Pepper too'. Hank bounded across the room "who is this?" Hank pushed the bed to where Bobby could see who was laying in it. This time it was Bobby's world that bottomed out, because in the bed, under perfectly smoothed blankets was another Bobby Drake.
"That's me! What did Sinister clone me too?" Hank shook his head sadly. "Well then what, 'cause now there is two of us." Hank was still nodding his head, as he picked up a mirror and held it up for Bobby to see his face. In a silence born of shock Bobby was looking at his reflection with yellow/green eyes when only this morning he'd been using blue ones. "No, oh Hank no." and then Bobby Drake, the former Iceman passed out cold. Hank quickly started to undo the restraints that where tying Bobby down, but he wondered aloud to the room of silent people.
"If you are Bobby, and I know you are, then who is within your former shell?" A sound made him turn quickly around and he saw Bobby's body leaping towards him. "Oh my Stars and-" Hank was able to catch the smaller body and pin it's flaying arms to its sides. "You mustn't up set yourself."
"Up set my self, Shag rug I'm goin' ta tear me a new blue fur coat." A smooth medium pitched voice hissed. Then seeing that he was unable to break free the interloper in Drake's body cast a look around the immediate area for a weapon, and as he searched his eyes fell on the body still half strapped to the bed beside him. "That's, that's my… my body." He looked down at his hands and body. "Aw, crap I'm in that snot nosed kid's body. Put me back… NOW!" There was no denying it there had truly been one heck of a swish pulled on him.
"This mutant you hunted… and killed, what could he do?" Drake's face scowled. "How can I help you and Bobby get back to normal if you don't help me now. What were his powers?"
"Body part swapping, he could take someone's heart and put it into someone else's body as long as both bodies where still being kept alive." Hanks mind buzzed, what could Transplant have transplanted to put Bobby and Sabretooth into each other's bodies? Suddenly a cold chill ran down his spine…
"Stop that Creed, you have no idea how to use Robert's ice powers. I have a very bad feeling about this." Taking Sabretooth by surprise Hank suddenly tossed him into a Shi'ar containment-field (As seen in the animated T.V. show) "Scan patient's brain wave patterns and compare with subjects Drake Bobby and Creed Victor." He ordered the computer. The computer hummed and then flashed a message on a nearby screen. "Yes, there is no other answer. Creed-" Hank turned to the force-field "I can't switch you back." Creed was stunned and he look it, and from the bed a gasp caught Hank's attention. "Bobby."
"You can't fix us? Why? Hank you can fix anything." The Doctor quickly returned to his friend and finished releasing him. "Hank you once saved my goldfish."
"Bobby I just fed it and installed a filter on his tank, but this… even I know my limits and a brain transplant is definitely mine."
"Brain?" Hank nodded.
"From what Creed said and the computer has confirmed it, your brain is now locked inside Sabretooth's body and his is in your body. Bobby I'm sorry."
************
The time after that shocking discovery seamed to crawl by for Bobby. Hank was giving him tests, studying tests, thinking up new test and tests, tests, tests. The others in the mansion had all been told of the strange happenings, and Rogue had even told Remy, over the radio in the mini jet, about the strange news. Only Scott's team weren't told because they where in public. Bobby just sat there letting Hank turn him into a pincushion and thinking.
"Bobby look on the bright side, you always wanted to be taller." Hank smiled at him.
"Cute Hank, you want bright side, fine how is this for bright siding; point 1) Logan hates Creed, one look at me an d he'll slice me before I can say 'hey Canuckelhead its me'. Point 2) Logan is going to kill me, and it's going to hurt… a lot."
"I will have Bishop and Rogue standing by to explain things to him as soon as they land and get away from the new student."
"Well, fine but point 3) I'm stuck in the body of a psychopath wanted by S.H.E.A.L.D., and just about every law enforcement agency on earth."
"S.H.E.A.L.D. can be informed of your new circumstances Bobby."
"Point 4) I'm Graydon Creed's daddy. I can see Christmas now, 'Graydon behave yourself and don't beat up grandpa again.' Hank, what will I tell my parents, I can't let them see me like this… oh no, you'll have to tell them I died." Bobby gulped. "I'm their only child, they'll be devastated."
"Bobby you are over acting now, your parents will love you no matter what and they'll get use to your new 'look' you just need to give them a chance."
"Point 6) I'm working for X-Factor now and I don't want to work for X-Factor."
"No, you don't, Sabretooth ran away from them remember."
"Point 7) I'm an accountant, who is going to hire an accountant who looks like this Hank?" Bobby said gesturing at his new face.
"Well Bobby, I believe that the IRS would be pleased to have you in their auditing department." Hank shot back trying not to smile.
"Fine, laugh at my pain, point 8) Mystique has seen me naked, and this body did 'IT' with her." Hank choked on that one.
"Well… when you see Creed again later you can have the pleasure of telling him that the White Queen has seen the body he is in naked." For the first time since the incident Bobby really smiled.
*********
Three hours later.
"I have good news and bad news Bobby." Hank told him as most of the group sat with them in the Med-Lab now, waiting to hear all the test results. "Good or bad news first.'
"Bad, so the good can kinda cheer me up after." Bobby muttered. It was still hard for everyone ot hear Bobby's 'Self' speaking from the body of one of their greatest enemies.
"Very well, I can't reverse Transfer's transfer." Bobby rolled his eyes.
"Um, Hank we know that." Hank Smiled.
"Well then it wasn't so bad then, now for the good news, my tests show that what I'd thought would be happening is happening." Bobby frowned.
"Hank I'm not a 'path I cant read your mind, all I can do in this body is smell, hear, taste and see really good and heal up fast after cutting myself with these stupid things." Bobby lifted his hands and 10 four-inch long claws shot out from the tips of his fingers. "I'm afraid to go to the bathroom. I miss my powers, it figures, just when I was starting to do some really neat stuff its yanked away and given to someone else."
"No it wasn't Bobby you have all the powers now." At his friend's confused look Hank explained his findings to everyone. "Sabretooth's powers all come from his body, whereas your powers Bobby are generated by chemicals from your brain that change your body. Therefore once your brain has again saturated your body in its chemicals your ice powers will return, this is like your body has been given an upgrade."
"But… if Bobby has all the powers, what dose Creed have?" Marrow asked.
"Squat, nothing, nada. Bobby's body with out the chemicals from his brain is just a normal body with an X factor gean floating in it, but it has no powers now." Bobby was stunned.
"Hank, what will happen to my body? Creed now?"
"Well Bobby I've been thinking about that and I think it would be best if we had S.H.E.A.L.D. come and take Creed away so he can't hurt anyone when he is wearing your face."
"But Hank, he has no powers now, what harm can he do?" Joseph asked.
"Men like Creed have been hurting others without mutant powers for a very long time. We cannot let him roam free to threaten the lives of more innocent people." Everyone nodded and started to file out of the room. Bobby looked at Hank.
"Thanks Hank I know you tried everything, now I think I' need to brush my teeth and I don't know what, maybe I'll cough up a hairball or something.
***********
A half hour later;
Bobby wandered into the kitchen to find Marrow fixing a plate of food.
"I was just dishin' up some supper for you, But don't expect me to ever do it again okay, this is a one time offer." She set the plate on the table and watched him chewing thoughtfully. "What are you thinking about?"
"Well I'm thinking I need a new name. I don't look or feel like 'Iceman' anymore. You want to help me choose?" She smiled evilly.
"This will be fun, well lets see…um… Cold Claws."
"Sickle"
"Naw, he's one of them Russian heroes isn't he?"
"Ho, ya your right."
"Blizzard."
"A Dairy Queen semi-frozen ice cream treat?"
"Point taken."
"Yeti, um… forget it, it rhymes with confetti"
"Polar."
"Ho, ho I got one, hear me out. I have claws, lots of hair and I make ice, I can be a Wampa! Like in Star Wars, you know the snow monster that tries to eat Luke Skywalker." Marrow cringed and shook her head.
"Lucas would sue you butt off for copy write infringements glassier butt." For another twenty minutes they tried to find a name, but with out luck, then Gambit strolled into the kitchen.
"So how's it goin' Frostbite?" Marrow and Bobby stared at him. "What? Gambit sorry, he meant it as a joke mon ami."
"Its perfect!" Bobby and Marrow shouted together.
"Qui?" (What?) Gambit looked at them oddly.
"We where tryin' ta find the ice cube a new code name, and here you stroll in an give it to him like that." She snapped her fingers. "Good going."
"Ya, thanks Gumbo." They where all talking when Rogue walked in and announced that the Blackbird was landing and she and Bishop where off to pin Logan down and tell him the 'Good' news. "Rogue, could you just do one thing for me, please."
"Sure, what?"
"Make sure you get it all on videotape."
Fin Part two.
Note: Bobby as Frostbite is my idea, please don't use with out asking me first, thank you. (I didn't put this at the start because it would have given away the story)
Im Nova Part 3
For disclaimer please see part one of Im Nova.
For this to make sense you should have read parts one and two.
Nova is mine, all mine, because she is 'ME". So if you want to use 'ME' please ask nicely, submit a blood sample and write a 1,000,000 word explanation on what you want to do with 'ME' and then I might let you borrow 'ME'.
Bobby as Frostbite is also my twisted idea, please don't use him with out asking me first, thank you.
Have you found the plot mistake in part one? Write to me and tell me about it at kobold13_2000@yahoo.com
Im Nova part 3: Hello Grover
By: DelCreed
The Blackbird has landed:
"Well here we are Kim, I'll go up with you to put your things in your room, then you can freshen up, then you can come meet the other students." Jean said enthusiastically, 'When was the last time she was the new guy anywhere is she acts that way about it.' I think nervously as I force a grin, as Logan snorts like he knows how I feel.
"If they try to bite you I'll kick 'em in the butt for you kid, us Canadians need to stick together." Well that's an icebreaker if ever I've heard one. Now smiling I follow him off the plane and see two people, a man and a woman, waiting there on the landing platform, and wow… the man looks like a linebacker, he's really tall, muscular, has what looks like an M tattooed over one of his eyes, and he is holding the biggest gun I've ever seen in my life, even the ones in M.I.B might look puny next to his, oh and he's black. Standing beside him is a tall strikingly beautiful woman with auburn hair that is divided down the centre by a stark, white streak, and she is wearing '…spandex?' I look at her then down at myself and shutter, 'Oh God say it isn't so,' I know Jean and Ororo had spandex as uniforms on earlier when they were putting my sister in her place, but why was this one dressed from neck to toe in it, even her hands are covered in the stuff. 'I'm not going to have to wear SPANDEX all the time too, am I?' They stepped over to Logan and I can swear they're both trying really hard not to smile.
"Kim this is Bishop," Scott nodded to the man then turned to the woman "and Rogue. Rogue, Bishop this is Kim Novak, she's the mutant who saved those kids in that burning school this morning." 'Wow was that only this morning, I feel like it's been a life time since then.' They both said hello but were still looking intently at Logan.
"Um, it's nice ta meet ya Kim but we really need to speak to Logan, ya need to come with us, we need to tell ya somethin' important Sugar." The woman drawled in a smooth Southern voice. She seamed nice enough but kind of stiff, like she has a lot on her mind. "Its very important." She added, I wanted to yell 'Hey you can't take him. He promised to kick people's butts for me.' But I guess if they needed him I could handle meeting everyone else on my own. Logan turned to look at me and I nodded that I would be fine.
"I knew ya had guts kid-" He smiled back at me, 'Yes lets just hope they stay on the inside of me.' I smiled back. "You're a Canadian after all." I wonder if I should tell him that I was born in Toledo Ohio, and was only half Canadian… naaa. Then he paused and sniffed the air and … growled? "Where is he?" his voice seamed choked and his hair seamed to bristle up all over him like a mad dog or a ticked off cat's would.
"That is what we need to tell you, he is um… contained at the moment, but there is a, a strange twist to the story that you need to be made aware of." Bishop informed him. "You need to know all the facts before you go and do something that you will regret."
"There isn't much that I could do to him that I'd regret Bish." Logan sneered as he stomped off following them out of the hanger. Once they'd gone I became aware of a third person that was walking towards us.
"Scott, Jean, Ororo won't one of you be so kind as to introduce me to your friend." He was a tall man, also tall and muscular but he was more massively built then Bishop, he had short brown hair, a kind face and was wearing a lab coat and glasses.
"Hank?" Scott asked and the man nodded "Kim this is Doctor Henry McCoy, Hank this is Miss. Kim Novak." Scott was giving the man, Hank a curious look.
"Kim Novak… I truly enjoyed your movie 'Vertigo'" he smiled as I groaned, if I'd heard that line once I'd heard it a million times. I looked at him for a moment.
"What did you do to yourself sir?" He looked startled so I explained. "I mean Ororo told me about you and whenever I've seen you on T.V. you… you were always blue and, and well fuzzy." (All right I know they are the X-Men by now because of Ororo's description of Dr. McCoy, and I feel really foolish because I was telling them about themselves earlier on the trip) Jean sniggered and I remembered her saying 'no one is allergic to Hank.' When I was planning on bringing my dog with me. I'd have to tell him about that one-day. He held out his hand and tapped his wrist; suddenly the brown haired man was gone and there in his place stood the blue, fur covered man I had been expecting to see. "Why the getup?" He smiled bashfully at me.
"My appearance is something of a shock for the… unprepared, I thought it would be better if you could get to know me before I sprung fully furred before you." I shook my head sadly.
"I've hidden who I am for a long time, I don't ever want to be the reason that someone else has to hide who they really are… the way I did." He smiled happily at me. Then Jean stepped forward and spoke.
"I'll just be taking Kim and her things up to her room, then she'll be meting everyone at dinner, anytime from tomorrow on will be fine whenever you want to start doing her physical." Hank looked disappointed. "I know your eager to get to work with her but give her a chance to settle in." Jean admonished. A physical? I raised my eyebrow at him.
"Don't those mean lots of needles and, and stuff?" he smiled at me my heart sank and missed a beat.
"I just need to get your medical quirks and history into my files, allergies and the like. You have nothing to worry about, and unlike other doctors I do not have cold hands." Was that supposed to make me feel better? He turned to Scott "Oh fearless, we need to talk, Ororo you should hear this too." He sounded very serious suddenly and Jean tapped me on the shoulder as she shot a look at Scott and he nodded back before she turned away, I followed her out of the room.
***********
In the War Room:
"He's in who's body and who's in his?" Logan was thunder struck as he stood holding onto the back of one of the many chairs in the room, his knuckles going white, Bishop quickly moved out from in front of him so that the security camera could get a good shot of his face for Bobby to watch later with them. "You mean Creed is- in, in- and he has no powers." Bishop and Rogue nodded together. "And S.H.I.E.L.D. will be coming to take him away… for good?" Logan's face crumpled up in deep thought for a long time and he didn't speak, then just as Rogue was about to touch him, he took a deep breath and started to laugh out loud, his whole body seamed to relax and before their eyes he suddenly looked twenty years younger, because many of his craggy wrinkles had smoothed out. Finally he took another deep breath and sighed. "Can I see him, them." He caught Bishop's hesitant look. "I swear I won't do anything to him, keep the force field up if it makes ya feel better Bish, I just really need to see him like that for myself, powerless and trapped." He shrugged "Is Bobby doing okay? How is he takin' it, being stuck in Creed's body an' all?" Rogue told him about how Hank had helped Bobby work out some of his major concerns for now, and how Bobby's usual since of hummer seamed to be coming back to help him deal with 'It', she knew everyone would be there for him if he need more help accepting himself later. She then went on telling him that even Marrow had spent time with Bobby, trying to help him think up a new codename. "Just perfect the Marauders will run for the lives when the 'Snarling Snowflake' shows up." Logan laughed at his own joke.
"Frostbite." Rogue said smiling.
"Hu?"
"They where trying for hours to find a name and when Gambit walked into the kitchen and called him 'Frostbite' they both liked it." Bishop explained. Logan face-palmed and started laughing again, then quickly excused himself because of a sudden need to use the bathroom. "I'll wait in the hall then take you in to see Creed, well his brain anyway." As they walked off Rogue thought she heard Logan say that if that were the case there wouldn't be very much for them to see.
***********
My Room:
Jean brought me to an elevator that looked a lot like the ones in Star Trek T.N.G. she stacked my things into it behind us and we headed up three floors, where the doors opened up on the landing facing a set of wide, carpeted, stairs that came up from the entrance hall and divided the men's wing of bedrooms (on the right if you came up the stairs) from the women's wing of bedrooms (on your left when you came up the stairs). To my surprise she led me to the door nearest the stairs in the women's wing, I'd always thought that the rooms near stairs were always reserved for guest, because they're more convenient. Jean looked over at me and when she smiled and answered my thoughts I realised I must have been 'Projecting' as she'd called it in the Blackbird.
