HAHA bet you didn't see that coming. I know, I'm evil. Ya oh well, just wait. Just wait my dear readers all will reveal itself in time. Ready for some ANGST!!!!!!!! Well you better be. Welcome to chapter 24!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brownie points to whoever can identify the comic book cross over in the last chapter and in this one (at the end of the story I'll go back and point out all my little foreshadowing hints in case you didn't notice them).
Warren sat in the common room of the Mansion. His head hung low and his eyes bloodshot. Students were already gone for the summer, except for those few who never left. Like Peter, Bobby, Kitty, and Rouge, of whom were sitting in the couching area talking. Rouge had her head resting on Bobby's shoulder, his arms wrapped tightly around her.
Conversation was limited to two topics in the mansion: The weather and Rebecca. Occasionally someone would inquire if they'd heard from Logan and the only response was a snort and an eye roll.
"I miss her so much." Rouge said quietly. The three were trying not to be too loud. They didn't want to disturb Warren.
"We all do," Bobby said kissing the top of her head. "I wonder what Logan expects to find…a body maybe?"
"Bobby don't talk like that!" Rouge scolded. Bobby squeezed her in his arms as an apology. Images flashed on the television and Peter turned up the volume.
'Dangerous mutant attacks the San Francisco Hall of Human Resources Last night. One security guard killed and a dozen officers left in a coma. Mutant was identified as a woman in her mid twenties with dark red hair and black eyes.'
"I can't believe how bad things are getting. Now we have our own kind attacking government buildings. What could the mutant have been looking for?" Kitty asked as he looked over at Bobby. The three exchanged looks, none of them noticing a security camera replay of the woman killing the officers in the parking garage.
"Who knows, maybe they were trying to delete their records from the system. That's not unheard of." Rouge answered.
"Ya, that's probably true, but they don't need to kill humans…it's just not right. Why must everyone be so angry at the world?" Bobby asked. Warren stepped in front of the television, his eyes wet with tears.
"Because, the world only has pain to offer. Don't expect to gain anything good out of life. You'll only be disappointed." He said and turned the TV off just as an image of the young woman flashed across it. Warren sauntered out of the room to the library. The three exchanged looks before falling into a depressing silence.
X
Artemis sat on the bed of a cheap hotel she'd paid for in cash. She watched the news report of the night's incidents. She winced as an image of herself plastered itself on the screen. She stood and crossed into the bathroom. She opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of scissors. With one last glance at her long locks she began cutting them shorter and shorter.
Seven inches of hair lay on the bathroom floor when she was finished. Her hair now barely brushed her ears. She spiked it with water and tossed the scissors aside. She exited the room, already feeling she'd staid too long, and mounted her bike. Next to her a couple was packing their car to leave. They smiled at her but she didn't return it.
"Oh," the man said. "Honey I left my keys in the room, I'll be back in a moment." The man began walking toward the room when his wife joined him.
"I'll help you look…she gives me the creeps." The woman whispered quietly, but Artemis heard. When the couple was out of sight, Artemis opened the door of the car, took the wallet from the dash as well as the one from the woman's purse and grabbed the small suitcase in the back seat. She kicked her bike alive and sped off.
She stopped around the corner and changed from her old clothes into a pair of tight jeans and a white t-shirt. She zipped her leather jacket on over and replaced her helmet. She opened the wallet to find several large bills inside. She grinned and sped off.
X
"No, I want you to buy a thousand shares and sell off the rest!" a man yelled into his cell phone as he exited a large building. "I didn't fly all the way out here to have you mess all this up now!"
"This way Mr. Worthington. A man in a chauffeurs outfit said. The man on the phone, Warren Worthington the second stopped on the side walk and began cursing into the phone. As he glanced up from his phone in time to see a woman sitting on a motorcycle at a red light. She removed her helmet and brushed the shorter hairs from her face. He closed his phone and walked around the car to get a better look at her. Something struck him as familiar about her, but he couldn't place it. The woman noticed him starring and gave him an odd look.
"Rebecca?' he asked. The woman's face turned from cold to confused. "Rebecca Thatcher?" he asked.
"What did you call me?" she asked. Mr. Worthington shook his head and rubbed his eyes.
"What are you doing in San Francisco? I thought you were living in the mansion for…your type." The woman pulled off the road and kicked the sand to her bike. She grabbed him by the collar of his suit and slammed him into the wall of the building.
"Who am I? Tell me everything you know!" she demanded. Mr. Worthington gasped and dropped his phone. The chauffeur rushed to his aid but Artemis threw him off.
"Rebecca, what's gotten into you? Stop this at once or I'll have you thrown in jail. I don't care if you did date my son!" Artemis saw a crowd begin to gather. She released the man and quickly sped off in her bike. She didn't stop until she reached the outskirts of the city. The name flashed in her mind.
'Rebecca Thatcher…' the man had somehow recognized this be her?" The only way for her to find out was to research all she could on that name. she set off north, to the nearest Hall of human Resources that she could think of. The one in Seattle.
Gambit stood in front of a pawn shop window. He only had nine more days to find Artemis before the ship in her collar would kill her. He watched the news report of her attack on the Hall. He shook his head. Artemis had never been a killer before now…'we drove her to it' he thought to himself. 'I am to blame for all the crimes she commits…I have to find her.' The report changed to a live feed from the Worthington industries building.
"I have no comment" Mr. Worthington said into the microphone of a reporter. Several photographers began taking pictures of him as he entered a limousine.
'Earlier today a young woman assaulted Mr. Worthington who believed her to be the ex girlfriend of his son Warren Worthington the third. Rebecca Thatcher fled the scene on a black motorcycle moments after the physical assault. It is unknown yet whether Mr. Worthington will press charges against her, or if she is who he thought her to be.' Gambit cursed and mounted his bike.
