Disclaimer: I'm sending Gambit over to buy Marvel (Right. As if he's ever bought something…). Until then, I don't own.
Summary: The Acolytes have a new recruit: Anima. Only there's a problem: One teenage girl doesn't go with half a dozen male super villains. Can she adjust to the crazy life of the Acolytes? Chaos, fighting and more! Sorta parallel to my other story, "Time Bomb."
Most of the story will be in Third Person POV, just so ya know. Actually, all of it should be.
Chapter 1: New Recruit
"Acolytes. Assemble in the foyer. We have a new recruit." Gambit glanced at the normally inactive PA system. He had been playing with a baseball, charging it, throwing it in the air, catching it and uncharging it. He jabbed Pyro who was sucked into a game of Halo. Said mutant laughed manically as he torched a group of Jackals.
"Pyro," Gambit said. "Move your butt. Mags says we gotta go to the foyer." St. John Allerdyce yelped as he was distracted long enough to be shot in the head.
"Alright, alright! Geez, Gambit, ya got me killed!" Pyro said, rubbing his side where Gambit had poked him. Gambit had already left the room, though.
"Stupid Cajun," Pyro muttered, then yelped as Gambit's baseball exploded.
Ariel was not the average girl. While she might appear average, a closer look was needed. The most outstanding difference was most likely her eyes. They were a luminescent purple, which sparked with a playful light. Her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and a mischievous smirk hovered almost permanently on her pink lips.
Now standing at Magneto's side, Ariel looked around the room with interest. It was nothing fancy, a large, metal room with dull silver walls and sleek metal floors. Obviously, Magneto had built it with his powers. There was hardly any decoration and the whole room—the whole building—felt cold and lonely. Soon, a large man strode into the room. He was wearing a strange sort of suit with red armor, gold shoulder pads and black pants. His hair was jet black.
"Ariel," Magneto said. "May I introduce Colossus." Ariel smiled briefly at the huge Russian, who gave her a small wave. Suddenly, two men dashed into the room, one chasing the other. The one being chased had loud orange hair and one of those bright fire-proof suits. The other one was wearing a maroon and navy uniform underneath a trench coat. He was throwing what looked like a playing cards, but, of course, no one does that.
Magneto sighed. He gestured towards the card thrower. "This is Gambit." He indicated the one with the fire-proof suit. "And Pyro."
"Bonjour, chere," Gambit bowed chivalrously to Ariel.
"'ello, love," Pyro winked at her. He leaned against a table, trying to look suave and cool, but accidently tipped over the table and clattered to the floor. Ariel stifled a giggle, but Gambit had no such qualms. He outright laughed. Magneto's eyes glowed through his helmet, but he addressed Ariel cordially enough.
"Sabretooth is not at the base, currently. You can meet him later." Ariel nodded.
"Boys, show Ariel her room. I have work to do." Magneto swept out of the room ominously, leaving Ariel and the three Acolytes. Colossus picked up her large duffle bags and Gambit grabbed her backpack. Pyro gestured at the hallway cheerfully.
"Shall we be going, love?"
Ariel was amazed at the architecture of the base. Each room was beautifully molded from shining metal. The entire place was larger than the White House. Nevertheless, the Acolytes maneuvered through the maze of hallways easily. After numerous twists and turns, they reached a corridor which Ariel assumed to be the Acolytes personal rooms.
"In here, love," Pyro motioned to the fifth door down. Colossus heaved her bag into the room as Gambit followed with her backpack. Pyro skipped out after bidding her a good day, followed by Colossus. Gambit leaned against the doorway.
"Need help unpacking, chere?" he asked. Ariel sighed inwardly. She would probably never outright be a jerk to him, but she knew his type. She'd grown up around them living in the streets. She smiled sweetly.
"No thanks," she said, hoping he'd catch the hint.
"Oh come on, chere. Don't play hard to get."