"You're right about this room, but many of the regular rooms are in use and most of the people who come to visit us lived here at one time or another, so they have rooms that they feel more at home in then this one."
"Will I be moved later?" I asked as she opened the door and floated my things inside, ahead of us. I needed to know, because once I settle in someplace my things kinda take over, and I don't want to have to repack my 'Sprawl'.
"No, this will be your room for as long as you are here, unless you want to change it for another one later." I stepped in and gasped, the room was for lack of a better word perfect. Its GREEN… jade green and blue. In font of me there's a bow window with a thickly padded bench where I can see myself curling up to read, and to make it even deeper the window-seat was surrounded by bookshelves (empty for now, but I know I can soon fix that) there is a small table in front of the window-seat with two deep wingback chairs upholstered in forest green so that it made up a kind of sitting area. When I ask why aren't there any blinds or curtains in the window Jean tells me that all the mansion's windows are one-way glass that can be darkened to keep the light out by pressing a switch on the window frames. The bed is a tall, dark, redwood four-poster covered in a spread that looked like a swirling ocean of blue, green and gold with crisp white sheets, there's even a set of padded steps beside it to help you climb in because the top of the mattress is at least thee feet high. On the same wall as the door is a large wardrobe and off in the corner, slightly out of place a blue office chair. Jean, who seams distracted for a moment, sees me looking at the intruder and waved me over to the wardrobe, as I stand before it the doors open on their own and reveal a fold-down desk with a strange, but intriguing, computer set up inside waiting to be used. "This is your terminal, once Hank keys you into the school's computer you'll have all your lesson notes on it and even your teacher's notes, you'll do some classes from right here (I learnt later that some of the teachers where in Scotland and in Massachusetts), if you ever need any help with something you can 'Ping' someone or leave them a message if they aren't on line, it also has instant Internet access and is the fastest thing you'll ever find on earth." 'Hm she said that like traveling through space is a common everyday thing.' Off to my right were two doors that I later found led into a small, white and blue, bathroom, that had a sink, toilet and a small three foot in diameter round tub, the other door leads into a walk in closet, with a wall of shelves and drawers, and the other wall is sectioned into hanging space. "I'll let you freshen up, come downstairs when you are ready to meet the rest of the gang. Its six o'clock, and dinner's at seven." She left with a slight look of concern on her face. "I need to go check on Bobby, you'll meet him later too, but… well from what Scott is telling me he has… changed a lot today." I callout after her.
"Jean?" she stops and looks at me. "Do you dress for supper?" She smiles.
"Well we don't go naked, kidding Bobby would have said that, most of the time it is casual, we mostly dress up if we're having guest." Again she waved and I was alone. I walk to the window and look out to see the woods, part of a lake and the small house next to it. As I look a movement catches my eye near the woods and I see an old, white haired, man pointing at what looks like a rusted car door? Suddenly it flies up into the air and crumples in on it's self, the rust flaking off along with what must have been the paint, because there is now a ball of blueish steel floating before him. As I watch he starts to shape it into smaller pieces as he stands there studying it critically. As I watch him I feel less nervous and decide to get a move on 'Freshening up', after all today I had been in a burning building (have I told you that my school burnt down this morning?), under a dumpster, running around Montreal and worrying (look up sweating bullets in the dictionary and you'd have a found my picture there) that I was going to be arrested and locked away for the good of the people. I open my suitcase and pull out clean cloths and head for the bathroom for a quick dip in that funny little tub, I fill it with my own water, as I add a insane amount of bubble-bath to it.
*********
6:50 Pm The Front Hall
Wearing clean black jeans (Thank God mom did my laundry for me) and my Harry Potter shirt with the colour changing letters (my parents brought it home for me from Florida), my shoulder length blond hair up in two high tails on top of my head (As I write this I run my hand through my now very short hair, it was all cut off as my mom's Christmas gift, she likes it short), I step out of my room and take a deep breath before heading down the stairs. At the bottom I find a still blue, smiling, Hank McCoy waiting for me.
"Harry Potter, amazing have you read the books?" he asks enthusiastically. "Bobby did and insisted that I peruse them too, Rowling is an eloquent writer." I smiled.
"Yes, I read all four of the books, and have them in audio form too, I can't wait for the film to come out." If he and this Bobby guy like Harry they can't be all bad. Hank led me into the living room where several other people were sitting. I knew Scott, Jean, Ororo, Bishop, Logan and Rogue but there were still many people I hadn't met, even the white haired man was there at the back of the room standing behind Rogue.
"Everyone," The room stilled "This is Kim Novak." There was a snigger from a tall man with dark red hair and startling red eyes, he called out.
"Hank, dat a good joke, she even look like de actress, but what de woman's real name so dat Gambit can talk to her seriously." Jean looked at him and he looked stunned for a moment. "You not kiddin'?"
"Kim Novak is her real name Remy, Jean and I aren't kidding, well since he is the first to speak I believe Kim I'll start off by presenting you to our resident Cajun Remy LeBeau, or Gambit as we and he refers to himself, beside him is Sara, called Marrow," Hank nodded to a pink haired girl cover in sculpted cream coloured armour? But they were stuck to her like they grew from her…
"Bones… those are your bones, wow they look like fancy armour. That's amazing." She looked stunned then smiled smugly at Storm.
"The upworlder has taste." Jean spoke in my mind and told me that Sara had only recently been able to control her bones into forming as she wanted them to, that she needed to build her self image and I'd just helped to give her a real boost in that department. Hank continued his introductions.
"You know, Bishop, Rogue and Ororo who is often referred to as Storm here at home, Scott Logan and Jean. This is Joseph," He waved the white haired man forward and to my shock he wasn't old as I'd thought he was when I'd seen him in the window, honestly he looked twenty or so. Joseph stepped forward and casting a look at my shirt he smiled.
"I read those books too," Joseph pointed to my shirt "Bobby was after everyone in the mansion to read them, even the Professor… well after he was finished reading them all first. I know how it feels to be 'New' somewhere and I wanted you to have this, strangely enough I found its description in the books. Welcome to Xavier's the mutant's version of Hogwarts." With that he presented me with, an object that was flashing in the light and had many spinning parts, it was a model of the solar system and I saw that the planets where floating and even Saturn's rings where revolving. At my amazed and questioning look he smiled. "The base-plate is magnetically charged and keeps the whole thing together." I think my face is going to split in two I'm smiling so much. I thank Joseph and everyone oow's and awes over the way you can see the continents on the sphere representing earth and various other details on the other planets. Hank poked the moon and even muttered a Spockish 'Fascinating.' "I think I'll make one for Bobby next." He said, that is when I look around the room and there wasn't anyone else I hadn't met. Where was this Bobby guy every one was so worried about earlier?
"Bobby sends his apologies, but he is feeling unwell, and promises to meet you later, Angel and Psylocke are out for the evening," Hank said shrugging and smiling at me. "I've called and told them about Bobby's condition." Hank said to Scott, who nodded. Logan snorted something about a 'healing factor' and took my arm pulling me away from Hank and leading me into the dinning room where there where about fifteen boxes of pizza stacked on the table.
"Had some excitement here and they forgot to make dinner, so we get Pizza, that okay with you." He looked happy as he popped the top off a bottle of 'Canadian' beer (Note: there is a beer called Canadian, it is the best beer there is, if you have no choice and have to drink the wretched stuff), the perfect ending to the perfect day.
"Logan I love pizza, is there a Hawaiian one?" I ask as everyone digs in. Storm stopped short and smiled.
"That is Bobby's favourite too." 'Man I'm really going to have to meet this guy.' As we ate people asked me questions and I asked some of my own. Raising the spandex issue with them.
"Do you wear it all the time?" I asked Rogue who smiled happily.
"Naw, not really, but it is comfortable, an' it ain't spandex, this is made of unstable molecules." She said fingering her sleeve, then she went on to explain why she had on gloves, her eyes dim with sadness and I saw Joseph taking her hand in his as out of the corner Of my eye I caught that Cajun guy, Remy, looking away from them. "I'd be happy to help ya design an outfit for you're first trainin' session." She offered, living dangerously I accepted and was happy to see that she cheered up as the meal progressed.
"Okay, when do we go shopping?" I asked, the women in the room laughed, and said I'd see tomorrow, the men at the table just rolled their eyes like they'd all gone through a war together and someone mentioned a girl called Kitty who couldn't figure out what kind of uniform she'd wanted for the longest time and had kept popping up in new ones every day. Then a fight broke out over the last slice of 'meat lovers' pizza between Logan and Gambit, ["I took Jubilee back to de school for you, Gambit spent two hours in de mini jet with her, an' he not once tell her she talk too much 'Wolvie dis an' Wolvie dat'."] ("My worst enemy is powerless in a prison he can never escape from and I'm celebrating bub, so let go or I'll give you six good reasons why ya should Gumbo.") As they argued over who should have it I reached out and touched it with my finger a 'la E.T.' style and used my sizing power to make it big enough for both of them, it was only when Storm gasped that the two of them stopped fighting to see what I'd done, they were both stunned too.
"I think you'll be grocery shopping with me from now on, instead of ten bags of bread I'll get one loaf and you can enlarge it till we can cut it up into enough for twenty sandwiches." Jean beamed at me.
"Sure, why not. When the meal is ready just shout and I'll just enlarge it till there is enough food for everyone." I offered.
"I'll keep it in mind, but don't worry I won't bother you too often, I like to cook, maybe I'll take you up on your offer the next time Gen-X and any of the other X groups comes for a visit." Jean laughed. "But be warned the next time we have pizza I'm only calling for five different kinds and you can do your thing."
"Sizing, I call this power, sizing." I went onto tell them how I'd used it to hide under a dumpster to get away from the police, and change my cloths to be able to slip away and catch the bus home unnoticed.
"So that was the smell that was following you around." Logan muttered and I blushed.
*****************
Later that evening after dinner:
I was sitting in the living room talking with Joseph as Rogue sat nearby listening to us, telling him that his solar system was really amazing and that he should think of marketing them to Warner Brothers™ as a Harry Potter collector's item for when the film came out, he could make a mint selling them, he smiled and said he'd look into it just as the front door slammed open, someone hurried in and shouted, Jean and Scott quickly excused themselves.
"That's got to be Warren, he and Betsy, dey must have flown from de airport to get here dis fast." Gambit said to the room in general as he stood up and walked out too, looking amused.
“I have a big brother named Warren.” I guess since everything was going so well I might as well get all these introductions over with, so I got up and walked into the hall and stood behind Jean, only to find not two but three people in the hall that I didn't know. One was a tall woman, bundled up in a fur coat (anyone got paint?), she had purple hair and a red mark on her eye, next to her stood a tall, lanky, man with curly blond hair… blue skin! and silver wings, (silver wing, oooh scary. - Quest for Camalot) 'Boy when Gambit had said they must have flown from the airport I thought he'd meant in a fast car.' and there was another man with blond hair too but it was much longer and he was so tall that he dwarfed everyone in the hall including Hank who had just joined the crowd pouring out of the living room. I tapped Jean on the shoulder and she looked back at me.
"Jean, who's that gorgeous blond guy?" I whispered. Jean smiled.
"That's Warren, we call him Angel, but he and Psylocke are dating so don-" I cut her off shaking my head.
"Sorry, I meant who is the other gorgeous looking blond guy." I looked back at the tall one and saw him looking at me as Jean's mouth fell open in surprise, then he was smiling brighter then a search light for some reason and I saw that his canine teeth where very long and sharp, could he be a… a Vampire?
"Well that's Sab-… Bobby… his name is Bobby." As she said this, the tall man was walking our way and my heart fluttered, when he reached us he held out his hand to me and smiled.
"Hi, I couldn't help over hearing you talking to Jean, heightened senses and all, so you think I'm gorgeous?" He asked me happily, my face went blank. I've never been more embarrassed in my whole life, I'd never really been interested in anyone before (except Dolph Lundgren) and now the object of my interest was speaking to me, I'm stunned and have no idea how to react, I know so little about this side of life, Patric and my Sci-Fi friends haven't covered anything like this, so I revert to the old Kim style of handling things, I shoot a quick glance at everyone standing around and run. Thanks to having two older brothers who'd delighted in showing me how to race the stairs, I'm off and moving before anyone realizes what my intentions are. Then in a split second I decide the stairs aren't going to be a fast enough means of escape, so I shoot myself into the air on a controlled water spurt and hop off in front of my bedroom door and lock myself inside as I send all the water away before it can wet the floors, well all of it except for the water I've sent out to be dumped on Bobby's head. In the front hall, soaking wet, Bobby tilts his head back and spits out the water in his mouth like a small fountain onto the otherwise dry floor. "Let me guess, she controls water. What did I say?" Jean just looks up at Nova's door sadly.
"She has led a very closed off life, till two years ago she didn't even have friends, she doesn't know how to deal with being attracted to someone or having them respond to her." The room is silent, and then Marrow walked past Bobby shaking her head and went up the stairs straight to Kim's door.
"Kim, its Marrow can I come in I want to tell you about 'Wonder Blunder Boy' back there, he's never had a girl who's really been interested in him before, he was desperate to get to know you before you went and changed your mind… his last girlfriend had these really huge pants!" She called through the door, at once the door opened quickly; a hand darted out and yanked her in by her shirtfront then the door slammed shut behind her again.
********
Early the next morning:
For some reason I had a hard time falling asleep after Sara left last night, sure she'd made me feel better, and had listened to me telling her how I'd shut myself away for years, and the friends at school who'd broken into my life to set me free, but I was still very keyed up, so I'd gotten up and started putting my stuff away, I had to do this before a lingering temptation grabbed me and made me called my `Daddy' to come and take me home. There was room for my stereo system in the wardrobe with the computer and through a hole in the back (that was already there) I was able to pass out the plug and speaker wires, then I ran the wires under the green rug (that I was able to pull up) to the bookcases and attached the speakers, putting one speaker on ether side of the window-seat. I have this amazing CD player that plays up to 100 CD's, and now with it all fixed I'd popped on my headphones and clipped an extension cable to them and went to work unpacking my cloths in the walk-in closet. It was about 3:00Am and happy with my set up I'd taken out my Sims CD to install it on this strange new computer, I'd tried logging on but when it asked for a password I shut it down, you never know alarms might go off if you don't type in the right password the first time. It was only after having snuck back into the living room for Joseph's gift, which I set on my coffee-table, that I was ready to laterally climb up into my new bed to get some sleep, just before dropping off I swallowed a mouthful of water so I wouldn't be thirsty later on and have to wake up for a drink.
*********
I was up at seven, the sun having woken me up (I'd forgotten to dial the windows dark before going to bed, as Jean had showed me). At breakfast I was happy to see that only the woman named Psylocke, Logan and Storm were sitting at the table, I slid into the room and just stood there for a moment.
"Grab anything you want kid, breakfast is a fend for yourself meal here." Logan informed me. I smiled as I pulled out a recipe card from my pocket.
"I was hoping you'd say that." And I rummaged around the kitchen gathering what I needed to make German pancakes. As I blended my ingredients I introduced myself to Psylocke and found out that she's British, even if she looked Asian. Soon people were following their noses and wandering into the kitchen, where they watched the odd bubbling dough in the oven.
*************
DelCreed's German Pancakes
4 Eggs
1 tbsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
2/3 Cup sifted Flour
2/3 cup Milk
2 tbsp. Soft butter
Heat oven to 400F. Butter well two 9-inch cake pans. Put eggs into blender, cover and bled on Lo(Stir) until light yellow in colour. Turn control to Hi(Mix), remove cover and add remaining ingredients; process until smooth. Pour into prepared pans (sprayed with cooking spray) and bake 20 min. reduce heat to 350F and bake 10 more min. Slide onto hot plate (Put a plate into hot water to heat up, then dry it before serving) Serve with lemon slices, powdered sugar and butter, syrup, jelly, honey, of flavoured butters.
**************
Smiling I had an idea, so I went to get a clean tablecloth out and covered the table, handed everyone a plate and lined up the jam, powdered sugar, and syrup on the counter with silverware and napkins, once the they were done baking I took the eggy pancakes out and cast a look at everyone, they were watching me, I took them out of the pans and put them on the table then sized till they took up most of the surface and told them all to 'dig in'. As they served themselves I took two plates full and covered them with syrup, sugar and cinnamon, and bent to ask Hank a question.