'She knows a name, she'll head for the next Hall of human Resources…shit….why did I tell him Seattle. I shoulda told him Antarctica!'
X
Warren rolled over in his bed as he heard his cell phone ring. He winced as he saw it was his father. Deciding he didn't want to talk to him, he let it go to voice mail. Just as he was about to fall back asleep the phone rang again. Warren answered this time.
"H-Hello?" he asked. He knew who it was, but lately he couldn't care less what his father thought. Something he'd never done in his entire life.
"Warren? What are you doing sleeping in the middle of the day? I taught you better than that!"
"What do you want dad?' Warren asked as he sat up and rubbed his face. His father moved his mouth away from the phone and began ordering someone on the other end to take a left so Warren could only assume his father was in the car.
"I want to know why your girlfriend assaulted me today! That's what I want!" Warren rubbed his eyes again, almost positive he was still asleep.
"Dad, I have no idea what you're talking about, but there's no way Rebecca assaulted you."
"Don't presume to tell me that! I know what I saw and I know what I experienced, now tell me, what has gotten into her. I thought you told me you two broke up!" Warren fet his temper rising as the volume of his father's voice increased.
"Dad, Rebecca couldn't have assaulted you because she's dead. We didn't break up she was murdered by another mutant!" the phone on the other end went silent. Warren was sure his father was about to scold him for lying. He contemplated hanging up, but just before he did something unexpected happened.
"Warren..." his father said softly, "I'm so sorry. I know you cared for her. I must have been mistaken…but she looked so much like her…is there anything I can do for you?" Warren was speechless.
"No, dad, I'm fine…" Warren knew he was lying, but after the decades of emotional manipulation his father had put him through, one lie was not enough to guilt his conscience,
"Maybe you should come out and visit. It would be nice seeing you again son." Warren hesitated. He wanted to make sure he was really hearing what he was hearing.
"Alright…I suppose I could do that. I'll catch a flight out in the morning." They said goodbye and Warren hung up the phone. 'Who would have thought Rebecca could bring my father and I together when she wasn't here to do anything.' Warren sighed, wiped the tear from his cheek and fell back asleep.
X
Logan stood with his arms folded across his chest. He watched the images flash across the television hanging above the bar counter. He cursed when a picture of the dangerous mutant flashed across the screen. He stood grabbing his jacket and downed the last of his drink. Logan picked up his helmet and walked for the exit.
"Hey, you didn't pay for that!" the barkeep yelled before the door slammed shut behind him.
Logan mounted his motorcycle and sped through the busy Seattle streets. Images of Rebecca's hollow eyes filled his mind and he felt the air in his lungs constricting.
'I have to save her…I have to save her from herself.'
X
Kitty sat with her knees tucked into her chest as she starred into the misting waters of the fountain. Tears poured from her eyes. Though Summer was in full swing, she felt cold. Her nose was red and her fingers were numb.
Heavy footsteps pulled Kitty from her mind. She looked up and saw Peter crossing the courtyard toward her. She quickly wiped her tears away, but he had already seen. He sat down next to her silently.
Neither bothered to ignore the fact that Kitty was crying. It was obvious and no amount of circular reasoning was going to deny the fact that an air of depression had set over the mansion. They all felt it. It wasn't uncommon to find a crying student in the halls or classes to be dismissed early due to lack of enthuse.
Peter timidly wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she welcomed the embrace, something that surprised him greatly. They had never been open about their affection, it all lay under the carpet so to speak.
"Talk to me, Peter." Kitty said quietly. Peter looked down at her, at a loss for words. "Your voice always seems to comfort me."
"I don't know what to say," he admitted. "I wish I could make things better for you. I hate to see you like this…"
"I hate everything so much," Kitty said as she began to cry harder. Peter mentally kicked himself.
'So much for bringing her comfort. Two sentences and she's crying harder.'
"Why does the world have to be so cold?" she asked. Peter knew it was rhetorical and let her continue speaking. "There are only so many people in this world that love unconditionally. It's people like Rebecca, the hope givers, that make existing easier…and…and she's gone now. Not only does the world insist on bringing us pain but it rips away the people that would bring joy…I wish…I wish I were dead!" Peter stood and grabbed Kitty by the shoulders.
"Don't ever talk like that!" Kitty gasped when she saw the fire ignite in Peter's eyes. Sure she had seen him aggressive in training, but never toward her. Truthfully, it scared her. "I don't ever want to hear you give up like that. You're stronger than this Kitty, don't let hope die from your eyes." He said in a more gentle tone. "Do you hear me?" Kitty only nodded. Peter wrapped his large arms around her and she gave into his embrace.
"Peter, maybe Warren is right…" she whispered. "What if the world only brings pain?" Peter looked her in the eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat. He could smell the vanilla in her hair and feel her clinging to him as though he were the only thing keeping her feet on the ground.
"I don't think so," he said with a grin. "The world has much more than pain to offer. It brought me you didn't it?" Kitty sniffled and looked up at him. He smiled as he saw the timid look under her damp eyelashes. He brushed them away with his thumb and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Come on," he said taking her hand in his. "It's getting late…we should go inside."
"Peter," Kitty said as she stopped him by pulling on his arm. "Can we just sit…just for a little while longer?" Peter smiled and they sat back on the bench. Peter wrapped his arms around her while she lay her head on his shoulder. "Peter?" she asked looking up at him. "I'm glad the world brought me to you…" she looked away quickly, unable to hold his gaze. He rested his chin on the top of her head and waited for her breathing to slow enough to tell him she was asleep before he carried her back inside.
