WILD GIRL

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

This is the sequel to "Cut From The Same Cloth" and is a crossover between Life With Derek and Mutant X. Mutant X was a show about four twenty-something characters who had special powers because of a genetics research experiment that their parents had been involved in the eighties. There were four basic types of powers: feral, molecular, elemental, and tele-empath. The four core characters were Jesse Kilmartin (molecular, he could phase so that a person's hand would go right through him or mass which essentially turned his body into a brick wall. He was later able to phase other objects and people), Shalimar Fox (feral, she had the instincts and agility of a cat, though she looks normal. When upset, her eyes would turn yellow, she was later able to fend off attacks without even looking), Brennan Mulwray (elemental, could summon and control electricity with his fingers, was later able to use this power to push himself into the air via a form of "jetting)), and Emma DeLauro (tele-empath, she could sense others' emotions which were often portrayed metaphorically, was later able to produce a white ball of light on her forehead which she could use to knock people out). Their mentor and leader was a human scientist named Adam Kane. Later they were joined by Lexa Pierce (like Brennan, she was elemental, though instead of generating electricity, she was able to bend light to make herself and others invisible). Here's the background for the story: in 1990, Brennan had a relationship with Jessica Young, a feral, which resulted in Casey being born. Jessica didn't want to be a mother, and just left Casey with Brennan. In 2001 (when Casey was eleven), Brennan joined Mutant X. Brennan and Shalimar became very close and Casey began to view Shalimar as her mother, and she saw Jesse as an uncle and Emma and later Lexa as aunts and Adam as a grandpa. Casey is a cross between Brennan and Shalimar power-wise. In 2005 (when Casey was fifteen), Mutant X was forced into hiding and Casey was placed with Nora and Dennis who were family friends of Adam's for safekeeping. For those of you who know the series, I am ignoring Emma's death as well as the expiration date and creator angles, and I'm taking out the Dominion. This starts with Futuritis which is in 2009, though I'm putting my own take on it. Casey is really a Mulwray but she used "MacDonald" as part of her cover. For communications, she has the phone Derek gave her in "The Pox Father" and a comlink that Adam made for her when she and Brennan joined Mutant X. I am making up Casey's valedictorian speech. LWD belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Mutant X belongs to Marvel Studios, Fireworks Entertainment, and Tribune. I only own the plot. I'm having everyone seated alphabetically for convenience and that's how we did it at mine (to the best of my recollection anyways). And I just realized I had Emily's name wrong. It's not Davids, it's Davis. Sorry.

Casey blew out a breath as she and her best friend, Emily Davis walked down the steps of Sir John Sparrow Thompson High.

"Can you believe we're going to be graduating?" Emily asked. She was wearing a white t-shirt with a sleeveless yellow jacket, brown corduroys, and black loafers.

"I know. Finally, right?" Casey asked. She was wearing a green blouse, pale blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. Then I can shed this stupid façade and go home…hopefully, she thought to herself. She really missed Mom and Dad. Then, they were joined by Casey's stepbrother, Derek Venturi, and his best friend, Sam Richards, who were being shadowed by Ralph Papadopolous. Sam was wearing a simple outfit of a plain white t-shirt, black jeans, and a pair of Keds while Ralph was wearing a shirt with a sports design, his purple fake vinyl pants, and white sneakers.

"GRADUATION!" Derek bellowed. He was wearing a brown shirt which was covered by his customary black leather jacket, dark blue jeans, and black sneakers. "This is gonna be awesome! Finally we're getting out of this school!" he exclaimed. Casey couldn't help the laugh that escaped as Sam just shook his head. Oh, he's crazy, she thought. She was so glad that their fights had tapered off into something more sibling-like. It was much better than them trying to kill each other. Just then, her boyfriend, Curtis Valentine, walked up to them.

"Hey, babe," he greeted, slipping his arm around her waist. He was wearing a black t-shirt that was covered by his motorcycle jacket that was black with red patches on the elbow, dark blue jeans, and his black motorcycle boots.

"Hey," she acknowledged, placing her hand on his, summoned a small amount of energy and directed it at him, causing him to jump slightly.

"Mean," he complained. It hadn't hurt a whole lot, but it had startled him.

"Don't call me, 'babe'," she reminded.

"Sorry," he apologized. Sam, Emily, Derek, and Ralph just shook their heads. Over the past year, ever since the two had started dating, they had witnessed a change in their friend. She didn't stress out about her grades as much, she had loosened up a bit, and they had discovered that she could take a jibe and then dish it right back. However, there were some things that had remained the same and her dislike of names that she felt were demeaning was one of them.