"In the men's wing, third door on the left." He answered happily lifting a fork full of food up to look at it. I grabbed up a tray that held the plates, cutlery, napkins and two glasses of orange juice, and then I left the room full of happily munching people. Getting my load up the stairs was easy but once I was in front of Bobby's door I was starting to question my sanity, but I knew I needed to apologise for the waterball I'd dropped on him last night. I looked at the tray filling my hands, I looked at the door, how was I suppose to knock (I could have shrunk the tray but why waste time), with a shrug I drew back my foot and started kicking at his door.
**********
In Bobby's room:
'Someone was knocking at his door… Someone had woken him up… Someone was going to die…'
- Bobby's thoughts
Bobby hated mornings, mornings would be fine if only they would happen a little later in the day. Sighing he rolled over and snarled, then his eyes shot open, he snarled again… never before in his life had one of his morning snarls sounded that menacing, then he remembered what had happened to him, he didn't need the bed that was too short and too short pyjama bottoms he was wearing to remind him that he'd changed a lot since yesterday morning's snarl. The corpse was still knocking at his door so he stalked over to answer it, wrenching it open he nearly swallowed his tongue, it was the new girl and whatever she was carrying on that tray she was holding must have come straight from Heaven, because his stomach told him so with a gurgle.
"Um, hi…" His voice was gravely and still sleepy. "Can I help you?" Kim was staring at his wide golden chest and quickly looked up into his sleepy, yellow, catlike eyes and took a deep breath.
"I wanted to say I'm sorry for how I acted yesterday, and to invite you to have breakfast with me." Bobby looked at my peace offering and me for a moment, then he smiled and nodded waving me over to his messy desk. As I set the tray down on a stack of papers he unearthed a chair from under a pile of cloths, and found another one under a four-foot tall stuffed doll of Chewbacca. I looked around his room at all the Starwars stuff hanging on the walls, the snowstorm screensaver on his computer, the ordered messy piles and decided my friends back home would like him… he was a Sci-fi geek like us. I told him about my friends and he told me about Hank and some of their funnier adventures and what had happened to him yesterday as we ate. When we were finished eating (I'd had to size his food twice so he could have his fill) he asked if I would like to see the school. "Sure, sounds like fun."
"Great, I need to go out later and buy some new cloths, wana' come with? Even my underwear doesn't fit me anymore, and here I was at the point where I liked my cloths, they've gotten to that just right comfortable stage an' now I'll be back to breaking in a whole new wardrobe." He sighed. I quirked an eyebrow at him and cleared my through. "What?" I held up my hands and wiggled my fingers at him, reminding him he'd seen me size his food. "Can you?"
"If I can turn a pug into a mastiff I think I can handle super sizing your cloths for you Bobby, the pants might be a problem to make them long enough I'll be make them bigger all over." He smiled and shrugged saying he'd just have a tailor take them in or be stylin' in baggy pants.
"We have to go to the movies together, all we'd need to buy is one drink with two straws, and a small popcorn." Was he asking me out? 'Silly he just meant it as friends.' I tell myself.
"Yup that's me, cheep date, I usually just brought a baggy of popcorn and I had the water."
"Ya, well if you went out with me we'd go first class all the way doll, I'd even spring for a small bag of sour skittles." He said waving his hand in the air to emphasize his point.
"You like those too? Have you ever poured the leftover powder that's at the bottom of the bag into your mouth?" We both shuttered. "That's the good stuff." We spent two hours fixing his cloths, socks and underwear where the easy part, I just sized one pair to the right size and held the other up against it, Bobby had some really funny underwear, but kept swearing to me that other people kept giving it to him as a joke, that is till I held up a tiger print thong and he just smiled and blushed. His T-shirts, sweaters, Bermuda shorts and pants all needed to be tried on and after sizing his suits we decided that he'd have to see a tailor with them too to get them pinned because when I made the coats big enough for his shoulders they looked too boxy on him. Just as we finished the last of his Starwars T-Shirts Jean came by to see what we where up to, and she was happy to see we were getting along now.
"Kim, Hank sent me to bring you down to the lab for your Physical." She said and I shuttered it sounded so sinister said that way 'down to the lab', I'd forgotten about having to do all that. Bobby saw me, looked at Jean and said he'd be happy to take me down to the med-lab. Bobby picked up our tray and handed it to Jean, who'd offered to bring it back to the kitchen for us, and just before I left his room I reached out, sagged the Chewbacca doll and started sizing it as I lay it on his messy bed, when I joined him in the hall it was eight feet tall.
'Boy wasn't he going to be surprised when he comes back to his room later.' I smirked to myself. 'I'd be happy to take Kim to the med-lab for you to have your way with her.' Some friend. I grunted to myself. `Happy to lead me straight to a room full of needles and a bloodthirsty blue guy.' We took the elevator at the top of the stairs down four floors and walked across the hall to the med-lab where Hank was literally rubbing his hands in anticipation.
"See already warming them up for you, please if you will just go behind the curtain, take off your cloths and put on the gown I've laid out for you." He asked as Bobby leaned casually in the doorway watching with a smile, I walked behind the curtain and picked up the scrap of blue fabric I found on a stool.
"Um, Hank where is the rest of it, I found the front but where's the back?" I called out. "There has to be more then just this…" I mutter as I change. Once in the 'don't stand in a draft' gown I skirt back into the main part of the room, holding the stupid thing closed over my @$$, keeping my back turned away from the two men and checking for reflective surfaces behind me. Bobby was smiling at me. "Why don't you get into one of these and see if you like it enough to keep that smile catman."
"I was in one of those a good part of yesterday, after this happened to me," he waved a hand at his body. "I like the way it looks on you better." I blush so hotly I almost steam up my glasses. "If you're a good girl for Dr. Hank I'll take you to see my body after." He promised me. I looked at Hank, who was watching us talk to each other with a big, happy grin; I nodded okay to Bobby then winced when Hank pulled out a needle… a really big one.
"Your body better be worth this." I snarled. Bobby said it was, because not only would I get to see his original form, but I'd also meet the former mutant psychopath who'd once owned the body I liked him in now. Hank stepped over to me and patted the examining table.
"Just hop up here Kim and we'll get started." I pointed out to Hank that there was no way I'd hop anywhere in my currant outfit and I used a stepping stool to get onto the table. "I'll be doing a throw physical, and later you can ask Jean about scheduling you in for a pelvic exam with her gynaecologist Dr. Radcliff, she is highly recommended by the ladies of the mansion." He said matter of factly. I grabbed the back of my gown and was ready 'then and there' to jump off the table and say 'Stuff seeing your body to Bobby', till I looked over and saw that Bobby was blushing harder then I was at the moment, so talking about that kind of thing made him squeamish did it?
"Really Hank dose she use the disposable plastic tools or the old fashion freezing steel spreaders during the exam?" I asked innocently twisting the screws as Bobby started to sway slightly and slide down the wall to sit on the floor.
"The disposable plastic, and she even heats them up slightly before the examination." Hank assured me, unaware of his pal's reaction.
"Eeeep." Bobby's eyes rolled up into his head and he fell forward on the floor with a soft thud.
"Bobby!" Hank rushed to his friend's side and all was again right in my world.
*************
Holding cell 3A:
"Board, board, board… I ain't even dangerous enough to bolt down in a chair or chain to the wall in this puny body, every few minutes someone else comes by to look at me and snigger, that Runt's laughin' his fool head off every time he sees me." Creed huffed and poked himself in the shoulder then with a wicked smile, that didn't look right on his new face, he had an Idea. "Humm… its kinda hot in here suddenly…" Then he got busy. Just as he finished there was a sound at his door, and voices that he could almost hear. The little window in the door opened and the voices were audible now.
"Well go ahead and look, this was me till yesterday, when I was the cute, harmless boy next door type of guy." The face of a nice enough looking young woman appeared in the opening and she looked at him, blinked and then bit her lip.
"Um Bobby, so that's you… ALL of you. Did you ever think about being an artists model?" She giggled.
"What do you mean?" The woman was quickly shifted to the side and his old face was looking in at him. "Creed! Get my cloths back on! Kim stop laughing this isn't funny."
"…" The woman said something to his body's snatcher that Creed couldn't hear.
"No you can't have another look at me!" Bobby shouted at her. Straining to hear the frail he was able to hear what she said next.
"But Bobby you did say your old body was worth seeing, and you were right. You had a really cute butt, among other… things." She was giggling again.
"Hey kid did you show her that you still have a really cute butt? Did he tell you that he's half Jewish Frail? From where I'm standing I can tell ya it was his bottom half that was Jewish 'cause they cut off his-" *Slam* The little window was quickly closed with Bobby giving one last killing look at Creed, who fell down laughing.
"Hank get S.H.I.E.L.D. on the horn and tell Fury to come pick up Creed… RIGHT NOW!" Bobby yelled into the intercom system next to the door.
(Thren, I wanted to write: "Well Bobby I just don't think Fury leans that way, but now that Creed is in your body maybe he would consider it." but I went with…)
"Bobby, calm down. What is the matter?" Hanks voice came back over the link. Bobby, still fuming, told him what had happened. There was no answer; we waited longer, still no answer.
"Hank? Hank are you there?" Bobby pushed the button that let him hear what was happening on the other end of the link.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Gasp HAHAHAHAHAHA Snort HAHAHAHAHA DeepBreath HAHAHAHAHA..." Was all that reached us over the speaker.
"Hank STOP LAUGHING! Kim don't you start again." Bobby yelled as I started to crumble next to him, and he caught me before I hit the floor and carried me away slung over his shoulder with his arm holding me in place, and from my vantage point I saw something.
"Hay Bobby."
"Ya what?" He snarled.
"You still have a very cute butt." And I don't know what possessed me just then because I reached down and patted it. Bobby's arm hugged me tighter and I'm sure I felt him snigger.
**********
S.H.I.E.L.D arrived a half hour later to march a blanket wrapped body into their transport ship as Scott spoke for some time with a rugged looking man with an eye patch then they walked over to where Bobby and I were standing.
"Nick this is Kim Novak, Kim this is Nick Fury he'll be keeping an eye on Creed from now on." Scott turned to Bobby and nodded him over to the side. "Fury wants to talk to you a moment. Kim, Hank is ready to do the second part of your check up."
"Second part?" I sputtered… how could there be more to do, I had nothing left to hide. I took a deep breath and bowing my head stomped off to my fate as Bobby stopped and waved to me encouragingly before continuing on his walk beside Fury.
*********
Back in the lab:
"Well now Kim I have the results of the test I ran on you, you still have some irritation in your sinuses from the fire, but that should clear up in a day or so, I recommend a daily multivitamin and you will be getting more exercise with us but you are in good shape (Thank you mom for putting me on a low carb. diet before all this happened to me). Now I only have a few questions to ask you and then we'll log you into the computer." What followed was typical doctor stuff. "Are you allergic to anything?"
"Yes, antihistamines, cigarette smoke, cucumbers and too much pepper, but its the pink pepper that really effects me."
"I'll put up a note up in the kitchen about the allergy to pepper and tell Remy to go easy on you, his cooking is rather spicy, and I'll worn him and Logan about the smoke."
"I don't have a problem with cyan pepper, just the black, pink and green peppercorns."
"Strange, but most of us have some food intolerances Cable, Scott's son, can't eat strawberries or he breaks out in hives, found that out when he was a baby because Bobby went into a faze where he insisted on making all of Cable's food from scratch. Anything else food wise."
"Well… milk, I'm not allergic to it but it um it… it makes me hyper." Hank raised an eyebrow at me. "A Doctor ordered me off milk for a time and my mom made me go cold turkey. I went from three glasses or more a day to zip for over a year. It was hell Hank, having her read every label looking for milk and having to drink that soy stuff, no Ice-cream, no cookies, mashed potatoes made with water, no butter on my bread… heck no bread sometimes. The irony was she was the one allergic to milk; she'd been having migraines for 21 years and turns out it was the milk that was doing it to her. One day I said enough and went back to drinking milk and never regretted it." He nodded but noted of this on a paper. He asked me about my family, I told him about my two older brothers, older sister and mother, Stepdad and a biological father who never calls me but keeps hinting that I should be calling him more. Then he took me to a corner of the room and sat me down on a low stool.
"How attached are you to those glasses?" He asked. I shrugged.
"I can't see more then three feet in-front of me without them, so I guess I'm stuck, the optometrist said when my eyes stabilized, I'd be a good candidate for laser surgery but my folks said no, too many horror stories."
"Have they stabilized yet?"
"Yes, for almost two years now." He pulled a plain smooth box out of a filing cabinet drawer and held it up.
"This is a Shi're opttiton, it fixes eyes without using a laser or any kind of incision whatsoever. If you want you can leave those glasses behind for good." I looked at the box.
"Who else has used it?" I asked looking at him and the small round glasses he was wearing. He looked embarrassed.
"They are plain glass, I kept them… because they help me feel more human, how many animals wear glasses, with them on it is as if I am still connected to my past before I did this to myself." He was looking at his big, furry, blue hand. "There are many who also had their eyes fixed, Professor Xavier was using reading glasses, and Warren was wearing contact lenses when he was nine, Bishop was having headaches because he needed his eyes fixed but didn't know it. They all had their eyes done as did I and I must say yours are very interesting I've never seen so many colours in one set of eyes." I couldn't help feeling for him; I'd felt I was less then human for a long time myself.
"Okay Hank, lets tie that puppy on and put these glasses into retirement, then again could you put plain glass in mine too, so my parents won't know?" He smiled and started setting dials on the inside of a small outer flap.
"How Clark Kentish of you." He had me lean forward and set the box over my worried grey eyes. "Now just look forward, breath easily, it will be only take a moment to measure the curve of your eye and then I will program it to fix your sight." I felt cool air on my eyes and then Hank pulled the device off… I looked at him and was shocked.
"Hank I can see you clear as day, you said you were just measuring the curve of my eye." He smiled smugly. "You tricked me."
"And you were relaxed and unafraid." He pointed out. "I hope you aren't disappointed." I smiled as my eyes changed back to green. I felt so happy and free being liberated from my glasses that I threw my arms around him and hugged him hard. "If you react like this because I took your glasses away I'd be happy to remove your appendix for you too." He offered smiling brightly.
"Sorry Doc. they already took that from me when I was seventeen. I woke up one Sunday morning hallucinating that I was buried under a mountain of fried chicken and that my dog was digging me out." Hank asked me more about the operation and added more notes onto his paper.
"Well we are almost finished here, leave your glasses and I'll send them off to be fixed for you." He took me over to one of the computers and started typing. "Now we need to make up a code name for you and you'll need to set a pass word, but before that I want you to remember what I'm going to tell you. If anything ever happens to you and you are asked for our access codes to our computer, you will tell them your code name and that your password is Grover, this will trigger a search program that Kitty, one of our former members wrote for us, it will let us find you anywhere in the world as it lets the hacker think that they have gained access to our systems." Well don't I feel really safe suddenly.
"Grover?" He smiled.
"When I first did this to myself Bobby started calling me Grover, Scott was livid and Jean told me to ignore Bobby's immaturity, one day I found a poster of Grover in a towel taped to the wall in my bedroom with the word "Before" written in black marker on it, it helped me to laugh about it and that started my healing process, I still have some depression about how I look but it doesn't last long with Bobby around watching over me." He shook his head and smiled "Many of the others don't realise it but if Bobby wasn't here pulling pranks and keeping an eye on everyone's moods we wouldn't be as close as we are today. Now back to business, do you have a codename picked out yet?"
"I was talking to Ororo on the way here about that and I want to call myself Nova, its still me but different." I explained about the `K' thing (See: Im Nova part 1 for story) and he nodded and keyed it into the system, then turned away as I typed in my password ***** (Won't tell youJ). He typed some more and called up my medical file from home and somehow managed to get my school records (Eeeep! Where did those come from, and why weren't they in ashes?). Hank said he was finished with me but still had some work to do in his lab so I thanked him and ran off to find some lunch and to see if Bobby would notice that I didn't need my glasses anymore. I'd just stepped off the elevator on the main floor when a bloodcurdling scream tore the silence of the mansion and people came running into the hall as the screaming stopped and the yelling started.
"Kim! That wasn't funny, when I walked in and found him in my bed, I almost ripped its head off, I'm not use to having these things." Bobby appeared at the top of the stairs carrying the oversized Chewbacca doll then flexed his claws at me and glared down where I stood. Scott looked at Bobby with his hair still standing on end and the miffed look on his face, Scott smirked, then he started to chuckle and everyone stared at him like he was loosing his marbles.