This guy was full of it. Ariel waved her hand at the bed, purple sparks flying from her fingertips. The bed shifted and morphed into an almost humanoid form. It roared at Gambit who packed away in surprise. Ariel simply smirked and pointed to the door, using her powers to slam it in Gambit's face.
"Idiot," she muttered and allowed the bed to return to its previous position. Ariel decided to first rearrange the furniture. She snapped her fingers and a purple haze filled the room. The dresser waltzed into the corner. A wardrobe marched away from the doorway. The nightstand schooched from the foot of her bed to the head. The entire room buzzed with life. Finally satisfied, Ariel snapped her fingers again and purple haze lifted.
Unpacking was no problem. With a wave of her hand, all her clothes, books and other personal belongs flowed out of the bag into the assortment of drawers and shelves strategically placed around the room. As the last book was tucking itself into the bookshelf and the pillow was fluffing itself out on the bed, she heard a knock on the door. The door opened on its own at Ariel's mental command. Colossus was standing at the door. He stared in awe at the blanket folding itself in a neat pile at the foot of her bed. Ariel cleared her throat. Colossus's gaze jumped back to her.
"The other Acolytes were wondering if you wanted to come to the Rec Room and watch a movie or play a game," he said awkwardly. Ariel studied the Russian's face for any sign of deception. He seemed pretty honest.
"Sure," she said. Colossus turned to leave. Deciding that she'd better follow him or she'd get lost, she hurriedly stuffed the first thing she could grab—a lump of clay—into her pocket and darted after him.
"Ah, chere. So glad you could join us." Ariel smirked at the cocky attitude of Gambit.
"We were just gon' play cards, wanna join us?" Pyro asked excitedly. Ariel shook her head. She didn't play many games, living on her own. She never saw the point.
"Your loss," Gambit shrugged.
"More like our loss," Colossus said. Gambit just smiled mischievously. Ariel sat on the couch, half watching them play and half buried in her thoughts.
"That's amazing," she heard Colossus marvel. Dully, she looked down, realizing the little figure she'd made out of her clay. She shrugged.
"It's nothing," she said modestly.
"Maybe we should introduce ourselves," Pyro suggested. "I'm St. John. My power is that I can control fire."
"The name's Remy. I can make things explode," Remy explained simply. Ariel glanced at Remy quizzically. He didn't seem like a "simple" sort of person.
"That's the children's version," he said smugly. Ariel snorted.
"My name is Piotr. I can turn myself into organic steel."
Ariel nodded. She'd never been around such an odd assortment of mutants.
"What's your power?" St. John asked.
"My power," she replied. "Is this." She placed the little clay figure on the table. Slowly, the statue stirred and looked up. It stumbled around on its new legs, finally resting on the deck of cards.
"That's awesome!" John exclaimed.
"Can you do that with anything?" Remy asked curiously, probably remembering his experience from earlier. In reply, Ariel pointed at the chair he was sitting. With a jolt, the chair warped into a horse-like form and began bucking like a bronco.
"Gentlemen," John said, in between giggle fits. "I think we have a perfect recruit for the Acolyte Society of Pranks."
"In here," John whispered. Ariel looked around nervously.
"Are you sure this is safe?" she hissed.
"'Course, love," John replied in undertone. "I come here all the time. Plus, Sabes ain't even here. Probably at some bar."
Ariel followed him cautiously
"Now, what you're going to do is do whatever you can do to his bed. Maybe some other stuff too."
Ariel placed her hand on the top blanket and let a stream of purple energy flow into it. It twitched imperceptibly, but that was the only sign of her work. She did the same to the mattress, sheet and frame. On afterthought, she did the same to a rug lying on the floor.
"Now let's go," John said. They turned to the door to see a massive from blocking the way.
"What," Sabretooth growled. "Are you doing here?"
Ooh, cliffhanger! Oh how I love/hate them. Love writing 'em, hate reading 'em. Spoiler, next chapter holds the first fight. No duh, it's SABRETOOTH! R&R and don't forget Mr. Sticklepaws!
~Janglin' Bacon