"It's fine. Just don't do it again," she told him. With that, they all headed for their cars and went home. Once they were home, Casey went to her room, pulled out her cell phone, and dialed a number, waiting until the phone connected before speaking.

"Hey, it's me. Everything's cool. I got everything for graduation squared away, including my special request and we're graduating this Friday. Anyway, I hope you guys can make it, but if you can't that's okay; I know you'll be thinking of me. Love you guys, bye," she said and then hung up. Then, she sat at her desk and started working on her valedictorian speech. Meanwhile, Derek was on his phone, talking to Sam.

"So, you ready for graduation, man?" Sam asked.

"I think so. I mean, I've got all the credits I need, and I've been buckling down, which makes my dad happy, and-" Derek began to say.

"Okay, I get it. You're physically prepared, but mentally, how you doing?" Sam interrupted.

"I'm a nervous wreck, man. I mean, despite what I've been telling everybody, graduation's a big deal and I haven't always been boy scholar. So, what if they decide that I don't have high enough grades to graduate? I mean staying back in elementary school's one thing, but having to repeat grade 12?" Derek asked.

"D, relax. You'll be fine. Besides, who else would be able to pull off the massive prank you're planning?" Sam reminded. Derek chuckled.

"True," he agreed.

"When are you going to do it?"

"I promised Dad and Nora that I wouldn't do anything until after Casey's speech."

"That's probably a good idea."

"Yeah." They continued to talk and Derek's mind wandered. He couldn't believe he was actually graduating! A large part of it was due to Sally. He knew that, and he was definitely going to miss her when she went to the states. Then, his thoughts drifted towards Casey and he frowned. What was up with her? After following her and Curtis to a place known as Delancey's Gym, they had discovered that they were considered VIP's, though she refused to reveal how they had gotten that status when he and Emily had questioned her, even lashing out at them verbally for 'spying' as she called it. He sighed. She was right, but it was merely because they were both worried about her, even if he didn't want to admit it. Ever since Curtis had come to town, she had been acting strange. Then, he became aware of Sam's voice again.

"D, are you even listening to me?"

"Huh?"

"That would be a 'no'."

"Sorry. I just keep thinking about what Emily and I saw a few nights ago."

"Oh, you mean at that gym?"

"Yeah. It was weird, man. You should've seen Emily's face when Casey was yelling at us. It was pretty nasty." Even though he knew his friend couldn't see it, Sam shook his head. He wasn't sure what was going on with his ex-girlfriend himself. The mere fact that she had just jumped into a relationship with Curtis practically the minute she met him worried him. It just wasn't like her.

"Well, we'll just have to keep an eye on her I guess."

"Yeah." Then, they hung up and Derek turned to his own preparations and trying to put his stepsister's odd behavior out of his mind. For the next few days, the two put the finishing touches on their plans. When Friday finally came, both Casey and Derek were nervous wrecks, but for different reasons.

"I still can't believe I made valedictorian," Casey said as Derek drove them to school.

"You got your speech, right?" Derek asked. What is she freaking out for? She'll be fine, he thought to himself.

"Well, yeah, after I started over," Casey answered.

"Started over? What was wrong with it the first time?" Derek asked. Probably nothing. It's just her perfectionism rearing her head again, he thought.

"It didn't really say what I wanted to say," Casey answered.

"Oh," Derek said. When they finally got to the school, they went to get their graduation gowns and caps. Then, they got in line. As they got closer to the stage, Casey fiddled with her cap and looked out at the audience. After looking around for a few minutes, she spotted George, Nora, Lizzie, Edwin, Marti, and some of the other MacDonald/Venturi relatives.

"Case?" she looked behind her to see Curtis who had moved out of his spot in line. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I was just hoping…" her voice trailed off, but he understood. She had been hoping her parents could make it.

"You know they'd be here if they could."

"Yeah, I know." He squeezed her shoulder, and then got back into his spot in line. Feeling her cap falling, she readjusted it, reached into a pocket, palmed a paperclip, and hooked the cap to her hair. She glanced at the spot where Nora, George, and the others were, and then frowned when she realized that Edwin was missing. Then, they walked onto the stage and sat down as Principal Lassiter began talking. As the man droned on, Casey tried to pay attention, but found herself once more searching the audience. Dang. I guess it's just not safe for them, she thought to herself.

"But enough from me. You can now move your tassels from the right to the left," Principal Lassiter told them. Instantly, all of the graduates did so. To Emily's surprise, the tassels came off in her hands. The boy next to her reattached them.

"Thanks," she mouthed.

"You're welcome," he mouthed back.

"And now please turn your attention to your valedictorian Casey Mulwray formerly Casey MacDonald," Principal Lassiter stated. Everyone looked at each other in confusion, but clapped heartily anyways. Mulwray? Why does she want to be called that? Derek wondered.