"Looks like the king of pranks has had a little taste of his own medicine." Then he took Jeans hand and they walked off together. "About time."
"Well Bobby, the next time someone wants me to go where I'll get stuck with needles I hope you will remember this little incident and show me where to hide instead of offering to take me there yourself." He looked at me and nodded.
"I just got some laundry back, could you come fix it." He asked me "My favourite T-shirt doesn't fit me." Bobby made a sad face, but it brightened up as he said "Hey you're glasses are gone, but I kinda liked you with then."
"Your favourite T-shirt hu? Sure." And I ran up the stairs to join him "Hank keyed me into the computer, have you ever play 'The Sims'?" I asked as we walked back to his room with Chewbacca in tow.
"That has to be the shortest fight we've ever had here." Rogue said dazed. "I've only seen little kids make up that fast after a fight." Logan shook his head.
"Something tells me Kim can act any age she wants ta be, looks like she's decided that Bobby's right, being ten around here right now is easer and more fun." Then he went pail for a moment. "Wait till Jubilee joins them, we'll have three kids running around the place makin' all kinds of trouble." Bishop shuddered and went pail too, the phone rang. "Hello Xavier's madhouse… hey mornin' Chuck… you are, you finish early? I'll tell 'em, sure… oh same old, we picked up a new student and Bobby had a wild run in with Sabretooth and his brain is… calm down Chuck kid's fine, he's just going to live in… no I swear the kid is fine, but maybe we should look into getting him a scratching-post or something… try taking a deep breath Chuck… The new student's a girl, Kim Novak… yes that was a good film, she's calling herself Nova… she and Bobby are getting along like a house on fire, she's just scared the shi-… what? Ya see you then bye." Logan hung up and looked at the group still waiting in the hall. "Professor is goin' to be home in time for tea, Bish tell Cy the professor wants him to get his butt down to the airport to pick him up will ya?" Then he walked casually out the front door, humming, as he pulled a cigar from his shirt pocket along with the silver Harley Davidson™ lighter Jubilee had given him for Christmas last year. 'Jean's goin' to have to try and find me before she can make me scrub any toilets.' He smiled as he slunk off into the woods.
**********
20 Minutes to teatime:
The joint was jumping, when Bobby and I finally tore ourselves away from the computer (where we'd been building a replica of his house and family into my Sim's hood) and Jean would have taken my head off with a flying vacuum-cleaner if Gambit hadn't stopped mopping the tiled floor of the entrance to pull me out of it's way. Ororo was whipping a dusty wind out a window in what looked like a study and Bishop was fluffing the sofa pillows in the front sitting room as Joseph created a static charged cloud to trap the dust that was lurking under the dinning room table. We asked Warren, who was sitting in the kitchen reading the morning paper, what was going on and we were told that Charles Xavier, the man who founded the X-Men and ran the school, was on his way home from the airport. One quick look at each other and Bobby and I were off looking for Jean to see if we could help her, because Bobby had said that Jean went easer on volunteers then she did on people she found hiding, just then we heard Logan's shout from the back patio and a really strange sucking noise, a moment later Logan walked passed with a toilet plunger stuck to the top of his head.
"Jean wants me to go clean up the blue powder-room and fix the toilet in the lab." We just nodded and wisely kept silent. When we soon found a frustrated Jean and Bobby was asked to sweep the front porch and to take it easy because of what he'd been through yesterday and I was told 'You don't have to but, could you pick up the kitchen?' I went in and found Warren still sitting there reading. I started with the counter and sink area and was soon engrossed in my job, quickly putting stray dishes into the dishwasher and piling others aside for hand washing, that's when I had an idea, if I could use my power to wash myself why not... use them on the kitchen? So standing in the centre of the room I created a gentle mist over everything, I pushed it around gently to trap all the dirt and dust in the room, then I called the dirty water back forming a ball over the sink, for some reason it was very black, then I let it go down the drain, around me the tiles and sink were shining, even the basket of fruit was clean and ready to eat. Someone cleared their through behind me, startled I turned and was greeted with the sight of a slightly damp Angel, his hair wasn't laying in soft waves anymore, it was wildly curling around his head, his cloths didn't have that crisp and freshly pressed look anymore either, they were wrinkled and hanging limply on him and his newspaper was just a big smear of coloured inks where my mists had touched it.
"Oops, Mr. Worthington, I'm so sorry… I had an idea and wanted to try it out, I was concentrating and I… I forgot you were in here." His lips quirked.
"Nice trick, first time?" I nodded and he shrugged "I'll live, don't worry about it, actually the scrubbing part felt nice." He said as he stood up. "I'll just go and change before the professor arrives and the name is Warren." He left the room, CRASH, I ran out of the kitchen to see what had happened, Jean's flying vacuum had finally clamed a victim. Warren lay sprawled over the twitching appliance and Jean was staring wide-eyed as he got up brushing himself off "That's it, no more cleaning for any of you I'm calling in a service to clean this place from now on, before I'm maimed for life, heck I even own a cleaning service." With that he stomped out of the room.
"Finally." Jean whispered before closing her eyes, then I heard people cheering all over the mansion. "I just let them all know what Warren said, and that Scott and the professor have just arrived at the front gates." I took five minutes to throw together a pan of Royal Cake (Sorry this is my privet goodie I'm not sharing it) and put it into the oven to bake before joining everyone in the front hall.
**************
Front entrance hall:
From all that I'd been told about professor Charles Xavier, founder of this school and the X-Men, he wasn't how I'd pictured him in my mind. He was in a wheelchair for one thing, he had a slim but healthy looking body and he had the kind of face you would picture on a leader… for some reason I could easily see him replacing Patrick Stewart on star trek as the captain of the enterprise. I guess it was his baldness that I wasn't ready for, because I'd never really met a bald person, I'm from Canada where people need all their hair for protection from the cold.
"Hello, I'm Professor Charles Xavier," He said cheerfully "but feel free to call me Charles, most of my students do." He looked over at Logan and raised his eyebrow.
"Missed ya too Chuck." Logan smirked back at him. Xavier shook his head and sighed.
"A pleasure to meet you Sir." I said holding out my hand and he shook it (Yes I do talk like that). "Thank you for letting me attend your school... um… mine kinda burnt down recently." Everyone was starting to move off into the living room to have tea, when the professor froze looking behind me.
"Sabretooth, everyone look out!" Xavier yelled, I was suddenly yanked forward off my feet and found myself lying over the Professor's legs as he wheeled himself backwards away from-
"Bobby!" I called out, this wasn't how I was use to meeting people.
"Professor? It's me… the Bobster, your walking ice cube. Didn't anyone tell you what happened to me yesterday?" Xavier looked at the tall blond man who was towering over him with a frighteningly innocent smile on his face. The professor's mouth fell open but no sound came out. "Kim where are you going?" Bobby reached out and picked me up off the professor's lap and tucked me under his left arm. "Honestly professor you just met her and I had her first." Bobby joked smiling at Xavier. "Oh come on, its me, remember how I coloured Jean green my first Halloween here, or how about when I put an 'Oh Henry' bar in your shower and you thought it was a..." Scott stepped forward, cleared his thought and settled everything by saying.
"Lets all go sit in the living room and then you can hear the whole story professor. Bobby put Kim down." Bobby looked sadly at Xavier for a moment then sighed and put me down, as for Xavier he did a quick mind scan that showed him typical Bobbyish thoughts of Scott's boxer shorts flying from the school flag pole and it also revealed that he had been the one who'd painted Bishop's biggest gun Barbie pink last week.
"Okay Fearless, but no more trying to wheel off with her Professor." Charles smiled and then started to rub his head because it was starting to hurt. I went with everyone into the living room and listened again to the story of how Bobby had gotten someone else's body yesterday and answered some of Xavier's questions before excusing myself to go back to the kitchen to check on the cake, it was ready. I turned off the oven and put the pail yellow cake out on a plate and sized it till it was about two feet in diameter, before leaving the kitchen I set out a tray of things we'd need and I headed back to the living room with the cake and jars of strawberry and raspberry jam.
**************
Living room:
Bobby was sitting next to Hank talking to Xavier, who wanted to know how he was adjusting to his new body.
"…He was walking around the cell naked and Kim saw him, then S.H.I.L.D. came and took my bod… Creed away, but Fury said he'd get the word out that I wasn't to be hunted down and he is even seeing that all my papers are changed, and he's having my accountant's licence revamped, Hank thinks that I should work for the I.R.S." Warren laughed and Psylocke shushed him. "Then I met Kim and she didn't know I wasn't in my right body but she liked me anyway." Then a funny look crossed his face "Hank, what if I want kids? They'd be Creed's… my kids are locked up in a cell on S.H.I.L.D.'s flagship… my kids are never going to be born." He wailed and Hank put his arm around Bobby's shoulder.
"Bobby, do you think it matters, any children you father will be yours, but I did have the forethought to see that an amount of your sperm was frozen before Fury took Creed away, add that to the other samples from your physicals over the years and you could have a basketball team as soon as you feel like hearing yourself called Daddy."
"Um… thanks Hank, but maybe," Bobby cased a glance at everyone around the room "We should talk about my kids later." then his head went up and he sniffed, then he heard Logan sniffing too, he looked at the stocky Canadian and then they were both suddenly up and running to the door, Logan got ahead of Bobby, but Bobby simply picked him up and tossed him over his shoulder, onto an empty couch, and kept running to get to the door first just as Kim arrived caring a large plate of cake and holding jars of jam in the crooks of her arms.
"Here let me help you carry that." Bobby smiled at her, Kim just looked at him a moment then shook her head.
"Thanks, but if you could go get the tray I left in the kitchen I'd appreciate it. These jars are cold." She said as she set the cake down on the coffee table. Bobby shot Logan, who was laughing on the couch, a dirty look as he went after the things Kim wanted. "There is no way I was going to let him have all this," Kim said to Hank. "he'd have run off with it and made himself sick." Logan shook his head.
"Kid's got a healin' factor now, can't get sick from eating too much, just get too full." He popped a claw and was about to cut himself a piece of cake when Jean swatted his hand away.
"Logan don't you dare touch that cake with that thing." Once Bobby was back with the tray of from the kitchen everyone served them selves some cake and started eating happily (Royal Cake is very much like a Twinkie's cake with out the filling, and I should worn anyone planning on visiting Montreal that we don't have any Twinkies in Quebec L ), till Kim pulled something from her pocket.
"I found this in the fridge, anyone want some on their cake?" As she spoke she sized up the tiny jar till it was the size of a peanut butter jar and the label read "Mint Jelly". Everyone looked at someone else.
"I do believe I would like to try that rather exotic combination on a small bite." Hank volunteered slowly and everyone waited to see his reaction. Munch, Munch "My goodness that, that is rather refreshing, such a delicate blending of flavours, I've only ever eaten this with lamb." Others tried it, and some liked it too, others didn't and went back to regular jam.
"You should try mint jelly or real mint leaves with chocolate in a sandwich." I told Hank and soon we were all talking about the strangest things we'd eaten. "I've had Snails, Squid, Conch fritters, smoked Canadian Goose and Crocodile on a stick." But Logan won hands down with having eaten a Bear once… raw.
"We could always go back to talking about Bobby's frozen kids." Warren sniggered. I looked at Bobby.
"You have kids? And they're frozen!" someone muttered something that sounded like 'How do you feel about basketball.' Then Bobby cleared his through.
"I don't have kids, this body has one that we know of, a man named Graydon Creed, and he is a politician." Bobby shuttered. "And the leader of a hate group against mutants called 'F.O.H.' the Friends of Humanity. He had my father beaten half to death some months ago, because my dad spoke out for mutant rights."
"How old are you?" I asked.
"I was thirty before, now I guess I'm about… fifty?" Logan snorted. "What?"
"Creed and I where doin' jobs together long before that, look at about seventy and up, the healing factor keeps ya young." Bobby swallowed and looked over at me.
"Could you like an older man?" He asked then frowned at Xavier. "Don't even think about it you're too young for her." Everyone laughed and ate more cake. Once we'd all eaten and talked our selves out the professor, Scott and Hank went off to his study to talk about the Mure Island trip, it was the Scottish version of Xavier's mutant school, but they took on the really hard cases. Jean insisted on floating the dishes away to the kitchen, once I'd sized the serving plate back to normal, I was about to go to my room, I needed to use the bathroom, when I turned and found Rogue standing in the door way smiling at me.
"What?" Storm and Sara (Marrow) came to stand next to her.
"Ya ready to get your training costume?" Rogue asked, I nodded. "Good, your lucky there was a time when everyone who joined had to wear the same outfit, all in black and yellow with lots of X's everywhere, now you just go change into a swimsuit and I'll-" She looked at the other two women "We'll wait for you here." I ran up the stairs and into my room, grabbed a swimsuit and a robe from the walk-in closet and rushed into the bathroom I looked at myself and sighed, I hadn't been swimming since last year and I'd been wearing pants all summer… my legs where frightening and they were waiting for me down stairs. Could I try zap it off with water, size the razor bigger, size my self smaller? I was wasting time. I did a little of everything, using my sizing power I shrunk down to pocketsize and only shrunk the razor till I could hold it easily as I kept water running under the razor to lift the hairs into a good cutting position. I was definitely going to buy myself a waxer as soon as I could. What took fifteen minutes seamed like fifty and soon I was rushing back down the stairs in a long bathrobe. Bobby was standing there arguing with the X-Women.
"Kim would look fine in a red version of Psylocke's costume, maybe in green."
"Bobby if ya don't get your butt out of our way I'll hang you from the roof by your… belt" Rogue threatened him. I walked up holding my robe tightly to me. "There you are… Kim your leg is bleeding." Bobby stopped arguing with Storm and turned to me.
"Kim, what happened?" I suddenly found myself laying on the floor of the entrance and his hand running up my leg under the robe.
"Bobby!" I squeaked, "I'm fine, I was in a rush and cut myself shaving my legs." He ignored me and flipped my robe out of the way. Blood was running down from a deep cut on my left knee that I'd tried to stop with a piece of toilet paper, I'd always hated shaving because I somehow always ended up looking more like a self sacrifice then an example of a swimsuit model. Bobby looked at the blood wrinkled his nose then threw back his head and roared like a lion.
"HANK, HANK GET YOUR FLUFFY, BLUE BUTT OUT HERE!" Next thing I knew I was sitting on Bobby's lap and he was hugging and rocking me gently (My story my call) saying I was going to be all right. Hank came bounding out of Xavier's study and ran over to us as Scott followed.
"What has happened here?" He saw the blood on my knee and knelt next to us "Well that looks… nasty." Then he reached under the entrance table that held a vase of fresh flowers, and unhooked of all things a first aid kit. "I put that there for when Jubilee lived here, she Rollerblades and hardly ever falls down but I wanted to be prepared if she ever did." He kept talking as he opened a small package that smelled bad, Bobby sneezed, "Do you know what happened the first time she fell and skinned her knee and elbow?" I shook my head and gasped as he put the iodine patch over my cut. "It was Scott who saw her fall, he pushed Logan out of the way, scooped her up and ran with her all the way down to the med-lad. Jubilee was stunned at his reaction and after that she brought him coffee every morning to the training sessions for a week as a thank you." As he talked Hank finished cleaning the cut and put an H Band-Aid over it. "There good as new, as for you Bobby you nearly gave the Professor a heart attack yelling like that." Bobby shrugged and hugged me tighter, I could really get to like this. Scott shook his head and went back into the study.
"Who is Jubilee?" I asked. Bobby smiled, picked me up and started telling me all about his partner in crime and how she was at the junior school in Snow Valley Massachusetts now, as he carried me behind Rogue, Sara and Storm into the elevator. They took me into a very modern room, that had a long green leather couch with a high drawing table in one corner and a wide tube-like thing in another corner, on a coffee table in front of the couch were all kinds of drawings and photos of cloths.
"You can choose one of these change the colour, or anything else you don't like about the outfit or even design your own from scratch, then we feed the information into the replicator," Rogue pointed to the tube in the corner "and in you go and then ya pop out like toast with new cloths." Bobby had just set me down on the couch and was about to sit next to me when Rogue picked him up and carried him out the door. "Y'all is stayin' out of this Mister Drake." And she slammed the door in his face.
"Fine, but I just wanted to watch, I promise, I'll be good." We heard him pleading and I nodded. Rogue opened the door and waved him over to the couch just as a voice came over the intercom system.
