Dash master 48's A/N: Stress, the beginnings of a cold, hesitance, general unmotivation... I had a hard time getting this one done, but I think I did a good job either way. In this chapter, the mystery thickens, and we are introduced to three brand new mutant characters! Speaking of, none of the characters except for the hoodied bloke, the girl from the prologue and the end of last chapter and the aforementioned new mutants belong to us. With that said, enjoy!
Ajer2895's A/N: I have to admit, we've had a rocky start with our first two chapters. But part of the fun of writing is learning from your mistakes so that you can create better content. Here's hoping we provide some of the best material we can muster for the rest of the story!
CHAPTER 2
JAMIE
"Is this X-Factor Investigations?"
"Uh... y-yeah?" Rictor told the girl who we all saw standing in the doorway. She looked as if she'd had a really bad time, with her skin and hair heavily burnt and her dress ripped up like an animal had attacked her.
"I'll handle this." I told Rictor as I stormed over to the woman. "Yes, this is X-Factor Investigations. What's the problem?"
"Can I sit down?" The girl asked. I nodded, and Monet grabbed a chair for her. Bending down to hold her hands, I looked at her, attempting to look understanding.
"Tell us everything." I told her. Rictor stood behind the girl, removing his trench coat to reveal his forest green vest, coupled with his grey trousers and black sneakers. The others seemed as desperate as me to know. Whatever happened to this girl must have been serious.
"I was out at the nightclub with my boyfriend. The Red Moon, to be precise." She began to explain.
"Red Moon? Isn't that one of, if not the most sought after club in Mutant Town?" Rictor piped up suddenly. The girl nodded at him and continued to speak.
"We found somewhere to sit, my boyfriend went off to get drinks... and this man came to me." The girl shifted in pain as I held her hand, looking like she was still in pain for all her burns. "He was dressed in a hoodie. Obscured his face."
"Must've been a bit dodgy. Did ye tell 'im to go away?" Rahne asked the girl.
"Actually, he offered me a drug. One he said would give me a boost." The girl continued.
"Boost? What kind of boost?" Layla asked. The girl moved her hand gingerly over her arm.
"I am a mutant. Utilised pink plasma. I burnt out my powers, though." She replied.
"What do you mean?" I asked her.
"Well, I got a bit hyped up. My boyfriend, who was also a mutant with the ability to redirect energy, couldn't handle my plasma, and then..."
"Then what?" Monet floated by the girl's side.
"Then I exploded. The whole nightclub, in ruins." The girl told us. I admit, this was shocking, but that stranger... she could have said no. Even Siryn seemed shocked.
"Terrible!" Guido looked down at the girl, who winced.
"After that, the only place I could think to go was here." The girl finished her story.
"What exactly did this hooded guy say to you?" I asked.
"Told me he had something to make my night better, gave me a syringe from his cardboard box for five bucks, then ran off." The girl said. I looked around the room at everyone else, then her.
Something was definitely up.
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Aaaaaaaaagh! No! Not again!
I sat straight up, breathing heavily as I pushed the blanket covering myself off and sighed. I was even having a hard time sleeping with naps. Being an insomniac sucks harder than anything, but when you used to have powers I think it sucks even harder.
"You okay?" I heard my roommate cry as he walked into the room with his can of soda. I nodded at him.
"It's just another post-mutation wakeup, that's all." My roommate nodded. Sometimes, I felt like he wished he had my powers instead of the ones he had. Translucent skin? Who in their right mind would want that?
As I took a sip of my cold water, there was a sudden knock at the door. Slipping off the bed, I walked to it and opened it up. Standing there was a guy who was wearing a black hoodie. He was trying to obscure his face as much as possible, and reached into his cardboard box.
"Good afternoon fellas. I have, right here, a drug that can change your life. Remember when you had powers? This can help you relive those days once more. I'll give you your powers back!" The guy held up a syringe. "Fancy it?"
"I'm n-not a d-druggie, so n-no t-thanks..." My roommate retreated into the apartment as I looked at the drug.
"I'll give it a go. I'm an insomniac thanks to that stupid Decimation. I deserve to have powers again."
"Excellent." The guy smiled. I handed him the money and he ran off, carrying the box under his arm.
As I closed the door behind me, I grinned at the syringe in my hand.
Spreading nightmares, here I come!
SIRYN
"What are you going to do about this?" The girl asked Jamie, who I noticed was getting a little tight.
"We'll look into it." He advised. Rictor, however, didn't seem so convinced by the girl's story.
"What if this is all just misinformation? C'mon, it's an easy thing to happen!" He stated.