"Thank you, Principal Lassiter," Casey said as she stood in front of the podium. Her brows furrowed when she saw Sam and Ralph by the exit door, but dismissed it. "You know, I had my speech all written out. I was gong to say that this is a time where we need to look forward to what's coming next, but then I realized that I can't say any of that because, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm scared to death of what comes next. For four years we've been at this. We're all different, having different friends and interests, but the one thing that we have in common is that we don't know what the future holds for us. And that's scary as heck," she continued. Derek found himself nodding in agreement. The unknown was scary. After all, he practically ruled Sir John Sparrow Thompson High, but when he got to Queens, no one would know him. He'd truly be alone for the first time in his life. "But you know what? I think that if we just take time to admit to ourselves that we're scared, we've taken the first step because then we can use that fear and make it work for us. You know, channeling our fear and then using it to succeed. And with that, I urge us all to gather up our courage and boldly face the unknown," Casey finished and everyone clapped as she went back to her seat. Suddenly, Edwin burst through the curtain wearing a red cape and mask. Casey let out an exclamation of surprise and had to cover her mouth to hide her laughter. Edwin, what are you wearing? she wondered to herself. The younger boy looked kind of ridiculous.

"Who is that masked man?" Principal Lassiter questioned.

"I am Edwin Venturi," Edwin dramatically answered, ripping off his mask.

"There's another one?" Principal Lassiter asked in shock and Casey saw George sink down in his seat. "And I will see you all next September," he told them. "Venturi away!" he said and ran towards the exit with Principal Lassiter at his heels, which Sam and Ralph quickly opened for him. There were a few minutes of silence as the students waited, then the man came back and started calling out the names.

"Kendra Collins," Principal Lassiter finally called. Casey watched as the girl took her diploma. Though not great friends, they got along all right. "Noel Covington," the man continued. Casey smiled as she remembered the play they had done together. It's too bad I didn't get to know him better, she thought watching the boy shake hands with the principal. Unfortunately, at the time, she had had a spike in her powers and had distanced herself even further from people as a precaution. "Emily Davis," the man summoned after a while and then continued down the line. As Principal Lassiter continued to call out students' names, Casey allowed herself to get lost in the memories of the last four years. "Casey Mulwray," he finally announced. Casey shook herself from her reverie and walked up. She took her diploma.

"YEAH! YEAH! THAT'S MY GIRL!" she suddenly heard. With a gasp, Casey turned in the direction of the shout. Seeing a man about 6'3 with black hair and hazel eyes wearing a green t-shirt and black jeans standing up, she laughed and headed to her seat. Next to him were five other people—three women and two men-four of them around his age. One of the women was a redhead at 5'10 wearing a red shirt and black slacks. The second woman was a blonde with brown eyes with greenish specs and was 5'6, and was wearing a white t-shirt with blue jeans. The third woman was 5'9, had black hair and was wearing a black tank top and black jeans. Next to them were two men, one older and one younger. The older one was 6'0, had black hair and was wearing a gray shirt with a black jacket and black slacks, while the younger man was 5'11, had chestnut brown hair and brown eyes, and was wearing a brown sweatshirt and blue slacks. Casey grinned. They had made it! They had all made it! Suddenly, her hat fell from her head and she quickly caught it before placing it on her head and reattaching it. Then she took her seat.

"Ralph Papadopolous," Principal Lassiter said. I can't believe it. Ralph did it, Casey thought to herself. "Sam Richards," he said. And last but not least-" his voice trailed away as a spotlight filled the stage and Derek was seen standing underneath it.

"Der-ek," Casey said quietly, but with some amusement.

"Derek! Derek! Derek! Derek! Derek! Derek!" Sam and Ralph started to chant. Kendra, Emily, Casey, and Curtis picked up the chant and soon, the whole school was cheering.

"My fellow graduates, we did it," Derek stated. "Let's make some noise!" he encouraged and everyone shouted happily. Balloons started raining down and Sam and Ralph ran up to him.

"I present to you the class of 2009," Principal Lassiter shouted over their cheers. As soon as he said that, Casey broke away from her friends.

"Dad! Dad!" she cried happily. At this Derek turned towards the sound of her voice. Dennis is here? he thought. But why did she sound so happy? She had barely spoken to him the one time he had visited. However, no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find the man. Then, his jaw dropped in surprise. Casey was wrapped in the arms of a man he had never seen before.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Emily's tassels coming detached and Casey's cap falling off actually happened to me. I didn't have any pins on my cap, which is why it fell, and I'm not sure what happened with the tassels. One moment I had moved them over, the next they were in my hand.