"Bobby please report to the Danger room." It was Scott. Bobby rolled his eyes and huffed back to the door muttering to himself about Scott's timing. I looked over the designs and sighed they just weren't me, many of then where too open or too tight looking, so I turned to Rogue and said.
"When I finished high school I wanted to be a fashion designer, everyone said I had a good eye for styles, and I went for it till I found out that 5000 people apply for the school and only 1000 finish the two year course, only one or two ever get their names on anything they've designed, so I let my doubts talk me out of something I loved doing. I still draw cloths and I think I'd like to design my own costume if you could explain about the fabric this process uses, I think I can make up a design that will 'suite' me." They gowned at my pun and told me about unstable molecules, how the fabric absorbed physical impacts and defused them to a point. They even said that it would be able to size with me if I programmed that requirement into the computer, so I set to work, but I explained I could do that myself.
I chose a water theme and ran with it, I showed them the colours I liked, and I decided to keep my style simple. I sketched and they watched, then Sara got hungry and slipped out, Rogue had a training session in the woods with Logan but promised to come back as soon as she was finished. My outfit would be snug but not tight, and the whole thing would look like a one piece wetsuit with the boots built into the legs. I talked to Storm about options before she went to get tea, I decided to make it insulated against the cold (Which I hate) and add a pocket on my thigh to hold things I could size down, like a first aide kit, emergency food, and some camping gear, oh and the pocket would be waterproof. I noted to myself that I'd have to create concealed flaps on the back that would let me hide my gills (the ones I still hadn't told anyone else about) but still let me use them if I ever needed to. Storm came back and showed me how to program the "Tube" then she excused herself as I started designing my mask, I looked at a photo on the coffee table of Gambit in full battle armour, with his head hugging hood that let his hair out, it intrigued me, I drew it down on my paper but added ear covers with communications built into them with a microphone arm and I added a mirrored visor, because it was cool looking and I didn't want anyone to recognize my eyes. By the time Rogue, Sara and Storm where all back I was finished and watched as Rogue programmed the outfit into the "Tube" I was ready to go in. I took off my robe and was about to step in when the door opened and in rushed Bobby.
"Am I too late." He panted and then he saw me standing there. "Nice." I looked down at my one-piece orange swimsuit that covered me from neck to low on my hips. "I like it." I sighed.
"Bobby, this is my swimsuit, I was just going to step in here and be suited up for the first time. Oh I just remembered something." I rushed over to the programming panel typed to add in the gill flaps and added one more thing to my outfit then stepped back into the "Tube". The Door closed and I was surrounded by lights of every colour that soon became lights of various shades of blue. I heard Sara call out that it was almost over and to hold still. I felt myself being encased in what felt like a body hug. My legs and arms where now covered and I felt the hood forming on my head, and then the lightly blue tinted interior of the mirrored visor was covering my eyes. The door of the "Tube whooshed open and I slowly stepped out to see the reactions of everyone who was waiting to see me. "Well what do you think?" They were smiling, and Sara gave me a thumbs up.
"Hey I like that diver's knife strapped to your leg, nice touch." She said.
"You're all covered up," Bobby sounded disappointed "But I like the shades. It's a cool costume." Then he startled me by trying to kick me in the ribs, I raised my knee and blocked him then kicked out and knocked him back (Boy the things you remember after years away from karate class, I was a green belt once). "Good it isn't restricting your body's movements. Come on lets show everyone." He took my arm, I waved and thanked Rogue, Storm and Sara. (If you want to see my Nova Costume Go to www.angelfire.com/me3/DelCreed it will be somewhere in those pages) Everyone liked the costume and the last person we showed it to, Scott, said I'd get to use it tomorrow because that would be when I'd have my first training session in the 'Danger room' I really hope that place doesn't live up to its name or I'm a goner.
**************
Somewhere in the bowels of the school:
"This is the hall that leads to the hanger, that you saw yesterday when you landed and I guess that's it for the tour." Bobby shrugged as I stood silently beside him, still trying to absorb everything I'd seen. "About tomorrow, don't worry, they never put anything deadly in till they know your skill level." I scowled at him as he laughed.
"Thanks, that is just what I needed to hear, how was your session in there, that 'Danger room' today?" He explained about how he wasn't up to full power yet, because his brain hadn't pumped enough 'icing' chemicals through his new body yet to do anything big like an iceslide or for him to ice up.
"By the end of the week I'll have it all back, and with you around feeding Storm and me unlimited water we'll really be able to whip up a good brouhaha." It was time for dinner and we hustled up to the dinning room where the smells where incredible. Bobby sneezed and looked at Logan, who was already sitting at the table. "How do you handle the pepper?" then sneezed again.
"Don't breath too deep through your nose, kid." Logan said as he dished up a plate of food for him self. "Kim I hope you can eat 'Hot' food because it was Gumbo's turn to cook to night, and as you can see Scott decided to eat in the boathouse with Jean, but she'll sneak up later to steal some of the leftovers if I leave any, Storm hates missing dinner to night but she had tickets to hear a botanist lecture." He laughed as Remy came out of the kitchen with another pot.
"Bon soir, now you in for some good eatin'. Hank tol' me about the pepper thin', I only use cyan pepper anyway, dat pink and green stuff just unripe black pepper." He smiled wiping his hands on the dishtowel he'd tucked into the waistband of his pants. "I made us some <<Riz aux haricots rouges>> an' <<Gumbo de jombon et de veau>> and for desert <<gateau a la melasse de la Louisiane>> in English dat is…"
"Red beans with rice, ham and veal gumbo." I said before he finished. "And Louisiana style molasses cake." Everyone looked at me. "What? Didn't Scott tell you I speak French, have since I was three, being from Quebec… I think I'd be shot if I didn't speak it the way things are going back home." Gambit smiled and said we'd talk later, because he missed hearing people speak French. "Okay but I don't speak Paris French, I can but I prefer a mix of high French and common Quebecker's French." I warned him.
"You ain't heard a person form N'arlens speakin' it yet Chere, you and Remy goin' to have a fun time trying to understand each other." The food was amazing. Remy sat next to Bobby and across the table from me, he asked me things about Montreal, I answered best I could explaining that I didn't get out much what with school and hiding myself away from people afraid they'd look at me and know what I was. Then I noticed Bobby shifting in his seat and suddenly Remy's chair was being pushed sideways. Then Remy would shift and Bobby's chair would move over.
"Is there a problem guys?" I asked, both stopped, smiled innocently at me and said 'no/non' then the shifting started again. "If there isn't enough room at the table I can eat in the kitchen from now on." The shifting stopped and Bobby even pulled Remy's chair back to where it had been in the first place.
"Wow, she's good." Joseph whispered to himself, Rogue nodded wide-eyed and the professor chuckled.
#How did you do that?# he asked, I was startled for a second then thought back to him.
#I have two nieces, a nephew, and I was planning to go work on a cruise ship, when I finished school, to take care of the children.# I sighed. #The ocean, sand, warm weather and no snow.# The rest of the evening went fine, because Sara made a point of sitting on the couch were I was, before Remy could. I was watching Bobby, who sat on the floor at my feet J, blasting away at speeding cars and drunk drivers from his cosy, air-conditioned, police cruiser, in a video game called "Road warrior megadeath" (Don't look for it I made it up) and he was doing great at the game till he hit an old lady and the boy scout that was leading her across a crosswalk. I still wasn't use to all these people being around me and I needed to have some `me' time, so I said good night to everyone and then stopped to pat Bobby on the head, he paused the game, looking like a man coming out of a daze as he asked.
"Wa…?" I told him I was going to bed and he took one of his hands off the control-pad and hugged me around the knees. "Sleep tight Squirt."
"Don't call me that." I said as I left the room.
"Perfect, like that gag wasn't getting old between Storm and Gambit." Warren huffed.
"Oh Feathers don't get ruffled." Psylocke soothed.
"Don't call me that." Warren smiled as he got up quickly and ran from the room, Betsy hot on his heals. Bishop sighed, Warren's room was next door to his and he would have gone to the med-lab to ask Hank for some cotton to put in his ears but he was too afraid to miss hearing any danger that might try to sneak up on him.
*********
Kitchen 1:00Am:
Insomnia is the bane of my life, not sleeping till three in the morning, and sometimes later is a real killer, when I had to get up for school at five o'clock I was like a zombie all day, then night would come and I'd perk right up and it would start all over again. My mother had even let me sleep till eleven or noon during the summer hoping I'd catch up on my sleep or straighten out my sleep patern, but no I was and still am a night owl. I went into the moonlight kitchen hoping a cookie and a cup of decaf tea would relax me into sleeping sooner, but when I tried to open the stubborn tin cookie box I ended up dropping it on the floor then all hell broke loose and it fell on me.
"Freeze or you'll be goo on the floor." A loud, angry voice said menacingly as I saw a gun's huge barrel come to hold right on me. Freeze? forget freezing I screamed my, soon to be goo, head off. Have you ever try to get out one of those good bloodcurdling screams like women do in the movies, you know the ones I mean, like the way that woman shrieked when she first sew King Kong, but you just can't get it to come out as loud or as high pitched, well I found out that what you need is the proper incentive to scream like that and boy did I suddenly have incentive. I think I shattered every glass in the kitchen as I screamed and fell over backwards. I lashed out with a pinpoint jet of water, because I'd heard that if a stream of water is thin enough and the pressure high enough behind it, that it can cut through things like wood and even mettle, and from the looks of the nasty cut I just put in Bishop's upper arm I guess I'd heard right. The lights came on in a blinding blaze and Logan was standing wearing what looked like karate pants, then there was Rogue who might wear a ton of cloths during the day but it seams slept in the shortest, frilliest, baby doll PJ's I've ever seen. They where both standing in the doorway looking at the image that Bishop and I made, he in his black boxer/briefs, arm bleeding, cradling a huge gun, and me in my dark grey men's pyjamas curled up on the floor in the fetal position, sounded by all kinds of cookies, the darn tin having finally opened. Logan propped himself against the doorjamb as Rogue came to stand near me and asked if I was okay, then came Beast wearing a nightshirt that reached down to his knees, his glasses sitting crookedly on his nose.
"Oh my stars and garters…" he saw Bishop's arm and quickly wrapped a clean dish towel around it "I'll have to stitch this clos-" He never finished what he was saying, because at that moment he, Bishop and Logan all went skidding across the floor to end up in a strange, multicoloured pile of limbs as a yellow blur appeared in the room eyes flashing, teeth and claws bared and completely nude. Rogue's mouth fell open and her eyes went everywhere on that big golden body.
"Kim I heard you scream, are you hurt!" He could smell the blood in the room. I was then lifted off the floor and for the second time today I found myself cradled gently in Bobby's arms. "What happened?" I couldn't speak, I waved my hand at the cooling cup of tea on the counter and managed to mutter 'Dropped cookies' into his shoulder, when all the stress of the past days caught up with me and I was now crying for all I was worth, and it was not one of those pretty little ladylike cries, no this was a full fledge deluge of tears, wailing and a very runny nose that caused me to sniff pitifully as I kept my face hidden. You have to give him credit, Bobby didn't drop me and say "Yuck gross!" no he wrapped one arm around me as he balanced on one leg and used his free hand to reach out and grab the box of Kleenex from the counter beside the fridge, then he carried me to the table and used his foot to kick a chair back so he could sit down as he wiped at my eyes and nose before curling around me like a shield that would keep me safe. "Either it's the stress catching up with you or you've realized you have to see Scott every day." he joked and I couldn't help it I laughed, it wasn't even funny but I was laughing and for the first time in my life I was being held and comforted by someone I wasn't related to. Bobby looked me straight in the eye then, "I have to do this now, you understand don't you?" I nodded without the slightest idea of what he meant to do. He kissed me, there in the kitchen, sitting on his lap, in front of his friends and without a scrap of clothing on he was kissing ME. I was amazed, I'd read romance novels and shaken my head at how those writers waxed poetic on how it felt to have someone's mouth against yours, doing things that sounded kinda gross, but it was like fireworks going off in my head. We looked at each other, smiled and I held him closer. The sound of some one clearing their through broke us apart. It was Logan, he stood there smirking at us and holding up an apron.
"How about you makein' yourself decent , I really don't need to be lookin' a 'tooth's butt this early in the mornin' kid." I quickly hopped off Bobby and glared at Rogue till she shrugged and turned her back on him too. "Ain't that nice your blushin' matches the little flowers on this thing." Logan sniggered as he tossed the scrap of fabric Bobby's way. Hank told everyone that he was taking Bishop down to get some stitches and as they left the room I called out.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know I could do that, you scared me." I tried to get out an explanation.
"I over reacted, I apologize also… you know you did very well, didn't freeze up under pressure." Bishop said then he followed Hank to the med-lab.
"Just give me that." Bobby snarled as he wrapped the apron around himself, and then his arm was around my shoulders. "That was a real compliment Bishop gave you, skill is something he respects in people."
"You never said the kitchen was booby trapped, is having a midnight snack against the rules?" I asked. I really felt better after my crying jag. I looked at my tea, it was cold so I zapped it in the microwave and started to pick up the cookies, soon Bobby, Rogue and Logan were helping me. "I'll never sleep now and then Mr. Summers is going to cream me in the 'Lethal room'." Rogue snorted.
"Danger room, it's called the Danger room, are you always up this late?" I nodded and reluctantly explained how my sleep cycle worked. "I guess monitor duty is going to be a snap for you isn't it?" We all laughed and went back to our rooms and I guess the crying did it because as soon as I was in bed I snuggled down and fell asleep completely drained, remembering the warmth of Bobby's body and our first kiss.
************
The next morning:
I was up and ready by 7:00 am, and about to leave my room when I heard someone outside my door, I dropped to the floor and looked under the crack… I saw feet. Maybe the test stare as soon as you get up, so I stood up and walked to my window, opened it and created a water column that reached up to the edge of my window and stepped out onto it then rode it down to the ground, then I jogged to the front door, went inside and water vaulted up to the second floor surprising the person who stood there… Sara. The bone shard came flying at me and acting on instinct I shrunk down to avoid it as I created a flat, swirling disk of water to slow it down. The bone was caught in the spinning water and flung off course to end up stuck in the wall off to my right.
"Good morning Sara." I said hesitantly. She frowned and kept looking at the bone poking obscenely out of the wall.
"Don't ever sneak up on me, I could have really hurt you." She snarled. I decided not to point out she'd snuck first as I returned to normal size. It turned out that she wanted to give me some pointers about training, and as we went down to breakfast I listened eagerly. There was a lot of people up for so early in the morning and Sara muttered that some wanted to watch me 'do my thing' in the Danger room, it was a tradition to watch the newbies, and that others would be in the room with me as my opponents. Scott came in with Jean and everyone was either eating or finishing up their meal. I didn't want to be too full so I ate a can of pineapple chunks (I can see my mom frowning at me, ready to open her mouth to tell me how many carbohydrates I've just eaten) and I rinsed my bowl and put it into the dishwasher. When Bishop walked passed him Scott saw the white bandage, after some pointed questions he asked.
"Joseph, can you make a 1/4 inch thick mettle disk and stand to hold it and a piece of 2X4?" Jo nodded and went to work and came back five minutes later and said it was ready. Scott asked me to join him outside, everyone stopped eating and followed us. There in the middle of the lawn was a metal stand that looked like Neptune's trident, it's handle, wide and flat to keep it from turning, it was driven deep into the ground and in the two spaces between it's three prongs where a piece of 2X4 wood and the mettle disk. "I want you to cut through them with water, like you did Bishops arm." I frowned and looked a t the wood, I raised my hand to guide myself and hit the wood with a jet of water. I couldn't feel anything happening, so I concentrated harder on narrowing the jet upping the pressure, ha that did it I could feel the water sinking through the wood now, within moments the wood fell to the ground in two pieces. People where clapping, but not Scott. "Now try the mettle." I wasn't sure it would work, I called up the picture of my friends trapped in the school and used the emotions to push harder. After five minutes of trying Jean tossed a look at Scott, who told me to stop. We walked over to the stand and I saw that I hadn't cut through the mettle but that it was bent and had slightly thinner were I'd been focusing my water. "Not bad."
"Awe come on Fearless, you don't need her cuttin' things up that's my job." Logan called out. Bobby tapped him on the shoulder.
"I'll help you, I don't have these just to pick my teeth." Bobby flexed his hands and his claws became longer. "Can you help me, you know learn how to work with them and these scenes too?" Logan looked thoughtful, shook his head and grunted.