"It's true!" The girl shouted.
"I guess, what's your name?" He asked her.
"K-Katie, but some of my friends call me Plasma..." The girl looked a little overwhelmed. Jamie was clenching his fists tight.
"We don't even know if it's misinformation. I wouldn't get too in over your head." He warned. "No powers, remember?"
"Yeah, no powers! But I still don't get why you made me join in the first place!" Here we go again.
"I thought it'd be a good opportunity for you! There have been people without powers on superhero teams before." Jamie reasoned.
"Like Hawkeye?" Katie gave an example.
"Exactly." Jamie responded, before turning back to Rictor. "Why are you complaining so much? It's not like anyone's forcing you."
"Then maybe I do want to get out of here!" Rictor seemed pretty ticked at this point. The others were watching, and I was getting more het up every second.
"If you get out of here, what will change?" Jamie asked Rictor.
"We become one smart ass down?" Rictor folded his arms.
"Sorry about this." Money told Katie. "We'll look into it."
"Look, I've got nothing! Everyone in here has something about them that makes them stand out! I'm just an average guy now!" Rictor breathed heavily.
"What's so special about you now anyway?" Jamie looked at him in a mixture of anger and confusion.
By now, Rictor was at breaking point. I needed to do something.
"HEY!" I shrieked as I opened my mouth. Everyone held onto their ears as Layla's glass of milk shattered and everyone was left looking at each other once the screech died down.
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"I'm not funny? Am I? Ha! Look at yourself in a mirror! Your face is funny to me!"
As I listened to the sound of my own voice, I strolled along my wall. Not that it was mine, it belonged to whoever owns this block, but I liked to call it my wall. This was pretty much all the comedic enjoyment I got ever since M-Day.
"I like seeing you bend over. Because it allows me to get my kicks on! Geddit?" I joked, but I wish I knew where I was going.
"Woah!" I stumbled off the wall and tumbled onto the cold sidewalk. Looking at my leg, I saw it had been scraped and was bleeding on the far right.
"That looks nasty." I looked up and saw a fellow in a hoodie who was clearly trying to obscure his face as much as possible. He pulled out a first aid kit and patched me up, as I squirmed slightly.
"Thank you!" I told the fellow.
"You're welcome." He responded. "Say, fancy some mutant powers?"
"Well, yeah." I replied. "I've been waiting for ages to have some again!"
"Five dollars." I handed over the cash and received my drug. As the man walked away, I chuckled as I thought about all the jokes I'd be able to make and the tricks I'd be able to pull now I had this at my disposal.
MONET
"Are you going to help me or w-what?" Katie stammered.
"We'll help you. But I think we should split up." Jamie told her then us.
"What good will that do f'r us?" Rahne piped up.
"Here's the plan." Jamie clapped twice, creating two dupes.
"Rahne, Guido, head to the Red Moon and see what clues you can pick up from there. Do you know where it is?" Jamie asked Katie. She wrote down the coordinates and gave them to him, which in turn were handed to the one of the dupes. Jamie then turned to me.
"Monet, you're going with Terry to the hospital. I suspect there might have been other survivors. Maybe they'll know something." He told me.
"What will you, Layla and Rictor do?" I asked him.
"We're staying here. Katie might be able to tell us a bit more about that mysterious guy in the hoodie she mentioned." He responded.
"Alright, get moving!" He called out. Rahne, Guido and their dupe headed out first, and I floated outside with Terry and our dupe soon after.
I had a feeling this would be an interesting case.
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As everyone should know, fairytales are supposed to have happy endings. Some can be rather sad. My case is the latter.
As I laid down on my couch, the loud noise from the rest of the houses on my block distracting me, I clutched my storybook close to my chest. I loved that thing. It helped fuel me to rule my own little kingdom.
"Pssst... hey!" I heard a voice come through my open window. Getting up, I saw a man in a hood on the other side. He pulled out a syringe and waved it about. "Did you have mutant powers?"
I nodded.
"Hand me some money and they could be yours once more!" The man offered. Hell yes! I'd be the mad storyteller I once was!
"Give me one!" I dangled five bucks out the window, and took the syringe in my other hand. The man then thanked me for my purchase and ran off.
Ehehehe! Now we're talking! I ran to my bathroom to inject the drug. Feeling a familiar rush of magical energy, I headed outside to do something fun. Flipping through my fairytale collection, I saw one of my favourite fairytales, Hansel and Gretel.
I looked up from my book, and almost fell over in shock. My own house had turned into one made out of sweets and chocolate! With a smile, I headed out into the streets, determined to see what else I could do.