"Never thought I'd see the day I'd be doing this with you." Taking a deep breath he sighed and kicked Bobby's legs out from under him. "Tag you're it!" He yelled running into the woods, Bobby sat up and frowned.
"Hey no fair." Then he was up and running after Logan into the woods, but he stopped on the edge of them and was running back to us. "I'm not missing you're first training session." Scott pointed out that Logan was going to be running around in the woods waiting for him. "Ya but in all the animal shows I saw on T.V. the hunter has to be patient and take his time stocking his prey on his terms. He'll be in there at least an hour before he realises I'm not coming after him." Gambit laughed and said,
"When he figures dat out you goin' to be de hunted <<Garson>> (Boy)." Bobby just shrugged happily. Scott said it was time to get the show on the road, everyone file back into the mansion and just as I was about to go back in to the kitchen I saw something out of the corner of my eye.
"Well, well, well who is this?" His voice was low and had a tinny echo to it that sent chills down my spine. "A new member, a new student. Honestly Charles should start tell me these things, really he should, it would save me so much time." He looked like he was going to a Halloween party; his face was white except foe the black diamond on his forehead, and his eyes. They where a hot blazing red.
"Excuse me, but are you related to Gambit?" I asked. Before he could answer Bobby stuck his head out the door.
"Are you coming, Scott is waiting and-" He saw the man who stood near me. "Nova, careful that's Mr. Sinister he's a mad geneticist." I looked at the man and hopped back.
"Mr. Sinister, couldn't earn the title of Doctor hu?" I asked as I ran to Bobby. Sinister glared.
"Sabretooth what is your game, take her and bring her to me." He ordered Bobby. "It must be her signal I detected." Then the alarms were going off as the mansion scanners having just finished their sweep noted that there was now an extra person on the grounds. "Quickly!" Sinister shouted. I saw the others come running from the house and the man fired a red blast of energy at them as he knocked Bobby aside. "Useless, creature." I was being held in front of him like a shield. Slowly I turned my head and asked him a question.
"I have just one question to ask you. Do you need to breath air Mr.?" I called up a wide column of water came up around us just as I finished saying, "Because I don't." We were both floating around in the water, and he grinned at me. I gulped.
"You could be very useful." He could speak even in the water; I was not having a good morning. Suddenly a red blast hit the water and Sinister, he groaned lowly and loosened his hold on me just as Rogue came rocketing through the water and flew me away from him.
"Ice him Frostbite!" Gambit called and suddenly my water was turned in to solid ice and Mr. Sinister was trapped at its centre.
"The old fly in the ice cube gag, it's a classic." Bobby smirked "All yours Fearless." Scott's red eyebeams shot out, the Ice and it's trapped victim shattered in to a million pieces that all flashed out of existence. In the moments that followed I admit I was shocked to the very bones.
"He's dead." I gasped. "I helped to kill him." Rogue pulled me around to face her; she was still dripping from rescuing me and with her hair wet looked like a miffed skunk.
"No, he ain't dead." She shrugged "He's just gone off somewhere to pull himself together for a wile. X-Men 'try' never to kill." She assured me.
"Yes, dat why de bag guys are always comin' back to get us." Gambit joked. "Den we get to stop them again, en' again, en' again…" he was repeating himself till Jean whacked him in the back of the head. “Hey!” Scott cleared his through.
"When you told Sinister that you didn't need to breath, what did you mean?" I looked at my feet.
"I said that I didn't need to breath air…I… I have-" How do I tell them, I hadn't even told my mother this part, it was what I saw as the most alien thing about my powers, because this was the thing that made me physical different, made me physically recognizable as a mutant. I swallowed and finally whispered. "I have gills." Hank sputtered. "They make me so different from everyone, please don't be mad at me… I… I haven't even told my mom about them either." I pleaded.
"I saw no evidence of gills during your physical, and I was quite throw." He pointed out to me. I nodded.
"Yes, you were but my gills seal themselves when not in use." I turned my back to them and tried to lift the fold in my suit. Storm came and helped me by holding the fabric spread as I created a bubble of water on my back and the gills, which lay as three slightly vertical slashes just under each of my shoulder blades, unsealed and the water rushed in and out of my lungs easily. Scott told me he understood my reluctance to tell us, but that I needed to be honest with them from now on.
"Your session is over, I think facing Sinister is enough in one day for anyone." I looked at him, I didn't have to do the danger thing, I smiled turned to look at Bobby and knocked him over.
"Tag you're it." And I was off, waterslipping, into the woods and laughing.
End for Now
For disclaimer please see part one of Im Nova.
For this to make since you should have read parts one, two and three
Nova is mine, all mine, because she is 'ME". So if you want to use 'ME' please ask nicely, submit a blood sample and write a 1,000,000-word explanation on what you want to do with 'ME' and then I might let you borrow 'ME'.
Bobby as Frostbite is also my twisted idea, please don't use him with out asking me first, thank you.
Have you found the plot mistake in part one? Write to me and tell me about it at kobold13_2000@yahoo.com
"Nova-Marrow"
By DelCreed
March 19, 2001
The people of the X-Belong to Marvel, but I shamelessly keep using them for my own (non-profitable) purposes. This takes place sometime after the first three "Im Nova" stories (if you haven't read them you won't really understand this one), yes Bobby is still in Sabretooth's bod so get use to it because I like him there. It is really just a kind of what if, because I'm not sure I want my Nova saga going where this story leads.
******************
Kitchen, late at night;
Bobby and Remy were on their way to the kitchen for a late night snack after their Danger-room session, when the got near the door they overheard a conversation going on within….
"You know we are going to have to tell someone about us soon." Remy looked at Bobby and raised an eyebrow.
"Dat was Marrow's voice." He whispered to Bobby who because he was now living in Sabretooth's body had no problem hearing a cricket across the grounds let alone a whispered conversation on the other side of a wooden door.
"Ya, I know, its not like we can hide what is going on with us forever, most of the people here are smart and will notice us eventually." That was Nova's voice. Bobby looked at Remy in shock and whispered…
"They are an 'US'? I thought Nova and I were getting to be an 'US'." They both crept forward to look into the kitchen. There the men saw the two young women, Marrow and Kim, sitting at the kitchen table with only the light from the stove on, both had large plates of food in front of them, but of what the guys couldn't see from where they stood.
"So we'll be telling them tomorrow, " Kim said brining a loaded fork to her mouth "Now stop talking and finish your maggots and worms." She said jokingly with a smile. The men stopped creeping and walked in but Bobby staggered because what was in their plates did look like maggots and worms. Seeing his reaction Kim just smiled at him and says nothing because she won't speak with her mouth full.
"Bobby it o.k. dat just de left over noodles mixed wit' de rice from dinner." Remy says shaking his head. "Cheres, why you eatin' dis?"
"We need to have something in our stomachs to toss up in the morning sacrifice, and this will look more interesting then cookies on its return trip." Marrow said still chewing as Kim nodded in agreement with what she said.
"You're both sick." Bobby said still eyeing their plates. Remy raised an eyebrow.
"Non, Bobby you should be askin' 'Are you sick?' So are you?" he looked at the two girls.
"Well I guess they'll be the first to know, the thing is Marrow and I were kidnapped by sinister a month ago, late one night, we were sparing on the edge of the property and he appeared out of nowhere and he kind of had this plan to use us for something and we… he… well after some stuff happened to us Marrow got the drop on a guard and we escaped and came home, we didn't want to tell anyone what happened that night. That is till we started getting sick, but we aren't sick, sick… I… we're pregnant. Bobby, I have all these feelings for you and I was hoping you had some for me, but now this has happened to me and I can understand if you want to forget about… us." Bobby's face went white, as Remy sat down in the closest chair taking deep breaths, then he looked Bobby in the eye.
"But that was a dream… you said it was, when I woke up we were in the hotel room… Remy?" Bobby looked at the Cajun, cleared his through. "That was like about a month ago. He couldn't have made me do that." Bobby asked hopefully. Remy gave him a look, and Bobby started pacing.
"Bobby you were heavily drugged den later knocked out in de blast as we were escapin', I dragged you to de truck I found and when we reached de hotel you were still kinda out of it, but you did manage ta get into de room before you passed out again." Remy told him. "I was hopin' you not remember it, dat you t'ink it was jus' a bad dream."
"Hold it, what is going on here?" Nova pushed her empty plate away and stood. "The way you are talking its like you …. Ho no, it was you guys, wasn't it? It was one of you that he sent into the room with me. Which one of you did he use?" she asks covering her stomach protectively.
"Sinister, he knocked us out wit' gas when we were off checkin' out dat new hate group more den a month ago. Sinister he use both of us, Remy tink' dat one of you be caring his baby and de other is having Bobby's. Sinister say he kill the women he send us to if we don't do what he says, den he kill us too." the four of them sat in silence till Marrow asked.
"How will we know who is who's?" Nova looks at them, as unconsciously her hand went to her ear and rubbed it. Bobby saw what she was doing and closed his eyes.
"I know who I was with, because when it happened I tried to… to comfort the crying woman that Sinister put me with… by rubbing her ear so Sinister couldn't see what I was doing." He reached out and took Nova's hand and continued. "It was you wasn't it, I was with you?" Kim nodded. She and Bobby had played pranks on each other, teased and called each other names but they both knew it was all in fun, and that it was funny to see how the rest of the team reacted to their pranks, but now wasn't a time for tricks and jokes. He took her hand in a silent way that told her 'I'll be there for you'. "So, I guess this 'US' you were talking about earlier is a definite yes now instead of only a maybe." Remy looked at Marrow and saw that she too was surprised to see the trouble twins pulling together so quickly.
"Cheri, you okay with dis?" Marrow actually smiled at him.
"I did want a baby, someone to be my family. I guess yours will do up-worlder." Then she looked down at her plate and started sniggering. "Dose this means we're going to have to draw straws to see who gets to tell the Windrider and One-eye?" Gambit chuckled.
"Remy he be der wit' de video camera, den we let de people in one at a time and get de whole thin' on film." Bobby and Kim looked at each other and pictured with their vivid imaginations the reactions of the team leaders and everyone else. In the end they had to be helped back to their rooms by Marrow and Gambit because they were laughing so hard.
Rating:PG-13 so far for very light M/M content, and mention of people who are `third sex'.
Disclaimer:
Anyone you recognize is obviously Marvel's property
I'm using them shamelessly for my own evil purposes
I'm not making any money by doing this
Writer's note:
“There is something odd about that kid.”
“She's a freak.”
“Weirdo.”
“Crazy Kim.”
These and many other things were said about me and to me at every stage of my school life, from kindergarten until I finally escaped after graduating high school. I never fit in with the other kids, I was always the butt of every joke and most of the time I `was' the joke.
I never knew why my life was like this, was I absent the day the other kids voted on who'd they'd torment the rest of our school life? I only know I went through hell and thankfully I didn't end up killing myself… even if that was a very tempting option many times… instead I lost myself inside my mind and there I found a world where I was finally treated like a normal kid.
Note:
Merric (Aka: Ocen) is mine, all mine, because he is 'ME'. So if you want to use 'ME' please ask nicely, submit a blood sample and write a 1,000,000 word explanation on what you want to do with 'ME' and then I might let you barrow 'ME'.
“The Big Switch” By Cougarcreed
Prologue:
********
Remy sat in the air vent watching the sinister man in the flowing red cape make a few more adjustments to his experiment… that was securely strapped to a stainless steel table. Across from him Remy eyed the door expectantly.
“Come on pup, where dat distraction you goin' to make for Remy?” He spoke to himself. The loud explosions were easy to hear when they went off, “<<Bien>> well done, now jus' need `him' to go see what happened.” The door he'd been watching flew open and one of the Marauders ran in.
“Archlight I said I was not to be disturbed.” Sinister frowned.
“Yes boss but the whole South sector just went boom and your lab over there is on fire.”
“The South labs… those experiments are irreplaceable move you fool!” Sinister hurried out, followed by Archlight. Remy waited a moment before popping open the vent's cover and sliding out onto the floor. Running to the table Remy placed a gentle hand on the brow of the sedated person who lay there. “<<Bonjour petit>> something make Remy think you'll be happy to see him again when you wake up, non.” A large smile split the Cajun X-Man's face as he disconnected the IV tubes and unstrapped the restraining belts, then he slung the limp body over his back, “Cher dis one thinkin' you grew a bit since de last time we met.” The Cajun hurried back to the vent and pushed his burden into it, just as a pair of dark hands reached out helped to pull the pries in. “Der you are pup, you got him?” Bishop poked his head out,
“Him, Remy what are you blind this is-” Remy shushed him.
“No time for dis now, tell you about it later, now we keep movein'.” Bishop looked Remy in the eyes and reminded him,
“Just remember I'm only here helping you with this is because Bobby can't sneak worth a dame and because I want to keep `Famine' from existing in my time.” Remy pulled himself up into the vent and closed the cover,
“Remy will keep dat noted pup. Hurry up, can't leave Bobby alone wit' de Jet too long… he like to play wit' de buttons. Now move,.” He added needlessly as Bishop was already dragging the person they'd saved back to the opening they'd entered from up on the roof. “One less prize to give your master eh you piranha toothed <<abomination>>.” Remy whispered as he hurried to catch up to Bishop.
*
Returning to his lab hours later, angry over the loss of so many test samples and lab animals, Sinister was greeted with the unwelcome sight of the empty table. How was it possible that she'd escaped on her own? No she wasn't alone; a former lab rat of his had obviously had his sticky fingers involved in this undertaking. This would be the last time he'd interfere, for either she was returned or Sinister vowed that the Cajun would pay for his actions with his hide.
***
In the here and now:
He woke still groggy from the operation, large bandages wrapped tightly around his ribs, and slightly nauseated from the anesthetic. He had to fight to control the fear that rose like an ocean tide, reminding himself that all he had to do was look out the clinic's window to see that,
“Its not a lab, that was weeks ago, Remy came back and saved me… I'm free. `He' can't get me here, I am free.” He kept whispering to himself as an affirmation. The newness of short cropped hair met his exploring fingers. Smiling he recalled the shock of hairdresser when they'd asked that she cut off all the long golden locks. Remy had smiled and said,
“Dey be a donation for de kids wit' cancer.” And what a donation it had been, over three feet in length, very thick for all its fineness, and such an odd shade of gold. A movement in the corner of the room had his heart skipping a beat then racing, till the black around the glowing red eyes registered.
“Remy.” The shadowed figure stood, walked over, and smiled at him as Remy stepped into the dim light of the bedside lamp.
“Allo Cher, how you feelin' Merric?” Merric grinned up at the Cajun.
“Like I've been five rounds in a fight with Scalphunter and lost.” Remy reached out and ruffled his hair.
“Dis is lookin' good.” Merric shrugged, then regretted it as the move made his chest muscles twitch in pain.
“look at this,” He said happily as he ran his hand over his hair setting it on end, in spikes. “One second hair style, compared to an hour of brushing.” Bur Remy had become serious.
“You well enough to get out of here Petit?” Merric considered his question. It was important to keep moving as much as possible.
“I'll do whatever I have to do, and anything you say to stay away from Sinister.” Merric was already trying to sit up, Remy helped him to dress… every move was hell.
“Remy he has another clinic waitin' for you, dey all set to take you and you'll be startin' de `T' treatments you be needin' now.” Merric bit his lip and nodded as a sweet broke out on his brow. Remy hesitated. “We could wait a day more here home.” He offered, concerned.
“No, I won't risk it.” Merric nearly snarled from the pain and emotions. Remy put his arm around his back to offer his support as Merric teetered, “If `he' finds me now there'll be no chance to conceal what we were doing, and no chance of finishing the process.” They snuck down the hallway, Remy half carrying Merric, to the parking garage, where a very large man in a trench coat waited next to a dark colored van.
“Merric dis is Bishop, he helped Remy get you out of Sinister's lab… in de future, where he's from, he my pup… you can trust him.” Bishop opened the side door, surprised at the difference in the person he saw before him now and the one he recalled from almost a month ago. Through the open door Merric saw a flash of blue fur before the pain became too much and he collapsed in to Dr. Henry McCoy's arms.
“Oh, my stars and garters.” The doctor exclaimed, “Lets get the boy home at once.” Bishop, now behind the wheel, reversed the van away from the hospital's door and headed for the mansion. Upon arriving the three conspirators secreted the unconscious young man into the lowest and least used room in the med-lab, which now looked and for the most part smelled, like a one room apartment in a good section of town. There were books, games, and a computer. “I took the liberty of adding a selection of learning programs, not that this latest version of `The Sims2' isn't entertaining on it's own.” Hank was telling Remy as Merric came around, tucked comfortably into the single bed.
“Sims?” He whispered in confusion. Hank was surprised that the man didn't scream upon seeing his large blue countenance standing over him.
“A game that is guarantied to suck up all your time, to the point that you won't see the days passing. I've found it very useful for keeping ill people in bed so they can rest and recover more quickly.” Merric smiled at Hank, not bothered by this jovial man's blue cat-like appearance; after all in Sinister's labs he'd seen far more frightening creatures.
“How long will I be here Remy?” Merric asked looking at his friend.
“As long as you want to be, here you in de safest place you ever find petit.” Remy assured him, with a sigh Merric lay back and drifted back to sleep. When he woke hours later Hank was still there, only he had a tray of food with him.
“You have auspicious timing my young friend; I've some nice fresh eggs, bacon, and crisp toast here for you.” He set the tray on the rolling hospital table.
“Thank you.”
“And I'm also going to administer you're first injection of Testosterone, before you eat.” Merric looked up,
“Really?” His voice was hopeful and excited. Hank nodded and held up the already filled needle… Merric's face went white.
“Here, this is the instructions to Sims2, a bit complicated but worth it in the end, or if you want I can start you off on the easer playstation version. Be warned I just may join you for that one considering you can have two players in it.” The colorful book distracted Merric for a moment, when hank tossed it to him, allowing Hank to quickly inject his charge and be done before Merric could loose his nerve. Realizing what the blue furred doctor had done Merric thanked him. “Rather ingenious I know.” Hank grinned, pointing at the book he said, “Learn it well, there are many things that can happen in the game. I even had one abducted by aliens and he returned, shall we say `in the family way'.” Merric laughed.
“You're on, I'll be ready for you blueman.”
“My name is Henry, or Hank McCoy.” Hank introduced himself, realizing he hadn't done so in the two previous occasions they'd met. Merric smiled kindly as he raised an eyebrow, “but blueman works too.” Hank added, “But only you for you.”
“I'm Merric, no last name, but I've been thinking about taking the codename Ocen in public.”
Ocen, ha yes a play on ocean, because your powers deal with water control and creation.” Merric nodded. “I sounds very poetic.” Hank assured him.
“Better then `Nova', Sinister insisted it was appropriate because a super nova meant the end of a star's life… and he created me to end lives too.” Merric's face crumbled and his eyes teared up. “You know its horrible to grow up knowing you've been `created' to destroy people's lives.” Hank reached out a hand to pat the young man's shoulder, but a voice spoke from the doorway.
“In my time, about seventy years from now, you did a good job of living up to another name… Famine.” It was Bishop. “When father - Remy said he was going to go back and save you, I protested, knowing who you were, what you'd do in my time.” Merric sat frozen. “But I realized I had to give you a chance to avoid your future.” Bishop took a seat in the chair near Merric's bed. “I can see you aren't as I knew you to be, and I'll keep you safe so you never have to become what you were in my time.” Merric was subdued.
“I will not be a servant to that madman, or be handed over to Apocalypse to become one of his horsemen.” Their eyes met, Bishop's mouth twitched.
“You've already changed a lot from what you were.” He indicated the bandages. Merric shrugged.
“Dose my being like `this' bother you?” Bishop paused to think before he answered truthfully,
“If you are a better man than the woman Famine was, its fine with me.”
“I must add Sinister would be hard pressed to recognize you.” Hank added,
“I've known I was male for a long time even Sinister knew it, but my body didn't evolve male because of all the experiments he preformed on me when I was still in the womb. It didn't matter to Sinister that having a female body was devastating mentally to me, he'll never imagine that I've been managed to change into my true form… well as close to it as is possible anyway.” Bishop got to know Merric as he ate his breakfast, and he even started explaining and reaching him about the world `outside'. Bishop was a good teacher, because he too had had to adapt to the same strange new world Merric was facing, he was able to tell him things others wouldn't consider important. “Okay let me get this straight, so if I say yes they'll not only give me more French fries, but a bigger drink too?” Bishop nodded. “Can people really eat that much?”
“You'd be surprised.”
*
The time flew by, and at other times it dragged its feet. A month became two then three as the changes in Merric's body became noticeable. His voice dropped steadily to a huskier tone, the fuzz on his face thickened to hairs, his body's soft tissues reformed and workouts with Bishop, Remy, or even Hank reshaped his muscles along more masculine lines. The scars from operation to remove his breasts, ovaries, fallopian tubes, and uterus, healed with minimal scaring, Hank declared him fit and ready to face the world as he'd been meant to in another week or two.
*
The attack of Sinister's Marauders on the X-mansion came suddenly, a few days before Merric's release was scheduled, but He wasn't told about what had happened. There were however quite a few confused X-Men who'd heard Vertigo demand that Gambit,
“… return her to Sinister at once.” Remy's reply of,
“I don' have anyone females here, trot on back to Sinister. He jus' going to have to make another toy to play wit'.” Scalphunter swore at him.
“You know he can't do that, its impossible to clone the chosen ones.”
“Den tough.” Remy called back following up with a barrage of charged cards that had the Marauders retreating. Scott approached Gambit once it was all clear.
“Who, or what did you take from Sinister this time?” Remy hesitated, was it too soon to tell the other X-men. Bishop and Hank came to stand with him.
“I believe it would be best for Scott to meet our friend Remy.” Hank encouraged, so as they headed for the med-lab Scott was told about Merric and how he'd been saved from Sinister by Remy and Bishop. No one thought it necessary to tell Scott that Merric had once had a completely female body, it wasn't important. Entering the room Scott saw a young man of medium build, with short dark blond hair a few shades lighter then Bobby's, asleep in a single bed, and arm wrapped around a neon green stuffed bear that had a shamrock on it's white tummy. The sound of the battle they'd just fought over him, hadn't woken him up. In sleep Scott was struck by this man's peaceful beauty, it was hard to picture him being created by Sinister to become one of Apocalypse's horsemen. A scene of protectiveness swelled in Scott and he smiled, one more saved. Merric didn't know what alerted him but he knew he wasn't alone in his room anymore, his odd gray/green eyes shifted to blue as he opened them a crack to scan the room, in the dim light he saw Hank, Remy, and Bishop but another man was with them, he had on red goggles of some kind. Merric did a quick run-through of all the possible X-Men that this could be, and from Bishop's description he knew it must be the one called Cyclops, the X-Men's leader.
“Scott dis is Merric, petit dis is Scott Summers de leader of de X-Men and one of de first original five, like Hank.” Remy introduced and Scott stepped closer to the bed to shake hands with Merric.
“Sir.” Merric greeted formally.
“Merric, Remy and the others explained your situation to me-” Merric's eyes shot to Remy, who gave a subtle, negative, shake of his head. “About Sinister, we'll help keep you away from him and if you'd like to join us for training we'd be happy to teach you to use your powers for the good of mutant and mankind.” Merric had been warned about Scott's speeches so he nodded and said thank you right away, effectively cutting Scott's lecture short. “Oh um… well then, you can come join us for breakfast then and meet the rest of the team.” Scott offered, but Hank stepped closer.
“Actually I think that would be splendid Scott, Merric could use the companionship, he's been kept locked away by sinister in a vault most of his life, and our keeping him hidden down hear was little better.” They all knew that Sinister was Scott's least favorite person, for years that madman had tried to capture Scott and his wife Jean, for his own malevolent plans. The four older men left so Merric could go back to sleep and returned to the lift. But Scott turned to them,
“I think it would be best actually to have everyone, aside from the professor, think that Merric has just arrived here and not that you've had him hidden in the sublevels for months.” Remy nodded,
“Oui dat sounds better.” So the introduction of Merric to the other X-Men was set for the next morning, with Hank driving him up to the front door in his car.
*
Storm, who saw Merric's arrival, recalled when McCoy had brought another young mutant, Skin, to the mansion in just the same sort of `rescue'. The result was that no deep probing questions were asked of Merric. Bishop took charge of the young man and showed him up to his new room, in the men's wing of the mansion, briefing him on security procedures as they went off. All the X-Men then gathered in the dinning room for their weekly breakfast/briefing; it was a chance for everyone to catch up with each other and try to get things at the mansion organized for the week. This was also the best opportunity to introduce Merric to them. Xavier raised his hand and asked for a moment of silence,
“Good morning, as you can all see we have a new face at the table.” Remy grinned at how much of an understatement that was, new face yes, a new body and new life too. “This is Merric, he'll be staying with us to train in the use of his powers.” Scott then took over and started introductions, his wife Jean followed by Warren, Bobby and the rest of the X-Men.
“The grumpy one over there is Logan.” Scott finished and Logan glared at him. Merric giggled at that, but people around the table looked at him, Merric stopped himself… it wasn't manly to giggle. Storm smiled at him kindly and greeted him regally, Remy politely said hello as if it was their first meeting, and Jean-Paul the speedster known as Northstar, looked at him dismissingly and raised an eyebrow at the giggle. Merric looked away embarrassed. Bobby, who being Gambit's partner/lover knew all about Merric, saw the French Canadian's snobbish expression and let fly a spoonful of oatmeal, which struck the black haired man right on the side of his face. People around the table gasped, knowing the hot temper Jean-Paul didn't even try to control. Foul French words were directed at Bobby, something about his parentage, followed by cutting remarks that were stilled by the sudden appearance of a small winged, woman made completely of water, who washed the food off Northstar's face then dove into Merric's water glass. Hank laughed as he clapped,
“Oh well done Merric.” Jean-Paul turned to look at the young blond man who he'd dismissed out of hand, Bobby forgotten for the moment.
“Thank you, zat was very kind of you.” He offered stiffly. Within moments Merric was asked to do more tricks, once his powers were explained to the others, that he could not only create water but control it as well. He demonstrated by having a water cat walk over to sit in front of Warren, where it eyed the angelic mutant's wings hungrily as it licked it's lips. The floating letters spelling out `I Kick Ass' over Logan's head had everyone including the feral Canadian laughing. After the meal Rogue, Jean, and Storm got together and offered to help Merric settle into his new room, when they saw that the only clothes he had were three shirts, a light jacket, and two pairs of pants they called a meeting with the male X-Men.
“Some of ya'll needs ta go shopping with Merric.” Rogue said getting straight to the point. Bobby cringed remembering passed excursions, Logan whimpered silently as he hid behind Bishop, and Warren sighed as if all the worries of the world had just fallen on his winged shoulders. Remy bravely started to volunteer but Bobby grabbed his hand and muttered the one thing that made the Cajun breakout in a cold sweat,
“White sale.” Scott prompted by a pointed glair from his wife started to accept the task but Xavier, sensing the onset of a mental collapse no doubt, called for his assistance in the study with some papers. Bishop looked at Storm's warm smile and started to crumble, but it was Warren, rolling his eyes, who spoke first.
“Guess I'd better go too,” he pointed at Bishop's athletically inclined clothes, “the blind leading the blind and all that.” The two men turned to lead Merric away, when Jean-Paul surprised everyone by joining them and saying,
“I too will go, dez men 'ave no style.” Warren took offence as Jean-Paul eyed the preppy sweater tied around his neck. En mass they took Warren's BMW to the Salem Center mall, Bishop was all set to lead Merric to the nearest athletic clothing shop, Warren was insisting on Sax 5th Ave., but Jean-Paul stopped them both by turning to Merric and instructing him to, “Walk around, look at ze windows of de stores and decide on ze ones you want to enter.” After a half-hour of walking around the three man each saw his favorite store passed by with only a glance, Jean-Paul almost protested when Merric dismissed `The Gap' and continued looking. Just as the speedster was about to speak Merric stopped dead and his eyes devoured the display in the window of a store none of them had ever entered before, “Tristan and America'.
“Wow, this is amazing stuff.” Merric dashed in to look closer. The other three followed him in and within moments Merric was pointing to all kinds of clothes that he liked, and the others were actually choosing many items that they too found not only stylish, but well made and at a good price too. A few hours later all four men carried bags when they left.
“You `ave excellent taste in clothes.” Northstar found himself telling the younger man.
“He still needs, um… other things.” Bishop reminded them. Merric was taken to a shop that sold only underclothes and socks, but he didn't know how to choose these things. It was as everyone helped him that they became aware of how the other shoppers were looking at them. Jean-Paul smirked as he put an arm around Merric and purred in his heave French accent,
“Darling don' take doze, dey ride up <<horriblement>>.” Merric felt a wave of warmth flood him at the other man's touch, a feeling he'd never felt with anyone else before, stunned he couldn't follow Jean-Paul's lead, so to cover his reaction he quickly put the box back in the shelf. Jean-Paul shot those still watching a `Don't you wish you were me' grin before turning back to helping Merric with his selection. The Choice in socks and underwear made they went to JC Dimes for odds and ends including a robe, slippers and PJs. At one point Jean-Paul was passed him swimsuits to try on as Merric nervously stood in a changing-booth, all too aware that if someone looked in they'd realize he was missing a few manly `bells and a whistle', realizing this Merric quickly chose a pair of loose red swimming trunks that he could modify easily to wear with a fake penis insert, thus giving the proper bulge when the suite was wet.
“Look Sponge Bob Squarepants!” Merric laughed and ran over to the rack of mostly bright yellow nightclothes, seeing the comic character he'd watched on TV so often over the last few months, Bobby came down often to join him when the shoe was on, and they share funny log shaped golden cakes, which had to be hidden from Blueman for fear he'd eat them all first. Warren, Bishop, and Jean-Paul all cringed.
“I take eet all back, what I said about `im having good taste.” Northstar whispered, “eet would seam zat he and Bobby will get along well togezer.” Merric got Sponge Bob PJs, and a pair of tartan flannel pants that had a matching robe. The last stop was shoes, dress black, a pair of black sneakers, and a good pair of hiking boots with bright red laces. As they were walking out of the store Merric saw a shop tucked away off to one side that he'd missed on the way in, he paused. In the window was a dun colored, full length leather, duster… including a shoulder cape, removable winter lining, and a long slit up the back was made to let the coat fall easily on either side of a horse but it would also let the coat flair out dramatically when you walked. Merric's eyes took on a look of longing so poignant that his three companions all recalled times they too had come across something that just seamed to `speak' to them, which they would have walked over hot coals to have, and as far as they were concerned the coat was a completely reasonable purchase. They pulled him into the shop over his protests and soon had him draped in it. The fit was perfect, it enveloped him like a royal robe as Merric glowed with joy.
“What do you know,” the shop owner said, “That coat never fit anyone, made on the small side as it is, but it fits you like a glove.” It was Warren who saw the odd colored `biker' style boots that would go with the coat perfectly, soon a pair of those were found in Merric's size too. Bishop excused himself for a moment saying he'd meet them back at the car.
“Some dark brown leather pants would be good with diz.” Jean-Paul said getting caught up in the moment, he looked around the store, but Merric laughed up at him and said,
“Enough, I have all the dead cow I can handle at the moment.” Once they were heading back to the mansion, Bishop turned in the front passenger seat and handed Merric a bag,
“One final touch to your new look.” Opening the bag Merric felt Northstar leaning forward to try and see what he'd been given so he pulled out the green lenses aviator sunglasses and put them on. “No you look like you can kick ass.” All four of them laughed, and couldn't wait to see how the others would react to the results of their shopping trip.
*
When those back at the mansion saw Merric stroll in confidently, with the long coat on, they could feel the change in him, how he held his head high and walked with more confidence.
“Goodness what a handsome figure you present, young Merric.” Hank was the first to compliment. Jean saw the name on the shopping bags and smiled,
“You found the amazing store, its one of my favorites, and one of the best places in the mall to shop.” She looked at the JC Dimes bag, at something yellow that was falling out the top of it. “You bought a… doll?”
“No, those are my slippers.” Merric took them out and held them up. Bobby crowed,
“Sponge Bob Squarepants!” And that's what they were, each slipper was a `Sponge Bob' the hole that was his mouth was where your foot went in and his little arms and legs flopped about as you walked. After he'd thanked Bishop, Warren, and Jean-Paul for taking him shopping Storm helped him remove the tags from his clothes. Soon his clothes were divided into wash and didn't need washing piles, and the weather goddess had also tagged everything so that after washing he'd get his things delivered back to him.
“All your clothes will be marked with your name, or in the case of socks a colored thread that is unique to you, how dose orange sound to you?”
“I like it, thank you for everything.” Storm went off with the stack of `wash' as Merric took a moment to sit and absorb the fact that he was now in his new home. Jean-Paul had stayed with them as they'd tagged everything, sitting on the brown leather couch flipping through TV channels, and making a production of not being interested in what Merric was doing. Once Storm left Merric found himself all too aware that he was alone, with the former Alpha Flight member, for the first time.
“Tank you for dis morning, eet was an interesting way you found to remove ze mess Bobby had made of me.” Merric shrugged and unthinkingly said,
“Prism liked to throw food too.” The name of one of the Marauders so casually mentioned froze Jean-Paul,
“Prism!” he nearly yelled it out, “You are acquainted wit' ze Marauders… you have been with zat Mr. Sinister too?” Merric realized what he'd done and went white with panic.
“I- I didn't work for him, he kept me locked up in his lab, using me for experiments.” But by then it was too late, others had heard Jean=Paul's accusations. Large tears filled Merric's eyes, the whispers about his past had started, and steamrollered over him as he rushed from the questioning looks of those who came quickly into the room. Once out the front door of the mansion Merric created a large ball of water, stepped onto it, and surfed away into the wood around the mansion, trying to escape the X-Men he heard following. Logan called out to him,
“Hey kid we-” but Merric, coat flapping out behind him, veered into the direction of the lake. Once on the edge of the water he looked back to see Warren flying high above him holding Bobby in his arms. Merric pulled off his coat, boots, and shirt… exposing to the sun strange gold-like ribbons of color that crisscrossed his torso… and clad only in his jeans he dove into the water, letting it close quickly over his head. Merric swam down till he reached the bottom of the lake, at the point where a person's lungs would have been crying out for air, he pushed out the last he had and on his following `breath' six slits, three on either side of his, unsealed themselves to take in water from which they drew out the oxygen he needed… he continued to breath normally enough through his gills. Up on the banks of the lake Warren and Bobby exchanged worried looks,
“No one can hold their breath that long Warren.” Bobby paced worriedly, ready to jump in. Others arrived just as Bobby started to enter the water. Northstar asked them what was going on but being told, “He hasn't come up yet, its been almost four minutes, get out of my wa-” at top speed Jean-Paul was in the water searching before Bobby could finish what he was saying. From under a sunken log he'd found Merric saw him zipping passed. Remy arrived at a run, but hearing everyone worry that Merric had drowned didn't panic him, he turned to Jean.
“Jean you tell de man to come to Remy right now or so help him Gambit goin' to sew dose gills of his closed when he gets his hands on him.” The group marveled,
“Gills?” They asked collectively. Jean passed on the warning to an area that covered the whole lake, hearing it Merric left his hiding spot just as Jean-Paul was zooming past again, Northstar saw him and grabbed him up in his arms, flying them both to shore, where he was about to start AR (Artificial Respiration), not having bothered to listen to Jean's message, but Remy pulled him away from where the tall Canadian was leaning over Merric.
“Der no need for you to `Kiss' dis fish homme.” Remy said pointedly as Merric sat up and blushed, before Remy pulled him to his feet. “An' an other thing all of you should know before you go jumping to conclusions about dis boy, Slaves don' have a choice who dey forced to live wit', or what dey do, when from birth Sinister say jump Merric had no choice but to ask how high… or he be dead by now. All you say you refuse to do any tasks, but what if you know dat to say no means you die on de spot?” He asked. “Come on home petit, Remy he carry hour things till you dry off.” The two former slaves walked off, as with a thought all the water on Merric flew up into the air like a collection of butterflies and returned to the lake, leaving the water mutant dry from head to toe. That done Remy handed him the pile of clothes, as the other silently followed them back to the mansion. “Why you run like dat?”
“Well he yelled, and I remembered what you said you went through when they found out you'd been with Sinister… how they hated you for what you had no choice doing.” Merric answered, Gambit put a brotherly arm around his shoulder,
“Everyone yell here, like a real family at times, some of dem don't know how to talk without yellin' at each other… look at Cyclops and Wolverine, but in a fight dey got each other's back. Remy think a rest do you some good.” Merric tried to protest, but a large yawn stopped him, as Gambit grinned. The X-Men each went off to do some hard thinking of their own after that. Later a knock as his door woke Merric from his nap.
“Come in.” He invited, surprised when Jean-Paul walked in like a cat that owned the place and was letting him stay there.
“You know most of the male X-Men won't invite me into their rooms.” He said as he sat on the bed.
“Why?” Merric asked, Northstar shrugged indifferently,
“It's because I am gay and dey fear dat the others will think we were `doing' things together.” Jean-Paul said trying to shock the younger man.
“Well then it doesn't matter, because I'm gay too.” Merric shrugged and it was Jean-Paul who was surprised.
“but, but Gambit says you've been locked up you whole life, `ow could you know dis?” He asked, with his brows lowered.
“I look at women and I look at men… I like looking at men more, when you touched me the other day I felt-” Merric broke off for a second, “I felt a warmth in me that no women who's ever touched me before ever created.” Jean-Paul stood and started pacing.
“You can't decide things lik dis so quickly, because of one man's touch, you need to think about it much more den that.” He insisted.
“Actually this talk is pointless, because- I, I won't ever be with a man or a woman in this lifetime. Merric said sadly. Northstar looked at him shocked,
“Why ever not, you can't know this either, you are a very kind and handsome man, there are plenty of people who would wish to be with you.”
“I- I came into this world wrong, because of the experiments Sinister did to me even before I was born changed things from how they were meant to be.” Merric looked away. “No man will ever have me. He'd have to be very open minded to be with me, I'm too messed up.” He murmured. At a loss at how to reply to that Jean-Paul remembered why he'd come up to Merric's room,
“Supper is ready.” Together they entered the dinning room, but just before entering he whispered to Merric, “I can be open minded.” Then he took his normal seat. Merric stood there for a moment, and lost his appetite as the words sank in. Everyone took a moment to come up and tell Merric that they'd never meant to make him feel like he had to hide anything that had happened to him from them, he assured them that he had over reacted, but Hank saw that he still wasn't eating ten minutes later.
“Merric are you unwell?”
“No, nothing that can be fixed.” Merric said cryptically before standing and excusing himself, leaving his undisturbed place setting behind. In his room he again lay down across his bed, looking down at his body, in his mind seeing how it was half and half, for he was male everywhere but between his legs… logically he knew no one would be looking there so his secret was safe, but it also meant that he'd never be able to have a relationship with anyone unless he was willing to trust them enough to tell them the whole truth. Operations to create that `bit of flesh' were still very hit and miss at best, most times it just mutilated the person's body destroying more tissue, or if deemed a success by doctors it looked like something that should have been stitched onto a monster… a `Franken Prick'. So like most F2M's (Female to Male) he'd opted to go as far as removing his breasts and internal plumbing, but living with the lack of male genitals. Holding a slim chance of discovering a partner who was either Bi and accepted him as the male he was, or a gay man open minded enough to see him as a man too, that his lack of bells and a whistle would not matter. The very thought of having to tell someone about his shame, made Merric cringe, `Not yet… not ever!' Merric vowed with the strength of his fear of rejection. He fell asleep again, emotionally drained; it was fully night when he woke to find Jean-Paul again sitting next to him, gently stroking his back,
“you were crying in you sleep.” The French Canadian whispered. Merric pulled away,
“I didn't realize I was, did I bother you? I'm sorry.” Jean-Paul shook his head,
“Non, I was awake.” Merric sat back against the headboard of his bed; Jean-Paul bent forward and kissed him slowly, leaving the opportunity for Merric to pull away.
“I, I can't do this… you- no one knows what I am here but Remy, Bishop, and Hank.” Merric bit his lip. Northstar sat back.
“Actually I think I do know,” Merric looked at him skeptically, “you don' have a penis, so either you lost eet or… you never had one.” He was dead on.
“How?” Merric was incredulous, “how could you know?” Jean-Paul shrugged,
“When you were changing at ze store I happened to take a tiny peek, so which is eet?” Merric was angry,
“You `saw' me, you violated my privacy and all you can say is you peeked?”
“Oui (yes), how did eet happen?” Merric stalked around the room.
“Doctors call it `Gender Dysphoria' and consider it a birth defect… now. For a long time it was considered a mental disorder, until science showed them that it was possible for the brain structures to be `switched'; a female brain in a male body you have a man who knows he should have been born a woman, a male brain,” Merric looked at him, “like mine, in a female body gives you a person knowing that they were meant to be born male. Only recently have people started to learn that `those freaks' actually had a valid reason for feeling like they do. But even now you only hear about M2F (male to Female), for some reason no one wants it known that there are men trapped in the wrong bodies too. I think it is because men can accept loosing a `man' to the `other side', it means less competition for them, but no way is he going to accept a guy who had the misfortune to be born without a dick. F2M's are counseled to keep quiet and stay hidden, when they realize they aren't crazy and ask for help.” Jean-Paul leaned closer,
“You are very brave to fight so hard to be who you are.”
“Why do you think that? Because I gave up fighting my mind, making everyone around me suffer because I had to have a sex change?”
“No, because you knew who you were and worked hard to become the self you had to be, even against other people's prejudice you kept fighting.”
“I don't feel brave, I just had to be me or die trying.” Northstar wrapped his arms around Merric.
“If I say you are courageous, you are, so stop arguing with me <<monsier>> (Mister).” Merric meant only to rest his head on Jean-Paul's shoulder for a moment, but he felt so comfortable that he dozed off in his arms, Jean-Paul soon followed. It was Bishop who found them still holding each other the next morning, when he came to take Merric for an early morning run. The time displaces X-Man cleared his throat as he considerately looked out the window. The two in the bed stirred as they woke with a start and sprang apart. Jean-Paul glanced at Bishop, but saw no judgment in his dark eyes.
“I'll see you downstairs in five minutes; we'll both see you at breakfast Northstar.” Bishop stated.
“Yes.” Merric squeaked as he rushed to collect his training clothes and with a final look at Jean-Paul he went to change in his bathroom. Once the door was closed Bishop turned his full attention onto Jean-Paul,
“Don't hurt him, he happens to be very special.” Northstar didn't take offence at this man's words,
“I will do everything I can to spare `is feelings, I've met many M2F in the `village' back in Montreal, an F2m is a harder creature to find. Eet is a man's heart and soul that matter, not what is between his legs Bishop, only the most callous can know about a transsexual's plight and remain unmoved in some way.” Bishop relaxed slightly.
“Remy and I saved him from being stuck in a half life of knowing what he is but being unable to do anything about it, and on top of that he was destined to serve a devil. Merric has become like a little brother to me.” Bishop admitted.
“If dis is so, then I hope you won't mind that I too wish to line up and protect him.” Both men smiled in understanding and were gone by the time Merric came out of the bathroom. In the front hall Bishop waited for him.
“Where are we going?”
“Just around the grounds, you have to take it easy remember for about the next year and a half your muscles are still rebuilding themselves because of the testosterone treatments, anyway you need to learn where the borders of mansion's grounds are.” They stretched out and soon were jogging easily through the woods, it was when they were passing the boathouse that Merric saw… them.
“Dose the professor keep horses on the grounds?” Bishop stopped looking at the hoof prints Merric had seen by the dock.
“No, not since before even I came here.” He replied, smacking his hand down on his com badge. “Scott!” They both heard a muffeled voice that was trying to say, `what' but sounded more like,
“Wammf?”
“We have intruder tracks down by the boathouse… hoof prints.” The com whistled and Bishop turned to Merric as he pointed in the mansion's direction, “Sprint!” He ordered, and Merric didn't have to be asked twice. Just as his sneakers touched the front porch, behind him Bishop let out a yell as a laser the beam hit him, thankfully his mutant power of absorbing energy and redirecting it saved his life. Bishop aimed for the metallic horse that hovered over the mansion. Merric recognized it easily and cringed, a week before Remy and Bishop had managed to save him, he'd been taken to a large, dark underground place by the Marauders, and his `mount' the same metallic parody of a horse now flying over the mansion, had been imprinted on him, matched to his very brain waves. In time this robot steed would have obeyed his ever command… only first it would see to it that `Faith' as he'd been called then, was returned to Sinister and through him turner over to Apocalypse. A laser missed him by a hair's breath only because Northstar had suddenly been there to pull him out of the way.
“It doesn't recognize me!” Merric said happily in amazement, still help safely in Northstar's arms as the speeding mutant dodged another volley form the steed.
“<<Fantastique>>, now how about we arrange a party for that… later?” Northstar's sarcasm rolled off Merric, who smiled brightly at him,
“Okay, but for now get me closer, so I can touch it.” Northstar looked at the man he held reluctant to do as he was asked.
“Why?”
“You'll see,” was all Merric would say. They flew closer as more Xers arrived and started dodging laser fire. Northstar took Ocen near the horse's hindquarters and the liberated slave reached out and touched the metal skin. One finger made contact and at once the whole horde began to shift before everyone's eyes, becoming smaller as long as Ocean kept touching it. In the end it was the size of a large cricket, Rogue flew up and with a malevolent smirk, slammed it between her hands. Little metal fragments fell, harmlessly to the ground. Northstar landed and set Ocen down.
“Zat was <<incroyable>>.” He said still unable to fully believe he'd seen. Xavier wheeled out onto the porch.
“Well thought out and executed,” he paused, “Which one of your powers was that?” Merric reddened.
“Um, the one I never told Sinister about… I knew if he'd known he might have sent me off to Apocalypse sooner.” It was in that moment that many of the X-Men realized how important Merric was, he was slated by Sinister to be a `horseman' to Apocalypse, they all silently vowed to take his safety a lot more seriously. Hank jumped over and insisted on running a few field tests to measure the extent of this `sizing' power, wanting to learn its quirks and limitations.
*
Jean-Paul went with Merric to Hank's lab, knowing that after a lifetime spent being experimented on the last thing the young man wanted was to be prodded at again… even by a friendly blue carpet. But once they'd arrived Hank firmly turned them around, grabbed a box, and lead them outside.
“I can conduct my test outside, actually I think it would be better if we did so, and why upset you by putting you in soundings that are counter productive to your success Merric.” What were called tests actually turned out to be games, and a picnic of sorts, as Hank produced various things for Merric to test his powers on. The first thing he did was have Merric create water, which he tested for pureness and trace minerals. “Well if you ever decide to hang up your spandex, so to speak, you have a bright future bottling water that makes Evian look like it comes from New Jersey.” He exclaimed, then produced some wooden blocks, “Well,” he said looking at them as they were now the size of footstools and one was about as big as a table, “seeing as we have a proper eating surface,” he took out a single sandwich, a chocolate chip and a half eaten package of Twinkies, “Lets see you enlarge all this and we'll have a feast.” Merric laughed as Jean-Paul shook his head at them, only once he saw the food `super sized' he happily joined in. Later as Hank was in heaven munching on an oversized slice of Twinkie when he asked, “So you can effect inorganic and organic,” he carefully patted the, more diminutive then usual, white rat sitting on his shoulder. “You affect the objects overall size and can't shrink or enlarge one part of it, like making one chair leg bigger then the others. You have to make the whole chair bigger or nothing.” Merric looked over at Jean-Paul, who was amusing himself with a set of house keys that one really big key and others of various sizes when he asked,
“But `ow will you put all dis back to der right size? You leave it too big or small and these won't work anymore.” He shook the keys.
“Actually its like the balance knob on a stereo for me, turn it to the left or right one speaker become dominant, but there's a spot where the knob clicks or is marked to let you know where the center is, I can feel the original size. Its like I'm being told when to stop.” Merric was able to explain.
“Fascinating.” Hank broke in, lunch finished they started cleaning up, they all laughed as Hank tossed items to Merric, who set them back to their proper dimensions then tossed them to Northstar who zipped them back into the mansion, at one point he was almost caught by Rogue when he was putting her bra back in the laundry room, goodness knows how he would have explained that one.
“Um Hank you still have a mini rat on your shoulder.” Hank reached up to hand over his pet,
“Actually Merric… could you make her bigger then she was?” He explained, “Ever since I mutated again I've been uncomfortable handling her too much, she is so tiny for me, even at her normal size. Merric smiled as he took the animal in hand and slowly proceeded to touch her with his powers. When he was done, the white rat was slightly larger then a kitten. “Thank you.” He patted the rodent fondly, “Trinket you look lovely, now we'll have to set up a bigger cage for you.” Merric had been surprised months ago, the first time Hank had walked into his room in the med-lab, with little rat ridding on his shoulder, as if Hank was her personal means of transportation. Trinket even shared his meals whenever he ate in the lap.
“Hank you may want to warn people about this little change in Trinket, or they'll think they were sucked into part of the `Princess Bride' movie.”
“Indeed, R.O.U.S.'s.” Hank chuckled.
